《Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos》 Chapter -1 - Clarification of Mechanics

Chapter -1 - rification of Mechanics

[[PARAMETERS]] Parameters in Danmachi~! Everyone wants Vahn to be strong, but the ws of the world restrict everything regardless of their race. The only exception to this rule are monsters who are able to break the restrictions a bit, but it is at a heavy cost~! LEVEL: The purpose of level is to act as a container for the exilia(experience). The bigger the container, the more experience it can hold. BUT, each level only increases the size of the container the same amount as Level 1, they dont get progressivelyrger with each increase. That means a person can gain experience to increase the boon of their falna by a MAXIMUM amount based on their potential. For most people, this is around 3000 total parameters(the stats listed below). For prodigies or people that want to strengthen their foundation, they typically push themselves to earn upwards of 4300-4500 total parameters before leveling up. When a person levels up, ALL of their parameters go to what is referred to as a hidden board which is the culmination of all the parameters they have gained from their levels EXCLUDING the current level. All parameters for the current level can be viewed by anyone that sees the Familia Crest on the back. POWER: This is not only raw strength but also allows the person to influence the physical ws of the world. That means people with enough power can generate shockwaves and stuff with their punches and perform other superhuman feats. A big misconception about power is that it is additive, but that is not the case. A person with 200 Power is not simply twice as strong as a person with 100 Power. Due to skills, proficiency, and mastery of the worlds ws, the more power a person has the more they are able to tap into their strength beyond their limits. ENDURANCE: Endurance is the ability to resist not only physical blows, but also allows them to disperse some of the physical ws of the world. That means people be shock resistant and also able to disperse blows away from their body without taking a lot of internal damage. That means people can get blown into walls and stuff, but instead of experiencing the full impact it would disperse into the wall (which is what causes the circr cracks youd expect to see). Endurance also determines how much stamina a person has and how quickly they can recover. People with high endurance dont get tired as easily and require much less sleep than normal people. DEXTERITY: Dexterity doesnt make you good with a bow or anything like that, but if you have high dexterity you CAN be good with a bow. Dexterity is technical prowess and control of your body. That means if you have very high agility, but low dexterity, you would be incredibly clumsy and even smash into stuff if your perception and awareness are low. The most practical means to increase dex is to increase your actual technical skills and prowess. That means youd have to learnbat techniques and apply them into your fighting style instead of just relying on instincts. A Samurai or a Knight would have VERY high dex, whereas a brawler or a berserker would have rtively low dex (though they usually make up for it with their intensity and perception). AGILITY: Agility isnt just raw speed, but also allows the body to adapt to rapid changes in direction. It increases everything about movement capabilities including spacial awareness and body control, which is why it has a synergistic rtionship with Dexterity. Same as a Power, a person with 200 Agility isnt simply twice as fast as someone with 100. The person with 200 agility can make greater use of speed ws which allow their body to almost ignore things like spontaneous eleration and rapid changes in direction (which would make a normal persons organs m into their own skeleton). Even without high endurance/power, a persons resilience against speed is determined by how much they can use the ws and not their bodys physical restrictions~! (Normally if a person could break the sound barrier, but had a mortal body, they would literally die. But in a world like Danmachi, a person can have low Power/Endurance but still move at supersonic speeds at higher Agility Levels. It is because they can ignore the effects of the speed on their body.) MAGIC: This is inarguably the hardest stat to increase in Danmachi unless youre some kind of genius, elf, or spirit. It influences a persons understanding of magic ws which allows them to increase the mana they can contain in their bodies. At higher levels, they can even use the elements in the air to supplement their own reserves. Magic also enhances a persons perception and mental rity. People with incredibly high perception AND magic are even able tomunicate with spirits as well as sense hidden/invisible objects. At the extremes, it even allows a person to sense the structure of magical objects/constructs and break them down. EXTRA INFO: SOUL TIERs influence on stats. As I said previously, a person is restricted by their level for how much total stats/parameters they can possess. For most people (Soul Tier 1), they are restricted to 3000-3500 total parameters per level. If they dont level up immediately, they can push themselves to obtain over 4k stats, but it will start to burden their body and can even cause physical/mental disability. Prodigies/Heroes are people that have (Soul Tier 2) or very close to it. They are able to exceed the limit even further and reach around 4500+ parameters, while people like Bell Cranel (original MC) can get even higher stats due to the influence of his skill [Liaris Freese] and the fact he has a modified soul. Vahn had Soul Tier 2 when he was still Level 1, which is the ONLY REASON he was able to get 5500+ stats with the support of [Will of the Emperor] and [Rakshasa Body]. He is far more durable than normal people his level and has higher potential because of the strength of his soul. Once he gets to (Soul Tier 3) he would have around 6000-6300 limit on parameters per level without obtaining any new skills. You have to keep in mind though, this is the MAXIMUM if he pushes himself to his limits over and over. Even getting over 5k stats is very difficult, much less reaching the 5500+ mark. In the original anime/manga, even Bell Cranel faced this issue (even though his skill is busted). He typically levels up around 5200+ points while only his first level was a bit higher (remember he had fought and exceeded his limits against the Minotaur and even entered mind-down after the battle). I hope this clears things up a bit. Chapter -2 - Rage : The Path (Parody Chapter)

Chapter -2 - Rage : The Path (Parody Chapter)

(A/N: This will be moved to Auxiry chapters soon. I just wanted to vent out and be the dumbass some of thementers want me to be. I appreciate all the kind feedback from my fans and just wanted to write this as parody/satire. It wont stop the other 2-3 chapters Im releasingter.) *Trigger Warning. This Chapter may contain violent and graphic content. You have been warned.* Vahn mindlessly ughtered every monster on the 14th floor before he realized he didnt have to take things so slowly. He started self-mutting his body and derived pleasure from the incisions in his flesh. Why wait to suffer wounds in a fight when he can just maul his own body whenever he wants? What use is pain resistance if he doesnt exploit the f.u.c.k out of it right? He carved into his flesh and even wrote the names of the people he liked on his arm. It made him feel closer to them, and he especially enjoyed the fuzzy feeling that spread in his mind as the blood continued draining from his body. He quickly managed to transition between his turtle and vermillion bird forms, but why should he be satisfied with just that? Vahn kept mutting his own body until the mes began to burn out and were reced by an azure radiance that pulsed under his skin. It was cool so he kept going even further and watched as azure/golden scales began to cover areas of his body. Small horns from his head and his hair began dancing in the wind due to the aura his body was generating. Lighting emitted from his eyes as a powerful repressive force emerged from his body. Observing his change, Vahn noticed he had be much more muscr and his height had increased. Instead of his puny 150cm midget body from before, he was now 200cm tall with muscles that would make any girl copse from pleasure as the mere sight of his manly frame. Vahn looked at his surroundings and realized that this dungeon was just a prison, even if it wasnt for himself. Couldnt he just use his Chainbreaker skill to break the entire thing? Realizing his own foolishness for trying to be stronger on his own, Vahn began channeling the skill with all his willpower. He noticed that his parameters were increasing at an astronomical rate since they too were just another thing restricting his body. A terrifying aura spread throughout the entire dungeon as the dragon sealed at the bottom looked up with fear in its eye. On the surface, all the weaker people began copsing at the sheer majesty of the aura while the various gods and goddesses had to resist its effect by mustering their own Divinity. All the non-plot rted characters spontaneously died as sounds began ringing in Vahns head about all the negative karma he was gaining. Vahn scoffed at the number before willing it out of the system. What use was karma the wielder of The Path. There was nothing that could restrict him after all. At this point, all of his stats had nulled and turned into infinity symbols. His level was no longer represented by a number but instead showed MAX. Vahnughed loudly, and each syble carried with it a powerful destructive force. Every single monster in the dungeon began to explode under the pressure and he began gaining OP by the millions. He immediatelypleted his quest and obtained a Zanpakutou it its sealed state. Vahn scoffed at the idea and channeled his energy into the de. Since the Zanpakutou shared the characteristics of his soul, it too couldnt be restricted so he immediately awakened his Bankai which transformed the de into a 7m long jade-white sword. Vahn lifted the de and cut down with a tremendous might. The entire tower of Babel and the dungeon beneath were split in two and created a crevasse more than 20m wide. Vahn allowed himself to free fall into the hole before realizing gravity was also just a restriction, so he started flying. He quickly arrived at the bottom of the tower and disintegrated some strange goddess covered in ck miasma before beheading the giant ck dragon that had the audacity to attack him. He put its head into his inventory as proof of his subjugation before leaving the dungeon. After he exited, he saw thousands of people surrounding the tower in a panic. Every major Familia and their gods had gathered to investigate the rampant destruction and were in awe seeing the god-like boy floating in the air before them. Vahn gazed over the crowd and all the men spontaneously felt inferior and looked away while the women blushed at the sight of Vahns majesty. When he had changed forms, all the clothing and equipment that had been restricting his body were annihted so he stood there in all his n.a.k.e.d glory for the whole world to see. From the crowd, Hephaestus could be seen with both of her eyes uncovered as she marveled at his form. Vahn smiled and waved his hand, pulling Hephaestus towards him. He used a billion OP to purchase a skill that would allow him to form divine grade relics with just a thought and then created a pure golden hammer made of condensed mes and gifted it to her. "Now youre mine." Before she was able to respond, Vahn kissed her deeply as waved his hand an disintegrated her clothing. Hephaestus didnt resist at all as she understood her ce as Vahns possession. She let the boy that she had grown so fond of ravishing her body as the onlookers stared ck-jawed at the sight. She m.o.a.ned loudly and contentedly at being able to experience the pleasure only known by a woman who had submitted herself to a strong man. Vahn continued plowing into Hephaestus as he felt the pleasure overwhelm his body. He used his [Hands of Nirvana] which had also reached SSS to rapidly heal her body to prevent her from breaking due to his mighty force. From the crowd, he could see several other women looking at him with anticipation. Vahn quickly ejacted inside Hephaestus and imbued his energy into his s.e.m.e.n to guarantee she would be i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed. Even though Goddesses couldnt conceive the children of mortal men, Vahn wasnt bound by such a restriction. Vahn descended from the sky as he waved his hand and stored Hephaestus into his inventory. Though it didnt allow him to keep living things inside, Vahn, of course, wasnt going to pay any attention to that restriction. What were thews of the world against his awesome power? Waving his hand, all the well-known characters from the manga were pulled towards him. For the ones that werent yet of age, Vahn elerated their time and forced their bodies into a mature state. Even though some of them resisted at first, he was able to bring them endless amounts of pleasure with just a single caress and they quickly began squirming under his prowess. From the side, some of the Familias the girls belonged to tried stopping him, but Vahn just waved his hand and created an isted space that even gods couldnt enter. He continued ravishing the women until they were a sloppy mess barely able to stand. They all had enamored smiled on their face as even people like Ais were groveling at his feet while trying to lick his toes. Vahn felt proud of himself for subduing such quality women with no effort. Waving his hand, he stored them all into his inventory before looking towards the tower that had been split in twine. Raising his palm, Vahn made good on his promise to burn the tower and created a giant sphere that consumed the entirety of the structure. Everyone in the City began to disintegrate and Vahn frowned slightly before waving his hand and instantly resurrecting them all. He wasnt a monster after all. After he was done, Vahn looked into empty space before cracks began to appear in the sky itself. The shards rained down and a ck void was opened in reality which Vahn passed through with ease. Sis had told him that he would have to give up some of his power when he went to other worlds, but Vahn didnt care about such insignificant restrictions. Instead, he cut through the dimensions until he had arrived at the stone dais where his journey began. Vahn waved his hand and created thousands of dimensions cracks that opened to several worlds. He even spent some of his OP to purchase anime/manga from the system shop and downloaded it to his brain all in the time it took for an electron to circ.u.mnavigate an atom. He then purchased the shadow-clone jutsu from the shop and instantly mastered it. After creating thousands of clones, Vahn sent them into the various worlds he had connected to his own personal dimension. To expedite the process, Vahn created a spatial field where time was enhanced by thousands of times. He brought the girls out of his inventory and marveled at their sensuous forms. He began ravishing them again while channeling his [Promethus] to increase their strength. Hepletely ignored the restrictions of the skill and instantly brought it up to rank SSS. At this point, all of the girls had also transcended their limits and were essentially immortal goddesses. Vahn started ravishing them in an endless orgy as OP began pouring in from the thousands of worlds visited by his clones. Every few minutes memories would enter his body after a clone hadpletely conquered the world he sent it to. Without having to make any effort on his part, Vahn was able to experience thousands of lives all at once. He married countless girls from all his favorite anime/manga and sired hundreds-of-thousands of children of his own. There were even worlds where he created ns thatsted for generations under his leadership as he subjugated the various gods and pantheons of each world. When his clones got tired or defeated, they would disperse and upload the memories to Vahns main body. The women left behind would be devastated, but since his clone had increased their strength to a massive extent they were able to cut through the dimensions and find their way to Vahns main body. Laughing madly, Vahn continued reveling in the pleasures of the flesh for eons until he finally started getting bored. There was even a time where he made a body for Sis and embraced her for a hundred years straight. It was very interesting seeing a previously synthetic energy construct m.o.a.n out with emotions. Once his l.u.s.t had been sated, Vahn created a clone for all of his women who now numbered more than 140 million. He cut through space until he found his way to an isted white space where the Goddess Klyscha resided. She looked at him with horror on her face after seeing what he had done. Before she could say anything, Vahn silenced her mouth with a kiss as he immediately forced her body into estrus. He had waited a long time to get to the point and wanted to return everything he had received to her. How else could he thank her for giving him something so convenient as The Path? Vahn continued to make love to Klyscha for eons as she m.o.a.ned out in pleasure that shook the very heavens. Even though she still resisted, she was unable to prevent her bodies natural desire to submit to Vahn from taking over. Eventually, she gave up trying to reason with the boy she had ced all of her hopes in and just epted her role as a woman fated to serve his desires. When he was finally satisfied with Klyscha, Vahn left a clone to tend to her needs as he made his final stop on his journey. Since he wasnt bound by space or time anymore, Vahn went to the point where his mother had just given birth to him. He saw the woman on the verge of death and waved his hand to make her immortal. He looked at his tiny and pale self before scoffing at his own weakness. Vahn reached his hand towards the past version of himself as his Mother tried protecting the newborn child. She was frantic after seeing the god-like Vahn suddenly appear in the hospital bed. Even though she felt a strange affection towards the man, she was more concerned about protecting her baby than understanding the uneasy feelings building within her. With a gentle smile on his face, Vahn waved his hand and gave his mother all of his memories rted to the past. She paused as the processed all the information before looking incredulously towards Vahn. "Vahn...?" His mother tested the word on her lips before smiling brightly. Her little boy had grown up and ovee so much just to make her happy. Vahn reached forward and his mother no longer resisted as he imbued all of his power into the young infants body. By the time he was finished, his original form disappeared as the infant opened its aquamarine eyes that showed an infinite intellect and power. Vahn could see his mother smiling down at him as the nurses and doctors stared on in horror at the events that were transpiring. Vahn allowed himself to fall asleep in his mothers embrace while splitting off a small piece of his consciousness. He began to destroy the souls of all the people that harbored ill will towards him and his mother. By the time his purge had ended, nearly two-billion people had been erased from the world. Vahn didnt even leave any memory of their existence behind as he altered fate to recognize his infant body to be the god of this new world. A world he created for himself to allow him to walk along The Path he had decided upon. (A/N: Alternate Titles: This is some bullshit,Wow, very hard to write OP MC, such plot, such character!) Chapter -3 - Characters (Updated for Vol. 15)

Chapter -3 - Characters (Updated for Vol. 15)

(A/N: Keep in mind that this list contains major spoilers for the novel. If you havent read yet, you may wish to bypass the information contained within (UwU)...) Vahn Mason: A young boy born with a mutated bloodline which allows him to cure any disease. He obtains The Path from the Goddess of Dreams and begins his journey to obtain freedom. After entering the Danmachi record, he has worked hard to make the first world he ever truly knew his home. Title: Sage Aldrnari, Godhand, Master Elemental Affinity: Omni-elemental with an inclination towards Space and Time Laws Age: 15 (Ageless) Race: Human, Variable, *sealed* Hair Color: Dark-Brown, almost ck Eye Color: Aquamarine Dream: To be free and live a happy life as his mother wanted. Likes: The intrinsic beauty of the world, His family, His children Dislikes: Systems that exploit others, Anyone that targets his family, Karma ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Klyscha, Goddess of Dreams: A Goddess responsible for containing the records of dreams. She gave the MC The Path after observing the tragedy of his previous life. Secretly the bad guy? She did kill the MC right!? Has a secret past that has yet to be revealed...!? Title: Aspect Goddess of Dreams, Busybody Elemental Affinity: (none) Age: *omitted* You cheeky little bugger~ Race: 8th Dimensional Entity, Goddess Hair Color: Multi-colored Eye Color: Her eyes are pitch ck like space and contain the images of the infinite records within. Likes: Vahn Mason, Dreams, Long walks on the shores of eternity Dislikes: Nightmares, Spicy foods, Delusions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sis: The system created by The Path to act as an intermediary and guide for Vahn Mason. She? seems to be evolving slowly over time to amodate Vahns mental state and desire for kinship. Title: Big Sis Elemental Affinity: (none) Age: Ageless Race: *omitted* Hair Color: *omitted* Eye Color: *omitted* Likes: Vahn Mason Dislikes: Things that are a threat to Vahn Mason. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[GODDESSES]](A/N: Kind of in order of introduction, not relevance.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Freya: Goddess of the Freya Familia. Considered one of the most beautiful women amongst both gods and mortals alike. Spends most of her time pursuing adventurers that catch her fancy. Will do almost anything to get what she wants. Title: The Most Beautiful Goddess In Orario, Groomer of Elites Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: War, Beauty, S.e.xual Pleasure, Divination Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: Silver Eye Color: Silver Level: (?) Status: Obsessed ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hephaestus: Goddess of the Hephaestus Familia. Considered the most prolific cksmith in both Heaven and the mortal world. Though she used to wear an eyepatch, she removed it when Vahn healed her disfigured face. The loving mother of the twin Vanir, Ina and Vana. Title: Heavenly cksmith, The Most Prolific [Master Smith] In Orario Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: Forging, Craftsmanship, Architecture, Fire Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: Red Eye Color: Red/Crimson Level: (?) Status: Vahns First Wife, Mother to Ina and Vana, Goddess Representative, Bae. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Loki: Goddess of the Loki Familia, the current Ranked 1 Familia within Orario. As a goddess of mischief and trickery, she had a somewhat scheming personality. Notoriously t chested and somewhat lecherous when ites to women. Title: Troublemaker Goddess, Scheming Demon, Goddess of the Rank 1 Familia Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: Trickery, Lies, Shapeshifting(?) Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: Red Eye Color: Red Level: (?) Status: Mother to Erika, Lover, Spokesperson/Negotiator ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hestia: Goddess of the Hestia Familia, a rank I Familia that is home to Vahn Mason and his family. Known as the chibi-big-b.r.e.a.s.ted goddess and is famous amongst other gods as an incrediblyzy goddess. Though she is somewhat possessive by nature, Hestia is a profoundly kind and gentle goddess that cares deeply for her children. Title: Lazy Goddess, Vahns Goddess Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: Hearth, Family, Architecture Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: ck Eye Color: Blue Level: (?) Status: Lover, Handlebar Goddess ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anubis: Goddess of the Anubis Familia, a rank I Familia that was previously cared for by Vahn. She is fiercely loyal to Vahn as willing subordinated herself to him after seeing his soul. Though she has a very elegant disposition, it belies the fact that she has somewhat deviant tendencies and wants to be spoiled by Vahn. It is her desire, and wish, to follow Vahn until his inevitable death, no matter how long that will take. Title: Dog Goddess, Vahns Servant(self-imposed) Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: Death, People(service), Wisdom(lesser) Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: ck Eye Color: Pale Gold (Glows like moonlight) Level: (?) Status: Vahns Pet, Lover ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Demeter: Goddess of thergest Agricultural Familia in Orario, earning her a seat amongst the top 10 most influential gods within the City, currently ranked at Number 5. Known to be a bit ditzy but also incredibly caring, often spending arge amount of her Familias earning on charity. Has a very high appreciation for Vahns character and actions, desiring to carry his child one day. Title: Well-Endowed Goddess, Hazy-Eyed Onee-San Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: Agriculture, Harvest, Growth, Nourishment, Fertility(lesser) Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: Honey-Orange Eye Color: Wheat Level: (?) Status: Ally, Aspiring to birth a Vanir ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Holda: A beautiful goddess that runs a Familia specializing in the production of various fabrics. One of the first goddesses to join the Alliance and, after arriving at the Manor with her lover, Chris, she became the first among the goddesses to receive Vahns treatment. Though she took a break during her pregnancy, now happily watches of her infant son while peacefully spending her days spinning divine thread. Title: Goddess of Divine Thread Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: Sewing, Weaving, Agriculture Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: Orange Eye Color: x Level: (?) Status: Chris Lover, Mother of Jason ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Minerva: A petite goddess that runs a merchant Familia that also specializes in protecting other merchant convoys. As a long-time associate of Loki, she joined the Alliance in order to gain more benefits for her Familia and to interact with Vahn. Has shown that, if Vahn wished it, she would be more than willing to be one of his future partners but, out of respect for Praxis, Vahn declined the offer. She has a somewhat mischevious personality that is actually just a facade so she can take advantage of people during business dealings. Title: Mischevious Goddess Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: War, Wisdom, Mercantilism Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: Hazelnut-Brown Eye Color: Reddish-Brown Level: (?) Status: Ally, Intrigued ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fortuna: Goddess of the most sessful merchant Familia within the City of Orario. Because of her sess, she had managed to be one of the top ten most influential Familia within the City, currently Rank 10. Introduced to the Alliance by Minerva after the Dwarven Caravans started raising their prices to put pressure on the City. Has a very business-oriented mentality and, though very attractive, has never been in a rtionship after descending from Heaven. Title: Goddess of the Deal, The Greatest Negotiator In Orario Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: Fortune, Mercantilism, Luck(lesser) Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: Pale-Gold Eye Color: Pale-Gold Level: (?) Status: Ally, Business Partner ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eirene: Goddess of the Eirene Familia, charged with protecting Orarios people and maintaining public order. Her Familia acts as the Citys primary military force, thus making it one of the most powerful and influential Familia within the City. Though only a B-Rank Familia, she has a ce within the top 10 most influential gods of Orario, currently ranked at Number 7. One of Vahns fans as a result of his many heroic feats and his willingness to always try to help others. Title: Goddess of Order, Peacekeeper, Vahns Biggest Fan Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: Peace, Order, Longevity Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: Soft-Blue Eye Color: Soft-Blue Level: (?) Status: Ally, Aspiring to birth a Vanir. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Juno: Goddess of a small Familia that assists with childbirth and babysitting. A long-time friend of Loki who volunteered her services as a midwife after Loki became pregnant. Currently resides in the Hearth Manor and, while showing a great deal of intrigue towards Vahn, she remains loyal to her current partner. Title: Youthful Old Lady, Most Prolific Mother In The Mortal World Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: Pregnancy, Wisdom(lesser), War(lesser) Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: Eye Color: Level: (?) Status: Pregnant(Not Vahns), Ally ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ouranos: One of the seven surviving primordial gods, possessing the true Divinity of the Sky. The founder and leader of the Guild, thergest and most influential faction within Orario. After descending to the mortal world in the past, he became the first god to bestow a Falna upon a mortal. Currently spends most of his time protecting the seal restraining the Dungeon functioning. Title: The Mediator, God of Order Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: Sky/Space Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: Silver Eye Color: Sky-Blue Level: (?) Status: Ally(?), Mentor(?) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hermes: God of the Hermes Familia, known to take almost any job with a very high rate of sess. Because of their association with the Guild, the Hermes Familia is rumored to be the one Familia that doesnt have to record the names of its members and their respective Levels. This has given them an air of mystery that makes many Familia avoid confrontation with the troublesome god. Though the actual strength of the Familia isnt known, it is currently Ranked 6 in the top ten most influential Familia within Orario. The only god capable of freely moving his physical body between Heaven and the Mortal World without penalty. Title: Messenger God, Free-Spirited Fool, Lecherous Idiot Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: Trade, Travel, Luck, Thieves(lesser) Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: Blonde Eye Color: Orange Level: (?) Status: Ally(?), Vahns Shit List ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ganesha: Known as the God of the People because of his unwavering dedication to providing entertainment to the masses. God of the Ganesha Familia, one of the top ten most influential Familia within the entire City, currently Rank 9. Has a very outgoing personality that hides a secretly serious personality that cares deeply for his children and the people of the City. Is aware that the Captain of his Familia, Shakti Varna, has had a crush on him since she was a young girl. However, as a result of a vow he made long ago, he has never been able to return her affections. He one day hopes she will find a suitable man that can take care of her, often teasing her by offering her to any man he deems worthy of her. Title: God of the People, Loudmouthed God Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: People, Fortune(lesser), Entertainment(lesser) Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: ck Eye Color: Red(?) Level: (?) Status: Ally, Friend, Kindred-Spirit ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kali: Goddess of the Kali Familia and former Goddess of Tiona and Tione Hiryute. She runs thergest Coliseum within the Amazoness country, Telskyura, which grooms orphaned Amazonesses into capable fighters for sport and entertainment. Has a dualistic personality that swaps between kind and bloodthirsty depending on her mood. Title: Goddess of Sacrifices, Blood-Crazed Goddess Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: Death, Time, Entertainment(lesser) Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: Crimson Eye Color: Crimson Level: (?) Status: Enemy(?) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Enyo: Goddess residing deep within the Dungeon, presumably around the 60th Floor. The reason for why she had taken up residence within the Dungeon is currently unknown but she is presently the primary antagonistic force facing the Alliance. She seems to desire the destruction of the City but her true purpose is unknown. Curiously, though she is a goddess, none of the other gods seem to be aware of her existence...? Title: (?) Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: (?) Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: (?) Eye Color: (?) Level: (?) Status: (?) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Miach: God of the Miach Familia, one of the five original Familias making up the Alliance. Miach is a kind,passionate, and friendly god who always helps out those in need. Even though the members of his Familia oftenin about it, he has a tendency to give away potions to new Adventurers to give them a better chance of survival in the Dungeon. Because of his handsome looks, the majority of his Familia members are females that fight amongst themselves for his affection. Title: Natural Giggolo, Patron God of Budding Adventurers Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: Alchemy, Family(lesser), People(lesser) Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: Dark-Blue Eye Color: Dark-Blue Level: (?) Status: Ally, Friend ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Takemikazuchi: God of the Takemikazuchi Familia, one of the five original Familias making up the Alliance. Came to Orario in search of Haruhime and, after asking Vahn for assistance, thetter ended up rescuing her. Has a great deal of respect for Vahns character and believes him to be a good role model for the children of his Familia. Joined the Alliance out of good faith and has now be the Department Head of the Martial Discipline and Etiquette Department. Title: Natural Giggolo, Seiza God Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: Storms, Martial Prowess, Grappling Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: ck Eye Color: ck Level: (?) Status: Ally, Friend ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terpsichore: Goddess of the Terpsichore Familia, a Familia of entertainers that formerly provided their services throughout Orario. Because of the current trends in the world, most entertainment is associated with s.e.x, drugs, and indulgence. As many of the members of her Familia are female, Terpsichore was always troubled by the fact that their clients would often try to take advantage of her members. Now that they had contracted themselves to Vahn, their Familia has now be the main staff of the Clubhouse, providing entertainment to the guests without having topromise their integrity. As a result of his kindness, Terpsichore is quite fond of Vahn and enjoys drinking at his side on asion. Title: Illusory Goddess Elemental Affinity: (none) Divinity: Music, Dance, Wisdom(lesser), Entertainment(lesser) Age: A LOT Race: God Hair Color: Silvery-Grey Eye Color: Varying Level: (?) Status: Ally, Friend ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Vahns Children]] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vana Mason: Firstborn of the Vanir and elder twin of Ina Mason. Has a very free-spirited and lively personality that causes her to get into trouble on asion. With her ability to generate fire out of thin air, she has a propensity to identally burn things when she gets emotional. Because of her innocence, Vana is able to befriend animals with ease and spends the majority of her time exploring around the illusory forest of her home. Title: Little Firecracker Elemental Affinity: Fire(pure), Source(lesser) Divinity: Fire(?) Age: 4 months (Approx 2 years physically) Race: Vanir Hair Color: Red Eye Color: Fiery-Red Level: (?) Status: Daughter of Hephaestus, Lovable Troublemaker Guardian: True me Dragon, Vulcan ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ina Mason: Second daughter of Vahn Mason and younger twin of Vana Mason. Has a very calm and pure character with a bit of a clingy nature. Ever since the moment of her birth, Ina has always cared very deeply for her Papa and considers him the most important person in her life. Though she tries to act mature and let her other siblings spend time with her Papa, Ina still struggles to be away from him for long periods of time. Because of her nature, she has developed a princess-like mentality and often behaves somewhat spoiled, though only around her Papa. Title: Papas Girl, Vahns Little Princess Elemental Affinity: Light(pure), Fire, Source(lesser) Divinity: Crafts(?) Age: 4 months (Approx 2 years physically) Race: Vanir Hair Color: Pale-Blonde Eye Color: Pale-Blue Level: (?) Status: Daughter of Hephaestus, Clingy Guardian: Celestial Winged Tiger, Kuu ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Erika Mason: Third daughter of Vahn Mason and the first child born to Loki. Has possessed a remarkable intelligence since birth and has never cried. Though she is good at keeping them hidden, Erika is actually a very emotional girl that is prone to embarrassment. She tries to act more mature than she is and studies very hard so she can help ease the burdens of her Papa. Erika has a very peculiar rtionship with most of the girls in the Manor because of her distant personality, though she often associates with her Mother, Syr, Juno, Eina, and Chloe. Also, even though she would never admit it, Erika is very attached to her Papa and gets lonely whenever he isnt spending time with her. Title: Prodigy Elemental Affinity: Chaos, Fire, Darkness, Light, Source(lesser), Illusion(lesser) Divinity: Chaos(?), Order(?), Wisdom(?) Age: 4 months (Approx 3-4 years physically) Race: Vanir Hair Color: Red Eye Color: Green Level: (?) Status: Daughter of Loki, Protege Guardian: Doppelganger, Doppel ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meinya Mason: An adorable little cat girl and Vahns first child with Arnya. Spends most of her time sleeping, crying, eating, and pooping. Title: (none) Elemental Affinity: Earth, Wind, Fire, Source(lesser) Age: Approx 2 months Race: Cat Person Hair Color: Brown and White Eye Color: Light-Brown Level: (?) Status: Daughter of Arnya, Infant Guardian: Tyrant Mountain Bear, (nameless) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anise Mason: An adorable little cat girl and Vahns first child with Aki. Spends most of her time sleeping, crying, eating, and pooping. Title: (none) Elemental Affinity: Water, Light, Source(lesser) Age: Approx 2 months Race: Cat Person Hair Color: ck Eye Color: ck Level: (?) Status: Daughter of Aki, Infant Guardian: Steel-Backed Wolf, (nameless) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alex Eva Evergreen Mason: A True Dragon born of the union between Vahn, Terra, and, to a lesser extent, Eva. Though having no gic association with its parents, Alex is treated very well by its parents, unlike how True Dragons are typically raised. Currently, without a gender, Alex spends most of its time within the Spirit-Time orb so that is can mature in a safe environment while also working hard to increase its own knowledge. Its dream is to one day be the strongest True Dragon in the world, standing above all except its Father, Vahn Mason. Title: Little Schr Elemental Affinity: Time, Space, Darkness, Ice, Source(lesser), Fire(lesser) Age: Approx 10 years old, Appears around 2-3 years old physically Race: True Dragon Hair Color: Emerald Green Eye Color: Aquamarine Level: Approx Level 3 Status: Vahns child, Heir of the True Dragons Guardian: (none) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sakuya Mason: Vahns youngest daughter and the firstborn child of Tsubaki. Spends most of her time sleeping, crying, eating, and pooping. Title: (none) Elemental Affinity: Water(pure), Ice, Fire, Wood, Source(lesser) Age: 19 days old Race: Half-Dwarf(?) Hair Color: ck Eye Color: Green Level: (?) Status: Daughter, Tsubakis Precious Treasure Guardian: Three-Tailed Fox, (nameless) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[HEARTH MANOR RESIDENTS]](A/N: As of Vol 15, there are quite a number of love interests x_x...) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Eina Tulle: Former Receptionist and Adventurer Advisor for the Guild. Has a Big Sister mentality and has always wanted a younger brother. Generally gentle, kind, and caring, but also had a bit of a bashful side. Known to blush up to her ears when embarrassed. Vahns first wife, alongside Hephaestus, and elder sister to Risna. Titles: Elemental Affinity: Age: 18 Race: Half-Elf(purified) Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Emerald Level: 1 Status: Wife, Pregnant, Mortal Representative Pactio: Cygnus Cantic.u.m ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sanjouno Haruhime: A former p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e in training that Vahn saved from the Ishtar Familia. An incredibly elegant and gentle girl with a caring personality. Has delusions of being a damsel in distress that was waiting for her hero to save her. After being saved by Vahn, she has worked tirelessly to increase her own strength, all so that she could walk at her beloveds side. Titles: Illusory Sakura, Vice-Captain of the Hestia Familia Elemental Affinity: Ice, Illusion, Darkness(lesser), Fire(lesser) Age: 14 Race: Renard Hair Color: Blond Eye Color: Green Level: 4 Status: Lover, Disciple Pactio: Luna Dea ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yamato Mikoto: Former member of the Takemikazuchi Familia that joined the Hestia Familia after Vahn saved Haruhime. A very disciplined and hardworking young woman from the Far East who never skips a day of training. Sanjouno Haruhimes best friend and caretaker. Aftering to know him better, Mikoto fell in love with Vahn and looks forward to the day she is able to be with the man she recognizes as her Master, Lord, and Lover... Titles: Prodigious Swordmaiden Elemental Affinity: Age: 15 Race: Human Hair Color: ck Eye Color: ck Level: 4 Status: Prospective-Lover, Disciple Pactio: Ferrum Invisibilia ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tsubaki Collebrande: A powerful Adventurer and Master Smith who serves as the Captain of the Hephaestus Familia. Vahns former Forging Master and the one who taught him how to defend himself against enemies and to act like a proper Adventurer. After undergoing his Nirvana, Tsubaki decided to dedicate herself to Vahn and, after a series of events, ended up giving birth to his daughter, Sakuya. Now that she is a mother, Tsubakis nature has softened greatly but has also be very overprotective of her Precious Treasure. Titles: Cyclops, Captain of the Hephaestus Familia Elemental Affinity: Fire, Earth, Wind(lesser) Age: 36 Race: Half-Dwarf(purified) Hair Color: ck Eye Color: Red Level: 5 Status: Lover, Mother of Sakuya Pactio: Caelesti Generalis ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Naaza Erisuis: A somewhat taciturn girl that was saved by Vahn within the depths of the dungeon. As she had lost her arm, Vahn used his own body to help recover her injuries. A loyal girl who aspires to one day be a great alchemist. A former member of the Miach Familia and aspiring lover to Vahn. The only thing that has held her back is her own self-doubt and the promise she made with her best friend, Liliruca Arde. She looks forward to the day she can be together with the heroic boy she fell in love with... Titles: Yi, Pinnace of Archery Elemental Affinity: Fire, Wood, Decay(lesser), Water(lesser) Age: 16 Race: Chienthrope Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Purple Level: 3 Status: Prospective Lover, Friend, Colleague Pactio: Spiritus Pharmacop ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Liliruca Arde: An incredibly petite young girl who was saved by Vahn within the dungeon. The first girl Vahn had saved as well as his first official Disciple. Vahn helped her train to ovee her weakness, and it is her dream to stay at his side and grow stronger together. Has recently be famous for possessing an abnormal amount of strength for a Pallum, especially being that she is still very young and also a female. Is counting down the days until she can finally be together with Vahn. Titles: Tiny Titan Elemental Affinity: Earth(pure), Fire(lesser), Water(lesser) Age: 14 Race: Pallum Hair Color: Chestnut Eye Color: Chestnut Level: 3 Status: Prospective Lover, Disciple Pactio: Simia Regina ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Nanu: A hardworking girl that is part of Anubis Hounds. The current leader of the females within the pack. Prone to misunderstandings and fiercely loyal to her Master, Vahn Mason. Recently spends most of her time within the Sub-Space orb, training to increase her strength and be a more capable cksmith. Titles: Faithful Hound Elemental Affinity: Fire, Earth(lesser), Darkness(lesser) Age: 12 Race: Chienthrope (Southern Tribe) Hair Color: Dark-Brown Eye Color: Rose-Red Level: 3 Status: Future Mate, Vahns cksmithing Apprentice ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Syr Flova: The current Manager of affairs within the Hearth Manor. Previously leading the group of girls from the Hostess of Fertility, Syr now manages matters within the Manor and keeps things running smoothly. Known to possess pseudo-divinities rted to Beauty and S.e.x, making her one of the only girls that can keep up with Vahn. Still as mischevious as she was in the past, Syr has a very powerful understanding of most of the girls and is treated as a confidant by almost everyone within the Manor. Titles: Witch(?) Elemental Affinity: (?) Age: 16 Race: Human (Demigod) Hair Color: Light-Grey Eye Color: Light-Grey Level: 1 Status: Lover, Manager Pactio: Pupa Domina ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ryuu Lion: Former Vice-Captain of the Hestia Familia, after allowing Haruhime to take up the position when thetter exceeded her in strength. Keeping true to the promises she made in the past, Ryuu became enamored with Vahn after he was able to grab her hand and slowly work his way into her heart. Now that she is pregnant with his child, Ryuu spends her days happily drinking tea within Terras Garden, patiently awaiting the day she will be a mother. Titles: Tempest Elemental Affinity: Wind(pure), Wood(lesser), Star(lesser) Age: 19 Race: Elf Hair Color: Green (Gold) Eye Color: Sky Blue Level: 4 Status: Lover, Pregnant Pactio: Meteoron Imber ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mona Lissan: A former ve that was purchased by Vahn when he was on a quest to save Haruhime. She was released from very immediately after purchase and decided to settle at the Hostess of Fertility until she limated to a normal life. Known for having thergest b.r.e.a.s.ts among the girls within the pub. Currently serves as a wetnurse within the Hearth Manor and helps look after all the children in the maternity ward. Titles: Milk-Maiden Elemental Affinity: Water, Wind(lesser) Age: 20 Race: Cow Person Hair Color: Azure Blue Eye Color: Azure Blue Level: 1 Status: Friend, Wetnurse ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lunoire Faust: Former waitress of the Hostess of Fertility, now residing within the Hearth Manor. Though initially just enjoying the peaceful atmosphere that Vahn had promised her, Lunoire began to feel guilty about taking advantage of his kindness and now works hard to increase her strength. Though she has yet tomit to it, Lunoire dreams of one day bing a mother and raising a family of her own, confident that Vahn would protect them from harm. Titles: Smiling Punisher Elemental Affinity: Age: 20 Race: Human Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Brown Level: 4 Status: Lover, Friend ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mama Mia: A veteran Adventurer and former Captain of the Freya Familia. Retired from her position to open the Hostess of Fertility in order to protect young women with tragic pasts. Though she has left the Freya Familia, she still bears the Familia crest on her back. Known as Demi Ymir for her monstrous strength. Titles: Demi Ymir Elemental Affinity: Earth(pure) Age: 53 Race: Dwarf Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Brown Level: 6 Status: Ally, Friend ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chloe Lolo: A righteous assassin formerly known as the ck Cat who hunts down criminals. After moving into the Hearth Manor, Chloe worked hard to protect everyone from the shadows. Became the mentor and master of Shizune after thetter started training to be an assassin. Though she understands her proteges desire for revenge, Chloe is trying to guide Shizune towards the light so she can truly benefit from the family she already has. Titles: Cheshire Cat Elemental Affinity: Darkness(pure), Illusion(lesser), Poison(lesser) Age: 20 Race: Cat Person Hair Color: ck Eye Color: Green Level: 4 Status: Lover, Friend, Vahns Shadow Pactio: Umbra Princeps ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Arnya Fromel: Formerly the prodigious spearwoman known as Vana Alfi, heir to a powerful n of master spearmen. After oveing her own inner turmoil, Arnya opened her heart to Vahn and is now a very passionate and caring mother to her infant daughter, Meinya Mason. She finds her daughter very adorable and wants to help groom her into a capable warrior in the future, though only if her daughter is interested in bing strong. Titles: Resurgent Spear Elemental Affinity: Light, Wind, Earth(lesser) Age: 20 Race: Cat Person Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Brown Level: 4 Status: Lover, Mother of Meinya Pactio: Magister Armis ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tiona Hiryute: The youngest of the famous Hiryute Sisters and one of the few First-ss Adventurers within the Loki Familia. Has a very cheerful and somewhat childish nature and it has always been her dream to be a Princess so that she could be saved by a Hero. Due to her incrediblebat potential, she has been given the alias Amazon, and serves as an example for her entire race. Now resides within the Hearth Manor and dreams of one day breaking free from the fate of every Amazon. Titles: Amazoness Elemental Affinity: (none) Age: 14 Race: Amazon Hair Color: ck Eye Color: Brown Level: 5 Status: Vahns First Lover, Friend Pactio: Regina Animalium ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tione Hiryute: The eldest of the famous Hiryute Sisters and one of the few First-ss Adventurers within the Loki Familia. Appears to be elegant and kind on the surface, but is actually a very hot-headed young woman known for her tirades and bouts of intense aggression. Somewhat jealous of her little sister so she uses the difference in their bust size to tease her. Known as Jormungand for her insatiable desire for battle. After beingpletely defeated by Vahn, Tione opened up her heart to himpletely and, after a series of trials, finally became his lover. She shares the same dream as her sister and one day hopes to have children of her own, free from the tragic fate of the Amazons. Titles: Jormangand Elemental Affinity: Earth, Wood(lesser), Water(lesser) Age: 14 Race: Amazon Hair Color: ck Eye Color: Brown Level: 5 Status: Lover, Friend Pactio: Soltatione Solis ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ais Wallenstein: An incredibly capable swordswoman known as the Sword Princess. One of the strongest First-ss Adventurers within the entire City, even though she is only Level 5. One of the few Adventurers that is known to be able to solo Monster Rexs and is considered the bane of monsters and dragons. Considered the Princess of the Loki Familia and is a girl of very few words and expressions. Has an unrivaled desire for strength and a fiercelypetitive nature. Titles: Sword Princess Elemental Affinity: Wind(pure), Light, Water(lesser) Age: 14 Race: Human (Half-Spirit) Hair Color: Gold Eye Color: Gold Level: 5 Status: Lover, Kindred Spirit Pactio: Lux Alis ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Lefiya Viridis: An earnest and devout follower of Vahn who is also a closet pervert. She is still somewhat prone to delusions but, after spending more time with Vahn, has be better at controlling them. One day, she wants to be the most powerful mage in the world so she can stand by the young boy who she wholeheartedly calls Master. Though it is still a bit early for her, Lefiya also wants to have children of her own after seeing the beautiful daughters already born to Vahn. Titles: White Lily Elemental Affinity: Light, Water, Wind, Fire, Earth, Wood Age: 14 Race: Elf Hair Color: Golden-Yellow Eye Color: Dark Blue Level: 4 Status: Prospective Lover, Lewd Elf Pactio: Ros Sanitatem ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Riveria Ljos Alf: Vice-Captain of the Loki Familia who now resides within the Hearth Manor. Her true identity is that of the Princess of the High Elves, daughter of the Elven King, Larfal Ljos Alf. After opening her heart to Vahn, and making a promise to work hard for the benefit of all races, Riveria ended up bearing his child. Though she struggles with the knowledge that her people are still suffering as a result of their hubris and corrupt ways, Riveria believes that her people will one day live happily amongst the other races. Titles: Nine Hells, Princess of the Elven Kingdom Elemental Affinity: Destruction, Fire, Ice, Wind, Darkness(lesser), Light(lesser), Water(lesser), Lightning(lesser) Age: 97 Race: High Elf Hair Color: Emerald Eye Color: Jade Level: 6 Status: Wife, Pregnant ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tina Yuel: After a series of tragic events, which had caused her a great emotional trauma, Tina eventually ended up at the Hearth Manor. She has a very strong desire to one day be together with Vahn and, after learning of the events in the Divination, developed the rare ability [Luck]. Now, while earnestly working to increase her strength, Tina is often causing small idents that generally put her and Vahn in very promising situations. Titles: Tiny Tina Elemental Affinity: Water(pure), Light, Earth(lesser) Age: 12 Race: Cat Person Hair Color: Chestnut-Brown Eye Color: Gold Level: 1 Status: Aspiring Prospective Lover ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mn Yuel: Mother of Tina and, after a series of events, lover of Vahn. She used to struggle with the knowledge that her daughter was in love with the same man but has slowly opened up to the idea. After witnessing all the births within the Manor, Mn secretly harbors a desire to have another child but, imagining her daughter may one day also bear a child with Vahn, cant allow herself to stop taking birth-control pills. Titles: Stalwart Shield Elemental Affinity: Age: 33 Race: Cat Person Hair Color: Chestnut-Brown, Loose Ponytail Eye Color: Gold Level: 3 Status: Lover, Mother to Tina Pactio: Provocator Scutum ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shizune Yuel: A former ve who was purchased by Vahn during his quest to save Haruhime. She has a somewhat tragic past and five years of experience as a ve. Previously had a somewhat seductive personality, she was restored to her pristine state through the use of [V.i.r.g.i.ns Promise] and has regressed to her ten-year-old body. As a result of the many efforts he had made to make her life better, Shizune had grown very fond of Vahn and one day wishes to be one of his mistresses. Though she seeks vengeance against the people that wronged her in the past, Shizune had slowly started to put those memories behind her as she opens up to the residents of the Hearth Manor. Titles: (none) Elemental Affinity: Darkness(pure), Fire, Lightning(lesser) Age: 18 (10 physically) Race: Kitsune Hair Color: Dark Brown Eye Color: Purple Level: 1 Status: Prospective Lover, Chloes Apprentice Pactio: Umbra Exhibitionem ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Emiru Rain: A former ve who was purchased by Vahn during his quest to save Haruhime. She originallyes from the Northern Tundra, but became a ve when she and her sister were sold during a long famine experienced by their tribe. They have a powerful bond and spend the majority of their time together. Since she originally hailed from a nomadic tribe, it was her dream to move to the City and serve a wealthy Master alongside her twin sister, Maemi. Now serves as a maid within the Hearth Manor, happily serving the Manors residents and spending time with her Master. Titles: Gemini Elemental Affinity: Water, Light(lesser), Space(lesser) Age: 16 Race: Snow Leopard Hair Color: Silver Eye Color: Lc (Snow Blue) Level: 3 Status: Lover, Maid Pactio: Binarii Angelus ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Maemi Rain: A former ve who was purchased by Vahn during his quest to save Haruhime. She originallyes from the Northern Tundra, but became a ve when she and her sister were sold during a long famine experienced by their tribe. They have a powerful bond and spend the majority of their time together. Since she originally hailed from a nomadic tribe, it was her dream to move to the City and serve a wealthy Master alongside her twin sister, Emiru. Now serves as a maid within the Hearth Manor, happily serving the Manors residents and spending time with her Master. Titles: Gemini Elemental Affinity: Water, Light(lesser), Space(lesser) Age: 16 Race: Snow Leopard Hair Color: Silver Eye Color: Lc Level: 3 Status: Lover, Maid Pactio: Binarii Angelus ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fenrir: Vahns most trusted and loyal subordinate who now works tirelessly to cultivate in an effort to increase her Soul Tier. Though she has her own desires, Fenrirs only concern is her Masters happiness and, if it will help protect that happiness, she is willing to do whatever it takes. One day, she hopes to have full control over her Innate, [Insatiable Hunger], so she can be an unstoppable force at her Masters side. She doesnt currently desire any children but wants to be able to change the nature of her body to at least enable her to do so in the future. Titles: Vanargandr, The Goodest Girl, Queen of Ice Magic Elemental Affinity: Ice(pure), Water(pure), Source(lesser), Yin(lesser), Darkness(lesser) Age: 17 (Ageless) Race: Vnagandr Hair Color: Midnight Blue Eye Color: Scarlet Level: 5 Status: Loyal Subordinate ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preasia na: A former ve who was purchased by Vahn during his quest to save Haruhime. She was fiercely mistreated by her former master and suffered a severe trauma that Vahn has helped her to ovee. She possesses an Innate that causes tinum blond fur to cover most of her body and, though it was very embarrassing at first, Preasia has be fond of the change. Her favorite pastime, which used to be reading, is now spending time cuddling with Vahn and sleeping so she can better master her ability to create a Dreamscape. Titles: (none) Elemental Affinity: Earth(lesser), Light(lesser), Dreams(?) Age: 18 Race: Sheep Person Hair Color: tinum Blond Eye Color: Light Grey Level: 1 Status: Lover, Hugpillow Pactio: Oves Ordinem ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aisha Belka: An exotic beauty and former p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e of the Ishtar Familia. She protected Haruhime even after being forcibly charmed by Ishtar. Due to her efforts, Haruhime was able to survive her captivity and escape her tragic fate. Somewhatscivious by nature, she seeks a strong man tofort her heart and body. Has a sisterly personality and is actually very kind to those she had decided to help, even at the expense of her own well-being. Titles: Crescent de Elemental Affinity: Earth, Fire(lesser), Wind(lesser) Age: 19 Race: Amazon Hair Color: ck Eye Color: Gold Level: 4 Status: Prospective Lover, Friend ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anakitty Aki Autumn: Former lieutenant of the second party within the Loki Familia. Joined the Hestia Familia at Lokis request so that she could assist Vahn and reign in Hestia. Has a caring and gentle personality and is also a very capable assistant. Though she was formerly in love with Raul, her pragmatic personality and Rauls indecisiveness caused her to seek a more suitable partner. She is a capable Adventurer, but dreams of a safer life where she can raise her own children in peace. Titles: Wandering Cat Elemental Affinity: Water, Darkness(lesser), Wood(lesser) Age: 19 Race: Cat Person Hair Color: ck Eye Color: ck Level: 4 Status: Lover, Vahns Secretary, Mother of Anise Pactio: Reciproca Imperium ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terra Evergreen: The evolutionary form taken by the Green Dragon after Vahn bestowed a name upon it. She possesses a powerful affinity with all forms of natural energy and is considered to be one of the most powerful mages in the entire world. This was a result of Terra having spent nearly 150 years training alongside Eva within the Spirit-Time orb and mastering many forms of magic. She now protects the Manor with her powerful defensive might, ensuring that her Master is free to roam about as he pleases. Also, while not originally caring much for the existence of her child, Terra came to love them deeply after seeing how much care and love her Master showed towards it. Titles: Elegant Green Dragon Elemental Affinity: Earth(pure), Water(pure), Wind(pure), Life(lesser), Creation(lesser), Time(lesser), Space(lesser), Source(lesser) Age: 152 Race: True Dragon Hair Color: Emerald Green Eye Color: Sky-Blue Level: 10, before status board broke (?) Status: Lover, Guardian, Mother of Alex ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fafnir: The evolutionary form taken by a Wyvern that Vahn had subjugated within the Dungeon. After receiving its name, Fafnir became a powerful darkness-elemental dragon with a very tyrannical appearance. It possesses powerful offensive and magical might but, while its scales are as durable as Adamantine, therge scar on its chest would allow almost anyone to defeat it if theynded a direct strike. However, this curse is exactly what makes Fafnir such a terrifying foe as it also grants it nearly perfect magic nullification. Only existences that are much stronger than it, in both power and Soul Tier, can even hope to break through this powerful defensive ability. Titles: Tyrant Dragon, Nemesis of Mages Elemental Affinity: Darkness(pure), Destruction(lesser), Lightning(lesser), Source(lesser) Age: 15 Race: True Dragon Hair Color: Onyx ck Eye Color: Stark Blue Level: 6 Status: Loyal Subordinate, Guardian ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Khaos: The evolutionary form taken by a Wyvern that Vahn had subjugated within the Dungeon. After receiving its name, Khaos became a tyrannical looking dragon covered in sharp red and ck scales. As it was originally intended as a mount for Loki, it has the ability to round off its own scales to ensure they do not cut the rider. Being the youngest among the True Dragons surrounding Vahn, its pride has been hurt by the negligence of its Master. Fortunately, things have started to change once Vahn realized this. Though it would never admit it, Khaos is very fond of flying around with its Master riding on its back, especially since it usually gets its scales cleaned afterwards. Titles: Vana Loki Elemental Affinity: Space, Time(lesser), Destruction(lesser), Chaos(lesser), Darkness(lesser) Age: 9 Race: True Dragon Hair Color: Crimson Eye Color: Amethyst Level: 5 Status: Loyal Subordinate, Tsundere ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fatina Pegasi: The evolutionary form taken by a variant Silver Unicorn that Vahn managed to meet within the Dungeon. It is a very prideful creature that previously only allowed chaste maidens to approach it. However, after meeting its would-be rider, Eirene, and seeing how pure of heart she was, Fatina made an exception. Now that it has be a Legendary Pegasi, Fatina carries around Eirene with an air of majesty and unconcealed pride on its strangely expressive face. However, under Eirenes influence, it has slowly started to mellow out a little. Titles: Pegasus, Arrogant Horse Elemental Affinity: Light(pure), Water(pure), Wind Age: 7 months Race: Pegasi Horn Color: Golden-Ivory Eye Color: Sky-Blue Level: 5 Status: Subordinate ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Risna Tulle: Younger sister of Eina and an aspiring author. As a result of being bullied as a child, Risna spent most of her time within her room reading books and writing her own stories. After Eina married Vahn, she was very envious she had found a handsome and wealthy boy to take care of her. When Vahn gave her the opportunity to live within the Manor, Risna took it without hesitation and now wants to start publishing her stories, just as she had dreamed of doing since childhood. Titles: (none) Elemental Affinity: Wind, Water, Wood(lesser) Age: 15 Race: Half-Elf Hair Color: Blond Eye Color: Green Level: 1 Status: Shut-In, Crush ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Asfi Al Andromeda: Captain of the Hermes Familia and Princess of an unnamed Kingdom. Originally associated with Vahn at the behest of Hermes so they could gather more information on the enigmatic Sage Aldrnari while fostering a positive rtionship with the Hestia Familia. Unfortunately, as a result of her Familias mistakes, she is now heavily indebted to the Hestia Familia. Possessing a strong sense of duty, Asfi is determined to pay back her debts. She also possesses a small interest in Vahn and, as a result of how capable he is, has considered bing his woman in order to help her Kingdom... Title: Perseus Elemental Affinity: Wind, Water, Fire, Wood(lesser), Light(lesser) Age: 20 Race: Human Hair Color: Aqua Blue Eye Color: Cyan Level: 4 Status: Friend(?), Ally(?) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rufina Scarlet: Formerly known as the Creature, Revis, Rufina was saved after Vahn defeated her former self and repaired her body. As a result of the procedure, Rufina lost all of her memories but, seeing how honest and kind Vahn is, trusted him enough to ept his help. She has a very straight-forward and pure personality, a stark contrast to her cold and detached former self. Now, after returning to the surface, Rufina has be a member of the Ganesha Familia while awaiting any news that might pertain to her past identity. Title: Natural Tamer Elemental Affinity: Fire, Earth, Destruction(lesser), Creation(lesser) Age: Appears to be in early-twenties Race: Human, Creature(?) Hair Color: Blood Red Eye Color: Green Level: Around Level 4 Status: Friend(?) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[MISC CHARACTERS]] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chione: A somewhat aggressive girl that is part of Anubiss Hounds. Though she is the youngest within the Familia, she has aspirations of one day being the strongest in the group. Fiercely loyal to her Master, Vahn Mason. Titles: Elemental Affinity: Age: 12 Race: Chienthrope (Southern Tribe) Hair Color: Dark-Brown Eye Color: Rose-Red Level: 2 Status: (Loyal) The Youngest Pup ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Maat: The eldest girl amongst the members of Anubiss Hounds. An incredibly confident girl, she was somewhat disappointed in her own failure when Nanu became Vahns mate and assumed her role as the leader of the girls within the pack. Fiercely loyal to her Master, Vahn Mason. Titles: Elemental Affinity: Age: 13 Race: Chienthrope (Southern Tribe) Hair Color: Dark-Brown Eye Color: Rose-Red Level: 2 Status: (Loyal) The Eldest Pup ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Gregory House: Chief Customs Officer at the North-West Gate of Orario. Recently became a Grandfather and took pity on Vahn, who he had assumed was an orphan that had been robbed before trying to enter the City. Later works as a caretaker at the Sage Aldrnari School of Orario. Title: Chief(former), Grandpa Elemental Affinity: Lesser-Earth Age: 53 Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Hazel Level: 3 Status: Friend ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chris Hend: Lover of Holda, Goddess of the Holda Familia, and father to the demigod Jason. The first mortal man, with the exception of Vahn Mason, to sire a Demigod. Since his Goddess, whom he is currently engaged to, is a very beautiful woman, he has earned the ire of a great number of men. Title: Lucky Bastard Elemental Affinity: Wind, Earth Age: 26 Race: Human Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Brown Level: 2 Status: Friend, Proud Father of Jason Hend ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Praxis: Captain of the Minerva Familia and lover of his goddess, Minerva. A very proud man and one of the most capable merchants within the entire City. He won the right to sire Minervas child after winning apetition within their Familia. Though he has a lot of respect for Vahn, there is also a fair amount of caution present as a result of Minervas intrigue in the young boy. Title: The Rock Elemental Affinity: Darkness, Fire Age: 31 Race: Human Hair Color: ck Eye Color: Pale-Brown Level: 4 Status: Father of Cheri, Ally(?) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sebas Maximillion: Captain of the Terpsichore Familia and current Manager of the Clubhouse. He makes sure all of the customers follow the rules and ensures that the members of his Familia do the same. Has great respect for Vahn after thetter offered to allow the Terpsichore Familia to work within the Clubhouse. Even within his Familia, Sebas was known for his skills as a bartender and he has already memorized more than six-thousand different drink mixes after obtaining their recipes from Vahn. Title: Ultimate Barkeep Elemental Affinity: Fire, Earth Age: 49 Race: Human Hair Color: Silver-Grey Eye Color: Sliver-Grey Level: (?) Status: Respectful, Friend, Employee ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Celia Taylor: Younger sister of Alicia and a capable barista after learning how fond Vahn was of coffee. Like many of the girls at the Clubhouse, Celia has a small amount of desire towards her Employer and wishes to one day be able to live an easy life without worry. With the rules of the Clubhouse preventing her from approaching him, she can only dream about the day Vahn might one day show his favor to her. Until then, she works hard to master coffee-brewing and has be somewhat popr amongst the other guests of the Clubhouse. Title: (none) Elemental Affinity: Earth, Lightning(lesser) Age: 17 Race: Human Hair Color: Purple Eye Color: Light-Purple Level: 1 Status: Respectful, Employee, Fan ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alicia Taylor: Older sister of Celia who often works as the receptionist at the Clubhouse, guiding the guests to their tables and checking in those that wish to stay the night. It is her job to make sure people arent trying to sneak items out of the Clubhouse, not that any have tried since it is already very difficult to earn membership. Like many of the other girls in the Clubhouse, she dreams of Vahn one day sweeping her off her feet and living a happy lifestyle in a giant Manor. She is somewhat envious of the fact that her sister is better at making coffee than she is. Title: (none) Elemental Affinity: Water Age: 19 Race: Human Hair Color: Purple Eye Color: Pale-Blue Level: 1 Status: Respectful, Employee, Fan ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Selena Tanner: A capable musician who has mastered a variety of instruments, her favorite being the Harp. Has a very elegant appearance and a soothing voice that has won her the favor of many, especially those that frequent the Clubhouse. More so than many of the other girls, Selena is somewhat infatuated with Vahn and wished her various appeals to him would one day prove effective. She doesnt admit it, but his casual demeanor and appreciative gaze have slightly hurt her pride. As a result, Selena spends nearly two hours in front of the mirror every day to fix her hair and makeup, hoping that Vahn would stop by and pay her his favor... Title: Elegant Songmaiden Elemental Affinity: Water(lesser), Fire(lesser) Age: 22 Race: Human Hair Color: Red Eye Color: Blue Level: 2 Status: Respectful, Employee, Prospective Lover ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KiLani TaLani: A member of the Terpsichore Familia that ys the lute and dances merry jigs that liven the atmosphere within the Clubhouse. With her exceptional hearing, KiLani is very adept at listening in on other peoples conversations. After learning about some of the rumors circting around Vahn, KiLani became very interested in him, though not to the extent of many of the other girls. She is just curious about his apparently godly massage and petting skills, especially since he seemed very fond of exotic girls. Knowing she was one of the first Rabbit Humes he interacted with, KiLani often thinks about the day he might ask to pet her ears and tail. Title: (none) Elemental Affinity: Wind, Wood(lesser) Age: 18 Race: Rabbit Hume Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Pale-Orange Level: 1 Status: Respectful, Employee, Interested ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Renka Silverw: A former Adventurer to joined the Terpsichore Familia after the death of many of her formerpanions. After leaving her Familia, she was scouted by Terpsichore after thetter found her depressed and starving near the outskirts of the Entertainment District. With her lithe figure and limber body, Renka is very popr among guests for her tantalizing dance moves. Unfortunately for them, Renka has expressed a great deal of interest in Vahn after learning about everything he has done to help other people. Her goal in life is to make people smile and save as many people as she can from the same type of tragedy she once experienced. Title: Ashen-Haired Elemental Affinity: Light, Earth(lesser), Fire(lesser) Age: 20 Race: Weretiger Hair Color: Ashen-Grey Eye Color: Pale-Purple Level: 4 Status: Respectful, Employee, Eager ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rune Lice: A former ve that managed to escape to Orario with her parents several years prior. After losing both parents, Rune ended up as a street orphan that was picked up by Terpsichore because of her unique hair and eye color. After joining the Familia, Rune worked hard to learn how to y instruments and act as a backup singer to the more capable members of her Familia. A shy and bashful girl by nature, she often ends up embarrassing herself whenever Vahn shows up at the Clubhouse. She has heard about how strong Lili is and, being a Pallum herself, wonders if Vahn might one day help her be just as strong as the hero she looks up to. Title: (none) Elemental Affinity: Wind, Water(lesser) Age: 16 Race: Pallum Hair Color: Light-Pink Eye Color: Wine-Red Level: 1 Status: Respectful, Employee, Lilis Fan, Vahns Admirer ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: If you made it this far, Im proud of you xD. There will be an AUX chapter about the LEGEND organization in the future. Since there wouldnt be much information about them right now, and it would contain a lot of spoilers, youll have to wait for a bit (UwU)...) Chapter 1 - The Beginning of the End. Part 1/2

Chapter 1 - The Beginning of the End. Part 1/2

December 31st, 1999. The whole world stands upon the precipice of a new millennia. While some look towards theing era with endless hope, others wait with anticipation towards a prophesied end. The clock ticks down towards midnight as a woman screams in pain whilst going throughbor. In the final seconds of the year, the cry of a baby is heard for the first time as the clock strikes midnight. The delivery was not easy, and the expectant motherys powerlessly on the hospital bed. Using what remains of her strength she reaches towards the Doctor who wears an expression of shock on his face. "Please, let me see my baby..." Her call breaks the Doctor from his thoughts, as he congrattes her on the new birth. After signaling towards the nurse, he exits the room to make a phone call. The nurse, wearing an expression simr to the Doctor, hands the child to the new mother. "Its a boy." she says, her voice trembling. The woman holds her child for the first time, and catches a glimpse of his face. Shock briefly seizes her as she stares at her newborn son. "My baby...w-whats wrong with my baby...". As the shock fades she begins to tremble, unable to express the anxiety growing in her heart. She begins to weep as an agony far greater than the pain brought by childbirth settles into her heart. "My child....my son..." Other than the crying voice of the mother, the rest of the room maintains an eerie silence. None of the nurses can exin the phenomenon theyve all just witnessed. The child cradled in the arms of this unfortunate mother is something beyond any of theirbined experience. Instead of the rosy skin of a newborn, hisplexion is so pale as to be transparent. You can clearly see the veins pulsing in his small limbs. Yes, they can see the blood visibly pulsing through his body with a tiny glowing heart as its source. As the crying of the new mother begins to fade, she looks into the closed eyes of her newborn son with a mixture of pain and love. "I will love you no matter what...Vahn." The baby, as if hearing the voice of his mother trembles slightly as if in acknowledgement. The glowing heart within his chest beating in a fast and strong rhythm. Through the worry and anxiety, the mother shows an affectionate smile as her eyelids begin to close. The instruments hooked up to the mother begin to sound, alerting the nurses to action. The baby begins to cry as one nurse removes him from the arms of his mother. The Doctor returns into the room with his team in an effort to resuscitate the young woman. After two hours of emergency treatment, the young woman finally s.u.mbs to the wounds sustained during the difficult birth. Thus the new era greets life with death. With the birth of the child and his unique characteristics, he quickly caught the attention of the media and Doctors around the world. Many wanted to understand the nature and physique of the child, whilst others began spreading rumors of the birth of a new messiah. After a series of tests they quickly discovered that the childs blood had a unique mutation which enabled the cells within the blood to store a previously undoc.u.mented form of energy. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the blood they were unable to store it outside of the childs body for more than 24 hours before it lost the unique properties and turned into a ck mass of particles simr to ash. The child was quarantined for further tests as the media and popce waited with baited breath for any news rted to the child. As test after test were performed and media coverage of the event began to spread globally, all news of the child suddenly ceased overnight. In an outrage at the spontaneousck of news, people began to gather en mass around the hospital in an effort to pressure the staff into disclosing what had happened. After several days, an official statement was made by the hospital administration saying that the child had been moved to a more secure facility where he would receive care from the best scientific minds in America until they were able to verify if the childs physiology was a threat to normal people. The crowd, further incensed by the turn of events began to rally together iming that the government was hiding away the child to hide an undisclosed truth. Some more radical groups even imed that the child was an alien, and the government kidnapped him to dissect and analyze his body in some secret undergroundb in the middle of a desert. Several groups began to form after the announcement. They would protest outside government institutions in several states trying to pressure politicians into disclosing information about the child. Though the media had seemingly been silenced, the inte was exploding with several conspiracy theories. Hundreds of thousands of online users began to rally together and petition for full disclosure of any information rted to the child. As months grew into years, the size of the groups increased to the point they were able to elect representatives that would allow them to gain some insight into what had happened to the child. After four years of effort and the change of a President, the popce was once again exposed to news regarding the child. They were able to learn the child possessed a mutated blood-type that emitted a unique form of radiation that was able to revitalize cells and even break down other mutations and abnormalities within the body of test subjects. Mice that were injected with the blood were able to show an instantaneous increase in vitality, with any previous gic defects seeming to repair themselves. After preliminary tests were concluded, the scientists had moved on to conducting experiments on chimps that had cancer as well as a variety of other ailments including Alzheimer and Huntingtons Disease. The team was surprised that in every instance where the blood was introduced into a patient, it was able topletely remove the ailment after just several hours of incubation. Follow-up tests showed that not only had the cancer cells been removed, but any tissue within the area that had sustained damaged from prior treatments had been restored to a healthy state. Upon hearing of these discoveries, the popce was in an uproar. Around the world cults and religious organizations began to tout the child as the son of god, the messiah, or a prophet. Many organizations began to demand that the child be turned over to their respective groups so they would be able to raise the child within the proper environment instead of ab. Other groups included the various members of the scientificmunity from around the globe. Many countries wanted samples of the childs blood to conduct their own experiments. They eventually even banded together in hopes they would be able to pressure the United States government into turning ownership of the child over to an international group dedicated to the purpose of studying other potential uses the child may have. There was even a movement to try and justify cloning, or even forced extraction and breeding of the childs s.p.e.r.m. Pressure continued to build over the years as everyone wanted ess to the child, now known globally as Vahn Mason. The child himself however had very different thoughts going through his mind.... Chapter 2 - The Beginning of the End. Part 2/2

Chapter 2 - The Beginning of the End. Part 2/2

"Where am I...?" Vahn muses to himself. "Ah, I must have passed out again." he says while looking at the machine attached to the valve on his hip. He remembers the day it was attached six years ago. The Doctors had begun to get frustrated with trying to draw blood from the veins in his arms and legs, so they had put him under and performed an operation to attach a mechanism on the left side of his hip to serve as an easy ess to the arteries going into his legs. Now instead of having to attach tubes to his arms, they just had to attach a hose to the release of the mechanism for quick ess to his blood. He often worries about the valve leaking, and if it were to get damaged if he would die... In thest few years, this thought came to Vahns mind quite often. The boy, now 14 years old, had an emaciated appearance. Though hisplexion hadnt changed since birth, still almost translucent in nature, it now had an almost unhealthy appearance. Though the Doctors put him on a highly nutritious diet and even had him hooked up to various tubes to feed a c.o.c.ktail of vitamins directly into his body, it couldnt hide the damage done by the endless experiments. Vahn sighs, "Guess Im still alive." He often nurtured the expectation that every time he falls asleep it would hopefully be for good. He had long given up on the possibility of killing himself because the Doctors were constantly monitoring his every action. Once, when he was recovering from one of the more severe experiments, he had tried to take his life by bashing his head into the wall. Unfortunately, his attempt ended in a failure resulting in the walls to now be a padded cell. In protest, he had tried to stop eating, but the Doctors simply injected him with a muscle rxer and hooked him up to an IV and nutrient drip. A bespectacled female Doctor with short brown hair spoke, "Awake are we Mr. Mason?" "Yes, Doctor Keenly. I guess Im just feeling a little...anemic." spoke Vahn with a cynical attempt at humor. Smiling, she grabs her tablet. "Thats good. Dont worry, the procedure is almost over. How are you feeling today?" she asks feigning concern. She had been assigned to me after my attempted suicide. Even though I know she isnt really my friend, she is one of the only people that at least pretends to treat me like a human. "Im feeling a lot better. I just finished thetest volume of Naruto. When can I get the next volume?" Vahn asked expectantly. He had really begun to enjoy reading manga and watching anime in previous years. Doctor Keenly had introduced him to it after one of their earlier sessions as a coping mechanism of sorts. "You really do enjoy that manga dont you? Which one is that...ah, the one with the blonde haired ninja boy, correct? I believe the request had gone through recently, so I should be able to get you the newer volumes soon. That is, assuming you do well in your uing tests." She often tempts me like this. It was discovered early on that my mental state had slight improvements on the quality of my blood during testing. Nothing significant, but one of the groups within theb had gotten a grant to observe the effects, so someone must have cared. At least I get something to alleviate my boredom. Vahn nods his head, "Yes maam. I will do my best." He gives his most practiced smile. "Very good Mr. Mason. " she says while making notes on her tablet. "Im looking forward to our session this evening. Now, if youll please excuse me Im going to go check up on the status of my shipping request. " She turns and walks out the secured door, nodding to the guards as she passes. After she leaves Vahn rests his head on the table, trying to get whatfort he can as the machines slowly drain the warmth from his body. "I hope I can get the new volume today....I guess Ill need to put in a little more effort this afternoon." he muses to himself as he once again begins to pass out. Though he used to fear "going under" now he tries his best to sleep through any procedure he can, especially the ones like this where they cycle blood out of his body. As hey back, he begins to let his mind wander to the various stories he had been reading recently. His current favorites are Naruto, Bleach, and Danmachi. He liked to imagine what it would be like to be in the various worlds, away from all the painful machines and experiments. There were even times he prayed to a god which he didnt believe in, hoping to bring an end to this endless cycle of suffering, as he was unable to do it himself. As the various images and scenarios y through his head, Vahns conscience begins to fade... (...) *insert random sounds ofbat, bullets, and moderate explosions* Awakening suddenly to the new sounds, Vahn turns his head in the direction theyre being emitted. From the door that symbolizes his imprisonment, he can hear the sounds of dull impacts and vibrations. Straining his ears, he can hear the shouts of various men and women trying to get control of the situation. "Whats going on? Those voices sound like the Doctors that are always watching me through the windows...and is that the sound of gunshots?" Instead of fear at the unknown events happening outside of his room, he feels an anticipation. He had often heard from some of the researchers about various the organizations that wanted to "save" and "free" him. ording to some of the rumors he had heard, outside of this cold and hatefulb, there were countless people that treated him like a hero or messiah. This was how he came to understand the concept of what a god was, as some of the researchers had tried to encourage him saying how much the research he was assisting with was saving lives all around the world. As he closely watched the door, he could hear the sounds getting closer and closer. After several minutes, the sounds suddenly cut off and Vahn can hear a scraping of sorts happening from outside the door. *muffled explosive noises* Suddenly the seam around the door emits a spontaneous coughing sound and a mild shock-wave which causes Vahn to wince and be slightly disoriented. As the door falls, a group of men wearing dark militaristic style clothing rushes into the room. They quickly spread out and two of the men directly approach Vahn who is still hooked up to the machine. Still slightly disoriented, Vahn looks directly at the men. "A-are y-y-you here to save me?" he stutters with anxiety beginning to build. "We are soldiers from the organization known as Dawn. Are you Vahn Mason?" One of the soldiers asks while looking over the mechanisms Vahn is hooked up to. "Yes, my name is Vahn Mason. Who are you?" he asks with excitement. The man pulls down the mask covering the bottom half of his face. "My name is Maxwell, and yes, were here to get you out of here." he says while smiling. The second man that had approached Vahn fiddles around a bit with the mechanism attached to his hip, trying to disconnect it. Unfamiliar with the device, he ends up snapping the release near the valve while detaching the tube. Suddenly, blood begins to rapidly drain from the now unblocked valve. "NO, please, what are you doing!?" Vahn screams in panic for the first time in years. All of the men in the room turn towards the now frantic boy while the man named Maxwell quickly tries to seal the wound. Due to the nature of the valve and the fact that it is connected directly to a series of major arteries he is unable to stymie the blood-flow. In a matter of seconds, Vahn begins to lose consciousness. Thest thought that passes through his mind before the darkness grabs him is how he always worried that this valve might kill him... (...) ? (You poor child.) Chapter 3 - Meeting the Goddess Klyscha

Chapter 3 - Meeting the Goddess Klyscha

In the seemingly infinite darkness, Vahns consciousness begins to stir. Memories from his life begin to cycle through like a reverse-kaleidoscope within his mind. He experiences the moment of his death once again, every single experiment he was ever put through. All the thoughts, pains, emotions, and agony which had been locked away in his mind assault him anew. He begins to scream out with a voice that doesnt exist as the phantom pain pulses throughout his non-existent body, threatening to rob him of his existence. It hurts. Key events begin to get emphasized within his mind, taking the forefront of the kaleidoscopes focus. He remembers the time where the Doctors had amputated his legs to keep him from moving around on his own. He remembers the group of scientists that tried to test his regenerative properties by cutting and burning segments of his skin. He remembers the time when he tried tomit suicide, only to have any semnce of freedom removed for his efforts. I dont deserve this. Nobody deserves this pain. As the events continue to cycle through his mind, the kaleidoscope slowly begins to dissolve from its edges. The pain which now epasses his entire being begins to dull as his mind seeks reprieve within thefort of oblivion. Why did I have to suffer so much...its not fair. The kaleidoscope now begins to fragment, shattering into segmentary images which seem to exist outside the periphery of Vahns focus. Without directly observing each fragment, he is able to let the pain cease. I should have never been born..." Vahn lets his mind wander away from the images within the kaleidoscope. He begins to look within the encroaching darkness, something that causes a fundamental fear to resonate within his soul. I shouldnt even exist...what meaning did my life have? To be used as a tool for the benefit of others...I hate them. THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONES TO SUFFER, NOT ME. The entire kaleidoscope fragments further, leaving only a few remnant images floating within the darkness. Vahn continues to stare into the abyss, developing a sense of longing to contrast the fear. He refuses to stare at the images that only cause him pain. Each image slowly begins to fade away, and with it, Vahn himself begins to fade. ...I just....wanted....to be free... Now only a single image remains within the darkness. Vahn instinctually knows that if the image fades, everything that ever defined who he was, his very existence itself, would fade into nothingness. Finally, I dont have to suffer anymore... He closes what he imagines to be his eyes and awaits theing oblivion. He feels no sense contentedness, only a solemnity far beyond anything a fourteen-year-old child should possess. ... After waiting for an indeterminant amount of time, an unease arrises within Vahn. He feels as though he had been waiting a long time, but no matter how much time passes he cannot cease to be. Within the darkness, a single image still remains, thest defining moment of his entire life. Thest bastion of the pain that defined his very existence. Finally s.u.mbing to the unease within, Vahn grits his teeth and looks towards thest image as if to acknowledge his pain for thest time. To his surprise, he sees a scene foreign to him. Something outside the scope of his memory. There is no feeling of pain, only a longing, and a feeling of loss. He stares nkly into the image where a woman in tears cradles a young infant in her arms. Everything else within the scene is a blur, but the image of the woman remains perfectly vivid within the ambiguity. He feels an attachment to this woman, unlike anything he has ever experienced. His soul seems to cry out as the feeling of longing begins to overwhelm him. "I will love you no matter what...Vahn." Suddenly, the darkness shatters, and a now crying childys on the ground bawling into a now infinite white space. He stares into the image that now epasses his entire view as the woman smiles gently while rubbing his face. He watches as the strength in her body fails her, and the gentle sign of affection ceases as her hand falls. He screams as if in a testament to the very embodiment of suffering and loss. He recognizes this woman he has never met as his mother, the first andst person that ever truly loved him. He stares into the image that now epasses his entire view as it begins to deteriorate from its edges. He screams and screams with an inhuman unwillingness to let the image fade. Mother...mother please, dont go! PLEASE, DONT LEAVE ME. He watches as the image begins to fade, reaching out but unable to grasp it until finally, the image disappears into nothingness. An emptiness far deeper than the ck abyss he previously observed settles within him. Though the image within the kaleidoscope has faded, he adamantly refuses to let the memory escape from his mind. He sits within the vast white space, tears dripping from his face, as a silent cry escapes from his throat. The image of the mother he never had the opportunity to be with the bes the only thing holding him into existence. (You poor child.) A voice sounds within the vast emptiness. Observing the young emaciated boy from above, it begins to descend upon him. (You have experienced a suffering far greater than the average soul. Please, allow me to help you.) The young boy sits, unmoving as he stares into the emptiness. The tears, now having run dry carve deep trenches within his skin. The voice, that had cried out in pain for so long, now a memory long forgotten. (Please child. You have been sitting in this space for three years now. Please, let me help you. I cannot bear to see you suffer so.) The voice sighs, unable to stir the young boy that has earned its attention. It begins to reflect upon its previous actions, uncertain if it was the correct choice to bring the childs karma to an end, resulting in his death. But the boy has been calling out to them for so long, it believed its decision to be correct. It did not expect that while the child was observing the kaleidoscopic wheel of karma that his soul would be on the verge of dissolving. To prevent his soul from being lost to oblivion, the voice had created a root to anchor the childs soul to his final memory in hopes to salvage the situation. Little did it expect that its attempt was too sessful, causing the child to be firmly attached to the memory even after it faded away. Now the child sits, unwilling to move forward, making it so that the voice itself is unable to leave this space. (...Her name was Adrianne, your mother.) For the first time, the child stirs. (She knew you know. That giving birth to you was bound to haveplications.) The child slowly turns towards the voice almost as if each words has a maic effect on his very soul. (She was very sick you see. After she became pregnant, the Doctors and her family encouraged her to get an abortion. They feared that the pregnancy itself would be too difficult, and even if she were to bring you to term it would probably result in her death.) The child now stared fixedly at the source of the voice. Before him stood a very beautiful woman? with difficult to define features. Her? hair was short and had the appearance of silvery liquid that refracted light. Staring directly into her? face was almost impossible, as the features within seemed to constantly be shifting. She? seemed both tall and short, fat but thin, and the clothing that garbed her? seemed to be fused with what should have been her? body. It almost seemed as if the body itself wasprised of feathers and dust. (Regardless of what everyone told her, she was determined to give birth to you. It was her belief that every child deserved the opportunity at life, and she was willing to trade her own to ensure you were allowed that chance.) The child seemed to draw tears from a previously expired source as he listened to the words of the woman? (She truly loved you. Even though you lived a life of suffering, you gave meaning to her sacrifice. I cannot ask you to be grateful to her, but I pray youre able to understand that your life had meaning. It was not born of convenience for other people, but out of a genuine expression of love and the desire you would live well.) The child stared at the woman as she concluded her speech, watching, waiting for her to continue. After a time, he seemed to understand she? was waiting for him to speak. He lowered his head, drying his eyes for the first time since his arrival. "Who are you?" the boy asked. The woman?, a gentle smile appearing on her? face looked to the child. (I am Klyscha, the Goddess of Dreams.) Chapter 4 - Karma

Chapter 4 - Karma

(I am Klyscha, the Goddess of Dreams.) The woman had a gentle expression as she looked into Vahns eyes. He could see infinite darkness, simr to the abyss that had encroached upon his memories previously. Within that infinite darkness was countless images like stars floating within, like an amalgamation of events creating a view simr to a nebulous gxy. (Vahn, I cannot deny you lived a very tragic existence, but know that the love and hopes your mother entrusted you will now be your power.) "What do you mean, my power?" Vahn asked in a confused manner. (You see Vahn, everything that a soul experiences in their life result in an .u.mtion of Karma. This includes all events, both good and bad. The decisions they make, even how they deal with thoughts and memories during moments of introspection. Though you experienced a lot of negative karma from others, it did not increase your own. In fact, because you were the victim of the circ.u.mstances it resulted in a positive gain for you. And I know it may have been the cause of your suffering, but your unique bloodline had resulted in a total of 1,317,042 total lives saved over the course of fourteen years.) Vahn was shocked. Even though he had learned to hate his own existence and inability to take action; even though he had med his ursed blood; even though he felt he was just a tool to be used at the convenience of others; he had in fact saved over a million people. "A million people....me?" (1,317,042! You shouldnt overlook the 317,042 lives Vahn. Each and every one of them is an entire life credited to your existence and your mothers love for you.) The child, Vahn, looks down at the empty ground, seemingly lost in thought. "I understand..." Klyscha looked at the child who seemed to be in deep contemtion. He was so small and frail...it shouldnt have been his burden to save so many people. (As I was saying Vahn, even though you may not have intentionally done so, you were able to save 1,317,042 lives. Saving a single life could generate you arge amount of positive karma, and even true heroes typically only .u.mte several thousand over the course of their entire lifetime. Because of this, youve .u.mted far more than the required karma to obtain benefits after your death. It was because of this fact that I was able to hear your prayers and summon your soul to this space when you died. Its also the reason you have been able to persist in this space for thest three years without being pulled back into the cycle of reincarnation.) Vahns ears twitched at the word reincarnation. "You mean people get to reincarnate?" The Goddess smiled at the boys interest in the subject. (Certainly Vahn. Every soul, including the bad ones, is able to undergo the cycle of reincarnation. Generally speaking, when the soul passes through what we Gods refer to as The Gate, their memories are wiped after being reviewed through the Kaleidoscopic Wheel of Karma. Depending on the .u.mted Karma the soul would then be reborn among a variety of creatures, or sometimes even inanimate objects. For those who have .u.mted a lot of positive karma, such as Heroes, Saints, and other Legendary figures, they are able to retain part of, if not all, of their memories.) (A/N: This sentence has a legendary amount ofmas) The childs eyes seem to light up somewhat, as he looked towards the Goddess with expectation. "You mean to say that Ill be able to be reincarnated, and keep all of my memories?" (Indeed Vahn. In fact, because you .u.mted so much positive Karma, there are a variety of benefits you have ess to.) "Benefits?" he asked, confused at the Goddesss words. (Yes. You see, in most cases, the cycle of reincarnation happens automatically, as it is one of the fundamental principles governing the multiverse. It is only in very rare circ.u.mstances that a God or Goddess personally overseas a soul going through the cycle. It requires the soul to have .u.mted more Karma than the grade of the soul being assessed. As youe from the Mortal ne in the 3rd Dimensional web, you are graded as having a tier 1 soul. Generally speaking, a tier 1 soul cannot .u.mte positive Karma exceeding 100,000 points.) "And how much positive Karma have I .u.mted?" Vahn asked inquisitively. The Goddess, Kylscha, showed her biggest smile yet as the images in her eyes seemed to be more vibrant. (173,419,003!) Vahn was shocked, "173 million!? I thougtht you said I only saved 1,317,042 lives!" The Goddess giggled with her hand covering her mouth. (That is indeed correct Vahn, and its good that youre including the entire number when you speak. You see, even performing a simple act of kindness to someone can .u.mte positive karma, so of course, saving a life would give you more!) "A-ah...I see. Yes. That makes sense" The Goddess fixed her demeanor and continued. (Certainly. And now let me exin the benefits I mentioned earlier. When a soul .u.mtes enough karma they are given the opportunity to meet with a God/Goddess before they reincarnate. Which god shows up depends on the desires of the soul, which in this case gives you me, Klyscha, the Goddess of Dreams! Because you had a powerful dream and constantly prayed, your voice was able to reach me. Now I can use my power to grant you a wish and give you the opportunity to select various benefits before your reincarnation into the next life. So tell me Vahn, what is your wish?) Vahn paused for a moment and began to seriously consider his options. He thought about having various superpowers like flight or the ability to walk through walls. He thought about having an absolute strength or having the power to dominate others. As various thoughts went through his head, Vahn realized that many of his desires reflected the negative experiences that he dealt with his entire life. He wanted abilities that allowed him to escape...abilities to punish the people that hurt him....abilities that would enable him to do whatever he wanted for the first time in his life... "...." (Is something wrong Vahn?) asked Klyscha, a grim expression on her face. The child looked directly at her with a deep hatred in his eyes. She could see in him, this child that has not an ounce of negative karma in his soul, an endless potential for darkness. A concern for this childs future began to deeply imnt itself into her soul...until the childs expression suddenly rxed. The darkness that seemed to permeate his entire existence seemed to have faded away, in its ce a deep loneliness. "I wish my mother were alive." said the child, looking deeply into her eyes as hope began to sprout in his. The Goddess sighed, helpless to answer the childs desire. Following this, she observed as the boy developed a solemn expression. (I am sorry Vahn, but it is outside the right of any soul to request the alteration of a soul other than their own. Even though time passes differently for entities within this space, your mother has already returned to The Gate. Everything that was her can now only be found within you. I cannot even see where she has reincarnated to, nor can I alter her fate to allow her to be with you again. I can promise you this though. Since she had given birth to you who was able to .u.mte so much positive karma, she likely achieved the level of Saint upon her death. She is likely living happily in another world with the hopes that you are living a healthy and happy life.) After her speech, Vahn seemed to rx, almost as if a heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders. "I see. I am happy as long as she is happy...The only thing I can wish for other than my mom is...I want to be free. I want the opportunity to live the happy life my mother would have wanted for me. I can ask for nothing greater." The Goddess smiled once again, with a gentle, almost reminiscent look on her face. (I am proud of your decision Vahn. I will grant your wish and give you the most powerful tool to help guarantee your freedom.) She reached into space and pulled an ancient looking orb out of the void. (This is an artifact called The Path. It is the coreprised of my divinity as the Goddess of Dreams. With it, you will have ess to all words that exist within the dreams of creatures throughout the multiverse. That includes all the anime and manga you were so fond of.) She said with a chuckle. "You mean I will be able to go to any world I want to!?" The boy could barely contain his excitement. (Eventually, yes. But, it will need time to grow alongside you. As you pass through various worlds you will be able to .u.mte strength. That strength will be transmitted into The Path and allow you more of the freedom you desire. One day, The Path may even take you to the very time and ce your mother resides.) Vahn was awestruck and couldnt even breathe for a few minutes. It almost seemed like his brain hadpletely shut off. (Your time here is almost up Vahn. The reason I had broken you from your earlier reverie was because the time avable before your soul forcefully reincarnated was approaching.) "I...I see," said Vahn. "Can I choose the world I reincarnate to?" The Goddess nodded in affirmation. (You just need to ce The Path into your heart. Once it merges with your soul it will give you the power to choose your destiny.) Vahn took the orb and ced it on his chest. Upon contact, it seemed to dissolve into his body and a warm feeling spread through his soul. (*Synchronizing with Host: 1%....37%....100%. Initializing The Path in ordance with Hosts records: 1%....19%....90%....100% *Ding* Records verified. Please confirm records by thinking key phrase Disy Records.*) Vahn could hear an artificial voice speaking directly into his head. It was a very peculiar feeling unlike anything he had ever experienced. Before he was able to inquire, the Goddess Klyscha interrupted his train of thoughts. (Your time is up Vahn. You will now be taken to the space contained within The Path. I pray you are able to find happiness in your journey.) He was shocked at her sudden announcement, but before he was able to respond- (*Detected Host within *unspecified*. Forcibly removing host to prevent dispersion of soul*) And with that notification, Vahn disappeared from the endless white void. Klyscha stood silently staring into the space previously upied by the child called Vahn. She issued a silent prayer to gods greater than herself, hoping that his journey is able to heal the wounds within his heart. (...) Chapter 5 - The Path

Chapter 5 - The Path

(A/N: *Warning* This chapter might feel like an information dump since it goes over various aspects of The Path as a system. Ill try to make sure to avoid having too many status/skill descriptions in future chapters and instead post them in thependium/auxiliary chapters. Also, for the 5 beautiful people that voted, congrats! The first world will be Danmachi! (Is is Wrong to Pick up Girls in a Dungeon!?) Next poll may include potential love interests!) Vahn felt a tugging force in his gut as the world around him seemed to copse. After a brief, albeit incredibly disorienting experience, he finally arrived in the middle of a circr dais about 3m in diameter. With the sudden urge to vomit due to vertigo he was experiencing, Vahn retched into empty space only to realize there was nothing to actually vomit. After dry-heaving for a few moments, he was able to finally re-orient himself and get a better understanding of his surroundings. He noticed that he was sitting, n.a.k.e.d, on a featureless stone dais. The biggest surprise, which had previously gone unnoticed, was the fact that his limbs were still attached. For the first time in a decade, Vahn stood up. "My legs...theyre not longer amputated!" He jumped, yes JUMPED for the first time in years, eximing loudly into the infinite void surrounding the stone dais. "I cant believe this, I actually have legs again!!!" (*Affirmative. While the physical body of the Host may have been damaged, the soul maintains the proper shape. As the Host previously existed within the Astral Realm, his body was restored to the shape of his soul.*) Vahn heard the synthetic voice within his head, almost as if it had been reminding him of its existence. "Who are you? How are you speaking into my head? Are you the voice of The Path which Klyscha gave to me?" (*I am the System created to act as an intermediary between the Host and The Path. As the Host is incapable of understanding the functions of The Path without assistance, the System was created as an auxiliary support for the Host. The system exists alongside The Path which had bonded with the Hosts soul, thus it canmunicate directly with your conscience.*) "I see, I think I understand a little. So youre going to help me use The Path until Im able to understand how to use it myself?" (*The Host can indeed interpret my existence to that extent. Would the Host like to initialize the Tutorial function?*) "Tutorial? I dont know what that word means..." said Vahn ashamedly. (*A Tutorial is like a guide or a walkthrough. It will enable the user the understand each of the basic aspects currently made avable through the System. The Host also has the option of changing the Systems name and form of address towards the Host.*) "Thank you for exining things System. Can I call you... lets see...how about Sis? I dont think you have a gender, but I always imagined that an older sister is the best type to teach things to their brothers. You can call me Vahn! I look forward to working with you in the future." A slightly more feminine, but still synthetic, voice rings inside Vahns head. (*Confirming name change from System to Sis. Altering voice structure to match the expectations of Host now referred to as Vahn. Sis also looks forward to assisting you with any inquiries you may have in regards to its functions in the future. Would you like to initialize the Tutorial Vahn?*) Vahn is slightly startled by the sudden changes in the systems voice, but is happy given its efforts. "Thanks, Sis. Please initialize the Tutorial!" (*Affirmative. Sis will now disy a list of all avable functions and their uses.*) Avable Functions: -Status: Shows a list of all numerical values that make up the Hosts physical/mental/spiritual attributes. -Skills: Shows a list of all avable skills. The host can toggle skills on an off to activate/deactivate their functions. -Shop: Shows a list of all avable items. Items disyed are dependant on avable records. -Inventory: Disys a grid that allows the Host to store items within the void. The Host can store/extract items using mentalmands. The Host can also Equip items to pre-designated slots to immediately change equipment. Inventory size is limited to the growth of the Host. -Records: Shows a list of all avable worlds and their difficulty. World difficulties range between 1-9, with 1 being mortal worlds simr to the Hosts origin universe. *CAUTION* It is highly rmended that the host avoid worlds beyond the level of his soul as it can result in a quick death! (*Vahn, you can view the specifics of each function by saying Disy *function* within your mind. It is rmended that you view your basic status before selecting a world from the list of records*) During the massive number of notifications ringing within his brain, Vahn had fallen onto his butt in the middle of the dais. He was suddenly very thankful for the existence of Sis, since it would be difficult to keep track of all this information on his own. "Thanks, Sis, youre the best." (*You are very wee Vahn.*) Vahn called Disy Status within his mind, and a transparent blue window seemed to appear within his vision. *Status* Name: Vahn Mason (temporary) Age: 0 (age does not exist in the soul state) Race: Human (soul), *sealed* Parameters: Empty outside of record Soul Strength: Tier 1 (Mortal Soul) Karma:0 Upon reviewing his status, Vahn noticed that his Karma was 0 instead of the astronomical number previously mentioned. "Sis, what happened to my Karma? Didnt Klyscha say I had like 179-million previously?" (*Yes Vahn, you previously had a positive Karmic value of 173,419,003, but it was exchanged by the Goddess Klyscha to allow you to possess The Path. The Path is a Tier 9 Artifact that has existed since the Origin. It is normally impossible for a person with a Tier 1 (Mortal Soul) to be able to possess The Path as it would ce too much burden on their soul and potentially even destroy their soul root which would remove them from the cycle of reincarnation entirely. The Goddess Klyscha seems to have imbued her Divinity into The Path to act as a limiting factor allowing your soul to activate the basic functions of The Path. Your Karma was used in exchange to grant your "wish" to have freedom. As your soul grows in strength, you have ess to increased functions and higher tier records.*) Vahn was stunned with the revtion of Sis. It would seem Klyscha put in a lot of effort to try and grant his wish. He gazes into the endless space surrounding the dais, almost as if he is searching for the sign of some presence. "I will do my best to repay this gratitude Klyscha." Affixing this vow within his heart, Vahn calls the list of records into his mind. Disy Records A list that seems to go on for an eternity begins to form in his mind, dazzling Vahn. (*Vahn, I would suggest filtering the worlds by ces you are familiar with and based on the strength of your soul*) While the list kept ever expanding within his mind, Sis seemed to throw out a lifeline. Disy Records limited to worlds I know of essible by Tier 1 souls. *Records* -Danmachi (1-4) -Fairy Tail (1-3) -One Piece (1-3) -Fate/Stay Night (1-4) -Etc As Vahn perused through the list of records, he noticed he was unable to find the world he had considered going to. Disy Records for the world Naruto *Records* -Naruto (2-5) "Oh, I didnt expect the Naruto world to require a soul level of 2 to enter. Do you know why that is Sis?" (*Analyzing*) (*It is due to the existence of the foreign energy known as chakrabined with the average difficulty of surviving within the world. As Naruto is a world with a Feudal System and Hidden Viges, there is a high probability of being targeted early on and eliminated by forces within the world who possess high spiritual power. It is rmended that you increase your Soul Strength to at least level 2 which would allow you to have an easier time cultivating Chakra and increasing your attributes within the world.*) "I see, that kind of makes sense. Thanks for the exnation Sis. Is there any record you would rmend for my first world?" (*Certainly Vahn. The Disy Records function automatically lists worlds by relevance to your current soul strength, so I would rmend the record of Danmachi. It has a base requirement of Tier 1, and if you are fortunate and put in a lot of effort you can strengthen your soul all the way to Tier 4. Keep in mind that obtaining Tier 4 would put you on the same level as the strongest beings in that world without their Divinity.*) "Hmm, but wouldnt Fate/Stay Night be a good option since it has simr requirements?" (*Though the requirements are simr, it would be difficult to establish yourself in that world without using Karma to overwrite the record of an existing character. Since you would have a difficult time having anyone teach you magic, and would be unable to take part in the Holy Grail War, it is advised to wait until you .u.mte an adequate amount of Karma before entering.*) "Wait, you can use Karma to overwrite the record of an existing character? Does that mean you would rece them?" Vahn was shocked at the idea. (*That is correct Vahn, but please note that the worlds created using records do not exist until you enter them. They remain in a form of suspended time which doesnt begin until the point you enter. Thus, assuming the role of a character would change the causality of that world without altering the timeline or events unless you directly change things. You would also inherit the memories of the character you rece.*) "So the worlds Im visiting dont exist? The people inside of them arent real?" Vahn was a little dejected at the thought since it would almost feel like he is the only living person in the universe...of course, he is currently a soul. (*That is incorrect Vahn. -------------------------------------------------------- Thus you are able to assume the role of the person within the record.*) "Wait, Sis, you skipped a part of the exnation!" (*That isnt possible Vahn. If you were unable to hear the exnation it would be due to the restriction of your soul tier. Some information that governs the foundationalws of the Multiverse cannot be exined or understood without .u.mting a variety of experiences. Once you are able to strengthen your soul, you will naturally begin to understand what I was trying to exin to you. Just know that the people you will be interacting with are as real as those from your previous world. Though you may possess The Path, it does not mean you are the Protagonist of that world. There is a real possibility that you may die depending on the actions you take.*) "I think I kind of understand Sis. I will do my best to be stronger. And I wont look down on anyone like those cruel people did to me in my previous life." (*That is for the best Vahn. Giving into negative emotions and bringing harm to others would only result in the .u.mtion of negative Karma which would restrict the growth of your soul.*) "Understood Sis. I think its time to go. It doesnt seem like I can do anything in this empty space, and Im really looking forward to the opportunity of interacting with the characters I read in the manga! I hope Im able to make a good impression on them...I dont really have any experience interacting with anyone outside theb. Well, except for you and Klyscha, which is a little odd now that I think about it..." (*Acknowledged. Would you like to use the item Beginners Package to obtain a pertinent ability?*) "Hmm? Beginners package? Whats that?" (*One of the items Klyscha had ced into your inventory before giving you The Path was a special consumable that would give you a skill that would assist you on your first world. Please note that if you do not use the Beginners Package it will be converted into the equivalent value of Karma as the skill would have been worth upon entry into the world.*) "Oh, then go ahead and use it. I hope its something that will help in the record of Danmachi." (*Acknowledged. Opening Beginners Package.*) //Obtained System Interface Function: View Affection (*Be advised Vahn, consuming the Beginners Package will activate forced transmigration!*) "!!! What!? Wait, are you ser---" Before Vahn is able to finish his sentence, he is once again gripped by a tugging motion in his stomach and forcibly transported away from the stone dais. Chapter 6 - Within the Western Forests (1/2)

Chapter 6 - Within the Western Forests (1/2)

Vahn felt his soul being pulled through severalyers of an unknown substance. It almost seemed as if had passed through various forms of liquids with different densities. As his momentum constantly increased, he became unable to breathe or orient himself as an endless multitude of colors shed through his vision. Suddenly, the tugging force in his gut returned and Vahn found himselfying in a clearing surrounded by trees. After looking around for a bit, Vahn stood up and wiped the debris that was littering his clothing. "Sis, what happened? Why did the transfer start so suddenly? You should have warned me before I used the Beginners Package!" (*Sorry Vahn, but since you had asked me to use the Beginners Package immediately after I had exined its function, I had to open it without being able to rify. Remember, my purpose is to act as the intermediary between you and The Path. I am unable to dy the execution ofmands without your consent.*) Hearing the apologetic tone within Siss voice, Vahn felt slightly guilty for ming her. "Its alright Sis. It was my fault for making the decision so quickly without asking for your guidance." (*Dont let it bother you Vahn. Would you like me to exin the current situation?*) Vahn once again looked around the area before looking down at his own appearance. He seemed to be in a clearing surrounded by trees, which he could only assume was a forest. Instead of being n.a.k.e.d, which he was grateful for, he was attired in a brown tunic with ck pants. Around his waist was a belt with a strange leather container which, upon closer inspection seemed to contain water. The biggest thing to note was that theplexion that differentiated him from normal humans was reced with a mild tanned skin tone. "Yes, Sis. Can you please exin what happened after the transfer? Why has my body changed, and where is this? Also, from now on please include any advice you believe would be beneficial to the situation. I dont trust myself well enough to make proper decisions in a new world." (*After the transfermenced, your body had to be reconstructed since you were just a soul. The Path was able to alter your appearance to match the ideal you held within your own mind, as well as reconstruct theworks within your body to enable you to use the source energy within the record. Since you disliked your previous sicklyplexion, you now possess a healthy body and what you consider a normal skin tone. Your body now possesses the ability to channel the source within this world, and if you practice you will even be able to use the magic and skills unique to this world. As for your present location, you are currently on the outskirts of the area known as the Western Forests. The Path determined this would be the safest starting location, and it puts you in close proximity to Orario which can be found 30km to the south-east. As for advice, I would rmend you take the opportunity to review your Status, Skills, and Inventory. After that finding shelter would be the highest priority.*) Vahn was shocked at the barrage of information provided by Sis. He felt like his brain was going to melt trying to organize all the information he just obtained. "Sis, Im sorry...I dont think I can remember all that," said Vahn with a tone of dejection. (*Its alright Vahn. To summarize things, you now possess a new, healthy body which fits your preferences as far as looks are concerned. Your current location is a forest near the City of Orario where the main story takes ce. Other than that, please use themands to disy your Status, Skills, and Inventory before seeking shelter.*) "Okay, Sis. Thanks for simplifying things a bit." (*My pleasure, Vahn.*) Disy Status Name: Vahn Mason Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameters: Danmachi -Level:1(0) -Power: I-40(0) -Endurance: I-70(0) -Dexterity: I-23(0) -Agility: I-38(0) -Magic: H-120(0) Soul Strength: Tier 1 (Mortal Soul) Karma:100 Upon seeing his status, Vahn frowned. "Other than my Magic, all of my other stats are low. And what are the second values for?" (*The second values would indicate the parameters shown on your Status Board when you manage to join a Familia. As you have yet to join a Familia, the total would be disyed as 0.*) "That makes sense. Why is my Magic stat so much higher than my other parameters? Ive never been able to use magic, so shouldnt it be as low as the rest?" (*That is due to The Path altering your body to allow you to exist in this world.*) Vahn continues to stare at the Status for a moment when a few things catch his eye. "Sis, why is my age set to 14? Didnt Klyscha say I had spent 3 years in that white space? And why are there two values for race? And didnt my Karma reset to 0 when I obtained The Path?" (*Since the soul is ageless, it did not change your age regardless of how much time you spent in the Astral ne. When your body was reconstructed upon entering the record of Danmachi, it let you keep the age you had .u.mted at your time of death. As for Karma, while you were able to have a value of 0 as a soul, you cannot exist in the world with 0 Karma as your existence automatically begins to alter fate around you. Upon birth, or in your case entering this world, a child would have 100 Karma. Please note that the total value of Karma includes both positive and negative values!*) Vahn was pleasantly surprised at the information. He had expected since he was going to reincarnate, that he would have to go through the process of being born and raised as a child. He didnt know how he would have dealt with being a child born into a family with the mind of a teen. "I see, thats good. At least I can start training to be stronger immediately. And are you saying that if Karma bes 0, I would instantly die?" (*That is correct, but note that it is very difficult to lose karma. Even if you decided to do bad deeds, it would still result in a gain butprised more-so of negative karma.*) Vahn nods in understanding at the given exnation. Disy Skills Though he had no expectations, Vahn was surprised at what he saw. *Skills* Chainbreaker: Rank:(S) Status increases if the wielder is bound, sealed, or imprisoned. Increase is proportional to the stress of the user and desire for freedom. Pain Tolerance: Rank:(A) The more damage the wielder sustains, the greater the effect this skill has on the mind. Does not inhibit pain, but prevents the wielder from being distracted by it. Yggdrasils Favor: Rank:(S) Your connection with the source enables you to vastly improveprehension of healing skills and abilities. Increases sess rate of alchemical products. Allows the user to imbue source energy into objects. Veil of the Traveler: Rank:(S) Prevents information about the user from being exposed by skills of lower rank without the wielders consent. Increases the effect of concealment and stealth rted abilities. *Development Skills* Spirit Healing: Rank:(D) Increases the recovery rate of mental energy and source. Wound Transfer: Rank:(B) Transfer wounds to willing targets. Increases recovery rate on target. After reading all of his skills and their descriptions, Vahn was confused. He couldnt understand how he had so many skills, given how low his stats were. "Sis, why is it that I have so many skills, and arent they very high rankingpared to my level?" (*Chainbreaker is the manifestation of your wish to live a free and happy life. When you obtained The Path it gave you an equivalent skill that should transition with you when you move to other worlds. Pain Tolerance is a result of your mental state and experiences in your previous life...I wont go into too many details for that. Yggdrasils Favor seems to be a blessing you received upon entering this record from the worlds source. It should prove to be very beneficial for you while trying to be stronger and develop a profession. Veil of the Traveler was given to you by The Path as a means of protecting your identity as a transmigrator. Though you may not have considered it Vahn, it can prove to be very dangerous if people discover you arrived here from another world. As for Spirit Healing and Wound Transfer, those skills seem to be a result of -----------------------------.*) "Ah, you omitted some information again. I guess my soul isnt strong enough to know that information yet." sighed Vahn. (*So it would seem. Im sorry Vahn.*) "Its fine, Sis. It just gives me more motivation to grow and be stronger. So, to summarize what you had said...all of my skill are a result of my past experiences, and my soul seems to have retained them after I transmigrated to this world. Other than that, I should be very careful about exposing the fact I came from another world...is that correct?" inquired Vahn while contemting the new information. (*Yes, Vahn. For lower tier worlds that have no interactions with other nes, it is very dangerous to expose information of their existence. This world seems to beprised of five different realms, but the mortal popce is only made aware of three of them. If you tried to talk about the existence of other worlds, it could invite a bacsh from the worlds Laws.*) Vahn perked up at the mention of the word Laws. "What do you mean by Laws, Sis? Is that something that the Gods made to help govern this world?" (*That is only partially true Vahn. The Laws of each respective record are things that maintain the stability of the record itself. Even the various Gods and Goddesses are bound by them, and may not even be aware of their existence. They can use their Divinity to emte the function of Laws and pass them unto lower-tiered beings though. That is the biggest difference between mortals, demi-gods, and gods within many records.*) Vahn was surprised that even the Gods of this world were restricted so much. He could understand how divulging information about his previous life and experiences could bring about great harm to himself. After mulling things over for several minutes, he makes a personal vow to keep his past an absolute secret, at least until he is able to be strong enough to break free of the Laws themselves. Chapter 7 - Within the Western Forests (2/2)

Chapter 7 - Within the Western Forests (2/2)

After cementing his new-found conviction deep within his heart, Vahn continued inspecting the functions of the The Path. He noticed there was a new functionbeled View Affection which he remembered obtaining from the Beginners Package. He decided to inquire about how its usedter, but for not focused on his Inventory as suggested by Sis. Vahn stated within his mind, Disy Inventory Within his view, he could see a grid that, after counting, contained 27 empty spaces. To the left of the grid was a very rudimentary image of a human body with a total of 13 empty spaces. There was a single slot allocated to each of the: head, neck, torso, waist, legs. And there were two spaces each for hands, feet, wrists, and fingers. He could see that everything he was currently wearing was disyed on the image of the man. Upon closer inspection, he noticed he could even view the details of the items. 3-Layered Wool Tunic (Brown) Rank: (I) Torso Armor Slots: 0 P.Def: 3 (Physical Defense) M.Def: 1 (Magical Defense) An insted tunic that provides protection against the elements. Its threeyered function gives it basic waterproofing capabilities. Common Linen Trousers (ck) Rank: (I) Leg Armor Slots: 0 P.Def: 2 M.Def: 1 A pair of trousersmonly worn by humans within the continent of Eden. (A/N: No pockets!) Tempered Leather Belt (Brown) Rank: (H) Waist Armor Slots: 2 -Decanter of Replenishment P.Def: 1 M.Def: 0 A belt made from the hide of a minotaur. Possess a moderate durability and can hold two attached items. Decanter of Replenishment Rank: (B) Auxry Waist Attachment Special Status: Indestructible A Decanter made from a mysterious entity at the bottom of the ocean. Blessed by the Goddess Amphitrite to replenish up to one liter of water per hour. Common Sheepskin Sandal (x2) Rank: (I) Slots: 0 P.Def: 1 M.Def: 1 Amon sandal that is worn by humans on the continent of Eden. Manufactured from sheepskin and hemp. Vahn was surprised, especially at the information about the Decanter of Replenishment. With it, he didnt have to worry about finding a clean water source, and if he finds containers he can fill them with fresh water for bathing. As he continued inspecting what he recognized as his Equipment, he noticed there was an icon in the bottom-right corner of each equipment slot. It looked like two arrows which were following each other to draw a circle. When he thought about pressing it... "What on earth!?" Vahn eximed, noticing the Tunic he was previously wearing was now gone, leaving him bare-chested in the clearing. He noticed that the slot was now empty with the faded image of the tunic behind it. When he thought of pressing it again the tunic immediately re-appeared. "So I can freely wear and remove the items Ive ced into the equipment slots?" (*Thats correct Vahn. Im impressed you were able to find out on your own so quickly. You should also take note of the equipment slots for each of your hands.*) Taking the advice given by Sis, Vahn noticed that there was a faded image behind each of his hand equipment slots. In the right slot, there was a dagger, while the left slot held a small hatchet. Toggling each, both the dagger and hatchet appeared in his hands. He inspected them. Common Steel Dagger Rank: (H) Slots: 0 P.Atk: 90(+10) M.Atk: 10 A dagger forged with a unique refining technique to give it increased durability. The de has been polished thoroughly to give it increased attack power. Common Steel Hatchet Rank: (H) Slots: 0 P.Atk: 110(+10) M.Atk: 0 A hatchet forged with a unique refining technique to give it increased durability. The de has been polished thoroughly to give it increased attack power. Gives an enhancement when felling wood. After reading their description, Vahn weighed each of them within his palms. The dagger was rtively light, even for Vahn, and it had an excellent bnce even though the de was about 20cm. The hatchet was much heavier, which was the likely reason for its increased physical attack prowess. He noted that the de was only about 13cm long with a thickness of around 4cm tapering into a wedge along its de-ridge. He also experimented with swapping the two items between his hands and noticed it immediately updated within his equipment slots. "This is so cool," remarked Vahn as he toggled the equipment over and over, watching as it vanished and re-appeared instantly within his hand. (*Ahem.*) Vahn was surprised at the sudden coughing sound within his mind, resulting in him dropping the dagger onto the ground. Since he was so focused on toggling the icon, he noticed that when he dropped the dagger the image within the slot vanished. Picking up the dagger, Vahn remarked, "Sorry about that Sis. Its just really cool seeing something disappear and re-appear like that. Its almost like a magic trick, and I just got distracted." In an almost apologetic sounding tone, he heard Sis reply. (*Thats fine Vahn, but remember your priorities. Right now it is around 3PM, so you need to begin looking for shelter and food before the sun sets.*) "Yes, Sis. Thank you for your reminder, but what happens when the sun sets?" inquired Vahn while looking at the bright orb floating within the sky. (*...When the Sun sets, the world bes dark making things difficult to see. Its also when dangerous, nocturnal creatures begin hunting for food. If you are unable to find shelter before the sun sets it will be very dangerous when youre wondering about, much less trying to sleep.*) Vahn was shocked at the information. Since he had spent his entire life indoors, he had never seen what the actual sun and moon look like. All the information he had about he came from manga and anime, where even though it was slightly darker everyone seemed to be able to see and move about freely. "I understand. Ill begin looking for shelter immediately! But...where should I begin searching? Ive never been in a forest before, so should I start heading towards Orario? Maybe I can find some of the characters from the story, or even join a Familia and start my journey!" As his excitement began to build, he was once again rmed by what Sis said next. (*That will be impossible at present Vahn. Even though 30km isnt that far, you wouldnt be able to make it there before the sun sets. There is also the fact that entering the city requires money, so without items to trade or barter you would be unable to gain entrance to the city. But the most important factor is that many of the characters from the story may not even be in Orario at the moment.*) "What do you mean Sis? Why wouldnt they be there?" (*It is due to the fact you entered this world without designating a point and time of entry. Topensate for this, The Path determined it would be most optimal for you to arrive here in the outskirts of the Western Forests. As for the reason characters may not yet be in Orario, that is because you are presently three years from the start of events in the story!*) Chapter 8 - First Blood : New Home

Chapter 8 - First Blood : New Home

(*As for the reason characters may not yet be in Orario, that is because you are presently three years from the start of events in the story!*) Vahn kept repeating the words over and over within his mind, unable toprehend the revtion Sis just gave him. "Sis, why is it three years? I understand its my fault for not specifying a time, but what should I do now? I dont know anything about this world outside of what I had read in the manga!" he shouted. (*Rx Vahn. The Path determined that your current strength wascking for residents of this world. As it stands, amon thug would probably be able to take advantage of and even kill you. At best you would likely be an underling or supporter for disreputable adventurers. Without having increased your own strength, it would be difficult to join and survive within a Familia. You now have three years to train before the events of the story so you can be more impactful in your decision-making.*) Vahn took several deep breaths, ruminating over what Sis had said. He understood by looking at his stats, most of his parameters were far below the records standards. There wasnt much he could do about that since he was never able to exercise or move freely in his previous life. And, since he didnt wish for any power from Klyscha, he would have to rely on his own efforts to be stronger. After thinking it over, he started to develop feelings of gratitude towards The End. It seemed to be making the best possible choices given his currentck of understanding. It also provided him with apanion he could talk to when he is feeling lonely. "I understand, Sis. The Path was right to give me this window of opportunity to grow. Even I wouldnt want to ept someone into my Familia if they were to be a burden. At least until I be much much stronger..." He begins to look around the area once again. Its his first time seeing a real-life tree, much less being in a forest. After weighing his options, he is uncertain of the best course of action. "Sis, where do you think I should go? I dont have a map, and Ive never been inside a forest. I dont know any edible nts, and the wildlife of this world ispletely foreign to me." (*The Path has a basic mapping function which includes apass. Though it can only map things within your line of sight, it will allow you topile a map within the system of The Path. I would suggest heading north. Note that when you first entered the world The Path was able to make a basic map of thendmarks in your immediate vicinity for 50km. About 2km north, you should be able to find rock formations and water, which has a high probability of providing ess to a cave which would be highly beneficial for your current situation. You can ess the map by using themand Toggle Map or Toggle Minimap.*) After the exnation, Vahn tried using bothmands. He noted that Toggle Map showed a veryrge birds-eye view of the surrounding area. He could even see arge portion of the western section of Orario, though the buildings were presently unmarked. To the north, a distance that didnt seem that far, he was able to spot the rock formations Sis had previously mentioned. Considering that much of the surrounding area was dense trees, he agreed it would be the best choice. He closed the map using a mentalmand, and then tried Toggle Minimap. Within the peripheral of his sight, he could see a circr, somewhat transparent map, much smaller than the one he had used previously. It also showed his line of sight as a cone emitting from the arrow within the center of the map. He noted that, whenever he turned to look at objects they were immediately updated on the minimap, enabling him to see their presence even when turning away. "This is going to be a useful function. As long as I have this, any ce Ive been to Ill be able to return to without getting lost. But wont this be incredibly overpowered when I finally enter dungeons?" Though he didnt mind taking advantage of all the features provided by The Path, Vahn didnt like the ingenuous feeling lingering in his heart. (*You dont have to worry about that Vahn. Many of the Dungeons within this world are simr to living creatures. They are able to change theiryout and alter their structure over time. Though you will definitely have an advantage in general mapping capabilities, it isnt to the extent where it will allow you to far exceed others. After all, anyone could draw up a map as they progress into the dungeon, it just takes more timepared to the map function of The Path.*) Vahn was convinced by what Sis had said. He also understood that focusing on the map could distract him from things happening around him. Though he could mentally move the map around using his thoughts, it did take up a part of his vision. He began walking towards the northern direction. On his way, he made sure to look around his vicinity while trying to map everything he could see. Periodically he would use the Toggle Mapmand to see therger map. He noticed he was able to zoom in on the areas he had traversed, and the area of focus now had all the details he had mapped using his minimap. Though the area of the rock formation was only 2km away, Vahn noted that it was very physically demanding to move through the forest. His clothes would constantly get stuck on the various nts and shrubbery, and he began to develop rashes around the scr.a.p.es that began to .u.mte on his arms and face. It took him an entire two hours to finally arrive at his destination, and he noticed that the sky was beginning to darken. On his minimap, he could see that the cone that depicted his line of sight had begun to shrink, and it became more difficult to map things as he progressed through the rock formations. After another half hour of searching, as the sun continued its descent, Vahn finally found a small cave near a creek. As he approached to investigate, he heard strange noisesing from the shrubbery to his left. He could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand, as a cold sickening chill crept down his spine. Turning towards the source of the noise, Vahn froze. Standing around 10m away, there stood a small emaciated green-skinned humanoid. The upper half of his body seemed to be covered in a leathery hide, while the bottom was entirely covered with dense fur. Its height was slightly under 1 meter, and its physique was simr to that of a small child. Vahn could see within its vicious red eyes a ferocity that shook him to the core. The monster, which Vahn recognized as a Goblin, looked directly into his eyes. It seemed to understand the terror he inspired as it slowly began to walk towards Vahn, waving a short serrated knife that seemed to be carved from stone. 10 meters...9 meters...8 meters...As the Goblin continued its approach Vahn stood absolutely still, unable to muster any thought of fighting or fleeing. Though he had spent his entire life in ab having horrible experiments performed, he had never been in abat situation. Though the eyes some of the researchers used to look at him were simr to the Goblin before him, it was nowhere near as vicious. Vahn knew, this Goblin genuinely wanted to kill him. 7 meters...6 meters...just as it began to reach the halfway point, Sis suddenly shouted out within his mind. (*Vahn, equip your weapons! The goblin has higher agility than you, so you have to fight back! You need to take the initiative or it will be toote!*) Vahn immediately snapped out due to the sudden exmation from Sis. Just as he was about to equip his weapons, the Goblin seemed to have sensed his change and immediately lunged at him, aiming the small knife directly at his throat. Vahn twisted his neck back as quickly as he could, raising his arms to protect his face. The goblin continued its lunge, impaling the small knife directly in Vahns left arm before pulling it away, tearing away at his flesh due to the serrated qualities of the de. Because of the sudden impact, Vahn was knocked off bnce as a sharp paining from his left arm sent rms ringing in his head. (*Vahn, you need to get up quickly. If you dont equip your weapons you wont be able to fight back!*) Vahn scrambled back, trying to right his footing as the goblin began to prepare another lunge. He crouched down, this time aiming towards Vahns torso before jumping out at with murderous momentum. Catching the goblins movements in his eye, Vahns mind felt a cooling sensation spread, seeming to dull the effects of the pain emitted from his left arm. He mentally tried to equip both of his weapons, causing the dagger to appear in his right hand while his left hand remained empty. Using the rity brought about by the cooling sensation, Vahn shifted his weight and tried to use his now disabled left arm to absorb the oing lunge. Once again, the goblins knife pierced into his already mangled flesh. It lifted its foot to try and kick off of Vahns torso, using the leverage generated to rend the knife from the arm. Vahn used the brief window before the goblin is able to recover to throw all of his weight into the small-statured creature. Taken by surprise due to the young boys movement, the goblin tried to back away and create a distance between it and the human standing before him. The moment it began to open the gap, it saw from the left side of its vision the shadow of a dagger aiming directly at its temple. Due to the previously generated momentum of its lunge, the goblin was unable to change directions in time and could only watch helplessly as the lethal strike approached. Completing his strike, Vahn fell powerlessly on the now dead goblin. The moment he touched the ground, he could feel a painful throbing from his left arm, which he was now unable to move. He could feel the sickening flow of his blood as it left his body, reminding him of the thousands of simr times he felt it in his previous life. The cooling sensation in his mind began to be more powerful, and Vahn was able to notice his heart, which was previously beating rapidly due to the flooding of adrenaline, was now beginning to slow. As hey on the ground atop the corpse of his first kill, he began to take deep an heavy breathes. He knew that Goblins were among the weakest creatures in this world, and had he failed tond the blow at the expense of his left arm he most likely would have died, bringing an end to his journey before it even started. He began toment at his powerlessness, as a fierce desire to be stronger awakened deep within the core of his being. Mustering what strength remained in his body, Vahn stood up, hunched over. He began to hobble towards the entrance of the cave, praying that the interior might offer him safe haven through theing night. He followed the entrance and continued onwards for about 20 meters before the cave suddenly opened up. Vahn noted quickly that the cavern was about 8 meters in diameter, and the walls were studded with small crystals that emitted a weak light which brought a mild illumination to the dark interior. Vahn cuddled up next to the brightest crystal in an effort to use its light to examine his wound. Suddenly, his thought process was once again brought to an immediate halt. As he looked at the blood dripping from the wound on his arm, Vahn couldnt help but feel a peculiar sensation, like butterflies within his stomach trying to bore their way out. The blood dripping from his arm was a deep crimson...a stark contrast from the pale golden colored blood that haunted him in his previous life. Inspecting the wound, he could see through the mangled flesh severed blood vessels and tendons, which helped exin why he was now unable to move it. "Luckily the knife was small and didnt break any bones..." (*Yes, but you need to wash the wound and apply pressure quickly. Goblin daggers are usually unclean, and the wound they cause, if left untreated could fester and even result in death!*) Vahn followed her instructions as he flushed the wound using the Decanter of Replenishment. He also made sure to drink several mouth-fulls himself to prevent passing out and developing a fever due to dehydration. As someone who was very experienced with dealing with blood loss, Vahn knew several of the important steps in treating wounds. It was just the fact that others typically dealt with any injuries he sustained that caused him to slightly overlook it. After cleaning and dressing the wound using a strip he had cut from his tunic, Vahn found a rtively t area within the cavern toy down. He noticed that the crystals within the cavern not only produced light, but they also emitted a very moderate amount of heat which kept the interior of the cave warm. As hey back staring at the top of the cavern, he began to fantasize that each of the crystals was the various records within The Path. He imagined traversing through the worlds, bing stronger, meeting both friends and enemies, and eventually even finding his mother... As he began to drift off into unconsciousness, one final thought came to Vahns mind which he felt an urge to speak aloud. "Im dying...blehh." (*RIP*) -THE END- (A/N: Just kidding~Next part is the real quote.) "Im home..." he whispered into the cavern as sleep overtook him. Chapter 9 - Training Begins

Chapter 9 - Training Begins

Vahn awoke several hourster with a powerful lethargy settled within his body. It was simr to the times when he was very young and the Doctors had been a little too ambitious and had drawn too much blood from his body. "How long have I been asleep Sis?" (*Its been 14 hours Vahn. It is currently 8:21 AM.*) "Fourteen hours..." sighed Vahn as he made an effort to stand. It took several tries, but eventually, he had managed to upright himself, albeit with a lot of difficulties. He put his hand along the cavern wall and began to make his way towards the exit. *noises made by a stomach when you havent eaten a single bit of food your entire current life* Vahn removed his hand from the wall, leaning his body against its cold surface. He uses his free hand to massage his stomach in an effort to soothe its hunger pangs "Sis, what do you think I should do for food. With my injured arm, I dont think Ill be able to hunt easily. I need food to recover my strength or my arm wont heal easily." Mentioning his arm, Vahn took a better look at it. He noticed the blood hadnt spread nearly as much as he expected. Perhaps the waterproofing qualities of the tunic managed to stimy the flow of blood (*I would rmend picking various nts and berries. One moment...Ive marked areas on your map that you had passed previously. Though I cannot say at present which are edible, The Path is able to analyze and identify the properties of items ced within. It may take time for higher quality items, or items that possess magic, but it should be able to easily identify if something is edible.*) Vahn sighed, this time with a bit of relief in his voice. "Thats great Sis. It makes sense that The Path would be able to make up for myck of survival skills and information. Though the fact my inventory can analyze items seems pretty incredible, the fact it shows descriptions of my equipment should have been an indicator of that capability." He makes his way out of the cave and looks towards the area where he had previously in the goblin. The body seems to have vanished overnight, and the only evidence of his mortal struggle was the small knife, a dull crystal that emitted a small light, and his blood which had dried into the ground. Vahn walked over, once again drawn to the presence of his own blood. He noted that it had not turned to ash, even though it had been outside of his body for so long without being stored. Most importantly is the fact that the blood, like the stains on his makeshift bandage, was a deep crimson red. "Sis, when my body was reconstructed, was my blood changed as well?" he inquired after thinking of the best method to ask. (*That is not entirely correct Vahn. Though I cant go into the details of what exactly happened, your blood still possesses simr qualities to what you had in your previous life. The primary difference is the existence of source energy within this world, whereas your previous world had nothingparable. Eventually, your blood will dissolve into dust, but the process will take much longer since the source energy maintains its vitality for an extended duration.*) Vahn was somewhat disappointed with her response. He had hoped that the changes to his body would make him normal... Noticing his demeanor, Sis remarked: (*Vahn, the uniqueness of your blood isnt something to be ashamed of. It is the fault of those that tried to use you for their own convenience that has caused you to feel this way. Remember, your blood is something that only exists because your mother had been willing to birth you even knowing it would likely result in her death. You should see your blood as the embodiment of her love for you, and use it and all its benefits to assist you in your growth.*) Startled, Vahn raised his head and looked towards the sky. Gripping his hands, he cursed inside himself at his weakness even though he had sworn to be strong. "Youre right Sis. They used my blood to do whatever they want, but now I have the opportunity to use it as I see fit! I will show them their foolishness, by living freely and saving even more people than their cruelty allowed!" *hyper-aggressive omega tier stomach rumbling sounds* With a blush on his face, Vahn began to move into the forest to investigate the areas marked on his map. After gathering several different types of herbs, nuts, and berries, the system had managed to identify those that were edible. Since he had no methods to create a fire, he was forced to use stones to crack the nuts so they could be digested. It turns out, eating with a single hand is quite difficult, but its amazing what youre able to do when starving. Vahn spent until 5 pm solely gathering any interesting or unidentified items he could find. He even collected various types of rocks and minerals in hopes the system would be able to analyze them over time. His progress was halted periodically since he made an extra effort to investigate his surroundings before moving on. He knew that if he were to be attacked by a monster at this time, it would likely be thest fight before his death. Eventually, he made his way back to the cave before sunset and took note of the days harvest Disy Inventory Small-sized rock x 3, Medium sized rock x 1, Acorns (3kgs), Apples x 49, mulberries x 103, tayberries x 98, Unkown Mineral x 1, Unknown Mineral x 1, etc... He was grateful that the inventory allowed him to store simr items within the same slot. It was only when the object had unique qualities that it seemed to separate them, such as in the case of the unknown minerals. He was also informed by Sis that items within the inventory didnt spoil, which was his original motivation for collecting so many different things. He was also able to fashion a sling for his arm after cleaning and changing the bandages. To his surprise, when the bandage was removed he was able to clearly see that it had begun to heal. There was also a slight tingling sensation traveling through his wrist, and when he made an effort he was able to wiggle his fingers slightly. After inquiring with Sis, he learned that it was due to the secondary effects of his blood,bined with the skill Yggdrasils Favor. Even though he hadnt learned any healing skills, it was able to enhance the effects of his blood and elerate his natural healing. After scanning his body, Sis even informed him that his blood hadpletely prevented any possibility of infection from urring, something which he should have known from his previous experiences. It seemed like Sis had been a little fl.u.s.tered at the time when she had urged me to tend to the wound, and that thought made him a little happy. After 10 days Vahn was surprised to learn his left arm hadpletely recovered. Now there was just a light scar tissue as the only proof the wound ever existed, and even it had begun to fade. Confirming he had stored an adequate amount of food during the 10 days, Vahn started considering methods to be stronger. "Sis, is there any way I can improve my stats without fighting monsters? I dont want to have to sacrifice body parts just to be able to kill a single goblin." (*I would rmend converting the crystal you had obtained from the goblin, as well as the iron and copper ore you had found into Origin Points.*) Before he could ask, Sis continued. (*Origin Points, or OP for short, is the currency that can be used to exchange for items using the system function Shop. Please note that not all items can be converted into points, and converting items that do not belong to you requires a great deal of time and will result in the .u.mtion of negative karma.*) Vahn nodded his head in response. "I dont want to rely on stealing from others to grow strong anyways. People that take advantage of others are the type I hate the most, so I want to avoid bing a person like that." Disy Shop Simr to when he had used the Disy Records function, a seemingly infinite list of items and their cost began to appear within his mind. Without being prompted, Vahn quickly made a mentalmand to only disy items suitable for his soul tier. He noticed in the top left of the screen a value called OP, which was currently disyed with a domineering 0 points. After sorting through his inventory a bit, he found the only items that could be converted through the shop were the crystal and ores previously mentioned by Sis. After asking, Vahn learned that the shop used the source energy found within the objects to create the Origin Points. After using a mentalmand for the exchange, the items turned into a dust so fine that it seemed to vanish into the air itself. The crystal had been exchanged for a total of 17 points, while the ores both sold for 5 OP per kilogram respectively. Since he had .u.mted a fair amount over thest ten days, he managed to have a total of 47 points after the exchange concluded. After setting a filter for items that could improve his strength that cost less than 50 points, Vahn was annoyed to see the list was still veryrge. "Sis, what should I exchange for using my points? I need something that can help me grow stronger in a short period of time to remove the risk to my life while living in this area." (*Many of the items in the current list can only increase your stats for a short period of time. Some of the stronger ones even have side effects that could damage your foundation, which would make it harder for you to grow stronger. I would rmend you exchange 30 OP for three vials of body-tempering liquid. You should also exchange 15 OP for a Beginner Close Quarters Combat Techniques Manual. The remaining two points can be saved for now, or you could exchange them for Simple Linen Mat and cracked firestone to make living in the cave morefortable.*) "Okay Sis, I trust your judgment. Please purchase all of the rmended items, including the mat and cracked firestone. (*Acknowledged...Purchaseplete. Items have been automatically added to your inventory Vahn.*) Vahn looked into his inventory and read the description of each item, as he was unable to see any information prior to the purchase. This is also the reason he was unaware of the temporary, and even negative effects of some items. Body Tempering Liquid Rank: (D) Use: Can be mixed into bath water. Soaking in the water after strenuous training elerates recovery speed and promotes the strengthing of bones and muscles. *Caution* Causes immense pain. He shuddered a little bit at the causes immense pain description. Beginners Close Quarters Combat Techniques Manual Rank: (E) Use: Gives the user knowledge about close quartersbat techniques and auxiliary body training methods. The mat and firestone were self-exnatory, but Vahn was confused by how to use the techniques manual. After inquiring about it from Sis, it seemed to be a consumable item that could be ced into his chest simr to The Path. Upon using the manual, a rush of information flood Vahns mind. Images of various people performing martial arts and training cycled through his vision for roughly two hours until he passed out. Unfortunately, he was unable to use the mat he had just purchased and ended up sleeping on the hard floor... After awakening the following day with a mild migraine, Vahn organized the information in his mind and decided to put it to use. He asked Sis to create a training regiment that would allow his body to improve unterally. After reviewing it for about half an hour, Vahn was satisfied as it had ounted for his rate of growth and became more difficult as time progressed. He spent the first week performing basic physical exercises and stretching routines. He would awaken in the morning at sunrise. After half an hour of stretching, he would begin running around the around thergest rock formation in the area for about an hour. Though he wasnt able to run quickly, he noticed that his stamina was increasing rapidly due to the effects of his blood on his recovery. After finishing his run, he would bathe in a pool he had dug from the main flow of the creek. He had filled the pool with various crystals he had dug out of the cave, so it always maintained a moderate temperature even in the mornings. Following his bath, he would begin foraging in the woods to increase his food store, since Sis had warned him about the dangers of winter. Around noon he would begin his real workout. He spent another thirty minutes stretching before lifting rocks of different weight and moving them between two circles he had drawn out on the ground. The circles were 20m apart, and the exercise didnt end until he managed to move all the rocks from one point to the other. After this, he would bepletely exhausted, and all the muscles in his body would protest against each movement. Fortunately, with the Pain Tolerance skill, he was able to work through the pains and finish the exercise. Using some of the points that he had obtained by trading in various ore found within the creek, Vahn had managed to buy a metal basin which he stationed outside the entrance of the cave. He had originally wanted to use the body tempering liquid in the pool he had dug, but Sis informed him that the essence would drain through the rocks into the ground. After emptying one of the vials of body tempering liquid into the basin, the once transparent water became turbid and evil boiled slightly. Using his leather belt as a gag, Vahn would submerge himself into the basin. The moment his foot touched the liquid, it felt as if the blood within his body became thick, stagnant, and heavy as lead. Gritting his teeth, he continued to submerge his body as the feeling spread to each area the water came into contact with. By the time the liquid had reached up to his neck, his body had begun to convulse slightly as a result of the pain racking his body. It was at times like this that Vahn actually hated the Pain Tolerance skill because even though it prevented the pain from distracting him, it actually made the experience worse since he was able to easily focus on the pain as it spread. He would periodically submerge his head while holding his breath, repeating the process over and over until his body was able to absorb the full medicinal effects of the liquid. Vahn continued this process for the entire 10 days until Sis informed him that the body tempering liquid would no longer have an effect. He would have to buy higher quality medicines if he wanted to continue, but she advised against it since building a foundation using medicines could lead to problems in his growthter on. Vahn was fine with this, as no matter how much time he spent in the basin it never got any easier. Disy Skill Pain Tolerance Pain Tolerance Rank: (S) The more damage the wielder sustains, the greater the effect this skill has on the mind. Does not inhibit pain, but prevents the wielder from being distracted by it. Gives a slight increase to attack power based on pain threshold. Chapter 10 - Hunting : Second Blood

Chapter 10 - Hunting : Second Blood

As the body tempering liquid had lost its effect, Vahn was curious as to how much his body had grown within the ten days. Disy Status Name: Vahn Mason Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameters: Danmachi -Level:1(0) -Power: I-40(0) -> H-146(0) -Endurance: I-70(0) -> G-203(0) -Dexterity: I-23(0) -> I-95(0) -Agility: I-38(0) -> H-153(0) -Magic: H-120(0) -> H-130(0) Soul Strength: Tier 1 (Mortal Soul) Karma:108 Though it had only been twenty days since his arrival in this world, Vahn was happy to see many of his stats had increased by more than 100 points, with the exception of his Magic. His hard training was able to bring at the full effects of each use of body tempering liquid which was able to increase each physical parameter by 10 points if used with maximum efficiency. His daily running and weight contributed to the remaining gain. Vahn was now ready to move on to the next phase of his training. He would rece his early morning regimen with hunting. It had already been several weeks since his arrival in this world, and surviving on nuts and fruits wasnt exactly satisfying. Since he now had a firestone, he was determined to hunt some small game to obtain meat. He also thought it would be a good method to make money before he entered the city since he would be able to clean the furs for barter. He had now saved up a total of 29 OP, which he had used 10 to exchange for a manual on basic trap making. Using 9 of the remaining points, Vahn bought several small traps and wires to set up in the various small trails that lined the forest. He then exchanged thest of his points for a new bow. Sun-kissed Yew Shortbow Rank: (C) Slots: 1 P.Atk: 60+150(x30) M.Atk: 0 A small bow made of flexible yew wood. It had undergone a special ceremony during its crafting which causes it to emit a gentle warmth a smell simr to sunlight. Twined Steel Arrow x30 Rank: (D) Slots: 0 P.Atk: 150 M.Atk: 0 Arrows forged from steel that have been twined around a yew shaft giving them both flexibility and prative power. Vahn was grateful that purchasing the bow had given him arrows. Immediately after he had made the purchase, he thought of the possibility he would have to collect more ore before he would be able to make use of it. The best thing about the arrows was that he was able to assign them to the slot of the bow within his Equipment slots allowing him to immediately nock an arrow with a thought. Using his newly acquired skills and equipment, Vahn set out into the woods around his home. He tried making sure all of the traps were within 200 meters of his camp, so he would be able to check them periodically throughout the day. As it was still early in the morning, the sun had just begun to crest over the trees, casting long shadows through the misty forest. Vahn stalked patiently through the woods, looking for areas that seemed to have heavy animal foot traffic. He wasnt ustomed to hunting, but with the assistance of Sis he was able to quickly identify the best locations using the analytical ability of The Path. The best part of it all was that he was able to clearly mark where he hadin the traps using his the marking function of his minimap. After another hour or so, as the early morning mist began to dispurse Vahn found his first target. About 30 meters from his position, near the edge of a clearing, sat a rabbit nibbling on a nt Vahn had previously identified as alfalfa. He slowly crept towards the rabbit while holding his breath, trying to conceal his presence as best he could. As he closed in on the rabbits position, it almost felt as if he had begun to blend into the environment around him, and even his thought process started to fade, bing one with the forest. In this peculiar state of mind and being, Vahn was able to close to within 10 meters of the rabbit without startling it. Slowly...he got his bow into position and nocked an arrow with a simple thought. He took aim at the rabbit and held his breath, bringing his focus to its absolute limits. He pulled back the arrow and in a single smooth motion, let it loose at his prey. *sound of arrows whistling far off the intended course* The rabbit was startled by the sudden interruption to its meal and immediately bolted into the nearby bush-line. "A man, I got so close and still missed!" eximed Vahn as he fell onto his butt feeling defeated. (*Of course Vahn. Not only have you never fired a bow before, but youck the training and skills to be able to hit small targets at a distance. You should set up targets near home to .u.mte experience. There is also the option of trading in for a hunting techniques manual once youve .u.mted more OP.*) Hearing her reminders, Vahn couldnt help but agree that he had been a little too hasty. After spending about twenty minutes looking for the arrow that had flown astray, Vahn returned to his camp and added archery training to his mid-day regimen. The same afternoon, Vahn had trekked back into the forest to check if any of his traps had been triggered. As he had previously marked them in the map, it was a rtively simple job to locate them. The first three traps had been empty, so Vahn had to reset them. It may have been that the creature wasrger than the trap could hold, or something was able to move through the snare without getting caught in it. On his way to check the remaining tracks, Vahn was brought to a halt by a noise that seemed toe from the direction of one of his snares. He began to slowly stalk towards the trap in anticipation of his first catch. Once again he began to feel as if his body was blending into the surroundings, and he was able to easily approach his destination without drawing attention to himself. Finally, he was able to clearly see what was caught in the trap... Standing slightly under one meter, with its leg stuck in the snare was a goblin. The wire used in the trap had dug deeply into the flesh around its ankle, and the goblin seemed tock the intelligence required to escape. Vahn could feel his pulse begin to elerate, as thoughts of his previous encounter with the goblin emerged from the back of his mind. He knew the danger such a creature posed, even though it was one of the weakest in the entire continent. Fortunately, this goblin didnt possess a knife simr to thest one, or it would have cut the wire to aid in its escape. Releasing a sigh, Vahn moved even closer to the goblin which seemed to be aware of his presence as it looked towards his direction. The goblin began tosh out,pletely ignoring its still snared leg and tried to lunge at Vahn. The snare tightened, pulling the goblin directly into the ground once it had been stretch taut. The goblin began to struggle, repeating the process of standing and falling while continually trying to lunge at Vahn with its characteristic viciousness. Vahn approached within a single meter of the goblin, just out of reach of the range of its lunge. He slowly drew back his bow with an arrow already nocked, aiming directly at the head of the goblin. Perhaps realizing what was about to happen, the goblin ceased its struggling and looked up at Vahn, an unforgiving hatred preset within the gleam of its eyes. Releasing the arrow, it prated directly between the still ring eyes as the body of the goblin spontaneously turned to dust leaving behind a small crystal in its wake. Picking up the crystal, Vahn released a repressed sigh. This encounter with the goblin was far different than his previous struggle of life and death. He had been in control of the entire situation, and even though the goblin was trapped, Vahn was able to face it directly and ovee the fear that had settled in his mind. Looking into the now silent woods, as the sun began its decline towards the horizon, Vahn added a new goal within his training menu. Other than hunting game, he would begin subjugating the various monsters that could be found within the forest. He wanted to be strong enough that he was able to face them without having to rely on traps. Knowing that it was a necessary step if he ever wanted to sessfully venture into the dungeon, Vahn began to walk towards the next set of traps...and towards the future that he had decided upon.... Chapter 11 - The Result of Six Months : Quest

Chapter 11 - The Result of Six Months : Quest

After ying his second goblin, Vahn began to train in earnest. As the days stretched into weeks, he slowly became limated to the lifestyle of a hunter. The meat and furs that he obtains were beginning to pile up in his inventory, and he had even sessfully in 37 goblins over the course of six months. Though many of the goblins he came across were alone, there was a time when he was fighting where three other goblins had arrived to assist the one he was already engaging. After suffering several injuries, Vahn managed toe out ahead and slew all four goblins triggering an unexpected event to ur. //Quest Function Triggered// [Quest: Destroy the Goblin Tribe] Rank: (D) The presence of goblins has been on the rise in the Western Forests. They have be a threat to hunters, and have begun to wander from the forest into neighboring viges resulting in the loss of livestock. Find the source of the goblin scourge before further damage is done! Rewards: Complete activation of the Quest function, 1x Effigy of the Hero, 1000 Origin Points. Failure Condition: Death, Goblin Chief escapes, 7 days pass. (Remaining time: 6D23H57M) Penalty: Quest function will be sealed until triggered again. -100 Karma Vahn was surprised at the sudden notification but decided to look into it after he had secured his safety back at the cave. (A/N he is still injured after the fight with four goblins) Along the way, he had inquired with Sis about why the quest was suddenly triggered. (*You have grown much stronger in the past six months. This,bined with the fact you had ovee your limits in the previous fight made The Path trigger the activation of a new function. As youve been ying Goblins as your primary targets, it issued a mission that suited your present strength.*) Vahn contemted this revtion before asking, "Does that mean I can activate more functions just by growing stronger? I thought I would have to increase the tier of my soul to be able to acquire more." (*That is correct Vahn. The Path is constantly analyzing and trying to help facilitate your growth, so it will make more functions avable when it determines you are ready. Note that the strength of the functions themselves is limited by the tier of your soul though.*) "Ah, that makes sense." Vahn had noted over thest six months there seemed to be restrictions within the existing functions. One example was when he thought about buying items from records of different worlds, they cost a great deal more than items that can be found in his present record. There seemed to be an exception for some consumables, but for unique objects and items, they required an astronomical amount. He remembered looking into purchasing a Zanpakuto *sealed* and was shocked when he noticed the price was 130,000,000 OP. Awakened versions or the various releases noted in the anime cost even more. The most expensive being the leader of the Gotei 13, Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryuusais Ryjin Jakka that cost 3,700,000,000 Origin Points! (A/N: Thats a lot of OP) It seemed as if hed have to rely on himself to grow stronger, but now with the existence of the Quest" function, he had a bit of hope kindled within his fighting spirit. After making his way to the cave which he called home, Vahn sat on the bed he had purchased a few months ago. It had a queen sized mattress and was made out of a very unique foam, unlike anything he had experienced in his previous life. He thought beds were just hard surfaces with minimal cushioning, so he was quite surprised when he had purchased the current one through the system! Disy Status ========================================================== (A/N: Im putting the bar to make it easier to differentiate beforemon text. Let me know if you think its distracting!) Name: Vahn Mason Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameters: Danmachi -Level:1(0) -Power: H-146(0) -> E-540(0) -Endurance: G-203(0) -> F-461(0) -Dexterity: I-95(0) -> F-407(0) -Agility: H-153(0) -> E-519(0) -Magic: H-130(0) -> G-299(0) Soul Strength: Tier 1 (Mortal Soul) Karma:209 ========================================================== Observing his Status, Vahn began to understand why The Path decided to trigger the quest so suddenly. He had grown a great deal over thest six months, and several of his parameters were approaching the point where he should level up. Vahn knew that stat growth typically became harder as you .u.mted experience, and it took aplishing something beyond your present level to gain the acknowledgment of the world before reaching the next level. Fortunately, his parameters werent the only thing to increase in thest six months as his skills had grown alongside them. Early on he had purchased a Beginners Archery Techniques Manual. After a month of serious practice,bined with his growing hunting capabilities, he managed to acquire the skill Bow Mastery. Bow Mastery Rank:(F) Increases uracy when equipped with a bow. Provides slightly enhanced vision when the user focuses. He was also able to identify the source of the weird feeling he would get when trying to sneak up on creatures. It turns out his Veil of the Traveler, which enables him to have increased efficacy for concealment and stealth abilities, allowed him to acquire the skill Stealth. Stealth Rank:(F) An active ability that allows the user to conceal their presence. Prolonged use of the skill has diminishing returns. These two skills had made hunting much easier. Vahn had even used his newfound prowess to kill several goblins before they were even made aware of his presence. Since the quest indicated the existence of a tribe there should be a vige which they inhabit. He believed proper use of these two skills would be the most significant contributing factors if he wanted toplete the quest. "Sis, do you have any idea where the goblin vige might be? Ive pretty much mapped every nook and cranny within 1km of the cave and I dont recall seeing anything that might indicate a tribe is in the area." (*Yes, Vahn. You can bring up both your map and the quest log at the same time. If you pin the quest to your map, it will disy an approximate location of your target once you gain enough information. As you continue to investigate within the region, the indicators on the map should shrink until you are able to determine the exact location of the tribe.*) "Oh, thats amazing," said Vahn as he disyed both functions side-by-side. He could see a giant red circle disyed on the map after pinning the quest. It seemed to be an area towards the southwest which epassed various hills and rivers. "It seems to be in the same direction where I fought the four goblins. Im guessing they were members of the tribe...but why is the indicated zone sorge?" (*Typically, goblins arent prone to travel in groups. They usually wander alone until the emergence of a Chief or King. Even with the presence of a Chief, however, they will often move around to several camps as they forage for food and other resources. The Chief himself should be in the area near the river, and its most likely that thergest group of goblins can be found here.*) Vahn was a little annoyed with this information. He would have to explore arge area to eliminate all the smaller groups before moving on to therger group near the river, assuming it was there to begin with. His biggest priority was to kill the Chief though. He would have to identify it among all the normal goblins and try his best to take him out without drawing the attention of therger group. "Is there anything unique about the Chief that would separate him from other goblins?" he inquired hoping for any information that could prove useful. (*I have never seen a Chief, but all of the stronger goblins you had in possessed a varying number of horns and weapons. Based on the evidence, the goblin Chief will likely be the biggest within the group. He should also have multiple horns and be the most heavily outfitted.*) Vahn couldnt help butugh. Everything Sis said was pretty self-exnatory, but it made sense. He would have to make his own judgments about which goblin was the actual Chief. If he could not deduce it on his own, he would just have to kill them all... Chapter 12 - Preparation : A New Bow

Chapter 12 - Preparation : A New Bow

Vahn spent the remainder of the evening preparing his items and equipment. Maintenance was something he regrly performed on his gear ever since he noticed the physical attack power going down when the des began to dull. As an experiment, he used a whetstone he acquired from a record called Monster Hunter which allowed him to bring his equipment to maximum sharpness with just a few strokes. Unfortunately, the whetstones were single-use items but he managed to determine that they even worked on his arrows increasing their physical attack by 10% to a total of 165. "Hmmm, Ive managed to .u.mte 306 points over thest few months. Sis, what do you think I should buy to increase my chances ofpleting the quest? I was thinking of purchasing some defensive gear, or maybe something to enhance my stealth capabilities." (*At present you arent strong enough to be able to fight arge number of goblins at the same times. Increases your equipment may offer you more protection against attacks, but it would also restrict your movements and weight you down. Since you dont have any experience moving around in full gear, I would advise purchasing clothes that provide camouge in the forest. You can also consider upgrading your bow and relying on ranged attacks to eliminate as many goblins as possible without directly engaging them Lastly, you should consider potions that increase your parameters, or items that can instantly recover wounds and stamina.*) "I understand." Vahn focused in his mind and had the system filter for bows that cost under 200 OP. Though there were several options, he couldnt decide on which would be the best as the system couldnt give him information on an item until he purchased it. "Sis, what bow should I buy from this list? Can you tell me any that have unique capabilities, or those that provide high offensive output?" (*I cannot see the stats of the items, but I can use The Path to determine which have positive and negative effects for you Vahn. Give me a moment and Ill use The Path to analyze which options may be most suitable for the current situation...*) After several seconds a *ping* sound could be heard within his head, and the previously extensive list had been reduced to a total of three options: Windstryder Shortbow 200 OP, Enforcer Longbow 180 OP, andstly Runic Tempered Yew Shortbow 200 OP which should be a direct upgrade for his current equipment if the name was any indicator. After contemting the three choices, Vahn chose the Runic Tempered Yew Shortbow as it seemed to be the most suited to his current skills. He had never used a longbow and didnt have any confidence in hitting targets beyond 20m, so he was able to eliminate the Enforcer Longbow. As for the Windstryder Shortbow, he assumed it had something to do with the wind element which should increase the speed and pration of the arrows, but he wasnt willing to gamble on it. Confirming his decision within his mind, a small green, almost weightless bow appeared in his hands. It was slightlyrger than his previous bow, but the weightlessness made it feel a bit strange within his hands. Observing more closely, he could see dark gold engravings carved along the spine of the bow. The bowstring seemed to have been made of a dark xen material that was dyed the same color as the engravings. Runic Tempered Yew Shortbow Rank: (B), Magic Slots: 3 P.Atk: 0+0(x30) M.Atk: 0+0(x30) A yew bow bathed within the sap of a sacred tree for 10 years absorbing the essence contained within. The runes engraved upon the bow are a catalyst to allow magic to be imbued with the weapon increasing its output. Runic Tempered Bone Arrows Rank: (B), Magic Slots: 0 P.Atk: 0 M.Atk: 0 Arrows carved from bones that had been soaked within the sap of a sacred tree for 90 days. The engraving along the shaft allowing the wielder to channel energy within the bolt to drastically increase prative power. At first, upon seeing that the bow he spent his precious points on had 0 attack value, Vahn was devastated. As he continued reading the description, that devastation quickly turned to exuberance. "THIS THING IS AMAZING," he eximed causing an echo to sound within the cavern. He stared nkly at the arrows, trying his hardest to focus on channeling his energy into one of them... After several minutes sweat began to appear on his brow as he eyes began to turn bloodshot from having been kept open for so long. As the frustration began to build within his mind, Vahn experienced a burst of inspiration and decided to inquire with Sis on how to channel his energy. (*Typically, you would learn to channel energy through meditation and diligent practice. Given the time constraints, its fortunate you had obtained the skill Yggdrasils Favor upon entering this record. You can channel source energy, which is the highest form of energy in this record, directly into the bow and arrows. You just have to have the intent to use the skill and enough focus to keep it active.*) Exhrated by the response, Vahn immediately tried doing as instructed. Grabbing one of the arrows he willed himself to activate the skill Yggdrasils Favor. He could feel a sucking motion simr to having his blood drawn as the source energy was imbued into the arrow. After about two seconds the arrow had begun to glow along the shaft until the energy began to .u.mte within the arrowhead. The longer he kept his focus the brighter the arrow seemed to glow, so he looked at its description to confirm. He could see the previously 0 values for both physical and magical attack increasing in value over time. He observed as the initial value, around 100 or so, continued to climb beyond 500 after about five seconds had passed. As he continued channeling more and more energy into the arrow the value began to approach 1000. *sound of an arrow disintegrating* The moment the arrow seemed to break the 1000 attack value it disintegrated into a series of golden particles which caused a small shockwave of air to push Vahn back onto the bed. "It seems like 1000 attack is the limit before it breaks the durability threshold of the arrows. Fortunately, I didnt try the experiment with the bow or else I would have lost 200 points." Vahn began to sweat thinking of the terrifying implications. "At least they are significantly stronger than the previous arrows. Ill need to test their efficacy on the targeting range in the morning before I set out. Ill purchase some more arrows and consumables...any suggestions Sis?" (*There are various healing potions of different grades avable from this record. Though my analysis indicates the most reliable healing source amongst the records you know of should be called a senzu bean. They can be purchased for 50 points each within the shop, and can quickly recover both health and stamina within a short period of time. Please be advised they also seem to have a moderate side-effect by over-drafting the bodies natural healing properties so it could cause damage to your growth if overused.*) Vahn was excited at the thought of using the mystical beans from the record of Dragon Ball. He remembered how the heroes often used them to save people on the brink of death, and even as a mild exploit to ovee some difficult situations. Using 100 of his remaining points Vahn purchased two senzu beans and then withdrew one of them from his inventory. It was a rtivelyrge bean simr to the fava beans he had discovered growing within the wilderness north of his cave. Lifting the senzu bean to his nose, he noticed it had a rather pungent odor though it didnt seem to really leave the surface of the bean like most smelly things. He had to bring it really close to his nostrils before the smell hit him, and he began to sweat thinking of how such a thing might taste. Resolving to do his best to never find out, Vahn returned the beat to his inventory and began making preparations for bed. He cleaned the wounds he had sustained earlier using disinfectant he had purchased through the shop. After taking a bath using purified water, he applied medical paste and dressings to the wounds before retiring to his bed. He knew that his blood would prevent any infection from spreading, but didnt want to take the chance of catching some foreign or magical disease unique to this world. He began to count the stars on the ceiling of his cave. It had be one of his routines over thest few months to help fall asleep. By now he had already determined there were exactly 238 stars and had even begun to assign various records to them within his mind. Settling his eyes on one of the more unique colored stars which shone red, he assigned the record of Naruto to it. Using that thought as inspiration Vahn allowed himself to fall asleep...imaging what it would have been like if it had been his first world...and what he would be able to do once he visited in the future.... Chapter 13 - The Hunt Begins

Chapter 13 - The Hunt Begins

Awakening the following day, Vahn immediately set about his final preparations for the quest. Since his inventory had long since been filled with misceneous items he had stored many of the non-perishable goods near the back of his home. As a means of self-preservation, he was now filling his inventory with the various traps and gadgets he had been using during his hunts. He figured he couldy them along the path and if things got dicey he would be able to safely retreat. There was also the possibility any goblin chasing him could fall victim to the traps, giving him an edge should things go awry. Leaving the cave, Vahn noticed the sun had yet to rise. The morning was cool and he could feel a refreshing breeze blowing in from the north-west. Confirming the time with Sis, he realized it was only 3:40 AM which would give him ample time to make his preparations and scout the goblin camps. He moved towards the range he had established outside his home. There he had ced several targets at varying ranges between 10 and 50 meters. As a means of experimentation, Vahn decided to use the bone arrows with his older bow. He wanted to see how much damage they were able to do without the enhancements of his new bow. After his experiencest night he determined he was able to inject source energy that could increase the damage output of his arrows by around 100 points in both physical and magic attack respectively. Nocking an arrow, Vahn pulled the bow to its maximum allowance while simultaneously observing the changing attack value through the system interface. It seemed as though the conversion was taking longer than the previous night which he assumed was a result of actually trying to fire the arrow instead of just holding it. As the arrow began to approach 1000 attack, Vahn released the arrow at the target 10m away. The arrow seemed to have turned into a beam of light as it tore through the air and pierced the target. It continued to travel unhindered for several meters until it disappeared into the treeline in the distance. Vahn waspletely shocked at the prating power of the arrow and began tomend himself for his selection the previous night. Without searching for the arrow he had just fired, Vahn inquired with Sis about the time it had taken to charge the arrow to its maximum potential. He learned that instead of the 10 seconds recorded the previous night, it had now taken 17, almost twice the previous amount. Moving on with his experiment, he now decided to use his new bow using his old arrows. He didnt know the safety limits of the bow, but since the attack power of bow was typically much lower than the arrows themselves he decided to limit it to 100 points. The new arrow itself was plenty powerful and he was unwilling to risk breaking what could be the key topleting the uing quest. He nocked the arrow into the new bow and began channeling source while observing the change in its stats. He noticed that as the attack value increased it became increasingly difficult to keep the bow fully drawn. Given the increased size, it seemed to take much more energy to increase the strength of the bow so Vahn began to worry about the efficacy of its use. After approximately 7 seconds the value finally reached 100 in both physical and magical attack. Loosing the arrow, it flew silently towards the 20m target (the 10m target got destroyed). Upon contacting the wooden support the arrow prated about 3/4 its length into the log. It was significantly weaker than the previous arrow but had the added benefit of flying almostpletely silent. Looking down at the bow in his hands, he noticed the runes on its surface were still emitting light which caused him to investigate it through the system. Though the bow took much longer to supply energy to, it appeared to retain the energy for a longer period of time as Vahn noted the attack values slowly decreasing. Pleased with his discovery, he moved on to his final test using both the Runic Tempered Yew Shortbow and Runic Tempered Bone Arrows together. He noticed that it was impossible to split his focus between both the bow and arrow, so he experimented with channeling source energy into each of them and seeing how fast they lost the charge. The arrow lost energy almost instantly since the runes along the shaft seemed to only serve the purpose of funneling the energy into the arrowhead. As soon as the supply stopped the energy would begin to rapidly disperse. As he had expected, it seemed theplexity of the runes on the bow gave it a far greater ability to store energy aspared to the arrows. He charged the bow to around 110 attack power before switching his focus to the arrow. After about twenty seconds the arrow was fully charged and he noticed the bows attack had only decayed by eight points. Increasing his focus to the limits, Vahn took aim and loosed the arrow towards the target 50m away. Compared to the first experiment which produced an exceptionally loud sound, the arrow now traveled almost silently which Vahn assumed was a hidden property of the magical bow. Almost immediately after that thought crossed his mind, the arrow made contact with the target and easily pierced it through, continuing its journey unabated into the woods beyond. Traveling through the woods with a practiced pace, any observer that had known the boy previously would be shocked with how smoothly he transitioned through the various obstacles. He kept a steady pace and generated very little sound as he moved unhindered, a far crypared to the many scratches and abrasions he had acquired on his initial treck through the forest. Satisfied with the result of the three tests Vahn decided to rest and eat breakfast. Though he had only fired three arrows it had begun to cause a dull sensation in his mind which Sis informed him was the result of exhausting arge portion of his internal mana. After breakfast, he finalized his preparations and began heading towards the south-western direction where he could see a river indicated on his map. With any luck, he would be able to scout the area and determine the location of the Chief before making preparations to engage. After about twenty minutes of travel, Vahn had covered a distance greater than the 1km perimeter he had set up around the cave he called home. Shortly thereafter he finally reached the border indicated on the map and began to slow his pace to increase the efficacy of his observation. He decided to scout areas on the map that had clearings or otherndmarks as his experience with goblins had shown they prefer to loiter around open spaces. He continued his search for several hours without finding a single mark but wasnt disturbed since he had been using the opportunity to increase the detail in his map. As he progressed continuously towards the river which Sis suspected of housing the Chief, he would move in a zig-zag pattern cing traps and tripwires periodically. Eventually, around 500m from his destination, Vahn finally encountered his first group of goblins. They had established a small camp near the remains of arge tree. Judging by their demeanor Vahn assumed they were acting the role of scouts or an advance guard. Their presence indicated that his thoughts of a vige or nest being nearby was highly likely Instead of immediately engaging the goblins, Vahn decided to wait for about half an hour as he slowly scouted the perimeter of their camp. His prior experience with the goblin ambush had left a shadow in his heart, and he wanted to make sure there were no unexpected surprises waiting for him if he failed to kill them quickly. His intuition had proven correct as an additional pair of goblins had shown up twenty minutester to join the previous three. It almost seemed like they were performing a change of the guard as two of the goblins left the way the others just arrived. He contemted whether or not he should follow the two, but he didnt want to leave a path of escape that was popted by goblins. He waited for ten or so minutes for the newer goblins to settle in and made his final preparations as their guard began tox. Using his stealth skill he was able to creep within 15m without drawing their attention. As they were simple goblins he had decided to eliminate them using his normal yew short bow instead of its magical big brother. Lining up his first target Vahn loosed an arrow while immediately using a mentalmand to nock a second while the first was still in flight. With practiced movements, he drew back the bow and took aim as the first arrow prated directly through the eye socket of his initial target. The other two goblins turned towards the direction of theirpanion and in the short period they were both stunned, a second arrow mmed into the neck of the goblin furthest away. The final goblin, as if being startled awake from a nightmare, immediately turned and ran while howling towards the sky. It seemed as though he was trying to call for aid as he fled the scene of carnage. Unfortunately for it, he just so happened to flee in the direction of one of the tripwires Vahn had previouslyin. As the goblin fell and tried to scurry back along the path, a third and final arrow pinned him to the ground. Quickly gathering his spoils, Vahn retreated 100m away from the campsite and tried to find a vantage point to observe the response of any approaching goblins. Ten minutester a squad of nine goblins came running towards the camp where Vahn had just in three of their brethren. Finding the camp empty they began to rage and disperse around the area trying to find the perpetrator. Because he had set various traps in the area, Vahn was satisfied to observe the two goblins had sustained heavy injuries when their legs got caught in bear traps. Other than that a few others just tripped over the wires he had spread out before the entire group gave up around an hourter. Leaving behind three members, the remaining four carried the two injured goblins back along the path towards where Vahn assumed their main camp was located. "It took around ten minutes for them to respond, and the entire group came running. Sis, can you analyze the distance a group of goblins could run and try to mark the most likely area in the direction they headed on the map?" (*Certainly Vahn. Analyzing data...please confirm the coordinates on the updated coordinate on your map.*) Confirming a new area had been highlighted on the map, Vahn gathered what traps he could before making his way home. The sun had already risen high in the sky, and he wanted to return before darkness arrived as it would be unwise to engage any patrolling goblins during the night as they possessed some degree of night vision. After retreating about 200m, Vahn had a moment of inspiration as he faced towards the direction of the goblin camp... Equipping his magic bow and arrow, Vahn took aim and channeled a fully charged shot at the distant silhouettes. Loosing the arrow, he turned to flee before confirming if it had hit the intended target. On the goblins end, they were all on high alert waiting for the reappearance of the enemy that had attacked the camp previously. They had spread out a bit and moved around investigating any sounds or suspicious movement that caught their eye. Thergest goblin among them had even climbed the rotting tree to try and get a better vantage point. Looking into the distance he saw a golden sheen which seemed to immediately growrger within his vision. Before he was able to understand what was going on darkness imed his mind as the golden light prated entirely through his brain... Chapter 14 - Difficulties

Chapter 14 - Difficulties

Vahn continued to scout the area around the marker for the goblins vige/nest. Over the course of three days, he had killed a total of 18 goblins in various different camps causing an increase in their security. Camps began hosting groups of 5-7 goblins instead of the original three. Vahn began to worry as he hadnt expected such arge goblin presence and his strategy to slowly whittle them down began to seem unfeasible Once, when he tried to prate through the outer perimeter and scout the location of the Chief he ended up nearly getting killed by a group of patrolling goblins. Though he had avoided several groups up till that point, he was caught off-guard by sentries stationed in various elevated positions. When they had spotted him they raised a cry that caused the patrolling goblins in the vicinity to congregate towards his position. He managed to fight his way out of the encirclement, but it wasnt without a cost. Due to the severity of his injuries, he was forced to eat both of his senzu beans during his retreat. Fortunately, he had acquired several crystals from ying other goblins which allowed him to purchase an additional three as well as two new pieces of equipment. Handloomed Shadowsilk Tunic Rank:(D) Slots:2 P.Def: 1 M.Def: 30 A tunic that was caringly woven using the silk produced by a special variant of silkworms nurtured in darkness among strong sources of Yin energy. Though it provides little defense, it greatly enhances stealth capabilities. It carries with it the creators desire that the protector is kept from harm. Scouts Ghillie Mantle Rank:(F) Slots:0 P.Def: 2 M.Def: 0 A special mantle constructed to emte the varying types of foliage found within the different forested terrains. When the user remains idle they are almost indiscernible from their surroundings. After recouping his supplies, Vahn made his way into the forest using his new equipment. As a means of countering the goblin patrols, he had purchased several anti-personnel mines which he had scattered along their patrol routes. After triggering many of the mines, the goblins ceased their patrolling and began to consolidate their forces towards the river. They had even begun to dig into the area near the treeline exposing the dirt and ground below. Seeing the actions they had taken, Vahn was surprised at the intelligent actions they disyed. Compared to many of the monsters he had seen in the manga, which were mindless creatures that charged endlessly at the protagonist, these goblins disyed caution and tactics. They proved they were capable of adapting to different situations. Vahn ended up refunding some of the mines, though he still buried the majority along the treeline for future use. The main reason he hadnt refunded them all was due to the fact the refund only gave 30% of the spent resources which caused him to abandon the idea. It was on the eve of the fifth day that Vahn finally spotted the Chief. Unlike the majority of goblins who stood less than a meter in height, the Chief was nearly 1.5 meters and had the build of an average a.d.u.l.t. The leathery skin of his torso had scale-like protrusions embedded along the epidermal tissue. It had several horns studding its head with two muchrger ones above both temples. Its lower body had bristle-like furpared to the normal thick coat of other goblins. Its two most notable features, however, were its eyes and the staff he wielded... Unlike the ferocious red eyes of normal goblins, the Chief possessed pale yellow eyes that showed signs of rationality and intelligence. He almost had a look of contempt as he ordered the other goblins in the area. Within its right hand, he held a staff that looked to be rigged back together after having been broken. Vahn could see the periodic glow of runes along the body of the staff, and the asional sparking from the crack near the top of the staff. Vahn assumed the staff had been taken from an adventurer which implied the Chief was either able to cast magic or was strong enough on its own to fight against mages... The vige which the Chief lived in was more of an encampment than anything. They had erected small huts almost as a mockery to humanity and civilized culture. Within the encampment were more than 100 normal goblins, as well as threerger ones which seemed to take turns guarding the Chief and enforcing its order. They were each wielding long flexible clubs which they used to periodically whip the smaller goblins to action. The entire vige seemed to havee alive as the goblins scuttled about building soil embankments as a makeshift wall around the encampment. Vahn could tell that the longer he waited, the more difficult it would be to engage the Chief. He knew going head-on would be impossible due to therge disparity in numbers, and there was a high chance even if he tried to attack from a distance the Chief would deploy its troops while staying in the back. The distance between the treeline and encampment was around 130m, but there was absolutely no cover in that entire gap. Though the open space would provide him an advantage in picking off any goblins within the area, he wouldnt be able to guarantee his uracy without getting closer which would leave him exposed. The goblins seemed incapable of using bows, but it didnt stop them from throwing small stones with enough force to cause physical harm if they hit the right spot. It had been one of the more annoying things when dealing with the sentries mounted in trees. He began toying with the idea of firing random arrows into the encampment and try to lure out small groups. Kiting them into the forest would give him the terrain advantage making it easy to secure some simple kills. Even if the goblins stopped their pursuit after triggering the mines he would be able to take advantage of their retreat. If he had more time he could slowly whittle them down and turn the engagement into a war of attrition. He looked at the time remaining for the quest: 2D03H17M Two days wasnt enough time to force them out of the encampment. There was also the chance they could start to cannibalize the weaker goblins, as they wouldnt disperse into dust unless a lethal strike was performed. "Sis, do you have any ideas? I cant think of anything that would allow me to fight a group of one-hundred-plus goblins and survive. Not to mention I havent even identified how strong the Chief himself is..." (*Im sorry Vahn, all present data indicates you will be unable to break into the encampment with your current status and equipment. If you had more Origin Points there may be a solution in the shop, but your current OP value is only 43. It would be difficult to acquire enough points within the next 50 hours that would give a meaningful advantage in the current situation.*) "Its okay Sis," sighed Vahn. "I suppose Ill have to rely on myself toe up with a solution...please let me know if you think of anything though. At this point, anything could prove helpful." (*Understood. Ill keep running simtions to try and find a solution as you take further action.*) Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn began to withdraw towards a secondary base camp he had established near the goblin encampment. It was in the same hollowed rotting tree where he engaged the first group of goblins. After the events of the first day, it had be an area the goblins proactively avoided. Blocking off the area near the stumps entrance, Vahn began to rest while trying toe up with a solution to breaking the encampments defense and drawing the Chief out... He began to mull over various ideas and strategies, even revisiting the idea of firing random shots just to reduce their numbers. Anything to change the status quo of the current situation would give him more options to make further ns. He also thought about trying to sneak near the encampment at night to bury some mines, but upon remembering the goblins possessed some degree of night vision he scrapped the idea. As the light began to fade, Vahn started nodding off due to the excessive thoughts guing his mind. He was unable to find the solution and figured tackling the idea with a fresh mind would be the most optimal choice. "First thing tomorrow morning Ill try to draw some of the goblins out of the encampment. If Im lucky Ill be able to reduce their numbers below one-hundred..." he sighed at the thought there would still be more than eighty, including the Chief himself, remaining. As he began to finally slip into unconsciousness, thest thought that passed through Vahns mind was a method on how to break the embankments the goblins had been building up. As sleep imed him, he released a small expectant smile. Chapter 15 - *Spoiler : Title at End*

Chapter 15 - *Spoiler : Title at End*

Awakening before dawn, Vahn began to put his n into action. After putting a filter on the shop, he was able to find the item he was looking for. Small Explosive Charge (10 OP) Rank:(E) Aponent used in the making of anti-personnel mines developed by Russian Scientist Neil Vankhov. The explosive yield is equivalent to 10MJ (10 sticks of dynamite). Dissatisfied with the idea of simply kiting a few goblins out of the encampment, Vahn hade up with the idea of pestering them thoroughly over the course of the entire day. Once the goblins retreated further into the camp he would be able to attach the explosives to magically charged arrows and bombard thergest concentration of goblins. If he was lucky, he would even be able to dealrge amounts of coteral and potentially injure or kill the Chief. He slowly made his way towards the encampment and dug up several of the mines along the treeline. It was a very dangerous and harrowing experience given the sensitivity of the mines, but he managed to finish without triggering any of them. After renting them in a funnel-like fashion with only a few safe paths of retreat, Vahn ate breakfast. He didnt know if he would have any opportunities to eat while harassing the goblins, so he made sure to enjoy a full meal. Starting a fire near his secondary campsite using firestones he managed to roast a rabbit he had hunted previously. Though his inventory kept items from spoiling, he enjoyed the process of cooking and eating as it was very ther.a.p.eutic to him. Noting the sun had risen above the horizon Vahn checked the remaining quest time: 1D17H12M. He now had less than two days remaining, but with luck, he would be able to finish the quest before the days end. Though he assumed the goblin Chief was much stronger than normal goblins, he did not believe it would be able to tank ten sticks of dynamite to the face. Returning to the treeline near the encampment, Vahn finished his final preparations by setting up several tripwires crisscrossing the areas around thendmines. Satisfied with his setup, he skulked just behind the trees closest to the clearing. Given the 130m distance between the encampment and the goblins speed, it would take them more than twenty seconds to close the gap towards his position. With his maximum firing rate, he was confident in being able to eliminate up to one goblin every second. Hopefully, they would send arge group to try and attack him which he would then be able to kite into the mine-infested woods while retreating. Vahn spent several minutes observing the goblins as they went about their construction. He noticed that they had erected arge structure within the night, presumably to house the Chief and his cronies. At present, the Chief couldnt be seen, but the presence of two of his henchmen indicated that he was within the building. Vahn contemted trying to bombard it immediately but decided it would be beneficial to wait until he dwindled down the number of smaller goblins. Before determining if the Chief was inside therger hut, it would be a mistake to use the explosive arrows. The goblins had shown an ability to adapt to new situations, so they would likely spread their forces out after his initial attack with the explosives. He wanted them to try to fortify and group together, or at least wait until he had eyes on the Chiefs location. Drawing his bow to a full arc, Vahn held his breath trying to bring his focus to the limits. He took aim at one of the Chiefs cronies as he began channeling energy into the arrow. Though he had practice hitting targets at 50m consistently, it was the first time he would be trying to hit a moving target at more than 130m. He was hoping the increased flight distance and prative power of the magic arrows would make up for theck of skill... After twenty seconds had passed Vahn loosed the arrow. It flew with a terrifying velocity as it drew a golden line through the air. Within moments the arrow smashed into the leg of therge goblin severing the limb from the thigh down. Though it hadnt hit the head as intended, Vahn was still satisfied with the result as the shout from therger goblin drew the attention of the entire camp, including the Chief. (A/N: I know its been a while since the MC doesnt talk to anyone, so note that the following is a perspective shift!) The goblin Chief exited his tent and began to look around at the chaos and disorder that had taken over his minions. A grim expression appeared on his face when he saw his chief executorying on the ground howling at this loss of his leg. Angered at the incident, the goblin Chief looked towards nearby goblins and used anguage unique to their species to inquire about what happened. The small goblin looked in fear at its mighty leader and exined that a beam of light hade from the forest and cut off the leg of the executor. Seeing the dissatisfied and grim expression that appeared on the face of the Chief, he quickly bowed down and continued to affirm what he had seen. The Chief looked between the groveling minion, his wailing executor, and finally, the forest where the bush demon had been attacking his tribe for thest six days. It seemed as though no matter how far they retreated from the forest, the demon was not satisfied. It continued to pursue them further and further and even incorporated a strange magic that caused the earth to erupt beneath his minions as they patrolled the forest. Ever since the Chief had devoured a dying mage and stole his broken staff, he had been much stronger than his frail kin. He had begun to believe he was special and unique among his kind, and even forcefully took over the various small groups of goblins until he was able to build his vige along the river. With time he had intended to destroy the nearby human settlements and expand his vige into a Kingdom, and from there continue to spread until it grew into an Empire! However, fate seemed to envy his prestige and glory. Soon after he had picked the area to beginying the foundation of his n one of his patrols had disappeared. The Chief had assumed they had met a bear or another more powerful creature and died due to carelessness. His brethren were weak, so a few losses were well within his expectations. He could not imagine that this incident, which he had belittled at the time, would be the prelude to his approaching nightmares. In the days to follow, the bush demon had slowly encroached upon the outer perimeter he had established with great difficulty. It had begun to slowly eliminate each three goblin camp in the area. As it never seemed to attack therger groups, the Chief had ordered to increase the camp sizes to seven, with two always patrolling between the other camps. He also stationed sentries within the trees as none of his scouts had gotten sight of their invisible killer. His order paid off almost immediately, a testament to his brilliant mind. Unfortunately, his minions were unable to prevent the unknown assant from escaping. After the engagement, his scouts reported that the creature seemed to be covered in a strange fur simr to the shrubbery that dotted the forest. It was capable of moving quickly between the trees, and even when his men dealt reportedly fatal damage to the monster it seemed to recover almost instantly. By the time of its escape, the creature now known as the bush demon had in more than ten of his minions before disappearing into the forest like a ghost. His scouts tried to give pursuit, but the ground seemed toe alive beneath them and an additional five lives were lost in the process. Though the Chief was displeased with the result, he was secretly terrified at the existence of such an irrational creature. He could not understand why the bush demon had been targeting his minions, even to the point he had to recall all of his sentries from the forest. He had even ordered for his minions to clear away all of the shrubbery and debris between the vige and the treeline to discourage the bush demon from further antagonizing them. This order had seemed to work, as there had been several hours since thest attack of the bush demon. The Chief had foolishly begun to hope that this prolonged nightmare hade to a close. As he stood there contemting the events of the past week, the Chief weighed his options. He could send his minions into the forest and try to flush out the demon which would likely allow it to im more lives with its devious magic. Other than that he also considered ordering his minions to begin trying to cross the river and escaping into the wilds further south. He knew there were several small viges in the direction, and he would be able to build a new kingdom in and far away from this demon. He looked towards the river and began to earnestly consider retreat. Even though the idea of fleeing was something that went against his pride as a superior being, his minions were still weak and he had to ensure their survival in order to build his kingdom. As the Chief continued to hesitate, he became distracted by the continued wailing of his previous executor. In his fury, he turned towards the delirious fool and used the magic provided by his staff to incinerate the weakling. He observed as his previous executor thrashed about in a futile attempt to extinguish the mes. Surrounding him, his minions looked towards the incident with fear and awe which further inted his ego. With a gruesome smile on his face, he prepared to order his subjects to ford the river so they could seek paradise and security away from this cursednd. The Chief raised his staff towards the sky and readied hismand, only for a beam of golden light to fly in his direction. Using his quick reaction time, he managed to intercept the beam using his staff as a contemptuous smirk appeared on his face. *BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!* That was thest sound the Chief ever heard as a searing wave engulfed his body and darkness imed him. Title: A Single Decisive Arrow Chapter 16 - Rewards

Chapter 16 - Rewards

Vahn stood stark still beyond the treeline observing the effects of the arrow he had just released towards the Chief. He was momentarily unable toprehend the turn of events that had just taken ce. Though he had originally nned to thin the goblin tribe down and make use of the explosive arrowster that day, he was caught off guard by how the encampment had responded. Instead of immediately charging towards his position, the goblins seemed to enter a chaotic state which only escted with the emergence of their Chief. Vahn noted the Chief was acting in a peculiar manner outside his initial expectations. He noted the demeanor of the Chief to be one of indecisiveness and scorn. For nearly a minute it just stood in the same spot observing the chaotic state of the encampment as it likely ruminated over the next course of action. It was during this period of time that Vahn decided to change his n. If the goblin Chief was just going to stand there aimlessly, why not try to eliminate it now instead ofter? Vahn readied his magical bow and arrow, this time charging the bow beyond the safety threshold he had decided upon. He allowed the runes to absorb enough energy to bring the bows attack to a value of 200. Vahn noted that the string of the bow had begun to glow, and it became increasingly difficult to draw to its apex. Taking aim at the Chief, Vahn began charging his arrow to its maximum potential. Moments before it reached a full charge, the Chief broke from its absentminded state and used the magical staff within its possession to burn therge goblin that was struggling on the ground. Its expression turned to one of hate and maliciousness as it watched one of its subordinates struggles. As the Chief raised the staff towards the sky, Vahn loosed the arrow that had now reached capacity. The arrow traveled with a speed far greater than any of Vahns previous shots, and he held his breath in anticipation of the impending result. The goblin Chief, as if sensing the iing projectile used the raised staff to intercept the arrow along its flight path. It disyed a look of satisfaction and contempt at having seeded... *BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!* With an expression attesting to its sessful defense still fixed on its face, the Chief and every goblin within 15m were consumed by the explosion triggered after contacting the arrow. As they had all been previously observing the Chief as it burned therge goblin, the remaining tribesman stood awestruck at the aftermath of the explosion. Their once revered Chief who inspired both fear and respect among their kin had been reduced the nothing more than pulp before their eyes. The staff which had be a symbol of his power nowy embedded within the walls of thergest hut of the encampment in a shattered state. They continued to stare for a brief moment, as the remnants of their Chief turned to dust along with several of their kin including the remaining executors. Broken from their stupor, a chaos far greater than their previous state returned to the tribe. They began to flee in all directions, many of them choosing to jump into the rapids of the river adjacent to their encampment only to be imed by the current. Some of the bolder ones had elected to avenge their fallen Chief and ran towards the ursed creature that had imed so many of their kin. Vahn stood amongst the treeline observing the spectacle caused by the explosive arrow he had loosed upon the goblin Chief. He observed as they fled in random directions and began to fear he would fail his quest as a result of being unable to eliminate the tribe in its entirety. Just as this thought crossed his mind several notifications sounded in his head. He took a quick nce and had noticed it was congratting him forpleting the quest, but he had to dismiss it to engage the thirty or so goblins that had begun to charge towards his position. He began to enact his original n to eliminate the goblins as they approached his location and managed to take out more than half before they forced him to retreat deeper into the forest. Continuing their mad charge, the remaining goblins were rapidly dispatched by thebination of anti-personnel mines and archery. After less than ten minutes of actual fighting, all of the berserk goblins had fallen. Vahn quickly gathered what crystals he could find before observing the goblin encampment once more. At this point, the majority of goblins had fled leaving a few that had been injured as a result of the earlier explosion. Vahn slowly approached the now abandoned site and dispatched all the surviving goblins. After a cursory nce in all of the decrepit mud structures, the only spoils Vahn could find were fragments of the broken staff, the Chiefs crystal, various small crystals, andstly a book that had been kept within the Chiefs pound. The staff had beenpletely splintered into threerger fragments and various smaller parts which Vahn did his best to collect. The crystal obtained from the corpse of the Chief was muchrger than a normal goblin, around ten centimeterspared to the usual one-to-two. After consulting with Sis, she spected it could be exchanged for around 230 points, nearly 23x the amount of a single small crystal. She had also encouraged him to keep it within his inventory, as it could prove a useful item to trade in once he entered the City. Agreeing with her rmendation, Vahn stored the crystal and inspected the book. The book was muchrger than any book he had ever seen. It was even bigger than the textbooks provided for Vahns education in his previous life. The outside of the book seemed to beprised of a kind of aged leather that had been embossed with golden leaves, vines, and runic symbols. The cover disyed arge golden tree with various gems iid to represent fruits. Curious to its contents, Vahn tried and failed to open thetch holding the book closed. "Sis, do you know what this book is? Why am I unable to open it, even though it doesnt have a lock?" (*I am unable to determine the origin of the book or its uses. I would rmend leaving the book in of your inventory so it can be analyzed by The Path. As for being unable to open the book, it could be the result of a magical spell or enchantment.*) Storing the book, Vahn left the goblin encampment towards his home. Along the way, he took the opportunity to inspect the notifications that had popped up after the slew the Chief. //Quest Complete// [Quest: Destroy the Goblin Tribe] Status: Completion rate 100%, Grade: SS Rank: (D) Rewards: Complete activation of the Quest function, 1x Effigy of the Hero, 1000 Origin Points. Grade Rewards: Skill: Call of the Reaper (B) [Complete quest without being seen by the Boss], 50,000 Origin Points [Grade Reward: S], 1x Skill Enhancement Scroll [Grade Reward: SS]. //Quest Function Permanently Avable// Vahn was surprised at the grading and grade rewards. He hadnt expected to obtain any bonuses when he had decided to eliminate the Chief with his explosive arrow. Curious about the new skill and various items, Vahn vegan to inspect each of their descriptions. *Skill* Call of the Reaper Rank:(B) Attacks dealt from stealth deal an additional 300% damage. Your attacks carry the aspect of death, calling victims unseen into its silent embrace. Failure tond the blow removes stealth and reduces parameters by 50% for 30 minutes. Cooldown is reduced to 5 minutes if the user is able to re-enter stealth status. *Items* Effigy of the Hero x1 Rank: (S) Use: This effigy is automatically consumed by its owner when they take otherwise fatal damage. Upon consumption, the effigy transfers all wounds from the owner unto itself. The effigy will begin to burn for three minutes increasing all parameters of the owner by 3x for the duration. After three minutes the effigy turns to ash and the owner enters a dormant state for 3 hours. Skill Enhancement Scroll x1 Rank: (A) Use: Can be used to increase the rank any skill by one rank. Cannot be used on skills Rank: A or higher. Vahns eyes went wide at the three descriptions. Call of the Reaper would give him incredible benefits if he decided to pursue the path of stealth. Effigy of the Hero was essentially a life-saving item that would allow him to turn a perilous situation around, and the Skill Enhancement Scroll would be very beneficial for any B ranked skills he acquires in the future. He contemted using the scroll the enhance Call of the Reaper but decided to put it off until he was able to understand the skills potential. Since he had just acquired such arge amount of Origin Points, Vahn could learn a plethora of new skills that could prove to be of greater use in the long run than a skill with high requirements and a downside. If anything he could use it to increase his Bow Mastery which had increased from Rank: (F) -> (D). With a bit more effort he was confident in being able to raise it to B in the future. Vahn finally arrived back at the cave around noon and decided to celebrate his triumph by roasting a boar he had hunted several weeks ago. He had kept it in his inventory since it seemed to require a lot of effort to prep, but now it felt like a simple task as Vahn began to feel like he was capable of aplishing anything. As the day began toe to a close Vahn sat around the campfire enjoying the roasted boar. He thought about thest six months he had spent training, and how much he had grown since his arrival in this world. The quest, which he thought would be immensely difficult ended up gettingpleted with rtive ease, with ample rewards to show for his efforts. He opened his map and began to look towards the direction of Orario, the ce where his journey would officially begin. With various thoughts passing through his mind, Vahn decided to retire to bed early that night in anticipation of theing day. With thepletion of the quest, he believed he was ready to take his first steps along The Path... Chapter 17 - Entering the City

Chapter 17 - Entering the City

For the next week, Vahn spent the majority of his time enjoying the peace and quiet of his life within the forest. Though he had initially intended to set out the day afterpleting the quest, he found himself unable to leave behind the ce he had called home for thest seven months. This ce had been the first real home he had ever known and the thought of leaving it behind saddened him. By the weeks end, he had gathered most of the traps he hadin in the forest. As he wouldnt be around to tend to them, he felt pity at the thought of any creature unfortunate to get caught during his absence. The evening before he set out, Vahn reminisced his days since arriving in this world. Though he had arrived with nothing, through his hard work and the assistance of Sis and The Path he had slowly grown strong enough to survive in this world. He knew he was still weakpared to many of the characters he would meet, but he believed with his continued efforts that it wouldnt be long before he stood at their level. Early the next morning he gathered up the remaining items within the cave and burned them. As he stared at the pyre that represented the life he was leaving behind he was unable to hold back the tears that had periodically crept up on him during the past week. For the first time in this life, Vahn cried his heart out. The sun had already risen in the sky by the time the fire burned out. With onest look at the cave, Vahn took his first steps on his journey along The Path. His destination was the Labyrinth City Orario, and he was determined to be the strongest adventurer. Vahn made his way quickly through the forest towards Orario. Though his level hadnt increased automatically uponpleting the quest, there was a marked improvement in his overall parameters. ========================================================== Name: Vahn Mason Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameters: Danmachi -Level:1[+](0) -Power: E540 -> D604 -Endurance: F461 -> E529 -Dexterity: F407 -> D620 -Agility: E519 -> E589 -Magic: G299 -> G326 Soul Strength: Tier 1 (Mortal Soul) Karma:273 ========================================================== The best thing was the new [+] icon that had appeared next to his level. After inquiring about it, Sis informed him it was a feature implemented by The Path to allow him to stockpile his attributes to increase his foundation. As long as he willed it he could increase his level whenever he wanted, but by keeping it the same it allowed him to increase the overall amount of parameters hed have for future levels. For example, say there were two people that are both level 5. The first adventurer increased their level the moment one of their attributes hit the D rank. The second adventurer didnt ept the upgrade until they had trained for several years and increased all their parameter to D or higher. After both adventurers reached lv 5, the second adventurer would be much stronger than the one who had cut corners. This was the main reason Bell Cranel was able to be so strong in the manga. Because he had a unique skill called Liaris Freese he was able to be one of the only doc.u.mented adventurers to have almost all of his stats at S rank or higher while at lv 1. Though Vahn didnt have the same skill, he believed his own wouldnt fall short in the long run. It might take time, but as long as he put in the effort he would be able to increase his stats to S rank or higher before deciding to level up. He believed in the idiom that to build a tall tower, you had to first build a strong foundation. By the way, out of curiosity he had looked up Liaris Freese and Argonaut within the shop and found out they cost as much as 1,000,000OP and 400,000OP respectively. Its no wonder Bell was able to be the protagonist with skills like that as early as lv. 2! After roughly three hours of travel through the forest, Vahn was finally able to see Orario in the distance. Though he had seen howrge it was on the map, he was awestruck seeing the city in person. He had spent the entirety of his previous life within variousbs and cells, so this was his first time seeing an actual city. All of the structures and buildings were beyond anything he could imagine, and Vahn couldnt understand how the characters in the manga were able to freely navigate it in short periods of time. As far as he could see, it would take several hours at the very least to travel from end-to-end, and thats if he were running! Approaching the nearest gate, Vahn could see a long line of carriages and people waiting for their opportunity to pass through the gate. There were armored men with polearms stationed around the entrance, and they inspected the identification of everyone entering as well as any goods they were transporting. As Vahn joined the queue, he noticed a very peculiar phenomenon which he didnt expect. Emanating from every person within the line he could see a vague colorless hazeing from their bodies. He curiously looked at the adventurer-like man ahead of him in the line. As if sensing the look, the man turned towards Vahn and gave him a cursory nce. Seeing the strangely dressed and unkempt appearance of the child in front of him he couldnt help but grimace and speak out."What are you looking at kid? I aint got no money to give, go bug someone else before I get pissed off." Vahn was surprised hearing the exmation of the adventurer? before him. It wasnt his intention to ask for money, but he didnt know how he should exin that he was only looking at the aura of the man which had now turned slightly grey. As he was thinking of an excuse, the man once again began speaking. "I said beat it kid! If you want handouts go ask a monk." said the man with a face full of distaste. Without knowing how to deal with the situation, Vahn ended up moving towards the end of the line to put some distance between him and the disgruntled man. He didnt want to cause trouble or draw the attention of the guards before he even entered the city. ("What was the deal with that guy? And do you know anything about the aura that ising off from everyone Sis?") (A/N: I usually use () to show when someone is talking within the mind. For Vahn it will almost always have ("") while Sis has (**). Let me know if its confusing and Ill try to find a better way.) (*The aura is due to the passive effect generated by the system function View Affection that you had received from the Beginners Package when you entered this world. For anyone that you havent interacted with, it will always disy as a clear/transparent aura. Depending on their impression and how you interact with them the aura will change to reflect how they see you. You can also physically touch the aura to get moreprehensive information about the person. This will allow you to see the actual value gained from particr actions and more.*) Vahn hadpletely forgotten about the skill. Though he had tried messing around with it in the beginning, since there were no people nearby he was never able to determine its actual use. ("So when the aura turned from clear to grey it was because he was angry with me? But I didnt even do anything!") Vahn was very upset. The first person he had talked to in this world hated him for no reason. (*It is likely due to how you are dressed Vahn. If you look closely many people are wearing rtively simr attire and follow certain standards for hygiene and appearance. Since you have been living in the forest your clothes are in a distinctly different state than everyone else around you. There is also the matter of your hair which has grown quite a bit in thest seven months.*) After Siss exnation, Vahn began to inspect his own appearance. He noticed that his clothes were torn and had stains in various spots. He had only worn a total of three different outfits since his arrival in this world, and everything except his shadowsilk tunic was in poor state. He also noted that his hair had indeed grown long, but he liked it since it was always shaved to the scalp in his previous life. After looking around at the clothing of others nearby, Vahn couldnt help but agree he stood out. It could also be seen that people in the crowd would give him sidewards nces every now and then as the aura around their bodies became slightly dimmer. He had no way of knowing how his appearance would affect peoples first impression, and how the first impression was often the deciding factor when dealing with new people. After around two hours it was finally Vahns turn to undergo the inspection. Many of the guards showed an expression of distaste at the boy who had arrived at the gate. After asking for his identification they sent him into the side office for processing without wasting any extra effort. Seeing how everyone was treating him, Vahn resolved to purchase some nicer clothes after he was able to secure lodging within the City... After entering the small office near the gate a middle-aged man with an unkempt beard stood up and faced Vahn. "Greetings young man, my name is Gregory House. Im the Chief Customs Officer on duty today, and I heard from my men you didnt have any ID." The man named Gregory evaluated the young man standing before him. By appearance, he had likely migrated to the city from a mountain vige or some other rural area. Curiously, the boy didnt seem to have any luggage or weapons which caused the veteran Officer to assume the boy had likely been robbed along the way. After giving the boy a once over, he gave a gentle smile and asked kindly, "Can I ask for your name and why you are trying to enter the City?" Vahn was surprised at the tone of the middle-aged man before him. He was even able to see that the aura emanating from the mans body had begun to glow with a gentle light after examing him for a few moments. "My name is Vahn Mason, Sir. I came to Orario after my grandfather had passed away. He always told me stories about his life as an Adventurer, and I thought it would honor his memory to be one myself." Vahn had responded with the story he had made up with Sis prior to his arrival. Since he didnt know anything about the world, he would try to respond as vaguely as possible when questioned. He felt guilty for deceiving the man, especially since he seemed to not dislike him based on his appearance like everyone else. Hearing Vahns response, Gregory had begun to feel bad for the boy who could barely be called a young man. "You must have had it rough. Im certain your Grandfather would be proud to see you had made it here. Tell me, Vahn, what are your ns after you enter the City? You must know you cant enter without paying an entrance tax and a temporary pass without identification would cost you 3000 Valis." Vahn nodded. "Sir, I would like to register at the Guild to receive an identification. For the tax and entrance pass, I have a few items to barter if that is eptable." Gregory gave Vahn another look and was unable to see anything which could be used as barter. He also didnt see any items that would be eptable coteral to allow Vahn to enter the City. "You dont have to worry about it kid. I just had a grandson myself born this past week, so Im in a pretty giving mood. Ill go ahead and pay for your entrance pass and tax as long as you can promise me youll make an honest living and pay me back in the future." Gregory had seen several outsiders led astray after entering the City. He had hoped his extension of kindness would prevent the boy from treading down a shady route in the future. Vahn was overwhelmed by the mans kindness. He could feel his eyes get a bit wet as he engraved the mans name within his heart. Once he became stronger he would not only return the kindness he had received but return it with interest. "I swear on my Mother and Grandfather, I will never walk a path that would bring shame to their memory." Since Vahn never knew his real grandfather he felt guilty swearing on just him alone, so he included the most important person within his heart as well. Satisfied with the boys response, Gregory quickly filled out the required forms before allowing Vahn to enter to City. "Good luck boy, I have high expectations for you." he waved as the boy exited the office. Vahn turned and bowed slightly towards the man, "Thank you Mr. House. I will remember the kindness you have shown me. I will do my best to meet your expectations!" The aura surrounding the man became a bit brighter as he turned away and triggered the bell signaling for the next person in line to enter. Vahn stared towards the direction of the office for a moment before turning away. He looked at his surroundings and marveled at the architectural design of each building. There were people of various shapes and sizes walking around in high spirits. He even caught sight of a young woman with rabbit ears traveling with a stout hairy man which Vahn assumed was a Dwarf. "Orario, here Ie..." Vahn muttered as he walked towards the center of the City, where the massive Babel tower was located. Chapter 18 - The Guild

Chapter 18 - The Guild

As he made his way towards the tower, Vahn continued to look around at the variousings and goings of people on the street. He noticed that even though everyone had unique outfits and appearances, nobody stood out quite as much as he did. It was rather ironic that clothing meant to enhance stealth now made him appear like a sore thumb as he moved along drawing the eyes of several curious pedestrians. After about an hour Vahn noticed a building that had dozens of peopleing and going in groups of differing sizes. The building had an aged but regal look. From what he could see there were three floors and the design of the architecture made it stand out from all the surrounding buildings. After observing the building, he didnt see any posted signs indicating what the building contained so Vahn let his curiosity get the better of him and decided to enter. Once he entered the building he immediately knew where he was. It seems entering from the northwestern gate was the correct decision, as it put him on the same route where the Guild was located. Vahn couldnt help but sigh at how The Path always seemed to take his future actions into consideration. Following the map directly from his cave ended up putting him in the same trajectory as the Guild if he were to try and approach the tower when entering the city. Vahn looked around to see if he could recognize any of the characters from the show. He remembered the two girls Eina and Misha as they were noteworthy characters within the manga and thought it would be interesting to meet them in real life. "Excuse me, Sir, may I help you find something?" spoke a sonorous voice from behind Vahn. Vahn turned towards the source and saw a maturedy with lc-colored hair and pale green eyes. She looked only a few years older than Vahn, but she carried herself a lot like Dr. Keenly from his previous life which caused Vahn to grimace slightly. The most notable thing that caught his eye was the fluctuation of her aura which seemed to change back and forth between transparent and a dull grey color. Noticing the change in the boys expression the Receptionist, Fauna Vestille, couldnt help but feel a twitch in her eye. She had taken the initiative to approach this vagrant child in front of her in ordance. Yes, she probably would have overlooked him outside of work, but she couldnt help but feel annoyed with his the boy seemed to observe her body with a frown on his face. Trying to keep her cool she continued to perform her duties, "This...Sir. Is this your first time at the Guild?" Vahn realized the woman must be one of the guild employees, and seeing the ck pantsuit that seemed to match everyone behind the counter he couldnt help but feel apologetic for worsening her mood. "Im sorry, and yes, this is my first time in the Guild and Id like to register as an Adventurer." Fauna was a bit surprised with how polite the boy was, especially since he had so rudely stared at her body previously. She decided he was likely not used to interacting with girls and believed her charm was the reason for the slip in his expression. Smiling at the thought, she turned to the boy. "Wee to the Orario Guild Main Office. My name is Fauna, may I ask for your name young sir?" Vahn was able to see a drastic change in the aura emitted by the woman who had introduced herself as Fauna. Though transparent, it now had a vague mellow color simr to sunlight. With a smile on his face, he decided to introduce himself as well. "Hello, Ms. Fauna. My name is Vahn Mason." Fauna giggled a bit at how quickly the boy named Vahns expression changed. It was very subtle, but due to her profession, she could easily distinguish what the boy was thinking based on the small changes in his facial features. It would seem this unkept child was taught proper manners, and she shouldnt have snuck up behind him thinking he was a vagrant that had wandered in. "Its nice to meet you Vahn. You can find the desk for Adventurer registration over there, near that blond haired woman wearing sses." Vahn followed the direction she was pointing at and saw a petite girl with blonde hair standing behind a desk. Thanking the Receptionist, Fauna, Vahn made his way towards the desk with a bit of excitement apparent on his face. As she watched him walk away like an expectant child, Fauna couldnt help but giggle with how interesting the boy acted despite his appearance. She began to wonder if maybe she should lecture him on how he should dress if she got the opportunity in the future. The boy had deep aquamarine eyes, dark hair, and handsome facial features. She believed with a proper haircut and decent attire he would be quite thedy-killer when he grows up. Unaware of the ripples he had set in motion, Vahn approached the registration desk and gave his best smile towards the girl that had noticed his arrival. "Good afternoon, my name is Vahn Mason. I would like to register as an Adventurer!" After observing the change in Fauna after he had smiled, Vahn determined it would be a good tactic to improve the impression he made on people. The young girl seemed to be startled by the exmation of the boy in front of her. She had expected as much since she had seen him talking to Fauna as theter pointed towards her direction, but she hadnt anticipated the excitement of the boy who she initially thought had a rather solemn air. "G-greetings Vahn, my name is Millie Strauss. May I ask what level you are and which Familia you belong to?" After his introduction, Vahn noticed the aura around the girl had turned blue and began to flicker slightly. He was unsure of what he had done to bring about the change and stood there nkly for a moment before responding. "Ahh, Im Level 1 and I dont belong to a Familia yet," he said with a sorry expression on his face. Millie was surprised with his sudden change in character. For a moment she even felt as though she should apologize, but decided against it for the time being. "You may be unaware, but the Guild only really epts people that have been registered to a Familia. Since we wouldnt be able to maintain liability for all the free adventurers moving in and out of the Dungeon, we only ept those that can be held ountable to the various Gods that reside within the City." Vahn was surprised as he didnt recall that type of detail from the Manga. He knew it wouldnt be easy to join a Familia with his current strength, and without bing an Adventurer it would be very difficult to make money in the future. Seeing the dejected look on Vahns face, Millie decided to try and cheer him up by offering some advice. "If youd like, I can arrange for you to meet some of the Familia that are recruiting. You also have the option of bing a frence dungeoneer and delving into the upper levels to improve your strength if there is a particr Familia that interests you." After hearing what she had just said, Vahns mood did an immediate one-eighty and he inquired, "Youre saying its possible to go into the dungeon without registering at the Guild? And can you give me a list of the Familia that are recruiting right now!?" Taken aback by his exmation, Millie couldnt help thinking, This boy must be pretty simple, he changes his mood so quickly!. She sighed before saying, "Yes. The biggest difference between being a frence dungeoneer and bing an Adventurer is the number of benefits you receive from the guild. For frencers, there is a 30% tax on all items and loot drops they sell to the guild. There are also restrictions on the missions you can ept based on your level, and Adventurers always have priority for higher ranked quests since they can rely on their Familia if difficulties arise." While exining, she had handed a roster of all the currently recruiting Familia to Vahn. As she listed out all the benefits being in an official Adventurer provided, Vahn was distracted by all of the names that were on the list he had received. He couldnt recognize the majority of the Familia on the piece of paper, and was surprised by the sheer number of gods that seemed to reside within the City! Towards the bottom of the list, the rankings of the Familia began to increase and Vahn finally noticed a familiar name: Loki Familia. Interested at the thought of joining one of the most powerful guilds within the story, Vahn looked at the requirements before sighing within his mind. They required a person to be at least Lv 2 and to have rmendations from other Familia before being able to apply. It didnt seem like they epted outsiders very easily and only wanted members that had positive reputations. Vahn by surprised when reading this as he recalled out abrasive the wolfman Bete acted in the manga. Noticing the boy in front her seemed to get distracted, Millie looked to see where he eyes were drawn. Millie was rather surprised that the Familia that caught Vahns interest was the Loki Familia. She assumed he had heard about their fame and wanted to try and join their ranks. Too bad he wasnt yet strong enough. "The Loki Familia? They are considered one of the top three alongside the Freya and Hephaestus Familias. They usually only ept the best of the best and are constantlypeting for the name of Number 1 Familia within the City." Vahn nodded at hearing her exnation since it was simr to what he had read in the manga. He knew that Loki and Freya were constantlypeting for talent, whereas the Hephaestus Familia only focused on creating quality goods to be used by capable adventurers within the Dungeon. Vahn continued to browse the list and was surprised that he didnt see the Hestia Familia listed anywhere. He was almost about to inquire before Sis interrupted within his mind. (*Vahn, please remember that you entered this world before the main timeline of the story. It is most likely the Hestia Familia does not yet exist as she may not have descended yet.*) He had almostpletely forgotten that fact since he spent the majority of his time over thest seven months just training and hunting. ("Thanks, Sis. I almost gave away a bit too much information. You saved me.") (*You are very wee Vahn. Just remember that while you may alter events in the future, you shouldnt give away any information that would allude to the fact you are aware of what is supposed to happen.*) Vahn nodded and returned the list to Millie. "Thanks for the list, but I want to improve my strength before trying to apply to a Familia. If possible, I would like to sell a few items to the Guild. Is that okay?" Receiving the list, Millie nodded at his inquiry. "Certainly Vahn. Though its not a typical procedure, there arent many people trying to register as an Adventurer at this time of year so I have a bit of time if youd like to sell things now. What would you like to exchange?" Vahn ced his hand above the table and murmured some words under his breath before the goblin Chiefs core appeared on the table. He had previously discussed it with Sis and determined that storage magic, though very rare, did exist in this world. He masked the existence of his inventory by pretending to chant a magic spell before cing the core down. Millie was shocked at the fact the boy before her seemed to possess Storage Magic! If news were to spread, he wouldnt even need to apply for a Familia because they would be lining up to recruit him! She looked around to see if anyone had been watching before leaning towards Vahn and whispering, "You should be very careful about using storage magic in public! If youd like, we can handle this trade in the private booths in the back." Vahn smiled before saying, "Its fine to trade here for now. The only item I want to exchange is this core, but thanks for your concern. Ill be more careful in the future." Staring at the gently smiling boy, Millie blushed slightly before staring at the core that had been ced on her desk. "This...? Where did you obtain this core?" she asked. Remembering the excuse he had prepared, Vahn quickly exined, "Before I came to the City, my Grandfather had entrusted this core to me saying it would help me procure enough funds for food and lodging when I became an Adventurer. I dont know where he had obtained it." Millie nodded at the exnation, as she didnt believe a level 1 would be able to obtain such a high-quality core. She could tell that, even though it wasnt as pure as some high-grade monster cores, it definitely came from a variant species. "I see. I will have to verify its price with our Appraisal Expert since the core is from an unknown origin. Please wait here for a few minutes." Millie bowed and took the core into a back room. After several minutes, as Vahn continued to look around at the various adventurers she finally returned with a small pouch. "It was determined that the core came from an evolved species of goblin, likely the variant known as a Chief. Since goblin Chiefs are a nuisance that causes devastation in rural areas outside the dungeon, it was determined that you would receive the bounty of hunting one as well as its exchange value. The total, after a 30% tax,es to 14,000 Valis. Please confirm the total." Vahn wore an incredulous expression as he counted the coins within the purse. He hadnt expected to earn so much for a goblin he killed with a single arrow. After confirming the amount, he once again thanked Millie before leaving the Guild. On his way he noticed the Receptionist, Fauna, looking at him with an almost scary smile as she waved in his direction. Giving a curt nod, Vahn exited the Guild. Remembering the first survival lesson he had obtained when he came to this world, Vahn set out to look for a ce to stay. He didnt have to worry about food with his inventory, but it would be difficult to get by without a roof over his head. Besides, the thought of staying within an Inn was an exciting and new experience that he was looking forward to. As he continued to wander down the street towards the huge tower in the center of the City, Vahn was unaware of the attention he had garnered from an unexpected source. He never could have anticipated the troubles that would find him in the future. Chapter 19 - The Hearths Embrace

Chapter 19 - The Hearths Embrace

At a cafe located outside of the Guild of Orario, a beautiful woman sat staring aimlessly as adventurers went about their business. Seated across from her was a handsome gentleman with a fervent expression as he made an earnest effort to try and earn her attention. The woman sighed in her mind. Listening to the feeble attempts of the fool across from her, she began to wonder why she had allowed him to apany her in the first ce. As a God, his looks were pleasing to the eye, but after a time she had grown bored with hispany. As the fool drolled on endlessly, she continued to stare at the various adventures. It had be a past time of hers to seek out those with talent, and she often spent her free time observing any neers entering and exiting the establishment. Unlike the seemingly unchanging Gods she often associated with, she had gained an appreciation for the seemingly endless variations of mortals. To her, they were the only excitement in the perpetuity of her life. She especially liked those with unique souls harboring untold potential for growth. She grew progressively more dissatisfied with thepany of her fellow God and began to ignore him entirely. Just as she was about to dismiss him and conclude her hobby for the day, she noticed a peculiarity within the flow of people. There stood a young boy, garbed in ck attire from head to toe. Compared the vibrancy of the rest of the crowd, he stood out as he began moving further down the street almost as if opposing the flow of everyone else. Ordinarily, she would dismiss his existence as a mild anomaly thatcked tact andmon sense, but for reasons uncertain, she continued to follow the boy with her eyes. Sensing the change in atmosphere, the male God followed the sight of the Goddess he was trying to woo. There he observed an unkempt boy barely considered a young man. The boy was garbed in a ck tunic that seemed to absorb the light, whereas the rest of his clothing was simply tacky and soiled. Testing the waters he looked towards the Goddess and spoke. "He his dressed rather...interestingly, isnt he? I wonder how he can walk so calmly through the crowd dressed in such a foolish outfit. Maybe he is trying to be a clown?" heughed at his own joke. Hearing the abrasive sound, the female Goddess flinched before scornfully turning towards the foolish God. "You may leave. Ive grown bored with yourpany. Perhaps you should consider evaluating yourself before you so carelessly speak of others." Angered by the admonishment he experienced, the God stood up beforeshing out. "Freya, dont think youre so much better than everyone else just because your Familia is a little bit bigger. We dont all have the same benefits to provide our children." A gleam passed through the eyes of Freya as she sized up the insect in front of her. "Oh? You make it sound like you werent wishing to enjoy those same benefits. You must feel so inferior that mortals are able to experience something youll never be able to obtain." "Y-y-you! How dare you insult me in such a manner!?" he shouted. Freya looked directly into his eyes and waited for several breaths before speaking. "Do you perhaps wish for a War?" The male God immediately stopped any words that were able to leave his throat. He stared into the eyes of Freya and saw the seriousness contained within. With cold sweat dripping down his back, he bowed slightly towards her in his most gentlemanly manner. "I spoke out of turn. If youll please excuse me, I have other matters to attend." Without waiting for her response he immediately left the private booth, desperate to escape the pressure of the gaze at his back. Freya continued to watch as he exited the room. She made a special note to have Ottarl disappear some of the foolish Gods children in the near future. Turning towards the window, she looked for the silhouette of the boy that had caught her eye. After about two minutes she eventually gave up and prepared to leave for the day. She was unable to understand just what had caught her eye about the abnormal child but decided that if they crossed paths in the future she would be certain to discover the reason. Meanwhile, Vahn continued his journey towards the tower of Babel. After about twenty minutes he had arrived in an area that seemed to double as both residential area and marketce. Considering it would be beneficial to live in an area with readily avablemodities that was also in close proximity to the Guild, Vahn decided to enter a nearby Inn called The Hearths Embrace. Entering the Inn, Vahn caught the attention of a uniformed girl who seemed to be around 10 years old. She had chestnut brown hair split into two lively pigtails. Her most notable feature was the cat ears that danced yfully on the top of her head. The ears ented the rtively in facial features of the girl who still had a bit of baby fat in her cheeks. The girl looked towards Vahn with herrge golden eyes and shouted, "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee~! Would you like to stay the nya-ight~? Or would you like to order some food~nya?" Vahn waspletely at a loss as he stared directly at the twitching ears on the girls head. Though he knew of their existence and had even seen a girl with rabbit ears from a distance, he was caught off guard by the overwhelming presence of the girl before him. He couldnt pull his eyes away from the ears....("Ah, they twitched!") The girl began to back away under the gaze of the boy in front of her. Though she didnt sense any dangering from the look, it still made her rather ufortable. "Mooooooooooooom, there is a customer that needs you~nya!" She shouted before running into the back room. Vahn watched as the girl turned away, and turned his eyes downwards. As he had expected, once the girl turned away she was chased by a tail that poked through a ribbon near the waist of her uniform. As he watched the girl disappear into the back room, he couldnt help but marvel at the existence of cat ears and tail in reality. He was very curious how they were attached, and if the girl had stayed any longer he might have asked. Momentster a muchrger version of the girl entered through the door. They shared many of the same features, but the woman before him was far more mature. She stood around 1.7 meters tall and had a very athletic looking figure that was noticeable even through the maid-like blue uniform she was wearing. Vahn let his eyes wander over the woman before turning his attention towards her chest, where some modest sized b.r.e.a.s.ts could be seen. He briefly stared for a few moments before fixing his gaze towards the head of the mature Cat Person to observe her ears. In the process, he also noticed that the aura emitting from her body was a mixture of oranges and reds that appeared very simr to a weak me. Though he was unaware of what each color meant, he could determine she was likely angry from how the me flickered back and forth. After her daughter, Tina had informed her of the arrival of a strange man, the woman, Mn Yuel, exited the kitchen. The moment she stepped through the door, she could feel the wandering gaze from the young man in front of her. As a woman and proprietor of an Inn, she was very sensitive to the gazes of others. She noticed the boy had a look on intrigue on his face and dismissed the thought of lecturing him, at least until his eyes hadnded on her b.r.e.a.s.ts... She began to get angry at the boy who continued to hold his gaze for a few moments before looking towards the top of her head. (Is he looking at my ears?) she wondered. As that thought passed her mind, she noticed that the moment his gaze fixed on her ears his expression froze and he began to look a little apologetic? Out of curiosity, she spoke towards the young man. "What brings you to my Inn young man?" Vahn noticed that the me-like aura had begun to fade and looked into the eyes of the woman who had just addressed him. "Please forgive my intrusion, Maam. I had just entered the City today and was looking for a ce to room for several days. Your Inn caught my attention as it seems to be in a very convenient location." Mn looked towards the boy and re-evaluated him. He definitely had the looks of a traveler but wasnt sure he would be able to afford room and board given the quality of his clothing. "Is that so? Well, rooms are 2100 Valis a night with an additional 400 Valis for meals and water. You can choose to eat at the bar or have the food ced within thepartment near your room if you prefer." Vahn nodded before asking, "Is it alright to pay for just the room? I have my own ns for food and water." "Aye, but make sure you dont bring outside food into the Inn during meal times. Its bad for business if other customers start getting simr thoughts." Mn nodded at the boys question and assumed he wouldnt have any difficulties paying given his leisurely expression. "How many nights would you like to stay? We give a 10% discount if you book more than a week at a time." Vahn noted that with the 10% discount he would have just enough to be able to pay for an entire week in advance. He began to marvel at the apparent foresight of The Path. He wasnt worried about spending all his money either since he would be able to earn more than enough once he entered the dungeon. "I would like to book a room for one week, Maam." He handed over the entire sack of coins he had received from the Guild. After confirming the amount and issuing his change, Mn looked towards the boy who kept sneaking nces at her ear and tail. She checked the logbook that he had just signed before asking, "Tell me Vahn Mason, have you never seen a Cat Person before?" Vahn was surprised at the question and didnt know what to say. He thought for a few moments before responding, "Yes Maam. I lived in the forest with my Grandfather and had only ever interacted with humans before today." Judging by the honest expression on the boys face, Mn nodded in understanding. "I see, I see. Ill let it slide for today, but youd do well to remember its very impolite to stare at ady without permission. You about scared my daughter half to death, she almost thought you were going to eat her up!" Mnughed as she watched the boys expression be increasingly fl.u.s.tered. Vahn bowed his head and offered his most sincere apology while the mature woman before him simplyughed. Confused, he turned towards her just as she covered her mouth and continued to giggle for a moment. He noticed that the aura around her body had turned into a yellow color with a tinge of sky blue along the edges. ("I really wish I knew what these colors meant. I can kind of understand that darker colors mean the person doesnt like me, but what does yellow and sky blue mean?") Vahn couldnt help but wonder as a bold thought crossed his mind. "Excuse me Mrs...umm...." "Mn Yuel. Im the Proprietress of this here establishment." Mn could see the apprehension in his body, but the curiosity within his eyes didnt escape her attention. "Mrs. Yuel, I know it may not be appropriate to ask, but could I...um...touch your ears?" Though he wasnt aware of the reason, Vahn became progressively more nervous with each word. He could also see the aura around Mn fluctuate slightly as the yellow color became more prominent. "Ara~ Sure, but only one touch. Any more than that and I might hold you responsible~nya." Mn was very amused with how Vahn was acting and couldnt help but tease him a bit. Though he wasnt sure what she meant by holding him responsible, he understood it was something very dangerous. Oveing his fear he stretched out his hand while Mn leaned forward slightly with a sly grin on her face. As his hand came into contact with the ear, his body jumped when the ear spontaneously twitched. He began to reach out again before Mn interrupted him, "Ara~ Didnt I say just one touch? Fufufu~." She squinted her eyes while looking at his outstretched hand. Vahn quickly pulled back his hand and apologized. "Fufufu~ Its quite alright Vahn. Here is your key, youll find your room on the second floor towards the far end on the right. Make sure you dont lose your key or else there is a fee to rece it and the lock~." Satisfied with the boys response, she sent him on his way with a grin and wave. Vahn quickly entered the stairwell and made his way towards the second floor. He couldnt help but feel like he had been messed with, but wasnt sure what to do about it. Fortunately, he was able to seed in his n during the brief moment of contact. View Affection: Mn Yuel {[Affection: 53[Amicable], Intrigue:59[yful]} Uncertain of the meaning behind the numbers or how they rted to the colors, Vahn finally found his room. He unlocked the door and took a look around the ce he would be staying for the foreseeable future. Though the room was much smaller than his cave, it was still around 50 meters squared and contained arge single bed, writing desk withmp, and a small separate area for bathing. Vahnid in his bed and enjoyed the warm atmosphere that permeated throughout the room. Even though his cave wasnt cold, there was something fulfilling about living in a room that has been prepared and tended to by other people. It had been a long day, so Vahn decided to take a short nap before heading out for dinner. There was a specific ce that was often shown in the manga he wanted to visit, but for now, he was just happy to have a ce to live that was surrounded by interesting people. He began to look towards the future as he slowly fell asleep... //Mn Yuel: Affection + 1// With that notification sounding in his head Vahn lost consciousness. Chapter 20 - The Hostess of Fertility

Chapter 20 - The Hostess of Fertility

After resting for a few hours Vahn awoke to the sound of another notification within his mind. //Mn Yuel: Intrigue - 1// Confused, Vahn called up the system log to see what happened while he was asleep. //System Log// //Mn Yuel: Affection +1// //Mn Yuel: Intrigue - 1// //Mn Yuel: Intrigue +1// //Mn Yuel: Intrigue - 1// //Mn Yuel: Intrigue - 1// ("This must be the extra details Sis talked about when I touched the aura of someone using View Affection. It seems to show me whenever the values change. But why would they change when Im nowhere near them?") (*The reason is simple Vahn. Imagine if you were really angry at someone, but then they left for an extended period of time. Your anger would diminish over time, and if they were gone long enough it may cease entirely.*) Vahn had a small epiphany after listening to Siss exnation. ("So youre saying that peoples thoughts and feelings change based on exposure, time, and other factors?") (*Yes, but you should keep in mind that everyone is unique. Different people may respond in unexpected ways, and time may even enhance certain emotions.*) He could understand what she meant. Even though he had never had the opportunity to spend time with his Mother, his affection for her had only grown with time. Other than experiencing everything the records had to offer, it was the primary force driving him forward. *sounds of stomach-sama demanding your attention* Hearing the protest of his stomach Vahn quickly left the room, making sure to lock the door on his way out. Though he hadnt left any valuables inside, he actually enjoyed the thought of locking away his own little personal space that nobody had free ess to. On his way down he came across the small girl who was shuffling between several tables serving food to the other guests. Noticing his appearance, she immediately began to back away before saying, "My mother said you were a guest~nya. And to make sure not to let you touch my ears or tail~nya." Hearing what the girl said, the surrounding customers all burst outughing. "Hahahaha, you tell imss. Dont be gettin handsy now yhear!" said one man with a deep baritone voice. "Aye, you tell im Jim! Keep yer filthy mitts off our litle Tina!" shouted hispanion while raising a gon of ale. Vahn didnt know what to say in response to the ruckus of the crowd. He looked helplessly at the young girl that seemed to be terrified of him and noticed her aura was a wispy purple color. Though he wanted to touch her and see her values, he assumed it would probably make the situation worse. Giving up, he waved towards the Proprietress who seemed to be enjoying his misery and left the Inn. //Mn Yuel: Intrigue + 5// //Mn Yuel: Affection + 2// The moment the notification sounded, he almost tripped which caused another round ofughter to erupt behind him. //Mn Yuel: Affection + 1// He quickly left the area before asking a passerby for directions. Tonight he had decided to visit one of the more popr ces in the manga, the Hostess of Fertility. That was where Bell had met the silver-haired beauty Syr Flova and was also the workce of Ryuu Lion who was one of his favorite characters. He wasnt sure if they were working there yet, but it would still be worth it to visit. He remembered it being one of the most famous ces in the City due to its all-women staff and incredible food. After nearly half an hour traveling by foot, Vahn finally arrived at the Hostess of Fertility. It boasted a size simr to the Guild office, and also had three floors that seemed capable of housing hundreds of guests with ease. Vahn could smell a captivating aroma escaping the slightly ajar double-doors. It was the first time in both his lives that the simple smell of food was able to dominate his senses. *the sound of Cthulhu awakening from its thousand year slumber (A/N: This is his stomach* With a rising anticipation, he entered through the doors and was immediately weed. "Wee to the Hostess of Fertility~nya. Will you be dining in tonight~?" Vahn looked towards the voice and saw a ck-haired Cat Person with green eyes smiling at him with a dangerous look in her eyes. She seemed rather petite at 158cm but was still slightly taller than he was. Her aura was a mixture of yellow surrounded by an almost illusory pink. (A/N: I switched to cm by suggestion, since not a lot of people liked meters for height. BTW, Vahn is 150cm tall right now~) "Nyaa~? Its not nice to stare Mr. Customer~" She seemed to be admonishing him, but the smile on her face grew to the point it reached her eyes causing her to squint slightly. Snapping out of his stupor, Vahn gave a polite nod before saying, "Sorry about that miss. And yes, Id like to dine-in tonight. Ive heard great things about this restaurant and had to experience it for myself." While guiding him towards an area near the bar she couldnt help but ask, "What great things have you heard~nya?" Without thinking about his response, Vahn replied, "They say this ce has cute women and great food." Immediately after the words left his mouth, he felt a slight shiver down his spine. "Cute women~nya? Does that include me?" She gave him her most yful look as she put her finger to her chin and tilted her head. Vahn didnt know why, but he felt a sense of danger in the look as he noticed the aura around her be a deeper shade. Swallowing his saliva he responded with a smile, "O-of course." Hearing his response, the Cat Person leaned towards him with a seemingly malicious grin. "Oh, and what part of me is cute~nya?" She couldnt help but tease the young boy further. Thoughts rapidly spun through Vahns mind as she inched closer and closer towards his face. When she was less than a foot from him, he blurted out the first thing that he could think of. "Your hair and ears are definitely very cute!" The woman seemed to freeze slightly and Vahn noticed the ears on her head begin to noticeably twitch. The aura emitting from her body began to fluctuate slightly. Thinking he may have offended her, he was preparing his apology when she suddenly interrupted him. "My name is Chloe Lolo, what is your name~nya?" Vahn noticed her eyes seemed to shimmer with an evil light and feltpelled to answer. "My name? Vahn Mason?" "Vahn Mason~? How old are you Vahn~?" Based on her demeanor, she almost seemed to be interrogating him. As he prepared his answer, another voice cut in from across the bar. "Chloe, youre terrifying the poor boy. Take his order and get back to work, or Ill find someone else to take care of him!" After the voice sounded, Chloe assumed a more professional stance and bowed slightly towards Vahn. "Forgive me~nya. I didnt mean to pressure you, I just couldnt help myself~nya." Unsure of what had just happened, Vahn nodded slightly before giving his order to Chloe. As she passed by to submit the order to the kitchen, she made sure to swipe her tail secretly across his hand. Feeling the unexpectedly soft touch, Vahn looked in her direction and saw her give a wink before turning away. //Chloe Lolo: Affection + 7// //Chloe Lolo: Intrigue + 11// As he heard the notifications within his mind, Vahn couldnt help but feel like he was navigating through a minefield and had forgotten theyout. The woman who had spoken out earlier to admonish Chloe saw his expression and walked over. "Dont let her get to you kid. She gets that way sometimes when dealing with some of the younger boys. You need to learn to have a little backbone or someone will walk all over you in the future." Vahn nodded his head and looked towards her as she went about serving the customers at the bar. Though she looked a bit different from the manga, he was able to easily determine her identity. She was Mia Grande, the Proprietress of the Hostess of Fertility. She was around 180cm tall and had filled out in various areas due to her age. She had brown hair and eyes that both seemed to glisten in the taverns light. Though Vahn knew she was pushing into her 50s, she still maintained a youthful vigor likely due to her secret as being one of the few Level 6s in the City. While he was waiting for his food he began to look around to see if he could recognize anyone else. Though he wasnt able to see the appearance of Syr or Ryuu, he did spot Anya Fromel and Lunoire Faust. They were both going around in their waitress attire and Vahn couldnt help but smile seeing their interactions with other customers. "Enjoying the sight~nya?" "Mmm." Vahn nodded his head in response before jolting his body and turning towards the voice. Chloe was standing there with his food and had been observing him as he looked around the pub. Though she found it amusing at first, she couldnt help but get annoyed when he hadnt noticed her presence for such a long period of time. Seeing that Mama Mia was busy with other customers, she decided to punish Vahn for ignoring her. cing his food on the bar, she sat down on the stool immediately to his left which was a slight blind spot unless Mama Mia looked directly over here. She turned towards Vahn with a big grin before gesturing at his te. "Go ahead~. Eat up~nya." Feeling the hair on the back of his neck rise, Vahn smiled as he picked up the fork and looked at his te. Though the meal looked unlike any he had previously seen, he couldnt help but feel like he was about to eat hisst meal... Slowly spooling the noodles called spaghetti, Vahn began to bring it to his mouth only to stop once his nose had caught the smell of the dish. Releasing all his previous anxiety, he couldnt help but close his eyes and inhale deeply the rich aromatic fragrance. After several long breaths, Vahn finally put the food into his mouth as he was assaulted by the vibrant array of herbs and spices. It almost felt like his soul was leaving his body and he was about to transmigrate to another world. He savored every single instance as he slowly chewed the richly textured noodles and perfectly spiced meat sauce. Before this moment, he didnt even know food could taste so good. In his previous life, he was fed almost exclusively vitamin supplements and nutrient c.o.c.ktails. Ever sinceing to this world he had the opportunity to sample various wild fruits and vegetables as well as wild game. He had mistakenly assumed the nd taste of the meat he roasted was something high-ss since it tasted so much better than what he had back in thebs... "Ano~ Why are you crying~nya? Did I go too far?" Hearing a voice of concern, Vahn looked towards Chloe and saw an apologetic expression on her face as she stared at him. Reaching his free hand to his face, he noticed he was actually crying over the taste of the food. Embarrassed, he could help but look away as he said, "No, its not your fault. The food was just so good that I..." Sighing in relief, Chloe noticed that Mama Mia had been looking in this direction and panicked slightly. Instead of saying anything, Mia just gave a subtle thumbs up and then indicated for her to return to work. Vahn continued to eat after Chloe left and even took the opportunity to order seconds. After finishing the second te and paying his tab, he got ready to leave. On his way out Chloe personally sent him out and got him to promise toe back when she was on her shift. On his way home he seemed to remember the notifications from earlier and decided to see the affection values for Chloe. View Affection: Chloe Lolo {[Affection: 64[Interested], Intrigue:71[Desire to Pet]} Seeing the value for Intrigue, Vahn couldnt help but feel a cold sweat for what seemed like the 10th time this evening. What does it mean Desire to Pet!? Lamenting at the implications, Vahn returned to his room and passed out in exhaustion. Chapter 21 - Into the Dungeon : Desire

Chapter 21 - Into the Dungeon : Desire

Vahn awoke early the next morning and gave a cursory nce at the system log. He noted there werent many changes in Mns affection, but Chloes had increased overnight. Seeing the strange description Desire to Pet Vahn quickly closed the log. He spent a few minutes washing his face and using water from the Decanter of Replenishment. Afterward, he performed some routine maintenance on his equipment before heading downstairs. Preparing to leave the Inn, he noticed someone new at the counter. She was a human girl, around 17-18 years old with ck hair neatly arranged into a long braid flowing over her shoulder. Her purple eyes seemed to droop a bit towards the end giving her a gentle expression. Noticing his presence she disyed a gentle smile and waved. Vahn returned a smile of his own with a curt nod as he exited the Inn. Today was an important day and he wanted to get an early start. If she was a permanent worker at the Inn, he would have plenty of time to interact with her in the future. He turned to walk towards the massive tower in the center of the City. Today he was nning to enter the dungeon for the first time. As he made his way along the road he couldnt help but increase his pace a bit. Along the way, several people gave him curious nces but he would worry about thatter. He had almost used some of his stockpiled OP to purchase new clothing but wanted to see how far he could get into the dungeon relying on his current equipment. If things were more difficult than he expected he would upgrade his gear before making a second attempt. Due to his increased pace, he managed to reach the tower in under twenty minutes. Before entering he looked up to take in the view of the tower from its base. He remembered from the manga that the tower had been built by the Gods to seal the dungeon below. It should be 50 floors tall and from where he stood it almost seemed to pierce into the heavens. The top could be seen, but it was almost a blur that disappeared into the atmosphere above. He couldnt imagine how long it would take to go to the top... Vahn entered the first floor of Babel and was surprised to see the number of adventurers present. He wasnt the only person that decided to enter the dungeon first thing in the morning. He observed the hustle and bustle before making his way towards a desk near the stairwell leading downwards into the earth. Entering one of the open windows, Vahn met his first elf in this world. At around 178cm with golden hair and green eyes stood an elven male. He had very smooth facial features giving a bit of ambiguity to his gender, but his style and the way he carried himself answered any questions observers might have. His hair was short andbed back giving him a very princely look, and the expression in his eyes was intelligent and intimidating. Noticing the approach of the human child before him, Nichs Grimm waved him over. He had a good memory for faces and was often posted outside the dungeon, so he assumed this human child was likely a new adventurer or frencer. Though it didnt concern him much, he knew it damaged the Guilds bottom line when adventurers died within the dungeon. "Good morning. I assume you would like information about the dungeon before entering?" Vahn nodded while observing the peculiar green aura emitted by the elf receptionist. "Very well, you can exchange 100 Valis for a map of the first four floors of the dungeon. Though theyout changes on the deeper floors, the upper levels remain rtively consistent and we update the maps weekly. For first-timers, its one of our most rmended items. We also have several volumes that cover the ecology and weakness of various monsters." Vahn listened as the elf tried to offer him various items for purchase. After selecting books about kobolds and dungeon lizards the man started to exin various other hazards that might appear in the dungeon. Vahn was surprised with how much detail the man put into his exnation, and had Sis keep a log so he could review itter. Lastly, the man had Vahn fill out his information like address and expected time of stay within the dungeon. He was told that if he failed to leave within the written time, they would wait 72 hours before informing the people listed on the contacts of his disappearance. After everything was said and done, Vahn finally entered the dungeon. The first floor was a wide-open path with brackish blue walls and a peculiar off-green colored floor. Vahn wasnt the only person walking along the path, but everyone seemed to stick to their own groups so he didnt go out of his way to bother them. Though he had expected to encounter monster immediately upon entering the dungeon, they seemed to spawn infrequently and were eliminated quickly by others. Creating some distance between himself and all the other groups, Vahn made his way through a corridor that branched off of the main pathway. At this point, he was proactively trying to map as much as he could using the auto-mapping function of the system. Everything within his line of sight was updated in detail within the minimap disyed within the periphery of his vision. He tried not to focus on the map too much as it wouldnt really increase his progress and might even distract him. He knew it would be a valuable asset whenever he tried to backtrack in the future and was satisfied only checking it periodically. Fifteen minutes into his first dive, Vahn finally encountered a monster. Eight meters ahead of his current position, the wall seemed to open and spit out a form he instantly recognized. With the familiar creature in sight, Vahn equipped his bow and dispatched the goblin with a single arrow. Approaching the area where the goblin fell, Vahn bent over to pick up the crystal left behind. ("I may have to go deeper into the dungeon if I want to test myself. Goblins in small groups dont pose any threat to me anymore.") (*Vahn! Look out!*) Hearing the shout of Sis within his mind, Vahn leaped forward and rolled along the ground. He rebounded to his feet and saw the creature that had just tried to sneak attack him. Standing in the spot he had just upied stood a second goblin wielding a small wood club. Vahn could see behind it two more goblins being spit out of the wall. The closet goblin lunged towards him and Vahn had to re-open the distance to take aim. Unlike the goblins on the surface, this one seemed to be much quicker as it was easily able to close the distance towards Vahn who was back-stepping. Swinging its club, Vahn managed to intercept with his bow before kicking the goblin away during the resulting struggle. Before the goblin was able to find its footing, Vahn immediately loosed an arrow into its body turning it to dust. Not missing a beat, he continued to open the distance and fired two more arrows into the other goblins who were trying to close the gap and attack. They both turned into dust as Vahn released a sigh he had been withholding. He carefully looked around to see if there were any other goblins trying to sneak up on him. Unlike the forest where he was able to make use of the terrain to stealth-kill goblins, in open areas like this where monsters could spawn freely he had to always be alert. When the dungeon released monsters it was almost soundless, and Vahn almost paid the price for his negligence. ("Even though I thought goblins didnt pose a threat, I was almost forced to swallow my words...The fact that the goblins are able to spawn in such close proximity makes the bow less effective. Im too reliant on attacking things from a distance which isnt suitable for someone soloing the dungeon.") Vahn re-assigned his bow to the secondary slot and equipped the dagger he had received when he first arrived in this world. He hadnt used it since his breakaway from the goblin sentries, and its low attack value made it unreliable if he wanted to fight stronger monsters. ("Sis, please filter through the list and purchase a dagger that is about twice as strong as this one...no, wait! Instead of a dagger make it a sword. It has better range and looks a lot cooler than a small knife.") (*Confirmed, purchasing Runic Tamahagane de for 2,000 OP.*) At this point Vahn had saved a total of 51,790 OP, so he wasnt worried about the loss of two-thousand. What caught his attention was therge ck sword that had appeared before him. Its total length was 130 cm, with the de taking up 3/4 of that total. When he picked it up he was surprised at how light it feltpared to its size. Taking a look at his surroundings, Vahn stood with his back to a wall so he could see anyone approaching. Afterward, he decided to quickly inspect the new sword. Runic Tamahagane de Rank:(A), Magic Slots: 2 P.Atk: 510+50 M.Atk: 180 A sword reforged countless time by a young cksmith from the Far East who aspired to be the greatest in thend. Upon his death, his friend enchanted the de using an ancient technique in hopes that his friends dream would be a reality. Vahn was surprised at the attack value of the sword, but it made sense given the increased size. He gave it a few practice swings, and even though it felt light his arms began to tire after a while. ("Ill have to focus onnding decisive strikes if I dont want to tire myself out. But I can use this as an opportunity to further my training.") As thest test before he moved on, Vahn began to channel his source energy into the sword while watching its stats. It seemed to take far more energy than the bow and arrow, but he noticed as the runes began to glow that the sword actually became lighter. Another thing was the fact that the P.Atk of the sword remained unchanged while the M.Atk seemed to increase rapidly. Vahn continued to channel magic into the sword until all of the runes began to glow. The de began to hum and whenever he swung it, the sword felt as light as a feather in his hands. The coolest thing was how the de now left a trail of light wherever he swung. He noticed that the M.Atk was now 1800, 10x the initial value. Curious about the effect he decided to attack the nearest wall. The moment the sword contacted the wall Vahn was surprised. The expected impact never came and the sword seemed to pass effortlessly through the dense dungeon wall. It seemed that the magic not only decreased the weight but also enhanced the sharpness to an insane degree. Even as a novice in swordsmanship, as long as he managed to hit the target he would likely be able to kill it. Marveling at how powerful an item that cost 2000 points was, Vahn made a determination to stockpile as much as he could for the future. He would still buy consumables and upgrade his equipment when needed, but now it had be his goal to buy an item that cost 100,000, no, 1,000,000 OP! //Quest Triggered// [Quest: Birth of a Legend] Rank: SS Heroes are as famous as the weapons they wield. Even a lowly squire can be a Legend when wielding a sword forged by the Gods. Condition: Exchange 1,000,000 OP with the system to obtain a random weapon. Rewards: Gacha Function Unlocked, 10+1 Premium Gacha pull, 1000 Karma Failure Condition: Death, 12 months pass [364D23H58M], Spend more than 100,000 OP [4,997/100,000] Penalty: All items within the inventory destroyed. Shop Function disabled for 12 months. Equipment items be cursed for 1 month [cursed items cannot be removed] Vahn smiled. If The Path wanted to challenge his conviction, he wouldnt let it down. He turned towards the depths of the dungeon and continued to walk forward... Chapter 22 - Reflection : Slaughter

Chapter 22 - Reflection : ughter

Vahn progressed further into the dungeon until he found a staircase leading deeper into the dungeon. After a brief hesitation, he decided to head down so he could test his new sword. He continued onwards until the staircase opened to another floor. Looking beyond the door he could see the staircase continued further on, but when he tried to pass he felt a resistance preventing him from passing. Sticking out his hand as a test, he was able to feel a membrane that became increasingly resistant based on how much pressure he applied. Out of curiosity, he even backed up and swung his sword to try and cut through the invisible barrier. Though it seemed to cut through easily at first, after progressing 30-40cm he felt a sudden rebounding force. Caught off guard, the sword was sent flying and Vahn felt a warm sensationing from his now numb hand. Looking down he saw blood dripping from his the skin between his thumb and forefinger. The rebound hadpletely severed the soft flesh between the two fingers. ("I didnt think that one through properly. But at least I was able to understand the limits of my sword a bit. It might have enhanced sharpness, but a strong enough resistive force can overwhelm the enchantment.") After treating his wound using a low-grade healing potion obtained from the system, Vahn continued into the 2nd floor of the dungeon. The 2nd floor was very simr to the 1st. The biggest difference was the sheer number of paths to explore. As he began exploring the floor Vahn finally encountered his first new monster. Standing around 130cm tall and covered in mangy greyish fur Vahn was able to identify the creature as a Kobold. It possessed the head of a dog and seemed to have azy expression as it shambled through down the corridor. Though he was momentarily ovee by the instinct to use his bow, Vahn quickly put the idea to the back of his mind. He got into what he thought was a proper stance and began to awkwardly step towards the Kobold. Noticing his presence, the Kobold looked towards the approaching human before breaking out into a mad sprint. It was much faster than a goblin and possessed the ability to run on all fours which increased its ability to make sudden changes in direction. Once it got in range Vahn tried swinging his sword into the kobolds path. As the sword traced an arc through the air, the Kobold used its nimble movements to easily dodge under the path of the de. Using the time he was off-bnced during the swing, the kobold leaped into his stomach and began to sink its sharp canines into the flesh of Vahns abdomen. Before he could respond to the sudden pain, the kobold began to jerk its head side-to-side as it tried to tear the flesh from Vahns stomach. In a panic, Vahn dropped his sword and tried to grab the head of the kobold to prevent it from moving. As a response the Kobold began to use the jagged ws on its hands to fiercely w away, causingcerations all over Vahns chest and arms. As the pain threshold continued to rise, Vahn felt the familiar cooling sensation spread through his mind as blood began to pool in the back of his throat. Mustering his strength he turned towards the wall and rammed his body, with the kobold between it, with the greatest force he could muster. The Kobold finally released its jaw from Vahns abdomen only to change its target to his left thigh. Feeling the fresh paining from his leg, Vahn used the remainder of his fading consciousness to equip the dagger he had stored in his inventory. He took the dagger and began to stab into the back of the kobold over and over until it finally turned to dust. Vahn copsed, back to the wall, and looked at his stomach where he could see a deep ck blood slowly oozing from what looked like his liver. He also saw the bright crimson blood which flowed like a tide from the torn blood vessels and arteries. Seeing the bright blood he began to have shbacks to how he died in his previous... (*...!!!!*) As his consciousness began to fade he could hear a shouting from within his mind, but he couldnt hear it. He tried focusing on the voice, but the darkness encroaching on his vision seemed to hinder the message from getting through. The cold feeling that was in his mind began to spread to his entire body. He began to shiver and lose feeling in his legs. (*.....!!!!!*) "Whose...voice is that...Sis? Im sorry, I cant...hear you." Vahn coughed up blood while trying to speak. His eyelids began to feel like lead weights as he struggled to keep them from closing. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldnt seem to keep them open. He knew that if he wasnt able to keep them open something terrible would happen, but he wasnt able to muster any strength... The darknesspletely covered his vision and he finally let his eyes close fully. *Throb*........................*Throb*.................... "..." *Throb*..................*Throb*............... Vahn could feel a powerful force trying to break through the darkness. He had already lost all feeling within his body, and couldnt form any coherent thoughts. *THROB*.................*THROB*................. As the throbbing feeling began to increase in strength he started to see images. Apanying each beat he could see the various memories he had .u.mted in this world. He was sent back to the time when he first arrived in the record of Danmachi. Though he was scared he resolved himself to live freely to honor his Mothers wishes... *THROB*.............*THROB*............ He saw his six months of hard training, observing how he made the transition from an emaciatedb animal to a capable hunter that could even defeat a goblin tribe single-handedly... *THROB*...........*THROB*....... He began to recall all the people he had met after journeying to the City. The kind middle-aged man at the City gate...Gregory. The mature receptionist Fauna...the petite Millie who cautioned him for his own benefit... *THROB*...*THROB*..... He remembered the mother and daughterbo Mn and Tina. He still wanted to clear up the misunderstanding so Tina didnt fear him...He even remembered the phenomenal taste of the dish called Spaghetti and the terrifying ck-haired cat person Chloe... *THROB*....*THROB*.... Thats right...there are so many things Ive experienced sinceing to this world. The people, the ces, and the food...I want to experience more. I dont want my journey to end here! NO, I REFUSE TO LET IT END! *THROB*...*THROB*...*THROB* *SHATTER* //Obtained Innate Skill: Will of the Emperor// Vahn felt something snap in his mind as he tried desperately to resist the darkness. He grit his teeth so hard he could feel his mrs crack. His fingernails cut into his palms as Vahn slowly opened his eyes. The cooling feeling originating from his mind seemed to epass his body. Using his newfound awareness Vahn quickly opened his inventory and withdrew a senzu bean. Feeling the small bean in his hand, he struggled to lift it to his mouth. He felt the darkness in his vision begin to return but forced it away using sheer willpower. Finally, he managed to put the senzu bean into his mouth and madly devoured the life-giving essence within. He felt his wounds begin to heal rapidly and was even able to see the huge tear in his abdomen close up. It was almost as if time had been reversed, and after several breaths, Vahn was able to regain his strength. He lifted the nearby sword and turned towards his audience. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Shall we begin?" When he had begun to lose consciousness earlier, several goblins and kobolds had been spawned in the surrounding area. Though they wanted to charge at his limp body immediately, they were all forced back by an invisible pressure. It was unlike anything the monsters had experienced, and they felt a fundamental feeling of fear within their core. It was almost like the boy before they contained the soul of an Ancient Dragon. When the boy addressed them, the pressure suddenly increased as they looked into the deep aquamarine eyes. Within his pupils, they could see the silhouette of a fierce warrior shrouded in divine light. They could even vaguely see an illusion of a great army standing behind him... Without waiting any longer, Vahn charged at the monsters who stared in his direction in reverence and fear. He swung his sword in wide arcs, trailing a white light that carried a deadly momentum. The sword began to hum as it cut through each sessive body. As if possessing a life of its own, it began to resonate with the aura of its new master. Vahn continued to y monsters in a frenzy and seemed to trigger something within the dungeon itself. From the walls, floor, and even ceiling monsters continued to spawn to confront the mad tyrant wreaking havoc on the second floor. After several minutes Vahn had cut a path of destruction towards the third floor. Even the walls of the dungeon itself could not impede the path of his de as he left dozens of marks to scar its surface. Arriving at the staircase leading down, Vahn decided to against continuing further and followed the staircase upwards. The power that had been coursing through his body since his awakening had begun to diminish and his instincts told him that once it faded he would most likely pass out. He sprinted upwards with his maximum speed and arrived at the entrance within twenty minutes. As he took several steps from the entrance, amidst the crowd of people entering and exiting the dungeon, Vahn copsed into unconsciousness. Those in his surroundings immediately retreated for the boy who looked in terrible shape. There was blood covering every inch of his body, and they assumed he had most likely overestimated his own capabilities and suffered from his inexperience. One bolder adventurer decided to confirm if the boy was still alive and then gged down the approaching Guild staff after he noticed the boy was still breathing. One of approaching staff members was the elf Vahn had seen earlier, Nichs Grimm. Seeing the state of the boy he had just recently lectured about the dangers of the dungeon, he couldnt help but frown. Signaling the staff to escort him to the medical ward, he resolved to give the child a fierce lecture after he woke up. Chapter 23 - A Qualitative Change

Chapter 23 - A Qualitative Change

Vahn awoke staring at a foreign ceiling. His limbs felt like lead and his breathing wasbored. He felt the familiar cooling sensation of his Pain Tolerance (S) skill which brought some rity to his mind. Opening his inventory, Vahn pulled out a senzu bean. Given the current state of his body, it would likely take a long period of time to recover and he wasnt willing to wait it out. After ingesting the senzu bean he felt his body begin to warm up. The cooling sensation that had been permeating throughout his mind began to recede, allowing a powerful migraine to take its ce. Vahn gripped his head and began to massage his temples in an effort to alleviate the pain. ("Sis, why doesnt my pain tolerance work on this migraine? It feels like my brain is about to split open.") (*...*) Hearing the silence Vahn felt something was off. Sis had never ignored him before so he began to panic, throwing the pain of his head to the back of his mind. "Sis? Whats wrong, why are you not responding?" Due to his anxiety, he ended up asking the question out loud. The nearby nurse heard his exmation and left to inform the Doctor what had happened. Seeing her exit, Vahn calmed down a bit and spoke in his mind. ("Please respond Sis. I cant bear the silence...") A mechanical sigh sounded. (*Im here Vahn, Im just a little upset and thought I should punish you a little.*) Vahn was ecstatic to hear her response but became confused after hearing thetter part of her words. ("Punish? What did I do wrong Sis?") He thought back to everything that happened today. No matter how hard he strained himself he was unable to reason why Sis would be mad at him. (*Of course you did something wrong! You almost died, and no matter how much I shouted to get your attention you justy there bleeding out! Even when you finally woke up and I started to feel relieved, you continued to ignore my prompts and just went on a killing spree!*) Vahn was shocked hearing what she said. He did seem to recall that during the moment he was losing consciousness he thought someone was calling out to him. And after he woke up, the only thing he could think of was killing everything that opposed him... He realized his actions had caused Sis to worry about him. ("Im sorry Sis. I promise not to ignore you in the future. You are the most importantpanion in my life, and I didnt mean to make you worry so much.") Vahn apologized in earnest, but couldnt help but feel a warmth spreading in his heart due to her concern. (*Apology epted Vahn...just make sure never to end up in that kind of situation again.*) Vahn balled both his hands into fists while nodding. A firm expression appeared on his face as a glow emitted from the depths of his eyes... Through the door came two people. Vahn recognized the first person as the elf he had seen before entering the dungeon. He wore a grim expression as he looked towards the location where Vahn was resting. The second person was an olddy with silver hair and grey eyes. She was dressed in white robes and had a powerful smell of medicine wafting from her body. "Vahn Mason, I would think my advice when we spoke earlier was very straightforward. After everything I had said to prepare you for the dungeon, you return just a few hourster covered in blood? I am very disappointed with yourck of awareness." Nichs looked at the boy who had a nk expression on his face and couldnt help but let out a sigh. Before he could continue his lecture, the old woman interrupted. "Thats enough of that now Nichs. The boy just woke up and is probably still confused ording to the nurse. Let me take care of things from here." Surrendering to the gaze of the Doctor, Nichs decided to excuse himself for the moment. He was able to confirm the boy had awoken and he could lecture him at ater date. He nodded at the Doctor before frowning in the direction of Vahn as he left the room. Vahn felt guilty under the gaze of Nichs and hung his head. Seeing the expression and demeanor of the young man, the olddy couldnt help but chuckle. "Its good that you realize your errord. Not everyone has the opportunity to listen to the lectures of others after making such a grave mistake." Vahn heard what she said and nodded in approval. He decided to do something to make it up to Nichs in the future. Satisfied with the boys response, the old woman introduced herself. "Im the Doctor that had performed first aid when you were brought into the ward. Most of the folks around here call me Granny Marin, feel free to do the same." Hearing her word Vahn decided to thank her. "Thanks, Granny Marin. Im grateful for your help and will do my best to repay this favor in the future..." Granny Marin waved her hand to dismiss his words. "We can talk about payment and stuffter. What Im curious about is how youre even awake at this moment. With the state your body was in you should have been asleep for several days, not just a couple of hours." Vahn took a moment toe up with an exnation. His hesitation didnt escape Marins eye as she began to squint slightly. "I have a passive regeneration skill and when I woke up I drank a few potions to recover my health and stamina." Thinking she might inquire further, Vahn mumbled while raising his hand. In his palm, a transparent red potion appeared which shocked Granny Marin. "Storage Magic? How rare...." She seemed to think for a while before shaking her head. "I wont ask any more questions then. The only things I need to know is how to best help my patients, and you dont seem to be in need of my skills." Vahn once again thanked her and epted her advice to stay overnight just in case anyplications appear. Left alone in the room Vahn decided to take the opportunity to review the skill he had obtained in the dungeon. It had been nagging at the back of his mind for a while, and he wanted to know exactly what it was. He couldnt ignore a skill that granted so much power. [Will of the Emperor] Rank: Innate (SSS) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* [Passive]: Transcend all limitations and boundaries. Increases growth based on the conviction of the wielder and their followers. [Active]: Only those who stand above the ranks of all creatures are privy to the Will of the Emperor! -Creates a domain that suppresses those much weaker than the user. Has a moderate influence on those that are stronger. Reading the description Vahn was gobsmacked. He quickly checked his stats to see if they had changed. ========================================================== Name: Vahn Mason Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameters: Danmachi -Level:1[+](0) -Power: D604 -> A893 -Endurance: E529 -> B714 -Dexterity: D620 -> B799 -Agility: E589 -> A811 -Magic: G326 -> SS1124 -Total: 4241 (A/N: Since people wanted me to include this.) Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul) Karma:704 ========================================================== All of his stats experienced a qualitative improvement, especially his Magic which had broken through to SS. If others were to see his parameters they would be shocked! Other than Bell who had yet to begin his journey, he was likely the only Level 1 in the City to break through the S rank in magic. They would probably faint if they knew he didnt even know how to cast any spells... Vahn continued to stare nkly at his parameters before noticing an abnormality. His soul strength, which had been Tier 1 ever since he obtained The Path had actually increased to Tier 2! After thinking for a while, he suspected this was the reason for the abnormal growth of his magic. As if to confirm his theory, the migraine which he had been ignoring for so long reared its ugly head. The mental strain of overdrafting his source energy, or mana, had burdened his mind resulting in his current suffering. He had experienced a milder version of the same situation when he experimented with his bow several weeks ago. After trying to test the capacity of the bow to determine its limits, he ended up going too far and almost passed out on the archery range. It took nearly two hours before he was able to recover and continue the test. Vahn continued to browse through his various stats and functions. Once he turned to his inventory he couldnt help but release a sigh. He was in a unique state of mind when he was ughtering his way through the second floor. Because of that, he didnt pick up a single core or drop-item after leaving the first floor. ("Looks like Ill be going back to roasted meat until I can earn some Valis.") Lamenting at his currentck of funds, Vahn was suddenly struck by a brilliant idea. ("Sis, the shop allows me to exchange for pretty much any kind of item from every world, right? Can I exchange OP for Valis?") Vahn began to get excited at the prospect of earning easy money. With the system he might not even have to go to the guild and exchange his items in the future. (*It is possible Vahn, but you should know there are negative consequences for doing so. The exchange rate remains the same for all levels of currency due to themon nature of the material, but you would .u.mte a corresponding amount of negative Karma depending on its real-world value.*) Vahn was devastated. Though he wanted to be able to earn money easily, he didnt want to do it at the expense of earning negative karma. He had learned previously that the higher value someones negative karma, the more likely terrible events would happen in the future. There was even the possibility of inviting retribution from the worlds Laws if it got too high. ("Why does creating money generate negative karma, Sis?") Given Vahnsck ofmon sense when it came to money, he was unable toprehend how it was considered a bad thing. (A/N: He didnt buy anything in his previous life. You can literally count the stuff he has purchased on both hands!) (*It is a result of the nature of money as a bncing factor within society. A currency has to be strictly regted by the governing body of every country or it can destabilize the economy and cause adverse effects on all levels of society. If you were to arbitrarily create funds and introduce them into the market, it could cause serious consequences for business and citizens in the future. This is one of the reasons it is considered against thew to create currency, and thus the reason why it generates negative karma when doing so.*) (A/N: I am not an economics guru.) Though he wasnt sure he understood, he could see that creating money was bad. He tried thinking about it from various angles, but couldnt rationalize how something that seemed so important to maintain order was regted by others. How did they know when to make more money? And what stopped them from giving themselves as much money as they wanted? He shook his head andy back in his bed. The only thing that really mattered was that he had to earn money on his own, or exchange for items within the system to sellter. Since he was even able to purchase monster cores and drop items from the system, he could ept missions at the Guild and simply exchange for the required resources... Thinking he had found a loop-hole to circ.u.mvent the problem Vahn began to fall asleep wearing a smile on his face... (*Exchanging for items within the system toplete missions would also give negative karma...*) Vahn cked out after hearing Sis burst his bubble. Chapter 24 - Will of the Emperor (1/2)

Chapter 24 - Will of the Emperor (1/2)

Vahn had gone to sleep early the previous day, so he had awoken at 2 AM. Since he was unable to make much progress yesterday, he wanted to immediately head back into the dungeon. He might have been able to ughter his way through the 2nd floor, but since he wasnt in full control at the time he wanted to better understand the uses of [Will of the Emperor]. He checked out of the ward and they issued him a bill for 20,000V, which he would have to repay within 30 days. Though it was more money than he had ever possessed, he wasnt too worried about being able to earn enough. 20,000V was considerably less than the 1,000,000OP required for his quest after all... The medical ward was located within the first floor of Babel and was run in cooperation with the Guild. They took care of any adventurers that were rescued and even sold potions and items to aid continued progression into the dungeon. This also meant that the ward was located rtively close to the entrance of the 1st upper floor, so Vahn didnt have to travel far after leaving. As he passed the registration booths near the entrance, a familiar face caught his attention. He noticed Nichs staring directly at him with an intimidating expression. Since Nichs seemed to be dealing with another adventurer, and he also wanted to avoid a lecture, Vahn gave a slight bow before continuing down the stairs. He could feel a gaze on his back as a chill crept down his spine which caused him to shudder a bit. Vahn made his way through the corridor that had been registered as The Beginners Road on his map and continued along his previously explored path. He wanted to try his hand at dealing with the 2nd floor, so he put off mapping the rest of the dungeon untilter. As he descended the stairs, he discovered the barrier barring his entrance to the third floor had vanished. Resisting his urge to investigate, Vahn following his original intention and entered the door to the second floor. He noticed that the spawn rate of monsters on this floor was marginally higher than that of the previous level. Due to the fact paths began to diverge after passing the main corridor, there were very few situations where those venturing into the dungeon crossed paths. This meant there were plenty of monsters and Vahn would have to fight them alone. He equipped his sword into his main-hand equipment slot and mentally activated [Will of the Emperor]. He felt a surge of energy swell from his abdomen and extend to every part of his body. A cooling sensation simr to when he was using [Pain Tolerance] spread in his mind and he could feel the presence of an invisible force extending around him. He was vaguely aware that this was his Domain, and any kobolds nearby seemed to hesitate to approach within 20m. As none of the monsters seemed willing to approach, Vahn took the opportunity to check and see if any of his parameters changed while the skill was active. Unfortunately, they had all remained the same, but Vahn was able to discover that the cone disying his line of sight in the minimap had now grown into a full circle. The circle spread out for 21.8m from his position, and Vahn became aware that any creatures within the radius had their location indicated on the map. As long as the skill was active he would be able to track monsters, even if they were behind him. Due to the spiritual nature of the domain, it could even pass through solid objects allowing him to see rudimentary details of corridors beyond walls. (A/N: It doesnt let him map things like his minimap, but more like the vague way hisrger map does things. He would still have to look at things closely to enhance the details...at least for now~) Vahn walked towards the closest kobold and began to channel mana into the de. He was surprised to notice that the runes began to glow instantly, but wasnt sure if it was due to his greater magic capacity or a byproduct of [Will of the Emperor]. The sword became light in his hand and he charged towards the kobold who seemed reluctant to fight back. It got on all fours and tried to lunge at Vahn in a manner simr to his first encounter. Unlike then, Vahn was now able to easily keep track of the movements of the monster due to the increase in his attributes. He was easily able to intercept its path and bisect the kobold at the waist. With the fall of their brethren as a catalyst, the remaining four kobolds began to charge at Vahn. Even without looking at the minimap he was able to vaguely feel their presence. Without retreating, Vahn began trying to use his footwork to maneuver around the charging kobolds. He noticed they were able to make single rapid turns, but couldnt handle simultaneous changes in direction. Using abination of his agility and low sweeping strikes, Vahn was able to dispatch three of the remaining four kobolds. The final kobold seemed to s.u.mb to the pressure of facing Vahn alone and fell to its knees trembling. It put its head to the ground and tried to hide its eyes using its malformed paws. Vahn realized that when the others had fallen his domain seemed to focus entirely on thest kobold. Unable to withstand the pressure caused by the difference in strength, it decided to submit instead of fighting. Vahn was able to vaguely feel that the kobold was trying to establish a connection with him through [Will of the Emperor]. He knew that if he desired it, the monster before him would be his subordinate and follow his will. The longer he continued contemting the decision, the more he could see the kobold shake. He almost felt pity for the creature but denied the feeling since it had previously tried to kill him. No matter how much time passed, Vahn couldnt think of any benefit in epting the kobold as a subordinate. It was one of the weakest monsters in the dungeon, and he had no way of caring for it if he wanted to take it outside. As ifing to a realization, the kobold sprawled out on the ground. Momentster it turned to dust, s.u.mbing to the oppression generated by the domain. Picking up the magic core, Vahn couldnt help but feel a little guilty. Even if he didnt want to ept it, he could have let it go since it had surrendered. Sighing, he collected the remaining cores and continued deeper into the second floor. Along the way, he kept ying every goblin and kobold as they appeared. Any group smaller than three was dealt with simply. Therger groups were more challenging, but as his experience with [Will of the Emperor] grew it became progressively easier to advance. He also noticed that if he focused all of his attention on a single monster it would be slightly stunned and temporarily unable to move. He could use the moment after they froze up as an opportunity to deal a lethal blow. Two hourster he had finally arrived at the stairs leading further into the dungeon. Before continuing downwards, he decided to rest for a while. Since he had been using [Will of the Emperor] for the entire duration, he consumed and mana recovery potion (100OP) and waited for his slight migraine topletely dissipate. During this brief period, he checked his spoils. He had obtained a total of 73 magic cores: 51 from kobolds and 22 from goblins. With an average value between 15-20 OP, he hadted a potential 1100 total OP. This,bined with the drop items that were still being identified in the inventory would likely bring the value towards 1200-1300. Vahn was surprised knowing he had obtained over 1,000 origin points within a short two hour period. That was nearly a quarter of the total OP he had obtained (minus Quest) during his entire seven-month stay in the forest! At this rate, he would easily be able to obtain the 1M OP required toplete his current quest. After thinking for a moment, Vahn separated the cores into two equally sized piles within his inventory. He still needed to exchange some with the Guild to earn living expenses, and it was his intention to frequent the Hostess of Fertility whenever he had the time. Thinking of the food he had enjoyed previously, Vahn could feel phantom pangs of hunger and anticipation from his stomach. Taking some jerky from his inventory, Vahn had the thought of convincing Mama Mia to allow him to store some dishes. Though he knew that exposing his inventory was dangerous, he was very tempted by the idea... ("If only storage magic was able to preserve items as well. I wouldnt have to try to think of a way to hide its existence so much!") That was the biggest difference between Vahns inventory and known storage magic. His inventory had the ability to halt the time of objects and preserve them perfectly whereas storage magic slowed the decay but could not prevent it. After resting for twenty minutes Vahns mana hadpletely recovered. He made his way towards the third floor and activated [Will of the Emperor] again. Though he was secretly worried about bing too reliant on the skill, he wanted to be ustomed to its use as quickly as possible. Though it didnt enhance his parameters, the increased perception allowed him to rapidly improve hisbat capabilities. The longer he fought, the easier it was to adapt his body to the various situations hed find himself in duringbat. He assumed that if he were to fight a group between 4-5 monsters he would be able to eliminate them easily, even without relying on the skill. The entrance of the third floor opened into a very wide area approximately 50m in diameter. Along the wall were around twenty tunnels that lead further into the dungeon. Vahn knew he would probably have to investigate several of them if he wanted to find the way to the next floor...but first, he had to deal with the situation in front of him. Since the room was muchrger than normal it was upied by a total of 19 kobolds. He knew it would be a tough fight, but he should be able to ovee the situation. That is if it was just kobolds he had to worry about. Among the kobolds, he could see threerge lizards. They were 2-3m long and covered in a dense assortment of warts and scale-like protrusions. Vahn recognized them from the ecology book he had purchased previously. They were Dungeon Lizards and were considered the strongest monster on the first four floors. Due to the size of the group, they did not seem to suffer any constraints from [Will of the Emperor]. Vahn decided it was best to retreat, but stopped after a realization hit him. "Damn, how can I forget something so obvious!" Mocking his own foolishness, Vahn swapped his sword for the magic bow he used to assassinate the goblin Chief. He knocked an arrow that had a strange protrusion on the end. Taking aim at the closest lizard, he let the arrow fly... Chapter 25 - Will of the Emperor (2/2)

Chapter 25 - Will of the Emperor (2/2)

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!* Contacting the lizards head, the arrow exploded creating a thunderous boom. The nearby kobolds were knocked off their feet while the remaining two dungeon lizards roared. In response to the chaos, Vahn continued to fire explosive arrows towards the remaining lizards andrger groups of kobolds. Because of his increased magic capacity, the bow and arrows charged almost immediately as they were drawn. Pleasantly surprised, Vahn loosed as many arrows as he could before the monsters could close the distance. As the closest kobolds entered the range of his domain, Vahn was ovee by a peculiar sensation. It seemed like his perception had increased further with the use of the bow. He could easily track every monster within his domain, and could even see a small shadow forecasting where they would move next. Instead of changing back to his sword, Vahn decided to take the opportunity to test the influence of [Will of the Emperor] on his ranged capabilities. He had yet to engage anything after the massive leap in his attributes and found the current situation the perfect solution to appease his curiosity. While his previous style with the bow relied on opening a distance between him and the opponent, he now used his experience with the sword to improve hisbat style. Instead of opening the gap, Vahn used his footwork to outmaneuver the kobolds. In the brief gaps when they were trying to adjust their positioning to match his, Vahn was able to quickly fire an arrow into their defenseless form. When one kobold had tried to nk him and attack his back, Vahn was able to intercept it with his bow using the senses gained from [Will of the Emperor]. He was surprised to see that when the bow made contact with the kobolds neck, the body seemed to fold around the point of contact before it wasunched several meters away. It was at that moment Vahn realized his strength had increased to an almost super-human levelpared to his previous self. After around three minutes Vahn had dealt with the entire pack of kobolds. He looked towards the previous location of the dungeon lizards and found some slightlyrger magic cores. After analyzing them through the system, he was able to determine they had a value of 23, 24, and 27 respectively. Though this implied they were only slightly stronger than kobolds, Vahn knew it wasnt always the size of magic core that determined the threat of a monster Once everything was cleaned up, Vahn took a good look at his bow. He had initially decided it wouldnt be useful for soloing the dungeon but now knew that it had potential even in close-rangedbat. There seemed to be a synergy between [Bow Mastery] and [Will of the Emperor]. [Bow Mastery] had increased to rank D (from F) and gave arge enhancement to his vision. Combined with the increased perception of [Will of the Emperor] he could almost predict the movements of monsters within the domain. Looking towards the various tunnels, he equipped the bow to the secondary slot and brought out his sword. The bow was exceptional in open spaces, but he still preferred the sword forbat within the majority of the upper floors. The wide arcs of the sword allowed him to dispatch multiple monsters at once if they were close enough, and he didnt have to risk causing a copse from misfiring an arrow into the wall. He also remembered how his bowbat had improved due to the footwork he had been developing with the sword and wanted to polish the skill further. Vahn approached a random tunnel and started following it away from therge room. On his way, he continued to y numerous small groups of kobolds. Even though they had be much easier to deal with, because of his close experience with death the previous day he didnt ck. Instead, he tried various different fighting methods, even incorporating punches and kicks into hisbinations. He was especially surprised when his back-fist had caught a kobold that had evaded his sword strike. Attempting to use the opportunity while Vahn waspleting a swing, the Kobold leaped ws first towards Vahns neck. Releasing his left hand from the grip of the sword, Vahn used a twisting motion to counter the kobold with the back of his fist. On contact he could feel the skull of the kobold copse under the force of the blow, disintegrating into dust before it could make contact with the nearby wall. As it was thest kobold of the group, Vahn stared nkly at his fist. He hadnt expected the result to be so...drastic. He couldnt help but shudder when recalling the feeling of bone contorting against his fist. He shook his head to put the image out of his mind and pressed onward. Using around 40 minutes, Vahn found the stairs leading to the next floor. Though he wasnt as drained as the second floor, he still took the opportunity to rest in the rtive safety of the stairwell. The dungeon barrier that prevented him from going down to floors he hadnt essed also prevented most monsters from going up. Unless they could ovee the barrier, the majority of monsters were stuck to their assigned floors. ("I wanted an opportunity to fight a dungeon lizard with my sword. I remember theyre pretty resistant against physical attacks, so I wonder how they would fare against the sharpness enchantment of my de...") Vahn looked at the now magically inert de. Its 130cm length made it stand out against his 150cm frame. From the perspective of an observer, it probably looked like a child swinging around the sword of an a.d.u.l.t... Vahn blushed slightly at his self-deprecating thought and continued to inspect the sword. The thing he found most interesting was theck of a guard or any other embellishments. For a sword whose description says it was reforged countless times, it seemed rather in. Even its cutting age didnt possess the typical silver-sheen polish to counter the dark-metallic color of the de. In fact, other than when the runes were active the de was entirely ck in color and seemed to reflect a peculiar wavy pattern in the light As he continued to observe the de using the illumination of the dungeon walls, he noticed a small mark engraved where the de and handle met. It looked like two winged snakes twining around a scale. After inquiring about what it might represent, he was told it was probably the makers mark. Without knowing the name and background of the cksmith, it would be impossible to interpret its meaning. Satisfied with his rest, Vahn continued towards the fourth floor. Much like the previous three floors, it had glowing blue walls and an off-green colored floor. It also contained abination of kobolds, goblins, and dungeon lizards. Unlike the previous floors though, dungeon lizards were the prominent creature of the fourth floor and Vahn finally had the opportunity to engage one using his sword. Even though the de was fully charged with magic, Vahn was surprised to discover there was actually a bit of resistance when he cut through the lizards hide. He inferred that, due to the existence of magic flowing within the body of monsters, as they became stronger they would offer more resistance against the de. Since the dungeon lizards were resistant to both physical and magical attacks, it made sense that they were slightly more difficult to cut. Only slightly though, as Vahn was able to bisect it from head-to-tail in a single leaping swipe. The fourth floor was slightly longer than the previous three, and it took a total of five hours to navigate to the stairs. He had to backtrack on several asions due to theplexyout of the dungeon. Luckily he was prevented from getting lost due to the existence of his minimap. He avoiding the scenario where he would reach the same dead end more than once. After arriving at the stairwell, Vahn decided to immediately head up and call it a day. By now it was nearing 3 PM and he wanted to exchange magic cores at the guild to obtain some Valis before visiting the Hostess of Fertility. He was very satisfied with his growth and decided to inspect his stats as he ascended the stairs. ========================================================== Name: Vahn Mason Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameters: Danmachi -Level:1[+](0) -Power: A893 -> S909 -Endurance: B714 -> B740 -Dexterity: B799 -> A833 -Agility: A811 -> A889 -Magic: SSS1124 -> SSS1493 -Total: 4864 Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul) Karma:721 ========================================================== Most of his stats were nearing S, and he was surprised at how much his Magic had increased in half a day. It seems his use of [Will of the Emperor] promotes magical growth to a terrifying degree. Vahn began to seriously consider using some OP to purchase magic from the system shop... Chapter 26 - Shock within the Guild

Chapter 26 - Shock within the Guild

Vahn exited the dungeon and prepared to head towards the Guild. Just as he was about to exit Babel he felt a powerful grip on his shoulder. Turning his head he saw Nichs with ck lines hanging down his face concealing his eyes. Vahn noticed a vibrant red me-like aura emanating from his body... Tightening his grip on Vahns shoulder, Nichs slowly raised his head. "Vahn Mason, I believe I owe you a lecture." Vahn could see veins bulging on NIchss head as the strength put into the hand on his shoulder increased. He recalled the chilling sensation he had felt when entering the dungeon before bowing his head. "I am very sorry. I should have been more careful." Hearing the apology and seeing Vahns expression, Nichs released some of the pressure he had been using in his grip. He sighed while giving a cursory nce at the boy in front of him. Unlike the previous day, this time he managed to return without any injuries. Even his clothes, tacky as they might be, hardly had a single speck of blood even though Vahn had spent a longer period of time within the dungeon. "Judging by your appearance, it would appear that you had learned your lesson. Make sure you show extra caution in the future and dont overlook making proper preparations. Remember that the Guild has numerous resources and books about the dungeon. Dont discredit the importance of knowledge, as it could be the difference between life and death when you encounter a new monster. Lightly patting the shoulder he had previously been gripping, Nichs began to turn away before noticing a peculiarity in the situation. He gave a second nce at Vahn and determined where the weird feeling wasing from. No matter where he looked he was unable to see a weapon on Vahns person. Moreso than that, he didnt even see a pouch to hold magic cores and drop items... "Where are your weapon and the loot you obtained from the dungeon? Dont tell me you just pretended to enter and spent the day ying around..." As Vahn had already been preparing to walk away, he almost tripped after hearing the question. He trieding up with various excuses in his mind but was unable to think of one on the spot. Sighing, he turned towards Nichs and considered everything that had happened between them. Though it was just his job, Nichs had given him a very detailed exnation regarding the dungeon. He was also one of the people present when Vahn had passed out at dungeons entrance. He was even there to lecture Vahn when he woke up at the medical ward.. Vahn looked closely at the auraing from Nichs, before remembering the contact from before. View Affection: Nichs Grimm {[Affection: 51[Neutral], Intrigue:60[Concerned]} Seeing the values Vahn decided to mention his storage magic to alleviate Nichss suspicions. He held out his hand where it was not easily seen by outsiders and withdrew a magic core from his inventory. Seeing an item aparate right in front of his eyes, Nichs was very surprised. He quickly looked around before shepherding Vahn towards a more discreet location. After he was satisifed nobody was paying attention to their conversation, Nichs looked towards Vahn and gave him a fierce look. "Is that Storage Magic?" He red directly into Vahns eyes as if trying to peer through any falsities. Seeing his expression, Vahn felt a bit of pressure. "Yes, its a unique skill that Ive always had since my time in the forest with my Grandfather..." Though he could feel something off about the statement, he was unable to detect what was true and what was false. Knowing that it was considered taboo to force someone to reveal their secrets, Nichs decided to not press any further. He looked towards Vahn before cautioning him with a firm tone. "Vahn Mason, you should know that Storage Magic is a very rare skill right?" Vahn nodded. "Good. Then you should also be aware of the dangers if people discover you have such a skill. If anyone with malicious intent became aware of your capabilities, they would do everything in their power to use you for their own agenda." Vahn nodded again. He had considered this previously when discussing the matter with Sis. He knew that before he was strong enough it would be best to keep the existence of his storage magic and inventory a secret. "From now on, whenever youre entering and exiting the dungeon you should carry supplies on your body. Though its not obvious at first, seeing someone walking around without even possessing a weapon is a red g to anyone paying close enough attention." After hearing those words Vahn felt like pping himself in the head. He had grown so ustomed to the ease of use of the equipment system, that he would often keep his gear stowed away until he needed it. He looked around and saw that every other adventurer was carrying their weapons openly and realized the foolishness of his oversight. Vahn discreetly removed his dagger bow from the inventory and slung it over his shoulder. He also withdrew a quiver and fixed it into the area of his belt around his lower back. Luckily whenever he purchased arrows, they always came in bundles of 30 with a corresponding quiver. Seeing the items continually appear from thin air, Nichs could feel a cold sweat on his back apanying the twitch in his eye. He tried to use his body to block the line of sight of anyone that could potentially look over. After noticing Vahn had finally situated all of his gear, he released a heavy sigh and almost wanted to yell at the airheaded boy before him... "Thats much better, but remember to buy a backpack or satchel to store goods in the future. You dont have to keep anything in it, but it will be a helpful disguise against any inquiring eyes." Turning away from the nodding Vahn, Nichs felt a strong desire to just go home and sleep. After his interaction with Nichs, Vahn decided to quickly leave Babel tower. It was now approaching 4:30 PM and he wanted to exchange with the guild before rushing over to the Hostess of Fertility. Though it had been less than two days since hisst visit, he was no longer able to find the roasted meat and jerky within his inventory ptable. He wanted to try all of the dishes he hadnt experienced yet. If they were half as good as spaghetti, he might even be willing to get pet by the ck-haired Chloe in exchange for arger portion... Shivering at the thought, Vahn turned into a nearby alley away from the view of others. He looked through his shop for a few minutes before purchasing a leather satchel that could be attached to the belt. He swapped locations with the quiver and stored both the bow and arrows back into his inventory. Removing his sword, Vahn ced it into the corresponding sheath that had been sitting in the inventory since its purchase. He felt that walking around with a sword was a lot cooler than carrying a bow... Satisfied with his setup, he continued following the route towards the Guild. Though he was in a hurry, he decided it was a good opportunity to increase the quality of his map. He took note of the various buildings and shops along the way and made mental marks for each of them. In the future, he would be able to find their locations easily if needed. After nearly half an hour, Vahn finally reached the guild. It was actually a bit faster than his expectations, likely a result of his increased parameters since entering the dungeon. He made his way through therge entrance of the guild and looked around. He had expected to see Fauna or Millie, but it seemed as if they were both off-duty at the moment. Since he didnt recognize anyone, he slipped his hand into the satchel and withdrew half of the spoils he had obtained in the dungeon from his inventory. He felt the weight of the bag increase, but there was no noticeable change in appearance so he didnt worry that anyone was aware of his action. Making his way towards one of the booths for exchanging items, Vahn had to wait in line for ten minutes beforeing face to face with someone he hadnt expected. Standing before him at around 158cm was the half-elf receptionist Eina Tulle. He hadnt recognized her at first due to how young she looked, but the emerald green eyes and brown hair made it very obvious she was in fact Eina. At this point in time, she wasnt wearing her sses, and Vahn felt it made her look particrly cute. Noticing the nk stare of the boy in front of her, Eina gave a gentle smile before speaking. "Wee to the Guild Exchange Counter. Im Eina, and I can help you exchange any cores or items you may possess for Valis. I can also log items for any missions you had previously epted." Hearing her speak, Vahn turned his gaze away and sighed slightly. He needed to break the habit of staring at people so directly, but it was just so interesting seeing the real-world versions of the characters he had only known from the pages of manga in his previous life! "Im sorry for staring miss Eina. You looked very familiar and I got a bit distracted when I saw you. Please forgive me if I offended you." Hearing his polite response and seeing him bow, Eina couldnt help but chuckle at the boys innocence. "Its alright Vahn. I wasnt offended in the least." Vahn looked up and saw her aura was gentle like sunlight and had a mysterious purple hue along the edges. He quickly took out the monster cores from his bag before arranging them on the table. Though it had been a quick nce, Eina was still able to see the change in the boys expression. She began to wonder if maybe the person she reminded him of was someone close to him. His expression seemed to carry a hint of affection and curiosity. As these thoughts crossed her mind, she began to look at the items he had been neatly arranging on the desk by size. Though it was just a few small magic cores at first, Eina began to sweat as he continued pulling more and more out of the bag on his waist. Out of curiosity she began to count and noticed he had alreadyid out more than fifty cores and didnt seem to be slowing down any time soon. "Vahn, why did you wait so long before bringing in all these monster cores?" Out of curiosity, she couldnt help but ask. Seeing the boy look at her with a confused expression, she began to feel a strange unease in her stomach. ("Dont tell me...") "I got all these when I went into the dungeon today though? I havent been waiting or anything like that." Vahn couldnt understand why Eina asked the question. Her intuition had been correct. Apparently, the boy in front of her, who seemed tockmon sense, was more capable than she expected. "Can I ask what level you are and what familia you belong to?" Eina found it odd she had never seen or heard of such a peculiar young boy before. Vahn nodded mechanically while answering. "Sure...Im level 1 and dont belong to a familia yet since I just arrived in the City a few days ago." Eina almost fell over after hearing his words. Level 1? Not in a familia? This boy who earned more than most small groups earn in several days was just a frence dungeoneer!? She gave Vahn a curious look before asking the question that gued her mind. "Youre able to earn so much in a single day...why arent you in a familia yet? Surely someone that is as strong as you are at Level 1 would be able to join an A or B ranked familia. Youre only hurting your growth by staying as a frencer." She stared at therge sword on his back and imagined him cutting through hordes of monsters only to end up surrounded and die due to entering the dungeon alone. Vahn finished lining up the remaining cores as the contemted his answer. Even he wasnt sure why he hadnt joined a familia. He felt it was abination of trying to protect his secrets and the fact he didnt recognize most of the Familia on the list. At the same time he felt that joining a familia might restrict his actions, and he still wasnt sure exactly what he wanted to aplish in this world. Though he had said he wanted to be the strongest adventurer, he was beginning to get distracted in various other things. There were so many interesting people and ces he wanted to visit. And after eating at the Hostess of Fertility he could feel an obsession rising in him to try the various different foods and dishes within the City. In summary, it came down to the fact he didnt know what he had to do to live free and happy like his mother wanted. He felt that even in the forest he was free, at leastpared to his previous life. Just making enough Valis to eat good food was enough to make him happy, or at least the closest thing to happiness he had ever known. Eina could see the various emotions her question had stirred in the boy. She began to feel guilty that she had introduced so much doubt into his life with just a few simple questions. Remembering he words, she couldnt understand what had set off his moment of introspection. It was likely due to something that happened in his past and was likely his reason foring to the City in the first ce. Judging by his shabby appearance, he was a few years younger than her and yet had to make a living venturing into the dungeon alone. She began to feel pity for the boy she had just met and wanted to say something to alleviate his mncholy. "I didnt mean to upset you Vahn, I was just a bit curious. Even though youre so young, youre able to easily enter the dungeon and return with arge harvest. Im sure youll be even stronger in the future and be able to find the answers youre looking for!" Vahn listened as her words went from downcast to a more upbeat tone towards the end. He looked into her eyes and could see concern and expectations for his future, and understood she was trying to encourage him. ("Thats right, as long as Im strong I can do whatever I want...I dont have to be in a rush, and even if I joined a familia its not like I wouldnt be able to join another in the future. I can go at my own pace, and even if I decided to be the strongest adventurer, that doesnt mean I cant enjoy good food. It would even make it easier to do so!") Vahn began to tremble with excitement at his realization. He couldnt help butugh within his mind at how he had begun to waver over nothing. Looking towards the young girl before him, he smiled remembering a scene from the manga. He bowed towards the girl that had just given him advice."Thanks, Miss Eina, I love you~!" Vahn shouted, causing everyone within the Guild to look over while the girl he made his promation towards turned beet red up till her pointy ears. Chapter 27 - *Spoilers : Title at End*

Chapter 27 - *Spoilers : Title at End*

Seeing the expression on Einas face, Vahn smiled at the sess of his prank. He also noticed that the aura around her body had been in disorder since his outburst, and he found it very amusing to watch it squirm back-and-forth. Noticing the grin on Vahns face and hearing the jeers of the surrounding adventurers, Eina couldnt help regretting the fact she had consoled him. She ignored the sounds ofughter and false congrattions and focused on counting the magic cores on the table. Once again she was mildly surprised at the sheer number present. If Vahn was telling the truth he had obtained 139 cores in a single expedition. As her expression changed from embarrassment to shock, Vahn was grateful he had the insight to keep half of the cores. Given the surprise showed on her face, she would probably have a mental breakdown if he told her it was just half the actual number. Eina left for the back room to have the value of the magic cores appraised. The value of a magic core depended on itsposition, element, and the amount of magic contained within. There was a special form of authentication and analysis magic used by the Appraisers within the guild. Distribution of cores was one of the primary sources of ie for the guild. The cores were used in a variety of important functions like generating heat, water, and even electricity, so the Guild had enactedws that guaranteed it had a monopoly on the market. Though a person could use cores they obtained for their own personal use, if found distributing or selling them they would face arbitration from the Guild and be cklisted or exiled in the worst case scenario. After twenty minutes, Eina returned with an odd expression on her face. She was carrying a sack full of Valis in one hand, but the other was holding a magic core. Setting the core on the table, she handed the bag to Vahn before repeating what the appraisal expert had told her. "Our expert was unable to determine the value of this magic core. Though it appears normal on the outside, there is a mysterious force present within that makes it impossible to identify using conventional means. I was asked if youd like to turn it over to the Guild for research in exchange for the usual price. We would also pay you a bonus after identifying why the core is unique." Vahn looked at the core on the desk and was unable to distinguish it from the others. He decided to hold on to it since he figured the inventory would be able to identify it faster than the Guild. There was also the chance it contained a unique trait that would be beneficial to him in the future, and he didnt want to turn it over to the Guild before finding out. "Sorry Ms. Eina, I think Ill hold onto it for now." Vahn picked up the core and stored it into his inventory through the satchel. Seeing him put it away, Eina frowned slightly. She didnt see any benefit it holding onto it, and he had previously tried to exchange it. He couldnt have any attachment to the core, so she was curious why he decided to keep it after considering for a few moments. Noticing her expression, Vahn smiled before saying, "I think its cool to have a core that cant be identified normally. It creates a bit of mystery, and I can use it as a good luck charm in the future." Considering Vahns odd nature and quirky personality, she decided it was very like him to keep a magic core for such reasons. The two concluded the transaction and began to part ways. Before leaving, Vahn turned towards Eina and gave thergest smile he could muster while waving goodbye. Seeing the goofy smile of the innocent looking boy, Eina couldnt help but return the gesture. To anyone looking closely, they would be able to see a slight blush on her ears. Leaving the guild, Vahn weighed the pouch of Valis in his hand. He had obtained a total of 43,900V within a single day, slightly under twice the amount of a party of five level 1 adventurers. If he wanted to he could spend several weekszing about at the Inn without having to make any real effort. Using his newfound wealth he increased his pace and headed towards the Hostess of Fertility. With each step, he could feel the seal containing the beast within his stomach loosening. If he was unable to satiate its appetite there would be terrible consequences...(A/N: This is a mild delusion of the MC. Late stage chuuni~!?) He arrived outside the pub in record time and took a moment to enjoy the fragranceing from the inside. Stepping through the threshold of the door, he was greeted by a yful voice. "Weeee to the Hostess of Fertility~nya!" Came the shout of a young woman with brown hair, brown eyes, and a fluttering pair of cat ears. Vahn recognized the girl as Arnya Fromel and was taken aback slightly by her energy. She was the same height as he was at 150cm and possessed a cheery, vibrant demeanor which contrasted his rtively dark and nd appearance. Vahn noticed her aura was sky-blue with azure ents. Seeing the boy staring at her through the door, something seemed to click in Arnya mind. "Oooh, arent you the boy Chloe was fawning over~? One moment, Ill get her for you nya~" Before he could stop her, Arnya whisked her way across the room leaving a baffled Vahn in her wake. He began to struggle against the idea of leaving, but the protests of the monster in his stomach and the aroma of the food kept his feet firmly rooted to the spot. A few momentster he saw the ck-haired Chloe in the distance. When they made eye contact she smiled as a glimmer appeared within her eyes. Vahn began to feel a sense of danger and almost managed to convince his feet to retreat outside the pub. Even his stomach seemed to be in agreement, but before he was able to put his n into action the lithe Chloe had intercepted. "Nyaa~? You just arrived, why not stay a while~?" Not waiting for his response, she grabbed his arm and guided him towards the same spot he sat at previously. After seating him, she took up the stool to his left and began to stare at his face with a mischevious grin. Vahn was reminded of the time he had first encountered a goblin and was put in a life and death situation. He felt like the looking from Chloes eyes were like a predator observing its prey. He felt like if he dropped his guard she would devour him down to the bones... "Umm, Miss-" "Just Chloe is fine~" She interrupted as he began speaking. Swallowing his previous words, Vahn continued, "Chloe...shouldnt you be working right now?" He looked towards her and saw the smile on her face growrger. "Nyahaha~I asked someone to cover for me and decided to take my employee break. I even got permission from Mama Mia~nya." At the mention of Mia, Vahn noticed the woman giving him an amused grin from across the bar. It looked like she found his situation entertaining... Vahn turned towards Chloe and tried thinking of what to say. He didnt know if he should try asking her questions, or if he should make an excuse and try to leave. She seemed to take pleasure watching him struggle to find words and slowly closed the distance between their bodies while he was distracted. Noticing the distance between them had shrunk before he was aware, Vahn quickly brought up a topic while inching towards the edge of his stool. "Chloe, whats your favorite item on the menu!?" He practically blurted out the question in a single breath. Seeing how he had responded to her approach, Chloe couldnt help but chuckle. He was much more innocent than she had expected and her desire to tease him increased exponentially. "I think its all good~nya. It would make me happy if you tried them all~." She continued to close the distance until Vahn had lost the ability to retreat. He would fall from the stool if he tried inching any further away... Just as their bodies were about to make contact, Mama Mia threw a cork which hit Chloe square in the forehead. The young cat girls head jerked back and she began to rub the sore spot where the cork had impacted. "Mama Mia~nya! Thats mean~!!" She red towards Mia with tears in her eyes. "Break times over Chloe. Take the boys order before you scare him out of the ce! You can flirt on your off-time." Mama Miaughed seeing Chloes resentful expression before turning towards a customer. Chloe could be heard muttering under her breath as she continued to rub her forehead, "Selfish Mia, just because you cant find a man-" Before she was able to finish her sentence a brown beam of light carved through the air and clipped the bangs of Chloe. The light continued onwards before exiting the doors and disappearing beyond the horizon. Those with excellent dynamic vision would have recognized the object as a wine cork beginning its ascent to heaven. Turning her head, Chloe could see a now ferocious looking Mia ring directly at her. After leaving her stool, she took Vahns order before quickly disappearing into the kitchen area. Meanwhile, Vahn was resolving to never get on Mama Mias bad side. That cork which had flown near Chloe was also just a few inches away from his head. He felt like it was powerful enough to decapitate a dragon, much less him with his meager level 1 status...For the second time that afternoon Vahn felt his conviction to grow stronger improve... After a short wait, Chloe returned with several tes of food. She was now acting like a proper waitress as sheid out each te on the bar. As Vahn stared at the food, he couldnt help but smack his lips while swallowing a mouth full of saliva. Without giving any extra thought, he began to devour the food in front of him. Each dish was something he had never experienced before, and he savored each and every bite with moisture in his eyes. Seeing the fervor in which Vahn ate, Chloe exchanged nces with Mama Mia who looked over periodically. Mia shrugged as if she didnt know what to say about the situation before shaking her head with an awkward smile. Turning back towards Vahn, Chloe had a gentle smile on her face as the curiosity she had towards him continued to grow. She began to wonder what kind of life he lived to have such an appreciation for food. As an orphan and professional assassin, she had seen many children that had suffered due to the cruel nature of this world. That is one of the reasons she was drawn to Vahn in the first ce. She could intuit from experience that he had experienced an umon amount of suffering. Though he seemed to be simple and easy to read, there was a deeply rooted caution in all of his actions. It was almost like he was protecting himself by creating a barrier against the outside world. She thought his tendency to stare at others was due to the inner turmoil he experienced when trying to judge if someone could be trusted or not. She wanted to know more about him and, if possible, help heal some of the wounds in his heart. When he had finally finished all the tes and released a happy sigh before taking a drink of apple cider, Chloe finally gave in to her curiosity... "Vahn, would you like to go on a date?" *pfffffftttttt* Vahn nearly choked on his drink hearing her words. He looked towards her and saw a seriousness that had reced her usual expression. Though her actions put him under a lot of pressure, he could tell from her aura that she harbored no ill-will towards him. After thinking for a few seconds he finally decided to nod. "Sure, Chloe. Id like that." Upon finishing his words he was surprised at how big the smile on her face became. For some reason, he felt like the smile contained something very important that he lost a long time ago. After making the arrangements and confirming the time and ce, Vahn left the Hostess of Fertility. He didnt remember how he returned to the Inn, but he walked up the stairs under the curious gazes of the mother and daughter pair before finally arriving at his room and copsing into the bed. Thest thing he recalled before falling asleep was the sound of various notifications that had constantly been ringing since he agreed to the date. //Chloe Lolo: Affection + 3// //Chloe Lolo: Intrigue + 10// //Chloe Lolo: Affection +1// //Chloe Lolo: Affection +1// //Chloe Lolo: Affection +1// //Chloe Lolo: Affection +1// .... [View Affection: Chloe Lolo] [Affection: 73[Caring], Intrigue:85[Desire to Protect] Title: Date!? Chapter 28 - Date with Chloe Lolo (1/2)

Chapter 28 - Date with Chloe Lolo (1/2)

Vahn wasnt able to sleep well that night. He kept worrying about tomorrow and feared the rising of the Sun. He would wake up periodically throughout the night before spending a few minutes trying to fall asleep. At one point he began to dream... Strapped to a table within a sterile room Vahn was unable to move. Its not that he didnt want to, but the rig that had been affixed to his body prevented him from doing so. His eyes were forced open by rubber prongs that prevented him from blinking. The only thing he could do was stare at the bright, blinding light that shone down on him from above. He could hear the movement of unseen creatures within the darkness as they poked and prodded his body with various tools, each more terrible than thest. The worst part was the terrible pain emitted from the bands on his arms and legs. Though he had lost feeling when they were first applied, over time the numbness was reced by a very painful sensation. He began to worry that he would lose function in the limbs if the bands werent removed. From the shadows, he heard muffled sounds like words...one of the creaturesughed...Vahn could see arge saw exit the darkness... Vahn awoke in a cold sweat gasping for air. He felt a numb sensation from his arms and legs and began to panic before he confirmed their presence. ("It was just a dream...") he sighed as hey back in his now damp bed. From the window, rays of light had started to creep in through the wooden blinds, causing Vahn to give up trying to go back to sleep. Escaping from his bed, he made an extra effort to clean himself to prepare for the date. He hadnt really taken the opportunity to bathe ever since entering the City, other than when the medics had wiped him down during his treatment. Though he didnt mind too much, judging by how people reacted when he was walking around he probably stank quite a bit. Thinking about this, he remembered how Chloe constantly tried sticking to him and began to wonder if there was something wrong with her nose. After dressing himself, he realized there was still two hours until the start of the date. He wasnt really sure how to pass the time, and he remembered how in manga one of the characters would always show up very early. Thinking it was probably the appropriate thing to do, he prepared to leave the Inn and head for the meet-up location. They had decided to meet up outside the tower of Babel before browsing the various shops inside. Vahn figured that even if he showed up early, he would just use the extra time to grab some breakfast andze around on a bench until Chloe arrived. It would give him some time to look through his system and decide what he needed to prepare for theing months. He still had plenty of time toplete his quest, but he wasnt satisfied just grinding away endlessly on kobolds, goblins, and lizards. His goal was to advance down to the safe zone on the 18th floor, Rivira, relying on his own strength. As he exited the stairs leading to the reception/dining area, Vahn came across the small cat-girl, Tina. Unlike the dark purple aura she had previously, now it had turned into abination of yellows and greens. When Vahn entered the room, she approached him with a concerned look. "Mister. I dont know what happened, but you should try to cheer up. Its sad to see you walk around with such a sad face..." She looked at him with herrge upturned golden eyes and a slight frown. Hearing what she said, Vahn touched his hand to his face and could feel that the muscles were tense. Without realizing it, he had been wearing a grim expression on his face and caused the young girl to worry. Vahn rxed his expression and tried giving her a smile. "I thought you were afraid of me?" He inquired, noticing that she was not shying away like she had during their previous meetings. She gave him a look like she couldnt understand what he was saying, "Im not afraid~nya! I was just listening to my Mom. The way you kept staring at my ears and tail was very creepy~nya!" She eximed loudly causing her mother to investigate from the back room. Seeing that her daughter was interacting with Vahn, she gave a light chuckle before returning to her duties. Vahn noticed her actions and felt very awkward. "S-sorry...I had just never seen a Cat Person before and got carried away. I didnt mean to creep you out or anything..." He turned towards Tina and bowed as he apologized. The young girl began to stamp her feet as she scolded, "Geez! You need to have more backbone~nya! Girls wont like you if you always look so glum nyaa~know!? After her remark, she blushed a bit before running through the same door her mother just left through. Vahn stared at her retreating figure in confusion before making his way out of the Inn. He took his time and arrived at the Babel za after walking for fifty minutes. He saw one of the various clocks indicate he still had more than an hour before Chloe was expected to arrive, so he purchased a kebab from a nearby stall. He had only seen kebabs in manga, so he was very curious about the dish. He put themb-based skewer into his mouth and let the spicy juices soak into his tongue before swallowing. As expected, it was delicious. Just like all the food he had tasted sinceing to this world and leaving the forest, Vahn loved the taste. He began to contemte purchasing a cooking manual through the system and learning to replicate the dishes so he could eat them whenever he wanted. Complimenting the vendor, Vahn bought an extra skewer and left a generous tip before heading towards the rendezvous point. As he approached the location, he could see the lithe figure of Chloe in the distance. Pausing, Vahn checked the time and noted there was still 53 minutes before they were supposed to meet up. He made his way over and caught the attention of Chloe as he approached. She smiled and started walking in his direction. Once they got near each other, she sized up his appearance before speaking. "As expected, you still wore that dark getup~nya." Vahn nced at his attire before looking over Chloes appearance. Almost as if to contrast the matte color of his clothes, she wore a beige pinafore dress with a navy blue undershirt that ented her hair and made the dress stand out. Around her neck was a lime green embroidered choker, and shepleted the ensemble with white stocking and grey long boots. "Sorry, I didnt really have anything else to wear. I dont own many clothes and these are the most useful among those in my possession...By the way, why are you here so early?" Chole listened to the first part of his exnation while nodding her head. When she heard the second part, she began to smile and looked directly into Vahns eyes. "Nyahaha~ I thought someone might show up very early and decided to surprise you~. Well, did it work~nya?" Vahn nodded as he started eating the kebab he had been holding. Seeing his curt response and the fact he had decided to continue eating, Chloe felt her ears twitch a bit. She closed the distance and locked arms with the unsuspecting Vahn. "Nyaa~whats that~. I want a bite~Gimme~" Vahn flinched at the unexpected touch. He looked down at the arm Chloe was nuzzling and marveled at the soft sensation pressing against him. In his dazed state, hearing her ask for the kebab, he mindlessly held it towards her. "Nyaaaaaa~ahm!" *munch* *munch* "Oh~Its very spicy~nya!" Seeing Chloe devour the kebab, Vahn was torn from the mystical feeling pressing against his left arm. He stared at the now empty skewer and felt his eyes begin to moisten... Before he was able toin, Chloe released his arm and began pulling his hand towards the entrance of Babel. "Dont worry about it~nya. We can buy more food while shopping. Ill even treat you if you like~" Nodding in response, Vahn allowed himself to be dragged into the tower. Upon entering, he looked towards the entrance of the dungeon and began to think about what he should do the next time he entered. He still needed to earn money for living expenses and also stockpile OP for his quest... "Now then, first things first. We need to shop for some clothes~nya! Clothing doesnt always have to be practical like youre expecting a fight ya know? Wearingfortable clothing is one of the things that can bring happiness to people~." Hearing her mention the phrase "happiness" Vahn stopped thinking about the dungeon. "You mean wearing clothes can make people happy?" Seeing that she had finally caught his attention, Chloe beamed. "Yes, yes, certainly~. Dont you prefer to wear new and clean clothes instead of things that had been covered in grime and sweat~? Also, its not just wearing clothes yourself that can make people happy~" "What do you mean?" he inquired. "Well, how did you feel when you saw how I was dressed~nya?" Chloe stared into his eyes as she asked the question and held his hand between both of her palms. Vahn thought back to when he saw Chloe near their rendezvous point. The first thing he remembered after seeing her silhouette...was her smile. She seemed happy to see him, and her outfit made all of her expressions stand out more-so than normal. The clothing seemed to enhance the atmosphereing from her body and drew the eye to all of her actions... "I felt...I thought it suited you. It matched your personality a lot more than the clothes you wore at the pub." Vahn tried his best to summarize his feelings as he stared at the two hands cradling his own. "Right~right~? Its that type of feeling. Clothing not only changes how you see others, but it also changes how you see yourself. By dressing up, you can appeal to those around you and even impress the people you interact with~nya." Vahn nodded as he listened to her words. He remembered how everyone gave him strange looks as he walked around town, and how he stood out from the crowd due to his shing appearance. Even the people that seemed to not mind his presence all wore expressions of confusion when they firstid eyes on him...except for one person. He looked towards the girl that was fiddling around with his fingers as an unknown emotion tickled his heart. Without thinking he asked, "Why dont you look at me like everyone else?" Hearing his question, she stopped ying with his fingers and looked directly into his eyes. After a few seconds, she gave a gentle smile that seemed to resonate with something in Vahns mind. "Its because I can see the boy hiding beneath the appearance. I can see that you are in a pain that you believe nobody else can understand..." Vahn began to tense up and made an effort to extricate his hand. Though she wasnt gripping it hard, he noticed Chloe held his hand in a firm manner that didnt allow him to free himself without forcefully doing so. "I cant understand your pain Vahn, but I want you to know that there are people in the world that can empathize with what youre going through. Know that youll never be alone as long as you are willing to ept the hand people extend to you. And maybe, one day, when the pain begins to fade...youll be able to offer your own hand to someone else that needs it." Chloe continued to stare into his eyes the entire time she spoke. Vahn could feel his body shaking and gave up trying to remove his hand from hers. He kept reying her words in his mind, wanting to believe them, but something deep within him still resisted. While he was still ruminating over the words, he could feel a gentle tug pulling in forward. He looked up to see Chloe still staring with her gentle expression as she guided him deeper into the tower,pletely ignoring the looks given by the crowd around them. "Lets get you some new clothes Vahn. Im sure youll be surprised by how much a fresh appearance can change how you feel..." Vahn nodded his head and didnt resist her guidance. As she pulled him along towards their destination, he used his free hand to wipe away at the tears that had appeared without him noticing... Chapter 29 - Date with Chloe Lolo (2/2)

Chapter 29 - Date with Chloe Lolo (2/2)

Vahn continued thinking as Chloe dragged him into themercial district of the tower. Keeping true to her word, their first stop was a small cafe that served coffee and baked goods. Vahn wasnt fond of the taste of coffee, but after Chloe had shown him how to add cream and sugar he began to enjoy it. "Nyaaaaahn~" As he had started enjoying the coffee, Chloe began gesturing towards his mouth holding a small fish-shaped cookie in her hand. Vahn stared at the cookie while Chloe watched his expression with a cheeky grin. After a few seconds...he allowed her to ce the cookie into his open mouth. It was a mix between sweet and salty and had a crunchy texture. It was good. Chloeughed while watching him savor the cookie. "You really like food, dont you~? You should try dipping the cookie into coffee next." She handed him another cookie and waited for him to give it a try. Following her instructions, Vahn soaked the cookie into the coffee before cing it into his mouth. He was surprised, as thebination of the two vorsplemented each other well. Seeing his reaction, Chloe showed another gentle smile. "You see, even if something is good on its own, that doesnt mean it cant be better when added to something else. Sometimes thebination of two individual things can bring out the best qualities of both." Vahn nodded his head and continued dipping cookies into his coffee. After trying a few more, he agreed with Chloes expression. Seeing that she was still looking at him, Vahn hesitated before extending a cookie towards her. "A-aaaaaah-" He blushed at the awkwardness of the act as he tried to imitate her earlier actions. *nom* Before his hand was able to get close, Chloe leaned forward and slowly took the cookie into her mouth. She gave him a wink before eating the cookie with a sip of coffee. Vahn stared, hand still outstretched, as he watched her swallow the cookie. Seeing his look, Chloe began to giggle while covering her mouth and saying, "Thank you Vahn, it was very good~nya." After they left the cafe, Chloe once again took Vahns hand and lead the way towards a mens clothing store that sold both outfits for adventurers as well as casual wear. Though Vahn was initially drawn to the adventurer section, Chloe dragged him towards the casual wear and began lining various shirts against his chest. "You have very dark hair, but your eyes are a deep aquamarine... lets see, maybe peach~? No, too soft...How about a nice neutral green topliment your eyes~nya?" She continued to hold the two long-sleeve open-cored shirts up next to Vahn, waiting for his decision. Vahn ended up selecting the green one since she said itplimented his eyes. Nodding, she took both shirts and hung them on a rack next to the dressing room. She continued to pick a variety of other clothes while asking for Vahns opinion. Whenever he would pick one, she would always look into his eyes before either putting one piece away or keeping both. Vahn was confused why she even bothered asking his opinion when she seemed to make the final decision... After selecting seven shirts, three pairs of cks, one pair of trousers, and a pair of shorts with a lot of pockets she forced Vahn into the changing room. She told him he couldnte out until he had tried on all the clothes and checked himself in the mirror. Only when he was satisfied with his appearance would she let him exit. Once he was in the changing room, Vahn stared helplessly at the pile of clothes. He didnt really know anything about clothing or how he should choose between the different options. He shook his head before grabbing the first shirt he had chosen when entering the store. After removing his shadowsilk tunic, Vahn adorned the loose-fitting shirt and inspected himself in the mirror for the first time. Vahns first impression was one of shock. Not at the shirt, but at seeing his body reflected in the silvery reflective surface. It wasnt his first time seeing his reflection, as he had stared into higher-quality mirrors in his previous life, but it was the first time he had inspected himself after arriving in this world. He slowly reached towards the surface of the mirror, as if confirming that the person reflected was truly him... He was no longer the emaciated, limbless boy, with semi-transparent glowing skin. Instead, he saw a young man with healthy skin and an athletic build. Where it had been missing in his previous life, there was now a mop of dark brown hair arranged messily on the top of his head. Through the drooping bangs, he could see a pair of aquamarine eyes staring back at him. Unlike the lifeless image he saw within his memories, his eyes were now crystal clear. Though they werent very lively, he could see a long-lost hope and determination within the dark pupils. After staring into them for an unknown period of time, he could even see the illusion of a fierce warrior contained deep within their core... ("This is me. The body I obtained when I was reborn into this world...the results of all my training and efforts. Im not the boy that died powerlessly back in theb, surrounded by people who saw me as amodity. Ive transcended that life, and even the very world itself...") In response to his inner monologue, Sis spoke in his mind. (*Thats right Vahn. You are no longer bound to that tragic fate. You can move about freely and live as you choose. As long as you dont give up on yourself, there will never be anything that can bar your way along The Path.*) Nodding his head, Vahn looked once more into the eyes of his reflection...and smiled. After a few minutes, Vahn exited the changing room. Rising from the bench she had been waiting on, Chloe inspected Vahn before giving an appreciative nod. "They say clothes make the man, and I cant help but agree~nya." Compared to his previous ck-on-ck look, Vahn now wore a loose grey cored shirt with four buttons, two of which he had left undone. Recing his tattered, stained pants, he now wore a pair of clean ck cks with a mild embroidering along the outseam. Now, due to his athletic figure and handsome appearance, Vahn stood out for an entirely different reason. Especially his aquamarine eyes, which now had a slight glint of confidence within. Vahn smiled towards the beaming girl before him. "Thanks Chloe. It seems like clothing really can change the way people feel." The already excessive smile on her face increased in size as she leaped forward and seized his arm. "Nyahahaha, right~? Right~? I knew you would understand~nya!" This time Vahn didnt freeze up when Chloe grabbed his arm. Instead, he looked towards her before grabbing all of the clothes and guiding her towards the register. In response, she simply continued to smile and allowed Vahn to lead her. Though Chloe had offered to pay for the clothing, as it was her idea, Vahn refused saying, "It may have been your idea, but it was my own decision to purchase these clothes. If anything, I owe you for bringing me here today. It feels like Ive obtained something I lost a long time ago..." Hearing his words, she just gently pressed herself to his arm in response while the cashier stared at the two with an incredulous expression. ("What are these two fools trying to do in my store!? Cant they see theyre making all the other customers ufortable!?") She continued ringing up the clothing so as to hasten their departure. Vahn left the clothing store with Chloe on his left arm while carrying arge bag of clothing in his right. Chloe looked towards him and asked, "Where to now~nya?" In response, Vahn looked towards her as he felt an itchy sensation on his brow. "I think I need a haircut." He smiled while Chloe burst outughing. Chloe guided Vahn around using her words, letting him continue leading the way. They found a salon and Chloe issued a long list of requirements to the stylist before allowing the nervous woman to cut Vahns hair. By the end of the session, the mop of hair on his head had been trimmed and styled into what Chloe called a free and wild style. Vahn noticed that Chloe had been restless as the stylist was performing the finishing touches. He was able to see the predatory re that he noticed on their first meeting, but this time he didnt feel any chills. Instead, he just smiled towards her which caused her ears to violently twitch. When Vahn was finally freed from the chair, Chloe immediately paid the stylist and gave an extrarge tip. They continued to wander around together for the rest of the day, visiting several stores and purchasing anything they found interesting. By the end, Vahn was beginning to run low on funds but didnt mind as the day had quickly be the most memorable experiences in both of his lives. He felt like, as long as he could keep these feelings, he would be able to leave all the painful memories behind. As they continued to wander around the tower, Vahn gave periodic nces towards Chloe. Whenever she noticed his gaze, she would return a simple smile. This happened several times before they arrived at the final destination of their date. By now the sun had started to set, and they were standing on a viewing tform that could oversee the entire western section of the City. They took turns pointing out the various ces they recognized and made small-talk while watching the sun descend beyond the horizon. As the final ray of light faded away, Vahn looked directly towards Chloe. He felt like he had so many things to tell her, but couldnt seem to find a way to vocalize his emotions. All he knew was that he owed her a debt of gratitude he was uncertain if he could ever repay. Chloe returned his gaze with the same gentle smile that helped him break through the shell that had been constraining him since his previous life. Seeing that smile, Vahn felt like he could fight against the entire world if it would allow that smile to persist for a single moment more. Mustering his resolve, he swallowed hard before speaking. "Chloe...I-" Before he was able to continue, Chloe grabbed his head and pulled it into her chest. She gently cradled him there while slowly stroking his head. Vahn wasnt able to form any thoughts as he epted her embrace... After several minutes, she lifted his face before kissing him on the forehead and disying that same gentle smile... "There is much left for you to discover about yourself before you speak those words. All of the emotions youre feeling right now need time to be understood properly. For now, focus on discovering where you want to go in your life. When you figure that out and be strong enough to share the burden of others...if your feelings remain unchanged, you can try asking me out again... Though I cant promise Ill ept when the timees~nya" Giving him one final peck on his forehead, she turned away and walked off into the night. Vahn continued to stare at her retreating figure as a multitude of thoughts passed through his mind. He thought about her parting words as a resolve began to fill the void caused by her departure. He balled his fists and looked towards the moon that had begun to take its ce among the heavens. Inspired by its presence, he extended his right hand and grasped towards it, as if by reaching just a little further he would be able to wrest it from the skys embrace... "I must be stronger...stronger than anything. I will seize my fate with this outstretched hand and strike down anyone that threatens my way of life...and the life of those I love." A cool breeze blew through the sky, passing through the location where the young boy previously stood. After his deration, he had followed the path Chloe left and continued downwards, towards the dungeon that would serve as his proving grounds. Chapter 30 - Conviction

Chapter 30 - Conviction

Vahn made his way through the first floor of the dungeon and followed the stairs down to the entrance of the fifth floor. Since he was able to outperform the efforts of a party of level 1 adventurers, he decided the first four floors were no longer capable of tempering his skills. Entering the fifth floor, the first thing he noticed was the change in theyout of the dungeon. The walls had be a light green color, and there was a murky patchwork of browns along the ground. The phosphorescenceing from the walls had changed from the gentle blue of the previous floors to a luminous green. Progressing further along the path, Vahn came across his first group of monsters of the fifth floor. Hopping around about 13m away was a total of three Frog Shooters. They were each about 120cm tall and possessed a singrrge eye. Their name came from how they attacked their enemies by firing their tongue with enough force to shatter stone. For those unfortunate enough to take a direct hit, broken bones were often considered light injuries. Vahn took a deep breath before activating [Will of the Emperor] and drawing his sword. He increased his pace with each step as he began to close the distance to the three monsters. Shuddering after being epassed by Vahns domain, the three frog shooters tried opening a gap with the approaching human. The closest one to Vahns position tried tounch its tongue to halt his advance. Vahn rewarded its efforts by severing its tongue before using the momentum of his charge to press forward and bisect the now wailing frog. The remaining two attempted to aid their ally by attacking from Vahns nks, but he was able to dodge both surprise attacks by swiftly side-stepping between their trajectories. In less time than it took for them to retract the tongues, they saw the human approach with a deadly arc trailing behind his imposing figure. Vahn exhaled. He had managed to y all three frog shooters without taking a second breath. In total, less than six seconds had passed between the moment he drew his sword and the monsters had turned to dust. Vahn began to understand the principles behind [Will of the Emperor] somewhat. Though it didnt seem to offer an increase to his numerical stats, it most certainly enhanced his speed, strength, and perception to monstrous levels while active. There was a distinct difference between his capabilities with and without the skill, even though it didnt reflect within the parameters of the system. It was also important to note that, though his stats hadnt increased since hisst venture into the dungeon the radius of his domain had grown from around 21 meters to 37 meters. It seemed to directly corrte to the strength of his conviction and desire to grow stronger. After ying more than 40 frog shooters, Vahn found his way to the next floor and immediately pressed onwards. He had been using [Will of the Emperor] intermittently instead of keeping it active at all times. Though he knew it likely affected his growth, Vahn wanted to increase his pace until he was able to reach a floor where he could put his current skills to the test. He used the time between activations to recover any mana that had been consumed during the skills use. Entering the sixth floor Vahn continued ying every frog shooter he came across. Though he was able to improve his footwork by dodging the tongues, he ended up swapping out his sword for his bow to increase the efficiency of clearing the floor. Therge eyes of the frogs were the perfect target for honing his archery skills, and he was able to gain some experience predicting the trajectory of movements brought about by the synergy between [Bow Mastery] and [Will of the Emperor]. An hour into the floor Vahn began to slow his pace. He had note across a single frog shooter for thest ten minutes and the phosphorescence of the surrounding area had progressively darkened over time. Giving in to his instincts, Vahn activated his domain to its maximum potential. He was able to detect movementing from the darkness in his blind spot. He turned towards the source and readied his bow to intercept the approaching creature. Out of the darkness came two lumbering war shadows that possessed two pairs of three razor-sharp ws. They looked simr to an effigy of a man, possessing all the basic features of a human without any defining characteristics. They moved awkwardly like marites before pausing just outside the effective range of Vahns domain. As one of the creatures raised its hand to investigate the difference in pressure, Vahn fired an arrow directly into the white eye on its face. *BOOOOM!!!* An explosion disintegrated the unsuspecting shadow and knocked itspanion into the wall causing its form to turn semi-transparent and flicker violently. Before it was able to recover, Vahn used his sword to impale its head into the wall causing it to turn to dust. He snorted as he picked up the two cores before noticing a sheen within the darkness nearby. Vahn walked over to investigate the object and found what appeared to be the w of one of the war shadows embedded into the ground. Recognizing it was probably a drop item, he picked it up and tested the sharpness before tossing it into his inventory. ("War shadows should be the strongest individual monster between the fifth and seventh floors. Given how slow their reactions speed were, they probably arent my match in groups small than five.") Continuing onwards, Vahn ended up ying another 22 frog shooters and 5 war shadows, bring his total counts to 99 and 7 respectively. (A/N: He killed frogs on the sixth floor before encountering the first two shadows. The 22 mentioned were killed after the engagement~) Eventually finding his way to the staircase, Vahn decided to take a rest. At this point the system was showing the time was 10:40 PM and he needed to determine if he was going to sleep inside the dungeon or make his way to the entrance. After mulling it over for a few minutes, he decided to see if he was able to sleep while maintaining his domain. He told Sis to wake him if the domain de-activated or if an enemy showed up as she was able to perceive the world through his senses even when he was unconscious. Though he found it rtively easy to fall asleep, he would be woken up by Sis every two hours or so as the domain would be inactive. He determined that two hours was likely his current limit for maintaining the skill without focus and resolved to try to increase the duration in the future. After going through the process of sleeping and waking up four times, Vahn continued his descent into the dungeon. This would be thest full-day he could spend inside before having to leave. The gate pass he had received upon entering the City was about the expire, and he needed to pay Mn at the Inn so he could continue using the room he had leased. He had already begun to miss the taste of the dishes at the Hostess of Fertility, even though it had been less than two days since he hadst eaten there. Before arriving at the 7th floor, Vahn decided to purchase a set of light-armor from the shop. He knew there would be arge variety of monsters on the seventh floor which typically required a group of adventurers to tackle. If he went in overconfident in his abilities, he would likely pay the price. Checking the monsterpendium he had purchased before entering, he noted the unique traits and characteristic of the uing monsters. Killer Ants had durable exoskeletons that could withstand des, and they were prone to call for help when injured. Purple Moths were rtively weak, but emitted a poisonous powder from their wings which could cause paralysis and internal bleeding if ingested. Lastly, he had to deal with the hyper agility and high-prative power of Needle Rabbits. ording to the book, they liked to swarm opponents and turn them into a pincushion before devouring the bloody remains. To counter each of the monsters, Vahn purchased a [gue Mask: E] 40OP, [Nullifying Mantle: C] 280OP, [Mithril Poniard: B]500OP, and a pair of [Damascus-Steel Gauntlets: C]380OP. The mask would prevent him from inhaling the poisonous powder while the mantle would allow him to resist the effects if he happened to get poisoned anyways. The gauntlets and poniard were purchased specifically to counter the ants exoskeleton and rabbits agility. Since he wasnt confident in being able to hit such small targets with a 130cm sword, he opted for a smaller weapon with high prative power. Satisfied with his preparations, Vahn decided to do onest thing before continuing onwards. He purchased a [Standing Mirror: I] 3OP, from the shop and used it to check his appearance. He almost looked like a viin with the beaked nose and hooded appearance, but also thought it looked a bit cool when he let the mask hang loosely around his neck. With a small smile on his face, he stored the mirror before moving into the adjoining corridor heading towards the seventh floor. Theyout of the seventh floor was simr to the sixth and fifth except that the height of the ceiling had begun to noticeably increase. The dungeon also seemed to spawnrger groups of monsters, but Vahn was able to smoothly progress against everything except the needle rabbits. He had trouble stabbing their small bodies, and had even swapped to his sword for a moment to see if he could use the increased range to his advantage. After failing the attempt, he recalled the oppressive function of his domain and managed to temporarily stun individual rabbits before they were able to rebound off the wall and continue lunging at him. It lead to the hrious sight of rabbits smashing head-first into walls, even getting their horns stuck on asion leaving them easy pickings for Vahns poniard. After fighting on the seventh floor four five hours he finally managed to reach the stairs. Though he had grown ustomed to their attack patterns, he still struggled quite a bit whenrger groups of monsters tried to hoard him. He even had to ingest a senzu bean after failing to evade an attack and being impaled through the ribcage by a needle rabbit. The impact had not only broken several ribs, but also copsed one of his lungs. He barely managed to remove his mask before greedily devouring the life-saving bean. In response to his narrow escape, Vahn felt a marked increase in the strength of his domain and went on a rampage until he had ughtered more than 50 rabbits before exhausting his strength and having to take a break. During this time, he was finally able to put his stealth capabilities to use as he blended into the shadows of a nearby rock that was strutting out of the cavern walls. Inside the stairwell, Vahn checked the time and noticed it was already after 2 PM, so he decided it was time to exit the dungeon to prevent future troubles. He moved up the stairs at a steady pace which would allow him to arrive at the entrance within half an hour. After passing by the sixth and fifth floor entrances, Vahn was quickly approaching the fourth floor. Ahead on the path he could see a small party of adventurers resting within the connecting area. Vahn didnt pay them any notice at first and continued upwards since they didnt seem to react much to his presence, but after a familiar figure caught his attention he began to slow to a stop. Vahn could see between the figure of the three men a small girl curled up on the ground. Her face was battered and bruised, and she had curled up into the fetal position to protect her body from the assault of thergest man in the group. As if sensing his gaze, she slightly opened the only eye which hadnt swolen shut and looked directly at him with her chestnut brown iris. Though she didnt say anything, he could see the desperation within her look as she implored him with her gaze. He recognized the girl as thepanion that loyally followed Bell into the dungeon. It was Liliruca Arde, a girl with a past not too disimr to his own. After the loss of her parents she was exploited by the people around her until the point she began to distrust everyone, even the people that actually cared about her. Without his prompting, [Will of the Emperor] activated as Vahn stepped towards the men. A cold sensation began to spread through his head and all thoughts vanished from his mind. The men shuddered as they were enveloped in the domain. As they looked towards Vahn, the smallest of their group began moving to intercept. "Move along, this is private Familia business. Dont meddle in the things that dont concern you kid." The man used an aggressive tone, but there was a hint of fear hidden in his words. Ignoring the words of the man, Vahn drew his sword... Chapter 31 - Rage : Sacrifice(?)

Chapter 31 - Rage : Sacrifice(?)

With the pressure they were experiencing and seeing the boy draw his sword, all three men immediately reacted. The short, stout man closest to Lili lifted her body and put a knife to her throat as the other two began maneuvering to nk Vahns sides. Seeing the man use Lilis body as a shield, any remaining restraint in his bodypletely vanished. A state of mind simr to when he had awakened on the second floor set in as he dashed towards the smallest man to his left. Vahn approached with a terrifying momentum, causing the man to panic as he shouted towards hispanions. He took up his sword and tried to thrust it towards Vahn to break the charge. From Vahns perspective, the shout was muted in his ears and the movement of the sword seemed to trace its path in a slow motion due to the vast difference in their stats. Using his gauntleted left hand, he altered the vector of the de and directed it into the ground. Having his blow suddenly change direction, the small man was knocked off bnce as he stared in absolute shock at the shadow of the approaching de. Instead of a thought, thest thing that passed through his mind before embracing death was the de of Vahns sword. The other two men looked on in horror as the hooded assant turned theirpanions head into meat paste with the sheer force of the wind generated by the deadly thrust. They felt their legs begin to tremble at the ruthlessness of the figure before them. The stout man tightened his grip on Lilis neck before shouting out. "You [email protected]! You killed Todd!" He saw the figure turn towards him and he subconsciously tried using the small body in his grip to create a wall between him and the monster. "M-move another step and the b!tch is dead! Dead, you hear me you [email protected]!?" As if to solidify his threat, he squeezed until the girl began to gurgle and twitch. Vahn couldnt seem to hear anything the man was saying, but as soon as the first syble issued from Lilis throat he sprung into action and bisected the man that had been maneuvering into his blind spot. The man waspletely unprepared for the blow and stared at the 30cm gap that had separated his torso from his legs. Even though Vahn had cut cleanly through him, in a manner simr to what he had seen happen to his friends head, the trailing winds tore through the severed area like a meat grinder. He couldnt even scream as he stared at the legs that had yet to fall to the ground. Almost as if echoing the sounds of the young girl held hostage, he began to gurgle before finally choking on his own blood and organs. Screaming at the sight of his secondpanions death, the man squeezed Lilis neck like a vice causing her windpipe to copse. He attempted to use the dagger and jam it into her ribs with the intent of robbing her life. *THOOOM* *SHHNK* A muffled sound tore through the air. The stout man who had backed up against the wall while holding Lili hostage stared in horror at the left arm which previously held the dagger. In its ce, there was the sheen of an evil ck de embedded into the wall beneath where his shoulder previously connected to his arm. Before he was able to regain his senses, an irresistable force surrounded his neck. Vahn lifted the 155cm roon-eared man using his right hand as he shattered the mans remaining wrist with his left, freeing Lili in the process. Seeing the small girl fall to the ground unmoving, Vahn put more pressure into his grip until he could feel the outline of the mans spine in his palm. At this point, the mans face had bloated beyond recognition as the pressure caused his eyes to free themselves from their sockets. *SNAP* Even though the man had long-since died, Vahnpleted snapping his neck. When he released the bloated creature, the head dangled loosely like a sack as the body copse to the ground twitching. The moment the body hit the ground, Vahn felt a powerful migraine ovee him as his rity returned. He grits his teeth before turning towards the young girl whoy helplessly on the ground gurgling for air. She had already begun to froth at the mouth as light pink bubbles were endlessly generated in her attempts to draw air. As he cradles her body, she stared at him with her single tear-filled eye. Vahns heart wrenches in pain as his brain starts churning rapidly toe up with methods to save her. As her throat had copsed, he couldnt feed her a [Senzu Bean] and none of the potions he possessed would be able to remedy the injury quick enough to prevent her from asphyxiating. There was no time to look through the system and find a solution. Vahn did the only thing he could think of. He took a [Senzu Bean] and ced it into his mouth, chewing it into a paste. He gently caressed Lilis face as if to reassure her...and activated his [Wound Transfer: B] for the first time as he swallowed the bean paste. Steam began to emit from all the wounds on Lilis body as she was rapidly healed. The resultant steam entered through the pores of Vahns skin and the wounds that had previously been on her body began to appear on his. He grits his teeth until his gums start bleeding as the pain begins to wrack his body. The now fully recovered Lili stares in shock as the boy that just saved her begins to writhe on the ground in a state worse than she was in previously. She didnt know what had happened but understood the boy had somehow transferred all of her wounds to his body and was now on the verge of death. She screamed and tried to help, but no matter what she did the wounds only seemed to get worse. Vahn felt his body tearing apart. Though he had consumed a [Senzu Bean] to counteract the damage absorbed by the transfer, the two mystical forces seemed to battle within his body. One was trying to heal his wounds while the other continued with unrestrained vigor trying to generate them. As a result, the two forces were wreaking havoc in his body and causing his flesh and bones to shatter in their wake. He could feel warm tears dripping onto his face, and stared through bloodied eyes at the young girl crying over his body. Due to his [Pain Tolerance: S] Vahn was able to maintain his rity through the pain. He lifted his hand to try and console the girl but stopped after seeing its bloodied state. Seeing his attempt and hesitation on his face, the girl grabbed the outstretched hand and ced it to her face as she tried to stifle her tears. The blood from his hand marred her otherwise wless face, and Vahn couldnt help feeling a little guilty as he smiled at her. Suppressing her tears, Lili tried speaking to the boy that had sacrificed himself to save her. "I dont even know your name. *sniff* Please dont die, please, please...." She kept repeating the word over and over, mixed between her sobs and snot. Vahn shook his head before withdrawing his identity slip from the inventory. Seeing the name of her would-be hero, she managed to speak out a few more words. "Thank you Vahn..." Hearing her words brought a smile to his face as heid back and felt the strength leaving his body. He couldnt help but recall part of the words Chloe had spoken before they parted ways. "For now, focus on discovering where you want to go in your life. When you figure that out and be strong enough to share the burden of others...if your feelings remain unchanged, you can try asking me out again... Though I cant promise Ill ept when the timees~nya" The smile on his face increased as he began to lose consciousness. //[Effigy of the Hero: S] Activated// Vahn felt a powerful energy fill his body and he opened his eyes to meet the gobsmacked expression of Lili. One woundless boy covered in blood, and one disheveled young girl both stared incredulously at each other. For the first time in both of his lives, Vahn beganughing without inhibition. Lili stared at him like he had lost his mind, unsure of what happened to bring about the current situation. After a while, she tried asking the boy named Vahn what was going on, only to see him copse powerlessly onto the ground and fall unconscious. She fl.u.s.teredly checked to make sure he was still breathing before releasing a relieved sigh. "What kind of crazy person did I get involved with..." She shook her head before resting to boys head on herp, waiting for him to wake up. Chapter 32 - Growth : Disciple

Chapter 32 - Growth : Disciple

As Lili stared at the unconscious Vahn, she couldnt help but clean the blood from around his face. "Eeeeeh!? Isnt he way too handsome?" She was shocked when she finally saw his face. Her heart, which had just recently calmed down, began to beat loudly in her chest. With a fl.u.s.tered expression and a mild blush, she stared closely into the face of the sleeping boy... After a while, she looked around to confirm there was nobody in the area before mocking herself for her caution. Trying to calm herself, she began to focus on the boy once again. She reached out her hand ...and started poking him in the cheek. "Ehehehe~ Such a cute sleeping face." While this was happening, the seemingly unconscious Vahn couldnt help but sweat internally. Although his body had been put into a dormant state by the effigy, he was still aware of everything going on around him. He could feel the softness of the thighs on the back of his head and the muttering of the girl as she gently poked his cheek whileughing. Vahn remembered how Bell had saved her in the original plot, and how she began to follow him around after the event. He began to worry she would be attached to him in the same way, but tried putting the issue to the back of his mind temporarily. There was no way he could have ignored her suffering as it had happened right in front of him. He didnt regret saving her, nor how he had almost died due to the intermixing of the two opposing energies within his body. His only regret was the fact she had to suffer for so long in the first ce. While he was running around training, interacting with people, and enjoying good food...she was still under the oppressive influence of her supposedrades from the same Familia... Though, this situation wasnt all bad. This incident proved that his strength was growing rapidly, and he was beginning to possess the strength that would allow him to alter the fate of those around him. If they had met sooner, he would still have tried to save her, but the oue may have been vastly different. It was fortunate that the sc.u.mbags were all only level 1, and werent very proficient inbat due to their lifestyle choices. Vahn knew his future opponents would be far more powerful, proficient, and experienced inbat, nning, and tactics. At this time Lili had begun to stroke his head while mumbling under her breath. Vahns instincts told him it would be very dangerous to listen to what she was saying since he was supposed to be unconscious right now. To distract himself, he began reviewing the changes in his status as a result of the fight and his previous exploration of the dungeon. ========================================================== Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameters: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:1[+](0) -Power: S909 -> SS1001 -Endurance: B740 -> SS1108 -Dexterity: A833 -> A887 -Agility: A889 -> S940 -Magic: SSS1493 -> SSS1611 -Total: 4864 -> 5547 Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul) Karma: 721 -> 749 ========================================================== He now had raw stats nearing the peak strength of a Level 2 while his Magic and Endurance had grown to monstrous values. It turns out the collision of the forces within his body had helped to temper his endurance. Most surprising of all though was that his [Pain Tolerance: S] had evolved into a new innate skill called [Rakshasa Body]. [Rakshasa Body] Rank: Innate, (H) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* [Passive]: Provides a moderate increase to pain resistance. Allows the body to disperse internal forces. Promotes natural recovery rate. [Active]: Increases power and endurance based on damage received. Heavy stamina consumption. This became Vahns second innate skill, and would probably be one of his trump cards in the future. He looked forward to being able to test its effects, but the activeponent of the skill worried him a bit... Vahn continued going through his status and had begun to grow bored, so he made casual conversation with Sis. She was sulking a bit since Vahn had gone into a rage state where he once again became unresponsive, but she forgave him since it was brought about by his resolve to save someone. (*So what are you going to do with her?*) She asked, more mechanically than usual. Vahn thought before shaking his head. ("Im not sure Sis. The only thing I thought about was saving her. What she does from now on is up to her.") (*Oh? Is that really the case?*) Vahn was confused by the questioning tone. Was she still angry with him for earlier? (*Now that youve saved her, you have to take responsibility for your actions. If you dont take care of her shell just end up in a simr situation in the future. That is unless you n to wipe out the Soma Familia and every other disreputable adventurer in the entire City?*) That was one of the things Vahn was worried about as well. Lili was still young, probably between 12-13 years old. She had no parents to care for her, and the Soma Familia was full of sc.u.mbags and scoundrels that only cared about making money to satiate their addiction. The biggest factor...was that she was weak. Even if she wanted to be independent, she was unable to do so because of herck of talent. Thats why she was so easily exploited by mere level 1 adventurers. The only options seemed to require that he either: take care of her and protect her or, help her be strong enough to protect herself. He knew she wanted to be stronger, butcked both the confidence and the aptitude to do so. ("Sis, can I purchase items from the shop to help increase her strength?") Vahn was curious, as the thought of using his system to empower others hadnt really crossed his mind before. (*It is impossible Vahn. Unless you were able to alter the structure of their body, they wouldnt be able to use the items within the System. The only reason youre able to do so is that The Path had integrated with your soul and took part in the construction of your current body. The energy contained within your body is source energy, while the inhabitants of this world use mana. There is a fundamental difference between the structure of your body and the body of those born within the records.*) ("Wait, does that mean [Senzu Beans] dont work on people in this world? And what about equipment?") After finding out about the differences in his body, he asked about the pressing matters in his mind. Was it possible that if he had given the [Senzu Bean] to Lili she would have experienced the same thing he had gone through!? The thought brought a chill to his mind. (*That is correct, but its not as bad as youre imagining. Since the essence contained within the bean is fundamentally different from this worlds mana, their body would simply filter it out and disperse it into the atmosphere. The same Laws that keep the mana contained within their body would expel any foreign energy. As for equipment, any clothes or armor you purchase is automatically sized to fit your body. If you wanted to give equipment to others, you would have to unlock the Gift function after triggering its quest.*) Vahn rxed as he listened to the first part of her words, before growing increasingly interested in the second half. He was relieved that his potential slip-up wouldnt have endangered Lilis life, and was curious about how to trigger the Gift function Sis had mentioned. After asking, Sis informed him that she couldnt disclose any information about triggering the systems functions. He would have to rely on his own efforts to discover their requirements. ... After the three-hour imposed dormancy, Vahn finally awakened. Lili, who was currently smiling as she enjoyed ying with his [gue Mask] noticed his gaze and began to blush fiercely. Vahn tried to lift his head from herp, but she panicked and held his head down before speaking in a fl.u.s.tered tone. "Y-y-you shouldnt be moving so-so-suddenly. You just woke up after all!" She had been caught up in ying around with his unconscious body and hadnt yet prepared herself to interact with him normally. "Im fine. I was just knocked unconscious as a side-effect of the item that had healed my wounds. My body is in perfect health." Though he found her actions amusing, it was very ufortable being held down by his head and neck. He could easily free himself if he wanted, but he didnt want to startle the girl before they had a proper conversation. Lili reluctantly released his head before hiding her face. As Vahn checked his body, she would give him curious nces from time to time. He looked around at the blood and gore surrounding them, and then gazed towards the shy girl who seemed to bepletely oblivious to the corpses and stench surrounding them. Vahn himself was ovee by the foul smelling odor and ended up vomiting due to the induced nausea. Lili gave an incredulous nce at the still retching Vahn, ("He is acting as if he has never seen a dead body before. Why was he able to kill them in such a ruthless manner if he cant even keep calm seeing the result? Could it be...") "Excuse me Vahn...sama. Could it be youve never killed anyone before?" (A/N: Let me know if using honorifics is odd. I can remove them if people dont like it.) Vahn wiped the drool from his mouth and gave her an awkward smile before shaking his head. Seeing his response, Lili was ovee with powerful emotions. ("Its his first time killing someone, and he did it to save me!?") She began to panic, thinking her weakness had caused the handsome and innocent boy to turn into a murderer. She even began to regret that he had saved her in the first ce after seeing how much pain and trouble he had to go through... Suddenly, a thought hit her. Though she knew his name, she hadnt even told him hers yet. She was still being influenced by her fear and hate for adventurers, and even though the boy had saved her life she hadnt even told him her name even as he was dying. The second wave of guilt hit her at the realization, and she began to cry, unable to look into the face of the boy she had wronged so irrevocably. As she sits, crying at her own realization, a warm hand is ced on her head. She holds back her tears and looks upwards at the boy who stares at her with a gentle smile. Feeling his kindness, the guilt in her heart bes palpable, threatening to devour her from the inside. She tries to speak out, but cant seem to form the words. She wants to apologize but doesnt know how... Vahn smiles gently while patting the small girls head. She really is much smaller than he remembered from the manga. When standing, she is probably only around 105-110cm, so when she is sitting on the ground like this she looks like a crying child. He can see loss and guilt in her eyes and knows that she probably mes herself for everything that happened. As he tries tofort her, he begins to recall all the experiences he had on his date with Chloe. Every word and action seemed to be trying to help him break down the walls he had built around his heart. She didnt try to bear his burden or take advantage of his weakness. Instead, she allowed him to expose himself before her without judging him for his cowardice. Finally, she helped guide him on a path that would allow him to ovee his past and even gave him a goal to work towards... Remembering all this, he looked down at the crying Lili and saw an image of himself, weak and afraid. It had been such a short period of time, but he was already able to be much stronger...and Vahn decided he would give her the same opportunity. He couldnt live to protect her, but he could help guide her along a path that would enable her to break free of her fears and inhibitions. "Do you wish to be stronger?" He gently whispered the words causing Lilis body to startle. She looked towards him with her tear stained face...and nodded. She didnt want to be weak. She didnt want others to suffer like the old couple that had helped her. She wanted to be strong enough to stand on her own two feet without having people sacrifice themselves to save her. She wanted to be like the boy in front of her... Vahn stood up from his kneeling position and extended his hand towards the crying Lili. (A/N: Lili is quite smol so Vahn had to kneel to pat her~) "I am Vahn Mason. If you can trust me, I can help you find your way to the path you seek." Staring at the face of the boy, she couldnt help but imagine that the radiance of the cave had increased by several folds. After a brief hesitation...she grasped the outstretched hand. "Im Liliruca Arde. Please show me the way...Master Vahn." ... [View Affection: Liliruca Arde] [Affection: 88[Trust], Intrigue:61[Curious] (A/N: She uses Master at the end instead of Sama, because its more personal. She sees Vahn as someone that can help her get stronger, instead of just as the boy who saved her.) Chapter 33 - Liliruca Arde / Past : Future

Chapter 33 - Liliruca Arde / Past : Future

Vahn ran towards the entrance of the dungeon as fast as he could. Behind him, Lili continued desperately chasing as she became short of breath... A few hours before... After agreeing to train Lili, they began getting to know each other better. She told him about her past, how her parents mistreated her and forced her to work as soon as she was capable of performing manualbor. She detailed the suffering she experienced after they both died in the dungeon. Though she tried bing an adventurer herself, she was unable to make any progress into the dungeon since she was just a child. Whenever she tried to team up with others in the familia, they would force her to perform all the menial chores like looting magic cores and carrying the luggage. Eventually, it escted to full-on exploitation, as they started taking away her earnings for their own use. Fearing for her life, she ended up fleeing the familia and became a street orphan. Eventually, a kind elderly couple picked her up, and for a time she was happy. They bought her nice clothes and treated her well for the first time in her life, and she did her best to help out in the shop and earn their praise. Unfortunately, the group that had been taking her money ended up tracking her down. As punishment for her escape, they trashed the shop of the elderly couple before leaving a devastated Lili behind. The old couple that had been so kind to her before now looked at her with eyes of me and scorn. That night, she cried in an alleyway as she hid from the rain. Several dayster, the same men that had forced her to a corner offered her a job. She would have to act as their supporter when they entered the dungeon, and in exchange, they would give her 1% of the earnings. If she refused, they would make sure that anyone who showed her kindness would meet the same fate as the couple. Swallowing her tears, she epted their offer...and that is when her true hell began. The men would often keep what little she earned while giving various reasons, often citing her ipetence as an excuse. The leader of the group even came up with the idea of forcing her to pay a protection fee for keeping her from harm in the dungeon. Because of this, there were times when she would go days without eating until she copsed from hunger. They would then give her rotten vegetables and stale bread while she tried to recover her strength. After that things got even worse. Whenever the men got bored, they would force her to perform embarrassing acts like walking on all fours and barking like a dog while begging for food. As she continued to age, some of them even tried forcing her to engage in s.e.x.u.a.l acts, and when she resisted they beat her until she was unable to move. When they were done, they poured defective recovery potions onto her wounds and dropped her body into an alleyway to survive the night. Following that event, she stopped talking, and even when they tried forcing her to act like an animal she just stood there until they got frustrated and beat her. She learned not to resist, as it only brought them a sadistic glee and extended the duration of the beating. All she could think about was preserving her dignity and saving enough money to buy her freedom and escape the familia for good... Other than working for her tormentors, she started working as a Support-for-Hire for newbie adventurers. She would find targets that had yet to be ustomed to the dungeon and lure them into a situation of false-security before stealing their valuables. Though she did her best to ensure they would be able to escape, things didnt always go as nned. One of the young adventurers she had tricked ended up believing she hadnt abandoned him and continued fighting instead of running away. Lili watched in horror as he inevitably s.u.mbed to the assault, and for the first time, she saw someone die. She was unable to sleep for more than a week after that, as shbacks of watching the boy be ripped limb-from-limb reyed itself endlessly in her mind. Seeing the state she was in, the people that had been exploiting her increased their efforts in tormenting her. They refused to let her stay inside if she was unwilling to work, and even emptied waste bins onto her while forcing her to stay in the trash pile with her real family... ... Vahn listened in silence as Lili continued her story. It was far worse than anything shown in the manga, and he genuinely wondered how she was able to survive for so long. At least he had a mother who loved him, even though he wasnt able to meet her until his death...but Lili, her parents treated her as a tool to make their lives easier. While he got to experience the kindness of Klyscha and obtain The Path, Lili had to continue living in a world surrounded by people that tormented and exploited her. When he heard the part where she was almost r.a.p.ed, he nearly shattered the bones in his hand after hitting the dungeon wall. He had experienced a tragic fate far beyond theprehension of others, but no matter how bad the experiments got the researchers always took care of his body and tended to his basic needs. Vahn had never truly experienced the darkness and depravity that exists within civilized society. After she was finished telling her story, Lili looked towards Vahn to gauge his expression. It was the first time in her life she had spoken so much about herself, and she felt like if she saw disgust or disbelief on his face..she would fall to a ce she would never be able to return from. She wasnt looking for pity or understanding, she just wanted to expose everything to the boy who had gone so far to help her. And what she saw brought the first real smile she had shown since her happy days back in the flower shop. She didnt see any pity in his eyes, nor things like contempt or disgust. Instead, there was a righteous me burning within. She could see that he was imagining all the things in her past and that if he could, he would change it and save her from that fate. The darkness that had been building in the back of her mind began to dissipate, so she did the only thing she could think of to convey her feelings. She smiled. Vahn, noticing the change, reached out his hand...wiping away the tears that had begun to mar her smiling face. --- After that, they continued to talk, this time about the future. Vahn told her his intention of bing she strongest adventurer, which brought a smile to her face. Lili began to ask him various questions about his life, likes, and dislikes. She wanted to know where he came from, what kinds of foods he enjoyed, things that he hated...and even asked about his preference in women. Vahn answered each question to the best of his ability while trying to skim over areas that would reveal the existence of the system. He told her that he lived in the Western Forests with his grandpa beforeing to Orario after he passed away. For food, he said he liked pretty much anything he has eaten after arriving in the City. As for dislikes...he hated people that exploited others for their own benefit. When she heard him mention that, Lili smiled and nuzzled against him. Feeling her touch, Vahn smiled and gently patted her head. When he got to the part about his preference in women, Lili began listening closely with a fierce glint in her eyes. "Im not too sure. I havent really met anyone I dont like so far..." Hearing him, she couldnt help but respond, "Eeehh? That isnt a real answer Vahn-sama!" She began to pout, thinking he was just beating around the bush. Vahn really didnt know what to say to make her understand. He felt it would be awkward to say he liked girls like Chloe, because it wasnt really anything about her appearance that drew him to her. After he got over his apprehension with how she used to look at him, he just began to enjoy herpany... Lili changed the topic after seeing the serious expression on his face, "By the way Vahn-sama. What familia are you in?" Given his strength, she assumed he was probably a core member in a B rank familia. "Ah, Im not in a familia yet. I just arrived in the City six..days....ago." Vahn trailed off thest part of his sentence and began to release a cold sweat. Lili noticed his expression and wanted to ask, but Vahn grabbed her hand and started running up the stairs at a fast pace. "Vahn-saaaaamaaa- Whats going ooooon!?" Unable to keep pace, she half ran, half allowed-herself-to-be-dragged up the stairs. Vahn noticed she was struggling and released her arm while slowing his pace a bit. "I just remembered that my temporary identification slip expires today! I also need to renew my room at the Inn Im staying at before the day ends!" Vahn checked the time within the system as he ran. It was already 6:29 PM and the gate closed at 9:00 PM. Though he wouldnt get in any trouble unless he was caught, he didnt want to walk around the City illegally and cause unnecessary trouble. "Wait, Vahn-sama! I cant leave behind my pack!" Though it didnt have much, it still contained all of her possessions. Lili didnt want to leave it behind to be lost in the dungeon. Vahn stopped before returning to the rest area and picking up the pack. Lili tried to take it from him, but he just stored the entire thing into his inventory. She stared at him with a ck-jawed expression while he revealed the existence of his storage magic. Without further exining he started running upstairs, leaving a dumbfounded Lili behind. "Then what use do I have..." Knowing Vahn had such a convenient magic, she wouldnt be able to use the excuse of following him as Supporter easily in the future. She began trying to think of ways to spend more time with him, before hearing a shout from further up the path. "Lili, are youing!?" Vahn was confused since Lili hadnt been following him. He ended up stopping and shouting to get her attention. She startled before shouting back, "A-ah, yes Vahn-sama! Iming, dont leave me behind!" (A/N: Dont ask me why I had to add "dont leave me behind" to the end of that sentence.) --- Return to the present... The two continued to run before stopping at the corridor to the first floor. Vahn removed the backpack from his inventory before returning it to Lilis possession. Seeing her gasping for air, he let her catch her breath and handed over his [Decanter of Replenishment]. Lili stared at the mouth of the canteen for a few moments before taking a fewrge gulps of water. She attempted to drain it dry but was surprised after finding the amount never seemed to decrease. Her excuse to continue the indirect kiss flew out the window as she dejectedly returned the canteen. Vahn also took a drink since he was rather thirsty and noticed a crimson blush appear on Lilis face. He looked at her curiously before putting away the canteen. "Whats wrong Lili?" She simply turned her head away before picking up her backpack and headed towards the entrance. Vahn followed after her until they finally arrived on the first floor of Babel. At the entrance Lili made Vahn promise to meet her the following morning before saying she had to take care of a few things. Vahn stared at the retreating figure of the small girl bearing a burden far greater than her size. He hoped he would be able to allow her to walk freely along her own path in the future... (*Vahn, are you forgetting something?*) Sis interrupted his momentary reverie with an exasperated tone. Vahn looked at the nearby clock and saw it was nearly 7:00 PM and began running towards the direction of the Guild. Chapter 34 - Hephaestus Familia (1/2)

Chapter 34 - Hephaestus Familia (1/2)

Vahn continued running in the direction of the Guild while checking the time within the system. At his current pace, he would still need around 20 minutes to reach the Guild, which would leave him less than an hour and a half to make his way to the City gates and back to the Inn. He began to sweat after realizing he would most likely be unable to finish everything in time. It would take several minutes to wait in line at the Guild, and even if he was seen immediately upon his arrival it would take time to process the exchange. As his worries began topound, Vahn felt energy begin to slowly release from his abdomen as his speed began to slowly increase. ("I can use [Will of the Emperor] to increase my speed!?") Because he hadnt been switching between the two recently, he was unustomed to the differences between his normal state and empowered state. He knew the skill seemed to increase his speed, but thought it was just a result of the increased perception and mobility within the domain. While fully activating the skill, Vahn resolved to perform more experiments over the next few days as he trains Lili. Afterpletely activating [Will of the Emperor] he noticed his speed more than doubled and began to have hope that there was enough time toplete everything. In his gleeful state of mind, he hadnt been paying attention to the looks of the surrounding pedestrians. The moment he activated [Will of the Emperor] they felt a suppressive wave pass through them. They stared in horror as the boy ran with a terrifying speed through the City streets with a demonic grin on his face. Weaker civilians even had hallucinations that the boy was the grim reaper himselfe to collect their souls, which resulted in some of them passing out on the spot. Vahn continued forward blissfully unaware of the rumors he would cause to circte in the following days. His only focus was arriving at the Guild as fast as possible, so he began using some of the alleyways he had previously mapped to circ.u.mvent the popted roads. With his minimap and the mobility he had polished within the forest and dungeon, he was able to easily navigate through the various corridors without losing speed. When he was close to his destination, Vahn began to further increase his speed due to his excitement. Unfortunately, even with the increased perception brought about by the skill, he was unable to prevent himself from colliding with the body of a person that had just walked by the entrance of the alleyway. At thest moment, he tried to shift his weight to avoid a direct collision and ended up losing his bnce after bumping into the unsuspecting passerby and mming into the ground. Hard. He sat on the ground in a daze, unable to recover from the near head-on-collision. From an area behind him, he could hear the sound of a woman addressing him. "Hey kid, are you okay?" After shaking his head a bit, Vahn looked towards the source of the voice. He fell into a daze after seeing who had been speaking to him. Looking towards him with an expression of intrigue stood a character he was familiar with from the manga. Probably due to her identity as a Goddess, she looked nearly identical to her manga counterpart. She stood at 165cm with matching red hair and eye. She was garbed in casual attire, wearing a loose linen blouse and ck pants which seemed to hug her figure. On her arms and legs were a pair of brown knee-high boots and ck gloves that went past her elbows. Her most striking features were herrge b.r.e.a.s.ts that peaked through the open cor of her blouse, and therge ck eye-patch covering the right half of her face. It was Hephaestus, Master Smith and Goddess of the 3rd ranked Hephaestus Familia. Vahn knew that she would be the one to receive Hestia in the future and that she would one day forge the living dagger for Bell which would aid his monstrous growth. While he was staring at her, Hephaestus was also evaluating the boy that had nearly crashed into her. He seemed rather young but had a handsome face with a bit of a naive and detached look. What caught her eye, and the reason she hadnt simply walked away, was the aura being emitted by the boy and the sword that was on his back. His aura was remarkably simr to that of a god releasing their divinity, albeit on a much smaller scale. It seemed to have a repressive force that even made her soul tremble slightly. She suspected that he was likely the descendant of a god, but she couldnt identify which. Her main interest was the sword at his back... As a goddess of forging, she had seen and practiced almost every technique between the heavens and earth. This was the first time she saw such a uniquely forged de, and the most surprising thing was the materials used in its construction. Given her eyes unique ability, she could easily discern between the grade and constituent materials used to forge a de. Though it seemed simr to a magicalposite of iron and heavier elements, she couldnt see through the make-up of the de or its grade! "Hey kid, if youre not in a hurry Id like to take a look at that sword on your back. You can treat it as my epting your apology for nearly tackling me. What do you say?" She really wanted to get a better look at the sword, so tried toe up with an easypromise that wouldnt harm either party. Hearing her speak yet again, Vahn quickly got to his feet before bowing. "I am very sorry for nearly running into you, but Im in a hurry right now so I cant stick around." He began to turn away to make his way towards the Guild which was just a few blocks from his current location. From behind, a hand grasped at the cor of his hood and prevented him from moving forward. Vahn was surprised at the amount of power in the grip. "Come on kid, Im sure whatever it is can wait for a few minutes. Whats the rush?" Hephaestus didnt know when she would get a chance to inspect the de in the future and seeing how the boy trying to leave without introducing himself or exining the situation left a sour expression on her face. Vahn noticed the look she was giving him so he quickly exined his current predicament. He was hoping she would be understanding and allow him to leave, but her reaction surprised him. "Hahahahaha, is that it? Then its no problem at all. Let me introduce myself, kid. My name is Hephaestus, and Im the Goddess of the Hephaestus Familia. You should have heard of me, right?" She gave a cheeky grin which irked Vahn a little, though he wasnt sure why. "My name is Vahn Mason, and yes, Ive heard of you and your Familia." He could see her expression light up a bit at his words, and she nodded as if to say, of course, of course~. "Then how about a trade, Vahn? My Familia has something called a guest pass that can be issued to the merchants that transport materials for us from outside the City. As long as you hold the pass youll be treated as a guest of the Hephaestus Familia, and none of the City guards would dare harass you. In exchange, Id like you to apany to my workshop nearby so I can inspect that sword on your back. Deal?" Vahn weighed her words for a moment before finally nodding. If he could get around having to run back-and-forth between the guild, gate, and Inn, that would be helpful. It would also give him the opportunity to build some rapport with Hephaestus which would make it easier to approach Hestia in the future. Hephaestus nodded, expecting his agreement before leading the way to a building nearby. Vahn was surprised when he realized the workshop was in the samemercial district as the Hearths Embrace. He began to realize why so many businesses in the area seemed to be named after fireces and forges...It turns out the main workshop of Hephaestus was within the same district. She continued to lead him through the lower floors of the shop that showed a variety of uniquely designed weapons and equipment. Vahn noticed that none of the items on disy had a price listed, and the security of the store was incredibly tight. Even with his use of [Will of the Emperor], he could feel a sense of dangering from each of the shops guards as they gave him a cold re in response to his curiosity. "Hey kid, when are you going to stop emitting that aura of yours? Dont tell me you cant control it?" Hephaestus had been growing a bit annoyed at how much attention Vahn had been drawing to them. She began to suspect the kid behind her was missing a few parts inside his head. "Ah, sorry, I had forgotten about it..." Vahnughed awkwardly while Hephaestus just released a big sigh while cing her hand on her forehead. "Anyways, were here. Make sure not to touch anything without permission." She had led him into a room within the most secure area of the workshop. When he entered he could see weapons and armor that almost seemed to possess life. Though they werent presently being used, he could feel an aura of danger emitting from the des while the armor seemed to possess the unassable qualities of a mountain. He could see arge disparity between his own equipment and the masterpieces in front of him. While he was staring in awe at the items, Hephaestus gave an appreciative nod seeing his expression. She sat behind arge desk where several blueprints and designs could be seen spread out along its width. After cleaning the designs and storing them away, she tapped the table to get Vahns attention. "Go ahead and ce the sword here. And if you dont mind answering my questions, that would be helpful." Vahn nodded, but before cing the sword on the table he asked about the guest pass. Though she seemed a bit annoyed, she removed a metal emblem from her desk that depicted two hammers crossed over a volcano. She tossed the emblem towards him, and Vahn stared at it briefly before putting his sword on the table. Hephaestus inspected the make of the metal closely and even used various tools to knock along the length of the de. She would lightly tap while listening for something Vahn wasnt able to hear, and she would nod her head on asion as if realizing something from her actions. Vahn was very curious what she was able to discern from the de and began to get nervous... Seemingly satisfied with her investigation, Hephaestus turned towards Vahn with a curious expression on her face. "Where did you obtain this sword?" This was the most important question in her mind, as she was genuinely curious about its origins. Since he had agreed to answer her questions, Vahn told her the lie he had prepared while she was inspecting the sword. "It was an heirloom of my deceased Grandfather. Im not sure where he got it." Using his grandfather as an excuse again, Vahn began to feel indebted to the man he had never met. "Hmm, and when did he die? What was his profession?" Hephaestus could sense a feeling of incongruity in his words so decided to pry more deeply. It was very difficult to hide anything from her eyes, and she was determined to see through the boy in front of her. Vahn became nervous seeing the look in her eyes and began to regret agreeing toe here... Chapter 35 - Hephaestus Familia (2/2)

Chapter 35 - Hephaestus Familia (2/2)

Vahn had begun to regret his decision. His thoughts began racing a mile a minute through his mind as he trieding up with a believable story. "He died several months ago. He was a hunter in the Western Forests where he raised me. When I was younger he would tell me stories of his youth and his travels as an Adventurer. I came to the City after his death to follow a simr path." Before he could continue further, Hephaestus began questioning him again. "Oh? And where did these adventures of his take ce? How long ago was this? And have you used this sword at all after he left it to you?" She continued pressuring him to find holes in his story. Vahn began to get visibly fl.u.s.tered, and his [Will of the Emperor] began to activate subconsciously. Hephaestus noticed this and began to smile like she had obtained victory. "These should all be rtively easy questions to answer Vahn. Unless of course, youre nning to lie and cante up with a viable story?" Hearing her words, Vahn looked directly into her eye. "Miss Haphaestus, everyone has things they want to protect. I thought you were just going to ask about the sword, not my family and background. I dont think that was part of our original agreement at all." He decided to take a firm stand to prevent himself from divulging too much information. [Will of the Emperor] seemed to affirm his stance as it began to emit a subtle pressure on Hephaestuss body and mind. She squinted her eye and looked seriously at the boy in front of her. Perhaps she did overextend her boundaries by asking so many personal questions. She couldnt really fault him for his anger and her trying to divulge his secrets. Sighing, she eased her expression a bit before continuing. "My bad. I wont ask about your past, but Im still curious if youve used the sword since obtaining it. That should be an easy enough question to answer." Vahn calmed down and began to repress his [Will of the Emperor] a bit. He thought about the question a bit before deciding it wasnt too far outside their original agreement. "Yes. Ive been using the sword in the dungeon for a few days now." Hearing his words, Hephaestus felt her curiosity grow exponentially. She had determined the de was aposite iron that had been reforged more than one-hundred times using a variety of unique techniques. Though the de was carved with a powerful enchantment, she could infer it only increased the sharpness of the de and not its durability. Given the low quality of the materials, there would be no way to prevent the de from .u.mting the signs of use. However, the de before her was in a pristine condition...almost as if it had been forged and polished hours ago. "And how far into the dungeon have you ventured? What level are you? Since you have a temporary pass, Im assuming you are a frencer, right?" Vahn noticed she had begun to deviate from the topic again, but since the questions didnt ask about his past he decided to respond. He didnt want to offend her by avoiding questions that most people would be willing to answer. "Ive gone down to the 7th floor alone, and Im still level 1 since Ive never joined a Familia before." Hephaestuss eyebrow shot up hearing his response. He was still lv 1 but had gone into the 7th floor of the dungeon alone? This confirmed her suspicion that the boy was keeping a secret, and she began to wonder how to get him to divulge it before a n began to form in her mind. "Vahn, Ive understood theposition of this sword and know that it isnt made of a very durable material. How are you able to keep the de in such pristine shape if what youve said is true? The de should wear down after cutting through so many monsters, and their body fluids should dull the de after continued use. I can tell there is an enchantment to enhance the sharpness, but it still wouldnt exin the current state." Instead of looking directly at him, she began to closely inspect the runes on the de, pretending she was only mildly interested in the answer. Vahn didnt think the question was abnormal, so he told her that he maintained the de using whetstones. Hephaestus couldnt help thinking, he maintains the de himself using whetstones?. As a master cksmith, she had used hundreds-of-thousands of whetstones during her time, and nothing would be able to emte the result of the de in her hands. "Can I see one of the whetstones you use? Im quite curious what material can bring out so much l.u.s.ter in a sword." Without thinking too much, Vahn decided to hand over one of the whetstones. As far as he knew, there wasnt a difference between the ones he used and normal stones. When he passed the t piece of rock to Hephaestus, both of their eyes lit up when the stoneunched itself out of her hand of its own volition. They both stared at the stone that had fallen to the floor with nk expressions. Hephaestus looked incredulously towards Vahn for an exnation as Sis began speaking in his mind. (*Vahn, you cant give items to people that were obtained through the system without activating the Gift function. That is especially the case for items obtained from other records.*) Vahn remembered that this was indeed the case, and moved to pick up the stone. He returned an awkward smile at Hephaestus who continued to stare at his movements. "Sorry Miss Hephaestus, it doesnt seem like others can use the stone." Hephaestus was very curious about the implications behind his words and asked that she be allowed to examine the stone while he held it. Nodding, Vahn moved forwards and extended his hand holding the stone. Hephaestus used her eye to look as closely as possible but was unable to see anything unique about the whetstone in his hand. It seemed to be made of Novaculite and other dense minerals, and she was unable to sense any enchantments or curses that would prevent others from holding it. As a test, she tried using her tools to interact with the stone without making physical contact, but there seemed to be a small rebounding force repelling the tools on contact. She was more confused that she had ever been and began to develop a powerful curiosity about the origin of the stone. "Vahn, where did you obtain this whetstone? It seems like amon stone, but has a mysterious force even my gods eye cant detect." Vahn began to realize he had made a mistake. What he thought was a simple whetstone ended up drawing unnecessary interest from the Goddess before him, and he was unable to think of an exnation. While he was thinking, Hephaestus reached towards one of the weapons that had been disyed near her desk. She used a strange cloth to mar the surface of the de and reduce the l.u.s.ter it emitted. Turning to Vahn, she handed him the de. "I want to see your skills. Show me how you use that whetstone. Since I cant handle it myself, I want to see how it affects a high-quality item." Since Vahn didnt know how to dig himself out of his current predicament, he decided it would be best to just move forward without stepping back. If he retreated now he would feel pathetic, and he didnt want to create friction between himself and the third most powerful Goddess within the City. He grabbed the de and began using the whetstone as he had done many times before. Hephaestus stared closely, and the first thing she noticed was that he had no idea how to properly handle a whetstone. She began to suspect he had been lying to her the entire time, but as the stone came into contact with the de her concerns vanished. The moment the whetstone touched the marred de, it began to glow with a subtle white luminance that only a god would be able to see. Each sessive stroke of the whetstone increased the luminance until the third stroke, where the de shed a bright light before being restored to its pinnacle state. Even the nick in the de she had left hadpletely vanished. She grabbed the sword as he handed it to her, and began to inspect it from every conceivable angle. The de was in perfect condition! It was even polished to a state unattained by the previous sword, as it had yet to be sharpened properly since it was just a disy piece. Now the de had a cold gleam that seemed to be able to cut anyone that stared at it too intensely. As a test, she used another one of the disy pieces and crossed the two des and inspected the result. The first sword had easily cut into the de of the second, even though their materials and construction were of simr qualities... She looked towards the stone in Vahns hand with intrigue but noticed that it had turned into dust. "What happened to the whetstone?" She couldnt understand how the stone turned to dust when it was previously in a whole, unused, state. Vahn shrugged at the question and gave what he thought was an obvious response, "They always break after one use." She could tell he was speaking the truth andmented at the loss of the godly tool. Even if the whetstone was a single-use item, it could be a powerful asset to any familia adventuring into the dungeon. If it could restore the state of damaged weapons to their optimal form, it would be an incredibly useful tool for long expeditions. "Can you tell me how you found that stone Vahn? It could save a lot of lives in the dungeon if people didnt have to worry about their weapons breaking down from overuse." Vahn shook his head and decided to speak the truth. "I cant really tell you where I got them since it is an important secret I cant divulge to anyone..." //Optional Quest Triggered// [Quest: Convince Hephaestus to Reveal her Eye] Rank:(G) Rewards: Development Ability: [cksmith], 1x Hephaestus Favor Failure Conditions: Death, 30 seconds pass [0:19S] Penalty: 100 Karma Vahn was surprised at the notification that appeared mid-sentence and became shocked after seeing the failure conditions. He had less than 20 seconds remaining!? Since he was unable toe up with a viable excuse, he decided to repeat hisst sentence. "I cant really tell you where I got them since its a secret, but I can use them to assist the Hephaestus Familia if..." Though she was disappointed he was unwilling to divulge the information about the whetstones, she became curious seeing the hesitation in his body as he slowly trailed his words. "If what Vahn?" "I will use the whetstones to aid your familia if you let me see what is under your eyepatch. Since its something deeply rted to my secret, it would only be fair to reveal something of your own..." Hearing the continuation of his words, all the curiosity she had previously faded away. Now there was a mncholic and sad expression on her face, and Vahn almost blurted out an apology by reflex. He kept trying to think of how to convince her to reveal her eye and began to panic as the timer counted down. Hephaestus sighed but noticed that Vahn had begun to panic when her mood changed. She thought he was just curious and hadnt meant to offend her. He was right; she had tried time-and-again to pry out his secrets without exchanging anything even after offending him earlier. If he wanted to see her eye in exchange for those magical whetstones, it was a fair trade considering the benefits she could gain for her Familia. "Very well Vahn...but know that whatys under my eyepatch isnt something interesting or mysterious. In fact, it might even disgust you...do you still want to see whats underneath?" She looked into his eyes as he began to calm down. She could see his eyes were clear as he returned her gaze before giving a gentle smile. "Please. I really want to see." Vahn knew she was often looked down on by the gods in heaven, and that was the reason she had be friends with Hestia. Hestia was the only Goddess that had seen her eye without showing fear or disgust. Though he hadnt thought to ask before the quest triggered, he was genuinely curious what made so many gods ostracize one of their own, especially when she was such an aplished cksmith. Hephaestus saw he didnt waver, so she removed her eyepatch. After a brief hesitation, she slowly looked at the boy to gauge his reaction. Though she tried to pretend she wasnt worried, her eye had been a trauma to her for so long that she subconsciously lost confidence whenever anyone gazed upon it. She looked towards him, expecting to see the familiar disgust or contempt that everyone except her best friend Hestia showed...but it wasnt there. He still had the gentle smile on his face as he gazed directly into her disfigured eye. There wasnt any disgust or feigned calmness, only an undisguised intrigue, relief, and even...concern? As various thought began circting through her head, Vahn continued to observe the eye. The white sclera had turnedpletely ck, surrounding the glowing crimson eye at its core. The eye looked almost demonic, a thought that would only be emphasized when seeing the malformed skin around the socket. It seemed like the skin had dried into a wrinkled red mess like a bloodstain surrounding her eye. Vahn was actually relieved seeing the eye since it wasnt nearly as bad as he expected given the mentions in the story. If anything, he even thought it looked kind of cool...but he could see by the expression on Hephaestuss face that it brought her a lot of pain. He began thinking of ways to cure it and started inquiring with Sis for a solution. Hephaestus continued to stare into the face of the boy and noticed that he was able to easily look directly at her for such a long period of time without changing. Her interest in the boy began to grow, as he was only the second person in her several-million-year lifespan to react this way. She almost felt the urge to cry as she continued to enjoy the kindness in his gaze. "You arent afraid of my eye Kid? Isnt it disgusting like a monster?" She saw his expression change for the first time since removing her eyepatch. He seemed confused at her question. "Thats a dumb question. Though your eye might be different, it doesnt change who you are. Why would I be afraid of you after all our interactions so far?" This was genuinely what Vahn thought since he always respected the actions Hephaestus took in the anime. She was always kind to the people she cared about and even forged Bell a 200,000,000V dagger just for her friend Hestia. She didnt deserve to be looked at like a monster by those around her since she was actually a kind and gentle girl. Hephaestus was shocked. She couldnt see any falsity in his words and could tell that he was actually offended not by her eye, but the fact she thought he would be afraid of it. She decided she had to re-evaluate this kid and began to examine his features a bit and noticed that he was actually quite handsome, albeit a bit young...Given a few years, he would likely grow to be a capable Adventurer, and he was currently without a Familia. There was also the unique aura he possessed which likely meant his "Grandfather" wasnt a simple adventurer turned hunter... A lightbulb went off inside her head as she looked towards Vahn with both her eyes gleaming. "Vahn, would you like to join my Familia?" Chapter 36 - Decision; Hephaestus Surprise

Chapter 36 - Decision; Hephaestus'' Surprise

Hearing Hephaestus ask him to join her Familia, Vahn began seriously considering the idea. He knew if he wanted to grow stronger without drawing too much attention he would need a strong backer, and the Hephaestus Familia was one of the best. There was also a chance that he can convince Hephaestus herself to forge him a weapon since many of the ones within the shop were higher quality than his current sword. If he could get a weapon that can grow, he would have a much easier time in the future when he delves further into the dungeon. He began to consider his other options, such as the Loki Familia. He was really interested in joining that Familia, as it was home to many memorable characters like Finn, Riveria, the Amazoness twins Tione and Tiona, as well as the infamous airhead Ais, who Bell had fallen for in the manga. His main reason for not joining was because he wanted to join the Hestia Familiater, and there was an ongoing discourse between Loki and Hestia. Seeing him in deep contemtion, Hephaestus didnt know why, but she began to get a little nervous. She wanted him to join her Familia, but didnt want to pressure him too hard since he may end up being pushed away if she was too firm. Thinking it was due to how she expressed interest in the whetstones that was causing his indecisiveness, she tried exining things in a manner that would help alleviate his concerns. "If youre worried I just want to use you for your ess to the whetstones, then dont be. My reasons for asking you to join the Familia have nothing to do with any of that. Im just...curious about your potential. I wont force you to reveal your secrets without your consent, I just want to see how far you can go with my support." Towards thetter half of her words, she began to feel her face heat up. This wasnt like her usual self. Hearing the reason she hade up with, Vahn couldnt help but let out a smile. Maybe he was overthinking things too much, as there werent really any downsides to being in a Familia in the first ce. He also knew Hephaestus wasnt the type to divulge secrets about the people she cared about. This would also allow him to get close to people within the Loki Familia, since the two different Familia often teamed up together when going on expeditions into the dungeon. "Thank you, Hephaestus...sama. I would very much like the opportunity to join your Familia." He gave the most polite bow he could manage and waited for her response. Staring at the boy bowing before her, Hephaestus felt an ufortable feeling in her chest. Though she didnt mind him calling her Miss earlier, now that he was agreeing to join the Familia at her request it felt awkward having him address her with Sama. It was almost like a wall was built between them, and she wanted to smash it down to prevent futureplications. "Call me Hephaestus." She stated firmly, causing Vahn to look towards her in confusion. Seeing his expression, she turned her head as a warmth crept onto her cheeks. "I said, you can call me Hephaestus. There is no need for sama or anything like that..." Vahn nodded in agreement but found her actions to be very peculiar. It was almost like she was...shy? He knew she had a soft spot for people due to her trauma, but he didnt imagine it had such an immediate effect on their rtionship. He actually felt a bit guilty but shook the thought away since he genuinely didnt find her eye to be disgusting. In fact, he wanted to help her heal it, but the only solution Sis came up with was to learn alchemy. Noticing she had started looking at him as if waiting for his response, Vahn smiled while gently calling, "Hephaestus." Hearing the intimate way in which he spoke, it felt like electricity went up the back of her spine. She could feel her heartbeat elerate, and tried to cover her embarrassment with a cough. "Hmmf, anyways. Lets go ahead an perform the crest ceremony. I want to see how strong you are and if you have any potential in bing a cksmith. Dont worry though, even if you cant be one, Ill still allow you to be my assistant...or you can venture into the dungeon and collect materials. Though most of the members in my Familia are craftsman, we arentpletely without capable explorers, else wed be at the mercy of other Familia to procuring materials." As she spoke she pulled out a chair and positioned it in the center of the room. She was trying to remain calm but still noticed that her heartbeat had yet to normalize. Gesturing for Vahn to sit, the next words actually got caught in her mouth. After waiting for a few seconds without anything happening, Vahn looked curiously towards Hephaestus who seemed to be in a daze. "Hephaestus?" When he spoke he saw her flinch before giving him a weird look. "Its nothing...You just need to remove...your shirt." She didnt know why she had such a hard time saying such simple words. Though she appreciated the fact he didnt shy away after revealing her eye, she didnt think she had fallen for him. He wasnt even a fully grown man yet! As she watched him remove his clothes, she could help but have her eyes drawn to his body. He had a very athletic figure and wasnt overly muscr. His physique was likely the result of intense training, and she could see the lines of his muscle drawn into his lean frame. She began to feel like she was developing a devious tendency as she struggled to pull her eyes from his body. After removing his shirt and cloak, Vahn sat with his flesh exposed to the air while leaning against the backrest of the chair. Waiting a few moments, he began to turn around as a voice interrupted him. "Stay facing forward, Im going to begin. Try to rx, since the ceremony can sometimes cause difort." Hephaestus couldnt understand what her own expression might be, and she didnt want Vahn to see the look on her. Staring at the well-developed back muscles, she slowly ced her finger to his back after pricking it with a needle. She began to mutter an incantation as she draws the crest of her Familia onto his back. Though she is a bit distracted by the physical contact she manages toplete the ceremony without incident. Throughout the entire duration, she noticed Vahn was able to maintain his posture without flinching in the slightest. He must have good tolerance, she thought as she began to inspect his new status board. What she saw just about sent her soul back to Heaven. ========================================================== Name: [Vahn Mason] -Level:1 -Power: SS1001 -Endurance: SS1108 -Dexterity: A887 -Agility: S940 -Magic: SSS1611 Skills: [Bow Mastery:C], [Stealth:D], [Chainbreaker:S], [Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S] Magic: Empty Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:B], [Spirit Healing:B], [cksmith:F] ========================================================== His lowest parameter was A, and even possessed three stats over the limit!? And how did he have so many skills rted to stealth and concealment!? She remembered he imed toe from the Western Forests, so it wasnt too much of a stretch to have a way to survive, but his current skills seemed a bit obsessive. He even had three skills she had never seen before, and each of them had incredible effects that would incite jealousy from other gods. However, what she didnt expect was that Vahn still had skills she couldnt even detect through reading the status board. Had she known, she may have passed out on the spot due to the sheer ridiculous of the situation. Though she desperately wanted to ask what kind of circ.u.mstances he had, Hephaestus decided it could wait till ater date. He had already joined her Familia, and there would be plenty of time to question him when he opened up on his own. "Vahn, your stats are incredible for a Level 1. Theyre some of the highest Ive ever seen, and your magic stat is probably some kind of record...When I infuse my Falna into you toplete the ceremony, itll consume all the exilia youve obtained from ying monsters and increase your level. Are you okay with that?" Vahn thought for a moment before nodding. Ever since he rescued Lili earlier, there had been an ache within his body even after the full recovery from the effigy. After asking about it, Sis told him it was due to overtaxing his body as a result of his rampant growth. Without leveling up it would be increasingly difficult to increase his parameters, and even if he could it may result in his body exploding due to the stress. Hephaestus dripped another drop of blood and updated Vahns Status board. She looked for any changes that may have appeared as a result of the increase and was surprised to see he had gained an additional two skills, bringing the total to seven normal and three development. Vahn could feel the change in his body as his pressure in his abdomen broke through some kind of floodgate that had been preventing the energy of his body from properly dispersing. It felt very refreshing, and he could see the two new skills that had been obtained through the system. --- [Swordsman:D] Increasesprehension of sword skills and techniques. Provides a slight increase to the kic vision and spatial awareness of the user. [Featherfoot:E] Increasesprehension of movement abilities and footwork. Provides a moderate increase to stealth rted abilities. --- As he was reading the newly acquired skills, Hephaestus had used some kind of parchment to transfer his information. When she was finished she handed the paper to Vahn with a tired look. "I knew there was something special about you, but youre really something else. I dont even know what to say when youve managed to acquire so many skills while still being level 2. Even with my eye, I cant see the limit of your potential. Fortunately, you have the [cksmith] development ability, so I can at least guide you with that. I can also introduce you to a swordsmanship instructorter if you want." Vahn dressed while listening to the Hephaestus speak. He looked over the paper she had given him and saw that all his parameters had reset to I10, which was also reflected in the system. Fortunately, he had the advantage of seeing his hidden stats, so it wasnt too sorry a sight. He turned towards Hephaestus while giving a slight bow. "Thanks, Hephaestus. I look forward to your guidance." Vahn could see her look away, and couldnt help but smile. Seeing how Vahn was seemingly taking advantage of her, she got a little annoyed but decided to ignore it. She grabbed a hammer from the wall next to her desk before triggering a mechanism which revealed a secret workshop. Gesturing for Vahn to follow, he began to trail in her direction before they both stopped next to a forge that burned with an eternal me. "You might have a monstrous level of talent forbat, but lets see how much potential you have as a cksmith." She turned towards Vahn with a unrivaled confidence on her face. Unlike all the emotions she had shown to him previously, this was what Vahn felt to be her most suitable expression. Vahn nodded, taking a seat next to the forge to observe her actions. It wasnt every day a person had the chance to watch an actual Goddess of Smithing disy her skills. He began to focus on her every word and movement as she began to process of teaching him how to forge. Chapter 37 - Forging, Praise, Flame...

Chapter 37 - Forging, Praise, me...

Hephaestus started the process by taking a rough piece of metal that had been soaking in solution to remove the impurities contained within the ore. She then inserted it into a heat-resistant container that could withstand the heat of the eternal me within the forge. She would periodically remove the super-heated metal before inspecting before hammering away any g buildup. Vahn watched the process and marveled at how methodically she performed each step. She seemed to be extremely rxed, but there was an intense focus in her eyes which created the illusion they could see through anything. Every small change in the metal was easily noticed by her gaze, and she used the magical hammer within her hands to beat out the imperfections within the ore. After what seemed like several hours, which was in fact only a few minutes, she finally withdrew the purified metal and began shaping it into the shape of a bar. "This is the process for refining an ingot. The metal you saw me use is the magisteel alloy used in some of our higher end products. We use mana to force out any impurities within the raw iron ore and then enhance the structure of the resultant material using pressure. During this phase, you can use your hammer to reinforce the structure of the metal and give it a magically charged nature. This allows it to conduct mana for use in skills, and with enough practice, youll even be able to incorporate special qualities into the metal." Seeing the befuddled look on his face during her exnation, she began tough before setting the metal on a nearby tform to cool. "You dont have to worry about it too much, Vahn. What you just saw was the process of countless hours of effort and experimentation. As long as you understand the basic principles, youll get the hang of it as you .u.mte more experience. Here, give it a try. Ill walk you through it step-by-step." She offered the hammer she had used to refine the magisteel, and Vahn took it into his hands. His first impression was that it was much heavier than he expected. If not for his increase in strength the past week, he may not even be able to lift it. He was half tempted to put it into his inventory for analysis but decided to focus on the task at hand. Removing a piece of raw iron from the solution, he began trying to replicate the process of creating the ingot. He noticed it was very difficult to position the ore within the me, and even small miscalctions would result in the loss of iron to the fire. Understanding this was probably the reason why Hephaestus would often remove the ore from the me, he began trying to look for any change in the metal to indicate it needed to be removed. Hephaestus watched and gave an appreciative nod seeing his progress. Though it was very obvious he was a beginner, his attention to detail when making mistakes showed he possessed the observational prowess to be a cksmith. She continued to watch as he processed the ore and offered him words of advice when necessary. Vahns focus began to increase to its maximum allowance, and he began to struggle while trying to handle the raw iron. Whenever he removed it from the me to beat out the impurities, he noticed it was actually very difficult to shape the material. The hammers weight aided in the effort, but he was unable to shape the metal as he desired. "Remember Vahn, you need to focus and channel your mana through the hammer strikes. It will make it easier to shape the metal." Hephaestus understood why he was having difficulties. Because of his monstrous stats, she had decided to pressure him by allowing him to use a hammer from her personal collection. Without proper control, he wouldnt be able to shape the metal, but she believed that his SSS magic stat would allow him to adapt to the situation with practice. Hearing her advice, Vahn took a deep breath and tried to rx. If it was an issue of control and focus, he just had to use his trump card. He activated his [Will of the Emperor] and his domain spread throughout the entire forge. Hephaestus frowned a bit at the act, but once she saw him continue working the metal she gave an appreciative nod. The moment he activated his pseudo-divine state, she noticed his control over his mana increased exponentially and he was able to easily infuse it into the hammer. She was surprised since the internal mana conduits of the hammer are typically impossible to use without an understanding of their internal structure. She believed his aura allowed him to perceive the flow of mana within the field he generated, and she wasnt that far off from the truth. Vahn used his enhanced perception and control to finish removing the impurities. It took nearly five times the duration required by Hephaestus, but he still managed to keep more than 70% of the initial amount. He immediately started shaping the raw metal into the shape of an ingot, but only managed to form it into a lumpy oblong shape. Hephaestus saw the final product andughed a bit on the inside. Even though he seemed to have an incredible talent for refining the metal, it would still take a lot of experience before he was able to control shaping the metal. She could see the reason he failed at the end was due to how he let the metal cool while observing it. If he had begun immediately shaping the raw metal after removing it from the forge he would have been able to generate better results. Seeing the dissatisfaction on his face, she decided to cheer him up. "Dont worry Vahn, you did very well for your first time. Remember that this is the material we use in our higher-end products, as well as your first time forging. If you had seeded in your first try, that would have been abnormal." She grabbed the malformed ingot before reheating it using the eternal me. "Watch closely, Ill demonstrate again. You have to begin shaping the metal the moment it reaches its critical state. Due to the conductive nature of the material, it will quickly cool down by absorbing the elements from the air. You only have a brief window to shape the metal before reheating and repeating the process." This time, instead of immediately forming the shape of the ingot, Hephaestus showed him the normal process a cksmith had to go through. She repeated the process of shaping and reheating the magisteel a total of seven times before it had taken the same shape as her previous ingot, albeit smaller in size. When she was done, she set it on the shelf before turning towards the observant Vahn. "Thatll be it for today. I can tell you have a lot oftent ability when ites to forging. Ill have someone teach you the basics in the future, and when I have free time Ill give you some personal lessons. Make sure you pay attention when the timees because my time isnt cheap." She gave him a yful grin while speaking the words, but ended up losing her smile after seeing his reaction. Though he was obviously listening, and even nodded when she spoke, he seemed more focused on the metal within the solution than her words. (Does he want to try again?) She appreciated his motivation but understood it was dangerous to overexert yourself, especially when first starting out. The build-up of physical and mental exhaustion would just make the process more difficult. As she was about to try and convince him, she stopped after seeing his current state. Vahn had picked up the hammer and grabbed a piece of raw iron. The aura that had spread throughout the entire forge had converged to an area of three meters around him. Perhaps it was due to his embarrassment at his previous failure, or maybe the emergence of hispetitive nature, but Vahn decided to purchase manuals on cksmithing within his mind to absorb the teachings within. He spent a total of 17,000 OP to purchase all the manuals he could use at this current soul tier. As his brain processed the veritable tidal wave of information, Vahn almost lost consciousness but managed to hold on by pushing his [Will of the Emperor] to the limit. From the outside, Hephaestus could see an actual fluidlike energy forming a bubble around Vahn. Though she could sense it originally and make out its area using her eye, this was the first time she had seen a physical representation of his mana. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that it took a god-like level of control to reach such a state. She worried that anything she said or did would break the mysterious state Vahn entered, so she remained silent and continued to observe. After his brain had finished sorting all the information, Vahn suddenly felt as if he had been a cksmith for decades. He knew his practical skills were a bitcking, but with enough effort, he would be able to quickly improve in the future. Since the information he obtained included a variety of records outside of Danmachi, he very likely had more theoretical knowledge in the basics than even Hephaestus. He might not be able to match her in actual skill or experience, but he would be able to innovate and master his otherworldly techniques given enough time. Vahn entered a state of absolute focus and began refining the metal. Though there was still a bit of loss, he managed to retain around 83% of the total raw material. After he removed the newly created magisteel he quickly began forming its shape, this time using his mana to forcibly mold the basic structure of the ingot as he hammered away. He repeated the process of reheating the metal and shaping it until an idea popped into his mind. (If I can use my mana to hold the shape of the ingot, cant I do the same while heating it up?) He immediately attempted to verify his conjecture, but quickly understood the difficulty involved. While the influence of the me was negligible when he was just refining the metal normally; when he exposed his energy to the me in a concentrated amount he was able to feel an actual burning sensation within his body, almost as if the energy of his body was on fire. Hephaestus had been closely observing as he worked the metal, and immediately noticed the change. Through her eye, she could see that he was using his mana to cast the ingot within the forge. As the eternal me was a mystical fire that could burn anything, it was very dangerous to concentrate mana directly into it. If he were unlucky, it could lead to a rebound within Vahns spirit and cause harm to his foundation. Though she wanted to stop him, she feared that interrupting at this moment would hasten the arrival of the worst case scenario. Hephaestus began to feel helpless as she watched him struggle. Had she known he was such a hothead, she would have prevented him from taking action earlier. A tense atmosphere began to permeate throughout the room. On one side there was a boy, Vahn, focusing his mental energies beyond what he thought to be his previous limits. But no matter how much he pushed himself, it seemed as if failure was close at hand. On the other side of the room was the veteran Goddess, Hephaestus, who began to me herself for the current situation. She held her breath and began to feel a strange emotion tugging at her heart. As the pressure continued to increase, Vahn began feeling as if he was teetering on the edge between consciousness and unconsciousness. He had long noticed something had gone wrong but refused to give up after seeing how close the ingot was to taking shape. Finally, after several painstaking seconds which seemed to stretch for an eternity, the ingot had been formed. Its surface had a wless metallic l.u.s.ter and each edge was well defined. Unfortunately, Vahn didnt have time to celebrate as he found himself unable to remove his energy and awareness from the me. It seemed intent on consuming his energy to the brink, almost as if it possessed a spirituality of its own. And on a very rudimentary level, it did... The so-called eternal me had been a unique possession of Hephaestus since she obtained her divinity. It had even apanied her to the mortal world to continue aiding in the production of thousands of peerless items. But during that time it had begun to grow bored of the tedium of the mortal world. It longed for the days when it could process celestial metals and create artifacts fit for use only by the gods themselves. When Hephaestus allowed this novice to work metal using its me, the eternal me began to focus all its resentment on the foolish human in front of it. He made almost imperceptible adjustments to the bnce in the me, which resulted in a greater loss of the materials. It even mocked the boy for his inability to adapt to the changes,pletely ignoring any me owed to itself. After the boy hadpleted his shoddy product, the eternal me watched as he failed to convert it into an ingot. At that moment, if it couldugh, it would have done so uproariously. After Hephaestus had reheated the ingot in its mes, it allowed her to demonstrate what true mastery was so as to discourage any hopes he may have about being a cksmith in the future. But what did Hephaestus do? She slowly worked the metal and demonstrated the process of forging used by novices. It had to reheat the same piece of nd metal over and over until the ingot had finally taken shape. The eternal me had begun to resent the human child even more, for dragging its master down to his miserable level. When he saw the boy try to work another piece of metal, he tried to get revenge but was unable to because of the control the boy showed. The eternal me began to burn with a vengeful fury seeing that the boy had managed to retain so much of the metal even with its interference. As the boy began shaping the ingot, its rage had begun to peak...until the boy made a foolish error! The idiotic child had the audacity to try and infuse his mana directly into the mes internal energy structure. The moment the eternal me realized this, it attempted to create a spiritual lock around the invading energy but was surprised at the result. The energy possessed by this human seemed to suppress its pure elemental nature, causing an instinctual fear within the me. The fear it had felt caused its rage to reach the absolute pinnacle of its meager intelligence. It began trying to consume the energy of the boy and convert it into its own, and was surprised by the absolute purity of the energy. It seemed to be able to nourish its core and make the mes even stronger. All the hate it had built up for the boy turned into jubtion as it greedily tried to consume the energy. Vahn could feel the suppression of the mes grow increasingly stronger, and began to grit his teeth till his gums bled. He tried forcibly removing his energy, causing his soul to scream out in protest. Every failure brought him closer and closer to copse, but he adamantly refused to yield to the me. His desire to escape the mes imprisonment grew, and he could feel his spiritual strengthpound. Within Vahns eyes, the image of a warrior appeared. If the unfortunate kobolds that had experienced this previously were around, they would note that the illusion had grown far more tangible than before. The figure raised an awe-inspiring sword towards the heavens before cutting down with an unstoppable might. Vahn could hear the resonating sound of chains being shattered as he finally wrested control of the ingot from the me. He held the wless ingot and gazed at it in a fervent manner before presenting it to the befuddled Goddess who had observed the series of events. "I did it..." As the words left his lips, Vahn entered a state of Mind Zero as he continued holding out the result of his efforts. Hephaestus stared at the unconscious boy who stood proudly disying his achievements. She slowly relieved him of the ingot before carrying his body to a couch within her office workshop. Afterying him down, she continued to stare with both of her eyes for several minutes. "What kind of kid did I ept into my Familia...to be able to contest against the will of the eternal me and pull away as the victor...." As she continued to stare into his sleeping face, an anticipation for the future began to build within Hephaestus. "His sleeping expression is very cute~. He looks like he worked so hard~" The cool Goddess began to smile andugh like a fool,pletely contrary to Vahns impression of her. Sadly, it would be a long time before he was able to see this adorable side of her for himself. Chapter 38 - What was Lost : What was Found

Chapter 38 - What was Lost : What was Found

Vahn was floating in the void. He couldnt determine which direction was up as his body slowly rotated through space. There was a warmth permeating through his body, reminding him of a feeling he had lost long ago. As time passed a chill began to set in his body; he could feel the warmth begin to fade and a panic began to spread throughout his consciousness. He began a desperate search for the feeling, but no matter how much he struggled; no matter how much time passed, he could not find it again. --- Eventually, he gave up searching and began seeking sce in the stillness brought about by the chill which had permeated every fiber of his being. But, even though he gave up searching, he wanted to protect the memory of the warmth deep within. He curled his body into the smallest form he could manage and imagined the warmth still existed, a distant echo of a memory which he should have never allowed to be lost. --- The concept of time had long been lost as his body drifted aimlessly through the endless void. The stillness had been a part of him for so long he even lost the concepts that had defined him in the first ce. His curled body had turned into an ambiguous shape and taken on a spherical nature. Thoughts, emotions, even dreams had long faded...remnants of a time long forgotten. Only the memory of the warmth kept his body from dispersing in the endless, eternal, darkness of the void. --- One day the thoughtless sphere came across a small light within the darkness, stirring something within the remnant spirit contained within. From the tiny, almost inconsequential light, it could feel the now ancient warmth it had so desperately sought in the past. It quickly sought sce within thefort of the light, but in its haste nearly extinguished the light entirely. It became conflicted, both wanting to take the light for itself, but unwilling to seize it for fear of losing it once again. It began to gently surround the light, allowing its gentle touch to slowly warm its now cold and deste frame. Every now and then it would split a small part of itself to nurture the light, hoping that it would one day grow and help it reim what it had lost. When it split these fragments, the light would emit fragmentary images of times and ces the entity had never experienced. Within the images, it could see a figure, the source of the lights warmth. It leads smaller, but powerful lights, to confront the darkness and create a path through the abyss. The being hoped that one day the light and itspanions would be able to- --- Vahn woke up in a cold sweat. His head was throbbing with a powerful migraine simr to the times he had overused [Will of the Emperor]. He desperately tried to remember what he had been dreaming about, but the more he focused on the thoughts the faster they would vanish. The only thing still remaining by the time he had calmed down was a deep, all-epassing loneliness... "Youre awake. I was worried you would end up sleeping all day." A gentle voice broke the empty feelings that had began to take root in his heart. Vahn turned to see the source and saw Hephaestus giving him a worried look. "Sorry...I was having a dream, no, a nightmare...." Vahn shook his head to dispel the remaining negative feelings before leaving the couch. Hephaestus, who was currently sitting at her desk working on diagrams, gave him a gentle smile while setting her pen aside. "What are your ns for today? Since youve officially joined my Familia, you can have your own workshop, but I think it would be better for you to apprentice under someone else for the time being. If youre not busy Ill introduce you to a veteran cksmith. She is quite capable, and someone I can trust to teach you everything you need to know for the future." Vahn shook his head with an apologetic look. "Ive already made ns to meet up with someone this morning, and I still need to report my level up to the guild and renew my booking at the Inn. Hopefully, they havent let someone else take the room yet." Hephaestus nodded in understanding, remembering his haste from the previous night. Even though she had already epted him into the Familia, it wasnt appropriate to force him to change his current ns and living conditions until he was able to sort everything out. "Very well then. Ill give you a week to get everything sorted, but youll have to report to me if anything changes. Though there arent many requirements for being in the Familia, youll still be acting as a representative of our brand. Youll have to put more thought into your future actions. I dont want you running around causing a bunch of problems for me to clean up." After informing him of everything he needed to keep in mind, Hephaestus began escorting him from the workshop. She was back to her usual attitude and had begun to wear her eyepatch again while Vahn was asleep. Once they had reached the entrance, Vahn gave a polite bow before waving goodbye. Seeing this, Hephaestus stopped him with a small hint of a blush on her face. "Make sure you let me know if you run into any problems. Youre a child of my Familia now, and I wont let anyone bully my children." Hearing her words, Vahn gave her his best smile before saying, "Thanks Hephaestus. I believe in you..." As he began to turn away, he continued his words. "And one day, I hope youll be able to believe in me." He then ran towards the direction of the guild, leaving a smiling Hephaestus leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed. She watched his retreating figure until it had disappeared, then sighed as she returned to her workshop. After entering, she looked towards the now empty couch where Vahn had slept the night before. After securely locking the door, she made her way over before falling face first into the cushions. For some reason, the room that was full of peerless equipment now felt empty. From the couch, she could smell a peculiar fragrance that hadnt been there previously, and she began to blush after identifying the source... Remembering his back as he left, Hephaestus had seen hints of the loneliness contained in the small silhouette. But beneath that, she also saw a powerful desire to grow stronger, as well as an intrigue in the world around him. Hisst words stirred her heart a bit, and her attempts to maintain her calm demeanor had worn away at her energy as she returned to her workshop. Once she was in the security of the room, she felt an exhaustion build up in her and decided to use the couch to take a small nap. After a while, she fell asleep. While Vahn had slept the night before, she spent much of the time watching his various expressions. When he had started having his nightmare, she began gently rubbing his head to soothe his unease. This continued well into the morning, until he began to show signs of awakening which prompted her to return to her desk and pretend to be working. Once he had awoken, she wanted to ask what he was dreaming about, but seeing the pained expression on his face made Hephaestus swallow her words and try to act casually. All these factors had .u.mted in the fatigue of the red-haired goddess as she fell into thend of dreams herself. --- Vahn made his way to the Guild, and was sad seeing that none of his acquaintances were avable. He saw Fauna dealing with customers at the mission counter, while Eina, probably due to her adorable looks, had a long line of customers in front of her desk. He ended up being seen by a gentlemanly looking elf with green hair that gave him looks of contempt before changing to shock after seeing the number of cores Vahn had submitted. After finding out Vahn had been entering the tower for less than a week and had be level 2, he almost thought the boy before him was a monster in the guise of a human. However, once he found out Vahn had been epted by the Hephaestus Familia and officially registered as an Adventurer, he gave a curt and respectful bow before processing the exchange. On his way out, Vahn caught the sight of Eina and the two waved at each other. He was happy to see that when the young half-elf made eye contact with him, there was a slight blush on her cheeks. Vahn felt a tickling sensation in his heart and resolved to try and tease her more in the future. Seeing thebination of her cute looks and serious nature trying to hide shyness brought a smile to his face for reasons he couldnt exin. He made his way to the Hearths Embrace before booking his room for an additional week. The proprietress, Mn, had tried to keep him for a few minutes. She wanted to know what he had been up to the previous week and advised that, if he were in trouble, he coulde to her. "I may not look like it, but I used to be a Level 3 back in my active days. If some hoodlums are bothering you Ill give em a good beating~". Vahn smiled and thanked her for her kindness, assuring her that nothing serious had happened and promised to tell her about the detailster. After having him promise, she finally let him go before giving him a small lunchbox. "My daughter made it especially for you~. Make sure you eat it all or youll break her heart~nya." Vahn looked around and noticed the little girl was missing, and Mnughed seeing his questioning expression. "She stayed upte because you hadnt shown up to renew the room. You know she lost her father to the dungeon, so she was very worried. Make sure you make it up to herter, okay?" epting the lunchbox, Vahn promised he would buy Tina a present before returning this evening. Mn patted his back while pushing him towards the exit and telling him to take care of himself. "Remember, a man always keeps his promises~nya!" After leaving the Inn, Vahn began running towards the Babel za. It was already nearing 9 AM, and he was worried Lili had been waiting for a very long time. Adventurers typically entered the dungeon at even earlier times, and since they had agreed to meet in the morning she had likely been in the area for several hours by now. He continued running for nearly half an hour before finally reaching his destination. Looking around, he couldnt see Lili anywhere, and he began to worry she had left after he failed to show up on time. Finding a nearby bench, he sat down and began waiting. Even if she didnt show up, he would continue waiting for the rest of the day as a means of atoning for his actions. Three hourster, as Vahn continued to stare aimlessly at the sky in contemtion, he felt a sudden weight added to the bench near him. He looked over and saw Lili staring into his face with annoyance and displeasure written on her face. She had adopted the look of an elven child with blond hair and light-hazelnut colored eyes. "Yourete." She said with a pout. "Sorry Lili, I got caught up trying to take care of a few things." All Vahn could do was awkwardly apologize why trying to appease the young Pallum. She stared at him before closing the distance and smelling his clothing. "It was a woman, wasnt it?" Vahn was shocked, "Eh? Yes?" He didnt understand why she now had an angry expression after sniffing his body. "Grrrr, I want to meet herter. Promise me." A glint had appeared in her eyes as she began pressuring Vahn for his word. Vahn could feel a chill run down his back as he nodded his head like a clucking chicken. "Yes, sure. Ill introduce you to themter." "THEM!? There is more than one!?" The young girl acted like she was undergoing an intense struggle and began acting out a tragic y on the bench. After a few seconds had past, she gave Vahn a fierce look before nodding aftering to some kind of understanding. "I want to meet them all." She got very close to his body before staring into his face with a determined expression. Vahn just continued to nod, before giving in to the urge to pat her head. He understood she was a bit jealous but didnt understand the reasons. She probably just wanted to keep him to herself, since he had just recently saved her life. He thought petting her on the head would help ease some of the insecurities she was feeling. When Vahn had started patting her head, Lili tensed up for a moment before entrusting her body to Vahn. All her frustrations seemed to fade away in the face of the emergent pleasant sensationing from her head. She wanted to snuggle and leave her mark on his body to warn any females that got too close... "Well, lets get to training." Vahn stopped petting the girl that had begun to lose herself to her delusions. He stood from the bench and waited for her to react before heading towards the dungeon. "Wait, Vahn-sama! Dont leave me behind!" Seeing his departure, Lili began to chase after his back. She wouldnt allow herself to fall behind anymore... Chapter 39 - Anyone Can Become Strong

Chapter 39 - Anyone Can Be Strong

Vahn and Lili made their way into the Beginners Road on the first floor of the dungeon. Vahn looked around and found the entrance to the path he had taken when he first entered the dungeon. He continued leading the way as Lili trailed behind him as the two made small talk. "Lili, what is your goal in entering the dungeon?" Vahn decided to be direct, so he asked her why she wanted to be stronger. Lili looked into his eyes and saw his seriousness. She began to seriously contemte the question before speaking. "I want to be strong enough to survive...and to protect the things I care about." During thest half of the sentence, she stared at his face, only to see him nod while thinking about her words. "Thats enough for now, but I want you to have a bigger dream. Everyone wants to protect something, be it their way of life or the people close to them. I learned that its important to also have a goal to work towards since you wont be able to be stronger just by wanting strength." Lili nodded while hanging her head. She didnt disagree with him, but couldnt think of any goal besides just earning her freedom. Even now she was just escaping instead of directly facing her problems. Suddenly, something clicked in her mind and she looked curiously towards Vahn. "Vahn-sama, why arent you surprised by my appearance? It slipped my mind, but you were able to instantly recognize me even though my magic changed my appearance." Vahnughed at her question, which caused her to frown slightly. "Thats easy. I was waiting in the area we agreed to meet, and you were the one that mentioned I was te. Besides, even if you change your appearance a little, I can easily tell you apart from others." "Eh, howe?" Not many people had been able to see through her disguise before, so she wanted to know why he was able to do so. Vahn thought for a brief moment, but couldnt tell her it was because he had seen her change form in the manga. He decided to tell a half-truth that should make her overlook any misgivings she might have. Looking towards the top of her head, he could see her pinkish-blue aura and decided that would suffice. "Its because youre cute and have a very unique aura. No matter what form you take Id be able to easily recognize you." He decided topliment her since girls seemed to be happy whenever he was polite to them. Hearing his reasons, Lili began to blush fiercely and hugged Vahn from behind. "Uuuuuu, its not fair to say things like that Vahn-sama..." She began putting strength into her arms as she rubbed her head against his back. Vahn was surprised at the effectiveness of his simplepliment. He began to think he should tryplimenting people more often if its able to make them this happy. Seeing the way people reacted to his words also made him feel a variety of emotions, and it was very interesting since he had so few noteworthy interactions beforeing to this world. Eventually, Lili separated herself from his back before assuming her original form. As long as they were in the dungeon and werent around other people she should be fine. Besides, she wanted Vahn to get used to the real her as much as possible. To hide her previous embarrassment, she tried continuing the conversation from earlier. "Vahn-sama, why do you want to be stronger?" She was very curious about his reasons since he had gone out of his way to protect someone he had never met before. As far as she could tell, he had a very heroic disposition, but she could still see a painful and solemn expression on his face from time to time. Vahn stopped walking and looked directly into her chestnut colored eyes. "I want to be strong enough to change the fates of those bound by the whims of others. I dont want to see people suffer just because it makes someone elses life convenient. And..." He looked towards the ceiling as if he could see through to something far off into the distance. "There is someone I must be stronger for..." Though she felt a warm feeling while he was stating his convictions, Lili felt her heart tense up when he spoke about bing stronger for a specific person. Is it his lover?. She became saddened at the thought she had already lost the race before she even had a chance topete. Through her dejection, she decided to ask, even though the answer might disappoint her. "Who is it you need to be so strong for...your lover?" She couldnt look him in the eyes, afraid he might see through her false bravado. "Ah, no, I dont have anything like a lover. Its my Mother. I want to be strong enough to reunite with her, but I dont know how strong Ill have to be before Im able to do so." Though he couldnt understand why she was acting so strangely, Vahn decided to be honest with her. Hearing that the person in question was his mother, Lili released a heavy sigh. She also noted he specifically said he didnt have a lover, so if she tried her best she should still have a chance. Now she just had to meet the women he mentioned earlier to get a better understanding of the situation. A fiercepetitiveness began burning in her eyes as she pumped her tiny fists in front of her chest. She seemed to be a lot more excitable than Vahn remembered, but he wanted to think it was a healthy change. Maybe it was because he had met her so much sooner than Bell, so she hadnt yet devolved to the state of mind she had in the canon storyline? "Well Lili, for now, I want you to start thinking of a goal for yourself. While we train your foundation you can think of why you want to grow stronger, while Ill think of how to make you stronger." This was the best solution he could think of for now. As long as he was able to give her time, she should be able to find a reason for herself even without his interference. Lili nodded before shaking her head momentster. "Im not sure I can be stronger Vahn-sama. I already learned early on that I dont have the talent to be an Adventurer. Since Im a Pallum, my body is weak and my small stature makes it difficult to directly engage stronger monsters. Its probably better that I just focus on being a Supporter while you continue to work towards your own goals. Im happy just being at your side." She tried to give him a smile, but Vahn could see the mncholic undertones and believed that she was forcing herself. He also noticed the aura around her body began to flicker slightly, so he understood her emotions were bing unstable. "Are you an idiot?" He decided he needed to be a bit harsh, or else she might not be willing to listen to his words. "What made you decided you couldnt be an Adventurer just because you were a Pallum? One of the strongest Adventurers in the entire City is a Pallum, and he has even reached Level 6. You think just because you failed once or twice when you were just a kid you have no talent? That ispletely ridiculous." Lili became absolutely shocked after hearing her kind and gentle Vahn-sama calling her an idiot before berating her. Eh? Did I say something wrong?. She couldnt process the sudden change and just absentmindedly listened as the continued. "You might not believe it after seeing me now, but there was a long period of time when I couldnt do anything. I lived at the convenience of others, and couldnt even make a single decision to change that reality. There was even a time when I tried to take my own life, only to be prevented from doing so and facing severe repercussions for my failure..." The entire time he was speaking, he continued locking eyes with the now terrified girl. "My life continued in that fashion until a series of events changed the conditions I had grown ustomed to. I hadpletely given up, but by the grace of external forces, I was guided back towards a path where I could live as I please. So as not to fail to meet their expectations, I continued to train tirelessly while constantly seeking to improve my own capabilities. It wasnt until facing death on numerous asions and experiencing the kindness of several people that I reached my current strength." At this point Vahn had begun showing a smile on his face as he remembered all the past events and interactions that have defined his life in this world. Lili had begun to tremble as he spoke. When he first began she could see the pain he had experienced through his expressions and how he conveyed his words. She knew he wasnt lying to her and had likely experienced a terrible suffering in the past. When he continued and started talking about his efforts to be stronger, she could see an impassioned expression on his face filled with desire and a hint of confidence. Lastly, she could see the appreciation on his face as he reflected upon everything that had happened... She began to wonder, Can I really be stronger?. Everything she has experienced seemed to scream at the impossibility, but the boy before her inspired something inside of her. She wanted to believe. She wanted to see if the boy could really change the frail image she had of herself. Most importantly, she wanted to be strong enough to meet his expectations...she didnt want to fail. Lili looked towards Vahn who had returned her gaze. She had tears in her eyes as she questioned, Vahn-sama...can I really be stronger? Can I be like you?" Vahn smiled before reaching out and cing his hand on her head. As he gently patted the tearful girl who had experienced so much tragedy in her life, he put on the most confident airs he could manage. "As long as they are willing to put in the effort, Lili...Anyone can be strong." Chapter 40 - Capabilities : Desire Within the Dungeon

Chapter 40 - Capabilities : Desire Within the Dungeon

After Lili had calmed down, the two began discussing her current strengths and weaknesses. At this point, they were both standing outside the entrance to the second floor, and Vahn needed a better understanding of her current abilities. "That skill you use to disguise yourself, does it give you any other benefits? And what other skills do you possess?" This is what Vahn was most interested in. From his perspective, the ability to transform was quite powerful, and he even envied it a bit. "My transformationes from my magic [Cinder*E]. It lets me change into anything of simr size and weight, though I can push the ability to change my size for a short period of time...As for other abilities, I possess a skill called [Artel Assist] which increases my parameters based on the amount of weight Im carrying, though the buff isnt that great and the weight itself restricts my movement..." Vahn nodded with his hand to his chin. He was thinking about a way to use the two abilities to their greatest potential in the future...but for now, he should help her strengthen her foundation. Though he couldnt give her the manuals from the system, that didnt prevent him from using the information within his head to offer advice to aid in her growth. For now, hed teach her the basic CQC (Close Quarters Combat) skills he developed in the forest. Even if they werent that useful for killing monsters, it would give her the ability to protect herself in the future. "For now well start strengthening your foundation. I know a series of exercises to help increase your familiarity withbat that will also help improve the mobility of your body while increasing your reaction time. We might be able to use your [Artel Assist] to help aid your stamina training, and well also practice actualbat. For now, well restrict it to the monsters on the upper levels, and then move on to sparringter in the afternoon. What weapons do you prefer?" Seeing how seriously Vahn was treating the training, Lili began amping herself up for theing trials. "Yes, Master Vahn! Since Im a Pallum, I have enhanced vision which allows me to see in the dark so I use a bow to attack monsters from the backline. Though I can use my [Cinder*E] to adopt the traits of other races, I havent used them inbat!" "Ah, it just so happens that I also use a bow, but it wont be a very practical method to increase your parameters. Even if you can gain the exilia from monsters, it would mainly influence your dex. Well have to train a method that allows you to increase all of your parameters until you find abat style that suits you." Vahn was considering purchasing a weapon for Lili, but couldnt think of a good option... "Master Vahn also uses a bow?" Lili gave him a questioning look since she had only ever seen him use a sword till now. Hearing her question, Vahn swapped to the bow in his secondary slot. Lili startled seeing the sword disappear while an emerald green bow took its ce. "Is that your storage magic? It seems to be very useful if youre able to swap out weapons so quickly." Vahn nodded while leading the way into the second floor. Since he didnt have a way to exin his storage magic in detail, he wanted to avoid talking about it whenever possible. After a few minutes they came across a group of kobolds, and Vahn quickly loosed three arrows, precisely hitting the core of each monster. "Ah, thats amazing Master Vahn! You have impable aim~" Lili was jumping behind him while cheering loudly. Vahn shook his head and turned towards her. "Lili, unless were in the corridors between floors you have to retain your focus. A smallpse in concentration is all it takes to lead to a pitiful end. And you can stop calling me Master. Just call me Vahn. Hearing you praise me while calling me Master worries me for some reason..." "U-understood...Vahn...sama" Hearing her still address him with sama Vahn let out a sigh. At least it was better than being called Master over and over. Hopefully, she would be able to break the habit on her own in the future. "For the next group, I want you to engage them using your crossbow. If things get dicey Ill make sure to intercept, but you should try your best to eliminate them on your own." He continued to progress further into the second floor until the encountered a group of three kobolds and two goblins. Lili drew her crossbow and began to fire rapidly. Most of her bolts found their target, but she was a little off from hitting the cores so the monsters began charging towards her. She stood still and kept firing bolts as quickly as she could, but was only able to kill the two goblins before the kobolds had approached her. Just as they were about to lunge, three arrows urately pierced the bodies of the kobolds mid-leap turning them to dust in the process. Lili had a ghastly expression on her face and lost feeling in her legs. She copsed on the spot while stuttering towards Vahn, "T-t-thanks Vahn-s-sama. Im s-s-sorry I failed." Vahn could see fear written all over her face, and he triedforting her by kneeling down and petting the top of her head. "Its okay Lili. You didnt fail...I just wanted to see how you fought monsters without support. From now on Ill show you how to properly fight using ranged weapons." While she was still powerless to move, more kobolds had begun spawning from the walls of the dungeon. This time it was a group of five, and Vahn immediately moved to close the gap between them. Lili, from her seated position, stared at his charge in a confused manner. Why is he getting close if he is using a bow? The answer to her question came in the following few seconds, as she watched Vahn nimbly dodge the kobolds and use the blind spots created by their movements to easily target their cores. In the span of just a few breaths, he was able to easily deal with the entire group without having to reposition or open a distance between the monsters. She began to understand what he meant by proper... Vahn approached the still seated Lili before smiling and saying, "Did you see? Though using ranged weapons does provide an advantage in eliminating monsters from a distance, if you have to sacrifice your mobility in exchange it isnt worth it. You struggled to hit the monsters at a distance, but if you had used their movements to target their weaknesses at a close range you would have been able to y them all without using so many bolts. Do you understand?" Lili nodded before epting the hand he had offered to her. "But Vahn-sama...Im not nearly as agile as you are. I cant evade the attacks of kobolds at such a close range, and it would be very dangerous if I got surrounded..." Though she agreed with Vahns statement, she didnt believe she could replicate the methods he used. There was toorge a gap between their stats... "Yes, that is true, at least for now. Though you seem to think being a Pallum is a disadvantage, it should allow you to have more nimble movements when you polish your skills. Since you have a lower center of gravity and an easier to manipte pivot, your agility growth should be much higher than most races. I think its because youre too used to attacking from the backline and carrying a lot of weight that youve neglected the benefits of your own bloodline. And if youre that concerned, cant you just use [Cinder*E] to use the traits of a Cat Person or Elf? They both have very high agility and dexterity after all." Lili was surprised hearing his exnation. She often used her magic to disguise and fool people, but whenever she entered the dungeon it was always as a Pallum Supporter. She hadnt practicedbat as other races or tried to adapt their racial traits for training...Remembering Vahns words from earlier, she began to believe she really had neglected to make an effort in bing stronger. It seemed she was content with just surviving and trying to escape all this time... Vahn noticed she had be dejected while mulling over his words, and he let out a sigh while patting her head again. ("She is such high maintenance...I really wish she could develop some confidence. Well, I guess thats my job from now on."). The two continued advancing into the dungeon and engaging each group of monsters they came across. Lili began trying to develop her agility and footwork by fighting the monsters up close, but she was only able to make small improvements. Much of the time was spent with Vahn trying to console her and dispatching the majority of the mobs, while she wouldter collect the cores. This continuedter into the afternoon before they both made their way to the 1st-floor corridor. "Okay, now well move on to actual sparring. For now, well avoid the use of weapons. I want you to try to attack me using your arms and legs. Ill only be on the defensive, but dont think I wont counter attack if you show an opening. There are never any absolutes, and you should always be prepared for the unexpected." Vahn got into the fighting stance he had honed during his time in the forest. Though he didnt possess any specific style, he had be quite capable using mixed martial arts. Lili nodded seriously before trying tounch a barrage of weak punches in his direction. Vahn became a bit fl.u.s.tered at the adorable action, and almost allowed himself to be hit due to his urge tough. Luckily, he managed to save some face by quickly side-stepping the flurry of attacks before patting her on the back. "You should only attack with intent. If you il about youll lose your bnce and expose yourself to the opponent. Come, attack me again! Dont think about it, just act!" This time Lili tried kicking his legs, and he easily managed to stay outside her range. She tried several more times before suddenlyunching a punch towards his abdomen. After the repeated kicks, Vahn had begun to anticipate a change in the attack pattern so he easily diverted the momentum of the punch. As a result, Lili began to fall face-first towards the ground, but Vahn caught her before she made contact. "Remember, never ovemit to the attack. Though its good to change your attack pattern, you need to target the opponent where they are exposed. Look for the gaps in the movements, and try to attack when they are shifting their weight since its difficult to change direction when youve yet toplete a movement." He continued to exin while holding Lili in his arms. The young Pallums face had turned crimson and she was barely able to hear his voice through the pounding in her ears as a result of her heart rate increasing. When he finally returned her to her feet, she just stood there nkly for a few moments. Seeing herck of focus, Vahn closed the distance before issuing a punch directly towards her face. His fist stopped just centimeters before making contact, causing Lili to fall onto her butt with a startled expression. "A momentary loss of focus leaves you open to devastating counter-attacks. If I was an enemy or a monster you would have been severely injured or killed by that attack." Vahn extended his hands to help her up, but she just stared at the outstretched hand without epting it. Lili continued sitting silently, unable to process the series of events. Though she knew he was serious in making her stronger, she didnt expect that he would be so intense during the training. Her mind was a roller-coaster of ups and downs, and she wasnt able to easily stabilize her emotions. In some moments she was happy, like when he prevented her from falling, while others she became terrified seeing the ferocious nature of his attacks. Though she believed he wouldnt harm her, the strike to her face had drained all the strength from her body. She didnt want to continue anymore and feared to grab the hand before her... (*Shit. I scared her. Its only the first day of training and I immediately moved on to real lifebat and sparring...Im such an idiot.*) Vahn withdrew his hand with a sad expression. Though Lili flinched when he pulled away, she didnt make an attempt to stop him. She watched as he moved towards the wall of the dungeon...and began punching it. She was terrified by his actions and began to believe he may have gone crazy, but as she saw his hands begin to bleed a painful feeling spread in her heart. She shouted, "Vahn-sama, stop! What are you doing!? Your hands, they-" Vahn sighed, hearing her call out to him. He stopped hitting the wall and rested with his back against it. "Im sorry Lili. I shouldnt be pushing you so hard on the first day. I...I didnt want to scare you...I just dont want to see you harmed in the future. Im afraid that, when Im not around, something terrible may happen to you. By helping you grow stronger, I believed I could prevent that from happening...but I dont want to grow stronger at the expense of you growing afraid of me." Lili began to feel a mixture of sadness and anger in her heart. She was sad seeing how quickly he punished himself on her behalf, but angry seeing the extent he pushes himself when left to his own thoughts. "Are you an idiot!?" She began to cry, unable to express her emotions with words. She walked towards Vahn and took his hands into her own. Seeing the torn flesh around his knuckles, she began to regret being afraid earlier. He was just doing his best to help he grow strong, but she began to act like she was terrified...terrified of the person that had just the day before sacrificed himself to save her life. Vahn continued to watch as she began bandaging his hands. He wanted to save her the effort and use a healing potion but felt like it wasnt the best time to speak up... After she had tended to his wounds, she stepped back and did a full servile bow with her face to the ground. "Please help me get stronger Vahn-sama. I wontin anymore, and I wont be afraid no matter how harshly you treat me. Just please dont punish yourself for someone like me. It pains my heart to see you do that to yourself." From his position, Vahn could only see the top of her head. But even though she was hiding it, he was able to see the tears dropping onto the floor. He didnt know what to say, and began feeling like his self-inflicted punishment had gone too far. Vahn hadnt even considered how she would feel seeing his actions, he just wanted to take out his conflicting emotions on the hardest surface in the area. Seeing the determination in her actions, Vahn couldnt bring himself to try to exin the situation. He just sighed within his own mind before standing up and approaching the still bowing Lili. Noticing his approach, she looked towards him with her tear stain faced. She began to speak but was prevented from doing so when Vahn hugged her to his chest. She just stood there epting his embrace as he stroked the back of her hair while her tears and snot stained his mantle. "Lili, youre already far stronger than you know. I swear I will do my best to make you realize it for yourself..." The two continued to hug until finally separated several minutester. By now Lilis tears had begun to dry, but there was still the trace of their previous existence still on her face. Vahn was worried, but she simply gave him a beaming smile, dashing away any concerns he had in the process. "I will do my best, Vahn-sama~!" //[Liliruca Arde] affection has reached Affection:90[Love], Intrigue:59[Curious]// //Quest Triggered: The Hearts Desire [Repeatable]// [The Hearts Desire: Obtain 100 Affection/Intrigue with any person.] Rank: (C-SS) Rewards: Gift function permanently unlocked on firstpletion, 10,000OP[Current: 0], 1x Hearts Desire[Current: 0] Failure Condition: Death Penalty: None Chapter 41 - Affection : Love

Chapter 41 - Affection : Love

Vahn nked out as he stared at the system notification. He never expected that Lili would fall in love with him after such a short period of time. Staring at the young girl that had gotten close to his body during his absentmindedness, he wasnt really sure what to feel. Though he understood what love was from reading manga and the memory of his mother, he didnt really know how to express it. He knew he liked Lili, since she was very adorable, but he also liked Chloes yfulness and Hephaestuss bashful coolness. Seeing the quest required him to get 100 affection, Vahn was at a loss. Even though they had spent a fair amount of time together, her affection had only increased twice throughout the entire duration. He had almost even forgotten about it since her aura had remained persistent since he saved her the previous day. Since he couldnt think of the solution himself, he tried asking his reliable big Sis. ("Sis, how can I increase someones affection to 100? Do I...need to marry them or something?") A deep, mechanical sigh sounded in his mind. (*Im sure if you got someone to 100 Affection and they loved you as a member of the opposite s.e.x, they would probably marry you. But marriage doesnt mean someone has 100 affection. There are several types of love as well, such as the bonds betweenrades that have fought together, or the familial love like what your mother had for you. How you get the affection to 100 will be entirely dependant on you, since my help would have more negative influence than positive gain.*) Vahn sighed within his mind. ("Why is love such aplicated thing..."). He looked towards Lili who had been sticking to his body for some time now. It seemed like she was developing the tendencies of some kind of hug type monster. He even noticed she would periodically smell his body, which always caused a cold sweat to drip down his back. As a test, he tried seeing if he could increase her affection by petting her... When his hand came into contact with her head, she began to snuggle against him more intensely, almost as if the hand was a signal that allowed her behavior. Though Vahn was beginning to get ufortable, he also felt an awkward feeling within his chest as his pulse began to markedly increase. Through his petting, he noticed that her aura seemed to be very lively as it danced about, but there was no change in the amount of affection disyed in the system. He almost thought about giving her a kiss, but eventually dismissed the idea. They hadnt known each other for very long, and there was still a long while before he couldplete her training. If he kissed her now before she had be more stable, he would feel like he was manipting her. This thought brought back memories of his sunset rendezvous with Chloe, and he began to truly understand why she had prevented him from confessing at that moment. If she had epted his feelings then and there, he would have be reliant on her. All of his efforts would have been spent trying to make her happy, and it would most likely cause him to make a mistake in the future. Once again he could see the parallels between himself and Lili. Since she had been neglected so much as a child and also exploited by the people she should have been able to rely on, she was in desperate need of an anchor to ground her emotions. Though he could see she loved him through the system, it was more of a puppy love or dependency instead of genuine infatuation... He began to understand the dangers of the current situation, so after he gave her two more soft pats he stood up. "Its time we head out of the dungeon. Even if this is the corridor of the first floor, there is no guarantee that danger wont present itself. I also have several things to take care of this evening, so we shouldnt loiter around here for too long." Lili was disappointed that he put an end to their little moment. She thought things were progressing in a good direction, but right as she was about to try and push things forward he ended up running away. She began thinking Vahn was either too dense to sense the atmosphere, or maybe he wasnt interested in her. Looking at his face, he seemed calm and collected, which caused her to feel a little down. Vahn noticed her actions but knew if he gave her too much attention it would probably develop into an issue in the near future. He still gave her a gentle smile and softly called out to her. "Come, Lili. Lets get out of this dreary dungeon. We might even make it in time to see the sunset from the za." Her ears twitched at his words, and she immediately bounded to her feet. "Yes, Vahn-sama~ Lets go go go~!" She began leading the way while Vahn just helplessly shook his head. They made their way out of the dungeon, and Lili took the few cores they had earned to a guild managed window near the information desks outside the dungeon entrance. Vahn watched her curiously, and he wondered why she had taken the cores. After fifteen minutes, she rushed back holding a small bag of Valis and presented it to him. "Here you go Vahn-sama. You managed to earn 14,830V today~!" She stuffed the bag into his hands and gave him a look like she wanted to be praised. Vahn decided to give in, and began rubbing her head which caused her to squirm about while making strange noises. "This Valis, it came from the cores we earned today? Were you able to exchange them here at the tower?" He looked towards the direction she had left earlier. He noticed there were a few adventurers entering and exiting the small building he had previously neglected. Lili gave him a confused look before asking, "Eh? Vahn-sama? Have you not been exchanging your cores outside the dungeon?" Vahn shook his head and told her he had been trading them in at the main Guild branch. She looked at him like he was a weirdo, but then recalled that he was a newbie frencer that had been in the City for little more than a week. "Vahn-sama, it would be very time-consuming if people had to walk all the way to the Guild every time they wanted to exchange cores and drop items. Thats why the Guild set up an exchange booth near the entrance of the dungeon. Though they offer a 1% markup from the normal tax, its still much more convenient than spending nearly an hour just to take your spoils to the Guild. Most people only visit the main office to ept and report quests and level ups." Vahn couldnt help butugh after hearing her words. It definitely made sense, and he probably should have paid more attention to his surroundings. He began to consider mapping the entire City in the future and trying to obtain as much information as he could. Seeing the expectant expression on Lilis face, he decided to pat her again while teasing her a bit. "Thanks, Liliruca-sama. This ignorant one has heard your guidance and taken it to heart." After he had spoken, Lili visibly froze. She mechanically turned to him with an incredulous expression on her face. "Vahn-sama...please dont address me like that. Im offering my advice because I want to, not because I think Im in a higher position than you are..." Vahn simply smiled in response. "Its the same for me Lili. Im helping you because I want to, so you shouldnt address me as sama either. Well be together for a long time, so it feels awkward being addressed in such a subservient way. She began to grit her teeth while she struggled with the words. After a while, she looked into his eyes while nodding slightly. "Yes...Vahn. I will try to fix my bad habit." They continued generating their unique atmosphere as the passing adventurers gave them strange looks. Some of the less sensitive ones even whistled and gave them yful calls to embarrass the two senseless children. Hearing the surrounding voices, Lili hung her head and began to blush. She gave shy nces at Vahn, but seeing hisposed expression she couldnt help but sigh. "Vahn-sa...Vahn, where are you going from here?" Vahn smiled before looking towards the sky. The sun was going to set in about twenty minutes, so he decided to keep his word and view it together. "For now lets find a better vantage point to watch the sunset. I did say we would watch it if we made it in time. After that, Ill head back towards my Inn after stopping at the market to purchase a gift." "Eh, gift? For who?" Hearing the words gift, Lili became excited and concerned at the same time. She hoped that the gift might be for her, but seeing as how he mentioned it casually it was likely for someone else...probably a woman. "Ah, its for the Proprietress daughter. She was the one that made the lunchbox I ate during our break in the dungeon, remember?" Vahn casually mentioned Tina, as it wasnt really a secret. "Umu...I want to meet her." There was a cautious glint in her eye, with a hint ofpetitiveness. If it was a cute girl, she had to make sure to protect Vahn from her devious clutches. There was also the matter of the Proprietress who allowed her daughter to make a lunchbox for a customer... "Sure, Ill introduce you in the future." They two eventually ended up on the same viewing tform where Vahn had watched the sunset with Chloe. Lili used the opportunity snuggle again Vahn, but wasnt as restless as she had been previously. She just continued staring towards the sunset in a daze, silent until it had disappeared beyond the horizon. Vahn observed the silence and allowed her to lean against his body. For some reason, as the light faded he felt a mncholy deep within his heart that he couldnt exin. It wasnt until the light hadpletely faded that he broke the silence. "What will you do from here on Lili?" Though they had agreed to meet up again, much earlier this time, Vahn was still curious about what she had decided upon. He knew, given her current disguise, that she was still actively hiding from her Familia. Lili silently contemted her next words carefully. She looked towards Vahn and noticed the concern in his eyes, so she mustered up her courage. "I...I want to stay in the same Inn as you. I dont want to return to my Familia as theyll likely me me for the deaths of the three members that died in the dungeon. Though there isnt a lot of camaraderie in that detestable ce, theyll still punish me severely to appease their own unease. In the worst case, they may even kill me..." Vahn grit his teeth in anger hearing her words. He understood what she said was true, and since it was due to his actions that caused the death of the three, he needed to take responsibility and protect her until she became strong enough. Seeing the fear that begun to show in Lilis eyes, he smiled before walking towards the stairs leading to the lower levels. After he took a few steps, he turned towards the dejected looking Pallum. "Come on Lili, lets go home." As the words left his lips, he felt a powerful force nearly knock him to the ground. "Vahn-saaaama~" Lili had lept into his body after his Vahns words. She nuzzled against his abdomen and gripped his body like a vice. //[Liliruca Arde] Affection +1// After several painstaking minutes, Vahn finally managed to separate the hugging demon from his body. He turned and continued his way outside of the tower, as the cheerful girl followed closely behind. Chapter 42 - Showdown Within the Hearths Embrace

Chapter 42 - Showdown Within the Hearths Embrace

Vahn and Lili made their way towards the Hearths Embrace and stopped at a small stall that sold trinkets and gifts. Since he didnt know what to buy as a gift for a young girl, he decided to ask Lili since she was around the same age as Tina. "Eh? You want me to help you pick a gift for another girl...?" She began to pout while giving him a look of dissatisfaction. Vahn nodded while picking up and examining some animal shaped charms. "Yeah, Ive never bought a gift for anyone before, so Im not really sure what to get." Never bought a gift before? The words repeated themselves in Lilis mind over and over. (I have to get him to buy me something as well. I cant let the first gift he ever purchases go to some random Inn employee!) She began forming a n in her head... "Vahn-sa...Vahn. How about in exchange for me helping you pick a gift, you buy me one as well? It doesnt have to be something expensive, but I would like something to remember our meeting and the first day of training by. Ah! I know, I can buy you a gift and we can exchange presents!" She began getting fired up at the thought of exchanging gifts. As far as she knew, if he had never given a gift, wasnt it almost as likely he had never received any!? "Sure, Lili. I dont really see a reason not to reward you for your help. Though, you dont really need to get me anything." From manga, Vahn remembered that girls liked gifts and sweets, and he could see from her aura that she was happy at the idea of receiving a present. Lili began dragging Vahn around the stalls until she came upon an area that sold ornamental brooches and essories for women. After asking Vahn more than a fair amount of questions about Tina, she finally selected a small green brooch shaped like a fish. Vahn inspected the small brooch and noticed it was a simr aquamarine color as his eyes, and thought it was a bit strange to purchase it. Seeing his hesitation, Lili insisted that it would be well-received so he eventually gave in. As a precaution, he also purchased some salted caramel wrapped in a decorative container. After having the two items packaged, Lili ended up dragging him to another section of the store. When they were browsing around earlier, Lili had found an object that caught her eye and thought it would be the ideal exchange item. Within the disy case were a pair of lockets shaped to represent hearts. Therger of the two was silver in color, while the slightly smaller locket was a vibrant bronze simr to brass. Though other items could be stored inside them, what drew Lilis attention was how the smaller bronze locket could be seated inside the silver locket, turning the two individual parts into a singr whole. Vahn noticed the item on disy and thought it was kind of cool how two different pieces of jewelry were made to be able to fit together. Without thinking too much about it, he ended up asking the shopkeep to ring up the item, but Lili interrupted... "I want to pay for the silver locket myself. You can buy the bronze locket, and then well exchange them." Lili seemed adamant at the idea, and Vahn recalled that she had gotten excited at the idea of purchasing gifts for each other. He decided to give in to her whimsy, even though he noticed that the silver locket was the more expensive of the two. Vahn figured there always time to make up for the differenceter. After they had finished the purchase, Lili had the two of them stop a few meters away from the stall. She had Vahn kneel down so she could more easily reach around his neck. With a blush on her face, she connected the locket around his neck before staring into Vahns face with an anticipatory look. Realizing what she wanted, he took the small bronze locket and ced it around her small, fragile, neck in return. (A/N: shbacks anyone?) //[Liliruca Arde] Affection +3// --- Once the exchange waspleted, the two walked towards the direction of the Inn. Lili became very quiet for the duration of the trip and kept fiddling with the locket. She would mumble to herself while releasing a dream-like expression on her face. Vahn, seeing how much she liked the locket, became certain that girls must really love receiving gifts. He hadnt expected to get a whopping three additional affection for a trinket that only cost 800 Valis. Looking at his own locket, he could feel a diforting pressure from around his neck. However, this difort was offset by the sense of warmth he could feel emanating from the cold metal. --- They finally arrived outside the Inn, and Lili seemed to be more alert than she had appeared even when they were in the dungeon. There was a glint in her eye like she was about to face a dangerous enemy. Vahn was very surprised, (Why doesnt she show this kind of motivation in the dungeon?) Thinking it would be a dangerous question, he decided to lead the way through the Inns entrance. "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee~! Would you like to stay the nya-ight~?" In a manner almost identical to the first time he stepped into the Inn, a young cat girl excitedly greeted them when they stepped through the door. "Ah, Mister-nya~!? Youre finally back! Im super angry-nya!" The small 120cm tall cat girl rushed forward before standing directly in front of Vahn. "Kneel." She stomped her tiny foot and gave him a fierce look with her arms across her non-existent chest. Though he was confused, Vahn figured it was best to listen to her for the time being. It was his fault for worrying her in the first ce, and there wasnt any harm in allowing her to release her pent-up emotions. Besides, he also found her attempts at acting mature to be rather adorable. Just as Tina was about to begin lecturing, she paused after seeing the small cloaked girl standing behind Vahn. The two made eye contact, and Tina could feel her instincts screaming that the girl before her was an enemy. Turning her focus away from the kneeling Vahn, she began sizing up the slightly smaller girl in front of her. At first, she smiled after noticing that the girl was shorter than she was, but when her eyes came across the chest area she felt an impact to her mental state. Tina began to pat her t chest with a sad expression which quickly turned to anger when she noticed the small girl proudly puff out with a gloating look on her face. Between the two shapely mounds, Tina could even see the existence of a small brass locket that seemed very simr to the silver locket worn by the kneeling Vahn! "Who are you-nya? What is your rtionship with Mister-nya?" Tina refused to yield before the unknown girl before her. She looked directly into her eyes, trying to pry out any information she could obtain. Lili smiled while continuing to unt her weapons. She began to fiddle with the locket before giving the cat girl a cheeky look and responding, "Im Vahn-samas partner and Supporter. He is also training me from sunrise to sunset~What about you, little girl~?" From the side, Vahn could see an illusion of sparks colliding between the area where the twos line-of-sight crossed. He could also see that both of their auras were dancing around like mes and he began to feel a cold sweat streak down his back. Thinking he needed to step in to prevent a fight from starting, he tried standing and separating the two. "Lili, Tina, why are you ring at each other after just meeting? Lili, Tina is the daughter of the Proprietress I mentioned earlier. Both she and her mother have shown me kindness after I arrived in the City, so I dont want to see you making trouble with them for no reason." As he admonished Lili, she began showing an ashamed expression while Tina began beaming with a smile on her face. "And Tina, Lili is an importantpanion and student of mine. I am training her to be stronger, while she helps supplement for my ownck of knowledge. There would be many things I couldnt do without her, including this..." Seeing the demeanor of the two invert, with Lili now showing a smile while Tina began to sulk, Vahn pulled out his trump card. "Here you go Tina. A present to apologize for making you worry, and some salted caramel to thank you for the delicious lunch you prepared on my behalf. Thanks, I really appreciate it." As he spoke he passed the two items to the young cat girl and she received them with a gleeful expression. When she saw the fish-shaped brooch that matched Vahns eyes, she was extremely happy. Tina held the brooch in her hands as she nced at the girl introduced as Lili. Since Vahn had said Lili helped pick out the present, she wanted to thank her, but seeing the locket around Lilis neck made her annoyed. With a sudden burst of inspiration, she handed the brooch back to Vahn before asking him to pin it to the cor of her blouse. Vahn received the brooch and did as she asked, noticing a fierce blush spread on her cheeks in the process. //[Tina Yuel] Affection +8// Hearing the notification, Vahn almost tripped and fumbled with the brooch in his right hand. He managed to catch himself but noticed a stillness spread through the atmosphere. Looking around he saw Lili with a shocked expression, while Tina was blushing so fiercely that the aura emitting from her body created the illusion of steam. From his left hand, Vahn could feel an incredibly subtle but soft sensation on his palm. Perhaps due to some base instinct, he slightly squeezed the hand which caused the blushing Tina to mewl and immediately dash towards the back room. "Vaaaaahn-nya~ Yoooou perveeert~idiot~demon~nya!!!" She quickly dashed through the door, leaving a stunned Vahn still holding out his hand. ("Sis, what did I just grab?") Vahn was very confused at the turn of events and tried asking the only person that would be able to help him make sense of his predicament. (*Pervert.*) Hearing Sis also call him a pervert, Vahn almost fell over for the second time. What on earth had he done to bebeled as a pervert by two girls in such a brief period of time!? He looked towards hisst hope of getting an answer, Lili, who was staring at him with a sad expression on her face. "Vahn-sama...do you like smaller ones?" As she asked the question, she closed both hands over her chest and Vahn began to realize the seriousness of his offense. When he slipped he must have identally touched Tinas b.o.o.b.s...and then he even squeezed. Even the dense Vahn understood he had done something inexcusable, but he didnt know what he had to do to remedy the situation. For now, he just looked towards Lili and gave an awkward smile. "I...I dont really have a preference...I think." Lili released a sigh of relief while patting her own developing chest. "Thank goodness Vahn-sama~" As she spoke she began to close the gap between them. A terrible premonition began to arise within Vahns mind and he began to backstep to keep the distance from shortening. He could see an evil look in Lilis eyes as she approached him with a kind smile on her face. Eventually, he backed up into a wall and lost all possibility of further retreat. Lili continued to close the gap until she was standing just beneath him. While looking upwards with those same fearful eyes, she suddenly reached back her right hand...and smacked him across the face. "VAHN-SAMA, YOU PERVERT!" The pain from the p and the fact he had been called a pervert three times in such a short period dealt critical damage to Vahns mental state. As he used one hand to cover his burning face, Lili ended up seizing his free hand...and ced it directly onto her chest. "I wont lose..." She mumbled almost inaudibly. Chapter 43 - Too Many Opponents

Chapter 43 - Too Many Opponents

Vahn stood there in shock as Lili continued holding his hand on her chest. His mouth gaped open and closed like a fish out of water. He was trying to find a solution but struggled to find the words. Though he tried removing his hand, he was shocked to find Lili had been holding his wrist like a vice seemingly unwilling to let him extricate it from her grasp. "Ara~. Even though the sun has gone down, it isnt appropriate to show such disys of affection in public." The cold sweat that had settled on his back began to increase as Vahn heard the unamused words that seemed to be spoken by a demon from a dark icy abyss. Both he and Lili turned towards the sound of the voice in a mechanical manner and saw a mature woman staring at them with an icy gaze. The smile on her face, though it appeared friendly on the surface, seemed to possess a veiled threat as it coldly observed their actions. The woman, Mn, continued to stare at the two children who were frozen by her sight. Though she wasughing in her mind, she felt a mischevious urge and wanted to tease the two of them. She moved her icy gaze towards the hand that was still being held to the chest of the hooded girl and Vahn immediately snatched his hand away as a result. The hooded girl was broken from her stupor by the movement before crouching down into a ball and hiding her face from view. After staring at the girl for a moment, she turned her gaze back towards Vahn and increased the depth of her smile. "Vahn, it seems you not only took advantage of my daughter but in the span of a few minutes you found a second victim~nya? Perhaps its too dangerous to allow you to stay under this roof any longer so as to protect our female residents and employees~? Every word seemed to increase the mental damage Vahn had received since entering the Inn. Had he known something like this was going to happen, he wouldnt have tried pinning on the brooch in the first ce! At this point, he could only swallow his regrets and try to exin the situation while apologizing. "Mrs. Yuel...please, I can exin...I didnt mean to offend your daughter. This whole situation is just a big misunderstanding caused by my slip andck of focus." He raised both his hands and waved them in surrender. Mn couldnt help but find his reaction hrious, but she wasnt willing to let him get out of things so easily. "Ara~? So youre saying that after you identally slipped and groped my daughter, you also identally squeezed her chest~?" Hearing the words, Vahn fell to his knees with his palms on the ground. Though he could exin away the first part, he didnt have a reasonable excuse for the second half of her words. After she had repeated the series of events, he was dealt a critical blow and couldnt remain standing any longer. He now began to understand why so many dense protagonists suffered in anime and manga, and he resolved to try and remedy his bad habits in the future. While staring at the boy who had ck lines covering his face, Mn had to cover her mouth to preventughing aloud. She had no doubt everything was caused by a misunderstanding, but it didnt change the fact he took advantage of the situation to gain benefits. Seeing that it would likely take time for Vahn to recover, she decided to change her focus to the second victim. Mn was surprised at how small the girl was. If she wasnt wrong, the girl was even younger than her daughter if height was any indicator. "Little miss, what brings you here to my Inn? Were you apanying this rogue willingly, or did he kidnap you from somewhere~?" Lili twitched when the woman began addressing her. She turned towards the voice and took a good look at the woman who spoke. She could see the simrities between the woman and the young cat person, Tina, from before. This was probably the girls mother and the proprietress of the Inn. "Umu...Im Lili, and Im following Vahn-sama by my own will." As she began speaking, a small amount of courage started emerging from her heart. "And he isnt a rogue! He didnt touch your daughter on purpose, and it was my decision to let him feel my chest!" "Nyahahahahaha~" Hearing Lilis words, Mn could no longer hold back herugh. She began tough boisterously as the two children before her started at her with confused expressions. Lili began to blush and wanted to shout at her, but Mn interrupted the attempt. "Its fine Lili, I know Vahn isnt like that~. Even if he was curious, he is the type of boy to ask permission, isnt that right Vahn~nya?" Vahn was unable to answer her words, he just continued to stare at her nkly. From his side, he could feel the atmosphere be stagnant as an oppressive aura started to emit from outside his line-of-sight. Turning his head, he could see Lili staring at him with an aggrieved expression. Within Lilis mind, all she could think of was thest few words spoken by the proprietress. If she was telling the truth, that means Vahn asked permission to touch her at some point!? She grits her teeth before ring at her new opponent. "Where...?" Lili clenched her fists as she asked the question. "Ara~nya? It was one of my most sensitive parts you know~? Even after he touched it, he wasnt satisfied and even tried touching again~nya" While speaking, Mn crossed her arms and seemed to emphasize her chest. Lili stared at the womans chest with fierce eyes andpared the size against her own. Though hers were smaller, it wasnt a very big difference. "If its just that...then even I...." "Nya~? Who said it was just that~? It was a ce much more sensitive you know~?" Seeing the anger andpetitiveness in the young girl made Mn feel fifteen years younger. It reminded her of the times when she wouldpare herself to her rivals back in her Adventuring days. She wanted to tease the girl even more but decided it was enough seeing as how Vahn was on the verge of a mental copse. "Vahn seemed to be curious about a Cat People. When he first moved in, he asked if he could touch my ears, so I allowed him to~nya. Only once though~" She began tough while sending a wink towards Vahn who was stillmenting his misfortune on the ground. "Ears...?" Lili gave a nce towards Vahn before muttering a chant under her breath. Once she was finished, she removed her hood and revealed...a pair of cat ears on her head. "If its ears...I have them too." She gave a confident look towards the shocked Proprietress. "Ara~? It seems Vahn is more interested in cat people than I thought, to bring one home with him..." She looked towards Vahn who had been staring at Lili in confusion. She began thinking she may have to sit down with her daughter and have a long talk... "So Lili, will you be staying with us at the Hearths Embrace, or are you just visiting?" Since the talks had gone on long enough, Mn decided to find out what had brought the two here at this time. Vahn had begun to recover and tried to stand up and answer on Lilis behalf. He thought it was a good opportunity to clear up matters before they got any worse. Unfortunately, it seemed the floor hadnt had enough intimate contact with him as he ended up meeting it once again after hearing the words spoken by Lili. "I will be staying with Vahn-sama, in the same room. I dont mind paying the costs separately." She immediately pulled out a bag of Valis with a serious expression. From the floor, Vahn quickly raised his voice. "No, I object!" He knew it would be dangerous in various ways if he allowed Lili to stay in the same room as him. After all, there was only one bed, and he was still worried about the implications behind her love status. He didnt want to break down the walls he was trying to build to protect them both. "I have to agree with Vahn. Even if the two of you are close, its not appropriate for a young boy and girl to share the same room. If you have the money, you should lease your own room and visit whenever you have matters to discuss. Though keep in mind the walls are rather thin and there are other residents within the Inn." As she spoke thest words she gave a warning look at Lili who still seemed intent on getting the same room. "Fine, but I want the closest room to Vahn-sama. Ill even pay the current resident to change rooms if necessary." For Lili, this was as far as she was willing topromise. Even if she couldnt share the same room, being in the next room over was better than nothing. Plus, she would be able to hear if Vahn brought anypany into his room without her notice... --- After paying for the room, the three continued to talk for a while. From the back room, a small silhouette could be seen peaking through the area between the door and frame. Whenever anyone would look over, the silhouette would immediately vanish causing the mature woman tough. After Vahn had refused to stay for dinner, Mn allowed the two to leave. As they went up the stairs she gave them onest parting remark reminding them to be mindful of the other residents. Hearing this, Vahn sighed while Lili seemed to blush with a look of conviction on her face. They stowed away Lilis luggage and decided to grab dinner together. Before they left, Lili insisted on seeing Vahns room so he allowed her ess. When she saw the roomcked any decorations, Lili was reminded of Vahns storage space. "Vahn...Even if you have storage magic you should still personalize your living space a bit. It is kind of lonely seeing the ce someone lives being so...empty." She began wandering around his room looking for any signs that he actually lived there. After failing to find anything, she sat down on his bed and used her empowered senses from turning into a Cat Person to smell the scenting from the bed. "Eh, it smells like fresh linens. That demon or her daughter must have changed the sheets recently. Guuu.." Vahn was helpless seeing her actions. There wasnt anything he could think of that wouldnt hurt her feelings if he tried to stop her, so he just let her be and hoped she grew out of it. While she was lost in her own thoughts, he looked around at the barren room. It was the same as the first time he moved in, and other than the sheets nothing had changed since his arrival. For Vahn, he never had thought of decorating, but remembering how much stuff he had added to his cave he thought he should do so in the future. If he was treating this ce as his home, he should show that he is living in it. --- Eventually, Lili snapped out of her delusions, and the two made their way towards the Hostess of Fertility. Vahn had been talking about the amazing food, but Lili was only focused on one of the other well-known aspects of the pub...its women. After they arrived, Vahn took the time to enjoy the aroma as he had done so on all his previous visits. He leads Lili through the doors and was received...by Chloe. The ck-haired cat girl stared at the two new guests with a professional smile on her face. "Nya~ Would you like a table for two~? She looked between Vahn and the new face of the cat person at his side. The small girl was also staring directly at her with a defensive posture...but Chloe could also see something else behind the girls bravado. Lili stared at the girl that seemed to be familiar with Vahn based on their reaction to each other. After noticing the ck-haired woman was also a Cat Person, Lili began to wonder if Vahn wasnt interested in her because of his preferences... Feeling a gaze, Lili noticed that the woman was staring at her with a strange expression. It was almost like she was able to see through her, and Lili began to feel a fear emerge from the back of her mind. She could tell that this woman...would be a terrifying opponent. As that thought crossed her mind, she couldnt help but scream internally, (Arent there way too many opponents!?) Chapter 44 - Selfishness : Resolve

Chapter 44 - Selfishness : Resolve

Lili began to feel restless under the prating gaze of the girl before her. She couldnt understand why the look made her feel so much insecurity. It was something beyond just fearing she would lose Vahn to this woman...but she wasnt able to understand. All Lili knew was that the gaze seemed familiar, but she wasnt able to ce why and from where she had seen it before. "Nyahaha~ Isnt your friend very cute, Vahn~? You should introduce me~" As Chloe began guiding them towards a small table, she gave Vahn a questioning look, almost as if her eyes were urging him to exin in detail how he met the young girl. Vahn noticed that Chloe was acting very simr to their first meeting. Just like his case, Chloe seemed to be very sensitive towards those that had experienced suffering in their past. He smiled at her concern and the willingness she showed to let him act as he thought best. "Yes...This is Lili. I cant go into too many details, but Ive decided to help her be stronger." As he introduced her, Lili bowed her head slightly but didnt rx since Chloe made her feel very ufortable. "And this is Chloe...she is someone that helped me realize...a lot of things." When he spoke the words, he couldnt help but show a thankful smile. Both Lili and Chloe noticed his expression; Lili was somewhat dissatisfied since it felt like she was in a disadvantageous position from the outset. Chloe just gave a cheeky smile while closing in on Vahn...and giving him a brief kiss on his cheek. Afterward, she took their orders, though it would be more appropriate to say order since Vahn had to make the decision for both of them. After Lili saw Chloe give him a kiss, she had begun to pout with her head down while refusing to speak and make eye contact. Without saying anything further, Chloe went to the kitchen to inform the chefs before continuing her rounds with other customers. Lili looked up as Chloe walked away. She traced her path through the pub with her eyes before turning to Vahn once Chloe had gotten far enough away. "Vahn, please tell me about your rtionship with that woman. I can tell there is something going on between the two of you, but it seems to be different than lovers." Vahn shook his head. Even he didnt know what their rtionship was...he just knew he had a lot of gratitude towards Chloe, and that he even wanted to confess to her in the past. "I would say...she is like a mentor, or maybe a guide? Its hard to put it into words really...but she saved me from my istion and helped me realize a lot about myself. I want to be stronger to meet her expectations...but Im not sure if that is to be lovers." "But you wouldnt just let any girl kiss you...I can see that when she kissed your cheek you were happy." She continued staring, almost as if to me Vahn for all her present grievances. Vahn nodded and decided to speak about his past with Chloe. He told her about their first meeting, about how was afraid at how Chloe looked at him. He went over how she seemed to be trying to break down the barriers he had built around his heart and mind. After that, he talked about how they had agreed to a date on only their second meeting. He went over everything from the early rendezvous...the experience at the clothing store...and even discussed their viewing of the sunset together. Lastly, he talked about how he had even tried to confess but was stopped in the end. Throughout the whole story, Lili just continued to silently listen. She watched as his expression changed between each scene, and could sense the emotions behind the words. Her heart began to feel pain with how much passion Vahn seemed to have when speaking about his transformation. Though she hadnt been there, she could imagine the entire series of events...and began to realize she hadnt been taking Vahns current life and past into consideration... Lili began to shrink into her seat, afraid to look at Vahn. She realized she was taking advantage of his kindness ever since he had saved her. Even though he was making so many efforts to help her change, the only thing on her mind was trying to get closer to him...she even had possessive thoughts and wanted to prevent others from doing the same. While she was lost in her thoughts, Vahn couldnt help but sigh after seeing her current state. He wanted her to know the truth so that she was able to understand he wasnt the powerful hero she painted a false picture of in her mind. In many ways, he was very simr to her...just a little bit further along the same road. The two sat in silence, one unsure of what to say while the other brooded over the past. After a few minutes, Chloe arrived with their meals. "Nyahaha~ One order of chicken-curry rice for Vahn, and one childrens special for the moody cat girl~nya!" Chloe ced the meals on the table, and Vahn noticed the order for Lili was different than what he had ordered. "Umm, Chloe-" "Go ahead and eat up~nya! Its full of nutrition and even has a little toy you can keep for yourself~ Dont be shy~nya!" Chloe ignored Vahn and continued to pester the still silent Lili. She even slowly nudged the te towards her while leaning over the table somewhat. Eventually, Lili looked at the te before staring at the girl that wouldnt leave her alone. "This isnt what I want...I want what Vahn-sama ordered for me." She stared directly at Chloe with a look of dissatisfaction. She didnt understand why Chloe was bothering her when she obviously didnt want to deal with her. "Nya~? How curious, a little girl that thinks she knows what she wants, but is just sitting around while other people make decisions for her~. Vahn or me, why does it matter who chooses what you eat? Arent you just happy someone is treating you to a meal~nya?" Without losing her smile, Chloe gave Lili a look of contempt. She nudged the te directly in front of Lili. "Go ahead~ Dont be shy little girl~." Vahn wanted to interject, but he could feel Chloes tail tapping his leg every time he tried to open his mouth. He decided to trust in her and began to slowly eat his meal. It was delicious... Seeing Vahn start eating without saying anything, Lili began to feel betrayed. She could see he clearly wanted to speak up but then decided to suddenly ignore the situation. Negative emotions began to stir within her heart, and she wanted to vent them but didnt know how. "Vahn-sama, please ask your friend to leave me alone. Id rather eat nothing that be toyed with by her." Ignoring Chloe who had raised her brow in contempt, Lili tried appealing to Vahn. "Nya~? Whats this~? You even ask for help to resolve such minor things~? Is Vahn supposed to be your caretaker now~?" Chloe began to chuckle while continuing to stare into the ring eyes of Lili. She began to inch closer towards Vahn in spite of the increasing intensity of the re... "Vahn, nyaaaaaaahn~" She opened her mouth just as Vahn was about to take another bite of his curry. He seemed to struggle internally for a moment before letting her eat the bite he was about to take. As she chewed on the spicy dish, she almost dropped her act seeing the sad expression on Vahns face. Luckily, the wrathing from Lili made her able to keep her cool. "You thieving cat! Get away from Vahn-sama!" Lili was genuinely pissed. She couldnt believe Chloe would go so far as showing a public disy of affection while simultaneously pestering her! She rose from the table and shouted the words at the top of her lungs. Mama Mia had been observing the incident from the bar but didnt intervene since Chloe had warned her earlier. She just gave Chloe a look implying she needed to control the situation better or she would have to step in. "Thieving cat~? Didnt you see with your own eyes him feeding it to me~nya? Instead of focusing on what were doing, shouldnt you be brooding or eating your childrens menu~?" At this point, Chloe had begun to snuggle against the now sweating Vahn. Lili was at a loss of words seeing how her outcry wentrgely ignored. The only people that seemed to be affected were the other patrons, while both Chloe and Vahn remained unmoved. She began feeling very aggrieved...she couldnt handle Vahn ignoring her, and she began to hate Chloe for doing this when she just wanted to enjoy a meal with Vahn... She fell back into the seat and started crying. She had never expected that the person who saved her would wrong her in such a way. He just ignored her while another woman bullied her right in front of him. Even though she had run away from the Familia to stay with him...even though she had moved into the same Inn and disyed multiple signs that she liked him... Her thoughts began to be jumbled and she couldnt form anything coherent. She was just terribly sad, more-so than she had been when the elderly couple looked at her in contempt. Even more than when she was mistreated by her own parents...Seeing the boy that had shown her so much kindness now ignoring her made her feel more sad and lonely than all of her previous experiencesbined. Through her sobs, she heard a gentle voice speaking. "You really are quite the selfish child, arent you?" Lili looked towards the source and saw Chloe staring at her with sad eyes and a gentle smile. "You dont know me, you have no idea what Ive gone through. Even though I finally found something I wanted...youre taking it right in front of me." Lili couldnt help but me Chloe for everything that was happening. If Chloe wasnt here, she and Vahn would have been able to enjoy a happy meal like a date. Chloe continued to stare at her while speaking in the same gentle tone. "Thats why youre selfish Lili...you think you know what you want, but have you ever considered for a moment if that is for the best? Have you once considered what the person you want thinks?" Lili felt a heavy impact on her mind. Even though the words were very hurtful, there was no way she could refute them. Its not that she didnt think about what Vahn wanted, she just wanted to be there with him when the timees. Surely that wasnt too much to ask for? Wasnt she allowed to be happy? "There you go jumping to conclusions in your own head. Tell me Lili, surely Vahn has told you all kinds of things about his past and desires...but have you ever once asked him what he wants? Why did he want to be strong? Or have you just listened when he spoke while forcing your own desires on him in the end?" Hearing the heavy words, Lili couldnt help but look towards Vahn. She could see the concern on his face...he was probably worried about her even though he wasnt saying anything. But, behind that gentle gaze, she could see the shadows of the pain she had observed on his face in the dungeon. Whenever he lost focus and allowed his mind to wander, Lili always saw a deep mncholy and profound loneliness in the eyes of the young boy. Thats right, though he was older than her, he was still very young... During her reflection, Chloe continued speaking. "You see, you arent the only one that has suffered Lili. Though none of us can understand what you had gone through, there are always others that had gone through simr, if not worse situations. You probably wondered to yourself why Vahn would save someone like you, and I can tell you the reason..." When Chloe trailed her words, Lili looked towards her. She wanted to know the answer since it had been something bothering her for a while. Remembering that Vahn had been willing to sacrifice himself to take on her injuries...she couldnt help but think he had ulterior motives, but her heart wanted to believe in the hero that saved her... "It is because...Vahn has also suffered a lot. Im sure he has told you bits and pieces, but I can tell that what he had gone through...is probably something more horrible than anything we can imagine." Both girls looked towards Vahn and could see the hurt in his eyes as Chloe spoke her thoughts. For the first time, both Lili and Chloes minds were in sync and felt they wanted to help heal the boy silently eating curry. "But you see, unlike you, Vahn has found sce in the present. Though he cant let go of the past, he has decided to move forward. His desire for strength stems from his convictions and willingness to seize control of his own fate..." As she spoke till here, Chloe began leaning against Vahns shoulder while closing her eyes. "And he can do it too, you want to know why?" She slightly opened her eyes as she asked the question. Lili swallowed hard before slowly nodding her head. "Its because he wants others to be able to believe in him. He wants to be strong enough, not to just escape his own fate, but to change the fates of others around him." At this point, both girls could see a fiery look in the eyes of Vahn. Within the furrowed brows a powerful conviction was present which caused both of their heart rates to increase. "Do you think he can bear the burden of your selfishness forever?" Chloe dropped her final bombshell on the unsuspecting Lili. Lili began remembering all the events leading up to this moment. All the suffering from her past that had been brought to an abrupt halt by Vahns actions in the dungeon...all of his words and actions as he tried to guide her towards a path where she could be stronger...strong enough to control her own fate. She even remembered all the times he pampered her when she was feeling insecure, and how he always kept a certain distance when she tried to push things too far...their entire rtionship was just her receiving over and over again. Lili knew it couldnt continue forever...thats why she wanted to be his lover. At least then she could repay him, even if it was with her body... Looking towards Vahn, she could still see the conviction in his eyes, but the concern shown on his face had never left. (Ah, I know what it is that I want...its such a simple thing.) "I want to be stronger...strong enough, not to avoid being a burden, but to be able to walk on the same path...using my own power." Still maintaining eye contact with Vahn, she saw a smile expand on his face. She even noticed, out of the corner of her eye, Chloe was also smiling. "I guess you arent as much of a child as I thought~nya." Chapter 45 - Changes : Looking Forward

Chapter 45 - Changes : Looking Forward

After things had settled down, Chloe left the two to finish their meal. Lili still seemed a bit down, but she looked a lot better than before. She ate away at the childrens menu withoutint while making small talk with Vahn. Once they had finished and settled the bill, Vahn and Lili bid farewell to Chloe and headed home. On the path back to the Inn, Lili remained quiet and just looked around at the various passersby. She saw people traveling in groups, families with their children, and even individuals simply enjoying the evening atmosphere. There were also a few couples that were walking around in the night markets, most likely enjoying the final hours of their dates. When Lili saw them, she would just stare for a few moments before continuing forward without saying anything. Vahn could tell she was thinking about a lot of things, but the stability in her aura made him feel as though things were changing for the better. Though he often ran around the City to save time, Vahn just continued along the path while enjoying the same atmosphere. The cool night air was very calming, and the warmth generated by the flow of people made his heart feel at ease. When Lili would get distracted, he would just patiently wait for her, giving her as much time as she needed. After more than an hour, they were finally nearing the Inn when Lili decided to stop so they could speak. Most of the pedestrians had already disappeared at this time, and only a few hard-working vendors and adventurers could be seen in the nightscape of the city. Lili leads the way towards the small za that served as a central point for the markets near the Inn. For a few minutes, the two just stood there in silence. Vahn could see the aura around Lili fluctuate periodically before stabilizing again. Finally, she seemed to have made up her mind, turning towards Vahn with a serious expression. "Vahn...I want to apologize. For my selfishness...and insecurities...and so many other things. Even though you had saved me and put in so much effort to help me grow, I was just focused on my own thoughts..." She began to have trouble breathing as tears began to appear in her eyes. "I just...I just wanted to do something to help secure my own happiness. I thought I could rely on your kindness to escape all my problems...and even if I wasnt able to be strong, I thought you would still help me. I even thought of using my own body aspensation to make you dedicate yourself to me...I really am a selfish woman...no, a selfish child, just like Chloe said." While she was speaking, she continued to hold eye contact with Vahn who maintained a calm expression on his face. "I know you wont abandon me, even though I did so many foolish things...but, I dont want to just rely on your kindness anymore. I want to be stronger...I want to see what it is like to walk on a path where Im not reliant on others to live. And...I want to be able to repay this debt of gratitude I owe you...using my own power." She was shaking while trying her best to hold back the tears that continued to stream down her face. Lili didnt want to lose anything anymore just because she couldnt hold onto it with her own strength. Vahn could feel an indescribable pain coursing through his body as he watched the small girl state her convictions through tears and muffled-sobs. He didnt expect it would be so hard to just stand by and listen as someone poured their heart out to him. After her words ceased, he felt an overwhelming urge to just hug the girl and help drive away all the negative feelings she was keeping within her heart...but he couldnt, not now. Vahn balled his hands into fists, holding back his emotions as he waited for her to continue. "From now on, please dont hold back in my training. I will do whatever it takes...I will prove that Im worthy to walk at your side...not just a burden that weighs you down!" Lili mustered the remainder of her strength and shouted the final words. For her, it was both a confession and her heartfelt desire. Even if he never returned her feelings, she still wanted him to know. Vahn heavily ced his palm on her head, causing Lili to flinch. It wasnt the gentle patting he often gave her; it was almost as though he was angry. She looked through her tear stained eyes and saw Vahn looking at her with a pained and dissatisfied expression on his face. Lili began to wonder if she had upset him, and her heart began to twist in her chest. "Youre an idiot Lili..." Vahn released an exasperated sigh as he spoke the words. "Eh..? Vahn?" Lili was confused and heartbroken. She couldnt make sense of his derisive words, especially after everything that had happened. Before she could process what was happening, Vahn pulled her into a powerful hug. She could feel his warmth begin to spread through her body. And on the side of her face, she could feel a wetness that didnte from her eyes. "You are such an idiot...dont say things like "worthy" or "burden". Everything Ive done for you was by my own will. Even if I thought I had to protect you, I never once thought you were a burden that wasnt worth saving. It breaks my heart to heart to hear you say something so cruel..." Vahn continued hugging Lili as warms tears slowly streamed down his face. He couldnt bear the words she spoke any longer. "Vahn..." Lili sunk her face into his chest, enjoying the sensation. She didnt try to take advantage of the situation, she just allowed herself to be held by Vahn. Through his chest, she could feel the powerful beating of Vahns heart...it was slow and rhythmic...and seemed to contain a powerful vitality that helpedfort something deep within her soul. Vahn continued to hug her tightly for a few minutes until they had both long stopped crying. When he pulled away, Lili didnt trytching onto him like previously. Instead, they just stared at each other before disying awkward smiles seeing their unsightly appearance. The young boy and girl beganughing, driving away all of the negative emotions that had settled in the atmosphere. Once they had collected themselves, they headed to the Inn. After exchanging pleasantries with Mn who had given them strange looks, they two headed to their respective rooms. Before they each entered, Vahn stopped Lili and gave her a gentle hug. Though she was shocked, Lili just epted it without resisting. "Good night Lili. Tomorrow will be difficult, and I wont go easy on you anymore so get plenty of rest. I cannot help rece what you had lost in the past, but I will do my best to guarantee you are able to find a path where you can seize your future." Vahn spoke the words gently, but firmly. Lili just nodded before eventually turning towards her room when the hug ended. Before she closed the door, Lili looked into Vahns eyes. "I will do it Vahn sama...no matter how long it takes, or how much I have to struggle. I swear." With those parting words, she closed the door, leaving a grinning Vahn in the hallway. --- Within his own room, Vahnid down on his bed with a powerful feeling of exhaustion. He recalled the events of the day and could barely make sense of everything that happened. ("Sis, why are people so difficult? Why do they have to expend so much effort to break away from suffering and try to find happiness?") Vahn stared at the ceiling while remembering all the people he had interacted with, in both his present world and past life. (*That isnt a question I know the answer to Vahn. You will have to find the answers for yourself through experience. All I can do is help guide you along The Path until you be strong enough to possess the freedom you desire.*) Vahn nodded. With The Path he had an advantage over almost everyone else within the stories he could recall in his mind. Most people had to go through life dealing with the lot they were given at birth...even Vahn himself was a victim of unfortunate circ.u.mstance. Now, he had to power to control his fate, and as long as he put in the effort there were very few things that could halt his momentum. He began thinking about how best to use his power, and what worlds he should visit in the future. There were many things he wanted to experience, but after interacting with people like Chloe, Lili, and Hephaestus, Vahn began having doubts about the path he was taking. Though he originally just wanted power and the ability to travel through the worlds of his dreams, now it was bing harder and harder to think of himself as a bystander. Now he was proactively beginning to drive events within the world, and depending on his decisions he couldpletely alter the events he knew from the canon... Releasing a sigh, Vahn tried to stop worrying about things. If he let himself get caught up in self-doubt, he would just create unnecessary stress for himself. The best thing he could do now was to continue growing stronger so that he could deal with each situation as they arose. With that thought in mind, Vahn decided to take the time to review all of his current stats and items before going to sleep. ========================================================== [[STATS]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:2(2) -Power:1001+(I38) -Endurance:1108+(I51) -Dexterity:887+(I41) -Agility:940+(I40) -Magic:1611+(E244) Total:5547+(414) Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul) [Karma]: 801 [OP]: 27,490 [Valis]: 49,700(A/N: I Actually feel like I forgot something here) Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:H][Bow Mastery:C], [Stealth:D], [Chainbreaker:S], [Call of the Reaper:B],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Swordsman:D], [Featherfoot:E] Magic: Empty Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:B], [Spirit Healing:B], [cksmith:D] [[ITEMS]] Equipment: [Runic Tamahagane de:A], [gue Mask:E], [Nullifying Mantle:C], [Mithril Poniard:B], [Damascus-Steel Gauntlets:C], [Scouts Guille Suit:F], [Handloomed Shadowsilk Tunic:D], [Runic Tempered Yew Shortbow:B], [Decanter of Replenishment:B], 1x Hephaestus Favor, 1x Skill Enhancement Scroll, Etc... [[QUESTS]] [Birth of a Legend:SS], [The Hearts Desire:C-SS(repeatable)] ========================================================== His Magic was still increasing at an rming rate, probably due to his contest of wills against the eternal me. The rest of his stats were trailing far behind, but Vahn thought it was due to the minimal effort he had used in hunting monsters with Lili. He would have to fight much stronger monsters if he wanted to experience the rapid growth he had in the previous week. One thing that caught his eye was the 1x Hephaestus Favor that he had overlooked afterpleting the optional quest. He had been so focused at the time, and then immediately moved onto forging and other stuff that he never had the chance to determine its use. [Hephaestus Favor] x1 Rank: Unique Use: After consumption exponentially increases the likelihood of a sessful request from the Goddess of Forging, Hephaestus. Sess rate determined by Affection. Vahn was surprised after reading the items description. It was his first unique item, and he wasnt sure if it was good or bad. After a bit of thought, he figured it could be used to ask her to forge a weapon for him in the future, though he would probably have to increase his affection with Hephaestus before then... Thinking of Affection, Vahn decided to see the values of all the current people whose auras he had touched. [Liliruca Arde]: Affection:94(Love), Intrigue:66(Concerned) [Chloe Lolo]: Affection:78(Trust), Intrigue:89(Hope for the Future) [Eina Tulle]:59(Confused), Intrigue:72(Uncertain but Interested) [Hephaestus]: Affection: 82(Belief), Intrigue:100(Insatiable Curiosity) [Mn Yuel]: Affection: 55(Amicable), Intrigue:51(Neutral) [Tina Yuel]:Affection: 68(Crush), Intrigue:53(Confused) [Nichs Grimm]:47(Disatisfied), Intrigue:60(Curious) Seeing Tina on the list, Vahn could help but cringe remembering his earlier failure. He was also very curious when Nichs had been added to the list. Vahn didnt remember ever touching him, but it was likely after he had lost consciousness outside of the dungeon. Since he didnt see any names he didnt recognize, he wasnt sure though. There were likely several doctors that had touched him when he was asleep, so maybe the system only included people he was familiar with beforehand? The thing that concerned him the most was the fact Hephaestuss intrigue had hit 100, which Sis informed him was the max. The thought anyone possessed an insatiable curiosity towards him actually terrified Vahn. He didnt know to what extent she would go to in order to satiate her curiosity in the future... --- Meanwhile, Hephaestus was experiencing shock after trying to forge metal in the eternal me. The temperature was not only significantly stronger, but the me was much easier to manage. It seemed to proactively regte the heat when the raw metal began to reach its peak, allowing her to almostpletely ignore tending to the metal herself... She looked towards a nearby wall and her gaze seemed to prate through the structure of the building. If anyone was to draw a line tracing her gaze, they would find out she was looking directly towards where Vahn was presently bathing in a cold sweat. Chapter 46 - Training Start

Chapter 46 - Training Start

After enjoying a quiet night after the dramatic events of the previous day, both Vahn and Lili awoke before sunrise. Today marked the first day of Lilis physical training, so as Vahn suggested they woke up early to get a head start on the day. The two made their way towards the north-west gate, their destination being the outskirts of the Western Forests. Vahn was disappointed that Gregory wasnt on duty, so he asked the guards to pass a message for him. After filling a small exit log, they were easily allowed passage through the gate. At this time Vahn still had the guest pass obtained from Hephaestus, which he had loaned to Lili temporarily. After arriving at the forest outskirts, Vahn was very tempted to make his way towards his previous home. Though it hadnt been that long since he left, it still stirred something in his heart at being separated from the ce he had lived for so long. Lili could see his mncholic expression, so she tried asking what was bothering him. "Vahn? Whats wrong?" Vahn just shook his head and smiled. "Its nothing Lili, I was just remembering the time I spent living in the forest. Even though a few days have passed, I cant easily get over my attachment to my former home." "Mmm, we should go there one day. I want to see the ce where you grew up." Lili stared in the direction Vahn had been looking. She was curious what kind of environment the boy had lived in beforeing to Orario. "Sure, one day. For now, we need to begin our training." Vahn leads the way towards a clearing and used his sword to cut down trees in the area. Lili watched as he stripped the logs before digging holes and burying them upright in the ground. Seeing that she was watching him work, Vahn demonstrated some basic exercises she could perform while he finished setting everything up. His main goal was to help her improve her speed and adaptability. Pallums didnt have a lot of strength by nature, but Lilis [Artel*Assist] would provide her with plenty of strength once she obtained a proper weapon. He was using the logs to create an obstacle course which she would have to maneuver through while he would periodically fire practice arrows he had obtained from the shop. They were simr to normal arrows, but the arrowhead was reced with a white lump that caused a numb sensation on contact. Using this method he wanted to help increase her awareness of threats, her mobility in evading obstacles, andstly...her tolerance against taking hits. With this method and thebined CQC training techniques, she would be able to build a solid foundation for the future. He also nned to continue their previous days training in the dungeonter. After they had discussed things previously, Vahn decided the schedule would be split between three active days separated by a single rest day. This would continue until she was able to fight freely within the first four floors of the dungeon without assistance. Though it was a tough regimen, it was still much better than her previous life so Lili didnt have anyints. It took nearly two hours, but Vahn finally finished setting up the course. Lili had been continually performing the exercises he demonstrated earlier, so he gave her a short break while exining his ns. They took time to eat a light breakfast, which Lili wasnt too fond of. "This jerky is very nd. It doesnt even taste like it has any seasoning. Give me a moment.."She started searching through her backpack until she had found some salt and some kind of spicy paste Vahn had never seen. Applying the salt and paste, he was very surprised with the difference in taste and texture. "This is much better than the jerky I made." Vahn was enjoying the variety of vors. He had eaten a lot of smoked and dried meat when he was in the forest, and it wasnt until he entered the City that he realized how nd his cooking actually was. Hearing Vahn mention he had made the jerky, Lili became a little fl.u.s.tered. "Im sorry Vahn, I didnt know you had made the jerky...I shouldnt haveined." She began nibbling on the jerky, not even using the seasonings she had pulled out. Vahn shook his head and just chuckled. "Dont apologize Lili. Even I can tell how bad the meat is without your seasoning. If anything, I should be the one apologizing for preparing such tasteless food for our breakfast." While he was speaking, he was also browsing through the shop for cooking books. Vahn was surprised to see the manuals ranged everywhere between 1OP and 1,000,000,000OP. Thinking about how great the food he already ate was, he swore he would one day purchase that manual... --- After they finished eating, Vahn demonstrated several different methods to navigate the course. Lili began repeating his actions, and Vahn realized he had made some mistakes. The course he had designed was based off his own size and would require modification in the future. To make things more difficult, he positioned several of the cut branches to bar against easy passage. Once everything was ready, the training began in earnest. Lili would begin navigating the course while Vahn would target her arms and legs using the practice arrows. Whenever she dropped in speed or stalled for too long, he would end up targetting her back or abdomen, further increasing the difficulty ofpleting the course as it would make it difficult to regte her breathing. They repeated this over and over while taking short breaks in between each set. Though she was beginning to build up a slight resentment against the training, Lili noticed that many of the injuries she had sustained would stop hurting after a while. When she inspected the area of impact, she noticed the small bruises that were previously visible hadpletely vanished. She looked towards the boy who would periodically fire arrows at her, and she could see several small bruises on his arms. Realizing he was using his [Wound Transfer] skill to aid her, Lili grit her teeth and put more effort into the training. On Vahns end, he was using the opportunity of training Lili to also polish his skills. He already had higher regenerative capabilities than most people, but his [Rakshasa Body], [Spirit Healing], and [Yggdrasils Favor] were creating a synergy that allowed him to push his natural regeneration even further with the use of [Wound Transfer]. Though he was taking on a lot of Lilis wounds, they would recover after several minutes which allowed him to repeat the process almost endlessly. After inspecting his stats, he could visibly see his parameters increasing, though the only ones of note were his endurance and magic. Vahn would be able to use the time he spent training Lili to familiarize himself with proactively using his abilities for the future. He even tried activating his [Will of the Emperor] which caused Lili to copse to the ground when he had focused his intent on her. He spent a bit of time coaxing her into forgiving him, which resulted in him having to pet her head for five minutes. Though he was reluctant at first, Vahn resigned himself to the agreement only to be enthralled in the act after seeing how Lili responded when he touched her cat ears. Thebination of the soft and fluffy sensation as well as the mewling of the young girl made his heart rate increase. --- At 10 AM the two enjoyed a light lunch before heading back to the City. If they hurried, they would be able to enter the dungeon before noon, so they both started jogging with a quick pace towards the City gate. Using his status in the Hephaestus Familia and the guest pass they were quickly let into the City without having to wait in a line. Since they had stored away Lilis backpack before entering, they didnt have any luggage that needed inspecting. After entering the dungeon, the second phase of training began. Like the previous day, Vahn had Lili try fighting the monsters using her crossbow as well as her dagger. He made sure she was always practicing maneuvering around the monsters and trying to exploit the gaps in their movements. For this training, Vahn had stored away her backpack which brought Lilis overall stats down. He was surprised to find out she was actually slower without it, though her ability to make fine movements had increased. Because of this, he brought up the idea of purchasing weighted clothing to enable her to make proper use of her skills without having to lug around a giant backpack. Though Lili was averse to the idea at first, she agreed after Vahn exined how it would allow her to increase the effect of the skill while improving herbat capabilities in the future. As they progressed further into the floors, Vahn was happy seeing how Lili was progressing. Though she was still nowhere near the requirements of a typical Level 1 adventurer, it was much better than the previous day. While all of this was going on, Vahn wasnt idling around either. He was constantly using his [Will of the Emperor] while Lili was fighting. As long as he didnt focus his intent on her, she was able to move about in the domain. This allowed him to interfere with the movements of monsters if Lili got caught off guard. There were several asions after this where Lili failed to dodge, but because of Vahns skill, she was able to counterattack the stunned monsters. He also tried using the activeponent of his [Rakshasa Body], but other than a feeling of his muscles swelling a bit, there were no other changes to his body. Vahn guessed the skill would only be useful when he was on the losing end in a fight. For now, he just had to be satisfied that the skill provided an increase in the growth of his endurance. By 5 PM they had cleared several rooms on the 3rd floor after progressing smoothly through the first two floors. Though she couldnt fight groups using her dagger, Lili had begun to tackle individual enemies without relying on her bow. Vahn was beginning to wonder about her status and if she was quickly bing stronger. By now she had solo killed 11 goblins and 7 kobolds while assisting in the ying of fifty-some-odd other monsters. Even if it wasnt as ridiculous as his own progress, she had to be experiencing some increase after gaining so much exilia. Before they began sparring, Vahn decided to inquire about her progress. "Lili, how are your parameters increasing after todays training? Id like to know so we can make alterations to the schedule if necessary." Hearing his questions, Lili just stared at him nkly before a slight blush touched her cheeks. "Vahn...I cant really check my status without having my status board updated at the Soma Familia. Because the God Soma spends all of his time brewing alcohol, he very rarely ever updates anyones status board. That is why most people in the Familia are lower than level 2, and even they joined from other Familia and werent original members." Vahn began to understand why everyone from the Soma Familia was so easily dealt with by Bell in the manga. If their God wasnt proactively updating their status and giving them the benefits of the Falna, there would be no way for anyone to grow quickly. He also realized arger problem. Even if the training was going well, there was no way to verify the progress without confronting the God Soma. Unless Lili was able to leave the Familia there would always be restrictions on her future potential... --- Vahn began training Lili in close-quartersbat methods and sparred with her to practice each technique. As it was also his first time using the skills on another person, they both took their time understanding the practical applications of the techniques. Luckily, Vahn had the benefit of possessing all the requisite knowledge within his head so he avoided embarrassing himself. They would take a break every twenty minutes, and during this time Vahn had been consulting Sis on methods to forcibly break the Familia contract. He learned that, unless he was able to obtain a Tier 4 (Sage) soul, it wouldnt be possible to break the contract as it was protected by the worlds ws. There were items that would allow him to remove it, but the cheapest one cost as much as 2,500,000OP. He had begun to give up on the idea and started nning how he could confront the Soma Familia, but Sis interrupted him. (*Vahn, due to the nature of your body and its connection to source energy, you are able to read and update the status of other Adventurers. Though you dont possess falna like the gods, you can use [Yggdrasils Favor] to enhance the existing falna already present within the crest.*) Hearing the words, Vahn began to get excited and turned towards Lili to try and exin his revtion... Chapter 47 - Things Overlooked

Chapter 47 - Things Overlooked

Vahn looked towards Lili and tried thinking of how to exin the situation. As far as he knew there should be no methods for someone other than a god to update a Status Board. Even being able to view status is something exceptionally rare... Lili noticed he was struggling with something so she decided to speak up. "What is it Vahn? Did you notice something?" She was watching his face to see if he was trying to conceal anything. To Lili, Vahn seemed to have a lot of secrets that she couldnt ask about, but she still wanted him to be truthful to her. Vahn stared towards her with a serious expression. After hesitating briefly, he finally found his resolve. He had already decided to help her, and there was no reason he should hesitate after everything that has happened. "Lili...I have a skill that allows me to not only view status, but it should allow me to imbue my energy into the crest to revitalize the stagnant Falna within. I have never done it before, but I have reason to believe it will be sessful." Hearing his words, Lili couldnt believe them. She had never heard of a mortal being able to empower a falna or being able to update the status board of another person. But, seeing the seriousness in Vahns eyes, she believed he was telling the truth. She hung her head in thought before asking him a question. "Does it have anything to do with that strange aura youre able to emit? Just what exactly is that skill anyway? Ive never even heard of anything like it before." Vahn shook his head. "No, that is a different skill. Right now, I cant tell you the details since even Im not strong enough to protect its secret. Knowing about it would only lead to your death." This was the truth, since Innate skills existing outside the natural w of the world. If a resident of the record obtained too much information about them, thews would likely take action. Lili could see a deadly seriousness in Vahns expression, but it only made her want to know even more. She wanted to be strong enough that he could trust her with all of his secrets. For now, she just nodded without asking further. "The skill Im going to use is called [Yggdrasils Favor]. It allows me to imbue the natural energy of the world into objects. Due to the nature of the skill, there is a very high possibility it would enable a stagnant falna to be revitalized since it should be simr in function to the energy used by gods in the mortal world. I cant go into too many details, because even I dont know exactly how it works." Vahn gave a helpless sigh since this was the limit of his current exnation. Anything more would be touching on the secrets he needed to protect. After mulling over his words for several minutes, Lili gave a determined nod and smiled towards Vahn. "I trust you Vahn. At the very least, I believe you wont try to harm me." With a warm feeling welling in his chest, Vahn said, "Thank you, Lili." He then reached out and patted her head for a brief moment. "So, what do I need to do?" Lili had some expectations but decided to be roundabout and asked Vahn to exin. Vahn could see Lili begin blushing, and he began to feel like something was off. Unable to determine the cause, he decided to exin. "Ill need to view your Status Board while directly channeling the energy of my skill into the crest. Im not sure how long it will take, but it shouldnt take too much time." Hearing Vahn confirm her suspicions, Lili began to blush fiercely while ring at Vahn. She began to wonder if he even understood what he was asking her to do. It didnt have to be said, but everyone knew the location of a Familia Crest was always on the back. Without directly exposing herself, he would be unable to perform the ritual! Vahn was very confused about her actions. He thought she would be happy to have her status updated without having to rely on her Familia, but she seemed angry and bashful instead. While he was thinking about the cause, Lili began speaking. "Vahn...you may not know this since you arent in a Familia, but the Crest is always located on the back of an Adventurer. Without removing my blouse, there would be no way to view my Status Board, much less channel energy into the crest..." Lili continued to re at Vahn. She saw him disy a confused expression before seeming toe to an understanding which caused his eyes to widen. "Ah, youre right. Im sorry, I didnt think it through that far. I was just focused on the theory, and didnt think about the process that much..but, the part about me not being in a Familia is incorrect? Didnt you notice at the gate that I put my information as being part of the Hephaestus Familia? I even gave you a guest pass to allow you to enter and exit freely." Lili became startled, realizing she had made a huge blunder. Even though she could identify the guest pass as an item belonging to the Hephaestus Familia, she didnt think about how Vahn had obtained it. "But, Vahn? Didnt you say you were a frencer when we first met? I thought you only recently entered the City...and youre even staying in an Inn instead of a dormitory orpound." Vahn nodded in confirmation. "Thats all true. At the time of our first meeting, I was still a frencer. I only joined the Hephaestus Familia after we parted from the dungeon that same evening." The words were like a bomb exploding within her mind. She could barely process the information. (Exactly what happened in just a single night!?). Lili released a long sigh. She felt like she severely underestimated how many events Vahn got wrapped up in within a short time period. In the course of a single evening, he saved her life, ran around the city, and even joined a Familia. And not just any Familia, but the rank 3 Familia within the entire City! "Vahn, please tell me when things like that happen...Im not sure my heart can handle the constant feeling of surprise." She gave him a fed-up expression with drooping, tired eyes. Vahn just rubbed the back of his head, promising to inform her about things as long as they werent a secret. --- The two were now exiting the dungeon. After Vahn realized what was necessary for the procedure, he couldnt just ask Lili to take off her top within the dungeon. Even though it was unlikely, there was still a chance other Adventurers could appear in the route they were resting in. If they stumbled upon him using the skill and spread rumors, it would be a nightmare that wouldnt be easy to resolve. To prevent that from happening, the only solution would be to silence them, but Vahn wasnt fond of the idea of indiscriminately killing people. After trading in their spoils for the day, Vahn split the earnings equally. Though Lili refused at first, Vahn ignored her and just started walking in the direction of the Inn. After a few moments of hesitation, Lili sighed before putting the daily earnings into her backpack and chasing after Vahn. --- Since it was alreadyte in the evening and Vahn didnt know how long the procedure would take, they decided to get some food from a nearby stall. The ce they selected seemed to specialize in producing various types of crepes. Vahn found it very interesting watching them pour the batter and forming it into shape before adding the toppings they had each selected. From the side, Lili just stared at his childish expression while giggling. After they had finished several rounds of crepes (mainly due to the fact Vahn really loved the taste of fried fish after having it for the first time), they finally found their way to the Inn. Stepping inside, they came across Tina who, upon seeing Vahn, blushed before immediately running away without greeting them. Seeing the frightened girl, Vahn just stood there with the hand he had raised to wave stuck awkwardly in the air. Once again, he could hear theughter of Liliing from his side. He turned to look at her, and she tried desperately to hold back herughter before sticking her tongue out and heading up the nearby stairs. Vahn shook his head and began to follow her, but was stopped when the Proprietress, Mn, called out to him. "Ara~ Good evening Vahn. I was wondering why my daughter ran into the pantry looking like a tomato. Dont tell me you did something again~? I might have to really punish you at this rate~." Through his cold sweat, Vahn began exining the circ.u.mstances before being forced to sit and buy a drink. It turned out Mn wanted to ask about the situation when he had disappeared for a few days and the reasons why he ended up bringing Lili back shortly after his return. Since Vahn had no negative feelings towards the kind, albeit mischievous, Proprietress he decided to exin things without revealing any sensitive information. She was surprised hearing that Vahn had saved Lilis life, and how after a series of events became responsible for training her to be stronger. When he got the part about how he had joined a Familia, and how he would most likely be moving away by the end of the week, a shadow dashed from behind the doorway dividing the dining room and kitchen. "No! Please dont leave!" The young Tina had revealed her presence after hearing that Vahn would be leaving. When her mother had been discussing things with Vahn, she was eavesdropping on the conversation. Vahn just shook his head at her pleading. Though he liked staying within the Inn, he wouldnt be able to stay here for the rest of his life. It was always guaranteed that, as he grew stronger, he would eventually move on from this ce. Seeing the apologetic expression on his face,bined with him shaking his head, Tina began to struggle with holding back her tears. "Is it because I ran away yesterday? Is it because I wouldnt let you touch my tail?" For Tina, she couldnt really rationalize the situation. Even though customers were alwaysing and going, she felt that Vahn would always be around. For Tina, he was a special existence and the first person that made her feel different from an ordinary girl. Vahn was pained seeing her cry, but he nearly fell off of his stool when she mentioned the part about the tail. He began to worry that he left a strange impression in the mind of the girl... He looked towards Mn, and she too seemed to be a bit sad about the revtion he would be leaving. However, unlike her daughter, she seemed to ept the reality for what it was. Life was always changing, always moving forward, even when you didnt want it to... Seeing the sad far-away look that had appeared on Mn, Vahn wanted to ask what she was thinking about. He wanted to be able tofort the Mother-Daughter pair but didnt know what to do. While he was lost in thought, he felt a force wrap around his waist. Turning, he could see Tina hugging him from the side. He didnt expect that she had grown so attached to him even though they hadnt interacted that much. On the cor of the girls blouse, he could see the brooch that he had bought for her the previous day. --- After spending twenty minutes trying to console Tina and talking to Mn, Vahn finally managed to extricate himself from the situation after promising to stop by whenever he could, even after he moved out. Tina even pressed him further and had him promise to give her his address after he moved. She told him that when she was old enough, she would be an Adventurer too and follow him into the dungeon just like her mother had done with her father. --- Vahn walked upstairs and knocked on the door to Lilis room. After various sounds of movement, the door opened a tiny margin and revealed the eye of Lili. She seemed very nervous, and Vahn noticed a peculiar odoring from the crack in the door. It would seem that, while he was downstairs, Lili had taken the opportunity to bathe. Vahn assumed she must have been worried about her sweat, but after noticing the blush on Lilis face he began to be nervous as well. "T-thanks foring here Vahn. Pleasee inside..." Lili opened the door, revealing clothing Vahn had never seen before. It was an outfit very simr to pajamas, except she was wearing the top of the ensemble backward. The area that would typically be buttoned from the front now revealed her open back. Seeing the exposed skin, Vahn felt his mouth dry up causing him to instinctually swallow. Vahn stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Chapter 48 - Status : Training Continues

Chapter 48 - Status : Training Continues

After Vahn entered the room the atmosphere became very tense. Lili sat on the bed with her back towards Vahn, and he could see she was trying her best to hide her face which had turned scarlet. He could even see the blush had crept down her neck and started fading into her back. Vahn tried to prevent the atmosphere from affecting him, so he moved to the edge of the bed and sat facing towards Lili. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the uncovered skin and his mind went nk. All over Lilis back, he could see faded wounds and scars that had marred her uncovered skin. Though Vahn knew she was treated poorly, he wasnt prepared to see the evidence of her suffering and the toll it had taken on her body. Since their first meeting, she had made many efforts to be cheerful and lively which caused Vahn to drop his guard without considering the long-term remnants that he would need to deal with in the future. Lili seemed to sense his sadness hung her head. The blush began to fade from her cheeks as she issued a quiet voice. "You must think its ugly...I did my best to treat most of the injuries when I could, but its hard to apply medicines to the back." Hearing Lili me herself for things she had no control over, Vahn sighed. He reached out his hand and used his index finger to trace one of therger scars near her shoulder de. In response to his touch, Lili shuddered but didnt say anything further. She began to feel a searing heat trace along the scar of her back, but even though it felt so hot it wasnt an unpleasant sensation. After seeing the scars on her back, Vahn had asked Sis to purchase a skill that would allow him to heal or remove the evidence of their existence. After spending 2000 OP he obtained the weakest form of a skill called [Hands of Nirvana] which allowed Vahn to stimte dead and damaged tissues and revitalize the human body. With the support of [Yggdrasils Favor], he was able to channel energy into his fingertip and slowly wipe away the scar. All that remained after he was finished was a slightly red mark that was warm to the touch. Vahn continued tracing over each and every scar while Lili sat in silence. Though she couldnt see it with her own eyes, she knew he was doing something to heal the scars on her back. With each searing sensation that touched her skin, more tears would collect in her eyes, but not as a result of the heat. Once he was done, Vahn moved on to reading Lilis Status. He could tell by her reaction that she realized what his actions might entail, and there would be time to talk about itter if she asked. Following the procedureid out by Sis, Vahn made a small cut on his finger before cing it into the center of Lilis crest. When the blood came into contact with the somewhat faded goblet-crescent-moon motif, the entire crest began to issue a brilliant light. Though Vahn couldnt make sense of the symbols, he was able to interpret their meaning through the system interface. --- [[STATUS]] Name: Liliruca Arde Race: Pallum LV. 1 POW: I63 ->I91 END: I98 -> H107 DEX: H170 -> H183 AGI: G223 -> G250 MAG: F351 -> F353 Skill: [Artel*Assist:E], [As: Innate(sealed)] Magic: [Cinder*E:C] Development Skill: --- While he was reading her Status Board, Vahn was also channeling his energy into the crest to awaken the dormant falna. Since Lili had the crest since birth and never updated it, the falna had long since entered a weakened state which further restricted her growth. Now Lili should be able to make progress like a normal adventurer in the future. What caught his eye was a skill he had never seen present in the manga. Lili hand a skill called [As] that was currently sealed away. The most surprising thing was the fact it was evaluated as an Innate ranked skill. After asking Sis why he was able to see the skill, she exined that The Path was of a much higher tier than Innate abilities, so it was able to detect anything that was not intentionally hidden. After updating the Status Board, Vahn listed out the changes to Lili. For now, he kept the existence of [As] a secret as Sis had informed him it was very difficult to awaken innate skills if the wielder was aware of them. They could only awaken if the wielder made efforts to improve and faced various challenges on their own. Lili was very excited after hearing the changes in her parameters. She still had trouble believing Vahn would be able to do as he said and seeing the results had made her incredibly happy. In her excitement, she ended up tackling Vahn which caused the two bodies to tumble off the bed and onto the hard wooden floor. To protect her from the fall, Vahn had used his own body to cushion the blow. He struggled to breathe and just helplessly pat Lili who had been lost in her feelings of jubtion. After some time had passed, she seemed to calm down but hadnt separated from his body. Vahn began feeling worried, so he tried standing and bringing the affectionate act to an end. Lili refused to release his body, and continued hugging his waist with her head rested against his abdomen. Neither person said anything for a while until Lili finally released his body and looked directly into his eyes. "Vahn, I will be stronger. Strong enough to repay everything youve done for me..." After saying those words, she turned towards her bed and submerged herself under the covers. //[Liliruca Arde] Affection +5// Vahn continued to stand in silence for a while before deciding to leave the room. As he turned away he was unaware that the nkets had shifted slightly in response to his footsteps. A small cat-eared head poked out of the covers and stared at his back as he left the room... //[Liliruca Arde] Affection -3// The moment Vahn stepped into the hallway he nearly fell face-first onto the floor. ("What did I do!?") Using what remained of his strength he ambled towards his room and fell heavily into his bed. He couldnt fathom how he was able to earn such arge amount of affection and then lose some immediately after... --- The next morning the two woke up before the sunrise, same as the previous day. Vahn had slight bags under his eyes as he was lost in contemtion for arge portion of the night. When he met up with Lili she seemed to look at him with a mild resentment before leading the way towards the gate. Vahn just followed after her in silence while trying to have Sis exin what had happened. In response, she justmented on how he needed to put more effort into understanding womens hearts. --- At the gate, Vahn was finally able to reunite with Gregory. The two exchanged words and Gregory congratted him on his sess in joining such a highly regarded Familia. Vahn also tried to return the money Gregory had lent him, but he justughed loudly in response while heavily patting Vahns back. He told Vahn that if he wanted to repay him, then live a reputable life that he could brag to his friends about. If Vahn was able to be a highly esteemed Adventurer it would give him face when drinking with his fellow officers. --- After parting ways with Gregory, the two continued towards the previous days training site. Vahn demonstrated more techniques and they both warmed up before performing the same set of exercises. Though it wasnt much, Lili had made some progress since the day before. She was more receptive to each new form of training and put in amendable amount of effort in trying to execute everything properly. They continued in this manner, only stopping to take short rests and eat breakfast. Once 10 AM came around, they began heading towards the dungeon to begin the next phase on the schedule. They were beginning to build familiarity with the gate guards, so after a cursory screening, they were able to easily enter the City. On the way towards Babel, they decided to purchase the seafood crepes Vahn had enjoyed the previous night. He even purchased a few extras and stored them away in his inventory when nobody was looking... Once they entered the tower Lili began trying to solo monsters while Vahn covered for her using his [Will of the Emperor]. He noticed she was a lot more daring than the previous day and the increased confidence allowed her to perform to a much higher standard than her earlier attempts. During one of the breaks, Vahn told her she was improving rapidly and at this rate, she would be able to elerate her growth even faster. Lili was excited after hearing Vahns praise and tried even harder after the break came to an end. Unfortunately, due to her unstable emotions and overzealous attitude, she ended up nearly losing her hand to a goblin wielding a rusty dagger. The wound had cut to the bone of her wrists and it was bleeding profusely which caused her to be lightheaded and dazed. Just as she felt like throwing up due to nausea, the pain suddenly vanished and a shadow appeared in front of her intercepting the attacking goblin. Vahn had seen Lilis mistake and quickly used [Wound Transfer] in conjunction with his [Rakshasa Body] to absorb and mitigate the damage. Though there was still blood dripping through the bands of his gauntlets, he could feel a tingling sensation that told him the wound was rapidly healing. Before the goblin was able tounch a second attack, he locked it down with his domain and intercepted to swung dagger. In his hand, Vahn now held the mutted wrist of the goblin. He twisted his body before mming the struggling goblin into the dungeon wall. Seeing it turn to dust on contact, Vahn turned towards Lili to see if she had any other injuries. He could see shock and surprise on her face and thought she was still disoriented from the previous incident. He reached out with his hand to help her up and froze... Lili stared at the outstretched hand that had now changed shape. Instead of the smooth tanned skin, she was used to patting her head, it was now a sizerger and covered in fine densely packed hairs. The hair was very short butpletely covered the top half of the hand. It was a dark grey in color with undertones of white drawing a strange pattern along its surface. The two just continued staring at the strange hand that was connected to Vahns body. Aftering to his sense, Vahn lifted the hand and inspected the changes. From what he could see, it had morphed into the w of an animal, though he still had all five fingers. While he was observing it, the hairs began to recede slowly into his flesh until, after seven minutes, they hadpletely disappeared returning his hand to its normal appearance. He used his now normal hand to help Lili stand. She seemed to want to ask about it but held herself back from doing so. Vahn understood her concerns, as he too wanted to know what happened. From inside his mind, he could hear the voice of Sis exining it was due to the activation of his [Rakshasa Body]. ording to her, the more damage he took the more his body would change to empower his abilities to prevent further damage. ("Does that mean I would turn into a monster in a prolonged fight?") Vahn was very worried since he knew even humanoid monsters were treated very poorly by most people. Without being able to exin the transformation was a result of a skill, he would face serious consequences when using it in the future. (*You wont turn into a monster, though you would possess some animalistic qualities. ording to analysis, your [Rakshasa Body] seems to incorporate the features of a tiger, though the exact type is hard to determine. As you rank up the skill you should have more control over the transformation, but if youre worried about creating a misunderstanding you can acquire another skill that emtes the effects of the change.*) After giving her permission, Sis ended up purchasing a magic called [Thria*Mimos:C] for 7,000 OP. The description stated he could use the skill to alter his body parts, and with mastery evenpletely transform into an animal. The downside was he would be unable to activate other skills without breaking the transformation. Vahn used the newly acquired magic and demonstrated it to Lili. He credited its activation due to how angry he was after seeing her injured. Before then he had never been aware of the magic and it seemed he was able to use it without a chant. Of course, the only thing Lili was focused on was how happy she was when Vahn acquired a simr magic as her own. Chapter 49 - Date with Lili. Weapon and Clothes Shopping

Chapter 49 - ''Date'' with Lili. Weapon and Clothes Shopping

For the next few days, Vahn continued helping Lili with her training. Though she had made noticeable progress, she was still having difficulties increasing her parameters to the point she could fight without assistance. Shecked the stamina for drawn-out fights, and her stats didnt give her much of an edge against monsters within the dungeon. Even though she was still gaining exilia from fighting, there wasnt arge increase in her parameters since shecked a skill that modified her growth. Vahn wanted to try and help her awaken her true potential, so he had used the Valis he had been saving to take Lili shopping on their next day off. He thought that introducing weighted clothing or armor would help improve her base parameters and increase the efficacy of her training. Upon hearing that she would be able to go on a date with Vahn, Lili seemed to double her efforts in training. She continued putting in these efforts until the day had finally arrived. When Vahn stepped out of his room early, she was already waiting for him in the hallway in her battle attire. Vahn was surprised to see Lili waiting outside his door, and even more so after seeing how she was dressed. She had done up her hair slightly and it had a healthy sheen. Around her neck, she wore the small bronze ne which stood out against the pure white frock that Vahn had never seen before. It still had a bit of a childish quality which brought out the liveliness in Lilis appearance. Seeing his dazed observation of her attire, Lili gave a victorious smile before hurrying him out of the Inn. She wanted to get a head start on the date so they would have more time together after shopping. As Vahn trailed behind her, his eyes were drawn to the tail that was poking out of a ribbon in the frock. Since it was the same chestnut brown as Lilis hair it stood out against the in white dress. Till now he had yet to see exactly how the tail was connected to the body so he was still rather curious. Of course, he knew better than to ask and there would always be opportunities in the future. He even considering trying to grow a tail of his ownter. --- The two continued until they came upon the stall Vahn had frequented often in thest few days. After purchasing some crepes, the owner gave them a pleasant smile as he wished them well on their date. Vahn had be a usual customer at the stall, and the owner, a rather plump middle-aged dwarf named Ivaan had developed a friendly rtionship with him. Vahn gave an awkward smile while Lili blushed with a pleased expression on her face after hearing the mans words. They continued slowly making their way towards Babel where, after entering, Lili began dragging him around to various shops she was familiar with. Vahn was surprised with the familiarity she showed with the shops and became very interested after hearing her exin the function of a variety of useful items. After stopping at several stores and resupplying items for use in the dungeon, they finally made their way towards their original destination. Entering the 8th Floor of Babel, the pair came across the shops owned and operated by the Hephaestus Familia. There was a plethora of weapons and armor on disy as they made their way deeper into the interior of the floor. Their goal was to purchase both armor and a new weapon for Lili to facilitate her continued growth. Though she had improved her uracy andbat with the crossbow, she wasnt able to easily deal with monsters using a dagger. Since she was rtively small herself and the reach of the dagger was limited, it made it very dangerous to fight in such close proximity of monsters. Since Vahn wasnt too familia with the function of armor, he decided to help Lili find a weapon first. Lili still had inhibitions about wearing restrictive equipment, so she was more than happy to put it off untilter. Eventually, they found their way into one of the mid-tier quality stores which could be denoted by the "grade" posted on the outside of the store. This store, called cksteel Works openly disyed the Hephaestus Familia emblem with a B inrge font beneath it. After entering they browsed a bit before meeting with the owner of the establishment. He was a rtively young man between 17-20 years of age with blonde hair and an honest face. Seeing the two peculiarly dressed people approach, he greeted them in a loud tone. "Greetns! What can I do ye for strangers? Not seen ye around this store before. Lookin fer anythin specific?" (A/N: I feel like writing ents is outside myfort zone~) Vahn had a good impression of the man due to his honest expression and stable yellow aura. From his experience, such people were easy to deal with and good-natured. He gave the man, who had at this point identified himself as Arin, a list of all the items he was looking for. "If possible wed prefer to look at weapons that meet the requirements before armor. For now, we dont need anything made-to-order, but if the functionality is good we would likely be interested in the future." Lili had decided to exin matters since Vahn seemed more focused on making small talk. She didnt really want to spend too much time in the store since it would interfere with the time spent elsewhere. Arin looked at the disgruntled Lili before giving Vahn a sideways grin, "Yer girls a feisty one aint she?" Vahn gave a helpless smile at the remark and asked if they would be able to see the weapons. From the side, Lili was smiling and behaving more docilely. --- After a few minutes, Arin had lined up a variety of weapons. There were shortswords, rapiers, longswords, spears, and even an oversized katana which caught Vahns interest. He often imagined wielding one for himself in his previous life so it tickled his inner desires a bit. When he changed weapons in the future, Vahn decided it would be a katana unless there were better options. Lili tried out the weapons by lifting and feeling their weight. Since she had never used anything other than a dagger and crossbow everything was awkward for her. She kept picking up and seeing if any of them felt right, but was unable to make a decision due to herck of interest and experience. Seeing her hesitation, Arin started detailing the usefulness of the various weapons. He discussed how some were good for fighting groups, while others were more suitable to individuals. He even went into details about theirposition, durability, and the practicality of their range and maintenance requirements. Vahn and Lili listened to the very informative information. Though she wasnt as interested as Vahn, Lili still made it a habit to remember anything that could be useful for the future. One of the skills she had relied on the survive so long was her ability to gather knowledge and information. After listening to the exnation, Vahn was considering purchasing all the weapons just to try them out. Even if he didnt end up using them, it would be good to have a variety of weapons obtained outside the system shop for future use. While he was making up his mind, Lili began asking about weapons that were heavy and could be used for the purpose of increasing strength. "Heavy weapons that can increase strength ye say? Hmmm, I think I may have what yer lookin for if its just fer trainin purposes." Arin went into the back room and came out carrying two items. One was arge poleaxe that was more than 160cm long and weighed nearly 30kg. It was made of cksteel like the shops namesake. The other item was an almostically oversized hammer. It was 125cm long with the head of the hammer being 70cms. It weighed a monstrous 90kg. Out of curiosity, Vahn tried lifting the two weapons and found that, though they were lighter than he expected, they were very awkward to use. Lili also gave it a try and struggled quite a bit, but due to her [Artel*Assist] skill, she managed to carry both items, albeit with a strenuous amount difficulty. After holding the two items, Lili decided she would take them both since they met the requirements of activating [Artel*Assist]. She agreed with Vahn that it would be important to develop the skill if she wanted to get stronger in the future. There was also the truth that it was easier to discard than armor so she could easily swap weapons depending on the situation. Vahn ended up purchasing all the weapon and handed over 92,000V in payment. It was arge portion of his earning for the week, but once he started advancing further into the dungeon he would easily recoup the loss. After epting the money, Arin ended up returning 12,000V with the reason being it was a discount for their first purchase and the fact they bought several items at once. He also mentioned he had been trying to get rid of the hammer for a while, so he was happy Vahn took it off his hands. Since it would be awkward exining storage magic, Vahn had to give Arin the address of the inn and was informed they would be delivered before the end of the day. After that, they made their way towards a different shop that specialized in armor. Lili seemed very averse to purchasing "heavy" equipment since it didnt suit her small frame. In fact, other than some made-to-order stuff, there was nearly no armor that actually fit her so they had to give up after purchasing a small b.r.e.a.s.tte along with a pair of arm and leg guards. They were convenient as they could be worn easily over her usual clothing. Vahn, remembering the clothes Lili often wore was tattered and aged, decided to purchase her some newer clothing. After his experience with changing his own image, he thought it would be good for her to do something simr. After hearing they would next be shopping for clothes, Liliis eyes began to glow in anticipation. They entered a store that specialized in producing and tailoring adventurers wear. There were several mannequins decked out in a variety of different outfits that fit the stereotypes of different styles of adventurers. Lili spent more than three hours trying on various different outfits while Vahn sat numbingly having to give his opinion on each of them. She eventually settled on a pair of tan shorts with a ck sleeveless shirt that disyed her navel. To apany the outfit she also picked out a pair of dark stockings with tan leather boots that reached halfway up her calves. Lastly, she chose a stylish red vest toplete the outfit. Vahn thought the outfit suited her, but was curious why she would pick clothing that showed her stomach. After asking, she gave him a bashful look before moving away to hand the items over to the seamstress for modification. After she returned she asked a question of her own with a blush on her face, "Vahn, do you like when a girl shows her midriff or do you prefer if they stay fully clothed?" Vahn contemted the question and realized he didnt have a preference. He enjoyed that everyone wore a variety of different outfits and didnt consider if he had a preference for any specific type of clothing. After thinking for a while, he decided on his answer. "I think people should wear whatever they want as long as itsfortable. Though, if I had to say, when cute girls show more skin it makes me feel a bit dazed at times." Though she was dissatisfied with the first part of his answer, as it was kind of roundabout, Lili began to beam after hearing the second part. Even though she often wore a cloak and hood over her clothing, she didnt like wearing restrictive clothes all that much. That was the main reason she didnt want to wear heavy armor if it could be avoided. --- The two continued to walk around until the evening came. Vahn told Lili after they had lunch that he had business with the Hephaestus Familia, so after he walked her back to the inn he made his way towards Hephaestuss workshop. Lili stayed behind to receive the shipment of items, but she didnt let Vahn leave without promising to take her out to dinner aspensation in the future. Chapter 50 - Hephaestuss Intrigue

Chapter 50 - Hephaestus''s Intrigue

As Hephaestuss workshop was close to the Inn, Vahn managed to arrive shortly after parting ways with Lili. When he entered the building, one of the security guards immediately approached which caused Vahn to assume an alert stance. When therge man got near him, he asked. "Are you Vahn Mason?" Vahn nodded without breaking his stance. Seeing his affirmation, the man turned towards hispanions and one of them ran into the back room. The others cleared out the few remaining customers from the workshop while ignoring their protests. Once everyone was gone, therge man who had previously asked Vahn about his identity spoke. "Lady Hephaestus informed us to clear out the store and report to her immediately after your arrival. You dont have to be on guard, not that you would be able to resist if we wanted to harm you." The man was more than 190cm tall and had a build like a bear. Though Vahn didnt know it at this time, the man, named Zaff, was a former level 4 Adventurer from a disbanded Familia that had retired and be a security contractor. Hearing they were acting on Hephaestuss order, Vahn decided to rx a bit, but didntpletely drop his guard. Seeing that Vahn was still alert, the man gave him an appreciative nod before directing his men outside of the workshop. They had been informed to secure the perimeter and prevent anyone from approaching for the time being. Before he left, he turned towards Vahn and offered him a bit of advice. "Its good that you know better than to fully believe in what people tell you. Make sure you keep your senses sharp, itll save your life one day." Vahn nodded and watched the man leave. He agreed with the guards statement since he had almost died due to his negligence previously. The only reason he dropped his guard now was that he was able to see the mans aura showed no aggression towards him. It was a stable and calming blue with a tinge of green around the edges. After a few minutes of standing in silence, Hephaestus came out from the back room. Vahn could see she was covered in soot and sweat. Before his arrival, she was probably forging an item in her personal workshop. Remembering his experience with the eternal me, Vahn had some misgivings about entering there in the future. Unfortunately, without asking him anything, Hephaestus grabbed his hand and pulled him into the ce he would much rather avoid. When he arrived, he saw that the eternal me which used to be a mixture of fiery reds and oranges now glowed with a gentle golden color. He even noticed somethingpletely different about the me...the fact it had a slight auraing from it. Hephaestus saw him looking at the me and spoke for the first time. "I see youve noticed the changes as well. I need you to exin EXACTLY what happened when you were forging with the eternal mest time. Dont leave out a single detail." Vahn could see the seriousness in her eye and began recalling the events as he remembered. Without mentioning the existence of [Will of the Emperor], he spoke about how he was able to solidify his domain and use it to contain the shape of the ingot when he was heating it. During the process, the eternal me began interfering with his mental energy and started consuming it, but after finalizing the procedure of forming the ingot he was able to concentrate his mana and forcibly sever the connection. As he narrated the events, Hephaestus listened while observing him in silence. She was considering every word Vahn spoke and matching it against her own memories of the event. When Vahn got to the part about how the me started devouring his mental energy, an unprecedented seriousness emanated from her body. She allowed him toplete his recount before asking in a firm tone. "Vahn, you said you grew up with your Grandfather in the forest. Though I feel as if that isnt the whole truth, I need to ask you, have you ever met your parents?" After seeing how serious Hephaestus was, Vahn also adopted a simr atmosphere for himself. He considered his words before speaking the truth. "Though I have a memory of my mother, Ive never met my father. I was taken from my mother when I was very young and raised by a group of terrible people until I reached the age of fourteen. After that, the ce I was held was attacked and I managed to escape after the oversight of one of the attackers. After wandering for a while, I was helped by a kind woman named Klyscha before being dropped off in the Western Forests for training...that is the truth." For the first time since they started associating with each other, Hephaestus couldnt sense any falsehood in Vahns words. As she expected, he wasnt raised by his grandfather and probably used it as an excuse to avoid suspicion. The matters that concerned her now was his actual origins. If he was taken away from his parents and held captive for the majority of his life, he probably cant exin the situation to the extent she requires. As she looked towards the boy who was waiting for her response, Hephaestus began to feel a pain in her heart. Since he was likely telling the truth, that meant he never had the experience of being raised and cared for by a real family. She even thought it was hisck of interactions and social awareness that made him unafraid of her eye... She released a sigh before showing Vahn a caring smile. "Im sorry for questioning you Vahn. It must have been very difficult for you getting this far. From now on I promise I wont let anything like that happen to you again." As they were both close to each other, she pulled Vahn into her embrace and began to gently rub his head. Vahn waspletely taken by surprise by the show of affection. Since he was still tense from the serious atmosphere, he never expected to be spontaneously hugged. At first, he wanted to struggle, but feeling the soft sensation pressing against his face and the soothing motion on the back of his head, Vahn began to rx. He felt all the tension slowly melt away from his body as Hephaestus gently continued her embrace. --- After a surprisingly long amount of time, Hephaestus finally released his head and allowed Vahn to regain his freedom. Vahn felt at a loss when she released her embrace, and his expression caused Hephaestus to turn her head with a blush. "I can hug you moreter...*ahem*. Right now we need to talk about other important matters. I think I may have some clues about your origin, and it will be very important you pay attention or you could be in serious danger if your identity is exposed." Though Vahn was already aware of his origins, he still listened to her words seriously. It was likely her advice would still be important for him, even if it wasnt because of the reason she spected. "First of all, it is very likely that one of your parents was a god or goddess. Without understanding your powers, I cant specte which...but I can say that the other parent was most likely a demi-god or something equal in status. That means your bloodline is significantly purer than most children of gods since you possess three-quarters of a divine heritage. That domain youre able to use is very simr to the divinity possessed by us gods except on a much smaller scale." As she spoke till this point, Hephaestus began to release her own Divinity. From Vahns perspective, he could see the aura around Hephaestuss body grow until it permeated the air around them. He could feel a pressure weighing down on his body, and could actually feel the emotions present in the aura she released. This caused Vahn to feel fl.u.s.tered as, even though the aura was pressuring him, the pink color seemed to infuse with his body and made him feel giddy. Hephaestus was confused while watching Vahn s.u.mb to her Divinity. Like most mortals, he was definitely affected by the pressure, but her aura seemed to have a different effect on his body at the same time. She quickly pulled it back to alleviate the pressure he was experiencing and began to physically inspect his body. Vahn was breathing heavily and could feel his body heating up after Hephaestus released her aura. Even though she had pulled it back, he could still feel the same giddiness causing a fluttering sensation in his chest. When Hephaestus approached and started checking to see if he was hurt, the feeling increased in intensity and he began to panic. From her body, he could smell an aroma that was making it difficult to think and he separated from her touch. Hephaestus was surprised seeing Vahn push her away and open up a distance between them. She could see a blush on his face and a feverish look in his eyes as he seemed to struggle with his rationality. It was at this moment that Hephaestus realized her Divinity must have influenced him strangely and sent him into a state...of arousal. She began to panic as well. Her Divinity was derived from forging and not love or beauty; it shouldnt have the ability to charm people. Hephaestus deduced that it was likely that one of his parents had a synergistic rtionship with forging. It made sense to her seeing the changes in her own eternal me after absorbing Vahns energy...but that was beside the point. Right now she had no idea how to deal with the young boy before her. Hephaestus was not inexperienced with men. Though she never had a long-term partner due to how the other gods treated her, there were several instances where she hooked up with a god after a banquet or ceremony. She kept her dignity during many of the encounters, there were a few very rare instances where she gave in to her passions and slept with them. Though she felt terrible after the fact, it also helped stabilize the trauma she had in her heart. She felt that since people were willing to sleep with her, she wasnt as terrible a monster as they made her feel. It wasnt until she met Hestiater that she underwent a purification ceremony to recover her own chastity. Now, seeing the boy struggle because of her own error, she began to have an internal struggle of her own. He was still very young, and though she wanted to help him, there was no easy way of doing so. In the worst case scenario, she may end up leaving a trauma in his heart after he only recently started interacting with people. While she was trying to rationalize her decision and find her resolve, Vahn was listening to Sis advise him. Even though his mental state was in disorder, he still had enough wherewithal to activate [Will of the Emperor]. Though it was difficult at first, the energy began spreading through his body and suppressing the strange feelings. The familiar cooling sensation began to clear his mind and allowed him to push the skill further until is permeated his entire body and started spreading out in the form of his domain. Hephaestus, who was biting her lip in frustration, noticed the change and saw Vahn regaining his rity. She released a heavy sigh but felt that there was an empty feeling in her heart. It was like she had missed an opportunity, but she ignored the feeling and helped to calm Vahn. "Sorry, Vahn. I didnt expect my Divinity would have that kind of effect on you. Its likely that one of your parents had some rtion to the divinity of forging, and as a result, it causes...a peculiar reaction when absorbed by your body. Fortunately, you were able to counteract the effects with your own pseudo-divine state." She tried speaking rationally, but couldnt hold back a blush from appearing on her face. Vahn listened and nodded mechanically at the exnation. Though it was likely the Divinity that enhanced the effect, Vahn realized that interacting with the auras of people made him able to experience their emotions. He would have to be careful in the future...or the consequences could be irreversible. Chapter 51 - A Strange Affection

Chapter 51 - A Strange Affection

The two stood in the awkward atmosphere for a while before Hephaestus moved to a corner of the room and grabbed a package wrapped in a green ribbon. She handed the package to the confused Vahn and exined the reason behind it. "Its a gift to celebrate your joining of the Familia. Go ahead and open it..." Hephaestus felt awkward giving him the gift after everything that had happened. Vahn opened the package and was surprised to find a strange looking hammer on the inside. He pulled it out and inspected it more closely. The body of the hammer was made of a cool metal wrapped with a fire-resistant cloth. Vahn gripped it and noticed it fit perfectly in his hand, almost like the hammer was an extension of his arm. The head of the hammer was abination of magisteel and a dark red crystalline metal that Vahn had never seen before. The two different metals twisted around each other before converging near the striking area of the hammer. "This is a hammer I personally forged using the magisteel ingot you had created and Hihiirokane metal. Thebination of metals makes the hammer incredibly durable, and since it was partially constructed with magisteel you had tempered yourself, it is extremely receptive to your mana." As Hephaestus began exining the functions of the hammer, she started to be a bit restless. Giving a sidelong nce at Vahn, she continued. "I crafted this hammer to represent my desire for you to be a capable cksmith in the future. It is the culmination of your first sess and my hope that you will one day forge a weapon that can satisfy me..." Vahn continued handling the familiar feeling hammer as he listened. When Hephaestus mentioned him forging a weapon that could satisfy her in the future, he nodded with confidence, unaware of the hidden meaning in the words. After she saw his affirmation, Hephaestus revealed a pleased smile. --- "Okay, Vahn. Now that you have a new hammer, I want you to try creating another ingot. As youve seen for yourself, there have been some changes to the eternal me since yourst visit. I want to see if youre able to properly control the me since the changes were a result of the eternal me assimting your mana." Hephaestus dragged him towards the forge and had him sit down; she wanted to test her theory as soon as possible. Vahn had some inhibitions about working metal using the eternal me, but he believed that there wouldnt be any issues unless he tried infusing his perception into the area immediately surrounding the location of the me. He quickly began to work after taking some magisteel from the solution next to the mouth of the forge. Even though he had yet to activate [Will of the Emperor], Vahn had almost no difficulty refining the metal. Though he could tell the heat from the me was much stronger than his previous visit, it seemed to be much calmer inparison. The strangest thing was after the metal reached a critical state, the mes seemed to automatically redirect the heat away from the metal. Due to the cooperation of the me, Vahn managed to refine the metal while retaining 85% of its total volume. This was even more than when he had used [Will of the Emperor] in his previous attempt. From the side, Hephaestus was watching this entire process with bated breath. Her belief that Vahn descended from a divine lineage based on forging was now firmly cemented in her mind. Vahn continued the process of shaping the ingot but had minimal sess since he hadnt been using his skill to forcibly shape the metal. He wanted to try using his own ability to form the ingot, but after 13 failures he ended up activating [Will of the Emperor] so that heplete the process. This time he avoided the situation of having a sh with the eternal me because he hadnt tried inserting his spiritual sense within the mes dominion. After he was finished, Hephaestus inspected the ingot before giving him an approving nod. "This is very well done considering its only your third time creating an ingot. After you increase your knowledge and improve your techniques, youll be able to begin converting the ingots into weapons and armor." Vahn was happy hearing her praise. It almost made him want to use his OP to try and enhance his [cksmith] skill further, but after seeing his dwindling OP pool, he decided against it. He was nearly out after converting all of his recent spoils into Valis, and he was now even further away frompleting his quest which required 1,000,000. (A/N: Vahn currently has 18,090 OP) "Before we begin discussing your future arrangements, I want your help conducting an experiment Vahn." Vahn, hearing her statement, began paying close attention to Hephaestuss words. "I want you to try imbuing your spiritual energy into the eternal me. Wait, dont give me that look. Let me exin..." Vahn had begun to frown after hearing her request but allowed her to continue. "You see, if my spection is correct you should now be able to interface directly with the eternal me without any difficulties. You should have noticed how cooperative it was when you were refining the ingot. Dont worry, since Im prepared this time, I can guarantee you wont be in any danger." Vahn considered her words and had a few misgivings, but seeing the confidence in Hephaestuss eyes, he sighed and sat back down in front of the forge. He stared into the golden mes while trying to calm his heart...After calming down he began activating [Will of the Emperor] and focused his intent into the dominion of the me. Unlikest time, the me didnt attempt to seize his energy, instead, the aura around the me began to dance excitedly. //Eternal me: Affection +17// Though he was surprised by the notification, Vahn managed to maintain his calm due to the dreamlike quality of the me. Instead of attacking him as it had done previously, the me began to entangle with his energy which caused Vahn to feel a warm and calming sensation within his mind and body. The eternal me seemed to be asking permission to assimte some of his energy, and Vahn released small amounts which caused the me to burn brighter. //Eternal me: Affection +2// From the side, Hephaestus stared at the interaction with a mixture of excitement and curiosity. This further confirmed her suspicions of Vahns origin, but she was curious about which part of his bloodline allowed him to enhance a divine artifact like the eternal me. The eternal me was a product of her own Divinity and it had apanied her ever since her time in Heaven. Though it was now much weaker than its previous state, Vahn was very quickly bringing it to the pinnacle of its former glory. At this rate, she would even be able to forge quasi-divine tier equipment even without her Arcanum. (A/N: Arcanum is the actual godly power that is sealed before they descend from Heaven.) --- Vahn continued infusing his energy into the eternal me while in a dazed state. It wasnt due to him having difficulties maintaining the connection, but because of the information that kept appearing in his mind. //Eternal me: Affection +1// ... //Eternal me: Affection +1// ... //Eternal me: Affection +1// ... //Eternal me: Aff... At this point, the affection of the me had reached 98 points and he was watching the number get ever closer to reaching 100. After an additional ten minutes, Vahn finally got his first person to maximum affection. The moment the number hit 100 a series of rms started sounding throughout his mind. //Eternal me Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Eternal me Wishes to be your subordinate: Y/N?// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: SS Rewards: Gift Function unlocked, 10,000OP, 1x [Hearts Desire:Eternal me] Grade Rewards: [Prometheus:A] Skill unlocked, 1x [Skill Enhancement Scroll:A], 50,000OP [Prometheus] Rank: A Allows the user to condense me seeds that can be imbued into living creatures. Increases the potential of the recipient by a portion of the users capabilities. Each use of this skill causes an intense bacsh to the user. Each sessive use decreases pain tolerance by 10%. (Current:0). At 100%, the use of this skill will result in death. Decays by a rate of 1% per month. Vahn waspletely shocked after seeing all of the notifications. Hephaestus noticed his change, and quickly channeled a strange energy into his back which forcibly severed Vahns connection with the eternal me. "Are you okay, Vahn? Can you tell me what happened? Everything seemed to be going well from what I could tell." Hephaestus was fl.u.s.tered as she promised nothing would happen to him. After seeing he had no visible signs of injury, she released a relieved sigh. Vahnughed awkwardly and exined what he had experienced. He told her that he felt a strange bond with the eternal me and a voice in his head asking him to ept it as his subordinate. Hearing his exnation, it was Hephaestuss turn to be shocked. After all, the eternal me was the product of her Divinity. It was a part of her, and the idea that it would subordinate itself to another was previously outside the realm of possibility. Hephaestus turned to look at the vibrant golden me and almost felt as if it wasmenting at having to separate from Vahn. As an experiment, she grabbed his hand and pulled him further away from the me and noticed the vibrancy fade... "Your bloodline must be more powerful than I imagined...Ive never even heard of someone being able to subordinate the divine artifact of a god." Hephaestus was now bringing Vahn closer to the me, and it seemed toe alive with anticipation. She felt a little betrayed at seeing its reaction, but couldnt me Vahn since it was her request that led to this predicament. Within Vahns mind, the same notification kept popping up over and over. The eternal me seemed intent on having his approval, but without Hephaestuss permission, he wasnt willing to ept. He could see she was struggling internally, so he decided to speak up to alleviate her concerns. "Dont worry Hephaestus. I wouldnt try to take away the items of the people I care about. Im certain the me will return to normal after a while." Hearing Vahn mention people he cares about in reference to her, Hephaestus made up her mind. "No, Vahn. I want to see what happens if youre able to subordinate my me. Since this is an unprecedented situation, I am curious about the result. Besides, I trust that you wouldnt run away with the me after it came into your possession. It needs to reside in a specialized hearth or it would lose its power, so it cant leave from this ce to begin with." Since he had her permission, Vahn decided to agree to have the eternal me as his subordinate. Like Hephaestus, he was very curious about the effects he would receive after the processpleted. Using a mentalmand, he epted the notification and felt a link connecting him and the me within the forge. His mind was spontaneously filled with happy feelings, and he could feel a gentle warmthing from the invisible connection he had established with the eternal me. Though he wasnt able to hear any words, he could understand the intent it was releasing. Following its prompting, Vahn put his hand into the me after making a small incision on his palm. Hephaestus watched the process with fear, trepidation, and a moderate amount of anticipation. She too had a connection with the eternal me, and after Vahn epted it as a subordinate she was able to subtly feel his presence now connected with her soul using the me as an intermediary. After his hand was ced into the me, his blood turned into particles of light which were absorbed into the aura of the eternal me. After they vanished, the me wrapped around his hand and imbued part of itself into his body. It flowed through the energy channels of his body before settling itself within his heart. //[Heart of the Eternal me:SS] Obtained// [Heart of the Eternal me] Rank:SS Passive: Gives the possessor perfect affinity with the element of fire. Enhances blood cirction and stamina recovery. Immune to all yang based fires below Soul Tier: 4 Active: Allows attacks to possess a burning effect. Vahn had gained yet another skill, and he could feel a powerful energy like molten metal through his body. His heart felt like a furnace as it pumped the energy-rich blood through his body. (A/N: Alternate Title: A zing Affection!!! Next Chapter Teaser: Cyclops of the Twin Peaks!?) Chapter 52 - Embrace

Chapter 52 - Embrace

Hephaestus was surprised at seeing the eternal me imbue a fragment of its essence into Vahns heart. She could now feel the rhythm of his heartbeat gently echo within the interior of her soul. It was almost imperceptible, but when she focused she was easily able to detect its presence. Since the eternal spirit was a part of her and had now imbued itself into Vahn, they now had a permanent connection with each other that could never be severed. This thought caused her own heartbeat to elerate as she looked at the young boy that had introduced so much mystery and intrigue into her life. Vahn could feel something within him draw his gaze towards Hephaestus. He saw her aura was gently radiating like the warm glow of the sun. It had a mellow yellow color tinged with pink. When he made eye contact, she gave the most radiant smile he had ever seen on her face... //[Hephaestus]: Affection +8// //[Hephaestus]: Affection has reached Affection:90[Fated Bond?], Intrigue:100[Overprotective]// Within his mind, Vahn could see her affection update and the notification for the hearts desire quest now had two active notifications. Though he was confused about the sudden change in the situation, Vahn returned the smile since he was able to feel her care and concern and wanted to reciprocate the feelings. --- After Vahn had subordinated the eternal me, Hephaestus was relieved seeing that the core of the me still existed within the forge. She would still be able to continue her livelihood in the future and had one fewer concern to deal with. Now she could focus her attention on resolving the biggest problem before her, dealing with Vahns unique circ.u.mstances. "Vahn, as we discussed previously, you need to protect your identity until you are strong enough to defend yourself against outside threats. Once you are exposed as a demi-god that can activate a pseudo-divine state, many Familia will actively try to get their hands on you. In the worst case scenario, they may even try to have you assassinated to prevent future troubles. I will do my best to protect you and provide support, but for now, I will leave your protection and training to my most trusted child, Tsubaki." Vahn nodded his head and listened in silence. At this point, they were both sitting on the couch in her office, and they were in close enough proximity that he could feel the body heat radiating from her. To prevent himself from being distracted, he pushed his focus to the limits while trying to maintain his facial expression. Ever since the event with her Divinity earlier, Vahn was overly conscious of her presence. As she continued exining, Hephaestus started to blush slightly because she was able to feel Vahns heartbeat elerating. Though he was showing a stoic and honest appearance, she was aware he was putting a lot of effort into maintaining his demeanor. "Tomorrow morning, I will apany you to her residence. Once we arrive, I want you to live there from now on. She will be able to train you in smithing while helping improve yourbat abilities. Since she is both a Master Smith and Level 5 Adventurer, she is the most qualified person in the City to help increase your strength. I have already let her know of our visit, and she has closed her workshop to all but her contracted clientele until you are capable of defending yourself." Hearing that he would be staying with a master cksmith and level 5 adventurer, Vahn was pretty excited. However, once he heard she would be closing her workshop to help him, Vahn began to worry. "Wouldnt it hurt her livelihood if she drops everything just to help me train? Im capable of increasing my strength on my own, I dont want people to have to sacrifice their wellbeing at my expense." In response to his concerns, Hephaestus covered her mouth and simplyughed. Vahn wanted to ask why she wasughing, but Hephaestus took the initiative in exining. "Tsubaki has .u.mted quite an amount of wealth over the years. If she wanted to she could retire at any time and live the rest of her life in luxury without any concerns. As one of the few Master cksmiths in the City, she can make several tens of millions of Valis on a single contract. Right now she manages seven active contracts and earns more than 300,000,000 Valis a year without having to leave her workshop." Vahn was stunned hearing the astronomical numbers. He remembered that the dagger Hestia obtained for Bell was worth 200,000,000 Valis, but he didnt think a mortal cksmith would have such insane earning potential. He began to get excited at the opportunity of vastly increasing his own wealth in the future. --- After Vahns mind was blown by Hephaestuss statement, the two continued talking about various topics untilte into the night. At some point, the distance between them had shrunk even further, and Hephaestus used the opportunity to hug him as she had previously. She used the excuse that she had promised to hug him again earlier, and this was her making good on her word. Vahn didnt resist and just allowed himself to rest in her embrace. Though he never realized it before, it was very calming to be held by another person. It felt like, deep in his heart, something that had been lost was slowly being regained. He was sofortable in Hephaestuss arms that he even began to fall asleep... --- "Wake up Vahn. There isnt much time left in the day and youll need to prepare everything before tomorrow morning." Hephaestus gently roused Vahn who had fallen asleep in her arms. Seeing his peacefully sleeping expression, she was almost unwilling to awaken him but knew it was necessary. Vahn reluctantly removed himself from her embrace and released a long yawn while stretching. He shook the sleep out of his body before looking into Hephaestuss smiling face. Seeing her calm after he fell asleep in her arms, Vahn was somewhat embarrassed. He continued stretching out his body to hide this fact, but Hephaestus could easily see through his attempts due to their current bond. (A/N: WTF, writing the first sentence made me yawn.) After bidding farewell, Vahn finally left Hephaestuss workshop. On his way out he passed by the security guards who had continued holding their perimeter since he first arrived. Vahn was very impressed with their dedication and professionalism. When the head guard, Zaff, saw the tired boy exit the building he approached with a somewhat callous expression on his face. "Hehe, you kept us waiting for quite a while kid. Had I known you were going to be inside for five hours I would have split my men into shifts." Vahn gave a helpless shrug before politely bowing and apologizing for the inconvenience. Given the current time, he had been napping for nearly an hour and a half which caused the men to have to wait outside even longer. Though he didnt state the reason, he honestly issued his apology and promised to treat the men if the opportunity presented itself in the future. Zaffughed and informed his men who gave a loud, albeit tired sounding, hurrah. He then split the group and had some men send a message to their headquarters to arrange for a personnel transfer. Then, noticing Vahn was still in the area, he patted the young boy on the back and sent him on his way. "Make sure not to cause any trouble for the Lady, you hear?" Vahn nodded before making his way through the darkness towards the inn. --- After making his way through the entrance, Vahn almost felt his soul leave his body when he saw the face of Lili who had apparently been waiting for him. From her expression and aura, he could tell she was very angry with a bit of concern mixed in. Without saying anything, she stood from the chair she was sitting in and came very close to his body...and began sniffing. "You told me you had business with the Hephaestus Familia, but now youe home with a womans scent on your body." Lili sighed after recognizing the presence of the foreign aroma. Judging by how prominent it was, he was likely in contact with a girl for several hours. Vahn noticed she was disappointed, probably assuming he had lied as an excuse to have a rendezvous with a woman without her knowing. He sighed and shook his head before exining the situation. "I was with a woman, but it wasnt anything I need to keep secret. I was meeting with Hephaestus herself and we were talking about my future living arrangements. Various other things happened, but it wasnt like what youre expecting..." Vahns words began to trail at the end after remembering the incident with Hephaestuss Divinity. Lili saw the change of expression and almost red up, but just gave an exasperated sigh instead. She remembered that she was making an effort to ovee her selfish tendencies, but found it hard to contain herself when it came to Vahn. After calming herself down, she asked about what had been arranged. Vahn exined the details and that he would be staying with the Captain of the Hephaestus Familia to train his cksmithing andbat capabilities. He also discussed the ns for Lilis future training and that she should continue her morning routine for tomorrow until he was able to discuss things with Tsubaki. As long as Tsubaki agreed, he wanted Lili to train there as well. As for their afternoon ventures into the dungeon, Vahn was determined to keep doing so. Even if Tsubaki refused to train Lili he would be able to impart what he had learned to her in the dungeonter in the day. Lili recognized the name Tsubaki, as she was quite famous within the City. Though she had never seen her, there were plenty of rumors in regards to her skill as both a cksmith and adventurer. She knew it was a good opportunity for Vahn, and it made her happy hearing that he had taken her into consideration when talking about the future. She decided to forgive him for arriving sote but resolved to find out his exact rtionship with Hephaestus in the future. Lili didnt have a lot of confidence she couldpete with a goddess... After their discussion, Lili showed him where she had ced all of the weapons that had been delivered in the afternoon. Vahn stored away all but the hammer since Lili intended to use it for her training in the morning. The two then made their way to their rooms and Vahn gave Lili a hug as he had been doing so ever since the first instance. At this point, it had be a routine that concluded the end of their day, but Vahn felt strangepared to all the previous times. Unlike when he was being hugged by Hephaestus, Vahn didnt feel much security in the embrace. It felt like he was holding onto something fragile and it stirred his feelings of wanting to protect the small girl in his arms. After they parted ways, Vahn began pondering the difference between the two embraces within his mind. He wondered if Lili felt the same way he did when he was being embraced by Hephaestus. If so, he could empathize with her desire to be held. He had felt sofortable being held by Hephaestus that he even fell asleep while enjoying her warmth. Laying in his bed, Vahn roused the memories from that moment and reyed the scene within his mind. During his absentminded state he could feel the eternal me pulsing in his chest. It seemed to beforting him in a very simr manner as Hephaestus. He quietly listened to the gentle rhythm and slowly embraced theing sleep filled with aforting warmth. Chapter 53 - Cyclops : Harsh Lesson

Chapter 53 - Cyclops : Harsh Lesson

Vahn awoke early the next morning and apanied Lili to the City gates. He still had time before his meetup with Hephaestus, so he decided to enjoy the sunrise with Lili before she started her training. Lili was very pleased with the decision and spent the entire breakfast period humming away while happily eating the crepe Vahn had taken from his storage. (A/N: Seriously guys, I had some amazing seafood crepes and I cant help but write about them!) After reminding her to take her training seriously, Vahn parted ways after Lili exited through the gate. Though he still had plenty of time, Vahn headed towards Hephaestuss workshop. On his way, he could feel the eternal me in his chest pulsate in a slightly more powerful manner. He enjoyed the feeling as he slowly made his way through the early morning traffic toward his destination. --- Vahn arrived outside the workshop nearly two hours before the designated time. The shop was currently closed, so he loitered around the area and just watched as residents of the City went about their day. He often found himself surprised at the sheer number of people in this world, and the variety of shapes and sizes they came in. As the people made their way without taking notice of his observations, Vahn found himself wondering what each of their stories were. Unlike the manga that only showed a limited number of characters, he now saw hundreds of unique people that all had their own stories. Each of them had a past that shaped their current life, desires that determined their current state of mind, and goals that helped pave the way towards their future. Though it had only been around eight months since he entered this world, and barely three weeks since he entered the City, Vahn found his current life to be infinitely more enriching than the entire 14 years of his previous life. He wondered how his future actions would shape his experiences even further into the future, and even began to imagine if he would ever interact with some of the people who moved aboutpletely unaware of his current thoughts. --- With more than an hour still remaining, Vahns reverie was interrupted by the sound of the door opening from behind. He saw Hephaestus giving him a bemused look with an awkward smile on her face. Though he was still a little absentminded, Vahn instinctually spoke the words that came to his lips. "Good morning, Hephaestus." --- Hephaestus had been observing Vahn crowd-watching almost since his arrival. When he had been making his way towards her workshop, she was able to vaguely sense his approach. Over time the feeling grew more powerful until she felt he was very near. From inside the workshop, Hephaestus had been waiting on the other side of the door for Vahn to knock, but after nothing had happened for several minutes she decided to peek through the window to see what he was up to. She saw that he was staring into the crowd in a daze while watching people pass by. In his expression, she could see feelings of mncholy, hope, and even expectation. Afraid of interrupting his thoughts, she just idly watched him for nearly an hour before breaking out of her own reverie and deciding to invite him inside. When she heard him greet her, the awkward feelings she had been experiencing immediately faded away. She returned a gentle smile and reciprocated his greeting. "Good morning Vahn. Come inside, Ill pour you a drink before we head out." Vahn nodded in response and entered through the door at her invitation. They sat at a table where Hephaestus would often negotiate with her customers. There was a kettle for tea and coffee nearby, and Hephaestus filled two cups before passing one to Vahn. Vahn epted the cup and deeply inhaled the rich fragrance, still not fully free from his earlier state of mind. He felt at peace and wanted the experience tost for as long as the circ.u.mstances would allow. Hephaestus was aware of his present state and allowed him to enjoy the coffee in silence. She just sat at his side with a rxed expression of her own while periodically sipping at the contents of her cup. She very much enjoyed the current atmosphere, and the steady beating of Vahns heart within her soul brought her a rare peace of mind. It had been longer than she could remember since she was able to simply enjoy the process of existing without worry. --- Unfortunately, all things muste to an end, and time ceases for no man, woman, or god. The moment for their departure had arrived, and the two released simultaneous sighs and smiled after the realization they had simr reactions as each other. Hephaestus cleaned away the cups before leading Vahn outside the workshop and locking the door behind her. He noticed that, once she had secured the lock, a formation had activated that prevented anyone from approaching the building. Seeing the curious look on his face, Hephaestus exined it was to prevent anyone from trying to steal her crafts while she was away. She also let him in on a secret and told him that the surrounding buildings were all a front for her security service. Even if there was nobody inside, there were always people watching the workshop. --- The two made their way through the City and Hephaestus pointed outndmarks and buildings she was familiar with. As she had been in Orario for several years, she had an extensive knowledge of the importantndmarks and noteworthy features and sights. Vahn enjoyed the conversation and even contributed a bit of his own while updating the minimap ording to her descriptions. After two hours they arrived at their destination. They were now in the north-east section of the City, in argely residential district belonging entirely to the Hephaestus Familia. Since Hephaestus had an agreement with the Guild, all members of the Familia were allocated their own workshop and living space. Though many opened shops within Babel, there were a number of veteran smiths that operated solely from within their homes. The building they presently stood before was the only eastern style house in the area. Vahn found the appearance pleasing as he had only seen such structures in anime and manga previously. He was excited to be able to explore its interior and even live within the premises starting from today onwards. They made their way through the courtyard and entered the front of the building through a door that had been left ajar. After Vahn stepped inside, he came face-to-face for the first time with the woman that would torment him endlessly in the future, Tsubaki Collbrande. She was presently sitting on the floor while polishing a deadly looking katana. From what Vahn could see, the only clothing on her body was a red hakama hanging somewhat loosely around her waist, and a sarashi wrapped around thergest pair of b.r.e.a.s.ts he had ever set his eyes on. She also wore an eyepatch on her left eye, the inverse of Hephaestuss who covered her right. Noticing the presence of the two intruders, Tsubaki red towards them with a fearsome gaze until she recognized who had entered. Her expression immediately morphed into a more pleasant look, and she sheathed the katana before standing to greet them. "Wee to my humble workshop Hephaestus-sama. My apologies that you have toe all the way here. And you...must be Vahn?" As she asked the question, she quickly approached the unsuspecting Vahn. In his surprise, Vahn subconsciously took a step back but it was futile. Tsubaki had managed to approach him within an instant and stopped just inches away from his face. As she was much taller than Vahn at 170cm, she had to bend over to make eye contact. In doing so, Vahn could see her b.r.e.a.s.ts beneath her body sway. Vahn tried relieving some of the awkward tension. "Good morning Ms. Collbrande. Hephaestus told me you would be teaching me about cksmithing andbat techniques." As he spoke, Tsubaki continued to stare at him as a smile grew increasinglyrger on her face. "Ehhh, I can see why Hephaestus-sama rambles on about you, youre quite the adorable little kid. Do you mind if I hug you?" Vahn was stunned and tried to respond, but before he could answer she hugged him regardless of his intent. Thest thing he saw before he lost sight was the looming approach of the monstrous peaks crashing down on his face. Hephaestus watched with an irked expression as Tsubaki buried Vahn within her chest. She wanted tosh out but had to restrain herself so she didnt lose any face in front of Vahn. "Tsubaki, I think that is more than enough. If you continue any longer he might suffocate to death." She spoke each word in an exasperated manner. Even though Tsubaki was trustworthy and respectful, she also had a wild and untamed nature that even Hephaestus found difficult at times. --- Tsubaki released Vahn and he began gasping for air. Thebination of her raw strength hugging his head into her chest hadpletely prevented him from breathing. Even though he struggled for a bit at first, there was such arge difference in their strength that Vahn was powerless to resist. The only thing he could do was resign himself to his fate until Hephaestus had thrown him a lifeline. Afterward, she showed him to his room before moving into a side room and having a discussion with Hephaestus. Vahn assumed it likely had to do with his circ.u.mstances, but he wasnt worried as he had a lot of trust in Hephaestus. Tsubaki herself also had an aura that showed she was trustworthy when Vahn included the fact that she had values of 66 and 73 for affection and intrigue after their brief meeting. Vahn sat in the room and patiently waited for the conversation to end. After about half an hour, both Hephaestus and Tsubaki exited before thetter dragged him to arge open area in the courtyard. At a nce, Vahn was able to easily recognize this was an area for training. There were mannequins and bamboo pirs lined up throughout the area and even some strange contraptions that likely assisted in the development of martial arts. On the side, Vahn could see various different weapons that seemed to get increasingly heavier when viewed from left to right. Tsubaki opened a distance between Vahn who was looking around. Though he wasnt fearful, he immediately became alert since Hephaestus was standing off to the side. This left him in a position away from the two women, and he began to feel his muscles slowly begin to tense in response to his instincts. "Oh? You have pretty good instincts. I was going to try and attack you while you were goofing around, but this makes things more interesting." The moment her words ended, Tsubaki literally vanished from Vahns vision. He instinctively activated his [Will of the Emperor] but, in the several milliseconds it took for the skill to reach its full effect, Vahn was already tumbling through the sky. His vision changed multiple times between the sky and earth before he finally crashed hard into the dirt clearing. As Tsubaki often used this grounds for training, the grounds had bepacted over time. This made what would have usually been a soft fall incredibly painful for Vahn who had just crashed into it. "Haha, arent you way too weak? Hephaestus-sama said you had the blood of gods inside you, but even with that skill that makes even me feel pressured, you werent able to respond to my movements. Whats the point of having a skill if you cant make use of it when youre in danger?" Vahn slowly raised his body from the ground. His [Will of the Emperor] was fully active, and he got into abat stance he learned from the CQC manual. He knew the moment he stood up she would probably attack, and he wanted to at least be able to react this time. "Oh, good resolve. Very good! I like that expression on your face right now! But-" Tsubaki who had been nodding in approval vanished once again. Even though she had been in the range of his domain, Vahn was still unable to sense her at all. After less time than it takes to blink, Vahn felt a presence from his right and tried to react, only to experience a powerful blow sweep his legs out from under him from the direction he just turned away from. For the second time in less than a minute, Vahn ended up experiencing the life of a coin that had been flipped effortlessly through the air. When hended, Vahn felt the wind escape his lungs as a shockwave of pain spread through his body. He struggled for air while Tsubaki stood at the same spot where she initiated her two previous attacks. "Dont rest for too long Vahn, we still have a lot to cover before concluding our warmup." Vahn, who had finally begun to recover his breathing, once again started struggling for air after hearing the ruthless but happy sounding words. For the first time since he arrived in this world, he began to regret the path he walked... (A/N: Alternate Title: Cyclops of the Twin Peaks) Chapter 54 - Self-Awareness

Chapter 54 - Self-Awareness

No matter how many times Vahn recovered, he was never able to track Tsubakis movements. As the spar progressed his [Will of the Emperor] was constantly being pushed to new heights, but even with the increased parameters and perception each of her movements was instantaneous and a blur. Even when he thought he could react, the direction of the attack would suddenly change before he was able to adapt. This continued for nearly half an hour, and during that time Vahn had grown intimately familiar with the ground. "Even though youre so small and cute, youre actually quite tough arent you? Im surprised youre able to get up after being knocked down a few dozen times. Nice guts!" Tsubaki wasughing loudly with both arms akimbo. Vahn slowly stood up from the ground yet again. "57..." He spoke the words silently, but Tsubaki was able to hear him. "Eh, what was that kid? Speak up, go ahead and shout if you want!" Vahn grits his teeth and assumed his stance. "You have thrown me 57 times..." Hearing his words clearly, Tsubaki nodded her head andughed out loud. "Hahaha, thats right! I was trying to be nice and make the number sound smaller. Who would have thought you were keeping count. Come, Vahn! How about you try to attack me and have your revenge?" Vahn stared at her and weighed his options. He was trying to find the best way to attack, but everywhere he looked his instincts seemed to scream against taking action. Theid-back appearance of Tsubaki standing before him looked as if it was full of ws, but every gap, every avenue of approach was entirely invalidated by the status and skill difference. "Why stand if youre going to hesitate? Its good to be cautious of your opponent, but youll never make progress if you dont move. If you cant find an opening, MAKE ONE! Nowe at me, Vahn!" She stepped forward and motioned Vahn to attack while gesturing with her hand. Vahn used the moment when she took the step to charge at her. He tried keeping his body low to the ground and aim for her abdomen with a palm strike. From above, he could sense the presence of a shadow which pressed into the back of his head and caused him to facent into the ground. Tsubaki used the momentum of his charge to knock him off bnce before sitting on his back andughing. "Nice momentum! But ovemitting to an attack leaves you open to your opponents counterattack. Youll have to do better than that if you want to put your hands on me~" Her words weighed heavily in Vahns mind, as he had previously said something very simr in his spars with Lili. He began to realize he had been grossly overestimating his own capabilities since he made the same mistakes against stronger opponents. Heid on the ground in contemtion until Tsubaki pinched the side of his waist. Vahn flinched up and tried to buck her off of his back and escape the pressing of her ass against his body. "Haha, what are you spacing out for Vahn? See, arent you still quite lively? Come on, you can knock me off! Fight, Vahn, Fight~!" From the side, Hephaestus was presently facepalming. She knew Tsubaki had a habit of teasing people, but she seemed to be umonly interested in Vahn. After their conversation about Vahns lineage, she noticed that Tsubaki became very interested in the prospect of helping him polish his skills. Unfortunately, Vahn would have to suffer quite a bit before he was able to make any real progress. "Tsubaki, make sure youre not too harsh on him. I have other matters to attend. Make sure to let me know if anything happens that youre unable to deal with on your own." Hephaestus had already made a lot of time to apany Vahn, but being one of the most prolific and sought-after cksmiths in the City kept her busy most of the time. Tsubaki heard her remark and just waved goodbye as she continued pinning the still struggling Vahn. --- Several minutester, Vahn had ceased his struggles. No matter how much he tried, it was almost like Tsubaki was able to anticipate his movements and maintain her bnce. As soon as he thought he might regain his freedom, he would be firmly nted back into the ground. Now, he justy on the ground as Tsubakis weight pressed against his back. In the stillness, he noted that the sensation of her body was both firm and soft, which created a contradiction in his mind that confused him. While hey there, Tsubaki once again pinched his waist, but Vahn just flinched and bore the pain. Seeing that he had ceased ying along, Tsubaki finally got up from his body. "Yousted a lot longer than I expected. I can see you trained yourself seriously and you even possess a fair amount of theoretical knowledge and skill. The biggest problem is the fact your foundation is severelycking. Tell me, have you ever fought a human opponent before?" Vahn recalled that he had never really used his skill to fight against opponents that were his equal or stronger. Though he had fought humans before, they were much weaker than him and it was a one-sided ughter due to his enraged state. "I have, but they werent skilled. I also spar with another person daily, but its mostly me teaching her some basics." Tsubaki nodded after hearing his exnation. It seemed she expected something simr since Vahn seemed to overestimate himself and possessed a bit of confidencemon in young boys. "Well, from now on Ill be helping you improve. Knowledge is a powerful tool, but when ites to real battle you can only rely on experience to protect yourself and guarantee victory. Come, stand, its time for our real lessons to begin." Tsubaki helped Vahn rise from the ground and burst outughing after seeing his disheveled state. "Brown doesnt suit you Vahn. You need to get stronger quickly or youll get teased by women." Vahn looked at his mostly dirt covered body and gave a helpless sigh. --- For the next few hours, Tsubaki had Vahn demonstrate all of hisbat rted skills and abilities. She also tested the efficacy of his domain to get a better understanding of its functionality. Seeing the enhancements it provided, Tsubaki was actually very surprised at the power of the domain. At present, she expected Vahn would be a match for anyone under the peak of Level 2. Of course, she also knew that the skill wouldnt provide him many benefits against specialized or significantly stronger enemies. "That pseudo-divine state of yours is pretty terrifying. It allows you to fight nearly an entire ss above your current Level. However, it has some pretty big ws that will end up costing you your life if you dont correct them." Vahn was currently using his [Will of the Emperor] and the area of influence had expanded to nearly 60m. Though Tsubaki couldnt see it, she was able to sense its presence. Tsubaki approached and stopped a short distance away from Vahn. "The biggest problem is actually the size of the area. Though it enhances your perception and allows you to track things within the sphere of influence-" While she spoke Tsubaki suddenly sent a palm towards Vahns face. The moment she got close to him, Vahn was already on alert so he moved to block the strike. Tsubaki altered the trajectory of her palm and gently ced it against his chest without any power. "You are too reliant on the perception afforded by the skill. Though youre able to respond in time to attacks, you trust your initial senses too much and are unable to respond to feints. For opponents that are much faster or stronger than you, they can use your preliminary response to create gaps in your defense. You need to hone your own senses without relying on the skill or else you wont even know how you died in the future." She opened up the distance a bit and allowed Vahn to process her words. Once he appeared to be ready, she continued. "I know you can alter the size and focus of your domain, so I want you to decrease it to a size where you can immediately respond. It shouldnt be muchrger than the range of your instantaneous striking distance." Vahn followed her instructions and reduced the size of the domain whilepressing it slightly. The smallest size he could get it to was 3m, simr to when he was forging with the eternal me. Tsubaki seemed to be very impressed with the domains current state. Though it was still somewhat abstract, she was able to vaguely see the outline of the domain around his body. "Three meters is a pretty decent size, but you shouldnt give up on trying to improve it further. Youll also need to work on reducing the visibility of the aura or people will be able to easily adapt to your range." The moment her words finished, Tsubaki vanished from his vision and Vahn drew in a cold breath. This was the same phenomenon that had led him to eat dirt 57 times previously. From the left, just outside his periphery, Vahn sensed an iing blow and moved to intercept. Unlike all his previous attempts, he was actually able to, very briefly, brush against the iing strike. However, before he had time to be happy his vision began to flip and he was reunited with the ground for the 58th, no, the 59th time... Tsubaki dusted off her hands since they had gotten a bit of dirt on them while throwing Vahn. "As expected, with the reduced size of the domain youre able to work around your shorings a bit. Since you dont respond as quickly to the iing strikes, it makes your defense more solid since your opponent has less time to change the trajectory of their blows. This should be the most practical use of your ability until you improve your techniques and senses." Vahn justy on the ground recovering, but he was still a bit happy to make a little bit of progress. "Stand up, Vahn, I want to see if it was just a fluke. Come on, at this rate, we might even be able to get to one-hundred tosses before lunch!" Tsubaki was in high spirits, but Vahn wasmenting his misfortune once again. Though he was thankful she was helping him improve, he still wanted to get revenge of some kind during one of the exchanges. --- Vahn continued getting tossed around like a ragdoll by the cheerfullyughing busty cksmith. At this point, she was loudly shouting each sessive throw and the number had reached 98. She seemed determined to reach 100 before concluding the training, a fact Vahn felt very disheartening. For thest few throws, he hardly resisted and just allowed her to freely toss his body. His focus was on trying to rebound from the impact, since no matter how hard he struggled he was unable to deflect the iing strike. After the 99th throw, Tsubaki was literally cheering with excitement. "Hahaha, only one more throw remaining. Come on Vahn, you can do it! Dont give up right at the end!" She was enthusiastically encouraging him to stand. From her uncovered eye, Vahn could see a happy and expectant gleam within its depths. He grits his teeth and literally made hisst stand. The reason he had beenpliant for thest few throws was to make her drop her guard and conserve his strength. Though Vahn didnt believe he would be able to get the better of Tsubaki, he was determined to make onest-ditch effort. Seeing him stand, Tsubaki loudly shouted, "Haha, well done Vahn! I knew you had the backbone! Here~I~Come! Vahn brought his focus to the absolute limits as Tsubakis form disappeared from his sight. He could sense her approach from behind, and he directed all of his intent in the most concentrated burst he could manage directly towards the approaching figure. He then twisted around as quickly as he was able and tried intercepting the blow with a palm strike only for his brain to register an incredibly soft and pliant resistance instead of an impact. The two stood there and nkly stared at the hand Vahn had used to counterattack. Firmly nted within the palm of his right hand existed Tsubakis left b.r.e.a.s.t. Due to the size, his hand had visibly sunk into the pliable flesh leaving an indentation against the sarashi. Vahn began to feel a cold sweat drip down his back as he looked into the gleaming eye of the woman before him. After a brief pause, Tsubaki began beaming at Vahn who was identally taking liberties with her body. In response, Vahn removed his hand and tried to apologize, but Tsubaki prevented him from doing so by hugging his head into her chest simr to their first meeting. She began to loudlyugh while smothering him. "Hahaha, you cheeky little kid. Is this your idea of revenge?" Laughter echoed in his ears as Vahn slowly lost consciousness due to asphyxiation. Chapter 55 - 2 - 99

Chapter 55 - 2 - 99

Vahn awoke due to a peculiar aroma wafting into the room where Tsubaki hadid him to rest. (A/N: Unintentional pun?). Though it didnt smell bad, there was a strange burning smell apanying the smell of food. He made his way out of his room and headed towards the source of the aroma. He entered a kitchen-like area where Tsubaki was currently using a wok to fry rice. She noticed his presence and gave him a cheeky grin while continuing to add seasoning to the dish. "Oh, youre awake so soon kiddo? Dreamt about me?" Vahn shuddered and almost retorted that, instead of a dream, it would have been a nightmare given how much she had tormented him earlier. "Im sorry about earlier, I didnt mean to touch your chest..." Tsubaki lowered the me and added a bit of soy sauce before turning towards Vahn. "Boo, boo, what kind of attitude is that for a man? You should be more assertive even if you make a mistake or women will take advantage of you. What would you do if I was unwilling to forgive you, huh?" As she spoke she walked towards Vahn and hugged her b.r.e.a.s.ts with her arms, lifting them up to make them stand out more. Vahn turned his head away, unsure of how to answer the question. If she didnt forgive him, what could he do besides continue apologizing? Could he leave the Familia or run away and avoid making the situation worse? His thoughts were interrupted when Tsubaki chopped the top of his head. "Such a kid. Youll break a girls heart acting like that someday. You think I care if someone stares at my chest when I walk around wearing a sarashi? Look all you want, hell, you can even try touching them if youre brave enough. Of course, I might have to punish you if you do! Tsubakiughed at Vahn who was rubbing his head with damp eyes. The chop of a Level 5 Adventurer isnt light. Tsubaki returned to preparing lunch after harumphing towards the unassertive Vahn. Though she liked cute and adorable things, she preferred men to have a more stable and forward mentality. Even if he apologized, he should still be happy or proud of his ability to not only catch her off guard but even take advantage of the situation to gain some minor benefits. Instead, all she saw was a genuine apologetic expression like he didnt even consider the act as something significant. As someone who always lived openly and took pride in herself, Tsubaki was mildly annoyed by Vahns actions. She decided to make sure he became more manly during their training, or else Hephaestus would end up being at her wits end in the future. Seeing how Hephaestus had lost herself during their conversation earlier, Tsubaki was certain she had more than a simple appreciation for Vahn and his origins. --- The two sat around a short table and Tsubaki served him arge portion of fried rice. Though it had a peculiar smell, Vahn found it kind of enticing. Within the bowl, he could see eggs and small vegetables throughout the crispy grains. After tasting it, he began to quickly eat before asking for another serving. "Well done, at least you know how to eat!" Tsubaki gave him another healthy serving. "Make sure you eat a lot so you can grow big and strong in the future. Eating is a sign of good health and a strong body after all." Finishing her words, Tsubaki started eating her own healthy portion of rice. Simr to Vahn, she waspletely unrestrained during the act which should have been off-putting, but Vahn found it very refreshing. He found her eating methods very like her, and couldnt even imagine her seated in a restrained manner like all the other women he had seen eating. Vahn smiled and continued his own meal in a simrly unrestrained manner, which Tsubaki saw as a sign of a challenge. The two continued eating in apetitive manner until the family sized portion of rice had vanished. --- The twoid on their backs from their seats around the table. Since they had both gotten really into the petition they ended up eating much more than either of them would normally eat. Tsubaki suddenly startedughing from the opposite side of the table. "Though you got a bit of a head start, looks like this one was your victory. I guess that makes us 2 - 99! Keep it up and you might be able to close the gap sooner orter." She continuedughing and Vahn just closed his eyes while enjoying the afterglow of the delicious meal. He began thinking that living here wouldnt be so bad. --- After the meal, Vahn was preparing to leave for the dungeon. He had already informed Tsubaki about his training and partnership with Lili. He exined a bit about her circ.u.mstances and that he was helping improve her strength so she could control her own destiny. Tsubaki, after hearing Vahn ask if he could bring her to train with him in the future, willingly allowed him to do so. "Sure. I want to see the girl that Little Vahn took it upon himself to protect. I wonder what kind of child she is to make you spend so much effort for her? Hehehe, Im sure Hephaestus would like to know as well." Tsubaki heavily patted his back repeatedly whileughing at the thought. Vahn, on the receiving end of the heavy blows, began to feel like his spine was cracking under the pressure. "Oh, speaking of which, I wonder how shell react when she finds out you touched my b.r.e.a.s.ts! Hehe, I wonder if she will be jealous?" Hearing her words, Vahn began to feel an impending doom creep up on him. His heartbeat began to elerate and he could feel a strange sensation present in its depths. --- On the other side of the City, Hephaestus was heavily mming her hammer into a piece of metal. Each strike would send sparks flying from the superheated metal, and she was a bit annoyed at seeing her rtiveck of control. She wasnt sure why, but ever since earlier she began to feel an itchy sensation in her chest that caused her moderate difort. She decided to take a break and wiped her brow clean of sweat. After enjoying a cool drink of water, Hephaestus noticed that her heart rate was increasing. In confusion, she started paying attention only to realize it was not her heart but the connection she shared with Vahn. The gentle rhythm that brought herfort previously was now chaotic and she could feel subtle feelings of unease and guilt disrupting the steady pulse. She looked towards the direction of Tsubakis workshop and disyed a frown. "Why do I feel like I need to punish them both..." --- After leaving Tsubakis workshop, Vahn made his way to Babel za where he met up with Lili who was already waiting for him. Though he still had her backpack in his storage, she was really easy to find as her small frame stood out in contrast to the giant hammer resting against her shoulder. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Lili. I got held back after training and lunch." Vahn smiled and approached her, but started slowing his pace after seeing her expression. Like she had done so previously, Lili got near him and began smelling his body. "Vahn, why is it that every time were apart youe back smelling like a different woman. Even if you were sparring with someone, you wouldnt absorb so much of their fragrance!" She was moving around his body and smelling various different locations. Her frown became especially deep when she smelled the subtle scenting from the small of his back. Instead of the typical body odor, it smelled like a real womanly scent. She couldnt help but ask the question that came to her mind. "Vahn, did you let someone ride you?" The look on her face was very serious, and she stared directly into his eyes almost daring him to lie. Hearing the awkward question, Vahn released a long sigh after recalling his period of suffering. He knew her nose was very sensitive in her cat person form, and she seemed especially sensitive to his smell making it hard to hide the truth. He nodded before saying, "Yeah, Tsubaki had pinned me to the ground after I tried to attack her. She prevented me from escaping for nearly half an hour before I ran out of strength." Lili listened to Vahns exnation, and even though she knew he wasnt speaking in a s.e.x.u.a.l context, she almost wanted to smack him for using such misleading words! Shemented at how dense he could be at times and decided she needed to put in more effort so he doesnt cause any troubles in the future. After his slip, Vahn continued exining everything that had happened that morning as the two made their way into the dungeon. Lili, who had still been angry since earlier, instantly became excited after hearing Vahn mention she would be able to stay at Tsubakis workshop in the future. This not only allowed her to improve the quality of her training, but she would also be able to keep tabs on Vahn so he doesnt end up getting yed to death by that Cyclops. --- Vahn was very mentally exhausted from the events of the day, so they leisurely made their way through the dungeon at a slower pace than normal. This didnt mean he dropped his focus, as he was still using [Will of the Emperor], but he found fighting the monsters dissatisfying. After experiencing the might of a peak Level 5 Adventurer, every movement of the monsters seemed basic inparison. There was no sense of pressure like the helplessness he had experienced earlier. Instead of their daily sparring, Vahn decided it was best if they left the dungeon early to make arrangements for Lili to move in with Tsubaki. He also needed to coax the young Tina who would probably throw a fit after finding out he was leaving. So far he had been able to avoid directly telling her, but he felt obligated to do so lest she me him for disappearing in the future. After leaving the dungeon, they made their way towards the inn when Vahn suddenly stopped. He could feel a prating gaze, almost like someone was looking directly through him. Turning towards the direction of the gaze, he looked towards Babel Tower that loomed in the distance. The gaze seemed to intensify and it caused Vahns internal energy to shudder before he felt the prative force disappear entirely. Lili had noticed his change and looked towards the tower as well. "Whats wrong, Vahn? Did you see something?" She was concerned and her voice was quiet. Even though she had seen him struggle, she had never seen Vahn act afraid. Vahn continued to stare towards the direction of the gaze for a few seconds before shaking his head. "Its fine Lili. I just thought I felt someone looking at me and tried finding the source. It might have even been my imagination, so dont let it bother you." He lightly patted her head but noticed that his hand was shaking slightly while doing so. Lili ced both of her hands above the one he was using to pat her. It was damp and cold, unlike the warmth she had grown ustomed too. She knew he was lying, but knew that she wouldnt be able to help even if it was something that terrified even him. Gritting her teeth, Lili slowly nodded her head. "Okay Vahn, if you say so then it must be true." Vahn was thankful for her consideration and believed it was a sign that she was slowly growing. He kept patting her head for a few more moments before leading the way towards the inn. But, the entire time they were walking he kept his focus on the tower at his back. He knew, sometime in the near future, trouble woulde looking for him. (A/N: Alternate Title: Premonition) Chapter 56 - *Spoiler: Title at End*

Chapter 56 - *Spoiler: Title at End*

Vahn and Lili continued towards the inn with low spirits. Lili was very concerned for Vahn, while he was still focusing his attention towards the dangerous feeling that had prated through him. He needed to get stronger, and it seemed as if he was running out of time. On the route, Vahn also diverted some of his attention towards his stats and resources. Luckily, he had managed to obtain a decent amount of OP forpleting the hearts desire quest with the eternal me. His pool of OP had been running low as ofte due to his interactions with Lili and other expenses. He needed to do his best to earn points to prepare for the worst-case scenario where he and the people he wants to protect are endangered. He started topile a list of potential life-saving items and resources he could use in conjunction with his skills to protect himself and others. One of the items he desperately wanted to purchase was another [Effigy of the Hero], but they were priced at 100,000 OP each. After another twenty minutes, they arrived at the inn. Yesterday was Vahns final day, and as he expected Tina was waiting in the dining area for their arrival. Seeing the two enter with in low spirits, she took a deep breath like she wanted to cry, but managed to swallow her emotions and approach them. She thought they were both feeling down because they were leaving the inn today. "Are you leaving?" The young girl gave a cursory nce at Lili before staring into Vahns face. She saw the boy nod his head, and even though she was trying her best to hold back her emotions, she couldnt help but feel her eyes water. Vahn, perhaps out of habit due to his interactions with Lili, reached out his hand and started gently patting her head. He continued to console the girl until she was able to calm herself. She then moved away from his hand with a blush and gave him a mean look. "My mom says that if a guy ever touches my ears, he has to take responsibility or he isnt a man...so you cant forget~nya!" Though he felt helpless about the situation, he just nodded away and said hed do his best. Hearing his response, she gave a happy nod before scampering away. From the side, Lili whispered into his ear, "How many times have you touched my ears Vahn? Does that mean youre going to take responsibility, hmmm~?" Vahn began to sweat while thinking it may be best to interact with fewer women in the future. --- After they collected all of Lilis belongings, they made their way downstairs and were intercepted by both Mn and Tina. Mn was holding a long wooden container loosely wrapped with a ribbon, while Tina held arge embroidered cloth which held various baked goods. Mn had a gentle smile on her face, but Vahn could see a hint of mncholy in her eyes as she cradled the container in her arms. "I wanted you to have this Vahn..." She handed him the container somewhat reluctantly, and Vahn received it in a reverential manner. He understood it was likely very important to her, and just holding it began to make him feel nervous. Looking towards Mn, he saw her give a gentle nod so he opened the container. Inside he saw a stylish bluish-ke straightsword with the motiff of a golden lion creating a me-like pattern along the de. "Its made of mithril, and is a memento of myte husband. I hope that it is able to protect you from harm so you dont leave painful memories for those you leave behind. Always remember to return to them, and if things get difficult youll never be turned away from our doors." Each word she spoke directly impacted Vahns heart. He took the de from the container and noticed that it was much heavier than he expected... Tina, who had been standing with her head down hugging the cloth in her arms, walked forward after her mothers urging. Vahn looked towards the girl and saw that her ears were folded down on her head as she refused to look direclty at him. He felt very bad for the girl and slowly reached out his hand...and paused after remembering her earlier words. Tina looked up slightly after feeling the presence and saw the outstretched hand a few inches away from her head. Without waiting for Vahn to make up his mind, she nuzzled against the hand on her own. Vahn was surprised at her sudden action, but chose not to pull his hand away. He made eye contact with Mn who was behind her daughter and she gave him a mischevious grin that made his heart tickle. --- After exchanging a few more words and leaving his contact info with the mother-daughter duo, Vahn lead the way out of the inn. He noticed that the cold night air created a chill that caused his body to feel slightly numb. From behind, the yet to close door of the inn seemed to contain an infinite warmth that he was reluctant to part with. He looked back and saw Mn lightlyforting Tina who was hugging her waist and stiffling tears. As if noticing his gaze, Mn looked towards him and gave an awkward smile before shooing him away with her free hand. Vahn nodded slowly, and turned away with his hand raised. Lili, who had been watching the situation from start to finish continued to stay behind for a few moments before speaking to the crying Tina. "If you want to be able to follow him, youll need to be a lot stronger. Ill do my best as well, so make sure you dont fall too far behind..." She said the words in a low voice, but Tina who was still hugging her mother nodded her head in response. As she turned ot leave, she heard the young girl respond with a sobbing voice,"You have a head start, but I will be stronger than you one day." Turning her head, Lili saw the resolution in Tinas eyes. She nodded and then turned to leave, following the path Vahn had set out through the night. --- It was nearly 8 PM by the time they arrived outside Tsubakis courtyard, and the two stepped through the threshold of the door and heardughtering from the inside. Hearing the shrill noise, Vahn flinched slightly before hestitating. Lili, who was at his side had a confused expression on her face after seeing him hesitate just outside the door. After a few seconds, Vahn released a pent-up sigh and slowly opened the door. Inside he could see Tsubaki holding a red-haired boy in a headlock while he struggled to break free of her grasp. The boy seemed to be around his age and had a somewhatnky build with unkempt wirey hair. He was trying his best to remove Tsubakis arm from around his neck and seemed to be a few second short of copsing if his purple face was any indicator. Tsubaki noticed Vahn and a small girl enter, and she ceased her wildughter and released the boy she had been tormenting. She plopped up from the ground, leaving her victim struggling for air on the floor. "Youre a bit earlier than I expected Vahn! Tell me, is this the little girl that you were talking about earlier?" As she spoke Tsubaki rapidly approached Lili who, in response, tried to hide behind Vahn. "Good evening Tsubaki...And yes, this is Lili, the girl I told you about earlier." Vahn was beginning to sweat at the fact Lili was hiding behind him. He had a terrible premonition that things werent going to be as smooth as he expected. Tsubaki grinned as she continued staring at the hiding Lili. She looked towards Vahn before speaking, "Hahaha, she seems to think youll be able to protect her Vahn~" Before either of the two could respond, Tsubaki quickly managed to subdue Vahn and nted him squarely on the ground. The panicked Lili tried to react, but before she could utter a word she had been seized by the overbearing Tsubaki. Tsubaki, for the second time that day, was now sitting on the copsed Vahn while holding Lili in her arms and rubbing their cheeks together. "Arent you super cute!? Youre like a tiny animal~ Its no wonder Vahn wants to protect you so badly! Hahaha!" The red-haired boy who had been released earlier looked towards the trio with a sceptical look. He had never seen the two strange children before, and it was strange seeing Tsubaki act so closely with others. Yes, she hade a very forward and open personality, but she wasnt the type that would force herself on people she wasnt familiar with. Seeing that their y wasnt going to end any time soon, he lost his patience before speaking up. "Hey, Tsubaki, who are these kids? Isnt your ce supposed to be closed right now?" Tsubaki seemed to remember his existence as she looked toward him with her uncovered eye. She gave a big grin which caused the boy to sweat buckets. "This is Vahn Mason and his friend Lili. Theyre going to be living here from now on and receive training. Vahn, Lili, that red-headed brat over there is Welf Crozzo. Make sure to get along, as the two of you may be rivals in the future!" Tsubaki released Vahn and Lili while introducing everyone. Vahn was annoyed how easily she was able to get the better of him, while Lili was very startled at everything that happened. As they were collecting themselves they heard a loud shout. "What do you mean theyre going to be living here!? Since when do you train people? What makes you think these brats can be my rivals!?" Welf seemed to be annoyed at the idea that Tsubaki, one of the people he swore to ovee, had taken in two brats at disciples. Even though he had known Tsubaki for four years, she never taught him anything personally. After hearing Tsubaki mention his name, Vahn was able to tell that the aggressive young boy was the same Welf he knew from the manga. He was much shorter than expected, around 163cm, and he seemed a lot lessid back the Welf from his memories. Hearing him call both he and Lili brats when they were around the same age irked him a bit. Before he could say anything, Tsbubaki spoke to Welf. "Silly brat, what makes you think youre better than other people? Vahn was entrusted to me directly by Hephaestus-sama herself. Why not tryining to her if youre disatisfied!" Hearing that Vahn was brought here by Hephaestus, Welf was shocked at first, but his shock quickly turned to anger as he red direclty at Vahn. He could see that the boy was handsome with tanned skin. Though he looked small, Welf could see he actually had well defined muscles and a strange aura that made the hair on the back of his neck stand. "You, Vahn was it? Whats your rtionship with Hephaestus-sama!?" Because of the help she had provided for him, Welf had made Hephaestus his goal. He, like many others, also dreamt of one day crafting a piece of equipment that could impress the aloof goddess and steal her heart. Vahn didnt like how Welf was treating him in such a hostile manner. He pulled out the hammer Hephaestus had formed for him and pointed it towards the ring boy. "My rtionship with Hephaestus doesnt matter. The only thing you need to know is, youll never be a rival to me. You arent even qualified!" Though he heard Vahns abrasive words, the only thing Welf was focused on at this moment was the hammer in front of him. He could see that it wasnt something that had been forged by an ordinary cksmith. The untarnished head and the stylish body were things that could only be made by someone with the abilities of a Master Smith. The most important thing that caught his eyere were the two marks engraved on the neck of the hammer. The first was a subtly glowing seal used to denote an item had been personally forged by Hephaestus herself. And next to it, against all reasoning, there was a second mark in the shape of two winged snakes coiling around a scale. Items typically only possessed a single makers mark, that of their creator itself. The fact this hammer had two marks indicated it had not only been forged by Hephaestus, but in conjunction with another cksmith! Title: Welf Crozzo (A/N: Alternate Titles: Raging hot habanero!, Burn, mes of youth!, etc) Chapter 57 - Cowardice : Reconciliation

Chapter 57 - Cowardice : Reconciliation

Welf stared at the hammer in Vahns hand with an incredulous expression on his face. "Where did you get that hammer?" Though he expected the answer, he couldnt help but ask the question to confirm his suspicions. Vahn could see Welfs aura, which had been a mixture of reds and blues, suddenly turn a mild yellow tinged with green along the edge. With how Welf looked at the hammer gifted to him by Hephaestus, Vahn began to feel annoyance and anger. He felt a possessiveness in Welfs expression like he would try to steal the hammer if he could. Vahn grimaced before saying, "I see no reason to tell you. Worry about your own equipment before you start eyeing that of others." His words seemed to awaken Welf, who quickly made his way towards Vahn. The two red at each other, separated by only a few feet. Welf looked down at Vahn and, with an ordering tone, asked, "Youre saying that hammer belongs to you? Then exin the makers marks. Why do you possess an item forged by Hephaestus, and who does the other symbol belong to!?" Vahn was confused by the question as he had never paid much attention to the markings on the hammer. He knew cksmiths often marked the items they made for recognition, but he hadnt realized Hephaestus had left the same mark as his sword on his hammer. He noticed the neck of the hammer had both marks side-by-side, and he somewhat understood why Welf was angry. But, he still didnt like how Welf, who was weaker than him, was trying to intimidate him. Vahn squinted his eyes and simply stated, "Thats my business. Who are you to ask?" Welf grit his teeth and balled his hands into fists. He stepped forward to grab Vahn by the cor as Vahn prepared to break his wrists for the attempt. Moments before Vahn grasped the soon to be broken wrist, they were both knocked to the ground by a fist from above. "Nice passion, but no violence in my workshop! If you want to fight, do it in a more productive manner." Tsubaki was standing over Vahn and Welf who were both twitching on the ground with giant lumps on their heads. For the first time since their meeting, they both had the same thought going through their mind: (Youre the violent one!) --- Four people now sat around a low table drinking tea. They were Tsubaki, Vahn, Welf, and Lili, and the atmosphere was tense due to the earlier conflict. On Vahn and Welfs head, there was still the evidence of a lump which made the tense atmosphere seem almostical. Tsubaki, noticing this, beganughing out loud while they each gave her a sidewards nce. After some time had passed, Tsubaki was finally able to stopughing. She smiled after seeing how the tense atmosphere had subsided quite a bit. "Okay, Im going to exin a few things since the two of you dont seem to be able to talk without pissing each other off." She gave them both a look using her eye, and they each nodded as a result of the pressure. "Heh, you two are cute when youre obedient." They both flinched after hearing her words. "Anyways, lets get some things out of the way. Welf, Vahn is a lot stronger than you. If I didnt step in earlier youd be nursing a broken wrist for the next few months. Youll have a hard time doing any cksmithing if that happens, so pull back on the aggressive behavior." Hearing Tsubaki mentioning that he was weaker than Vahn, Welf was dissatisfied. He looked towards the small kid and couldnt see how he could be considered strong. While he was thinking, Tsubaki continued. "Its true. Unlike you who likes to sit around boasting about bing a great cksmith, Vahn here ventures into the dungeon to improve his skill. Even though youre the same age, he is already Level 2 and capable of fighting weaker Level 3s." Welf was surprised to hear Vahn was already Level 2. Though it wasnt unheard of, it was very rare for people in a production Familia to increase in level quickly. However, his surprise turned into utter disbelief when she continued. "Vahn also possesses the [cksmith] development ability and, even though he is a novice at forging, he has managed to earn the approval of Hephaestus. That hammer is probably something she gave him to represent her trust and encourage him to improve, isnt that right Vahn?" Vahn nodded his head but was mildly distracted seeing the gloomy aura around Welf. He had an incredulous expression and seemed to be repressing a lot of pent-up frustration. Vahn remembered that Welf, even though he was an excellent cksmith, was severely restricted by his own stigma. Due to his bloodline, he was adamant in not forging magic swords and this mentality prevented him from growing. In some ways, they were simr. They were both victims of their bloodline, though Vahns was in a far more literal sense. While Welf was able to run away, Vahn was forced to suffer for fourteen years. However, unlike Welf who continues to run away even now, Vahn has epted his heritage and works towards bing strong enough to not be exploited by others. He didnt know why, but Vahn was very annoyed seeing Welfs actions. "Youre a coward," Vahn spoke directly, interrupting the conversation that Tsubaki was going to continue. At first, she was going to reprimand Vahn but decided to see how things yed out. She knew well of Welfs past and wondered if Vahn had noticed something with his unnaturally high perception. Welf, who had still been struggling internally all this time, turned towards Vahn before mming his fists onto the table. Tea spilled as cups were knocked over and Welf shouted at Vahn, "What did you say!? Who is a coward!?" Hearing this boy he had never met call him a coward, Welf was understandably pissed off. "If youre not a coward, then why are you struggling so much with your own thoughts? When you heard Tsubaki say I was stronger than you, you didnt believe her. And after you heard I had the [cksmith] development skill, you started acting like it was impossible. Your actions are like saying you cant believe Im better than you, but whatever made you think you wereparable to me in the first ce!? What are you doing to set yourself apart from others!? What gives you the right to look down on their determination and efforts!?" Vahn shouted out, each sentence louder and more fierce than thest. For some reason, he just hated how Welf acted like he was a victim when he is able to live a free and happy life surrounded by kind and gentle people. Welf, who was on the receiving end of the shouting was in a cold sweat. Though Vahn hadnt realized it himself, his out of control emotions had activated his [Will of the Emperor] and were suppressing the Level 1 Welf. Every word Vahn spoke made him feel an increased pressure, and each one struck deeply at Welfs self-consciousness and anxieties. "Calm down Vahn! You need to control your power!" Tsubaki was thinking she let the situation get out of hand. Though she agreed with Vahns statement, she couldnt allow him to press any further or it might shatter Welfs pride. Though he was unwilling to create magic sword due to his past, he was still a very capable and talented cksmith. It would be a big loss for the Familia if he gave up trying to improve. Hearing Tsubaki shout, Vahn realized he had been using his skill to pressure Welf, so he quickly calmed his breathing and sat down. "Im sorry...I just cant stand to see someone act so arrogant when they have no idea how hard others work." Welf, who was still in a cold sweat, wanted to retort after the pressure eased. However, no matter how much thought he put into it, he wasnt able to refute Vahns words. In his heart, he knew Vahn was right...he really was a coward. Once he awakened his bloodline and was pressured by his family, he ran away from home to avoid bing something he hated. He fled all the way to a City where his family had no influence and then joined a powerful Familia using the reputation of Crozzo in conjunction with his own talent. Even though he worked hard to be a cksmith recognized by Hephaestus, he was entirely reliant on the Familia for his livelihood and wellbeing. Without their help, he never would have been able to establish himself when he was just 10 years old...(A/N: Welf ran away from home at age 10 and joined the Hephaestus Familia shortly after.) He looked at Vahn, a boy simr in age to him. Even though he was jealous that Vahn was Level 2 and possessed the [cksmith] skill, it wasnt like he didnt earn it. Vahn must have put in a lot of efforts, and since he was still young it meant he was pressured into doing so by circ.u.mstance. Otherwise, there would be no reason for such a person to join a production Familia specializing in cksmithing while also making a living in the dungeon. If he only recently joined, that means he previously spent all his time hunting monsters to get by... It was at this point that Welf took note of the girl who had been sitting quietly all this time. He remembered she was called Lili, and she seemed very concerned with Vahn. Welf saw in her eyes a deep reliance on the boy, unlike how she looked at Welf in disgust. He could infer that she was in a simr situation as Vahn; someone that had to work hard to earn a living by putting their life on the line. The fact she was doing such a dangerous job when she was so small made Welf feel guilty at how leisurely he spent his time. Welf had calmed down by now, and he made eye contact with Vahn who was still grimacing. Welf sighed, "Youre right Vahn. I shouldnt be envious of someone because they possess something Ick. I will work hard, and one day, Ill surpass you using my own efforts." Seeing how far Vahn was able to get at the same age, Welf solidified his convictions and intended to double his own efforts in the future. Vahn noticed that Welfs aura had stabilized and was showing a mellow orange with blues around the edges. Even though he was still angry, he knew Welf wasnt a bad guy from seeing his interactions with Bell in the manga. Vahn decided to reconcile as well saying, "If you want to surpass me, you cant hold anything back. Dont expect me to slow down my own progress while youre stuck trying to ovee yourself." The two stared into the others eyes, each with their own convictions. Lili, who was spectating at the side, waspletely confounded by the sudden change. The two boys, who were previously moments away from fighting, were now gazing passionately into each others eyes! She had no idea how to interpret the situation and decided she needed to protect Vahn from Welf in the future. Tsubaki suddenly startedughing, causing the other three at the table to look at her with confusion. "Good! So manly! The best way to settle things is to both be stronger and more capable. Let your actions and aplishments speak for themselves!" She smiled, nodding at the change in atmosphere. Feeling thirsty, she reached for her cup but found it had been overturned since earlier. Tsubaki felt a vein bulge in her head and she threw the emptied cup at Welfs face. The cup bounced directly off Welfs forehead and continued its path towards Vahn who managed to catch it out of the air. "Dont go into other peoples houses and make a mess! Next time you knock over my drink youll be replenishing the entire Familias quench tanks for a whole week! (A/N: Alternate Title: Hot-blooded Men Within The Cyclops Den!) Chapter 58 - With Great Power...

Chapter 58 - With Great Power...

The atmosphere within the room had improved considerably. Tsubaki scooped up Lili and left Vahn and Welf sitting at the table as she went to prepare dinner. Though Lili tried to struggle at first, Tsubaki was easily able to carry her light body without being affected. Vahn gave a nce at Lili but didnt say anything as she was tearfully pulled into the kitchen. Welfughed awkwardly before trying to restart the conversation with Vahn. He knew he made a bad first impression, so he wanted to try and patch things up between them. The two talked a bit about each others past. Vahn gave his standard story about growing up the forest, while Welf mentioned he came from the neighboring country Rakia. When they were discussing why each came to the City and how they had been living, Welf was surprised to find that Vahn had only recently arrived in Orario. He found the fact that Vahn had been able to reach Level 2 within a month terrifying and began to suspect there was more to the story that he wasnt made aware of. Welf suspected the reason Vahn had been entrusted to Tsubaki, who was the current captain of the Familia, was likely due to some kind of secret. Though Vahn knew about Welf from the story, he still tried probing the reason why Welf came to Orario. Welf hesitated for a moment before saying it was to escape having to create weapons that indiscriminately take innocent lives. He told Vahn about his unique skill [Crozzo Blood] which his family had used to create weapons of mass destruction for Aress army. He swore that he would never take part it such a cruel process and even took a vow to never forge magic weapons. Vahn nodded, showing that he understood Welfs plight with the seriousness of his expression. Welf was able to see that Vahn didnt simply acknowledge his words but genuinely empathized with his situation. He began to respect Vahn even more and began acting more casually while they talked. That is until Vahn said something thatpletely caught him off guard. "The longer you deny your own capabilities, the less progress youll make in the future. Youll never be able to move forward unless you ovee your past. Your fear of magic items and the damage they can cause is baseless because the only fear you have is in regards to damage others have caused, not yourself. Even if you refuse to make magic weapons, it wont prevent the people that use them to indiscriminately kill from doing so anyway. The only difference is theyll use an even crueler method to achieve the same result." Vahn slowly spoke the words, even though he could see Welf begin to get upset. Towards the end of his statement, Welf was even gritting his teeth while trying to keep down his emotions. "Welf, I understand better than you think, Im not simply empathizing with you. I know how blood can be used as a powerful tool at the convenience of evil and cruel men. But, you arent proving anything by restricting your own power while they continue performing their deeds. If you truly understood the burden of your blood, you would use it to deny those that would exploit others." Welf looked towards Vahn with hate-filled eyes, though the hate wasnt directed at him. Welf continued taking deep breaths, trying to calm himself. Once he recovered enough rationality, he spoke, "So youre saying I should make weapons and use them to kill the people that wanted to use them? How does that make me better than they are; because Im the one choosing the targets!?" Vahn shook his head and responded in a serious manner. "Im not saying you need to use the weapons or even let others use them. Im saying you should research and study their power...so that you can create countermeasures against it in the future. Who else better than the creator knows how to prevent the damage caused by their use? Lastly, as long as there is a desire for your weapons, the people that would use them to cause harm would stop at nothing to get their hands on them. As you are now, there is any number of things that could force your hand and lead to the very event youre trying to avoid." Welf grits his teeth even harder and was visibly shaken by Vahns words. He knew best what kind of people his family worked with. If they found out his location, even with the protection of the Hephaestus Familia, they would try to force him to concede. When that happened, he would be taken back to Rakia and be forced to make magic weapons until he either killed himself or lost his usefulness and they did the job for him. Vahn continued, "There are more than just offensive spells. If your blood allows you to infuse magic into an item, why does it have to be for attack? Why not create a shield that can generate barriers or a staff that can cast recovery magic? Dont tell me you think the only use for magic is to cause harm? Look-" Vahn used a dagger and drew a line of blood across his forearm. Welf started in shock at the self-inflicted wound, but his eyes becamepletely round when he saw Vahn close the wound simply by tracing his finger across it. After the wound waspletely healed, Vahn looked into Welfs eyes and spoke. "Magic has many applications, why are you so obsessed with killing?" Hearing the words, Welfs mind waspletely nk. He just stared at where the wound previously existed, unable to form any thought for several seconds. After some rity was restored, he began to ponder the question Vahn asked. Once again, the words Vahn spoke hit to the core of the matter that he had avoided for so long. There was, in fact, no reason for him to create magic swords to bring harm. As long as he had a proper understanding of the magical circuit, he could infuse any type of spell into the equipment... While he was lost in thought, Vahn was browsing through his system shop. He wanted to find an item that would help demonstrate his point even better than his previous action. Vahn found that looking for equipment that could heal was actually rather difficult due to the cost of such items. The cheapest one he could find was something literally called [Heal:C] that cost 2,000OP. He decided to purchase it and then pulled it out using his storage magic. Welf was surprised seeing a staff appear in Vahns hand. He recalled that Vahn had previously pulled his hammer out of nowhere, and assumed it was likely a rare skill like storage magic. The staff in Vahns hand was made of wood which spiraled untiling to a red crystalline gem at the head of the staff. Welf was curious why Vahn would have a staff, as he didnt seem like the type to use magic based on his build and demeanor. Vahn was reading the description and use of the new item and realized he had hit the jackpot. He once again cut his arm, which caused Welf to grimace. He then channeled his energy into the staff and activated its ability. The red orb glowed with a gentle luminance and a white light emitted from Vahns body. After the light had faded, any evidence of the wound hadpletely vanished. Welf was in awe of the demonstration because he could tell that Vahn hadnt used any actual magic due to theck of a chant. It was nothing like his small demonstration from earlier. From his perspective, he was able to see the staff create a magical circle around Vahn which covered him in white light and healed the wound. It was the first time Welf had ever seen a magical staff with the inherent ability to heal. Welf swallowed heavily before asking, "That staff...did you make it?" Seeing Vahn shake his head, he released a sigh of relief. If Vahn had the skill to make such an item there would be no end to the people lining up to purchase his equipment. "Can I ask where you obtained it? How does it function?" Vahn shook his head. He couldnt tell Welf about the system, but he didnt want to lie. "Sorry, its a very important secret that I cant tell others. Its dangerous even exposing items like this, but I wanted you to know that your blood didnt always lead to a bloody end. If you put in the effort you could save countless lives. You dont have to create items that cause harm." Welf nodded but continued staring at the staff. He never even considered Vahns approach, but now that he thought about it, Vahn waspletely right. There had been so much pain and death caused by his familys [Crozzo Blood] that hepletely avoided trying to find a solution on his own. Instead, he just focused on trying to be a great cksmith without creating magic weapons. He realized that he had been terribly wrong this entire time... Welf released a long sigh while giving Vahn a gratified look. If he hadnt met Vahn today, he may never have ovee the fear within his mind. He would have kept trying to forge a path that denied an integral part of himself until the very thing he was trying to escape caught up to him. "Thank you Vahn. Youve taught me something very important today. Ill prove that your words arent wasted, count on it." Welf looked into Vahns eyes while making his im with a renewed passion. He now owed a great debt to this boy he had just met and wanted to prove that he wasnt the coward that fled from his home long ago. Welf decided he would find a better path...one where when people spoke of the name Crozzo, it would be in adtion and not contempt. Vahn could see the aura of Welf zing like the sun. He was literally radiating confidence and determination, so Vahn gave him an appreciative nod. "You can do it Welf. As long as you continue to believe, there is nothing that can stop you." The two smiled at each other before nearly having a heart attack when a loud p sounded from the doorway. Tsubaki, who had been watching the two in their own world for some time, startedughing loudly. Her decision to leave Welf to Vahn paid off, and she was happy to see a renewed me burning within Welf. "Foods ready you two. Come and get it before it gets cold. We made a buttload, so prepare to stuff yourself or face the consequences~!" As she spoke, she grabbed both of them by the back of their cors and dragged them towards the dining room. As they were both aware of Tsubakis behavior, they didnt put up much resistance as it would only make matters worse. Instead, they just gave each other awkward smiles andughed along with the Cyclopian woman treating them like luggage. --- Lili, who had been forced to cook with Tsubaki, was beside herself after seeing the violent woman drag in the two boys. She really wanted to shout at her for treating Vahn so poorly but knew nothing would be able to protect her if she opened her mouth. She resolved herself to be stronger as soon as possible so they could both escape the grasp of their one-eyed demoness. Tsubaki dropped the two off near the table and everyone sat down to enjoy the meal. Vahn noticed that, though there was a slight variation, the meal was once again fried rice. Just like lunch, it was delicious and he enjoyed several bowls while making conversation. He had been focusing primarily on Welf for a while, so he made sure to ask Lili about her training earlier in the day, a topic he would regret bringing up. Hearing Vahn mention training, Tsubaki started regaling everyone with the tale of Vahns valiant attempts to spar against her. She spoke about how he was able to improve at a fast pace, but no matter how hard he struggled he still ended up eating dirt ny-nine times in a row. When she got to here, Tsubaki paused and gave a massive grin while looking at Vahn. She could see him sweating to the point he was unable to even chew his food. She looked towards Lili who had been frowning during the recounting of events. "Nee~, Lili, what do you think happened after the ny-ninth time?" Lili looked towards her with confusion, unable to understand why she would ask the question. "Did he block the attack?" She uttered the only words that came to her mind, missing the fact Vahn nearly nted his face into the table as she asked. Tsubaki hefted up herrge b.r.e.a.s.ts before loudly proiming, "Hahaha, he managed to react in time, but the thing he blocked wasnt my hand...it was my b.r.e.a.s.ts!" She continuedughing while Vahn shrunk in his seat, Lili became fl.u.s.tered, and Welf just stared towards Vahn with a horrified expression. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bromance, Why you attak wen u can protec?, Magic swords arent even unique to [Crozzo Blood], Cyclops with surprisingly high EQ, Liliruca Arde, Benchwarmer) Chapter 59 - What was needed

Chapter 59 - What was needed

After dinner, Welf parted ways and returned to his own dwelling. He wanted to get started on researching magic circuits and see if he could incorporate defensive and support spells into equipment. He now had a clear path towards the future and was far less abrasive than when they first met. Vahn and Welf bumped fists and wished each other good fortune in their training and development. As it was already prettyte, Tsubaki snatched up Lili who had been hanging around Vahn and disappeared further into the Minka-like structure of the house. Lili iled and tried to escape, but Tsubaki justughed while telling Vahn, "There is a bath further down the hall towards your left. There isnt a lock, so make sure you put up a sign or something unless you wantpany. Make sure you get plenty of rest tonight because tomorrow is when the real fun begins. Maybe we can get the count to two-hundred if we try hard enough!" Tsubakis voiced echoed in Vahns mind and he couldnt prevent a shudder from passing through his body. Though he knew it was necessary to increase his strength, Vahn wasnt sure his mind would be able tost as long as his body. He needed toe up with a n but wasnt sure of what to do. For now, he headed to the bath as it had been a long day and he was still covered in dirt from this morning. Entering the bathroom, Vahn fell into a stupor before excitement began to build inside of him. The bath wasnt a simple basin or shower, instead, it was an open-air onsen. The room was split into two, with one side being a wooden patio for changing and washing oneself while the other was a build-up of ornamental stones surrounding an oblong pool of steaming water. Decorating the onsen itself were several statuettes and pirs that had been meticulously designed to represent various animals. Surrounding the open area of the bath were high bamboo walls with live bamboo grown to prevent external viewing. Though he had bathed outside during his stay in the forest, this was Vahns first time experiencing an actual onsen. He had only ever seen them in anime/manga in his previous life, and this had always been one of the things he wanted to experience if he had the opportunity. After quickly cleaning himself, he slowly eased his body into the steamy opaque water. It wasnt as hot as he expected, but it still warmed up his body. He rxed against the stone and notice they were somewhat coolpared to the water temperature, and after closer inspection, he found small indentations that drew power from a bevy of nearby magic cores. They seemed to serve the purpose of heating the water while keeping the stones cool to the touch. The formation of the magic stones themselves was quite interesting, as they had been set into the location of the eyes on the various animal statuettes. It made the entire bath more scenic seeing the glowing red and blue lights against the ck-l.u.s.tered designs. As an experiment, Vahn tried recing some of the dimmer magic cores and the water began to heat up slightly with the insertion of the newer core. While he was immersed with the core formation, he heard a sound from behind. His body froze, and he turned towards the door which had just been opened. Tsubaki and Lili had just entered, and the two girls were staring directly at him. As Vahn was inspecting the cores located outside of the onsen, he was standing there nkly whilepletely nude. Lili, who seemed to be very fl.u.s.tered, looked down at Vahns lower half before blushing a deep shade of red, but unlike in manga she didnt avert her eyes or try to hide her face. Tsubaki, on the other hand, smiled widely before giving him a thumbs up. "And here I thought you were still just a kid. Turns out youre growing properly!" She startedughing and moved towards the wall where baskets had been set for clothing. Vahn looked towards her in confusion before realizing he needed to leave immediately. Tsubaki hadpletely ignored his presence in the Onsen and started unwrapping her sarashi on the side. Seeing her action, Vahn decided to grab his clothes before heading towards the door that Lili currently upied. Lili had been in a daze and hadnt moved from her spot, continuing to follow Vahn with her eyes. Seeing him approach towards her, she became even more fl.u.s.tered before backstepping out of the door. The moment she entered the corridor she took off running down the hallway screaming, "Vahn, cover yourself you, idiot!" Vahn was confused, as he never really cared if others saw his body. Ever since his previous life, there had been hundreds of people that had seen him n.a.k.e.d. Even his barely covered anything and consisted of a modified hospital gown and slippers. Shaking his head, he grabbed his clothes and made his way towards the door. Before he was able to step out, an arm grabbed around his neck and a soft sensation pressed against his cheek. "Where are you going thiste in the game? I told you to put a sign up if you didnt wantpany. Come on, I can see you havent finished cleaning yourself. Ill wash your back!" Tsubaki continued dragging Vahn towards the onsen against his protests. Since she waspletely nude, he didnt know where to put his hands as each spot seemed more dangerous than thest. At the edge of the water, Tsubaki twisted her h.i.p.s and executed a perfect shoulder throw while tossing Vahns iling body into the steaming water. Seeing that he had entered, she tested the water with her foot before frowning slightly. "Isnt this water a bit hot? You must have messed with the magic stones a bit, huh?" She looked towards where Vahn stood previously and noticed he had reced some of the cores. As she was a Level 5 and liked the heat as well, Tsubaki left things as they were and dipped her body into the water. At this point, Vahn had managed to recover a bit and waszily leaning against the rocks on the opposite end of the bath. Since he couldnt really oppose Tsubaki, he just decided to enjoy the warm water against his skin. It was, after all, his first time in an onsen; it would be a waste not to enjoy it. "Youre prettyposed arent you? Thats kind of boring. I expected you to act fl.u.s.tered and shy, but here you arepletely rxed while n.a.k.e.d in the presence of a woman. You arent even trying to sneak nces at me, what, do you find my bodycking charm?" As she was pretty confident in her body, Tsubaki wasnt trying to conceal anything. She was rxed against the wall with her arms spread out along the rock surface while looking directly towards Vahn. Vahn released a sigh, not due to her question but because of how rxed he was bing. He replied in azy voice, "I dont really care if people see me n.a.k.e.d, and it would be rude be rude to stare at a womans body. Even if youre not hiding anything, Im not going to invite trouble for myself by trying to catch a nce." Tsubaki started tough loudly after hearing his response. She didnt expect him to say something so gentlemanly and honest. Even she was feeling at least a little nervous sharing a bath with a boy, but here he was almostpletely indifferent to the situation. She began to recall the conversation she had with Hephaestus. ording to her spection, Vahn very likely grew up in a captive environment after being stolen from his mother at a young age. He likely grew up surrounded by people that tried to exploit his heritage, and it was even possible he had experienced many traumatic things which shaped his current mentality. Hephaestus noted that Vahn had an aversion to most people and put a lot of effort into watching them before making decisions. Assuming Hephaestuss spection was correct, Tsubaki began to pity the young boy. Because of the evil and greed of others, he missed out on a normal childhood and didnt know what it was like to have familial bonds with other people. Even his disinterest andck of social etiquette in the current situation was likely a result of the trauma that is still deeply rooted in his body. One of the requests Hephaestus had made to Tsubaki before leaving Vahn in her care was to help him open up to people. Hephaestus believed that Tsubakis straightforward personality would allow her to get close to Vahn quickly, and over time it would influence him in a positive way. This was one of the reasons Tsubaki teased Vahn, and even why she had entered the bath together in the first ce. Seeing how indifferent Vahn was pained her a bit. At this rate, hed never have a normal rtionship. "Move over here Vahn. I said I would wash your back for you. After Im done, you can wash mine." Tsubaki moved towards the center of the onsen before grabbing a nearby sponge. The water had been infused with a powerprised of various minerals and crushed magic cores. Its what allowed the magic cores to rapidly heat and cool the water, and also what caused the opaque appearance. Even if she got soap or dirt in the water, it would be diffused by the properties of the water. Vahn slowly shifted towards her and turned his back. The water made him feel incrediblyzy, and he even began nursing the idea of trying to sleep in it if given the chance. Tsubaki began using the sponge to cleanse his back after applying a cool liquid to his skin. It didnt bubble as much as normal soap but seemed to stick to the skin more persistently. It was one of the things this recordcked, and Vahn thought about trying to purchase some for people as a gift in the future. He was certain the girls would like it. Tsubaki continued scrubbing away at Vahns back and was worried seeing how little he reacted even after being in such close proximity to her. As a final resort, after she had finished scrubbing him, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against his back. Vahn, feeling the soft-yet-firm sensation flinched after realizing what was happening. "Um...Ms. Collbrande, what are you doing?" Even though he didnt mind when they were simply near each other, Vahns heartbeat began to elerate after being in direct contact with a womans body. Tsubaki didnt answer him, shut just put a small amount of strength in her arms and gently hugged Vahns body. After a bit of time passed, Vahn began to rx and started enjoying the embrace. Though it was different from when Hephaestus hugged him, it was still veryfortable. The warmth of Tsubakis body and the heat of the onsen began to ovep, and Vahn slowly closed his eyes while enjoying the variation in temperatures. Seeing him rx, Tsubaki had a small revtion. Vahn wasnt immune to women, nor was he unaware of the significance of being n.a.k.e.d, he simply had high mental resistance against things he found troublesome. The more he was pressured, as long as he wasted directly affected in a physical sense, the more he blocked out stimuli. It must be some kind of defense mechanism he developed in his childhood. During one of the moments Hephaestus was rambling on about Vahn, she mentioned how he had fallen asleep in her arms after she embraced him gently. Hephaestus wanted him to experience being held by someone that cared for him and noticed Vahn was very receptive to her embrace after his initial panic. Now Tsubaki was experiencing the same thing, and she began to understand one of the reasons why Hephaestus was so concerned with Vahn...hecked security. Vahn had nobody in his life that provided him a safe-haven from harm. There was no ce he could retreat to find security and emotional support. He was so focused on simply bing stronger and experiencing new things that he kept neglecting the most important factors for his emotional and social development. Tsubaki, like Hephaestus, realized the most important thing Vahn had beencking all this time...a Mother. Now, hey in her arms,pletely at ease while entrusting himself to her embrace. It made Tsubaki want to protect him even more... "WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING!?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Calm Within the Forbidden Valley, Shameless Cyclops, A Glimpse of the Future, Hot, Steamy, Onsen) Chapter 60 - Hell : Desire

Chapter 60 - Hell : Desire

The shout awakened Vahn, who had fallen asleep within Tsubakis embrace. His mind was still in a haze and his body felt incredibly rxed and lethargic. From his perspective, he could see Lili wide-eyed at the door looking towards him. He yawned and stood to exit the onsen while Tsubaki, who had previously released his body, began moving towards Lili who was pointing a shaking finger in her direction. Vahn slowly dressed amidst the chaos that followed. Tsubaki had grabbed Lili who was stuttering curses and iling about and began undressing her. Lili, with a bright red face, kept stealing nces towards Vahn in the process. Seeing that he was just dazedly putting on his clothes, she felt perplexed and gave Tsubaki an opportunity to strip thest bastion of her dignity. Lili yelped and tried to protect her sensitive areas as Tsubaki took her towards the onsen whileughing boisterously. After he was dressed, Vahn headed towards his room to prepare to sleep. Hey down in his bed tightly embracing therge pillow that had been given to him with a futon earlier in the day. Hugging the pillow tightly, he quickly began falling asleep once again. As he drifted further into unconsciousness, his grasp of the pillow tightened as if by increasing his grip he could obtain more warmth from the inanimate object. With the feeling of something missing, Vahn fell asleep. --- Vahn awoke very early the next day, nearly two hours before he had to be up. He absentmindedly stared around at the foreign room and remember that he had started staying with Tsubaki the previous day. After his thoughts turned to Tsubaki, visions of the dream he had begun to surface in his mind... After Vahn had fallen asleep, he imagined a 3m tall Tsubaki toying with him and he made futile efforts at escaping. No matter how hard he tried, he was unable to free himself from her monstrous strength and began to lose hope. Just as he was on the verge of giving up, the giant figure gently embraced his body between her bosom and he feared he may suffocate to death instead of being crushed. However, the suffocating feeling never came. Instead, he was wrapped in an endless warmth that seemed to soak through his entire body. The warmth was sofortable that Vahn actually fell asleep within his own dream... Due to the strange dream, Vahn was still in a somewhat dazed state as he exited the room to wash his face. Lili had found out he was neglecting his dental hygiene, and she had helped him create a habit of brushing his teeth before beginning each day. Though Vahn was annoyed at first, he quickly got used to the small ceremony and now performed it without being forced. As he was leaving the bathroom, he could hear the sound of wind being torn from the nearby courtyard. He followed the sound and saw Tsubaki wielding a fierce-looking katana with a crimson red grip. Each movement seemed to cut through the void and generate devastatingly powerful winds that continued circting around her body as her de danced in the moonlight. Seeing the peerless skill and technique of Tsubaki, Vahns stagnant mind immediately awakened. He watched her every move, each with purpose and intent that carried seamlessly into the next series of movements. Vahn nearlypared the dance to his own techniques but felt doing so would be an insult to the bewitchingly elegant disy of skill. Instead, he continued watching in abject silence, afraid that a single movement or sound of his would tarnish the invible atmosphere. About ten minutes before their training was set to begin, Tsubaki brought her dance to an end. She slowly sheathed the katana before kneeling in silence. After her breathing settled, she smiled and spoke. "Im not too fond of performing for an audience. Did you enjoy the show?" Vahn nodded his head without thinking and then spoke the words that came to his mind. "It was beautiful...unlike anything Ive ever seen before." He was still reying the moves in his mind, trying to keep the memories from fading. As he continued to absentmindedly stare, his vision suddenly reversed and he saw the ground approaching from above. Without being able to react, hended heavily on the ground and felt the wind escape his lungs. He looked towards Tsubaki who was standing, arms akimbo and loudly roaring inughter. "Training starts on time every day. Why are you still standing around like an idiot when your enemy is right in front of you? That brings our score to 3 to 101!" While she was proudly speaking, she turned towards a wall lining the courtyard. From Vahns perspective, Tsubaki disappeared from her spot before walking out from behind the wall carrying Lili under her arm. --- After the initial throw, training began in earnest. Tsubaki was ruthless with Vahn and constantly threw him about while subjecting his body to endless torment. But, when she was training Lili, she showed a much gentler and patient side. When Vahn initially saw her carefully exining different stances and techniques to Lili, he nearly thought he was still dreaming before the pain in his back red up and caused him to sharply inhale. Tsubaki had taken very different approaches to their individual training. Since Lili was a Pallum and small in stature, Tsubaki wanted to help develop actual techniques and agility. After learning about Lilis skills, Tsubaki started exining the importance of geographical positioning and exploiting enemy weak points. She wanted Lili to be a technical specialist that could make use of a variety of weapons in conjunction with the environment to gain an advantage. For Vahn, Tsubaki noticed he had incredible natural talent. Due to his high perception and adaptability, she was grooming him to develop his own fighting style. By constantly sparing with Vahn, he was slowly beginning to adapt to her speed and refining his defensive capabilities. Tsubaki wanted him to have the instincts to naturally protect himself from harm, as she believed it was one of the things he currentlycked the most. --- After two hours of hard training, Vahn had now been thrown a total of 187 times. He tried to counterattack on many asions, and was having a marginal amount of sess, but nevernded a blow on Tsubaki. She seemed especially aware of mishaps and didnt drop her guard as she had the previous day. Vahn was very frustrated because, when Tsubaki would use the minimum distance to evade his counter, she wouldugh and taunt him for his efforts. As the sun had already risen, they all took a break to eat breakfast. Vahn was forced to wait at the table while Tsubaki dragged Lili towards the kitchen to prepare the meal. While he sat in silence, Vahn began to wonder why Tsubaki always seemed to be dragging Lili around with her, but he wasnt able toe up with any reason. It was probably a quirk of Tsubakis personality that liked cute things, as Lili was very small and adorable. Vahn decided to pass the time by inspecting his stats and items. His parameters hadnt been growing very quickly since he wasnt delving any deeper into the dungeon, but he felt like his foundation was rapidly expanding. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:2(2) -Power:1001+(I38)->(H119) -Endurance:1108+(I51)->(G240) -Dexterity:887+(I41)->(H101) -Agility:940+(I40)->(H192) -Magic:1611+(G244)->(E444) Total:5547+(414)->(1096) Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul) [Karma]: 931 [OP]: 78,090 [Valis]: 149,300 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Like always, his magic was growing much faster than all of his other parameters due to the constant use of [Will of the Emperor]. His endurance was also increasing somewhat faster than the rest of his stats, and Vahn redited this to [Rakshasa Body] as well as the constant torment of Tsubaki. He wondered if by the time he finished his training if he would develop an indestructible body just because of his endurance... The items that he was most concerned with were his two [Skill Enhancement Scroll: A], and the [Hearts Desire: Eternal me] he had obtained when increasing the affection of the eternal me to 100. Since there was a lot going on at the time, it hadpletely slipped his mind until now. Opening the description, Vahn was both confused and terrified. [Hearts Desire: Eternal me] Rank: Unique Use: Allows the user to see the inner desires of the target (Eternal me). Fulfilling the revealed desire unlocks hidden parameters of the target. //System Warning: Use with extreme caution// Vahn didnt understand how a me could have hidden desires but remembered how expressive it was when they made contact. Though it wasnt very intelligent, it obviously had enough sentience to interact with its surroundings and understand people. After careful deliberation, Vahn decided to ignore the system warning and use the item. The air seemed to freeze around him, and time seemed toe to a crawl. Vahn was unable to move as a series of images began ying inside his head. He was in the bed of a forge, looking up into the darkness with only his light to illuminate the spacious room. Suddenly, through the darkness, Vahn was able to see his own face appearing like a giant from his low perspective. The big version of himself slowly reached out his arm as a me began to dance in his palm. Within the interior of the me, Vahn could vaguely see the appearance of what looked like...an embryo? The time around his body seemed to return to normal as the frozen air thawed. Vahn regained his movement and began to ponder over the images. He must have been viewing things from the perspective of the eternal me, but he had no idea what its desire was. The me held by the big version of himself was obviously the piece split off from the main body, but when he inspected it within his heart he was unable to see anything like an embryo. He had no idea how to fulfill the mes desire as its emotions had been very vague during the vision. All he felt was anticipation...and happiness? Unsure what to make of the images, he decided to put it to the back of his mind until he was able to discuss the matter with Hephaestus. Vahn was certain she would be willing to assist him once hepleted his training. For now, he decided to focus on how he should use his Skill Enhancement Scrolls as they served no purpose just sitting in his inventory. Vahn wasparing the usefulness of his current skills while also browsing through the shop for things that could be useful in the future. If not for his current quest and the restrictions it ced on his OP usage, there were many things Vahn wanted to buy. That terrifying feeling he felt the previous day was still fresh in his mind, and every moment seemed to draw him closer and closer to the unknown danger. While he was lost in his own worries, the door opened revealing Lili and Tsubaki carrying in arge pot. After taking their seats, Tsubaki opened the container and a fragrant aroma that Vahn had be familiar with began to spread throughout the room. For the third time in a row, Tsubaki had cooked fried-rice for their meal... "Tsubaki, why is it that you only cook fried rice?" Vahn, though he didnt mind the food at all, decided to ask the question that appeared in his mind. After doing so, he started eating the delicious food before noticing a dark atmosphere spreading throughout the room. He paused mid-bite and looked towards Tsubaki with his eyes. Tsubaki had a dark expression on her face, concealing the area beneath her bangs in shadows. The smile, which she was always wearing, had distorted into a creepy grin as sheughed hollowly. A strange, gratingughter began to echo in the room, a far cry from the cheerfulugh Vahn had grown ustomed to. Lili, noticing the tense atmosphere, tried to clear things up by whispering towards Vahn using her smallest voice. "Vahn...Tsubaki-sama doesnt know how to cook anything other than rice. Everything else ends up burnt or inedible..." Though she was doing her best to be quiet, the shadow on Tsubakis face grew darker as her ears twitched. Because of her enhanced senses as a warrior and master smith, she was easily able to hear the muttering of Lili. Herughter stopped, and she looked towards the duo who stared at her with horrified expressions. "Make sure to eat a lot. We still have a lot of fun and exciting training left to do..." She began tough evilly as the two dropped their utensils. Vahn looked at the food as if it would be hisst while Lili began trembling in fear due to her mistake. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Doki Doki me Spirit, Shokugeki no Cyclops, Dont underestimate at Level 5) Chapter 61 - Affinity

Chapter 61 - Affinity

The three continue to eat breakfast in silence. Vahn was eating much slower than usual, while Lili had hardly touched her food. She just kept fidgeting in her seat while periodically eyeing the door as if trying toe to a decision. Tsubaki, who was the closest to the exit just gave her a gentle smile while enjoying the meal. After the meal concluded, Tsubaki collected all the dishes and told Vahn and Lili to wait in the training area. Vahn nodded mechanically in response. Once Tsubaki had left the room, Lili got close to Vahn and urged him, "Vahn, we have to run! We can flee into the dungeon until the storm passes. Its safer than staying here!" Lili seemed to be very fearful of Tsubaki, and Vahn wondered what had happened between them. --- The previous night... Two voices echo loudly, breaking the silence brought by the nights stillness. One voice sounds like theughter of an evil creature as it revels in the suffering of its victim. The second voice cries into the night, hoping to find release from its torment Passersby stare in horror towards the tall bamboo walls, urgently fleeing the horrifying sound A boy sleeps contentedly in a nearby room... (A/N: The Author is confused.) --- Vahn ends up moving to the training area with Lili following behind while dragging her feet. So as not to get caught off guard, Vahn find an area where he can easily see the connecting corridors and begins performing light stretching exercises. After watching for a moment, Lili sighs and begins following the routine. She determines that escape is impossible, and believes Vahns precaution is the best course of action for the time being. After ten minutes, Tsubaki shows up and nods after seeing the two seriously preparing. The dark aura from earlier has faded, and her carefree smile has returned. Vahn and Lili are ted to see she has calmed down, but after hearing Tsubaki describes their next training, even Vahn wants to run away... Tsubaki has Lili assume a horse stance atop small bamboo tforms with both arms spread to her side. In each hand and on top of her head, she has to bnce small metal disks that hold several small cups of water. Her assignment is to transfer each cup from one disc to the other without spilling anything in the process. To make the process even more difficult, Tsubaki is asking her questions about various monsters and their ecology. If Lili fails to answer or takes too long, Tsubaki uses a brush to tickle the underside of her arms. For Vahns training, Tsubaki has him stand in a strange formation of bamboo and ropes. Each bamboo is weighted on the inside and attached to a rope. The ropes are attached to a mechanism that slowly pulls the weighted bamboo to a specific height before releasing them towards the person inside. To increase the difficulty, Tsubaki has Vahn wear a blindfold while restraining both of his arms. She tells him to restrain his domain to the smallest possible size and ces various rocks along the ground around his feet. He not only has to focus on evading the random attacks from the bamboo but has to avoid stepping on the jagged rocks with his bare feet... For Vahn, the training was slightly easier than expected, though he still suffered minor setbacks on asion. He was quickly adapting to sensing the unseen attacks and had been able to evade more than 10 in a row. It was at this point his ears picked up on a subtle clink. After the strange sound, the bamboo seemed to increase in number and frequency causing Vahn to begin to sweat while desperately evading around the small area... Tsubaki, who had just finished tormenting Lili, saw that Vahn was adapting much faster than she expected. She moved to an area connected to the training device and added a weight to the mechanicalponents driving the swinging mechanism. This made the gears that only increased tension periodically begin to spin faster. Of the total 10 stages, she had just increased the degree of difficulty to 2. --- After what felt like an excruciatingly long hour, Vahn and Lili were finally allowed to cease their training. Lili ended up running towards the bathroom in a panic, while Vahn simply copsed onto the floor. His body was covered in bruises, even with the healingponent of hisbined skills. Halfway through his training, just as he was beginning to adapt to the new speed, a second clink was heard and he began to get hit much more often. Tsubaki walked over to the copsed Vahn and offered him a container of water. "You did well. At that level, you should be able to evade attacks from someone that just reached Level 2 without having to see the attacking." Vahn took the container and drank while she gave him thepliment. After finding out the mechanism had 10 stages, he wondered how strong he would be if he was able to master dodging them all. After a short break, Tsubaki showed Vahn and Lili, who had returned somewhat pale from the bathroom, to her actual workshop. It was dim, like most forges, and had a variety of tools and materials neatly arranged on shelves. On the side of the workshop nearest to the door, there were several bookshelves that contained a host of different topics including herbology, monster ecology, material, cksmithing, and even some lore rted books regarding gods and legends. "Every day, from now until 2 pm, youll both be within this workshop developing your knowledge and skills. Vahn will primarily focus on learning the fundamentals of cksmithing, while Ill have Lili act as an assistant when she isnt researching the subjects I assign her. After 2 PM, youll be free for the remainder of the day. I may have closed my workshop to new customers, but there are still various contracts I have to uphold. Just make sure if you go to the dungeon you are able to return before 10 PM. From now on that will be the curfew for both of you." Tsubaki had been carefully exining things to them while arranging a stack of books on the table. When she got to her final words, she looked towards both of them and shouted. "Understood!?" "Yes!" "Yes, Tsubaki-sama!" Vahn and Lili both responded loudly due to the tension. Tsubaki nodded and began teaching Vahn how to process materials while Lili was required to read the books that had beenid out. As she had yet to see Vahn forge anything, Tsubaki had him refine a piece of normal iron. Vahn nodded before reaching towards the dark greyish-brown lump of metal. He sat down next to the forge and began trying to refine it, but quickly noticed it was much differentpared to working with magisteel like his previous three attempts. The biggest difference was the quality of the me he was using. Since he had only ever forged anything using the eternal me which could easily melt ores, Vahn had never experienced working with a normal fire. The temperature seemed inconsistent within the furnace and he struggled to evenly heat the iron even after using his [Will of the Emperor]. Tsubaki, from the side, nodded while speaking in a low voice. "It seems you really are a novice. Even though iron is much easier to process, because it is somewhat inertpared to magisteel, it is far more difficult to refine using your current techniques. You need to learn the properties of different metals from the very beginning and how to shape them using normal forging methods." Vahn slowly nodded as he continued refining the iron. He had a lot of theoretical knowledge from the manuals he had obtained but was severelycking in experience. Since the eternal me was much stronger than normal fires, even when it had resisted him it still had much higher efficacy than a normal me. Remembering the eternal me, Vahns heart began to throb as if to respond to his thoughts. Noticing the phenomenon, Vahn began to listen to his heartbeat and felt the blood in his body begin to heat up considerably. His mind calmed and all the heat of the forge seemed to vanish in an instant. As Vahn opened his eyes, he could feel a powerful energy radiating from his arm holding the hammer. He lifted the hammer and noticed that the magical circuit had be fully active and the crystalline sections of the hammer glowed with a warm, slightly golden, luminance. He smiled, basking in the calming glow and enjoying the feeling present in his blood Tsubaki was shocked seeing the sight, and even with her high tolerance to the heat, she began to sweat slightly. The temperature from the hammer Vahn was holding was incredible. It was much hotter than the me within the forge, and she remembered Hephaestus saying he had somehow subordinated the eternal me. She removed the eyepatch from her left eye, and a scarlet glow began to emit from the red iris. Vahn began to focus and started using his hammer to refine the iron. Each strike traced a red path through the air and imbued fire elemental energies into the iron. The metal began to heat up rapidly, and Vahn was able to have much greater control over the process. He continued until the ore had been refined to 80% and then quickly shaped the ingot. Due to the burning properties in the hammer, he didnt even have to put it back into the forge and was able to quickly mold it into the shape of an ingot. After he was finished, he waited for Tsubakis input before doing anything else. Vahn turned towards her and saw that she was staring at him with both eyes instead of just one. Noticing he had finished the process, Tsubaki gave him a cheerful smile and reset her eyepatch. "Excellent Vahn! Really, you have an incredible talent for forging! Was that glowing in the hammer an effect of the eternal me that merged with your body?" Vahn nodded, returning a smile due to the praise he had received. He began exining the functions of the eternal me and how it allowed him to imbue fire elemental properties into all of his attacks. Since the hammer was also capable of channeling mana, it enhanced the effects even further and made it so that he could almost forge without even relying on a furnace. (A/N: This only applies to VERY low-grade items. The purpose of a furnace is to keep heat uniform and prevent it from escaping and dispersing throughout the room. If Vahn tried to forge an item from start to finish without using the proper tools it would waste the metal! Consistent temperatures lead to much higher quality products~! Im not the best, but done machining/cksmithing/metalworking before~) After his sess, Tsubaki started demonstrating how to work with different materials other than metal. There were various types of monster drops like bones, fangs, and talons. Each required their own unique process, and Vahn was able to quickly learn. Some of the manuals he had acquired from the shop rted to forging within Danmachi, so he was able to match the practical methods to the theoretical ones within his mind. Tsubaki was surprised seeing how quickly he learned and how well he retained the information. She continued mentoring him and watching him process each item with varying degrees of sess. The most amazing thing was, even if he didnt refine an item well, he didnt make any mistakes that resulted in failure. At this rate, the only thing Vahn would need is time and he would be a great cksmith. Tsubaki couldnt wait to debut his items and brag about being the master of such a talented student. From the side, Lili sat reading books and writing down as much information as she could about important factors to consider in the dungeon. Even though she had no experience with forging, she could understand after observing Tsubakis excitement that Vahn had incredible talent. If she wanted to keep up and stand at his side, she needed to do her best using her own strengths. For now, she would memorize all of these books and learn as much as she could to be of use in the future. (A/N: Alternate Titles: You call that a me?, Two-eyed Cyclops, Eternal-me is Bae, Be still my right hand!) Chapter 62 - Progress : *Spoilers*

Chapter 62 - Progress : *Spoilers*

For three weeks, Vahn and Lili continued to train with Tsubaki and hone their skills. Within this time Vahn had managed to increase his [cksmith] skill to A after using one of his skill enhancement scrolls after getting it to B. He was also about to impress Tsubaki by disying some of the otherworldly techniques he had learned from the manuals. Tsubaki was really surprised at the innovative methods and even recorded them for submission and review by other veteran cksmiths within the Familia. The most notable thing Vahn had shown her was the creation of an automated hammering system. Vahn had grown very familiar with the mechanism behind the swinging bamboo and used the knowledge he possessed to create a rig that could reliably and consistently strike a surface without requiring physical exertion. He even carved mana circuits into the body of the rig so the user could still infuse their mana into the hammer strikes. Almost immediately after she had submitted the designs to the Familia, Tsubakis workshop started getting barraged with visitors. Everyone wanted to meet the person who had developed such a unique method, as many were even iming it would revolutionize the process of forging and allow for mass-production of standard-quality items. Unfortunately, Tsubaki wasnt willing to let anyone in and even beat up some of the bolder ones for trying to sneak into her house. Eventually, Hephaestus herself put a stop to the troubles after submitting a patent through the guild using her mark as well as Vahns on the form. Everyone became interested in the mysterious cksmith that was being groomed by Hephaestus. Even some gods tried visiting her personally to acquire information, but she was tight-lipped and refused toment. One of the people that werent turned away, however, was Welf. After hearing the news, he immediately came by to celebrate Vahns achievement. Welf considered Vahn someone worthy of respect and even thought of himself as his rival. Seeing the ingenious design in person and many of Vahns other innovations, Welf was fired up. They spent the entire afternoon talking and enjoying sake alongside the boisterous Tsubaki. Lili, who was the only one to refuse the alcohol, spent most of the time preparing various snacks for the rowdy trio. --- After things had calmed down, Vahn and Welf were sitting in the courtyard looking up at the moon. They had been talking about their dreams and how far Welfs research had progressed. Welf shook his head in dismay saying, "Ive made some progress in the actual circuit, but I cant seem to make the item preserve the mana for a long enough period of time. Theplexity of defensive and healing spells is much higher than attack spells." Vahn nodded before taking out the [Heal] staff he had usedst time. Because Welf had a high appreciation and respect for Vahn, their affection level had exceeded 80 which allowed Vahn to gift a single item to Welf with a month-long cooldown. "Youll need to keep the origin a secret, but I want you to use this staff to help in your research. You dont have to worry about returning it, just make sure you dont forget your purpose and Ill be happy." Welf epted the staff and held it firmly in his hands. With a serious expression on his face, he looked into Vahns eyes and nodded. "I will prove to the world my blood isnt a curse. Thanks, Vahn." --- Vahn wasnt the only one to grow in the three weeks of hellish training. Though it wasnt as drastic, Lili had also been making marked improvements. Her training with Tsubaki had begun to show its effects, and she was now able to fight freely without much assistance on the first four floors. Afterward, she had Vahn check her status and confirmed that many of her parameters had exceeded D, with her agility and dexterity reaching C. If she wanted to, she could even level-up, but chose to wait and improve her foundation after consulting both Vahn and Tsubaki. The weapon she ended up choosing was a crimson naginata that was farrger than her body. The overall length was 200cm with the curved-deprising 40cm of the total length. Tsubaki was quite proficient in its use and encouraged Lili to learn how to use it since her small stature would actually be a benefit once she increased her mastery. After she tried it out, Lili realized it suited her well and began training alongside Tsubaki to learn the various offensive and defensive forms. Though she still had a lot to learn, Lili was able to use her improving mobility to quickly deal with small groups of enemies. Whenever she was in a pinch, she also carried a dagger which she had Vahn forge. Overall, she was already much stronger than the Lili Vahn had seen in the manga. He looked forward to seeing how far she could progress using her newfound confidence and skills. --- Today, the duo had decided to venture into the deeper floors. Lili freaked out when she saw the giant one-eyed frogs, but managed to defeat one after a bit of effort. As her stats werent particrly high, this was the point where she was unable to fight without support. After discussing it with Vahn, the two continued into the dungeon using their usual method. Lili was acting as a Vahnguard(A/N: Im leaving this typo because it made meugh) while Vahn used [Will of the Emperor] to scout for traps and monster spawns. Their progress was much slower than the first four floors, and by the beginning of the sixth floor, Lili began failing to cope against the monsters. She came across a War Shadow, and after a fierce fight only managed to defeat it with Vahn blocking several of its lethal attacks. If he hadnt have been protecting her, Lili knew she most likely would have died. War Shadows were much harder to deal with than she expected. "Lets call it for the day. We made it much further than our previous visits and youre quickly improving. In another few months, youll probably be able to fight on the first seven floors without my help." Vahn smiled while patting Lilis head. It had be a habit between them when Lili performed well, Vahn would pat her on the head while praising her. --- They made their way towards the stairs leading out of the dungeon when Vahn suddenly stopped. Lili, confused, asked what was the matter and Vahn shook his head while looking deeper into the dungeon. Though it could have been his imagination, after confirming with Sis, he knew what he had heard wasnt false. Somewhere, further in the dungeon, someone had screamed out. Vahn put on a serious expression and exined the situation to Lili. Though she wanted to apany him, she knew from all their previous experiences together that she would only get in the way. If Vahn was going to save someone, it would be better to leave the matter to him. Since she wasnt proficient enough to protect herself on the 6th floor, she would just be a liability. There wasnt a lot of time, so Vahn gently pats Lilis hair before leaving her in the rtive safety of the stairs. She had decided to stay in the area until hepleted his task, and began preparing items for emergency treatment if he brought any injured people to her. One of the skills she had been studying in thest few weeks was how to make medicinal powders and apply basic first aid treatment for wounds. --- Vahn ran deeper into the dungeon towards the direction where he hadst heard the sound. The reason he had been able to pick up the sound while Lili, who was still in her Cat Person form, couldnt, is because what Vahn had detected wasnt an actual sound. As he always had [Will of the Emperor] active within the dungeon, Vahn was able to feel a ripple of intent pass through his domain and he was able to interpret that as a plea for help. He could feel the fear, pain, and anguish in the cry and thus couldnt ignore it. (A/N: Credit to Frozen, my guardian diety~) Vahn was moving at an incredible pace through the sixth floor and had equipped his bow to quickly dispatch any enemies that dared cross his path. Even when he passed a pair of War Shadows surrounded by Frog Shooters, he annihted the entire group without breaking stride. His training with Tsubaki and using the bamboo weights had enhanced his perception to the point he didnt even have to directly look at enemies within a 10m range. Eventually, Vahn found his way to the site of a battle. There was blood everywhere, much of it belonging to humans. Corpses of monsters were strewn about, signs that the adventurers hadnt been able to urately destroy the magic cores. But what irked Vahn the most was, the corpses of the fallen adventurers were being torn apart and mutted by the monsters who had begun devouring them. Among the group of monsters, there was one that stood out from the rest. All of the others stayed far away from it, almost as if they were afraid of being its next victim. Vahns vision began to turn dark as a coldness started spreading through his mind. The monster, a War Shadow variant with a white coloration was currently torturing the only living adventurer in the area. It was using its ws to slowly impale parts of her body while grating the flesh around her missing arm. Though she would try to scream out, the only sound was an anguished and muffled croak likely due to internal bleeding. Vahn spread his domain to the maximum and locked-on to the White Shadow*. It stopped torturing the girl and she slowly began to pass out now that the constant pain had ceased. Before she lost consciousness, she saw a handsome boy glowing with a golden radiance as a warm heat spread over her body. Due to his rage, Vahns [Heart of the Eternal me] had begun to infuse its effect into the domain of [Will of the Emperor] causing the entire room of the dungeon to glow with a golden light. The monsters within the domain began to sizzle as the burning effect was applied to their bodies. They screamed in pain while trying to protect their eyes, but none of their efforts could alleviate the burning sensation that continued to increase in intensity. The White Shadow was also under the effect of the domain, and it quickly charged at Vahn to tear him apart for ruining its fun. It was much faster than a normal War Shadow and the ws on its hands were nearly twice as long. It intended to impale the interloper before slowly pulling out the intestines while they were still alive. Before the White Shadow could close the distance, Vahn began a charge of his own. The bow within his hands disappeared and was reced by an ornamental straight sword with the motif of a lion. This sword was the one he had received from Mn, and it was identified by the system as [Lions Pride:S]. Though the make wasnt asplex as his previous Tamahagane de, the conductivity of the metal when channeling magic was far stronger as it wasprised entirely of mithril. As Vahn swung the sword towards the White Shadow, it tried intercepting the de with its ws. The moment before contact, time seemed to slow for the two as Vahn could see his sword cut through the White Shadows ws like a sma de. It slowly moved through each w with almost no resistance as each severed finger flew off with a glowing red hue where it previously connected to the White Shadow. Due to thebined effects of his energy and [Heart of the Eternal me], his sword had be super-heated which spelled the end for the arrogant monster. It could only look helplessly as the sword continued unobstructed toward its head and core. By the time the de had passed, there were two separate halves of a White Shadow still left standing with a glowing cross-section. After another few milliseconds, the two halves turned to dust in a small explosion as Vahn continued forward without taking notice. He dispatched the few remaining monsters before approaching the barely breathing girl. He could tell she was a young brown-haired Chienthrope, likely only a few years older than himself. Vahn quickly purchased another [Heal] from the system and began using its effects to try and save the unfortunate adventurer. He noticed that while the skill was active, her wounds began to slowly regenerate, but Vahn stopped channeling because he noticed a problem. Though the staff was healing her wounds, it was only healing the remaining tissue. If Vahn continued using his current method the staff would heal the injury around her arm and leave only a stub behind. As someone that had lived for several years without armor or legs, Vahn knew how difficult it was to live with the loss of a limb. Vahns thoughts spun rapidly through his head as he tried searching for the lost limb. No matter where he looked he couldnt find anything, and he was quickly running out of time. Much longer and the girl would likely die of blood loss, so Vahn needed to think of an immediate solution. Suddenly, a dangerous thought entered his mind as he quickly read through his skills. Making his decision, Vahn grits his teeth while switching his sword to his left hand...and slices off his own right arm. Title: Progress : Cry for Help (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Stranger, Hold my beer, Is it wrong to pick up girls in a dungeon?, Thats a little too still) Chapter 63 - Monster

Chapter 63 - Monster

The moment Vahn cut his arm off, the pain receptors in his body began sounding rms. The pain almost caused him to lose consciousness, but [Rakshasa Body] kicked in and prevented him from passing out. Due to the massive damage he had taken, his form began to change slightly and the stump of his arm tried to seal itself. Before the skill took full effect, Vahn put the second part of his n into action. He exhaled before sucking in a deep breath and activate his [Wound Transfer] on the unconscious girl. Red strings of light began appearing from her body as the wounds rapidly began to heal. Thankfully, even her arm began to grow at a noticeably fast rate. As the lines began to infuse with his body, Vahn fell to his knees and supported himself with his only remaining arm. Everywhere the light touched, puncture wounds and mangled flesh began to appear. The pain was so intense that, even if he wanted to, Vahn was unable to faint. He couldnt rely on [Rakshasa Body] to divert the pain as intentionally activating the skill would transform his body and close his wounds. Vahn vomited when a hole opened in his stomach. His blood began to flow out rapidly, but he still managed to maintain his awareness. He noticed that the arm was healing at a slower pace and he wouldnt be able tost long enough for the process toplete. Using his final [Skill Enhancement Scroll] Vahn increased the rank of his [Wound Transfer] from B to A. The increase had an immediate effect and Vahn could see the arm regrowing at a much faster pace than before. Fortunately, the increase in the skill level even mitigated some of the pain he was feeling so Vahn was able to withstand the process throughout its entirety. Now was the most important part of his n, so he couldnt afford copse yet. He picked up his severed arm from the ground but dropped it as the result of an impact to his back. Vahn coughed a mouthful of blood as he turned his head and saw a Frog Shooter who had just fired its tongue into his back. He could feel that several of his ribs were broken, but he managed to reactivate [Will of the Emperor], which had deactivated when he was wracked with pain, preventing the monster from attacking again. Withdrawing the dagger he obtained when he first entered this world, Vahn threw it directly into the eye of the monster. The shockwave created arge cavity as it passed through the body of the monster, and the dagger continued until firmly rooting itself into the dungeon wall. Due to the exertion and his current state, Vahn nearly copsed, vomiting another mouthful of blood. He quickly reached the location where he dropped his arm and attached it next to the mangled remains of his right shoulder. As he couldnt continue without a spare hand, Vahn ended up having toy on the ground next to the severed arm. He withdrew [Heal] from his inventory and began channeling his energy full force into the staff. The magic circle expanded to an area of 5m around Vahn and began to mend the wounds on his body. His arm, that was still detached, was also within the area of effect and the two disconnected parts were slowly trying to reattach themselves. The moment the flesh started to mend, he began to channel the full effects of all of his abilities including, [Yggdrasils Favor], [Rakshasa Body], and [Heart of the Eternal me]. The three skills, in conjunction with the use of [Heal], began to rapidly regenerate his damage tissue while also modifying his body. Vahn could feel the muscles in his body be stronger as the molten bloody pumped through his veins. Hair began growing on his arms and legs, including the previously severed arm. The hair on his head grew slightly longer and he could feel all of his senses increase in efficacy. There was even a strange diforting from his lower back. After several agonizing seconds, the pain slowly receded and Vahn became far calmer. The pain was relieved by [Rakshasa Body]s effects and he managed to stand upright. He tried moving around his right arm, and even though there was a strange numbness, he was able to move and feel all of his fingers. After that, he inspected the source of difort on his back and found that likely due to his skill, he had actually grown a light grey tail with white stripes. Vahn didnt have the type of pants that allowed for a tail to run through, so he bought a pair from the system. Luckily, the system seemed to ount for the change in his natural state and allowed him to purchase the same type as his current pair, but they had an stic band allowing a tail to pass through. Inspecting the rest of his body, Vahn noticed his forearms and legs had grown a dense assortment of light grey and ck striped fur. His hands had turned into ws, though they still retained their human shape. The thing he found most peculiar, every so slightly, he could see a subtle pad-like skin emerging on his palms and the tips of his fingers. The pads were soft to the touch and turned out to be more sensitive than he expected. Suddenly, and without warning, an arrow had entered Vahns detection range. He managed to evade it before following the path of the arrow to find its origins. A group of adventurers had just entered the room and, seeing the bloody carnage and Vahns transformed state, they determined that he was the cause and began attacking. The group of five immediately split to surround the monster. One of the adventurers, an elf that had fired the first arrow, began to rapidly attack Vahn from a distance. Due to his enhanced attributes and [Will of the Emperor], Vahn was able to evade the iing attacks and tried speaking out. "Why are you attacking me!? Im the one that killed all the monsters and saved the girl!" Vahn continued dodging the attack. At this point, the other members of the team had created a formation around him and were trying to attack his blind spots. The man from his front, a tall brown-haired man with a muscr physique wielding abination sword and shield, shouted in response. "Silence you vile creature! You expect us to believe the words of a monster!?" He swung his sword at Vahns legs, trying to force him back towards his allies. Due to his training with Tsubaki, and the fact he could sense the men in his surroundings, Vahn decided to advance instead of retreat. He used his gauntlets to deflect the blow before trying to disarm the man. In response, the man used his shield and mmed it into Vahns upper body to force him away. The manspanion, a short female cat person with purple hair, used the opportunity when Vahn was off-bnce to try and stab him in the side with her daggers. Without a better means of response, Vahn swiped his left hand and impacted the girl directly in her face. He could feel a small distortion in his hand that made him feel ufortable. After receiving the blow, the girl was flung back andnded unmoving on the ground. She was still breathing but had been knocked unconscious by Vahns counter. The three remaining melee fighters shouted and simultaneously charged Vahn who had nked slightly after sending the girl flying. "You bastard, you killed Tallim!!!" A young man with red hair, simr in age to the cat girl, used a skill and stabbed towards Vahn using his spear while shouting out the demise of his still livingpanion. The other two men used their swords to try and cut off Vahns path of escape. Vahn was seriously pissed off. Even though he hadnt done anything and tried to exin the situation, the party of fivepletely ignored him and kept attacking with the intent to kill. A coldness spread through his mind as all the inhibitions he had begun to fade away into nothingness. His domain began to spread out and started glowing with a golden light which caused the men to wince, but didnt stop their attack. Without dodging, Vahn allowed the spear to prate his gut while he used his hands to block the des of the men. He used the moment immediately after the collision to perform an instep and grab the two men by the neck. The spearman twisted his spear and pulled it back to prepare for a second strike, but Vahn spun and mmed the body of hispanion directly toward the spearhead while using the second man to block an iing arrow. At this point silencepletely overtook the atmosphere as Vahn continued holding the struggling man in his right hand to block the line of sight of the archer. The red-haired boy who had inadvertently stabbed his own ally let go of the spear and they both fell to the floor. The victim of the stab, a blond-haired Boaz with a lean figure, clutched the spear in his stomach to try and stimy the flow of blood. Vahn, using the momentary silence, spoke once again. "I said I didnt kill anyone. Dont make me have to take back my words." He coldly looked at the man in his hand and then dropped him to the ground. The man struggled for breath as he motioned for his elfpanion to cease the attack. They were no match for this monster, and if he was willing to spare them, they would be better served to stop the fight. After seeing the men stand down, Vahn approached the copse cat girl. The red-haired man tried to say something, but the man Vahn assumed was their leader had him deal with theirpanion with a spear prating his body. The elf was still keeping an eye on the situation, and he seemed to be waiting for Vahn to drop his guard before beginning the attack anew. Vahn arrived at the girls side and saw that her jaw had shattered from his attack. Her pretty face had beenpletely distorted by his counter and he felt slightly guilty about it. Removing [Heal] from his inventory, he began treating her injuries. After the bones had been reset, Vahn stopped healing her to prevent the party from recovering their full strength. He expected that, if he helped heal thempletely, they would probably try to attack him again with more caution. The men had rxed somewhat after seeing Vahn heal their ally. They began to suspect he had been telling the truth and thanked their lucky stars he waspassionate enough to spare them even after their usations. The leader, who had been trying to treat his own wounds, spoke up to try and ease the atmosphere. "Were sorry for wrongly using you stranger...but if it isnt any inconvenience, could you use your magic to heal Jared? A wound that pierces the body isnt easy to treat. He could die if were unable to get to the surface fast enough..." As he asked the question, his voice became lower and lower as the monster began ring towards him. Vahn walked towards the writhing man and then red towards the red-haired boy. The boy, seeing the terrifying look of the monster, immediately abandoned his ally and made his way towards the still unconscious cat girl. Staring down at the man named Jared, Vahn bent down and grabbed the spear from the front and back side of the wound. Using a twisting and jerking motion, the spear snapped and Vahn was able to pull the two halves out of the wound. He had decided that yanking it out the full length would justplicate things so he took a more direct route. This way the enemy had one less weapon if they tried attacking him again. Jared immediately writhed in pain and vomited the contents of his stomach. A foul smell began to spread in the air, and Vahn noticed the man had pissed himself due to the pain. Grimacing at the disgusting sight, Vahn quickly used [Heal] until the wound had mostly closed. The man was stillying on the ground in immense pain but tried to show a thankful smile after Vahns treatment. At this point, just as the atmosphere began to turn tense, the sleeping female chienthrope awoke. She looked around at the chaotic scene before staringzily at her right arm. Before she had passed out, she had given up all hope and was certain the limb had been lost. Looking around once again, she spotted a figure that looked simr to the boy that had saved her. The only difference was, instead of dark hair and a handsome face, he now had white hair with ck undertones. His arms and legs were both covered in fur, and he seemed to be fighting a party of adventurers. After a few seconds, she realized what was going on and tried moving her body. She was surprised to notice the expected pain never came and she was easily able to stand. After giving herself a cursory nce, she turned towards the group and shouted at the top of her lungs. "STOP! That boy is the one who saved me!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Im not a furry, its just a phase, Try me bitch, You got knocked the F*ck out!) Chapter 64 - Naaza Erisuis

Chapter 64 - Naaza Erisuis

The shout of the girl cut through the tense atmosphere and drew the eyes of everyone in the area towards the source. The party of adventurers saw that, though she was in a disheveled state, the girl was without injury. Judging by how the monster was able to heal their allies, they began to believe he had been telling the truth since the beginning. The elf, who had kept his guard up the entire time, decided to speak to the girl to confirm the situation. "I am Rein Valst of the Tyche Familia. Chienthrope girl, exin the situation." His tone was arrogant and he kept his bow at the ready while maintaining a distance with Vahn. The girl, who identified herself as Naaza Erisuis, began recounting the story from before Vahn arrived. She spoke of how a duo of high-ss adventurers that her party had met earlier in the day arrivedter with a horde of monsters in close pursuit. The duo used Naazas party to draw the attention of the monsters before abandoning the fight and fleeing. "Pass Parade!" The leader of the party spat in contempt after hearing Naazas recounting of events. Kiting a group of monsters to another group to drop aggro was one of the most frowned-upon and hated actions anyone could do to another group. There were many weaker parties that had beenpletely wiped as a result of the desperate act. Anyone found to perform a pass parade would be severely punished by the guild once the matter came to light. Naaza continued after nodding through gritted teeth. She had tears in her eyes as she talked about how her allies tried to resist the horde but were slowly overwhelmed by the sheer number of creatures. To make matters worse, at one point the variant War Shadow showed up and started massacring both her allies and monsters alike. It seemed to derive pleasure from the ughter and before she knew it, Naaza was the only one remaining of her party. At this point, Naaza paused in her story and seemed to struggle with exining something. She had gotten to the part about how the White Shadow tortured her and began shaking in fear. Remembering how the monster reveled while slowly torturing her...the sadistic glee it had as it severed one of her arms before tossing it into the mouth of a Frog Shooter. Unable to drive the image from her mind, Naaza copsed and vomited. The party of five began to feel pity for the girl. She had survived something that most people would never be able to walk away from and now had to live with the seque of the event. The purple-haired cat girl, who had awoken at this point, began rubbing Naazas back in an effort tofort the traumatized girl. After a few minutes, Naaza managed to recover her senses and continued the story. She skipped over the parts about how she was tortured, and everyone seemed to agree it wasnt necessary, allowing her to continue detailing how Vahn had shown up at thest minute to save her. Not only had he defeated the White Shadow and all the remaining monsters, he even managed to restore her body after she had passed out. The next thing she remembered was waking up to see everyone fighting her savior which lead to this moment. Everyone except the elf had apologetic and embarrassed expressions on their face. They were able to infer that, after Vahn had saved the girl he was waiting for her to awaken before escorting her out of the dungeon. They misunderstood the situation, as Vahn was surrounded by corpses, and assumed he had been the culprit behind the ughter. The leader of the group seemed to be trying toe up with a way to apologize, but the elf spoke out before he was able to. "It does not change the fact that this boy is a monster. All humanoid monsters are targets for extermination, no matter if they are intelligent or the type to go around saving people. We dont know his purpose for being here, and this may all be an borate setup for future ns. By earning your empathy, he may use it as a means of wreaking havoc on arger group of people after earning your trust." The atmosphere became tense as the arrogant and usatory words of the elf transmitted to the group. The leader of the party shouted, "Rein, shut your goddamn mouth! Are you trying to get us all killed!?" Rein scoffed and gave a sideward nce towards his supposed leader. "If he attacks us now, hell just be revealing his true nature. I suggest we report this incident to the Guild and inform them of the potential exploitation of this girl. We cant have her leading people to their deaths just because she falls for a monsters ploy." As his words fell,ughter started spreading throughout the room. Everyone was stunned and turned towards the monster who seemed to be cackling in an evil manner. It was almost like he was losing his mind, and the entire group, minus Naaza, began preparing for the ensuing battle. After a few seconds, Vahn stoppedughing before looking into the eyes of the elf with a condescending gaze. "Thria*Mimos!" Vahn spoke each word with a powerful, venomous undertone. The moment the final syble fell, his body began to change into a new shape. Instead of the tiger-like qualities, he was now converting his appearance to appear more wolf-like. The onlookers stared with ck-jawed expressions while even the elf seemed to be discontent with how things were developing. Naaza, the only person that had kept a rtive calm in the changing situation, released a relieved sigh before speaking. "Its a magic spell. You using someone of being a monster was baseless! Not only were you trying to kill him, to begin with, but when you failed to do so you nned to drag his reputation through the mud!? Despicable!" Now that things had been cleared up, Naaza was very pissed off at the arrogant elf. He not only intended to insult her savior, but his actions would have dragged her and her Familia down as well. Nobody would want to associate with a Familia that had been tricked by a monster. The elf was offended by the insult, but seeing as how even his ownpanions were staring at him with contempt, he tried changing the momentum of the conversation. "Even if he possesses a magic to transform into a beast, it doesnt prove he isnt a monster. None of us here have seen him take the form of any of the civilized races!" As the words fell, another change began to ur which drew everyones attention away from him. Vahn, who at this point had recovered greatly, began turning back into his normal state. As he had been out ofbat for a while now, the energy maintaining his [Rakshasa Body] had long depleted and was being supported by his willpower and emotions alone. Hearing the arrogant elfs words, Vahn allowed the transformation to disperse. Now, he stood before the entire group in his normal form with dark hair and tanned skin. His green eyes stared fiercely at the elf, almost as if he was daring him to say something else. "Satisfied? Or is your pride so important that youre willing to put your life on the line to continue this charade!?" The face of the elf contorted as if he had swallowed something foul. He wanted to refute the words and was thinking about the best way to do so. Vahn, seeing his state spoke out once again. "My name is Vahn Mason. Im a member of the Hephaestus Familia and a protege of its Captain, Tsubaki Collbrande. You said you were Rein Valst of the Tyche Familia? Good, I am sure our gods would be willing to settle this matter." As Vahn dropped that bombshell, he began to walk towards the exit. He had already saved the girl, who he was surprised to find out was Naaza from the original story. Now that he had prevented her from losing an arm, the Miach family would never go into debt and lose most of its power. Vahn hoped she would be happier than her counterpart from the manga. Seeing the person named Vahn leaving, the party began to think of him as a monster in a new meaning. Their Familia was only a C-Rank Familia with the strongest adventurers being their own group at level 2. There was no way they could afford to offend a titanic S-Rank Familia like the Hephaestus Familia! The leader spoke out in a hurry and tried to catch up to the departing figure. "Wait, wait, wait! Cant we talk about this? There is no need to make this a conflict between our two Familia! Come, Ill have everyone apologize. Rein, get your pointy-eared ass over here!" The boaz man was incredibly fl.u.s.tered. He wanted to wring the neck of hispanion for escting things to such an extent. If nothing else, he could have at least prevented exposing their names and which Familia they belonged to! The moment he caught up to Vahn, he tried to amicably ce his arm on the boys shoulder before receiving a powerful back-hand strike which cracked several of his ribs and left a dent in his armor. Vahn red into his pain-filled expression and spoke with a cold tone. "The next time you try toy your hands on me, do so with the conviction of facing death." Without sparing any more words for the awe-struck group, Vahn continued on his way. Naaza, who had also been surprised by the sudden change, woke up from her stupor and chased after him. She wasnt fond of this group and thought they were a bunch of prideful jerks. Even if Vahn seemed a little cruel, he had saved her life and healed her wounds. Following him was much better than staying with this contemptible party. Vahn didnt say anything after she had caught up with him, he just gave her a curt nod and a small smile. She seemed even more surprised after seeing how quickly Vahns cold nature had diminished after separating with the group. Though, after thinking about it, she understood he was likely very angry after being attacked by the group. Seeing as how he was willing to save her, he must have a kind-hearted nature. Naaza released a relieved sigh and returned a smile of her own. "Im Naaza. Thank you for saving me Vahn." In response, Vahn slowly shook his head but his smile didnt fade. Naaza was confused, but her concerns were immediately answered when he responded, "Youll be safe after we get you out of this dark and dreary dungeon. Youre still in shock from the events, and once the reality of the situation hits it will be very painful. For now, focus on keeping your bearings. I promise I will protect you until you are able to reunite with your Familia above ground." Hearing his kind words, Naaza began tearing up. Though she had been trying to maintain her calm after recounting her story earlier, she was affected deeply by the loss of her friends. She had even given up any hope of living before Vahn had saved her. Now he was even promising to protect her while showing he understood the internal struggles happening within her mind. She covered her mouth to try and stifle her sobbing, but the tears began to overpower her resistance and she copsed to the ground in grief. Vahn, seeing that his words had the opposite effect, bent down and took her into his arms. His actions caused Naaza to stop holding back her tears as she began loudly wailing within his embrace. Vahn held her in a gentle, but firm embrace as he consoled the bereaved girl. He continued tending to her even when the group of five passed by him with awkward expressions on their faces. Vahn gave them a solemn look without saying anything, and they at least had the wherewithal to not interfere with the current situation. They continued on their way, likely nning to leave the dungeon and report the situation to their Familia. After several minutes passed, Naaza had stopped crying and was now gently snoring in Vahns arms. He looked down into the tear-stained face of the girl and felt pity. Various thoughts began to sprout in his mind, but Vahn decided to worry about themter. For now, he picked up Naazas body and held her close as he started running through the dungeon towards the staircase where he had parted with Lili. (A/N: Pride before the Fall, My Goddess is bigger than your Goddess, Innate Skill [Face p: SSS]) Chapter 65 - Return

Chapter 65 - Return

Vahn continued carrying Naaza while making his way through the dungeon. There were several instances where monsters spawned and tried to attack, but he was able to use [Will of the Emperor] in concentrated bursts while using the burning effect of his [Heart of the Eternal me] to injure the monsters eyes. On this floor the mostmon encounter was with Frog Shooters, so damaging their single eye made them helpless in trying to attack Vahn as he sprinted through the corridors. After arriving near the staircase, Vahn was able to see Lili in the distance still waiting for him. When she caught sight of his approach she became very excited until noticing the girl in Vahns arms. Lili frowned but didnt say anything as she knew the girl was likely a victim and someone Vahn had saved. For now, she cleared the path of the door and allowed Vahn to pass unobstructed. The corridor connecting the stairs is typically considered a safe zone, so Vahn allowed Naaza to rest on the mats that Lili hadid out. After cing her down, he noticed her clothes were in disarray, so he used a nket to make sure she was properly covered. The air within the dungeon wasnt very warm, and it would be ironic if she got a cold after everything that happened. Lili, seeing how much care Vahn was giving the girl, decided to rece him and tend to the unconscious woman. She told Vahn it was more appropriate for girls to help girls in case there were any sensitive matters to discuss. For now, she told him to just rest until the woman awoke on her own and then they would be able to leave the dungeon. Vahn nodded and rested against the wall. He watched as Lili began inspecting Naaza for injuries and then, seeing his gaze, put up a barricade to block his sight. Vahn was able to hear the sound of clothes being shifted about and imagined that Lili was probably putting her first-aid training to the test. Vahn knew that Naaza didnt have any injuries, but he allowed Lili to do as she pleased for now. Lili undressed the chienthrope girl and began to frown. She noticed that no matter where she looked, she was unable to find any injuries on the girl. This meant that Vahn had likely used the same technique he had used to save her previously. Since he had the ability to heal minor wounds, that meant the girl had suffered severe injuries and he probably had to experience a lot of pain when saving her. She sighed and began to inspect the figure of the girl, though not for injuries. Lili noticed that the girl was pretty cute and had a great figure. Given the efforts Vahn put into saving her, she would likely be a rival in the future. Lili also noticed that, like most chienthropes, the girl had droopy dog ears and a bushy tail. Given Vahns propensity for petting girls with such features, Lili was very worried about the future. She released an even deeper sigh before asking Vahn to hand her a change of clothes. As all of Lilis clothes were far too small, she had to make do with giving the girl one of Vahns tunics. Lili gnashed her teeth at the good fortune of the girl and struggled to part with the piece of fabric. After making sure the girl was properly dressed, she removed the barrier blocking Vahns sight and then plopped down on hisp. Vahn was surprised momentarily, but as he had grown ustomed to her actions, he just allowed her to act spoiled for the time being. He knew she was pouting and was probably jealous that he had saved another girl. Though he still wanted to break her selfish tendencies, seeing the small form of the girl and the fact she had waited patiently for his return, he decided to reward her for a bit and began ying with her cat ears. Lili had been anticipating Vahns actions and immediately stopped pouting. She instead rested her back against his chest and mewled silently in response to his affection. Moments like this were the times when she was most happy, and it gave her the energy she needed to continue putting in efforts to grow stronger. --- After having been around Vahn for more than a month, she had started to realize a lot of important things she previously overlooked. Though she also built walls around her heart and avoided people, Vahn seemed to almost have a disregard for the existence of others. Unless they directly interacted with him, Vahn seemed to ignore people and made almost no efforts tomunicate until he had evaluated them. Yes, evaluated, is how Tsubaki described it when she and Lili were talking about Vahn. Tsubaki noticed that Vahn had a tendency to observe people he associated with and always made measured responses. His actions were unnatural, and even though he showed moments of insight, he seemed to not notice it himself. This was the reason she had invited Welf over that night because she wanted to see how Vahn was able to deal with a male simr in age to himself. During the moments when Vahn wasnt around, Tsubaki was constantly speaking with Lili about Vahns mental wellness and other important subjects. She shared the spections held by her and Hephaestus and wanted Lili to understand the significance of what Vahn was going through. Since Vahn treated Lili as something he desired to protect, Tsubaki made sure Lili was to restrain herself until Vahn manages to adapt to normal society. To prove the severity of the issue, she had dragged Lili to the onsen after Vahn entered to prove he had no interest in the opposite s.e.x at the moment. Lili was surprised at seeing Vahns reaction to their intrusion and the indifference he showed in regards to his own nudity and being seen n.a.k.e.d by others. Though she was distracted at the time, after Tsubaki captured herter she was able to understand things more clearly. Lili was very sad by the revtion and thought she had been wronging Vahn by acting out, but Tsubaki ignored her mncholy and began teasing her. After ying with her body for a few torturous minutes, Tsubaki finally freed her before exining further. Tsubaki actually encouraged Lili to have Vahn spoil her, but told her only to do so when she had worked hard or aplished something. Since Vahn wanted to protect Lili and help her grow stronger, he would be able to justify his actions as a reward and slowly build awareness of other peoples feelings over time. Lili was more than willing to participate and began to work hard the very next day. --- After a few minutes, Lili sighed in her mind before separating from Vahn. She knew if things continued for too long it would cause more harm than good. Vahn didnt prevent her from escaping, he just gave her a gentle smile before turning to face Naaza. Lili sat next to him and also waited for the sleeping beauty to awaken. While they were waiting, Vahn asked if the five-man party had passed by. Lili affirmed his suspicions and said they only briefly questioned why she had set up camp in the area, but since she hadrgely ignored them, they ended up moving on. The elf of their party seemed to be offended by her unwillingness to answer, but the boaz man with a sword and shield smacked him in the back of the head before dragging him away. Hearing that the fool kept antagonizing other people, Vahn began to seriously wonder if that elf had a few screws loose within his head. He couldnt help but think, How can someone have so much pride that they continually dig themselves further and further into a hole? He shook his head and swore to bring up the matter to Hephaestus when they exited the dungeon. Though Vahn didnt want the entire Familia to suffer, he would have justice for the treatment he received. --- About an hourter, Naaza finally awoke with a confused expression. She looked at her surroundings while inspecting the unfamiliar clothes on her body. To the side, she could see the man who saved her, Vahn, showing a gentle smile as he looked towards her. Beside him, Naaza could see a young cat person who, unlike Vahn, seemed to have a bit of hostility in her gaze. A thought passed through Naazas mind as she seemed to understand the underlying meaning. Naaza blushed slightly and lowered her head. Seeing the clean tunic on her body, she couldnt help but ask, "Did you change my clothing? Where did this tunice from?" In response to her question, the small cat person spoke. "Vahn wasnt the one to change you, it was me. Im Lili, Vahns partner, by the way. The tunic youre wearing is one of Vahns spares. Unfortunately, my clothes wouldnt be able to fit you so we had to make due with what was avable." Hearing that the clothes belonged to the boy, Naaza, who still had her head lowered, felt her nose twitch slightly. As a chienthrope, her sense of smell was much stronger than other races and she could faintly detect a manly aroma from the garment. Her small action didnt escape the sight of Lili who began to groan with jealousy. She wanted to say more, but Vahn interrupted her by standing. "We need to get out of the dungeon. Its already prettyte and Im certain both our Familia are waiting for our return. You should be able to walk, but if youre feeling any difort I can carry you to the surface." It was already nearing 11 PM, almost a full hour past their curfew. Vahn knew there were going to be problems if they dyed any further, and could even feel a slight difort from the eternal me in his heart. The two girls nodded in response and helped clean up all the currently strewn about items. Naaza was in much better shape after crying herself to sleep and resting for a bit. Though she would still need time to process everything and cope, Vahn hoped she was able to put this event behind her in the future. After everything was ready, the trio began their journey towards the surface. --- After arriving on the first floor of Babel, the group was immediately intercepted by arge group of people. Vahn was able to see many familiar faces in the crowd including Tsubaki and Miach. Hephaestus wasnt in sight, but Vahn learnedter that she had stormed into the Tyche Familia and demanded an exnation from their Goddess, Tyche. The culprit behind the incident, the elf known as Rein, was severely reprimanded and forced to take an oath to repay 30,000,000V to Vahn aspensation in the future. He would be stuck trying to repay the debt for years unless Vahn was willing to forgive him. Tsubaki had a fierce expression on her face, but the moment she saw Vahn and Lili she began smiling. "Im d you two are safe. Good work!" Tsubaki then gave them both a big hug thatsted several seconds. Both Vahn and Lili wereforted by the action, as they had expected her to be very angry for failing to return before their curfew. Naaza had been received by the other group of people and was exchanging hugs with several crying members. The tears she had been holding back since awakening now started flowing freely as she was embraced by her Familia. Miach wasforting her from the side and listening to her recounting the events with a mixture of anger and sadness on his face. Their Familia had suffered a terrible blow today, and if Vahn hadnt saved Naaza they may have never even known the reason. Miach left Naaza to the care of his children and approached the Hephaestus Familia rescue team. He wanted to meet the hero who had saved one of his beloved children. Noticing the young man next to Tsubaki, Miach was surprised. The boy was much younger than he expected and had a powerful aura sleeping within his body. He could see the shadow of greatness slowly taking root deep within Vahns soul. Vahn also noticed the approaching Miach. While Miach was evaluating him, Vahn was doing the same. He noticed that the God was an incredibly handsome man with blue hair and blue eyes. The auraing from his body was incredibly dense and was a mixture of yellows ented by a deep violet color that radiated out of his body. From Vahns experience, this showed that Miach was likely a verypassionate person who harbored no ill will towards him. The two smiled at each other before Tsubaki loudly spoke out. "Hey, Miach-kami! Looks like our kid ended up doing you a pretty big favor this time. Make sure you give him a good discount in the future!" Tsubaki startedughing at her own words while patting Vahns back. (A/N: Other than their own gods, most people dont refer to gods with sama. It feels weird to type out "Hey, God Miach..." in a sentence so I added -kami to the end. Let me know if you think it should be changed to sama for future reference.) Miach nodded in response to Tsubaki before bowing slightly towards Vahn. "Thank you, Vahn. My Familia owes you a debt of gratitude that cannot be repaid. If you are ever in need, please feel free to rely on us. As long as it is within our means I, God Miach, vow to provide no less than my full efforts to return your kindness." Hearing their Gods promation, every present member of the Miach Familia also bowed towards Vahn. As long as it wasnt against their principles, they would do their best to repay his favor in the future. Vahn nodded and returned the bow as Tsubakiughed loudly at his side. Even as he bent over, she kept patting his back with increased force while Lili anxiously looked on from the side. She was very happy for Vahn, but seeing Tsubaki so riled up made cold sweat pour down her back. Tonight would probably not end until everyone partied themselves to sleep. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Handsome, Manly Gazes, Miachs Gratitude, Vow between men) Chapter 66 - Party : Promise

Chapter 66 - Party : Promise

Though Tsubaki invited them along, Miach had his Familia thank the Hephaestus Familia before parting ways. Even though it wasnt wrong to celebrate Naazas return, he wanted to give his children time to mourn the death of theirrades. He also needed to arrange the time to visit the Guild and issue a formal investigation request. Miach would not rest until the duo that leads to the death of his children were brought to justice. Tsubaki understood his concerns and let Miach know the Hephaestus Familia would cooperate with the investigation. Though it had been an indirect result, the duo almost led to the death of Vahn as well, since the misunderstanding that caused him to be attacked would have never happened without the pass parade. If Tsubaki got her hands on the two, she would string them both up to dry in the sun if she had her way. --- The two groups parted ways and Tsubaki led the members of the Hephaestus Familia to the Hostess of Fertility. Vahn and Lili both visited frequently and it was the best ce they could think of to celebrate with arge number of people. Upon their arrival, the group was greeted by Anya who quickly got Mama Mia to settle the matter of seating arrangements while she went to inform Chloe. Whenever she was on duty, Chloe was the waitress that always dealt with Vahn and his apanying guests. After Mama Mia learned the purpose of the groups visit, she began tough loudly simr to Tsubaki. She looked towards Vahn with a huge smile on her face and said, "You got a real heroic streak in you kid! First the little one and now you got yourself a big one in the bag? At this rate, youre going to break our Chloes heart. Hahaha!" Mama Mia had seen Chloe approaching and said the final few words loud enough the entire pub could hear. Chloe gave an awkwardugh while trodding over to the group. "Mama Mia~! Youre embarrassing me~nya! Im happy as long as Vahn is happy you know~?" Though she acted embarrassed, Chloe didnt disy a bashful demeanor or shy expression. She even used thest few words to tease Vahn by giving him a yful wink. Vahn returned a smile and sat between Tsubaki and Lili as the rest of the Familia started cing their orders. Everyone was in high spirits as they were celebrating the safe return and heroic deeds of their younger Familia members. For many, it was their first time actually meeting Vahn and Lili, so they were very interested to know what kind of people they were. Seeing how much emphasis their Goddess put in his rescue and how quickly they were asked to gather, many of them wanted to establish an amicable rtionship with the rising star. Vahn answered many of their questions while Tsubaki intercepted anything that might rte to his secret. She didnt shut anyone down directly, but always interrupted and changed the topic of conversation. Vahn was really grateful for her help, as he wasnt ustomed to dealing with so many people at once. Even Lili and Chloe would periodically step in to change the atmosphere or even distract Vahn when he seemed to have trouble responding. The members of the rescue party quickly caught on that it wasnt appropriate to ask too many personal questions about Vahn. Most of their members were Level 3 or higher, and they had been familiar with Tsubaki for a very long time. It wasnt an ident that Hephaestus had arranged for Tsubaki, who is the Captain of the entire Familia, to be the one leading the emergency mission. Instead of prying any deeper, they just gave into the festive atmosphere and drank their curiosity while teasing Vahn for his apparent luck with women. --- The party continuedte into the night before Mama Mia finally kicked everyone out. Tsubaki paid the tab for the entire group which roused a cheer from the whole party as they parted ways into the cold night. After everyone left, Tsubaki escorted Vahn and Lili home before having them take turns bathing and sending them off to bed. Since it was a special asion, she told them to take the next day off and rx. Vahn and Lili were both happy to hear that as they had been working hard for the entire three weeks. Tsubaki didnt give them much free time and even their days off consisted of reading books or performing equipment maintenance. Vahn had be a good assistant and had even forged some mid-grade weapons on his own. That night, Vahn slept soundly and continued dreaming long into the next morning. It had been a very long time since he enjoyed sleeping in and it wasnt until Lili knocked on his door that he finally pulled himself from thefort of his futon. She hade to inform Vahn that it was time for lunch and stated Tsubaki had some news to discuss. Vahn nodded and headed towards the bathroom to wash his face before leaving towards the dining area. --- When he arrived, Vahn was pleasantly surprised to see Hephaestus drinking tea with Tsubaki and Lili. They were all waiting for him before eating lunch, which consisted of grilled-fish with rice and a rich vegetable soup. Hephaestus showed a radiant smile when Vahn entered the room, and he bowed in response while greeting her in return. "Good afternoon Hephaestus. Thanks for your help yesterday. Im sorry to have troubled you for personal reasons." Hephaestus gave a helpless sigh as she shook her head. "Its no trouble Vahn. Its fortunate those idiots werent that strong. If anything had happened I would have had to send Tyche back to heaven after annihting her Familia." She spoke without a change in expression and Vahn could tell she wasnt joking. He sat down before trying to calm her. "Mmm, it was just a misunderstanding. Im lucky they werent stronger or I would have had to kill them instead of just injuring them. I dont want to be a murderer over something inconsequential." As Vahn spoke, Lili, who was sitting to his left, flinched slightly. She lowered her head while holding her cup with both hands and slowly sipped at its contents. Hephaestus nodded in response to Vahn. "Im d, Vahn. The fact youre able to keep your head in that type of situation ismendable. Continue to improve so youll never be forced to kill anyone that isnt threatening the things you wish to protect." She showed him a gentle and encouraging smile while Tsubaki began tough with a cheeky grin on her face. "Hahaha, youre not going to mention how you almost forced the entire party to be exiled from the Familia or how you initially wanted that dumb elf to pay 100,000,000V in reparations? I heard Tyche-sama had to beg on her hands and knees just to calm your anger!" Tsubaki was beside herself withughter. Seeing Hephaestus pretend to act calm was very amusing to her. Hephaestus blushed and gave a hateful look at Tsubaki who continued tough in spite of her reproachful gaze. Eventually, Hephaestus just sighed and recalled the events of the previous day in her mind. She had known something was wrong long before news came from the dungeon. While she was in her workshop, she could feel Vahns heartbeat begin to elerate rapidly. When she focused on it, she could feel his distressed state of mind and his unease. She knew from the connection they shared he was in danger, so Hephaestus immediately threw aside the metal she had been shaping and used amunication magic tool to immediately inform Tsubaki who then passed the word to the avable high-level adventurers. Hephaestus then spent the next several hours in a state of duress. She even nursed the thought of trying to enter the dungeon herself, since she believed she would be able to track Vahn using their connection. She showed up to meet with the group led by Tsubaki and was prevented from entering by the Guild personnel that had arrived to investigate. After arguing with the officials for a while, Hephaestus began to grow restless but managed to keep her cool since Vahns heart had stabilized a while back. However, even though it had returned to normal, there was a point where his heart had been beating so rapidly she thought it was going to explode within her soul. Immediately after that, the beating nearly stopped and Hephaestus almost copsed before noticing it continued to beat with a gentle, but steady rhythm. After that, it was a roller-coaster for her which is what led Hephaestus to arrive outside the entrance to the dungeon. While the group was still arguing with the Guild staff, a party of five adventurers came rushing out of the dungeon. Seeing the Guild personnel, they began to inform them of what had happened in the dungeon. Though Hephaestus ignored it at first, the moment she heard them mention a boy named Vahn she immediately took action only to be beaten in response by Tsubaki. Tsubaki forced the group to recount the story from start to finish and nearly went ballistic after hearing that the group tried to attack Vahn. Hephaestus had also been listening and looked at the party of five with a cold expression. After she found out what Familia they belonged to, she split the rescue party in half before dragging the cowering adventurers straight to the residence of the Goddess Tyche. The rest was very simr to what Tsubaki described...it wasnt until Tyche made a vow that Hephaestus finally calmed her anger. "Thank you Hephaestus. You got angry on my behalf..." Hephaestus was broken from her reverie by Vahn, who had whispered his thanks to her yet again. She could see he was genuinely grateful, so she let go of the anger that still remained in her heart and put on her best smile. "I told you I would protect you Vahn. I mean to keep my word." --- After a few short exchanges, Lili began serving everyone lunch. The group continued chatting about various things including the Miach familia and the ongoing investigation. Hephaestus also had an interest in finding out who the two were, so she pressured the Guild alongside Miach to force them to investigate quickly. Since the Guild had a database of all the recorded Familia and their members, it wouldnt be long before they were able to identify the culprits. The conversation continued before Tsubaki brought up the topic she had originally intended to speak about. "Pretty soon youll be getting an alias Vahn. Your fame will likely spread after people find out about all the things youve done recently. Make sure youre working hard so some shady characters dont use you to make a name for themselves!" Vahn was surprised to hear he would be getting an alias but didnt mind much since he had long ago reached Level 2. Hephaestus continued the topic and gave her own news. "Tsubaki is right. Its nearly the time for the Denatus where all the gods in the area gather to discuss various matters. One of the topics that are often raised includes the naming of any adventurers that have reached level 2 or higher. I will be attending for a few days, and when I return Ill inform you about their decision. Try not to get your hopes up though...not all the alias assigned to Level 2 adventurers are very ttering." Hearing her exnation, Vahn nodded his head in understanding. He remembered Hestia working hard to get a normal alias for Bell when he had reached level 2. Hopefully his wasnt too strange though, even if it was, Vahn figured he could just work hard for the next three months to obtain level 3 and get a new one... Tsubaki chimed in, "Lili, you need to work hard as well. Youre already qualified to reach level 2, so youll have three months to improve your foundation before the next Denatus. Once you obtain your alias is when your journey as an adventurer officially begins. Youll be able to ept missions from the Guild and people will evene to you depending on your reputation." Tsubaki was very familiar with the influence of an alias. Even her current nickname, Cyclops, had a big impact on how people saw her. She still wanted to punch the fool that came up with the idea... --- After lunch, Hephaestus had to leave to attend to other matters. Before she left though, she hesitated before turning back and embracing Vahn. Though he was surprised, Vahn epted Hephaestuss embrace and even reciprocated with his own. He could see her aura had been in disorder since sheid eyes on him earlier. She had likely been worried about him yesterday, and Vahn wanted to help alleviate her feelings of unrest. Hephaestus gently whispered into his ear, "Dont go dying in somece I cant reach you...". Vahn nodded, even though his face was currently near her b.r.e.a.s.ts. He put strength into his arms and returned a whisper of his own. "I promise...I will be the strongest so you never have to worry about me again." Hephaestusughed slightly after hearing his words. She put more strength into her embrace and pulled his face closer to her own. "I worry about you because I want to. Even if you be the strongest in the entire world, my heart will only be at ease when you are safe within my sight." After the extended embrace, the two parted ways. Vahn continued staring at the back of Hephaestus as a conviction began to take root in his heart. He gripped his fists and headed towards the training area while Tsubaki, who had been watching the situation with interest, shook her head without stopping him. Lili stared at Vahns back, lost in thought until he had nearly disappeared. Seeing his body turn the corner, she too headed towards the courtyard. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Come back...with your shield, or on it., Two Cyclops and a Hero, Tyche did nothing wrong!) Chapter 67 - House Visit

Chapter 67 - House Visit

In the days to follow, Vahn had increased his training intensity. He was now up to the sixth level on the weighted bamboo course which Tsubaki equated to being able to react to a veteran Level 3s attacks. Since he had been unable to evade the attack of the previous Level 2 adventurer party, Vahn wanted to greatly enhance his mobility. At this point, his [Featherfoot] ability had increased from E to D, and Vahn knew it wouldnt be long before the skill increased again. Lili was also making an increased effort and started a strange practice with Tsubaki that had her put weights on her legs and walk on her hands through an obstacle course. Every time she arrived at a post, she was required to kick ten times before she was allowed to continue. After Vahn asked why she had Lili perform such a strange training, Tsubaki told Vahn it was to help increase her omnidirectional movement abilities and core strength. Since Lili had a small stature, her center of gravity was low to the ground which allowed her to use many unorthodoxbat styles. As Lili had a unique skill like [Artel*Assist], it was actually much easier to condition her body than normal people. While other people had to struggle and adapt to increased weights, Lili was able to actually improve her stats instead. As long as she continued increasing the intensity, Lili would be able to slowly convert her entire body into a weapon. It wasnt long after this strange training started that Tsubaki had Lili and Vahn begin sparring with each other. Lili was hesitant at first but quickly threw her inhibitions aside before charging Vahn. Unlike their previous spars a month ago, Lili now had greater agility and used her flexible body to attack Vahn from several tricky angles. Instead of the awkward stances and weak strikes used in the past, now Lili used her entire body to maneuver and attack. As Vahns parameters were much higher, he was able to easily deal with the attacks. However, he was caught off guard in one instance where Lili had actually vaulted off her hand to kick towards his face. Vahn caught the leg, but Lili twisted her body and used her second leg to nail Vahn directly in the chest. Vahn released the captured leg, and Lili used the rebounding force of her attack to somersault back to her feet. Vahn was so surprised by the acrobatic movement that he was nearly unable to receive the follow-up attacks. He began tough and enjoy the fight while Tsubaki, who was spectating from the side nodded in approval. Her training with Lili not only increased her versatility but also helped polish Vahns skills in dealing with unorthodox attacks. It also allowed him to practice controlling his strength, which Vahn seemed to struggle with when under pressure. The spar continued for twenty minutes before Tsubaki stopped them. Lili was gasping for air, but she still had a smile on her face for being able to perform much better than she expected. This was her first time sparring with Vahn since their training began, and she was very satisfied to see her own improvements. Vahn was also happy and had been enjoying the fight since her initial acrobatic disy. He approached and infused energy into his hand and ced it on Lilis back. Activating his [Hands of Nirvana], he was able to help ease her breathing difficulties. When he was finished, he yfully ruffled her hair before sitting off to the side and taking a break. This was the first time Lili had seen Vahn act so happily, and she was experiencing a mixture of excitement and bashfulness after Vahn used his skill to ease her fatigued state. Tsubaki startedughing from the side before teasing the two for their interaction. "You two are almost like a brother and sister! How adorable~!" Vahn smiled, but Lili seemed to take damage after hearing the words. She kept muttering brother and sister under her breath for the entire duration of the break. Before the break ended, however, a guest had arrived. It was Miach, and he had been apanied by Naaza who was dressed in casual attire consisting of a beige shirt, light red shawl, and a green pleated skirt ented by white stocks and tan boots. After seeing Vahn enter the room alongside Tsubaki and Lili, Miach showed a gentle smile while Naaza disyed a slight blush. Vahn was curious at her behavior, as it was far different than the detached character she disyed in the manga. Its likely that healing her arm had prevented her personality from deteriorating and this was most likely her original character. As she was only a sixteen-year-old girl, it would have been sad to see her depressed and mncholic. Miach and Naaza both bowed. "Once again, Vahn. I, Miach, God of the Miach Familia, would like to thank you for saving my precious child Naaza." After he finished his words, Naaza spoke as well. "Yes, thank you, Vahn. I may not be here today if it werent for you. Also..." Naaza looked towards Miach and saw him nod with a kind smile. "I..wanted to confirm something. I know it may not be appropriate to ask, but Im certain that before I passed out that I had been missing my arm. Though Id like to pretend it was just a dream, the image is so clear in my head that I...I..." Naaza began to tremble as she began to recall the scene. The image of the White Shadow slowly grinding away at the stump of her arm had left a deeply rooted trauma in her heart. Tsubaki listened at the side, and when Naaza began to ask her question, she too became curious. She looked towards Vahn and saw he was in contemtion before he made eye contact with her. Tsubaki understood from his question if he was allowed to speak, and she slowly nodded her head before interrupting. "You two should know its taboo to ask someone about their skills or parameters. Vahn might be willing to talk, and though were not distrusting you, youll have to guarantee absolute secrecy if you want to hear the answer." Tsubaki looked towards Miach sternly, and he nodded without changing his expression at all. "I, Miach, Patron God of the Miach Familia, hereby swear on my Divinity to protect the secrets of Vahn Mason at risk of destruction of my mortal body should I dishonor my vow." As he spoke, Miach drew a strange crest which seemed to record his words. When he was finished, he looked towards Naaza who made a simr vow. "I, Naaza Erisuis, hereby swear on my Familia Crest to protect the secrets of Vahn Mason at risk of losing my falna and sealing my skills." After she spoke, they both added a drop of blood to the floating crest which shed with a brilliant light before vanishing into particles. Tsubaki, seeing that the ritual waspleted, nodded towards Vahn and asked if she and Lili were allowed to listen. Vahn nodded, as he already trusted the two who had developed affection values exceeding 90 with him. Lili was even holding strongly at 98, and Vahn had often considered what was required to earn thest two points. --- After nearly an hour, Vahn had exined everything that happened from his end. He excluded anything rted to [Rakshasa Body] but exined the functions of [Wound Transfer] and how he was able to use abination of his other skills alongside healing magic to re-attach his arm. Naaza, hearing him recount the events had tears in her eyes after realizing the effort he had put in to save her. She hadnt expected Vahn had cut off his own arm in an attempt to help restore her own... Miach was surprised to learn the existence of such a skill. If used properly, Vahn would be able to save countless lives! But, after hearing the amount of pain and suffering the user had to experience, Miach knew it was not such a convenient skill. If the person using itcked willpower they would s.u.mb to the very wounds they were trying to heal. And, without a method to rapidly heal themselves, overuse of the skill would inevitably lead to death or disability. "It seems the debt my Familia owes you is even greater than I expected." As he spoke, Miach bowed low until his forehead nearly touched the ground. It was almost considered sphemous for a God to bow to a human, but Miach never cared for such formalities. The boy before him was deserving of his respect and admiration. Not many people his age, or even those much older, would be able to willingly sacrifice themselves or suffer on behalf of others. Naaza also tried to bow, but Vahn spoke up interrupting the two. "Stop! I acted at my convenience to do something I wanted to do. Even if youre grateful, it doesnt make me happy to see people bow to express their feelings. From now on just do your best to live well and enjoy life, that is more than enough to pay your debts." Miachs impression of Vahn grew even more, and he ceased bowing to show his assent. Looking to his side, he could see Naaza still on the verge of tears as she struggled with her internal emotions. Miach showed a gentle smile before addressing Vahn. "Vahn, I would like you to visit my Familia when you get a chance. I guarantee we will greet you with open arms, and Id like to introduce you to all of my children. If youre interested, I would also be willing to teach you and yourpanions how to make various medicines and concoct potions." Vahn nodded his head. It had been his intent for some time to learn alchemy and brewing. He had purchased some basic manuals on it but hadnt been able to learn the [Mixing] or [Alchemy] development abilities. Without proper guidance and experience, there wasnt a lot of progress he could make on his own. Seeing Vahn agree to visit, Miach nodded and prepared to leave. Naaza rose to follow, but Miach stopped her. "Its okay Naaza, stay for as long as Tsubaki allows you. When the timees, you can be the one to escort Vahn back to the Familia. Ill entrust his basic training to you." Naaza froze after hearing her Gods words. Though she didnt mind helping Vahn learn how to mix potions, she never expected Miach to allow her to stay outside of the pharmacy. Miach shook his head. "I understand you have your concerns Naaza, but you should be enjoying your youth more. Ive seen how ufortable you are around the rest of the Familia right now. You still me yourself for what happened in the dungeon and are avoiding getting close to anyone. I think staying here will be good for your mind and body. Treat it like a vacation and return whenever your heart finds bnce." As he spoke, Miach was gently patting Naazas head. She blushed at the affectionate action and seemed to be confused as she snuck peaks between her God and the boy who saved her... Tsubakiughed loudly at the sudden series of events. "Good for you kid! Looks like its going to get more lively around here. Feel free to stay as long as you want Naaza. If Vahn or Lili bully you, just tell me and Ill beat them up!" Tsubaki had started patting Vahns back and gave him a thumbs up while winking with her only uncovered eye...Vahn couldnt help retorting in his mind, Isnt that just a blink!?. Naaza bowed her head low with a bright blush on her face. "Please...take care of me." Though she was still worried, she couldnt help but feel a slight anticipation for the future. (A/N: Giving away ones daughter, Miach is secretly the best wingman, Emo puppies make my heart cry, Lilis newbat style: Capoeira?, Heartwarming case of domestic assault) Chapter 68 - Denatus

Chapter 68 - Denatus

Naaza started staying within Tsubakis house from that day forward. She had been assigned a room within the same corridor as Lili, which was on the opposite side of the building in the eastern wing. Tsubakis room was located at the furthest section of the hall and connected to the corridor heading towards the western wing and onsen. During the first night Naaza stayed, Tsubaki managed to get both her and Lili to take a bath together so she could talk to them in private. After that, Naaza had a change in personality and started acting more proactive in her interactions with everyone. Though she was somewhat shy around Vahn, she was constantly engaging him in conversations about medicine and mixtures. She was very surprised seeing how quickly Vahn learned the information and was shocked that he was able to make modifications to the process after hearing about it only once. When Lili and Vahn werent training or entering the dungeon, Naaza would often find Vahn topare notes and ask for advice. She had even convinced Tsubaki to allow her to set up a workshop of her own and began brewing potions ording to the theories Vahn had conveyed to her. Previously, Naaza had only been able to make low-grade potions easily while she struggled to create mid-grade ones. Now, however, she was rapidly increasing her sess rate under Vahns guidance. She even began to suspect he had a lot of experience with mixing, but after seeing him attempt the process himself, she immediately threw that thought out the window. Unlike forging, which Vahn was able to perform easily with the support of [Will of the Emperor] and [Heart of the Eternal me], Vahn struggled withpounding and mixing. Though he possessed all the theoretical knowledge to develop the medicines, he had difficulties when it came to infusing his energy into the solution. Most of his attempts ended up causing the sks to shatter mere moments after he began. Naaza was unable to make sense of the nonsensical scene. As she had been observing his training, Naaza knew Vahn was incredibly proficient with controlling his mana. But for some reason, no matter how little he infused into the solutions they ended up exploding! It was like the ingredients themselves were reacting explosively the moment his mana began bonding with the solution. She was determined to find the cause, as it would be such a waste for someone to possess so much talent yet be unable to make even basic healing potions. --- While Naaza was busy trying to crack the mysterious case of Vahns inexplicable ability to destroy sks, on the 30th floor of Babel Tower dozens of gods from Familia throughout the City had begun to converge. Today was the first day of their quarterly meeting known as the Denatus. It was at this meeting they would make decisions that could shape the very fate of Orario and determine the lives of countless adventurers and citizens. The room was filled with beautiful and handsome figures attired in formal wear. They boisterously interacted with each other while issuingpliments and boasting about their favorite children. Some of them were even cing bets and talking about the uing Monster Feria that would be taking ce before the next Denatus meeting. Within the crowd, a lithe and sensual figure moved which caused the heads of both gods and goddesses alike to turn. Many of the goddesses showed discontented expressions, while all but a few of the gods were unable to pull their eyes away. The figure, as ifpletely unfazed by the looks of the crowd moved towards an area of the floor where a red-haired goddess could be seen. "Ara, Hephaestus. Its rare to see you show up so early on the first day." The figure spoke in a gentle tone with a slight hint of seduction which caused Hephaestus to grimace before grabbing a new ss of wine from the nearby table. "Freya. To what do I owe the pleasure of meeting the Goddess of the Rank 2 Familia?" Freya giggled while covering her mouth with her silken-gloved hand."It certainly is frustrating. Unfortunately, my love for talent prevents me from moving and expanding freely. Speaking of talent, I heard your Familia had a promising young child?" Hearing Freya mention Vahn, Hephaestus frowned and sipped on her wine. "Indeed. Not that they have anything to do with you." Hephaestus knew exactly what kind of person Freya was, and would never allow her to sink her ws into one of the people she decided to protect. The persistent smile on Freyas face twitched very slightly, but unless someone was paying very close attention they wouldnt have noticed. "So cold. Talent is the treasure of everyone, you shouldnt try to keep it to yourself. Why not allow it to grow freely and make its own decisions?" Seeing how hostile Hephaestus was acting, her interest in the boy called Vahn was only increased. Hephaestus saw the look in Freyas eyes and approached mere inches away from her. "I will say this once Freya. If you try toy your hands on that child, I will do everything in my power to make you pay the price. That boy is not someone that deserves to suffer your love." She stared directly into Freyas eyes as she slowly spoke each word. There was no hidden meaning, and if Freya tried to test her she would find out the hard way the might of the wealthiest Familia. Freyas smile faded away and was reced with a slight frown. The perfect brow on her face crumpled ever so slightly due to how offended and angry she was. "You would go so far for a single child Hephaestus? How can you expect him to grow if youre so overprotective?" She couldnt understand why the usually cold and detached Hephaestus was so concerned with a single mortal. It wasnt even the first time Freya had scouted talent from the Hephaestus Familia withoutint. Suddenly, a ridiculous thought passed through her mind. "You...could it be you fell in love with him?" The frown on Freyas face immediately faded and was reced with a calcting smile. If the child was capable enough to awaken the desire to protect in someone frigid like Hephaestus, it may be worth starting a war trying to win him over. Hephaestus realized her threat wasnt working and she felt a bit of anxiety in her heart. But, seeing how Freya began calcting, all the anxiety immediately vanished and was reced by a seething hatred. "From now on your Familia can acquire its equipment elsewhere. Ill not allow any of my capable cksmiths to forge a single piece of equipment for the followers of someone so depraved. I will have each of them make an oath with the Guild as a witness. If so much as a single dagger finds its way into your Familias hands I will strip them of their Falna and demandpensation from you." Freya was shocked hearing the new threat. Even if she could forge a contract with the other master smiths in the city, there were far too few to equip her entire Familia reliably. Without making use of the expertise of the Hephaestus Familia, Freya would be hard pressed ensuring her children are properly cared for in the future. Looking into Hephaestuss eye, Freya could see she was deadly serious. It seems that if she wanted to mess with Hephaestuss favorite child it was akin to ying with fire..."Fine, what do you want? Im sure you have some kind ofpromise in mind, yes?" Freya grit her teeth as she spoke the words. Some of the crowd that had been observing from the side began to sweat after seeing her dark expression. It was very rare anyone was ever willing to get on the bad side of Freya. "You will make a vow before Ouranos to stay away from Vahn in the future. I dont care if he approaches you on his own, but if I find out he gets entrapped by one of your schemes I will have you disband your mockery of a Familia." Hephaestus made her conditions as inly as possible without any room for discussion. Freya thought for a moment before asking, "Are you saying if I identally bump into him on the street I suddenly have to disband my entire Familia? And what happens if he approaches me on his own. What does that mean?" Hephaestus exined in an impatient tone. "Unlike you, I dont manipte my children to please my own sick fantasies. If Vahn ends up leaving my Familia or interacts with you by his own will, I will not stop him. But, if it turns out he only came to you after interacting with your children or through one of your schemes I will demand an answer from you before Ouranos. And make no mistake, I will let Vahn know EXACTLY what kind of goddess you are." Freya frowned more and more the longer Hephaestus spoke. She hated not being able to get what she wanted, and the fact such a delicious morsel was being kept from her was vexing. "I will agree to make a vow, and even include a use to not scheme to entrap your child. However, I want you to make a vow that you will not nder me before we meet. I will not approach your precious Vahn, but if he happens toe to me by some twist of fate, it would be unfair if you made him develop some kind of bias." Hephaestus wasnt happy with the terms, but unless an unexpected event urred this was likely her best chance to prevent Freya from getting her hands on Vahn in the future. She would just have to trust Vahn is capable of seeing through Freyas guise if the time came. After remembering how cautious and observant Vahn was, Hephaestus nodded. "Fine. We have an agreement. After the Denatus ends we will each for the vows." Freya nodded and grabbed a nearby wine ss before drinking its contents within an instant. After ring slightly at Hephaestus, she turned away while wearing her characteristic smile and elegant demeanor. She looked for another interesting target before leaving Hephaestus, the source of her current unease, behind. Hephaestus watched Freya slither away before downing her own cup of wine. Now that her first objective had gone well, she needed to focus on securing a good alias for Vahn. She began looking for other gods to pull to her side and saw Miach speaking with a god she had never seen before. It was a handsome god with ck hair and eyes wearing eastern attire. He was either newly descended or migrated to Orario from a foreign nation. Miach noticed the approaching Hephaestus and bowed politely. "Greetings Hephaestus. Once again, thank you for your childs efforts. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to assist you should you require my aid." Hephaestus gave him a curt nod before saying, "My Familia has never had bad rtions with the Miach Familia and has even received your kindness in the past. Please set aside your deference and we can act as equals. If anything, I only ask that you show kindness to my children in the future." The ck-haired god observed the interaction and disyed a friendly smile. "So you are the goddess Miach had been telling me about. Your child, Vahn was it? He seems to possess a heroic spirit andmendable nature. I would love the opportunity to meet such an admirable young man and believe he would be a good influence on my own children." Hephaestus eyed the new face and asked, "You are...?". Even though he seemed amicable, she wasnt willing to expose Vahn to anyone without determining if they were trustworthy. The god bowed deeply. "Forgive myte introduction. My name is Takemikazuchi and my Familia just migrated here from the Far East. As Ive yet to make many acquaintances, I would be grateful to receive your guidance." Takemikazuchi showed his respectful nature as he politely gave his introduction. Hephaestus felt like Takemikazuchi was very simr to Miach, as they were both respectful and very handsome gods. As she didnt think he would be a bad influence on Vahn, Hephaestus also introduced herself. "Greetings Takemikazuchi. I am Hephaestus, Goddess of the Hephaestus Familia. Please feel free to defer to my Familia if you have any concerns regarding equipment in the future. As for my children, or Vahn specifically, it would be up to him if he wanted to interact with your children in the future." Take* smiled after hearing her response. He believed such a righteous child would be able to get along with his children, and he didnt mind Hephaestus leaving the decision to Vahn. "I have received your kindness Hephaestus. Please let me know if you are in need of assistance. I believe our Familia would be well served by cooperating in the future!" Hephaestus nodded; it wasnt umon for gods to try and solicit her for benefits after working to establish amicable rtions. But, unlike previous cases, she decided to humor this new god as she was in need of allies for theing meeting. "Actually, there is something I could use both of your help with..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Freya gets forced, what a twist!, Hephaestus is bae, y with fire and you might get burned. y with a Goddess of Forging and you WILL get burned, Meeting of the two Gigolos) Chapter 69 - *Spoilers: Title at End*

Chapter 69 - *Spoilers: Title at End*

While Hephaestus was working hard to prevent future troubles, Vahn was currently wrapped up in the present issue that presented itself. Tsubaki had elevated his training to a new level, and instead of just sparring and developing his physical abilities, she was now having him fight against her with weapons. The two stood five meters apart from each other, and all the hairs on Vahns body were raised as his senses screamed for him to flee. Tsubaki was in a low stance with her hand resting slightly above the hilt of her katana. Her body was perfectly still, and from Vahns perspective, she didnt even appear to breathe. The only thing he could focus on was the intent within her eye that made him unable to move. It wasnt the predatory look he had seen in people that wanted to exploit him; the only thing Vahn could see from that singr, uncovered, eye was absolute confidence. A confidence that told him there was nothing he could do to stop what came next. Seconds passed like minutes, as the two held their stances and faced off. Vahn held his sword in front of him preparing to receive the strike, while Tsubaki maintained her lowered stance with her katana still sheathed. The sweat on Vahns brow slowly made its way down his face until a drop rested on the edge of his nose. He could feel it tickle his skin every time he drew breath until he eventually tried to dislodge it by exhaling quickly. The moment Vahn breathed out, Tsubakis body seemed to tilt ever so slightly before the image Vahn could see began to blur. He immediately understood the phenomenon as her after-image since he had seen it several times since their new training began. Vahn quickly stepped back and prepared to receive the yet unseen blow. His eyes darted around his front as he swept his back with his domain. As his focus increased to the pinnacle, colors slowly faded away from the surroundings as time itself seemed to crawl. From his perception, Vahn could sense the approaching de and, even though it had not yet reached, he experienced the illusion of the de winds tearing apart his body. He twisted his h.i.p.s and reoriented himself towards the blow and tried to parry, but to his surprise, the only thing he saw was Tsubaki still in a low stance. Vahns parry collided with nothing and passed through the air leaving a gap in his defenses. Tsubaki used that exact moment to nt her foot into the ground as an incredibly loud sound of metal against metal began resonating in Vahns ears. At this point, from Vahns perspective, time itself seemed to halt for everything except the de movement before him. A beam of light seemed to trace Tsubakis eye as the katana carried an unstoppable momentum towards Vahns neck. The katana came within millimeters of separating Vahns head from the rest of his body when the seemingly unstoppable force suddenly dissipated. The de now rested a hairsbreadth away from his jugr and Vahn just stood in absolute stillness as the de was slowly lowered. Tsubaki sheathed the katana and the fiercely confident look on her face was reced with a friendly smile. "Your reaction speed is improving rapidly. You need to focus on making the proper decision after seeing what your opponent is doing instead of just trusting your initial reaction. If I had attacked normally you may have been able to parry my attack but, since I was able to fool you with my intent, you created a gap which I was able to exploit." As Tsubaki exined his ws, Vahn still just stood there nkly. It wasnt until she patted him on the shoulder and told him to take a break that the tension finally subsided and he copsed to the ground. Naaza, who had been waiting at the side came to Vahn holding a warm towel and a cold container of water. She had been asked by Tsubaki to handle the after-care of Vahns training to killing intent. Every time their training came to an end, Vahn would end up in a semi-frozen state as his brain processed that he was still alive against all expectation. It was Naazaa job to help him rx so the training could continue. While this was going on, Lili was gnashing her teeth while being unable to move from her current position. She too volunteered to help Vahn recover, but Tsubaki denied her since Lili had her own training to undertake. Now she was stuck standing on a long reinforced beam while supporting a gigantic metal pir. She needed to move the pir from one end of the beam to the other without falling and could only rest if she did so standing on her hands. --- Vahn awoke to the familiar sight of Naazas face looking down on him from above. He could feel a soft sensation on his neck which meant she was giving him ap pillow. Noticing he had regained awareness, Naaza removed the towel from his head before bringing the container to his lips. Vahn had grown ustomed to this action recently, so he opened his mouth and drank the water she was offering. Afterward, he rested on herp for another minute or so as his breathing stabilized. "It looked like you almost had her that time." Naaza issued a gentleugh while continuing to wipe away the sweat on Vahns brow. Vahn, who was resting on herp, released a long sigh before shaking his head slightly. "Every time I think Im able to receive the attack Tsubaki always sees through it and changes her approach." Naaza nodded her head before replying, "Yes, but Tsubaki has been fighting for more than twenty years. If anything, it would be strange for you to be able to resist her attacks while still being level 2. I think she is just trying to have you adapt to the pressure of stronger opponents so you dont freeze up in a tense situation." Vahn also agreed with Naazas assessment, as it had been something Tsubaki herself had told him when their new training began. Afterward, Vahn sparred against Tsubaki an additional nine times, bringing their total for the day to ten. He was still unable to prevent a single attack but was slowly beginning to develop a resistance against the aftereffects of the fight. Though Vahn didnt mind being tended to by Naaza, it was slowly starting to make him feel awkward on the inside. Once, he had caught Naaza secretly sniffing at the cloth she used to wipe his sweat and it made Vahn feel a strange and numb sensation in his mind. --- As the morning training had ended, Vahn was now in Tsubakis workshop refining various drop items for Tsubaki. She had fallen behind on some of her contracts, so Vahn wanted to help her by assisting with the processing of materials. Though he was unable to help in her in the actual forging process, he had a lot of knowledge on how to properly prepare the materials and quickly adapted to the position of her assistant. Tsubaki was very grateful for the help and used the opportunity when Vahn wasnt busy to exin the process she used when creating equipment. Today Tsubaki was creating a helmet using aposite of magisteel infused with adamantine. The helmet would be nearly indestructible whenpleted and had the added benefit of dispersing the shockwaves caused by heavy blows. Forging with adamantine was a long and arduous process because of the intractable quality of the material. It required the use of special tools and had to periodically be left in a mana-infused solution to weaken the durability of the metal. Even Vahns eternal me was unable to distort the material without having been soaked for more than an hour. Tsubaki had given him a small ingot, hardly enough to forge a dagger, and Vahn had been allowed free-range to experiment with its use. Naaza was surprised seeing Vahn handling such an expensive material, as Adamantite was easily one of the most expensive materials by volume in the entire market. A single gram could go for as much as 15,000V due to the rarity of the metal, while Vahn was given an entire 500g of the substance. Whenever Vahn wasnt busy, he would constantly be trying different methods to shape the ingot. He had even purchased information on it from the shop, but both his physical strength and current forging techniques werent able to ease the process any. Adamantite wasnt conductive by nature which made it hard to channel energy into. Instead, it wasmonly mixed with other materials like magisteel and mithril to work around that weakness. Vahn was determined to find the best method to work the material in the future, as he wanted to create an indestructible weapon for himself. --- By the time 2 PM rolled around, Vahn and Lili were beginning their preparations for heading to the dungeon, but Tsubaki stopped them. She gave Vahn arge grin before asking, "Do you remember what today is?" Vahn couldnt recall off the top of his head, so he began seriously considering the question. Lili, at his side, spoke up. "Today is the day the Denatus ends. Vahn should be receiving his alias today, right?" Tsubaki gave a thumbs up andughed. "Hahaha, thats right! Good job Lili. You always were the type to pay attention to the details, especially when ites to Vahn, huh?" Without waiting for an answer, Tsubaki started patting Lilis head which caused her to squirm. "Guuu, only Vahn can pet my ears. You should go pat Naaza instead Tsubaki-sama..." Lili was now covering her ears with her hands as she pulled away from Tsubaki. A gleam shed through the crimson eye of the master smith as she quickly snatched Lili up and started hugging her closely against her cheek. "Hahaha, youre so adorable Lili~. No need to be shy!" "Vaaaaahn-, save meeeee!" Lili reached out towards Vahn who had been staring nkly at the sight. He had be used to seeing Lili handled by Tsubaki and knew there wasnt anything he could do about it. Hell, when she was in the mood, Vahn couldnt even protect himself from Tsubakis clutches. At this point, he had just learned to ept her contact and even began enjoying it when she wasnt overexcited. It was always a rxing experience when she would gently caress his head, and there were several instances where he had fallen asleep in her embrace. --- They decided not to go into the dungeon today and instead spent the rest of the day rxing. Naaza had taken the opportunity to invite Vahn to her workshop where they talked about various methods to improve the potions. Whenever they would talk, Naaza always had a notebook on hand and recorded all of the insights Vahn had. Vahn didnt mind, as he enjoyed the serious disposition Naaza had when it came to mixing. He wanted to see if she was able to create stronger potions in the future and even wanted to see if she could learn the [Alchemy] development skill in the future. Lili was also there, as she had been spending a lot of time with Naaza as well recently. She had originally been learning how to mix medicines from books, so having someone with actual experience was a boon. Though they didnt get along very well, they both had a mutual respect for each other and helped cover each others ws. Lili even trained with Naaza, who was surprised to find out she wasnt much stronger than someone that was only level 1. This made Naaza also consider if she should be training with Tsubaki, but for now, she wanted to focus on developing her [Mixing] skill. The trio continued talking and performing small experiments until the evening came. Tsubaki showed up and informed them that Hephaestus had arrived, so the three of them cleaned up and made their way to the dining room. When they entered, they saw a somewhat dejected Hephaestus leaning against the table while supporting her head with her palm. She slowly stirred the coffee with a spoon and acted in a veryzy manner uncharacteristic of her. Hephaestus saw them enter and seated herself properly before giving Vahn an awkward smile. "Im sorry Vahn, I tried to get you a good one, but those fools wouldnt listen to reason." She sighed and started sipping at her coffee as everyone else sat down. Though Vahn was slightly worried that he got a weird name, he didnt think it was that big a deal so he tried to console her. "Its alright Hephaestus. I can always get it changed when I hit Level 3, so its not a problem, even if its a weird name." He gave Hephaestus a smile and noticed she seemed to rx a bit after hearing his words. "Well, its not really a weird name per say...Its more awkward than anything." As Hephaestus spoke she began to blush slightly which caused everyone within the room to be confused. As Tsubaki hadnt heard the news yet, even her interest was piqued as she began to tease her Goddess. "Eeeeh? Hephaestus-sama? Could it be something embarrassing?" Hephaestus saw the strange looks everyone was giving her and her blush deepened slightly. She looked towards Vahn, the only person that had a rtively normal expression, and then released a sigh. "Vulcan..." As she spoke the word, Hephaestus couldnt prevent from nting her face onto the table. Tsubaki beganughing uncontrobly while the other three were confused. Vahn didnt think the name sounded bad and wondered why Hephaestus was affected to such an extent. Lili decided to ask Tsubaki the meaning behind the word. "Tsubaki-sama...whats so funny about the name?" Tsubaki continuedughing while looking between Vahn and Lili. "Hehehe, you want to know what it means Lili? Okay, Ill tell you! Vulcan is a nickname for Hephaestus herself~ In other words its like announcing to the entire City that she and Vahn are inseparable! Hahaha!" Tsubaki ended upughing to the point she fell to the ground. She seemed to really be enjoying the revtion. Lili and Naaza had shocked expression on their faces as they looked towards Hephaestus who was presently burying her face into her arms. Vahns expression hadnt changed much, and he was thinking about the name and reason Tsubaki gave. In a way, since they had a connection through the eternal me, they really were inseparable. Vahn thought it was a suitable name, so he tried relieving the atmosphere a bit. "Its a good name Hephaestus. I will do my best so I dont bring shame to it in the future." Vahn showed a gratified expression on his face which only caused the embarrassed Hephaestus to groan loudly in frustration. Title: Vahns Alias (A/N: Alternate Titles: There is no escaping now,Tsubaki is scary,RIP Hephaestus, You aint sneaky Naaza) Chapter 70 - Rumors : Undercurrents

Chapter 70 - Rumors : Undercurrents

(A/N: This chapter has a bit of fluff, but I would encourage people to read it since it is also the basis for the plots development in the future~! A lot of information is avable in this chapter for insightful readers~) While Hephaestus was passing the word to Vahn about his new alias, throughout the City many other Gods/Goddesses were doing the same. Many gods and goddesses were very gossipy by nature, and the existence of new talent and rumors were very interesting to them. They immediately informed their Familia about all the new aliases that had been assigned and any interesting information about the holder. Though the tiles possessed by a level 2 werent usually that interesting, many people were surprised about the information regarding the person who had be known as Vulcan. After people learned about Vahns aplishments within the Hephaestus Familia and the fact he was able to fight an entire party of simrly leveled adventurers, many rumors began to proliferate through the taverns and residences within the city. In the shadier bars and pubs, some people were criticizing the fast growth and promotion of such a green adventurer. Many believed he was being unfairly evaluated due to his rtionship with Hephaestus, while others were straight up jealous of his background. They learned he had only been in the City for around two months yet, in that time, he had joined a top 3 Familia and even became the protege of its Goddess and Captain. Some of them even intended to teach the kid a lesson if they got the chance. Not everyone wasmenting the rise of a new star; In somerger Familia, there was a joyous atmosphere being spread by the members. After hearing about the heroic acts of the boy, many of them looked forward to associating with Vahn in the future. Though most people would try to help others in times of crisis, many adventurers were rtively selfish in nature. Other than their own Familia members, most people wouldnt be willing to put themselves in danger to save others. Some people, after hearing about how handsome the neer was, began scheming to try and approach Vahn. Most of them simply wanted to meet the handsome and heroic boy so they could leave a good impression, but, if they were lucky, they may even be able to apany his meteoric rise to fame and receive benefits. It bears mentioning the fact he was also a protege of Hephaestus which would allow them direct ess to the most prolific cksmith in the entire City! Not all the girls were scheming to receive benefits though, some were simply excited at the prospect of meeting a genuine hero that would show up to rescue a damsel in distress. It was the dream of many women to be rescued by a handsome prince, and for many, Vahn was an ideal candidate to rescue them as well. Some girls even began to fantasize and dream about Vahn showing up while they were in dire straights and defending them against the attack of a monster horde. One girl, in particr, had set her sights on meeting Vahn personally. She excitedly ran around her Familia and kept bragging about Vahns achievements almost like they were her own. Many of herpanions gave helpless sighs, but some were willing to apany her in the future to meet the hero sheuded for themselves. They too wanted to meet the boy that had be a hot topic throughout the entire City. --- On the 32nd floor of Babel Tower, within a guest room for visiting gods/goddess, two gods, a man, and a woman sat around a circr table. The god was incredibly pissed off and had shattered several wine sses as heined to hispanion. The goddess continued listening to him droll on and on about the boy called Vahn and had begun to grow fed-up with the conversation. Eventually, the womans pointed ears twitched and she interrupted his tirade. "Im tired of hearing youin endlessly about that child. You have no reason to me him just because your toys got broken by that vixen." The god red up after hearing her reproachful tone. "Enough! Dont you dare mention that bitch Freya! Over such a small slight...how dare she kill my children!?" The god threw his still filled ss against the nearby wall. The wine sshed and marred the beautifully woven carpet. Seeing herpanion once again spilling wine in her room, the goddess stood up before making her way to the door. "Im tired of listening to your drivel. When you invited me to the City, I didnt think it would be because of your failure to court a woman. Ive no interest in helping you deal with a boy that has done nothing to slight you." She was going to have the staff clean the carpet and move to a different room. The god nked for a moment before shouting. "Wait! It isnt because of Freya that I want to deal with that kid. There is a different reason I called you here, and I know youll want to hear why I had you travel so far before I was able to exin in person." After his words finished, the goddess paused and her ears perked up before she turned, encouraging him to continue. "I have seen it for myself. That boy has no soul, or something is possibly concealing it. The only thing I could detect is a powerful energy from his body, but even I cant identify the source." The god continued to speak as a madness began appearing in his eyes. Such an abnormality couldnt be allowed to wander around unless they knew what kind of existence he was. "No soul? Impossible. Hephaestus possess the gods eye, she would have noticed something and taken action." The goddess shook her head with disbelief, but herpanion shouted to refute her. "Dont you see! That is why Hephaestus is so protective of him! She is trying to conceal something and doesnt want anyone else to know about it. It is our duty to find out the reason and, if it turns out he doesnt have a soul, we must destroy him to prevent the cycle from being contaminated." The goddess contemted his words. Even though she could tell he had an obvious bias about the boy, she couldnt ignore the ramifications of what he said, if it was true. As a goddess whose Divinity was rted to the cycle of rebirth, she couldnt allow an anomaly to move about freely. She sighed before looking at the god in disgust. "What is your n?" The god smiled after hearing the Goddesss question. With her support, he would be able to eliminate that kid and get his revenge on Freya. He wanted to see her face when he revealed the true nature of the boy called Vahn and presented his head to her. Since she wasnt willing to be his, he would destroy the things she took an interest in. --- Freya herself was also passing the word to her Familia. She informed them of the agreement she had with Hephaestus and told them to avoid directly interacting with Vahn. Though, if he were toe to them, they should do their best to befriend the boy. She made them understand not to try to manipte him so she could get close, but just to act naturally based on their judgment. If any of them were able to befriend him through normal interactions, there was a chance he would want to meet her in the future... After dismissing everyone, she sat on her bed in a transparent silk negligee. On the table next to her bedside was all the information possessed by the Guild about the boy called Vahn. It included his image and his assumed parameters as well as any equipment he was known to possess. She had manipted her contacts within the Guild to conduct an investigation and gather as much information as they could about his progress. She knew almost everything he had done since entering the City and even had an urate ount of his finances and personal rtionsh.i.p.s. Freya released a sensual yet sad sigh as she perused the information. Her only hope now was fate...she would have to rely on her hidden cards to act in her interests without advising them. Luckily, even though Vahn was rtively low-key, all of his achievements couldnt be ignored. Many people would start moving toward him, and Freya may be able to interact with him soon depending on how the situation changes. She looked through the darkness towards the balcony where moonlight shone in through the open doors. The night was cold, and she was in low spirits from having to concede to Hephaestus. She gently whispered, "Ottar,fort my broken heart..." Turning her head, arge stalwart figure could be seen near the entrance of her private quarters. The man approached and began undressing. "Yes, Freya-sama". After he removed thest article of clothing, he entered the bed and sensuous m.o.a.ns began breaking through the silence of the night. The cold air faded away and became reced by a pink atmosphere. --- Vahn spent the rest of the evening unaware of the undercurrents that had been set in motion by his exploits. He was enjoying the atmosphere generated by his friends and Familia and even got to experience a drunk Hephaestus clinging to his body. Seeing the affectionate actions of the Goddess he had grown to respect, Vahn was pleased to be able to pamper her a bit. Lili and Naaza seemed to be influenced by Hephaestuss actions and tried to participate as well, but Tsubaki ended up snatching them away to continue partying elsewhere. For the rest of the night, Vahn held Hephaestus in his embrace while listening to her concerns. He felt a lot closer to her like this and wanted to return some of theforts she had given to him in the past. Hephaestus too seemed to realize they were alone and began to act in a less reserved manner. She acted somewhat selfish as sheid all her concerns on the young boy and allowed him to console her heart. As the hours passed, the clock signaled to indicate the changing of a new day. Hephaestus continued to mumble as she began to fall asleep. She feltfortable in Vahns arms and the sound of his heartbeat within her body brought her a warmth she had never experienced before. She listened to the gentle, yet powerful rhythm and slowly fell asleep with a contented smile on her face. (A/N: Alternate Titles: People be trippin, Hephaestus is cute when drunk, She is going to regret this, Freya gets f.u.c.k.i.e.d, in various ways, Assholes in high ces, Wine-ss sama did nothing wrong) Chapter 71 - *Spoiler: Title at End*

Chapter 71 - *Spoiler: Title at End*

Hephaestus awoke in a daze. She felt afortable feeling and a gentle warmth which confused her. As she opened her eyes, she realized she was hugging someones waist and immediately separated from the figure as various thoughts raced through her mind. Seeing that the person she had been clinging to was Vahn, Hephaestus released a relieved sigh. She looked towards the sleeping Vahn and a blush appeared on her face as she began recalling the events of the previous night. Looking around, Hephaestus noticed they were the only two in the dining room and it was still very early in the morning. It would probably be another hour or two before people came to prepare for breakfast. Using the opportunity, shey down next to Vahn and propped her head up with her arm. She watched his sleeping face and found it to be very cute. Unlike his apathetic appearance when he was awake, Vahn always seemed a lot more content while sleeping. Out of curiosity, Hephaestus reached forward with a finger and pressed lightly against his cheek. It was still a bit squishy due to his young age andck of tension. Hephaestus found it cute to watch him grimace slightly while she teased him. She felt like she could watch him sleep for hours without getting bored. He was so defenseless and adorable that it made her want to protect him so he could continue to sleep in peace. Suddenly, Hephaestus could feel the beating within her soul begin to increase. She could feel Vahns heart rate speeding up and she began paying attention to it. It was a steady rhythm and she was able to sense happy feelings through their connection. Hephaestus really enjoyed spending her idle time listening to his heart rate, and it had even been her favorite pastime as ofte. She often spent the time before bed thinking about Vahn and wondering how he was improving. After a while, Hephaestus had a thought and decided that listening within her soul wasnt as interesting. Since Vahn was right next to her, she wanted to listen to the beating directly. As long as she was careful not to disturb him, it shouldnt be a problem. And, even if he woke up, she could pretend to have just awoken herself. Convincing herself, Hephaestus slowly ced her head on Vahns chest. Unlike when she listened within her soul, she could now feel the actual beating of Vahns heart. Every time it contracted it created a powerful echo through his body that resonated through her ear. The longer she listened, the more powerful the beating seemed to be and Hephaestus even felt like she was merging with the rhythm. The eternal me within Vahns chest seemed to react to her presence and began to emit its powerful heat as it increased the energy contained within Vahns blood. Hephaestus could feel the familiar presence that had apanied her since her creation and began to feel a more powerful connection to Vahn. He not only managed to subordinate her me but now his internal rhythm and pulse were slowly bing a part of Hephaestuss existence. The familiar presence that had apanied her since time immemorial made her believe the boy before her would also be there no matter how much time passed... //HephaestusHas Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: A Rewards:10,000OP, 1x [Hearts Desire: Hephaestus] Grade Rewards: [cksmith] skill increased to S. Skill [Metallurgy:C] obtained. Vahn was awoken by the system notification with a start. Feeling a pressure on his chest, he could see Hephaestus with a dazed expression as she appeared to be listening to his heart. She noticed his awakening and lifted her head and disyed a radiant smile. She held the gentle smile for several seconds before her eye slowly widened and a blush appeared on her face. Hephaestus pulled away from Vahn and began coughing to clear the awkwardness of what had just happened. For some reason, as she had been listening to Vahns heart, she went into a trance and felt powerful emotions erupt from deep within her. When she saw his face looking at her, Hephaestus had been so happy she couldnt help but smile before realizing he had been watching hery on his chest while obviously awake... After sheposed herself, Hephaestus showed her characteristic cool smile and said, "Good morning Vahn. Did you sleep well?" As she asked the question, Hephaestus couldnt help but try to forcefully repress the rising heat in her cheeks. Vahn was still in a daze at the current events. While Hephaestus had been moving about in a fl.u.s.tered manner, he had read the system notification and realized what had happened. It seems that, while they were sleeping, Hephaestuss affection had reached 100 which caused his quest notification to sound. Seeing the rewards, Vahn was very happy and he showed it by smiling to Hephaestus. "Good morning Hephaestus. It was a veryfortable sleep." Vahn stood up and began to stretch his body while Hephaestus continued sitting as if her brain had malfunctioned. She could also see, from the corner of her eye, a dark-skinned face peeking through the crack of the door holding in itsughter. Noticing Tsubaki, Hephaestus blushed fiercely before ring in her direction. Tsubaki opened the door and pretended to have just arrived, even though Hephaestus was still giving her a death stare. "Good morning Hephaestus-sama. Good morning Vahn. I didnt expect that you would both be here so early. Dont tell me you slept in the dining room?" Tsubaki looked between both of them with a cheeky grin. Vahn hadnt noticed her peeking through the door, so he responded casually. "Yeah. I guess the alcohol got to us and we ended up passing out in the dining room. Im gonna go wash my face and then wake the other two if theyre still sleeping." While yawning, Vahn exited the room and went about performing his daily routine. After he left, Tsubaki smiled even bigger before looking towards Hephaestus. She was about to say something, but before the words came out Hephaestus charged her while screaming. "Tsubaki, yoooooooou-" Hephaestus really wanted to strangle Tsubaki to relieve some of the tension that had been building within her heart. --- Vahn continued to the bathroom where he came across Naaza who was in her pajamas. She wasnt much a morning person, so she just groaned a bit when Vahn greeted her. They both brushed their teeth together before Naaza went to wake up Lili. Since Vahn had nothing to do presently, he decided to check out the new skill he had obtained and contemted using the new item [Hearts Desire: Heaphaestus]. He was really curious about what the taciturn Goddess that had a soft side truly desired within her heart. [Metallurgy] Rank:C Allows the user to sense anomalies within metal and understand itsposition. The skill was pretty straightforward and would probably be of use when he was forging items. He would be able to more urately determine if the ore was properly refined. It would also prevent him from leaving defects in his future products since he would be able to sense them through his perception in the future. Overall, it would be very useful for his current lifestyle so Vahn was pleased. Moving on, he decided to try and use the [Hearts Desire]. [Hearts Desire: Hephaestus] Rank: Unique Use: Allows the user to see the inner desires of the target (Hephaestus). Fulfilling the revealed desire unlocks hidden parameters of the target. //System Warning: Use with extreme caution// Seeing the warning, Vahn was slightly apprehensive as he stared at the crimson red gem that seemed to issue a steady pulse in his hand. It was very beautiful and was reminiscent of the time he had seen Hephaestuss eye. Remembering the pain on her face at the time, Vahn decided not to concern himself with any negative aspects of the item. He wanted to know what he could do to help Hephaestus be happy. He crushed the gem and it absorbed into his skin as time began to slow. In a manner very simr to the previous time he used the item, the air around Vahn froze and he became unable to move. A series of images began to sh through his mind and a voice began speaking from within his subconsciousness... --- Vahn was sitting in a dark room surrounded by dead, lifeless artifacts. Even though any random passerby would think they were divinely inspired masterpieces, he knew the truth...all of these items were just a waste of materials. No matter how much time was spent in their creation, none of the items were able to satisfy him. Everything was wed and worthless; this wasnt what he wanted. He wanted to create something unique and beautiful...something that could help fill the emptiness that had apanied him for so long. Vahn picked up a nearby shield that had a wless mirror-like surface. Looking at the reflection within the shield, Vahn could see the face of Hephaestus without her eyepatch reflected. It was a sad and lonely expression that matched the feelings within his chest. Looking deep into the crimson eye, he could see Hephaestus begin to tear up as she dropped to her knees and wept. Vahn could feel the emptiness spreading within her and her tears seemed to coalesce like a river that threatened to drown the entire world. For a very long time, this was the only emotion Vahn could feel. Then, almost as if it had happened within an instant, a warmth began to spread throughout the emptiness within his heart. He could feel a gentle rhythm drive away all the negative feelings that had been building within him. Turning his head, he sought after the source of the rhythm and came across a small version of himself. The smaller Vahn seemed so fragile, almost like a small me that struggled to burn against the violent currents of time. It was almost like any single small breeze would be able to eliminate the existence in its entirety, but against all odds, it continued to burn strong. Even the river of tears that epassed the entire room seemed to slowly be evaporating under its gentle warmth. Vahn reached down and picked up the smaller version of himself and held it against his chest. As he came into contact with his body, the smaller version of himself sunk into his flesh and a powerful warmth began permeating through his body. Vahn felt determined to protect this tiny me-like version of himself no matter what it took. Even if he had to sacrifice himself, as long as the me was prevented from being extinguished, he would be happy... --- Time started again as Vahn returned to a clear state of mind. The memory of everything he had experienced was deeply embedded within his being. With a single thought he could recall the entire sequence of events including every emotion, thought, and feeling. Vahn knew he was experiencing things from Hephaestuss perspective and the fact she had felt lonely for such a long period of time deeply left a deep impression in his heart where the eternal me rested. He put his hand over his heart and tried feeling the emotions contained within. The eternal me seemed to understand his intent as feelings of pride, expectation, but most notably...loneliness was emitted from the mes connection. As a part of Hephaestus, it also carried the same feelings she possessed through the ages. Vahn began to understand everything the vision wanted to convey. Deep within her heart, beyond all the trauma she experienced due to her deformity, beyond all the items she had created that were touted as peerless, the thing her heart truly desired waspanionship. She worked so hard to impress people so they would treat her well, but nobody was able to see beyond her skill as a cksmith. Whenever they saw her eye, they treated her like a monster and avoided her. And no matter how much time passed, this never seemed to change. Staring into the mirror of the bathroom, Vahn looked into his own aquamarine eyes. He could see...anger. He was angry with how Hephaestus, someone that was so fragile and gentle in front of him, had been mistreated for such a ridiculous reason. Gritting his teeth, Vahn cemented a conviction deep within himself. He would show each and every one of them how foolish they were. He conveyed his feelings through the eternal me in his heart and it seemed to dance with joy and expectation. Smiling at his reflection, Vahn left the bathroom and headed towards the ce where everyone was waiting for his arrival. The time for weakness andcency was over. Title: Hephaestuss Desire (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gods are stupid, Hephaestus eternal bae, Conviction: Feelings, Is it really though?, I wonder if anyone remembers about metallurgy after that scene) Chapter 72 - Loki Familia Appears

Chapter 72 - Loki Familia Appears

Vahn entered into the dining room and noticed nobody was there. As he had expected everyone to be eating breakfast together, he was a bit confused seeing the room empty. After straining his ears, he could hear sounding from the front of the house towards the courtyard. Curious, Vahn decided to investigate to see what was going on. Entering the room where Tsubaki always weed her clients, Vahn noticed several people other than Tsubaki, Naaza, and Lili. Though he had never seen them before in the real world, Vahn was easily able to identify the visitors. They were the members of the Loki Familia or, more specifically, Gareth, Ais, Riveria, Tiona, and Lefiya. Vahn was surprised to see them here but was more interested in knowing where Hephaestus had gone to. "Tsubaki, where did Hephae-" "Are you the Vulcan, Vahn Mason?" Before Vahn could finish, he was interrupted by the lively shout of a young girl. As he had entered the room, the eyes of everyone had been drawn to him, including Tiona Hiryute. The moment she saw Vahn, she was easily able to recognize him based on the information she had obtained. She quickly moved towards him and looked him in the face as she asked her question. Vahn was surprised to see how excited she was, so he just nodded his head before looking towards the smiling Tsubaki. She was a lot calmer around guests but Vahn could see she wasughing in her mind. Seeing that he had nodded, Tiona smiled widely and introduced herself. "Hello, its nice to meet you~ Im Tiona Hiryute, the adventurer who goes by the alias Amazon. After I heard the stories, I really wanted to meet the person everyone called a hero! Lets be friends from now on." Vahn took a breath before introducing himself in turn. He could see her aura was a very vibrant yellow and seemed to be dancing around excitedly. Since she seemed to be really excited to meet him, he didnt want to leave a bad impression. "Hello Tiona, Im Vahn Mason. Its nice to meet you." Hearing Vahn introduction, Tiona was very pleased as she continued to inspect his body. He was smaller than she expected, even shorter than she was, though, ording to the rumors they should be around the same age. She noticed that his small frame was very well built and seemed to hide a powerful energy that made her instincts tingle with excitement. "Im really interested in hearing your stories Vahn. I heard you saved a damsel in distress..." Tiona looked towards the two girls that were giving her somewhat hostile looks. "Was it one of them? Or maybe even both!?" Seeing how the girls were reacting, Tiona saw they both had a natural draw towards Vahn. "Tiona, thats enough. Were here on business, so find time to talkter." A taciturn voice cut in before Tiona was able to speak further. Vahn noticed it was the green haired elf, Riveria. He was surprised at how remarkably wless her face was, but it was a shame she seemed tock the expressiveness to disy it properly. Tiona was dejected a bit but turned to Vahn before rejoining the group. "Hey, Vahn lets meet up sometime, okay? Vahn nodded and Tiona stood with the rest of her group. She looked towards Ais before whispering something into her ear. Whatever she said seemed to catch the interest of the beautiful doll-like girl as, for the first time since her arrival, her expressionless face changed somewhat. Ais walked towards Vahn while Gareth and Rivera both let out sighs while ring towards Tiona who wasughing cheekily. Lefiya seemed to be concerned with Ais as she watched her approach the handsome young boy. She frowned somewhat, but there wasnt any hatred in her aura. "You are strong?" Ais asked very frankly the moment she was directly before Vahn. Vahn thought about the question and was surprised to realize he didnt have an answer. Though he had made a lot of progress since he arrived in this world, he was still nowhere near the level of people like Tsubaki. Vahn also knew that the young and frail looking girl before him was also much stronger than he was. Vahn shook his head, causing Ais to frown slightly. "I am not strong...but I will be the strongest," Vahn said the words with conviction which caused the expressions of the older generation to change. They all smiled and seemed to recognize the power of the conviction behind his words. Ais too had noticed he was serious, so after a few seconds of consideration, she spoke again. "Why?" Ais had a powerful desire for strength, so she was very interested to know why other people could be stronger. Vahn knew what she was asking, even though she didnt speak much. Though he hadntpleted the series and didnt know the full story, he knew she had a fierce hatred for monsters and wanted to avenge her mother. Vahn looked around at everyone in the room. Ais followed his eyes as they rested on each person, including those of her own Familia. Eventually, Vahns eyes rested on Ais herself and she matched his gaze with her own. "To protect those I care about...and to alleviate their concerns for my safety. I want to be strong enough to alter my fate and clear a path for others to follow behind without fear for the future." Everyone in the room smiled, even the taciturn elf Riveria. Ais considered Vahns words before nodding and giving him her opinion. "You are strong." With those parting words, Ais returned to the Loki group and stood between Tiona and Lefiya. Tiona seemed pleased by Aiss statement, but Lefiya showed a somewhat vexed expression as she periodically nced towards Vahn. The next half hour was spent with Gareth discussing gear specifications with Tsubaki. She was taking notes and even pulled out a measuring tape to record Gareths proportions. "Your body hasnt changed much since thest visit, except for this-" Tsubaki patted Gareths stomach and he exhaled through his nose in disapproval. "Hasnt been much going ontely. Its been nearly half a year since thest expedition." Gareth was a stout middle-aged dwarf with brown hair. He was almost the same height as Vahn, but his figure was solid as a mountain. He specialized in defense but possessed the incredible physical strength that was a characteristic of his species. Tsubaki continued taking notes before moving on to the requests of everyone else. Ais had been breaking all of her weapons since obtaining level 5 and had be a nightmare for all the veteran cksmiths within the City. She requested Tsubaki to forge her a sword that was both durable but resistant enough to withstand her blows. Tsubaki let out an exasperated sigh as she wrote down the specifications. After everyone had ced their orders, Tsubaki gave them an invoice for 273,000,000V. Vahn, Lili, and Naaza were all shocked to see the number, but everyone in the Loki Familia remained unperturbed. As they were predominately first-ss adventurers, it wasnt umon for them to spend several tens-of-millions of Valis on a single piece of equipment. They even immediately produced the required funds, as it wasmon to pay someone of Tsubakis repute up-front for private contracts. Vahn was blown away by the disparity between what he consideredmon-sense and what was shown by the members of the Loki Familia. He began to worry about his ownck of strength since even Lefiya, who seemed to possess almost nobat potential, had recently be Level 3. Everyone else in the group was Level 4 or higher, including Ais who was a year younger than he was... As the group was preparing to leave, Vahn spoke out to stop them. "Wait. I have a request." Seeing them stop and look at him curiously, Vahn continued, "I would like the chance to spar with each of you...I know it may be rude, but Id like to know how Ipare against first-ss Adventurers other than Tsubaki." Immediately after his words came to a stop, both Ais and Tionas eyes lit up as they looked towards Riveria with pleading gazes. Riveria put her palm to her forehead as she released an exasperated sigh. She didnt think the young boy was so hot-blooded, and now that he spoke those words there was no way to stop the two battle maniacs. "Fine, but it will only be Tiona and Ais. Lefiya isnt specialized in closebat, and Gareth and I arent a good metric to measure yourself against due to our specializations." "Aha, alright! This is going to be great!" Tiona was in high spirits the moment Riveria gave her permission. Ais simply nodded her head with an Un, but Vahn could see the fighting spirit ignited in her eyes. Tsubaki expected this to happen and didnt show any surprise on her face. She looked towards the two girls behind her and whispered, "Looks like you girls might have somepetition in the future. Better work hard~" She thenughed after seeing their shocked faces and led the way towards the training grounds. --- As Tiona was the weaker of the two, she was the first up to fight Vahn. They both took a distance of 10m away from each other and assumed their stances. Vahn got into a low stance with his left hand raised while holding his right fist close to his body. He already expected Tiona to be much faster and stronger than he was, so he would have to be serious from the get-go. Tiona noticed his stance and entered what looked like a loose sumo stance with both palms facing toward Vahn like she intended to grab him. Before Tsubaki signaled the start of the fight, she looked towards Vahn and drew his attention. "Vahn, go ahead and go all-out. If you hold anything back youll end up regretting it, and the Hephaestus Familia has always had good rtions with the Loki Familia." Hearing her words, Vahn nodded while Tiona seemed to get excited after hearing he would be going all-out against her. Vahn focused his mind and activated his [Will of the Emperor]. The domain spread to epass the entire area, shocking the entire Loki Familia when it ovepped with their position. Rivera had a curious expression as she tried sensing the effects of the field. She noticed it was very simr to a gods divinity and seemed to loosely affect the mana in the atmosphere... "This boy will be very powerful one day..." Gareth spoke in a quiet voice as he said the words just loud enough for Riveria to hear. She nodded before saying, "Yes, we should try to build good rtions with him in the future. If he can get to Level 3, we should scout him for the next expedition." They both looked into each others eyes and understood that Tsubaki was having Vahn show off to leave an impression on them. Vahn began condensing his domain into a secondyer that spread 5m around his body. Tiona had been waiting for him toplete his preparations, even though only a few seconds had passed. The pressure she felt from the domain made her blood boil and she was itching for the fight to begin. Vahn was even better than she expected, and even though he was only Level 2 he made her heart beat throb anticipation. Ais was also watching from the side and subconsciously drew her sword. She too wanted to jump in and fight the mysterious boy that seemed to possess a strange and boundless potential. Tensions began to increase as Tsubaki raised her hand before taking a deep breath. Looking at both Tiona and Vahn, they gave slight nods indicating they were ready so she dropped her hand and shouted. "Begin!" The moment her voice sounded, the two immediately set into action and the first fight between Vahn and the Loki Familia began. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Cliff-sama Descends, Two girls, One guy, Naaza and Lilis premonition, Gareth and Riverias Frustration, Lefiyas Vexation, Where did Hephaestus go?) Chapter 73 - Realization

Chapter 73 - Realization

The moment the spar began, Vahn and Tiona immediately leaped towards each other. The surprising thing for Vahn was, even though Tiona was at the peak of Level 4 he was easily able to keep track of her movements. Though she was much faster than him, it wasnt nearly as difficult to follow as Tsubakis had been. As the two closed the distance in an instant, Vahn tried to perform a fast instep to transition his weight behind his right punch. He twisted his body and aimed directly towards the exposed stomach of Tiona, but before his fist came anywhere near a hand grabbed the inside of his forearm and dispersed the force of the blow away from Vahns body. In the gap that had been opened in his defense, Vahn saw a healthy brown thigh peak through the gap in fabrics as a knee approached his face. Using his left hand, Vahn tried to vault off the knee and use the contained momentum tounch himself away, but the moment his hand made contact he felt a pressure on his left shoulder. Tiona had locked down his body to prevent him from evading the iing blow and Vahn was unable to stop the momentum of the knee as it crashed into his chin. He was sent flying, but since his forearm had prevented a direct hit he managed to retain his consciousness. After sliding across the ground for several meters, Vahn managed to steady himself and leaped back to his feet only to be met by a small exposed brown foot right in front of his eyes. He tried to intercept the blow, but it was moving much faster than his body could keep up with. Though his senses could see iting, his body was unable to react as the foot stopped right before colliding with his defenseless face. The wind from the blow blew back Vahns hair and in his absentmindedness, Vahn continued his defensive action and grabbed the stalled leg even though it had ceased its advance. The moment he grabbed, he could hear a sweetughter as Tiona said, "That tickles, but I think this is my win." Vahn released the leg and gave her an awkward look before apologizing. Tiona didnt seem to mind as she wagged her foot back and forth. "Its fine, I dont mind if you want to touch it again in the future. Just make sure you work hard to be strong, okay?" After her parting words, she ran happily towards the Loki group while Ais took her distance from Vahn. Vahn, seeing she had her sword, became somewhat nervous. He knew she was even stronger than Tiona presently and was much more agile. Seeing his nervousness, Ais looked at her sword before setting it off to the side. Instead of the de, she lifted her sheath and took her stance again. Noticing that she had swapped her sword out, Vahn released a sigh before grabbing one of the training weapons off the wall. They were all blunt with rounded edges that wouldnt severely injure, but Vahn didnt hold any expectation ofnding a hit in the first ce. He assumed a stance with his feet squared apart while holding his de at a twenty-degree angle favoring his right shoulder. He leaned his body slightly and prepared to attack the moment the signal was raised. Aiss stance seemed full of opening as she pointed her sheath forward while raising her left hand slightly. Tsubaki confirmed they were both ready before repeating her earlier actions. She took a deep breath before dropping her hand in a cutting motion while shouting, "Begin!" Vahn dashed towards Ais who had remained standing in her starting position. As he closed the gap, he tried to attack with a low sweeping motion to force her to reposition. Ais slightly bent her knees before mming the butt of her sheath into the attack vector of Vahns sword. Her actions caused the de to collide with the ground and stopped Vahns momentum. Using the moment he lost his bnce, Ais deflected her sheath off of the de and stabbed it into Vahns diaphragm. Falling backward, Vahn felt the air escape his lungs but he managed to prevent himself from copsing to the ground. He put his sword into a defensive stance to prepare for a counter, but Ais just stood in her original spot holding the sheath towards him. Realizing she had no intention to attack, Vahn steadied his breathing before renewing his efforts. This time he tried to attack from above with an overhead swing while shifting his momentum backward to prevent her from being able to use his own attack against him. He sacrificed power in performing the contradictory movement, but it made it much harder to exploit any openings. Ais looked toward the approaching de with her expressionless eyes before stepping forward. Because Vahn hadmitted to a strange action, instead of defending as she did previously, Ais used the fact he wouldnt be able to change his direction to side-step the attack and once again press her sheath into his diaphragm. This time she put less strength into the blow knocking Vahn back three steps before he was able to regain his footing. Though he hadnt exerted himself much, Vahn was already breathing heavily. Unlike Tiona who had fought him head on and defeated him, Ais was allowing him to attack at his convenience. Not only that, but she was even showing leniency in her counterattacks to give him more opportunities. Vahn didnt know why, but the fact she was going easy on him frustrated him greatly. He wanted to measure himself against the two, but the only thing he realized was the fact he was much weaker. They didnt have to make any effort to defeat him and actually had to hold back to prevent Vahn from sustaining injury. As his frustration built up a cool sensation began to spread in his mind as Vahn began regting his breathing. The domain around his body began to condense, and Ais showed increased caution as she readied her sheath for theing attack. Vahn took a deep breath and held it in as he fiercely lunged towards Ais while swinging his sword in arge arc. Ais tilted her body to deflect the attack, but the moment her sheath contacted the de her body carried forward slightly as the entire sword was knocked to the ground. Vahn had put his full weight into the blow but used his senses to release his grip the moment he was able to perceive Aiss counter. Instead of being knocked off bnce by her deflecting the de, he managed to catch her off guard by dropping his own sword. Now she had created a gap for him to exploit since she was still stuck in the motion of parrying his attack. Vahn stepped in low with his shoulder to knock her further off bnce and open her up to an elbow strike. Unfortunately, even though she was slightly surprised, Ais was still a level 5. Though she was slightly off bnce, she managed to put enough strength into her pivot foot to spin her entire body around in an instant. Instead of contacting her body with his shoulder, Vahn passed right through the location Ais has upied as the sheath made contact with the back of his head. Vahn immediately lost consciousness from the blow and didnt even feel when he impacted the ground. Naaza and Lili immediately ran towards his body to see if he was okay and released relieved sighs after they saw he had just passed out. Lili red toward Ais before shouting, "You didnt have to be so rough! What kind of spar ends with one person being knocked out and injured!? Ais stood still as Lili screamed towards her and she stared down at the unconscious Vahn with an almost sad and apologetic expression. She was a little rough in herst attack, and if she hadnt reduced her strength at thest moment she may have ended up killing him on ident. She had what could be considered a vexed look as she faced towards Rivera. "Rivera, please..." Rivera sighed before walking towards Vahn and inspecting his body. She could see he wasnt seriously injured, but would probably be nursing a headache for the next few days if left untreated. After muttering an incantation, she pointed her staff towards the unconscious Vahn and casting the healing spell [Fil Eldis]. A gentle light spread across his body as his eyelids started to flutter. Vahn opened his eyes and saw the worried faces of Naaza and Lili. Behind them, he could see Ais staring at him showing a hint of concern as well. Vahn closed his eyes and released a tired sigh. (I lost...). Though he never expected to win from the start, it was still hard to swallow how helpless he was against the two young girls. How could he protect anything if he couldnt even defeat people that went easy on him... As he was lost in his own thoughts, he could feel something poking at his cheek. Opening his eyes, he saw a new face next to the previous two. It was Tiona looking down on him with a smile and cheerful expression. "You did well. Make sure to work hard and challenge me again, okay? Ill be waiting...and Ais too, right?" Vahn could see Ais nod in response to Tionas question. She looked towards the sword Vahn had dropped when he tried to get an advantage against her. "Smart...but dangerous. Make sure to have backups." She then stared at him for a few seconds before thanking Riveria and moving to the side. Tiona followed suit after poking Vahns stunned face again. "Bye-bye Vahn. Come to visit the Loki Familia if you get a chance." After saying their farewells, the members of the Loki Familia left Tsubakis manor (A/N: Im calling her house a manor because it honestly is.) Vahn continued to sit in the training grounds in silent contemtion. The two girls tried to cheer him up, but Vahn only nodded and showed them a kind smile before continuing to reflect on the fights. Seeing that they were distracting him, Naaza and Lili went to prepare breakfast. They had already gotten ate start to the day and wanted to give Vahn time to think before training began. When he was the only one left in the training area, Vahn sighed deeply. He had made a lot of improvements in thest month while training with Tsubaki, but his overall power hadnt increased by much. Sure, he could probably use his skills/techniques to handle several simrly skilled adventurers, but the moment he came across anyone marginally stronger he would be defeated. Tsubaki said he had the potential to fight people above his level, but that was only by relying on his overbearing skillset and not his actual fighting prowess. After thinking it through and looking over his skills for several minutes, Vahn knew what he needed to do. He would have to leave Lili to Naaza and Tsubaki and begin delving deeper into the dungeon. It was only by pushing himself to his limits that Vahn would be able to exceed them. Though he didnt regret spending time with Lili, there was no telling what would happen in the future. If Vahn wasnt strong enough he knew he was bound to regret it if anything happened. "Seems like you made up your mind." From behind, Vahn could hear the voice of Tsubaki. He turned and saw her looking at him with gentle eyes and a kind smile. He nodded his head in response to her question. "Yes...I need to forge my own path for a while. If I keep staying in one ce I will begin to stagnate and my growth wille to a halt. Though training helps increase mybat ability and technique, it has more of an effect on my mental state and discipline than it does mybat capabilities. If I dont experience realbat and push myself further, I wont be able to meet my goals..." Tsubaki shook her head and sighed with her hand on her head. After a brief moment, she looked towards Vahn and began tough with arge smile on her face. "The only person you can rely on to be stronger is yourself. But make sure you remember what is waiting for your return. A lot of people are happy just seeing you alive, even if you never became any stronger." Vahn nodded as the faces of all the people he had begun to care about shed through his mind. First was Hephaestus...he owed her a lot. Next was Chloe...Vahn owed her more than he could probably ever repay. Behind these two central presences, the images of Lili, Tsubaki, Tina, Naaza, Mn, and even Eina and the other girls at the guild passed through his mind. After realizing that most of the impactful people he could recall were girls, Vahn felt a fluttery sensation in his heart which caused the eternal me to dance in his chest. He put his hand over his heart and realized he had a lot of things he had begun to care about. There was even new people he was beginning to develop an interest in like the members of the Loki Familia. They took a central role in the original story and Vahn had even considered joining the Familia when he was making his decision. It would have been fun to grow alongside people like Tiona and Ais. And Gareth and Rivera seemed to be kind and caring of their juniors. A loud smack sounded which broke Vahn from his internal reflection. Tsubaki had pped his back and knocked him forward slightly. Vahn had to catch himself with his hands before face-nting into the dirt. Tsubakiughed while walking towards the dining room. "Dont think so much Vahn! Just do what you think is best without worrying too much. Hell, if you cant work things out on your own there are plenty of people that will help you. Now, lets go eat breakfast! After that sorry disy earlier, Im going to have to train you doubly hard today!" A shiver passed down Vahns back but after it passed he smiled. Looking towards the tower in the distance, Vahn felt anticipation building within. He would work hard to be strong enough to stand at the top of that tower one day, while also delving deep into its depths and uncovering all the mysteries of the dungeon. If it was possible, he even wanted to battle the one-eyed ck dragon and see what other secrets this world had to offer. But, for now, Vahn would just enjoy breakfast. (A/N: Alternate Titles: What? A Mans Gotta Eat.,Wrekt, Wrekt Again, Touch the Foot,Turning Point, Lilis Nightmare Begins, Naaza Aggressively Wagging Her Tail) Chapter 74 - Preparations : Promise

Chapter 74 - Preparations : Promise

Vahn arrived in the dining room and noticed the atmosphere was somewhat low. He could see the auras of Naaza and Lili drooping downwards and there were tinges of blue that marred their typically vibrant yellow auras. Vahn looked towards Tsubaki who seemed unaffected by the mood and she just smiled while nodding toward his seat. After he sat down, Lili started cing food on everyones tes, but Vahn could see that is was much slower than normal. She seemed to be repressing her emotions and was doing her best to avoid looking directly at him. "Lili, whats wrong? Why are you and Naaza behaving so strangely?" Vahn asked with a gentle tone as he was looking between the two disconste girls. Hearing his question, both girls flinched slightly before turning towards him with sad looks on their faces. Vahn frowned, but Tsubaki spoke up before he could continue questioning. "When we were preparing breakfast I told them you were likely going to be spending a lot of time in the dungeon. Since neither of them is strong enough to apany you, I told them they would have to remain behind unless they managed to increase their strength. Now theyre sad because they wont be able to have so much time with you, isnt that right girls?" Naaza wasnt as affected as Lili, but hearing Tsubakis words she felt saddened. She only ever got to spend time with Vahn when he was training or helping her develop potion recipes. Now that he would be spending most of his time in the dungeon, she was unsure of how to react. She even harbored thoughts of returning to the Miach Familia, but something deep inside prevented her from making that decision. Lili was greatly affected and tears could be seen in her eyes as she stared towards Vahn. She could see a conviction in his eyes, and ever since she heard him challenge the Loki Familia she had a feeling he would end up moving forward on his own. Though Lili knew he wasnt abandoning her, it still hurt her heart knowing that he would be venturing deep into that dark ce on his own. For thest month she had been putting in so much effort to grow, but no matter what she did Lili was unable to keep up with his progress. Vahn nodded his head with understanding before thinking for a few moments. After he found the words he was looking for, he smiled toward the two doleful girls. "This is necessary for me to grow. I have an affinity with the dungeon after all. The entire reason I came to Orario was to delve into its depths so I can bring out my full potential and grow stronger. It also gave me the opportunity to meet both of you, so I will not shy away from my current path. I will continue to grow and be stronger so that I can protect the people I care about. Please dont be sad, instead, I ask that you wish me well so that I have fewer worries while Im away. I promise I will alwayse back...this ce is my home." The more Vahn spoke, the more the two girls seemed to struggle. At this point, even Naaza had begun to tear up while Lili hung her head low as tears seasoned her rice. Vahn waited for both of them to rx while Tsubaki started eating with an uncharacteristic expressionless face. Vahn was influenced by this more than the two crying girls, as he was unable to recall a time when Tsubaki wasnt smiling...other than when she was fighting with her sword. After a few minutes, Lili spoke out. "Vahn...I swear I will be stronger. I may not be able to follow you now, but one day I will be able to catch up to you. I will never stop trying." Lili spoke each word with conviction, and it seemed to influence Naaza who also said a few words. "Make sure you always return, no matter how injured you are...I will heal you up at no charge." Naaza tried tough as she spoke thest words, but her voice choked a bit in the attempt. Vahn smiled towards the two girls; He really appreciated their concern for him and it made his desire to grow stronger to protect them more prevalent in his mind. Not only the people present, but Vahn also resolved to protect everyone. Even if he couldnt do it now, as long as he made the effort there were no limits to his growth. He would weather any pain and suffering to ensure that those who believe in him never have to experience it themselves. --- After breakfast, Tsubaki made true on her words as she put Vahn through a hellish final training session. She beat him to the point he had to struggle to prevent [Rakshasa Body] from activating. Vahn felt like she was releasing a lot of pent up resentment on his defenseless body and he was unable to determine the cause of her violent actions. Throughout the entire process, her usually smiling face remained unseen as she emotionlessly thrashed his body. By the time the training had ended, Vahn was incapable of moving any muscles in his body. He began to suspect Tsubaki was trying to prevent him from entering the dungeon, but as this thought was passing through his mind he felt a warm sensation spread throughout his body. Tsubaki held in her hand a crimson liquid and was pouring it onto Vahns exposed chest. The liquid soaked into his flesh and an irresistible heat began to spread through his body. Vahn clenched his teeth to resist the sensation as Tsubaki began to exin her actions. "This is a potion made using mermaids blood as a catalyst and is mixed with various rare herbs that promote parameter development. Its total worth is more than 200,000,000V so make sure I dont regret using it on you." Tsubaki emptied the remainder of the contents and all the bruises on Vahns body vanished. Vahn felt like his body was burning, which was a peculiar feeling since he had be fire-proof after obtaining [Heart of the Eternal me]. After the pain faded, it felt like all the pores on his body had opened and each of his muscles felt full of strength. When he arose from the ground, he could hear his bones popping with each movement. Curious about the phenomenon, Vahn started stretching and noticed his flexibility had increased remarkably. After checking his status, his eye nearly turned round from shock. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:2(2) -Power:1001+(H119)->(E447) -Endurance:1108+(G240)->(D590) -Dexterity:887+(H101)->(F322) -Agility:940+(H192)->(E410) -Magic:1611+(E444)->(B701) Total:5547+(1096)->(2470) Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul) [Karma]: 1,008 [OP]: 143,050 [Valis]: 339,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tsubaki saw the shock on his face before pping him on the back andughing. "Im sure you feel full of power, but dont let it go to your head. The biggest effect of the potion is it resolves any damage you may have suffered to your foundation in the past. Make sure you work hard or Ill beat you even worse next time!" Vahn nodded his head like a clucking chicken before he left to make preparations for entering the dungeon. Since he only intended to return when he was overly fatigued or hit a dead-end in his progress, there were several things Vahn needed to prepare. Most important of all, he wanted to make sure he had enough good food tost for up to a month. After consoling Lili, who seemed unwilling to let him go, for several minutes Vahn finally managed to separate from her. Naaza also gave him a short hug before breaking away with a blush which Vahn found interesting. It was rare to see Naaza act so adorable and he almost wanted to tease her for it. However, considering that he would be leaving shortly he didnt want to upset either of them further. On his way towards Babel, Vahn made arge detour to visit the crepe stand he hadnt visited in a while. After exchanging pleasantries with Ivaan, who was pleased to see him, Vahn ended up buying up the entire stock of crepes. Ivaan was surprised hearing Vahns demand, but Vahn assured him that it was for a good cause so Ivaan consented to the exchange. Thanking him for his kindness, Vahn left an extrarge tip that brought the total expenditure to 37,000V. Leaving the stand, Vahn ducked into an alleyway and put therge basket full of crepes into his storage. As he was in the area, Vahn made another detour to visit Hephaestus. He had learned from Tsubaki she had left early to tend to her work that had piled up during the Denatus. Vahn wanted to let her know he would be venturing into the dungeon, as he was worried she may overreact if he was exposed to danger without her knowing. It didnt take long for Vahn toe across the familiar building that had changed his life so recently. He stood outside and observed the structure before taking a deep breath and entering the premise. The head guard, Zaff, noticed his entrance and immediately sent someone to inform Hephaestus. After doing so he walked forward to greet Vahn. "Heya Vulcan. Heard youve been up to some heroic deedstely." Vahnughed slightly at thement. He wasnt surprised the guards that worked for Hephaestus already knew about his alias, and he wasnt ashamed to be addressed as such. "Good morning Zaff, thanks for your help in the past." Vahn handed him a slip that he had received from Chloe the other day. As long as someone exchanged it, they would be able to enjoy a discount on all alcohol at the Hostess of Fertility between 7 PM and closing. Zaff received the slip and his gruff face lit up with a smile. He was no stranger to the item as it was one of the most sought-aftermodities that few patrons had the chance to receive. "Hehe, goodd. Im sure the boysll toast you thrice for your kindness." Zaff patted Vahns shoulder before returning to his post and having one of the other guards pass the word to the rest of the members. The man who heard the news showed a big smile before hastily making his rounds. Hephaestus finally showed up in the door and smiled after seeing Vahn. She waved toward him and he followed her to the private workshop at the back of the store. After they entered, she closed the door before sitting at her worktable. "Good morning Vahn, Im happy to see you so soon." Vahn could hear a slight tremble in her voice and noticed a light blush on her face. "Im happy to see you again Hephaestus. There was something I had wanted to tell you this morning, but you had vanished before I was able." As he spoke Vahn approached the desk until he stood directly opposite of Hephaestus. He could see her swallow before asking, "What did you want to tell me Vahn?" Vahn took a deep breath before exining everything he had realized since this morning. He conveyed his desire to grow stronger while also bing a more capable cksmith. Vahn swore that he would one day forge an item worthy of her praise. Hearing his promation, Hephaestus showed a gentle smile but her happiness quickly turned to awe as he continued. "I promise Hephaestus, once I am strong enough I will drive away the loneliness in your heart. I will make it known to the entire world that I, Vahn Mason, am privileged to be at your side. Those that would besmirch you will realize their foolishness and I will start by doing this..." As Vahn gave his impassioned speech he reached over the table and grabbed Hephaestus face. Hephaestuss bodypletely froze up when Vahn grabbed her face and pulled her forward. She closed her eyes and prepared for the inevitable contact as an anticipation began to build in her wildly fluctuating heart. But, instead of the expected oue, she felt a searing sensation on her now uncovered right eye. The pain spread throughout her body, and she was unable to resist its encroachment. It felt like something within her body was changing and she began to panic, never believing that one day the boy she showed so much affection for may one day betray her. An anguish spread from her heart at the thought and Hephaestus felt like she wanted to cry as a result of the heartbreak and pain, but before she was able to cry out the pain began to rapidly subside. The heat from her eye vanished and she looked towards Vahn who was showing her a deeply affectionate smile. Vahn ignored her questioning look as he grabbed arge polished de from the disy. He approached the muddle-headed Hephaestus before holding the t of the de toward her. Hephaestus was confused and stared into the de as if it contained the answers to all the questions that were dancing chaotically through her mind. Seeing her own reflection, Hephaestus felt something was strange before noticing something that shook her to the very core of her being. The deformity that had gued her for her entire existence was gone. The eye still burned with a crimson hue, but the flesh around the socket had beenpletely mended and appeared identical to the left side of her face. She reached with her hand and felt the smooth skin that was previously coarse and rough. She looked towards Vahn as the tears she had been holding back earlier began to fall freely. "How...?" Hephaestus couldnt think of anything else but this question. No matter how hard she had tried in the past, nothing was able to remove the perpetual blemish from her face. It was almost like she was cursed to bear the ugly mark until the end of time. Vahn smiled before he reached out and patted her head, just like he had always done for Naaza and Lili when they were emotional. "I said I would take away your loneliness and make those idiots regret. I intend to keep my promise." (A/N: Alternate Titles: How to Train your Goddess, See with eyes unclouded, Tears of Happiness are the most Beautiful, Vahn hits puberty, Cyclopean Loan Shark) Chapter 75 - Unstoppable Momentum

Chapter 75 - Unstoppable Momentum

Vahn spent several minutes consoling the crying Hephaestus. Once she was finished she immediately began asking him how he had healed her eye when even the power of the gods was unable to do so. He exined how he was able to heal wounds and scars using a skill called [Hands of Nirvana] with the support of his other healing abilities. What he didnt tell her was that he had infused his blood with the skill after evaporating part of it using the eternal me. Vahn suspected his blood would be able to remove the mark and was happy to find his conjecture was correct. Hephaestus suspected there was more to the story, but at this point, her trust toward Vahn was far greater than her curiosity. She knew he would tell her when and if he was able to do so. Seeing thepassion and care in his eyes, she buried her worries deep in her heart before rising from her desk. She walked around the table and embraced Vahn in a powerful hug. She had never been more thankful to someone in all her millions of years of existence. Vahn returned her embrace and felt the connection shared between them increase as the eternal me within his heart danced about excitedly. The two continued to hold each other for a long while when Hephaestus suddenly pulled away slightly without letting him go. As she was nearly 15cm taller than Vahn, it was quite awkward hugging the small boy as his face was in line with her b.r.e.a.s.ts. She didnt care that much, but feeling his breath against her made Hephaestuss heart itch. After creating a bit of distance Hephaestus locked eyes with Vahn before leaning forward and kissing him on the forehead. "I will wait for you to fulfill your promise." Hephaestus smiled before continuing, "Dont take too long." She then gave him a tight hug before releasing the dazed boy. He rubbed his head like a fool before smiling and heading out of the workshop at a fast pace. His heart was beating wildly and he wanted to immediately set out to increase his strength. Hephaestus watched him leave and copsed into her chair. She rested her head on her workbench and began to y with the diagram she had been working on previously. Sighing, she began to me Vahn. "How am I supposed to get any work done today..." She continued fiddling with the doc.u.ments before getting fed up; Hephaestus closed her eyes and just listened to the rhythm of Vahns heart and shared in his excitement as a smile adorned her now wless face. Vahn virtually ran towards Babel with a fast pace. The crowds parted to allow him passage while giving him curious gazes. From their perspective, they saw a smiling handsome boy that made his way through the traffic of the City streets without any concern or care. Some of the girls that caught sight of the boy became infected by Vahns atmosphere as they smiled towards his direction and tried to garner his attention. Vahn nodded towards each person that made eye contact with him, but he kept moving forward without a single pause in his stride. He arrived at the za outside Babel in record time before gazing up at the heaven-defying tower. Without further hesitation, Vahn began making his way inside before a thought suddenly passed through his mind. He turned back towards the direction he had juste and remembered he hadnt stopped by to visit Mn and Tina. He contemted if he should backtrack, but as he had already arrived with so much impetus he didnt want to turn away before he managed to even enter the first floor. Shaking his head, Vahn entered the first floor of Babel and decided he would buy Tina a present before his next visit. Since she didnt know he had been in the area she wouldnt me him for failing to stop by. Little did he know that at the time he was running through the streets, a small chestnut-brown haired cat girl had tried and failed to get his attention. She resentfully stared at his fading figure while stamping her foot on the ground. (A/N: RIP Vahn.) --- Before heading into the dungeon, Vahn approached the information counter and purchased every map andpendium avable for the first 18 floors. He also recorded his information, and when the Guild staff noticed him write down the alias Vulcan they gave him a strange look before wishing him well in his endeavors. Vahn thanked them, but after seeing the greyish aura emitted from their body he frowned before turning away. Vahn didnt know what he did to offend the young man but began preparing his mind for any potential troubles that may arise in the future. He knew his alias would bring him attention from people that had both positive and negative intentions. The staff member was likely someone that resented his rise to fame or was rted to one of the groups that would be plotting against him in the future. Unfortunately for them, as Vahn was able to see their intentions through their auras, he was not so easily deceived. After entering the first floor of the dungeon, Vahn took a deep breath of the cool and stagnant air. This would be the first time he entered the dungeon solo in more than a month. He was looking forward to how far he would be able to go before being forced to return. With a confident smile on his face, Vahn took his first steps towards his second attempt to conquer the dungeon. During this attempt, Vahn wanted toplete his weapon quest as he was very near the 100,000OP restriction. Since the time he had received the quest nearly two months had passed and Vahn had now spent 81,700 of his 100k restriction. If he couldnt finish it soon, there would be a lot of problems if Vahn wanted to make use of the shop in the future. (A/N: A refresher for anyone that forgot about the quest) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Quest: Birth of a Legend] Rank: SS Heroes are as famous as the weapons they wield. Even a lowly squire can be a Legend when wielding a sword forged by the Gods. Condition: Exchange 1,000,000 OP with the system to obtain a random weapon. Rewards: Gacha Function Unlocked, 10+1 Premium Gacha pull, 1000 Karma Failure Condition: Death, 12 months pass [302D16H28M], Spend more than 100,000 OP [81,700/100,000] Penalty: All items within the inventory destroyed. Shop Function disabled for 12 months. Equipment items be cursed for 1 month [cursed items cannot be removed] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Vahn wanted to use this attempt as a metric for his growth, he decided to clear each floor in sequence instead of skipping to the furthest floor he had unlocked thus far. There were several skills he had developed in secret that he was unable to use when Lili had been present, and he wanted to experiment to see how viable they were before he encountered any real threats. The first was a function Vahn had discovered only recently and it used a trick with his [Will of the Emperor]s domain to essentially allow him to auto-loot any items that had traces of magic. As long as Vahn was able to detect the object within his domain he could lock onto it with his aura and ce it into his inventory. The most useful aspect of this feature was that Vahn was able to retrieve his weapons immediately if he had to discard them for any reason. Vahn cut his way through the first four floors of the dungeon without any difficulty at all. Even though his stats hadnt increased nearly as quickly as when he first entered the dungeon, his general awareness and techniques had improved exponentially. After his encounter with the 5-man party, Vahn had polished his [Featherfoot] technique all the way to C after managing to adapt to the 7th stage of the weighted bamboo mechanism. Now he moved uninhibited through the monsters and efficiently slew everything that crossed his path. After passing through the fifth floor in a simr manner as the first four, Vahn finally arrived on the sixth floor where he encountered his first real challenge. It wasnt that the monsters had suddenly be a threat, but Vahn had developed a vendetta against War Shadows since the incident with Naaza. He wanted to cull their numbers while testing a second ability he had developed after obtaining [Heart of the Eternal me]. Vahn had learned from thependium about the existence of the pantry. Though the main body wasnt found until the 7th floor, there was an extension that branched into the 6th floor where War Shadows and other monsters were known to congregate. They gathered to feed off the substance that emitted from the crystalline structure and it was considered a forbidden zone for small groups of adventurers. It happened that his new skill was perfect for fighting a group of enemies and Vahn found it the most practical way to test his hypothesis. Ignoring the warning of thependium, he followed the map he had obtained for the sixth floor and eventually arrived at the pantry. The crystal pir prated through the floor of the dungeon and had an off-green color simr to the walls. Surrounding the pir were dozens of monsters included a total of nine War Shadows that were hugging the pir while driving away other monsters. Vahn put his n into action and contracted his domain to around 10m, the maximum range he had been able to sessfully test his new ability. He began to activate the eternal me in his heart as his body began to pump with energy-rich blood. The fire elements in the air began to condense and the domain became a hazy gold color that started to cken the walls and floor. Vahn continued absorbing the fire elements and channeling them directly into his body. As he now possessed an immunity to all fire below Soul Tier 4, Vahn noticed his body was extremely receptive to absorbing heat without any detriments. This discovery came when he was soaking in the onsen one night and Tsubaki tried to join him. The moment she put her foot in the water she quickly jumped back at the scalding temperature that Vahn simply found pleasant. Before she had arrived he arranged several cores to bring the water to a near boiling point. Ever since then he tried seeing if he could channel the burning effect of [Heart of the Eternal me] into his own body. As he continued absorbing the me elemental energy into his body he could see the veins within his arms begin to glow in an eerily reminiscent manner. Though Vahn was displeased at the sight, he continued channeling the energy to see if he was able to effectively apply it to any practical use. After a few minutes, his skin began to glow like super-heated metal while his hands had turned a vibrant golden color that actually began melting his gauntlets. Seeing the peculiar sight, Vahn also became aware that the clothes he was wearing had long dried up and began to smoke. Since then he had purchased me resistant clothes and had learned to channel the energy into his forearms instead of his entire body. Now he was able to condense the effects to a greater extent while maintaining an absolute domain around his body that spread out for 10m. Anything within the domain would begin to burn as the me elemental energy began to take root in their body. This included any exposed soft tissue and sensitive organs like the eyes, nose, and ears of the monsters. Anything that managed to survive through the fire would be dealt with by Vahns ming strikes and swordy. --- At this point, the monsters had recognized the change in atmosphere. They turned towards the brilliantly golden boy that had begun to illuminate the surroundings. In a rage at having been disturbed, all the monsters began fiercely charging towards the interloper that had ruined their meal. The first to arrive were the War Shadows, the target of Vahns current vendetta. The moment they entered the area of the domain they began to wail with a shrieking voice as they tried protecting the core behind their eye. Using their ws, they tried to prevent the heat from damaging their weakness, but the only thing they got for their troubles was Vahns ming fingers sinking deep into their exposed bodies. In a manner simr to the method used by the White Shadow to torment Naaza, Vahn began slowly dismembering the shadowy figures. Though they were generally able to regenerate and reform their bodies, they were unable to do so in this instance due to Vahns third discovery. He had learned that the source energy within his body had a repressive effect on the mana and magic of this world. If he used the same skill or ability as someone else, his would always appear several tiers higher even at the same level. As the bodies of the War Shadows were magical constructs, any wounds they sustained from Vahns hands were slow to heal. Instead, the burning effect only increased the damage they received as they desperately tried to escape from the monster before them. At this point, every monster that had tried toe to their aid was simrly writing on the ground. Some of the weaker monsters had even begun to dry up as their eyes began to burn ck with smoke. Vahn continued ughtering every monster that appeared in the pantry until his wrath had been appeased. By the end of the day, he had killed a total of 43 War Shadows and more than three-hundred misceneous mobs. Calcting his spoils, Vahn had collected a total of 4760OP before he set camp in the corridor connecting the stairs to the rest of the dungeon. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Calm down there kiddo...,All the world shall turn to ashes, burn [Heart of the Eternal me],Frog Shooters Natural Enemy, RIP Vahn, SHINING FINGER!!) Chapter 76 - Tyrannical Might

Chapter 76 - Tyrannical Might

Vahn spent the night within the corridor connecting to the stairs. Though he thought about exiting the dungeon and returning home for the night, Vahn decided to temper himself by staying. As he had previously intended to leave only when he was unable to progress, Vahn was determined to stay for as long as possible. Over thest few months, his mastery and use of [Will of the Emperor] had increased greatly. He was now able to maintain his domain without any conscious effort as long as his internal energies didnt run dry. Since he had skills like [Spirit Healing], [Yggdrasils Favor], and [Heart of the Eternal me] supplementing his energy recovery, Vahn was able to maintain his domain without any major energy consumption as long as he wasnt active. When Vahn awoke the next day, he made his preparations for clearing the 7th floor. This was the point where he had made the furthest progress previously and he was curious to see how far he had grown since hisst visit. Though he still had items like [gue Mask], [Nullifying Mantle], and his [Mithril Poniard], Vahn didnt equip them since he wanted to continue developing what he referred to as his eternal me domain. Though the monsters of the 7th floor were annoying to deal with in normal circ.u.mstances, Vahn was able to make smooth progress through the Horned Rabbits and Purple Moths. However, things werent always as nned and Vahn had a bit of trouble with the Killer Ants. They were somewhat resistant to his mes and whenever they entered the domain they would screech and release pheromones that caused any nearby Killer Ants to gather en masse. Vahn was nearly overwhelmed by arge number of Killer Ants but the more damage he took the easier he was able to deal with the situation. Though he wasnt unaware of the effects Vahn was still surprised with the boost he had started receiving from [Rakshasa Body]. The longer he fought against the ants the more prominent his transformation would be until he had achieved the state he was in when he saved Naaza previously. It was at that point things began to get odd because, as Vahn suffered even more damage, a second change began to ur in his body. The hairs on his arms started topact and take on a bluish-onyx hue. His tanned skin began to darken and a strange tattoo began to spread from his forearms to the rest of his body. Wherever the tattoo spread his muscles became dense like iron and the jaws and attacks of the Killer Ants started having little effect. Vahn was ecstatic seeing change and nearly entered a maddening fit as he tore his way through the tide of Killer Ants and retreated towards safety. Hisughter echoed through the caverns of the dungeon as he left a swath of death and destruction wherever he passed. It wasnt until he managed to break the encirclement and reach the safety of the stairway leading down that Vahn finally managed to reign in his emotions. Though he had never really panicked, the moment he started getting surrounded made Vahn feel slightly anxious. He was able to evade the attacks of the Killer Ants for a while, but no matter how quickly he culled their numbers, there always seemed to be two more to rece every one he killed. If it wasnt for the changes caused by [Rakshasa Body] there was a real chance he would have sustained serious injuries trying to escape. Vahn inspected the current state of his body and even unequipped the majority of his clothing to observe the full effects. The previously white/ck fur had joined together to form a series of scale-like protrusions on his body. The scales were dark ck, but whenever they caught the light they reflected a bluish hue. The biggest change was how the skin around the scales had be much darker and the tattoo Vahn had noticed previously had spread throughout his arms and torso. The tattoo had the appearance of strange runic formations that coiled, intertwined, and ovepped on Vahns biceps, back, cor bones, and pectoral muscles. Curiously, the tattoo reminded Vahn of a snake and the patterns seemed toe alive with this thought. Vahn thought they were very cool, but he was still a little worried about what other changes had urred. He took his standing mirror from his inventory and tried to get a better look at his body. The first thing he noticed was that the tattoo extended all the way to his face, or more specifically the area around his eyes and forehead. They came together to make a strange shape simr to a dragons head that made Vahns face look wrathful even when he wasnt particrly angry. He also noticed his hair had changed to match the hair on his arms and also had the dark color with blue sheen. Lastly, he caught sight of the tattoo on his back which had formed a gigantic yin-yang symbol surrounded by a series of eight strange line-like formations. Enough time had passed while Vahn was inspecting himself that the transformation began to recede. After about thirty seconds it had disappeared entirely, including the effects of the white-tiger transformation. Vahn stared nkly at his normal state and inspected his body for any lingering effects. He was happy to see there were no longer any changes he had to concern himself with, so he decided to ask Sis about the new form. (*The first form is that of the white-tiger or Bih, while the second form seems to be representative of the ck-turtle or Xunw. The white-tiger change offers you increased strength and agility while the ck-turtle form seems to greatly increase your endurance.*) Vahn nodded, it would be hard to ignore how he was able to resist the attacks of the Killer Ants using just his body. If he didnt realize his endurance had increased, he would begin to question the function of his brain. ("What about the strange tattoo and symbols on my head and back?") Vahn was curious if they were also a part of the ck-turtle transformation. Sis was silent for a while before responding, (*My analysis shows that the tattoo on your face is indeed the product of the ck-turtle form, but the symbol on your back is present even during your white-tiger change. It seems to be the core structure of the [Rakshasa Body] and its current effects havent been cataloged yet. Since it is an innate skill, I am unable to determine its functions at present.*) Vahn considered her words as he sat down to rest. Like every time he relied on [Rakshasa Body], his stamina had drained severely. It wasnt too bad when he just used the white-tiger form, but now that he had progressed to the second stage the burden on his body was quite intense. It was almost like he had just finished one of his sparring sessions with Tsubaki. Luckily, his natural regeneration had been increased to the point where he only needed twenty minutes to recover. After resting, Vahn continued downwards to the 8th floor. This was now the deepest he had gone into the dungeon and he could feel anticipation begin building within. Entering the 8th floor, Vahn noticed the dungeon immediately changed itsyout. The walls had now be dirt-brown while the overall size of the corridors increased. There was also a patchwork of dirt and short grass along the ground while green bioluminescent lights shone down from the 10m high ceiling. Vahns excitement continued to build as he delved deeper into the 8th floor. With his domain, he was able to sense things within a 68m range, and he quickly came across the first signs of life on this floor. Wielding his [Lions Pride], Vahn made his way towards the direction where he could detect monsters and nearly fell down after he saw what was before him. Around the corner of the corridor he just exited, Vahn saw a group of nearly twenty...goblins. Vahn felt like he had been cheated and immediately pulled out his bow and fired explosive arrows into the unsuspecting group. After they were all ughtered, Vahn released an annoyed sigh before asking Sis why there were goblins so deep into the dungeon. (*Its not impossible for other monsters to appear on different floors other than the one they spawn on, however, the monsters that are mostmonly seen on the 8th and 9th floor are, in fact, goblins and kobolds. However, thependium also indicates they are at the peak of Level 1 and even some rare Level 2 elites will be present.*) Vahn was a bit let down at hearing the response, but he hardened his resolve so as not to get distracted. Even though he looked down on goblins and kobolds due to his current strength, he did almost die to both of them in previous incidents. This was a good opportunity to get a bit of revenge, so Vahn kept his bow and set out to clear the 8th and 9th floors. The number of monsters that spawned on these floors was much greater than the previous levels. The hallways connecting rooms were much smaller and there were several obstacles that the monsters could use to maneuver around and try to attack unsuspecting adventurers. As Vahn had his domain, all of the ambushes were futile as he continued making progress before clearing both floors in less than three hours. Taking a short break for lunch, Vahn decided to check his spoils and the growth of his stats. After that intense battle with the Killer Ants, Vahn suspected he had broken through his limits once again. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:2(2) -Power:1001+(E447)->(E498) -Endurance:1108+(D590)->(C665) -Dexterity:887+(F322)-(F372) -Agility:940+(E410)->(E449) -Magic:1611+(B701)->(B750) Total:5547+(2470)->(2734) Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul) [Karma]: 1,022 [OP]: 151,870 [Valis]: 171,630 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- The increase wasnt that great, but Vahn noticed his [Rakshasa Body] had leveled up from G to F so he was pleased. His innate skills were his most important assets, so any change in them was of great benefit for his future growth. After Vahn had learned from Sis that there were two more beasts simr to his prior transformations including, a vermillion bird and an azure dragon, he had started to look forward to unlocking their potential. --- After finishing his lunch, which was, of course, seafood crepes, Vahn crossed the threshold separating the stairs and the 10th floor. Once again, theyout of the dungeon had changed. Though the walls and floor seemed the same as the previous two floors, they looked aged and covered in ash. Visibility was severely reduced as the entire floor seemed to be covered in some kind of mist that was cold to the touch. Vahn decided to perform an experiment to deal with the mist and began channeling [Heart of the Eternal me] into his domain. He wasnt trying to concentrate it to absorb fire elements, he just wanted to see if the change in temperature would clear up the mist. Vahn was happy to see his intuition had been correct as he now had an entire 60m of clear space revealed around him. Within this area, he was able to identify monsters that had been hiding in the mist waiting for their prey. There were several behemoth sized creatures with pig-like features. They were nearly 3m in height and looked as if they weighed several hundred kilograms each. Within their hands, they carried a variety of weapons like trees and stones that had been strewn about the 10th floor. Apanying theserge creatures, which Sis had identified as Orcs, were several small monsters that looked like atrophied goblins. Sis informed Vahn they were called imps and he had to be especially careful of their quick and low-angled attacks. Vahn nodded in response as he drew his [Lions Pride] and began sprinting towards the nearest Orc. When he was at an optimal range, Vahn kicked off the ground hard enough to leave cracks in the hard dungeon floor andunched himself parallel to the Orc who had just tried to swing at him with its tree/club. A terrifying red arc traced through the body of the orc following the path of Vahns sword and separated the Orcs upper and lower body. The monster cried out, and Vahn noticed the characteristic regeneration of the Orc was repressed by the burning effect of his attacks. He showed a cruel smile before stabbing the area containing the magic core and releasing the wailing monster from its misery. Knowing that his attacks denied the Orcs of their greatest strength, Vahn turned towards his next victim and elerated to his maximum speed. Though they had immense strength, the Orcs were incredibly slow. They relied on their endurance and regeneration to deal with adventurers, but both of these were absolutely pointless against Vahns attacks. Vahn danced around the group of Orcs while severing limbs before moving on to his next target. During his onught, the imps had tried to ambush him on several asions but were denied sess because of Vahns perception. No matter how sneaky they tried to be, he was always able to track their movements and intercept their attacks with his de before continuing his tirade against the Orc horde. After all of the imps were dead, Vahn turned towards the wailing Orcs he had left still writhing on the ground. As it was too difficult to target their heads due to their height difference, Vahn decided to most optimal strategy was to simply cut off the legs of the Orcs. Now they writhed on the ground while still trying to approach him to enact their vengeance. Vahn shook his head before a cold look shed in his eyes as he began to execute each and every Orc. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Whoa there, Calm down kiddo,Killer Ant Hydra,Vahn go hard,I wonder how stressed out Hephaestus is with Vahns constant ughter and excitement,Unstoppable Momentum Part 2) Chapter 77 - Hunting

Chapter 77 - Hunting

After leaving the 10th floor, Vahn made his way towards the 11th without stopping. The orcs of the previous floor gave decent rewards, as their cores could be exchanged for nearly 30OP, but they were sparse in number. The imps were barely the equivalent of a goblin in value while the bats would periodically assault him only awarded 13-15 OP each. At this rate it would be weeks, or even months before Vahn was able toplete the quest, so his only option was to head further down. The 11th floor was simr in structure to the 10th, except for the fact the mist had increased in density while the atmosphere felt cold and damp. Vahn could even see his breath whenever he breathed so he channeled his [Heart of the Eternal me] to keep warm. Using the same method as before, he began imbuing the effect into his domain and started to clear the mist to increase his visibility. Vahn wouldtere to realize this was a grave oversight... As soon as his domain pushed back the fog, several white shadows began lurching towards Vahn. He immediately dodged away from the attacks to get a better view of the creatures ambushing him. Vahn was briefly surprised to see they were the same as the monster Bell had fought in Daedalus Street in the manga. Standing around 4m tall and covered in white fur with a silver streak down their backs, Vahn came face to face with a group of four Silverbacks. They were monkey-like creatures with high agility and fearsome strength. To make matters worse, Vahn also noticed arger monster approaching from the distance. It was around 4-5m in height and covered in a dense leathery orange hide. It appeared simr to a small dragon, but it didnt have any wings and was unable to fly. Steam was emitted from its nostrils as it angrily charged towards the battlefield shared by Vahn and the Silverbacks. Vahn took evasive action to avoid being surrounded by the four Silverbacks and immediately switched to his bow. Though he was confident in being able to eliminate them one at a time, there was no way he would be able to deal with the entire group with his current strength. Fortunately, even though they had fast speeds and agile bodies, they were unable to react to the spontaneous changes in direction caused by Vahns footwork. He was able to position himself so that there was always a Silverback between him and the rest of the group. This prevented them from attacking all at once unless they were to attack through theirpanions. Once Vahn had found a good angle, he knocked an explosive arrow before releasing it towards the head of the nearest Silverback. The monster opened its mouth and tried to bit at the projectile, but the moment its teeth snapped shut the resulting explosion annihted the foolish ape. In the chaos caused by the st, the other Silverbacks tried to move away from their deadpanion as a fierce ck light cut through the dust explosion caused by the Silverbacks death. The light continued and pierced the chest of a second silverback who immediately turned to dust as the lethal projectile vanished. In Vahns hand, a bow reappeared and he fired an additional two explosive arrows at the remaining apes. The moment he loosed the arrows, Vahn exchanged his bow for his tamahagane de as he leaped towards the furthest Silverback with a fierce momentum. The arrows continued to travel and struck true on the first monster, but the second had managed to evade. The arrow exploded far behind in the mist as Vahn plunged his sword deep into the chest of the Silverback before kicking away and sprinting toward the approaching lizard Sis had identified as an Infant Dragon. All four monsters had been dealt with in less than twenty seconds after Vahn fired the first arrow. Using the explosion of his first victim, he threw his tamahagane de like a spear into the surprised second Silverback. Before it turned to dust, Vahn retrieved it into his inventory before engaging the remaining Silverbacks with his bow. Noticing the second arrow was going to miss, he swapped to his sword before ying the final Silverback before it was able to recover. He didnt want to have to worry about being harassed by the monkies as he fought the Infant Dragon. Vahn was now engaging the Infant Dragon who had reared back its long snake-like neck and spewed fire from its jagged-toothed mouth. Seeing the iing me, Vahn scoffed before unequipping his current gear and exchanging it for his fireproof clothing. He leaped directly into the mes as a look of contempt seemed to sh in the eyes of the Infant Dragon. Before it was able to celebrate its victory and enjoy its next meal, a long ck sword cut through the mes with a red arc that severed the head from its body. Staring towards the dissolving corpse Vahn couldnt help but remark, "Daring to use mes against me..." He shook his head before allowing the mist to converge. Even though he dealt with it easily, it wouldnt be a good idea to draw so much attention to himself by creating an empty space within the mist. He didnt need to see the monsters to detect their presence, and it made it easier for monsters to target him instead. Vahn equipped the shadowsilk tunic that he hadnt worn in a long time and decided to take a new approach to these floors that had reduced visibility. It had been a long time since he hunted monsters, so after pulling out his bow and covering his head with a hood he began to blend into his environment using his [Stealth] skill. As long as he didnt put his intent into the domain, monsters wouldnt be able to detect him while he was easily able to sense their presence. --- Vahn skulked through the remainder of the 11th floor without engaging a single monster in directbat. He could detect everything within 68m without having to see them and, using his perception in conjunction with his archery skills, he was able to sneak attack dozens of monsters. Even groups of enemies thrashed about in a rage as they were unable to find where the attacks wereing from. They could only roar loudly into the silent mist as their lives were harvested one-by-one. Like a shadow, Vahn moved uncontested through the 11th floor before finding the stairs leading to the 12th. He was happy to have the opportunity to hunt again, and it brought him a different kind of exhrationpared to fighting enemies directly. Seeing them scurry about while trying to find cover was satisfying and Vahn enjoyed the feeling of deciding when to take their lives. As long as he was careful, their only option was to wait for him to deliver his mercy unto them. Entering the 12th floor, Vahns smile deepened as he noticed this mist was still present. Not only that, but it was several times thicker than the previous floors. While this may have posed a problem for other Adventurers, this had be almost a natural hunting grounds for Vahn. Concealing his presence, he moved into the depths of the 12th floor and continued his hunt. As there were no drastic changes in theposition of monsters, Vahn was able to make his way through the 12th floor in around three hours. It was note in the afternoon, so Vahn decided it would be wise to rest for the remainder of the day. He could always continue his journey after taking a short rest and napping for a few hours. Checking his spoils, Vahn was happy to see he had obtained nearly 20k OP from the 11th and 12th floor. The Silverbacks were worth far more than any previous monster he had hunted, and their cores gave between 120-150 OP. However, they fell far short of the seven infant dragons Vahn had hunted who each gave out 400-430 OP. Combining the Hard Armored, an armadillo-like creature with heavy ting that Vahn was easily able to cut through, his spoils totaled 19,962 OP in just 5-6 hours. This brought his total OP to 171,832 and he was inching ever closer to his goals. Vahn began to grow excited because, if the monsters on these floors were worth so much, then the monsters deeper within the dungeon should have even higher values. If he paced himself, he may even be able to earn enough OP toplete his quest by the time he reached the safe zone on the 18th floor. As the 12th floor was the official end of the upper floors Vahn decided to read through thependium before he went to sleep. The next floor would be a qualitative changepared to everything he had experienced, and he didnt want to get caught off guard by anything unexpected. Though Sis always exined to him the characteristics and weaknesses of any monster he encountered, it wasnt always easy to pay attention to her guidance in the middle of a fight. (A/N: Caution, this is an info dump so I dont have to exin all the monsters in the next chapter. Youll understand whyter~!) The monsters he would be facing on the middle floors included Wyverns, Battle Boars, Hellhounds, Almiraj, Dungeon Worms, Minotaurs, Lygerfangs, and if he was unlucky there would even be a Monster Rex on the 17th floor called Goliath. Vahn recognized the name of the creature and after seeing the image in thependium his fighting spirit began to boil. Bell had been able to y a ck Goliath with the help of other Adventurers at Level 2 and Vahn wanted to see how he could fare against a weaker version. Setting aside that thought, Vahn inspected the characteristics and weaknesses of each monster. Wyverns could get up to 5m long and had incredibly resilient pink skin. They could breathe fire and toxic gas and appear rtively rarely. Battle Boars and Hellhounds, however, were quitemon and often wandered the corridors of the dungeon in packs. Though they were rtively weak monsters, they could overwhelm enemies with their numbers and coordinated attacks. Almiraj was very problematic and simr in appearance to the Needle Rabbits on the 7th floor. The primary difference is they were much faster and possessed some degree of intelligence. They were capable of walking on two legs and performing various acrobatic feats to attack their enemies. They often hunted in the same areas as the next monster, Dungeon Worm, which were massive creaturesprised entirely of teeth and stomach. They were natural traps within the dungeon and the Almiraj were known to harass adventurers until they entered the territory of a Dungeon Worm unprepared. Lastly were two monsters Vahn was very curious about. Starting from the 15th floor he would begin toe across Minotaurs, which were known even in thependium as Level 2 Killers. They were considered the strongest monsters at Level 2 and had fearsome physical strength. Variants of Minotaurs were even capable of using weapons found within the dungeon and even developing skills. Next was the Lygerfangs, which Vahn found very reminiscent of his [Rakshasa Body] transformation. They wererge tigers that varied between a rust-like orange and an off-white color with ck stripes. Their fangs were said to be able to prate mid-grade armor with ease and were a popr item for developing stabbing weapons. Vahn decided to make it his goal to hunt as many Minotaurs and Lygerfangs as he could. Though he nned to enter the 18th floor, he wanted to stay in the area until hepleted his quest. The fact he was rapidly losing the ability to spend OP in the shop was bing a major concern of his. Though he didnt feel like he relied on it that much, now that he was unable to use it freely Vahn felt rather anxious. After checking his stats and performing maintenance on his equipment, Vahn rested against the wall and took a nap. He spread his domain out for 50m to conserve energy and quickly drifted off to sleep. (A/N: Vahns current stats) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:2(2) -Power:1001+(E498)->(D513) -Endurance:1108+(C665)->(C690) -Dexterity:887+(F372)->(E444) -Agility:940+(E449)->(E461) -Magic:1611+(B750)->(A831) Total:5547+(2734)->(2939) Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul) [Karma]: 1,022 [OP]: 171,832 [Valis]: 171,630 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Stealth: D] -> [Stealth: C] [Bow Mastery: C] -> [Bow Mastery: B] (A/N: Keep in mind that obtaining exilia from using skills against higher level monsters increases the growth rate~!) (A/N: Alternate Title: Dump,Sneaky Boi,Mans not hot, never hot,gs, gs everywhere. Lookin like an international convention up in here.) Chapter 78 - Crash

Chapter 78 - Crash

As Vahn awoke from his nap, he made his final preparations before entering into the 13th floor. The structure of the dungeon changed yet again and now the walls, floor, and ceiling were all made a pale ck bedrock. It was much denser than anything found on the upper floors and Vahn also noticed it seemed to absorb what little light was emitted from the ceiling. There were rocks strewn about all over the ground making passage andbat more difficult. This was Vahns first time entering the middle floors so he proceeded with caution. The monsters starting from this point were almost all Level 2 or higher, and those that werent attacked in such great numbers they posed a threat to even experienced parties. If Vahn dropped his guard there was a very real possibility he may die from this point onward. After traveling forward for about ten minutes, Vahn began to worry. This entire time he had yet to encounter a single monster, and even his domain wasnt detecting any presences. He continued with increased caution until he came across an anomaly. The route he had taken led to a dead end where it looked as though the walls and ceiling had copsed. Though it wasnt umon for the dungeonsyout to change over time, as this was the main route on the map it was odd to find it in such a state. Vahn inspected the copse and found traces of burning that scared the surface of some rocks. Someone, or something, must have used arge scale explosion magic to copse the tunnel. The question on Vahns mind though was why someone would do such a thing. He decided to backtrack and look for a secondary route or else he would have to wait for days for the dungeon to repair itself. After finding a connecting tunnel, Vahn made his way and released a sigh of relief when he detected the presence of several monsters ahead. He had started to worry that something unnatural had urred in the dungeon and didnt want to get caught up in something beyond his level. Pressing forward, Vahn came across a room filled with a pack of ck dog-like creatures with glowing red eyes. They were currently fighting over something, and from Vahns perspective, he was able to identify the source of their conflict as a corpse. Some poor adventurer had be an unwilling meal after losing their lives in the dungeon. His brow furrowed as he drew his sword and engaged the mongrels. The Hell Hounds noticed his approach and immediately charged at Vahn. They were incredibly agile and possessed a mouth full of sharp pearl-white teeth marred with the flesh and blood of their victim. The closets hounds to Vahn hurled themselves at his limbs to try and cripple him. Vahn sidestepped and bisected the fastest one with his sword in a reverse sh splitting the Hell Hound from bottom to top. Using his fiery golden left hand, he grabbed the neck of the second Hell Hound who tried snapping its jaws and iling about. Vahn crushed its windpipe before throwing the corpse into the group of rushing Hell Hounds. They had surrounded him by this point and were trying to maul him from every direction, but Vahn was able to use his power and agility to leap out of the encirclement. He collided feet first into a wall before vaulting into a more advantageous position near the corpse of the Adventurer. Vahn took a moment to inspect the body and nearly vomited as a reward for his curiosity. The mutted corpse was missing several parts, but Vahn had been able to identify it as a young woman with blue hair. Though he assumed she may have been pretty in life, now her body was a mess of flesh and mangled tissue. The throat had been chewed through and each limb had long been removed from the body. One of the things the mongrels had been fighting over previously turned out to be an arm. Vahn was filled with rage as a cold sensation spread through his mind. He started pushing his [Will of the Emperor] to the extreme and infused arge number of fire elements into his domain. The golden light that had been spreading began to consolidate till the point Vahns ck tamahagane de now shone with a golden l.u.s.ter while radiating a terrifying heat. The Hell Hounds began to cower as they growled towards the golden figure. The heat emanating from the body of their prey caused an instinctive fear to build inside of them. It was almost as if the roles had reversed and their natural predatory instincts hadpletely dispersed. The only thing they felt was fear, but thepulsion of the dungeon and their core would now allow them to flee. The golden figure stared directly towards them as a chill ran down their spines almost as if to contrast the heat. "You will not die easily," Vahn spoke the words with an icy fervor. He gripped the sword in his hand before going on his rampage. Instead of killing them as quickly as possible, he made sure to only target non-lethal areas. Fortunately, even if he cut limbs or severed parts of their body, the wounds would instantly cauterize and leave the monsters struggling on the ground. Vahn continued cutting away at the pack of demons until they were reduced to mutted messes on the ground. After sating his wrath, Vahn turned away from the struggling creatures without finishing them off. He knew they would die after enough time passed, and wanted them to experience the excruciating pain of slowly burning into nothingness. He turned towards the corpse of the female adventurer and frowned before a voice sounded in his head. (*Vahn, you shouldnt let them suffer more than this.*) Sis gently spoke the words in his mind. Vahn was confused, baffled even. He couldnt understand why Sis wanted him to put such fiendish creatures out of their misery. Seeing the wounds on the adventurer, Vahn knew she hadnt been dead when they started tearing her body apart. (*Vengeance itself is not a sin, but if you allow them to suffer just to appease your mind it will result in the .u.mtion of negative karma. You shouldnt develop the habit of enjoying suffering, even it is the suffering of cruel and evil creatures. You must be righteous and firm in your convictions or else the meaning behind your actions will cease to be noble.*) Sis slowly exined each word so Vahn could process them. He knew she was right, as she often was when it came to things like this. Vahn could not bring back the girl, so his actions werent saving anyone. The only thing he got was personal satisfaction and other negative emotions. Vahn continued mulling over the words but decided it wasnt worth it to allow this situation to develop further. He sighed before turning towards the writhing creatures. After ying them all Vahn felt a mncholic emotion from within his body. All of his earlier actions felt so meaningless now that he hadid them to rest. There were various emotions building up inside of him and he felt like he had been unable to release them now that he had killed everything. Vahn gripped the handle of his sword tightly and felt frustrated before Sis once again spoke to him. (*You should bury or burn the body Vahn. No person deserves to rot here and be food for the dungeon and its inhabitants. Let her rest peacefully knowing she will avoid that fate.*) Vahn released his grip on his sword slightly and looked towards the dead adventurer. She seemed to be less than twenty years old and yet died here long before her life would have naturallye to an end. It was tragic, and he felt pity after hearing Siss words. Vahn approached the body and began to feel nauseous but he held back the urge as it would be too disrespectful given the situation. He felt like if he threw up he would be dishonoring everything the woman represented in life. Bringing his palms together, Vahn gave her a short eulogy. As someone that had transcended life and was reborn in another world, Vahn knew her soul would return to the gate before being reborn into this world. He prayed that she viewed the Kaleidoscopic Wheel of Karma there were a greater number of happy memories than sad ones. After his prayer, he searched for anything that could be used to identify the girl to leave with the Guild staff. If she belonged to a Familia or party, they would find and return the articles to any living family or friends. When he was done, Vahn finally cremated the body after wearing his [gue Mask] to avoid the smell and fumes. He stood silently and watched the fire burn until the body had ceased to exist. Vahn looked towards the charred area of the dungeon floor and swept his hand to generate a wind to disperse the ashes. He looked at the Guild ID he had found in the pouch on the womans waist. "Rest in peace Natalia Moore. May your next like be a peaceful one far away from this dark ce." --- Continuing his way through the 13th floor, Vahn came across several groups of monsters and many signs of battle. He also found and burned the corpses of five additional adventurers, many of which were found in the samerge room where Vahn slew more than forty Hell Hounds and Almiraj. There was even a Dungeon Worm near a giant hole leading down to the next floor. Vahn wrapped several explosives into a bundle before tossing it into the mouth of the monstrosity. After leaving the site of therge battle, Vahn began to ponder what exactly had transpired. For such arge party to be in the middle-floors, they had to be veterans lead by second-rate (Lv 3-4) Adventurers. It was almost like they were an expeditionary group that had gotten ambushed or caught off guard. For an entire party to wipe on the 13th floor was umon as they had more than enough people to deal with most groups of monsters. Suddenly, a thought passed through Vahns mind as he recalled the cave-in from earlier. Since the path had been clear from the moment he entered the 13th floor, they must have cleared it ahead of him before reaching the same point he came to earlier, the site of the copse. They too must have detoured to find a way around, but Vahn still couldnt understand what led to their demise. Feeling uneasy, Vahn became doubly alert as he slowed his pace through the dungeon. Not just relying on [Will of the Emperor], he investigated every nook and cranny along the path with his eyes. He even activated his stealth to prevent anything from potentially detecting him. Vahn slowly made his way through the 13th floor and killing every group of monsters with caution, always making sure to keep part of his focus on his surroundings. The further into the floor he progressed, the more uneasy Vahn felt. Tsubaki alwaysplimented him on his instincts, and right now they were sounding rms inside his mind telling him to turn back. Trusting his own intuition, Vahn began to slowly trace his path along the route he came. However, no matter how far he went the uneasy feeling continued to grow. Impatient, Vahn began to pick up his pace until the point he was essentially sprinting towards the stairs. As his speed increased, the feeling began to grow faster and faster and Vahn could feel a dreadful feeling seizing his body. It was like something had locked onto him and now they were engaging in a game of cat and mouse with Vahn on the receiving end. Vahn began to leave mines along the path he fled in the hopes of intercepting whatever had been following him. After a few minutes, while Vahn was still fleeing, he heard severalrge explosions sound in the distance. Though this would normally put his mind at ease, Vahn began to tremble slightly as the terrifying feeling actually began to grow. Whatever unseen terror had just stepped on his mines hadnt been defeated; Instead, it just became very pissed off. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ruuuuuuuuuuun,Vahn cant save em all,Karma is a bitch,Sis is bae) Chapter 79 - Burn

Chapter 79 - Burn

Vahn continued running towards the exit, but as he had spent more than two hours on the floor he was nowhere near close enough to escape his pursuer. He was now able to feel the dense structure of the dungeon tremble as dust particles began raining from the cracks in the ceiling. Vahns mind was racing toe up with a solution, but there was nothing in his inventory that could slow the monster down. All the confidence Vahn had been building in thest two months couldnt prevent his mind from copsing due to the fear he was feeling. The closer the presence got, the more dread spread in his heart and mind as Vahn felt death inching ever closer. Vahn wasnt afraid of death itself, but he couldnt help but have regrets considering everything he would be leaving behind. Though he was still growing ustomed to this world. there were several things he had already grown attached to. The ces, the people, and especially the food; all of these things were irreceable to the current Vahn and he feared that no matter what worlds he might visit in the future, he would never be able to reim what he lost by dying now. All the promises he made to the people he cared about, all the hopes they ced in him...Vahn was afraid of losing them all... As ast resort, Vahn found arge rock stratum and tried to conceal himself. He willed his domain to the smallest possible size as he wedged his body into the crevasse and infused his [Stealth] skill in an effort to hide his presence. Vahn held his breath as he felt the vibrations of the rocks against his body. Every lumbering step of the creature caused the entire floor to rumble in its wake. After twenty seconds, Vahn finally caught sight of the monster that had been pursuing him and his mind wentpletely nk. The monster was more like a nightmare inparison to anything else he had ever seen. It had a long skeletal body more than 10m in length with several boney appendages adorned with ws that easily cut into the dense bedrock of the dungeon. Its head was a ghastly visage of a dragons skull while its eyes seemed to be able to shatter the confidence of anyone that gazed into them. The monster that had been pursuing him was considered the most dangerous entity in the dungeon and has led to the death of thousands of adventurers since the creation of the dungeon. It was a Juggernaut, the dungeons automated defense system that spawned only when a severe amount of damage had been done to the dungeons structure. From the moment it spawned it would ughter every single adventurer on the floor until the dungeon had been restored. Vahn didnt know how strong the creature was, but thependium listed it as an SS-Ranked threat even S-Ranked Familia had to seriously prepare for (A/N: Loki/Freya Familias). That meant it would be able to pose a threat to core parties that consisted almost entirely of ranked 4-6 Adventurers. And that is if they all fought it together...As Vahn was alone, encountering a Juggernaut meant certain death if he was found. The moment the Juggernaut entered the room it stopped. It used its eerie glowing eyes to sweep the room where its prey had vanished. Vahn could feel a weird sensation like some kind of fment was being spread through the air. It was probing the entire room and even began to inspect the area where Vahn was currently hidden. As the strange sensation came into contact with his domain it seemed to stall and move slowly as if it was searching for something. Vahn had no idea if his domain had tipped it off, but he continued holding his breath and praying. Vahn could see the invisible sensation extend tendrils that tested the area inside his domain. In the distance, he could see the Juggernaut had stopped and was staring off into space like it was lost in thought. Sweat began to build upon Vahns brow as his lungs began starving for air. He managed to resist the temptation to draw breath until the point his body began to change from the pain that was beginning to build in his lungs. The tendrils continued to inspect the crevasse where Vahn was located and crept within 50cm of his position. As there was nothing else beyond his location, Vahn would be unable to flee any further into the crevasse. The only thing he could do was hope that something else drew the Juggernaut away before it found his hiding spot. By now his form had changed entirely into his white-tiger transformation as his vision began to fade. Darkness slowly crept into his sight and Vahn knew it wasnt long before he lost consciousness due tock of oxygen... Vahn felt something snap inside his mind and a powerful pulsation erupting from his chest. The eternal me began trying to nourish his body by absorbing oxygen through his pores and diffusing it into his blood, but the rate was far too slow to make a difference in the current situation. The tendrils had crept to within 20cm and the Juggernaut remained idle in the center of the room. Vahn had no hope that it would leave so he took a drastic action. Vahn equipped his bow and had Sis purchase the strongest arrow he could afford. Within his inventory, a single ck arrow appeared simply called [Yi] 10,000OP. Vahn knocked the bow and began to infuse as much mana as he could into the arrow which slowly took on a golden hue disying the relief of a man surrounded by ten suns. As Vahn channeled more of his source energy into the arrow the suns began to turn ck at a very slow rate. Before Vahn was able to make a single sun go dark his body was almostpletely drained of energy. He loosed the arrow while willing his [Call of the Reaper] to activate. The moment the skill took affect the arrow seemed to turn invisible as it traveled silently through the air towards the Juggernauts head. Vahns eyes tracked the arrow in slow motion as the darkness continued encroaching into his vision. The arrow passedpletely unnoticed by the creature until it was mere millimeters away from striking the bone-like skull. The moment before the arrow made contact, the Juggernaut sensed the presence of death but was unable to identify the source before the arrow collided with the side of its face. A powerful energy erupted like a small sun before immediately copsing into a gravitational well that seemed intent to devour everything around it. The Juggernaut screamed in pain as it tried to escape the pull of the miniature ck hole. The tendrils immediately vanished and Vahnunched himself from the crevasse. The Juggernaut saw the human and knew it was the source of its current predicament. It screamed a shriek so shrill and loud that Vahn copsed to the ground before picking himself back up momentster. The Juggernaut was still trying to escape the effect of the arrow that seemed to warp space was around the impact area and distorted the image of its body. Vahn noticed that, even though it was unable to move, only small parts of the Juggernaut were actually being damaged. He couldnt stick around and see the oue since, if it was not killed, he would die soon after the effect ended. Making his way towards the nearest corridor, Vahn continued to run towards the exit. It was known that a Juggernaut couldnt leave the floor it spawned on, so Vahn was determined to escape by reaching the stairs. Several loud shrieks sounded from behind and the dungeon seemed to stress from the terrifying reverberations. The walls began to distort as several monsters spawned in an effort to slow Vahns progress. Pushing his [WIll of the Emperor] to its limits and swallowing a [Sensu Bean], Vahn began cutting his way through the crowd of monsters. As he was still in his white-tiger form, his agility was much higher than normal and he was able to evade the majority of monsters by vaulting off the walls. Suddenly, Vahn felt a powerful tremor pass through the dungeon floor which stunned both himself and the monsters. Everyone copsed to the ground, but Vahn was able to recover before increasing his pace even further. He knew the Juggernaut had most likely escaped and he hadnt made nearly enough progress towards the stairs. It had been less than a minute since he separated from the Juggernaut, and even with his fast pace, it would quickly catch up to him. Vahn quickly looked at his quest log and noticed he had spent 99,700/100,00OP. He had less than 300OP to spend before he automatically failed his quest and lost ess to his system shop for an entire year. Gritting his teeth, Vahn struggled with the idea of purchasing more [Yi] arrows to buy time or if he should leave his fate to chance and try to buy a stronger piece of equipment. His thoughts were suddenly brought to a halt as a powerful collision sounded at his back. Looking behind, Vahn could see the Juggernaut missing half its face as it stared at Vahn with absolute hatred in its eyes. Even with the severe injury, its speed wasnt reduced as it used its powerful limbs to grab the wall and lurch itself forward. Vahn was out of time. Even if he wanted to purchase an item it wouldnt change the result of the situation. Using the only option avable, Vahn leaped towards the Juggernaut. Surprised that its prey would take the initiative to attack, the Juggernaut actually hesitated slightly. The memory of that arrow was fresh in its mind and it thought the small, insignificant creature had another trick up its sleeve. The Juggernaut used the wall as leverage to spin rapidly in the air and swipe towards Vahn with its whip-like serrated tail. Vahn drew his [Lions Pride] and cut towards the iing tail as he attempted to slide under the attack. The moment the de made contact it cut several centimeters into the tail before getting caught and ripped from Vahns hands. The winds trailing the tail left severalcerations on Vahns arms and his body began changing into his ck-turtle form as the wounds slowly started to close. Without turning his head, Vahn retrieved the now bent de that had been lodged into the dungeon wall using his domain. He continued sprinting forward as the Juggernaut repositioned and tried to crush the now fleeing target. After Vahn failed to severe its tail, the Juggernaut believed he had no other means of resistance and attacked without further hesitation. Vahn could feel death drop from above as a shadow began to press on his position. He jumped, twisting his body in mid-air and crossing both arms that were now covered in the ck scales. The spear-like ws of the Juggernaut collided with his defense and Vahn could feel both of his arms fracture from the impact. One of the ws managed to pierce his defense and prated his left lung and shattered several of his ribs. Carried by the force of the blow, Vahn was jettisoned towards the direction he had leaped previously. The Juggernaut noticed what he was trying to do and screeched beforeunching himself towards Vahn. Vahn used what remained of his strength and oriented both of his broken arms towards the Juggernaut. Lifting the middle fingers of both hands, Vahn mouthed the words through his blood-croaked mouth. F.u.c.k You With that parting gift, Vahn fell into the hole behind him. He dropped down into the darkness and saw the Juggernaut stop, unable to enter after him. It screamed at the top of its lungs and began hurling rocks towards Vahn who was quickly descending to the 14th floor. Vahn bit down on the [Senzu Bean] he had kept in his mouth and tried intercepting the rocks as his wounds rapidly healed. Each collision was like being hit by a sledgehammer as Vahn used the increased defense of his body to resist the blows. He could feel his just-healed bones begin to fracture once again as a vibrant red light began appearing from cracks in his body. Heat began to well up from within and Vahn could feel the eternal me in his chest dancing in anticipation. As he continued to fall, a rock farrger than the others fell towards him with a frightful velocity. Even if Vahn could deflect it, he would be crushed by the rock the moment hended on the floor below. Instead of simply defending himself, Vahn punched out with all his might towards the giant boulder. The moment of collision seemed to affect the cracks that had appeared in Vahns skin. His arms felt like they exploded as a crimson me began to burn from his body. The powerful shockwave carried through the boulder before splintering it into smaller shards. Seeing its final desperate attack had failed, the Juggernaut loudly screeched towards the boy that had escaped its grasp. Vahn, on the other hand, was in a daze as he stared at his body that had begun to burn with an intense me that also incinerated all of his equipment. Feather-like mes had emerged from the cracks in his body and generated a terrible heat that had even caused the surrounding walls to heat up with a red glow. Vahn twisted his body so that he could see the approaching ground. Though there were several small rocks still following his descent, he would deal with them when the time came. As he had already fallen for several seconds, his velocity has already reached a lethal degree. Vahn trusted his instincts as he pointed both of his arms towards the approaching ground. Responding to his intent, the feathers on his body came alive andrge amounts of crimson mes began to erupt from the palms of Vahns hands. They continued forward as pirs of fire that instantly melted the bedrock surface of the dungeon floor. Vahn continued channeling the mes until his body fell into the molten pool of rock and disappeared. The pool continued to burn brighter and brighter until the yellow-orange molten rock took on a crimson hue. As the crimson glow moved further towards the edge of the pool, the heat began to spread to other rocks in the surroundings and the dungeon appeared as if it was melting before a head popped out of the surface of the pool. Vahn walked out of the molten rock bare n.a.k.e.d and with a relieved expression on his face. He looked upwards towards the hole he had just fallen from. "One day, I will kill you and the person who created you. I will burn this dungeon to the ground and all the terrors contained within. I will burn it all." Saying his piece, Vahn turned around and started walking deeper into the 14th floor. He made it about ten steps before the mes on his body extinguished and he passed out, still n.a.k.e.d, onto the hard floor of the dungeon. (A/N: Alternate Titles: me Emperor,Consecutive Close Calls,Extinguish the Sun : [Yi],Poor Hephaestus) Chapter 80 - Benefits of Survival

Chapter 80 - Benefits of Survival

Vahn opened his eyes and noticed he was surrounded by an endless expanse of darkness. His body felt heavy and weightless at the same time; it was like he had fallen into a deep abyssal ocean and continued descending further into the darkness. Vahn struggled to move his body, desperately attempting to resist falling deeper into the abyss. A powerful sensation could be felt welling up inside his chest. Heat began to expand to dissipate the cold that had been permeating throughout his body. His body almost felt like it was thawing with the heat as he slowly regained the ability to move. Starting from his fingers and toes, until spreading to his arms and legs. As he regained functionality in his limbs, Vahn tried swimming upward against the pressure that had been weighing him down. The heat continued building within Vahn allowing him greater freedom of movement. His heart felt like it was pumping with a mad intensity and his chest began glowing with a crimson light. The light spread from his heart and began to extend to the rest of Vahns body. As the intensity of the light increased, the darkness around Vahn began to lose its power to restrain him. Vahn doubled his efforts and started rising to escape the pressure. The further he moved up, the less restraint he felt against his body. An excitement began to build within Vahn as his desire for freedom grew to a breaking point. The echoes ofughter began to sound in his mind, and Vahn recognized the voice as his own. No sound came from his lips in the vast emptiness of this space, but he could feel the intent behind theugh sounding fervently within his mind. Suddenly, the crimson light in Vahns chest took on a golden hue as it erupted from his body. Vahn ceased his struggles and roared powerfully through the darkness. mes emerged from his body that formed a sphere of invible territory that banished the encroaching darkness. The mes continued to expand until, from an outside view, Vahns body now looked like a small sun floating through endless space. Vahn bathed in the warmth of his own mes and enjoyed the powerful feeling pulsing through his veins. From around his body, several images began to form within the domain of mes. Starting from their eyes, four creatures formed within the void and looked at the dazed human before them. Their eyes had a reverence contained within as they all lowered their heads towards the boy. Vahn looked curiously at the four creatures and understood what they represented. They were the forms of his [Rakshasa Body] and were a white-tiger, ck-turtle, virmilion-bird, and azure-dragon. Each had an awe-inspiring majesty and radiated with infinite power...a power which submitted itself to Vahn. Smiling, Vahn reached out his hand to the closest creature, the white-tiger, and ced his palm on the king symbol of its forehead. A powerful rumble came from the tigers body as it opened its eyes toward Vahn. Vahn stared into the azure blue eyes and felt like its depths exceeded even the expanse of the void he had previously thought to be infinite. Within the eyes, Vahn saw life, death, wisdom, and an insurmountable pride that formed the core of the tigers being. But, even with all these things, it still looked towards Vahn with expectation and obeisance. Vahn smiled and whispered with a powerful voice that tore through the void. No sound came from his lips, but space around was filled with a single word, almost like an irrefutable im recognized by creation itself. "Bih." Hearing its name, the tiger raised its head and roared. Space aroundpletely shattered as the darkness formed shards like broken ss that dissipated into nothingness. A white expanse began to form around the domain Vahn had established. Looking around, Vahn felt an immense pride welling up inside him as his consciousness began to fade. He looks toward the other three creatures that had the same expectation on their face as Bih previously. He stared into each of their eyes in turn before his mind fadedpletely. The next moment, Vahn was waking up on the cold hard floor of the dungeon. All around his body there was a ck, foul-smelling substance which covered the majority of his skin. Vahns nose scrunched up after smelling the odor, so he pulled out his [Decanter of Replenishment] to clean his body. Afterward, as he was still n.a.k.e.d, Vahn pulled out his spare equipment and adorned it on his body. He was now wearing his normal equipment as his fire-proof stuff had been incinerated by the crimson mes that had surged out of his body. He looked towards the ground where he had fallen which had now formed into a smooth, somewhat ssy, ck color. ("Sis, that was the third form of my [Rakshasa Body], wasnt it? Such powerful mes...") Vahn felt like the mes werent natural as even his eternal me didnt seem to have such power. (*That is correct Vahn. The third form is that of the Zhqu, or the vermillion-bird. It seems to enhance your bodies regeneration to an incredible extent while greatly increasing your offensive capabilities at the cost of your defense.*) Vahn nodded, he had noticed that the fractures in his arms had been rapidly regenerating during his fall. Now, his body waspletely uninjured and he even felt a powerful energy coursing through his veins. Curious, Vahn inspected his body using his mental energies and found the source of the new energy. The golden colored eternal me in his chest now had a crimson hue to it and burned with a much greater intensity than before. The eternal me seemed to notice his presence as it began to dance around excitedly with unbound jubtion. Vahn could feel a happinessing from the me as it seemed to be thanking him. Vahn smiled, imaging happy feelings of his own, and directed them towards the eternal me to let it know he was also happy seeing its change. --- Vahn was now on the 14th floor with no easy way to progress. He now had just 300OP left to spend before he would exceed the quest limitation. As he had entered the dungeon with the intent ofpleting the quest, Vahn didnt want to turn back after his first major setback. Now that he had avoided the danger, he felt it would be a waste to return empty-handed. Van began to weigh the benefits of advancing and retreating. If he pressed forward he would be able to gain arger amount of OP from stronger monsters, but there was an obvious risk factor involved. Retreating would allow him to inform the Guild of the existence of the Juggernaut, but it would also draw a lot of attention to himself as the person who submitted the information. Even Vahn couldnt imagine how a Level 2 would have been able to survive after encountering such a monstrosity... While he was stuck trying to make a decision, Vahn decided to inspect his own stats. He had experienced a great amount of danger and managed to survive against the odds. With his new [Rakshasa Body] transformation, it was very likely the skill had increased as well. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:2(2) -Power:1001+(E498)->(C609) -Endurance:1108+(C665)->(S914) -Dexterity:887+(F372)->(E470) -Agility:940+(E449)->(D551) -Magic:1611+(B750)->(S949) Total:5547+(2734)->(3393) Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul) [Karma]: 1,022 [OP]: 182,037 [Valis]: 171,630 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [OP]Spent: 99,700/100,000 Sure enough, exposing oneself to danger and surviving had arge influence on his growth. He still had a long way to go, but Vahn was grateful that he had at least obtained something for his troubles. If only he had been able to kill the Juggernaut somehow...Vahn shook his head as the thought entered his mind. The Juggernaut was far stronger than even Tsubaki; the fact that he was even able to wound it was almost unbelievable. Thinking back to the incident, Vahn was very satisfied with the oue. [Call of the Reaper] was far stronger than the expected, and even the Juggernauts enhanced senses werent able to detect the arrow before it was toote. If he had been stronger and possessed enough energy to charge that arrow, it was possible Vahn would have been able to kill the beast before it was even aware of what happened. That [Yi] arrow had a terrifying power, and Vahn knew he hadnt even scratched the surface of its full potential. The fact it cost 5x more than his [Runic Tamahagane de: A] was enough to indicate how powerful it was. A thought suddenly urred and Vahn asked Sis to disy the arrows information. Since he had purchased it, even though he hadnt inspected it at the time, he should still be able to ess information rted to the arrow. Sure enough, an information window appeared in his vision and Vahn read the details of the arrow. --- [Yi] Rank:S-SSS Slots:0 P.Atk:0 M.Atk:0 Use: Energy can be infused in this godly arrow to create the depiction of 10 Suns. Each Sun increases the Physical and Magical attack by 1000 points. Further channeling energy into the arrow will extinguish the suns and increase the arrows might. P.Atk/M.Atk + 10,000(number of suns extinguished). This arrow is restricted by the worlds ws and cannot exceed the strength of four suns. --- The stats of the arrow were incredible, and given the 300% damage increase from his [Call of the Reaper], Vahn must have hit the Juggernaut with an attack ranging between 20-25k total power. He was able to infer this due to the fact he had almost extinguished a single sun by about 70%. If he had been able to channel just a bit more energy, Vahn believed he might have been able to kill the Juggernaut if he was lucky... Vahn decided that once he finished his weapon quest, he would purchase several [Yi] for emergency situations. Unlike other arrows, they seemed to be single use but Vahn couldnt help but respect the awesome scene he had observed earlier. That single arrow managed to severely wound a creature near Level 7 even though Vahn was currently only Level 2. As he continued to inspect his stats and items, Vahn noticed a peculiarity in his skill section. His [Rakshasa Body] had increased from F to E, but there was new information listed within the description that caught Vahns attention. --- [Rakshasa Body] Rank: Innate, (F) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* [Passive]: Provides arge increase to pain resistance. Allows the body to disperse internal forces. Increases bodies natural regeneration by a moderate amount. [Active]: Increases power and endurance based on damage received. Moderate stamina consumption. [Actiive]: Allows the user to instantly activate awakened forms. Awakening: [???]0%,[???]10%,[???]31%,[Bih]100% --- Vahn was surprised at the vast improvement, but considering it was an [Innate] skill, it wasnt that difficult to imagine it had limitless potential. If Vahn had to wait until he was near death to make use of the skill it wouldnt be very helpful. Now that he could activate it whenever he wanted, it would greatly enhance hisbat capabilities. Focusing his mind, Vahn began channeling energy into his body. He could feel a burning sensation on his back and could hear a word whispering within his mind. The sensation in his back began to grow as the voice repeated the word over and over. Vahn understood he had to repeat the name, so he muttered, "Bih". The moment the word left his lips, his forearms and legs immediately grew a wless white fur with ck stripes. Unlike the previous off-white color, it was now an unblemished and pure white with a stark and beautiful ck color. The ws on his hands seemed far more powerful and the muscles in his body felt both taut and stringy at the same time. Vahn felt like his body was full of explosive power, and he tested it out byunching himself forward. The ground shattered at Vahns feet as he moved nearly three times his original speed and almost crashed into the wall 20m opposite of his starting position. Using his enhanced senses and flexibility, Vahn bent his body like a bow and sprung off the wall leaving indentations where his feet hadnded. He spun several times in the air beforending nimbly back on his feet. Vahn was amazed at his own acrobatic disy, as he had never really been focused on agility as much as his other stats. The light feeling of his body and the flexibility of his bones left him in shock. If he could sustain this form whenever he pleased, Vahn felt like even most Level 3s wouldnt be able to fight against him. With an idea popping up in his mind, Vahn smiled while channeling his [Will of the Emperor]. He infused me elemental energy into the domain and began absorbing it inrge quantities into his body. The stark white hair on his body began to glow with a golden l.u.s.ter as the palms and ws of his hands began to radiate with an intense heat. Vahn took a deep breath and adapted to the enhancement of his body and senses. He suddenly opened his eyes before kicking away from the ground with his maximum strength. Vahn could feel his body pass through some kind of membrane as the air exploded around his body. Using his fierce momentum, Vahn smashed his fist into the hard bedrock walls. A powerful energy erupted from his body and channeled itself into the wall where, nearly an entire secondter, it exploded. The explosion caused the wall to fissure with a web-like pattern as the ceiling above gave in after losing its support. Vahn jumped backward and waited for the dust to settle before staring into the empty space beyond the wall he had just destroyed. With his perception, he had been able to sense a corridor parallel to the one he was currently in, and now Vahn was able to spread his senses into the now open room. Several monsters, including Hell Hound and Almiraj, were startled by the sudden copse of the wall and stared with red eyes towards the intruder. Seeing Vahn emerge from the hole, they immediately began attacking. Vahn smiled and spread both arms wide as if he were epting their challenge. The aura radiating from his body caused his hair to dance in the wind created by his domain as he bent forward and dashed towards the monsters with his bare hands. After a few minutes, Vahn had cleared the entire room and earned 611 OP for his efforts. He smiled and stared towards the ceiling before shaking his head. Now was not the time to retreat, instead, Vahn decided to venture further into the dungeon and continue towards the 18th floor. He would be able to rest there before working onpleting his quest. Doing so would allow him to increase his strength even further, and he could use the time to work on awakening his other forms. If Vahn could get to the point where he could channel the mes of the vermillion-bird, he felt like there were few things that could stall his progress in the future. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dump : Dump,Maybe its not a phase,Mns Intuition,RIP Hephaestus) Chapter 81 - Level 2 Killer : Minotaur

Chapter 81 - Level 2 Killer : Minotaur

Vahn continued to make his way through the 14th floor while familiarizing himself with his Bih form. Using it in conjunction with [Will of the Emperor] increased his perception and awareness to incredible levels. Vahn couldnt just sense things within the domain, he could smell, hear, and see things far more clearly than before. Instead of the passive stance, Vahn always assumed in fights, where he would dodge and evade enemies while countering, now he was aggressively fighting the enemies with his bare hands. With the burning attribute and his absorption of me elements, Vahn was able to deal debilitating blows to monsters. It was a very weird sensation to feel bones breaking and watching as monsters were deformed under the power of his blows. With his enhanced vision, Vahn was even able to experience a moment where he punched a monster and was able to actually see the shockwave pass through its body in slow motion. Most of the monsters he encountered were the Hell Hounds and Almiraj he had grown ustomed to fighting, but after an hour of travel Vahn finally encountered something new. It was a giant boar monster that was slightly more than 2m tall. It looked to weight around 1000kg and left tracks inside the hard floor as it rushed towards Vahn. Vahn recognized the creature as a Battle Boar which was known for their explosive rushes and incredibly durable skin. Unfortunately for the boar, it wasnt able to change directions quickly when it was charging. Vahn was able to leap over the Battle Boar and get behind it. As it tried to change direction and charge again, Vahn attacked its unguarded nk with his strongest punch. His fist sunk into the hard flesh and a burning smell began to spread in the air, but that was the extent of the damage. Vahn jumped back as the boar tried to maul him with itsrge tusks. It was no wonder thependium said that Battle Boars were known for their durability. When Vahns fist had collided with its side, it almost felt like the shockwave, he had grown used to feeling, was dispersed. He assumed the boar had some kind of natural ability to repel/disperse shocks simr to his [Rakshasa Body] passive. The boar madly charged towards Vahn with a red gleam in its eyes as it spewed drool all over the ce in its rage. Vahn side-stepped the boar, and instead of punching, heshed out with his super-heated ws. One of the changes brought about by his Bih form was a set of razor-sharp ws that extended nearly 5cm from each finger. Combining their sharpness with the me elemental attacks made them able to easily rend through flesh. As his fingers swept across the side of the boar, they sunk deep into the thick hide and left cauterized wounds in their wake. The Battle Boar flinched at the pain, the gleam in its eyes intensifying, as it continued to attack without hesitation. Vahn noticed that the longer he fought the beast, therger it became and the more ferocious its attacks. The ckish-brown skin of the boar had started to take on a red hue and Vahn noticed steam began to erupt from its nostrils with each breath. As it began its charge, Vahn sighed before taking out his [Runic Tamahagane de]. It was very difficult to kill the boar using just his hands because it was resistant to strikes and his ws couldnt cut deeply enough into the flesh to cause any serious damages. Readying his sword, Vahn also charged towards the enraged beast with a fearless expression. The Battle Boar roared loudly as it epted the challenge of the boy before it. It increased its pace and intended to tear Vahn apart using its massive tusks. The two forms, onerge boar, and one small boy, continued to charge at each other without any hesitation. Just as they were about to cross paths, Vahn nted his left foot into the ground at a sidewards angle before twisting his waist and turning his back toward the Battle Boar. The boar intended to run right through his defenseless body, but just as it was about to make contact, Vahn kicked the ground and did a backflip over the charging beast. The boar tilted its head slightly to stare at the figure above its head who returned his gaze with a confident expression. While Vahn was in the air, he swapped out his sword for his bow and loosed an arrow into the exposed eye that was ring at him. Jerking its head sideways from the painful impact, the boar lost control of its charge and skid across the bedrock wall. Its tusks carved through the hard surface and slowed its momentum. With the arrow still lodged in its eye, it turned towards the boy to continue its charge. However, no matter where the boar looked, it couldnt find any traces of the boys presence. Even in its enraged state, the boar was still capable of thinking and it was confused at how the enemy it had been fighting suddenly vanished. Suddenly, a painful sensation came from the side of its body where it had been blinded. Its head rolled from its body and it could see the form of its enemy holding a glowing golden de next to its body that was still standing in its ce. Before the Battle Boar lost consciousness for thest time, it saw the boy look towards it with a mocking expression on his face. Vahn had seen the boar hadnt died instantly, so he smiled towards the head that nowy on the ground. He had used the blind spot created when he shot out the boars eye to create an opening to behead the creature. Though Vahn felt a little guilty at exploiting its weakness, he had no obligation to fight fairly against monsters that were trying to kill him. Even ones that seemed to mindlessly charge forward and fight their enemies directly. Vahn removed the core from the boars corpse as both the head and body began to dissolve into dust. He noticed there was a strange pelt that had been left behind that looked simr to the boars hide. Thinking it could be a good material to make armor in the future, Vahn ended up keeping it in his inventory instead of exchanging it for OP. A master smith like Tsubaki or Hephaestus would be able to bring out the inherent qualities of such a material and Vahn would be able to possess the same shock-resistant functions as the boar possessed in life. This was one of the first fights that Vahn actually enjoyed to this extent. The boar wasnt an easy opponent he could simply vanquish with a single strike like the Hell Hounds and Almiraj that endlessly pestered him. He had to use all of his skills toe out on top and it took a great deal more effort than most of his fights. Vahn began to hope there would be simr situations in the future as he turned towards the corridor and delved deeper into the 14th floor. By the time Vahn reached the stairs more than five hours had passed. Combining this with the amount of time he spent on the 13th floor and passed out on the 14th floor, it was now nearly 8 PM. Though Vahn wasnt really tired, since the eternal me seemed to be providing him with excess amounts of energy, he decided to take a break. He sat down and reviewed his spoils and progress. Each Hell Hound, even though they werent that strong, gave Vahn around 23-27OP each. The Almiraj, though they were harder to deal with than the Hell Hounds, only gave a pitiable 18-20OP each. The good thing about both was they were incrediblymon, so Vahn had been able to earn a total of 14,779 in his five-hour stint. His total OP was brought up to 196,816 and he was getting increasingly closer to obtaining a fifth of the required amount for his quest. Vahn pulled out therge core he had obtained from the Battle Boar. So far he had kept both the core and the pelt, as he felt it was a shame to turn it into OP for now. Generally speaking, the magic core obtained from a monster was the optimal catalyst for the forging of weapons and armors. Since Vahn wanted to use the hide, he decided to hold onto the core for now even though it should be worth a few hundred points. Staring into the purple-blue crystalline structure, Vahn was captivated by the swirling energies contained within. He always found magic cores to be interesting, and higher grade cores like this one were even beautiful to look at. They were like dark gems that sparkled with light at their cores, and Vahn had thought about crafting essories or imbuing them into weapons as decorations. Vahn continued admiring the stone before cing it back into his inventory. He shouldnt be wasting too much time focusing on other things while he was still in the dungeon. Once he got to Riviria he would have time to consider his options and make further ns. For now, Vahn pulled out some food and ate a hearty meal. Afterward, he wiped down his body using a sponge and water from his canteen. He couldnt do much to clean his clothing, but it was better than nothing. Once he had finished his preparations, it was now close to 9 PM, but as Vahn wasnt tired he decided to press onward. Entering into his Bih form, Vahn crossed the threshold into the 15th floor. This was one of the floors he looked forward to the most and was also the reason he didnt feel like resting just yet. Vahn could feel anticipation building in him as he walked down the corridor towards his first room. Entering the room, Vahn could feel the blood begin to boil in his veins. Standing near the center of the 30m wide room was a pair of monsters that he had been wanting to fight for a long time. They were Minotaurs, and they stood around 2-3m each with massive and muscr builds. They each had fierce looking bull heads andrge bristled manes that reached around their head and covered their necks and shoulders. They stood on two powerful hooved legs and therger of the two even carried with it a broken sword that was full of nicks and ch.i.p.s. The moment he entered the room, both Minotaurs immediately noticed him and began to amble towards him menacingly. They each had vicious expressions as they groaned while emitting waves of hot air and steam. Vahn got into his battle stance after putting away his sword. He intended to fight them unarmed unless it was too difficult, as using a sword would give him too much of an advantage given his current parameters. Minotaurs might be a major threat to most Level 2s, but Vahns enhancements from his Bih form and [Will of the Emperor] gave him stats that would easily rival a Level 3. A golden aura danced around Vahn as he dashed towards the closest Minotaur. It used its broken sword and tried to attack, but Vahn elerated at thest moment before dashing cleanly through its open legs. As he passed, Vahn used his ws to sever the femoral arteries on both legs. The Minotaur fell forward in pain as buckets of blood began to pour out of the exposed veins. It was unable to support itself without leaning against the de. Vahn continued his charge towards the unarmed second Minotaur. It tried using its powerful arms to smash at the nimble Vahn. Vahn broke his own momentum by kicking the ground outside the range of the Minotaurs attack. Its fists mmed heavy into the ground and caused cracks in the bedrock, but Vahn ignored the attack as he had alreadyunched himself towards the Minotaurs face. Using his super-heated ws, Vahn grabbed the head of the Minotaur as he pressed both of his thumbs deep into the eye-sockets of the monster. As it tried to grab him in its blind flurry, Vahn kicked off with force and broke both corbones of the Minotaur as he vaulted backward in the air beforending back on his feet. The first Minotaur stared at Vahn as it waited for its wounds to recover while the second was blindly iling its dangling arms around. At one point it collided with itsrgerpanion and brought both of them to the ground. As the Minotaur had dropped the sword, Vahn recovered it into his inventory before equipping it. He inspected the badly damaged de before approaching the two disorganized monsters. Raising the sword, which had likely belonged to one of their victims, Vahn issued a silent prayer towards the unlucky fellow as he split therger Minotaurs head. The second Minotaur kept iling about, unable to stand back up without the use of its arms, so Vahn stabbed it through the back of the neck and brought its struggles to the end. All in all, both Minotaursbined posed less of a threat than the Battle Boar he had fought previously. Though they had a fearsome strength that could overwhelm weaker adventurers, theycked the mobility and durability to resist Vahns attacks. Since they had rtively humanoid forms, they also possessed simr weaknesses and the vital spots of their bodies were easy to identify. There were few people who knew the location of major veins and arteries better than Vahn. Vahn recovered the two cores and was happy to notice they were worth 113 and 139 OP each. With a smile on his face, Vahn walked forward to find his next target. Still wielding the broken sword, Vahn had decided he would use it to y as many Minotaurs as he could before finding a ce to properlyy it to rest. Hopefully, the person that had left it behind would find some sce in the act. (A/N: Alternate Titles:Minotaurs aint scary,No tomatoes today,Vahn is confirmed furry at this point,Battle Boar got cheated,If Vahn is fighting through the night, doesnt that mean Hephaestus is stuck trying to sleep while his heart beats loudly/excitedly in her soul?,Agility is OP) Chapter 82 - Variant

Chapter 82 - Variant

A golden figure could be seen dashing around the room using the walls to rapidly change direction. It continued maneuvering around a group of four Minotaurs who futilely attacked by throwing rocks and trying to hit the figure with their weapons. The figure, Vahn, had been trying to push his [Featherfoot] skill to the next level by using his increased agility to enhance his omnidirectionalbat ability. Like Lili, Vahn was using fast attacks and the environment to his advantage instead of directly engaging the enemies. He bounded off both the walls and floors and entered between the gaps of the Minotaurs attacks. Using his bow, he was targeting their joints and other weak points to adapt himself to moving while firing in mid-air. Vahn learned it was especially effective to hit the contracting points of muscles near the ligaments as it would disable the limb. He also focused on areas like the eyes and neck to reduce theirbat potential before aiming at their defenseless cores and finishing them off. After the four Minotaurs had died, Vahn released a tired sigh as he wiped the sweat from his brow. It had taken him nearly three hours, but he had finally hunted his goal of 50 minotaurs. Luckily, this floor seemed to be mainlyprised of small groups of them and there werent too many other monsters around. Vahn had noticed it was much easier to fight against a single type of monster as he could adapt hisbat style to counter their unique traits instead of having to change focus for each enemy type. It was already after midnight, and Vahn was finally started to feel fatigued. Though he could stay in the Bih form for a very long period of time, as he was focused on trying to adopt a newbat style it drained a lot of stamina. He would have to find a way to bnce his methods in the future or he might get winded in longer engagements. The main reason he was focusing on speed right now was, after his encounter with the Juggernaut, the only thing he could think of was wanting to be faster. Though he was still in the middle of a floor, Vahn decided to take a short break and rest. He canceled his transformation and extended his domain to sense any approaching enemies as he slowly drifted off the sleep. --- Vahn snapped his eyes open before jumping to his feet and running towards the direction he had just sensed a presence. Simr to when he had saved Naaza, Vahn could feel a sense of helplessness detected by his domain. He entered his Bih form and increased his speed while seeking the source of the negative emotions. Looking at the system clock, Vahn could see it was slightly after 5 AM, and he didnt expect people to be venturing into the floors at this time. After running for fifteen minutes, Vahn came into arge room where he could see three adventurers fighting against arge purple dragon-like creature. From its basic features, Vahn could tell it was a Wyvern, but unlike the 5m long pink scaled original, it now had a dense assortment of dark purple scales and reached nearly 7m in length. Its eyes were a dull red that seemed to contain mes as it fiercely assaulted the group of three. The three adventurers were all human and seemed very simr to each other. The man currently fighting the Purple Wyvern looked to be the eldest of the group and was likely rted to the two young men in the back. The man had grizzled looks and brave features with a firm and tall build. He fought against the Purple Wyvern with a long spear while trying to draw its attention away from the other two. In the back, a boy who looked like the youngest of the group was trying to stop the flow of blood of the boy who looked like his elder brother. Their faces were very simr, but the younger boy was several centimeters shorter and more fair-skinned than the one on the ground. Vahn was able to see in the brief period since his arrival that the older boy would most likely die with his current wounds. It was typically considered bad practice to attack a monster that another group was engaging, but Vahn determined they needed his assistance. As it stood, if he called out to the man who was barely evading the Purple Wyvern, it might end up with him getting caught off guard and killed. For now, Vahn made a circle around and started attacking the Wyverns eyes with his bow. The arrow skimmed across the brow of the Purple Wyvern and caused its head to lurch back. It roared in fury, but the middle-aged man used the gap to stab his spear urately into the neck of the beast. In response, the Purple Wyvern tried to breathe noxious fumes toward the man who had quickly opened his distance. He evaded the attack before shouting out towards Vahn, "Thanks stranger! We get out of this alive, Ill make sure to award you aplenty. If you have any potions, see to my boy and Ill try to keep this damned bastard upied." Vahn could see the man was genuinely happy for his help, so he quickly approached the two boys that were likely the mans sons. They were each around 15-16 years old, slightly older than Vahn, and judging by their figure and the fact they were on the 15th floor, Vahn assumed they were both mid-level 2. The younger boy looked towards Vahn with a frenzied expression as he tried stopping the flow of blood with his bare hands. He was obviously disarrayed by the situation and wasnt properly treating the wound at all. "P-please, please, help him, I cant, I..." The boy was trembling as he held his brother in his arms and appealed to Vahn. Vahn moved the boys hands aside as the golden aura on his body quickly faded away. Instead, there was a gentle white light emerging from his palms which he ced on the body of the older brother. Vahn noticed that he was still in his Bih form, but he would exin it after the matter had settled. One of the rumors circting about him detailed the fact he had a beast transformation magic, so as long as they knew the name Vulcan it would be fine. The boys wound began to heal at a visible rate as the younger brother started smiling like a fool. "Thank you! Thank you so much!" Vahn silenced the boy with a look before handing him a potion that he had kept for emergencies. Since he couldnt use shop items on other people, he had always kept spares in his inventory just in case. He couldnt use [Wound Transfer] for everything or it would draw too much attention if rumor spread. He had been lucky so far to keep it under wraps to all but his close confidants. After leaving the potion to the stuttering boy, Vahn rejoined the fight against the Purple Wyvern. He had already closed the wounds using his [Hands of Nirvana], so he would survive. The potion would help him recover a bit so the two would be able to escape using their own means. Drawing back his bow, Vahn loosed an arrow and continued to pester the Wyvern. The Purple Wyvern was incredibly angry at the neers attacks because every time it got hit the man it was fighting would impale it with his spear. The man was a 2nd-ss adventurer nearing level 4. He wasnt a match for the Purple Wyvern, but it would take a lot of time before he fell. With Vahns help, the odds had increased drastically, and he was even able to see both of his sons retreating in the distance. Seeing that his sons were safe, the man did something no adventurer should do, he dropped his guard slightly due to his relief. The moment wasnt missed by the Purple Wyvern who mmed its tail towards the man. Noticing the iing attack, the man grit his teeth and tried to receive the massive tail with his spear. The tail continued forward and mmed into the spear, causing the shaft to bend like a bow as itunched the man into the wall. Cracks were emitted from the point of contact as he coughed out a mouthful of blood. The Purple Wyvern tried to finish the man off, but the moment it lurched forward a powerful force mmed into the crown of its head. S.u.mbing to the mighty blow, the Wyverns head was forced down until it had been nailed into the floor by a long ck sword. Standing on the Wyverns lifeless head, Vahn looked towards the man and gave him a smile. Seeing the now dead Purple Wyvern, the man ignored his wounds and began tough. He looked towards Vahn was a thankful expression as he began tending to his wounds. Now that the fight had ended, his sons started making their way over as the boy who saved their lives cut the magic core from the dead monster. The man grimaced slightly after seeing therge core, but he just shook his head as Vahn put it into his satchel. The two boys wandered over and called out, "Dad!", "Father!" After they got close, the three all embraced each other and Vahn could see tears in their eyes. He saw they had deep affections for each other and Vahn started reminiscing slightly about the people he had left on the surface. Though he was still determined to stay in the dungeon toplete his quest, Vahn began missing them after seeing the current disy. After releasing a sigh, Vahn turned away and began advancing further into the dungeon. The middle-aged man called out to him, "Hey, wait stranger! I need to repay you for saving me and my boys!" The mans sons nodded their heads and agreed with their father. Vahn, turning towards them, disyed the monster core he had obtained. "This is enough for me. Just take better care of your lives in the future...it is sad to see families split apart by tragedy." After giving his parting words, Vahn continued to walk away from the three dazed gazes. Just as he was going to round a corner, the middle-aged man called out again. "Ah! At least tell us your name! Ill toast to you when we return to the City!" Vahn stopped after hearing the man and thought for a moment. Turning toward them, Vahn released a confident smile which stunned the three. "I am called Vulcan. Though those in the Hephaestus Familia also call me Vahn Mason." Vahn once again turned away and rounded the corner, disappearing beyond their sights. The man looked towards his sons and, remembering Vahns words from earlier, decided to cherish his life a little more. He needed to be more careful in the future, or it wasnt just his life that would be affected. "That boy is so strong...even though he seems even younger than me..." The youngest boy spoke with a sad tone. In the fight earlier he had been useless. Even when his brother got injured trying to protect him, the only thing he could do was watching him slowly bleed out. The middle-aged man put his hand on his sons head and ruffled his hair. "Yeah, but it isnt age that determines strength. You need to work hard and have a strong heart." After the man spoke, his son nodded which brought a smile to his face. The man could see a conviction in the eyes of the boy and knew he would be much stronger in the future. --- Vahn was walking through the corridor and inspecting the information in the system. After ying that Purple Wyvern, Vahn exchanged its core into the system and received a total of 7,180OP. It was an astronomical sumpared to normal monsters. With this, Vahn was able to determine that variants were worth as much as 20x the value of their originals. With luck, he would be able toe across more in the future and rapidly increase the amount of OP he earned. Continuing for another two hours, Vahn finally arrived at the stairs leading into the 16th floor. He decided to rest again as he hadnt been able to finish his nap from earlier. As he wasnt the main focus of the Purple Wyvern, it wasnt that stressful a fight, but he killed an additional 26 Minotaurs afterward. He had now obtained a total of 213,116OP and officially broke 20% of the requirement of the quest. Rxing against the wall, Vahn ate some crepes before checking his stats. This had be his habit ever since entering the dungeon, as it let him keep a proper measure of his growth. Vahn noticed that, with the increase in his parameters, he had also increased the skill [Featherfoot] to rank B. His agility training and evasive fighting style had paid off. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:2(2) -Power:1001+(C609)->(C690) -Endurance:1108+(S914)->(S951) -Dexterity:887+(E470)->(D522) -Agility:940+(D551)->(B702) -Magic:1611+(S949)->(SS1008) Total:5547+(3393)->(3873) Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul) [Karma]: 1,219 [OP]: 213,116 [Valis]: 171,630 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [OP]Spent: 99,700/100,000 Satisfied with his improvement, Vahn fell asleep as his domain expanded to cover the entire corridor. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Anti-Climactic,Minotaurs Natural Enemy,Vahn, the Bully,There are guys in this world, but they are nameless...for now?,Be careful what you wish for) Chapter 83 - Aint no Party like a Monster Party~!

Chapter 83 - Ain''t no Party like a Monster Party~!

(A/N: I wanted to make a fun title instead of the direct ones I usually use.) Vahn awoke and began his fourth day within the dungeons depths. He had noticed he required much less sleep after obtaining his upgraded eternal me, so Vahn had only rested for fives hour before he continued into the 16th floor. Much like the 15th, the 16th floor consisted mainly of minotaurs, but they were now roaming inrger groups with other monsters. After the previous days of constant fighting, Vahn had begun to adapt to his Bih quite a bit. Because of the perception provided by his domain and the increased senses of the form, Vahn had a much easier time navigating around the dungeon at high speeds than most people. While other agility fighters had to rely on their senses and spacial awareness to outmaneuver foes, Vahn essentially had a map within his mind and could feel everything within 70m. Vahn had even begun to adopt a more feralbat style and had unequipped his boots to get better traction due to the transformed state of his feet. Whenever he was tired or wanted to get a better vantage, he was able to use his ws to stick to walls and jump around while easily evading enemies. At this point, Vahn relied almost entirely on his physical abilities to deal with monsters without the use of any weapons. The 16th floor seemed to be somewhatrger than the previous floors, and Vahn had already been training/hunting for seven hours beforeing to a massive room. Moments after entering, Vahns instincts started sending danger signals to his brain which put him on high alert. Before taking another step, he immediately vaulted backward toward the wall and leaped off of it after creating a foothold with his ws. Within three seconds, Vahn had scaled the entire wall beforeing to a stop on the roof. Vahn embedded his ws deeply into the surface and observed his surroundings. Several cracks began to emerge all over the massive room and holes opened within the surface. From a strange purple-red void, dozens of Minotaurs began pouring out and began looking around. Vahn recognized this phenomenon from thependiums danger section. When a group or party had excessively hunted within the dungeon it would cause an event known as a monster party. The monster party could consist of hundreds of monsters and has been known to wipe out entire expeditions if they were unprepared. Vahn began counting each Minotaur and, by the time they stopped spawning, there were a total of 73 that he could sense within his domain. Luckily the spawn rate was directly tied to the size of a party or Vahn might have had to deal with far greater numbers. As a lone adventurer, what could have been several hundred monsters had been reduced to a rtively small amount. The Minotaurs continued looking around for their prey which was nowhere in sight. When Vahn had stuck himself to the roof he had also activated his stealth skill, so they were unable to sense his presence at all. Since the roof was nearly 34m high, none of the monsters had thought to look in his direction since exiting the portals from earlier. Vahn watched them idle around as if they were confused, while some even began smashing rocks or ces that could have been hiding spots. Vahn continued to watch them for an entire hour as he began to wonder if they would ever despawn or wander away from the area. He had never seen monsters stay in one spot for so long, so he was curious if there was some mechanism keeping them within the room or making them aware that he hadnt left. Suddenly, Vahn was inspired by an idea that passed through his mind. Wedging his feet firmly into the roof, he allowed himself to drop upside down and hang from the ceiling. It was a very disorienting feeling to hand upside down and Vahn spent a few seconds trying to adjust his mental state before drawing out his bow. Ever since his encounter with the Juggernaut, Vahn had wanted to get some practice using his [Call of the Reaper] skill and found this to be an excellent opportunity to do so. Taking aim, Vahn knocked an arrow and loosed it towards one of the Minotaur in the periphery of the group. As it had done so during his encounter with the Juggernaut, the arrow turnedpletely invisible and if not for his domain, even Vahn wouldnt be able to sense it. The arrow prated through the back of the Minotaurs head before its entire body turned to dust. As Vahn had be extremely ustomed to fighting them, he had long since discovered the location of their core and its weak spots. The moment one of their members died, the remaining Minotaurs began to roar and entered a frenzied state. They started smashing the ground and upheaving rocks to find the location of the attacker. In the ensuing chaos, Vahn continued firing arrows towards the isted Minotaurs in the group. As each arrow did 300% increased damage, Vahn was able to dispatch the majority of his targets cleanly. Most of the Minotaurs were within a 40m range and he had an elevated position, so Vahn was able to easily shoot them through the top of their heads and necks. After culling more than half of the group, Vahn finally missed his mark and the arrow lodged itself into the shoulder of a Minotaur. The Minotaur looked towards his position before letting out a loud roar with reddened eyes. Vahn felt a sinking feeling in his body like it was quickly losing strength as the entire group of Minotaurs looked toward his position on the ceiling. Vahn realized his current weakness was the drawback for failing to use the skill, and he grits his teeth while swapping to explosive arrows. The Minotaurs began madlyunching rocks toward Vahn as he started raining explosives onto their bodies from above. Vahn almostughed after seeing the majority of the rocks begin falling after reaching around 25-30m. Even though the Minotaurs had incredible strength, it wasnt to the extent they could throw 100kg rocks the 34m distance to the ceiling. Instead, the rocks they threw actually be a threat to themselves as they continued trailing arcs through the air and smashing into their ownpanions on asion. Unfortunately, for the Minotaurs, they didnt seem to be able to reason in the situation and continued their pointless assault. Vahn continued to fire, albeit at a slower pace because of the volley of rocks intercepting his arrows, picking off each Minotaur one by one. On asion, there would be a much smaller rock that would reach his position, but most were severely off target and Vahn was able to intercept the rest using his gauntlets. By the time the stones had reached him, they had lost the majority of their power so he was able to bat them aside without straining himself. There was a point where he nearly dislodged his own footing swatting one aside, but Vahn managed to recover and nt his feet firmly back into the ceiling. When there were only 10 Minotaurs remaining, Vahn put his bow away and focused on regting his breathing. There were still around twenty minutes until his stats recovered from the debuff, and though Vahn could easily dispatch the remaining Minotaurs he decided to recover just in case there were any other surprises. ording to thependium, defeating a monster party sometimes resulted in a secondary wave that would have stronger versions of the monsters and even some variants. Though the current Minotaur couldnt do much to him, Vahn believed the same couldnt be said for higher level versions. If a Level 3 Minotaur or a variant spawned he wouldnt be safe even on the roof. If he had to fight them with halved stats it would be disastrous, so Vahn decided to wait it out. Noticing their enemy had stopped fighting back, the Minotaurs began shouting and taunting towards Vahn while still throwing rocks. Even though the majority of the group had been annihted, they seemed to not notice and remained bold in their endeavors. Vahn wasnt sure if they were just stupid by nature or if it was a trait assigned by the dungeon. Though monsters were much faster and stronger in the dungeon than they were above ground, they also had a madness that couldnt be seen in their weaker counterparts. In most situations, this made them even more dangerous, but in unique instances like this, it made them especially easy to deal with. After the twenty minutes had passed, Vahn felt his strength return and allowed himself to drop from the roof. The Minotaurs saw him fall and immediately began charging towards the location where he wouldnd. Seeing their excited states, Vahn shook his head and twisted his body in mid-air. He knocked an arrow in his bow and fired a cl.u.s.ter of explosives towards hisnding site. The arrows contacted and made a powerful shockwave that dispersed a cloud of dust particles in the area. None of the Minotaurs were injured, as they had yet to reach the location, but they all flinched and covered their faces to protect themselves from the shrapnel and debris. Moments after, spiral holes began appearing from within the cloud as super-sonic arrows exited and lodged themselves into the throats of several Minotaurs. None of the monsters were able to tell what was going on as the dust blocked their vision. After creating the cloud to obscure their vision, Vahnnded within its vicinity. As he was unaffected by the loss of vision, he closed his eyes and sensed the location of each Minotaur. They were currently stationary while holding defensive postures, so Vahn began firing arrows into the gaps between their forearms to impale their necks. Within twenty seconds of falling, he had eliminated the remainder of the group and recovered their cores. Vahn continued to wait while staying low to the ground in the debris field caused by the explosion. He used his heightened senses and domain to inspect the area as he waited for any new enemies to appear. After around five minutes, he rose from the ground and dusted off his clothing. Luckily, he only had to face a single wave, likely due to how long it took for him to deal with the first. Though he wanted to fight stronger enemies, it was better to get the jump on them instead of having to react to new situations beyond his control. After continuing for another twenty minutes, Vahn arrived at the staircase leading towards the 17th floor. He had spent nearly ten hours on the 16th floor and it was currently near 2 PM. Vahn rested against the wall and enjoyed arge lunch to fill his empty stomach. He wanted to make sure to get his fill before heading to the 17th floor since he wanted to clear it with a single push so he could arrive at the safe zone on the 18th. With luck, Vahn would be able to sleep in a bed tonight and enjoy a nice hot bath. While he was eating, Vahn checked his spoils and was pleased to find he had obtained 21,125OP on the 16th floor. The monster party alone hadted him nearly 10k, and Vahn was considering it if would be a good idea to try and trigger more in the future. He now had 234,241OP and was quickly approaching the quarter mark for his quest. Vahn began humming in satisfaction with a smile on his face. He had nearly increased his OP by 100,000 points within thest four days. At this rate, he would be able toplete the entire quest in about a month, which was much less time than he originally anticipated. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:2(+)(2) -Power:1001+(C690)->(B714) -Endurance:1108+(S951)->(S998) -Dexterity:887+(D522)->(C686) -Agility:940+(B702)->(B751) -Magic:1611+(SS1008)->(SS1072) Total:5547+(3873)->(4221) Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul) [Karma]: 1,219 [OP]: 234,241 [Valis]: 171,630 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: That just aint fair,Death from Above,Does Vahn ever run out of explosive arrows?) Chapter 84 - *Spoilers: Title at End*

Chapter 84 - *Spoilers: Title at End*

After resting for two hours andpletely recovering his energy, Vahn made his way into the 17th floor. He was excited to see how much progress he had made, as he originally expected to spend more than a week trying to reach the 18th floor. Vahn was even prepared to turn back if he had difficulties, but his training with Tsubaki and the time he spent adapting to his skills and mobility had greatly enhanced his capabilities. Even though his stats hadnt increased much during that time, he was able to progress much further than most people at his level. The 17th floor introduced a new monster to Vahn, but one he had seen in thependium and intended to hunt for a while, the Lygerfang. They seemed to be somewhat territorial because Vahn only ever encountered individuals within a room. To make up for their low numbers, they were much more powerful than other monsters and possessed both power and agility. Vahn enjoyed fighting them, as they actually had very simrbat styles to his own. They would charge forward quickly and then use the walls to rebound and continue the assault with their powerful ws. Though they werent nearly as powerful as something like Minotaur, Vahn actually felt like they were a greater threat if not for the fact they fought alone. During the fight, Vahn had been studying the moves of the Lygerfang and even picked up a new technique he hadnt considered before. In one instance, where Vahn had managed to get to the Lygerfangs exposed nk, it performed a rapid turn and smacked Vahn with its tail. Vahn was caught off guard as the whip-like strike hit his ribs like hard iron. The Lygerfang tried to take advantage of the opening and nearly managed to sink its fangs into Vahn. But, the moment it leaped forward, Vahn rolled back and kicked the underside of the Lygerfang andunched it over him. The monster managed to spin in the air andnd on its feet, but Vahn had enough time to recover. Though his ribs hurt, there wasnt anything broken as his body had rtively high endurance. Vahn was feeling a bit vengeful, so when the Lygerfang created an opening after missing its lunge, Vahn returned the favor and smashed his tail into the exposed left eye of the monster. Seeing it flinch, Vahn couldnt help but let out augh as he saw the offended look on the Lygerfangs face. The two exchanged blows for another couple of seconds before Vahn snapped the flexible back of the monster with a heel drop. After collecting the core, he noticed they were actually worth more than a Minotaur, as the only had awarded 157OP. Vahn felt like the reputation of the Minotaur wasnt as well-deserved as it seemed. If Lygerfangs fought in packs, they would probably be much more difficult to deal with than a humanoid monster. Vahn continued further into the 17th floor and slew a variety of creatures while noticing the structure of the dungeon was slowly changing. Instead of the wide open and cavernous spaces, theyout of the dungeon became morepact and there were several obstacles that barred easy passage. Large rocks were strewn about on the floor, and there were several ces that Vahn even had to crawl through to continue forward. In some of these spots, monsters like Almiraj would try to ambush him, but even though they were very agile, Vahn was always able to react since he had long noticed their presence. By using his [Stealth] in conjunction with [Will of the Emeperor], he was able to detect things within a 71m radius while remaining undetected himself. Unless the monster has very high perception and could sense the change in the atmosphere, Vahn could easily move through the dungeon while always having the advantage against sneak attacks. The lighting of the dungeon continued to decrease and it started bing hard to see more than a few feet in the corridors. Rooms were a bit easier to deal with since they still had luminescent stones embedded within the rocks, but it didnt help much. Luckily, as Vahn found out while wandering in the dark, he seemed to have great night-vision capabilities with his Bih transformation. Though Vahn already knew he had enhanced sight, smell, and hearing, he didnt know it actually allowed him to see in the dark as well. From an outsiders perspective, his eyes would have seemed to glean in darkness with a green glow when reflecting light. (A/N: Tigers are nocturnal hunters~! Makes sense why there would be tiger monsters on the 17th floor in low lighting~! Smart original Author.) Vahn made his way through the dungeon before noticing the corridors start to open up slightly with additional lighting. Confused, Vahn made his way toward the source and came into a massive room with a gigantic crystalline wall that emitted a rainbow-like hue. Within the depth of the wall, Vahn could see a partially formed shadow. Within his mind, Sis informed him this was the structure mentioned in thependium and was known as the Wall of Grief. Periodically, the wall would spawn the Monster Rex known as Goliath which typically took a team of skilled adventurers to fight. Intrigued, Vahn approached the wall and noticed the shadow within was dormant. Testing the wall with his hand, Vahn noticed it was several times harder than the surrounded bedrock. Even with his sword, he was only able to prate a few millimeters into the surface before his attack was rebounded. The wall seemed to be made of aposite of very dense minerals as well as magical energies. Vahn waited in the room for an hour while watching the wall. He really wanted to try and fight the Goliath, but it seems it was recently eliminated and wouldnt respawn for another couple of days. The shadow within the wall was much smaller than the recorded 7m height of a Goliath, so it wasnt worth staying in the area any longer. It was also quitemon for the Familia that hunted it previously to be in the area for its next spawn so they could harvest materials from the body. Unless Vahn was lucky or assisted in the subjugation, it would be very difficult to fight the Goliath on his own. With a bit of disappointment, Vahn entered the corridor heading away from the Wall of Grief. He followed the path until it opened into a medium sized room with multiple holes in the ground. The path continued forward to a staircase which likely led to the 18th floor, but given the nature of holes on the previous floor, Vahn also assumed the holes led to the same destination. Deciding the stairs were the best option, Vahn ignored the holes and continued downwards. He didnt want to be one of awkward few that had to enter the 18th floor through a shortcut since it would be embarrassing if people thought he had run away from something. Unlike the staircases of previous floors that only took a few minutes to descend, Vahn arrived at the exit of the current stairs after nearly an hour of travel. The further he had traveled, the more light shone into the corridor, and by the time he entered the 18th floor, it was a vibrant orange color. Vahn was confused at the peculiar color and looked towards the giant crystals where the light was emitted. (*The crystals emit light that emtes the surface. Right now its shortly after sundown, so they are emitting an orange glow. It looks like you made it in time before night came.*) Vahn checked the clock and noticed it was 7:31 PM, and since it had been getting dark prettyte in the day recently, it made sense for it to currently be around sunset. Vahn could see arge forest beyond the ins he was currently located in. A path had been established from the entrance of the 18th floor to arge settlement surrounding a massive tree in the middle of the region. Vahn could see the lights from his current location and even heard the sounds of people going about their business. Staring up at therge tree, Vahn was overwhelmed by the urge to climb it. He wondered what kind of view he would be able to enjoy at that height, and how such arge tree even managed to form in the first ce. Vahn really wanted to explore this entire floor, as all the trees, rivers, andkes were very beautiful. In fact, this entire area was incredibly scenic and unlike anything he had ever seen before. As Vahn was taking in the sights, he noticed the sky was beginning to darken rapidly, so he made his way towards the closest settlement. He could see there were several different sections around the tree, and only one of them seemed open to foot traffic. Vahn also noticed that there were mansion-like structures built upon the roots and even into the side of the tree. Those were likely ces reserved for high-level Familia or those that had established themselves within the 18th floor for whatever reason. After around twenty minutes, the light from the crystals hadpletely darkened as a gentle moon-like glow was emitted from their surface. Vahn found it to be even more spectacr than the orange light from earlier, as the dark night was beautifully lit due to his night vision. He approached the small gate that was manned by a few men in light equipment. They seemed to bezily guarding the gate while making small talk and enjoying what Vahn could smell to be alcohol. Noticing Vahns approach, one of the men loudly shouted, "Oi! Who goes there!?" while drawing his sword. His fellow guards also took up arms as they started at the silhouette approaching from the darkness. Though they couldnt make out the person features, they were able to see a pair of eerie green eyes reflecting the light from the torches. It was an unnerving sight, so they couldnt help but draw their weapons and put up their guard. Vahn stopped before raising his hands to show he had no ill intentions. "I am the Vulcan, Vahn Mason, of the Hephaestus Familia. I havee to seek shelter for the night and resupply my rations and consumables." Vahn made his purpose known to try and calm the rising tensions. Most of the men seemed to rx after hearing him, but Vahn noticed they didnt put their weapons away. The leader of the group grabbed a torch and made his way towards Vahn. After seeing Vahns Bih form, he nearly dropped his torch and attacked on instinct. From his perspective, the young boy in front of him looked like a demon. "V-Vulcan, was it? Howre you down here in Rivira on yer own? I heard Vulcan only recently hit Level 2, so you shouldnt be able to reach here yet." The man, especially after seeing Vahns appearance, had trouble believing his words. As Vahn was beginning to exin, another man at the gate loudly called out. "Hey, its you! Hahaha, Bart, leave that kid alone. He saved me an my boys the other day!" From beyond the gate, a gruff middle-aged man with brown hair exited Rivira while wielding his spear. The man holding the torch looked back and called out, "Ryan? Thiss the boy you were drinkin up a storm about?" The manughed loudly and approached towards Vahn and wrapped his arm around Vahns shoulders. "Thats right. If not for this kid, me an my boys would be sleeping in a Wyverns gut instead of an Inn. Go ahead and let him in the settlement, Ill personally pay all his fees." Though Vahn was somewhat ufortable with the contact, he noticed the man, apparently named Ryan, had no ill intentions. If he was able to enter and find lodgings without any troubles, that would be for the best. While Ryan and Bart were talking, Vahn released his Bih form which caused the tensions of all the men to visibly lessen. They had heard the rumors that Vulcan could transform using a rare magic, but seeing him in his normal human form did a lot to ease their worries. The boy look small and frail with a handsome face, much easier to deal with than the fierce looking demon from earlier. Bart, the gate guard, shook his head before looking at Ryan. "Okay Ryan, but anything happens and its on you. Make sure you exin all the rules to or youll have to join im if he gets kicked out." Bart had a firm tone but rxed after Ryan handed him a sack filled with a few magic cores. Ryan escorted Vahn under the sign that said, Frontier Settlement Rivira, and began tough next to Vahns head. "Im d you made it down here! I knew someone as strong as you wouldnt get holed up on the middle-levels. Come, I know a good Inn and bar where you can settle in and enjoy a good meal. This ce aint the most hospitable, but it beats sleeping on the ground!" Vahn noddedcently, but he had never dispelled his [Will of the Emperor] even when he dropped his transformation. Now that he could infuse stealth into it, it was almost undetectable unless Vahn focused his intent on someone. Vahn stared at each passerby and noticed many of them didnt bother much with the new face, but, beyond the normal crowds, Vahn was able to see people he had never set eyes on before. The reason his attention was drawn to the group, is that they all had dark auras surrounding their bodies. Allowing himself to be pulled towards the Inn, Vahn mentally marked the men on his map. Even if he wasnt actively tracking them, unless they had stealth or he dispelled his domain, Vahn would be able to see their position on his map at all times. Title: Rivira (A/N: Alternate Titles: No Goliath Fight,Shadows Approach,Ryans Hospitality) Chapter 85 - Moonlit Encounter

Chapter 85 - Moonlit Encounter

After entering the Inn, Ryan asked how long Vahn was intended to stay as they made their way to the bar. The owner of the Inn was a stocky boaz man with ruddy-brown hair. Though he had a stern expression, he was still smiling as he made drinks for the customers at the bar. "Im not sure how long Ill be staying. It will depend on how things go." Vahn was somewhat distracted as his eyes nced at the other patrons. Seeing there were no extra malicious auras, he continued tracking the three men from earlier. After Vahn entered the Inn, they all started heading further into the settlement towards the direction of therge tree. Eventually, the exited the area of his domain, which caused Vahn to frown. "Hey, boss, two rye beers and somethin strong to get us started!" Ryan gged down the owner and ced an order loudly next to Vahn. Turning towards the amiable man, Vahn shook his head before separating slightly. "Sorry Ryan, I never drink in the dungeon. No exceptions." Vahn had been told by Tsubaki previously that alcohol was a very dangerous thing. Unless he was celebrating with people he knew or in thefort of his own home, he should never ept alcohol, especially in a ce like a dungeon. Vahn had never been drunk before, but he had seen the effects on others. He knew it had a debilitating effect on a persons mental state and even caused drowsiness and nausea. Most like as a result of his unique blood, but Vahn had been able to drink almost everyone he drank with under the table. Even a goddess like Hephaestus and the heavy drinking Tsubaki couldnt match him. Ryan shook his head, "Come now, kiddo. You gotta loosen up on asion. Even if yer not of age, the fact youre this far in the dungeon more than makes you a man. Lets celebrate our reunion." Ryan still had an amiable smile on his face, and Vahn could see his aura was stable and kind. However, even if it was a fact he couldnt get drunk, Vahn wouldnt put himself at risk with unknown dangers lurking around. After seeing that his insistence had failed, Ryan gave a sad smile before throwing back a long swig of his beer. Vahn noticed the look and gave an apologetic smile before exining, "Sorry, Tsubaki, the Captain of my Familia, and the person who helped me train, forbade me from ever drinking inside the dungeon. Even if she never found out, I wouldnt be able to lie to her. As someone far more experience than I am, I listen to her advice, as it will probably be what keeps me alive." Hearing Vahn, Ryan smiled and nodded while sipping at his drink. "Good kid. Youll live a lot longer than most with that kind of discipline. Here, even if you cant drink, you can still share a toast with this old fool." Lifting his ss towards Vahn, Vahn used his own ss of water to ept the toast. "Cheers!!","Cheers." The two said at the same time which caused Ryan tough after seeing how serious Vahn was. They continued to make small talk and discuss the results of their recent ventures. Ryan exined how his sons were just recently promoted to Level 2, and that they belonged to a C rank Familia run by the God Caerus. Ryans role was the lieutenant of the Familia, and he had brought his sons to the middle-floors so they could get some experience. Who would have thought that, on the same trip, he nearly lost the both of them due to their encounter with the Purple Wyvern? iming his gods Divinity was based on luck, Ryan toasted loudly to the bar and ordered drinks for the other nine customers. Vahn enjoyed the atmosphere before refusing the offer to stay at the Inn. Though they only charged 18 magic cores a night, Vahn had no intentions of staying in the area. After the men he was tracking left his domain, he had been intending to leave the vicinity after eating a hearty meal. Vahn wasnt willing to stay in the area the men hadst seen him, especially if he didnt know their purpose or where they had gone. He intended to leave the settlement entirely and seek refuge in the forests until things became clear. After parting with Ryan, who tried insisting that he stay, Vahn made his way around Rivira and marked every building on his map. He was also looking for the men with the dark auras, but after identifying all 118 buildings within the area, he was prevented from continuing his search. Further down the main road of Rivira, there was a gate that was manned by arge group that was much more organized than the entrance to the settlement. They prevented Vahn from venturing further inwards unless he was apanied by arge party or was able to identify himself as a Level 4 or higher. After investigating a bit, Vahnpletely ignored the men and made his way to a secluded area before entering stealth and jumping over the wall. He noticed there was some kind of mechanism to detect intruders, but it didnt seem to trigger with Vahns presence. He looked around and noticed most of the buildings were far apart and much higher ss than the ones in Rivira. It seemed like these were the camps/buildings that had been set up by the stronger Familia as a staging point for further exploration into the lower floors. Vahn assumed there were likely Level 3 or higher adventurers within the area and that it would be dangerous to go further. If he was caught infiltrating a forbidden area, it would cause a lot of problems when he visits the 18th floor in the future. There was also the matter that, Vahn didnt have confidence in concealing himself from people much stronger than himself. There were all kinds of people with unique skills and abilities that could help them discover his presence. Not to mention any mages would be able to detect the presence of his domain if they were strong enough. Resolving himself to increase the level of his [Stealth] in the future, Vahn leaped back over the wall and made his way to the entrance of Rivira. He left them a holding fee and registered his identification so he would be able to enter without difficulties in the future. To prevent any trouble, he also demonstrated his magic that allowed him to transform. The men were surprised, but Vahn made certain they annotated his transformation so that others dont randomly attack him in the future. Vahn had grown ustomed to being in his Bih form, especially in ces like the dungeon where he always had to remain cautious. It was hard giving up the enhanced senses and reduces parameters when he was walking around with unseen enemies lurking. After making his way several hundred meters from Rivira, he split off into the woods and disappeared into the depths. --- Several minutes after Vahn left the settlement, a group of seven figures appeared along the route he had taken. They were each wearing dark clothes and had cloaks that concealed their faces. Aftering to the spot where Vahn had entered the woods, one of the figures bent down low and inspected the ground. Noticing the tracks had turned to the woods, they sniffed around in the air before making hand signs to the other cloaked figures. They all nodded before branching out and entering into the woods. If Vahn had been in the area, he would have noticed that each of their eyes reflected the lighting from the crystals. Like him, they too could see in the dark. Without being restricted by the overgrowth of the forest, the group continued into the darkness, heading towards the direction Vahn had left in. --- Vahn hadnt been going at a very fast pace, as he had not expected people to follow him outside of the settlement and into the forest. This didnt mean he had dropped his guard though, as he had dispersed his aura into the forest and was actively using his stealth as he made his way further into the forested trails. He was looking for a clearing or a water source so that he could bathe and clean his clothing before finding a nice tall tree to rest in. While he was making his way forward, Vahn detected anomalous presences in his domain. Unlike normal presences, they seemed to be somewhat transparent and hazy, but Vahn was still able to detect them. He slowed down and equipped his [Scouts Guille Suit] while crouching low to the ground. For a group to be trying to conceal themselves while following his path, Vahn didnt expect they had good intentions. --- The group of seven continued tracking their target before slowing their advance to a crawl. The leader of the group made a hand sign and they slowly started to fan out. As they specialized in tracking, they were very capable of following their prey undetected. The fact that the forest had suddenly be silent triggered the instincts of the leader so they split their team into a wider. Following the trail, the hooded figure slowly crept forward with perfectly silent footsteps. They kept their eyes open to the smallest movements and perked their ears to listen for any hushed breathing. It was umon for their target to simply vanish, so the leader assumed they had been detected which caused their prey to hide in the vicinity. The curious thing was the fact that, even with their enhanced senses, the group was unable to find any sign of the boy other than his trail. --- Vahn had identified a total of seven people within his domain and they seemed to be on very high alert. Though they had yet to find him, Vahn was impressed with how much caution they showed the moment he stopped moving. From his perspective, Vahn could see the figure closest to him moving silently through the underbrush. It was actually amazing how the person seemed to meld into the sounds of nature and moved without disturbing any loose twigs or grass. After watching the group slowly advance, Vahn began to realize that none of them triggered his instincts. Every time Vahn had ever fought someone stronger than him or entered a dangerous area, something inside of him seemed to react and cause him to act more cautious. The fact none of these people made him feel that way made Vahn believe they were weaker than he was. By now the closest figure was within 7m of his position, a distance Vahn could cover in the time it took to blink. Tensing his legs and putting strength into one of his palms for support, Vahnunched himself forward with his maximum velocity. The moment his feet left the ground, the sounds of wind tearing exploded through the area as the trees and grass began to rustle furiously. The leader that had been closest to Vahns position was shocked hearing the explosive sound but still managed to keep their cool as they tried taking evasive actions. Unfortunately, just as Vahn assumed, they were all Level 2 and much slower than Vahn was. Unable to evade, the figure tried attacking towards Vahn with a dagger, but Vahn received it with his left gauntlet before driving his ws into to the figures stomach. Groaning, the cloaked figure copsed to the ground while trying to put pressure on their stomach to slow the bleeding. Vahn wasnt simply faster than they were, he was also much stronger as well. Since the group specialized in speed and stealth, they had no hope of receiving his attacks head-on, so the hooded figure paid the price. The rest of the group immediately tried surrounding and attacking Vahn, but due to the seven months he had spent in the forest, and the fact he had increased his [Featherfoot] to rank B, Vahn was able to make excellent use of the terrain. Within two minutes, more than half of the group had been maimed or disabled, and the rest began feeling intense fear inside of them. They didnt expect the young boy who had only recently be Level 2 to be so ferocious. After Vahn took out another one of theirpanions, the remaining two figures tried to retreat in opposite directions. Seeing their attempt, Vahn scoffed before equipping his bow. He took aim at the figures who had abandoned all thought of attacking him and entered his stealth state. Even if there were other people nearby, as long as his target was unaware of his presence, Vahn could make use of a skill he had grown fond of recently. Loosing the arrow, Vahn activated [Call of the Reaper] and fired toward each retreating figure. Unable to sense the approaching arrow, the two fleeing figures ended up taking the hit straight into the back of their pelvic areas. Vahn had targeted a non-lethal spot that would prevent them from recovering even with the use of a potion. So far, he hadnt killed any of them as he still wanted information. As everyone was still within the area of his domain, Vahn would be able to sense if anyone recovered or tried to sneak attack him. Vahn made his way toward the first figure who was still clutching their gut. The person had tried to pour a potion onto the wound, but it was healing at a very slow rate. As Vahn had imbued his burning effect into the attack, just like with all his previous enemies, the wound was slow to regenerate. The figure noticed Vahns approach and tried attacking with a concealed weapon that was as ck as the night. Vahn, with his night vision and high perception, easily detected the attack and caught the de out of the air. It was a strangely shaped de that was solid ck in color and had a subtle, yet foul smelling, odor wafting from it. Frowning, Vahn threw the small knife into the knee of the hooded figure. The de shattered the kneecap and embedded itself deeply into the area between the two bones. The figure, who Vahn had identified as a man by the scream, began writhing in pain as froth built up in their mouth. It seems like the poison was a fast reacting kind, and without an antidote, the man would probably die within a minute. Without any hesitation, Vahn pulled out his tamahagane de and severed the mans leg. The man screamed out, but Vahn focused his intent through [Will of the Emperor] and caused him to freeze. Using his [Hands of Nirvana] Vahn helped pull the poison from his system while also taking the time to sever the tendons in the mans arms using his ws. "Start talking." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Spooky,Assassins vs. Reaper,Wrekt) Chapter 86 - *Spoilers: Title at End*

Chapter 86 - *Spoilers: Title at End*

The man remained silent after hearing Vahns demand. Looking around, he could see that all of hispanions were still breathing so he released a sigh. Vahn waited for the man to speak, but after seeing him remain silent for more than twenty seconds, Vahn removed the hood masking the mans features. The moment the hood was removed, Vahn saw two pointy ck ears reveal themselves. The man ended up being more like a boy, as he looked to be around 13-14 years old. Though the boys face was pale from the pain and bloodloss, Vahn could see his skin was a natural olive-brown color. Atop his dark-brown, almost ck, hair stood tworge pointed ears covered in fur. The ears were unlike any cat person or chienthrope Vahn had ever seen before. The most notable features of the boy were the pale gold markings on his face and the pale-red wine colored eyes. Therge-eared boy continued to stare at Vahn with a hint of me and anger in his brows. He seemed to be contemting something and kept looking toward his leg that had been severed by Vahn previously. When Vahn had removed the poison earlier, he also channeled his energy into the leg to re-attach it. The boy hadnt recovered its use due to his shattered knee, but with rehabilitation, he would be able to walk again. Vahn, though he didnt care about the hooded figures, noticed none of them had the ck auras as the previous three he had observed earlier. Though there was no doubt they were tracking him, Vahn didnt think they were after his life. The only things that confused him were the ck knife and the reason they had to track him in the first ce. "I said talk. The longer you stall, the worse their injuries be." Vahn gestured towards the peopleying on the ground. The boy followed his hand as his frown grew deeper. After a few more seconds of hesitation, he grits his teeth and asks, "Will you make a vow to spare them if I talk?" Vahn frowned in turn before responding, "I will vow to spare them if they do not pursue or attack me. But, you must also vow to speak the truth or I wont hesitate to go back on my word." Vahn looked into the boys eyes and after a few seconds the boy raised his hand and made the oath. As they both possessed crests, they were bound by their vows or risked permanently losing their falna and bearing the mark of a curse. Vahn, after waiting for the boy to finish, also made his vow using their agreed upon terms. Aftward, he recovered the bodies of the other hooded figures and unmasked them. Vahn did this to ay the doubts of the boy and make him speak more easily. Even if he was bound by a vow to tell the truth, there were loopholes to everything. After he had gathered everyone, Vahn noticed their auras became more stable after seeing that everyone was alive. "Speak. Tell me why you were tracking me and what you intended to do when you found me." Vahn moved about 3m away and surveyed his captives. Like the boy, they were all very young, most looking to be around 10-13 years of age. They had the same colored skin, dark hair, and pointy ears that seemed a size toorge for their heads. Among the group of seven, there were four males and three females. The males all had golden markings on their faces while the females had red markings. Each of them had the same light-red wine eyes. (A/N: I want to say rose-colored so badly.) The boy, who Vahn believed to be their leader, nodded as he began exining their purpose. It turns out they were foreigners from the Southern Sands and belonged to the Anubis Familia who had followed their Goddess into the City only recently. Their orders were to track Vahn down and, if possible, capture him and bring him to their Goddess. The boy said he didnt know why his Goddess wanted to meet Vahn, but that she was acting at the request of a God called Osiris. They didnt know what agreement Osiris had with their Goddess but he seemed very hostile towards Vahn. Members of the Osiris Familia had tipped them off earlier about Vahns existence, so the group had set out in pursuit. Vahn listened to the story and became confused. He couldnt understand why a god he had never even heard of was hostile towards him. ording to the boy, Osiris had also just recently entered Orario, so there should be no connection between him and Vahn. After asking a few questions to ay his concerns, Vahns frown only grew deeper after receiving no real answer. Lastly, Vahn decided to ask questions about the Anubis Familia. "What is with your group? Why are you all kids, and Im not sure what race you are." Though it wasnt umon to have children in a Familia, the fact that the entire group seemed younger than him and yet they were expected to track others was odd to Vahn. The boy frowned like he was insulted before he answered, "Were chienthropes, but all the members of the Southern Tribe have dark hair and pointed ears. Weve been trained by our Noble Goddess Anubis to track criminals and possess an unrivaled sense of sight and smell. Lady Anubis taught us how to survive and saved us from the life of a street orphan. Dont look down on us just because were young!" Vahn noticed that while the boy was letting out his frustrations, his ears began to twitch which made his anger seem moreical than threatening. He stifled augh, which the boy seemed to realize as he started gritting his teeth. Vahn shook his head and sighed. "I cant meet your goddess now, as Im on a mission, but as long as she harbors no ill will towards me she can always pass a message to my goddess Hephaestus. After Ive finished my mission, I dont mind meeting her personally." Vahn didnt believe that someone who took in orphans was a bad person. The fact their orders were just to capture him was enough evidence to convince him. A thought passed through his mind, so Vahn asked,"That knife. What kind of poison was on it?" Vahn remembered that, even though the boy imed to only want to capture him, he tried using a poisoned knife to attack at the end. Remembering how the boy frothed at the mouth, Vahn thought it was a very potent toxin. The boy answered, "Its a poison that causes people to be disoriented and eventually pass out." After hearing the words, Vahn was confused. "Why did you froth at the mouth and act like you were dying then?" The boy flinched when Vahn asked his question and looked at him with an incredulous expression. "You threw the knife into my kneecap and shattered it! It f.u.c.k.i.n.g hurt!!!" The boy yelled the words with tears in his eyes. Seeing the tears and hearing the boy shout, Vahn began to feel guilty about his own actions. He had noticed none of them had ck auras, so maybe he should have held back more...Shaking his head, Vahn decided he wasnt wrong to take the actions he did. If he didnt have View Affection, there was no way he could have recognized them as anything other than assassins. They were very lucky he hadnt killed them all, as he would have been justified in doing so ording tomon logic. --- They continued to talk for a while longer while Vahn began treating their wounds. None of them tried to attack him, and they even had a bit of fear in their expressions as they epted his treatment. Vahn felt especially bad for the two he had shot with the arrows earlier. They were both girls, around twelve years old, and he had hit them in the area right above their bushy tails. Even after he healed them, they looked at him with eyes of resentment after having to expose their backs to him. Though Vahn felt awkward under their gazes, he pretended to be unperturbed and helped treat the entire group. After everything was done, Vahn wrote a letter that the goddess Anubis would be able to pass on to Hephaestus if she had no ill intent. Vahn trusted Hephaestus to see through the unknown Goddess, so if she didnt receive the letter he would know it was a trap. Handing the letter to the boy, who had identified himself as Rasui, Vahn allowed them to leave. After a few minutes, the group had left the range of his domain and Vahn released a heavy sigh. At least he managed to obtain information about some of the people scheming against him. The letter also informed Hephaestus about the ill intent of the god Osiris, and he believed she would take action after knowing. With the speed of the group and the fact they held resentment towards Osirissckeys after this event, they would be out of the dungeon by tonight. If things went well, Hephaestus would receive the letter early tomorrow morning. --- After trekking through the forest for half an hour, Vahn finally came to a clearing that had a small pond that was fed by a creek. Taking the opportunity while no-one was around, Vahn took a bath and washed his clothes. The water was incredibly cold, but Vahn could keep himself warm by channeling his [Heart of the Eternal me]. Not only did it make him fireproof, but by activating it he could resist the cold as well. Once he had finished bathing, Vahn spent an hour mapping the area. Even though Rasuis group didnt have any malicious intent, it didnt change the fact there were still members of the Osiris Familia that wanted to harm him. He would have to keep on-guard until he was able to return to the City and sort things out with Hephaestus and Anubis. Hopefully, Anubis was the noble person her children believed her to be, and Vahn wouldnt have to guard himself against two Familia at once. He at least had the benefit of meeting members of the Anubis Familia and identifying them. ording to Rasui, every member of the Familia was a chienthrope from the Southern Tribe, so Vahn was able to recognize their members by smell as long as he was in his Bih form. Osiris seems to have formed his Familia after entering Orario, unlike Anubis who had migrated her people into the City. Vahn looked around the area until he found a tree with arge canopy with poor visibility from the ground. Climbing to one of therger branches, Vahn stretched himself out beforeying on the branch. Vahn had long possessed the ability to remain absolutely still while sleeping, so evenying on a branch wasnt dangerous. Spreading out his domain, Vahn slowly drifted off to sleep after inspecting his status. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:2(+)(2) -Power:1001+(B714)->(B760) -Endurance:1108+(S998)->(SS1019) -Dexterity:887+(C686)->(B737) -Agility:940+(B751)->(A822) -Magic:1611+(SS1072)-(SSS1114) Total:5547+(4221)->(4452) Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul) [Karma]: 1,219 [OP]: 234,241 [Valis]: 171,630 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Vahn didnt kill a lot of monsters on the 17th floor as they were usually alone or small groups. Also, you dont gain exilia from fighting or killing the sentient species and those with falna unless its an official duel where you made a vow. Murder isnt really epted by the gods~!) Title: Osiris : Anubis (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn uses his brain,Vahn : Bully,Ouch!,RIP Osiris) Chapter 87 - D茅j脿 Vu

Chapter 87 - Dj Vu

Throughout the night, Vahn periodically awoke and investigated his surroundings. Though his domain never picked up any presence, by moving around he was able to increase the area of his detection. Since there was a good chance his enemies were still looking for him, Vahn wanted to remain cautious. Fortunately, by the time the crystals in the sky began to glow with a gentle warmth, Vahn had managed to make it through the rest of the night undisturbed. Come morning, Vahn was rtively well rested and decided to continue trying to increase his strength. As it currently stood, he could either backtrack and .u.mte OP on the 17th-18th floors and wait for a chance to fight the Goliath, or Vahn could progress further into the dungeon. Vahn knew that if he wanted to gain OP in the fastest manner, fighting stronger monsters was necessary. However, it was incredibly safe if he returned to the previous floors. Vahn was able to earn well over 100 OP for each Minotaur he killed, and if he could around one-hundred a day alongside other monsters, he could earn between 15-20 thousand OP per day. If he managed to trigger any monster parties, or fight any variants, that number could easily increase. Vahn spected that he would be able toplete the remaining seven-hundred-thousand or so OP within 30-40 days without exposing himself to too many problems. After careful deliberation, Vahn decided it would be best to head back up a bit. Right now, there were enemies that were trying to interfere with him, and Vahn even suspected they had something to do with the Juggernaut he encountered previously. If he decided to head down, not only would he expose himself to further danger but ran the risk of losing his path of retreat. Though the majority of people within the Osiris Familia seemed to be around Level 2, it didnt prevent them from paying others to sabotage Vahns progress. Dealing with higher level adventurers while fighting dangerous monsters wasnt a pleasant thought. Before Vahn headed down, he decided to explore the perimeter of the 18th floor andpletely map out the area. He would be here for some time, and knowing the terrain would allow him to protect himself if things took a turn for the worse. Vahn didnt believe anyone, even people that lived on the 18th floor, would have a better understanding of theyout and terrain by the time he finished mapping it. --- As Vahn had woken up early, he managed to explore the majority of the 18th floor within three hours. Some of the things he noticed were that there were arge number of smallkes and ponds dotting the various forests and ins on the floor. They were all fed by argeke that connected to thework of roots on the western side of the giant tree in the center. Vahn also learned that the central tree was also the entrance to the 19th floor, and unless you took one of the few holes leading downward, you would be identified by personnel as you enter. Some Adventurers had set up a post that listed some of the material and subjugation missions listed by the Guild. They would pay a fee to relieve the items from Adventurers and Familias that had no intention of returning to the surface within the near future. The fee would allow the adventurers a measure of convenience and ensure they were able to afford some of the ridiculously costly items in the Riviria Bazaar. And, the adventurers epting the items, would be able to exchange them at the Guild on the surface for merit and the posted rewards. This was a method lower level adventurers used to earn rewards/merit for high-level quests. Their presence was a deterrent for Vahn, however, because even if he didnt leave his info they would still log his appearance for their personal gains. There was nothing to stop them from selling the information to other people, and they even kept awork of information regarding who was within the deeper floors. Vahn noticed they had even set up a betting board in some of the pubs and he could purchase information from one of the brokers about everyone in the lower floors. The prices were expensive, but Vahn had little doubt the Osiris Familia would be willing to pay to obtain his information. After all, even now, there was an information slip with the name Vulcan posted on the wall. After resupplying some of his items, Vahn made his way up to the 17th floor to begin backtracking. Unlike other floors, the 17th-floor stairs only ran between the 17th and 18th floors. If Vahn wanted to return to the upper levels, he would have to venture through the 17th floor in its entirety. He also had the option of climbing up one of the holes in the ceiling, which Vahn thought seemed like a fun idea. Leaving the room full of holes that connected to the stairs, Vahn once again found himself in front of the Wall of Grief. Like previously, it still had the rainbow hue and crystalline structure, but now the shadow within the depths had grown muchrger. Vahn had Sis calcte the rate of increase since hisst visit and try to establish a window for when the Goliath would actually spawn. After a few minutes, he was informed it would take between 70-75 hours, which gave Vahn nearly three days to prepare. If he could reach Level 3 in that time, it would greatly increase his odds in the ensuing fight. Vahn made his way through the 17th floor, and just like the previous day, there werent a great number of monsters. It seemed like this floor was focused more on ambushbatbined with difficult terrain and low visibility. As Vahn was essentially immune to these factors, he was able to progress through this floor much easier than most people. After a while, as he wasnt earning a lot of OP, Vahn decided to follow through with his earlier urge. Following the indicators he had made on his map, Vahn quickly found what he was looking for. On the ceiling of arge room, there was a giant hole that crept further up into the dungeon. Vahn vaulted off the walls and then used his ws to find his footing within the hole. After getting his bearings and stabilizing himself, he began to jump up the sides of the hole and make his way directly to the 16th floor. Thinking that he was one of the only people that could use this method, Vahn couldnt help but smile at the thought. Arriving on the 16th floor, Vahn began his eternal subjugation of the Minotaur species. It wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that, if he continued here for the duration of his quest, Vahn may very well be the most prolific Minotaur yer in history. By the end of his quest, he would have in several thousand at the very least, a number which would likely include a few variants. As he was butchering Minotaurs, Vahn also made an effort to explore the entire floor. Even though he had a map, theyout the dungeon changed from time to time and they werent always up-to-date. The Guild had a repeatable mission that required people to submit any information they have about the changes they encounter. It was during this exploration of his that Vahn encountered a new, but recognizable, enemy. Standing in the center of the room andzing about on the floor, Vahn saw a giant 4m long pink Wyvern. As he was constantly maintaining his stealth to avoid detection, it had yet to notice his presence. Vahn had already in a Purple Wyvern, so he didnt believe a normal one would be his match, but he also wanted to try fighting it without someone else having to draw its attention. Deactivating the stealthponent of his domain, Vahn focused his intent on the Wyvern. The moment he did so, the Wyverns body jerked to life and looked towards Vahn with aggression and a hint, though very subtle, of fear. Vahn was curious about its reaction and began to take an interest in the Wyvern. Without drawing any weapons, Vahn got into a low crouching stance that he had adopted after constantly using his Bih form. This pose allowed him to spontaneously reach his maximum speed in any direction without having to build any momentum. The Wyvern roared and approached the enemy that caused it to feel an instinctive pressure. It had never experienced an aura like what Vahn was emitting. It made the Wyvern feel an apprehension within its mind and caused it to have doubts about theing fight. Trying to resist the pressure, the Wyvern charged towards the small creature before billowing out a huge pir of mes. The mes directly impacted the target and the Wyvern, for a brief moment, felt relieved. Seeing the mes approach, Vahn closed his eyes and unequipped the majority of his armor. He had lost his fire-proof clothing when he transformed into the vermillion-bird, and he didnt want the remainder of his gear to get charred as he directly allowed himself to be epassed by the mes. After remaining motionless in the fire for around two seconds, Vahn suddenlyunched himself forward. The Wyvern felt something was wrong with the situation as, even though it had directly hit the enemy with its strongest attack, its instincts were ring up and it began to feel genuine fear. As that thought passed through its mind, a powerful force mmed into its jaw and knocked its 10,000kg body backward. The Wyvern felt a powerful shockwave resonate through its body and repress the mana within its core. It felt like its entire being had been restrained by the energy that continued to echo within its body without dissipating. Vahn had noticed that the Wyvern seemed to drop its guard shortly afterunching its breath attack, so using the gap in its preparedness, he had focused his energy before kicking the underside of its jaw. The Wyverns mouth mmed shut and its body was pushed back a few meters. Interestingly enough, instead of immediately counterattacking in a rage, the Wyvern seemed to be dazed and hesitant. Vahn could see the fear in its eyes more evidently than it had been previously. Testing his theory, Vahn slowly walked toward the Wyvern while converging his intent on it. The Wyvern could feel the repressive force within its body growing with each step the figure before it took. Every moment seemed to be drawing it closer to its death, and a powerful helplessness emerged in the heart of the monster. The moment the figure came within 1m of its body, the Wyvern could no longer withstand the pressure and simply copsed to the ground. It gazed towards the boy with tired eyes and released a sight that was apanied by a tuft of smoke. When the Wyvern copsed to the ground, Vahn began to experience a feeling of dj vu for the first time in his life. Much like the kobold that had submitted to him in the past, the Wyvern was nowying with its head to the ground and looking upwards toward Vahn. He could see it hadpletely lost the will to fight and felt that, if he used [Will of the Emperor], he would be able to subjugate the creature. Vahn reached out and put his hand onto the snout of the Wyvern. The creature didnt resist in the slightest as Vahn continued to converge his intent, directing it towards the Wyverns mind before asking, "Will you follow me?" Vahn said the words slowly and with power behind each syble. As the words sounded, the Wyverns body shuddered a bit before it closed its eyes. Less than five seconds after doing so, a notification sounded in Vahns mind. //(Nameless) Wishes to be your subordinate: Y/N?// (A/N: Alternate Titles: Cliff-sama descends,How to Train your Dragon,Pink is manly) Chapter 88 - Unit Management

Chapter 88 - Unit Management

Seeing the notification, Vahn was somewhat excited. Unlike the kobold, which was too weak to make use of, a Wyvern was much stronger than most monsters on the same floor. It was almost like a mini-boss of sorts and was often found on its own within a territory it had established. Vahn never expected such a creature to submit, especially given its nature as a ferocious and somewhat prideful creature. As he had never subordinated anything other than the eternal me, Vahn was very curious what benefits it may provide. Without any further hesitation, he decided to ept within his mind as a series of notifications sounded in his head. //(Nameless) has be your subordinate. Unit Management function unlocked.// [Current Units] [Active: 2][Dormant: 1] [Active Units]: (Eternal me),(Nameless) [Dormant Units]:(Nameless) After seeing the notifications, Vahn was surprised to see that he had a total of three units. As far as he was aware, the only things he had subordinated were the Wyvern and the Eternal me. The fact that there were two (Nameless) within the system confused Vahn, so he decided to expand their information. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Nameless) Age: 4 days Race: Wyvern (Juvenile Stage: 4m) Level: 2 Loyalty:72 Soul Strength: Tier 0 (Mana Construct) Karma: - State: [Active] (Nameless) Age: 2 months 2 weeks 3 days Race: Kobold Level: 1 Loyalty:84 Soul Strength: Tier 0 (Mana Construct) Karma: - State: [Dormant] (A/N: I also added this since people would probably ask. Note that I dont know how old the gods actually are, just that it is supposed to be several millions years.) (Eternal me) Age: Ancient Race: Spirit of Divinity Level: - Loyalty:100 Soul Strength: Tier 4 (Divine) Karma: - State: [Active] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn was even more confused after he read the descriptions of each of his subordinates. ording to the system, he had subordinated the Kobold he had met when he was first experimenting with his [Will of the Emperor]. From what Vahn could remember, it had died, so he wasnt certain why it was being disyed. A thought passed through his mind, and he searched his inventory for an item he had long since had concerns for. Within his hand, Vahn now held the magic core he had obtained from the kobold. Unlike a normal core, which just showed a grade and what it came from, the one in Vahns hand now matched the disy within his system under units. Vahn wondered what it meant for it to be dormant, but as he pondered the question, the core in his hand began to glow slightly. Curious, Vahn tried channeling his energy into the core and it began to heat up rapidly in his hand. The core slowly expanded with a strange rainbow miasma forming around it until it had assumed the shape of a kneeling Kobold. Within his map, Vahn saw three indicators for everyone in the area, including himself and two (Nameless) icons. Staring back and forth between the two, Vahn was beginning to get excited. If his assumption was correct... Vahn held out his hand towards the Wyvern that was staring at him and willed it to be [Dormant]. The moment themand was issued in his mind, the Wyvern copsed to the ground and dispersed into dust with a ckish-rainbow hue. In its ce was a medium sized magic core which, when Vahn picked it up, was identified as (Nameless)[Dormant]. Unable to contain his excitement, Vahn startedughing while holding the crystal in his hand. The kobold stared at him with a patient expression as if it was waiting for his orders. Had Vahn known at the time, that the kobold had willingly subordinated itself to alleviate his concerns of dragging it around, he would have epted it long ago. He actually felt a little bad, but still believed the kobold was currently too weak to be of use. After patting its dog-like head for a few seconds, Vahn returned it to its [Dormant] state and re-activated the Wyvern. After the Wyvern was formed, Vahn felt slightly light-headed at the loss of mental energy. He reasoned that, while it was easy to put something into a dormant state, it consumed a lot of energy to reform their bodies. He didnt realize anything with the small kobold, but for a massive creature like the Wyvern, it was a very noticeable amount. Vahn sat on the floor to recover his energy while looking into the clear eyes of the Wyvern. Unlike the fierce eyes of normal monsters, the Wyvern now had a gentle blue color in its eyes and seemed very calm. It was actually kind of strange seeing a monster so close that is just standing patiently while looking at him. While he was recovering, Vahn decided to try and order the Wyvern to see if it would obey hismands. Issuing amand in his mind, Vahn watched as the Wyvern seemed to contemte his order before it started spinning around in a circle. Seeing its silly act, Vahn couldnt help butugh out loud. He had ordered it to chase its tail like a dog, and after sending a mental image, it immediately began trying to perform the act. Watching a 4m long pink dragon spin around in circles was incredibly entertaining, especially since it was such a huge contrast to the usual behavior. As Vahn was considering the extent of how obedient the Wyvern was, a hesitant look appeared on his face as he sent his new order. Once again, the Wyvern seemed to pause in contemtion as it tried to understand the order. Momentster, it opened its mouth and fiercely bit into its own forearm. It began to tug away at the flesh as Vahn panicked and ordered it to stop. Vahn noticed that the loyalty of the Wyvern had gone down somewhat, and he felt a pang of guilt in his chest. It seems that, as long as the value is high enough, his subordinates would perform his everymand, even if it brought harm to themselves. While it stood there bleeding, Vahn suddenly realized something. Unlike other monsters he had seen in the dungeon, the Wyvern didnt seem to be regenerating. After asking Sis the reason, she spected that they were now isted entities from the dungeon. Without being able to ess the energy, they wouldnt be able to regenerate anymore. Hearing her exnation, Vahn felt even more guilty as he began healing the wound of the Wyvern. In the process, Vahn noticed that its loyalty had improved somewhat, but not to the same value it had been previously. When he had it self-mutte, its loyalty had dropped from 72 down to 60, but it had now risen back to 63. Vahn understood that the way he treated them was important, and since they were willing to follow him, he decided to take care of them. Vahn thought for a while before asking, ("Sis, do they need to eat or anything? I know monsters eat adventurers and the crystals at the pantry, but what about these two? Ive had the kobold for months, so I guess they are fine in crystal form...") (*You should be able to provide them energy just like the dungeon. As long as they are within your domain, you should be able to channel energy directly to them, or, you can also just imbue energy into their cores when you re-form their bodies. As long as they arent killed, you can reform their body as many times as you want.*) Vahn nodded in understanding. It made sense that, if he was the one that separated them from the dungeon, he would now be the one to provide them with energy. After realizing that, Vahn had a new thought present itself. Even though they were magic constructs, they were still considered living creatures ording to standard principles. They ate, digested food, even excreted, just like normal animals. Vahn figured he could use his skill [Prometheus] and increase the strength of the Wyvern, but first, he needed to confirm something. As he had rested for a few minutes, Vahn hadpletely recovered his energy. Rising to his feet, he had the Wyvern follow him until he came across a room with enemies. There was a group of five Minotaurs, and the moment Vahn entered the room with his Wyvern they immediately attacked. Vahn was surprised at first because he still had stealth active and didnt expect them to react so quickly. (*[Stealth], even when you apply it to your domain, is always focused on you as the user. It wont influence other creatures or those that enter your domain. Otherwise, everything would also be under the properties of stealth, including passersby.*) Hearing Siss words, Vahnmented that he wouldnt be able to move around sneakily in the dungeon as long as he had the Wyvern at his side. While he was thinking, his Wyvern had already started to take action. Along with themand to follow him, Vahn had given it the order to attack any monsters that appeared. Even though the Wyvern was not fully grown, it was still far more powerful than the Minotaurs. The moment they got in range, the Wyvern began using its breath attack to burn their flesh. Though they were somewhat resistant to the fire, it slowed their movements by a great deal. Once they managed to get within range, the Wyvern ceased its breath attack and then smashed the closest Minotaur with its tail. The moment the Minotaur turned to dust, Vahn smiled, as a notification had appeared in his mind. //(Nameless) Has killed Minotaur: Level 2, Gained 9OP// Vahn was super excited because, not only did he gain OP when the Wyvern killed the Minotaur, he was also able to determine he had received exilia from the kill as his magic stat had increased by 1 point. He now understood why his [Will of the Emperor] also included followers when mentioning his growth. It seemed that he could also increase his stats by having his subordinates fight for him. The best part of the current situation though was the fact Vahn could still exchange the magic cores of the Minotaur and earn the original amount. This meant that, if he increased the strength of the Wyvern even further, it would be able to increase his total earnings by a fair amount. In his jubtion, Vahn joined the fight alongside the Wyvern and injured the remaining Minotaurs. Once they were disabled, he let the Wyvern finish them off and noticed the amount of OP he gained was slightly reduced when it killed the severely injured ones. He was able to infer that, the amount of bonus OP depending on how much effort the Wyvern had to expend for the fight. After trading in the four cores, Vahn smiled towards his newpanion and decided to give it a name. Since it had pink scales and blue eyes, Vahn wanted to name it Blinky, but Sis released an exasperated sigh when he had the thought. With a mild flush on his face, Vahn coughed slightly and asked. ("Its not that bad, is it? I think it cute...") Another sigh could be heard in Vahns mind as Sis said, (*Its a Wyvern Vahn, not a pet. If people hear you named it Blinky they willugh at you and look down on it.*) Hearing the words, Vahn was very concerned. Though he didnt particrly care about how other people saw him, he didnt want people to look down on hispanions. After a few minutes of deliberation, Vahn decided he was bad at naming things, so he asked Sis to do it for him. Sis didnt respond directly, but a list of names began to pass through Vahns mind. They were all very powerful names, and Vahn could recognize a few from the books he had read since arriving in this world. Vahn saw a name that was attached to one of the most powerful dragons in this world, and seeing it was also a winged creature like his Wyvern, decided it wasnt a bad fit. They both breathed fire and had reddish scales as well. Vahn looked towards the Wyvern and ced his palm on it, much like he had done in his dream when he named Bih. Looking into its azure blue eyes, Vahn spoke the name, "Fafnir." The moment the word left his lips, Vahn could feel energy drain from his body as the system gave a notice that the name had changed. The Wyvern, Fafnir, seemed to be very pleased with its new name as it roared powerfully toward the ceiling. Its body began to increase in size as a brilliant rainbow radiance covered its surface. Curious about the sudden loss of energy, Vahn inspected the disy and noticed there had been a huge change that he hadnt expected. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Fafnir) Age: 4 days Race: Dragon (Nascent: 6m) Level: 3 Loyalty:90 Soul Strength: Tier 1 (Named Familiar) Karma: - State: [Active] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After naming the Wyvern, its race had changed to Dragon and its level had increased from 2 to 3. While Vahn continued watching the evolution progress, he noticed that the changes hadnt just been in Fafnir. Though he had overlooked it due to the drastic change happening before him, within the skill section of Vahns status, he saw a new addition. As he read the description, Vahns mind began to be numb with shock before excitement began to boil within his stomach. [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] Rank: [Innate: B] *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* [Passive]: Allows the user to understand the origin of all things. Limited by the knowledge of the user. Promotes the development of mental energies. [Active]: Allows the user to confer a name to an unnamed entity. The record of the name within the Akashic Tome alters the fate of the recipient. No second entity can share the same name, and the bacsh of attempting would result in the death of the former. Cooldown(Determined by the Power of the Name): 59D23H58M [Current Names] [Fafnir] A powerful ck dragon who possesses incredible wisdom and an immunity to magical attacks. Incredibly weakened against those who possess heroic spirits and righteous hearts. Those that bear this name are tied to a tragic fate unless they abstain from the path of evil. (A/N: Alternate Titles: But what about the me Seed!?, Name: Fafnir, The third [Innate] appears, I want to be the very best) Chapter 89 - Fafnir

Chapter 89 - Fafnir

Now that Vahn had obtained a new [Innate] skill, his strength once again had arge increase. Though the cooldown was a bit long, Vahn believed that, as his proficiency and understanding of the skill increased, it would take less and less time. With arge smile on his face, Vahn looked towards Fafnir who had justpleted its transformation. Fafnir was now 6m long and instead of pink scales and azure blue eyes, it now had onyx ck scales with purple undertones. Its eyes were a pale green, almost ghostly color, and there was a strange magic seal on its chest. Instead of being slouched over like its previous form, it now stood proudly with a pair of forelimbs as well as wings. (A/N: That means it has arms, legs, and wings~! The Wyvern only had legs and wings.) The most notable features though were the ck horns that framed its face. It had a total of four horns, two angling towards the sky while the others wrapped around and seemed to be protecting the eyes somewhat. They were incredibly fierce looking, almost as though Fafnir was wearing a helmet. Its entire body was much more angr, and some of its scales now protruded out at deadly angles. Vahn felt like it looked cool, but at the same time, he couldnt see it as anything other than an Evil Dragon. He originally had a thought to try and let it clear parts of the floor on its own when he rested at night, but there was no way a group of adventurers would be able to avoid attacking Fafnir if they saw its current form. They would think it some kind of variant and attack it ruthlessly and, since Vahn wouldnt prevent Fafnir from protecting itself, they would probably die for their efforts. There was also a chance that, if a powerful Familia showed up, Vahn would lose his first named familiar andpanion. --- Vahn inspected Fafnirs new body, and it seemed to gleam with confidence as it proudly disyed its form to its master. Vahn found the scales on Fafnirs body to be far harder than the bedrock of the dungeon, which meant he was not only immune to magic but incredibly resilient to physical attacks. Af for offensive power, right now Fafnir municated to Vahn that it didnt possess any skills, not even its me breath. However, it now had incredible physical strength and speed that caused craters wherever is struck. It also had the power of flight and didnt seem to rely on pping its wings to do so. Using his domain, Vahn could sense there was a formless energy generating the lifting force behind the wings. During this period, Vahn also tried using his [Prometheus] on Fafnir, but he was prevented from doing so as Fafnir was of a higher level and potential than he was. As a dragon, even while it was Soul Tier 1, it had insanely high parameters and natural capabilities. When Vahn had it fight against a Battle Boar, a creature even he enjoyed fighting due to its rtive difficulty, Fafnir smashed the entire boar into the ground with a single powerful strike. Vahn noticed that, even though the Battle Boar was quite strong among monsters on this floor, he only obtained 2OP when Fafnir defeated it. Due to this, Vahn was able to infer that he obtained less exilia and OP if the fight was one-sided or the monsters were much weaker. It was almost simr to how adventurers got almost no exilia from hunting weaker monsters. If Vahn wanted to make the best use of Fafnirs awesome power, he would have to venture deeper into the dungeon... The reason Vahn wasnt willing to do so was that of the matter with the Osiris Familia, as well as the fact that he was actually weaker than Fafnir presently. If he became over-reliant on its abilities, it would stunt his future growth. It wasnt all bad though, because Vahn got to experience flying for the first time as he rode on Fafnirs back. Even though the angle was a bit odd, it seemed as if Fafnir could change the structure of its scales and created an area where Vahn could easily mount it. If any spectators had been in the area, they would have seen a demonic white tiger boyughing loudly while riding on the back of a humongous evil dragon. --- Vahn continued traveling with Fafnir as they easily cleared every monster on the floor that had the misfortune of crossing their path. As a Level 3, and a dragon, Fafnirpletely outssed everything else on the 16th floor. When Vahn saw him fighting against arge group of Minotaurs, he was surprised with Fanfir shattered the neck of one with a casual tail swipe. And, when they tried to surround him, Fafnir used the jagged protrusions on his body and suddenly extended them like spears in an omnidirectional attack. Vahn wasnt sure he could have evaded the attack if he didnt know about it beforehand. Seeing the group of nine Minotaurs getting skewered by the attack actually made Vahn shudder slightly. Eventually, the day wasing to a close so Vahn began his return to Rivira. He no longer had to drop down the hole to the 17th floor, as he was able to ride on Fafnirs back and descend quickly. The two made their way through the 17th floor before they came across a problem. Fafnir was far too big to fit through the areas where the dungeon became more constrained. Even Vahn, who was rtively small, had trouble navigating some of the terrain. As a 6m long, several-thousand kilogram dragon, Fafnir was barred passage further inward. Vahn had to put Fafnir into a dormant state because he was unwilling to leave it alone in the off-chance a group capable of killing him showed up. The best part about Fafnir in its core state was that Vahn could easily store it within his Inventory. Generally speaking, biological or living creatures couldnt be ced into the storage, so it was very convenient. Staring at therge and beautiful ck gemstone, Vahn was amazed that it housed an incredibly powerful dragon. He even had the urge, albeit in the back of his mind, to crush the stone in his palm... Shaking his head of the thought, Vahn continued towards Rivira while ying every monster on the way. Once again, this floor had far fewer enemies than the floor above so Vahn was able to progress with minimal difficulty. Even then, it still took him nearly two hours to reach the Wall of Grief. Staring at the massive wall, Vahn lost himself in his own thoughts. He could see that the shadow had grown a fair amount and had Sis recalcte the time. Instead of the 70-75 hour timeframe she initially stated, her current analysis showed that it would spawn within the next twenty hours. Vahn had been within the dungeon for fourteen hours, yet, in that time the window had shrunk an additional 40 hours. (*Just like the Juggernaut, a Monster Rexs spawn can be influenced by other adventurers. ording to thependium, the main reason many people have died to Monster Rex(s) is due to the fact they spawned at an unexpected time. The fact youve been hunting hundreds of monsters alongside Fafnir may have influenced the timer. There is also the fact that other adventurers are also within the dungeon and would also be influencing it in a simr manner.*) Vahn thought it made sense considering the Monster Rex(s) were essentially the guardians of the dungeon. If more people are entering and causing chaos, it was understandable that it would spawn faster. The problem Vahn currently faced was being around for when it finally did spawn. As he wanted to challenge it alone, Vahn wanted to obtain Level 3 before it had spawned. Right now, mainly due to how he let Fafnir kill most things, Vahn hadnt made a lot of progress in his parameters since the morning. Sitting against the wall, Vahn stared toward the Wall of Grief and the shadow contained within. He knew that by the time the shadow had fully formed, the Goliath inside woulde bursting out and begin attacking anything within its territory. Vahn decided to wait until it spawned since if he went and tried to train further, he had no way of knowing when it would break free of the wall. Though it was possible it would still be here when he finally returned, due to the fact that many adventurers passed this room to-and-from Riviria, it was highly likely it would be dead instead. Though the odds werent heavily in his favor, Vahn was confident he could put up a fight against the Goliath. A group of Level 2s, if they had great coordination alongside a Level 3 or higher, would be able to deal with it. It had incredible regeneration and awesome physical power, but its speed wasnt too difficult to deal with. The fact it had such arge body actually proved to be a disadvantage against well-oriented partypositions. Since Vahn should be more than a match for a party of Level 2s and even defeat the majority of early-to-mid rank Level 3s, he felt he would be able to deal with the Goliath. Worst case scenario, he would be able to rely on Fafnir to help tie it down. The standard Goliath was only 7m tall, which wasnt muchrger than the 6m Fafnir. Considering the bodyposition, Fafnir likely weighed a great deal more as well. Vahn was conflicted for the same reasons he didnt want to take Fafnir down to the lower floors. It had great strength, more than an adequate amount to be reliable in a fight, but it also changed how Vahn engaged enemies. He found out that it was very easy to consider the situation while including Fafnir as a method of oveing difficulties. If he continued to develop this mentality, he would be overly reliant on the dragon and likely suffer an unexpected setback if anything ever happened to it. Sighing, Vahn leaned against the wall and decided to take a nap. Most people would have called him a madman for doing so, but as he had his domain, Vahn wasnt worried about getting caught off guard. As he had been doing so recently, Vahn took the time before resting to review his stats and spoils for the day. After fourteen hours ofbat, he had obtained a total of 24,318OP, hisrgest gains yet. He now had a total of 258,559OP. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:2(+)(2) -Power:1001+(B760)->(B778) -Endurance:1108+(SS1019)->(SS1025) -Dexterity:887+(B737)->(B750) -Agility:940+(A822)->(A828) -Magic:1611+(SSS1114)->(SSS1198) Total:5547+(4452)->(4579) (A/N: Vahn needs to eat more protein. Look at these puny gainz.) Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Hero Soul) [Karma]: 1,473 [OP]: 258,559 [Valis]: 171,630 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn was somewhat dissatisfied with his growth for the day, but considering the fact he now had a loyal and cool looking dragon to apany him, he wasnt particrly upset. One of the things he wanted to do after he left the dungeon was fly on Fafnirs back high into the sky. He knew the continent was surrounded by an ocean, and given how agile Fafnir is, Vahn figured he might be able to see it one day. As he drifted off into sleep, Vahn dreamt about flying through the sky himself...not on Fafnirs back, but by his own power. He imagined it must be a very freeing experience, and he wanted to one day aplish the feat. --- Several hours after Vahn had fallen asleep, a group of people was making their way towards the Wall of Grief. As a group that had hunted it several times, they were well aware of its general spawn times and had even investigated it earlier in the day. It was likely to spawn within the next 10-20 hours, and they wanted to be on site to prevent anyone from poaching it. The group consisted of eight individuals, and they had a very casual air as they made their way up the stairs. Someughed and bantered with each other, while others were calm andposed. One of the members almost had acent expression, while the person next to them seemed to be enjoying the moment. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Midnight Summers Dream,I believe I can fly,Pokemon Master arent known for their Personal Strength,Fafnir IMBA) Chapter 90 - Fierce Clash (1/2)

Chapter 90 - Fierce sh (1/2)

Vahn was dreaming of flying through the sky far above the world. Above, he could the see stars, while below, everything seemed so inconsequential and small. Reaching out his hand, he felt like he could epass mountains with he hands, and even turn the seas if he put in just a little effort... Vahns eyes suddenly shot open as he jumped to his feet. He had just sensed a group of people approaching,ing from the direction of Riviria. Given the current situation, Vahn assumed they were either trying to get back to the Wall of Grief so they could exit the dungeon or, they were likely the group that had initially killed it. If it was the former, he could just ignore them and let them pass, but, if it was thetter, he would have to make his im and potentially even confront them. After a bit of hesitation, Vahn put the crystal containing Fafnir, which he had been holding, into his Inventory. Though he wanted to summon it to dissuade anyone from causing trouble with him, if the group ended up being very powerful, it may cause a fight to ur. Intimidation wasnt the best tactic to rely on against multiple opponents, especially if it consisted of any higher level adventurers. The group finally entered his line of sight, and Vahn felt a chill creep down his spine after seeing who it was. Had he called out Fafnir, it would have most likely led to his newpanion getting instantly killed without the time to exin anything. Among the group of eight, the lowest was Level 3, while everyone else was much stronger. It was the Loki Familia, following behind Finn and Gareth with Riveria taking up the rear. Tiona, Tione, Ais, Bete, and Lefiya filled out the rest of the numbers. Remembering that Ais had a trauma rted to ck dragons, Vahn would have to exin before he summoned Fafnir, or thest experience it might have would be de winds cutting through its body by the aggravated Level 5 Ais. Fortunately, Vahn had given into his own reason at the time, or he very well may have caused a minor catastrophe. Vahn wasnt the only one to notice the situation of the floor; the moment the Loki Familia entered the room containing the Wall of Grief, they all looked toward him with caution. The fact another person was located in the area meant they would likely be trying topete for ownership of the next Goliath. Bete (A/N: I swear, it tries to rename him to Beta for me) had a pissed off look on his face, while Finn frowned slightly. However, not everyone was bothered by the appearance of the boy in front. "Yaho~! Its Vahn!" Before Finn or Bete could say anything, Tiona called out and started running toward Vahn while waving her arm excitedly. Finns expression became a bit calmer after realizing it was Tionas acquaintance, but after a bit of consideration realized it could be a bigger issue. Ais also started walking toward Vahn with Lefiya trailing not far behind. Gareth and Riveria exined the situation to Finn, while Tione gave a curious look toward the boy her sister was fawning over. The only person still high tension was the frizzled white-haired werewolf boy that looked towards Vahn with a hostile expression. Vahn returned Tionas wave as she came within just a few inches of his body and started circling him. He was very confused at her actions, but Ais had shown up and spoke to him before he was able to determine Tionas motive. "Alone...?" Vahn saw Ais looking around the area, likely for anyone that had apanied him. Showing a small smile, Vahn nodded in affirmation. Aiss eyes opened a bit wider, but after a while, she, along with Tiona who had finished her inspection, also smiled. Even Lefiya, who was standing to the right of Ais, seemed to be somewhat impressed by the fact Vahn had been able to delve to the 18th floor unassisted. It had to be known that she, as a Level 3, wouldnt have been able to match the feat. The group had an amiable atmosphere as a shout came from afar. "Eeeeeh? Who is this pipsqueak? Dont tell me he got lost and separated from his group!?" The person who spoke was a white-haired man with a fierce expression. Vahn could see he had the look of a predator but noticed that his aura was actually split between purples and greens. This was a bit confusing for Vahn since he hade to associate the colors with fear, trepidation, and envy. Hearing the abrasive cackling, Ais frowned slightly while Tiona turned toward Bete in a huff. "Lay off Bete! This is Vahn, the Vulcan, and he is perfectly capable of getting to this point on his own." Bete red toward Tiona who had reprimanded him; his eye twitched slightly and he seemed to be even more aggressive. "Huh!? This shorty is supposed to be THAT Vulcan? Wasnt he supposed to be some hero wannabe? Hmph, he certainly looks like some kid ying hero, thats for sure!" Seeing Bete constantly deride him with a scornful expression, Vahns brow furrowed slightly, but he didnt take any action. Everyone in the group, including Lefiya, made Vahns instincts re up. Even among simrly leveled adventurers, the members of the Loki Familia were all elites. Bete, arrogant as he was, had the freedom to be expressive as he was already a Level 5, while Vahn was still Level 2. Tiona and Bete red at each other like an offended cat and a feral dog. The tensions began to build up slightly before Finn and the rest had made their way over. Finn, with a somewhat exasperated expression, looked towards Bete and spoke out. "Bete, Vahn is a protege of Hephaestus and Tsubaki. As an executive of the Loki Familia, you should be more reserved or youll embarrass our Goddess." Bete, hearing Finn, spat out and turned his head away. He gave Vahn a sideward nce before putting his hands in his pockets and walking over to a nearby wall and leaning against it. Vahn followed his figure for a moment before turning towards Finn. As a pallum, Finn was actually smaller than Vahn and stood at a height of 119cm. He had blonde hair and blue eyes with a calm andposed expression on his face. His aura was a stable yellow with a tinge of sky-blue along the edges which made Vahn believe he was a kind and reliable person. Finn smiled towards Vahn after Bete had walked off. "Sorry about that Vahn. Gareth and Riveria had informed me about the situation. Im surprised youre able to make it this far...did you reallye down here alone?" Finn showed a very interested expression on his face as he looked at Vahn. He was constantly on the lookout to recruit talent into the Loki Familia. Vahn returned the smile after nodding towards Riveria and Gareth. "Yes, after I lost the spar against Tiona and Ais, I wanted to temper myself in the dungeon. Though I hadnt expected to get this far at first, my strength has been rapidly improving and it was easier than I expected. That isnt to say I didnt have any help though..." As he was speaking, Vahn looked toward Tiona and Ais. Tiona had arge smile on her face after hearing his reason for entering the dungeon, while Ais was rtively expressionless but had an almost imperceptible smile on her face. Hearing that Vahn was embarrassed at having lost to Ais and Tiona, Gareth and Riveria both gave an appreciative nod while Finn seemed even more interested in the honest Vahn. "Tell me Vahn, are you here to fight the Goliath? And, where is the help of yours?" Since the moment of their arrival, Finn hadnt seen anyone else in the area so he was somewhat confused by Vahns earlier statement. After a brief hesitation, Vahn decided to exin that he had a skill that could convert tamed monsters into a dormant state simr to a magic core. Riveria showed a very intrigued expression during his exnation while the majority of the group had confused looks and even disbelief on their face. By the time he was done, Vahn asked the entire group to step back and promise not to attack his tamed monster. Finn nodded and had the group stand a few meters away. Gareth and Riveria both moved closer to Ais while Tiona and Tione had slightly anticipatory looks on their face. The only person that seemed tock interest was Bete, but Vahn could see him look over every now and then. After everyone had stepped an appropriate distance away, Vahn sighed and hoped for the best as he infused his energy into Fafnirs crystal. Everyone observed with surprised looks as a chaotic swarm of energy coalesced into a gigantic form that was around 6m in length. Riveria, who usually had a very taciturn expression, had now furrowed her brows with an incredibly serious look as she observed the situation. As the mass of energy began to take shape, both she and Gareth realized what was being formed and they tried to move and intercept- Before they had managed to react, Ais had alreadyunched herself towards the fully formed Fafnir with a hateful expression on her face. Seeing the ck dragon in front, even though she had promised not to attack, the only thing Ais could think of was her mother and the dragon that had destroyed her happiness. She wanted to tear the creature limb from limb and reim what she had lost long ago. Though Vahn was a bit tired, he had expected the situation to ur and immediately returned Fafnir to his dormant state and recovered its crystal. Ais, wrapped in a swirling green magical cloak, continued her path through the air where Fafnirs head had been previously. Given the ferocity and ruthlessness of the strike, had Vahn not reacted quickly, Fafnir would have been reduced to a headless mess in an instant. Vahn angrily looked towards Ais before staring directly into Finns eyes. Finn saw his look and had a sorry expression on his face as he, and the rest of the Loki Familia, went to restrain the heavily panting Ais. Even after Fafnir had disappeared, she hadnt been able to regain her calm state and appeared to be unaware of the situation. "Dont be mad Vahn..." From his right, Vahn heard a dejected sounding voice and turned towards Tiona who was looking at him with an awkward and sad expression. Seeing the usually vibrant girl looking down, Vahn furrowed his brows further before releasing a sigh. He knew Ais had a trauma associated with dragons, so he couldnt fully me her for the situation. "Its okay, I was just a bit fl.u.s.tered at almost having mypanion killed. Im sure she has her reasons, so I wont be mad at her." Vahn tried to smile at Tiona who, seeing his understanding nature, beamed with a smile of her own. Before he was able to react, Tiona had wrapped her arms around his neck and wasughing joyfully. "Ahahaha~! I knew it, a hero would be different~!" Hearing the bubblyughter of Tiona, the tensions that had been building in the air seemed to lose power and disperse. Everyone had somewhat awkward expressions, including Ais who had regained her sanity. She was very disappointed with herself for having attacked Vahns tamed monster, even though it had done nothing deserving of her wrath. As her senses were well honed, she had also heard Vahn say he wasnt mad at her, and now felt both confused and lost. Seeing Tiona hanging off of Vahns small body, she noticed the small figure seemed to stand firm, almost like it could bear anything. Ais broke free of the encirclement of her Familia and slowly walked towards Vahn. She had a sad look and wanted to exin things to Vahn so he would understand why she had attacked. Vahn, seeing her approach just shook his head and smiled. "Its fine Ais. Im not going to judge you, and Im certain you had a good reason. You dont need to feel obligated to exin things right now." Vahn knew she really did have a good reason but didnt want the atmosphere to be awkward again due to the circ.u.mstances. Vahn pointed toward the Wall of Grief and everyones sight followed his finger. They noticed that the shadow had reached a somewhat critical point and the Goliath would likely spawn within the next hour or so. Finn, frowned slightly before considering the situation a bit and asking, "Vahn, were you intending to fight the Goliath? You never answered me earlier..." Seeing Vahn nod at his question, Finn released a sigh. Though they could contest the right to fight, as the Goliath had yet to spawn, it would be very awkward to force Vahn away after what Ais had done previously. While Finn was thinking, Riveria had approached Vahn and asked. "That dragon...I would like to ask about itter...for now, would you like our help against the Goliath?" Riveria noticed Finn had been hesitating somewhat, so as the Vice-Captain, she decided to step in and make the decision easier. Hearing Riveria, Bete acted as if someone had stepped on his tail. "Are you f.u.c.k.i.n.g kidding!? We cant just let some kid steal a Monster Rex out from under our noses! It would be an insult to the entire Loki Familia!!!" Bete quickly approached Vahn and Riveria with a fierce look in his eyes. It almost seemed like he wanted to attack Vahn, or at the very least force him to give up. Finn saw his actions and shouted out, "Bete!! Stop immediately! Vahn has as much a right as anyone to the Monster Rex. He was also here before us and, even though it may not have spawned, it would be plenty of us to force him away on a technicality." Next to Finn, Tione also spoke out with a condescending tone. "Hmph, this dog talks about pride and insults, but here he is acting like a fool and trying to bully others." "What did you say, you bitch!?" Bete looked towards Tione and shouted. Ever since she and Tiona had reached Level 5, they had acted more and more unrestricted. As their senior, it really pissed him off seeing how carefree they acted. Tione just turned her head up at Bete and looked down on him. "Bark." Bete grits his teeth and prepared to fight, but stopped himself after noticing everyone was looking at him with cold eyes. Even Finn seemed to have a disappointed expression on his face as he stared towards Bete with furrowed brows. Bete felt a peculiar feeling in his chest rising up as he rxed his fists and rubbed his forehead. "F.u.c.k! Its not like hell be able to fight the damn thing on his own! This is a f.u.c.k.i.n.g waste of time..." Bete retreated like a dog that had been kicked by its owner, returning to the area he had been resting against previously and closing his eyes in dissatisfaction. Finn sighed and looked toward Vahn. "Looks like youre up first, but dont hesitate to ask for help if you cant handle it. You only have one life." Vahn nodded at Finns concern, but couldnt help but feel a peculiar sensation in his chest after Finns one life remark. As someone that was currently experiencing his second life, Vahn found the phrase to becking in impact. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dragonicide Ais, Finns Troubles Continue,Bark Bark Bark,Loki Familia Appears) Chapter 91 - Fierce Clash (2/2)

Chapter 91 - Fierce sh (2/2)

After a bit of discussion, the majority of the Loki Familia had retreated to the far side of the room near the stairs. Since the Goliath would attack everything in the area, they had to maintain a certain distance to avoid trying its attention. One person, however, had stayed in the area and was currently having a lively conversation with Vahn. "So~You think you will be able to beat it? I dont mind helping you out, you know?" Tiona was sitting close to Vahn while dangling her feet. The small golden anklets made pleasant rings as she hummed the words. Vahn found her aura to be veryfortable as it was gentle like the sun with a tinge of pink. Shaking his head, Vahn showed a firm conviction on his face as he responded, "I want to try on my own. I feel like I would regret it if I gave up without making an effort. If anything, I almost wish your Familia wasnt in the area, since it gives me confidence that Ill be able to retreat if things go south." Towards the end of his sentence, Vahn couldnt help but release a sigh. It wasnt a lie, as the presence of the Loki Familia did ease his mind a great deal. Tionaughed a bit as she leaned back,ying against the floor of the dungeon with her hands behind her back. She stared toward Vahn with an innocent and pleased expression. "I believe you can do it, even if we werent here. Im happy to be around to see you create a miracle~!" Tiona could tell that, though Vahn had grown much stronger recently, he was still a bit far from the point of being able to fight the Goliath alone. But, it was that same growth that gave her confidence he would seed regardless. It had been less than a week since their spar, but she felt as if his strength had more than doubled in that time. In a way, it was already nothing short of a miracle. Hearing someone speak so confidently about him, especially someone much stronger than he was, Vahn found his own confidence increase. He closed his eyes and focused his mind to recover the energy he had consumed summoning Fafnir. From his right, he could hear Tiona mildly humming a soft tune as she ceased trying to converse with him. Now, though Vahn couldnt see her, Tiona had be content just staring at the serious Vahn with an expectant look on her face. --- Forty minutester, cracks began to appear on the Wall of Grief. Everyone in the area noticed it, and Tiona rose from her spot next to Vahn and quickly retreated to the door. As she left, she turned toward Vahn and shouted, "Good luck Vahn~! Beat it up good!!" Vahn, who had also started to rise with a serious look, nearly fell over after hearing hercent and excited remark. Shaking his head andughing a bit, Vahn started to release his domain and transformed into his Bih form. While Vahn was transforming, all the members of the Loki Familia showed somewhat surprised expressions on their faces. Tiona had sparkles in her eyes while Ais had a serious expression on her face. Riveria looks toward Gareth, who nodded in response before she turned to Finn. "He has grown much stronger since we met himst week. His aura and that transformation, everything about him had increased to an incredible extent." As Riveria spoke, Finn showed an intrigued smile as Lefiya, Ais, and Tiona all seemed to agree with Riverias assessment. The only person who didnt seem impressed was Bete, who was brooding off to the side as he watched the change in Vahns form. He could also see Vahns strength increasing by a surprising amount, but he wasnt impressed so he loudly snorted through his nose to dismiss the atmosphere. Tione and Tiona both looked at him with annoyed expressions while Aiss brow twitched slightly. Vahn wasnt paying attention to the Loki Familia; His vision waspletely focused on the expanding crack. He watched as it slowly increased in size as small shards of the nearly indestructible material began king off of the wall. Curious, Vahn scooped up a bit into his inventory to be analyzed by the systemter. After doing so, he got into a low form and began tensing his body. The white and ck hairs on his body began to stand as his hair slightly danced from the energy emanating from his body. His aquamarine eyes were entirely focused on the crack as his pupils shrank to the size of a pinhole. Vahn began to release slow and steady breaths as the ground beneath his ws slowly started melting from the me elements building up in his body. The aura of his domain, which used to take on a golden hue, was now an intermixture of gold and vermillion colors. From the side, members of the Loki Familia actually began to feel a sense of dangering from Vahn as the intensity of the aura increased and the room temperature began to rise. Riveria, as the most sensitive to magic, actually had a shocked expression on her face. She waved her hand and noticed that the me elements couldnt be condensed by her. It was like everything in the surrounding 78m had beenpletely dominated and was now only listening to Vahnsmand. Finally, the cracks on the Wall of Grief had reached a critical state as a massive 7m tall grey giant burst forth from the depths. Vahn immediately elerated and greeted the roaring figure with a powerful double-palmed strike directly to its chest. The momentum that the Goliath had burst forth with from the wall actually paused for a moment as a shockwave slowly spread through its chest before dispersing. Vahn experienced the entire event in slow motion and frowned after seeing his full power attack dissipate so quickly. From his memory, Vahn thought the Goliath should be weak against shockwaves, but his attack didnt seem to cause it any serious damage. Before it was able to react, Vahn kicked off of its chest to open up a distance between the raging figure. The Goliath, who had briefly paused after Vahns preemptive strike, roared loudly as it tried to smash Vahn to a pulp. It began mindlessly chasing after his figure and caused huge cracks to appear in the hard bedrock of the room. Vahn continued to dodge about whilst evading the devastating blows as he looked for an opportunity to strike. Fortunately, with the agility increase from his Bih form, Vahn was easily able to deal with the speed of the Goliath. Unable to hit the nimble Vahn, the Goliath stretched its body to the maximum its height allowed while raising both hands high above its head. Vahn saw the act and his instincts began sending danger signals to the back of his mind. The moment the Goliath reached its maximum extension, like a blur, it fiercely smashed toward the floor of the dungeon. Vahn bent his body into a bow before the attacknded andunched himself upward with his full strength. His body shot like a bullet, but he wasnt able topletely escape the massive shockwave created by the Goliaths attack. The dungeon floor cracked and seemed to sink several inches asrge rocks and shrapnel exploded out from the surface. Vahn felt a wave of energy pass through his body as a sweet taste rose from the back of his throat. Slightly stunned by the impact, Vahn was helpless as a palm swept through the dense cloud of rubble and smashed into his body. With a velocity far greater than he hadunched himself with, Vahn spun through the air before colliding heavily with the dungeon wall. He left an impact crater more than 5m wide as he felt like all the bones in his body fractured. Seeing Vahns body sent flying, Tiona and Ais almost leaped into action but were stopped by Riveria and Finn. Riveria looked toward the two who seemed to be very fl.u.s.tered by the situation. "He is still alive, and look...he hasnt given up." Riveria could still feel the elements converging in the air and knew Vahn still possessed the will to continue. Ais look toward the crater with a serious expression while Tiona had a mixture of concern and anticipation on her face. Vahn, who had been sent flying, had begun to rapidly change. His body was no longer in his Bih form, and he had now transitioned into his turtle form. The wounds on his body were healing, but he elerated the process by consuming one of his remaining senzu beans. Looking toward the Goliath, Vahn could feel a powerful anger welling within his chest as he dislodged himself from the wall. The moment hended on the ground, Vahn felt a peculiar sensation from his body. Though his mind was rapidly spinning, he couldnt will his body to move with the same intensity as he was able to in his Bih form. It seemed as if the turtle form greatly increased his endurance and regeneration, but it didnt provide any enhancements toward his agility. As Vahn had be ustomed to fighting in the Bih form recently, he was unable to adapt quickly as the Goliath rapidly approached his position. With a powerful roar, the Goliath advanced toward Vahn and twisted its body. As the movement reached its waist, Vahn could see a powerful kick rapidly approaching from his left. Gritting his teeth, Vahn crossed his arms and prepared to receive the blow. The tattoos on his body seemed to react to his motion as they began to glow with a green light. At the moment of contact, when Vahn had expected to be sent flying, he was instead dragged back slightly beforeing to a stop. The foot of the Goliath had impacted his arms, but instead of the shockwave traveling through Vahns body, it instead bubbled outwards and dispersed into the atmosphere. Vahn was still carried a bit by the momentum, but he received almost no damage from the fierce blow. Vahn began tough loudly as heunched himself toward the torso of the Goliath. His speed may have been reduced, but he was still capable of moving rtively quickly. At the moment the Goliath had tried to recover its bnce, Vahnunched into its chest and punched forward with his ck scale-covered fist. During the motion, the ck scales and tattoo seemed to light up with that same green glow, but instead of dispersing the shockwave, it now converged it to a point as Vahns punch sted arge hole through the Goliaths chest. The blood in Vahns body began to boil after seeing the sight. It turns out, his turtle form didnt simply increase his defense. Much like how the Bih form enhanced his senses and flexibility, the turtle form also had other uses. When he focused his energy on defense, it was able to disperse shockwaves away from his body, while, during his attacks, it did the exact opposite and prevented the shockwaves from being dispersed! After suffering the fierce blow from Vahn, the Goliath fell backward and tried to stop its momentum with its hands. It looked toward the figure that had injured it so severely as it opened its mouth and spat out apressed shockwave. Vahn was a bit surprised by the sudden super-sonic attack but managed to deflect the energy while only being lifted slightly from the ground. While he was in the air, the Goliath spat out another st, and Vahn tried to receive it in the same manner. Unexpectedly, the green energy didnt activate, and Vahn found himselfunched backward by the blow. Though he was able to resist it with his enhanced endurance, Vahn still suffered a heavy amount of damage and couldnt prevent himself from coughing out a mouthful of blood. He didnt know why the green energy didnt activate and tried focusing his energy into his hands as if he was going to attack. Once again, the tattoos and scaled began to glow, but after two seconds the energy dissipated. After it faded, Vahn realized he couldnt converge it anymore and realized it must have a cooldown. While he was slightly distracted, the Goliath hadnt been waiting around. Though only a few seconds had passed, the hole in its chest had already begun to close up as it charged toward Vahn with heavy steps. Vahn took evasive actions but was very frustrated with how slow his body felt in the turtle form. Though he managed to evade a few blows, he didnt prevent the Goliath from being able to eventually grab his body. The Goliath roared loudly after it had grasped Vahn, and used its other hand to begin trying to squeeze the life out of the small figure. Vahn grits his teeth while channeling his energy to resist the attack, but he could feel his bones slowly being ground down. From the side, he could see the Loki Familia beginning to take action, but Vahn called out. "STOP! I can handle this!" Hearing his shout, everyone stopped and had various different expressions on their face. Seeing the situation Vahn was in, even Tiona had lost her confidence in his victory. From the side, Bete beganughing in a cynical manner. "Hahahaha, look at this! That stupid kid is going to get himself killed for his own pride!" Tiona, hearing Betes snide remark looked toward him and shouted, "SHUT THE F.U.C.K UP!" Bete flinched slightly at the loud outburst as his rage began to build due to his embarrassment at being startled. He was about to try and teach Tiona a lesson when a sudden heatpletely enveloped the entire group. Moments after Vahn had called out to stop them, the damaged he had .u.mted reached a critical point. Crimson cracks had started to spread on his body as a powerful burning sensation came from the eternal me beating in his chest. It seemed to have grown to twice its normal size as it danced about excitedly in his heart. The blood in Vahns body felt like it had turned to magma, but instead of being painful it was incrediblyfortable. From within the cracks on his skin, wisps of mes began to sprout which quickly turned into small vermillion colored feathers. The tattoos on Vahns body receded as crimson hue began to glow beneath his flesh. His hair, which had been an onyx ck with a green sheen, had now turned a vibrant red with vermillion ents. His aquamarine eyes now looked like fire as energy surged through them. The Goliath, who had been gripping Vahns body began to roar out in anguish as he released the boy from his grasp. The flesh of its hands hadpletely charred ck with a crimson ember spreading through the palms. The bones within the hands had be visible as they too were slowly eaten away by the mes. Before it had time to recover, Vahn exploded with a fierce energy as heunched himself for the third time at the Goliaths chest. Unlike his turtle form, which had slowed his movements by arge amount, Vahn had now recovered some of the agility he had possessed in his Bih form. He wasnt nearly as fast, but it was still much easier to move whenpared to his turtle form. Within a blink, Vahn had reached the Goliath and struck forward with both hands. Unlike his previous attacks, this time Vahns hands passed almost effortlessly through the flesh of the Goliath. There was almost no resistance at all as the flesh around the impact site seemed to dissolve into ck ash as a powerful burning smell permeated the air. Vahn continued forward with his momentum until he was almost entirely submerged within the Goliaths body. His hands made contact with therge crystal within and it too began to shatter after contacting the immense heat. Vahn felt a powerful force wrap his body as the crystal broke into small particles. The Goliath, which had been rapidly burning around him, immediately turned to dust the moment the core was destroyed. Without the Goliath as support, Vahn began falling toward the ground which began to melt the moment he made contact. From the side, he could see the majority of the Loki Familia cheering for him as a brown blur entered his vision. In a panic, Vahn immediately dispersed the heat as quickly as he could as a figure tackled his body and dragged him out of the molten pool. He was dragged nearly 5m through the air before sliding along the ground with a second body attached to him. Looking down, he could see Tiona sticking closely to his chest with an almost feverish expression on her face. The two made eye contact and Tiona smiled widely before saying... "I want to have your baby!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Burn, me of my soul, PSYCHO BURGUNDY!,Three Stages of Triumph,Deus Ex Zhuque,Grey Goliath bes ck Ash Goliath) Chapter 92 - Proclamation

Chapter 92 - Promation

Hearing Tionas promation, Vahn was incredibly confused by the sudden situation. He could see her aura was almost trying to wrap itself around him, and it made him feel a tingling sensation in his temples. Looking into her eyes, he could see she was very expectant and waiting for his answer, but Vahn didnt know what to say. He had never considered having children, and he didnt even understand the process very well. While Vahn was fl.u.s.tering about with Tiona clinging to him, the rest of the Loki Familia had made their way over. Finn was very impressed with Vahns fight and wanted to know what kind of skill he had used at the very end. He wasnt the only one either, as Riveria had a curious glint in her eye as she wanted to see through all of Vahns secrets. Tione was also very impressed but seeing her sister acting in this manner made her somewhat ufortable. Tione reached forward and snatched Tiona off of Vahns body. The moment Tiona was pulled away from Vahn, both amazons stared with wide eyes at the sight before them. Tionas eyes were sparkling while even Tione couldnt prevent a mild blush from surfacing on her face. Vahn, finally being freed from Tionas grasp, climbed to his feet and released a restrained sigh. After doing so, he noticed a strange reaction from all the Loki Familia members and followed their line of sight. As Vahn had once against transformed into the vermillion-bird, all of the clothing and equipment he had been wearing was incinerated. He now stood n.a.k.e.d before the entire Loki Familia group which consisted of Finn, who was giving him an awkward look, Tione and Tiona who both had mild blushes, Ais who had a somewhat surprised look, Gareth, who seemed rather impressed, Riveria, who had a subtle and somewhat incredulous look, and Bete, who looked like he was almost in shock. Wrapping up the party, there was Lefiya whose face looked beet red as she fl.u.s.tered about behind Ais. (A/N: That friggin sentence~!) While they were staring at him, Vahn was also looking between them, almost entirely unfazed by the situation. Finn felt his brow begin to twitch as the atmosphere continued to be increasingly awkward. Seeing how the members of his Familia wer acting, and the fact that it had been several seconds where everyone just gawked, Finn decided to put an end to the situation. Taking a cloak from Lefiya, Finn walked forward and handed it to Vahn. "You can use this to cover yourself..." Finn felt rather awkward handing clothing to the unfazed Vahn. He couldnt understand what kind of person would use a skill that burned their own clothing. Vahn epted the cloak, and without hesitation, wore it like normal. Seeing his action, Finn nearly fell over. "THE BOTTOM! COVER THE BOTTOM!" --- After realizing the fact his n.a.k.e.dness was the source of the awkward atmosphere, Vahn frowned before wrapping the cloak around his waist. The moment he did so, he noticed everyone had strange reactions, though most of the group seemed relieved. One notable reaction came from Tiona, who seemed somewhat disappointed. She was currently being held off to the side by her sister, who was trying to prevent the situation from getting worse. The most interesting reaction though came from Bete, who seemed like he was struggling with something internally. Now that Vahn was clothed, Finn sighed before trying to ease tensions. "That was an amazing fight, especially at the end. Ive never seen such a powerful technique before. I heard you were only Level 2, but that type of power is generally only seen in high-level magics from Level 3-4." Finn was very interested and almost wanted to inspect the Status Board on Vahns back. The fact he was currently shirtless only made the desire more prominent. Before Vahn answered, Riveria also spoke. "That wasnt magic, but something Ive never even seen before. It was closer to controlling the elements instead of just making use of them. A physical body shouldnt be able to withstand that type of change." Even more than Finn, Riveria really wanted to know what allowed Vahn do something she considered impossible. She had lived for 99 years and was considered the most prominent mage in the City. Seeing somethingpletely outside her understanding was a first for her. Hearing them ask so many questions annoyed Vahn a bit. From his experience and the information he obtained, it was considered improper to question other adventurers regarding their secrets. The fact he was being asked by two of the highest ranked adventurers in the entire City made him feel frustrated. It was like they considered themselves abovemon sense and expected him to answer just because they were asking politely. Though Finn and Riveria noticed his difort, they were still very curious and hoped he would answer. From the side, Gareth harumphed before stepping in and handing Vahn a red cloak to wrap around his back. Looking towards hispanions, Gareth said in a firm manner. "Dont pressure the kid. Arent you two supposed to be a.d.u.l.ts? Since when were the Captain and Vice-Captain of the Loki Familiacking in etiquette?" Hearing Gareths words, Finn released an awkwardugh while rubbing the back of his head. Riveria closed her eyes and bowed slightly toward Vahn. "Forgive me, Vahn, I was simply curious. If you dont wish to discuss the information, I will not force you." Vahn nodded in response, but he didnt say anything about epting her apology. He could tell that, even now, the two still wanted to find out his secrets. Though they didnt have a malicious aura, they were both an off-yellow with a sickly purple on the edges. While the atmosphere was still very awkward, Ais had walked forward and stood in front of Vahn. "I want to fight you again." The moment she spoke, the entire Loki Familia seemed to be affected. Finn, Riveria, and Gareth all had helpless expressions. Lefiya seemed to be somewhat angry at Vahn, while Tiona on the side just shouted out, "Ehhh? No, Ais, Vahn is mine~! I want to fight him too!" While iling about, Tiona managed to release herself from Tione and grabbed Vahns arm. Tiona had an almost hostile look as she stared at Ais, but Ais just frowned slightly before saying, "We can both fight. I will wait." After her curt response, she stood to the side and Tiona made a triumphant guts pose. Opening up some distance between the dumbfounded Vahn, she took a rxed stance with both palms facing toward him. Vahn just stood there like he couldnt make sense of the situation when, very suddenly, Tione fiercely smacked the top of Tionas head with her fist. "You dumb monkey girl! Does he look like he is in any condition to fight!?" While rubbing the bump on her head, Tiona looked towards Vahn who was only garbed in two cloaks. Remembering that he was nude previously, her eyes were drawn to the crack in the bottom cloth before another fist hit her head. --- After things had settled down, Vahn agreed to fight Tiona, Ais, and then Tione when he got back to the surface. Bete also wanted to fight, but all three of the girls refused saying he was unable to restrain himself and it would be counterproductive. Once they had made the agreement, Vahn moved over to collect his spoils. The Goliath crystal had been massive, and when Vahn broke it, it had shattered into thousands of small fragments. Some of them had burned up, but Vahn was able to recover 1,018 pieces which were all worth 150OP each. In a single battle, he had earned an additional 152,700 OP, so he was in a great mood. Seeing the massive pile of crystals disappear, both Finn and Riveria were able to understand Vahn had storage magic. As they had previously caused tensions, they didnt say anything, but, Finn very much wanted to ask why Vahn didnt have a change of clothes. And, if Vahn did have spares, why he didnt wear them immediately after the battle ended. Fortunately for their curiosity, they didnt have to ask since someone else had done so. "Ehhhh? How did all the magic core shards disappear!?" Tiona was inspecting the area with a befuddled look. Since Vahn had used it right in front of everyone, he decided it wasnt worth lying about it so he exined that he had storage magic. Hearing his response, Tiona was smiling but also had a confused expression on her face. "Do you not have any spare clothing?" Though she didnt mind much, it was still strange to her how Vahn had been standingpletely unfazed, especially after she had tackled him previously. Vahn nodded his head and took out some of his spare clothing. All of his equipment had burned up, except for his weapons, but he still had a few pairs of casual clothes. While he was getting dressed, he noticed Finns, Betes, and Lefiyas auras began to fluctuate. Unable to contain himself any longer, Bete shouted out, "THEN WHY DIDNT YOU WEAR ANY CLOTHING, YOU BASTARD!? DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WANT TO SEE YOU N.A.K.E.D!?" His shout seemed to echo the sentiments of most of the group, but Vahn just frowned and responded. "I would have eventually; I didnt make you look." Vahns words seemed to have set Bete off as he jumped toward him and tried to deliver a kick. Vahn was much slower than Bete, and tried to take a defensive stance, but it proved to be unnecessary. Before Bete had gotten anywhere near him, Ais and Tiona had both intercepted the attack. Ais smashed the sheath of her sword into Betes armguards while Tionaunched a kick of her own into his stomach. Bete, though he didnt take much damage, held his stomach as he looked incredulously at his two panions. "What the f.u.c.k are you two doing!? Are you trying to fight me over some nudist brat!?" In response, Ais spoke quite a bit more words than normal. There was even the undertone of anger in her voice as she said, "He is right. Nobody made you look, and he had just finished a fight when Tiona ambushed him." Hearing the words ambush, Tiona faltered a bit before responding herself, "Y-yeah, it was my fault. You cant me Vahn just because you have wandering eyes!" Seeing the two berate him while defending Vahn, Bete scratched his head with both hands in a demonstration of frustration. "I am much stronger than him! Why are you taking his side in this!? Dont tell me you two actually LIKE him, HUH!?" Bete stared directly into the two girls faces as he shouted thest word. Without any hesitation, Tiona shouted out while triumphantly throwing her fist in the air. "Of course! Vahn is the person Ive chosen to sire my children! There is no way I dont like him!" She said the words with a big smile on her face as she glomped the startled Vahn. She just dangled off his neck andughed in a childish manner. Ais, who was also being stared at by Bete, looked between Vahn and Bete a few times before giving her own response. "He is better than you. You are just older." Hearing both girls refute him, Bete released a loud yell before smashing his leg into the dungeon wall. His kick left huge cracks as he put his hands into his pockets and started walking toward the stairs. "F.u.c.k this shit! Ill be in Riviria when you assholes finish ying around." Without waiting for anyones response, Bete continued walking away without turning back. The whole time this y was going on, Vahn just stood idle with a nk expression. Even with Tiona leaning herself against his body, he was too distracted by the information he had read in his system. //Tiona Hiryute Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: B Rewards:10,000OP, 1x [Hearts Desire: Tione Hiryute] Grade Rewards: Skill [Fist Strike:B] obtained. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tionas Decisiveness,Bete feels inferior,Airhead,Hearts Doki Doki for Various Reasons) Chapter 93 - Gentle Embrace

Chapter 93 - Gentle Embrace

After seeing the system notification, Vahn was in a daze. The only other person he had achieved maximum affection with was Hephaestus, and that was after knowing her for a long time. He didnt understand how Tiona was so affectionate toward him, and when he turned toward her and saw her beaming smile Vahn didnt know what to feel. His mind felt tingly and it felt like there was a pressure, other than Tiona, on his chest. Finn saw the difort Vahn was in, so he tried to rein back Tiona. "Tiona, that kind of thing can wait forter. We should return back to Riviria for now." Finn motioned for everyone to head out, but Tiona hadnt let go of Vahn. She continued to cling to him for a few moments longer before asking, "Will youe with us Vahn?" Hearing her question, Vahn was somewhat indecisive. He had to return back to Rivira himself, but it felt awkward to be dragged along with their group. After thinking things through, Vahn furrowed his brows a bit before he looked at the lively girl that had yet to release him. Seeing that her smile didnt fade in the slightest as she waited for his answer, Vahn finally gave up before sighing. "Sure..." Tiona was very happy with his response and started walking with him toward the exit. Finn and the rest of the party were already near the stairs, but Ais and Lefiya had stayed behind a bit in the corridor for Tiona to catch up. Seeing that Vahn hade along, she gave a small nod before walking alongside them to join the rest of the group. Lefiya followed behind everyone, and Vahn could feel a diforting re on the back of his head. --- The entire time they were going down the stairs, Tiona kept barraging Vahn with questions. She asked about his home, when he came to City, what kinds of food he liked to eat. Anything she could think of to ask, as long as it rted to Vahn, she wanted to know the answer. Vahn answered most of the questions, though he felt helpless since Tiona was still clinging to him even while she bounced around. Ais also asked a few curt questions about how Vahn was able to grow so much in thest week, and about if his Level had increased at all since theirst meeting. When she asked, Riverias ears twitched a bit, while Finn also slowed his pace by a small amount. Neither looked toward the direction, but they were listening in on the conversation. Vahn was paying attention though, so he only gave short responses that didnt reveal any important information. He did mention, however, that his magic that allowed him to transform his body had undergone a change after his narrow escape with the Juggernaut. Vahn knew it was possible for magic to develop and evolve under tense and stressful situations, so he found it an appropriate time to mention the encounter. As the Loki Familia was one of the strongest in the City, they may even be able to subjugate it, saving countless lives in the process. Hearing Vahn mention surviving against a Juggernaut, Tiona started issuing augh like she was lost in her own little world. Though it was subtle, Vahn could feel her grip on him tighten by a small amount. The rest of the Familia, especially the senior members Finn, Riveria, and Gareth all had very serious expressions on their faces. They believed that its somewhat justified Vahns explosive growth and his unique skill, but they were also shocked that a Juggernaut was currently on the 13th floor. They had been in the dungeon for a few days, and they hadnt heard anything about its appearance at all. The entire group stopped walking as Finn looked back and asked, "Youre sure the thing you encountered on the 13th floor was a Juggernaut? It could have been some kind of Variant creature." If what Vahn said was true, they needed to inform the guild to either cordon off the floor or arrange an emergency subjugation team. They would also need to investigate the cause and find out what had happened for such a powerful monster to appear on the middle floors. Vahn described his encounter with a bit of embellishment, including its features and how he had narrowly escaped by leaping through a hole to the 14th floor. For some reason, as he recounted thest part of his escape, Vahn felt a bit ashamed of his weakness. He was especially aware of the girl that was still holding on to his arm, though he didnt know why her presence concerned him so much. "Im d." While Vahn was having a mild internal struggle, he heard a gentle voice ring in his ear from the right. Looking up, he could see Ais looking at him with her characteristic nk expression. Seeing she had got his attention, she continued, "You can be much stronger. One day you will win." Ais said the words without any hesitation and it made Vahn feel a bit more confident. "Hahaha, thats right! Every hero has setbacks, but they always turn things around in the end! If it was anyone else, they would have died you know~!?" Tiona seemed to agree with what Ais said, and in a simr but much more excitable manner, she tried to encourage Vahn. They werent the only two either, as every present member of the Loki Familia gave him words of encouragement. Even Lefiya, who Vahn felt disliked him, gave him a few kind words in a quiet voice. --- Eventually, the group had exited the stairs and Vahn noticed it was still dark on the 18th floor. After checking his system time, he realized it was only shortly before 2 AM, which meant the Goliath had spawned much sooner than expected. It was fortunate the Loki Familia had arrived, or he may have been in a situation where he was awoken by the Goliaths arrival. Even if he had summoned Fafnir immediately, he would have still been drained for the resulting fight. Tiona had been paying attention to Vahn, so she asked what he was thinking about. Vahn looked toward the sky before showing a somewhatcent smile. "I was thinking that I was very lucky everyone showed up. I think things wouldnt have gone as smoothly without you all nearby." As Tiona hugged his arm even tighter, everyone else either smiled orughed a bit after hearing Vahns answer. As the group made their way further into the 18th floor, Vahn noticed they were deviating away from the settlement. After asking, Finn had told him they were currently on an expedition to the 30th floor and had a group toorge to fit in the small settlement. Though they had a small manor that could house about twenty people, it wasnt nearly enough for their current eighty man expedition. Because of their numbers, they had been forced to set up camp away from the settlement to prevent tensions between the 18th-floor residents. After nearly an hour on foot, it was slightly after 3 AM when the group arrived outside a rtivelyrge campsite. There were more than 30 tents spaced around in arge clearing next to a forest. A river ran alongside the camp and disappeared further into the trees after turning a bend more than 50m away. Once they had arrived, Finn addressed the party and dismissed everyone for the time being. He still needed to make a report to Riviria and get in contact with the Guild regarding the Juggernaut, so there was a chance he would have to ce the expedition on hold. Out of consideration for the situation, Finn informed Vahn that the seven red tents in the western section of the camp belonged to the Hephaestus Familia. If he wanted to, Vahn could rest there and even join them on their expedition if he was interested. After Finn mention going into the deeper floors of the dungeon, Vahn was somewhat excited. He was already nearing the halfwaypletion point of his quest, and killing monsters deeper in the dungeon with, the support of an S-Rank Familia, was the best possible solution forpleting the quest quickly. He dly epted the invitation, as it would also allow him to move without having to worry about the Osiris Familia pestering him. Even if they wanted to interfere, there wasnt much they could do when the Loki and Hephaestus Familia(s) were involved on an expedition. Looking toward the tents, Vahn said goodbye to everyone and tried to make his way over. However, the moment he stepped forward, his body was jerked slightly by Tiona who had still been holding his arm since the 17th floor. Tiona firmly held his body as she looked toward the rest of the group. "I want a spare tent. I will stay with Vahn." Finn startedughing in a fed-up manner as he slowly made his way toward Rivira with Gareth. Riveria was left to watch over Ais, while the rest of the girls gave Tiona an incredulous look. Tione stepped forward and shouted, "What are you thinking Tiona!? Do you believe Id let you get a head start on me? I havent even been able to sleep with the Captain yet and you want to run off with Vahn!?" From the distance, Finn, who was still in earshot, nearly fell over. This time, it was Gareths turn tough as he patted the blond-haired pallum boy on the back. "I dont care about your troubles~ I said I wanted to have Vahns children and that is my problem, not yours!" As Tiona spoke, she started dragging Vahn away and he began to panic. He tried to free himself from her grip, but there was a huge disparity in their two strengths. Unable to free himself on his own, Vahn tried talking his way out of the matter. "Wait, Tiona, Ill stay with the Hephaestus Familia. I dont want to have children or anything like that, there is still a lot of things I need to do!" Tiona looked at him with a thoughtful expression and seemed to contemte his words for a while. Aftering to some kind of decision, she smiled widely and said, "Its fine~! Ill take care of them on my own or drop them off at Telskyura. It wont interfere with your matters~" The moment she finished her words, she continued dragging Vahn who was now in a cold sweat. Vahn knew of children, s.e.x, and even other things, but he wascking fundamental knowledge of the process behind their conception. Vahn thought only married people had children, and he wasnt prepared to marry anyone just yet. Fortunately, he was saved by a shining golden goddess as Ais stepped in and grabbed Tionas hand which was dragging Vahn. Tiona, who had been grabbed, looked toward Ais with a somewhat hostile expression. "Ais? Why are you getting in my way?" Ais stared nkly after being asked the question before looking between Tionas grim face and Vahns anxious expression. Her eyes eventually settled on Tiona as she said inly, "He doesnt like it." After hearing the words, Tiona frowned and stared towards Vahn. Her grim expression slowly turned into a sad one as she saw how ufortable she was making Vahn. After a few seconds, she loosened her grip and lowered her head. "Do you hate me now?" Tiona felt very guilty for having forced Vahn against his will. In the worst case scenario, she was afraid her actions might have pushed him away. Vahn looked at her dejected state and felt like it didnt suit her at all. Everything he could remember about Tiona was her happy and bubbly personality, but now, because of his fear and inhibitions, the once cheerful girl looked broken-hearted. After giving a thankful nod to Ais, Vahn walked forward and patted Tiona on the head. He gently ruffled her hair until she turned up her head to look at him. Seeing her face, Vahn tried smiling in what he imagined to be the most gentle manner he could manage. "I would never hate you Tiona. It makes me sad to see you act so down. I like it more when you smile." As he continued his words, Tionas face became brighter and brighter before she eventually leaped forward and hugged him. She lifted him and spun around with his helpless body while bouncing in jubtion. "Aaaaaah, if you say stuff like that it makes it even harder to let you go!" Tiona was so excited that she didnt realize she had been using her massive strength and was slowly squeezing the air out of Vahns lungs. He didnt know if he shouldugh or cry after being picked up like a sandbag and spun about in a carefree manner. As he slowly began to pass out, Vahns mind wandered to his status, as he had developed the habit of checking them before sleeping. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:2(+)(2) -Power:1001+(B778)->(S905) -Endurance:1108+(SS1025)->(SSS1113) -Dexterity:887+(B750)->(S920) -Agility:940+(A828)->(SS1019) -Magic:1611+(SSS1198)->(SSS1548) Total:5547+(4579)->(5505)( (A/N: Now THIS is some gainz!) Soul Tier 2 (Hero Soul) [Karma]: 1,473 [OP]: 411,259 [Valis]: 171,630 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Not so Gentle After-all,Death by Snu Snu?,Tionas Determination,nned Parenthood) Chapter 94 - New Dawn

Chapter 94 - New Dawn

Vahn awoke to an unfamiliar ceiling, though it wasnt much of a ceiling considering he found himself in a tent. Looking around, he was able to see a few other people sleeping, and he noticed the banner of the Hephaestus Familia on the fabric. Rolling out of the bedroll, Vahn winced and felt a painful sensation from his ribs. The sudden sensation reminded him of the death grip hug that Tiona had given him during her excitement. They must have brought him here after he copsed. It was now around 5 AM, and it would be another hour or so before most people began awakening. Vahn yawned and made his way out of the tent to relieve himself in the forest. It had also been nearly half a day since he had anything to eat, so after he finished his business he rxed against a tree and ate some crepes he had stored within his inventory. As Vahn slowly ate away at the delicious, and still warm, crepe, he began looking around at the campsite. People were slowly beginning to wake up, and there were a few making their way around the campsite to prepare breakfast. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits, and Vahn could tell most people enjoyed the atmosphere of the camp environment. There were men and women, both young and old, working alongside each other to helpplete tasks both big and small. It was inspiring seeing peoplee together to make each others burdens lighter. Vahn thought back to all of his experiences with other people and, for the most part, it didnt seem like he had many interactions like that. Most of the time, it was just people helping him out, while he just offered bits of advice every now and then. His interactions with Lili were always him trying to help take care of her, while she sought his approval and praise. When he was with Naaza, she relied on him for advice and insight but seemed to always have an awkward atmosphere when they were alone. He couldnt help mix the potions, and when she saw him processing the ingredients, she had him stop out of guilt. Both Hephaestus and Tsubaki were just helping him out...Vahn felt like he owed them both for various things. He wanted Tsubaki to be able to rx more, and he still had his promise to keep with Hephaestus. One day, he would forge an item that impresses her and then he could drive away her loneliness. Even Chloe was someone he was heavily indebted to, and Vahn always felt a hint of guilt whenever he would visit the Hostess of Fertility with other people. Of all the people he interacted with, it was always closer to give and take than actualpromise and cooperation. Vahn didnt have any memorable incidents in his mind where he worked alongside others to ovee difficulties and help each other out. Seeing the camaraderie possessed by everyone in the camp, Vahn questioned if the things he was doing now were correct. After finishing his meal, Vahn decided to rx and clear his head a bit. He wasnt far from the river, and if he followed it further, there would be a smallke that continued onward until it joined therger patchwork ofkes on the floor. Making his way through the woods, Vahn couldnt help but yawn. His body hadntpletely woken up, and the breakfast had made him a little drowsy. Taking a bath should help clear his mind and wake up his body for theing day. Vahn continued through the woods until he came into the clearing with the pond. Though he was still in a sleepy state of mind, he immediately recognized the presence of others the moment he entered the clearing. After staring at their figures for a bit, he stretched and decided it was probably better for him to leave. Since people over-reacted to his body, Vahn assumed it wasnt a good idea to be caught looking at them. As he turned around, a pair of arms grabbed him from behind and Vahn could feel the cold water from their skins prate through his clothing. "Hahaha~ I caught you now Vahn! Where are you going aftering this far?" The person who had grabbed Vahn was Tiona, one of the four girls who had been taking a bath in the pond. She was also the primary reason Vahn had decided it was better to retreat, but when he had looked at them earlier, they were also staring towards him with surprised expressions. Lefiya, who was also bathing, screamed out in a shrill and girly voice as she tried to hide her figure within the cold pond. Ais stared with a seemingly unperturbed expression, but Vahn noticed there was a slight blush on her cheeks. The only two acting normally were Tiona and Tione who didnt seem to mind Vahn at all, especially considering Tiona was currently hugging him from behind and dragging him to the edge of the pond. "Come on Vahn, why not take a bath together? This way, well have all seen each other n.a.k.e.d and it wont be awkward in the future~!" Before he was able to answer, Tiona already started undressing him, while Vahn didnt put any real effort into stopping her. Instead, he decided to speak out his concerns, "Mmm, I dont really mind, but other people seem to be ufortable..." As he spoke, he looked toward Ais who continued staring at him and the young Lefiya who was blowing bubbles while submerged into the water. Vahn didnt know someones face could be so red. "Ahahaha~Its fine, its fine! You dont care do you Tione, Ais?" At this point, the only thing preventing Vahn from bingpletely n.a.k.e.d were his socks and boxers. Tione stared at the sight before speaking her mind, "Ehh, Im surprised he is bold enough to be nude around a group of women. Most boys would have run away or try their best to make excuses. As long as you dont make a move on me, I dont really mind, but remember Im saving myself for the Captain!" Ais, who had been standing without making too much effort to hide her body, considered for a moment before speaking. "Its fine... Everyone stared earlier..." The moment Tione and Ais gave their consent, Tiona quickly separated Vahns boxers from his body. In doing so, she had knocked him over a bit which allowed her to relieve him of his socks before dragging him into the pond. Vahn thought the cold water was pretty rxing, but before he could make himselffortable, Lefiya screamed out. "W-w-w-w-what are you thinking!? We cant just let a b-b-b-boy take a bath with us!!!" Lefiya, who was still crouching down in the water was incredibly fl.u.s.tered after everyone else seemedpletely okay with the situation. She began to think she was the weird one, but after seeing Vahns n.a.k.e.d glory, she couldnt help but scream out in protest. Vahn frowned after hearing her scream and couldnt understand why she was acting so strangely. She was acting a lot like Lili had the first time she walked in on him in the onsen. Every time after that she seemed perfectly fine, though her tolerance to the heat seemed a bitcking since she always turned red the moment she entered the bath. Tione saw Lefiya acting shy and a big grin appeared on her face. Sneaking up behind the bashful elf, she lifted Lefiya up while groping her chest. "There isnt anything to be ashamed about Lefiya, arent you growing perfectly fine~!" As Lefiya was lifted out of the water, Vahn was able to see her unguarded body iling about. Seeing Vahns intense gaze, Lefiya quickly gave in to the pressure building up in her head as she passed out with a slight nosebleed. Tiona and Tioneughed at the sight, but Ais seemed a bit saddened by the turn of events. "Lefiya..." Vahn noticed her look and felt like he was the reason things had gotten out of hand. Without thinking anything, he walked toward Lefiya, who was still being held by Tione. Tione looked at him skeptically as he began stretching out his hand. "Hey now, nobody gave you permission to touch. Im sure if youre curious Tiona would be more than willing to assist you." Tiona seized the moment and tried taking advantage of the situation. "Thats right Vahn,e, ask me about anything you want to know! I asked you a bunch of questions earlier, I dont mind~." As she spoke, Tiona was gently trying to pull his arm to the side. She was a bit envious seeing how he stared intensely at the unconscious Lefiya. Vahn shook his head as if to dismiss her offer, but he was just trying to convey he wasnt doing anything strange. "Im just helping, not doing anything bad." As he said the words, Vahn ced his palm on Lefiyas head and used [Hands of Nirvana] to help calm her overtaxed mind. The other girls stared at him with confusion, but it quickly turned to interest as they saw his actions. A few secondster, Lefiya, in a dazed state, slowly opened her eyes. It took her a moment to realize what was happening because there was an arm obstructing her vision. As the hand that had been resting on her head pulled away, Lefiya caught sight of Vahn, still n.a.k.e.d, smiling toward her. "Sorry if I caused you any problems. You should be okay now. Do you feel any difort?" Lefiya, who was still dazed, slowly shook her head without saying anything. Hearing the concern in his voice and seeing the gentle expression on his face, Lefiya actually felt guilty about making him worried. Of course, this was only temporary as the pressure began to rapidly build up in her mind again as she continued catching glimpses of Vahns figure. She slowly covered her face with her hands as Tione finally released her body. No longer supported by another person, Lefiya fell forward...into Vahns arms. Vahn had caught Lefiya, who had suddenly fallen towards him. He could feel her body immediately twitch as she seemed to freeze in ce. Thinking there was something wrong, Vahn once again ced his palm on her head and began channeling [Hands of Nirvana]. "Are you okay, Lefiya?" Lefiyas mind was in a chaotic state by the paradoxical feelings tearing through her mind like a hurricane. She felt happy, angry, sad, fl.u.s.tered, excited, confused, and a variety of other emotions all at once. Feeling the warm energying from the palm on her head, Lefiya felt at ease, but it also prevented her from releasing her emotions and she felt like they were slowly building up to a critical level. Removing her hands slightly, as she had been facing downward, Lefiya got a first-person close-up of the offending figure as her mind nked out. For a few seconds, everyone noticed Lefiyapletely freeze which caused Tiona toe and investigate. "Lefiya...are you okay?" As she asked the question, Tiona poked Lefiya in the shoulder. Almost as if she had been released from a spell, Lefiya stood uppletely straight before rushing to the shore and grabbing her clothes. Without waiting for anyone to say anything, she bolted into the nearby woods and disappeared from everyones sight while emitting a strange and aggrieved noise. For a few seconds, everyone just stared in awe at the departing figure, unable to process what kind of reaction she had. Eventually, Tione took her fist and hammered it slightly into her palm like she had figured something out. "Ah! Maybe it was a bit too early for someone like Lefiya? Vahn isnt exactly...normal?" As she spoke, both Ais and Tiona looked towards the boy who was still standing unabashedly before them. They could see he had an athletic figure with well-toned muscles. His skin was a healthy tannedplexion and he had a handsome face with a somewhat naive. His dark hair and vibrant aquamarine eyes enhanced his facial features and brought his appearance up a notch. But, the most important thing, and the reason Lefiya had run away...their eyes slowly drifted down past the rtively toned abdominal muscles of Vahn and saw hispanion. Even in its dormant state, it caused people to feel almost intimidated. Vahn, noticing their gazes, followed their eyes before looking at his own p.e.n.i.s. At that moment, he recalled all the other times he had been n.a.k.e.d around others. Without exception, every single person would at some point fix their gaze on his exposed genitals. Vahn was confused, and since there were three people currently staring, he decided to ask. "Is there something wrong with it?" Ais blushed a light shade of pink as she averted her eyes. Tioneughed while loudly proiming, "Hahaha, there is nothing wrong at all. If anything Im worried about my sisters future!" Tione wasughing so uncontrobly that her b.r.e.a.s.ts jiggled, dislodging the built up moisture from the pond water. Looking towards Tiona, Vahn gave her a questioning look. Tiona gulped slightly, but Vahn could see a determination in her eyes like she was about to fight a fierce battle. "I wont be defeated so easily!" Vahn was even more confused after seeing her reaction. He couldnt help but wonder what would she be defeated by, but for some reason, his instincts triggered slightly so he avoided asking. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Yanorths Contribution,Denser than Adamantite,Skinship,Elves are quick to recognize Lewdness) Chapter 95 - Finns Frustrations

Chapter 95 - Finn''s Frustrations

Vahn spent about twenty minutes bathing with the three girls. After Tiona voluntarily washed his back, she remarked about how warm his body was in the cold water and stuck close to him afterward. Curious about the im, Tione put her palm on Vahns chest and was surprised to find that he was like a furnace even in the chilled environment. She was almost tempted to rece Tiona, but seeing the glint in her sisters eye made her feel a little intimidated. Afterward, everyone got dressed and made their way back to the campsite. Halfway along the path, they came across Lefiya standing next to a tree that looked like it had been used for martial arts training. Vahn thought it was a bit strange, and then he noticed the abrasions on Lefiyas tiny fists. Frowning, Vahn grabbed her hands and started healing them, much to the girls surprise and apparent frustration. After telling her to be more careful with her training, Vahn continued along the trail, leaving behind a stunned and befuddled Lefiya who was teased by Tione. It was still early back at camp, but many people had awoken by now. The site was alive with the hustle-and-bustle of people going about their business and performing their various duties. After saying a short goodbye, everyone split into two separate groups to tend to their respective tasks. Tione, Ais, and Lefiya left to seek out Rivera and await orders from Finn, while Tiona followed Vahn to the Hephaestus Familia tents. Simr to the previous day, Tiona stuck very close to Vahn, but this time she didnt seem like she was trying to prevent him from running away. Instead, she stood very near to him and, as they walked, they would periodicallye into contact with each other while making small talk. Vahn had been curious about the vige of the Amazons, Telskyura, and inquired about what kind of ce it was. Tiona seemed to think for a moment with a strange mncholy present in her still smiling face. To Vahn, he felt her eyes showed an uncharacteristic sadness, which made him feel ufortable. While she was still thinking, Vahn reached out his hand to pat her head. From his experience, most of the girls he interacted with seemed to enjoy when he did so and they would appear more at ease. Tiona didnt seem to be the exception to his, as she nuzzled her hair against his palm with the mncholy in her eyes vanishing in an instant. "It is kind of a sad and harsh ce, but it wasnt all bad. As youd expect, everyone there are Amazons and are led by the Goddess Kali. Men arent allowed in the vige, but there is a small settlement of would-be suitors not far. Some men think they have a chance of courting an Amazon if they are conveniently nearby, but it rarely happens." Tionaughed at thest part of her soliloquy. Vahn was curious, so he asked, "Why does it only happen rarely?" In response to his question, Tiona leaned against him and reached her arms around the back of his neck. Pressing her body to his chest, she looked into Vahns eyes with a predatory expression as she slowly enunciated. "It is the instinct of Amazons to desire strong men. Men that think they can take a shortcut to try and win the heart of an Amazon are usually weak-willed and even weaker in strength." As Tiona slowly closed the distance between their faces, Vahn could feel his heartbeat begin to elerate and a cloudy haze filled his mind. Staring into the eyes of the approaching Tiona, Vahn remarked, "But, Im not that strong. There are many people stronger than me." Even as Vahn spoke the words, he felt like there was something strange in them, almost as if he was making an excuse. Tiona hummed slightly, it was like she found his words very amusing. With their noses practically touching, she spoke once more. "You are strong Vahn...and I can tell you will be even stronger in the future. That is why my instincts are telling me." As she finished her words, she leaned forward and gently kissed Vahns lips. Vahns mindpletely nked the moment their lips touched and he spread out his hands almost like he was afraid to touch anything in his absent state-of-mind. Tiona, as if unaware of his distress, continued kissing Vahn and even pulled his head more firmly toward her own. After a few seconds, she finally released him and stared toward Vahns face with a mild blush covering her healthy browned skin. "You know, I dont mind being the one to kiss others...But, Id be happier to be on the receiving end some day." After she spoke the words, Tiona spun around with her hands behind her back and walked away while humming a happy tune. Vahn followed her figure in a daze and for the first time began looking at her slightly differently. His eyes wandered from her head, down the line of her uncovered back, past the cloth wrapping her waist, and all the way down to her bare feet. He just stood there in stunned silence until she had long disappeared through the assortment of tents. Reaching his hand to his lips, Vahn couldnt help but mumble, "That was my first kiss..." For some reason, the thought brought a blush to his face and Vahn felt an ufortable yet pleasant feeling build up in his body when he began recollecting the event. Her lips were very soft, and he could remember the heat from her body pressing itself against his own. Vahn became increasingly fl.u.s.tered the longer he thought about the scene and felt a strong urge to run off into the woods and destroy something. In all of Vahns interactions with women, he had never considered the greater implications behind his, or their, actions. He knew he enjoyed being around them, but he never experienced such conflicting emotions before and didnt know how to deal with them. Now that Tiona had kissed him, he began to worry that all of his previous experiences were actually more intimate that he had realized. He began reying all of his memories and looking at them through a new perspective, and Vahn couldnt help but feel the frustration in his body build to a critical point. Finally, unable to deal with the emotions anymore, in a manner very reminiscent of Lefiyas scene from earlier, Vahn ran off into the forest. For nearly an hour after that, people within the campsite could hear the sounds of destruction in the distance. It was the sound of trees falling and boulders being shattered. Those with better hearing could even pick up the anguished cry of a young boy who sounded like an aggrieved spirit. --- Within arge tent in the center of the camp, Tiona was sitting on a table while dangling her legs about. Arge smile was stered on her face as she hummed a tune with her eyes closed. When asked why she was so happy by the other girls, she acted like a bashful maiden andughed in a silly manner while holding her cheeks. "I had my first kiss with Vahn~" Hearing her response, her sister Tione seemed to suffer a massive mental blow, as she ran out of the tent screaming, "Captaaaain~!" The group watched Tione depart into the distance, almost as if she had some kind of beacon showing her the way to Finn. Ais seemed to furrow her brows a bit as she looked at Tionas beaming face. "He kissed you?" Hearing Aiss question, Lefiya began to frown from the side while Tiona just answered directly, "Not yet. I had to kiss him, but I think it was his first kiss too, so Im very happy~" Aiss expression rxed a bit, while Lefiyas seemed to only get worse. Remembering everything she had experienced with Vahn, Lefiya had a lot of conflicting emotions. But, the one she was sure about was, she didnt like seeing Ais pay so much attention to him. Even though she knew Ais was actually a lot kinder than people thought, Lefiya felt a bit jealous seeing Ais concerned about a boy. Especially a handsome boy that was simr in age...Suddenly, Lefiyas thoughts wandered a bit and she had to cover her fiercely blushing face. Riveria was watching the strange scene with a mildly shocked expression. She couldnt imagine what Vahn had done to impact all the young women in the group so severely in such a short period of time. Riveria was also interested in Vahn, primarily due to his strange ability to manipte the elements, but she didnt think his act of killing the Goliath was enough to affect the hearts of Level 5 adventurers. She began to grow more interested in the boy and wondered if he harbored any more secrets she was unaware of. --- Finn was heading back from Riviria, the settlement near therge tree, and he had a grim expression on his face. Gareth too walked with a solemn countenance and kept silent for the duration of their trip. He was in the area when Finn received the order, and he knew things were going to be troublesome in theing days. They had been assigned the task of subjugating the Juggernaut on the 13th floor, primarily due to the fact that it had killed a number of adventurers already. The people of the City wanted answers, and it fell to the Loki Familia to find out the reasons behind its appearance; the Guild felt that waiting too long would make the future investigation too difficult so they issued an emergency mission which was approved by their goddess Loki. Finn was busy thinking about the best way to distribute manpower and determine the most appropriate course of action to take. They definitely had the numbers to take on the beast, but it wouldnt be an easy fight no matter how cautious he chose to be. The biggest problem he faced was dealing with the Hephaestus Familia and making sure they understood the necessity of the current task. This expedition they were on had been at the request of the Hephaestus Familia so they would be able to safely gather materials between the 25th and 30th floors. Some materials needed to be carefully harvested and werent suitable to be retrieved by adventurers. The Loki had epted the task of being their escorts, and themission fee was already paid in full. Finn didnt want to abandon the mission, as it could harm the reputation of the Loki Familia, but he couldnt ignore the emergency mission either. Hopefully, things would work out and they would be able toplete both without any major problems... While Finn was lost in his own thoughts, a slight rumbling could be felt through the ground. Thinking it was some beast that had ascended from the lower floors, Finn and Gareth got intobat stances and stressed their senses to detect the iing threat. In his state of heightened awareness, Finn could hear the sound of a woman screaming in a frantic manner. He even thought, though he couldnt understand why, the girl seemed to be shouting his name... A few momentster, the yell became clear in the ears of both Gareth and Finn and they quickly ran toward the direction it came from. The voice belonged to one of theirpanions, Tione, and she sounded like she was in a state of duress. Something urgent must have happened at the campsite to force her to seek Finn out. With the worst in mind, they increased their pace and doubled their efforts to meet Tione as quickly as possible to discover what the matter was. After a short period of time, the three made visual contact with each other and Finns mind entered an emergency state. He could see that Tione seemed visibly fl.u.s.tered, almost like her life was on the line as she waved toward his direction. Thoughts of what could have urred to make a Level 5 act in such dire straights began to pass through his mind as they quickly closed the gap. When they were a few meters apart, just as Finn was about to have Tione exin the situation, she suddenlyunched herself toward him. "Caaaaptain!! Quick, give me a kiss!" Tione shot at Finn like a bullet, and even though he was in a dazed state of mind, he quickly evaded the human missile. Gareth looked at Finn with a humorous expression and began tough while hoisting his axe onto his shoulder. "Good luck, Finn." With those parting words, Gareth began walking toward the campsite while issuing an amused and explosiveugh from time to time. Finn could feel the veins in his temples twitching furiously as he looked toward Tione who seemed devasted that he dodged her attack. "What is this about Tione..." With an aggrieved expression, Tione turned toward him while rubbing her nose. "Its not fair Captain. Tiona shouldnt be able to get the march on me, the older sister. I want a kiss too!" With crocodile tears, Tione tried acting pitiable before once againunching herself toward Finn. Dodging her second attack, Finn sighed deeply before walking toward the campsite. "Lets go Tione, there are important matters to discuss." After he spoke, Finn didnt bother to entertain her anymore. Tione vaulted from the ground after hearing his words and shouted, "Yes, Captain!" before following him obediently. Though, she wasnt too obedient as, during the rest of the trip, she would asionally sneak nces at Finns lips with an expression of desire stered on her face. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Finn is 40, Tione is 14,Tiona gets ahead,Vahns brain gets broken,Deforestation) Chapter 96 - Hephaestus : Day 1

Chapter 96 - Hephaestus : Day 1

(A/N: This is thanks for all the support Ive been receiving about the novel~! Enjoy Hebaestuss suffering <3. This is kind of like a teaser for the POV recap at the end of the Volume as well.) (Warning: NSFW Ahead.) The day Vahn had left for the dungeon had be one of the most memorable in Hephaestuss several million years of experience. The fact that the young boy she had met only a few months prior was not only able to find his way into her heart, but also heal the mark on her face left a deep impact on Hephaestus. For the rest of the day, she justzed about on her workshop table unable to think clearly. Hephaestus justy about in a daze while staring toward the ceiling with both of her eyes. In her hands, she held a polished mirror and would periodically peer into its surface to once again confirm the mark was gone. Every time she did so, she felt a pang in her chest and wanted to cry, but remembering the face of Vahn as he had left, she managed to hold back the feelings. She understood that she had more than simple affection for Vahn, but couldnt ovee her own inhibitions to act on them. Thinking of Vahn, Hephaestus closed her eyes and rxed her body in azy manner. She began reying all the memories and experiences she had with him while listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat. As she had grown ustomed to the act as ofte, Hephaestus had begun to associate the rhythm with her own peace of mind. Listening to the steady, powerful, beating heart of Vahn, Hephaestus was able to rx and let her worries fade away. Of course, this was not always the case, as several hours after Vahn left, Hephaestus noticed his heart rate increasing. She could feel excitement build inside of him, almost as if he was reveling in some enjoyable act. It was times like this that had caused her a great amount of stresstely. Since she couldnt see or feel what Vahn was going through, the only thing she could do was try to interpret the events from how his heart was beating. She hoped that, in this instance, he was simply working hard to increase his strength. Remembering the promise he had made earlier, Hephaestus believed this to be the case so she allowed herself to experience his excitement as well. Almost as if to respond to his heart rate, Hephaestuss also increased and she began to experience feelings of excitement as well. She imaged the brave figure of Vahn defeating monsters with a smile on his face, so she too smiled and wished she could be there to see it. Fortunately, as the day faded and night came, Vahns heart seemed to calm down and Hephaestus was able to rx once again. From what she had experienced, she felt as if he had been inbat for a long period of time and was d he took the time to take a break. Dragging her bodyzily toward the couch in her office, Hephaestusy down on the bed face-first and tried recalling the fragrance which had long faded. It felt like, if she focused enough, she could recall that peculiar smell that made her heart tickle. Finding the fragrance, or at least imagining she had found it, Hephaestus began to blush fiercely. Looking toward the door and noticing the locks were properly in order, Hephaestus heaved a sensual sigh as she let her imagination begin to wander. Today had been a mixture of highs and lows, and her body was in high tension, especially after Vahn had restored her face to an unblemished form. As her emotions continued to rise, Hephaestus reached down to ease the ache that had been building inside her. Entrusting her body to the couch, Hephaestus slowly lowered her form-fitting trousers and inserted her hand into the hidden garments within. She could feel a powerful heat and a dampness that had spread within the fabric as she began trying to release her pent-up emotions. Though her current body was that of a v.i.r.g.i.n, Hephaestus was not unustomed to the acts of s.e.x and self-pleasure. As most gods found her unappealing, she had long adapted to a life of selffort when it came to releasing her urges. Unlike the sessions of the past, now Hephaestus began to lose herself in the moment. She began gasping for breath, and no matter how much air she drew it never seemed to be enough. As her left hand continued its endeavors, she unfastened the buttons on her blouse and found some small measure of relief in her free right hand. She squeezed her left b.r.e.a.s.t and let out a gasp that almost sounded like a name. As she continued to service herself, Hephaestus tried focusing on the steady rhythm within her soul. It was like a beacon of light in the stormy seas she was experiencing, and she sought after the warmth and security it offered. The closer she allowed herself to get to that light, the greater the feelings became and she earnestly wanted to take that light for herself. This time, Hephaestus couldnt hold her voice as she cried out in a weak m.o.a.n, "Vahnnn..." The aching feeling in her body continued to increase, and no matter how much Hephaestus tried to chase it away with her hands, she couldnt stop the surging tide. She began to gently repeat the name over and over in her mind while doing her best to stifle her own voice. Her body bent forward in the search for greater pleasure as her lungs cried out for more air. Her actions intensified until they had reached a critical point where her body suddenly inverted. Bending backward like a bow, Hephaestus twitched while releasing a powerful groan through her clenched teeth. She felt all the feelings in her body surge and explode outward in an unstoppable wave. The wave continued echoing within the emptiness that had emerged as Hephaestus copsed powerlessly into the couches embrace. In her disheveled state, she just staredzily toward her dark office as a powerful loneliness began to permeate throughout her body. In the silence that followed, while Hephaestus felt like she had be lost, she could hear that ever-present rhythm beating within her soul. She thoughtlessly listened to each individual thump as she allowed the feelings it brought to spread. It slowly, steadily, chased away the empty feelings. Bundling herself up into a ball, Hephaestus tried to keep those feelings from escaping using her own body to contain them. In this state, she slowly drifted off to sleep, for the first time embracing the hope that had been ignited within her. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Doki Dokie,Unstoppable Tide,Vahns Presence) Chapter 97 - Emergency Mission

Chapter 97 - Emergency Mission

After Vahn had calmed down, he stared at the wreckage of the forest around him. Though he still had a lot of emotions swirling about in his body, he was at least able to rid himself of the majority of the problematic ones through physical exertion. There were more than a dozen trees that had been turned to mulch and several giant boulders that had been ground into fine powder in his immediate area. Releasing a powerful sigh, Vahn began making his way back to the campsite. He still needed to meet the representative of the Hephaestus Familia to exin the situation. Now that he would be joining the expedition, he would have to follow along with the ns of those in charge. After seeing how well everyone coordinated with each other, Vahn didnt want to be the one to cause chaos and unrest in the group. Arriving at the camp, Vahn made his way toward thergest red tent. Several people gave him strange looks, as he wasnt part of the original party, but nobody stopped him. Once he made it to the tent, he entered through the opening and came across a mature man eating breakfast alongside a woman. The man looked to be in his early thirties and had a powerful build with a neatly trimmed beard that merged into the zing red hair on his head. The woman next to him had a beautiful, yet sleepy looking, face with drooping purple eyes and green hair fixed into a loose ponytail. She had a supple figure without any fat and ratherrge b.r.e.a.s.ts restrained by the dark purple b.r.e.a.s.tte she was wearing. The moment Vahn entered the tent, the man put down his utensils and spoke in an amicable manner. "You must be Vahn Mason, the Vulcan, correct?" Vahn was surprised that he was identified, but didnt think it was that odd as he had been left inside a tent earlier. Seeing his surprise, the man continued, "No worries kiddo. Riveria and the little amazon girl came by and exined things. Also, youre pretty famous within the Familia, so it was pretty easy to identify you." At thest part, the man startedughing and Vahn thought it was odd. "Famous? Why? I havent done anything..." As Vahn spoke, the woman began tough with a bell-like tone that sent a chill down ones spine. "Hephaestus-sama is quite fond of you and spread your image around in the Familia, Mr. Vulcan~" Thedy looked at him with her sleepy eyes and Vahn almost averted his away instead of looking toward her. In response, the man nodded his head and continued, "Yes, that is correct. Goddess Hephaestus told us that, if we were to meet a boy of your description in the dungeon, we should do our best to ensure your safety. I never expected to see you here on the 18th floor, much less apanying the main party of the Loki Familia!" The man startedughing and nearly knocked the sses on the table over. The woman gave the man a sidewards nce and he quickly stoppedughing. After pretending to cough for a bit, the man spoke up."Ah, let me introduce myself. Im Grant Messer, Level 3 and representative of the Hephaestus Familia for thismission. People call me the Sledgehammer." As he said his title, the man patted the massive brown and orange hammer to his right. After his introduction, the woman smiled toward Vahn and said, "And Im Meryl Messer, his wife, also Level 3 and people call me the Witch. Though, I would prefer if you just call me Meryl. Ive never been fond of my nickname." When the woman had said her alias, Vahn saw a cold glint in her eyes that made him feel that, if he called her by that, he would likely pay a price. Once all the introductions were made, Grant talked to Vahn about the purpose of their mission and his role should he decide to join them. They were currently on an expedition to collect various items between the 25th and 30th floor, with their ultimate goal being the bones and scales of the Bloodsaurus on the 30th floor. If Vahn joined the expedition, as he was both a capable fighter and apprentice cksmith, he could either protect the group alongside the vanguard or stay in the back and perform maintenance and various other tasks. After a bit of discussion, it was agreed that Vahn was better served at the vanguard. Though he had picked up a lot of skills with Tsubaki, he wanted to continue improving his strength. If he spent the entire trip in the backline, it would defeat the purpose of joining the expedition in the first ce. Vahn wanted to quicklyplete his quest and return to the surface. He began feeling that, the longer he stayed within, the more difficult it would be to deal with things in the future. While they were discussing things and having a polite conversation, Riveria showed up at the entrance of the tent. She had a serious look on her face and, seeing Vahn present, she nodded before stating the purpose of her visit to Grant. "Finn is gathering together all the decision-makers for an important discussion. As the representatives of the Hephaestus Familia, he needs you, Meryl, and Vahn to attend." Grant nodded without questioning the order, but Vahn was somewhat confused. "Why does Finn need me to attend?" Vahn had only known Finn for a very short period of time, and definitely wasnt one of the decision-makers in the expedition party. In fact, he wasnt even a member more than an hour ago... Riveria looked toward Vahn and spoke inly,"You are the only person present that has any information pertaining to the uing mission. Finn will exin the details, but know that we have been tasked with an urgent mission by the Guild." Hearing her words, Vahn suddenly understood what she was talking about. As he had anticipated, the Loki Familia had likely been assigned to subjugate the Juggernaut. Grant, who was also listening, frowned but kept his words to himself for the time being. The group made their way to thergest tent in the center of the camp where Vahn saw all the main members of the Loki Familias ace party, including Bete who seemed down in the dumps. The moment Bete saw Vahn enter with the Hephaestus Familia members, he snarled and almostshed out but Finn stopped him. "There is no time for that Bete, stand down. We have important matters to discuss." Ever since the fiasco with Tione earlier, Finn had been a bit on-edge and appeared to be a little impatient. Bete clicked his tongue and just sat at the periphery of the group while ignoring everyone. Arge table upied the center area of the tent, and there were several stumps that had been collected from the nearby forest to act as chairs. After sitting down with the rest of the group, Tiona, who had been watching Vahn since his entrance, exchanged seats to sit next to Vahn. Vahn felt awkward the moment she sat next to him, and when he looked at her smiling face the emotions he had fought hard to expel earlier began to build back up. To counteract the emotions, Vahn began to channel his [Will of the Emperor] and his domain slowly spread out through the tent with his [Stealth] applied. Though it was almost imperceptible, nearly everyone in the tent except Grant and Meryl noticed it. Finn frowned, and Tiona had a confused expression on her face as she noticed Vahn was trying to ignore her. She felt a peculiar sensation in her chest after seeing his efforts to avoid interacting with her. Before anyone else said anything about the current situation, Riveria spoke up while slowly moving her hand through the air. "Fascinating...this space almost seems to be isted with concealment and sound-dampening properties. This should prevent anyone from outside the tent from picking up on our discussion. What a versatile skill..." After listening to Riverias exnation, Finns expression loosened as he though Vahn was just trying to ensure the privacy of the information they would be discussing. He found Vahns cautionmendable and thought the skill was also quite useful. "Thanks, Vahn, it saves us a lot of trouble this way. Now we dont have to worry about causing a panic before we make a decision." Vahn wasnt paying much attention to what was said, but hearing someone call his name he slowly nodded. Right now he was trying to focus his awareness on other things within the tent instead of the warm body sitting to his right. Even now he could feel Tiona looking at him, but Vahn was doing everything in his power to avoid acknowledging this fact. Tiona, from the side, seemed to notice this and her brows began to furrow as if she was going to pout. Finn noticed the atmosphere between Tiona and Vahn, but he decided to ignore it for the time being. There were important things to be discussed, and they could work out their problemster. "Okay, Id like to thank everyone for gathering on such short notice. As you may be aware, the Loki Familia has been assigned an emergency mission by the Guild which was epted by our Goddess, Loki. We understand that this puts the Hephaestus Familia in a difficult situation and are willing to refund the entire originalmission fee as well as a contract canction fee. However, if possible, we would like to borrow the services of the Hephaestus Familia for the time being. Once we are able to aplish our mission we will continue the expedition if there are further difficulties." Finn exined the basic premise of the meeting without revealing too many details. Grant, who was experienced with such things, knew that he had the option of denying the mission and retreating to safety. Unless he decided to help the Loki Familia, they wouldnt reveal any of the information about their mission as other parties could interfere with itspletion and contest for rewards. After discussing things with his wife for a few minutes, Grant turned towards Vahn and asked,"What are you going to do kid?" Vahn was curious why Grant would ask him, but he considered things on his own before responding,"I am going to help. I probably have some rtion to the mission, and if possible, I would like to take part." Grant, hearing Vahns reply, nodded his head looked toward Finn. "The Hephaestus Familia will take part in the Loki Familias emergency mission, but we expect to bepensated for any equipment and consumables used to ensure itspletion. We also expect 20% of the posted rewards as well as the right to purchase any materials or drops earned at a premium." Finn nodded his head and agreed to the terms. If things went well, it would be better to give up part of their rewards and continue the expedition. If the Hephaestus Familia left now, the penalty for breaking the contract would be immense and it would potentially damage the reputation of the Loki Familia. This was the best possible oue in a lot of ways, and Finn knew that Vahn was the reason for Grants cooperation. He too had heard of the rumors surrounding Vahn and Hephaestus, and this made Finn believe there was some truth to the matter. "Very well, then I will exin the details of our mission. We have been given the task of subjugating the Juggernaut that has appeared on the 13th floor. If possible, we are also to investigate any strange urrences that have happened and report back to the Guild at the earliest possible time. As it is an emergency mission, we have been given 30 hours toplete it. As I received word two hours ago, that only leaves us less than 28 hours to form a strategy to defeat the Juggernaut and conduct the investigation." Finn said the exnation with full seriousness while making eye contact will everyone present. Hearing the mission entailed killing a Juggernaut, Grant immediately began regretting his decision to lend their aide. Though they were unlikely to participate in thebat, if the Loki Familia failed to kill the Juggernaut it would likely wipe out the entire expedition team, the Hephaestus Familia included. His face was set with a deep frown, but a gentle hand was ced on his thigh by his wife Meryl. Looking into her perpetually calming eyes, Grant found his conviction before nodding to Finn. Finn gave the two an appreciative smile before nodding his head at Vahn. "Okay Vahn, I would like you to recount everything you know about the Juggernaut. We need as much information you have about its size, characteristics, location, and anything else you may find important. Please, dont hold anything back as this may concern the lives of everyone present." Vahn felt like the words weighed heavily on his body, and he couldnt help but look at the expressions of everyone in the tent. There was a solemn atmosphere and everyone had a serious look on their faces as Vahn slowly scanned them. When his eyes had made the full rounds, he set his sight on the person sitting next to him. Unlike everyone else, Tiona looked toward Vahn with a gentle and encouraging smile. Suddenly, all of the tension seemed to go away and Vahn felt the pressure that had been weighing him down vanish. Unable to contain the relief he had felt, Vahn released a sigh before a smile appeared on his lips. Looking toward Finn, he began recounting all the information about the Juggernaut, including how it seemed to have suffered a severe amount of damage from an unknown source. (A/N: Alternate Title: Trauma, Round 2...,Negotiations) Chapter 98 - Strategy

Chapter 98 - Strategy

As Vahn had been recounting his experience, Riveria and Finn had been taking notes. Once he was finished, the twopared notes and began discussing strategy with the other members present. "Its good that the Juggernaut is already injured, but we need to discover how such a thing happened. It may have something to do with the reason it was summoned in the first ce." Riveria nodded, "Yes, anything capable of dealing such a serious blow to a Level 7 creature could easily cause enough damage to the dungeon to summon it. The question is, why would they do such a thing? There may be more to this than anyone suspects..." Riveria spoke seriously and all the veterans of the group seemed to agree with her. On the side, Vahn was sweating a bit hearing their words. He knew how the Juggernaut was injured and, as far as he knew, it had nothing to do with why it was summoned. There was no way to exin how he was the person that nearly destroyed it. As far as everyone in the room was concerned, he was just an abnormally strong Level 2, which was a far cry from thebat potential required to deal such a heavy blow to a Juggernaut. For now, he just sat silently and waited for the discussion to conclude. It was ultimately decided that the group would be split into two lines of defense and one garrison unit. As the Juggernaut would immediately take action the moment the stepped onto the floor, it would require a team of elites to draw it into a position and fight it in directbat. A secondary line would be in a room not too far away from where the majority of thebat potential would prepare an encirclement to attack the creature. The third group, the garrison, would actually be stationed near the holes on the lower floors. Vahn had provided an incredibly detailed map, so they were able to consider working the n from multiple floors. In the worst case scenario, people could retreat down the holes where they would be received by the waiting members and treated. It was decided, after asking for his agreement, that Vahn would be in the second group. As he only had thebat potential of a high-tier Level 3, there was no way he could be part of the group that draws the attention of the Juggernaut. That group would be lead by Finn, who would also be apanied by Gareth, Bete, and Ais. The second group was lead by Riveria, as magic wasnt effective against the Juggernaut and she wascking in speed. Her support units consisted of Tione, Tiona, Lefiya, as well as the majority of Level 3 or higher adventurers. Everyone else was in the third group, which was led by Meryl with the support of the majority of the Hephaestus Familia. After nearly two hours of nning and discussion, they now had slightly more than 25 hours to execute the mission so everyone went about performing their duties. Finn wanted the entire camp prepared and ready to move within three hours and they would begin their march to the 14th floor at the earliest possible time. Taking into consideration the setup andmunicating the strategy with the other members, Finn expected there would be less than 18 hours to actually subjugate the Juggernaut. Though it seemed like a lot of time, the logistics behind the operation were a nightmare. Every setback could hold up the entire group for hours and could lead to further problems if not addressed immediately. If the leadership broke down, the entire group could end up being wiped out. Taking into ount all the possible issues that may arise, the estimated 18 hours was likely closer to 10. While trying to leave the tent, Vahn was captured by Tiona. She had noticed he was being especially cautious of her, so instead of sticking to him like normal, she just tugged at his sleeve with a bit of strength. Vahn, feeling his sleeve being pulled, almost tried to jerk his arm away, but, seeing the somewhat sad expression on Tionas face, he couldnt muster the courage. Noticing that Vahn hadnt tried to run away as she expected, Tiona smiled and got a little bit closer without directly touching him. "Are you angry with me Vahn? I didnt mean to upset you earlier...I just got caught up in the moment and couldnt help myself." Unlike her normal, vibrant, self, Tiona was acting in a reserved manner. Seeing her uncharacteristic behavior and the drooping auraing from her body, Vahn felt an itching in his heart and wanted to make her go back to normal. "No, Im not angry or anything Tiona. I was just surprised...I dont really know how to deal with that type of thing. Until now, Ive never really even thought about girls, or kissing, or anything like that. Ive just focused on bing stronger and trying to live freely..." Vahn looked into her eyes as he tried to exin his feelings, but the more he talked, the more confused he became. Everything he was saying was the truth, but as he said it, he felt like that wasnt how he had been living at all. Though he did try to be stronger, it was only after certain events triggered him to do so. He did spend a lot of time training, but that was only because he felt like he needed to. Hephaestus and Tsubaki both had expectations for him, and Vahn didnt want to let either of them down. However, most of his time other than that was spent idling around. He enjoyed rxing and talking to people, spending time infort, and he especially liked when he was embraced by the other girls. Before Tionas kiss, he never thought anything of it, but now Vahn was overly aware that the things he had been doing were slightly abnormal. Tiona could see him struggling internally, and she wanted to hug him to make him feel better. But, thinking he might still be ufortable, Tiona did the same thing he had done for her when she was feeling down. Reaching out her hand, she started gently stroking his hair with a smile on her face. Vahn, feeling the touch, let his thought slowly fade as he just enjoyed the sensation. He wondered if this was how the other girls felt when he rubbed their heads...it was rxing and helped calm the turmoil in his mind. Seeing that he had cheered up a bit, Tiona smiled and said, "You dont have to be in such a rush. Just take things slow and try your best to understand how you feel. I just dont want to see you acting so strangely over something so small Vahn. The way you were earlier today, and especially yesterday, was much much cooler. Even if youre stuck like that for a long time, I think it is better than getting caught up in the expectations of others?" Tiona wasnt entirely sure of her own advice, but she felt that the heroic Vahn that pushed himself beyond his limits was the ideal him...at least in her mind. Vahn recalled all his actions in the past, and focused on key moments, primarily those where he had been most happy. In each and every one of them, he was either enjoying thefort of another person or reveling in oveing his own limits. He felt that Tiona was right, but he still didnt know what to do with the feelings that, even now, were bubbling inside of him. Though it was different from the excitement he experienced in fights, it was almost overwhelming and Vahn felt like his heart was going to twist itself into a knot from his own frustration. Tiona was patiently waiting for Vahn to work through things while she continued to pat his head. She noticed he had be a lot more rxed, and tried closing the distance between them a bit to probe things out. Seeing that he didnt shy away from her, Tiona felt emboldened and decided to give Vahn a hug. She noticed his body flinched a bit, but he didnt try to escape her embrace. After a while, Vahnpletely rxed and Tiona began to gently hum a song while caressing his head. The anxieties in his mind cleared up once again, and Vahn just listened to the humming of Tiona. He could feel the reverberations of the tune resonating from her corbone as the notes spread throughout his body. He was reminded of the time when Hephaestus had embraced him, and Vahn couldnt help but wonder why it was always soforting to be held by another person. Slowly, he wrapped his own arms around Tiona and asked, "What is that song youre always humming..." Tionaughed a bit and responded, "Im not sure...I just remember it from my childhood. I remember someone always holding me and humming that tune, and it always made me feel safe and happy. Now, whenever I feel happy, I cant help but hum to express it..." Tiona, having been embraced by Vahn in return, spoke the words in a slightly higher pitch. Vahn could tell from her voice that she was happy, but he decided to ask anyway. "Are you happy right now?" Tiona tightened her grip on Vahn and rested her head on his shoulder. "I am, but I was also humming because I wanted you to experience the same thing I used to experience when hearing that song. You seemed so lonely and confused, and I wanted you to feel safe and happy." Vahn released a sigh, and as his breath tickled her neck, Tiona squirmed slightly before looking toward him. Matching her eyes, Vahns heart began to beat faster and the feelings that started to diminish returned in full force. He could see that her lips were a bit moist, and from her expression, Vahn could see a hint of expectation in the depths of her eyes. Swallowing his saliva, Vahn decided to speak out his mind. "I feel like I want to try kissing, but every time I think about it...weird feelings spread in my chest and I get dizzy. I dont like feeling like this, but for some reason, I cant get the thoughts out of my head. I think I may be going crazy..." Tiona smiled widely after hearing Vahn say he wanted to try kissing. From his words, she realized Vahn was way more innocent than she had expected. It was no wonder he didnt seem to be shy around other people, it was like he had no experience interacting with anyone. She began to believe he may not even know about the rtions between man and woman, so she decided to ask. "Vahn, do you know how babies are made?" Vahn nearly faltered at the question, but because he had decided to confide in her he gave what he thought to be the correct answer. "It should be s.e.x..." Tiona nodded her head in approval; maybe he knew more than she expected? "Okay, but do you know what s.e.x is?" For Tiona, this was something very important to her future, and she wanted to make sure Vahn didnt have any misunderstandings. Swallowing his saliva, Vahn contemted for a moment before answering. Though he knew s.e.x was required to make babies, none of the books he had read went into any details about the process. Even in his previous life, other than a basic education and learning to read and write, Vahn had no education regarding s.e.x. In fact, in his entire life, he had only ever met two women...and he wasnt fond of either. Trying to recall some of the things he had seen in books, Vahn gave a hesitant response."Umm, its when...a boy and a girl get married...and then the girl gets a fat belly and a baby is born." Tiona was stunned at his response, but before she could say anything,ughter could be hearding from inside the tent. Turning her head, she could see Tione, Ais, and Lefiya, who had been eavesdropping their conversation. Lefiya had a blushing face, while Ais had her usual expression, but Tione wasughing so hard that it looked like she would fall over. Tiona felt pissed off seeing her reaction, especially since she wasughing at Vahn. "Dontugh Tione! I think its cute how innocent he is. It makes everything that happens after more meaningful!" Tiona was in a flurry and had even let go of Vahn; it was almost like she was preparing to fight her sister if she couldnt control herself. Tione,pletely unfazed by her angry stance, continuedughing. "At least I dont have to worry about you getting the march on me any more! Hahahaha....marriage....fat belly...hahahahaha." Hearing her sister continueughing, Tiona was about to enter into a berserker rage and teach her a lesson. Just as she was about to step forward, two things urred which made her nearly fall over after stopping her momentum. Vahn, who had been standing behind her asked a question while Ais, who was standing next to Tione, knocked Tione on the head with her fist and made a deration. "Is that wrong?" & "Its not nice tough at people." (A/N: Alternate Title: Doki Doki Vahn~,Tionas Concerns for the Future,Aiss hammer of justice,Lefiyas overactive imagination) Chapter 99 - Birds and the Bees

Chapter 99 - Birds and the Bees

Everyone was standing around with an awkward atmosphere at the sudden lull in the events. After Ais had punched Tiones head, she was now rubbing the bump with her hands and giving her an aggrieved look. "Dat hwert Aith!" Because she had beenughing at the time, Tione bit her tongue when Ais had hit her. She has tears on the edge of her eyes. Ais stared at her with slightly furrowed brows. "Sorry...Dontugh." Ais apologized and walked toward Vahn. Tiona was just about tough at her own sisters misfortune, but seeing Ais approach she became cautious. Aispletely ignored her and stepped in front of Vahn before reaching out her hand. "Come." Vahn, who had just asked his question earlier, was somewhat confused by the turn of events, so he just epted Aiss hand. After he grabbed her hand, Ais started leading Vahn towards the tent with the other three girls trailing behind. Tiona wanted to stop her, but seeing the serious expression in Aiss face, she knew it wouldnt be easy to stop her. For now, she decided to just follow along to make sure nothing happened without her knowledge. Lefiya, who was standing next to Tiona, frowned as she stared at the two holding hands in front of her. The tent had multiple sections, and Ais took Vahn into the eastern area which he discovered was the room where Riveria worked and slept. She was currently looking over the map Vahn had drawn previously, but after everyone entered her room she looked at them in a curious manner before asking, "What is it; did something happen?" Ais pulled Vahn forward before she had him sit down in front of Riveria. After settling him, Ais sat down next to him on her knees and looked towards Riverira. The other girls didnt know what was going on, but Ais eventually spoke and they all had very different expressions after hearing the words. "Riveria, teach us how babies are made." Ais had a serious expression as she made her request. Riveria frowned before she looked towards Tione and Tiona with an usatory look. "What happened...?" Tione, who had nearly fallen over in another fit ofughter, froze after hearing the cold tone of Riveria. Tiona, who had a shocked expression at hearing the brilliant idea of Ais began to exin. "Umm...its like this~" She recounted the events but spun the story slightly so as not to embarrass Vahn. Lefiya, who was at the tail-end of the group had nearly passed out with a red face after hearing Aiss request. After hearing the full story, Riveria frowned a bit before looking at the two sitting before her. "I can understand why Vahn would be here, but why are you Ais?" Riveria could feel the echo of endless future headaches resounding like an armed battalion in her head. Ais was already a very beautiful girl who many men had tried courting, but she had never shown an interest in matters rted to s.e.x no matter how many men tried seducing her. Ais stared towards Tione and frowned slightly before turning her head to look at Vahn. After another few seconds, she looked towards Riveria and said. "Tioneughed at Vahn. I dont want to beughed at." Ais had trouble expressing herself, but she knew that seeing Tioneugh at Vahn had made her very ufortable. Since the question he had asked was one she didnt know the answer to, Ais felt that she was being treated like a fool unless she knew the answer. Riveria nodded in understanding. "So youre saying the culprit behind all of this is Tione. Yes, I understand now...I will have to make sure she is properly disciplinedter." The more the spoke, the colder her voice sounded. Tione, who was standing at the entrance to the room gave an awkward smile and started backing away. "I have some things to take care of for the mission...I will excuse myself here." Afterward, Tione left through the ps of the door and disappeared from the site without another word. Releasing a long sigh, Riveria looked toward Vahn and Ais for a few seconds before turning her gaze toward Lefiya and Tiona. "I know youre fine Tiona, but are you going to stay and listen as well Lefiya?" Lefiya had been in a daze since earlier, and hearing Riveria speak her name made the small girl startle. With a red face, she stared at Ais and Vahn with watery, frustrated, eyes before nodding her head. Releasing an even longer sigh, Riveria had Lefiya sit next to Ais while Tiona sat loosely on a cushion at the side. She pulled her feet together with her hand and sat un a very udylike posture as she also intended to listen to the lesson that Riveria would give. Though she already knew the process, she wanted to make sure nothing was left out from the exnation. As far as she was concerned, it would make her life more difficult if anything was overlooked. (A/N: For those imagining how Tiona is sitting, think of modified groin stretch in yoga.) Seeing that everyone was ready, Riveria began to exin the process from start to finish. As her exnation dragged on, Vahn seemed to have an incredibly shocked expression as he listened. Aiss expression hadnt changed much, but she had a serious look in her eyes with a slight blush on her cheeks. The most affected by the lesson was Lefiya, who had long turned a fierce crimson and was muttering a wa wa wa sound while iling her hands around. (A/N: I didnt bother exining the birds and the bees in detail because I assume all of you are 17+!) After everything was wrapped up, Riveria looked at the three and asked, "Any questions?" Vahn immediately wanted to retort that he had several, but he wasnt able to speak any of his thoughts. The only thing going through his mind was all his previous interactions with girls in the past. He began to realize various things and understood that his actions werent simply strange, they werepletely abnormal. Mustering up what courage he had, Vahn asked, "Is it wrong to be seen n.a.k.e.d by other people?" Remembering all the times he had been nude around others, Vahn began to think he had done something terrible. Riveria seemed to consider his words before Tiona spoke up, "No! It isnt wrong, at least not when the person youre n.a.k.e.d with is someone you like! As long as youre n.a.k.e.d around people you trust, it is okay~!" Vahn seemed a bit relieved after hearing Tionas words, but he still looked toward Riveria who had furrowed her brows slightly. So far, other than some members of the Loki Familia, Vahn had only ever been n.a.k.e.d around the people he trusted. If what Tiona said is true, then it should be fine. Riveria was a bit at a loss of how to answer. Technically, what Tiona said wasnt wrong, but there was definitely a bit of bias in it. Though she didnt mind Vahn having a bit of matters to work through on his own, seeing Ais and Lefiya also listening, she had to try and alter things a bit or it would cause problemster. "Hmm, what Tiona says...isnt wrong. However, it usually requires trust between people to be much higher, especially for members of the opposite s.e.x. Here is an example...Girls typically only bathe with girls, while guys usually only bathe with guys. If guys and girls bathe together, it is usually because they are lovers...though sometimes young siblings and children are exceptions." Riveria thought she exined the matter clearly, but she could see Vahn became confused by her words. "Other than Lefiya, nobody seemed to mind when I had entered theke earlier...But Im not lovers with any of them..." Vahn considered Riverias words and realized, though he wasnt lovers with any of the girls, he did have a bit of trust toward them. He could see they all had clear auras and everyone treated him well. As he had made contact with each girl, even the lowest among them, Lefiya, had an affection level of 71. Vahn guessed it wasnt necessarily wrong, so he felt like a load had been removed from his shoulders. Hearing Vahn mention theke earlier, Lefiya finally s.u.mbed to the pressure and passed out; It almost looked like her soul had escaped from her body. Tiona startedughing awkwardly while making her way to the door, while Ais had a somewhat dazed expression as she was recalling the events. Riveria, seeing the strange reactions of everyone, looking towards Tiona and ordered, "Tiona, exin what this is all about..." "Ahahaha, you see..." Tiona, unable to escape in time, ended up telling the full story to Riveria. She told her about how Vahn had stumbled into the area where they were bathing and she ended up inviting him to join. After getting permission from everyone present, Vahn ended up taking a bath with them and they washed each others backs. Tiona made sure to say that nothing dangerous had happened during the entire scenario. Riveria felt the veins in her temples pulsing slightly as she wanted to beat the amazon girl with her staff. If what Tiona said was true, it wasnt Tione who was the culprit behind this mess, it was Tiona. Riveria wanted to confirm her suspicions, so she turned to Vahn and asked, "Vahn, what made you so curious about all these things. I noticed you had been acting strange since earlier." Hearing the question, Tiona could feel a cold sweat begin pouring down her back. Vahn didnt think there was anything strange about the question, so he answered honestly, "Tiona had given me a kiss when I had left for the Hephaestus Familia camp. Afterward, I felt a lot of strange emotions...and went off to destroy a bunch of things in the forest nearby." As Vahn spoke till this point, he actually realized his actions were very embarrassing. Coughing to relieve some of the tension, Vahn continued, "After that, I wanted to better understand the strange feelings...and that lead to this situation after Tione startedughing at me." While Vahn exined everything, Riveria kept nodding over and over with an angry look on her generally emotionless face. Vahn could see the yellow and purple aura on her body begin to turn slightly hazy and red, but he could tell the emotions werent directed at him as they were orienting towards Tiona who had nearly exited the tent. "Tiona, both you and your sister need toe to see me after this mission is over. I feel like there is a lot we need to talk about." After the lesson was over, Rivera gave some advice to her three students. She told them some things they had to be aware of and exined that, even if they give in and want to experiment with their emotions, they needed to always act reservedly around others. Though it wasnt wrong to be affectionate, it was typically considered inappropriate to perform such acts in public. As she exined, Vahn was listening attentively and trying to match everything she said to his own experiences. Other than a few instances, just as Riveria said, Vahn didnt see anyone acting too affectionate in public. The only exceptions seemed to be when people were on dates or had just experienced an event and were celebrating. As long as he took care to watch how he acted in public, Vahn didnt think his behavior needed much correcting. The entire lesson took nearly half of the three hour period they had to prepare for the mission. Riveria had them leave, as she had many things that still needed her attention. After Vahn, Tiona, Ais, and Lefiya left the tent, Tiona got close to Vahn and asked, "Have you figured anything out now?" Vahn could see the same expectant look on her face from earlier. Considering the affection she had for him, Vahn didnt think it was strange for them to be close to each other. He showed her a gentle smile and said, "There are still a lot of things Im concerned about, but I dont think what has happened is wrong. Now that I know what these feelings mean, I want to try and get used to them in the future. I feel like there arent enough trees on the entire 18th floor if I keep bottling things up." Hearing Vahns words, Tiona began to get excited and got very close to him. "Then, can you try kissing me!?" Vahn was a bit taken aback by her energy, but considering everything that had happened in thest few hours, he decided he owed her a bit. As he had never kissed anyone himself, Vahn awkardly tried cing his arms around Tionas head like she had done so previously. Tionaughed at Vahns mimicry of her actions, then she took his hands and ced them around her waist. "Its better if a man holds a woman by the waist when he kisses her~" Vahn listened to her words and noticed that it did feel much easier to hold her at the back. The springy and warm sensation on his palms made the feelings in his heart bubble up even more than when he had tried to grab around her neck. Tightening his grip a bit, Tiona put her arms around Vahns neck and he bent in and kissed her on the lips. As it was only his second kiss, Vahn didnt try anything outside his own experience. He noticed that, unlike when Tiona had kissed him previously, he was a lot more calm. Though there was still a fuzzy feeling in his head, he felt like he enjoyed the kiss a lot more the second time. As he focused his mind on the sensation, Vahn seemed to lose track of time until a sound came from his right. Ending the kiss, Vahn turned away from the enamored expression of Tiona and saw Lefiya and Ais looking at him. Ais seemed to somewhat upset, as Vahn could see her brows furrowed slightly. Lefiya, on the other hand, seemed to actually be angry at Vahns actions. He noticed her aura was flickering like a me as she looked at him with an usatory look. "Didnt Riveria say to keep that kind of stuff in private!? Y-y-you two need to get a room before you do anything like that!" Staring at the shaking hand of Lefiya, Vahn felt a little annoyed and confused. Right now, the only people around him were the three girls, all of which he had some degree of trust toward. He didnt know why Lefiya seemed so upset over something like a kiss, especially since it was supposed to be a lot milder than being n.a.k.e.d like they all were earlier. Tiona finally broke out of her daze as she looked toward Lefiya with what Vahn could only describe as a mock-angry expression considering the smile on her face. "Leeefiya, why did you have to interrupt." Tiona had noticed that Vahn was beginning to get into the kiss, and she wanted it to continue for much longer. Lefiya, who was just used, shook her head before turning her finger toward Ais. "I wasnt the one who made a noise..." Turning toward Ais, Tiona, who had known her for several years at this point, could see that she was angry. Frowning, she asked, "Whats wrong Ais? Why did you stop us..." Instead of answering her question, Ais walked forward and looked at Vahns face. She continued to stare, and the longer her gazested the more ufortable Tiona felt. She had a bad feeling about the situation. Ais, who had been staring directly at Vahn for a while, spoke,"Kiss...I want to try..." As she spoke the words, a slight blush appeared on her face as both Tiona and Lefiya screamed out at the same time, "Eeeeeeeeeeeh~!?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Trouble,Birth of the Kissing Demon,S.e.x-Ed is Dangerous when misunderstood,Vahns Misunderstanding,Hephaestuss Lamentation) Chapter 100 - Differences

Chapter 100 - Differences

Hearing that Ais wanted to kiss him, Vahn paused for a moment while thinking about his experiences with her. Much like Tiona, he had only known Ais for a short period of time and, in that time, they shared many of the same experiences. They had both dueled him, seen him n.a.k.e.d, bathed with him, and each had rtively high affections for him. Tiona was leading with her 100 affection, but Ais was sitting at 81, which was very high considering the short period they knew each other. Ais was still looking toward him as he was mulling over the thoughts in his mind, almost like she was waiting for his decision. Vahn made eye contact with her and, after considering things, decided there was no reason to refute her. She hadnt done anything to make him dislike her, and ording to what he had learned from Riveria, there shouldnt be any problems. Vahn nodded his head, and Ais walked closer to him before stopping right in front. Off to the side, Tiona stared at the two with stars in her eyes as she held Lefiyas mouth shut. Though she didnt n to let anyone take away Vahn from her, it didnt mean she would prevent him from being with other people. For her, as long as she managed to secure all of Vahns firsts, everything else just increased her prestige and Vahns appeal. Lefiya seemed like she desperately wanted to stop the events that were about to transpire, so Tiona had sealed her mouth shut for the time being. Vahn and Ais stared at each other without either making any movements for a while. Seeing the blushing Ais and her peerlessplexion and doll-like face, Vahn felt the emotions that had been guing himtely begin to build up. She really was a very beautiful girl and, though shecked expressiveness, Vahn thought she seemed to be the kind and gentle type. Well, as long as she wasnt fighting a monster... After a while, Vahn got closer to Ais and reached his hands around her waist. Unlike Tiona, Ais actually wore much more armor than she did in the manga. Though there was a gap near her back, it was somewhat awkward to grab around the ting and leather bandings of the armor. Vahn took a moment to find a better spot to seat his hands as Aiss blush began to grow deeper. Finally, Vahn gave up trying to hug around her waist and just settled in the opening around her back, almost like he was hugging her normally. Once his preparations wereplete, Vahn looked into Aiss eyes and noticed they were slightly watery. Though her expression hadnt changed much, Vahn could see her brows had raised a bit. Slowly leaning his face toward hers, Vahn ovepped his lips with Aiss and gently kissed her. The moment they made contact, Ais tensed up a bit, but as the kiss continued she slowly began to rx. The first thing Vahn noticed during the kiss, was that her lips were both simr but very different to Tionas. They were soft, but they had an extra springiness to them which made his head fuzzy. The next thing he noticed was the fragranceing from her body. Unlike Tiona, who had a somewhat earthly smelling fragrance like fresh greens, Aiss fragrance actually smelled a little like distilled honey. It was a subtle, but almost addicting aroma and it seemed to seep into Vahns mind and settle itself into the fuzzy feelings. Just like when he had kissed Tiona, Vahn lost track of time as he began focusing on the different emotions and sensations building in his mind and body. He enjoyed kissing more than he expected, and it seemed like the longer the kiss went on, the better he felt. Suddenly, Ais began to squirm in his arms and Vahn pulled himself away from her. He could see that her face was red and she was breathing heavily with watery, almost pain-filled eyes. "Air...cant breath." Hearing her words, Vahn felt very awkward and a bit anxious. "Sorry, I got carried away..." Without thinking, he apologized and bowed his head slightly. Ais, who had been trying to recover her breathing, shook her head after hearing his words. "No. It was good...fluffy." Thinking that Vahn was ming himself, Ais tried encouraging him using her thoughts about the experience. As it was her first kiss, she had nked out very simrly to how Vahn did so previously. While she was struggling with all the new emotions inside of her, she forgot to breathe and began to panic slightly towards the end. After she had calmed down, Ais wrapped her arms around Vahn and tried to give him a kiss this time. Before she was able to do so, Lefiya managed to free herself from the somewhat dazed Tiona and shouted. "Noooo~! Ais, you cant!!!" Lefiya immediately pulled Ais away from Vahns grasp, and she gave Lefiya a sad look with her brows furrowed slightly. "Lefiya...you want a kiss too?" Ais thought Lefiya had stopped her, much like she had stopped Tiona previously. Hearing Aiss words, Lefiyas face turned beet red and she began to stutter. "N-n-n-n-n-no way! No way, no how! I cant k-k-k-k-kiss this, this BEAST!!!" Lefiya was iling her arms around trying to deny the question before pointing toward Vahn when she shouted beast. Vahn frowned after hearing her call him a beast, as he doesnt recall doing anything to offend the small elf girl. Tiona had recovered by now and began tough yfully at Lefiyas innocent actions. "Ahahaha, he really is a beast in a way~! Vahn is a kissing-beast that makes a girls heart flutter, isnt that right Ais~?" Tiona knew which aspect Lefiya was talking about, but decided to twist her words a bit to tease her. Hearing Tionas question, Ais paused for a few seconds with her head tilted. After finding an answer, she nodded her head saying, "Nnn, it made my heart beat very fast." As Lefiya listened to Tiona and Ais talk about kissing, she desperately wanted to try and correct them, but she felt like if she tried rifying things she would seem like a pervert. The pressure had been building up in her brain for a while, and the more she tried processing her chaotic thoughts, the closer she felt she was getting to passing out. Lefiya began to feel like today was the worst day of her life when, suddenly and unexpectedly, a handnded on top of her head. All of the thoughts in her mind faded away at the unexpected contact as a gentle warmth began to flow through her head. Just like all the other times she had experienced it, it was a very pleasant feeling, but it also made Lefiya feel terrified at the same time. Turning her head slightly, she could see Vahn looking at her with a concerned expression. "Its okay Lefiya, I wont kiss you. I am not a kissing beast or anything like that." Hearing Vahn mentions the words kissing beast while showing her kindness made Lefiya feel like she wanted to cry. Everyone seemed to be misunderstanding her feelings, but there was nothing she could do to exin it. She had experienced so many ups and downs today, and they were almost all because of Vahn. Lefiya wanted to resent him for inserting himself into her life and making things so chaotic, but no matter how much she tried, she couldnt seem to hate the naive, gentle, strong, and handsome boy. All Lefiya had wanted after joining the Loki Familia was to spend time with her friends and try to get to know Ais better. Now, it seemed like Ais was being taken away from her, and it made Lefiya feel like she was losing something she had never had the chance to obtain. She knew Ais didnt think of her in any strange way, and it was just her own fantasies mixing with reality, but Lefiya still felt very sad at seeing her so affectionate towards another person...especially a handsome boy. Feeling the warmth flowing from the palm, Lefiya could no longer hold back her tears as she dropped to the ground and started crying softly. Vahn continued trying to console her, and the more he did so, the more terrible Lefiya felt. Not because he was being kind to her, but because she couldnt hate him for all the things he had been doing. She could understand why other girls would fall for him as she also felt strange after interacting with him in such a short period of time. Lefiya felt it was very unfair... Suddenly, Lefiya was embraced by a hard, but warm figure. Ais, who had been watching the incident, felt really bad for the crying Lefiya. She felt like she had wronged the girl in some way, but was unable to understand the reason. Instead of trying to figure it out, she decided tofort the crying elf, so Ais kneeled down and embraced her gently. Unfortunately, as Ais was wearing armor, it wasnt a soft embrace, but Lefiya seemed to cheer up almost instantly. After Ais hugged Lefiya, Vahn removed his hand and smiled at the sight. Lefiya had stopped crying a bit, but there were still a few tears in her eyes. Ais, seeing that Vahn had removed his hand, began gently patting the girls head like she was a small animal. "There, there, Lefiya. Dont be sad." Lefiya, hearing her words, turned her body and embraced Ais in return. She snuggled her face into the hard b.r.e.a.s.tte of Ais and treated it like the mostfortable pillow in the world. "I wont be sad anymore Ais. As long as I can be like this for a little bit longer..." In response, Ais just kept patting the girls head and said, "Nn, but not too long." Tiona, seizing the moment when Vahn was free, ended up dragging him away while Ais followed their retreat with her eyes. She seemed to want to say something, but she was busy coaxing the small elf that was dripping snot and tears on her armor. Vahn allowed himself to be dragged away by Tiona as he gave an awkward smile towards the disgruntled Ais. Once they had gotten a far enough distance away, Tiona once again embraced Vahn and quickly gave him a kiss before he could react. It was just a small peck on the lips, and then she immediately pulled away whileughing. "Ahaha~! As expected, a hero has many heroines at his side. Just make sure you always have a ce in your heart for me, okay~?" Though Tiona was acting yfully, Vahn could tell she was very serious when she spoke her words. Vahn nodded his head before giving her a serious response, "I will try, but I dont know much about love and things like that. There are still a lot of things I want to do, but I will do my best as long as I dont make anyone I care about sad..." Tiona beamed after hearing his statement, and then seemed to ponder for a while with her index finger to her chin. "Thats right, there were a bunch of others girls around you at Tsubakis ce. I thought they might be your lovers, but seeing as how you didnt have any experience, that means I am your first, right?" Vahn was very confused, and without thinking, he asked, "Eh? Were lovers?" Vahn knew they had been intimate, but he didnt think they had crossed that line yet. He thought lovers had to have s.e.x or get married. Tiona saw his fl.u.s.tered state and closed the distance between them. She bent forward with her hands behind her back, low enough so that she could look up at Vahns face from below. "Do you not like me, Vahn?" Tiona had a pleasant smile on her face as she asked the question. With how Tiona had approached him and asked her question, Vahn felt a bit nervous and swallowed his saliva. It was true that he didnt dislike Tiona, and he didnt think he would feel so strange if he didnt like her. "I think I do like you..." Vahn slowly spoke the words, almost as if he was testing them on his lips for the first time. After hearing himself, Vahn realized that this was technically his first confession to a girl... Tiona smiled with a smile more radiant than the crystals shining overhead. "Good, because I really really like you~! Since we both like each other, that means we can be lovers, right? You dont have to worry, even if we have a baby it wont interfere with your life. I will do my best to raise it at the vige before Ie back!" Tiona was getting very excited since she felt like she had finally found the hero she had been looking for. Not to mention, the hero was a boy her age and he was both handsome and strong! Vahn felt like he was getting caught up in her excitement. Seeing how happy she was, Vahn didnt think he had enough courage to refuse her. Desperately holding back a sigh, Vahn smiled toward Tiona and said, "Sure, but I think we should take things a bit slower...we are both still young..." Vahn didnt even believe his own words as he spoke, and Tiona seemed topletely ignore them as well. "Ahahaha, you dont have to worry about that Vahn~! My body is perfectly capable of having kids already! Dont underestimate the strength of an Amazon~!" Hearing Tiona repeatedly talking about kids, Vahn began to feel a cold sweat build up on his back. No matter how he thought about it, he didnt think he was ready to be a father...as Vahn had that thought, he felt a peculiar emotion build up in his mind. Frowning, Vahn began to think about various things. He wondered if he had a father, and why he had never heard anything about him. Even his memory of his birth, the only person in the room beside the hospital staff was his mother... Vahn began to realize that, in his mind, he didnt really have any expectations for what a father should be like. Even in the manga he read, most of the main characters either didnt have parents, or they would only have a single parent. Vahn had no idea how to be a father, but he also noticed something bubble up from deep inside him. Recalling what Tiona had said about raising their child away at the Amazon vige, Vahn felt like it was uneptable... Tiona had noticed the grim expression on Vahns face, and she began to feel anxious. "Vahn...is something wrong?" Tiona was worried that she had pressed too hard and made Vahn change his mind about things. Vahn, hearing Tiona call out to him, looked toward her with a firm expression on his face. He slowly spoke the words, "If I have a kid, I wont abandon it. I cant let you take it away to a vige...I just cant!" Vahn felt like, if he let his kids be raised in a ce away from him, he would have failed himself as a person. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lefiyas Confusion,Aiss Competitive Nature,Tiona is sneaky) Chapter 101 - Firm

Chapter 101 - Firm

Hearing Vahns words, Tiona felt a bit of anxiety begin to build inside her. "But, Vahn, all Amazons have to be born back at the vige. It is ourw, our tradition. Every Amazon only gives birth to other Amazons, and if they arent raised properly, the entire n would be up in arms." Tiona could see that Vahn had a very serious expression, and she wanted him to understand she wasnt doing it just to be selfish. Vahn frowned heavily after hearing her words. His brows were low, and he had an angry expression as he spoke, "I refuse. There is no way I can let a group of people Ive never met raise my kid for me. I may not be ready to be a father, but if I let that kind of thing slide, I wouldnt be WORTHY of being a father." Even Vahn didnt know why he was so angry; seeing the somewhat scared and sad expression of Tiona, he wanted to hold back his words, but something inside of him made him unable to do so. Tiona was very concerned about this sudden change, but she also understood where Vahn wasing from. His desire to be a good father wasnt wrong, but it wasnt such an easy matter to deal with since it concerned the differences in their species. Though she didnt mind trying to protect the child with Vahn, she knew there was no way she would be able to keep the child safe from all the Amazons that woulde after them. She would bebeled a traitor to her people and a failure as an Amazon. Vahn could see fear and anxiety in Tionas face, and just like all the previous times, he thought it didnt suit her normally cheerful self. Reaching forward, he pulled Tionas arm and then embraced her. Though she was a bit surprised, Tiona didnt resist and just allowed herself to be held by Vahn. Even though he was smaller than she was, Tiona still felt a bit of security in his embrace. Looking into his eyes, Tiona believed that, if Vahn made the effort, he would be able to protect their child... Staring into her eyes, Vahn could see that Tiona had calmed down a lot. Though she wasnt smiling, he could see a hint of expectation had reced the anxiety that previously clouded her eyes. Vahn mulled over his words before speaking, "If we have kids...I will move to the vige you mentioned previously. Even if I cant be there in person, I will always be nearby if you need me. If I have to, Ill be strong enough to break those traditions that separate families." Vahn hugged Tiona against his body, almost as if he was trying to affirm the promise and make her remember it. Seeing Tiona nod her head, Vahn continued, "But, for now, I want to focus on increasing my strength here, so I dont think I can have children yet. There are a lot of things I want to do...no, things I HAVE to do." Using the same forceful tone as before, Vahn spoke each word with force and conviction. Tiona looked into his eyes and saw his resolve, and it made her feel more secure about the future. As Vahn said, she wasnt really that old, and she also liked fighting alongside everyone in the Loki Familia. She didnt have to rush things, as there was plenty of time for the both of them to mature and be stronger. One day, they may even be able to walk into Telkyura and force Kali to concede and allow them to raise their child away from the vige. Gripping him tightly, Tiona smiled before passionately kissing Vahn. Unlike the tame kisses from before, Tiona put strength into her arms and forcibly kissed Vahns lips. The thought of bing strong enough to break away from the vige made her instincts act up. She became overly excited and, since the person she liked was in front of her, she was unable to control herself. Vahn, who had been focused and serious previously, was now fl.u.s.tered and panicking. The moment Tiona grabbed him, it felt like he had been captured in a vice. As she started kissing him, it wasnt long before she broke through his defenses and began invading the inside of his mouth with her tongue. Vahn was frantic, but he couldnt stop the invasion and was helplessly pushed to the ground with Tionas body on top of his. Tiona had pinned him to the ground with her body, and she continued passionately kissing Vahn. From his perspective, Vahn could see her skin had be flushed and she had a dazed, but hungry, look in her eyes as she continued putting more strength into her grasp. Vahn felt like Tiona was trying to merge her body into his, and his instincts began triggering his danger sense. It felt like, if Vahn couldnt stop her, she would devour his body until there was nothing left. Suddenly, a sh of gold passed through his vision as Tiona was pulled from his body. Since she had been gripping him so fiercely, Vahns body was also pulled forward and he nearly fell to the ground after the fact. Looking upward, Vahn was able to see Ais and Tione holding back the rampaging Tiona. She was iling about and had a fierce look in her eyes as she stared towards Vahn. Failing to free herself from thebined grasp of two Level 5 adventurers, Tiona cried out. "Ais, I dont care if you want him to, but dont stop me when its my moment!!!" Ais frowned and responded without letting loose her grip on Tiona, "Muu, Riveria said in private." Aiss words seemed to have impacted Tiona somewhat as she began looking at her surroundings. There were several adventurers from the Loki and Hephaestus Familia looking at the site with various types of expressions. Some of them had amused looks, while others seemed annoyed at the events that had taken ce. Tiona realized that, because of the words Vahn had spoken to her, she had gotten too excited and attacked him in the middle of the camp. There were more than twenty people in the area that had watched her attack and pin his body to the ground in the middle of the path...This realization made Tionas mind calm down a lot, and now she started blushing for an entirely different reason. Seeing that Tiona has regained her senses, Ais and Tione released her, but Ais still took up a defensive position to block Tiona if she tried to attack Vahn again. Tiona stared toward Ais with a bit of frustration but seeing Vahn kneeling on the ground like he was struggling for air, the most powerful emotion she was feeling was shame. Since she was still much stronger than Vahn, he wasnt able to resist her advances even if he wanted to. If someone hadnt stopped her, she might have ended up forcibly taking Vahns first time, and he might even hate her for it. Bowing her head low, Tiona looked toward Vahn with a sad expression. "Im sorry Vahn...you were just so manly that I couldnt stop myself." Even now, Tiona felt the urge to try and attack Vahn, but she was restrained by the atmosphere and the environment. She was both grateful and vexed at the situation, but she was still concerned with Vahns reaction to everything that had happened. Vahn, seeing her sad look yet again, frowned a bit before mustering up augh. He tried acting like he wasnt bothered by what she did as he said, "Haha, it looks like I need to get stronger. It feels a bit awkward to be on the receiving end of someones affection." Though Vahn had done his best to brush over the matter, Tiona could see that he was still shaken by everything that happened. So as not to deny his efforts, Tiona gave a fake smile of her own as she said, "Be stronger quickly. Next time, I want you to push me down, okay?" After her words, Tiona allowed her sister to take her away from the area. As a fellow Amazon, Tione knew it would take a bit of time for Tiona to calm down. Watching their two retreating figures, Vahn felt like his desire to grow stronger had increased a bit. The previous scene was one of the few times he had actually felt fear in his new life, and all the others were incidents where he had nearly died. Ais, who had been standing in front of him to protect him from Tiona, looked toward him and helped him stand. After thinking for a bit, she said, "Tiona is a good girl. Dont hate her." Ais had known Tiona for a long time, and she was able to understand that her current state was abnormal. Vahn sighed, but afterward, he showed a real smile. "I dont think I can hate her, even if I wanted to. Seeing someone have so much affection toward me, I would feel guilty if I pushed her away. I just need to get stronger and be more reliable..." Ais nodded at his statement before saying herself, "Nnn, you will be strong. It is strange." Ais seemed very sure of what she said, but even she couldnt understand why she believed her own words. "Whats strange?" Vahn asked because, he too, wasnt sure what she was trying to convey. Ais seemed to seriously contemte her next words, as Vahn was able to see a genuine expression on her face. She seemed to be very concerned with what she would say next and had a big frown stered on her face. "You never give up. Even when bad things happen, you always try hard. In the duel, against the Goliath, and now. You always keep trying." After her words finished, Ais looked into Vahns eyes and paused a moment before continuing. "I think you can be stronger than anyone. I want to see it." Vahn could see a hidden passion in Aiss eyes as she continued her words. The small spark made Vahn feel like she had ced some of her hopes in him, and it made him feel courageous, almost like he could aplish anything. Smiling towards her, Vahn felt full of conviction and positive feelings about the future. cing his right hand over the eternal me in his heart, Vahn spoke, putting that conviction into words. "I will be the strongest. No matter what, I will never give up!" As he nearly shouted thest words, Aiss eyes opened slightly as apuse began sounding from the surroundings. Hearing the apuse, Vahn felt incredibly embarrassed as he looked toward the adventurers that were cheering him on. "You can do it kiddo~!", "Thats right, keep fighting, hahahaha!". Several people in the surroundings had been paying attention to the scene since earlier. They were amazed after seeing the passionate Vahn make his deration, and they couldnt help but tease him a bit. Ais saw the crowd and the embarrassed Vahn, so she took his hand before dragging him away from the area. Seeing her actions, the crowd starting cheering even louder as the two disappeared from the central area of the campsite. Ais continued dragging Vahn until they were on the periphery of the camp and away from everyones line of sight. Once they were safe, Ais let go of Vahns hand and stared at him. Vahn, who was still feeling embarrassed, looked towards Ais and thanked her. He could see that she was also blushing slightly as she nodded to ept his thanks. Afterward, they both stood in silence for a while until they had begun to calm down. Vahn released a sigh and plopped down on the ground; it felt like he had been through a lot in thest few hours, and it felt like both his stamina and mental energy had been severely drained. While he was sitting down, Ais seemed to be lost in her thoughts and would periodically look towards Vahn. Though he wanted to ask, considering that Ais was the type to mull things over before speaking, Vahn decided to wait for her. Unfortunately, his patience ended up being a mistake, as the words she finally decided upon nearly drained what little energy he had left. "I want to try it. S.e.x." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Oh shit,Vahn is in danger, quick, sound the rm!,Hephaestuss instincts doing acrobatics in her mind) Chapter 102 - Preparations

Chapter 102 - Preparations

Hearing Aiss words, Vahns mind exploded. He felt like all the energy that had remained in his body spontaneously drained out and he hung his head like a marite that had its strings cut. Ais, who had been watching him, frowned slightly and said in a sad sounding tone, "You dont...like me?" Her words made Vahns brain buzz, and he felt like everything that happened in thest few hours was too much for his mind to handle. In a small voice, Vahn tried to muster a bit of strength as the responded, "But were not lovers or anything...and you are too young..." Ais seemed to agree with what he said, but she said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, "Yes, but, I will be 14 soon. Then we can try." Each word she spoke made Vahn feel like a heavy weight was pressing down on him. He didnt know if he shouldugh or cry because he could tell she was being serious. Vahn looked toward her and asked, "Why me?" Even though he knew her affection had risen to 88 after their earlier kiss, Vahn didnt think he was close enough to Ais for her to go so far. Ais tilted her head sideways in confusion at his words. "Mmm, you are different. Pleasant feelings..." As she spoke, she ced her hands on her chest and closed her eyes. After a while, she looked at Vahn again and said, "I think I can be stronger too..." Seeing the conviction in her eyes, Vahn couldnt help but release a sigh and smile at her. "I believe in you as well; I know you will be much stronger in the future." As Vahn had known the future version of Ais from the manga, he knew she would mature a lot in the next two years as her strength increases. Right now she was barely taller than he was and looked a lot like a young girl, instead of the cool beauty she was in the future. Ais, hearing the certainty in Vahns words, nodded her head and disyed a happy smile. Though it was minutepared to a normal person, Vahn could see she was pleased with what he had said. Returning a smile of his own, Vahn tried rising to his feet since he had recovered a bit of strength. Ais, seeing him try to rise, stepped forward and stopped him from doing so. Being pushed back to the ground, Vahn began having shbacks of his earlier experience with Tiona. Fortunately, Ais didnt throw herself on top of him as he expected. Instead, she sat down next to him and locked eyes before saying, "You are tired. Rest here..." As she spoke, Ais patted her thighs which were covered in a metallic te skirt. Her gauntlets made a thunk-thunk sound as the two pieces of armor collided. Vahn knew she was trying to be kind, but he couldnt help but feel a little apprehensive seeing the hard metal surface covering her thighs. Ais noticed his look and realized her mistake. Standing, she removed the sps that were holding her armor together and revealed a pleated ck skirt underneath. Setting her armor to the side, she sat back down next to Vahn and once again patted her thighs. Unlike the metallic thumping fromst time, it was now a soft a muted noise that sounded much morefortable. Seeing her actions, Vahnughed a little before resting his head on her thighs. Unlike his expectations, Aiss thighs were a bit more muscr than he thought. They were still very soft, but he could feel the tension of the muscles on the back of his head. Hey there, enjoying the strange sensations as he looked toward Ais. As he had beenying with his head facing upward, Ais was looking down on him with a nk expression. Seeing that he wasnt properly rxing, Ais remoted the gauntlet on her hand and ced it on his forehead. "Sleep. I will wake you when its time." She continued stroking her hand along his head, and Vahn felt a mild blush touch his cheeks as he felt she was treating him like Lefiya. Instead of the normal patting, the way Ais touched people almost seemed like she was petting them. Vahn almost wanted tough, but he managed to hold it back as he tried rxing. Closing his eyes, he just enjoyed the moment and tried to focus on recovering his energy. --- Though nearly twenty minutes had passed, Vahn was unable to fall asleep on Aissp. Though he had originally been focusing on recovering, the longer heid there, the more distracted he became. The awkward patting of Ais began to be more pleasant feeling, while the sensation on the back of his head made his heart begin to beat at a faster pace. The most problematic thing though was the honey-like smell that came from Aiss body. The longer hey on herp, the more aware he became of the smell and it began to make his mind start to feel numb as a feeling of anxiety welled up in his temples. Vahn felt like, ever since the first kiss with Tiona this morning, his emotions had been entirely out of whack. Though the lesson from Riveria was very insightful, it now made Vahn overly conscious of everything that was happening when he was in contact with a girl. He felt like, the previous him, would have beenfortably enjoying ap pillow, much like he had been in every other situation prior. But now, instead of beingfortable, it made him feel anxious and excited. Ais had noticed he was still awake, so she spoke out, "Cant sleep? Ufortable?" She felt sad after thinking Vahn was dissatisfied with her attempts to help him rx. Vahn shook his head slightly before opening his eyes and seeing her sad expression. He didnt want her to misunderstand, so he exined what he was feeling. "Its not ufortable, but I dont think I can sleep easily either. My mind is too focused on the feeling of your thighs, the touch of your hand, and the smelling from your body." The first part of Vahns words made Ais feel fluttery in her chest, but when he continued to thest part she couldnt help but frown."Do I stink? I took a bath..." As she asked the question, Ais couldnt help but sniff at her own body a bit. To her, the only thing she could smell was the soap they had used to wash with. Vahn shook his head again before trying to exin, "No, its not a stench, it is more like a pleasant smell that makes my body get excited." After his rification, Ais nodded with a small smile on her lips; she was d she didnt stink and that Vahn found her smell pleasant. Curious, she bent forward and began to smell his body to see if she could catch his scent as well. Vahn, seeing Ais bend forward, became a bit fl.u.s.tered. It felt like Ais was about to bury his face into her b.r.e.a.s.tte, but fortunately, she stopped before he made contact with the cold metal. Vahn noticed she began to smell him, and he started feeling very nervous... "Do...do I stink?" Vahn asked the words and began thinking back to all the previous incidents where girls seemed to smell his body. He wondered if he smelled bad, and recalled that he used to have issues with hygiene in the past. Ais shook her head before looking into his face and saying, "No...it smells strange, but I dont dislike it. It smells like you?" Ais didnt seem to understand how to express the words. After a while, she just nodded her head and said, "It smells good." Vahn gave an awkwardugh for a few moments before releasing a sigh. He was d he didnt smell bad, but it made all the times when girls were sniffing him seem more awkward. Both Lili and Naaza often took care of hisundry, and Vahn had, on asion, caught them smelling the dirty garments. He didnt think anything of it at the time, but now he understood that girls seemed susceptible to his aroma, just like his mind seemed to be influenced by Aiss. Apparently still curious, Ais bent forward and continued to smell Vahns body, but before she was able to do so for long, he quickly escaped from thep pillow. Knowing that she found his smell to be good, Vahn felt incredibly awkward just letting her sniff him. He felt like, if he remained in that situation for too long, any benefits he gained from resting would be entirely wasted. Ais stared at Vahn who had jumped away from her body so quickly. She wondered if her actions were a bit weird, but before she asked, Vahn began waving his hands back-and-forth. "Dont worry about it Ais, Im just going to clear my head a bit and try to meditate a bit to recover my energy. If I stay on yourp any longer, I feel like my efforts to rest would be lost due to my excitement." Vahn disliked when his actions made the girls upset, and seeing how Ais has so few expressions, he didnt want any of them to be sad. Ais nodded at his words before standing up herself. After re-attaching her armor, she turned toward Vahn and stared at his face, or somewhere slightly below his face. Realizing what she was looking at, Vahn felt his tensions rise a bit, but he decided to take the initiative as she seemed to be thinking to herself. Closing the distance, Ais made eye contact with him before opening her arms slightly. Vahn reached his hands around her body and gave her a gentle kiss. He continued to do so for a few seconds before pulling away after what he thought was an appropriate amount of time. Seeing the watery look in Aiss eyes, Vahn couldnt help but ask, "How was it?" Ais, who had been somewhat dazed, blushed a bit before she looked at him. "Nnn, it was good." After that, she separated from Vahn and began to head toward the center of camp. Taking a few steps, she stopped and looked at Vahn who had been watching her departure. "It was better than thest time." With those final words, Ais turned and quickly walked away from the area. After she hadpletely disappeared, Vahn let himself fall backwards onto the grassy ground below. Once again, he felt like all of his energy was drained as he looked toward the shining crystals of the ceiling. He didnt know dealing with girls was so mentally and physically taxing, but at least he was able to increase Aiss affection to 90 after their second kiss. She was now one of the people with the highest affection towards Vahn, and it made him feel a mixture of emotions including happiness. In his reflection, Vahn felt like there were going to be a lot of difficult situations like this in the future, and he began to worry if his body and mind would be able to hold out. He began to worry if there were any other girls that liked him, and Vahn began to seriously consider how he would deal with them in the future. ording to Riveria, it wasnt umon for people to have multiple partners, but Vahn felt like he wasnt even capable of dealing with Tiona and Ais, much less other girls. Remembering Aiss words and her interest in s.e.x, Vahn began to feel both anticipation and dread for the future. "I should have asked when her birthday is..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: The future is scary,Tiona smash,Thunk-Thunk) Chapter 103 - Operation Start

Chapter 103 - Operation Start

Vahn felt something poking at his cheek, and he was slowly awakened from his unconscious state. While he was worrying about the future, he had finally managed to fall asleep and get some rest. Opening his eyes, Vahn froze up a bit as he saw Tiona smiling at him while poking his cheek. "Wake up sleepy head. Its time for us to go~" Tiona no longer had her amorous, and mad appearance, from earlier. Instead, she had returned to her normal and cheerful state which allowed Vahns body to rx a bit. epting the hand she had offered, Vahn was raised to his feet and noticed that all the tents that were previously in the area had vanished. Now there was arge group of people being briefed and split into groups as they made their way toward the stairs. "Were you able to rest any?" Tiona, who was standing to his right, seemed to be overly concerned about the state of his body. Since she was unable to control herself earlier, she worried she may have injured Vahn. Vahn stretched his body before smiling toward her. "I feel great. Turns out I just needed a bit of rest after being high-strung for so long." Tiona nodded and showed a cheerful smile, and just as she was about to say something, Vahn ced his hand on her head. "Dont worry about it Tiona, I dont me you for anything. Id rather we put everything behind us and look toward the future from now on." Vahn had noticed she was acting down, and he wanted to cheer her up a bit. Tiona rubbed her hair against his palm and let out a satisfiedugh as she nestled herself closer toward him. Vahn didnt shy away from her affection, but he could see people giving them stares from the distance. Amongst the group of onlookers, Vahn saw Finn sighing with his hand on his forehead. Next to Finn, Riveria and Ais both looked over with their nk expressions, while Lefiya seemed to have calmed down a lot as she looked toward him with a small smile on her face. Though everyone had different reactions, there was one person who seemed to be genuinely upset by the show of affection. Bete, who was standing amongst the elite members of the Loki Familia, looked at Vahn with a re and a grimace. "You two gonna keep acting like idiots, or are you ready to do some actual work?" Tiona, who had been enjoying the moment, looked at Bete with a fierce expression. Ais also seemed offended as she muttered in a low and cold voice. "Jerk." Betes hair seemed to rise a bit as his expression turned very sour. It looked like he had just swallowed a bug, but instead of saying anything, he just red toward Vahn with a dark expression in his eyes. "Really, a manly man. Hiding behind women suits you..." He spoke the words in a cruel and condescending manner which caused Vahn to frown deeply. Vahn didnt know what Bete had against him; there hadnt been anything between them, but Bete seemed adamant about trying to pick a fight with him. Looking directly into Betes face, Vahn asked, "What do you have against me? I have never done anything to you." Even if it was his normal personality, Vahn was dissatisfied with themon poor treatment he received from Bete. Hearing Vahns question, Bete smiled and said snidely, "It is because youre weak, yet you have people building expectations for you. Without strength, what can you do!? How can you protect anyone!?" Betes voice cracked a bit as he shouted out. Vahn hadnt known at the time, but Bete had lost most of the people he cared about due to his own selfishness and weakness. Nearly three years prior, Bete had been the Captain of the Vidar Familia. After he had obtained level 3 and became confident in his strength, he left the City to seek revenge against a fierce monster that had wiped out his n. Unfortunately, when he should have returned back to the City in glory, he was instead met with tragedy. The majority of his Familia had been killed or injured while on an expedition, and to make matters worse, his Vice-Captain and lover had also died. Devastated, Bete spent the next few months squandering away all of his money while wasting away in pubs. It wasnt until he had picked a fight with Finn and Gareth in a drunken stupor that he was torn away from his cycle of self-destruction. After those events, Betes personality had changed a great deal. He was now focused entirely on increasing his strength, and whenever he saw those weaker than him, especially other males, he became irritated seeing howcent they were. He couldnt tolerate how they went about seemingly without a care, unaware that a single moment of carelessness could cost them everything they loved. Though Vahn didnt understand the reason, he could see Betes aura fluctuate as a deep blue color began to spread until it epassed the green that had been present till now. He understood that, though Bete was trying to hide it behind his anger, he was suffering inside as heshed out at Vahn. It was very frustrating seeing howplex people could be, but he still didnt think Bete had any right to take out his emotions on him. Staring into the light-grey, pain-filled eyes of Bete, Vahn spoke, "Two years." Bete frowned after hearing the low voice of Vahn. He screamed out, "What two years, huh!?" Vahn held the eye-contact as he continued in a firm voice, "In two years, I will prove to you that I am not the weakling you think. I will be stronger than you, strong enough to protect everything! Just because you failed, doesnt mean I will fail!" The longer Vahn spoke, the more his emotions began to build, so by the end of his words, he had practically shouted. Bete gnashed his teeth and looked like he was about to charge at Vahn. He had anger in his eyes and the onlookers thought he wanted to tear the brave dark-haired boy apart. Ais, Tiona, and Tione became alert and prepared to intercept if he tried to attack. However, contrary to expectations, Bete spoke through clenched teeth, "Dont f.u.c.k it up." With those parting words, Bete spit onto the ground and went to stand next to Gareth. The moment he stood next to him, Gareth reached his hand over and patted Bete on the shoulder with a proud look on his face. Bete saw the look and clicked his tongue as he looked away from everyone. As nobody had expected Bete to suddenly stand down, there was a moment of silence among the entire group until Gareth loudly harumphed. Finn, who was also among the stunned onlookers, immediately pped his hands to get everyones attention. "Okay, its time for us to move out. We dont have long to get everything set up, so we need to make haste to the 14th floor. Everyone keep your wits about you and stay safe." Everyone in the area nodded toward Finn while some made small cheers and tried to psyche themselves up. Vahn could see that the morale of the group was actually pretty low, as most people had little to no confidence when it came to fighting something like a Juggernaut. Vahn wanted to do something to change the atmosphere, so he let his domain expand until it covered the majority of the expedition party. Most people didnt notice, but he got a few curious looks from some within the crowd. The one who was most interested was obviously Riveria, as she began to wonder what he was trying to do this time. Reaching out his hands, Vahn tried channeling his [Hands of Nirvana] and infusing the effects into the domain. As he had been able to infuse almost all of his previous skills, Vahn was hoping he would be able to do so this time as well. The gentle white light in his palms slowly dispersed as an almost imperceptible wave passed through the crowd. Suddenly, everyone felt warm energy prating their bodies, and all of their anxieties were slowly dissipating. Looking toward the boy who was standing with his arms outstretched toward them, they realized he was trying to help cheer everyone up. Some of the people in the crowd recognized Vahn from the earlier events, while others knew about him from the images that had circted in the Hephaestus Familia recently. Vahn noticed his attempt was a sess, so he began trying to infuse the energy with greater efficiency this time around. The white light began to spread from his palms, as some people in the crowd began to get riled up due to his efforts. Some of them beganughing while others looked toward theirrades and saw the conviction in each others eyes. Nobody wanted to die, but it didnt mean they had to go into the situation expecting to. Seeing such a small boy working so hard was a powerful motivation for a lot of the veteran adventurers. Finn gave Vahn an appreciative smile as he loudly shouted out, "Lets go kill ourselves a Juggernaut! Nothing can stop us if we work together~!" This time, instead of a dismissive acknowledgment of his orders, everyone in the camp loudly cheered, "Oooooooou~! Kill the Juggernaut!!" They loudly began making their way toward the stairs in much higher spirits. Tiona, who had been standing next to Vahn, gave him a hug from behind andughed in his ears. "Ahahaha, you really are a hero~! Just a casual wave of your hands and everyone became so much braver!" Feeling Tiona on his back, Vahn noticed there was a soft, yet very subtle-feeling pressing into him. His emotions began to rise a bit as a notification sounded in his mind. //[Hands of Nirvana] increased to rank: B// Suddenly, the light glow from his hands intensified as his emotions seemed to be conveyed into the area of his domain. Apanying the healing light, now people felt an excitement begin to well up inside of them. They began to cheer even louder, and Vahn felt like the entire atmosphere began to shift toward a peculiar direction. Tiona, who had been leaning on his back began tough out loud as she gave Vahn a big kiss on his cheek. Releasing his neck, she lifted up the huge weapon she had left on the side and hefted it onto her shoulder. "Lets go, lets go~! Onwards to victory~!!" Tiona was in incredibly high spirits as she iled her left arm about and practically danced while following along with the marching party. Vahn was in a slight daze as he watched her figure, and it wasnt until the main group of the Loki Familia passed by him that he snapped out of it. Ais approached him and stared at the light emitting from his hands. Reaching out her own, she traced her fingers through the light before she issued a small smile on her face. "It is a good feeling. Is this what you used on Lefiya?" Hearing Ais mention her name, Lefiya, who was standing behind her began to blush after recalling the earlier events. She had been the first to notice that the light was what had healed her earlier, but hearing Ais mention things made her blush slightly. Vahn nodded his head at Aiss question which prompted her to grab his hand and ce it on top of her head. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth slightly as she enjoyed the sensationing from his palms. "Nnn, it is veryfortable." Vahn was shocked at her actions, and his energy fluctuated a bit and almost dispersed. Sensing his struggles, Ais blushed a bit before removing his hand. She began to follow along with the rest of the group before looking back toward Vahn. "Lets go Vahn..." She extended her hand out and Vahn walked forward to grab it. Ais had only intended to motion for him to follow, but seeing Vahn grab her hand and feeling the warm energy, she decided to keep her mouth shut. She walked alongside Vahn as they trailed slightly behind the main group. Lefiya, who was not much further behind them had a befuddled expression and looked like she was suffering from conflicting emotions. Vahn and Ais noticed the writing elf, and after a brief hesitation, Ais extended her other hand. "Lefiya,e..." Lefiya, who had been losing herself in her own delusions, immediately snapped out of it. Seeing the extended hand, her face beamed and a slight blush appeared on her cheeks. She quickly closed the distance and grabbed the outstretched hand. She now had a content smile on her face as she walked side-by-side with Ais...and Vahn. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hand holding? Lewd!,The Lonely Elf,Will of the Emperor is bae) Chapter 104 - Juggernaut Subjugation(1/2)

Chapter 104 - Juggernaut Subjugation(1/2)

Though Vahn enjoyed walking alongside Ais (and Lefiya), it wasnt long before the happy atmosphere began to fade. By the time they had reached the stairs, even with Vahns domain, the mood was beginning to turn grim. When they made it past the Wall of Grief, the site where Vahn had recently in the Goliath, everyone had solemn expressions. However, after Vahn inspected them, he noticed they werent expressions of helplessness, but conviction and determination. Due to the nature of the 17th floor, it eventually came time for Vahn to release Aiss hand or else it would be difficult traversing through the dungeon. The atmosphere had influenced him as well, and Vahn continued forward without speaking much. Along the way, there were a few monsters that spawned, but they were all instantly annihted by the vanguard. Each sessive kill seemed to increase the atmosphere a bit, so Vahn was thankful for the dungeons cooperation. The group made fast progress through the 17th floor and arrived in the corridor before the stairs that led to the upper floors. Everyone began to break off into their assigned groups, so Vahn had to move ahead of the majority and stand amongst Tiona, Tione, and Riveria. Lefiya ended up joining as well, while Ais continued forward and joined the advance group. Seeing the small party of adventurers, Vahn felt slightly concerned. Ais was still just a very small girl and watching her join the team that was expected to draw the attention of the Juggernaut, Vahn couldnt help but feel worried. Vahn noticed that the sword Ais was carrying wasnt of a very high quality, even though the materials it was made of were very sturdy. Remembering that she seemed to destroy her weaponsmonly in the manga, Vahn made his determination and ran up to the vanguard group. Seeing his approach, Finn frowned slightly before saying, "Vahn, I know you are strong, but it would be very difficult for you to fight against the Juggernaut. You should stay with the second group and provide support with your unique skills." Shaking his head, Vahn ignored Finn and walked up to Ais. Pulling out his tamahagane sword from his inventory, Vahn selected the gift function with Ais as the recipient. As he had just recently got her affection to 90, he was able to gift her a single item per month. "Ais, take this with you. It should be much stronger than your current sword." Seeing the concern in his eyes, Ais smiled and received the sword. She was shocked when she felt how light it was, so she gave it a few practice swings and was amazed at how easy therge de was to handle. Finn also noticed the unique quality of the de and asked if he could take a look at it. Vahn tried to stop him, but Ais had handed it over without thinking. The moment Finns hand made contact with the handle, the de jerked away and spun until it had stuck into the wall of the dungeon. Finn stared in shock at the disy before he turned toward Vahn with a questioning look on his face. Vahn said inly, "The items I have are made with a special technique, and they can only be used by myself and those I gift them to. Right now the sword belongs to Ais, and nobody else can touch it." Finn seemed surprised by the im as Ais walked over and grabbed the sword from the wall. Vahn quickly exined its uses, "The de has an enchantment that greatly increases its sharpness while reducing the weight. It might be a bit awkward at first, but I think it is very suitable for your style ofbat." Hearing his words, Ais focused her energy into the de and saw the runes begin to glow. By the time they had spread across the body of the de, she noticed that the weight had almost disappeared. Ais had the biggest smile on her face that Vahn had ever seen. It was almost like her eyes were glowing as she marveled at the swords capabilities. Turning towards Vahn, Ais stepped forward and in front of the entire gawking crowd, she kissed Vahn. She held the kiss for a few seconds before pulling away and saying, "Thank you Vahn." She then separated from him and started practicing using the sword a bit away from everyone else. Finn, who had been unaware of the progress that had been made between Vahn and Ais recently stared between the two of him as if he had just witnessed the most unbelievable scene in the world. After a while, when he finally managed topose himself, he looked toward Vahn and said, "I thought you would end up with Tiona...I never expected Ais to fall for you as well. It hasnt even been a day..." As he spoke thest words, Finn just shook his head and sighed. Motioning towards Gareth, who was giving Vahn a thumbs up, Finn began to lead the fuming Bete and the excited Ais away. Before she had joined them, Ais removed the sword from her hip and ran over to give it to Vahn. "Here, just in case." Vahn received the sword with a smile before watching her join the rest of the Vanguard team. Seeing her happily move away while carrying his tamahagane de made Vahn feel a little less worried about what would happen. Rejoining the ambush party, Vahn noticed that Tiona was looking toward him with a smile on her face. Once he got near, she closed the distance before saying, "I am really jealous she got a gift before me~ Make sure you remember that forter, okay~?" Though she was acting mad, Vahn noticed she was very happy for some reason. He decided to ask her, "You seem very happy?" Tionaughed cheekily before saying, "Thats because I realized youre the type that worries about people, even if they are stronger than you. It makes me happy knowing you look at us like girls, instead of just strong warriors. It was my dream to be treated like a princess, ya know~?" Vahn noticed that she mentioned was, so he once again spoke. "Was? Why not anymore?" The smile on Tionas face froze a little as a small amount of mncholy appeared, very briefly, in her eyes before fading away. "I learned when I was very young that you cant always wait for a prince toe and save you. Now, Ive be much stronger than I was then...so I guess it just kinda faded away naturally~?" Tiona spoke in a chipper tone, but Vahn understood she was having sad thoughts as he could see her aura flicker slightly with a bluish hue. Vahn reached out his hand to ce it on her hair, but before he finished the motion, he changed the trajectory of his hand and ced it on her cheek instead. Tiona stared at him with wide-eyes as Vahn gently stroked her cheek and passed his fingers through her hair in an affectionate manner. "I may not be able to do so now, but I will try to treat you like a princess in the future. Dont be sad, okay?" A red hue began to appear on Tionas face as her eyes began to slowly build up moisture. Vahn could feel his instincts begin to trigger, and he realized he may have pushed his actions a little too far. Luckily, since everyone seemed to be interested in what Vahn was going to do, Tione had stepped in after noticing the change in her sister. "Alright you two, break it up! We dont have time for your lovey-dovey stuff right now. Stay focused!" Tiona was dragged away by Tione as she stared at Vahn with a somewhat heated expression on her face. Fortunately, she hadnt lost her mind like earlier as she allowed herself to be pulled away without resisting. Vahn just stood there watching as a voice sounded out from his left. "You cheater..." Vahn turned his head and saw Lefiya ring at him while standing next to Riveria who had a slightly exasperated expression on her face. Seeing Vahn look over, Riveria said, "Vahn, the dungeon isnt the ce to pick up girls. Flirt when you get back to town, we have a mission to do." Riveria began giving orders to the ambush team and the group made their way to the area outside the 13th floor. The garrison group split off from the main party and went to their designated area on the 14th floor. Eventually, Vahns group had caught up and he was able to see the vanguard party acknowledge their presence before entering the 13th floor proper. The ambush group waited outside the door as Riveria listened for the sounds ofbat. Everyone remained absolutely silent as they were waiting for the signal to enter the floor. The vanguard was charged with drawing the attention of the Juggernaut before pulling it away if necessary. In the time they were engaging the creature, the ambush group would move to their assigned spot on the 13th floor, an area that connected to the 14th floor through a series of holes. Twenty minutes of soul-crushing silenceter, the group was able to feel the reverberations of the dungeon. Riverias ears twitched slightly as she signaled to the 22 members of the ambush party. "Lets move, we dont have a lot of time!" Before her words even finished, Riveria began leading the charge into the 13th floor. Following closely behind her were Tiona and Tione, while Vahn ran alongside Lefiya slightly ahead of the rest of the group. While they were running, Vahn noticed that Lefiya was holding her staff so tightly that her fingers were turning white. She had a fearful expression on her face, and she looked somewhat out of ce amongst all the older adventurers in the party. As she was only 12, Lefiya was the youngest person in the entire group. Though she had the option to join the garrison party, she had resolved herself to join the ambush team so she could be of use. Though attack magic wouldnt work on the Juggernaut, Lefiya was also a capable healer and could case various buffs with the support of her unique skill [Elf Ring]. (A/N: Elf Ring lets Lefiya use ANY elven magic, as long as she knows the chant. Because of this, she is known as the Thousand-Elf in the canon.) Vahn felt Lefiya was very brave, but it was somewhat pitiful to see her current appearance. Without notice, he reached out his hand and channeled the strongest version of [Hands of Nirvana] he could while cing his hand on her shoulder. Lefiya startled a bit at the contact, but after seeing it was Vahn, she actually felt a little relieved. Feeling the calming and warm energies enter her body, the fear that had begun to settle in her mind was rapidly chased away. After a few seconds, Lefiya blushed slightly before knocking Vahns hand away. She continued to run in silence without making eye contact for a few seconds before whispering in a low voice. "Thank you..." Vahn was still paying attention to Lefiya, so even though she spoke the words very quietly, he was able to hear her. Smiling, Vahn said, "You are very brave Lefiya, but dont try too hard. If things get dangerous, I will try to protect you." Lefiya gave Vahn a sideways nce before sighing in an exasperated manner. She gave Vahn a strange look and asked directly, "Dont tell me you arent satisfied with Ais and Tiona, now youre aiming for me as well?" Vahn hadnt expected the sudden words, and he nearly lost his footing on the uneven ground of the dungeon. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Cant a guy be nice to a girl without bad intentions?,Where is the Juggernaut!?,Is it wrong to pick up girls in a dungeon? Probably.,Vahn creating future troubles with his handsy hands) Chapter 105 - Juggernaut Subjugation(2/2)

Chapter 105 - Juggernaut Subjugation(2/2)

Vahn found his footing before he looked at Lefiya, who had still been staring at him with her usatory look. Seeing her expression, Vahn felt like something in the back of his mind was sinking and he thought anything he might say would just sound like an excuse. "Sorry...I just dont like to see people sad." Lefiyas expression softened a bit at his words, but it wasnt long before her brows furrowed again. "So why is it that all the people you try to fort happen to be girls? Im sure there are plenty of men and women in the rest of the group that could use your support." Lefiya emphasized the important words as she continued to stare at his fl.u.s.tered appearance. Vahn was actually considering her words, and turning his head, he was able to see a number of people that were also worried or scared. Vahn noticed that Lefiya wasnt entirely wrong in her im, and he had actually been focusing more on the characters he knew from the story instead of the entire group as a whole. Realizing his mistake, Vahn frowned and began channeling his [Hands of Nirvana] into his domain with his maximum effort. A gentle, almost imperceptible white aura began to permeate throughout the corridor. The adventurers behind felt all of their stamina recovering, as the dark shadows that had begun to creep their way into their hearts were diffused by the warm energy. Lefiya noticed Vahns actions and sighed even deeper than she did previously. In a quiet voice, she muttered in a manner that even Vahn wasnt able to hear. "I see, youre just an idiot..." Lefiya thought Vahn was the type to just mislead and chase after women, but recalling all the experiences she had with him up till this point, she realized he was just ignorant regarding a lot of things. He seemedpletely devoid of a lot of themon-sense possessed by normal people. Even she, who had grown up in a somewhat sheltered environment, had more awareness than he did. Lefiya felt like, in a lot of ways, Vahn was just a child. Even when he had entered the bath with them earlier, he seemed to bepletely immune to the presence of n.a.k.e.d women around him. It wasnt until Tiona kissed him afterward that he began to question his actions. She began to wonder what kind of life a person would have to live to be so devoid ofmon social skills. In a way, she even began to feel pity for Vahn...she felt like, if someone had tried to take advantage of his apparent kindness, he would have suffered a lot if he hadnt met Tiona and Ais first. Vahn continued channeling his [Hands of Nirvana] until the group arrived at their setup location. They could hear the sounds of fighting nearby, and the reverberations of the powerful attacks were shaking the very dungeon itself. The party split into small groups and began forming a concave formation surrounding the corridor that the vanguard would be pulling the Juggernaut through. Tensions began to rise as everyone prepared various long-range weapons and defensive spells. Vahn was assigned the role of acting as a support unit, so he was at the back of the group with Lefiya and Riveria. Tione and Tiona waited at the nks near the corridors entrance and were preparing to blindside the Juggernaut the moment it entered the room. Riveria began chanting a powerful one-way defensive magic that would be able to protect the party while still allowing them to attack. She then began chanting various area-of-effect buffs while targeting the various adventurers in the group. Lefiya, who was also supposed to be using support magic, looked toward Vahn before she performed her duties. "Vahn, no matter what, make sure you survive. Not just here, but no matter what happens in the future." Lefiya, like Tiona, believed that Vahn had the makings of a hero. His naive personality,bined with his desire to grow stronger and protect others, meant that, as long as he was able to survive, he would likely save countless lives in the future. Even if his rtionship with Ais bothered her, she didnt want him to die just because he was currently weak. Vahn gave a bright smile toward Lefiya as his form rapidly changed into that of his Bih transformation. "Thank you Lefiya. I promise I will survive." Vahn then pulled out his bow and knocked a mithril arrow onto the string. Lefiya was a bit surprised seeing his transformation up close, even though she had seen it during his previous fight. The transformation seemed to enhance his features a bit and gave him a wild aura and a confident demeanor. It was almost like, with his physical transformation, his mentality also underwent a drastic change. "Lefiya, I need your help with the preparations. We are short on time." Riveria was slowly beginning to be annoyed with how Vahn seemed to distract all the girls in the party since his arrival. She agreed that he had some fascinating aspects to him, but she didnt expect him to so drastically influence experienced adventurers. She felt like, if she hadnt said anything, she would have had to buff the entire party on her own while Lefiya just stared toward Vahn. Lefiya jumped after hearing the cold words of Riveria. She began to quickly cast her buff magic on the groups starting from the left, the opposite side of where Riveria had started. Within a few minutes, everyone was ready and the shaking of the dungeon grew in intensity. At this point, the ambush party could feel the individual explosions of the attacks and the powerful impacts that resulted from the collisions. A few momentster, Ais exited from the corridor, and everyone could see she was slightly covered in blood with a few bruises. Vahn, seeing her state, almost ran out to help her, but Riveria shouted, "Wait, Vahn. Stick to the n or youll only make things worse!" Riveriasmand was sharp, and the words seemed to cut straight into him, making Vahn unable to move forward. Moments after Aiss appearance, Bete and Finn also exited the corridor in a somewhat worse-for-wear state. Finn was marginally less injured, and he immediately shouted out to the ambush party, "Prepare yourselves!" After his shout, Finn spun around and held his spear low to the ground while waiting for the thundering creature to make its appearance. Bete and Ais retreated and began applying potions to their wounds so they could rejoin the fight. After another twenty seconds, a somewhat small figure cameunching out of corridor at a fast speed. Sliding about 15m, Vahn recognized the figure as Gareth, who was in a much worse state than everyone that previously appeared. Almost immediately after Gareth wasunched into the room, an incredibly fast moving monster emerged from the corridor. Vahn immediately recognized it as the 10m long, skeletal, Juggernaut. Like before, it was missing half of its face, and it now seemed to be covered in a variety of other wounds. The atmosphere in the room became intense in an instant as the two amazon sisters immediately attack from the sides of the creature. Tiona, wielding her massive Urga,nded a powerful blow into the torso of the Juggernaut, while her sister, Tione, tried to sever ones of its seemingly frail-looking limbs. Unfortunately, almost as if to make a mockery of the fierce attacks, Tiones daggers barely left a scratch on the thin arms, while Tionas Urga only knocked the Juggernaut into the ground while leaving a small crack on its shell. Finn tried to use the moment when it was pressed to the ground to impale its head with his spear, but the de only prated a few inches before the Juggernaut iled and sent him flying with its spinning motion. Using its incredible speed, the Juggernaut tried to attack toward the nearby Tiona, but it was awarded for its efforts by a powerful body m by Gareth. Though he hadnt fully recovered yet, Gareth wasnt the type to stand by and watch hispanions get injured. The Juggernaut sent Gareth flying as Tiona opened up the distance and tried to lose its aggro. At this point, there was nobody around the Juggernaut, so a barrage of attacks from the ambush party came raining in on it. Though they were predominately ineffective, there were a few lucky attacks that managed to leave light wounds on the creature. Vahn had also loosed an arrow toward the remaining eye of the Juggernaut, but there seemed to be a strange force preventing it from prating the eye-socket. Screaming in rage, the Juggernaut released a powerful aura that knocked many of the projectiles from the sky. Almost as if had realized something in the attack, the Juggernaut turned its gaze before leaning forward in a crouching position. The arrow that had almost prated its eye reminded it of a previous encounter, and it turned towards the source and saw the enemy that had escaped it previously. A hazy steam began to build up around the Juggernaut as it began to enter a berserker state. At the end of its vision, Vahn suddenly felt as if he had been gripped by an imaginary force. The moment his arrow hadnded, it was almost like the Juggernaut had locked onto him amongst all the adventurers present. He could see a seething hatred in its eye as his instincts began ringing rms in his head. Vahns pupils shrunk to the size of pinholes as the figure of the Juggernaut began elerating toward him in slow motion. Unfortunately, no matter how slow the Juggernaut seemed to be moving, Vahns body didnt seem to be listening to him. He stood there in the motion of just have loosed an arrow as the Juggernauts figure began to approach. All the sounds in the area seemed to be muted as the colors started fading from the vision he was seeing. The only thought passing through Vahns mind was that of his impending death. As the enraged Juggernaut lurched forward to attack, it mmed heavily into the shield Riveria had formed to protect the ambush party. She began to frown as she continued channeling her mana to sustain the shield. Finn, who had seen the strange actions of the Juggernaut, was incredibly confused by the turn of events. Though monsters sometimes disyed intelligence, Finn had never seen onepletely ignore the people close to it and try to eliminate the weaker opponents first. Jumping to attack the enraged creature, Finn tried to follow its gaze and noticed that it seemed entirely focused on Vahn who was standing behind the rest of the party with Riveria and Lefiya. Finn thought, ("Could the Juggernaut remember Vahn having escaped its grasp previously? But, even if that was the case, there is no reason for it to act in such a ferocious manner..."). Suddenly, Finn remembered the green arrow that had collided against the shadowy substance of the Juggernauts eye. Seeing the bow in Vahns hand, Finn realized it must have be enraged after nearly losing its only remaining eye. Seeing the Juggernaut smash into the shield, Vahn was finally broken from the spell he was under. The moment of his demise that he had anticipated never came, and now he was able to see the Juggernaut smashing its ws into the shield in a rage. Finn, Tiona, Tione, Gareth, and Ais all began attacking its exposed back with heavy attacks. However, the Juggernaut just iled and pushed them away with its arms and legs as it continued trying to destroy the barrier. The only thing on its feeble mind was destroying the ursed boy that had destroyed half of its face. Riverias shield began showing cracks, but Lefiya began chanting a spell that enforced its structure. Every time new cracks would appear, they would rapidly heal which caused the Juggernaut to rage even more. Vahn, believing the barrier may not hold, repositioned himself behind Lefiya and Riveria and ced his palms on their backs. Though they were curious about his actions, they couldnt interrupt their chanting to question him. However, their concerns were soon blown away when they felt a powerful energy seeping into their bodies. Their diminishing mana reserves were rapidly restoring at a rate faster than they were being consumed. Instead of focusing on inputting the energy into his domain, Vahn imbued the entirety of his energy into his [Hands of Nirvana] with the support of his [Yggdrasils Blessing]. He was converting his pure source energy into mana, and it was easily able to replenish the mana stores of the two girls. The barrier that had been struggling to maintain itself now became solid and even glowed more brightly than it previously had. Seeing the barrier restored, the tensions in the room exploded as everyone began to shout out with loud war cries. The ambush party began focusing their attacks on the damaged areas of the Juggernaut as the Level 5-6 members continued tond heavy blows on the creatures frame. Slowly but surely, the Juggernauts actions began to slow as blood was dripping from the wounds all over its body. In itsst moments of life, just as Finn channeled his strongest attack in a leaping lunge toward its core, the Juggernaut stared at Vahn with a hate-filled expression. Vahn felt a mental attack hit his mind as a powerful and corrosive energy tried to destroy his brain. His [Will of the Emperor] immediately exploded and resisted the attack, but Vahn still took a heavy amount of damage. A nauseous filling immediately overwhelmed him and it seemed like all the energy was draining from his body. Falling between the gap of the two elves, Vahn made contact with the ground at the exact same time as the Juggernaut did. The two stared at each other onest time before both falling into different forms of unconsciousness. Before Vahnpletely cked out, he mouthed the words that he had used to previously part with the Juggernaut. F.u.c.k you Chapter 106 - *Spoilers: Title at End*

Chapter 106 - *Spoilers: Title at End*

Vahn felt a heaviness in his body as a deep throbbing pain was emitting from his head. He felt like his skull had been cracked open and his brain had turned to mush. Unable to form any thoughts, he just allowed the pain to epass his entire being, almost to the point he was unable to distinguish between where the pain began and where it ended. He felt like the pain stretched out endlessly, and it was almost as though his body was infinitely expanding along with it to allow for more pain to fill him. Suddenly, from a ce deep within, a cooling sensation began to build from a minuscule point at the very center of the seemingly endless pain. It began to expand, almost as if it was trying to erase the pain from existence, but no matter how quickly it spread out, it was always slower than the pace of the pain itself. Vahn felt like his soul was beginning to tear apart by the duality of the two contrasting feelings. One filled him with energy and life, while the other seemed determined to destroy everything and erase it from existence. Vahn tried focusing on the cool sensation and tried to tear his mind away from the pain that had wracked his body for what felt like an eternity. He could feel his consciousness elerating toward the center of the sensation, but no matter how fast he thought he was moving, he never seemed to get any closer. A fear began to grip his mind as Vahn felt, if he was unable to reach the center, he would lose himself entirely. Suddenly, along with the cool sensation, Vahn was also able to feel a soft and warm sensation that seemed to surround the entire space. What previously seemed like an infinitely expanding void, now seemed to be much smaller as the warmth quickly spread through his mind and banished the pain. The cooling sensation, no longer suppressed by the pain, now spread out at a speed faster than perception itself. Before an instant had passed, the cooling sensation epassed Vahns entirety as he began to feel at ease. No longer wracked by the pain, Vahn began to enjoy the feeling of warmth that was spreading from an unseen area outside of this strange space. It felt gentle, kind, and full of things that Vahn couldnt quite describe. All he knew is, the feeling made him feel very safe an secure, very simr to something he had lost long ago. Slowly, the cooling sensation began to recede, allowing for the warm feelings to rece the emptiness where Vahn currently resided. --- Vahn opened his eyes and noticed he had difficulty seeing in the dim lighting from a source outside of his line of sight. Currently, the only thing he could see was the sleeping figure of a woman, resting against the bedside where he was currently located. Vahns mind froze for a moment because he couldnt understand why the person he saw would be present. Thest thing he remembered was staring into the eyes of the Juggernaut before spending what felt like an eternity lost in that painful ck space. Feeling his movements, the figure woke up with a start and stared into Vahns eyes with a surprised expression on her face. The two stared at each other for a few moments before the woman, Hephaestus, threw her arms around Vahn and began to embrace him in a powerful and emotion-filled hug. "Uuuuh, Vahn, you idiot! Dont scare me like that!" Hephaestus cried out in an aggrieved manner, and the pain-filled voice tore away at something in Vahns heart. Without exnation, tears began falling from Vahns eyes as he returned the embrace of the crying Hephaestus. Feeling the warmthing from her body, Vahn realized the thing that had brought him away from that painful darkness had been her embrace. He didnt know how long he was unconscious, but he felt a great deal of time had passed. Without her gentle warmth, Vahn wasnt sure he would have been able toe back from that abyss of pain and despair. For now, Vahn allowed Hephaestus to embrace him while he rubbed her back in an effort to return some of theforts she had given him. He could hear her mumbling usations and various curses about him under her breath, but Vahn just allowed her to express her emotions as she pleased. Eventually, just as she started to calm down, Vahn spoke, "Thank you Hephaestus...you saved me. I dont think I could havee back on my own." Hearing Vahns words, Hephaestus put more strength into her embrace before pressing Vahns head into her chest. "You stupid..." Hephaestus wanted to curse him again, but seeing the grateful expression and relief in his face, she couldnt find the words to berate him any longer. Instead, Hephaestus spoke gently, "You had me worried...Vahn. Im d you came back." Afterward, the two enjoyed each other embrace until one of the doctors hade by with a number of people in tow. "Oh? Finally awake, my goodness, you sure know how to sleep, kid." Vahn turned towards the voice and recognized the familia figure of Granny Marin. She was the same doctor that had treated his injuries when he copsed outside of the dungeon previously. Behind her, there were five figures that looked toward Vahn with happy expressions after seeing him awake. Before Vahn could greet them, Lili and Naaza both rushed toward his beside while Ais, Tiona, and surprisingly, Lefiya approached in a more moderate manner. The two girls had tears in their eyes as they neared, especially Lili who literally jumped into Vahns chest and began crying. Hephaestus, who had already had her time with Vahn, made way for the other girls before moving away to speak with Granny Marin. Lili was inconsble as she cried into Vahns chest. Even when he triedforting her, she just nestled her face into his hospital gown and continued crying. Naaza took the seat that Hephaestus had left vacant as she stared at Vahn with a tear-stained face. Unlike Lili, she wasnt crying loudly, but her silent sobs made Vahn feel even worse than the small pallum on his chest. Vahn made eye contact with Tiona, Ais, and Lefiya and noticed they were acting more reserved than he expected. Noticing his confused expression, Tiona opened her mouth and exined. "The moment we brought you out of the dungeon, these two had been in a flurry after seeing your unconscious body. In the entire 9 days you were unconscious, they barely left your side." Hearing that he had been unconscious for nine days, Vahn was very surprised. Thest-ditch efforts of the Juggernaut had done more damage than he expected, and it was very likely he had been on the verge of death at that time. Seeing the two crying girls that he had parted ways with previously in a confident manner, Vahn felt a terrible feeling in his heart. cing his hand on both of their heads, Vahn muttered in a low voice, "Im sorry...Lili...Naaza. I didnt mean to worry you." "It wasnt just the two of them that were worried, ya know~? Ais and Lefiya have been down in the dumps all weeks after you failed to wake up." Vahn stared toward Ais and Lefiya, and he could see a sad look in Aiss eyes. She looked directly at Vahn and said, "Im d you woke up. I was worried." Ais didnt deny Tionas im at all, but Lefiya seemed somewhat hesitant as she said, "Im also d you are awake..." Vahn felt happy to have the two girls care, but he was a bit confused by a matter and couldnt help but ask while looking at Tiona,"Were you not worried?" Tiona began to smile with all of her teeth showing as a passionate fervor filled her eyes, "No way~! The entire time you were asleep, I kept telling everyone you would wake up! There is no way a hero would be defeated in such a way, hahahahaha-ack!" Toward the end of herugh, Tiona choked a bit and Vahn could see that, while she likely believed he would wake up, she was still worried about him. Vahn began tough out loud after seeing Tionas gaffe, and the entire room seemed to go silent as he was unable to repress the emotions that had been building inside of him. Seeing so many people concerned about his well-being, Vahn felt incredibly happy and fulfilled. Tionas actions had been thest straw and, even though he felt guilty for having worried them, he was unable to repress his happiness any longer. Everyone in the room stared at the boy who was bothughing and crying at the same time. Though he seemed unaware of it himself, Vahn was currently in tears as he widely smiled at everyone in the room. They could all feel the relief and happiness contained within his voice, and everyone present began to feel happy, chasing away all the negative feelings that had been present previously. --- After everything had settled down, Vahn was required to give every girl a hug before Granny Marin shooed them all out of the ward. Even Lefiya gave Vahn a short hug before departing with the rest of the girls. Once everyone was gone, the only people left in the room were Granny Marin, Hephaestus, and Vahn. Hephaestus sat next to the bedside and grabbed Vahns hand while Granny Marin began speaking. "Kid, I honestly dont know how youre alive right now. After the Loki Familia brought you to me, I checked your condition and, by all rights, you should be dead. Your brain had suffered severe trauma and the liquid inside had increased to such an extent that, even if it didnt kill you, you should have been in aa for the rest of your life." Granny Marin looked at Vahn like he was a corpse that had got up off the table and started parading around. "For now, youll need to take time off from adventuring for the foreseeable future. I would suggest you spend time recuperating to see if there are any seque that present themselves. If nothing happens within three months, you should be fine to head back into the dungeon. And dont try to sneak in either; I already informed all of the Guild Staff to bar your entrance, and if they catch you there will be consequences." Granny Marin had a firm tone to her voice, and Vahn didnt feel like there was any room for negotiation. From his side, Hephaestus had decided to speak up and piggyback the words of Granny Marins, "Dont worry, until Ive confirmed with my own eyes that he is fit and healthy, I wont allow him to enter into the dungeon. Even if I have to lock him away inside my workshop for the entire three months." Hephaestus, much like Granny Marin, also spoke with a firm tone. Her words actually made Vahn a little scared but, seeing the concern in her eyes, he couldnt find it in himself to refute her. Vahn could see from his system that he was in perfect health, but he felt he owed it to everyone that had been concerned about him to rest for a while. He could always spend the time improving his cksmithing skills and studying medicine with Naaza. Vahn hadnt made much time to explore the City, and this would be a good chance to do so while he was unable to enter the dungeon. Nodding his head, Vahn looked toward the two fierce women and said, "I understand. I will take the next three months off to recover fully. Im not in any particr rush to go back into the dungeon anyway." Granny Marin nodded at his response, while Hephaestus released a relieved sigh. She knew that, if Vahn wanted to, he would find a way to enter the dungeon somehow. Seeing him so cooperative, a lot of the feelings that had been stressing her out in the two weeks faded away. Hephaestus asked Granny Marin, "When can he go home?" The Doctor shook her head and nearly spat out the words, "Just take him. With my prognosis, he should have been in that bed for the rest of his life. He obviously has something special about him to bring him back from the brink. Im not going to meddle in your Familias secrets, just make sure to foot the bill properly." Granny Marin had quickly be paranoid about a patient like Vahn. It seemed like every time she saw him, it lead to a mess and an increase in the pressure she had to deal with. Hearing Granny Marins consent, Hephaestus had a big smile on her face. Looking towards Vahn, she spoke her next words with more affection than she had ever mustered in all her millions of years of existence, "Lets go home, Vahn." Vahn noticed how happy Hephaestus was, and it felt like her mood had seeped into him from the point of contact in his hand. He nodded his head and returned her smile, "Lets go home." Title: Return (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sleepy Boi,A wild Hephaestus appears!,Surrounded by fire and flowers) Chapter 107 - Hephaestuss POV

Chapter 107 - Hephaestus''s POV

On the morning of Vahns second day in the dungeon, Hephaestus awoke in a groggy state. She felt ufortable, and after looking at her disorderly clothing, she began to recall memories of the previous night. Hephaestus was fl.u.s.tered as she tried to fix her clothing, but noticed there was a diforting feelinging from within the fabrics. Sighing, she eventually left the couch and changed her clothes at a wardrobe located on the far side of the office After wearing some fresh clothes, Hephaestus stared at her dirtyundry and powerful embarrassment enveloped her. She couldnt believe she had used Vahn as an apaniment to her self-pleasuring. Remembering how innocent and naive he was, Hephaestus couldnt help but feel ashamed of her actions. She felt as though, just like the clothing she had soiled, she was a very dirty person... Trying to push the matters aside, Hephaestus tried to get some work done since she had cked off the day prior. Unfortunately, this was also around the same time Vahn began his escapades on the second floor, and Hephaestus immediately became distracted by his increased heart rate. No matter how much she tried to ignore it, especially after the matters of the previous night, she was unable to do so. Eventually, she gave up trying to work and just put her head down on her desk while using her arms as a pillow. Focusing her mind, she could feel the various moments of excitement Vahn was going through. Hephaestus felt like he must be enjoying himself, and she wondered what kind of monsters he was facing to be having so much fun. After listening to and experiencing the various emotions, Hephaestus was disturbed by a knocking at the door. With a grim face, she left her desk and approached the door to see who hade by. Opening the door, Hephaestus recognized the man as one of her security detail. He was a tall man withnky arms, ck hair, and brown eyes named Jakk. "Yes, what is it Jakk? Why disturb my work...I am busy." Hephaestus asked the question, but she noticed that Jakk just stared at her like he had seen something unbelievable. After a few moments, just as Hephaestus was beginning to get annoyed, the man pointed to her face and said, "Your eyepatch...its gone?" Seeing his pointing, Hephaestus reached her hand up and touched her face. Just as Jakk had said, ever since Vahn healed her eye, Hephaestus hadnt been wearing her eyepatch. Due to her dazed state, she hadpletely forgotten about the matter and answered the door out of habit. Hephaestus noticed that, as she was touching her face, the man named Jakk had a change in his expression as he smiled slightly. "I didnt know you were so beautiful under the eyepatch. Its a shame you dont take it off more often." Hearing Jakkspliment, Hephaestus immediately felt sick in her stomach. In the years he had been working for her, other than a few looks every now and then, most of the security detail didnt have the courage to speak to her, much less try to flirt with her. His words, though the sounded polite, were nothing by a grating noise in Hephaestuss ears. "I asked why you are here," Hephaestus spoke in a cold tone as she stared toward him angrily. Jakk became fl.u.s.tered after seeing Hephaestus get angry; his eyes grew wide as he put his hands up in a defensive posture. He was just trying to give her apliment, and he didnt think she would take so much offense. "A-ah, there was a customer that wanted to establish a contract with you. They are waiting at the negotiations table..." Hephaestus continued to re at Jakk, even after he exined the purpose of his visit. In a cold voice, she spoke, "Tell them I am busy working on personal projects right now and am not taking any new clients for the time being. Leave here, and do not disturb me for the rest of the day." Hephaestus disliked how, even though she was obviously annoyed by his look, Jakk continued to stare at her face and eye even after she gave him a harsh look. Jakk nodded his head like a chicken before making his way toward his post. However, after he walked a few steps, he couldnt help but turn his head to catch another nce at Hephaestus. Seeing the audaciousness of her employee, Hephaestus felt her anger reach a boiling point in an instant. In a cold voice, she slowly spoke the words, "You are fired. If I see you around my workshop in the future, Ill have the City guards detain you." Hearing her words, Jakks mind nked out and he tried to mumble an excuse but, seeing how angry Hephaestus looked, he didnt have the courage to say anything. Bowing as low as he could, Jakk turned around and quickly left the premises without turning back. After a few minutes, the chief security guard Zaff came by and inquired about Jakks departure. Hephaestus still had her face uncovered, but Zaff had enough tact to keep hisments to himself. After hearing the reason, he apologized to Hephaestus and swore such a thing wouldnt happen in the future. For the next few hours, Hephaestus was in a foul mood. The fact someone thought they could hit on her the moment her face was healing really pissed her off. Even if they had no ill-intent, she wasnt the type to take any ttery others were willing to dish out. Now that her face was no longer disfigured, Hephaestus felt an overwhelming sense of pride and confidence inside of her. She wouldnt defer to anyone that simply saw her looks and nted a target on her without considering their ce and capabilities. In her angered state, the vision of a young boy shed in her mind, and Hephaestus began to calm down. She released a long sigh and decided today would be another day where she was unable to get any work done. Instead, she decided she would visit the Divine Bathhouse and clean her body while rxing. Even though she changed her clothing earlier, there was still a bit of difort which she wanted to wash away... --- After her day at the Divine Bathhouse and a peaceful nights sleep, Hephaestus was in a much better mood than the previous day. When she had left yesterday, Hephaestus did so without wearing her eyepatch. She walked around confidently and drew the eyes of many onlookers along the way to her destination. When she finally arrived at the Divine Bathhouse, many of her fellow goddesses were inplete shock at seeing her uncovered face. Hephaestus spent the rest of the evening talking about Vahn and surrounded by people that teased her for doing so. After returning home, she was very tired and immediately fell asleep while listening to Vahns heartbeat. Hephaestus decided she had to do some work today, or it would begin to pile up and be a problem in the near future. As the most prolific cksmith in the City, she didnt have much leisure time to sit around idling. No matter how much Vahns heartbeat distracted her, she still had to do her job, so she resolved herself and entered her workshop. Several hourster, Hephaestus was making good progress on a sword, when she suddenly felt a powerful fear grip her chest. She immediately tossed the sword aside and began to focus on the beating in her soul. She could feel that Vahn wasnt excited, but very, very afraid. The fear continued to build inside, and Hephaestus knew something was wrong, and Vahn hade across something that scared him terribly. The stronger his fear, the more afraid Hephaestus grew as well because there was nothing she was able to do to help. Hephaestus immediately sent an emergency message to Tsubaki, who began gathering members for a rescue party. Those that showed up were predominately the members that had been gathered the previous time, and seeing their goddess without an eyepatch surprised them greatly. However, the most impactful part of the scene was how pale and concerned Hephaestus was acting, and they knew the matter was very serious for her to be in such dire straits. As the members gathered outside of the entrance of the dungeon, simr to the previous incident, Hephaestuss heart began to calm. She could sense that Vahn was no longer afraid, and realizing this, Hephaestus nearly copsed to the ground in relief. Tsubaki had been nearby, and she caught Hephaestus before she was able to fall. "Is he okay now?" Tsubaki was also very concerned about Vahn, as Hephaestus had informed her about the connection they shared. Hephaestus had a relieved smile on her face as she exined what she was feeling to Tsubaki. After understanding the situation, Tsubaki informed the rescue party and, though some of them were a bit annoyed, most of them were happy things had taken a positive turn. They stayed in the area for a while before agreeing to meet upter and have drinks, courtesy of Tsubaki, as repayment for their troubles. Afterward, Tsubaki informed Hephaestus that there was an expedition heading into the dungeonter that day, so the two met with the representatives and passed Vahns information to them. Hephaestus made them vow that, if they met Vahn and he was in trouble, they would do whatever they could to assist him. Grant and Meryl agreed without much resistance, as they could see the concern and worry in their goddesses face. They wondered what kind of boy Vahn was to have made such an impact on their usually cool and stoic goddess. --- The next two days passed rtively uneventfully. Hephaestus was still concerned with Vahn, but she could feel his heart beating steadily in her soul, and it brought her some level offort. Other than a few instances where he seemed excited, the next few days were much easier to deal with than the previous two. Hephaestus actually managed to get some work done andpleted some of her contracts. The eternal me had be much more powerful recently, and Hephaestus even saw wisps of vermillion in the me from time to time. With its cooperation, she was able to finish her tasks with incredible efficiency, so much so that it even surprised her. After a rtively peaceful nights sleep, Hephaestus was awoken early the next morning by a knock on her door. As she was much calmertely, she answered the door without any negative emotions clouding her mind. Instead of Jakk, the man she had fired, the messenger was now a powerful looking female. She was slightly taller than Hephaestus with auburn hair and purple eyes. "Good morning Hephaestus-sama, there is a Goddess named Anubis here who would like to speak with you." The woman was very polite, even though she had the build of a fierce warrior. Hephaestus made a note tomend Zaff for his selection of personnelter as she moved to the private meeting area where Hephaestus dealt with her VIP clientele. Entering the room, Hephaestus saw a very beautiful goddess with olive-brown skin, long ck hair,rge pointed chienthrope ears, a bushy tail, and a very regal attire. The most notable thing though were the eyes of the goddess, which seemed to contain a gentle golden light simr to the full moon. Noticing Hephaestuss entrance, the goddess put down the tea she was drinking and gave a polite bow toward the crimson-eyed goddess. "Greetings Goddess Hephaestus, I am known as Anubis, Goddess of the Anubis Familia that recently arrived in the City." Hephaestus gave a curt nod before sitting on the opposite sofa. It wasnt umon for gods and goddesses that recently arrived in the City to seek her out. Many wanted to form bonds and even establish cooperation with her, as she was the head of the 3rd most powerful Familia and thergest of all the production Familia in the City. "What can I do for you, Anubis?" Hephaestus expected the normal courtesies and requests but was surprised when Anubis handed her a letter instead. Holding the envelope in her hands, Hephaestus gave Anubis a questioning look. Anubis said, "I was entrusted this letter by a boy named Vahn. He had given it to my children after they had...a misunderstanding." Anubis frowned after recalling the event as recounted by her children. She felt both angry and thankful to the boy named Vahn, and his action of sparing her children was what led her to Hephaestus. After hearing that it was a letter from Vahn, Hephaestus immediately opened it while asking,"What kind of misunderstanding? Vahn isnt the type to approach people and cause trouble." Hephaestus had noticed the difortof Anubis and thought she was concealing something. Before reading the letter, she wanted to confirm her suspicions. Anubis, hearing the question, sighed before exining the events. As the recounting the second-hand tale, Hephaestus could feel the blood in her body turn cold as she red at the goddess in front of her. For Vahn to attack people, he must have felt threatened or had a very good reason for doing so. Hephaestus began reading the letter, and the cold blood in her veins seemed to drop an additional twenty degrees as a fierce rage began to spread through her mind. Within the letter, Vahn exined the events that had transpired from his perspective. He spoke of a god named Osiris that had been targeting him, and Hephaestus even believed he may have been the cause for Vahns fear previously. Anubis, who had been sitting quietly across from Hephaestus, began to feel a cold sweat on her back as she stared toward the angry Goddess. As she was unaware of the contents of the letter, she had hoped it didntplicate the matters since Vahn seemed to be the rational type from her understanding. Eventually, Hephaestus finished the letter before coldly looking at Anubis. "Why are you and that idiot god after Vahn? Even if Vahn says you arent a threat if your answer doesnt satisfy me..." As she spoke, Hephaestuss expression grew grim as the stared into the frowning face of Anubis. Anubis wasnt afraid of Hephaestus, but imagining the danger her children would face, she couldnt help but swallow her saliva under the pressure. "Even I am unsure of the reason. I was asked toe to the City by Osiris to help deal with an anomaly. ording to him...the boy named Vahn does not have a soul. As both our divinities are rted to death, we can see the soul of all living creatures. Osiris seems to have a grudge against Vahn, but I only wanted to confirm if the matter was true..." Hephaestus nodded, but her expression hadnt be any better after hearing Anubiss exnation. She said, "For now, I want to meet this idiot named Osiris. As long as you stay out of my way, Ill arrange for your meeting with Vahn once he returns. I can assure you, this is probably some scheme of that pathetic friend of yours." Hephaestus said the words with such confidence that even Anubis believed she had been tricked by Osiris. She already expected there to be a greater reason behind his hatred for the boy, and seeing the firm manner in which Hephaestus spoke, she felt like she had been used. --- Later that day, the Hephaestus Familia had surrounded the location of the Osiris Familia, which happened to be in a disreputable location near Daedelus Street. It was a small, run-down facility that looked like a criminals hangout. After a brief conflict between the two Familia, Hephaestus ended up confronting Osiris who triedshing out at her with various usations and curses. Hephaestus struck the god fiercely across the face before detaining him using a seal specifically created to imprison gods. She would leave him with the Guild as they conduct their investigation, and if it turns out he was plotting against Vahn for personal reasons, she would make sure he received a one-way ticket back to Heaven. Anubis had been present during the raid, and seeing the unquenchable anger of Hephaestus, she felt like she and Osiris had identally awakened a fierce beast from its slumber. She suddenly felt very thankful for Vahn having spared her children and writing the letter to redirect Hephaestuss hatred away from her own Familia... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Roller coaster of emotions,Dont mess with bae,RIP Osiris) Chapter 108 - Changes

Chapter 108 - Changes

Vahn apanied Hephaestus out of the medical ward and the two exited the Tower of Babel. Along the way, Hephaestus seemed very happy, and her mood had infected Vahn who also had a pleased smile on his face. While they were walking, Vahn noticed they were heading the north-west, instead of toward Tsubakis ce. Vahn was curious, so he asked, "Are we not going to Tsubakis manor?" Hephaestusughed a bit before looking at Vahn with a smiling expression and saying, "Youll still be staying there, but at least for today, Im going to keep you at my workshop." Seeing Hephaestuss expression, Vahns heartbeat began to increase which promoted Hephaestus to give him a curious look as she too was aware of the change. "Is there something wrong, Vahn? Is your body okay?" Hephaestus was very concerned about Vahn, especially considering he just awoke from a nine-day slumber. Vahn wanted to exin what he was feeling, but before he found his words a strange sound emitted from his stomach. The moment the noise ended, Vahn began to blush a bit as he looked at Hephaestus trying to hold back herughter. "Lets get some food on the way, okay?" Hephaestus led the way, and Vahn followed slightly behind her while rubbing his stomach. He hadnt eaten anything in more than a week, and he was incredibly hungry... On their way to the workshop, they stopped at a small stand fried meats that had been seasoned with a variety of different spices. Vahn thought it was interesting because the basket he received had several different types of mystery meats with different seasonings. He had a wooden skewer to eat with, and every bite was a different vor he had yet to experience. Hephaestus had gotten some for herself, but seeing Vahn happily eating away at his food, she couldnt help but offer him some of her own. Vahn gratefully epted the food and ate directly from the skewer she offered. After around twenty minutes, Hephaestus and Vahn arrived at her workshop and she dismissed the security personnel. She instructed Zaff to stay in the area and ordered a variety of foods to be delivered forter in the day. Zaff affirmed her orders before giving Vahn a heavy pat on the back,"Good jobing back kid. You had me n the boys worried there for a bit." Vahn smiled at Zaffs words and gave him a polite bow in return. Hephaestus led the way into her office before promptly locking the door after they both entered. Looking toward Vahn who was taking in the sights of her office, she spoke in a gentle tone,"It seems like you have influenced a number of people. I was very surprised when so many members of the Loki Familia kepting to visit you in the ward. Even Loki herself stopped by to discuss the matter of your reward and pay reparations." Vahns brows raised after hearing Hephaestus speak. He didnt think he did anything deserving of a reward or reparations, or anything like that. Noticing his look, Hephaestus frowned and had a sad expression as she said, "If Loki hadnt tried to negotiate personally, my Familia probably would have had a falling out with her if you didnt wake up. What concerns me more than that is, you seem to have made a lot of...friends in the Loki Familia?" Vahn nodded his head and exined, "The Loki Familia was present when I fought against the Goliath. Afterward, I ended up joining them on the expedition and various things happened before we finally fought against the Juggernaut." Hearing Vahn mention fighting against the Goliath in such a casual demeanor, Hephaestus felt like she had taken a blow to her mentality. She had yet to know the full ount of Vahns adventures in the dungeon, and the fact he had even gotten to the 18th floor in the first ce had surprised her. Hephaestus moved to the couch and patted it while saying, "Take off your shirt, Ill update your status while you tell me everything that happened in the dungeon. Dont try to hide anything, as I can easily tell if youre lying...you may not know this, but your expression makes it very hard for you to keep secrets." Vahn was surprised and he held his hand to his face like he would be able to discover something from her words. Watching his response, Hephaestusughed before saying, "Its not a bad thing, just make sure youre careful around people trying to plot and scheme against you. Especially people like that imp Loki..." As Hephaestus spoke, Vahn walked over after removing his tunic. Hephaestus had been watching him, and after seeing his body, her words trailed a bit and she closed her mouth. Though Vahn wasnt aware of it himself, his 150cm frame had now grown to 156cm, while his frail looking body had started to develop in a more mature fashion. Unaware of Hephaestuss strange gaze, Vahnid down on the couch so Hephaestus could update his status. The moment he put his head on the cushion, Vahn smelled a strange scent that made his mind feel a little bit numb. Curious about what it was, he turned his head and inhaled the scent while trying to identify its source. Hephaestus, who had been dazed at seeing Vahns body, now saw him smelling the couch and she immediately recalled that she had been sleeping there recently. She had even, on the night after he left, done something unmentionable on the very spot Vahn now rested. In a fl.u.s.tered manner, she actually grabbed Vahns head before turning it sideways. "Y-you cant talk if your face is down. Look to the side while I read your status and, dont smell that cushion. I spilled something on it previously and forgot to get it cleaned." Vahn, who felt like his neck had nearly been broken, nodded his head slowly in response. He wondered what she had spilled on the cushion and thought about asking, but seeing the fl.u.s.tered look on her face, Vahn thought she would be embarrassed if he asked. Instead, he began recounting his adventures since the first day as Hephaestus kneeled next to him and dropped a bit of her blood onto the crest on his back. The moment the numbers popped up, Hephaestus was in shock as she listened to Vahns tale. Vahn was curious at her response, so he decided to ask, "Whats wrong, Hephaestus?" Hephaestus was broken from her stupor as she looked at Vahn with a serious expression on her face. "Vahn, how did you level up?" Now, it was Vahns turn to be surprised as he checked his status window in the system. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:3(3) -Power: 1906+(I14) -Endurance: 2221+(I44) -Dexterity: 1807+(I11) -Agility: 1959+(I21) -Magic: 3562+(G251) Total:11455+(341)( (A/N: For those curious, Vahns total at level up was 5908.) Soul Tier 2 (Hero Soul) [Karma]: 2,003 [OP]: 411,259 [Valis]: 171,630 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: As an example of a normal total after just reaching lv 3, most adventurers would be between 7000-8500 total points. That makes Vahn about 1.4-1.6 times stronger without buffs! Some Level 4 adventurers only have 10,500-12,000 parameters after reaching Level 4.) Vahn was shocked after seeing his stats. Not only had he leveled up without his notice, but he even had an increase in his magic afterward. Sis, who is always present within his mind, exined. (*When you suffered that mental attack, it nearly destroyed your brain. [Will of the Emperor] tried to protect you against the attack and slowly heal your mind. Since it was repairing your badly damaged brain for a whole nine days, it shouldnt be a surprise that your magic would increase. As for the level increase, that was due to the stress that was being ced on your body as your parameters grew. Without leveling up, your body would have exploded before your mind was able to recover.*) Hephaestus saw Vahns expression and believed he had been unaware of the change himself. She suspected it could be a result of his blood, so she tried asking, "Vahn, has there ever been anything strange with your status before? Have you ever been able to feel changes after fighting?" Since most adventurers parameters didnt increase without their status being updated, Hephaestus figured Vahn would be aware of there were any changes. Vahn slowly nodded as he began to repeat the words Sis was speaking in his mind."Yes, I often feel my body be stronger after fights. That is how I was able to progress so far into the dungeon. Even I was surprised by how far I was able to go, but every time I encountered a dangerous situation, I seemed to get stronger afterward..." Hearing his admittance, Hephaestus sighed and began to marvel at the mystery of Vahns body. If her spection was true, not only did Vahn not need a Falna to improve, but he seems to even be able to update any Falna he has received. With this thought in mind, Hephaestus suddenly recalled the little Pallum girl that often followed Vahn around. Hephaestus had learned from Tsubaki that Lili was a member of the Soma Familia yet, after training with Tsubaki, her status seemed to rapidly increase. "Vahn, that Pallum girl, Lili, were you the one who updated her Status Board?" Hephaestus asked the question casually, and Vahn responded without thinking, "Yes, but how did you know she was a Pallum?" As far as Vahn could remember, Lili had always kept her cat person transformation ever since moving in with Tsubaki. Hephaestus frowned a bit before saying, "A little transformation magic isnt enough to disguise her from my eyes. I knew she was a Pallum the moment we first met. I assume she is hiding from the Soma Familia after you rescued her from the dungeon, but that isnt important right now. Tell me Vahn, how did you update her Status?" Vahn realized there was something wrong with how Hephaestus was questioning him, and as if to affirm his suspicions, a voice rang in his head. (*Youre an idiot sometimes Vahn...*) Seeing Hephaestus look at him, Vahn began to sweat under the pressure and decided to speak the truth, "After you told me about my origin, I thought I would be able to update someones status using my skill [Yggdrasils Blessing]. Though it wasnt easy at first, I was able to do so after a bit of practice." Hephaestus, hearing Vahns confession, began to panic a little inside her mind. If what Vahn said was true, if anyone found out about it, he would likely be a target of other gods or syndicates. A mortal that can update status would be invaluable to organizations where their gods werent willing or able to perform the ceremony themselves. Vahn could probably even be a powerful tool for exploitation if anyone found out. Grabbing Vahns face, Hephaestus looked directly into his eyes after bringing her face right in front of his. "Never, ever, tell anyone you can update the Status of another person. Promise me, Vahn." Vahn, for the second time today, felt like his neck was about to break as he slowly nodded his head. "I promise Hephaestus..." He could see the panic and concern in her eyes, so Vahn knew it could be very dangerous if word were to spread of his ability. Though Vahn never nned to publicize it, if anyone from the Soma Familia found out about Lili, rumors might begin to spread. Hephaestus realized this as well, as she said, "Well need to have Lili undergo the conversion ceremony. I know she wanted to do something about the Soma Familia herself, but this is no longer just her problem. Even if she became strong enough to crush the Familia on her own, it would raise too many questions and would draw too much attention to the people close to her." Hephaestus nned to inform Tsubaki immediately, so she pulled out a strange parchment and a red magic pen. As she wrote a message onto the parchment, the words slowly began to burn and dissolve into ashes that disappeared into the air. Vahn thought the sight was very interesting, so he couldnt help but ask,"What kind of magic tool is that? Ive never seen such a thing." Hephaestus sighed after seeing how casual Vahn was acting given the severity of the situation. However, seeing the honest look on his face, she answered, "The parchment is made from the hide of a magical beast and has been linked to a sister scroll. Using this Fire-link Quill, anything written onto the parchment would be sent the scroll on the other end. Its only effective within 100km, but its quite useful in emergencies." Vahn began to realize there was still a lot about this world he didnt know about. He nned to use the next few months to familiarize himself with the City and learn all kinds of new things. Seeing the letter Hephaestus was writing, he suddenly had a thought and asked, "Hephaestus, did anyonee by to give you a letter when I was in the dungeon?" Hephaestuss quill stopped a while before she looked at Vahn with slightly widened eyes. "Yes, I had almost forgotten about that matter. Ill have her stop by tomorrow and we can get to the bottom of that situation." Toward the end of her words, Vahn saw that Hephaestus had a fierce and angry expression. He almost felt bad for the person on the receiving end of her wrath... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Level 3,Hephaestus noticed Vahns growth,Within the Couchs Embrace) Chapter 109 - Lamentation

Chapter 109 - Lamentation

After sending the messages, Hephaestus put away the parchment and quill before looking toward Vahn. Right now, he was sitting topless on the sofa and watching her with intrigue. Hephaestus smiled before leaving her desk and sitting next of Vahn on the couch. After she gotfortable, she pulled Vahns head into her chest before gently patting his head. "You know Vahn, I was very worried about you. After your promise and healing my eye, the next time I see you is on a hospital bed. I feel like youre trying to worry me to death..." Vahn was a bit fl.u.s.tered at first, but after hearing Hephaestuss soothing tone, he began to rx and enjoy the embrace. Of all the people that have held him, Vahn always felt the mostfortable with Hephaestus since she always seemed to show so much care for him. After a few minutes, she sighed before bringing Vahns head to rest on herp. "Tell me everything that happened in the dungeon..." As she had been holding in for a while, Vahn was very rxed andcent. He began recounting everything he had done in the dungeon since he entered. He talked about how he killed monsters at the pantry to get revenge for Naaza, how he hunted monsters in the mist, and about his crusade against the Minotaurs. Hephaestus closed her eyes and tried to imagine everything that Vahn had experienced and matched it against her own experiences in the recent days. She could recall the excitement he had felt during certain events, and wondered what kind of battles he had gone through to grow so quickly. Vahn continued his story, conveniently avoiding talking about the Juggernaut, and recounted how he saved a father that was protecting his two sons against a variant Wyvern. Hephaestus smiled and gently stroked his head; she felt very proud that Vahn was willing to save people instead of overlooking their troubles. After that, he told her about how he first arrived in Riviria and about his encounter with the Hounds of Anubis and their young leader Rasui. While speaking of the young chienthropes, Vahn actually began to feel embarrassed after remembering certain events. Hephaestus noticed his looked and asked, "Whats wrong Vahn? Did anything else happen while they were tracking you?" Vahn took a deep breath and told Hephaestus how he had dealt with their attack. He even mentioned how he had lodged arrows into the lower backs of two of the young girls and how awkward it was having to remove themter. Hephaestus had conflicting feelings when Vahn mentioned having to pull arrows out of two young girls backsides. She wasnt sure if she wanted tough or berate Vahn for his excessive behavior. After hearing that he used his [Hands of Nirvana] to heal their wounds, she almost wanted to squeeze his little head to alleviate her own rising emotions. She was d he was being honest with her, but she didnt think he would casually say such embarrassing things. Afterward, Vahn told Hephaestus about how he encountered a Wyvern and was able to tame it. Hephaestus was very impressed, as monster taming was an incredibly rare ability. When she heard that, after taming it, the monster even evolved, she was incredibly shocked. "Where is your Dragon now? Did you leave it in the dungeon...?" Vahn shook his head and withdrew Fafnirs core from his inventory. Hephaestus received the core and began to inspect it only to discover that her gods eye couldnt actually see through the crystal. Vahn exined how the crystal seemed to be able to contain Fafnir, and by channeling his energy into the core, he was able to materialize its body whenever he wanted. Once again, Hephaestus was incredibly shocked by the revtion and sighed before telling Vahn, "This is another thing you need to keep a secret...who knows about this?" Vahn answered, and after Hephaestus heard that the ace party of the Loki Familia knew about the secret, she nearly screamed in frustration after thinking about the future troubles. Unfortunately for Hephaestus, her troubles were already beginning, as Vahn continued talking about his fight with the Goliath and meeting the Loki Familia on the 17th floor. Hephaestus originally thought he fought alongside them, but hearing that Vahn defeated the Goliath on his own, she didnt know what to feel. While she was shocked, sure, she was also slowly bing numb to the surprises Vahn was giving her. She started to think that allowing Vahn to enter the dungeon alone had been a mistake in the first ce...too many abnormal things happened around him. In her daze, Hephaestus almost didnt hear the words Vahn spoked after defeating the Goliath, "What was that, Vahn?" Vahn repeated his words, "I said that, after the fight, the amazon girl Tiona tackled me to the ground while I was n.a.k.e.d. I didnt mind much at first, but I realizedter how embarrassing that was..." Vahn didnt consider the words anything worth hiding, so he repeated them without worrying. Hephaestus nodded slowly as if she had realized a few things before urging Vahn to continue. She wouldtere to regret this as Vahn started telling her about all the events that followed. He told her about how Tiona had hugged him until he copsed and then when he finally woke up, how he took a bath with Tiona, Tione, Ais, and Lefiya. At this point, Hephaestus had a dazed expression and was just listening to Vahn speak. Recalling all the girls that had visited Vahn in the ward, she began to think there was a lot more to the story...which she soon found out. Vahn talked about his first kiss with Tiona, how she confessed to him, and how in his first experience of mental frustration, how he destroyed a small section of the forest to relieve the emotions that had built up inside him. Hephaestus wasnt too surprised that Tiona would confess to Vahn after his previous words, but when she found out that, because of his embarrassment, he started to be aware of women, she felt a bit of panic in her heart. His next words made Hephaestus want to march into the Loki Familia and strangle Riveria since she found out that Vahn had received lessons from her on s.e.x.u.a.l education. With his newfound knowledge, he had apparently decided it was okay to kiss not only Tiona but Ais as well. When he got to the part about how Tiona attacked him, Hephaestus was no longer able to think straight. It wasnt until he told her about Aiss desire to have s.e.x on her birthday that Hephaestus finally returned to her senses. Hephaestuszily looked at Vahn and could see that he had a slight blush on his face as he recounted the events. "Vahn, what are you going to do?" Vahn was surprised at seeing how strange Hephaestus was acting, but he responded anyway, "Ah, theyre both very affectionate toward me, so I dont think it will be a problem. I promised Tiona I would have a baby with her when I am strong enough, and Im also interested in sharing experiences with Ais." "I see..." Hephaestus felt like a lot of her strength had left her after listening to Vahns experiences in the dungeon. She didnt even process the words he spoke about his battle with the Juggernaut; she just sat in a daze while thinking about each of the girls that always hung around Vahn. Eventually, once Vahn had stopped talking, Hephaestus showed him a sad smile before saying,"Im d you found girls your own age to be with..." Vahn noticed that Hephaestus was no longer just acting strange, but she was acting sad, almost like she had lost something she cared about. Vahn felt a painful feeling in his chest seeing her sad look. "Hephaestus, what is wrong? Why are you sad?" Though Vahn had seen all kinds of faces from Hephaestus, he had never seen such a sad look before. Even his vision of her hearts desire, when she was lost in that infinite loneliness, she didnt seem as sad as she was now. Hephaestus just shook her head in response and said, "Its nothing Vahn...I just had a strange expectation. You dont have to worry about it, just focus on finding your own happiness." Hephaestus began to gently stroke his head, but Vahn felt like her hands, which were usually warm, were now cold and mmy as they weakly made their way through his hair. Vahn didnt like this feeling, so he sat up and looked Hephaestus directly in her eyes. "Something is wrong, this isnt like you. Please, tell me, I will do my best to help you." Vahn hated seeing Hephaestus this way, and he really was willing to do anything if it would return the kind person from his memories. Hephaestus, seeing the earnest and caring expression of Vahn, felt her heart twitch, but it wasnt enough to drive away the mncholy that has overtaken her. Looking weakly into his eyes, Hephaestus spoke softly as tears began to cloud her vision, "I just...thought that...after your promise..." Hephaestus couldnt form aplete sentence, and every word seems to strike at something deep within Vahn. He recalled his promise, about how he would help drive away her loneliness, and it wasnt until now that he understood the context contained within. Vahn realized thepanionship Hephaestus was looking for wasnt for a person of equal skill to appear, but she was looking for someone worthy of being her lover. Vahn began recalling all the memories he had with Hephaestus. He remembered all the kindness, all the care, all the emotions, everything she had given him just to protect him. Even now, just so he wouldnt be in danger, she was dealing with the Osiris Familia and Soma Familias just to protect his secrets. This realization broke something within Vahn, and he felt like he had wronged her severely... Vahn grabbed her hands, which seemed to contain no strength, and looked into her sad eyes. "Hephaestus, I..." Before he could finish, Hephaestus side and removed her hands from his. "Its okay, Vahn...Im just happy if you are happy." As her words finished, Hephaestus gave Vahn a fake smile and tried to get off the couch. Vahn, seeing her actions reached out his hand and grabbed her wrist. "Wait, you dont understand, I didnt know..." Vahn felt like, if he let go of her hand now, he might never be able to close the distance between them again. Hephaestus tried to free herself from his grasp but noticed that his hand was like a vice and she couldnt escape. Sighing, Hephaestus looked toward Vahn was an angry look and said, "Let go of my Vahn, I dont me you. Even now, Ill do my best to protect you. You are my child after all." Hearing the emphasis she ced on the word child, Vahn felt an incredible panic build up inside of him. Without thinking further, he pulled Hephaestus toward him and she fell into his embrace since she hadnt been putting much power into supporting her own body. The moment their bodies made contact, Hephaestus began to struggle, but Vahn just held her body in his embrace without letting go. Hephaestus continued to curse and try to free herself from Vahns clutches, but no matter what she said or how much she tried to escape, he just silently held onto her. Eventually, after several minutes, she began to cease her struggles and just allowed herself to be held. Vahns embrace loosened a bit as he began to channel his energy from [Hands of Nirvana] into her back. Hephaestus felt a warm energy enter her body, almost like it wanted to drive away all the negative feelings in her heart. Vahn continued to hold Hephaestus close to him; he wanted her to feel his care and his affection for her. He was trying to assure her that, no matter what happened, he would never let her go and be lonely again. After a while, he could feel tears on his bare chest as Hephaestus slowly embraced him as well. She began crying in his arms as he continued channeling his energy into her back while gently patting it. Nearly half an hourter, Hephaestus had stopped crying, but Vahn was still holding onto her. In the silence, she just rested her head against his chest and listened to the familiar heartbeat that had apanied her for every waking moment in thest few months. "Your heart...it brings mefort you know that? I listen to it when I go to sleep..." Vahn was a bit surprised at the confession, but he just tightened his grip a little bit to show her his concern. Hephaestus continued in a low tone, "I even...on this couch..." Hephaestus didnt continue her sentence, but Vahn could feel her heartbeat increasing as well. It was a powerful and fast tempo that he could feel through her b.r.e.a.s.ts that were pressing into his stomach. It made his heart rate begin to increase as well, which caused Hephaestus to lift her head and smile. Vahn could see the light blush covering Hephaestuss tear-stained face, and her smile made his head no numb. Without thinking, he reached his right hand to the back of her head and, before she could react, sealed her lips with his own. Hephaestus immediately reacted by opening her eyes wide and trying to separate from Vahn, but since she was in an awkward position since earlier, she was unable to muster any real strength. Vahn continued to kiss her, and simr to how Tiona had done so previously, he began invading her mouth with his tongue. Her struggles nearly doubled in intensity, but Vahn was unwilling to release the kiss until she understood his feelings. Eventually, Hephaestus stopped her struggles entirely and Vahn could feel the heavy breathing from her nostrils as she began returning his kiss. Noticing she had begun to seek after his mouth now, Vahn pulled away slightly and smiled. Hephaestus, unprepared for his withdrawal, actually closed the distance and continued the kiss on her own. Her momentum knocked Vahn onto the couch and she embraced him from above. Hephaestus could feel the passion in her body begin to take over as she sought out the boy that had been dominating her thoughts recently. Though she was scared he would leave her behind, she now saw that he cared about her just as much as she cared about him. The emotions began to steadily build inside Vahn as well, as he could feel the weight of Hephaestuss body press against his own. He was startled by her passion, and how soft her body was. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts especially, as Vahn felt them against his own chest, made his mind go numb and he began exploring her body to discover what other parts were soft. Eventually, his hands found their way to Hephaestuss pert butt and she gasped slightly before moving her kiss away from his mouth and onto his neck. She began to kiss his neck and corbone as his hands continued to grope about and enjoy the springy sensation through her trousers. *knock* *knock* *knock* A knock was heard at the door, and both Hephaestus and Vahn immediately froze. Staring toward the door, Hephaestus heard it begin to open from the outside as thetch holding the door closed became undone. The only people that had a key to her workshop were herself and Tsubaki, and the figure that came through confirmed her fears. Tsubaki walked through the door with Lili in tow, and the two stared at the figures of Vahn and Hephaestus on the couch. Lili pointed toward the two and screamed, "Aaaaah! Hephaestus-sama, thats sneaky!!!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: I feel the Lili hateing,Hephaestus x Vahn,Embrace) Chapter 110 - Ceremony

Chapter 110 - Ceremony

Hephaestus, still leaning against Vahn, was unable to form any thoughts. She just stared at the pointing finger of Lili with wide eyes and a slightly open mouth, still wet from her kiss with Vahn. Tsubaki snatched up Lili who began to struggle as she slowly made her way toward the door whileughing. "Hahaha, I guess we shoulde backter!" Tsubaki carried out the iling Lili before closing the door behind them. Hephaestus looked toward Vahn, who also had a shocked expression, before finallying to her senses and separating from his body. Vahn also recovered after she moved away, and sat up on the couch while Hephaestus ran to the door. "Wait,e back Tsubaki!" Hephaestus was incredibly embarrassed after the incident. She hadpletely forgotten that she had told Tsubaki to bring Lili by, and now they had both seen her in apromising position with Vahn. Tsubaki hadnt gone far before Hephaestus caught up with them. Tsubaki stared a the heavily breathing Hephaestus with a big grin on her face, "Are you sure, Hephaestus-sama~?" She let her words linger in the air and Hephaestus began to blush fiercely. "Get back inside Tsubaki! We have important matters that need to be dealt with!" Different from her normal self, Hephaestus screamed with words before returning back to her office in a huffy fit. Watching her fl.u.s.tered figure, Tsubaki couldnt help butugh out loud as she carried Lili into the office. She could see Hephaestus leaning against the top of her desk while Vahn was sitting up straight on the couch as he stared at the two as they entered. Tsubaki released Lili before giving Vahn a big thumbs up and saying,"I didnt know you had it in you, Vahn. Good job!" Vahn was incredibly embarrassed to hear her words as Lili took the empty spot next to him. Lili inspected Vahns body and noticed his skin was lightly flushed. She could see that his lips were slightly swollen and there were kiss marks on his neck. She red toward Hephaestus and said, "Hephaestus-sama...no fair." Seeing the using look of Lili, Hephaestus coughed loudly and tried to clear the atmosphere. "We...werent going to do anything. I just got caught up the moment...I had been rather stressed outtely while Vahn was in the medical ward." As Lili continued to re at Hephaestus, she felt a weight on her head and the familiar hand of Vahn as it began to ruffle her hair. "Dont me Hephaestus, Lili. She tried to resist at first, and I was the one that kissed her." The words Vahn had intended to diffuse the situation practically exploded in the ears of all the girls present. Hephaestus couldnt prevent herself from covering her face as Tsubaki was bent against the wall while loudlyughing. "Way to go, way to go~! Ahahahaha!" Lili had taken the most damage from the words, as she knew Vahn was trying tofort her. If what he said was true, she really couldnt me Hephaestus at all. "Uuuuh, Vahn...I was worried too you know!?" Lili was practically frantic now, and Vahn frowned slightly as he looked toward Hephaestus who refused to make eye contact with him. Seeing that Tsubaki wasnt any help, he decided to try and cate Lili. Removing his hand from her head, Vahn reached around her shoulders and pulled Lili into an embrace. Since Lili was so small, her face ended upnding right in the center of Vahns chest as he began to gently stroke her back. "Thanks for worry about me, Lili, Im sorry to have put you through so much." Lili felt slightly aggrieved after hearing his words because she knew Vahn was trying tofort her, but the smelling from his body made her heart feel sour. Mixed in with the scent of Vahn, Lili could smell the fragrance of Hephaestus, and it made her feel a bit jealous. After a while, Lili seemed to have made up her mind and she pulled away from Vahn a bit. "Vahn, can I get a kiss too, please?" Hephaestus seemed to awaken at the words, but she didnt stop Vahn from making a decision. Tsubaki also looked over, but she was no longerughing and had a more serious expression on her face. Vahn contemted Lilis request and realized that, much like Ais, she had very high affection. However, unlike Ais, Lili was different, as she was still very weak. Vahn was afraid that, if he was too lenient and giving toward her, her personality would be distorted as she sought more affection from him in the future. So, instead of kissing her on the lips, Vahn grasped Lilis face and, outside the expectations held in her gaze, kissed her on the forehead. Lilis eyes opened wide and it looked like she wanted to say something, but she couldnt find the words to express herself. Pulling their faces apart, Vahn spoke in a soft and gentle tone, "I dont want to see you be reliant on me, Lili. For now, I want you to enjoy your life and focus on increasing your strength as much as you can. There is plenty of time in the future, so just enjoy the moment." Vahn felt like his advice was good, but Lili seemed somewhat upset by his words. Tears began .u.mting in her face and she spoke in muted sobs, "I will be stronger Vahn...please dont leave me behind, okay?" Vahn shook his head andughed a bit while stroking her head, "Silly girl, Im not going anywhere. You are very important to me, just not in that way. At least, not for now." Tsubaki, who had been standing at the side, spoke out, "He is right Lili. You know exactly what kind of person Vahn is, and what you need to do to ovee your own past. Youve made a lot of progress, so dont stumble and waste it all." Lili nodded her head, but there were still tears in her eyes as she looked at Hephaestus. "Hephaestus-sama...please dont keep Vahn to yourself in the future. There are other people that care about him a whole lot, okay?" Hephaestus considered Lilis words before nodding in affirmation. She knew, especially after hearing it from Vahn himself, what kind of things shed have to deal with in the future. As a Goddess who had lived for millions of years, and as someone that would never age as Vahn grows old, she could be patient and epting. She never believed for a moment she would be able to keep someone as powerful and mysterious as Vahn to herself. Tsubaki saw the quiet atmosphere as a cheeky smile began to grow on her face. Looking towards Vahn and Lili on the couch and said, "Lili. Strip." Lili, who had been looking toward Hephaestus all this time became startled after hearing the manding tone of Tsubaki. She looked over and saw the devilish grin on her face as she asked, "Eh? Tsubaki-sama?" Hephaestus nodded and reiterated the words, "She is right, you need to take off your top. Were going to conduct the conversion ceremony and make you an official member of my Familia." Seeing Vahn sitting next to Lili, Hephaestus frowned a bit before saying, "You can stay Vahn, but dont interrupt the ceremony." Lili was surprised at hearing she was going to undergo the conversion ceremony, but a bit of expectation began to build inside her when she heard Hephaestus give Vahn permissions to stay. "Yes, please stay, Vahn! I want you to see the exact moment when I join the same Familia as you!" Lili was suddenly in high tension, and all her apprehension flew out the window as she began to undress. Suddenly, as her hands touched the buttons of her blouse, she looked at Hephaestus for a moment before turning toward Vahn. Spreading her arms wide, Lili looked at Vahn with an excited expression as she said,"Vahn, help me undress~!" Vahn was surprised, and he could see from the side that Hephaestus flinched after hearing Lilis words. After a brief moment, she made eye contact with Vahn and nodded with a sigh. Vahn, who had never really thought of Lili as one of his potential partners, reached out toward her blouse and was surprised to feel his emotions begin to be disordered. Before his hands reached the buttons, he couldnt help but gulp slightly. Even though Lili was small, it was primarily due to her race, and she had in fact been growing in all the ces a woman would. Though they werent asrge as in the original story, her b.r.e.a.s.ts had already reached a mature state. Lili was watching Vahn the entire time and, seeing his hesitation and how he gulped, she felt slightly proud of herself and extended her chest forward. Even though she couldntpete against Hephaestus in bust size, she wasnt consideredcking amongst members of her own race. When she pressed her b.r.e.a.s.ts out, they collided with Vahns hand and he became slightly started. Feeling as though his actions were somewhat embarrassing, Vahn shook his head before quickly reaching for the buttons. Now it was Lilis turn to blush as each individual button on her blouse was slowly unfasted by Vahn. By the time he had reached thest button, her bare skin had been exposed to him including thece bra she was wearing underneath. Lili had a fierce blush on her face as she grits her teeth and willed her body not to move. After Vahn removed the final button, he could clearly the see the front of Lilis body. Though she often showed her stomach in casual clothing, Vahn felt the current sight to be unique. It was his first time undressing a girl, and it made blood rush to his face as he continued. Reaching towards her shoulders, he slowly moved down the garment and couldnt help but swallow again when the blouse fell from her body. Now, Lili stood before Vahn in nothing but a bra, skirt, and stockings as she trembled in front of him with her eyes closed Vahn just sat there staring for a moment before Tsubaki, at the side, spoke out,"I wonder how long you are going to stand there and let Vahn oggle you?" Vahn turned his head away after Tsubaki spoke while Lili flinched before trying to cover herself in her panic. Hephaestus, who had been growing more annoyed as time passed, loudly moved a chair to the center of the room. "Sit here, Lili. This wont take long, but it will be somewhat ufortable. Vahn...just stay there for now." Vahn nodded his head mechanically as Lili sat in the chair. Perhaps by ident or by design, but Hephaestus had oriented the back of the chair facing the couch. Since the chair was wooded and had gaps, when Lili sat down, Vahn was able to see a bit of the exposed skin through the openings. The thing that made his heart suddenly pump with one vicious throb was when Lili first straddled the chair, she opened her legs and her skirt rolled up slightly. Vahn could see a very simr fabric as the bra Lili was wearing and understood that the sight he could see through the gaps were Lilis panties. Lili had a fierce blush as she stared at each of Vahns reactions. Every time his expression changed, she felt slightly happy and her tiny heart was beating a million beats per minute. It felt like, if this situation went on for too long, her heart would explode out her chest. Suddenly, and without any warning, Lili could feel an incredibly painful and burning sensation on her back. All of the excitement she had been building was immediately dashed and reced by the aching pain that seemed to prate all the way through her body. Hephaestus had let Lili get a little riled up by using Vahn as a distraction. The moment her happiness had reached a critical level, Hephaestus began the conversion ceremony by dripping her blood onto the Soma Familia crest. As her blood came into contact with the crest, the ck tattoo lit up with a bright red light as it began to forcibly change into the Hephaestus Familia crest. Because a conversion could damage a person body and harm their foundation, it was impossible to perform more than once a year. Any more than that and the recipient could suffer permanent damage. Even though it wasnt her fault, Hephaestus hadnt quite forgiven Lili for her earlier intrusion. Though she meant to punish Tsubaki as well, right now Hephaestus just wanted Lili to feel a bit of what she experienced earlier. The moment she was having a lovey-dovey atmosphere with Vahn, that was precisely when she decided to start the ceremony. Vahn, unaware of the secondary motives behind Hephaestuss actions, just continued to stare on and watch. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Revenge of the Forge Goddess,Glimpse through the gap,Uncontroble Laugher of the Cyclops) Chapter 111 - Relaxation

Chapter 111 - Rxation

The ceremonysted nearly ten minutes, and the entire time it was going on, Lili continued to stare at Vahn with clenched teeth. Eventually, the light began to fade, and the crest of a moon and chalice had now turned into two hammers with a ming volcano. Lili released a gasp as the pain slowly began to fade, and began drawing deep breaths to help ease the aching in her back. Vahn, seeing that the ceremony had finished, stood up and walked forward before cing his hand on Lilis head. He began to channel his energy through [Hands of Nirvana] and her pained expression rapidly turned into one offort. Hephaestus removed her finger from Lilis back and said, "You withstood that well. From now on you are a member of the Hephaestus Familia. If anyone, including the bastards from the Soma Familia, tries to harm you, I will make them pay." Even if Hephaestus wasnt too fond of Lili, she was very protective of her children. She fully intended to have the Guild investigate into the Soma Familia and find out what had been going on behind the scenes. Lili nodded her head and continued to enjoy the warm feelinging from Vahns hand. "Thank you Hephaestus-sama, I will do my best to not embarrass the Familia." Tsubaki spoke up in response, "From now on you can join official parties if youd like, or even act a supporter on expeditions. Once you earn enough experience and exilia, youll be able to freely increase your level from now on." Lili continued to nod her head, but she was feeling a little uneasy on the inside. She knew the Soma Familia couldnt touch the Hephaestus Familia, but she still wanted to do her best to get revenge on her own. She couldnt easily forgive everything the Soma Familia had put her through, and there were many people within that she wanted to punish herself. Vahn, as he could see auras, noticed that Lilis began to fluctuate and he knew she was hiding her anger. He couldnt me her as he if he could one day return to earth, would probably try to seek revenge against the people that mistreated him as well. Even if he found out they were destroyed by someone else, Vahn didnt think it would make him happy. But, Vahn had also promised his mother that he would try to live happy and free, and he had slowly been letting go of his hatred as he spent time in this world. Tilting Lilis head toward him, she opened her eyes and stared at him with confusion. Vahn slowly spoke, "Lili, there is no meaning to a life lived in the pursuit of revenge. The only way you can ovee your past is to live free and happy. Dont let distant memories ruin the experiences youre having now." Lilis eyes opened wide at Vahns words, and she could tell that he had been able to sense the hatred she had kept hidden. In response, she muttered in a low voice, "I will try...Vahn." Afterward, Lili stood up from the chair and, to Hephaestuss mild annoyance, had Vahn help her dress. With slightly less awkwardness, Vahn helped Lili wear her blouse, but he noticed a strange feeling of loss as he slowly fastened the buttons. By the time she was properly wearing the clothes, Vahn almost felt sad, though he wasnt sure why. Tsubaki, who had been paying attention to the entire event with interest, smacked Vahn on the back before saying,"Dont be sad, Vahn! Youll have plenty of chances to undress women if you work hard; isnt that right Hephaestus-sama!?" Hephaestus flinched at the loud voice of Tsubaki before hanging her head a bit and muttering, "Maybe...after your forge an item that can satisfy me. I cant abandon my own vows, and the incident earlier was just a slightpse in judgment..." Vahn frowned after hearing Hephaestus try to exin away the earlier events. He felt like she was trying to build up a wall between them again, so he slowly approached until he stood directly in front of her. Reaching out, Vahn ced his hand on her face and had her look into his eyes. He said in a firm tone, simr to how people tried to convince him, "I will forge an item for you, but that doesnt mean I want us to be apart all the time. We dont have to have s.e.x, but I think hugging and kissing should be fine." Hephaestus was shocked to hear his words, while Tsubaki had an almost proud look on her face as she nodded at Vahns actions. Lili, who had been enjoying her moment with Vahn previously, just stood there in silence as her breathing increased a bit. The moment Hephaestus tried to say something, Vahn leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. It was a little awkward, and he almost fell over because of their height distance, but he wanted to convey his feelings to her in the most direct manner he could. Vahn felt he wasnt that good at expressing himself through words, so he decided a kiss was the most appropriate course of action. Unlike earlier, Hephaestus didnt try to resist, but she pulled away after a few seconds with a blush on her cheeks. After a few seconds, she red at Vahn before biting her lower lip and saying, "...only...every once and a while." As he heard her words, Vahn couldnt help but smile with arge grin on his face. Hephaestus saw his look and grit her teeth before releasing and sigh. She felt mixed feelings about her future and sat at her desk before putting her head down into her arms. While everyone stared at her in curiosity, she just closed her eyes and ignored their gazes as she tried to calm herself by listening to Vahns heart. Even though she was vaguely aware that her actions were strange, it had be a habit for her recently, so she couldnt help herself. Unfortunately, she could feel Vahns heart beating quite quickly as well, so it took much longer than normal for her to rx. Tsubaki saw Hephaestus acting strangely, and she grabbed Lilis arm before slowly making her way to the exit. "Come on Lili, there are plenty of things we need to take care of now that youre officially in the Familia. You can try your luck tempting Vahnter." Lili had been quiet since earlier, and she kept changing her gaze between Hephaestus and Vahn. Right before she exited through the door, she spoke toward Hephaestus, "You are lucky Hephaestus-sama. Vahn cares about you a lot...it makes me a little jealous." With those parting words, she followed Tsubaki out the door and closed it behind her. Hephaestus raised her head slightly and watched as thetch on the door secured itself. After a few more minutes of silence, she ced her head back on the table and tried to rx a bit. She hadnt actually been getting much sleep thest nine days since she had been spending most of her time at Vahns bedside. Now that she had been in high tensions for so long, she felt incredibly tired, both physically and emotionally. Vahn stood in front of her desk and didnt know if he should say anything. It was alreadyte in the day, and he would probably end up sleeping her in her office. Seeing how strange the atmosphere had be, he wanted to do something about it and decided to help Hephaestus rx. Walking to the side, Vahn reached out and gently reached for one of the arms of Hephaestus. Hephaestus had noticed his approach, and seeing him reach for her, she actually began to feel even more tired expecting him to try to do more. Though she didnt mind his advances, she kind of wished he would be a little considerate of her. Staring towards him, she asked in azy voice, "What is it, Vahn? Im very tired right now." Vahn just showed her a gentle smile before saying, "I know, I wont do anything strange. I just want to help you rx, so can you rest on the couch instead of the desk?" Hephaestus, seeing the honest and concerned look of Vahn, couldnt help but give in to his demands as she allowed Vahn to escort her to the couch. Seeing the familiar sofa and recalling the events from earlier, her heart began to race slightly, but she did her best to keep calm. She trusted that Vahn would keep his word and wouldnt try doing anything to her right now. "Okay, Hephaestus, it may be a bit...difficult, but I need you toy on your stomach and rx your body." Hephaestus noticed that, as Vahn said the word difficult, his eyes had wandered to her b.r.e.a.s.ts for a brief instant. She couldnt help butugh slightly as she said, "Its fine, I sleep on this cough a lot without any...difficulties." Hephaestus also ced emphasis on the word which caused Vahn tough awkwardly. After Hephaestusid down, she did as Vahn suggested and tried rxing her body. She was unsure of what he was going to do, but her concerns were answered shortly after as she felt one of his fingers touch her shoulder. Before she could ask what he was up to, she felt a gentle but prating warmth flow into her shoulder. After a few seconds, all the tension in the muscles hadpletely rxed and Vahn moved on to another point and repeated the process. Hephaestus quickly realized that Vahns method to help her rx turned out to be some kind of massage using his energy to diffuse tension. She couldnt help but feel happy that he was so thoughtful, quite unlike the concerns she had earlier about him being inconsiderate. When Vahn had originally learned [Hands of Nirvana], it also discussed the various pressure points on the body. With practice, he could use the technique for everything from relieving stress to sealing arteries to stop blood flow. Right now, he was using one of the techniques that were supposed to ease muscle tension. He had hoped it would help Hephaestus to rx a bit, and judging by how she had fallen asleep after only a few minutes, he was very satisfied with the results. Since Vahn had never given a massage before, he became strangely focused on his actions and slowly moved to the various muscle groups on Hephaestuss back. He was once against surprised with how soft a girls body was, but he also marveled at the tension and strength in her muscles. As she was an experienced cksmith, the area around her upper back and shoulders were far more developed than normal. Even though it didnt look like she had any developed muscles at all, Vahn was able to feel the steel-like tension flowing through what little she had. Vahns only frustration at the situation was, ording to the manual, the patient was supposed to have removed their clothing for the procedure. Since Vahn was worried that Hephaestus would think he was going against his promise, he didnt mention anything and allowed her to keep her clothes on. It made the process much more difficult, but Vahn also kind of enjoyed discovering the proper locations through trial and error. It was kind of fun when he was able to insert his energy into one of the nerves and the muscles around would twitch slightly. After nearly an hour of massaging, Vahn noticed that Hephaestuss body had nowpletely rxed. She even had a bit of drooling out of her mouth, which Vahn thought was kind of cute. After wiping up the dripping saliva, Vahn dried his hand on his tunic before tracing his hand through Hephaestuss hair and giving her a kiss on the cheek. Even in her sleep, she seemed to recognize his presence and smile slightly in response. Vahn, satisfied at having been able to keep his promise,id down on the floor next to the couch and slowly drifted off into sleep himself. Before his thoughts faded into darkness, thest thing that passed through Vahns mind was the thought of improving his massage technique in the future... --- Throughout the City, for no discernible reason, the backs of several girls felt a chill pass down their spines. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Godhand Vahn,Sleeping Hephaestus Discovered!,Hope for the Future) Chapter 112 - Anubis Appears

Chapter 112 - Anubis Appears

Hephaestus woke up early in the morning and feltpletely refreshed. All of the fatigue she had been building up as ofte hadpletely disappeared from her body. She could even feel her joints crack in a pleasant manner as she lifted herself from the couch. To the side, she was able to see Vahn curled up next to the couch. Seeing his sleeping face, Hephaestus felt that Vahn was very adorable. He had been so focused on her previously that he never even bothered to put his shirt back on before going to sleep. Reaching out her hand, she gently poked his cheek like she had done so the first time he slept in her office. Seeing the sad look and frown that he had after being poked, she nearlyughed out and wanted to squeeze his cheeks to tease him. Suddenly, while she was distracted by poking him, Vahns hand reached out and snatched her wrist. He opened his eyes and looked into the startled face of Hephaestus before smiling. Hephaestus blushed a bit before pulling her hand free of him and rising from the couch. "Good morning, Vahn. Im sorry you had to sleep on the floor..." Vahn jumped up from the floor and began to stretch his body to loosen up the tension in his joints. Hephaestus watched him perform his routine and marveled at how quickly his body had been maturing over thest few months. Though he was never skinny, now his muscled had slowly started building up and he cut a slightly masculine figure in the dim light of her office. Hephaestus was in a daze as she watched his muscles stretch and contort, and was genuinely surprised when she noticed how flexible he was. Because Vahn had been using his Bih form a lot in the dungeon, his body had slowly been changing to assume a more light and muscr shape. His muscles were incredibly flexible, and even his bones seemed to possess some degree of malleability as he contorted his body into umon positions. He was even able to nearly turn his torso 180 degrees while twisting his h.i.p.s to stretch his back. Eventually, he noticed Hephaestus gawking at him, so Vahn assumed what he thought to be a manly poses with his arms outstretched and his muscles flexing. Hephaestus saw his disy and nearly snorted before covering her mouth and stifling herughter. Vahn smiled and said, "It is must better like this. It makes me feel happy when I see youugh and smile." After speaking, Vahn finished his routine and wore his tunic while Hephaestus stared at him with a vacant expression on her face. It felt like everything Vahn was saying and doing recently was slowly cementing itself into her heart. She felt a mixture of emotions well up inside of her, and as Vahn had just finished putting on his tunic, she approached and gave him a hug. "I want to see you happy as well Vahn. Dont push yourself too hard in the future. I dont know how long my heart canst if I have to sit helplessly at your bedside again." She put strength into her arms and prayed to a god greater than herself that he would be safe from harm in the future. Afterward, Vahn and Hephaestus spent some time talking about various topics including her clients and the matters regarding the Osiris Familia. Anubis was supposed to being by soon, and Hephaestus began recounting the events that had happened in the City while Vahn had been away. He was surprised after hearing that Osiris had already been captured and detained by the Guild. Though he had expected Hephaestus to take action, he didnt think she would make her move the same day the letter arrived... After another hour-and-a-half, Hephaestus led Vahn to the waiting area where they had enjoyed tea and coffee previously. Just as she had done then, Hephaestus made Vahn some coffee and the two just sat in silence and enjoyed the atmosphere. While Vahn was thinking, Hephaestus looked at him with azy expression and a soft smile on her face. He returned the smile and noticed her eyes squint a little which made his heart flutter a bit as he slowly sipped away at his coffee. Eventually, around 7 AM, Anubis, as well as her children, arrived outside Hephaestuss workshop. Hephaestus tried to rise from the table to answer, but Vahn set his cup down before motioning for her to stay. She frowned slightly, but let Vahn do as he pleased as she reced his coffee cup with her own. Hephaestus followed his back with her eyes as she slowly sipped away at the coffee he was previously enjoying. Vahn opened the door and was greeted by a total of eight people, all of which were dark-haired Chienthropes. He was a bit surprised at the beauty of the woman who he assumed was Anubis, but managed to keep his calm before inviting them in. Anubis cave a curt nod, but her children immediately tensed up after seeing Vahn inside the residence. Thest time they had seen him, he had beat them all while two of them, the girls at the very back of the group, instinctively moved their hands to their backsides. Seeing their goddess enter the premises, they cautiously made their way passed Vahn who was having trouble keeping his smile. The looks the kids gave him made him feel incredibly guilty, especially the two young girls who stared at him with a begrudging expression. Had he known their identities at the time, he never should have shot them with his arrows in such a sensitive spot. Vahn had learned that chienthropes and cat people were especially sensitive around the tops of their tails, which just so happened to be the spot where his arrows connected. He couldnt even imagine the pain they had experienced and remembered that they had both cked-out when he had originally retrieved their bodies. After everyone entered, Vahn closed the door and secured the lock before making his way to the table where Hephaestus was seated. Anubis had joined Hephaestus at the table while her children scattered around in a loose circle and sat on the floor as they watched the scene with fear and intrigue. Vahn noticed that, after Anubis has originally set eyes on him, she had been staring at him almost exclusively since he arrived and sat with them. Hephaestus noticed her gazed and made curt introductions, "Vahn, this is the Goddess Anubis. Anubis, he is the boy you wanted to see. Well, is there a problem?" Both Vahn and Anubis could sense the hostility in her words, especially when she asked her question. Anubis continued to stare at Vahn, and he could almost see her pale golden eyes glowing with a strange luminance. He felt like the two perfect circles were very reminiscent of the full moon, and they had a somewhat calming feeling. Anubis slowly enunciated her words, "Are you human?" Hephaestuss expression grew a bit darker, but Vahn shook his head slightly before responding. "Im not sure of my origins, but I can say for certain that I am human." Though Vahn knew Hephaestus thought he was 3/4 god, he was aware that was not the case but a misunderstanding due to his domain. Frowning slightly, Anubis looked toward Hephaestus and asked, "Do you not sense anything strange from this boy?" Though Vahn had tried to keep her calm, Hephaestus didnt like how Anubis was acting after meeting him. She continued to frown as she asked, "And what would that be, Anubis?" Anubiss frown grew deeper because she knew Hephaestus should be able to sense the abnormality in Vahn, but didnt see to notice for some reason. Looking into Vahns face, her eyes shed with a more prominent glow as she said,"He has no soul...or I cannot see it at the very least." Hephaestus, who had been frowning the entire time, suddenly had her eyes widen in shock. She was aware from their previous meeting that Anubiss Divinity was rted to death, but she couldnt understand why she would im Vahn had no soul. If he didnt have a soul, he wouldnt be able to receive the falna of a god! As Hephaestus was about to speak out her point, both she and Anubis were stunned when they saw Vahn nearly nt his face into the table. It was almost like he lost all the power in his body as he began tough in a dry voice. "Is that all this is about...?" Releasing a deep and long sigh, Vahn willed his [Veil of the Traveler] to allow others to see his soul. He never expected that his countermeasure against Freya would actually attract trouble to him...now he felt even worse about the situation with the hounds than he did previously. Though Anubis was confused at first, her moonlight eyes opened wide in shock as she saw Vahns soul practically explode into existence in an instant. Unlike a normal soul, his was muchrger than most mortals, and instead of the calming azure blue color, it was instead a vibrant gold with a rainbow assortment of colors within the core. Before she asked, Vahn exined, "Im aware that my soul is somewhat unique, so I keep it hidden when I can..."As he spoke, he disabled allowing his soul to be viewed and it seemed to blink out of existence in the eyes of Anubis. Anubis slowly calmed down and, after a few moments of thinking, began bowing her head toward Vahn. Her children seemed startled at her actions and looked at Vahn with a greater amount of fear than before. Anubis said, "I sincerely apologize for this misunderstanding. I had unfairly put you into a position that brought great inconvenience to not only you but Hephaestus as well. My mistake nearly even cost me the lives of my children...I now owe you a great debt, Vahn Mason." Vahn tried to say she didnt owe him anything, but before he could verbalize the words, Hephaestus spoke up. "That is indeed the case. Vahn has always tried his best to help others and is even known as a hero to many in the City. The usations of that idiot Osiris might have had some truth based on how Vahn is able to conceal his soul, but the fact that he maneuvered to endanger Vahn cannot be changed. You also got wrapped up in his scheme, yes, but your impatience nearly led to a tragedy that could not be undone. The fact you nearly turned my Vahn into a murderer is unforgivable!" Hephaestuss soliloquy was spoken with power and conviction, and nobody within the room was able to refute her words. Anubis seemed to take a lot of damage from the ims Hephaestus made, and she bowed even deeper toward Vahn. "I have done something unforgivable...I only ask that you spare my children. As long as you can ede to that request, I am willing to endeavor to repay you no matter how long it takes." Anubis always had a powerful sense of responsibility, and her pride would not allow her to leave debts unpaid. She could not allow her children to bear the burden and intended to do everything in her power to redeem her mistake. //Anubis Wishes to be your subordinate: Y/N?// Vahn had been confused about how he should deal with the bowing goddess, but he became incredibly shocked after seeing the notification in his system. Hephaestus thought his shock came from the promation of Anubis, so she spoke out,"Dont mind it too much Vahn. Though its umon, it isnt unheard of for gods to make a vow of repayment, even to mortals. If youre concerned, I can always find a use for her..." Anubis spoke at the end of Hephaestuss sentence. With a firm conviction in her eyes, she looked toward Vahn and said, "Please, allow me to repay this debt personally. If I have to pay it through other means, I would not be able to satisfy my own pride. Though it may sound arrogant, I cannot go against my own principles." The moment her words finished, Vahn was buffeted by another notification. //Anubis Wishes to be your subordinate: Y/N?// All eyes in the room were focused on Vahn at this moment. The hounds all stared at him with a mixture of fear and hatred, but they were unable to speak out against the goddess they adored. They knew better than anyone the type of person she was, and that was the very reason they dedicated themselves to her. Hephaestus was slightly annoyed by the persistence of Anubis and began to suspect there was a greater purpose behind her willingness to repay the debt. Anubis herself stared at Vahn with a serious expression as she said, "Please, Vahn-sama..." //Anubis Wishes to be your subordinate: Y/N?// The moment he heard a goddess address him with an honorific, Vahns mind practically exploded from the mental damage. He wanted to deny her, but seeing the serious look,bined with his own intrigue at subordinating a goddess, Vahn sighed within his mind while selecting yes. At the same time, he spoke out in the real world, "Okay. I will ept." //Anubis has be your subordinate// [Current Units] [Active: 2][Dormant: 2] [Active Units]: (Eternal me),(Anubis) [Dormant Units]:(Fafnir),(Nameless) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gotta Catch em All, Goddess Edition?,A wild fluffy goddess appears,Buy 1, get 7 free) Chapter 113 - Alpha (1/2)

Chapter 113 - Alpha (1/2)

After epting Anubis as a subordinate, Vahn quickly scanned the notifications in his system and saw she had a Loyalty value of 70, which seemed pretty high considering the circ.u.mstances. Anubis, who had heard Vahn agree to allow her to repay her debt, bowed low in a deferential manner while saying, "Please order me as you will. As long as it does not go against my principles, I will do my best to fulfill yourmands." Seeing the somewhat mature exotic beauty bow to him, Vahn felt his heart palpitate a bit before he turned to look at Hephaestus. She seemed to be looking at Anubis with a contemtive look but, noticing Vahns gaze, she turned toward him and spoke. "You should have her make a vow, or there is nothing binding her to the debt. If things are left as they are, she could just flee the City the moment you drop your guard." Anubis raised her head and frowned at Hephaestuss usation, but before she could refute she saw Vahn shaking her head. "That isnt necessary Hephaestus. Even if she fled the City, I wouldnt stop her. Though she may have acted a bit rashly, she is also one of the victims of this event. I dont mind if she takes her children and continues to live as she pleases." As Vahn finished his words, he noticed the Loyalty value of Anubis increase to 74 which surprised him a little. "I will never forsake my pride and do something so shameless. I dont mind making a vow, and I certainly will not flee the City. Even if Vahn-sama has no use for me, I will do my best to ensure his life is not burdened by my presence." Anubis spoke the worlds boldly and without hesitation while looking into Hephaestuss eyes. Hephaestus didnt seem entirely convinced as she asked, "And how long do you n to serve him? When is your debt repaid?" Anubis tilted her head slightly like she was confused. After a brief moment, she said, "My actions may have resulted in the death of an innocent. I will repent for a life with a life. As long as Vahn-sama draws breath, I will continue to serve him." Vahn noticed that, once again, Anubiss loyalty had increased. She now had a value of 77, but Vahn wasnt entirely focused on that as his eyes were drawn to the twitching ears on her head. Hephaestus sighed as she could see how serious Anubis was being. She felt a headache begin to build inside her head as she mentally added another potential problem that she would have to deal with in the future. Gathering her thoughts, Hephaestus spoke while looking into Anubiss eyes, "Then go ahead and make your vow-" Before she could finish, Vahn interrupted, "I said that wasnt necessary. Even if I ept her as a subordinate so she can repay her debts, I will not bind someone into a life-bound contract or vow. The idea of restricting the freedom of another person makes my stomach sour..." Both Anubis and Hephaestus were surprised by Vahns interruption but strangely, after a bit of time had passed, they both issued subtle smiles toward the boy. Hephaestus felt a little proud at seeing Vahns firm stance on the matter, but she still had to make apromise of her own. She looked towards the smiling face of Anubis before sighing, "If that is his decision, I wont interfere. However, I will have you make a vow to cooperate with the Guilds investigation to deal with Osiris. I assume that will not be a problem for you?" Hearing Hephaestus mention Osiris, Anubis couldnt help but frown in dissatisfaction as she said, "That scoundrel deserves everythinging to him. The night of the raid, I couldnt believe how many criminals he had been keeping as children. As he can also see souls, he had to know what kind of people were in his Familia. The fact he allowed murderers and other foul-hearted people to represent him sickens me." For those that could see souls, they also had the power to roughly determine what kind of person someone was based on the colors contained within. For murderers, rapists, and scoundrels, they would often have kes of ck or putrid greens contaminating their souls. After their agreement, Hephaestus and Anubis went through the process of establishing the vow and arranging when they would report to the Guild. Since it was very difficult to detain a god for long without charges, they decided to take care of it within the next two days. After they hade to an agreement, Hephaestus brought up a subject that had been overlooked till now. "So, what about those kids? If youre going to follow Vahn, are you going to release them?" Hephaestus pointed to the seven children that had been sitting in silence for the entire discussion. The previouslyrge pointy ears on their heads now drooped low, and they each had sad expressions after everything that had happened. Anubis saw their mncholic demeanors and couldnt help but release a sad sigh. "We came to this City because of the invitation from Osiris, and now that our funds have run low, there is little I can do to ensure their livelihoods. Though they are considered strong back in our home country, they have some difficulties within the dungeon. I dont want them to have to suffer while trying to support the Familia." Anubis looked towards Vahn with a hopeful expression in her eyes, "I cannot bring them with me, as my debts are not their burden. The choice ultimatelyys in what Vahn-sama wishes to do..." Vahn recognized the look in her eyes and he turned towards the children who had previously feared him. Now, instead of fear, there was a pleading look on each of their faces. For some reason, thebination of the drooping ears andrge eyes of the children had a big impact on Vahn and he began to smile before saying, "If they are willing to follow you, I will do my best to ensure they are taken care of. Even if you say you are willing to serve me, I have no need for servants or anything like that. Besides, there is no way I can say no if they look at me like that..." Anubis began tough like a bell as she squinted her eyes with arge smile on her face. "I had hoped, but I never expected Vahn-sama to be so magnanimous. Well, children, are you willing to follow Vahn-sama alongside me?" The moment she asked the question, almost as if they had rehearsed it previously, the entire group of kids jumped to their feet and bowed together. "Please, Vahn-sama, allow us to follow you!" Vahn could see excitement and expectation in their eyes as he nodded his head with an awkward smile. The moment they saw him agree, their tails began to wag excitedly before they resumed sitting in silence. Unlike the previous gloom, they now looked remarkably happy. Vahn wondered why children were so easily influenced, but he attributed their current mentality to their devotion toward Anubis. At the same time as Vahn epted the children, Anubiss affection reached 81 as she showed a gratified smile on her face. Hephaestus, who had been watching the y with a skeptical look on her face, spoke out again, "And, where will you and your Familia be staying from now on?" The moment Hephaestus asked the question, the tails of the children immediately froze while even Anubis seemed to be somewhat awed by the question. Clearing her throat for a few seconds, Anubis lowered her head a bit before she looked toward Vahn and Hephaestus and said in a low voice, "We...dont have a ce to stay. Our funds ran out two days ago and we had been living around the Babel Tower since then..." Anubis seemed incredibly embarrassed by her own admission, and it only got worse when she saw the incredulous look on Hephaestuss face. Vahn startedughing after hearing that the goddess who hadmitted to serving him ended up being homeless. He began to suspect that the only reason she wanted to be his subordinate was so that they had a ce to live. Anubis seemed to be even more embarrassed after Vahn began tough and Vahn saw a blush cover her cheeks for the first time. Before the situation devolved any further, Vahn said with confidence, "Dont worry about it, I may not have much, but I should be able to pay for a ce for you and you Familia for the time being. Though I wont do it for free and Ill expect everyone to work hard to earn their keep." Right now Vahn had 171,530V, which was enough to lease a small house if he wanted. It wouldnt be the highest quality ce to live, but it should be enough for the small Familia. Hephaestus shook her head and brought up a matter before Vahn continued, "You actually have a lot more funds than you might think. Remember the reward and reparations given by the Loki Familia? You will be able to pick them up when you go to the Guild, and Im certain it will be more than enough to cover living expenses for a while. But, I have to ask this, are you not intending to stay with Tsubaki anymore?" Hearing Hephaestuss words, Vahn began to be excited until she continued further. He had never considered leaving Tsubakis ce, but if he had agreed to help take care of another Familia, it wouldnt make sense for him to live elsewhere. Vahn began to worry that he had gotten himself into a matter that would be difficult to resolve, but luckily, Hephaestus seemed to already have a solution. With a sigh, Hephaestus said, "Dont worry about it too much. When you had joined the Familia long ago, you were guaranteed a ce to live as well as your own workshop. I had arranged matters to have your workshop located in the lot behind Tsubakis current manor. Its not nearly the same size, but it should be more than enough for your current needs..." Vahn was incredibly grateful for what Hephaestus had done, and he verbalized it the only way he could think of, "Thank you, Hephaestus, I love you." Hearing Vahns sudden bomb and seeing the affectionate smile on his face, Hephaestuss heart began to race and she was unable to form any thoughts. She just kept repeating the words over and over in her mind as the pressure began to build up in her face causing a blush to touch her cheeks. Anubis saw the reaction and heard Vahns deration before asking, "Are you two lovers~?" She seemed somewhat intrigued by the notion as there was extra inflection on the end of her words. Hephaestus seemed to want to say something, but because of her dazed state, Vahn managed to speak first. "We will be. I promised that, once I manage to forge an item that meets her standards, I will make her my lover, no matter what." Vahns eyes were wide and his brows were furrowed as he loudly proimed the words. Anubis seemed a bit surprised, but she just smiled before looking toward the fiercely blushing Hephaestus. At this point, she was literally covering her face with both hands and refused to look at anyone. Anubis thought that the Hephaestus that acted cutely was much more preferable than the wrathful demon that had struck fear in her a few days ago. Vahn seemed to agree, as he reached out his hand and began channeling [Hands of Nirvana] to help ease Hephaestuss chaotic mind. The duality of her situation seemed to influence her even more, as Hephaestus red at Vahn between her fingers. However, though she tried to look angry, Vahn could see the smile hidden behind her palms. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Deration of LOVE!,Cunny doge,Bundle of Puppies) Chapter 114 - Alpha (2/2)

Chapter 114 - Alpha (2/2)

After Hephaestus had finally calmed down, partially due to Vahns help, she began discussing other matters before finally bringing the conversation to an end. As Vahn needed to head to the guild and tend to the matters regarding his move, Hephaestus gave him a hug before sending him on his way. Vahn, though he gratefully epted the hug, felt like Hephaestus was a bit sad at sending him off. Before he left, he closed the gap when she had dropped her guard and gave her peck on the lips. It was a very brief kiss, but Vahn saw her brows raise before she pushed him away with a smile. "Get out of here!" Vahn allowed himself to be pushed out into the street by the bashful Hephaestus. Seeing her expression made himugh, and it drew the attention of the some of the passersby who had shock and curiosity written all over their face. Hephaestus red at the crowd before looking at Vahn and saying, "You had better work hard to improve your forging. If you keep me waiting too long, someone else mighte along and steal me." Vahn looked straight into her eyes before pulling out the hammer she had forged for him. "I swear Hephaestus, I wont allow anyone to take you away from me. No matter what, I will fulfill my promise and shatter your loneliness with this hammer!" Though Hephaestus had spoken quietly to him, Vahn gave his response in a loud voice. He didnt care if the crowd heard him, and it made him feel proud to publicly chase after Hephaestus. Though he hadnt intended it at first, Vahn felt a powerful rush of excitement build inside of him after his deration. Unlike Vahn, Hephaestus seemed to mind the onlookers a bit, but seeing his confidence and the hammer that represented her hopes, she stepped forward and gave him a light kiss on the cheek in front of all the onlookers. Though she initially wanted to give him a proper kiss, she panicked at thest moment and altered her target slightly. After her public disy of affection, she retreated into her workshop so quickly that Vahn had shbacks to his fights with Tsubaki. Anubis began giggling at the side which broke Vahn from his reverie. Looking toward, she bowed slightly with all of her children behind her. "What shall we do now, my Master?" Hearing the new form of address, Vahn felt a chill run down his spine and he couldnt help but shake his head to clear the strange sensation that had taken root. In response to her question, he said, "For now, take this Valis and get the kids something to eat. If youve been staying outdoors for thest two days, I have a feeling they havent been eating properly. Im going to head to the Guild, and we can meet up at the northwest za entrance when Im finished." Hearing that they would get to eat food, the kids started looking at Vahn was reverent expressions. Seeing their hungry looks, Vahnughed and gave Anubis twice the initial amount. "Make sure they get a good meal in them." Anubis epted the money, and Vahn flinched a bit when he got the notification that her Loyalty had increased to 85. He was slightly curious to know what would happen if he could increase it to the cap. Anubis gratefully epted the money before ushering the kids forward. "Children, what do you say to our Master?" Vahn, hearing Anubis implore the kids to call him master tried to speak out, but the representative of the troupe, Rasui, spoke out first, "Yes! Thank you, Master. Once again, I am Rasui, and I will be in your care!" Vahn stood there in shock and got caught up in the tempo of the children. They took turns repeating simr introductions, and Vahn finally learned each of their names. The other three boys, excluding Rasui, were named Nour, Akil, and Ata, while the girls were, Chione, Maat, and Nanu. The girls Chione and Nanu still seemed to be a bit cautious of Vahn, but they managed to get through the introductions before repositioning behind Anubis. After all the introduction were done, Anubis spoke out, "From now on, you are their Master and the Alpha of their pack. Hierarchy is very important to the Southern Tribe, so make sure to do your best...Master." Vahn felt like Anubis was using the word to tease him at this point, and he cleared his throat while trying to act more manly. "Very well. Go and eat with Anubis and wait for me in the za." Vahn tried to speak in amanding tone and the entire group saluted toward him with a Ha! sound. Anubis giggled and escorted the kids away from Vahn who felt his stomach cramp slightly. Once they were far enough away, Vahn released a sigh and felt the tension release from his body. He began making his way toward the Guild while inspecting the parameters in his Unit Management. At this point, Anubis had a value of 86 and Vahn was curious what function Loyalty actually had. When he was fighting with Fafnir, it seemed to be able to understand his intent, even without him saying anything. He was curious, so he tried sending a mand to Anubis who had long vanished from sight. Within the mand he had asked her to purchase candy for the children that they werent able to eat until his arrival. After traveling for a few minutes, Vahn arrived outside the Guild for the first time in a while. Trying to recall from his memories, he realized it had been nearly two months since hisst visit. Now that he had increased his level, he could also take the opportunity to report the change and receive his new Guild card. Stepping through the double-doors, Vahn took in the sights that he hadnt seen for quite some time. As it was early, the time when most adventurers were beginning to set out, there were arge number of people present. Vahn wasnt sure which line he needed to stand in to receive his reward, so he joined the long queue where they handled general inquiries and missions. Since the Juggernaut had been an emergency mission, Vahn assumed it would be the appropriate line to wait in. After waiting nearly twenty minutes, Vahn finally reached the front of the queue and was just as surprised as the person looking back at him. The girl that had been at the counter was none other than Eina Tulle, who Vahn had teased on hisst visit by telling her I love you! in front of the entire Guild. Seeing Vahn, who had been missing for so long, Eina immediately gged a recement before looking at him with an angry expression. "Mr. Mason, pleasee this way..." Hearing the way she addressed him, Vahn felt a little ufortable, but he just followed her to a private booth which facilitated secret transactions and high-value mission rewards. After entering the room, Vahn sat on one of the sofas while Eina sat on the opposite sofa. She seemed to have an usatory look as she asked, "Where have you been for thest two months? All Ive heardtely are rumors, including one where you had apparently suffered irrecoverable brain damage." Vah noticed that her generally yellow and pleasant aura was now flickering a bit like a me, but it was still yellow which meant she had no malicious intent. Out of a habit he had recently developed, Vahn looked through the system and noticed her affection was at 62, so he knew she wasnt truly angry with him. Vahn bowed slightly and gave her a sincere apology before exining what he had been up to. Eina listened to his story while maintaining her angry expression, but hearing some of the things he had been through, her brows slowly began to ease up. When Vahn finally got to the point about his miraculous recovery and the fact he hade to the Guild immediately after his release from the ward, she had recovered her smile. Though she knew he didnte by to meet her, after remembering his promation from before, she had the slightest bit of expectation. Now that she had recovered her professional demeanor, Eina got down to business and asked, "And what bring you here today Vahn? Dont tell me you wanted to visit me...?" Vahn noticed she was in a much better mood now and decided to y to the situation as he responded, "It may have not been my original intent, but Im happy to have the opportunity. My true purpose was to receive the items left behind by the Loki Familia as well as report my change in level. I wouldnt mind continuing in this manner for a while, however." Vahn smiled toward Eina who was now looking at him like he was some kind of monster. As the person who had recorded hisst level up, she knew how little time had passed since then. If she was correct, Vahn had likely set a new record for the fastest increase between levels two and three. Shepletely ignored the fact how he had said he wasnt here to visit her as she began processing the information she just received in her mind. She had known that the Loki Familia had left behind a reward, but she hadnt expected Vahn to be the recipient. Rising from the sofa, Eina gave a profession curtsy to Vahn before excusing herself to check the details and process his request. Vahn was a bit disappointed with how hepletely ignored her remarks previously, and he began thinking of ways to tease the serious half-elf girl. He didnt know why, but seeing her fl.u.s.tered made him a little happy. By the time she returned carrying arge ck container, Vahn had already prepared a method to get a rise out of her. Vahn had noticed that she had gotten her hair styled since hest saw her, and wanted to tryplimenting her to see if she would react. "I hadnt mentioned this earlier, but I think your current hairstyle suits you. It is very cute and ents your ears well." Eina, who had been treating the matters seriously, faltered a bit before stopping and looking toward Vahn. "Mr...Mason. Thank you for yourpliment." Afterward, she sat down and opened up the ck container toward Vahn. He was a little dejected at seeing her response, and even the impressive items disyed before him didnt interest him much. Eina saw his sad look, but she put it to the back of her mind as she said, "These are three high-grade magic cores that were left by the Loki Familia for your eptance. You should know the value of these cores is nearly twenty-million Valis each. It looks like youre rich now Mr. Mason." Eina triedughing at her remark but noticed Vahn didnt seem interested in the massive increase in wealth at all. Vahn reached forward and casually put the items into his inventory without remarking about their value. He really was impressed at the sudden gain, but he was more focused on trying to think of how to get Eina to return to normal at the moment. Eina thought Vahn was upset with how she had been addressing him, so after sighing, she said, "Vahn, I dont know what you think of me, but Im not such an easy girl that a simple confession can move my heart. Im certain you were just teasing me, so cant we just put that matter behind us for now?" Hearing her call him by name, Vahn was a bit happy, but he frowned on the outside as he said seriously, "Though its true that I wanted to tease you, it doesnt mean I was lying. Even if I didnt understand the implications at the time, Im not the type to take back my words so easily." Eina had been one of the characters Vahn found interesting even in the manga. It was the reason he had wanted to tease her simr to how Bell had done in the original story. He was really happy seeing her reaction at the time. Eina looked at Vahn and saw that he was serious as he spoke. A bit of doubt seeded itself into her heart, and she believed he may have been serious in his words. A strange feeling began building in her stomach, and she felt both sick and happy at the same time. "Fine...if youre serious, I dont mind giving you a chance..." Though there were several people trying to court her, there were few that had all the qualifications as Vahn. Not only was he handsome, but he had incredible potential as an adventurer and even possessed strong connections and personal wealth. Eina thought he wasnt a bad candidate for her first boyfriend. Vahn was surprised by her words, and he actually began to panic inside. Though he was serious, he still only intended to tease her. He never expected that she was seriously willing to consider being together with him! Remembering all the girls he had recently interacted with, Vahn felt like he had just walked head-first into a brick wall made of adamantine. Seeing his suddenly befuddled expression, Eina frowned slightly before saying in a low voice, "Were you actually lying to me after all?" Vahn noticed her aura begin to darken slightly, and he raised both of his hands in a panic, "No, that isnt true at all. I was just incredibly surprised that you were actually willing to consider being together with me!" Vahn spoke the truth and it seemed Eina bought his reason as she gave a relieved sigh. Showing a genuine smile, instead of her professional one, Eina said, "Okay then, we should go on a date this weekend. Since you said you were spending the next three months recovering, its a good opportunity to spend time together." Eina was suddenly in a chipper mood, and the happier she appeared the more worried Vahn became. Images of all the girls he was currently dealing with passed through his mind. Near the end of his recollection, he saw Anubiss figure as she repeated a variation of her words from earlier, "Youre the Alpha now...do your best Master." (A/N: Alternate Titles: You dun f.u.c.k.i.e.d up now boi,Its a trap!,Vahn is digging a grave deeper than the dungeon) Chapter 115 - Precipice

Chapter 115 - Precipice

After spending time going over the specifics of their uing date, Vahn parted ways with Eina after receiving his updated Guild card. He was surprised that he was also given an additional 3.7m Valis as a reward for his participation in the Juggernaut subjugation. It seemed that the Loki Familia gave him a great deal of credit for his participation, but Vahn also suspected it was part of their apology for his injury. Vahns funds now consisted of 3,871,630 Valis and the three high-grade magic stones which could him an additional 60 million if he sold them. Vahn suddenly felt like he had be incredibly wealthy, but considering how expensive high-grade equipment was, he knew it wasnt really that much. He would be able to buy a house, even a mansion if he wanted, but he would only be able to buy one or two pieces of equipment forged by a Master Smith. Even Bells weapon from the manga cost a total of 200,000,000 Valis, but that was due to its nature as a growth weapon. As he was making his way toward the rendezvous point with Anubis, Vahn began to worry about trying to consult someone about the problems he was facing with women. The only two people that came to mind were Tsubaki, Naaza, and Chloe, but none of them seemed to be an ideal choice. While he was lost in his thoughts, Sis spoke out in his mind, (*Vahn, you should convert those high-grade cores into OP. The energy within each is worth between 120k-150k OP each.*) Vahn was surprised at Siss im and he immediately gave her permission to convert the crystals. Though he could sell them or use them to forge gear, Vahn was still concerned withpleting his quest as soon as possible. He had even considered forging weapons and converting them into OP to finish off the remaining points. After the conversion, Vahn now had 818,309 OP and wasnt too far off from the required one-million. In a much better mood than he had been previously, Vahn increased his speed before arriving at the za within fifteen minutes. His agility growth had made it so that, if he was even slightly in a hurry, his natural pace made him move faster than the average citizen running. The trip that used to take him twenty minutes while sprinting, now only took him fifteen while casually moving at a brisk pace. Looking around the area, Vahn quickly found Anubis standing near all the children who were sitting in a circle around her as she sat on a bench. They had calm and patient demeanors, and Vahn noticed they were sitting with their eyes closes, almost as though they were in meditation. Anubis noticed his approach before lightly pping to get the childrens attention. "Our Master has arrived, you all did very well to wait~" Vahn saw Anubis reach for a bag that contained hard candies and she began passing them to the children who received them with a smile. With this, he was able to confirm that she could actually receive his orders even if he wasnt around. Curious, Vahn asked, "Candy?" Anubis smiled and exined, "For some reason, I felt like the children deserved some candy to celebrate the earlier happenings. However, I made sure they ate their meal properly and waited for your return before rewarding their patience." Seeing that her aura hadnt fluctuated at all, Vahn was able to reason that his orders were interpreted as a thought or impulse for the receiver. He became very curious and tried sending another order to have Anubis look toward the top of the tower. It was vague enough that it wouldnt infringe on her free-will too much, and it would also allow him to confirm his conjecture if she followed through. A few seconds after he sent the order, Anubis had a thoughtful expression as she looked toward the top of Babel like she was searching for something. Vahn followed her gaze before asking, "Is something the matter?" Anubis frowned slightly and responded, "It felt like my instincts were telling me to look toward the tower, but I cant understand what triggered them." Anubis seemed confused about her own behavior and shook her head to clear her thoughts. Vahn noticed that, when she shook her head and stopped looking at the tower, her Loyalty had actually decreased from 86 to 85. He was surprised and realized that, if his orders conflicted with the persons thoughts, they would feel like something was strange and it directly affected their Loyalty towards him. It seemed like Loyalty was not only easy to increase if you could earn the other partys favor, but it could decrease just as easily if they receive strange orders. Anubis noticed Vahns contemtive expression before speaking out, "Dont worry about it Vahn, Im sure its nothing." She showed him a gentle smile, and Vahn actually felt somewhat guilty for having ordered her at all. However, he also knew it was somewhat necessary so that he could understand how his functions properly worked. Since he wasnt able tomunicate with Fafnir or the nameless Kobold, he was unable to understand how they were interpreting hismands. Remembering Fafnir, Vahn recalled the scene of its self-muttion and he suddenly ovepped the image with Anubis in front of him. He felt fear grip his mind and he almost vomited after imagining the beautiful girl tear away at her own flesh. Seeing the drastic change in Vahn, Anubis walked forward and began patting him on the back. She didnt know what had caused his sudden change but realized that he was suffering from something mentally. Anubis knew Vahn had just been released from the ward after sustaining a serious injury to his mind, and she suspected his behavior may be an aftereffect. Vahn felt a bit better as she rubbed his back, and he looked toward her with an apologetic smile as he righted himself. "Sorry about that...Lets head home. The reward I received at the Guild wasrger than I expected, so we should be fine for the time being." Vahn started leading the way, and Anubis followed right behind him like a professional secretary. Feeling that something was strange, Vahn looked back and noticed that the children were still waiting in the area they just departed from. Looking toward Anubis, Vahn saw her staring at him with a subtle smile and slightly squinted eyes. "Remember, I told you that you are their Alpha now. Unless you order me, or them, they arent going to move from their spot. They can be...very cute with how loyal they are." Anubis covered her lips with her hand and giggled a bit. Vahn released a sigh before shouting toward the children, "Keep up, were going home!" The moment his words sounded out, the seven kids immediately ran over before stopping behind him and Anubis. Looking toward her, Vahn could see her smiling at him and he felt like the number of problems he had just increased by eight. As they walked toward their home, Vahn felt like he was leading a parade as Anubis walked behind him while keeping pace with his steps. The children were in a somewhat orderly formation as they followed behind Anubis while nobody spoke a single word. Vahn felt a bit of difort, but he just continued leading the way so that he could bring the experience to an end even if only one second faster. Finally, after what seemed like a much longer period of time than had actually passed, Vahn and his new troupe arrived outside Tsubakis manor. He was tempted to go inside but didnt think it would be appropriate to bring in the eight new faces without permission. Looking around, Vahn could see the lot that had been assigned to him. He noticed that, as Hephaestus had said, his residence was located off the street and was only essible through a side passage that ran alongside Tsubakis manor. He led the way along the path until he came to a residence roughly a fifth the size of Tsubakis. It looked somewhat off the beaten path, and there didnt seem to be any other routes to get to the entrance. Vahn realized that the residence that had been given to him was somewhat abnormal and was likely Hephaestuss consideration for maintaining his privacy. Using his keys, he opened the front door after navigating through the small courtyard. Stepping through the threshold of the door, Vahn could smell a vaguely familiar smell that he was unable to identify. It was pleasant and made his heart throb in a strange manner, but the feeling quickly passed as he led the rest inside. The moment Anubis and the hounds entered the building, they stopped and started sniffing at the air. Vahn noticed their actions were simr to his own, so he didnt bother asking what they were doing. Anubis seemed toe to a conclusion and asked, "Is this a ce where Hephaestus stays often?" She seemed to have a bemused expression as she asked Vahn the question. Vahn, unsure of the truth of the matter, said honestly, "Im not sure, this is the first time Ive ever been here. Why, did you realize something?" Anubisughed before responding, "This ce smells exactly like Hephaestus. Unless she stays here often, there is no way it would have absorbed so much of her scent." The children seemed to agree with her statement as they gave various forms of affirmation to support the statement. Vahn was curious and activated his Bih form so he could smell the air better. The moment he transformed, Anubiss eyes widened while all the children seemed to enter a state of high alert. Vahn hadnt noticed their reaction as he was busy trying to identify the scent. Now that he had the increased senses of his Bih form, he was able to pick up the aroma much easier. The longer he smelled it, the more his brain began to buzz, and Vahn recognized the fragrance was very simr to the cushion Hephaestus had stopped him from sniffing previously. Following the smell, Vahn began tracing it back to the source and eventually found a room with arge king-sized bed covered in expensive looking bedding. Anubis had followed along while the children stayed in the foyer. Seeing the room, she remarked, "This is definitely somece that Hephaestus had stayed in often. Her smell permeates throughout the entire room." Vahn nodded his head, as he too could smell the powerful scent in the room. It made his heart palpitate, and he dispelled his transformation before it overwhelmed him. Seeing him return to normal, Anubis couldnt help but ask, "That form, may I ask what it was?" Anubis had been very curious about Vahn since she saw his soul earlier. As someone that had the ability to see souls, she had seen a countless number across the eons. The shape, size, and coloration of Vahns soul showed that he had a powerful destiny and a righteous character. Evenpared to the heroes she had seen throughout history, none of them even came close to the standard Vahn set. It was this reason she decided to devote herself to him, as it would be the best way to guarantee the safety of her children. Vahn exined, "It is a magic that I learned when I faced dire-straits in the dungeon. Ever since then, Ive been steadily improving it and even managed to fight a Goliath when I reached the third form." Hearing Vahn mention he had more than one form, Anubis became even more interested but decided to keep to herself for the time being. She intended to apany Vahn for the remainder of his life, so she wasnt in a hurry to uncover all of his secrets yet. Hearing the system mention that Anubiss Loyalty had increased, he turned toward the calm woman and smiled at her. She seemed pleased as her eyes squinted and she returned his smile with one of her own. Making his way back toward the foyer, Vahn looked toward all the kids and made an effort to recall their names before telling them to find whichever room they preferred. The kids seemed interested in their new residence and quickly spread out to explore the interior. Though it was much smaller than Tsubakis, Vahn felt like the residence still had more than ten rooms, so they should be fine. After all the kids had left, Anubis asked, "And where will you be staying, my Master?" Hearing the address she had adapted for him, Vahn once gain felt like a chill run through his body. Looking into her eyes, Vahn said, "You dont have to call me Master. Just Vahn will do..." Even before he finished his words, Anubis already started shaking her head to refute him. "That will not do, Master. As I said, the hierarchy is very important in the culture Ie from. As I have sworn myself to serve at your side, I must address you as Master until your title changes." Vahn was curious what she meant by his title changing, so he asked, "How would my title change?" For the first time, Vahn saw Anubis adopt a mischevious look as sheughed with her hand over her mouth. Her tail seemed to wave about slowly behind her as she said, "If you became my husband, I would have to call you Danna-sama." The moment she spoke the words, Vahn clenched his teeth and took a step back. Seeing his reaction, Anubisughed in a higher tone than before. "Ara, you dont have to treat it so seriously, Master. I was only joking...at least for now." As she finished her words, Anubis walked by the stunned Vahn and let her tail pat him in passing. "I assume you will be taking Hephaestuss room, so I will be taking the room next door...make sure to call me if you need anything, Master." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Danger within the home,Scheming Pupper,Rich Boi, Vahn Mason,Endless Trouble : Infinite Women) Chapter 116 - Responsibilities

Chapter 116 - Responsibilities

After settling into their new home, the Hounds, Rasui, Chione, Nou, Maat, Nanu, Akil, and Ata, were now surrounding Vahn in the main dining room as Anubis stood behind him. Unlike Tsubakis manor, Vahns residence looked more western in design, very much like a small mansion. The total rooms ended up being eleven, with two bathrooms between the west and east sides of the residence. Vahns room was located the further east, oriented in the direction of Tsubakis manor, while most of the children actually upied two rooms. Though Vahn said they could have their own rooms, it seems they preferred to split between genders and stay in two rooms instead. Rasui, Nour, and the twins, Akil and Ata, were both staying in one of the smaller rooms, which Vahn was surprised about. The girls ended up upying the thirdrgest room in the house located next to the second bathroom. Vahn found it strange that everyone was staying somewhat far apart from each other. The most notable features of the house were the workshop and the main bathroom. The entire residence was squarish in shape, with all the rooms surrounding therge workshop in the center of the house. Vahn was surprised to find a variety of materials already stocking the shelves, including some rather expensive things like mithril and magisteel. The bathroom wasnt an onsen like Tsubakis, but it was still a veryrge shallow tub that was 5x5m and had marble tile flooring. Vahn thought the design of the bathroom looked expensive, even more so than everything else in the house. If he had to guess, the entire structure likely cost several tens of millions of Valis when it was constructed. After investigating everything, Vahn had gathered everyone together and was now sitting in the main dining area which originally had a long rectangr table which Vahn stored into his inventory. Now he sat on the ground with all the kids surrounding him and waiting for his words. Vahn felt it was somewhat strange to call them kids, as they were all only slightly younger than he was, but now his position was much higher, at least ording to their hierarchy. Anubis stood behind him at his side, overwatching the entire scene y out with a smile on her face. Vahn was sitting cross-legged with his arms crossed in contemtion as he tried arranging everything he needed to say within his mind. After several minutes, he opened his eyes and in a firm tone said, "Rasui, as the eldest, you will still be required to look after your siblings. You know them better than I do, and I trust youll handle the responsibilities with care." As his words fell, the young boy bowed slighting before saying, "Yes, Master Vahn!" Though Vahn was a bit off-put by the address, he let it be for now as he directed his gaze to the other children. Rasui had been in the center, while the boys nked his right with the girls on his left. Maat was the oldest of the girls, at 13, so Vahn put her in charge of the matters within the girls den as they called it. Maat seemed very excited and her tail was wagging to express her emotions as she too answered, "Yes, Master Vahn!" Hearing a girl simr in age to him call him Master, Vahn felt a peculiar feeling in his mind. It wasnt the normal excitement he had been experiencingtely, but it made him slightly concerned for some reason. Now that he had assigned leaders to the two rooms, Vahn took a note out of Tsubakis book and began trying toy the foundation for their future. "Though I still need to learn more about everyone and each of your capabilities, from now on you will all be undergoing training in the mornings. Though I am by no means a master, I think I can help improve your skills through sparring and other means. We will start early, every morning except for weekends, and you will be expected to continue your traning until 10 AM each day. From then on, you will have free time until 8 PM in the evening, though you can request an extension if you make any ns." Vahn slowly spoke the words, and he was satisfied to see that the kids were listening attentively. Nodding his head, Vahn continued, "As for your individual responsibilities, that can wait until I get a better understanding of each of you. You should, however, think of what youre capable of doing and try to develop your skills so that you are able to be capable a.d.u.l.ts. As my understanding goes, you will each be considered a.d.u.l.ts within two years and will need to be somewhat self-sufficient by then. As I am not the leader of your Familia, I will not force you to leave as Anubis told me was often the case back in your country." Hearing they wouldnt be forced to leave the Familia when they became a.d.u.l.ts, all the kids tails began to wag and they seemed to struggle to keep their usual calm expressions. Anubis had given Vahn a bit of information about her practices, and it turned out she treated her Familia very much like an orphanage back in the Southern Sands. Though she couldnt take in everyone, whenever she found children that seemed pitiable in her eyes, she would ept them into her Familia. Though she had almost nobat capabilities, she was very knowledgeable and gave them a general education while having them train and be stronger on their own. The primary thing she taught them was discipline, and she developed them into people that were very loyal and considerate of others. Whenever they werent performing their duties, they would often be around the various Bazaars passing out food and rations to other orphans. As Anubis only took care of the children until they were capable a.d.u.l.ts, whenever they reached the age of 14, she would release them from the Familia and have them travel so they could spread the kindness they had received to others. She never wanted to keep a Familia to develop her own power, and even though many wanted to stay, it was Anubiss practice to have everyone leave when they reached a.d.u.l.thood. Because of her pride, she was unwilling to make any exceptions previously, but now that she had chosen to follow Vahn, Anubis left the decision to him. Anubis thought he would be a good influence on the kids and expected they could be a part of his own power and influence in the future. After his speech, all of the kids were in high tension and went through a small ceremony where they each pledged allegiance to Vahn as their sword master. Though it was a nerve-wracking few minutes, Vahn was confused about why he didnt receive any notifications to ept any new subordinates. There was still a lot about his system that he needed to discover, but for now, Vahn just assumed it was because they didnt truly intend to follow him. Either that, or there was something different about them and Anubis which he didnt yet understand. Vahn dismissed the kids and told them to familiarize themselves with the grounds as much as they were able. They nearly ran out of the room after his words ended, and Vahn felt like this should be their real selves, not the quiet and patient children that seemed to have very high discipline previously. Anubis giggled while staring at Vahn who was currently smiling due to his own internal dialogue. Arranging her dress, she sat down slightly to his right and began speaking, "Master is more aware than I thought. The fact you moved the table, in the beginning, was a smart move, and you seem to be adapting to the mentality of an Alpha quickly." Anubis had a gentle smile on her face as she spoke. Her tail gently swayed and lightly patted her own leg in a slow rhythm which distracted Vahn a bit. Continuing, Anubis said, "Ever since I descended three-hundred years ago, I felt like my methods werent the most practical. Though I was able to make many children into independent and capable a.d.u.l.ts, there were very few instances where they seemed as happy as my current children. It always pained me seeing how their tired expressions from when I found them only turned into solemn and serious expressions with my teaching. When I first started epting children into my Familia, the only thing I wanted for them at the time...was to see them smile and be happy." Vahn could see a sadness in her eyes as Anubis recollected her long history. For Vahn, it was almost unimaginable living for three-hundred years and taking care of hundreds, or thousands of orphans in that time. He couldnt understand how someone could be so selfless and dedicated to others, even when it seemed to make them sad in the process. Remembering the loneliness inside Hephaestuss vision, Vahn began to suspect it wasnt easy being a god in this world. They seemed bound to follow a strict set of regtions and always had to act based on those principles. More than the children Vahn felt he owed a debt to, he genuinely began to take pity on the beautiful goddess looking at him with a mncholic expression. Even though she had a smile on her face and was still waving her tail, Vahn could see the sadness in her eyes and the aura slowly dispersing from her body. He even suspected that the smile and tail wagging were practiced habits of the goddess... Anubis had be lost in her own thoughts as she recollected the past, and she was unprepared for what happened next due to her dazed state of mind. Suddenly, a hand was ced on her head between her tworge ears and a gentle warmth began to pass from the palm into her mind as it gently stroked her hair. With surprised on her face, Anubis looked and saw that Vahn had spontaneously started petting her without saying anything. Gently reaching her hand to intercept his, Anubis grabbed Vahns hand and moved it away from her head. With a smile on her face, she softly spoke, "You dont have to worry about me, Master. The fact that you are taking care of my children is already more than I deserve. After all, I am meant to serve you, not the other way around." At the end of her sentence, sheughed but Vahn could see the sad aura was still hanging around her. In a firm voice, Vahn said, "It is my choice tofort you. Even if it is just to appease my own emotions, I dont want to see anyone around me with such a sad expression. Unless I am bothering you, I would like you to allow me tofort you, even if just a bit." Since Anubis at least seemed to respect him as a Master, Vahn tried speaking honestly and with a resolute voice. Hearing his words, Anubiss expression didnt actually change, but inside her mind, there were various thoughts running through her head. She was thinking to herself, Is this the actions of someone with such a powerful soul?. She closed her eyes to ruminate for a moment before opening them and staring into Vahns serious face. Even though a bit of time had passed, he continued to look at her without averting her eyes, so she just smiled and tilted her head forward. "If that is my Masters wish, I will dly abide..." With her permission, Vahn reached his hand out and began petting the top of her head again. He noticed her aura fluctuated slightly at his contact, and he continued to observe it as he moved his hand around her head. Whenever he came into contact with her ears, they would twitch which made Vahn feel like his heart did the same. Curious, Vahn tried stroking the ears directly and noticed that Anubis had an immediate reaction. She had her eyes closed since he had begun, but Vahn noticed they flickered slightly as her tail began to beat at a faster rhythm against her legs. When his hand moved to the back of her ears, Anubis seemed to try and pull away from his hand, but prevented herself from doing so at thest second. Her reaction seemed to awaken something in Vahn, so he began channeling his [Hands of Nirvana] with a soothing effect as he stroked the area around her ears and behind her head. Slowly, Anubiss face began to scrunch up a bit and Vahn noticed she began to blush a bit. Vahn was incredibly fascinated by her reaction and wanted tough after hearing the loud smacking sound her tail was making as it struck her legs now. Suddenly, a notification sounded in his head, and Vahn realized Anubiss Loyalty had dropped to 83 which made him pull his hand away. He wasnt sure why the value had dropped but assumed it was likely due to his excessive petting. After he stopped his actions, Anubis opened her eyes and Vahn noticed they were somewhat watery as she said, "Has nobody ever told you that, if you pet the ears of a chienthrope, you have to be prepared to take responsibility? I may be a goddess, but I still abide by the culture and traditions of the Southern Tribe." Vahn listened to her words carefully and recalled a simr saying from both cat people and chienthropes previously. Lili, Naaza, and even the mother-daughter pair of Mn and Tina had said something simr before. Anubis, seeing that Vahn was listening attentively, continued, "I dont mind receiving your affections, but remember to keep it in moderation. If you go too far, I cant be held responsible for the consequences youll have to face...my Master." Vahn felt like he could see a light pass through her pale golden eyes, and he suddenly noticed a mmy feelinging from his palms. (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Godhand Strikes,Household Management,Foreshadowing?) Chapter 117 - Life Lessons

Chapter 117 - Life Lessons

After settling matters at his own residence, Vahn left his own house as if he was fleeing a scene. The warning Anubis had given him was still on his mind, and he began to worry about his past actions a bit. He wasnt sure when, but he had developed the habit of patting/petting girls whenever they seemed sad. Vahn always thought it helped cate them and improve their mood, but now he began to worry that his actions had been improper. Making his way alongside the walls of Tsubakis manor, he eventually arrived at the main road before turning into the entrance of Tsubakis courtyard. The front door was almost perpetually open, and Vahn entered to see Tsubaki performing maintenance on some equipment. The moment she saw him enter, Tsubaki smiled widely before saying, "I heard from Hephaestus-sama, youll be staying at the house behind my manor from now on?" Vahn nodded and began exining, "I ended up epting...something a bit troublesome. For now, Ill be helping Anubiss children increase their strength while I try to improve my forging abilities. There are many things I need to do..." The more Vahn spoke, the less energy he seemed to have. In response to his worries, Tsubaki seemed to find his suffering to be interesting as she began tough loudly. Vahn looked at her with a begrudging look, but she just furrowed her brows with a predatory smile. "Youve changed a lot since Ist saw you Vahn, how about a spar?" Hearing her words, Vahn was slightly surprised and wanted to refuse. However, before he was able to respond, Tsubaki had already started leading the way to the training area while saying, "Lets go." Vahn didnt hear any room for argument in her tone, and he followed behind her while feeling even worse than he had previously. Much like their previous spars, Tsubaki stopped at an appropriate distance before waiting for Vahn to make his preparations. Vahn sighed before getting into a defensive stance and preparing for the thrashing that he would likely receive. However, no matter how long he waited, Tsubaki just continued to look at him as if she was waiting for something. Vahn began to get worried, so he asked, "Tsubaki?" The moment he spoke, he prepared his defense as he had expected her to attack the moment he dropped his guard. Tsubaki had a serious expression instead of her usual yful and smiling look. She frowned a bit while creasing her brows as she asked, "Are you taking this seriously, Vahn?" Vahn had rarely seen Tsubaki angry, so he was a bit concerned seeing her current appearance. After a while, he responded, "I am ready to spar...even though I dont really want to." Tsubaki continued to stare at him with her fierce look and he began to sweat a bit as an apprehensiveness began to build inside him. Suddenly, Tsubakis expression changed from anger to one of condescension. She lifted her head like she was looking down on Vahn and had a snide smile on her face as she said, "I thought you were growing up, but it looks like you have actually be more immature." Her words were sharp, and they even angered the usually calm Vahn. As he had been making efforts to improve, hearing someone say he was actually getting worse made him upset. Dropping his defensive posture, Vahn balled his fists as he said in an aggrieved manner, "What do you mean, Tsubaki? Im trying my best!" In response to Vahns shout, Tsubaki justughed with a single loud HA! as she looked at him coldly and said, "Tried your best, so what? What are you doing right now, is this YOUR BEST!?" Almost if challenging Vahns tone from earlier, Tsubaki shouted her words this time. From the corridor on the side, both Naaza and Lili had appeared and watched the scene with concern on their faces. Once again, Tsubakis words weighed heavily on Vahns heart as he couldnt think of a way to refute her. He had shown up at her residence in somewhat low spirits, and she immediately challenged him to a spar even though he wasnt in the mood for it. Now that he joined her, instead of beginning the spar she started to berate him instead. Vahn began to feel a frustration in his mind and he wanted to shout, so he did. "WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO THEN!?" Tsubaki waited for a few seconds after his shout, and just started into Vahns eyes as he began to grit his teeth in frustration. The moment it seemed like he was about to explode, she said inly, "Do whatever you want, Vahn, but never get so caught up in the moment you stop moving forward. Seeing you lost in your thoughts and worrying about matters within your control is pathetic. Youre acting like a spoiled child and actuallymenting that so many things are going on around you? Well, who is the person driving those events, have you thought about that? Is this the same conviction you had when you confessed to Hephaestus-sama!?" For the third time, Tsubakis words struck at his mind, but this time they were like an explosion that cleared away all of Vahns emotions. He had just, this very morning, spoken so confidently to Hephaestus. But, now that only a few hours had passed, because of events he had set in motion himself, he was now losing confidence in himself. He began to realize why Tsubaki seemed to upset with him...he really was acting like a spoiled child. Everyone around seemed to be responding to his actions and desires, but for some reason, he had started treating it like a problem he had no control over. Vahn lifted his hands and stared nkly at his palms as he muttered in a low voice, "I...dont know what to do. So much is changing around me, and I feel like I cant keep up with it all..." Vahn just wanted to do what he liked, and he wanted to make those around him happy at the same time. But, his actions were also increasing the tensions that were building up inside of him, and it made him feel incredibly tired the moment he removed himself from the problem he had created. Just from a general recollection, there were now nearly twenty people that he had to pay attention to, and it was rapidly developing to a point beyond his control. Though he put the matters to the back of his mind, for now, Vahn knew there would likely be a lot of issues that would arise in the future because of his actions. Hearing Tsubakis words, Vahn began to feel very lost... Breaking his reflection, Tsubaki said inly in a firm tone, "Fight, Vahn. No matter what you choose to do, fight for it. The moment you stop and get caught up worrying about things, the less youll be able to act when youre required. So, win or lose, you need to fight. That is the only way to live without regrets." Tsubaki got into abat stance like she was about to attack. Vahn kept repeating her words in his mind like a mantra. She said he should fight, regardless of if he wins or loses. It was almost like she was implying it was okay to make mistakes, but Vahn couldnt ept that so easily. He felt he needed to take responsibility for his actions...and that is when it hit him. He already knew what he wanted, but for some reason, he was ignoring his own intentions. Vahn...wanted to win. He didnt want to escape the responsibility, but instead, he wanted to meet their expectations as best he could. Seeing Tsubaki standing before him patiently, Vahn realized what she had been trying to tell him. She wanted Vahn to move forward confidently, and not forget his own reasons for why he chose the path he was walking. With a smile and a confident look, Vahn began to transform into his Bih form while spreading his domain throughout the entire training area. Unlike the times where he held back the repressive aura of his domain, Vahn now concentrated it on the surroundings and it felt like the pressure in the air had greatly increased. Tsubaki saw the renewed confidence in Vahns fierce blue eyes and smiled at him as she said, "Seems you are beginning to grow up..." She tightened her fists and lowered her waist. Vahn assumed a crouching stance as he said in a confident manner, "I have a lot of great people that have been helping me. If I stay a kid forever, theyll be disappointed." Vahn and Tsubaki both smiled at each other as their figures vanished from the sights of Naaza and Lili. Unlike all their previous fights, with Vahns increased parameters and the improvement in his Innate abilities, he could now match Tsubakis speed. Noticing this, Tsubaki had an excited expression on her face as their fists collided mid-air. Vahn could feel a shockwave emanate from the point of contact, and with his enhanced senses he even saw the transition of the shockwave through both of their arms. The strike knocked them away from each other, and Tsubaki immediately dashed forward in a blink and tried to strike Vahn in his kidneys the moment hended. Vahn, using his increased flexibility, turned his body in a bow and evaded the hit as he flipped over the top of Tsubaki. The entire fight felt like it was ying out in slow motion, and while he was upside down he could see her head turning slowly toward him. Kicking off from the ground with her foot, Tsubaki performed a front-flip and tried to intercept Vahns head with her foot while he was still in the air. Vahn received the blow with his hands and used the force to vault away from Tsubaki beforending firmly on the ground 10m away. Tsubaki stood away from him with her back facing his direction as she gazed over her shoulder with a mad look. Vahn too was feeling excited by the fight and, before she reassumed her stance, he kicked off from the ground with an explosive force that caused winds to disperse through the surroundings. Aiming his palms at her lower back, Vahn prepared to strike her unprotected body with his full strength. He felt a powerful desire for victory building inside of him, and there was no hesitation in his strike that could rival the strength and speed of a Level 4. The expression of Tsubaki changed slightly as her smile grew wider at seeing Vahns decisiveness. Unfortunately, that was thest thing Vahn saw as his hands passed through the image of Tsubaki without any feeling of resistance on his palms. With his body extended forward with both palms striking out, Vahn waspletely defenseless as he heard a voiceing from his left ear. "Good effort...Vahn." The instant the voice sounded, he felt a powerful force grip his legs and his forward momentum was immediately brought to a halt as he crashed face-first into the ground. Before he was able to recover, he felt a heavy, but somewhat pleasant sensation on his back as Tsubaki sat on top of him. Tsubaki sat on his back with her legs and arms crossed while sheughed loudly and said, "I believe that makes our total score 6,148 to 24. Looks like it will be a while before you start catching up!" Vahn, hearing her words, exhaled his breath and just copsed onto the ground with his arms spread out helplessly. This wasnt even the second time Tsubaki had sat on him, as she seemed inclined to do so whenever he got overconfident. However, unlike all the previous times, Vahn was now vaguely aware of the sensation on his back and it made him feel strange. Noticing his silence, Tsubaki look sideways and saw his expression which made her brows raise. "What, dont tell me Im in your strike zone too!? Hahahaha, I think youll have to grow up a bit if you want to conquer me, Vahn! Im not lovey-dovey like the other girls around you." As sheughed, Tsubaki began pping his lower back with her palms. Vahn felt aggrieved at her actions because he didnt think of her in that way. To Vahn, Tsubaki was more like an older sister, or even a mother figure. He was even feeling guilty about enjoying the sensation, but now he began to feel frustrated at her teasing. Vahn swore in his mind, one day he would even the score between them. He didnt know how long it would take, but as long as there was an opportunity, he would slowly close the gap between them and make her recognize his efforts. Every strike that she was currentlynding on him would be paid back in time. With that thought, Vahn waited patiently for Tsubaki to get bored and finally get off of his back. Tsubaki offered her hand and helped him up from the ground, but the moment Vahn rose, he reached his free hand forward and, using [Hands of Nirvana], traced his index finger up the line from her navel to below her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Tsubakis eyes widened at the sensation that sent a shock up her back, and she gripped Vahns hand and powerfully mmed his body over her shoulder. When his body impacted the ground, it actually made arge crater which spread out like a spider web. Surprised by her own actions, Tsubaki stared down at Vahn who was looking at her like a child that just seeded in a prank. Even though he was coughing blood, Vahn smiled and said, "6,148 to 25." Immediately after, he passed out and left the blushing Tsubaki dumbfounded on the spot. Tracing her hand along her own stomach, she looked down at the mischievous boy in a contemtive manner before turning her eyes to the two girls that had been watching the events y out. "Take this idiot inside and get him cleaned up." She then walked away as Naaza and Lili quickly ran over to dig Vahn out of the ground. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nothing escapes the hand of God,Problems? Suck it up!,What it means to be a man) Chapter 118 - Qualifications

Chapter 118 - Qualifications

Vahn awoke nearly three hourster, fully recovered, but still bandaged up as he raised his body. He recognized the surroundings as Naazas workshop and understood she had treated his body after Tsubakis ruthless counterattack. Remembering her blushing face, Vahn felt a bit of pride well up inside him. Naaza, who had been mixing a solution at her work table, heard the noise and looked toward Vahn with a relieved expression as she said, "I really dont understand how youre able to recover so quickly. From the time I started treating you, you had multiple fractures and bruisers signifying internal bleeding, but before I even applied the medicine, the bruises slowly started fading away. It was a strange sight you know, watching a wound heal visibly without any magic being used..." Toward the end of her words, Naaza began to trail off as she recalled the fact she had watched Vahns n.a.k.e.d body for nearly an hour as his wounds healed. She began to blush, and Vahn realized the implication behind her words as he noticed he was nude under the covers. Seeing the clothes at the side, he was tempted to tease her by pretending to not notice them. Naaza seemed to sense some though, as she looked at him with and said, "Wear the clothes properly, or Ill see to it that you spend the rest of the night in that bed..." Though she started off with a firm tone, Naaza nked after hearing her own words. Seeing the fierce blush cover her face, Vahn began tough out loud as he started dressing. He had never been shy in front of Tsubaki, Naaza, and Lili, so he made no efforts to cover himself which caused Naaza to gave him sidewards nces from time to time. After properly wearing the clothes, Vahn walked over to her work table and she turned around and started fumbling for her tools. Coming to a stop at her side, Vahn asked, "What are you working on now?" Naaza released a sigh before she exined, "My mixing skills have improved immensely with your help. I even showed my results to Miach-sama, and he was really surprised to see how innovative your ideas were. With a bit of refinement, he said they would be able to easily produce higher quality medicines in the future with less effort." Vahn nodded his head and started looking at the ingredients she had been mixing. From what he could tell, Naaza was attempting to make a high-potion, someone that only veterans with decades of experience could confidently make. As Vahn had previously purchased Alchemy, Chemistry, and Potion Making manuals from his shop, he had helped her make several changes to the recipe. Now, even though she wasnt as skilled as a master, Naaza was able to produce high-potions with nearly 40% efficacy. As he started helping her prepare the ingredients, Vahn said, "You have made a lot of progress, Naaza. It wont be long before you be a master or learn the [Alchemist] development ability." Naaza slowly nodded her head after stopping herself from preventing him handling the ingredients. Even though she had stopped him time and again, he never seemed to listen for long and always tried to help her. Naaza was frustrated with how casually he did the actions, as Vahn was even more adept at the process than she was...at least before the mana infusing stage. They both continued preparing the ingredients, but Naaza was somewhat distracted by Vahns presence. She always felt guilty when he helped her because she was never really able to help him with anything. Even though she tried to teach him mixing, and watched him perform all the necessary steps, he always ended up failing in the end. It had been a hit to Naazas confidence, and she felt like she was a useless teacher. Even Miach wasnt able to help her understand the reason behind Vahns inability to mix potions. After their months together, Naaza had long be aware of how she felt about Vahn, and she could even see that he cared about her as well. But, before his sudden awakening, as Lili called it, he never acted like he was interested in her as a woman. He always showed her kindness and affection, but Naaza felt more like apanion or colleague to Vahn instead of a potential love interest. Even now, although he acted somewhat promiscuous, he made no efforts to approach her in that manner. Naaza had seen all the girls that visited him in the ward, and was aware that he had also confessed to Hephaestus. When Lili and Tsubaki had returned earlier, Lili beganining to her about the development and talking about how it would be difficult to stay around Vahn unless they increased their efforts. Naaza knew what she meant by efforts, but she couldnt find any confidence to approach Vahn. In her mind, he was someone with infinite potential who always tried his best, while she spent most of her time cooped up in her workshop. Ever since she had been attacked in the dungeon, Naaza had a fierce trauma within her mind and refused to put any real effort into training. Now, other than a bit of archery practice, she proactively tried to avoid conflict. She just focused on her research and trying to apply Vahns theories to the knowledge and experience she had obtained since entering the Miach Familia. Comparing herself against Vahn, Naaza felt incredibly inferior... While she was stuck in her own thoughts, Vahn had noticed her hands stopped moving and saw the sad expression in her eyes. Vahn frowned and felt a bit frustrated since it seemed like all the girls around him were prone to sudden and spontaneous bouts of sadness. He really wished they would always be happy, so he reached out and started patting her head like he had done so several hundred times before. Naaza felt the familiar feeling but noticed there was now a warmthing from Vahns palm that seemed intent on driving away all the negative feelings inside of her. It was a very calming and rxing sensation, and it made the experience she had already grown fond of in the past even more impactful. While she had her eyes closed and began losing herself in theforting warmth, Naaza heard a gentle voice ask, "Tell me, Naaza, why are you sad?" Shocked that Vahn would ask the question so directly, Naaza paused for several seconds before releasing a sigh. The hand on her head brought her a lot offorts, and it made the surprise and inhibitions she had melted away. In a dull voice, Naaza said, "I was thinking that...I am unworthy to be at your side. You have done so much for me, including saving my life...restoring my arm...so many things. And, no matter how hard I try to repay you favor, I am unable to do so." Naaza heard a loud sighe from Vahn, and she looked toward him with a scared expression, afraid that her answer had upset him. Vahn saw her expression and pulled the back of her head until her face became nestled in his chest. In a somewhat tired manner, Vahnughed as he said, "I can kind of understand why Tusbaki was mad at me earlier. Seeing people worry about things can be very frustrating." Hearing his words, Naaza felt like crying a bit but was distracted by all the other emotions she was feeling. Vahn continued to gently stroke her hair as he said, "I dont know why people seem to treat me like Im some special existence...the only thing I care about is that the people around me are happy. All Ive ever wanted to do since arriving in this ce is protect those near me, and help to ensure their happiness. Seeing you sad because you feel unworthy to be around me...well, it is a very painful thing." Naaza was greatly affected by his words as she remembered the spar from earlier. She had seen how Tsubaki pushed Vahn to have his own realizations, and now she was suffering just like how he was at the time. Like Vahn, before the fight, she was lost in her own thoughts and had stopped moving forward when the only thing she actually had to worry about is doing her best. There was nothing stopping her except her own worries... Suddenly, Naaza felt her chin lifted and she started at Vahn in a confused expression as he leaned forward and kissed her lips. She was very surprised by his sudden action but didnt have an adverse reaction to the intimate contact. Instead, Naaza closed her eyes and a single tear rolled down her cheek as she epted the kiss. After a few seconds, Vahn pulled his face away while still holding Naazas between his two hands. She had a dazed and happy expression, and Vahn found it much more appealing than her previous sadness. Vahn smiled and said gently, "Have confidence in yourself. You are very cute, and already someone that I cant imagine my life without. Even if we never became lovers, I would never be ashamed to have you at my side." Naaza, as if all her earlier concerns had been a joke, beganughing while covering Vahns hands with her own. However, theughter didntst long, as Naaza leaned her head forward and began crying into Vahns chest after hugging his waist. As he had been standing while Naaza sat in a chair, Vahn was now stuck epting her embrace while she held his body at an awkward angle. The only thing he could do was use his [Hands of Nirvana] to pat her back while she let out her pent-up emotions. After she finished crying, Naaza continued to hold Vahns waist for several minutes, and he began to feel like his body was going to cramp up if he had to hold his awkward position for much longer. Curious as to why Naaza was still holding onto him, Vahn was about to ask but his words froze in his throat. From above, he could see Naaza with her eyes closed slowly breathing in his scent without trying to draw attention to herself. Vahn wanted tough out after seeing her sneaky actions. Since he was able to transform and experience what it was like to have enhanced senses, Vahn was keenly aware of how sensitive chienthropes and cat people were to the scent of others. To Naaza, it was likely that his scent brought herfort and security, and her current actions were probably the most natural way she could express herself at the moment. Pretending he hadnt noticed, Vahn continued to pat her back until she finally released him nearly ten minutester. The moment she let him go, Vahn felt like he had been freed from a heavy burden and he couldnt prevent himself from leaking a relieved sigh. Naaza stood up from her chair, and Vahn noticed for the first time that their heights werent too different from each other. Naaza was now only a few cms taller than he was, and it brought their faces very close to each other when they stood so close. Before Vahn could say anything, Naaza grabbed his face and returned a kiss of her own upon his lips. Out of practice or instinct, Vahn reached his hands around her waist and pulled her body close. It was a curious feeling because he could feel her tail brushing against his wrists as it iled back and forth. Naaza continued kissing Vahn for nealy a minute before she pulled away in an embarrassed manner. Immediately resuming her seat, Naaza picked up her tools as she said to Vahn with a hint of excitement still in her voice, "You shouldnt stay here for too long. There are other things you need to attend to, and I need to focus on my work." Naaza seemed to be focused on anything but her work, and Vahn wanted toment, but she continued, "I...will learn to move forward. At that time, I want you to give me a chance. I feel like, if you ept me now, I will have failed myself as a woman..." Vahn hummed an affirmation before he gently kissed the top of her head. Before he left the room, he said over his shoulder, "I believe in you, Naaza." With those parting words, he exited her workshop. Naaza waited for his footsteps to disappear before turning toward the door with a ze covering her eyes. "Just make sure you have a ce for me when the timees...you idiot." She then took a deep breath and began focusing on her work. Naaza was determined to increase her own qualifications. Even if Vahn was willing to ept her as she was, Naaza herself was dissatisfied and wanted to prove herself. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Smell is a powerful sense,God-hand strikes again,Naazas conviction) Chapter 119 - Restless Night (1/2)

Chapter 119 - Restless Night (1/2)

As Vahn was exiting Naazas room, he made his way towards the reception area where he saw Tsubaki powdering a long ymore-like weapon. She looked toward him and smiled slightly before saying, "Next time I see you acting up, dont me me for bullying you. Try something like that little stunt again and youll be lucky to walk away the same day." Vahn nodded and made his way toward the exit, but stopped before crossing the threshold. Turning around, Vahn smiled and said in a cheeky manner to Tsubaki who had been following his back as he left, "Ill just be strong enough to get away with it." The moment he finished the words, Vahn lunged forward and rolled along the ground as the ymore that had been in Tsubakis hand pierced through the ce he had previously stood. Bounding to his feet, Vahn ran out of the courtyard whileughing at the raging Cyclops behind him. Tsubaki walked out of her workshop and picked up the ymore that had been lodged into the ground. She knew Vahn was ready to dodge her attack, but she decided to y along with his little y. Looking at the direction he had retreated, Tsubaki smiled before saying, "Kids growing up faster and faster. Hope he doesnt get hurt too badly." Shouldering the ymore, she turned and walked back inside her workshop. Vahn noticed that Tsubaki hadnt chased after him, so he slowed his speed until he came to aplete stop. Teasing Tsubaki, who had tormented him so much in the past, was very fulfilling and Vahn resolved himself to continue doing so in the future. Even if she got very angry with him, Vahn knew that she wouldnt intentionally harm him just for messing around. At this point, it was nearly 3 PM, and Vahn didnt really have anything to do so he decided to walk around the City. Unlike his typical, fast-paced, movements, Vahn leisurely strolls through the City and just experienced the sights and sounds of the people. Though all the people were strangers to him, Vahn noticed that the majority of people had neutral or even positive impressions of him. Unlike when he had first entered the City, people looked at him with smiles instead of intrigue or disgust. There were even several women, both young and old, that would try to call out to him or strike up a conversation with the handsome boy. Vahn found many of them to be very cute, and even some of the mature women were very charming, but he just gave them curt responses and nods as he continued walking through the City. Considering all of the things he had been wrapped up intely, Vahn couldnt divert his attention to people that had yet to influence his life. Using the opportunity, Vahn decided to map areas of the City he had never visited and started thinking about appropriate ces for his uing date with Eina. Since Vahn had decided to make an effort, he felt like he owed it to Eina to make the date enjoyable. Though he didnt know much about her, he assumed she would like to stroll around and go shopping like most of the girls he had seen. Vahn visited several scenic locations and marked them on his map while trying various foods from stalls along the paths. Vahn really enjoyed the food in Orario, as there seemed to be an infinite variety to enjoy. Though he still loved the food at the Hostess of Fertility the most, Vahn had yet to find anything that was unptable amongst any of the vendors in the City. He especially enjoyed seafood, and the crepes he often ate had quickly be one of his favorite foods. Using his newfound wealth, Vahn tried the food at nearly twenty different ces before bringing his journey to an end. Anything that he liked, Vahn had purchased arge amount of it and stowed it away in his inventory when nobody was looking. He could eat the dishester, or even give it to the children once he returned. Vahn was especially fond of sharing the things he enjoyed with others, and he looked forward to the expressions they would have when he gave them the delicious food. Vahn arrived at his own workshop/house at around 8 PM and made his way through the courtyard and into the foyer. Curiously, the moment he entered, Anubis was patiently waiting to receive him. She smiled and said, "Wee back, Master." Vahn nodded his head and asked, "Where are the children now?" Anubis raised her brows after seeing howposed was as she responded, "They are waiting in the dining room for your return. As members of your pack, they will not eat until you tell them or until you arrive." Imagining the seven kids sitting around and patiently waiting, Vahn felt a strange emotion, but it didnt cause him any difort as he had expected. Walking forward, he ced his palm on Anubiss head and stroked her ears a bit before pulling away. Anubis seemed surprised by his actions, but before she spoke, Vahn said, "You were waiting for me to return as well, right?" Walking by her, Vahn called out as he passed into the corridor, "Lets go, Im not fond of keeping people waiting long." After his exchange with Tsubaki, Vahn now decided to face his matters head-on. If he had to be an Alpha within his household, he would do his best until the children became self-reliant. If Anubis was going to call him Master, he would act the role to the best of his ability in order to match her resolve. Moments after he left her behind, Vahn heard a notification in his mind that told him her Loyalty had increased to 91 which brought a smile to his face. As expected, the moment Vahn entered the dining room, the kids were waiting in a semi-circle that had a space reserved for him. Heined to himself that he should have purchased a low table for everyone to sit at, as sitting on the floor seemed a bit strange after he had adapted to living at Tsubakis manor. Without a word, Vahn sat down at his designated position and waiting for Anubis to take her spot to his left. Seeing that she sat outside of the circle, Vahn turned to the kids and said, "Open the circle a bit; make room for Anubis." The kids had been paying attention to Vahn ever since he entered, and the moment his words fell they made enough space so that Anubis could sit within the circle. Vahn looked toward Anubis and she matched his gaze before rising and reseating herself next to him. Once she sat down, Vahn spoke, "From now on, we eat together unless the situation prevents us from doing so. Anubis is the Goddess of your Familia, and though you may have a reverence toward her, you should treat her as a family member from now on. As long as you recognize me as the Alpha, you will continue to abide by this simple rule, understood?" His voice was firm, and Vahn wanted them to know he was absolutely serious. Rasui was the first to speak out and loudly responded, "Yes, Master Vahn!" Moments after his voice fell, all the other kids repeated the words in concert. Vahn nodded his head before removing one of the dishes he had stored into his inventory. First passing it to Anubis, she began distributing food to everyone in the circle. Vahn thought her act was very motherly, and he wanted her to get closer to the children if possible. Seeing the mncholy on her face earlier, made him slightly ufortable. Vahn continued conjuring more food, with each new dish bringing a surprised expression to each of the children. In their eyes, Vahn was essentially pulling delicious food out of thin air, and any inhibitions they may have had toward him seemed to quickly diminish within their minds. Each person received a dish from Anubis, who presented them with a cheerful smile on her face. Once everyone had food in front of them, Vahn realized he hadnt actually stored any beverages. Seeing the anticipatory looks for the kids, he felt like he was going to end up in an embarrassing predicament before Anubis spoke out from his left. "Now that everyone has received food, Ill go ahead and prepare tea. You all should converse with our Master and patient await my return, okay?" The kids nodded after hearing Anubiss words, and she slightly bowed towards Vahn with a bemused expression before heading into the kitchen. Vahn realized that it wasnt just him paying attention to Anubis, but she was also taking into consideration his thoughts and actions. The moment she noticed he hadnt prepared anything to drink, she immediately stepped in and drew the attention away from him. Afterward, she excused herself to cover for his mistake and even opened the floor so the kids would converse with him openly. Vahnughed to himself as he marveled at the awareness and adaptability of a goddess that had lived in the mortal world for three-hundred years. He began making casual conversation with the children, and they seemed to appreciate the opportunity. Though they still spoke in a deferential manner, Vahn noticed they were making an effort to meet both his and Anubiss expectations. He realized they were a lot like he was, how he was always trying to please those he cared about. This recognition made Vahn feel more self-aware and he swore in his own mind to match their expectations as well as he was able. The only ones that seemed to have any major inhibitions were the two sitting the furthest from his current position, the two young girls named Maat and Nanu. Vahn felt guilty every time he saw them because it always brought back memories of when he had shot the two with arrows. He knew he didnt have any room to apologize, so he just promised to treat them well in the future. After a few minutes, Anubis returned with a tray for of empty cups and arge kettle of tea. Resuming her position next to Vahn, she poured each cup individually before passing them around the circle. Once everyone had a cup, the entire group looked toward Vahn with expectations in their eyes. Seeing their expressions, he smiled before raising a portion of the chicken thatprised his meal. He wasnt that hungry, as he had eaten plenty throughout the day, but he still prepared to take a bit before saying, "Lets eat." The moment he finished his words, he took a bit of the crispy meat and watched as the kids started politely eating away at their meals. Seeing their manners, Vahn actually felt a little embarrassed since he had picked up the good with his bare hands before confidently taking a bite. He never expected such young children to be so disciplined when it came to eating. To his left, he heard a slightugh and looked over to see Anubis staring at him with a smile as she slowly picked away at the food on her te. Vahn felt even more embarrassed after seeing her actions and immediately understood where the kids table manners came from. After the meal, Vahn had the kids do some stretching exercises before telling them to prepare for the bath. He went ahead and led the exercise, and the kids seemed to really enjoy the repetitive routine as the mimicked his actions with smiles while their tails wagged back and forth. Once everyone had burned some energy, she told the girls they could take a bath first and that the boys would enterter. The entire group stared at him like he had something strange, so Vahn looked toward Anubis and she exined, "They are all children, and we rarely had ess to anything like an actual bath. Usually, they would help each other bathe with a bucket of water and a damp cloth." Vahn realized that his sensibilities had changed a bit recently. Even he wasnt concerned with bathing with the opposite gender just recently, but now he was paying more attention to matters and tried to segregate the two groups. While he was lost in thoughts, Anubis spoke out at his side, "The bath is plentyrge to amodate everyone. You shouldnt worry too much and just enter with them. If you start treating them like a.d.u.l.ts before they mature, they might develop strange thoughts about the hierarchy." Her words were incredibly low, and Vahn noticed that the children made an effort to ignore what she was saying. As they had sensitive ears, Vahn knew they would be able to hear her if they made an effort. Vahn realized he underestimated the hierarchal rtionship that Anubis kept bringing up. Resolving his mind, he turned to the kids and said, "Okay, well enter together. Work together and make sure everyone is properly clean." Finishing his words, Vahn let the way into the bath and began undressing. He noticed that, even when the children entered after him, as long as he remembered his role as the Alpha, he was able to keep his calm easily. Vahn never cared about being seen n.a.k.e.d, to begin with, and realized there was no reason to concern himself with others either. The problem came shortly after when Vahn had undressedpletely and was making his way to the bath. Other than the children, Anubis also entered and began undressing in a casual manner. Though Vahn typically didnt care and had even bathed with women often, his interactions with Anubis today had left an impression on his mind. Vahn noticed there was exotic quality to her bodypared to the other women he had seen. Her olive-brown skin seemed to have a slightly golden hue as it reflected the light. She had a slim and tight figure with almost no fat on her body at all, and Vahn could see the muscles of her body stretch and contract with her movements. It was one of the few times Vahn had ever proactively watched a woman undress, and each garment that she removed seemed to increase the tensions building in his body. Eventually, Anubis had discarded all of her clothes and turned toward Vahn and the bath. The moment she turned, Vahn got a full glimpse of her figure as she too stared at him. Both of their eyes opened wide as they viewed the other. Vahn could tell that Anubis was around 166cm tall and he found every aspect of her body to be nearly wless. She had medium sized b.r.e.a.s.ts, probably around 82cm, a thin and exotic curve to her 58cm wide h.i.p.s, and a pert and full waistline that bnced out her figure at 84cm. The most surprising thing to Vahn was, unlike the majority of girls he had seen, Anubis had no hair on her body other than her hair, ears, brows, and tail. As Vahn had been taking in the sight of her body with an undisguised intrigue, Anubis was simply shocked at the sight around his waist. Though she considered Vahn an a.d.u.l.t, she still thought he was simr to a child in some aspects. However, there was no way she could consider Vahn a child after seeing how mature his body was. Though she had some experience with other gods in Heaven, Anubis had never seen anythingparable to Vahn. Because of her pride, she had avoided interactions with mortal men, but Vahn actually made her heart begin to beat at a marginally faster pace. Suddenly, as if not sure what else to say, Vahn asked, "Youre going to join as well?" Anubis snapped awake and matched his eyes as she responded, "You are my Master, if you are going to bathe with the children, I need to be present. If I take a bath on my ownter, it will interfere with the hierarchy..." Anubis spoke the words slowly, but she couldnt help but feel a little apprehensive after realizing the current situation. Vahn seemed to ept her exnation as he turned toward the bath where the other kids were already helping clean each other. "Very well, lets go..." Though Vahn tried to say the words with conviction, he couldnt help but let his statement trail at the end. Taking a deep breath, he moved forward and entered the bath with the other seven. Momentster, Anubis also entered and sat to his left as she said, "I will wash your back, Master." Vahn had thought he was bing used to the form of address, but this time he seemed to take a critical damage to his mind. He nked out for a moment before he could feel a warm sponge touch his shoulder. Anubis had already begun washing his back, and Vahn decided to just go with the flow. He noticed that the kids would give them looks periodically, and Vahn felt he needed to maintain his image. Taking slow breaths, he calmed himself and just enjoyed thefort brought by the warm water. (A/N: Alternate Titles: The beast appears,Exploration, Discovery,A Delicious Meal) Chapter 120 - Restless Night (2/2)

Chapter 120 - Restless Night (2/2)

After the bath, everyone got dressed together in the changing area and Vahn couldnt help but stare forward into space. He had made a gross overestimation of his own resolve, as even when he had decided to maintain his calm and reasoning, he couldnt prevent his eyes from wandering when he was taking the bath. As the hounds were all simr in age to him, he couldnt help but inspect their figures to satiate his own curiosity. Each of the girls, simr to Anubis, but on a much smaller scale, were very lithe without almost any fat on their bodies. They were very simr to Tiona in a way, except their b.r.e.a.s.ts were marginallyrger. The most distracting thing was the bush ck tails that sshed around the water while they helped clean each other. They even seemed to notice his gaze but made no attempts to conceal themselves which just made matters worse for Vahn. Vahn noticed that, from the moment he entered, they too had taken nces at his p.e.n.i.s with expressions of mild shock before quickly averting their eyes. As he had neverpared himself to another boy before, Vahn now had the opportunity to do so and looked toward Rasui, Nour, Akil, and Ata. Ever since he had entered, Vahn noticed they seemed to be keeping a bit of distance from him. He noticed their gazes had wandered and their brows furrowed as theypared between each other. Vahn, too, was doing the same, and noticed that he wasnt just marginallyrger than the simrly aged boys. Though they had various sizes, except for the twins, they werent that dissimr from each other. Vahn inspected himself and tried estimated his p.e.n.i.s to be nearly 18cm long, which was a striking sight for anyone that saw his 156cm height. Though he had never thought of it before, he began to realize that he was strange, but after remembering the reactions of the more mature women than had seen him, Vahn didnt understand it if was a bad thing. Unable to resist his own doubts, Vahn quietly asked Anubis, "Is it a bad thing to have a bigger p.e.n.i.s?" Anubis, who had been focusing her efforts on Vahns back, immediately froze at his question. Everyone else in the bath also looked at him in a strange manner, and Vahn felt like he just asked something he should have kept to himself. Anubis, after a brief pause, looked around at the other children and they began busying themselves cleaning each other. Once everyone was distracted she spoke quietly to Vahn, "It may be a problem in certain aspects, but it isnt necessarily a bad thing. There are several women that prefer arger size, as long as you have the proper technique and show adequate care." Though he knew she was just exining things, Vahn felt like the words were very heavy in his mind, as he began to think about the context of her exnation. The moment Vahn started thinking about s.e.x, an unexpected event urred which brought silence to the room. His previously intimidating dragon seemed to be awakened from a long slumber and proudly raised it head as though it was about to soar into the sky and pierce the heavens. Vahn was incredibly surprised by the reaction of his own body, but the surprise wasnt just his alone. The eyes of everyone in the room seemed to be pulled towards the sight, almost as if they were unable to avoid watching the unstoppable ascension of the fierce beast. Vahn heard a gulping sound from behind him as he inspected the phenomenon that was urring to his own body. Turning his head, he saw Anubiss gaze drawn to the awakened dragon and he could even see a bit of fear in her eyes as she said, "That...could be a problem." The moment her words hit his ears, Vahn felt a fear of his own build up in his mind which seemed to seal the dragon away and return it to its slumber. Looking around, Vahn could see the boys staring at him like he was a monster, while the girls had actually moved to the other side of the bath like their lives were on the line. They each had pale faces, and even Maat, the eldest of the trio, who always had a confident expression on her face, seemed like she had encountered an unconquerable foe. Vahn was suddenly concerned about the future and recalled the words spoken by Tiona previously, "I wont be defeated so easily...". He wondered if she would be able to repeat that phrase in the current situation... --- After Vahn was dressed, he sent the children off to be before making his way to his own quarters. Anubis followed closely behind him, and the atmosphere was incredibly awkward for the duration of their short trip. Standing outside his door, Vahn turned his head toward Anubis and said, "Good night, Anubis." He turned the handle of the door and began to step through, but stopped when Anubis spoke out to him. Though she hesitated to speak at first, Anubis wasnt able to allow Vahn to walk about in such a lifeless manner. Ever since the incident in the bath, he lost his presence as the Alpha and it seemed like his confidence had taken a big hit. To help him, she swallowed her own fears and called out to him as the tried entering his room. "Master...If youck confidence, I am willing to help you." Vahn looked toward the beautiful and exotic chienthrope goddess and he could see her aura was fluctuating even though she was trying to keep a calm expression on her face. He knew she was just worried about him and wanted to help him, but Vahn wasnt willing to have someone make such a sacrifice just to ease his mind. Her intent was clearly felt by him, and it had brought back some of his motivation even without her having to do anything to appease him. With a genuine smile on his face, Vahn reached out and stroked Anubiss head gently as he said, "Thank you, Anubis, but your concern is more than enough for me. I am proud to have such a faithful attendant, but Ill never ask you to bear the burdens of my mentality with your body." Anubis, after Vahn had reached out to her, actually clenched her teeth a bit until Vahn started speaking. Seeing his smile and the concern in his eyes, Anubis felt both relieved and a bit sad. Even she had no confidence in being able to properly tend to Vahn, and she was d he seemed to be able to recover a bit on his own. However, since she had resolved herself, she was somewhat unwilling to step back just because he was worried about her. Anubis tried to speak out, but Vahn used his index finger and poked the middle of her forehead and interrupted her words. "That is my decision, Anubis. If you truly consider me to be your Master, you will respect my will." Vahn didnt leave any room for discussion as he gave her another gentle smile before closing the door behind him. Anubis just stared at the closed door for a few seconds and mulled over his words and actions in her mind. Eventually, she sighed and made her way toward her own room next door. After Vahn closed the door, he got a notification that Anubiss Loyalty had reached 95, which was a bit surprising to him. He wondered what would happen if he was able to raise it to 100, and his intrigue in the subject pushed away his other concerns. Looking through his system, Vahn noticed there was something strange within his View Affection so he asked Sis, ("Sis, why is there no affection disyed for Anubis?") He had clearly touched her several times, and he could even see her aura, but she wasnt disyed on the affection list for some reason. Sis responded in his mind, (*Loyalty is a higher functioning parameter than affection within The Path. To those that have subordinated themselves to you, they functionally have maximum Affection and Intrigue. It is typically impossible for someone to immediately be your subordinate without either being suppressed by you or possessing very higher values for affection, to begin with. Anubis seems to have realized something after you revealed your soul, so she managed to circ.u.mvent the process of developing affection entirely and became your subordinate.*) Vahn was surprised at the information and couldnt help but ask, ("Does that mean, when I fulfill someones hearts desire, Ill be able to subordinate them?") If that was true, Vahn was worried that his functions may not be inherently good-natured. As if to drive away his concerns, Sis responded, (*That isnt always the case. Loyalty is only one of the hidden parameters that can be obtained through the system. Loyalty is only for those that desire to follow you as a subordinate, and not those that want to grow closer to your personally.*) Vahn was relieved after hearing Siss rification. It turned out there was much more to his system functions than he had discovered, and it was fortunate he didnt seem to be able to identally subordinate others. He wanted to help fulfill the hearts desires of those that were affectionate toward him, so he would have had inhibitions if the ultimate result put them under him. With that thought in mind, Vahn remembered that he had obtained one [Hearts Desire: Tiona] that he had yet to use. Laying down on the bed, Vahn was somewhat distracted by the fragrance, but he did his best to keep it from his mind as he used the item. Simr to his previous experiences, the air seemed to freeze around him as time seemed toe to a stop. Unable to move, Vahn justy powerlessly on therge bed as the vision entered his mind. --- Vahn was alone in the darkness, outside of a ce that filled him with despair and sadness. The only thing that brought himfort was the presence of the young girl next to him. Upon closer inspection, he realized the girl looked very simr to Tione and Tiona, but she was much younger, probably around ages 5-6. She was wearing next to no clothing and was prevented from being fully nude by two small cloths wrapped around her chest and waist. Inspecting his own body, Vahn noticed he was also attired in a simr garb, and his body had now be that of a small girl as well. Though Vahn felt the situation to be strange, he understood that he was currently experiencing things from Tionas perspective. He could feel a powerful sadness in her heart as she resisted the cold night by seeking warmth from her twin sister. As one of the only pairs of twins to ever be born among the Amazons, they were ostracized and beaten by the other children and even avoided by the a.d.u.l.ts. Everyone treated them like a jinx, all except for their Goddess Kali, who seemed to take an interest in the two. Unfortunately, her interest manifested itself in the form of various trials which pitted the two identical girls against others. Tiona was forced to spend her days fighting against various opponents, and she hated the feeling of being beaten, so the only thing she could do was beat them instead. She often spent thetter half of her days wiping away the blood from her body with a sick feeling in her stomach. She wanted nothing more than to escape this cruel way of life, these people that didnt care about her, and this endless cycle of pain and cruelty. Unable to free herself from the torment, the only thing that brought sce to her mental state was the belief that, if she never gave up, a hero would one day show up and free her from this prison. She imagined a dashing man would show up any minute and rescue her and her sister, but as the years passed, this belief slowly faded away. As she grew stronger, she lost a lot fewer fights until she eventually got to the point where she was unbeatable amongst her peers. Eventually, without a hero every appearing, she and her sister managed to earn their freedom through their own efforts. However, even when she was allowed to wander the world, it always felt like something was missing in her heart. Unlike other Amazons, that was just drawn to seeking powerful males to sire their children, Tiona wanted something different. She became determined to find the hero that failed to appear in her childhood, and she would do so by her own efforts. She wanted to meet that fated person so she could understand why they had failed to save her when she so desperately sought freedom. Over time, her efforts to find the hero became slightly warped, and she simply wanted to meet anyone that met the qualifications in her mind. Even when she lost fights or came across valiant and powerful men, she was never satisfied. Tiona began to hate the men that thought she could be courted so easily, just because she was an Amazon and they were stronger than she was. To escape their pursuit, she once again worked hard to increase her strength until the point there was no-one around that harbored those intentions. Eventually, both she and her sister, now stood at the pinnacle most people were never able to reach. But, no matter how far she had traveled and how strong the became, Tiona never met the hero she was looking for. She began to feel an emptiness build up inside her, and she tried filling the void by acting yful and dismissive. When her sister found someone that she wanted to pursue, Tiona was happy for her, but it made the void in her heart grow muchrger in size. It got to the point where, when she wasnt looking, Tiona began to resent her sister. Especially since, after she fell in love, Tiones b.r.e.a.s.ts began to grow and they were no longer identical. Now Tiona felt like the only person that had understood her suffering and would always be at her side was now leaving her behind. The only sce she found to ease her suffering was battle, and she became so proficient in it that she developed skills like [Berserker] and even earned the alias Amazon as a testament to her aplishments. She was now considered one of the idols for all Amazons and had a new burden to bear atop the emptiness in her heart. Just as she was beginning to give up, Tiona found something that tore her from the darkness. In the time when she needed it the most, a hero finally appeared before her. She heard rumors of his exploits and couldnt wait to meet the boy people were calling the Vulcan. After she discovered where he resided, she convinced Gareth to allow her to apany him so she could meet the boy she had been waiting for. As she had hoped, the boy was very kind and trustworthy. He had an aura that made her feel both calm and excited, and for some reason, he was even willing to fight against her. Tiona was very excited because she would get to experience her heros capabilities first hand. Though he was much weaker than she expected, he was incredibly powerful for a Level 2, and she noticed that he had been concealing his strength. She looked forward to the opportunity to see his full potential in the future. Fortunately, not even a weekter she got to see her hero go all out against an opponent he should have had no hopes against. But, no matter how many times he was knocked down, just as Tiona expected, he always got back up. Not only that, he became stronger and was slowly oveing the insurmountable foe. There was even a point where it looked like he was going to be defeated, and she nearly jumped in to save the young hero. But, against everyones expectations, he made another breakthrough and instantly defeated the giant beast that was just about to crush him moments before. Unable to contain her excitement, Tiona rushed the boy and tackled him to the ground. She knew that the boy named Vahn was the person she had been looking for all this time. The reason he had been unable to save her, was because he was also very young. She could see he had his own hidden tragedy and was likely too busy saving himself to help others. Any resentment she had towards the hero she had in her mind vanished without a trace and reced with the image of the boy before her. Her emotions overwhelmed her, and she was unable to contain them as she looked at the boy she had pressed to the ground and said, "I want to have your baby!" --- Time returned to normal, and Vahn justy in his bed in a dazed state. It felt like he had experienced Tionas entire life, all of her pain and suffering, and he felt pity for the young girl that was forced to be stronger against her own will. Though he had already resolved himself to be with her in the future, now Vahn was determined to make the girls dreame true. No matter how many she wanted, Vahn would give her as many children as it took to satisfy her heart. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tionas Heart,Everyone has a tragic backstory,Anubiss failed attempt) Chapter 121 - Trouble : Questions

Chapter 121 - Trouble : Questions

Vahn took a long time before he was able to fall asleep that night. Though he had expected to have a bit of trouble, given the intoxicating smelling from the bed, the thing keeping him awake was the vision he had. He felt like his emotions were going to explode, and it wasnt until near midnight that he was finally able to rest. The next morning, Vahn woke up before the sun had even risen. Without about four and a half hours of sleep, he cleaned himself up before preparing to head out. Anubis had awoken when he started making noise, so she was able to catch him before he left. When she saw the fierce determination in his eyes, Anubis became worried so she asked, "Master? Did something happen?" Vahn looked at her, and his expression didnt change in the slightest as he said in a firm tone. "Take this Valis and buy the kids and yourself some clothing and anything else you may need. Im not sure if Ill be back today, so dont wait up for me." Vahn handed her arge sack containing more than 100,000 Valis which only made her brows furrow even more. Shaking his head, Vahn said, "Its nothing dangerous, I just have something I need to do or it would tear me apart. I will be back tomorrow, or the day after at thetest. If you need anything, you can ask Tsubaki and she should be able to help you." Anubis felt relieved when he exined, so she bowed her head low and said, "Then I wish you well in your endeavors, Master." With a curt nod to acknowledge her, Vahn set out through the door and quickly made his way toward the north area of the City; his destination, the Loki Familia. Though the distance wasnt short, Vahn managed to make the nearly 20km trip in less than ten minutes. The few adventurers and pedestrians that were out at this time of day gave him looks and wondered what important matter he had to attend to. A few even called out to ask if he needed help, but Vahn just shouted to alleviate their concerns as he maintained his fast pace throughout the City. Vahn stood outside of a gigantic manor,rger than any he had ever seen before. Within the City, it was known as the Twilight Manor and was the home of the most powerful Familia within the City, the Loki Familia. Though Vahn had never met the mischievous Goddess, he knew his presence wouldnt be epted easily given his budding rtionship with Ais. Hardening his resolve, Vahn made his way through therge gates into an area that looked like a reception desk at arge Inn. There were a few people loitering around the area, including someone that Vahn recognized. Seeing the stout and reliable figure of Gareth, Vahn felt like he would be able to avoid a lot of trouble. He quickly made his way over, and some people tried to stop him before Gareth waved them down. With a smile on his grizzled face, Gareth said, "Im d to see youve recovered. After you went down during the fight with the Juggernaut, a lot of people were concerned. You did well toe back from that, kid." Vahn was gratified to hear his words, and they brought a smile to his face as he bowed low and said, "Thank you very much, Gareth, but I havee here with a purpose in mind. Please, can you inform Tiona that I am here?" Seeing the intensity in Vahns gaze, Gareth had some suspicions and asked, "What is this about kid, why the urgency?" Even though he had a good opinion of Vahn, he wouldnt expose any of the younger generation to danger if he could prevent it. Noticing the suspicion in his eyes and the ring of his aura, Vahn tried to calm himself as he said in a low tone, "Please, tell Tiona I came to make due on my promise. If she is unwilling, I will depart without causing a scene." Gareths brows raised as he saw the sincerity in Vahns demeanor. With a gruff sigh, he waved one of the younger members over and had him go to pass Vahns message to Tiona. After sending the young man away, Gareth turned toward Vahn and asked in a simrly low tone, "What kind of promise did you make with that hyperactive girl?" Hearing the question, Vahns mind nked for a moment and he couldnt prevent a blush from touching his cheeks. Gareth immediately noticed what kind of thoughts were passing through Vahns mind and he began tough loudly while patting Vahns back. "Hahaha, aint it good to be young!?" Ten minutes passed quickly, but Tiona had yet to show up which made Vahn feel like he had made a mistake. Gareth too noticed there was something wrong before he showed a shocked expression on his face and said, "Ah, I think I know what this is about. The girls should be off spending time with Ais, so Tiona probably cant be pulled away right now." Vahn felt relieved after hearing the exnation and asked, "Why are all the girls spending time with Ais?" Gareth nodded his head and exined with a smile, "Ah, today is thess birthday, so they were preparing to go out and celebrate. Youre lucky you stopped by so early, or you might have missed them entirely." Vahn nodded and agreed that he was lucky, but then something clicked inside of him and he began to panic a bit as he asked, "Did you say...Aiss birthday?" Vahn remembered his promise with Ais, and prayed he had misheard Gareth. Though Gareth noticed Vahn was acting strange, he nodded his head and said, "Yeah, girl just turned 14 today, so they were gonna go out and celebrate. Lass could never hold her alcohol, but now that she is an a.d.u.l.t she needs to start building a tolerance." Gareth beganughing at his own words. As a dwarf, he had a unique disposition toward alcohol and only truly respected those that could hold their own against the brew. The warm-heartedughter of Gareth sounded like a death-toll in Vahns ears. If Ais had been serious at the time, that meant she had wanted to have s.e.x with Vahn after she turned 14. Though it didnt necessarily have to be today, he felt like Ais wasnt the type to wait around for things that interested her. Almost as if announcing his inevitable demise, a loud shout passed through the room. Vahn saw a sh of healthy-brown skin as he opened his arms and caught Tiona who hadunched herself at him. She immediately began to rub her head against his chest, but Vahn was distracted by the group of people that followed behind her. Ais was walking over, apanied by Loki, Riveria, Tione, and Lefiya. Seeing the difference between each of their expressions, Vahn felt like he had willingly just entered a death trap. Ais, unlike her normal expression, was actually smiling slightly and had a hint of expectation in her eyes as she looked at Vahn. Walking alongside her, Loki was looking at Vahn with slits for eyes and he felt like she was a snake that had stumbled upon a field mouse. The smile on her face, looked more like the invitation of a demon instead of anything cheerful. Riveria had a somewhat fed-up expression, while Tione and Lefiya seemed to be vexed as they walked over. Tiona, who had noticed Vahnsck of response, separated from him a bit before tilting her head sideways, "Is there something wrong, Vahn?" When the messenger had shown up and told her what Vahn had said, Tiona had nearly wrung the unfortunate boys neck to find out Vahns present location. It took thebined efforts of Tione and Ais to free the boy from her grasp. Loki, who was in the area and enjoying the preparations for theing day, teased Tiona and asked what the matter was about. Tiona unashamedly told the entire group of women what she and Vahn had promised each other. Since she had expected to have to wait for a long period of time, she was overwhelmed by excitement. Tione seemed dissatisfied by the turn of events, but Loki thought the matter was amusing, at least until someone spoke up. "Ah, I have a promise too." Like she was unwilling to admit defeat to Tiona, Ais spoke out in a low and firm voice. Loki looked toward the girl she had been molding into a weapon and asked in a curious voice, "Oh, Ais~? What kind of promise did you make?" Ais looked around at everyone before fixing her gaze on Tiona. "Vahn, me, we would have s.e.x when I turned 14. I will go to him as well." The moment Aiss voice sounded, silence spread through the room and people could even hear the distant sound of the foot traffic generated by the pedestrians. Nobody spoke for what seemed like an eternity until Tiona broke the silence, "Even if that is the case, I will go first. Vahn came here specifically to visit me, so youll have to wait your turn." Tiona expected Ais would try something sooner orter, so she was the least surprised by the turn of events. After her promation, the entire room came alive and they spent the next few minutes exining to Loki the events that had transpired in the dungeon. After their discussions had ended, Loki seemed livid before leading the entire group to meet the boy that seemed to have created huge problems for her Familia. Though she was also interested in Vahn based on what she heard from Finn and Riveria, she had never expected that, before she even got to meet him officially, he was already pouching the powerful members in her Familia. When Loki finallyid her eyes on Vahn, she had to admit that he was both handsome and young. She could see why the younger girls would fall for him, as even she wanted to tease the boy if not for the current situation. Arriving with the remainder of the group, she continued to gaze at Vahn as she said, "You must be the Vulcan, Vahn Mason? Ive heard so much about you...shall we talk in private?" Vahn could see the aura from Loki was massivepared to others, and it was a mixture of purples and crimson reds. Though he could somewhat understand why she was upset, he had never seen someone that had such a deeply chaotic aura before. He felt like, if he lowered his guard, he would be devoured by the chaotic energies. But, seeing Tiona at his side and remembering his purpose, he looked toward Loki and said, "Yes, please." Loki was surprised to see how calm Vahn was able to act in front of her intimidation but, as there were too many watching eyes, she led the group to a private room that had various formations and seals to prevent sound from escaping. Vahn sat on one of the four sofas, while everyone else spaced themselves around on the remaining seats. Both Tiona and Ais took the seats next to him, while Loki sat directly across. Vahn suddenly felt like he hade to pick up the two girls, and now had to deal with the beast guarding the property... Seeing the two girls sit next to Vahn, Loki frowned a bit as she sat in a very undylike manner on her sofa. Vahns vision fluctuated at the sight, and it didnt escape Lokis vision as she smiled and asked, "Oh? A girl on each arm and now you even covet this Goddess? Quite the appetite you have there...Vahn Mason." Vahn almost refuted that it was her posture that caused his momentarypse, but remembering his prior offenses against other people, even he didnt believe the excuse. Instead of responding to her goading, Vahn mustered his conviction and said, "I am sorry for dropping by unannounced, but I had a terrible premonition that, if I didnte here today, I may lose something important." Though it wasnt the entire reason behind his visit, Vahn knew there was some truth to his statement. He felt that, if he ignored Tiona who had suffered for so long, he would end up hating himself. Loki looked at him and found his couragemendable, but she could see there was more behind his statement than he made known. She wanted to find a hole in his words so, after looking between Tiona and Ais, she decided to ask,"I heard you came here for Tiona, correct? And what of your promise with Ais? Dont tell me, you intend to take both of the girls with you?" Vahn flinched after hearing her words, because, no matter how he tried to spin the situation, he hade here only for Tiona, and not Ais. If he tried to tell her he wanted to take both girls away just so he could have s.e.x with them, he felt like the atmosphere might explode. As he was trying toe up with what to say, a voice came from his left where Ais was seated. "I didnt tell him when my birthday was," Ais remembered that she had only told him she wanted to try having s.e.x when she turned 14 but had never informed Vahn of the actual date. Even if he only came here for Tiona, she felt like she would lose out if she backed down without trying to take a stand. Loki frowned after hearing Ais answer instead of Vahn. If he had tried to make an excuse, she could use it against him but if it was Ais that made the excuse she had nothing to use against him. Instead, she looked at Tiona before fixing her gaze back on Vahn and saying, "So she says, but are you going to change your ns with Tiona and try to fit Ais in as well? Even if Riveria taught you a few things, do you really think you can tend to two women at once?" As Vahn had never had s.e.x, he didnt know how to answer Lokis question. The incident from the previous night was still in his mind, and though he had confidence Tiona would be able to manage, Ais was much smaller and more fragile than Tiona. While Tiona had a healthy figure with visible muscles, Ais looked incredibly frail, almost like one of the porcin dolls he had seen in the market. This time, while Vahn was considering his word, Tiona spoke out, "I dont care if, even if Vahn wanted to bring every girl in this room with him~! I know hell be able to ovee anything!" Once again, the entire room became silent after Tionas outburst. She seemed to be enjoying the situation and had a big smile on her face as she made her promation. As long as she got to be with Vahn first, she didnt care who came after her. Loki looked at Tiona like she had just met the biggest idiot of her several million years long life. Her mouth was wide open and her body had frozen in the pose she had held after asking her question. After recovering, she began to get really annoyed that the girls were answering instead of the person she was questioning. She said sharply, "You two be quiet for a moment! You think Ill let some strange boy steal you away if he cant even answer simple questions!?" She iled about like an enraged demon, and it was fortunate nobody else was sitting on the sofa with her or they would likely have to suffer her tirade. After calming down, she leaned forward like a thug and asked, "You answer this time, boy. I want to know exactly what your intentions are. If its just s.e.x, sure, fine, whatever, I can ept that. Youre all stupid and young, and its part of the natural cycle to try and sate your urges. However, you should know their role and the significance they have to the Familia. What happens if they get pregnant or get taken out ofmission? A lot of people could end up dying for your selfishness if youre not careful. What can you, a measly Level 3, provide in exchange for taking two Level 5s out ofmission?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Boi...,Loki Appears,Flowers on both arms) Chapter 122 - Unwilling to Back Down

Chapter 122 - Unwilling to Back Down

Hearing Lokis question, Vahn felt something inside him grow cold as his [Will of the Emperor] acted without his prompting. The way Loki talked about value made him feel like the only way she looked at people was from the perspective of their usefulness. He was reminded of the people that had tormented him in his previous life, and he felt a sickening feeling as he looked at the small goddess in front of him. The moment his domain spread out, everyone entered a state of high alert but, seeing Vahn unmoving, they didnt take any action yet. Even Tiona and Ais at his sides felt a threatening feelinge from Vahn who was presently ring at Loki with a look of contempt and undisguised anger. Loki, who was the one experiencing the full brunt of Vahns pressure, grits her teeth and opened her slitted eyes as she returned his re. Unable to reset the repressive force any longer, she had to activate her Divinity to resist the pressure. Seeing her activate her Divinity, Vahn couldnt help but sneer at seeing her actions. "You have to use your Divinity to resist a mortal who hasnt done anything? And you dare ask what I have to offer; what I can provide?" Vahn looked coldly at Loki as he enunciated each syble of his next few words, "I will be strong enough to protect them, no matter what it takes. My question is, what can YOU offer?" Loki had converged her Divinity and the entire room was shaking but, even though others seemed to be affected, Vahn, who was arguably the weakest in the room, sat in front of her without any signs of being pressured. The most baffling thing was, even when she activated her aura, she was unable to prevent the dangerous feeling that seemed to being from the domain generated from Vahn. When Vahn made his statement and then questioned her, the domain he was emitting seemed to be slowly repressing her Divinity. Loki couldnt believe what was happening, and various thoughts began racing through her mind. For Vahn to be able to repress a gods Divinity, there had to be something unique about his origins. She began to understand why Hephaestus did so much to protect Vahn over thest few months; she was likely aware of his origins or had gained some insight using her gods eye. Suddenly, Loki smiled while withdrawing her Divinity. She looked toward Vahn and startedughing as she said, "Great! I like you, you are very manly! Hahahaha, I almost want to keep you for myself; what say you join my Familia and Ill let you do whatever you want~?" Loki had to have someone unique like Vahn in her Familia. She could see that he had a potential that dwarfed others, and couldnt stand the thought of him being in something like a production Familia. Vahn continued to focus his [Will of the Emperor] without answering, and Loki began to sweat while pretending to be unaffected. The entire time she had been trying to convince him, Vahn noticed that her aura hadnt changed in the slightest, it just fluctuated wildly like a possessed demon. He had no doubt she would ept him into the Familia, but it made him sick imagining himself as one of her pawns. The atmosphere began to get progressively worse, and Loki was nearing her limits and almost ordered her Familia to capture Vahn. If he was unwilling topromise after she withdrew her Divinity, she didnt think he was capable of being reasoned with. Fortunately, it didnt have toe to that as Ais grabbed Vahns hand and got his attention. The moment he looked away from Loki, it felt like a mountain had been removed from her shoulders and she released a heavy sigh. When Ais grabbed Vahns hand, he looked toward her and saw sadness and concern in her eyes. She squeezed his hand and said, "Dont, Vahn. That is enough." Hearing her words, his immediately dispersed his domain, but he still couldnt forgive Loki. He patted Aiss hand before turning his vision back toward the scheming goddess. Seeing Vahn turn back to her, Loki felt a chill down her spine as she asked, "Whats wrong, kid? Was my offer not good enough?" With a smile on her face, she tried ying off the situation to lighten the mood. Vahn squinted his eyes and furrowed his brows even further, "I refuse to be a pawn of someone else. I will walk my own path, no matter what difficulties I have to face. Though I may not have the best grasp of my own emotions, I know that Tiona and Ais both desire to be with me right now, and I refuse to let either of them down." Loki seemed surprised by the conviction in Vahns voice, and even she felt like he could keep his promise. She looked around and saw the members of her own Familia even seemed to respect the boy, especially the two enamored looking girls at his sides. Even Ais, who rarely had any expressions, seemed to be happy after his words finished. Thinking she had run into a wall, Loki tried thinking of how she could benefit from the current situation. The room remained silent for nearly a minute before Loki spoke up with a cheerful voice and a smile on her face. "Fine, but if you want me to agree, youll have agree to a request of mine. Tiona seems to believe you are some kind of hero, so you wont just take without giving anything, would you?" Vahn frowned, but he didnt shy away as he said, "If its a request that I can do, and doesntpromise my integrity or the safety of those I care about, I dont care what your request is. Ill do anything to protect the ones I care about." The smile on Lokis face nearly doubled in size as she said, "Oh, its nothing too serious. Its just, I want you to apany my Familia when they perform expeditions into the lower floors. Youll even be able to be with your precious Tiona and Ais, so it should fall in line with your desire to protect them, isnt that right~?" Even if Loki couldnt get Vahn to join her Familia, it didnt mean she couldnt use him. It wasmon for members of the Hephaestus Familia to act as a support unit, and she could just get Vahn to be the representative. Even Hephaestus wouldnt be able to say anything if she yed her cards right. Vahn considered the words for a few moments before nodding and saying, "Even if I had to travel to the bottom floor of the dungeon, as long as I could protect the people I cared about, I would do so without hesitation." Vahn could feel his heart beating powerfully in his chest, and he felt proud to be able to make the im. It was the truth, and he genuinely believed he could confront anything if it meant removing the burden from his loved ones. Loki started pping after hearing Vahns deration as she shouted out, "Bravo! Bravo! Well said, a true hero~! But, are you willing to make a vow to guarantee your support?" Loki wasnt the type to take personal promises seriously when there was a way to bind people to their words. Keeping true to his words about not hesitating, Vahn nodded and said, "As long as the vow includes traveling alongside Tiona and Ais, and not simply apanying any random expedition you might stage." Lokis brows raised when she saw how cautious Vahn was. She suspected he was the type to act based on emotions and didnt expect him to be able to maintain his rationality if she praised him. From her perspective, Vahn seemed to possess a greater insight than she had previously considered. Of course, she didnt know Vahn could see affection and wasnt fooled by her act. The only reason he agreed was to protect Tiona and Ais. Speaking of the two girls, Tiona was currently cuddling Vahn like he was some kind of precious treasure. She had a slighted heated expression on her face, and even Vahn had begun to sweat as she pressed her body against him. Ais, to his left, had never released his hand, and after his words, she held it slightly tighter and had a small smile on her lips. After they hade to an agreement, Vahn made his vow in front of all the ace members of the Loki Familia. When the ceremony was concluded, Loki showed a grieving expression as she looked at Tiona and Ais and said, "Its a shame that I have to let two beautiful girls get soiled by such an inexperienced boy~! If he isnt able to satisfy you, my door is always open at night!" As she spoke, she even tried to take advantage fo the situation and grabbed towards Aiss butt. Ais, ustomed to her advances immediately swatted away the hand and moved closer toward Vahn. Loki seemed to be very upset by her actions as she held her hand with tears in her eyes, "Boo-hoo, my Ais has been stolen away by a strange boy from another Familia." As she was crying Loki faltered and seemed to stumble in the direction of Lefiya, who had been watching the events with an incredulous expression on her face. There were tears in her eyes as she saw Ais standing next to Vahn, but the tears began flowing after what happened next. Loki, who had stumbled had reached behind Lefiya and reached around to begin fondling her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Loki shouted, "Oooooh~! At least I still have my darling Lefiya~! And it looks like you are growing?" Feeling Loki fondling her b.r.e.a.s.ts yet again, Lefiay shouted out with tears in her eyes, "Loki-sama, you idiooooooot~!" Managing to free herself from the mischievous goddess, Lefiya ran out of the room like she was trying to escape. Loki held out her hands as though she had just lost something precious as she too shouted, "Nooo, Lefiya~! Dont you leave me too!" She then ran towards the door, but slowed down slightly as she passed by Vahn and whispered, "If you hurt them, it wont be just me that you have to deal with." As she ran out the door, Vahn followed her retreat with his eyes. He noticed that at the moment she passed by him, her chaotic aura briefly diminished. If Vahns intuition was correct, that was one of the only real things Loki had said since their meeting. Though he didnt like her, he swore in his mind that he would never willingly hurt Tiona, Ais, or any of the women he chose to be with. After Loki left, everyone made casual, albeit awkward conversation, and Riveria even congratted the two girls. Tionaughed in a carefree manner while Ais bowed her head slightly to ept the congrattions. Tione, who had been present for the entire event, seemed to have suffered a major setback as she begrudgingly congratted her younger twin. At this point in time, there wasnt arge difference between their figures, as Tiones b.r.e.a.s.ts had yet to reach the point they had in the original story. The fact that Vahn would be able to experience a body that was nearly identical to her own made her feel a strange frustration in her heart. She grabbed Vahns cor and shouted, "Dont get any ideas, okay!? My body is being saved for the Captain!" Tione felt like she had to say the words because she felt like, the moment he had s.e.x with Tiona, it was almost like he had s.e.x with her as well. It was a very frustrating feeling and one of the reasons she had wanted to experience the act before her little sister. At least that way she could keep her pride as the elder sister. Though Vahn didnt know why she seemed angry, he just nodded his head and said,"Yes, I wont try to do anything to you." The moment he spoke the words, Tione seemed to suddenly get even angrier and looked like she was about to pummel him. Hearing Vahn says he wouldnt try to pursue her, she wanted to retort that he shouldnt go after her sister then. Though they were two different people, they were twins and Tione had hoped that one-day Tiona woulde around to liking Finn after she finally got together with him. Then they would be able to share the same man without any problems. After Tiones mild breakdown, Tiona and Ais dragged her away from Vahn and made room for thest person present to speak to him. Gareth, with a smile on his face and a serious expression in his eyes, approached Vahn and said, "Two girls for your first time? Better prepare yourself..." Vahn nodded his head, but before he could inform Gareth he would be careful, Gareth continued, "A lot of men are probably going to try to beat you up when the rumors get out. Tiona and Ais together probably have more than a thousand lovelorn suitors." Vahns mind suddenly froze and Garethughed loudly at his response. Smacking his hand heavily against Vahns back, he said, "Whats with that look? Men are meant to struggle when ites to love! Do your best kiddo." Gareth left the room with everyone staring at him like he had gone mad. Seeing Vahns current state, Tiona asked, "What did Gareth say?" Everyone seemed interested in the answer, and Vahn just helplessly responded, "He said Id probably have to fight the thousand people that tried to court you..." Tiona didnt seem surprised at all and loudly shouted out, "Yup~! There were only around three hundred for me, but I think Ais was somewhere around 800~?" Tiona looked toward Ais as she asked the question. Without any hesitation, Ais nodded and said, "Eight-hundred-and-three." Hearing the two numbers, Vahn felt a heavy pressure weighing down on him, but not just because of the two girls in front of him. He was also aware there were innumerable suitors for Hephaestus as well as Eina who he had a date within just a few days. Though he already knew he would have a lot of troubles in the future, the matter turned into something far greater than he had expected. He could vaguely feel the bloodl.u.s.t of thousands of unseen men calling out for retribution. Though he was certain he imagined it, he also felt like there were the voices of a few women as well... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Vahn,I feel like some of those voices are from thements section,Gareth is a total bro) Chapter 123 - Preparations : Return

Chapter 123 - Preparations : Return

After everything was settling down, the fear inside Vahn was slowly beginning to change into excitement and anticipation. He looked toward Tiona and Ais who were talking with Riveria and Tione, and the back view of the two girls made his heart beat faster. He was still confused by everything that was happening in his own body, but looking at the two lovely girls gave him a strange sense of pride and brought a joy he had never experienced to his heart. Riveria noticed his gaze since she was facing toward him while talking to Ais. Seeing the happy expression on his face, she felt a mix of emotions but most of all she was curious about what would happen after the fact. She knew Vahn had a lot of secrets, as even Loki seemed to pick up on some things, and she was wondering if this would provide her the opportunity to learn about him, as she expected he would linger around the two girls in the future. Other than curiosity, she also felt the desire to tease the boy that was so full of anticipation, so she said to Ais, "Come with me, there are a lot of things we need to discuss to prepare you. Your body is still maturing, and it can be dangerous if you make any mistakes." Riveria took Aiss hand and led her toward a side door while Vahn followed them with his eyes. Tione, hearing Riveria, seemed to have realized something herself as she started pulling Tiona along with her. Tiona had been in high tension for a while, but she also knew there were things to prepare, so she looked toward Vahn was a big smile and waved at him in a yful manner. "See you soon~" The moment everyone left, Vahn felt like cold water had been poured over his head. He stared at the door they had just left through and was tempted to follow behind. Eventually, he just shook his head to clear away his thought and sat on the sofa. Though he knew some of the details from the lesson with Riveria, he wasnt aware of the process very well. If they preparations they had to make would keep them safe, Vahn didnt mind waiting longer. (*Looks like youre finally going to have your first real experience with women. I almost expected it to be that Chloe girl or Hephaestus. Im surprised it ended up being two girls you hardly know, but I guess it makes sense with everything that happened. People can fall in love faster if they experience hardsh.i.p.s together.*) After twenty minutes of silence, just as Vahn had started to feel dull andid down on the sofa, Sis had spoken out in his mind. Her words brought thoughts of the two girls she mentioned, and Vahn felt a bit of guilt about everything that was taking ce. He sighed and asked, ("Am I doing the right thing, Sis? I feel its right, but the moment I stop to think about things, I end up feeling afraid and guilty.") Sis sighed in his mind and exined, (*In matters of rtionsh.i.p.s, life, and love, there are no right or wrong answers. As long as youre doing your best, there really isnt anything wrong with how things are progressing. The problem arises when you have too many things you try to bnce and you begin to lose control of your own life. If you are meant to live freely and pursue happiness, it will be difficult if others are making the decisions and influencing the path you choose to walk.*) Vahn agreed with Sis, at least in a way, as he had felt like there was little he had done by his own volition as ofte. He always got caught up in his interactions with women, and now he was even about to have s.e.x with two girls less than a day after promising to be a capable cksmith to Hephaestus. The fact he was about to sleep with Tiona and Ais, while Hephaestus was waiting for him, made Vahn feel incredibly guilty. (*Its good that youre at least aware of the situation. The more girls you try to build rtionsh.i.p.s with, the greater the impact it will have on your life as well as their lives. Though polygamy is verymon in this world, that doesnt mean every woman is willing to share with others. Imagine if the first girl you were with had been Lili, do you think she would have been open to the idea of you being with other women?*) Remembering the small girl that seemed overly possessive, Vahn imagined what kind of life he could have lived if he had epted her affection early on. It felt like, with how earnest and willing to please she was, Vahn would have be corrupted by her. Over time, the two would have turned into some kind of deviants, and Vahn felt like his progress would have stopped. There was even a chance that he might have gotten caught up in the Soma Familia and had to kill dozens of people to helpplete her revenge. Releasing another sigh, Vahn asked, ("Is there really no way to make everyone happy? I feel like, whenever a girl seems to like me, I have to do my best to meet their expectations. How do I prevent it from bing aplicated mess in the future...?") (*That isnt something I can answer, but it seems like the current direction of things isnt necessarily bad. Tiona is a lot like Lili in a way, except that she never seemed to harbor any intentions of keeping you to herself. And, that Ais girl, though she seems to just be going with the flow due to herpetitive nature and curiosity, there are a lot of parallels between the two of you that will help both of you move forward. Being with both of them will open a lot of doors and will fundamentally change the impression other people have of you; that includes other women. Even girls like Lili will be forced to change, or else she would risk losing you in the future to more understanding women.*) After listening to Sis, Vahn justyzily on the couch for nearly an hour as he quietly listened to the ambiance of the room. There was arge clock on the wall, and each sessive tick seemed to resonate in Vahns mind almost as though it was counting down to the beginning of his problems, instead of counting forward in time. However, even though he seemed to be lost in a mncholy, there was a fierce confidence burning in his eyes. Just as he had said to Tsubaki previously, Vahn would do his best to face any challenges without backing down. Even if he had to face multiple challenges at once... By the time almost two hours had passed, the door to the room began to open, and Vahn sat up on the sofa with excitement beginning to build within his heart instantly. The moment the two girls stepped through the door, Vahn felt a powerful desire to jump up from the sofa but instead did his best to appear patient. Tiona and Ais saw Vahns excited expression, and Ais began to blush slightly as Tiona cheerfully walked forward and grabbed Vahns arm. Unable to contain her own excitement, she asked in a happy voice, "So, where are we going to go~?" The moment Tiona grabbed his arm and started pressing her body against his, Vahns mind went nk for a moment and he was unable to answer her question. It wasnt until Ais had sat down next to him and looked into his face that he was finally able to answer, "Its a ce outside of the City, but not too far away. With our speed, we should be able to make it in an hour or two..." Tiona hugged Vahns body as she nearly shouted, "Okay then~! Lets go, lets go~!" Without waiting, Tiona pulled Vahns arm and lifted him from the couch. She seemed more excited than everyone else, and her carefree mentality made Vahn feel calmer about the whole situation. His original intention when he came here today was to make Tiona happy, and seeing her act so bubbly made his heart dance along with her. Even Ais seemed to be influenced by the mood, as she nodded her head and rose from the couch faster than Vahn would have normally expected. He noticed she seemed a bit nervous, and even fearful, which made him a little worried. Before they left the room, Vahn asked, "Are you okay Ais? We dont have to do anything today if youre having doubts." Vahn never wanted to force people against their will, and seeing her inhibitions made him very worried about her state of mind. Ais shook her head with a bit of force as she said, "No, Im okay. I want to try." Tiona saw the interaction between the two and realized what was going on, so she pulled Vahns head and whispered in her ear, "Riveria spent thest two hours giving her a crash course on what to expect as well as all the dangers associated with s.e.x. She seemed to be trying to traumatize Ais, but I dont think it will be a problem as long as you do your best~" Tionas hot breath on his ear made Vahns head buzz, and her words made him feel a bit of pressure. Looking toward Ais, Vahn wanted to help ease her mind so he said, "I will do my best..." Ais stared at him for a few seconds without saying anything, but she eventually nodded with a slight smile on her face. "Nn. I know." After that, the three made their way out of the Twilight Manor with the eyes of every person they passed follow them. Seeing the stranger with two of their Familias women, a lot of people gave Vahn strange and incredulous looks. There were even a few that seemed to look at him with anger and even hatred, but Vahn ignored them all as he led the way forward with Tiona and Ais following close behind. Vahn led the group outside of the northern gate of the City since the Twilight Manor was located very close to the exit. After registering their information, the trio picked up their pace as Vahn led the way toward the Western Forests. Though the two wanted to ask where they were going, the only person that would have, Tiona, was too busy repressing her own emotions to make conversation. The closer they got to their destination, the greater the flush that started to cover her body became. Vahn could even feel her gaze sticking to his back, and it sent a chill down his spine that made him pick up his pace. Because of their incredible speed, the group ended up arriving at a clearing next to a river in less than an hour. Tiona and Ais looked around and noticed a cave within a serious of rock formations, as well as signs that someone had lived here not too long ago. Though Vahn had destroyed most of the evidence, there were still the log posts he had used to train, as well as various markings on trees from when he was practicing his CQC. Tiona, who had begun to calm down a bit after they stopped running, asked with a hazy manner, "What is this ce..." Vahn looked over and saw that she was still flushed and seemed to have a dreamy expression in her eyes as she looked around the area. Ais too was looking around, so Vahn exined, "This was my home for a long time before I went to Orario. It isnt much, but it should give us some privacy and I wanted the two of you to know more about me. This ce has a significance in my heart and was where my journey officially began. I wanted to return here someday, and this seemed like an appropriate time to do so..." Hearing that this was Vahns home, the two girls seemed to be a bit more interested in the area and began to look around. Ais looked toward the cave entrance and asked, "Did you stay in the cave?" Vahn nodded his head and began making his way through the once familiar entrance. Since he hadnt wanted it to be a nest for goblins, or other creatures, he had barred the opening to prevent passage to anyone that didnt clear it out. Tiona and Ais followed him inside and continued along the path until they arrived at therge cavern that was once Vahns home. Tiona seemed to find the cave interesting as she curiously looked around and even picked at some of the glowing stones on the walls. Ais muttered in a low voice while standing next to Vahn, "It looks beautiful...like stars." Vahn nodded, as he once spent seven months staring at the stars she had mentioned; he could even name each of them if someone had asked. Seemingly satisfied with her exploration, Tiona bounded over and asked, "Is this where were going to do it?" She had a big smile on her face as she leaned forward and said the words with exuberance. Vahn nodded before moving toward the center of the room and pulling out arge futon from his inventory. Tiona nearly exploded in excitement the moment the cushion wasid on the cavern floor. "Ahahaha, that is much better~! I didnt mind if we used the cave floor, but a futon will be a lot morefortable!" As her words ended, she had already sat on top of the futon and grabbed some of the pillows that Vahn hadid out and began to hug them as she sat cross-legged. From over the top of the pillow, Vahn could see her staring at him with a hungry expression, but he tried to keep his calm and continue preparing things. After a short while, even Ais had made her way over before removing her long-boots and sitting on the futon with her legs underneath her. Unlike Tiona, who seemed almost unable to contain herself, Ais was veryposed and sat properly. However, Vahn smiled at her since he was able to see her aura fluctuating very rapidly almost as if to mock her stoic appearance. After everything was ready, Vahn sat down with the two girls and they were in something like a triangr formation as they looked toward each other. Tiona sat to his left and was squeezing the lift out of her pillow, while Ais sat to his right and maintained eye contact with him every time he looked over. The seconds grew into minutes as the three just sat silently staring, unable to say anything while the tension in the air continually increased. At this point, Vahns heart was beating in his chest so loudly that he was barely able to hear his own thoughts. Though he had steadied his heart for the event, now that he had prepared everything, he actually found that he had no idea what to do. Seeing the expectant looks of the two girls, Vahn felt incredibly nervous and slowly asked, in a very low voice, "So...what do we do now?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dangerous silence,The moment of truth,Endless Excitement) Chapter 124 - Tiona and Ais (1/2)

Chapter 124 - Tiona and Ais (1/2)

(Warning: NSFW content ahead. If you are under the requisite age listed by the novel, please turn away.) (Disimer: The characters represented in this novel are a work of fiction and have no rtion to real people/ces. As fictional characters, ording to the background information and cultural relevance of the situation, all parties are of an eptable age to engage in s.e.x.u.a.l acts. This chapter is not intended to be p.o.r.nographic in nature and has been written with the express purpose of artistic expression while remaining culturally/ethically/canonically urate. Also, though I will not go into too many spoilers, know that Ais actual age is closer to 998 (chronologically), something that will be exined muchter in the story.) ---- Hearing Vahns question, Ais remained silent while Tiona seemed to recall that they were all inexperienced. She had the most knowledge, but there were problems if she was going to be the one teaching them. After a bit of hesitation, she pulled out a small leather pouch and removed the cap. She emptied the crimson contents into a small cup before drinking it as Vahn and Ais watched her actions with confused expressions. Vahn wanted to know what she was doing, so he asked, "Tiona? What is that liquid...it has a strange smell." Even from where he was sitting, Vahn felt like the liquid was dangerous just based on the odor it was emitting. After gulping down the liquid with difficulty, Tiona looked at Vahn and gave an awkward smile as she exined, "Its called Ambrotos by some, but many Amazons call it Fallen. To get experience with men, not every Amazon is willing to wait for a strong man, so they take the Fallen to decrease their strength. Im not sure Ill be able to control myself if we do it normally, and this will make it so that I can barely use my strength." Hearing her exnation, Vahn suddenly felt very ashamed of himself for some reason. He could already see that she was having trouble supporting her own body, and it made him feel like he had failed as a partner. Tiona saw his look andughed, "Dont worry, Vahn. This will be better for you and Ais, since Ill be able to keep my rity for a longer period of time. Besides..." Vahn looked at her and saw a fierce blush covering Tionas face as she continued, "I want to be spoiled sometimes." Hearing her words, Vahn recalled that it was Tionas dream to be a princess and that he had previously promised to spoil her. He even remembered in his vision how she had waited for a hero to free her from her powerlessness when she was a young girl. Now, the strong woman that had lived her life pursuing a strength she never desired,y almost helplessly in front of him with a passionate gaze in her eyes. Vahn shifted his body and reached over before cing his hand on her hair and began stroking her head. Tiona giggled and weakly hugged his body while looking toward Ais and saying, "Ill be going first Ais. Amazons are a bit different than humans, and itll be less dangerous if he uses my body to learn a bit. You should also pay attention, as it will help you when the timees." Ais, hearing Tionas words, slowly nodded her head before repositioning herself to the side. Instead of sitting in aposed manner, she now sat while holding onto her knees while looking at the two acting intimately before her. After Ais moved away, Tiona buried her head into Vahns chest and mumbled, "Undress me...Vahn. I dont have any strength..." Vahns heart was already beating harder than he had ever felt before, and each word she spoke mmed into his ears and had a stunning effect. Swallowing his saliva, he moved his hands down the line of her body until he came in contact with the belt that fixed the cloth around her waist. As he had been moving his hands, Vahn couldnt help but gawk at the figure of Tiona and marvel at how soft she was. He could also vaguely smell the fragranceing from her hair and body, and Vahn started having difficulty with the belt due to his distracted state of mine. Tiona, keeping her head down and focusing on Vahns actions, said slowly, "You have to untie the cloth first...or the belt cant be removed..." Vahn could hear the struggle in her voice, so he tried to remain calm and listen to her words. He used his slightly shaky hands to unfasten the knot that had been holding therge cloth that hugged her waist. Once the knot was undone, the fabric loosened up and he was able to unfasten the belt that held the bundle of fabric hanging from her h.i.p.s. Tiona released a long sigh and said, "Thats good...Vahn...now the top..." At this point, tiona could only form short sentences as she slowly focused on taking long breaths. She weakly moved her arms up before hanging them around Vahns neck, but she still hadnt avoided looking at his face. Vahn traced his hands up her back and noticed she had begun sweating, but he tried to keep his focus until his hands came into contact with the band of fabric that wrapped around her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Vahn always wondered how it managed to stay on without falling, and now he was able to tell that the fabric was somewhat stic in nature. It wasprised of a doubleyer of stic cloth and some kind of leathery fabric on the inside. The leather had small holes in it, and looked like it was intended to increase friction so the garment wouldnt slide while also absorbing sweat. Slipping his thumbs under the fabric, Vahn slowly moved it upwards and revealed the contents contained within. Though Tiona was rtively small for most girls, it wasnt like she had no b.r.e.a.s.ts at all. The moment Vahn moved the fabric away, his mind numbed a little after seeing the bouncy mounds that seemed to cry out for acknowledgment. His hands stopped for a moment as he stared at the light-brown protrusions in the center of Tionas b.r.e.a.s.ts and noticed they had turned rigid unlike when he hadst seen them. Noticing his hands had stopped, Tiona quietly mewled out, "Vahn...quickly..." Vahn was awakened by her pained and sensuous voice as he continued pulling the fabric up. He managed to work it through her arms, and was able to free the fabric after raising her hands above her head. Tiona continued to hang her head, even when Vahn had pulled her arms up. The moment her hands were free of the fabric, they fell back down and she nearly copsed onto the bed. Vahn tried to catch her body, but because of theirbined sweat, she ended up slipping through his grasp before falling backward onto the bed. The face she had been hiding from him for thest few minutes finally came into view, and Vahn experienced a powerful shock within his mind. Tionas face was incredibly red and covered in sweat as she looked at him with a nk expression and watery eyes. Tiona looked into his eyes and muttered, "The bottoms..." At this point, Vahns tension was at an all-time high as he looked at Tionas figure. Though she seemed to be in pain, Vahn found her appearance to be captivating and it was almost like something was scratching away at his heart and his reasoning. Right now, the only clothing on her body was her jewelry and the white fabric that looked like small shorts wrapped around her h.i.p.s. It was made of the same material as her bra and Vahn slowly ced his hands at the side of Tionas h.i.p.s before slowly pulling down the white fabric. After pulling it down toward her thighs, Vahn felt a pressure in his brain as he saw the contents that had been kept hidden by the fabrics presence. Though he had seen it previously, now Vahn stared at the unguarded v.a.g.i.n.a with a powerful curiosity welling up inside of him. Tiona was already emitting some kind of strange transparent liquid and her healthy-brown skin glistened in the low light of the cave. There was a smell that made the itching in his mind and heart grow in intensity, and he forced himself to look away as he removed the shorts from her legs. Just as he had to lift her arms previously, Vahn had to raise Tionas legs to remove the shorts and he had to trace his hands along her legs to do so. Vahn noticed that Tiona had an incredibly beautiful and muscr pair of legs, unlike any girl he had seen other than perhaps Tione. Seeing them in their current powerless state made him feel that it was a bit of a shame as he slowly lowered them back to the futon after having separated the fabric from their grasp. Now Vahn could see the entirely nude Tiona looking at him with an even more painful expression than she had previously. Vahn wasnt even sure if her eyes could see anything at this point with how hazy they looked. While he was staring at her body, Tionas legs twitched and she slowly tried to put strength into them to bend her knees. Vahn noticed what she was doing, so he helped support by cing his palms at the back of her knees and helpingplete the motion. Tiona released a heavy sigh, almost like she was relieved at receiving Vahns assistance. She used what strength she had left to trace her hands along her stomach before bringing them to a stop at her own genitals. Turning her head to Ais for a moment, Tiona started speaking in slow and low tones, "Pay...attention to this spot...it will make it easier for the girl...and..." Tiona used her fingers and spread open the inside of her v.a.g.i.n.a so Vahn could see the interior. The moment she did so, Vahns eyes opened wide and he was paying full attention to each of her words. Tracing the inside of her v.a.g.i.n.a, Tiona exined, "This...is where you put...your p.e.n.i.s...dont mix it up...with other holes..." Tionas words kept getting lower and lower, and Vahn almost had to strain himself just to hear what she was saying. The pounding of his own heart had drowned out almost everything else, and he couldnt free himself from the sight in front of him. Tiona took a deep breath before moving her hands away and resting them on her stomach. She seemed to have almost no power left in her body as she quietly said, "Now...do your best...Vahn." Vahn clenched his jaw at her words and began removing his own clothing piece by piece. Ais stared from the side, and at this point, she had almost hidden her face from view as she watched the action between the two. If Vahn had been paying attention, he would have noticed that her eyes were also a bit watery as they reflected the low light of the cave. After removing all of his clothes, Vahn was standing on his knees looking down on Tiona who gazed at him with her same dazed expression. It didnt seem like she had any strength left to speak as she waited for Vahn to take action. Gulping, Vahn realized there wasnt actually any saliva in his throat. His mouth was dry, and he actually felt a powerful fear welling up inside of him as he stared at Tiona. But, seeing how far she had gone and having experienced the trust and hope she had for him, Vahn did his best to ovee his hesitation as he tried positioning the tip of his p.e.n.i.s where she had demonstrated. From the side, Ais squeezed her legs tightly after seeing the size of Vahns p.e.n.i.spared to the entrance of Tionas v.a.g.i.n.a. From her perspective, there was no way such arge thing would be able to fit into such a tiny ce, and she began to recall the advice Riveria had given her before apanying Vahn. Though she was still curious and wanted to try having s.e.x, she was afraid that Vahn might break her in the process. She watched as he slowly found the correct angle before grabbing Tionas h.i.p.s and leaning over her body. Ais wasnt the only one worried, as even Vahn was scared atparing the two. The entrance that Tiona had pointed out earlier seemed so smallpared to the head of his p.e.n.i.s, and it took a bit of effort before he was properly able to insert the tip. He was overwhelmed by the powerful heat that assaulted him, and he would have gasped if not for the fact he already clenched his jaw. Adjusting his angle a bit, he leaned over Tiona and stared into her face as he slowly put strength into his own h.i.p.s. As he made his way further into the depths, Tiona started taking long and deep breaths and a bit of her strength seemed to recover as she tried embracing Vahn with her arms. Vahn pressed himself closer to her body to allow her to do so, but he realized it made his progress more difficult. He could already barely resist the build-up of pressure and the powerful sensation from his own p.e.n.i.s every time he moved even a little. Tiona didnt seem to mind what was happening to her own body, as she weakly sought out Vahns lips but couldnt lift her head from the futon. Vahn saw her attempts and started kissing her, and he began to struggle even more by the conflicting sensations. His lower body seemed to be directly linked to his brain, and he felt a wave of pleasure that assaulted his senses while the kiss with Tiona made his mind slightly numb. He even felt like he was beginning to lose his own awareness, almost like he was beginning to drown within his own emotions. As Vahn hadnt made any progress for a while, Tiona stopped her kiss and slowly said, "Vahn...do...your best...you promised..." Hearing her words, Vahn grits his teeth even harder before adjusting his angle and putting force into his waist. The sensation brought about from his efforts almost made him explode, and he barely resisted the urge to shout out. After entering slightly more than halfway, Vahn suddenly reached a hard yet flexible spot which sent a jolt along his back. Tiona also flinched before releasing a powerful m.o.a.n that tickled his ears. It seemed that the longer they continued, the more strength she had, as Tiona started digging her fingers into Vahns back while gritting her teeth. After a few gasps, she mumbled to Vahn, "Its a little...too big..." Sheughed a bit at her owns words while Vahn was frozen like a statue. The moment he had hit the end, Vahn had begun to experience a phenomenon that threatened to devour his mind. When his p.e.n.i.s had contacted Tionas cervix, the entire inside of her v.a.g.i.n.a squeezed him like a vice and seemed to wriggle, almost like it was trying to pull him further into its depths. Vahn was nearly overwhelmed by the powerful suction which had yet to cease. He slowly tried to pull himself out, but any efforts to do so made the force more powerful, almost like her v.a.g.i.n.a was unwilling to let him retreat. The moment he moved back, Tiona released a loud m.o.a.n and put more strength into her hands. At this point, Vahns back was bleeding a bit, and she slowly said, "You have to be...more forceful...an Amazons body...isnt like normal girls..." Vahn wasnt entirely sure what she meant, but he did his best and put more effort into his motions. After mustering a certain amount of strength, he was finally able to ovee the powerful suction, and Vahn felt like the entire inside of the v.a.g.i.n.a vibrated as he withdrew his p.e.n.i.s back. His body echoed the vibrations, and he thrust forward again with a bit of force in his h.i.p.s. Unlike when he pulled out, it was much easier to enter into Tiona, perhaps due to her Amazon biology. It was like her body was willing to ept but unwilling to allow him to escape. The powerful suction immediately epassed his p.e.n.i.s, and Vahn couldnt help but groan out this time. Ais flinched when he did so, but Tiona justughed a bit as she moved her arms behind his head and kissed him. Her tongue invaded his mouth and began to suck on his. Vahn was distracted by the sensations on his p.e.n.i.s, but he did his best to reciprocate the kiss. He repeated her action and entangled his tongue with hers as they exchanged saliva for nearly a minute. It wasnt until he pulled back his waist and thrust in again that they both stopped the kiss and sighed. Tiona gasped and muttered, "It wont end...at this rate...dont mind me...do your best" Tiona buried her head into Vahns chest and hugged around his back while refusing to look at him again. Vahn wanted to remark that it was difficult to move when she grabbed him like that, but he thought saying so would have been selfish. The amount of pleasure he was feeling had already begun to change something inside of him, but he wasnt willing to act just in his own interests. He wanted her to enjoy it just as much as he was, instead of continuing to suffer like she seemed to be. Vahn reached down and grabbed the back of Tionas knees and lifted her legs further up so he could get a better angle while she clung to his body. He was briefly surprised by how flexible her legs were as he was able to lift her knees near his ribcage without any difficulty. His actions seemed to awaken something in Tiona, as she then wrapped her legs around him as well, almost like a Ko. Since Vahns efforts to make his movements easier backfired, he almostughed out due to his own frustration. He wanted to try and make things easier for her and wanted to try increasing her pleasure by rubbing the spot she told him about earlier. Instead, she made his efforts more difficult because she was now clinging to him with her whole body and didnt seem willing to let go any time soon. Now, he couldnt even pull back his waist at all, and it seemed like his p.e.n.i.s was slowly being buried further inside her v.a.g.i.n.a as the suction force continued to grow. For a while, the only thing he could do was slightly rock back and forth as he slowly sunk deeper and deeper into the greedy insides of Tiona. Vahn actually started to get afraid that she would devour him, as nearly 80% of his p.e.n.i.s had been inserted at this point. It was like her body was adapting to his body, or maybe her v.a.g.i.n.a was just bing more flexible with the increased arousal. Vahn wasnt sure of the answer, as even his curiosity was being kept at bay by the powerful sensation. Tiona slowly started taking long and deep breaths, and Vahn noticed that every time she did so, the suction force increased by a great extent. He had actually started to gasp in sequence with each of her breaths, and he wasnt sure how long he couldst if things kept up. It was an incredibly frustrating feeling for Vahn because he felt an incredible amount of pleasure, but it was also like he could never get to the peak that his body sought out. Eventually, his frustrations reached a level where even he couldnt restrain himself anymore as Tionas words reyed themselves in his mind. She seemed to be encouraging him to put in more efforts and try to overpower her, so Vahn put his right hand behind her shoulder while resting on his elbow as he used his left hand to pry her right leg from his body. Eventually, he managed to break the vice-like grip Tiona had on his waist, and he managed to pull her right leg to the point it passed his ribs and was nearly parallel with the futon. Tiona tried to keep a hold of his waist with her left leg, but Vahn had enough freedom to pull back his waist and continue his movements on his own. The grip Tiona had around his back increased, and he could feel her hot breath tickle his chest every time she gasped from his movements. Vahn continued putting more strength into his actions, and the peak of pleasure that his body sought after continued to rise until he almost felt like he was going to go mad. He held his breath and continued colliding against the back of Tionas v.a.g.i.n.a as both of their bodies twitched from the collision. Eventually, Vahns thoughts started to nk out and he felt like he might actually pass out from holding his breath. He could feel so much pressure in his chest at this point, that he wanted to release his breath and gasp for air. But, he couldnt stop, as the pleasure had reached a critical point and continued to grow. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Vahn felt a wave pass through his body and he couldnt help but clench his glutes as he released a powerful ejaction into Tionas insides. He released the breath he had been holding, and Tiona used the opportunity when he dropped his guard to wrap her legs back around his waist. The suction in her v.a.g.i.n.a increased to nearly double what it had been previously, and Vahn felt like it was draining all the energy from his body. He drew in a sharp breath and held it until Tiona finally decreased the strength in her legs and released him. Vahn, in his panic, rolled to the side and slid out from Tiona and began gasping for air. Though he already had his own expectations, s.e.x had been something far greater than anything he had imagined. In his dazed state, while he was trying to process everything that had happened, Tiona crawled onto his body and rested her body against his. He could feel the hard protrusions and the springy b.r.e.a.s.ts press into his chest as she began kissing him with a fierce passion. Out of habit, Vahn reached his hand around her waist and pulled her tightly into his embrace to make the kiss more intense. They continued seeking each other lips for nearly three minutes when Tiona pulled her head away and gazed lovingly into his eyes as tears began building in hers. She slowly said, "Im d, Vahn, thank you..." Vahn, seeing the tear-filled eyes, pulled his hands from her waist and cradled her face as he wiped away the tears with his thumbs. He returned her gaze with a smile and said, "Ill do my best to make you even happier in the future." Then, before she could say anything else, he sealed her lips with another kiss. This time, Vahn was even more passionate, and he began to lose track of time as his emotions continued to build. It wasnt until a noise sounded at his side that he was finally broken away from his self-imposed spell. "Its my turn." Ais had been in a bit of a panic earlier when she saw the scene of their s.e.x turn intense. She feared that Tiona was going to be hurt by Vahn, but seeing the happiness and joy on Tionas face after the fact made Ais feel strange in her heart. By the time Tiona and Vahn started hugging each other and kissing again, Aiss fear and panic had faded and now she had a bit of frustration building inside of her. She suddenly felt a little lonely while hugging her knees at the side, and couldnt prevent herself from interrupting their intimate moment. Vahn and Tiona froze after Ais spoke out, and they both looked over at the girl that seemed to be staring at them with a bit of me in her eyes. Tiona startedughing as shezily pulled herself away from Vahn and moved off to the side a bit. Seeing Vahn, who had a bit of a confused expression on his face, Tiona smiled and said, "She is right. It wouldnt be fair if I kept you to myself any longer. Make sure you take care of her properly, okay?" Vahn sat up and looked between the two girls before nodding his head and saying, "I promise. I will do my best." Ais seemed satisfied by his answer as she released her legs and crawled forward a bit on her hands and knees. Vahn didnt know why, but seeing the young girl crawl toward him made his heart begin to itch. By the time she stopped next to him and raised her arms, almost all of his thoughts had flown out of his mind when she said, "Undress me." (A/N: Alternate Titles: These chapters are so f.u.c.k.i.n.g long,Submissive Tiona?,The Physiology of an Amazon) Chapter 125 - Tiona and Ais (2/2)

Chapter 125 - Tiona and Ais (2/2)

Since Ais had been preparing to go out and celebrate her birthday earlier, she wasnt wearing her armor at this moment. Instead, she was wearing a white one-piece short dress with blue ents that extended to the center of her thighs. The dress looked very cute and was an interesting contrastpared to her generally expressionless face. Generally, because right now she was frowning slightly with a blush while waiting for Vahn to remove her clothing. Vahn couldnt help but retort in his mind, What is this adorable creature!?. His emotions had been out of whack for a long period of time, and after having s.e.x with Tiona he felt a little unstable at the moment. Seeing Ais acting cute in front of him, he could feel a tingling sensation in the back of his mind and had an urge to pamper the bashful girl. Simr to how he had done so with Tiona, Vahn gulped before reaching out his hands and grabbing the bottom of the dress. Before he even began to move, Aiss frown grew deeper and she squinted her eyes a bit. The moment he came into contact with the dress, he began rolling it up her body which caused her to close her eyes and hold her breath. Vahn noticed that Ais was wearing a pair of tight blue shorts beneath her dress and he paused for a moment before continuing to remove the dress. He rolled it up over her navel and continued moving upward until he once again paused after revealing her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Though Ais was nowhere near her future selfs proportions, she still had a decent pair of budding b.r.e.a.s.ts that were currently hiding behind a white featureless bra. Vahn had expected Ais to be wearing something more fancy, so he was a bit surprised at the simple design. At the side, Tiona remarked with a sigh, "Why are your b.r.e.a.s.ts bigger than mine, even when youre younger?" Ais, who had been holding her breath for a while released a sigh and tried to answer, "They just...grow that way?" Tiona groaned out in frustration before asking, "Vahn, do you like girls with big b.o.o.b.s, or small b.o.o.b.s?" Vahn was a bit confused by the question, as it wasnt the first time someone had asked him before. He couldnt remember who asked, but he recalled saying that he didnt particrly mind either size. Even though his thoughts about the female body had changed since then, he still believed each type had their own charms. While removing the remainder of the dress and pulling it over Aiss head, Vahn said, "Honestly, I think its a bit fascinating either way...everyone seems to have their own beauty. Your b.r.e.a.s.ts, even if they are small, are very springy and soft and look very healthy. I think they suit your cheerful personality a lot and it makes your h.i.p.s stand out more." Vahn was a bit distracted by his own words, and he was able to continue undressing Ais without any hesitation. He reached out his hand and tried to roll up the bra, but Ais stopped his hands while shaking her head and saying, "Back. sp." Vahn had never unsped a bra, so he reached forward and tried feeling his way around Aiss back. At this point, they were very close to each other, and Vahn could feel her breath tickling him and her ambient body heat. Tiona spoke once again from the side, "What do you mean my h.i.p.s? Are you saying my butt is big?" Vahn was now distracted with trying to unfasten the bra, so he responded while nodding his head, "Yeah, with how you move about so much, it really makes your butt and waist stand out. Its like all of your movements are like a dance." Tiona seemed to be happy with hispliments, so she continued fishing for more, "And, and, what else do you like about me~?" Vahn finally found the sp and managed to unfasten it as he thought about her question. Unfortunately, his mind nked a bit when he removed Aiss bra and revealed the stark white b.r.e.a.s.ts underneath. Unlike the healthy, light-brown color of Tionas n.i.p.p.l.es, Aiss had a rose-like coloration and a healthy blush to them. Since she already had very fair skin, her b.r.e.a.s.ts were stark white and it was an almost indescribable sight for Vahn. Tiona seemed a bit saddened by his reaction and failure to answer her questions. She muttered in a low voice, "So you do like bigger b.r.e.a.s.ts more..." Vahn heard her words and frowned a bit as he was broken from his reverie. He was about to try to exin but Ais, who had been quietly struggling on her own, said in a slightly frustrated tone, "Tiona. Dont distract Vahn. He already likes you." Tiona and Vahn were both surprised by the forceful tone of Ais. Tionaughed awkwardly while Vahn followed up with Aiss statement, "Ais is right. I already like everything about you. You shouldntpare yourself to others and...I need to do my best for Ais right now." Tiona seemed convinced by his words, so she just sat with her legs spread while holding her ankles and watching the two proceed. Vahn had nced over when he spoke, and seeing the way she was sitting made his heart itch a bit. Though she sat that way often, it was a much bigger impact when she was n.a.k.e.d. (A/N: Tiona sits like this a lot: https://vite.wikia.nocookie/dungeon-ni-deai-o-motomeru/images/9/93/Sword_Oratoria_Volume_5_142.jpg/revisiontest?cb=20151018143325) Vahn tried putting Tiona out of his mind for a bit as he focused his sight and attention on Ais. He could see that her fair skin already had a light blush, and even the n.i.p.p.l.es on her b.r.e.a.s.ts were standing slightly. The only thing remaining was her blue shorts, so Vahn ced his hands on her h.i.p.s while Ais leaned forward slightly to help him remove them. Vahn noticed that, unlike Tiona, Ais had white panties on under her blue shorts, so he thumbed the fabric and removed them with the shorts. Ais repositioned herself during his movements so that he would be able to remove them easier. Vahn felt like her movements were rigid and awkward and it made him feel a bit of excitement as he slowly removed the garments from her long and fair legs. Now, Ais was fully nude and leaning backward with both of her feet in the air. Perhaps following Tionas example, she allowed herself to lean back onto the futon and opened her legs slightly. Vahn felt a sudden rush in his head, and he almost thought his nose was going to bleed after seeing her actions. Since Ais had full control over her body, everything she did had a strange peculiarity to it that made Vahns mind race. Seeing the unguarded v.a.g.i.n.a of Ais, Vahn couldnt help but fix his eyes on the slightly damp and puffy mound. Though she wasnt nearly as wet as Tiona had been, the slight moisture and flushed white skin made Vahn feel a dangerous feeling in his heart. The sparse golden hairs glistened in the low light of the cave and made the entire scene hard to deal with. Mimicking Tionas actions, even more, Ais reached her hands down and slightly spread open her v.a.g.i.n.a which made Vahn feel faint. When Tiona had done so, it seemed natural and it made him feel anticipation, but seeing Ais do the actions actually made Vahn feel a little terrified. Ais was a lot less mature looking than Tiona was, and Vahn felt like, if he tried to have s.e.x with her, there was no way he wouldnt end up hurting her. Tiona saw his fear and hesitation and spoke out, "Ais, I think you should try it different than how I did. I could barely move my body at the time, and it doesnt look like youre ready yet." Ais frowned before sitting up and looking between Tiona and Vahn. She then turned her eyes to her own v.a.g.i.n.a and tried to inspect the insides, but couldnt get a good angle to see for herself. Everything Ais was doing seemed to strike like a hammer in Vahns brain. Even though he had next to no experience, he didnt think he was as naive as Ais was acting. He understood she was doing this out of curiosity and herpetitive nature, but it seemed like she genuinelycked an understanding of what was going on. Watching her try to bend over and look at the inside of her own v.a.g.i.n.a, Vahn almost wanted to call off the event entirely before Tiona spoke. Tiona had a smile and said in a happy voice, "This is actually a good opportunity. Since Ais is a human, there is a lot of preparation that needs to be done anyways. Vahn, why dont you help her?" Looking over, Vahn could see a somewhat mischevious look in the young Amazons eyes, but he agreed that Ais probably needed assistance as well so he nodded his head. Tionaughed before moving a bit closer and saying, "Okay, Ais,y back and spread your legs open as far as you can without it being ufortable." Ais hesitated for a moment, but she eventually listened to Tiona andy on her back. She pulled her feet closer to her body and spread her legs out in an M shape that gave Vahn a full-view of her genitals. He felt a numbing wave pass through his mind and Tiona spoke out again, "Thats good~! Now, Vahn, remember that spot I told you about earlier? Why dont you try experimenting with it a bit~ Just remember to be gentle, as that is a girls most sensitive area!" Vahn nodded his head and moved closer to Ais who stared at his actions with interest and a bit of hesitation. Things werent going as she expected, and the new development worried her a bit. Even without Tiona telling him, Vahn was already aware that the spot was very sensitive. In the manuals, he had read about [Hands of Nirvana] and other techniques, they showed the area as being arge nerve cl.u.s.ter on a females body. It even listed several warnings about properly handling the area so as not to cause adverse effects on the body in the future. Reaching forward, Vahn ced his thumbs on the sides of Aiss v.a.g.i.n.a and spread it open a bit. Unlike when she had done it, Vahn felt even more uneasy after doing so himself. He traced the inside a bit and Ais squirmed slightly with widened eyes. Moving his thumb to the small hood of flesh at the top of the v.a.g.i.n.a, Vahn began to gently prod it while paying attention to her reaction. The moment Vahn contacted her most sensitive spot, Ais jerked her h.i.p.s a bit and tried to pull away from the unfamiliar touch. Vahn was very surprised by her reaction, as he hadnt expected the normally stoic Ais to show so much expression on her face. Though she normally had a somewhat nk look, the moment Vahn rubbed the little nub her face became full of shock and she suddenly had a very expressive look. Tiona spoke out once again, "If you run away, Ais, Vahn wont stop you. You can always try doing this againter." Tiona had known Ais for a long period of time, and she could see how afraid she became the moment Vahn started touching her. Unlike Amazons, who had extensive education about the matter, Ais only recently learned about s.e.x and had no familiarity with the sensations associated with the procedure. Ais heard Tionas words and spread her legs open again while looking into Vahns eyes. She suddenly seemed full of conviction as she pleaded, "No...dont stop." Once again, Vahns mind nked after seeing how Ais reacted. He slowly reached forward and continued his actions of tracing around and proding the inside of her v.a.g.i.n.a. Unlike her previous reaction, Ais now seemed to be willing herself to remain still and bear the unfamiliar sensations. Vahn noticed that, slowly but surely, the pink flesh in her v.a.g.i.n.a began to turn a slightly crimson color as more liquid was secreted from the interior. Whenever he would rub the nub, her entire insides would twitch a bit while the two holes within would contract almost entirely closed. Vahn was fascinated by the various reactions, and he kept turning his attention between his hands and Aiss face. As he continued his efforts, she had grown more rxed and was acting somewhat docile with a blush on her face. She watched Vahns actions and would periodically draw in sharp breaths when he would poke at her sensitive spot. Vahn started getting immersed in the act, and in his haste, he ended up triggering something that nobody in the room had expected. Using one of the techniques in the manual for [Hands of Nirvana], Vahn put a small amount of energy into his thumb as he pressed it onto the bright red nub that had recently pierced the hooded veil of Ais. The moment his thumb made contact, Ais released an ear shattering scream and arched her back while Tiona stared on in horror at the unexpected reaction of the generallycent Ais. Though she had expected Vahn to eventually bring Ais to climax, she never thought it to be so soon and in such a spontaneous manner. Vahn immediately became terrified that he had made arge mistake as he saw Ais writhing about on the futon in pain. Her hands gripped the cushions so hard that it tore through the thick fabric and her yell had yet to cease as she arched her h.i.p.s. Vahn just stared nkly at her reaction with both of his hands withdrawn. All he had done was insert a bit of energy that should have stimted the nerves a bit; he thought he could make her feel even better, and never expected his actions to actually harm Ais. Eventually, Aiss body finally lost strength as she copsed onto the futon and started taking heavy breaths. She had a dazed expression and there was even a bit of drooling out the side of her mouth. Before Vahn could move forward, Tiona had gotten near Ais and began inspecting her state. She knew from the fear and regret in Vahns face that he had probably gotten carried away, and she wanted to make sure Ais wasnt in any danger. Tiona confirmed that, other than a serious mess, Aiss v.a.g.i.n.a waspletely fine and there shouldnt be any permanent damage. After that, she gently ced her hand on Aiss cheek to get her attention. Even when Tiona had been inspecting her v.a.g.i.n.a, Ais hadnt moved at all, almost like she had be lost within her own mind after the sudden and intense pleasure. Tiona was a bit worried after seeing her state, and she began to call out in a concerned voice, "Ais! Ais! Snap out of it! Are you okay!?" With Tionas shouts, Ais finally snapped out of her daze as she stared at the concerned face of her friend. She continued to stare for a few seconds before lifting her body and looking at Vahn. Seeing the terrified look on his face, Ais knew he had probably done something wrong, but she didnt me him. The feelings of pleasure had been so intense that she felt like her entire body was dissolving until it finally ended and she feltpletely empty and rxed. Seeing Vahns worry and concern, Ais actually felt a little sad in her heart; though it was unexpected, she didnt dislike the feeling at all...even if it was a little scary. Ais looked at Tiona and said, "Im fine...", before crawling toward Vahn. Noticing her approach, Vahn fell back a bit and said, "Ais, Im sorry...I didnt mean to..." Ais continued to make her way to him and slowly crawled her way into his chest. Before he could ask anything else, Ais kissed him deeply and pressed his body down onto the futon. The moment he fell back, he felt Aiss tongue enter his mouth and he almost instinctively wrapped his hands around her waist before stopping. Ais kissed him for a few more seconds before lifting her body and straddling his stomach. She could see that he still had fear in his eyes, and both of his hands were held out to the side like he was afraid to touch her. Ais grabbed one of his hands and began to inspect the contours and shape. She ran her fingers along each of Vahns before saying, "That feeling...what was it?" Vahn didnt feel like he would be able to refuse her questions, so he answered mechanically, "I have a skill called [Hands of Nirvana]...it is the same thing as what I used back during the Juggernaut fight. I can put energy into my hands to heal wounds...and other stuff." Ais tilted her head like she was recalling the events Vahn had mentioned. Suddenly, she leaned forward a bit and put Vahns hand on her head and asked, "Lefiya? Realizing what she was asking, Vahn started channeling energy into his palm and it began to flow into Aiss head. She closed her eyes and seemed to be enjoying the sensation as she said, "Warm." She then slowly moved his hand, while he was still channeling energy, and put it on her left b.r.e.a.s.t near her heart. Though she didnt seem to dislike the feeling, she muttered, "Different?" Vahn, instead of channeling energy to heal altered the flow a bit. The light faded from his palms and seemed to condense on his fingers and Ais twitched before pulling the hand away. When Vahn had changed the energy to the type used to stimte the nerves, it made her chest feel like it had been electrocuted. After pulling his hand away slightly, she poked the tip of his fingers with one of her own and felt an energy flow into her finger that made it feel slightly numb. Vahn was justying there while Ais did whatever she wanted with his hand. Ever since he thought he hurt her, he had been too afraid to do anything proactively. From the side, Tiona was watching the events y out with a mixture of shock and intrigue. She knew about Vahns hands, as he hadforted her head previously. It was a very warm and calming sensation, but now it seemed like he could use it to stimte as well. She almost wanted to rece Ais, but now that the medicine had almostpletely worn off, she was slightly concerned that she would be the one to injure Vahn. Ais seemed to be incredibly curious about the energying from Vahns fingers. She stared at his index finger for a bit, before leaning her head forward and cing it into her mouth. Her eyes widened a bit as she immediately pulled it away. Vahn was incredibly confused at this point because it didnt seem like she was afraid of him at all. Instead, she seemed interested in his [Hands of Nirvana] and was experimenting with his body. He felt conflicted feelings because he didnt like people doing things with his body normally but, for some reason, watching Ais made him feel excited instead. As his intrigue began to grow, Vahn moved his other hand and starting poking the various pressure points on her abdomen and chest. Ais was surprised by his touch, but she didnt make any efforts to move away. Instead, she held Vahns right hand, which she had been holding onto, and hugged it into her chest as she let him poke around on her body. Though Vahns stomach was already damp from Ais sitting on him, he could feel a warm liquid begin to flow from her v.a.g.i.n.a and it began to slide down his stomach after having built up to a certain point. Vahn continued to perform his massage technique on her torso and was slowly bing immersed in his actions as Aiss reactions were very interesting to him. She seemed to breathe heavily, and her usually expressionless face seemed happy as she m.o.a.ned quietly with a deep blush on her face. After more than ten minutes Tiona, who had been watching with anticipation from the side, suddenly snapped out of her dazed state and asked, "Are you two going to have s.e.x?" Vahn and Ais both froze for a moment as they looked over at the Amazon that had a slightly flushed expression on her face. Ais looked down at her crotch and could see the pool of fluids that had been building up on Vahns abdomen. She felt a bit embarrassed after seeing her own liquids tracing the indentations of his muscles. She moved back slightly and could feel a hard feeling on her butt, and turned to see the erect p.e.n.i.s of Vahn pressing against her backside. Ais suddenly remembered that Vahn was supposed to be helping her prepare, and remembering the state of Tiona previously, she understood her body had long been ready. Vahn tried saying something to her, but before he could utter a single syble, Ais sat on his abdomen and slowly dragged her body down to his pelvis. Vahn was surprised by the sudden maneuver, and he could feel his p.e.n.i.s pass through a hot and moist tunnel as Ais dragged her body backward. For Ais, she had only intended to change her position a bit, but having contact with Vahns p.e.n.i.s made her stomach feel fluttery and hot, so she continued moving back while rubbing her own genitals against Vahns. After she moved back a farther distance than she expected, the organ was finally freed from her suppression and bounced up as if it would never be subjugated. She stared at the erect p.e.n.i.s for a while before turning her gaze to Vahn and saying, "I want to try..." Vahn noticed her hot gaze and nodded his head slowly before trying to sit up. Ais pushed back on his stomach a bit and prevented him from changing positions. With a confused look, Vahn watched as Ais grabbed his p.e.n.i.s with her delicate fingers, slowly trying to adjust the position on her own. As Vahn had only ever experienced having s.e.x with Tiona, he was slightly unprepared for her actions. Tiona, from the side, suddenly called out, "Wait, Ais! That is a dangerous position for your first time!"Ais didnt seem to have any intention of stopping as she finally managed to get the tip of the ns into the proper hole. cing one of her hands on Vahns stomach, she slowly tried to lower her body which caused Vahn to draw a breath and gnash his teeth. Though Tiona has been tight and put an incredible pressure on his p.e.n.i.s, Aiss v.a.g.i.n.a seemed to have no room for movement at all. Even though she was incredibly wet, it felt like his p.e.n.i.s was being crushed as she slowly tried to envelop his member. Ais had a pained but serious expression on her face as she began drawing deep breaths. Every time she inhaled, she would put more force into her h.i.p.s and Vahns p.e.n.i.s would move in a bit deeper. To Ais, it felt like she was being wrenched open by a hot metal rod, but she was unwilling to give up without achieving her goal. Eventually, Vahns p.e.n.i.s hit a point of fierce resistance and both he and Ais flinched. Ais, unable to bear the pain that had been building up cried out a bit as sweat began dripping from her face. Unlike Tiona, Ais had a h.y.m.e.n and, since she had never had s.e.x before, she was informed by Riveria that her first time would be painful. The other three girls tried to give her medicine for the pain, but Ais didnt want to take anything as she wanted to experience everything herself. Unfortunately, even with all her efforts, she was barred from proceeding further the moment Vahns ns reached her h.y.m.e.n. Vahn saw her pained expression and instinctively reached out to the area right above where they were connected. He began channeling the energy from his [Hands of Nirvana] to help ease the pain Ais was going through. Feeling the warm energy from his hands and the hot stake piercing her body, Ais had a lot of conflicted feelings. She felt like she had lost a bit of her own pride after receiving Vahns help, but seeing the concern in his face, she didnt say anything. Instead, she used the moment when the pain had eased to take a deep breath before trying to drop her weight onto Vahns waist. Ais felt a painful ripping sensation in her body while Vahn felt a muted pop as his p.e.n.i.s was further enveloped by Aiss v.a.g.i.n.a. Ais nearly cried out, but she was able to suppress her scream as she had taken a deep breath to prepare herself. For Vahn, the only thing he could feel was the heat of Aiss body and an almost painful sensation from his p.e.n.i.s. She had taken nearly 70% of his length in an instant and he could see blood dripping from the area they were connected. Vahn had a terrified expression on his face, but Tiona informed him from the side in a calming voice, "Dont worry, Vahn, that is just the sign that a human girl is a v.i.r.g.i.n. Other than Amazons, almost every other race can identify their v.i.r.g.i.ns with the existence of a h.y.m.e.n. You should feel proud to have been the person to break Aiss." Though Vahn was still a bit worried, he felt a bit of relief after hearing the exnation. Looking into Aiss pained face, he noticed that she was staring at him with her golden eyes almost like she was trying to assure him things were okay. After taking a few deep breaths, she spoke in a pained voice, "Im okay...Riveria told me it would hurt. It will get betterter." Ais seemed to have found hope in her own words as she raised her h.i.p.s a bit. Vahn had been healing her with [Hands of Nirvana] the entire time, and she had been able to adapt to the pain a bit. After raising herself halfway, she looked at Vahn and reached for his left hand. Vahn had ced both palms on her lower abdomen, slightly above where her v.a.g.i.n.a was and had been inserting a lot of energy to heal the damage. He was confused when Ais removed his left hand until she said, "Make it tingle." Vahn somewhat understood what she was nning, but he had to ask, "Are you sure?" Ais nodded her head confidently and moved his hand to the area they were connected. She put his index finger on her nub and grit her teeth. Vahn, realizing she had prepared, began to channel his energy into his index finger. The moment he did so, Ais dropped her h.i.p.s and cried out in a loud gasping voice once again. Ais had used the moment when Vahn stimted her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s and dropped her h.i.p.s with all the force she could muster in the brief moment. In doing so, she managed to fully envelop Vahns p.e.n.i.s before bending forward and scrunching up her body into a ball while they were connected. Vahn was incredibly surprised by Aiss action, but he was so overwhelmed by the sensations assaulting him that he couldnt form any words. While Ais was going through her second climax, Vahns fully enveloped p.e.n.i.s was being wrung by the interior of her v.a.g.i.n.a. There were so many conflicting sensations, and the tightness felt like it was trying to rip his p.e.n.i.s off and grind it into a paste. Vahn was so overwhelmed by the intensely convulsing v.a.g.i.n.a that he quickly reached the peak of his own pleasure and released himself deeply into the interior of Aiss body. The moment he ejacted, Aiss twitching seemed to begin anew and Vahn couldnt help but draw in a cold breath as he waited for the intense stimtion to finally end. After a few minutes, both Vahn and Ais were justying powerlessly while unmoving from their position. Ais still straddled his h.i.p.s with Vahns p.e.n.i.s still inside of her, while she leaned her weight against his body. Vahn was gasping for air as he slowly released his hands from Aiss butt. He didnt know when, but at some point, he had grabbed her waist and held her against him and he could feel his fingers sinking deeply into the firm flesh of her butt. The moment he released his hands, Ais sat up a bit before kissing his lips for a few seconds. When she was satisfied, she pressed against his chest and raised her body. Her motions pushed Vahn deeper inside, and they both let out a muted gasp as he was once again fully enveloped by her v.a.g.i.n.a. Ais looked at the connected part and dragged her finger across the area. Noticing there was no gap between their bodies, she looked toward Tiona with a pleased look in her eyes as she said, "I win." (A/N: Alternate Titles: The terror of curiosity,Competitive Spirit,Longest Chapters Ever Chapter 126 - Promise

Chapter 126 - Promise

Hearing Aiss words, Tiona moved over and stared at the ce she and Vahn were connected with a somewhat shocked expression. She noticed that, even though Ais was a v.i.r.g.i.n previously, she made use of Vahns [Hands of Nirvana] to allow herself to take his entire length. What they had done barely even qualified as s.e.x, but Tiona was still impressed with the boldness of Ais. However, that didnt mean she would simply back away as she said, "Maybe~? But I got a lot of his firsts, you know? I was the first to kiss him, and the first to have s.e.x. From now on, even if he sleeps with a hundred girls, Ill always be number one~!" Ais widened her eyes at Tionas im before furrowing her brows in contemtion. Staring at Vahn, who was still pinned underneath her, she asked, "What other firsts are there?" Ais didnt seem to want to lose against Tiona, and Vahn was very tempted to say she was the first to fully ept him. However, he couldnt muster the words against her serious expression, and he was still distracted from the point where they were still connected. Tiona wanted to help him out a bit, so she said in a yful tone, "Werent you the first to eat him up entirely~? You were also the first to mount him and even made him ejacte in an instant. Even I was surprised since hested for nearly half an hour with me." Ais had a small smile when she heard Tiona and ced her hands on her lower abdomen. She had a bit of a ze to her eyes as she stared at Vahn and said, "My body feels full...and hot. It hurts, but it is also pleasant." Vahn could feel his emotions begin to rise after hearing her words, and his excitement began to build up again. Ais raised her brows a bit and said, "It got bigger?" Tiona was surprised by her question and she looked at Vahn with a fervent expression on her face as she asked, "After all that, youre still good to go?" Vahn could see a glint in her eyes, and it made him waver a bit, but he still nodded his head. Tiona startedughing and said in a cheerful tone, "A hero really is different~! Most men wouldnt be able tost more than two rounds, but Vahn looks like he can go another ten!" Vahn began to sweat heavily at her words and feared she would try to put the im to the test. With his natural regeneration, stamina recovery, and skills like [Rakshasa Body], it was true that he could recover much faster than normal. Even serious wounds could be healed rather quickly, and he never seemed to suffer the effects of blood loss. It stood to reason that his other fluids regenerated just as fast. However, as much as he enjoyed having s.e.x, Vahn felt like something inside of him would break if he tried to go at it ten times. As he mulled over his thoughts and tried to find the words, Ais seemed to have grown either impatient or curious, as she slowly started moving her h.i.p.s back and forth. Vahns thoughts immediately ceased as he was suddenly attacked by the pleasure that assaulted his p.e.n.i.s. Tiona screamed aint, "Hey, Ais! That isnt fair, you already had a turn, didnt you?" Seeing Ais start moving on her own after she teased Vahn, even Tiona was a bit worried for the both of them. Ais had just lost her v.i.r.g.i.nity, and even though she believed Vahn had the stamina, she wasnt sure his mind could keep up for too much longer. She had already noticed he was struggling, and it seemed this new action of Ais might push him over the edge. Ais slowed her waist a bit and looked at Vahns face before turning to Tiona and saying, "We only put it in...you took a lot longer." Tiona was dumbstruck at Aiss words, and she wanted to exin the matter was a bit moreplicated than simply time. However, before she said anything, Vahn startedughing. Both girls looked at him with curious expressions as he just smiled and said, "Dont worry about me; my body isnt that weak. I can keep going just fine." After his words fell, he grabbed the waist of Ais and lifted his h.i.p.s with a bit of force. Aiss eyes opened wide and she let out a short gasp at the unexpected movement. Because Vahn had been healing her the entire time, most of the pain she had been feeling from the start hadpletely vanished. Right now, Vahns [Hands of Nirvana] were rank A, and he would even be able to heal a seriously injured person on the verge of death, much less the aftereffects of losing ones v.i.r.g.i.nity. Aisspetitive spirit seemed to be triggered by Vahns prodding as she pressed down on his stomach and began twisting her waist in a circle. She was trying to find the best spot within herself while also trying to defeat Vahn before he could get an advantage. Vahn clenched his teeth as a mind-numbing sensation traveled up his spine and made his head ring. Because of her size, Ais was still incredibly tight and she used that fact to torment Vahn and gain the advantage. Unwilling to let her simply do as she pleased, Vahn continued putting force into his hands to raise her butt and pull her forward a bit. As her hands were already on his abdomen, she didnt fall forward and then Vahn stopped putting strength in his arms as her weight fell back on his h.i.p.s. Every time he repeated the action, Ais would pause a bit and gasp before continuing her movements. Tiona stared at the two like they had gone mad and just sat at the side watching the show with a mixture of intrigue and mild frustration. Since she had only brought a single dosage of the Fallen, she wouldnt be able to have s.e.x with Vahn again due to the risks. Watching Ais go the second round, before the first even ended, made Tiona feel a bit regretful. She began to wish she hadnt underestimated Vahn and she resolved to prepare more medicine in the future. Vahn and Ais continued to try to defeat each other for nearly ten minutes straight as both of their faces were flushed and their breathing became ragged. Ais had long lost her strength and had started leaning on Vahns chest while kissing his lips. Since Vahn had the benefit of his [Hands of Nirvana], it was impossible for Ais to keep an advantage for long. Though he felt a bit cheap for having to rely on the skill, he liked the affectionate Ais that sought his lips more than the aggressive Ais from earlier. Eventually, Vahn finally reached the peak of his pleasure and he once again ejacted into Ais. Almost as if her body remembered the sensations from earlier, the inside of her v.a.g.i.n.a began to convulse a bit as she tightly closed her eyes and m.o.a.ned a bit. It was significantly less intense than thest time, and Vahn was a bit thankful for the fact. After the echoes in her body passed, Ais rested powerlessly on Vahns chest and he could feel her breath tickle his cheeks as she whispered, "Feels good..." He then felt a soft feeling on his cheek as Ais gently kissed him before falling asleep with his p.e.n.i.s still inside of her. Vahn smiled at the beautiful girl sleeping in his arms as he began to affectionally stroke her long golden hair. Tiona saw his actions and muttered in a sad voice with a slight smile, "I wish youd pamper me a bit too." Hearing her words, Vahn looked over without losing his smile. He stared into her eyes for a few moments before whispering, "Ill make sure to pamper you...we have a lot of time." As his words ended, he gently shifted his body and allowed Ais to roll off his chest. He controlled her motion so she wouldnt wake up, and his p.e.n.i.s finally freed itself from her v.a.g.i.n.a. When he sat up, Vahn noticed a murky white liquid intermixed with blood flowing out of the entrance and he became concerned due to the amount. He hadnt realized how much Ais had bled during her first time, nor had he expected how much s.e.m.e.n he would release inside of her. Tiona had moved over next to Vahn and saw the sight herself as she remarked, "You released so much on your second and third times?" She then began tough in a silly manner as she ced her hand on her abdomen and said, "I wonder how much is inside of me? My stomach still feels a bit full..." Vahn was embarrassed by her words, but he also felt a small amount of expectation inside of him as he watched her actions. Curious, he asked, "Why doesnt it drip out of you as it does with Ais?" Tionaughed at his question and looked into his eyes as she said, "When an Amazon sleeps with a mate she recognizes, her body will react and try to absorb all of the s.e.m.e.n when its released. Its one of the ways we can guarantee getting pregnant, and the more were able to take in, the better." The anticipation in his heart continued to increase after hearing her words, so he asked, "Are you pregnant now?" Tiona saw his excitement and felt her heart begin to flutter in her chest. She was very happy that Vahn was willing to have children with her, but it wasnt meant to be at this time. Vahn noticed that Tiona was very happy after hearing his words but, after a little while, her smile slowly faded as she looked at him with an apologetic expression. Releasing a short sigh, Tiona exined, "When an Amazon uses the Fallen, they be unable to get pregnant for around three days." Vahn felt a little heartbroken after hearing her words, but he tried to prevent his emotions from showing on his face. He could see that Tiona was probably more affected by the fact than he was, and Vahn felt it wasnt his ce to make ament. Instead, he gave her an apologetic smile this time as he said, "Im sorry, Tiona. I will be stronger. Strong enough to make you happy, and to protect our future children." Tiona noticed Vahn was trying to cheer her up, so she teased him and asked in a yful tone, "Children~? Does that mean were going to have more than one?" For Amazons, though they often had multiple children, it was actually very rare for them to have one with the same man twice. Vahn didnt answer her question, he just reached out and pulled her tightly into his embrace. Tiona was stunned at his actions and was unable to understand what he was trying to convey to her for a moment. She heard him whisper into her ear as he stroked her back with his hands, "As many as it takes for you to be happy. I dont even mind if we have ten, or twenty, Ill do my best to raise them all." Tiona felt her heart wrench in her chest as she hung her head on Vahns shoulder and returned his hug. She embraced Vahn with enough strength that it felt like his ribs were going to crack, but he bore the pain without flinching in the slightest. He could feel wet tears on his shoulder as he continued to gently caress the powerful Amazon woman. After a few minutes, Tiona muttered into his ear, "Thats a promise...you have to keep it, no matter what." Vahn slowly nodded his head as he spoke into her ear with a gentle tone, "I promise. No matter what it takes, I wont let you down." After his words ended, the two continued to embrace each other in the low light of the cave until it was finally Tionas turn to fall asleep. She had lost a lot of her strength earlier when she took the Fallen and, even though she had recovered from the effects, it didnt mean her stamina had recovered. Being held by Vahn as he gently continued to stroke her back, she felt very safe and secure in the embrace as she slowlypsed into a blissful sleep. For the first time in a long time, she had a genuine, happy, smile on her face. It took more than fourteen years, but her hero had finally shown up and saved her... //[Hearts Desire: Tiona Hiryute] fulfilled. Extra parameter Love unlocked.// [Tiona Hiryute]: Love: 83(True Love) //Bond established with [Tiona Hiryute].// //Optional Quest Triggered// [Quest: A Mans Responsibility, Repeatable] Rank: B-SS Objective: I.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Tiona Hiryute (0). Ensure a safe delivery; Current Children(0) Rewards: 100,000 OP, 1x [Guardian:(Nameless)] Failure Condition(s): Death, Tiona Hiryutes Death, (Nameless) Childs Death Penalty: 200 Karma (0) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Practically a softball team,Level 3 vs Level 5,Undefeatable Godhand) Chapter 127 - Future

Chapter 127 - Future

Vahn was very surprised by the sudden notification in his system. Not only had hepleted the Hearts Desire of Tiona, but he also unlocked a new parameter. ording to the system, she now felt True Love for Vahn, and it made him feel a happy and somewhat longing feeling as he looked at the peacefully sleeping young girl. He didnt care much about the quest, as it was already his intent to make her happy in the first ce, but now he had a bit of extra incentive to do so. Curious, Vahn began looking through his system, as he had received several notifications while he was having s.e.x previously. His mind was so focused on the emotions and his interactions with the two girls that he hadnt paid them any attention at the time. Now that the two girls were sleeping at his sides, Vahn had the opportunity to review what he had previously overlooked. //Ais Wallenstein Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: S Rewards: 10,000 OP [Swordsman:D] increased to B rank, 1x[Hearts Desire: Ais Wallenstein] Grade Rewards: [Friend of Spirits: A] skill unlocked, 1x [Skill Enhancement Scroll: A], 20,000 OP [Friend of Spirits] Rank: A Greatly increases the effect of support magic. Allows the user tomunicate with and borrow the power of Spirits. Vahn wasnt too surprised by the fact that Aiss affection had reached the maximum. Though he could only vaguely recall, he seemed to remember that the notification had sounded when she started kissing him in their second bout of intercourse. Other than that, the other notifications were just showing various increases and decreases of her affection over the course of events. He was happy to notice he had gotten a new skill, as well as arge increased to one he previously possessed. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that Ais was a prodigy when it came to the sword, and now Vahn seemed to benefit a bit from her potential. ording to Sis, a B rank skill typically corresponded to a veteran, while A rank was expert. It was very difficult to develop a skill beyond A-rank and reach the pinnacle of S-rank, but it wasnt unheard of. If a person could push it even further beyond, the skill would even evolve into a higher tier ability, much like how [cksmith:S] turned into [Master Smith]. The thing that most concerned him about the current events was the new [Hearts Desire: Ais Wallenstein] that he had obtained. Vahn already had some expectations about what Ais sought, and he was a little hesitant to peak into the girls memories. However, after he noticed her sleeping contentedly next to him, Vahn threw his inhibitions aside and activated the item. Just as before, the air seemed to freeze and time came to a stop for Vahn as the vision began shing through his mind. Since it was already his fourth time, Vahn understood that he was currently seeing things from Aiss perspective. Through her eyes, he could see what looked like a matured version of Ais sitting near a low table in a flower garden. Vahn felt very happy inside as he moved toward the beautiful girl and jumped into her arms. He felt very safe and happy as the woman gently stroked through his long golden hair and whispered kind words into his ear... Ais had always felt happy when she was with her mother. Her mother, Aria Wallenstein, was always the kindest person to her and she taught her many things. She was very beautiful always treated her better than anyone else, even her own father who was always away on his adventures. Though Ais really loved her father, it was always her mother that made her feel happiest. She wished that they would be able to spend the rest of their lives together in the garden they had tended to since Ais first became aware of her surroundings. But, things didntst, and Ais felt a powerful sadness when she received devastating news. Her mother had gone missing when she apanied her father to fight against the terrible ck Dragon that had been ravaging thends. And to make matters worse, her father had died in the conflict as well while trading his life to deal a heavy blow to the Dragons eye. Ais felt lost and terrified and she ran away from the group of people that were trying to console her. Ais hated the people that were supposed to be the allies of her parents and resented the fact they were able to return while she lost everything. She hated the ck dragon that had stolen away her happiness, but most important of all, the emotion that was most prevalent in her mind, was heartbreak. Remembering the happy times she had with both of her parents, Ais fell to the ground and started crying without rest. She remembered her goofy father who was always training, and all the stories he would tell her when he was back home from his adventures. She remembered the kind smile of her mother and the warm embrace that always made her unhappy feelings fly away. Now, Ais would never be able to feel and experience those emotions ever again. The only thing she could do now was ball up onto the ground and continue sobbing as the loneliness bore down on her like an endless tide. --- A long period of time passed, far longer than Ais could remember. She seemed to have fallen into an endless ck abyss with no light or sound. The only thing she felt was the loneliness that had deeply rooted itself in her heart. Though she wasnt aware how or when it happened, Ais suddenly found herself surrounded by people that treated her with kindness. They always had smiles on their faces when the talked to her, and whenever she felt sad they tried to encourage her to move forward. The Goddess of their group, Loki, had even given her a goal and helped Ais increase her strength. Loki told her that, if she wanted to be able to regain her happiness, the only thing she could do was seek revenge against the One-Eyed ck Dragon that took it from her. Believing the words of Loki, Ais underwent the painful ceremony and had the Loki Familia crest engraved into her back. After that, she trained tirelessly from sunrise to sunset, constantly striving to improve her strength. The kind people that had been tending to her previously also helped her grow stronger, and their praise helped Ais continue to move forward even when things got difficult. As her training continued, Ais learned that it was easier to deal with the sadness by pushing away all her other emotions as well, She became solely focused on training, and in just a few short years had reached a pinnacle where most people were unable to achieve. She had be one of the strongest in the City she ended up residing in, and now she was able to destroy all the vile monsters that took away the happiness of others. Ais became determined to continue increasing her strength so that she could one day kill the monster that stole her family. On her endless pursuit for strength, she heard rumors of a heroic boy that had rescued a girl from the dungeon. Even when other adventurers had attacked him due to a misunderstanding, he was able to defeat them all while still ensuring the safety of the girl he had saved. Ais was reminded a lot of her father when she heard the rumors, and it made a painful feeling rise in her chest for a little while. Afterward, she had decided to apany one of her allies, Tiona, to meet the boy with other members of her Familia. Ais was surprised when she saw the small and frail boy with a handsome face. He seemedpletely different from her expectations, but she was curious about the subtle aura she could sense from his body. Though she couldnt understand why, his aura seemed to have a deep impact on her, and Ais felt like he would be able to be truly strong in the future. When she got the chance to spar against him, Ais immediately epted as she wanted to test his current capabilities. As she had expected, the boy was very weak, but no matter how many setbacks he suffered, he always tried his best to continue fighting. There was even a moment where he almost got an advantage against her, and Ais was shocked for a moment before counterattacking. Though he was only Level 2, he was actually able to make her feel a little bit of pressure. So that the boy wouldnt give up, Ais gave him some words of encouragement in hopes that he would be even stronger. Not longter, she reunited with the boy in an unexpected circ.u.mstance. Against all reasonable exnation, the boy was now on the 17th floor of the dungeon on his own. Ais could feel the aura emitting from his body had be deeper, and she intuitively understood that his strength had increased greatly in the short period of time they had been separated. His growth resonated with something deep inside of her, and Ais wanted to know what secrets the boy had to be able to increase his strength so quickly. After watching the boy, who she remembered was named Vahn, solo against a Goliath, Ais felt a bit of excitement ignited inside of her heart. No matter how she evaluated the situation, Vahn should have lost against the Goliath. However, as if to refute everything she knew, he continued fighting against the odds until he ultimately imed victory against the giant monster. The small spark that had been kindled in her heart now turned into a small me as she began to develop expectations for the boys future. Ais believed that he would be strong, stronger than anyone else, even stronger than she could be. Even though she worked hard, Ais knew she wasnt a match for the growth of the boy before her, and the thought made her feel excited. She wanted to see how far he could go and wanted to apany him to see the end of his limits. If he had none, Ais wanted to learn from his example and increase her own strength. She believed that, if she followed the boy, she would one day be able to reim what she had lost. Even if she couldnt do it with her own strength, she felt as though the boy would lend his own to her... --- Time started again for Vahn and he just sat in a daze while he tried to make sense of all the information in his head. From the vision, he understood Ais had a tragic past where she lost both of her parents to the evil ck Dragon. After an incredibly long period of time, she awakened and began pursuing strength in earnest, but seemed to realize that she would be unable to reach her goal. In order to increase her strength even further, she began burying her own emotions and pushing away all other thoughts... If Vahn interpreted her Hearts Desire correctly, it seemed like she had somehow ced her hopes in him now. He didnt understand when it happened since there wasnt a lot of information in the vision, but for some reason, Ais believed he would be able to help her achieve her goal. Vahn looked over at the peacefully sleeping beauty and felt the weight of her expectations on his shoulders. Suddenly, all of her random and spontaneous actions toward him seemed to be calcted instead of being a result of genuine curiosity. Seeing Ais breathing slow and gentle breaths whileying next to himpletely n.a.k.e.d, Vahn felt the weight on his shoulders ease up a bit. He didnt even know why he was hesitating after seeing the vision, as he had already promised to protect her. If she ended up fighting the One-Eyed ck Dragon in the future, Vahn would have never forgiven himself if he wasnt at her side. Now, Vahn had even more reason to increase his strength. Not only did he have to protect Tiona and his children, but he needed to ensure that Ais would be able to seek vengeance against the monster that had stolen her family. There was also the matter of the other girls in his life, and Vahn realized that the only way he would be able to guarantee everyones happiness would be to keep his promise. He would be the strongest there is; so strong that nothing, monster, man, or god, would be able to harm those that he loved. If they were able to ce their trust in him and even develop hopes for the future because of his efforts, Vahn was willing to do whatever it took to meet their expectations. Reaching out his hands, Vahn ced one palm on each sleeping girls head as he began to stroke their hair affectionately. As if recognizing his touch, both Tiona and Ais showed pleased smiles on their face which seemed to brighten up the dark cave. Vahn smiled himself while turning his head toward the stars overhead. Though he wondered which one he may visit in the future, Vahn had decided that the most important matter was the present. Until he was no longer able to remain in this world, Vahn would continue moving forward and doing his best...no matter what it took. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Aiss Hope,A Willing Burden,Nothing gets by...the Vahnguard) Chapter 128 - Preparing to Return

Chapter 128 - Preparing to Return

It was still early in the day, not even noon, and Vahn was unable to sleep after seeing the vision of Aiss Hearts Desire. Vahn typically needed less sleep than normal people, but not his previously fatigued mind was fully awake as he stared at the two sleeping beauties. As they hadnt dressed before falling asleep, both Ais and Tiona were still n.a.k.e.d and in full view of Vahn. Seeing their figures, Vahn felt a little proud of himself, as both girls were incredibly beautiful. He just sat there watching over them as they slept until, around 2 PM, Ais woke up and looked around with a bit of confusion on her face. Seeing Vahn, she smiled a bit before moving a little bit closer to him. Vahn had noticed her awakening and had been watching over her as she investigated her surroundings previously. Seeing her move toward him, Vahn had a slight expectation and his hopes paid off as Ais put her hands on his shoulders and kissed him. The moment their mouths ovepped, Vahn felt a pleasant feeling well up in his chest as he savored the unimaginably soft sensation of Aiss lips. The kiss wasnt one of passion, but something simr to a disy of affection as Ais moved away shortly after she had initiated the kiss. She then leaned against Vahns chest with her back as she said, "My body still feels fluffy..." Vahn had made room so that Ais could sit between his legs, and he was a bit concerned after seeing the beautiful curve of her back and the pert butt near his presently sleeping member. To prevent himself from paying attention to the sight, he reached his hands around her abdomen and gently held her in his arms. Ais leaned more of her weight into them and tilted her head so she could see his face. Almost like she had sensed from in his look, she asked, "Did you want to have s.e.x?" Hearing her words, Vahn felt a little bit of anticipation building inside of him, but he managed to resist the urge as he gently kissed on the cheek before shaking his head. "Not right now. Im just happy to be able to hold you like this...your body is very beautiful." Seemingly pleased by his words, Ais put her hands overtop his and closed her eyes with a smile on her face. She continued to sit in silence for a few minutes before saying, "Im d. I was scared at first, but now Im happy I came here. It feels like my body is full of happy feelings..." Vahn was surprised at how clearly she spoke the words, as it was very unlike the usually curt Ais. To show her that he was listening, he gently squeezed her hands. Aiss smile grew a bit bigger, and then she spent another few minutes in silence before asking, "Do you want me to get pregnant?" Hearing her words, Vahns mind nked for a moment before he nodded slowly and said, "Yes..." Though he didnt want to have too many kids early on, he couldnt deny that he wanted to have kids someday with the beautiful girl in his arms. Ais tilted her head and she could see the serious look in Vahns eyes. She kept staring at him for a few minutes before moving her hand down over her w.o.m.b. Resting her palm on the area, Ais said, "I can still feel it inside me...but Im not sure if I want to be pregnant yet." Vahn could feel Aiss body begin to shake a bit as she spoke. After seeing the vision of her past, Vahn knew that Ais had lost her family and was perhaps afraid of creating a new one while she still sought revenge. Feeling theforting embrace of Vahn, Aiss shivering stopped a bit and she muttered, "I dont think I can be a good mother..." Vahn was a bit confused by her words, so he asked, "Why?" When his words fell, Aiss head followed as she tucked her chin and curled up her legs like she was trying to shrink her body. After another minute or so, she said in a quiet voice, "If I die...I am afraid they would be sad. I dont want to leave my child behind all alone." Vahn leaned his head forward and kissed the top of Aiss head while putting a bit more strength into his embrace. Afterward, he said in a gentle voice, "I swear, I would never let that happen. I may be unreliable now, but Ill be stronger in the future. When you are ready, I will be there waiting." Ais, hearing his words, tried to raise her head to look into Vahns face. Unfortunately, as Vahn had been leaning forward slightly when he spoke his words, Aiss head mmed right into his nose and sent a jolt through his head. Ais was also hurt by the unexpected collision, and she put her hands on her head and turned toward Vahn with tears in the corner of her eyes. Though she knew it wasnt his fault, she still felt like he was slightly to me since the mood had been improving. She wanted to say something, but seeing that Vahns nose was bleeding, Ais actually felt incredibly guilty instead. Watching Vahn try to stymie the blood flow with a shocked expression on his face, Ais wanted to do something for him... Vahn had been caught by surprise by the unexpected headbutt and he got to experience his first nosebleed. He almost wanted to retort to Ais with a bit of humor and tell her that she got another one of his firsts. While he was healing the damage with his [Hands of Nirvana], Ais had moved closer to him and stopped in front of him while on her knees. Curious about what she was going to do, Vahn just watched her actions with a bit of intrigue. Against any expectation he might have had, Ais leaned forward and began licking the blood that was flowing from his nose. Vahn was surprised by her actions and immediately pulled away from the strange interaction. With a somewhat incredulous expression, he asked, "What are you doing?" Looking at Ais in front of him, he could see a bit of blood on her lips and it made him feel a bit of fear well up inside of him. Ais swallowed some of the residual blood that had been in her mouth and then responded, "I wanted to help...Saliva stops bleeding?" Ais tilted her head as she spoke the words and looked at Vahn with a questioning look on her face. Vahns incredulity hadnt faded after hearing her answer, and he instead wanted to retort that type of logic only worked for small scr.a.p.es. Having one of the most prominent beauties in the City suddenly lick his nostrils, it was hard to describe the experience. At this point, Vahns bleeding had stoppedpletely and he tried to wipe away the blood with his hand. Ais gave him a somewhat sad look after seeing Vahn unwilling to let her help him, and he felt a sudden pang of guilt. Vahn felt like his interactions with Ais were always very strange, and it was little things like this that made him both intrigued, but terrified, of her. Ais seemed unwilling to back down, and she grabbed Vahns shoulders before looking into his face with sad eyes and asking, "Can I?" Vahn felt his mind begin to buzz at her insistence, and he tried to dissuade her by saying, "You cant, its dirty..." Ais frowned a bit as she shook her head back and forth and refuted his words by saying, "Tastes strange...but it makes me feel happy here." Ais put her right hand on her b.r.e.a.s.t to indicate her heart. Vahn felt even more guilty for denying her request, and after struggling for a bit he released a sigh as he said, "Fine..." Ais seemed to be happy that he was willing to ept her help as she showed a slight smile before leaning in and licking around his nose and mouth. Vahns eyes were wide open as he allowed himself to experience the strange sensation. He could feel the slight roughness of her tongue as she eagerlypped up the remnant blood on his face. Her saliva was present on his now clean skin and she continued licking him for nearly a minute after all the traces of blood had faded. From the side, without either of them having noticed, Tiona had awoken as she said in an incredulous manner, "You two can be kind of weird." Ais startled when she heard Tionas voice and she pulled away from Vahns face and sat on her knees with a slight blush on her face. Vahn too, also had a crimson touch to his cheeks, as he had started enjoying Aiss affectionate actions from earlier. By the time she had cleaned all the blood from his face, she had also started to lick his lips and it felt like she was subtly teasing him. Issuing an awkwardugh, Vahn looked at Tiona who was sitting in her characteristic fashion as he made the excuse, "She was just helping me clean my face a bit...I had a bloody nose earlier." Tiona nodded her head in agreement with him, but then she showed a cheeky smile and said, "It looked more like a puppy kissing its owner in excitement~" Aiss blush grew in intensity as she red at Tiona and said, "Muu...Tiona. Dont be mean." As it was his first time seeing Aiss pouting expression, Vahn was suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to tease her. Reaching out his hand, he ced it squarely atop her head and startled ruffling her hair a bit. Tiona startedughing at the side, and Vahn became mildly distracted seeing the tantalizing shes of skin as she moved about. Having her head petted right after beingpared to a puppy by Tiona, Ais didnt know how to feel. She looked at Vahn while continuing to pout and said, "Vahn is mean as well..." In response to her words, Vahn smiled and looked lovingly at the adorable girl as he said, "Ais, you are just too cute right now. I couldnt help but tease you a bit...will you forgive me?" The whole while he was speaking, Vahn continued to stroke her hair. Ais hung her head for a bit and seemed to be contemting his words. She made no effort to stop his actions, so Vahn continued to gently stroke her silk-like golden hair. After a while had passed, Ais looked toward Tiona for a bit before turning her eyes at Vahn and saying, "Woof." The moment the word hit his ears, Vahns handpletely stopped as he stared wide-eyed at the girl beneath his palm. Noticing he had stopped, Ais bent forward and ced both her hands on Vahns chest as she began to yfully lick his chin and lips. She had realized that he was teasing her, and after noticing he wasnt going to stop on his own, Ais decided to tease him a bit as well. Seeing his stunned look, she felt a fluttery feeling in her heart that continued to well up until Tiona spoke out from the side, "Ais...youre really bold today." Tiona hadnt expected her actions and felt a little intimidated whenparing her own feelings against the affections shown by Ais. Ais stared at Tiona and squinted her eyes a bit as she finished up her y by giving Vahn a light peck on the lips. Resuming her spot on the futon, Ais sat on top of her legs and said, "I win again." Vahn was awakened by her words and looked over to see the normally expressionless Ais looking at him with a surprising amount of emotion on her face. She seemed happy, and her smile had even reached her eyes as they were slightly squinted. He had never seen such an emotive look on her face, and he couldnt help but smile in response. --- After everything had concluded, Vahn helped the two girls dress and noticed it was surprisingly difficult to put the clothes on aspared to taking them off. It also made him feel a little sad every time he managed to fix a piece of fabric in ce. It was almost like he was covering up a part of himself, but he also felt a slight anticipation at having the opportunity to reveal the hidden view again in the future. The procedure hadnt been without incident either, as both Tiona and Ais seemed to bepeting to see who could get the bigger rise out of him. When he had been trying to sp the bra of Ais, instead of allowing him to go to her backside, she made himtch it from the front. Simr to when he had taken it off, he had to get very close to her body to do so, and she used the opportunity to lean into him and lick his corbone a bit. Tiona, not to be outdone, waited until Vahn was pulling up her white shorts and made the process more difficult by keeping her legs spread slightly. Vahn had to kneel down in front of her, and he could smell the fragranceing from her v.a.g.i.n.a and it made the entire procedure difficult toplete. By the time he managed to conceal the moist mound, his emotions had been so wound up that he thought he needed to clear another section of the forest... In their small personal battle to see who could get the biggest rise out of him, Tiona walked away with an astounding lead over the slightly frowning Ais. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Woof, A womanly fragrance,Buried Treasure) Chapter 129 - Hephaestus POV : Troubles

Chapter 129 - Hephaestus POV : Troubles

The day Vahn had confessed to her in public, Hephaestus had been in high spirits for the rest of the day. Remembering his confident and serious expression as he spoke in front of the crowd, Hephaestus could feel her heartbeat begin to elerate. She was now looking forward to the day he could keep his promise, and she hoped it would be sooner rather thanter... Ever since Vahn teased her the previous night, Hephaestus hadnt been able to get the experience out of her head. Though she had once used Vahns image and heartbeat to masturbate, that was entirely based on her own imagination. Now that he had made advances on her, it was almost like her body could remember every ce his hands had touched. She remembered the passionate kiss where he refused to release her and how his hands gripped her butt with a possessive force. Not long after she sent him off with Anubis and the children, Hephaestus ended up locking herself in her workshop and tending to herself for nearly an hour before she was finally freed from the emotions that had been building up inside of her. It had been far more intense than the previous time she had done so, as there was now Vahns fresh scent intermixed with her own on the couch cushions. After that, she cleaned herself up and finally managed to get a bit of work done. Since Vahn had relieved a lot of the tension in her body the previous night with his massage, Hephaestuss body felt a lot morefortable than she remembered. All her joints were loose, and she felt a refreshing feeling that made her work much easier. For the remainder of the day, she managed to distract herself well enough to get a fair amount of her workpleted. She really had been falling far behind in her contracts, so she was happy to make a dent in the backorder. That evening, Hephaestus had decided to take a break for a bit, and not long after she could feel Vahns heart begin to beat a little faster. Curious, she started paying attention to the rhythm and noticed he seemed to be feeling a mixture of excitement and embarrassment. Remembering the face and figure of Anubis, Hephaestus frowned after thinking she might have been trying to make a move on Vahn. She understood the dog goddess had some ulterior motives, but Hephaestus hadnt expected her to move so quickly. Fortunately, the awkward feelings passed after a short period of time, so Hephaestus figured nothing serious had happened. However, not even twenty minutester, Hephaestuss soul shook a little as she could feel the emotions beginning to build in Vahn. With howte it was, Hephaestus imagined that he had gone to sleep, and it made her blush when imaging Vahn sleeping in the bed she had spent several lonely nights over the years. With the interest he had shown in her scent previously, Hephaestus couldnt help but picture the image of Vahn gripping the bedspread and inhaling her fragrance with a passionate gaze in his eyes... With that mental image in mind, Hephaestus entrusted her body to the couch yet again and masturbated while picturing Vahn doing the same. She felt strangely close to the image of Vahn in her mind, and it brought her to a dangerous point in a very short period of time. The emotions had been so intense, that she was unable to hold in her voice toward the end and she began to panic a bit after imagining someone might have heard her. Fortunately, her office and interior workshop where the eternal me was located werepletely soundproof. Recalling this fact, Hephaestus increased her efforts and, with a fierce blush on her face, continued enjoying the anxious and fl.u.s.tered emotions Vahn was feeling. It wasnt until nearly midnight when Vahn finally seemed to rx and fall asleep, which left Hephaestus dazed and tired on the couch with a bit of moisture buildup on her lips. There was a dark stain on the couch where her sweat had soaked into the cushions, while a much darker one decorated the area where her h.i.p.s had been pressing. --- Hephaestus awoke early the next day after only a few hours of sleep. She was a bit confused by the current events, as she could feel an anxiety and expectation building within Vahn. She could feel like he was in an urgent mood and imaged what had happened to trigger his unexpected explosion of emotions. She even humored the thought that Vahn had gotten too excited the previous night when he slept in the bed that he was now rushing over to see her first thing in the morning. Unfortunately, after around twenty minutes, Vahns heartbeat began to slow down and he had yet to appear outside her workshop. Though she hadnt intended to have s.e.x with him, Hephaestus felt like it was a bit of a shame that her expectations had proven wrong. With a sigh, Haphaestus began preparing for the day as she didnt imagine she would be able to sleep well with Vahn running around in high tensions. Her theory proved urate when, not long after she started organizing materials, she could feel Vahns pulse elerate with a mixture of expectation and fear. Hephaestus was really curious what he was up to and made ns to visitter in the day to ask. Even if she couldnt meet Vahn, she should be able to force something out of the dog goddess that was staying with him. While she was beginning her work, Hephaestus was having a bit of difficulty since Vahn had been experiencing a rapid flux of emotions. He was at times happy, excited, and even anticipatory, but, other times, he seemed to be full of a boundless rage that made even her heart feel anxious. Imaging who had pissed Vahn off to such an extent, Hephaestus too began to grow angry and it only affirmed her resolve to find out the matter that had been transpiring. Fortunately, the rage of Vahn hadntsted long, and it waster reced by a feeling of happiness that made Hephaestuss heart itch a bit. She could feel the emotions well up inside of him and it gave her a bad premonition in the pit of her stomach. For the next two hours after that, Hephaestus continued to ponder over what Vahn had been doing as she experienced the various feelings contained within the connection they shared. Eventually, her introspection was interrupted by a knock at the door which informed her that Loki had arrived. The premonition she had earlier seemed to have been an indicator of arger problem, and Hephaestus quickly made time to deal with the devilish goddess that she didnt get along too well with. Though their Familias often cooperated with each other, Hephaestus was well aware of the type of person Loki was. After discovering that Vahn had revealed some of his secrets in the dungeon, she had been expecting a visit sooner orter. After making her way to the private area where she dealt with VIP customers, Hephaestus was surprised to see Loki with a serious expression on her face as she impatiently awaited Hephaestuss arrival. Once Hephaestus had finally taken her seat, without any hesitation, Loki said, "That child, Vahn Mason, he isnt a normal human boy, is he?" Hephaestus frowned with her brows low as she said in a cold tone, "What have youe here to discuss Loki? Surely, you dont expect me to pass out the secrets of my own children, do you?" Lokis slit-for-eyes opened and she gazed at the cold eyes of Hephaestus as she said, "He is probably the one that healed your eye too, isnt that right? I wonder what kind of mortal can heal the curse of a Goddess that not even the Gods in Heaven could heal..." Lokis words immediately angered Hephaestus, and the cup she was holding in her hands shattered as the contents spilled on the expensive wooden table that separated them. In a low and threatening tone, Hephaestus said,"Just like Freya, I wont allow you to do as you please. If you keep prying into Vahns secrets and expose him to danger, dont expect me to stand idly by." The entire time Hephaestus spoke, Loki just continued to stare at her with her snake-like expression. With a mischievous grin on her face, sheughed a bit before asking, "Do you know what your precious child is up to right now?" As Vahn had only recently visited her Familia, Loki knew Hephaestus hadnt received word of the events yet. Hephaestus seemed to understand there was a greater meaning behind Lokis words and her heart rate began to increase a bit as she asked, "What happened to Vahn...he must have been at your Familia earlier. Its no wonder..." The grin on Lokis face seemed to double in size and it almost looked inhuman on her small face as she widened her eyes a bit and said, "I see~! There really is something, and it is even more than I expected. You seem to even have a connection with that boy, very interesting." Loki seemed overjoyed at the current turn of events. She could see that her words had affected Hephaestus quite a bit as she continued in a humorous tone, "Yup, your child ended up stopping by my Familia~ Imagine my surprise when he essentially begged me to have two of the girls from my Familia as his s.e.x partners~" Images of the girls that had visited Vahn when he was unconscious immediately passed through Hephaestuss mind as she asked with a somewhat shaky voice, "What happened...?" Loki seemed to be enjoying the sudden change in Hephaestus as sheughed a bit and responded, "You should have seen it, he was so manly~! Even when pressured by my Divinity, he was unwilling to back down and even seemed to have a Divinity of his own to counteract mine~" The moment Hephaestus heard Loki mention Vahns Divinity, she knew matters hade to a point of no return. Of all the people that could have seen Vahns domain, he had to reveal it in front of the absolutely most troublesome person. However, even though she was a bit frustrated at the current events, imagining Vahns courageous figure confronting Loki made her feel a little happy. Hephaestus never had the intention of keeping Vahn for herself, and seeing how far he was willing to go for others made Hephaestuss own expectations grow a bit. Loki had been paying full attention to Hephaestus, and she was surprised seeing how docile she had be after ruminating over her own thoughts. She suddenly realized that the rumors regarding Hephaestus and Vulcan were more than just public spection. The fact they had some kind of bond and seeing how Hephaestus was currently acting, Loki had no doubts the two had a more serious rtionship. Seeing the glimmer in the depths of Hephaestuss eyes, even Loki felt a bit of hesitation to proceed with her inquiries. She had heard about some of the things Hephaestus had done recently, and she didnt want to deal with the wrathful goddess if she could avoid it. Loki wanted nothing more than to achieve the maximum number of benefits, and making an enemy of the 3rd strongest Familia wasnt a wise course of action for her end-game. After mulling over her thoughts for a bit, she began to formte a n and proceeded to put it into action. Unfortunately, though she had thought things would soon begin turning in her favor, she was stunned by the sight before her and was unable to speak. Hephaestus suddenly had both of her eyes wide open and there was a blush covering her cheeks as she ced both her hands on her chest. From Lokis perspective, it was almost like she had spontaneously entered a state of immense arousal, and it was both interesting and worrying for her ns. She began to suspect that the bond between Hephaestus and Vahn wasnt simply a feeling, but something much more powerful. Hephaestus had been caughtpletely off-guard by the emotions that she was currently experiencing. She didnt know exactly what he was up to, but Hephaestus was absolutely certain Vahn was with the two girls Loki had mentioned earlier. She could feel powerful fluctuations in her soul caused by the emotions that Vahn was experiencing. Hephaestus could immediately feel a rise in the tensions of her body as a dampness began to spread within her trousers. She was so focused on the feelings in her heart that she barely heard the amused voice of Loki who asked, "Are you turned on right now?" --- The negotiations did not favor Hephaestus after that point. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hephaestuss Suffering, Lokis Curiosity,Bad Timing Boyo) Chapter 130 - Rumors Abound

Chapter 130 - Rumors Abound

Vahn helped both Tiona and Ais recover their strength before cleaning up the interior of the cave and preparing to head back to the City. At this point, it was in the middle of the afternoon, and they still had more than enough time to return to the City before the gates closed. Though they still made a quick pace on their way back, the trio took time to enjoy the scenery along the way. Vahn found the two girls to look even more beautiful than they had been previously, and even he felt like there was an extra firmness in his own stride. Whenever they found something interesting, they would stop and rest for a bit, and Vahn got to experience a new sensation that made his heart aflutter with all kinds of emotions. When he had sat on arge rock overlooking the scenery looking down on Orario in the distance, both girls nked him and leaned against his shoulders. Being sandwiched between the two women he had just recently had s.e.x with, Vahn felt like he could suddenly ovee anything the future might hold. After getting side-tracked several times after that, they finally arrived at the gates of the City just as the sky was beginning to grow slightly darker. Vahn escorted the two all the way to their Familia, and even though he never expected them to keep things a secret, Vahn was surprised when both Tiona and Ais gave him a kiss within the reception area of the Twilight Manor. Everyone in the area started at the disy in mock horror while some guys even had mortified expressions on their face. Tiona had been very passionate when she kissed him, and Vahn almost felt like she was trying to make sure everyone in the area was aware of their rtionship. She left no room for questions as she continued the kiss him deeply for nearly an entire minute as people gawked at the sight. When she finally pulled away and gave him a happy smile as she practically danced away, Vahn was almost overwhelmed by the urge to chase after her. Before he was able to make the decision himself, against any expectations the crowd may have had after watching Tiona, Ais stepped forward and gave him a hug. She didnt immediately kiss him, but looked around the area a bit and stared at the onlookers. After letting her gaze wander around the room for a moment, Ais leaned forward and gave Vahn a deep kiss. It wasnt as passionate as Tionas, but it was still a mind-numbing experience for Vahn. However, while Vahn was enjoying the situation, everyone else seemed to be blown away by what was transpiring. They couldnt believe that the untouchable princess that everyone had failed to court was suddenly kissing a boy in public. Not to mention, just prior to this, he had even kissed another one of the highly sought after members of the Familia. They felt a grave injustice and, without his intentions on his part, Vahn suddenly made a few enemies within the Loki Familia. The moment Ais pulled away, some of them were preparing to approach Vahn for a talk, but in the brief moment, since the kiss had ended, Ais did somethingpletely unexpected. After she pulled away slightly and saw Vahns silly look, she leaned her head forward and licked him on the mouth before separating from his body. Not only Vahn, but everyone in the area froze after experiencing the incongruous sight. The reception area, which had more than twenty people, was now utterly silent as Ais began walking away from Vahn. Seemingly aware of the atmosphere, just before she disappeared through a set of doors, Ais turned around and made eye contact with Vahn. Due to the silence of the room, her words sounded like an explosion in the minds of everyone present as she said, "It was very pleasant...we should do it again soon." With those words, Ais blushed a bit before disappearing through the double-doors. A few seconds after her figure vanished, Vahn suddenly felt a powerful animositying from his surroundings and he could see the auras of several people darken as they looked toward him. Though he was somewhat embarrassed by the previous situation, Vahn refused to back down after seeing the looks on their faces. Furrowing his brows and forming a fierce expression on his face, Vahn expanded his domain topass the entire area as he scanned his eyes across each person with a dark aura. Seeing the boy they were about to question suddenly turn toward them with fierce expressions. The men that fell into his sights felt a cold sweat on their backs as his evil green eyes scanned their bodies. After passing over every person present, Vahn spoke in a low and firm tone that sounded throughout the entire area, "If you think you have what it takes,e at me whenever you want. But, even if you defeat me, it doesnt mean youll ever have a chance with the two of them. Prepare yourselves for pain if you choose to do something foolish." Though there were several powerful people in the Loki Familia, it didnt mean everyone was powerful. Most of the people present were only around level 2 while only a few were level 3. Feeling the pressure of his domain, none of them could keep eye contact for more than a few seconds when he stared them down. Vahn, seeing them look away, could understand why they had never been able to move the hearts of Tiona or Ais. It made him feel a bit more prideful about his own actions, and he turned away from the ck-jawed crowd with a confident expression on his face. It wasnt until he had long exited the room that the pressure from his domain finally released the people he had locked on to. One slightly older adventurer, probably in his mid-twenties, asked in a trembling voice, "W-who the hell was that kid...?" As one of the higher leveled adventurers in the area, the man, who was nearing level 4, had been one of the people intending to teach Vahn a lesson. Though he was much older than them both, he had tried courting Tiona and Ais in the past. Seeing a kid aplish something he was unable, he didnt make any efforts in hiding his resentment for the boy. This caused Vahn to focus his attention on the man for a long period of time, and any thoughts he had of opposing Vahn werepletely suppressed. He felt like, if he tried to get in the way of the green-eyed demon, he would never have the opportunity to reach Level 4. Shortly after the event ended, rumors started spreading around in the Loki Familia with an insuppressible force. The fact Tiona and Ais made no efforts to conceal the facts, allowed people to substantiate the information they received, so it quickly began to spread outside the walls of the Twilight Manor before disseminating throughout the rest of the City. Before the sun had even set, the rumor had reached all the major social hubs in the City, and everyone began looking into the origins of the green-eyed kid that had stolen two of the most sought-after prizes of many peoples dreams. They quickly learned who he was, and the fact the boy was the Vulcan that had be famous only recently made many people that harbored ill intent for him previously begin discussing in a fervent manner how they would deal with the greedy wanna-be heroic child. Fortunately, the rumors werent only heard by those with bad intentions, as many people that had grown fond of Vahn began singing high praises of him. The heroic feat he had aplished became a new legend for the young Vulcan, and many men even toasted his achievements while speaking fervently about their own heated youths. The rumors even reached some of the newer Familia that had yet to settle properly within the City, and a ck-haired eastern God suddenly felt a renewed desire to meet the supposed hero he had heard so much about. --- Vahn,pletely unaware of the chaotic wave he had caused in the City, made his way back to his home before stopping at Tsubakis to check up on Lili and Naaza. The moment he stepped through the threshold of the door, Vahn was surprised to find that Tsubaki wasnt present in the reception area. Following his intuition, he made his way toward the dining area where he assumed they would be present. His guess ended up being correct, but instead of the three girls he expected, there was five present. Tsubaki, Lili, and Naaza were all sitting around the table, and they looked toward Vahn as he entered with various different expressions. The two other women noticed his entrance and turned their heads to look in his direction. Vahn could see the more mature red-haired woman look at him with a bit of grievance and me in her expression. The smaller of the two red-haired figures seemed to have a mischevious look on her face and started tough the moment she noticed Vahns arrival. Indeed, the two unexpected guests were both Hephaestus and Loki. Vahn had an ufortable feeling in his heart when he saw the sad look of Hephaestus. However, seeing the yful look of Loki actually made him feel a little ticked off so he couldnt help but ask, "What are you doing here Loki?" Loki didnt seem to be offended by his rude words as she just continued tough before patting the area next to her. "Come on, Vahn~! We were just talking about you; what perfect timing!" Seeing how unphased she was, Vahn felt a bit of fear welling up in his heart as he looked at the expressions of everyone present. Tsubaki, unlike her normal self, seemed to be a bit annoyed at the moment, while both Lili and Naaza had faces of worry mixed with a hint of frustration. Hephaestus had the most grim and tired expression of everyone at the table as she released a sigh and said, "Vahn, go ahead and sit down. There are some matters we need to discuss." Though Vahn had several questions, he realized that everything was happening was likely rted to his actions earlier in the day. He had sworn to face the consequences, so without hesitation, he upied the spot in between Loki and Hephaestus. Before he was able to getfortable, Loki, against his expectations, leaned against Vahn and took a deep whiff of his body. As if confirming something, she began tough in her characteristic mischevious manner, "Hehehehe, you have a much more manly smell now. But, it cant hide the fragrance of the two women that ising from your body. So, how was it Vahn? Did you enjoy having s.e.x with two girls at the same time~?" Vahn was a little surprised by the question, but he didnt have any reason to keep it a secret; however, before he was able to answer, Loki covered her mouth andughed even more. Vahn felt like she looked a little bit like a fox as she stared at Hephaestus and said, "Your darling Hephaestus sure seemed to enjoy it~" Hearing Lokis words, Vahns mind nked and he didnt understand what she was trying to say. He couldnt process why she would say that Hephaestus had enjoyed when he was having s.e.x with Tiona and Ais. He wasnt the only one confused, as both Lili and Naaza, who were previously shocked when they heard Loki saw he slept with two women, looked at Hephaestus with strange expressions. Tsubaki seemed the least surprised, but there was still a bit of a twitch in her mouth as she stared helplessly toward Hephaestus who had covered her face at Lokis usation. Vahn immediately understood there was more to the situation than he was aware of, and seeing the ashamed and bashful look of Hephaestus, he was overwhelmed by a mixture of guilt marred with a bit of curiosity. Almost as if she had understood his interest, Loki started stroking the area above his heart as she asked, "Is this where the eternal me fragment is? How very curious~" After testing his heartbeat with her palm, Loki continued to stroke Vahns chest and he began to feel very ufortable. Seeing her intimate actions, three different voices shouted out at the same time, "Loki!","Dont touch Vahn!","You..." The voices belonged to Hephaestus, Lili, and Naaza who were now ring at Loki with hatred and dissatisfaction. Loki pretended to be afraid as she held her arms in a defensive posture, "Waaah-! I just wanted to y like everyone else, dont be so greedy~. He already has, what, five women? What is one more~?" Hephaestus swatted away the hands that Loki had begun to reach out toward Vahns body, and then she pulled him halfway into herp. Vahn was very surprised by the sudden action, and now he found himself in a very awkward position as Hephaestus cradled his face in her b.r.e.a.s.ts while she red at Loki and said, "Vahn is my child and the person I have ced my hopes in. Even if he sleeps with a bunch of other women, Ill never hand him over to people like you!" Everyone seemed to be mildly surprised by Hephaestuss im, but they werent too shocked. Tsubaki, Naaza, and Lili, were all very aware of the rtionship between Vahn and Hephaestus. Naaza and Lili especially knew that, without a doubt, the two would end up together in the future and, if they wanted to be at Vahns side, it would have to be while sharing him with her. The only person who didnt seem remotely affected by Hephaestuss outburst was Loki. Seeing the defensive posture Hephaestus had taken to protect Vahn from her clutches, Lokis smile grew a bit wider until her face slowly melted into a neutral and then serious expression. She had already formted her n, and everything was going well after she managed to exploit Hephaestus earlier. When the usually cool and stoic goddess was suddenly ovee by the pleasure Vahn was experiencing, Loki was able to take control of the negotiations before finally ending up here and waiting for Vahn. It seemed like everyone present was wrapped up nice and neatly in the palm of her hands, and it made Loki feel greatly pleased by the situation. She could even feel a tingling sensation in her stomach and a moist feeling invading her shorts as her personal euphoria continued to rise. With her serious look, she opened her mouth and said in a very casual manner, "I look forward to our negotiations." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lokis Plot,Hephaestus Exposed,The Legend of Vulcan) Chapter 131 - Negotiations

Chapter 131 - Negotiations

Though Vahn was incredibly angry at Lokis behavior, he had been in a bit of a daze after Hephaestus pressed his face into her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Though he would have liked to admit it was due to the intimate action, the real reason for Vahns current daze was the notifications that had sounded from the system. Since he hade into contact with Loki earlier, he was now able to see her affection for him as well as the existence of a new mission. [Loki]: Affection: 53(Neutral), Intrigue: 100(Insatiable Curiosity) //Optional Quest Triggered// [Quest: Forge an Alliance, Progressive] Rank: I-SSS Objective: Convince Gods/Goddesses to form an alliance between their Familia(s). Current Allies (0) Rewards: 10,000 OP x Familia Rank. Currents Ranks (-). Questpletion rank depends on the total number of allies. Failure Condition(s): Death, Host Familia Destroyed, Alliance Dissolved Penalty: 100,000 OP Vahn was rapidly trying to process the new information, but Hephaestus ended up speaking out before he could form a cohesive n. "Speak, what are you nning Loki?" Hephaestus was holding her re as she looked at the indifferent expression of Loki. At this point, Loki was leaning against the table and supporting her head with one of her hands as she looked at the interaction between Hephaestus and Vahn. After staring at Hephaestus for a few seconds, Loki scanned her eyes around the room as she slowly stated, "For now, how about we identify where everyone stands..." Loki stopped her eyes on Naaza and Lili as she said, "You two girls must be people that Vahn saved. Its easy to see the dependency you have for the boy..." Turning her head to Tsubaki, Loki smile a bit and said, "And Im guessing youre supposed to be protecting Vahn?" Before the three girls could answer, Hephaestus said in a sharp tone, "Loki, stop ying games!" After she spoke, Loki looked toward her and opened her eyes slightly as she responded, "I am being very serious right now. Dont think that, just because you found Vahn first, you are the only one interested in him. We need to make everything clear, or it will be impossible to move forward in the discussion." Vahn picked up on her words, and he finally decided to take action. Though he didnt have a concrete n, Vahn knew he didnt like how Loki was acting, so he pulled away from Hephaestus and red at the tiny goddess as he said, "I dont like how you treat people. Even if youre interested in me, I have no desire to be used by someone with such a sickening and chaotic presence. We already made an agreement earlier, and if you try going after the people I care about to gain an advantage, I will never stop opposing you." The moment his words fell, his domain spread out and once again started pressuring the goddess who seemed intent on causing trouble. Loki furrowed her brows a bit, but her smile didnt fade as she said, "That was an agreement between the two of us, this is fundamentally different. Right now Im trying to negotiate with Hephaestus, and you dont have any grounds to stand on. If she expects me to keep your secrets, there obviously needs to be something to gain on my end. Im not going to act just to make things more convenient to others; especially when your matters will involve my children." Vahn maintained his domain, but he felt a bit of his anger recede as he watched her chaotic aura stabilize a bit when she was mentioning her children. He could understand that she seemed to care about them, but she continued to exploit people regardless. It made no sense to Vahn because it seemed like she was contradicting her own desires in pursuit of benefits. However, Vahn wasnt willing to let her do as she pleased, so he continued to pressure Loki as he said, "Even you seem to think I will be able to aplish many things in the future, so why pursue immediate gains and cause strife? We could work together and benefit each other, instead of trying to exploit one another." Loki raised her brows a bit and issued a strange response to his statement, "Ehhhh, arent you making a bunch of assumptions? I said we were here to negotiate, not take advantage of each other. Even Im not ambitious enough to try and exploit the third most powerful, and THE most influential production Familia in the City. Id rather build a rtionship that can benefit both parties, as that will guarantee the greatest benefits in the future. I dont understand why you seem to have such a weird bias against me!" Vahns mind nked for a bit because, for a brief moment, Loki seemed to genuinely feel wronged by his words. She gave him an incredulous look as she continued to exin, "As I said, your secrets may lead to various problems for my Familia in the future. No matter how you spin it, that fact will never change, and you cant me me for wanting to protect my children. Just like Hephaestus is unwilling to allow harm toe to you, I feel the same way about the kids in my Familia. The best thing for both groups is topromise, dont you understand that?" Perhaps because she was very ustomed to dealing with people, but Vahn very quickly found himself unable to refute her ims. As he had done so when he first met Hephaestus and Tsubaki, Vahn tried to exin, "I can vaguely sense how people think or feel. Almost every time I look at you, you seem to give off a chaotic and unnerving vibe. Even if youre speaking the truth, I cant easily trust a person with such an aura." Lokis eyes opened enough that he could see the full view of her red irises as she looked into his face with undisguised intrigue. Seeming to believe Vahns words, Loki said, "So thats how it is...no wonder youre always on guard against me. You have eyes simr to the Divinity possessed by a god of Life. And with how Hephaestus treats you, I imagine you also have ties with forging...or maybe fire?" Seeming to have realized something, Loki nodded her head and Vahn saw an incredulous sight before his eyes. The chaotic aura that was always emanating from Lokis bodypletely disappeared. Recing it, Loki now had the gentle yellow aura with pink ents, very simr to someone that had amiable feelings toward him. In a low and almost sensuous voice, Loki asked, "How about now...Vahn? Do you still feel ufortable?" As she asked the question, her smile grew bigger as she saw the dumbfounded look of the boy in front on her. In an amused tone, Loki exined, "My Divinity is rted to trickery and mischief, you cant expect to be able to see through me so easily. The chaotic aura you describe, is simply the manifestation of my Divinity in its natural state. That skill of yours might be very helpful, but if youre overreliant on it and make assumptions, you could turn potential friends into future enemies." Satisfied by Vahns nk look, Loki continued after making eye contact with Hephaestus, "Now, shall we continue, or is there anything else that needs to be discussed first?" Though Vahn still wanted to say a few things, seeing the sudden and inexplicable change, he immediately lost confidence in his words. Loki had taken the excuse he had given and immediately turned it against him; Vahn felt like he had been made a fool of, and fell into deep contemtion while Hephaestus and Loki began discussing terms. Loki stated her terms to Hephaestus in a very businesslike manner, "Vahn has already made a vow to apany two of the members of my Familia, Tiona and Ais, into the lower floors of the dungeon when theyre on expeditions. I wont make a silly request like asking you to equip the entire vanguard, but I am expecting a discount on contracts for... lets say, anyone that is in a rtionship with Vahn. From now on, they will receive a 30% discount on contracts, and each contract will be personally handled by you. This will allow the girls Vahn cares about to protect themselves and, in turn, Vahn himself will be safer. Im sure you have no problems with this much concessions?" Hephaestus wasnt happy to be forced into contracts with people she hadnt personally interviewed. She typically chose her customers, but if she gave into Lokis demand, she would have to ede to, and even prioritize, the development of items for members of Lokis Familia. However, even though it went against her pride, she did agree that Lokis idea was the best solution in the present situation. If Vahn ended up dying on the expedition just because the equipment hadnt been to standard, Hephaestus would never be able to forgive herself. With a grim expression, Hephaestus nodded and altered the conditions a bit, "I will agree, but only if each concerned party makes a vow to never lend or give the items I forge to others. I wont stand for a situation where your children continually request items for themselves and then they end up in the hands of others." Loki had expected the request, so she nodded without hesitation. Vahn, who had been listening in a bit, felt anguished at having Hephaestus have to make concessions for him. It wasnt until just now that he truly understood the difficulties she had borne on his behalf. Not only was she protecting him and his secrets, but she also helped take care of the problems that could influence his life. He even discovered that, while he was running around and fighting or chasing girls, she had to deal with his emotions and they even interfered with her work. If it wasnt for his earlier actions, this situation wouldnt have developed to this point in such a rapid manner where they were at a disadvantage. Unable to prevent his thoughts from leaking, Vahn interrupted their negotiations and said, "Wait! I wont let Hephaestus bear all the burden on her own. Though I may not be a capable cksmith yet, I want to change the terms so that, if the girls are okay with it, I will help provide their equipment. Also, you said our two Familia should work together, and I think it should be more than a rtionship based onpromise. You im that, because of my actions and origin, our two Familia are already irrevocably connected. As long as you and Hephaestus agree, I think our Familia should form an official Alliance and publicize it. It will make any enemies that try to appear in the future more apprehensive, and it will make the negotiations between all concerned parties smoother." Vahn regurgitated all the information he had been organizing in his mind. Not only did he want toplete his quest, but he genuinely was unwilling to see Hephaestus continue to make so manypromises for him. He was almost more willing to flee the City and relieve her of the burden, but remembering his various promises, he couldnt find the courage to do so. Though Vahn didnt consider himself brave, he wanted to believe he wasnt the type of coward that would run away and renege on his promises. Just imagining the sad faces of Hephaestus, Tiona, and Ais made Vahn feel like he would rather die than do so. As Vahn had shouted out the words, everyone in the room was looking at him with a mixture of shock and contemtion. Tsubaki had a smile on her face as she gave an appreciative nod while Hephaestus embraced Vahn from behind as he was currently facing toward Loki. Naaza and Lili, though they werent part of the conversation, felt emboldened when they saw Vahns conviction. Loki, who had been the one addressed, also had her eyes slightly opened as she tilted her head back with her finger on her chin. She seemed to be seriously considering his words, and after a bit of consideration, seemed to agree with what he had said. After a few more moments, she looked at Vahn and said with a sly grin, "Very well, I will agree on one condition. And lucky for you, its one that you can easily do~" Vahn continued to return her gaze without his expression changing in the slightest. He still had all the confidence from his earlier outburst as he asked, almost like he was challenging her, "What is your condition?" There was no hesitation at all in his words, and it made Loki begin tough for a moment before she stated, "I want you to work with Riveria to research that Divinity you seem to possess. She already told me that it has a lot of unique capabilities, and I think it would benefit everyone if you studied it alongside her. She has far more experience than others, and will also know how to best apply your skills when ites to a fight in the future. What do you say?" Vahn knew that, if it came down to it, he would use his [Will of the Emperor] without any hesitation. He had even used it for the purpose of calming the members of the expeditionary party previously, and it was a core part of his strength. When he apanied the Loki Familia into the dungeon, he would have to follow the order of Finn and Riveria and, their understanding of his capabilities could be vital depending on the situation. As Vahn was also curious about the nature of his domain, and he was constantly trying to understand its functions, he didnt see any downsides to working with the experienced and wise elf. Looking into the red eyes of Loki, who was waiting for his response, Vahn squinted his eyes a bit before he nodded his head and said, "I ept. But, only if she agrees to make a vow to not disclose the information to others without my express permission." Vahn didnt distrust the taciturn elf, but that didnt mean he would simply allow her to learn his secrets and then spread them at her leisure. Though it was unavoidable that some people would have to know, Vahn wanted to have a say in how the information spread. Lokiughed for a little while but agreed to his request without modifying the terms any. Afterward, they continued to discuss various other things and agreed to have both Tiona and Ais meet with Hephaestus to get their measurements taken in the future. When Loki brought up the idea, she teased Vahn by saying, "Im sure youre very interested in their measurements as well, so maybe you can apany them~?" Vahn didnt disagree with her, because he had already be familiar with their bodies and it wouldnt hurt to know more. If he had to make equipment for them in the future, he had to take into consideration every small detail. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Is Vahn actually gonna start forging now?,Loki gets a slight advantage,Hephaestus is nning something?) Chapter 132 - Relaxation (1/2)

Chapter 132 - Rxation (1/2)

After Loki finally left, everyone other than Vahn seemed a lot more tired than usual. Tsubaki tried to lighten the mood byughing and teasing Vahn a bit, but he was somewhat distracted at the moment because of various system notifications. Seeing that Vahn wasnt ying along, Tsubaki wanted to teach him a lesson, but she was prevented from continuing when Lili used the lull to approach Vahn. Vahn was still a bit dazed and didnt see the small Pallum girl approach him. It wasnt until he noticed a change in the atmosphere when she used her magic to transform that he finally looked up. Once Lili had gotten near him, she transformed into a chienthrope and started sniffing his body all over with a bit of frustration on her face. Her actions reminded Vahn a lot of what Loki had done previously, and his guess ended up being correct when Lili said, "It was that blondie and the Amazon girl, wasnt it?" After finding his convictions earlier, Vahn had decided he wouldnt try to hide that type of information, so he looked into Lilis eyes and nodded his head. "Their names are Ais and Tiona. Ais is the girl with the golden hair and eyes, and Tiona is indeed an Amazon." Hearing his words, the people in the room all had slightly different reactions. Tsubaki gave Vahn an approving nod, as she was very aware of the two girls. They were both beautiful, strong, and very sought after. Tsubaki felt like it was a good achievement on Vahns end. Naaza and Lili seemed to be lost in contemtion for a while as the two stared at each other in some kind of non-verbal form ofmunication. After a moment of silence, Naaza nodded and showed a small smile which seemed to give Lili a bit of confidence as she looked back toward Vahn and said, "Well continue to work hard, so dont abandon us just because you got your hands on those two girls, okay?" Vahn was very surprised by the question, but before he could answer, Hephaestus grabbed him by the cor and started pulling him toward the door. She shouted over her shoulder as she dragged Vahn away, "You two should know very well what kind of fool this is. Work hard and focus on your own stuff for now, and try not to distract him in the near future too much." Hephaestus had been a bit frustrated since earlier, and seeing Lili and Naaza plotting right in front of her didnt help matters any. Before Vahn could start making more promises, she dragged him out of Tsubakis manor and made her way along the sidepath toward Vahns residence. Naaza and Lili were left in the dining room with Tsubakiughing her butt off at how cute Hephaestus was acting. After she was satisfied, she looked toward the two girls and said, "You understand, right? Vahn is finally starting to grow up, but even though you two had a head start, you are not in the same position as some girls. You two are people he has saved, and he has a lot of affection for you because of that. If you want to change your position, you need to work harder." The two brown-haired chienthropes nodded their heads at her advice, but Lili seemed to be a little rebellious as she said to Tsubaki, "And what about you, Tsubaki-sama? Vahn also has a lot of affection for you, and he seems to want to tease you more and more." Tsubaki, hearing Lilis usation, raised her brow and remembered Vahns actions in the recent days. She had noticed that, as soon as he started paying attention to the differences between men and women, he seemed to act a lot more precocious around her. Looking at the two girls that seemed to be waiting for her response, she gave a big cheeky grin and said, "Who knows~? If you two dont work hard, maybe Ill get to him before you do!" Tsubaki startedughing again as she excused herself from the room. Naaza and Lili stayed behind in silence for a while before Lili looked to Naaza and said, "I think we have even morepetition now..." Naaza nodded her head slowly at the words and the two talked for a bit about the future before going about their separate ways. Lili went to the study to read, while Naaza went into her workshop and started preparing new ingredients. --- Hephaestus had let go of Vahns cor when they were walking, and he continued to trail behind her as they approached his residence. Hephaestus was silent for a while, but before they reached the door she said, "You did well, back there...I think it could have been a lot more difficult if you hadnt taken a stand. Loki seems to be more interested in you than I expected if she was willing topromise that much." Vahn remained silent as they both stopped outside the entrance of his small courtyard. Hephaestus looked at him in the eyes before crossing her arms under her well-developed b.r.e.a.s.ts and sighing, "About the connection Loki was talking about...I think you have a better understanding of it now, right?" As she spoke, Hephaestus began to blush a bit. Vahn noticed and he too began blushing as he nodded his head and said, "Im sorry Hephaestus, I didnt know..." Hephaestus sighed and just hugged Vahn before he could continue apologizing to her. Feeling her hand stroking the back of his head, Vahn let his face rest on top of her b.r.e.a.s.ts as he just rxed his body and returned her embrace. Hephaestus whispered, "I dont mind if youre with other women, I actually expected it to happen with how many seem to gather around you. Just keep working hard and remember that Im still waiting...and...if possible...try to only do things like that at night. It makes my work a lot harder..." Though her words were gentle at first, Vahn could feel the heat in her breath as she continued advising him. From where they were connected, Vahn could feel her body temperature begin to rise a bit, and he could even feel her heartbeat through his face since he had been resting on her b.r.e.a.s.ts. When Hephaestus finally released him and tried to part ways, Vahn grabbed her wrist and he could feel her body twitch at the sudden contact. She looked back at him with a slight flush on her face as she said, "Vahn...I cant..." Vahn noticed that, when his emotions began to rise during their embrace, it seemed to have an effect on Hephaestus as well. His emotions,bined with her own, made Hephaestus experience twice the impact as a normal person. Vahn imagined Hephaestus walking back to her workshop in the dark and cold night with a blush on her face, and it made him feel like the image was terribly lonely. Vahn slowly pulled her toward the entrance of his residence and he could feel her resisting him more and more the further they walked. With a gentle smile on his face, he turned towards the apprehensive Hephaestus and said, "I cant say I wont do anything, but I wont go too far. I feel like I wouldnt be a man worthy of you if I let you leave like this. Sleep here tonight...and Ill show you that I canfort your heart even without us having s.e.x." Seeing the confidence in Vahns demeanor and hearing his words, Hephaestus couldnt help but swallow a bit as she stopped resisting against his pull. She knew that, when she got home, things would be very...difficult for her. Hearing Vahns words, she began to feel an anticipation and was unable to muster enough willpower to make the journey home. After she stopped resisting, Vahns smile grew gentle as he escorted her inside. When the two made their way through the door, Hephaestus was a bit surprised but, as Vahn had expected it, he managed to keep his calm. Anubis had been waiting in the foyer and she politely bowed toward the two of them and said, "Wee home Master. Will you be dining with the children tonight or...will you be apanying Lady Hephaestus?" Hepheastus red a little at Anubis, but the flush on her face made her seem more cute than aggressive. Anubis, though she had her normal expression, was desperately trying to hold back herughter at the sight. She thought it was very entertaining seeing Hephaestus this way instead of the wrathful demoness she had feared previously. Vahn spoke out in a firm manner, "Have the children been waiting for me all this time? I thought I had told you I may not be back in the next day or two..." Anubis nodded her head at his question and said, "They have already started eating, but after we picked up on your scent they reorganized the dishes and are now waiting for your arrival." Vahn seemed satisfied by her answer and he habitually petted her head since she had leaned forward. It wasnt until Hephaestus nudged him a little that he finally pulled his hand away with an awkwardugh. Anubis was very pleased that Vahn didnt shy away even in the presence of Hephaestus, and she even gave a yful look at the currently bashful-looking goddess. Hephaestus didnt miss the look and gnashed her teeth a bit before Vahns words hit her like a hammer, "The two of us will be taking a bath first. For now, return to the children and inform them not to disturb us unless there is an emergency." Hearing Vahn say the two of us will be taking a bath, Hephaestuss mind began to wander and any thoughts she had about the dog goddess immediately vanished from her mind. With another polite bow, Anubis said, "I understand Master, I will do as you say." She then gave one more look before making her way toward the corridor leading to the dining room. Before she exited through the door, Anubis turned back and, with a smile on her face said, "And congrattions Master. I can smell the presence of two other women on you...its a very strong scent." It was Vahns turn to nk for a moment as he watched Anubis exit through the door with her tail wagging slowly from side to side. Hephaestus, who was currently holding onto his arm, spoke out, "No matter what, you had better forge an item for me before you let that woman do anything..." Hephaestuss cold words caused a chill to run up Vahns back as he looked into her incredibly serious eyes. Even though the blush of her face, Vahn could tell that she was being very serious right now. Though his throat was suddenly dry, Vahn gulped and nodded his head and said, "I promise." Afterward, he escorted Hephaestus toward the bathroom and, since she had stayed in this house previous and knew theyout, Hephaestus became increasingly tense the closer they got. By the time they had entered into the changing room, Vahn was surprised with how rigid her body had be. He never expected the cool goddess to get so easily fl.u.s.tered, but he found it to be very exciting as his heart rate had also been increasing alongside hers. Though Hephaestus wasnt exactly shy, since Vahn was someone she had a future promise with, she was overly aware of his presence. Since she could feel his tensions rising alongside her own, her emotions continued to rise at a rate faster than she could adapt to. She moved away from him to the side and started slowly undressing her clothes with a bit of difficulty. For the first time in her life, Hephaestus began to feel like a shy maiden around her crush...it almost felt like she was preparing herself for the night toe. While she was getting lost in her delusions, Vahn approached silently and began helping remove her clothes. Hephaestus was incredibly startled when he first touched her, but seeing the care and intrigue in his eyes, she didnt make any attempts to stop him. Vahns interest in her body made her feel somewhat proud of herself and the longer the intimate act went on, the less worried she felt about what wouldeter. Vahn, having seen Hephaestus move away, thought that her bashful actions were incredibly cute. He couldnt resist teasing her a bit, but he was also very interested in helping her undress. Though he had seen and even touched Hephaestuss body before, he had yet to see her n.a.k.e.d. His excitement continued to rise as he slowly undressed the body of the goddess that he has promised to love. He marveled at how lithe her figure was while still having so much power contained within the muscles. By the time she was fulled n.a.k.e.d, Vahn was in a very high-tension state as he took in her n.a.k.e.d figure with his eyes for the first time. Other than Anubis and Tsubaki, Hephaestus was the first mature woman that Vahn had ever seen nude. But, unlike the two other girls, she was someone that Vahn was currently pursuing. Seeing her nude figure made his mind buzz with anticipation as he let his eyes roam her body. She hadrge b.r.e.a.s.ts, but they didnt sag at all under the influences of gravity. Though Vahn had noticed something simr with Anubis, he was amazed at how perfect the b.r.e.a.s.ts of a goddess could be. The thing that drew his eyes the most, however, were Hephaestuss long legs and the plump butt that he had been unable to forget about since he first grasped it the other day. Lastly, and Vahn found this a bit peculiar since he had seen several other women nude, Hephaestus was alsopletely hairless near her v.a.g.i.n.a. The entire time Vahn had been inspecting her body, Hephaestus had been watching with a happy look on her face. She could see the anticipation, intrigue, and excitement in his look, and it made her feel very proud of herself. The longer his eyes wandered on his body, the more fervent his expression grew, but it wasnt in the l.u.s.tful and possessive way of other men. He seemed to genuinely appreciate her body, and it was a very exciting feeling seeing his honest expression. However, when his eyes wandered to her v.a.g.i.n.a, Hephaestus noticed he had a bit of a confused expression which made her feel a bit worried in her heart. Vahns next words made her nearly fall to the bathroom floor as he asked, "Is it verymon for goddesses to not have hair on their v.a.g.i.n.as?" Hephaestus was shocked for multiple reasons because if Vahns question came from experience, it meant that he had seen another goddess n.a.k.e.d. An image of a cheeky dog goddess shed through her mind, and Hephaestus swore that she would punish Anubis in the future. Since she could see from Vahns expression that he was genuinely curious, and his eyes had remained clear the entire time so she sighed and exined, "Pubic hair is usually for preventing diseases or attracting mates. Since gods and goddesses cant get diseases, nor are they able to get pregnant, they never developed the need for any." Hephaestus felt very embarrassed as she spoke because she could see Vahns eyes shine like an attentive student that just learned something very interesting. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hephaestus-sensei,Pure Fluff,Aftermath of the Negotiations) Chapter 133 - Relaxation (2/2)

Chapter 133 - Rxation (2/2)

After answering Vahns questions, Hephaestus tried to clear the awkwardness she was feeling by approaching near Vahn and helping to undress him. Vahn was very surprised since it was his first time receiving such treatment from a woman. Though he had undressed a few people recently, he had only ever taken off his own clothes before. Having Hephaestus undress him made him feel very excited and a bit jittery. Hephaestus seemed to be pleased by his reactions, as she slowed her hands and made the process take much longer. Unfortunately, her desire to tease Vahn ended uping back to bite her as, with his excitement building, Hephaestuss also continued to grow. The act of undressing a man, especially one that would be her lover one day, was a foreign concept to the goddess of forging. Just as Vahn had been distracted by her body, she too was distracted by his and, after removing his tunicpletely, couldnt help but trace her palms along his body in a slight daze. Vahn had been growing a lot recently, and she found his previously young and supple body to be maturing and turning more masculine as ofte. The muscles of his chest were incredibly flexible, but also very resistant when he tried putting force into her hands. It was a peculiar sensation since his healthy tanned skin almost had the tenderness of a woman while maintaining the firmness of a man. Noticing that Hephaestus had stopped her attempts to undress him, Vahn became a bit amused and wanted to tease her while she had dropped her guard. Reaching his hands around her waist, Vahn gripped her butt and lifted her body up using a bit of his strength. Hephaestus immediately startled at the contact and fell forward until her b.r.e.a.s.ts were pressed into Vahns chest. With a smile on his face, Vahn kissed the lips of the fl.u.s.tered goddess while putting more strength into his hands. Hephaestus leaked out a passionate m.o.a.n before widening her eyes and pushing away from Vahns chest. She began to breathe heavily while she bent over slightly and red at him saying, "Dont get carried away..." Vahn had an amused expression and just nodded his head while he began to unfasten his trousers. Hephaestus was still trying to calm herself down, but by the time Vahn had removed his briefs, any semnce of sanity she had remaining dissolved into oblivion as she took in the incredulous sight before her. Though she had heard rumors from Tsubaki, this was the first time Hephaestus had seen the hidden potential of Vahn. Since she had experience with other gods in Heaven, Hephaestus had some expectations, but seeing the size of Vahn actually surprised the several-million-year-old goddess. It wasnt that it was unbelievablyrge, but the fact that,pared to Vahns height and figure, it stood out and almost unbnced his appearance a bit. A worry starting passing through Hephaestuss mind and, against her better judgment, she couldnt help but ask, "The two girls you had s.e.x with earlier...are they okay?" As the words left her lips, Hephaestus felt more embarrassed than she ever had before and couldnt help but avert her eyes from Vahn. Vahn, who had been asked an unexpected question, looked down at where Hephaestus had been staring and blushed deeply. He was unable to keep himself from coughing as he quietly said, "Yeah...they are fine..." The atmosphere in the changing room became very awkward and Vahn began to suspect Hephaestus might not believe him, so he continued, "Ais was able to take the entire thing, and she seemed to enjoy it a lot." Vahns words struck Hephaestus like a hammer as the vision of the golden-haired girl passed through her mind. Right now, Ais was much smaller and less mature than Hephaestus and, even though she should be annoyed by Vahns words, she actually felt a bit relieved. Vahn noticed the relieved sigh of Hephaestus, and he felt emboldened so he walked forward and grabbed her hands. "Lets take a bath..." He spoke the words softly and had a gentle and appreciative smile on his face. Every time he was with Hephaestus, he always felt more confident in his actions, and her presence also made him feel a strange sense of security. She worked so hard to help him, and he wanted to be able to return those feelings as much as he could. Hephaestus, who had been bent over slightly, looked up at Vahn with her fiercely blushing face before saying, "Okay...Vahn." She then allowed him to lead her toward the bath and, after stepping in himself, he held her hands and support her entrance in alongside him. It made Hephaestus happy to see how thoughtful he acted, and she almost wanted topliment his manners. However, his next actions prevent her from forming the words as he immediately grabbed the nearby soap and sponge and startedthering up her b.r.e.a.s.ts. She immediately thought that Vahn was teasing her again, and almost got angry before seeing that he had a naive and eager look on his face. Hephaestus could tell that he was genuinely just trying to wash her body and, imagining that she was the first person that Vahn proactively clean, Hephaestus forgave hisck of awareness. She just allowed Vahn to continue cleaning her as he pleased and enjoyed the feeling of being pampered by the boy she loved. After helping Hephaestus into the tub, Vahn began washing her body in earnest. He knew she was a bit frustrated, and he didnt want to set her off any further, so he paid full attention to his actions. Though he started with her b.r.e.a.s.ts, it wasnt because he wanted to fondle her, it was more-so because it was the first ce his eyes were drawn to when he stared at her body. Afterthering her up properly, he moved to other areas of her body and gently cleaned each part. He lifted her arms and rubbed the soap along them and even paid close attention to each of her fingers. Hephaestus was writhing about periodically because of Vahns careful actions. She felt like a princess that was being attended to by a loyal servant, or perhaps even an infatuated prince? She noticed that Vahn paid careful attention to all of his actions, and he even seemed to be trying to gauge her reaction to make sure he didnt make her ufortable. Hephaestus began to feel incredibly happy by his tender care, but it also made her body begin to ache a bit. She really wanted Vahn to get better at forging faster... Vahn continued to clean her body carefully and the only came about when he tried to wash her butt and v.a.g.i.n.a. Though Vahn didnt notice it himself, he paid extra attention to Hephaestuss backside and became a little too excited while tending to the area. Though he washed every part of her body with care, he spent nearly twice the amount of effort on her firm butt. He felt like it even made Tionas look a bit small inparison and even slowly passed his palm over the surface before Hephaestus swatted it away. When he tried to clean her V.a.g.i.n.a, he noticed there was a bit of liquid leaking out of it that look distinctly different from water. Though he may not have noticed it before, now that Vahn had experience with women, he immediately understood it was because she was aroused. Though it made him feel happy and proud, he put the thoughts to the back of his mind and attempted to wash the area. Hephaestus seemed to grit her teeth and closed her eyes in expectation but, the moment Vahn got near enough to inspect the area, his thoughts began to wander after recognizing a familiar scent. Though it wasnt his original intention, Vahn curiously inhaled with his eyes closed which caused Hephaestus to open hers and stare at him with shock. From her perspective, she could see Vahns head near her v.a.g.i.n.a and now he was deeply inhaling her scent. Before Vahn had been able to make the connection between the scent he was smelling and his memories, he felt a powerful impact on his head that pushed him down into the hot water below. Since he had been inhaling previously, he actually breathed in a bit of water and began to cough painfully as he rubbed the bump on his head. He looked toward Hephaestus with a confused and bereaved expression as she stared at him with an incredibly fl.u.s.tered look on her face. Seeing that Hephaestus was now covering her crotch, Vahn suddenly had an epiphany and recognized both the source of the smell and the inappropriate nature of his actions. Remembering all the ces he had smelled it recently, Vahn began to blush after imaging what Hephaestus had to do to cause such a powerful scent to build up in ces like the couch and the bed. His muddle-headed thoughts prevented him from properly controlling himself as the submerged dragon peaked its head through the surface of the water and stared angrily toward Hephaestus. Hephaestus was so surprised by the emergence of the terrifying enemy that she fell onto her butt into the water and continued to make eye contact with the intimidating beast. She began to draw deep and heavy breaths as she quietly mustered up enough courage to say, "We...cant..." Vahn was broken from his absentmindedness by her words and noticed where she was looking. His p.e.n.i.s had be erect at some point, and it seemed to have startled Hephaestus as she now had a bit of fear in her eyes. Seeing how afraid she was, a lot of the emotions that had been building inside Vahn immediately dissipated and the dragon returned to its slumber. Hephaestus showed a relieved expression, but Vahn noticed that she continued to draw heavy breaths for a while without saying anything. Out of concern, he waded through the water and began using the calming properties of his [Hands of Nirvana]. Hephaestus hadnt shied away from his approach, and feeling the warm energy flow into her, she felt thankful that Vahn wasnt the type to lose himself when he was aroused. She knew that most men wouldnt have been able to return to rity after having been s.e.x.u.a.lly excited without a lot of effort. With the little resistance she had against him, if he truly wanted to take her, Hephaestus wouldnt be able, or even willing, to stop him. Vahn continued to calm Hephaestuss body and started rinsing away the suds that had built up on her beautiful white skin. He enjoyed the firmness of her body while he continued to channel his energy to dissipate the tension she was feeling. By the time they bath had ended, she had be much calmer and rxed than when they entered, and Vahn actually had to carry her tired body back to the bedroom. Whenever he put a lot of effort into helping people rx, he could pretty much remove all the tensions from their body using his massage techniques. Toward the end of the bath, Hephaestus had almost been like putty in his hands and he had to wrap a towel around her body because she was unwilling, and he unable, to put her clothes on. Once he ced her into the bed, Hephaestus had slipped out of the towel and she gazed at Vahn in a dazed state while being entirely n.a.k.e.d. Vahn noticed that, even though he had put in a lot of effort to calm her, she was beginning to get a bit excited based on the blush that started to appear. Vahn sat next to her on the bed and helped Hephaestus roll onto her stomach. She seemed startled by his actions and tried to raise her body to protest, but Vahn once again began to use his [Hands of Nirvana] to rx her body. Hephaestus copsed face-first onto the bed and started taking shallow and rxed breaths as Vahn continued molding her body under his hands. Unlike when she had to relieve her own stress, Hephaestus was surprised with how pleasant it was when Vahn was helping her. Though his massage wasnt s.e.x.u.a.l, it didnt stop Hephaestus from feeling aroused, it just made her body both rxed and aroused at the same time. She could feel the heat in her abdomen constantly increasing as a veritable tide flowed out from her v.a.g.i.n.a. However, even though she felt in high tension, she couldnt put any strength into her body at all and just felt the echoes of a powerful climax continually spread through her body. The only thing she could do was take sharp breaths and m.o.a.n while Vahn continued inadvertently tormenting her body. By the time she eventually fell asleep, Hephaestus had lost count of how many times she had climaxed as the gentle image of the boy turned into a devilishly handsome man in her mind. After Hephaestus had fallen asleep, Vahn continued to take care of her body for another half hour to ensure she would be able to sleep peacefully. He was surprised how sensitive her body had be while he was massaging her body, as all the muscles seemed to subtly twitch under his hands. It was almost like her entire body was vibrating slightly, and Vahn thought it was a very interesting sight. It wasnt until he saw drool and a bit of snoting out of her mouth and nose that he finally figured she was rxed enough without his help. He wiped up the fluids from her face and then gently stroked her hair beforeying in the best next to her. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Godhand SSS,RIP Hephaestus,Bath time with Bae) Chapter 134 - Training : Materials

Chapter 134 - Training : Materials

Vahn awoke the next morning in a groggy state. He had been in high tensions the entire day yesterday, and even though he recovered his energy and stamina, it didnt prevent him from feeling mentally exhausted. When he lifted himself up from his bed and looked over, he was surprised to see that Hephaestus had disappeared sometime during the night. He felt a little sad at the thought but assumed she likely had things to take care of and didnt want to wake him. As he had no ns for the day, Vahn wanted to make sure everything was running smoothly in the house. He felt a bit guilty about the fact that, the morning after he told the children their new schedule, he ended up leaving them behind for Anubis to deal with. As the Alpha, he needed to keep his word whenever possible, or it could create problems of trust in the future. Exiting the room, Vahn nearly fell over when he came across Anubis who had been waiting outside his door. As if she didnt see his fumble, Anubis said in a polite tone, "Good morning Master." She followed her words with a polite bow and Vahn returned the greeting. He noticed that, even after he spoke, she continued to bow toward him so he reached out his hand and pet her head a bit. When his hand came into contact with her ears, Anubiss tail began to sway back and forth a bit before Vahn pulled away. Apparently satisfied, Anubis smiled at Vahn before informing him, "Lady Hephaestus had left earlier, but she told me to pass a message to you. She said she was going to prepare a few things and that you should put your best efforts into improving your forging skills." Vahn imagined the image of a blushing Hephaestus telling him to do his best, and it made his heart feel warm as he showed a happy smile. Afterward, the two made their way to the training area that Vahn had designated on the northern side of the property. The children had awoken early, just as he had ordered them to the other day. They were now patiently waiting for his arrival while sitting on their knees in a seiza-like posture. The moment Vahn took his ce before them, they all bowed low and shouted in unison, "Good morning, Master!" Though he sighed a bit in his mind, Vahn nodded and acted confidently before the seven bowing children. In a firm voice, he said, "Raise your heads and prepare yourselves. I will be teaching you a method of improving your footwork, as well as a variety of skills called Close Quarters Combat techniques. I have a rough understanding of how strong everyone is, but from here on out well also be performing live sparing to familiarize everyone with actualbat." Vahn saw that the children were staring at him with serious expressions, so he nodded his head and continued, "As I said previously, youll be left to your own devices after our training ends, but I forbid anyone from entering the dungeon alone or without informing either myself or Anubis. You already have experience working as a team, so I have confidence youll be able to grow even stronger after training. Your goal now should be..." Vahn paused for a moment and looked at the glowing eyes of each chienthrope child. After he passed over the entire group, he continued, "Level 5." All of the children were very surprised by his im, and even Anubis didnt understand why he gave them such a high goal to start out with. Noticing their confusions, Vahn exined with a serious tone, "I have met people near your age that are already Level 5 and have yet to reach their full potential. They work hard and I imagine they will be able to obtain even higher aplishments in the future. If youre satisfied with just the next level, you will never be able to go beyond your limits. Have confidence in your actions, trust your training, and never settle for easy to achieve goals." Anubis had a thoughtful look in her eyes, but the smile on her face couldnt conceal the appreciation she had for Vahns words. Each of the children was staring at him with fervent expressions as they shouted at the top of their lungs, "YES, MASTER VAHN!" They seemed to be in incredibly high-tension as their tails beat against the sides of their h.i.p.s and they looked like they wanted to jump up from the ground and immediately begin training. Vahn smiled with a hint of pride in his eyes as he slowly released his domain while transforming into his Bih form. Since he didnt put any intent into the domain, the children werent able to sense it at all, but Anubiss eyes glowed like moonlight as she observed his change. Like Hephaestus and Loki, she suspected that Vahn had a Divinity and it made her even more certain of her desire to follow him. While Vahn had been hyping himself up for theing training session, he suddenly heard a notification in his head that made him lose a bit of his momentum. The system had informed him that Anubiss Loyalty had just shot up to 98 and he noticed she was looking at him with a simr fervor to the children. Matching her gaze, he slowly asked, "What will you do? Do you want to train, or will you watch at the side?" Anubis shook her head while continuing to smile as she said in a happy sounding tone, "I am perfectly happy watching from the side. If you need my assistance, please let me know Master." She then bowed slightly and walked away while Vahn followed the figure of her wagging tail with his eyes. Vahn found that specific trait of a chienthrope to be very interesting and seeing the bushy tailing from the shapely h.i.p.s of Anubis, Vahn actually swallowed a bit as a small desire to pet her tail emerged from his mind. Almost as if sensing something, Anubiss ears twitched as she turned her head to look at Vahn and asked, "Do you want to touch my tail, Master?" Though she didnt know why, Anubis felt like her instincts had told her that Vahn had such a desire. It made her heart flutter a bit, and she couldnt help but ask the question with a hint of anticipation. Vahns brows shot up by her question and he covered his embarrassment with a cough before saying, "Im going to train the children. I dont have time for that right now." Since he was a bit fl.u.s.tered, Vahn allowed a small verbal slip which wasnt missed by Anubis. Her tail began to wag at a slightly faster pace as sheughed while covering her mouth with her sleeve and saying, "Later then...when there is time." Her words made Vahns heart rate quicken, but he put the matter to the back of his mind as he began training with the kids. As he expected, they each possessed incredibly lithe and flexible bodies, and their method of fighting relied heavily on their instincts and senses. This is the reason Vahn had used his Bih form from the beginning, so he would be able to teach them in the most effective manner. Perhaps due to their young age, but they absorbed everything he said like a sponge and were quickly learning the routines for their future training. By the time the sun had peaked over the outer walls and breakfast had approached, the children had memorized all of the basic forms. Vahn attributed to their identities as Level 2s and their willingness to assist each other when they made mistakes. He noticed they had a powerful bond and acted very close but never acted against the hierarchy. Rasui and Maat put in an insane amount of efforts into their training and all of the other kids were somewhat deferential to them. Whenever they had concerns, they would immediately ask the two children Vahn had put in charge. Rasui and Maat would do their best to exin, but if the matter was tooplicated they would ask Vahn before returning to the child that asked. Vahn noticed this was always the case and, unless he directly instructed one of the kids, they would always get to Rasui and Maat first. He began to understand how much emphasis they yed on the hierarchy and how much respect they had for him as the Alpha. After training, the entire group at breakfast together in a simr fashion as they had done so previously. The biggest difference was, now the group had arge circr low tabled to congregate around. Everyone worked together to ensure everyone else had the proper food and portions before waiting for Vahn to give the order to eat. Vahn felt strange having the children so reliant on his actions, but it also made him feel strangely confident in everything he did. He wanted the kids to continue cing their trust in him because it made him feel like a more reliable person as a whole. Once breakfast hadpleted, the entire group helped clean up the table before tending to the dishes. Everyone had their own assigned roles, and because they cooperated together, they finished the process in an incredibly short period of time. Vahn continued to watch them with interest as Anubis maintained her constant presence behind and to his left. Vahn had noticed that, unless she was unable to do so, Anubis always stood slightly adjacent and to his left. When he had asked about it, she informed him that, as a servant, it was her duty to always stand at his side. When he asked why she never stood at his right, she gave him a soft smile before saying that the spot at his right was reserved for his wife. Seeing her expression, Vahn felt a hint of danger as he turned away and began ruminating over the idea. He once thought that people had to be married to be lovers, but after having multiple lovers now, he hadnt thought much about marriage. Though he had learned from Riveria that polygamy was verymon in Eden, he still never thought about the prospect of having multiple wives himself. Now that he was trying to bnce several rtionsh.i.p.s, Vahn had to seriously consider the matter for the future. After everything had been cleaned up by the children, Vahn released them to their own devices for the rest of the day. The group immediately broke up into what he had expected were pre-designated teams as all but one person left from the house after receiving Valis from Anubis. Vahn had left quite an amount with her, and she seemed to have been delegated the role of handling and distributing the funds. Once the two groups of three left, Vahn looked curiously at the remaining person and asked, "Nanu, are you not going out with the rest?" The young girl who had remained behind was Nanu, one of the two unfortunate girls Vahn had previously pinned with an arrow. He always felt guilty whenever he was around her and Chione. Of the three, she was the smallest and stood around 130cm with short, very dark brown, hair that was cut into a bob that framed her face. She had the same olive-brown skin as the rest of the Southern Tribe as well as their characteristic fuzzy tail, pointed ears, and rose-colored eyes. Hearing Vahns question, she bowed her head a bit but didnt lose herposure. She continued to stare at him with respect as she answered, "Master, I have been asked to assist you. I also possess the [cksmith] development ability and received some instruction from Tsubaki-sama yesterday. She informed me to act as your assistant and work on developing my own skills." Vahn hadnt expected one of the children to have the [cksmith] development ability and decided to find out the rest of their capabilitiester. Since Anubis knew all of their statuses, she should be aware of their skills and abilities and wouldnt keep the information from him. Vahn wasnt going to turn away Nanus assistance, as it would go against his words of telling the children to do as they please. If Nanu wanted to be a cksmith in the future and decided the best method would be to act as his assistant, he didnt have any reason to refuse. Almost as if on some divinely-inspired queue, several people began showing up outside of Vahns house. Curious, he exited through the courtyard and noticed a familiar red-haired goddess instructing the group. Hephaestus, after the experiences of the previous day, decided to take matters into her own hands and procured a ton of resources which she was now shipping to Vahns workshop. Since he would be unable to enter the dungeon and secure funds, she wanted to make sure he had plenty of resources at his disposal without having to worry about cost. Vahn walked up to her and, noticing his presence, Hephaestus immediately began to blush before turning away. Vahn was surprised by her reaction and the fact she seemed to be trying to ignore him, so he got closer and asked, "Hephaestus, what is all this?" Hearing his words, Hephaestus sighed a bit before giving him a sidewards nce and saying, "Its materials so you can develop your forging ability faster. If I find out youre cking off, dont me me if I beat you into a pulp. From now on, unless you make ns and confirm them with Tsubaki, youre on house arrest except on the weekends. Ill stop by to monitor your progress when Im free." After she finished her words, Hephaestus kept guiding the burly men into carrying the materials inside while she instructed another group to begin establishing barriers and formations around the house. The resources she had acquired for Vahn would easily more than 2 Billion Valis if someone decided to steal them, so she had people working to secure the perimeter around Tsubakis manor and Vahns residence. Seeing the determination of Hephaestus and hearing her firm promation from earlier, Vahn just stood at the side and watched her work. He couldnt help but feel that she needed to rx more, and decided that he would help her do so in the future. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hephaestus is just about fed up,Future Exploits of the Godhand,New Apprentice) Chapter 135 - *Spoilers: Title at End*

Chapter 135 - *Spoilers: Title at End*

After everything was moved inside the material storage, Hephaestus gave Vahn a list of all the materials and it shocked him greatly. Not only did it include the names of every material, it also included their quantity, weight, and price. Though Vahn had noticed there were quite a lot of materials, he hadnt expected the total price to be 2,183,449,812 Valis. Seeing the astronomically high number, he looked at Hephaestus with a bit of concern on his face. Hephaestus saw his look and said in a firm tone, "You dont have to worry about the price of the materials, as its only a small portion of my actual assets. If you want to pay me back, dont ck off!" Vahn found her words to be somewhat prating, so he nodded his head without refusing the materials. He couldnt deny that this was exactly what he needed to start forging his own equipment in the future. One of the biggest expenses he would have had would be the procural of materials. He had no mining rights and he couldnt hire people to gather for him, so he would have had to purchase everything from the distribution center of the Hephaestus Familia. After everyone was cleared out, Hephaestus gave Vahn a key that would activate the defensive formation. He, as well as anyone he attuned it to, were the only ones that would be able to ess the area where the materials were stored. Vahn was very grateful since it would have been impossible to transport the materials without anyone noticing. Vahn expected there would be endless troubles with burrs if he didnt have such an extensive formation setup. He wondered why they werent moremon, and it wasnt until muchter in the far future when he learned the reason. The formation itself had cost nearly 900,000,000 Valis to establish. Once everything was ready, Hephaestus was preparing to leave without staying any longer. She had a lot of work to do and several other matters to attend to. However, before she could leave, Vahn ended up stopping her. Before she couldin, Vahn suddenly pulled her into his embrace and kissed her passionately. He felt so thankful for everything Hephaestus was doing for him, that it made him feel sad to see her leave without him thanking her. Hephaestus wanted to resist, but after the previous night, which still clouded her mind, she couldnt muster the willpower to resist Vahns embrace. Even without him using [Hands of Nirvana], just his touch made her body feel warm and she was quickly losing herself in the passionate kiss. Hephaestus wrapped her arms around his back and held him close as she sought out more pleasure from his lips. It wasnt until Vahns hands found their way to her butt that she was finally freed from the spell and pulled away with a flushed expression. She gave him a mean look with her still blushing face as she sharply asked, "Why are you always grabbing my butt!?" Vahn, who seemed a bit sad when she pulled away, tilted his head and began to seriously ponder her question. The longer he dyed, the angrier Hephaestus seemed to get, as Vahns innocent and contemtive state was very frustrating for the goddess. Luckily, before her anger materialized fully, Vahn said in a very serious manner, "I think it feels really good to touch. It is very firm, but its also soft enough for me to sink my fingers into. I feel like I can pick up your whole body easily just by lifting up your butt a bit." Vahns serious and honest words made Hephaestuss mind nk a bit as she repeated them in her own mind. She didnt know if she should be happy or annoyed by the boy in front of her, but her body seemed intent on being happy without her permission. She could feel a sweetness in her chest that slowly clouded her mind. Eventually, Hephaestus sighed before closing the distance between Vahn and hugging him again. She knew he was giving her apliment, and hearing him seriously consider and respond to her question made her feel a bit of pride as a woman. Vahn put his hand around her lower back and just held her for a bit while she hugged him. He was d that she seemed to be less upset now, but her next words made him feel even better. Hephaestus leaned into him a bit and pressed her body into his as she whispered into his ear, "Then grab it...and never let me go, okay? Work hard, because not even I can wait forever." With her permission, Vahn firmly grabbed Hephaestuss butt, and just like he said previously, he put a bit of strength into his grasp until she was slightly lifted off the ground. Since Hephaestus was still taller than he was, he had to pull her up against his body a bit causing her b.r.e.a.s.ts to contact his chin. Hephaestus released a short m.o.a.n and then kissed the top of Vahns head from her elevated position. Though it felt strange to have a boy pick her up, Hephaestus felt a bit of happiness at how possessive his action was. She even secretly decided to start exercising a bit more to tone up her butt for the future... Hephaestus finally managed to escape from Vahns grasps, and he escorted her all the way to the main road before they parted ways. Vahn tried to give her another kiss in public, but she started walking away quickly like a startled deer. Vahns eyes followed her retreat, and he noticed that she had very well shaped and long legs that perfectly ented her plump butt that was always attired with a figure-hugging cloth. Vahn even suspected that Hephaestus liked to show it off, or why would she wear such tight pants all the time? Either way, he was enamored by the sight and looked forward to holding her again in the future. After she had walked out of sight, Vahn headed back to his residence and quickly entered his workshop. He already had plenty of materials on the shelves which Hephaestus had prepared for him prior to the 2BV expense. Since it was one of her private residences previously, it was stocked with various mid and high-grade items as well as a variety of tools. Vahn was very grateful since they would have likely cost several million Valis. Nanu was also in the workshop and Vahn had her begin organizing and preparing things while he checked through his system for a bit. Though he had briefly nced at the notifications, he hadnt had the time to seriously look through everything since he had been so focused on Hephaestus after the meeting with Loki. //Quest Completed// [Quest: Forge an Alliance, Progressive] Rank: A (I-SSS) Objective: Convince Gods/Goddesses to form an alliance between their Familia(s). Current Allies (1) Rewards: 10,000 OP x Familia Rank. Currents Ranks (S:100,000OP). Questpletion rank depends on the total number of allies. Grade Reward(s): 40,000 OP, 1x [Banner of Command] [Banner of Command] Ranke: Unique Use: Enhance all allied units parameters by 10% of users within an area for 10 minutes. Once set, the banner is indestructible and cannot be moved. With the quest rewards, Vahn now had a total of 998,309 OP, just 1,601 OP shy of the requirements forpleting his quest. There were also matters like how Lokis affection had increased to 70(Favored), but that wasnt any concern of Vahn at the moment. Now that he was so close topleting the quest, Vahn did something he never would have done previously. Fumbling around with an ingot made of adamantine, Vahn converted it into OP through the system and received 2,000 OP in exchange. He had never used any of the materials or items he had received from Tsubaki and exchanged them with the system because, even if she let him use them, they werent his. Now that Hephaestus had gifted him a bunch of rare materials, he didnt mind exchanging just a few to make up for the difference he needed. Though the ingot would have been worth several million Valis, Vahn really wanted to finish his quest so that he would be able to use his shop more in the future. With a sigh, Vahn exchanged one-million of his OP to the system toplete his quest. He had experienced so much while working toward itspletion and he was kind of grateful for having done so. If he never went into the dungeon at that time, he wouldnt have been able to fight the Goliath and inevitably join up the Loki Familia where he obtained two new lovers. Though the quest had been a struggle, Vahn couldnt help but send a silent prayer of gratitude to The Path. After he was done, he looked at the notification that had sounded in his head with a bit of expectation and excitement. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Quest Complete// [Quest: Birth of a Legend] Rank: SS Completion Grade: SSS (317D09H43M Remaining) Rewards: Gacha Function Unlocked, [Enkidu:SSS], 10+1 Premium Gacha pull, 1000 Karma Grade Reward(s): 1x [24 Hour Discount Gacha Coupon], 100,000 OP [Enkidu:] Rank: SSS Slots:0 P.Atk: 100 M.Atk: 0 Ability: Indestructible, Piercing(Divine), Sealing(Divine), Soulbound(Vahn Mason) Indestructible magical chains forged by the heavens to bind even the gods. The spears on the ends of the chains can pierce through anything, while the chains themselves can restrict everything. The stronger the Divinity of the target, the more powerful the binding strength. [24 Hour Discount Gacha Coupon] Rank: Unique Use: Reduces the requirements for all premium gacha pulls by 50% for 24 hours. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn waspletely in awe of the random weapon he had received forpleting the quest. Though it seemed to have a rtively low attack, it had the trait of being able to pierce anything. Vahn didnt know what would happen if he pierced through a giant monster with an item that only had 100 Atk, it was a very strange thought. But, the most surprising fact was that it was apparently able to seal away gods or those that possess Divinity. Since he was currently located in a world full of gods, Vahn was terrified by the implications should he decide to misuse the item. Curious about its appearance, Vahn tried to equip the [Enkidu] and was surprised to find that he was unable to do so. After asking Sis, she informed him that, since the item was soulbound to him, he actually just had to use it like a normal item and it would bond with his soul. Following her instructions, he used [Enkidu] and felt like the inside of his body was strangely filled with limitless golden chains. Though they werent physically there, if he focused his intent inside, he was able to feel their presence. For Vahn, it was a very strange sensation, but he also felt like the chains contained limitless power. Now that [Enkidu] had entered his body, Vahn tried calling it out and felt a strange sensation like his blood was beginning to flow rapidly out of his palm. From the center of his hand, a golden light shone and an indescribably resplendent spearhead slowly emerged. Vahn could feel that his energy was beginning to drain a bit, but he continued pulling out the chain and noticed the body of the chain had the same golden color as the spearhead itself. Nanu had noticed the shining golden light but didnt think it was her ce to ask what her Master was up to. She continued preparing the materials as ordered, but would periodically look over and the beautiful golden chain emerging from Vahns palm. As the Southern Tribe worshipped the Sun, Nanu had a strange attraction to the light, because she felt that it was nobler than the celestial body her people prayed to. It almost seemed more sacred, more holy, than even the most divine artifact. Vahn was curious about the Piercing(Divine) attribute, so he grabbed another ingot of nigh-indestructible adamantine and tried stabbing it with the spearhead. The moment it came into contact, there seemed to be a bit of resistance but, after around 3 seconds, the spear went through the adamantine effortlessly. Vahn was able to determine that the [Enkidu] could prate anything, but it seemed to require a bit of time before the effect activated. He resolved himself to test it more in the future but was now curious about the binding effect. Vahn disliked the idea of binding or sealing away something, but it didnt prevent him from having some curiosity. If it came to a point where he needed to use the function but was unable to do so, it could cost him his life or the lives of others he cared about. After a long period of hesitation, he sent a mentalmand and waited for a minute or so with an uneasy feeling building up in his heart. After a brief dy, a knock was heard at the door before Anubis entered in with a curious expression on her face. When her eyes came into contact with the resplendent golden chain in Vahns hand, she couldnt help but ask, "Master, what is that beautiful chain?" Title: Enkidu (A/N: Alternate Titles: Literally OP in this world,Nasuverse in the next 1000 chapters?,Walkies with Anubis) Chapter 136 - Fearsome Enkidu

Chapter 136 - Fearsome Enkidu

Vahn had thought of an exnation for Anubis, so he said, "Its strange, but this chain, [Enkidu], seems to have appeared in my body. Ive never used it before, and it seems to be bonded with my soul." As he spoke, he disabled [Veil of the Traveler] to reveal his soul for Anubis to see. Her eyes opened wide when she suddenly had the chance to see Vahns unique soul once again. Like before, it had a beautiful golden color with rainbow hues swirling within; she could now see a sphere of pure golden chains spiraling around each other. In a somewhat dazed state, Anubis slowly spoke out, "Its so beautiful..." Vahn nodded his head because he thought she was talking about [Enkidu], not admiring his soul itself. In Anubiss eyes, Vahn wasnt simply an anomaly or someone with a mutated soul, but he was something far greater. She suspected it had something to do with his origins, and she very much wanted to know what had transpired to create something as unique as the soul before her. As Vahn hadnt hidden it away, her vision was instinctually pulled as she gazed deeper into the interior of his soul. She felt like it contained the power of infinity, and had a strange desire to probe its depths. Vahn concealed his soul again because he had noticed that Anubiss eyes had actually begun to ze over. He wondered if just the sight of [Enkidu] had an effect, but noticed that her dazed state faded almost immediately when he hid his soul. Now, she looked a bit sad and forlorn, almost like she had lost something precious to her. Even her ears, which normally pointed toward the sky, had drooped down a bit. Vahn was a bit worried about her, so he asked, "Are you okay, Anubis?" Hearing the concerned voice of her Master, Anubiss ears twitched before standing back up. She turned to him with a smile on her face as she bowed politely, "Forgive me, Master, I just got distracted for a moment." Seeing that Vahn hadnt been relieved by her words, she continued and tried to change the mood by asking, "So, those chains suddenly appeared in your soul? Do you have any idea about their use?" Her words reminded Vahn of his reason for calling her, so he exined with a bit of worry in his tone, "It seems to be able to pierce anything, though there is a bit of a dy before it takes effect. The primary function, though, seems to be...to bind things that possess Divinity..." Anubis was very interested in the effects of the remarkably beautiful chain, but hearing thest part of Vahns words surprised her quite a bit. If what he said was true, then the chains would be a powerful artifact against gods, demigods, and some spirits. She suddenly had a thought and, with a strange glint in her eyes, asked Vahn, "Do you want to try it on me...Master?" Vahn was surprised, not only because her words coincided with his intent, but because she asked the question on her own initiative. Though he had ordered her toe to the room, he hadnt done anything to make her take an interest in the chains other than disying his soul and discussing the effects of [Enkidu]. Vahns surprise faded and he nodded with while saying in a cautious tone, "I do want to try...but the effects may be ufortable, or even painful, for you. I dont want to do anything that would bring you harm, but I would like to know the effects of the chains." Anubis didnt seem bothered by his words at all, as even her tail started to gently wag back and forth. She was pleased that Vahn was concerned for her, but she always wanted to help him if she could be of use. So far, it had been primarily Vahn taking care of her and her children, and she had yet to do anything worthy of mention. Anubis walked forward and grabbed the chain with her hand while Vahn was still hesitating. She asked in a curious manner, "What should I do?" Vahn hadnt expected her to be so unconcerned after he warned her of the danger. He was worried about the fact that her Loyalty may be influencing her decision, so he sent a mentalmandpelling her to speak her true thoughts. While she continued to fiddle with the chain, Anubis started speaking in a somewhat in and dismissive manner, "I really wish Master would be needier. If he wants to bind me up in chains, he doesnt even have to ask. The idea of being bound by the Master I chose to follow makes my heart itch with anticipation." Though she hadnt paid it any attention when speaking, after her words finished, Anubis had a shocked expression as she stared wide-eyed toward Vahn. Vahn also had a very shocked expression as he looked at Anubis who appeared as though her brain had stopped working. It wasnt just the two of them either, as even Nanu stared ck-jawed from the side, almost as if she had turned into a statue. Hearing her goddess casually announce she wanted to be bound by their Master was a big impact on the young girl. After a few seconds, Anubiss lowered her head and refused to make eye contact with Vahn as she exined in a frantic manner, "I dont know what came over me! Please ignore what I just said, but I really meant it!" As she finished her words, Anubis once again paused after hearing what she just said. She had no idea what was going on, and all of the thoughts she buried in her heart seemed to be pouring out. Her ears began to twitch while her tail looked like it was trying to free itself from her body. She was incredibly embarrassed by what had just happened, not once, but twice. Vahn was still shocked, but after realizing the cause of her strange behavior, he quickly dismissed the original order he had sent. He now knew that some of his orders hadsting effects, and he worried that he may have done something to severely damage Anubiss Loyalty. Interestingly enough, instead of going down, it had actually increased to 99. Vahn was confused as he stared at the fl.u.s.tered goddess who looked like she was trying to shrink into the smallest form she could. He never expected her to have such a reaction to embarrassment. At this point, Nanu was doing her best to look away from the scene that was ying out in front of her. If it werent for the fact that Vahn was the Alpha and her Master, she would have lost all the faith she had in her Goddess. However, when thinking about having her Master bind her with a chain, she couldnt help but slowly wag her tail from side to side just like Anubis. As a chienthrope from the Southern Tribe, the idea of a hierarchy and being somewhat submissive to those in a higher position was deeply embedded in her heart. She felt like the attention of her Master would raise her own value, and she would be able to brag about it to the others. Anubis seemed to recover a bit and tried regting her breathing before fixing her posture and resuming her normally elegant and poised manner. She gave Vahn a gentle smile before bowing politely and saying, "Please forgive my verbal slip Master. I only wished to express my willingness to assist you in understanding the effects of the chains." Vahn was impressed with how quickly she was able to recover and even more so by how easily she seemed to be able to put the matter behind her. He promised to do something to make it up to herter since it was his fault she had been subjected to such an embarrassing plight. For now, he still wanted to test the [Enkidu] that she had been holding onto for a while. It seemed to have no effect just being held by a goddess, so he wasnt sure what to do to activate it. As Vahn was thinking how to bind Anubis with the chains, he felt a pulse pass through [Enkidu] and it broke free of Anubiss hands and seemed toe alive as it danced through the air. While both Vahn and Anubis were surprised by the sudden lively chain, the chains itself seemed to coil around in the air surrounding Anubis as it continued extending from Vahns hand and rapidly draining his energy reserves. Vahn began to panic as he stared at Anubis who had been encircled by the swirling golden chains. He tried willing [Enkidu] to stop, but it seemed intent on performing its duty as the chains froze in the air and began to contract. Anubiss eyes opened wide at the sight and she felt an incredibly dangerous feeling well up from the very core of her soul. She felt like, if the chains closed in on her, she would never be able to escape. Time seemed toe to a crawl as Vahn stared in horror at the sight as it was unfolding before him. He shouted inside his mind with as much force as he could manage while a cold sensation exploded out of his mind, ("DONT YOU DARE HARM HER!"). The hatred Vahn felt at [Enkidu] and his own actions seemed to shatter reality itself as all color drained from the world around him. The pulse passed through [Enkidu] and, instead of rapidly closing in on Anubis, the chains slowed to a crawl and gently entangled her figure. The fear that had overwhelmed Anubis previously seemed to fade in an instant as the chains gently embraced her body. Anubis was surprised by the warm feeling of the chain and was curious at how metal was able to make her feelfortable when it should feel much more restrictive. Seeing Vahn release a heavy and relieved sigh, Anubis said, "I dont feel any different Master. If anything, the chains are actuallyfortable..." Realizing how her words could be interpreted, Anubiss eyes widened again and she suddenly wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. Vahn didnt seem to catch the innuendo contained in her words as he asked with a bit of relief and a tinge of curiosity, "Can you try using your Divinity? It doesnt have to be arge amount, just try activating it." Anubis nodded her head before standing still for a few seconds. After a while, she tilted her head in a confused manner after realizing nothing had happened. Even though she had activated her Divinity, there was no release of aura or shaking in the atmosphere. After realizing what this meant, Anubiss confusion turned to shock as she picked up a segment of the golden chains with a reverent and awe-filled look. It was like she had found the most beautiful treasure in the world, and it made Vahn a bit curious, so he asked, "Did you notice anything?" Anubis looked toward him as he asked the question, and for some reason, she had a very big smile on her face as she said, "I cant activate my Divinity at all! Its like all my power ispletely sealed." Vahn was satisfied with her answer, but he wasnt sure why she seemed to be excited at having her Divinity sealed away. Before he could ask, Anubis motioned Nanu over with her hands with an anticipatory look on her face. Nanu, though confused, didnt hesitate at all as she trotted over to Anubis. She came to a stop directly in front of her and waited for Anubiss order. Anubis still had a smile on her face as she said, "Take off your blouse, I want to try and update your Status Board real fast." Vahn was surprised by Anubiss actions, but it didnt seem like Nanu shared his shock as she immediately removed the ck sleeveless blouse she had been wearing. Though he had seen her figure before in the bath, Vahn was a bit dazed at seeing someone undressing in the middle of a ce like his workshop. Though her b.r.e.a.s.ts were rather small, only marginallyrger than Tionas, she was wearing a form-fitting ck sports bra with golden embroidery. After removing her blouse, Nanu turned around and Anubis quickly rolled up the back of the stretchy fabric. As she was standing between Vahn and Anubis, Nanu was staring directly toward him with her b.r.e.a.s.ts exposed. Though Vahn felt a little fl.u.s.tered, Nanu seemedpletely indifferent to being seen, so he managed to keep his expression from changing. He remembered that, as the Alpha, she had an inherent respect for him, and he didnt want to damage her image of him. Vahn just continued to hold eye contact with Nanu who stared at his face unblinkingly as Anubis tried updating her status. After a few failed attempts, Anubiss smile grew wider as she looked toward Vahn with a strange and almost passionate gaze. Vahn was curious, but without having to ask Anubis exined, "These chains seem topletely restrict the effects of a gods soul on a mortal body. As long as you wrap up a god or goddess with these chains, theyll be just a normal man or woman." Vahn nodded his head at her exnation, but he couldnt understand why it seemed so interesting to her. Anubis smiled widely and exined in a manner that even Vahn could understand, "It means, if you tie up Lady Hephaestuss arms when you have s.e.x, you might be able to get her pregnant. Im really interested in seeing what is going to happen in the future. It seems like I chose my Master well~!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: There are no absolutes in the world,Godhand Learns a Useful Technique,Anubim, because there is no S in Anubis) Chapter 137 - Routine

Chapter 137 - Routine

Anubiss words blew like a gentle breeze through Vahns empty mind. He just stared at the smiling goddess standing behind Nanu with a nk expression. When Nanu rolled down her bra, Vahns brain started working again and he imagined the image of Hephaestus with a big belly smiling at him with a loving expression. He could feel his heart begin to beat powerfully in his chest and even the eternal me seemed to be excited by the prospect as it danced around. While Vahn was stuck in his thoughts, Anubis giggled and said, "Youll have to get a lot stronger and build your influence a bit before that. The moment other gods and goddesses find out you can i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e goddesses, youll have a great deal of trouble. Since its almost impossible for a goddess to get pregnant, there are several that would jump at the chance. Many of us have lived for several million years, and that is something that is hidden deep within the hearts of many." Vahn considered Anubiss words and he locked eyes with the smiling goddess. He could see a bit of longing in her eyes as she stared back at him. Vahn tried to imagine what it was like to live for millions of years and desiring children of your own, but never being able to have any by virtue of your existence. It was this reason why many gods and goddesses called their groups Familia and the members children. Remembering the loneliness in Hephaestuss vision, Vahn assumed it could be very simr to how other gods and goddesses might feel. While Vahn was stuck in deep contemtion, Anubis smiled and gave a polite bow before excusing herself. She could see that Vahn was seriously considering difficult matters and knew it was best to let him work through this kind of thing on his own. The burden, if he chose to bear it, was more than almost anyone would be able to bear, so, if he couldnt make the decision on his own, he would likely be full of regrets in the future. Anubis, remembering the beauty of Vahns soul, had a bit of anticipation seeded inside her after experiencing the use of [Enkidu] though. After Anubis left, Nanu was left standing in front of Vahn without any orders. She stood there in her ck sports bra and watched the contemtive face of her Master with a bit of intrigue. Nanu also knew that it was almost impossible for the gods to have children, but it seems her Master wasnt bound by such a restriction. She could feel a powerful pride well up inside of her as her respect for Vahn reached a new extreme. Once the others returned, she would recount the events and believed they too would feel the same way. Vahn was in a strange state of mind as he imagined himself surrounded by several girls withrge bellies. Now that the seed had been imnted in his mind by Anubis, he pictured images of all the characters he knew from the manga with children, and not just any children, but his own. The thought made something well up deep within his being and he could feel an excitement overwhelming him. Vahn knew he would have to be much stronger to make that vision a reality, but knew that if he made the effort, he would one day stand at the apex of this world, surrounded by a family of his own making. Breaking free from his dazed state, he saw the young figure of Nanu staring at him with a reverent expression on her face. Seeing that she was still wearing just a sports bra, Vahns brows raised a bit and he said, "Go ahead and put your blouse back on. We have a lot of work to do." Nanu, hearing his voice, did a salute with her right fist over her heart as she shouted, "Yes, Master!" Vahn watched the small girl excitedly put her shirt back on while her tail danced around like a whirlwind. He always found the expressiveness of a chienthropes tail to be very adorable so he couldnt help but smile at the sight as he started preparing materials as well. After everything was ready, Vahn started mass producing ingots with the assistance of Nanu. He was surprised at how capable she was but noticed she had difficulties working any of the stronger metals. Her sess rate remained around 50-55% when she was handling anything stronger than steel. As the forge wasrge enough for multiple people to work at the same time, Vahn continued to guide her while he created his own ingots. With the assistance of the eternal me and his control over fire, he had a much easier time than most people, so he was able to divert his attention a bit while still maintaining a 90% sess rate. The longer they worked, the more reverent Nanus eyes became as she saw how capable Vahn was when it came to producing his ingots. He was able to use some kind of golden me with a crimson core that allowed him to shape the metal with ease, so much so that he was able to guide her at the same time. Her tail continued to beat back and forth at her sides as she listened to each of his words like they were some kind of sacred decree. Because of this, her rate ofpletion had increased from the mid 40s to the mid 50s with just a few casual words. Since Vahn had wanted to create a personal stockpile of ingots to use for the future, the two spent the entire day producing only ingots. Vahn was able toplete one every 5-7 minutes, so by the end of the day, he had 84pleted ingots while his young apprentice had produced around forty. Vahn was impressed with the dedication she showed, as even when her skin had begun to glisten with a uniformyer of sweat, she never showed any indication of giving up. If she continued with this degree of passion, Vahn felt like she might even be another [Master Smith] in the next ten or twenty years. Just as they were wrapping things up, Anubis entered the workshop and looked at the two soot-covered people with a gentle smile on her face. She informed Vahn that the other children had arrived and asked when he would like to have dinner. Vahn contemted for a moment before saying, "Well have dinner in the next hour or so. For now, I imagine everyone is a bit dirty from the days activities, so we should take a bath first." Vahn had seen the ckened face and the messy clothing of Nanu, and he assumed he wasnt in a much better state. Anubis gave a polite bow before returning to tell the children Vahns orders. Vahn and Nanu headed towards the bath and started undressing in the changing room. Though he didnt pay it any mind, Vahn noticed that any inhibitions that Nanu had in the past seemed to have faded away. Ever since he had pinned her with an arrow in the dungeon, she always had a bit of fear toward him, but now it seems to have fadedpletely. Instead of changing on the opposite side of the room, she stood not far from his position and quickly removed her clothing before standing at the side. The other children, apanied by Anubis, entered and started undressing as well while Anubis stopped next to Vahn and did the same. Though he didnt gawk like the first time, Vahn couldnt help but let his eyes wander a bit to the beautiful exotic goddess. Anubis noticed his gaze and changed her actions a bit like she was trying to appeal to Vahn. Vahns brows raised slightly, but he didnt remark about her actions as he waited for everyone to prepare before entering the bath. Once everyone had entered, Vahn was surprised by a change that he hadnt expected. While Anubis had once again sat next to him to wash his back, Nanu actually sat near as well and volunteered to help wash Vahn. The other two girls, excluding Anubis, seemed surprised by her actions, but Vahn allowed her to do as she pleased. He could see she had a serious look in her eyes, and he didnt think he should refuse her offer given his role as the Alpha. Vahn got to experience the strange sensation of having a mature beauty wash his back while a cute young girl fumbled around with a sponge on his chest and abdomen. Though he didnt have a reaction, Vahn felt a bit of excitement at the two conflicting touches. When they were done, Anubis sat next to Vahn while Nanu went to join the other two girls. Curiously, even though Maat, the prideful young girl, was the leader of the females, she seemed somewhat deferential to Nanu now and even helped wash her back. After the bath, the group sat down and Vahn noticed that, once again, things had changed a bit. Everyone seemed to have shift positions by a bit and now Nanu sat to the left of Anubis while she sat next to him. Vahn noticed that, though it wasnt his intention, the hierarchy in the group seemed to have changed a bit when he allowed Nanu to wash his body. He noticed that the bob-cut girl acted a lot more confidently and even Rasui, who sat to her left, gave her a bit of respect. Vahn realized he needed to put more consideration into his actions for the future, or else there would be chaos in the group in the future. When dinner was over, all the children cleaned up while Anubis and Vahn watched over them from afar. Anubis, to his left as always, spoke in a gentle and humorous tone, "It looks like the events this morning influenced Nanu quite a bit. She seems to consider her role as your assistant more akin to the position of disciple. Now, even though she isnt a leader in the groups, her position is almost equal to my own." Vahn was surprised by her words and gave her a curious look which caused her to continue, "Because my position is the servant of my Master, while hers is directly beneath you as a disciple. If I wasnt a goddess, I imagine she would have tried to keep me from washing your body in the bath." Anubisughed with squinted eyes while staring at the direction of Nanu amongst the other children. Vahn frowned a bit as he also looked toward Nanu. She was previously a somewhat shy and distant girl, perhaps due to the events on the 18th floor, but now she showed confidence in all her actions. Since none of the other children opposed her, she had taken the role of leading the group as they continued cleaning the dishes. Perhaps because she was trying to prove herself, she had the group finish everything much faster than normal. Though Vahn suspected it might upset the other children, they just looked at Nanu in a respectful manner andpleted the assigned tasks withoutint. When they finished cleaning everything up, Nanu trotted over before stopped in front of Vahn and saying, "Everything is clean, Master!" Nanu had reced Rasui for the report, but unlike him, she bowed forward slightly in a simr manner as Anubis. Seeing the twitching ears of Nanu, Vahn quickly understood what she expected as he gave a sidewards nce at the smiling Anubis. Reaching out his hand, he began to pet the girls head which seemed to be a trigger to awaken her tail as it started swirling around with a tremendous force. After he removed his hand, Nanu gave a final salute before returning to the other children who seemed to have developed an even greater respect for her. The group then split up and went to perform their other duties or rest in their rooms. Vahn was also rather tired, so he made his way to his bedroom while Anubis apanied him. Once he got to his door, he noticed Anubis standing outside as she had done previously. Vahn could see her tail wagging back and forth slightly while she looked at him with a hint of anticipation. Vahnughed while he stretched out his hand and began petting her ears for a bit while saying, "Good night, Anubis." After he was done, he removed his hand before walking into his room and closing the door. Anubis watched his back with a smile before sighing as the door closed. Her ears drooped a bit as she dragged her feet to her room next door. Though she hadnt said anything, Anubis had a slight hope that Vahn would want to continue his actions from earlier. Being bound by the [Enkidu] wasfortable, and she wanted to help Vahn better understand its uses. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sad doge,Nanu takes charge,Vahn actually forged stuff!?) Chapter 138 - Premium Gacha

Chapter 138 - Premium Gacha

Once Vahn was in his room, he sat down on his bed and gave a short sigh. He had seen the expectation in Anubiss eyes, but he wasnt willing to go any further at this time. The words of Hephaestus had appeared in his mind the moment he started petting her ears, and he didnt want to let down the red-haired goddess that had shown him so much love. Though Vahn might interact with other girls, he didnt want to be the type to betray the trust of the ones he was already with. Right now, Vahn had to worry about his date with Eina, the aftereffects of his rendezvous with Tiona and Ais, as well as various other things. Creating friction between Anubis and Hephaestus wasnt on the top of his to-do list. With that thought in mind, Vahn opened his system and looked at the information of the new function he had obtained recently, the gacha function. Right now, the function had two options avable to him, each called standard gacha and premium gacha respectively. Vahn learned that he could use the standard gacha with just OP, while the premium gacha only epted tickets that could be obtained if he fights strong enemies. ording to Sis, the way the gacha functioned worked was by allowing him to choose a specific type of item, such as healing, strengthening, weapons. armor, essories, etc. After he chose the category, he could put in 10,000 OP into the system and it would give him ANY item within the category regardless of price. This meant that Vahn had a chance of getting items that cost several million OP, but it also had a much greater chance of giving him something worse much less. Vahn wasnt too interested in potentially wasting away his OP, so he put the standard gacha to the back of his mind while learning about the Premium Gacha. It worked very simrly to the standard gacha except for the fact that the items were always useful for his current soul tier. This was an incredible surprise for Vahn, as the shop didnt list the use of items and it was a bit of a gamble whenever he bought something. At least now he could guarantee the item would be practical for his current strength level. The problem was, right now he only had the 10+1 premium gacha pull ticket, and it required him to use the ticket on a single category. While Vahn was lost in thought, Sis spoke out in his mind, (*Since it will be difficult to exin where weapons and armore from, you should focus on consumables that can increase your strength. Just like the body strengthening liquid you used when you first arrived, there are limitless items within the system that can empower your body and strengthen your foundation. For equipment, youre already in cahoots with the most prolific forging god in the entire record. Im sure if you ask, she would be more than willing to help you out.*) Sis words were true, and Vahn knew that, if he asked, Hephaestus may very well forge him an entire set of equipment. The fact she spent more than 2BV just to secure him materials made this painfully aware to Vahn. However, though it might be the best course of action, Vahn couldnt agree to take advantage of her kindness when he could rely on himself to improve. He had learned that equipment wasnt the most important factor to strength, as his use of [Rakshasa Body] had almost invalidated his need for it entirely. Vahn now understood that equipment would always be secondary to personal strength, and he even felt like that was the lesson The Path had wanted him to learn when it gave him the quest in the first ce. Following Siss advice, Vahn used his 10+1 draw ticket and he heard a loud sound ying in his mind as a giant wooden wheel studded with gold started spinning in his consciousness. The wheel continued to spin, and every revolution made Vahn feel a bit more excited as it slowly began spitting out orbs from a hole in the center of the wheel. After it spat out 11 orbs, they each started cracking open with a rainbow-colored light as 11 different items that could increase his strength popped up. Vahn noticed that most of the items seemed to have a white aura surrounding them and they looked rather inpared to the two which had a resplendent rainbow color. As Vahn focused his intent on the items, their use appeared in his mind and he smiled after reading the descriptions. The [Bone Tempering Pill], [Mental Expansion Liquid], and other items had very obvious functions just based on their names, and they would provide direct benefits to his parameters. However, it was the two rainbow items that stood out which caught his interest and made arge smile appear on his face. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Magia Erebea Manual] Rank: SS Use: A manual detailing the forbidden technique developed by a forsaken queen in a foreign world. Comprehension of this skills allows the user to absorb elemental attacks and infuse it into their body to increase strength. Mastery allows the user to embody the elemental properties of the skills and achieve an immortal body. [Mantra of Eternity] Rank: SSS Use: A record of the first words heard at the beginning of eternity. Comprehension of the words increases the spiritual strength of the user without limit. In the vastness of Eternity, there were never any limits to begin with. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though the two techniques would be incredibly difficult to learn, just practicing them would greatly increase his strength over time. Vahn immediately pulled out the two items from his inventory and noticed that the [Magia Erebea Manual] was actually a ck orb while the [Mantra of Eternity] was a strange piece of white jade, unlike anything Vahn had ever seen before. The moment the jadended in his palm, it dissolved into a liquid and Vahn heard a series of nine words sound out in his mind. Unfortunately, no matter how much he focused his mind, he was unable to make out what the words were. Interestingly enough, they seemed to silently repeat in his mind without ceasing, so Vahn assumed he would be able toprehend it with time. Vahn then took the ck orb into his hand and stared at it curiously for a few minutes before Sis sighed in his mind and said, "You need to focus your intent into the orb. The technique should be recorded inside, but even I dont know what will happen when it activates." Vahn nodded his head and considered Siss words. After weighing various factors for around ten minutes, Vahn took a deep breath and focused his intent on the orb without any further hesitation. Though he didnt always understand The Path, Vahn trusted that it had never done anything to harm him since he obtained it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- After Vahns intent entered the orb, he opened his eyes and found himself in a strange space. The ground below him seemed to be an endless white in that stretched out beyond the horizon, but the sky above was pitch ck without a single light or star to be seen. Vahn felt a bit unnerved by the strange space, almost like he was an inconsequential being in the vastness of this ck and white world. Vahn assumed he was inside the orb, or at least his spiritual sense had entered into it. Though his body felt real, Vahn was able to vaguely sense that his body was closer to a projection whichcked any real substance. While he was inspecting himself, the voice of a woman filled with disgust, intrigue, and a profound loneliness sounded out in the space from all directions. "How are you able toe here, boy?" Since the voice appeared from every direction, Vahn didnt know where he should look as he was unable to see the source of the voice. Assuming the voice was likely the forsaken queen mentioned by the system, Vahn gave a polite bow to the empty space and said, "Forgive my intrusion. I obtained a strange ck orb and tried infusing my intent into it. Afterward, I awoke in this space." The voice spoke out in a deadpan manner, but Vahn could still feel the sadness dripping from each of her words, "Perhaps a legacy left behind by my future self...very well, Ill y along for now. I assume youvee here to learn my ultimate technique?" As the voice ended, the appearance of a tall and beautiful blonde woman appeared in front of Vahn. She was wearing a beautiful ck dress and had sad blue eyes as she looked at Vahn in an expressionless fashion. After looking him up and down, the girl said in a somewhat confused manner, "I can sense a powerful magical energy in your body, but it doesnt seem to be from any system Ive ever seen. What kind of magic can you use?" As a being that had existed for thousands of years, the woman was interested in the strange magicing from the boys body. Vahn nodded his head and said politely, "Other than a beast transformation magic, I have never learned any other forms of magic. Most of my energy is used to maintain my domain and to amplify my skills and body." The beautiful woman nodded her head and muttered, "So youre the type that relies on body enhancing and transformation...maybe youll be suited for my magic after all?" Hearing her words, Vahn couldnt help but smile with a bit of excitement building up inside of him. However, before he could celebrate, the woman waved her hand and Vahn felt a powerful surge of cold energy epass the area around him. He immediately expanded his domain and transformed into his Bih form to evade the lethal attack. Where he stood previously, there was now a gigantic ice pir more than 20m tall and 8m wide. It emitted a fierce cold that caused all of Vahns instincts to trigger warning bells in his mind. Suddenly, Vahn spun around mid-air and tried to kick the figure that had appeared behind him in an instant. The woman effortlessly caught his attack with her delicate hand before saying, "Interesting. This domain of yours seems very powerful, and that transformation seems to boost your speed." As she spoke she spun Vahn with a terrifying force and threw his body like a bullet into the stark white ground. Vahns body mmed heavily into the ground and caused a crater to form in the previously wless surface. From above, he could hear the now cold voice of the woman as she stared down at him and said, "Do your best to survive. If Im not satisfied with your efforts, not only will you not learn my technique, but youll never escape from this space for as long as you live. Its been a long time since Ive had apanion to talk to, so dont die too quickly." As she spoke, she began to formrge spears of ice in the air without any chanting or movement. Vahn saw the sight and felt fear begin to emerge from deep inside his mind. The woman was able to effortlessly float in the air and use incredibly powerful ice magic without any prior indicator. Not only that, but her strength and speed far outssed his current state, even while pushing his form and domain to the limit. Vahn had to maintain his focus or he wouldnt even be able to react when she made her attacks. Though Vahn had met actual gods and goddesses, this was the first time he felt awed by the power and presence of another person. The blond-haired beauty stood like an untouchable goddess in the air as a blue light radiated from her body and spread out into the surrounding area like a divine aura. Everything within her icy domain seemed within her control, and even Vahn felt his body pressured by the force. If not for the eternal me beating in his chest, he feared he may have been frozen solid on the spot. The spears of iceunched at such speeds that the air shattered around them as the ruthlessly pierced toward Vahns location. He managed to react in time and evade the attacks, but he could feel frost begin to build on his body as he continued pushing himself further beyond his limits. Seeing him dodge another attack, the womans brows raised a bit as she said, "Your domain is even able to resist mine? I had expected you to be an ice sculpture by now, but you seem to be unaffected by the suppression of my magic power. Very interesting..." After she finished speaking, Vahn lost sight of her figure as she teleported into his blind spot. It wasnt sped, which he might have been able to deal with, but actual teleportation. Vahn had never dealt with such a technique and he was powerless as he felt a powerful energy pierce through his body. He coughed out a mouthful of blood onto the previously wless body of the woman as he stared at the magical sword piercing through his body. The woman seemed entirely unconcerned by the boy dangling from her sword as she supported his body in the air with the de. When he coughed a mouthful of blood on her body, she used her free hand to wipe up a bit and, in front of the pained and confused expression of Vahn, licked his blood off her finger. As soon as she swallowed the blood, her cold expression immediately faded as she looked incredulously at Vahn who was rapidly losing strength. Just as she was about to question him, Vahns body underwent a change and he turned into his turtle form before shattering the magical sword in his gut. As he started falling toward the ground, he pulled out his bow and without hesitation used 10,000 OP to buy a [Yi] arrow which he fired at the currently surprised woman. Though she was going to swat away the arrow at first, the womans expression changed once again as she tried to initiate her teleportation and evade. Unfortunately, it was like space was locked around her and she had to meet the deadly arrowhead on using her magical energy. Vahn collided with the ground hard before bounding onto his feet and notching a second [Yi] arrow. Though he had entered this orb with the intention of learning the skill, it seemed like the woman was intent on actually killing him. Though his current body wasnt his physical body, Vahn knew that if his spiritual energy were dispersed forcibly, hed likely end up brain dead or in aa once again. After the ck gravitational field dispersed, Vahn was surprised by the appearance of the woman. Though he hadnt expected to kill her with the arrow, he was surprised to find that, other than parts of her beautiful dress, she remained entirely unharmed as she looked down on him with a mixture of contempt and intrigue. In her same cold voice, the woman asked, "Are you really human?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Getting Strong Aint Easy,Vahn in Danger,Gacha is Dangerous) Chapter 139 - Rage

Chapter 139 - Rage

As it wasnt the first time he had heard a simr question, Vahn wasnt shocked when she asked if he was human. With still holding his bow fully drawn, he asked, "Why do you ask that when youre focused on trying to kill me?" Since she had yet to begin attacking again, Vahn didnt want to be the one to start the fight back up. He was already injured and hadnt yet recovered his strength from the severe beating he had received. The woman squinted her eyes and asked Vahn a question without answering his, "Do you think, if I wanted to kill you, youd still be alive right now?" Her words sent a chill down Vahns spine, and he prepared to loose the arrow as her hand raised. Though it looked like a slow motion in Vahns eyes, shepletely raised her hand in less time than it took for him to release the arrow. Opening her mouth slightly, the woman uttered, "Nivis Casus." The area more than 300m surrounding him suddenly exploded with a massive amount of ice and snow. Vahn felt his body enveloped by the cold elements as they started freezing his limbs even against the resistance of the eternal me. He couldnt breathe as the biting cold slowly tore through his body and seemed intent on freezing his entire being. Any hopes he had against the womanpletely faded and Vahn felt a powerful fear as well as rage building up inside his body. Just as he was about to s.u.mb to the god, he felt a palm press against his chest and a powerful force sending him outside the area of effect of the magical spell. He slid along the ground for hundreds of meters before finallying to a stop. A light shed, and the woman was standing over his body while looking down at him with contempt in her eyes. She asked, "Do you still believe I was trying to kill you?" The fear hadnt faded from Vahns mind, but he could feel the rage continuing to build as his blood slowly started glowing with a crimson light. The woman seemed dissatisfied by his actions and tried infusing more ice elements in the surroundings to force him to surrender. She spoke in a cold tone, "Give up, boy. Even if youre upset by my treatment, you need to be a lot stronger if you want to stand against me. If you keep up your current actions, I really will kill you." Vahn felt that her words were true, and he knew she wasnt trying to kill him, but the fact he was being tossed around at her leisurepounded the fear he had felt when he thought he was going to die. Unable to suppress his rising emotions, Vahn transitioned from his turtle form into that of the vermillion sparrow. The moment his body change, the ice elements in the surroundings were dispersed and he sent a massive pir of mes toward the beautiful girl who looked at him with a face full of scorn. A gigantic magical circle formed in the air between the two and Vahns pir collided against the light blue icy structure with an intense force. The woman frowned her face because she could see that the mes were slowly eroding away at her defensive spell. She teleported away just as the barrier broke and scorched the area where she had been standing for nearly 30m. Just as she finished the teleportation and was inspecting the damage, a golden sheen lit up the air around her, and her eyes widened in shock after seeing the resplendent figure of [Enkidu] surrounding her. She immediately tried to teleport away but found that the space in the area had been locked and she was unable to move outside of the chains containment. She turned her eyes to the source of the chains and saw Vahn, wreathed in mes, holding his palm toward her where [Enkidu] had emerged. He had a fierce look in his eyes as he pulled the chain and the sphere around the woman quickly closed. The woman immediately erected an omnidirectional barrier, and it was able to resist the coiling force of [Enkidu], but she noticed that the shield wouldntst long. She started chanting a spell that resonated in the air and seemed to be bringing the temperature of the entire space down. At this point, Vahn had already overused his energy with the use of the vermillion sparrow transformation and [Enkidu], but he refused to go down before he could teach the contemptuous woman a lesson. Vahn didnt care if people looked down on him, but he wouldnt allow himself to be repressed to such an extent by someone that he didnt know. Blood started to drain from Vahns nose and mouth as he refused to pass out while tightening the chains of [Enkidu]. Though it took a lot of energy to produce them, it didnt take much to sustain them. If he was able to seal the woman, he would be able to buy enough time to heal his body and escape. Vahn pulled out a senzu bean and tossed it into his mouth, and it seemed to prevent his body from breaking down for a brief moment. Unfortunately, though it was able to heal his wounds and stamina, it couldnt prevent the destruction he was imposing on his own body. The woman could feel her barrier beginning to break, but she paid no attention to it as she finallypleted her incantation. She spread her arms out wide as she shouted, "Kosmike Katastrofe!!!". The darkness from the endless ck sky seemed to drop on the white floor around Vahn, and he could feel the entire temperature in the area immediately drop several hundred degrees. Vahn noticed that his breath seemed to stoppletely as his limbs, while still wreathed in mes, began turning into ice. He could feel his heart beating powerfully in his chest at it tried to resist the biting chill, but it was only able to dy the effects and not prevent them in the slightest. By the time the cold had reached up his arms and legs, Vahn was no longer able to focus his mind. The only thing he felt was a powerful and biting cold that consumed all his thoughts. Fortunately, the spell didnt cause him to feel any pain, and Vahn slowly lost consciousness as his torso fell to the ground. the chains he had summoned dispersed while the woman looked at him with a bit of fear in her eyes. Right now, Vahn was missing his arms and legs due to the effect of her spell, since she had only targeted his limbs. She was able to determine that the chains were only intended to seal her, so she didnt intend to take his life just because she was a little annoyed. She teleported next to his body and stood in deep contemtion as she watched him slowly begin to fade away into nothingness. Since Vahn had lost consciousness in the space, he would suffer a bit of damage, but it wouldnt be anything a good nights sleep couldnt recover. He would wake up in the morning with a headache, but before the day ended he would be fine. She wondered if the boy would return again in the future as she looked up in the empty ck sky overhead. --- Vahn awoke the next morning with a powerful headache as he raised his body up from the floor. He had used the orb on the edge of the bed and then lost consciousness when he put his intent into it which caused him to fall off the bed. Staring at the ck orb that had rolled away on the floor, he moved forward an picked it up while inspecting its pitch ck surface. It was eerily reminiscent of the sky in the world inside the orb, and Vahn wondered about the origins of the woman that had easily defeated him. Storing the orb into his inventory, Vahn resolved to continue trying to fight her again in the future. If the skill contained in the orb had anything to do with the magic she used, it would be a powerful asset to have for the future. Since she didnt seem intent on killing him, Vahn wouldnt give up after a minor setback. It also gave him the chance to fight against a much stronger opponent, and though his body hadnt been able to grow, his magic stat had increased by a fair amount during the battle. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:3(3) -Power: 1906+(I14)->(I29) -Endurance: 2221+(I44)->(H105) -Dexterity: 1807+(I11)->(I52) -Agility: 1959+(I21)->(I33) -Magic: 3562+(G251)->(E498) Total:11455+(341)->(717) Soul Tier 2 (Hero Soul) [Karma]: 3,103 [OP]: 81,309 [Valis]: 3,261,630 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- When he fought inside the space, he was able to use all of his abilities, even his system, but since his body was a spiritual entity, it didnt have a big effect on his stats. If not for [Rakshasa Body], Vahn wouldnt have experienced such arge growth in his physical parameters at all. If Vahn was able to keep up with this type of training in the future, he felt like he could greatly increase hisbat potential in the future. He had long realized that his domain and [Will of the Emperor] were based on magic, and they had a powerful influence on all of his skills and parameters. If he could increase his magic stat, it would enhance all of his parameters in the future and give him more control over his other Innate skills. After taking a potion to help recover his mental fatigue, Vahn made his way out of the room and came across the familiar figure of Anubis. He wasnt surprised to see her at all, but he noticed she had changed her usual clothing. Instead of the regal attire she normally wore, Anubis now had on slightly more revealing clothes. She had on an intricately designed ck and gold dress that revealed her abdomen and was cut deeply on the sides to allow her long, olive-brown, legs to peak out from the sides. Around her neck, she had a beautiful ne made of gold that was seated with green and red gems that only vaguely concealed the deep V cut of the top of her dress. Vahn could clearly see her cleavage contrasted by the ck dress and the gold jewelry. Anubis had stood patiently with a smile on her face as Vahn inspected her new clothing. Though she wouldnt wear such an outfit outside, as long as she was at home she wanted to make Vahn pay more attention to her. Her ceremonial attire made her look like an actual goddess from the Southern Sands, and it was very eye-catching with how much skin it revealed. After Vahn stared at her for nearly a minute, she bowed forward slightly and said, "Good morning, Master." When she bowed, Vahn saw the golden ornaments around her neck dangle slightly and he could clearly see down the cleavage of her dress. Though it hugged her figure, whenever she leaned forward, he hung from her body slightly and created a captivating view. Vahn was in a bit of a daze as he habitually reached out his hand and started stroking her ears. In a somewhatcent sounding voice, he said, "Good morning Anubis...I see youve changed outfits." While enjoying Vahns petting, Anubisughed a bit and said with her head still lowered, "I wanted to wear something that would please Master. What do you think, does it suit me?" As she asked the question, Anubis lifted her head and did a cutesy pirouette that contrasted her usual noble demeanor. The various pieces of jewelry she was wearing made beautiful sounds as they shed against each other during the movement. However, what caught Vahns attention the most was the areas where Anubiss tail was. Instead of the normal cut cloth that would allow a chienthrope to wear clothing without restricting their tail, Anubiss current clothing actually hung under the base of the tail instead of allowing it to pass through. Vahn hadnt realized it from the front, but almost her entire back was uncovered, and he could vaguely see the area where her back began to form into the shape of her butt. For the first time, Vahn got a close-up view of how the tail was connected to the body, and he almost instinctively stretched out his hand to touch it. Anubis had wagged her butt a bit while swaying her tail and watching Vahns reaction. She had always been paying attention to his interactions with Hephaestus, and she knew he likely had an appreciation for womens butts. She also knew that his eyes often wandered to the ears and tails of herself and the children, so she suspected he also had an inclination towards chienthropes and other demi-human races. Seeing his hand reach out like he wanted to touch her butt, Anubis had a yful smile on her face as she said in a slow and sensuous manner, "Go ahead...Master." Her words were like a spell to Vahn, and his hand slowly made its way forward toward the base of her tail. Unfortunately for her, when her tail began to wag due to the excitement, Vahn was snapped out of his dazed stand and pulled his hand away with a slight blush on his cheeks. "Lets not keep the children waiting." When his words finished, Vahn started making his way down the corridor with Anubis looking at his back in a somewhat sad manner. She released a quiet sigh that Vahn was unable to hear as she fell into step with him while standing at his left. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn gets wrekt,Sad Pupper,Ice Queen) Chapter 140 - Forging

Chapter 140 - Forging

Other than a few changes in the hierarchy, with Nanu now being Vahns disciple, everything else went without a hitch. The children were still rapidly learning the forms for CQC and they had even begun to spar using the techniques. Unlike the wild and instinct based attacks they used in the past, they were no focusing on form and adapting to their opponents. Interestingly enough, when the children had split into pairs to spar, Nanu came to him before bowing respectfully and assuming abat stance. Vahn nodded his head and didnt refuse her request, and slowly guided her through the movements. She listened to his words very seriously and put so much effort into her movements that she was covered in beads of sweat and panting heavily after just a half hour of training. While the other children were also working hard, none of them attacked with the ferocity that Vahn saw in Nanu. He was worried she was going to push herself too far and thought to advise her against trying so hard. Strangely, when Vahn had that thought, he realized he would be contradicting himself. He had just told them the day before to set their goals high and push themselves beyond their limits. Vahn realized that, though he believed in his own words, it could be dangerous if he didnt guide the children properly. Luckily, he had plenty of support skill to help them recover if they became injured when training in excess. Almost as if his thoughts were prophetic, it wasnt long before Nanu copsed to the ground after trying to perform an acrobatic twist in the air while aiming at Vahns head. Though she was very flexible, her body wasnt prepared for such a strenuous movement while her muscles were already taxed. Though she managed tond the kick against Vahns guard, when shended on the ground on her pivot foot, she scrunched over into a ball while holding her hands against her ribs. Vahn felt a bit fl.u.s.tered at the sudden change and thought that her form on the ground looked very pitiful. Her tail had curled up while her ears hung low as she clenched her ribs with a pained and frustrated expression on her face. When Vahn got closer to her, she uttered through pained gasps, "Im sorry...Master." Vahn released a sigh as he removed her hands to inspect the damage. Vahn ced his palm on her ribs and started channeling [Hands of Nirvana] to quickly disperse the pain. Within a few seconds, the pain on her face faded away and she rolled from her side onto her back while looking up at Vahn with a reverential look. Vahn was happy to have helped her, but before he could help her up, she did something that made his brain pulse with shock. With her tail curling up toward her abdomen from in between her legs, Nanu rolled up her blouse and revealed her stomach to Vahn. //Nanu wishes to be your subordinate: Y/N?// Nanu looked at Vahn with anticipation in her eyes as all the other children stopped their sparring and stared at the sight with various different expressions. Vahn was confused by the sudden series of events, and Anubis approached from the side and exined in his ear. "In the Southern Tribe,ying on your back and showing your stomach is a sign of submission. If you rub her stomach, shell be your subordinate until you abandon her or she dies." After hearing Anubiss words, Vahn couldnt help but release a sigh in his mind as he looked down at the girl holding up her shirt while staring at him with shining eyes. Though he didnt mind having more subordinates, his experiences with Anubis had led him to have various doubts about subordinating sentient and intelligent creatures like the various races on Eden. While dismissing the notification in his mind, Vahn extended his hand forward and put it on her stomach. He knew that if he refused, she would likely take a heavy blow, but he also didnt want to bind her by the system at the moment. Though it was still between her legs, Nanus tail started wagging back and forth between her thighs as she ced her hands on top of Vahns and said with a smile, "My Master." Vahn felt like she put a lot more emphasis on the word now, and it made him feel both happy and guilty. Being the Alpha seemed to have a lot of troubles in store for the future. While his hand was on her stomach, Vahn noticed she still had a few muscle cramps and internal injuries, so he used his [Hands of Nirvana] to clear away the remainder of the damages in her body. When Nanu felt a warm energy enter her stomach, she had a very excited expression on her face and closed her eyes while the writhed around on the ground. Vahn almostughed a bit at her reaction, because she was acting like his hand was very ticklish. After a minute or so, he removed his hand from her stomach and she veritably bounded up onto her feet in very high tensions. She ran over to the other children, and they all had happy smiles on their faces as they gave her various forms of congrattions. Vahn smiled after seeing that their bond was close enough that they shared each others happiness, but his smile froze when he heard Anubis say with a hint of exasperation, "For both boys and girls, cing your hand on their stomach after they submit is enough to ept them as a subordinate. If you continue stroking them for so long, that is essentially telling the other person you dont see them as a simple subordinate. For the Southern Tribe, where marriage isnt poprized, it is the same as asking someone to be your mate..." After receiving the congrattions of the other children, Nanu bounded over to Vahn while he was still in a dazed state. She stopped in front of him before bowing low for a few seconds while waiting for Vahn to pet her head. Vahn wanted to exin that he was only trying to heal her wounds, but after she was received in high spirits by the other children, he felt like it was impossible to do so. Stretching out his hand, he began to stroke her head while saying, "You have to wait until youre older...for now just focus on bing stronger." Without any dy, Nanu said in a happy voice, "Yes, Master, I will do my best." After Vahn stopped petting her, she walked around behind him and took a position at his right. Remembering Anubis mention that position was reserved for his wife, Vahn felt a bit of a headache in his mind as he stared at the clearly befuddled goddess. She saw his look and furrowed her brows a bit before bowing low and saying, "I apologize, Master, I should have exined things clearly. I am willing to ept any punishment for my mistake." When she bowed, Vahn once again caught sight of the view concealed in her dress and he couldnt help but release a sigh as he said, "No, its my responsibility for what I do with my hands. I am expecting a proper exnation regarding any other important matters about the Southern Tribe. That will be enough for a punishment." Anubis furrowed her brows lower and had a slight frown for a second or two before she sighed and said, "Yes, Master. I will make sure to exin things in detail." Vahn hadnt missed the fact that she seemed very sorry for her mistake, so he reached out his hand and pet her ears for a bit. Once her tail started to wag slightly, he pulled his hand away and said, "I dont me you. Its my own fault for not putting more effort into understanding your culture. If Im going to be the Alpha, I need to take things seriously from now on." Though she gritted her teeth a bit when he pulled his hand away, Anubis just released a small sigh before she smiled toward Vahn and said, "Please rely on me, Master, I will teach you everything I can." Anubis knew that Vahn was very considerate of others, but she didnt know how painful his consideration could be. She actually wished the strange event from the previous day would happen again, so she could tell him what was actually on her mind. --- After the training ended, the entire group sat down to eat breakfast together. The seating order had changed once again, and now Nanu sat at his right while Anubis remained at his left. For some reason, he felt a bit of pressure from the chienthrope goddess and small girl to his right. Now, not only did they wait for Vahn to begin eating, but the children also waited for Nanu to nod before the started. Though he remained unperturbed on the outside, Vahn felt a bit of frustration in his mind as he quickly ate away at the delicious breakfast. Once breakfast was over, the children split again into two separate groups while Anubis and Nanu stayed behind. After everyone departed, Anubis bowed before asking Vahn, "Master, there are several items I need to purchase. Though I still have the Valis you left me, some of the items may be slightly outside of my price range." Vahn nodded his head before giving her a bag containing an additional 300,000 Valis. Anubis received it with a smile before heading out the door. Vahn saw her smile and felt it was a little peculiar, and he was very tempted to have her exinter using an order. While he was ruminating over the idea, Nanu spoke up from his side in a polite tone, "Shall we go to the workshop, Master?" Vahn had been a bit surprised at her question since none of the children typically addressed him first. Realizing it was likely due to her current status, Vahn sighed in his mind before showing a gentle smile and responding, "Yes, lets go, Nanu." Nanu smiled brightly and waited for Vahn to lead the way before falling into step on his right side. Vahn felt like the little girl that was nearly 30cm shorter than he was emitted a very powerful pressure on his body the moment she stood on his right. Even though he was a full head taller than she was, Vahn suddenly felt very small next to confident chienthrope. The pressure didnt ease up until he entered the workshop and she quickly went about her previously assigned duties without being asked. Vahn released a relieved sigh and also began preparing the ingots from the previous day. The majority of the ingots wereprised of magi-steel, but Vahn had also taken the time to form 5 mithril ingots with a strenuous amount of effort. Though his [cksmith] skill was at S and offered a lot of correction to his ability, he stillcked the experience to effectively work with the more difficult metals. Fortunately, mithril was very receptive to magic, so he actually had a much easier time than when he worked with orichalc.u.m, adamantine, and processed drop items. Vahn began heating the metal while holding it with a pair of heavy tongs while working the metal using the pneumatic hammer he had invented with the help of the manuals he had in his mind. All Vahn had to do was insert a bit of his energy which infused the rig with magical energy while he focused the majority of his efforts on the metal itself. This was the reason so many imed his invention to be innovative, because it allowed people to focus entirely on the metal instead of splitting their efforts between controlling the hammer, mana output, and consistency in strikes. Nanu had been very happy to use the rig as well since she didnt have the physical strength to use a hammer for a long period of time. When she found out that Vahn had invented the amazing contraption, she stared at him with an almost feral look that sent chills down his spine. Vahn wasnt entirely reliant on the pneumatic hammer though, and he only used it to shape the basic structure of the de he was forging. Once he was satisfied, he removed the metal and removed the hammer Hephaestus had made him from his inventory. Nanu was enamored by the sight of the hammer so she asked, "Master, where did you get such a beautiful hammer?" Vahn smiled at her question and stared at the hammer with a reminiscent expression on his face as he said, "It was given to me by Hephaestus. This hammer represents her trust in me, as well as our hopes for the future." Nanu saw the expression in Vahns eyes, and she remembered the beautiful red-haired goddess that was able to intimidate her goddess. She already understood that her Master had several women, and it was likely that Hephaestus took the highest ce in his heart. Though Vahn had epted her as his future wife, Nanu knew that she wouldnt be able topete for affection with the other girls. Instead, she decided to use this time when they were alone, or when Vahn wasnt around the other girls to slowly break down his defenses against her. Nanu had seen how her goddess was appealing to Vahn, and she decided to follow her example in the future. Vahn, unaware of the decision Nanu had made in her mind, continued to work the piece of magisteel he had shaped previously. The hammer Hephaestus had made him allowed him to have an incredible amount of control in refining the shape even further, and he managed toplete the short sword he had started forging within two hours. The final result was a ck around 50cm long with a beautiful onyx coloration. Now Vahn just had to sharpen the de, seat it into a guard or handle, and then polish it topletion. The process was much easier than forging the de, but Vahn put a lot of effort into every small detail. Though he had noticed this about himself in the past, he wasnt fond of overlooking details if he had direct control. By the time he was finished, an additional two hours had passed and Vahn had an almost ceremonial looking sword on his table. It had a beautiful sheen, and Vahn became enamored as he slowly polished it even further. Though he had assisted Tsubaki, and even forged several items with careful guidance, this was the first time he had made a weapon entirely on his own. After leaving his makers mark on the de, the same scale with two winged sn.a.k.e.d twining around it, the sword was finallyplete. Vahn held it up in the light and remarked at his own workmanship as his eyes turned to the system. [(Nameless) Magisteel Shortsword] Rank: C Slots:1 P.Atk: 240+90 M.Atk:138 Ability: Sharpness(B) A sword forged by a cksmith who showed careful consideration in its creation. It has been polished to an incredible extent and possesses a refined edge enabling it to show a cutting prowess far above simrly constructed swords. Though his actual naming ability provided by [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] was still on cooldown, Vahn couldnt help but mutter as he looked toward the sword, "You shall be called...Tempest. I hope that, whoever wields you, will be like an unstoppable tempest as they cut through their enemies." The moment his words ended, the named within the system changed to disy the name [Tempest:C] while also giving him a notification he hadnt expected. //[Tempest:C] Created. Obtained 403 OP// (A/N: Alternate Titles: First Official Creation,Literally a hand in marriage,Pressure) Chapter 141 - Sister Sword

Chapter 141 - Sister Sword

After the system notified him that he received OP forpleting the weapon, Vahn felt even more proud of his creation. He had been worried that he would be unable to earn any OP in the next three months without finding a way to sneak into the dungeon. Now that Vahn knew he could do so with forging, he was incredibly happy. Nanu had been watching him polishing the weapon, and seeing his happy expression, she said in a firm tone, "Very well done, Master. It is a beautiful sword." Vahn nodded his had at her words and, after a bit of thought, decided against asking if she wanted the sword. He knew she used a shortsword due to her small stature, but after identally acquiring the young chienthrope as a mate, he was trying to reflect on his actions a bit. Instead, he said, "Once I be skilled enough, Ill make equipment for everyone." Vahn then stored the sword into his inventory toter give Hephaestus. Though he was using the materials to practice, he still intended to try and sell them to pay her back one day. Nanus tail was wagging back and forth after hearing that she, along with the other hounds, would receive equipment in the future. Though she knew Vahn was far from being a master, the fact he put so much effort and detail in the items he forged had a big impact on her. It made her feel that the 50-55% sess rate she was managing when creating ingots was shameful. While Vahn started shaping the second de, she returned to her station and put more focus into her work. If she was going to be at the side of the Alpha in the future, she had to increase her own capabilities or it would dishonor them both. Vahn spent the next five hours forging the second sword and made it in a very simr manner as the first. Other than some of the decorations to enhance the look of the final product, the structure was nearly identical so Vahn determined it would be the sister sword of [Tempest] and named it [Gale]. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Gale] Rank: C Slots: 1 P.Atk: 238+90 M.Atk: 141 Ability: Sharpness(B) Sister-sword of [Tempest] and forged in a near identical manner. It has been polished to an incredible extent and possesses a refined edge enabling it to show a cutting prowess far above simrly constructed swords. Has a synergistic effect when wielded with its sister-sword. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn was surprised by the extra description and the fact that he got 440 OP forpleting [Gale]. Removing [Tempest] from his inventory, Vahn equipped both swords at the same time and felt a strange connection in his mind while wielding the two swords. After investigating the stats, he noticed they both had an additional 50 M. Atk, pushing them very close to B Rank items. Seeing the synergistic effect of the item, Vahn had an inspiration for the future. If he could forge items with the intent of them enhancing each other, he could make entire sets that synergize in the future. If someone wore an entire outfit that he created, they could potentially fight above their level with equipment alone. Vahn found the prospect very exciting, so instead of just forging for practice, he now forged with a specific intent in mind. He also knew that, if the items had extra effects, they would be worth far more when soldter. As they had spent almost 11 hours in the forge, it was nearly 8 PM, which meant that it was nearing the time for dinner. Right, when the clock struck the eighth-hour, Anubis came in and asked him the same questions as the prior day, so they all made their way to the bath. Nanu was a lot more forward than she was the day prior, and after she finished washing Vahns chest, she actually sat down in between his legs with her back to him. Vahn was a bit confused, but then Anubis handed him a sponge and he understood what was going on. Since she had washed him, as the mate, he had to return the favor or it would hurt her standing. As it wasnt his first time washing a girls body, Vahn was able to do so without difficulty, but he still felt a little awkward at the rapidly changing situation. By the time he had finished cleaning her body, he felt his heart itching a little because she made no effort to conceal anything from him. Instead, she seemed to be disying herself for his appreciation. Remembering what Anubis said the first day they all took a bath together, he now understood what she meant when she warned him about treating them like anything other than children. Now that Nanu considered herself his mate, she was very proactive in approaching him and receiving his affection and care. Though she was very small, she was still simr in age to Vahn, so it wasnt the easiest task of ignoring her obvious advances. After the bath, the group had dinner, and Vahn was somewhat grateful that nothing else had changed since the prior evening. Like before, Nanu sat to his right, but she acted very proper while watching the other children eat. When everyone finished eating, she waited for Vahn and Anubis to finish before taking the initiative to have the other children clean up. Though she still helped them with the dishes, she acted more-so as the supervisor than an extra pair of hands. Like before, when everything was finished, she reported the results to Vahn and received his praise before dismissing the other children. Vahn felt like his role as the Alpha had been taken by the now hyper-confident little girl. He began to suspect that, the more he enabled her actions, the more power of his she would seize just to please him. When all the other children left, Nanu had remained behind and Vahn said, "Nanu, even if youre in a higher position in the hierarchy, dont take things too far. Remember, I want everyone to act as a family whenever possible." Nanu nodded her head in a deferential manner as she bowed slightly and said, "I understand, Master. I will do my best to make sure matters dont get out of hand. Thank you for your guidance." Satisfied by her response, Vahn gave her another pat on the head before heading toward his room. However, before he got more than ten steps, he stopped and looked over his right shoulder at the girl that had fallen into step behind him. Before Vahn could ask, Anubis spoke out toward Nanu, "Nanu, Master Vahn said you had to wait until you were older. Even if you consider yourself his mate, he has the right to invite others to his chambers. Unless he specifically asks, you need to prevent yourself from acting in an overbearing manner or you will insult him." After Anubis finished speaking, Nanus eyes widened before she bowed low and said, "Please forgive me, Master. I did not mean to overstep my bounds." Vahn looked at the little girl who had bowed as a nearly ny-degree angle as she apologized to him. Seeing her drooping ears and tail, Vahn felt a little bad and almost reached out tofort the girl. However, before he was able to do so, Anubis gave him a sharp look and shook her head. Thinking he may have been making another mistake, Vahn removed his hand before saying, "As long as you remember my words, it is fine. There is plenty of time in the future, you dont have to be in such a rush." Nanu, who had been expecting Vahn tofort her, heard his words and felt a bit of fear in her heart. She had been acting to try and please him, and every time she did so he had rewarded her, so she quickly got out of hand. Now that he didnt pet her after epting her apology, Nanu felt like she had genuinely upset him. She fixed her stature and tried to appear unfl.u.s.tered by the sudden change, and then bowed to Vahn politely before saying, "I will excuse myself fire, Master. If you need me, I will be within the...girls room." Nanu, recalling she had to return to the room with the other girls, felt defeated and a bit ashamed. Vahn watched the young chienthrope walk away while pretending to keep her bearing. However, even though she had a mock confidence on her face, she didnt seem to be able to prevent her ears and tail from drooping. The sight looked sad and lonely, and Vahn wanted to call out to her and cheer her up, but any attempt to do so was interrupted by Anubis. After Nanu had long disappeared from the corridor, Anubis spoke, "Master, I would suggest that, before you continue interacting with the other children, you study up a bit. Please, follow me." Following Anubis, Vahn found himself outside of her room, which was also to the left of his own. She opened the door and invited him inside before following in behind him. When he entered, Vahn saw arge stack of books, scrolls, as well as various items neatly arranged on the floor. Anubis began exining, "The Guild keeps apendium on the various cultures, races, and histories of every group on Eden. These items will provide Master with all the information he needs and will allow him to make more informed decisions in the future. If, after Master looks over them, he has any questions, I will be more than willing to assist, Master." Vahn picked up one of the books titled [Mythos of the Southern Tribe] and started browsing through it for a bit before cing it into his inventory. He now understood what Anubis had requested additional funds for. However, seeing the other items strewn about, Vahn had a few questions he wanted to ask right now. Picking up arge cor, Vahn turned to Anubis and asked, "What about these other items? Do they have something to do with the culture of the Southern Tribe?" The moment Vahn held out the cor toward her, Anubiss ears twitched a bit as she stared at therge ck cor. Averting her eyes, she exined, "Master will find out when he reads the books...but, many girls in the Southern Tribe appreciate gifts like that. It is verymon for men to give a cor to the woman he loves to disy that she is taken. Typically, if a woman is without a cor, it indicates she is either single or seeking a mate. If a woman is unwilling, they typically wear small chokers instead." Vahn nodded his head, but he continued to look at the various other items that had been left out. Though he believed her story about the cor and would be able to verify it for himself, he didnt understand the use of the other items on the floor. There were small chains, ropes, and even handcuffs off to the side. Vahn even found a strange and aromatic oil that smelled incredibly sweet. Anubis watched Vahn inspecting items and could feel her heart rate increasing. Though she hadnt said anything, Anubis wanted Vahn to take an interest in the items. If she was able to increase his intrigue, he might even want to try the items out as he did with [Enkidu] the previous day. Vahn began putting away all the items into his inventory, including the extra items Anubis had purchased. Seeing the items disappear, Anubis felt dejected, but she didnt say anything to disturb his actions. Vahn didnt want to bother Anubis by asking about every little item and assumed he would be able to find the answers in the doc.u.ments he received. If he couldnt figure it out on his own, he could always ask herter after all. Turning toward the girl who was gently smiling at him, Vahn couldnt help but raise his brow a little as he saw her ears drooping down on her head. Though her appearance remained unchanged, she seemed to have the same difficulty as other chienthropes as her ears and tail gave her away. Thinking that she had wanted to be more useful to him, Vahn shook his head in a helpless manner as he approached the sulking goddess. Before she could react to his approach, he reached out his hand and started stroking her hair and ears. Unlike the previous times, this time Vahn channeled [Hands of Nirvana] to bring her a bit offort. Anubis epted his affections withoutint, and her tail started gently wagging back and forth. Like he had done before, once Vahn saw her tail wag, he pulled his hand away and said, "Thanks, Anubis. This will be very helpful." Anubis nked out for a moment, but then just bowed and wished Vahn a pleasant rest. She followed his back as he left her room, and the moment the door closed she threw herself into her bed and screamed into her pillow. After she let out her frustrations with her voice, she started beating up the pillow while imagining it was some aquamarine-eyed boy with no delicacy and understanding of a womans heart. She now understood why someone like Hephaestus, who was often calm and cool, seemed to act like apletely different person around Vahn. After she tired herself out, Anubis released a long sigh as she muttered, "Idiot..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Abandoned Pupper,Nanu gets shut down,Its climbing gear guys...I swear. What else would you use ropes, straps, and chains for?) Chapter 142 - A Series of Misunderstandings

Chapter 142 - A Series of Misunderstandings

Once Vahn returned to his room, he had the system scan the information inside of the books and store it in his mind. Simr to what he did with manuals, Vahn was able to retain the information in the system and then read it at ater date. It also provided information to Sis, so if there was something he overlooked, she might be able to help him out. Vahn didnt have anything like a perfect memory, but his recollection with the support of The Path and Sis could be very useful. Vahn perused the information for a bit, especially the areas regarding social etiquette and hierarchal rtionsh.i.p.s. There were several things on the various courting rituals and how both men and women sought mates. The more Vahn read, the more he understood just how badly he had messed up. If he saw things from Nanus perspective, he would have also been misled by his actions. Vahn tried to recall all the events that happened in order, so he would be able to make better sense of everything... It all started the moment he epted the children into his house along with Anubis. The moment he became the Alpha, all the children immediately respected his position, even if they werent fond of his character. From that point on, if Vahn had acted impartially and confidently, there wouldnt have been any issues. His first mistake was treating the two girls, Nanu and Chione, as different entitiespared to the other children. Since Vahn had felt guilty for pinning the two girls backsides with his arrows back on the 18th floor, he was always a bit awkward around them. He tried to be nice whenever he could because he wanted to make up for any grievances they had suffered at his hands. Unfortunately, since he was treating them differently from the rest of the pack, they interpreted that as him having an interest in them. The longer he treated them kindly, the greater the impact would have been, and it wouldnt be long before one of them responded to his advances out of necessity. Once Nanu was chosen to be his assistant due to her [cksmith] skill, Vahn needed to immediately treat her like a student. He needed to be firm with her, and make sure she followed his orders without hesitation. Instead, he always paid attention to her efforts, even when he was working on his own ingots. From her perspective, this was him continuing to give her a signal that he was interested in her, not as a student, but as a potential suitor. The biggest problem before that though, was when Anubis had helped him test the effects of [Enkidu] in his workshop. Instead of dismissing Nanu, he allowed her to stay in the room while he had Anubis act in a submissive manner toward him. Since Anubis was higher than her in the hierarchy, but he allowed Nanu to see their intimacy, it was simr to saying she was also special. When Anubis called her over to check her Status, Nanu had been paying close attention to Vahns expression. Instead of looking away or acting disinterested, Vahn instead locked eyes with the girl throughout the entire process. From Nanus perspective, this was the same as acknowledging and being okay with her presence around him. The fact that he held eye contact with her, even though she was lower in the hierarchy, was the same as elevating her position ording to customs. After Anubis had been dismissed, instead of immediately asking her to get dressed, Vahn entered a contemtive state while still facing toward her. Since he had been thinking about all the women around him being pregnant in his mind, it must have looked to Nanu like he was inspecting her body and having intentions about her body. It didnt help that, the moment Vahns contemtion ended, he had a smile due to his own excitement. He remembers that, at the time, Nanu looked at him with a reverent expression and seemed to be very pleased when he gave her permission to wear her clothes. When they were working, he never ignored her and continued helping her out in all of her work. From Nanus perspective, it was essentially him helping her increase her own capabilities to make her morepatible with him. When the entered the bath, Nanu started sending him signals of her own by undressing next to him. Typically, it was inappropriate for someone of a lower stature to change next to someone else, but Vahn allowed her to do so and even gazed at her figure periodically. Once they entered the bath, she continued allowing him to court her by offering to service him. Since Vahn had thought she was acting as his apprentice and wanted to show off to the other kids, he allowed her to do so, which essentially confirmed her suspicions that he was interested in her. If Vahn had recognized the looks of all the other girls at the time, he may have been able to avoid the misunderstanding. It was only Vahns second time bathing with the group, so he was entirely unaware of their customs. This is the reason why the other girls immediately started treating Nanu better, and Vahn allowing her to sit at Anubiss side at dinner cemented the idea in the entire group. When he allowed her to take charge of the cleanup and the rewarded her in front of the rest of the pack, it was almost as if he was informing the group that she was now his potential mate and to respect her will in the future. All of these misunderstandings led to the events that happened during the training in the morning. Even when they had trained on the first day, when the kids sparred, they always did so with each other. Vahn only fought them as a group, and it was always when he initiated the spar. When the kids broke off into pairs and Nanu approached him and requested the spar, the moment he epted, it was like saying he recognized her efforts and was giving her the chance to impress him. Nanu pushed herself as hard as she could to impress Vahn, and even exceeded her own limits by a fair amount. Unless Vahn had asked her to give up, it was the same as allowing her to continue. Unless she failed, she would keep trying to impress him until he either refused or epted her. The moment she performed her acrobatic maneuver and suffered an injury, Nanu probably thought she failed to earn his respect as a potential mate. This was the true reason why she had apologized to him at the time with tears in her eyes. Instead of being disappointed with her, Vahn instead showed concern for her injured state and treated her wounds. This was the same as him telling her that he was stilling willing to give her a chance, so she took the queue and performed the final courting ceremony where she would offer her belly to him. She would be his official subordinate, and in the future, she might even be his potential mate. Because of the failure of Anubis to exin properly, Vahn put his hand on her stomach without any hesitation. This is when he made his biggest mistake because, the moment he put his palm on her abdomen, she had already be his subordinate. Instead of allowing her to recover and ept her ce as his subordinate, he instead held her down in her submissive stance and continued to stroke her belly. For Nanu, this was Vahn telling her that she now belonged to him and to ept her ce as his mate. Vahn remembered how excited Nanu became at his actions, and he even smiled back at her because he thought she was ticklish... After both recognizing each other as official mates, Nanu had been incredibly excited and even received the congrattions of the other children in high spirits. Since that point onward, in the minds of the other hounds, Nanu was now Vahns official mate within the group. Everything after that justpounded on top of his various mistakes, all the way up until the point where Nanu started to get a little out of hand. His constant rewards and leniency gave her an incredible amount of confidence, and she was trying to act the part of a proper mate and desired to please him. Now that Vahn understood the whole story, he felt like a genuine idiot. It was almost like he had been actively pursuing her from the moment she entered his house, and he hadnt even been aware of it. Now he had a young chienthrope that seriously considered him to be her mate, and ording to the notes in text, chienthropes of the Southern Tribe were fiercely monogamous. Those that be mates with members higher up the hierarchy would only ever have that one mate for life. As the Alpha, Vahn was allowed to have multiple partners, but for the rest of her life, Nanu would only consider herself to belong to him. Vahn started to realize why he felt so much pressure from the young girl. From her perspective, he had more or less be the center of her world, and he had been the one to initiate the courting. This made her own valuation of herself increase to an insane degree, and she would likely continue acting in his interests until he became dissatisfied with her. ording to tradition, if a mate had been abandoned by the Alpha, they would either kill themselves or drive a hot stake into their w.o.m.b to prevent from having to bear the child of another. In their culture, they were considered some of the lowest in the entire social hierarchy, because they had the chance to rise up and became unworthy of their position. Imagining the young Nanu driving a stake into herself, Vahns face became pale and he almost ran out of his bedroom to retrieve Nanu. Remembering her dejected manner as she walked away, Vahn was afraid that she might have misunderstood his actions as abandoning her. Fortunately, he managed to recall the actions of Anubis and understood that wasnt the case. If he went to her now, it would essentially be telling her that he allowed her to be selfish and would harm his image in the eyes of the other children as someone who couldnt keep his word. It was even possible that the other children may start seeing Nanu as the Alpha while Vahn was just her mate... Vahn copsed back on his bed and wiped the sweat from his brow while releasing a deep sigh. The burden of the truth was quite heavy, and he had never expected that knowing the reason behind her actions would have such heavy implications. If he wasnt careful in the future, things could get out of hand very quickly. To ensure there were no slipups, he re-read the books on social etiquette and how mates typically interacted with each other. Since he couldnt abandon her, he needed to make sure he performed his expected duties well. --- After reading the books front-to-back three times in a row, it was nearing midnight and Vahn decided it was time to pull out the ck orb and have another go at learning the technique. He didnt know if time continued in the space of the orb, or if it would reset to the state of the previous evening. Taking a deep breath, Vahn focused his consciousness on the orb before opening his eyes in the familiar white terrain and ck sky. The moment he opened his eyes, his instincts immediately began to trigger and Vahn received a heavy kick to his head while he was unprepared. He wasunched nearly twenty meters before finding his footing and staring at the beautiful girl that had just sent him flying. Activating his Bih form and spreading his domain, Vahn immediately began attacking toward the woman with his greatest speed. The woman looked at him with disdain as her feet gently touched the ground and she vanished from Vahns sight. Unlike the teleportation she had used previously, Vahn understood this was a pure speed-based skill. He didnt understand the principles behind it, but it seemed to allow her to spontaneously elerate without any buildup of momentum. Vahn dodged the kick that came at the back of his head and tried to kick back with both of his legs toward her pivot foot. Since she had been ruthless the entire time, Vahns kick was intended to snap the slender white leg. Before he was able to hit her body, she suddenly disappeared again with an incredible burst of speed and appeared at his side before punting his body skyward with a sharp kick to his exposed gut. Before he was able to travel higher than ten meters, the woman suddenly teleported above him and performed a heel-drop kick to his back. Vahn felt like his spine had snapped by the attack as he was shot down toward the ground like a bullet. After coughing up a mouthful of blood, Vahn swallowed a senzu bean and tried to recover. However, the woman didnt seem to be giving him a reprieve as she fell like a meteor into his back and shattered the newly repaired spine of Vahn. Vahn coughed out arge mouthful of blood as the woman spoke in a cold tone, "The next time youe here, be prepared. To be a fighter beaten down by a mage...you are unqualified to learn my techniques." As her words fell, Vahn was rapidly losing consciousness but he managed to hear each of her words clearly. Right before his bodypletely dissolved, Vahn said it a muted tone, "I wont give up..." The woman followed the particles that constituted his body and looked skyward in a manner simr to theirst meeting. When the remnants of Vahn had vanished, she looked down to the pool of blood on the ground before cupping her hands together and filling them with his blood. She c.o.c.ked her head back and drank Vahns blood without any hesitation. When she had swallowed it, she licked her hands clean before turning back toward the sky and saying, "You are definitely not a normal human..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Culture Shock,Crushed,Ittadakimasu) Chapter 143 - For the Future

Chapter 143 - For the Future

Vahn awoke the next morning with another powerful headache as he held his head in his palms. Unlike the previous night, when he was able to put up a bit of a fight, this time the woman within the orb defeated him using her martial skills against his. He knew she was very strong, but didnt expect her proficiency in close-quartersbat to far exceed his own. When Vahn used Bih form with his domain, he was almost able to rival the speed of the Level 5 Tsubaki. However, when he fought against the woman in the orb, he couldnt even keep track of her speed at all. Releasing a sigh, Vahn awoke and washed his face before heading outside and greeting Anubis. As usual, she was waiting for him patiently, though she still seemed to be wearing the revealing robes from the previous day. After exchanging greetings, Vahn gave her a pat on the head before making his way towards the training area. After everything that happened recently, there were several things Vahn wanted to make known before any other idents happened in the future. The children were waiting for his arrival, and Vahn couldnt help but wonder how early they woke up to always be ready and waiting for him to arrive. Right now, the sun wasnt even rising in the sky, so they would have to be getting up around 4 AM to be ready in time. Unlike the previous times, where all the children lined up, Nanu was waiting at the side of where Vahn normally stood. After epting the greeting of the children, Vahn had everyone sit down while he exined the future ns he had in mind. Vahn made eye contact with each of the kids, including Nanu, before he spoke, "I havee to realize many things in the few days we have spent together. Though I will continue to do my best as the Alpha, it doesnt change the fact that I am not someone that shares the same culture as everyone here. I will most likely make mistakes, and I will rely on everyone here to help exin anything I may misunderstand." All of the children were listening to him attentively and they each nodded their heads before he continued, "But, just as I am going to do my best to adapt to the lifestyle here, you are all obligated to do the same. I will not ask you to change your values, but you need to learn how other people live to avoid conflicts in the future. Im certain there have been times when you deal with others that issues have arisen because of misunderstandings. Isnt this correct?" Once again, all the children nodded and Vahn could see they were recalling events in their minds based on how their auras fluctuated. After everyone stabilized, he continued, "From now on, your training will be split into two parts. In the morning, you will continue your current training, while in the afternoon, you will study knowledge and work on developing a profession. You are all currently Level 2, and there is a bit of time before you gain your own alias and can ept missions from the Guild. Until then, I want you to learn what it means to live in this City, and adapt your mentality to prevent conflicts in the future." Vahn looked over toward Anubis and saw she had a gentle smile on her face after hearing his words. He nodded slightly before turning to the children and exining, "Anubis will be charged with your education, but I will also require everyone to pick a study of their own. You should all focus on different things, as youll be able to teach each other in the future. I will say this inly, but if it is a question concerning your education, or the future, I want everyone toe to me directly. I wont ask you to ignore the hierarchy, but the issue will onlypound if you consider things in such a roundabout manner." After exining a few other things, Vahn was satisfied and began their morning training. He didnt know well enough to make them study specific things, but he could trust Anubis to pass on the correct information. Though she acted a bit odd sometimes, she was an incredibly intelligent goddess who liked to collect books. If Vahn asked her to seriously teach the children history and culture, she would be more than willing to assist him. Other than the matter of Nanu being his sparring partner again, everything else for the morning went without a hitch. The group ate breakfast together before cleaning up the dishes and making their way to Anubiss room to study. Vahn had found out that he could purchase various texts andpendiums from the system for a very low cost. He gave her several topics of study, including history, mythos, and things Vahn found interesting like astrology, and various fairy tales. Anubis was surprised at receiving such arge number of books, but she didnt ask Vahn where he had obtained them. She assumed that he either had purchased them previously to support his own personal education. The idea that Vahn took studying so seriously made her respect him even more, and Vahn finally achieved a Loyalty value of 100 with Anubis. He had somewhat expected to get a new system prompt when the value reached the max, but he learned from Sis that 100 was only the maximum for affection and not hidden parameters. Instead, for extra parameters, there wasnt actually a cap and they could increase in value indefinitely. After parting ways with Anubis and the other children, Vahn made his way to his workshop with Nanu. When they entered, she immediately tried to get to work, but Vahn interrupted her and she trotted over to him with an anticipatory look on her face. She had recovered her spirit since the previous night, and Vahn was happy to see her in high spirits. However, there were things he needed to rify, so after organizing his thoughts he said, "I need to exin the matters that have taken ce over thest few days." Nanus expression turned from excitement to concern as her ears immediately ttened on her head as she waited for him to continue. Vahn spoke in a firm tone as he said, "First, I will say this. No matter what, I will not abandon or toss you aside. However, you need to understand that it was not my original intention to court you. I will not use it as an excuse, and my treatment toward you will not change, but you have to understand that my actions were based on simple affection and not intimacy." The concern on Nanus face continued to grow as she asked in a quiet voice, "Does that mean you dont like me? I thought...all the things you did..." It almost seemed like she was about to cry, but Vahn spoke in the same firm tone, "Dont think about things like that. Though it may have been a misunderstanding, Im not going to shirk my responsibility in the matter. I just needed you to know now, instead of finding out in the future and being disappointed. Now that Ive already epted you, I intend to do my best to meet your expectations as well. However, you need to consider things from my perspective as well, and not through the lens of what your culture has taught you, understand?" Nanu nodded her head slowly and considered every word that Vahn spoke. She was a bit saddened that he hadnt been proactively courting her, and she actually felt ashamed for misunderstanding his actions as interest. Her pride took a big hit, and she started to feel like she wasnt worthy of having received his affections in the first ce. As the guilt began to eat away at her, Nanu saw Vahn do something mysterious as a small me appeared in his hands. Vahn held out the me seed that he had created using his skill [Prometheus]. He exined with a hint of gentleness in his firm tone, "This is a very special seed...if you allow me to put this in your body, your capabilities will increase. You could gain higher parameters, or even skills simr to my own. Creating this seed is very difficult, and it will even cause a bacsh on my body when I ce it within yours. I want this to serve as the proof that I will never abandon you, so maintain your confidence and keep striving forward. Youre a lot cuter when you are happy." The mncholy that had been building up in her heart immediately vanished as she stared at the tiny seed in Vahns hands with anticipation and jubnce. Even if their current rtionship was based on a misunderstanding, the fact Vahn was willing to go so far for her made the young girl very happy. She looked into Vahns eyes and asked in an excited voice, "Please, Master, tell me what I need to do!" Vahn returned her smile before exining, "You just need to remain still while I ce this seed into your heart. Im not sure if it will cause you any difort, so prepare yourself for anything." The moment his words finished, Nanu stepped closer to him and excitedly puffed up her chest toward Vahn while saying, "I am ready, Master! Even if it burns my body, I wont even flinch." After giving her an appreciative nod, Vahn stretched out his right hand and ced it over her heart. He noticed that nothing seemed to be happening, so he moved his palm closer until the outer part of Nanus blouse began to turn a slightly charred color on the already ck cloth. Nanu had been watching his actions, and the moment her blouse began to smoke, she immediately grabbed the sides of the shirt before pulling it over her head in a single motion. Vahn was a little surprised by her actions, as he hadnt expected the clothes to burn when he was trying to insert the me seed. After removing her shirt, Nanu also rolled up her sports bra before looking at Vahn with an excited expression and saying, "Please, Master, continue." Releasing a slight sigh in his mind, Vahn moved his hand forward until his palm came into contact with an area right above her left b.r.e.a.s.t. Though the seed had burned clothes, it seemed to pass freely through her skin for a reason Vahn couldnt understand. The area around her left b.r.e.a.s.t began to glow with a reddish light that emitted from deep within the body of Nanu. Vahn almost felt like he could see her heart and the shadow of her ribs as the fire seed embedded itself into her heart. Nanu didnt seem to feel any pain, but she gave Vahn a slightly passionate gaze until he finally removed his hand from her chest. Vahn stared at the glowing light with intrigue, because it had been his first time using the skill. He was vaguely aware of the fact that Nanu was trying to inch closer to him, but before he would retort his body was suddenly racked by a fierce pain. Vahns entire body seized up a bit and it scared the previously enamored Nanu who went to his side to help. Vahn held up his hand to stop her and exined, "This is the bacsh I was talking about. It is nothing to worry about, and it should pass by the time the light in your chest fades." True to his words, after about ten minutes, the light began to fade in Nanu heart until only the healthy olive-brown skin with the slightly pale protrusion remained. Vahns pain faded at the same time before telling Nanu, "Now, Im going to see how your status has changed. Go ahead and turn your back to me." Nanu had been happy that Vahn was no longer in pain, but she was a bit confused by his words as she obeyed his instructions and turned around. Vahn put his palm on her back and began performing the ceremony to update Status while Nanu stood silently with absolute shock. Even though she didnt have a high degree of education, she knew that only gods were able to update Status. Any inhibitions she had from Vahns earlier exnation of their current rtionship flew out the window as she imagined that her future mate was also a god or demigod. The pride she had earlier immediately returned, and there was a slight glint in the eyes of the young chienthrope girl. Since updating a Status always showed the prior stats as well as the increase, Vahn was able to see that Nanu had about a 10-20% increase in all of her parameters. Her potential should have also increased by a fair amount, and Vahn had high expectations of seeing how strong she would be in the future. The most important thing to note was that her [cksmith] had increased from F to D and she obtained a new skill called [Prometheuss Blessing]. [Prometheuss Blessing] Rank:A Growth dependant on the strength of the caster that applied this blessing. As long as the originator lives, the recipient of this blessing will experience rapid growth based on their feelings for the originator. If the feelings fade, the me seed within the heart will dwindle before eventually burning out. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Doki Doki me-Desu?,Education,Standing Firm) Chapter 144 - Fear

Chapter 144 - Fear

After reading the description, Vahn exined the changes while Nanu started dressing. Hearing his exnation, she was incredibly excited at the prospect of being able to grow stronger based on her feelings. She already had a reverential passion for Vahn, and now that she would get stronger from it, Nanu had a lot of hopes for the future. Vahn noticed that her affection had hit the stat cap, and quickly scanned his eyes in the system to read the now familiar notification. //Nanu Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire: C-SS]// Completion Grade: B Rewards: 10,000 OP, 1x [Proof of Affection], 1s [Hearts Desire: Nanu] Grade Rewards: 5,000 OP, 1x [Skill Enhancement Scroll: B] [Proof of Affection] Ranke: Unique Use: Conjures an item desired by the intended recipient. Warning: Item is bound to the recipient after epting Vahn was curious about the [Proof of Affection] and decided to activate it to see what would happen. A light shed which started the both of them as a deep red cor appeared in Vahns hands. It has a small metal tab hanging down from the front of the cor and looked very reminiscent to what a pet would wear. The moment it appeared within his hands, Nanus eyes started to shine like she had found the most precious treasure in the world. Without any prompting, she stood on her tiptoes while lifting her chin up high. Since he had used the item with Nanu in mind, he had received a cor, simr to what he had learned the previous night. It was the final ceremony between mates which required the dominant party to gift a cor to the submissive party. As Vahn had already resolved himself to the future, he opened the band of the cor and ced it around Nanus neck while she had a big smile on her face. Her tail wagged back and forth like it was trying to rip itself free of her body, and Vahn couldnt help but wonder if the muscles in her lower back would get sore from the hyper-fast motion. After fastening the cor, it suddenly shrunk and adapted its size to fit perfectly around Nanus neck. She raised both her hands to feel its presence before smiling toward Vahn and saying, "Thank you, Master. It is perfect." Vahn had never seen Nanu so happy before, so he justughed awkwardly while petting her ears. She began rubbing her head against his palm, and Vahn started getting shbacks to the incident with Anubis on the first night they arrived. Before things got out of hand, he pulled his hand away while Nanu stared at the retreating figure with a bit of reluctance. Now that Nanu was properly dressed and received her cor, the two began to get to work. Since time seemed to stop whenever he used them, Vahn activated the [Hearts Desire: Nanu] after she turned away from him. The air froze as time seemed toe to a crawl and a vision passed through Vahns mind. Curiously, unlike his previous visions, this one was slightly different. Vahn was in apletely ck space and felt like he was standing on water. Standing before him was apletely nude girl, and Vahn recognized the figure to be an exact replica of the current Nanu. Inspecting himself, Vahn also found that he was in his own body instead of the normal visions he had before. The nude Nanu walked toward him and embraced him around the waist as she rested her head against his chest and said, "I already found my hearts desire, my Master..." The ck space shattered, and Vahn noticed the air wasprised of various memory shards that showed images of the life Nanu had led before he met. He didnt have the opportunity to experience them himself, but it seemed that she had put the past behind her after epting him. Now, the only thing that remained was her present form as she wrapped her arms around his waist and nuzzled into his chest. Time started again as the frozen air warmed back up. Vahn was in a bit of a daze as he looked toward the back of Nanu and noticed her tail was still wagging about in a happy manner. He released a sigh, but this time it wasnt exasperation, but a mild affection for the adorable young girl. Though he hadnt made many intentional moves against her, she had already fallen for himpletely. With a mental promise to do his best, Vahn opened the system and inspected his new rewards. //[Hearts Desire: Nanu] fulfilled. Extra parameter Love unlocked.// [Nanu]: Love 78(Devoted) //Bond established with [Nanu]// //Optional Quest Triggered// [Quest: A Mans Responsibility, Repeatable] Rank: B-SS Objective: I.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Nanu (0). Ensure a safe delivery; Current Children(0) Rewards: 100,000 OP, 1x [Guardian:(Nameless)] Failure Condition(s): Death, Nanus Death, (Nameless) Childs Death Penalty: 200 Karma (0) In an almost identical fashion as Tiona, Vahn unlocked the love parameter with Nanu as well as the standard optional quest that seemed toe hand-in-hand with the parameter. For a very brief moment, he imaged the young girl with a big belly and couldnt help but feel his brain buzz at the strange mental image. With her current height and frame, it was a very strange picture, and Vahn reaffirmed his conviction to wait until she was older before he did anything. After settling all the matters in his system, Vahn started his work and decided to forge a spear this time. Though he had no shafts to work wish, Vahn wanted to try to make one entirely out of magisteel with mithril coiled around it. He had studied magic circuits intensely, and could even bring up the diagrams in his own mind as he slowly carved the channels into the body of the spear with intricate detail. A single mistake in the structure of the circuits could cause the entire spear to explode if it was overloaded with mana. Vahn didnt want to have the reputation of injuring his own client, so he performed every step in painstaking detail. Because of his efforts, without even working on the spearhead yet, Vahn spent nearly eight hours just crafting the body. The hardest part was working the mithril into a thin enough strip and properly shaping it around the length of the spears body. Fortunately, after a few failed attempts, he was able toplete the task and now had a 3m long spear that had yet to be fitted with a spearhead. Vahn wasnt at the point where he could shape the metal into intricate shapes, but the simplicity of his craftsmanship actually made him feel like it looked better. Though he had ignored the fact when he made his twin swords the day prior, it wasnt necessary to make a weapon intricate. Oftentimes, the efficacy of the item was based on itsposition and internal structure, not the outward appearance. The tamahagane de he had gifted to Ais was the best example of a weapon that was both simple and incredibly lethal. Holding the onyx-colored spear that was wrapped in bands of blue-ck mithril, Vahn gave an appreciative smile at his own realization. Using the remaining two hours before dinner, Vahn started shaping the spearhead and, using the principles he had just learned, focused on making it incredibly durable and efficient instead of intricate. He ended up with a product that was precisely 27cm long and had a gentle, sloping, curve as the spearhead tapered toward the tip. When he affixed it to the spears body, it now looked like a in ck spear, but it also shone with a dark and intimidating glimmer if you stared at it for too long. Vahn felt like the spear would be able to cut through the darkness and always strike true if wielded by a capable owner. Imagining the onyx-colored de reflecting the moonlight, Vahn named the spear [Moon Piercer] and received 1005 OP from the system. Surprised by the amount, Vahn inspected the [Moon Piercer]s stats within the system. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Moon Piercer] Rank: B (Magic) Slots: 1 P.Atk: 330+30 M.Atk: 441 Ability: Piercing(B), Hardening(C) A simple spear thatbines beauty and simplicity to create a form with terrifying efficiency. Under the moonlight, this weapon reflects a deadly glow that draws its victims into the nights eternal embrace. Weilder is empowered under the moonlight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once again, Vahn noticed that his intentions seemed to be reflected by the item he forged. As he had imagined the spear cutting through the moonlight when he named it, it adopted that idea and developed an ability that reflected his intent. Vahn was confused because it felt like he was able to make use of the naming ability of the [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] even while it was on cooldown. It didnt have the drastic effect of evolving the weapon as it had done with Fafnir, but Vahn had felt a very slight amount of his energy drain when he named the spear. As it was now nearly time for their evening bath, Nanu and Vahn cleaned up the workshop and had a brief window of time before Anubis usually showed up. Though Vahn had intended to polish his spear a bit more, Nanu seemed to take the opportunity to get a bit closer to him. She didnt say anything, but she just stood in front of Vahn with a smile on her face as her tail beat back and forth. Vahn reached his hand out and began stroking her bob-cut hair and pointy ears and she immediately began to squirm against his hand. Though he was somewhat worried that she would be heated as Anubis had, Vahn noticed that her aura was stable, so he continued to pet her for the entire ten minutes before Anubis showed up. Afterward, everything else happened as routine as Vahn took a bath with everyone before enjoying a delicious dinner. Unlike previous nights, Anubis had encouraged the children to talk about what they learned today, and Vahn made conversation with them which seemed to make them excited. Vahn was pleased because if giving them light praise made them work harder, he didnt mind giving them a few encouraging remarks. Everyone cleaned up as normal and went about performing their duties before Anubis, Vahn, and Nanu made his way towards his room. Though Nanu knew she couldnt apany him at night, she felt it was her duty to wish him well, simr to how Anubis was always around immediately before he went to sleep and right after he awoke in the morning. Vahn pets the girl for a few moments before sending her on her way to bed. When she was gone, Anubis spoke out, "I see you gave her a cor." Vahn nodded, as it wasnt exactly a secret since she had proudly shown it off to the other children. The other two girls seemed envious and even gave Vahn a few looks, but Nanu immediately corrected their behavior and encouraged them to work harder in the future. Anubis had been quiet at the time, so he was curious why she seemed to be a little deadpan when she made the statement. Anubis furrowed her brows slightly as she mustered her courage and proimed, "Master, I too would like a cor. I am already Masters servant, and being without one makes me feel ufortable. I wasnt going to mention anything, but now that Nanu has received one, I cant keep it to myself any longer." Vahn was surprised at Anubiss outburst because she seemed abnormally fl.u.s.teredpared to her usual self. Vahn contemted her words for a moment before a ck cor appeared in his hands. Vahn hadnt paid much attention to it previously, but he noticed it had a simr color scheme as Anubiss clothing, and he realized she had purchased it with the intent to wear it in the future. Just as Nanu had been previously, Anubis entered a high tension and excited state as she moved closer to Vahn and tilted her chin up. After loosening the band, Vahn reached around Anubiss neck and fixed the cor to her. Unlike the one he had gotten from the system, the ck cor didnt automatically adjust, so Vahn had to fiddle around with it a bit. Since it was his first time tightening a cor, he miscalcted and tightened the cor a bit too tight and Anubis issued an incredibly light m.o.a.n. Though he might have missed it normally, as they were very close to each other, Vahn heard the sound and it made his heart thump a bit. He quickly loosened the cor a bit as he apologized. Anubis, with her chin still tilted upwards, looked at Vahn with a slightly pained expression as she muttered, "Its okay, Master. I dont mind if you tighten it a bit..." Vahn swallowed his saliva as he began to slowly tighten the cor around her neck. Though she seemed to be encouraging him to tighten the cor, Vahn decided to y it safe and left a small amount of space between her neck and the cor before fixing the sp to hold it in ce. When he was done, Anubis seemed both happy and sad at the same time, and Vahn couldnt help but feel a sense of incongruity inside of his mind. He performed their small ritual of petting her hair before turning back and heading into his own room. After he closed the door, Anubis continued to stand in ce while feeling the cor around her neck with both hands. She had arge grin on her face as she headed into her own room and disappeared from the corridor. For the third night in a row, Vahny down on his bed and focused his intent into the ck orb. This time, the moment he entered the ck and white space, he immediately activated his Bih form and domain before quickly investigating his surroundings. In a manner simr to his first visit, the only thing in the surroundings with the infinite, contrasting, ck and white space without a single soul in sight. Vahn was a bit confused, but he didnt drop his guard as he continued to look around for any sight of the blonde woman. After nearly an hour, she still hadnt shown up and Vahn began to suspect if there was something wrong with the situation. He thought she may be trying to toy with him, so he maintained his vignce for what seemed like half a day, but he noticed that only several tens of seconds had passed in his system. Though he hadnt noticed it previously, there seemed to be a powerful time dtion effect inside the ck and white space. After another hour, Vahn finally dropped his guard and dispelled his aura as he looked around at the empty space. He had expected that the moment he dropped his guard, the woman would attack him for his foolishness, but nothing happened. Space remained silent without the woman appearing before him. Sitting down, Vahn focused on recovering his energy while diverting some of his attention to the surrounding space. However, even after more than a day had passed, the woman hadnt appeared at all. Vahn began to worry because, though he knew how to enter the space, he had no way of exiting presently. Sis had informed him that, if he continually put in an effort, he would be able to break the space with the use of [Chainbreaker], but it would destroy the orb in the process. Releasing a sigh, Vahn crossed his legs and began focusing on the second skill he had obtained a few days ago. Though he was vaguely aware of the words that kept sounding in his mind, no matter how hard he tried, Vahn was unable to make out a single syble. Not long after he started meditating, the figure of a woman appeared out of thin air with a distortion of space. She hadpletely sealed away her energy signature as she approached the back of Vahn undetected. Even with his domain expanded around his body, he was unable to sense the approach of the woman who seemed to have less presence than the void around them. While he was trying toprehend the sounds in his soul, Vahn suddenly felt a sharp pain in the muscles connecting from his neck to his back. His mind immediately snapped to full awareness, but Vahn noticed he couldnt put any strength into his body at all. Vahn was spontaneously overwhelmed by fear, as he could feel a nostalgic feeling that still periodically haunted his dreams. Though he could feel a warm feeling spread through his body, the only thing Vahn focused on was the sucking feeling of his blood being drained from his body. (A/N: Alternate Titles: This chapter really sucks the life out of the story,Dumpity Dump,Now he owes all the other girls gifts) Chapter 145 - Wrath

Chapter 145 - Wrath

Vahn continued to struggle, willing his body to move while a powerful cold sensation spread through his mind. The warm feeling that had been emanating from his shoulder was driven back while his fear and anger began topound. Something snapped in Vahns mind and his domain, which had been stuck at 99m, ever since he awoke from hisa, immediately increased to 100m. The moment it did so, the cold sensation in Vahns mind exploded outward and a physical pulse pushed the woman away from his body. After being pushed away, the woman looked at Vahn with a hint of surprise and intrigue. When she had started sucking his blood, she had immobilized his body after taking advantage of his lowered guard. As she had only ever gotten to taste it in small amounts, she was curious what it would be like to take the blood directly from the source. As she expected, there was an incredible energy contained within the boys blood which greatly assisted in the recovery of her magical power. She had a slight smile on her face and was about tomend the boy for being able to escape her spell. But, the moment she was about to speak, the words got stuck in her throat as a twinge of pain spread in her heart. Though she had expected the boy to be rightly angry and had even felt his rage explode outward, she never expected the sight before her. Intermixed within the furrowed brows of the handsome young man and his grim expression, there was an obvious fear in his eyes as tears streamed down his face. As someone who had been tormented and ostracized by society for hundreds of years, she could empathize with the pain the boy showed on his face. It was very simr to her own from when she had just be immortal, and it made her long-dormant emotions surge a bit. Though she didnt know his past, she realized she had wronged the previously courageous and spirited boy grievously. Vahn saw the woman vanish and teleport away more than 100m in the air the instant he turned his body. Unfortunately for her, the moment Vahns domain had expanded to 100m and he felt the snapping sound in his mind, it immediately expanded to 300m. As it was very difficult to determine the dimensions of his domain from with the interior, the woman had misjudged the distance she needed to teleport. While she was looking around with a bit of interest on her face, the area within the domain suddenly turned a light golden color and she could feel a hint of fear welling up inside her mind. Staring down at the face of the boy, she was once again pained by the depth of emotions on his expression, and she tried to rify things. However, before she uttered a single syble, a golden light shined next to her and a resplendent golden chain shot out several times faster than the speed of sound. The woman was incredibly surprised by the sudden emergence of the chain which she had previously seen the boy use from his palms. She tried to teleport away the moment she sensed the terrifying energy but found that the space around her was now locked. She realized the reason why the domain had turned golden; it was because the boy had somehow merged the properties of the chain into it. In ast-ditch effort, she erected a multiyer magical barrier to intercept the spear-like chain aimed at her gut. The chain collided powerfully with the barrier, and she released a short sigh of relief at having reacted in time. She diverted her attention between the barrier and the boy, who was still looking at her with a wrathful expression as tears continued to stream down his face. She could see that, if she didnt stop him, he would genuinely keep trying to kill her. Though the pain and anguish in his eyes seemed deep and profound, she knew that the anger he felt in this moment had trumped both emotions. A few seconds after the spearhead collided with the barrier, contrary to her expectations, the magical barrier seemed to bepletely ineffective as the spearhead tore through with an unstoppable might. However, even if she was marginally focused on Vahn, she still had hundreds of years ofbat experience. Creating a small foothold in the air itself, her figure vanished and she appeared next to Vahn in an instant. Surprisingly, though she knew he hadnt been able to follow her movements, the boy had already tilted his head in the direction she appeared. For a very brief instant, the womans mind nked out as she stared at the mixture of emotions contained within his eyes. Since their meeting three days ago, she had never heard his name or understood how he had managed to enter this space with his strange magical system. Several golden lights shed in the area around the boy as an additional four chains emerged at super-sonic speeds and tried to coil around her body. As she had experienced this type of attack before, she had been able to move long before they had cut off her path of retreat. She started chanting a spell with the intent to disable the wrathful boy so she could question him. Suddenly, the boy seemed to release a long and sad sigh as he turned his sights away from her and looked toward the sky. She felt a powerful fear begin to well up in her heart as he raised his hands skyward and began emitting energy in pulses. Every pulse seemed to collide with the void and was slowly but surely beginning to break the space of this pocket dimension. She suddenly realized what he was doing; he was using some kind of strange skill to destroy this space. He had given up on trying to fight her, and would rather throw away the attempt at learning her secrets than continue the fight. She stopped channeling her magic and shouted, "Wait, boy! That is unnecessary! I didnt intend to harm you!" Though she normally spoke in a cold and disinterested manner, even she wasnt willing to suddenly have the space she inhabited destroyed. Even though she was a construct and not a physical entity, she still had a purpose to achieve. If the boy before her destroyed the space, she might be free of the solitude, but it would have invalidated her purpose. Vahn turned his head toward the woman and saw she had an almost frantic look in her eyes as she held out one of her hands toward him. He continued channeling his [Chainbreaker] skill as he spoke in a dull and hate-filled tone, "Not just giving up the chance to learn your techniques, I would rather die than be another tool to be used for my blood at someone elses convenience. Selfish and cruel people like you...I cannot feel anything but hatred for. I dont know what caused you to have so much loneliness in your heart, but I have no reason to put in an effort to try and help you anymore." Though she didnt know the reason, the woman felt anguish in her heart after hearing his words. Even though they hadnt known each other for long, he was able to see through her facade and notice her loneliness. All she had done since their meeting was continually test him, but now she seemed to have overstepped her bounds greatly. Like her, the boy must have suffered greatly in the past, and it likely had something to do with his blood. Cracks began to spread out in the sky, and the woman could see that space would likely be destroyed in the next few minutes. Though she could forcibly send him out of the space, he would likely destroy the orb the moment he left. She didnt want to kill him, but she also didnt want to vanish withoutpleting her purpose. Gritting her teeth, she did thest thing she thought might work against the boy who seemed to have thrown away his emotions. Vahn felt a pulse of magical energy from the woman as he continued to stare at her in an almost dead-pan manner after giving up the fight. The figure in the elegant dress disappeared in a puff of smoke, and what remained of the mature beauty was now just a small doll-like girl hugging the remnants of her clothing to conceal her n.a.k.e.d form underneath. Though Vahn was surprised by her sudden change, he wasnt interested in her tricks so he turned his focus back toward the sky and continued to channel his [Chainbreaker] skill. Seeing that her n had failed, the little girl screamed out, "You idiot! I dont want to kill you, but if you destroy this space, I will disappear! Dont make me do something well both regret!!!" The girl cast a spell and the ck dress turned into particles which formed into a ck gothic-style dress on her body. She pulled out arge bluish purple sword as she aimed it toward Vahn with a warning look in her eyes. Vahn slowly turned his head and made eye contact with her as he spoke in a dull tone, "I said, I would rather die...Kill me if you must, but I will escape this space and never return to this cruel world." The moment his words ended, the small girl disappeared before reappearing in front of Vahn with the sword in hand. She swept it in a diagonal motion like she was going to bisect Vahn shoulder to hip. However, before the sword made contact with his skin, she stayed her hand and Vahn could feel the ambient energy from the de tickle his neck. Though she had intended to kill Vahn at that moment, his dull expression and voice had ovepped with her own memories of the past. She remembered there was a time, not long after she became immortal and traveled the world, where she hadpletely given up. If she had the opportunity at that time to die, she would have epted death with open arms. After having been made a tool and experiment of that hateful man, she had lost any semnce of emotion for several hundred years. Seeing the look on the boys face, she realized that she had now taken the ce of the person she hated the most. Because she had been interested in the boy and his blood, she plotted against him for her own convenience and even took advantage of him when he was unprepared. He was just like her at the time, a helpless child at the mercy of something far more powerful than he could hope to ovee... The young girl in front of Vahn dispersed her sword, but Vahn continued to channel his [Chainbreaker] without cease as he stared down at her small figure. She looked almost pitiful in her current form, far different from the mature beauty she had been before. But, even if she looked like a child, Vahn knew she was anything but. In his mind, she was the same as the people that had tormented him for the fourteen years of his previous life. He had literally died and fled to another world to escape that kind of torment. Now that he had been met with a simr situation, he feltpletely apathetic to whatever situation might have resulted in her sadness. The girl looked into his eyes and the two continued to stare at each other as space around began to destabilize with chaotic energy. After a few seconds, the girl spoke in a quiet voice, "Im Evangeline A.K. McDowell, a vampire that has lived for hundreds of years. Even if you destroy this space, I want you to know who I am, and know that I am sorry for having wronged you." She had a very sad expression on her face as she looked into Vahns cold and dead eyes. Vahn continued to channel his [Chainbreaker], but he couldnt help but feel a bit sad after the arrogant womans sudden change. He didnt know which form was her real figure, but he could see clearly that she was very saddened by everything that was happening. Her aura, which had previously been very powerful and a deep icy blue, was now small and slowly beginning to diminish. Instead of the icy blue color, it had be a watery blue tinged with purple hues. Vahn knew that, if nothing else, she was incredibly sad at the moment. Releasing a long and frustrated sigh, Vahn slowly retracted the energy he had put into his [Chainbreaker] skill before plopping down onto his butt. Though space was still cracking around them, it was slowly beginning to heal at a visible rate as the small doll-like girl stared at Vahn with a mixture of relief and sadness. Vahn looked into her eyes as the cold sensation in his mind began to melt. His domain shrank until it had dispersed entirely and Vahn said, "My name is Vahn Mason, and I think we need to talk." (A/N: Alternate Titles: F.u.c.k this shit, Im out. -Vahn Mason, Ch 147,It was a trap! Thats not a mature beauty!,Vahn is a big softie) Chapter 146 - Compatability

Chapter 146 - Compatability

The girl, Evangeline, sat down in front on Vahn with a relieved expression on her face as she said, "Indeed. Since this is primarily my fault, Ill begin, unless youd like to say anything first?" She stared toward Vahn with her clear blue eyes and he could see the coldness she had in their previous meetings hadrgely faded. Vahn thought for a moment with his eyes closed before asking, "Which form is the real you?" Hearing his question, Evangeline released a sad sigh as she exined, "This is my true form. My a.d.u.l.t form requires mana to sustain." Vahn nodded his head because he noticed that, while she was in her child form, her aura had be more stable. He continued in a questioning tone, "You said you were a vampire, is that why you tried to suck my blood?" Evangeline heard him mention his blood, and she was somewhat surprised with how casually he brought up the subject that seemed to have set him off previously. She furrowed her brows a bit and exined, "Yes, ever since I was turned into a vampire I had developed the ability to absorb the energy contained within peoples blood. I dont need it to sustain myself, as Im what is called a Shinso, or a True Vampire. However, in my current form, I dont have a way to easily restore my magical power. I was hoping to use your blood as a substitute while you slowly develop yourbat skills against me." Vahn thought about her words, and it made a bit of sense if that was really the case. Since she didnt have a real physical body, there was no way for her to regenerate her mana. There was also nothing within the space, so there was little chance she would be able to find food or resources to replenish her energy. While he was thinking, Evangeline asked in a low tone, "Can I ask why you were so angry after I sucked your blood? You said something about not being the tool of others..." Seeing the sorry expression on her small face, Vahn released a heavy sigh and began exining the matters about his past. He couldnt tell her the whole truth, but he told her a very close version. As he narrated his story, she continued to listen quietly and he could see various emotions like sadness, mncholy, and painful reminiscence. Vahn remembered her earlier words when she talked about how she was turned into a vampire, and noticed she had a simrly sad expression. After he finished his story, Evangeline looked at him with a sad expression on her face as she said in a soft tone, "We are very simr, you know that? Much like the people that experimented on you and your blood, I was also the victim of a madman that wanted to conduct research on immortality. On the eve of my 10th birthday, that evil man used a powerful magic to turn my body into that of a Shinso Vampire. In the bout of madness I suffered after awakening, I ended up killing one of the servants in the castle and fled in fear." Vahn could see a hint of tears beginning to well up in her eyes as she continued her story, "I didnt even know who had turned me into a vampire for a long time, butter discovered it was a man known as The Mage of the Beginning. He was a fiercely intelligent and powerful mage and pursued the secrets of Immortality until he eventually became a ceaseless entity. I was just one of his experiments, and the only reason he had chosen me was that I looked like a doll..." She rested her head on her knees and hugged her legs tightly as she said with a slight crying voice, "Just because such a stupid reason, my entire life was ruined. I had to flee my home and spent hundreds of years being treated like a monster. If I hadnt been immortal, I would have died countless times. Even then, that would have been better than the suffering I had to experience as people hunted me down. It wasnt until I increased my magic to a frightening extent that I was finally freed from their pursuit. But, no matter how long I researched and increased my strength, I could never break free from this curse." After her words, she peeked up over her knees and stared at Vahn with moist eyes, "Im sorry if you felt like I was treating you like the type of people we both hate. I have spent so much time in this space with only my memories and regrets, focused entirely on the purpose of why I was left behind by the original in this orb. Im not very good at dealing with people, and I needed blood to sustain my magic for future battles..." Vahn felt very bad for the young girl after she recounted her long history. Compared to the fourteen years he suffered, her hundreds of years made his short period of suffering seem almost inconsequential byparison. Though he couldnt distance himself well from his own past, he could at least empathize with her situation to a certain extent. Vahn tried to show her a gentle smile, but he couldnt help but cramp up at the attempt. Seeing Vahns expression falter, Evangeline realized that he still couldnt easily forgive her. Though his forgiveness wasnt that important to her, the thought that he saw her in the same vein as the monsters that tormented them saddened her. She hung her head to her knees and focused on trying to calm her own emotions. After a minute or so, she suddenly heard him ask, "If I give you my blood, will you help me train properly from now on?" Evangeline was surprised, and she raised her head and could see the concern in Vahns eyes. Even though he was obviously still afraid of her, he still showed her concern when she was sad. Evangeline felt a sour feeling in her heart as she said in a low voice, "I can try, but I still know almost nothing about your magic system. The two energies seem to be fundamentally different, and you seem to have no understanding of magic spells or how to create magic circles. Just where did youe from before you obtained my orb?" Vahn thought for a minute or so before he exined, "I have always lived on the continent of Eden, and Im not sure where that is located in the grand scheme of things. I obtained your orb after oveing a trial and obtaining its rewards. The description mentioned a skill called Magia Erebea, and it should bepatible with my energy system, even if the magical structure is different." As the entity that had been entrusted to teach Magia Erebea, Evangeline knew that was why he came here. However, his story didnt clear up any of the questions she had. Even when he transformed and used his magical domain, they werepletely different than the system from her world. She began to suspect that Vahn came from a divergent timeline or an alternate dimension that had ovepped with Mundus Magicus at some point. After thinking for a moment, Evangeline made a decision that would fundamentally change how Vahn would fight in the future. She looked at him and asked in a serious tone, "Do you want to be my disciple? If you agree, I will teach you the basics of my magic system and try to increase your qualifications to learn my Magia Erebea. Even if your body ispatible with the spell, it wont matter if you arent able to stabilize the magic due to ipatibilities." Vahn smiled a bit and was grateful for her change in mentality. He had always wanted to learn how to cast magic at some point, and Evangeline seemed to be a mage that transcended the peak of Tier 4. He couldnt understand the extent of her power but knew that, if he epted her proposal, he would experience a vast improvement in his strength in the future. Just as he was about to agree, Vahn remembered her words from earlier, so he asked, "That would require you to drain my blood, right?" Evangeline flinched a bit at his words, but seeing that his expression hadnt changed, she nodded her head and said, "That is correct. In exchange for teaching you, Ill need to drain a bit of your blood every day to sustain my magical power. Fortunately, the purity and energy contained within your blood is ridiculous, and it shouldnt take too much to recover all of my mana..." Though the idea of having his blood drawn made Vahn very ufortable, it wasnt that bad if he allowed it to be drawn willingly. He remembered the warm feeling that had spread through his body at the time and asked, "Earlier, when you sucked my blood, I felt a strange feeling. What was that?" Vahn asked the words because he was genuinely curious, but he never expected the reaction that Evangeline had when he asked. Contrary to all of his impressions of her, she blushed with a red face as she stuttered, "T-that was just a side-effect of when a vampire draws blood. To keep the other person calm, our fangs secrete a magical fluid that makes people feel good. Some people call it a vampires charm..." The reason Evangeline had attacked Vahn from behind was that she never liked feeding on people from the front if she could help it. Seeing the enamored expression that some of her victims had, she always felt very unnerved. Compared to her a.d.u.l.t form, Vahn found the current Evangeline to be very cute, especially after watching her stutter and blush as she answered his question. Though he wouldnt say it himself, especially after hearing about the Mage of the Beginning, Vahn also thought that she looked very much like a doll. The gothic-style dress with ribbons and frills enhanced the tinum blonde hair and crystalline blue eyes of her well-featured face. As someone that has lived for hundreds of years, Vahns look couldnt escape her eyes and she couldnt tolerate that he was teasing her, even if it was in his mind. With a smile on her face, she asked again, "So, will you be my disciple, or do you want me to send you out of this space?" Now that Vahn knew there wasnt anything strange about the warmth he had felt earlier, he didnt think the downsides outweighed the benefits he would gain by epting her offer. With his regeneration, he could probably generate blood faster than she would be able to suck, so it wouldnt affect him that much. After thinking about the matter for a few seconds, he uttered the words that would lead to his future suffering without hesitation, "Yes, Ill be your disciple, Evangeline." Evangeline lifted herself off the ground and dusted off her dress before walking closer to Vahn and saying, "From now on, you will call me Master Evangeline, or Evangeline-sama. Any other form of address, without my consent, will end up with you being punished." Though Vahn hadnt ever referred to anyone as Master, he understood it was the appropriate form of address given the situation so he responded, "Yes, Master Evangeline." Hearing Vahn called her as she ordered him, her brows furrowed a bit but fixed her expression a momentter. Vahn was currently sitting on the floor while leaning back on both of his hands with his legs crossed. Evangeline stood over him, and while he looked at her with a bit of curiosity, she sat down in hisp. Vahn was a bit surprised by her actions, but he didnt have to ask before she exined, "Its easier if I suck your blood like this. Just rx if you can, or hug my body if you cant." Though Evangeline would normally never suck someones blood from the front, she had taken a slight interest in Vahn due to their simrities and his good-natured character. She had been in this ce for countless years, and would probably be spending a lot of time with him in the future. Since he had teased her earlier, she wanted to see him in a fl.u.s.tered state when she sucked his blood. Unexpectedly, Vahn didnt seem to be fl.u.s.tered at all when she sat in hisp, so she asked, "Arent you veryposed? With how young you are, I cant imagine you have much experience with women." Vahn tilted his head after hearing her words and said inly, "Experience with women? Do you mean like s.e.x and stuff? Right now, I already have two lovers and a future mate with several others potential lovers for the future." Though it wasnt his intention, Vahns words seemed to deal critical damage to Evangeline as she looked at him with an incredulous expression and asked, "How old are you?" Though he was a bit confused by her question, Vahn answered, "Im currently fourteen, but Ill be turning 15 in a few months." Vahns words matched with how old Evangeline thought he was, but she couldnt help but wonder what kind of society he lived in if he was able to casually mention having multiple lovers and future lovers. Right now, she was sitting on hisp while trying to tease him, but she was the one bing fl.u.s.tered. Although she had lived for hundreds of years, she was still inexperienced in such matters due to various reasons. Releasing a somewhat sad sigh, Evangeline leaned forward so she could suck Vahns blood. Though she wasnt able to get a rise out of him by sitting in hisp, she still believed that he would act like a fool when she started drawing his blood. She moved his cor aside and bit into the side of his neck with her small fangs and started sucking his blood. Vahn felt the sharp pain from the insertion of the fangs, but it faded away almost instantly as the warm feeling started to spread in his body. It was a very pleasant sensation, so Vahn just closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth as it continued to spread. He could feel Evangeline breathing through her nose, and the airflow tickled his neck a bit, but he just tried to ignore it and allow her to continue. Evangeline had noticed that, though he had a very slight blush, Vahn seemed unaffected by the charm effect in her fangs. She began to suspect that his body prevented him from suffering any serious effects, and he likely just felt magical energy spreading in his body. Though it would undoubtedly feel pleasant, it wouldnt get her the reaction she wanted out of him. With a bit of frustration on her face, she leaned her non-existent b.r.e.a.s.ts against his body and prodded his neck a bit with her tongue. When she leaned forward, Vahns position had be a bit awkward, so he corrected his bnce and put his hands around her waist as she had instructed earlier. The moment he did so, he felt her body twitch and she stopped sucking his blood for a few seconds before continuing. Vahn remarked how soft her body was, but also felt that she was very small in his embrace. Right now, she was around the same height as Nanu, at 130cm, but she felt several pounds lighter and hade much fairer skin. Evangeline became increasingly fl.u.s.tered by Vahns failure to react, even after she pressed her b.r.e.a.s.ts against him. Even when he put his arms around her back, she was the one to flinch while he just continued to sit with a mildly pleased expression on his face. Her urge to make him panic continued to increase, and she started sucking more and more blood from his body. If she could make him light-headed, at the very least she could get him to ask her to stop. Unfortunately, no matter how long she sucked his blood, it seemed to never run out and even the density of the energy remained unchanged. Evangeline had long reached her magical capacity, and now she was trying to diffuse some of her mana into the air while continuing to absorb his blood. Eventually, her jaw actually started getting tired and she couldnt resist the overflowing magical energy in her body any longer. Releasing a long and hot sigh against Vahns neck, she slowly separated from his body and turned her back to him. Vahn was surprised at how long she had sucked his blood since she previously said it wouldnt take much. Against his expectations, she had continued sucking his blood for nearly half an hour before she finally reached capacity. Vahn suspected that her magical energy was much higher than he expected and she had been misleading him a bit earlier. She probably realized that his blood was regenerating, so she continued to drain more and more until she finally became full. Now that she had turned her back to him, Vahn started to stand up while asking, "Are you satisfied, Master Evangeline?" The moment he asked the question, Vahns instincts signaled danger to his mind as arge block of ice mmed into him from the front. His body hurled through the sky until he mmed hard into the ground. As he hadnt made any effort to defend himself, Vahn immediately suffered critical damage as his body began to dissolve into particles. Thest thing he saw before he was ejected from the ck and white world was the fair, snow-white face of Evangeline having turned beet red. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Loli Baba Rages,Empathy,Dark Magician Vahn) Chapter 147 - Godhand Strikes

Chapter 147 - Godhand Strikes

For the third day in a row, Vahn awoke with a painful headache. He couldnt understand why Evangeline had suddenlyshed out at him, but it was probably because he had done something wrong. Deciding he would be more careful around his new Master in the future, Vahn checked his system since several things had changed the previous night. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 14 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:3(3) -Power: 1906+(I30) -Endurance: 2221+(H128) -Dexterity: 1807+(I52)->(I53) -Agility: 1959+(I33)->(I35) -Magic: 3562+(E498)->(S934) Total:11455+(717)->(1180) Soul Tier 2 (Hero Soul)->3 (Lord Soul) [Karma]: 3,143 [OP]: 114,618 [Valis]: 3,271,630 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn felt excitement begin to well up inside of him as any misgivings he had aboutst nights events faded from his mind. When he had lost himself in a rage after Evangeline sucked his blood, his domain had evolved after reaching 100m and now his Soul Tier had increased to 3. He got a huge boost to his magic parameter and also noticed that his perception and senses had increased by an incredible amount. Even without activating his domain, he could sense the movement of Anubis in the next room and noticed she was quickly getting ready, likely so she would be able to receive him when he left his room. Vahn couldnt help butugh a bit after seeing how adorable her actions were. She usually acted in a calm and cool manner, but there were times when she would turn ditzy and affectionate. If Anubis knew that he was able to see what she was doing, she would probably be even more fl.u.s.tered. Though he couldnt actually see her, he could sense her presence as an ambiguous shape, and he was aware that she was currently dressing. As it was now Saturday, Vahn wasnt in too much of a hurry to prepare. He had given the children the weekends to themselves, and he had a few hours before he had to head out himself. Today was the day he had agreed to meet with Eina, and he felt a little excited at the prospect of escorting the beautiful half-elf around the town. Vahn wondered if he would be able to tease her and see any interesting expressions on her usually calm, bespectacled, face. Remembering when she had blushed up to her ears, Vahn had a silly smile on his face before he sshed it with cold water. Since he would be going on a date, Vahn dressed up a bit instead of wearing his normal clothing. He often wore light armor and his gauntlets even when he wasnt in the dungeon. Even when he was forging or walking around town, Vahn was always in a pseudo-ready state forbat at any time. After his training with Tsubaki, his awareness regarding self-defense had increased to a decent extent. Vahn wore a pair of expensive ck trousers that he had purchased with Lili and Naaza in the past. He also wore a loose white cored shirt, very simr to the fashion Hephaestus liked to wear. He always thought she had a sharp style, even though she was a very beautiful woman. Seeing his figure in the mirror with a red cor, Vahn admired his own form for a bit before smiling. He had noticed his height was increasing a lot recently, and he was now 161cm instead of the 150cm of the past. He was happy because he always felt awkward around some of the older women when hepared his height to theirs. Now that his height was increasing, it made his figure stand out more, and even Vahn thought that his physique had been shaping well. Though he was still very lean, he had obvious muscles which he noticed drew the eyes of girls around him. He had wild, dark-brown, hair and aquamarine eyes that shone with a hint of confidence. Though he was just a level 3, Vahn knew that he would be a match for most Level 4s and even proved a threat to unprepared Level 5s. With his increased Soul Tier and enhanced senses, his confidence was at an all-time high. After leaving his room, Vahn saw Anubis waiting for him and they both had surprised expressions on their faces. Anubis saw Vahns attire and confident appearance and felt her heart throbbing in her chest as her eyes widened. Vahn was having a simr reaction because Anubis had changed her outfit once again. Now, instead of the golden essories, she now had on the ck cor around her neck without any other adornments. Though her outfit looked less seductive than the previous one, she was actually showing even more skin now. She had on a tight ck top that looked to be made of a stretchy ck fabric as is ented her b.r.e.a.s.ts. The cloth was so thin that, if she had been wearing a bra, it would easily be visible through the fabric. Vahns vision wandered down her uncovered abdomen and inspected the garment she was wearing around her waist. Instead of a dress or a robe, she was now wearing a tight ck fabric that looked like shorts that extended halfway down her thighs. Around her h.i.p.s, she had on a white cloth with golden triangr embroidery hugging her h.i.p.s and creating a stark contrast with the rest of her outfit. Interestingly, she was also wearing some kind of woven sandals that seems to be made of golden weave that ented the triangr patterns on her waist. After her initial shock at his appearance, Anubis now waited patiently while Vahn inspected her clothes and figure. She noticed, when she had first changed outfits, Vahn didnt seem to have any resistance against inspecting new things. With that thought in mind, she wanted to see if he had a simr reaction when she changed outfits again. Seeing the result, Anubis was very pleased and even slowly turned her body around so he could see the back as well. Vahn continued to stare at Anubis with clear intrigue in his eyes, and when she turned around, he even tilted his head slightly to see her backside marginally faster. The cloth around her b.r.e.a.s.ts hugged around her torso, but it left her back uncovered, same as her abdomen. When Vahn looked down at her tail, he took a critical amount of mental damage, because he had seen Anubis had tied a golden ribbon around her pitch-ck silken tail. Vahn had an irresistible urge to want to pull the ribbon, almost like he was unwrapping a present. Anubis felt her expectations increasing as she saw Vahn stretch out his hands in a mild daze. She was focusing all of her efforts on preventing her tail from wagging, and she could feel the muscles around her butt twitching because of the effort. Since her tail had snapped Vahn out of his intrigue previously, she was now biting the inside of her lip to prevent from giving into her instincts. Vahn finally reached the tantalizing ribbon and, since Anubis hadnt given him any strange reactions, he pulled the two golden strings and the entire white cloth around Anubiss waist fell to the ground. Vahns eyes widened at the sight, but he couldnt avert his eyes due to the shapely butt of Anubis. The fabric she was wearing, that looked like shorts, perfectly hugged the flesh around her h.i.p.s and left nothing to the imagination. Just like she wasnt wearing a bra under the top fabric, Vahn could tell that Anubis wasnt wearing panties and it made his temples throb a bit. Vahn could feel a pressure building at the bridge of his nose, and a tingling sensation in the middle of his forehead as his hands, which had been nking Anubiss tail, slowly made their way to the ck fabric. Without any thoughts other than wanting to experience the sensation, Vahn stroked both of Anubiss cheeks and felt the buoyancy of her plump bottom for the first time. Though she didnt seem to have any fat on her body, her butt was incredibly soft like a satin cushion that conformed to the shape of his hands. Anubis couldnt resist her own urges anymore, and there was even a small amount of blood dripping from her lip as she let out a m.o.a.n and leaned against the wall with her hands while her tail began wagging furiously back and forth. Her actions snapped Vahn out of his daze and he just stared at her bent over form with wide eyes and high brows. Anubis was bent over at a steep angle and resting against the wall using her hands as support. Her butt was sticking out directly toward Vahn, and he could see the shape of both her butt as well as a soft looking mound between both of her thighs. Though he couldnt see the shape of the v.a.g.i.n.a itself, Vahn couldnt help but imagine Anubiss nude form ovepped with her current figure. Since the clothing she was wearing hugged her figure so tightly, it wasnt difficult to imagine at all. After stabilizing her breathing, Anubis looked back at Vahn and made no effort to stand as she whispered in a passionate voice, "Master..." Vahn locked eyes with Anubis when she spoke to him, and he could see her eyes were slightly zed over as she looked at him with a pleading look in her eyes. Vahn cursed at himself for his earlier actions, and the fact he had once again done something irresponsible. Right now, he very much wanted to continue and even had a mild urge to tear the stretchy fabric that concealed the spot his eyes had been drawn to earlier. If not for the image of Hephaestus and her words, Vahn felt like he would have had no resistance against the current Anubis. He had long realized she was making advances and showed an interest in him, but he wasnt willing to sleep with another goddess before he kept his promise with Hephaestus. For now, he thought the best way to take responsibility was the help relieve her currently suffering state. Though Vahn knew none of the children woulde to this area, especially if they heard Anubis, he still stepped closer to her and lifted up her body in a princess carry. Anubis had noticed that he seemed to struggle with something, and she expected that he would once again refuse her. Just as she was about toment about the situation, Vahn picked up her body effortlessly and held her close as he carried her to her own room. Anubis could feel her heart beating fiercely and couldnt prevent a smile from appearing on her enraptured face. Vahn opened the door with a bit of difficulty but managed to eventually make his way inside before setting Anubis down on her bed. The moment he put her down, Anubis began to breathe heavily as she stared at him with a passionate gaze. Vahn felt guilty under the intense gaze, but he continued forward without hesitation as he told Anubis, "Turn over on your stomach." Hearing the firm andmanding tone of Vahn, Anubis turned over to her stomach with her excitement reaching a critical level. As a goddess that had taken the form of a chienthrope, she had long adopted their cultures and traditions. Leaving her back to Vahn and pressing her body to the bed made her feel happy in her heart and she could feel a longing feeling in her w.o.m.b. She knew Vahn was very well endowed, and she had a bit of expectation about what was going to happen. She even wanted him to wrap her up in [Enkidu] in the hopes that she would get pregnant. Vahn stared at the beautiful figure of Anubis for a few moments before pressing down on her butt which she had lifted into the air. Though Anubis was a bit confused, she didnt resist as Vahn positioned himself behind her body. Her excitement continued to climb and, when Vahn grabbed her tail, she couldnt help but m.o.a.n out at how forceful his actions were. When he held her tail between her thighs, she was once again confused, but when she felt Vahns weight on the back of her thighs, she didnt say anything and just buried her face into the pillow. Vahn had pinned Anubiss tail with his own body because it was wagging around so fast that it would get in the way of what he was about to do. Before he began, he couldnt help but stare at the plump butt of Anubis for a few extra seconds before he sighed and ced his palms on her lower back. He began cing energy into his palms and slowly began making his way up her back as he began massaging her body. When Vahn had put his hands on her lower back, Anubis thought he was about to remove her bottoms, but instead, she felt a warm and calming energy enter her body. Her mind nked for a moment before she realized what Vahn was doing. Instead of having s.e.x with her, he was trying to forcefully calm her body down. Anubis immediately wanted to resist his actions and even nned to pin him down if she had to, but in a manner simr to Hephaestus, she couldnt put any strength into her body. While her tensions were constantly increasing, Anubis was stuck in a cycle between incredible pleasure and absolute rxation. Before now, she never knew how dangerous Vahns massage technique was. No matter how she tried to will her body to move, she couldnt put any strength into her twitching muscles. It wasnt long before she felt the insides of her v.a.g.i.n.a begin to mp as a powerful climax began to rack her body all the way from her tail to her brain. Her thoughts began to fly, but no matter how much she struggled to find purchase to rest on, she was taken on a trip to greater and greater heights. Vahn marveled at how soft Anubiss body was, and noticed that she had rxed a lot now. After a few minutes of his massaging, she calmed down and was now justying limp on the bed with a subtly happy expression while her body twitched about under his hands. He thought it was interesting how both she and Hephaestus had simr reactions to his massage technique and wondered if it was a characteristic of goddesses. Since he had felt bad about setting her off earlier, Vahn continued to massage her body for a little more than half an hour until she had rxed to the point where she fell asleep. When he removed his hands, he once again had the illusion that her body had turned to putty by the time he had stopped. He noticed that she was sweating quite a bit, and he could smell her aromaing from his palms. Since he didnt want her to get sick, he took a towel and helped wipe down her body before covering her with a nket. When he had rolled her over to wipe her front, it was like rolling over a human-shaped sack, since she made no efforts to resist or help move her body. Her front wasnt as sweaty as her back since most of her sweat had soaked into the nkets. Since her sheets were a light green color, Vahn could see a dark stain shaped like Anubis, including an incrediblyrge stain around where her waist had been resting. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Poor Pupper,The Cruel Godhand,I wonder if anyone remembered that Vahn got Tier 3 in this chapter) Chapter 148 - Smell

Chapter 148 - Smell

Satisfied after helping Anubis, Vahn affectionately stroked the goddesses ears for a bit before leaving the room. The entire time he had done so, she waspletely unresponsive as she drew shallow and steady breathes whilst asleep. After leaving her room, Vahn made his way to the kitchen to make some breakfast for himself. He had to pass through the dining room on the way and found Rasui and Nour sitting at the table while reading books. When they saw him enter, both boys jumped to their feet and gave him a salute as they shouted, "Good morning, Master!" Vahn gave a curt nod and allowed them to return to their studies. He noticed they were reading books rted to the dungeon and would likely work toward bing full-time adventurers in the future. They were already Level 2, and with a bit of guidance, they would be more capable as their knowledge expanded. Just the fact they were using their free time to continue studying made Vahn happy with their efforts. Vahn entered the kitchen and started making a light breakfast of rice and eggs. While he had been living with Tsubaki, Vahn had learned how to cook a bit alongside Lili and Naaza. Though they tried to take care of everything themselves, Vahn was actually quite fond of cooking and continued to practice when he could. Though he hadnt learned any skills, he had learned a few recipes from books and manuals he had purchased through the system. As he was frying the rice, a figure entered into the kitchen and approached from behind. Vahn was aware that it was Nanu because he had been able to sense her before she entered with his newly enhanced senses. Vahn spoke out in a humorous tone that caused the girl to flinch a bit, "Good morning, Nanu. I made a few extra portions, but youll have to wait a bit before its finished." Nanu nodded her head and patiently waited at the side instead of heading back to the dining room. After a while, when Vahn was beginning to empty the woks contents onto tes, she asked out in a muted tone, "Master, why are you so dressed up today?" Vahn was a bit surprised by the question as he inspected himself for a bit beforeughing a response, "Ah, I should have mentioned, but I have a date today with a girl named Eina Tulle. It might sound a bit strange, but I had already agreed to the date before we became mates, so try to understand." Vahn noticed that she didnt seem surprised by his words as she just nodded her head in understanding. She already understood that Vahn would likely have multiple women, and she was satisfied as long as she had a ce. After a bit of hesitation, Nanu asked with a slightly worried tone, "Did you sleep with Anubis-sama?" After she heard Rasui and Nour greet Vahn, Nanu immediately made her way toward the dining room. However, once she entered the room, she noticed a peculiar smell mixed in with the scent of her Master. It was the deep smell of a woman and could have only been caused if Anubis had been put into heat. The fact that she was able to smell the heavy scent on Vahn made her feel like she had lost out against Anubis. Vahn realized why she was asking the question since chienthropes had powerful noses and enhanced hearing. He handed her one of the tes before exining, "I identally set her off, but I didnt do anything other than giving her a message to help her rx. Right now, she is sleeping in her bed and should wake upter." After his words fell, Nanu seemed visibly relieved and Vahn couldnt help but smile at her adorable act. The two ate in the dining room side-by-side as Vahn made conversation with the two boys who were continuing their studies. He was able to confirm his suspicions, as the profession the two had chosen had indeed been adventurers. Most of the males of their tribe were obsessed with strength because they would have difficulties finding a mate otherwise. Vahn tried to correct their mentality a bit and exined how general rtionsh.i.p.s, as far as he knew, were within the City. Though strength would be helpful, it wasnt a requirement as long as you were polite and made an effort to please others. All of the kids listened as Vahn exined his experiences with women, including Nanu whose ears continued to twitch as Vahn talked about his exploits. While Vahn was exining, he realized that his situation was pretty uniquepared to most people, so he tried to focus on his interactions with Chloe and Naaza. He even informed them about his uing date, and both boys seemed to have fervent expressions on their faces as he continued discussing all the women he associated with. From their perspective, the stronger the Alpha, the greater the number of mates. For Vahn to already have so many potential mates, the two boys felt very inspired. While the boys seemed super excited, Vahn was vaguely aware of Nanu inching closer to him while stroking her cor in a happy manner. She didnt seem to mind the talk about women at all, and Vahn was impressed with how epting she was. By the time breakfast had finished, Vahn had ended up petting her head which strangely prompted the two boys to take the dishes away before leaving the two at the table. After their exit, Nanu started rubbing her head against his palm and leaned her body toward him a bit. Though it wasnt too dissimr from the other times she had done so, Nanu seemed very intent on rubbing her hair against both of his hands and even tried moving to hisp after sniffing his body a bit. Vahn stopped her actions and asked, "Why are you acting so affectionate all of a sudden? I just wanted to pet you a bit since you were acting cute." Nanus ears twitched when he said the word cute, but she kept herposure as she exined, "Im trying to cover Anubis-samas scent with my own. Both Rasui and Nour had been distracted by it ever since you started eating breakfast. Then when you started talking about women, your own scent began to increase and it made the smell of Anubis-sama more prominent." Vahn was surprised by her words and transformed into his Bih form out of curiosity. The moment his transformation finished, Vahn noticed there were a plethora of scents in the air, including a bittersweet oneing from Nanu who was sitting next to him. Smelling his palms, he could smell a strange fragrance masking another fragrance that made his head flutter a bit. Nanu had been watching his actions with interest and knew that he wasnt used to distinguishing the scents, so she tried exining a bit. Vahn listened to her, as he was very curious himself. Nanu told him how to pick up scents and even memorize them by storing a bit of the fragrance within the upper area of the nose. She also told him about scent masking and demonstrated by rubbing her hair against his hand while trying to drive away the other scent. After the lesson ended, Vahn smelled his hand and thought it smelled a little bit like shampoo with an earthy aroma. Unlike the smell that made his heart flutter, it was a somewhat calming smell which Vahn found unique. He gave a smile toward Nanu and said, "Thanks, Nanu, your lesson was very informative. I also think your smell is very rxing, almost like nature with a bit of a citrus smell." Nanu nodded her head with a happy expression as she exined, "Nn, thank you for thepliment, Master. The ears of a chienthrope emit a pheromone that helps calm excitement and mask scents. We also emit pheromones from the tail that do the opposite, as well as emit the natural musk of a female when we are excited." As if to demonstrate her point, Nanu turned slightly and held up her tail for Vahn to smell. Vahn leaned forward and noticed that, unlike the earthy smell of before, her tail smelled warm and it made his head buzz a bit. It was a strange smell because he couldnt exin it by anything other than how it felt when he smelled it. Nanu tried to go even further and stood up while Vahn was still sitting low to the ground. Vahn was curious at her actions as she moved closer toward him until a powerful scent hit his nose like a truck. He couldnt resist jerking back his head as he stared at Nanu with a mildly shocked expression on his face. The bittersweet scent that he had smelled since earlier, was far more fragrant suddenly and Vahn realized it wasing from Nanus crotch. When she stood up, she had slightly oriented herself toward him, and the smell caused his heart to beat so quickly that he could feel his temples pulsing. Nanu seemed somewhat pleased by his reaction as she exined, "Though it differs between girls, that is my scent when I am excited. Please remember it well, Master." After finishing her words, Nanu gave a polite bow before trotting away in a somewhat excited manner. Vahn could smell the bittersweet odor linger in the air a bit, and he felt like he would even be able to follow its trail long after she left. Shortly after Nanu left, both Rasui and Nour showed back up in the dining room and smelled the air a bit before looking toward the door where she had left. Vahn noticed that the two boys seemed to be a bit excited by the smell, but after they noticed his gaze their ears lowered before they exited through the opposite door. Vahn noticed that the two boys also had a smell of their own, but it was a bit strange since it almost smelled a little like they were afraid. Before he left the house, Vahn went to the bathroom and washed off his body a bit before rinsing himself down and smelling himself. It took a bit of effort, but he was able to remove every smell other than his own. Though he knew she wouldnt be able to smell it, Vahn was still a bit worried about meeting Eina with the smell of another woman on his body. After changing his clothes, he headed out the door and made his way toward the rendezvous point. He still had nearly three hours, but remembering how early Chloe had shown up for their date, Vahn decided it wasnt a bad idea to arrive early. While he was walking, Vahn was thinking about how difficult it must be to live as a chienthrope or cat person with such heightened senses. He assumed it might be easier to deal with if you grow up with those senses, but remembering the reaction of Rasui and Nour, he wasnt too sure. If it was so easy to be influenced by just a smell, he wondered how they were able to get around without always being excited. With that thought in mind, Vahn remembered all the various cat people and chienthropes he had seen. Now that he looked back in hindsight, they did seem to be a bit more excitable than other races. Cat people were usually somewhat yful and inquisitive, while chienthropes seemed to experience emotional ups and downs faster than any other race. Thinking of the variety of different races, Vahn suddenly thought of Lili who had the ability to adopt the traits of any race. It suddenly made a bit of sense to him why she was always in a somewhat chaotic state of mind. She had emotional ups and downs like a chienthrope, the inquisitive and somewhat possessive nature of a cat person, the literal figure and emotional burden of a pallum...it was like she was a hodge-podge of all the good and bad traits of every race. Vahn hoped that, by the time she became an a.d.u.l.t, she would have stabilized a bit. He even considered personally asking her to train and develop her [Cinder*E] so she would have better control in the future. It seemed like a good idea, as she was always very receptive to his input. Vahn was actually somewhat surprised, since they lived so close, that Lili or Naaza hadnt stopped by. He wasnt aware at the time that both girls had, in fact, been stopping. Whenever they did, they were always informed by Anubis that Vahn was forging which had caused the two girls to leave with determined expressions on their faces. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wash yoself,Date Preparations,Dont mess with the Alpha) Chapter 149 - Date with Eina Tulle (1/2)

Chapter 149 - Date with Eina Tulle (1/2)

Vahn arrived at the rendezvous point and still had more than two-and-a-half hours until they were supposed to meet. Sitting on the edge of the fountain where they were supposed to meet, Vahn was enjoying the cool morning air on his skin while slowly absorbing the rays of the sun which had just begun to crest over the houses and walls surrounding the City. Sunrise had only been around an hour ago, and there was a gentle mist in the air that made the atmosphere feel calm and quiet. While he was waiting, Vahn was reading various books in his mind regarding elves, half-elves, and even human rtions. He was surprised because he came across a passage that discussed a bit about hereditary traits and genealogy. ording to the book, the various different races could only breed with each other, with the exception of humans and Amazons. For some reason, it seemed like humans could breed with every race, and there were even rare cases where gods and spirits had mated with a human and produced offspring. The thing that made Vahn feel a little strange was, there was a high chance that a half-breed would never have children because of some kind of gic deviation. They were only able to breed with humans, and the fertility rate was almost low enough to be negligible. After finding this information, Vahn imagined Tsubaki who was already 36 years old but refused courtsh.i.p.s while she focused on training and cksmithing. He felt bad for her because she was such a kind and caring person yet hadnt had the opportunity to have children of her own. Her situation also made him think of Eina, who was a half-elf, a human mixed with the species that had the lowest fertility rate of all other races except spirits and gods. She was 16-17 at this time, but there was a good chance she wouldnt have children for several years, and that is if she made an effort to do so. Vahn was annoyed after learning this new information and having a few realizations of his own. He looked through the system and purchased a variety of manuals and doc.u.mentation on fixing gic defects, increasing fertility, and anything else he thought might prove beneficial. The thought of people trying to have children, yet unable to do so, was something that Vahn that was very unnerving to Vahn. After learning that his [Enkidu] may allow him to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e goddesses, Vahn had been thinking about children a lot. Around a half hour before the meeting time, Eina entered the small za with the fountain and saw Vahn sitting in a state of deep contemtion. She was a bit happy that he had shown up early, as she was a bit worried that she would have to wait for a while. This was Einas first date, and she wanted everything to go perfectly for the time being. There were various things she wanted to discuss with Vahn, but for now, she just wanted to experience acting like a couple for a few hours. WIth Vahns enhanced perception, even with his eyes closed, he was able to sense the approach of another person. He noticed the silhouette was a gentle sky-blue with a tinge of yellow, and when he opened his eyes, he saw that it was Eina with a happy smile on her face. Vahn realized that the shapes he saw with his enhanced perception, were actually the auras of the people around him. He was happy at the realization, as well as the fact that Eina had arrived early, so he smiled widely. Eina was wearing a navy blue skirt that reached past her knees with a white stripe embroidered with flowers around the hem. Her blouse was a light green with a frayed cor and she was wearing a beige cardigan over the top. She leaned forward slightly with her arms behind her back as she tilted her head and asked Vahn with a smile, "Were you waiting long?" Vahn stood up from the fountain before walking a bit closer and responding, "I was a bit excited, so I showed up early." Hearing his own words, Vahn chucked a bit before saying, "I notice youre also a bit early, Eina." Vahn put a little more emphasis on her name than normal which caused Eina to blush slightly as she exined, "T-this is my first date. I thought it would be impolite to keep you waiting, but it seems my efforts were for naught." Her reaction made Vahn feel happy as, for some reason, seeing the girl in a fl.u.s.tered state always made him feel warm inside. She saw his expression and averted her eyes a bit which caused Vahn to finally notice why she looked strange since he saw her earlier. Whenever she was at the Guild, she always wore a pair of sses that made her look sharp and intelligent. Now, she had ditched her professional clothing and had even removed her sses as she stood before him in casual attire. She looked like a beautiful young woman on the precipice of a.d.u.l.thood. Eina noticed that he was staring at her, and it made her feel both excited and annoyed. She remembered the first time they met and how his eyes also seemed to wander, but his vision always remained clear like he was genuinely appreciating what he saw. She asked in a mock angry tone, "How long are you going to keep gawking?" If Eina had known Vahn could see her aura, she would probably stomp on the ground in frustration because he took her question in stride and answered smoothly, "As long as youll let me. You look very cute right now, though I dont mind your professional attire either." This time, Vahns words made the blush spread from her cheeks to her ears as she inhaled a deep breath like she was going to scream at him. Eina held the breath for several seconds while looking at Vahns naive and handsome face before she let out the breath with an exasperated sigh and asked, "So, have you decided where youll be taking me? You should know that I have very high expectations since this is my first date. Try to act your part properly until the end, okay Vahn?" Vahn nodded his head in affirmation as what seemed like a perpetual smile covered his face. Every time he was around Eina, it always made him very happy, like all of her actions were very pleasing to him. Though it wasnt like how he felt around Hephaestus, Tiona, and Ais, it made Vahn feel somewhat proud to be standing before the girl he had thought highly of in the manga. He extended his arm to her and she stared at it for a moment before locking her arm with his. Vahn led Eina around to various ces he had visited in preparation for their date and made sure to ask her several questions about herself. He constantly paid attention to her aura and measured his actions by seeing how her affections increased or decreased. Though it was Einas first date, it was also the first time Vahn had nned out the events, so he was in high spirits. Eina also seemed to be enjoying herself and, by the time lunch came, she was holding onto Vahns arm in a much more affectionate manner. Though Einas b.r.e.a.s.ts looked somewhat modest in her casual attire, they were actually on therger end of the spectrum at around 86cm. Right now, Vahn could feel her right b.r.e.a.s.t pressing into his left arm as he led the smiling girl around the various markets and stalls. Eventually, they had already been on the date for around four hours before Vahn took Eina to a park to rest and enjoy a pic he had prepared. She seemed to be very pleased with how much effort he was putting in and even remarked about how useful his storage magic was. Though their date hadnt ended yet, she invited him toe shopping with her in the future. Vahn set out all the dishes on the nket he hadid on the grass, and Eina noticed that the majority of the dishes were still warm. Her emerald green eyes squinted a bit as she casually asked, "All of these foods, how long ago did you buy them?" Vahn noticed her tone was slightly odd and that her aura had fluctuated for a moment. Even though he wasnt looking at her, he could feel it flicker from behind his back. Suddenly, he remembered something he had learned long ago and had been overlooking for a very long time. Since Eina already knew about his storage magic, Vahn wasnt shy when using it in front of her. However, he had forgotten a very important aspect of storage magic since he had been eating with Anubis and the children a lot recently. Items that had been ced into the dimensional space created by storage magic slowly lost their heat over time... Vahn turned his head and looked into the inquisitive face of the beautiful half-elf. He could see from her slightly wispy aura that she was waiting to see if he would tell her the truth, or if he would try to lie to her. Releasing a sigh, Vahn sat down on the nket next to her and continued to hold eye contact as he exined, "As you suspect, my storage magic isnt normal. Even I cant tell you where ites from though, as Ive always had the ability ever since I became self-aware in the Western Forests." As everything Vahn said was the truth, Eina gave a satisfied nod before c.o.c.king her head sideways and contemting for a few seconds. After finding the words she was looking for, Eina asked, "Youre not a normal human, are you Vahn? Even if you were a super prodigy, increasing from Level 1 to Level 3 in two months is actually an impossible feat. By the time the next Denatuses around, you will be one of the most famous people in the City because of your exploits." After speaking, Eina didnt wait for Vahns response as she looked into his eyes with a gentle smile and asked, "Can you tell me about yourself? I want to know where you came from, why youre here, and where youll be going in the future." Eina didnt mind if Vahn had secrets, but if he was going to try courting her, she wanted to know everything she could to help prepare her own decision. Though she had been very happy on their date, Eina had heard many concerning rumors about Vahntely and wanted to see if she could make sense of the matters. Vahn ruminated over his own thoughts for a few minutes while thinking about how well things had gone so far. Though she started the date with 62 affection, the number had increased rapidly and she was currently sitting at 85 points with an intrigue of 91. Remembering how she acted in the manga, and seeing how well she thought of him, Vahn decided to exin about his history in the same manner as he had discussed previously with Hephaestus and Tsubaki. Eina listened to Vahns recounting of his past with a mix of intrigue and concern. Hearing how tragic his past was, Eina recalled the small boy she had met nearly two months ago when he had shown up to report his level up and trade in a ridiculous amount of monster cores. He was much smaller at the time, and Eina almost felt like he was a cute little boy that had a bit of a crush on her. Now, Vahn had grown to a height near her own, and they almost sa eye to eye when conversing. He had changed so much in such a short period of time and even achieved Level 3 after fighting against a Goliath on his own. She realized that he had to be putting in an insane amount of effort that would have broken a normal person. With that thought, she realized that Vahn may actually already be broken. Considering his past and how he acted around others, she was able to exin a bunch of his actions if she considered that he was slightly dysfunctional. Vahn noticed that Einas affection had suddenly jumped to 91, and he continued his story all the way until the end. Since he was being honest, Vahn also took the opportunity to exin his rtionship with Hephaestus, Tiona, Ais, Nanu, and even the various other people in his life like Naaza and Lili, who had both been saved by him in the dungeon. Though he had expected her to be upset, she actually seemed to be a bit relieved after she gave him a strange look. After his story was finished, Eina asked him, "Those girls you mentioned, do you truly love them?" Vahn was a little surprised by the question and he seriously considered his answer before saying, "Im still a bit confused on matters rted to love. I think I love Hephaestus, and I want to do my best to meet her expectations. Though she may not appear that way on the surface, she is actually a terribly lonely woman. I have also made promises to have children with Tiona and help protect Ais in her pursuit of revenge. I feel deeply for every woman that has shown me affection, and I want to do my best for each and every one of them." Eina furrowed her brows for a bit in contemtion before muttering in a low voice, "He really is broken..." She looked at Vahn with an almost sad look in her eyes as she imagined that the boy had no brakes. He suffered so much in the past that he now sought out affection from others and pushed himself far behind the limits of where a normal person would break. The only reason he was able to do so, was because he was already broken from the start... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Eina sees clearly without sses,View affection is hax, where was this in my childhood!?,Growing up without growing up) Chapter 150 - Date with Eina Tulle (2/2)

Chapter 150 - Date with Eina Tulle (2/2)

Eina began forming her own interpretation of the events that had transpired around Vahn, and she wasnt that far from the truth. Recalling all the things he had exined, she realized there was something that he had left out which contradicted almost everything else he had done. She could feel her heart rate increase a bit as she asked, "Why did you decide to pursue me, Vahn? All of your other rtionsh.i.p.s with women seemed to have happened due to circ.u.mstance, but youve acted strangely toward me since the beginning. On the first day we met, you even confessed to me in front of the entire Guild." Einas words actually surprised Vahn, as he himself didnt understand how to begin his exnation. He couldnt tell her she was one of the characters he liked from the manga, and it seemed very awkward to say he liked to tease her unless he had a reason to do so. Vahn thought for a moment, and Eina waited patiently at the side without disturbing him. After hearing her point it out, Vahn realized that she was actually the only woman he had proactively approached based on his own decision. He thought she was very beautiful, and the moment they had met he instantly wanted to tease her because it made him feel happy. Vahn couldnt think of anything else, so he released a sigh while saying with a bit of apprehension, "When I first saw you at the Guild, I thought you were very cute, even beautiful with your emerald green eyes. I dont understand the reason myself, but whenever I see your poised and professional demeanor, I want to make you smile or fl.u.s.tered. It...makes me feel happy." Einas brows raised at his exnation, and she began to realize that she may be the first woman he proactively approached. He clearly didnt have a grasp on his own emotions, and even when he mentioned his rtionsh.i.p.s with Tiona and Ais, it was almost like he was being dragged along for the ride. Remembering how he exined his interactions with Chloe, Hephaestus, and Tsubaki, Eina realized they were trying to help him build rtionsh.i.p.s. Unfortunately, though they empathized with him and wanted to help, they failed to ount for the fact that Vahn was broken, and not simply traumatized. They did well to keep him from being taken advantage of, but after he finally experienced a rtionship with a woman, they didnt reign him in and exin things. Now, almost immediately after his first s.e.x.u.a.l interaction, he was suddenly surrounded by women and girls that had expectations for him. Since he was so eager to please, he always gave in to their needs and worked hard to make them happy. Eina was suddenly overwhelmed by the urge to take Vahn away from this City and raise him like a normal boy. She understood that everyone around him wanted the best for Vahn, but they had overlooked his character and allowed him to bear their burdens. If it was just one or two people, it might have been okay, but Vahn had mentioned more than ten! He was even learning to forge so he could impress Hephaestus while simultaneously supporting another Familia, and this was all while he was supposed to be recovering from serious injuries. Vahn noticed that Eina was lost in her own thoughts and had a very serious expression on her face. He could even see that her aura was slightly chaotic, and he felt like he had done something to upset her. As they were very close to each other, Vahn reached out his hand and ced it on her head while channeling his [Hands of Nirvana]. Since she had styled her hair a bit, he didnt think it would be appropriate to stroke her hair and mess it up. Feeling a warm energy enter her head, Eina looked toward Vahn who was showing her a gentle smile with a bit of concern in his eyes. She suddenly felt like her heart was wrenching in her chest and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. Eina, in that instant, felt a powerful regret emerge from her heart as she recalled everything he had said earlier. She felt like, when he had confessed to her at the Guild, it was almost like a cry for help and she had failed to hear it. Back then, he hadnt built any of the rtionsh.i.p.s he had mentioned, and every rtionship he had after his confession to her was at the initiation of the opposite party. Eina felt like, if she had epted his feelings at the time and cared for him, he would be on the road to recovery, and not bearing the burdens of so many people. She could have taken him and bought a small house and lived together while trying to help him live a normal life. Vahn was surprised when Eina suddenly started crying and he couldnt help but pull her into his embrace as he starting gently patting her back and softly saying, "Im sorry, Eina, I didnt mean to make you sad..." The moment Vahn apologized to her, Eina couldnt hold back her tears anymore as she hugged Vahns waist and cried. The more heforted her, the more she felt like she had failed him. Now, even though she should have been the one to help bear his burdens, he was trying tofort and relieve her of the pain and guilt she was feeling. Eina continued to cry in Vahns arms for around five minutes as he continued patting her back like he wasforting a child and gently whispering into her ear. He didnt know what he had done to set her off, but he knew it was his fault and wanted to make her smile again. Every time he saw one of the girls around him sad or crying, he always felt like the world around him was a little bleaker. He couldnt tolerate the atmosphere for much longer, so he did something drastic and tilted Einas chin and kissed the teary-eyed elf. He didnt do anything special and just gave her a gentle peck on the lips in hopes of lifting her mood a bit. Even if she was angry at him for doing so, it would be much better than having her cry into his chest. Though she still had tears in her eyes, Eina immediately stopped crying as she stared nkly at Vahns face. Seeing her expression, Vahn showed a gentle smile and said, "Please dont be sad, Eina, it breaks my heart to see you like this. I prefer your happy and smiling face a lot more. Why dont we eat lunch and try to enjoy the date? If not, I can escort you home and we can try again in the future." Eina seemed toe back to life with his words as she began processing everything that had happened. She realized she had a very big decision to make, and it could potentially shape both of their lives far into the future. If she abandoned Vahn, he would likely continue to spiral downwards until he was eventually consumed by the weight of the burdens he bore. However, if she chose to be with him, she could very well be one of those burdens in the future. Seeing the concerned expression on his face, Eina felt her heart twitch a bit and couldnt help but furrow her brows a bit. She was already toote to help him live a normal life, but if she tried hard, she might be able to relieve some of his burdens. If they started dating and became an official couple, she would be able to interact with the other girls in his life and help them understand the situation. She also had the opportunity of refusing him and trying to help him fix things by talking to Hephaestus. She seemed to be very concerned about Vahn but was also the source of his greatest burden. However, if she did things in such a roundabout way, she might just be considered a busybody or someone that got in the way of their obvious affection for each other. Eina had no doubt that Hephaestus was as lonely as Vahn imed, and she had likely ced all of her hopes into Vahn. If she made a mistake, she would earn the ire of the goddess and drive a wedge between herself and Vahn in the future. If that happened, she would be forced to stand at the sidelines and watch Vahns brilliance burn brightly before something inevitably forced the me to extinguish. She didnt know if it would be the machinations of his enemies, or if he would be smothered by the burdens and affections of those around him. Turning toward the boy who continued to try andfort her, Eina said in a very serious voice, "Vahn, have you decided who you are going to marry in the future?" Though he was a bit surprised by the question, Vahn ruminated for a moment before responding, "I think I might marry Hephaestus, if shell ept me. Im not sure about the other girls since I dont want to restrict them. If they end up wanting to leave me in the future, I might feel sad, but I dont think I would be able to stop them." Vahn wanted to keep all of his promises to the girls, but he never expected they would all follow him. He was just happy everyone gave him a chance to prove himself worthy, even if it was just temporary. Vahn was the most aware of how rapidly things had developed, and it was impossible to tell what would happen in the future. The only person he had absolute confidence in was Hephaestus. Eina seemed to have made a decision after hearing his response, so she looked deeply into his eyes as she said, "Vahn, I want you to marry me. I wont restrict your rtionsh.i.p.s with other women, but I want to be your first wife. No matter what, I will never divorce you, and you can even leave me whenever you want." Though Eina knew she was putting yet another burden on Vahn, she believed that it was the best method at her disposal to influence the other girls around him. It also served the purpose of preventing some women from approaching him in the future, and it allowed her to be in close proximity to him so she could help stabilize his life. To Vahn, it seemed like Eina was dead-set on making him more surprised with each question she asked him. He could tell she was serious, but he couldnt just agree outright after everything that had happened recently. It seemed like every rtionship he was in spontaneously hit a critical point before he realized what was going on. However, seeing the look and concern in her eyes, Vahn didnt want to outright refuse her, so he asked, "Why so suddenly? This is just our first date, and there is plenty of time to worry about things like that in the future." Eina agreed with Vahns words, and she was the most aware of how quickly she was rushing things. Since she didnt want to be one of the girls that imposed themselves on him without exnation, she did exactly that and exined things to Vahn. In a very serious manner, Eina told him everything that she believed she understood about Vahn and his past. She even made him consider that all of her deductions could be wrong, and wanted him to work through the matter in his mind to verify if her words were true. Vahn listened in stunned silence, and couldnt help but retort in his mind that she had finally seeded in stumping himpletely. However, though he didnt outright agree with her words, Vahn understood that most of her spection was actually true. Many of the things she was concerned about were the exact things that had gued Vahns thoughts recently. He knew better than anyone that he worked hard to please others while just being satisfied as long as they were happy. It actually ced a heavy burden on his heart and mind when others approached him, and he would almost rather do things for them than himself. The thing Vahn didnt understand, however, was why Eina seemed to think marriage would help solve the problem. When he asked, she exined her reasoning even further and seemed to have a bit of determination in her voice. As far as Vahn could tell, she was essentially volunteering herself to act as his shield while still allowing him to act as he pleased. However, if he got out of control, she would be able to reign him in by exploiting his desire to please others. Yes, she exined that it was her intent to exploit the fact that he was broken to help rehabilitate him. She wanted to bring stability to his life and didnt mind if Vahn never loved her as a wife. She even encouraged him to treat her more like an older sister that would always be around to give him advice. Her words actually reminded Vahn of someone he had neglected a lottely. As he had been so focused on his own thoughts and actions, he almost never initiated conversations with Sis anymore. It was only in the times when he was lost or confused that her voice would enter his mind and offer him a reprieve from his own chaotic thoughts. Vahn realized that Eina essentially wanted to take that role, and was willing to carry his burdens just so that he could be a little happier... Within his mind, Vahn uttered a quiet sentence, ("Sis, thank you...for always being there, even when I neglected you.") In response to his thought, unlike the cold synthetic voice he normally heard, a gentle and womanly tone sounded in Vahns head as she said, (*I will always be here when you need me Vahn. But it looks like I may lose part of my job now. Hahaha~*) For the first time, Vahn heard Sisughing in his head in a happy tone. She seemed so much more human than he remembered, and was grateful that The Path had given him such a great elder sister... Vahn heard a notification in his mind and noticed Sis had purchased something from the shop without asking him. Within his inventory, there was now a pure golden ring with a faceted green emerald, identical to Einas eyes. It looked like Sis was giving him a chance to turn the situation around a bit and act cool so he looked toward Eina and held out his hand before her. Eina was a bit confused by his sudden change, but she could see rity in his previously chaotic eyes as he held out his balled up fist toward her. Her eyes were drawn to the fist as it slowly opened and revealed a beautiful golden ring set with an emerald. Einas mind exploded at the implication because she suddenly felt like Vahn always had the intention of marrying her at some point. She turned to look into his eyes and noticed his expression suddenly seemed especially affectionate. Vahn slowly enunciated each word, "Eina, will you marry me?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Surprise Mother F*ckers!,The Vahnguard is now Official,How bout that subversion of expectations? Do you feel it now, Mr. Krabbs?) Chapter 151 - Leading

Chapter 151 - Leading

Eina stared at the ring Vahn had presented her with a mixture of emotions that were hard to describe. She felt both happy, sad, concerned and excited, all at the same time. Each emotion seemed topete for first ce in her heart as she stared in abject shock at the ring in Vahns hand. Though she asked him to marry her, she never expected him to already have a ring prepared. Now, the reality of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks as she hesitantly reached out her hand. Vahn saw her apprehension and a bit of guilt started spreading in his mind. It wasnt until Eina looked at him in the eyes, and they both stared at each other for several seconds, that his guilt faded away. Perhaps because she had seen his care and concern but, after holding gazes with Vahn for that period of time, Eina suddenly smiled and held up her hand for Vahn. Though he was a bit confused, Sis whispered in his mind that he was supposed to put the ring on for her. Vahn took Einas delicate hand into his own as he slowly ced the ring on her finger with his excitement continuing to rise. He was a bit surprised that it was a perfect fit, and even Eina couldnt help but ask, "How did you know my ring size?" After Vahn had ced the ring on her finger, she continued to stare at it with a somewhat dazed expression as she asked the question. Vahns thoughts spun rapidly in his mind before he gave the best excuse he could think of, "Maybe it was just fate. I didnt know if the ring would fit until I put it on your finger." Eina looked at Vahn after he finished speaking and seemed to contemte his words for a bit before a gentle smile spread on her face. She squinted her emerald green eyes as she ced her free hand on her cheek and said, "Youre quite the smooth talker at times, arent you Vahn?" Then, almost as if she had a sudden realization, she looked at Vahn and asked in a subtly teasing tone, "So, what should I call you now? Vahn, Husband, Darling, or is there something else?" Her question had shocked Vahn, and each form of address hit his mind like a hammer blow. Vahn considered her words for a few moments, and it wasnt until she startedughing at his dazed state that he finally responded, "I think Vahn is fine...but Darling is okay if were alone..." As Vahn spoke the words, he couldnt help but blush while Eina looked at him with a bit of a sparkle in her eye and a wide smile. They were already in close proximity to each other, so Eina leaned forward a bit and whispered into Vahns ear, "Darling~" She put a lot of emphasis on the word and dragged it for more than a second. Vahn realized that she was teasing him, and he couldnt help but imagine all the times he tried to tease her. It seemed as though they both liked to try to get a rise out of the other, or maybe it was just her trying to act the role of his fiancee. Regardless, though Vahn enjoyed the current Eina, he wanted to experience her getting fl.u.s.tered a bit as well. Seeing how quickly she recovered after epting the ring, he wanted to do a bit more so, while she was whispering in his ear, Vahn licked Einas pointy ear with his tongue. Eina jumped like she had been electrocuted as she held her hand to cover her ear while looking at Vahn was an angry and surprised look. Realizing what he had done, the blush that had only recently receded on her face spread up her cheeks and to her ears. She could feel both of her ears turn hot, especially her left ear which Vahn had just licked. It took her several minutes to calm herself as she kept getting a bit annoyed every time she looked over and saw Vahn smiling. Remembering that he said he liked to tease her, Eina couldnt help but feel there would be a lot of trouble for her heart in the future. After everything had settled down, Eina started guiding the date a bit more and acting very attentive toward Vahn. The two enjoyed their pic like a real couple, which made sense considering they were now engaged. Vahn felt very happy at the current situation, but he couldnt help but feel mildly bothered by how her affection had only increased to 93 before stopping. Even though he teased her a bit and tried to make her happy, the number seemed to be cemented in ce for the time being. When they were done eating, Vahn wanted to continue the date, but Eina stopped him and said in a firm tone, "Vahn, if were going to get married, there are several things we need to take care of immediately. You already have a lot of girls in your life and severalmitments to keep, and keeping our matters hidden will only escte future problems. Since Hephaestus seems to be the most important person in your life, we should meet her and exin the situation as soon as possible." Vahn hadnt expected Eina to suddenly take on a lecturing tone, so he just stood at her side and listened to her words attentively. He couldnt help but agree that she had a point and knew that it could be a problem if the girls he was in a rtionship with finding out from a different source that he was getting married. Not just Hephaestus, but Vahn felt like he needed to exin things clearly to all the women that he had high affection with. Agreeing with her words, Vahn led Eina by the hand towards Hephaestuss workshop. Though she was much more considerate toward him now, Vahn almost missed how affectionate she was earlier when she leaned against his arm. Though holding hands was nice, Vahn found out that he liked physical contact with girls the longer he was around them. He even tried to be bolder and ce his arm around Einas waist, but she pped his hand away before firmly grasping it with her own. She gave him a serious look as she stared into his eyes and said, "Vahn, there is a time an ce for everything. From now on, you need to learn to show a bit of restraint. Right now were walking on a public street, so just holding hands is fine. Just to be a little more patient, okay?" Vahn just nodded his head at her words and tried to mull over them as he continued leading the way. Remembering how his actions, especially touching people, had gotten him into several incidents recently, Vahn couldnt help but consider her words seriously. If he didnt learn to be more reserved and attentive, he would probably create a lot of future problems, and it seemed like Eina was trying to help him fix his bad habit. The fact that she was already acting so considerate and trying to help him better himself made Vahn feel happy in his heart and at ease in his mind. As Vahn led the way, Eina was constantly paying attention to his facial expressions and bodynguage. Though he didnt seem to be too aware of it himself, Eina knew Vahn couldnt conceal his thoughts because of how expressive he was. Just like he had no filter for dealing with people, he also had no control over his own expressions and feelings. She saw that he was seriously considering her words, and even seemed to be satisfied aftering to a conclusion in his mind. Eina realized that, though it might be a long road to recovery, with how receptive Vahn was, there was still hope that he could regain some normalcy in his life. When they turned a corner into an alleyway, Eina stopped her feet which caused Vahn to pause after trying to take a step. He looked at her with a questioning look as she said, "You did well toe this far, so let me give you a reward while were alone." After finishing her words, Eina leaned forward and gave Vahn a peck on his cheek. Though she had wanted to kiss his lips, she hesitated at thest moment and decided to kiss his cheek instead. Vahn was a bit startled by her actions and had his mouth opened as he stared at the now bashful half-elf. After she kissed his cheek, Eina started to blush a bit and was trying to keep aposed demeanor while she stared into Vahns eyes. Though it was just a kiss on the cheek, Vahn felt very happy at the intimate action so he couldnt help but smile as he continued leading the way. Eina allowed herself to be pulled along this time, and she gave a relieved sigh after seeing how Vahn reacted to her action. She realized that he didnt need s.e.x.u.a.l or overly intimate contact to be happy, so she had hope that he could be reigned in earlier than she expected. As they got closer to Hephaestuss workshop, Vahn couldnt help but feel a bit of pressure building in his mind. Both his and Einas pace had slowed down quite a bit, and it seemed that the closer they got, the heavier each step became. Though Vahn believed Hephaestus would be understanding, he was still worried that she might be disappointed. Of all the people in his life, it was always Hephaestuss sad expressions that brought him the most pain. He wanted her to be happy all the time and never have to worry about being sad or lonely anymore. Though Vahn thought it was both of them slowing down, Eina was very aware that it was Vahn feeling the majority of the pressure. She had only slowed her pace to keep in line with him, and now it almost felt like she was the one leading the way. Eina realized that the burdens Vahn had epted wererger than she expected, at least in his mind. Now that he might make Hephaestus sad, Vahn was beginning to hesitate and she could even see a bit of fear and worry on his face. Gripping his hand a bit tighter, she began leading the way for the remainder of the trip. By the time they arrived outside the workshop, Vahn actually had a subtle paleness to his normally healthy looking tanned skin. Eina could feel that his hand was mmy and had even turned a little cold to the touch. They two stood silently outside of the doors of the workshop as passersby gave them strange looks for blocking the path. It wasnt until a customer exited the building and almost bumped into Vahn that he finally managed to recover. From his left, Eina asked him in a gentle and quiet tone, "Do you believe in her?" Vahns eyes widened a bit as he turned to look into her emerald green eyes. He could see that she had a bit of concern in her eyes and that her brows had furrowed ever so slightly. Thinking about her question, Vahn muttered before he could form any thoughts, "Of course I do." His words seemed to wash away the chaotic state of his mind as he realized the foolishness of his own actions. Seeing Eina give him a nod and a smile, Vahn realized that he had been hesitating over nothing. It wasnt just the burdens of others that weighted him down, but his own mentality and how he chose to deal with those burdens. Vahn realized that every time he hesitated or got lost in his own thoughts, there always seemed to be someone to care for him and guide him back along the right path. First, it was Klyscha, then Sis...after them it became Hephaestus...he even remembered how Tsubaki had literally beaten him only recently because of how he was acting. Vahn released a sigh after realizing how fortunate he was to be surrounded by so many people that care for him. Vahn looked into Einas eyes and noticed she was smiling at him with an appreciative expression on her face as she spoke before he was able to, "I know, Vahn. Lets go." Vahn had wanted to thank her for helping him realize his errors, but she seemed to already have recognized that he had worked through things on his own. She even helped push him forward to prevent him from hesitating any longer. Vahn suddenly felt a warm feeling spreading in his heart as he followed her into the workshop to meet the goddess that had done so much for him; the goddess that Vahn had learned to respect an appreciate more than anyone else in this record. Though he wasnt sure what it meant to truly love another person, Vahn believed that he would learn how when dealing with strong women like Hephaestus and Eina that put in so much effort to help guide him toward the future. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Eina just wants a little brother,Vahn, slowly moving forward,Beginning of a fierce battle?) Chapter 152 - Fierce Battle?

Chapter 152 - Fierce Battle?

When the two entered into Hephaestuss workshop, they were immediately identified by Zaff who sent a very professional looking woman to inform Hephaestus. Zaff, seeing Eina and Vahn holding hands, couldnt help but ask, "Youre a pretty bold one, to be bringing a girl to the house of the woman youre trying to court." Though Vahn could see that Zaff was joking with him, he was also aware of the serious glint in Zaffs eyes. Since Vahn had already found his resolve outside, he said in a confident manner, "This is something I have to do. It would be even worse if I tried to keep it a secret and rumors began to spread." Zaff raised an eyebrow at Vahns confidence as he looked toward Eina while asking Vahn, "Like the rumors with Ais Wallenstein and Tiona Hiryute?" Eina could see that Zaff was trying to scare her away, but she remained unphased as she said in a very professional manner, "I am well aware of Vahns exploits; thank you for your concern." Zaff was surprised by how firm Eina was as he just shook his head and patted Vahn on the shoulder while saying in an exasperated manner, "Kid, you really know how to pick em." After that, he made his way to the side before the woman that had sent the message returned and told them Hephaestus was waiting in her office. Vahn and Eina entered the room and Hephaestus looked at the two of them while she sat at her desk and was drawing up a new design. Seeing Vahn and Eina holding hands, Hephaestus couldnt help but feel a little annoyed as she saw the new face. She had never seen Eina before and had no idea when the two of them had be a couple. Hephaestus even thought Eina may have approached Vahn just recently and was trying to take advantage of his current reputation and poprity. The tension in the room had increased a bit, but Vahn just led Eina toward Hephaestus and began exining the situation. Learning that Vahn and Eina had gotten engaged and intended to marry, Hephaestus suddenly felt a little tired as she looked at the sneaky half-elf girl. ording to the story, Vahn and Eina had only met a few times, yet they ended up getting engaged on their first date? Hephaestus couldnt help but feel like Vahn had gotten wrapped up in a scheme to take advantage of his nature. Eina noticed the anger in Hephaestus expression and felt a little intimidated, but she stood her ground and asked in a challenging manner, "Let me ask you, Hephaestus-sama, do you think Vahn will be happy if things continue to progress as they are?" Hephaestus furrowed her brows as she stared at Eina and asked, "What are you trying to say? Are you saying that Vahn will be happy if he marries you?" Eina shook her head and continued, "It isnt about Vahn marrying me, its about all of the burdens he is being asked to carry. You should know about his past and how difficult his life has been, but instead of helping him ovee his trauma, you just made a safe ce for him. Though it would have been fine if he never had to bear any burdens, the moment he began bearing them, he continued to pile up more and more. If things continue at this rate, how long do you think Vahn willst!?" Hephaestus was a bit surprised by her words, but she was also angry and couldnt help but stand up and shout, "Do you think Ill just let Vahn carry everything on his own!? No matter what, Ill help him ovee everything and ensure that he is able to be happy!" Eina flinched a little, but then asked in a low and usatory tone, "And how will you help him carry your burdens, Hephaestus-sama? Vahn cares about you more than anyone else and is trying hard to meet your expectations. But, is your burden something so light that a fourteen-year-old boy can carry it?" Einas words stunned Hephaestus and she looked toward Vahn in a somewhat questioning manner. Vahn saw her gaze and smiled before interjecting between the two women, "Eina, you cant me Hephaestus. She already does so much for me, it is only right that I put in my best efforts. Just like she is trying to make me happy, I will do everything I can to make her happy as well." Both Eina and Hephaestus frowned at Vahns words and Hephaestus calmed down a bit as she considered everything Eina had been saying. She remembered that, only recently, Vahn and her had a misunderstanding between each other. Hephaestus had long fallen for him and started taking actions to help solve his problems behind the scenes. When Vahn had fallen into aa, she was so worried that she spent every day at his bedside until he finally woke up. After that, she realized that he wasnt pursuing her, but just wanted to forge an item to drive away her loneliness. Vahn didnt know anything about love before he left the dungeon, and all of her affections had been primarily one-sided. When she tried to clear it up and free Vahn, he instead pursued her almost like he was desperate and afraid to lose her. He held her in his arms and continued coaxing her until she finally let down her resistance against him. After that, Hephaestus tried guiding him a bit and pushing him to continue working hard so they could finally be together... Hephaestus realized that everything Eina had been saying was the truth. Though she hadnt intended to do so, Hephaestus had taken advantage of Vahns willingness to bear her burdens and had constantly been putting pressure on him. She even tried restricting him a bit by forcing him to work five days a week and warning him not to put his hands on Anubis. Even though she was willing to allow Vahn to have other girls, she contradicted her own intentions just because she was impatient. Eina had been paying attention to Hephaestus, and the moment she realized that Hephaestus recognized her mistake, she spoke out, "Vahn is right, Hephaestus-same, you did nothing wrong." Hephaestus heard her words and looked in the emerald eyes of the half-elf girl. Eina continued, "The only mistake you made...was failing to realize Vahn was broken. He wasnt simply traumatized, nor did he need a safe ce to avoid being taken advantage of. The most important thing Vahn needed...was a normal life. Normal people caring for him without any expectations other than him being happy." Eina, let her words sink in a bit before she continued even further, "You should be aware, better than anyone, how abnormal Vahns growth has been. Though it ismendable, it isnt normal for a fourteen-year-old boy to increase two levels in less than two months. Not to mention, he puts himself at risk to fulfill the role of a hero and even took in both of the girls after the fact to care for them. Because he always had a safe ce to return to, Vahn pushed himself much harder and keptpounding the amount of stress he had to deal with. The best example is the matter with Anubis-sama and her Familia, surely you understand that is a very abnormal situation. Even if Anubis-sama decided to serve Vahn, the fact that he is now responsible for eight other people isnt a light burden." Vahn realized that things were heading in a bad direction, so he wanted to help ease the atmosphere and said, "Eina, I made all those decisions myself. Even if it was because I got caught up in the moment, I dont have any intention of shirking my responsibility. Ill continue to do my best to make everyone happy." Though he said the words with strength and conviction, both Hephaestus and Eina looked at Vahn with sad expressions. Hephaestus released a long sigh as she looked toward Eina and said, "I can see now. I dont know how I was so blind before..." Vahn noticed that things had turned strange, but Hephaestus stopped him from speaking by raising her hand. After mulling over her words, she looked to Eina and asked, "As the person that noticed it earlier than anyone else, what do you think is the best course of action?" Eina, without any hesitation, looked into Hephaestuss eyes and said, "That is easy. Vahn needs people to proactively reign him in and help him live a normal life. The best course of action would be for him to marry someone. Because he is so deferential and considerate, he would always take his wifes opinion into consideration before he acts." Hearing Einas words, Hephaestus released a sigh and asked, "And I guess that is where youe in?" Unexpectedly, Einaughed at Hephaestuss question and seemed to find the words amusing. Both Vahn and Hephaestus looked at her with questioning looks as she exined, "You misunderstand Hephaestus-sama. Though Id like to fulfill that role myself and intend to marry Vahn for that purpose, I shouldnt be the only one to marry him. If he is going to be in a rtionship with you, or other goddesses, in the future, Vahn would need a wife with a high enough status to reign in his actions against people with more status or authority than he has currently." Though Vahn was confused, Hephaestus seemed to realize what Eina was implying and she couldnt help but blush a little. Vahn became even more confused, but before he could ask the question, Eina continued, "Indeed. The best course of action would be for Vahn to marry both of us. If he has both a mortal and goddess as his first wives, he will have a broader consideration for others in the future. I wouldnt be able to prevent other goddesses from approaching him, since I dont have enough authority and status, but you have both of those things, arguably more than anyone else in the entire City." With Einas continued exnation, Vahn finally realized that she was telling Hephaestus to marry him as well. Vahn could feel an excitement welling up inside of him and couldnt prevent himself from smiling due to all the happy feelings he was experiencing. Hephaestus had been watching Vahn, since he was standing right in front of her, and she saw how happy he was at the thought of marrying her. She could feel his heart beat excitedly in her own soul, and it made Hephaestus feel confident about the half-elf, no, Einas n. After a bit of consideration, Hephaestus smiled at Vahn and said, "I would love to marry Vahn...but there are several other factors that need to be considered as well. It is very difficult for a goddess to marry, especially one that has descended to the mortal ne..." As she was thinking the matters through and rationalizing things, Hephaestus became annoyed at the sound of her own words. She noticed that Vahn seemed to be a little disappointed as she was exining, so she decided to stop caring as she said, "Fine, I dont care about all of that anyways. If you want to marry me...I wont refuse..." Hephaestus started to blush as she continued, and couldnt help but wrap her arms under her b.r.e.a.s.ts as expectation began to build inside her. The moment she said she was willing, Vahn immediately entered a high tension state as he shouted, "Yes! Please, marry me Hephaestus!" Though he had expected to marry her in the future, Vahn found the idea of marrying both her and Eina at the same time to be an incredible notion. This way, he could prevent Hephaestus from facing criticism for falling in love with a married man in the future. Eina spoke out from his side before Hephaestus could respond, "Though he seems to have a bit of a misunderstanding...it is still the best course of action. What will you do now, Hephaestus-sama? Hephaestus had also noticed that, though he wanted to marry her, he also seemed to be considering something else. Since she was afraid of letting misunderstandings continue to build, she asked, "Why are you so willing to marry me, Vahn? I understand you like me, and it makes me very happy, but you seem to think something else as well." Vahn was a bit confused as he stared between the emerald eyes of Eina and the red, almost ruby colored, eyes of Hephaestus. After a bit of thought, he exined, "I was thinking that, if we were to get married now, you wouldnt have to be embarrassed in the future. I know you said you were okay with me being with other girls, but I feel like it would have been difficult for us to get married if I was in a rtionship with several people." Both Eina and Hephaestus sighed at the same time while staring at Vahn with a mixture of affection and concern on their faces. The two heard each others sighs and looked at each other beforeughing a bit. Vahn seemed very confused by everything that was happening, but the next words he heard made his worries fly out the window. Hephaestus looked at him with a loving expression in her eyes and a happy smile on her face as she said, "Of course I will marry you, Vahn. I dont care what other people think at all, and if anyone has a problem with it, Ill just crush them if I have to." Eina nodded after hearing Hephaestuss words while Vahn felt a bit of a chill run along his back. He could see that, through all the love and affection she had for him, she was equally as serious when saying how she would deal with others. Though he was a bit worried, Vahn reached out his hand in the same manner as he had for Eina. Hephaestus seemed a bit confused, but Eina pointed to the emerald-gold ring on her finger without saying anything. Hephaestuss eyes widened a bit as she stood up from her desk and walked around to stand in front of Vahn. Though he hadnt done so for Eina, since they had both been sitting at the time, Vahn remembered from the books that he read that it was proper etiquette to kneel before offering a ring in marriage. When Hephaestus stood in front of him and reached for his hand, Vahn kneeled down and stunned the two women. Vahn looked into the beautiful eyes of Hephaestus and felt like his heart was about to beat out of his chest. He felt very happy at the prospect of marrying the goddess that had cared for him and made so many efforts to ensure his own happiness. Hephaestus snapped out of her shock and held out her hand as Vahn revealed a beautiful tinum ring adorned with arge ruby. Eina saw the ring and had a bit of an incredulous look on her face as she asked herself if Vahn had been nning to marry all the girls he was in a rtionship with. However, remembering when she had questioned him earlier and that his response was he would likely marry Hephaestus in the future, she put the matter behind her and considered it to be a coincidence. However, she intended to ask him after the scene finished ying out. Eina realized that, when it came to Vahn, it was better to rify things so there would be fewer misunderstandings. Hephaestuss hand shook a bit as Vahn put the tinum-ruby ring on her finger. After he had finished the short ceremony, Vahn stood up and, before he could say anything, Hephaestus suddenly kissed him with an intense and passionate fervor in her actions. He immediately started returning her kiss while Eina watched the two of them from the side with a shocked expression on her face. She realized that it wasnt just Vahn who needed to be reigned in, but Hephaestus herself would have to learn some self-control. After patiently waiting for nearly three minutes, Eina could no longer contain herself as she loudly cleared her throat to get the attention of the two passionate idiots. Hephaestus and Vahn looked at her with confused expressions before Hephaestuss eyes widened and she separated from Vahns grasp. She had been too excited after he put the ring on her finger that she couldnt keep the emotions from exploding out and kissing him. When he returned her advances and even nted his hands on her butt, she hadpletely forgotten that Eina was in the room. Hephaestus and Vahn fixed their appearances as Eina stared at both of them like a big sister reprimanding her younger siblings. She turned to Vahn and asked, "Vahn, did you buy rings for all the girls youre currently in a rtionship with?" Vahn heard her question and realized that it was abnormal for him to be carrying around rings, so he just shook his head and said, "No, those were the only two I have." Eina seemed happy at his response and smiled for a few seconds before turning to Hephaestus and recovering her serious expression. He spoke in a firm tone, "Hephaestus-sama, if youre the one that needs to be reigning in the other girls, you need to learn a bit of self-control..." The blush that had yet to leave her face now expanded and turned a deep crimson as Hephaestus looked at Einas serious expression and heard her reprimanding tone. Hephaestus wanted to retort that she only acted like this around Vahn, but even she couldnt help but feel the pressure emitted by the half-elf girls emerald eyes. Now that they were both going to be Vahns First-Wives, they would likely be spending a lot of time together in the future. Releasing a short sight, Hephaestus muttered in a low voice, "Ill do my best...Eina." (A/N: Alternate Titles: C-c-cbo Breaker,Everything is better in twos,Head Wives Alliance Chapter 153 - Restraint

Chapter 153 - Restraint

After everything had settled down, Vahn, Hephaestus, and Eina had moved their conversation to the couch, which was the only ce where all three could sit. Vahn ended up nked by the two women, one mortal half-elf and one immortal goddess. Though they werent married yet, they were now all engaged to each other and Vahn felt an uncontainable jubtion in his heart. His excitement affected Hephaestus as well, which caused Eina to be a bit frustrated so she asked, "Hephaestus-sama, why are you so easily excited around Vahn? I understand you love him, but it is a bit strange seeing how quickly your mood changes." In response to her question, Hephaestus ended up exining the bond she had with Vahn. They also discussed the matters of Vahns origin and Eina was incredibly surprised to realize her fiance was very likely more parts god than man. Eina turned to Vahn and asked, "Can I see your divinity as well? I am very curious what its like when someone other than a god uses divinity." Vahn, who was sitting between the two in silence, nodded his head and expanded his domain a bit. The moment he did so, both Eina and Hephaestus gave him shocked looks. Though he wasnt focusing his intent on either of them, Hephaestus could sense that the domain had be much more powerful. Eina, who had only ever experienced the divinity of Ouranos, was shocked to discover that she felt more pressure from Vahn. Since he had activated [Will of the Emperor], Vahns emotions started to stabilize which allowed Hephaestus to calm down as well. Eina had noticed the change and asked, "Your divinity affects your emotions?" Vahn nodded his head and began exining all of his uses for his domain without giving out any information about The Path. The two girls, especially Hephaestus, were very surprised when Vahn said he could fuse his skills into the domain. He demonstrated by using [Hands of Nirvana] and infusing his calming energy which spread throughout the room and made everyone feel pleasant. Hephaestus became very interested in what else Vahn was capable of and continued asking him questions about everything that had happened recently. Vahn continued recounting the events of thest four days and even discussed the matters with Anubis and Nanu. Since Eina had already heard this part of the story, she didnt ask any questions, but Hephaestus seemed to be confused and inquired how that situation had developed so quickly. Vahn was a little surprised by her words and began considering his response. He exined all the details and the misunderstandings he had with Nanu, and the fact that the catalyst for everything revolved around an interaction he had with Anubis in his workshop. At this point, Vahn began pulling out [Enkidu] for his palms as both girls stared in awe at the resplendent golden chains. Though Vahn had intended to mention itter, he thought now was a good chance, so he exined, "These chains suddenly appeared within my soul and seem bound to me. They give me the power to bind anything, including the divinity of gods and goddesses. I had asked Anubis to help me test the effects, and that ended up causing the biggest misunderstanding with Nanu. However, the most important thing I learned..." Vahn hesitated for a moment as both girls stared at him with curious expressions. Vahn swallowed his saliva as he looked Hephaestus in the eyes and said, "ording to Anubis...if I use [Enkidu], I can temporarily turn a god...or goddess...into a mortal." Eina seemed surprised by his words but didnt understand why he was acting so strangely. She peered around Vahns body to see how Hephaestus had reacted to his statement and noticed the ruby-eyed goddess had incredibly wide eyes all of a sudden. Seeing that she understood his implication, Vahn nodded his head with a smile and said, "Anubis said that, if I use these chains on a goddess...there is a chance they would get pregnant." Hephaestus stared at the chains like they were the most sacred treasure in the world whilst Eina had taken the opportunity to open her eyes widely now. If what Vahn said was true, there would be no end to the number of goddesses that would approach him in the future. Eina began to realize that it would be much harder than she originally suspected to guarantee Vahn could live a somewhat normal life. Hephaestus didnt seem to be able to form any words as she picked up the chains from Vahns hand. As a goddess that had lived for millions of years she, like almost every other goddess, had always wanted to have children. Other than goddesses of fertility and life, it was impossible for a goddess to get pregnant, even if they used items to increase the odds. This was the reason why most gods and goddesses had Familia and called their members children. The chains she now held in her hands represented a hope that she had never harbored previously as she looked toward Vahn with a bit of fear, but mostly expectation in her eyes and asked, "Do you want to get me pregnant...and have children with me?" As it was something Vahn had been thinking about a lot recently, he immediately nodded his head and said in a matter-of-fact manner, "Of course. The moment I found out about the use of [Enkidu], it has been on my mind ever since." Though he hadnt lied, Vahn left out or perhaps overlooked, the fact he had thought of several girls getting pregnant, not just Hephaestus. Hephaestus heard his confidence and eager voice as her hands holding [Enkidu] began to shake. She held them close to her chest and bent over a bit as she looked up at Vahn and said, "Please...hurry and forge me an item. I dont know if I can hold myself back for much longer..." Hephaestus had an incredibly serious look in her eyes, almost like they were glowing, as she looked into Vahns face with a fierce blush. Eina had been worried that the two might immediately start going at it, and she released a small sigh of relief after hearing Hephaestus showing restraint. She, like almost everyone else in the City, knew about the vow Hephaestus had taken in the past. Vows were soul-binding, and Hephaestus wouldnt be able to break her own word without facing a serious bacsh. In the worse case scenario, she might even suffer a curse that removes all of her abilities or forces her to return to Heaven. The look in Hephaestuss eyes caused Vahn to feel anguish in his chest and he spoke with a mixture of confidence and concern in his voice as he said, "I swear...Ill improve faster and faster. I wont keep you waiting for much longer..." Vahn then reached down and kissed Hephaestus, but he made sure to restrain himself a bit so she wouldnt suffer even more. Since he was still using his domain, he managed to keep his calm without influencing her too much. After that, the three discussed various matters, including when the wedding would be. Both Hephaestus and Eina had things to consider before they could actually get married. Hephaestus had to inform the Denatus and officially announce the wedding before all the attending gods, while Eina still had her contract with the Guild. She couldnt suddenly quit her job and follow Vahn and would have to spend time training a recement. Vahn refused her intentions though and asked her to continue working at the Guild. Though she wanted to force her stance, she noticed Vahn was being especially sincere and she ended up giving in to his insistence. Vahn had told her that working at the Guild suited her, and he believed she would be a great help to novice adventurers when she took on the role of a supervisor. Ultimately, it was decided that the wedding would be nned after the conclusion of the Monster Feria that would be taking ce after the next Denatus. Vahn swore that during the time until then, he would earn the [Master Smith] development ability and create an item that would impress Hephaestus. He wanted her to attend the Denatus and have confidence when she addressed the other gods and goddesses. They would call her out for getting engaged to a boy that didnt meet the requirement of her vow, and Vahn was determined to prevent her from being embarrassed. Afterward, he offered to escort Eina home, but she ended up sending him off from the workshop while saying there were various things she had to discuss with Hephaestus as women. Hephaestus affirmed her words and gave Vahn a long hug and a kiss before they parted. After their embrace ended, Hephaestus gave Eina a look which made the half-elf girl blush. Mustering her resolve, she approached Vahn and also embraced him, albeit for a much shorter period of time than Hephaestus. Vahn left Hephaestuss workshop feeling light on his feet as a big smile covered his face. As he passed by Zaff and the other security staff, they all gave him incredulous looks after seeing his current appearance. Even Zaff, who usually had a gruff and serious expression, looked at Vahn like he was some kind of monster. Given how Vahn was acting, Zaff understood that he had somehow managed to convince Hephaestus to ept his rtionship with that half-elf girl. If he had known Vahn had actually epted the two as wives, he, as well as every man present, might have fallen over in shock. Everyone was aware of his rtionship with Tiona and Ais, and in less than a week he was now engaged to a powerful goddess and a beautiful half-elf receptionist!? --- After Vahn had left, the two women stared at each other in silence for several minutes. Einas emerald green eyes were a stark contrast to the beautiful ruby-red eyes of Hephaestus. Now, they were both on somewhat simr levels, even though their authority and status were significantly different. They had been united through Vahn, and now would have to work together to help bring stability to Vahns life. Eina, who had originally proposed the idea, was the first one to speak up as she said, "Hephaestus-sama..." The moment she spoke, Hephaestus shook her head and said, "Just call me Hephaestus when were alone or around Vahn." Eina paused for a moment before nodding her head and continuing, "Hephaestus, I believe we need to gather up all the girls around Vahn and make our stance known as soon as possible. Not just the girls he is currently with, but those that have an ambiguous or potential rtionship as well. If we cant make everyone work together, it will be significantly harder to help reign in Vahns behavior." Hephaestus had a serious look on her face as she considered Einas words. After nearly a full minute, she nodded and said, "Most ces arent busy on the weekends, so we can send out messages and have everyone gather tomorrow. Do you know all the girls Vahn is currently associated with? I have a few notes myself, as the Guild had been investigating his details in the past." Eina nodded her head and recounted everything she had discussed with Vahn during their pic. Though Hephaestus wasnt too surprised, she still couldnt help retort in her mind about how many girls were around Vahn. She resolved that, for Vahns rehabilitation, she would introduce him to some male friends and role models. After bouncing the idea of Eina, she too agreed and they began discussing potential candidates. --- Because of how happy he had been, Vahn managed to clear the distance between Hephaestuss workshop and his house in less than half an hour. Generally speaking, if he had been walking a normal pace, the trip should have taken more than two hours. When he entered through his courtyard, Anubis had barely been able to arrive in time to receive him because of how unusually quick his movements were. Anubis gave a polite bow and said, "Wee home, Master." Vahn noticed she was still wearing the incredibly revealing ck fabric clothes and had tied the white cloth around her waist with the golden ribbon. Learning from his mistake, he gave Anubis a gentle pat on the head for a few seconds before heading to his workshop. He had a n to make his promise with Hephaestus a reality, and he was excited by the prospect and couldnt wait to get started. Seeing how casually he pet her ears before walking off, Anubis released a sigh as her ears drooped. She had hoped to be able to set Vahn off again with her seductive outfit, but he already seemed to have developed resistance against it. If he had untied the ribbon again, this time she would make sure he wasnt able to escape so easily. The torment she had suffered earlier was now imprinted into her body, and she didnt think she would be able to keep her sanity much longer if Vahn kept treating her the same way. The fact that he had made her climax for over a half hour straight left an itching feeling in her body and she desperately needed to scratch it. --- Vahn,pletely unaware of the imprint he had left on Anubis, entered the material storage and began storing away the majority of the contents into his inventory. As he had a limited amount of spaces, he had to take out some of his other items to make room for the mountain of materials Hephaestus had purchased for him. Once he had everything, he checked his OP reserves and noticed he had 114,618 OP avable. This was more than enough for his needs, so he exited his workshop in high spirits. Along the way, he came across Anubis again who had been waiting in the outer corridor. He saw her drooping ears perk up the moment he stepped out, but she wasnt able to fix her aura so Vahn was able to tell she was in low spirits. Feeling a bit bad, Vahn decided to exin to her everything that happened during the day. Anubis was very surprised to learn that, in the few hours he had been away, he somehow managed to pick up not one, but two wives. The itch in her body started acting up, and she couldnt help but give Vahn a mean look as he continued narrating events. Vahn noticed that Anubis seemed to be even more upset after his words, and he didnt know what to do to make her feel better. After his interactions with Hephaestus and Eina earlier, Vahn realized he had a bad habit of causing misunderstandings because he kept his thoughts to himself. Wanting to change that trait, he looked to Anubis and asked in a serious manner, "Anubis, I cant understand what is making you sad, can you tell me what is wrong? Anubiss ears twitched at his question as she looked into his serious expression and noticed that he had changed a bitpared to his past self. She understood it was likely the influence of Hephaestus and the Eina woman she had yet to meet. Thinking this might be an opportunity, Anubis mustered up her courage and told Vahn, "Master...I dont think my body canst much longer..." She looked him in his eyes and continued in a sultry tone, "I want Master to make me his..." Vahn was a bit taken aback by her words, but couldnt fault her since he was the one that asked. She was usually reserved, but after he had her speak her mind that one time, he also knew she bottled up things and didnt always act ording to her wants and desires. Now that she was approaching him in such a direct manner without him giving her an order, Vahn didnt know how to react. Like all the other girls, Anubis had be ustomed to how expressive Vahn was. She could see that, after she spoke her desires, Vahn went through a series of emotions. His initial expression was that of surprise, but then it transitioned from understanding, to me, and then finally contemtion with a moderate amount of confusion. She knew that he was seriously considering her words, and she couldnt help but bite her lip and hope he gave her some leniency. Vahn looked at Anubis and noticed she was paying close attention to his face as she waited for his response. Before he even spoke, he noticed that her expression turned sad and her ears drooped a bit. Releasing a sigh, Vahn said, "Anubis, both Hephaestus, and Eina want me to practice showing restraint. I wont lie, I have a great interest in both you and your body, especially after all the recent events. However, until I get matters sorted out, I cant cross the line and have s.e.x with you." Anubis nodded her head with a sad expression, but then her eyes opened a bit as her ears stood proudly on her head. Vahn was confused at her sudden change until she said, "Then, other than s.e.x, everything else should be fine, right?" Her momentum had caused Vahn to falter a bit because she had closed the distance between them and looked into his eyes with clear excitement on her face. Vahn asked in a muted tone, "What did you have in mind...?" The moment Vahn asked, Anubis got even closer to him and grabbed his hand with her own. She looked into Vahns face with her moonlight eyes glowing as she said, "I want you to pet me more like you did this morning. Even if we cant have s.e.x, that will be enough for now." Anubis had started breathing a bit heavily as she held Vahns hand in her chest and hugged it like it was some kind of treasure. After considering her words for a bit, Vahn didnt think it would be much of a problem if it was just petting. Before he responded, Anubiss tail had already started wagging about wildly as she waited for his words. Vahnughed a bit at her cute actions before saying in an amused tone, "Only for a bit, and only in the evenings. If you pass out during the day, it could cause problems with your duties and sleep schedule." Anubis nodded her head and had an excited expression on her face as she continued to hug his hand for a moment andughing in a silly manner. Vahn never expected someone to have so much interest in his massage technique, and it made him a bit proud of himself. There were still various things within the manual for [Hands of Nirvana] that he wanted to try. Now, it looked like he had found a willing assistant for his future experimentation. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wedding ns,Gathering of the Vahnguard,Dogs have a bad habit of digging holes) Chapter 154 - Vahn Tries Exploitation

Chapter 154 - Vahn Tries Exploitation

It was still the middle of the afternoon, so after Vahn pet her ears for a few moments, Anubis left looking reminiscent of how Vahn arrived. She seemed to be happy and looking forward to the future, and Vahn couldnt help but smile as he watched her leave. The golden ribbon around her tail stood out from the rest of her outfit, and Vahn couldnt help but let his eyes be drawn to it as she walked away. Shaking his head, Vahn left the corridor and headed toward his own bedroom to get everything ready to put his n into action. After arriving, Vahnid down in his bed and rxed for a few minutes. He had been in somewhat high-tensions for a good part of the day, and he wanted to calm his mind before beginning. After around fifteen minutes, he smiled and had an expectant look in his eyes as he pulled out the orb that led to the ck and white world where Evangeline awaited. He had learned from Sis that the time dtion within the orb was a factor of 1440:1. That meant, as long as his spirit was inside the orb, Vahn could spend an entire afternoon, roughly five hours, and it would trante to nearly 300 days worth of time. With the orb in hand, Vahn inserted his consciousness and once again opened his eyes in the ck and white world. Evangeline was waiting for him, but she was now in her a.d.u.l.t form and wearing an elegant ck dress. She seemed to be expecting him, as she said, "Good, youre finally here. There are a lot of things we need to discuss now that youre my disciple." Vahn nodded his head, but he couldnt help but ask, "Why are you back in your a.d.u.l.t form, doesnt it take mana to sustain?" Evangeline gave him a cold look and ignored his question as she said, "Didnt I tell you to call me Master? Dont tell me youve forgotten already, or is it that you want me to punish you?" Vahn could feel the air around him begin to grow colder as heughed awkwardly and said, "Please forgive me, Master Evangeline. Ive been a bit distracted with everything that happened today." Curious, Evangeline asked, "Hmm, and what made you forgetmon courtesy? Dont tell me...you were ying with one of your girls?" When she asked the question, Evangeline gave Vahn an even colder look and now every time he breathed he could see condensation. Vahn began to warm his body with the eternal me as he exined, "I wasnt ying around, Master, but I did go on a date with a half-elf girl named Eina. At lunch, we even got engaged before meeting with Hephaestus, who also became engaged to me." Vahn had a happy smile on his face as he spoke the words, but he felt like the air was continually growing colder as he stared at the mature form of Evangeline in front of him. Suddenly, she said in a low voice, "From now on, never talk about your women around me. I dont want to hear about you and other kids ying around when you should be focused on your training." She turned her head away from Vahn, and he could tell she was upset for some reason, but he wasnt willing to let her denounce the girls he liked so easily. Instead of shying away from her pressure, Vahn exined in a firm voice, "You cant look down on people like that Master. One of those girls, Hephaestus, has lived for several million years. Compared to the tragedy we have experienced, her loneliness is on a level we cant even understand." Evangeline had been annoyed when he stood up to her, but hearing his words she couldnt help but ask with an incredulous look, "Several-million years? How is such a thing possible...dont tell me she is an immortal as well?" Vahn nodded his head and exined, "She is the Goddess of Forging, Hephaestus, and has lived long before the existence of other sentient creatures." Evangeline scoffed at his words as she said, "Goddess of Forging? Dont try to joke around with me, boy, are you sure she isnt just pulling one over your eyes just to get pity?" Though Evangeline knew of the existence of gods, she knew they werent the type of entities that lived among mortals and were usually some kind of abstract consciousness, not something of flesh and blood. Evangelines words made Vahn start to get angry at how dismissive and mocking her tone was. It hadnt even been a day since they hadpromised and learned about each others pasts, but she was acting like he was lying to her for no reason. Instead of continuing to talk to her, Vahn just shook his head in dissatisfaction and walked off without saying anything. If she wasnt willing to listen to the truth, what else could he do to make her understand? Seeing Vahn walk away, Evangeline became even more annoyed with him and asked in an angry tone, "Where are you going? I told you that we had things to discuss if you wanted to be my disciple. Are you just going to ignore your Master?" Vahns footsteps stopped, and Evangeline had a slight smile on her face, at least until Vahn turned around and caused her to feel shocked to her core. Vahns eyes were glowing with a strange blue light as he stared at her with the same deadpan expression as he had when she tried to suck his blood. The moment she saw those eyes, she could feel her heart wrench in pain as anxiety began to build up inside of her. Vahn continued to look at her for a few seconds before he said in a tired manner, "Even when I tell you the truth, you look down on me and even use the people I care about for lying to deceive me. Im not sure which world your orb originates, but its a well known and doc.u.mented fact in my world that the gods exist. There are literally thousands that walk around the very City I live in, and they each have their own Familia. Even if Hephaestus hadnt told me how long she has lived, I could find the information in the archives easily." Shaking his head, Vahn turned back around and continued walking as he said, "I dont need a Master thatcks basic trust in me, and even insults me when I speak the truth." Vahn continued to walk away and Evangeline felt a trepidation and unease as she watched him walk away. Even when he had spoken the first time, she could tell that he was telling the truth. She just didnt believe that the person he was talking about was a real god, and neglected to consider they were both from different worlds. Where hees from, the existence of gods is easily validated, and she had spoken based on her own bias and misunderstandings. She wanted to stop him and apologize, but she couldnt throw aside her pride for a second time just to appease someone that was supposed to be trying to be her disciple. The look he had given her had pierced straight through her heart, but she still couldnt say anything due to her own pride as the Queen of Darkness. Instead, she hmphed loudly enough for Vahn to hear before disappearing into the void. Evangeline believed that, after Vahn calmed down a bit, he would eventually give in and ask to be her disciple again. She even began formting ideas for how she could torment him a bit at the time to teach him a lesson for disrespecting her. Vahn hadnt seen when Evangeline disappeared and any thought of learning her magic right now hadpletely vanished from his mind. Though he had wanted to learn the Magia Erebea as well, he already had a different use for this space in mind that was far more important. Though the white floor spread out infinitely in all directions, Vahn continued to wander for almost an hour before finallying to a stop after having found a suitable spot. He began removing a variety of items from his inventory and had used the shop within his system to buy workbenches, tools, and even an entire forge. Within less than half an hour, an area of 10 cubic meters was converted into a workshop within the infinite white space. Without any hesitation, he extracted the eternal me from his heart and seated it within the forge he spent 40,000 OP on. Though he could use the eternal me through his hammer, Vahn wanted it to start learning and adapting to his forging instead of him having to guide it himself. From the void, outside of Vahns perception, Evangeline watched him with confusion and curiosity. She had followed him when he walked away because she was curious what he had in mind for his personal training. She never expected him to suddenly start pulling out items to stock an entire workshop from out of nowhere. Though storage magic wasnt particrly rare, it wasnt a simple feat to keep so many items, and she couldnt sense Vahn using magic at all when he removed them. The thing she found most surprised was the small crimson-gold me that emerged from his hand and was ced into the forge. As strong as she was since her attributed were darkness and ice, she couldnt help but feel an instinctual fear from the small me. Vahn began processing materials and marveled at the brilliance of his own idea. Though his body was a spiritual form within the orb, he was still able to use the functions of The Path without restriction. This allowed him to bring physical items into the orb, and now he would be able to practice forging without having to worry about ack of time in the real world. With Siss help, Vahn was able to calcte that, if he spent every afternoon and evening within the orb, he could even gain as much as 276 years of extra time to practice his skills. And that was just over the next seventy or so days he had until the Denatus. Without dy, he began processing the materials he had brought with him into a useable form which he would be able to use to make equipment. This was the second part of Vahns n and the reason he had spent so much OP on high-quality items for his workshop. As his skills in cksmithing increased, even without selling the equipment to the system, he would be able to gain arge amount of OP every time he named an item. He could then use the OP gained to purchase more materials from the system and create an infinite loop of production, OP gain, and material acquisition. Evangeline continued to watch Vahns every action from the void, and she had the urge to ask why he hade into her orb if he just wanted to practice forging. She knew he was likely making use of the time dtion of the orb, but she couldntprehend why he would waste time processing materials and making equipment that wouldnt exist outside of the space. Though he might gain experience, he would have just wasted his time an efforts on a senseless task since the objects he made were just spiritual constructs. Unfortunately for Evangeline, she had no way of knowing that the items Vahn was producing were actual items that he would be able to take to and from the orb without any difficulty at all. The existence of something like The Path was far beyond herprehension, even as a tier 5 being that had lived for hundreds of years. She just continued to watch him to alleviate some of her own boredom while makingments that only she could hear. Vahn continued processing material for nearly three days when he suddenly started to feel a powerful fatigue set in his body. He had taken breaks periodically, and it didnt make sense for him to suddenly feel tired considering his stamina recovery and natural regeneration. Almost exactly after 72 hours had passed Vahn, and the eternal me in the forge began to dissolve and he realized he was being forcibly ejected from the space. He was suddenly overwhelmed by anger because he thought that Evangeline was sending him out of the space just because she was annoyed with him for ignoring her. When the figure of the young girl appeared in front of him from within the void, Vahn couldnt help but clench his jaw in frustration. Evangeline saw his expression and frowned as she exined, "Dont look at me like that, you idiot boy. Your consciousness cant stay here for more than three days before the orb will forcefully send you out. Youll have to wait twelve hours before you can return, but make sure youe prepared next time. I might have let you be selfish this time, but dont expect my leniency to be without limits." Vahn could tell that she was speaking the truth, so he just sighed before saying, "I dont need your training, Evangeline. Id rather spend my time practicing forging than continue suffering your abuse. See you soon..." As his words faded, Vahn too faded out of existence and turned into particles that ascended toward the sky. Evangeline followed the dust with her eyes with a deep frown on her face. The fact that Vahn wanted to exploit the space for his own convenience made her very upset, and she wanted to beat up the inconsiderate boy. It might be convenient that he was able to use the space twice a day to experience an additional six days worth of time, but that only ounted for around six minutes in the real world. For the remaining 23 hours and 54 minutes, she was stuck inside the space for an additional 4 years... Turning her head to the items that had stayed behind when Vahn was ejected from the space, Evangeline couldnt help but pick up one of the tools with a bit of curiosity. The items should have disappeared the moment Vahn was kicked out, but everything had remained behind which was very confusing for her. Feeling the weight of the hammer in her hand, Evangeline couldnt help but imagine the hammer was a real, physical item, instead of a spiritual construct. She realized that Vahn had a lot of other secrets she didnt know about, but now it would be harder to learn about them in the future given his attitude toward her. Releasing a long sigh, she put the hammer down and returned to the void to conserve her mana. She curled up into a ball and began entering a dormant state as she cursed the boy that had ignored her for so long. Evangeline felt like he didnt care about being her disciple at all, and it made her question why she even let him stay in the first ce. If he didnt change his attitude soon, she nned to force his hand and refuse to let him use the space if he didnt wisen up. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tsundere Loli-Baba,Vahns resolve,Let the grind begin) Chapter 155 - Petting

Chapter 155 - Petting

Vahn awoke, this time without a headache, but still felt the presence of one since he was forcefully ejected from the space due to time constraints. Now, instead of the exorbitant amount of time, he thought he could spend in the space, had been reduced to around 420 days. Though it was still an incredible amount of timepared to normal, he didnt believe that Evangeline would stand idly by as he continued to do his own thing. Remembering her begrudging look as he faded away, Vahn expected that their next meeting wouldnt be smooth. His only hope was, since he didnt have the items on his person, that she left his workshop alone. After making a mental note to keep track of the time until he could next enter, Vahn decided to change clothes and see what the children, if they were around, were up to. Leaving his room, Vahn made his way toward the usual congregation points and, finding nobody in the dining room, headed toward the training area. The time was currently nearing 5 pm and, as Vahn had expected, there were a few children doing mock sparring. Vahn had forbidden them from overexerting themselves on their rest days, but it didnt discourage them from practicing the forms he had taught them. All four boys, Rasui, Nour, Akil, and Ata were in the area. They took turns observing each other performing the techniques and discussing the practical applications for each differing movement. When the saw Vahn approaching, they immediately formed into a line and shouted, "Good afternoon, Master!" Vahn gave them a curt nod before spending about an hour offering them advice. Since he was much stronger than them, they were very attentive and focused during his teaching. After the hour, Vahn sat around with the boys and had a casual conversation with them. They all asked him about his various adventures and how he had be so strong. When they found out that Vahn had been Level 1 not too long ago, they all had stunned faces but Vahn could see sparkles in their eyes. Vahnughed at their reaction and continued encouraging them to continue improving. Though they may stand at different starting points, if they made an effort, they would be able to exceed his current strength. Vahn continued to recount how he fought against several types of different monsters, and the boys were all impressed with his knowledge. Since he could reference the information in his mind, Vahn felt a little guilty to be misleading them, but if they were able to remember the information because it came from him, he didnt want to break their image of him. At around 8 PM, they were had split into two groups and Vahn had told everyone to prepare for dinner. Akil and Ata left the group behind in a hurry, but Rasui and Nour stayed behind with apprehensive looks on their faces. Vahn was confused but, before he could ask, they both dropped to their knees and bowed their head low while shouting, "Please forgive us, Master!" Their sudden action surprised him, but he kept hisposure as he urged them to exin. Rasui looked up at him with a fearful expression as he said, "We had the audacity to smell the scent of your mate. Even though Nanu already belonged to Master, we couldnt help but be drawn to her must trail. Please forgive us, Master!" Vahn held up his hand and exined in a patient tone, "If you are sorry, then lets put this matter behind us. However, you have to remember that I am not a chienthrope and I dont understand everything you reference. What is a musk trail? Vahns question made both boys blush, and he suddenly recalled Nanus actions from earlier in the morning. He remembered that, at one point, Nanu had essentially attacked him with a scent bullet which permeated through the air long after she left. Vahn realized that the musk trail Rasui was referring to had something to do with Nanus actions at the time. He also realized why Nanu had been in such a hurry to leave after her actions, since it would have caused a problem if she was present. Before Rasui could find the words to exin, Vahn held up his hand to stop him and said, "Its fine, I can understand what youre talking about. Since it is primarily the fault of Nanu, and myself, I wont mind the matter. Just continue working hard and put the matter behind you." Rasui and Nour once again bowed low and thanked him before moving away quickly. While they were walking away, Vahn began reading through the information in his head and learned exactly what a musk trail was. Whenever a female chienthrope was in heat, they could emit pheromones from their v.a.g.i.n.a to attract and excite potential mates. It was a very dangerous thing to do within the tribe because it had a powerful influence over younger chienthrope males. If they hadnt lost their v.i.r.g.i.nity or found a mate of their own, they could enter a state of excitement and even try to track down the female emitting the scent. If they came across the act, it was even possible for them to challenge the other male for the right to breed. Since both Rasui and Nour were v.i.r.g.i.ns, they had been drawn to Nanus v.i.r.g.i.n scent and entered an excited state. If Vahn hadnt been present, they may have even acted on their instincts and followed the trail to where Nanu would have been. The reason they had fled away with fear was due to the fact that, if they were thought to be challenging Vahns right as the Alpha, it wasnt umon for there to be bloodshed and there was even a chance the Alpha could exile them from the pack. Vahn released a sigh and decided that he would have to talk to Nanu about her actions before something else happened. Even though he had told her to wait until she was older, it apparently didnt deter her attempts to draw his attention. While he was in his Bih form and incredibly perceptive to scents, she had done something so sneaky before running away. No matter how he looked at it, Vahn understood that was an invitation to act on his beastly instincts at the time. If he had been a chienthrope, it may have even worked out ording to her expectations. During dinner, Vahn noticed that the atmosphere was a bit awkward at the table. Anubis was in high tensions to his left, while Nanu had sat marginally closer to him than previous nights. Rasui and Nour kept their heads low and avoiding looking toward Nanu, while even the other four children remained rtively quiet. Vahn noticed that the girls kept giving Nanu a strange look while Akil and Ata seemed to try and distract each other. However, even while they were making conversation, Vahn noticed they kept sniffing the air and giving Nanu a sidewards nce. Vahn sighed in his mind because he had a general understanding of what was going on. If he wasnt wrong, Nanu was probably still releasing her scent and it was distracting everyone else at the table. The only person that didnt seem to be influenced was Anubis, he seemed more focused on her own thoughts than what was happening at the table. The awkward atmosphere continued until dinner ended and the children had begun cleaning up the dishes. Unable to contain his own curiosity, Vahn transformed into his Bih form while everyone, other than Anubis had their backs turned. The moment he transformed, Vahn could smell a heavy bittersweet scent in the air which confirmed his earlier deduction. Releasing his form, Vahn sighed heavily while shaking his head. Anubis had been watching his actions with a bit of interest, and she was even tempted to release her own musk now that she was aware of why he transformed. After the other children dispersed, Nanu remained at Vahns side awaiting his praise, but he instead asked in a firm tone, "Nanu, have you been releasing your musk all day?" Anubis immediately giggled at his question while Nanu looked at him with slightly upturned eyes as she exined, "Yes, but it is because I started releasing it this morning. Unless I take medicine or sleep for a few hours, my body will continue producing the scent unless I mate." Hearing her words, Vahn scanned the information in his mind and found the name of the medicine she was referring to. He was able to purchase it for 5OP in the system, so he did so before handing her a small folded piece of paper with a green paste inside. Both Anubis and Nanu seemed very surprised by his actions, and Nanu received the medicine with a sad expression on her face. After confirming in his mind that there were no side-effects, Vahn began petting the hair of the girl as he exined, "I told you previously, you have to wait until youre a bit older before we do anything like that. Right now, youre making the other boys ufortable, and they keep giving me afraid looks." Vahn rubbed her head against his palms before saying in a low tone, "I understand, Master, I just got a little carried away when you asked me about scents earlier. I will do better in the future so it doesnt cause problems for the rest of the pack." Vahn smiled before giving her a light kiss on her forehead before sending her off. Though she wanted to follow him to his room, Vahn refused and told her to take the medicine and rx in her own room with the other two girls. Until the medicine took effect and her scent faded away, she needed to stay around the other girls while avoiding the boys so they dont do anything regrettable. Anubismended Vahn for how he dealt with the situation whilst following him to his room. When they stopped outside his door, Vahn noticed her aura turn a bit whispy and her ears began to droop the moment he put his hand on the doorknob. Though he was a bit confused, he finally remembered that he had promised to give her a massage in the evenings. The six days he had spent in the orb had made the matter slip his mind. Vahn gave Anubis an awkward smile before he began to stroke her ears and said, "Sorry, I had been distracted by a few things and had nearly forgotten. Dont worry, Ill make it up to you in a bit." The moment he had started petting her ears, Anubiss face had turned a bit red as she kept trying to rub her ears against his palms with more force. This was one of the things Vahn found adorable regarding chienthropes because, even if they were the cool and calm type, they were always quick to change their demeanor when they were happy. Before things got too out of hand, Vahn led Anubis to her own room and she followed closely behind him with her tail wagging furiously. The moment he opened the door, she stepped over the threshold without any hesitation before stopping right in front of the bed with her back facing Vahn. He followed after her and closed the door behind him before shortening the distance between them. Anubis had done something strange as he approached; she squeezed her tail between her thighs while looking back at Vahn and uttering in a sensual tone, "Ribbon..." Vahn realized that she wanted him to remove the ribbon, simr to his actions from before, and she was holding her own tail to prevent it from getting in the way. He desperately held back his ownughter as he reached his hands forward and pulled to two golden bands which caused the white cloth hugging her h.i.p.s to fall. Vahn didnt grab her butt like before, which made her a bit disappointed, but he did lead her to the side of the bed and motioned for her toy down. Though he had expected her toy down on her stomach like in the morning, Anubis instead remained on her back as she looked at Vahn with an almost pleading gaze. Vahn frowned a bit, because he thought she was trying to seduce him again, even though she had said she was okay with just petting. Anubis noticed his change in expression and exined in a fl.u.s.tered, yet heated, tone, "I know there are massages that work on the front of the body. I want to be able to see your face, and I want you to watch my reactions..." Vahn realized her words werent wrong, as there actually several techniques that could only be performed on the front of the body. Though he worked all the pressure points and muscles in her back, he hadnt touched anything on her abdomen or chest yet. The only person who had received a massage from the front was Ais, and she seemed to enjoy it quite a bit. Vahn wanted to see how his technique would work on the goddess before him, so he didnt refute her im. Anubis seemed to be overjoyed by his eptance as she tried to rx her body a bit in preparation for what was toe. Vahn started to get into position, but since they were on a bed instead of a table, he had to straddle Anubiss thighs to be able to evenly massage her body. Almost as if she had expected his actions, Anubis had arge smile on her face as she stared at him with enamored eyes. Vahn hadnt seen her look hover, because he was focused on the fluffy thing that was in front of his crotch. When Anubis hadid on her back, she had tucked her tail between her thighs and it was now folded up over her v.a.g.i.n.a, almost like it was protecting it. The sight made Vahns heart itch, and he almost wanted to tease the incredibly fluffy tail he hadnt had the opportunity to stroke yet. Now that he was going to massage her front, Vahn wondered if he could get away with touching her tail while she was distracted. He figured that, as long as he yed it off in a casual manner, she probably wouldnt suspect anything. cing his hands together, almost like he was uttering a small prayer, white light began emitting from his palms as he ced them on Anubiss abdomen. As soon as Vahn touched her stomach, the itching within Anubiss body started increasing in intensity. She desperately wished Vahn would scratch it for her, but she knew that what was toe would allow her to release a few her pent-up urges. Vahn slowly moved his hands up her abdomen before tracing them alongside her ribs. Because of the motion, he had to bend over Anubis and she continued to hold eye contact with him as she released stifled m.o.a.ns. Vahn was incredibly fl.u.s.tered by how Anubis was reacting because he was currently performing a massage that was supposed to rx the body, not excite it. Though he wanted to regret not massaging her back, he couldnt help but feel excitement and intrigue building up inside of him as he saw her various expressions and heard her muted cries and m.o.a.ns. Her tail was always wiggling back and forth near his crotch, and he even suspected that may have been her intention all along. Fortunately, though he wasnt sure why himself, Vahn seemed to have excellent control over his body and wasnt awakened by her actions. Though it made him feel a little ticklish, he was able to prevent his p.e.n.i.s from getting erect as he continued massaging her body. Because she was wearing the incredibly thin ck cloth, Vahn was able to easily find each of her pressure points and insert his energy. Vahn was a bit of apletionist when it came to executing tasks so, even though it seemed a bit awkward, he even worked the pressure points on her b.r.e.a.s.ts, heart, and even the muscles immediately below her abdomen and inner thighs. Anubis had long stopped her gasps, which had persisted for around three minutes, and she now had turnedpletely quiet as Vahn continued his work. Though he periodically looked at her face to gauge her reaction, after she had gone quiet, Vahn switched his focus to his hands and the reaction of her body. It was like every muscle in her body was twitching slightly, and even her tail had long gone stiff. While he was massaging the area where her abdomen connected to her inner thighs, it was almost like every press of his thumbs into the connecting tissue sent a jolt up her body. Vahn thought it was interesting because he could feel a powerful vibration as he traced his hands back up her body after the fact. By the end of the half-hour session, Anubis had long since passed out and had ame expression on her face as slobber dripped from her mouth. Her eyes hadnt closed all the way when she fell asleep, and Vahn could see a thick ze covering their surface. He was happy that he could help her rx, and he continued the aftercare by wiping down her sweat drenched body with a towel. In the process, he took the opportunity to try and stroke her tail a bit, but he found that the hairs had bepletely moist during the process of his massage. When he moved his hands against the flow of the hair, they even emitted a slight mist that left behind a powerful scent in the air that made his heart flutter a bit. Vahn was very tempted to transform into his Bih form to get a better grasp of the scent, but he felt his instincts trigger danger signals in his mind when the thought appeared. Trusting his own instincts, Vahn wiped down the remained of Anubiss body before covering her with the nkets. After stroking her head and wiping the slobber from her lips, Vahn gave her a kiss on the forehead before saying, "Good night, Anubis. I hope youre having a pleasant dream." (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Anubis,Touch Fluffy Tail...its moist,Nanus failed n) Chapter 156 - Compromise

Chapter 156 - Compromise

After tending to Anubis, Vahn didnt have anything to do so he spent the next few hours meditating to try andprehend the [Mantra of Eternity]. Even now, he couldnt make out any of the words, but he had the benefit of easily clearing his mind using [Will of the Emperor], so he hoped to make progress on it one day. Eventually, though he didnt particrly require sleep at the moment, Vahn decided to go to bed in preparation for theing day. While he was sleeping, Vahn dreamt about floating above the world in a weightless state. His body felt very rxed, and it looked like the only thing he had to do was reach out his hands and he would be able to epass the entire world. It seemed so effortless, and the shining blue orb seemed so beautiful that he felt a strong desire to keep it for himself. Vahn felt like the world was a tiny treasure box that contained limitless precious items that he wanted to adore and protect. Vahn awoke and could feel a fluttery and happy feeling in his rxed body. It was almost as if his mind had awakened earlier than his body, and he enjoyed the tingling sensation of numbness throughout his body before he finally put strength into his limbs. Releasing a happy sigh, Vahn pulled out the ck orb and began inserting his consciousness into it. The reason he had awoken was that the twelve hours had passed before he could enter the ck and white space. Fortunately, he seemed to enter the space at the same point he left previously. Looking around, Vahn realized that, though some stuff had moved, there didnt seem to be anything missing. He had been worried that Evangeline might make a mess of things in her frustration, but it seemed like he had worried for nothing. Thinking of Evangeline, the girl appeared from the void not far from him and within the area of his perception. He noticed that she wasnt in her a.d.u.l.t form, but she appeared to already be upset. She spoke in a forceful and annoyed voice as she said, "This space isnt meant to be used at your personal convenience to do whatever you feel like doing. When youre here, it requires more mana to sustain the energies that keep this world stable, and the original purpose was to pass on my techniques to future generations. If youre going to continue being selfish, I will not allow you to stay here any longer." Vahn frowned at her words, but he didnt say anything as he tried to consider things from her perspective. Even if she wasnt the original, she had a pair of memories and could form thoughts to make judgments. If he continued to deny the purpose for why she was left in the space, Vahn couldnt fault her for getting angry with him. Vahn imagined what it would be like if he created a personal space to teach someone, but they ended up ignoring his intentions and started doing their own thing. The only way Vahn wouldnt kick them out is if they were someone he was fond of or someone he had taken pity on. However, Vahn wasnt willing to simply concede to the small girl that was giving him a fierce look as she waited for his response. Vahn exined, "It wasnt my original intent to use this space at my convenience, and Im sorry things have developed this way. However, I have a very limited amount of time to improve my forging and this space is the only way I can keep my promise." Evangelines expression had rxed a bit when he started apologizing, but the moment he gave her an excuse she couldnt help but ask, "Is it because of one of your women?" Vahn nodded without hesitation and tried to exin the situation regarding Hephaestus. Unexpectedly, Evangeline allowed him to narrate the story without interrupting. Considering it had only been a few hours since sheshed out at him previously, Vahn was a bit confused with how she had changed in such a short period of time...As that thought passed through his mind, Vahns eyes widened a bit as he asked, "Evangeline, does time continue to move forward normally when Im not inside here?" His words caused a deep frown on the doll-like face of the small girl as she gave him a ming look and said, "You only just realized that now? You really are the biggest idiot disciple Ive ever had the misfortune of meeting." Hearing her confirmation, Vahn asked Sis to calcte the time and realized that, in the short few hours he had been away, Evangeline would have been waiting an additional four years. Though he had misgivings with Evangeline, imagining her stuck in this empty space with nothing to do for four years every time he was away, Vahn couldnt help but pity her a bit. Evangeline saw the change in his expression and exined, "Dont give me that kind of look; I dont need your pity. If youre really sorry, work hard to learn my techniques instead of wasting more of my time." Vahn released a sigh and exined, "I want to train, but I still need to practice my forging. As I said previously, if I cant learn the [Master Smith] development ability before the next Denatus, Hephaestus would be embarrassed in front of the other gods. I cant let her down, no matter what!" There was a powerful conviction in Vahns eyes as he stared at the hammer in his hands, the one personally forged by Hephaestus previously. Evangeline seemed to be annoyed by his words, but she didnt say anything for several minutes as she mulled over her thoughts. Vahn waited patiently for her to speak, but after nearly ten minutes had passed, he started to feel the urge to get to work. Though he thought Evangeline was cute and didnt mind staring at her wless features, that wasnt the reason he hade to this space. Just as he was about to give up waiting, Evangeline looked at him and said, "Fine, I will allow you to use this space to set up your workshop, but youll have to providepensation in exchange for my patience. And, the moment you finally get your [Master Smith] development ability, youll have to swear to take my lessons seriously." Vahn considered her words for a moment before asking, "I understand why you would ask forpensation, but what can I do other than let you drink my blood?" When Vahn mentioned the matter of drinking blood in such a casual manner, Evangeline looked like she suffered a marginal amount of mental damage. She hung her head for a bit and took several deep breaths before calming herself and saying, "I noticed that the items you brought into this space are actual, physical, objects and not spiritual constructs. Though Im uncertain of the principles behind it, as it doesnt seem to be based off any magical system, I know you have a way to link this space to the physical world." Considering she had four years to make her deductions, there was no way Vahn could refute her words so he just nodded his head in affirmation. Evangeline saw his look and gave a small smile as she continued, "If thats the case, its very easy topensate me for using this space. Ive been trapped in here with nothing to do for such a long period of time that Ive long since grown bored of the monotony. You just have to give me items from your world to keep me entertained. I dont mind what it is, be it books, games, food, or even other items." Vahn considered for a moment before giving her all the books he had stored into his inventory previously. There were several hundred, and the moment he removed them from his inventory, Evangelines eyes widened a bit before she walked over and picked one up, asking, "These are books from your world?" Vahn nodded while she turned through the pages with a hint of curiosity in her eyes. After turning through more than half the pages of the book she was holding, Evangeline said, "I cant read any of this." Seeing the serious expression on her face, Vahn felt the urge tough but knew that doing so would likely get him hammered into the ground and ejected from the space. He never had the problem of having to learn to read and write thenguages of the world, since The Path had given him the ability toprehend the basguages, both spoken and written, of the records he was inside. While he was trying to think of a solution, Evangeline waved her hand and all the books disappeared in the void. After everything but the book she was holding was put away, she asked, "What kind of book is this?" Vahn tilted his head and saw that she had picked up a book rted to the cultures and traditions of the Southern Tribe, so he exined the contents. Evangeline listened to his words before mumbling, "So your world also has demi-humans and beastmen? Maybe our words arent as dissimr as I expected..." Before Vahn was able to ask, Evangeline nodded her head before turning to him and saying, "Ill need a notebook, pen, desk, afortable chair, as well as a bed. If you have any interesting foods or sweets, I want to try them as well." As none of the items cost much OP, Vahn gave into her demands and purchased the items she requested through the system. When he pulled out arge king-sized bed with pink sheets, aforter, and a few pillows, Evangeline was in a very happy mood. Even before he had the chance to make the bed properly, she had dove into the bed while hugging onto the book he had given her previously. Evangeline rolled about on the bed a bit before saying in an approving tone, "Youre finally acting like a proper disciple. If you have any pastries or sweets, make sure to leave them on the desk before you go and start forging. Make sure to bring plenty of sweets in the future, or else I might change my mind~ For now, Ill learn your worldsnguage by studying the books you gave to me." Vahn wanted to retort that he had only lent her the books, but she had already turned serious as she sat cross-legged on the bed and started scanning each page in a focused manner. Unwilling to interrupt her current state, Vahn just shook his head before returning to his workshop. Along the way, he left a chocte cake he had purchased through the system for 5OP so she wouldnt have any reason tointer. After tending to the demands of Evangeline, more than an hour had passed, but Vahn felt like it wasnt too bad if she was going to let him do his own thing for a while. Unfortunately, almost every time he would finish processing a batch of materials, Evangeline would begin asking him questions about the books she was reading. Though Vahn was a bit annoyed, he was surprised with how fast she was learning thenguage, and the questions she asked always struck at the core of a matter. Evangeline was a veritable sponge for knowledge and information, and by the time Vahn was ready to take a rest from work, She had already learned the core structure of the writtennguage and started tranting other books. Evangeline noticed that he had set down his tools, even without her prompting him to, so she assumed he was finally taking a break. Vahn had worked for nearly eighteen hours straight and only stopped when she would ask him questions or distract him. Though she was annoyed by him, Evangeline couldnt help butmend Vahns dedication. She wondered what kind of woman Hephaestus had to be for him to put in so much effort just to keep her from being embarrassed. Vahn had originally sat down and started eating a meal to recuperate his strength and take a short nap, but the moment his body touched the ground he felt his body turn light as he was pulled through the air slowly before being put down next to the bed. Evangeline, who was sitting nearby at the desk and writing in her notebook spoke out without looking toward him, "Sleep." Though she had spoken the word in a curt manner with a hint of coldness in her voice, Vahn could see that her aura remained gentle as she essentially gave him permission to use the bed. As it was far morefortable than sleeping on the floor, Vahn finished his meal beforeying down on the bed with his legs and arms stretched out. Forging was a very tiring task, and it wasnt easy to process hundreds of materials without losing a bit of focus. Setting an rm in his head, it wasnt long before he had fallen asleep. Evangeline continued to move her pen back and forth for nearly twenty minutes beforeing to a stop. She looked around in the air and noticed that Vahn had continued to maintain his domain even while he was asleep. Though she had seen him do the same thing before, it still amazed her how he had such control over an incredibly high-level skill. She waved her hand through the air, and it was almost like the void rippled a bit as she passed her own magical energy through his domain. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Daily Life of Master and Disciple,Babysitter Vahn,Clever baba) Chapter 157 - [Dance of the Amazon]

Chapter 157 - [Dance of the Amazon]

Vahn awoke after four hours of rest and turned to see that Evangeline was still at her desk and tranting books. After stretching a bit, Vahn asked with a yawn, "Do you not sleep?" Evangelines pen stopped moving as she looked over at him with cold eyes and said, "What, did you expect me to sleep in the same bed that you upy? Im not one of your little girlfriends in the outside world." Rubbing his head to alleviate the awkwardness, Vahn couldnt help but frown a bit as he said, "I wasnt asking you to sleep at the same time, I was just curious since its been almost an entire day and youre still awake." Evangelines brows furrowed a bit as she turned away and continued writing in her journal without responding to his question. Vahn just shook his head before leaving the bed and continuing his work in processing the materials. Unlike the prior day, when Evangeline would constantly interrupt to ask him questions, she seemed to be keeping to herself which allowed Vahn to make steady progress. This was now the beginning of the fifth day since he started processing materials, and he had been intended to begin forging equipment soon. Every time he named an item after forging, he would gain marginally more OP than the requisite materials used in its construction. Vahn was excited by the prospect of creating an infinite loop which allowed him to gain experience, OP, and Valis when he sold the itemster. Unlike equipment purchased from the system, he could give away the items he forged without relying on the gift function in the system. Since he had been naming so many items, Vahn had inspected his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] through the system and learned a very pleasant fact. Even though the system time showed the passage of time in the real world, the cooldowns on his abilities seemed to be tied to the passage of time within the orb. His original 60-day cooldown was already less than 39 days, even though only around two weeks had passed in the real world. At this rate, he could reduce the cooldown on his abilities by around 7 days per actual day that passed in the real world. (A/N: 6 days in the space, 1 day in the real world.) With all this new information, Vahn forged in high spirits and wanted to improve his skills as much as he could before the cooldown finally came to an end. He nned to use part of the time till then to create the framework for an item which he intended to name using the power of his Innate skill, instead of the traditional naming method. He already had a few ideas in mind and was trying to decide which of them would be the most optimal for his future progress. Though it wouldnt have the same power as the original, if Vahn decided to forge a sword and name it Excalibur, he knew that it would possess a fragment of the power of the original. If he put effort into it, it would even be able to grow and exceed the original in the future. Right now, Vahn didnt have much need for equipment, since his [Rakshasa Body] gave him incredible fighting potential. He also had [Enkidu] as well as his [Will of the Emperor] which would give him an edge over almost anyone. However, this didnt mean he had no interest in equipment at all since the idea of wielding cool looking armor and weapons made him feel excited. Even if he didnt use them much, just being able to wear them would be awesome. Vahn knew these were all matters for the future, so he didnt spend too much time thinking about it. Once he got out of the space, he would have a lot of recreational time to consider things, so, for now, he continued to forge therge weapon he started earlier. After seeing the Urga of Tiona, Vahn had wanted to try creating a simr weapon. Even with his powerful physical strength, he still had trouble handling the metal after realizing how difficult it was to work with a heavy and long object. It took him nearly twelve hours to shape the 140kg piece of metal into the correct shape while ensuring it had proper bnce. Without the support of his domain and control over fire, Vahn would have been unable toplete the weapon, since it was far more difficult than he had expected. After consideration, he mocked himself for making it all as one part instead of creating a mold for the individual des and then linking them togetherter. However, since it was all one piece during its construction, the mana circuits were linked properly and the entirety of the de was far more durable. He had used a tripleyerposite of adamantine for the core, mithril to act as a cushion and conduit around that with reinforced magisteel lining the edges. Vahn held the gigantic weapon that was longer than he was tall, and marveled at his own personal achievement. For the time being, this was his greatest masterpiece, and he even considered holding onto it until the cooldown of his Akashic Tome had ended so he could give it a powerful name. Eventually, he decided against waiting, because he was curious how much OP he would get frompleting a weapon that far exceeded even his own expectations. After a bit of deliberation, he decided to name the weapon [Dance of the Amazon] after imaging Tiona jumping around and cutting through monsters in her characteristic lively movements. The moment he decided on the name, Vahn obtained 3,705 OP from the system and couldnt help but smile at the result. [Dance of the Amazon] Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 0 P.Atk: 911+90 M.Atk: 83 Ability: Impact Dampening(B), Hardening(C), Crushing Blow(A) A gigantic weaponprised of two des meticulously crafted to be well bnced for ease of use. Uses a tripleyerposite to increase the durability and striking potential of the weapon. This weapon carries the will of its creator and the hope that it will allow the wielder to dance freely amongst their enemies. Creates a thin barrier of wind around the wielder that increases agility. Seeing the description, Vahn couldnt help but be pleased with his own workmanship. Though he didnt know how his [Dance of the Amazon] stacked up against Tionas [Urga], he believed that his creation wouldnt be far behind. Remembering that her weapon had been made by a [Master Smith], Vahn grew excited at the prospect that he wasnt too far from that realm. His [cksmith] skill was already rank S, so the only thing he needed was experience, perseverance, and time. Evangeline had raised her head to stare at the gawking face of Vahn as he looked at the abnormallyrge weapon with a silly expression on his face. Before long, he started swinging around the sword to test its use, and her brows raised a bit when she saw the elemental energies of wind dancing around his body. Though she could tell he was very skilled at forging, she hadnt expected him to be able to create magical weapons with such ease. Generally speaking, it took a powerful catalyst like a magic core or artifact if you wanted to make a magical weapon, but Vahn was able to do it using his forging skills alone. cing her pen down, she left therge chair Vahn had purchased for her and used Shundo to immediately close the distance between her and Vahn. Since he had been testing the weapon, Vahn had his domain focused and his senses heightened enough to be able to catch Evangelines movements. He still couldnt catch her actual speed, but he was able to sense when she entered and exited the movement at the very least. Expecting her to suddenly attack, Vahn got into a position to intercept, but she just ended up standing in front of him and giving him a strange and amused look. Seeing the small girl looking at him in such a manner, Vahn couldnt help but feel a hint of embarrassment. If it wasnt for [Will of the Emperor] helping him maintain his calm, he expected that he might have blushed a bit. Before he asked, Evangeline answered his question, "I wanted to inspect that weapon you made. I can sense it possesses a magical ability as well as a powerful affinity for magic in general. Its actually pretty impressive that youre able to forge such a weapon considering your age. I guess your intentions of bing a [Master Smith] arent as baseless as I expected." Reaching out her hands to ept the weapon, Vahn looked at her for a moment before handing it over. It annoyed him how her pliments always seemed to have sharp criticisms hidden inside them, but he was quickly learning that it was Evangelines way of concealing her own emotions. Since he could easily see her aura, it was very difficult for her to fool him just based on her words and actions alone. Though Vahn still remained on guard a bit after his negotiations with Loki, he had quickly understood how to better read the aura by matching against the values in the system. After Evangeline received the [Dance of the Amazon], she was surprised when her hands dropped a few millimeters. Though she expected it to be heavy, it was a bit more than her assumption due to the adamantine core. Swinging it around a bit, she could feel the wind forming a small barrier around her that made her body feel lighter. With a slight smile on her face, she disappeared from in front of Vahn before reappearing nearly 200m away in an instant. Vahn was amazed by the sheer speed she was capable of achieving and wondered if he should ask her to teach him that movement. He could tell it was some kind of technique, but he wasnt able to understand the principles behind it presently. While he was a bit lost in thought, he saw Evangeline jump high into the air beforeing to a stop. Vahns brain started to buzz because the moment she came to a stop he could feel an incredible amount of magic flowing through the air like an endless tidal wave that made him feel a bit pressured. Evangeline wanted to see how useful the giant weapon was as a magical catalyst and she was amazed by how smoothly her magic could consolidate and flow through the de. She felt like the weapon in her hands could rival some of the masterpieces created by magical cksmiths back in Mundus Magicus. If she hadnt seen the process herself from start to finish, she wouldnt have believed Vahn was the one who forged the item in her hands. After her magic reached a critical level, she spun around in the air once and struck out with the heavy weapon. From Vahns perspective, the moment Evangeline spun around, the entire world seemed to slow down as the image in his eyes was magnified with an incredible amount of rity. He felt like he could see every movement of the muscles beneath her skin and dress, and could even see the flow of the magic creating thousands of small magical circles in the air around her. The attack that shot out from [Dance of the Amazons] seemed to contain an irresistible force which collided with the ground and sent a shockwave that reached his position from 200m away, even though she had aimed in the opposite direction. Vahn stared in horror at the giant pir that seemed to stretch to the heavens from where her magical energy had struck. By the time the light had disappeared, there was a canyon-sized hole with the infinite white space of the floor that slowly started regenerating. When Evangeline nodded her head with a satisfied look on her face, Vahn felt a sudden throb in his mind as both of his eyes started to emit a painful sensation which caused him to close them with a grimace. From her elevated position, Evangeline saw Vahns state and had a questioning look on her face as she teleported next to him without saying anything. She could feel the mana in his body converging on his eyes and around his brain and knew that he had likely awakened something due to watching her earlier actions. After a few excruciating seconds, blood started to drips from Vahns closed eyes and Evangeline began to worry as she watched him continue to struggle. Since she had no understanding of his magic system and origins, she didnt know what she could do to help. When Vahn fell to his knees and clutched his palms over his eyes, she felt a slight twinge in her heart as she grits her teeth and watched the processplete. It took nearly twenty minutes, but the energy began to stabilize in his body before he finally passed out. Vahn fell face first onto the ground with tears of blood dripping down his face, but he no longer had a pained expression. After sighing in relieve, Evangelina used telekinesis to pick up his body andy him down on the bed. Using a handkerchief, she wiped the blood away from his face. After he was cleaned up, Evangeline stared at him nkly for a few minutes before she was unable to resist her own curiosity any longer. Using her index and thumb, she opened the eyelids of Vahn to inspect if there had been any changes to his eyes. Though he still had the same aquamarine colored iris, she could see there was a hint of azure blue around the pupils which glowed with a magical light. Evangeline released a long sigh as she let Vahns eye return to a closed state. Everything about him was a mystery, and the longer she was around him, the more the mysteries seemed to deepen. Since she knew about his past from his own recounting of events, she began to wonder why those researchers had tracked him down in the first ce. She knew it likely had something to do with his blood, but there seemed to be far more to the story than Vahn understood from the events. Sitting on the bed next to him, Evangeline watched his sleeping face with a bit of curiosity and intrigue in her eyes. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Amazon bait,Forging Cheat,Jiiiiiiiiiiii-) Chapter 158 - Oblivion

Chapter 158 - Oblivion

Vahn felt a searing pain in his eyes as he floated weightlessly within a cold void. It felt like both of his eyes were burning, and he felt warm blood flowing between his palms as he tried using [Hands of Nirvana] to stifle the pain. However, no matter how much he willed himself to use the skill, it wouldnt activate and he could do nothing but gnash his teeth through the pain. Even his brain started to feel like it was melting, and Vahn thought he might lose his mind if things continued as they were. Suddenly, a cold sensation spread through his mind and began tobat against the debilitating heat radiating from his eyes. Vahn let out a gasp that was a mixture of relief and profound anguish. Even though the pain continues to wrack his body, the cooling sensation in his mind brought him some smallfort and allow him to protect his mind from losing itself to madness. After what seemed like several hours, the pain finally began to recede as the cooling sensation spread through the rest of his body, including his eyes which currently felt like coarse sand within his eye sockets. After several more hours, the cooling sensation returned the moisture to his eyes, and Vahn no longer felt like they werepacted by hot sand. Mustering up a bit of strength, Vahn tried to open his eyes and immediately felt terrified by what he didnt see. Reaching his hands to his face, Vahn could feel that both of his eyes were opened, but he couldnt see anything. No matter where he turned, there was absolutely no light that could be picked up by his eyes. If he couldnt feel his body, Vahn would have suspected it didnt even exist. Vahn felt a sour feeling in his heart and could feel tears welling up in his sightless eyes. He tried seekingfort by calling out to Sis in his mind, but even she didnt answer his call. Vahn felt terribly lonely at the silence and the fact he was no longer able to see. Imagining having to spend the rest of his life blind, Vahn felt a profound sadness overtake him as he recalled the faces of everyone that he had grown close to over thest few months. The idea of never being able to see their various expressions broke his heart. It wasnt the loss of his sight or his inability to fight that hurt him the most, but the fact that he would never be able to see the smiles of one of those he cared about. For what seemed like days, Vahn continued to cry as he floated weightlessly in a space that carried not a single sight or sound other than those from his own memory and body. None of his skills or abilities worked in this space, and even the system of The Path couldnt be essed. The only thing that kept Vahn from going crazy was the cooling sensation that was everpresent in his mind. He knew it was the influence of [Will of the Emperor] and found some sce knowing that he hadnt lost everything yet. After a long period of time, when Vahn had slowly started to let go of his thoughts and just allowed his body to float in space, he finally caught sight of something. Though he didnt react at first, when his mind finally processed what he had just seen, Vahn felt excitement well up inside of him. The tears that he thought had long dried up came back like a tidal wave as he stretched out his hand toward the tiny white light. It was so small, almost like a figment of his imagination, but Vahn knew in his heart it was real. He wanted to reach out and grab it so badly... Suddenly, the inconsequentially small light exploded with an irresistible force that quickly overtook Vahns body. Though he could feel the explosion was more powerful than anything he could even conceive, the shockwave passed through Vahns body without any resistance at all. Even though it was a cataclysmically devastating force, Vahn was entirely unaffected by its passage as he just bathed in the warm energies that prated through his body. The previously soundless and sightly space was suddenly awash with limitless colors that rapidly expanded from the origin point of the small light. Vahn could feel the energies spreading through his body, almost like they were reshaping everything that defined his previous existence. He could feel the passage of countless eons as he observed the formation of the neb, stars, and evens as they filled out the previously empty space that brought him so much sadness before. Vahn felt like he was watching the birth of the entire cosmos, and though he couldnt influence it in the slightest, it made him feel proud to have witnessed such a beautiful and awesome sight. The long years he had spent without a single light had impacted him deeply, and now everything within his vision broughtfort to his mind. Even the individual particles of cosmic dust that floated within the vast emptiness were infinitely interesting to him, and Vahn felt like everything had a beautiful purpose as his eyes overlooked their existence through the infinite passage of time. He had long forgotten how long he entered this space, but no matter how much time passed, Vahn was never lonely or sad anymore. Though he had a longing for something that he couldnt recall, he was satisfied with just observing the cycle of creation and destruction around him. At this moment, Vahn felt like there was order in all things, and an overwhelming sense ofpletion spread through every fiber of his being for having had the opportunity to observe everything taking ce since its emergence from the tiny white dot. While Vahn was reveling in the sense of pletion in his body, all of the lights around him started slowly vanishing. Though he didnt mind it at first, as destruction was part of the natural cycle, after arge portion of the lights had extinguished, Vahn felt like there was something wrong. Looking through the void which was previously awash with an incredibly vibrant array of colors and sights, Vahn could see darkness encroaching from all directions. Though he desperately wanted to halt its advance, much like how he could do nothing to stop the spreading of the light, Vahn was unable to prevent the darkness from slowly reiming everything. Eventually, though an incredibly long period of time had passed, the darkness had imed everything in what seemed like an instant. Vahn was suddenly overwhelmed by loneliness again as his eyes looked through the darkness, but could find no light. He knew that he wasnt blind, but that there was simply nothing to see at all. Even if he traveled through the void for an eternity, he may never be able to find another light like the one that had brought him so muchfort. A powerful sense of desperation welled up inside him as Vahn turned his focus to the inside of his body. Though he couldnt use The Path, or any of his abilities, it didnt stop him from being able to inspect the inside of his body. He was desperately looking for something, anything, which might be able to restore some of the light to this now perpetually dark world. Eventually, he found what he was looking for, deep within the core of his heart. Though he wasnt sure why it was there, Vahn had an instinctual understanding that he would be able to find it if he looked. Within his heart, or the area where he believed his heart to be, there was a small blue light very reminiscent of the white light he had previously seen long ago. Vahn wrapped his intent around it and slowly guided it along his body until the blue light emerged from his bare chest. Though there was nothing else in the space, the blue glow of the light gently illuminated his skin and his palms which cradled the light. Even though there was now a void in his heart where the blue light used to reside, Vahn felt happiness well up inside of him as he stared at the gentle blue light. Tears began to flow down his face as an image reyed itself through his mind from long ago. Moments before the original white light had expanded, Vahn had seen another figure illuminated by the white light which he desperately saw. Though he hadnt given it any attention at the time, now that he reflected on it, Vahn could see the eyes of another person reflecting the gentle white light as it looked toward him. Just as Vahn was about to reach out for the light, that was when the cycle of creation and destruction began. Now, Vahn held the gentle blue light in his hands in a manner simr to the unidentified entity from long ago. As he slowly raised up the light, he looked into the darkness and could feel a powerful sense of love spreading through his being as he saw the eyes of countless individuals peaking through the darkness and seeking out the light in his hands. They all looked sad and desperate, and they reminded Vahn of himself from a time long ago. The moment one of the entities got close, Vahn exhaled gently and the blue light in his hand exploded outwards with an irresistible force. Unlike the time when the energies had passed freely through his body, this time they tore Vahn apart, almost like the light was using his body itself to fuel the process of creation and destruction that would follow... Thest desire Vahn had before he ceased to exist was a desire that his sacrifice would be able to resist the darkness for even a second longer than the white light that had brought him so much happiness. --- Vahn awoke in the bed he had purchased for Evangeline and stared wide-eyed at the infinite ck sky above. For a brief moment, he thought he was still stuck in that timeless ce with no light, but when he felt the covers on his body he suddenly felt incredibly warm and safe. From his left, an annoyed, but gentle, voice spoke out, "Boys shouldnt be so quick to cry...you look like an idiot." Turning his head, Vahn could see Evangeline looking at him with furrowed brows as she had an expression of mock contempt on her face. However, he could see the concern in both her aura and eyes as she looked at him. Vahn couldnt help but feel happy to have somepanionship after what seemed like a literal eternity of loneliness. Though he had experienced all of creation and destruction from the very beginning of time, even the pletion he felt then couldntpare to a single moment of his interactions with those around him. Though he knew she would probably get mad, Vahn couldnt help but smile and say, "After what feels like an eternity, I cant help but feel grateful to wake up next to a beautiful girl." Evangeline immediately frowned at him before turning away and jumping off the bed. She spoke in an angry without looking at Vahn, "Youve been asleep for almost twenty hours, arent you supposed to be in a hurry to get better at forging? Dont waste my time with your shamelessness." Even though she was acting angry, Vahn continued to follow Evangelines back as she returned to her desk. He could see that, when heplimented her earlier, her aura had be slightly chaotic and had a pink hue to it. For some reason, likely due to the fact she was only a memory, Vahn couldnt see the affection Evangeline had for him, but he assumed it wasnt as low as she pretended it to be. After collecting his thoughts for a few minutes, Vahn whispered out gently in his mind in a probing voice, ("Sis, are you there?") The moment the womanly voice began sounding with his mind, Vahn felt an incredible amount of relief wash over his body. Her presence had been one of the things he missed the most during his dream, and it wasnt until she spoke that he finally felt like he had returned. Though her words werent very long, they brought a profoundly happy feeling to Vahns heart as she said, (*Good morning, Vahn. I will always be here when you need me.*) Releasing a long and contented sigh, Vahn habitually inspected his system for any changes and found what he was looking for. As expected, Vahn had obtained an ability rted to sight which had triggered at the moment when he was watching Evangelines attack. It wasnt the first time the phenomenon of time slowing down had happened, so Vahn had some expectation he would develop a rted skill eventually... [Eye of Truth] Rank: Innate (B) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* [Passive]: Greatly increased perception and visual acuity. Absolute immunity to illusions depending on rank. [Active]: Oblivion. All things in creation are born from and return to oblivion. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dreams of Eternity,Vahn is so deep,Voyeurism) Chapter 159 - [Eyes of Truth]

Chapter 159 - [Eyes of Truth]

After reading the description of the skill, Vahn looked around and began inspecting everything around him. He could see a wavy particle in the air, and whenever he waved his hand through it, he realized it was the air itself that he could see. It was very simr to when Vahn saw a hot surface radiating heat, but now the entire airflow was visible to his eyes. When he turned his eyes to Evangeline and focused, he was surprised by what he saw. Her body turned into a negative with all the colors reversed as he was able to briefly prate through theyers of clothes and skin on her body before looking into the interior and seeing a massive amount ofpressed mana flowing through every cell of her body. Evangeline felt a chill run down her back as she turned to look at Vahn. She could see a subtle blue glow in his eyes that made her feel ufortable, almost like Vahn could see through her everything. She knew he had awakened something in his eyes, and now she suspected the use of the skill had something to do with seeing-through things. If it werent for the fact that Vahns expression was of curiosity and contemtion, she might have pped him silly for staring at her in such a manner. When Evangeline turned toward him, he wasnt able to see her expression easily because she was currently just a mass of shining blue mana in his eyes. Vahn stopped focusing his eyes and looked at the perturbed expression on her face as she asked, "Your eyes, what do they do?" Vahn could hear a mix of intrigue and a mild amount of inhibitions in her voice. After forming his thoughts in a cohesive manner, he responded, "As far as I can tell, it lets me see the magical elements in things like the air and people. I saw the massive amount of mana contained within your body and got a bit distracted. Im sorry if I offended you." Though it was very subtle, Vahn was able to hear Evangeline sigh in relief before she turned back to her books. As she picked up her pen and started writing, she said, "For a moment, I thought you were able to see through my clothes. Do me a favor, and dont use those eyes when youre looking at me." Evangeline said the words inly, but Vahn could hear the warning contained within. He wasnt sure if she had seen through his exnation and hit upon the truth, but he decided it was best not to ask. After stretching for a bit, Vahn decided to continue processing materials to practice controlling his eternal me before he ran out of time. Though he had enough time to forge some standard equipment, he was more inclined to producing things like the [Dance of the Amazon] which he had created earlier. Since he didnt have enough time to dedicate towards the production of a high-quality item, he spent the remaining few hours preparing things for his next visit. It wouldnt be that long before his return, and then hed have an additional three days to create more items. When there was less than an hour left, Evangeline put down her pen and spoke toward Vahn. In a somewhat emotionless voice, she said, "Youll be leaving soon, and Ive used up a fair amount of mana maintaining this space. I also used quite a bit in my earlier disy when I tested your weapon. Since youve obtained plenty of benefits in your time here, Ill be expecting more sweets and books in the future." Vahn had been listening to her speak and started organizing his tools as she stared at him with her icy blue eyes. The moment he ced down thest tool, he could feel his body be slightly weightless and he said, "I can move on my own, you dont have to force me." Evangeline ignored his words before dragging his body toward the bed and setting him down on top of it. She then crawled onto the bed before sitting in hisp and facing him with a nk expression on her face. Vahn stared into her eyes for a moment before closing his and rxing with his arms loosely wrapped around her back. Evangeline ced her palms on his shoulders before bitting into his neck so that she could suck his blood. As it was the third time she had drained his blood, Vahn had made the proper mental preparations and wasnt affected by the initial bite or the warmth that started spreading in his body. Since she had learned her lesson from the previous incident, Evangeline didnt overexert herself by trying to drain Vahns blood faster than he could replenish it. Instead, she drained his blood in a much slower fashion and drew out the time until just before Vahn was to be ejected from the orb. Vahn had been feeling pleasant for the entire process, so he didnt utter a single word orint till the moment his body began to dissolve. Since the process always started from his legs, Evangeline eventually fell slightly onto her butt when his legs disappeared. She looked at his vanishing figure with a nk expression and said, "Make sure you bring more stuff when you return. These books wontst for four years. I also want wine and other baked goods, not just cake." Vahn released a humorous sigh as he smiled toward Evangeline and said, "Dont worry, I wont forget, Evangeline." At this point, he had disappeared up to his torso, but right before Vahnpletely vanished, he reached out his hand and pat the small girl on the head. She immediately frowned before knocking away his hand and saying in a sharp voice, "Dont treat me like a child, and call me Master! M-A-S-T-E-R!" In response to her outrage, Vahn justughed as thest remnants of his body disappeared. He wanted to retort that, after his dream, he couldnt help but see her as anything more than a child that just wanted to be spoiled. Of course, though he kept this thought in his mind, he would never say it out loud. Vahn knew that her trauma had been caused by her long life and immature figure, and it would be the same as treating her tragic life as a joke. Since she was treating him better, he intended to find a few sweets that the other girls liked before bringing them back for Evangeline to try. Vahn opened his eyes back in the real world and looked around in a manner simr to how he had within the orb. The same as then, he could see everything around in an incredible amount of detail. Not only the air, but Vahn could see rainbow colored particles floating around if he focused his eyes. He understood that they were the elemental energies naturally present in the world, and he could even influence them a bit if he expanded his domain. Presently, he could easily manipte the fire elements, but he only had a marginal amount of control over all the others. After focusing for a few minutes, Vahn felt like his eyes were swelling, like there was a pressureing from the inside, so he decided to stop focusing his sight. He noticed that, the harder he focused, the more energy it took to maintain the vision. Vahn was a little confused about why, since it seemed to be the passive effects of the ability, it used energy and focus to maintain the effect. He attributed it to his inability to use the ability properly. With that thought in mind, Vahn decided to head toward the training area since it was still pretty early. Strangely, when Vahn left his room, Anubis wasnt present for the first time. Scanning his eyes toward her room, Vahn noticed that he couldnt perceive her aura like he had been able to in the past. Vahn felt a little worried, so he expanded his domain to cover more than 300m, which wasrge enough to epass the entirety of the house. Closing his eyes to focus, Vahn realized there were no presences other than himself within his mind. Turning his attention to his minimap, the blue signals that would typically represent allies were also missing, which confirmed his suspicions. Presently, even though it was only around 7 AM, there was nobody in the house other than himself. Vahn looked around the property a bit and even investigated the two rooms where the children stayed. Seeing that there was no damage or signs of a fight, Vahn assumed nothing had happened, and they were likely taken out by Anubis early in the morning. Since it was the weekend and they had time off, Vahn didnt think it was beyond the realm of possibilities. He had just grown so ustomed to Anubis in the past few days that it was a bit unnatural for her not to be around. While he was walking toward the training area, Vahn realized he would have been able to detect if there was a problem due to the fact that he slept with his domain spread. Nothing had triggered throughout the night, and the time he had spent in the orb was actually only a few seconds in reality. He still had difficulty wrapping his head around the time dtion when moving to and from the space within the orb. After aying his own concerns, Vahn focused his mind after arriving at the training area so he could recover the energy he had expended earlier. Once he had recovered to his optimal state, Vahn opened his eyes and wanted to try the active ability of his [Eyes of Truth]. The description was a bit vague, but recalling the birth and destruction of the cosmos from his dream, Vahn felt like there was a lot of potential hidden in the skill Oblivion. Vahn spread out his domain to epass the entire training field and focused his eyes on arge stone roller that had been set up for weight training. The colors of the stone inverted, and Vahn was able to see its internal structure whichprised of inert and earth elemental energy. It looked a lot like static, and it was difficult to keep his focus on the object because of the variation in itsposition and depth. It was almost like his vision was able to sift through the object like he was visually pushing through particles of sand. Taking several deep breaths, Vahn tried to focus on an individual point within the rock as he activated Oblivion. The moment he activated his skill, he was able to see a small light appear within the stone roller, but the moment he stared at it, it blinked out of existence and Vahn felt a painful headache as arge amount of energy was drained from his body. It took a few minutes, but Vahn was finally able to recover and stabilize his breathing. Vahn was confused about how to use the skill, so he kept reading the description while trying to make sense of some hidden principle he didnt understand. The light he had seen inside the rock was eerily reminiscent of the small light that had led to the birth of an entire universe, and Vahn actually hoped that wasnt the case. If he identally created a cosmos within the rock, there was a chance he would destroy the entire record, himself included. Considering his current soul tier and the strength of his other Innate skills, Vahn assumed this wasnt the case, but he was still a bit unnerved by the tiny light that consumed nearly half of his energy in an instant. After recovering his energy, Vahn began analyzing the rock with his sight again to see if he could find any changes. No matter how long he looked, he couldnt find any changes to the structure andposition of the rock. Taking a deep breath to prepare himself for therge energy expenditure, Vahn tried to focus on a specific point of the rock as he recalled the description of Oblivion, which said, All things in creation are born from and return to oblivion. Vahn felt like the keywords were born and return, so he tried focusing on the aspect of return as he directed his intent inside the stone roller. He had assumed that the light he saw earlier was birth, so now he wanted to apply the opposite principle. The moment the skill activated, Vahn could see a ck, translucent sphere expand from the point where his vision was focused. Vahn could feel his energy begin to deplete rapidly therger the sphere grew, so he stopped channeling the skill and noticed that the sphere immediately vanished. Releasing a long sigh, Vahn fell onto his butt and drew long breaths as he tried to recover his energy. Once his breathing stabilized, he crossed his legs and tried to meditate while focusing on the [Mantra of Eternity]. Though he had yet to understand a single part of it, Vahn had learned that focusing on the sound made his mental energy replenish faster. After recovering his energy, Vahn focused his eyes on the stone roller once again to see if there had been any changes. The moment his vision prated to the core of the roller, Vahn noticed that there was now a void within the interior of the structure. Curious, Vahn approached the roller and split it in two with a quick chop of his hand. With the [Fist Strike] skill he had learned from Tiona, Vahn was able to insert his energy into his hands and shape it during strikes. This time, he used his energy like a de and bisected the stone roller with ease. As expected, Vahn was able to confirm that what his vision had seen was urate. The entire inside of the stone roller now had a spherically shaped void which was previously solid stone. Vahn was able to confirm the second use of the Oblivion skill, which seemed to give him the ability to return, or destroy, matter. There wasnt even any dust on the inside and the spherically shaped hollow was almost wless as if it had been polished for hours. Now that he had confirmed the second ability, Vahn wanted to try using the first ability to birth or create. After a bit of consideration, Vahn decided to focus his vision on the air instead of the inside of an object. Since there was nothing for his vision to be drawn to, it was actually far more difficult to pinpoint his vision on a specific spot. After failing several times, Vahn finally managed to keep his vision focused long enough to trigger the creation ability of Oblivion. Since he still had a bit of inhibition about identally creating an entire cosmos, Vahn tried to focus his intent on a specific material. In the middle of the air, where Vahns vision was focused, a bluish dot appeared and slowly began to increase in size. Unlike the ck sphere, the energy drain of the blue sphere was incredibly exhaustive. By the time the sphere had grown to the size of a marble, Vahn had nearly copsed into a state of Mind Down. After he cut off the ability, the blue light disappeared and a small metal ball fell from the air. Though he was still struggling for air, Vahn moved forward and picked up the wless, silver, bearing that he had created from nothing. The material he had tried to create was Iron, and he had managed to make around a tenth of a gram at the expense of almost all of his energy. A/N: Pure Iron looks like silver, but is less reflective. Google is your friend.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-,Aggressively stares at nothing,Missing Puppers, please call the owner if found) Chapter 160 - Returning to the Hostess of Fertility

Chapter 160 - Returning to the Hostess of Fertility

With the overexertion he felt, Vahn had to take a break for nearly two hours to recover his mental energy. By the time he had finished experimenting with [Eyes of Truth], it was near time for lunch and Vahn was a bit confused why everyone was still away. Since he was told not to do any work on the weekends, Vahn decided he would go out into the City before heading toward the Hostess of Fertility for ate lunch. Considering the time he spent in the dungeon, the nine days he was in aa, and the six days he had been awake, it had been a long time since Vahn visited. A lot had changed in the time, and Vahn was looking forward to meeting Chloe again. After securing the formations on his house, Vahn made his way along the sidepath of Tsubakis manor before stopping outside the entrance and heading inside. He hadnt seen Naaza and Lili for nearly a week, and now that he had time, Vahn wanted to talk to the two girls a bit and invite them to eat lunch. Strangely, the perpetually open front door of Tsubakis manor was closed and Vahn realized the door was locked. Curious, Vahn expanded his domain and tried to sense if anyone was present. No matter how long he searched, Vahn was unable the presence of the three girls. Vahn frowned, unsure of what was going on for both residences to be empty. The only time Tsubaki would ever be away is if she was leading the Hephaestus Familia into the dungeon on an expedition. But, even if that was the case, Vahn was certain she would have informed him, and it didnt exin why Lili and Naaza were also missing. He began to suspect that there was something going on behind the scenes that he wasnt told about, but couldnt understand what would involve the members of both residences. After waiting inside Tsubakis courtyard for nearly twenty minutes, Vahn heard a sound emitting from his stomach to indicate he was still hungry. Releasing a sigh, Vahn shook his head and decided there wasnt anything that could happen, especially if they were all together. Pulling out a piece of seasoned jerky, Vahn began making his way leisurely toward the Hostess of Fertility. Vahn also figured he could stop by Hephaestuss workshop and obtain answers directly from her. As he wasnt in a hurry, Vahn spent his time watching the people and taking in the sights of the City. Though it wasnt his first time walking the route, everything seemed new with his enhanced perception and eyesight. The auras of everyone were a lot more clear than they were in the past, and Vahn could now identify the approximate strength of people at a nce. He was even able to see some rtively normal people that hadrge auras, and Vahn knew they were likely gods and goddesses of low ranked Familia. Vahn had never realized how many strong auras were in the City, and it made him feel a bit more humbled regarding his own strength. Along the way, there were several girls that tried calling out to him, but Vahn just gave them polite smiles and a curt nod before continuing forward without slowing. Compared to the looks girls gave him in the past, Vahn could see a bit of a fervor in their expressions now and he was far more susceptible to their auras and spontaneous affections toward him. Though he knew none of them actually had feelings for him, Vahn was somewhat proud of the attention he was receiving. Even he had noticed how rapidly his looks had changed over thest week or so, and felt like he had hit a growth spurt and was maturing rapidly. After nearly two hours, Vahn arrived outside the Hostess of Fertility and paused outside the doors like he had done so many times in the past. The aromaing from the slightly ajar doors made him feel nostalgic, and he somewhat misseding here every day for dinner. It had been even longer since he came on his own, so Vahn was looking forward to seeing and interacting with Chloe if she was working today. Entering into the familiar pub, Vahn couldnt help but smile as he took in the sights that he had grown attached to in the past. However, his smile changed a bit as a curious expression appeared on his face when he saw the two new girls that were attending customers. Though he couldnt see Chloe around, Vahn did see two new, yet familiar faces attending to customers that he had been curious about in the past. One of them, a beautiful young woman with light-grey hair and light-grey eyes, noticed his appearance and gave him a curious look before she smiled widely and approached Vahn. He recognized the girl as Syr Flova, one of the main characters that had been present within the manga. Vahn had been curious where she was all the other times he visited, but could never breach the subject since it didnt make sense for him to know about her. Once Syr got near Vahn, she said in a cheerful tone, "Wee to the Hostess of Fertility. Will you be dining in with us?" As she asked the question, Syr was giving Vahn an appraising look with a gentle smile on her face. Vahn was somewhat influenced by the atmosphere and returned her smile, but instead of answering her question, he asked, "Is Chloe not working today?" Syr tilted her head sideways with her index finger on her chin as she made a pleasant Hnnnnn? sound before asking, "You know Chloe? Dont tell me, are you Vahn Mason?" When she asked the question, Vahn felt like she had a glimmer in her eye and he even noticed her aura expanded by a slight margin. The reaction had stunned Vahn a bit, because he had never seen such arge aura on a mortal girl before. Noticing the strange look he was giving her, Syr thought he was confused about why she knew who he was, so she exined, "Ah, dont misunderstand. I heard about you from the other girls when I came back. I had been visiting Melen to assist in setting up a different pub for thest few months. When I came back, I heard all kinds of rumors, not just from the girls, but from the customers as well. Youre quite famous, Vahn." Hearing her words, Vahn felt his pride well up a bit as he asked, "It seems you know me, but may I ask who you are?" Vahn tried to be both polite while asking the question with a smile on his face. Syr was one of the people he had intended to meet when he came to the City, and now that he finally got to see her unique beauty, he was very satisfied. Every time he saw one of the characters from the manga in the flesh, Vahn always felt like he had reunited with someone he hadnt seen in a long time. Syr was a bit surprised with how familiar and casual Vahn was acting on their first meeting. Compared to most girls, she had an incredibly discerning eye, and for some reason, she felt like Vahn was strangely very familiar with her. Curious, she asked with a gentle expression and a warm smile on her face, "Have you never heard of me before?" As she asked the question, Vahn saw the same glimmer in her eyes that he had seen earlier. Vahn shook his head as if to deny her question, but he also said, "I had known there was a beautiful ashen-haired beauty that worked at the Hostess of Fertility, but I never had the opportunity to meet her." Vahn turned his eyes to the other woman he had seen earlier and continued, "The one I have truly never heard of is that elven girl." Though Syr had detected there was a bit of misinformation in Vahns voice, she could also tell he was somehow being sincere, which was very confusing to her. Syr turned her head to see where he was looking at and saw the elf, Ryuu Lion, the girl that had apanied her to Melen. With a smile on her face, she turned to Vahn and exined, "Hnn, that girl is named Ryuu Lion, and my name is Syr Flova, just to answer your question from earlier." When she introduced her name, she saw the familiarity in Vahns eyes increase as his smile widened and he responded, "It is nice to meet you, Ms. Flova." Hearing the way Vahn addressed her, and the strange emphasis he put on the words, Syr couldnt help butugh a bit as she squinted her eyes at Vahn. Because of his apparent familiarity with her, it actually sounded strange when he addressed her with herst name. After sheughed, she showed a cheerful smile and said, "Please, Vahn, just call me Syr. Ive already heard so much about you, that it already feels like were close friends. Please treat me well in the future." Vahn nodded his head and, with a smile on his face, said, "Of course, Syr." Hearing the way he said her name, Syr almostughed for a second time as she showed Vahn to a booth. Unlike the emphasis he ced on herst name, he spoke her first name with the same familiarity she had sensed from him previously. She had no doubts that Vahn had known about her, but she was somewhat curious about the source and reason why he would do so. No matter how she looked at him, there didnt seem to be a single malicious bone in his body; it was almost like he was a kid that had just recently found his way into the world. After taking his order, Syr tended to other customers and made polite conversation with everyone. Vahn had followed her periodically with his eyes, and he noticed she was incredibly popr amongst the regrs in the pub. She seemed to remember everyones name and livened up the atmosphere of the pub on her own. There were a few times when he had been staring at her, that she would look back and make eye contact with him before showing her characteristic cheerful smile. Vahn had ordered the spaghetti that he had the very first time he visited the Hostess of Fertility, and it was a strangely nostalgic feeling as he enjoyed the savory meat sauce and delicious noodles. Meeting the remaining members of the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn began to think more about the original story and the plot that should take ce in the future. He knew that he had irrevocably changed how events would y out, but he still had a bit of anticipation for what was toe. Though he had every intention of marrying Hephaestus and Eina and even nned to continue his rtionsh.i.p.s with other pivotal characters like Ais and Tiona, Vahn still had a few desires that he had possessed since the moment he arrived in this record. He still wanted to join the Hestia Familia, and he also wanted to meet Bell and adventure together. Though he was currently much stronger than Bell and had likely changed the events that would transpire, Vahn still wanted to associate with the protagonist of the original story. Vahn had always admired his character and thought they could be good friends in the future. Vahn had a happy smile on his face as he enjoyed the delicious food while imagining what would take ce in the future. So much had changed for him recently, and there were now many things he wanted to see and experience in this world. While he was lost in thought, he could sense two auras approaching him and turned to see Syr escorting Ryuu who had a in look on her face. Vahn could see that her aura was somewhat mellow, and there was a surprisingck of emotions in both her aura and on her face. Syr had been slightly pushing Ryuu forward as she began introducing the two, "Ryuu, this is Vahn Mason, the boy concerning all of the recent rumors. Vahn, this is Ryuu Lion, she has been working here for a few years and is quite a popr girl." As the two had approached, Vahn wanted to make a good impression so he stood to receive them. Since he had read several books on customs and traditions, Vahn actually gave a proper elven greeting as he bowed slightly toward Ryuu and held her left hand in his right palm and said, "It is good to meet you, Ms. Lion." Syrs eyes had widened when Vahn grabbed Ryus hand, while Ryu herself stared at the touching palms before turning her face away slightly and saying, "It is nice to meet you as well, Vahn Mason." After she finished her words, she pulled her hand away from him and quickly returned to her duties. Vahn followed her back with his eyes and couldnt help but smile a bit after hearing the notification from his system. Generally speaking, whenever Vahn first met someone, they would have an affection value of 50(neutral), but after he had taken Ryuus hand for the greeting, her affection had jumped 21 points in a single go. He didnt know how he was able to make such an impact on her in their first meeting but was d he was able to do so. Though it never went over it in the manga, at least till the volumes he had read, Vahn knew Ryuu had a tragic past of her own. If he could, he wanted to help her ovee it in the future. Syr looked at Vahn with an incredibly curious expression on her face as she watched him stare at the back of Ryuu. She could see that he treated Ryuu with the same type of familiarity as he showed her, and it was an incredibly interesting and peculiar matter to consider. She even suspected that he knew about Ryuus aversion to letting people touch her and that she had ced a certain significance regarding men that grabbed her hands. If it werent for the clear eyes and naive face of the handsome young boy, Syr would have considered Vahn the scheming type. But, no matter how she looked at him, she didnt get that sense at all, and it made her interest in Vahn grow exponentially. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Poster Girls Appear,Where is Everyone?,Touching hands...LEWD!) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at 237/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 161 - Vahnatus (1/3)

Chapter 161 - Vahnatus (1/3)

While Vahn was wandering around and drawing even more attention to himself, a group of women had gathered for the express purpose of preventing that very thing from happening. Had they known he wouldnt stay at home probably, they would have left someone to keep an eye on him. Unfortunately, none of the children would be able to oppose him, and every other person was required to attend the meeting. Even Welf, the designated buddy of Vahn, had been busy with his research and refused to participate. The organizers of the meeting were Hephaestus and Eina, and they had booked an entire cafe operated by the Hephaestus Familia for the first of many meetings regarding Vahn. Currently, the two women sat at the center of arge square table as they waited for all the invitees to arrive. Hephaestus had a cool look on her face as she gave an appraising look to each girl and woman that arrived, while Eina had on a professional smile as she directed each person to the proper seat. The first three to arrive were Tsubaki, Naaza, and Lili, who had gotten the message early the previous day. Though they were unaware of what would be discussed, they had a general idea that it was rted to Vahn, so they all showed up long before the meeting officially began. Tsubaki noticed that the atmosphere was a bit tense even before anything had happened, and she suspected that the topic might be more serious than she expected. Though she tried to make discussion, she was informed by the half-elf girl, who she learned was called Eina, that they would be answering questions once all the other attendees arrived. Lili and Naaza had concerned looks on their faces as they sat next to Tsubaki on the right of Hephaestus. They kept quiet as they waiting for the others to show up, and Lili immediately began to understand part of the reason why they had gathered. Not long after they arrived, Anubis, the woman that had been denying her and Naaza all week, showed up with her cool facade. Apanying the goddess were three other chienthrope girls who Lili had only met in passing when they attended lessons with Tsubaki. Anubis and Hephaestus made some polite conversation before the former realized the atmosphere was a bit odd and took her seat without continuing the topic. Even though she had seen the cute side of Hephaestus, she had no illusions that she could take any advantages against the fiery goddess. Following the direction of the half-elf Eina, she sat on the left side with the three girls, Nanu, Maat, and Chione. The third group to arrive was a pair of women with cat ears, and both Naaza and Lili became decidedly more cautious when they recognized the pair. The first with a lithe and yful looking cat girl with ck hair and green eyes, while the second one was a ditzy looking cat girl with brown hair and eyes. As they had often apanied Vahn to the Hostess of Fertility, they immediately recognized the girls as Chloe and Arnya. Chloe seemed to realize something shortly after entering the room as her eyes passed over all the people present. Without saying anything, she made her way to the side of Naaza and Lili as Arnya followed her with a clueless expression on her face. The moment they had entered, Arnya felt the tense atmosphere and the eyes of everyone in the room evaluating her for a reason she didnt understand. Though she wanted to immediately run away, she didnt want to abandon her friend, so she followed behind and found a seat next to the two girls she recognized. At this point, most of the people in the room understood themon factor between them, and they gave questioning looks to the fiery red-haired goddess and the gentle looking half-elf at the center of the table. Eina had noticed their gazes and exined in a polite tone, "There are still a few members that are imperative to the discussion. Please be patient, as we have also catered this event and will be serving refreshments and snacks shortly." Eina already had a professional demeanor from her work with the Guild, and now that she was preparing to take the official role of one of Vahns first-wives, she spoke clearly and with confidence in her tone. After a few minutes, the atmosphere started to loosen up a bit as people began having hushed conversations with each other. As Eina had mentioned, the staff of the cafe came around and started serving everyone as they waited for the remainder of the expected members. Eventually, another group showed up, this onerger than all the previous as it consisted of five girls. Leading the group was a petite and mischevious looking woman with red hair and squinted eyes as she was followed by a lively looking amazon, a fair-skinned golden-haired beauty, a mature and stoic green-haired elf, and a young elven girl with long golden-yellow hair tied into a ponytail. The group represented one of the factions attending the meeting and consisted of the goddess of the Loki Familia, Loki, and her entourage of Tiona, Ais, Riveria, and Lefiya. As they entered the room, Loki wouldnt help but have a devious smile as she looked toward Hephaestus and asked, "Kekeke, isnt this an interesting gathering youve staged? Am I allowed to guess the purpose~?" Hephaestus, who had been keeping silent the entire time, raised her head and looked at Loki with a serious expression as she said, "Well begin soon. Everyone else has been patient, and youre one of thest to arrive. You can wait for a few more minutes, surely?" In response, Lokiughed in a mischevious manner as she said, "Sure, sure, no problem~! Im really looking forward to what such a gathering of people could discuss~" Though everyone in the room already had an idea, hearing Lokis words only cemented the image of a boy in the minds of everyone present. Even Tiona, who wasnt particrly known for her intellect, seemed to understand why they had all gathered. She inspected every woman present with shining eyes and arge smile on her face as she whispered to Ais who was standing next to her, "Look, Ais, these are all women who have some kind of rtionship with our Vahn~. Arent you d we got to him first?" Ais had also been inspecting everyone in the room and hearing Tionas question, she gave a curt nod and said, "Nn, we did well...lots ofpetition." Simr to the glowing eyes of Tiona, Ais also had a bit of fighting spirit in her eyes as she spent a few seconds evaluating each girl at the table. Since the rumors regarding Tiona and Ais were well known to everyone present, they had all been looking seriously at the two girls. Naaza and Lili especially felt very pressured by the two confident looking women that were known to be Vahns first s.e.x.u.a.l conquest by everyone in the City. Chloe had a glow in her eyes as she slightly squinted while looking at the two Level 5 adventurers that had slept with Vahn. Remembering the lonely and tragic boy, she slightly med the two girls for likely forcing him into the situation. She knew Vahn wasnt the type to proactively approach others, which meant they had to be the ones to nt the idea in his mind. Though Chloe didnt possess any intention to be with Vahn on her own volition, she wouldnt turn him down when he finally approached her in the future. She felt like things had taken a strange turn, and she wanted to use this meeting as an opportunity to rify things. Though she was unaware of it, she had already sided with Hephaestus and Eina before the meeting even began. The Loki group upied the opposite side of the table of everyone that was already seated, and the atmosphere immediately turned somewhat chaotic. Though she hadnt continued talking about the reason for their meeting, Loki still made conversation with everyone else at the table while hinting at the reason indirectly. She was casually asking the girls about their personal lives and if they had any boys they liked... After another twenty minutes, thest group showed up and drew the attention of everyone in the room. It was a pair of cat people that looked very simr to each other, and everyone guessed that the two were likely a mother and daughter. They each had chestnut-brown hair and both looked slightly nervous when the eyes of everyone present gathered on them. The small cat girl with pigtails, his behind her mother for a bit until she recognized one of the faces and immediately jumped out and pointed directly at Lili as she shouted, "You~nya! Where have you been hiding Vahnya!?" Lili had a surprised look on her face as she looked into the face of the small girl whom she recognized as Tina Yuel. The woman behind her with a devilish smile was her mother Mn, and they were both the final arrivals that had been invited to attend. Though there were a few others on the initial roster, Hephaestus and Eina had narrowed it down to the sixteen girls, women, and goddesses present, excluding themselves which brought the total count to eighteen. The sheer number of women gave Hephaestus a bit of a headache, and she couldnt help but shake her head as she imagined the naive and smiling face of the boy she had fallen in love with. Before Lili couldnt answer the question of Tina, Eina spoke out and addressed the entire room, "Wee, Mn, Tina, and everyone else that is already present. If you two would like to take your seats, well begin discussing why everyone has been asked to gather on such short notice." Tina seemed to still want to ost Lili, but Mn grabbed her hand and led her to an area sitting across from Naaza and Lili. Though they were sitting to the left of the Loki Familia, it didnt represent their stance in the group. After everyone had sat down, Eina turned to Hephaestus who began to speak in a very business-like manner, "Im sure you all have an idea of why youve been asked to attend this gathering." After speaking, Hephaestus passed her eyes over everyone present before continuing, "The matter for discussion rtes to the past, present, and future of Vahn Mason. If you choose to remain at this meeting, you will be asked to take a vow to conceal anything that is discussed. If you cant agree to this prohibition, you may leave, but know that it will restrict your ability to interact with Vahn in the future." Everyone seemed to have no intention of leaving, though there were a few confused and distraught expressions on some. Arnya didnt know why she was invited to attend such a meeting, while Mn had a bit of a concerned expression as she held the mmy hand of her daughter. Tina seemed to realize that all the girls present were associated with the boy she liked, and she felt fear an inhibitions about staying around. The only thing that prevented her from leaving was the opportunity to know about the boy she had made her goal in the future. She had already started to train with her mother, and most of the rumors regarding Vahn served as her motivation. Hephaestus waited for a full minute before continuing, "Very well then, before we begin and take the vow, I would like everyone to rify their current and desired rtionship with Vahn. Since things may not be clear for some people, I would like to put this matter on the table for consideration." This was one of the ideas that Eina had given Hephaestus when they were nning the meeting. The two had stayed awakete into the night preparing their strategy. Though Loki was sitting in the center of the table across from Hephaestus, it was Tiona to her left who spoke out first, "Hello everyone, my name is Tiona Hiryute~! My current rtionship with Vahn is lovers who intend to have children~! In the future, I n to have lots and lots of babies with Vahn!" Tiona said each word uninhibited and with a smile on her face which brought a hush over the entire table. Ais, sitting to the right of Loki, spoke out next, "Ais Wallenstein. I am also lovers with Vahn...same as Tiona." Ais looked around and had apetitive glint in her eye as she said, "I am the first...to fully ept Vahn. I want to get stronger with him." Everyone at the table was confused when Ais mentioned fully epting Vahn, but Tiona beganughing at the bold promation. Loki, who was nked by the two girls, said with a mischevious look, "Im Loki, and I guess Im like the mother-inw of that kid~? For the future, Im not sure, it depends on how things y out. Maybe Ill be his lover as well~?" When Loki spoke, she gave a sly look at Hephaestus and put extra emphasis on herst question. Unexpectedly, Hephaestus didnt seem surprised by her im as the fiery goddess looked toward the next person. One of the topics that came up in the previous nights discussion was how to deal with Loki, so she wasnt caught off guard by the trickster goddesses games. Her actions made Loki realize there was a bit more to the situation than she expected as she gave a curious nce toward Eina. The next person to speak, since her Familia had set the precedent, was Riveria who replied in a cool tone, "My name is Riveria Ljos Alf and current rtionship with Vahn ispanions who have fought together. In the future, I intend to conduct research with Vahn, but have no current romantic interest in him." After Riveria, Lefiya, thest person from the Loki Familia, had a mild blush on her face as she spoke, "I-Im Lefiya Viridis, and I guess Im also apanion that has fought alongside Vahn..." The blush on Lefiyas face grew a bit as she recalled her interactions with Vahn in the past. She had felt like they were growing closer, but after he slept with Tiona and Ais, she felt very awkward. She had made the mistake of asking Ais about the event, and Ais gave her far more detail than she expected. Taking a deep breath, Lefiya continued, "I dont know what kind of f-future I want with Vahn..." Though she said she didnt know, everyone in the room could tell she had some kind of thoughts regarding Vahn, even if she wasnt making things clear. Her fl.u.s.tered and bashful expression looked like a maiden in love to some of the more mature women, while those that understood Lefiya had somewhat exasperated looks. Lefiya had been somewhat prideful in the past, and it wasnt until Ais saved her that she began to open up to others and developed her cute and clumsy personality. However, even though she opened up to others, the person Lefiya paid the most attention to was Ais herself. Now that Ais wanted to be with Vahn, they imagined the small elf would follow-suit sooner-orter. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Avahngers Assemble,Gathering of the Vahnguard,More women than the Author Expected to Appear!?) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at 238/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 162 - Vahnatus (2/3)

Chapter 162 - Vahnatus (2/3)

After Lefiyas fl.u.s.tered and dismissive response, the other girls began introducing themselves and their rtionship to Vahn. Not to be outdone by the girls in the Loki Familia, Nanu raised her chin and had a proud expression on her face as she dered, "I am Nanu, and Master Vahn is my future mate!" Hearing her promation, some of the girls at the table gave her strange looks like she had just said something strange. Anubis gave a short chuckle and exined, "In the Southern Tribe, things are a bit different when ites to courting women. Im sure it wille up in the discussionter, so allow me to continue where Nanu left off." When Anubis spoke, everyones eyes were drawn to the mature and exotic chienthrope goddess as she introduced herself. "Greetings, I am Anubis, Goddess of the Anubis Familia, and servant of my Master, Vahn Mason. I will continue to follow my Master until the time of his death. Im certain I will be seeing a lot of you in the future." Most of the mortal girls felt a bit of pressure after learning that the beautiful goddess before them was Vahns servant. It was very rare for a goddess to serve a mortal, and they realized she would be a major obstacle in the future, especially considering the three girls at her side. One of the girls, Maat, spoke next as she said, "Im Maat, part of my Masters pack. I will continue to follow Master Vahn until I find a worthy mate to ept me in the future." After her words, Chione continued, "Hello, Im Chione, and Ill also follow Master until he epts me or I find another suitable mate." After all the chienthrope girls in the Anubis Faction had spoken, everyone clearly understood the girls would support each other in their pursuit of Vahn. Considering that Nanu was already his mate, it wasnt a stretch to imagine that the simrly aged girls would follow suit. The most problematic of all was the goddess who had been giving everyone a gentle look that contained a veiled threat. After Anubiss group, the next to speak up was Tsubaki, who had resumed her characteristic cheerful demeanor. Since she had known Hephaestus for nearly twenty years, she understood that her goddess had likely formted a n already. After she easily overlooked Lokis words, Tsubaki began to find the situation interesting as she said, "Heyo~! My name is Tsubaki, and I guess Im like a Master and mother-figure to Vahn? Though I dont have any romantic feelings toward him, I cant guarantee he wont eventually break down my defenses. That kid has magic fingers." As she spoke thest words, she gave Hephaestus a knowing smile andughed. Following the trend of one group introducing themselves at a time, it was now Lilis turn to speak as she said, "Im Liliruca Arde, and I really really love Vahn! Though he still treats me like a kid, when I get stronger I will be together with him! Your girls may have a head start, but I wont be the only one left out!" As one of the weaker people present, Lili made her deration in a high voice to release some of her own frustrations. She red at Tiona and Ais like they were her rivals and refused to concede to the two girls who were barely older than she was. After locking eyes with the two, she then turned to the girl named Nanu who was a simr age as her. Seeing the small girl proudly im to be Vahns mate had been a big impact on her. Naaza followed suit and introduced herself after Lili. She had a slight frown on her face as she exined, "Im Naaza Erisuis, and Im someone that was saved by Vahn in the past. I have grown to love him over time and intend to be together with him when I increase my own capabilities." Though she spoke quietly, there was a firm conviction in Naazas voice which earned approving nods from some of the other girls. Since they were sitting to the right of Naaza and Lili, it was now Chloe and Arnyas turn to make their introductions. At this point, Arnya had finally realized what was going on and she had a befuddled look on her face as she exined, "I-I dont think Im supposed to be here~nya! Though I think Vahn is handsome and a loyal customer, I dont want topete for him with Chloe~nya!" Though Arnya had often served Vahn in the past and even had some yful contact with him, she was only interested in ying around and teasing him. Chloe was one of her good friends, and she didnt want to get in the way of the two in the future. After Arnyas outburst, Chloe spoke in a casual and almost cold tone as she said, "Good morning, my name is Chloe Rollo(retconned), it is very nice to meet each of you." Though her words were polite, many of the girls felt a bit of a threat hidden within as she continued, "Im someone that tried to help heal Vahn in the past...and I may be enemies with some of you depending on how events y out." Chloe gave a fierce look toward Ais and Tiona before turning her gaze to the members of the Anubis Familia. The only ones who didnt seem surprised by her actions were the people that knew of her prior rtionship with Vahn. Hephaestus even gave Chloe a sidewards nce before tuning to Eina as they both nodded in mutual understanding. Hephaestus then turned toward the Mother-Daughter pair who were thest to introduce themselves. Tina had taken several big impacts from the events that were happening around her. She had tears on the edge of her eyes as a deep frown covered her tiny face. Though she had heard the rumors about Vahn from some of the customers, she didnt think he associated with so many women after he made a promise to her. She began recalling the past and a powerful sense of regret began to well up inside of her for not trying to follow him sooner. The day Vahn had entered the dungeon, she had caught sight of him and tried to wave him down, but he ignored her and continued on without paying her any attention. She felt very sad and frustrated at the time, and even cried in her mothers embrace when they had retired to bed. For a while afterward, she held a grudge against Vahn and be determined to teach him a lesson when he finally came back. Tina continued to hold her grudge all the way up until she heard a rumor that Vahn had been seriously injured on an expedition with the Loki Familia. Her tiny heart wrenched painfully in her chest as she desperately pleaded to her mother to allow her to visit. After calling in the temp staff to take care of the Inn, Mn and Tina both made their way to where Vahn had been receiving treatment. Though they werent able to gain permission to enter the ward, the two stayed outsidete into the evening so they could obtain information regarding Vahns wellbeing. When the finally intercepted a member of the Loki Familia and learned that Vahn had suffered irreparable brain damage, both mother and daughter were devastated. Tina copsed on the spot and had to receive emergency treatment from the nearby medical staff while Mn suffered the dual pain of knowing both Vahn and her daughter were suffering. For the next nine days, Tina was a shell of her former self as shezily performed her duties in a mechanical fashion. Mn herself was also quite affected, but the loss of her husband years before had strengthened her heart and she was able to continue performing the majority of her work without problems. This continued until the evening of the ninth day when one of the customers mentioned that Vahn had miraculously recovered. Mn was the first to hear the news, and it made her heart beat with joy after realizing Vahn had managed to recuperate. When she told her daughter, Tina didnt seem to understand her words until she exined it several times. Once she finally understood what her mother was telling her, Tinas eyes widened and she immediately sprinted out of the Inn. Mn tried to stop her, but ended up having to give chase while leaving all of her duties to the temp staff she had hired. Tina ran as fast as she could, but she still was far slower than the Level 3 Mn who managed to catch up to her within two blocks. Tina tried to shake off her mothers hand and continue toward the ward before Mn exined that Vahn had already been discharged. It took a bit of time for her to process the words, but Tina finally managed to calm down and return back to the Inn with her mother. Once they got back, Tina had suddenly reversed her depressed state and started working in earnest. She wanted everything to be clean and proper and was expecting Vahn to stop by any minute to tell her he was okay. Her excitement carried well into the second day, all the way up until she heard about the rumors that had begun to circte around Vahn. Tina was devastated by the news because she couldnt believe Vahn was running off with others girls right after his recovery. While she had been excitedly waiting for his return, he hadpletely ignored her and run off with two women. She refused to believe the words and continued to work hard in hopes that Vahn would eventuallye by and make matters clear. However, even nearly a week had passed, Vahn never showed up to alleviate her concerns. Instead, she heard rumors about his other rtionsh.i.p.s and how he had hidden away to avoid responsibility. Tina had returned to her mechanical state, all the way up until a beautiful half-elf had shown up and given them an invitation. Though she didnt particrly care at the time, when Tina learned it was to discuss matters regarding Vahn, she couldnt help but feel a bit of curiosity. Even though she was currently broken-hearted, she couldnt easily forget the boy who had left his impression on her heart. She wanted to know what had been going on with him and, if possible, get the answers to her many questions. Now that it was her turn to introduce herself, Tina didnt know what to say any longer. Each new thing she learned at this discussion had impacted her deeply, and the heartache she had experienced previously had grown in intensity. It wasnt until she felt her mothers gentle touch and saw the expression of her rival that Tina finally managed to find a hint of resolve. "Im Tina Yuel...and I promised that I would be strong enough to follow Vahn..." As she spoke the words, Tina couldnt help but start crying as everyone stared at her with a mixture of different emotions on their faces. Mn pat her daughters back as she felt a bit of anguish in her own heart. Her impression of Vahn had been a naive and gentle boy, and this situation was something outside her expectations. She and her daughter were ordinary peoplepared to almost everyone else at the table, and it seemed like her daughters first love would be bittersweet. Mn also felt a bit at a loss after remembering her past interactions with Vahn, but she didnt want to make things more difficult for her daughter. As Tina continued crying, everyone at the table remained silent as the felt bad for the small girl. Tina was currently only ten years old, and it had to be incredibly painful for her given the situation. Even Hephaestus and Eina began to feel that it was a mistake to involve the small girl and her mother. However, not everyone was pitying the little girl, as Lili looked at her with furrowed brows and asked in a low tone, "Tina, were you really in love with Vahn?" The crying girl heard the only familiar voice within the group and turned her teary eyes toward Lili as she muttered through sobs, "Yes, I loved him so much...it feels like my heart is breaking..." Lilis brows furrowed even lower as she asked, "Did you think you would be able to keep Vahn to yourself? Even I never believed that would be possible, and I expected you were going to be one of my rivals. Are you really giving up at the first hurdle?" Tina continued to cry as she stared at the serious face of Lili. After a few seconds, she hung her head low and muttered, "I-I dont want to give up...I want to be with Vahn...It isnt fair that everyone else gets to be with him, but Im the only one left out~nya!" Tina hollered thest words at the top of her voice, and she couldnt suppress her verbal tick. In response, Lili nodded her head before looking around the table and saying, "All that matters is your feelings and the efforts you make. Even if every girl here bes your rival, that doesnt stop you from chasing after what you want. Me too, I will continue to work hard, I wont lose!" Lili and Tina locked eyes with each other for several seconds while the rest of the group looked at them with strange expressions. After a bit of time had passed, Tina nodded her head toward Lili and said, "I wont give up either...Ill never give up on my feelings...nyever ever!" Though she still had a sad look and a tear-stained face, everyone could see that the small cat girl had found her conviction. Mn was proud of her daughter and followed up with an introduction of her own, "Im Mn Yuel, Tinas mother. I took care of Vahn for a little while when he rested at my Inn. I..." Though she had nned to pass off her feelings as just yful fancy, Mn was unable to form the words after experiencing the passion of her daughter. Though she never harbored any hope that Vahn would be with her, she wanted to watch of him and her daughter if they were to be together in the future. Releasing a sigh, Mn continued, "I like to tease Vahn, and I dont think Id be able to turn him away if he made advances against me. I cant say I have feelings for him, but I wont deny that I have some affections for him. The only thing that matter to me is that my daughter is happy, and Ill do my best to support her in the future." Mn had decided to be honest since she couldnt imagine keeping it a secret and knew it would be problematic in the future if she tried. Surprisingly, nobody treated her statement as odd, even her daughter who was sitting next to her. With a questioning look on her face, Mn looked into her daughters eyes and received a response before she could ask her question. Tina looked at her like she was being weird as she said, "Mama was the one that told me to only let the boy I like touch my ears and tail. Werent you the first one to let Vahnya touch your ears?" Mn wanted to refute her daughters words before someone else at the table spoke up in a loud voice, "Ah! Youre the one the turned Vahn into a petting fiend!?" The outburst hade from Lili, who had thought only the daughter was the dangerous one in the duo. Her outburst caused almost all the woman at the table to give Mn strange looks while everyone with fluffy ears and tails began to twitch and wag about in a somewhat excited state. Mn nkly stared at the girls who were giving her a variety of different expressions, mostly rted to reminiscence and even a hint of gratitude. She couldnt help but retort in her mind, I turned Vahn into a petting fiend? (A/N: Alternate Titles: Origin of the Godhand,Tinas Frustrations,Rivals? Alliance?) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at 238/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 163 - Vahnatus (3/3)

Chapter 163 - Vahnatus (3/3)

After everyone had introduced themselves and settled in, Hephaestus went over the constraints of the vow and had everyone agree before each party formed the contract. Even the tiny Tina said the vow without any hesitation as she began treating the other girls in the area like her rivals. The only person that hesitated was Arnya, but she didnt want to be the only one left out so she eventually caved in and made the oath. Imagining Chloe alone and surrounded by girls she hadbeled as enemies didnt sit well with her. Once everyone had made the oath, Hephaestus sat down and allowed Eina to take over the discussion. Eina looked at everyone and spoke in a very polite and professional manner as she said, "As Hephaestus said previously, you have all been invited here to discuss the past, present, and future of Vahn. Now you all have a better understanding of each others situations, but there are still two people who have yet to speak." Eina scanned her eyes across everyone at the table as she introduced herself. "Greetings, my name is Eina Tulle, and I am currently the fiancee of Vahn." The moment her words sounded, it was like a bomb had been dropped on the center of the table. Other than a few unaffected people, everyone else looked at Eina like she had just said the most ridiculous thing they could imagine. After all this setup and introductions, she suddenly tells everyone that she is going to marry Vahn? The two that had the most adverse reaction to Einas words were Chloe and Loki. Chloe gave Eina a cold look, almost as if she had marked the beautiful half-elf for death. Lokis eyes had opened slightly as she looked between Eina and Hephaestus with a contemtive expression on her face. As if to answer the question that had been forming in her mind, Eina continued, "It is true, but it isnt just me..." With Einas lead, Hephaestus spoke out to piggyback the statement, "Im Hephaestus, Goddess of the Hephaestus Familia, and I am also engaged with Vahn." If Einas words had been a bomb, Hephaestuss had been like a strategic ss magical spell. Even Tiona, Ais, and Rivieria, who were previously unaffected by the words of Eina, had mildly shocked expressions on their face. However, after a few seconds passed, Tiona began tough in a silly manner as she muttered, "Looks like my prestige as Vahns first is going to get a massive overhaul~" Though she spoke in a low voice, more than half the girls present had dog and cat ears which had picked up on the muted words Tiona spoke to Ais. The atmosphere immediately became tense as Hephaestus mmed her palm onto the table to draw everyones attention. In a firm tone, she said, "Everything will be exined, and until then I would suggest everyone be patient. Just considering the number of women present for this meeting, you should understand the necessity of Vahn having two first-wives!" Everyone was quiet and considered Hephaestuss words for a few moments before Eina spoke out and interrupted their thoughts, "I have discussed this with Hephaestus, but you all need to be aware of something fundamental regarding Vahn. Though I believe Chloe had noticed it previously, Vahn is a broken individual. He has no brakes and needs to be reigned in, or else he might deviate onto a dangerous path which causes all of us to have regrets." While everyone else was quiet, Loki asked, "It has something to do with his origins, right? That must be why you mentioned discussing his past and having everyone take a vow." Loki had set aside her mischevious nature and was now fully serious as she followed the conversation. She had a deeply rooted interest in Vahn and his origin, and now she had the opportunity to hear the words from the most reliable source. Eina nodded her head in response to Loki and then began recounting the tale that Vahn had told her. Since it had only been a day, the matter was still fresh on her mind and Hephaestus supplemented with her own input on the areas she was somewhat confused about. The duo told the group about Vahns origins and that he was likely, at least, 75% god. They went into detail about how Vahn had been taken away from his mother at a very early age and suffered severe trauma and experimentation by various individuals until he was finally rescued by a mystery woman who had taken him to the Western Forests. They recounted how Vahn spent a period of time in intense training while learning survival and hunting skills in preparation for finally bing an adventurer. The entire table listened in silence at the tragic tale of Vahn. When some of the lesser aware girls learned about how Vahn had been mistreated for so many years, they couldnt but cry muted tears as the continued to listen to the story. The reason behind Vahns peculiar behavior began making itself known, and there were many that had several regrets about their interactions with the traumatized boy. Even Ais and Tiona, who had heard the tale directly from Vahn, couldnt help but frown at the recounting of Eina. When Vahn had told the story, he was very dismissive of the facts and yed them off, but when it was told by another person they were able to understand the depths of the tragedy that had befallen him. At this point, Eina paused a bit before taking in the expressions of everyone at the table. Seeing that they were all paying attention, she continued, "And that was only the beginning of his suffering..." Her words caused chills to run down the spines of several girls as Eina gave her interpretation of Vahns character and how he was broken. Though Hephaestuss actions had been ther.a.p.eutic for him, it only increased the likelihood of Vahns future burdens. She then went into detail about how Tiona and Ais had been the catalyst behind much of Vahns recent behavior and discussed the various burdens Vahn currently carried on his shoulders. After hearing they had contributed to Vahns pain, even Tiona had begun to cry a bit as she continually pictured the smiling face of Vahn in her mind. To Tiona, Vahn was a hero that could bear any burden, and she had happily allowed him to carry hers. Ais also felt bad, but she didnt cry as Tiona saw fit to. Instead, she hung her head low and had a very sad expression on her face as she considered her past actions. The person that had taken the biggest impact, however, was Anubis, followed closely behind by Nanu. In the week they had been living with Vahn, the only thing the two girls had seen was him acting stably and reliably. In Anubiss mind, Vahn was the ideal Master that she had sought for thest three hundred years. Seeing his powerful soul and experiencing the extents he went to in order to guarantee the security of her and her Familia, Anubis had been steadily approaching Vahn, even when he had clearly tried toy down boundaries. Nanu was in a simr mindset since she had been steadily trying to break down Vahns resistance against her. Remembering her action of leaving a musk trail for Vahn, she felt both ashamed and guilty of her immature actions. She now understood why Vahn kept telling her to wait until she was older; she was still acting like a child that just wanted to get her way. The least affected by Einas story were Loki, Riveria, and Tsubaki. Loki was very intrigued by Vahns past, and she felt a bit of pity for him, but she had also clearly seen his resolve to ovee his trauma. Though she agreed with Einas assessment, Loki felt that the only thing Vahn needed was firm guidance, and she knew that he would likely obtain it after this meeting came to an end. Riveria felt pity for Vahn as well, but she wasnt too concerned after considering how many women would be helping him. She even felt that he should be somewhat grateful to have such arge defensivework to support his own mentality. Tsubaki herself had long noticed some of the problems with Vahn, and had been trying to counsel Hephaestus about it in the past. As the person that had spent some of the most time with him, Tsubaki had a better understanding of his character than most. After everyone had settled down, Hephaestus began exining how things needed to y out in the future. Vahn either had to be separated from Anubis and her Familia, or they needed to be strictly regted to prevent future problems from arising. Though Vahn was allowed to approach them, they shouldnt pressure him into the situation just receive his affections. Anubis made a solemn vow, which was repeated by Nanu, Maat, and Chione to show proper restraint in the future. It was also decided that when it came time for Hephaestus and Vahn to eventually marry, that he would do a conversion and either join the Loki or the Anubis Familia. As their status would change on a fundamental level, Hephaestus and Vahn would be unable to remain parent and child in the future, since she would be inclined to heavily favor him. Hephaestuss assets alone ounted for nearly 25% of the total wealth within the City, and having long-term instability could result in catastrophic effects on the economy. Loki immediately tried to assume responsibility and offered to take Vahn in since he would already be venturing into the dungeon with her Familia in the future, but Hephaestus firmly denied and left the decision for Vahn to make. That was the third provision that had been decided on, that everyone in the group could still approach Vahn, but they needed to let him make the decisions on his own to advance the rtionship. Before they had officially confirmed anything, everyone needed to work hard to help reign in Vahns behavior so he didnt stray onto a dangerous path. Everyone agreed to work together, even though they were all still considered rivals for Vahns affection. The two most cooperative ended up being Tiona and Ais, who wanted to take responsibility for pressuring Vahn into a s.e.x.u.a.l rtionship with them. They were given the enviable task of maintaining a permanent rtionship with Vahn while trying to abstain from engaging in too many s.e.x.u.a.l acts. Eina lectured the girls that, until Vahn had returned to a certain degree of normalcy, that it was very dangerous to over-expose him to s.e.x.u.a.l acts. If he continued to be dependant on that type of activity in his rtionsh.i.p.s, it would be next to impossible for him to have tonic and stable rtionsh.i.p.s in the future. The final decision of the group had been something unexpected by one of the members of the group, but everyone agreed without any serious opposition. Lili had proposed the idea of allowing Tina to stay with Vahn until the marriage had been finalized. Though she wanted to take the role herself, she knew she wouldnt be able to easily contain herself, so she volunteered Tina for a role that she hadbeled Vahnguard. It was decided that Tina would stay with Vahn while he was recovering before the next Denatus, as it would allow her to spend some time with him as well as keep him from performing any overly s.e.x.u.a.l acts with other girls. As Tina was just ten years old and Vahn recognized age as a significant factor, she was the ideal candidate for the task. Even Mn agreed but required that both Tina and Vahn would have to stay at the Inn on the weekends. After hearing the proposition from Lili and the following agreement by everyone present, Tinas brain had short-circuited as she imagined spending the next three months living inside Vahns room. She was excited, scared, and a little bit annoyed by how everyone was treating her like a child. However, she felt really sad after hearing about Vahns past and how broken he was, so she was willing to do her best to help heal him. There were still more than three years before she became an a.d.u.l.t, so she resolved herself to be his little sister for the time being. The group continued talking and discussing various things for several hours, including how each girl had met Vahn. After the topic had turned to Vahn and their individual interactions, the mood turned a lot more lively and the girls seemed to be getting along well, at least on the surface. One girl in the group still had several misgivings about the situation and intended to try and resolve things when she got a chance. Chloe had agreed with all the provisions, but she still felt like Vahn needed something else to be able to recover. She had initially allowed herself to be his goal, but now Vahn was in a dangerous state that needed further guidance. Around 6 PM, the group finally began to disperse after exchanging contact information with each other. They had even agreed to make the meeting a monthly matter for the time being and resolved to keep their eyes peeled for any new girls that Vahn had taken an interest in. The moment Vahn had easy ess to a receptive partner, there would be a danger of his behavior suffering a rpse that would undermine their efforts. Though it seemed somewhat strange to be concerned when their group already consisted of eighteen people, the fact there was ALREADY eighteen after less than two months was a red g that made them seriously consider the matter. After the majority of people left, the only ones that remained behind were Loki, Hephaestus, and Eina. Though Loki had been very cooperative so far, it didnt mean she intended to walk away from the deal with any benefits. Now that the other girls had cleared out, there were several matters rted to Vahn that she wanted to discuss. However, before she could speak, Hephaestus interrupted her and asked, "There is a matter that you should be aware of, but you must be willing to take an absolute vow if you want to hear it." Hearing Hephaestus mention an absolute vow, Loki couldnt help but frown as she imagined what important matter she may have to discuss. An absolute vow was one made using the soul as coteral, so if either party vited the terms of the vow, they would suffer severe damage to their souls. Not long would she have to return to Heaven, but Loki would probably have to spend thousands of years recovering before she could eventually return to Eden. However, though she had inhibitions, seeing the serious look on Hephaestuss face made her feel an insatiable curiosity well up inside of her. Without too much hesitation, Loki made the vow with Hephaestus and swore to never reveal the information they were about to discuss in any form, fashion, or through any medium either intentionally, unintentionally or idental reproduction. Even hinting at the matter could result in a serious bacsh which would damage her soul for a long period of time. Though it should have made her feel scared, the only thing Loki could feel at this moment was excitement and intrigue about what Hephaestus had to say. Hephaestus looked into the eyes of Loki and could see the veiled madness contained within. She knew she wouldnt be able to keep the matter hidden, but now she could make use of her alliance with Loki to conceal it for a longer period of time. After releasing a long sigh, she turned her vision towards the Goddess of Trickery and said, "Vahn has an item called [Enkidu]..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tiny Tina, the 1st Vahnguard,Loki is about to have a seizure,Head-Wives Coalition and Concessions) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at 238/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 164 - Ruminate

Chapter 164 - Ruminate

Vahn enjoyed the rest of his lunch and made light conversation with Syr whenever she wasnt busy with other customers. She kept asking him probing questions about his past and what he wanted to do in the future, but Vahn only answered with curt responses and a smile. Though he was certainly interested in Syr, he was still a bit concerned with other matters that he had been dealing withtely. However, his dismissive attitude didnt seem to offend Syr, as she continued to make conversation with him until he paid his tab. As Vahn was preparing to leave, Syr stopped him and asked, "Will you being by again soon? Chloe should be working the rest of the week, and Im certain she would be happy to see you." Syr had a gentle smile on her face as she put a little extra inflection on her words when she spoke about Chloe. Vahn imagined the image of the yful cat girl in his mind before nodding his head and responding, "Sure, Ill try to stop by more often. It was nice to meet you, Syr." After giving her a few polite words, Vahn made his way out of the Hostess of Fertility with Syr following his back with her eyes. She wasnt the only one to do so either, as Ryuu had periodically looked toward Vahn as he was eating. Though she never spoke out to him after their initial meeting, she paid attention whenever he and Syr were speaking. Now that Vahn had left, Ryuu approached Syr and asked, "Did you take an interest in him?" Syr chucked in a sing-song manner as she put her hand over her mouth and asked, "Arent you the one that took an interest in him, Ryuu? I never expected you to let him grab your hand so easily~" As they had been friends for a long time, Syr knew about Ryuus personality and past better than anyone, so she couldnt help but tease the taciturn elf. Ryuu, hearing Syrs question, allowed her expression to loosen a bit as she averted her eyes from Syr and said, "I couldnt feel any negative feelings from him..." Syr nodded her head at Ryuus words and, with a cheerful smile, said, "He really is an interesting boy, isnt he?" After her words, Syr moved away to tend to other customers while Ryuu watched her back with a hint of contemtion in her sky-blue eyes. It wasnt just Syr who could see through her, but Ryuu had also be well acquainted with how Syr acted. The people she took an interest in were all unique individuals or those with high potential. Turning her eyes to the door where Vahn had left a few minutes prior, Ryuu stared into space for a few seconds before lifting her left hand and recalling the earlier event. As long as she didnt get in the way of Syr, Ryuu wanted to get to know the boy that had taken hold of her hand so easily. --- Shortly after Vahn left the Hostess of Fertility, his steps paused for a few seconds as he looked back in the direction he hade. The system had given him a notification that Ryuus affection had gone up an additional 8 points suddenly, and now she had a value of 79(Interest) in him. Though he was surprised when he got therge amount earlier, he didnt know what had happened for her to have another jump. Typically speaking, unless he did something drastic, most actions would only increase affection by +1 at a time. Vahn remembered her subtly shocked expression when he had grabbed her hand earlier and the speed with which she departed after the fact. Though he didnt think much of it at the time, it should have been an indicator that his actions had a greater impact than he expected. The Ryuu he saw in the manga always seemed somewhat cold, but he also knew she had a warm personality behind the taciturn expression. Now that he had somehow gained her interest, Vahn was looking forward to his future interactions with the elven beauty. In a better mood than when he had set out, Vahn made his way towards Hephaestus workshop to see if anything had been happening that he wasnt informed about. Surprisingly, after he arrived, Vahn found the workshop had been closed for the day. After he found one of the perimeter security guards, Vahn learned that Hephaestus had left early in the morning for personal matters. At this point, Vahn was absolutely certain there was something going on. The fact that he wasnt informed made Vahn believe that the matter most likely pertained to him, so he went to his next destination to confirm his hunch. At this point, the entire Anubis Familia, the trio at Tsubakis, Chloe, and now Hephaestus were all nowhere to be found, and Vahn hadnt been informed of anything. This fact alone made him suspect there was something going on behind the scenes, and when he arrived at the Guild and confirmed that Eina was also absent from work, he became absolutely certain. Given that he had been engaged to Hephaestus and Eina just the previous afternoon, Vahn suspected that hey already made moves to contact the other girls he associated with. He knew they wanted to help him develop brakes, and now he was made aware of how serious his previous actions had been. On his way back home, Vahn was thinking about everything that had happened in thest week andparing it to how he interacted with people before entering the dungeon. His memory of his past self was that of a small boy that was always polite and helpful to those he cared about. He worked hard to improve and tried to treat people kindly, and they too treated him well so that he would be able to focus on what he wanted to do. There were many people that helped protect his secrets and guide him toward the future he had decided upon. Vahn felt indebted to them all... However, now he was much taller than his previous self, and had matured a lot in just the twenty or so days since he initially set out. Not only was he more mature physically, but his mentality and strength had undergone significant changes after his interactions with the Loki Familia. He learned about the differences between men and woman and developed an interest regarding the female body and things like s.e.x and other intimate acts. Before he had entered the dungeon and met Tiona and Ais, Vahn didnt have much of an interest in girls at all. Though he knew the basics, hecked the fundamental knowledge for how rtionsh.i.p.s worked. Even when he lived with Tsubaki and had been exposed to several nude girls, Vahn never had a reaction and always tried to prevent from staring at the girls so he didnt identally offend them. Now, however, his eyes were always drawn to their bodies if they didnt make an effort to conceal themselves from him. Vahn realized he had developed an interest in physical intimacy when he had previously had a slight aversion towards it. In just a single week, he had been exposed to so many situations that wouldnt have affected him much in the past, but now he proactively took advantage of the situation due to his own intrigue and curiosity. While he was previously just satisfied with patting girls on the head, he now engaged in much more intimate acts and had developed a strong interest in things like teasing girls and giving massages. Though he thought about all of these things before, Vahn was just now beginning to understand why Eina was able to deduce that he was broken so shortly after their first date began. Even he realized there was definitely something strange with his own sensibilities, but Vahn didnt know what he could do to fix it. Just the thought of one of the girls he cared about being sad because he didnt treat them well made him feel frustrated in his heart. He already struggled a lot just to prevent himself from giving in to Anubiss advances, because he couldnt help but be infatuated with her adorable character and curvaceous body. On his way toward the Babel za, Vahn once against passed by Hephaestuss workshop and noticed it was still closed. Right now, it was nearing 4 PM, and ording to the security personnel, she had set out early in the morning. Vahn felt a bit guilty that the girls supporting him had to make so much effort just to ensure that he would be happy in the future. Releasing a long sigh, Vahn shook he head and walked toward his next destination. He couldnt prevent them from acting as they thought best, so Vahn just decided to treat them better in the future. As his next destination was quite close, Vahn arrived in just a few minutes and stood outside the Hearths Embrace Inn. Remembering the short few weeks he had resided there in the past, Vahn felt a bit of nostalgia as he made his way into the warm establishment. This ce had once served as his home and marked the very beginning of his journey within the City. Both Mn and her daughter Tina had treated him very well, and Vahn still had to apologize about the matter regarding the sword she had given him. The moment Vahn learned from the purple-haired woman named Sasha that both Mn and Tina had gone out early in the morning, he couldnt help but rub his forehead a bit with his palm as he released an even deeper sigh than before. Vahn was amazed at how quickly Hephaestus and Eina had set everything into motion, as well as how efficient they were to even be aware of the Mother-Daughter pair and get them involved. Vahn even started to suspect that every woman he ever met was currently in an undisclosed location while talking about his matters. After leaving the Inn, Vahn let his mind wander as he imagined what they would be discussing. He also tried guessing who all had been invited, and was surprised at how many names came to his mind. Imagining each of the woman sitting in a room and chatting about him, Vahn couldnt help but feel a little excited and curious. Though he was a bit disconcerted about the actual topics of discussion, he also had a lot of faith in both Hephaestus and Eina. As long as the two of them were guiding the conversation, Vahn couldnt help but imagine they woulde to a decision that benefited him greatly. Imagining the care and concern on each of their faces made him feel both warm and proud. Warm, because they were so considerate of him; proud, because he was able to garner the affections of two incredible girls. Two of the people that had been most prominent in his mind, other than Hephaestus and Eina, were the duo of Tiona and Ais. If even Mn and Tina had been invited, there was absolutely no way the two girls that were his current lovers didnt get an invitation. That would also pull Loki into the mix, and that was the only matter that genuinely concerned Vahn. Imagining the mischevious goddess being involved in a discussion about his well-being made Vahn feel a moderate degree of difort. So far, Loki was one of the few people he couldnt get a read on at all, because he knew she was considerate of others, but at the same time, she always tried to evaluate people based on usefulness. Vahn hated the idea of people being given value based on their use because he still hadnt gotten over the matters rted to his past. But the hardest part of the matter, and the thing Vahn disliked the most about the situation, is that he could slightly understand the points she made. Though he had confronted her directly at the time, Vahn couldnt help but consider matters from her perspectiveter, and even began to draw parallels with her on some issues. Vahn realized that he put in a lot of effort when he was focused on something and, because of his own perception of what it took to improve, he also had that same expectation for others. Because of how he acted, girls like Tina, Lili, and even Naaza were now working hard to earn his affection for the future. After realizing this, Vahn had begun to resent himself a bit, but he couldnt disagree with their desire to improve either. Even when Eina wanted to quit working at the Guild so she could take care of him, Vahn had her stay purely based on his own opinion and desires. Vahn actually didnt want people to make sacrifices for him, and he wanted them to improve on their own so they could make their own decisions in life. However, he contradicted himself, because he would confront their decisions based on his personal interests and preferences. The more the thought about the matter, the more confused he became because Vahn didnt understand which was the most appropriate course of action. The only thing he truly understood from the situation was that he had his own personal bias in regards to some things, and didnt want people to drastically change their lives just for his own convenience. He empathized a bit with Loki, because she also wanted people to improve, though unlike Vahn, her intent was to improve them so they would be useful. Even the alliance they had forged was based on how useful both parties were to each other in the future. Vahn released a sigh and shook his head to try and clear the matters from his mind. He felt like he could ruminate over them endlessly, but also knew that it would serve no purpose to get caught up in his own thoughts. He had learned time and again that it was better to take action instead of constantly worrying and developing self-doubts. Instead, Vahn just resolved himself to do his best to meet whatever difficulties the future might entail head on- Before he could even solidify his own resolutions, Vahn tripped forward and nearly collided into another pedestrian. The man gave Vahn a strange look before walking away with a disgruntled face while Vahn just stared off into space like a solider that had spent too many years on the frontlines of war. After nearly a minute, Vahn finally turned his attention to the notification that had sounded in his system with apletely deadpan expression on his face as he read the information... //Loki Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: A Rewards:10,000OP, 1x[Hearts Desire: Loki] Grade Rewards: 2x[Transfiguration Lens], 14,000 OP [Transfiguration Lens] Rank: Unique Use: Allows the user to temporarily alter their form regardless of size, shape, gender, or race. Duration: 24H (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn pieces together the puzzle,The scariest hearts desire,Ryuu has a hand fetish) (A/N: I would like to thank the beautiful people that have been supporting my ******* recently. Were just shy of half-way to the goal of making this my job~!) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at 293/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 165 - Reaction

Chapter 165 - Reaction

(A/N: Though I was going to do a Loki POV during Vol. 7, I decided to go ahead and give a snippet since so many people were curious about her discussion with Hephaestus.) --- Hephaestus released a long sigh as she looked into the slightly open and excited eyes of Loki. Ever since they had made the vow, Loki had been looking at her like a snake and waiting for her to speak. Since there was no way she could conceal the information in the future, Hephaestus began exining, "Vahn has an item that appeared in his soul shortly after his interactions with Tiona and Ais. He obtained a strange golden chain that allows him topletely seal the divinity of gods and goddesses. With the information obtained from Anubis and Vahns own personal recounting of the events, the chains very likely allow gods and goddesses to be truly mortal temporarily...Im sure you understand the implications." Lokis slitted eyes opened widely as the perpetual smile on her face rounded into one of abject shock. She knew exactly what Hephaestus was implying and the implication was perhaps the most significant thing she had ever heard. Vahn was likely 75% god, and now he would be able to enable goddesses, other than fertility goddesses, the ability to get pregnant? Though it wasnt a guarantee, that gave his children an 87.5% chance of developing their own pseudo-divinity and would also ensure their potential was higher than any other demigod in history. Her thoughts began racing as she tried to think of a way to make the best use of this new information, but the vow she had taken would be a big restriction on her future actions. The most troublesome matter was the way Vahn acted toward her in the first ce. Loki knew that, even if she approached him and tried to get closer to him, it would be very difficult to break down the walls he had built between them. Even if she tried to make use of his empathy and have him take pity on her, there would likely be other obstacles in her way...like the two women in front of her. Lokis expression turned into a serious one as she asked, "The fact that youre telling me this now means you already knew you wouldnt be able to keep the matter hidden. You want me to help protect Vahn and the information rted to his bloodline for the duration of your pregnancy?" Loki believed this to be the most likely case, but Hephaestus interrupted her thoughts as she said, "I know what kind of person you are, Loki. If I didnt do something like this, you would have likely schemed to obtain Vahn the moment you discovered I was pregnant. Depending on how things yed out, you would likely involve several other gods and goddesses to put pressure on both Vahn and me." Loki furrowed her brows a bit because there was no way to easily refute Hephaestuss words. Vahns ability to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e goddesses was too significant a matter for her to standby on the sidelines and just keep silent. Even if he didnt do the deed himself, Loki knew there would be countless gods seeking out the boy in the future. She didnt know what Hephaestus had nned to protect Vahn, but she assumed it had something to do with her, so she asked, "So, you already have apromise in mind?" As she asked the words, Loki couldnt help but show a devilish grin on her face. Hephaestus was outraged by Lokis words, but she just grits her teeth before taking a deep breath to calm herself. After a few seconds, she exined, "Not only do I know you, but I also know Vahn. After discussing things with Eina, we agreed that it would be best to involve you in the matter to help guarantee Vahns safety in the future. The fact that you had him make a vow to join your expeditions gives you too many opportunities to scheme around him. Though he may not agree initially, I have little doubts he would eventually fall into one of your schemes just based on his own empathic nature." Loki frowned slightly because it felt like she was being seen through by the two women in front of her. She asked in a slightly cold tone, "Then what do you have in mind? You should know that there is no way I can avoid approaching Vahn with this new information." Loki stared into Hephaestuss equally cold eyes as the two held each others gazes for several seconds. Eventually, Hephaestus said, "I want you to make a vow to allow Vahn to make the final decision without pressuring him. You cant take advantage of him or manipte his feelings using the other girls around him..." Hephaestuss words made Loki scowl as she said in a sharp tone, "And what do I get for making such a concession!? You think its fair that only you and that dog bitch get to have children!? There are countless goddesses that have sought desperate ways to try and conceive children in the past, you cant just ignore all of that because of your selfishness!" Though it was uncharacteristic, Loki couldnt help butsh out after seeing the cold eyes of Hephaestus and hearing her words. It put her at a serious disadvantagepared to almost everyone else, since Vahn already had inhibitions about her from the outset. While Loki was having her tirade, Hephaestus just continued to stare at her coldly until the t-chested goddess managed to cool down. After she settled, Hephaestus exined, "You should know Vahns character well...do you think there is any chance, even if he had a child with you, that he would allow you to raise it as you please?" The moment Hephaestus spoke, Loki couldnt help but frown as she remembered how Vahn confronted her so easily. His aura was already strong enough to pressure her, and there was no way he wouldnt get much stronger in the future. Even if she had his child, there was a very high chance he would oppose her methods when it came to raising it. Imagining her child being taken away from her, Loki couldnt help but feel an indignation more powerful than anything she had ever experienced. For a brief moment, she even hated her own divinity for forcing her to have the type of personality she had. Even now, she couldnt help but plot, scheme, and look for loopholes to the situation. However, nothing she came up with would guarantee that she would be able to bear a child, because even if she convinced other gods to imprison Vahn as breeding stock, there would be far too much opposition. While she was running circles in her own mind, Hephaestus spoke out in a in voice, "As long as you take the vow, I can guarantee that you will be able to raise your child. If our Familia and some of the other girls work together, we can raise all of Vahns children in a simr environment. You might not be able to have full control over the child that is born, but youll have a much greater influence in their lives." Hephaestuss words caused the cogs in Lokis mind to halt a moment before they began whirling about as she contemted her words. If she made the vow, there would be little opposition to her raising her kids, as Vahn wouldnt be able to easily oppose her with the support of the other women. She would also be able to interact with his other children, who would likely be little bundles of potential as well. All the negative thoughts and feelings that had been circting in her mind previously were now reced with absolute intrigue from the future. If she yed her cards right, not only would she have powerful children, but she could potentially make use of the rtionsh.i.p.s with the other girls to have more influence over all the kids. With her characteristic mischevious smile on her face, Loki looked toward Hephaestus and Eina before saying, "Its just a vow, right? What is a bit of restrictionpared to waiting another hundred-million years for an anomaly like Vahn to show up~?" As she had that thought, Lokis mind wandered to the interesting boy that she had developed a powerful curiosity toward. Now that she knew about his past, she could take advantage of the present and help shape both of their futures. Even if she had to genuinely fall in love with the boy to gain his affections, it was a small price to pay for the potential future gains...after all, if she could fool everyone else, why couldnt she fool her own heart? --- Vahn finally managed to recover from his daze as he slowly began making his way toward his own home. He could now confirm that Loki had attended the meeting, and could even intuit that something significant had transpired for her affection to immediately hit the cap. After considering what he knew about the situation, the only reasonable deduction Vahn could make was that she learned about his [Enkidu]. Vahn already had expectations that there would be several goddesses approaching him to make use of the chains in the future, especially if their use turned out to match expectations. He had already felt a great amount of empathy for their desire to bear children, and that was one of the reasons he had purchased so many books about the subject. Though he expected that the mischevious goddess would find out one day, he never expected it to be so soon. Now Vahn had to prepare himself against her schemes, or he might fall into a trap from which there is no return. Right now, Vahns primary concern was whether or not to use the new [Hearts Desire: Loki] that he had obtained from her affection reaching the cap. Every time he considered using it, his instincts would trigger and he felt intimidated by his own expectations of what such a goddess would truly desire in her heart. Vahn felt like, the moment he knew what she truly desired, there would be no turning back from the situation. He couldnt even imagine what a deceitful person who measured people based on how useful they were would hold dear to her heart. By the time he finally arrived at his house, it was nearing 6 PM and the 12-hour period before he could enter the orb had long since transpired. Though he could have entered the orb at any point and only wasted a few seconds, there was no guarantee for what would happen in the space. If he ended up suffering damage and getting knocked out by Evangeline, he would pass out in the real world as well. The thought of copsing in the middle of the street or a side alley and dropping the orb didnt sit well with Vahn. After scanning the house with his domain, Vahn noticed the house was still empty, so he decided to head to his room and use the orb since he had the opportunity. At least hed be in his own bed if he ended up getting knocked out by the small vampire mage during one of her outbursts. After rxingfortably in his bed, Vahn took a few deep breaths before pulling out the orb and inserting his consciousness into it. When Vahn opened his eyes, he realized that he was on the bed where he hadst exited the ck and white space. Because he had beenying down in the real world, his body was alsoying down within the bed of the space, and he could feel a presence next to him. Looking over, he could see the icy-blue eyes of Evangeline staring at him with a bit of shock on her face. Instead of her ck gothic-style dress with ribbons and frills, she was wearing a ck semi-transparent negligee as she looking into his eyes. The moment Vahn turned his eyes to inspect the negligee, she immediatelyshed out and threw him from the bed like a ragdoll. Using the covers to conceal her body, she yelled at Vahn who had yet to hit the ground even after flying for 100 meters, "Dont oogle me you brat! And why are you sote you stupid, idiotic, lecherous, fool!?" Vahn didnt know whether tough or cry as he tried to fix his position in the air so he wouldntnd head-first into the ground. Afternding on his feet and sliding a few more meters, he looked into the eyes of Evangeline who had teleported in front of him with a scary look on her face. She had already returned to her usual outfit, and Vahn felt like he would probably be ejected from the space if he said the wrong thing. Though he wanted to release a sigh, Vahn managed to keep his expression from copsing as he stared into the begrudging eyes of the small vampire and issued a slight smile before saying, "Sorry, Evangeline, I came back as soon as I could." Then, before she could retort, Vahn used his trump card and purchased an [Extravagent Strawberry Shortcake] for 100 OP for from the system. He held out both of his hands with the immacte looking tripleyered cake decorated with an almost ceremonious assortment of cream and strawberries. The me in Evangelines eyes faded in an instant as she stared at therge cake held by Vahn. After a brief hesitation, she waved her hand and used telekinesis to grab the cake before turning her back to Vahn and saying, "Fine, Ill forgive you this time. Dont keep me waiting in the future..." As her words fell, Evangeline teleported away with the cake before reappearing next to her desk and setting it down next to therge pile of books surrounding the area. Vahn released a sigh before making his way over and looking around at the mess she had created in the time he had been away. Picking up one of the books that were still on the table, Vahn flipped it over to read the cover. The moment he did so, Vahn immediately regretted his actions because Evangelines eyes widened a bit as she red at him with a small blush on her face. The book Vahn had picked up, like many of the books around the table presently, rted to genealogy, pregnancy, and increasing fertility. The moment he made eye contact with the small vampire, he felt the temperature drop by several degrees as she loudly yelled, "Dont look at me like that, you idiot! You are the one that gave me the books!" Before her words finished, she had already sent Vahn flying for the second time today. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Literally Hundreds of Books,Doki Doki Loki,Vahn is destined to live a life of misfortune kappa) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $312/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 166 - [Xu谩nw菙 Protector](s)

Chapter 166 - [Xunw Protector](s)

After Vahn managed to dig himself out of the ground, he moved back toward the desk where Evangeline had already stowed away all the books into her spatial void. She continued to re at Vahn until he came near, and then she exined without Vahn asking, "I left those books untilst, and that is why I still had themying about. Why do you even have so many books like that in the first ce, are you some kind of super pervert?" Vahn sighed a bit at Evangelines harsh words and exined the reason why he had so many books rted to genealogy, pregnancy, fertility, and reproduction in general. He talked about the problems faced by the various different races and how spirits and gods were generally considered infertile. He even told her about the matters regarding [Enkidu], and the troubles hed likely face in the future. Evangeline listened to his words with a cold look in her eyes before asking, "And youre just going to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e every girl you see, no matter what race they are, even gods?" Vahn shook his head and furrowed his brows as he responded, "That has nothing to with it at all. I just cant stand the thought of people wanting children but having to go through their entire lives without being able to have any. Dont you think that is a very sad thing?" As Vahn spoke, he couldnt help but disy a sad expression as he thought about his own words. He could hardly imagine what they had to go through, and he already felt extremely saddened by the thought... However, what Vahn didnt expect, nor was he aware of, there was someone right in front of him that was able to empathize with the goddesses that he took pity on. Since Evangeline had been turned into a Shinso Vampire hundreds of years prior, she was also incapable of bearing children. Though the original her had thought about, and even desired it for a time, it was entirely impossible considering her body never aged. She didnt even have a period or other normal bodily functions since her body converted most calories and water into magical energy. Though her words about reading those booksst were true, the main reason she had been ardently studying them is that she was curious about finding a solution to her own problem. However, it was just a mild curiosity since, as a memory, she was unable to truly experience anything the original had yet to experience. Since the original Evangeline had never had s.e.x, even if she wanted to, she would never be able to perform the deed. The moment she tried, the memory would destabilize and the orb would break down. (A/N: Im not saying Eva wants to have s.e.x, but that she couldnt even if she wanted to. Since she is a memory fragment, she would still have a curiosity regarding finding an answer though.) When Vahn had asked her if she thought it was sad, she couldnt help but feel a slight pang in her heart. There was no way she couldnt empathize with the desire of races like spirits and goddesses, especially if they truly had lived for millions of years. Seeing the earnest expression of Vahn and the sadness in his eyes as he thought about the suffering of others, Evangeline couldnt help but sigh in her mind. She had long realized that Vahn was the foolishly heroic type, tragic background and naive personality included. Interrupting Vahns reverie, Evangeline put the matter of the books behind as she said, "I spent a lot of thest four years awake, so Ive run low on mana while maintaining the space. I need to replenish my energy, and then you can continue forging items. Also, you brought books and other things to entertain me, right?" Evangeline didnt want to discuss the topic any further as, even after reading all the books, she hadnt found the answer Vahn was looking for when he purchased them. Hearing Evangelines words, Vahn took out some of the books he had purchased in preparation for her question. This time, he picked out a lot of stories and novels that he thought she might find more interesting than textbooks andpendiums. Since she was a girl, he thought she would like things about romance, fantasy, and magical creatures. Evangeline seemed very pleased by his selection before waving her hand and lifting Vahns body using telekinesis. As it wasnt the first time she had done such a thing, Vahn just sighed and allowed her to move his body. Though he wanted to retort, she didnt listen to himst time and Vahn didnt really feel like being thrown for the third time. Even though he had the majority of the three days within the space remaining, Vahn felt like he needed to use every minute he could to increase his skills in forging. After setting Vahn down on the bed, Evangeline crawled atop it before seating herself on hisp once again. Vahn immediately closed his eyes and rxed his body, but Evangeline didnt immediately start drinking his blood. Curious, Vahn opened his eyes and stared at the small vampire that was sitting in hisp. She seemed to be thinking about something and, after she noticed his gaze, she looked at him and asked, "Exactly how many girls are you involved with?" Vahn found it strange that she chose the moment when she was sitting in hisp to ask the question, but he didnt think it was information to keep secret, so he said, "If it is just association...probably around twenty to thirty? If youre asking about rtionsh.i.p.s specifically, I have two fiancees, two lovers, one mate, and a few other girls that have high affection toward me who I havent entered a rtionship with." As Vahn narrated the various girls he was associated with, Evangeline just looked at him with a mock disgust on her face. After he was done exining everything, without asking him any further questions, she immediately started sucking his blood. Though Vahn was a bit confused, he just rxed his body before wrapping his hands around her waist in a loose embrace. He enjoyed the warm feeling that spread throughout his body and even began to feel like he was dozing off after nearly an entire hour had passed. After Vahn had embraced her, Evangeline just rested her body against his and enjoyed his warmth as she slowly drained his blood. Since Vahn had been her only apaniment in this orb and she was likely going to vanish sooner orter, she wanted to enjoy the smallfort she could obtain from him. She didnt consider herself one of his many women, but she knew he would probably make some concessions for her if she sought him out. All of the rtionsh.i.p.s he had talked about seemed to be him on the receiving end, so she decided to take advantage of his weakness for the time being. Completely unaware of her thoughts, Vahn continued to enjoy the warmth in his body until another half hour had passed. Since it was longer than the previous session, he couldnt help but ask in azy and rxed voice, "Did you really use so much mana in the time I was away...?" Evangeline, who had been somewhat absorbed in the moment, flinched before she stopped sucking his blood and moved away from his body without responding to his question. Picking up one of the books, she made her way to her desk as she said in a huff, "Fine, go y with your tools if Im bothering you. Stupid moron disciple..." As Vahn had already been climbing out of the bed, he nearly fell down when he heard her words. He couldnt help but ask himself why she was always so harsh, even when she was very clearly not actually angry with him. Shaking his head, Vahn walked over to his workshop and started forging a new piece of equipment. Vahn had been gaining confidence when it came to producing weapons, but he wanted to practice his skills and forge other kinds of equipment as well. Since hemonly used gauntlets and leg guards, Vahn decided to make a pair for his own personal use. The [Damascus Steel Gauntlets] that he had been using for a while were only rank C, while the [Dance of the Amazon] that he forged earlier was rank A. Vahn was incredibly confident that he could upgrade the majority of his current equipment and even obtain OP for his efforts. Because of his transformations with [Rakshasa Body], Vahn knew there was no best method or design to producing his new gauntlets. As he spent the majority of his time in his Bih form, the only thing he needed to consider was not restraining his hands and ws. Other than that, the just needed to be able to resist high temperatures from when he absorbed fire elements into his body to increase his offensive capabilities. The material Vahn decided to use was aposite made from adamantine that used orichalc.u.m as the core. Adamantine was incredibly heat resistant and had unrivaled defensive capabilities while orichalc.u.m was a stronger mana conduit than even mithril. Vahn wanted to create a pair of gauntlets for long-term use, so he used some of the best materials he had on hand. To increased the defense even further, he hammed slots into the adamantine before using his eternal me to embed actual dragon scales into the outside of the gauntlet. For the interior, he used the hide of a Goliath and bundled the entire thing together using the tendons of a cyclops. Nearly seven hourster, Vahn had a pair of matching gauntlets that were a dark ck color that reflected a purple light. The adamantine frame made it look like the scales were growing out of a golden base and Vahn felt like the entire thing looked somewhat regal as it used the same color scheme that he associated with Anubis in her ceremonial garb. After thinking for several minutes, Vahn recalled the names of his four transformations and thought about naming the gauntlets after his turtle-form, which would like be his Xunw form once it had fully awakened. Since he grew scales in a very simr manner, and both provided extra defense, Vahn was very satisfied with his own idea and named the gauntlets [Xunw Protector](s). [Xunw Protector](s) <-- each gauntlet is a different item Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 1 P.Def: 641 M.Def: 620 Ability: Durandal(A), Shock Absorption(B), Energy Compression(B) Gauntlet inspired by one of the Four Sacred Beasts of a foreignnd, Xunw. It possesses a marginal amount of the Xunws capabilities and allows the user to emte the might of the Sacred Beast. After Vahn named the gauntlets, he obtained 1,408 and 1,417 OP for each and felt the excitement build up inside him after reading the description. Since he had thought of Xunw when he was naming the gauntlets, they each possessed a weakened version of the abilities he could use in his turtle form. Without any hesitation, Vahn equipped the two gauntlets before transforming into his Bih form and moving to an empty area away from his workshop. Evangeline was constantly paying attention to Vahn, so when he had finished the gauntlets she had also begun inspecting them. Just like the giant weapon he forged the previous time he entered the orb, the gauntlets were also magical items of a simr quality. The fact that he could consistently create such advanced pieces of equipment never ceased to amaze her, and she was curious about their capabilities. Now that Vahn seemed to be testing them, she had stopped moving her pen and observed him with intrigue in her eyes. Vahn opened up his legs into a wide stance with his left foot forward and stabilized his body while keeping his back straight. Exhaling a long breath for several seconds, Vahn then sucked in quickly before twisting his h.i.p.s and striking out a fierce punch that caused a snapping sound in the air. When he had breathed out earlier, Vahn had channeled his energy into the gauntlets and the scales began to glow with a subtle green light. When he shot his fist forward, it was like an air cannon as Vahn could see the flow of air around his fistpress into a pir that stretched out nearly ten meters before dispersing. Though it wasnt nearly as impressive as when he was in his turtle form, Vahn was very satisfied by the result. Now, even if he fought bare-handed against monsters with durable hides, he would be able to damage their internal organs and punch clear through their bodies. Vahn felt like, if he fought the goliath now, he would be able to achieve victory without having to rely on his vermillion sparrow transformation. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fisty Boi,Memories of Nobody,Jiiiiiiiii-) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $317/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 167 - [Ice Empress]

Chapter 167 - [Ice Empress]

While Vahn had been testing his new gauntlets, Evangeline had been using her ability to sense mana to try and determine the internal structure that made Vahns gauntlets function. She had noticed previously, when she used the giant weapon, that the magical circuits and the logic behind the pathways were fundamentally different than anything from her world. If not for the fact Vahn had created the weapon to be easy to use, she would have had a much more difficult time charging her magic previously. As Vahn continued to jump about and punching the air, Evangeline continued observing his actions and trying to make sense of the differences between their two worlds. Even though she had read the one-thousand-seven-hundred-eighteen books that Vahn had left behind, almost half of them had been regarding questionable subjects, while the others primarily focused on general knowledge, history, and some mythos. She hadnt learned anything about the actual magic structure of his world and didnt know how she would teach him since there were no guarantees thews behind her magic would be of any use in his world. Putting down her pen, Evangeline stood up from thefortable chair before vanishing from her spot. Vahn, who had just thrown out another full-powered punch opened his eyes wide as Evangeline appeared right in front of him. Though he wanted to divert his punch, he didnt have time since Evangeline grabbed his wrist before using his own momentum to flip his body over her shoulder in a manner simr to Tsubaki. Though it was an incredibly swift motion, it was also something that Vahn had experienced countless times, so he was able to twist his wait and right his feet before she was able to m him into the ground. Evangelin, who had expected Vahn to crash into the floor, opened her eyes a bit as she said in aplementary fashion, "Oh, not bad." Vahn, who had been thrown by her, immediately frowned as he asked, "Why did you suddenly attack me?" Evangeline tilted her head and looked at Vahn like he had said something ridiculous as she responded, "You were the one who attacked me though? All I did was teleport in front of you so I could ask you a question. Dont me other people just because you dropped your guard andck control over your own abilities." Each of Evangelines words were biting, and she spoke as if she was trying to lecture Vahn. Vahn just shook his head and dispelled his transformation as he asked, "What did you want to ask me?" Hearing the way Vahn was speaking, Evangeline furrowed her brows a bit as she said, "Every time you fail to call me Master is only increasing the punishment youll receive in the future. You should do yourself a favor and fix your attitude, or is it that youre trying to test my patience?" In response to her words, Vahn just released a sad sigh and walked toward his workshop. Even if he could see she wasnt serious, it didnt make her words much easier to deal with. Vahn never expected that being able to see someones aura would actually be a disadvantage. If he couldnt see it, he could easily be angry with her and might even concede to her demands just to make his life easier. However, since he could see she wasnt seriously upset with him, it made her behavior more tiring than intimidating. Watching Vahn walk away, Evangeline couldnt resist gritting her teeth as she wanted tosh out at the boy that constantly got on her nerves. She kept telling herself over and over that she would make him pay the moment they started their actual training. For now, however, she swallowed her anger and called out to him, "Wait, Vahn, I need to ask you a question." Vahn stopped his feet and turned toward her and asked inly, "What would you like to ask, Evangeline?" Hearing Vahn once again calling her Evangeline, instead of Master, Evangeline couldnt help but taking several deep breaths to calm herself down. After she regained herposure, she asked, "Are you unable to obtain any magic books or grimoires from your world that I can study?" Hearing that she had an actual question and wasnt just ying around, Vahn turned his body fully and faced toward her as he responded, "Its not that I cant obtain them, but it is very difficult to do so. There arent a lot of books regarding magic in cirction because they are kept as a secret of their respective cultures. In my world, most magic possessed by people are skills they have awakened and developed without study." Evangeline nodded her head in an as expected manner as she looked toward Vahn and asked, "I want you to forge me an item and leave it behind so I can study it? You seem to have some knowledge in runes, inscriptions, and mana circuitry. Until you obtain an actual book for me to study, Ill have to make due with an item." Evangeline held her chin between her thumb and index finger as she considered for a few moments before saying, "Ill take a staff." Vahn realized that the way she worded her request wasnt so much a question as it was a directmand. He could tell that she expected him to immediately concede to her demands and forge her a weapon. Though he wouldnt mind making something for her, especially since it would benefit him in the future, Vahn couldnt just give in so easily. Shaking his head, Vahn looked into her eyes and said, "I refuse; I might have forged something for you if you asked politely, but Im not going to make you something just because you tell me to." Without waiting for her response, Vahn once again turned around and walked toward his workshop. Evangeline stared at his back with a frown and a bit of frustration in her eyes. She hated how easily he was able to dismiss her; it was almost like he could see through her actions and it made her feel incredibly frustrated because she couldnt set aside her own pride for someone that is supposed to be her disciple. Even though she was doing things to help him, he was still more focused on his own matters and didnt seem to be paying attention to her efforts. Evangeline continued to stare at his back all the way up till the point when he began creating a new item. The moment she heard the hammer strike the metal, she couldnt help but feel a sour feeling in her nose as she teleported back to the desk. After sitting down, Evangeline picked up the pen and began to continue her research as she tried to ignore her inconsiderate disciple. The moment she leaned forward to write, a tear fell from her face and marred the page she was about to write in. As soon as she saw the tear stain, she disappeared from the chair and hid in the void to avoid wandering eyes. Vahn continued to forge without paying attention to what Evangeline had decided to busy herself with. Now that he had a pair of gauntlets, Vahn wanted to forge a pair of leg guards as well. Though he didnt rely on kicks too much, it wasnt as if he never used his legs to receive attacks, so he wanted to make sure they were well protected. Since he often relied on his agility to deal with foes, protecting his legs was of paramount importance. Since the process was very simr to how he had forged his gauntlets, Vahn was able to finish his work in almost the exact same amount of time. Considering that the leg guards were muchrger, finishing within seven hours showed that he had made a marked improvement even though it was only the difference between forging a single set of items. Now that he has the pair of ck, scaled, leg guards, Vahn wanted to try something that he had intended to do previously. He spected that, like his twin-swords, Vahn would be able to create other items as part of arger set. As he named the leg guards, he made sure to keep in mind that they were supposed to have a synergistic effect with his gauntlets. [Xunw Greave](s) Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 0 P.Def: 598+120 M.Def: 680+136 Ability: Durandal(A), Shock Absorption(B), Energy Compression(B), Xunw Set Effect(20%) Greave(s) inspired by one of the Four Sacred Beasts of a foreignnd, Xunw. It possesses a marginal amount of Xunws capabilities and allows the user to emte the might of the Sacred Beast. Enhances the defensive capabilities of items within the Xunw series of items. Vahn received 1,519 and 1,517 OP respectively, and he was very happy when he saw the new ability Xunw Set Effect. As he had expected, as long as he forged the items in a simr manner and imbued his intent into the name, he was able to create synergistic effects between the equipment that had never existed before. Though he was still a ways off from being able to forge an item to impress Hephaestus, Vahn now had a greater hope for the future. After equipping the items through his equipment menu, Vahn was about to test them out before he looked toward the desk where Evangeline always sat. He noticed that she was missing so he looked toward the bed to see if she had decided to rest. Seeing that she was also missing from the bed, Vahn couldnt help but turn his head and inspect the surroundings for the figure of the small vampire girl. After noticing that she was nowhere to be found, Vahn couldnt help but feel confused as he made his way toward the desk. Arriving at the side of the desk, Vahn overlooked the notes and manuscripts Evangeline had been working with before his eyes were drawn to a peculiarity. The book sitting directly in front of the chair had been left open and the pen Evangeline often used had been left on the side and had long left a pool of ck ink on the beautiful wooden desk. Vahn grabbed the quill and set it into the inkwell before looking at the book Evangeline had been reading. As he scanned the contents of the page, Vahn caught sight of an area on the book that had crimpled slightly and caused some of the ink to blur, something that would only be caused by spilling liquid onto the page. Vahn frowned and looked around the area for a bit before releasing a long sigh and heading back to his workshop. Though the way she acted annoyed him, Vahn wasnt the type of person that could make a girl cry and feel nothing. He already knew she didnt harbor any ill-will toward him and was just putting on an act, so now that his words had upset her to such an extent he couldnt help but try to appease her a bit. Thought it might be troublesome, Vahn had long realized he would rather inconvenience himself than allow others to be sad because of his actions. Though he wanted to take a break after testing his new greaves, Vahn picked up his hammer and started creating a new piece of equipment. The metal he used was aposite of mithril and orichalc.u.m and would guarantee the piece of equipment had the highest magical conductivity of anything he had ever forged. Because he liked the contrast between the ck and gold of the metal, Vahn decided to twine the two around each other while creating a solid core of adamantine to ensure that the final result would also have incredible durability. Because of theplexity of the project, Vahn spent nearly thirteen hours refining all the details and shaping the head of the item into a helical shape that coiled like a dragon around arge blue crystalline core. The final result of his efforts was a staff that was nearly two meters tall that looked like a ck and gold dragon coiling around each other before converging at the head of the staff. Vahn had even painstakingly carved the details into the heads of the dragons to make them look more realistic. The core he had used in the center was a material known as Ice Dragons Eye, even though it wasnt from a real dragon. It was a rare ore that could only be found in furthest reaches of the Iron Hills, to the far north of Orario. Vahn was incredibly tired, but he was still satisfied with the final product. He even considered it his new greatest masterpiece, as its construction had been more intricate than the [Dance of the Amazon] he had forged previously. After focusing his mind for a bit, Vahn imagined the image of the small vampire whose colors matched the staff in his hands. She also had golden hair and always wore ck attire, so the staff wouldnt conflict with her normal appearance. Picturing her standing in the sky surrounded by pirs of ice, Vahn couldnt help but imagine she was like an Empress that stood above all others. With that thought in mind, he smiled as he uttered in a low voice, "You shall be called [Ice Empress]." Since he had over exhausted himself previously, Vahn felt what little energy remained in his body drain as he used thest bit of his consciousness to inspect the item. [Ice Empress] Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 2 P.Atk: 411 M.Atk: 1337 A staff forged with incredible attention to detail using Mithril and Orichalc.u.m to create the visage of two dragons coiling around an Adamantine pir. The core of this staff greatly enhances ice magic and allows the user to freeze everything under the heavens if they are worthy. If the standing of the user is low, the staff will cause the blood in their bodies to freeze as a just reward for their hubris. After reading the description, Vahn fell onto his butt and leaned against the table of his workshop. He held the staff in his hands as he whispered to the void, "This is for you, Evangeline. Dont be sad anymore." With his words spoken, Vahn allowed himself to fall asleep as the figure of a young girl appeared from the void before him. Evangeline had been paying attention to Vahn from the moment he approached the desk, and she had nearly tried to recover the book out from under his nose before he saw the evidence of her earlier tears. Unfortunately, as she had been hesitating, Vahn found the book and noticed the stain after giving the page a cursory nce. Seeing him sigh, Evangeline felt incredibly embarrassed and almost forcefully ejected Vahn from the space. However, contrary to her expectations, instead of trying to address her or making any remarks, Vahn immediately returned to his workshop and started creating an item. Since she understood that he was previously going to test his new equipment, Evangeline was interested in the item he had decided to forge instead of following his earlier n. Though she didnt recognize the item at first, it wasnt too long before she realized that Vahn had begun forging a staff. Evangeline felt her heart ache a bit in her chest as the urge to begin crying again began to well up inside her. Watching Vahn work so hard and pushing himself beyond his limits as he refined the staff to greater and greater detail made Evangeline feel sorry about the way she always treated him. By the time he had finishedpleting the staff and named it, Evangeline had already decided to be kinder to her stupid disciple in the future. The moment he sat on the ground and called out to her, she wasnt far from tears for the third time as she exited the void and stared down at his unconscious body. Using her telekinesis, she lifted his body and floated it over to the bed before putting him to sleep. Though he was sweaty and covered in soot, she didnt particrly care after all the effort he had put into making her a staff. Staring into the face of the young boy, Evangeline couldnt help but feel that he was quickly bing more manly. Wiping away some of his sweat with her hand, she whispered quietly, "Even though youre an idiot, you do have your good points...If only had met the real me, I think you could have saved her." Releasing a sad and mncholic sigh, Evangeline leaned over Vahns face and gave him a soft kiss on the lips before climbing into the bed and resting beside him. (A/N: Idiot Vahn,Tsundere Vampire Baba,Dont tell me youll help anyone, just because theyre a girl!? Vahn looks toward the crying girl before him before nodding with a confident expression and saying, "Of course. No matter what it takes, Ill do my best to make everyone smile.") <--I imagine the image of when Lili is crying to Bell in the anime xD If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $317/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 168 - Behavior Shift

Chapter 168 - Behavior Shift

Since the reason for his copse had been due to the Mind Down status, Vahn awoke after around two hours. Even though his body was still very fatigued and he wanted to sleep, he couldnt help but open his eyes due to the strange pressure on his left arm. Turning his head, he could see Evangeline using his outstretched arm as a pillow as she curled herself up next to him. He could feel the air from her nose tickling his neck and a numbness from his arm due to the loss of cirction. Perhaps sensing his movement, Evangelines icy-blue eyes opened and stared at Vahn. After a few seconds, almost like she was pretending not to have noticed him awakening, she closed her eyes and curled herself up a bit more. Since she had moved her head slightly, the cirction had returned to Vahns arm and he could feel it begin to vibrate as the blood started to flow properly. Vahn could see a gentle blue and yellow auraing from Evangelines body, and it was sticking to his skin like a wispy mist. Vahn smiled and closed his eyes as well and continued to rest. He made sure to increase the strength of his blood flow by using his [Heart of the Eternal] me and hoped that it would prevent his arm from going numb when he next awakened. Evangelines presence at his side didnt really bother him, and seeing her small form curled up next to him made Vahn feel somewhat protective of her. A few minutes after Vahns breathing had changed to that of a sleeping rhythm, Evangeline opened her eyes and stared at the side of his face with a nk expression. As she had expected, even though Vahn had clearly seen her awake, the moment she pretended to sleep he ended up ying along. Unlike how cold he acted when she treated him poorly, he was always very kind when she treated him better. Though she had acted like he was inconsiderate toward her earlier, she had long since realized he only acted that way because he could see through her facade. Even though he was much younger than she was, they had both suffered greatly in the past. However, while sheshed out and treated people coldly, he always saw the best in people and treated them well...he even willingly let people take advantage of his kindness withoutint. Evangeline released a sigh, and the hot breath tickled Vahns neck and caused him to grimace slightly. Seeing his reaction to her breath, Evangeline couldnt help butugh to herself as she snuggled closer to his face and blew air softly into his ear. Vahn turned his head away to evade the airflow and Evangeline couldnt help but smile as she continued to tease him further. Compared to how he was when he was awake, Evangeline felt that teasing him when he was asleep was much easier. As she tried to lean over his face to continue teasing him, Vahns left arm closed around her body and pulled her weight onto his chest. Evangeline was fl.u.s.tered and thought that Vahn had awoken, but she noticed that his breathing was still stable. Though she was now in an awkward position with her body pressed against his chest, Evangeline wasnt off-put by the situation. Even if Vahn woke up, she could me him and hed probably apologize for identally taking advantage of her. That thought made Evangeline smile as sheid her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat. She noticed that his body produced a lot of heat, and it made her cold body warm up as his body heat radiated into her. Vahn awoke almost seven hourster, this time with a pressure on his chest instead of his arm. When he opened his eyes, he saw the top of someones head and immediately recognized the figure as Evangeline due to the golden-blond color of her hair. Seeing his own arm wrapped around her back, Vahn slowly removed it before cing it on the bed. The moment Vahn had awoken and moved his hand, Evangeline had already fully awakened as well. She turned her face and rested her palm on Vahns chest as she asked in a coy manner, "Did you enjoy hugging your Master as you slept, my idiot Disciple?" Vahn could see a glimmer in her eye while her aura danced around as she asked the question. Understanding that she was trying to tease him, Vahn wasnt to be outdone so he ced his hand back around her waist before saying in a matter-of-fact manner with a nod, "Yes, your body is very light and soft, Evangeline." Then, before the coy vampire could respond, Vahn leaned forward slightly and smelled her long golden-blonde hair which typically hung past her waist. Though she had intended to tease him more, the moment Vahn smelled her hair, Evangeline quickly separated from his body before turning away and speaking in a sharp tone, "You lecherous pervert, how dare you tease your master!" The reason she had turned away before her outburst was due to the blush that had appeared on her face. After Vahn smelled her hair so suddenly, Evangeline felt a mixture of embarrassment and panic. Now that Evangeline had released his body, Vahn sat up and began to stretch his joints as he said, "Your hair smells very nice, its a warm and gentle odor." His words made Evangeline hold her hands out like ws with her palms facing upwards as she looked toward the empty ck sky like she wanted to scream out. Every time Vahn spoke in his gentle voice and said nice things to her, she felt both happy and frustrated. She wanted to wring his neck and send him flying, but she didnt want to keep making him treat her coldly any longer. Vahn left the bed without turning to look toward Evangeline who had hidden her face from view. He had already seen her ears turn a crimson color from behind, so he knew she probably had a fierce blush on her face. The mental image made Vahn smile and he returned to his forging in high spirits. Noticing that he hadnt looked toward her, Evangeline followed Vahns back with her eyes and gave him a ming look for teasing her so much. She once again swore that she would make him suffer when they finally started their magic training. As Vahn began forging another piece of equipment, Evangeline took out the [Ice Empress] which she had ced into the void. Without saying anything to Vahn, she teleported several hundred kilometers away in an instant in order to test the efficacy of the staff. The moment she started channeling her magic, Evangeline immediately noticed that the material was incredibly conducive to her magic power. It even seemed to enhance the .u.mtion of the ice elemental energy in the air and boosted her magic power by arge amount. Pointing the staff toward the distance, dozens of magic circles simultaneously appeared in the air and created arge formation as Evangeline shouted, "Nivis Casus!" The moment the words left her lips, a gigantic magic circle more than 1000m in diameter appeared on the ground before creating a massive explosion of ice and snow. The explosion reached a height of nearly 400m and sent a powerful shockwave through the stark white floor that stretched out for several kilometers. Seeing the devastating power of her own magic, Evangeline couldnt help but hold the staff with a hint of reverence in her eyes. Typically, to achieve the same result she just witnessed, she would have had to expend 40% more mana. That meant the staff in her hands increased her offensive magic output by as much as 40%, and there didnt seem to be any drawbacks. The staff felt like it was perfectly made to suit her magic, and she couldnt help butmend the craftsmanship and attention to detail that Vahn had put into its creation. Turning her head toward the direction where Vahn would be located if she teleported, Evangeline couldnt help but smile after remembering how much effort he put into the staffs construction just so she wouldnt be sad anymore. She decided to forgive him for teasing her earlier as she sat cross-legged in the sky and began to meditate while channeling mana into the staff in herp. She was trying to understand the structure of the staff and reverse engineer how it interfaced with her own magic system to achieve the results that she just witnessed. While Evangeline was off trying to understand the logic behind the magic of the record of Danmachi, Vahn was busy forging a variety of different items. Since he had already forged the mostmonly used equipment that he made use of, Vahn was now just improving his control over the eternal me by mass producing simple des of various different sizes. Just as when he created the [Moon Piercer], Vahn preferred to make items that were simple and efficient. Not everything he made could be as intricate as the [Ice Empress] which he created for Evangeline. Though the des werent attached to anything and couldnt be used, it didnt prevent Vahn from being able to see their base stats. Generally speaking, even when a de wasnt attached to a handle or a pole, it still had simr offensive capabilities and a basic rank. Most of the mass-produced des were C-rank, but Vahn noticed he was making an increasingly greater amount of B rank des as he continued improving his coordination with the eternal me. As a fragment of the original eternal me, Vahns me also possessed its own will and tried its best to assist him during the forging process. Though he could achieve greater results when he forcefully controlled the me, Vahn wanted it to learn and adapt to his skills on its own. There was somethingforting about working with someone else when you were forging, and Vahn had been quickly building a camaraderie with the flickering crimson-gold me. It too seemed to enjoy interacting with Vahn, as it would often dance around in an excited manner every time Vahn was forging a piece of metal inside of it. Though he couldnt actuallymunicate with it, Vahn had started to learn how to understand what it was trying to convey to him based on its actions and the way it flickered in specific ways. It also coordinated with his efforts when it came to heating the metal, and Vahn had reached a point where he could actively preserve more than 95% of most metals, with the only exception being Adamantine, which he still struggled to achieve more than 80%. Fortunately, instead of being wasted as wasmon, the eternal me actually tried to filter out the remnant metals and separate them at the side of its basin. This allowed Vahn to salvage the metal and recycle it forter use when creating smaller adornments. After nearly twenty hours of working, Vahn finally decided to take a break and get some rest. He still had nearly twenty-five hours left before he was forcefully ejected, so Vahn wanted to take a short nap before returning back to his mass-production forge method. After wiping down his body and enjoying a hearty meal, Vahn made his way over to the bed and saw the soot stains and sweat marks from when he had slept earlier. With a frown, Vahn stored the nkets into his inventory before purchasing a newer pair within the shop. Though they were still pink, since Vahn thought it suited Evangeline, they were slightly higher in qualitypared to thest set. Vahn rxed on the thick nkets and dazed for a few minutes before he was finally ready to sleep. He couldnt help but wonder if Evangeline would find her way into the bed while he was sleeping again and try to y it off as she had done earlier. Vahn always feltfortable whenever he was embracing or being embraced by others, so he didnt have a problem with her actions. He knew she was just a memory fragment and couldnt do anything that crossed the line without undermining her purpose. However, her actions had caused Vahn to wonder what the real Evangeline was like, and he wondered if she would be as troublesome as the small vampire that tried to act like his Master. Resolving himself to ask her more about her past and the world she came from, Vahn allowed himself to fall asleep as he browsed through the system for simr items to the orb he had obtained. He found several magical textbooks and even other types of orbs, but they were all astronomically expensive. Even the book, Beginner Magic 101 cost 300,000OP... Not long after Vahn fell asleep, a figure appeared next to the bed and stared down at him with an uncharacteristically gentle expression. Her perception easily covered the entire area within the orb, so the moment Vahn went to sleep, Evangeline had stopped her research and hidden in the void to observe his actions. Seeing him rece the dirtied nkets and reced them with newer, higher quality ones, she couldnt help but approve of his actions. When he finally fell asleep after a few minutes, she revealed herself and, as Vahn had suspected, crawled into the bed and cuddled up next to him as if it was a perfectly natural thing to do. (A/N: Alternate Titles: More Dere than Tsun atm,Vahn, the Industrial Era Hero,I imagine Riveria would shank a hoe to get a staff like that) Chapter 169 - Empathy

Chapter 169 - Empathy

Slightly more than five hours after he fell asleep, Vahn awoke and noticed the familiar presence on his left. As he had expected, Evangeline had curled up next him and had used his shoulder and bicep as her pillow. She had her left hand on his chest as both of her legs were curled up near her stomach. Vahn noticed that she liked to sleep scrunched up in a ball like she was afraid of losing heat. As he had the eternal me in his chest, Vahn often slept sprawled out on top of the nkets and enjoyed the feeling of the air on his skin. Shortly after he awoke, Evangeline opened her eyes and raised her body by using his chest as a support. She looked into his aquamarine colored eyes with her piercing icy-blue eyes before leaning over his body. Vahn was a bit surprised by her actions, but he didnt do anything to stop her as his heartbeat began to increase by a marginal amount. Evangeline ced her nose into his neck and traced her face alongside his head as she shifted her body on top of his and mounted his stomach. Because of their simr hair color, Vahn couldnt help but have a bit of a shback to the time he had been with Ais. As he began to feel a little fl.u.s.tered, Vahn suddenly felt a sharp pain in his neck where Evangeline had been nuzzling. His tensions immediately faded and he had the feeling likeughing out but decided to just rx his body and allow her to do as she pleased. Though she hadnt asked him to draw his blood, her actions indicated she wanted to and he hadnt done anything to stop her before she began. As he began to rx, Vahn wrapped his arms around her small body and hugged her gently against his as she continued to silently drain his blood in a very slow manner. He could feel the warm and pleasant feeling spread through his insides and the soft sensation of Evangeline pressing against his stomach and chest. Though she was incredibly petite and light, Vahn still thought her weight was pleasant and the sensation of her modest b.r.e.a.s.ts pressing into his chest made his heart flutter a bit. After about half an hour of draining his blood, Vahn could feel Evangeline begin to lick his neck in a manner simr to the first time she had sucked his blood. From their other sessions, he knew it wasnt necessary for her to do so, and Vahn could tell from the subtle pink aura emanating from her body that she was being intimate with him. However, Vahn knew from interacting with her in the past few days that she would probably scare away like a frightened rabbit if he made any untoward actions against her. Instead, he just put a little more strength into his left hand around her waist as he moved his right hand between her shoulder des and hugged her body. Evangeline paused her actions for a moment when he moved his hands but then continued to intermittently lick his neck and suck his blood without saying anything. She continued her actions for another half hour and now Vahns entire neck and corbone were moist with her saliva. After cing her mouth on the connecting muscles of his neck and shoulder, she began to suck on the tender flesh for several seconds without drawing blood. Vahn felt that the sensation was a little painful, and he couldnt help but tilt his head a bit to the side in response. Evangeline then moved her mouth to the area beneath his ear and once again powerfully sucked on his skin without sucking his blood. Vahn didnt know what she was doing, and it wasnt exactly a pleasant feeling when she sucked on his skin hard enough to make him feel a bit of difort. He felt like she was trying to draw his blood but had forgotten to use her teeth. After she repeated the action another three times, Evangeline sat up on his stomach and stared down at him with a slightly dazed expression. The noble appearance she always tried to maintain was still present, but the blush on her face gave away her true emotions. Evangeline ced both of her hands on his chest and pressed into his tunic like she was trying to outline his muscles with her palms. As she traced her hands up to his shoulders, Evangeline leaned forward and stared into Vahns eyes as she whispered, "A bad woman is going to eat you up one day...you need to learn to resist people if you feel ufortable." Vahn held her gaze with his own as he responded, "It wasnt entirely unpleasant, and everything else felt good." As Vahn finished his words, he couldnt help but slide his hands from her h.i.p.s and down the backside of her dress. Unlike Hephaestus and Anubis, Evangeline didnt have much to grab onto, but she still had a soft and slightly fleshy butt. The moment his hands touched her butt, Evangelines face blushed a bit deeper as she frowned without saying anything. Vahn noticed her aura had turned pinker and a little chaotic, so he took her silence as approval of his actions. With a smile on his face, he tried pushing the boundaries a little and put a bit of strength into his hands. The moment Vahn tightened his grip on her butt, Evangeline squeaked before jerking back her body and beating Vahn on the chest with powerless punches. After finishing a one-hundred hitbo, she removed herself from his body before teleporting away far from her lecherous disciples clutches. She could never let him know that, when he grabbed her so firmly, she felt a bit happy in her heart. Previously, she had marked him on his neck and shoulder with several bruised kiss marks and had felt very satisfied by her aplishment. Now that Vahn had gotten even with her, she couldnt help but retreat away for the time being. After Evangelines tactical retreat, Vahn got out of the bed and stretched his body for a bit before returning to his workshop. He still had around neen hours, so Vahn wanted to try creating another masterpiece to push his [cksmith] skill even further. Every minor improvement was arge step forward, and Vahn believed he would be able to learn the [Master Smith] development skill in the next 414 days with time to spare. Since Vahn had already created an item that he intended to gift to Tiona, he wanted to forge something to give to Ais as well. He knew that giving an item to one of the two would potentially cause friction, so he wasnt going to take any chances. Even though he had gifted her his [Runic Tamahagane de], Vahn wanted to make her something he had personally forged. Remembering that Ais often broke her weapons because of her excessive strength, Vahn decided to try creating a weapon simr to the sword she had used in the manga. He had plenty of Adamantine on hand and had already produced the [Durandal] ability sessfully. However, unlike her original sword which was only meant to be incredibly durable, Vahn wanted to make sure the weapon he forged for her was also magically conductive. Vahn forged an incredibly thin de, almost like a rapier, out of pure Orichalc.u.m which branched out periodically. This would act a giant mana channel to enhance the striking power of Aiss blows and allow her to make greater use of her [Ariel] magic ability. He then painstakingly tempered Adamantine around the Orichalc.u.m core by shrinking down his domain to the minimum and using it to forcibly hold the shape of the metal as he heated it. The end result of his five hours of turmoil was a pure white, highly reflective, de without a single w on its surface. Before moving on, Vahn channeled his energy and could use his enhanced vision to see the flow of mana within the mithril core. The Adamantine actually served to prevent the energy from dispersing until it reached the branches and created bluish-white edge flowing outside of the channels he had carved previously. Vahn was satisfied with the results because it would allow Ais to use the sword like it had a serrated cutting edge that would also prevent any buildup of blood and other fluids which would make it more difficult to cut with. Vahn then spent the next three hours shaping the handle to make the unblemished white de because he had decided to use Adamantine as the basis while adorning the beautiful white surface with Orichalc.u.m, which had a golden color. The final result was a stark white de with gold ents that Vahn had shaped into the most noble looking form he could manage. When it came time to name the sword, Vahn recalled the legend regarding Fafnir, which he had learned about after naming his own dragon. In the legend, the evil dragon was in by a hero named Sigurd who used the holy sword gram to strike down the cursed creature. Vahn felt like there was a lot of power in the name and hoped that this sword would aide Ais in her mission to kill the One-Eyed ck Dragon. [Gram] Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 0 P.Atk: 728+70 M.Atk: 331 Ability: Durandal(A), Sharpness(B), Piercing(C), Dragonyer(A) A sword forged from Adamantine with an Orichalc.u.m core to embody the legend of a hero who had in a cursed dragon. Provides greatly enhanced capabilities when fighting dragons and dragon sub-species. Vahn had received 3,881 OP from sessfullypleting the sword and he was very satisfied with the Dragonyer(A) effect that it possessed. Though he harbored no illusions that the sword was strong enough to kill the One-Eyed ck Dragon, it was a good temte for any future des he might forge for Ais. He fully intended to use his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] to name another weapon [Gram] in the future in the hopes of embodying the actual legend. When Vahn had searched for the item within the shop, he found that it cost a whopping 13,000,000 OP, so he had high hopes for its capabilities. The entire process of forging the [Gram] had taken nearly nine hours, so Vahn had slightly less than ten hours remaining before he would be ejected from the space. He expected that Evangeline was off testing the staff he forged her, so she would likely ask to suck his blood again before leaving. Vahn couldnt help but wonder how far she would try to push her boundaries, and he also had some expectations for how much he could tease her. Though Vahn knew he needed to be reigning in his behavior, it was very difficult to hold back when there was a cute girl literally sticking to his body. Since he didnt want to start up arge project, Vahn decided to enter mass-production mode and work on coordinating with his eternal me. He was able to create and shape a de within a half hour, so by the time Evangeline had shown up behind him, he had created an additional thirteen des. Vahn noticed that she had shown up earlier than he expected, and he could see that her aura was flickering with a subtle pink aura as she waited for him to finish cleaning up. The moment he set down the towel he had used to wipe off his own body, Vahn could feel himself be weightless as Evangeline silently moved him to the bed. When Vahn saw her expression, she had a nk look on her face as she followed his body through the air. Vahn almost wanted tough because he could see the aura ring up around her body the closer he got to the bed. After he was dropped unceremoniously on the bed, Vahn smiled a bit at the girl who crawled into the bed immediately after him. Evangeline saw his smile and froze for a moment, but her expression didnt change as she once again crawled forward and sat on his body. Unlike the previous days, Vahn remainedying down like he had done so when she sucked his blood earlier. There was always something tantalizing about having a girl sit on his stomach as he stared up at their faces. It made Vahns heart flutter a bit and he almost instinctually put his hands on her waist. Seeing the dumb and anticipatory look on Vahns face, Evangeline wanted to curse and beat up the stupidly smiling boy. The more he smiled at her, the harder it was to suppress her own embarrassment. She had already made her decision in the seventeen hours she had been away earlier, and she wasnt going to back down and forsake her own pride. After taking a deep breath and exhaling, the ck dress on Evangelines body turned into light and was reced with the semi-transparent negligee she was wearing when Vahn first arrived three days ago. Vahn noticed the change and saw the slightly blushing expression on Evangeline who was trying to keep herposure. Since he had the chance, Vahn gave a cursory nce toward the getup and felt a bit of pressure in the bridge of his nose after taking in the sight. Though it didnt reveal anything, the semi-transparent negligee was open at the abdomen and curved around the sides of Evangelines body which revealed her navel. However, it wasnt her cute navel that had caught Vahns attention, but the fact that he could see her ckce panties resting against his stomach. Like the negligee, it kept the important parts hidden, but the rest was made of a semi-transparentce fabric that almost made the situation seem more e.r.o.t.i.c than if she were actually nude. Before Vahn could continue ogling her body, Evangeline leaned forward and pressed herself against him as she ced her head next to his and rested for a few moments. Vahn could feel the heat of her body, and he somewhat regretted the fact that he was still wearing a tunic. He could even feel her heartbeat beating faster than a hummingbird pping its wings. After a few seconds, she whispered into his ear in a moderately sultry tone, "Call me Eva from now on..." The moment her words fell, Eva bit Vahns neck and began to suck his blood in an overly intimate manner. Vahn was caught off guard by her request, but his daze was immediately brought to an end the moment he felt the sharp pinching sensation in his neck. Like earlier, but without any buildup, Eva was simultaneously sucking his blood while licking his neck like a kittenpping up milk. As he had done so each time previously, Vahn put his hands around Eva, but this time there was a big differencepared to all the other times. The fabric of her negligee was incredibly thin, and Vahn could feel her skin and body heat through his palms. Not only was her skin incredibly soft and springy, but she also had a very high body temperaturepared to most of the girls he had hugged. Her fair, borderline pale, skin was covered with a slightly flushed undertone and Vahn could see her aura burning like a lively me. After around twenty minutes of suffering from Evas attack, Vahn began to feel a little restless from the warmth in his body and the heating from Evas. His hands trembled slightly and he could feel that Eva had also begun to sweat from her own excitement and exertion. Growing bolder by the minute, Vahn slid his hands down her back and once again settled on her small butt. Though she flinched for a moment, Eva made no attempt to stop him so he just enjoyed the springy sensation and gently held onto her body while periodically putting a bit of strength into his palms. After the hour mark had passed, Vahn had less than a half hour before he would be ejected from the space. Eva had long since stopped sucking his blood as she licked around his neck and kissed parts of his corbone. Just as Vahn was about to push his limits a bit, she sat up slightly on his body and locked eyes with him. Vahn could see that she had slightly zed eyes as she looked into his face and said, "Even though youre just a lecherous pervert that constantly annoys me, you have a gentle side that makes my heart ache a bit. I want you to make me a promise, Vahn." Though she had a blushing face with an enamored look in her eyes, Vahn could tell that she was being serious so he nodded his head and said, "Sure, Eva, just let me know what you need me to do." In response to his affirmation, Eva bent forward and kissed Vahn on his lips for nearly a full minute before she pulled away and said, "Promise me that, no matter what happens in the future, youll never hate me or my creator. Even if you resent me a bit, please never hate me..." Vahn was a bit confused by her words, and he felt a painful ache in his heart as he nodded his head and said, "I swear, Ill never hate you, or the original that created this space." In response to his words, Eva once again kissed Vahn deeply, this time for nearly ten minutes before she separated herself and drew gasping breaths. After settling her breathing, she looked into Vahns eyes and said, "Please, when you meet the real me, save her from her loneliness." Seeing her passionate gaze filled with sadness, Vahn couldnt help but empathize with the small vampire that had been unjustly forced to walk her path. While his suffering had ended at the time of his death in the previous world, the real Evangeline was still in her record, bound by the fate that had been decided for her without her consent. Though he wasnt certain when he would be able to keep his promise, Vahn nodded and said with absolute conviction, "I swear, Eva, I will save you." For the third time, Eva began kissing Vahn as she writhed about on top of his body. Since they couldnt have s.e.x, the most they could do was express their intimacy through physical contact. She continued to seek out the warmth of his body and kissing all over his face, neck, and chest, all the way up until the moment when Vahns body began to dissolve. As she had been kissing him all the way until he had vanished, Evas body copsed onto the bed and she justy there on her stomach in a daze for several minutes. There was a deep sadness in her eyes, and she felt like the next four years would be more difficult to bear than all of the previous time she had spent in this empty world. Since Vahn had been underneath her, she could still feel his ambient heat from the bed as well as his scent from when he had beenying. Eva just continuedying in that spot for several minutes as she felt the heat slowly drain away from the bedding... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sad Baba,10 years isnt a short period of time,Aiss new favorite toy) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $317/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 170 - Changes at Home

Chapter 170 - Changes at Home

Vahn opened his eyes and started up at the ceiling of his room for a few seconds as he considered what had happened. As he stared in a daze, he started counting the seconds one by one and imagined each second passing as a day where Eva had to remain alone inside the empty ck and white space. Imagining what it would be like to live such an existence, Vahn couldnt help but feel somewhat terrified of the thought Though he understood that the Eva inside the orb wasnt real, Vahn couldnt help but pity the memory fragment of the young girl. For now, the only thing he could for her is to show her a bit of affection and help ease her loneliness. Vahn swore to one day meet the real Eva and keep his promise to the tragic girl within the orb... He continued toy in his bed thinking about possible solutions to help the memory fragment as well as the original Eva. Since Vahn had the opportunity to enter a record at any point in its fate, he also had the option to enter Evas record at the point before she became a vampire. Vahn even considered making the so-called Mage of the Beginning pay dearly for their actions. If he couldnt do that, Vahn wanted to at least find a way to allow both Evas to experience what it was like to grow up and live a normal life. Even though it wouldnt be easy, Vahn believed he could help heal her heart from the several hundred years of loneliness she had experienced. Though he didnt have his domain spread at this time, Vahn was able to sense the illusory auras of several people that had shown up inside the house. Ever since reaching Soul Tier 3, Vahns natural perception and awareness of the auras of others had increased by arge amount. Combined with his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn felt like there were few things that could avoid his detection if he was paying attention. Even his mini-map showed the presence of everyone within his perception, and it was only enhanced when he expanded his domain. Moving away from his bed in a somewhatzy manner, Vahn did some light stretches to give the approaching auras a bit of time to arrive. The moment therge yellow aura, which Vahn could easily identify as Anubis, entered the house, she paused for a moment before making her way towards his room with a smaller aura next to her. Based on the color, Vahn assumed it was probably Nanu and the two wereing to receive him for dinner. Without knocking, the two presences stood outside his door and waited patiently. Vahn couldnt help but smile at their actions as he made his way toward the door and opened it. As expected, therge aura belonged to Anubis, but instead of Nanu, the smaller presence actually belonged to someone Vahn had been unable to meet for some time. Unexpectedly, Tina, Mns daughter, was standing next to Anubis and looking toward Vahn with a somewhat teary expression. Before Vahn could greet the two, Tina moved forward and hugged his waist as she began bawling with her face pressed against his stomach. Vahn was very surprised by her actions, but he understood she had likely felt aggrieved by his failure to visit her after he awoke from hisa. Though he had intended to do so, and even tried earlier, he hadnt been in a situation where it was convenient to stop by. Now that she was crying and hugging his waist with what little strength her small arms could muster, Vahn couldnt help but feel a pain of sadness in his heart. Anubis just stood in the corridor and looked toward Tina with a gentle look in her eyes as Vahn tried consoling the small cat girl. She had received her fair share of lectures from Hephaestus and Eina, and now that she knew about Vahns past, she considered him simr to how she treated the orphaned children in the past. Though she recognized Vahn as her Master and even wanted him to spoil her, she would exercise patience and let him make his own decisions for the time being. Vahn finally managed to pry away Tinas arms and held the small girl by her shoulders as he stared into her golden tear-filled eyes as a bit of mucus was building up in her nose and beginning to droop down. Though he felt pained in his heart, Vahn spoke in a soft voice with a gentle smile on his face, "Sorry, Tina, I should have stopped by sooner." He then hugged the girl gently and allowed her to continue crying on his shoulder until she had calmed down several minutester. After Tina had rxed, Vahn had invited the two into his room and gave each person a chair to sit in as he asked Anubis about what had happened earlier in the day. As he expected, Hephaestus and Eina had gathered together most of the girls he associated with and told them about his past. Vahn felt a little exposed, but none of the girls at the meeting, other than Loki, were people he didnt trust. He knew most of their characters from the original manga, and had a personal bond with many of them, so Vahn wasnt too taken aback by the series of events. Anubis even told him about the provisions they had all agreed to, and Vahn couldnt help but furrow his brows a bit after hearing their decisions. Though he would be able to maintain his freedom, and could even pursue who he wanted, Vahn couldnt help but feel a little saddened by the fact they needed to restrain themselves just because hecked brakes. If one of the girls actively sought him out, it actually made Vahn feel a bit of pride in his heart because of their advances. Now that they would restrain themselves just so they dont harm him, Vahn felt like he had failed their expectations a bit. The final matter they discussed made Tine hang her head a bit in embarrassment as she allowed her eyes to wander around Vahns room. Anubis had told Vahn about Tinas role as the Vahnguard to protect him from being approached and pressured by others. Vahn couldnt help but sigh in his mind as he stared at the young girl that was meant to be his protector and restraint. Vahn knew he had a resistance against younger girls, so he didnt disagree that it was a decent preventative measure to keep him from getting out of control. However, Vahn was worried that Tina was making a big sacrifice by trying to act the role of his caretaker when she also had affection for him. Though Vahn was certain he wouldnt do anything untoward to the small cat girl, the thing that concerned him was if she would be able to properly restrain herself. As that thought passed through his mind, Vahn suddenly had a realization about why she was actually more necessary than he initially thought. Since he already had concerns regarding Tina, he would act more cautious around her, simr to how he treated Lili. Though he might pet her and tease her a bit, Vahn would never overstep his boundaries and could naturally develop his restraint over time. If she made advances toward him, he would naturally be inclined to resist her and they could essentially act as restraints for each other, especially considering the presence of other people in their lives... Tina had seen the conflict in Vahns face as she spoke out with high tensions, "Ill do my best Vahnya! No matter what happens, I wont let you be a deviant~nya!" Her words, though innocent and cheeful, hit Vahn like a powerful shockwave that rattled his mind a bit. Seeing her excited expression and confident appearance, Vahn released an awkwardugh and replied, "Looks like Ill be in your care again, Tina." After a bit more discussion, it was almost time to eat dinner so Vahn had told Anubis to ready the other children for the bath. The moment he gave what was previously a normal order, Tina immediately shouted out before Anubis couldply, "No~nya! Uneptable! Vahnya will never be able to develop restraint like that~nya!" Anubis looked at the small cat girl that was lecturing her in a stern, albeit excited, tone. Vahn was also staring at Tina as she continued, "From now on, Vahnya needs to bathe alone or with girls like Hephaestus-sama, Eina-sama, Tiona, or Ais~nya! Anubis-sama and the other children are a no go~nya!" Hearing her words, though Vahn somewhat agreed, he tried to exin about the Southern Tribes culture and his role as the Alpha in the pack. Tina listened to him attentively as Anubis nodded her head approvingly from the side. The moment his words finished, however, Tina said, "Thats no good Vahnya! Even if it is normal for them, it isnt normal for most people~nya! The thing you need right now is normal for your own life, you cant always be conceding to others if it will cause problems. Even those children should change their thinking a bit, or they will suffer in the future~nya!" After shouting at Vahn, Tina turned towards Anubis and began lecturing, "And you, Anubis-samnya, you need to be the one teaching them! You are like their mother, and dont they respect you a lot? You need to exin things clearly instead of letting Vahnya bear the burdens of a culture he doesnt understand or belong to!" Anubiss eyes opened wide as Tina shook her tiny finger toward her and treated her like a child. She felt incredibly embarrassed, especially since she knew the small girl was speaking the truth. There had already been several incidents and misunderstandings that had arisen due to her own negligence. Other than Tiona and Ais, she was the primary person to me for a lot of the burdens Vahn currently had to bear. She had thought too highly of him based on the strength of his soul and how epting and kind he was to her and the children. Tina continued to lecture the two in high-tensions as Anubis hung her head slightly with her ears flopped down. Though Vahn felt some inhibitions earlier, he now realized how seriously Tina took her role as his Vahnguard. Even though she was the youngest person in the room, she acted with the most sensibility and controlled the conversation as she educated them both. Ultimately, it was decided that Vahn would enter the bath alone or with the other boys. The girls would also bathe together, and then everyone would eat dinner afterward. After the children heard the decree, this time from Vahn, Nanu seemed somewhat down-trodden, but she didnt oppose as she left with the other girls to take a bath first. Tina trotted along behind everyone, and Vahn could hear her somewhat excited voice echoing through the house a bit, likely from her lecturing the other girls. Vahn and the other boys sat around in a somewhat awkward atmosphere and made light conversation for around twenty minutes until it was their turn to use the bath. When they were in the bath, Vahn learned what the boys had been up to throughout the day while the girls were at the meeting. Anubis had taken the entire group out early in the morning, and once they arrived at the cafe where they held the meeting, the boys had to stay on the lower floor of the cafe and idle about. Fortunately, they had been carrying some of their textbooks, so they used the time to study and discuss various things. Vahn couldnt help but feel a bit sorry for them and decided they would be having juicy steaks for dinner tonight. After the bath, the entire group ate dinner, but Nanu had apparently lost her spot to Tina, who now sat at Vahns right. She exined that it wasnt normal for Nanu to already be acting like his mate, since it would be more than a year and a half until that time actually came. Tina was acting as a barrier between the two of them, and she even exined to the other children that their understanding of the hierarchy needed to undergo drastic changes. Everyone at the table listened to Tinas lecture, and Vahn could even see a gleam in the eyes of the boys as they looked at Tina with a bit of reverence in their eyes. Vahn felt like his position as the Alpha was bing a bit unstable, but didnt think it would be a bad thing in the end. He also wanted the children to grow outside the limits of their culture so they could live happy lives in the City without the restraints of their past. After dinner had finished and it was approaching time for bed, Vahn, Anubis, Nanu, and Tina all followed the corridor to his room. Vahn was given leniency to pet both Anubis and Nanu before sending them off to bed. As he pets the ears of the two girls, Vahn couldnt help but feel a little sad at their restrained actions. When he pet the two girls in the past, they would be very receptive to his touch and even seek it out more. Now, however, they acted very reserved and passively allowed him to pet their hair and ears. If not for the fact that he could see their aura raging about, Vahn would have felt like they no longer enjoyed his touch. Once the two had left to their individual rooms, Vahn went into his own while Tina trotted along behind him. They had discussed earlier that she was going to be staying in his room, but Vahn couldnt help but smile after seeing her adorable demeanor. She had been in high-tensions since she stopped crying earlier, and even now she was full of energy as she looked around his room while carrying arge suitcase that had been left in the foyer earlier. Noticing what she was looking for, Vahn purchased a secretary and wardrobe for her personal use. Tina was shocked when tworge pieces of furniture appeared out of thin air, but Vahn just exined how his storage magic worked. She had been searching for his dressers earlier, but Vahn left most of his clothes and equipment in his inventory or within the closet at the side of his room. After his exnation, Tina started unpacking her clothing and stowing them away inside the drawers. When she started moving the section containing her underwear, she looked back and saw Vahn staring at her and couldnt help but blush as she packed away the remaining contents of her suitcase into the drawers. Vahn had noticed that, while most of her underwear was in, there were several that had cute designs on them. He felt like they suited the small pig-tailed cat girl and were very characteristic of her lively and cheerful demeanor. After putting everything away, Tina grabbed arge light-blue tunic-like nightgown and began undressing, but not before telling Vahn to avert his eyes. Vahnplied with her request and waited until she had finished changing before he turned back around. Tina had a fierce blush on her face and was holding the front of her nightgown with both hands as she looked up at him. After a few seconds of silence, Vahn decided to speak out to help ease the tensions, "Lets go to sleep, Tina." Tina nodded her head without giving a verbal response as she climbed into therge bed where Vahn slept. Vahn noticed that, unlike her normal clothing, the nightgown didnt have a hole for her tail. Unlike the front, which she had held down with her hands, the backside of the garment was raised because of the rigidity of her tail. Though he would have stared previously, Vahn decided to avert his eyes a bit instead of trying to catch a glimpse of the contents inside. Since Tina was still very young, he needed to act reservedly toward her instead of treating her like one of the women he was pursuing. After she climbed into the bed, Tina stared toward Vahn as he also changed his clothing before entering the bed. Perhaps due to the fact that Vahn hadnt asked her to avert her eyes, Tina stared at his body as he put on a lighter shirt and some loose pajama-like pants. Since he hadnt removed his boxers, she didnt manage to see him n.a.k.e.d, but it didnt stop her from gawking at his figure. Vahn had grown more than 12cm since theyst met, and his body had matured to a great extentpared to the past. Once he had changed, Vahn alsoid in the bed but kept a fair distance between him and Tina. The bed wasrge enough for four people toy side-by-side without issue, so there was arge space between the two of them. However, against his expectations, Tina moved closer to him and curled up next to his body simr to the way Eva had done so in the orb. Before he could say anything, TIna exined, "Ever since my father died...I always sleep next to mother, so Im not good at sleeping by myself..." Her words made any inhibitions Vahn had previously fly out the window as he allowed her to curl up next to him without anyints. Vahn had known about her fathers death in the dungeon, and he felt a lot of pity for the small cat girl and her mother. Imagining the two girls curled up in bed together and findingfort in each others warmth, Vahn felt sadness in his heart. Though he could feel the heat radiating from the small body of Tina next to him, Vahn was more distracted by the thought that her mother, Mn, was now alone in her own bed... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tinas Tirade,The New Alpha,Dog Trainer Tina) (A/N: We officially broke the 50% mark on *******~! Thank you for the support, I hope we can get the remaining amount so I can dedicate myself to writing this, and other, stories <3) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $323/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 171 - Routine

Chapter 171 - Routine

Vahn woke up a few minutes before the time when he could re-enter the orb. Looking to his right, he could see the small form of Tina cuddled up against his body, and he couldnt help but feel a protective instinct build up inside of him. He empathized with her since she had lost her father, and he also felt a mncholy in his heart whenever he thought about her mother. They had both treated him well in the past, and Vahn wished he could help the two of them find happiness in the future. Though he couldnt rece her father, Vahn wanted to help take care of the small cat girl that was supposed to be taking care of him. Moving back her bangs with his hand, Vahn gave an affectionate kiss to Tinas forehead before he pulled out the orb and began thinking about what he could do to help Eva as well. He already had a n in mind to help the original, but he wanted to be able to do something for the memory fragment as well. However, any solutions he came up with would be very selfish on his part, and even if he could preserve her memory, it wouldnt create a link between her and the original Eva. Once the time for him to enter had arrived, Vahn focused his consciousness into the orb and opened his eyes in the ck and white space contained within. The moment he arrived, Vahn felt the familiar presence of Eva next to him and, before he could say anything, she immediately took her preferred position on his stomach. Like before, she was wearing her ck negligee as she looked down into his face with a moderately pleased expression. She squinted her eyes a bit as she said, "Looks like you didnt keep me waiting for too long this time. I only had to wait a few extra days..." Before Vahn could say anything, Eva continued, "Dont say anything yet, let me just enjoy your warmth for now..." As she finished her words, Eva pressed herself against his body and just held him for a few minutes in silence. After a bit of time had passed, Eva seemed to be a bit restless as she moved her face toward Vahns neck and began her routine of kissing the same spot she always drew his blood. Though Vahn wasnt sure of the reason, Eva always drew blood from the left side of his neck and shoulder, perhaps due to the proximity of the area to his heart. Remembering that she wanted to enjoy his warmth, Vahn began putting effort into his [Heart of the Eternal] me to make his body heat up rapidly. In response, he could feel Evas body temperature slowly begin to rise as a lightyer of sweat began to cover her skin. Though Vahn had the urge to tease her or let his hands wander, he decided to just embrace her as she continued to suck his blood and kiss his neck. He noticed that she had started to mark his neck as she had done so previously, and it caused him a bit of difort whenever she would suck on his skin. He had seen his appearance after she performed that act previously, and had noticed several small bruises on his neck as a result of her actions. After more than an hour, Eva finally stopped and sat up on his chest with a slightly enamored look in her eyes. She let her hands wander on his chest and abdomen as she seemed to be contemting something. Vahn, instead of letting his hands and eyes wander, just continued to stare at her face with a gentle smile as he waited for her to speak. Since she spent nearly four years in this space since hisst visit, Vahn knew she had a lot more time to work through matters than he did. Her hands made their way to the buttons on his tunic, but she didnt make any effort to unfasten them. She just spent a few minutes in silent contemtion before she said, "Next time, I want to feel your body closer. Youre already like a furnace, but I want to feel your skin against mine..." After her words ended, she crawled off his body before scooting to the side of the bed and sitting with her back to him. Vahn could see her aura flickering chaotically, but knew there was nothing he could do for her. Though they could hug, kiss, and do some other intimate actions, it was impossible for them to do anything remotely s.e.x.u.a.l. If she got too stimted, space would destabilize and would most likely begin to copse. Even now, Vahn could see the energy within the air had turned somewhat chaotic in the aftermath of their actions. Vahn rolled out of the bed and sat next to her before hugging her body close to his and kissing her on the forehead due to their height difference. She frowned and tried to say something, but Vahn interrupted by asking, "If I could help you leave this space in the future, would you be willing to apany me?" Evas eyes opened wide in shock at his words as she exined, "Its impossible, Im just a memory fragment, not a real person. Even if you could do something like imbuing a soul into an object, there isnt a way to prevent my memory from destabilizing. The moment you entered this orb the first time, my body had already started to slowly dissipate with time. By the time six months pass in your world, I will be unable to maintain this space and will cease to exist..." Vahn nodded his head at her words because he had discussed the matter with Sis previously when he was trying toe up with a solution. Even with something as powerful as The Path, Vahn was limited in his own methods due to his weakness and current Soul Tier. Not only could he not create a body or keep Evas memory for the future, but even if he could bring her into the Danmachi record, she wouldnt be able to leave since her energy would be attuned to this record. However, that didnt mean there was no way, and Vahn had found a temporary solution, even though it wasnt one he was fond of. Looking into her sad eyes, Vahn exined, "The chains I have, [Enkidu], allow me to seal anything, even the Divinity of a god. Before this space disappears, I can seal your memory fragment within my own soul where the main body of [Enkidu] rests. You wont experience the passage of time, and when I finally meet the original and try to save her, Ill study magic that would help you bond with each other once again. However, I wont force her to ept you, so you may be stuck within my soul for a very long period of time in a dormant state..." Before he could finish the full exnation, Eva pulled his body onto the bed and pressed down his shoulders with her hands as she loudly asked, "Are you telling the truth!?" Within her eyes, Vahn could see hope and expectation as she used her tyrannical strength to press him to the bed. Heughed after seeing her response, and she seemed to get upset as her face flushed a deep crimson. Though she had bitten him several times before to draw blood, this time Eva bent down and chomped on his shoulder with all of her teeth. Vahn could feel her bite pierce into his flesh, and he immediately ceasedughing as he exined, "Im not lying! I swear, as long as youre willing, I can seal you away in my soul until we return to your world." After he finished speaking, Eva pulled away from his shoulder where two neat bite lines drew an elliptical where she had bitten. There was blood dripping away from the incisions, and Vahn could feel a bit of pain throbbing from the location. Eva stared between the bite mark and Vahns face for a bit as her face continued to get progressively redder because of the blood buildup. She looked into his eyes with a somewhat apologetic expression as she said, "Make sure you keep your promise...I dont care how long I have to wait...if its inside a ce like your soul." After she finished her words, she bent down and started licking up the area where she previously bit him. Nearly twenty minutester, the two finally separated and began performing their own routines. Vahn had given Eva several hundred new books, including some from different records. Eva was very pleased to have something new to keep her attention, so she didnt bother Vahn as he began to process of forging more items. Every few hours, he would take a break, and each time he did so Eva would stick to him like glue the entire time he was resting. She seemed to enjoyying on top of him, and when he had removed his tunic she had a fierce blush on her face as she traced his muscles with her fingers. Vahn tried to maintain his sensibilities and prevent himself from taking things too far, but Eva eventually got frustrated at his passive actions and forced him to be more proactive saying, Arent you a man?. After her goading, Vahn decided to tease her a bit with his [Hands of Nirvana], which was even effective against goddesses. The moment he started massaging her body, Eva turned to putty in his hands and she began gently kiss his bare chest. Vahn was surprised that she was able to continue moving when, normally, people wouldnt be able to put any strength into their bodies when he gave a massage. He could clearly see the muscles in her body twitching, but no matter how much effort he put into his actions, she didnt seem to relent or lose her ability to react to his actions. Eva seemed to notice his confusion as she looked into his face with a mischevious look and exined, "My body instantly regenerates, so even if you torment me with that technique of yours, I immediately regain my ability to move. Youre a hundred years too inexperienced to think you can get an advantage over me like that..." After her words ended, Evangeline pressed her fingernails into his chest as she muttered a silent incantation. Vahn noticed her fingernails grow sharp as she traced thin red lines on his body. He could feel a warm energy spread through his body wherever her fingers moved, and he could feel his heart begin to itch as his strength began fading from his body. Eva saw his reaction and disyed a devilish grin on her heavily blushing face as she exined, "Youre not the only one that can toy with peoples bodies using energy..." Vahns instincts red up at her words, but he couldnt put any energy into his body as she continued to trace her fingers on his chest. After a while, Eva seemed to be satisfied by his response as she leaned forward and began to kiss Vahn passionately. As he had regained his movements, Vahn tried getting even with her, but it only made their shared passion stronger as the space around them began to destabilize. Eventually, it got to the point where Eva had to stop his actions or risk having to be sealed away much sooner than either of them wanted. After suffering his first defeat, Vahn returned to forging with the resolve to improve his [Hands of Nirvana] in the future. He wanted to get to the point where he could make even an immortal vampire squirm under his touch. At the same time, he also wanted to try and find a technique other than [Will of the Emperor] and [Chainbreaker] to help him resist others from ying with his body. Though it felt incredibly pleasant, it still triggered a fear deep inside the back of his mind which made him incredibly ufortable when at the mercy of another. Their cycle of forging, studying, resting, and intimate actions, continued all the way up until it was time for Vahn to leave the orb. Though it felt a bit awkward to do so, Vahn had purchased arge amount of material through his system for construction. Since there was nothing but emptiness all around them, Vahn wanted to give Eva the option of spending some of her time to build a small house where the two could live in the future. She seemed incredibly pleased by his suggestion and told him to bring even more materials in the future so they could build a castle. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Remember kids, abstinence is important,Sadistic Eva,Godhand Defeated!?) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $386/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 172 - Reunion with Chloe

Chapter 172 - Reunion with Chloe

When Vahn opened his eyes in the real world, not much had changed, which made sense seeing how only a few seconds had passed. Tina was still cuddled up at his side in her light-blue nightgown and she looked like an adorable little cat-eared angel. Once again, Vahn leaned over and kissed her on the forehead as he began to get up from the bed and stretch. Though Vahn didnt normally use covers, Tina relied on them so they had both been underneath the heavy nkets. When Vahn sat up, the covers were pulled down and he could see Tinas bottoms had been revealed because of her sleeping posture. Without any hesitation, Vahn used his hands and fixed her clothing before he shook her shoulder gently to awaken her. After she had lost Vahns warmth, Tina had scrunched up into a smaller ball as Vahn kept gently shaking her shoulder and calling out to her. She didnt seem to be willing to wake up easily, and Vahn was worried that they would bete for the morning training if she slept in for too long. He leaned over the pinch her ears which would have immediately awoken her, but before hepleted the action he heard her mutter in a sleepy voice, "Papa..." Vahns hand immediately froze as he looked down at the small girl curled up into a ball. He could see her brows were furrowed and there was a hint of tears emerging from her closed eyes. Vahn immediately felt a heartwrenching sadness emerge in his heart and he couldnt help but furrow his brows as he saw her tears. Instead of pinching her ears, he moved his hand to the top of her head and began to channel [Hands of Nirvana] to drive away her sadness. Without making any efforts to awaken her forcefully, Vahn just continued to stroke Tinas head tofort her until she finally woke up nearly ten minutester. Tina felt a very warm sensation in her head and it felt like the bad dream she was having had been driven away by the calming energy. She opened her sleepy eyes and saw the face of Vahn looking at her with an especially gentle look on his face. Tina realized that Vahn had noticed she was having a bad dream, and now he was gently stroking her head and ears to help her feel better. Instead of just her head, she felt a warmth start to build up in her heart as she enjoyed his affection in silence for a few minutes. Now that she had been awake for a little while, Vahn noticed that Tinas sleepy expression had faded and she was probably fully awake now. He removed his hand from her head and said, "Its time for us to get up, Tina. We dont want to keep the others waiting..." As his words finished, Vahn moved out from the bed and began to change his clothes while leaving the small cat girlying in a daze. Tina continued to watch his back for a few seconds before crawling out of the bed herself. She trotted over to the secretary Vahn had bought for her and grabbed some fresh clothing and began to get changed without saying anything. Though Vahn could see her out of the corner of his eye, he repositioned his body a little bit away from hers as he continued to dress. After they were both ready, they exited the room and met Anubis who had been waiting patiently. Vahn gave her a light pat on the head for a few seconds before the entire group made their way to the training grounds. The other seven children were already waiting, and Vahn apologized for being a few minuteste as they began their routine. As Tina also wanted to get stronger, she joined the other seven and was personally attended by Nanu. Vahn was a bit surprised with how deferential Nanu was toward Tina, and he realized that she had skipped to a high level in the hierarchy of the group overnight. The other children also treated Tina well, and the entire group quickly began to get along with each other. Even though they had inhibitions, Tina never shied away from interacting with everyone and seemed to pay no attention to the hierarchy of the group at all. Both Vahn and Anubis found this to be ideal since it was slowly breaking the constraints that would prevent the hounds from bing functional a.d.u.l.ts in the future. It also removed a heavy burden from Vahns shoulders, since it would make the children less reliant on him. After the training came to an end, the entire group enjoyed a hearty breakfast before Anubis, apanied by Tina, took the other six children into her room to continue their studies. From now on, the kids would receive education from not only Anubis but Tina as well. Since she had a very high amount of self-awareness due to her prior job working at the Inn, Tina was very suited for teaching the children how to think and act around other people. She was able to convey her experiences to them and even educate them on things they needed to be considerate of in the future. The only person who didnt participate was Nanu, since she was considered Vahns apprentice and was actively learning cksmithing skills from him. Since he spent so much time forging in the orb, Vahn used the first half of the day guiding Nanu so she could improve. Ever since receiving the buff from [Prometheus], she had received a significant boost to her [cksmith] skill, and now Vahn was helping her polish it further. She seemed very pleased by the change as her tail was constantly wagging about as Vahn carefully exined the methods to refine different metals and drop items. When the time came for them to normally eat lunch, Vahn told Nanu that he would be leaving during the afternoons from now on. He gave her the option of continuing in the workshop, but he also encouraged her to interact with the other children and Tina. Even if she nned to follow him for the rest of her life, Vahn wanted her to receive an education and interact with other people normally. He hoped that, in time, she might not feel so bound by her culture to the point where she might take her life if anything happened to him. After informing Anubis and Tina about his decision to visit the Hostess of Fertility for lunch before traveling around the City, the two both gave their consent. Vahn had expected Tina to try and apany him, but she informed him that it was her duty to prevent anything from happening while he was at home. Everyone had agreed to let him take action on his own and hoped that he had enough self-restraint to prevent from acting out in public. She did, however, inform Vahn that she expected him to exin if anything happened when he returned. After the short lecture, Vahn left his house slightly after 1 PM and arrived outside the Hostess of Fertility shortly after 2 PM. He hadnt walked slowly, but he also didnt rush as he wanted to see how long it would take to walk the distance at an average pace. Vahn was satisfied with the time it took and entered the familiar building with a casual smile on his face. He was hoping to see Chloe and, shortly after entering, saw the lively cat girl tending to other customers. Mama Mia saw his entrance and, since nobody had greeted him yet, shouted toward Chloe, "Oi, Chloe, your boyfriend is here!" She had a big smile on her face as her loud voice startled the busy cat girl. However, after she gathered her senses, she looked toward the door where Vahn had just entered and walked away from the customer she had been dealing with before they even finished their order. The man seemed to be offended by her actions and tried to call out to her, but the moment he stood up and reached out his hand, a tray smacked into it as Ryuu stepped forward and took Chloes ce in taking his order. Though he wanted to say something, the cold look in Ryuus eyes made the man sit back down before he ced his order in a low voice. Since Vahn had been looking in that direction, he saw both Chloes and Ryuus actions and felt an urge tough, but instead, he just smiled a bit wider as Chloe stopped right in front of him before leaning forward with a cheerful smile and asking, "Here alone today~?" Vahn nodded his head in response, and the instant he did, Chloe grabbed his hand and started pulling him toward one of the private rooms reserved for VIP customers. Her actions caught the eyes of several people, including three other women as the duo disappeared into the side room. The moment they entered, Chloe turned around and began inspecting Vahns body without saying anything. Since he already had an immunity to her touch, Vahn allowed her to feel his body for a few seconds when she suddenly said, "You got a lot bigger since we first met. Its a little unfortunate, nyahaha~" Vahn smiled at her actions and reached out his hands before grabbing her around the waist and pulling her close as he said, "I cant stay a kid forever...there are too many people that rely on me. I really have tried to be strong, Chloe..." The moment Vahn grabbed around her waist, Chloes tail began to twitch up and down as she looked into his eyes as if she was trying to understand something. After a few seconds of silence, she squinted her eyes a bit as she asked, "What do you want to do in the future, Vahn?" Now that Vahn was a few centimeters taller than her, she had to look up slightly as she asked the question. Vahn tilted his head a bit as he kept eye contact with her and pondered his answer. Images of all the things he had experienced in the past shed through his eyes and Vahn wondered how to best answer her question. After a while, he smiled a bit wider as he said, "I want to be happy..." As he said the words, he held her body a little tighter and her tail began to flicker slightly faster as she read his expression. She asked him in a small voice, "What would make you happy...Vahn?" Vahn pondered her words again, but this time for only a few seconds as he responded honestly, "Im not entirely sure, Chloe...but, I know it makes me happy to see the people around me happy. I want to build an environment to protect that happiness. I want to keep bing stronger and stronger...strong enough that, even if I have to bear the burdens of others, they would never trouble me." In response to his words, Chloe released a sigh andughed silently for a few seconds. She hung her head a bit and smelled from his corbone all the way to his ear before she licked his cheek with her rough tongue. Vahn felt his heart itch a bit because of her actions and he put even more strength into his embrace. She squirmed a bit and used her palms to create a barricade between their bodies as she said in a mewling voice, "Youre a bit too bold now...I can kind of understand why Eina and Hephaestus took the actions they did. Though I still resent some of the other girls around you, I wontin as long as you are happy..." Vahn loosened his grip a little and she released a small sigh before trying to continue her words. However, before she could do so, Vahn leaned in and gave her a short-lived kiss on her slightly open lips. His actions stunned her and, before she could process a response, Vahn once again took action as he whispered to her, "I owed you that one from ourst date." The moment Chloe opened her mouth to respond, Vahn got the jump on her a third time as he kissed her lips, this time with depth and passion. Chloe writhed in his arms, but she couldnt free herself from his embrace as both her ears and tail began to twitch. Vahn continued to kiss her for nearly twenty seconds before he finally released her. This time, she learned her lesson and freed herself from his grasp before she asked in a slightly fl.u.s.tered yet curious tone, "And what was that for~nya?" In response to her inquiry, Vahn smiled widely and said, "Because, I have liked you for a long time, Chloe. Even now, though I feel grateful for everything you did for me, I still feel a bit of regret at never having confessed to you at that time." Seeing the affectionate and honest expression on Vahns face, Chloe knew he was speaking from the heart. Though she wanted to act as the anchor that brought him back to the real world, Chloe never considered that he would ultimately find his way back to her in this fashion. Though she had a moderate amount of expectations and even wanted to be attended to and spoiled by him if he became more reliable, she still felt a bit guilty after everything that happened. If it had been another year or two in the future, she would likely not have these inhibitions... Vahn saw the look in her eyes and the fluctuations of her aura and understood that she was somewhat confused. To ease her thoughts, he smiled and spoke in a gentle voice, "Even if you dont want to answer my affections, that is okay. I just wanted you to know how I felt and, if the opportunity presents itself in the future, I would like us to go on a date again. If not, Im perfectly happy just being friends and interacting with you as we did in the past." Chloe had been listening to his words as he spoke, and she couldnt help but release a slightly frustrated sigh. In the short time they hadnt met, Vahn had be a lot more manly in both a good and a bad way. She missed his frail figure and handsome face with a mncholic expression, but the new, more confident, Vahn was also quite nice. He still had a boyish face, even though he was very handsome and, even though he was maturing quickly, he still had the characteristics of a young boy which made her heart itch. Now that he was approaching her, she had very little resistance against his advances. After a bit of hesitation, she looked into his eyes with an uncharacteristically serious look on her face as she said, "I will go on a date with you...but, if you ever want to have s.e.x with me...I will say yes. However, if we do have s.e.x, Ill never go on a date with you again. I dont want to be an outlet for your l.u.s.t in the future...okay?" This was the reason Chloe had avoided allowing him to confess on their first date. If she had epted his feelings at the time, she was afraid that Vahn would devote himself to her and never move forward. Now that he had finally found his path, she didnt want to be one of the things that prevented him from reaching his full potential. In response to her words, Vahn just continued to smile and said, "Thank you, Chloe." He knew she was also part of the meeting between the other girls, and this was probably her way of keeping him in check. Though Vahn did enjoy having s.e.x with Tiona and Ais, everything happening around him made him aware that it was a very dangerous thing to be addicted to that type of interaction. Since Vahn knew he would one day have s.e.x again, he wasnt in a hurry to seek it from everyone around him. Just spending time with the people he liked and interacting with them was enough to make him happy. After this short interaction, Chloe took Vahns order and the two made casual conversation for nearly an hour as they enjoyed each otherspany. Since Vahn was using a private booth, Chloe had only him as her customer, for the time being, so he left a massive tip aspensation and to thank Mama Mia for allowing their selfishness. Before leaving the private booth, Vahn once again embraced Chloe and did something that he knew was almost a taboo for cat people. Reaching his hand down to the small of her back, he gently grabbed her tail and ran it through his fingers once from end to end. His actions sent a shiver up Chloes back and she actually bit the fabric of his tunic to prevent herself from crying out. She looked at him with a slightly enamored expression as she said, "Youll have to take responsibility..." Finally escaping from her a few minutester, Vahn left the Hostess of Fertility in high spirits. Confessing to Chloe had been something he wanted to do for a long time, and now that he had done so, it felt like a huge burden had been lifted off his body. Vahn felt light on his feet and happily made his way back toward his home. When he had left, Vahn had been unaware that there were several gazes that had followed his exit. Chloe had seen him off with a smile, but she wasnt the only one to do so as both Ryuu and Syr had been paying attention to their interaction. The moment he had left, Syr closed the gap and asked Chloe with a cheerful and inquisitive tone, "Im curious what the two of you were talking about in the private booth for so long." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Pet the Kitty,Proactive Vahn,144 Chapters Later~) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $386/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 173 - Changes Within the Orb

Chapter 173 - Changes Within the Orb

By the time Vahn had arrived at the Babel za, he was stuck on whether or not he should return home or go visit some of the other girls. It had been nearly a week since he had seen Tiona and Ais, but Vahn also wanted to make sure he was in a secure ce for when he needed to return to the orb. Even just a few seconds would trante to several extra days for Eva, so Vahn didnt want to bete. Since it was already approaching 4 PM, Vahn decided it would be best to head home and then visit the other girlster. After walking for another forty or so minutes, Vahn arrived back at his house and entered through the courtyard. When he opened the door, he came across Anubis and Tina, who had been waiting for him. Vahn had been curious, so as he approached he spread his domain out to see how quickly they could respond to his scent. He didnt know how they were able to detect him so easily since his scent shouldnt carry through walls when he isnt nearby. By the time he had reached the side-path, Vahn had noticed the two separate from the other auras before rapidly making their way through the corridors to arrive in the foyer shortly before his arrival. As Vahn was genuinely curious, the moment he saw the two girls, he asked, "How are you able to react to my arrival so easily? Is it my scent?" Anubis smiled at his question while Tina flushed a bit and hung her head down like she was embarrassed to answer the question. Vahn was even more curious by their reaction, but before he asked Anubis said, "Its pheromones. Master may not be aware of it himself, but youve been marked by several people. For chienthropes, our sense of smell is around fifty times stronger, while cat people are around thirty times stronger than humans. Unless you mask your scent, the moment you enter within a few hundred meters, well always be able to pick up your scent." Vahn was curious, so he transformed into his Bih form and began smelling his own body. He immediately recognized a lemony fragrance that also smelled subtly like grass. Though he wasnt sure how he knew, he recognized the fragrance to belong to Chloe. However, other than his normal musk, Vahn couldnt smell anything else. Anubisughed at his actions as she exined, "Males are naturally more receptive to female scents, while females are actually receptive to both male and female pheromones." As she spoke, she leaned forward and sniffed slightly before saying, "I can smell Chloes scent on you, as well as a few subtle fragrances from other people." Tina nodded her head and continued, "Yes, you have a very strong scent of Chloe. You must have done something bad~nya..." As she spoke, Tina gave Vahn a stern look with her cute little face. Vahn felt like he was about to be lectured, so he quickly exined the situation to the two girls. Hearing that Vahn had approached her and that they were both in private, Tina ended up letting him off with just a mild reprimand. She told him that, even if he was in private, it was still in a public venue where anything could have happened. After their short discussion, Vahn excused himself to his bedroom to change into something morefortable for the rest of the evening. He asked the girls to make sure everyone had a bath and that they should have an earlier dinnerpared to thest week. Anubis nodded her head in response, but Tina followed him to the room. Fortunately, instead of entering with him, she stood outside and waited for him to change his clothing. He still had around two minutes before he had to enter the orb, so Vahn quickly changed his clothing beforeying down on the bed and pulling out the orb. The moment the timer approached zero, Vahn immediately inserted his consciousness into the orb. Eva had been waiting on the bed next to where she knew he would appear. The moment his body materialized, she immediately took her favorite spot on his stomach and kissed him on the lips without saying anything. Vahn was mildly surprised, but her actions werent outside of his expectations so he just reciprocated her affectionate disy. Though it might have seemed sudden, it was, in fact, her reuniting with him after nearly being apart for four years. Every time he returned, she had an increasing amount of passion when she embraced his body to alleviate the feelings of loneliness that had .u.mted since hisst visit. After nearly an hour, Eva had explored the majority of his neck, face, and torso with her lips as she periodically drained his blood and traced the lines of his body with her fingers. Vahn wasnt idle either, though he showed a bit of restraint and just caressed her body with the use of [Hands of Nirvana]. He didnt touch any of her intimates and instead focused his attention on her back and the side of her body and waist. When she was finally satisfied, Eva gave Vahn a final kiss before separating from his body with a flush covering her face. Vahn also moved from his position and prepared to get out of the bed before he noticed the difference in the environment around him. Since he had been distracted previously, Vahn hadnt paid much attention to the surroundings and noticed he was currently located within the interior of a building. Eva noticed his questioning look and exined that she had used part of the time while he was away toplete the house. With the use of her magic, she had only taken three days to construct the entire house which ended up having a singlerge bedroom with a kitchen and bathroom. Though there wasnt a toilet, since neither of them had the need to produce waste with spiritual bodies, there was a small and rtively deep tub. When she had been showing him around, the moment Vahn saw the tub, Eva said, "Well take a bathter before you rest. Just wiping yourself down with a towel is uncultured." Vahn nodded his head and followed her around for the tour before finally moving to his workshop. After Vahn exited the house, he noticed a secondrge build in the location where his workshop was located previously. When he went inside, Vahn noticed that all of the materials and tools had been neatly arranged to be easily essible whenever he needed them. When he had initially set up his workshop, he had just bundled the materials in their own piles. Eva had organized everything, and the entire workshop looked clean and professional. Vahn also noticed a small, somewhat elevated, area with Evas desk and several bookshelves full of texts that he had left her previously. Seeing how much effort she had put into constructing and organizing the two buildings, Vahn had a bit of understanding how bored Eva got whenever she was alone in the space. If she had truly finished the first house in three days, it shouldnt have taken much longer to construct his workshop. The fact that sheid out everything and organized the materials made Vahn feel a bit concerned about her mental state. Vahn decided to purchase for her several types of materials and items to develop a hobby or twoter. The biggest decision he made, and the one Eva was most thankful for, was the purchase ofrge amounts of soil. A cubic meter of soil could be purchased for a single OP, so Vahn purchased enough toy out a huge plot ofnd after asking Eva to erect walls around the circ.u.mference. Though the entire process took around twenty hours, Vahn and Eva had managed to construct a fertile area within the empty ck and white space. Amazingly enough, Eva was actually able to use her telekinesis to move the entire house with their bed in it onto the plot ofnd. She then tried to do the same with the workshop, but Vahn managed to convince her to leave it on the outside so it wouldnt detract from the garden they nned to nt. After purchasing several seeds and performing a bit ofndscaping, Vahn and Eva both retired to the house where they decided to take a bath before recuperating. Since she had always worn the ck negligee recently, it was Vahns first time seeing Eva n.a.k.e.d when she dematerialized her clothing within the small changing room. Though he was already well aware of her physical age, Vahn didnt realize how small Eva was until he saw herpletely n.a.k.e.d. She was only around 130cm tall, nearly 32cm shorter than he was. Her chest wasnt t, but it was only around 67cm while her waist was 48cm and her h.i.p.s 63cm. Overall, she was an incredibly petite young girl and it made Vahn hate the existence known as the Mage of the Beginning for doing something so cruel to Eva in the past. Eva noticed the sadness and anger in his eyes as she moved closer toward him and hugged around his waist. She whispered in a calming voice, "Im happy that youre angry for me, but dont be sad for me anymore. Im happier now than Ive been in a long time, so you should be happy with me." Her words didnt do much to stifle his anger, but Vahn focused his mind and calmed himself using [Will of the Emperor]. He reached his hands around her back and gently stroked her waist-length golden-blond hair. After that, the two took a long bath with Eva sitting in hisp with her back pressed against his chest. There was a small incident when Vahn first became n.a.k.e.d and she stared at him with abject terror on her face as well as a hint of relief. Though Vahn didnt want to believe it to be true, he felt like Eva was suddenly relieved that they couldnt have s.e.x while she was just a memory fragment. It didnt stop her from trying to tease him a bit when they entered the tub though, and she was amazed at his self-control for not getting excited by her teasing. Vahn had noticed this about himself previously, but unless he specifically had the intent or desire to have s.e.x, his body would never react against his expectations. For the remainder of the three day period, Vahn spent his time between forging items and acting intimately with Eva whenever he took a break. She acted significantly different than the first time they had met, and Vahn felt like she was a young maiden that wanted to be spoiled. He also had the opportunity to learn a lot about the world where she came from and ended up learning the identity of her record after a bit of investigation and analysis on the part of Sis. Since the people in the record typically didnt know the name of the record, Vahn had to intuit a bit based on contextual evidence. After learning about Mundus Magicus, Vahn managed to find a basic history textbook regarding it in the system shop. After reading through it and identifying key historical figures, Vahn then looked for items rted to them and eventually discovered the existence of a man named Negi Springfield that also used the technique Magia Erebea. It doc.u.mented that he was a disciple of the Queen of Darkness, Evangeline AK McDowell, and Vahn immediately understood he had found the correct world. After a bit of analysis, Vahn was able to look through his Records function where he found a world called [Negima 1-5]. Though he couldnt tell her about the existence of the record, Vahn couldnt help but embrace Eva due to his excitement at discovering her origin. He may not be able to visit it any time soon, but there would one daye a time where he could trace back the lonely path she had walked and free her from that tragedy. Vahn also knew the limits of power in the world, and he would be able to prepare himself to deal with the Mage of the Beginning when the time came. Eva didnt understand why Vahn was suddenly so excited, but she could tell that it was out of concern and affection for her. To reward his efforts and affection, she pinned him down to the bed while wearing a fully transparent white negligee as she embraced his body and rained kisses on him for the remaining two hours of his time in the orb. Vahn hadnt been passive during her attack either, as he proactively fondled her body and teased her weak spots while continuing to develop his [Hands of Nirvana] to higher levels. At the moment right before he had turned into dust, Vahn focused his energy to a point in his index finger and performed the same act that he performed on Tsubaki in the past. Starting from the area a few inches below her navel, Vahn swiped his finger up to her diaphragm as a shudder ran through her body. Eva couldnt help but release a muted cry as she started toward the area where Vahn had disappeared with a slight grievance in her eyes. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Everyday Life of A Young Couple,Godhand Strikes Back,Scent Police) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $485/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 174 - Daily Life

Chapter 174 - Daily Life

After awakening in the real world, Vahn got out of the bed and made his towards the door. Opening it, he came face to face with Tina who had been waiting for him patiently. The moment he saw the cute little girl, he couldnt help but pat her on the head with a bit of affection. Though it had only been a few seconds for her, it had been three days since Vahn had seen herst. He was beginning to realize how peculiar it was to transition between the two different worlds. Tina didnt know what Vahn was being so affectionate, but she just closed her eyes with a subtle frown as she resisted mewling out due to the pleasant sensation. Vahn then made his way to the dining room and rxed with the boys while all the girls took their bath. After Tina had shown up, the children were quickly beginning to open up more and more. It had only been a day since her arrival, but they were already making an effort to be more open with him, so Vahn was very pleased. He asked about what each of them was studying and offered a bit of advice on the subjects that he understood. Once the girls had finished their bath, Vahn and the other boys entered for a couple of minutes before leaving and preparing for an early dinner. Unlike the previous days, the girls had started preparing the meal using ingredients that had been stocked in the kitchen. Tine had convinced Anubis and the other girls that it wasnt appropriate to rely on Vahn to bring fully prepared food home for each meal. Since she had helped her mother when cooking for the Inn patrons, Tina was actually rtively skilled when it came to cooking the basics. Though it wasnt nearly as delicious as the normal food Vahn ate, he actually preferred the meals that had been cooked by the people he cared about. After the meal was finished and everyone cleaned up, Vahn made sure to give heavypliments to the young cat girl. In response to his words, Tinas tail flicked up around slightly and Vahn couldnt help but notice it was a distinctly different motion than when chienthropes were happy. It seemed that cat people tails flickered while chienthrope tails wagged or spun around when they were excited. After dinner, everyone idled around and Vahn even attended the lesson of Anubis and Tina before parting ways with the rest of the children when it came time for bed. Vahn gave his evening pats to Anubis and Nanu before retiring to his room with Tina in tow. She was significantly morefortable than the previous night, but Vahn noticed she was still overly cautious of the change in her living conditions. Without being told, Vahn had already turned his back to her as he began preparing for bed on his own. Tina stared at him for a few seconds before changing into a cream-colored nightgown of a simr design as her light-blue one. She then waited for Vahn to climb into bed before she crawled under the covers before appearing next to his side with a somewhat bashful and happy expression on her face. Vahn smiled and pet her ears for a little bit as he allowed her to use his shoulder as a pillow. Since she had been in high-tensions all day from interacting with the other children, Tina fell asleep very quickly and curled up into a ball next to Vahn while holding on to the edge of his loose shirt with her small hands. Vahn gave her a kiss on the forehead before he too fell asleep after reminiscing about the days events. He still couldnt easily wrap his head around essentially spending an entire week of time for every day that passed. It felt like his meeting with Chloe and their promise was several days ago, when it had, in fact, happened only about seven hours prior. Vahn awoke a few minutes before it was time to re-enter the orb, and he noticed that Tina had been sticking to him more than when she fell asleep. He helped fix her posture and pulled down her nightgown which had been riding up her stomach yet again. After patting her on the head, he rxed his body and pulled out the orb in order to meet with Eva as punctually as he was able. Learning from past experiences, the moment Vahn entered the orb, he unequipped his tunic mere milliseconds before Eva pounced on his body. They kissed and cuddled for nearly two hours as she drew his blood and enjoyed his warmth as she put it. Vahn was quickly falling into the new routine he had established inside the orb and spent about 70% of his time forging while investing the remaining 30% in resting and tending to Evas needs. She had remembered his parting blow fromst time and made sure to get her revenge twice-over before Vahn finally conceded defeat and apologized. One thing to note, though he had expected it, Vahn was still surprised when there were small saplings growing in the garden as well as a variety of bushes, nts, and flowers. They were all neatly arranged and tended to, and Vahn could see the care and affection Eva showed for each individual nt. The hobby she had taken up was painting, and Vahn noticed that she had an incredible amount of talent after seeing the variousndscapes she had drawn from her memory. She had even, though it embarrassed Vahn greatly, painted a picture of his nude form striking a heroic pose. The amount of detail she had put into his body, including his genitals, had unnerved him a bit. Perhaps she had noticed his concerns as, shortly thereafter, Eva actually gave him a second painting after making him swear to never reveal it to another person. After making the promise, Eva pulled out arge painting that had been beautifully framed before revealing its contents to Vahn. The moment heid eyes on it, Vahn felt slightly faint as an itchy feeling appeared in his chest. Within the frame, there was a picture of a beautiful doll-like girl with long golden hair that barely protected her modesty as sheid in a pose on her side while supporting her head with one hand. The piercing ice-blue eyes of the girl were striking to behold, and Vahn felt like the painting possessed a life of its own. The painting which she had gifted him ended up being a full-scale replica of her nude formying down on a regal looking couch while staring at the viewer. Keeping the painting safely into his storage, Vahn was then pinned to the bed for the remaining hour or so until he was freed from the space. Unlikest time, Vahn didnt have any energy to tease Eva as she had thoroughly exhausted his body both physically and mentally. As a Shinso Vampire, as long as she had mana, Eva actually never got tired and immediately healed from wounds. Though she could be in an excited state, she never lost control and always managed to get an advantage over him unless he used his [Will of the Emperor] and [Hands of Nirvana] to force a stalemate. Waking up in the real world, Vahn went through his routine of trying to wake up the sleeping Tina so they could prepare for theing day. He noticed she wasnt much of a morning person and it took a few minutes for him to rouse her from the bed. They then dressed in silence before meeting Anubis in the corridor and setting about and executing their daily routine. Vahn helped the children train before enjoying breakfast and then teaching Nanu cksmithing for the first half of the day. During the afternoon, he walked to the Hostess of Fertility and interacted with Chloe for around an hour or so. He had talked it over with Mama Mia and permanently reserved one of the private booths Monday-Friday and paid the fee in advance. During his visit, Chloe had been much more mischievous than in the past and took to the role of teasing Vahn. He never expected her to act so spoiled and it almost felt like their roles had been reversed as sheid on the booth with her head on hisp as he fed her gr.a.p.es. She told Vahn that it was her dream to be spoiled by handsome young boys, so Vahn assumed the role and treated her in an overly affectionate manner. To reward his effort, Chloe allowed him some liberties to stroke her stomach and even fondle her chest a bit as long as he wasnt too rough. It was also worth noting that she had forbidden him from grabbing her tail unless he wanted her to bite him hard enough to leave a permanent mark. Vahn learned that it was the trait of cat people to mark the partners that had grabbed their tails by biting into their shoulder hard enough to leave indentations that wouldnt fade away. Remembering how she had instantly bit his tunic thest time he grabbed her tail, Vahn was almost tempted to go against her wishes but stayed his hand in the end. He was afraid of what Eva might think if he showed up in the orb with a bite mark on his neck other than the ones she often left. Interestingly, when Vahn was preparing to leave, it wasnt Chloe who was to see him off, but Syr. Vahn was a bit confused by the strange change, but Syr chuckled at his reaction and exined, "Dont mind it too much, I just asked Chloe to allow me some of your time. Im not a bother, am I, Vahn?" Vahn shook his head and responded, "Its not trouble at all, Syr. I would like to be friends with you, and Ive got plenty of time if you need it." Hearing his response, Syr couldnt help but chuckle with a very pleased and cheerful expression on her face. She sat in the booth next to him, instead of the one across and Vahn had to give way a bit or they would have been sitting close enough to contact each other. Syr hadnt missed his reaction and she even leaned on the table a bit as she propped her head up and asked, "Vahn, is it true that a bunch of girls that might be your potential love interests gathered together the other day? I had asked Chloe about it, but she only gave me vague details without exining anything." Though she had a somewhat sad look in her eyes, Vahn could see that she wasnt really affected by the story and was likely just interested to know about the information. Her strong aura remained stable and didnt show the signs of being fl.u.s.tered or confused. Instead, it was gentle and watery and had a subtle silver color with hues of a sunny yellow showing that she had no malicious intentions. In response to her question, Vahn nodded his head and exined the purpose behind their meeting without expressly giving away any details. He didnt want to be the type of person that was ashamed of his rtionsh.i.p.s with others, so he had no inhibitions talking about the women he interacted with. Syr listened to him with clear intrigue on her perpetually cheerful face as she asked leading questions to try and get more information out of him. Because of his ability to see auras, Vahn wasnt easily misled by her questioning, but he was still curious about her motives. She had such an elegant disposition and acted very kindly towards everyone, but Vahn also felt like she had a mischevious personality with an apparently insatiable curiosity. He noticed that she stared at his expression in a very simr fashion as Eina, and was likely able to intuit more information from his expression that he was willing to divulge normally. He felt like, even if he wanted to lie to her, he wouldnt have the ability to do so. From Syrs perspective, she couldnt help but marvel about the aplishments and prowess of Vahn. Because he recounted everything honestly and only misconstrued a bit of information that rted to privacy and other people, she had a very good impression of him and wanted to know more and more. Though they were only two years apart in age, he had lived such a colorful life and was now surrounded by capable people that would likely give him incredible influence in the future. As the conversation progressed, Vahn noticed that Syr had oriented herself closer to him and she never seemed to drop eye contact while they were speaking. Eventually, almost as if it was natural, she subtly contacted his body as she continued to make conversation without seeming to notice. Though he had the opportunity to touch her before, Vahn never came into contact with Syr previously and now he couldnt help but pause a bit at the information that appeared in his head. //Syr Flova: Affection +43, Intrigue +50// [Syr Flova]:Affection: 93(Amour), Intrigue:100(Insatiable Curiosity) Syr noticed his dazed look as a gleam passed through her eyes and she asked, "Vahn, whats wrong?" As if it were the natural thing to do, Syr ced her right hand on his face and turned Vahns head toward her as she looked into his eyes as if she was trying to find something concealed within. Vahns mind was still in a daze as he was trying to process what happened. Generally speaking, a person started at values of 50/50 for affection and intrigue respectively. When Vahn finally contact someone, he would receive all of their hidden values in an instant which meant that, since the time he had met Syr, she had somehow developed an entire 43 points of affection for him while reaching capacity for her intrigue. He couldnt help but wonder what he had done to so deeply impact the cheerful young girl. Instead of answering her question, Vahn looked at her strangely and asked, "Do you like me, Syr?" Syr had been staring into his face for a while and didnt seem to process the question that he just asked her. After a brief dy of around five seconds, her eyes twitched a bit and she broke eye contact with him for the first time as a clear blush almost immediately covered her face. In a manner simr to Lefiya, she turnedpletely beet red as she whispered in a low and begrudging voice, "Dont tease me, you meanie..." //Syr Flova Affection +5// (A/N: Alternate Titles: Assemble the Avahngers,Comcency can be dangerous,Nom Kitty) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $485/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 175 - Prince Charming

Chapter 175 - Prince Charming

(A/N: There is a unique difficulty when writing about Danmachi, since the original story is iplete and has several unsolved mysteries and hidden backstories. In order to make the novel interesting, I have to take some artistic liberties to build the world and characters in the direction I think benefits the story. From this point on, other than significant events, you shouldntpare this novel to the source material~! Hope you enjoy how things y out (O,...,O)_b) The moment Vahn saw Syrs reaction, he couldnt help but retort in his mind, ("What is this adorable creature!?"). When that thought passed through his mind, Vahn experienced a feeling of deja vu as hepared the bashful girl to Lefiya from the past. Seeing her crimson face looking upwards at him made Vahns head buzz and he felt a little dizzy. He felt like, the longer he looked into her slightly zed eyes, the more prominent the feeling became. Vahn shook his head to shake the feeling and even activated a small burst of his [Will of the Emperor] while using his [Stealth] skill to keep it hidden. Almost immediately after he expanded his domain, Vahn felt a cooling sensation that chased away the strange numbness in his mind. Unfortunately, in the time it took for him to clear his head, Vahn got yet another notification from his system. //[Syr Flova] Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: A Rewards: 10,000OP, 1x[Hearts Desire: Syr Flova] Grade Rewards: 1x[Ambrosia Extract], 1x[Matryoshka of Fertility], 8,000OP [Ambrosia Extract] Rank: Unique Use: Oil incense with a powerful aphrodisiac effect. Powerful enough to even influence the gods. Duration: 8H [Matryoshka of Fertility] Rank: Unique Use: When ced above the w.o.m.b, creates a seal that guarantees pregnancy regardless of fertility. Duration: 8H Everything was happening faster than Vahn could process the changes, and he couldnt help but stare at the blushing girl who continued to stare at him with an unveiled interest in her eyes. After Vahn had suddenly asked her if she liked him, Syr couldnt help but feel her interest in him suddenly explode. Though she was certain nothing had appeared to give away her intentions, she knew that Vahn could somehow see through her expression. When he asked his question, Syr could tell that it wasnt so much a question as a confirmation of something he already knew. She could feel the mana in her body stir as Vahn quickly began to be influenced by her weak charming ability. She had expected him to get fl.u.s.tered or even try to make advances against her, but his reaction had shocked her to the core. Instead of bing enamored and trying to please her, he simply shook his head and escaped the effects of her ability. The most important thing to note is that he didnt seem to notice what had happened and still looked at her with the same familiarity and trust he had previously, albeit with a hint of confusion in his eyes. Syr immediately felt a ticklish feeling in her mind as it began to buzz looking at the naive and honest boy. Vahn was still trying to process the information and knew that Syr had somehow reached maximum affection for him whichpleted the hearts desire quest yet again. The items he obtained made his heart itch and he could feel a nervous feeling in his stomach as Syr continued to stare at him. After several long seconds, she asked in a subtle yet sultry voice, "I wonder...if there is enough room in your heart for me~?" When she asked the question, Vahn could feel a warmth flow through his body which immediately faded away. He noticed that her expression became even happier after she asked if he liked her, and Vahn didnt know how to respond due to the rapid-fire series of events. Taking a deep breath, Vahn averted his eyes a bit and seriously considered how to answer her question. Syr saw his actions and fixed her posture as she sat up straight on the seat next to him and quietly waited for his response. Her movement had caught his eye, and he was curious about how she went from fiercely blushing to stoic and elegant in such a brief period of time. She now had her characteristically cheerful expression as she looked at him with an expectant smile. The smile that he used to find pleasing, now made Vahn feel a subtle sense of danger in the back of his mind. He began to suspect his dazed state earlier had been triggered by something other than his heightened emotional state. To prevent her from reading his expression, Vahn put more effort into his [Will of the Emperor] as he closed his eyes andpletely calmed his mind. Reying the events in his mind, Vahn suspected there was more going on than he had been aware of. Though he didnt mind that she had such high affection for him, Vahn found it strange since she knew of his rtionship with Chloe. When he asked her in order to rify things, her affection increased by arge amount suddenly, even though he hadnt done anything significant. Then, in the short period of time when he had been in a strange state of mind, she suddenly reached the max in less time than it took to brew a pot of tea. Though he wanted to exin it away as coincidence and pretend she simply like him, Vahn couldnt ignore all the signs. He still felt appreciation for her, and even though she was remarkably beautiful and kind, but he couldnt ignore everything that just happened. If not for his ability to see auras, Vahn may not have even noticed something was strange from start to finish. After a small amount of hesitation, he looked into his inventory and saw the item that he had just obtained. Expecting that it would rify things, Vahn used the [Hearts Desire: Syr Flova] in order to rify matters. Even with his eyes closed, Vahn could feel time stagnate around him as his mind began reying a series of images in his mind... Syr hated everyone around her. Ever since she could think and act for herself, she had quickly developed a disgust for all of the foolish people around her. They all treated her kindly, but she could see they were all trying to fool her and manipte her into doing what they wanted her to do. All of the kids in the orphanage avoided her, and some of them even called her a demon and a witch behind her back. Though she pretended their words didnt affect her, she couldnt help but cry when she was alone. She resented the parents that had abandoned her and left her with such cold and malicious people. Though they acted nice on the surface, she could see through their facades and knew that even the kindly couple that ran the orphanage actually sold some of the young girls to brothels after fooling them into thinking they had been adopted. She still remembered how the kind and beautiful blonde woman tried to fool her the same as the other girls the moment her body began to mature slightly. The only way she could protect herself was to act out or iste herself away in areas where they couldnt easily find her. She refused to eatrge meals and tried to stunt her own growth to prevent the lecherous eyes of others from taking an interest in her. However, even though she made so much effort to avoid their attention, it didnt prevent the man that ran the orphanage from trying to **** her. She struggled fiercely as the man continually used her of trying to seduce him. He even called her cruel names like bitch and s.l.u.t as he tried to force himself on her. Fortunately, before the man could rob her of her chastity, a massive woman showed up and quickly pummeled the man until most of the bones in his body were shattered. Syr couldnt help but ball up and cry in a historic fashion after the event had been brought to an end. The woman, who sheter learned was named Mia Grande, had taken pity on her and took her away from the hell hole that was her life. Several monthster, when she turned nine years old, she had finally started to feel safe again. She had spent thest few months cooped up in the home of Mia and refused contact with anyone. Everyone except Mia seemed to be irredeemably cruel in her eyes, and she couldnt help but see the disgusting nature they kept hidden behind their facades. Even the friends of Mia that tried to coax her into opening up had cruel natures hidden behind their smiles. The only ce where she felt safe was within the house where only she and Mia resided together. One day, the goddess that Mia served showed up at the house and, for the first time, Syr couldnt see through the woman. The only thing she saw in the beautiful silver eyes of the goddess was intrigue and a hint of concern. Though she didnt know why Syr felt a bit of familiarity with the woman and a warm feeling passed through her mind for a brief moment. From that point on, even though Mia tried to oppose, Syr became the protege of the goddess. Syr learned that the beautiful goddess was named Freya, and that, she too, possessed the ability to charm other people. The usation had terrified Syr, since she still had nightmares about the man that kept insisting that she was tempting him. She began to fear that his words were true and that the cause of her suffering and near-r.a.p.e was due to her own actions. Freya admonished her for her foolishness and began counseling her on the way people thought and acted. With her teaching, Syr learned that she had the ability to see the truth behind peoples thoughts and emotions, and she could use her ability to find people worthy of her affection. For several years after that initial meeting, Syr was taught by Freya on several asions and forced to interact with people. She was constantly tested and required to evaluate peoples true natures, and she slowly began to learn how her own charm was activated. Whenever a person had an interest in her, if she maintained eye contact with them for several seconds they would enter a naturally charmed state. Though it wasnt nearly as powerful as her goddess and mentor, it was still very useful. However, when she was twelve years old, another incident happened which terrified Syr to the core. Freya had wanted to test her onest time and required her to actively try to seduce an influential man that was also the Captain of a smaller Familia. Though the Familia was just B-Rank, the Captain was still Level 4 and quite capable. He was young and popr among women, and Freya wanted her to steal him out from under their noses. She taught Syr that, the only way she could be happy was to create a world where she had absolute control over the people around her. The only way she could do that is with power, and if she couldnt obtain it herself, she needed to obtain it from others. If she could steal the heart of powerful adventurers, there would never be any danger to her well-being again. Though Syr still had inhibitions and didnt even like the man, she still tried to seduce him ording to her teachings. Unfortunately, things didnt go nned as she quickly learned what kind of personality the man had. Though he looked kind and treated women politely, Syr could sense the same negative feelings from him as the man from the orphanage. It wasnt long until her intuition proved true as the man actually tried to drug her and **** her in her sleep on the very same day she approached him. Because of her resistance, Syr wasnt affected to the same extent of other girls, but the man wasnt deterred and seemed to be even more excited at her struggles. Luckily, Mia had gotten wind of what was going on and burst into the scene before twisting the mans arm more than three times around before crushing his genitals. Even though the man was strong in his own grade, he couldnt do anything against the powerful Mia as she made short work of the cruel man. Syr learnedter that, the only reason so many girls catered to him, was because he had threatened them after forcibly raping them in a manner simr to what he had tried with her. From that point on, Syr hated Freya as well and left her guidance to work with Mia at a pub called the Hostess of Fertility. She swore to herself that she wouldnt rely on her charm ability to try and live happily and that she would seek out kind and gentle people to associate with. She didnt care about trying to build a powerful organization like Freya in order to guarantee her happiness, she just wanted to meet someone that would treat her well. However, no matter how much she wanted to change, she couldnt put her habits behind her and quickly fell into a cycle of exploiting others. Though she didnt use their affection for her to manipte their lives or control them, she did use it to promote Mias business. Their regr customers began growing at a rapid rate, and Syr was very happy with how lively things were. She also had the chance to meet many strong and powerful adventurers and hear the stories of their conquests. She learned that not every many was a cruel and lecherous scoundrel, but she still refused any of their attempts to court her. Though she didnt like to admit it, Syr couldnt help but admit that she had agreed with one part of Freyas teachings. It was better to have a strong and capable man instead of one that just treated her well. A weak man, no matter how kind he was, wouldnt be able to guarantee her safety if something happened. She wanted a strong man near her own age or one that had boundless potential. In order to find what she was looking for, she began listening to the various rumors of the guests and trying to bait the discussed people to the pub so she could meet them. Unfortunately, no matter how many men she met, none of them could meet her standards. Everyone always had something they were hiding, and the more she interacted with them, even the nice guys started looking at her with disgusting expressions. The only thing she wanted was a man that was kind, strong, capable, and treated her well without only caring about her appearance. They also needed to possess a strong will that could resist her charm and enough resolve to improve regardless of the difficulties they would face in the future. Was that really too much to ask for? Syr didnt think so, and she never stopped looking for her prince charming. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Divergence,Literally everyone has a tragic backstory,Very Dangerous Items) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $485/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 176 - Refusal

Chapter 176 - Refusal

Vahn could fee the stagnant air and frozen time thaw around him as the vision ceased within his mind. Syrs past had been something far different than he expected, and he couldnt help but pity her upbringing. Though Vahn had yet to meet Freya, he got to experience what type of person she was through Syrs vision, and now his apprehensions toward her had increased by arge amount. As for Syr to his right, he wasnt too sure how to feel, especially given how tragic the events were leading till moment in her life. Syr, who was waiting patiently for Vahns response, felt something in his demeanor and bearing change. When he opened his eyes from his contemtion and stared at her, she had the feeling that he had seen through her entirely. It was both scary and exciting, but the gentle andpassionate look in his eyes made her fearful feelings more prominent. She could see that he understood her somehow, and it terrified her to think what kind of person he saw her as. Vahn looked into Syrs light-grey eyes and could see her aura had begun to fluctuate with a slightly purplish hue. He understood that, though her cheerful expression hadnt diminished, that she was currently feeling afraid. Vahn was astounded by her perception and ability to read others, especially after experiencing how she developed the ability within the vision. Eventually, he noticed the aura begin to stabilize and he released a long sigh. Syr had noticed that, though he seemingly saw through her, he didnt seem to judge her for her character. The fearful feelings she had began to diminish when she saw the concern in his eyes. Curiously, the moment her fear ceased, she noticed that he was aware of the fact she had been afraid and now had calmed down. For the first time in her life, other than Freya, Syr thought she found someone that could understand her. Vahns perception rivaled, or even exceeded, her own. The only difference between them, other than gender, seemed to be Vahns inability to control his own expressions. Vahn never had a bad opinion of Syr, and the vision of her tragic past hadnt changed how he viewed her in the slightest. Though she might have done things that could be called to question, she never truly took advantage of anyone or hurt anybody. If not for Freyas maniption and the circ.u.mstances of her childhood, she would have likely lived a happy life once she learned to control her own abilities. Looking into her light-grey eyes, Vahn could see a gentle and happy expression veiling a hint of sadness. He gave her a gentle, albeit awkward smile, as he responded to her earlier question, "I dont know how to answer your question, Syr. I dont understand my own heart well enough to give a coherent response. Im already wrapped up in several rtionsh.i.p.s and have a great many things to think about and take care of. Until I return a bit of stability to my life, there isnt any easy way to ept others..." In response to his words, Syrs eyes squinted a bit as she covered her mouth with her hand andughed cheerfully. Vahns serious response after everything that happened made her feel like it was a very Vahn way to reply to her question. She already knew about part of the situation from Chloe, as well as some of the details she had heard directly from Vahn himself. Fortunately, they were both young and they had plenty of time to build a friendship for the time being. After Syrughed for a few seconds, she removed her hand and showed a wide and cheerful smile as she said, "I understand, Vahn. For now, lets just be friends; we can think about the future at ater date. As long as you treat me a bit kindly and continue toe to the Hostess of Fertility, Ill be satisfied...for the time being." Toward thetter end of her words, Vahn could see a yful gleam in her eyes as she stood up from the booth and dusted off her dress and apron. Syr turned to Vahn and showed a gentle smile as she bowed slightly before leaving the private room. Vahn stared at her departure with unveiled concern in his eyes; It wasnt easy for him to simply turn her down, even if he did it in a somewhat roundabout manner. However, his words had been true, and he could tell by her actions and response that she understood his intentions. Until he could meet the expectations of the women around him and be a stronger person, both mentally and physically, he couldnt easily ept more people. The biggest reason was, though Syr had a troubled past and various difficulties in her life, she was a very strong person with strong sensibilities. She wasnt in need of his help right now, and they would still be able to interact with each other of the next several months, or even years, without there being any issues. Vahn wanted to try growing closer to her and developing their friendship for the time being since he also had concerns regarding other girls for the time being. --- After Syr had left the private room, her cheerful smile couldnt help but show a bit of mncholy as she stared back at the closed door. She understood that Vahn had affections for her, and he was likely willing to ept her along with his other girls in the future, but she still felt a bit saddened by his dismissal of her feelings in the present. In the four years she had been working at the Hostess of Fertility, he was the only one that managed to pass her evaluation, so she felt a bit of apprehension just walking away. While she was lost in her own thoughts, another girl approached her silently from the side. After a period of silence, Syr noticed her presence and showed a cheerful smile as she asked, "Did you need me for something, Ryuu?" Almost as if her previous mood had been an illusion, she immediately returned to her characteristically cheerful disposition as she stared into the sky-blue eyes of Ryuu. Ryuu had seen Syr enter and exit the room, and had been curious about what had transpired in the short few minutes for her to have such a sad look when she left the room. After a brief hesitation, she asked, "Did something happen?" Though she was asking out of concern for her friend, she couldnt help but let her eyes wander to the closed door for a brief moment. Syr saw her actions and began tough in a yful manner as she teased Ryuu, "Are you worried about me, or Vahn?" After her words fell, Ryuus in expression softened a bit and she averted her eyes as she responded, "Youre not acting like yourself...so I was worried." In response, Syr began tough cheerfully as she looked into Ryuus averted eyes and said, "Youre also not acting like yourself, Ryuu~. Dont worry though, nothing serious happened...Vahn just turned down my confession." As she spoke, she stuck out her tongue yfully and closed one of her eyes. Hearing Syrs words, Ryuus eyes widened a bit as she asked, "You confessed to him?" Syr nodded her head and pouted, "Mou~, its really heartbreaking...Even though he has so many women, he doesnt have a ce for me right now. Ryuu, help me break down his resistance in the future. He seems to like you, so maybe we can work together and catch his attention~?" Though her expression hadnt changed much while Syr was speaking, the moment she heard the words, he seems to like you, Ryuu looked toward the door and asked, "You said he liked me?" Sessfully baiting Ryuu, Syr nodded her head and exined with a low tone, "Isnt it so? You know, even though I had met him first and talked to him, he never showed me a gentlemans courtesy and grabbed my hand. You seem to be a bit special to him, dont you think~?" As she was listening to the quiet voice of Syr goading her further, Ryuu showed a small smile that was very uncharacteristic of her usually cid expression. Before she responded, Syr grabbed her arm and said in a yfully urgent tone, "Come on, Ryuu, lets go talk to Chloe. If we can convince her, our chances of getting to Vahn will increase~" Ryuu allowed herself to be pulled by Syr as she continued to contemte her words. Ever since Vahn had grabbed her hand, Ryuu already had a special affection toward him. However, she knew there were already several women around him, and she didnt want to trouble him or get in the way of others. Though she had some slight inhibitions, if Vahn truly likes her as Syr said, she was somewhat interested in trying to pursue him. Remembering the words of her dead best friend, Alise, Ryuu didnt want to easily let go of the handsome boy that had easily grabbed her hand. --- Vahn left the Hostess of Fertilitypletely unaware of the minor scheme he had incited behind the scenes. He made his way toward his house while thinking about various matters and how best to go about resolving issues in the future. However, a few minutes after he started ruminating over his thoughts deeply, Vahn stopped in the middle of the street and looked toward the slightly cloudy sky before exhaling a sigh through his nose. Though he knew it wasnt possible to make everyone happy, Vahn still wanted to treat those with high affection towards him well. He was especially interested in the characters from the original plotline who had a special ce in his mind just by virtue of their existence. Every time he interacted with them, Vahn couldnt help but feel a bit excited and expectant to see how they would react to his presence. The biggest problem he had was one he had never expected to happen in the first ce. There were simply a great number of women and girls that seemingly became interested in him within a short period of time. Vahn attributed this to his View Affection function as well as his [Hearts Desire] quest, as he seemed to easily influence the women around him. Not only people from the original plot but even those he never had any foreknowledge of. Anubis, Nanu, Tina, and some other girls, never appeared in the original story, yet Vahn had quickly been wrapped up in their lives. Vahn almost felt like, if he put in the effort, he could actually get together with any girl he wanted. Though the thought made him feel excited, it also terrified him since it felt like he was manipting them through the use of The Path. But, the simple truth of the matter was, Vahn actually enjoyed interacting with the girls. The majority of his acts were things he would have done regardless of being able to see auras since he genuinely wanted to make them happy. These two contrasting thoughts created a bit of a paradox in his mind since Vahn wasnt sure what he truly wanted, other than to make them happy while bing happy himself. He felt like the matter with Syr would escte in the future, since his response was essentially just a dy tactic like what he had with Lili, Nanu, and Tina. The hardest part to deal with was the fact that Vahn actually didnt dislike Syr at all. Now that he had seen her hearts desire, he actually empathized with her even more and wanted to help her if he could. But, there were already so many people he wanted to help, and Vahn wasnt nearly strong or influential enough to take care of everything on his own. After standing idly in the middle of the street for a few minutes, Vahn just shook his head after failing toe up with a solution. The key always seemed to be bing stronger or having more self-restraint. Bing stronger wasnt too difficult, and even having self-restraint wasnt something Vahn couldnt develop. The hardest part was not caring about the people that developed affections for him over time. Vahn simply couldnt turn them away, and it seemed like his future was bound to be one where he was in a rtionship of sorts with arge number of women. Vahn ultimately decided to live as he pleased while deferring to the women around him for assistance in managing his affairs. As long as hemunicated with them properly, Vahn hoped things would never develop to a point where they became irreconcble. Since he knew he would have an issue with gods and goddesses the moment his [Enkidu] became known, Vahn was already preparing himself for the aftermath. Vahn knew there were several men that would envy his position, so he decided to simply do his best to make the greatest number of people happy. If he ultimately fell short, Vahn believed there would be people to help him recover and find his path again. With a bit of confidence reappearing on his face, Vahn made his way toward his house in higher spirits than the gloom he had experienced moments before. Though it might have been a strange thought, Vahn couldnt help but imagine the image of various women around him pregnant. The thought of having children of his own made him feel more excited than almost anything else, and Vahn looked forward to having the opportunity to be a father. Until then, he would just focus on getting stronger and keeping the promises he already made. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Birth of the Harem...Emperor?,Sneaky Syr,The Vahnatus is going to look like a convention in the future) (A/N: For those that think there are too many girls around Vahn, I cant help but agree with you. The problem is, given Vahns skill-set and character, there are too many ways in which he can leave deep impacts on girls/women/goddesses. Imagine if you could always measure your actions to make the affection of people around you grow? Combine that with being young, capable, influential, nice, etc, and its a recipe for a harem disaster! The only way around it would have been to not introduce characters, but it wouldnt make sense for some people to not show up if Vahn visits a certain ce. Like the Hostess of Fertility, there are simply too many single girls with tragic pasts that would naturally be drawn to Vahn the moment he has a rtionship with any of them. Syr definately has a somewhat scheming/cheerful/maniptive personality, and Ryuus hand fetish is canon~!) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $495/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 177 - Fafnir Makes an Appearance

Chapter 177 - Fafnir Makes an Appearance

For the next few days until Friday, Vahn spent the majority of his time moving between the orb, home, and the Hostess of Fertility. Some important developments in those three days had been the change in his treatment from various people. Whenever Vahn visited the Hostess of Fertility he still had his private booth but now, instead of just Chloe, there was a rotation between the girls that served his meal. There seemed to be an agreement between Chloe, Syr, and Ryuu, and Vahn had the opportunity to spend time with all three girls in private. Whenever he was with Chloe, she liked to act affectionate and be spoiled, and Vahn found her presence to be veryforting. There was something tantalizing about having a womany in hisp and act yfully as he got to tease and feed her treats. Since she allowed him a few liberties, Vahn had a lot of fun spending time with her. When Syr had served him, she acted with her characteristic cheerful manner, but she also tried to act less reserved than normal. Though she understood that Vahn wasnt willing to be with her for the time being, it didnt stop her from sitting next to him close enough for their legs to touch. Unlike Chloe, she was trying to spoil Vahn and even held the fork as she fed him small bites of the food he had ordered. Throughout the entire time, she would make small and casual contact for very brief moments and Vahn could subtly feel that each time she did so, it was for a slightly longer period of time. Of the three girls, Ryuu was the most peculiar when she entered the private booth. She acted in a very reserved manner and sat across from Vahn as she quietly listened to his stories. She would periodically ask questions about his past travels and what he wanted to do in the future, and Vahn answered each question with moderated enthusiasm. Since he could see her aura, Vahn understood she was enjoying their time together and slowly transitioning from her taciturn self to a slightly more cheerful demeanor. Since Ryuu had her hands on the table, Vahn wanted to tease her a bit and tried grabbing her hand to see how she would react. He didnt know why, but teasing elf girls seemed to be an instinctual habit for him and he wanted to break her expressionless guise. The cid expression on her face changed slightly as her brows raised and she opened her eyes by a marginal amount. She removed her hand out from under his and turned her head to the side with the slightest hint of a blush on her face as she broke eye contact with Vahn. He couldnt help but think she was adorable, so Vahn said, "You look cute when you smile and have a slightly bashful expression." Though it wasnt much, the blush on her face grew slightly deeper as she ignored hisplement and just refilled his tea. In response to her actions, Vahn just smiled and received the cup gratefully before taking a sip and saying, "Thank you, Ryuu." After his words hung in the air for several seconds, Ryuu showed a hint of gentleness in her eyes as she responded in a curt and soft tone, "Youre wee, Vahn." After that, Vahn continued to enjoy the atmosphere and made small talk while periodically trying to tease her. Though she never reacted in a drastic manner, Vahn was always able to get a very slight rise out of her which made him smile. When he wasnt at the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn spent the majority of his time in the real world at home teaching Nanu about forging and attending the lessons with the other children. Tina had pretty much cemented herself as the second highest authority in the house as even Anubis was slightly deferential to the small cat girl. All of the kids were making rapid improvements, and Vahn had high hopes for their future lives and aplishments. The most significant change in his general living at home was the change that had urred in Tina in thest few days. She wasnt in nearly as high tensions as she had been previously, and she acted a lot less shy and bashful around Vahn, though not in an overly intimate way. Whenever they would return to the room in the evening to sleep, Tina didnt act shy or concerned at all when she changed her clothes. When it came time for bed, she would quickly crawl in after Vahn and snuggle up at his side before falling asleep with a happy and contented smile on her face. Vahn noticed that she didnt seem to have bad dreams anymore and her trust toward him had increased by a fair amount. Vahn felt slightly protective of the small girl, and it felt like his self-control had improved a lot in thest week with her at his side. Now, whenever he interacted with girls like Anubis and Nanu, Vahn wasnt so influenced by their change in reaction to his petting. He showed them affection and felt warm feelings for them instead of being overly-reliant on getting a rise out of them. They also seemed to have noticed his change and had happy expressions on their faces whenever he would scratch behind their ears. Though they may not have understood why he had changed so quickly, Vahn was very aware of the reasons as it rted to the ce he spent the most time. Whenever Vahn entered the orb, he would experience an extra six days for every one day in the real world. That meant that, by the end of the week, Vahn had more than a months time to organize his thoughts and adapt to the changes around him. In the brief few seconds where he would spend days with the overly affectionate Eva, Vahn was able to get a lot of his urges out of his system. This,bined with his interactions with the girls at the Hostess of Fertility and the members of his family back home had rapidly changed his character. Speaking of Eva, she too had changed quite a bit over the course of the week where they had been interacting with each other intimately. Instead of the ck gothic dress, she liked to wear in the past, she instead wore cute and somewhat revealing clothing and often tried to tease Vahn in the moments when he wasnt too busy. The moment he would finally put down his tools, she would immediately drag him away to the bath and receive his pampering for a few hours as they both rested. Vahn noticed that she sought his affection more and more as time went on, and he pampered the girl quite a bit to alleviate her needs. Because of their constant battles for supremacy when she mounted his stomach, Vahn actually achieved a new benchmark in his capabilities. His [Hands of Nirvana] had finally increased from rank A to rank S, and he was now able to get a slight edge against the tyrannical vampire. Even with her near instantaneous recovery, Vahn was able to chain together the sensations long enough to get a rise out of her that made him pleased with himself. For the first time since their meeting, he was able to defeat Eva to such an extent that his abdomen had be bathed with a tantalizing and aromatic moisture. Unfortunately, she didnt seem as pleased by his actions as he was since she beat his chest with powerless strikes for nearly five minutes until he embraced her body. Though she calmed down a bit when he hugged her, that actually spelled his own demise as she regained her rity enough to counterattack him. For nearly four hours after that, she tormented his body till the point where he had to forcefully activate his [Will of the Emperor] to escape her clutches. Though it made him feel a bit ashamed to retreat, Vahn stillughed like a fool as he ran away from the bed and toward his workshop to take out his frustrations on a piece of metal. Though she could have stopped him with her telekinesis, Eva just smiled as she followed his retreat with her eyes. After he left the room, sheid down on the bed and enjoyed the remnant heating from the nkets as she fell into a peaceful sleep. And this was how Vahn spent what amounted to nearly thirty-five days worth of time in a single week. When Saturday morning came, he performed his ritual of fixing Tinas posture and giving her a kiss on her forehead before he reentered the orb with more excitement than normal. Today would be a very important step on his path toward the future, and Vahn could hardly wait to see if his theory proved true. The moment he opened his eyes within the orb, he immediately opened his arms to catch the small girl that dropped on top of him. Since Eva could sense when he was entering the orb, she had developed the habit of floating above where he would appear before dropping down on him. Vahn noticed that this time, she was wearingcy white lingerie that highlighted her incredibly fair skin and golden hair. Vahn had realized that, the closer they became, the lighter her attire had be as well. Though she originally started with pure ck clothes, she transitioned to colors like reds, blues, and purples until she eventually started wearing lighter versions of the colors before fully transitioning to golds, pinks, and whites. When he pointed it out to her previously, she actually beat him up a bit with a fierce blush on her face. The entire time she did so, Vahn couldnt help butugh and tease her for her cute actions. After she had finally forced him to concede, she exined to him in a low voice that she changed her clothing to appeal to him more. Vahn nodded his head in response because he often gave herpliments when she changed attires and lighter colors really did suit her well. After Eva finally released him from the bedroom, Vahn made his way to the workshop with an excited and almost giddy anticipation building within him. Eva had noticed his strange behavior and followed behind to see what he was up to. Seeing him start forging like normal, Eva couldnt help but ask, "What are you up to that is making you act like such an idiot?" Vahn had long grown ustomed to her insults, so he didnt pay it any mind as he responded, "I have an ability to imbue the legend of a name into entities without names. It has a very long cooldown, and the cooldown will be up in just a few hours. I really want to try it out on a sword to see how it influences the final product." Evas eyes opened wide in surprise as she asked, "You have naming magic? That is one of the most powerful systems of magic generally only used by the gods and those that emte them." If what Vahn said was true, it meant that he had far more magical potential than she had realized. She already knew that he was likely verypatible with the Magia Erbea from his transformation magic, and now he even had one of the rarest types of magic from her world and mentioned it casually, almost as if it werent an important matter. Vahn nodded his head and set down the metal he was working with to be treated by the eternal me as he pulled out a beautiful rainbow-colored crystal. Before Eva could ask, Vahn said, "Follow me, Ill show you something pretty cool." The two made their way out of the workshop and into an open area where Vahn didnt have to worry about identally breaking anything. Infusing his energy into the crystal, it began to glow with a beautifully resplendent color before purple mist began to explode rapidly from the crystal as he threw it forward. Arge ck dragon that was nearly 7m in length emerged from the crystal and flew into the sky before releasing a loud roar that echoed through the empty ck and white world. Eva was surprised by the emergence of the dragon and asked, "Summoning magic?" Vahn shook his head in response as he exined how he had met a wyvern in the dungeon and tamed it. Shortly after, he used his naming magic to give it the name of a legendary dragon which had forced it to evolve from a frail pink wyvern into the powerful ck dragon flying in circles above their head. Eva listened to his exnation with a bit of disbelief on her face since, if his words were true, which they likely were, it meant that his naming magic was far more powerful than she expected. She could sense that the dragon Fafnir had the same energy signature as Vahn, even though their auras werepletely different. To her, it seemed more like summoning magic, but she also knew that Vahn wasnt lying to her. This meant that he actually had Mythic Grade magic, even though he didnt even know anything about the basics. She suddenly felt like the promise he had made to save her had much greater credibility. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Go, Fafnir, I choose you~!,Daily Life of the Harem Emperor,Voracious Vampire Baba) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $504/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 178 - *Spoilers: Title at End*

Chapter 178 - *Spoilers: Title at End*

Vahn had to spend nearly half an hour after releasing Fafnir exining all of the details about its capabilities to Eva. She seemed to suddenly be very interested in his naming magic as well as any other skills he had yet to reveal to her. When she found out that Fafnir had magic immunity, she even tried testing a small scale magic that wouldnt damage it to see if it was as Vahn had imed. The ice that would have built up normally when she used her domain seemed to turn into steam in an area surrounding Fafnir. It was almost like there was an invisible sphere surrounding its body that epassed the maximum spread of its wings. This meant that, for an area of 10m around its body, itpletely broke down the structure of foreign magical elements. Eva realized that, unless she used her ultimate magic or physical prowess, there would be no easy way to deal with Fafnir. It wasnt an exaggeration to say the ck dragon was the nemesis of all mages. When she learned that it was capable of using magic but hadnt learned any, Eva became even more curious of the evil looking dragon. She actually found its appearance quite cute and convinced Vahn to allow it to stay with her for the time being. Though he was a bit surprised by the request, after a bit of consideration, Vahn decided to allow Fafnir to stay in the orb. He gave it a mentalmand and told it to follow Evas orders and be nice to her. He also told it that, if it could, try to learn magic from her in the future. Fafnir stood before the two of them for a few seconds before it leaned down and tried nuzzling its snout toward Eva. She immediately became enthusiastic as she pet the hard and somewhat jagged scales of the malevolent-looking dragon. Vahn was also happy since now Eva wouldnt be alone in the space when he was in the real world. Though he was somewhat worried about Fafnir dissipating from ack of energy, Vahn would be able to replenish it when he next visited. As long as it didnt use its mana in excess, it shouldnt be too difficult for it tost for the four years it took him to return. As Eva flew around in the sky on the back of Fafnir at around 3700km/h, Vahn returned to his workshop and began forging what would be his weapon for the time being. Though he didnt rely on equipment nearly as much as in the past, Vahn didnt want to take chances and end up in a situation where he needed a weapon and didnt have one on hand. Because he assumed that the make and design of the weapon would matter when he named itter, Vahn had studied a bit about suitable legends that he could use. Since he had grown somewhat fond of the mythos rted to the northwestern gods, especially after naming Fafnir and [Gram], Vahn decided to keep to the theme and was now forging a weapon that would be capable of withstanding his vermillion-bird transformation. The sword he was forging was based on a legendary weapon that was wreathed in mes that could even burn through the foundation of the world. It was called L?vateinn, and Vahn was excited at the prospect of having a ming sword to swing around and cut through his enemies. Vahn spent nearly twelve hours just shaping the core of the sword and had used pure Orichalc.u.m as the base. He then painstakingly carved hundreds of small runes into the core with the intent of gathering fire-elements from the air and reinforcing the structural integrity of the future de. Though he believed that naming it with the [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] would fill in some of the gaps, Vahn wasnt going to cut corners since each use of the Innate ability had a certain significance to it. After forming the core, Vahn took the pure white Adamantine that had been soaking in the blood essence of a red drake that could only be found rarely in the Iron Hills. This caused the pue white metal to take on a crimson red hue as absorbed the energy within the blood. By the end of the process, the blood had turned almost clear as water and Vahn used to the final product to shape around the core a form arge ymore-like structure. Since Vahn would only need the weapon if he was fighting somethingrge or above his strength, he wanted the sword to berge and powerful enough to cut down anything. After the Adamantine had been shaped around the core, nearly thirty hours had passed, but Vahn was supplementing his energy with mana potions and senzu beans. Eva had shown up several times, but she left him to his own devices without bothering him. Instead, she just sat at her desk and watched his actions with a bit of intrigue in her eyes. Seeing how hard Vahn worked always made her feel pleasant and she had grown ustomed to admiring his figure as he worked the metal. By the time Vahn had finished carving more runes and creating the handle and guard of the sword, nearly sixty-five hours had passed. Even with the use of items to supplement his energy, he was incredibly tired as he looked at the result of his efforts with a fervent expression on his face. The final result of his sixty-five hours of strenuous exertion had been the created of a crimson-red ymore that was 220cm long, with the handle making up about 50cm of the overall length to allow for an easy double-handed grip. The guard itself was nearly 30cm wide and the entire figure of the de had a bit of a malevolent feeling to it with the runes carved into its surface in an intricate pattern. Vahn spent the next few hours in focused meditation as Eva contemted whether or not she should drag him away to rest. However, seeing the serious demeanor of Vahn, she couldnt bear to disturb him so she just sat quietly and observed at the side. Fafnir had been left in her garden after she rode it around for a bit earlier, and it seemed perfectly content toy there without being disturbed. After his mental energy had recovered, Vahn took the prototype L?vateinn into his hands and began focusing his mind on the image of the sword he wanted to create. Eva had noticed his actions and marveled at the energy that had begun to converge around Vahn. Even though he shouldnt be able to draw mana from the atmosphere of the orbs space, she could sense an incredible amount of energy seemingly appearing from the void without exnation. Vahn held up the sword with both hands and arranged it to point straight toward the sky as he looked into the crimson de with his eyes and spoke in a low voice that seemed to echo through the surroundings, "You shall be called [L?vateinn] from this point on. Be a sword that will burn my enemies to ashes." The moment his words sounded through space, Vahn felt his energy begin to rapidly drain from his body as the sword in his hands began to glow with a powerful ruby-red light. Eva had been paying attention throughout the entire process and, seeing the ruby-red light, her eyes widened as she spread her magic throughout the entire workshop and teleported the entire structure and its contents away several hundred meters. Vahn was left behind as he stared in a daze at the ruby light emerging from the sword as the stark white ground around him began to char ck from the heating from the sword in his hands. Eventually, the ruby light expanded into a sphere nearly 10m around his area and burned everything within to ashes. Strangely, no matter how hot the temperature was, it didnt seem to affect Vahn or his clothes as they just gently swayed about as if blown by the wind. After a few minutes, Vahn had nearly beenpletely drained of his energy and the ruby light receded back into the sword in his hand. Now, instead of crimson ymore he had forged previously, it now had a charcoal ck color as all the runes shone with a ruby-red and vibrant orange light like the fire of a forge. The entire figure of the de looked profoundly evil but also had a strangely noble appearance if you looked at it for a while. It was like a sword that stood above anything that could be made by mortal hands, and Vahn even felt like it possessed pride within its de. In a somewhat dazed state, Vahn swung the sword with a bit of force to test its capabilities. The moment he drew the sword into an arc, the runes glowed and the entire de traced a long trail of fire behind the main body. When Vahn suddenly stopped the de mid-swing, the fire trail continued outward in the direction he had swung and burned arge swathe of the stark white floor. The result was eerily reminiscent of a dragons breath as it continued to burn into the ground like it possessed a powerful acidic quality. Vahn couldnt prevent arge smile from appearing on his face as he held the majestic looking burned de in his hands and read its description in the system menu. He had obtained a total of more than 17k OP when he had named it, so Vahn had high expectations of its status. [L?vateinn] Rank: S (Magic) Slots: 0 P.Atk: 1708+170 M.Atk: 1153 Ability: L?vateinn(S), me Wreath(A), Explosive Thrust(A), Piercing(S), Sharpness(B) A sword possessing the legacy of the legendary L?vateinn. The mes emitted by this sword cannot be extinguished by normal means and will continue to burn until the entire world turns to ashes as long as the user does not extinguish them. After reading the description, Vahns smile grew evenrger and he felt a great excitement build within his body. The original sword he forged would have only been Rank-A, but naming it had actually pushed it to Rank-S. Though it didnt give him the [Master Smith] ability, Vahn felt much closer to obtaining it now that he had experienced forging such a powerful item. Pointing the sword tip toward the mes that continued to burn into the white ground, Vahn willed the fires to extinguish and noticed them slowly burn out and stop dissolving the floor. He was incredibly satisfied by the result, as he now had an incredibly powerful weapon that could be used to deal with troublesome enemies. Even if he couldnt defeat them immediately, as long as he could get a few good attacks in and cover them with the mes, they would continue to burn and cause more damage even if Vahn ran away. Vahn put the sword into his inventory and turned toward Eva who had appeared next to him long ago. She looked at him with a smile and a slightly flushed face as she said, "That sword is incredible. Your naming magic is far more powerful than I imagined." Vahn nodded his head and responded, "It is the greatest masterpiece I ever forged, but it will not be the extent of the items Ill create in the future. I still have a long way to go..." Eva smiled before disappearing using Shindo and reappearing next to Vahn with her hands on his chest. With a slightly fervent expression in her eyes, she whispered in a low tone, "Its good that youre working so hard...let me give you a reward." Before Vahn could reply, the two disappeared from the spot after Eva used her teleportation. Fafnir, who had been sleeping in the garden, lifted its head and looked toward the house where it could feelrge energy fluctuations. It could vaguely sense that its master was in danger, but it also knew there was nothing it could do to help him against the enemy he currently faced. After it received its name, Fafnir had been developing its intelligence and was capable of reasoning through problems instead of acting solely based on instinct as it had done in the past. Now, unless its Master specifically requested its assistance, Fafnir decided to avoid trouble as itid its head back down on the garden floor and enjoyed the smell of the various flowers surrounding it. After a few minutes, it once again fell asleep as itpletely ignored the plight of its Master. Title: [L?vateinn] (A/N: Alternate Titles: See no evil, hear no evil,Burn baby, burn~!,Akashic Tome OP) (A/N: Getting closer and closer to the ******* goal~! Thanks everyone that has already put in their support, I love you all <3) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $504/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 179 - Return to the Hearths Embrace

Chapter 179 - Return to the Hearths Embrace

Vahn awoke in the real world and stared at the ceiling in a daze for several minutes as a calm was slowly restored to his mind. Evas idea of a reward had been to change into her a.d.u.l.t form whilepletely nude and torment him the same way she had grown fond of recently. Her height in her a.d.u.l.t form increased from 130cm to 173cm, so instead of sitting on his abdomen, she was straddling his waist and it was very difficult for Vahn to resist attacking her as he felt her plump and incredibly soft butt pressed against his p.e.n.i.s with the warm liquid flowing from her v.a.g.i.n.a. It wasnt until Tina moved a bit and hugged him from the side that Vahn finally came down from his dazed state of mind. Since it was Saturday, there was no need to wake the small cat girl and he wasnt in a hurry to get out of bed either. Instead, he justid in the bed beside her until it was almost 8 AM and she woke up naturally. Since she had yet to wake up fully, Tina stared at Vahn in a bit of a daze as she nuzzled her face into his shoulder and tried to go back to sleep. Vahnughed at her actions and blew into her ear gently to tease her. Tinas ears twitched several times every time he blew until she finally woke up while trying to escape away from his teasing. She stared at him with a slightly aggrieved face and said, "Dont blow into my ears Vahnya~!" In response to her adorable act, Vahn pinched her nose before rising out of the bed and saying, "Ill be going out today, Tina. I think Ill visit Hephaestus and Eina before making my way to the Loki Familia to spend some time with Tiona and Ais. Do you want me to escort you to the Inn now, or did you want to goter?" It was decided at the meeting that Vahn would be spending the weekends staying at the Hearths Embrace Inn so Tina could spend time with her mother. It also allowed him to get away from Anubis and her Familia and put him in close proximity to Hephaestuss workshop and Einas apartment. Tina stripped off her yellow nightgown without bothering to mind Vahns gaze as she turned her n.a.k.e.d back to him and started picking her outfit. Before Vahn averted his eyes, he noticed she was wearing panties that ironically had a cartoonish puppy drawn on them. After he turned away, he heard her voice, "Ill follow you now and we can get some food from a stall before you drop me off at the Inn. Make sure you dont spend too much time out with the other girls so you can be back in time for dinner. My mother wants us all to eat together since you rarely ever ate there before." Vahn made a promise that he wouldnt bete for dinner before the two made their way into the corridor. Anubis was waiting as usual and Vahn exined that he would be taking Tina home as he affectionately stroked her hair. After leaving her some Valis so she could take the other children shoppingter, Vahn and Tina left the house and made their way towards the Hearths Embrace Inn on the other side of the City. Tina had decided to wear a brown skirt with white lines in a checkered pattern with a white ribbon tied above her tail. The top she wore was a creamy beige with ck frills that exposed her corbones a bit. Though she always wore somewhat cute clothing, Vahn couldnt help but feel like she had dressed up for the asion so heplimented her. She turned a bit bashful because of his words before she reached for his hand a few minutester. Vahn didnt refuse as he walked with her hand-in-hand through the City. Though he knew she had affection for him, he couldnt help but feel like an a.d.u.l.t escorting a child home to their mother. Because Tinas gait was much shorter than his, it took them slightly more than two hours to reach near the Inn and Vahn could feel that Tina entering her characteristic high-tension state the closer they got. By the time they were outside the inn, she was nearly pulling Vahns hand as she dragged him through the doors and called out loudly for her mother to announce their arrival. Mn was attending the counter in the dining area, so she noticed their entrance the moment they arrived. Seeing her daughter dragging Vahn in by the hand, she couldnt help but smile andugh at the sight. Because of awkward expression on Vahns face, Mn felt like he was acting the role of a Father spoiling their daughter. That thought caused her smile to widen as she walked around the counter to receive the two of them. After Mn walked near, Tina let go of Vahns hand before she hugged around her mothers waist and began to nuzzle her face slightly below Mns b.r.e.a.s.ts. Mn hadnt been caught unprepared, and the moment her daughter hugged her, she responded, "Ara~? Did Vahn bully you~?" As she spoke, she looked to Vahn with a slightly mischevious expression in her eyes. Tina, not noticing that her mother was teasing her, shook her head and responded with a somewhat choking voice like she was about to cry, "No, Vahnya was very nice to me...I just missed you." Vahn watched the interaction between the two and couldnt help but feel a warm feeling in his chest at the familial bond they shared. Though he treated Tina affectionately and tried to be reliable for her, Vahn couldnt rece her actual family members. Now that she had been reunited with her mother, the brave girl was on the verge of tears as her mother continued patting her back in order to soothe her. After Tina finally calmed down, she went up to her room to drop off her stuff and change into her work outfit. She intended to help her mother run the Inn during the weekends, so she left behind the two sitting in the dining room. Vahn sat at the counter while Mn prepared him a cold beverage that smelled of citrus. After taking a sip and enjoying the tart taste, Vahn looked at Mn who was looking at him warmly and said, "I wanted to apologize, Mn..." Hearing his words, Mns brow arched slightly as she gave him a questioning look and asked, "Ara~? Have you done something to apologize for, Vahn?" Vahn sighed before extending out his hands and cing a bent and unusable sword on the counter. Mn was a bit confused at first, but once she realized what the sword was she couldnt help but frown with a sad expression on her face. Her expression caused Vahns heart to ache and he began exining the circ.u.mstances that led to the swords destruction. After his tale concluded, the sad expression on Mns face turned into a happy one as she released a relieved sigh and said, "Im d the sword was able to protect you. You did well toe back to us in one piece." As she spoke, Mn stroked the broken [Lions Pride] with a mncholic but somewhat happy expression on her face. Vahn couldnt bear her look any longer, so he reached out for her hand that was stroking the sword and took it into his. Mn was a bit surprised, but Vahn said, "Mn, thank you for everything youve done for me. Without meeting you and Tina, I dont think my life within the City would have gone as well as it had. Not only did you treat me well, but you even gifted me an heirloom that helped preserve my life..." Vahn then stared into her eyes with a sad expression on his face that made her brows furrow slightly as he said, "I want to be able to return everything you gave me in the future. I think that, when things settle down, I want you and Tina to live with me." Vahn noticed that Mns affection increased from 64 to 68 with his words, but she still showed an apologetic expression as she half-heartedly tried to pull her hand out of his. Seeing that Vahn didnt let her go, she sighed and exined, "Vahn, there are already so many women around you. There are a lot of young girls, powerful people, and even goddesses that are pursuing you. As long as you make my daughter happy in the future, you dont need to worry about an old woman like me." Vahn shook his head and immediately responded by saying, "I refuse; I could never ept that. The thought of you being here alone at night breaks my heart, and I cant imagine you staying like that in the future. You cant use your age as an excuse either since you are still beautiful and have a lithe figure and fair features." Vahn noticed that, as he was speaking, Mns tail began to twitch about slightly at his words. He smiled and continued, "Mn, unless you dislike me, please let me take care of both you, and your daughter." Mn was excited by Vahns proposition, but she still shook her head with a sigh and said, "Youve grown up a lot...but I dont want to be a burden to you and Tina. Even if I wanted to be together with you, there is no way I could be with the same man as my daughter-" Before Mn could continue, Tina burst through the door where she had been eavesdropping the conversation and loudly eximed, "Mom! Dont be stupid~nya!" Since Vahn had the ability to sense presences, he wasnt surprised by Tinas arrival, but Mns eyes opened widely as she tried to extricate her hand from Vahns grasp. Before she could do so, Tina ran over and grabbed both of their hands with her tiny fingers and looked at Mn with tears in her eyes and said, "We should be together~! Always and forever~nya!" Seeing the tearful look on her daughters face and feeling the strong hands of Vahn refusing to let her escape, Mn couldnt help but feel a bit of nervousness building inside of her. She felt incredibly pressured by the joint attack of the two young children and almost immediately conceded. However, she managed to keep her senses as she looked between the two of them and tried to find words to refuse their request. Tina saw her mothers reaction and asked with an almost sobbing voice, "Mom...do you hate Vahn?" Mn heard her daughters words and shook her head as she exined in a soft tone, "Its not that, Tina...its just..." Before she could finish, Tina asked, "Werent you also very sad when he was hurt? Didnt you have hopes and expectations for him? Didnt you let him touch your ears and flirt with him?" The barrage of questions made Mn entered a slightly dazed and fl.u.s.tered state as she tried thinking of answers to the questions her daughter pressed her with. Tina continued without giving her mother time to collect herself, "I know, Mom, I saw what you did when you were alone...I heard you call Vahns name..." Though she was confused for a brief moment, Mn quickly understood what her daughter was trying to tell her. A blush immediately covered her face as she tried to extract her hand yet again. Vahn didnt let her hand escape and Tina continued, "I know you like Vahn...so why are you trying so hard to be alone? Why not stay with both of us and be happy?" At this point, Tina had tears in her eyes as she implored her mother with a bereaved expression. Vahn piggybacked her words and continued, "Mn...even if you dont want to be with me personally, I still want you to live with us in the future. Dont stay in this lonely ce spending the rest of your life tending to others." Mn shook her head once again and exined, "I cant...its impossible." Vahn was confused and felt a bit frustrated in his heart as he asked, "Please, tell me why? Why is it impossible?" At this point, Tina was crying and staring at her mother with pleading eyes as she waited for the exnation. Mns brows furrowed and she had a very distressed expression on her face as she exined, "Because..." Mn struggled with her words before releasing a long sigh and continuing, "Because I cant trust myself to not do anything. Its been a long time since I was with a man, and I wouldnt be able to live with the two of you without something happening." Vahn was a bit surprised by her words, but Tina spoke out first, "Who cares!? That isnt even a good reason, Mom~nya! If both of you want to do that, why are you hestitating~nya!?" Tinas outburst had caused both Vahn and Mn to pause. She stood there holding their hands breathing deeply to calm herself as she continued with a sob, "Why cant we all be happy together...?" Tina then started to cry and held her face above their hands and dripped her warm tears on where all three of them were connected. Both Vahn and Mn furrowed their brows and felt anguish within their hearts as they stared at the small girl crying before them. Vahn looked toward Mn with an awkward smile and a pleading look in his eyes that made the nervous feeling in Mns stomach well up to a critical level. Since she had liked Vahn well enough tofort herself to his memory in the past, she didnt have much resistance against the boy who was quickly bing a man. If not for the fact that her daughter wanted to be with him, Mn wouldnt even hesitate to stand at his side. Then they could raise their daughter together and support each other in the future. However, things didnt progress in that direction, and she knew her daughter was pursuing Vahn and would likely have a s.e.x.u.a.l rtionship with him the future. Mn felt a lot of apprehension about the current situation and couldnte to terms with the current developments. Vahn could see the hesitation in Mns eyes and even saw a hint of purple begin to color her aura which showed that she was beginning to feel afraid. Releasing a sad sigh, Vahn decided not to continue trying to pressure her as he ced his hand on top of Tinas head and used [Hands of Nivana] to help soother her. Tina felt the familiar palm and looked toward Vahn with tears in her eyes and confusion clear on her face. Vahn showed her a gentle smile and whispered, "We cant force her to do something she doesnt want to do Tina...well just have to find another way to make her happy in the future. There is always a way..." Tina frowned at his words and looked toward her mother with a profoundly sad expression as she croaked, "Mom...please..." Her words sounded like a desperate plea as she looked at the most important person in her life with tears in her eyes. Mn had rxed a bit when Vahn startedforting Tina, but now that she had felt a bit of relief her daughters words hit her like a brick. Seeing the crying face of her daughter and the gentle expression on Vahns as he tried tofort her, Mn couldnt help but feel like she had wronged the two. It now seemed like Vahn was the oneforting her daughter as she caused both of them to feel pain just because of her own fear and inhibitions... Releasing a long sigh, Mn looked at her daughter with a gentle look that made the girl immediately turn silent. Tinas eyes widened as a bit of hope appeared in her hazy tear-filled eyes as she saw Mn turn toward Vahn and reply, "Fine, fine, I get it, I just have to do it, right?" Almost as if her earlier hesitation had been an illusion, Mn quickly adopted her cheerful and teasing demeanor as she continued to look into Vahns eyes with a look that seemed both cold and affectionate at the same time, "Its toote to have regrets now...Vahn." (A/N: Alternate Titles: It takes four years to cook an Oyakodon,Teamwork,Tiny Tinas Tears of Terror) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $504/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 180 - Excitement

Chapter 180 - Excitement

After parting ways with the Mother-Daughter duo of Mn and Tina, Vahn headed toward his intended destination in high spirits. He was happy that he would be able to help ease the burden of Mns loneliness and intended to help her take care of Tina. He didnt particrly want a s.e.x.u.a.l rtionship with either of the girls; Vahn just wanted to take care of them both so they would be happier in the future. Though he couldnt rece Mns husband or Tinas father, he still wanted to do his best for the kind and caring pair of girls. Vahn arrived outside Hephaestuss workshop soon after leaving the Inn and was informed by Zaff that he was allowed entrance to her office without having to notify her of his arrival. Zaff then handed him a key that could open the door to Hephaestuss workshop and Vahn made his way through the corridors with a big smile on his face. Vahn now had one of the only keys that provided ess to Hephaestuss personal forge, with the only others belonging to Tsubaki and Hephaestus herself. Remembering that Tsubaki had knocked before entering previously, Vahn gave an indication of his arrival as he inserted the key and opened the door. Hephaestus was sitting at a low table with a special cloth used to polish weapons as she turned her head to acknowledge his arrival. Before she could greet him, Vahn said, "Youre looking particrly beautiful today...my wife~" The small smile on Hephaestuss face after she noticed Vahn was the one entering the office froze as she processed the words he just spoke. This was the first time they were meeting after being engaged, and she was caught off guard by how he addressed her. After a few seconds, her face began to develop a blush as Vahn closed the distance between them. Vahn extended his hand and helped her stand before holding her in his embrace and kissing her flushed face on the lips. Hephaestus was still a little disoriented, but she began reciprocating his affectionate embrace after a brief dy. The two kissed for nearly a full minute before Hephaestus swatted his hands away when he tried to grab her butt. With an angry look on her face, she asked, "What did youe here for today, Vahn? Did you just want to see me, or was there a purpose to your visit?" Vahn nodded in response and answered honestly, "Its both; I wanted to see you since it felt like a long time since we were together, but I also had something I wanted to show you. I think youll be pleasantly surprised." As they were still embracing, Vahn kissed her on the lips again before pulling away a bit so he could show her the item he had brought. Hephaestus couldnt help but feel that Vahn had be much more assertive than thest time she had seen him, and his actions made her feel a little excited. She noticed that, even though he acted affectionately, he still had much more self-control and confidence in his actions. Unlike his previous self that often sought her out more and pushed his limits, now he was more yful and teasing than overbearing. However, her pleasant surprise at his change turned into shock after she saw the item he pulled out of thin air. Vahn had removed his [L?vateinn] from his inventory and presented it to her while exining its use and cautioning her against swinging it around indoors. Hephaestus reached for the handle of the de with clear intrigue on her face as she held up the sword and marveled at its structure. She couldnt help but ask with a tinge of disbelief in her voice, "You...forged this sword?" If that were true, Vahn would have clearly reached the level of a [Master Smith] in the brief period they had been separated. She began to feel a bit of excitement build up inside of her the moment she saw him begin to nod his head. Vahn nodded but exined, "I forged it, but I havent awakened the [Master Smith] skill yet. I used a special technique to imbue a fate or a legend into the de and elevated it to its current status." Vahn then went on to exin the basic premise for his naming ability and showed her the [Dance of the Amazon] and [Gram] that had also been forged by him earlier in the week. Hephaestus inspected the three different weapons with a serious look as she used several tools along with her gods eye to investigate the structure andposition of the weapons. Even excluding the [L?vateinn], the other two weapons were clearly crafted with exquisite technique. She looked at Vahn like she was appraising a treasure as she said, "Take off your shirt, I want to check your Status..." Vahn immediatelyplied with her demand andughed when he saw her blushing slightly the moment he removed his tunic. Hephaestus saw his cheeky smile and smacked him on the back as she ushered him toy down on the couch. The moment heid down, Vahn closed his eyes and smelled the couch before she could do anything to stop him. Her face immediately flushed a deep crimson as Vahn said, "Its a pleasant smell...makes my heart itch a bit." Hephaestus took several deep breaths to calm herself and somewhatmented how casually he could say such words. She knew he was teasing her, and it made her feel a mixture of emotions that were hard to exin. Before he could continue smelling the couch, she twisted his neck and demanding that he stay focused as she began conducting the ceremony to view his status. When she saw the various changes in his parameters and the growth of his skills, Hephaestus couldnt prevent shock from settling in her mind. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 15 -Level:3 -Power: (I39) -Endurance: (H141) -Dexterity: (I92) -Agility: (I52) -Magic: (SS1009) Skills: [Bow Mastery:B], [Stealth:C], [Chainbreaker:S], [Call of the Reaper:B],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Swordsman:A], [Featherfoot:B], [Hands of Nirvana:S], [Prometheus], [Hearts of the Eternal me:SS], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:B], [Friend of Spirits:A] Development Abilities: [Wound Transfer: A], [Spirit Healing: A], [cksmith: S] Magic: [Thria*Mimos:C] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though the changes in his parameters, especially his Magic, had surprised her, the biggest things that caught Hephaestuss eyes were the changes to his skills as well as a very important matter. She looked at Vahn with a questioning gaze and her brows slightly furrowed as she asked, "When did you turn fifteen?" Vahn was surprised by her question for a moment before he received the information from Sis. He looked to her and exined inly, "It should have been on Wednesday, earlier this week. Why do you ask?" The moment his words finished, Hephaestus actually pped him on his lower back with her palm as she loudly asked, "Why didnt you tell me!? Tell me honestly Vahn, who knew about this and kept it from me!?" Her reaction had surprised him a great deal and he couldnt understand why she was making a big deal out of things. As she had asked, he exined honestly, "I didnt tell anyone, Hephaestus. Why are you having such a strange reaction to such a thing?" Vahn was clearly very confused and Hephaestus saw it in his expression as she recalled his tragic past in her mind. After hanging her head in contemtion for a moment, she asked, "Vahn, have you...never celebrated your birthday before?" In response to her strange question, Vahn shook his head and exined, "Ive never celebrated my birthday in the past. Other than someone telling me my age had increased, I never really thought it was something worth celebrating." Hearing his words, Hephaestus had a sad look on her face as she turned his body toward her and gently embraced his face into her chest. Vahn was confused by her actions, but he understood that she was obviously distressed by his words. She was trying tofort him, so he just allowed her to do as she pleased as he loosely wrapped his hands around her body and enjoyed the warmth of her body. Hephaestus continued to stroke Vahns back with her hands as a bit of moisture began to build in her eyes. The fact that Vahn treated his own birthday in such a dismissive manner made her feel a painful feeling in her heart. She wanted to cry, but she also knew it would only make him try tofort her instead. For now, she just continued to stroke his back to make sure he understood her concerns. After a few minutes had passed, Hephaestus whispered to Vahn, "We should celebrate your birthday from now on...we can invite all the girls and turn it into a big event in the future..." In response to her words, Vahn just slightly nodded his head and uttered a quiet acknowledgment. He had been reading a bit of information about birthdays and learned that they weremonly celebrated events within most social groups and cultures. As he had never celebrated his own or been present for someone elses, Vahn didnt know about such customs previously. For the next twenty minutes, Hephaestus continue to embrace Vahn as she asked him about other things that he might not have experienced. She discovered that Vahn had never experienced things like festivals, holidays, or new years celebrations. It was such a strange thing to consider that she, as well as the other girls around Vahn, had never even considered the matter before. Hephaestus swore to Vahn that they would celebrate every event together from now on. Before Vahn left her workshop they had discussed gathering together a group of people to celebrate his birthday next weekend. Hephaestus said that she and Eina would coordinate the event and that Vahn should put the matter to the back of his mind so he could enjoy the experience in full when the time came. Vahn eded to all of her requests and promised that he wouldnt n anything for the next weekend so that there wouldnt be any issues. After that, the two kissed for nearly five minutes before Vahn finally left the warmth of Hephaestuss office and the embrace of the beautiful goddess. As he made his way toward the Twilight Manor, Vahn was lost in thought about the matters they had discussed. Now that he thought about it, he remembered that Ais had been intending to celebrate her birthday when he had visitedst. Vahn realized that people considered it appropriate to celebrate such events and it brought them closer together while also serving as an important benchmark to allow reflection of the past and nning for the future. Vahn imagined celebrating his birthday while surrounded by the people that he cared about and the thought itself made him feel warm and excited inside. Though it was only a week away, he began to look forward to the day and could hardly wait for the time toe. He set a mental reminder and a countdown to inform him of the event so he wouldnt forget. Since he would spend more than a month in the orb in that span of time, Vahn was slightly afraid that he might forget the very event that he was looking forward to. By the time Vahn arrived at the Twilight Manor, it was approaching noon and he was slightly afraid that he might miss the window to enter the orb. Fortunately, the time spent in the orb was only a few seconds in the real world, so it shouldnt cause any problems if he uses the orb out of the view of others. The only thing he had to be worried about was forgetting what he was doing the moment before and after his return to the real world. Vahn had the strange thought of using the orb in the middle of a conversation andpletely forgetting what it was about by the time he returned. Since it was a very embarrassing thought, he wanted to avoid ending up in that situation by all means. Because of the past incident, Vahn was a very famous face within the Loki Familia and he got all kinds of reactions the moment he entered the reception area. There were several men that looked at him like he had stolen something from them while some of the girls gave him appraising looks which caused their auras to shift slightly towards yellow or sky blue. Vahn ignored the majority of the malicious gazes and gave polite nods to the people that showed no ill-will toward him. Not long after his arrival, there was a bit of amotion as someone had shown up that Vahn somewhat wanted to avoid. Instead of Tiona or Ais, the person, or should he say goddess, that showed up was Loki herself. The most peculiar thing that made Vahn feel ufortable was her gentle expression and the subtle pink and yellow aura that radiated from her body. Not only the aura, but her expression was something that Vahn couldnt associate with the trickster goddess within his mind. Everyone in the reception area gave Loki strange looks as she closed the distance to Vahn and showed a smile as her eyes opened slightly. The moment Vahn saw her eyes, he couldnt help but feel his skin turn mmy as a shiver ran down his spine. Every time he had seen her open her eyes in the past, Vahn remembered she always had an intimidating or greedy look. Now, however, he saw no malicious intent in her eyes...and they even seemed somewhat gentle. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fly, you fool~!,Hephaestuss oversight,Vahn learns a bit ofmon sense. Currently up to 11% functionality) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $523/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 181 - Divinity (1/2)

Chapter 181 - Divinity (1/2)

Loki saw Vahns reaction to her presence and just released a sigh as she said in a low voice, "Tiona and Ais arent here. They left early this morning with Tione and Lefiya to go meet you. If youre here looking for them, you must have missed each other." Her muted tone and calm demeanor caused the majority of people in the surroundings to appear shocked. Everything about how Loki was acting caused Vahn to feel mildly distressed since it was so uncharacteristic of the confrontational and outgoing goddess he had butted heads with in the past. She seemed more tame and docile, and Vahn could tell that she seemed to be disappointed with how he was reacting to her presence. However, no matter how she acted, or how her aura changed, Vahn couldnt help but feel a sense of incongruity about the situation. Frowning slightly, Vahn spoke in a low voice, "I see...that is unfortunate." Vahn released a sigh and began to turn away to escape the awkward atmosphere. Being the focus of attention of more than a dozen people while confronting Loki in her current state made him feel somewhat anxious and Vahn didnt want to wait around. He decided to pass the time along the route that the girls would take to return to the Twilight Manor and meet up with them before making ns for tomorrow. The moment he turned around to walk away, Vahn could feel a slight tug on the back of his sleeve and it immediately made his brain buzz with feelings of exasperation. Turning around, he could see Loki looking at him with an awkward smile on her face as she said, "Why not stay for a while? Ill get someone to make some tea and we can talk until the girls get back." Vahn frowned and prepared to free his sleeve from her grasp, but moments before he did so, Lokis expression turned a bit sad and she let go of his arm. Even though her eyes were closed into slits, she had a very sad look on her face as she sighed a few quiet words, "Arent we supposed to be official allies?" In response to her question, Vahn spoke in a low tone, "The Alliance is between the Hephaestus and the Loki Familia, not the two of us..." Even as Vahn spoke, he couldnt help but feel there was something strange about his own words. He had been the one to propose the alliance as well as the person that helped dictate some of the terms. Hephaestus and Loki had just agreed and made a few concessions for each other the unify the two Familia. Lokis brows had furrowed at his response, and Vahn could see her aura fluctuate slightly like she was distressed. However, even though he felt bad for her, he couldnt help but believe it was all an act. Her behavior was just far too different from her past self for Vahn to believe everything happening in front of him wasnt some kind of scheme. Since Vahn was bad at hiding his own thoughts due to his expressive face, Loki could almost read everything that was going on in his mind just by looking into his eyes. She could see that the impression she had made on Vahn in the past had been deeply rooted in his psyche. Even if she treated him well and honestly, he didnt seem to be willing to give her a chance at all. It made her feel a bit of resentment, both toward Vahn and her own Divinity, since they had led to this awkward situation where her own children looked at her like she had gone mad. Instead of trying to act nice, Lokis expression changed into her characteristic mischevious look as she asked with a bit of humor in her voice, "Is the boy that stood up to me in the past really afraid after everything that has happened? I didnt think you were the indecisive type that ran away from their responsibilities. Even if the Alliance was between Hephaestus and me, does that really remove any obligation you have to uphold it? Arent you worried that your actions might cause me to lose face and impact the nature of our future rtionsh.i.p.s?" Since Loki wasnt speaking quietly anymore, many people in the area were looking at the event y out with unveiled intrigue and curiosity. Though they had known about the Alliance, it had yet to be approved by the Guild and things were in a state of flux where they could develop in a positive or negative direction. Of course, that was a misconception on their part because they didnt understand Vahns role in the entire thing. Vahn noticed the change in Loki and couldnt help but sigh in his mind at how quickly she could change her entire character. One moment, she was acting docile and seemed to be genuinely upset by his reaction, while the next she was back to her usual self as if the previous personality had been an illusion. However, this kind of Loki was someone he could deal with, so Vahn said, "Fine, Ill wait here for their return. I wouldnt want you to use me of causing friction between the two Familia." Now that Loki had returned to normal, Vahn had adopted a more confident demeanor as he looked directly into her slightly parted snake-like eyes. Hearing his response, the grin on Lokis face grew wider as she led the way to the same sound-proof room they had used in theirst meeting. Everyone cleared the path to allow for the two to move without saying a single word. By the time they had disappeared into the connecting corridor, everyone in the reception area immediately began to gossip about what was going on. Many suspected it had something to do with Tiona and Ais, and there was a bevy of criticisms beingunched at Vahn for his haughty personality in dealing with their goddess. Vahn and Loki sat opposite of each other on separate sofas as they assumed their own preferred seated positions. Since Vahn had always been taught to be polite ever since his previous life, he often sat with his back straight and maintained eye contact with people. Loki, however, actedpletely unrestrained and, even though she was wearing a skin-tight top and form-fitting small shorts, sat on the sofa with her legs crossed in a very unreserved manner. Since Vahn had been working on his self-control a lot, he didnt allow his eyes to wander as he had done in their previous meeting. Loki had noticed this and asked in a cheeky manner, "Ara~? You dont want to look?" As she spoke, she spread her legs slightly wider which caused her shorts to bunch up slightly. Vahn just continued to stare into her eyes without acknowledging her behavior in the slightest. The grin on Lokis face quickly turned into a frown as she said in a sharp tone, "The you from the past was a lot more interesting. What, does my body not appeal to you at all?" As she spoke, Loki put her hands to the side of her b.r.e.a.s.ts and pressed them together slightly. Vahn frowned since he couldnt prevent himself from looking at the two almost non-existant bulges and responded, "It has nothing to do with your body; it is your personality thatcks appeal." Lokis frown turned into a mischevious grin again as she said, "Thats right, isnt it? I guess you wouldnt mind my b.r.e.a.s.ts since youre already so close to Tiona." She then began tough in a somewhat sly manner before she continued, "Why are you so cautious against me, Vahn? Didnt you learn that your ability to see emotions and auras wasnt reliable?" Vahn shook his head and responded in a firm manner, "Though I cant help but still rely on my ability, it has nothing to do with your aura or even the way you behave. If anything, I think its more appropriate for people to act unreservedly around others. The thing that prevents me from having any affection toward you is how you only characterize people by their worth. Though Ive seen that you genuinely care about your children, it still doesnt stop you from acting in your own interests." Loki opened her eyes slightly and had a serious expression on her face as she said, "Name for me a single person that doesnt act in their own interests." Vahn could hear the challenging tone in her voice and, even though he didnt like what she said, he couldnt help but think about her words. This was one of the problems Vahn had faced in the past since he realized after their first meeting that he somewhat empathized with her. Even when he considered her words now, Vahn couldnt find a way to answer her question easily. As far as he could tell, though people madepromises, everyone acted in their own interests. Even he himself wanted to be happy, so he always did his best to do what he thought would bring him happiness. Vahn looked into her eyes after a brief hesitation and said, "Even if people act in their own interests, its wrong to only consider someone for their value and the convenience they might offer toward achieving your goals." Almost as if she had been expecting his answer, Loki immediately responded, "Youre being a hypocrite, Vahn. I can tell that you dont believe in your own answerpletely. All Im doing is my best to guarantee that the greatest number of people, including myself, can maintain their happiness. Can you even point out a single instance where something Ive done was objectively wrong?" Vahn furrowed his brows deeply as he answered, "Ais. You turned her into a weapon for your own convenience. You must know what kind of life she would live from now on. Even if she finally killed the One-Eyed ck Dragon, what remains for her after that?" Remembering the vision that he had obtained from Aiss hearts desire, Vahn couldnt help but resent how Loki had forced her current life upon her. In response to Vahns im, Loki scoffed and looked at him as if he were an idiot as she said, "Bullshit. I didnt turn her into a weapon; I just helped her obtain the power she herself sought. Though I might have pushed her hard so that she could achieve her goals, there was no single instance where I mistreated her. I provided for her a safe haven, strong allies, and all of the resources she needed to continue along the path that SHE chose." At this point, Loki seemed to be genuinely upset by Vahns words. Before he could gather his thoughts to refute her, she continued, "And about your question for what she has after the dragon is finally killed. Do you think all of her friends, allies, and the members of her Familia are just an illusion? What about her rtionship with you? Do you think, if I was the evil monster you make me out to be, that I would have let you interfere with my ns?" Vahn immediately responded, "Its because you wanted to use me as one of your pawns as well-" Loki snapped and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Utter bullshit! Yes, I wanted to recruit you into my Familia, but that is because youre strong and have a lot of potential! Why the f.u.c.k wouldnt I want someone like that in my Familia, especially if they have a strong rtionship with my core members!?" Loki had stood up and leaned onto the table when she shouted, and Vahn even got a bit of her spit on his face from her outburst. As he reached his hand up to wipe it away, Loki sat back down and said in an annoyed tone, "Youve acted like you had something against me from the moment we met. Even when you learned that you couldnt read my aura like normal, you still never got over your own bias. Tell me, Vahn, what did I ever do to genuinely make you dislike me so much?" Vahn considered her words for several minutes as he tried to find a suitable response. Loki sat across from him with a frown on her face as she waited for his answer with her arms crossed over her almost non-existent b.r.e.a.s.ts. After a while, Vahn finally spoke up in a in voice, "I feel like everything you do is an act. It is like youre constantly scheming to try to get an advantage against people. Even now, I cant help but feel youre just trying to manipte me just because I cant find any ws in your arguments." As he spoke, Vahn noticed that the somewhat chaotic aura of Loki had flickered slightly even though her expression hadnt changed. Though he couldnt be sure, he felt like his words had been somewhat impactful. Loki, who had been sitting cross-legged with her arms across her chest sat silently for nearly a minute before she hung her head down slightly. After a brief silence, she asked, "So...you hate me because of my own existence?" Vahn was confused by her question and wanted to refute, but she continued, "Youre in a rtionship with two goddesses, and even engaged to one of them, yet you seem to have no understanding of what a goddess is...Tell me, Vahn, what do you know about Divinity?" Vahn considered her words for a few seconds before exining, "Divinity is like the power of a god which allows them to perform deeds far above mortal capabilities." Loki nodded her head and said, "That is somewhat true, but the actual power a god can use ording to their divinity is called Arcanum. The Divinity of a god is something fundamentally different, and you should be somewhat aware of its influence already." Loki paused for a moment before she asked, "Do you know why Hephaestus forges?" Vahn was a bit confused, but he still answered, "Because she is a Goddess of Forging." Loki nodded her head and asked, "But what if she wants to do something else?" When Loki asked her question, Vahn couldnt help but recall the vision that he obtained from Hephaestuss hearts desire. Within that stagnant world Hephaest was surrounded by countless godly artifacts but, no matter how many she made, she was never happy. Vahn felt a strange feeling of unease emerge in the back of his mind as he responded, "She cant stop forging..." Vahn noticed that Lokis aura flickered powerfully as a sad expression appeared on her face and she exined, "That is exactly how a Divinity works...we gods and goddesses are bound by the nature of our own Divinity. We have a naturalpulsion to act in ordance with thews and principles of our own Divinity. Refusal to do so would cause us to fade away and cease to exist...forever." (A/N: Alternate Titles: ves to the Laws Part 1,Compulsion,Vahn Loses the Advantage) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $554/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 182 - Divinity (2/2)

Chapter 182 - Divinity (2/2)

Vahn was beginning to understand what Loki was trying to tell him; he also understood why she had essentially used him of hating her very existence. If what she was saying is true, which Vahn felt it very well might be, it meant she had little to no control over her own personality. Since she had lived for millions of years, even if she wanted to resist against her Divinity, her nature would have been irreversibly altered. Since her divinity was rted to trickery and schemes, Loki couldnt help but act ordingly...even if she wanted to act differently. The moment she started trying to change her character, she would grow weaker until the point where she ceased to exist entirely. Loki could see that Vahn somewhat understood what she was trying to convey, so she continued, "It is the same for every god. Gods of production are constantly creating the items rted to their divinity, while gods of the people are always trying to serve and better others. The worst, and perhaps most unfortunate of all, are gods that draw their power from concepts like Love, Beauty, and Service. There are innumerable gods and goddesses that end up ves inside brothels or prostitution rings just because they cant resist their ownpulsions. In the worst case scenario, there are even those that cannot refuse someone that wants to sleep with them at all, even if the person is a disgusting person or a deviant." Vahn could feel his mind begin to buzz from her exnation as he considered the implications of her words. It would exin why gods like Soma were in charge of such disreputable Familia since he prioritized creating his alcohol over everything else. It even made Vahn somehow empathetic towards people like Freya, even though he still disliked everything she had done within the manga. Loki still had a sad expression on her face as she continued, "Though gods may possess a lot of power and authority, especially in Heaven, we choose to descend to the mortal world instead of making use of our abilities...do you know why that is, Vahn?" Vahn frowned and shook his head, so she exined, "It is because our Divinity is marginally weaker when wee to the mortal world. Things get so monotonous in Heaven, and were unable to act outside of the influence of our own Divinity. We descend to the mortal world to experience variety and change while trying to enjoy a somewhat free life. However, no matter how hard we try, as long as we possess Divinity within our souls, we cannot escape our fate..." The more Loki exined things, the worse Vahn felt about the entire situation. Though he would need to confirm it with Hephaestus, he instinctually understood that Loki was telling him the truth. There is no way Hephaestus would have continued forging countless items when they had caused her so much pain in the past. The only reason for her to do so was that she was unable to avoid forging for long periods of time. She constantly had to push herself to try and exceed her limits and understanding, because that was the only way to satiate thepulsion that emanated from her very soul. Looking into the sad expression on Lokis face, Vahn suddenly felt...pity. Though she was one of the most powerful and influential goddesses in the mortal world, she still had to live the life of a schemer and trickster just to satiate her own Divinity. No matter how much she cared about her Familia and tried to live a free and unfettered life, she would continue to exploit and try to use people for her own convenience. It was truly a pitiful existence... Loki had seen the way he was looking at her and she gave him a mischevious smile as she shook her head, "Dont feel pity for me, Vahn. Even if Im restricted by my own Divinity, Ive lived a much better life than most gods and goddesses. Fortunately for me, my Divinity almost guarantees that I can be sessful in both Heaven and the mortal world. If you want to pity someone, you should visit one of the gods or goddesses that are bound to serve people. I believe that Dog Goddess of yours has that trait." As she mentioned Anubis, Vahn couldnt help but recall his interactions with the beautiful chienthrope goddess. Even before she came to Orario, she spent the entire 300 years of her time in the mortal world helping the children of the Southern Tribe. Vahn had learned that she ran both an Orphanage Familia as well as a Funerary since her Divinity was rted to Death and taking care of others. She even willingly became his servant just because she had almost brought harm to him due to a misunderstanding. From then on, everything that she did seemed to be to try and please him, even to the point where she began making advances on him after the incident in the bath... Vahn released a profoundly sad and disheartened sigh as he looked at the goddess in front of him. There was no way he could hate Loki after knowing that she was bound to act this way due to her own Divinity. Though he could resent her actions, and even avoid interacting with her because he disagreed with her, there was no way he could continue to have a bias against her. As if she had seen his understanding, Loki showed a seemingly genuine smile as she said, "At least youre quick to rationalize things. Even if you cant trust me, know that Ill never do anything topromise myself or my own Familia. I can promise at least that much since it would be very inconvenient for me otherwise." Vahn nodded his head and furrowed his brows a bit as he gave her an apologetic expression and said, "Im sorry, Loki, I didnt consider things properly and treated you with my own bias. Though I still cant easily drop my guard around you, I can at least empathize with and ce a bit of trust in you." Though Vahn needed to confirm things with Hephaestus and Anubis, he still felt like he needed to apologize. Loki nodded her head and had arge smile on her face as she spread her legs a bit and put both of her hands on her abdomen. Vahn was confused by her actions until she said in a teasing manner, "Ill consider forgiving you if you put a baby inside of me~." Vahns eyes widened to a full circle as she continued tough at his reaction. She moved her hands down her abdomen and thumbed the stretchy fabric of her shorts as Vahn averted his eyes. After calming his mind a bit, Vahn asked in a somewhat exasperated manner, "So, you know about [Enkidu]...?" Lokiughed and opened her eyes slightly as she eyed Vahn somewhat like a predator as she exined, "Indeed~! Hephaestus and Eina had told me about it after our little get-together. Since they wouldnt have been able to keep it a secret, they ended up telling me about it to prevent me from scheming against you in the future." Vahns eyebrows perked up a bit as he looked at her with a questioning gaze and asked, "Arent you trying to scheme against me right now?" Loki shook her head and said, "Nope, Im just teasing you a bit. Why, were you seriously considering knocking me up~?" She thenughed for a bit after seeing Vahns inability to answer her question. Once she had calmed down a bit, she exined, "I took a vow, so if I was truly scheming against your, or trying to pressure you, you would know since there would be a pretty big bacsh. Hephaestus was very meticulous regarding the terms of the vow, probably because of that little elf girl~?" Thinking of the two women that Vahn ced his trust in, Vahn couldnt help but imagine that they had gone to great lengths to protect him. With how Loki was acting, there was probably much more to the situation than he was aware, but she wouldnt be able to answer his questions since it might influence his decision. The strange thing was, Vahn felt like she was still pressuring him, even though she was supposed to have taken a vow that restricted her from doing so. Loki saw his confusion as he was contemting the matters and exined with a smile on her face, "Even if youre feeling pressured, it doesnt mean Ive done anything to pressure you, ya know~? That would be something like me using your rtionsh.i.p.s with Ais or Tiona to force you to make a decision. All Im doing right now is teasing you and letting you know my own intentions. I really do want a baby, so if youre ever in the mood you can give ma call and Ille running~! I even cut off all my ties with the other people I associated with just so I would be more appealing to you, so show a bit of gratitude~!" Vahn frowned at her exnation and asked, "What do you mean when you say you cut off your ties with others?" Lokis smile widened by a marginal amount as she opened her eyes and the peculiar gentle look that she had in the reception room was present. In a low and soft tone, she said, "I decided that it would probably influence your decision to give me a baby if I was acting promiscuously with other people. You might not understand it well, but there is very little I wouldnt be willing to give up in order to be pregnant and have my own child. Even if I had to abandon my rtionsh.i.p.s with other people for the rest of your life, I think it would be a small sacrifice considering the benefits. You should be prepared for other goddesses to have simr convictions in the future as well. Those chains of yours, even if you dont personally do the deed, represent something that many goddesses have sought after." Even without her exining it, Vahn was already well aware of the chaos that would result when his [Enkidu] became public knowledge. The moment he got Hephaestus pregnant, there was no doubt that the matter would be known to the various gods and goddesses. Once they knew, it would disseminate to the normal people, and there would be no end to the troubles he would have to face in the future. Without personal strength and connections, Vahn may very well end up at a disadvantage against the great number of gods, goddesses, and mortals that would approach him. However, Vahn didnt think it was right for Loki to suddenly give up her rtionsh.i.p.s with other people just because she wanted to have a child. From his perspective, there was no need for him to be the one to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e her, so he exined, "It isnt necessary for you to have my child if you want a baby. I can use the [Enkidu] and you can continue to have your rtionsh.i.p.s with others without my interference." Lokis eyes opened to an almost normal extent as she looked at Vahn with a serious expression on her face. She continued to stare at him for nearly half a minute before she said, "Im not asking you to give me a baby right now, but I want you to bind me with your [Enkidu] so I can experience its effects for myself." Vahn furrowed his brows as he considered her words, but before he made a decision, she continued, "If Im bound by your [Enkidu] and it truly restricts my Divinity, youll be able to believe my words, wont you?" Seeing the serious expression on her face and hearing the logic within her words, Vahn finally eded to her request and let [Enkidu] emerge from his palm. The moment the chain appeared, Loki looked at it with a fervent gaze as she marveled at the resplendent golden chains. Before she could ask anything, Vahn expanded his domain and ordered Enkidu to bind Loki without harming her. Less than a second after he sent the mentalmand, the chains came to life and immediately withdrew further from his palm at an incredible speed. Though Loki was somewhat startled by the change, she didnt resist at all as the chains coiled around her arms, legs, and torso. The moment she was firmly wrapped up, Loki realized she waspletely unable to move and couldnt help butugh as she asked, "Isnt this a bit excessive?" At this point, she almost looked like she had been turned into a resplendent golden cacoon as sheid down on the couch and looked at Vahn with an incredulous look on her face. Vahn also thought it was a bit excessive, so he willed the chains to loosen up enough for her to move without undoing the sealing effect. After a brief dy, the chains created enough of a gap for Loki to free her arms and legs as they continued to dangle from her limbs. She fiddled around and inspected the chains a bit and continually tried spreading her domain and trying to use her other powers. From the moment she had been wrapped in the chains, Loki actually felt almost free, even though she was clearly restrained. There was a certain rity to her mind now and she couldnt help but release a sad and somewhat relieved sigh. From Vahns perspective, the moment he had bound Loki with [Enkidu], her chaotic aura had stabilizedpletely and now had a subtle pink and yellow hue. From experience, Vahn understood this implied she had a certain amount of affection and positive feelings toward him. Given the fact that her Affection and Intrigue were both at 100, it made sense even if it made him feel a little ufortable. Loki looked into his eyes and noticed that his expression had changed the moment she had been bound. She smiled and asked, "So, did you notice anything?" Though he was somewhat hesitant, Vahn still nodded his head as he continued to hold eye contact with now Divinity-less Loki. She seemed a lot more calm than normal and stared back at him with a thoughtful look on her face. After a few seconds of silence, Loki nodded her head as if she had realized something and said, "Even with my Divinity repressed, I still feel like my decision is the correct one. My previous thoughts and actions were always influenced by my Divinity, and now that I am free from its influence I am even more positive of my choice. These chains of yours represent a future I couldnt even consider before, so in order to experience it to the fullest, I want tomit myselfpletely. Even if it might be a blink of time in the eternity of my existence, I dont want to have regrets. As the person that gave me the opportunity, I dont want to have the child of another person. Even though it might be a result of the fact of your origin and me wanting to take advantage of your genes to have powerful children, is it really wrong for a mother to desire that her children have high potential?" The entire time she was speaking, Vahn just sat in silence as he stared at the longing expression of the girl before him. Yes, though she was still fundamentally a goddess, now that she was bound by [Enkidu], she was also just a mortal girl. Her desire for children was perfectly natural, even more so considering that she had been unable to conceive originally. Even her im to want strong children wasnt wrong if Vahn considered it from the perspective of a parent. Though he believed he would treat all of his children fairly, Vahn couldnt help but feel as though he would take pride in the aplishments, capabilities, and sesses of his children in the future. After considering matters for several minutes in silence, Vahn finally released a long sigh before staring at Loki with a mixture of emotions on his face. Seeing the look in her eyes, Vahn realized he was very weak to women that were emotionally unstable and reliant on him. He knew that she was serious about forsaking other rtionsh.i.p.s just to appeal to him and would likely think the same way, perhaps even more so, when she got her Divinity back. She would probably never give up trying to have his child and, because of the influence of her Divinity, she would eventually find a way to sessfully entrap him even with the vow binding her. Vahn could see that she was about to speak up, but he just raised his hand to interrupt as he said in a somewhat tired voice, "Until I have had a child with Hephaestus and be strong enough to sessfully i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Tiona, I wont be trying to have children with anyone else...however, I will promise to give you a child in the future. I dont know when, and I still cant say I agree with how you behave, but I will keep my promise as long as you agree that I will have the final say in how the child is raised." Loki showed the most genuine smile he had ever seen as she said with excitement in her voice, "Sure, thats no problem at all~! Even I didnt think Id be able to get to you before Hephaestus." She then began tough out loud for several seconds before exining the agreement and vow she had made with Hephaestus in detail. Hearing that the matter regarding their child had already been settled before this conversation even began, Vahn couldnt help but feel both grateful and disconcerted at the efficacy and preparedness of his two wives. After recalling [Enkidu] back into his soul, Loki had resumed her mischevious demeanor as she stepped onto the table before plopping down onto Vahn. Though he had been unprepared, he still managed to catch her in his arms to prevent her from falling heavily into hisp. Loki put her arms around his neck as he held her in a mock-princess carry as sheughed in a somewhat taunting fashion and said, "It should still be a while before the girls show up...want to practice making a baby?" Vahn gave her a strange look before standing up and lifting her body into the air. She seemed to have a bit of expectation in her eyes as she peeked through the slits and stared into his face with a slight smile. Vahn stared into her eyes for a moment with a smile of his own as he turned toward the couch where he had just sat...and dropped Loki onto it in a not-so-delicate fashion. She gave him a somewhat aggrieved look as she rubbed her butt and said, "Hey, thats no way to treat the future mother of your child~!" In response to her words, Vahnughed a bit before saying in a somewhat humorous tone, "I think, before you have any children, you need to work a bit on your behavior. Though your clothes are very eye-catching, they arent exactly clothes youd expect a mother to wear. I dont mind ying around with you a bit, but dont think Ill let you get an advantage over Hephaestus. Just imagining how sad she would be if she found out I had s.e.x with you while Im still forging an item for her...I cant even begin to consider it." Loki stood up from the couch and gave him a somewhat approving look as she nodded her head and said, "Fine, fine, dont me me for trying. I just heard about your prowess from those two brats and wanted to experience it for myself. Ill be patient until youre able to please your precious Hephaestus..." With her words finished, Loki began to walk toward the door and seemed to be leaving Vahn behind. Moments before she exited through therge double doors, she turned around and asked, "What kind of clothes do you think would suit me...?" Vahn had been watching her leave and stopped to consider her words for a moment before replying, "Im not too sure...you current outfit seems very you, but it also doesnt seem to suit you either. Its a very strange thing..." Loki nodded her head and showed a contemtive expression for a few seconds before saying in a yful manner, "Next time, Ill let you dress me up until you find something you like~! I dont mind trying on any kind of outfit, as long as it is something that interests you~." Then, without waiting for his response, Loki left through the double doors whileughing in a strange manner. (A/N: Alternate Titles: ves to the Laws Part 2, Lets y dress-up,Logical Prison) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $555/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 183 - Solutions

Chapter 183 - Solutions

After Loki left him behind in the room by himself, Vahn sat back down on the couch to contemte everything that had happened. He now had a better understanding of why gods and goddesses acted the way they did, and Vahn was wondering if there was a way to help them. Unfortunately, unless he could re-write thews of the record, there was no way for Vahn to change how Divinity functioned. [Enkidu] could circ.u.mvent thews to an extent, but the usage was extremely limited and the chains couldnt even naturally exist in the world if not for the fact they were bound to his soul. Much like how his Innate abilities transcended the restrictions of the record, [Enkidu] had a simr effect. Vahn wouldnt be able to develop an item to emte its effects unless it transcended Tier 4, which would also result in the destruction of the record... The only practical solution seemed to be to find a way to inhibit their Divinity even further than their descent in the mortal world did. The fact that their Divinity was already heavily restrictedpared to how powerful it was in Heaven showed that it should be possible. The problem was, Vahn had no practical way of doing so at the moment. Even if he could inhibit it further, there was no way of knowing what kind of long-term effects that would have on the gods and goddesses around him. In the worst case scenario, if their Divinity was inhibited for too long, they would cease to exist entirely since they were unable to fulfill their purpose. Another solution Vahn came up with was to potentially give them more Divinity instead of inhibiting their current ones. Since gods could have multiple Divinity and it was something that could be developed over time, Vahn figured it should be possible for him to find a way to trick thews and give them a new purpose. That way, even if the effects of their prior Divinity faded, they wouldnt be destroyed since there was a secondary Divinity support their soul. Surprisingly, this seemed to be more practical and could even potentially enhance the power of the record and increase its Tier beyond 4. The problem with that was, if the fundamentalws of the world were altered to amodate the change, there was no way to regte the sudden influx of power. Not only would there be higher tiered gods roaming about, but even mortals would undergo incredible changes. Depending on how things yed out, it might very well result in the end of the world and the destruction of the record if it failed to adapt to the changes. There was also the problem about who Vahn should help to begin with. The fairest result would have him alter or enhance the Divinity of every god and goddess, but that would obviously lead to the greatest amount of chaos. However, if he only selected a few gods or goddesses that he had a preference for, the end result wouldnt be much better. There would inevitably be a war caused by the shift of power, even if the people that he empowered didnt initiate it. Since the current pantheons had been in ce for as long as six-hundred-million years, it wasnt easy for them to stand idly by as other gods usurped their power and authority. In that case, not only would Vahn likely die, but all of the people he cared about and enhanced would likely be the enemy of the others gods. In the worst case scenario, they would be killed or imprisoned while all of Vahns children would likely be captured and experimented on so they could understand the origin of his powers. Vahn knew better than most that being born as a unique existence could heavily influence how you were treated from the moment of your birth. Imagining his children being experimented on in the same way that he was in his previous life, Vahn couldnt prevent his domain from expanding due to his rage. As if to respond to his outburst, Loki returned with a bottle of wine and two sses as she stared at Vahn with a questioning look. Vahn noticed her presence and recalled his domain before inspecting her current attire. In twenty minutes or so he hadnt seen her, Loki had changed into a more casual outfit that looked distinctly different from her usual self. She was wearing a white long-sleeved buttoned shirt with a short dark-blue skirt. Noticing his gaze, she grinned and exined, "Even if I change my clothing, I dont like to wear pants and stuff. I may not have much in the b.r.e.a.s.ts department, but I like to show off my butt." As she spoke, she turned slightly in the hopes that Vahn could get a better glimpse of her assets. Though the skirt covered half of her thighs, it did nothing to hide the curve of her butt. Vahn noticed that Loki did, in fact, have a rather pert and well-shaped butt. Seeing that Vahn had indeed looked, Lokis smile widened a bit before she walked over and sat down next to him before cing the two wine cups on the table. As she began filling the two cups with the ruby-red liquid, she asked in a cheeky manner, "So, what did you think? Like what you see?" Vahn sighed in his mind and decided to pay her apliment and said, "It looks strangely healthy and well shaped." Loki, hearing his words,ughed out loud as she considered how strange hispliment was. She could tell that he was being serious, but that just made it more hrious to her since it was such an awkward way topliment someone. She tried teasing him a bit further and asked, "How about it, want to try touching it? I dont mean to brag, but I have confidence that youll be pleasantly surprised by its feel." Though he considered it for a moment, Vahn still shook his head and even refused the wine ss she held out to him. Lokis brows furrowed a bit and she said, "You dont have to worry, I didnt drug it or anything." Almost as if to prove her im, Loki downed her entire ss in a few short gulps before exhaling out with a happy Paaah~ sound. Vahn exined how he never drank outside of his home or unless he was celebrating an event with several of hispanions. Loki tried convincing him that they were celebrating the birth of their future children, but Vahn continued to refuse until she had gone through nearly half the bottle on her own. She quickly became drunk and started acting uninhibited while Vahn had to continually remove her hands from his body to prevent her from sticking to him. Unfortunately, the drunker she got, the bolder she acted until the point where Vahn decided to quiet her. He turned toward the brazen goddess and asked in a casual manner, "Would you like a massage, Loki? I have been told Im quite good at it. Even Hephaestus and Anubis have given me a number ofpliments." Vahn almost mentioned Eva in his self-promotion, since she had been the one to help him polish the skill to a new level. Loki got very excited by his proposition and quicklyid down on the couch with her back facing Vahn. She gave him a teasing look with her drunk-blush and said, "Please, be gentle~." Completely unaffected by her words, Vahn nodded his head with a smile and ced both of his palms on either side of her body. Though sheughed cheekily at first, the moment Vahn channeled his [Hands of Nirvana], she quickly changed her tone. Since Vahn was trying to force her to calm down, he was giving her the same type of massage that he had given to Hephaestus and Anubis in the past. Though the shirt on her body prevented him from identifying the muscles and nerves effectively, it didnt inhibit his ability to use the skill by much. The moment Vahn had put his hands on her back, Loki began to panic as she quickly lost strength in her body. She couldnt help but feel that Vahn had used some kind of strange magic on her, but the more he traced his hands on her body and pressed into her muscles, the morefortable and pleasant she felt. Her previously drunken mind immediately regained rity as she grits her teeth to resist the sensations wracking her body. She tried to look toward him and get him to stop, but he seemedpletely focused on his task. Because Vahn hadnt used his [Hands of Nirvana] on anyone other than Eva after obtaining Rank S, he was unaware of the efficacy it had on other people. Since Eva had incredibly high resistance and recovered quickly, Vahn had be ustomed to chaining together the sensations in rapid-fire sequence. Less than a minute after he started working on the muscles in her back, Lokis body began to have micro convulsions and she had bepletely silent. Vahn could hear her gasp lightly and saw from the side of his vision that she was gritting her teeth in an effort to resist. He chuckled a bit within his own mind as he traced the energy in his hands along her spine while targeting various nerve cl.u.s.ters in her ribs and shoulders. Lokis body began to convulse even more and Vahn could feel the vibration of her muscles that showed that his massage was effective. Without skipping a beat, he continued to massage her back before turning his attention to the butt which she had so proudly touted earlier. Though he didnt start with it directly, Vahn wanted to tease her a bit so he began to massage the muscles around her thighs and noticed she had a greatly enhanced reaction. At this point, Loki had stopped gritting her teeth and had a slightly zed expression as her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. Vahn worked his thumbs into her thighs and pressed his energy deep within the muscles which caused them to twitch incessantly. Satisfied with the results, Vahn moved on to thest bastion of Lokis sanity as he began to press strongly into the nerve cl.u.s.ters around her butt cheeks. Vahn had to admit that, as she had proudly dered earlier, Lokis butt was incredibly firm yet supple. It wasnt like Hephaestus who had a very soft and pleasant feeling butt, nor was it like Anubis who had a very springy and fleshy butt. Lokis was a mixture between feeling incredibly soft yet had enough resistance to make it tantalizing to the touch. Vahn felt like his description of it being healthy was well suited to the feeling that wasing from his hands. After around twenty minutes had passed, Vahn was preparing to stop since Loki had long since tried putting up any resistance. She had turnedpletely silent and docile as shey on the couch with a rtivelyrge drool stain on the white cushions. As Vahn was beginning to cease his actions, he caught the presence of several people about to make their way into the room. Removing his hands, he stared at the doors and could see that two of the auras had slightly pink hues which indicated they were likely Tiona and Ais. As expected, Tiona, Ais, Tione, and Lefiya entered the room and saw Vahn leaning over Lokis unresponsive body. Tione and Lefiya gave him strange looks while Tiona and Ais had slightly varying reactions. Tiona seemed genuinely happy to see Vahn, and a smile appeared on her face as she made her way over with a spring in her step. Ais, however, stared at Vahns hands with a bit of interest in her eyes since she was the most aware of everyone present about what Vahn was doing. Since he had stopped his hands, Loki managed to regain a bit of rity as she looked toward the four girls that had entered the room. She stretched out her right hand and said in a slurred voice, "Shhaaave meeee~. It wont stooooop~" Even now, Lokis body still vibrated with the reverberations of a twenty-minute long continuous climax. She had severely underestimated Vahns ability and now wanted to escape from his clutches before she lost her mind. Tiona immediately beganughing at Lokis cry for help as she said in a teasing voice, "Looks like even Loki-sama cant stand up against Vahns [Hands of Nirvana]." Sheughed like she had discovered something interesting as Ais walked over and poked Lokis powerless body and said, "Justice." Since Loki had often teased people and would asionally try to tease and grope her, Ais felt like Loki had finally got her just deserts. Lefiya, who had a fierce blush on her face, heard Aiss words and stared at the body of Loki with a bit of vindication. Since she was the easiest person in the main group to tease, she was often the victim of Lokis shenanigans. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts had been groped so many times at this point that she couldnt even begin to count. Seeing Loki on the couch at the mercy of Vahn made her respect him a little bit more. The only person that seemed genuinely confused about what was going on was Tione who looked at the entire scene with a perplexed expression. She turned her gaze from Vahn and Loki before settling on her sister and asked, "Tiona, what is going on here?" Tiona, hearing her words, looked at Tione and said in a humorous tone, "Vahn has an incredible massage technique~! With just a single touch, he could probably make even an Amazon purr like a cat person~!" Though Tione had some doubts, she saw that Ais immediately nodded at Tionas im. With a bit of intrigue in her eyes, she turned her vision back to Vahns hands and stared at Loki who had yet to recover even after a few minutes had passed. She was very curious if Vahn really was as skillful as purported. Unfortunately, though she wasnt aware of it at this time, Tione wouldter look back on this moment with the desire of warning her past self for her curiosity. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Godhand Returns,How to Tame a Trickster Goddess,Justice) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $555/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 184 - Gifts

Chapter 184 - Gifts

Leaving Loki on the couch, Vahn moved to the opposite couch where he was nked by Tiona and Ais as Lefiya stood at the side and Tione took the ce where Vahn had left an upancy next to Loki. After everyone had found a spot where they werefortable, Tiona asked, "So, what happened to cause you to turn Loki-sama into putty?" She still had an amused grin on her face since she had never seen her goddess in such apromised state. Vahn exined everything that happened during his private meeting with Loki, including the parts concerning Divinity, [Enkidu], and pregnancy. As for the reason why Loki was currently a goddess-shaped blob, Vahn exined that she was acting brazenly after getting drunk and he decided to help her rx so she wouldnt be so restless. Loki, who heard his exnation uttered in a distressed and tired voice, "Dont listen to him...He didnt help me rx at all..." However, though she was speaking the truth, none of the girls present seemed to care about her current state. Lefiya looked as though she was enjoying Lokis suffering while Ais just muttered in a in tone, "Sneaky..." She then grabbed Vahns right hand with hers and gave him a somewhat inquisitive look. Vahn understood what she was trying to ask, so he began to channel his [Hands of Nirvana] with the intent of rxing. Ais felt the warm energy enter into her hands so she smiled and said, "Pleasant feeling..." Tiona seemed to be incited by her actions and took Vahns other hand and asked if he could do the same for her, so he did. Tione stared at the three with a bit of annoyance and asked, "Does it really feel that good?" In response to her question, Ais nodded her head while Tiona just startedughing with a cheerful expression on her face. Ever since she had lost her v.i.r.g.i.nity to Vahn, Tione had been bugging her for details a lot. There was even an incident where she tried to sneak into Finns quarters in the middle of the night before being promptly booted out. For the next hour or so, the entire group continued to talk about the events that had taken ce since the meeting between the other girls. Though Lefiya blushed after knowing Vahn was aware of her presence at the meeting, she still contributed to the conversation a bit. Both Tiona and Ais ended up apologizing to Vahn for pressuring him into having s.e.x with them. In response, Vahn frowned and shook his head as he denied them any me. He admitted that he was just as curious as Ais, and the entire reason he had shown up that day was that he genuinely cared about Tionas desire for children. Even though Vahn agreed that things had developed too fast, he exined to both girls that he cared about them deeply. He told Tiona how he liked her active and cheerful demeanor and how she was always outgoing. For Ais, he exined how, though she might seem tock expression, he greatly appreciated her kindness and admired her strength. When they had dueled after their first meeting, she constantly tried to take his state-of-mind into consideration and tried to encourage him to grow stronger. Ultimately, Vahn managed to convince both girls to not me themselves for what had happened, and Vahn even expressed his intention to continue their rtionsh.i.p.s in the future. From now on, they would constantly be together on expeditions, and Vahn wanted to protect them both while trying to increase his own strength. When the conversation got to this point, Tiona was in high tensions and had glued herself to Vahns body while Ais leaned against his shoulder while still holding onto his hand. Lefiya had a somewhat sad expression as she watched the three acting so affectionately toward each other while she stood off to the side on her own. She had known Vahn just as long as Tiona and Ais, and they have even shared a few intimate moments in the past. Vahn had always been kind to her and tried to cheer her up when she was scared with the same warm hands that were held by Tiona and Ais. Remembering his hand against her back in the fight against the Juggernaut and his subsequent copse from the mental attack, Lefiya felt a bit saddened to be left out. She wasnt the only one having strange thoughts, as even Tione and Loki looked at the trio with a bit of frustration on their faces. In the hour they had been talking, Loki finally managed to recover and had begun slowly drinking her wine as she made weak attempts to jump in on the conversation. Tione herself had actually been resenting both Vahn and her sister ever since their tryst because she felt jealous due to her on unrequited love. She imagined her and Finn enjoying thepany of each other and being affectionate on the couch, and couldnt help but join Loki as the two continued to drink their troubles away. After a while, Vahn managed to free his hand from Ais andid out a variety of weapons on the table starting with the massive [Dance of the Amazon]. Fortunately, the table was of a rather high quality, so it was able to support the weight of the weapon without too many issues. Everyone in the room was somewhat confused at the sudden appearance of the weapon, so Vahn exined, "Ive been trying to improve my forging so I can create an item for Hephaestus before the Denatus. Though my products may not be the best, I wanted to try and create items that would be beneficial to those I cared about." Hearing his exnation, Tionas face immediately brightened since she realized the simrities between the current weapon and her own Urga. Before Vahn even exined anything about the weapon, she grabbed his head with her hands and began to kiss him passionately with a somewhat fervent expression on her face. Fortunately, Tione and Ais managed to separate the two before Tiona got even further out of hand. Since Vahn triggered her instincts as an Amazon, even if she tried to control herself it was very difficult when he did things that pleased her to such an extent. Vahn made a mental note to be more cautious around Tiona as he exined the specifications of the [Dance of the Amazon] to everyone present. Hearing each different feature of the weapon made Tionas expression turn more flushed and she had to be ced in between Ais and Tione as Vahn sat next to Loki who was eying the weapon with clear intrigue on her face. Eventually, she turned to Vahn and asked with a mischevious smile on her face, "Given the design of this weapon, I cant imagine it costs less than ten-million Valis. Are you really going to give it away for free?" Vahn returned her gaze for a few seconds before turning he head and matching the fierce gaze of Tiona. The moment he looked at Tiona, both Ais and Tione tightened their grip on the girl as Vahn said in a serious and sincere manner, "For the people I care about, there is no price Im not willing to pay. Ten-million Valis is nothing if its able to keep them safe for even a minute longer." Not only Tionas, but everyone in the room had their eyes widen to various degrees before they showed different expressions. Loki began tough at the bold promation while Ais gave him a happy smile. Tione seemed to be frustrated while Lefiya had hung her head low and had a somewhat sad expression on her face. Tiona herself looked like she was about ready to eat Vahn alive and if not for the two Level 5 girls holding her at bay, Vahn may very well have had to beat a hasty retreat. Eventually, things developed to the point where Vahn had to use [Hands of Nirvana] to help Tiona calm down before she left the room holding [Dance of the Amazons] like a precious treasure. When she left, Vahn felt a bit sad at her departure but could also feel a heavy pressure relieved from his shoulders. After settling back down, Vahn took out the next weapon which was [Gram]. As if she had taken a note out of Tionas book, Ais gave Vahn a short but deep kiss for nearly a minute before she lifted up the sword and inspected it with a slightly enamored expression on her face. Vahn was still a bit dazed from her affectionate disy and it took him a few seconds before he began exining the features. Hearing that it provided her a benefit against dragons, Ais looked at Vahn with the closest thing to a loving gaze he had ever seen from her. After cing the sword back on the table, she tried to embrace Vahns face and kiss him again before Loki shouted out to stop her actions. Watching Vahn constantly being kissed and acting passively had triggered her a bit and she couldnt help but try to put a stop to things before they got out of hand. She couldnt help but wonder where the dominant Vahn that had tormented her for nearly half an hour had disappeared to. Though everyone had assumed he was finished with the weapons, Vahn had noticed that both Tione and Lefiya had strange reactions to everything that happened. After a brief period of thought, Vahn decided to give both girls gifts as well, albeit much less impressive than the ones he had given Ais and Tiona. cing his hands over the table, Vahn removed [Gale] and [Tempest], the twin swords he had forged when he first entered the orb. Ais didnt seem to have much of a reaction, but Loki, Tione, and Lefiya stared at the two intricately designed swords with confusion and intrigue. Vahn looked at Tione and she seemed to understand his intentions as she pointed to her own face and asked, "For me?" Vahn nodded his head with a smile and began exining the functions of the two swords. Since he had seen that Tione used shortswords in the past, he thought they suited her well. As she listened to his exnation, Tione took the two swords into her hand and admired their structure. Since Vahn had put a lot of effort into every minor detail of the sword, they both looked almost ceremonial in their make. Even a novice could understand the effort put into their creation, much less a skilled veteran like Tione. She looked at the boy who was supposed to be her sisters lover and asked with mixed emotions and a frown, "Dont tell me youre trying to get to me after getting your hands on my sister?" Since Tione had intended to try and pressure Tiona into being with Finn when she finally managed to break down his resistance, she thought that Tiona and Vahn had developed simr fantasies to her own. Though she thought highly of Vahn as well, she still had far more affection for her Captain, even though he never reciprocated. After hearing Vahns words about protecting the people he cared about, she couldnt help but think he was trying to win her over. Vahn shook his head and exined without losing his smile, "If something were to happen to you, Tiona would be heartbroken. If these swords can protect your and her smiles, I think that would be the best situation for everyone." Hearing Vahns words, Tione frowned and epted the two swords withoutint. Knowing that Vahn was just giving her the swords to make her sister happy, Tione felt several conflicting emotions in her heart and mind. After Tione epted the swords, Loki and Lefiya stared at Vahn with a slight anticipation on their faces. Even though Lefiya had a lot of difficulty dealing with her emotions regarding Vahn, seeing him give out weapons to even Tione made her slightly expectant. Remembering how Vahn had said he wanted to protect her back in the dungeon, Lefiya believed that she might fall into the category of people that he had forged an item for. Unfortunately, Vahn had only originally forged items for Tiona and Ais, so he didnt have a staff on hand to give the bashful young elf. The [Gale] and [Tempest] had been made on a whim and now he was in a mild predicament as he noticed the hopeful look in her eyes. Since he had decided to give them both gifts previously, Vahn ended up having to purchase a staff from the system and gift it to her. Fortunately, Lefiyas affection for him had reached 84 points since he had fallen unconscious in the dungeon. The staff he gave her was the same [Heal] that he had purchased long ago. Since it cost 2,000OP, it was actually slightly higher quality than the items he had forged for Tiona and Ais. Of course, Vahn didnt think that was the case since the OP reward he got for naming an item probably had no corrtion with its rarity considering that [Heal] was C. Vahn gave the staff to the fiercely blushing Lefiya who received it with shaky hands. After exining its functions, everyone in the room had somewhat shocked expressions when they found out that it was actually capable of healing any non-lethal wounds as long as the user had enough mana. The only downside was that using the healing effect of the staff would affect its efficacy until finally breaking after a certain number of uses. Lefiya hugged the staff to her chest as she looked at Vahn with slightly teary eyes and bowed. With a quiet and shaky voice, she said, "Thank you...Vahn. Thank you..." Vahn didnt know why she was so affected by a simple gift so, since he had been standing when he handed it to her, he reached out his hand and began channeling [Hands of Nirvana] as he had done for her several times in the past. Feeling the somewhat familiar and warm sensationing from the marginallyrger hand of Vahn, Lefiya felt like she wanted to cry but managed to keep her tears contained within her blurry eyes. Vahn was always so nice to her, and he had even given her an item that not only increased herbat capabilities but also allowed her to save the lives of her allies in a pinch. Healing magic, especially healing magic that could be used from a distance, was incredibly rare. Lefiya, along with everyone else in the room, had never even heard of a staff like the one Vahn had presented to her. After Lefiya had calmed down a bit, she ended up excusing herself from the room since she was in an unstable state. Vahn had asked Ais to take care of her which made the elf blush and hang her head as the two left the room in silence. Loki gave Vahn an inspecting gaze as she asked, "That staff, did you make it?" Vahn turned to make eye contact with her and noticed that even Tione was giving him an appraising look. After a brief consideration, Vahn realized it wasnt incorrect to say that the items he purchased from the system were created by him. Since The Path had bonded with his soul, that meant that everything it produced was a product of his soul, which was the same as being a product of Vahn himself. He affirmed Lokis words with confidence and it seemed to work since she actually seemed to be impressed and said in an appreciative manner, "Thanks, Vahn, that kind of staff couldnt have been easy to make. Im sure itll be very helpful in the dungeon if anything happens. If possible, Id like for you to create even more and I dont mind paying for each of them." Vahn shook his head and exined, "That staff is forged with a very special method. Other than Lefiya, nobody else would be able to use it." Since it was technically true, Loki couldnt see through his words and just showed a bit of disappointment for a brief moment before her expression turned into a teasing one as she asked, "So you made that staff especially for Lefiya~? At this rate you might end up conquering all the girls in my Familia, myself included~!" Tione seemed totch onto the words as she also tried to tease Vahn a bit, "Really, if Captain doesnt change the way he treats me soon, I might have topete with my sister for your affection. Since she was able to take on that little monster of yours, I should be able to handle it just as well." Her words caused Loki to ask, "Little monster?" Though she somewhat understood what Tione was implying, she wanted to confirm her suspicions. Tioneughed and gave Vahn a yful look as she leaned over and whispered into the grinning Lokis ear. After a few seconds, Lokis eyes widened and she looked at Vahn with an incredulous expression. If what Tione said was true, she nearly made a grave error earlier when she tried to goad Vahn into having s.e.x with her. She might need to prepare herself both mentally and physically before she tried approaching him in the future. (A/N: Alternate Title: The Legend Lives On,Vahn casually gifting out 100MV of items,The Danger that is Tiona) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $599/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 185 - Tyrannical Might

Chapter 185 - Tyrannical Might

Before leaving the Twilight Manor, Loki tried to convince Vahn to give her something as well since he had given gifts to everyone else. Vahn considered her words for a few seconds before purchasing a bottle of wine from the shop called [Nectar] that had a price ranging from 100OP-1,000,000OP depending on its potency. The one he gifted her cost 1000OP and had an age of 100 years. When Loki received the unknown wine, she removed the cork and smelled the contents before a satisfied and happy expression appeared on her face. She then tried and failed to convince Vahn to stay as he had already made a promise to stay at the Hearths Embrace. Since it had been something the girls agreed on during the previous meeting, Loki didnt have an easy way to convince him so she saw him out while causing amotion among her children when she tried to get Vahn to give her a kiss. Vahn responded to her puckered lips by giving her a flick on the forehead which caused her to hold the impact site with both of her hands. Since Vahn was a Level 3 with stats that could rival a Level 4, his flick was quite painful for the nonbatant Loki. As he walked away, she demanded that he bring more wine as a constion for the grievances she suffered due to his mistreatment. Vahn just waved his hand in a dismissive manner without promising anything as he walked away from the Twilight Manor at a slow and casual pace. By the time Vahn neared the Hearths Embrace it was almost time for him to enter the orb. He still had a few minutes and was deciding if he should enter the Inn or find a secret area to enter the orb. There was a high probability that once he entered, he would be distracted by Tina and Mn and potentially miss the optimal time to use the orb. Of course, if he used it outside, there was a non-zero chance that something could happen within the orb which would cause him to lose consciousness in the real world. Deciding it would be best to be surrounded by people he could trust, Vahn entered into the Hearths Embrace and was almost immediately greeted by Tina in a manner he hadnt heard in a long time, ""Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee~! Would you like to stay the nya-ight~?" The moment she gave the shout, Tina noticed it was Vahn who entered and turned toward the back of the dining area and shouted, "Mooooom, Vahnyas back~!" After shouting for Mn, Tina then closed the distance to Vahn and gave him a huge and cheerful smile while she hugged the circr tray she was carrying to her chest. Vahn smiled at her adorable act and reached out his hand as he began gently patting her head. Sheughed in a silly manner until Mn exited through the kitchen doors and smiled at the two blocking the door. Seeing how well Vahn and Tina got along, she disyed a gentle smile before saying, "Wee back, Vahn." Vahn returned her smile before ruffling Tinas hair a bit and approaching the counter and sitting down. Tina followed behind him after fixing her hair and gave him a reproachful gaze as she said, "You shouldnt mess up a girls hair~nya!" The tone she had used was the same as when she was lecturing people back home, so Vahn couldnt help butugh and offer her a short apology. After settling down, Vahn exined what had happened while he was away, including the matters regarding Loki. He had decided previously that he wouldnt conceal anything regarding women from any of the other girls he associated with. Tina seemed to be a bit annoyed by the actions of Loki, especially since she didnt have a good impression of her from the meeting. Vahn noticed her expression and began exining what he had learned in regards to Divinity and how it influenced and sometimes even dictated the actions of gods and goddesses. After learning the new information, Tina said she was willing to forgive her for the time being but couldnt guarantee she would get along with Loki in the future. Mn, belonging to a Familia for several years previously, understood a bit in regards to Divinity and she expressed her understanding as well. As a mother herself, she could empathize with another womans desire to have children. Since it might cause a stir if anything happened, Vahn exined that he needed to have a bit of privacy to use one of his secret techniques at 5 AM and 5 PM every day. Mn was a bit curious, but since Vahn hadnt exined on his own she didnt ask. Tina was also quite perceptive for her age, so she just showed Vahn to the room at the back of the Inn where she and her mother stayed. Though they had a guest room, Tina insisted that he use their bed since he would apparently be sleeping there tonight anyway. Vahnid down on the rtively small bed and pulled out the orb shortly after Tina left the room. There was still nearly a full minute before he had to use the orb, so Vahn justy there in silence as he passively smelled the fragrance that permeated throughout the room. Just like when he had first entered his room where Hephaestus previously resided, Vahn noticed there was a distinct aroma in the room where Mn and Tina both slept. He was somewhat tempted to turn around and smell the scent more deeply, but he managed to restrain himself with a bit of effort. Fortunately, the time to enter the orb came quickly and Vahn immediately inserted his consciousness before waking up in the bed where Eva was waiting to pin him. After nearly two hours, Vahn finally managed to escape her clutches and set out to get some work done at the forge. Before he was able to do so, however, he noticed a strange sight that caused the small vampire tough mischievously from behind him. As Vahn looked at the sight of the 12m long Fafnirying on the ground in front of him in an almost cutesy, yet tired, manner, Eva exined, "He grew up a lot in thest four years, and I even managed to teach him a bit of magic. Though the systems of our worlds seem different, I noticed that he had a powerful affinity for darkness and destruction based magic." While Eva was exining the changes in Fafnir, Vahn had put his hand on its snout and begun channeling his energy into its body to replenish its diminishing reserves. ording to Eva, he had been perfectly fine for the first three-or-so years before entering a pseudo-dormant state a couple of months ago. The mana capacity within its body had increased by a massive amount and Vahn had to take a break to replenish his energy before he was finally able to fully restore Fafnirs reserves. During the time he was helping it recover, Vahn had noticed a few changes within the system that made him both pleased and shocked. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Fafnir] Age: 4 years Race: Dragon (Juvenile: 12m) Level: 5 Loyalty: 283 Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Guardian Familiar) Karma: - State: [Active] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Even though there were no monsters to fight, Fafnirs level had increased from 3 to 5 as its body naturally matured closer to a.d.u.l.thood. Not only his level, but even his Soul Strength had increased from Tier 1 to Tier 2, and Vahn was very happy to see its growth. However, his satisfaction turned to absolute shock in the next moment when he heard a low, yet childish sounding, voice in his head. (*Wee back Master.*) Seeing Vahns shocked expression, Evaughed as she jumped on top of Fafnirs back and exined, "Around a year after you left, this little one learned how to speak. It uses something simr to telepathy and can directlymunicate with the minds of those in the area. It can even use it as a mental attack to rattle enemies~!" After Eva hadnded on its back, Fafnir immediately spread its wings to around 18m and ascended to the sky at a rapid pace. Vahn was left alone on the ground as he continued to stare in awe at the sheer majesty of Fafnirs ascent. The fact it was Eva on its back right now instead of him made Vahn feel somewhat regretful. As he considered giving Fafnir the order to pick him up, Vahn noticed the pitch ck sky in the background began to darken slightly and he could see with his enhanced perception that the mana in the atmosphere quickly converged on Fafnir. Once Fafnir has ascended to around 500m, Eva used her own telepathy to issue it an order and it began using the attack she taught it in the past. Now that its Master had saturated its cells with his energy, it was able to quickly absorb the mana from the atmosphere and channel it along the pathways of its body before consolidating them in the magic circle in its mouth. A green gleam shed through its eyes as it spread out its wings to the limit and opened its mouth wide while aiming far into the distance. Vahn actually felt his instincts firing as he observed the sight of Fafnir charging what he expected was a powerful magic attack. His intuition proved correct as, after around eight seconds, Fafnir spread its wings wide before shooting a massive pitch-ck beam of energy that looked like aser far off into the distance. Vahn felt his anticipation increased as he jumped to the top of the wall to get a better view. Strangely though, even though the beam of ck light had disappeared there had yet to be an indicator of it colliding with anything. The moment Vahn felt confusion, he suddenly felt the ground shake as an invisible energy waved mmed into the wall and ruffled his hair and clothing. Immediately following the shockwave, Vahn saw something like a dark mushroom cloud rising from the far distance. The sight of the cloud made Vahns heart shake as several more shockwaves continued to batter the firm walls that had been reinforced by Evas magic in preparation for the demonstration. After nearly a minute, the cloud had grown to a terrifying height as Eva teleported next to him and exined with a bit of humor in her tone, "It was a lot bigger this time than when I had taught it the spell initially. Id say it qualifies as a tactical ss magic and probably has the destructive yield of around 130 megatons. Make sure you never use it in a crowded area unless you want to kill everything within a five-kilometer radius. Hearing her words, Vahn couldnt help but feel a cold sweat run down his back as he stared at Fafnir who was flying around in circles above his head while shouting in his head with its cheerful and childish voice, ("Praise me~, Praise me~"). Vahn nodded his head and sent his thoughts to praise Fafnir for the truly awesome disy of power. Eva then exined all the other changes in Fafnir before saying matter-of-factly that she would still be able to block the attack as long as she wasnt caught off guard. Vahn realized that his decision to leave Fafnir behind to train with Eva had been the best decision he had made since arriving in this world. Now he had a mount that could reach nearly 4000 km/h in the air that could also hit a target from more than 100km away with tactical precision. If there were ever a major threat on the surface world, there would be few things that Fafnir wouldnt be able to deal with. Even though it was only Level 5 and would likely lose an extended engagement against veteran adventurers, from a distance it was almost unrivaled. The attack, called Destructive Ray, had a veryrge energy requirement and build-up, but it approached the pinnacle of a Tier 3 existence and was on the verge of breaking into Tier 4. Considering that Fafnir was only Tier 2, Vahn couldnt help but feel that it was outscalingmon sense. Heter learned that the attack couldnt be rapid fired and actually required nearly a month of time for the energy channels within the body to recover before it could be used again. That meant that, if Fafnir wasnt in its optimal condition, it likely wouldnt be able to use the attack without seriously damaging its body. Of course, that restriction would only apply if Fafnir stayed in the real world, as Vahn assumed converting it back into an orb before re-summoning it would reduce the fatigue of its body entirely. During the second day, after his rest and rxation with Eva, Vahn confirmed his suspicions when Fafnir was able to fire the beam a second time after he re-summoned it. Seeing the disy, Eva gave Vahn a strange look and remarked that it wasnt just Fafnir that defiedmon sense. As the person who had converted it from a normal Wyvern into an incredibly powerful ck dragon, Vahn was the source of everything. Now that he could evenpletely circ.u.mvent the cooldown for using Destructive Ray, he had very quickly obtained an almost ridiculous amount of power at his fingertips. (A/N: Alternate Titles: ck Tyrant Dragon Emperor, Fafnir,Childish voice,Vahn the Ophactafillia) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $615/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 186 - River

Chapter 186 - River

Though it wasnt the original purpose for why he had begun training within the orb, Vahn spent the remainder of the three day period training with Fafnir to discover its capabilities. Other than Destruction Ray, it had learned two other magics. The first was called Sagitta Magica, and Fafnir could use it for fire up to 28 bolt of darkness elemental magic that had corrosive properties. To round out its skillset, it also had an amazing technique called Shadow Walk which allowed it to hide within the shadows of objects almost like it was entering into an alternate dimension. Vahn also learned that Fafnir had a gross ipatibility with barrier and defensive magic. It was an almost pure offensive juggernaut and, other than its incredibly durable scales and near perfect immunity to magic, it had no way of defending itself. Therge blue cross symbol on its chest actually acted as a significant weak spot that would result in its death if a severe enough blow was dealt to it. Since Fafnir was currently 12m long, the cross had grown to a sizerger than Vahns entire body. This meant that, if even a stray arrow or spear impacted the cross, Fafnir would die. Thest thing of note was Fafnirs apparent weakness to righteous people, light magic, and holy property spells. Since Vahn had next to no negative karma, even when he had Fafnir duel against him, he noticed that Fafnirs capabilities had decreased by more than 40% and his magic would actually misfire andnd far off from the intended target. It was almost like, if Fafnir fought against a good person, it would suddenly have incredibly bad luck and severely reduced performance. Because of this, even though Fafnir was currently much stronger than he was, Vahn was actually able to keep up with him a bit due to his parameters reaching near Level 4. Infusing his [Enkidu] into his domain almost prevent Fafnir from being able to fight back at all. The moment it became wrapped up in [Enkidu], the only thing it could do was wait for Vahn to release it as it would lose all of its power. If not for its ability to fly, Fafnir had almost no way to fight against Vahn in an extended engagement. Since they were fighting, Eva had been spectating and giving advice to both of them while correcting some of the mistakes they would make. She even tried demonstrating how to use Shundo to give Vahn increased mobility, but he wasnt able toprehend it well. Though he could easily channel magic into his arms and legs, Vahn couldnt link it between two points easily and would often be sent tripping for several meters when he tried. Even so, no matter how many times he fell over, Vahn was determined to try and learn the incredible movement technique after seeing Eva use it to easy target his blindspots without him being able to react in the slightest. With the use of his domain, he was able to have some marginal sess, but it would still take several weeks to get the hang of it. Fortunately, even though it was a physical skill, it primarily used mana to execute, so Vahn was able to develop the skill even as a spiritual body. Soon enough, the three day period had ended and Vahn parted ways with Eva from within the room that had be their personal sanctuary. Vahn always felt a little sad every time he left Eva behind but was less affected now that she had thepany of Fafnir. Vahn had also wanted to leave behind (Nameless), the kobold that was often kept within his inventory, but Eva said it had no capacity to learn magic and she also considered it quite ugly. Hearing her words, Vahn felt a bit guilty about the somewhat pathetic creature and decided to give it a strong name in the future when his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] was off cooldown. After awakening in the real world, Vahn quickly left the bed before wandering into the connecting corridor towards the kitchen area. Since he wasnt a normal guest anymore, he had full ess to the living spaces used by Mn and Tina in the past. He quickly came across Tina who gave him a strange and inquisitive look as she asked, "Done already~?" Since it had only been a few seconds since she left Vahn in the room, she was wondering if something unexpected had urred. Vahn assured her everything went well before helping out with some of the chores that needed to be performed within the Inn. Mn spent a lot of her time cooking and preparing ingredients for the meals while Tina washed all the linens used by the guests while acting as a waitress during the posted meal hours. Since Vahn wasnt the most sociable person when it came to dealing with strangers, he ended up helping Mn cook within the kitchen. Perhaps due to the earlier events, Mn spent a lot of the time when they were in the kitchen teasing Vahn. He had already known long ago when he first moved into the Hearths Embrace that she had that type of personality, and it made Vahn happy to know she hadnt changed much since he first arrived. The biggest difference was the way he responded to her actions since he was actually able to return her teasing a bit instead of acting passively like in the past. Vahn quickly discovered that, while she was good at teasing others, Mn was actually very weak to being teased herself. He also quickly learned that, if you pushed her too far, her cheerful demeanor would immediately be ice cold and she would give him an almost threatening look that made a chill run up his back. There was even an incident where she was cutting arge radish with a knife while maintaining eye contact with him. Every time the knife cut through the radish and collided with the cutting board, Vahn could feel a cold sweat on his body. Eventually, the day came to an end and the night-time staff had taken their ces to tend to any customers that would wander in during thete evening. They were both a man and a woman, named Davi and Sasha respectively. Vahn learned that they were both engaged to each other and worked at the Inn during the evening to save up enough money to start their own business. Though he didnt say anything to them personally, Vahn decided that he would give them a sizeable donation to support their dream when Mn closed down the Inn in the future. After they took over, Vahn, Mn, and Tina sat around a small table in the kitchen and enjoyed a lively meal. Tina was in very high-tensions since they were all eating together and had spent the majority of the meal telling Mn about everything that had happened at Vahns house with the Anubis Familia. Mn was happy to see her daughter acting in such a cheerful manner since she hadnt had many friends near her own age once she started helping out at the Inn. Once dinner hade to an end, Vahn helped the two girls wash the dishes and prepare some of the tasks for the following day. After everything was taken care of, the trio made their way to the main bedroom and Vahn could see that Mn had grown somewhat nervous. She had already discussed it with her daughter previously, and it was decided that Vahn would share their bed tonight. It had been more than six years since she shared a bed with another man, even if it was more appropriate to call Vahn a boy. Though Vahn could see her fluctuating aura, he decided not to pay it any mind as he made his way into the bedroom alongside Tina as if it were perfectly normal. Since he had spent the entire week staying in the same room as the small cat girl, Vahn had already developed a familiarity with her presence and didnt act awkwardly at all. Mn stared at the two as they dressed for bed with a mixture of emotions in her eyes as she stood in the doorway without making her own preparations. It wasnt until Vahn had alreadyid in the bed and Tina climbed in and gave her a strange look that she finally made her own preparations. The moment Mn began undressing to prepare for bed, Vahn averted his eyes to allow her some privacy. Tina noticed this and tried whispering in his ear to encourage him, but Vahn just gave the mischevious girl a pinch on her nose and continued to avoid watching Mn change. After a few minutes, Mn approached the opposite side of the bed from Vahn and he could see she was wearing a simr style night-gown to Tina, albeit a bit more seductivepared to the childish design of her daughter. Mn hesitated for a moment and made eye contact with Vahn who just gave her an encouraging smile in return. She could see that there was no s.e.x.u.a.l desire in his eyes and that he was acting like the same gentle boy she knew from the past. After releasing a short sigh, she lifted the nkets and crawled into the bed next to her daughter. Since the bed wasnt thatrge, there wasnt a lot of room for three people to line upfortably, so they ended up having to squeeze together slightly. Unable toy on his back, Vahn had turned to his side and could see Mn staring back at him with a slight blush while Tina was cradledfortably between the two of them. Vahn saw the fear and apprehension on her face, but he just responded with a light smile before brushing away Tinas bangs and giving the smiling girl a kiss on the forehead. Sheughed at his disy of affection and ended up cuddling into Vahns chest a bit while Mn stared at the scene with a mixture of confusion and warm feelings building in her chest. Vahn ruffled Tinas hair with his chin a bit before winking at Mn and resting his head against the pillow. Mn had seen his wink and furrowed her brows slightly as she stared at the back of her own daughter who was presently cuddled up next to Vahn. Once Vahn hadid down on the pillow and closed his eyes, she released a muted sigh before cuddling up at her daughters back with her face right in front of Vahns. They were in such close proximity to each other that Mn could feel the airflow from his nose tickling her face. For a few minutes after they finally rxed, Mn would periodically look between Vahns young and handsome face before looking at her daughter that seemed to bepletely at ease within his loose embrace. Eventually, she decided to stop hesitating and justbined her embrace with Vahns in a loose manner as they both hugged Tina to sleep. Mn noticed that, moments after she came into contact with Vahns arm, he smiled slightly and cracked his eyes before leaning forward a bit and giving her a kiss on the forehead as well. Mn blushed at his affectionate disy and tucked her chin to prevent Vahn from being able to see her face. For the first time in more than six years, Mn felt like she had met someone that treated her kindly like her former husband. Vahn also treated her daughter well and this entire experience made her feel like the three were part of the same family. She hugged her daughter a bit closer and cried silent tears into the night as some of the pain and loneliness of thest six years had slowly been reced by the warmthing from the two bodies sharing the bed with her. It wasnt long until Mn had cried herself to sleep while hugging her sleeping daughter. Vahn had been awake for the entire event and he felt sad to see such a reaction from Mn after just a brief period of intimacy. His intuition about how lonely she had been earlier in the week had proved correct, and Vahn was happy he had made the decision to try and approach her earlier. Vahn wanted to help take care of the Mother-Daughter pair, even if the rtionsh.i.p.s between them never bore fruit other than a familial rtionship. He didnt want to split them apart because of his own selfishness, and he even agreed with Mns apprehensions about sharing the same man as her daughter. Since Tina was still only ten years old, Vahn could spend the next four years or more just acting as the role of a proxy for them both. A few minutes after the two girls had fallen asleep, Vahn once again closed his eyes and drifted off into unconsciousness himself. He hoped that these happy and peaceful days would continue far into the future. There were many things he wanted to do now, such as bing a [Master Smith], marrying Hephaestus and Eina, having children with various girls, raising his children, as well as bing strong enough to protect everyone he cared about. Vahn realized that to do all of this, he would need power and influence enough to prevent anyone from trying to maneuver against him. He would need people that deferred to him and followed his orders earnestly and without hesitation... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Never Enough Power,Nearly Indestructible ss Cannon,Family, Bonds, Future) (A/N: A fair amount of people reneged on their pledges or they werent cleared, so even though I got very near the $640 goal, I actually only received around $490 xD. Ill try to do a bit of bonus content starting Monday, but I still cant afford to do this full-time yet.) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $536/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 187 - Group Date (1/2)

Chapter 187 - Group Date (1/2)

Vahn awoke early the next morning and stared at the sleeping faces of the two girls for a few minutes before removing the orb from his inventory and entering into the ck and white space. After ying around with Eva for a bit, Vahn noticed that Fafnirs size hadnt changed much and, other than its magical power and spell arsenal expanding, it seemed to have stagnated a bit. Since the ecology of dragons gave them a lifespan measuring hundreds of years, Vahn anticipated that Fafnir wouldnt be able to grow much stronger without hunting and killing monsters in the future. The two sparred for a bit and Vahn got some practical experience training with Eva for a few hours before he returned to his tireless work at the forge. He had gotten to the point where the majority of the items that he created were near the apex of B-Rank, while a number of them had crested into the A-Rank. Unfortunately, unless he put a lot of effort into a single item, Vahn was still far from the point where he could naturally create an S-Rank item. Other than a bit more experience with Shundo and a few intimate sessions with Eva, Vahn hadnt gained much within the three days he was in the orb. Awakening in the real world, Vahn waited for around an hour before an rm clock that had been set by Mn the previous night began to ring. Simr to Tina, she seemed to be really bad with mornings and tried to ignore the rm for almost ten minutes before finally removing the covers and stretching. Before she turned off the rm, Mn looked to her left and could see Vahn staring at her face with a gentle smile that caused her to immediately blush as she fixed her night-gown that had opened slightly during the night. After turning off the rm, Mn began to get dressed for the day as Vahn helped awaken Tina who seemed to be immune to the ringing sound from earlier. Seeing the sleepy cat girlzily get out of the bed before Mn helped her change, Vahn couldnt help butugh out a bit as he also began to change his clothes. Once everyone was ready, Vahn gave Tina her early morning pats before turning toward Mn and attempted to do the same. Unfortunately, Mn caught his hand mid-attempt and gave him a teasing smile before embracing him for a few seconds. It wasnt overly intimate, but it did make Vahn feel a bit of warmth inside. Vahn then helped the two prepare to open the Inn for the normal business hours before relieving Davi and Sasha from their duties. Tina set about going upstairs to gather the linens from any unupied rooms as Mn and Vahn began preparing breakfast for the early-rising patrons. By the time 7 AM rolled around, they had served around twenty customers and Vahn was in high spirits because of all the new things he was experiencing. Since Tina was busy doingundry, Vahn ended up interacting with the customers a bit more and even recognized some of them from the past who gave him politements. There were a number of people who knew him as Vulcan and had congratted him for his sessful recovery. Before he left the Inn, Vahn gave Tina a big hug and lifted her body off the ground when doing so. She seemed to be very happy by the new experience and even gave Vahn a kiss on the cheek moments before he let her go. Mn stood at the side with a gentle smile, but Vahn had no intention of letting her off as he returned her earlier embrace with one of his own. At this point, he was slightly taller than she was, so it was distinctly different than their past interactions. Vahn noticed the characteristic twitch of her tail which showed she was happy, even though she watched him leave the Inn with an angry look on her face. Since Vahn had promised to meet up with Tiona and Ais for a date, he made his way to pick them up at the Twilight Manor. Though they could have met at a rendezvous point, Loki had asked him to pick them up personally since she wanted the rest of her Familia to get used to Vahns presence. There were still a number of disgruntled people that harbored some ill-will toward him, and Loki wanted to nip the problem in the bud by allowing Vahn unrestricted ess into the Twilight Manor. This showed that he wasnt simply, the guy that stole two girls, but an important person that represented the Alliance between the Hephaestus and Loki Familia. There were few people that had been in the Familia for a long time that would dare try to approach him and find trouble since it would draw the ire of not only their Familia-mates but Loki herself. Vahn was looking forward to the date, but he had also been mentally preparing himself for any trouble that might arise. Even though he was somewhat famous within the City, there were few people that bothered memorizing his features and face. This prevented the majority of people from recognizing him when he walked around normally, but now he would be escorting two beautiful and highly coveted women through densely popted areas. Since Tiona and Ais were both very strong, that meant that anyone brave enough to approach Vahn during their date would likely possess a certain degree of strength themselves. Because of his constant forging and creating items, Vahn had obtained arge influx of OP from his time within the orb. Even when he mass produced weapons, he still obtained around 1,000 OP every three hours, whichted him around 15-20,000 OP every time he entered the orb. Even with his expenditures, Vahn was sitting on 243,529OP for emergency usages. As long as he wasnt caught off guard, there would be few situations that he would be unable to deal with. There was also a very high probability that, even if Vahn couldnt deal with the situation, either Tiona or Ais would step in and resolve the matters. However, Vahn wanted to avoid that situation since even the thought of it made him feel slightly awkward. It wasnt that he thought men should protect women, as both Tiona and Ais were incredibly strong, Vahn just wanted to be reliable in the hearts of the two girls. When he arrived outside the Twilight Manor, there was a bit of amotion in the reception area where several core members of the Loki Familia had gathered. When Vahn arrived, a lot of eyes gathered on him other than the five girls that were waiting for his arrival. Indeed, other than Tiona and Ais, the two he had asked out on the date, there was also Loki, Tione, and Lefiya waiting in the reception area. After they noticed his arrival, all of the girls had various expressions but they all seemed pleased to see him. Almost as if it had been scripted, Loki had loudly weed Vahn to the Twilight Manor while both Tiona and Ais had taken turns giving him rtively reserved kisses. Unlike the passionate kiss they shared at their parting in the past, they were trying to act in a more reserved manner to practice a bit of self-control themselves. Vahn discovered that, though it wasnt as intense as the previous times, it was actually somewhat enjoyable to savor the moment of the gentle embrace as he simply enjoyed the sensations they shared. Ais seemed to always allow Tiona to kiss Vahn first, but she put in a little bit more effort to make up for going second. When Vahn finally parted with her, he noticed that the auras of some of the people in the surroundings had fluctuated slightly as Loki tried to step in and receive a hug of her own. She spread her arms wide and puckered her lips as if waiting for Vahn to ept her, but she instead received a bonk on the head from Ais who was standing slightly behind her. After creating a bit of a scene, Loki ended up exining to Vahn that it was safer for the entire group to go together, but she was denied participation by the other four girls immediately after the suggestion. Following that, Loki exined why she was having Tione and Lefiya apany them on the date. Lefiya was considered to have the most developed sensibilities of the group and would keep them out of trouble, while Tione may be required to reign in Tiona if things got out of hand. Riveria was also supposed to apany them, but she ended up declining since she didnt want to babysit the entire group. Though Vahn had only nned to apany Tiona and Ais for the day, he couldnt help but agree with the decisions that had been made by the group before his arrival. He was the most aware of how Tiona could get out of control, and there was a fair chance that Ais alone wouldnt be able to stop her. Imagining himself being attacked by the voracious Amazoness in the middle of a crowded area, Vahn was actually somewhat grateful for the assistance. Tione and Lefiya also didnt seem to mind the situation at all, so Vahn didnt have much room toin. If anything, the onlyment Vahn wanted to make rted to the fact that things had developed in a direction where he was the one apanying the girls, instead of the other way around. It was fortunate that he had left the majority of his unnecessary items within the orb since Vahn assumed he would likely end up carrying a variety of goods for the four girls. Even though they might not be normal girls in some sense, they were still women and were very fond of shopping. Having someone with storage magic on hand would remove any inhibitions they might have had about purchasing items on the date since they wouldnt have to lug them around on their own. Since everyone present ware all adventurers, the location for the date ended up being Babel Tower and, as expected, the group ended up doing a lot of shopping. Though they were all very satisfied with the weapons Vahn had created for them, it didnt stop the girls from checking out a variety of different types of equipment and discussing countermeasures against certain types of enemies. Vahn didnt mind the situation as it was very informative, and he even enjoyed how excited everyone got when they were talking about their exploits in the dungeon. The date didnt only rte to matters about equipment and the dungeon though since both Tiona and Ais had made an effort to disy their affections in public. Tiona naturally had no inhibitions about the situation and actively clung got Vahn as they walked through the tower. Ais showed a bit more reservations and just held onto his hand while the trio drew a variety of different looks from the various passersby. Even though the majority of the looks were borderline malicious, Vahn actually felt a bit of pride at being able to escort the two beautiful girls on each arm. After the group had eaten lunch, things took a slightly different turn, though they were still rted to shopping. Instead of looking for weapons and armor, the girls had decided to shop for swimsuits and casual wear. Vahn ended up being the designated judge as the girls lined up various types of clothing against their bodies for his approval. Tione had immediately jumped on board and, though she resisted at first, Lefiya ended up being involvedter. As the only person that had been left out previously, she didnt have a lot of resistance left to refuse. Tiona and Tione hardly wore clothing that concealed their bodies, so the swimsuits they wanted to purchase barely had any fabric at all. After selecting several, the two girls entered the changing rooms while Ais and Lefiya picked slightly more reserved swimsuits for themselves. Ais didnt seem to mind what she wore, but the fiercely blushing Lefiya had refused to let her wear anything that had been picked by the two Amazons. As they had entered first, Tiona and Tione exited the changing rooms shortly after they entered. Since their clothing was minimal to begin with, it was also very easy to remove and they didnt take long to change into the swimwear at all. Tiona had decided on a leafy green swimsuit that had a top very reminiscent of a sports bra but only had one strap over the shoulders. The bottoms were simr to the white shorts she always wore except they seemed to ride into her skin a bit more. Overall, the swimsuit really enhanced her incredibly fit figure and lively appearance. Tiones swimsuit could hardly be called a swimsuit at all. She had decided on something very simr to a bikini with a ck fabric that only covered the important bits. The entire thing was held together by strings and it didnt look like it could actually be used in the water at all. At this point, her b.r.e.a.s.ts were only around a B-Cup, and she really stood out within the store. After asking Vahn for his impression, he told her honestly which caused her to puff out her chest in pride as she stared at Tiona with a taunting look. Vahn had said to her, "You have a very fit body and the swimsuitpliments your features well. I think the ck color suits your healthy-looking brown skin." Tiona seemed to be inspired by his words while at the same time being annoyed by her own sister. After making ament about her inability to win over Finn, she grabbed a small ck swimsuit of her own and beat a hasty retreat back into the changing rooms. Since Ais and Lefiya had also gone to change, that left the incredibly frustrated Tione standing outside with the patiently waiting Vahn who had a slight gleam of anticipation in his eyes. He couldnt help but feel happy with the current situation that allowed him to view the figures of the girls and even pay thempliments in a natural manner. While Vahn was standing there with a somewhat silly smile on his face, Tione had been gritting her teeth after the parting remark of her sister. After she had tried to forcefully sneak into Finns room after the tryst between Vahn, Tiona, and Ais, Finn ended up forcing her to sit on her knees as he exined the situation to her. Since he had dedicated his entire life to the Pallum race, there was no way he could ept Tiones advances in the future. Though he respected her love for him and would allow her to continue her pursuit, he informed her that he could only marry and have children with a Pallum. He even informed her that he had made a vow with Loki before he agreed to join her Familia in that regards and was unwilling to stray from the path he had decided. This revtion didnt do anything about Tiones feelings for Finn since it was his self-sacrificing mentality that drew her to him in the first ce. It did, however, make her feel no small amount of frustrations knowing there was little to no hope her love would bear fruit. As an Amazon, she had a powerfulpulsion to have children, and though she could cope, for the time being, watching her sister enjoy a happy love-life was slowly whittling away at her self-restraint. Looking over at the silly face of Vahn as he waited for the other girls to change, Tione couldnt help but clench her fists a bit. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Soon(TM),Baggage Emperor Vahn,The Luckiest Man in the World) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $581/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 188 - Group Date (2/2)

Chapter 188 - Group Date (2/2)

Not longter, Tiona actually came out of the changing room while Ais and Lefiya were still busying themselves with changing into their swimsuits. Since both Ais and Lefiya wore severalyers of clothes and had dresses, they took a lot more time than Tiona who just had two pieces of fabric on her body. Vahn raised his brows slightly when Tiona came out of the changing room and showed off her new outfit. Since it was a bikini, the top looked a bit strange on Tiona since her b.r.e.a.s.ts were on the smaller side of an A-Cup. The bottoms, however, were a ck fabric held together with a stretchy string-like band and barely covered the fleshy and fit butt of Tiona. Though he had been working on his self-restraint, Vahn couldnt help but swallow his saliva at the sight when she spun around to give him a better look. Tiona had noticed his hardly concealed action and beganughing as she stuck to his arm and pressed her b.r.e.a.s.ts against him. Vahn noticed that the fabric around her chest had risen a bit and he had serious concerns that it would fall off if she got carried away. Using his [Hands of Nirvana], he helped calm her mind a bit and managed to de-escte the situation before things got out of hand. Tione, who had been observing the scene furrowed her brows a bit more since she felt like Tiona had gotten another win against her. Even though Vahn hadplimented her bikini, the one that her sister had selected was even more revealing. She had also seen Vahn swallowing his saliva and she felt envious of her little sisters sess. Turning her head away, she began to browse for more swimsuits while the two love birds acted lovey-dovey in their own little world. Though Tiona was still a bit excited, the moment Vahn began channeling the warm energy into her head she just smiled as she nuzzled against him without acting out too much. The calming energy didnt do much to prevent her rising emotions, but it allowed her to maintain her rity long enough for Ais and Lefiya to finally exit the changing rooms. Seeing the two girls, she let go of Vahn and returned to wear her normal clothing. She had decided to buy both swimsuits since Vahn hadplimented her when she wore either. Likely emting Tiona and Tione, Ais had also worn a ck swimsuit that made Vahn have a brief shback of Eva. Since both girls had beautiful golden hair, seeing Ais in a ck getup had reminded him of the over-affectionate vampire princess. Seeing that she was waiting for hispliment, Vahn showed her a happy smile before taking a better look at what she was wearing. Unlike the Amazon sisters, Aiss ck swimsuit was a one-piece that covered the majority of the front side of her body while leaving her back mostly uncovered. There were several strings that bit into the skin around her waist before converging back to a point right above her tailbone. Overall, Vahn felt like the swimsuit was a bit too mature for Ais considering she hadnt fully developed into the body of her future self. Even so, Vahn still paid her some heavypliments which brought a smile to the typically nk expression of Ais. He realized that the longer they interacted with each other, the more expressive she became. Lefiyas swimsuit was the tamest of them all, but she also had the most bashful expression as she hung her crimson-colored face as she seemed to be waiting for Vahns evaluation as she covered parts of her chest and groin with her hands. Vahn had a few mixed feelings about Lefiya and how she acted around him because he was never sure what to say to her. He knew that she liked Ais and also seemed to have positive feelings for him, but her actions made it very difficult to make conversation with her normally. Vahn didnt want to pressure her and felt like she was just getting caught up in the situation through association with Ais and Tiona. Even still, as long as she was making the effort to participate along with the other girls, Vahn didnt want to leave her out. He noticed that the swimsuit she was wearing was a one-piece that covered the majority of her torso and shoulders without leaving anything exposed. The entire thing was a natural looking white color with red flowers periodically dotting it. Around her waist, there was a red, somewhat transparent, sarong that covered her front and back. However, she didnt seem to have a lot of faith in it since Lefiya was still covering herself with her hands regardless. Overall, Vahn thought it was a very cute swimsuit and suited her young and petite body well. When he gave herpliments, she blushed even deeper and hung her head low before returning to the dressing room after thanking him in a stuttering voice. Ais also followed behind her and even entered into the same changing room. The moment Aiss back disappeared behind the thick ck fabric blocking the view from the inside, he could hear Lefiya release a muted wawawawa which made himugh. Expecting the girls to return in their normal clothing, Vahn waspletely unprepared for what happened next. Tione, who had entered the changing rooms earlier, came back out and, for a brief instant, Vahn didnt even think she was wearing clothing. She was wearing what essentially equated to a few strings of brown clothing that closely matched her own skin tone but with a more diffuse coloration. The string holding the incredibly small fabric that hid her delicates rode high into a V-shape on her h.i.p.s before converging into the shape of a T above her entirely revealed butt. Since she had an almost identical figure to Tiona, she also had a very fit and somewhat fleshy butt that drew the eyes and caused Vahn to instinctively gulp. Since she had been showing it off, Tione had been paying attention to his reaction and smiled after seeing him gulp his saliva. Turning around, Vahn could see that the fabric around her moderately developed b.r.e.a.s.ts created a triangr shape that didnt do much to conceal the contents. Before now, Vahn didnt know that a swimsuit could be so revealing and couldnt help but question the practicality of such a design. It almost seemed like it was designed more to draw attention than for actual swimming, especially with the almost skin-tone coloration. Tione saw where his eyes and wandered and lifted up her b.r.e.a.s.ts with her hands and asking, "Which do you prefer, big ones like mine or small ones like my sisters?" In response to her question, Vahn nked a bit since it was a question he seemed to be asked often. Shaking his head, he responded in a serious manner, "I think every girl has their own charms, regardless of the size and shape of their b.r.e.a.s.ts. I think your b.r.e.a.s.ts suit you while Tionas b.r.e.a.s.ts suit her. I feel the same way about other features as well..." Vahns words trailed off a bit since the image of various butts passed through his mind. Tione didnt seem satisfied by his response much, but also couldnt find a way to refute it since it seemed like an honest, albeit nonmittal, answer. She wanted to get more of a rise out of Vahn so she could get a little payback against Tiona, but it didnt seem like he was very cooperative. Remembering his gaze from earlier and how he had swallowed his saliva, she seemed to realize something before turning her back to Vahn while watching his face. As one of the butts that had passed through his mind, Vahn looked down to stare at the entirely defenseless flesh of Tiones backside. Other than the T-shaped fabric running down the crevice between her two cheeks, the rest of the skin was entirely revealed and Vahn couldnt help but have his eyes drawn to it. Tione had noticed his expression and a smile grew on her face as she clenched together her butt to emphasize it. Vahns eyes widened a bit at her action before averting his eyes and staring at her smiling face. He realized that she had been teasing him and felt somewhat ashamed that he had fallen for her ploy. Turning his head away, he heard Tione asked in an amused voice, "Ehh~? Are you sure you dont want to keep staring? I think, just like my b.r.e.a.s.ts, my butt is also bigger than Tionas~." Before Vahn could respond, a pair of hands reached around from the front of the distracted Tiones body and firmly grabbed the two fleshy butt cheeks. Tione startled from the unexpected contact as Tiona, who had been the person to grab her, beganughing loudly before dering, "They seem pretty simr, but I think I might have the advantage~?" At this point, Tione noticed that the three other girls were standing in front of her when she had been looking over her shoulder to tease Vahn. Though it wasnt too obvious, she began to blush slightly before shoving away the hands of her younger twin. In order to get a rise out of her, she said in a somewhat haughty voice, "It looks like Vahn had a bigger response to me than he did to you earlier." As she emphasized the word bigger, Tione used her arms to press her b.r.e.a.s.ts together with a mocking look on her face. Unexpectedly, though she would have gotten upset in the past, Tiona justughed loudly as she dashed over to Vahn and pressed her chest to him while hugging his neck. With a big smile on her face, she looked toward Tione and said matter-of-factly, "Vahn likes my b.r.e.a.s.ts just the way they are, isnt that right~?" Vahn nodded his head as he wrapped his hands around Tionas waist and gave her a short kiss. His response had made the smile on her face widened even more as sheughed in a silly manner. Tione saw their interaction and frowned deeply since it felt like she had once again lost to her younger twin. Turning away from the affectionate disy and walking toward the changing rooms, she saw Ais who had looked at her with an almost challenging look in her eyes. Ais held her hands over her b.r.e.a.s.ts and had a small smile on her face as she said, "Vahn likes mine too." Hearing the confident im of Ais, Tione felt like she had suffered a mental blow as she turned her eyes to the bashful Lefiya, the only person who was her ally at this moment. Lefiya saw her gaze and couldnt help but cover her chest in a simr manner to Ais, though for entirely different reasons. She thought that Tione was about to ask what Vahn thought of her b.r.e.a.s.ts and, the moment she considered the matter, Lefiyas overactive imagination pictured Vahns warm hands groping her chest while they were entirely nude in the bath together. A blush immediately rose to her face and it almost looked as though steam was about to rise from the delusional elfs head. Tione misconstrued Lefiyas actions to indicate that she was also someone that had received Vahns appreciation. She suddenly felt like, amongst the four girls present, she had gotten the short stick and suffered several simultaneous defeats. Gritting her hands and teeth, Tione made her way to the changing room to return to her normal clothing. At the same time, she swore to get one over on the three girls in the future regardless of the cost. After everyone had finished changing, they each purchased a variety of swimsuits as well as other outfits that Vahn also had the privilege of evaluating. Everyone seemed to be in higher spirits, even Lefiya who, after bearing the embarrassment of being seen in a swimsuit, didnt mind normal clothing as much. With a smile on her face and a subtle, ever-present blush, she too showed off various outfits and smiled when she received Vahns unfetteredpliments. One noteworthy thing that had happened, other than the swimsuit scene from earlier, was when both Tiona and Tione had tried on maid outfits. Even though Ais and Lefiya had also tried them on, Vahn couldnt help but feel a bit incongruity at the sight of the two Amazon twins wearing matching maid outfits. Since they were nearly identical with the modest clothing, Vahn could hardly tell them apart if not for their expressions and hairstyles. Combined with the fact that Tione was obviously trying topete with her sister, Vahn ended up sandwiched by the two healthy brown-skinned girls in frilly attire ck and white attire. After enjoying thetter half of the date, time was beginning to stretch into the afternoon and it wasnt too long before Vahn would be required to enter the orb. Exining the situation, without giving away too many details, Vahn managed to convince the girls to call it a day. They had already nearly filled his inventory with their purchases, so everyone was in very high spirits with how the day had gone. Vahn then escorted the four girls back to the Twilight Manor and exchanged embraces with both Tiona and Ais before preparing to head home. Unexpectedly, Tione had tried to tease Vahn into embracing her, but she inevitably stopped after Tionas teasing regarding Finn. With a frustrated expression on her face, Tione ended up storming off into the Manor, likely in the direction of Finns quarters yet again. Tionaughed at the disy and even Ais had a slight smile on her face as she watched the scene y out. The only one who didnt seem entertained was Lefiya, who had hung her head slightly with a blush on her cheeks. Vahn somewhat understood what she was thinking, so he reached out his hand and used [Hands of Nirvana] tofort the bashful elf as he said his goodbyes. Lefiya had a slight frown on her face and didnt stop him from rubbing her head as she nodded slightly with an Nn sound. Having said goodbye to the three girls, Vahn left the Twilight Manor after depositing their purchased items in one of the nearby rooms. Afterward, Vahn was in high spirits as he made his way toward the Hearths Embrace. Though it was slightly different than his expectations, Vahn enjoyed spending time with all the girls on their group date. Even though it felt like he had just apanied the four girls on a normal outing, he still enjoyed the experience immensely and looked forward to having simr dates in the future. Turning a corner, Vahn had a casual and happy smile on his face which quickly turned into an expression of caution and alert as he immediately expanded his domain. Since he didnt often walk around with his domain spread within the City, Vahn had nearly been caught off guard by the apparent ambush that was about to take ce. If not for the fact he was very perceptive to auras after increasing his Soul Tier and awakening his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn may have been caught unawares by the figures encroaching on him. From within the surrounding buildings and roofs, Vahn could sense several ck-aurad figures approaching his position. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tiones Defeat,Vahn is a man of culture,Danger Approaches) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $581/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 189 - Ambush

Chapter 189 - Ambush

Unaware that they had been noticed, the presences in the surrounding area remained hidden even after Vahn entered abat state. Vahn turned his head and saw two men behind him as a group of three appeared at the opposite end of the alley. Seeing their predatory eyes and attempts to appear intimidating, Vahn had no illusions that the men werent enemies. He transformed into his Bih form and the men startedughing as thergest enemy in front of Vahn crossed his arms with an evil grin on his face. The man was around 180cm tall and looked to weight around 230lbs of pure muscle. He had brown hair and purple eyes and his entire body was covered in battle scars. He looked at Vahn like he was appraising a piece of meat in the market and opened his mouth and said without a humorous tone, "So, this is the famou-" Before the man could finish speaking, Vahn had leaned forward and rapidly closed the distance and tried to sink his ws into the mans stomach. Unprepared for the sudden attack, the man barely managed to cross his arms to receive Vahns blow. He could feel the bones of his body creak and he was sent back several meters before he was able to regain his footing. He had a grim expression on his face as he prepared to threaten Vahn, but the words got stuck in his throat when he saw the sight in front of him. After failing to incapacitate their leader, Vahn immediately attacked the two men that had been at the scarred mans sides. They were also caught unprepared by his sudden attack as Vahn gripped their wrists and crushed the bones as he twisted his body and mmed them into the walls opposite of where they previously stood. Vahn then crouched low and stared at the man that had blocked his previous blow with a cold and emotionless look on his face. The scarred man immediately realized that Vahn wasnt the easy mark they had thought, but didnt lose his confidence as he unsheathed a knife and got into the stance of a veteran knife-fighter. He held his left hand out and low in a loose position while holding the knife near his hip to allow for an optimal thrusting angle. Staring at the tiger-like boy in front of him, he disyed a somewhat crazy expression as he threatened, "Youll pay for that, kid." At this point, the other two men at the opposite of the alleyway had closed the distance between Vahn with short metal clubs in their hands. Vahn scanned his vision over the two enemies before turning his attention towards the roof where there were three more enemy signatures. He had marked everyone on his map and could easily track their location within 300m from his current position. Satisfied with the result, Vahn smiled at the scarred man before disappearing from the spot when the two men had tried to attack the back of his head. All three mens eyes widened as the entered a cautious state, but they were still unable to respond to Vahn who had appeared from behind them. Even though he hadnt mastered Shundo, his increased agility and perception in his Bih form while having his domain active allowed him to cover short distances in an instant. The moment they tried to attack him, Vahn used Shundo and disappeared through the small gap between their bodies and used his superheated ws to reach forward and stab into the spines of the two assants. They immediately dropped to the ground paralyzed and unable to even scream out from the intense pain. Having dealt with four of the thirteen enemies, Vahn turned his attention back to the scarred man who had been too afraid to move forward after watching another two of hispanions fall in such a cruel manner. Even though he was a Level 3, he had absolutely no confidence in being able to outmaneuver Vahn given the speed he had disyed. As soon as Vahn leaned forward slightly, he shouted out, "Dont f.u.c.k.i.n.g move another step unless you want those two cat bitches to suffer!" The moment Vahn heard the mans words, his mind nked and the cold feeling in his mind reaching an absolute low. Seeing Vahns hesitation, the man showed a cruel smile as his confidence began to return. However, before he could even utter another word he felt Vahns killing intent lock onto him as the burst of a golden aura spread throughout the area. Without being able to react in the slightest, the man felt a powerful impact through his back as he saw a resplendent golden chain pierce through his body and prate into the ground. After being pierced by [Enkidu], the man vomited blood and nearly copsed forward but his body was being held up by the perfectly rigid chain. He turned his head to find the source of the unexpected attack and saw golden ripples in mid-air less than a meter behind his back. Gritting his teeth, the man took a deep breath and shouted, "Beat this mother f.u.c.ker to death!!" The scarred man had a crazy look in his eyes as he held onto the chain prating through his gut and tried to forcibly remove it. He imaged that, any second now, Vahn would be assailed by the rest of hisrades and they would be able to get their revenge before forcing him to listen to their demands. However, today didnt seem like the scarred mans day, since the chain in his stomach seemed indestructible. He couldnt even make it wiggle a single millimeter and no matter how much time passed, the allies that he had called out for never showed up. Vahn immediately closed the distance to the man and ced his red-hot hand on the mans chest and burned a hole clear through the fabric of his clothes before leaving a burned palm print deep into his flesh. Even though there were pedestrians in the area, most of them had run away while some brave ones had even left to retrieve the guards. Vahn paid them no mind as he stared coldly into the eyes of the man and asked, "What...did...you...do?" Even though he had just screamed out like a pig when Vahn burned him, the man still had a crazy smile on his face as he spat a mouthful of blood toward Vahn which evaporated before it got anywhere near him. He said in a low and cruel voice, "After you pulled this shit...expect them to suffer...I hope youre satisfied!!!" All the man got for his troubles was Vahn reaching forward with his index finger before nting it into the mans deep purple eye. The scarred man squealed in a pig being ughtered as he began cursing out and yelling, "WHERE THE F.U.C.K IS EVERYONE!?" So much time had passed, but none of hispanions had shown up. He waspletely unaware that Vahn had detected the men with his domain and had also impaled each of them with one of the chains. Though it took a major tole on his energy usage to summon them, keeping them out cost next to no energy. Because of this, Vahn was able to pin all nine of the remaining men forter questioning. Vahn exined in a cold voice, "Tell me what you wanted to aplish here unless you want to lose your other eye." Finishing his words, Vahn lifted his index finger that radiated a fierce heat and pointed toward thest eye of the scarred man. As the finger inched ever closer, the man finally couldnt bear the pain and suspense he was experiencing as he groaned through bloodied teeth, "Theyre our hostages...if you want to see them...youll do as we say..." Vahns brows furrowed a bit, but he didnt stop his finger as he asked in a cold tone, "Who sent you? Why?" Since his finger wasnt far from the mans face, he was trying to arch his body back to avoid the approaching finger. Each of his movements made the wound in his stomach worse as the man vomited a second mouthful of blood. He gave Vahn a fierce look and said, "If you dont..f.u.c.k.i.n.g RELEASE ME...expect them to die!" Unimpressed by the mans threat, Vahn swiped his hand in a blurred motion that sent the right hand of the man, where he was hiding his knife, flying through the air. The scarred man screamed out again and felt like he was about to pass out from shock and blood loss. Vahn noticed this as well and dispelled the heat from his palm and began closing the mans wounds without removing [Enkidu] from his stomach. It nothing else, it would buy Vahn a few more minutes to get the answers he wanted. Vahn warned in a cold and emotionless manner, "I will ask you onest time before I decide you know nothing and move on to the other nine men that I captured. Im certain one of them will be willing to answer my questions." He then absorbed fire elements into his hand before preparing to blind the scarred mans second eye. After hearing Vahn im to have captured the nine hidden people in the surroundings, the man finally became truly afraid of the young boy before him. He was far crueler and resolute than any of them had expected before executing this operation. Given that his mind was also being suppressed by the effects of [Will of the Emperor], he could no longer resist the coercive nature of Vahns threats. Seeing that the man had broken down into tears and started narrating the events that had transpired, Vahn waited patiently for him to exin the situation. The more he heard, the angrier he got, but Vahns expression didnt change in the slightest. The only thing he could feel in his mind was a shockingly cold sensation that forcibly kept his mind clear and focused. ording to the scarred man, who Vahn learned was called Macker, they had been keeping track of his movements ever since he left his house on Saturday. Since Vahn had dropped Tina off before leaving, they assumed she was someone important and confirmed their assumption when Vahn had returned in the evening. With such an easy mark like a mother and her daughter, the man just had to wait for Vahn to leave again before capturing the two. Even though Mn resisted, since she was a Level 3, they quickly forced her to concede after they captured Tina. From there, they trashed the Hearths Embrace and set fire to it before kidnapping the two girls and keeping them in a safe house nearby. They were nning on moving the two girls in the evening and intended to use them as barter for forcing Vahn to take a vow. Macker imed to be unaware of the greater n even after Vahn broke several of his fingers while watching the changes in his aura. After that, Vahn asked for the location of the safe house but Macker refused to tell him unless he made an oath to let him live. In response to his request, Vahn pulled out one of the nondescript ck swords that he had forged inside the orb. It had a simple name, [004], and was part of the mass-produced series of des Vahn had forged recently. At this point, the series had grown to [022] and Vahn decided it was more than the man deserved as he stared in disgust at the head that he had just sent flying through the air. With his ck aura and the fact that he had kidnapped Mn and Tina in order to ckmail him, Vahn had little patience for the sc.u.mbags request. Even though he obtained a bit of negative karma for torturing the information out of him, giving him a merciful death had more than made up for it. Vahn simultaneously removed [Enkidu] from the other eight men before retrieving their bodies and healing their wounds to an extent where they would not die from blood loss. It wasnt long before the City guards showed up and tried to surround Vahn, but he revealed his rtion to the Hephaestus and Loki Familia and exined the details behind the ambush. Though they wanted to take him in for questioning, Vahn refused and gave them each cold looks before telling them to look for him after contacting Hephaestus. Every minute he wasted dealing with their bullshit would be another minute Mn and Tina werent safe. The guards wanted to detain him regardless so Vahn just disappeared from the location using Shundo before they could even react. Even if it caused him problemster, Vahn wasnt going to waste time trying to exin the situation even further. He had already informed the guards of the kidnapping and burning of the Hearths Embrace, and they could investigate themselvester. Vahn wasnt going to wait idly by for the results of their investigation and jumped to a nearby roof before finding a safe spot and entering the orb. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Author-Style, Cliff Summoning Jutsu!,Vahn Gives No F.u.c.ks,Unstoppable [Enkidu]) (A/N: As a bit of rification, the $640 is the amount that needs to clear at the end of the month, not the amount that is disyed on the ******* xD. Ill increase the number of chapters I release starting Monday, but I still hope there are more people willing to support me in the future <3) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $637/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 190 - Tracking

Chapter 190 - Tracking

Vahn awakened in the orb and Eva tried tond on top of him as she had done many times in the past. The moment she tried kissing him, she realized that something was wrong since Vahn wasnt reciprocating as usual. Sitting on his stomach, she looked down and saw the unveiled hatred in his face. For a brief moment, Eva thought he was angry at her and could feel fear welling up in her heart until Vahn began exining the situation. After releasing a sigh and deciding to not punish him for beingte, Eva offered her advice and it coincided with Vahns intentions. Even though Vahn wanted to immediately go and save Mn and Tina, spending a few seconds of time to practice Shundo and learn a bit of magic would be the most optimal decision. Whenever he used [Will of the Emperor], even if he was beyond the rational level of anger, his mind was always calm and calcting. The moment he had escaped from the guards Vahn entered the orb to calm his mind and train with Eva. There was also another important thing he had to do while he was in the orb; Vahn wanted to retrieve Fafnir since he would be able to cross the City in a few short minutes instead of running on foot. Since Fafnir could now hide in his shadow, Vahn didnt need to unsummon it to conceal it in the future. No matter what problems he may have to face in the future, Vahn wasnt going to avoid using every trump card he had avable just to avoid drawing attention to himself. Things were already to the point where people thought they could use the people he cared about against him, and Vahn had no patience for their games. After allowing Eva to replenish her energy by draining his blood, Vahn began receiving a crash course in Shundo. Though he could try to learn magic, actually obtaining the skill to use it would take months or even years for him to master. Shundo was an incredible technique, but it was also something that Vahn was well suited to learn given his currentbat style. Even though two of the assants had been Level 3, they werent even able to react to his movements in his Bih form. Though she was typically very affectionate towards Vahn, Eva had grown serious after understanding the severity of the situation Vahn was facing in the real world. For the next three days, she constantly drilled him on the use of Shundo with little rest between training sessions. Vahn supplemented hisck of stamina with senzu beans and meditation. For the entire duration of their training, Vahn hadnt disabled his domain for a single moment, even when Eva was draining his blood. Though he could use the time within the orb to calm his mind, Vahn didnt want to lose the tensions and drive that he had when entering. It wasnt until there were only ten hours left when Vahn finally took a rest to fully recover his mental energy. Unlike their normal baths, where Vahn would pamper Eva, she instead washed his body and allowed him to continue focusing his mind through meditation. Since Vahn could even keep his domain active in his sleep, heid down in the bed to recover the rest of his energy in preparation for theing fight. Though Eva oftenid on top of his body, she just silently rested against his arm and remained rtively docile for the duration of their rest. Moments before Vahn left the orb, she gave him a passionate kiss before wishing him good fortune in battle. Though he was still focused, Vahn returned her kiss and gave her an affectionate smile as he rubbed her golden hair and willed himself to dissipate faster. Fafnir was already back in his inventory and now he would just have to re-summon it back in the real world. Though she wasnt fond of it, Vahn left behind (Nameless) so Eva wouldnt be lonely while he was away. Vahn awoke in the real world and immediately set out to take actions to track down Mn and Tina. While chugging an [Elixer] 10,000OP, Vahn constantly channeled his energy into the beautiful rainbow crystal in his hand. As Fafnir became stronger, the crystal that contained it became more resplendent and required more energy to awaken. The [Elixer] not only fully restored his health, but it also constantly recovered his energy which allowed him to finally summon Fafnir. The moment the 15m dragon appeared on the top of a roof, several people screamed out and began to run away in a panic. Though it wasnt umon for a tamer to have a monster within the City, they were often kept at the Ganesha Familia or within Babel tower in arge kennel operated by the Guild. For a dragon to appear out of thin air in the middle of the City, there was no way for people to not think it was an enemy. Fortunately, there werent any high-level adventurers in the vicinity that wanted to test their luck against the evil ck dragon. After mounting Fafnir, Vahn managed to cover the hour-long trip within four minutes while causing no small amount of chaos for the City below. Since the City streets were wide and everyone had cleared the area since they were running away, Vahn was able tond in the middle of the street right in front of the burnt down Hearths Embrace. Though the fire had been contained early, the Inn was still in a state of severe disrepair and all the investigators and firefighters had fled the moment Vahn arrived. Since there would be troubleter, Vahn had Fafnir dive into the shadow of a nearby building and vanish from the now empty City street. Vahn immediately noticed the presence of familiar people approaching, but he decided to enter the remains of the Inn for the time being. He had a very specific intention for his visit and it would be of paramount importance when it came to finding Mn and Tina. It hadnt been long since he dealt with the assants, and Vahn suspected they hadnt received notice of the failed ambush considering his speed. After a few seconds, Vahn arrived at his destination and broke down the burnt remains of the door that led to the room where he had slept with Mn and Tina the previous night. Even though there was a powerful burnt smell in the air, Vahn was able to detect the aroma of the two girls that had deeply permeated throughout the room. Since he was in his Bih form, his olfactory senses were several times stronger than most people and he could even enhance them further with increased focus. Grabbing the bedding, Vahn deeply inhaled the fragrance and stored it within the receptors inside his nose as Nanu had taught him in the past. Vahn managed to perfectly memorize the scent and could detect it everywhere even when he left the burning remains and reunited with Hephaestus and a few members of her security team. Since the Hearths Embrace was nearby, she had received word of the fire earlier and had arrived with a team more than half an hour ago before returning to her workshop to ry the information to all the other girls. During the previous meeting, Hephaestus had givenmunication scrolls to everyone that didnt possess one. By the time Vahn had arrived at the scene, she was already on her way back after informing Loki, Anubis, Tsubaki, and Eina of what had happened. Seeing the fierce and cold look on Vahns face, Hephaestus couldnt help but feel worried as she gave him a hug and promised, "Well find them, Vahn." Vahn returned her embrace and said in a low and powerful tone, "Ive recognized their scent; Ill track them down now and save them both." Though she wanted to stop him, Hephaestus could see the seriousness and conviction in his eyes so she just bit her lip in frustration before giving him a passionate kiss in front of the onlookers that had been gathering. Vahn wasnt in the mood for kissing, but he still reciprocated Hephaestuss gesture to let her know he was grateful for her concern. When they parted, Vahn brushed her face with his fingers and showed her a gentle smile before disappearing from view. Other than Zaff, nobody had seen Vahns departure and everyone, including him, were in awe at the disy of speed. From their perspective, Vahn turned into a ck shadowy blur before he disappeared entirely from their line of sight. Hephaestus stood there in silence and held her hand over her heart as she felt all the emotions that Vahn was experiencing right now. Though she felt pained and saddened by what he was going through, Hephaestus gripped her fists as a fiery and wrathful look appeared on her face. She turned toward Zaff and spoke in amanding tone, "Gather everyone avable, well crush whoever dared pulled a stunt like this." Zaff nodded his head in response and immediately began issuing orders as Hephaestus took at the pen and scroll that she had brought with her and sent messages to the other parties involved. It wouldnt be long before several of the major powers within the City were moving in concert to crack down on the mastermind that put this plot into motion. Since Vahn wouldnt be able to follow the trail while on Fafnirs back, he had to maneuver through the City on foot. He would periodically stop for a few seconds to make sure he could track the scent of Mn and Tina properly. Vahn noticed that the scent was tinged with fear, and this realization made the cold sensation in his mind spread further through his body. Imagining the small Tina crying and shivering in fear made Vahn feel like he was going to lose his mind. She was always so cheerful and in high-tensions and now, not more than two days after Vahn promised to protect them, both girls were suffering because of their rtionship with him. Though Vahn didnt regret being with the two girls, he still hated himself a bit for his ownck of foresight. He always expected something to happen but never thought the first targets of his enemies would be those close to him. If they had targeted him, Vahn probably would have let them off lightly after breaking through the scheme. Now, however, they had targeted the people he cared about. Vahn swore to himself that he would make the people that caused Tina to feel fear experience the same emotion. As he dashed through the City, the smell of the two girls gradually increased until Vahn had turned through several back-streets where the disreputable types often called home. Since he had been using his stealth, Vahn had remained undetected as hended on the roof of a rtively non-descript building. Through his domain, Vahn could sense several life-signsing from the inside of the building, including two purple colored auras that he could recognize as Mn and Tina. Vahn noticed that they had been separated and Tina was by herself with two other life signs nearby, likely locked away in a room. The thing that made Vahns mind go numb was the fact that Mn was surrounded by several auras that were colored ck and red. He also noticed that, as time passed, Mns aura would fluctuate before growing slightly dimmer. Vahns rage almost exploded to the point where it pushed back the cold sensation in his mind but the cold sensation just grew more powerful until it became a biting chill that forced him to remain calm. Taking a deep breath, Vahn focused his mind to the absolute limits while closing his eyes. Though he couldnt see their full figures, Vahn could detect the basic outline of the bodies of everyone in the building. He saw that Tina was crouched down on the ground shivering while Mn was currently being beaten by seven other people. She wasying on the ground and Vahn could feel every impact on her body through his senses. The moment he locked on to the seven men, Vahn immediately used [Enkidu] to skewer them all before breaking in through one of the side windows. When he had used [Enkidu], Vahn had aimed for the mens heads and noticed that all of their auras immediately vanished. The rest of the people in the building werepletely unaware of what was going on since even the bodies of the men hadnt fallen to the floor yet. After sneaking through the building for a few minutes, Vahn arrived at the room where Mn was currentlyying. The moment he saw her, Vahn felt a painful feeling in his chest and nearly fell to the ground in anguish. Mn had beenpletely stripped n.a.k.e.d and most of the bones on her body seemed to be broken with several bruises covering her skin. Perhaps because of her earlier resistance, but the men had been brutally beating her to pass the time. She was covered in various types of fluids other than blood and had a nk look on her battered face. Vahn could even see that she was missing several teeth and it looked like one of her eyes had been crushed. Her ears had been nipped and her tail was missing from her body. Vahn began hyperventting even with the influence of [Will of the Emperor] as he approached the brutally beaten Mn and began healing her. While using [Hands of Nivana] to alleviate her pain, Vahn began using [Wounds Transfer] to gradually absorb the damage from her body into his own. He even purchased a [Heal] from the system and was simultaneously using it on both of their bodies. Though Vahn could feel his body being wracked with pain, he didnt show it on his face at all as tears silently poured from his eyes. He just continued to pat Mns head and whisperingforting words to her during the healing process. His tears, unable to be contained by his face, dripped down onto the nk face of Mn who had yet to regain consciousness. The only thing she could feel was the warm energy entering her body as she began to subconsciously emit tears from her eyes. (A/N: Alternate Titles: A Divine Reckoning Approacheth,Fury beyondprehension,Absolute Dominance, Absolute Anguish,This is a light-hearted slice-of-life novel where the MC was tortured for 14 years in a previous life kappa) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $669/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D (A/N: Ill be updating the ******* goal soon and, even though I technically havent reached my goal (since it needs to clear at the end of the month), Ill still be writing 50 chapters a week starting Monday.) Chapter 191 - Despair : Hope

Chapter 191 - Despair : Hope

(A/N: Disimer: Serious Trigger Warning. This scene is not pleasant to write, and I imagine it will not be pleasant to read as well. However, Im not fond of shying away from ufortable topics since it helps build the character and plot. If you know anything about how cruel people/criminals can be, youll understand that this situation, though disturbing, it likely how things would have yed out given the context.) While Vahn was healing Mn, he was also diverting some of his attention to the other auras within the building while paying the most attention to Tina. Though he wanted to go to her immediately, he couldnt leave behind Mn before she had recovered. Just imagining leaving her in the room alone surrounded by corpses made Vahn ufortable. After she had been healed enough to no be in danger of dying, Vahn moved the seven mens bodies to the side of the room and covered them with arge cloth. Vahn then continued healing Mn as he purchased a towel from the system and used his [Decanter of Replenishment] as a water source to wipe away the grime and buildup on Mns body. Her captors had beaten her to an almost unrecognizable extent and had poured various types of potions and chemicals on her body to prevent her from dying. With his enhanced sense of smell, Vahn had nearly vomited from the smell of ammonia and refuse that they had covered her body with. He couldnt understand how or why they would do such a cruel thing, especially if they intended to use her as leverage against him. After wiping her body clean, Vahn was able to expedite his healing efforts and quickly rid her body of wounds using his [Wound Transfer] and other support items. Since his healing was unable to regrow hair, Mns ears and tail had grown back and had a light fuzz instead of the chestnut-brown color of the past. Though it was a strange sight, Vahn was just happy they were able to be grown back. It was fortunate that he had tiger-like ears and a tail when he was doing the [Wounds Transfer], or there was a very high probability theyd have been lost forever. The downside to that, of course, was that Vahn had to experience the nerve endings of his own tail being severed which caused his mind to numb from the pain. If not for the fact that he was entirely focused on Mn before him and Tina in his mind, Vahn would have likely copsed from the pain. Towards the end of the treatment, he had even transitioned from his Bih form into his turtle form. There were even the wisps of tiny vermillion-mes beginning to break through the small cracks in his skin, but Vahn repressed the transformation using his willpower. He didnt dispel it entirely, however, as it may prove useful when dealing with the remainder of the captors. After around fifteen minutes, Mns body had been returned to her former healthy and lithe looking state. Though Vahn might have admired her form in the past, now he just felt an incredible sadness as he scanned through his system and purchased a cloak for her to wear. Since he could only gift one item a month to each person, Vahn had to make do with something that could cover her entire body at once. With a bit of effort, he managed to slip the cloak around Mns unconscious body before cradling her gently and using [Hands of Nirvana] to ease her mind and try to awaken her. Not long after, Mns eyes opened slowly and stared in a daze at the foreign ceiling. She felt like she had been having a terrible dream and had suffered inhumane treatment. She remembered being happy with her daughter and taking care of the customers while they both talked about the young boy that had made his way into their lives. For the first time in a long while, Mn began to feel like things were getting back on track and both she and her daughter would be able to find happiness. **(Trigger Warning Starting Now: You can skip toward the bottom where the warning ends if you are ufortable.)** Soon after, while she was cooking in the kitchen, Mn had heard amotioning from the front of the Inn. Assuming it was just a rowdy customer, she made her way through the small doors toward the dining room and saw several aggressive men ejecting all of the customers as they began to trash the ce. Though she didnt have a weapon on her, Mn was still a Level 3, so she immediately set out to give the men a thrashing. Things werent going too badly, even though the attackers had two Level 3 of their own, and Mn was hoping to be able to hold out until the authorities arrived. Since her Inn was located near the main branch of the Hephaestus Familia, the security in the area wasnt supposed to be a problem. As long as she held out for just a few minutes, there were bound to be several people that would show up to assist. Unfortunately, one of the sc.u.mbags had managed to find her daughter and captured her. Unable to continue fighting after Tina had been captured, Mn surrendered and the two Level 3 men, one scarred-faced man, and an emaciated-looking dark-skinned elf, began to beat her for a short period of time for her earlier resistance. Even though her daughter cried out at the brutality of the sight, Mn continued to bear the heavy blows while trying to protect her vitals. She even hoped that the men would beat her for a longer period of time in order to allow for help to arrive, so she put up a small amount of resistance against them every time they stopped their attack. Eventually, one of the members of the assants pointed out the issue of time and the two men stopped beating her they tied up her body and carried her and Tina out the back entrance of the Inn. One of thest sights Mn had seen before she passed out was the image of the Inn she had built and operated for the past ten years going up in mes. Though she hadnt cried at all as the men beat her, she couldnt help but shed some tears at the sight before she finally passed out. The next thing she remembered was waking up after being dropped heavily to the floor. Mn could hear Tinas screaming voice and opened her swollen eyes to try and find her daughter so that she could assure her everything would be okay. As she turned her head towards the crying of her daughter, she saw one of the men heavily p Tinas face and knock her to the ground. She felt her mind buzz as she called upon strength she didnt know she had as Mnunched herself at the man and tried to strangle him. Though she managed to get her hands around his neck, it wasnt long before Mn felt a heavy block to the back of her head that made her vision cken as a powerful throbbing feeling ran through her mind. She hadnt been knocked out by the blow, but all of the strength she had mustered previously faded from her body as she looked toward her daughter that wasying on the ground sobbing. She tried to crawl toward Tina andfort her, but two of the men picked her up by her arms and dragged her out of the room. After taking her to another area in the dark building, the men began to tear away at her clothing and her instincts allowed her to resist against them. However, no matter how much she tried, the men only took a sadistic pleasure in her struggles as they knocked her to the ground and began systematically breaking the bones in her body starting from her limbs. They poured buckets full of waste and refuse onto her n.a.k.e.d body and called her cruel and derogatory names before some of the men took out their p.e.n.i.ses and peed on her defenseless body after one of them called her a toilet. Though the smell made her want to vomit, Mns stomach had long been emptied of its contents and she could only gag and spit up bits of blood tainted with small ck partictes. One of the men saw the ck clots in the blood and realized that she would probably die soon, so they poured low-grade potions onto her body before trying to force a foul-smelling liquid down her throat. Mn resisted and tried to prevent from being forced to swallow the contents by gritting her teeth, but one of the men used a small leather club to shatter her jaw to prevent her from resisting. As the viscous contents slid down her throat, Mn tried to force herself to vomit it out, but the damage to her body prevented her from having enough energy to do so. She could feel a heat spreading through her body and realized what the mens intentions were. Though there was next to no strength in her body, Mn desperately tried to resist against the men and managed to scratch and blind one of their eyes in the process. The screaming of the man caused others to be alerted to what was going on in the room and several other people entered and began beating her alongside the original two. It got to the point where Mn couldnt move her body at all and she felt like death was close at hand. If not for the fact that her daughter was still held hostage, she likely would have died then and there. Unfortunately, the only reward for her resolve was the man she had blinded using his thumb and blinding her eye. Unable to resist, Mns body seized up at the pain and she cried out with a croaking voice as she tried to pull her head away. Incited by her reaction, the men began tough cruelly as they took a pair sheers and began to clip off pieces of her ears. They didnt cut them off all at once but cut off bits and pieces at a time before the only thing remaining was mangled stubs. It was more painful than anything Mn had ever felt, but it was nothingpared to what came next. The tail of a cat person was one of their most sensitive spots and housed thousands of nerve endings toward the base of the spine. It was a tradition that only the significant other of a cat person was allowed to grab their tail since it would activate their instincts and cause them to bite forward. Since cat people were considered somewhat exotic and were popr in ve-trading circles, the sensitivity of their tail was well-known to most criminal groups. Using that knowledge as a basis, the same man that blinded her eyes gripped Mns tail firmly. Mn gnashed her teeth because of the disgusting feeling that was welling up in her body, but it didntst long as a sheer dread took over her mind when she saw the cruel look on the mans face. Unable to form any words, Mn opened her mouth and just released muted whines as the man tightened his grip and twisted powerfully. All of the pain receptors in her body fired at once as her body jerked from the intense pain. Undaunted, the man twisted in the opposite direction and alternated his grip until eventually separating the tail from her body nearly three excruciating minutester. **(Trigger Warning Has Ceased: Though it still isnt too pleasant, enjoy the story.)** Afterward, Mn had absolutely no strength left in her body and couldnt even form any thoughts. Even when the men started beating her and tormenting her body once again, she didnt even feel any new sensations since her body had gone into a severe state of shock. The only thing she could think of was her daughter Tina who had been left alone in the previous room. Mn remembered how vibrant Tinas smile had been when they were both happy, but now she feared it would be reced by the fear and anxiety that she had seen earlier. Even if nobody showed up to save her, Mn wanted her daughter to be saved from this nightmare, so she began to utter a silent prayer through her swollen and torn lips... Unaware of how much time had passed, Mn felt a strange sensation spread through the room as a strange golden glow shed. The impacts that had been forced on her body for so long came to a halt in an instant asplete silence spread through the room. For several minutes, there were no sights or sounds other than a hazy darkness and a throbbing sensation in her mind that had reced all sounds. Mn thought she might have died but, suddenly, there was a warm sensation pushing away the throbbing sensation in her mind. Though all of her nerves felt like they had fried, she could feel a gentle energy spreading through her body as a heat emanated from areas where she had lost all feelings. Soon after, Mn could feel a numb and tingling sensation spreading over her body and she realized that the incredible pain that had be her existence was slowly fading away. When a moist and warm feelingnded on her face, a sense of relief appeared in her heart as hope began to spread through her anxious mind. Almost as if it were a distant memory that she had suddenly recalled, Mn was able to recognize the energy entering her body and the image of a kind and gentle boy appeared from her memory. Though she still had an incredible anxiety in her heart and a profound concern for her daughter in the focus of her mind, Mn knew that help had finally arrived. Hearing the gentle andforting words of Vahn, Mn, unable to express her relief in any other way, began to cry as darkness encroached upon her mind. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Cruelty,Within the Depths of Despair,Light in the Darkness) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $669/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 192 - Remembering Whats Important

Chapter 192 - Remembering What''s Important

After clearing her mind, Mn noticed that Vahn was cradling her gently in his arms as he stared at her face with clear concern in his expression. She smiled briefly, but it faded quickly as she asked, "Did you save Tina?" Even though she was happy and felt a bit of relief, Mn wouldnt be able to rx until her daughter was safe. She sat up from Vahns arms and looked around and recognized the room as well as the seven bodies covered by the nket. Vahn put his hand on her head and spoke in a soft tone, "Dont worry, I already have her within the range of my senses. Ill be going to save her now...I just couldnt leave you here alone." Mn heard his words and felt a pang of warmth in her heart, but it didnt do much to suppress her anxiety. She noticed that she had been clothed in a dark blue cloak and removed Vahns hand from her head before noticing a strange sight. The tail that she had lost had grown back, and even though it was hairless, Mn couldnt help but release a relieved sigh. In her daze, Vahn stood up and embraced her body and stroked her back in a caring manner as he said, "Leave through the window and guide the others here. Hephaestus had been gathering a rescue party and is probably searching for this location. I know youre worried about Tina, but my stealth and skills allow me to move undetected. If you dont want to leave, youll have to stay in this room for the time being." As he spoke, Vahn pulled out one of the short swords he had forged in the orb. Mn wanted to refute his words, but she couldnt argue against his serious expression. Even though she had recovered her strength, her mind was in an unstable state and she knew she wouldnt be able to help him. Since she didnt want to wait in the room, Mn decided to follow his advice and go get support. However, before she left, she looked at the cold and sad eyes of Vahn that couldnt be concealed even though he was trying to actforting. She knew he would me himself for what happened and wanted to assure him but couldnt find the words. Vahn saw her hesitation and just shook his head as he put his hand back on hers and stroked the hairless ears that served as a reminder of his failure. In a tired, yet angry, sounding voice, Vahn said, "I have no regrets...other than the fact that I was too weak to prevent this from happening. I will make them pay dearly to make sure nobody ever tries to harm the people I care about again..." A cold light shed through his eyes as he stared through the walls and floor toward the aura of Tina. Seeing his expression and hearing his response, Mn furrowed her brows and gave Vahn a strong hug. Though he was a bit confused, Vahn just caressed her back for a bit until she said, "Dont be a monster because of other people...save Tina, that is the most important thing. If you fall down to their level, you will only have regrets in the future. That isnt the way to obtain strength...that is the path towards cruelty...dont lose your kind and gentle self for the sake of evil men." Mns words made Vahn feel a terrible sensation in his mind and caused the cold feeling that had rooted itself in his consciousness to fluctuate. He could feel his anxiety begin to build but it was soon suppressed as the cold sensation became stronger. Though he knew she was right, he just couldnt let the people that had done this off without releasing his frustrations somehow. Vahn felt like, if he showed mercy now, there would only be more people that would find trouble for him in the future. As she had been paying attention to his expression, Mn had seen the struggle in his eyes as she cupped his face in her hands and whispered, "Let them be judged and suffer in prison for the rest of their lives. You dont have to be the one to pass judgment on them, Vahn. Just find the mastermind and turn them over to the authorities...but, most importantly, you still need to save Tina. She needs a hero, not someone thatcks mercy. Dont let her hold the image of you tormenting others in her mind, even if it is to enact justice for everything that happened." Mns words caused Vahn to imagine Tina looking at him with fear in the future. Even if it was an unnecessary concern and she didnt fear him, Vahn couldnt tolerate the idea of her beingfortable with him killing people either. Though the cold sensation in his mind didnt leave, it dissipated slightly and Vahn released a sad sigh. He had already killed the men that tormented Mn so, as long as he could save Tina, he didnt have to punish the rest personally. Considering there were people like Loki and Hephaestus that would be involved. Vahn didnt need to be a vignte that enacted his own brand of justice, he just wanted to protect the people he cared about. Seeing his expression soften a bit, Mn showed him a gentle smile and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Before exiting through the window, she turned back and stared at him for a few seconds before saying, "Go, she is waiting for you...and...thanks for saving me and helping to regrow my tail. Once the hair grows back, Ill let you touch it as a reward..." Though it wasnt the most appropriate situation, Mn wanted to lift Vahns spirits a little and encourage him. Vahn nodded his head slightly and, with a smile on his face, said, "Its a promise..." He had seen her aura fluctuated slightly and knew that she wasnt actually trying to make a pass at him. Vahn knew she was just trying to help him cheer up, so he reciprocated and gave an adequate response before turning his back as she leaped out the window. Though the future was an interesting thing to consider, Vahn needed to focus on the present and get to the bottom of the current situation. Presently, there were two people guarding Tinas room as well as several other auras spread throughout the safe house. Though not everyone had a ck aura, Vahn could see that the majority were filled with negative emotions. This meant that, though they may not be directing their malicious intent toward him presently, they were still inherently predisposed against him. The thing that had caught his eye long ago were the fourrger auras that were deep underground, even further down than the room Tina was kept in. Though Vahn couldnt sense the entireyout of the building, he knew it likely had severalyers he had yet to explore. His mini-map showed him minor details, but it couldnt let him see through walls unless he used [Eyes of Truth]. Since Tina hadnt been kept too far from the room Mn was in, Vahn managed to sneak through the safe house while using his stealth and staying low to the ground. He was still in his turtle form, so he didnt have night vision, but he could still easily see through the low-lighting of the corridors. Coincidentally, his turtle form actually made his skin darken while hardening his forearms and legs, so Vahn was nearly indistinguishable from the background while he was using [Stealth] and his domain to conceal his presence. The moment he got into range of the connecting corridor where Tina was being kept, Vahn stepped into the corridor and immediately used Shundo. Since the two guards were cking off due to being inside the safe house, they werepletely unprepared as Vahn appeared in front of them before using his [Fist strike] to give them both severe concussions. Since he didnt want to make a lot of noise, Vahn had used the benefit of his turtle form to converge the shockwave and localize it to the center of their heads. Even though he didnt put a lot of strength into the strikes, it forcefully rattled the brains of the two. If they were unlucky, they may never fully recover in the future, but it was still considered a small mercypared to Vahns original intentions. After setting the two unconscious men on the ground silently, Vahn used fire elemental energy to increase the temperature of his hand as he melted through the locked door. Though he could have searched the men for a key, Vahn didnt n to waste any more time so he used what he believed to be the most efficient option avable. Once it had melted throughpletely, Vahn entered the small room and saw Tina unconscious on the ground. Though it wasnt a far distance, Vahn immediately appeared next to her body using Shundo before picking her up in his arms. Fortunately, other than some scr.a.p.es and a minor swelling on her cheek, Tina was otherwise unharmed. The cold sensation in his mind dissipated by arge amount and Vahn couldnt stop himself from sighing in relief as he stroked the small cat girls head while using [Hands of Nirvana]. Even though he could heal the swelling quickly, Vahn still used [Wounds Transfer] since he felt it was only right for him to experience the suffering she had gone through. Not long after he healed her body and was inserting his energy into her head, Tina woke up with a start and flinched after realizing she was being held. She immediately tried to escape, but calmed down soon after once she realized it was Vahn holding her body. Though she should have recognized it from the familiar warmth, she was still on edge from everything that had happened. Now that she saw Vahn, Tina hugged his body and started crying loudly. Vahnpressed his domain a bit and used the sound dampening properties of [Stealth] to contain her cries as he consoled the bawling Tina. He continued to stroke the back of her head while softly exining the situation to her. He told her that Mn had already been saved and was unharmed, and now he would be able to take her away from this ce as well. Tina, hearing Vahns soothing words, began to withhold her crying voice as she continued to sob into his chest for several minutes. Even though she felt a great deal of relief after hearing the exnation, she couldnt do much to repress the fear and unease in her heart. Though Vahns warm embrace helped to calm her mind a bit, she couldnt rx until she was able to reunite with her mother. After seeing her mother carried away earlier in a badly beaten state, she was severely traumatized and had trouble believing that she was okay. Vahn continued to soothe her patiently until he noticed a change in the auras around him. One of therger auras separated from the other three and began to run through the building while alerting everyone else. The three remaining auras began retreating further into a space Vahn couldnt see and they were quickly moving toward the edge of his detection range. Though he hadnt been detected, Vahn assumed that word had gotten to the mastermind about the situation happening on the surface. Right now, there were several teams from the Hephaestus Familia converging around this area with Mns guidance. The main team of the Loki Familia had also shown up since around fifty minutes had passed since Vahn parted with Hephaestus. Though Vahn was unaware of what was happening outside, he could intuit a bit based on everything that was happening. Before the men made their way to the room where he and Tina were, Vahn pulled her away slightly and looked into her eyes with a serious expression. Tina, though she was still scared and anxious, immediately ceased her crying as she returned his gaze. She could see the seriousness in his eyes as he exined, "There are bad mening here right now, so I need to get you out of the building. A lot of our allies, including your mother, are heading this way and they will protect you." Tina nodded her head and asked in a sobbing tone, "What about you...?" In response, Vahn gave her a gentle smile and ruffled her hair as he exined, "I cant let the people that did this get away. Even now, I can sense them running away from this location. I will buy time for the rest of the rescue party to show up, so I need you to be brave and go to them. Dont be afraid, Tina, as I wont leave you on your own..." As Vahn finished his words, he looked toward the ceiling and held Tina close as he said, "Fafnir, open a hole in his damnable ce. Lets get some fresh air..." In response to his words, Fafnir mmed up from the shadows on the floor and elerated toward the roof and tore through it like paper. Though there was a lot of debris raining down, Vahn was able topletely protect Tina in his arms by using his turtle form to dissipate the force of anything that contacted them. Even heavy debris contacted his body and just rolled off without even budging him. Tina was very afraid by the chaotic scene, but she just hugged Vahns waist with her eyes closed and believed that he would protect her. Even though it seemed like the sky was falling, she noticed that Vahn stood firm against everything without budging as he shielded her body. After a few seconds, Tina could feel the cold night air enter into the stagnant room as Vahn used his domain to generate small bursts of energy to clear the dust that was still around them. Picking her up in his arms, Vahn jumped through the hole that Fanfir had made before vaulting off the higher floors and arriving at the roof. Turning toward the dragon floating in the air, Vahn held out Tina and said, "Fafnir, protect her with everything you have. Take her to the others before returning to the shadows. If anyone tries to harm her or Mn, make sure they pay the price." Fafnir nodded its head before responding in a childish voice, (*Leave it to me, Master~!*). It then bent down and reformed its scales to allow for Tina to fitfortably on its back. Though she was scared of the giant ck dragon, Tina had also heard the cute and childish voice as it responded to Vahn. Even though it looked evil, she suddenly felt a lot less intimidated as she allowed Vahn to seat her on its back. Vahn rubbed her head affectionately onest time before giving her a kiss on the forehead and saying, "Mn is waiting for you, go to her..." Tina nodded her head before hugging Vahns neck for a few seconds. When she finally let go, she had tears in her eyes as she said, "Please dont get hurt..." Vahn took her hand into his as he showed her the most confident smile he could manage and said, "No matter what happens, Tina, I will alwayse back in one piece. Make sure to prepare some nice food for me when I return; the three of us can eat it together just like before." Then Vahn ruffled her hair a bit before jumping off Fafnirs back and down into the hole. Though several men had shown up at the room where Tina had been kept, the moment they saw the huge hole and Fafnir, they immediately ran away. Vahn was going to follow their trail all the way back to the source since, if you trace the tail of a snake, you will always find its head eventually. From his time back in the forest, Vahn had learned that the best way to kill a snake was to cut off the head and watch the body die... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Author-Style, Triple-Cliff Summoning Jutsu~!,The Hunt Begins,Tiny Tinas Tears) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $716/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 193 - Laverna (1/2)

Chapter 193 - Laverna (1/2)

(A/N: The title will be updated when I finish part 2.) Vahn calmed his mind a bit as he followed the corridors and descended further into the ground. Though his turtle form was both offensively and defensively powerful, he needed to make use of his Bih forms increased agility and senses to track the fleeing enemies. Once his body regressed into his first form, Vahn felt his senses expand and he could now smell the odors of the men who had fled previously. Since there was the stench of fear and sweat, Vahn was able to quickly follow the path they had taken in their escape. Though he could still sense them within the area of his domain, Vahn wasnt in a hurry to capture all of them and only used his [Enkidu] to take care of anyone that tried hiding within some of the rooms along the way. He didnt mortally wound any of them, but he still severely injured the majority by driving the chains through their thighs. Vahn assumed that not everyone was as evil as then men involved in the kidnapping, so he would let those following behind deal with the injured. Eventually, Vahn made his way down to the sixth floor that was deep underground. Though there were still a few rooms, the majority of the floor was one long corridor that opened up to arge room where the four presences had been earlier. Vahn noticed there was arge bed in the area with a variety of tools and restraints as well as something akin to a throne surrounded by a few other gaudy chairs around a long table with various foods and alcohols on it. Behind the throne, there was a false wall that had been concealed, but Vahn quickly destroyed it before making his way into what was likely an escape tunnel. He had already locked on to several scents and was able to evade the traps that lined the corridor as he used Shundo to close the distance faster than most of them could trigger. One of the most useful features of instant movement was that it could link two points and allow Vahn to transition the distance almost instantaneously. If he could master the skill, it really would be considered instant movement since the traps wouldnt even have enough time to register his presence at all. Vahn eventually arrived at a point where the corridor split off into several small paths and noticed that the scents had split. There was even a mechanism to mask the smell, but Vahn could still detect the path taken because of the fluctuations in the air. Anywhere that had been passed recently would still have destabilized air currents, so even if Vahn couldnt smell them, he could still see where they went. Though he would still be gambling to pick the correct corridor, there was one where the elements in the air had been affected to a much greater extent. Vahn assumed this was the correct path since the abnormality was likely the result of a god or goddess passing through ahead of him. Vahn had noticed that one of the four auras earlier was muchrger than a normal person which indicated they were likely the mastermind and god of the Familia behind the kidnapping. Not everyone had one, but when Vahn had inspected the body of some of the assants, he noticed that many of them had the same crest on their back and were likely an organized crime Familia even though Macker hadnt been able to reveal the name. The symbol on the backs of some of the men was that of a featureless mask with two slots for eyes and a pair of daggers crossed behind it. Even though Vahn didnt think it was appropriate to judge things based solely on appearance, he couldnt help but feel that the crest belonged to a malicious god. Since Vahn knew about the influence of Divinity on their actions, he didnt consider the god evil, but that didnt mean he would tolerate their actions either. If he couldnt get the answers he was looking for, Vahn wasnt above escting matters since they were already in an irreconcble situation. A few minutes after entering the smaller path, Vahn noticed there were no more traps in the area and he continued increasing his pace until he finally detected the aura of two people around 311m from his position. There was next to no light on the path, but Vahn had night vision in his Bih form and saw two people, one, a burly and powerful looking man, and the other, someone that looked almost like a child given their stature. Even though he was still in stealth, the man turned to look behind him and Vahn could see a yellow glow in his eyes that implied he also had night-vision capabilities. The small figure next to him turned around soon after and Vahn saw a pair of heterochromatic eyes staring back at him. One of the eyes shined like a purple amethyst while the other was a piercing and icy blue, and they both glowed within the dark corridor the same as the man. Vahn got into a lowbat stance and approached the duo that continued to stare back at him without appearing to pay him any mind. Once Vahn got within 50m of the pair, the small figure opened their mouth and Vahn heard an almost sing-song-ish and girly voice ask, "Youre the Vulcan, Vahn Mason." She seemed almost amused by the fact he had tracked her this far and began tough in a cheerful manner as she said, "Kuji, capture him for me~!" The moment her words fell, the man, who Vahn realized was a weretiger named Kuji, charged toward him in a simrly low stance. He was incredibly agile, but Vahn was able to outmaneuver him with Shundo. Kuji seemed surprised by the speed of Vahns movements and asked with a deep baritone voice, "Is that a skill, or some kind of magic?" Vahn had appeared 20m away from him and didnt respond to his question as he equipped his Xunw set items and charged toward Kuji with a speed that caused the air to break around him. As a Level 4, Kuji wasnt too afraid of the might behind Vahns fist after considering his speed. Though he expected him to know a few martial arts, considering his fighting style, Kuji didnt think Vahn would be able to overpower him in a head-on collision. Without shying away, Kuji dashed forward and struck forth with his powerful and sharp ws to receive Vahns fist. Vahns expression didnt change in the slightest even after seeing the weretiger receiving his attack. Though he knew the man should be much stronger than him considering their differing racial traits and build, Vahn had an advantage that Kuji couldnt anticipate. The moment his fist collided with the wed palm strike of Kuji, the protectors on Vahns forearms glowed with a green light and prevented the shockwave from the collision from dissipating. Instead, Vahn had focused the impact on a single point using his [Fist Strike] and injected it straight into the forearm of Kuji like a miniature explosive. The weretigers face showed an expression of shock moments before his forearm exploded from the inside and left his hand dangling by the mangled flesh and broken bones. Though his arm hadnt been torn off, there was no way he would be able to use it in the fight from now on. Surprisingly, Kuji didnt even flinch from what should have been an incredibly painful injury as he spun around and kicked Vahn in the abdomen with a tremendous force that caused him to crash into the wall and leave an impact crater. Vahn was stunned by the blow but managed to receive the follow-up strike with his crossed guards and disperse the impact using his protectors. He could see through his defenses that Kuji had a crazed and bloodthirsty look in his eyes and both of his pupils had dted to an extreme. Vahn quickly realized that he was either using a skill or had been so doped up on some kind of drug that he had lost his mind. Kuji even tried to use his mutted arm to attack, so Vahn assumed it was thetter as he kicked off from the wall and used Shundo to slip by and approach the goddess that had been watching the fight with an amused expression on her masked face. She noticed what Vahn was trying to do and pouted, "Boo~! You should fight Kuji, not me!" As her words sounded, Vahn saw her eyes glow more fiercely as a light covered her body which caused the surrounding corridor to shake. She was trying to use her Divinity to scare him away, but Vahn just furrowed his brows and continued forward against her expectations. With a sigh, the goddess raised her hand that had an intricate fingerless glove on it and sent a powerful wave of pressure toward Vahn to deter him. She disliked people that ignored her orders more than anything else and wanted to teach him a lesson before she yed with him a bit. Unexpectedly, the wave she sent out just passed through Vahn without having any effect and she could feel anxiety immediately spread through her mind. Vahn kicked off the floor again and used Shundo to appear behind her and held his sword, named [007] to her neck and asked, "Why did you target Mn and Tina? Why are you doing all of this?" Even though the Divinity of a god had a powerful suppression effect on most people, it didnt actually mean they were strongbatants. Unless the goddess before him broke the rules and used her Arcanum, there wasnt anything she could do against him unless she had Leveled up like a mortal. Hearing Vahns questions, the goddess just began tough as she shouted out, "Kuji, continue to attack~! This boy seems to be the type that cant hurt girls~." As her words fell, Vahn had to take a step back as a ck dagger with a foul-smelling odor pierced the area where his head had been. Though he didnt have any special inhibitions about attacking girls, Vahn still wanted to obtain answers before he did anything to a goddess. Even if a god or goddess had done something evil, it was almost inexcusable for a mortal to actually harm them. Though he might be justified in his actions, there would be a severe bacsh from the godlymunity and he would most likely be imprisoned or exiled once the matter became known. Even if he had no ill will towards another god, they would still feel a bit of fear that Vahn might do something to them in the future since he didnt hesitate when it came to a different god. It was typically gods that dealt with other gods while their children fought amongst themselves. Since she wasnt willing to answer his questions even with a sword to her throat, Vahn needed to deal with the crazed Kuji first. Though the weretiger didnt have a ck aura like the rest of the assants from earlier, Vahn didnt have any inhibitions about killing him if things got out of hand. Unable to maintain his patience, the moment Kuji leaped forward and tried to stab him with the knife, Vahn pulled out [L?vateinn] and stabbed Kuji directly in the abdomen while using the burning effect to immediately create a charred hole in his stomach. Even with [L?vateinn] and a seared wound in his gut, Kuji still threw the dagger forward and it pierced into the right side of Vahns chest. Both Kuji and the mystery goddess began tough at the sight, but Vahn pulled out the dagger with his left hand while supporting the entire body of Kuji with his right. The wound on his body began to regenerate slowly, but at a visible rate as Vahn channeled his energy into [L?vateinn] and caused a muted explosion in the abdomen on the drugged Kuji. He immediately vomited a mouthful of blood before copsing limply on [L?vateinn] due to the severity of his injuries. Vahn let his body slide off the long de of [L?vateinn] as the small goddess began to p her hands in an excited manner, "Bravo~! Well done~!" She then walked forward in a cheery manner but stayed beyond the basic reach of Vahns weapon as she continued, "Its too bad you couldnt stop the dagger though~! Looks like this will be my win in the end!" She began tough excitedly as she kicked the body of Kuji on the ground and said, "Oho, he is still alive~? Youre a big softie, arent you~?" Seeing Vahns unchanged expression, she thought he was trying to put up a front so she proudly exined, "That dagger was coated in a deadly toxin that only I know the recipe for the antidote. If you want to live, youll put away your weapons and behave from now on." She then started tough as she dangled a small crystalline vial in front of her in a yful manner and asked, "So, what will it be, Mr. Vulcan~?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mystery Goddess Appears,[L?vateinn] OP,Dont do drugs kidderinos) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $716/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 194 - Laverna (2/2)

Chapter 194 - Laverna (2/2)

As the goddess was dangling the antidote in front of him, Vahn was just staring at her coldly as he got a better look at who he believed to be the mastermind behind the events that had transpired. She was a rtively small goddess, only around 140cm tall, and had a very slim, almost featureless, body. Like her eyes purple and blue eyes, her hair was also two different colors where it was predominantly ck with strands of white that was cut short with two spiked pigtails. On her face, she wore a white, featureless, mask that concealed her eyes and curved around her nose. Her attire was a ck, sleeveless, hoodie with an almostically oversized zipper running down the length of the garment. From what Vahn could see, she had next to no b.r.e.a.s.ts since the zipper was partially down and revealed the fair white skin underneath. She wore a pair of ck shorts that could barely be seen under her hoodie so, if you werent paying attention, it would almost look like she was wearing just the hoodie alone. She had long ck stockings that ran to the middle of her thighs and a pair of grey-ish ckbat boot that extended about halfway up her calves. Noticing that Vahn hadnt started panicking, the goddess tilted her head sideways with a crooked smile and asked, "Do you have the [Abnormal Status Resistance] skill~? Well, it wont matter since you wont be able tost long without the antidote~. I would suggest you give up before things start to get painful~!" She seemed to think that Vahn was just resisting the poison when, the fact was, he was actually entirely resistant due to the unique qualities of his blood. This was the reason Vahn couldnt get drunk and even things like drugs that got within the bloodstream would have no effect on him. Vahn furrowed his brows as he lowered [L?vateinn] and asked in a cold voice, "Who are you? Why did you do all this? I want answers." Vahn was still weighing whether or not to injure the goddess in front of him since she appeared to be a nonbatant. Even her aura was an amiable yellow, but Vahn didnt care about her impression of him in the slightest. After dealing with Loki, Vahn knew that there were gods that could change the aura and, even if she genuinely had some kind of interest toward him, Vahn could never trust her since her interest was likely distorted due to her Divinity. Seeing Vahn lower his weapon, the goddess smiled widely and began tough like a child that just got away with a prank. She looked at him with her odd-colored eyes and said, "Im Laverna~! From now on, youll be working for me, so lets get along well~!" Vahn shook his head as if to refute her im and asked, "What is the purpose behind you kidnapping the two girls and torturing Mn? If you were trying to use them as leverage against me, it doesnt make sense for you to harm them." In response to his question, Laverna tilted her head as if she was considering how to respond. After a few seconds, she shrugged her shoulders before giving a dismissalugh and saying, "I never ordered them to torture, anyone. I only told them to take that little cat person hostage since you seemed to be fond of her. If they captured someone else, it had nothing to do with my orders at all~!" Vahn furrowed his brows deeply and asked in a deathly cold tone, "Arent they members of your Familia!? How can you let them do such monstrous things!?" Knowing that Mn wasnt even part of the n, Vahn felt like she had been lucky to survive at all given the circ.u.mstances. If he had shown up just a few minutester, he might have failed to save her life and ended up leaving Tina orphaned. Laverna frowned and said, "Booo~What kind of reasoning is that? As long as they pay my tribute and do what I tell them, why should I stop them from doing other things? The only thing that matters to me is having fun and making money, why should I care about what other people do?" She seemed to be genuinely confused by Vahns outburst and started pouting as she fiddled with the zipper on her hoodie. The cold sensation in Vahns mind began to spread and grow deeper as he red at the irresponsible goddess in front of him. He asked through gritted teeth, "What do you mean by having fun and making money? What part of your sick n has anything to do with either of those things!?" As he asked the question, Vahn had a sudden realization which made his ferocious eyes widen slightly. Lavernas eyes also widened as she pounded her fist slightly in her palm and eximed, "Oh yeah! Thanks for reminding me~! I needed you to make a vow and promise to hand over all the materials that Hephaestus had transported to your workshop~! Though I still need you to do that, Im more interested in having you work for me from now on so youll also need to agree to be loyal to me if you want this antidote~!" Once again, Laverna began to dangle the antidote in front of her body with a cheeky smile on her face. Vahn hung his head low and felt the rage in his body continue to expand alongside the cold sensation as he asked in a deeper voice than he typically could manage, "So, just for money...you kidnapped two people I cared about...burned down their house....and even let one of them be tortured and mutted? Youre telling me this entire fiasco...was just because you wanted my materials!?" In response, Laverna shook her head and said very matter-of-factly, "First of all, I didnt know that big cat person was important to you, or I would have told those idiots to capture her as well. Its really hard to find people around you that are easy to target, ya know~? And for the second part, I dont really care about the materials, but I would have been able to make a ton of money if I sold them on the ck market! With that much Valis, I could do whatever I wanted for years and never have to worry about anything~!" Vahn smashed his left fist into the wall of the corridor and looked at her as if he had just heard the most revolting thing in the world. He shouted at the top of his lungs, "IF YOU WANT VALIS SO MUCH, WHY THE F.U.C.K DONT YOU WORK FOR IT YOURSELF!? WHY DO YOU HAVE TO INVOLVE OTHER PEOPLE AND RUIN LIVES!?" Because of his outburst, Vahn started hyperventting as he used every ounce of willpower in his body to prevent himself from ughtering the goddess in front of him. Laverna just sighed and raised her hands dismissively as she said, "That is super boring. Why should I have to work when I can get other people to do it for me in exchange for my blessing? Id rather eat good foods, drink heavy liquor, and mess around with strong men~." As if realizing something from her words, Laverna lipped her lips as she pulled down the remainder of the zipper and revealed her small b.r.e.a.s.ts to Vahn. She took the crystalline vial that contained the antidote and emptied the contents onto her stomach as she looked at Vahn and said in an amorous manner, "Arent you actually pretty strong yourself~? Since youre going to be my subordinate, Ill also make you one of my toys~! Come on, as long as youre willing to make a vow, Ill let you lick up this antidote~." As she spoke, Laverna traced her fingers along her stomach and began to breath more heavily through her nose. Before she had received news of the change aboveground, Laverna had been spending her time within her private quarters being tended to by her subordinates. She was especially fond of subjugating strong men and teasing them until they begged and asked for permission to please her. Seeing someone with as much willpower as Vahn resisting the poison in his body was beginning to excite her. Just like Kuji, she could get Vahn addicted to drugs and pleasure and force him to live only to fulfill her selfish desires. At this point, the cold sensation in Vahns mind had reached a critical level and he contracted his domain to only a few meters and began to put his pressure on the sickening goddess that thought she had the advantage. Not only did she scheme against him for personal gain, but she even involved his loved ones and was now trying to seduce him in order to guarantee his own life. Everything about her was disgusting, no matter how innocent she might look with her petite and unique appearance. With thest remnants of his self-control, Vahn asked, "What is your Divinity?" Laverna, who was now covered in a cold sweat while trying to resist Vahns domain with her own Divinity answered through gnashed teeth, "I am the goddess of thieves, cheats, liars, and fraudsters. Now answer me, Vahn Mason, what the hell are you!?" At this point, Lavernas yful guise had vanished entirely as her two eyes glowed with a vibrant light. She was preparing to use her Arcanum to oppose Vahn, even if it resulted in her having to return to Heaven temporarily. Since he hadnt s.u.mbed to the special poison on the dagger, Laverna realized there was something strange about Vahns body which was confirmed when he focused his intent on her. As far as she could tell, Vahn had a Divinity of his own and had been concealing it from the public. She cursed the failure of her children for not finding out such important information beforehand. Demigods werent people that should be confronted, especially one that had the support of two of the three highest ranked Familias in the City. For the first time in her life since her descent, Laverna regretted not putting in more effort to rify things. In response to her question, Vahn raised his [L?vateinn] slightly but the expression on his face had turned into an almost sad one. Though she didnt drop her guard, Laverna felt like his reaction was strange and it made her feel very ufortable. The pressure on her body began to fade away and she looked at Vahn as if his behavior was inexplicable. In one moment, it looked like he was about to kill her in rage, but now he seemed to pity her after she answered his question. Regardless of the reason, Laverna stopped using her own Divinity as she gave a taunting smile to Vahn who held up his [L?vateinn] and seemed to be hesitating. She asked in a cheeky manner, "Whats the matter, dont have the guts to kill a goddess~? Youre pretty level-headed arent you~? I guess, even after all your supposed hatred and anger, you still arent dumb enough to break that taboo~." Vahn looked into her odd-colored eyes and truly pitied her existence and the type of Divinity she embodied. It seemed almost cruel that fate decreed she would have such a childish and innocent figure yet required her to be involved with such depravity by virtue of her very existence. However, if not for the approaching figure behind her, Vahn would have struck her down regardless of his own feelings. Instead, he just stared at her with a sad expression on his face as he slowly closed his eyes and said, "Ill not be known as someone that killed a Goddess. Even if I struck you down here, I wouldnt be able to stop you from ascending to Heaven and spreading the information. Ill leave you for others to deal with..." Lavernaughed at his response and seemed to enjoy the struggle that he was undergoing. She opened her mouth to goad him on, but the moment she did so Laverna felt two painful impacts in her neck and back. Unable to form words, she tried to move her head and hands to see and feel what had happened, but her muscles werent responding. Before she cked out, she stared into the sad eyes of Vahn as a feminine voice sounded in her ear, "Just because Vahn isnt willing to kill you, doesnt mean Im not, nyahaha~!" Then, as Laverna tried to turn her head to see the speaker, both of the curved daggers in her body were twisted and yanked out. Without ever seeing the person that imed her life, Laverna fell powerlessly to the floor of the dark corridor. After Laverna fell to the ground, her body began to glow with a white light as she turned into particles that dissipated into the void. In less time than it took to blink, she dissolved from existence in a manner simr to a monster that had its magic core destroyed. Throughout the short process, Vahn looked at the unfortunate goddess with mixed emotions before turning his attention toward the mischevious looking girl wearing a dark blue hood with two pointed protrusions for ears and a cloth covering her mouth and nose. Staring into the familiar green eyes, Vahn showed a sad, but gentle, smile as he muttered, "Im sorry Chloe..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Divinity is a Heavy Burden,Money is the root of all evil,Chloes Resolve) If youd like to support me on ******* so I can be a full-time writer, please follow this link~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $716/640 of my goal of making this my actual job. I promise that, if Im able to do so, I will be writing 50 chapters a week :D Chapter 195 - Light : Dark

Chapter 195 - Light : Dark

Hearing Vahns words, Chloe just shook her head slowly as she put away her daggers. While keeping eye contact with Vahn, she said inly, "Ill exin in more detailter, but assassination is actually my profession. Are you surprised?" As she asked, Chloe tilted her head yfully but Vahn could see her aura fluctuate slightly. Though she was acting casually, Vahn understood she ced a lot of weight in his response. Releasing a sigh, Vahn said, "Im sure you have your reasons, and one day Id like to find out. For now, the only thing that really matters is that I know you are a gentle and thoughtful girl that likes to be spoiled." Vahn smiled as he spoke and Chloe could see that there was no hesitation or judgment in his eyes. Though he couldnt see it on her face, Vahn knew she was happy since her aura had stabilized. Vahn reached down and ced his palm on the area where Laverna had fallen and asked, "I really am sorry, Chloe...you had to do something I didnt have enough courage to do myself...Im a coward." Strangely, when he spoke, Chloeughed slightly as she walked over to him and squatted down next to where he had knelt down. Before Vahn could ask, Chloe pushed his shoulder a bit and Vahn fell onto his butt with a stupefied expression on his face. Chloe looked at Vahn with squinted eyes and said, "Cowards dont run into enemy territory on their own and save damsels in distress, Vahn. Do you think Mn and Tina would believe the words youre saying right now?" Hearing her words, Vahn felt a bit of hesitation and considered her words before trying to speak. Seeing that he was trying to find his words, Chloe continued, "Tell me, Vahn, after you saved Mn and Tina, how many people did you kill?" Though Vahn was confused at her question, he answered after a brief hesitation, "None..." After he answered, Chloe pulled down her face mask and smiled as she said, "Youre unable to kill people unless its to protect other people...even if those people are trying to kill you." When she spoke, Chloe poked the unconscious body of Kuji that was nearby. Verifying that he was still alive, Chloe continued, "Youre a good person Vahn...you arent a coward, nor do youck courage. If anything, youre closer to a hero thatcksmon sense than anything else." Chloe beganughing at her own words before she calmed down and showed Vahn a gentle and concerned smile and said, "Im sure youve realized it yourself, but there are a lot of people drawn to you...do you know why that is?" Vahn furrowed his brows slightly before responding, "Because Im nice to them and try to make them happy...?" Hearing his response, Chloe beganughing as she sat next Vahn and rested her head on his shoulder. After a few seconds, she said in a quiet voice, "Its because you can empathize with people...youre very perceptive and thoughtful to the concerns and needs of others, and youre always trying to consider things from their perspective..." Chloe grabbed Vahns left hand and began fiddling with his fingers as she asked in azy manner, "Isnt that the reason why you couldnt kill that goddess?" Vahn remained silent for several seconds as he contemted her words. As she said, even though he wanted to act out to release his pent of emotions, Vahn couldnt do it after learning Lavernas Divinity and the fact she didnt specifically order Mns torture. Her greatest sin was negligence, but she wasnt inherently evil...just someone that had been twisted by the whims of fate. Releasing a long sigh, Vahn asked, "What do I do, Chloe? I dont want things like this to happen anymore, but I dont know what I can do to stop it..." In response to his question, Chloe also sighed and exined with a sad expression on her face, "There really isnt anything you can do, Vahn. The brighter your light shines, the more prominent the darkness around you will be. Even if you tried to extinguish the darkness and went on a crusade to eliminate evil, it wouldnt be long before you became tainted by the very same darkness you sought to destroy..." Her words caused Vahn to frown deeply as he recalled the matters that had happened in the past and how he reacted to them. Vahn knew that the more he interacted with that type of person, the more twisted his own nature became. When he saw people tormenting others, he felt a powerful desire to force them to undergo that same torment. Even though he knew it was wrong...even though he had the power to easily kill the people that wronged him...Vahn still couldnt restrain himself easily. Just as Chloe said, if he truly tried to eliminate evil, it wouldnt be long before he became the very thing he hated... While Vahn was lost in his own thoughts, Chloe continued to y with his hand as she said, "The best thing you can do is to continue being yourself. Just as there is a lot of darkness that would gather around you, there are just as many people that are drawn to your light in order to escape their own darkness. Many people have tragic pasts and things they regret, and it is people like you that allow us to move forward. Your presence gives us hope that things will one day be okay..." Chloes words caused Vahn to think about all of the [Hearts Desire]s that he had seen, and he understood very well what she meant by her words. Everyone around him seemed to have some great tragedy they were trying to ovee, and it was one of the reasons Vahn felt so driven to move forward and grow stronger. However, Chloes words also caused him to realize something as turned toward her and asked, "You also...?" Tilting her head in response to his question, Chloe locked eyes with him and Vahn could see the sadness contained behind her smile. When she responded to his question, Vahn could hear an uncharacteristic tiredness weighing down her words, "Some of us are born into darkness...and it isnt easy to escape the past..." Vahn felt pained by her words and squeezed her hand that had been fiddling with his. Ever since she had helped him, Vahn had always thought Chloe was a strong and reliable person that he could admire. He never even considered that she was also one of the people that had suffered in the past and was using her own experience to influence her treatment of him. Now that he was aware of the situation, he felt like he had wronged her even more so than he had previously thought. Before he could say anything, Chloe used her free hand to poke Vahns cheek as she began tough yfully. She then said in a somewhat bemused tone of voice, "See, that is what Im talking about~! The moment you learn something new about a person, you immediately change how you feel and think about them. This is the reason why so many people are drawn to you, but it is also why youll struggle in the future." Releasing Vahns hand, Chloe stood up from the corridor and dusted off her butt before turning toward him and saying, "Ive already taken action to escape from my past, so Im happy as long as you continue being yourself. My only hope is that your light is able to shine brightly without ever being marred by the darkness. As someone that has already been fully immersed by it in the past, you can leave those matters to me~." Vahn stood up and quickly closed the distance between Chloe and hugging her tightly with a serious expression on his face. He felt a mixture of anger and sadness as he stared through her mischevious facade and straight through to the mncholy hidden within her heart. With his brows furrowed, Vahn spoke in a sad tone, "I could never ept that...I cant let you bear that burden." Remembering everything she had done for him, Vahn felt like he was going to cry as he stared into her eyes. Not only did she save him when he first came to the City, but she even killed a goddess because of his unwillingness to take action. He felt like he had failed her since he hadnt realized everything she had gone through. Even though she had done so much for him, Vahn felt like he had done nothing for her at all... Chloes smiled turned into a gentle one as she reached her right hand to Vahns face and whispered, "It is my choice what burdens I bear...just as you choose to bear the burdens of so many. Were somewhat simr, you and I. Just like youre willing to go against your own nature to protect those you care about, Im willing to walk through the darkness to make sure your light continues to shine brightly. If you think you owe me anything, just promise me youll never change..." As her words finished, Chloe stood on her toes a bit as she gently kissed his lips. Though Vahn would normally enjoy the sensation, he couldnt help but feel a powerful sadness as she held her lips against his own for several seconds. With tears beginning to fall from his eyes, Vahn put strength into his embrace as he returned her kiss with his own. He knew there was little he could do to change her decision other than bing stronger and more reliable. With enough power and influence, there would be no need for her to burden herself in this manner. After nearly a minute, Chloe pulled away from the kiss and gave Vahn a gentle smile as she whispered, "I need to leave from here soon or it mightplicate matters. The next time we meet, Ill tell you everything you want to know about my past, okay? Dont be sad for me, Vahn, since Im happier now than Ive been in a long time. Like you said to me in the past, I prefer to see you smile as well~" As she spoke, Chloe used both of her index fingers to forcibly change the frown on Vahns face into a smile. Though he wanted to smile in order to please her, Vahn instead said in a firm and serious manner, "One day, Ill pull you out from the darkness entirely. Ill find a way to clean up my own messes without losing my light..." Chloe smiled and pulled her fingers away from his mouth before kissing him again for a few seconds. When she was satisfied, she separated from Vahn and squinted her eyes with a cheeky smile on her face as she said, "I believe that day wille as well but, until then, just make sure you spoil me properly whenever you can~! Every little bit of Vahnobtanium brings me one step closer to the light~nya." Even though he had a frown on his face, Vahn couldnt help but loosen up his expression as he asked, "Vahnobtanium?" In response, Chloe put her hand over her mouth andughed as she responded, "Its the affection you show others~nya! Though it might not be rare, its a very precious resource that drives away a little bit of the darkness in their hearts. I think Ill coin the term and poprize it at the next meeting~nyahaha." Before Vahn could say anything else, Chloe put her mask back on and ran down the direction of the corridor where Kuji and Laverna had been headed. Since she would likely cross paths with other people if she went back the way she came, Chloe decided it would be best to follow the escape path to its exit. Vahn watched her run away with an incredulous look on his face for several seconds before letting out a sigh and the briefest bit ofughter. Noticing a movement out of the corner of his eye, Vahn turned towards Kuji who still had a burnt hole in his stomach. If he wasnt treated soon, he would probably die from either blood loss or the severe trauma that his body had undergone. If not for the fact that weretigers had high vitality and he was a Level 4, he would have already died long ago. Vahn approached Kujis body and saw his eyelids twitching a bit as whatever drugs he had taken were probably wearing off and causing his body to experience immense pain. After thinking for a few moments, Vahn turned his head down the path that Chloe had taken to escape. Without changing his expression much, a glint of resolve appeared in Vahns aquamarine eyes as he pulled out a non-descript ck sword and drove it through the heart of Kuji. Even if Kuji hadnt heard any of the conversations between him and Chloe, Vahn wasnt willing to risk having her identity exposed by healing Kujis wounds and allowing him to spread the information. If Chloe was willing to kill a goddess to keep him on the path of light, Vahn was willing to kill a criminal to protect her secret. Kuji had done many bad deeds in his service of Laverna, and Vahn was giving him a mercy by relieving him from the pain he was suffering. Ignoring the notification that he had received a small amount of negative karma, Vahn put the sword away as he began backtracking along the path toward the surface. There were many people waiting for him, and he had grown tired of the dark and stagnant corridor that smelled of burnt flesh. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Chloes Burden,Light Within the Darkness,No Witnesses) Ill be increasing the number of chapters starting next week~ /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $708/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 196 - Reunion Above Ground

Chapter 196 - Reunion Above Ground

As Vahn was making his way back towards the surface, it wasnt long before he came across a group of people that were slowly making their way through the escape tunnels. Since the majority of people werent adept at detecting and dealing with traps, it meant they werent able to clear the path quickly. Seeing who was in the group, a lot of the negative feelings that Vahn had been feeling began to disperse. Noticing Vahns presence, two of the members of the group immediately ran forward to intercept Vahn with varying degrees of happiness on their faces. The first person to arrive and tackle his body had been Tiona and she immediately used her monstrous strength to stress Vahns ribs as he rubbed her hair with a pained smile. Soon after, Ais showed up next to him with a smile on her face and asked, "Is it over?" Tiona finally stopped squeezing Vahn, but she didnt let go of him as she stared at his face waiting for the answer. Vahn smiled and began exining everything that happened as the rest of the group caught up. The membersprised of the entire first and second parties of the Loki Familia as well as a few powerful looking adventurers Vahn had never seen before. When he approached, Finn had an amiable smile on his face as he said, "Good job, Vahn, it looks like things will wrap up smoothly after this. Weve already sent groups to inspect each tunnel, so you should make your way to the surface and exin the situation there. Well continue clearing the area before making our way back and regrouping with everyone else." Then, after tilting his head for a few moments, Finn smiled and said, "There dont seem to be many strong enemies, so those two can apany you back." Finn had been staring at Tiona who was literally dangling from Vahns neck while Ais stood close to his side and split her attention between the surroundings and Vahns face. He realized that the two would be useless for the rest of the operation, not that they were very helpful in the first ce. Since they had been rushing through the corridors, they actually set off a number of traps that had caused problems for the rest of the group. Hearing Finns words, Tionaughed out and said, "Hahaha, good going Captain~!" Ais also seemed to be pleased as her smile widened by a marginal amount and she grabbed Vahns hand and said, "Lets go, everyone is waiting." Vahn nearly dropped Tiona when Ais pulled him forward, but she managed to correct her own bnce before jumping onto his back. Vahn was surprised by her action and barely managed to prevent himself from falling over as he used both of his hands to support her legs. Ais looked back after Vahn let go of her hand and stared at Tiona with slightly furrowed brows. Tiona saw her look and smiled wide enough that both of her eyes were nearly closed. She pressed herself against Vahns back and nuzzled against the side of his face as she said, "I want to feel like a damsel that got saved by the hero as well~!" Aiss mouth became very small and it looked like an upside down v as her brows furrowed to a degree Vahn had never seen before. She looked toward Tiona and muttered, "Unfair." In response, Tiona giggled and before patting Vahns shoulder and climbing down from his back. She walked forward and poked Aiss cheek which caused the taciturn girl to puff out her cheek in response. Everyone in the area, including Vahn, looked at the sight and felt likeughing. Tiona leaned forward and stepped back a few steps before spinning around on her heel and trotting over next to Vahn. Grabbing his arm, she looked toward Ais and said, "This is better, right~?" Ais stared at her for a few seconds before her expression loosened a bit and she nodded her head before grabbing Vahns right arm. After storing the two girls weapons into his inventory so it wouldnt get in the way, Vahn made his way through the corridors while nked by Tiona and Ais. Though he felt happy to be escorting him, he couldnt stop himself from blushing every time they passed by one of the rescue operation members. Each time he met someone they would give him a strange look before staring at the two girls he was leading. Most of the time, they would immediately move on after giving a curt greeting while other times Tiona would shoo them away to keep them from spoiling the mood. More than a half hourter, the trio had made their way into the room where Laverna had indulged in her interests. Vahn turned his head toward the bed and all the strange instruments which caused Tiona to ask, "Are you interesting in that kind of thing~?" Vahn shook his head and exined, "Not really, I was just thinking about a few things and got distracted..." Tiona c.o.c.ked her head sideways with her finger on her chin as if she was contemting something. Deciding to keep the matter to herself, she just smiled before hugging Vahns left arm tighter. Vahn was confused by her reaction and wanted to ask when Ais muttered something in a low voice that he couldnt hear. Turning his head toward her, he noticed she had a confident look on her face as she looked towards the bed. Vahn could feel his brain buzz a bit and he began dragging the two girls away from the stagnant air and low-lighting of Lavernas den. Along the way, he exined a bit of the detail rted to Laverna and cautioned the two girls about over-indulging in things. Though the words felt strangeing from his own mouth, he wanted to make sure the two girls didnt walk down a strange path out of curiosity. They listened to his words attentively and nodded every time he made a point, but Vahn noticed the gleam in Aiss eyes hadnt diminished by much. Once they got in the actual safe house area, it wasnt long before the three made their way out through the front door of thepound. There were nearly a hundred people outside and Vahn could see a number of individuals spread about and searching nearby buildings as well. His eyes widened as he observed the chaotic scene and realized that matters had exploded to arger extent than he had realized. It wasnt until the two girls holding his arms released him that Vahn broke away from his absentminded state of mind. Tiona grabbed his hand as she pulled him toward the group of people that had been making their way over. It wasnt long before she was forced to release him, however, as Vahn had to open his arms and catch the small body of Tina who hadunched herself at him with tears in her eyes. As he was consoling her, therger group showed up and Vahn gave them a somewhat apologetic, yet grateful, smile as he said, "Thank you...everyone..." The group consisted of Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, Miach, Mn, Naaza, Lili, and various other gods and adventurers Vahn recognized but had never actually met. They were Takemikazuchi, a tall eastern-looking god with ck hair and eyes. He had very gentle and well-defined facial features and there was a shy looking girl with ck, somewhat short hair, that covered her green eyes. She was wearing an outfit simr to a purple kimono and had a very docile expression on her face as she apanied her god. Though she didnt have much of an impression in the manga, Vahn still recognized her as Chigusa. Since he didnt see the other members of the Familia, Vahn assumed that Ouka and Mikoto were part of the search teams. Off to the side, but not approaching, Vahn could even see Ryuu in herbat attire which consisted of a white blouse, small green shorts, a leaf-like mantle that framed her face, and a strangely shaped wooden sword that looked more like a staff. She noticed his gaze and showed a gentle smile before nodding her head slightly before walking toward an alleyway where Arnya and Syr were waiting. Vahn locked eyes with Syr, who had a gentle and cheerful expression, and gave a grateful bow to the group. Hephaestus was the first to speak as she crossed her arms and had a happy smile on her face, "You did good, Vahn." Vahn turned toward her and could see the hints of a fiery wrath behind her gentle smile. Even though she had let him do as he pleased earlier, Hephaestus had a lot of hatred towards the people that had caused this incident. Loki had her characteristic scheming smile on her face as she stared at the chaos around her before asking about the details of what had happened. Her words caused everyone to turn their attention toward Vahn as Mn picked up Tinas body after she had cried herself to sleep. She gave Vahn a grateful and caring look as she joined the rest of the crowd and listened to his recounting of events. Vahn exined everything from the beginning, starting from the ambush that he had experienced after leaving the Twilight Manor. He talked about how he had obtained the information about Mn and Tinas capture and how he was able to use his tamed monster, Fafnir, to quickly arrive at the scene of the fire. Using his enhanced senses from his Bih form, he managed to lock onto the girls scent before meeting up with Hephaestus outside and exining the situation. From there, he tracked the scent to the safe house where the girls were being kept before saving Mn and Tina. Since it wasnt pleasant, Vahn left out the details rted to Mns situation though several people had already intuited something terrible had happened considering her hairless ears and tail that Mn tried to keep hidden with the hooded cloak Vahn had given her. Naaza and Lili were especially sensitive to what must have happened since they had benefited from Vahns [Wounds Transfer] in the past. Vahn continued exining what happened after he parted ways with Mn and used Fafnir to evacuate Tina. Though everyone present was aware of its existence, Vahn sent a mentalmand for Fafnir to exit from the shadows while turning his attention to Ais. As the giant body of Fafnir came out of the ground, Vahn noticed that she twitched slightly but otherwise maintained her calm as she continued to lock eyes with him. Vahn smiled before reaching out his hand for her to hold onto as he continued his story. When Vahn got to the point about his fight with the drugged up Kuji and his confrontation with the goddess Laverna, almost everyone present had angry and conflicted expressions on their faces. Hephaestus had the biggest response because she had just heard that the reason behind the kidnapping in the first ce had been the materials she had given Vahn in the past. Even though she had taken action to prevent it from bing a problem, she had overlooked several details since she didnt have a proper understanding of the rtionsh.i.p.s of Vahn. Vahn saw Hephaestus gritting her teeth and fists with a face of regret on her face. Furrowing his brows a bit, Vahn said in a serious and firm tone, "Hephaestus, dont even think for a single moment you are to me for this. You have no control over the actions of others, and evil people will always do as they please regardless of our intentions." Feeling empowered by his own words, Vahn continued as he held Hephaestuss gaze firmly with his own, "Even I want to me myself, but I know it serves no purpose. Though I have regrets about my own actions and the events that have happened, Id rather focus on bing stronger to prevent things like this from happening again. If we get caught up in the past and let fear control our actions, well never be able to move forward and face the future with a smile on our faces!" His words finished, Vahn began to breathe heavily as everyone in the surroundings looked toward him with expressions of surprise on their face. Vahn didnt know what came over him, but after he recalled everything that had happened with Chloe, he couldnt allow others to hold any me, even himself. Though he empathized with her, Vahn knew Laverna and her children were to me for everything, regardless of her reasons and the nature of her Divinity. Though she still had her own doubts, Hephaestus smiled and affirmed Vahns words with a smile on her face. From her side, Loki wasughing in an almost evil sounding manner while people like Takemikazuchi and Miach gave approving nods to Vahns words. Takemikazuchi seemed especially impressed by all of the events that had transpired this evening. He found Vahns words to resonate with his own principles and wanted to get to know him better after everything concluded. Takemikazuchi believed Vahn would be able to influence his children positively, and he might even be able to help with their problem given Vahns influence within the Alliance between the Hephaestus and Loki Familia. Loki stopped her strangeughter and opened her eyes slightly as she asked a question that caused everyone to turn silent, "So, what happened to that goddess, Laverna?" Vahns expression changed and he began to exin everything that happened, including the death of Laverna. The moment they heard his words, the expressions of all the gods and goddesses present becameplicated. Though Vahn told them she was killed by a masked assant, everyone present knew there would be a bacsh from the incident. Laws required that the children of a Familia deal with other children while gods dealt with other gods. It was a taboo for a mortal to kill a god and, even if Vahn wasnt the one to deal the blow, it would be difficult to resolve the matter unless someone was held ountable. Even when a god killed another god, there was always some form of punishment or restriction ced on them, since it was the duty of the Guild to resolve such matters through mediation. Since Laverna hadnt received a proper judgment, it would fall to the gods and goddesses involved in the situation to be held responsible. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Many people, such wow,The Dangers of Overindulgence,The Situation Isnt Over Yet...) Ill be increasing the number of chapters starting next week~ /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $717/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 197 - Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 197 - Calm Before the Storm

Vahn saw the expressions of the gods and goddesses, as well as the various expressions of everyone else around. The matter of a goddess being in wasnt a light topic, nor was it something that most people consideredmonce. However, no matter how difficult matters became, Vahn resolved himself to bear the brunt of the pressure without letting everything fall to Chloe. Loki had a serious expression on her face and let out a tired sigh since she knew Vahn was aware of the identity of the killer and wouldnt reveal it no matter what. Even if he wanted to, she would take action to prevent it froming to that point. Looking over toward Hephaestus, she could see the resolute gleam in the fiery goddesses eye and knew they had simr thoughts. After bouncing around various ideas in her head in a rapid manner, she got the attention of everyone present with a p. With a mischevious smile on her face, Loki said, "Okay, we can worry about everything elseter~! Right now we should be more concerned with getting the little ones to bed and cleaning up this mess before it gets toote. Leave the important matters to the a.d.u.l.ts~!" Vahn knew Loki was probably up to something and could see that even Hephaestus was in agreement as she nodded her head and said, "Lokis right, well concern ourselves with the aftermath of the situation. Vahn, take Mn and Tina somece safe for the time being-" As Hephaestus was speaking, a sound rang out from behind the group, "Umm..." The entire group looked over toward the speaker and saw Syr showing an awkward smile as she approached with Ryuu and Arnya at her nks. Though she seemed to feel a bit of pressure from all the eyes gathered on her, Syr turned toward Mn and said, "We have plenty of space in the dorms if youd like to stay at the Hostess of Fertility...I heard about the matter of your Inn, so we can provide you with shelter and work if necessary." Vahn wanted to speak out to refute since he wanted the two girls to stay with him, but Mn cut his words short as she epted Syrs offer. Seeing his confusion, Mn smiled while stroking the hair of the sleeping Tina and exined, "I can tell there are various matters that need to be dealt with in the aftermath of everything that happened today. For now, I dont want you to worry about us and I think both Tina and I need some time to process everything that happened. I think staying in a womans dorm will be beneficial for her, since I dont think shed be able to leave your house if she returned there now..." Hearing Mns words, Vahn remembered that Tina had suffered a severe trauma and would have problems dealing with men in the future. If he took her back to his workshop, she might coop herself up inside as a defensive mechanism. Though it wouldnt be a problem at first, if she adapted to that kind of life she would never be able to socialize with people easily in the future. Many of the girls at the Hostess of Fertility were women that had suffered trauma in the past, and Vahn also agreed that it would be better if they stayed there for the time being. With people like Mama Mia and Chloe to look after them, Vahn believed they would recover sooner orter. Vahn stroked the sleeping Tinas head before giving Mn a hug tofort them both. He could see that her aura was mildly chaotic and understood it wasnt just Tina that needed time to recuperate. Mn had lost her home of ten years and suffered the cruelty of several people while stressing about the circ.u.mstances of her daughter. Even though she was putting up a brave front right now, he could feel the tension in her body as he hugged her. After a few parting words and several thanks, Vahn parted ways with the Alliance members before making various promises to meet in the future. Though he wasnt required, Vahn wanted to escort the girls back to the Hostess of Fertility the ensure their safety personally. They had a rtivelyrge group that consisted of Naaza, Lili, Tiona, Ais, Syr, Ryuu, Arnya, Mn, and Vahn who was carrying Tina while walking next to Mn. When they departed, Loki turned towards the gods present before staring at Chigusa until Takemikazuchi asked her to stand to the side. The final group that remained was Hephaestus, Miach, Anubis, Takemikazuchi, and Loki herself. All of their surrounding Familia members had been asked to move away as the group of gods and goddesses made their way into a tent that had been erected and acted as amand post. Since there was no telling how many people would be injured, they had set up various medical tents andmand tents at the beginning of the operation. After everyone settled in, Loki began the miniature Denatus with the most important topic, "This matter regarding Laverana wont blow over easily. We need toe up with a countermeasure and confirm the standing of everyone present." Passing her eyes over Miach and Takemikazuchi, the two gods spoke out in sequence. Takemikazuchi had a firm and resolute expression on his face as he said, "If possible, I would like to join the Alliance that had been created between the Loki and Hephaestus Familia. Even if he doesnt represent the entire Hephaestus Familia, I have developed a sense of respect for Vahn Mason. He has a strong and righteous character and its my belief he would be a good influence on my children. I may not have much to offer in regards to power and authority, but I will contribute what I can and hope there will be mutual cooperation between our Familia as allies in the future." As Takemikazuchi spoke, he bowed low to the rest of the group until his head nearly touched the floor. Miach himself just had acent and gentle smile on his face, but there was also a subtle hint of resolution in his eyes as he said in a soft tone, "Vahn saved one of my important children in the past, and has even cared for her till this day. I would like to return the favor he had paid my Familia and already made a vow to that end in the past. If possible, I too would like to join the Alliance and help resolve this matter." Though not nearly as low as Takemikazuchi, Miach also bowed politely. Hephaestus had also been observing the two and responded in a somewhat exasperated but grateful manner as she addressed Loki, "These two have helped me with matters in the past, and I think they would be a good contribution to our Alliance. Though theyck personal strength, they have good characters and I think theyll be strong allies in the future. We need the support of any gods that we can get if we want to pressure Ouranos." Loki nodded her head before turning her eyes to Anubis who had been sitting silently the entire time. Seeing Lokis attention drawn to her, Anubis showed a smile and said confidently, "No matter what, I will always stand at the side of my Master." Her words caused Takemikazuchi and Miach to have strange expressions until Hephaestus exined the circ.u.mstances that had urred between Vahn and the Anubis Familia in the past. Loki had also never heard the story before and she nearly facepalmed after hearing how easily Anubis weaseled her way into Vahns life. For the first time in a long time, Loki felt like she had been out-schemed by another goddess. After exnations were finished, everyone present reaffirmed their vows and swore to uphold the terms of the Alliance that had beenid out previously. Even though Anubis had already sworn to follow Vahn for the rest of his life, she was only now joining the Alliance officially. This was to create a stronger sense of unity between the five gods and goddesses present. The moment their vowspleted, Vahn, elsewhere in the City, heard a notification in his system and flinched slightly as he continued to gently stroke Tinas back. Now that they had officially allied, it was decided that Hephaestus would be the leader of the Alliance since she had thergest amount of wealth and authority. Loki became the moderator of the group and was given leniency by Hephaestus to hold a simr amount of authority as her as long as she deferred to her for any decisions rted to her Familia. Though they might disagree on matters, Hephaestus knew that Loki was the most suited to the role and would always pursue the greatest benefit for the rest of the group as long as she was bound by a vow. Loki continued the earlier matter and discussed how they would deal with Ouranos and any bacsh rted to the death of Laverna. Fortunately, since Lavernas Familia wasnt officially recognized by the Guild, they had a bit of leverage to use in theing negotiations. No matter how matters yed out, Laverna would have always been forced to return to Heaven for a probationary period while her Familia was stripped of their blessings. The fact that she had plotted, even indirectly, against the Hephaestus Familia and, by proxy, the Loki Familia gave them a lot of leeway to deal with her Familia as they pleased. The difficult matter was that Laverna had been killed by a mortal as it would be a point of contention amongst the godlymunity. There were variousws in ce to prevent mortals from taking action against gods as the majority of gods were nonbatants. Since the gods were already prevented from using their Arcanum when they came to the mortal world, if there was nothing to protect them, they would be exploited by mortals instead of taking advantage of them. The current system where gods gave blessings to people and received their offerings was an almost irrefutable truth that was required to maintain the status-quo. If the idea that a mortal could go around killing gods without punishment spread, it would lead to chaos and disrupt the established order that maintained the bnce between the mortal world and Heaven. Though everyone present believed Laverna got was she deserved, Hephaestus, Loki, and even Anubis wished they had been the ones to deal the blow. Not just for personal vindication, but because they would be able to ept responsibility and pass it off as a conflict of interests. Even still, they didnt me whoever killed Laverna as everyone present understood something had to have urred for the situation to progress to this point. Hephaestus and Loki even have a good idea of who the assassin had been and knew she likely acted to protect Vahn. Unable toe up with a permanent solution, it was eventually decided that they would have to take a firm stance and confront Ouranos directly and sway negotiations using theirbined authority. Though they would undoubtedly have topromise so that Ouranos had an excuse to give the other gods and goddesses, nobody present was willing to let harme to the victims of Lavernas scheme. Hephaestus herself was willing to ept punishment since it was her purchase of the materials that led to the fiasco in the first ce, but Loki forced her to back down after she used Vahns words against her. After everything was decided, Loki and Hephaestus gave orders to their respective Familia as Miach, Takemikazuchi, and Anubis sent their children home. The majority of the people they had brought along were Level 2 or lower, so they werent contributing much to the current situation. The only reason Anubiss children had been called in was due to their ability to track down people and disarm traps. After they had identified the direction that Vahn had went, they split off to assist the other search parties as the main groups of the Loki Familia pursued Vahn. When Nanu found out that Vahn was safe, she was very relieved and led the children back to the house double-time to patiently wait for his return. Finn was ced in charge as they continued the operation which had turned into a joint investigation with the Guild personnel that had arrived. Using the opportunity when two of the top three Familia had gathered, the Guild had actually requested the cooperation of the Alliance to weed out several other well-known dens of criminals. Though they would have normally refused, Loki and Hephaestus allowed the cooperation to continue since it would give them more leverage in theiring negotiations. Once everything was taken care of, Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, Takemikazuchi, and Miach all made their way toward the Guilds main branch to confront Ouranos before Laverna had any chance to sway things in her favor. Since it took time to rematerialize in Heaven after death, Laverna wouldnt be able to make use of an Oracle to contact anyone for several hours at the earliest. If they got the initiative, things would be much easier to deal with even if she tried to make things difficult for them. Without any hesitation, the group made their way into the main hall of the Guild before they were intercepted by Royman Mardeel, the Guild Head and public representative of Ouranos in the mortal world. He was an arrogant, yet servile looking, elderly elf with white hair and green eyes. His face seemed to wear a permanent scowl and he radiated an air of superiority when dealing with mortals. However, if any of them saw his current behavior they would have to perform a triple-take because he was presently bowing low and reverentially towards the group of gods and goddesses. Though he acted arrogantly toward mortals, Royman had a profound level of respect for all gods and goddesses unless they proved themselves unworthy of their title ording to Ouranos, his Master. After hearing the reason for their visit, Royman quickly made way and personally escorted the group to a hidden elevator at the back of the Guild Heads office. As he was unable to enter without permission, he bowed low as the godly group boarded the tform. As it was the first time for Anubis, Miach, and Takemikazuchi, they couldnt help but ask about where the elevator led. Lokis brows furrowed for a brief moment before she showed an almost crazy smile and responded, "Prepare yourself, as youre about to witness the greatest testament to hypocrisy in both the mortal world and Heaven!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Alliance Grows,Confronting the Sky,Anubis is just happy to be included) Ill be increasing the number of chapters starting next week~ /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $717/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 198 - Lokis Stage

Chapter 198 - Loki''s Stage

Hephaestus sighed at Lokis outburst but also had a grim expression on her face as she exined, "This elevator leads to the throne of Ouranos...and the seal that keeps the dungeon sealed." Unable to understand why Loki and Hephaestus were upset, Takemikazuchi asked, "Is it a bad thing that the dungeon is sealed? Isnt it necessary to keep the One-Eyed ck Dragon at bay?" In response to his words, Loki nearly spat, "If that was the only thing it did, it wouldnt be a problem. But did you ever ask yourself what keeps the seal powered?" Seeing that none of three understood her implication, Loki continued in a grim tone, "It uses the vitality and mana of the people that enter the dungeon. The greater the number of deaths and the more mana expended to y monsters, the stronger the seal bes. As the seal grows in strength, so to does the strength of the monsters which causes more people to die and a higher expenditure of mana..." This time, Miach frowned as he asked, "Though it sounds terrible and will result in more death, it should still be a good thing since it keeps the dragon sealed." Loki began tough at his words before exining, "If the dungeon is advancing at a pace faster than the growth of adventurers, it leads to a cycle where it cannot be conquered even as the dragon grows progressively stronger. Eventually, things will progress to the point where even high ranking Adventurers cant enter into the deeper floors. When that happens, there will be fewer and fewer people killing the high leveled monsters and the dragon will eventually escape. When that timees, the majority of strong adventurers would have died just to keep the seal functional!" At this point, everyone in the elevator had frowns on their face as they processed Lokis words. If what she said was true, that meant it was next to impossible to conquer the dungeon and it was only nurturing the cmity within. Seeing they had started to understand, Loki said, "The only way to guarantee the death of the One-Eyed ck Dragon would have been with the cooperation of various gods and the use of their Arcanum to destroy itpletely. Instead, Ouranos created the pathway from Heaven to the mortal world and were restricted in the use of Arcanum to the point where it would immediately eject us from the world and return us to Heaven. Now, after Zeus and Hera failed to subjugate it, all gods are prevented from entering with the excuse that it makes the dungeon evolve in an uncontrolled manner. Ouranos demands that mortals be the ones to kill the One-Eyed ck Dragon, but he has created a death trap that prevents them from ever bing strong enough to do so!" As her words finished, the elevator came to a stop and everyone stepped off the tform that opened up into a dark space where even the ceiling couldnt be seen. The only light within the room shone down from the void onto arge throne where and elderly, yet powerful looking, figure that they all recognized sat. Even when sitting, Ouranos was more than two meters tall and had a proud expression with piercing blue eyes. He had long white hair that curled toward the ends and a neatly trimmed beard with a powerful physique clothed in traditional ceremonial attire with a hooded cloak covering his upper body and head. The moment they entered the room, everyone could feel a subtle pressure throughout the entire room as Ouranos sat with a perfectly upright form and asked with a deep and powerful voice that resonated through the air, "Loki, Hephaestus, Anubis, Miach, and Takemikazuchi...what matter brings you here to my domain sote in the evening?" As they had agreed on previously, it was Loki who answered with her usual expression and devious smile, "An interesting question considering ites from you, Ouranos. Even if you took a vow to personally attest that you had no involvement in this matter, I still wouldnt be able to believe it~!" Ouranos frowned slightly and said in a heavy tone, "Ive no patience for your riddles, Loki. If youve nothing to discuss, I will have you leave this ce. It is not a yground for your gvanting and licentious behavior." In response, Loki began tough as if she didnt consider his words seriously at all. Ouranoss frown deepened further before Lokis expression turned serious and she said, "Do not y me for a fool, Ouranos. Do you truly believe you can scheme and trick the goddess of trickers herself!? Even if you had no direct involvement with the events that transpired tonight, there is no way your cohorts werent involved. I imagine youve been plotting to get more information on the Vulcan since the moment he awoke." Ouranos didnt immediately answer her usation as he stared at Loki coldly before passing his eyes over each of the other gods and goddesses at her back. Ignoring Lokis words, he turned to Hephaestus and ordered, "Hephaestus, tell me why you havee here this evening." Hephaestus had a cold, but fiery, look in her eyes as she said in a low voice, "I am of the same mind as Loki on this matter. I dont believe for a moment youre unaware of everything that has been happening. There are far too many coincidences and everything lines up too perfectly with how your men usually act." Though they had no proof, both Loki and Hephaestus knew how Ouranos operated. There was no way he would allow Vahn to keep secrets from the moment he became aware of his existence. Ever since Hephaestus confronted Freya and forced her to take an oath before Ouranos, he had likely already started targetting Vahn. Even if this event had nothing to do with him, Ouranos wouldnt be able to deny having any involvement with the matters concerning Vahn. Though they wouldnt be able to force a confession out of him, as long as they stood their ground they would be able to edge out an advantage by taking advantage of his character. Though he had expected her to do so, Ouranos was still displeased hearing Hephaestus side with Loki and her usations. He had indeed been investigating Vahn and even had Fels gathering information on him since thest Denatus. Because of the protection of Hephaestus and Loki, it had been very difficult to gather any concrete information and he had used the events of tonight to extrapte various pieces of information that he wanted to make use of. Vahn made an excellent pawn for his future ns, but now he would have to somehow deal with the two troublesome goddesses before his ns were even set in motion. As the voice of moderation in the mortal world, Ouranos was under a powerful oath to never lie. Even if he could be misleading or dismissive, if they truly continued to press him he would be unable to refute his involvement, even if it was indirect and unprompted. If it was just a single god or goddess, he would have been able to pressure them to silence, but now two of the top three goddesses were confronting him with the support of three others. Squinting his eyes slightly, Ouranos spoke out confidently with a challenging look in his eyes, "I will admit to knowing the events that have transpired tonight as well as the fact that I have been investigating Vahn Mason. I will also state that I, nor any of my subordinates, had any involvement in the matters that havee to pass. It is my job to be informed of all matters that take ce within the City, and youll find your usations and libelous ims have no weight." Contrary to his expectations, Lokis smile grew wider and she seemed like she was about to burst intoughter. Ouranoss frown grew deeper as he red toward the tricker goddess with his cold blue eyes. His domain began to spread, but it was immediately offset by Loki and Hephaestus before the other three joined in shortly thereafter. Gritting his teeth slightly, Ouranos pretend to be unaffected as he focused his pressure on Loki who continued tough. After a few seconds, Loki stoppedughing as she looked toward Ouranos with the eyes of a snake and said, "If youre aware of the matter, you know that Vahn Mason cannot be held responsible for the death of Laverna. It was her Familia and their actions against Mn Yuel and Tina Yuel that led to his counteraction in order to save the Mother-Daughter pair. Not only was she the goddess of an uwful Familia, but she vited several of thews and prohibitions that all gods and goddesses are meant to follow in the mortal world." Ouranos listened to her words in silence before immediately responding in a heavy tone as he continued resisting thebined Divinities of the five opposite him, "That may be the case, but it stands that Laverna was killed, not by a god, but by the uwful action of a mortal. He may not be personally responsible, but his actions led to her death without trial or judgment. It was not his right, nor ce to-" Before he could finish, Hephaestuss pressure grew stronger as a pale red light covered her body and her ruby eyes began to glow crimson. She gave Ouranos a fierce look and said, "If Laverna hadnt died by the actions of another, I would have killed her myself! If you think you can justify her death by making an example of her victims, youll find Im not going to stand by passively!" A sky blue and purple aura began to spread from Ouranos as he locked eyes with Hephaestus and spoke in a voice that caused the void around the ripple, "Someone must answer for this, or there will be chaos amongst all the gods!" For Ouranos, maintaining order was of paramount importance as chaos would lead to the copse of everything he had fought hard for a millennium to build. In response to his outburst, Loki said inly, "We have already discussed the matter and nned concessions of our own. You have no moral grounds to hold Vahn ountable, but you will be able to press that he relinquish his position in the Hephaestus Familia for failing to cooperate with the investigation. Youll find that, even with Lavernas testimony, the identity of the assassin is unknown and there is no justifiable means to force Vahn to reveal the information given the fact Lavernas scheme not only involved the people he cared about..." At this point, Loki paused before congealing her own godly aura which took on a chaotic glow. She continued in an icy voice, "Her scheme was also was an affront against the rank 1 and rank 3 Familia within the City! She plotted to steal billions of Valis in items andpromise one of the core members responsible for the Alliance we had established. If she got her hands on Vahn and forced him to take a vow, it would have caused no small amount of chaos to disrupt the precious order youre so fond of! If anything, you should be rewarding the assassin for ridding this City of a tumor! Not to mention, you even have the gall to use this situation to your advantage and conduct a joint investigation to purge even more criminals and corrupt Familia!" As Loki continued her tirade, Ouranos sat silently with a stone-faced expression as he red between each of the opposing gods and goddesses. Each of the things Loki said had some degree of credibility, and it was true that he used the situation to further his future ns. He had actually benefitted a great deal from the death of Laverna and the swift and spontaneous actions of Vahn. Not only did he obtain more information on the demigod but, even now, there were a number of thorns that had been deeply rooted in his side being removed by the Hephaestus and Loki Familias. Ouranos considered his words before speaking in a firm voice, "Very well, I will propose that Vahn Mason is exiled from the Hephaestus Familia henceforth. He will also be prevented from joining any of the Familia that he is currently associated with. I will have you all swear an oath to offer him no aid for the probationary period of one year an-" Before he could continue, Hephaestus unraveled the package that she had been carrying on her back since parting ways with Vahn earlier. The moment the cloth was undone, she gently waved the massive sword through the air and it caused an oppressive aura to spread out. Ouranos frowned and red at Hephaestus for daring to interrupt his words, but he was also drawn by the power he could feel emanating from the sword. As far as he could tell, it seemed to almost possess the power of Divinity and shouldnt be something that existed in the mortal world. Hephaestus stroked [L?vateinn] affectionately and exined, "Though he is not yet a [Master Smith], this sword was forged by Vahn Mason. I will be announcing it during the uing Denatus, but it is my intention to marry him after the Monster Feriaes to a conclusion...You should be able to sense it as well, but this is no ordinary sword. I will allow you to force Vahn to withdraw from my Familia; I will even agree that he be unable to join any of the Familia present...but, I will not allow you to cut him off from us and be at the mercy of your goons and the people that would conspire against him!" Loki piggybacked Hephaestuss words and continued, "Vahn Mason will be an important figure in the future and is already the lynchpin of the Alliance between two of the top three Familia in the City. I can almost guarantee that, once certain matterse to light, there will be a number of gods and goddesses that will ally with him as well." Ouranos had been distracted by the sword in Hephaestuss hands, but he turned his gaze toward Loki after hearing her words. He asked in a questioning tone while squinting his eyes, "I see...that must be why even someone like you has taken to his defense? I knew he had some involvement in the formation of your alliance, but I couldnt determine what was special about him at the time...is it rted to his origin?" Lokiughed at his inquiry and said in a taunting tone, "I guarantee it will be something that benefits your future ns and impacts the lives of every god and goddess in both the mortal world and Heaven. Even that bitch Freya will likelye to his aid the moment she finds out about it, so do you really want to stand against the three strongest guilds just to uphold the honor of a degenerate goddess?" Knowing that he wouldnt be able to get any answers in the present moment, Ouranos continued to remain silent for several minutes before turning his attention back to the sword in Hephaestuss hand. He said in a somewhat muted, yet still powerful, tone, "Allow me to inspect that weapon. I will weight my decision based on what I am able to infer from it." As it had been part of their initial n, Hephaestus handed over [L?vateinn] before cautioning, "Be careful, the mes emitted by the sword cannot be extinguished by anyone other than the wielder." Hearing her words, Ouranoss brows raised slightly as he stood from his throne and towered over the others in the room. His standing height was nearly three meters unless he changed his size to amodate his environment. Taking the sword into his hands, Ouranos admired its make and the power he could feel resonating from the de. Though subtle, he could detect the Divinity of fire and darkness within the de and it caused even him to feel a bit of pressure. Though he was one of the more prominent and influential gods in both the mortal world and Heaven, he could feel a tyrannical pride emanating from the sword in his hands. Swinging the sword, Ouranos felt his mana drain as arge swath of mes spread from the de and began to char the floor ck as they began to corrode the reinforced stone in his temple. Using his Divinity, Ouranos tried to forcefully suppress the mes and even used a powerful magic spell to try and extinguish them. As Hephaestus had imed, none of his actions had any effect on the mes other than causing them to spread more quickly. It wasnt until he willed the mes to extinguish by focusing on the sword in his hands that they finally burned out. Ouranos understood the power of the weapon and the significance such a thing would have in the future. Though it wasnt to the extent Loki imed, it would certainly influence the position of several gods and goddesses if they found out Vahn could create such weapons. However, Ouranos also understood that the weapon in his hands had little to do with what Loki had been hinting at. Since the sword was already something so impactful, he couldnt help but be curious about what else Vahn had hidden. Until he could find out, Ouranos determined it would be a detriment to take a hard line against the two goddesses before him. Handing the sword back over to Hephaestus, Ouranos took his position back on his throne and resumed his authoritative demeanor. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke out in his characteristic and powerful voice, "Very well, you have my attention..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Loki Takes Control,Ouranos likes ying with fire,Hephaestuss Intentions) Ill be increasing the number of chapters starting next week~ /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $717/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 199 - Embrace

Chapter 199 - Embrace

Unaware of the meeting going on between the gods and their eventual confrontation with Ouranos, Vahn continued along the way with the rest of his entourage while carrying the sleeping Tina in his arms. Everyone remained rtively silent along the way as it was alreadyte into the evening and the atmosphere wasnt exactly conducive to conversation. Even Syr, who was often cheerful and outgoing, had a quiet and reserved demeanor as she led the way. The only person that didnt seem to be affected by the atmosphere was Arnya, who kept whispering words to Ryuu and asking various questions that caused the taciturn elf to sigh. Mn walked alongside Vahn and kept her head down for the majority of the trip as she turned her attention between Tina and Vahn respectively. Vahn could tell that her aura was still chaotic so he spread his domain to a small radius of five meters and began using the calming effect of his [Hands of Nirvana]. Everyone briefly paused when they felt the warm energy before turning toward Vahn who had looked at Mn with an expression of concern on his face. Mn had also stopped and turned her attention toward Vahn and could see the worry in his eyes. Her heart felt a bit of warmth and the energy seeping in through the atmosphere drove away the cold night air and brought her some degree of security. Seeing him cradling Tina gently while still paying attention to her mentality made the older cat woman feel almost fortunate. Were it not for the fact that she had phantom pains and the memories of the past events periodically shing through her mind, she would have been genuinely happy by the current events. Vahn could see that, though her aura had stabilized a bit, Mn was still in a bad state of mind. Furrowing his brows slightly, Vahn spoke in a quiet, yet firm, tone, "I swear, Mn, I will never allow something like this to happen again. No matter what it takes, I will protect you and Tina from now on." In response to his statement, Mn gave him a soft smile and nodded her head before standing a little closer to him. Even though she couldnt truly believe in his words, given everything that happened, Mn knew that Vahn would do his best to keep his word. She had learned the motive behind the attack earlier and it had left a deep impact on her mind, but she didnt me Vahn at all. It was the greedy and cruel nature of the men and their deviant goddess that had led to the incident taking ce. Now Mn felt the desire to grow stronger after a long period of inactivity and wanted her daughter to also do the same. She knew that associating with Vahn and the people around him would be the greatest guarantee of their safety in the future. However, it was also this thought that made Mn feel unnerved. If Vahn refused to take care of them, even though Mn believed he would never do such a thing, she and her daughter would have nothing. This was why she epted the offer to stay and work at the Hostess of Fertility. Though she wanted to trust Vahn wholeheartedly, Mn couldnt ce her trust in a man right now. The group continued on their way until arriving at side entrance near the Hostess of Fertility. After exchanging a few parting words, Vahn gave Mn a gentle hug after passing Tina over to her. Though he could feel her body shake slightly, Vahn wanted tofort her and continued using [Hands of Nirvana] to calm her body. Her shivering stopped by arge amount after a few seconds and she showed Vahn a slight smile before following Arnya inside. Syr remained in the alleyway and ced her hand on Vahns shoulder and said in a gentle tone, "Dont worry, well take care of them. Make sure to stop byter and visit...everything will be okay." Finished with her words, Syr gave Vahn a short hug before following the other girls inside. The only ones left the alleyway were Tiona, Ais, Naaza, Lili, and Ryuu who had remained behind and approached Vahn. Though she usually wasnt very expressive, Ryuu had a gentle andforting smile on her face as she ced her right hand over Vahns chest. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and said in a quiet voice, "Your heart is stable...you will be okay. It isnt easy to walk the righteous path, but find somefort in knowing that you saved those you care about." Vahn could see Ryuus aura fluctuate and saw the sadness in her eyes as she was likely speaking from past experience. He knew from the manga that Ryuu had belonged to a righteous Familia called the Astrea Familia which had been wiped out due to the machinations of an evil organization. In her pursuit of vengeance, she had killed a number of their members before nearly s.u.mbing to the wounds she suffered. If not for being found by Syr, she would have met the same end as the rest of her Familia. cing his right hand over the one she had over his heart, Vahn spoke in a solemn tone as if he were making a vow, "There are too many people that rely on me and too many things I want to obtain. I will not lose my way...I will continue to grow stronger in order to wash away any future regrets. I want to be a light that guides the way forward for others to follow." Ryuu smiled and continued staring at Vahns hand over her own. His resolute nature and kindness resonated with her own beliefs and she wanted to help him walk the path he had set his sights on. She believed that he was a light that already shined brightly and wanted to see the future that he would create as he continued to pave the way forward for others. Even if she couldnt walk at his side, Ryuu wouldnt mind walking behind him...or even clearing away some of the darkness ahead. After separating their hands, Ryuu had a happy smile on her face and Vahn felt like he could see a soft light in her sky-blue eyes. Without saying anything else, Ryuu nodded her head slightly before turning to the other girls and repeating the action. Once she had acknowledged everyone present, Ryuu turned to look at Vahn onest time before entering through the door where the others had disappeared earlier. Taking the opportunity when nobody was near, Lili came over to Vahn before hesitating right in front of him. Vahn saw the concern on her face and remembered she had been rtively quiet ever since he came out of the safe house. With a smile on his face, Vahn reached out his hand and affectionately stroked Lilis hair for what felt like the first time in a long time. She showed a silly smile and cradled his hand with her own before stepping forward and hugging his body around the waist. Since she was only 110cm,pared to Vahns 162cm, Lili was only around 2/3rds Vahns height after his inexplicable growth spurt. Though she used toe up to his chest, she now nuzzled slightly below his pectoral muscles, right above his diaphragm. Vahn continued to stroke her hair and could even feel a bit of moisture soaking into his tunic as he noticed she was stifling her tears as she hugged him tightly. Even though he hadnt been in any actual danger, Lili couldnt help but worry every time Vahn ran off on his own. Naaza was standing at the side and looked a bit lonely as she used the right hand that Vahn had saved to move aside the hair dangling over her face. She had also been very worried about Vahn and had even contacted the Miach Familia to request support just in case he or the other two girls got injured. Though she wanted to be pampered by Vahn andfort him, Naaza couldnt easily show her affection around others. She knew Tiona and Ais were both in a rtionship with Vahn, and the idea of embracing him in front of the two girls made Naaza ufortable. They were both powerful girls that could immediately rush into a dangerous situation and try to support Vahn while the only thing she could do is wait anxiously aboveground. Comparing herself to the powerful Amazon and the Sword Princess, Naaza couldnt help but feel inadequate. Seemingly unconcerned with how she felt, Tiona walked over to her before bending over with her hands behind her back. Since Naaza had been keeping her head down, Tiona had bent over far enough to where she could look up at the dejected chienthrope girl. She had a knowing smile on her face as she asked, "Arent you going to hug Vahn as well?" Ais had also been looking over and couldnt understand why Naaza was hesitating. She spoke out in a somewhat monotonous voice with her head tilted sideways, "Why do you hesitate?" As if reacting to her own words, Ais walked over to where Vahn was still consoling Lili and stared at the two for a few seconds before walking around to Vahns back. As Vahn looked over his shoulder, Ais put her hands around his arms in a loose hug and rested her body against his back while cing her head near his shoulder in a position where she could see Naaza and Tiona. As if having verified something, she smiled slightly and said, "Pleasant..." Since Vahn had still been using [Hands of Nirvana] on his domain since earlier, the closer someone got to him the more prominent the calming effect. Tiona dragged over the hesitant Naaza with an encouraging smile before lining her up next to Ais. Though she seemed to hesitate a little, Ais removed herself from Vahns back as he continued to stand in silence. He felt a little awkward, but he knew they were just trying tofort him after everything that happened tonight. Naaza continued to stand without taking action even when Tiona nudged her a little and whispered encouraging words to her. It wasnt until Ais looked like she was about to hug Vahn again that she finally stepped forward slightly and grabbed the sleeve of Vahns tunic with her left hand. Vahn had been looking toward the group and locked eyes with Naaza and gave her a gentle smile after staring at the hand that grabbed his tunic. With a slight blush on her face, Naaza lowered her head a bit and said in an almost silent voice, "Excuse me..." She then performed a simr action as Ais and drew herself close to Vahn without fully leaning against him. Naaza could feel the warmth radiating from his body as a result of his naturally high body temperature and the calming effects of his domain. She felt veryfortable and rest her head against his back for several seconds before doing something that startled everyone other than Lili who seemed lost in her own world on Vahns stomach. As if driven by some primordial instinct, Naaza began to absentmindedly sniff Vahns back as her bushy tail began to wag slightly. It wasnt until several secondster that Naaza noticed something was wrong since everything had suddenly turned silent. Raising her head, she saw Vahn giving her a somewhat strange look while continuing to smile at her. She then turned to see Tiona nearly on the verge ofughing while Ais stared at her tail and asked, "Sniffing Vahn makes you happy?" Aiss question caused Naazas blush to deepen immensely and she hid her face against Vahns back and refused to answer or even look at anyone. She felt incredibly embarrassed because, even now, she was very tempted to sniff the back of Vahns tunic. Since he had been exerting himself a lot, his sweat had soaked into the fabric and it was making her heart itch a bit. Curious at Naazas behavior, Ais walked over to Vahn before finding an empty spot that was easy to approach and leaned forward with her face near the nape of his neck. She then began to sniff his body as if trying to discover what drew Naazas interest to the point where she absentmindedly lost herself in the scent. All Ais could smell was Vahns normal musk and didnt think it was that pleasant of an odor. However, the more she smelled it, the most pleasant it seemed to be and Ais began to believe she understood why Naaza had been engrossed in the act earlier. Tiona saw how Ais was behaving and walked to the other side of Vahns body and began smelling the opposite side of his nape. After a few seconds, she smiled and said, "It smells like sweat and the earth. It isnt unpleasant, but I think you need to take a bath when you get home~." Tionas words had caused Vahn to beginughing awkwardly, especially when she began smelling his body again. At this point, Vahn was also aware that Lili had long since started inhaling the fragrance on the front of his tunic and now he was in an incredibly hard to describe situation. Though they had varying ages and degrees of beauty, it was a very strange feeling to have four different girls smelling his body at the same time in a manner where it didnt seem like he could move at all. After a few seconds of tolerating the awkward situation, Vahn couldnt resist following the momentum any longer and his nostrils began to twitch ever so slightly as he smelled the different fragrances of the four girls. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Trauma,Ais is curious,Olfactophilia) Ill be increasing the number of chapters starting next week~ /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $717/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 200 - Returning Home

Chapter 200 - Returning Home

Syr had been staring at the group standing around in a circle sniffing each other with a mildly humorous expression on her face. After she had helped Mn and Tina settle into their room and exined the situation to Mama Mia, she had doubled back and peeked through one of the windows to see if Vahn and the rest were still around. Seeing them act in such a strange and awkward manner made herugh silently to herself before she tapped on the window a bit. Vahn was already naturally perceptive, but he had lost himself a bit after getting caught up in the atmosphere of the girls. He heard the slight tapping sound and could sense the presence of someone just outside his line of sight. Turning his head, he could see Syr staring at them through a window with a bemused expression on her face as she waved at him. He suddenly felt a lot more awkward as he returned her wave by raising his hand slightly. His action had caused three of the girls to notice something was strange and they all turned their heads to see Syr looking at them. Now that she had most of their attention, Syrs smile grew and they could see her cover her mouth through the window as though she wasughing at their antics. Naaza immediately pulled away from Vahns back and averted her rosy face while Tiona beganughing along with Syr. Ais didnt pull away quickly, but she sniffed Vahns body onest time before standing off to the side. The only one that seemed to be unaware of the situation had been Lili who continued nuzzling her face against Vahns diaphragm. Though he still felt a little awkward, Vahn began tough alongside Tiona as he ruffled Lilis hair heavily before pulling her away gently by her shoulder. She had a somewhat flushed expression and Vahn could see the tear stains on her face from earlier had dried up for the most part. Lili looked up at Vahn with upturned eyes and said in a low and apologetic tone, "Im sorry for getting carried away...I me Naaza." Vahn found Lilis actions and upturned expression to be very adorable and he nearly burst outughing when he heard her words. Naazas expression grew even redder as she hung her head low and covered her face with both hands. Tiona seemed to enjoy her reaction as she leaned sideways and tried to stare into Naazas face while asking, "Why are you so embarrassed~?" After messing around in the much lighter atmosphere for a few minutes, the group finally left the alleyway and headed towards the Babel za. Along the way, Lili held onto Vahns left hand while Tiona clung to his right arm. Ais seemed to be somewhat dissatisfied by the arrangement but kept her silence as she walked next to Naaza who had recovered herposure by a fair amount. Though she still had a light blush on her face, her expression had returned to normal as she tried to make polite conversation with the rtively unresponsive Ais. When the group arrived at Babel za, Tiona and Ais ended up parting ways since the Twilight Manor was on the opposite end of the City. Though they wanted to follow Vahn, both girls had spent the day with him and wanted to give others the opportunity to be around him without their influence. Loki had told them before allowing them to follow Vahn to ensure that they didnt pressure him too much and to return to the Manor once they reached the za. Vahn embraced the two thoughtful girls for a rtively long period of time before parting after a short kiss. Since they were being overly aware of Naaza and Lili, they only locked lips for a few seconds at the very end of the embrace. They promised to stop by periodically during the week, but Vahn asked them to wait for his arrival at the Twilight Manor. His schedule was usually very busy, and he didnt want the girls to go out of their way just because they were concerned for him. He did promise to meet up with them on the weekend and even told them about the nned birthday celebration that Hephaestus had proposed. Hearing that Vahn had actually turned fifteen without their notice, all four girls present had varying degrees of shock on their faces and began pressing him for answers up until they finally parted ways for the evening several minutester. Now that Tiona and Ais had left, Naaza had grown bolder and taken Vahns right hand as the trio made their way towards Tsubakis Manor and Vahns residence. Along the way, Vahn had started a conversation about what the two had been up to while he had been training and living alongside the Anubis Familia. He found out that Naaza was on the verge of a breakthrough in her mixing, but she also wanted to begin developing her strength once again. Lili had continued her training at a much greater intensity than before and had even developed her foundation to the point where she was almost ready to reach Level 2. Vahn, hearing that the two wanted to get stronger, told them about his skill, [Prometheus] and promised to help them both increase their potential. When they heard about the skill and the fact that it drew on their emotions and feelings to increase their power, both girls suddenly turned very happy and even Naaza began acting umonly affectionate while ignoring the surrounding gazes. Since Vahn rarely saw her wagging her tail happily, he also began to feel better about the future and thought he should have given them both a me seed earlier. After nearly an hour, the three arrived outside Tsubakis Manor and paused in silence for several seconds before Lili asked, "Do you want us to stay with you tonight? If youre feeling lonely, I can make a good hug pillow..." Vahn could see Lili was beginning to get in high tensions so he pat her on the head as he considered her offer. He didnt particrly mind sleeping together since they had done so very often in the dungeon without any problems. Even though he had awakened towards women, he still considered Lili as someone that he needed to protect, very simr to Tina. They were even simr in size and considered each other rivals, even though Lili was nearly three full years older. While Vahn was thinking about his response, Naaza pressed her hands to her chest and hesitated for a moment before saying, "Ille as well...I am worried about you." Vahns brows raised while Lili gave a subtle thumbs up to Naaza outside of Vahns line of sight. She was also very worried about Vahns current state of mind since everyone was afraid he might me himself for what had happened. Even though he was acting rtively normally, most of the girls had noticed his expression break periodically into one of mncholy. However, if someone were to ask, she wouldnt deny that she also just wanted to spend time with him after not seeing each much since he awoke from thea. She had been distracting herself with her training to prevent herself from feeling sad at being separated from each other. Since both girls were showing concern for him, Vahn gave up and epted their offer as he led them toward his own residence. As they hadnt entered it before, Vahn had to register them through the formations or it would trigger and potentially harm the two girls. When they stepped inside the courtyard, Vahn could see that Lili was in high tensions while Naaza seemed to be somewhat nervous. The moment they entered the foyer, all three of them stopped as they saw all seven members of the Anubis Familia waiting while sitting on their knees. Nanu was the first to speak as she bowed her head and said, "Wee home, Master." Her actions prompted the other children to repeat the greeting while Lili and Naaza gave Vahn strange looks as they asked, "Is it always like this?" Though it was kind ofte, the entire group enjoyed ate dinner after the two groups took turns bathing. Lili and Naaza had both intended to take a bath with Vahn, as even Naaza had done so several times in the past, but Nanu prevented them from doing so after lecturing them in a manner simr to Tina. Lili seemed to take a serious impact as she swore to lecture Tina the next time they met on about what is and isnt necessary. Before bed, Vahn informed the children that they would have the next day off and encouraged them all to take a nice rest. Since there were likely matters to attend to in the following few days, Vahn didnt want to pressure anyone until things settled down. When Nanu learned that Lili and Naaza were going to sleep with Vahn, she wanted to refute but was unable to since Vahn had given them permission. Since Lili was even smaller than she was and they were simr in age, Nanu felt highlypetitive against the pallum invader. If not for the fact Lili had a pre-existing rtionship with Vahn, she wouldnt have allowed the matter easily. Vahn had seen the strange atmosphere between Lili and Nanu and ruffled both girls hair like they were misbehaving children. Both girls realized that Vahn was looking down on them, but neither was willing to pull away from his hand either. They just continued to re at each other and Vahn could almost see sparks flying between them with his enhanced vision. After sending Nanu off to her own room, Naaza, Lili, and Vahn entered his room and prepared for bed. Vahn noticed that Naaza immediately began smelling around the room, but he didnt say anything as he began to change clothes. Though he pretended to not notice, he could feel the auras of both girls fluctuate and take on a pinkish hue as they gazed at his back. It wasnt until he turned around after changing into his sleepwear that they both quickly averted their eyes. Recalling something from the past, Lili found a bit of confidence as she stood in front of Vahn and spread out her arms as she asked in a bashful manner, "Help me change...?" Though he thought she looked especially adorable and it even brought a smile to his face, Vahn lifted his right hand before flicking Lili gently on the forehead and saying, "Dont get carried away Lili. Were just here to sleep, remember that." Lili held the spot where Vahn had gently flicked her with his near Level 4 parameters. It felt like a hammer had hit her head, but she didnt begrudge him too much since it was a pain caused by her own carelessness. Vahn had noticed the genuine tears in her eyes and used [Hands of Nirvana] to rub the spot on her forehead before stroking her hair a bit and crawling into bed once she started undressing. Since he had grown ustomed to averting his eyes, Vahn didnt watch them as they changed and just turned his sight toward the ceiling as he closed his eyes and began ruminating over the events that had transpired. The day had started off strong and Vahn had been in a great mood, but things had taken a sudden and drastic turn in the afternoon. Though things were much better now, Vahn still felt a mixture of emotions after recalling everything that had happened. Vahn felt movement from both sides of the bed as he turned his vision to the right and nked for a few moments as he saw the fiercely blushing Naaza crawling into the bed while covering her b.r.e.a.s.ts with one arm. Since they hadnt entered into Tsubakis Manor earlier, she didnt actually have any nightwear, so Naaza had stripped her casual clothing down to her underwear and mustered up enough resolve to crawl into the bed with Vahn. She had on light green, somewhat in, underwear and it stood out against her fair skin that had taken on a light pink coloration. Feeling the movement from his left, Vahn realized something as he slowly turned his head and looked at Lili. He released a relieved sigh after seeing that she had actually worn one of Tinas nightgowns. Since she was actually shorter than Tina, the white nightgown went down to her knees and properly covered her petite body. Though Vahn didnt consider Lili in that manner right now, he knew she had affections for him and it wouldnt be easy to deal with her if she was in her underwear as well. Scanning through his system for a bit, Vahn purchased a nightgown for Naaza and handed it to her before she nearly passed out from the blood flowing to her head. She had only made it halfway to his position before her body hadpletely stalled. When Vahn had stared at her earlier, she followed his gaze and realized he had briefly paused on the cleavage of her chest. Though she had been seen n.a.k.e.d by him before, it was before Vahn had any awareness of women. His previously innocent look now caused Naaza to feel like her body burned everywhere his eyes wandered. Seeing the expensive looking nightgown he passed to her, she reached out for it like it was a canteen in the middle of the desert. In less time than it took to blink, Naaza had quickly pulled the nightgown over her head before diving under the covers and pulling them all the way up to her face. Vahn had been staring at the entire sequence of events and suddenly realized Naaza was much more adorable than he remembered from the past. As he was staring at Naaza with an amused expression, Vahn suddenly heard Lili ask, "Vahn, if you had to pick, what kind of girls and what race do you think is the cutest?" Vahn turned to Lili and saw her kneeling on the bed and looking at him with a serious expression. Processing her question, Vahn remembered about her magic and thought she was trying to appeal to him, so he shook his head and said, "Ive never concerned myself with race much. Ive met girls of all kinds of various different races that I thought were cute. You should just be yourself and continue to improve-" Before he could finish, Lili tilted her head and asked, "Is there anything youve been interested in or something that youve never seen?" Seeing that she had ignored his words, Vahn frowned slightly and was about to say something when Lili chanted a silent incantation and suddenly sprouted a pair white tiger ears and a thick and long tail that was nearly the same length as her body. Vahn immediately realized she was emting his Bih form as even her hair had changed to a white color with ck undertones. Lili smiled at his reaction before crawling under the covers next to him and saying, "This way, we have something inmon that nobody else has~!" Since the nightgown she was wearing had long sleeves, Vahn hadnt noticed that Lili had also transformed her hands and feet as she held out her hands toward him like ws. He saw the tiny paw pads on her hand and fingers and suddenly had the urge to poke them but prevented himself from doing so. Releasing an exasperated sigh in his mind, Vahn performed the ritual he had adopted with Tina on both of the girls by kissing them on the forehead before rxing his head against the pillow. Not too longter, he could feel both girls cuddled up to him and Naaza ced her head on his shoulder while Lilu nuzzled against his chest. Vahn immediately noticed that Lili had a much higher body temperature than Naaza, but Naaza had a strangely rxing aroma. When that thought crossed his mind, Vahn remembered that chienthropes released pheromones from their ears that helped people calm down and he realized she was trying to help him rx. Vahn smiled as he enjoyed the pleasant feelingsing from the two girls. It wasnt long before the tiredness and mental fatigue of the day caught up to him and he was quickly drifting off towards sleep. Moments before he finallypsed into unconsciousness, Vahn could swear that he heard the sound of Naaza sniffing his neck while he felt Lili slowly creep her padded palm onto his chest. Deciding it was a product of his imagination, Vahn let himself drift off into thend of dreams. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Syrs casual voyeurism,Undefeatable Paw Pads,Rose-colored dreams) Ill be increasing the number of chapters starting next week~ /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $717/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 201 - Comfort

Chapter 201 - Comfort

When Vahn awoke early the next morning he could feel a pressure on his chest and, after moving the covers a bit, he could see that Lili had changed her position in the night and was now hugging his body like a ko. Vahn noticed that she was incredibly light so it wouldnt have been that ufortable if not for the wet stain on part of his tunic where her drool had soaked into the fabric. Turning his head to the right, Vahn noticed that Naaza didnt seem to have moved a single millimeter while she was asleep and continued to rest on his shoulder while holding his sleeve with her hand. Since his right arm was pinned by her body, and he didnt want to wake her, Vahn used his left hand to pull out the orb. Before he immersed himself into it, he looked at the tiny white ears on Lilis head for a few seconds before blowing into them with a puff of air. The small tiger-ears twitched and Lili turned her head to the other side and found a new spot to drool on. Vahn smiled at her reaction and then inserted his consciousness into the orb to meet Eva and calm his mind. Contrary to his expectations, Eva didnt drop onto him like all of the recent times he had visited. Instead, she was sitting off to the side in a white sundress with her hair somehow tied into a long braid that reached down to her butt. When they made eye contact, Eva asked, "With how you look, it doesnt seem like things went that well?" Releasing a sigh, Vahn sat up from the bed and rested against the headboard as Eva snuggled up next to him and waited for his exnation. Vahn recounted all of the events of the prior day from start to finish since it had been more than four years since Eva heard everything. She listened in silence all the way until the end while resting her head against his shoulder. When his story was finished, Eva asked in a quiet tone, "What do you want to do now? Will you continue to forge, or do you want to start training to be stronger?" When she got to this point, Eva repositioned herself before transforming into her a.d.u.l.t form and hugging Vahns head into her ample b.r.e.a.s.ts. She whispered in aforting tone, "Or do you want me to pamper you for a bit...?" Vahn allowed her to hug his head as he his body with his arms around her waist. The moment he embraced her, Eva began to stroke his hair gently and didnt say another word whileforting Vahn. After a while, Vahn asked in a slight daze, "Im not sure what to do, Eva...I want to be stronger so things like this never happen again. But, I also want to keep the promises Ive made as soon as possible." Releasing a sigh into her b.r.e.a.s.ts, Vahn continued, "I want to be a hero...I want to be the light that helps people find their way out of the darkness...but I dont know what that really means. People tell me to just continue being myself, but everything Im doing feels like it is only dying the inevitable. The harder I try, the happier people be...but I feel like it just creates a gap in my own mentality that invites terrible things to happen. I want to be happy, but if my actions lead other people to suffer..." At this point, Vahn began to cry warm tears that trickled down Evas cleavage as he hugged her waist tighter. She rested her cheek on his head as she continued to stroke his back and hair while Vahn continued trying to organize his thoughts. After a few seconds of silence, Vahn continued, "I dont want to be bad...I dont want to be evil...but I feel like the only way to protect the things I care about is to seek out and destroy the people that might harm them. The only way I can protect them is if everyone is too afraid to take action...but, I also dont want the people I care about to see me in that way...I dont want people to be afraid of me." Eva continued stroking Vahns back as he turned silent for a long period of time. After a while, she spoke in a soft and gentle tone, "This is why most heroic tales end in tragedy...because there is too much darkness in the world for one person to resist. The harder you try, the more reliance people will ce on you as they seek the warmth and security you provide. Since there is darkness in everyone, youll bear their burdens and be susceptible to the plots and schemes of others..." Vahn silently listened to her words and knew that she was speaking the truth, at least as far as he could rationalize things. If he had never been involved with anyone in the record of Danmachi, he wouldnt be wrapped up in all of these things...but he also wouldnt have been as happy as he had be. Lili would have continued to suffer until Bell saved her, and Naaza would have lost her arm. He didnt regret his actions, and there were so many things he wanted to protect, but Vahn still felt the strain of the burdens ced on him. If not for this secret ce where he could vent, Vahn wasnt sure hed be able to cope with the rapid changes to his life. Suddenly, Vahn felt a sense of weightlessness for a brief moment before he could smell various new aromas around. Lifting his head from Evas b.r.e.a.s.ts, Vahn noticed she had teleported the entire bed into the lively garden she had been developing over thest twenty or so years. The trees that they nted long ago had already grown by a fair amount, and it looked like a small piece of paradise with the neatly arranged rock formations and the artificial creek that had been carved into thendscape. Eva rubbed the side of Vahns face with her hand and looked at him with gentle eyes as she leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips. Vahns mind nked for a brief moment and didnt have time to reciprocate the kiss before she pulled away. Seeing his reaction, Eva smiled and said, "There is a simple solution, and Im sure its one you have already thought of but overlooked because of your focus and drive..." Vahn listened attentively and waited for her to continue; Evaughed at his eagerness and exined, "Arent there plenty of people around you to help share your burdens? Instead of trying to bear everything yourself, you can find those you trust and ce your reliance in them. Just like now, when youre letting me consul and guide you, Im sure there are others that are willing to do the same. Werent you always talking about all the things that Hephaestus woman did for you that you wanted to pay back?" Evas words caused Vahn to think about all of the various people in his life and realized that there were actually a number of people trying to make his life easier. In fact, there were few people within Vahns immediate recollection that werent trying to help him as he continued trying to move forward. It was their assistance and his willingness to try and make them happy that had been driving him all this time. While he was recalling all of the people he was in a rtionship with, Eva continued, "I think the biggest problem is that you are too reliant on receiving their care and then trying to repay it and live up to their expectations. If you learn to work alongside them and help each other out, youll be able to cover for each others weaknesses and ovee difficulties together. You dont have to face everything alone..." At this point, Eva turned back into her normal appearance and crawled into Vahnsp with her back resting against his chest. She grabbed his hands and ced them around her as she held them with her own. Turning her head to the side and tilting her body, Eva kissed Vahn on the chin and then said, "Im sure you realize how much I rely on the time we get to spend together, even if it is only for a brief period every few years. It is because of what you have given me and the things we have faced together that I can continue forward and stall the decay of this space. I think that, if you learn to rely on others like what youre doing in here with me, youll have a much easier life." Vahn considered her words for a while before releasing a somewhat tired, yet relieved, sigh. Putting a bit of strength into his hands, he held Eva tightly and hugged her against his body as he traced his head around her face and kissed her on the lips. Since she had been staring at his face, Vahn didnt have to go far before they made contact and kissed for nearly a full minute. When the kiss ended, Vahn looked into Evas icy blue eyes and whispered, "After everything youve done...I feel like I need to repay you now." Eva began tough mischievously as she reached her hand up and caressed the side of Vahns face and said, "Wrong again, my idiot disciple...we should work together to make each other happy. Every bit of affection you show me, Ill repay it with interest. That way, no matter what, well always be working toward a greater happiness...together." In response to her words, Vahn traced his palms along her stomach and felt a gentle flow of mana as her white dress disappeared under his hands. Vahn also discarded his equipment and the two spent nearly two hours affectionately caressing each other without doing anything intense as they had done in the past. They just focused on exploring each others bodies and discovering new things about each other that made them happier...together. When Vahn left the garden where Eva had fallen asleep, he felt incredibly refreshed and revitalized. He had learned that Eva was actually weaker to gentle caresses than she was more intense stimtion and after hugging her body as she drained his blood, she actually fell asleep while he was stroking her long golden hair. It turns out, when her blood pressure increases during excitement, she actually needs to release the pent of emotions and relied on his actions to do so. Since he didnt give her an easy outlet, her emotions continued to rise until her face was nearly beet red and Vahn felt like she was beginning to let off a small amount of steam. Since it was such a different reaction than her normal mischevious behavior, Vahn had gotten a little carried away and spoiled her quite a bit. Vahn had also seen (Nameless) sleeping under a tree and noticed that his body hadnt changed much. Other than its age increasing, there was no visible difference between his former and present self. When he noticed Vahn, (Nameless) rose from the ground and hobbled toward him with uneven steps and Vahn used Shundo to close the distance so it wouldnt have to struggle. Without any magical ability to speak of, (Nameless) couldnt substitute its energy by absorbing mana and it was barely able to sustain itself using some of the ingredients Vahn had left behind for Eva to cook with. Though (Nameless) was still quite ugly, Vahn treated it affectionately and scratched behind its ears as he channeled his energy into its body. (Nameless) seemed to be very pleased by Vahns affection since, as Vahn learnedter, Eva hadnt exactly been too fond of it. Though she made an effort to interact with it and even fed it so it wouldnt starve, she didnt like its ugly looks orck of intelligence. Since they had no easy way tomunicate and he couldnt understand her orders well, they had more or less lived in the same space without interacting too often. After fully replenishing its energy, Vahn made he way toward his workshop as (Nameless) trailed closely behind. Vahn allowed it to do so since it shouldnt cause any problems if he orders it to stay off to the side while he was working. Surprisingly, even without his order, (Nameless) just stood at the elevated tform where Evas desk was andid down on the floor as it watched Vahn work. If it had been a normal dog, its actions would have appeared cute, but Vahn couldnt help but feel slightly unnerved to see a dog with human-like arms supporting a dogs head as it stared at his actions with interest. Vahn resolved that, once the cooldown for [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] was up, he woulde up with a name that would either make (Nameless) look very cool, or at least more appealing than the mangy humanoid dog that it currently appeared to be. He had already thought about naming it [Fenrir] based on the same mythos as Fafnir, but Vahn had a few misgivings about naming all of his subordinates after entities known for destruction. Fafnir already looked evil and suddenly having a world-devouring wolf might make people think he is some kind of evil tyrant. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Poor (Nameless),Vahn is still just a kid,Sometimes, being intense isnt as intense as being gentle) If youd like to support my ******* so I can continue writing the story and expanding the world even further, please follow the link below~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $717/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 202 - Some things change, Some things stay the same...

Chapter 202 - Some things change, Some things stay the same...

Over the course of the next three days within the orb, Vahn only spent about half the time forging as he did in the past. He had quickly reached the point where his cooperation with the eternal me was nearly wless and he could retain more than 90% of any type of metal, including the difficult to work with ones like Adamantine and Orichalc.u.m. The only thing he needed to do now was focus on developing specific pieces of equipment and trying to push his skills further. Since he could process most materials, he needed to get to the point where he could forge them into the items that he wanted. The other half of the time, Vahn was rxing with Eva who had turned rtively docile and attentive as the two spoiled each other. They spent time doing almost everything together, including cooking, cleaning, bathing, and sleeping. Unlike the rtively passionate interactions they had in the past, Eva seemed to be focused on helping him rx, and Vahn was very grateful to her. Though he wasnt as affected by the events as Mn and Tina, he had undergone a pretty big impact to his mentality and needed time to recuperate. After replenishing the stock of ingredients and spending a bit of time coaxing Eva, Vahn managed to convince her to treat (Nameless) a little better. He told her that when it finally evolved, it would end up being cute and it would remember how she treated it in its kobold form. Though she pouted a little, she eventually gave in and petted the ugly dog-head of (Nameless) which caused Vahn to see the illusion of it crying in happiness. Soon after that, they returned to the room and Eva drew Vahn blood as he once again held her gently until he dissipated from the space. Since he had been stroking Evas back with his eyes closed and in a rxed state of mind, Vahn awoke in the real world in a partial daze. His hands continued to stroke the back of the girl resting on his chest and he recognized that the sensation was quite different from Eva. When the bundle under the nkets began to squirm, Vahn remembered that he had returned to the real world and had just been affectionately stroking Lili who had been asleep in a simr position as Eva always rested. Lili had been having a good dream and was enjoying the warmth and scent of Vahn as she hugged his body,pletely opposite of her offer to act as a hug pillow for Vahn the night before. When she felt his hands begin to wander around her back, she immediately woke up in a slight daze and thought she was still dreaming since Vahn seemed way more affectionate than normal. Her body went slightly rigid at first before she quickly began to melt from the sensation of his hand stroking her body. Though it hadnt been long since he began, Lili was quickly heating up and began to writhe on his body as she tried to return his affectionate actions. Unfortunately, her movement had awakened Vahn and he lifted the covers to stare down at her somewhat sleepy expression with a bit of confusion on his face. When she saw him staring at her, Lili felt suddenly emboldened and crawled up and gave him a kiss on the lips before he could awaken from his daze. Vahn was only slightly surprised by her actions and didnt let her take things too far as he gave her a simple kiss before trying to pull her body away from his face. Seemingly unwilling to let go, Lili clung to his neck and kept trying to kiss his lips but kept missing the mark by a small amount. Since Vahn didnt want to hurt her, and it was partially...well, fully his fault she had been triggered, he was trying to gently resist her advances. He was surprised with his much strength she could put into her arms and eventually decided enough was enough when she tried to grab his face with her furry palm-padded hands. Reaching his hands to her sides, Vahn pinched the fleshy part of Lilis waist and she yelped loudly as she shrunk her body away from the moderately painful sensation. Realizing what Vahn had done, she stared at him with a slight aggrieved look and said, "What happened...I thought you were finally showing me more affection..." She had a bit of tears in her eyes and, if not for the fact he could see auras, Vahn would have thought she was in pain. At this point, Naaza had woken up from themotion and had sat up from the bed and stared at the teary-eyed Lili with a slight frown on her face. As far as she could tell, Lili had probably tried to do something to Vahn and had taken things too far. Surprisingly, Vahn reached out both of his hands and cradled Lilis face as he began stroking the side of her head and ears while wiping away the tears on her face. Vahn said in a gentle and apologetic tone, "Sorry, Lili, it was my fault. I...had a pleasant dream and hadnt been paying proper attention when I woke up." As he spoke, he continued to affectionately rub Lilis head and face as she had entirely stopped her whining. She had a slight blush as she allowed Vahn to continue caressing her for a few seconds. When it felt like he was about to stop, she opened her eyes and said, "It hurts..." Lili raised the hem of her nightgown and revealed the side of her h.i.p.s where there was a small red mark from Vahns earlier pinch. Though he knew she was just trying to receive more affection, Vahn just smiled as he ced his palm on the area and used [Hands of Nirvana] to alleviate any difort she might have been feeling. Since his hand was right above them, and she made no effort to cover herself, Vahn noticed that Lili was wearing pure white panties that had a slightly mature design that didntpliment her petite body very well. Since the healing didnt take that long, Vahn removed his hand while Lili continued to hold up her nightgown as she visually inspected the area for several seconds. Vahn sighed at her attempt to try and entice him as he rustled her hair heavily until she tried to stop his movements with both of her hands. Finally finished dealing with her, Vahn turned to Naaza who had been watching them quietly since she woke up. Remembering that she had done her best tofort him through the night without disturbing his rest, Vahn leaned over and gave Naaza a brief kiss right on her lips before stroking her head a bit with his right now. When Vahn kissed her, Naazas mind nked as her eyes opened wide in shock. It wasnt their first time kissing, but having someone kiss her right after she awoke was apletely new experience. Remembering the fact they had slept together while she used his shoulder as a pillow, a pink hue began to color her face before it transitioned into a full blush a few secondster. Vahn smiled at her reaction before giving her another kiss on the forehead and crawling out of the bed to prepare for the day. It was still very early, and there wasnt any training going on, but Vahn intended to contact Hephaestus early this morning through the use of themunication scroll in Anubiss room. Lili and Naaza also climbed out of bed after him and began to change their clothing as well without speaking. Naaza had stood behind him, out of Vahns line of sight, but Lili had taken the initiative once again by changing directly in front of him. Since she had only been wearing a nightgown, she quickly stripped off the singr piece of fabric as Vahn prepared to close his eyes. However, moments before he did so, he got a better look at Lilis transformed state and be a little curious. Though it was only brief, he nced over her body in an instant before closing his eyes and pretending to not have seen anything. Seeing Vahn close his eyes, Lili sighed silently before putting on her normal clothing. She hesitated for a moment since she didnt like to wear the same clothing multiple days in a row ever since her lifestyle had improved after meeting Vahn. She decided that she would change her clothes after taking a bath in the onsen at Tsubakis and was trying toe up with a method to get Vahn to enter as well. While Lili was hatching her scheme, Vahn had been getting dressed with his eyes closed while picturing the image he had seen right before he closed his eyes. Since she had been familiar with his Bih form for some time, Lilis transformation closely matched his own appearance except she was more cute than he was fierce. Her hair had turned white with ck undertones and she had two tiny tiger-like ears on her head. Even her eyes had changed color to be a simr blue to his when he was transformed. Since she could copy racial traits, she likely also had his night vision and enhanced senses as well. The most notable change, however, had been that she grew ayer of fine ck and white hairs on her forearms and calves and now had incredibly tiny ws on the ends of her fingers and toes. Unlike his long and sharp ws, hers seemed to be little nubs that didnt look like they could deal a single point of damage against a monster. On her palms and the tips of her fingers, she had small little pads of sensitive skin and Vahn assumed it was the same for the bottom of her feet as well. Another notable feature was the fact she now had a long tiger-like ck and white tail that was a little too long for her body. Vahn decided to inform her about it, but he was a bit conflicted since it would seem like he was advising her how to better appeal to him. Though he didnt want to admit it, Lilis ability to transform was very interesting to him, especially if she could copy his transformations to an extent. After they had all changed, Vahn opened the door to his room and was greeted by an empty corridor for the first time in a while. The two girls noticed his pause and asked if anything was wrong, but Vahn just shook his head with a somewhat sad smile on his face. He knew his life was changing and expected something to have happened the previous night, especially since he obtained a notification of his quest beingpleted when he had been walking Mn and Tina to the Hostess of Fertility. As he led the way to the dining room to prepare an early breakfast, Vahn looked through his system and reaffirmed what he had seen the previous night. //Quest Completed// [Quest: Forge an Alliance, Progressive] Rank: A (I-SSS) Objective: Convince Gods/Goddesses to form an alliance between their Familia(s). Current Allies (4) Rewards: 10,000 OP x Familia Rank. (S(received), I:10,000OP, F:30,000OP, D:50,000OP). Questpletion rank depends on the total number of allies. Grade Reward(s): A:40,000 OP(received), 1x[Rallying Whistle], 1x[Magatama of Fortitude], 1x[Saints Reliquary] He hadpleted the [Forge and Alliance] Quest and additional three times and had obtained rewards for an F, I, and D-rank Familia which increased his OP by 90,000 and brought the total Origin Points in his possession to 490,294OP. The three items he received were also quite good and fit along nicely with his [Banner of Command] from the previous Alliance with Loki. [Rallying Whistle] Rank: Unique Use: Creates a magical frequency that can only be heard by allies. Increased agility for 1H and creates an invisible tether that can be traced back to the source. Range: Infinite [Magatama of Fortitude] Rank: Unique Use: Increases Endurance of all allies by 30% while reducing agility by 10% within an area for 10 minutes. Activation requires shattering the Magatama and the effective area with 30m. [Saints Reliquary] Rank: Unique Use: Container capable of storing any singr healing potion and enhancing its effects by 500%. Converts the contents of the potion into a mist that spreads through an area and affects all entities within. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lili gets triggered,Old Habits Die Hard,Dat Reliquary...) If youd like to support my ******* so I can continue writing the story and expanding the world even further, please follow the link below~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $717/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 203 - Grasping the Situation

Chapter 203 - Grasping the Situation

After the trio arrived in the dining room, both Naaza and Lili had headed towards the kitchen while having Vahn wait for breakfast. Even though he offered to help, they insisted that he rx and leave the cooking to them since it was a rare opportunity. Vahn epted their offer before sitting at the low table andying back on the floor while looking up at the ceiling. He wasnt particrly focused on anything, just rxing in a daze while allowing his thoughts to wander. Closing his eyes, Vahn tried listening for the various sounds of life going on around him and used his ability to perceive auras to see if he could feel the presence of others around. He saw Lili and Naaza with yellow-ish auras while Lilis had a touch of pinkpared to Naazas sky blue. In the distance, through the walls, Vahn could detect the auras of the other children and realized they had already awoken. Though they werent training in the normal area, Vahn noticed that the boys seemed to be doing various kinds of exercises while the girls were sitting around in a circle, probably conversing. Vahn allowed his domain to expand slowly from his body, almost as if it was gently radiating instead of the instantaneous speed he usually used it at. He tried to visualize the world around him and it seemed to take on a muted, somewhat hazy view as his senses continued to spread further and further until his domain had reached beyond the structure of the house. Though it wasnt clear, Vahn could detect the forms of everything within his domain to a might higher extent than just relying on his normal perception. Because of his mental and spiritual growth, his domain had reached the point of 314m when it was fully spread, and Vahn could now see the outskirts of Tsubakis Manor in his mind while catching the briefest hint of pedestrians that crossed through the outer perimeter of his domainpletely unaware they had fallen into his area of influence. Vahn remembered the men that had been tormenting Mn and how he had used [Enkidu] to kill them all in an instant. Though he felt nothing but rage at the time, now he felt disappointed by his own actions. Not for having killed them, but for doing so in such an impersonal way. It was very likely they hadnt even been aware of what had happened by the time they had died since he targeted their heads. Vahn felt like, if the men had lived to be judged, Mn might have recovered faster. She may have even wanted to take revenge on them herself, but Vahn had denied her the opportunity since he was only focused on saving her. Even though he knew she probably didnt mind, and he also didnt have many misgivings about what happened, Vahn still couldnt help but think back on the moment now that everything had calmed down. Realizing his thoughts had begun to wander in a strange direction, Vahn released a sigh before covering his eyes with his forearm to block the luminescent light from the magic stone in the ceiling. He realized he still needed to mature and apply the teachings of those that had been helping him deal with his problems in the past. Getting caught up thinking about negative things was almost instinctual for him since it had been something he did often ever since his previous life. Vahn decided to focus on more positive things instead of worrying about stuff he couldnt change. Strangely enough, the first thought that came to his mind when he wanted to think about something positive, Vahn imagined snuggling up next to a fat-bellied Hephaestus. A smile immediately touched his lips as he began to imagine what it would be like to have children with some of the women he had grown close to. Since Hephaestus and Eina were his wives, they would obviously have his children someday. Imagining Eina, who he liked to tease, nursing his child made Vahn almost burst outughing. He had pictured himself nibbling on her ear as her face turned red while she tried b.r.e.a.s.tfeeding their son. Vahn began to run through images of the other girls in his mind and pictured Tiona training their feisty little Amazon daughter in martial arts. For Ais, she seemed to be the gentle and reserved type that would read to their children in a garden, simr to how her mother had done for her. Since Anubis and Loki also wanted children, Vahn imagined Anubis ying with a small dark-haired chienthrope boy and Vahn realized for the first time that some of his children wouldnt be human in appearance. As for Loki and his child...Vahn had trouble picturing the mischevious goddess pregnant at all, much less with their son or daughter in her arms. Picturing her looking affectionately through her slit-like eyes at their child made Vahn feel a bit unnerved. Shaking his head to clear that thought from his mind, Vahn pictured Naaza holding their child and acting in a very motherly manner. For some reason, Vahn felt like she would make a great and caring mother that would raise their children to be capable and reserved. After that, Vahn had to cut his imagination short when he pictured the image of the incredibly petite Lili with a big belly and it made his mind buzz a little. Though the image of Loki being pregnant was somewhat scary, imagining the 110cm tall Lili in thete stages of pregnancy made Vahn feel a sense of danger. Even though he had nothing against Pallums, Vahn felt like Lili was someone he needed to protect and couldnt easily picture her as a mother at all. Sitting up from the floor, Vahn decided that he wanted to actually meet a Pallum that was already pregnant so he could see how the image in his mind matched up with reality. ording to the books he had read, they were an incredibly fertile race that got pregnant easily and had lots of children. The typical pregnancy onlysted around six months, and the children themselves matured much faster than most races. Though they would never be very tall or powerful, most Pallums reached physical maturity as early as age ten and didnt change much from then onwards until theirte sixties. This meant that Lili wouldnt change much at all, and Vahn had long realized she looked nearly identical to her manga counterpart already except for the fact she was significantly more fit. The Lili in the manga had been somewhat emaciated and in poor health, but the Lili he was familiar with was incredibly lively most of the time. She had healthy skin and had put on a few kilograms of weight to the point that she didnt look emaciated at all. Since she usually wore clothes that showed off her midriff, Vahn had noticed that he could see the outline of her abdominal muscles if they caught the light properly. Her training had been primarily focused on physical strength and flexibility, so she had an incredibly lithe, yet petite, figure. A few minutester, Vahn had detected a few auras that he recognized enter within his domain. Since three of them were muchrger than normal, Vahn assumed they were Hephaestus, Loki, and Anubis. The smaller auras showed that they were amicable toward him, so Vahn imagined it was probably Eina and Tsubaki given the situation. There was a chance they could have also been Tiona and Ais, but Vahn didnt think they would show up so early after their parting the previous night. As expected, the five that showed up were precisely Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, Tsubaki, and Eina. Vahn immediately noticed they werent in the best of moods and Loki even seemed to be genuinely angry. Hephaestus had a sad look on her face the moment she locked eyes with Vahn while Eina had a slight frown as well. Anubis didnt seem to be affected much based on her expression, but Vahn could see her aura was slightly chaotic. The least affected seemed to be Tsubaki, but her serious expression contrasted her typical cheerful expression and it made Vahn feel like something bad had happened. Vahn rose to greet them as Hephaestus stepped forward and handed him back his [L?vateinn] which he quickly put away in his inventory before she embraced him. Vahn reached his hands around her back and rested his face atop her b.r.e.a.s.ts and felt like her way offorting him was very simr to how Eva had done so. Vahn wondered if it was an instinctive trait of girls with bigger b.r.e.a.s.ts. While she was holding onto his head, Hephaestus had misty eyes but it hadnt progressed to the point where she was about to cry. Things had actually gone very well for them during the negotiations, but having Vahn leave her Familia sooner than she expected made her feel somewhat sad. Even though she hadnt told him the news yet, she felt like she needed tofort him after everything that happenedst night. Of course, she had no way of knowing that Vahn had already beenforted for three days prior to their reunion so he was already in a much better state of mind. Since he disliked seeing her sad, Vahn decided to ease tensions a bit by teasing Hephaestus for the first time in what seemed like a long time. He spent so much time in the orb, that it had actually been more than a month since he showed her any real affection and, though it may not have been the most appropriate moment, Vahn decided it was necessary to take action now. While she was still tense and holding onto his head while trying tofort him, Vahn reached his hands down her back and once again firmly gripped Hephaestuss butt. He had also used his [Hands of Nirvana] a bit, so the moment he gripped her butt, the mncholy she had been experiencing immediately flew away and she released a slight and audible m.o.a.n. Realizing what had happened, she gave Vahn an incredulous look before turning to look at everyone else in the room while a fierce blush began to appear on her face. Turning back to Vahn, she frowned slightly before hugging his head tightly into her chest and shouting, "You little rascal! Im trying tofort you!" Hephaestuss outburst and peculiar actions had caused the tensions in the room to ease by arge amount as everyone realized Vahn had recovered by a great deal since they hadst seen him. They thought that, since he was in a bad mental state previously, when they broke the news about the negotiations he would be depressed. Contrary to their expectations, he had seemingly returned to normal and even had enough wherewithal to tease Hephaestus when the atmosphere had been so serious. After a brief dy, Tsubaki startedughing out loud and shouted, "I guess Im not going to have to beat you up this time! You recovered a lot faster than I expected, Vahn. Looks like youre growing up and bing more reliable~!" Tsubaki stood with her arms akimbo and beganughing heartily to the point that it drew the attention of most people within the house. Loki also decided to tease them, but focused her attention on Hephaestus instead as she said, "Oh~? So Vahn really is the type that like big butts, isnt he? I was wondering why you had seemed a little differenttely...have you been exercising your butt Hephaestus?" Since Loki was lecherous by nature and preferred to associate with women, she was actually incredibly perceptive to even minor changes in the physical appearance of the girls she associated with. Hephaestuss body turnedpletely rigid after hearing Lokis words and she couldnt find a way to respond at all. Ever since Vahn hadplimented her on her butt in the past, she had actually been spending an hour each morning and afternoon exercising to tone her butt more. Though she didnt think much of it, since she didnt think anyone would notice other than Vahn, hearing someone point it out was a big impact to her mind. Vahn had also heard Lokis words and continued to develop the momentum as he focused on the feeling in his palms. He squeezed her butt with more force and realized there actually was a bit more resistance than there had been in the past. His actions had caused the petrified Hephaestus to squeeze his head even harder as he spoke in a muffled tone, "It feels better now; it has a nice resistance...thanks, Hephaestus." Since he knew she had done it to appeal to him, Vahn genuinely thanked her in a low voice even though it was getting to the point where he couldnt breathe. Since the majority of the people in the room were chienthropes or had sensitive ears, everyone except Tsubaki and Loki had heard Vahns remark. Hephaestuss face immediately flushed to the point where it looked like it was trying topete with her red hair while Anubis began to chuckle in a somewhat elegant manner as her tail wagged back and forth. Some of the other girls used their palms to check the feel of their own butts, and several of them had somewhat dejected expressions that Vahn had been fortunate to avoid seeing. Lili herself had also been fondling her own butt and was thinking about developing her magic skill to the point where she could alter her physical appearance more. As if a strange thought had crossed her mind, Lili looked toward Tsubaki who was standing off to the side with a big smile on her face. She noticed Lilis look as well as all the strange reactions of the other girls in the room and asked, "What happened, did I miss something?" Loki seemed to realize something as well, since she was probably the most perceptive person in the entire room. She had seen Vahn squeeze Hephaestuss butt again before mumbling something that caused the majority of the girls in the room to have a strange reaction. When Lili look at Tsubaki with a fierce look in her eyes, Loki made the connection and began tough in a cheeky manner as she addressed Tsubaki, "I think she is jealous that you have the biggest butt in the entire room~? You had better be careful or Vahn might use his hands-" As Loki mentioned Vahns hands, she remembered the massage she had experienced previously and her expression changed multiple times before it turned absolutely serious as she continued, "You have to be very careful, Tsubaki. If Vahn gets his hands on your butt, you might never be able to walk again." Remembering that she had beenpletely paralyzed as her muscles were forced to rx if Vahn was serious and lost control while fondling someone, they may very well be unable to walk for a long while. Lokis unusually serious words caused everyone in the room, including Vahn and Hephaestus, to look at her strangely. Vahn himself lifted his hands away from Hephaestuss butt as he recalled the fact that he wanted to tease Tsubaki more in the future. He turned his hands into ws as a gentle light radiated from them as he said confidently, "If it came to a massage, I dont think Id ever lose another point to you again." Vahns words made every girl in the room have a variety of different reactions ranging from fear and excitement to actual anticipation and curiosity. Tsubaki had been one of the curious ones as she recalled the parting blow he had given to her abdomen previously. It had sent a literal shock up her spine and caused a bit of moisture to build up in the fundoshi-like cloth she wore as underwear. Imagining a full massage session of simr things, even she didnt have confidence that she would be able tost long. However, she wasnt the type to back down, especially from someone that had once been her disciple, so she said in an arrogant voice, "If you think you can get an advantage on me, feel free to try. However,e prepared to suffer some pain~!" All three goddesses heard Tsubakis words and looked at her like she had just signed her own death warrant. They had all suffered at Vahns [Hands of Nirvana] in the past, and there was absolutely no way to resist if they let him take control of the situation. Though Tsubaki was much stronger than they were, she was still a mortal and had much lower mental and physical tolerance. If even they, as goddesses, couldnt resist, Tsubaki will have lost the battle as soon as it started. Vahn saw the confident look in Tsubakis eyes and felt like the me ofpetition had been ignited in his mind. Ever since he polished his skills against Eva, he refused to believe there was someone that could resist his massage technique if he got serious. With a glint in his eyes and a serious expression on his face, Vahn spoke in a confident tone, "Ill get back all the points you owe me then." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Serious chapter with lots of butts,Tsubakis Death Sentence,The Godhand stirs from its slumber) If youd like to support my ******* so I can continue writing the story and expanding the world even further, please follow the link below~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $717/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 204 - Tangent

Chapter 204 - Tangent

Since there was now a muchrger group of people that would be eating breakfast, Vahn had decided to use his system shop to substitute actual cooking and purchased a variety of baked goods for everyone to enjoy while Naaza, Lili, and Anubis prepared tea for the entire group. Everyone made somewhat casual conversation and talked about various matters while Loki kept goading people on about Vahns obsession with butts. It seemed as though, since she didnt have anything in the b.r.e.a.s.t department, Loki was especially happy by the revtion. Vahn wanted to say he didnt really have a preference but recalled that he had been fixated on them quite a bit in the past so kept the matter to himself. He felt like he just liked the bodies of girls in general, but it was hard to exin since everyone present, other than himself, was a female. Though the mood had be much lighter because of his earlier actions and everyone was now eating breakfast happily, Vahn knew there was a serious discussion going to take ce soon. He wasnt the only to have noticed either, as Vahn was able to see the auras of everyone in the room fluctuate and droop slightly. The only exception was Loki, who seemed to have a tinge of red to her aura which reminded Vahn of her earlier anger. Once breakfast had ended, Anubis had the children leave the dining room before turning to Vahn and bowing low for several seconds. He could see she was heavily affected by what was going to be discussed, so Vahn affectionately pet her ears and hair. Reaching up to the cor around her neck, Anubis said in a sad-sounding tone, "Ill always follow you, Master." Vahn nodded his head before hugging her and whispering, "I know, thank you Anubis." The mood had quickly begun to deteriorate as the only people left in the room were Vahn, Hephaestus, Loki, Tsubaki, Lili, and Naaza. Tsubaki had tried to leave with Lili and Naaza, but they adamantly refused to leave before they heard what was going to be discussed. The matter likely pertained to Vahn, and they didnt want to be left out of the loop since everyone was acting in a solemn mood. Nanu had wanted to stay behind, but Anubis had her leave with the other children as she followed behind to exin the situation they would be in from now on. Once everyone from the Anubis Familia had left the room, Loki started off by saying, "Last night, there were several matters that took ce that you need to be made aware of. First off, there was an Alliance created between the Hephaestus, Takemikazuchi, Miach, Anubis, and my Familias. Secondly, we, as an Alliance, went to negotiate directly with Ouranos, the premier god, and leader of the Guild. He is the highest authority within the City, and it would have fallen to him to uphold any punishments." Vahn nodded his head and asked, "Youre speaking in regards to the death of Laverna?" Lokis expression froze a little before she continued, "Thats correct. Everyone can tell you know the identity of the killer, and we also knew there was no way you would divulge it yourself. To prevent the situation from getting out of hand, we went to Ouranos directly and forced apromise." At this point, Hephaestus had a somewhat sad look on her face as she said, "You will be forced to leave my Familia and have been prevented from joining any of the Familia within the Alliance for the duration of one year." Her words caused Naaza to frown while Lili mmed her hands onto the table and shouted, "That isnt fair! It was the stupid goddess that caused this situation to happen! Vahn shouldnt have to suffer just because a criminal was brought to justice!" As she had been sitting next to him, Vahn grabbed Lilis tail which caused her to help and sit back down with her hands on her butt. She looked at him in confusion as Vahn smiled and said, "Please, continue. There is more, isnt there?" Lili seemed like she wanted to say something, but Vahn kept her quiet by gently stroking her hair. The main reason she was upset was due to the fact that, since she had just changed Familia recently, Lili wouldnt be able to join the same Familia as Vahn for more than 11 months. Loki paused for a few seconds before continuing, "Its not all that bad, since we managed to keep a provision that allowed you to keep all of the materials that you can store within your inventory. Though we had to tell Ouranos about your storage magic, youll now be able to use the resources currently avable to you in order to purchase your own house and workshop. Since you have plenty of Valis and materials on hand, you wont exactly be hurting when ites to finding a ce to stay..." Vahns brows raised a bit, since he could tell that Loki was somewhat upset by her own words. As if to answer his curiosity, Hephaestus spoke out in a moderately gentle tone, "I sent an Oracle to a close friend of mine, who his also a goddess, and she had agreed to descend and join the Alliance as well. Though you may not be able to join one of our Familia for the time being, we actually agreed that it would be beneficial if you were to be involved with the creation of your own. She is someone that you can trust and also has a longstanding rtionship with both Loki and myself." As if trying to refute her words, Loki spat out, "As if I have any rtionship with that chibi cow goddess! Were enemies at best~!" Her words had caused her aura to re up and Vahn quickly realized who they were talking about. With a slight smile on his face, Vahn asked, "What is the name of this goddess?" Loki frowned slightly at Vahns reaction while Hephaestus seemed to be pleased that he had epted the situation so easily. Reminiscing about her experiences with her good friend, she said, "Her name is Hestia, and...she can be a bitzy. Other than that, though, she is an incredibly kind goddess who treated me well even before my eye was healed." Recalling the past, Hephaestus reached her hand to her right eye and gave Vahn an incredibly loving look. Vahn returned her smile and reached out to pull her hand away from her eye and stare into the subtle crimson glow. She hadnt worn her eyepatch since he had healed her, and he felt like she had be more beautiful as her confidence grew. While they two were beginning to fall into their own little world, Loki spoke out in a discontented voice, "Dont let her fool you so easily, Vahn. Hestia is one of theziest goddesses in Heaven and shell probably just want you to spoil her 24/7~! All of her brains ended up being put into her b.o.o.b.s and she is a natural airhead that doesnt know how to show proper restraint!" Though he had seen it a bit in the manga, Vahn was surprised with how hostile Loki acted when it came to Hestia. He gave her a curious look and remembered that she had aplex about her b.r.e.a.s.ts and likely used that as the basis for her hatred against Hestia. There was also the fact that Hestias Divinity didnt really seem to have a great influence on her character, at least not in a way that altered her rtionsh.i.p.s with others to a great extent. Vahn felt like Loki was very jealous of Hestia and he actually felt a bit bad for her since most of the conflict between them was beyond both of their control. Loki had seen the look Vahn was giving her and frowned slightly and wanted to say something else but Vahn smiled and spoke out in a gentle tone that brought the mischevious goddess to silence, "Loki, even though I dont agree with how you act as a result of your Divinity, there is nothing else that I can fault you for. Have more confidence and dont get caught up inparing yourself to others. I believe in Hephaestuss choice, and I believe that Hestia is likely a kind and gentle goddess. Since well all be working together in the future, Id like for you to not have too many conflicts with each other." Everyone in the room paused after hearing Vahns words because it wasnt often that someone like Loki was brought to silence. She seemed to have a vicious internal struggle for a while as her brows were furrowed low and her mouth had pursed into a small shape. Eventually, she looked toward Hephaestus before adopting a very serious expression and saying, "I will try to get along with Hestia, but you have to guarantee that Ill get a baby after you know up Hephaestus. I dont want to see the person Ive butted heads with for thousands of years get an advantage when she hasnt even been with a man before." Since they had made a vow where Loki couldnt pressure Vahn to have a child with her, Hephaestus frowned and tried to refute but Vahn beat her to the punch as he said, "I cant keep making promises that might influence my future decisions so easily. I told you that I would have a child with you after Hephaestus already, but I cant guarantee you would be the next person. I cant predict the future, and the more promises I make, the harder it is for me to make rational decisions under stress. Please, Loki, just try to have some patience and trust that I will do my best when the timees." Hephaestus had a strange expression as she asked Loki, "You two have alreadye to an agreement?" Loki was broken from her thoughts as she heard Hephaestus voice and responded seriously, "Vahn let me experience the effects of [Enkidu] and we came to an agreement while my Divinity was sealed. I didnt pressure him directly, so there was no vition in regards to the vow made between us." All of the talks of pregnancy and having children had riled up the other girls as Lili tried to jump into the conversation but was prevented from doing so as Naaza put her hand over her mouth. Vahn continued where Loki left off and exined, "Loki taught me about the influence of Divinity, and that is why I have tried to empathize more with the situation of the gods and goddesses. This is the reason I had hesitated when it came to Laverna, even though I desperately wanted to take action. I have decided to try and find a solution for the future, and not just for gods and goddesses. I want to help spirits and the various half-species as well." As he spoke, Vahn had turned his head to the various girls in the room and even rested his eyes on Tsubaki when he mentioned half-species. As ifing to a realization, Tsubakis brows raised as she pointed toward herself with her index finger and asked incredulously, "Are you trying to say youll knock me up too?" Her words had caused everyone in the room to have a strange reaction, including Vahn who felt a strong desire to nt his face into the table. He answered her in a tired manner, "I want to help find a solution that doesnt necessarily rely on my involvement or the use of [Enkidu]. There is no way I would be able to help everyone individually, or Id never have any time to do the other things I want to focus on..." As Vahn spoke, he had actually begun to imagine what it would be like for Tsubaki to bear his child as well. Strangely, he felt like she would make a great mother since she had treated him so well in the past... The thought had caused his dismissal of the topic to shift a bit as he looked at Tsubaki and said, "I think...youd make a good mother." His words had actually caused Tsubakis healthy brown skin to flush ever so slightly as she squinted her eye a bit and smiled at Vahn. In a gentle voice, which contrasted her usual behavior, Tsubaki said, "Vahn, you dont have to try and help everyone. Focus on finding a solution to help others. I have already epted my lot in life, and I dont have any regrets." Though her words had been spoken smoothly and her expression hadnt changed, Vahn noticed her aura fluctuate a great deal when she mentioned that she had epted her lot in life. In a lot of ways, since she was an older woman, Tsubaki was like Mn. Even though Vahn had affection for them, they were resistant against his approach because they were overly concerned with his well-being. Vahns brows furrowed as he looked at Tsubaki with a serious expression and said in a firm tone, "I dont agree with that. Even if you try to hide it, I can tell you dont believe in your own words. If you want to have a child, and cant find another partner, Id be more than willing to take on the responsibility. I already have plenty of ways to guarantee that you would get pregnant." After his words fell, the room became absolutely silent as everyone gave Vahn incredulous looks for saying something so strange so casually. Even Tsubaki was taken aback by his words and didnt know how to react. Though she liked to tease Vahn, and even considered ying around with him if he developed an interest with her, she never considered the possibility of getting pregnant. She had tried in the past and failed to do so and had long since lost the hope of having children of her own. Hearing a boy more than twenty years her junior confidently guaranteeing he could get her pregnant made herpletely unable to process the situation. Thinking the silence was due to the unbelievable nature of his im, Vahn pulled out the [Matryoshka of Fertility] and ced it on the table. He exined, "This is a special item that can create a seal on the abdomen that will guarantee pregnancy for the duration of eight hours. Im not sure if it can work on goddesses and spirits, but it will absolutely work on a half-dwarf." Tsubakis eyes were drawn to the strange doll that Vahn had ced on the table. It looked like a fat little woman and she couldnt believe it had the effect he imed. Thinking that he was just trying to fort her, Tsubaki smiled beforeughing heartily and picking up the small object. As if to tease Vahn, she looked at the bottom and noticed there was a circle with what looked like a baby contained within. She asked, "So, youre saying if I stamp this on my stomach, Ill get pregnant if I have s.e.x within eight hours?" A gleam went through Tsubakis eye as she moved her hand as if she was going to stamp her stomach. Vahn saw the movement and his domain exploded and his reactions were pushed to the limits as he reached forward and snatched away the Matryoshka mere centimeters before she hadpleted her prank. His actions had caused Tsubaki to feel a strange sensation in her heart as she asked in a disbelieving fashion, "Wait, were you actually serious?" Seeing the visible sweating from Vahns brow, Loki answered for him, "You should know that Vahn isnt the type to be able to tell a lie. He cant even mislead people well since his facial expressions give away everything he is thinking. If he told you that item can guarantee pregnancy, you should expect that is exactly what it does. My question is, how did you obtain that item in the first ce?" Before Vahn answered, Hephaestus spoke out in a loud tone, "This isnt a conversation about pregnancy and making babies! Were supposed to be discussing the matters of the negotiations and helping Vahn figure out what he wants to do!" Her words had caused everyone to turn silent for several seconds as Hephaestus calmed her breathing. Throughout the entire period of silence, she kept ncing at the Matryoshka in Vahns hand and couldnt help but ask in a quiet tone, "Is that a single use item...?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Everyone, look under your chairs~! Thats right, everyone gets a baby!!!,Tsubaki nearly made a grave error,I wonder if Naaza is still holding Lili back?) If youd like to support my ******* so I can continue writing the story and expanding the world even further, please follow the link below~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $735/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 205 - Living Arrangements (1/2)

Chapter 205 - Living Arrangements (1/2)

Vahn answered the questions about the Matryoshka to the best of his ability, including the fact that it seemed to be a single-use item. He didnt specifically say how he obtained it, instead iming that it appeared within his soul in a simr manner as [Enkidu]. Since The Path, and the shop, were part of his soul, even Loki couldnt see through his answer. They believed it had something to do with the unique origin of Vahn, and Loki even spected that his Divinity didnt pertain to Life and People, but actual Creation itself. Since Vahn always obtained items seemingly out of nowhere based on his wants and desires, it was the best exnation they had to go by. This caused a small tangent in the conversation where it was decided, after a bit of deliberation, that Vahn had Divinities pertaining to Creation, Fertility, and Fire. Though he was confused about the fertility part, Loki exined that he had an almost unnatural willingness to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e or help i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e people. Since they assumed he was 3/4 god, it meant that, even though he wasntpelled by his Divinity, it still influenced his decisions on a subconscious level. Vahn, not knowing how to refute her ims, ended up cementing his position in their minds as a demigod of fertility. As for the Creation and Fire Divinities, it was due to the existence of his souls ability to generate items that he needed as well as his ability to name and evolve creatures like Fafnir. The fire was easy enough to understand since Vahn had [Heart of the Eternal me] and skills like [Prometheus]. The fact that Hephaestuss eternal me had willingly subordinated itself to Vahn was more of a confirmation of the facts than anything else. Though Hephaestus argued that Vahn could also possess the Divinity for Forging, it was written off as a byproduct of his Creation Divinity. After everything was decided, the conversation eventually returned to normal except for the fact that Tsubaki had turned rtively quiet while Lili had nearly passed out from being suffocated by Naaza. When she had grabbed Lili earlier and covered her mouth, she had also covered her nose and didnt notice because she had been paying close attention to the conversation. Though she had wanted to be together with Vahn in the future, the thought of children had never crossed her mind until Vahn mentioned it so casually. If he truly was a Demigod of Fertility, Naaza was worried that she would get pregnant almost immediately after their first time together. She decided to interact with Tiona and Ais more and observe if there were any changes in their bodies over the next few months. Vahn learned that Hestia had to prepare for the ceremony and undergo the vows before descending to the mortal world. If things went as nned, she would be able to arrive in the mortal world within three days and Vahn was somewhat excited to finally meet the titr goddess that he had known from the manga. His favorite characters had always been Hestia, Eina, and Bell, so he was looking forward to interacting with Hestia in the future. Since he had grown up lonely in theb in his previous life, Vahn had always imagined what it would be like to be part of the Hestia Familia. Even though Bell was always causing problems, she worked hard behind the scenes to make money even though everyone called her azy goddess. Vahn remembered that to pay off the debt of Bells dagger, Hestia had actually been holding several jobs which required her to traverse great distances each day and still made time to interact with Bell when he returned from his adventures in the dungeon. Once the conversation and exnation of events hade to an end, the atmosphere turned somewhat solemn as Hephaestus looked toward the only person in the room that had been silent throughout the entire conversation. Eina had arrived with the group earlier and had been sitting at the side while holding a stack of official-looking doc.u.ments that had entailed the punishment as decreed by the Guild. As a member of the Guild herself, she had been made aware of what had happened earlier and had been in silent contemtion ever since. Even when Vahn had mentioned the matters of pregnancy, her expression only lightened by a small amount as a blush covered her cheeks. Since she had been so quiet and hadnt contributed to the conversation, Vahn had only been ncing over toward her with a concerned expression periodically which caused her to give him a gentle, yet sad, smile. As the officiator for everything that was going to happen, she had actually been considering leaving the Guild after the matters were concluded. If not for the fact that Vahn had previously asked her to continue working, she may very well have done just that. After Hephaestus looked at her, Eina went over the details of the doc.u.ment before having Vahn leave a blood signature on the bottom which caused the entire thing to burst into mes. Part of the mes went into Vahns chest, while the others dissipated into the void. With his spiritual sense, Vahn noticed the me enter into his soul before trying to seed itself in the center. Though he could absolve it whenever he desired, Vahn allowed it to stay for the time being since it only restricted his activities by a year. Once the me had entered into his chest, Eina gave a sad sigh as she said, "Im sorry, Vahn..." Vahn just shook his head in response as he stroked her cheek affectionately and said, "This type of thing wont slow me down at all. Its already arranged for me to join the Familia of a goddess that has an established rtionship with Hephaestus and Loki. By the time my probation ends, Ill have increased the rank of my own Familia by a great deal. Its not like this contract actually has anysting impact on my future." Eina smiled at his words and ced her hand over his as she felt the warmth of his palm on her cheek. She hadnt seen him since they suddenly got engaged, but he had already matured to a great extent. Eina even began to wonder if she was too hasty in her earlier actions since Vahn didnt seem to be nearly as broken as he was in the past. Almost as if he had sensed her thoughts, Vahn put his other hand around Einas waist and pulled her into a kiss. Surprised by the sudden disy of affection, Einas eyes widened as she patted Vahns shoulder to release her. Unfortunately for her, Vahn had used his right hand to lock her head in ce while he held her waist close to his and continued kissing her for several long seconds. It wasnt until a blushpletely spread all the way up to her pointed ears that Vahn finally released her and said gently, "Remember this, Eina, I am what I am because of my interactions with people like you. Ever since the day we got engaged, my life has been changing rapidly for the better." Vahn had noticed that Einas aura had begun to destabilize and her affection had actually dropped for him slightly. Afraid that she had begun to regret associating with him, Vahn tried to consider matters from her perspective for a brief moment before deciding to kiss her. Though there was no change at first, by the end of the kiss her affection had actually increased to 88 points. When he gave his followup words to encourage her, it increased by a full five points before settling on 93. Since Eina had already decided to marry him in the future, Vahn didnt want her to regret her decision to be with him. He didnt know that she actually had no intention of leaving him, it was just that she began to feel less useful in providing stability to his life. She would have still married him and help manage his affairs, but Eina was somewhat sad that Vahn was bing more reliable too quickly. When they had originally agreed to marry, she actually intended to take more of a role as an elder sister than his spouse. Now that he had kissed her and made his light promation, Eina realized that Vahn actually considered her own state of mine just as much as she tried to consider his. Just as she was about to kiss him due to the happy feelings that were rising up inside of her, Eina noticed a small figure out of the corner of her eye that was almost ring at her. She didnt sense any hostility, but Eina couldnt help but feel slightly unnerved by the unwavering gaze of Lili. From the moment Vahn had started kissing Eina, she wanted to trade ces with the hesitant half-elf. She had already missed her chance to jump on the momentum earlier when it came to the talk about pregnancies, but Lili was actually somewhat thankful for that as well. Since she heard how Vahn responded to Loki, she was thankful she didnt try to have him make a promise with her. Once everyone had settled down, the most depressing part of the entire event had to take ce which required Vahn to remove his shirt as Hephaestus slowly removed the crest on his back. Her hands were shaking during the entire process and Vahn had tofort her for nearly ten minutes after the fact. She seemed almost inconsble up until the point where Vahn whispered in her ear that he would make sure she had a baby by this time next year. After his crest was removed, Vahn felt like he had lost an important part of himself, but it also made him feel somewhat free. He had also known that it would be impossible to marry Hephaestus when he was still in the Familia, and now that he was no longer a member, he was free to pursue her romantically without issue. Even though he hadnt forged an S ss item on his own yet, Vahn felt like he would be able to manage in the next week or two if he put in a serious effort within the orb. Now that everything was wrapped up, both Hephaestus, Loki, and Eina had to return to their respective duties. Before they parted, Vahn actually gave all three of them an embrace with varying degrees of affection involved. When he embraced Hephaestus, it was passionate and emotional. When he embraced Eina, it almost seemed innocent and reserved. And then, when it finally came time to embrace Loki, she tried to get a kiss only to have Vahn put a little effort into his [Hands of Nirvana] which caused her to immediately retreat. Vahn saw them out to the main road with Anubis, Nanu, Tsubaki, Lili, and Naaza. Since the Anubis Familia was also restrained by the agreement with Ouranos, Anubis wasnt able to apany Vahn for the time being and could only casually interact with each other without helping to facilitate each others needs. Nanu had wanted to apany him, but Vahn asked her to take care of the other children until things calmed down. Since she had a talent for forging, Vahn wanted her to join the Hephaestus Familia if anything else. He promised to visit often and would update them when he finally found his new residence so they could visit periodically. Once the probationary period was over, he agreed to allow the Anubis Familia to move into the samepound or building that he purchased in the future. It was his intention to turn the Hestia Familia into a righteous Familia simr to the Astrea Familia. Taking into consideration his interactions with various people and the lessons that he had learned from Chloe and Eva recently, Vahn wanted to create an organization that specialized in both dungeoneering as well as peacekeeping. Though he wasnt sure how to do it, Vahn intended to consult with people like Chloe and Ryuu to get a better understanding of the specifics. He wouldnt try to tackle everything alone and wanted to strengthen hiswork and build stronger rtionsh.i.p.s with the people around him. Since Vahn wasnt really bound by the traditional restraints of belonging to a Familia and only working with your own, he wanted to help unify the bonds between the Alliance and create a hub where everyone could exchange information and work together to ovee difficulties. He also needed to consider the matter of security and how he would be receiving and dealing with various gods and goddesses in the future since, once the matter of [Enkidu] bes known, Vahn imagined there would be a number of theming to visit. This, though it was somewhat troublesome, actually gave Vahn more confidence that things would go well. If he had support from a variety of gods and created a strong bond with the Guild, the Hestia Familia might be an organization on the same level in the future except that it specializes in research, development, and emergency responses instead of organization and distribution. After exchanging goodbyes with the rest of the girls, Vahn was forced to embrace all of them as well. Lili and Naaza wanted to apany him, but Vahn wanted to stroll about and try toe up with his own ns for the time being. He also wanted to visit Mn and Tina at the Hostess of Fertility without having his focus split between too many people. Tsubaki agreed with his decision and put an end to the two girls insistence. When it came time for the hugs, Vahn started with Anubis and stroked her ears for a bit. For Nanu, it was much of the same except that she nuzzled against his hand with a great deal of intensity. Naaza was rtively reserved, but Vahn ended up giving her a short kiss before he stroked her ears as well. When her tail began to wag, he smiled and gave her a second kiss. For Lili, she just acted cute without saying anything for once. She was still in her pseudo-tiger form and seemed to be silently appealing to him with her eyes. Vahn decided to stroke her ears and hair affectionately before giving her a very brief peck on the lips. Her smile blossomed since it was one of the few times where Vahn had taken the initiative to kiss her. Tsubaki had been standing off to the side with her arms crossed as she watched their interactions with a smile on her face. It didnt look like she intended to interfere with the parting, but Vahn wasnt going to let her escape easily after everything that had happened earlier. When he approached to give her an embrace with a gentle smile on his face, sheughed a bit before giving him a strong hug in return. Vahn enjoyed theforting feeling that he had once been reliant on in the past as he loosely hugged Tsubakis waist. Just as she was about to release Vahn and wish him luck, Vahn used his [Hands of Nirvana] in full force as he traced his palms along her back before firmly grabbing her plump butt. Tsubakis eye widened as she immediately lost strength in her lower body and legs and had to hug Vahns head with her arms to prevent from falling down. Vahn used the opportunity when she had entrusted her weight to him to begin massaging around her butt and lower back. Since Tsubaki generally wore a sarashi that only covered her b.r.e.a.s.ts, it left her entire back exposed to Vahns caress. After a few seconds passed, Tsubaki put more strength into her grip and Vahn felt like she was going to tear off his head if things went any further. Changing the type of energy from rxing to stimting, Vahn pressed into some of her nerves to help reactivate them. Though she twitched with each press, it wasnt long before Tsubaki felt the strength return to her body as she pulled away from Vahn with a slight blush on her face and a furrowed brow. In response to her apparent anger, Vahn smiled and held up his hands like he had done so earlier. There was a subtle white glowing from his palms as he said, "Six-thousand-one-hundred-forty-eight to twenty-six. I still owe you six-thousand-one-hundred-twenty-two wins to break even." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ambition,Various Types of Embrace,Never Challenge the Godhand) If youd like to support my ******* so I can continue writing the story and expanding the world even further, please follow the link below~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $735/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 206 - Living Arrangements (2/2)

Chapter 206 - Living Arrangements (2/2)

After his parting words, Vahn actually took off running before Tsubaki could regain herposure. In a manner simr to theirst parting, Vahn ran away so she wouldnt thrash him in a fit of emotional outburst. Seeing him run away, Tsubaki broke out of her confusion before pulling out a hammer that she kept on her person at all times. Lining up the shot, she threw it hard enough to break the sound barrier as it flew by Vahns head before smashing into a nearby wall. Vahn easily evaded the blow since he had expected it toe, but he still sweated when he saw the spiderweb cracks on the hard surface where the hammer had embedded itself. Transforming into his Bih form, he jumped onto the roof of one of the nearby workshops and quickly disappeared from the sights of the five girls. Tsubaki looked like she was fuming, but everyone present could see the blush on her face as she turned to give them a reproachful re. Each of them averted their eyes except for Anubis whoughed quietly while covering her mouth. Tsubaki turned her gaze to her which prompted Anubis to say, "After the incident earlier, it was only a matter of time before he tried to grab your butt. You do have the biggest one out of all the women around him after all." Frowning slightly, Tsubaki seemed to be lost in her thoughts for a brief moment before she turned her gaze to the gently wagging tail of Anubis. A smile appeared on her face as she walked toward the unsuspecting goddess before pping her on the butt with an open-palmed strike. Anubis immediately yelped, but everyone present heard there was a sensual undertone to the vocalization that caused her to blush and avert her eyes. Tsubaki beganughing loudly as she said, "Your butt isnt so bad either! And it looks like you have some peculiar interests as well~." Unable to easily deal with someone as shameless as Tsubaki, Anubis ended up excusing herself from the conversation with Nanu in tow. Naaza and Lili had made eye contact with each other and came to an unspoken agreement as they secretly pledged not to tease Tsubaki when she was embarrassed. Though it didnt seem it did a lot of damage, the p had been incredible audible and had even caused several passersby to look over with unconcealed intrigue. --- After he had gone a few blocks, Vahn returned to normal while keeping his domain spread thinly in a 5m area around him. At this range, he would be able to respond to the majority of attacks even if they were from a Level 5. Ever since the ambush from yesterday, Vahn didnt want to take the chance of getting caught with his domain inactive again. Even if he might draw the attention of a god or goddess by using it, as long as he kept it contained close to his body there shouldnt be any issues. Since he was able to differentiate between mortals and gods by the size of their aura, Vahn wasnt worried about getting found out easily. It was at this moment, when Vahn was finally away from everyone, that he realized he was homeless for the first time in a while. Though brief, he even had a small desire to return to his forest cave and rest there for a few days. That thought passed quickly, however, when the image of Tina and Mn surfaced in his mind. There was also the matter regarding Hestias descent from Heaven and the formation of her Familia. Vahn would be the first member and would be acting as the role of a Captain when it came to recruiting more members. He figured that, by the time Bell arrived more than two years from now, the Familia would have grown to the size of a small organization. Vahn even wanted to try and get it to Rank A or S if he could get enough powerful members to join. With thoughts of the future in his mind, Vahn wondered if he should purchase a ce now or wait until Hestia finally came down so they could choose it together. Though he expected she would want to be spoiled, Vahn actually looked forward to his interactions with the goddess. Much like Eina, he was naturally predisposed to want to associate with her since she had been one of Vahns favorite characters in the past. Though he didnt initially have any romantic interest in her, remembering the words from Loki, Vahn considered that it might happen in the future and it made him a little giddy. Even though he knew Hestia had liked Bell in the manga, Vahn was more invested in living his own life and trying to respond to the thoughts, actions, and feelings of the people he liked to be around. He might not make any early advances on Hestia, but Vahn expected they would grow close very quickly since she seemed to have a disposition that enjoyed physical contact. In most of the scenes, other than when she was working or interacting with the plot, Hestia could be seen clinging to Bell in some form or fashion. Though he felt the smallest amount of guilt, Vahn didnt think anyone belonged to anyone else and he had already irreversibly changed fate. Hestia would end up with who she chooses, and Vahn didnt mind if he became the object of her affections in the future. After all, it was still more than two years before Bell came to the City, and Vahn didnt think it was appropriate to try and force a situation just because it had been prominent in the original record. He had already been engaged to Eina while experiencing his first time with two other prominent girls in Tiona and Ais. Since he also had a potential rtionship with Syr and Ryuu, Vahn didnt feel the need to restrict himself ording to a fate that no longer existed. If he had let things progress naturally, Lili would have been forced to suffer for several more years while Tiona would have continued experiencing her loneliness. Naaza would have lost her arm and entered a powerful depression after the copse of her Familia and Tsubaki would have lived the rest of her life alone. Since Vahn truly cared about each of the girls around him, he had no regrets or inhibitions about trying his best in the future. Vahn knew Bell had a natural charisma that would draw people to him in the future, so he wasnt overly concerned about his well-being. He intended to make friends with the young hero and help promote his growth and awakening as a genuine hero. Even if Hephaestus didnt forge him a dagger by the request of Hestia, Vahn could make him a number of powerful pieces of equipment while letting him make use of thework he would develop in the future. Bell would even be able to apany the Loki Familia on their expeditions from the outset if he so chose while having a number of people to train with and grow alongside. After ruminating a bit, Vahn decided to stay at an Inn called the Boars Teeth that was near the center of the City. Since he would be moving around a lot in the next few days, Vahn wanted a central location that would allow him to easily reach other areas of the City when he was feeling whimsical. He paid for a week upfront, though he only expected to be staying for the next three days. If nothing else the proprietress, a middle-aged woman with purple hair and green eyes, could use the remaining amount as she saw fit. Once he had a ce to stay, Vahn headed toward the Hostess of Fertility to check up on Mn and Tina. He also wanted to enjoy a long lunch and spend some time with Chloe and pamper her for a while. Though he was trying to break the mindset of paying people back, Vahn still felt like he needed to tend to her more. Not because he owed her anything, but because he respected her character and enjoyed herpany. He also wanted to hear about her past and assumed it might bring them close enough that her affection increases to the cap. If he could see her hearts desire, Vahn felt like he would have a better understanding of how to help her break free from the darkness in the future. Arriving outside the familiar pub, Vahn was surprised because there was a figure that immediately ran through the double doors before leaping into his arms. Though she was wearing a miniature version of the waitress outfit of the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn still recognized the girl as Tina and caught her smoothly without losing his bnce. When he caught her, she immediately began to nuzzle into his chest and Vahn suddenly felt she was acting a lot like Lili had when he first saved her. Vahn gently stroke her head as he ced her onto the ground so she could stand on her own two feet. However, even though he put her down, Tina still continued to cling to him like she was afraid to let him go. Vahn felt pained by the way she was acting because it was a far cry from her usual behavior that acted more sensibly. Stroking her back gently, Vahn said in a quiet voice, "Everything is okay Tina, Im not going anywhere." Tina didnt look up at his face as she continued to cling to him as tears started building up in her eyes. She said in a slightly sobbing voice, "When I woke up, you werent there. I had nightmares..." Her body began to shake and it made Vahn feel like his heart was going to break. He continued trying to console her and whispered, "I carried you all the way back while protecting you and your mother. It is safe here, and Ill be able to visit often..." Her hands around his waist tightened and she raised her teary doe-like eyes as she said, "Were supposed to be together...I dont want to stay here. Even though the girls are all nice, I want toe to stay with you. Mom cane with us as well...we can be happy..." Tinas tears started dripping heavily from her eyes and Vahn felt like she was almost pleading to him. Kneeling down, Vahn hugged Tina closely even though they were drawing the attention of several people. Mn had alsoe out from inside the Hostess of Fertility with Syr standing beside her. Both of the girls had sad expressions as they watched Vahn trying to console Tina. They both knew she had been putting on a strong front and trying her best to interact with customers, but the moment she detected Vahns scent, she immediately broke down and ran out of the pub after causing a smallmotion. Vahn looked around the area before picking up Tina in his arms and asking Syr, "Can I use the usual room?" Syr gave him a gentle and encouraging smile as she and Mn followed Vahn into the private room he had permanently reserved during the lunch hours. Sitting in the booth, Vahn held Tina sideways on hisp as he used [Hands of Nirvana] to help calm her. He then began to exin everything that had happened recently to the girls present and tried to help Tina understand that a lot of things were changing right now. He encouraged Tina to stay strong and protect her mother while trying to learn from the girls at the Hostess of Fertility. Though he didnt know all of their stories, Vahn knew they all had some form of trauma or tragic past they were trying to ovee. Mn needed time away from interacting too heavily with men, and she had taken the role of one of the kitchen staff while Tina tried to maintain her liveliness by working as a waitress that delivered appetizers and snacks. Though she had trouble agreeing with him outright, Vahn managed to convince Tina to stay here temporarily with the support of Mn and Syr exining things. The final straw had been when Mn embraced her body and the three shared a sad hug while both of the girls cried in his arms. Syr stood to the side with a gentle smile on her face and spoke encouraging words to the Mother-Daughter pair whole having Vahn promise to stop by for each meal until he found a ce to stay permanently. Vahn agreed and told them about his ns to join the Hestia Familia when she descended three days from now. His words had actually prompted Mn to ask if she would be able to join the Familia sometime in the future. Tina also wanted to join and Vahn agreed to ept them both, but not before he had increased the security of the Familia and recruited some strong members. If they truly wanted to join a Familia soon, Vahn suggested the Loki Familia, since he would be apanying them on their expeditions in the future and would be spending a lot of time there when his probationary period ended. Tina outright refused while saying she would only join the Familia he was in, but Mn considered the idea for a few minutes before inevitably deciding to apany Tina. From her perspective, as soon as Vahn stabilized and became the Captain of a Familia, it would help guarantee the livelihoods of her and her daughter in the future. Though she didnt like to think in such a pragmatic way, especially in regards to Vahn, the incident the previous night had been an awakening for her. She had almost left Tina an orphan and wanted to guarantee that she had a safe ce in the future even if she felt her thoughts were slightly exploitative. Aftering to an agreement, Vahn ate lunch with the two girls after leaving a heavy tip with Mama Mia to excuse their absence. Syr was their server because, when Vahn asked, Chloe had asked for the day off after arriving slightly after sunrise. She had been outte while trying to close up loose ends and needed to recuperate a bit before returning to work tomorrow. Vahn was surprised with how informed Syr was about the situation and she exined that it was her role within the Hostess of Fertility to keep everyone unified. She knew about all the histories of the girls and did her best to make sure nothing happened that would cause problems for them. The only reason she spoke to Vahn about the matters was that she trusted him and knew of his rtionship with Chloe. Vahn thanked Syr for all the help she had provided and her response was to pause for a little while as she stared at Vahns face. Curious about her actions, Vahn was about to ask when she quickly leaned forward and gave him a kiss right next to his lips without contacting them much. Vahn wasnt sure if she had tried to kiss his cheek or if she had aimed for his lips and misjudged her approach. Satisfied with his response, Syr chuckled and teased Vahn by saying, "Wont we all be family in the future~? Im also drawn to your light, Vahn, make sure you dont forget..." Mn had already returned to her duties while Tina had been given the rest of the day off after lunch hade to an end. This left Vahn to stand nkly for a few seconds as he watched Syr trot away after sessfully teasing him. Her actions caused Vahn to ruminate over her words and he realized that Chloe must have talked to her about what they had discussed within the escape tunnel. He hadnt realized her influence in the Hostess of Fertility until now but recalled that she was often exempt from several things while Mama Mia overlooked her actions. Now Vahn understood that the person in charge of the Hostess of Fertility all this time was actually Syr, even though Mama Mia was still the proprietress. Remembering that both of the items he had obtained from reaching max affection with Syr were rted to Fertility, Vahn even suspected that Syr was the reason the pub had been established in the first ce. He wondered how she would react when word got around that he was considered a demigod of fertility himself since he now realized she was very obviously a demigoddess of fertility...or something simr. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tinas Trauma,Mns Concerns,Syrs Influence) If youd like to support my ******* so I can continue writing the story and expanding the world even further, please follow the link below~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $735/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 207 - Routine Loneliness

Chapter 207 - Routine Loneliness

After leaving the Hostess of Fertility, it was nearing 3 PM and Vahn didnt have anything nned. He thought about visiting the Twilight Manor and meeting with Tiona and Ais but didnt think it would be appropriate at the moment. Vahn started to consider if he should be taking the next few days off in the real world while seriously focusing his efforts in the orb. Since he would be staying near the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn could easily visit Hephaestus and Eina over the next few days while checking up on Mn and Tina. Vahn spent the rest of the afternoonzing about the City and taking in the various sights and sounds while he contemted future matters. In this time, he had been hearing several rumors about himself and the matters that had taken ce the prior night. Even though he had only been forced to leave the Hephaestus Familia just this morning, it seemed to be a popr topic of discussion in the general popce. Till now, his name was known but his face and figure had remained rtively obscure and most people didnt recognize him. Now, however, Vahn noticed several people giving him a variety of different looks. Since the information spreading around had his normal appearance, Vahn decided to walk through the town in his Bih form to avoid attention. Even though he actually stood out quite a bit because of his striking appearance, most people couldnt recognize him as the Former Vulcan. As he was no longer part of the Hephaestus Familia, his alias had actually been stripped from him and some people were even calling him a God Killer even though it was made public that he hadnt actually done the deed. Before experiencing it first hand, Vahn hadnt realized how quickly information spread through the Citysworks and it was somewhat disheartening hearing what some people said about him. Though he wasnt too concerned with their opinions, it still made him feel a little sad that people he had never met saw fit to pass judgment and draw conclusions about his character. Even though it was known that Laverna was leading a Crime Familia, Vahn was still painted as a menace that didnt know how to show proper restraint. Fortunately, Mn and Tinas names seemed to have been covered up while spection about the identity of the actual god killer was still a mystery. By the time 5 PM came around, Vahn was sitting atop a tall building that could overlook arge part of the City. With his stealth and agility, there were few ces Vahn couldnt get to unless they were protected by barriers. Since he could see the magical energies of formations, there wasnt really any chance of Vahn being detected by normal means. As he sat atop the seven-storied building, Vahn overlooked the City in silent contemtion before finding a t area toy down and enter the orb. Once inside, Vahn spent some affectionate time with Eva and noticed her behavior had transitioned from being overly affectionate to a more supportive and docile temperament. Instead of greedily seeking pleasure and warmth, they spent more time cuddling and talking about the future and each of their various troubles. It was during the first of many of these sessions when Vahn learned about the issues between Eva and (Nameless). Even though she made an effort to treat it better, she couldntmunicate with it well and it always seemed to get distracted whenever it was left to its own devices. It had developed the habit of digging up some of the nts in her garden which had irked her a fair amount. Though she still fed it, after a few months of failed attempts to get along with it, Eva gave up trying. The final straw had been when she tried to force it to take a bath, but the water actually made it smell worse. Vahn had also noticed that (Nameless)s loyalty had diminished a fair amount in the time he hadnt seen it, but it quickly replenished to a normal level after Vahn interacted with it a bit. Perhaps because it was feeling neglected within the space, but (Nameless) always reacted positively when he was around. It was likely due to their bond and spiritual link and its ability to easily understand Vahns thoughts and orders. Vahn also didnt think poorly of it, and never shied away from giving it a bit of affection. Even though Vahn also found (Nameless) quite ugly, he didnt want to be the type of person that neglected those that have chosen to follow him. Since (Nameless) had been his first subordinate and would be one of his long-timepanions, Vahn wanted it to be happier. Though it wasnt much, he purchased a hearty meal for it and even gave it arge cor with a non-descript golden nametag which was currently left nk. It seemed to be very happy and even tried to affectionately lick Vahns hand for a while before he just pet its head to avoid the foul smelling breath. Eva even made him wash his hands plentily when it came time for their bath or she wouldnt allow him to touch her. Vahns resolve to give (Nameless) a good name became more firmly cemented in his mind as he returned it to its magic core state and ced it back into his inventory before leaving. Eva didnt seem to mind being in the space alone since Vahn had given her a veritable warehouse full of books and items to keep her upied. They make things easier, Vahn had purchased nearly 100,000OP worth of building materials since he remembered she had once wanted to build a castle. She put a lot of effort into construction and meticulously maintained the garden they had nted together, so Vahn thought increasing the scale ording to her interests would be a good idea. They spent a few hours together with Eva in high spirits as they talked about the design which ended up looking like a miniature castle straight out of a fairy tale. Back in the real world, Vahn was in much higher spirits after interacting with Eva in the orb-space. He went back toward the Hostess of Fertility where he spent dinner alongside Tina and Mn and even had a short conversation with Ryuu before parting. Vahn was somewhat surprised when she seemed to be interested in joining his Familia in the future when he had exined his intentions to turn it into a righteous Familia. He was unaware at the time, but Ryuu had already resolved herself to support him alongside several other members of the Hostess of Fertility like Chloe and Syr. The three girls had, without exining things fully to Vahn, decided they would help expand his informationwork and try to manage things on the darker side of the spectrum to prevent Vahn from being overburdened by those with malicious intent. When Vahn had returned to the Inn, he felt strangely lonely while he was sleeping in the unfamiliar bed. Though he hadnt realized it before, there had almost always been someone sleeping alongside him for more than a month without an exception. Now that he was in bed alone, Vahn felt like the night air was surprisingly cold and he used his [Heart of the Eternal me] to keep himself warm as he conversed with Sis about future ns and possible solutions. By her suggestion, Vahn decided to spend the next few days using the resources he had avable to him to increase the strength of his foundation. Though they wouldnt offer a great increase in his parameters, they would promote his growth in the future while increasing the number of parameters he could obtain per level. The majority of the items came in the form of various pills that could be ingested immediately, and each of them caused Vahn some degree of difort as his body processed the effects. Vahn consumed them all before going to sleep while nning to make use of the remaining powders in his future baths. Morning came sooner than he expected and Vahn once gain felt somewhat lonely to awake to an empty bed. With a sigh, he returned to the orb and refreshed himself by spending more time with Eva. Since she had four years to manage the construction, the miniature castle had already beenpleted and Eva expanded the walls of their previous house and garden and turned it into a small courtyard. The biggest impact to Vahn had been the various statues that Eva decided to decorate the area with. When he had seen the first one, Vahns mind nked because it was a 5m tall nude version of himself striking a heroic pose while cradling a n.a.k.e.d Eva in one of his arms. Though the craftsmanship was incredible, Vahn felt awkward every time he saw anything depicting himself. He felt like the version Eva had created in her mind was something much greater than he currently was and Vahn even felt somewhat pressured by her expectations. Since it was only the two of them that could enter the space, Eva wasnt shy at all when it came to creating her paintings and sculptures, and the mostmon medium had always been Vahn and herself in various scenes. There were paintings where they would be sitting amongst nature peacefully while others showed fantastical scenes where they were fighting titanic creatures hand-in-hand. Eva even had a wing of the castle where she had forbidden Vahn entry and the overly serious look on her face had caused him to swallow hard before making a promise not to. It was fortunate he listened to her as well since the artwork within her private wing was much more intense than anything on disy outside. She had seen Vahns somewhat inhibited response to her earlier pieces and lost any confidence she had in letting him see what she believed to be her true masterpieces. By the time Vahn had left the orb again, his mentality had stabilized quite a bit and he was making more progress in his forging, though only by marginal amounts. He had gotten the suggestion from Sis to try and use his [Eyes of Truth] to assist in the creation of items and now Vahn was slowly trying to adapt to the ability. Unfortunately, the expenditure of energy was far too high so Vahn had limited sess and couldnt create any kind of magically infused materials at all. Once he returned to the real world, Vahn took a bath using some [Intermediate Body Strengthening Liquid] before meditating for a few hours until it was time to head to the Hostess of Fertility for lunch. Since the pub didnt typically open until 10 AM, they didnt serve breakfast since they required time to clean up and prepare everything after the close of business the previous day. Tina always ate while sitting in Vahnsp, and he felt like she was bing overly reliant on him in a manner simr to Lili. Mn always acted more reserved, but she still sat next to Vahn as they all enjoyed their meals together. Vahn missed the yful and teasing nature that she used to have and hoped that she would be able to recover sooner since it would likely help Tina stabilize as well. During the lunch, Vahn was finally able to reunite with Chloe but she was acting uncharacteristically polite and attentive since she was being considerate of Mn and Tina. Vahn felt somewhat apologetic toward her since he actually wanted to spoil her quite a bit after everything that happened two days ago. Since she was very perceptive of him, Chloe noticed his intentions and teased him a bit when Mn and Tina had finally returned to their duties. Chloe stepped forward with a mischevious smile as she stroked Vahns chest and stomach yfully with squinted eyes. Vahn countered by hugging her waist and trying to kiss her, but she lowered her head slightly and Vahn ended upnding on her forehead which caused the cat girl tough in a, Nyahaha like manner. Vahn smiled at her antics and just held her closely for several seconds until she rxed in his arms. After a while, Chloe whispered in a somewhat sensual tone in Vahns ear, "If you still want to know about me...I cane to your Inn tonight...and we can talk~nya." Her words had tickled his ear and caused Vahns brows to raise slightly. When he turned to make eye contact with her, he noticed she actually had a bit of concern in her eyes and her aura was fluctuating slightly. Vahn sighed in his mind because he realized she must have known he was feeling somewhat lonely. He asked in a low tone, "Is it really that easy to read my face?" His words caused Chloe tough cheerfully before she ced her hand on his cheek and smiled. She whispered in a quiet tone that couldnt be overheard even if others had been listening attentively, "It is indeed very easy~nya. But, it is one of the best traits about you...it makes it easy for people to trust you and allows us to share your concerns. Make sure to keep your window unlocked tonight~nya." Vahn smiled and held her closely as he once again nted his lips on her forehead for a while before pulling away and resting his forehead against hers. Staring at her from so close made Vahn feel like there was no distance between them as he looked into her caring and glimmering green eyes. He felt like Chloe was one of the most significant people in his entire life and wanted to know more about her so they could be even closer. With a light smile on his face, Vahn whispered, "Ill be waiting..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Evas Artistic Inclination,Poor (Nameless),Chloes Invitation) If youd like to support my ******* so I can continue writing the story and expanding the world even further, please follow the link below~! /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $735/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 208 - Night Visit

Chapter 208 - Night Visit

The intimate parting they shared after lunch ended up creating an awkward situation when Vahn returned to the Hostess of Fertility in the evening for dinner. He had spent time within the orb as usual and hadpletely forgotten that he had nned to be eating lunch and dinner with Tina and Mn for the time being. When Chloe saw him after their earlier promise, she actually beganughing after seeing Vahn embarrassed. While she served the three their meal, she kept teasing him more and more even though Mn and Tina had been present. When Vahn finally left the Hostess of Fertility and returned to the Inn, he was feeling somewhat tense as he waited inside his room with the windowtch unfastened. Chloes antics had caused him to feel slightly nervous about her arrival and he ended up waiting for several hours before he started to get tired. As hey back onto his bed, he remembered that the Hostess of Fertility didnt actually close until muchter and Chloe would likely be working until closing. Since there were still a few hours, Vahn decided to rx and take a nap while keeping his domain spread loosely around the entire Inn. He could easily distinguish Chloes auras from others, so he would be able to detect her the moment she arrived outside the Inn. This was how, around 2 AM, Vahn was able to awaken early enough to clear his mind and receive Chloe the moment she tried to sneak in through the window. Seeing Vahn casually open the window for her as soon as she leaped onto the ledge, Chloeughed amusedly before making her way into the room. After looking around for a few seconds, Chloe sat on the bed and removed her outer cloak as she asked, "Were you waiting outside the window for me this entire time~nya?" Since she had arrived in the attire she wore during her missions, Chloe began to get morefortable as she kicked off her boots before crossing her legs on the bed. Vahn shook his head in response to her earlier question and answered with a smile, "I was waiting earlier, but I decided to take a nap after remembering howte the Hostess of Fertility closed." Vahn removed the stealth aspect of his domain and converged it to only epass the room which caused Chloes brows to raise as she remarked, "Your divinity can be spread without creating any pressure and you were able to detect my arrival? That is a very useful skill, Im actually quite jealous~nya." Vahnughed at her antics as he sat next to her on the bed and prepared himself to listen to her story. Chloe didnt immediately begin her story as she peeled off her gloves and dropped them onto the floor before removing her dark blue tunic that concealed her modest b.r.e.a.s.ts behind a simple ck bra. Vahn was somewhat surprised by her actions until sheid on the bed with her back to him and removed her bra as well. Now she only had on her white shorts and a pair of ck stockings as she looked toward Vahn with a somewhat mischevious gleam in her eyes. Vahn was somewhat distracted by her lithe figure and the ck cat tail that danced around slowly above the shorts Chloe was wearing. He almost felt like there was a subtly hypnotic rhythm to its movements and it wasnt until Chloe spoke that he turned his eyes away from the sight. She giggled a bit and said, "I heard youre great at massages, so in exchange for me telling you my story, I want you to spoil me a bit~nya." Her words made Vahn smile and he warned in a yful tone, "If I do it the normal way, you might not be able to speak at all~." His words caused Chloes eyes to squint as her smile deepened a bit. After a period of silence, she said, "That sounds somewhat interesting~nya. For now, got easy on me a bit~nyahaha." Vahn nodded his head before cing his palms on her bare back. Though he didnt use [Hands of Nirvana], it didnt mean he was unaware of the proper points to conduct the massage. It wasnt nearly as effective as when he used the skill, but it was stillparable in quality to an expert masseuse. Chloe writhed a little under his hands as sheughed in her characteristic cat-like intonation. She seemed to be really enjoying his caress and it made Vahn feel more confident in his own skills. The fact that he could get such a reaction without relying on [Hands of Nirvana] made him feel satisfied with his own progress. He continued to trace his fingers along Chloes back and relieving some of the tensions that had built up in her body. Vahn was surprised with how many knots he found which implied she was somewhat stressed out as a result of her daily activities. While Vahn was giving her a massage, Chloe was paying attention to his expression and how he was treating her body. She was somewhat relieved to see that Vahn didnt lose his sensibilities when she had removed her bra and entrusted her body to him. Though it wasnt too serious, she had been worried that Vahn was still overly reliant on s.e.x.u.a.l stimulus and would require her attention. Now, however, it seemed like he was perfectly fine and treated her body with care and focus without showing any signs of losing himself in the moment. Chloe suddenly felt a lot safer in the room and began to genuinely enjoy the attentiveness of Vahns actions. It was her dream to always be spoiled by young boys and, even though Vahn was maturing, he still fell well within the boundaries of her preference. Now that he was spoiling her in such a skilled manner, Chloe felt like she was living a pleasant dream that made her feel a strange sense of fulfillment. After more than an hour passed, Vahn was beginning to think Chloe had fallen asleep and had forgotten the purpose of her visit. Since he had to enter the orb in around two hours, he wanted to hear her story before he experienced the three-day gap in his awareness of the real world. He could see she had a veryfortable expression on her face and it looked like she wasnt far from just falling asleep with a happy expression. It wasnt like the times when people had passed out under his hands, she seemed to be genuinelyfortable. Vahn felt like teasing her a bit so he could change the flow and atmosphere, so he traced his thumb at the area right above where her tail connected to her lower back. Chloes awareness immediately came back as she looked toward Vahns face with curiosity before lifting herself onto her elbows to get a better look at where his thumb was. Realizing his intent, Chloe showed a mischevious smile that seemed to Vahn as if she was taunting him. With a smile on his face, Vahn changed from preparing to press his thumb against the base of her tail as he ran his palm along her back that was covered with a lightyer of sweat. When she had turned around, Vahn got a peek at her uncovered b.r.e.a.s.ts and the slightly pink protrusions that had been hidden previously. Now that Chloe had broken from her absentminded state, he didnt have to tease her anymore and just continued to pamper her a bit. Chloeughed before turning her body around and facing Vahn without bothering to cover herself at all. Sheid back on the bed before patting the area next to her which Vahn took as permission toy next to her. Once he did so, Chloe turned her body sideways and oriented toward him as she began to idly stroke his chest while staring at his face. She had a smile on her face, but Vahn could see a mncholy spread in her eyes as her aura began to droop and fluctuate a bit. Reaching his hand under her body, Vahn pulled Chloe into his chest and felt her modest b.r.e.a.s.ts press into his body as she continued to hold eye contact with him. Vahn used his left hand to stroke her face as he said in a gentle tone, "Please, tell me...I want to know everything about you." His words made Choes eyes open very slightly before she released a sigh and rested her head against the pillow next to him. After a brief period of silence, Chloe began to recount the tale of her past and the life she lived before they met. --- Her tale began long before she had actually possessed any awareness about herself or her surroundings. Chloe had been born into a Familia that specialized in Assassination and providing security for various criminal organizations in the Empire located to the west. Both of her parents had been enforcers in the Familia while her Father had specialized in assassination. Ever since the first moment she could actually recall, Chloe had been trained to follow in his footsteps and quickly developed the skills necessary to take on jobs by the time she was eight. As a child assassin, it made it very easy for her to approach unsuspecting targets before quickly robbing them of their lives. Whenever she performed well, she would be praised by her father as well as the other members of the Familia. Though her mother resisted the fact that her daughter was exposed to such dangers at an early age, there wasnt much she could do to change the minds of those around, including her husband. Chloe was a naturally gifted assassin and learned new skills quickly and had a very high sess rate. Unaware of how corrupted she had be, Chloe continued to kill her targets with great enthusiasm so that she could receive the praises of everyone around her. She developed ackadaisical mentality and a cheerful demeanor to make it easier to approach others and spent all of her efforts on trying to improve as an assassin. Her mother had worried about Chloes mentality and future happiness, so she started having Chloe y with simrly aged children at a nearby orphanage. As it was the first time Chloe associated with children her own age, her mentality quickly began to change as she enjoyed her time with the other children. Unfortunately, due to her experience as an assassin and the warped personality she had developed, Chloe wasnt able to easily adapt to the mon sense of the other kids. When one of the kids had suffered a somewhat harsh punishment by own of the orphanage attendants, Chloe actually snuck into the mans room in the middle of the night before slitting his throat. Thinking that her friend would be happy that the person that punished her was dead, Chloe showed up the next day with a smile only to see the young girl she had helped had broken down into tears. It was the first time Chloe had killed someone and, instead of being praised, it brought harm to one of the people she cared about. After that, she stopped going to the Orphanage and refused to take on missions with the same enthusiasm she had in the past. Her father was disappointed in her and berated her for being a failure, but her mother treated her with kindness and consoled her at night. Things continued this way for a few years and Chloe only epted missions after performing careful investigations of her targets. She started to realize that the Familia she belonged to was actually an evil organization and noticed that she had been treated as a convenient tool to eliminate their enemies. The only person that seemed to actually care about her was her mother who would always console her after her missions. Chloe no longer sought approval and praise for killing her targets and even started to hate being an assassin. Chloe wanted to change her profession and do something that didnt involve killing, but no matter how much effort she put into other things she always ended up being asked to take another life. She was simply too good at her job and had been brainwashed by the Familia around her to the point where she almost had two different personalities. Even when she tried to resist and refuse work, she and her mother would be mistreated by their own allies until it got to the point where her parents eventually got divorced. Soon after that event, some of the members of the Familia tried to sneak into the ce where she and her mother were sleeping and her mother died trying to protect her from the assault. From then on, Chloe was truly alone in the Familia and began to hate their existence. If not for the vows she was bound by and the crest on her back, she wanted to run away and leave this nightmare behind. Eventually, she managed to convince the goddess of the Familia to agree to let her leave, but only if she could eliminate a well-known knight of the Empire with a simple dagger. Though she nearly died in the process due to the heavily armored knights skill with a de, she managed to eventually edge out ahead when, after she had nearly been defeated, the knight got overconfident. Since he found her to be cute, he wanted Chloe toe live with him and he would help train her to be his personal disciple. Even though she was only eleven at the time, Chloe was Level 3, the same as the knight even though he was twenty-five. He saw her as a useful tool that he could groom ording to his own preferences and ideals. Chloe pretended to submit to the knight and he tried to force her to strip down her clothes and leave them behind so that she could truly leave behind her life and devote herself to him. He told her that from then on, she would only do as he ordered, wear what he bought her, and act in the manner he designated. Chloe eded to his demands and began to strip down as the man watched her with an evil and possessive grin on his face. The moment she reached down and pulled her panties to the ground, Chloe lifted the knife off the ground before plunging it into knights throat when he had dropped his guard in anticipation. The knight had an incredulous face as he fell to the ground with Chloe on top of his body and a knife in his throat. Thest thing he had seen before he faded away into perpetual darkness was the petite and n.a.k.e.d form of Chloe covered in his own blood while looking at him with absolute disgust on her face. Following that event, Chloe had officially reached Level 4 and was given leniency to leave the Familia after having her crest removed. From then on, she traveled around the continent until finally arriving in Orario a yearter. After arriving in the City, Chloe had trouble finding any real work and didnt have any interest in bing an Adventurer so it wasnt long until she took up her old habits. She started killing criminals under the alias of ck Cat and became notorious in the criminal underworld. Though it wasnt the best living, she made a decent amount of money off of bounties up until the point where she epted the request to kill a first-rate adventurer named Shakti that was the Captain of the Ganesha. It had been at a time when she desperately needed money, so Chloe epted the job even though it wasnt the normal type of mission she took. Unfortunately, Shakti had been far stronger than she expected and Chloe had nearly died after a very brief exchange. From then on, she refused to ept missions to kill first-rate Adventurers and focused solely on eliminating criminals. Her life continued in this way until she epted the bounty to hunt down Ryuu, who was worth 80MV at the time. The mission ultimately failed and Chloe realized that Ryuu was a good person that had only gotten her bounty after being falsely used of killing her own Familia. The two became closer after the fact and ended up joining the Hostess of Fertilityter alongside Chloes good friend Lunoire that she had met shortly after entering the City. For the first time in a while, Chloe was happy and enjoyed working at the Hostess of Fertility and even joined a new Familia in Melen when she visited it with Syr in the past. It was called the Fjord Familia, and they specialized in fishing and trade which appealed to Chloe since her favorite food was fish. However, even though she found a good job and joined a new Familia, Chloe still couldnt overlook some of the more evil natured people around her. She would often moonlight as an assassin and epted missions to hunt down criminals. Though there was a bit of conflict when Mama Mia found out, Syr had managed to talk her down and Chloe had been spending life ever since living both in the light and the darkness of society. Vahn listened to her words in silence as he continued to gently stroke her back. He could tell it wasnt easier for her to recount the events, even though she tried to y off some of the sadder parts withughter or a smile. When her story was finallyplete, Vahn raised her chin and looked into her eyes with a profoundly sad expression on his face. Chloe had seen his look and it infected her as well as a slight mist began to speckle her eyes. Seeing the approaching tears, Vahn showed Chloe a gentle and loving smile before kissing her on the lips. She didnt resist his actions at all and even reciprocated with a somewhat muted passion. When her tongue entered his mouth and ovepped with his, Vahn noticed that it had a slightly different texture than any of the other girls he had kissed. He pushed that matter to the back of his mind and immersed himself in the moment as he tried tofort the girl that had seemed so strong to him but had born such a heavy burden for so long. After a few minutes, they separated and Vahn wiped away some of the tears that had snuck their way out of her eyes with his thumbs. He kissed her on the forehead before saying, "You are one of the strongest women Ive ever had the honor of knowing. Thank you for sharing your past with me Chloe..." Though Chloe still had a bit of mncholy in her expression, she felt like a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders after she shared her story with Vahn. Seeing the care and concern he had for her made her heart feel a warmth deep within. She had been paying attention to his expression the entire time she recounted her story, and there was not a single moment when he looked as if he was going to judge her for her past. Even though she had killed so many people and had be a tool for others, Vahn didnt seem to mind at all and she could see that he genuinely empathized with her. The warmth in her body continue to grow when they started to kiss and she felt very safe in his embrace even though she had sworn off men ever since the incident with the knight. One of the reasons she liked younger boys was because they were still innocent and it felt like she had control over the situation. Remembering how an older man had looked down on her like she was a possession in the past, Chloe had been making an effort to avoid them for thest eight years. Now, being held by Vahn, most of her fears felt like they were slowly draining away. When she saw his expression change and heard his words of gratitude, the warmth in her chest felt like it was beginning to melt her heart as she looked into his eyes and said, "Vahn, I think I might love you..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: The skilled Mortalhand,What is an Empire before an Emperor?,Chloes confession) /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $735/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 209 - Proof

Chapter 209 - Proof

Hearing Chloes words, Vahn felt slightly pained but also felt a gentle warmth slowly spreading through his body. He could tell she meant her words, but Vahn also understood that she was vulnerable after telling him her story. Though it was a strange realization, Vahn felt like the Chloe in his embrace right now was simr to himself from the past. It was almost as if their roles had reversed and Vahn felt that if he epted her at this moment, Chloe might dedicate herself to him entirely. She already did so much for him, and Vahn didnt want her to experience such a sad life, even if he did his best to make her happy. Chloe had been watching him attentively and realized that Vahn felt a little lost at hearing her confession. Though she could see the affection in his eyes, Chloe felt like she had pushed things too far, too quickly. Since he was going through a lot of rapid-fire changes in his life, her confessing to him now almost felt like she was trying to take advantage of his weakness. Her initial reason foring to him tonight was to helpfort him, but now their roles had reversed entirely because of the security he brought her. Before she could get lost in her own thoughts, Vahn tilted her head and locked eyes with her as a smile spread on his face. He spoke gently and with a firm conviction as a subtle blue light shone in his aquamarine eyes, "I dont want you to be reliant on me, just as you didnt want me to be reliant on you in the past. You should know, better than most, that I care about you deeply. Ever since our first date, your image has been firmly imnted within my mind. The things you taught me have helped to shape my character and have put me on a path where I can experience real happiness." The warmth that had begun to fade from Chloes body began to spread again and she could feel her own body temperature rise. From Vahns perspective, he could see a flush cover her face as her eyes turned slightly glossy. Taking a breath, Vahn continued, "I love you as well Chloe...for a long time. I want to save you from the darkness and help you find happiness." Chloes face beamed with a smile, but Vahn could see a sad expression in her eyes as she anticipated his next words. Holding her closely against his body, Vahn said in a pained voice, "I want to ept you right now...but Im not ready. Im not strong enough, and there are too many things going on in my life that it feels like Im being spread thin. I want to shower you in affection and be together, but I dont want us to cross the line. Just like you told me after our reunion not long ago, I dont think either of us is ready to have s.e.x..." Unexpectedly, Chloe beganughing after hearing Vahns words and it caused his brain to buzz a bit since he wasnt sure what he had done to garner such a response. In Chloes mind, she had been worried that Vahn was going to turn her down because she pressured him too hard. She didnt expect that his mind had immediately turned to s.e.x and that he had been worried about them being too intimate with each other. They had already affirmed their feelings during the reunion he talked about, and she just wanted to confess how she felt since she hadnt been able to do so previously. Vahn didnt know how to respond to how she was behaving, but he noticed her affection had hit 99 after hearing his words. This actually made him feel even more confused and he failed to react before Chloe sat on hisp with her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes with her gleaming green eyes. Vahns felt a bit of a panic well up inside him until Chloe smiled and said, "You idiot, I dont need something like s.e.x to love you. Its more than enough right now that we both feel the same way about each other. Im aware of your situation better than most and I wasnt going to try and pressure you into doing anything since one of the things I was worried about was your reliance on s.e.x.u.a.l activities to begin with." Her words made Vahn realize that he had jumped the gun on matters and drawn a strange conclusion because of hisck of experience with these types of situations. Because he had dealt with girls like Hephaestus, Tiona, and Ais, Vahn had a slightly skewed version of what it meant to love someone other than family. He also remembered that it had always been him telling Chloe how he felt and her giving him a chance. This was the first time she had genuinely confessed to him, and he got a bit carried away considering that they were currently in bed and he had been somewhat distracted by her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Chloe saw the goofy look and the realization in Vahns eyes and began tough in a mischevious manner that made Vahns healthy tanned skin blush. At this moment, Chloe truly felt like Vahn was a young boy whocked experience and it made her heart itch a bit even though she resisted her own urges. She did, however, lean forward slightly to the point where her face was just a few centimeters away from his. Vahn was feeling a little fl.u.s.tered after beingughed at in such a serious moment. Even though he knew Chloe wasnt actually making fun of him, it still felt strange having one of the girls he cared aboutugh at him. When she leaned close, Vahn felt like she was teasing him since he could see the outline of her b.r.e.a.s.ts and cleavage when she leaned forward. Even though her b.r.e.a.s.ts were on the smaller side, they had a healthy and youthful appearance which seemed to glow in the moonlight. Chloe had seen where his eyes had been drawn, but she ignored it as her smile took on a strange, almost predatory look. She leaned against his chest and pressed her body to him as she whispered in his ear in a sensual manner, "Even if we dont have s.e.x...I want you to show me your love..." The itching in her heart continued to increase in intensity, but Chloe maintained her rtive calm as she waited for his response. Vahn could feel Chloes heart beating powerfully in her chest since she had been pressing herself to him so closely. His heartbeat seemed to try and match her rhythm and her words had caused a buzzing sensation on his temples. Thinking what he could do to who her his love, Vahn suddenly realized why she had leaned forward since he saw a slim ck figure waving gingerly behind her back. As the realization hit him, Vahn reached his hands around her lower back as he grit his teeth in preparation. Tracing his hand along her lower back, Vahns right hand came into contact with Chloes tail and it immediately twitched and became rigid with his touch. He felt Chloe hold on to him more tightly without resisting so Vahn mustered his courage and gripped the base of her tail in his hand with a bit of strength. Immediately after, Vahn felt a throbbing pain in his shoulder as Chloe bit painfully into his flesh with her slightly sharp canines. Without shying away, Vahn continued to stroke her tail with his palm while pressing into it with his thumb. Each of his movements caused Chloes body to tremble and he could feel a wet sensation flowing down his chest. Vahn recognized the sticky dampness as his own blood but paid it no mind as he used his left hand and made use of [Hands of Nirvana] to trace his finger from the connecting point of her tail and up her spine. Chloe immediately mped down even harder onto his shoulder and Vahn could feel her drawing deep breaths that tickled his neck. Her heart was beating powerfully, and Vahn felt like it was on the verge of exploding if he continued any further. When he finally released her tail, Chloe pulled away from his body with an enamored expression that actually made Vahn feel a strange emotion that was hard to exin. Since she had bit into his shoulder with enough force to leave a scar, there was a bit of his blood that had stained her lips and had dripped down her chin. If not for his interactions with Eva, Vahn probably would have been somewhat terrified of the glowing green-eyed cat girl with his own blood dripping from her mouth. Instead, he showed a gentle expression as he reached his right hand to her face and wiped the remaining blood from her chin. His response and reaction made Chloe feel like she was about to lose her mind since she had expected him to have at least a little bit of hesitation. It had to be known that, because of the intensity that he grabbed her tail with, she had actually bit him much harder than she intended. Even now, there was a fair amount of blooding from his shoulder which hand stained the entire left side of his tunic. She felt a mixture of guilt and excitement at having been able to leave her mark on him after he gripped her tail with such tenacious fervor. As Vahn was preparing to clean up the mess, Chloe leaned forward and opened up the buttons of his tunic as she began to run her somewhat rough tongue along the blood stains on his body. Her actions reminded him a lot of how Ais had reacted when she tasted his blood in the past and how Eva almost always treated him. Curious, he wiped up a bit of his own blood on his finger and tasted it to understand for himself why they behaved in such a way. He already knew his blood was special, but he had never gone out of his way to ingest it himself. Other than the taste of iron, Vahn also noticed there was a strange...sweetness? Though it didnt taste good, Vahn felt like his own blood had a calming effect that made him feel strange. Worried that Chloe might learn a bad habit, he stroked her hair a bit before he pressed her shoulders to separate her head from his body. She still had the enamored look from earlier but it was tinged with a bit of confusion as she looked into Vahns eyes. Worried that he thought she was weird, Chloe exined, "I just wanted to help you clean up...since I was the reason you bled so much. Saliva helps close wounds~nya..." Vahn noticed her vocal tick hade back and realized she felt embarrassed by her own actions. Heughed a bit and continued to stroke her ears as he said, "You dont have to worry about that, I can heal the wound easily and there are towels and water to clean up the mess. Come on, lets get ready for bed, its already prettyte." Then, without any hesitation, Vahn leaned forward and kissed the blood-stained mouth of Chloe with a bit of passion until she fell back onto the bed to escape. She looked incredible defenseless and was breathing heavily as she looked at Vahn with her same enamored eyes from earlier. Seeing the lithe body of Chloe wearing nothing but a pair of white shorts and ck stockings, Vahn felt like a dangerous feeling was welling up inside of him before he quickly removed a towel from his inventory and wiped down his own body. Chloe stared at his actions as she spent nearly three minutes just trying to calm her own breathing. When Vahn had kissed her earlier, it felt like her body had gone into heat because of his earlier action of grabbing her tail. Everything he did made her emotionspound and she had to escape his embrace before things got dangerous. However, she hadnt expected that, the moment she fell back, all of the strength in her body had failed her. She was stuckying there on the bed as Vahn looked at her defenseless body. For a very brief moment, Chloe ovepped the image of Vahn with the knight from her memories and felt an inexplicable sense of dread. The powerlessness of her body reminded her of her past trauma and she feared that Vahn would try and take her with the same possessive greed that she associated with men even though they had promised temporary celibacy. The scariest part was that she was in a state of such excitement that she wouldnt be able to resist him at all. When she looked at his face with a bit of fear and trepidation, her mind temporarily nked because she saw, not possessiveness and greed, but love, affection, and concern. He didnt make an attempt to ravish or dominate her body, he just stared at her with his same gentle expression as he began to wipe down his body with a towel. All of the fear she felt began to melt away as the image of the knight in her mind shattered into inconsequential fragments. //Chloe Lolo Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: B Rewards:10,000OP, 1x[Hearts Desire: Chloe Lolo] Grade Rewards: 1x[Proof of Affection], [Mixing:C] Development Ability obtained, 4,000OP (A/N: Alternate Titles: Om nom nom,Vahn has high blood sugar,Touchy the Cat) (A/N: For those unaware of Chloe) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- vite.wikia.nocookie/dungeon-ni-deai-o-motomeru/images/3/3a/Episode_Ryuu_Volume_1_265.jpg/revisiontest?cb=20170408232127 vite.wikia.nocookie/dungeon-ni-deai-o-motomeru/images/4/49/Chloe_Rollo.png/revisiontest?cb=20150522230640 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $735/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 210 - Desires (1/2)

Chapter 210 - Desires (1/2)

After Vahn finished wiping down his body, he noticed an itchy feelinging from his shoulder that drew his attention. Since he had read about the ecology and attributes of all the races, Vahn knew that Cat People secreted an enzyme from their mouth when excited which would cause a wound to close quickly but prevent it from healing fully. This was how they marking ceremony usually worked when the female would bite their partner. It was supposed to ward off other girls by showing them that the male was imed. Since Vahns body could naturally filter stuff like toxins, it had the same effect when it came to the enzymes generated by Chloe. If left as is, his body would probably naturally recover and the scar would be gone in a few hours. While he was thinking about a solution, Sis said, (*You dont need to worry about it as long as you want the mark to stay.*) Vahn was surprised that she spoke out since Sis usually kept silent when he was interacting with others. Before he could ask, she continued, (*Remember that your body isprised of Source Energy and your form adapts to the ideals and desires you have. As long as you want the wound to stay, it will not heal fully.*) Her words shocked Vahn because, if his deduction was correct, that would also mean that his body didnt change unless he chose... Answering his question before he could answer it, Sis exined, (*That is indeed the case, Vahn. Though you still age, your body doesnt mature naturally in the same way as a normal person. Your constitution is closer to the gods of this world and, if you so desired, you wouldnt physically age at all.*) Vahn remembered that, when he first came to this world, Sis had informed him that his body was always his ideal, but he never really considered what that meant. He initially thought she was referring to his body when he first arrived in this world and never considered that it might be the case indefinitely. That would mean that the only reason he changed at all would be because the way he saw himself changed. The reason for his inexplicable growth spurt and the physical maturation of his body was because he wanted to appear more reliable to the people around him. As if to confirm something, Vahn asked in his mind, ("Does that mean...I can change my body however I want?") After his question fell, he could hear Sisughing in his mind for a few seconds before she said, (*It has to be how you truly see yourself or what you genuinely wish to be. Unless your desire to change is strong enough, you wouldnt be able to change form quickly.*) Vahn released a relieved sigh because, if he truly could change however and whenever he wanted, he was afraid that he would lose his sense of self over time. It would be easy to get caught up in being what other people wanted him to be and it would cause his rtionsh.i.p.s to develop in a strange manner. It did give him a bit of hope about the future though since he had actually been someone concerned about his own p.e.n.i.s size. If he learned to change his own mental image, he should be able to make it easier for some of his future partners to deal with. As the thought passed through his mind, Vahn could hear Siss bell-likeughter in his head. He had never heard her act so unreserved before and he was about to ask if anything had changed. Expecting his question, Sis responded in a cheerful sounding voice, (*Other than your Soul Tier increasing, nothing much has changed with myself or the functions I have ess to. I was justughing because your concerns were very cute.*) Vahn tried processing what she had just said and wanted to retort that there had been some kind of change given how she was acting. She just assured him that it was a result of his own mental development so Vahn eventually epted her exnation before turning his attention back to Chloe. Though it might have seemed like a lot of time had passed, he had been conversing with Sis for the few minutes when Chloe was trying to regain her breathing and organize her thoughts. After he had gotten the notification for the questpleting earlier, Vahn noticed that Chloes gaze toward him had changed in a very subtle but impactful way. Even when she had 99 affection for him, it had always been something like [Trust], but now it had actually converted itself to [Love] when she reached 100. Though it was only a single point difference, it had a much more powerful implication with the inclusion of that word. Once she had finally stabilized her breathing, Vahn helped wipe down the sweat off her body and the two eventually ended up cuddling together. For the first time, Vahn got to experience what it was like to genuinely hold a woman in his arms as Chloe entrusted her back to him while he embraced her from behind while they were both on their sides. Even though they were simr in height, Vahn felt like Chloe was much smaller than he expected since her figure was thin and lithe. When they bothid on their sides, other than her h.i.p.s, which drew a captivating curve, Vahn felt like he was much wider than she was. It made him feel a strange emotion like he was protecting her, which was a notion also shared by Chloe who had quickly fallen asleep after she wrapped her tail around Vahns leg. When she had done so, Vahn suddenly felt like he was stuck in this position for the rest of the night, almost like she was preventing him from running away. Heughed a bit on the inside as he rested his forehead against the back of her hair and enjoyed her scent without directly inhaling it. Since they had both been topless, Vahn enjoyed the warmthing from Chloes back and the fact that they were able to hold hands while he embraced her from behind. Because of the length of the story and howte Chloe had arrived, it was already slightly after the time when Vahn was supposed to enter the orb, but he believed Eva would understand the situation after a bit of coaxing. After waiting for Chloes breathing to transition into a deep slumber, Vahn removed the orb and held it in his right hand has he immersed his consciousness into it. Eva had been waiting for his arrival, but she wasnt mad at all since she knew about the things that had been going on around Vahn in the real world. Though she felt a bit exasperated when she found out the matter concerned a woman, Eva didntin and just got Vahn to treat her with increased affection for the three day period. They spent a lot of time rxing in the pond she had created within the castles boundaries and Vahn promised to find a way to bring in some live animals to popte it in the future if he could. During this three day period, Vahn spent the majority of his time forging as normal, but there was also something else he had decided to do since the opportunity presented itself. Before he returned to the castle to clean up and tend to Eva, Vahn pulled out two small marble-like orbs into his hand and entered a period of silent contemtion. The dark blue orb with a yellow light belonged to Chloe, while the crimson orb with purple light belonged to Loki. They were each of the girls [Hearts Desire]s and Vahn intended to use his time in the orb to use them both. The only reason he hesitated was that, even after having a form of reconciliation with Loki, Vahn was still somewhat unnerved about her hearts desire. Since he got to experience a bit of their past from their perspective, Vahn was somewhat afraid of what he would see within the small orb. He feared that, if things were twisted to a degree he couldnt tolerate, he might not be able to approach Loki in the future even though he empathized with her. His concerns about Lokis desire also made him hesitate about using Chloes since it almost seemed unfair to skip over one woman and move on to another. After a bit of hesitation, Vahn shook his head after remembering everything Loki had been trying to do for himtely. She had made vows for him, lead the negotiations with Ouranos, and even promised to change her rtionship with Hestia for the better. He couldnt ignore her efforts, especially after she had exined the way Divinity works and had even allowed him to bind her with [Enkidu] just to prove herself to him. Crushing the tiny orb in his hands, Vahn felt the air stagnate as time slowed to a crawl. Visions began entering his mind and Vahn saw a sight that would fundamentally change his perspective about many things... Vahn, as Loki, was standing in a great stone pantheon surrounded by gods and goddesses with blurred facial expressions. All the normal colors and vibrancy of the world seemed dull and monotonous as she continued ying a never-ending game with all of the unchanging and egotistical gods around her. No matter how much time passed, even though they underwent various experiences, none of the gods and goddesses around her ever seemed to change. She too, suffered from the same curse, since she was alwayspelled to continue going about her day to day life creating new schemes and causing chaos in the godlymunity. Though there were many people that she pretended to get along with, Loki hated every other god and goddess while feeling disgusted about her own existence. She felt like a ve that was bound to fulfill a purpose she had no interest in, but no matter how much she tried to change it and resist, she always gave in after the fear of death encroached on her mind. She didnt want to disappear, because the thought of non-existence terrified her ceaselessly. Millenia turned into eons as the monotony continued while she yed the role fate had assigned her. She had various enemies and allies, but no matter how interesting things became, she would always bepelled to cause chaos and drive a wedge between the rtionsh.i.p.s she had without everyone around her. If not for her ability to exploit the Divinity of the others, Loki would have little to no interactions with other gods and goddesses. As time passed, her hatred for her own existence and the existence of other gods grew to a level where it felt like she would be driven mad. She especially hates gods that didnt seem to be influenced much by their Divinity and those whose Divinity brought them happiness. However, the more her hatred grew and the longer she lived, so too grew her fear of ceasing to exist. She didnt want her life to be a waste where she had no aplishments other than serving her purpose in the grand prison of Heaven which was thought of as a paradise by the ignorant mortals. If not for the fact that taking action would result in her destruction, Loki would have done everything in her power to forcibly change the monotony of her life. She desperately wanted to kill the other gods and create chaos in heaven. If she could, she even wanted the chaos to spread to the mortal world since she had long grown jealous of the freedom possessed by mortals. If not for the fact they were the only interesting thing she had seen in her tireless existence, she would have tried to reign down judgment on them. Eventually, a time came when one of the gods had discovered a way for gods to descend from Heaven and seal away some of the constraints of their own Divinity. Though she would lose the majority of her power, Loki was one of the goddesses that descended in the early batches so that she could experience life among mortals and finally escape her prison. However, even though it was far more interesting associating with humans and she got the opportunity to experience a variety of unique forms of stimuli, Loki was still unhappy. She was still a ve to her own Divinity and it even influenced some of the children she had taken a liking to and forced them along a difficult path. If not for her desire to eliminate all the things that restricted her entertainment, Loki would have wanted them to lead a better life without being bound by her influence. Just as she was a ve to her own Divinity, so too were her children a ve to her whims, schemes, plots, and selfishness. With her eyes turned toward the sky, Loki imagined what it would be like if she had enough power to destroy everything and reset the entire world. She wanted to destroy it all, thews, the aspects of Divinity, the Gods, and even the Heavens themselves. The only thing she would spare would be the mortals of the world who put in so much effort to create meaning in their short lives. Even though they only lived for a fraction of her continued eternity, each moment of their life felt more real, more impactful, than anything she experienced even when living among them. Loki hated the unchanging nature of the world, herself, her fellow gods, and the prison of eternity that threated any happiness she might seek out with absolute destruction. She wanted to escape from it all and find some way to break free from the endless cycle... Eventually, as she was continuing the eternal cycle of her existence, Loki came across something new, something she had never expected to find. Even in all of the years she had lived in Heaven and amongst mortals, Loki hadnt even considered the possibility of such an anomaly existing. Though she only thought he was a marginally more unique demigod at first, Loki quickly discovered that the boy, Vahn Mason, was something far more than her expectations had led her to believe. After a serious of investigations and interactions with other gods and goddesses, she slowly obtained more information about the boy by using her own Familia as leverage to get ess into his life. She was eventually able to strike a deal where she would be able to directly influence the boy, but that led to a result, a revtion, that she had never expected. After attending a meeting with some of the girls, women, and goddesses that sought out the boy, Loki learned about the boys origins and the existence of an item that transcended all logic. If the words she heard were true, she would be able to have a child with the boy she had taken an interest in and finally experience a truly dynamic change outside of her own influence and expectations. Even if she had to change everything about herself on a fundamental level, Loki couldnt pass up such a unique opportunity. For the first time in her eternity, she believed she may have found a way to escape from the endless cycle. She could finally see an end to the monotony, the games, the schemes, and the cycle of hatred that defined her life. If she could be with the boy, Loki would finally be able to experience a life, a sequence of events, outside her expectations and control. She immediately set out to guarantee this woulde to fruition and hoped that the boy wouldnt force her to do something drastic... (A/N: I know some people might be a bit confused about this chapter, and you have to understand that Lokis life and mental state are actually intentionally chaotic. An easy way to summarize her desires is: She wants to be free from the prison of her own Divinity. If she cant be free, she wants to destroy everything and spare the mortals since they, though bound by their own mortality, live truly free lives only restricted by themselves and others.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Be Yourself,Lokis Desire: Hatred, Destruction, Freedom,Vahn opens Pandoras Box) /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 211 - Desires (2/2)

Chapter 211 - Desires (2/2)

After seeing Lokis hearts desire, Vahn sat in silence for more than an hour as he processed everything he had witnessed. Whenever he used a [Hearts Desire], it not only showed him the memories of the person but also allowed him to experience some of their thoughts and emotions as well. Even when he had used Hephaestuss in the past, he wasnt able to recover immediately since he had to process the loneliness of millions of years of existence. Though he had expected Loki to have suffered to an extent, Vahn waspletely unprepared for his visions regarding her life. Hephaestus had disliked forging, but most of her trauma was rted to her deformity and desire to find a worthypanion. Loki, however, seemed to suffer for simply existing since her Divinity required her to always scheme and cause chaos. She couldnt trust anyone, not even herself, and she genuinely hated existence itself. If not for her powerful fear of disappearing and desire to break free from the shackles of her own Divinity, Loki would have likely ceased to exist long ago. Just as he had experienced with Hephaestus, Vahn couldnt even begin toprehend how difficult it would have been to live such an existence. He had spent a mere fourteen years as a prisoner with no hope of escape, not even death. Loki, however, had spent millions of years as a prisoner and was forced to act in a way that increased her suffering. She couldnt make any real friends and was required to manipte those that got close to her. Though it was a strange thing to empathize with, Vahn actually somewhat understood why Loki disliked Hestia. Because Hestias Divinities pertained to the Hearth, Architecture, and the Home, it was almost guaranteed that any suffering or loneliness she experienced would be mitigated. All she had to do was act as the role of an observer that offered advice and support while other people did the majority of the work. Vahn even began to realize why Hestia was treated like a Goddess of Laziness after making that realization. He imagined what it would be like from Lokis perspective when she realized he would be joining the Hestia Familia in the future...it made sense why she would be angry. This didnt mean that Vahn would treat Hestia any differently, however, since her personality aligned with what Vahn considered to be ideal. He remembered that Hestia always worked hard and put her best efforts into supporting those she cared about, at least in the mortal world. Vahn wanted to bring the two of them closer in the future since, if he could get Hestia to empathize with Loki, she might actually experience what its like to have a genuine friend. Vahn also hoped that, by the time Loki had a child, he would have discovered a way to divert the focus of her Divinity and channel it into something tamer than Trickery, Mischief, and Chaos. After calming his mind a bit, Vahn looked at the dark blue orb in his hand before promptly crushing it as well. The same feeling of time freezing urred and, for the second time in a single day, Vahn entered into the visions of a [Hearts Desire], this time for Chloe. --- When Vahn awoke in the visionary space, he realized it was simr to the time he had met with Nanu, except for the fact that he couldnt see Chloe anywhere in sight. He turned his head and inspected the shards and images floating through space and realized many of the scenes contained within were simr events to what Chloe had described earlier. He could see versions of her at varying ages and watched her go through the process of being molded into an assassin. Though there were no sounds, Vahn did get to see an image of the goddess of Chloes former Familia. She was a tall goddess with short red hair andpletely ck eyes that seemed to absorb light. Her attire consisted of leather clothing with various straps and pockets, and she had more than ten daggers just based on what Vahn could see. Though her eyes lookedpletely devoid of emotions, it was her smile that unsettled Vahn the most. The way she looked at the young Chloe was very simr to how Dr. Keenly had always looked at him in the past. Though it appeared amiable on the surface, it was the smile of someone that had aplete grasp of the situation and had grown ustomed to exploiting others. If not for the fact Vahn knew her behavior was rted to her Divinity, he would have made a personal vow to oppose the cruel looking goddess in the future. Unless Chloe specifically asked him, Vahn wanted to let her memories of that time fade from existence entirely... After spending a great deal of time within the ck space which seemed to ripple with every step he took, Vahn began to feel a bit worried and confused about what he was supposed to be doing. He had watched several of the images of Chloes past, but no matter how much time passed, Vahn never saw the avatar of Chloe anywhere. It wasnt until he stopped browsing the images and sat down on the watery surface to ruminate over his thoughts that things began to change. Though he hadnt noticed at first, it wasnt long before Vahn saw the images within the space begin to break down and deteriorate and Vahn felt like it was simr to the time when he had watched his own memories fade after his first death. The more attention he paid the images, the longer they remained but, the moment he turned away, they would begin to break down into particles of light. Vahn began to worry a little because he didnt know what would happen if all the images faded and he was unable to find Chloe. If not for the fact that he had seen Nanus images break down previously, he likely would have been experiencing a great deal of panic. He had talked to the young chienthrope after the matter and she seemed to be able to recall her past easily, so Vahn assumed the visions he was currently seeing had more to do with The Path than the actual persons themselves. After a period of what felt like several days, most of the images had ceased to exist when Vahn stopped focusing on them. By the time things had stabilized, there were only a few images in the space which Vahn hadnt noticed previously. Curious, he began to browse through them since they didnt seem to be deteriorating like the memories from before. Though he didnt recognize everyone in the images, Vahn saw several of the girls from the Hostess of Fertility interacting with a cheerful looking Chloe. Unlike the sad and lonely memories of the past, all of the remaining images seemed to be of more happy times. Even though there were still asions where Chloe took on missions, Vahn noticed she had always been doing so to help others. He even saw her ying with children outside an orphanage while being apanied by Syr. As he moved further ahead in the images, Vahn even came to the point when he had first met Chloe when he visited the Hostess of Fertility of the first time. Unlike the earlier happier images, that had white or blue glows to them, the images with himself had warmer colors likes yellows and oranges. He eventually even found the memory of their first date and got to experience first hand how awkward his behavior was from the perspective of another. His former self, though still handsome, looked like a homeless person that hadnt practiced proper hygiene. When he saw himself in new clothes and with a haircut, Vahn saw that the images had taken on a somewhat rosy color for a brief moment. The rest of the images after that were Chloes interactions with the people she cared about while he made brief appearances in many of them. Though he couldnt exin why, Vahn felt happy as he watched the scenes y out, almost as if he was experiencing the emotions of Chloe at the time. Eventually, some of the images became tinged with pink and they were often the scenes where he had been spoiling her after awakening from hisa. He felt a giddy feeling as he watched them and he was able to understand that Chloe had been genuinely happy at those moments. Her love for young boys and the thought of being spoiled by them was quite powerful and Vahn had the peculiar experience of looking up at his own face from the perspective of Chloe. It was strange because he seemed to be a lot more handsome than he remembered and his own eyes seemed to be like deep pools full of care, concern, and affection that made him feel slightly unnerved by the sight. Finally, Vahn arrived at the night when Chloe was recounting her tale and recalling her past while being cradled in his arms. Though the scene was somewhat bluish in color, it was also interspersed with yellows and pinks which became more prominent as the scene yed out. Vahn could feel all of the emotions experienced by Chloe at the time and also had the strange opportunity to experience the warmth of his own caress against her back. Suddenly, as he was focusing on the sensation, Vahn realized the caress wasnting from the image at all as he turned and saw the nude figure of Chloe standing slightly behind him with a mischevious smile on her face. Though his eyes were temporarily drawn to her body for a brief moment, he eventually made eye contact with her as she beganughing in a yful manner. Without saying anything, she pointed toward the memory Vahn had been experiencing so he turned his head to continue watching. After he had done so, the avatar of Chloe put her hands around his body and hugged him from behind. She rested her head against his back as he watched the scene continue and began to whisper in a low voice, "I dont care about the past anymore...as long as I can enjoy this warmth. I want to see it...the future illuminated by your light." Vahn was listening to her words in silence as he watched the scene progress to the point where Chloe had mounted him after their misunderstanding. At this point, the scene had turned into a rosy red color with pink and yellow hues and Vahn could feel a happiness, unlike anything he had ever personally experienced. The version of himself in her memory seemed to brightly illuminate the dark room as Chloe leaned against his body. When the Chloe in the image bit into the Vahn within, the avatar of Chloe hugging his back did the same in the ck space. Unlike the painful sensation that he experience in the real world, Vahn could only feel the overwhelming happiness of the Chloe in front of him as well as the one behind him. Things continued all the way until the point where Chloe had copsed onto the bed after their passionate embrace. Vahn noticed that, for a very brief moment, the luminance of the image had turned to a chaotic purple before he could hear the shattering of ss in the space around him. The chaotic purple aura vanished and was reced by a vibrant golden color that radiated pinks and yellows that made the overwhelming sense of happiness he had experience earlier pale inparison. Vahn realized that the lights in the image wereing from his own body within Chloes memory and it brought him a powerful feeling of security. He could feel the avatar of Chloe hugging him tightly all the way up until the point where he hugged her in the memory. The empty ck space began to break down at a visible rate, but Vahn didnt feel worried or concerned at all as he felt thefort of both the Chloe in the memory being held by him, as well as thefort he could feel right now as the avatar of Chloe cradled him in the same manner. The avatar of Chloe whispered in a cheerful tone, "You can feel it...wefort each other and experience the same happiness. The light inside you drives away the darkness inside of me...so make sure to hold me close so I dont get lost." As her words tickled his ear, Vahn opened his eyes and was once again in his workshop within the orb. He heard a notification sound within his mind, but he ignored it for the time being as he just dazedly ruminated over everything he had just experienced. After nearly half an hour, his emotions began to stabilize and Vahn looked within the system to confirm his suspicions. He felt like that ck space full of memories was something that appeared when he alreadypleted the [Hearts Desire] of a person and was able to confirm it when he saw the earlier notification. //[Hearts Desire: Chloe Lolo] fulfilled. Extra parameter Love unlocked.// [Chloe Lolo]: Love 148(Devoted) //Bond established with [Chloe Lolo]// //Optional Quest Triggered// [Quest: A Mans Responsibility, Repeatable] Rank: B-SS Objective: I.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Chloe Lolo (0). Ensure a safe delivery; Current Children(0) Rewards: 100,000 OP, 1x [Guardian:(Nameless)] Failure Condition(s): Death, Chloe Lolos Death, (Nameless) Childs Death Penalty: 200 Karma (0) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn, Godly Stalker, Chloes Hope,The Optional Quest of Destiny) /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 212 - Sleeping In

Chapter 212 - Sleeping In

Vahn stared at the notification for a while and could feel a warmth spreading from his chest when he imagined the scene of him and Chloe back in the real world. Even now, though he was a spiritual body, Vahn realized he could feel the connection between them if he focused his mind. Since he had a bond with those that loved him, Vahn was able to sense their feelings if he put in enough effort. Even though almost no time was passing at all for his physical body, Vahn could still feel the warmth shared by their connection. After recovering from his reverie, Vahn went about the remainder of his final day within the orb in a pleasant mood. When Eva had seen the way he was acting and asked about it, Vahn avoided the topic by exining it was something he couldnt talk about while hugging her body from behind. Though she wanted to press him for answers, she too also felt secure in Vahns arms and just allowed him to hold her withoutint. Vahn always treated her well, but it wasnt often he acted in such a proactive and caring manner so she wanted to enjoy the experience. They spent the rest of the time within the space together until Vahn finally returned to the real world and once again felt the natural warmthing from Chloes back. It was very simr to the sensations he had felt in the ck space when he used her [Hearts Desire] previously. Not only could he feel the pleasant feelingsing from her body, but Vahn could also subtly feel the way Chloe currently felt. He remembered the feeling of security she had within the dream, so Vahn hugged her closely until he finally fell asleep a few minutester. Because they had gone to bed sote, Vahn and Chloe ended up sleeping in until around noon when he was awakened by Chloes movements. At first, because he had been holding her from behind, Vahn could only see the back of her head and had been enjoying the subtle fragrance of her hair. When she woke up though, Chloe turned around in his arms and faced toward him before hugging his body. Vahn could see her green eyes almost glowing as a happy and contented smile appeared on her face. Before she said anything, Vahn leaned forward slightly and gave her a short peck on the lips before smiling and saying, "Good morning, Chloe..." His actions caused her tough yfully before she repeated his actions on her own initiative. The kiss she gave him was markedly more passionate however and it seemed like things were beginning to progress into a strange direction when she leaned into his body with enough force to be resting on top of his chest. Though she didnt mount his stomach, which seemed to bemon from Vahns experience, she still leaned against his body with hers and Vahn could feel the springy and soft sensation of her b.r.e.a.s.ts pressing into his bare chest. The situation was a bit awkward though since Vahns right hand was pinned under her body and it felt weird to reach around with his left hand because he would only reach parts of her body from his current position. After a minute or so had passed, Vahn decided to free his right hand and reach it around Chloes body before trying to hug her close to him. Her reaction was to stop resisting entirely so, instead of being held directly against him, Chloe actually rolled onto her side before turning belly-up whileying across Vahns stomach. She immediately startedughing and Vahn wasnt sure how to react to the strange maneuver for a few seconds until he finally decided to stroke the line of Chloes navel with his palm. She seemed to enjoy his caress as she held her hand on top of his and stared into his face with a happy and somewhat enamored expression as she said, "Good morning, Vahn...nya~." Vahn smiled in response before helping to lift her body with his left hand to pull her in for another short kiss. This time, she mounted his body properly and they locked eyes briefly before Chloe began stroking the bite mark that had been permanently embedded into his shoulder. Vahn was watching her actions while hugging her body around the waist. He had a somewhat mischevious smile on his face as he gently stroked her tail with his index finger. Though it wasnt as intense a reaction as the previous night, Chloes eyes squinted slightly as her tail twitched with each of Vahns movements. Just as it looked like Chloe was about to say something to egg him on, Vahn smiled and asked, "Do you work today? Chloes mind nked for a moment before she removed her hands from Vahns shoulders and held them upwards like she wasmenting against the gods in Heaven, "Nyaaaaaaa~! Mama Mias gonna kill me~nya!" She then immediately tried to crawl off the bed to get changed, but not before Vahn was able to loosely grab her tail. Her momentum carried her forward and allowed her tail to pass end to tip within Vahns hand so she copsed onto the bed face-first with another loud, "Nyaaaaaaaaaaaa~!" After giving Vahn a slightly aggrieved look with a blush on her face, Chloe put her clothes back on in swift movements while Vahn also got ready. Seeing Chloe had almost finished dressing in her ck Cat attire, Vahn red his hand before a stark white sundress appeared out of thin air. Chloe looked at it with a strange expression before Vahn said, "Its the middle of the day, people might think its strange if youre walking around in your assassin getup. Though you look like an Adventurer, there is always a chance someone might recognize you." Chloe considered his words for a short while before showing a mischievous smile and slowly stripping off her clothes. When Vahn averted his eyes out of habit, sheughed in a yful manner and said, "I want you to watch...to see the me only youre allowed to see~nya." Hearing her words, Vahn turned to Chloe with a slight smile on his face as he watched her slowly undress. Though he had seen them the night before, Vahn was surprised with how fair Chloes b.r.e.a.s.ts werepared to the slightly toned and lithe upper body. If not for his enhanced vision, Vahn might not have noticed, but they were a slightly lighterplexion than the rest of her body and Vahn could even see the briefest hint of subtle blue veins around the sides and near the pink protrusions of her n.i.p.p.l.es. Vahn suddenly realized something strange after thinking about the sundress in his hand and he asked, "Youre not going to wear a bra?" His words and confused expression made Chloeugh as she exined, "My bra is ck, so it would show through the fabric of the sundress anways~nya. Besides, the straps are alsorge and they would stand out~." Vahn nodded his head in response while thinking he should have been more considerate when he picked the color of the dress. He had wanted Chloe to wear something to signify his desire to separate her from the darkness so he had chosen a stark white color. Vahn though it would make her look more lively and enhance the cheerful and mischevious character of Chloe. Since he had purchased it in consideration for Cat People, there was even a hole for her tail with a cute little bow above it. After her upper garments were gone, Chloe bent forward slightly after loosening her belt and giving Vahn an almost taunting look as she thumbed the sides of her white shorts and slowly removed them from her body. Like the bra she had been wearing, Chloe panties were also ck and had a somewhat tame and simple design. It didnt stop them from standing out against the pale-skinned Chloe though since they were a stark contrast to the rest of her body. By the time she had removed her shorts, Chloe was standing before Vahn in a pair of small ck panties with ck stockings. With her ck tail, hair, and ears, it was an incredibly impactful sight for Vahn. With a big smile and slightly seductive look in her eyes, Chloe began removing her stockings as well, but not before she turned her back to Vahn. Her actions caused Vahn to swallow as he stared at her pert buttocks and the tail he had so decisively grabbed the previous night. Since she had to bend over slightly to remove the stockings, Chloes butt danced about from her movements and her tail following her actions while drawing Vahns eye. Clothed in only her ck panties, Chloe turned back toward Vahn with an excited blush on her face as she began to thumb the sides of her panties as well. Vahns mind buzzed in an instant before he realized what she was going to do. Since her panties were also ck, they would also stand out in the white sundress that Vahn had purchased for her. Reaching out his hand slightly, Vahn said in an over-excited manner, "Wait one second!" Chloe was shocked by his outburst, but the smile on her face spread slightly wider as she yfully traced her fingers along the band of her panties. Her actions caught Vahns eye, but he was somewhat distracted as he confirmed things with Sis within his mind. Fortunately, his intuition had proven correct so Vahn materialized a pair of whiteced panties in his left hand whichplimented the sundress since they had a small ribbon on the front. Seeing the pair of panties Vahn held out for her with a blush on his face, Chloe tilted her head and asked, "Nya~? You carry panties around in your storage magic~?" Her words caused Vahn to blush since he didnt know how to exin things in a rational manner given the sudden increase in his own emotions. Chloeughed at his reaction and snatched the panties from his hand without asking further. Vahn released a relieved sigh before his mind nked suddenly after Chloe quickly removed her panties while he had dropped his guard. She now stoodpletely nude in front of him while watching his expression with interest on her face. Since Vahn didnt say anything, Chloe slowly turned her body and stretched her limbs a bit in various angles as if she was showing off in front of him. The entire time she did so, Vahn watched in silence and took in the various sights as his breathing began to increase steadily. Even though he stared at her with passionate eyes, Chloe didnt feel like his look contained any negatives feelings at all. Vahn gazed at her body with interest and curiosity and an unveiled excitement as though every part of her was something he found to be new and exciting. Satisfied by his reaction, Chloe asked in a mischevious intonation, "Do you like my body~nyahaha?" Her sudden question caused Vahn to stare into her green eyes with a bit of confusion on his face as he processed what she just asked. After a brief period, Vahn smiled and said in a very serious manner, "Youre beautiful." This time it was Chloes turn to blush as her mind nked for a few seconds as she stared into his aquamarine eyes. She was stuck holding a somewhat awkward pose as if she was taunting him, and Chloe suddenly became overly aware of how forward she was acting. Without responding to hispliment, Chloe turned her gaze away slightly as she quickly put on the pair of white panties Vahn had purchased her. She noticed that the panties, though somewhat stretchy, perfectly fit her body without causing any difort whatsoever. For a brief moment, she imagined the bodies of the other girls around Vahn and wondered who he might have purchased them for. Shaking her head to clear the thought from her mind, Chloe returned to her mischevious expression as she walked toward Vahn before stopping right in front of him. Though she didnt ask, Vahn had a bit of expectation since he saw the look in her eyes. Rolling the sides of the sundress with his hands, Vahn ced it over Chloes head as she stretched out her arms to assist him. Vahn found out that he enjoyed helping girls undress but was also somewhat fond of putting clothes he had given them on their bodies. It wasnt nearly as interesting as removing the garments, but it still made him feel excited when he finally saw them clothed in an outfit of his choosing. Once she was fully clothed, Chloe looked around for a mirror and Vahn ced out arge standing mirror for her use. It was the kind that allowed a person to see their full body, and Chloe beganughing at the image of the lively young girl that was her own reflection. As Vahn had expected, the sundress suited Chloe well since it contrasted with her ck hair, green eyes, and ck tail. She had very fair skin and a lively expression on her face and it made her seem several years younger. Though she was only neen, Vahn felt like she tried to act far more mature than her age and it made him happy to see her current appearance. While she was caught up in her own reflection, Vahnughed and caught her attention as she looked at him with a mixture of love and curiosity. Just as she was about to ask what he found funny, Vahn said, "If you take too long, wont Mama Mia be even angrier~?" The loving expression on Chloes face slowly melted into one of abject terror as she repeated her earlier actions of spreading her arms in amenting fashion and shouting, "Nyaaaa~! We need to hurry~!" She then rushed out the door while Vahn followed behind her whileughing happily. As long as he gave Mama Mia a nice tip, she probably wouldnt be upset with Chloe at all. Syr had probably already exined things to her and any berating of Chloe would just be for the purpose of disy. Vahn just enjoyed teasing Chloe and found her current behavior to be far more suitable than the serious person she tried to act like at times. Vahn looked forward to being able to see her act this way more often as he nned various methods to properly spoil the girl who had done so much for him in the past. She had given him her trust, affection, and even love, and Vahn would do his best, not to return what she had given him, but care for and nurture it so they would both be happy. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Love is a shared experience,Strip Tease,The secret of the perfect fit) /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 213 - Roaming Around

Chapter 213 - Roaming Around

Since the Inn Vahn stayed at was on the same road between the Hostess of Fertility and the Babel za, the two arrived outside the pub after a short ten-minute walk. Along the way, Vahn held Chloes hand just like he had done so on their date long ago. To other pedestrians, they looked like a young couple walking through the City and enjoying each otherspany. Though they were supposed to be in a hurry, Chloe had waited for him outside of the Inn and they leisurely enjoyed the stroll and sunny weather. After arriving near the Hostess of Fertility, Chloe went toward the side entrance to change into her waitress clothing. She said that it would be a death sentence is she walked through the doors in her current getup while being apanied by Vahn. Since she was alreadyte, Chloe didnt want to do anything that might trigger Mama Mias ire. Before she left, however, Vahn used the [Proof of Affection] that he had obtained from Chloe reaching maximum affection. The item that appeared was a beautiful blue ribbon. Though Vahn found it somewhat strange that the item Chloe wanted was something so simple, she seemed to be very happy as she received it with a cheerful smile on her face. She hugged the ribbon to the side of her face with her eyes closed as if it was some great treasure. After a few seconds, she looked at Vahn with gentle eyes before handing the ribbon back to him. Vahn was somewhat confused until she turned around and said, "I want you to put it on for me..." Vahn ran through the knowledge in his mind to find a hint for what she was implying, but none of the books he had read mentioned anything about a ribbon and cat people. Unsure of what to do, Vahn held the blue ribbon and stared nkly until he noticed Chloes tail had been twitching while she silently looked away from him. Inspired, Vahn reached his hands forward and very gently tied the ribbon near the base of Chloes, right under the small white bow. Though it shed with the clothing a bit, Vahn felt like the pure blue colorplimented the silken ck hair of Chloes tail quite a bit. While he was lost in thought, Chloe said in a quiet voice, "You have to tie it tighter, or it will fall off~nya." Vahn followed her words and pulled the ribbon marginally tighter until it pressed into the fur a little. When he was done, Chloes tail danced about before she turned around and threw her arms around Vahns neck and gave him a kiss. Vahn held her by the waist and reciprocated her affectionate disy until she finally separated from him. She touched the ribbon with her fingers and made sure it was firmly fastened to her tail before sheughed in a silly manner and walked inside without saying anything. Vahn decided to ask her about itter or try to find out if there was some hidden meaning from one of the other cat people he knew. Since Mn and Tina were in a unique situation, that meant the only person he could ask was Arnya. Making his way through the front doors of the pub, Vahn looked around a bit before approaching the bar and exining the situation to Mama Mia. As expected, she had already heard about the matter from Syr previously, but Vahn still left her a tip aspensation for the trouble. She took the money with a boisterousughter and madements about how he was growing up into a fine young man. Afterward, Vahn ate lunch with Mn and Tina after asking Arnya to be their server. She seemed to be surprised by his request and even acted a bit fl.u.s.tered before eventually epting. The whole time she was serving the trio, Arnya acted in a somewhat sheepish and clumsy manner and even knocked over the pitcher of juice they had ordered at one point. Vahn immediately contained the spill with one of the towels he had in his inventory while Arnya apologized in an embarrassed manner. When lunch was finished and Vahn parted with Mn and Tina, he decided to ask Arnya about the matter of the ribbon since they were alone. He approached her and asked in a quiet voice, "Arnya, is there a special significance between cat people and ribbons?" Arnya was acting strangely since earlier and she tilted her head like she was confused about his question for some time. She was always a bit on the clumsy and foolish end of the spectrum, so it took her some time to make sense of what he was asking. She asked in a curious manner while tilting her head far to the side in a cutesy and contemtive manner, "It depends~nya? Where did you put it?" Vahn, without thinking about his response, pointed at the small brown tail of Arnya that had three lighter colored stripes and a bushy end and said, "I put it on the tail." Arnya tilted her head to the other side and thought about what he just said before looking at her own tail in confusion. After a few seconds had passed, she became very shocked and began waving her hands from side to side as she stuttered, "Nya-na-na-na-na, Im nyot ready for that~!" Without exining what she wasnt ready for, Arnya ran outside the door of the private booth as if she were escaping. She had a strangeughter and fl.u.s.tered expression that caused a bit ofmotion in the pub until Mama Mia threw a wooden cork that bonked her on the head. Vahn watched the entire scene y out with confusion on his face that was only made worse after he checked the notifications that had sounded in his head from earlier. Arnyas affection for him had always been in the lower seventies, but it just shot up to the upper eighties after he asked her the question about the ribbon. Since she wasnt one of the girls he had a peculiar rtionship with, Vahn was somewhat confused by the sudden increase. He almost wanted to retort that she was misunderstanding, but Arnya was often treated like an idiot by those around her and he didnt want to hurt her feelings. Seeing that the value was constantly increasing and decreasing and the fact that her status was kept fluctuating between (Curious) and (Love?), Vahn lost any ability toment. (A/N: Yes, that is Love with a question mark xD) Syr had approached through the door while Vahn was confused and he decided to exin the matter to her while also asking if she knew anything about tying a ribbon to the tail of a cat person. His question had made her brows raise a bit before she startedughing in a cheerful manner while covering her mouth. She looked at him and Vahn could see a gleam pass through her eyes as she said, "I saw Chloe with that blue ribbon, so you must have given it to her. Though there isnt any significant meaning most of the time, some cat people let their significant others tie a ribbon around the base of their tail. It is kind of a way to show they have been marked...after they marked someone." As she spoke, Syr had ced her hand on the cor of Vahns tunic and moved it aside to see bite mark Chloe had left in his shoulder the previous night. Vahn grabbed her wrist and pulled it away gently as she gave him a strange and soft look with a small smile on her face. Vahn now knew why Arnya acted in such an explosive manner since she might have thought he was inviting her to bite him as well. Since she considered herself and Chloe to be the poster cat girls of the Hostess of Fertility, she had an inclination to act simrly to Chloe at times. This was the reason she had taken to serve him on the days Chloe had taken off in the past and how they became friendly with each other over time. Since she had disappeared to the back of the kitchen where Chloe was washing dishes as punishment, Vahn assumed she would probably see the ribbon he had tied for Chloe and hoped things would be exined. As an extra precaution, he even asked Syr to try and exin things if there were any misunderstandings. Though he didnt mind Arnya and probably wouldnt turn her away if she liked him, Vahn didnt want their rtionship to start because of a misunderstanding. He had learned that lesson because of his interactions with Nanu and wanted things to progress in a more natural manner if possible. After parting with Syr and leaving the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn once again had nothing significant to do so he wandered around the City and inspected a few of the avable properties that were for sale and lease. Though he still intended to take Hestia around and search, there was no harm in investigating things himself. Some ces had formations and even escape tunnels that were hidden and were likely used by criminal organizations or disreputable types. Vahn even confirmed his suspicions once when he found a group of four people exit from a house that was supposed to be unupied. Since they all had muted grey auras, Vahn decided to follow them to see if they were up to anything bad. Though he didnt intend to act as the role of a vignte that clears the streets in secret, he couldnt overlook shady behavior if it happened right in front of him. There was also the fact that he was rather bored at the moment, so Vahn had been searching for something interesting to pass the time. The men eventually entered another building that looked like a bar and Vahn could detect several different types of auras inside. Not all of them were grey as there were some neutral colors and even some warmer colored auras inside. Through his perception, Vahn could sense the men approach the counter as their aura became slightly brighter. Realizing that they had juste to the ce to drink, Vahn shook his head and decided to not bother the men. He would just tell the Guild about the hidden passageway and have them investigate the building the men had used. Just as a precaution though, Vahn returned to the building himself to see if there was anything strange. There didnt seem to be any traps or anyone else present in the building so Vahn followed the corridor until it came to an end at another building that was also unupied. The four men from earlier likely knew thework of tunnels between some of the buildings and used them as a shortcut to evade the foot traffic aboveground. Exiting the building, Vahn looked around the area and didnt find anything suspicious even when he expanded his domain to the maximum. There were hundreds of people on the streets at this time, and there were a variety of different auras that could mean anything. Since there was nothing he could do, Vahn decided to just move on from the empty house and walk around for a bit to see if he could spot anything abnormal. It was somewhat exciting for him because Vahn felt like he was a detective tracking down a mystery even if there was no actual trail to follow. By the time 5 PM came around, Vahn had returned to the Inn before entering into the orb and spending another three days with Eva. Even though he had looked around for about three hours, Vahn didnt find anything too suspicious so he just reported the existence of the tunnels to the local guardsmen. Though they had wanted to question him, Vahn just used Shundo to disappear from their sights while leaving a few mysterious parting words for the confused men. Within the orb, Vahn continued to improve his forging and even acted as a live model for one of Evas paintings. When she was finished, she tried to goad Vahn into painting one of her, but he didnt have the technical or artistic ability that she had developed over her hundreds of years as a Shinso Vampire. He did give a try, however, though things became overlyplicated since he tried to put too much detail into things and got caught up fixing minor mistakes. Painting her face was easy and Vahn thought he might enjoy painting in the future, but when he moved on to try and shape out her body, Vahn couldnt keep his focus at all and made several mistakes. By the time he left the orb, he had created something that would have qualified as modern art in his previous world, though he didnt know this personally. Leaving the Inn, he went back to the Hostess of Fertility to eat dinner with the girls and was tended to, surprisingly, by both Chloe and Arnya. She was still acting in an overly fl.u.s.tered manner and Chloe teased her throughout the entire dinner while ying with Tina. The young cat girl had started to grow closer to the other women at the Hostess of Fertility and Vahn was happy that she didnt seem reliant on sticking to him as much. Mn always had a gentle smile on her face, and Vahn could see she was still heavily affected by the events, however. After dinner, Chloe approached with Arnya while holding her hands on Arnyas shoulders so she couldnt run away. She had a somewhat devious smile on her face as she pushed Arnya in front of Vahn. Seeing the look in Chloes eyes, Vahn felt like something troublesome might have happened as he stared at the sheepish appearance of Arnya. She saw him look at her and lowered her head as she brought her index fingers together in an overly frustrated disy of hesitation. Vahn released a short sigh and asked, "Did Syr and Chloe exin about what happened earlier?" Vahn was somewhat concerned that the misunderstanding had never been addressed, so he wanted to rify things before they got out of hand. His words caused Arnya to fl.u.s.ter a bit as a blush covered her face and she groaned slightly under her breath. Things had indeed been exined to her earlier, but she couldnt stop her mind from getting carried away afterward and had been in an extra-clumsy mood all day since then. Since Arnya didnt respond, Chloe exined that she and Syr had talked to Arnya earlier but that Arnya still wanted to say something personally to Vahnter. As if prompted by Chloes words, Arnya looked at Vahns face and said, "Can you...pet my head~nya?" Though he was somewhat hesitant, Vahn showed an awkward smile as he ced his palm on Arnyas head just as she asked. Since she wanted him to pet her, Vahn also stroked her hair and ears gently as she closed her eyes with a slightly frustrated expression on her face. The longer he stroked her head, the greater the number of notifications about her rising affection sounded in his mind. Vahn felt a bit nervous and pulled his hand away when it had reached 93 since he was afraid of the possibility that it would suddenly reach the cap if he continued. When he stopped, the frustrated expression on Arnyas face didnt go away as she gripped her own head with both hands and writhed about in a strange manner as if she didnt know how to express what she was feeling. Eventually, Chloe began tough at her actions before suggesting, "Arnya, you dont have to immediately push things so far. Vahn will being here to the Hostess of Fertility often, probably for years toe. Just rx and take things slowly~nya." As if grasping a lifeline, Arnya looked as though she had a revtion as she began tough in a cheerful manner. She looked at Vahn before leaning forward slightly and holding up one of her index fingers like she was about to lecture him and said, "Youll have to pet me a lot more than that if you want to win my heart~nya!" Vahn almost wanted to retort that he could have brought her to 100 affection if he hadnt stopped earlier, but he justughed away her words before saying, "Sure, Ill pet you lots in the future." His words caused Arnyas eyes to widen by arge amount as she stood frozen in her earlier pose. After a few seconds passed and she had processed what he said, she once again ran through the doors in a simr manner as earlier as she shouted, "Nyaa-nya-naaa, I w-ont let you pet me so easily~nya!" Her words caused anothermotion, especially since there were several people that drank in the pub in the evenings, and Mama Mia shouted as she flicked three bullet-like corks towards Arnya, Chloe, and Vahns heads. Though he could have avoided the attack, Vahn had seen the fierce look in Mama Mias eyes, so he let it impact him right in the forehead as she yelled, "We dont offer those kinds of services you brat!" /wiki/File:Arnya_Flomel.png (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tiny blue ribbon,Petting Fiend Returns,Arnya, the Dunce) /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 214 - Descent

Chapter 214 - Descent

After returning to the Inn, Vahny in his bed alone as he stared up at the roof and contemted how things would be changing soon. Though there were already several things happening simultaneously, Vahn felt like he needed to increase his focus on the promises he had made in the past. The most important thing was to forge an item for Hephaestus, and then he needed to increase his own influence within the City while guaranteeing the security of his friends and loved ones. Since he would likely have several children in the future, Vahn was beginning to worry about being able to provide a proper upbringing for them. Though most of the women he associated with were very capable and would probably provide for them well, Vahn didnt want to take a back seat when it came to his own family. It might be difficult, but Vahn wanted everyone to live together at some point, and even considered turning arge part of his residence into something akin to a daycare. Anubis was already very fond and considerate of children, and Vahn felt like Hestia would be a good influence on them as well when he thought about her divinities. The only people he was genuinely concerned with was Loki and Tiona, since their rtionsh.i.p.s were guaranteed to haveplications. Loki would probably want to heavily influence their child when it is born and Tiona would have to return to the Amazon Country, Telskyura when she got pregnant. Vahn had to increase his strength and confront the goddess named Kali that he had seen from her memories. Hopefully, he would have a lot of strength and support from others to give him some leverage, since Vahn didnt want to start a war between Orario and an entire country. The Amazons were one of the most powerful and war-like races in the entire continent and, though their poption wasnt too great, they would be a nightmare opponent for any other Country, Kingdom, Nation, or even Empire. With these various thoughts and troubles on his mind, Vahn slowly rxed his body and prepared to sleep. The solution always seemed to be to be more powerful or have more authority, so he would pursue both in the future. Instead of trying to think about the matters on his own, he would talk about them with the involved parties and they coulde up with a solution together. Content with this thought, Vahn fell asleep while looking forward to theing day. Everything would officially begin the moment Hestia descended tomorrow. Unexpectedly, Vahn detected a presence enter his domain in the early morning that he recognized. Shortly after, he heard a scratching sound before thetch on his window had been undone. The quiet and lithe figure of Chloe snuck into his room before he heard the sound of muffled clothes falling to the floor before she whispered, "Pretending to sleep~nya?" When her words fell, Vahn felt a weight shift in the bed as Chloe crawled under the covers next to him in nothing but her underwear. Vahn hugged around her body and cradled her in a simr manner as the previous night as he whispered, "I was wondering if you would try anything sneaky." Feeling the warmthing from her body, Vahn also felt a simr heating from his heart as the eternal me in his chest danced about rhythmically. Chloeughed in a silent and tired manner as if she was about to fall asleep. She wrapped her tail around his leg again before saying, "I thought this might be one of thest times we could be together in this manner...youre a pretty popr guy~nya." In response to her words, Vahn kissed the back of her head and stroked her hands which were holding his. He whispered in a loving tone with a small amount of teasing in his voice, "Even if its the middle of the day, orte in the evening, Ill always hold you if youre feeling lonely. Spoiling you makes me feel happy after all..." He then held her closely as she gave a silent Nn sound and the two fell asleep once again. Other than when he woke up to enter the orb, Vahn continued holding Chloe until around 9 AM when he woke her up so she wouldnt bete for work. He had the opportunity to see her sleepy expression andzy figure wearing nothing but creamy, light-beige, colored underwear. She had also brought the sundress Vahn had given her yesterday and wore it with a happy expression on her face. Vahn had curiously asked what happened to the panties and it caused her tough in a mischevious manner as she referred to them as her victory underwear for the future. Vahn escorted her to the Hostess of Fertility before separating in the side alleyway after a short embrace. He had noticed earlier that she removed the white bow around her tail almost as if she was trying to disy the bright blue ribbon for everyone to see. The thought made Vahn feel somewhat happy and he began to wonder what he could do to get more [Proof of Affection]s in the future. Giving the girls he liked gifts that they desired made him feel happy, and he also knew they were happy to receive them. Though it was still early, Vahn spent the morning talking with Tina after Mama Mia made an exception and let him enter before they opened. They then ate an early lunch since Vahn would probably be busy in the afternoon before parting ways after Vahn affectionately stroked her head. Before he left, Tina told him something that made his heart palpitate slightly. She had said in a very serious manner, "When you buy me a ribbon, make sure it is the same as the one you get for Mom. Her favorite color is green, and I think it is a nice color also~nya." --- While Vahn was dealing with future problems, Hephaestus was also preparing to do the same but in a distinctly different location. She had visited Babel Tower apanied by Loki, Anubis, and Eina in preparation to receive Hestia after she descends. Though she wore her normal attire, Loki had changed into a more casual outfit that consisted of a white long-sleeve button-up shirt as well as a pair of ck shorts that were slightly longer than what she normally wore. She had on a muted-ck pair of stockings and a pair of brown dress shoes. Even though she looked casual, it was actually a much more formal look than normal which made Hephaestus feel underdressed somehow. Anubis had even worn an elegant ceremonial dress with various golden ornaments that were studded with gemstones. Since Eina had also been wearing her professional Guild Staff attire, Hephaestus felt like the odd one out amongst the four present. She had worn her normal ck form-fitting pants and the loose-cored white shirt that she always wore when forging. She had on a bluish-ck pair of arm and leg protectors as well as a small belt where her hammer was stored. Though it was an outfit she enjoyed, and one Vahn hadplimented her own, Hephaestus still felt out of ce as she waited for the heavenly rays to converge on the tform in front of them. Around noon, the lights converge and solidify into a figure that was kneeling down on the ground. The white light took on a rosy hue as it slowly began to fade and revealed the person contained within. It was a small woman with long ck hair styled into twin-tails that were fastened by a pair of bluish-white ribbons in the motif of a flower. There were small bells hanging under the ribbons that glittered with a resplendent silver color. When she stood up, her height only came to around 140cm and she had a somewhat childish face with arge smile and a pair of clear blue eyes. She was attired in a short frayed white dress that clung tightly to her body and emphasized the pair ofrge b.r.e.a.s.ts that were framed by an opening in the dress that showed off the cleavage. Around her neck, there was a blue ribbon that matched her eyes as well as a second blue ribbon tied to her upper arms that went around her whole body and hugged under her b.r.e.a.s.ts almost as if to emphasize them even further. Loki immediately clicked her tongue but didnt say anything else as Hestia made eye contact with Hephaestus with a gentle smile on her face. Soon after, Hestia tilted her head slightly as if confused before her eyes widened and she pointed to Hephaestus and shouted, "Y-y-your eye! It got better!?" Before Hephaestus could even exin, Hestias expression turned into one of pure jubtion as she ran down from the tform and hugged Hephaestus whileughing with a hint of tears in her eyes. Since there was a 25cm height difference between them, Hestia ended up hugging around Hephaestuss ribs and it brought her face right to the fairly amble bosom on the forging goddess. Since Hestia herself actually hadrger b.r.e.a.s.ts, it created an awkward scene where they were stacked on top of each other while the two girls hugged. Hephaestus had adapted to not wearing her eyepatch and had forgotten to mention the matter of her eye being healed since the main reason she had contacted Hestia was about the problem regarding Vahn. After a while, Hestia also noticed that her eternal rival and a beautiful woman with dark skin and hair were also present next to a very secretarial looking half-elf woman. Since Oracles were very ambiguous, she hadnt been made aware of everything yet and her expression soured a bit when she saw Loki watching her and Hephaestus. While still hugging Hephaestus, Hestia frowned while looking at Loki and asked, "What is this washboard goddess doing here?" Though a vein popped up on Lokis temple, she forced herself to remain calm as her smile deepened a little. She said in a very casual manner, "Well be allies in the future, so it wont be beneficial to either of us if we fight like in the past." Her words caused Hestias eyes to widen because she had expected Lokis usual outburst and insults about the size of her b.r.e.a.s.ts and height. At no point in their rtionship had Loki ever not given her some kind of quip or barb, and she felt incredulous about things since she had been the one to say something rude first. Hephaestus managed to free herself from Hestias embrace and said in a very casual and cool manner reminiscent of her past self, "Well talk once we get somewhere more secure. There are various things we need to catch up on, and there is a lot of things that need to be exined." Then, Hephaestuss eyes turned very gentle as she smiled at the goddess she considered her best friend, "Thanks foring, Hestia..." Hestias mind was being overloaded by everything that was happening, especially after the matter regarding Loki. Hearing Hephaestus speak seriously before saying kind and gentle words, she remembered the purpose of her descent a bit and smiled widely and said in a very confident and caring manner, "You can always rely on me! Were best friends after all~!" She ced extra emphasis on the best friends part and thumped her ample bosom as if performing a mild salute. Loki flinched at the side because she had seen, almost as if in slow motion, the ripple of the impact pass through Hestias b.r.e.a.s.ts. Looking down at her ownckl.u.s.ter bosom and releasing a sigh, she resolved herself to ask what exercises Hephaestus had been doing to tone up her butt. After a few short words, the group of five made their way to the private residence of Hephaestus within the tower of Babel. Since she was the head of the 3rd ranked Familia, Hephaestus had a huge temple-like private residence on the 48th floor. Loki had a residence on the 49th floor, but they had decided to use Hephaestuss since there would be fewer issues if anything happened. Once they had arrived, everyone sat around arge rectangr shaped beautiful wooden table while Anubis saw to making tea. Hestia was surprised since she could tell Anubis was a goddess and yet she was acting in a very servile manner even though there was a mortal girl present. Her impression of the beautiful goddess increased exponentially because she liked people that were kind and considerate without using their status and authority against others. After everyone had their tea, Hephaestus and Loki began to exin everything that had been happening in the mortal world for thest few months in regards to Vahn. Even Eina pitched in to help fill in some of the nks while Hestia listened on with a mixture of emotions. She was very happy that her best friend had met a kind boy that was also able to heal her eye. When she found out the two were engaged, she was ecstatic and congratted her. However, soon after that, she found out that the half-elf girl named Eina was also engaged to the same boy. She then heard the story about Vahns origins and how he interacted with people and their interpretation that he was broken. Hestia felt terrible for the poor boy for having been made to suffer such a tragic fate but was happy to see that he had found several people that cared deeply for him. It was said that he was making rapid progress and maturing quickly, but that had also caused other problems because he overextended his boundaries and pushed himself too far at times. They then told her about everything that had happened during the events of Mn and Tinas kidnapping as well as the death of Laverna before they finally contacted her after negotiating with Ouranos. It was a lot to take in, especially the part about how Vahn was likely able to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e goddesses with some kind of magical chains. When she had heard that, not only Hephaestus but Anubis and Loki also intended to bear the boy named Vahns children, Hestia wasnt entirely sure how to feel. She was happy, excited, scared, and somewhat annoyed all at the same time. The proud look that Loki had on her face as she talked about her interactions with Vahn irked her a bit, especially when Loki proactively teased her about still being a v.i.r.g.i.n. After everything was said and done, Hestia had been brought up to speed on the matters regarding Vahn and was essentially asked by the women present to help Vahn create a home. It was Hephaestus and Einas desire that Vahn has a ce that he created for himself that wasnt provided for him by anyone else. Though it seemed strange, since they were essentially providing Hestia to him, it would still be a ce created with his own interests in mind. Hestia agreed to their request because she was also very interested in the boy called Vahn Mason and wanted to see if she could help him live a happier life. Strangely though, when she gave her assent, the mood turned strange and everyone present began cautioning her about Vahns tendencies. Other than Eina, every goddess present had experienced Vahns [Hands of Nirvana], and they believed it wouldnt be long before Hestia became another victim. Since she had a somewhatzy personality and loved to be spoiled by people, Vahn would likely get pulled into her momentum and tend to her needs. Being lectured by each of the girls, Hestias curiosity grew alongside her concerns as she looked forward to the meeting with the boy that she would likely be spending the rest of his life with. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Is it night crawling if they show up in the morning?,Hestias Shock,Hestia gets brought into the inner circle) /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 215 - Chance Meeting?

Chapter 215 - Chance Meeting?

After leaving the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn leisurely made his way toward the cafe near Babel Tower where he was told to wait. He was in high spirits because this would be the first time he would be meeting Hestia and would likely be able to join her Familia on the spot. Though he enjoyed his time in the Hephaestus Familia, he never really did his job or acted the role of ones of its members. Other than interacting with a few of the key figures in the Familia, like Hephaestus, Tsubaki, and Welf, he didnt even talk to many others. Though his intentions changed a bit as his rtionship with Hephaestus developed, Vahn had always dreamt of joining the Hestia Familia ever since he came to this world. One of the reasons he had joined the Hephaestus Familia in the first ce was so that he could meet Hestia in the future. He originally expected it to be closer to the start of the original storyline, but he had changed events to such a significant extent that she descended earlier. The fact that she was specifically descending for his benefit and to help Hephaestus made Vahn a little giddy with excitement. After arriving at the cafe, Vahn was escorted by the staff to one of the VIP lounges where he was served coffee and pastries while he waiting for the arrival of Hephaestus and the others. Since he loved the taste of sweets and had grown fond of the bitter and robust vor of coffee, Vahn was enjoying the leisurely and pleasant atmosphere. He was originally told Hestia would be descending around noon, and it was currently close to 1 PM, so Vahn had high expectations while his tensions continued to grow. More than three hourster, Vahn had gone through several cups of coffee and had even excused himself to use the luxurious bathroom once. Though his tensions were still high, he was beginning to feel slightly concerned with howte it was getting. He assumed nothing had happened, especially considering that Loki would be certain to attend, but he still felt a little nervous as the day continued to progress. Eventually, it came time for him to enter the orb and, after the three days inside, he hadpletely lost all of his tensions by the time he returned. Instead of worrying, Vahn decided to focus his mind and try toprehend the [Mantra of Eternity] while he waiting. Since he could enter a meditative state rtively quickly without losing his awareness of the outside world, it was an easy way to pass the time. After a few more hours had passed, Vahn checked the system time and saw that it was nearly 8 PM and there hadnt been any word from the staff about their arrival. He even began to suspect he hade a day early, but the room had been specifically reserved for today or he wouldnt have been able to enter so easily. Since the cafe closed at 8, Vahn had to leave the VIP lounge and exit the cafe with a bit of concern. Convincing himself nothing serious had happened, Vahn just released a short sigh before returning to his default state. The night air was cool and the stars were visible in the sky, so he decided it would be best to just walk back to the Inn and clear his head a bit. He would check with Hephaestus tomorrow and see if anything happened and likely meet Hestia then. As he walked through the streets, Vahn passed by a stall where a small figure caught his eye and he paused for a bit because he immediately recognized her. She had also been watching him and showed a bright smile as she said, "Good evening~!" After her greeting, she held her hand to her chin in a contemtive fashion as she appraised his body and asked, "Why are you walking around sote at night with such a sad look on your face?" Vahn smiled at her antics and responded, "I was waiting for a kind and gentle goddess toe meet me. Unfortunately, it looks like today wasnt my lucky day..." The girl began tough in a cheerful manner before she said, "Well, at least you got to meet a beautiful girl like me~!" Vahn nodded his head in response and said in a gentle tone, "Indeed, if only the goddess I had been waiting on was as beautiful as you, I dont think I would have minded waiting for another few years if necessary." His suave and yful words made the small girl beam as she puffed out her ample bosom with a mock haughty disy full of cheerfulness as she said, "Ehehehe, do you really think Im beautiful~?" Vahn nodded and said confidently, "Yes, you seem exactly like the goddess I had imagined in my mind. If only I had been so fortunate to have met you sooner..." Vahn looked toward the sky and stared at the stars as he wondered why Hestia was ying around with him. The beautiful girl he had been talking to and had greeted him was, in fact, the Hestia he had been waiting to meet at the cafe. Vahn wondered what had transpired for her to be waiting outside near the cafe while none of the others members he expected were present. Because of his reverie and genuine confusion, Hestia thought he was feeling sad since she had left him waiting for so long. After the meeting earlier, she had convinced Hephaestus and Loki to allow her to meet and judge Vahn for herself before she made her final decision. Even though she still intended to let him join her Familia, regardless of her impression, Hestia wanted to know what kind of person he was without having anything formally arranged. From her perspective, she could see that he was a very expressive boy that had a gentle and somewhat lonely expression. He treated people kindly and carried himself in a casual manner that almost seemed to blend into the night air. If she had known he was using his domain with stealth active, she probably would have realized her impression was partially skewed since Vahn often stood out normally. While he was still thinking, Hestia grabbed his hand and asked in a gentle voice with a caring smile on her face, "If I were a goddess, would you want to join my Familia? Even if I wasnt the person you were waiting for, I believe I can help you find happiness." Her words caused Vahn to turn his attention back to her and he still had a smile on his face as he shook his head, "You may be beautiful and kind, but I already decided to join the Familia of the goddess I was waiting for. Even though we havent met yet, she was the goddess rmended by one of the most important people in my life." At this point, Vahn figured out that Hestia had probably arranged to meet him in this manner after he was finally kicked out of the cafe. Though he wasnt sure why he somewhat understood she was probably testing him. Because he knew her so well from the manga, Vahn was willing to y along and see what she wanted to try. When she offered to let him join her Familia, he nearly said yes, but remembered that he had imed to be waiting for a goddess he had never met. Since they hadnt introduced themselves yet, Vahn thought it would be strange if he immediately epted her offer. Hestia beamed after he refused to join her Familia and Vahn noticed that her affection had increased from 66 to 75 in an instant. Since she had grabbed his hand earlier when she made her offer, Vahn was able to see the values and noticed her Intrigue, like almost every goddess he had met, was already at 100. Lowering her head like she was uttering a silent prayer, Hesta held his hand between both of her for a few seconds before looking back at him with a gentle, yet mischevious, smile. She asked, "What if I was the goddess you were waiting for this entire time~?" Vahns smile grew by a marginal amount as he looked into her crystal clear blue eyes and said, "I think I might be afraid..." His words caused Hestia to tilt her head and asked, "Afraid~? Why?" A gentle expression touched Vahns eyes as he said in a low tone, "Im afraid I may have used up all my luck in this lifetime. If the goddess I was waiting for was someone like you, I think the Familia they created would be a wonderful ce." His words made the smile on Hestias face grow even wider and she said in a very excited manner, "Greetings, Vahn~! Im Hestia, Hephaestuss best friend! She sent me here to meet you, but I wanted to see what kind of person you were, so sorry for making you wait!" As her words fell, Hestia bowed low for a brief moment before standing back up straight. Vahns brows raised a bit because of the degree her b.r.e.a.s.ts had jiggled in the process, but Hestia assumed he was surprised by her reveal. She began tough as if she found his disbelief to be entertaining and asked, "So, what will it be~? Do you still not want to join the Familia of this beautiful, kind, gentle, and caring goddess~!?" As she asked her question, Hestia ced emphasis on each of thepliments Vahn had given her earlier. Though he was a bit surprised by her liveliness, it was one of the reasons she had been one of his favorite characters in the manga. With a genuinely happy smile on his face, Vahn said, "I would love to join your Familia, Hestia...that is, if youll have someone like me." The moment he agreed, Hestia seemed to lose her restraint as sheunched herself at Vahns face with her arms spread wide. Vahn caught her body and noticed she was somewhat awkward to hold since he nearly grabbed her butt when intending to grab where the waist would have been on a normal girl. She rubbed her face against him and said in a lively tone, "Ahaha, Vahn, why are you so cute~!? Of course, Ill ept you in my Familia, that is why I came here~!" Though he expected Hestia to be the clingy type, since she always seemed to be dangling off Bell in the source material, Vahn was surprised that she immediately dropped her guard against him. He wasnt aware that she had spent a good three hours getting a crash course about him from the other goddesses and Eina earlier and had already opened up to him quite a bit. Not only was he the future husband of her best friend, but he was also a kind and caring boy that paid herpliments easily without showing any signs of deception on his face. From Hestia perspective, and with everything she had heard about him, she thought he was an amazing boy and even had some mild expectations about being spoiled by him already cemented in her mind. After a few seconds of over-affectionately rubbing her cheek against his, Hestia seemed to realize something and jumped down from Vahns body as if she was shocked by her own behavior. She panicked for a few seconds and looked like she was struggling with her own thoughts before she pointed at him and said, "From now on, youll be in my Familia~! In exchange for my blessing, youll have to provide me with a ce to stay, food, and entertainment!" Vahn nodded his head and listened to her words attentively as he marveled at her unique behavior. Seeing that he was properly listening, Hestias expression turned gentle and she said, "If you work hard to make me happy, Ill work twice as hard to make sure youre happy as well. Happiness is something that is shared between people and, if we work together, well be able to grow alongside each other and create a better future for us, our Familia, and everyone around us." Her words had a bigger impact than Vahn expected as he felt a warmth spread through his heart and could even feel his eyes mist over a bit as a pressure built up in his nose. He knew she was the type that could say inspiring things that always struck at the heart of the matter, but he never expected to be on the receiving end of her speeches so soon after they just met. Her words were simr to the things he had been learning and trying to work on as ofte, so they hit especially close to home at this moment. Seeing how emotional Vahn was acting, Hestias smile grew especially gentle as she reached out her hand and said, "Lets go home, Vahn..." Vahn stared at her tiny, outstretched, hand and hesitated for a brief moment before cing his into it. Though it was much smaller than his own, Vahn felt a strange sense of security in its grasp. His actions made Hestia smile as she looked toward his face in silence for several seconds without breaking eye contact. Eventually, she seemed to have realized something as her smile turned slightly awkward and she asked, "Which way is home~? Ehehehehehe." (A/N: Alternate Titles: The awkward moment when you meet someone for the first time that knows a lot about you,Prankd,Bestia is quite airheaded) /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 216 - Familia

Chapter 216 - Familia

Hestias question caused Vahn to nearly burst outughing at how silly her words were. She spoke with such confidence earlier and had been steadily building the atmosphere for thest few minutes and then suddenly dashed it away at a moments notice. Fortunately, Vahn had rtively decent control over himself so he just showed a happy smile on his face that reached all the way to his eyes. Though he was letting her lead him at first, now he tightened his grip a bit and said, "I rented a room at an Inn not too far away. We can rest there for tonight before looking for a permanent residence for the Familia tomorrow." Hearing his words, Hestia beamed before lifting her index finger and wagging it back and forth with a cheeky grin and saying, "It isnt the Familia, it is our Familia from now on~! Remember this, Vahn, were family now!" Her words echoed in his mind as he repeated family over and over in his head in a dazed state. Though Vahn treated people well, there were few people he thought of as family. He wanted to create one in the future, sure, but having someone tell him theyre family now was a big hit. Vahn took a big breath before exhaling and smiling at Hestia. She still had her finger up and a big toothy grin on her face as she waited for his response. Vahn ruminated over his own thoughts before saying the only thing that seemed toe to his mind, "Thanks, Hestia..." Hestias eyes began to twinkle as her smile turned into a more natural one and she said, "Of course, Vahn." Afterward, Vahn led the way to the Boars Tooth where he tried to book an additional room for Hestia even though it was already quitete. She adamantly refused the offer and said that she trusted Vahn enough to know he wouldnt do anything untoward even if they shared a room. Her words inspired his own confidence and allowed him to affirm his resolve further. As long as she didnt make any advances, Vahn decided he wouldnt pursue Hestia and just focus on building their Familia into a stronger organization. His resolve was immediately tested, however, when Hestia watched him change with fiery eyes as if she had found a delicious meal. Vahn ignored her gaze and eventually joined her in bed. The clothes she wore had self-cleaning functions and she didnt need to change them, so Hestia went to sleep in the same clothing she wore around town. Though Vahn thought it was a bit strange due to his own hygienic habits, he remembered she did the same thing in the manga and put the matter behind him. When they finallyid down to go to sleep, they both kept a rtive distance between each other at first, but about an hour after Vahn had fallen asleep he felt Hestia using his body like a hug pillow. Her actions had awoken him, but after he saw she was still asleep he decided to ignore her. As if his inaction had been taken as a sign of consent, it wasnt long before Hestia ended up recing the bed she had beenying on for Vahns body. Vahn was positive she was still asleep and confirmed it when he rolled her body off of his. Another hour after that, Vahn was once again woken up to the very same sight and released a sigh before conceding. Since she was very light and the feeling of her b.r.e.a.s.ts was unlike anything he had experienced before, Vahn decided to just rx and enjoy the moment. He couldnt help but remark in his head that, due to how she was watching him earlier, they hadpletely forgotten to perform the Familia induction ceremony. Because of that, they were essentially two people that had just met a few hours ago that had no prior connections or bonds that were now sharing the same bed. If not for Hestias defenseless nature and apparent trust for him, Vahn would have thought she was acting very forward. Vahn eventually fell asleep for a few hours before waking up and entering the orb as had be his habit. Inside, Eva had noticed his strange behavior and silly smile on his face and began pestering him about if he had obtained a new woman. Vahn exined that he was just joining her Familia, but when it got to the part about how they were currently sleeping together, Eva gave him a look as if he had said something profoundly stupid. For the next three days, she had him tend to her even more and teased him every time they wereying together. Since she knew there was a woman using his chest as a pillow in the real world, Eva wanted to torment him for the first time in a while. When Vahn finally returned to the real world, he was in a daze from Eva incessant teasing and, for a brief moment, felt ufortable with Hestia sleeping on top of him. As he had done so in the case of Lili previously, Vahn had nearly begun caressing her body while she slept defensively andpletely unaware of what had happened in the orb space. It took him a few minutes topletely clear his mind as he performed an action that had be habitual for him over time. Before Hestia had slept, she removed the bells and ribbons and had let down her long ck hair which now dr.a.p.ed over her back and Vahns chest. Without thinking about anything, Vahn began to stroke Hestias hair as if he was petting one of the girls hemonly associated with. This continued for several seconds before Hestia began tough like she was having a good dream as she drooled a healthy amount of slobber onto his chest. Her actions made Vahn chuckle so he continued stroking her hair while admiring the texture. Unlike chienthropes, who had somewhat frizzy hair, or cat people, who had silken but sharp hair, Hestias was silky smooth like refined satin. Even in the dark room, it had a glossy sheen and Vahn felt it was uncharacteristically cool to the touch. He marveled at how unique her hair waspared to anyone else he had pet and Vahn began to feel like being used as a body pillow wasnt such a bad thing anymore. He got to stroke Hestias beautiful hair while feeling her rtively light body pressing the ridiculously soft b.r.e.a.s.ts she was touted for against his chest. Vahn didnt even know how she was able to sleep on her stomach at all and was surprised with the malleability of her chest to allow her to remainfortable in that position. His actions eventually woke Hestia up and she pressed her hands against his body to lift herself up to look at him. Her crystalline blue eyes matched his gaze and she seemed to be lost in thought for several seconds as her brain processed everything that was happening. Since she had just met Vahnst night she had, for a brief moment, forgotten who he was. All she knew was that he was lovingly stroking her hair while looking into her face with a gentle expression as sheid against his body. As if suddenly remembering who he was, Hestia disyed a gentle smile before saying, "Good morning Vahn." Unaware of the momentarypse in Hestias mind, Vahn continued to stroke her hair before saying, "Good morning Hestia. You have very beautiful hair." His words made Hestiaugh a bit before she actuallyid back down on his chest and went straight back to sleep. Vahn was surprised by her actions since the sun was already beginning toe up. As someone that always woke up early in the morning, Vahn felt a little awkward seeing her go back to sleep while using his body as her bed. Seeing her defenseless and happy sleeping position, Vahn felt like it would be wrong to wake her up so he just continued stroking her hair while heid back with his eyes closed and started nning their day. Once she finally decided to get up, Vahn needed to undergo the Familia induction ceremony and then they needed to find a ce to live for the time being. If he couldnt find a ce with a workshop, Vahn would have to build one himself or have contractors create one for him. He also wanted a wing for alchemy and mixing as well as a secondary area to act as a medical ward. Though it would still be a ways away, Vahn also wanted to allocate space for a nursery and daycare center... Hestia finally awoke nearly three hourster after leaving a puddle with a diameter more than 10cm of drool on Vahns green tunic. She stared at the wet spot for a little while beforepletely ignoring its existence as she began to tie up her hair. Vahnughed to himself at her antics as he changed into a new outfit without wearing his top. Hestia had been watching him from the side and seemed to be curious about why he decided to go shirtless before a realization suddenly hit her, "Ah! The ceremony~! I hadpletely forgotten!" Vahn finally couldnt contain hisughter so heughed heartily which caused Hestia to give him an angry look with an embarrassed expression on her face. Eventually, she had Vahny down on the bed to conduct the ceremony but, unlike when Hephaestus had done it, she mounted his back before leaning over his body and beginning the ritual. Vahn wasnt too surprised since he had seen the way she treated bell in the manga, but he couldnt help but feel slightly distracted after having been straddled by a woman while he was on his stomach. Just like her unfathomably soft b.r.e.a.s.ts, Hestia actually had a very soft butt as well, almost like it was a mixture between a marshmallow and one of the mochi Tsubaki had gotten him to try in the past. Since it was the first time she had ever performed the ceremony, Hestia treated the ritual very seriously and Vahn could even feel a bead of sweat drop from her face onto his back. By the end, nearly two hours had passed before the ritual was finallypleted. She seemed very satisfied by the results of her own efforts as she began recording down his Status onto a piece of paper. Though she had been attentive during the ceremony earlier, Hestia hadnt actually focused too much on his Status and Skills and was only now getting a good look at them. While still mounting Vahns back, she yelled, "Eeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~!? Isnt this actually super ridiculous!?" Though Hestia had never blessed anyone before, she still knew what was considered normal since many gods and goddesses got information from the mortal world and read up on it recreationally. If not for the briefing she got the previous day, Hestia would have thought she had entered a dream because Vahns Status and abilities were ridiculous for his current level. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 15 -Level:3 -Power: (I61) -Endurance: (F222) -Dexterity: (H112) -Agility: (H141) -Magic: (SSS1319) Skills: [Bow Mastery:B], [Stealth:C], [Chainbreaker:S], [Call of the Reaper:B],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Swordsman:A], [Featherfoot:B], [Hands of Nirvana:S], [Prometheus:A], [Heart of the Eternal me:SS], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:B], [Friend of Spirits:A] Development Abilities: [Wound Transfer: A], [Spirit Healing: S], [cksmith: S], [Mixing: C] Magic: [Thria*Mimos:C], [Shundo:B] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- She had never even heard of anyone having a SSS ranked Parameter on their status board while all of the other parameters were rtively low. Since she knew Vahn was supposed to be in recovery right now, Hestia attributed it to his pseudo-Divinity which Hephaestus and Loki had exined previously. It was incredible to think how high his potential was when he was capable of having such ridiculous growth while being rtively inactive. It wasnt just his status either, he had an incredible amount of skills, four development abilities, and even two magic skills she had never even heard of before. Hestia stared at Vahns back and the image of her own crest, a hearth with a vibrant me, and felt like she had stumbled on something far greater than she imagined. Sure, she had heard the stories and words of caution from the other goddesses, but Hestia still hadnt believed it for herself until she saw it with her own eyes. In a bit of a daze, she smiled as she traced her hand along Vahns muscr back almost like she was appreciating a sacred tablet that doc.u.mented the progress and growth of a legend...a legend that she, nobody else, would get to observe and record. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Doki Doki Hearth Goddess,Seriously, how does she sleep on her stomach?,Hestia is actually quite possessive) /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 217 - Home

Chapter 217 - Home

Vahn noticed that Hestia was acting a bit peculiar so he looked over his shoulder and asked, "Is there anything strange?" Since he could see his Status whenever he wanted, Vahn didnt actually need to confirm anything but still thought it polite to ask. This was her first time performing the ceremony, so Vahn thought she was just getting caught up in the moment. It wasnt the first time someone touched his body, so he didnt feel strange having her stroke his back since he was also enjoying the sensationsing from certain parts of her body. Hestia broke from her dazed state and gave an awkwardugh before she dismounted his back and handed him the sheet with his updated Status. Vahn gave it a cursory nce before handing it back to her for safe-keeping. It wasmon practice for the gods and goddesses of a Familia to track the growth of their children in books. There were some that even kept journals and recorded significant events and achievements to help inspire the future generations. After he put on the rest of his clothes, Vahn told Hestia that they could eat at the Hostess of Fertility and exined about the matters regarding Mn and Tina. Hearing that they were prospective members of the Familia in the future, Hestia was excited to meet the two girls. She had already heard the story from Hephaestus previously, and now she would get to meet them personally. Hestia felt especially sorry for Mn, since even now her ears and tail hadnt fully recovered. She usually worked in the back of the kitchen, out of sight from others, though Vahn noticed there was a fine coat of fur beginning toe in. Something strange had happened while they were eating, however, when Hestia met some of the waitresses of the Hostess of Fertility. She didnt know who was close to Vahn and what intentions everyone had, so seeing so many women acting affectionately with him made her feel frustrated. Vahn tried introducing everyone to Hestia and exined the matter about having joined her Familia. Though they all seemed to get along with each other and politely greeted her, Hestia held onto Vahns arm possessively and gave each of the women a fierce look. As if finding something interesting, when Vahn and Hestia were about to leave, Chloe decided to tease the petite goddess by approaching Vahn. Hestia immediately entered a high-alert status while Vahn acted like it was perfectly normal as he allowed Chloe to get close enough to embrace his body. Without any hesitation, he wrapped his arms around her waist and the two began kissing within the confines of the private booth. Hestia had an incredulous expression on her face as she pointed at Chloe with a shaky index finger and shouted, "Eeeii~! You thieving cat!" She then tried to separate the two and Vahn felt for the first time that he had underestimated Hestias personality. Though he remembered that she acted this way when it came to Bell, he never expected her to have such a drastic reaction regarding him. He had even exined the situation earlier and talked about his rtionship with Chloe. Chloe allowed herself to be separated from Vahn as she beganughing in a cheerful, yet mischevious, manner. She turned her back slightly and waggled her butt in a cute manner while showing off the blue ribbon that was remarkably simr in color to the ones Hestia wore. Chloe stuck her tongue out at Hestia and said, "Youre a littlete to the game to have anyints~nya!" As if realizing what the ribbon meant, Hestia looked at Vahn was a strangely judgmental gaze and an aggrieved looked on her face. Vahn began to feel somewhat taken aback by her behavior, even though he thought she was acting quite cute. Chloe practically danced out of the room whileughing while Vahn tried to console Hestia while exining the situation in more detail. In response to his words, she turned her head with a hmph but continued listening as he recounted his entire experience with Chloe while only leaving out the secret bits. Hestia was already made aware the previous night by how many women Vahn was currently involved with and she even knew there would likely be various goddessesing to him in the future. However, even though she knew, it still made her feel sad and frustrated to see him act so openly with girls right in front of her face. She remembered how the half-elf Eina had exined how Vahn was broken, and now Hestia wanted to take up the role that Tina had taken in the past and help reign in his behavior. Once Vahn finished exining about Chloe, Hestia turned back to him with a pouty expression that made Vahn want to poke her inted cheeks. Unable to resist the temptation, Vahn gently poked her cheek with his finger until she swatted it away with her hand and eximed, "Vahn, you cant be acting like this in public unless youre on a date! Especially if you n to be with multiple girls in the future, you have to learn how to show proper self-control. Not all of the people around you want to see you acting affectionately with others, so you have to keep it more private in the future!" Her words made Vahn remember the meeting two weeks ago between the various girls he was involved with. She was essentially regurgitating what they had said back then and Vahn would have likely still been guarded by Tina if the kidnapping hadnt happened previously. Though he wasnt entirely convinced, he agreed that she was likely speaking the truth so he smiled and said, "Sure, Ill try to act more reserved from now on. Unless its in private, or between people that are okay with my behavior, Ill try to restrict my actions a bit." Hestia nodded her head in approval of his words as she held her hands on her h.i.p.s and puffed out her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Vahn saw the very obvious jiggle and how, when her arms were spread, the blue ribbon supported them slightly. He could see that, due to the weight of her b.r.e.a.s.ts, the ribbon cut into them from the bottom and even contorted her dress to match. Since Vahn had some experience with fabric, he wondered how Hestias clothes seemed to conform so closely to her body without being restricted. Though she had her eyes closed while marveling at her own brilliance, Hestia soon opened them and saw the curiosity on Vahns face as he stared at her b.r.e.a.s.ts. She felt embarrassed by his look, but also noticed there didnt seem to be any lecherous or evil thoughts in Vahns gaze. From what she could tell, he seemed to stare at her b.r.e.a.s.ts in genuine intrigue and it made her feel a little proud of the trait she was often criticized for. Many gods in heaven had tried to court her, but all of their gazes made her feel super creeped out so she had refused courtship even though she had been alive for millions of years. Other than Artemis and Athena, she was the only remaining v.i.r.g.i.n goddess in the western region of Heaven. She simply disliked how they only saw her as a potential object of conquest and an outlet for their desires. One of the few she decided to give a chance to, because he had been very nice to her, ended up trying to coax her into his bed on their very first date! After that, she refused to see him again and saw that he had started dating another goddess just a few dayster. Since they had lives that stretched into eternity, seeing how quickly he moved on was a big wake-up call for her at the time. Now that she saw Vahn looking at her with intrigue instead of l.u.s.t, Hestias impression of him had increased by a marginal amount. She felt like, if she could change his bad habits of interacting with so many women, it wouldnt be a bad thing to share him with Hephaestus and maybe a few other girls. Since Vahn was a mortal that had divinities rted to Creation,Fertility, and Fire, she actually thought they were very suitable. They seemed tailor-made for each other in a way since her Divinities rted to Architecture, Family, and Hearth. Their Divinities were almost perfectlyplimentary of each other if she thought about it from a certain perspective. Vahn noticed that silence had taken over the atmosphere of the room and realized that he had been staring at the small blue ribbon holding up Hestias b.r.e.a.s.ts for a little too long. When he looked into her clear blue eyes, Vahn felt a little ashamed of himself so he said, "Im sorry, I didnt mean to gawk at you." Remembering that she had just lectured him about self-control, Vahn felt especially awkward for his mentalpse. Hestia smiled at his response before trotting forward in tworge steps and stopped right in front of him. Since they had a 22cm height difference, she looked up at his face while he stared down at her smiling expression from above. She looked around for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Were alone right now, so as long as you dont do anything too forward its fine~" Vahns brows raised slightly as he looked around the empty room as well. However, instead of staring at her b.r.e.a.s.ts again, Vahn backed away a step to create some distance as he said, "We should look for a ce to stay before it gets toote." Vahn opened up the door and the noise from the other patrons broke the silence as he held it open for Hestia. She stared at him with a neutral expression for a while until Vahn turned his head away after hearing a loud sound from the pub. When he looked away, Hestia turned her head to the side and clicked her tongue while whispering in a low voice that Vahn couldnt hear, "How does he have so many girls when he is so dense!?" Unaware of thebel Hestia had given him, Vahn motioned for her to exit the room before following behind her and leaving the Hostess of Fertility. Though she didnt know where it was located, Hestia had given Vahn a slip of paper with an address that Hephaestus had rmended to her the previous day. Vahn received the paper and understood the approximate location so he began leading the way toward what would likely be their new home. Along the way, Hestia made conversation and asked about his hopes and dreams while Vahn also returned the favor and inquired about her life, the Divinities she possessed, and any difficulties she might have that he could help with in the future. She seemed pleased by his concern and ended up locking arms with Vahn shortly after as he continued leading the way. Though they were just walking through the streets, Vahn almost felt like they were on a date since she was acting so openly. Since she had just lectured him previously about only acting this way while on a date, Vahn began to wonder if Hestia considered their walk a date or had just forgotten her own advice. After cutting through some of the back alleyways he had mapped previously, Vahn and Hestia arrived at a very familiar location that Vahn had passed a lot in the past. The reason why he had recognized the address on the paper is that it wasnt too far from Hephaestuss workshop and the main branch of the Guild. Though slightly off the main road, it was on the same path he would take whenever he was leaving the Hearts Embrace and heading toward the Dungeon in the past. The address on the paper was slightly off the main road, but it was in a residential area that only hadrge houses, manors, and even mansions. After checking the paper twice to confirm, Vahn looked up at the rtivelyrge two-story building that would probably be his new home. It looked somewhat simr to an Inn that had beenbined with a manor since it had a veryrge courtyard split into four sections and a high fence surrounding the inside. The building itself was shaped like an L and had two wings surrounding the central area that towered slightly higher than the rest of the building. The smaller part of the L shape was like an annex that, when Vahn inspected the inside, had arge empty area with a bare-bones forge setup. It was missing all the equipment, but Vahn would be able to begin working almost immediately once he set up his own tools and materials. Within the inside of the L shape, there were various artificial rocks and trees that had been arranged to conceal something that brought a smile to Vahns face because it had been a long time since he had used one. Though there was a tall divider in the center, there was arge space within the backyard that had been converted into an onsen. Therger pool was split into two sections and there were even a few smaller pools around the area with small dividers that would provide anyone that wanted to bath alone a certain amount of privacy. Vahn wasnt the only one impressed by the structure and onsen since Hestia had been in incredibly high tensions since the moment Vahn opened the front gate with the key she handed him. Hephaestus informed her that she actually requested this building to be built in the past after interacting with Vahn for a long period of time. She had been tailor-making it to suit his needs and now gifted it to Hestia to celebrate her descent from Heaven. As a goddess with a Divinity rted to architecture, she was in high spirits as she marveled at each of the features of the building. Other than apleteck of furniture, everything else was remarkable. Once they were done looking around, Vahn and Hestia went into what would be considered the master bedroom. It was thergest room in the house and had two separate walk-in closets as well as a personal bathroom. Though it wasnt noticeable at first, Vahn also discovered that the room had a hidden wall which opened up to a smaller and sound-proof area. It was very simr in structure to the room Hephaestuss used to house the eternal me, so Vahn felt like it was made with that purpose in mind. The walls and flooring had amazing fire-proofing and sound-dampening qualities and there was even an empty and bare-bones forge set up in the corner. After getting a better look around the inside of the room, Vahn moved toward the far wall, furthest from the doors, and purchased arge bed in the system called [Canopy of Heaven]. Even though it had an awe-inspiring name, it only cost 28,000OP and didnt look too impressive when he put it down. The only thing he had focused on was finding something fortable while also beingrge. Though he didnt have the intention right now, it looked like more than six people would be able toy side-by-side without any difort and even stretched out a fair amount lengthwise. Overall, the dimensions were around 4m x 4.5m and it actually took up a muchrger amount of the bedroom than Vahn originally intended. Hestia saw Vahn put down the bed before any other furniture and had a teasing look on her face as she dove into the pure white nkets. Other than the slightly golden-colored wooden frame of the bed, everything else on it was pure white including the sheets,forter, nkets, pillows, and even the curtains hanging from the canopy frame. When shended, Hestia noticed that the bed was far softer than she imagined and she began to roll around in it without any semnce of decorum. Vahn saw her behavior andughed before he said, "Ill make sure to purchase a simr bed for your room." Since there were more 13 actual bedrooms in the house, there were plenty of options for Hestia to choose from including two simrly sized rooms as the present one in each of the wings. Hestia heard his words and immediately refuted, saying, "No way, I want to stay in this bedroom with you~! I cant even imagine staying in one of those huge rooms on my own in the middle of the night!" Since she had been making her im while lyingzily on the bed, Vahn felt like there wasnt a lot of strength to her argument. When she had shouted, she had raised her tiny fists toward the ceiling and had been giving him a very pitiable look like she was an abandoned animal. Remembering that she always slept with Bell in the manga, even though they didnt have an actual rtionship, Vahn felt like Hestia was the type that didnt like to sleep alone. He wondered how she had managed for so many years in Heaven since he had long known that she refused courtship and had very few if any, friends other than Hephaestus. After ruminating over matters for a bit, Vahn decided to concede to her selfishness for the time being. He generally liked spending time with her and even enjoyed her spoiled behavior somewhat since he had always intended to spoil her even before they met. Considering they had already shared a bed without incident, Vahn decided it wouldnt be a problem for now. Once other people moved into the Familia and he married Hephaestus and Eina, he assumed she would naturally find a room of her own. Though he didnt know if they would be living with him permanently, Vahn assumed that Eina would eventually quit her job at the Guild and be a permanent resident, or even member, of the Familia in the future. With a smile on his face, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Sure, we can stay here together. Just remember that there will be other people living here in the future, and some of them might be my wives or lovers." Though she was ecstatic at the first part of his words, Hestia took a critical amount of damage when Vahn continued. She rolled herself up in the nket like a sushi roll and began to bite her teeth as she made an adorable sound of frustration while Vahn watched her antics with a humored expression on his face. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hestia senses danger,Chloes Victory,Vahnobtanium is actually the densest material in the record) I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 218 - Furnishings

Chapter 218 - Furnishings

After Hestia calmed down, they began touring around themon areas of the building which Hestia had decided to call Hearth Manor since her principle Divinity rted to the Hearth. For their emblem, other than the crest itself, Hestia wanted something that embodied their first meeting and the bond they shared from now on. The final design ended up being two winged snakes, one ck and the other white, circling around a me that was half-part aquamarine while the other half was the crystalline blue of Hestias eyes. Since Vahn had rtively high dexterity and could even put fine details into metalworks, it was actually very easy for him to make the basic design of their emblem. Hestia hugged the piece of paper like a treasure and Vahn promised to forge a que that they could put outside the gates to represent the Hearth Manor in the future. He even intended to make it out of magically conductive metal so it could act as one of the formation cores for the security of the manor. Since this building and property was specifically designed by Hephaestus in the past, it already had powerful security that made Vahns mind go numb after imagining the cost. Though he was still unaware of how much she had spent for his previous security, Vahn imagined the number for the current manor was an astronomical amount. While they were touring the building, Vahn purchased various items from the system shop to decorate the Manor. Hestia was amazed at how he was able to create things and pull them out of thin air, but she was already informed about the nature of his pseudo-divinity previously. The fact he could make use of a power simr to the Arcanum of the gods was an incredible sight to behold. After asking him about the details, she learned that he could usually only create general use items that had few, if any, magical properties. The consumables he created were only usable by himself, and any of the equipment he created couldnt be used by others unless he used a special method to transfer ownership. Interested by the prospect of an item that only she could use, Hestia asked Vahn if he could make her an essory or piece of clothing that he thought suited her. Vahn saw the shining eyes of Hestia and began to seriously consider what he could possibly give her. He inspected her body from top to bottom in a contemtive manner while Hestia waited patiently, though Vahn could see that she was very excited by how her aura was flickering like an actual me. Noticing a slight peculiarity, Vahn asked, "Do you not like to wear shoes?" He hadnt thought about it previously, but the entire time Hestia had been apanying him she hadnt been wearing shoes. Even though some of the roads were somewhat rough and had uneven or even abrasive stone surfaces, she seemed to bepletely immune. While looking at her feet with interest, Hestia lifted up her foot and dangled it a bit as she said, "I dont really like to wear shoes that much since it feels more natural to walk on the ground with my own feet. If its cold, Ill probably wear boots though and I also sometimes wear sandals so I dont track dirt into ces." Vahn was listening to her words while remarking in his mind about how clean and petite Hestias feet looked in his mind. There didnt seem to be any dirt to speak of and her foot looked very soft, unlike something that would be able to walk on a rough surface without difficulty. Since she kept dangling it in front of him, Vahn asked, "Do you mind if I look at your foot more closely?" He was genuinely curious to inspect it since he couldnt make sense of it just looking from his current angle. Hestias smiled widened at his words as she sat down on the floor and held up her foot for Vahn to inspect. With the angle she was sitting at, Vahn could see her pure white panties that matched the color of the short dress Hestia wore. He wondered why she wore such a revealing outfit since there was barely a hands width between the start of her thigh and the end of her dress. If she werent petite, it would be very easy to see up her dress as he could at present. Even if she sat in a chair, unless she crossed her legs, Vahn imagined her panties would be fully visible to anyone paying attention. Since she had been paying close attention, Hestia noticed Vahns eyes look up her dress and it made her heart beat quicken a bit. He seemed to have a curious and inquisitive look instead of desire, l.u.s.t, or passion. She released a relieved sigh in her mind and felt slightly more emboldened by his naivete. She felt that, though he seemed very dense, Vahn was also incredibly attentive and genuinely respectful of the bodies of women. Instead of feeling disgusted by his gaze, she only felt an increasing amount of excitement. Vahn kneeled down and held Hestias ankle with his left hand while he used his right hand and thumb to inspect the texture and feel of Hestias foot. She immediately beganughing at his touch since she was actually quite ticklish. Her movements made her dress ride up her thighs even further and Vahn could see her panties on full disy as if she didnt notice the situation at all. Instead of gawking, Vahn took a slightly deeper breath and kept his focus on her foot. As he expected, though againstmon sense, Hestias foot was soft and tender. Since she walked around on bare feet everywhere, Vahn had assumed her skin would be slightly thicker or there would even be calluses on her feet. Instead, they werepletely smooth and Vahn couldnt even find any dirt even though they had walked around back alleyways earlier. After feeling the foot for around a minute, Vahn set it back down on the floor before turning away to give Hestia time to fix her dress. When Vahn had tickled her foot earlier, Hestia had noticed her own dress riding up and was paying attention to how Vahn would react. Though he looked for a brief moment, he immediately turned away and began inspecting her foot in a very serious manner. She almostughed because of how innocent and serious he was. Though he obviously wanted to look, he was able to keep his sensibilities and remember the purpose of his request which was to inspect her foot. She remarked internally about how dense he was but alsomended him for his focus and ability to retain his reasoning. Vahn helped Hestia from the floor and she fell forward into his body a bit before he helped her find her footing. Sheughed cheerfully before separating from Vahn and asking, "What do you think of my feet~?" Since he had been seriously inspecting them earlier, Vahn gave an honest response, "Theyre very small and have a soft texture. I find it hard toprehend how theyre able to stay that soft when you walk around barefoot." In response, Hestiaughed and proudly proimed, "It is because Im a goddess! Every part of me with always be beautiful~!" She then began tough in a haughty manner and Vahn felt like she was very happy at the moment. Since she didnt seem to need shoes, Vahn decided to buy her something that could be worn that wouldnt change her normal appearance. Other than her b.r.e.a.s.ts, he thought her outfit had a great bnce and well-designed color scheme that enhanced her beautiful ck hair and crystalline blue eyes that always seems to have a slight glimmer to them. For a brief moment, his eyes were drawn to what he could only describe as a b.r.e.a.s.t window and thought of an interesting gift to give her. Searching through the system, Vahn looked for essories before finding one that seemed almost perfect for the current situation. Though he didnt know its effects, it cost 5,000OP and had the name [Sapphire Star] and was listed in the category of nes. Since Hestia had blue eyes that glimmered, Vahn felt like a sapphire wouldpliment them well. When he purchased it, a small silver ne appeared in his hand that had a tear-shaped blue sapphire that glowed with a blue radiance that looked very simr to twinkling starlight. [Sapphire Star](A/N: Not really necessary, but I know some people would want to know.) Rank: B (Magic) P.Def: 0 M.Def: 110 Passive: Resists Mental attacks and promotes mental development and recovery rate. Active: [Sapphire Starlight: A]: Single use ability that immediately heals the wounds of a single target in exchange for all mental energies. Vahn thought the pendant was very useful, but the only thing Hestia saw was an incredibly beautiful ne that glowed with an enchanting light. As if trying topete with the glimmering starlight in the sapphire, Hestias eyes were also shining as arge smile stered itself on her face. She asked in an excited voice, "Is this for me!?" Before Vahn even answered, she already moved close to him and tilted her chin in a manner simr to how Anubis and Nanu had done so in the past. Vahn realized she wanted him to put it on her, so he smiled as he leaned forward slightly and attached the links of the silver chain as she stared into his eyes with an excited expression on her face. While he was fixing the ne Vahn exined its use but Hestia seemed to bepletely immune to his words at the moment. The moment it was fixed firmly on her neck, she immediately held it in her hands and admired the gemstone thatplimented the color of her ribbons. With greater speed than a Level 6, Hestia eximed loudly as she jumped toward Vahn with her arms spread wide. Though he was surprised, Vahn still managed to catch her body as she nted a wet kiss on his cheek as she dangled from his body whileughing in a very happy sounding manner. While dangling from his neck, Hestia looked up into Vahns face with a vibrant expression and said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you, its so beautiful~!" She put more strength into her arms and hugged Vahns neck tightly whileughing once again. Vahn felt happy that she had such an incredible reaction to the gift he had given her, but he couldnt help but feel that the current position was somewhat awkward. Even though her weight wasnt anything significant, it still held her soft and malleable b.r.e.a.s.ts firmly against his body. Vahn was amazed at how much they could expand when she dangled with her full weight against his body. It was really strange because they were so soft that Vahn almost felt like Hestias weight was somehow magically offset by the sensation. Eventually, Vahn felt like he was getting a bit dizzy so he put his hands on Hestias waist and pulled her away from his body. Though she resisted a bit and tried to hug his neck, Vahn was much stronger than she was and managed to free himself from her grasp. Though she still had a happy expression, Hestia gave him what Vahn felt like was a ming look as he held her body off the ground by her sides. He once again marveled at how light she was but attributed to his own strength as he set her gently on the floor. After looking up at him for a few seconds, Hestia released a frustrated sigh before turning her attention back to the [Sapphire Star] Vahn had given her. Though she mented at how dense he was, Hestia felt like it was actually a good quality since she thought his naive and innocent sensibilities made him easy to be around. If Vahn actually responded to her actions with l.u.s.t or desire, Hestia imagined she wouldnt be able to stay around him as much in the future. Though she acted in a very forward manner, she was actually very apprehensive about Vahn actually doing anything in return. For the rest of the afternoon, Hestia followed Vahn around the Manor and made suggestions about furniture choices and decorations as they personally decided the best manner to decorate their home. She hoped that this ce would be able to remain their exclusive residence for a little while since Hestia knew there would be many girls approaching Vahn in the future. Though she wanted to keep them away, Hestia knew it would be impossible since there were already goddesses like Hephaestus, Loki, and Anubis involved with Vahn before she even descended. Shemented about her te arrival as the image of a ck haired cat person with mischevious green eyes appeared in her mind. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Cohabitation,Every good life starts and ends in the bed,Late to the Party) I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 219 - Reason

Chapter 219 - Reason

Thest thing Vahn furnished within the manor was his two workshops and forges. Though he intended to make the most use of the secret forge hidden in the main room, Vahn expected that some of his future Familia members might use the main workshop for production and research in the future. Even Hephaestus herself had several forges, even though there was only one that housed the eternal me. By the time everything was finished, Vahn was looking over his resources and frowned after seeing that his Origin Points had taken a massive hit in thest few days. It didnt seem like that long ago when he had nearly 500,000OP, but now he only had 139,417OP left. Because a lot of the items he purchased were for long-term use, he had be a bit of a spendthrift after getting caught up in the excitement. After 5 PM came around, Vahn entered the orb for a few seconds and spent the three days within trying to earn some extra OP to replenish his diminishing stock. With his current skills, he could make around 9-11k OP per day on average, so by the time he left his total had increased to 168,399OP. Satisfied by the result, Vahns concerns diminished by quite a bit since he would be able to make upwards of 50-60k OP per day if he put in an effort. Compared to his past gains and how much he had to suffer just to reach 1M in the past, Vahn felt like his current acquisition rate was more than eptable. While he was busy working, Hestia had asked him to even install a small kitchte in their room and had taken tozing about on a couch that Vahn had purchased while munching on snacks. As soon as things had calmed down, she immediately beganzing about without any sense of propriety as she let her head dangle off the couch and watched Vahn working upside down. Vahn was worried she would get a cramp in her neck, but she didnt seem to be bothered at all. Remembering how inexplicable soft her feet were even though she walked around barefoot, Vahn assumed it was another peculiar trait she had. As soon as it looked like he was done working, Hestia would immediately be energetic and they would chat away about various topics once again. She was a veritable ball of energy when they conversed, a far crypared to how shezed about when he was busy. Eventually, the topic turned to what kind of Familia they wanted to be in the future. Since they would have to register at the Guild, they had to pick a specific designation for correspondence purposes. Vahn already had a prepared answer, so he said, "I want us to be an exploration type Familia that also acts based on the principles of righteousness and moderation. I dont believe its possible to eliminate evil, but I think we should promote our principles and try to create a Familia that sets the example for others to follow. Other than that, I want our Familia to protect the weak and act as a safe haven for those that wish to improve themselves..." Hestia listened to his words with a thoughtful smile on her face as Vahn talked about his ideals with a bit of passion and fervor. She could tell that, because of his kind and gentle nature, Vahn wanted to be a hero that helps people. Even though she understood he would bear a lot of burdens following the path he had chosen, Hestia was proud of him since she believed the stance he was taking wasmendable. As the first child of her Familia, Vahn would set the example for everyone else that joined and there was a real chance his dream could be a reality as long as he had enough support. When he finished his short soliloquy, Hestia showed a cheerful smile and said, "I will do my best to help you make your dream a reality. As long as you keep moving forward and believe in what you stand for, there will be nothing that can stand in your way. Even if there are bumps along the way, even if you have to slow down, or even stop for a time, there is always hope if you face the future with courage and the resolve to do your best. When you are tired and need a ce toy down, I will always be here waiting for your return..." As Hestia was speaking, Vahn was staring into her glimmering blue eyes in a mild daze as each of her words impacted something deep inside of him. He didnt know why, perhaps because she was someone he had always wanted to meet, but a lot of the things Hestia said resonated with him. Even though she seemed weak,zy, and a little unreliable, she had moments like this that inspired him and made Vahn feel more confident about the future. Since he had seen how hard she worked in the original manga, Vahn knew Hestia was the type to put in a lot of effort to support the people she genuinely cared about so he felt like he could ce his trust in her words. For what felt like the tenth time in thest two days, Vahn smiled at Hestia and said, "Thank you, Hestia...Ill do my best." In response, Hestias smile grew wider and she responded in a very chipper and cheerful voice, "I know you will~! But, you have to stop thinking I all the time, Vahn! From now on, it is we, so you have to say we will do our best, together~!" Hestia seemed to be in somewhat high tensions as she sped Vahns hand like arade that was about to face a fearsome enemy with him. She had a confident expression on her face and a slight blush on her cheeks with a slight glimmer in her eyes that shone marginally more brightly than usual. Vahn gripped her hand a bit and also showed an expression of confidence as the two stared at each other and created a micro-loop of expectation and fervor. If anyone had seen their antics from the side, they would have likelymented that they were both idiots. Since there was nobody present, however, they justpletely ignored general sensibilities and created a strange atmosphere that quickly turned into something awkward after around half a minute had passed. Though she held his gaze for a while without a problem, the longer the silence continued, the more embarrassed Hestia felt. She wasnt sure what he was thinking, but Vahn continued to grasp her hand and hold eye contact with her and she didnt know if she should be the one to pull away first or wait for him to do it. Vahn was in a somewhat simr state of mind, so they just continued to hold their hands as if they were about to arm wrestle in mid-air for a much longer period of time than either intended. The blush on Hestias face continued to grow a bit until she startedughing out loud as she pulled her hand away and said, "Good, good, well both do our best from now on~! Ehehehe~." Vahn could see that she was embarrassed as well, so he yed along andughed in a mechanical manner as he scratched the back of his head. Afterward, they left the Hearth Manor and headed towards the Hostess of Fertility for dinner. Though Hestia wanted to stay inside and eat together, Vahn told her he couldnt break his promises with Mn and Tina. Until the two girls had recovered a bit, Vahn wanted to spend at least their meals together for the time being. Hestia sighed after hearing his exnation before a happy smile appeared on her face and she followed along without furtherint. She did, however, have Vahn hold her hand as they walked through the cold night air together. Since Hestia was walking in a happy, straight legged, fashion, Vahn kept staring at her feet to see how she reacted whenever they walked through rougher terrain. Even when they passed through areas where the cobblestone seemed somewhat jagged, Hestia stepped on it without even flinching and Vahn felt like it was an inexplicable sight. Remembering how soft they were when he touched them, Vahn felt like her feet should easily be cut open but she continued walking without any trouble at all. During dinner, Hestia actually separated from Vahn and sat next to Tina as she started a cheerful conversation with the small cat girl. Vahn was a bit surprised since he felt like Hestia had an inclination against him interacting with so many girls. Seeing how easily she got along with Tina while he sat next to Mn made him smile. Mn also seemed to be happy and whispered in a voice only he could hear, "You have a kind goddess..." Vahn nodded his head and, with a smile, whispered back, "She is a little peculiar at times, but she is a very kind and gentle girl that is attentive to others in her own way." Then, taking Mns hand and squeezing it gently, Vahn looked her in the eyes and said, "I hope youre able to join our Familia in the future...Hestia and I have promised to make it a ce that protects everyones happiness together...as family." Mn flinched a bit when Vahn first grabbed her hand even though she ced a lot of trust in him. Even while they were eating dinner, she sat close enough to him to feel his warmth and made an effort to ovee the trauma in her heart. Hearing his words, she felt happy feelings begin to spread within her since she was grateful that he was still so attentive to her and Tina. She already intended to join his Familia in the future and was happy to see that he was serious about creating a ce to protect them while even considering her and Tina to be family. Vahn saw Mns smile and reached his hand up to the hood she was wearing and gently removed it to reveal her lightly fuzzy ears. He saw Mns aura fluctuate as she hung her head a bit lower as if she were ashamed to be seen in her current state. Hestia and Tina had been watching their interaction and had turned silent for a while as moisture built up in both girls eyes after seeing Mns ears. Hestia had heard the story and knew that, without Vahns help, Mn would have likely died after both her ears and tail had been severed. Hearing the story and seeing the aftermath were two entirely different things though, as she almost felt like crying at seeing the proof of the event right before her eyes. Though he felt a little guilty at exposing her without warning, Vahns expression didnt change at all as he reached up with his left hand and used [Hands of Nirvana] as he gently stroked her hair and ears. She recoiled at first and almost pulled her head away but managed to prevent herself from doing so by taking deep and anxious breaths. After a few seconds, the warm energying into her head and the pleasant feeling of Vahns caress made her fear dissipate by a marginal amount. Vahn had been thinking about the matter for some time, so he said in a gentle whisper, "Everyone here is someone you can trust...you dont have to hide away and feel ashamed over something you had no control over. At least among people you can trust, you shouldnt hide away and worry about how they see you...we all worry about you, Mn, and want to see you be happy." Hearing Vahns words, everyone in the room except for him began to shed tears as Mn looked up at his face with her golden eyes and a profoundly bereaved expression that made Vahns heart seize up in anguish. However, no matter how much grief or pity he felt for her, Vahn continued to show a gentle smile on his face as domain silently spread through the room with the effect of [Hands of Nirvana] spreading along with it. For the first time since the incident, other than when she had nightmares at night, Mn began to cry as she buried her face into Vahns chest. His constant concern and perpetually gentle expression had been slowly breaking away at the walls she had been building up ever since her trauma and now everything released like the opening of a floodgate. She hated the fact that she felt inhibitions about one of the people that were constantly kind to her and how she, if but for a single moment, imagined him in the same vein as the monsters that tormented her. Mn had even been considering the best method to exploit Vahn so he wouldnt abandon them, but she realized he hadnt ever considered abandoning them in the first ce. If not for the fact that she had separated herself and Tina from him, Vahn would have probably taken them into his own home and personally protected them even now. Unable to maintain her calm, Tina also ended up embracing the two as Vahn cradled the Mother-Daughter pair in his arms while trying to bring them some degree offort. Hestia was staring at the sight with a tearful and contemtive expression while Syr, who had been serving them, stood off to the side in silence. Both girls felt like Vahn had an exceptional amount ofpassion and even Hestia felt like there was more to the rtionsh.i.p.s he had with girls than she initially expected. As if drawn by an invisible force, Hestia and Syr made eye contact briefly before turning back to the emotional sight of the three embracing each other. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ambitions, Burdens, Hope,Dont let trauma control you, there are always people willing to help,Road to Recovery,Soon(TM)) I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 220 - Comfort

Chapter 220 - Comfort

After crying for more than twenty minutes, Mn started feeling much better and had recovered a bit of the smile that Vahn remembered from the past. Tina had noticed it as well, so she had a happy expression with tears stains on her face as Vahn affectionately stroked the hair and ears of both girls. They spent the rest of the dinner in rtive silence and just enjoying the fresher atmosphere as Syr politely served them while Hestia sat across from everyone on her own booth. Vahn was moderately concerned about her, but when he made eye contact with Hestia she just smiled and shook her head in an almost unnoticeable fashion as if to indicate that he shouldnt mind her. Once dinner ended, Syr told Mn and Tina that Mama Mia had given them the rest of the night off and that they should rx in their room. After sharing an embrace with Vahn, the two made their way to their room with an added stability to their auras that made Vahn feel relieved. Mn had promised to join the Familia when things had settled down and Vahn was looking forward to the day when their smiles would return permanently. Turning to Syr, Vahn showed a moderately more affectionate smile than usual and said, "Thanks Syr, youre always helping me out." His words made her chuckle slightly as she squinted her eyes and said, "I wasnt just helping you, Vahn, I felt bad about their situation and wanted to do what I could to protect them. If you want to give me more credit though, I dont mind receiving your affections more often~." Hestia frowned at her words but didnt interfere even when Vahn gave Syr a short embrace. They didnt kiss or do anything more intimate, but it was one of the few times when the two shared a hug and it brought a happy smile to Syrs face. Her light-grey eyes seemed to glow a bit and Vahn resisted the strange feeling instinctively before giving her a peck on the forehead and separating. She touched the slightly damp area and had a rosy blush on her face as she stared at Vahn for a while before returning to her duties. When she left, Vahn watched her back with a thoughtful expression on his face before Hestia interrupted him by saying, "I want you to tell me more about your rtionsh.i.p.s...I think my understanding of things is somewhatcking." Hestia had thought that there were several girls just trying to take advantage of Vahns kindness and was only now realizing there was much more to the situation than she initially realized. Vahn turned to look at Hestia and saw an uncharacteristically serious expression and a bit of concern in her crystalline blue eyes. Considering her request, Vahn nodded his head and promised to exin things in detail when they returned home. Afterward, the two made their way through the rtively cool night air which seemed to grow colder by the day. Vahn could even see his breath a little as they made their way toward the Hearth Manor at a leisurely pace while a silence hung between them. He noticed Hestia seemed to be in deep contemtion as he led her by hand through the familiar back roads. After a few minutes, perhaps due to her absentmindedness, Hestia tripped over a loose stone and nearly fell down before Vahn caught her by the shoulder. She grimaced slightly and Vahn saw for the first time that she had a slight cut on her feet and released a strangely relieved sigh. Before she asked, Vahn leaned down and said, "Get on, Ill carry you the rest of the way." Hestia had been on the verge of tears after the incident but immediately cheered up as she climbed onto Vahns back without any hesitation. Vahn couldnt help but marvel at how soft her b.r.e.a.s.ts were once again when she hugged his neck tightly and pressed them against his back. Supporting her legs with his palms, Vahn stood up and started carrying the silentlyughing Hestia along the path. After a while, she whispered into his ear softly, "You really are too gentle..." Her arms tightened slightly around his neck and Vahn could feel the softness on his back press firmly against him. Hestia continued her words, "I can understand it, how all of those girls are reliant on you. You treat them well and cant ignore when they are unhappy...I even heard youve saved several of them from terrible tragedies. I want to know their stories and how you found your way into their lives...Tell me everything, okay?" Vahn considered her words and, since he already said he would tell her regardless, he nodded his head and affirmed, "I wont keep secrets from you, Hestia, you are my goddess and...my family." Vahn felt like each time he used that word, something inside of his body bloomed and he felt happier and happier. Though he knew of the word and considered having a family of his own, it was only recently that he started to use it when talking about people. He had even changed how he felt about some people from liking them to actually loving them. Without realizing it himself previously, Vahn now understood that his mentality had been making a subtle, yet profound, shift. Vahns words made Hestia feel very happy and she nuzzled against the side of his head as she squeezed his neck tighter. Though she wasnt very strong, Vahn could still feel his airway being restricted a bit by her efforts. Before he could ask her to loosen up her grip, Hestia whispered in his ear with a very happy tone, "Thats right, from now on, always and forever, well be family~!" Though it wasnt much, Hestias affection, which had stalled at 90 previously, increased to 91 and transitioned from (Protective) to (Eternal Bond) within his system menu. Tilting his chin a little to prevent her from choking him to death, Vahn smiled and trekked through the cold night with a new warmth spreading in his body, not just from his back. After a few more minutes, they arrived at the Hearth Manor and entered into the warm interior that was their home. Vahn carried Hestia all the way up the spiral stairs in the central area and into their shared bedroom before setting her down on the couch. He had consideredying her on the bed, but decided against it as took her foot into his hands and began using [Hands of Nirvana] to heal the small wound. When he had done so, Hestia tilted her head sideways in a curious manner before a smile blossomed on her face before turning into a more mischevious look as she asked, "Couldnt you have healed my foot earlier instead of carrying me all this way~?" Her words impacted Vahn and his mind nked for a moment as he processed what she had just said. Considering them carefully, he also agreed that he could have healed her on the spot easily before they continued along the route. For some reason, when Vahn had seen her absentminded state earlier, he thought it would be more appropriate to carry her so nothing else would happen. Believing this to be the case, Vahn looked up at Hestias smiling face and said, "I saw how distracted you were earlier and decided to carry you so nothing bad would happen..." As if she didnt believe him and wanted to tease him, Hestia spread her arms akimbo which caused the blue ribbon tied around her body to lift up her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Vahns eyes were momentarily drawn to the sight and sheughed before asking, "Are you sure there wasnt another reason~?" As she spoke, Hestia proudly puffed out her b.r.e.a.s.ts with a gleam in her pure blue eyes. Vahn released a sigh and said, "I wont deny that it was veryfortable to carry you, but Im also telling you the truth. I was worried about you and didnt want you to get hurt while you were lost in thought." When he spoke, Vahn had a very serious expression and Hestias smile widened a bit because of how honest he was. She already knew he was telling the truth earlier, but she also knew there was no way he could have ignored the feeling of her body when he was carrying her for more than ten minutes. Patting her thighs, Hestia said in a cheerful manner, "Here, here, put your head here~! Come and rest your head on your beautiful goddesss thighs and tell me your story~." Watching her actions, Vahn caught a glimpse of her white panties before deciding to ept her offer. She had an expectant smile on her face and he was also interested how ap pillow from her would feel. It had been a while since he enjoyed the sensation and thought it was a good opportunity to experience something he used to enjoy often in the past. When Vahnid his head on her thighs without any hesitation, Hestias heart throbbed a bit as she stared down into his aquamarine eyes. Because of the angle, she knew he had a clear view of her b.r.e.a.s.ts and it made her feel a little excited until he closed his eyes and began to rx. She released a slight sigh but didnt say anything as she waited for him to begin his story. Before he started, she began to gently pass her fingers through his long dark-brown hair in a simr manner to how he always caressed other girls. Vahn felt veryfortable whileying on Hestiasp and feltpletely at ease when she started stroking his hair. It wasnt the first time a girl had done so, and Vahn always felt veryfortable to be on the receiving end of someones caress. It was partially due to this fact that he often stroked other girls when it looked like they were feeling down. If they felt the same way as he currently felt, Vahn knew his affection would help ease their burdens a bit. For the next two hours, Vahn began recounting all of his encounters with other girls starting with Mn and Tina at the Hostess of Fertility. He didnt leave out any details, including some of the more embarrassing parts, because he had promised to tell Hestia the truth. Though he couldnt mention anything about the system, it didnt stop him from speaking about its influence as long as he passed it off as his Divinity. Vahn also talked about meeting Lili in the dungeon, saving her, and then living in the same end. He talked about his spections regarding the Soma Familia and his first meeting with Hephaestus, how they grew closer together, his promise with her, and their eventual confession and shared passion. Vahn talked about living with the tyrannical Tsubaki and the score he wanted to settle with her in the future. He recounted his meeting with Naaza, how he had healed her arm and subsequently resisted the attack of the party of adventurers that thought he was a monster. He also talked about how, due to the rumors regarding him, he eventually met with the Loki Familia and dueled with Tiona and Ais before entering the dungeonter to be stronger. He exined his rapid growth, the encounter and near-death experience of fighting the Juggernaut, saving the Father and Sons group, arriving at the 18th floor, and even the ambush of the Anubis Familia. Throughout his entire story, Hestia sat in a daze as if she could imagine all of the struggles he had gone through. When he talked about the moments where he had nearly died trying to perform heroic acts, she felt both terrified and proud of him. Knowing that he willingly suffered the injuries of others to ensure they would have a chance at life and happiness made her feel especially proud to be the goddess of such an incredible youth... When Vahn got to the part about his reunion with the Loki Familia and how he fought against the Goliath solo, Hestia could feel the excitement of the fight and it made her own heart rate increase. Unfortunately, immediately after that, Vahn began talking about his interactions with the Loki Familia from then onwards. This included him bathing with the girls of the main group and the confessions between him and Tiona. He also talked about the s.e.x.u.a.l education he received from Riveria and the subsequent promises with Tiona and Ais. Vahn even went into detail about his interactions with other girls, all the way up until his fight with the Juggernaut and s.u.mbing to the mental attack. After his awakening, Vahn had changed and began to seek out and interact with people with a new mindset and entered actual rtionsh.i.p.s with women. He made a lot of promises and even charged into the heart of the Loki Familia where he shed with her rival Loki head on. After that, Vahn tried to mention his rendezvous with the two girls but Hestia put her hands over his mouth and cut off his airflow to prevent him from speaking further. He opened his eyes and looked up at her and saw she had a frustrated expression on her face as she said, "I dont need those kinds of details you dummy~!" Vahn nodded his head inpliance and she finally let him breathe again so he returned to his story while skipping some of the more intimate details. The remainder of the story including his daily life living with the Anubis Familia and his eventual date and engagement with Eina and Hephaestus. Though he wasnt there for it, Vahn also included some of the details he heard second-hand about the meeting of the various women in his life and how Tina became his Vahnguard to prevent him from deviating in a dangerous direction. After that, Vahn talked about his transition and how he tried to act with more propriety while improving his rtionsh.i.p.s with various people in a more natural manner. Everything wrapped up with Vahns emotional recounting of the kidnapping of Tina and Mn, his subsequent rescuing of them, and his pursuit of Laverna and the captain of her Familia, Kuji. He talked about how Laverna had been killed, without revealing the identity of the assassin, and how his rtionsh.i.p.s with some girls had fundamentally changed as a result. After that, events began to line up with Hestias own understanding and the story finally came to an end as she looked at Vahnscent expression with gentle eyes and a thoughtful expression. Though she had heard much of the story from Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, and Eina, it was a distinctly different thing to hear it directly from the person that experienced all of the events. Hestia now understood theplexities of the rtionsh.i.p.s around Vahn and realized that her actions in confronting the other girls were somewhat selfish. She resolved herself to meet the other girls and determine for herself how serious they were about Vahn before making any decisions that might influence his rtionsh.i.p.s with them. However, she also swore to herself to protect Vahn from anyone that might try to exploit him in the future. Stroking Vahns hair, Hestia looked down on him like he was something very fragile that she needed to protect at all cost. Because she had been the one living her life for thest several million years, she knew what kind of personality she had better than anyone else. She was needy, somewhatzy, and moderately possessive of the few things that she kept close to her heart. Just like when people tried to treat Hephaestus poorly, Hestia would always go out of her way to cause a scene to try and draw the attention to her. She hated seeing the people she cared about suffer injustices more than anything else. With her knowledge regarding herself, Hestia knew that she would be very reliant on Vahn the more he treated her kindly. Since he seemed to defer to her and even liked the way she acted, it made her feel secure to continue acting openly without restraint while around him. Even if she pushed things a little too far, she knew Vahn wouldnt do anything to hurt her and would probably care for her dearly for the rest of his life. In exchange for letting her act spoiled and treating her well, Hestia decided she would ensure he always had a safe ce to return to and would work hard to guarantee that their family was always protected... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Subconscious Desire?,A lot has happened in three months,Heros Sanctuary) I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 221 - Hesitation

Chapter 221 - Hesitation

After Vahn finished recounting his tale, he got up from Hestiasp pillow and stretched his body a bit before saying, "Its getting prettyte, so I think Ill take a bath before going to sleep." Hestia, who had been ruminating over various matters, had her ears perk up at Vahns words and remembered they had an onsen. She jumped off the couch and lifted her right arm high and shouted, "Yes, Ill take a bath as well~!" Vahn smiled at her excitement before they both headed toward the onsen on the first floor. Making his way through the door, Vahn noticed that Hestia tried to follow behind him and he exined, "Hestia, this is the boys side, please use the other room." His words made Hestia flinch and sheughed awkwardly before saying, "You dont have to be embarrassed, I dont mind if we take a bath together as long as you dont try anything~." With a smile on his face, Vahn reached his hand toward Hestias head and she began to smile in anticipation before he gently chopped the top of her head. She made a cute, Eiii!? sound and Vahnughed before saying, "Maybe in the future, but for the time being, we should use different baths. I promised to only share a bath with a woman when theyre someone Im in a rtionship with." Hestia rubbed the top of her head with her fingers and gave Vahn an aggrieved look as she said, "But were in a life-long rtionship already...There is nobody else in the Familia yet, and it will be almost impossible to share a bath with just the two of us in the future." Even though Vahn had gently chopped her head, Hestia had almost no physical strength or resistance so it still hurt her head a bit. Vahn considered Hestia words and agreed that what she said was actually true. Since she had high affection for him and he didnt have any real reason to refuse her at the moment, Vahn didnt think it would be a bad idea to take a bath together. If he had to be honest, Vahn enjoyed bathing with girls even before he became aware of the differences between men and women. Even when he had bathed with Tsubaki, Lili, and Naaza in the past, Vahn just enjoyed theirpany and the atmosphere as he soaked in the warm waters. After a few seconds, Vahn decided to ept her offer since he was actually somewhat inclined to spend time together with her. Rubbing her head and removing any difort she might be feeling, Vahn smiled and said, "Sure, we can spend some time together. Just make sure it doesnt be a habit when others start staying here. Im supposed to be practicing self-control, so its dangerous if I make too many exceptions." Hestia pumped her fists and shouted, "Yosh~! Dont worry, you can use this as an opportunity to temper yourself for the future!" Vahnughed at her outburst before making his way into the changing room with Hestia trailing behind him with a somewhat fiery expression. Without paying too much attention to her, Vahn began undressing casually before stowing away a change of clothes into one of the cubbies. He had noticed that Hestia had been watching him change, but he already resolved himself to not mind her for the time being. Vahn imagined Hestia had next to no experience with men, so she would probably be paying close attention to him and his actions. He decided to try and treat her in the same way as he used to treat Tsubaki, Lili, and Naaza in the past when they bathed together. When Vahn had been changing, Hestia had been admiring his form and physique with a bit of interest since he was indeed the first fully n.a.k.e.d man she had seen. Even though she had plenty of second-hand knowledge, she didnt really associate with the gods in Heaven so she was somewhat curious. Seeing his healthy tan and muscr figure made her heart tighten a bit as she admired his back that had her crest carved into it. After Vahn finished changed and started heading to the onsen, she realized she also needed to undress and felt a little me for Vahn since he hadnt stayed behind to wait for her. Though she didnt want him to look at her, it felt somewhat frustrating that he didnt even try. sping her hands together, her outfit began to splits apart into small white petals that neatly arranged themselves into a pile inside one of the cubbies. Because Hestias outfit was created as part of her Divinity, it was easily removed and worn at her leisure. Even if it suffered damage from wear and tear, it would just split apart into white petals that would regenerate over time as long as she had enough energy. If Vahn had been around to see the sight, he likely would have stared at her with intrigue as he tried to make sense of the mechanic behind her clothing. The only thing the remained were her unblemished white panties and the blue ribbon tied around her arms which she had to remove by hand before cing them neatly on top of the pile of petals. Turning toward the door Vahn had exited through, Hestia froze after taking one step and began to hesitate. Even though she didnt particrly mind being seen by Vahn, she still had some slight inhibitions about how he would react. If he tried to attack her, she would probably run away and it would harm their rtionship for a while. However, even if he didnt attack her, if he showed disinterest in her body she would have some regrets about asking to bath together. She had a bit of confidence in her body, and Hestia also knew that Vahn showed an interest in her, but she was still hesitant to reveal herself to him. After a minute or so, Hestia took a deep breath and tried to psyche herself up as she slowly walked forward. Even though she remembered his disinterest when they were changing, Hestia believed Vahn would appreciate her body and still have enough wherewithal to not take any offensive actions against her. She even knew that, if anyone was likely to do anything, it would probably be her and Vahn would probably just spoil her. Believing in the gentle and innocent boy, Hestia felt emboldened and stepped into the mens bathing area. Vahn had already been rxing in one of the smaller pools since he thought powering therger bath would be a waste considering it was just the two of them. The current one he was in could probably fit 4-5 people without issue so he thought it was more than enough until other people joined the Familia. While he was waiting for Hestia, he even though about other guys that he could convince to join in the future. He definitely wanted to see if he could recruit Welf since they would benefit each other in their research in the future... As he was thinking of future members, Vahn heard the pitter-patter of footsteps and turned his head to see Hestia walking toward him with mechanical movements. The moment he looked over at her, she immediately blushed a bit and instinctively tried to hide, strangely enough, her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Vahn thought her actions were cute because she didnt hide the more important parts from view. Though he didnt stare and almost immediately turned his head away, Vahn noticed that she was alsopletely bare like every other goddess he had seen. Even though he hadnt confirmed it with his own eyes, Vahn suspected Loki would be the same since he had heard the reason from Hephaestus previously. Seeing Vahn look away after smiling slightly, Hestia felt a mixture of emotions but the biggest one was relief. She felt like he appreciated what he saw but had enough propriety to not gawk and make her feel more ufortable. The tensions in her body eased up a bit and she walked over to the pool he was in before taking the spot right next to him. Vahn was somewhat surprised since he could see she was nervous yet still chose to sit right next to him. He suspected she may have sat there since it would be more difficult for him to see her body unless he looked directly at her. If she sat across, or away, from him, he would have been able to stare at her body through the side of his vision if he had any intent to do so. After soaking in the water for around five minutes in absolute silence, Hestia tried to break the ice as she remarked, "This water feels veryfortable...its nice and hot..." Vahn nodded his head in response while he rxed against the smooth stone surface and enjoyed the heat. Ever since she had entered, Vahn had kept his eyes closed and was just soaking his bodycently since it had been a long time since he used an onsen. Hestia was watching Vahn from the side and felt a bit of frustration in her heart with how dismissive he was acting. She felt that, even though they were alone in the bath, he didnt have to go to such great lengths to avoid her. Hestia wanted to tell him that, If she cared about being seen by him, she wouldnt have bathed with him in the first ce. However, even when she tried to vocalize the words, they always got stuck in her mouth because of how forward it sounded even in her mind. Eventually, it came time for the bath toe to an end, so Vahn used the soap tother up his body before wiping himself down and rinsing off. The water in the onsen had the same properties as the one used by Tsubaki, so the soap would break down and be purified by the mana in the water without requiring any cleaning. The whole time he was washing, Hestia stared at him from outside his line of sight but he could still feel her gaze and it made him feel a little strange. As he prepared to get out of the pool, Vahn asked, "Are you going to stay in much longer? I can make you something cool and refreshing when you get out." Almost like his words were a trigger, Hestia shouted, "Vaaaaahn~! Why are you so casual when you get to have a bath with a beautiful goddess like me!? I wont be satisfied unless you give me a good reason~!" For the first time since she entered, Vahn looked straight at Hestia with a somewhat confused expression on his face. Hestia froze up under his gaze as she held the pose she had taken when she shouted out earlier. When she had eximed, Hestia stood up straight with her arms balled into fists at her side as she looked up at Vahn with a pouting expression. Now Vahn saw her full body, including the pale pink n.i.p.p.l.es on her almost wless white b.r.e.a.s.ts and she suddenly felt very nervous. After considering her question for a few seconds, Vahn responded, "I felt like you were cing your trust in me, and I didnt want to make you feel scared since I noticed you were very nervous. Im not really acting casual so much as trying to keep myself from staring rudely at someone elses body." Ever since he had be aware of women, Vahn always felt somewhat awkward if he gawked at their bodies without permission. Even though Hestia wanted to bathe with him, Vahn didnt take it as consent to do whatever you pleased. Hearing his honest answer, Hestias tensions copsed and she dropped down into the water and hugged her knees as she blew bubbles into the water. Vahn didnt know what to make of her reaction and was going to ask before she said, "From now on when we bathe together, dont act so reservedly. It makes me feel even more ufortable when it feels like Im being ignored." Vahn could see the serious look in her eyes, so he smiled and said, "Sure, I wont act so reserved in the future." Finishing his words and giving Hestia onest nce toward her crystalline blue eyes, Vahn stepped out of the pool and revealed himself fully for Hestias appraisal. Since she had only seen him from behind this entire time, it was her first glimpse of Vahns sleeping dragon and her body immediately turned to stone as he walked away from the pool without noticing her reaction. By the time Vahn had left the room, Hestia was still a statuette that was huddled down in the water as if she had just seen the Heavens copsing. Even though she had been lectured by Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, and Eina in the past, none of them had informed her about the size of Vahns dragon and she felt thoroughly intimidated. Though she never had any expectations of pushing their rtionship to that level any time soon, Hestia couldnt help but imagine what would happen to her body if she got attacked by Vahn. As if all her earlier bravado had been an illusion, Hestia felt less confident about ying around with Vahn. If on the off chance he did lose control, she wasnt sure if there would be a route of retreat left to her. Suddenly, Hestias desire to meet the two girls named Tiona and Ais increased by a marginal amount as her concern for her best friend began to grow exponentially. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Life-Long Rtionship,Steamy Bath-Time Goddess,The sealed dragons slumber) I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 222 - Mistake

Chapter 222 - Mistake

A few minutes after he had returned to his room, Vahn saw Hestia step inside with her hair down and she had already worn her white dress once again. She seemed to look very tired and Vahn thought she had spent too much time inside the bath and exhausted herself. Rising from the bed, he approached her before pulling out a cold bottle of [Vanilk] that he had be fond of in the past. It was a dairy product that tasted like vani that was popr in the Far East and Vahn had managed to find it listed within the system for 2OP. Hestia received the ss bottle with a bit of confusion on her face before Vahn said, "If you remove the top and drink this after soaking in an onsen, it helps rehydrate your body and calm your mind a bit. Its also pretty sweet and I havent met anyone that disliked it yet." Some of the tension in her body melted away as Hestia removed the seal on the bottle before taking a small sip of the milky white beverage. Noticing it was actually very sweet and creamy, Hestia gulped it down in a few seconds before eximing with a, "Paaaaaa~" sound. As if the earlier tiredness had been an illusion, Hestia handled the empty bottle over to Vahn with arge smile on her face as she said, "That was super delicious~! From now on, well always drink that after we take a bath!" Since it was already a habit he had developed when he lived with Tsubaki, Vahn nodded his head before saying, "Its getting prettyte, so Im going to head to bed soon." In response, Hestia seemed to hesitate for a brief moment before she said, "Since we just got out of the bath and are already rxed, I wanted to try something unless youre already tired." Vahn turned his head to look at Hestia and saw there was a glimmer of expectation in her eyes even though she also seemed to be nervous. He asked, "What did you want to try?" Since he couldnt think of anything, the only way Vahn could know was if she answered him. He could see her take a deep breath as if she was mustering up her courage before she responded, "I heard from Hephaestus and the others that you were very good at massages. Since Ive never had one...I wanted to try it out if its not too much trouble." Ever since she had heard the warnings from Hephaestus, Loki, and Anubis, Hestia had been curious about Vahns [Hands of Nirvana]. She had wanted to ask him back at the Inn the previous night, but hadnt had enough courage to follow through in the end. Because of the tensions, she didnt even remember to conduct the Familia induction ceremony until the following morning. Now that they had gotten to know each other better and had even bathed together, Hestia wanted to see what all the fuss was about. Hearing Hestias request, Vahn tilted his head sideways and thought about the matter a bit. He knew from experience that his massage skills were very effective and he hadnt met anyone that had anyints to offer. Since Hestia was the type that liked to be spoiled, Vahn had already expected her to ask at some point so he wasnt too surprised. He actually liked giving massages and using his [Hands of Nirvana], so Vahn didnt have any reason to refuse so he said, "Sure, but you have to prepare yourself. Ill try to go easy on you at first and you can tell me how you feel during or after the fact. Most of the girls I give a serious massage to end up passing out, so Id like to receive feedback if possible." Hestias heart began to beat powerful in her chest after she heard the words, serious and passing out. Though she was very curious, she was beginning to think there was more to the matter than was insinuated by her fellow goddesses. Seeing the gentle and innocent expression of Vahn and remembering he said he would go easy on her, Hestia mustered up a bit of courage and asked, "W-w-what do I need to do?" Vahn looked around between the couch and bed beforeing to a decision and saying, "You just need toy on your stomach in afortable position. If youre worried about falling asleep we can use the bed, but if you think youll be able to stay awake we can use the couch. Hearing that it was something as simple asying on her stomach, Hestia released a relieved sigh and said with a smile, "Lets use the bed, its actually superfortable and I dont mind if I fall asleep. I can always tell you my opinion in the morning~!" Vahn agreed since he had also beenying on the bed earlier. It was the first time since he had purchased it and the mattress seemed to conform to his body a bit even though it had a certain sense of firmness. It was very soft on the surface and cool to the touch without making his body feel cold at all. It was almost paradoxical, but Vahn couldnt argue that it was extremelyfortable as Hestia had said. When Hestia crawled into the bed, Vahn wasnt far behind her and it actually felt awkward since he felt like he was chasing her. Since the bed was ratherrge, the only way to get to the center was to crawl to it from the sides. Because she was on her hands and knees, Vahn could see up her short dress if he didnt avert his eyes. After she had finallyid down, Vahn was on his knees next to her body and she was giving him a slightly expectant look. Warming up his hands, Vahn looked at Hestia and said, "Ill start off with a normal massage, or did you want me to use [Hands of Nirvana] and give you the same kind as the others?" Hestia thought for a few seconds before swallowing her saliva and saying, "I want to try the same thing as them...if its too much, we can always try something less intenseter." Now that he had her consent, Vahn nodded his head before cing his hands on her lower back. The first thing Vahn noticed was how small Hestia waspared to the other goddesses he had given a massage. Even Loki was slightly taller than he was, so seeing the petite Hestiaying on her stomach made him feel slightly awkward. It didnt help that he had to lean forward slightly since it was difficult to massage her back while kneeling at her side. Before he officially began, Vahn frowned slightly before exining in a slightly awkward voice, "Its somewhat difficult to massage you like this..." Hestia had closed her eyes the moment Vahn put his palms on her back and didnt quite understand what he was saying until she opened her eyes. She saw that he had to tilt his body over hers at an awkward angle since they were on the same level. It wasnt like a normal massage where he would be able to stand at the side and easily reach around her body. In order to get all the proper angles, he would have to move around and put in a lot more effort to sessfullyplete the massage. As if realizing what he was trying to ask, Hestia buried her face into the nkets for several seconds before she said something in a muffled voice that Vahn couldnt hear. He tilted his body a bit and inclined his ear to listen closer and still couldnt make out what she was saying so he asked, "Hestia, are you...?" Before he could finish, she turned her head and had a slightly teary-eyed look and an extremely frustrated expression as she spat, "Just do it properly~!" Her words finished, Hestia turned her head away and refused to look at Vahn while leaving him with a confused expression on his face. After thinking about her words, Vahn nodded his head and found a bit of confidence as he said, "Im going to straddle your legs a bit so I can line up with your back." His words made Hestia flinch but she didnt say anything even as he climbed over her body. For the second time during the same session, Vahn realized how small Hestias body was as he loosely straddled her legs without resting his weight on hers. Since he remembered her light she was, Vahn was somewhat worried about sitting on her legs like had done with Anubis. Staring at the line of her back, which was mostly exposed because of the design of her dress, Vahn leaned forward a bit and ced his hands on her side as he officially began the massage. Hestia, who had buried her face into the pillow, immediately felt her tensions hit a new high the moment Vahn sat overtop her own body. Even though she couldnt see where he was looking, she felt somewhat afraid by the current situation. As Vahn ced his hands on her sides, her fear continued to increase until an incredibly rxing sensation spread through her body from the sides and it felt like she lost all the tension in her lower body. Not only that, but when she tried to move her legs, Hestia realized she couldnt put any strength into them at all. Though it was veryfortable, Hestia immediately felt afraid and wanted to put an end to the dangerous massage but was unable to turn her head and exim in time before her upper body also bepletely rxed. Hestia felt like her entire body had suddenly be paralyzed and she couldnt even put any effort into her vocal cords to deny his advances anymore. For a brief instant, Hestia felt like she had fallen into Vahns trap and he was about to have his way with her and there was nothing she could do about it. Vahn noticed the powerful fluctuation in Hestias aura and pressed six different areas on her back to undo the progress he had been making. Functionality returned to Hestias body and she immediately curled up into a ball before Vahn could say anything. He could see her aura was flickering chaotically like a me that was about to burn out and was tinged with a hint of purple as she protected herself with one of the pillows from the bed. Vahn felt like he had somehow wronged her and a painful feeling gripped his chest as he stared at the goddess that had treated him so well recoiling as if she was afraid of him. Hestia had been so scared that Vahn was going to attack her that she didnt even think as she escaped out from under his body. She used one of therge pillows as a shield as she looked back with a hint of fear to see how Vahn would react. The moment she saw his expression, Hestias fear diminished by arge amount and she suddenly felt very regretful. She could see that Vahn had an apologetic expression on his face intermixed with confusion and a hint of fear. Hestia immediately understood that he had no intentions to harm her and that she had overreacted because of her own inexperience. She remembered that not only the other goddesses, Vahn himself had warned her before he began. The fact that she, if even for a brief moment, felt afraid that he would take advantage of her was a big breach of the trust between them. She suddenly felt like she had failed him as a goddess and someone that imed to be his family. Seeing that Vahn was about to apologize, Hestias heart felt like it was going to break so she immediately threw the pillow aside before jumping into his arms and, with tears in her eyes, shouted, "Im so sorry Vahn, I know you werent trying to harm me! I just got scared because I hadnt expected to suddenly lose control over my own body like that! Please dont me yourself and give me such sad look like you want to apologize!" Vahn had been caught off guard when Hestia suddenly lunged at him and had fallen back onto the bed as she hugged his chest with tears and concern marring her expression. He noticed that her aura had changed from the slight purple one to a sunny yellow intermixed with an azure blue and a tinge of pink. Vahn released a relieved sigh as he began stroking her back gently with the calming effects of [Hands of Nirvana]. For a moment, Vahn had thought he had harmed Hestia somehow so he was incredibly relieved when he heard it was a misunderstanding. Hestia felt Vahns warm caress on her back and could feel the gentle energy spreading through her body and driving away all of the negative feelings she had been feeling. She looked into his expression and saw that it had returned to the same gentle smile that he always seemed to show others. Vahn saw her staring at him silently and used his free hand to stroke her long silken-ck hair as he whispered in a gentle tone, "Maybe we can try something less intense next time...I want to help you rx and feelfortable, not scare you and make you fearful of me." Though his words were gentle, Hestia felt them like heavy impacts on her heart because she knew she had wronged him unfairly. Even though he did nothing wrong, it was now him trying tofort her when she should be the one trying to make it up to him. It was even worse because she could feel the warm energy from his hands and couldnt hold on to her own sadness and anxiety as he seemed intent on driving it away. Vahn could see her aura fluctuating slightly and saw the struggle on her face so he put some strength into his body and lifted himself up till she was sitting in hisp. Hestia was confused at first and then Vahn put his hands around her back and held her close to his chest as he rested his head on top of hers. Before she could say anything, Vahn whispered, "Misunderstandings happen, Hestia, we just need to put them behind us and continue moving forward. Didnt we promise to help make each other happy and be family? Dont let such a small matter make you feel down..." Finishing his words, Vahn kissed her on the top of her head before releasing her. Hestia stared up at him with a slight frown on her face and didnt say anything for several seconds as she continued to sit awkwardly in hisp. After thinking for a bit, she took a big breath before releasing it as a powerful sigh. She bumped her head against Vahns chest and remained silent for another couple of seconds before she turned up to look at him with a vibrant smile on her face that caught Vahnpletely off guard. Almost as if the earlier incident had never happened in the first ce, Hestia had returned to her cheerful demeanor and her deep blue eyes had turnedpletely tranquil as a gentle light reflected in them. She spoke in a solemn, yet happy tone, almost as if she was making a promise, "I know you will never harm me, Vahn. From now on, and forever hereafter, I will ce my trust in youpletely." Her words finished, Hestia grabbed Vahns hands in her own and held them close as if she was uttering a prayer. It was a simr manner as the time when they had first met, and Vahn wondered if there was some significance to the act. After she released his hands, Hestia showed another vibrant smile that felt like it could banish away bad thoughts and feelings. Vahn suddenly felt somewhat protective of the tiny goddess and instinctively began stroking her head as he smiled and said, "Lets go to bed, Hestia." Her eyes squinted a bit before she nodded her head and said, "Yes, but I want to try that massage again tomorrow. No matter what happens, I want to see it through to the end." After making the promise to continue tomorrow, the twoid down onto the bed in a much better mood than a few minutes prior. Though they didnt embrace or cling to each other from the outset, it wasnt long before Vahn awoke to find Hestia crawling onto his body even though the bed beneath them was far morefortable than he imagined his stomach to be. If not for the soft feeling pressing against him, and the incredibly light weight of Hestia, Vahn would have muttered a silentint before he once again fell asleep with a slight smile on his face. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Curiosity Killed the Cat(Goddess),Instinctive Fear,Terrifying Godhand) I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 223 - Birthday (1/2)

Chapter 223 - Birthday (1/2)

When Vahn woke up to prepare and enter the orb, he was taken aback by the present situation and briefly stunned by what he saw. At some point during the night, Hestia had flipped her body and wasying on top of him on her back. It was the first time a girl hadid on him in such a strange fashion and Vahn could clearly see down her cleavage and the small [Sapphire Star] dangling off to the side. Pulling up the covers to hide her body, Vahn shifted sideways slowly and allowed her to roll off of him without waking her up. As if to rebuff his efforts, Hestia, seemingly still asleep, crawled back on top of his body and hugged around his ribs like she refused to let him go. If not for the fact he could see her stable aura and the drooling from her mouth, Vahn wouldnt believe she wasnt awake. Since his awareness of the body, especially any he was in contact with, was very high, Vahn could feel the stability of her pulse and the rhythm of her breathing with indicated she was still asleep. It was almost like she had some kind of homing instinct that sought out warmth while she was unconscious and it made Vahnugh as he stroked her hair a bit before entering the orb. Within the orb, Vahn forged the emblem that he was going to ce outside of their gate as well as several smaller ones to give to any of their future Familia members. To prevent them from falling into the hands of others, Vahn also purchased thin bangles that he forged the member emblems around. This gave it the properties of a piece of equipment that had been obtained through the system, so only the members he gifted the emblems to would be able to make use of them. Anyone else that tried would experience a small bacsh and be forced to drop it. Because he got a little carried away, Vahn forged more than twenty of them and even nearly had to give one to Eva when she found out what he was working on. Instead, Vahn decided to give her something from the system that he thought suited her. It was a hairpin that had a lily-motif with five beautiful white petals with a slight golden coloration in the center. When he ced it in her long golden hair, Vahn felt like his own affection for her had increased by +5. To thank him, Eva spent some time treating him gently while wearing only the hairpin as theyid in bed together. When Vahn finally escaped into the real world, he nearlyughed because of how adorable her actions had been. If not for Hestia currently sleeping on his body, Vahn would have wanted tough in order to vocalize the feelings he had been bottling up. As if she had sensed something, Hestia wriggled about on top of his body for a bit before raising her head and staring at him with sleepy eyes. Vahn saw her looked and gave her a smile that was enhanced by the feelings he had within. Reaching out his hand, he stroked the side of her hair and ran his fingers through it as he said, "Good morning Hestia..." His words made Hestia show an equally happy smile as she rested her head against his hand beforeughing in a strange manner and trying to go back to sleep. Vahn felt a bit awkward because she was holding his forearm with her right arm and using it to support her head. A few secondster, he noticed she had actually fallen asleep even though her upper body was being held up by nothing by her head. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts were dangling down because of the awkward position and Vahn could clearly outline their entire shape with his eyes. Releasing a sigh, Vahn gently lowered Hestias head until she wasying against his body again. Her instinct immediately took effect and she once again hugged around his body. Hestia seemed to be the type that wasnt a morning person, so Vahn allowed her to sleep for a bit longer as he organized things in his inventory and began preparing for theing day. Since it was Saturday, it was also the day that had been arranged to celebrate his birthday. Vahn hadnt heard anything about what was nned, but he knew he was supposed to visit the same cafe where he previously waited for Hestia around 10 AM. There were still nearly five hours until then, so Vahn allowed Hestia to get some more sleep. Slightly after 8 AM, Hestia finally woke up and Vahn helped wipe away her slobber with a small handkerchief he had prepared. She seemed embarrassed at first before justughing away the matter and showing a cheerful smile. Afterward, the two prepared for the day and Vahn reminded Hestia of the uing celebration. Hearing his reminder, Hestia immediately became bubbly and hugged his arm between her b.r.e.a.s.ts while looking up and shouting, "It might be a bitte, but happy birthday Vahn~!" After preparing a few things, Vahn and Hestia made their way to the cafe in high spirits. Hestia seemed to be looking forward to the celebration even more than Vahn and he was beginning to be affected by her mood. Instead of letting him lead the way, Hestia was pulling him along in an excited manner while only being distracted a few times along the way. Vahnughed every time she stopped to experience something new and patiently exined things before Hestia would suddenly realize they had stopped before dragging him along at a faster pace. They arrived at the cafe with about a half hour to spare, but there were already several people that had shown up which made Vahn feel a warmth in his heart. Since Hephaestus had coordinated with everyone, all of the people that had close rtionsh.i.p.s with Vahn had shown up, including some people he was both surprised and pleased to see. The first of which noticed him the moment he entered and raised his hand with an amiable smile on his face and said, "Yooo, long time no see man!" The person greeting him had been the crimson haired Welf that Vahn hadnt seen in a long time. Walking forward, he extended his hand and sped Welfs as he responded, "Its good to see you, Welf, how has the research been progressing?" Though Welf had a smile on his face, Vahn saw it twitch a bit when he asked about the research. After releasing a sigh, Welf put his palms together and bowed slightly as he asked, "Please give me another one of those staves! I broke thest one when I was trying an experiment and things havent been going well ever since!" Vahnughed and waved his hand as another [Heal] appeared out of thin air. He passed it over to Welf who had a look of gratitude on his face before another voice shouted out whileughing, "Welf-boyo, what kind of thoughts go through that brain of yours to be asking for gifts from the person whose birthday were celebrating~!?" The voice had belonged to Tsubaki who was wearing a white and purple eastern looking top that showed off her midriff. Though it was still somewhat revealing, it was a much better outfit than just wearing her sarashi while in public. Welf had a frustrated and somewhat apologetic expression on his face as he turned to her and said, "Mind your own business you old bat. Vahn and I are partners and he asked about my-" Before he could finish, Tsubaki grabbed the top of his head and pushed him down to the floor and shouting, "Who are you calling an old bat!? You sure got bolder in the time I havent seen you, havent you kid?" Though Welf had a forward and something aggressive personality at times, he was still only a Level 1 and wasnt remotely close to a match for Tsubakis strength. Vahn didnt know how he could muster up such courage to even lightly insult Tsubaki since she wasnt exactly known for her delicacy. To prevent the situation for getting worse, Vahn walked over and ced his hand on Tsubakis shoulder and said, "Dont mind him too much, youre still quite beautiful regardless of what others might say." Tsubakis eye widened a bit and Vahn helped Welf to stand before she could say anything to stop him. Vahn helped dust Welf off before saying adamantly, "Never insult a woman for her age, even if you dont mean it..." Vahn almost mentioned that Welf used to like Hephaestus, even though she was millions of years old, but the thought of vocalizing the words didnt sit well with him at all. Almost as if Welf had understood something from his words, he released a sigh before cing his hand on Vahns shoulder and saying in a solemn tone, "Make sure you treat her well..." Though Welf had once thought of Vahn as his rival in love, it wasnt long after their first meeting that he realized there wasnt even apetition to be had. The rumors regarding his and Hephaestuss rtionship weremon knowledge and he had already verified matters previously. Though he didnt know about the marriage yet, Welf was certain there was more to the rtionship between Hephaestus and Vahn than was currently rumored. The moment he saw Hephaestus without her eyepatch, Welf had already given up pursuing the goddess that had deeply rooted itself in his heart. Vahn understood what Welf was saying, so he nodded his head confidently and said, "No matter what, Ill make sure to take care of all the people I care about." Though he wanted to say Hephaestus instead of all, Vahn couldnt ignore the fact there were several of the girls he was close to present. Though they hadnt greeted each other yet, Vahn could see Loki, Eina, Tiona, Tione, Ais, Lefiya, Naaza, Lili, Mn, Tina, Anubis, the entire Anubis Familia, and,st but not least, Chloe. Counting Tsubaki and Hestia, that brought the total count of attendants to 17 females and 6 males. Though he was already aware of it, Vahn noticed that he had few male acquaintances. Since Finn, Gareth, and Bete hadnt shown up, that left his only actual male acquaintance to be Welf, since Rasui, Nour, Akil, and Ata were all technically closer to his proteges or pack than anything else. After a few polite words, Vahn made his way over to the rest of the group with Hestia, Tsubaki, and Welf as he began to greet everyone in turn. They all seemed happy to see him and Vahn could feel their affection as he had short embraces with almost all the girls present, including Tsubaki and the girls he didnt interact with much like Chione and Maat. Seemingly unaware of what was going on, Welf looked at Vahn like he was some kind of monster and, once Vahn had greeted everyone, leaned over and asked, "What the hell is going on, did I not get the memo or something?" Since it wasnt a secret and he should already know about Tiona and Ais, Vahn began to give a short exnation of his rtionship with all the girls present while skimming over most of the details. Some of the people present could pick up on his words, even though he was speaking quietly, and they had a happy expression as Vahn recounting things for Welfs benefit. By the end, the incredulous look on Welfs face had turned into one of abject confusion and he had a somewhat strange, yet serious, expression as he asked in a moderately loud voice, "Are you trying to say that almost every girl here besides some of the brats are your women!?" As if dissatisfied by something he had said, Lili, Nanu, and Tina all stood up and shouted in concert, "Were not brats you idiot!" Welf gave them an even stranger look and Vahn couldnt even read what kind of emotions he was experiencing just based off of his expression. Without responding to the trio, he turned to Vahn with wide eyes and asked, "Even these three brats as well?" His words made everyone at the table begin tough with the exclusion of the so-called three brats. They stared at Welf with venomous eyes as if they wanted to rip out his tongue. Even Tina, who was usually a very sensible young girl, looked at Welf as if he was her natural enemy. Welf could feel the gazes on him and saw the reactions of everyone around him including the somewhat difficult expression on Vahns face. Though he was almost positive he wasnt the one at fault here, Welf felt like he had found himself in a ridiculous situation without the opportunity to prepare himself. All he had heard was this was a birthday party for Vahn; he never expected it to be some kind of convention of Vahns current and future women. Even his first love was among the crowd and Welf suddenly felt like Vahn was trying to show off to him. However, no matter how much frustration he felt, Welfs impression of Vahn was a powerful one in a pretty positive direction. Instead of feeling any resentment, he sighed deeply before looking at Vahn was a peculiar, almost respectful, look on his face. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bad Sleeping Habits,Level 1 Crushed by a Cyclops,Get startled boi) I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 224 - Birthday (2/2)

Chapter 224 - Birthday (2/2)

After things settled down a bit and everyone had some food and drinks, Hephaestus and Eina had asked Vahn to sit between them as they stood up to address the rest of the group. As Vahns official first wives, it had been their responsibility to organize everything and gather everyone together. Fortunately, most of the people rted to Vahn were women that were fond of him and they had a pre-existingwork established since thest Vahnatus. Though not everyone was of age, Hephaestus lifted up a goblet of ruby red wine and said, "I would like to thank everyone for gathering here today to celebrate the birth and continued life of Vahn. Though it hasnt been officially announced, everyone here should be aware of the rtionship between Vahn, Eina, and me." As if taking her cue, Eina continued, "As the official first wives of Vahn, representing both goddesses and mortals, we wanted everyone to meet together and share this experience..." Other than Welf, everyone was present was already aware of Hephaestus and Einas position, so he was the only one with shock on his face. Looking around, he realized he was the only one and swallowed an imaginary bit of saliva since his mouth had already gone dry. When Eina continued on and exined a bit of the origin regarding Vahn and the fact that he had never celebrated a birthday before, Welf had a somewhat solemn expression as he looked across at his former rival. All of the girls present were aware of Vahns past, but it was the first time they were hearing about the matter regarding Vahn never celebrating his birthday or any other holiday for that matter. The atmosphere of the party shifted a bit as many of the girls had somewhat sad expressions on their face while others resolved to make it up to Vahn in the future. If not for the fact that she was separated from Vahn by three other people, Tiona would have leaped across the table tofort him right now. Unfortunately for her, not only were there people in her way, but she was also surrounded by Ais and Tione who had been assigned the task of keeping her at bay. After the exnation, Hephaestus raised her cup slightly to indicate everyone else to do the same. Once everyone lifted their sses high, she said loudly and with unconcealed passion in her voice, "For Vahn, wee together to celebrate his birth and bless him with many more days toe!" In response, everyone present shouted out, "Happy birthday Vahn~!" Vahn had also raised his ss to toast, and hearing everyone celebrate his birthday in such high spirits was a big impact on him. Everyone around was someone that was close to him, and there were even several of his lovers, wives, and loved ones present. He could see the auras of everyone around him converging with himself at the center and the expressions of care and concern on their faces were quickly whittling away at any resistance he might have had. By the time the toast had finished, Vahn had tears streaming down his face and was having a very difficult time keeping his expression from breaking. Everyone present had been paying attention to him and even Welf was somewhat misty-eyed at seeing Vahns reaction. Hephaestus and Eina sat at his sides and embraced his body as if they were cradling and protecting him. Though she was often quite reserved, Eina had a soft spot for the boy she had decided to marry and couldnt sit idly by as he suffered the strain of his own emotions. For several minutes, the only thing Vahn could do besides cry was repeat his thanks over and over to everyone present. Even though he had tried so hard to be stronger, even though he had made many efforts to meet the expectations and bear the burdens of others, even though he had ovee countless difficulties and even life or death situations, it was only now that Vahn truly felt like he belonged in this world. Here, in this ce, at this moment, he truly understood the significance that others ced in his life. Though he had only known them for a brief period they, like his deceased mother, had shown him kindness, care, and even love... Though the mood was dampened a bit with Vahns sobbing, nobody present med him for how emotional he was acting. When he had finally calmed down, Hephaestus and Eina helped him from the table and Vahn was once again embraced by everyone present. Every hug felt like a new experience and it was a heavy impact on Vahn as he returned their embrace with a powerful one of his own. He felt like he wanted to protect this feeling and didnt want to ever let it get away from him ever again. The first to hug him after Hephaestus and Eina had been Tiona who also had a teary-eyed expression even though she had a big smile on her fact. She put her arms around Vahn and gave him a powerful hug as he did the same to her. Though the didnt kiss, the two nuzzled their foreheads together and Tiona whispered, "Im d you were born Vahn...thank you for everything...all of the past, the present, and the future we will share together from now on." Tionas words made Vahns heart twist in his chest and he promised, "I swear, Tiona, I swear well create a happy family one day...a ce where we can raise our children without letting them suffer..." His words were passionate and had an undertone of desperation to them but Tionaughed the bad feelings away and responded, "I believe in you Vahn...youre my hero after all~" After Tiona, Ais was the next to embrace Vahn in a somewhat powerful, yet gentle, embrace. The two stood in silence for several seconds until Ais frowned slightly and said, without any curtness or breaks in her words, "We will always celebrate together from now on..." Turning her head and looking at all the other people present, Ais smiled before looking into Vahns eyes and continuing, "Always and forever, together..." Without paying any more attention to the surroundings, Ais leaned in and kissed Vahn on the lips with a bit of passion. Vahn could feel the warmth from his chest increase in magnitude as he returned her kiss while hugging around her waist. After a few seconds, she pulled away with a happy smile on her face and Vahn watched her leave with a small smile on his face. She ended up stopping next to Tiona and Vahn could see she had a cheerful smile as she mouthed words slow enough that Vahn could read her lips, I will kiss you a lot next time. Lili looked like she would be the next to give Vahn a hug, but Chloe stepped in a beat her to the punch and, before she couldin, gave Vahn a short hug and light peck on the lips. Vahn was a bit surprised but he just showed a happy smile as he stared into her beautiful green eyes. She had always been there for him, even since he first stepped into this world and started interacting with people. Without putting too much effort, or drawing too much attention to it, Vahn gently ran his thumb along the blue ribbon around Chloes tail. Her smile widened a bit before she ced her palm on his chest, over his heart, and stepped off to the side. Unwilling to be beaten to the punch a second time, Lili stepped forward and quickly embraced around Vahns waist. She nuzzled into his chest and Vahn could see fresh tears on her face as he gently stroked her hair. Right now she was in her default form and had curly chestnut brown hair and Vahn thought it suited her very well. In a quiet voice that only he, and a few others, could hear, Lili whispered, "I also didnt get to celebrate my birthday much in the past...from now on, lets always celebrate together..." Since he was already in emotional turmoil, Lilis words were like a hammer on Vahns heart as he leaned down and hugged powerfully as he promised, "I swear Lili, Ill always be around whenever you need me. Not just on your birthday, but for anything else you want to celebrate..." Though Vahn knew of Lilis troubled past, it was still difficult for him to wrap his head around the trauma she had experienced. Since, even now, her Affection had been stuck at 99, Vahn knew she hadnt truly opened her heart to him, or anyone else for that matter. When Vahn had leaned down to hug her tightly, Lilis tears began falling heavily from her eyes as she hugged around his neck in a slightly desperate manner. Even though he made his promise, even though she wanted to believe, Lili was currently living away from Vahn and it was hard for her to ept how distant he often was. Mustering up a bit of her courage, she whispered in an almost inaudible voice, "On my next birthday...I want us to celebrate it alone. If I can get to Level 3 by then, I want you to make me one of your lovers as well..." Vahn had been listening intently to her words and he was considering them seriously before he gave his response. She was currently 13, only marginally younger than he was by around a year. That meant she would turn 14 in around ten months and would very likely be able to reach Level 3 by then. Since that was the Level where the majority of adventurers were considered veterans, Vahn couldnt refute that she would have be strong by then. Though he still had some inhibitions about her size, Vahn felt it very difficult to refuse Lili at the moment so he whispered silently, "Okay, Lili, I promise..." All of the sadness on Lilis face melted away and Vahn felt like a light began shining in her eyes as she grabbed the sides of his face and kissed him. Vahn was somewhat surprised, especially when she tried to stick her tongue into his mouth, so he patted the back of her head before standing up and separating. Even though she seemed reluctant to part, Lili still had a very happy expression on her face as she marched over toward the sides in high spirits. She looked straight at Tsubaki and said in a confident voice, "From now on well triple the amount of training~!" After Lili, things took a strange turn, almost like everyone was in a hurry to make future promises. Naaza had been the next to embrace Vahn and, even though she was reserved and had a blush on her face, she also kissed him briefly before hanging her head low in embarrassment. Since she knew there were people present that could hear her even if she spoke quietly, Naaza muttered hesitantly, "I want to join your Familia in the future...and then...when I make a breakthrough in my mixing..." The longer she spoke, the deeper Naazas blush became and Vahn understood what she was trying to convey. Putting a bit of strength in his hands, Vahn whispered, "If you need help, I also obtained the [Mixing] Development Ability...we can aplish the breakthrough together." His words made Naazas face turn crimson even though her expression didnt change much. She looked up into his eyes as if trying to discern the truth before a small smile spread to her lips and she said, "Id like that." Recing Naaza was, surprisingly, Loki, who gave Vahn an equally surprising embrace. Vahn hadnt expected her to treat him so gently and hug his body without doing anything mischevious or yful. Even without making any promises, Loki parted her eyes slightly and had a gentle smile on her face as she said, "Live a long life Vahn...there are a lot of people that are happy you are here. Make sure to take care of your own happiness as well..." Her words finished, Loki made way for the next girl and Vahn felt somewhat strange watching her walk away in such a manner. After Loki was Anubis and she hugged Vahn by cradling his head against her chest and stroking his head. Vahn was very easy to catch off guard right now and his emotions were somewhat unstable so he was easily caught by her hands. Wrapping his arms around her waist by reflex, Anubis whispered, "Thank you, Master, thank you for being born. From now on, I will always serve at your side no matter what..." Vahn nodded, even though his face was still pressed into her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Satisfied, Anubis stroked her cheek against the top of his head before letting him go. Nanu was the next to give him a hug, and Vahn kneeled down to make it easier for her. Her only words were, "I will do my best to be a capable mate." Vahn saw that she seemed very fired up, so he rubbed her ears affectionately before sending her off to stand next to Anubis. The other two chienthrope girls seemed like the wanted to participate, but neither of them could muster up the courage before the next girls approached Vahn. After Nanu, the next person to approach Vahn was actually two separate people. They were the Mother-Daughter pair of Mn and Tina, and Vahn was happy to see that Mn wasfortable enough to have her ears and tail uncovered. She had even worn a purple hairpin that drew attention to her head as if she was trying to regain her confidence. Vahn embraced both girls at the same time as they promised to be together more often in the future. Once they walked away, nobody else approached at first until Tione seemed to get annoyed and urged the bashful Lefiya forward. She stumbled at first and had a fierce blush on her face but continued walking until she stopped right in front of Vahn. The two didnt embrace, but Lefiya looked up at him with a somewhat sad expression on her face and said, "Vahn, Im so sorry that you never got the celebrate your birthday before..." Vahn could see that she was very affected by the earlier revtion and was having some difficulty maintaining herposure. The warm feeling in his heart expanded a bit as a gentle smiled appeared on his face. Reaching out his hand, Vahn used [Hands of Nirvana] and began to affectionately stroke the young elfs orange hair. Lefiya didnt resist his touch at all as the warm andfortable feeling began to spread in her mind. The tears that had been stuck in her eyes began to fall a bit before she finally embraced Vahn in a very loose manner. Vahn returned her hug by lighting patting her back while continuing to stroke her head for a few seconds until she pulled away with a crimson face and practically hid behind Tiona and Ais. Tione was the next to step forward and seemed to be one of the least affected by the atmosphere as she grabbed Vahns head in a simr manner as Anubis and hugged his face in her rtively modest b.r.e.a.s.ts. Though they were growing rapidly, there was still a bit of time until she achieved the full potential of her manga counterpart. In a somewhat bold manner, Tione said, "Make sure you treat my sister well from now on. If youre always going to be together, that means Ill probably be there to celebrate with you from now on as well...treat me well too, okay?" Without waiting for his response, Tione squeezed his head a bit before letting him go and walking over toward Tiona who wasughing in a very mischevious manner. Tiona tried to ignore her by keeping her eyes closed, but Vahn could see her temple twitching a bit with his enhanced vision. Thest person, wrapping up the entire embrace-train, ended up being Tsubaki. Hestia seemed to have taken up the position of a sentry at the side as she made conversation with Hephaestus and everyone else present was a boy and didnt seem to have an inclination towards emotional embraces. When they hugged, Tsubaki became the third woman that day to press Vahn into her chest as sheughed in a somewhat reserved mannerpared to her usual outburst. She stroked his hair affectionately and said in a soothing manner, "Youre growing up faster and faster...make sure you take a break every now and then and look after your own health from now on. There are a lot of people relying on you and..." Vahn saw that Tsubaki was hesitating a bit and, even though he was still experiencing a bit of turmoil, he somewhat understood what she wanted to say. Without doing anything noticeable, Vahn channeled a bit of energy into his fingertips that were hugging around Tsubakis waist. It was far less than the usual amount he used, but Tsubaki was able to understand what Vahn was getting at. He was essentially teasing her right now in a discreet manner in front of more than twenty other people and she could feel her back tingling from the slight stimtion from his fingers. She grit her teeth a bit but her expression didnt change much as she whispered, "You little brat..." Vahn smiled in response and increased the amount of energy in one of his fingers and made her body jolt a bit as he said, "Twenty-seven...I still owe you quite a lot." Tsubaki squeezed his head a bit harder and Vahn immediately felt his airway cut off as she whispered in a teasing voice, "Dont think Ill just let you do whatever you want little devil..." After suffocating him for a few seconds, Tsubaki released Vahns head and said in a quiet voice, "Six-thousand-one-hundred-forty-nine..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lilis Ambition Explodes,Unlimited Embrace Works!,Cyclops are difficult opponents) (A/N: A lot of the fluff chapters areing to an end pretty soon, so expect things to start getting more exciting~! (Nameless) wont be so much longer, and Vahn will begin researching various things while entering the dungeon once again. There is also an event approaching that people have been waiting for since a very long time ago (O,...,O)~!) I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 225 - Future Plans

Chapter 225 - Future ns

For the remainder of the celebration, everyone was in much higher spirits as they all traded stories and tried building stronger bonds. Since Vahn didnt get to spend too much time with her, Eina stayed at his side for the duration of the party and Vahn even teased her a bit by trying to feed her snacks. She was embarrassed to the point where her ears had be red, but Eina didnt pull away as if she was trying to take a stand against the other girls in the room. As the first wife of the mortal faction, she couldnt get so easily fl.u.s.tered when interacting with Vahn. Later in the party, everyone gave Vahn gifts which primarily consisted of personal items, charms, and even a strangely shaped doll that Vahn thought was somewhat adorable, even if it looked odd. Apparently, Ais had been learning how to sew with Rivera and spent the week trying to make a miniature Ais doll so that Vahn could take her with him wherever he went. Her gift seemed to have inspired something in the other girls and they each had glowing eyes as Ais gave a small v for victory with her fingers. After another round of embraces, everyone started to leave since it was gettingte in the afternoon. Vahn had calmed down a lot by then since he had entered the orb after excusing himself to the bathroom at one point. His transformation wasnt unnoticed by the girls but none of them brought it up as they epted Vahns affections before promising to meet soon. On their way out, Loki informed Vahn that they would be going on an expedition soon and it would probably take more than a month. Hearing her words, Vahn gave Tiona and Ais a longer embrace which included a kiss before patting the head of Lefiya and giving her some encouraging words. Tione seemed as if she wanted a hug as well, but she was standing on the opposite side of Loki and didnt make a move. Thest to depart were Hephaestus, Eina, and Chloe who had taken the day off to attend the party. Since all the girls, minus Hestia, were considered his future wives and loved ones, Vahn gave them much more passionate embraces since everyone else had cleared out. As the only non-wife left, Chloe was the first and Vahn nuzzled his head against hers as they shared a few light kisses. When she was satisfied, Chloe prepared to leave but not before sending a wink towards Hestia who looked like she wanted to throw her wine ss. When it came time to embrace Hephaestus, Vahn didnt hesitate at all as he reached his hands around and gently grabbed her butt. A light blush touched her cheeks as she whispered, "You really..." Vahn cut off her words by kissing her on the lips with more than a bit of passion. He felt like words couldnt express how happy he was that she organized all of this just for him so Vahn decided to show it with his actions. After inserting his tongue into her mouth and coiling it around hers for nearly three minutes, Vahn finally released her as she began gasping for air with a light ze over her eyes. Because of their connection through the eternal me, Hephaestus could feel Vahns love and excitement and it hadpounded her own to an almost intolerable level. Vahn was still holding firmly onto her backside as he smiled and said, "I wont keep you waiting much longer..." Even though he spoke quietly, everyone in the room could hear the seriousness in his voice as he held Hephaestus gaze without flinching in the slightest. She released a few strained breaths before kissing him again in several short, but passionate, kisses. Vahn could almost feel the tensions in the atmosphere increasing when she looked at him with slightly zing eyes and said, "When it happens...Ill clear my schedule for...for three, no, five days..." Not only everyone present, but even Vahns brows raised at her bold im because they could all understand the implication behind her words. Thoughts raced through Vahns head for a while before he put a bit more strength into his grip and held Hephaestus against his body. Leaning close to her ear, Vahn whispered in an almost inaudible tone, "If you want to...Ill make sure you get pregnant at that time..." His words made the blush on Hephaestuss face try topete with the vibrant red color of her hair as she began breathing at a much faster rate than normal. Because she was mentally checked out, Hephaestus stood off to the side in a daze while being tended to by Hestia. Though she looked very happy, Hephaestuss soul seemed to have escaped her body and she had an uncharacteristically silly look on her face as Hestia shook her body to try and bring her back. While they were putting on a small y that brought a smile to Vahns face, Eina stepped forward with her hands held behind her back while a gentle smiled covered her face. Vahn initiated a loose embrace with her and she returned his affections while gently stroking his back. They didnt say anything for a while as the two just enjoyed each otherspany for nearly a minute until Eina whispered, "After we get married, Im going to move in with you...I have already talked with the Guild Head and got permission to act as a liaison between the Hestia Familia and the Guild in the future. It seems as though Ouranos wants to keep an eye on you and is already aware of our rtionship..." Hugging her waist a bit tighter, Vahn pulled away his head to see her face and saw the seriousness contained within. He knew she was cautioning him a bit, but Vahn just put the matter to the back of his mind as he smiled and said, "I look forward to being together more often...Ive been missing you a bit these days." Stroking the side of her face, Vahn gave Eina a long kiss that didnt get too intimate. After separating, he could see her face had taken on a tomato-like color and he couldnt help but smile about how elves and half-elves always blushed all the way to their ears. After a few more parting words, Hephaestus and Eina left for their respective abodes while Vahn began leading Hestia back to their Manor. Since she had been rtively quiet for most of the celebration, Vahn grabbed her hand and led her along as he asked, "Are you okay Hestia? If youre tired, I can carry you again." When he asked the question, Hestia slowed down a bit until Vahn looked back and saw her with a contemtive look on her face. After they came to a full stop, Hestia reached out her arms and Vahn smiled before kneeling down so she could climb on his back. Even though he couldnt quite get used to the feeling on his back, Vahn had, at the very least, grown ustomed to it and it didnt distract him. He carried Hestias light body all the way back to the Hearth Manor while she hugged his neck from behind and didnt say a word the entire way. Vahn almost thought she had fallen asleep but, the moment they entered into the foyer, she patted his shoulders and Vahn let her down from his back. Vahn turned to look back at her and saw that her expression had turned more gentle than the serious and contemtive look from earlier. After a brief hesitation, Hestias smile widened a bit and she asked, "Are you serious about all of those girls?" Though he was a bit distracted, Vahn understood what she was trying to ask so he responded seriously, "Even though I dont understand my own feelings well, I know that I care about each of them deeply. I treat all of my rtionsh.i.p.s as seriously as I can...even though I might make mistakes every now and then. I want to make them happy because their happiness is my happiness." Hestias smile grew marginally but there was a sad look in her eyes as she asked, "What happens if one of them leaves you in the future? Im afraid that you might get hurt trying to bnce so many things all at once..." Because of the matter with Mn and Tina, Vahn knew what she was trying to get at since the event hadnt just impacted himself and the two girls. Things had developed to the point where it influenced a great number of people and the gods and goddesses of five Familia. Vahns brows furrowed a bit and his expression became especially serious as he said, "I have learned...that you cant live for others." Shaking his head, Vahn continued, "The only thing I can do is my best. Even if there are people that will move on in the future...as long as they are happy...that is enough for me. I know now that there are a lot of people who will stay with me when things get tough...and they give me the strength to continue moving forward." The smile on Hestias face turned into a cheerful one as the sad look in her eyes vanished entirely. Recing it, there was now a glimmer in the crystalline blue eyes that always drew Vahns attention because of their depth and rity. For the third time since they had met, Hestia brought her hands together as if she was praying for a few seconds before she turned her head upwards and Vahn and said, "You really are an exceptional person Vahn. I look forward to seeing how far you can go in the future and, no matter how difficult things get, I will always be one of the people that helps you move forward." Her words finished, Hestia turned into a bullet andunched herself at Vahns face as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Since it wasnt the first time she had surprise attacked him, Vahn caught her easily as Hestia began to rub her cheek against his. Vahn always felt a little awkward when she dangled from his body because he never knew where to put his hands and always ended up holding her awkwardly from the sides. As if she had thought of something, Hestia asked Vahn, "Do you like big b.r.e.a.s.ts or small b.r.e.a.s.ts? And what about butts?" Vahns mind nked for a short moment since it felt like a question he wasmonly asked and never understood why girls ced a focus on such things. Since he had answered the question before, Vahn said a simr thing asst time, "I think everyone has qualities that I can appreciate, and I dont really have a preference regarding b.r.e.a.s.t size..." Hestia nodded her head and put a little more strength into her arms as she pressed her b.r.e.a.s.ts more firmly against Vahn and asked, "And what about butts~?" Vahn noticed Hestia had almost hummed the words as if she found his dismissal of the subject earlier humorous. After a brief consideration, Vahn responded, "I dont think I have a preference for butts either...it just feels nice to hold onto when I embrace people. I think...I think everyone has a unique feel and its interesting?" Vahn was confused by his own words because the image and feel of various butts were passing through his brain. As if using his words against him, Hestia asked, "Eeeei~? Do you want to grab my butt too~? Though I dont mind, it feels a bit strange for you to be holding my ribs like youre preparing to pull me from your body." Vahns hands flinched a bit at Hestias words because that was exactly his intention if she got too carried away. Heughed awkwardly while thinking of an excuse before Hestia said in a low, somewhat angry, voice, "Vaaaaahn-! If you want to grab my butt..." A blush touched Hestias face and she looked like she was struggling a bit before she continued, "Then just do it!" Apparently finished with her words, Hestia hugged Vahns neck and hid her face against his shoulder as if she was refusing to look at him. Vahn considered her words for a few seconds and decided to give it a try since he was somewhat curious. However, before he could move his hands from her side to her butt, Hestia released his neck andughed in an awkward manner as she started walking toward the direction of the onsen, "Ehehehe, lets to a bath instead~! Its weird that were just standing in the middle of the foyer~Ehehehehe!" Vahn watched her walk away in a mechanical fashion and could see her aura fluctuating a bit. With a small smile on his face, Vahn released a short sigh before shaking his head and following behind her. Perhaps it was because of herck of experiences with men, but Hestia seemed to have a strange nature where she was both forward while also being highly bashful at the same time. She was very affectionate and liked physical contact but was also prone to panicking as soon as things began to escte. Though he had some inhibitions himself, Vahn decided that he either needed to be more decisive with her or work harder to reign in her behavior in the future. With that thought in mind, Vahn stepped through the threshold into the mens changing room beforeing to a halt after witnessing a strange sight. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Five days!?,Ouranoss Intentions, Indecisiveness) I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 226 - Before the Fall

Chapter 226 - Before the Fall

As she had entered first, Hestia had already started removing her godly clothing and Vahn was absolutely shocked by the sight. He could see her outfit peeling away like small white petals that glowed with a divine light as they arranged themselves neatly into a pile. It was something unlike anything Vahn had ever and he was mesmerized by the sight as he tried to make sense of what was happening. By the time Hestia had started undoing her ribbons, she turned her head toward him and froze like a doe in the eyes of a hunter. Her startled look brought Vahn out of his absentmindedness as he averted his eyes and began trying to rationalize an excuse. Hestia watched him nkly for a few seconds before a smile appeared on her face and she stood with her arms akimbo whilepletely nude and proudly puffed out her chest as she said, "Dont be afraid~! If its just looking, feel free to gaze upon the body of this beautiful goddess~!" Vahn was a bit confused by her words and then realized she thought he was staring at her body, which wasnt untrue since he had been staring at her dress separate into petals. Deciding it was better left unsaid and that he could ask about itter, Vahn smiled and gave Hestias body an appraising gaze to appease her boasting. He noticed that her aura fluctuated slightly when he gazed toward her lower body so he returned his eyes and stared into hers with a smile on his face as he said, "Beautiful." His singr word made Hestias smile bloom wider as she took a deep breath and acted in a somewhat coy manner as she struck a pose andughed, "Ehehe, praise me more~!" Vahn tilted his head and gazed at her body before continuing, "Mmm, you have beautiful and silky ck hair. Your blue eyes are beautiful, almost like crystals, and they are deep and calm like pond water. You-" Before he could continue any further, Hestia shouted, "Stop, stop, stop! I get it, you think Im beautiful, jeez~!" The more he spoke, the faster her heart began to beat and Hestia felt giddy when she saw the serious and appraising look on Vahns face as he shamelessly stared at her body. After her outburst, Hestia realized something and pointed at Vahn with her index finger and shouted, "Its your turn to get n.a.k.e.d, dont just stand there gawking~!" Taking the cue she had given him, Vahn nodded his head and walked over to the side and began undressing without any hesitation. Looking over, he could see Hestia staring at him with fiery eyes and she blushed slightly when they made eye contact. With a small smile on his face, Vahn finished undressing and performed a pose simr to how Hestia had done so previously. He was also quite confident in his physique and had grown ustomed to modeling for Eva within the orb. Looking toward Hestia, he saw she had a nk look and a wide-eyed expression and he immediately understood where she was looking. With a slight sigh, Vahn stopped holding his pose and grabbed a towel from his inventory and wrapped it around his lower body. His actions made Hestia snap out of her daze and she held out her hands and waved her fingers as she said, "Nononono, its okay, you dont have to cover yourself up~! I-I-I just got distracted a bit, I wont stare anymore!" Vahn gave her a curious look for a few seconds before he removed the towel once again. He saw that her body immediately froze and was about to cover himself again before she startedughing as she walked over to him and grabbed his arm, "Dont mind it, lets go take a bath~! Just act casually~." Being dragged along by a small,pletely n.a.k.e.d, goddess was a strange experience so Vahn walked forward to keep pace so no idents would ur. During the bath, Vahn acted in a natural manner and made polite conversation with Hestia about everything that had happened during the day. She responded to his words in a simr manner, but the entire time they were in the bath Vahn could see her aura dancing about as she kept taking sidelong nces at his body. In exchange, Vahn also took nces at her body but in a less secretive manner that caused Hestia to act both fl.u.s.tered while she also tried to act proud without concealing anything. When it came time for them to wash their bodies and rinse off, Hestia tried to boldly offer to wash his back but Vahn shook his head and exined, "Thanks for the offer, but I dont want you to stress yourself out more than you already are. Just rx and enjoy the-" Before he could finish, Hestia had alreadythered up her body a bit and picked up two orange, circr, sponges as she began to scrub his back with an "Ei, Ei, Ei~! Dont worry about me, I want to wash your body~!" Looking back, Vahn could see Hestia had a somewhat dizzy look in her eyes as sheughed in a strange manner and continued trying to wash his back. He released a short sigh before a small smile appeared on his face as he leaned forward to open up his back for her. It wasnt the first time a girl had washed his back and Vahn always enjoyed it in the past. Since she wanted to push herself even when he tried to dissuade her, Vahn decided to see how far she would push things. It would likely not be long before they lost the ability to enjoy moments like this, so Vahn also wanted to experience a bit of her awkward affection and advances. While he was absentmindedly letting Hestia scrub away at his back with the sponges, Vahn suddenly felt an incredible soft sensation on his back that made his eyes immediately snap open as he stood up in the pool. Hestia fell onto her butt in the process as Vahn looked back at her with a mildly incredulous look on his face. She rubbed her butt with her hands and answered his silent question, "I heard that boys like it when a girl washes their back with their b.r.e.a.s.ts..." Vahn released a heavy sigh and exined, "I imagine it is a very pleasant thing, but that doesnt mean you need to go so far Hestia. I dont mind a bit of skinship, but if you keeping pushing yourself like this youll overstress your body and mind. Were not in that kind of rtionship yet so we should show a certain amount of restraint before things escte." Vahn had slightly furrowed brows and said each of his words seriously. He knew that Hestia was pushing herself for some reason and couldnt understand why she was putting in so much effort even though she clearly wasnt prepared. Hestia had a sad and frustrated look on her face as she silently listened to Vahns lecture. Since he was standing up and she was still sitting on her butt, there was a big difference between their heights and she had tears welling up in her eyes that made Vahn feel like he had just abandoned a puppy or something. Releasing another sigh, Vahn kneeled down and began rubbing her head as he looked into her sad blue eyes and asked, "Please tell me if there is something wrong...were family, remember?" The frown on Hestias face grew a bit and she seemed to be measuring her words before she said, "I feel scared...even though were family and will be together always, I feel like the other girls will take you away from me. I imagine living in the house while you act lovey-dovey with other girls and the only thing I can do isy in my own bed alone. I know there will be people moving in soon, and a lot of them with be people you have some kind of rtionship with...so I want to spend more time together before you no longer need me anymore." Vahn was incredibly confused by her words because he both understood what she was trying to say while at the same time couldnt make sense of it at all. He wanted to promise that he would never abandon her like that, but he also knew that it would be awkward if she slept in his bed when he was with his other women. Especially when things developed to the point where he was having s.e.x, there was no way she would befortable with staying off to the side. Vahn was very confused at this moment because he knew Hestia was the type that wanted to be spoiled and she also had a somewhat possessive personality, but Vahn didnt think she would act this way after knowing about his other rtionsh.i.p.s. With a bit of hesitation, Vahn grit his teeth and felt a bit of anxiety in his chest as he asked, "Hestia...do you like me?" Even though he could see her affection, nothing indicated she was in love with him even though she acted without many inhibitions around him. Hestias frown also grew deeper as her brows were furrowed low like she was about to start crying, "I just dont want to be the only person left out...I dont know how I feel at all, but I know it makes me frustrated when youre with other girls. Though I can tolerate Hephaestus, and some of the others, I feel like there will be many more in the future and I wont have a ce at all other than being your goddess..." Vahn took a deep breath and cradled the sides of Hestias head in his palms as he wiped away the few tears that were falling down her face. He said in a solemn tone, "Hestia, I would never abandon you...no matter what happens." After a bit of hesitation, Vahn continued, "Even though we only just met, it feels like I had been waiting to meet you for a long time...longer than I can even exin." Since he had imagined meeting her in his previous life, Vahns words werent a lie and Hestia could see it on his face. Hestias sad expression turned into a moderately happy one as she ced her hands overtop Vahns and asked, "Did you fall in love with me at first sight~?" Vahnughed a bit and had a smile on his face as he said, "I dont have a proper understanding of love to be able to make a im like that. All I know is, even before we got to know each other, I could tell you were a kind, gentle, and beautiful girl. I feel like I want to pamper you and make you happy, and youre also the first person to be my family...youre already something irreceable to me Hestia." As his words finished, Hestia hugged Vahn as if she had tackled him and they both fell back into the water. Vahn was entirely submerged for a moment before he managed to lift his upper body and head out of the water. Even though they were n.a.k.e.d, Hestia sat in hisp in an almost dangerous position and looked into his eyes with a happy expression on her face. She hugged around his neck and the glimmer in her eyes seemed to increase in intensity as she whispered in a low voice, "If Im already someone so important to you...maybe it would be okay if we became even closer..." Hestias expression and their current position made Vahns head buzz as his emotions began to rise up in his body. Seeing the excitement on his face, Hestias smile expanded further and her eyes squinted a bit before she leaned forward and kissed Vahn on the lips. Vahn was a bit surprised and moved his hands to embrace her before he realized he had been supporting his body with those same hands so they both fell back into the hot water. Almost as if she was unaware of the change, Hestia continued to kiss Vahn even when they werepletely submerged. For a brief moment, Vahn began to panic since he had never been in such a situation before. Then, as if remembering he was actually much stronger than she was, Vahn managed to lift himself out of the water and temporarily separate from Hestia. Seeing his fl.u.s.tered expression, Hestia began tough in a cheerful, yet subtly mischevious manner, as she stood up out of the water and said in a low voice as if speaking to herself, "Even if I joined the race a littlete, it doesnt mean I cant cross the finish line before some of the others!" As if she had found her resolve, Hestia began tough for a few seconds in a very cheerful manner before turning to Vahn and leaning forward slightly while saying, "Lets go to bed Vahn~! This time, I want you to put all your efforts into the massage. Even if you want to...even if..." Any semnce of confidence on her face began to break and Hestia struggled a bit before finally saying, "Even if you want to do more...I wont stop you." Vahn had still been sitting in the hot water watching Hestia walk away while he was trying to process everything that happened. He wasnt sure exactly how their rtionship had changed, but Vahn knew there was more to the kiss they shared than normal affection. Hearing her words, Vahn swallowed a bit and began to feel nervous as he stared at Hestias pure white butt shift from side-to-side as she slowly walked away. Vahn resolved himself that, if things got too out of hand, he would have to help her rx to prevent things from progressing in a dangerous direction. Until he kept his promise with Hephaestus, Vahn wouldnt be able to forgive himself if he made a move on her best friend... (A/N: Alternate Title: Mysterious Clothing,Progressively More Awkward,Hestias Death Sentence) I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 227 - Fallen : *Title At End*

Chapter 227 - Fallen : *Title At End*

By the time Vahn had left the onsen, gotten dressed, and arrived at the room, Hestia was already on the bed waiting as she supported her head with her hands and was staring towards the door. When Vahn came inside the room, her smile grew wider and she sat up on the bed and said with a bit of excitement in her voice, "Remember, no matter how I react, I want you to finish the massagepletely~! I might be scared at first, but Ill be fine!" As she spoke, Hestia had balled her fists in front of her like she was psyching herself up. Vahnughed and made his way over to the bed before crawling toward Hestia who was already beginning to panic. From her perspective, she could see Vahn crawling on the bed with a bit of excitement as he made his way toward her. She could feel her heartbeat quicken in her chest and started taking slightly longer breaths. Vahn stopped next to her and sat on his knees as he said, "Dont worry, I wont do anything to put you in danger. It should feel really pleasant and ease out any tensions that may have built up in your body. Though your muscles might be forced to rx, theyll recover quickly after the massage ends and youll feel very refreshed." Hestia nodded her head beforeying back down on her stomach and saying, "Okay, Im ready...this time for certain!" Vahn smiled before taking a pillow and putting it on her legs due to how awkward it felt previously trying to massage her body. Hestia gave him a strange look and he exined, "I might have to sit on your legs and I didnt want to make you feel ufortable." She looked like she wanted to say something but eventually turned her head away and began performing some kind of strange breathing exercise to remain calm. Vahn sat down with his weight partially on Hestias legs and began his routine starting with the sides of her waist. Unlike thest time, when she instantly showed signs of fear, this time Hestias aura fluctuated between several warm colors with only brief hints of purple every now and then. By the time Vahn had eased the muscles of her upper body, Hestias aura was burning like a me but she didnt seem to have any intentions of stopping Vahns actions. A small smile appeared on Vahns face because of the efforts Hestia was putting in, so he decided to make things morefortable so that the event would be more memorable. Rubbing his hands together, the white energy from his palms began to coalesce more and there were even small sparks appearing between them before Vahn ced his hands on her lower back. He could feel the muscles of her lower back spasm a bit as he traced his hands from her spinous process all the way up the outer edge of her tr.a.p.ezius muscles before pressing his thumbs into the connecting point between her teres minor and deltoids. The entire time he was moving his hands, Hestias aura continued to fluctuate and Vahn felt like it was taking on some watery, somewhat hazy, properties. Repositioning his hands, Vahn stimted the nerve center at seventh vertebrae along her spine, right at the base of her neck, and traced his finger down the line of her back beforeing to a stop at the center of her thoracolumbar fascia connecting muscles right above her butt. Vahn was somewhat tempted to touch her butt as well but remembered that he was trying to keep the situation from taking a dangerous turn. Creating fine needles of energy in his fingertips, Vahn began to diffuse energy into her pressure points to loosen up her muscles even further. It was usually around this point that Vahn felt like girls turned to putty under his hands and Hesti had a very simr response as all the tension in her body immediately dissolved. Since she already had the tendency to drool while sleeping, Vahn realized that Hestia had turned into a veritable waterworks as she stared off into space with a dazed look in her eyes. Her body wasnt twitching like it had when he was with Hephaestus, Anubis, and even Loki, and Vahn wondered if there was something different between them and Hestia. They seemed to get very excited and had vibrant pink auras when he gave them a massage, but Hestia seemed to be reacting in the way he had originally expected the process to work. This was a massage designed to ease tensions and revitalize the muscles of the body to improve beauty and increase blood flow within the body. Vahn always thought he had been making a mistake since girls had a different reaction than described within the manual for [Hands of Nirvana]. Now that Hestia was reacting properly, Vahn wasnt sure what had caused such a strange reaction in the other girls. He suspected it might be because they all had expectations toward him or that it could be because they were experienced unlike Hestia who was still a v.i.r.g.i.n. Vahn thought it could be a difference in mentality that determined how the person reacted to his massage and decided to verify it in the future. Since [Hands of Nirvana] was one of his most versatile skills, Vahn needed to increase his understanding of the skill in the future. A half hour since the massage began, Hestia was sound asleep with a droopy expression on her face and her aura hadpletely stabilized into a subtle golden glow with a slight tinge of pink along the edges. She didnt have the infinite spasms Vahn had grown to expect, but instead had all of the tension removed from her body and it almost looked like her skin was glowing now. Since she was very fair-skinned, now that she had a somewhat rosy coloration, it was very obvious and Vahn felt she looked especially beautiful when there was a flush to her skin tone. Waving his hand along the magic stone that controlled the lighting in the room, Vahnid in the bed next to Hestia and stroked her hair a bit before going to sleep himself. Unlike the previous nights, Hestia didnt immediately crawl on his body, perhaps due to how rxed she currently felt. It wasnt until nearly 4 AM, when Vahn was already getting ready to wake up, that she slowly crawled on top of him and reimed her spot on his chest. Her actions awoke Vahn and heughed inside his mind as hebed her hair with his fingers and waited for 5 AM to roll around. WIthin the orb, Vahn asked Eva to help him better understand his [Hands of Nirvana] for a bit and they had a short four-hour session where she gave him feedback on all of his techniques. Since she was almost immune to the skill, Eva was probably the best possible candidate to help him polish the skill further; She was the one that allowed him to increase the skill to Rank S after all. For the remaining three days, all the way up until there were only a few hours left before he was ejected from the orb, Vahn continued to prepare materials for his final push to be a [Master Smith]. Since mass production had begun to stagnate, Vahn wanted to refine the highest quality of materials and focus on exceeding his limits in order to break through the current bottleneck. Other than that, Vahn had also prepared a space outside for an event he had been looking forward to for quite a while. With about five hours left, the cooldown for [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] was finally over and Vahn could now use it to give a name to the unfortunate (Nameless) that had, technically, been his longestpanion. Putting a bit of energy into the magic stone, Vahn summoned (Nameless) and exined what he was going to do while Eva watched from the side. She didnt like (Nameless) much, but Vahn had promised it should be cute whenever he named it so she was somewhat looking forward to the show. She also wanted to try and increase her understanding of the skill since it seemed to defy any semnce of logic, at least pertaining to her magical system and the research she had put into Vahns world. Stroking (Nameless)s head, Vahn exined in a gentle voice while also rying his intent through the bond they shared, "From now on youll be able to grow much stronger. You wont have to suffer being looked down on and youll even obtain a new form that should appeal to others...what do you say?" Even though it was ultimately his decision, Vahn still wanted to get permission before he changed (Nameless)s body. Even though Fafnir didnt seem to mind at all, Vahn still felt a little awkward about making such decisions since he now had subordinates like Anubis. Though (Nameless) didnt really understand what Vahn was trying to say, it knew that he was offering it a rare chance that would change its fate forever. When it originally joined Vahn, it just didnt want to die, but now he had treated it well on the few asions when it had been summoned. Since it had met cold people like Eva, (Nameless) was a lot more fond of its Masterpared to others. To respond to Vahns intent, it opened its crooked dog mouth and had a silly smile as it released a rancid breath at Vahn while emting a smile. Even though he felt a small urge to choke in his throat, Vahn smiled without his expression changing as he stroked (Nameless)s head. He had been trying to improve his control over his expressionstely and things like this were a good way to temper his ability to do so. Now that he had permission, Vahn smiled and ced his hand directly on (Nameless)s forehead as he activated [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]. From Evas perspective, she could immediately feel magical elements converging in the air that shouldnt exist in the space at all so she squinted her eyes to carve the entire sequence of events in her mind. Vahn closed his eyes and confirmed the name he wanted to give nameless while also trying to focus on his intent for it to be cute while still being powerful. Opening his eyes, he looked into (Namelesses)s expectant face and said in a powerful voice that shook the void around them, "From now on...you shall bear the record of Fenrir!" As his words fell, Vahn could feel an incredible surge of energy from the atmosphere as his own internal energy rapidly depleted from his body as if a floodgate had been opened in his palm. The brackish-grey hairs on Fenrirs body began to turn rigid as they took on a darker shade as an energy began to expand from its body. A midnight blue sphere of light exploded from its body and had a strange radiance like a small, dark-blue, sun. It glowed a vibrant azure on the edges and Vahn could see a shadowy silhouette appear within the sphere as his own body was pushed to its perimeter. The shadow looked to be several meters high and had scarlet red eyes that cut through the midnight blue of the orb as it howled toward the sky. The air in the space began to crack and Eva took actions by creating arge spatial anchor to stabilize the space and prevent it from copsing. She was surprised with the frightening auraing from the humanoid shadow roaring silently toward the sky. Even though there was no sound, she could see waves of energy pulsing in a very simr manner to the time when Vahn had tried to destroy the orb in the past. Since he could see the magical elements in the air, Vahn could also sense the strange pulseing from Fenrir and he had simr thoughts as Eva. He could even see that the anchor she had set to stabilize the space was beginning to crack slightly as small cracks appeared within the vinity of the midnight-azure sun. Strangely, even though the energy was incredibly powerful, Vahn felt like it had no effect on his body at all. Just like when he created [L?vateinn], he seemed to bepletely immune to the chaos caused by the process. The only thing he knew for sure was that he was d he hadnt named Fenrir in the real world... After nearly ten minutes, the shadowy, red-eyed, figure in the sun ceased its howl as it began to converge its body and aborb the midnight-blue energy surrounding its body. Vahn and Eva both released relieved sighs because the pulsing energy had finally stopped as the shadowy figure began to absorb the energy contained within the spatial cracks around it. Eva looked over toward Vahn as she kept her focus primarily on the figure within the shrinking sun. She said in a very serious manner, "This orb cant withstand this type of power much more. If you want to keep naming things, youll need to find a safe ce in the outside world from now on. Were lucky this space didnt copse because youd have lost the opportunity to learn the Magia Erebea if it had." Vahn nodded his head and seriously listened to every single word she said. At one point, he was even preparing to use [Enkidu] to seal her memory fragment because he also felt like space might copse in the orb. Since he wouldnt be able tomunicate with her when she was sealed, there would be no way for him to learn magic from her and he would even lose the orb and everything within, including his materials and forge setup. After another couple of minutes had passed, the energy of the sun hadpletely converged into a small form that made Vahns brain buzz a bit. Eva was standing next to him at this time and had a somewhat amused expression on her face as she said, "Well, she is certainly cute, isnt she?" She then began tough as Vahn stared at the small wolf-girl that was sitting on her buttpletely n.a.k.e.d while looking up at him. She had midnight blue hair that looked somewhat spiky and untamed withrge blue ears that grew to points on the side of her head. Unlike a normal chienthrope, or wereperson, she had a bushy blue tail with white hair at the end and both her forearms and calves werepletely covered in midnight blue fur. Her fingers and toes seemed a bit shorter than normal and they were alsopletely covered in fur with dangerous looking ws that even made Vahn feel a hint of danger. On the bottoms of her hands and feet, she had pale paw pads that matched the coloration of her ashen-colored, pale, skin. Her most striking feature, other than the fact that she waspletely n.a.k.e.d, was her scarlet eyes that glowed slightly and moderatelyrge canines that Vahn could see in her mouth. While Vahn was staring down at her, Fenrir was also looking up at him while also inspecting her new body. She opened and closed her tiny paws and patted around her body as if learning its shape. When she tried to inspect the spot at her groin, Vahn coughed out loud while Eva beganughing like a bell. He pulled out a pair of panties and a tunic for Fenrir to wear and spent a few minutes trying to get them on her body as she resisted. "No, Fenrir no like, weird, no!" She didnt seem to want to wear clothes at all, but Vahn exined in a firm tone, "You have to wear clothes or you wont be able to leave this space and be around other people." As if his words were like a hammer, Fenrirs eyes glowed slightly brighter as she looked toward Eva and said in broken words, "No!, Fenrir go, leave this ce, stay with Master!" Afterward, she let Vahn show her how to properly wear clothes and told her to never take them off unless he gave her permission or it was someone she had been entrusted to by him. Fenrir didnt really seem to understand his words as she began pulling at the tunic with her hands which immediately began shredding it to pieces. Vahn sighed and gave her a new one and exined that she needed to no damage it or it would cause problems in the future. He also noticed that, even though the tunic was quite durable, her ws cut through it without any resistance at all. Taking his paw into his hand, Vahn poked her w with his finger and noticed it easily cut into his skin even though his Endurance was very high. Though she seemed to be very ufortable wearing clothes for the first time, Fenrir still obeyed Vahns words even though he could see she was struggling quite a bit. He pet her on top of her head and stroked her ears that seemed several sizesrger than a chienthropes. She seemed to enjoy his caress and lifted her paws to grip around his wrist to make sure he would stroke her longer. Unfortunately, all ten of her ws cut into his arm and Vahn immediately began to bleed profusely. Fenrir pulled her hands away at the same time as Vahn pulled his hand away as well. He looked at the puncture wounds on his arm with intrigue and a bit of concern. As he was thinking about matters to prevent her from hurting others on ident, Vahn saw Fenrir do something that shook him to his core. She dropped down to all fours with her butt high up in the air as she began top up the blood that had fallen onto the ground. Before he could correct her behavior, she looked up at him with glowing red eyes and said, "Master, hungry, feed Fenrir, please, hungry!" Title: Fallen : Fenrir (A/N: If youre wondering, this is the Fenrir from Shadowverse and Granblue Fantasy. Oh, and I can assure you now there is almost no chance Fenrir would be a harem candidate. At least, this will be the case until something very drastic changes, probably after like 800+ more chapters? I know how the story ends, but the way it evolves over time depends on the readers~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Rx,Dangers of Naming,Heaven Devouring Wolf) I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 228 - Insatiable Hunger

Chapter 228 - Insatiable Hunger

Vahn could see that other than Fenrirs red eyes, which were glowing progressively brighter, her teeth also began to slowly transition from a normal state to a much sharper set. The look she was giving him was like a starved beast and all of Vahns instincts began to fire simultaneously. In the system, he could see that Fenrirs loyalty was beginning to drain at a visible rate so he quickly pulled out a senzu bean which, other than healing wounds and recovering injury, could also prevent hunger for several days. Trying to hold back his own inhibitions, Vahn held the bean out for Fenrir and exined, "This is a [Senzu Bean], it should make you feel full for now." Without hesitating at all, Fenrirs eyes opened slightly wider and Vahn could feel the hair on his neck raise as she bit toward his hand with a mouth full of sharp teeth. Vahn pulled back his hand milliseconds before Fenrir chomped down on where his fingers used to be. Crunching the [Senzu Bean] in her teeth, Fenrir swallowed it down before making a pouting expression and saying, "Gross, bad, no like, hungry, Master, please!" The glow in her eyes had decreased by a fair amount even though she was still hungry, so Vahn knelt down and somewhat hesitantly reached forward and stroked her bristly hair. He exined in a patient, yet firm, tone, "I can feed you more, but you cant snap at my fingers like that. Your teeth and ws are very sharp and I wont be able to keep you around others if you cant control yourself." The entire time he was exining things, Fenrir had an annoyed expression on her face but she didnt move away from his hand. Vahn was looking through his system and found several rtively low-cost food items and began to set them out for Fenrir to eat. She looked at each of them and began to drool almost like a faucet but was following the order Vahn had given her and remained seated. After setting out around twenty different items, Vahn exined patiently, "You can eat each of these and tell me what you like the most. Dont eat them took quickly and try to savor the vors." Fenrir looked up at him with her progressively redder eyes and said, "Yes, Master, Fenrir eat, yes!" Her words finished, Fenrir began eating in a very uncivilized manner and Vahn tried showing her how to eat normally before he realized that her fingers werent very dexterous. Though she had three joints in her fingers, Vahn noticed they were marginally smaller than normal and didnt have the flexibility of a normal hand. Combined with her ridiculously sharp ws that seemed to melt through anything they touched, Fenrirs table manners left a lot to be desired. The worst part was that she still had the habits of when she was a kobold, so her method of eating was to lean on her forearms and try to eat the food with just her mouth as her butt stuck up in the air. Because she was only wearing an off-grey tunic, it rode up on her body further and further the longer she ate and the white panties Vahn had purchased for her were on full disy as her bushy midnight blue tail stood up straight, almost rigid, like Fenrir was in a state of high alert. Eva, standing at Vahns side,ughed as she said, "She really is a lot cuter than the smelly dog from before, but it looks like youll have your work cut out trying to make her behave." As if her words had inspired something in him, Vahn looked toward Eva with a smile and she immediately rebutted, "Look at how fast she is eating, do you think I could keep her in here for four years!?" Vahn frowned before letting out a sigh as he saw that Fenrir had already consumed nearly all twenty dishes. By volume, that was more than thirty kilograms of food and yet she didnt show any signs of slowing down at all. Fenrirs figure was somewhat small, around 148cm, and she had nearly no fat with a very slim waist and nearly non-existent b.r.e.a.s.ts; Vahn didnt know where she put it all so he inspected her status through the Unit Management and [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] since he had been too distracted previously. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Fenrir) Age: 12 years (Ageless) Race: Vnagandr Level: 2 Loyalty:142 Soul Strength: Tier 1 (Named Familiar) Karma: - State: [Active] Skills: [Lunar Cry:C], [Freezing Roar:C], [Chainbreaker:C],[Insatiable Hunger: Innate], [Devour:SS],[Huntress:A] [Fenrir] A legendary primal beast known for its insatiable hunger and aggressive nature. Its ws can cut through almost anything and its teeth are said to even be able to prate the Aegis of the Gods. It converts everything it eats into power and has nearly limitless potential that would one day allow it to even swallow stars. Take heed, ye who controls the one that bears this record as your actions may lead to irreversible destruction! (A/N: I added this since people would probably ask.) [Lunar Cry] Rank:C Creates an emblem of the moon that bes progressively more crimson depending on the amount of blood spilled. Enhances all attributes but may cause the user to enter a berserk state. [Freezing Roar] Rank:C A blood-curdling roar that can resonate with the body of the target and cause paralysis. Low chance of causing mental copse. [Chainbreaker] Rank:C Status increases if the wielder is bound, sealed, or imprisoned. Increase is proportional to the stress of the user and their desire for freedom. [Insatiable Hunger] Rank: Innate (-) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* Passive: Hunger tied to emotions. The greater the stress, the more powerful the urge to eat. Affects rationality as hunger grows. [Devour] Rank:SS Passive: Allows the users teeth to melt anything and convert it into energy within the body to elerate growth. [Huntress] Rank:A Greatly enhances all senses when excited. The greater the desire to hunt the target, the more powerful this skill bes ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reading all of Fenrirs information made Vahns brain buzz with a mixture of emotions. Though he was happy that she was strong and had high potential, Vahn was worried that he wouldnt be able to control her and keep her well fed. Her [Insatiable Hunger], [Devour], and [Chainbreaker] skills would make it almost impossible to keep her satiated. If she grew disobedient, the only thing Vahn could do to stop her, without killing her, was to seal her back into the magic core. However, there was a problem with that as well since prolonged stays within the core could influence Loyalty. This meant that, if Vahn couldnt manage Fenrir, he would essentially have to keep her a prisoner within her magic core until he could find something to do with her. Just the thought of keeping something against its will made Vahn very ufortable... By now, Fenrir had finished all twenty dishes and the red light in her eyes had diminished almost entirely. Vahn quickly realized that her eyes reflected her mental state and that, the brighter they became, the hungrier she would be. Thinking that she had her fill, Vahn walked over and started cleaning up the dishes as Fenrir grabbed his arm while keeping her ws open while saying, "Master, please, hungry, more!" Vahn could see that her eyes were already beginning to glow even though she had already eaten a [Senzu Bean] and more than 30kg of food. Thinking about the nature of monsters and the fact they shouldnt need food in the first ce, Vahn put his hand in the center of Fenrirs chest and said, "I want to try something, this might help fill you up." Fenrir had a slight frown on her face as she continued holding his arm with just her paw pads. Just like he would supply them with energy in the past, Vahn began to channel energy directly into the core located in the center of her chest, right next to her heart. He could feel his energy draining rapidly while the light in Fenrirs eyes began to diminish just as quickly. She closed her paws and Vahn was worried he was going to get an additional ten puncture wounds, but the tips barely grazed his skin and Vahn even noticed they became slightly duller. The jagged teeth Fenrir had developed began to retract and she closed her eyes with a pleasant expression on her face. Vahn released a relieved sigh since it didnt seem like Fenrir would require actual food to sustain herself. The problem, however, was that he couldnt feel her energy filling up at all. Though he could sense his energy diffusing into her body, Vahn realized it seemed to be disappearing into a bottomless pit. Using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see a mass of silver and grey at the core of Fenrirs body that was sucking in his energy like a ck hole. Since it didnt seem like he would be able topletely replenish Fenrirs energy, Vahn tried to remove his hand from her chest and immediately felt her paws tighten around his forearm. Fenrirs eyes snapped open and she looked up at him and said, "No, Master, more, hungry, please!" As she spoke, Vahn could see a slight glow begin to spread in her eyes as her ws began to be sharp once again. He quickly realized that it was going to be far more problematic to deal with Fenrir than he originally expected. In a firm tone, Vahn said, "Fenrir, rx your body and drop your hands. I will do my best to make sure you have your fill, but I cant do that if you act so greedily." His words made her frown a bit and Vahn heard a notification that her loyalty had dropped yet again. With a bit of hesitation, Fenrir finally let go of his arm and said, "Please, Master, please, Fenrir hungry..." As she spoke, Fenrir held out her paws, pad side up, like she was begging for food. Though Vahn thought it looked adorable, he also felt a sense of danger and a fear that none of his efforts to satiate her would have any effect. Purchasing another 100kg of food from the shop, Vahn set them on the ground but only after telling Fenrir that she must behave if she wants to eat them all. Though she had a somewhat frustrated look on her face, Fenrir stopped herself from eating in order to follow Vahns orders. When everything was set down, Vahn said, "Ill try to find a way to make sure you can eat whenever you want, but youll have to be a bit patient with me. I cant make an unlimited amount of food, so try to enjoy these dishes for now." Before he let her eat, Vahn used [Hands of Nirvana] and stroked her head while trying to forcibly calm her down. Fortunately, his efforts seemed to bear fruit and he could see the silver and grey vortex in her stomach shrink a bit. As the skill stated, her hunger was directly tied to her emotions so, if she was stable, Fenrir would likely not be nearly as hungry as normal. The entire time he stroked her, Fenrir has a strange expression that looked like abination of annoyance and satisfaction. Vahn assumed it was likely due to the fact that she wanted to eat the food so he gave her onest scratch behind her ears before letting her eat. Permission received, Vahn noticed that Fenrirs Loyalty jumped up by arge degree and seemed to increase every time she found a food she liked. While she was eating, Vahn discussed the matter with Eva to see if she could help hime up with a solution. One of the problems that she pointed out was the fact that Fenrir was ageless and shouldnt require food at all. Anything she ate did nothing to provide nutrition to her body and was instead converted into energy. Since she could eat anything, that meant Fenrir could eat hard metals and, with enough effort, even devour pieces of the void itself. Curious, Vahn used his [Enkidu] and approached Fenrir who was already halfway done with the dishes. Sensing his approach, Fenrirs fur rose a bit and she stared directly at him without stopping her mouth from eating arge piece of meat. She saw the chains in his hand and frowned before Vahn exined, "Dont worry, Im not going to try and bind you or anything right now. I wanted to see if your teeth could cut through this chain." Her loyalty, which had dropped by three points when she saw the chains, immediately shot up by twenty when she heard Vahn mention trying to eat the chains. Fenrir could sense an incredible amount of energying from the scary looking chains in Vahns hand. Without any hesitation, Fenrir dropped the meat she was eating and grabbed the length of [Enkidu] that was within Vahns hands. With a bit of expectation on his face, Vahn watched as Fenrir tried to bite into the indestructible [Enkidu] and brilliantly fail in her attempts. She didnt seem to give up though as she kept chewing on the chains as if she were resolved to devour them. Perhaps it was because of the indestructible quality of [Enkidu], or the fact that her [Devour] was only SSpared to [Enkidu]s SSS, but Fenrir wasnt able to put so much as a dent in it. The only thing she got for her troubles was a slobbery golden chain. Vahn was both relieved and a little disappointed that she failed to break through the chains. This meant that he would be able to use [Enkidu] against her and potentially seal the vortex in her body, but it also meant he didnt have an easy method to satiate her hunger. Since [Enkidu]s length was infinite as long as he could provide enough energy, Vahn thought it would have been a good supplement for Fenrir in the future. Curiously, however, Fenrir didnt seem to be upset that she couldnt eat the chains and happily continued trying to devour them without seeming to grow tired or bored. Vahn thought it was interesting, so he asked, "Do you like the way [Enkidu] tastes?" Without turning to look at him, Fenrir kept chewing on the chains as she responded, "Good, hard, happy, Fenrir keep, mine." Her words caused Vahns brows to rise slightly as he watched Fenrirpletely ignore the food around her as she continually tried to eat his [Enkidu]. Vahn wondered if it was some kind of instinct for her to try and devour things and, since she couldnt devour [Enkidu], it was a good stress relief chew-toy for her. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Om nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom nom,Waggle Butt,Gilgamesh Screaming In Another Dimension) I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 229 - Moonlight Huntress

Chapter 229 - Moonlight Huntress

Since he still wanted to perform a few tests with Fenrir, Eva ended up sticking to Vahns back while he wasnt wearing a shirt and draining his blood while he conversed with Fenrir. Since she seemed interested in it, Vahn had to exin that Eva was allowed to suck his blood because she was a vampire. Other than that, Vahn discovered that Fenrir liked any food as long as it was hard to chew. Other than nd things, she didnt seem to have a preference for anything else. Vahn had given her everything from metal ingots to pastries and she ate them all the same. If anything, her favorite foods were adamantine and [Enkidu]. As time was approaching for them to exit the orb, Vahn stroked Fenrirs hair while she was nibbling on [Enkidu] intently. He asked in a soft tone, "Do you want to leave this ce with me?" Since he was afraid she would resist returning to the magic core, Vahn wanted to get her to agree to leave before he brought it up. Hearing his words, Fenrir looked into his eyes with the spearhead of [Enkidu] in her mouth and remained silent for several seconds before nodding her head. Vahn rubbed the edges of her ears with his thumbs and said, "Thats good, but youll have to return to your core if you want to be able to leave." His words made her frown deeply and Vahn could see a glow begin to rise from the interior of her scarlet eyes. Vahn whispered in a gentle, coaxing, tone, "It wont be for long, and Ill take you to a ce where you can y and eat as much as you want." In response to his words, Fenrir thumped her tail once before trying to bite through [Enkidu] with maximum effort before finally letting it go. After she dropped it to the ground, she said, "Fenrir y, eat food, go now." After praising her a bit, Vahn returned [Fenrir] to her core which had turned the same midnight blue as her hair. There was a gentle azure light glowing in the core intermixed with a bit of scarlet. When she turned back into a magic core, the tunic and panties he had purchased for her fell onto the ground. Vahn picked them up and noticed they were still a bit warm as he threw them into his inventory. Once she was away, Vahn tended to Eva for the remaining duration of time within the orb before returning to the real world. Hestia was still using his body as a bed and Vahn stroked her hair a bit before rolling her off his body. Before she was able to cling to him again, Vahn dodged to the side before crawling out of bed. Seemingly dissatisfied, Hestia had a frown on her face as her brows furrowed but she didnt wake up. She fumbled around with her arms as if she was looking for something and Vahn felt a little guilty for a moment before shaking his head and whispering, "Ill be back soon, Hestia..." Before he left, Vahn left a note on the table, door, wall, and the edge of the bed, just in case Hestia panicked when she woke up. Since he was worried she would overreact if she couldnt find him, Vahn left a proper exnation since he didnt want her to cause a scene and involve everyone else in the matter. On the table next to the bed, he even left a fresh breakfast for her and covered it with a silver top to preserve the heat. After leaving the Manor, Vahn hung up their emblem and firmly fixed it into the hard surface of the gate. Since he had a lot of knowledge in regards to formations and knew the key to the current security of the manor, it wasnt a difficult matter for him to include the emblem into thework. Even if someone did manage to try and steal it, it had the [Durandal] attribute as well as buckler purchased from the system as the base. The moment anyone tried to touch it, it would break free from their grasp and potentially injure them if they kept trying. Satisfied, Vahn transformed into his Bih form before making his way toward Babel Tower. Fortunately, their Manor was actually very close to the City center, so Vahn was able to make the trip in only seven minutes. Stepping into the first floor of Babel, Vahn had a small smile on his face because it felt like it had been a long time since he entered the dungeonst. After registering in the logbook, Vahn went into the dungeon and made his way down to the fifth floor before deciding it was far enough. Now that his domain reached 317m, Vahn could actually sense the majority of monsters and adventurers around, even those directly above and below him on different floors. Since the average distance between floors on the first through the eighteenth floor was only around 100m, Vahn could easily map three floors at the same time, even though he couldnt detect things as easily through the walls of the dungeon as he could on the surface. Since there werent any presences nearby, Vahn pulled out Fenrirs orb and inserted his energy into it so he could summon her. Surprisingly, it actually didnt take much to summon her, perhaps because of her small sizepared to the colossal Fafnir. Since he had already been prepared, Vahn immediately passed the tunic and panties to Fenrir who reluctantly put them on with the help of Vahn. She tried to do it herself but kept cutting through the band of the panties with her ws until she had gone through four separate pairs. Vahn eventually gave up and helped her wear them properly before pulling the tunic over her head. He also wanted to give her pants, shoes, and gloves, but her hands and feet didnt facilitate their use. Vahn would have to forge her some equipment in the future or it might cause problems if anyone saw a humanoid monster. Though he could pass his own transformation off as magic, it would be much harder for Fenrir since she wasnt very personable or patient. Once she was fully clothed, Vahn stroked her head for a bit and said, "You did well to be patient Fenrir, here is something to snack on." In his hand, Vahn had a small bag full of magisteel ingots that she would be able to snack on while he exined their purpose. Fenrir was annoyed after being forced to wear clothes, but she eased up a bit when Vahn handed her a treat. She immediately began munching on one of the ingots slowly while waiting for Vahn to speak. Fortunately, the link between them helped Fenrir understand his intentions, so Vahn didnt have to exin much other thanying out a few invible rules which were: Do not attack anything that looks like a human without his permission unless they attack her first. She can eat anything she hunts, but she cannot take food and items for other people unless she asks Vahn first. She had to listen to anyone Vahn told her to listen to unless it made her ufortable. If she was every frustrated or hungry, she should always look for him and he would do his best to appease her. Though he knew she couldnt understand the words, Vahn had also conveyed his intentions through his thoughts and knew she would instinctively follow his orders even if she didnt understand them. The downside to that would be a loss in Loyalty, but Vahn really didnt want toe across a situation where Fenrir was attacking or even eating, another person out of her anger and insatiable hunger. His exnation finished, Fenrir nodded her head before Vahn led the way deeper into the 5th floor. After a few minutes, they cam across one of the rooms of the 5th floor and Vahn found exactly what he had wanted to find. Within the room, there was a group of seven Killer Ants and that would be a benefit for their current predicament. Fenrir had noticed them as well and Vahn saw her hairs begin to stand on end as she dropped the bag of ingots onto the ground. Without him saying anything, Fenrir got down on all fours and haunched her back a bit before dashing forward in one of the most awkward disys he had ever seen. Because she had only ever fought as a kobold, Fenrir was using the same style ofbat and trying to increase her speed by running on all fours. Unfortunately, because of the changes in her body, she wasnt built in the same way and was much slower on all fours than if she had run at them. The only thing she managed to aplish was shing her panties which made Vahn purchased a belt from the system so her tunic wouldnt constantly ride up her body in the future. Even though she was somewhat awkward, Fenrir was still much stronger and faster than the Killer ants and easily cut through them with her ws. One of the unique things about Killer Ants was their tenacity and ability to survive even if their head had been separated from their body. This would allow Fenrir to eat her fill before she eventually devoured the magic cores as well. Not long after she began chomping away on one of the hard carapaces on the ground, Fenrirs ears began to twitch as she stood back on all fours and waited for the arrival of the Killer Ant horde that had been summoned by the seven she killed earlier. Since it hadnt been that much time, there was only around twenty as part of the first wave and Fenrir immediately threw herself toward them before Vahn stepped in with Shundo and pulled her away before their pincers could swarm her. He could see that her eyes were glowing subtly and she had several cuts and abrasions on her body even though only a few seconds had passed. Because she hadnt expected to be grabbed, Fenrir tried to dig her ws into Vahns arms before pausing just as they were about to prate his skin. Landing further away, Vahn set Fenrir down before saying in a firm tone, "Stay." She looked up at him with a frustrated expression like she wanted to continue fighting but immediately became silent when Vahn increased the pressure of his domain. Compared to the past, when he could only pressure individual targets, Vahn could easily overwhelm the group of Level 1 Killer Ants and their frail minds. He could even feel the dungeon itself vibrating slightly before he heard several notifications sounding in his head that caused him to look back at Fenrir. Perhaps remembering the past, Fenrir kneeled down onto the ground and ced her paws to the floor as she lowered her head toward Vahn. Vahn could hear the system telling him that her loyalty was steadily increasing and Vahn didnt know if he should be happy or sad that her fear of him made her more loyal. Without losing his firm tone, Vahn spoke somewhat gently, "Fenrir, you are mypanion from now on. You dont have to bow to me to show your loyalty." Hearing his words, Fenrirs ears twitched as she looked up at him with dim red eyes before standing back on her feet. Vahn, while still using his domain to pressure the ants, stroked her hair a bit and exined, "Try fighting how I tell you for a bit...I will teach you everything you need to know and help you be stronger." Fenrir nodded her head as Vahn turned back to the Killer Ants and said, "You have a skill called [Lunar Cry], try activating it." Fenrir hunched her body a bit and Vahn thought she was about to get on all fours again before she arched her head back and howled toward the ceiling. With his enhanced vision, Vahn could see the ripples in the void as a brilliant white moon appeared on Fenrirs forehead. Her eyes also took on a silvery color as she waited for Vahns nextmand. Nodding his head, Vahn said, "You have two other active skills forbat. The first one is called [Freezing Roar] and can stun your enemies, while the other one is called [Huntress]. You should try to use them as often as possible and try to evolve your fighting style around them." In response to his words, Fenrirs hair seemed to be sharper as her ws and teeth immediately transformed into a more lethal form. Vahn could see her scarlet eyes darting about as her ears twitched and her nose scrunched up a bit. He could determine this was her [Huntress] mode and marveled at the bloody auraing from her body as her senses were enhanced. Thest thing she did was drop back onto all four before ring at the Killer Ants and releasing a low roar that made even Vahn feel ufortable. Thest thing Vahn heard before a massacre began in front of him was the, "Gggrrraaaahhhh~!" of Fenrir before she leaped into the horde of Killer Ants and began to shred them apart with her deadly ws. [Huntress] seemed to influence her instincts along with the development of her senses and her attacks became progressively smoother over time while still having an animalistic quality to them. Vahn felt a little guilty because he thought the sight of her cutting through a mob of enemies was somewhat inspiring. The moonlight emblem on her head turned dark red over time and the scarlet light in her eyes constantly increased in intensity. Nearly two hourster, Fenrir had killed more than three hundred Killer Ants before the ceased spawning and trying to reinforce. She now sat amongst several corpses because most of her attacks hadnt destroyed the magic cores. Even though she was covered in blood, and snacking away on a pile of cores she had bundled together with her tunic, Vahn still approached and praised her plentily for her efforts. He had noticed that, even though her eyes glowed during the fight, Fenrir didnt seem to be frustrated and actually looked to be enjoying herself. By the time everything was dead, the glow in her eyes had faded and she was now happily snacking on magic cores as she squinted her eyes and enjoyed his caress. For a brief moment, Vahn felt like it wouldnt be that difficult to raise her after all... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sneaky sneaky dungeon desu~,Goddess of the Hunt,Happily Bathing in Blood) I am currently at $721/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 230 - Training

Chapter 230 - Training

While Fenrir was munching away on magic cores, Vahn was collecting all of the extra materials into his inventory. Even though they werent useful for him at present, Vahn could use them as snacks for Fenrir in the future. Not only did she enjoy the crunchiness, but Vahn could tell that the energy in her body grew by minuscule amounts each time she ate one. Though it wasnt a big increase, Vahn knew it would add up over time and she would be able to grow stronger through their consumption. After she had eaten everything in sight, Fenrir stood up and Vahn could see that her tunic waspletely soaked through with blood and there were several tears in it. Though he had noticed earlier, he wasnt in a hurry to stop her from snacking after her sessful hunt. Now that she was finished, Vahnughed a bit and said, "Looks like well need to get you some clothes that are easier to move around in." Fenrir looked down at her body and tunic and began palming it with her hands so she wouldnt damage it. She looked up at Vahn and said, "Clothes bad, Fenrir hate!" Since she had never worn them as a kobold, Fenrir didnt like the restrictive feeling of clothes at all. Not only did it make it harder to move, but they got dirty and damaged easily which made her even more annoyed since Vahn seemed to care about her appearance. Vahn sighed and asked, "Fenrir, what do you think would make you happy?" As he spoke, he helped her remove the tunic from her body and she stood in the middle of the dungeon in just her blood-stained white panties. Vahn frowned a bit at the sight as he began to wipe down Fenrirs body with a wet towel. She didnt react at all to his touch as she seemed to be thinking about how to answer. After nearly a minute, Fenrir frowned and said, "No hunger, Fenrir hate hunger, feels bad, make angry." Since it was an answer he expected, Vahn nodded his head and asked, "Is there nothing else you like other than trying to satiate your hunger?" His words made Fenrir frown and she said, "Hunger worst, food make Fenrir happy! Master feed Fenrir, Fenrir happy!" Vahn released a sigh and finished wiping away the blood on her body. Unfortunately, he wasnt able to get the stains out of her fur since it seemed somewhat absorbent. Her midnight blue hair was now a much darker shade and the white areas of her fur had been stained blood red. After a bit of thought, Vahn looked through his system and found what he was looking for as he purchased a greyish-blue form-fitting top for Fenrir to wear. It was made of a tripleyer stic fabric that had an absorbent material on the inside with a water-resistant exterior. Though it took a bit of effort to get it on, Fenrir seemed to like the stretchy top more than the tunic even though it was far more revealing since her midriff was visible. Because white panties seemed to be an issue, Vahn also purchased a pair of bottoms with the same material as the top and they fit around her h.i.p.s like a pair of ultra-small shorts. Since he had been looking for things in the same line of products as Amazon wear, Fenrir ended up looking a little exotic with the greyish-blue fabricplimenting her midnight blue fur. Seemingly pleased with the new clothing, Fenrir said, "Good, better, Fenrir like stretchy, no get in Fenrir way." As if to show off, Fenrir started running around on all-fours and Vahn couldnt help but rub his brow to release a bit of the tension. Now that she was wearing even less, it would be much harder to disguise her if anyone saw her. Sitting down against a wall, Vahn called Fenrir over to sit next to him but she ended up squatting down with her legs spread as she ced her palms on the ground like how a dog sits. Realizing she had a lot to learn, Vahn began exining the specifics about her body. Fenrirs original form had been based on a males body, but it was actually genderless like the majority of monsters. Now that it had be a she, Vahn wanted to exin how to act properly around others. Since Fenrir disliked being in her magic core, the only way he could keep her out around normal adventurers was if she wore a disguise. When he asked, Fenrir adamantly refused to go into the magic core if she didnt have to and was willing to wear a disguise if it didnt restrict her. Vahn had her try on various different items until she eventually chose to wear a loose mantle that covered the majority of her body, minus the feet. He had tried to get her to wear a pair of greaves, but Fenrir rejected the idea vehemently iming something about instinct and hating being bound by her arms and legs. When Vahn asked if she had ever been bound like that, Fenrir shook her head and said, "Instinct." once again and Vahn gave up the line of questioning. One of the important things he had learned through interacting with Fenrir was that, even though she was a bit slow and didnt understand things, she wasnt dumb at all. She learned quickly and seemed to repeat the words he used back to him. Though she got angry and frustrated easily, as long as he continued to use [Hands of Nirvana] to keep her calm, she was rtively docile and didntin about being hungry. In fact, now that it was just the two of them, Fenrir almost didnt mention food at all until Vahn made her upset. His understanding of how her hunger was tied to her emotions continued to grow and Vahn was trying to think of methods to keep her happy so she could easily be satiated. He was worried that simply feeding her would actually cause more harm than good because she would just get progressively stronger and require increased amounts of food to sustain her body. Though he knew she was restricted by thews of the record, Vahn was still worried about her going on a rampage and somehow bing strong enough to even devour Heaven. After taking a short break, it was around 10 AM and Vahn wanted to do a bit more hunting before they returned to the surface. Leading the way, they came across a single war shadow apanied by a group of three Killer Ants. Since she shared his energy signature, Vahn could actually keep them both concealed with his domain, though she had no support skills to hide her presence further. As if she remembered his earliermands, Fenrir hunched over and prepared to howl but Vahn stopped her by cing his hand on her head. Fenrir looked up at him with a confused and dissatisfied expression until Vahn exined, "Going all-out isnt always the best idea. You should try to understand the capabilities of your enemies and conserve your strength when you can. Only use [Lunar Cry] when there are a lot of enemies since it affects your mental state. For now, just focus on improving your [Huntress] ability and get used to having your enhanced senses." To appease her even further, Vahn one of therger magic cores inside his inventory and handed it to her. The few loyalty he had lost when he stopped her earlier were recovered as the hair on her body began to grow sharper and stand on its ends a bit. When she was prepared, Fenrir charged out of the shadows, still on all fours, and engaged the four enemies. She made short work of the Killer Ants, but the War Shadow was able topete with her in speed. Even though she was Level 2, the War Shadow was near Level 2 and was also used to fighting with its body much more so than Fenrir. Though he intended to train her a bitter, Vahn wanted Fenrir to experience fighting from instinct and seeing how far she could improve her natural fighting ability. Because it also outranged her, the War Shadow had several opportunities to strike at Fenrir with its ws, but Vahn would always release a burst of intent that would stun its body. Though she would originally flinch in anticipation of taking damage, Fenrir quickly realized Vahn was supporting her from the sides. As if she felt emboldened by his protection, Fenrir continued to attack at the War Shadow without putting any effort into defending anymore. Vahn released a sigh because she wouldnt be able to improve if she was overly reliant on him covering the gaps in her attacks. Focusing his intent topletely stun the War Shadow, Vahn stepped in with Shundo and diverted Fenrirs ws that were about to pass through the War Shadows head. Her hair immediately red up and Fenrir shouted, "Master, no! Fenrir kill enemy!" She then tried to move around his body and attack the War Shadow, but Vahn held out his hand to block her path and said, "Fenrir, I am trying to help you get stronger. If you are only able to beat it because of my help, you will never be able to fight stronger monsters. It isnt always about killing the enemy; its more important to improve and develop your skills." Fenrirs eyes began to glow red and she rebutted, "Enemy die! Fenrir kill, get stronger when eat!" Though she wanted to kill the War Shadow, Fenrir didnt move after Vahn put out his arm. She seemed to be growing more frustrated and Vahn said in a firm tone, "Stand to the side and watch. I will you show you what I mean." Even though she was reluctant, Fenrir gritted her teeth and walked over to the side and squatted down next to the wall in her dog-like seated position. Vahn looked at the War Shadow and released his intent as it charged at him with swift swipes of its ws. Fenrirs hairs stood up since she had an instinctual desire to protect Vahn, but he easily diverted all of the War Shadows attacks without even moving from his spot. Even though his parameters were much higher, Vahn was using the skills he had acquired from training with Tsubaki withoutpletely overwhelming the War Shadow. Even when the monster tried swiping at his body in a pincer-like manner, Vahn crossed his arms and grabbed its opposite wrists as he pulled his arms wide and spun the War Shadow around in the air several times before it crashed hard into the dungeon floor. The glowing spot that people called its eye began to dim and fluctuate slightly. This was actually the War Shadows magic core, and Vahn was able to damage it a bit when he mmed it into the ground. After it recovered, the War Shadow tried to swipe at his legs, but Vahn timed his foot well enough to step on its wrist andpletely immobilize it. When it tried to attack with its free arm, Vahn intercepted with one of the mass-produced ck des and stabbed it through the War Shadows hand. Looking over to the side, he could see that Fenrir was looking at his actions intently so he exined, "Even without overpowering it with speed and power, I can still defeat the enemy with little effort. As long as you are aware of its movements and know your own capabilities, there are few enemies within your same level that should be able to defeat you. This War Shadow is only Level 1, but you were struggling against it because you arent yet used to your new body. Focus on what feels right and try to maneuver around and attack its blind spots. When youre skilled enough, youll even be able to divert its attacks with little effort and conserve your strength for more dangerous opponents." Removing the sword from its hand, the War Shadow quickly regenerated and tried to attack Vahn as he kicked it in the head and sent it flying several meters. With his demonstrationplete, Vahn walked over to the side and pat Fenrir on the head before saying, "Go ahead, you can do it." Fenrirs expression turned a bit fierce as she looked over at the War Shadow rising from the ground. Without further hesitation, she assumed a weird bear-like stance with her paws up as she said, "Fenrir kill, Fenrir show Master, Fenrir get strong." Vahn watched the awkward fight between Fenrir and the somewhat injured War Shadow for a few minutes. Because she was apparently trying to emte him, Fenrir didnt fight on all fours and instead kept trying to grab the War Shadows wrists every time it struck at her. Since she was now upright, Fenrir would easily outmaneuver the War Shadow and managed to arch her body and avoid its ws with room to spare. She eventually managed to catch the War Shadows wrists and sunk her ridiculously sharp ws into the shadowy flesh as a big smile grew on her face and she shouted, "Fenrir catch!" Because of her excitement, Fenrir turned toward Vahn and dragged the War Shadow toward him until her ws hadpletely cut through its wrist and it fell to the ground. Apparently offended by its escape Fenrir turned around and used her [Freezing Roar] to stun it where hey on the ground. Her next action was the pummeled the body of the War Shadow without using her ws like she was trying to punish it without actually killing it. Vahn watched the entire scene y out with wide eyes and was desperately holding back the urge tough at her antics. Eventually, even though she didnt intend to kill it, the War Shadow burst into dust particles and left a magic core on the ground. Fenrir wed at the floor of the dungeon a bit as if she was trying to grasp at the long-dead War Shadow. Unable to find it, she turned toward Vahn and had furrowed brows as she said, "Sorry, Fenrir kill, enemy weak..." Vahn was surprised since he had never seen Fenrir looking sad so he immediately walked over to her and began stroking her hair with a smile on his face. He said in a kind voice, "You did well, Fenrir, youre growing much stronger. With a bit of training, youll be able to defeat your enemies even easier." Fenrir held his forearms with the pads of her paws and had a pseudo-happy and annoyed expression on her face as Vahn heard the sounds of her Loyalty increasing and decreasing over and over. At this point, because she gained a lot of Loyalty whenever he fed her, Fenrir was already at 419 Loyalty, much higher than any of his other subordinates. The downside was that her Loyalty decreased rapidly as well and he had even lost nearly fifty points in twenty minutes it took for him to get from the Manor to the 5th floor of the dungeon. After talking for a bit and killing a few more enemies, Vahn had Fenrir wear our disguise and the two made their way out of the dungeon. To save future troubles, Vahn wanted to officially register Fenrir with the Guild but wanted to try something else first. When he had been discussing matters to protect her identity and prevent people from identifying her as a monster, Sis had actually informed him that Fenrir should be able to obtain a gods blessing. The only thing that prevented monsters from obtaining a blessing was the fact they didnt have a soul and were just mana constructs. Now that Fenrir was actually Soul Tier 1, it was irrefutable evidence that she now possessed a soul within her magic core. The only matter now was exining things to Hestia and trying toe up with an excuse to exin her hands and feet. This also had the benefit that, if it worked, Vahn would be able to keep track of Fenrirs status in the future. Even though he could see their level and soul tier, Vahns system couldnt currently inspect the status of anyone other than himself. Sis told him there was a function for it, but she couldnt exin how to unlock it at this time. During their journey back to the Manor, Vahn noticed that Fenrir had a powerful dislike for strangers. Perhaps it was her instincts from being a monster, or maybe how she had been neglected for twelve years by Eva, but Fenrir didnt like other people whatsoever. The entire time he was leading the way, she stuck close to his back and red at anyone that walked too close to them. Though Vahn didnt mind her being near him, he couldnt help but sigh inside his mind as he felt her ws ripping small holes in his tunic...there was even a slightly moist feeling on his back where she had identally poked him a few times while shrinking away from passersby... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Clothes bad!,ying catch with Fenrir,idental Stabbing) I am currently at $730/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 231 - Goddess and Wolf

Chapter 231 - Goddess and Wolf

As he approached the entrance to the Manor, Vahn stopped because he could sense the presence of Hestia waiting on the opposite side of the door. He turned to look at Fenrir, who had also sensed something and began stroking her hair as he exined, "Youre going to meet my goddess, Hestia. She will help take care of you from now on, so try to be nice to her, okay?" Fenrir frowned with a small-mouthed pout and said, "Fenrir no like!" She shook her head back and forth and Vahn could already see her eyes beginning to glow with more intensity. Vahn kneeled down and seriously exined, "Fenrir, you know I want to help make you happy and keep you from being hungry, right?" Fenrir nodded her head after a period of hesitation so Vahn continued, "I cant do that on my own though, because I will sometimes be busy with other things and have to take care of other people as well. You remember all the time I forged previously and you were watching from the side? Its very much like that, I cant always tend to you but I can help guarantee there will be others at your side. Hestia is a good goddess and she will be nice to you as long as you are nice to her." Fenrir grit her teeth and kept opening and closing her paws as her ws changed between a sharp and a dull state. Even her scarlet eyes continued to waver as if she was trying to process everything he had said. Though Vahn knew she didnt understand the words, he was certain his intent was properly conveyed because of the experiments he had done with orders before. After a while, Fenrir groaned, "Fenrir try, no mean to Fenrir, Fenrir be good." Vahn stroked her hair a bit but still let a length of [Enkidu] dangle from his hands for her to chew on. He could tell she was very stressed out, even though she wasnt asking for food. After having her stand behind him and making sure she didnt attack Hestia, Vahn made his way through the door with his hand up and shouted, "Hestia, wait!" Hestia, who was about ready to charge at him like a banshee immediately came to a stop and nearly fell over after she heard Vahns exmation. She looked at him with a confused and concerned expression until she caught sight of the small bundle of tan cloth with a midnight-blue haired girl behind Vahns back. Before she could make a scene, Vahn exined, "I will exin everything, but you have to remain calm. She gets very stressed out and it could lead to problems if you have an outburst right now. Here, lets go into one of the studies and Ill exin in detail." Though she still wanted to lecture him, Hestia could see the seriousness in Vahns expression and the caution in his voice. Looking behind him, she could see the girl at his back staring toward her with glowing red eyes that made a shiver run down her back. Deciding it was for the best to listen to Vahn, Hestia ushered the two into one of the studies on the first floor without standing near the scary cloaked girl. After Vahn sat on one of the sofas, Fenrir squatted down on the ground and continued to nibble at [Enkidu] while keeping her attention focused on Hestias movements. Seeing the girl squatting down on the ground in a strange manner, Hestia was very confused as she sat on the side of Vahn opposite the feral looking child. Vahn could sense Fenrirs hair rise a bit so he used [Hands of Nirvana] to stroke her head and used himself as a well between her and Hestia. Though she knew there was something strange going on, Hestia now realized things were more serious than she thought. She looked toward Vahn with unveiled concern and asked, "Vahn, this child, where did you pick her up?" Vahn shook his head and exined, "I didnt pick her up anywhere; do you remember my exnation about Fafnir, the ck dragon that follows around Tina and Mn in the shadows?" Hestias eyes widened a bit and she looked around at Fenrir as Vahn said, "Her name is Fenrir, and she is a kobold that I had tamed in the dungeon. When I used a special skill, she evolved into her current form, and that is why I had to go to the dungeon so urgently. I needed to test her capabilities and find a way to manage some of her...unique traits." Vahn then exined everything he could regarding Fenrirs abilities, including her skills like [Devour] and [Insatiable Hunger]. Hearing the descriptions, Hestias aura fluctuated slightly but Vahn could see she was trying to empathize with Fenrir as well since her fear didnt show on her face at all. After his exnation, Hestia said in an inhibited tone, "So she is a monster that evolved and became humanoid...and she also eats everything and she is always hungry unless she is rxed or happy?" Leaning around, Hestia saw Fenrircently noming away on [Enkidu], so Vahn exined about the indestructible quality and the fact that it helped keep her calm. Hearing his words, Hestia actually had a somewhat sad expression and kneeled down on the floor a bit aways from Fenrir and slowly extended out her hand. Fenrir immediately entered an alert state but didnt try to take any action for several seconds. Vahn continued to pat her head to keep her calm and she eventually stopped chewing on [Enkidu] for a bit as she leaned her head forward. She seemed to be trying to follow Vahns previous orders and was giving Hestia a chance. Hestias nervous expression turned into a small smile as she leaned forward and gently pat Fenrir on the head. Though she frowned a bit, Fenrir didnt pull away from Hestia and tolerated her touch. Hestias smile became wider and she said in a soft tone, "There, there, youre a good girl arent you Fenrir~?" In response to her words, Fenrirs tail thumped once on the floor and she nodded, "Fenrir good, Hestia good?" Hestiaughed a bit and stroked her ears affectionately as a bit of excitement began to appear on her face and she responded, "Thats right, this beautiful goddess will be your friend from now on~" Fenrir frowned and shook her head as if to refute Hestias words, even though she didnt understand the concept of beauty, and said,"Master better, feels good, Hestia bad, but good." Nodding her head as if she had said something profound, Fenrir began biting away at [Enkidu] while Hestia sat in a nk manner as she mechanically continued to stroke Fenrirs head. Vahnughed at her reaction and put his right palm on top of Hestias head while using [Hands of Nirvana]. He exined in an amused voice, "I think she is talking about the difference in our petting technique. I dont mean to brag, but I feel like I have an edge over most people." Feeling the warm energying into her head, Hestias smile returned and then her eyes widened as she turned to Vahn and whispered in a loud manner, "Ah~! That massage thing felt super amazing, we have to do that more often! If you want me to forgive you for sneaking out this morning, youll have to make it up to meter~." Hestia was suddenly in high spirits because Vahn had reminded her of the incredibly rxing massage fromst night. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced and she couldnt understand why the other goddesses had tried to keep it from her. Hestia thought they were trying to trick her so that they could monopolize Vahns massages to themselves. Vahn nodded his head and, with a confident smile on his face, said, "Leave it to me!" In response, Hestias smiled blossomed more but both of their expressions froze when a Fenrir asked in a curious, yet angry, sounding voice, "Massage super amazing? Fenrir want!" Though Hestia began tough awkwardly, Vahn c.o.c.ked his head a bit in thought before saying, "Sure, but only if you behave." Since he could replenish her energy and help calm her down at the same time, it wasnt a bad method to keep Fenrir under control and help relieve her stress. After things were exined properly and Hestia and Fenrir had epted each other, Vahn breached the next subject, "Hestia, because of the uniqueness of the skill I used that helped Fenrir evolve, I can say for certain that she has a soul. I want to see if you can give her your blessing so that we can keep track of her growth in the future." Hestia was in a happy mood and had taken to brushing Fenrirs hair until Vahn mentioned something ridiculous to her. She frowned and said, "That shouldnt be possible. Though it isnt unheard of for some monsters to possess a soul, Ive never heard of any monster being able to develop one through evolution..." Though he understood her doubts, Vahn reached out his hand and rubbed Fenrirs head as he exined, "Hestia, believe in me. Fenrir probably doesnt even qualify as a monster anymore...but something far more unique. There is no harm in trying, is there?" Unable to resist the gentle and imploring gaze of Vahn, Hestia released a sigh before saying, "Fenrir, can you sit absolutely still for a little while as I inscribe something on your back? It might feel a little unpleasant, but youll be the same as Vahn and be able to get even stronger in the future." Understanding the cue of Hestia, Vahn unequipped his tunic and showed Fenrir that Hestias crest was engraved on his back. She stared at it with her characteristic annoyed expression but also had a bit of interest and intensity in her eyes. After nearly a full minute, Fenrir said, "Fenrir want." Afterward, Hestia rolled up the back of Fenrirs top before giving Vahn a mean look and asking, "If Fenrir was a monster before, then you must have been the one to give her these clothes?" Hestia stared at Vahn in an intense, almost usatory, manner and Vahn could imagine a strange Jiiiiii- sound entering his ears. Vahn exined Fenrirs evolution, her resistance to clothes, and how she shredded most of the things he tried to get her to wear. Her current outfit, though somewhat revealing, was the only thing she seemed to befortable in that didnt restrict her movements or absorb blood. Hestia listened in silence until Vahn mentioned the part about blood which made Fenrir hold up her paws proudly, "Fenrir kill!" Though she hadnt noticed it before, Hestia could see the darker stains in Fenrirs fur and gave Vahn an incredulous look and eximed, "Vaaaaahn~! She needs to take a bath!" Hearing her words, Fenrirs eyes glowed more intensely and she said, "Fenrir hate bath! Fenrir no bath, no, no, no!" Because of her anxiety and frustration, Fenrir wanted to move away but was still following the order to sit still. Her eyes grew progressively more vibrant and Vahn spent several minutes trying to calm her down and exining the benefits of a bath. She seemed to have developed a phobia to bathing since the time she was forced by Eva in the past. Since she didnt understand what Eva was trying to do at the time, Fenrir must have thought she was going to drown or something. She finally calmed down when Vahn said that bath they used was a hot water onsen and was actually very shallow. There was no danger and nobody would try to force her under the water or anything like that. Vahn also said, since he remembered her interest in it from earlier, that he would give her the super amazing massage afterward. Though it felt a little strange to refer to his own technique as super amazing, Vahn still confidently gave his promise which finally made her rx. Following that, Hestia managed to perform the Familia induction ceremony without any issues whatsoever. She was incredibly shocked when it actually worked and stared at Vahn from the side with incredibly wide eyes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Fenrir] Age: 12 -Level:2 -Power: (G205) -Endurance: (H156) -Dexterity: (F311) -Agility: (H173) -Magic: (I92) Skills: [Lunar Cry:C], [Freezing Roar:C], [Chainbreaker:C], [Devour:SS],[Huntress:A] Development Abilities: - Magic: - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Remember that Innate skills dont show up inside the Status Board~) (A/N: Fenrir no like!,How to train your Heaven Devouring Wolf,Impossible Sess) I am currently at $730/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 232 - Caretaker

Chapter 232 - Caretaker

After the ceremony ended, it was now time for Fenrirs bath since Hestia didnt want her to track dirt, grime, and blood through the neat interior of the Manor. Vahn wanted to let Hestia take care of Fenrir since it might cause problems in the future if she got ustomed to bathing with him. However, there was an incident soon after which Vahn should have expected yet had overlooked since it had never really been a concern previously. Responding to a shouting from the womens changing room, Vahn entered inside to see Hestia on the ground nursing her hand while Fenrir squatted away at the side of the room in an obviously frustrated manner. Vahn motioned for Fenrir toe near him while he walked over to inspect Hestia injury and find out what happened. He saw that, other than a light abrasion, there wasnt any puncture wounds or anything so Vahn was somewhat confused until Hestia exined through teary eyes, "When I tried to take off her top, I felt some kind of strange impact that knocked away my hands~!" Vahn looked to the anxious Fenrir and she said, "Fenrir do nothing, Fenrir not bad!" Realizing what happened, Vahn healed Hestias injury whileforting Fenrir as he exined, "It is like the ne I gave you Hestia, Fenrirs clothes cant easily be touched by other people. Im sorry, I hadpletely overlooked the matter. Ill go and purchase some normal clothing for her to wear in the future so things like this dont happen again." Hestia seemed to be understanding with his exnation, but Fenrir was still very anxious because she thought she injured Hestia even though she was ordered not to. Vahn coaxed her a bit more and gave her a snack as he helped her undress with a bit of difficulty. Hestia watched from the side with a somewhat strange expression and remarked, "She is like a child..." Though she spoke quietly, Vahn had heard her and nodded his head before saying, "Yes, I think so as well...well need to make sure she is able to mature properly and teach her plenty of things. The more she learns, the less stressed out she should be when dealing with others." Vahn also exined about Fenrirs habits and avoidance of strangers, which wasnt a bad thing considering she still had the habits and instincts of a monster. After she was n.a.k.e.d, Fenrir also tried to get Vahn to take a bath as well, but he managed to convince her to take one with just Hestia. He still had some work to do and there would be no point to taking a bath now when he would have to take one in the evening anyway. Though she was very reluctant, Fenrir seemed to be opening up to Hestia who managed to lead the way into the onsen after a bit of encouragement. When the two girls had disappeared through the door, Vahn didnt immediately head away to work since he was still very worried about any incidents urring. Instead of leaving, he sat along the outside wall and used his ability to sense auras to track the two girls as they began bathing. He couldnt see their actual figures, but he would be alerted if anything happened if either of them began to get stressed. Though Vahn couldnt see the actual aura of Fafnir and Fenrir, he could see detect the fluctuations of her energy since it was identical to his own. Fortunately, after a half hour, the two began making their way back to the changing room and Vahn released a relieved sigh. Since it was a long bath, Vahn knew it should have gone well and he smiled when the two girls entered the changing room. Fenrir had a fortable expression on her face and Hestia had a cheerful smile, at least until she saw Vahn waiting for them. Though she was a bit startled, her cheerful smile turned into a teasing one but Vahn spoke before she could say anything, "I have a change of clothes for Fenrir, and she wouldnt be able to put them on herself." Realizing the truth in his words, Hestias expression copsed a bit as she watched Vahn help Fenrir get dressed. She bit her a lip a bit and wanted to get him to help her dress as well, but Vahn remarked that he had already seen that she can attach and detach her godly raiment. As if to rebut his im, Hestia dangled her untarnished white panties about like a g until Vahn chopped the top of her head and saying not to teach Fenrir strange things. Even though he had to help her dress right now, he didnt want Fenrir to ce any kind of strange emphasis on the act. For the rest of the day, Vahn worked in his secret forge but only after setting up a sofa on the inside so the two girls could sit. Fenrir didnt seem fond of being away from him, and she had long developed the habit of watching him work whenever he was inside the orb. Vahn had also given Hestia several picture books and heroic tales to read to Fenrir so that she could improve her speaking capabilities and learn to read. Though he also wanted her to be able to write, there was almost no practical manner for Fenrir to hold a quill using her paws. The best thing she would be able to do was carve the letters into a hard surface which also became an exercise in control so she wouldnt identally harm others. Though he had healed in a short period of time, Vahns tunic had beenpletely ruined by Fenrir in their walk back to the Manor and he also had several idental puncture wounds on the ride side of his body. Though he was primarily focused on his work, Vahn would nce over at the two girls from time to time with a smile on his face after seeing how well they got along. Hestia was exactly as kind and gentle as the goddess in his imagination and, even though she was actually the smaller of the two, she let Fenriry against herp while reading picture books to her in a quiet and gentle tone. To keep her from identally getting stressed out, Vahn had created a small golden hole where [Enkidu] was dangling for Fenrir to chew on while she looked at the contents of the book and listened to Hestias words. The most amazing thing of all was, by the time dinner had rolled around Fenrir hadnt asked for food a single time orined about her hunger. This allowed Vahn to confirm once and for all that she didnt actually require food to appease her hunger, but it was more like an instinctual desire to try to alleviate her stress. Of course, this didnt mean she didnt like to eat at all as she went through more than 50kg of food during dinner which shocked Hestia quite a bit. Even though she also didnt gain or lose weight as a goddess, she was still somewhat envious of Fenrirs ability to put away food. Since Fenrir was only around 40kg, the fact she could casually eat more than her entire body weight in food was quite a sight to behold. Because of Fenrirs presence, this was the first day when Vahn hadnt visited the Hostess of Fertility in a while, but he managed to contact Syr through themunication scroll and exin things. Though Vahn was aware of thework that had been established around him, he was somewhat surprised to find that Syr was the representative for contacting the Hostess of Fertility, when he was closer to Chloe than anyone else. This made it even more apparent to him that Syr was something akin to the lynchpin within the pub and had a say in everything that happened behind the scenes. After sending his message, Vahn took a bath alone even though both Hestia and Fenrir wanted to join in. Vahn dissuaded them by making an excuse about waste and extravagance and the fact that they had just bathed earlier in the day without working up a sweat or anything after that. Though it was a bit lonely to bathe alone, Vahn still wanted to help break the habit for Hestia while also preventing Fenrir from developing it in the first ce. He knew he would still probably bathe with them at some point, but he wanted it to be the exception and not the standard that they lived by. Though she was somewhat insistent at first, Vahn managed to shut Hestia down when he talked about her negatively influencing Fenrir who still needed them to teach her proper behavior and how to interact with people more sociably. Since she was likely going to be the caretaker of Fenrir in the future, Hestia didnt have any leeway to argue against Vahn and retreated to the room while pouting to Fenrir about how mean Vahn was. When Fenrir immediately took Vahns side, Hestiaughed awkwardly as the two disappeared from sight. After the bath, Vahn went into the room where Hestia was once again reading a book to Fenrir as she used Hestias b.r.e.a.s.ts as a pillow. Since she was slowly nibbling on a magisteel block he had given her, Vahn could feel a pressure in the bridge of his nose and couldnt help but mentally exim how adorable the scene was. Noticing his arrival, Hestia closed the book as Fenrir rolled off her body and walked over to Vahn before finishing up the remainder of the metal snack. As if following a script, she looked upward into Vahns face and said, "Master, massage? Super amazing?" Hearing her words, Vahn looked over at Hestia who was covering her mouth to prevent herself fromughing. After squinting his eyes a bit, Vahn smiled and stroked Fenrirs head and said, "Sure, but we need to find out where youll be sleeping first." Because she had beenying in the bed with Hestia, Fenrir pointed over with her tiny ws and said, "Fenrir sleep!" Though Vahn might have agreed normally, there was a big problem that still needed to be addressed. Holding her paws in his hand, Vahn squeezed the pads on her fingers and Fenrirs ws extended further. She couldnt retract them fully, but Fenrirs ws were actually quite a bit longer than their normal appearance. If she grabbed away at either himself or Hestia while she was asleep, they could both potentially be in danger. Vahn exined the danger of Fenrirs ws and even showed her the areas on the bed where she had already cut into the fabric when she was moving around normally. In her frustration, Fenrir tried to do something that Vahn hadnt expected at all. She lifted her paws toward her own mouth and tried to bite through her own ws and sessfully did so even though she had a pained look on her face. Vahn immediately grabbed her paws and saw the bleeding tips and sat Fenrir down as he started healing them. She wanted to resist and tried to pull her hands away, but Vahn continued to coax her as even Hestia came over and stroked her hair while hugging Fenrir from behind. Because she seemed to have very high regeneration, it only took around twenty minutes for Fenrirs ws to grow back to their maximum length. Vahn was even rtively certain that they had grown back even sharper than they were previously. Since she couldnt easily resist the care and concern Vahn and Hestia showed her, Fenrir let them tend to her even though she had a very frustrated expression on her face. Even though she didnt have the habit of sleeping with anyone before, now that she hadid in the bed with Hestia, Fenrir didnt want to be left out. Vahn thought of a solution that might work, but he had trouble bringing it up since he knew she would be averse to it. Demonstrating the principle first, Vahn had Fenrir ce her palms together and interlock her ws between the gaps of her fingers. Since her body seemed to have an immunity to her own ws, Fenrir was about to perform the act without injuring herself at all. Vahn exined, "The only safe way is if you cant identally touch anyone with your ws, and the only guaranteed way for that to happen would be to temporarily bind your paws together." Fenrir frowned deeply at his words, but Vahn continued as he showed her a rtively low-grade leather band that could be tied around the hands. He showed her that, if she put in a little effort, she could easily break through them without any difficulty. The only thing the band did was help her develop the habit for now and she would eventually be able to sleep without having to rely on it when she learned to control her own ws better. Though still reluctant, Fenrir nodded her head and allowed Vahn to bind her wrists and paws together. As if to confirm it herself, Fenrir tried to break free and was able to do so with the ease that Vahn promised. With a small smile, her tail thudded on the ground twice as she let Vahn tie her paws together once again. Once they were firmly held together, Fenrir shook her hands around a bit to get used to the sensation before the three crawled into bed. Though Vahn noticed the ws on her feet were also a problem, they didnt seem nearly as sharp as the ones on her hand. Vahn suspected it was because she fought with her front ws as a kobold and still had an instinctual reliance on them. Hopefully, she would be able to control them properly in the future and neither her hands or feet would be an idental danger to others. Keeping his promise, Vahn gave a massage to both Hestia and Fenrir before it was finally time for bed. Like Hestia, Fenrir also reacted in the normal way which allowed Vahn to confirm his suspicions that the reaction of the other goddesses was because they were in a state of arousal at the time. Even though Hestia acted somewhat promiscuous, she didnt have any experience with s.e.x.u.a.l matters at all and had a severeck of understanding about the emotions involved. Since Fenrir had been a monster her entire life before her evolution, she didnt have any strange response at all and just enjoyed the massage in silence. Vahn noticed that her eyes had be cid like deep scarlet pools and he stroked her hair a bit before going to sleep. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn forcing his problems to deal with each other,Hestias bad influence,Happily bonding with the danger floof) I am currently at $730/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 233 - *Spoilers: Title at End*

Chapter 233 - *Spoilers: Title at End*

When Vahn awoke in the morning, Hestia had already resumed her ce on his body and Vahn rubbed her hair a bit before he turned to look over at the side. The moment he woke up, Vahn saw Fenrirs ears twitched and she had turned her head to watch him. When she had gone to sleep, perhaps to prevent anything from happening, she had rested with her arms underneath her body. Vahn saw her red eyes glowing subtly in the darkness and reached over to stroke her ears a bit as he whispered, "Go ahead and get out of the bed and head downstairs, Ill be along shortly." Fenrir rolled her head around under his hand before shifting her body slowly and inching out of bed. Because her hands were still bound, Fenrirs movements were especially awkward since she was apparently trying to stay quiet. Vahn was happy she was showing consideration for others and pulled out the orb and entered before anyone realized what was going on. By the time the three days within had passed, Fenrir hadnt even reached the edge of the bed as Vahn rolled Hestia off of his body and disappeared from the bed once he got his feet under him. Before she could make her way to the door, Fenrirs hair stood on end as she lowered her body after someone appeared right in front of her. Seeing that it was Vahn, she rxed a bit as Vahn hushed her and helped remove the binds from her paws. Though she was tolerating them, Vahn noticed that Fenrir was much happier to have them removed and the two made their way downstairs and prepared to set out for the day. Vahn had already discussed the matter with Hestia and convinced her it was necessary to help Fenrir train and relieve her stress. Hestia had originally wanted him to continue recuperating, but Vahn assured her that he had long since recovered from any seque that had appeared since hisa. She wanted him to get checked out at the medical ward, but Vahn had exined that he had too many secrets to entrust the matter to others for now. To ay her concerns, Vahn had even identified every pressure point and muscle on her body during the massage the previous night to show that he had a proper understanding of the body and properly maintaining it. When the two had left the room, Hestias blue eyes opened slightly as she watched the door close behind them. Even though she was a heavy sleeper, she didnt want to see Vahn disappear like the previous day while she was still asleep. Though she didnt stop him from leaving, Hestia still intended to take some actions of her own to guarantee he would be safe. While Vahn was in the Dungeon with Fenrir, she was nning on coordinating with the other girls on thework to increase the security around Vahn. Right now, Vahn was restricted from interacting with the Alliance in any meaningful way, but there were always ways to circ.u.mvent things... While they were in the dungeon, Vahn had been singling out individual monsters while avoidingrge groups and taking detours whenever the auras of other adventurers entered his domain. The reason he wanted single monsters, or small groups, was to demonstrate how to fight using the skills he had developed while fighting in his Bih form. Though Fenrir wasnt nearly as agile as he was, she had a simr instinct and liked to use her front paws as a pivot for her movements, simr to how Vahn liked to crouch low to the ground for bursts of speed. Though she struggled quite a bit, Vahn wanted Fenrir to learn omnidirectional fighting and even started teaching her a bit of CQC techniques while adapting them to her unique stances. Vahn really wanted her to get used to fighting on two legs and improving her actual skill instead of the awkward way she usually fought. Though it was kind of cute to watch her waggling around on all-fours, Vahn knew it would be a problem when they inevitably fought alongside others. Vahn even wanted to fight a female mentor for her so Fenrir would develop a bit of mon sense and propriety. As had been shown the previous day, Fenrir really enjoyed fighting, assuming she didnt sustain any injuries. Every time she killed something, she would get psyched up and whenever she sessfully used one of the techniques he had taught her, Fenrir would run over to Vahn while saying, "Fenrir good, praise Fenrir!" Though he felt a little guilty, Vahn knew it was important to give her positive reinforcement whenever she was trying to apply what she had learned. If anyone were to ask why he felt guilty about that, Vahn would have turned his head to the side and muttered something about reading manuals for domesticating dogs and wolves while also refreshing his knowledge about chienthropes. It wasnt that he looked down on her, but Vahn understood that most of Fenrirs knowledge came from her time as a kobold and she was severelycking in her mental development. Even though she was markedly more intelligent now, she hadnt developed or experienced enough to fill in the gaps from her twelves years as a glorified dog. The biggest issue was, she had expectations that had been firmly cemented in her mind from how Vahn treated her when she was still a kobold. Though he would slowly change her mentality over time, it would take a few months at the very least. Since it would be a problem otherwise, Vahn had found a secure area in the pathways of the dungeon where he set out arge basin for Fenrir to clean her body after hunting. Vahn also agreed with Hestia about keeping her clean and wanted her to develop the habit of always trying to maintain her hygiene. Fortunately, the clothes he had purchased for her were almost entirely waterproof as long as the seal against her skin wasnt broken. This allowed Fenrir to submerge into the water without Vahn having to remove her clothing. After the bath, Vahn also helped dry her bristly hair and alsob it for a few minutes before they made their way back to the surface. Fenrir seemed especially fond of having her fur brushed with a coarse brush that Vahn had purchased through the system for the purpose of grooming dogs. Though the bristles were fine, they were very rigid and allowed him tob deep into her fur and remove any remnant dirt. The entire time he worked, Fenrir rocked her head from left to right as she flopped her ears about with her eyes closed. Though she didnt seem to know how to smile yet, Vahn could tell she was happy and he even purchased a pouch that wrapped around her waist that contained her very own brush. She wouldnt be able to use it herself, but if she was alone with Hestia or someone else she trusted, Vahn told her she could have them brush her fur if she was good. Since the brush wasnt a magical item, nor did it have any special properties, other people would be able to use it just fine. When they returned back to the Manor, Vahn stopped for a moment because he could sense a presence other than Hestia within the interior. Assuming she had probably called over one of the other girls, Vahn had a small smile before he calmed Fenrir and exined there would be someone new for her to meet. Though she had inhibitions about meeting yet another person, Fenrir still followed along at Vahns back just as she had done before meeting Hestia yesterday. Since the people that had the key to the security formations could detect when other people entered, Hestia knew Vahn and Fenrir had returned and left the study to meet them in the foyer. She looked at them with a cheerful smile and said, "Wee back Vahn, Fenrir, how did things go~? As he wanted her to be more personable, Vahn nudged Fenrirs shoulder and prompted her to say, "Fenrir did good, kill lots!" ying along, Hestia beamed as she walked over and patted Fenrirs head and said, "Very good~! Fenrir is a good girl!" Hearing Hestias praise, Fenrir awkwardly palmed away at her pouch in an adorable manner before she eventually got frustrated and said, "Pouch, Brush!" Since the pouch was the left, backside, of her hip, Fenrir stuck out her butt toward Hestia and pat the pouch in an urgent manner. Hestia had a sparkle in her eyes because of the adorable behavior and, with mock curiosity, opened up the pouch and pulled out the brush Vahn had given Fenrir. Since it was very obvious what Fenrir wanted, Hestia pat her head and said, "Ill brush you while we talk in the study, okay~?" Afterward, the three made their way into the study and Vahn saw someone he hadnt really expected to see and quickly understood the purpose of her visit. Wearing a white threaded tunic, leafy brown thighboots, simrly colored gloves that reached the center of her biceps, a pair of short green shorts that hugged her h.i.p.s, and a leafy green hooded-mantle was a beautiful, taciturn, green-haired elf with sky-blue eyes. Vahn immediately recognized the figure as Ryuu and they both smiled after making eye contact with each other. Seemingly having been unaware of their rtionship, Hestia looked between them before she seriously asked Ryuu, "Are you another one of the girls that like Vahn?" Since she had only been trying to find someone to watch over Vahn, Hestia hadnt investigated everything about the person that was sent. The only thing that she knew was the name of Ryuu, the fact that she was a Level 4, and that she also intended to join the Familia. Though she hadnt connected the dots at first, Hestia was now absolutely sure she had invited petition into the house inadvertently. Though it was almost unnoticeable, both Vahn and Hestia saw the minuscule blush on Ryuus face as she bowed forward slightly as if affirming Hestias words. Vahns eyes widened because, though he knew Ryuu kind of liked him, he hadnt expected her to openly admit it. He was unaware, at least at this time, that Ryuu had been talking to both Syr and Chloe a lot about Vahns exploits after hours. Ever since she had shown up and failed to help Vahn with the previous incident, Ryuu had wanted to be closer to him. This was also the reason why, when she hadst talked to Vahn, she agreed to join the righteous Familia he wanted to establish. When Syr had approached her and exined the situation, Ryuu agreed after some light persuasion, and goading, from Syr. Making a mental note to question Ryuu in more detailter, Hestia sat on the sofa and began brushing Fenrir as they discussed the situation. Ryuu had actually already undergone the Familia induction ceremony while Vahn was in the dungeon and had discussed matters with Mama Mia with Syr as support. She didnt actually quit her job at the Hostess of Fertility, but would only have to help out on the days Vahn wasnt busy or venturing into the dungeon. However, to keep things fair, Ryuu would apparently still continue staying in the womens dorm for the time being and wouldnt move in until Mn and Tina were preparing to join. She had taken a personal vow to help protect the two girls and wanted to watch over them when Vahn was busy. Even when Vahn told her about the existence of Fafnir, Ryuu shook her head and seriously stated, "Understand this Vahn, there are some situations where a dragons involvement would be excessive." As he had only ever been worried about the safety of Mn and Tina, Vahn hadnt really considered Fafnirs existence to be an issue. He realized that she was entirely correct, but still said that he would keep Fafnir at their sides for the time being. Since he could call it through his mental link, Vahn had Fafnir travel through the shadows and pop his head out of the carpet when Vahn had held his hand near the light. Vahn introduced Fafnir and Ryuu and told Fafnir to always defer to her judgment and only react if Ryuu wasnt around or couldnt take care of the situation. When the massive dragon head popped out of the floor, Hestia shrieked at the top of her lungs while both Fenrir and Ryuu had in expressions on their faces. Ryuu actually bowed to Fafnir and said, "It is a pleasure to work with you, please take care of me from here onwards." Ignoring the shrill voice of Hestia, Fafnir also nodded before speaking out in a very childish voice that made Hestias eyes gopletely round, (*Sure~! I will protect Masters loved ones!*) Hearing Fafnir say the words, loved ones, in regards to herself, Ryuu showed a second, almost entirely unnoticeable blush, as she disyed a light smile. Vahn had been watching their interaction and was trying to process how he should act around Ryuu in the future. Though she hadnt vocalized anything, she had affirmed being one of the girls that liked him so Vahn was contemting matters for the future. The entire time this was going on, Fenrir just sat at the side munching on [Enkidu] as she wiggled in Hestias arms andzed about against the ruffled goddess. After a few seconds, Fenrir looked into the shocked face of Hestia and muttered, "Brush, Fenrir want!" Hearing the words of Fenrir, Hestiaughed awkwardly and began running theb through Fenrirs tail. Pleased at the result, Fenrir closed her eyes and began tilting her head from side-to-side once again. After Fafnir returned to the shadows, Ryuu had turned toward Hestia and Fenrir with a curious expression on her face and an imaginary light in her eyes. Even without saying anything, Vahn knew she also thought Fenrir was adorable so he went through the process of introducing them to each other. Though her taciturn personality hadnt broken, Ryuu still pet Fenrir with a bit of affection and Fenrir seemed to be pleased that there was now someone else to spoil her. Though she didnt vocalize it, Fenrir pictured the hateful golden-haired vampire in her head and decided that the other people around her Master were much nicer. Title: Ryuu Lion Joins the Familia (A/N: Alternate Titles: Domestication of the Heaven Devouring Wolf,Brushy Brushy,Fenrir like!) I am currently at $730/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 234 - Precedent

Chapter 234 - Precedent

After settling in Fenrir, Vahn apanied Ryuu back to the Hostess of Fertility. Fenrir wanted toe along, but Vahn knew she wasnt ready to deal with crowds of people yet. Though it took a bit of coaxing, Vahn managed to convince her to stay behind and protect Hestia. Hestia had also wanted toe along, but she also agreed that Fenrir needed to be looked after. Vahn promised to take the two of them shopping in the future and left arge number of snacks for them both to enjoy. The walk with Ryuu back to the Hostess of Fertility was very quiet because Ryuu was actually very reserved and Vahn still didnt know how to treat her. He thought she was very beautiful and had a calming personality, but Vahn wasnt sure if he should even be making advances at girls right now. Not only was he halting Hestias actions, but he had even dyed his interactions with other girls because he wanted to keep his promise with Hephaestus first. He had been making incredible leaps within the orb, but he still couldnt cross the threshold required to reach [Master Smith]. Though she was walking ahead casually, Ryuu was actually paying a great deal of attention to Vahn and actually felt very nervous. Since they were close to each other, she had an inclination to hold his hand but couldnt muster up the courage tomit. Even though Syr had been egging her own about approaching Vahn, Ryuu still hadnt resolved herself to take any steps forward. She knew how many girls were around Vahn, including some of the ones she was close to, and also knew that he was dealing with a lot of issues in his life. Now that they were in the same Familia, Ryuu wanted to find an opportunity to get closer to Vahn but hadnt yet found an appropriate method. When she released a slight sigh, Vahn looked over even though Ryuu was positive he hadnt heard her. With a smile on his face, Vahn reached out and gingerly grabbed her hand as if he had read her mind. Her heart throbbed a bit, but she just smiled as they walked along the back alleys towards the Hostess of Fertility. Though they hadnt spent much time together, Ryuu knew that Vahn was quite perceptive and she was grateful he had been the one to reach out and grab her hand. It reminded her a lot of the first time they had met and how he was easily able to approach her... While he had been hesitating, Vahn heard a notification in his mind and noticed that Ryuus aura had been flickering a bit with an almost unnoticeable pink hue. Though he didnt look directly at her, Vahn could feel that her aura would asionally gravitate toward him and he understood that she was probably hesitating herself. Remembering that she ced an emphasis on holding hands, Vahn decided to turn his head when he heard her sigh before grasping her hand gently. When she smiled and put a bit of strength into her grip, Vahn assumed he had made the right decision and walked forward casually with Ryuu all the way until they entered the alleyway at the side of the Hostess of Fertility. Ryuu had a subtle smile on her face as she stood outside the door and said, "Thank you for walking with me this far...will you be staying for lunch?" Vahn nodded his head so she said, "Please wait a few minutes, I will change into my uniform quickly." Since he wasnt in any hurry at all, Vahn nodded curtly and waited patiently outside the door as Ryuu went inside to change. He wasnt sure if they had progressed in their rtionship suddenly, but Vahn was already considering Ryuu to be part of his family since she had joined their Familia. After Ryuu came back out into the alley, Vahn smiled and led the way with Ryuu following closely behind. They drew a few eyes from the patrons when they came through the double doors but nothing happened as a result since they werent holding hands or anything. Vahn had already developed a reputation among the regr clients, even in his Bih form. There were quite a few young men that visited the Hostess of Fertility for the express purpose of trying to court one of the girls there. Since Vahn seemed to be the center of a lot of girls attention, he wasnt really weed by most patrons. Ryuu ended up being their server for the day, and Vahn apologized to Tina and Mn as he exined the circ.u.mstances of his previous absence. They had already heard from Sry, but Vahn felt personally obligated to exin things to alleviate any concerns they might have. When they heard he had a new evolved monster, Tina was in somewhat high tensions since she had grown fond of Fafnir. Even though she wasnt in danger, Tina knew Vahn had ordered it to protect her so she would often call out to it and feed it treats when nobody was looking. After lunch, Vahn parted with the Mother-Daughter duo after promising to bring Fenrir by when she had be more stable. When it was just the two of them, Ryuu stood next to Vahn in silence with a small smile on her face. Vahn didnt know how to read Ryuu well since she wasnt very expressive and kept to herself, but he understood she was expressing her support in her own way. In a low, polite, tone, Vahn said, "Thank you Ryuu. Im d you joined our Familia...from now on, were a family, okay?" As he spoke, Vahn grabbed Ryuus right hand and sped it between both of his in a rtively gentle fashion. Ryuu showed a small smile and stared at her hand that was being held by Vahn as she said, "Okay...Vahn." For some reason, as she said his name, Vahn noticed that Ryuu blushed far more noticeably than in the past. Tilting his head to the side a bit, Vahn recalled that it was only the second time she had actually ever said his name, even though they had known each other for a few weeks. With a bigger smile on his face, Vahn lifted Ryuus hand and, as if emting their first meeting, kissed it for a few seconds before pulling away. When he looked up, Ryuu seemed to have grown several inches taller as she raised her chin and tilted her head back with a moderate blush on her face. Vahnughed a few short sybles as he said, "Ill see you tomorrow...Ryuu." After pausing for a second or two and taking a shallow breath, Ryuus face showed a small smile and she nodded her head as she said, "Ill see you tomorrow...Vahn." Though he wasnt sure it mattered, Vahn decided to start keeping track of the number of times Ryuu called his name. Since it seemed to be a matter of significance, Vahn felt like he would be able to get a rise out of her in the future if he brought it up. After parting, Vahn returned to his Manor and greeted Hestia and Fenrir before returning to his private forge. As they had done the day before, Fenrir cuddled with Hestia as they read books together. Vahn thought they had great synergy with each other, but he would never exin to Hestia that it was because they were both somewhat airheaded. Even though Fenrir was troublesome in a way, she was also a good restraint on Hestia who had been growing bolder by the day. Hestias good-natured and cheerful personality was equally as important for Fenrir, as she was already starting to develop a gentler temperament, at least at home. During the afternoon, Vahn entered the orb and spent the entire three days stay reading books and designing diagrams for the future equipment he intended to forge. He had recentlye to understand why Hephaestus, who was a literal goddess of forging, still designed blueprints for equipment now. Though he was able to use his inspiration to create masterpieces, Vahn realized that he would need to take a different approach if he wanted to take the final step toward bing a [Master Smith]. Even Tsubaki, who was somewhat ditzy at times, also drew up blueprints, so Vahn was certain it was the correct decision to make. Even Eva, who was far more artistically inclined, helped him draw up the blueprints and came up with a host of ideas for Vahn to improve. Not only had she read all the books he left for her, including things regarding mechanics, engineering, and cksmithing, but she also had a lot of experience in life and much more time than he had to practice. Though he felt somewhat guilty about it, Vahn was happy to rely on Eva and made a concerted effort to pamper her more often. After leaving the orb, Vahn continued to forge items until it was time for dinner. He had gotten the okay from Mn and Tina to spend dinner with Hestia and Fenrir for the time being. Unfortunately, Vahn had made a slight oversight and, since he had cleaned Fenrir earlier, Hestia tried using the excuse that they hadnt bathed since returning to try and talk her way into the same bath as Vahn. She had even gotten Fenrir on her side and Vahn struggled toe up with a way to refute theirbined attack. The final straw had been when both girls, since they were much shorter than him, gave him puppy eyes and Vahn took a critical hit to his mental defenses. Their efforts had resulted in Vahn allowing them to bathe with him, but only after having Hestia agree to behaving so she didnt influence Fenrir to develop any strange habits. Since they were quickly growing closer to each other, Vahn knew that Hestias behavior would likely be picked up by Fenrir as her mental development continued. She had already gotten to the point, just after two days, where she was already beginning toze around on the sofa with Hestia spoiling her. Since Vahn also spoiled her quite a bit, he knew she would probably be a somewhatzy person while at home, but this would also prevent her from being stressed out...at least, that was Vahns hope. During the bath, Fenrir acted normally, almost as if she didnt care about being seen at all and, she in fact, did not. Since she had bathed with Hestia the previous night and had been cleaned by Vahn more than once, she gave him the sponge and said inly, "Master clean Fenrir." Vahn handed the sponge to Hestia, who was also nearby, and said, "Dont be selfish Fenrir, Hestia will be able to clean you properly." Fenrir looked at Hestia and frowned before turning back to Vahn and saying, "Fenrir want Master clean! Master better!" Vahn frowned a bit before looking over and giving Hestia a sidelong nce before saying, "If I wash your body, a certain goddess would try to use it as an excuse to get cleaned as well. Be a good girl..." Before he finished his words, Fenrir squatted down in the water and began scratching the smooth surface of the onsen with her ws as she blew bubbles and ignored Vahn. Vahn could see her eyes were beginning to glow and Hestia spoke from the side, "Dont worry about me, go ahead and help her out. She is like a child that wants her Papas affection~." Fenrirs ears twitched at Hestias words and she looked up at Vahn while still squatted down, "Papa wash Fenrir, please?" Hearing her words, Vahn felt a pressure in his nose as his temples began to throb. He looked down at the pleading eyes of Fenrir before giving Hestia a serious look that caused her tough awkwardly. Releasing a sigh, Vahn sat down and stroked Fenrirs head gently and exined, "You shouldnt call me Papa...you dont have to call me Master either. From now on, just call me Vahn..." As if she had never cared about the address, to begin with, Fenrir responded, "Vahn wash Fenrir?" Though he was somewhat hesitant, Vahn felt like he had dodged a bullet and couldnt help but smile as he agreed to her request. In a way, he could increase their bond while also enforcing the idea that she should call him Vahn from now on. Fenrir was very pleased by Vahns actions and happily patted the water while squirming about as hethered up her body. When she was fully covered in suds, Vahn helped her rinse off while also using a stic brush to get any remnant materials out of her hair and fur. When she was finally cleaned off, Fenrir did something that Vahn didnt quite expect as she got out of the pool and, on all fours, began shaking her body from head to tail before finally kicking with her back legs to try and get as much water out of her fur as possible. Because she had absolutely no sense of propriety, she had put on quite the disy for both Vahn and Hestia. Without Vahn having to say anything, Hestia got out of the pool and said, "Ill make sure she learns how to properly dry off..." Vahn just nodded without responding as he submerged his head into the hot water to cool off. Even though he didnt feel like he had any attraction to Fenrir, Vahn couldnt help but get caught up in her momentum a bit because of how peculiar her actions were. He had never seen someone that looked like a human behave in such a unique way and didnt think he was mentally prepared to deal with Fenrir if she kept disying such adorable antics. Even if he didnt intend to look, it was hard to ignore such behavior... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ryuus Hand Fetish v.2,Imprinting,Dangerous Behavior) I am currently at $730/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 235 - Gale

Chapter 235 - Gale

The rest of the evening was rtively uneventful as Vahn, Hestia, and Fenrir enjoyed arger dinner before Vahn spent a little time pampering the two spoiled girls before bed. Hestia seemedpletelyfortable with the massage at this point and Fenrir refused to be left out so Vahn tied up her paws before putting them both to sleep. Afterward, Vahn went to sleep before waking up and spending a bit of time researching with Eva who had been making her own improvement in forging with Vahns permission to use his forge. Since she could change her clothing with magic, Eva had adopted the look of wearing nothing but a pair of overalls and gloves as she worked away on pieces of metal. Because she was very petite, Vahn almost wanted to remark that she looked like a child ying cksmith, but he knew her well enough to keep those words to himself. Leaving the Hearth Manor with Fenrir, they made their way to the Hostess of Fertility and waited for Ryuu to prepare before the three of them headed toward the dungeon. Even though she had agreed to meet up at the Manor, it wasnt a big detour for Vahn and Fenrir to pick her up instead. Vahn also wanted Fenrir to familiarize herself with the City more and wanted her to adapt to newer environments and some of the backstreets he often used. Though he had no intention of allowing her to roam the City freely, Vahn wanted to prepare for the eventuality that she would be moving around on her own in the future. Along the way, though they had discussed it previously, Vahn mentioned some of the things Ryuu had to pay attention to when interacting with Fenrir. Since she would be apanying them in the dungeon for the foreseeable future, Vahn wanted to make sure Ryuu was on the same page. Responding to his words, Ryuu said that she would sit on the sidelines and let him teach Fenrir while she watched his back. Though Vahn wanted to agree, he actually suggested that she take the lead and help teach Fenrir since she was a veteran Adventure and would likely have insights that had been developed over the years she had been active. Ryuu deferred to his words and agreed while iming it was a good opportunity to polish up her skills that had be rusty due to her inactivity andck of exercise. Raising his brow, Vahn gave a cursory nce at Ryuus body from the side and couldnt see any indication that she had been zy at all. She had a very lithe and fit body with long legs and a healthyplexion simr to many of the elves he had seen in the past. Since she was attentive of his actions, Vahns inspection hadnt been missed by Ryuu and she gave him a sidelong nce of her own with her sky-blue eyes before continuing forward withoutmenting. Vahn felt a little nervous and followed behind her with Fenrir in tow. When they finally entered the dungeon, Ryuu wanted to watch Fenrir fight before she gave any pointers. Even though he had only suggested she teach Fenrir a bit, Ryuu seemed to have taken it as an indication that she be Fenrirs instructor from now on. Vahn knew that Ryuu was an incredibly capable fighter that could probably teach him a thing or two, so he watched from the side and listened to Ryuusments about how Fenrir could improve. After asking why she exined things to him, Ryuu exined that it was because he would be able to convey her words better for Fenrir than if she stated them personally. Realizing her words were true, Vahn nodded his head and repeated Ryuus words to Fenrir while also telling her to do her best to follow Ryuus orders. Vahn wasnt the only one learning new things while watching Fenrir, as Ryuu had been paying close attention to both of them during the training. She had never experienced anything like Vahns domain before and thought it was a rather unique thing with a lot of potential uses. Since she was an elf, Ryuu was very receptive to magic and could see that the elemental energies in the air were heavily influenced by Vahns domain. Instead of remaining in their naturally chaotic state, all of the elements within his domain became somewhat obedient and acted like they were waiting for instruction. One of the things that impacted Ryuu the most was, when she had been prepared to charge forward and help Fenrir, Vahn grabbed her shoulder as the air seemed to freeze around the monsters Fenrir had been fighting. With her perception, Ryuu could see that not only the monsters froze, but the elements within the air hadpletely solidified in the space that was being locked down by Vahn. Though she was certain she could break through it, Ryuu couldnt help but feel a bit nervous at the prospect of facing an enemy with such a terrifying skill. Even if it could only hold her for a millisecond, that was more than enough for an equally skilled opponent to strike a fatal blow against her. Because of her curiosity, Ryuu couldnt help but ask Vahn about the capabilities of his skills and abilities while being overly aware that he still had his hand on her shoulder. Vahn had seen the fluctuations in her aura and removed his hand before exining things while never losing his focus on Fenrirs fight. Since he trusted Ryuu, Vahn exined some of his more secret skills and abilities and even demonstrated them to benefit her understanding. Not only Ryuu, but Fenrir paid close attention to Vahns actions whenever he fought against monsters. Just like she did for Fenrir, Ryuu also gave Vahn several pointers while alsoplimenting him on his current capabilities. Though she hadnt been there for his rise, Ryuu knew that Vahn had only officially be an Adventurer around three months ago and had made an almost unbelievable amount of progress in that time. While happy to beplimented, Vahn exined it away as the influence of the various people around him and the patience they had shown in teaching him. Hearing Vahn speak so humbly, Ryuu smiled gently and said, "Everyone is strong as a result of the trials they have faced and the people that have influenced them. It is good that you remember that you were not always strong...you will be able to be much stronger in the future." Vahn had noticed that Ryuu had a look of reminiscence in her eyes as she spoke and knew she was likely recalling the past when she hadrades within the Astrea Familia. Though he couldnt ask about it yet, Vahn nodded his head and reached out his hand to stroke Ryuus head through her leaf-like hood. Since she was surprised by his actions, Ryuu moved her head away before taking a few short steps and standing at the side. It was one of the first times someone had avoided his hand, so Vahn just held it in the hair with a bit of confusion on his face. Ryuu saw his look and gave the closest thing to an amused smile that Vahn had seen on her face as she said, "Sorry...Im not reallyfortable being touched in such a familiar manner. Lets leave things like that for the future..." Before Vahn responded, Fenrir shouted out, "Graaagh~!? Fenrir want pat pat!" As if offended by Ryuus refusal of Vahns pat pat, Fenrir moved forward and held Vahns hand to her head as she red at Ryuu with a subtle glow in her eyes. Her antics caused Vahns words to get stuck in his throat and he spent a few minutes helping Fenrir calm down as he gave an apologetic look toward Ryuu. Since she hadnt really been offended by his earlier attempt to stroke her head, Ryuu just shook her head with a polite smile and even squinted her eyes a bit. After a short break, Vahn and Fenrir stood off to the side as Ryuu fought against a group of War Shadows that had several Frog Shooters as their support. The best way Vahn could describe Ryuusbat was fluid and fast. She had an almost unstoppable momentum, but it didnt seem like she got caught up in it at all as she maneuvered through monsters like water passing rocks in a stream. The most terrifying thing was, the faster she moved, the more powerful her attacks became without any drop in her speed. Without leaving the monsters a single chance to counterattack, Ryuu dispatched a group of thirteen enemies without stopping for even a second. While Vahn was in awe of the beautiful sight, Fenrir was in high tensions and immediately ran forward after Ryuu finished off thest enemy and shouted, "Fast, super fast, Fenrir want! Teach Fenrir, please!" Though Ryuu smiled and nodded her head, Vahn, for once, couldnt stop himself fromughing a little as he walked forward and exchanged a few pointers with Ryuu for Fenrirs benefit. Fenrir seemed to have been inspired by the fluidity of Ryuusbat style and wanted to be, as she called it, super fast as well. Though it was a little awkward, Vahn also agreed with Fenrirs assessment and even began to consider how he could improve his ownbat style to be more fluid. As it stood, Vahn would almost describe his style as explosive and dynamic, since he also dashed around his enemies and overwhelmed them with the use of his Innate skills. Since Ryuu didnt have any Innates, as far as he could tell at the moment, she had to rely on technique and skill to ovee her enemies. Ryuu was happy to exin things and even followed Vahns example of demonstrating each of her skills and how she typically applied them. Because of this, Vahn got to experience [Concurrent Chanting] and also saw Ryuus magic, [Luminous Wind], for the first time. Most of the magic he had seen was rather devastating, and it was the first time he had seen something so beautiful. When Ryuu used [Luminous Wind], it was like there was azure starlight radiating from her body that obliterated her enemies. He also got to learn the name of the skill she used to convert her speed into power, which was called [Aero Mana]. With this skill, Ryuu was able to increase her power based on the speed she was moving her body at. Since there was no upper limit to this skill, Ryuu could get progressively faster as the fight continued and eventually eliminate opponents much stronger than herself. After her disy, Ryuu walked back over toward Fenrir and Vahn, who stated in a serious manner, "That was beautiful. Your abilities, techniques, everything is just so beautiful!" Perhaps he was affected by Fenrir, but Vahn was also in high tensions and had a big smile on his face as heyeredpliments onto the moderately bashful Ryuu. She didnt seem to know how to respond to his behavior and just turned her head to the side as she stroked the back of her long right ear with her free hand. Though it wasnt the first time she had receivedpliments from a guy, it was the first time Ryuu seriously considered them and took them to heart. Realizing he was embarrassing her, Vahn calmed down and said a few polite words which resulted in him eventually hearing her former alias, Gale. Since she had just joined the Hestia Familia, her old Alias would be lost and she would have to receive a new one at the next Denatus, same as Vahn. Now that he was aware of her former alias, Vahn couldnt help but agree with the gods decision since her fighting style very much suited the title. Though he hadpared her to water, due to the fluidity of her movements, it was also appropriate to describe her as a destructive wind. Though both wind and water flowed around objects, Ryuus appearance, green hair, and skills like [Luminous Wind] made it much more suitable topare her to wind instead of water. Before the heading out of the dungeon, Vahn removed therge basin from his inventory and helped wash Fenrir clean. Ryuu was a bit surprised at first, but then she noticed the blood that had soaked into Fenrirs fur and agreed that it was a necessary action. Instead of letting Vahn tend to matters himself, Ryuu removed her cloak and gloves and offered to help. This left her wearing nothing by her white top, which was open on the sides, and her short green shorts. Vahn couldnt help but admire her body at a nce before epting her help. Fenrir was somewhat resistant but didnt shy away from Ryuus assistance since Vahn was still cleaning her as well. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that Fenrir was actually happier when there were more people tending to herpared to less. After helping wash down Fenrir, Vahn couldnt help but notice that some of the water had soaked through Ryuus thin white blouse. Though he didnt mean to stare, Vahn noticed that Ryuu wore something different than a traditional bra. He could see the outline of some kind of form-fitting cups covering her chest that didnt seem to wrap around her bodypletely. He couldnt identify the method, but Vahn assumed it had some kind of adhesive function and was somewhat curious about the details. Once again, Vahns gaze didnt escape Ryuus notice as she squinted her eyes before using magic to try her top. As if understanding his curiosity, Ryuu exined in a polite manner, "A lot of female Adventurers dont wear a bra since it can cut into the skin when they are within the dungeon for long periods of time. This is simr to an adhesive tape that helps conceal things..." Hearing her exnation, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Sorry...thanks...." Ryuus smile widened marginally but she didnt respond to his words as she helped dry Fenrir off with her magic. She, like most of the girls around Vahn, could see that his gaze didnt hold any negative emotions and it wasnt ufortable like how other men looked at her. Perhaps it was due to her own eptance of Vahn, but Ryuu found it difficult to rebuke him just for staring at her body with interest. Though she was still a v.i.r.g.i.n, she also had some slight expectations since she lived in an all female dorm. While she never participated actively, Ryuu had heard the other girls talk about their fantasies and personal interests regarding men. Of course, most of the girls at the Hostess of Fertility were also v.i.r.g.i.ns, but that didnt stop them from gossiping and discussing various possibilities... (A/N: I apologize if this chapter has any grammar issues. I went out with a friend to celebrate his birthday and got a bit drunk xD. Looks like we might lose the Top 3 spot to Last Wish System TT__TT. Well, thats fine I guess~! Thanks for reading, stay beautiful <3) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gotta go fast~!,Float like a purple moth, sting like a Needle Rabbit,Dangerous Gossip) I am currently at $730/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 236 - Routine : Progress

Chapter 236 - Routine : Progress

For the next couple of days, up until the weekend, Vahn spent his time splitting his focus between the real world and the world within the orb. He felt like he was bing progressively distant with things happening in his own life due to the fact he spent only 1/7th his total time within it. Though it hadnt affected him too much, for the time being, Vahn felt like it was bing harder and harder to maintain focus on the things he wanted to do. Things hade to a head when Vahn had promised Hestia and Fenrir to go shopping and then, after spending three days in the orb, went about his normal routine. Because he was busy, Hestia took Fenrir off to the side and left him to continue working and Vahn felt terrible when she mentioned itter. Hestia wasnt the only person to notice the inconsistencies and strange development of Vahn as it was also noted by some of the girls at the Hostess of Fertility and had been propagated somewhat by Ryuus gossip. Since she currently spent the most time with Vahn amongst the girls, Ryuu had be a central figure alongside Syr and had been speaking well of Vahn while also letting her concerns be known. Things had developed to the point where it actually spread through thework and everyone was beginning to worry about Vahn. Though he knew he wasnt forgetful or overly stressed as they had been pointing out, Vahn couldnt easily exin things away and ended up having to reveal the orbs existence. He had mentioned it in passing a while back, but word had never gotten around about the fact that Vahn experienced six days within the orb in only six seconds in the real world. When the girls learned of this fact, their concerns only increased and Hephaestus even tried to ask Vahn to stop relying on the orb or it would hurt his mental development in the future. She was pained to see him stressing his mind just so that he could speed up his progress and help cope with some of the things he dealt with in the real world. Ever since the time with Mn and Tina, a lot of people had been worried about Vahn yet, apparently due to the orb, Vahn had recovered quicker than they expected. Eina was one of the most affected by this knowledge because she suddenly understood why Vahn was maturing so quickly when he was so broken before. However, no matter how much the girls tried to pressure him, Vahn refused to stop using the orb because he couldnt easily abandon Eva and still wanted to learn the Magia Erebea. When the girls learned that Vahn had another girl, even though she was a memory fragment, it caused a few ripples within thework. They had found out that, even though Eva wasnt real, Vahn spent the vast majority of his time with a woman they couldnt even see. Though he imed to primarily focus on forging within the space, Vahn wasnt able to deny any involvement with Eva since he didnt want to keep secrets from the people he cared about. This resulted in Vahns rtionsh.i.p.s in the real world bing marginally more meaningful as people would often stop by the Manor to visit Vahn and y with Fenrir. She had be something of a mascot within the Familia and most of the girls were quite fond of her, especially Loki. When Loki found out about Fenrirs nk te mentality and limitless potential, she had a somewhat evil look on her face until Vahn chopped her head. Though she was fond of Fenrir, Fenrir wasnt very fond of Loki and proactively tried to avoid her during most situations. One of the things that had changed was, since they found out he was able to transfer physical items into the orb and train there, Vahn wasnt allowed to work much in the real world. There always seemed to be at least one person that visited every day to spend time with him and teach Fenrir. During the evenings, there was now even some girls that would stay over during the night which had led to the discovery on thework about Hestias sneakiness. They had found out that she had been slowly whittling down Vahns defenses and had already gotten a few liberties from him in the form of bathing together, sleeping together, and his infamous massages. Since Vahn was actually interested in developing his technique and enjoyed using it, it became one of the things he had taken a liking to when interacting with some of the girls. Though not everyone was open to it at first, it eventually got the point where Vahn had been promoted within thework so often that it became hard to not want to experience it themselves. The most notable examples were when Vahn finally got to massage Ryuu, Syr, Arnya, Lunoire, and even Mama Mia. Since Vahn didnt have any aversion toward older women, Mama Mia had wanted to experience what all the fuss was about and nearly broke Vahns shoulder when she pped him on the backter whileughing with a vibrant glow on her skin. Because it was such a popr thing, the girls quickly learned the benefits that massage gave them and that only made it more coveted within thework. Since it eased tension, enhanced beauty, and even promoted health and blood cirction, it was incredibly enticing for the girls around Vahn. This is how he had ended up finally meeting Lunoire, even though she was somewhat odd, and got closer to Mama Mia. She had even waved his private booth fees in exchange for helping her loosen up every couple of weeks. The girls werent the only ones enjoying themselves as, as previously stated, Vahn also liked massaging various girls. They all had different bodies and Vahn had started to develop an appreciation for helping promote their health and wellness. For the younger, rtively pure, girls, Vahns massage was a great way to relieve stress and was quite enjoyable. For the somewhat more mature girls, it was arguably even better stress relief, even though Vahn had now confirmed without a doubt that his massage had different effects depending on the mental status and maturity of the woman receiving his massage. This wasnt the only thing Vahn had been doing in the real world, however, as he often spent his time touring the City on outings, generally apanied by at least two girls. Vahn actually began to enjoy shopping, because he liked seeing the different outfits that everyone would try on. There would even be smallpetitions between the women he was apanying to see who could get the biggest rise out of him. Though he somewhat felt like a baggage carrier, Vahn still enjoyed the outings, since many of the girls wanted personal dates at some point and refused to ssify a group outing as a date. The pool of girls he dated was much smaller than the ones that came to receive his massage, primarily due to the fact that the main group of the Loki Familia had left on their expedition. This left Tiona, Ais, and the potential duo Tione and Lefiya out of the candidate list. Instead, Vahn apanied Chloe and Syr, Lili and Naaza, Syr and Arnya, Syr and Ryuu, Mn and Tina, Eina and Hestia, Hephaestus and Hestia, and even one strange outing where Vahn had been apanied by Tsubaki alone. Anubis had been staying out of things and had been managing the pack, which left Vahn on an awkward outing where one of the members hadnt shown up. During the date, Vahn took Tsubaki around to many of the same types of stores as the other girls and they had some rather unique interactions. Tsubaki teased him for treating her like one of his young women, but Vahn rebutted and gave her severalpliments about her figure, character, and primarily her kindness. Unable to withstand his barrage ofpliments, Tsubaki spent the majority of the date rtively docile while only trying to tease Vahn whenever she got frustrated or embarrassed. Of all the girls around him, Tsubaki was one of the only ones that didnt show up to receive a massage from Vahn after he moved into the Hearth Manor. Using this as an excuse to tease her, Vahn ended up taking a big hit to his gut that brought an early end to their date. In many ways, Vahn felt like Tsubaki was very simr to Eva and he wanted to break down her defenses and get even with her in the future. When he wasnt rxing in the real world, Vahn spent the majority of his time within the orb researching and conducting experiments with Eva. He had also started a long-term project and was absolutelymitted to bringing it topletion. No matter how he thought about it, given the amount of research that had gone into its design, Vahn was certain the final product would be, at the very least, S-Rank. Instead of simply forging items and hammering away while trying to improve through experience, Vahn had taken a much more scientific approach to the process. Though he still used his hammer to forge, Vahn had a separate workstation that wasprised entirely of finer tools andrge lenses that could magnify the details of the equipment he was working on. He had even taken to using his [Eyes of Truth] and learning how to control them since it allowed him to perfectly destroy or emte materials with enough focus. Vahn had learned that, other than a sphere, he could actually use his eyes to visualize any shape that he could focus on. Though he couldnt do anything tooplex, it didnt mean Vahn couldnt use his eyes as an ultimate tool for the purpose of level, embedding, and even altering the structure of some materials. One of the things he had been practicing was boring through materials and carving shapes into the surface of objects with absolute precision. Since he could see theposition and internal structure of the object, Vahn could increase his detail and even carve basic runes at the microscopic level. Though it had taken an incredible amount of focus, research, and time, Vahn had been able to segment and ovey 108 runic formations into a piece of equipment without any of them being visible whatsoever. Since the material he had been using was pure Adamantine, Vahn was able to guarantee the formations wouldnt break down over time or be weaker through wear and tear. Of the 108 formations, precisely 54 of them had been used to stabilize and reinforce the structure of the rest of the runes. Vahn had learned long ago that the most efficient, simple, and bnced, form was the most practical. Even when he had forged the [Moonlight Piercer] in the past, Vahn had marveled at its simplicity and used it as the inspiration for an entire line of weapons. His current project just pushed that to an insane degree as Vahn used the simplicity of the item as a foundation toy an intricate andplex arrangement of runes. When Vahn was finally finished, twenty-one days had passed in the real world while he had spent 119 within the orb. Though it had only been three weeks, Vahn had experienced 1/3 of an entire year working on a single item while only diverting his focus to name two other pieces of equipment in the real world using [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]. After giving them both a me seed from his [Prometheus], Vahn also gifted Lili and Naaza with their own permanent weapons to help support their growth and keep them safe. Remembering the name of her unawakened Innate skill, Vahn forged Lili a pair of gauntlets that he named [Ass Grip]. For Naaza, since she primarily used a bow, Vahn had forged her a weapon that he had almost wanted to keep for himself and was appropriately named [Yis Bow] after the arrows that had once saved his life. [Ass Grips] Rank: S (Magic) Slots: 2 P.Def: 1014 M.Def: 1112 Ability: Durandal(A), Ass Might(S), Shock Absorption(B), Abnormal Status Resistance(B) Gauntlet(s) forged to contain the record of As, who bore the weight of the Celestial Heavens in an ancient record. These gauntlets gift the user immense physical strength and also allow for greaterprehension ofws concerning astronomy. [Yis Bow] Rank: S (Magic) Slots: 9 P.Atk: 1000 M.Atk: 1000 Ability: Yi(A), Indestructible(S), Shock Nullification(B), Visual Acuity(B) Bow containing the record of Yi, an archer famed for having extinguished nine suns in order to aid mankind. This bow imbues a portion of the might contained within the record into each arrow nocked on its string. When Vahn had gifted the equipment to the two girls, he had gotten a rtively passionate embrace in return, especially considering he had to ce me seeds into their chests previously. Since the seeds burned through clothes, Vahn required the two to remove their tops and bras before Lili proudly epted his touch from the front while Naaza took the more modest approach and had Vahn insert the me from her back. Before then, Vahn hadnt realized it had been an option and was somewhat fl.u.s.tered within his mind after remembering the event with Nanu previously. Recalling the events, Vahn shook his head and took another look at the item he had spent the majority of the 119 days forging with an intricacy that far exceeded his own expectations. Even though it was currently (Nameless), Vahn had forged a simple, golden, pure adamantine, ring without any visible or unique qualities whatsoever. Verifying for what felt like the ten-thousandth time, Vahn saw that the Rank of the item was S and that, once he named it, he would be guaranteed to obtain the [Master Smith] Development Ability. (A/N: Alternate Titles: AIYA, MAMA MIA~!,Disasociation, Focus,On the Precipice) (A/N: I dont often like to use time skips, but this seemed like an easy way to connect events together when there wasnt a lot of other stuff going on. Vahn gets to experience *muttered noises that you cant understand due to your current soul tier*. Look forward to it~!) I am currently at $730/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 237 - [Spoilers : Title at End]

Chapter 237 - [Spoilers : Title at End]

Since it had been an item he spent so much time and effort on, Vahn was hesitant when it came to deciding upon the name of the ring. It wasnt a beautiful object that would inspire thought of beauty, nor was it ornate like several of the essories and rings Vahn had seen. Instead, the ring looked almost in, even though it was perhaps one of the most intricately designed of its kind. It was somewhat ironic that the greatest masterpiece he had ever forged was also the most normal looking object he had ever created. Vahn was torn between naming it now, or trying to give it a name through [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]ter... As he flipped the simple golden ring in his hand, Vahn stroked it in an affectionate manner and ruminated over the ideas he hade up with previously. Since he wanted to try and find a way to seal away Divinity in a practical manner, Vahn had some hope that the ring would be able to replicate the function of [Enkidu], but was informed by Sis that the grade of the ring would have to be SSS if he wanted it to meet that standard. Even though it was currently S, Vahn didnt think it was even possible to push it to SS Rank without a bit of luck, much less SSS. Other than that, Vahn was stuck on a name that he thought was quite suitable but was also somewhat hesitant to use given the look of the ring. Since this ring was a result of the promise he had made with Hephaestus, Vahn had actually thought to name it Promise so that it would serve as a constant reminder of that fateful day. The only thing that prevented him from making the final decision was, even though he was certain she wouldnt care, the current base for the ring was simply too in. He had previously given Hephaestus a beautiful ruby ring when they got engaged, and it actually seemed inappropriate to give her something less beautiful. In his absentmindedness, Vahn dropped the ring and it fell like a heavyweight as it made contact with the table. Instead of bouncing, or rolling away, the ring came to a halt the moment it impacted the surface. Vahn ran his finger along the surface and once again marveled at the internal structure of the ring using his [Eyes of Truth]. Remembering that Hephaestus also had a gods eye, Vahn knew she would be able to glean some insights from the ring and understand its hiddenplexity... With that thought in mind, Vahn showed a happy smile as he picked up the ring and whispered to it gently, as though he would a lover, "Henceforth, now and forevermore, you shall be known as [Promise]. I pray to whatever forces that govern thews of naming that you protect the person that receives you from all harm..." Even though he didnt use the Akashic Tome, the ring in Vahns hands glowed a resplendent golden color much like his [Enkidu]. It was almost divine in its luminance and Vahn could feel a powerful energy radiating from the surface as all the internal formations were activated simultaneously. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Promise] Rank: S (Divine) P.Def: 0 M.Def: 0 Abilities: Indestructible(Divine), Magic Nullification(S), Physical Nullifcation(A), Abnormal Status Immunity(A), Soulbound(Unbound) Use: Absolute Nullification: Bends thews of the world to alter causality and create a miracle. (Warning: Item destroyed after use.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- By the time it stopped glowing, [Promise] had changed from a in ring into a resplendent golden ring that disyed white runes along the interior that had an almost sacred look. Even though its surface appearance hadnt changed much, the internal structure and function of the ring had evolved to embody the ideals that went into its forging and naming. From now on, this ring would always protect the wielder from harm and guarantee their safety. When he was done admiring the [Promise], Vahns smile grew even wider as he looked through his system notification and saw that his [cksmith:S] had evolved into [Master Smith:I]. Even though it was the lowest grade of [Master Smith], it was still infinitely superior to its preceding skill. This point was the pinnacle for most mortals, and even gods werent able to reach the peak of the skill without their Arcanum and Divinity as support. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Master Smith] Rank: I Greatly improves the sess rate of forging equipment and refining materials. Dependant on the knowledge, skill, experience, and intent of the user. Active Trigger: Enhance: Allows the user to temporarily boost the efficacy of equipment through maintenance. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Even though the skill didnt change much, it now provided a greatly enhanced sess rate as well as an active trigger which would be infinitely beneficial for Vahn and his allies in the future. It was simr in a way to how [Whetstones] increased the attack power of weapons through sharpening, but now Vahn would be able to achieve a simr effect on all the equipment he maintained. Though he would probably be busy in the future, Vahn was happy that the skill had evolved in such a way since it would allow him to enhance, not only weapons, but armor, essories, or even magical items. Afterpleting the ring, Vahn purchased a beautiful case to contain it before copsing onto the ground with his arms spread out. Though he didnt feel like he was mentally exhausted, at least in regards to the concerns of the girls, Vahn felt emotionally drained as a powerful sense of relief spread through his body. There was still a month before the marriage and Denatus, but Vahn was beginning to worry about what would have happened if he hadnt finished in time. Now that he was finally at the finish line, Vahn suddenly felt very very tired... When Vahn awoke, he wasying in bed next to the sleeping Eva who immediately opened her eyes the moment he did. She put her hand on his face and in a somewhat soothing tone said, "After you leave today, Im going to seal up this space for a little while. Since youll be starting your training soon, I need to make sure everything is stable in preparation for the future. Go and spend some time in the real world with all those brats..." Hearing Evas words, Vahn frowned and tried to rebut, but she continued before he could utter a single syble, "Dont worry, when I seal this space I will enter stasis and wont even be aware of the passage of time at all. When you notice the orb begin to glow once again, youll know it is time toe back...make sure youre prepared. Until you activate the orb again, I will continue to slumber, so dont feel like you need to rush." Her words finished, Eva mounted Vahns body and the two embraced each other as if they were going to be parting for a very long time. Since he had used the orb in the afternoon, it was only slightly after 5 PM and Vahn had beenying down on a sofa in the study with Fenrir cuddled up against him. He noticed she was still wearing the frilly maid outfit that she had be fond of after going on a group shopping trip with Hephaestus, Eina, Hestia, Loki, and Syr. Since she had been treated so well by the group of goddesses and mortal, Fenrir had calmed down a lot and liked to wear cute things since she got spoiled more. Even though only a few seconds had passed since they had parted, Fenrir looked up at Vahn before tilting her head and saying, "Vahn, wee back!" Even though she still had some verbal ticks, Fenrir was decidedly more eloquent than her past self. She also somewhat understood that, when he entered the orb, several days would pass for him. Because of this, Fenrir had developed the habit of protecting him and then weing him back when he returned. Stroking her hair, Vahn turned to the side where Hestia was drinking tea. Seeing him look her way, Hestia showed a cheerful smile and said, "Wee home~!" Then, understanding Vahn was in a strange state, she asked, "Are you...okay?" Before he answered, Hestia, moved toward him like a bullet and had a very concerned expression on her face as she wiped away the tears that had started to fall from Vahns eyes without his notice. After exining things to Hestia, she decided tofort Vahn with ap pillow while stroking his hair for the time being. Though she had never met the golden-haired vampire, Hestia knew she was quite important to Vahn and that it wouldnt be easy for them to separate for such a long period of time. Even though it was a ridiculous amount of time for Eva between their meetings, Vahn actually spent apressed amount of time every single day within the orb at her side. Now that he was suddenly separated from Eva, Hestia could see that Vahn was experiencing something simr to separation anxiety and loneliness. Though he would traditionally make more of an effort to restrain Hestia, Vahn remained silent as he enjoyed her fingers running through his hair while hugging Fenrir. As if she had realized Vahns state of mind, Fenrir was incredibly docile and well-behaved as she remained perfectly still while Vahn was being tended to by Hestia. If Hestia or Vahn could have seen her face, they would have noticed that her eyes had begun to glow, not from her own anxiety, but because she wanted to help Vahn and didnt know how. After a few minutes, while Vahn was rxing peacefully, Fenrir seemed toe up with an idea and patted Vahns hands with her paws so that he would release her. Since it wasnt the first time they had such an interaction, Vahn reluctantly let go of Fenrir who promptly reached for the pouch she always kept at her hip. Even though she couldnt do it easily, Fenri had grown ustomed to opening her own pouch to retrieve the brush within. Since it was the thing that made her the happiest, other than hunting enemies, Fenrir thought it would help Vahn as well. Though her movements were awkward and made both Hestia and Vahn somewhat nervous, Fenrir began tob Vahns hair with her favorite brush. Vahn, though still a bit nervous about the deadly ws near his face, closed his eyes with a smile and whispered, "Thank you, Fenrir..." For the rest of the day, the roles within their small little group had entirely reversed. Traditionally, Vahn was the one that spoiled the two girls but now they had taken up the role and were pampering him. Hestia had even contacted the other girls on thework and exined things so that, by the end of the evening, there had been a number of guests that arrived to spend the night. Though Vahn was grateful, he began to grow somewhat nervous after one of the guests arrived... Since she was nearby, Ryuu had been the first to arrive and had even worn her waitress outfit instead of changing into her casual attire of Adventurer equipment. As she had already picked out a room and moved in her stuff previously, Ryuu could always change within the Manor so she didnt feel the need to waste time. Ever since the first time Vahn had given her a massage, Ryuus aversion to being touched had decreased by a fair amount, at least when it came to Vahn. She had even, for the first time, offered to give him ap pillow while Hestia received other guests and prepared dinner. While Vahn was enjoying thefortablep pillow and umon affection of Ryuu, the second set of guests showed up, Mn and Tina. By now, Mns hair had grown back on her ears and tail, so she was walking around with a cheerful expression and had recovered a lot of her old personality. Tina, having been influenced by the girls at the Hostess of Fertility, had turned into a little tyrant and was always full of energy. Whenever Vahn ate lunch with them, she would always happily converse with him and she hadpletely regained her sensibilities and was no longer overly clingy. The downside to this resulted in her trying to reim her role as his Vahnguard, especially after he started going on several outings with other girls. It took thebined efforts of the entirework to contain her wrath and it was also Tinas actions that inevitably resulted in there always being at least two girls apanying Vahn. Tina had also be best friends with Fenrir since Fenrir acted very much like a child that wascking in affection and a proper education. She had even gotten Fenrir to call her Big Sis, even though Tina was much smaller than she was. Because of this, Fenrir also began to call Mn Mama until it was corrected after some of the other girls, who were also fond of Fenrir, objected to the im. It became especially problematic when it was known that Fenrir had once tried to refer to Vahn as Papa in the past... Though others wanted toe, there were just the six of them for quite a while until thest guest finally showed up. Even before he had seen her, Vahn could sense her arrival and be nervous to the point that everyone in the room could tell something was wrong. Fenrir had be especially alert since her senses were far stronger than even the cat people, Mn and Tina. However, the moment she lifted her head and looked around, the red glow in her eyes faded and she said, "Hephaestus~!" Because Fenrir was closer to the people that were closest to Vahn, she was especially fond of Hephaestus, Eina, and Hestia. Even though it wasnt much, her tail wagged a bit as she ran toward the door to receive Hephaestus in the foyer. The other girls, who had been somewhat tense after seeing Vahns reaction, began to calm down as the entire group made their way over. As the person nearest him, Ryuu asked in a low voice, "Is something wrong?" Even though she wasnt as on guard as before, Ryuu hadnt rxed since Vahn was still in a tense state. Vahn showed an awkward smile before he sighed and exined, "Nothing is wrong at all...in fact, things are going too well in a way." Hearing his words, Ryuu c.o.c.ked her head slightly before remaining silent and observing what would happen. Though he hadnt spoken to them, both Mn and Tina had heard Vahns words and were also quite curious. Soon after, Hephaestus entered through the front door and pet Fenrir, who had wrapped her paws around her body, on the head for a few seconds before looking around with a concerned expression on her face. Seeing Vahn, Hephaestus showed a relieved smile before adopting a somewhat confused expression. Since they were linked together through the eternal me, Hephaestus was able to sense the mncholy Vahn had been in since earlier in the afternoon. Now that she had arrived tofort him, she could sense his heart rate increasing and saw that he had a very nervous expression on his face. Thinking about what could be the matter, Hephaestuss thoughts raced before remembering why Vahn had been so down in the first ce. Hestia had said it was due to the fact that Vahn couldnt use the orb for a while and would be away from Eva, the girl she had never met. When this thought passed through her mind earlier, Hephaestus just felt sad for Vahn and wanted toe over andfort him for the night. Now, however, she remembered what Vahn had purportedly been doing inside the orb for thest month or so. Alongside Vahns heartbeat, Hephaestuss also began to increase as her eyes slowly widened. She could feel her body begin to shake and she suddenly felt very excited, anxious, and fretful all at the same time. Vahn saw the fluctuations of Hephaestuss aura and knew she understood why he was acting strangely as well. The atmosphere in the foyer became strange and everyone was absolutely silent as they watched Vahn and Hephaestus staring, unmoving, at each other for more than a minute. Eventually, Vahn could see that Hephaestus was shaking progressively more and more, so he was finally able to muster up the courage to pull out the ornate white box that had been in his inventory. Walking forward, Vahn held out the box as his own hands began to shake and urged Hephaestus to take it with his eyes... At this point, Hephaestuss heart was racing so fast that she couldnt form a single coherent thought. The only thing in the world right now was Vahn, herself, and the box within his hands. Reaching out her shaking hand, Hephaestus gingerly opened the beautiful box and saw a resplendent golden ring contained within. Even without inspecting it close, Hephaestus knew the ring was a masterpiece that could even rival some of her greatest creations in the mortal world. When she reached out to pick up the ring, Hephaestuss hand was shaking so much that she couldnt grasp it at all. Even when she managed to pick it up a bit, she soon dropped it and it nearly fell out of the case before a pulse of invisible energy passed through the room and Vahn caught the ring mid-flight. In his haste, Vahn had instinctively activated [Will of the Emperor] to help calm his own nerves as he held the ring in his finger. Helping Hephaestus remove her glove, Vahn ced the ring on the same finger where her ruby one usually sat. Because she forged constantly, Hephaestus usually wore the previous ring on a ne that she kept around her neck. Because of the rtive simplicity of [Promise], she would be able to wear it even when she had her gloves on. After it was firmly on her finger, Vahn looked into Hephaestuss crimson-red eyes and said, "This ring is called [Promise], and it is also my vow made real. From now on, you will never have to be alone..." Title: Promise Kept (A/N: Alternate Titles: One ring to rule them all,Vahns Mncholy,If you like it then you need to put a ring on it) I am currently at $730/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 238 - Origin of Heroes

Chapter 238 - Origin of Heroes

From the moment she nearly dropped the ring, Hephaestuss mind had already nked. When Vahn caught it through the air, she felt a powerful sense of relief and then, when he finally removed her glove and put it on her finger, Hephaestus feltpletely overwhelmed. She had already been covering her mouth with her free hand and there were tears welling up in her eyes as she lost strength in her legs. Before she hit the ground, Vahn had caught her in his arms and held her firmly against his chest. For several minutes after that, the only thing Hephaestus could do was cry as Vahn grimaced slightly after hearing notifications in his head. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- //[Hearts Desire: Hephaestus] fulfilled. Extra parameter Love unlocked.// [Hephaestus]: Love 9,418(Eternal Love) //Bond established with [Hephaestus]// //Optional Quest Triggered// [Quest: Origin of Heroes] Rank: SS-SSS Objective: I.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Hephaestus (0). Ensure a safe delivery Rewards: 1,000,000 OP, 1x [Guardian:(Nameless)], 1x [Heroic Tale] Failure Condition(s): Death, Hephaestuss Death, (Nameless) Childs Death Penalty: 9,418 Karma (0), Lose eternal me, Lose [Heart of the Eternal me] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though Vahn was very interested in the notification and even shocked at the unexpected quest, he still couldnt help but internally rebuke the system for itsck of tact. The atmosphere had be incredibly emotional and even Ryuu had slightly misty eyes, much less the other girls in the room...minus Fenrir. In fact, Fenrir seemed to be getting progressively more frustrated as her eyes glowed red and she was gripped her skirt and tearing small holes in it. Unable to contain herself, Fenrir shouted, "Vahn bully Hephaestus!?" No bully, bad!" As the room was rtively silent, disregarding the sound of sobs, Fenrirs words resonated loudly within the foyer. Hephaestus, who had been overwhelmed with emotions for thest few minutes, seemed to snap back to her sense as she looked over at the scarlet-eyed wolf-girl. Using Vahn as support, she gave him a kiss, unlike anything Vahn had experienced previously. He didnt know if it was because of the emotions they shared, but Vahn felt like he was kissing Hephaestus for the first time and it caused an explosion in his mind as his emotions began to well up in his chest. Since it wasnt the first time she had seen Vahn kiss someone, Fenrir understood she had made a mistake so she trotted over to Mn and hugged her waist to hide her embarrassment. Since she was often ying with Tina, Mn was very ustomed to Fenrirs behavior and began consoling her in the same manner as she would her own daughter. She picked up Fenrirs body, even though they werent dissimr in size and carried her into the other room with Tina trailing close behind. Along the way, she would look over toward Vahn and Hephaestus with an expression that was a mix between happiness and concern. Ryuu wasnt unustomed to Vahns affectionate behavior with some of the girls in thework, but it was the first time she had seen him so passionate and emotional as he gently held Hephaestus in his embrace. Even though it seemed more reserved than normal, even Ryuu could feel the tensions between them increasing and became progressively more disconcerted as an observer. She initially came here out of concern for Vahn, but now Ryuu felt like she had inadvertently stepped into an invible space. The most affected the entire situation, for better or worse, was Hestia. She felt her emotions doing summersaults in her body as she was both incredibly excited for her best friend, but also terrified about the future. She knew Vahn and Hephaestus would be together, but she hadnt expected it to happen so soon. After they got together, Hestia knew she would have a better chance at approaching Vahn as well, but that just made her more nervous. Though she hadnt realized it previously, she was actually very reliant on the wall that was Vahns promise with Hephaestus. After a few minutes, Hephaestus and Vahn finally their lips and stared into each others eyes. Because he had grown a bit in thest few weeks, Vahn was now at the same height as Hephaestus, which was 165cm. Since he knew his body changed depending on his mentality, Vahn felt like things had perfectly aligned so that he stood, not only spiritually, but physically on the same level as Hephaestus. At this moment, Vahn felt so many unexinable emotions as he stared into her hazy red eyes and could feel his chest shaking anxiously even through [Will of the Emperor]. Hephaestus had the most loving expression he had ever seen on her face as she spoke, almost in a whimper, "I...I love you...so so much...Vahn." As she spoke, Vahn could feel Hephaestuss body shaking and didnt know what else to do other than hold her close andfort her. Because of their bond, not just through the eternal me, Vahn could also feel all of Hephaestuss emotions as well as her aura intertwined with his body. Not only was she overwhelmed by her own emotions, but she was subtly influencing him as well and their feelings continued topound on each other. After several more minutes, and a few short, passionate, kisses, Hephaestus remembered there were other people present and looked through glossy eyes at the goddess who was her best friend. For various reasons, Hestia had also been crying and the two locked eyes with each other as Hephaestus reached out her left hand and muttered, "Hestia..." Before parting, Hephaestus turned to Vahn and gave him another kiss while pressing her face strongly against the side of his head. She said in a low voice intended only for him, "I have to go back...Ill clear up my schedule...pleasee to me tomorrow..." Vahn felt a powerful anxiety seize his body as he held Hephaestuss waist firmly and refused to let her got to Hestia. With a shaky voice, Vahn asked, "Why dont we go somewhere now...Im scared something might happen." As he spoke, Vahn could feel Hephaestus shaking more powerfully in his arms as she groaned, "Not here...not here, I cant..." Her words caused Vahn to suddenly recall all of the presences around them, each one belonging to a person that had shown up tofort him. He also hadnt expected Hephaestus to show up while he was stuck in his earlier mncholy, and now they were in a somewhat awkward situation. Imagining having to ask everyone to give them privacy...Vahn felt incredibly apologetic and knew Hephaestus was making the correct decision. After hugging her closely for a short while longer, Vahn let go of Hephaestus and it felt like he was losing a part of himself as she walked over to Hestias side and the two goddesses began hugging each other. Even though he was surrounded by three people that he cared about, Vahn suddenly felt very lonely. As if she realized it, and she did through their link, Hephaestus peeked at Vahn with a sad expression on her face as if she too feared their parting. Silence reigned in the atmosphere for several seconds before Hephaestus looked toward Ryuu, who had been standing at the side like a statue for quite a while. Since Ryuu had been paying attention to the scenes ying out, she also saw Hephaestus look over at her through hazy eyes. Though she didnt understand immediately, when Hephaestus inclined her head slightly toward Vahn, Ryuu knew her intentions. She wasnt able to say it herself, so Hephaestus wanted Ryuu to take Vahn away so they could both calm down. The longer they were near each other right now, the more their feelings would pile on top of each other. Suddenly, Ryuu felt like there was a heavy pressure on her body as she mechanically walked over toward Vahn and showed, what she thought to be, an awkward smile. From Vahns perspective, she looked the same as normal but with her brows twitching slightly. Though he was very reluctant to leave Hephaestus right now, Vahn couldnt imagine turning Ryuu away as she reached out her hand hesitantly toward his. With his body still shaking a bit, Vahn released a sigh through his nose before giving a legitimately awkward smile to Ryuu as he epted her outstretched hand. Without saying anything else, Ryuu gently guided him toward the study where Mn, Tina, and Fenrir were waiting. Hephaestus stayed back with Hestia as the two goddesses watched Vahns departing figure with powerful emotions in their eyes. When he had finally gone through the door, and it closed behind him, Hephaestus once again hugged Hestia very powerfully and said, "Hestia, Im so scared, it feels like my heart is going to burst. Even though..even though..." Hephaestus was trying toment about how it wasnt her first time with a man, but she couldnt consider Vahn in the same line as any god she had ever associated with. Gently patting Hephaestuss back, Hestia had aforting smile on her face as her blue eyes glimmered with pond-like reflections. She whispered, "Its okay, its e, lets go rest. When you calm down, everything will be better..." Afterward, Hestia led Hephaestus to one of therger rooms located near the master bedroom where she typically slept with Vahn and Fenrir. Tonight, Hestia would leave Vahn to others as sheforted her best friend and helped console her anxious heart. Hestia was also hoping that, through giving Hephaestus courage, she would also be able to find her own. The rest of the evening was rtively quiet even when Vahn had eaten dinner with Ryuu, Mn, Tina, and Fenrir. Even now, Vahn could feel a bit of the anxietying from Hephaestus and he would periodically gaze up through the roof where he could see the two auras of Hestia and Hephaestus in one of the guest rooms. The fact that she was still so close to him made Vahn feel a bit of anxiety as well, but he was doing his best to suppress his emotions with a subtle activation of [Will of the Emperor]. This also helped ease a bit of the mncholy and loneliness he had been feeling as he sat quietly on the sofa after dinner and cuddled with Tina and Fenrir. When it finally came time to take a bath and prepare for bed, Vahn walkedzily into the mens changing room and sat down on one of the wooden benches silently while in deep contemtion. Since there had been several peopleing by to stay in the past few weeks, Fenrir had grown ustomed to taking baths with the other girls. Though they would still bathe together when it was just the three of them, Vahn primarily bathed alone these days. Sensing a presence approaching, Vahn spoke out without looking toward the source and said, "Im fine Ryuu...you dont have to push yourself for me." Hearing his words, Ryuu paused for a few seconds before continuing into the changing room regardless. Without asking permission, Ryuu stopped at Vahns back for a while before leaning down and loosely cradling his neck. Since it was unlike her normal behavior, Vahn released a sad sigh and said, "Am I really so pathetic...even when I feel like I need to be alone...I still get happy when someone hugs me. Even though I want to go to Hephaestus...even though Im sad about Eva...even though..." Though his words started off smoothly, Vahn began to get choked up toward the end because he felt like he was making excuses. Since he could see her aura and understood her affections, Vahn knew Ryuu wasnt doing anything she didnt want to do. The fact that she wasforting him made Vahn happy, but it also made him feel terrible at the same time. He felt so many conflicting emotions inside his heart right now and just want to relieve them somehow. Ryuu held Vahns body and leaned a bit of her weight against his back as she whispered in a soothing voice, "Shhh, its okay Vahn...everything is going to be okay." Then, as if she were a motherforting a crying child, Ryuu began to rock Vahns body slowly from side-to-side. This made Vahn feel even happier, but it alsopounded all of the negative emotions that were welling up inside him. He wanted to break away from herforting embrace and run up the stairs to where Hephaestus was. After spending so much effort trying toplete his quest, Vahn had suddenly be impatient, almost like a powerful instinct was screaming at him that something was going to happen if he didnt act now. Since she could feel the shaking of Vahns body increasing, Ryuu felt a pang in her heart and didnt know how to react. She was trying tofort him, but now it seemed like she had been making the situation progressively worse. Though she thought about taking more drastic action, Ryuu was also afraid of how Vahn would react since he was acting very uncharacteristically. She just wanted to help him so, after a few seconds, Ryuu asked, "Vahn...please tell me how I can help you." As she had ced emphasis on his name, Vahn began to calm down since he could hear the concern in Ryuus voice. He wanted to desperately to shout at her to leave him alone, but Vahn knew he would resent himself if he did something so selfish. If he became the type of person thatshed out at the people showing care for him, Vahn wasnt sure he would be able to live with himself anymore. After a short while, Vahn lowered his head and whispered, "Please dont leave me alone..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Its over 9000!!!!,Desperation,Separation Anxiety x2) (A/N: Vahn is very unstable right now, remember that he just temporarily lost Eva and, while he was beingforted, also went through an emotional upheaval when he reunited with Hephaestus. His is suffering separation anxiety after being away from two of the most important people that have ever been in his life, so show the boyo a little sympathy TT___TT. Dont worry, he gets better soon (UwU)" I am currently at $730/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 239 - Restraint

Chapter 239 - Restraint

After hearing Vahns words, Ryuu stroked the top of his head affectionately before stepping away from his back. Vahn turned around and they locked eyes with each other as Ryuu loosened the ribbon of her apron and let it drop to the floor. Seeing the expression on Vahns face, Ryuu disyed a small smile and said, "Dont worry, I have already prepared myself. Let me take care of you for a little while." Vahn took a few long breaths and held his words as he watched Ryuu undress and remove her waitress outfit piece by piece. The green long-sleeved dress buttoned from the cor to the base and Ryuu quickly removed each of them before allowing the fabric to drop from her shoulders. Since she wasnt entering the dungeon, Ryuu was wearing a pale yellow, somewhat in, bra on her rtively modest b.r.e.a.s.ts. Perhaps she hadnt been nning to be seen since Ryuus panties were a peach colored pair with small strings holding them together. Though he had seen Ryuus body from the back, Vahn had never seen her n.a.k.e.d before and, even though he still felt sad, Vahn couldnt help but feel anxious as his heart began to beat rapidly in his chest. After fiddling around behind her back a bit, Ryuu managed to unfasten her bra and Vahn got to see her fair white b.r.e.a.s.ts for the first time. He felt like they were slightly bigger than he expected as she had somewhat pale colored, slightly pink, protrusions situated almost perfectly on the snowy mounds. For the next part, Ryuu hesitated for a bit until Vahn looked into her sky-blue eyes before showing a small smile and saying, "Ryuu, I-" Before he could finish, Ryuu pulled the strings from the side of her panties and they too fell to the ground when she released them. Vahn was going to say Ryuu didnt have to go so far, but his words got stuck in his throat as he inadvertently caught a glimpse of her unveiled privates before averting his eyes. Unlike her green hair, Ryuu had somewhat golden colored hair on her pubic region and Vahn had almost wanted to ask since it seemed peculiar. Since she never seemed to miss his nces, Ryuu spoke out as if to answer his concerns, "I dye my hair to protect my identity...though its not really necessary anymore. Which do you prefer, green or gold?" Hearing her question, Vahn turned his gaze to Ryuus sky-blue eyes and notice that her aura was rtively stable even though she was currently nude and only about a meter away from him. Considering her words for a moment, Vahn imagined what a golden-haired, sky-blue eyed Ryuu would look like. After a short while, he responded seriously, "I think I would be happy either way. If you like green hair, I think you should keep it. If you want to go back to your original color, I think that would suit you all the same. The most important thing is that yourefortable with your own appearance..." Ryuu showed a slight smile before picking up her clothes and neatly folding them while Vahn watched her actions. He was already used to giving herpliments and having somewhat one-sided conversations. A lot of their interactions ended with her giving him a smile and then acting somewhat casually for a while until they started talking againter. Vahn actually thought her personality was somewhat ther.a.p.eutic and cool since she was always taciturn yet had a gentle side to her. Combine with her appearance, Vahn thought Ryuu was a very interesting, very beautiful, elven girl... Hearing his own thoughts, Vahn frowned before turning away from Ryuus exposed backside. She had a somewhat fit, albeit small, butt and very long legs that always drew his eyes since she often wore a pair of green shorts that couldpete with Loki for how small they were. Though he hadnt asked, Ryuu had told him she wore them because they were easy to move in. Since herbat style relied on speed, Vahn didnt think she was wrong but wondered why girls wore somewhat revealing clothes just to increase their speed. Vahn had tried wearing a pair of small shorts himself once, and it actually felt somewhat ufortable like it was hugging and restricting his movement. Perhaps it was just a difference between men and women that Vahn didnt understand because of their differing physiques. Vahn preferred to wear somewhat loose clothing and had never been in a situation where they got in his way at all. While he was distracted by his own thoughts, Ryuu walked over and stood right next to him and waited silently. Vahn snapped out of his reflection and looked over at her from bottom to top before fixing his gaze on her eyes. Understanding his confusion, Ryuu exined, "We cant take a bath if you stay seated there." Hearing her words, Vahn nked for a moment before realizing he kept getting caught up in his own thoughts. Releasing a sigh, Vahn stood up and began undressing while trying to remain calm andposed. He had long known he had a bad habit of getting lost in his thoughts whenever he was frustrated and had once again fallen into the same pitfall he tried to avoid. And just like the past, now there was another girl at his side helping him work through things because he was incapable of doing it himself... Vahn released a long sigh and sat back down on the bench without fully removing his clothes. Holding his head with his palms, he said in a low voice, "Just give me a moment please...Ille into the bath in a few minutes." Ryuu stared down at Vahns pitiful form and reached her hand out halfway before hesitating and pulling back. Before she turned around and went inside, Ryuu said softly, "Take your time...Vahn." Though he knew she wasnt looking back at him anymore, Vahn still nodded his head and sat in silence for a while. After Ryuu left, Vahn looked towards the door and had a sad expression on his face as he recalled everything Ryuu was doing to helpfort him. Though it wasnt his intention, Vahn felt like he was somehow exploiting her and, even though he knew it wasnt the case, he couldnt help but feel somewhat resentful of himself. Since he did like her, the fact he couldnt focus on her when she was doing so much for him made Vahn feel like he wasnt deserving of her affection at all. He wanted to treat her kindly and affectionately, but he was currently split between so many conflicting emotions and couldnt break out of the mental loop in his own mind... During his silence, Vahn heard a bell-like voice ring in his head, (*You like her, dont you?*) Without raising his head, Vahn responded in his mind, ("Of course I do...I just feel like I shouldnt do anything. Now that Im so close to keeping my promise with Hephaestus-"). Before he could finish, Sis interrupted, (*How strange...Im checking the system log and I can see that you alreadypleted her Hearts Desire already.*) As if to unt it in his face, Vahn saw the notification pop up in his vision without his willing it. After nking for a moment, Vahn said out loud, "But...she wants to have a baby...and-" Once again, Sis interrupted, (*Your expectations are a bit out of proportion Vahn. Even though I didnt interact with her personally, I can tell that the only thing Hephaestus wants is to be together with you. At no point do I recall her saying she wanted to have s.e.x right after you forged an item. I also cant recall anything about her saying she wanted to have a baby immediately either...nope, I just checked all the logs since you entered the world.*) The next thing Vahn heard was Sissughter inside his head while his eyes darted about in recollection. He was trying to remember everything that had been said between him and Hephaestus and understood what Sis was trying to say...As if to affirm what he was thinking, Sis chimed, (*She was the one that sent Ryuu to you, but she didnt tell Ryuu to do anything. Everything she is doing for you right now, those are decisions she made. You have to stop treating your rtionsh.i.p.s as a burden Vahn...youll break if you bottle everything up. Why else do you think so many people came over tonight when they thought you were in pain?*) Vahn looked up toward the roof where the two auras of Hephaestus and Hestia were located and remembered everything that had happened since he exited the orb. Because they were worried about his parting with Eva, there were several people that hade by to helpfort him. Even Fenrir, who wasnt typically receptive to these kinds of things had been proactively trying tofort him. When Hephaestus showed up, that had also been her intention but Vahn tried to change the flow of things after he gave her the ring. Even though there were so many people gathered for him, Vahn was willing to ignore them all just because he wanted to fulfill his promise with Hephaestus. The ironic thing, and the thing he had been overlooking even though the system clearly showed proof, was that he had already kept his promise. He and Hephaestus were no longer constrained by her vow and now Vahn could be together with her whenever he wanted...she could also seek him out and they could findfort with each other just by reaching out to each other. He didnt have to be rushing everything all at once, and he didnt have to restrain himself because of a promise he had already kept... As if giving voice to his realization, Sis said, (*Even Eva knew you needed to rx and sealed away the orb just to give you time to spend focusing on yourself. Youve worked hard over thest few months, even when you were supposed to be recovering from a serious injury. You dont have to keep forcing yourself to resolve everything immediately and should enjoy life more~! Cant you see that everyone is worried about you?*) Hearing Siss words, Vahn released another long sigh, almost as if he was trying to expel all of the tensions that had been building up in his body. As Sis had said, Vahn had been restraining himself a lot and even putting a lot of his rtionsh.i.p.s on hold while he was trying to fulfill his promise with Hephaestus. Now that he had alreadypleted her hearts desire, he should focus more on building a steady rtionship with her. They would be together for the rest of their lives, and there was no longer a need to hurry things along. Since she was also open to him having other partners, Hephaestus had even allowed another girl to helpfort him just because she was worried about his mental state... Standing up, Vahn removed the rest of his clothes while thinking about the various women that he had asked to be patient with him and knew things would probably begin to advance steadily in his rtionsh.i.p.s pretty soon. If he wanted to truly make each of them happy, Vahn couldnt focus so much on bottling up his emotions and making promises that restricted his interactions with the other girls in his life. He had long ago made his resolve tomunicate with them whenever he had difficulties, so there was no reason to keep trying to manage everything on his own especially considering they had already established awork even before he thought of it. After folding away his clothes, Vahns mncholy seemed to melt away and a subtle smile appeared on his face as he looked toward the door that Ryuu had exited through earlier. Though he wasnt sure how things would progress, Vahn didnt want to keep taking a passive approach to everything. Resolving himself, Vahn walked through the door and spoke within his mind, ("Thanks again, Sis. I think Ill try focusing on starting a family from now on...Im a little excited.") (A/N: Alternate Titles: JUST. DO. IT,I get knocked down, but I get up again, aint never gonna keep Vahn down!,Family nning Isnt A Joke Vahn) (A/N: Heads up, the interaction with Hephaestus will likely be 2-3 long chapters tomorrow. Just like with the Tiona/Ais rendezvous; it takes a lot of effort to write an e.r.o.t.i.ca chapter and I dont want to tackle them half-way through the day. Just a fyi~! Oh yeah, my word count forst week was 113/100k words (56 chapters of content). I think Ill try to average around 120k if possible.) Chapter 240 - Acceptance

Chapter 240 - eptance

When Vahn entered the mens onsen, Ryuu looked over and noticed he had recovered a bit from his mncholy. She wasnt that good at encouraging people so she was happy to see that he had figured something out in the time he had asked for. Though he wasnt bold, there wasnt any hesitation in his step as he walked over and entered into the same pool. Showing a gentle smile, Ryuu said, "Im d youre getting back to your usual self." Vahn shook his head in response and Ryuu raised her brow a bit before Vahn asked, "Do you mind if I wash your body?" Hearing his words, Ryuus mind nked for a bit without her expression changing. Tilting her head a little to the left, Ryuu said, "Maybe not your usual self after all?" Vahnughed when he heard her question-like statement. Without approaching, and possibly upsetting her, Vahn showed a confident smile and exined, "I realized that Ive been bottling up too many thingstely. There are many people close to me that I havent treated in a manner deserving of their affection. I want to try and steadily improve myself and slowly gain experience so I make fewer mistakes in the future." Ryuu stared nkly into his face for a few seconds before a light smile showed on her lips and she stood from the pool, revealing her uncovered body which had turned slightly flushed from the heat of the onsen. Vahn could tell it wasnt from embarrassment since her aura was stable and her expression hadnt changed much even when he let his eyes wander a bit. cing her hands on her abdomen, Ryuu asked, "Does my body interest you so much?" Vahn looked into her sky blue eyes and let a natural smile appear on his face as he answered honestly, "Yes, Ive thought you were beautiful ever since we first met. Even though it might sound strange, I cant help but be drawn to your body and want to learn more about it, about you...Ryuu." In a manner simr to how she put emphasis on his name, Vahn added a little inflection to Ryuus name. With her eyes squinting a bit, Ryuu walked closer to Vahn until she was standing well within his range, Since he was sitting down while she was standing if Vahn wasnt holding eye contact with Ryuu he would have gotten eyeful of the hidden garden that emitted a somewhat flowery odor like honeydew. Though only slightly, Ryuus smile widened a bit as she tilted her head and asked, "Not looking?" Even though her expression hadnt changed much, Vahn heard a notification saying Ryuus affection had increased from 95 to 96 and her aura had taken on a slightly pink hue. His smile still on his face, Vahn continued to stare into Ryuus eyes and remarked, "Your eyes...theyre like the vibrant sky on a sunny day and you...youre like a breath of fresh air that helps calm the soul." Even though he felt somewhat awkward, Vahn was trying his best to tter Ryuu simr to elven traditions. After his words fell, for the first time since they had met, Vahn saw Ryuu cover her mouth as an almost inaudible chuckle sounded. Even without any effort of his own, Vahns smile widened further and he felt happy feelings spread through his heart. Without responding to hispliment directly, Ryuu said in a low voice, "You can wash my body...just be gentle." Though he understood there was no implication behind it, Vahn couldnt help but swallow a bit of saliva as he grabbed a sponge and stood directly in front of Ryuu. Like Vahn, Ryuu was also 165cm tall and their eyes were perfectly aligned with each others as Vahn began to gentlyther up her body. Even though she tacitly agreed to let him look at her body, Vahn was focused more on the efforts of his hands and the response from Ryuu. Since he had grown ustomed to massages, Vahn entered a somewhat focused state whenever he used his hands to tend to the body of a girl. As Vahn went about his actions, Ryuu continued to watch him silently with a bit of intrigue hidden deep within her sky-blue eyes. Even though she had agreed to bathe with him, Ryuu still had some inhibitions about letting Vahn touch her body easily. She had opened up a bit after he had given her a few massages, but it didnt make the thought of exposing herself any easier, at least up until now. Just as usual, Vahn had a very serious and caring demeanor and he paid a lot of attention to his actions. He wasnt overly forward, nor did he focus on any of her sensitive areas, and he was always gauging her response throughout the entire process. Any inhibitions she might have had slowly melted away and dispersed into the hot water around them as Ryuu slowly entrusted her body to Vahns care. Vahn noticed that Ryuus aura became a darker shade of pink and looked to her face to see she had closed her eyes. Even though the color had deepened, Ryuus aura had actually be more stable, almost mellow, and Vahn could tell she was rxing. With a smile appearing on his face, Vahn continued his efforts so as not to tarnish the trust she had ced in him. Since they had known each other for quite a while at this point, Vahn knew how resistant Ryuu was to being touched. Seeing her opening herself fully to him made him feel happy and many of the negative feelings that had been lurking in the back of his mind felt like they were draining away, almost as if they had never existed in the first ce and had been a figment of his imagination. After wiping down her entire body, Vahn moved on to an area that he had been curious about for a long time. However, instead of directly advancing just to sate his own curiosity, Vahn asked, "Do you mind if I touch your ears?" The eyes of Ryuu, that had been closed for several minutes, opened as she turned her gaze and met Vahns. For a pure-blooded elf, their ears were incredibly sensitive and only close family and lovers were typically allowed to touch them. Though he hadnt explicitly said it, Ryuu understood that Vahn was making a slow advance on her and left the final decision on her shoulders. Though she never expected to find them in the first ce, Ryuu still looked into Vahns aquamarine eyes as if she were looking for any type of deceit or malicious intent. She had long wanted to follow him, ever since their first meeting, but Ryuu still had inhibitions because of her nature and past traumas. After confirming that Vahns eyes were crystal-clear, Ryuu showed a smile and replied in a low, moderated, tone,"Go ahead...Vahn." Hearing her call him by name again, Vahns smile grew and hethered a bit of soap on his fingers as he reached forward and, very gently, caressed Ryuus ears. Though she did her best to control her expression, Ryuu wasnt able to prevent a blush from beginning to rise up from her neck. By the time he had stroked the entire outer boundaries of her long ears and rubbed her lobes with his thumb, the blush had spread all the way to her face and was slowly creeping its way onto Ryuus ears. Though her expression didnt change much, Vahn couldnt help but appreciate her reaction so he whispered, "How can you be so adorable... youre making my heart race." As if to prove his im, Vahn gingerly reached for Ryuus right hand and ced it on his bare chest. Just as he stated, Vahns heart was beating rapidly due to the jubnt feelings and excitement that had been welling up inside him. Ryuu focused on the feeling from on her hand as the burning sensation that had crept into her ears slowly began to fade away. She had been somewhat tempted to grab Vahns hand as well so that she could ce it on her chest and show how fast her own heart was beating. However, she knew Vahn was already aware of that fact so she just leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his chest and kept silent. Since there wasnt anything more intimate than her letting him touch her ears, Vahn took Ryuus actions to imply she was okay with him touching her body. Though she was still soapy and covered in a slightly reflectiveyer of sweat and water, Vahn ran his hands from Ryuus shoulders until they came to a stop at the small of her back. Without doing anything too untoward, Vahn just gently embraced the n.a.k.e.d body of Ryuu against his for a few minutes until she had calmed down. Though he wasnt aware of the missed opportunity earlier, Vahn could now feel the heartbeat of Ryuu through his own chest. When Ryuu had finally rxed, she soaked in the water to rinse off before helping Vahn clean himself as well. Though he hadnt really expected her to hesitate, Vahn was still somewhat surprised to see how easily Ryuu kept her bearing while she washed his body. She even,pletely unabashedly, wiped down his p.e.n.i.s without any hesitation or remarks about its size. Though Vahn wasnt entirely sure why, he felt somewhat happy that she didnt show the normal reaction that he had seen from almost everyone else, both male and female alike. As if some kind of wall had been broken down between them, after Vahn had rinsed of his body, he and Ryuu sat down in the pool of hot water to soak for a few more minutes. After he sat against the smooth stone surface, Ryuu had sat down next to him and leaned a bit of her weight against his shoulder. Though it wasnt as intimate as when they washed each other, it was still something new andpletely different from her prior behavior. As a response, Vahn ced his arm around Ryuus hip and loosely held her body as the two of them sat in silence and enjoyed the atmosphere. When it came time to get dressed, Ryuu put on a long-sleeved white shirt that had buttons running down the front. Since she didnt have any clothes of her own to change into, as she hadnt gone to her room first, Ryuu wore a shirt that Vahn had purchased during one of his outings. Seeing the green-haired elven beauty wearing a shirt that was too big for her frame, Vahn could feel his heart pulse powerfully a few times as he tilted his head with an appreciative smile. Ryuu tilted her head slightly in the same direction as she held up the loose sleeves and asked, "Do you like when I wear your clothing?" Vahn exhaled through his nose a bit to prevent himself fromughing as he responded, "I think its somewhat unique since Ive never really seen such a beautiful girl wear my clothing. I cant quite put my finger on it, but there is something...tantalizing about it?" As if she wanted to tease him, Ryuu lifted the sleeves slightly higher and revealed the fact that she hadnt yet worn any panties. Since she wasnt going to wear her previous pair, and Vahn couldnt currently gift her any, Ryuu was still n.a.k.e.d minus the shirt Vahn had given her. He had offered her a pair of pants afterward, but Ryuu shook her head and said it would be fine for now. Since there were only girls in the house, she didnt even have any concerns even if she had to walk the corridors n.a.k.e.d. Now that she had allowed Vahn to see, and even touch, her body, Ryuu felt significantly less concerned with him seeing her even more. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lion Taming,Sensitive Elven Ears,Sacredbination, dress shirt with no-pan on a slender girl) I am currently at $749/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 241 - Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 241 - Calm Before the Storm

After the bath, Ryuu went to her room to wear a proper change of clothes as Vahn watched her butt sway from side-to-side with slightly squinted eyes. He felt a lot less inhibited now, almost as if he had a new outlook on life and wondered if anything interesting would happen as a result. Though he still intended to practice the restraint that had been constantly reaffirmed in his mind, Vahn felt far less inclined to act reservedly when he was alone with the girls he cared about. Bar a few exceptions, Vahn was somewhat excited about theing developments andid down in his bed with a rtively rxed state of mind. Though it was still a little early, Vahn was rather exhausted and decided to pitch in early while imagining if anyone would be joining him tonight. Since both Mn and Tina were here, and Hestia was with Hephaestus, Vahn assumed they would probably be sleeping together alongside Fenrir. That being the case, Ryuu would probably stay in her own room for the time being unless anything changed between now and the morning. As expected, Vahn could detect the auras of the three girls while Ryuu had alreadyid down in her own bed, which was located two rooms away from the master bedroom. Though Mn told the two girls to be quiet so Vahn could rest, Fenrir flopped her ears and said, "Vahn always awake when people around." Disregarding Mns caution, Fenrir walked over to the bed before wiggling out of her maid outfit with practiced movements. Though she still needed help getting dressed, Fenrir had taken to trying to remove her clothing without help. Because she always wore herbat attire under her clothes, Fenrir was still decent and climbed into bed as Vahn reached out his hands and scratched her ears a bit. Mn noticed that Vahn was also awake and sat on the side of the bed with a thoughtful expression as Tina unashamedly climbed into the bed and snuggled next to Vahn without inhibitions. Mn saw her daughter andughed before following behind andying on the opposite side of Tina. After binding Fenrirs hands and affectionately stroking the three girls for a bit, Vahn went to sleep apanied by the warmth generated by the girls around him. Though it wasnt necessary, Vahn still awoke at 5 AM and stared at the roof for a little as Fenrir inched over to him and ced her chin on Vahns chest and stared up at his face. Since she had been protecting him when he was in the orb, Fenrir was ustomed to waking up at the same time as Vahn. Feeling her concern, Vahn reached out his hand and used [Hands of Nirvana] tob through her hair with his fingers. Instead of going to the dungeon today, Fenrir was going to spend some time with Mn and Tina who were helping her learn to read. Though Hestia had taken to the task at first, she wasnt the greatest teacher and didnt have any experience dealing with children like Mn. Vahn could see the auras from the room Hephaestus was staying in moving and knew that both she and Hestia had already awakened. He followed them with his perception and saw them split up at the foyer which made Vahn feel a little sad. Knowing that it was a temporary parting, and that she had preparations to make, Vahn took a slow breath and calmed his mind. Since Hephaestus was often very busy, it wasnt easy for her to clear her schedule for a long period of time so Vahn intended to follow-upter in the day, most likely toward the evening, to see if she needed any help. If he went at his maximum speed, using Shundo, he could get all the way to her workshop within a short four minutes. Eventually, Mn awoke and paused for a few seconds when she saw Vahn before remembering she had stayed over the previous night. After awakening Tina and helping her and Fenrir get dressed, Vahn rubbed each of their ears and gave each of them a kiss on the forehead. Though he had kissed Mn on the lips in the past, Vahn knew she still had inhibitions about any rtionship they might have in the future. Since he didnt want to pressure her and just wanted to help take care of them, Vahn didnt act in an untoward manner and just showed gentle affections to the Mother-Daughter pair. After they made their way downstairs. Mn and Tina went to prepare breakfast while Fenrir pulled out an adamantine te that had the alphabet carved into it. Using her ws, she tried replicating the characters on the nearly indestructible metal as if it was soft wood. Though she struggled quite a bit, Fenrir actually showed a lot of interest in learning. She wanted to be more normal after interacting with other girls and they had each reinforced the idea that she needed a proper education. To make things easier, Vahn had created an Adamantine te that could be easily regenerated using whetstones since it was ssified as a blunt weapon with the addition of a handle on the side. Ruffling her hair a bit, Vahn left the dining room and made his way toward Hestia before frowning deeply and looking toward the front gate. Though he didnt know their purpose, Vahn felt like the arrival of the signatures was rted to his instincts from the previous day. It seemed that, every time Vahn felt happy, something bad would always rear its head to create problems for him. After discussing it with Sis, he found out it was actually a property of having high good karma. She imed that the reason so many heroic tales ended in tragedy was that heroes acquired a lot of good karma which inevitably brought added troubles to them when they least expected it. For better or worse, good and evil were almost irresistibly drawn toward each other in some vain struggle machinated by fate. What made matters worse was, like now, the danger often presented itself in an unexpected fashion. Even though the presences outside show amiability towards him, Vahn knew there would be trouble following in their wake. After shouting for Hestia and sending a mental order for Fenrir to tell the other girls to eat breakfast without them, Vahn made his way to the foyer and opened the door to receive their guests. Hestia, who had just arrived next to him, looked outside and greeted them in a cheerful voice, "The Takemikazuchi Familia~? Wee to the Hearth Manor!" Takemikazuchi bowed politely and the tall young man behind him followed suit as he greeted, "Good morning Lady Hestia, it is good to see you in such high spirits." Turning his head, Takemikazuchi also bowed politely to Vahn and said, "We meet again, Vahn, it is a pleasure to see you in good health." Though he already knew they hade with a purpose, given their somewhat unstable auras, Vahn still politely greeted the two as he invited them into the study. After settling down, Vahn waved his hand over the table and position a steaming kettle of tea for them to enjoy. Since they were from the Far East, Vahn had set out a somewhat bitter tea called [Ginseng Bara]. Though it was normally a polite gesture, Takemikazuchi frowned before looking at Vahn and closing his eyes as he sighed. Opening his eyes, he spoke in a somewhat troubled tone, "It seems you have seen through the purpose of our visit. The rumors regarding your incredible perception arent exaggerated in the slightest." Seeing his god troubled, the man introduced as Ouka frowned and a serious look on his face as he red at Vahn. Compared to Vahn, who was 165cm, Ouka was already more than 180cm tall even though he was currently only fifteen. He had a very muscr build with ck hair and green eyes. Though he looked somewhat stoic and serious, apparently Ouka had a temperamental personality as he said in a deep tone that belied his age, "Even if you are a respected member of the Alliance, you are not above paying respects to a god." Vahn didnt respond to Ouka as he turned his gaze back to Takemikazuchi and picked up a cup of tea. Though [Ginseng Bara] was somewhat expensive tea, it was seen as a polite way of asking people to not bring trouble when enjoying the hospitality of others. Coming from the Far East, both Takemikazuchi and Ouka were very aware of the stance Vahn had taken before the discussion even began. As the three men sat in silence, Hestia remained next to Vahn with an entirely unphased expression on her face. Unless things developed in a bad direction, she had long discussed matters with Vahn and allowed him to make decisions that affected their Familia. Even though she was the goddess, there wasnt much she could do besides supporting the children in their Familia, so Hestia had left matters to Vahn as the Captain. The only thing she could tell from the situation so far was that Takemikazuchi hadnte with good intentions and she had already raised her guard somewhat against the two foreign invaders. The atmosphere in the room remained silent as Takemikazuchi stared down at his steaming cup of tea with a hesitant expression on his face. If he epted the tea, it was the same as saying he wouldnt trouble Vahn...Taking a deep breath, Take stood from the sofa without touching the tea and Vahn followed him with his eyes as Takemikazuchi gestured to Ouka before kneeling down on the floor and performing the most perfect example of a dogeza Vahn had ever seen. Though Oukas brow furrowed low, he didnt say anything as he assumed a spot behind Take and also lowered his head to the floor. Vahn immediately massaged his temples a bit and said, "I will hear you out, but that doesnt mean I am expressing consent and willing to offer my help. Even if were future allies, the Hestia Familia has no rtion with the Takemikazuchi Familia at present. With the probation terms decreed by the Guild, we couldnt interact in any meaningful way even if there was to be cooperation between us." Without raising his head, Takemikazuchi gave a loud affirmation and response, "Ha! As you have likely anticipated, I havee here with the intent of exploiting your heroic disposition and honest personality. Though I know it is wrong to do so, I cannot allow this matter to rest when another window of opportunity may not present itself in the future. Please hear my request and consider it without any bias!" Even though his head was already touching the ground, Take made an earnest effort to ce it even further into the floor. Releasing a sigh, Vahn looked over at Hestia with an apologetic expression before she nodded her head in support. Vahn looked to the two performing a dogeza and said, "Please, though it may not be a standing rtionship presently, we are still allies. Though it is not incorrect to bow your head when making a request, you should not behave in a way that may negatively influence your children. Since there is likely to be cooperation between our Familia in the future, I would like us to try and interact in a manner where neither side loses face to the other." Ouka had raised his head and gave Vahn a serious look as Take showed a grateful expression and lifted his face that had a big red mark on it before sitting on the sofa. As a gesture of friendship, Vahn set out a simple green tea that was often shared with friends and casual acquaintances. This time, Take took the tea gratefully before he began exining, not only the purpose of his visit but the purpose of his Familias migration to Orario from the Far East... Actual Title: Karma is a Bitch (A/N: Since some people might freak out, just know that this doesnt interfere with nned events (O,...,O). Stay tuned, there will be another chaptering out soon that will rify things.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir is adorable,Fate of a Hero,The ultimate technique when making a request) I am currently at $749/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 242 - [Spoilers : Title at End]

Chapter 242 - [Spoilers : Title at End]

ording to Take, they used to be a Familia located outside a shrine located in the Far East. It was his assigned duty to teach martial artists to act as guardians of the province as well as protectors of the various pces and shrines in the area. Though it wasnt part of their duties, a few of his younger children had grown close to a Renard girl named Sanjouno Haruhime, who was the daughter of a Noble n leader that ran thergest shrine in the area. Since she wasnt allowed to leave the sanctity of the shrine, Haruhimes only friends had been the children in his Familia and they used to sneak her out in the night so that she could get fresh air and y. Things had been peaceful for a time, but three years ago Haruhime had been falsely used of stealing an offering that had been made to the shrine. Unable to find the true culprit, Haruhimes father was pressured by the other n heads to pass judgment on his own daughter. In his rage, not at Haruhime but the people that had conspired against him, her Father had entrusted her care to a Pallum guest that had good rtions with the shrine for several years. Unfortunately, the caravan led by the Pallum waster attacked by a group of roaming bandits that had piged the merchandise and kidnapped Haruhime. Unable to act on his own, Haruhimes father had entrusted the task of finding her to his trusted advisor which was none other than Takemikazuchi. Since it was a direct vition of the judgment that had been passed previously, Take took some of his more gifted children that were close to Haruhime and set out on a rescue mission to uncover her whereabouts. They followed the trail through several viges until they had found out Haruhime had been sold as a ve and had been transported to Eden with her final destination as Orario. Though theymented her misfortune, they found out she had been sold as fresh goods so they had some hope that she might be okay if they were able to track her down quickly. Unfortunately, as exiles, the Takemikazuchi Familia had no easy way to pay for transport across the vast ocean separating Eden and the Far East, so they had to act as mercenaries as they slowly built up the funds. After more than a year passed, they had begun to lose hope that Haruhime was still safe until a kind monk had taken pity on them and helped procure their passage to Eden. Since he had saved the son of the Captain of a ship in the past, he was able to convince him to allow the group to board for a much cheaper amount as long as they acted as guards for the duration of the voyage. After several months on the ocean, they eventually made their way to Eden and followed directions between viges before finally arriving in Orario several months ago. By a stroke of fate, Take had been introduced to Hephaestus through their mutual acquaintance Miach. Since she had been in need of assistance at the time, Take had taken to her aide in order to establish a rtionship with one of the most prolific goddesses within the City. Though he admitted it was a somewhat dishonorable act, Takes only desire was to track down the daughter of his friend and do whatever he could to confirm her safety. Even though she may never be able to return to her home, they still wanted to guarantee she could live a free life, even if she had experienced suffering due to their ineptitude. It was through Hephaestus that Take learned about Vahn and had taken an interest in meeting the Adventurer touted as a hero. After conducting a personal investigation of his own, Take began to grow more interested in Vahn and his exploits and purported that he wanted Vahn to help mentor and grow alongside his own children. Take imed Vahns character to be righteous and above reproach but Vahn just waved away his ttery and urged him to finish the story. Though it was always his intent to eventually approach Vahn, it was the event where Vahn had saved Mn and Tina that inspired him to move up his ns. They had recently heard rumors that might pertain to Haruhimes location and wanted to seek Vahns assistance however he sought fit to aide them. Since he knew Vahn likely saw through his true intentions, Take even admitted that the primary reason he approached Vahn was, in the event that the danger was too great, Vahn would be able to rely on hiswork of allies to potentially save Haruhime. Even though his children had high potential, they were all still very young and even Ouka, the Captain of the Familia, was only Level 2. --- Since he had only read up to the 7th volume of the manga, everything Vahn was hearing was new information and he wasnt sure what to make of things until a notification popped up in his system while he was ruminating over matters. Though he definitely wanted to help them out, since he felt terrible about the tragic fate of the girl called Haruhime, Vahn didnt want to get involved in anything that might endanger the people he cared about. Looking over the notification, Vahns face became somewhat serious and he closed his eyes in contemtion. //Optional Quest Triggered// [Quest: Rescue Sanjouno Haruhime] Rank: C-S Objective: Rescue Sanjouno Haruhime from her captors. Optional Objective: Defeat and/or Kill the captors: 0/10 Rewards: Upgrade Function Unlocked, 10x[Upgrade Stones], 14,000OP Failure Condition(s): Death, Sanjouno Haruhimes Death, Escape of [Hidden]. Penalty: 600 Karma, Upgrade Function Sealed for Duration of Record After reading through the quest, Vahn was somewhat interested in the rewards but still asked Sis, ("Why would I suddenly get a quest? I know Takemikazuchi existed in the original plot, but Ive never heard anything about Haruhime.") Responding to his question, Sis exined in a patient tone, (*Your presence in the record has irreversibly altered fate but that doesnt mean that karma is bnced within the record. For example, if you alter events to an extent where you would endanger the record, The Path would always give you a quest to help rectify things. However, since the quest is Optional, you still have the option to refuse it without penalty; This will likely result in the death of the girl named Sanjouno Haruhime though.*) Hearing Siss words, Vahn frowned slightly as he realized hisck of knowledge regarding the record may be a problem in the future. Though it wouldnt force him to enact the original plot verbatim, Vahn would still be required to assist those that possessed strong fates that impacted the original story. One example would be, if he changed an event that would lead to the salvation of the world in the original plot, Vahn would then be burdened with fulfilling that role himself. Since he was now getting a Quest rted to the girl named Haruhime, that meant she was significant to the original plot and Vahn had inadvertently set her down a path of no return....if he refused to help her, he would have, through his inaction, guaranteed her death. Though he didnt do so in reality, Vahn released a long sigh in his mind before opening his eyes with a serious look on his face. He noticed that both Take and Ouka were waiting for his response with hopeful expressions. Frowning, Vahn said, "Know this, I will help you, but only after I have settled my own matters. I dont have the resources or thework you might think to search through the entire City looking for one girl. Ill need as much information as you can provide and..." Vahn sent a mentalmand and, a few secondster, Fenrir burst through the door and cautiously made her way over to Vahn while ring at the two strangers. Vahn exined, "Fenrir has the most powerful senses of anyone I have ever met, be they chienthropes or cat people. If you have an article that belonged to Haruhime, we may be able to track her. That being the case, it does not mean I will put my people in danger to guarantee the safety of Haruhime and the sessfulpletion of this mission. It also doesnt mean I will drop everything Im currently involved in to help you track her down at the expense of my othermitments." Before Vahn even finished, Take had already bowed till the point where his head had nearly touched the hardwood table. He eximed loudly, "Having your assistance is more than enough! I would not dare ask you to inconvenience yourself in pursuit of an objective that was ours toplete. Even if you only help track down and confirm her location, that would be more than enough!" Vahn paused and stared at the top of Takes head for a while before he responded in a somewhat apologetic, yet firm, tone, "If it is within my power to do so, I will save Sanjouno Haruhime from her fate..." Raising his head, Take had a grateful smile on his face as he bowed three times while saying, "Thank you, my Takemikazuchi Familia will forever be indebted to you for the leniency you have shown us here today." Pulling out a small, pouch-like, charm with a strange character that Vahn understood to mean Good Fortune, Take handed it over to Vahn and said, "This was a personal belonging of Sanjouno Haruhime. We had tried to use it to track her down, but chienthropes are umon in the Far East and we have had limited sess finding assistance within the City..." Taking the charm from Take, Vahn stroked Fenrirs hair and exined in a patient manner, "Fenrir, there is a poor girl that had been bullied by a bunch of bad people. Can you remember the scent on this charm for me?" After listening to Vahn, Fenrir looked at Take and Ouka for several seconds as her eyes began to glow red. Ouka immediately became alert, but Vahn spread his domain andpletely locked down his movements with a nce. Take raised his hand to force Ouka to stand down as a bead of sweat began to build on his brow. Vahn turned away and continued to stroke Fenrirs hair and exined, "These arent the bullies, they are the friends of the girl. They are trying to find her so they can protect her and help make her happy, same as you." Fenrirs eyes continued to glow as her hair began to rise and she turned to Vahn and asked in a frustrated voice, "Same as Fenrir..?" At this point, Fenrirs hair was standing on end and her eyes began glowing a vibrant scarlet. Though some might have misunderstood it as hunger, this was actually the form Fenrir took when she activated [Huntress] and pushed her senses to the extreme. Taking the charm into her paws, Fenrir took severalrge breaths before ring at Take and Ouka a bit and sniffing the air. As if confirming something, Fenrir nodded her head and took several more whiffs of the charm before handing it back to Vahn. Though she hadnt yet found Haruhime, Fenrir thumped her chest and said, "Fenrir remember, Fenrir find and save girl from bully!" With a smile on his face, Vahn pet Fenrirs hair before ushering her toward Hestia who already had a brush ready. Now that she had stored the scent, Fenrir would be able to track it easily if they came across the trail at any point. Turning back to Take, Vahn said, "Ill hold onto the charm for now. As for payment, since well be acting at our discretion, you dont have to worry about it. If it is known that our Familias are cooperating with each other during the probationary period it could cause problems for the entire Alliance. Unless we contact you through thework, please try toy low and conduct your own investigation for the time being." Take assumed a polite smile as both he and Ouka bowed low before eventually excusing themselves. On their way out, Take asked over his shoulder, "So, what do you think of Vahn?" There was a somewhat humorous undertone to his voice that made Ouka frown as he followed behind. After considering his words for several seconds, Ouka stated, "He is far more mature than anyone his age should be, and his bearing and etiquette are excellent. As far as his power is concerned...I dont think I could trade a single blow with him." Take smiled and stopped his steps as he looked back and patted Oukas shoulder as he said, "Now you understand, there are always greater heights to aspire toward. Though you were very strong back in the Far East, there are several people, some even much younger than you, that are much stronger than your current strength. If you want to protect the people you care about, you must remain level-headed and increase your power further." Afterward, they walked along in silence for a while until Ouka said, "Hell do it, wont he? I can tell that he had already decided to save Lady Sanjouno even before the second half of the conversation..." Hearing his words, Take smiled widely and stated confidently, "Though it isnt wrong to say we took advantage of him, it is because Vahn has a righteous and heroic character that cannot easily overlook such injustices. I think that, as long as it doesnt endanger the other people he wants to protect, he will likely track her down much faster than we could have ever hoped to." Looking over his shoulder toward the direction of the Hearth Manor, Oukas expression hardened as a resolved look appeared in his eyes. He had asked to apany Takemikazuhi because he was curious about the boy who was touted as a hero while being simr in age to himself. Now that they had met, Ouka felt like he had found a worthy rival to aspire towards and eventually exceed... --- After the two left, Hestia had a concerned expression as she looked up at Vahn and asked, "You will go to help her, wont you?" Vahn looked over and smiled as he stroked her hair gently for a while before responding, "I wont easily change my ns on a whim unless it is something I can proactively influence. Right now, my only focus is my family and..." Looking off in the distance, Vahn could feel the connection between him and Hephaestus throb a bit as he said, "I must go to Hephaestus...When everything is over, I will find the girl named Haruhime and return to her the freedom she had been deprived. It is for reasons like this that I wanted to create a righteous Familia in the first ce." Hestia had a cheerful smile on her face as Vahn was stroking her hair and she, apanied by Fenrir, both gave him a big hug. Kissing him on the cheek for a few seconds, Hestia pulled away and said, "Make sure you take care of yourself and...and remember that Ill be here waiting when things get hard and you need to rest..." Vahnughed a bit as he stroked her cheek with his right hand before leaning forward and giving her a short peck on the lips. Even though it wasnt their first kiss, Hestia blushed a bit and crawled away from his body while acting far more bashful than usual. Vahn wanted to tease her since she was suddenly acting as if they had just met for the first time. However, before he could say anything, Fenrir pulled her lip a bit with her w and said, "Fenrir want kiss." Though he had thought he had been prepared for anything, Vahn couldnt help but nk after hearing Fenrir and seeing her actions. The red glow in her eyes suddenly looked far more dangerous as Vahn exined, "Until you finish your education, you cant do things like that Fenrir. Here,e here for a moment..." Fenrir leaned over as Vahn gestured and he cleared away her bangs and kissed her on the forehead before saying, "Just like your Big Sis, that should be enough for now, okay?" Holding her paws on her forehead, Fenrir had the closest thing to a happy expression that her unsmiling face could manage. Seemingly deriving something from Vahns words, Fenrir ran toward the door down the corridor toward the dining room while shouting, "Big Sis, Big Sis, Fenrir got kiss!" Hearing her words, Vahn rubbed his forehead a bit before looking to the side as he heard Hestiaughing mischievously. Since she was still on the same sofa, Vahn wanted to tease her a bit so he shot forward and grabbed her foot before pressing one of the pressure points near her heel. Hestia felt a jolt run through her body and she tried to smack Vahns hand away as he disappeared with the use of Shundo. Before she could say anything, Vahn showed a natural smile and said, "Im going to go meet Hephaestus and see if she needs any help. Since Mn and Tina are going to be staying here today, Ill be back in time for lunch unless anything changes..." Understanding Vahns implication, Hestias smile changed from mock frustration and transitioned into a gentle smile that Vahn hadnt expected. In a low, somewhat serious tone, Hestia said, "Take care of her, Vahn. Though she puts on a strong front, Ive known Hephaestus for a long time...she really was a very lonely Goddess in Heaven...Make sure you treat her well." Vahn lowered his head and ruminated over her words before showing a serious expression of his own and responding, "Not just Hephaestus, I will make sure to take care of everyone I care about. When youre ready, that includes you as well Hestia." The gentle expression on Hestias face froze and she seemed to turn into a statue as a line of blush crept up her body and Vahn thought steam was going to erupt out of her head. After her face had a hue that would make a tomato jealous, Hestia looked upwards at Vahn with teary eyes and said through gritted teeth, "You have to spoil me especially! I dont want to be just another one of your girls, I want to be something sp-" Before she could finish, Vahn stepped in with Shundo, lifted Hestias chin, and stared into her deep blue eyes as he said in an irrefutably serious voice, "You are my irreceable family, the beautiful goddess I have entrusted not only my life but the lives of my loved ones. Never devalue yourself..." Before she could respond, Vahn gave Hestia the first truly passionate kiss they shared. Though she was hesitant at first, Hestia soon caved in and returned Vahns embrace all the way up until the point where they both heard a door open and Fenrir shouting, "Ah! Fenrir want kiss too!" Title: Sanjouno Haruhime (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fate,Takemikazuchis Shamelessness,Hephbaestus calls...) I am currently at $749/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 243 - The Present : The Future

Chapter 243 - The Present : The Future

After pacifying Fenrir, Vahn parted ways with the four girls and left the Hearth Manor with the intent of going to visit Hephaestus. As of now, the premonitions that had been guing him hadrgely vanished, but Vahn was still somewhat alert and used his domain at full power to map everything within the vicinity on his way to Hephaestuss Workshop. Since he was in his Bih form, Vahn had also memorized the scent of the girl called Haruhime, which was simr tovender with somewhat of a robust undertone. Since he wasnt in a hurry, and had been paying attention to the surroundings, Vahn arrived outside Hephaestuss workshop after a half-hour before making his way inside. Though it wasnt nearly as bad as the previous night, the closer Vahn had gotten to her workshop, the more excited he became as a warm feeling spread through his body. This was magnified somewhat because, if Vahn focused on the bond they shared, he was also able to sense the anticipation of Hephaestus. When he tried to open the door, Vahn noticed it was locked even though it was during business hours. His smile grew marginally since it was a good sign for what was toe; Vahn spread out his domain and inspected the surroundings in detail and noticed that Hephaestus was the only person inside and she was slowly making her way to the front door. There were several presences in the surroundings, likely security personnel and a mixture of pedestrians. Even so, Vahn inspected each of them with his intent to verify there was nothing strange before the door finally opened a little and revealed a very bashful looking Hephaestus peering through the crack. Without trying to open the door himself, Vahn showed a gentle smile and said, "Good morning Hephaestus." Releasing a sigh, Hephaestus opened the door the rest of the way and crossed her arms loosely under her b.r.e.a.s.ts as she said, "Come inside, quickly, who knows what problems might ariseter." Following her words, Vahn stepped into the workshop before he heard the door close behind him with a bit of force as Hephaestus secured the lock. Curious, Vahn asked, "Did something ha-" Before he could finish, Hephaestus leaned her weight against him and began one of the many passionate kisses they would share. He was so surprised by her actions that Vahn nearly fell backward a few steps before stabilizing his body and embracing Hephaestus powerfully. Vahn noticed that her body was surprisingly hot, including her tongue which had invaded his mouth since earlier. Vahn intertwined his with Hephaestuss as she slowly pressed his body, almost as if she were pushing him toward her office hidden deep at the back. Realizing this was actually the case, Vahn felt emboldened so he picked up Hephaestuss body and princess carried her the rest of the way while she clung to his neck and began kissing the exposed parts of his corbone. Since his spatial awareness was quite high, Vahn could focus on Hephaestus even while walking through the corridors without any issues at all. When they got to the door of her office, Vahn noticed Hephaestus had left it open so he side-stepped through it to make sure no parts of her body collided with the reinforced frame. By the time Vahn closed the door and locked it, Hephaestus had a deep blush on her face and was beginning to sweat profusely as she looked into his eyes with a fervent gaze. Vahn leaned forward to kiss her, but Hephaestus tucked her head to evade his attempt as she ced her hand over his heart. In a quiet tone, Hephaestus said, "Lets go to the couch...we need to talk..." After getting a face full of red hair for his efforts, Vahn followed Hephaestus words and walked over the couch. Though she seemed to try and free herself from his carry, Vahn turned his body and sat down while still holding onto her firmly. She gave him an awkward smile and said, "Its...somewhat hard to talk like this. There are several things I want to tell you before we go any further." Since Vahn didnt want to cause any difort for Hephaestus, nor did he want to appear impatient, he just for a moment before cing his forehead gently against hers for a few moments. He knew they shared a powerful bond now and she would be able to sense his feelings. When he was done, Vahn loosened his grip on Hephaestuss body so she sat at his side with a moderate amount of distance between them. Though she still had a fierce blush on her face, Hephaestus also had a serious look in her eyes and Vahn could feel her hesitation. Hephaestus was quiet for several seconds as she considered her words carefully. After a while, she released a somewhat pained sigh and said, "Vahn...I wanted you to know that..that..." As she continued to struggle, Vahn reached out his right hand and stroked the side of Hephaestuss face before running his fingers through her beautiful red hair. In a gentle tone, Vahn said, "Please tell me what is troubling you. No matter what, I will always be with you when you need me...now and forever more." Closing her eyes, Hephaestus rested against Vahns gentle caress as she held onto his forearm with her left hand. Finding somefort in the warmthing from his palm, Hephaestus released another sigh and said, "Even though this body is that of a v.i.r.g.i.n...you arent my first partner. I wanted you to know everything about my past...I want you to know about my weakness...the loneliness I have felt for so long..." As she was still trying to find her words, Hephaestus sensed movement and felt her head get pulled forward slightly as Vahn silenced her pained words with a kiss. Opening her eyes, Hephaestus tried to use her right hand to press against his chest, but Vahn wouldnt part from the kiss no matter what she tried. Giving up, Hephaestus slipped her arm to his side and Vahn reached around and embraced her in a powerful,forting, hug. For several minutes, Vahn continued to kiss Hephaestus until the chaotic nature that had been appearing in her aurapletely vanished. After sucking on her tongue a bit, Vahn pulled his face away and looked at the glossy-eyed Hephaestus who had a somewhat pitiful look on her face as she dazedly kissed at the air for an extra few seconds. Vahn reached up and caressed her face once again as he said with absolute seriousness, "Everything about you is important to me, but Ive no interest in a past that causes you such pain. From now on, whenever you feel lonely, whenever you feel worried, you just have to call out to me...no matter how far away, I wille running. The inconsequential fools from your past arent nearly as important as the present we share, the future well create...together." Though she was somewhat absentminded, each of Vahns words resonated powerfully with Hephaestus. She could feel his emotions, the stability of his words, thefort of his embrace, and the love they shared...everything linked together and echoed through her body until she felt her soul tremble. As if they were some insignificant thing, the images that had been guing Hephaestuss mind while thinking about her union with Vahn slowly faded away. Just like Vahn said, the past wasnt important anymore...not here, not now, not when she was in his arms and enjoying thefort he provided her. Vahn was like a safe refuge for her soul, something that kept away all the feelings of negativity that had gued her for so many millions of years... cing her head against his chest, though it wasnt necessary to do so, Hephaestus listened to Vahns hear beating powerfully. She could sense the presence of the eternal me within as Vahn stroked her back gently while hugging her body against his. Hephaestus could feel the heat radiating from Vahn intermingling with the heat from her own body and, even though they had yet toplete their union, she felt like they had already be one. As her emotions continued to rise, Hephaestus raised her head before using her hands to press into Vahns chest. Though he could have resisted, Vahn allowed Hephaestus to push him over and he pulled her along with him. He could see she was taking long, deep, breaths and had an incredibly flushed expression on her face. She lifted her body from his with a bit of effort and began to unbutton his tunic until Vahn just unequipped it to save her some effort. Once his upper body was bare, Hephaestus traced his chest with her fingers for a moment before leaning down and kissing his body with her flushed red lips. For now, Vahn wanted to let Hephaestus ease her anxiety without experiencing too much pressure from him. Instead of doing anything too rough, he gently caressed her body even though he had a powerful urge to grip her butt. Even though he didnt quite agree with itpletely, there were certain butts that Vahn was very fond of and Hephaestuss was at the top of the list. Since he knew she especially trained it to be to his liking, Vahn felt a great deal of excitement whenever he thought about it. By the time Hephaestus worked up to his shoulders, she stopped for a while which confused Vahn. Tracing her fingers along his shoulder, Vahn knew what she had found and exined, "It was left there by Chloe. Though we havent done anything, we still professed love for each other..." Without responding to his words, Hephaestus continued to trace the scar with her fingers for a few seconds. After a while, she whispered in his ear, "Even though Im okay with you having other girls, I cant help but feel a little jealous when seeing something so intimate..." Vahns mind buzzed a bit as her words tickled his ears and he began to wonder if Hephaestus also wanted to leave her mark on him. Before the could think of anything to say, Hephaestus continued, "I want something more...something that will always be uniquely ours. And I dont want it to be on your body; I dont need topete with the other girls...I want you to leave a mark on me instead. I want something that invalidates the scar that used to cover my face...something that I can take with me permanently...forever and ever." After he words, Hephaestus continued soy against Vahns body in silence before she asked, "I know you were able to modify Lilis crest in the past...I want you to leave a mark on my back...it doesnt matter what it is, as long as it is something important to you." Pushing against his chest and the couch, Hephaestus lifted herself from Vahns body and began to remove her white, sweat-soaked, blouse. Since she had been expecting Vahn, Hephaestus hadnt been wearing a bra since earlier in the day. Vahn was able to see her milky white b.r.e.a.s.ts and small, cherry-like, protrusions. Though he had seen them before, Vahn couldnt help but marvel at the wlessness of Hephaestuss ratherrge b.r.e.a.s.ts. Turning her back, Hephaestus move her long ponytail to the side and said, "Please..." Though Vahn was somewhat reluctant, he also felt an incredible anticipation building up in his own body as he gingerly traced his fingers along Hephaestuss back. Though she had powerful muscles, her skin still retained a youthful quality and there didnt really seem to be any obvious signs of the power contained within. Unless she forcibly flexed, Hephaestus looked very lean and had a very womanly, shapely, figure. When his finger followed the line of her back to the base of where her torso connected into her tight ck trousers, Vahn suddenly stopped and the emotions that had been building in him reached a peak. Since she had been paying attention to his actions, Hephaestus could feel Vahns excitement as his fingers stopped slightly above where her butt was. She knew Vahn liked her butt and had even been exercising for up to two hours a day just to appeal to him a bit more. Hephaestus felt like it was one of the advantages she had over most of the girls around him, so she nned to exploit it whenever possible. After a few seconds, she whispered in a somewhat sultry voice, "Do it..." Vahn gulped powerfully after hearing Hephaestuss words and he began to take several deep breaths to help calm his mind. Even though he knew more intimate things would happen between them in the future, leaving a permanent mark on the girl he loved felt incredibly deviant. Though he had a profound sense of excitement welling up inside him, Vahn was also somewhat scared and anxious to continue. However, he didnt want to let Hephaestuss expectations down and also wanted to give her what she wanted. Vahn consoled himself by remembering that he could always remove itter with [Hands of Nirvana] if she changed her mind in the future... Though it felt profoundly awkward, Vahn used [Yggradsils Favor] and emted the crest creation process of the Familia induction ceremony. She wouldnt obtain anything like a blessing, but the mark Vahn left on her body could only be removed by him from now on. Since he didnt have anything better, Vahn decided to carve his makers mark into the small of Hephaestuss back, right above where the line of her back merged into her the division between her butt cheeks. By the time he was done, Vahn knew his face was probably very red because of the excitement and embarrassment he had felt. When Hephaestus learned what Vahn had carved into her back, her blush became a deep crimson and she gripped his shoulders with shaky hands as they passionately embraced each other. After what felt like an eternity, Hephaestus lited her face from Vahns and took several, almost ragged, breaths before saying in a sensual tone, "If youre going to im my body as your own...youre going to have to take responsibility...I want a baby." (A/N: Vahn is not concerned with inferior gods,Permanant Tattoo,Forging a baby in the forge goddesss furnace) I am currently at $749/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 244 - Hephaestus (1/2)

Chapter 244 - Hephaestus (1/2)

(A/N: Oh, NSFW btw...) Hearing Hephaestuss words, Vahn felt an itch in his heart as an excitement far greater than when he had carved his mark into her backside. His brows lowered a bit while his eyes opened wide, almost as if he had a fiery look in his eyes as he said confidently, "Leave it to me!" Before she could even respond, Vahn lifted her body from the couch and hugged her bare b.r.e.a.s.ts against his chest as he swept his hand toward the center of the room. As if materializing out of thin air, arge bed appeared and Vahn used Shundo and dropped them both in the center. Though she was already incredibly excited, Hephaestus could feel her emotionspounding as her heart pounded like a hammer in her chest. The decisiveness of Vahn and his actions immediately after her request made her body feel like it had turned into a furnace. She felt a powerful aching feeling in her w.o.m.b as anxiety rose of from her abdomen and caused shivers to run up her back. Even before they had begun, Hephaestus had already turned into a sloppy mess from the anticipation alone. Vahn leaned over Hephaestuss body and kissed the side of her neck before slowly moving up the rest of her face starting from her ears, continuing to her cheek, and then finally locking lips with Hephaestus before invading her mouth with his tongue. Even though Vahn couldnt really describe the taste well, it felt like her saliva made his body feel warmer and warmer as the emotions continued to rise between them. At this point, Hephaestus aura had turned a deep pink along the edges while the center was a passionate, almost blood-like red. Even though he had seen her n.a.k.e.d before, Vahn began to take deep breaths as he finally stopped kissing Hephaestus and worked his hands around her h.i.p.s. She watched him with the most passionate expression he had ever seen and Vahn even noticed she was periodically holding her breath before releasing short, sharp, gasps. Since her trousers were form-fitting, they were very stic and Vahn felt like he was removing a slightly thicker pair of hose from Hephaestus body. Before he even got far, Vahn nearly fell over onto Hephaestus after he got a whiff of the powerful aromaing from her v.a.g.i.n.a. Since it had been something that caused him excitement in the past, now that Vahn was so close, he had gotten a lungful of the mind-numbing aroma and it made him feel incredibly giddy. Even though he wasnt a v.i.r.g.i.n, Vahn felt like everything he was experiencing was brand new and he could hardly contain his own excitement as he shakily removed the rest of Hephaestuss clothing. Throughout the whole process, Hephaestus was biting the side of her hand and had even closed her eyes as a deep blush spread through her whole body. For several seconds, nearing an entire minute, Vahn just stared down at Hephaestuss nude body while unable to make any movements other than the jittering of his own body. The flush that had covered her body made every part of Hephaestus look even more beautiful. With the bond they shared, Vahn could feel her own emotions and it was an almost overwhelming sensation as her aura had long ago epassed his body. He could feel it crawling along his skin and a heat spread through his body that seemed like it would burn through him if it wasnt extinguished soon. Vahn uttered in a shaky voice, "Before we use [Enkidu]...I want to make you my own in the normal way...we have plenty of time." Vahn spoke through long breaths as he looked down on Hephaestuss body from his kneeling position near her legs. Though it took her a while topose herself, Hephaestus turned to Vahn and had an enamored smile on her face as she said, "Do it however you want...I just want to experience you...make everything else go away. I dont want to be a goddess of forging, I just want to be your woman right now..." At this point, even Vahns legs were shaking somewhat as he unequipped the remainder of his clothing and stripped off the briefs he had been wearing. Hephaestuss eyes widened a bit at the sight as a burgundy blush appeared on her face. She had seen Vahn n.a.k.e.d previously and had long prepared herself both physically and mentally. However, even though she had steeled her resolve, Hephaestus still dripped a small amount of blood from her nose due to the increased tensions and rise in blood pressure. Though it wasnt the first time he had been erect, Vahn felt like his p.e.n.i.s had grown a few centimeters due to his own excitement. Since he knew he could control it to an extent, Vahn wanted to calm himself down to make things easier for Hephaestus. However, before he could calm his mind, Hephaestus sat up from the bed with a bit of difficulty and reached forward to grab his member in her hands. The moment her hand made contact, Hephaestus twitched a bit and said, "Its so hot...this will go inside me." Then, against any expectations Vahn had, Hephaestus leaned down and removed swept her hair to the side with her free hand as she kissed the tip of his p.e.n.i.s and said, "Go easy on me..." Even though he had been struggling to suppress it, Vahn felt like his blood flow had increased marginally and had the illusion that his p.e.n.i.s would explode soon. This wasnt caused by the urge to ejacte, but the tensions in his body as he felt the girth of his own p.e.n.i.s increase marginally. Hephaestus had noticed it as well and had a strange smile on her face as she whispered, "Or not..." Laying back down on the bed, Hephaestus pulled up her knees and spread her legs invitingly as she looked into Vahn eyes and said, "It doesnt matter, shape me however you want...even if my body isnt, my heart is ready." Vahn gulped heavily and almost wanted toment that Ais had been able to manage, but the words got stuck in his throat and he swallowed them down before they had the chance to form. If things got bad, Vahn could use [Hands of Nirvana] to ease any suffering she might feel... Approaching near the inside of Hephaestuss legs, Vahn ced his left hand on her waist as he positioned himself at the incredibly damp entrance of Hephaestuss v.a.g.i.n.a. Though he hadntmented about it, Vahn was surprised by the sheer quantity of fluids produced by her body. There were already several stains soaking into the bed and Vahn was even worried that she would suffer from dehydration if things continued. When he pressed his ns along the smooth, slippery, interior of Hephaestuss v.a.g.i.n.a, Vahn felt an incredible heat spread through his own p.e.n.i.s. Since she was a goddess, Hephaestus waspletely bare on her crotch and everything glistened in the low light of the room and created a dangerous urge in Vahns heart. However, even before he began his insertion, a flood of liquid began pouring out from the steamy mound as Hephaestuss body shook a bit. Vahn looked into her passionate eyes and locked gazes with her as she said, "Stop teasing me..." Gritting his teeth, Vahn found the proper angle and began pressing his way forward into her depths. Other than the pleasant tightness, the thing that impacted Vahn the most was the incredible heating from her body. As if she was trying topete with his own body that was powered by the eternal me, Hephaestuss interior was like an actual furnace and Vahn felt like she was trying to mold his p.e.n.i.s to her shape, instead of the opposite way around. As if driven by some primal instinct, Vahn powered his own eternal me and increased the heat of his own body until he reached a thin, somewhat firm, membrane. Hephaestuss body shook again and she opened up her arms and hugged around Vahns neck tightly. Before she said anything, Vahn fixed his angle to a more optimal position and pressed powerfully against the futile resistance. Immediately, the heat of Hephaestuss body increased by arge degree as he inserted more than 80% of his p.e.n.i.s into her v.a.g.i.n.a with a single powerful thrust. In response, Hephaestus released a loud, gasping, m.o.a.n as her body seized up from the sudden painful intrusion. Vahn paused to allow her to adapt, but Hephaestus had different ns as she began forcibly kissing Vahn. Between gasping breaths and passionate kisses, Hephaestus said, "Dont stop, I want to remember this forever. Even if you ravish my body...I would only feel more fulfilled..." Though he was tempted, Vahn removed Hephaestuss hands from his face and body as he locked his fingers through hers and pressed them against the bed. Looking into her crimson-red eyes, Vahn said seriously, "I will make sure you remember this, but it wont be through pain..." Leaning down, Vahn kissed Hephaestus as she squirmed to free her hands. Even though he wasnt moving on his own, Hephaestus seemed to be trying to take action herself as she wrapped her legs around his body and tried to pull him deeper into her depths. Though it was an incredibly pleasurable feeling for Vahn, especially since he noticed he was slowly pushing against the back of her v.a.g.i.n.a, he continued to maintain his focus and finally released Hephaestuss hands while kissing her deeply. Even when Hephaestus was lightly gasping for air, Vahn continued to kiss her and only stopped to allow her to catch her breath for a few seconds before continuing. Though not to the full extent, Vahn began to caress Hephaestuss body with [Hands of Nirvana] as she squeezed his back with enough force to leave hand prints embedded in his flesh. Fortunately, Hephaestus seemed to trim her nails properly and there wasnt any blood like when he had experienced something simr in the past. Banishing excess thoughts from his mind, Vahn traced his hands along Hephaestussrge b.r.e.a.s.ts and began to massage them from the outside before working his way to the cherry-colored n.i.p.p.l.es in the center. Though she usually had lighter colored protrusions, when Hephaestus was excited they took on a blush of their own and became firm. Even before he touched them with his hands, Vahn had felt them scratching against his chest while they were kissing. After around five minutes, Hephaestuss body had begun to vibrate even though Vahn hadnt eased the tension of her muscles like a normal massage. He had been stimting her body instead and now there were powerful reverberations running through her body. Though he was tempted to heal her v.a.g.i.n.a as well, Vahn knew Hephaestus might begrudge him a bit since she seemed to care deeply about feeling the sensations normally. However, now that she was already in an echoing climax, Vahn began to slowly pull back his h.i.p.s and piston into the fiery depths of Hephaestuss v.a.g.i.n.a. As if awakened from a pleasant dream, Hephaestus put more strength into her arms and began to gasp in sequence with Vahns gentle thrusts. Since he was paying attention to her reactions, Vahn tried to time his pace with her breathing so she wouldnt be overly stressed. He couldnt deny he was feeling an incredible amount of pleasure, but Vahn was mainly focused on Hephaestuss needs and wanted to carve their first experience into her body. Though he didnt do it himself, Vahn knew about masturbation and was aware that Hephaestus hadforted herself to him in the past. Since he couldnt always be around, Vahn wanted to give her a memory she would never forget no matter what... Every time Vahn thrust into her, Hephaestus felt a jolt run along her spine as the aching feeling in her w.o.m.b became increasingly stronger. She couldnt even form coherent thoughts anymore and just began chanting a phrase like it was the only thing that defined her at this moment, "Vahn...I love you...love you....love you..." Every time Vahn thrust into the back of her v.a.g.i.n.a and collided with her depths, Hephaestus would repeat the phrase like a mantra. Though she had been stuck in a climax for a while, Vahn knew it was possible to push Hephaestus to more pleasurable heights. After slowing is pace a bit and taking a few deep breaths, Vahn looked into Hephaestuss zed eyes and stated firmly, "Im going to get a bit rough...prepare yourself." In response to his words, Hephaestus just gave a vibrant smile and said, "Vahn, I love you so much." Taking her hands once again, Vahn pressed then back to the bed and whispered into Hephaestuss ear, "I love you Hephaestus..." After his words fell, Vahn began to put much greater effort into his thrusts and knocked at the entrance of Hephaestuss cervix as if he was trying to pry it open. Fortunately, Vahn had researched a bit about the matter and found out that was a needless worry. He also knew that the v.a.g.i.n.a could expand during intense arousal and stimtion and was intent on making Hephaestus fully ept him. Though he knew it would probably be somewhat ufortable for her, Vahn also knew that Hephaestus would be happy as a result. After more than two minutes of powerful thrusting, Vahn was at the absolute limit of his tolerance and Hephaestus had been loudly gasping while calling his name for arge part of the duration. Since he was worried about her suffocating, Vahn just continued to kiss Hephaestuss neck for the entire duration until he had finally reached a point of no return. Even though he had only worked around 90-95% percent of himself into her, Vahn took onest breath and tensed his body as he gave onest thrust into the interior of Hephaestuss v.a.g.i.n.a. Even though she hadnt epted it naturally, Vahn was able to press his h.i.p.s against the hard area of her pelvis and fully insert himself into her interior as he ejacted more powerfully than any previous instance. As he had also timed it with the echoes and gasps of Hephaestus, she immediately had a power, albeit somewhat painful, climax as she loudly shouted, "Vaaaaaaaaaaaahnnnnnnnnnn~!!!!" Feeling the bulging sensation in her own v.a.g.i.n.a and the incredibly hot liquid expanding her depths, Hephaestus began to take several fast breaths as the most powerful climax she had ever felt wracked her body. Though she had felt a sharp pain for a moment, it waspletely driven away by the intense heat that was spreading through her body. While his own h.i.p.s were shaking and he was holding himself over Hephaestuss body, Vahn felt a strange sensation passing through his bloodstream and was incredibly confused by what was happening. The instant he had been preparing to ejacte, the eternal me in his chest had seemingly exploded as its essence passed through his bloodstream and infused itself with his s.e.m.e.n. He could feel a powerful heat erupt from his p.e.n.i.s and it felt like the inside of Hephaestuss v.a.g.i.n.a had turned from a hot furnace into a zing smeltery. His confusionpounded even further when the eternal me seemed to calm down and even acted somewhat mncholic as the heat began to dissipate... Before he could investigate further, Hephaestus grabbed the sides of his face since he had released her hands earlier and began to kiss him. Though it was still passionate, it was far more gentle than their earlier kisses had been. Vahn decided to bring up the matter with Hephaestus in a bit, but for now, he would continue tofort her in the afterglow of their union. Even though he already considered Hephaestus to be one of most beautiful women he had ever met, Vahn felt like she was especially beautiful at this moment... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Leave it to me! -bed appears out of thin air- Arent you a little too well prepared!?,Evesting Impression,Eternal mes Peculiarity) I am currently at $749/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 245 - Vahn (2/2)

Chapter 245 - Vahn (2/2)

After Hephaestus had calmed down a bit, Vahn looked lovingly into her eyes and stated his earlier impression, "I feel like youre bing even more beautiful..." His words caused Hephaestuss smile to turn radiant and she responded, "They say a woman in love gets more beautiful every time she is with the man she loves. From now on, Ill be even more beautiful just for you~." Vahn felt his brain buzz a bit as arge smile covered his face and his whispered yfully, "I think that before the year ends, you might be the most beautiful woman in the world then..." While Hephaestus was marginally shocked, Vahn reached his hand down and grasped her b.r.e.a.s.t somewhat firmly. Her body arched a bit and Hephaestuss breathing began to increase as she asked, "Already?" Though she didnt specifically say what, Vahn knew she was asking if he was able to go again. Feeling a little mischevious, Vahn whispered, "I can literally go forever if it is with someone as beautiful as you...call it the perks of my unique body." Though she didnt know exactly what he meant, Hephaestus remembered that one of his assumed divinities was rted to fertility. The thought of an endless cycle of love-making with Vahn made her heart begin to race. However, before they continued, Vahn wanted to let Hephaestus know about his concerns and began discussing what had happened with the eternal me when he ejacted inside of her. Hearing Vahn so casually mentioning the act made Hephaestus feel a little fl.u.s.tered since, even now, Vahns s.e.m.e.n was warming up the interior of her v.a.g.i.n.a. Though she couldnt confirm it with her eyes, she even imagined some had found its way directly into her w.o.m.b and had caused the aching feeling she had been experiencing to increase by arge amount. After hearing the full exnation, Hephaestus responded with a rtive certainty to her voice, "It is the eternal mes desire to create. When you...-inaudible-...inside of me, Im almost certain it was looking for an egg to infuse the energy into. I think the me wants to help you i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e me and make the child between us more powerful." Her words caused Vahn to remember the hearts desire of the eternal me and recall the image of the fetus that had been wreathed within the me. Since the Loyalty value of the eternal me was actually immeasurable, Vahn knew that it wouldnt do anything to harm himself or Hephaestus. While his other subordinates showed values for their Loyalty, the eternal mes had always disyed the words (Absolute) instead of an actual value. Though he couldnt be sure until he actually i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed Hephaestus, Vahn believed that her words and intuition were correct. As the creator of the eternal me, Hephaestus would understand its tendencies to an extent he couldnt even begin to imagine. Now that they had agreed on the matter, Vahn asked in a low voice, "Are you ready...?" As he spoke, a resplendent golden chain appeared out of the air that made Hephaestus rapidly beating heart more than double in speed and intensity. Since they were embracing each other, Vahn could feel her body shaking and also experienced the emotions that Hephaestus was going through. Her aura had turned a deep crimson and the pink hue almost looked dangerous as wispy tendrils of her aura began to wrap around [Enkidu]. Though it was a part of him, Vahn briefly felt somewhat jealous of [Enkidu] since it was able to garner such arge reaction out of the woman he loved. Laughing a bit at himself, Vahn asked again, "Hephaestus, will you bear my child?" Instead of making it just about her, Vahn decided to ask her in a way that was inclusive of himself. Hephaestus seemed to realize it as well and crawled out of his embrace before stopped mid-movement. Vahn had thought she was going toy down again, but Hephaestus looked over her shoulder and said, "I want you to bind me like this...since you like my butt so much, I think this position could be enjoyable for both of us." Even though the majority of his anxiety had faded long ago, Vahn suddenly felt giddy after hearing Hephaestuss words and seeing her butt slightly waggling in front of his eyes. There was a slightly viscous liquid dripping from her exposed v.a.g.i.n.a that was a mixture between three different fluids. Vahn suddenly felt a powerful urge well up inside of him and positioned himself behind Hephaestus with his own expectations building. As if she found his reaction amusing, Hephaestus murmured, "You definitely like butts...well, mine is yours to do as you please from now on. After all...you even marked it..." Hearing her words, Vahn felt a pressure rise in his nose as he traced the ck crest-like makers mark he had left on Hephaestuss backside. Since it was in full view from this position, Vahn felt a sudden...possessive feeling well up inside of him. Even though he didnt n to treat her as an object, Vahn felt like Hephaestus truly did belong to him after hearing her words... Sending a mental signal to [Enkidu], the chains gingerly inched forward and began to bind Hephaestuss body from the void. Since he had to use his domain, Vahns mind was somewhat calmer but it didnt prevent the emotions he wanted to feel from remaining. His fears and inhibitions started to fade away as a confidence reced them and made all of his positive emotions more prevalent within his mind. After [Enkidu] wrapped around her arms, legs, and torso, Hephaestuss aura diminished by a massive amount and her Divinity waspletely sealed. From this point on, she was a mortal and would experiences all her urges without the influence of her Divinity at all. With the support of [Enkidu] around her torso, Hephaestus didnt even need to hold her own body up as she began to rx. Though it was a strange sensation to be wrapped in chains, for some reason they made Hephaestus feelfortable. She even started to suspect she had some deviant tendencies she wasnt aware of, but it was actually due to Vahns desire to bring herfort and not injure her that made the chains feel soft to the touch. While Hephaestus was thinking strange thoughts, Vahn knew matters werent as simple as the goddesses suspected. Since he had done quite a bit of research, Vahn knew that a girl needed an egg within their fallopian tubes if they wanted to get pregnant. Even if the goddesses suddenly became mortal, it didnt mean they would have an egg on standby waiting to be fertilized. Since waiting several days, or even weeks, while wrapped in chains would be inconvenient, Vahn hade up with a...solution of sorts. Though it had been awkward, Eva had helped him out with the problem and Vahn had confirmed that he was able to guide one of the eggs from the ovaries and ce it firmly against the lining using his [Eyes of Truth] to literally peer into the inside. Because it felt dangerous, when they had practiced the act, Vahn had asked Eva to assume her a.d.u.l.t form, even though she teased that he wouldnt be able to escape the matter when he met her real self in the future. Vahn exined the process to the somewhat confused Hephaestus who had never heard about such concepts before. Since the medical sciences and education in the Danmachi record were somewhat halted with the existence of magic and gods, it meant that there was a severeck of understanding about the matters of procreation. Though many races experienced a period cycle, there were several traditional methods and beliefs about how to increase fertility that wasnt founded in anything concrete. The only guaranteed methods rted to being an Amazon or having a Divinity rted to fertility. During the exnation, Vahn stared intently through Hephaestuss backside with an incredibly focused look on his face. Since Hephaestus had looked back and seen his expression, she remained silent and turned her head while having strange thoughts about Vahns appreciation of her backside. Of course, while she was having a small misunderstanding, Vahn was using his [Eyes of Truth] to peer into her fallopian tubes and performing one of the most delicate procedures imaginable. He managed to remove a single egg and guide it along the small tube before shepherding it against the inner walls. If he wanted to, Vahn could even guide some of the s.e.m.e.n that had already entered her w.o.m.b and guarantee she would get pregnant then and there. However, Vahn didnt want to make the process feel so artificial so, as soon as he ced the egg securely, he began to position himself behind Hephaestuss butt. He had other ways of guaranteeing she got pregnant by just checking on the status of the egg as they continued their lovemaking session after all. By the time they were done, Vahn would sure Hephaestus was pregnant no matter what. The moment Vahn began to reposition himself, Hephaestus felt an incredible excitement building in her body that was only enhanced by the inclusion of [Enkidu]. She knew that, since he was now ready to continue, that she would most likely be pregnant soon. Even though it hadnt been confirmed yet, Hephaestus felt so much happiness in her body that she shouted, "Do it, please, i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e me Vahn!" With her words as the marker, Vahn found the correct angle and pressed forward in a rtively swift, steady, motion until he waspletely within her v.a.g.i.n.a. Vahn noticed that he was actually able to maintain his angle easier from this position and could even insert himselfpletely into Hephaestus which made them both feel a bit of excitement. Grabbing her waist with his hands, Vahn began to slowly and rhythmically thrust into Hephaestus while bing enamored by the sight of the ripples spreading through her butt from his impacts. Even if he wasnt actually drawn to butts before, Vahn felt like he hadpleted a strange awakening especially since he could see his own mark on her backside close enough that he could touch it with his thumbs. There were even two slight, dimple-like, indentations on Hephaestuss backside which seemed like a perfect ce to press his thumbs into... He wasnt the only one enjoying himself as Hephaestus also felt an incredible pleasure literally hammering through her body. Every time Vahn collided with her backside, she was pressed against thefortable chains of [Enkidu] and they served as a support to keep her firmly rooted against him. She began to release loud, gasping, m.o.a.ns as she once again began to repeat her mantra. Though he hadnt noticed it yet because of his intense focus, every time Hephaestus repeated her mantra her love parameter would increase by several points. Vahn wouldter find out that it had grown to more than thirteen-thousand after their short period of time together... Vahn had gotten strangely mesmerized by everything that was happening and was slowly stimting the lower back of Hephaestus using his [Hands of Nirvana]. He could hear her calling his name and it was almost like her words were piercing his mind and the only thing he could feel was an incredible pleasure and heating from their connection. Though she wasnt incredible tight, Hephaestuss v.a.g.i.n.a hugged his p.e.n.i.s firmly and transmitted an almost insane level of heat through his body. If not for his absolute fire resistance, Vahn even spected that his p.e.n.i.s would have been cooked by the heat. Instead, he just felt an incredible, almost indescribable pleasure. He also noticed that his legs had bepletely soaked by the fluids draining from Hephaestuss several consecutive climaxes and began to wonder what kind of reaction she might have if he stimted her sensitive little button. Since Hephaestus already had such an incredible reaction, Vahn hadnt even gotten near the blood-red little bead because he was afraid she might immediately pass out. Deciding to leave the matter for ater time, Vahn began to increase the speed and intensity of his thrusts. Since he had been so focused, even though he was in a dazed state, Vahn had been rhythmically colliding against Hephaestuss butt for nearly twenty minutes and had left her in a somewhat pitiful state. Even in the millions of years of her life, Hephaestus had never expected to experience anything like the s.e.x she was having with Vahn. Not only was she likely to get pregnant, but Vahn was incredibly attentive of her and constantly pushing her pleasure to greater heights. Even though she felt like the situation was almost maddening, Hephaestus actually felt incredibly secure with Vahn and didnt mind embracing the pleasure fully since she knew he would always be there to catch her when she fell. Before he ejacted, Vahn had activated his [Eyes of Truth] and got to experience the strange sight of his own p.e.n.i.s moving through molten folds of Hephaestuss v.a.g.i.n.a. He could even see her body writhing about every time he impacted her cervix and noticed that it distended and followed his movements as if waiting for his inevitable release. More than any sight he had ever seen, Vahn felt a dangerous anticipation at watching his own actions on the inside of someone elses body. It felt like ants were crawling over his brain and he couldnt take his eyes away from the sight until he finally released everything inside of Hephaestus. When he ejacted, Vahn hugged Hephaestuss waist tightly and tried to press the tip of his p.e.n.i.s against the small hole of her cervix. Even though the interior of her v.a.g.i.n.a swelled up with his s.e.m.e.n, only a small amount actually managed to get through. Though he didnt guide it himself, Vahn slowly moved Hephaestuss h.i.p.s after the to create an easier path for the life-giving fluids, enhanced by the eternal me, to follow. When the egg had been fully submerged in his own s.e.m.e.n, Vahn pushed his [Eyes of Truth] to the limit and enhanced the magnification to the level where he would normally even be able to see molecules. He could see tiny wriggling entities swarming around the small membrane of the egg and even clearly saw one sessfully break through. Checking his system to make sure, Vahn had arge smile on his face as he loosened [Enkidu] and lowered the panting Hephaestus to the bed. Laying down next to her, Vahn turned her body to the side so they could see each others faces. She hadnt fully recovered from the climax she had experienced and had an almost nk expression in her eyes as Vahn gently stroked her damp hair. After moving away some of the stickier pieces covering her face, Vahn used [Hands of Nirvana] to help ease her mind until the water haze had returned to a clear light. In the most gentle and loving tone Vahn had ever managed, he whispered, "Congrattions Hephaestus...youre going to be a mother." Though tears began to well up in her eyes, Hephaestus actually didnt lose herposure as she began to stroke Vahns face with her own hand. She whispered through a sobbing voice, "Dont forget...youre going to be a father also...well be parents...together...I love you so much Vahn." Since he had been so focused during the act, Vahn hadpletely forgotten the fact that he was actually going to be a father. Of course, he knew he would be, but he hadnt made the mental connection yet since he had been paying attention to Hephaestus. Now that he heard her words, tears began to well up in his own eyes as a powerful sense of aplishment and jubtion began to spread through his body. His hand that had been gently stroking Hephaestuss face began to shake a little as he ced his forehead against hers and said, "I love you so much Hephaestus...thank you...thank you..." Vahn continued to utter his thanks as Hephaestus cradled his head into her chest andforted him. Though she wanted to remark that it had been Vahn that saved her from an eternity of loneliness and had given her everything she loved, Hephaestus was more focused on tending to his needs at the moment. There was so much she was thankful for, but that could be expressed at any time from here onwards. For now, just like he had been attentive of her during the act, it was now Hephaestuss turn to attend to him after the fact...this was their mutual love and the truest expression of their shared feelings. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Eternal me...of Life!,The Awakening of Vahn Mason,Mother : Father) (A/N: You might have noticed that, even though it was a two-part chapter, they both have different titles~! This was to show that Hephaestus and Vahn came together to make aplete story by the end of the chapters (O,...,O)!) I am currently at $749/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 246 - Family Planning

Chapter 246 - Family nning

After they had calmed down quite a bit, both Vahn and Hephaestus cuddled together and talked about various things. Most of their discussions leaned toward their future family and the life they now shared together. When the topic of children was brought up, Vahn held Hephaestus as if she was the most delicate and precious thing in the world. Even though he knew she would be okay, he was worried each of his actions might cause something to go wrong. He even periodically checked to make sure every time Hephaestus move around quickly. Hephaestus enjoyed his sudden change and teased him plentily for his overcaring nature. Since she would still be working well into her pregnancy, treating her delicately now was pointless...though Vahn still saw fit to do so regardless. As if she was already about to give birth, Vahn caressed her stomach lovingly as they discussed the name of their future child. No matter how much she insisted, Vahn wanted Hephaestus toe up with a name and wouldnt budge on the matter at all. After pitching various ideas and exining their meanings, Hephaestus decided to name their child Egan, if it was a boy, and Ina if it was a girl. Egan meant Little me and expressed Hephaestuss desire that he grow up to be like his father and providefort to others. Ina meant Pure, and Hephaestus wanted her to be a gentle girl that wasnt burdened by fate and would always be free from the darkness. Even though they hadnt been born, Vahn could imagine a dark-haired boy with green eyes ying hero in a meadow while a cheerful red-haired little girl in a white dress followed behind. Though it wouldnt likely be the case, Vahn pictured the two children to look like a younger version of himself and Hephaestus, except for the fact he imagined them both with his aquamarine eyes. Like Hephaestus, he shared her expectations and would do his best to help his son develop into a kind boy and, if he had a daughter, he would protect her from harm and make sure she had a secure environment to grow in without too many restraints. As he had shown up early in the day, it was barely after 12 PM by the time their discussion had slowed. However, even though they werent doing anything presently, just experiencing the warmth andfort they brought each other was enough to pass the time happily. They continued to hold each other while talking about whimsical things for several hours in a world of their own creation while the world around them moved along at its own pace. When 5 PM came around, Vahn had a peculiar feeling of unease for a brief moment and it was noticed by Hephaestus. She ced her hand on his chest, where the eternal me had been happily dancing around since earlier. With a loving smile on her face, Hephaestus asked, "You miss her already?" Grasping her hand with his, Vahn looked apologetically at Hephaestus and exined, "Its just a force of habit...I dont mean to think about others when Im with you." Hephaestusughed slightly without opening her mouth as a small smile appeared on her face. After kissing Vahn gently, she looked into his eyes and said, "Its fine, I dont mind at all. After everything youve given me, I want to give a little back to you as well. As long as you dont shun me for the sake of others, you can even bring them around or on a date with us. Ever since we first met, I had no expectations that I would be able to keep you for myself, and I know how much youve given up while trying to keep your promise to me..." Removing the nkets and revealing her n.a.k.e.d body, Hephaestus crawled onto Vahnsp before continuing, "If youre feeling lonely, Ill do my best to help ease your heart. Dont feel bad just because Im around, or youll just bottle everything up again. Talk to me, Vahn, tell me about all of your problems..." Reaching down, Hephaestus took a deep breath before gasping as she inserted Vahns p.e.n.i.s into her own v.a.g.i.n.a. Even after several hours, just the thought of uniting with Vahn would make her into a wet mess. Taking a few strained breaths, Hephaestus grabbed Vahns face and said, "They are our problems from now on...even if its other girls, Ill always do my best to help you." For the next few hours, between 5 PM to 9 PM, Vahn and Hephaestus continued to make gentle love to each other and used their breaks to talk about various matters. Vahn told her about the meeting with Take and that he intended to help the girl named Haruhime. She was supportive of his intentions and told him that, if things got difficult, she would help him regardless of the consequences. Even though she might not be able to take easy action due to the restrictions of the Alliance, a lot of that wouldnt matter by the time they got engaged. There was only a month left until the Denatus and it became public knowledge that they were a couple. Since there would be several goddesses of fertility present, she wouldnt even be able to conceal that she is pregnant either. If it truly came down to it, Hephaestus was even willing to publicly announce it after making a few preparations... Every time she spoke earnestly for his benefit, Vahn felt like the love he had for Hephaestus continued to grow. If he could see his own parameters for affection, Vahn imagined he might have even some major threshold in his feelings for this lovable goddess that would bear his child. Though he still treated her gently, Vahn decided to reward Hephaestuss affections for him plentily after the fact. Because of howte it had gotten, Vahn even stayed the night as the two continued to indulge in the love they shared well into the early morning. Since Hephaestus had actually cleared out several days of her schedule, there wasnt any work for her to do and they both ended up sleeping until nearly 1 PM. When they woke up, Hephaestus gave Vahn a passionate kiss before he pulled arge wash basin out of his inventory and the two shared a bath together. Vahn was still treating her body as a precious artifact and paid extra care to all of her needs. Hephaestus had never felt so blessed and, before they were even out of the bath, the twomitted their love yet again within the moderately cool water. By the time the bath ended, because of the output of heat from their bodies, the water had mostly evaporated away into steam. After 3 PM rolled around, Vahn and Hephaestus were finally dressed after spending more than an entire day n.a.k.e.d together. Though he hadnt kept count, Vahn felt like they had celebrated their union more than twenty times within that period, even forgoing sleep untilte in the morning of the next day. Even though she was already pregnant, a fact Vahn had confirmed more than a thousand times, he continued to ejacte inside her because shemented about how warm andforting the feeling was. Though he couldnt understand it himself, Hephaestus said something about it making her feelplete. Before leaving the workshop, Vahn and Hephaestus hugged each other for nearly twenty minutes without kissing or saying a word. They just spent the time idly enjoying each others warmth until it finally came time for them to part. Even though she had cleared her schedule, Hephaestus didnt want to monopolize Vahn, especially since he had other things going on in his life. She still had to continue forging stuff, even though she had taken time off, or there might beplications with her body. After promising to visit often, the two parted ways after one final kiss and Vahnmenting that she can call him whenever she felt lonely. To counter his remark, Hephaestus ced her hand in the approximate location of her w.o.m.b and said, "You have given me something so that I never feel lonely again..." If not for the fact they were alreadymitted to other things, Vahn would have taken Hephaestus back into her office for another round... The entire way back to the Hearth Manor, Vahn was in an incredible mood and he felt like he had somewhat been revitalized both physically and spiritually. It was a sunny day outside and Vahn felt like the colors of the world were especially vibrant and full of life. However, the happier he felt, the lesscent Vahn actually became. Though his mind was at peace and his body was incredibly rxed, Vahn kept in a somewhat alert state as he casually spread his aura over every new face and ce he passed. Since he walked around in his Bih form to escape the notice of the general public, Vahn would also briefly try to lock onto any scents that might match the charm in his inventory. Now that his life had changed in such an incredible fashion, Vahn was even more intent to save the unfortunate girl that had been unjustly separated from her home, family, and friends. If the people behind her current situation mistreated her, Vahn intended to bring them to justice to obtain some minor form of closure for the young girl. By the time he reached the Manor, Vahn hadnt picked up her scent at all, not that he expected to. The information that he had received from Take said she should be located somewhere near the red light district of Daedelus Street. Vahn had heard about it before and had been cautioned by several of the girls to avoid it whenever possible. Though he had never met one personally, Vahn had been given a few lectures about things like p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es, brothels, and ves. Vahn couldnt understand how anyone would willingly sell their bodies, but it had been exined to him that some people didnt have a choice if they wanted to improve their lives. Though Vahn didnt agree with it, he didnt think he had any right to meddle in the decisions that others had made. Of course, if he came across people like Haruhime that had been forced into very against their will, Vahn wouldnt stand idly by. Since he knew that Haruhime should only be fourteen right now and had been missing since she was eleven, Vahn hoped that her presence in the red light district wasnt any indication of her treatment. If it was...even Vahn didnt know what he might do as an expression of his rage. Though he wouldnt torment them, Vahn would either kill those responsible or turn them over to the authorities to make sure they are brought to justice. With the support of goddesses like Loki and Hephaestus, Vahn knew they wouldnt have an easy life after their capture. When he stepped into the foyer, Hestia was there with Fenrir wearing her standard ck and white maid clothing. Since she looked adorable in that attire, Fenrir was often treated well and spoiled by everyone around her so she had grown attached to the clothes. Walking forward, Vahn pet Fenrirs head while addressing Hestia, "Sorry for beingte, but I do have some good news..." Since Hestia had known why he would bete, she wasnt too upset with Vahn for only arriving in the afternoon of the second day. She was just happy to see him back and also felt happy that her best friend had received his affections for such a long period of time. As she knew Vahn could see her aura now, Hestia was aware that he had likely seen through her cheerful expression though since he gave her an apologetic look even though he was obviously very happy. Even though she was trying to be understanding, Hestia was still somewhat jealous of Hephaestus and had been anxious that Vahn might not return for the entire five days. Hearing that Vahn had good news, Hestia tilted her head to the side without losing her cheerful smile and asked, "Good news~? You didnte to brag did you!?" Since Vahn had indeed seen through her, he wasnt dissuaded by Hestia mock excitement as he leaned forward and whispered, even though there was nobody to keep the secret from, "Hephaestus is pregnant..." Hestia had expected Vahn to try and tease her, or that he might say something to coax her a bit, but she had never expected him to im that Hephaestus was actually pregnant. Though she knew it was supposed to be possible with his [Enkidu], everything had been spective up until this moment. Even though she was still somewhat jealous, Hestia couldnt help but feel excitement bubbling up in her stomach as she also responded in an excited whisper, "Is it really true!? How did you find out so fast, shouldnt it take a few weeks or something?" In response to her question, Vahn used his [Eyes of Truth] and his aquamarine eyes began to glow a vibrant azure-blue from the center of his irises. He, still whispering, said in a confident voice, "I confirmed it personally, there is no doubt that she is pregnant." Hestia was now in high tensions because she already had a lot of trust in Vahn and knew how honest he was. If he was insisting that Hephaestus was pregnant, his glowing eyes were likely intended to be the proof of his im. Though she wasnt too sure, Hestia thought it had something to do with his Divinity rted to fertility, as goddesses of fertility would often know if someone was pregnant almost immediately. This somewhat confirmed the previous spections and Hestia was giddy all of a sudden because she had trouble processing the implications for what the future might hold. She knew that Vahn would likely have several children, and many of them would be demigods. Hestia imagined a Manor full of children running about excitedly and ying tag and fetch with Fenrir out in the courtyards. She even, for a somewhat brief moment, saw an even chibi-er version of herself running around in a small white dress simr in design to her own... Vahn saw the change in Hestias aura and the glimmer of light that passed through her eyes for a brief moment. Her affection, which usually hovered between 93-95, immediately shot up to 99 as her aura began to burn like a small me. Before she could say something silly, Vahn ced his hand on her head and said, "When youre ready, Ill be more than willing Hestia. For now, dont push yourself and support Hephaestus when you can. She is your best friend, after all, you should spend more time together when Im in the dungeon or on missions." Hestia looked up at Vahn with sad eyes and saw that he was inclining his head toward Fenrir who had been attentively listening to their conversation. She was at a highly impressional phase of her mental development and absorbed things like a sponge. If they suddenly started talking about s.e.x and making babies, Fenrir would likely want to know more and even try to get involved. Since they currently shared a bed together, there would be no easy way for Hestia to spend time with Vahn unless there were others over to tend to Fenrir. Though she had been in high tensions and wanted to ask Vahn to make a baby with her as well, Hestia suddenly had enough time to reflect on what she was going to say as she began stroking Fenrirs head as well. As Vahn implied, she really wasnt ready to take that step and had no experience with the emotional investment of a rtionship between men and women. She was already quite jealous of other girls and knew it would probably get worse if they actually became a couple. If she did try to push herself and get Vahn to ept her, he would likely consent but it would cause problems in the dynamics between the rest of the group. Hestia was even somewhat confident that she could get Vahn to show her more affection than the other girls, but also knew it wouldnt be fair to anyone if that were the case. Releasing a short sigh, Hestias expression turned into a small smile as her aura began to stabilize. She looked up at Vahn and said, "Ill talk to Hephaestus more...I will prepare my heart, so make sure you save a ce for me in yours." Vahn bent down and kissed Hestia on the lips for a little while before saying, "Youve had a ce in my heart for a long time Hestia, I just dont want you to put so much pressure on yourself. Well be together for the rest of our lives so you dont have to hurry things along just because youre worried. Just as you promised to always be here for me, Ill never leave you behind..." Hestias small smile turned into a genuinely cheerful one as she stroked her bottom lip with her fingers. Even now, there was a bit of moisture and the ambient heat they had shared between each other. Before she could ask for another kiss, Vahn had already chosen his second target as he ced his lips on Fenrirs exposed forehead since he had seen the angsty expression in her eyes. She knew better than to talk when others were speaking and was waiting for a lull in the conversation so she could ask questions. Now that Vahn had given her the kiss she wanted, Fenrir gave a throatyugh that sounded a little unnatural as she ced her paws over her forehead. Looking up at Vahn, Fenrirs eyes glowed a bit and she said, "Fenrir too, always together!" Not only Vahn, but Hestiaughed at her outburst as the three made their way towards the dining room to enjoy a nice dinner. Though she didnt verbalize it, Hestia wanted to remark about how they already had a child between them in the form of the ravenous little wolf girl. They both took care of Fenrir and spoiled her while helping educate her; They even took baths together and slept in the same bed, just like a real father and mother might have done with their young child. With a smile on her face, Hestia squinted her eyes and felt like she already had a family...now she just needed to increase its size a bit. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Peerless,Unwilling Separation,Loki feels a disturbance in the force) I am currently at $749/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 247 - Fenrirs Frustrations

Chapter 247 - Fenrir''s Frustrations

For the remainder of the day, things had turned to rtive normalcy other than the fact that Hestia had suddenly be more open to kissing. Ever since their first passionate kiss in the bath several weeks ago, she had been rtively reserved and only gave Vahn smalls pecks in the morning. Now, whenever Fenrir was busy with things, she had turned more affectionate and had a cheerful expression on her face as she enjoyed Vahns care. Since he knew she was feeling somewhat down, Vahn decided to spoil her a bit more than usual all the way up until it was time for bed. They always slept together as a trio whenever there wasnt someone else visiting, so Vahn didnt think it as abnormal until Hestia changed out of her normal white dress and wore a rtively short nightgown instead. She yed it off by having Fenrir wear an almost identical one except that it had a split in the back for her tail. Fenrir had gotten used to sleeping with others and no longer slept on her stomach and instead cradled her paws between her knees as she used Vahns arm as a pillow. Hestia herself already treated Vahn like the mostfortable bed in the world, so Vahn enjoyed the warmth of the two girls. One of the big differences was the position that Hesta decided to take, as she rested her face next to his head while riding her b.r.e.a.s.ts further up his chest than normal. Every now and then, Vahns rest would be disturbed when he would feel her kiss the side of his face before pretending to go back to sleep. After the first few times, Vahn determined that she was doing it intentionally so he held her waist and hugged her body closer to his. For a few minutes after that, Hestia silently kissed his face and neck without doing anything further. The entire time she was up to her antics, Vahn felt a little ticklish in his heart as he used [Hands of Nirvana] to gently radiate warmth to her body until Hestia eventually fell asleep. Turning his head, Vahn gave the awake Fenrir a kiss on the forehead before they all went back to sleep. Vahn knew Hestia was trying to slowly open up and decrease the distance between them slowly but surely. Since he didnt mind her affections and thought very highly of her, Vahn made no attempts to stop her unless she pushed herself too hard or acting strangely around Fenrir. In the morning, Vahn awoke to find Hestias crystalline blue eyes staring at his face and she gave him a quick kiss before whispering, "Good morning, Ill go make breakfast before the two of you head out, okay~?" Without waiting for his response, Hestia reached over and stroked Fenrirs hair for a bit and then crawled out of bed. Because the nightgown she wore was short, Vahn stared at her wriggling butt until she threw her legs off of the bed and walked to the door without wearing her normal dress. As if trying to emte Hestia, Fenrir trying to c.o.c.k her head and kiss Vahn on the lips but he managed to intercept her face with his palm as heughed, "You know better than that Fenrir, you have to work hard on your education, okay?" Though she gnashed her teeth for a bit, Fenrir eventually calmed down before muttering, "Fenrir want to kill lots today..." Vahn kissed her on the forehead and they both crawled out of bed. Since Hestia had already left, Vahn had to help Fenrir change for the first time in a while. Vahn noticed that, like her ageless status implied, Fenrirs body hadnt changed in the slightest over thest month. Even her hair, whenever it got damaged, regenerated back to the correct length after a period of time. Because she had been seeking affection more and more, Vahn was worried about her future, especially considering her nature and Innate skills. When they went down to the dining room, Hestia had been bundling together arge bento box for them to take to the dungeon. She had even included the portion for Ryuu which made Vahn smile and utter his thanks before they all shared short hugs and parted at the front door. Since it had been growing much colder as ofte, Vahn had given Fenrir a cloak that was lined with fur on the inside even though she said she didnt feel cold. Whenever he saw her sensitive little paw-like feet walking on the ice-cold cobblestone, Vahn couldnt help but feel it was a little strange. He had tried to craft a pair of shoes for her, but Fenrir absolute refused to wear them even when he tried to coax her. After they met up with Ryuu, Vahn noticed she was wearing her normal attire that exposed her long legs and thought it was strange. Though he wasnt cold, due to the existence of the eternal me, Vahn didnt know how girls could expose their legs so easily to the elements. As if to answer his question, Ryuu showed a small smile as she exined, "I use mana to help keep my body warm and my cloak is lined with a material that retains heat well. Ill be fine unless we stay outside for too long." Even though he believed her words, Vahn still gave her one of the cloaks he had purchased in the past. He now carried a variety of mens and womens clothing of various sizes in his inventory just in case he might need them in the future. Though it might sound strange to consider, Vahn had actually been in several situations where an extra change of clothes was beneficial. Since he couldnt always use the gift function, Vahn had stocked part of his inventory for events like this where they could be useful. Ryuu happily wore the cloak and remained silent as they started walking toward the dungeon. Because of their interaction, Vahn knew that Ryuu usually went silent when she was happy so he just followed along with a small smile on his face. Fenrir also seemed to suddenly be happier to be wearing her own cloak as a peculiar looking expression showed on her face that usually meant she was happy. Though several people had tried to help her smile more naturally, Fenrir always had an awkward look whenever she tried to emte the action. Other than anger or frustration, she struggled to show any other expressions and this made several of the girls want to pamper her even more. Since Fenrir wanted to kill lots, Vahn had taken her down to the 7th floor and walked the distance toward the pantry where a lot of monsters would spawn. Fenrir had gotten to the point where she could dy her own hunger and used keywords to helps people understand. Vahn knew that she was very frustrated when she wanted to kill a lot of enemies, so the Pantry was the best ce to relieve stress. When they arrived, there was a huge quartz pir that had several monsters breaking off parts and ingesting them to grow stronger. This wasnt the first time they had visited and Fenrir had even managed to eat arge portion of the pantry before Ryuu advised they stop. Since Vahn had already fought a juggernaut before, he knew what she was worried about and cautioned Fenrir to only chomp on monsters from then onwards. Though her stats hadnt increased much, Fenrirsbat potential had increased exponentially over thest month. Not only did she have the support of the record, but Fenrir had incredible senses and high adaptability. Just like when she was learning to read and write, Fenrir put an incredible amount of effort into trying to improve. She had also developed the habit that, whenever she killed a difficult enemy, Fenrir would either bring the corpse or magic core to Vahn. Though he felt somewhat awkward about it, Vahn praised her plentily for her actions and encourage her to continue improving. Because of this positive reinforcement about killing, Chloe had actually taken a mentorship role whenever she was around Fenrir and often lectured her about what was okay to kill. Though she had never killed a humanoid yet, a lot of people were worried about Fenrir casually killing people and feeling no remorse about it. Since she was fundamentally a monster, their concerns werent misced either since Fenrir had once tried to devour a drunken man that thought he could get away with touching her tail at the Hostess of Fertility. As she had been lectured about caring for her body and acting like a girl, Fenrir had legitimately wanted to kill the man for his offense. Fortunately, there was Vahn nearby to prevent her from losing control as he turned her over to Mn forfort. The man tried tough it off but ended up being seriously beaten by Mama Mia and barred from entering the pub ever again. After that event, Vahn had to take Fenrir into the dungeonte in the evening and let her kill things until the morning of the next day. Vahn was worried that she would develop a phobia against men, especially considering that many of the girls around him had simr traumas. Though he hadnt had any luck yet, as Welf turned him down immediately after his offer, Vahn wanted to recruit some men, or at the very least young boys to join the Familia. When he had asked Welfs reason, he was told, "I dont think there would be many guys that would want to join a Familia where most of the girls were together with one guy. It might be okay if there were other couples in the Familia, but since you are the only guy right now it would be super awkward man." Shaking his head from the reverie, Vahn watched Fenrir ughtering monsters endlessly with a feral expression on her face as her eyes grew progressively brighter. Since she was fighting a bunch of enemies, Fenrir had activated her [Lunar Cry] and there was a blood-red emblem of the moon on her forehead. Vahn could tell she was approaching her limit and would likely go berserk soon so he decided to step in and pacify her for a bit until she calmed down. Sensing his approach, Fenrir shouted, "No, Fenrir kill more!" Before Vahn could catch her, Fenrir jumped at the nearest monster and shredded it apart with her ws. Vahn frowned and watched the blood-covered Fenrir madly butchering her enemies and knew that he had reacted toote. Even though her loyalty was incredibly high now, an astounding 6132, she had dropped by more than 100 the moment he tried to stop her. Unable to stop her with the normal method, Vahn released the stealth aspect of his domain and pressured the monsters in the room. Imbuing [Heart of the Eternal me] into the domain, Vahn converged fire elements into the bodies of every monster in the room and they slowly began burning to ashes after a few seconds had passed. Since they were only level 1 monsters, they had absolutely no way to resist his room-wide AoE attack at all. Seeing that there were no enemies left to kill, Fenrir began mming her paws against the floor and roaring in a feral tone. Vahn watched her actions with concern and wasnt sure how to help her recover her sanity as he gave Ryuu an apprehensive look. Seeing his look, Ryuu shook her head because she also didnt have a solution to the current situation. When Fenrir lost control, it wouldnt matter how many monsters she fought as it would only get progressively worse the more excited she got. Though they were able to address it in the past, Ryuu had never seen Fenrir act anything like how she was in the present moment. Vahn took a deep breath and walked over before kneeling down next to Fenrir who seemed intent on destroying the floor if the long scars were any indicator. Equipping his [Xunw Protector]s, Vahn aimed his fist at the ground before releasing a powerful strike that sent spider-web cracks through the floor, even reaching the area where Fenrir was wing. She startled at the loud sound and immense force of Vahns strike as she looked toward him with scarlet-eyes that glowed like a me. With a smile on his face, Vahnughed a bit and said, "Did the floor make you angry?" Even though he used the shockwave control of the gauntlets, Vahn didnt protect his hand at all and it began dripping blood onto the ground. Before Fenrir responded, Vahn began to gather energy into his fist and prepared to strike down again before Fenrir shouted, "No, Fenrir not hate floor! Vahn, stop!" The blood-red moon on Fenrirs forehead broke into small particles as she worriedly moved toward Vahn and pushed his hand away with her paws. Vahn sat down on the ground and showed himself using [Hands of Nirvana] to heal his hand as he smiled at Fenrir and asked, "Can you tell me why youre upset then?" Fenrir had a frustrated expression on her face and was grinding her teeth as she began scratching at the ground with one of her ws. Vahn thought she was just releasing her frustrations on the ground again until he noticed that she was actually writing letters. Though her handwriting was terrible, it was still legible and Vahn read what she had written. Fenrir not like when Vahn leave for long time After reading the words, Vahn squinted his eyes a bit and thought about what she wrote. Ever since her transformation, she and Vahn had never been apart for very long. The longest period had been when he stayed with Hephaestus, but Vahn didnt understand why she was so upset even though it wasnt that long. However, when he had this thought, Vahn suddenly remembered the twelve years Fenrir had spent inside the orb with Eva. Since she wasnt to the point where she could rationalize things well yet, Fenrir must have thought that he was going to be gone for a long time again. Since she had learned to notin or act out as much, she must have been bottling it up until things reached a critical level. Looking over, Vahn saw Fenrir was a frustrated expression that suddenly seemed to look sad in Vahns eyes. He released a sigh as he pulled out arge wash basin and said gently, "Fenrir, well always be together, okay? Even if I might be away for a little while, you know that I will alwayse back, I wont abandon you anymore and leave you alone." Looking over toward Ryuu, Vahn continued, "It isnt just me either, there are a lot of people that will help take care of you. You should know that everyone thinks youre very adorable and wants to spoil you, right?" Though her frown grew deeper, Vahn understood that Fenrir wasnt nearly as sad anymore. She also looked at Ryuu who, when she was looked at, nodded her head with a smile. The awkward expression that equated to a smile for Fenrir reappeared on her face as she jumped into the basin Vahn had set out earlier. Treading water for a bit, since she could fully submerge in it, Fenrir said, "Vahn is the best to Fenrir~! Always together, forever and ever!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hestias teenie-tiny baby-steps,Ryuus quiet smile,Fenrir no like be alone!) I am currently at $749/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 248 - Troubles from the Outset

Chapter 248 - Troubles from the Outset

While Fenrir yfully sshed water, Vahn and Ryuu were helping to clean her body while Vahn kept his domain extended to the limits. Even though they were in the pantry and it wasnt the most ideal ce for a bath, Vahn knew that Fenrir had be fond of them and they were a good way to help her calm down. She liked being personally attended to, especially if he was the one doing the pampering. However, he never dropped his guard for a moment and even used [Heart of the Eternal] me to turn a few approaching monsters to ashes without even looking in their direction. He could even loot their drops without stopping his hands at all. After she was properly clean, Vahn helped Fenrir wear her adorable maid outfit as he and Ryuu protected her on their way to the surface. The entire trip up, Fenrir dangled her arms and patted her sides as she tilted her head from side-to-side. Both Vahn and Ryuu knew this was what she did when she was especially happy, so they both pet her hair a bit before they got to the surface proper. They drew the attention of a few people when they exited, but the triopletely ignored them, at least on the surface. Vahn tagged anyone that seemed dangerous and sent his intent toward them which caused shivers to run up their spines before they turned away. Vahn ate lunch at the Hostess of Fertility and discussed the matters regarding Haruhime with Ryuu and Chloe. Hearing that he would be going to the red light district, both girls outright refused to let Fenrir apany him. Since he knew what kind of ce it was, Vahn shouldnt have even considered taking her along, to begin with, and med himself for his oversight as he thanked the two girls. With how impressionable Fenrir was, it would quickly turn into a big problem if she saw anything strange. Since Vahn would proactively be tracking down people that engaged in ve trafficking, there was no way to take her into that kind of situation. Though he would try and prevent it from happening, there was a very real chance some deviant might mistake her exotic appearance and make a pass at her like that idiot in the pub previously. Since both Ryuu and Chloe had experience tracking and dealing with the darker side of society, they offered to help Vahn gather information andplete his mission. Though Vahn considered their offers, he told them that he would only rely on them if things got dangerous. Since they were both aware of his domain, perception, and stealth abilities, they knew he would be able to detect a threat long before it became aware of his presence. Having Vahn promise to be careful, Mn and Tina escorted Fenrir back while being apanied by Ryuu and Fafnir who was constantly within Tinas shadow. After parting ways, Vahn now sat on the roof of a tall building as he released a slight sigh. He chalked this current situation up to the influence of karma since he had lost his best asset to track down Haruhime before he even set out. Though Ryuu and Chloe were great choices to receive assistance from, Vahn didnt want to expose Chloe to more danger right now since people might connect her to Lavernas death if they work together often. As for Ryuu, Vahn simply didnt want to expose her to the darkness at all. Ever since she wiped out several gangs and some of the members of an evil Familia in the past, Ryuu had been retired and working as a waitress. If he could prevent her from being exposed to that kind of life, Vahn wanted to do so. Since his senses were also quite strong, Vahn would have to track down Haruhime on his own and decide how he would proceed from there. If she wasnt in any immediate danger, Vahn could always retreat and gather reinforcements and pressure her captors through legal channels. Though he couldnt act openly with the Alliance, Vahn could still spread information through thework which would stir Loki and Hephaestus to action. Though he was concerned about Hephaestus getting wrapped up in things, considering her condition, Vahn knew just mobilizing her Familia didnt take any effort on her part. After a few minutes of organizing his thoughts, Vahn changed into casual wear that would prevent him from standing out, at least in a way that might blow his cover. If he walked into the red light district fully geared, he would draw the attention of several of the gangs and potentially cause more problems than he wanted to deal with. If he wore casual wear, he might draw the attention of people, but it would be as a potential client. Vahn had already steeled himself to resist any advances and would be using [Will of the Emperor] to maintain his focus. He knew how much of an interest he had in women, and Vahn was also aware that he might get caught up in their momentum if he let them get carried away. Since there were many girls in the area that knew how to appeal to men, even to the point where they took advantage of the kindness of some, Vahn had already made several preparations to prevent himself from being a victim. Fortunately, he was immune to any chemical based aphrodisiacs and could resist charm magic using his [Will of the Emperor]. Unless something unexpected happened, like himing across a girl in distress, Vahn would keep his attention focused on his current quest. Of course, that was the n until Vahn actually stepped into the red light district and immediately be the focus of attention for several women, Even with his stealth domain active, he was easily detected by the perceptive women that saw his handsome appearance, well-maintained clothes, and confident gait and identified him as an optimal target. Since many of them had been in the business for a while, they easily recognized the young boy as a first time visitor of the district. Though Vahn had some experience with being approached by women and politely declining their invitations, there was nothing that had prepared him for the forward, and somewhat dismissive, actions of the girls trying to solicit him. Even though he politely refused, there were several women that would try to hug his arm between their b.r.e.a.s.ts and give him amorous expressions as they tried to guide him toward their brothel. There was even one incredibly bold Amazon that tried to corner Vahn in an alley and immediately removed the small sp from her revealing bottoms before giving Vahn what he could only exin as a challenging look. Though he was temporarily drawn to the exposed genitalia of the rather beautiful girl, Vahn closed his eyes and bowed politely before he disappeared with the use of Shundo. The Amazon woman had a listful expression on her face as she looked toward the sky for several seconds before sighing, "Why are the good ones so hard to get..." After his retreat, Vahn stood atop arge brothel that had a t roof. Because of his enhanced senses and domain, Vahn was able to detect the various antics of the people within and was somewhat disoriented by the sensory overload. There were too many sights, smells, and sounds within the busy red light district for him to easily pick up any singr scent. The only way he could go about things was to walk around in the hopes of finding the trail using purely his luck. Even if he wanted to try and obtain information, Vahn was painfully aware that it would be incredibly difficult to pry anything out of the people within this district. All of the girls seemed intent on soliciting him for s.e.x while all of the men were naturally cautious against him and proactively avoided any petition. Vahn was in awe of everything that was going on around him and began to understand why everyone had been cautioning him about ever visiting this ce. He had heard from Hephaestus previously that more than 40% of the revenue that ran through the City was done so through the red light district. Vahn hadnt understood it at first, but now that he saw it personally he quickly began to understand how so much money cycled through this district. Though he also enjoyed s.e.x, Vahn had never considered paying for it and was shocked to see several tens of thousands of people acting outside his expectations. The most problematic thing was that there were various beauties that Vahn was actually interested in. If he didnt have a host of women had cared about at his back, Vahn felt like he would likely have spent a lot of his own money here at some point. There were various women, and even girls, that had various shapes, sizes, and races that drew his eye. Since many women exposed themselves openly and encouraged people to look, Vahn was hard pressed to avert his eyes even with the influence of [Will of the Emperor]. It wasnt that he had lost himself to l.u.s.t, Vahn was just genuinely curious and wondered what their bodies would look like beneath the revealing clothing. As he was looking down from above, Vahn saw something he had been wanting to see for a while but wasnt remotely prepared to see given the circ.u.mstance. He saw a rtively fat man through a window and he was being tended to by what looked like a child with a big belly. Of course, Vahn instantly understood that it was a Pallum woman since she had a rtively mature body even though she was petite. The thing that shook him to the core was the fact that she looked to be well into a pregnancy and was being mistreated by the man that was likely her customer. Vahn was tempted to charge in and save the girl, but he was able to detect her shouts of pleasure and had to escape from the roof before he heard anything else. Though it was possible she was just faking to earn more money, Vahn could see the burning auraing from her body and knew she was enjoying herself. After retreating outside of the red light district, Vahn sat with his back to a pir and used [Will of the Emperor] to calm his mind. Since he wasnt angry or losing control, the cold sensation in his mind didnt have much influence on his thoughts presently. Vahn even noticed that he was shaking a bit and realized that he hadnt actually prepared himself well enough for this mission at all. However, it was the thought of the girl named Haruhime being exposed to that kind of life that made Vahn willing to press on. He knew that, even if she wasnt already being exploited, there would be no end to the people lining up for someone so exotic. Since Renards werent native to Eden, she would be highly sought after by some of the more deviant men regardless of her age. That thought alone made the cold sensation in Vahns mind increase in intensity. Even though he understood the draw of s.e.x, Vahn couldnt understand how there were so many people that propagated such acts as if they were a business to generate money at the expense of others. There was obviously something very wrong with the way the red light district was run as Vahn could sense a veritable ocean of negative emotions alongside the shouts of pleasure and vileughter. Pushing himself onwards, Vahn continued to investigate around the district for the rest of the day until the sun started going down. Ironically, the darker the night got, the more active the streets became as they were lit up with vibrant lights. Vahn even saw several adventurers, both young and old, walking through the streets with pleased expressions as if they were celebrating some grand triumph before walking into a brothel. Though he didnt often judge people based on appearance, there were even some rather disgusting men that had foul smellsing from their bodies that were easily epted into some of the less vibrant facilities. Because he had an extensive understanding of the bodies of others, Vahn could tell the man was unhealthy and likely had some kind of disease yet he was epted just the same as any other customer. Just imagining sharing the same woman with such a person sent a chill down Vahns spine and he actually grimaced at his own reaction. It wasnt his ce to judge others, and it was the right of the women at the brothel to ept whoever they wanted, but Vahn still felt like it was wrong to see a girl that looked to be in herte teens escort a fat middle-aged man into their brothel with a smile on her face. By the time he left the red light district, Vahn had a bad taste in his mouth and couldnt get the negative emotions he had experienced out of his body. There were simply too many instances of Vahn seeing something that shouldnt exist in civil society. During his investigation, he had even saved three separate girls that were being ganged up on by several men in an alley. The worst part of it all was, in one of the instances, the girl he had saved actually tried to solicit him for s.e.x with the excuse of chasing away the bad memories. If he couldnt see her poisonous pink aura, Vahn might have fallen for her pitiful expression and be a victim to a person he had just saved. After leaving her a small pouch of Valis, Vahn disappeared from the area while leaving the parting words, "I dont know what led you to this kind of life, but I hope youll find happiness in the future...Avoid dark alleyways from now on." When Vahn returned to the Heath Manor and saw Hestia, Fenrir, Mn, and Tina, he suddenly felt both guilty and happy. He felt guilty because he was able to live such a happy life surrounded by amazing people while there were others who could only move forward by exposing themselves to such a tragic lifestyle. Imagining any one of the girls around him in that situation made Vahn shake in anxiety. Vahn couldnt believe that any person would be happy to have strangers as their partner every day just to make a living...it seemed like an iprehensibly unfortunate way to get by. All four girls had noticed the unstable state of Vahn and immediately turned more gentle as even Fenrir pulled out her brush yet again and walked forward saying, "Vahn, no be sad, be happy. Come, Fenrir brush Vahns hair." For the rest of the evening, Vahn was tended to by Hestia and Mn while he sat together with Fenrir and Tina as he read them happy stories about heroes oveing various trials. Feeling their warmth and reading such inspiring tales slowly pushed away the negative feelings he was bottling up inside. Though he had often thought this in the past, Vahn was truly happy to be living his current lifestyle where he was always surrounded by people that cared about him whenever he had trouble. He wanted to share this feeling with more people and swore to find the girl named Haruhime so she could be reunited with people that cared about her. Though he had never met the girl, imagining her scared and alone while being exploited by others broke Vahns heart... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Into the Red Light District,Society Isnt Always Pretty,Vahn was not prepared for today) I am currently at $749/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 249 - Problems : Approach

Chapter 249 - Problems : Approach

The next morning, Vahn awoke cradled between Hestia and Fenrir. Tinay next to Fenrir while Mn was on the opposite side as the five had slept in a bundled line of bodies. Vahn felt veryfortable andzed about for a few minutes as he absentmindedly hugged Hestias waist. Because of the issues of the previous day, Vahn didnt get to spoil her as he had wanted. Instead, it was Hestia leading the charge to help tend to Vahn for the majority of the evening. Remembering her promise to always be here when he was down, Vahn felt aforting feelinging from her gentle warmth. Since it was a weekend, there were no ns to go into the dungeon today and Vahn had also cleared his schedule for the time being. Everyone enjoyed breakfast together before Vahn set out on his own into the early morning mist. Because it was cold this time of year there was a mist that covered much of the City early in the mornings and made stealth easier. Vahn had left a note for Hestia to pass off some information through thework before giving each of the girls a variation of a hug and a kiss right before he set out. While he was rxing the previous night, Vahn had thought about several forms of approach he could take that might prove useful to his cause. Since he had the [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could just sneak around from building to building inspecting the inside and looking for any girl that matched Haruhimes description. Though he would be invading the privacy of others, Vahn thought it could be a viable approach to take if he wanted to avoid walking the streets and trying to pick up a scent trail. Another option he had was to try and get information through brokers while changing his appearance a bit as he checked the information through otherworks. Since he had [Thria*Mimos], Vahn could change his ears to match almost any of themon races while also growing a tail to match. Since it also affected his hair color, Vahn could use the magic to disguise himself to an extent. The major downside to this, as Chloe had exined, as that any information that was requested through a broker was usually spread around to others in the trade. They liked to keep track of who was asking questions and why in order to increase their profit margins. Even if Vahn took on multiple identities, it would raise a lot of red gs if there were people asking for the same information all of a sudden. In the worst case scenario, he might even draw more attention to Haruhime and she would either be moved or concealed further from sight. One of thest options Vahn could think of, other than the method he would have to employ if things went south, was to actually gather information slowly through normal means. He could visit high-ss brothels as a customer and potentially get information from the various gods and goddesses that ran them. If he passed off his desire to meet a Renard girl as a natural curiosity, Vahn might be able to gather information about Haruhime without drawing attention to himself at all. The caveat is that he would actually have to act as an active clientele for whichever establishment he decided to visit. For various reasons, though this could potentially be the fastest method, Vahn was the most apprehensive about it. The final method included visiting various pubs, bars, or gambling dens and trying to pick up information from drunkards, but Vahn knew it would cause problems if someone as young as him was asking questions and seemingly not getting drunk. There was also the chance that Vahn could get wrapped up in arger scheme due to the fact that most gambling dens and casinos were run by gangs and mobs behind the scenes. If he had no interest in gambling or business, Vahn would attract a lot of attention from the various criminal organizations that ran the facilities. After arriving in the red light district, Vahn sat atop a six-story house and surveyed the surroundings as he contemted the best course of action. As he expected, the business was almost non-existent in the early mornings except for some customerszily leaving the various brothels with tired expressions on their faces. Vahn learned that the majority of the establishments werent too active until the afternoon andte evenings. If he wanted to employ the method of searching buildings, the best time to do so would be in the early mornings where it wasnt easy for workers to solicit customers while the night chill remained in the air. For the next few hours, Vahn inspected several buildings after using his domain to detect presences and then check the interiors with his [Eyes of Truth]. It was a mentally taxing job to prate so far through some of the deeper buildings, but Vahn still felt like this was the safest approach. Fortunately, even the buildings that had barriers for surveince, counter-surveince, soundproofing, detection, and security, Vahn could see through them all the same. It was difficult, if not impossible, for normal methods to counteract his use of his Innate abilities. Each time he cleared a building, Vahn would update it with a tag on his map before moving on to the next one and repeating the process. Unfortunately, by the time business started picking up in the afternoon, Vahn had failed to find any traces of Haruhime and he didnt have the mental energy to peer through buildings and inspect so many people. [Eyes of Truth] required a great deal of focus and it was admittedly difficult to focus on things if Vahn peeked into a room where there was some intense action going on. In one instance, Vahn had looked into the bas.e.m.e.nt levels of a building where the aura of a god was located. When he inspected the scene, Vahn saw the god tied up to a cross-shaped tform while he was being teased by a somewhat motherly looking woman wearing a ck, leather, outfit. After that, Vahn decided it might be better to try a different approach and headed through the backstreets toward one of the information brokers he had marked on his map. Vahn noticed there was a decent amount of traffic going in and out of the building in thest two days, so he assumed it was either reliable or part of argerwork. Removing his Bih transformation, Vahn used [Thria*Mimos] to change into a Roon person which also caused his dark-brown hair to take on a hazelnut brown color as he grew small circr ears and a short bushy tail. After changing his outfit and wearing a t cap on his head, Vahn walked into the information brokerage with what he assumed was a stoic expression on his face. He knew from several sources that his face could be read easily, so Vahn was localizing his aura while using [Will of the Emperor] to forcibly calm his mind. Stepping into the unmarked building, Vahn was immediately noticed by a young receptionist woman that was wearing a blue maid outfit and had a cor around her neck. She had purple hair andvender eyes and Vahn could tell that, though her expression was calm and professional, her aura was dreary and stagnant. Walking forward, the receptionist asked, "Wee Sir, do you have a referral, or would you like to be interviewed by one of our esteemed brokers?" Vahn noticed the girls aura fluctuate when she mentioned the brokers and couldnt help but squint his eyes slightly. He very quickly realized what kind of institution this was and wasnt sure if he should be happy or sad at the influence of karma. Though this was definitely an information brokerage, it also seemed to actively be involved in ve trafficking. Even though they had just met, Vahn could identify the girl in front of him, who only appeared to be around 17-18, as a ve that was forced to work against her will. Even though his expression didnt change much at all, since she was trained to read peoples expressions and bodynguage, the girl quickly realized that Vahn wasnt part of their intended clientele. He seemed to have identally wandered in before realizing what kind of ce this was and even acted as if he took pity on her. A bit of mncholy colored her eyes for a brief moment before the girl whispered, "You shouldnt be here, this isnt a ce for kind people..." As if machinated by fate, the moment the girl spoke a tall, somewhat sharp looking, man with blonde hair and golden eyes walked out of the door in the back apanied by a regal-looking old man and a blue-haired girl with tired eyes and a forced smile on her face. Though it was almost unnoticeable, Vahn could see a small tattoo on her wrist that matched the emblem on the old mans suit. No matter how he looked at it, the girl had likely just be a ve for the gentlemanly looking man. Shaking hands with the client and sending him off with his purchase, the blonde-haired man had a perfect business smile on his face as he approached Vahn and the receptionist. He asked in a calm tone, "Tiffany, have you properly attended this young man?" Hearing her name called, the girl named Tiffany bowed low and exined, "This esteemed guest did not have a referral and I was asking if he wanted to speak to your honored self. Please forgive my failure to inform you expediently Master Shauntac." The man, apparently named Shauntac, had a cruel smile on his face as he waved the girl away while saying, "Youll be dealt withter. Return to your post from now and contemte your mistake." After bowing, Tiffany walked over to the small desk she stood at and Vahn could see her aura turn chaotic with a deep purple color to it. Because she had tried to warn him, now Tiffany would be receiving some form of punishmentter? The cold sensation in Vahns mind began to spread slowly through the rest of his body as the business-like smile returned to Shauntacs face. Reaching out his hand, Shauntac said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, my young friend. I trust youe here with the intent to purchase information...or perhaps youd like to discuss more private matters? Regardless, my name is Shauntac, may I ask for this esteemed guest for his noble name?" Though he had already decided to crush this ce in the future, Vahn kept his expression in as he reached forward and shook the mans hand and said in a low tone, "Yashima." Since Vahn had decided that he would have different names depending on his form, it actually wasnt a lie when he introduced himself. Even the system updated whenever he decided to change his name so Shauntac wasnt able to see through his words or expression. Instead, he had a business-like smile on his face as he firmly shook Vahns hand and led the way to a private room for their interview. Vahn scanned the walls and noticed there were several formations that were hidden within the hollow interiors as well as several presences located very near the room that were likely security personnel or ves. Soon after they sat down, three different girls entered the room with trays of tea and snacks which they neatly arranged on the small table separating Vahn and Shauntac. Each girl was both beautiful and youthful and they all had characteristics that drew the eye. There was a blonde half-elf with watery eyes, a short human girl with a very lively appearance and brown hair, and a cool looking beauty that appeared to be of a race Vahn had never seen before. She had azure blue hair that had been neatly arranged into a long ponytail with small horns on top of her head with droopy off-colored ears underneath. The most notable features were her incrediblyrge b.r.e.a.s.ts and the bell around her neck even though she still had a young face. Seeing Vahns appraising gaze, Shauntac smiled and said, "Is this your first time seeing a Cow Person? There are quitemon in the west, but rtively rare here in Orario after all. If youd like, I can arrange you get to know each other better?" Vahn felt a strong urge to clench his teeth and rebut the man but just shook his head with a small smile and said, "I do have an interest, but Im looking for something different right now. Even though these three are beautiful girls, my preferences are of a different persuasion." Sending a signal to the girls with his eyes, they left the room as Shauntac asked, "Oh? My brokerage prides itself on our ability to procure information and meet the needs of our customers. Of course, that is assuming they have the capability to pay for the information. As it is our first meeting, Id like to get to know you better Mr. Yashima. I wonder, where did youe from? What interests brought you here to my ce of business?" A cold light shone in Shantacs eyes even though his expression didnt change in the slightest. Without feeling pressured, Vahn exined, "I migrated to Orario from a port City name Bri near the Serpents pass. I havent been in the City for but a few months and Ive been trying to make a living as an Adventurer since then. I only discovered this ce recently after visiting the red light district to look for a specific kind of girl that I had met a few times within my hometown. Without intending to brag, Ive never had any significant trouble with women, but Im looking for something specific." Other than the fact that he originated from Bri, everything else about Vahns story was true and Shauntac wasnt able to discern any lies from his words. From his perspective, he thought that Vahn had just intentionally concealed his own hometown, likely so his origins couldnt be easily traced back to his family if anything went awry. Since it was rare for anyone to divulge that kind of information, the fact that the rest of Vahns story was true made him a viable client for the time being. With a smile on his face, Shauntac said, "It seems our meeting was fated to be a cooperative one. You have a desire, and I have the ability to facilitate your needs. Shall we discuss the specifics of our cooperation Mr. Yashima?" Reaching for the cup on the table, Shauntac raised it slightly as if to toast their future business ventures. Vahn lifted his own cup and, even though he could detect some kind of chemical within, drank down the tea without hesitation. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Whims of Karma,Seething rage concealed behind a smile,Deception through small truths) I am currently at $749/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 250 - Lead

Chapter 250 - Lead

Vahns blood immediately filtered out the drug and he learned from Sis that it was intended to make him more receptive. It wasnt a poison or anything dangerous but would give Shauntac a big edge in any negotiations they would have. With a small smile on his face, Vahn exined, "Every now and then there would be sh.i.p.s that traveled in from the Far East. I once saw the appearance of a beautiful girl with curved, fox-like, ears and arge bushy tail. No matter what I did, I was never able to spend any time with the girl andter learned that she was what the Far East referred to as a Renard. I recently heard that there was a Renard in the red light district and wanted to try my luck meeting the girl." Shauntac showed a contemtive expression and squinted his eyes for a few seconds until he responded, "I do recall there is a Renard within one of the brothels. Since she is rather rare merchandise, I once tried to purchase her from the current owner but was denied...So, you intend to purchase this information?" Shauntac had a somewhat amused smile on his face that Vahn couldnt understand well. Nodding his head, Vahn said, "Indeed, it has been one of my long-held dreams to meet and associate with a Renard girl. However, its not as if Im only interested in Renards, there are several girls that Im quite fond of." Vahn knew that if he only focused on the information pertaining to Haruhime, it would actually make it harder to obtain. The broker would try to up the price more and more depending on the interest he showed in obtaining it. What would normally only cost a few tens-of-thousands of Valis would likely cost several-hundred-thousand or more. Shauntacs eyes squinted a bit as the amused expression on his face turned more serious and his business-like smile reappeared as he said, "Im sure we can work something out, but the price may be outside of your expectations. As far as I know, there is only a handful of Renards within the entire City and only one of them is a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e. However, her backer isnt someone that Im willing to offend easily...if you want the information well have to arrange something special before Im willing to trust you with the information." Hearing Shauntac call the girl he suspected to be Haruhime a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e made Vahns eye twitch a bit. Fortunately, Shauntac just thought he was frustrated about not being able to easily obtain the information as he continued, "You see, Mr. Yashima, Im much more inclined to give information to customers that Ive closed deals with. As youve likely noticed, my brokerage isnt a simple institution that disseminates information alone. Perhaps purchasing some of our stock would help ease my tensions..." Vahn averted his eyes to the ceiling as if he was thinking about Shauntacs offer. He knew that the drug he took earlier was likely meant to prime him for Shauntacs offer. Since there were various illegal channels supporting the ve-trading ring, even though very wasnt illegal, it meant bing an aplice of sorts if Vahn purchased a ve that wasnt procured through legal channels. However, it also meant that Vahn would be liberating a girl from her fate and he could just as easily free her after the purchase. Since he nned to crush this facility in the future, Vahn couldnt see any harm in ying Shauntacs game for now. Worst case scenario, he could force the information out of the broker once he identified a few of the coborators. Nodding his headcently, Vahn had an excited smile on his face as he said, "Sure, that sounds like a good idea. Ive never really thought about purchasing stock before, but it might be an interesting experience." Vahn noticed that Shauntac went out of his way to avoid referring to the girls as ves, so he considered it a red g to mention it himself. Since all ve markets were strictly regted, they were also required to post proper signage to indicate the nature of their business. Since the outside of this brokerage was unmarked, it implied they were an illegal trafficking ring that used a referral system to attract customers. Though he had already expected Vahn to agree, Shauntac still had a somewhat surprised and ted expression on his face as he stood from the sofa and grasped Vahns hand. After patting him on the shoulder in an amicable manner, Shauntac led Vahn through several corridors before arriving at arge room that had several doors and a few chairs set to the side. After motioning to the chairs, Vahn sat down while Shauntac informed one of his goons before sitting next to Vahn. With an evil glimmer in his eye, Shauntac proudly imed, "Im sure youll find something to your liking Mr. Yashima. My stock is one of the most unique amongst the entire circle of brokers in the City. Even if you cant find something you like, we also ept requests and will do our utmost to guarantee the satisfaction of our clientele." As Shauntac spoke, Vahn sat in a somewhat dazed manner as he listened passively to the information. The smile on Shauntacs face between somewhatrger as he motioned toward the side where a man was standing next to a door. Vahn looked over and saw a line of twenty girls enter through the door in an order based on height. The shortest girl was only around 118cm, and Vahn could tell she a half-pallum that still seemed to be maturing. The tallest girl was around 180cm tall and had an incredibly curvaceous body with seductive green eyes. Every girl was wearing a simple cloth covering their bodies and Vahn noticed that none of them had on any undergarments at all. Some of the girls had even started to appeal to him already by shing glimpses of the contents behind the cloth. However, the thing that stood out the most to Vahn was their auras. Other than some of the more seductive girls, every single one of them had a mellow and sad aura tinged with blues and purples. Vahn understood that the majority, if not all of the girls, were forced into very. The only reasons he could think of for the actions of some of the more mature girls was that they had been ves for a longer period of time and had adapted to the lifestyle. Vahn slowly passed his eyes over every girl and focused primarily on their expressions as he had a silent and contemtive look on his face. He was very tempted to just kill Shauntac there and then so that he could liberate these unfortunate people. Though he didnt know all of their ages, Vahn was very aware that a number of the girls were under the legal age even for normal ves. The only exnation was that, like criminal Familia, they had either been born into very or kidnapped from viges outside of Orario. The fact that anyone could be born a ve was something Vahn fundamentally disagreed with and intended to change in the future if he could. For now, he just inspected the girls as Shauntac exined the fabricated origins and training each girl had undergone. When he called them forward from the line, the girl would stand in front of Vahn before removing the simple cloth that covered their bodies. Vahn felt his mind grow progressively numb over time as the cold sensation continued to increase in intensity. After every girl had stepped forward, Shauntac turned to Vahn with a smile and asked in a somewhat amused manner, "Well then, do any of these girls suit your tastes Mr. Yashima? Know that we can provide a discount if youd like to make a bulk purchase." For several reasons, Vahn released a sigh and shook his head and exined, "Though theyre all beautiful girls, none of them are quite what Im looking for..." As Vahn spoke, he noticed that the auras of the girls turned slightly chaotic as they began to droop. Since Vahn hadnt taken an interest in them, they were destined to continue their life as ves for the time being. Several of them had thought Vahn was very attractive and had a gentle disposition so they had been trying their best to appeal to him. Having a kind and young Master was always preferable to some of the despots that typically visited the facility. Expecting Vahns answer, the smile on Shauntacs face remained unchanged as he motioned for the girls to exit while a smaller batch came in through the earlier door. Vahn turned his attention to the new arrivals and his brows raised slightly as Shauntac exined, "Sorry for the earlier disy, we simply wanted to keep you entertained while the real merchandise had been prepared. Im positive youll be pleased with at least one of these girls." Including the Cow Person, Vahn had seen earlier, each of the six girls that arrived was of a race Vahn had never seen previously. Even though he hated almost everything about this situation, Vahn couldnt help but feel somewhat interested as he gave each girl a cursory nce. Noticing his gaze, four of the girls made slight appeals while two of them seemedpletely disinterested in Vahns presence. They had dreary auras and eyes that contained nearly no light at all. The first girl to step forward and remove her cloth was the same Cow Person he had met earlier. She had azure blue hair and pale green eyes with thergest b.r.e.a.s.ts Vahn had ever seen. Since she had a youthful face and was only around 154cm tall, Vahn wasnt able to determine her age. To apany herrge b.r.e.a.s.ts, she also had somewhatrge n.i.p.p.l.es that came to a point with a slight indentation. Her figure was somewhat plump and she even had neatly trimmed pubic hair that matched her hair color. From the exnation given by Shauntac, Vahn learned she was called Mona and was actually twenty years old and, as she demonstrated, was constantly capable of producing milk. After he was asked, Vahn somewhat fl.u.s.teredly refused to sample it himself. The second girl looked decidedly more exotic than everyone else and Vahn even thought she might be a Renard based on appearances. She hadrge bushy ears on her head that were dark brown with tufts of white fur on the inside. On her backside, she had a bushy tail of the same color and was also tipped with white fur. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts were rtively modest, but her figure was somewhat tantalizing with how wide her h.i.p.s were. Her eyes were a deep purple and she had red makeup that enhanced their appeal quite a bit. Shauntac exined that she was seventeen years old and was actually from a derivative species of Renards known as Kitsune in the Far East. Her name was Shizune and she appealed to Vahn by trying to get him to touch her fluffy tail. After Shizune stood back in the line, the third girl walked forward and Vahn frowned slightly when she removed her cloth. She was only around 150cm tall and had shaggy, tinum-blond hair with light grey eyes that had lost their light. Drooping from the side of her head, she had simr ears like a cow but the horns on her head were muchrger and arched backward before curving around to a point. She also had a short shaggy tail and a slim figure with very modest b.r.e.a.s.ts. The thing that disturbed Vahn was the various small scars and burn marks that covered her body.. Shauntac saw his expression and exined with mock distaste, "This is Preasia, she is eighteen years old andes from the Sheep Person from the western ins. Herst owner had slightly deviant tendencies and liked to torment her a bit, but you can rest assured that she is still a v.i.r.g.i.n. If you choose to buy her, well offer a healthy discount as well as a bit of insurance for if she fails to keep you satisfied." After bowing slightly, Preasia picked up her cloth before walking away with mechanical steps and rejoining the line. The entire time she stood in front of Vahn, her expression hadnt changed even once and he understood she had developed a serious trauma and sealed her own mind away. Recing Preasia was the second girl with lightless eyes, except she seemed to have an incredible animosity emanating from her body. She had dark, somewhat ashen-brown, skin with red hair and burgundy eyes that had a hint of madness contained within. Like an elf, she had long pointed ears, while her body was almost wless. Even though her skin tone was somewhat peculiar, she had a very beautiful and fit body with rtivelyrge b.r.e.a.s.ts. Shauntac spoke up from the side, "This one is a dark elf named Shiva, and she was a...return product. We had to ce a curse mark on her tongue because she injured her previous owner. Fortunately, she is also still a v.i.r.g.i.n even though she is 31 years old. Dont worry though, as her species can live for several hundred years, she will retain her beauty for the rest of your life." As if to reinforce Shauntacs words, Shiva opened her mouth and showed a strange seal on her tongue before she snapped with her teeth. Though he wasnt truly intimidated, Vahn swallowed a bit of saliva for reasons he couldnt exin. She didnt even bother to pick up her cloth as she rejoined the other girls and acted like she was continually trying to intimidate him. The fifth and sixth girl were actually identical twins and they each had silvery hair with hazelnut eyes. Though they looked like Cat Persons, their ears were slightly rounded and had speckled ck spots on them. Their tails were also twice as thick as normal and had speckled-ck rings covering the length. They had a matching height of 158 cm and slender bodies like most of the Cat People Vahn had seen. Their b.r.e.a.s.ts were modest and they had lithe figures with hopeful expressions on their faces as they held each others hands and appealed to Vahn by hugging each other and staring at him with pleading eyes. Since he could see their aura, even if they were trying to pretend, Vahn could tell that the two girls were actually very unstable and there was some truth behind the act. Shauntac exined, "As youve noticed, these girls are twins named Emiru and Maemi. They are both sixteen years old, v.i.r.g.i.ns, and from a very rare tribe native to the Northern Tundra called Snow Panthers. Since they became stock willingly after their vige was in a famine, they have a use where they will both go to the same home when purchased. Im afraid Ill have to charge a premium as well since they are not only a rare breed but also twins. Theyre actually recent arrivals and havent received any training, so youre in luck since they will likely be purchased soon just based on their rarity." Hearing Shantacs words, the twins made a harmonious verbal appeal to Vahn, "Please buy us, Master. We dont want to end up in a strange ce..." Shauntac cut them off and they had sad expressions as they picked up their clothes and returned to their ce in line. Looking over, Shauntac could see Vahn rubbing his temples and knew that he had been impacted by the two girls. Before negotiations even began, he increased the price of the girls by twenty percent. Vahn had realized by now that, even though he had prepared himself, he wasnt actually able to resist the plea of others so easily. Because he had the power to liberate all the girls present, Vahn was very tempted to do so and then just release themter. Especially after hearing the twins plea, Van felt like he had made a mistake bying to this ce. Now that they were literally asking to be saved, he couldnt overlook them even if he wanted to. With a short sigh through his nose, Vahn gave the girls another look before asking, "How much?" Shauntacs smile widened as he asked, "Did you find something that suits your tastes Mr. Yashima?" Hearing the discussion, every girl except the dark elf Shiva had somewhat excited expressions on their faces. After a brief period of thought, Vahn stated, "I want to know how much the information for the Renard will cost me. Other than that, I want to know the prices of the girls here and I will make my decision based off of that." Shauntacs brow raised slightly because he hadnt expected Vahn to even remember his original purpose after the drug kicked in. He realized that Vahn was likely very interested in sampling the Renard girl and had a knowing smile on his face as he exined, "The information for the Renard girl will cost you nothing as long as you purchase each of the girls here...lets say an even 1,000,000V for the first four and an additional 700,000V for the twins." With a hesitant expression on his face, as if he was contemting things seriously, Vahn released a sigh as he handed over notes that amounted to 2MV. Shauntac had a pleased expression and pocketed the notes as Vahn said, "I dont care about the change, just have these girls properly dressed and give me the information I came for. Consider it a bonus to celebrate the conclusion of our sessful business." Each of the girls had a happy expression on their faces and the twins were both slightly misty-eyed as they hugged each other before leaving into one of the side doors. Vahn was escorted by Shauntac back to the earlier lounge and gave him an information packet that not only included the image of Haruhime, but also detailed some of her personal information like b.r.e.a.s.ts, waist, and hip size. After reading it over, Vahn understood why Shauntac had been wanting the conceal the information and hadnt been able to purchase Haruhime himself. The current owner was none other than Ishtar, Goddess of the Ishtar Familia and the primary governing force within the Entertainment District. (A/N: Alternate Titles: ve Exhibition,Exotic Collector Yashima,The Mastermind Appears) I am currently at $749/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 251 - Living Arrangements

Chapter 251 - Living Arrangements

Fortunately, even though Haruhime was owned by Ishtar, she seemed to work in one of the brothels to the southwest and Vahn would be able to confirm her safety. Though it might cause problems and discourse between the Ishtar Familia and himself, Vahn could simply steal Haruhime away if he sessfully infiltrated into the brothel. Of course, the first thing he had to do was discuss things with the others and find a ce for the six girls he just purchased to stay. After settling them in, Vahn could always sneak back into the red light district during the early morning when there were fewer people around. Shauntac saw the contemtive and pleased expression on Vahns face and nodded his head satisfactorily. He could tell that the boy before him was a pretty big sucker and it would probably be possible to squeeze some more money out of him in the future. Once they discovered where he lived and his source of ie, they could even pressure him into taking on a debt or even kidnap the girls and resell them through another one of their brokerages. Naive boys with a lot of wealth were easy marks and one of the preferred short-term customers for their business. After a few minutes, the six girls were brought in wearing matching maid attire while holding shawls in their hands forter. Though he felt guilty to have the thought, Vahn thought they looked kind of cute in the matching getup. Especially the twins, who seemed to be in much higher spirits even though their auras were continually fluctuating. Vahn went through the process of sealing a contract and then cing a seal of ownership at a ce of his choosing on the girls bodies. The simplify things, Vahn ced them wrist where he had seen the previous marking. To facilitate things, Shauntac even gave the girls some wristbands to cover the mark before handing Vahn six cors that emphasized each girls hair color. Each girl bowed to him as he ced the cors around their necks and thanked him in the same, likely rehearsed manner, "Thank you for taking this lowly one as your servant. This one will do their best to serve you from now on, my esteemed Master." The only exception was Shiva, who couldnt even speak due to the curse that had been ced on her tongue. When things had finished, Shauntac gave him a wooden tab that could control the seals on the girls bodies and punish them if they misbehaved. Even though they were bound by a vow, it didnt mean idents couldnt happen, such as when Shiva injured her previous masters genitals. Before leaving, Vahn gave a perusing nce at each of the girls bodies with his perception before nodding his head and leading the way out of the brokerage. They each wore the shawls to cover their bodies so they wouldnt draw attention to themselves as Vahn escorted them through passages where there was little foot traffic. After a half-hour, they had made their way out of the red light district before Vahn turned around and looked into the eyes of the girls following him. Eager to please, the twins stepped forward in sequence and asked, "May we be of assistance, Master?" Vahn released a sigh and said, "Ill pick each of you up for a moment, dont resist, I wont hurt any of you." Though they were nervous, Emiru and Maemi nodded their heads as Vahn picked up the first person and disappeared from sight. Maemi, the twin left behind, immediately felt concerned until Vahn reappeared momentster. She saw that he didnt have her sister anymore and began to tear up before Vahn lifted her body and disappeared yet again. On the roof of a nearby building, Emiru had been standing in a daze for a few seconds as her Master disappeared from sight before reappearing momentster with her twin sister Maemi. The two girls immediately hugged each other and stared at the disappearing Vahn until he once again showed up with another girl in his arms. This repeated until all six girls were on the roof and the two twins began to wonder what kind of mysterious man had purchased them. After all the girls were situated, Vahn scanned his perception within the area of his domain and saw the people that had been tailing him had stopped moving. They seemed to be waiting for something but Vahn had already made ns as he walked over sheep girl Preasia and kneeling down. Using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn peered into her stomach where a magical stone-like transmitter had probably been forced down her throat so they could track him. Because of hercking emotions and absolute silence, she was the most likely candidate for forcing her to ingest the transmitter. Vahn looked into her light-grey eyes and said, "Im going to make the thing in your stomach go away, I need you to remain absolutely still." Without responding at all, Preasia just looked down at Vahn with a nk expression that made him release a small sigh. Using his Oblivion skill, Vahn identified the activeponent of the transmitter and severed it. Following that, he tried to destroy as much of the transmitter as possible and hoped her body would be able to process the restter. After the signal was lost, the men tracking Vahn became active and backtracked to the brokerage, likely to report what had happened. Since he wanted to buy time, Vahn used [Enkidu] from a distance and ran it through the two mens achilles tendons before turning his attention back to the girls that had been staring at him with varying degrees of confusion on their faces. Vahn showed a small smile and exined, "Sorry you had to go through all of this, Ill be releasing you all soon. You dont have to call me Master, or anything else for that matter, just start thinking about what you want to do from now on. Ill try and help you return to your families or see if I can find a safe ce for you to stay if that is impossible." The eyes of every girl, except for Shiva and Preasia, became wide as they looked at Vahn as if he had just said something incredulous. By the time they processed his words, Emiru and Maemi hugged each other and fell to the ground as they started silently sobbing. Mona had a somewhat gentle and happy look in her eyes as she hugged her hands between her somewhat massive b.r.e.a.s.ts. Shizune had a thoughtful expression and had turned her head to the east in silent contemtion. The onlycking reactions were Shiva, who had a contemptuous look in her eyes, and Preasia, who didnt have any expression whatsoever. Without saying anything, because she couldnt speak, Shiva walked over and removed the band covering her ve seal. When Vahn saw her point at it, he understood what she wanted and shook his head from side-to-side. In response, Shivas contemptuous look grew deeper as she spat off to the side and sneered at Vahn. Knowing she was misunderstanding, Vahn exined, "Wait, Ill release you soon, but first I need to remove the curse from your tongue. Though its a strange thing to admit, Im somewhat afraid that you might bite me if I try to do itter..." Though she still had a look of contempt on her face, Shiva tilted her head and stared at Vahn as if to ascertain if he was speaking the truth. Vahn showed a light smile and said, "Stick out your tongue, and please dont bite me..." After frowning for a moment, Shiva eventually stuck out her tongue and revealed the triangr crest that had been embedded into its surface. Vahn could see there were tiny runes along the perimeter of the triangle and he used his domain so slowly break down the elementalws that allowed the curse to function. He couldnt remove the mark without a different method, but Vahn could at least remove its functionality and return her speech. After around a minute, Shiva could feel a tingling sensation on her tongue as the restrictive force in her throat vanished entirely. She opened and closed her mouth a bit as if stretching her jaw before she looked at Vahn and said, "Youre a good kid. Now release me, I already have a ce I can go." Vahn sighed and said, "Ill release you, but Id like for you to stay here even when I remove your seal. There will probably be a few things that you need to tell the people that wille to investigate. Dont worry, it wont be anyone that can bring harm to you, just some people that I trust. After that, youll be free to go at your leisure..." Pulling out a few notes, Vahn handed them over to Shiva before removing her seal. He had given her 300,000V in hopes that she could use it to get herself back to a functional point in her life. Shaking her hand a bit, Shiva rubbed the spot where the seal had been removed and had a cruel look in her eyes for a moment. She turned to Vahn after cing the notes into the lining of her bra and bowed slightly, "I misjudged you as another despotic fool at the ve house, I apologize. After I finish my business, I will see to the debt that I owe you." Her words finished, Shiva sat down on the roof without minding her frilly maid outfit getting dirty at all. After having them agree to stay in the area, Vahn freed the rest of the girls and told them to contemte the future. If it was within his means, Vahn would help restore some normalcy to their lives. When they were all taken care of, Vahn sent a mental signal and, around two minutester, arge dragon head appeared out of the shadows that sent each of the girls on high alert. Vahn exined that the dragon belonged to him before turning to Fafnir and saying, "I need you to pass a message to Mn and Chloe. Have them inform Eina about the current situation and then guide them back to my location." Fafnir nodded its head before taking the slip of paper into its mouth and responding with its telepathy, (*Okie-dokie~! Leave it to me Master!*) After its cheerful voice faded away, Fafnir disappeared from the room and Vahn turned to see the girls looking at him with strange expressions on their faces. Mona startedughing in a somewhat husky voice and said, "He is kind of cute." Emiru and Maemi gave her a strange look before sitting down against the side of the roof and cuddling up next to each other. Preasia just stood idly by, even after her seal was removed, and had stayed silent for the entire time. Shiva looked like she wanted to say something, but kept it to herself as they all waited for the arrival of the reinforcements. Not only Chloe, but Ryuu arrived on the roof sometimeter in their fullbat attire. Chloe looked at the girls on the roof and asked, "Are these the girls you saved from the ve traffickers~nya?" Looking the girls over, Chloe noticed that they were all unique and somewhat exotic looking women. Though she knew Vahns character well, she couldnt help but think he was trying to start some kind of strange collection due to his curiosity. Vahn nodded his head and began exining in detail everything that he had discovered, including the matter regarding Haruhime belonging to the Ishtar Familia. Even though he didnt distrust the other six girls on the roof, Vahn didnt use the names of anyone he knew and left out any details that could lead to trouble if they were spread. Even now, he hadnt even told the six girls his real name and they still knew him as Yashima. Since they were both highly intelligent, Chloe and Ryuu quickly caught on and made sure not to let any information slip. They could always talkter in detail, once they situated the girls on the roof. After exchanging information, Chloe left to observe the brokerage and make sure nobody tried to escape while Ryuu dealt with the men Vahn had injured earlier. Though Vahn didnt want to get Ryuu involved in the darkness of society anymore, he couldnt force her to go away when she had shown up and proactively decided to take action. A few minutester, they had the two men bound up as a group arrived from the Guild apanied by a host of guards and a tall man that looked to be around Level 5 based off his aura. Before their testimonies were taken, Vahn had asked each of the girls what they wanted to do from now onwards. He had let them know that, if they chose to, he could arrange for them to join a Familia or even set them up with temporary housing. He had also sent a request to the Hostess of Fertility in his message earlier and gotten permission to send the girls there if the chose to stay in the City. When she had arrived, Ryuu passed him a small note that had been written by Syr and had been approved by Mama Mia. Though they had nobat potential presently, Emiru and Maemi said they wanted to stay with Vahn and work as logistics personnel or maids if possible. They had been sold by their families when there was a famine going on and, even if they could return, they didnt want to go back to that kind of life. Since Vahn had treated them well, they wanted to pay him back until they found out what they wanted to do in the future. They had already thought they were going to be ves for the rest of their lives, so neither girl had any ns and didnt know how to get by in the City on their own. Shiva said she had things to take care of and would likely be dealing with her own matters for the foreseeable future. She didnt care about joining a Familia or settling down but promised to return the debt she owed Vahn in the future. As for Mona, she was interested in joining the Hostess of Fertility, since she had been a waitress back in her vige. Ever since their vige was ransacked by bandits, her life had been somewhat rough as she was treated like a toy by several men due to her ability to generate milk. For thest few years, she had actually had several masters that were interested in her milk for a time before returning her. She wanted an easy life that didnt have too many responsibilities and heard Vahn mention the womens dorm at the Hostess of Fertility. Shizune wanted to venture back to the Far East and return to her hometown, but she wasnt sure the best method to do so. She had been kidnapped by ve traders a long time ago and had spent more than five years as a ve. Though she was no longer a v.i.r.g.i.n, Shizune hoped she could find a good man far away from the nightmare she had lived for thest five years. With time, she hoped to return to a normal life and settle down to start a family back in her mothend. The most problematic girl to deal with was Preasia, who had yet to say a single word even when they were back in the brokerage. She didnt do anything to appeal to Vahn and just acted mechanically like a broken doll. Even though she was a v.i.r.g.i.n, she had been toyed with and tormented for several months before her previous master finally got bored of her. Even after Vahn released her seal, she just silently listened to his words and continued to stand a short distance away at all times. Vahn wanted to tell her that he could heal all of her wounds, but he was also somewhat hesitant to breach the subject since it would require physical contact to do so. Since the majority of her body, minus her face, was severely scarred, it would take a while for the procedure toplete. Alongside the Guild entourage, Eina had also shown up and personally taken the testimony of each girl before sending the investigation team forward to crack down on Shauntac and his base of operations. It wouldnt do much to fix the underlying problems of very within the City, but at least it would increase the caution of those involved and make themy low for a bit. They would also take the girls within into a protection program and try to return them to their homes in a simr manner as Vahn was doing for the six girls. Those that had trouble returning to a normal life would be educated by the Guild and be future receptionists and attendants before likely finding a man andter retiring. After leaving behind her testimony, Shiva disappeared from the rooftop with surprising agility while Shizune and Mona were escorted by Ryuu back to the Hostess of Fertility. Shizune had received money from Vahn to pay for her trip back home, but she wanted to stay in the City for a while and properly prepare for the voyage. Vahn then escorted Eina back to the Hearth Manor with Emiru, Maemi, and Preasia in tow. Vahn actually hoped that Fenrir and Tina would be able to help the girl open up and he wanted the other girls to exin the procedure to heal her body since he didnt think it would be a good idea to bring it up himself. Emiru and Maemi would act as maids and help upkeep the Manor while also joining the Hestia Familia as Supporters. Along the way, Eina had a strange look on her face as Vahn led her by hand through the dimming light of the afternoon. Vahn had noticed her look and said, "Im sorry things got out of hand Eina...I just couldnt abandon them when they were right in front of me." Without his notice, the ears of the three girls behind them slightly twitched as Eina responded, "I know, Vahn, its just like you to do something like this...this is one of the reasons I never wanted you to go to the red light district in the first ce. There is a lot of problems in an environment like that which even the Guild cant regte. Just promise this type of thing wont happen in the future and that youll contact me before taking action like that..." Vahn nodded his head and leaned down to give Eina a peck on the cheek before whispering, "Thank you, Eina...you really are always looking out for me. Every time I think about it, I cant help but feel fortunate that youll soon be my wife..." As if he was actually imagining it, which he was, Vahn looked off into the void with a peaceful and happy expression on his face. Eina looked at him and had a somewhat bashful expression on her face as she released a sigh and muttered, "We might need to push up the marriage at this rate..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Vahnguard Arrives,Twin Meido Obtained,Einas Lamentation) I am currently at $749/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 252 - Lecture

Chapter 252 - Lecture

It was alreadyte in the afternoon by the time the group arrived at the Hearth Manor. As she had been informed of everything over thework, Hestia wasnt too surprised when Vahn brought home three new members to their home. If not for the fact Eina was next to him, she would have given him an earful but decided to leave matters to his first wife for the time being. Of all the people she could butt heads with, Hephaestus and Eina were more-or-less off limits unless she took their rtionship further. When she saw Vahn apanied by new people, Fenrir was in somewhat high tensions and hade a slight frown on her face. She saw the twins in their maid outfits and asked, "You copy Fenrir?" Before the two fl.u.s.tered girls could respond to the feisty wolf-girl, Vahn stepped in and exined, "Fenrir, these two girls will be working here from now on. They arent going to take your ce or anything like that. Make sure to treat them well and they might even spoil you like everyone else." Fenrir opened and closed her paws for a bit before nodding her head and looking toward Preasia and asking, "Strange girl?" Using her scarlet eyes, Fenrir looked into the dim light-grey eyes of Preasia with a confused expression. With a pained look, Vahn ced his hands on Fenrirs shoulders and said, "Fenrir, this girl was bullied very badly and needs a friend to help take care of her. I want you and Tina to protect her and treat her kindly so she can be happy again, okay?" Hearing Vahns words, Fenrirs ears twitched a bit and she bit her ws for a few seconds before walking over and staring at Preasia with a serious expression on her face. After a short while passed, Fenrir opened up her arms and gave Preasias thin body a hug and said, "Fenrir protect. Fenrir big sis now, okay?" Vahn showed a small smile as the other girls looked at the act with gentle expressions as well. The only one that seemed immune to the atmosphere was Preasia herself who just stoodpletely still as Fenrir hugged her body. After settling the girls into their rooms, Fenrir had made the decision to sleep with Preasia for the time being in the room she usually stayed in with Mn and Tina. Vahn knew that Mn would also look after the sheep girl in the future, so he wasnt against the arrangements. Emiru and Maemi decided to live in the small room near the kitchen and had changed into proper maid clothing simr to Fenrirs. Their previous attire had only looked like maid clothing and was instead an easy ess type of fabric for more deviant purposes. Though Vahn wanted to destroy the clothing, the two girls wanted to keep them and stowed them away deep within the closet of their shared room. Once things had been arranged, both Emir and Maemi underwent the ceremony to receive their crests while Vahn and Eina were talking in a different study. They didnt seem to care if Vahn stayed, but he also knew they were still stuck in a bad mentality and were still trying to appeal their use to him. Vahn didnt want to two girls to suddenly develop a reliance on him and try to slowly work their way into the group of girls that wanted to be in a rtionship with him. Though they were both of age, Vahn wanted them to live a normal life and try to find a stable rtionship after calming down a bit. Though it might seem like a rude thought, Vahn had no intention of interacting with the girls in a s.e.x.u.a.l manner until they had adapted to their new lives and had begun to think rationally. They had never talked about it, but Vahn had seen how Mn was acting after he had saved her. Even though they already had a good rtionship, Mn was so focused on securing the safety of her daughter that she had been proactively trying to exploit Vahn a bit. He knew that the twins were in an unstable state and would be trying to do something simr and would probably even approach him if he didnt halt their advances early on. Now that they were alone together, Eina sat next to Vahn and had a serious look on her face as she began a long lecture. Though she had warned him about the dangers previously, now Eina was doing her best to exin how things worked within the City and theplexities between the various organizations. Even though the Guild was officially in charge of Orario, they werent necessarily the strongest power, they just helped regte things through the Denatus and passing judgment on the various gods and goddesses that followed the regtions set within. Most of the power within the City belonged to the Familia that was owned and operated by their respective gods and goddesses. More than 45% of the actual revenue of the City flowed through the various Familia and markets that were established to support the livelihoods of the various Adventurers. If the Entertainment District was brought into consideration, the actual influence possessed by Familia was nearly 85% of the total revenue that flowed through the City. Other than taxes, the Guild only managed around 5-7% of the total wealth in the City, but they had a monopoly on the trade of magic stones and the dissemination of information through the City. Now that Vahn was involved with the Ishtar Familia, Eina encouraged him to try and handle things without blowing them out of proportion. Since he had been involved in the death of a goddess recently, it was ill-advised to get involved with another Familia, especially one that held so much power and influence. Even if he charged into the Ishtar Familia and confronted Ishtar to free Haruhime, there was nothing that required her to relinquish control of a ve that had been purchased through legal means. Yes, even though Haruhime was a victim of kidnapping, her legal status before then had already been a ve when she was given to the Pallum Trader. Though she was stolen by the bandits andter sold, it didnt change the legality of her status and it was perfectlywful for Ishtar to have obtained her. If he wanted to take on the Ishtar Familia head on, he could challenge them to a War Games which could be held before the Monster Feria at the end of next month. If Vahn was unable to wait, he would have to make sure to sneak Haruhime out of the Ishtar Familia and keep her hidden until he could find concrete evidence of any wrongdoings she had participated in. Though she could request an investigation be performed through the Guild, it was unlikely they would find any fault with Ishtar. Even in the past, when a bunch of Familia had used the Isthar Familia of hiding their level, the Guild investigated and discovered the allegations to be false. After paying an immense cash settlement to Ishtar, her power within the Entertainment District increased considerably and she used it to crush every single Familia that had used her. This was how she became the leader of the Entertainment District and why the Guild would avoid confronting her directly unless there was legitimate proof. After Einas exnation, Vahn had a decisive look in his eyes and began formting ns and countermeasures for any response that mighte from Ishtar. Eina saw his expression and sighed before a gentle smile appeared on her face and she took Vahns hand into her own. Vahn turned to look into her emerald green eyes and realized he was getting caught up in things while ignoring his own surroundings again. With a small smile on his face, Vahn reached around and hugged Einas body against his. They didnt get to spend a lot of time together and the only reason Eina had the time to do so now was because of the ongoing investigation. Eina rested her head against Vahns shoulder and spoke in a quiet voice, "I heard from Hephaestus...she told me she is already pregnant. Even though youre wrapped up in so many problems, there is no end to the trouble that wille in the future..." Vahn frowned slightly and considered her words for a bit before an apologetic expression appeared on his face. He knew she was right and that things were progressively getting moreplex. Even though Eva had sealed the orb to give him time to spend in the real world, Vahn immediately got wrapped up in something else and hadnt taken any time to rx at all... Resting his head atop hers, Vahn muttered, "All I know is how to do my best Eina...I dont mean to cause problems for everyone, I just cant ignore the injustices I see around me. There is just so much to life that Im experiencing for the first time and I want to continue moving forward in order to experience more and more. I even want to traverse to the bottom of the dungeon and eventually travel the world to experience other cultures with Fafnir...there is just so much I want to do." Eina held Vahns right hand and stroked it gently as she responded, "I know Vahn...I can tell that you were never destined for a normal life. Not only are your origins incredible, but your mentality evolves rapidly and youre always looking toward the future. One day, youll probably stand at the pinnacle of power in this world...I can even imagine you changing thews that govern the City for the better. Its just that...I wish you could be a little normal from time to time. I want to see you rxed and happy...I dont want you to break downpletely due to the pressure of others expectations and the weight of your own ideals." After several minutes of silence, Vahn solemnly stated, "After the wedding...Ill just focus on increasing the strength of my Familia while helping some of the other members train. I cant give up on my own training since I need to be strong enough to protect everyone, but Ill be sure to rx more often. Especially when ites time for the children to be born, Ill make sure there is plenty of time for me to spend with everyone. Even if I cant live a normal life, Ill try to create a safe ce where those in my care can live happily..." Eina turned to look into Vahns eyes and had a cid expression on her face with a light smile. After a few seconds, she began tough slightly before resting her head back on his shoulder, "I know youre telling the truth, but I cant help but imagine things will change somewhat when events require you to take action. Just like with this Haruhime girl, youre not the type to stand on the sidelines and overlook things." Eina began to giggle for a bit as Vahn failed to say anything to refute her im. From his perspective, he felt like Eina was one of the people that knew him best and she was always helping educate and guide him, just like a real Big Sister. After herughter stopped, Eina continued to fiddle with Vahns hand for a bit until she asked dismissively, "Vahn, do you want me to have a baby as well?" Since he had been somewhat lost in thought, Vahn was surprised by her question and couldnt answer immediately. Before he responded, Eina let go of his hand and ced it on his left thigh as she stroked her thumb against his leg. Swallowing a bit of saliva, Vahn responded, "When youre ready...I think youd make a good mother." As if the matter wasnt serious, Eina continued in a casual voice, "I was thinking it might be for the best if I got pregnant alongside Hephaestus. No matter how I look at it, Loki will probably try and ask you for a baby soon...I even suspect she might support you against the Ishtar Familia just to get her way. Then there is Anubis and maybe even girls like Chloe...I think if I dont have one soon, I might be a first wife that is helping take care of other peoples children. Depending on how things progress in the future, I feel like I might miss my chance to have a baby. You know, its not easy for a half-elf to get pregnant, even if an egg is fertilized using the method Hephaestus told me about. Most of the time, when a half-breed tries to get pregnant, even if theyre ovting it is no use..." Vahn knew Eina was speaking the truth as there had been several attempts by goddesses of fertility in the past to help increase the conception rate. Even with a blessing that should guarantee pregnancy, the actual sess rate was as low as 1% for some species...especially half-elves and half-dwarves. Since they already had incredibly low fertility rates, the half-breeds were even lower. It wasnt umon for a half-elf to spend their entire life without producing a single offspring, and that held true for both males and females. cing his hand on top of Einas, which was still listlessly stroking his thigh, Vahn whispered, "I will do my best to guarantee we have children of our own...whenever youre ready, Im always willing to try. No matter how much effort it takes..." Squeezing Einas hand, Vahn noticed it was surprisingly cold so he held it to his chest and began to channel [Heart of the Eternal me] to heat up his body. Eina had an elegant smile on her face which slowly turned into a more cheerful one as Vahns warmth spread through her palm. She could also feel the arm he had wrapped around her body get progressively hotter and knew he was trying tofort her. Pulling her hand away from his chest, Eina angled her body and gave Vahn a kiss on the lips for a couple of seconds. Vahn loosely held her waist as she pulled away and said, "On our wedding night...I promised to preserve my chastity until I was married. I dont want to break my promise to my mother, so make sure youre prepared by then. Ill get Hephaestus to give me some advice and we can both work together..." For a brief moment, Vahn imagined the ruby-eyed Hephaestus and the emerald-eyed Eina n.a.k.e.d in the same bed while still wearing their wedding dresses. A primordial instinct took over his body and he gulped so loudly that it was audible. His reaction made Einaugh as she hugged his head into her cor and whispered, "Even if we dont have s.e.x...it doesnt mean we cant do other stuff. I think you deserve a reward for all the hard work youve been doingtely. Since I havent stayed over in a while, I think Ill sleep here tonight...Darling." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Listen to Onee-san!,The Gates are Open!,Listen to Onee-san~) I am currently at $749/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 253 - Leave it to me...

Chapter 253 - Leave it to me...

Because of his personal preference, the dining room table was the same style of low table as the ones he had used back at his old workshop and during his stay with Tsubaki. In fact, because he enjoyed the style, Vahn hadpletely redesigned the dining room to simte the designs of the Far East. One of the main reasons he enjoyed this style of table was that he could easily sit next to others without any difficulty. Right now, Eina was sitting at his left and they were in very close proximity to each other while the new maids, Erimu and Maemi served dinner. Hestia would typically sit next to him and get in the way a bit, but she was now on the opposite side of the table nking Preasia with Fenrir. Though Vahn wasnt aware of everything she had experienced, he could tell that Preasia had suffered a severe trauma and was in a catatonic state. She had almost no expressions and only ate small bites of food when it was offered to her. Though she seemed to respond to peoples words and followed their guidance, Preasia still hadnt spoken a single time since Vahn had met her. Because the maid outfit she had originally worn wasnt appropriate, Hestia had helped her change into a thick wool sweater and something simr to pajama pants with slippers. Because of her shaggy hair and tail, Preasia looked somewhat round and fluffypared to most normal girls. After everyone got their dishes, the twins sat down and Vahn started the meal after giving a short weing speech to their new members. As the Captain of the Familia, it was his job to regte and assign duties to everyone in the future but he had left the twins to the discretion of Hestia until they decided what kind of training they wanted to do. Vahn learned that, other than basic chores and cooking, the girls didnt actually have much of an education at all. Even though they were already sixteen years old, they had never learned to read or write properly as it was unnecessary in their rtively nomadic lifestyle in the Northern Tundras. From now on, other than cleaning and cooking, they would be learning to read alongside Fenrir. Just imagining Fenrir helping the girls learn to read made Vahn smile slightly. After dinner, Hestia took all of the girls together to enjoy a group bath in the onsen. Surprisingly, the twins had actually experienced onsens before as they lived near a mountain range where hot springs weremon in the mountains. The only person who didnt have a reaction was Preasia who needed to be tended to by Hestia with the support of the twins. Of course, Vahn didnt learn any of this untilter as he was in the mens side being apanied by Eina for the first time. Surprisingly, even though he had seen several girls n.a.k.e.d, Vahn had never seen the body of his own first wife before now. Eina didnt even show up to ask for a massage and they only went on a few dates alongside Hephaestus. When Vahn asked why, Eina told him that she didnt want to enjoy Vahns service and care like the other girls. If she had her way, she would be the one taking care of Vahn so that he could actually rx. When Vahn first saw Einas n.a.k.e.d body, he was very impressed by the somewhat youthful, yet mature, figure of the half-elf girl. They were nearly identical in height, except Eina was a single centimeters shorter at 164cm. As for her sizes, she had rtivelyrge b.r.e.a.s.ts that measured about 86cmpared to her 56cm waist and 87cm h.i.p.s. Though Vahn never really noticed it before, he could see that Eina actually had arge bust and rtively fleshy butt with thin, long legs, and a healthyplexion. Though slight, she had a bit of matching brown hair on her pubic region that made her seem more mature. Though she had a flushed expression, Eina had a smile on her face before helping Vahn undress and leading him to the smallest of the pools, one typically only suitable for a single person. While helping him undress earlier, Eina had also taken a close inspection of Vahns body and noticed that he had an incredibly athletic figure with a thin waist that almost made her jealous. Even though his muscles looked firm, when she touched them with her fingers they were actually somewhat springy. Of course, as was to be expected, the thing she took the most notice of was Vahns p.e.n.i.s. She had heard the rumors, but this was actually her first time seeing what some of the girls on thework called the slumbering beast. After helping Vahn sit in the pool, Eina stood in the center before crouching down in front of him with a surprisingly enamored look. If not for her clear eyes, Vahn would have thought she was aroused, but he also saw how stable her aura was and knew this was a normal reaction for her. Even though her blush reached her ears, she was actually calm and rational while she stared at Vahn from the front. Because of the small size of the pool, Eina was kneeling down between Vahns open legs without making any efforts to conceal herself at all. Tilting her head sideways, Eina asked curiously, "Does it not get big when you see a n.a.k.e.d girl? I always heard that boys get aroused easily..." For a moment, Eina wanted to ask if Vahn didnt like her body but she knew it was a dumb question and trailed off her words at the end. Vahn thought about her words for a moment before exining, "I think that, other than my expression, Ive always had near perfect control over my body. Ive never gotten an erection unexpectedly after the very first time it happened." Einas brows raised slightly as she leaned forward and poked the sleeping beast with a bit of intrigue. After a few seconds, she looked into Vahns eyes and asked, "Can you get it up for me?" As if speaking a magic spell, Eina noticed that Vahns beast immediately awakened and even shot up for a breath of air. Other than her eyes opening slightly for a brief moment and her ears turning redder, Eina didnt have a reaction to the awakening other thanmenting, "I feel like its bigger than the rumors stated." It was Vahns turn to be surprised as he asked, "Do the other girls really talk about that kind of stuff on thework?" Ever since they had established their personalwork, Vahn had been denied ess to it other than when he asked someone to send a message for him. Eina nodded her head and exined, "Its quite the curious thing really, I never knew how fun it could be to converse with people throughout the City. Other than the exorbitant price of the ink, I really feel that it should be a more easily essible form ofmunication." With a smile on her face, Eina continued, "It helps that we all have something inmon to talk about. Every time you went on a date with some of the girls, they would spend part of the evening bragging about all the ces you took them and the clothes they tried on~" Vahn imagined several of the girls he associated with happily writing away in their scrolls while passing messages back and forth between each other. He had once asked for a scroll of his own, but he was shot down and told that it was better if the girls had their ownwork ofmunication without having to worry about him seeing anything. Though Vahn had agreed at the time, he was now somewhat jealous and wanted to at least purchase a second set of scrolls just to keep in touch with everyone. For the brief period of time when Vahn was thinking, Eina stood up from the water and turned her back to him. Vahn was somewhat tempted to pinch her butt, which had turned slightly red from being submerged in the hot water. Eina looked toward him and said, "Excuse me for a moment, Im just a bit curious..." After speaking, Eina sat down into Vahnsp with her legs on the outside of his. Vahn could only really see her back, but he put his arms around her front out of habit before peaking over her shoulder. Eina had rested her genitals on top of Vahns p.e.n.i.s, near the base, and had gingerly held it upwards toward her own stomach. Tracing her index finger from her bellybutton, it looked like she was trying to measure the distance between it and the head of his p.e.n.i.s. After confirming it, Eina said, "If youre this close to my navel, I cant help but worry about some of the smaller girls." Her words finished, Eina climbed off of Vahns body before sitting back down between his legs. Vahn released a sigh and exined, "I should be able to do something about the size with practice..." Eina heard his words and giggled a bit before saying, "That is a very Vahn-like way to think about things. I dont think you should worry about it at all, as some of the girls would just see it as a challenge. There is no need for full-insertion to begin with, so just keep doing your best and it should be fine. After all of Hephaestuss bragging, I dont think anyone would fault you for the amount of attention you put into your efforts." Einas words made Vahnugh slightly as he seriously considered what she had said. Remembering thepetition between Tiona and Ais, Vahn somewhat agreed with what she said. The moment he thought about the two girls, Eina asked, "Ah, youre thinking about Tiona and Ais?" Vahn was surprised and raised his brows a bit as she continued, "You have slightly different expressions when you think about different girls. It is kind of cute..." Crawling closer to his body, Eina asked, "Tell me Vahn, what can I do for you...Is there anything youve ever been curious about?" Vahn grit his teeth a bit as Eina ced her hands on his sides and stared into his eyes with her emerald green pair. For a brief moment, Vahn thought about some of the acts that he had seen at the red light district, but he immediately frowned before saying, "Even if I enjoy s.e.x, I dont think its a good time to get into anything more than what Ive already done. I just like spending time with you and rxing like we are, I dont think we need to do anything illicit..." Einas smile widened a bit as she moved away and rested against the opposite side of the pool. She spread her arms and said, "Come then,y down and let me hold you...I can do at least that much, right?" Vahn felt a bit of warmth spread through his heart as he moved through the water and turned his back beforeying against Einas b.r.e.a.s.ts. Even though the pool was small, he could still float a bit if he oriented his body properly. Eina wrapped her arms around his chest and pulled Vahn closer toward her as she cradled him in her bosom and stared at his face from above. After the bath ended, Eina and Vahn headed to his room and rxed in the bed for a bit while Vahn scanned the Manor with his perception and located where everyone was presently. He could tell that the girls were still in the onsen, so he only paid a bit of attention to them as enjoyed the feeling of Eina leaning against his shoulder. For a few minutes, they just continued toy in silence until Vahn saw that Hestia had gone to stay in the same room as Fenrir and Preasia. He smiled since he knew she was giving him some alone time with Eina, even though this would be the second day in a row he failed to spoil her. When Eina heard Vahns status report of the location of the other girls, she sat up on the bed with the same gentle smile and slightly flushed face as she said, "Take off your shirt andy on your stomach. Since you enjoy giving massages so much, I thought it was about time that you received one of your own. Though I cant imagine Im as skilled as your godly hands, I think I can at least help you rx a bit." Without unequipping it, Vahn removed the tunic he wore to bed before rolling over onto his stomach with a bit of expectation building up inside him. Eina, who had been wearing a pair of frilly red shorts and a light-yellow sleeveless blouse, removed her top and revealed her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Since none of the girls seemed to wear their bras while they slept, when she removed her top Eina rose-bud protrusions werepletely visible. Before Vahn could ask, she exined, "If I can make you feel a little tense, it will be easier to find the areas that need to be massaged. Just rx your body and entrust everything to me..." Vahn nodded his head and took Einas advice as hepletely released the tension from his body. She sat on his lower back with her rtively light body and began massaging his shoulders while probing for any knots that might have built up in his body. Vahn knew that she had probably researched it a bit but had likely never given a massage to anyone before. However, even though it wasnt a high-level technique, Vahn felt like the massage Eina gave him was incrediblyfortable. Even the warm and fleshy feeling of her butt against his lower back was enough to make him feel happy, much less the pleasant feeling of the actual massage. Before even a few minutes had passed, Vahn ended up falling asleep with a happy smile on his face. (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Strength of an Onee-san,Sisterly Advice and Skinship,It is important to receive and not just give, give, give.) (A/N: It may not be obvious since I cant fit every character into every chapter, but you should imagine that most of Vahns and Einas interactions are like this. Remember, even though she sees herself as his wife, Eina also sees Vahn as something akin to a younger brother that needs her care.) I am currently at $749/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 254 - Contemplation

Chapter 254 - Contemtion

When Vahn awoke early the next morning, he could feel a pleasant warmth and afortable weight on his back. Even without looking he could tell that Eina had fallen asleep on top of him and had both of her hands on his shoulders with her head resting against his back. Judging by the direct heat, Vahn knew she was still topless as well and thought she might have slept on top of him to prevent him from leaving. Since Eina wanted him to rx more, it seemed like she was taking passive action to force him to think about things clearly before taking action. While enjoying the warmth against his body, Vahn started to contemte his next course of action seriously. He could either challenge the Ishtar Familia to a Wargame after he gathered more information, or he could continue with his n to kidnap Haruhime. The first course of action had the downside that he would have to leave Haruhime in the brothel for another whole month. There was also the possibility that, since she was important to the original plot, there was something unique about her that had drawn Ishtars attention in the first ce. If she knew Haruhime was the stakes in the bet, Ishtar might simply remove her or move her ns up before the Wargame even begins. If Vahn took the second route, though it would almost guarantee Haruhimes safety, he would have to keep her hidden away or sneak her out of the City. Hiding her away would cause Ishtar to continue searching for her, but it would also give him time to pressure the Ishtar Familia through legal channels. Even though her Familia was quite powerful, it couldnt stand up to the might of the Loki Familia and the logistical support of the Hephaestus Familia. Letting her leave the City alongside the Takemikazuchi Familia could be a good choice, but Vahn wasnt sure sending them away would be enough. The Takemikazuchi Familia wasnt that strong and Haruhime could have been targeted by some scheme even back in her homnd of the Far East. Though he couldnt be sure, Vahn suspected this was the case since it didnt make sense for so many conveniences to align. Not only was she framed, but when her father was pressured by others and left her to a Pallum trader, he got immediately ambushed by bandits? Vahn didnt think there were such conveniences in the world, especially since Haruhime was part of the original plot. The fact that the bandits didnt do anything to her and immediately shipped her across the ocean was another red g since the trip was incredibly costly. Unless they were bandits that also doubled as sailors, there wouldnt be a lot of profit in her export since Renards werent that umon in the Far East. One key detail that had captured his attention was the fact that Haruhime wasnt sold to the ve trader even when he supposedly made arge offer. This meant that Ishtar treated her as a specialmodity instead ofmon merchandise. Besides, though he couldnt exin why, Vahn somehow felt it would fall to him to protect Haruhime for some reason. He already empathized with her greatly and wanted to help her and there didnt seem to be an easy way to entrust her to the Takemikazuchi Familia either. Given his current track record of saving girls and them falling for him, Vahn suspected there was something about his character that drew damaged and traumatized girls to him. He knew he was somewhat broken as well, and perhaps it was the mutualfort they sought in each other that brought them closer. Though he wasnt entirely sure, it felt like the only girl in his life that wasnt damaged was Eina...if he found out she had a tragic past as well, Vahn wouldnt know what to say. Ultimately, Vahn decided to leave it up to what Haruhime wanted to do. Since she had been separated from her homnd and lived a life filled with suffering, Vahn would do whatever it took to restore some normalcy to her life. If she decided to stay in the Hearth Manor, he would protect her and slowly try to weaken the Ishtar Familia over time. If she went with the Takemikazuchi Familia, Vahn would pay for their return trip back to the Far East and have them escort Shizune. But, no matter how Vahn looked at it, he was almost positive she would decide to stay with him for some reason. Perhaps it was the whims of fate or the influence of karma, but Vahn had deeply immersed himself into the core of this record. His actions affected events so strongly that The Path actually had to assign him quests just to prevent the record from destabilizing in the future. Since Haruhime was part of the original plot, she likely yed a key role in the conclusion of the original story and might even feel somepulsion to stay within the City. Releasing a stifled sigh, Vahn slowly moved his body to the side until he could get Eina off of his body. She opened her eyes because of the change and asked in a low tone, "Do you really have to go?" Vahn looked into her emerald green eyes and saw the concern deep within. Removing some of the hair from her face, Vahn stroked Einas cheek and replied, "After this, Ill do what I can to manage things from within the Familia. I might not be able to act openly with the Alliance, but Ill see if Loki can put some pressure on Ishtar if she gets out of control. Just like with Lili, Ill save Haruhime and help her grow strong enough to protect herself...I want to save her." Though Vahn felt like he waspelled by fate, he also knew it was a fate of his own choosing. Had he decided to avoid Orario, he likely wouldnt have changed events at all. Instead, he threw himself right into the thick of things just because of his own desires and curiosity. Now that he had changed events to such an extent that it had a negative impact on another persons life, Vahn wanted to step in and fix things. Regardless of how he thought about it, it wasnt his responsibility, but it was his actual desire to save Haruhime that drove him forward. Just like when he saved the six girls, it was a decision he had made without even consulting others and it was these choices that helped him maintain his personal happiness... Eina showed a somewhat sad smile before sitting up in the bed and kissing Vahn. Since she was still topless, her b.r.e.a.s.ts pressed against his bare chest and he could feel the warmthing from her body as he hugged her back and waist. After a few seconds had passed, Eina pulled away and spoke with a gentle tone, "I love you Vahn, make sure you take care of yourself. If youre back early enough, Ill make you breakfast." Vahn gingerly stroked both sides of Einas face with his palms before cing his forehead against hers and saying, "Youre too good for me Eina...I love you too. Ill be back before the sun even rises in the sky." In response, Eina giggled a bit before saying, "Fine, dont keep me waiting. Bad boys get punished for breaking their word~!" Giving Eina onest kiss, Vahn tucked her into bed and allowed her to go back to sleep. It was currently only around 2 AM, so there were still several hours before sunrise. As he walked through the room, Vahn noticed a presence stir next door and sent a mentalmand as he whispered lightly, "Ill be back soon Fenrir...take care of our family while Im away." After moving around a bit more, the presenceid back down and Vahn knew Fenrir had returned to sleep while protecting Hestia and Preasia. Leaving the Manor, Vahn dashed through the early morning mist with nearly soundless footsteps while wearing a light-grey cloak that blended into the surroundings. Once he got to an open area, he used Shundo to quickly make his way across the rooftops as he headed toward the brothel where Haruhime and purportedly been seen. Unless they had been alerted by his actions the previous day, she should still be there even now since it was still the active hours for several of the brothels. Because he had been moving at a swift pace, Vahn reached his destination within twenty minutes and stood atop a brothel that was ten stories above ground while having six bas.e.m.e.nt levels. It was a rather luxurious brothel and Vhan could detect the presences of more than sixty people contained within. Hoping that she was one of the singr presences, Vahn used his [Eyes of Truth] to inspect each person until he finally set his sights on a very petite young girl with blond hair and fox-like ears. She was wearing a red kimono that had been opened slightly to reveal her budding b.r.e.a.s.ts and it looked like she had been covered in various liquids that made the cold sensation in Vahns mind begin to spread rapidly. Calming himself for a few minutes, Vahn continued to inspect her body for any injuries or peculiarities as he noticed something out of ce. Since he had peered into the bodies of others before, including women like Hephaestus and Eva, Vahn knew about the differences between a mature body and that of a maiden. He could tell, though she seemed to be in a sorry state, that Haruhime was still theter of the two. Perhaps because they thought she was too young, but she still seemed to be a v.i.r.g.i.n for the time being. Though Vahn realized this, he also knew that didnt necessarily mean she wasnt mistreated. Unless those liquids were put on her body artificially, Haruhime had likely be subjected to several deviant treatments. Fortunately, her body seemed to be unblemished even though it was somewhat dirty which showed she didnt have any injuries. Releasing a relieved sigh, Vahn inspected through the rest of the brothel and gave a cursory inspection of any strong auras. He could tell there was at least two Level 4s within the building but the one near Haruhime was on the weaker end of the spectrum. She looked like she had just recently reached Level 4, but Vahn still inspected her to see if he could find anything strange. Using his [Eyes of Truth], he prated through the various levels of the building and saw someone he hadnt expected to see at all. Vahn released a second sigh, this one of pure exasperation because the woman he had just seen was the very same Amazon that had tried to seduce him on the first day of his investigation. Though he didnt regret refusing her challenge, Vahn realized he could have met Haruhime even sooner and avoided the incident with the ve trafficker. Of course, that meant he wouldnt have saved the six girls either, so Vahn wasnt entirely upset at the oue. He simply disliked how whimsical fate seemed to be and wondered if it was somehow the machinations of The Path setting him down an optimal route. He didnt me The Path at all, since Vahn knew it only responded to his actual desires and needs. Because he had truly wanted to meet and save Haruhime, his actions had inadvertently led him to meet one of the p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es close to her. If he had epted the girls offer at the time, Vahn would havee across Haruhime much sooner. Since he had yed it safe and wanted to take the more heroic route, Vahn ended up on a side path that allowed him to save several other people and still find out information about Haruhime...it was like all of his actions eventually led him where he wanted to go as long as he didnt give up. Of course, Vahn had no illusions that it meant the path he wanted to take would be without dangers. Because of his actions, he had almost died three times and only escaped because of his efforts and the strategies he incorporated. Thepletion of this quest would be the same, as long as he prepared properly and pushed forward without giving up, Vahn could ovee the situation and benefit greatly from it. If he gotcent and dropped his guard, Vahn could die from a single well-ced punch by someone as weak as Level 2. Taking a deep breath, Vahn gave the area onest inspection before deciding the course of action he wanted to take. Since the Level 4 Amazon seemed to be guarding Haruhime, he would likely have to confront her unless he wanted to pretend to be a client. This would potentially expose him though since Vahn was certain the matters rted to the ve trafficker bust had been spread through the Entertainment District by now. The only viable option seemed to be to infiltrate the brothel and whisk away Haruhime before anyone noticed. He could also use [Enkidu] and directly kill the Amazon woman before she even knew what was happening, but Vahn saw that she actually had a mellow aura that was colored with a yellow coloration. This meant she either had a personal liking toward him for some reason or that she was an actual kind person. If Vahn killed her without verifying it from himself, he wouldnt be able to deal with the situation if he found out she was actually protecting Haruhime. Saving the girl after killing someone they cared about didnt seem like the best method for making Haruhime happy in the future. (A/N: Alternate Titles:Vahn uses his head,Vahn uses his head again,Since when does Vahn think things through!?) I am currently at $749/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 255 - Convictions

Chapter 255 - Convictions

After formting his n, Vahn snuck into the brothel and avoided detection as he made his way down several floors until he was on the ground level. There were several people asleep in many rooms while the noises of intimate actions echoed from others. Vahn kept his mind calm and slowly made his way through using his stealth to avoid drawing attention to himself. When he finally entered therge corridor where Haruhimes room was located, Vahn saw the Amazon sitting at the end of the hallway outside the door. Noticing the arrival of the figure wearing a light-grey cloak, the Amazon stood up and tilted her head sideways as she asked, "Hmm~? If youre a customer, Ill ask you to remove your cloak. If you continue to hide your face, I might just have to punish you." Without responding, Vahn grabbed the hood of his cloak and pulled it back revealing his white hair, tiger-like ears, and icy-blue eyes. When she saw his face, the Amazon womans brow raised slightly as she said, "Its you?" Vahn showed a slight smile and responded, "Sorry about that." Though he could see the Amazons aura turn somewhat fiery, Vahn noticed that she didnt immediately be hostile. Instead, she had a seductive smile on her face as she asked, "Oh? Have youe to make it up to me~?" Before she could walk forward, Vahn raised his hand slowly and exined, "My purpose here is somewhat different..." Before he finished, the Amazon beganughing seductively and said, "So the person looking for Haruhime was actually the famous Vahn Mason? Here to y hero?" Vahns brows raised momentarily before a somewhat fierce look appeared on his face. When he was about to ask, the Amazon woman exined, "Even if it isntmon knowledge, there are quite a few people that know about your transformation ability. Didnt you make it public knowledge when you entered the dungeon in the past~? There arent many weretigers in the City, especially ones with white hair and blue eyes..." After thinking it over briefly, Vahn realized she was correct and that he hadnt done nearly enough to actually hide his identity. Dropping his hands, Vahn stood casually and asked, "Are you going to stop me?" In response, the Amazon woman yfully touched the sp on her revealing bottoms and had a glimmer in her eye as she asked, "It depends on what you intend to do~? If youre here for business, I dont mind attending to you. But, if you want to touch Haruhime...Im not sure you have the capabilities." With a frown on his face, Vahn asked, "What is Haruhime to you? You seem protective of her, but Ive seen the state she is in...that isnt something that happens when youre being protected." As he spoke, the Amazon womans smile slowly faded and she had a serious look on her face as her aura became tinged with the colors of hatred. ring at Vahn, the Amazon said, "I am protecting her...you have no idea of the situation. If I could, I would have taken her away from this ce long ago." Flexing his ws a bit, Vahn asked in a serious manner, "Ivee to help her, will you stand in my way?" Even if Ishtar already knew about his presence, this only meant Vahn was more pressed to save Haruhime now instead of waiting for Ishtar to take action. However, he suspected the goddess had something different in mind seeing how she only left one person to guard Haruhime, two if counting the second Level 4 that was in a room in the lower levels. With a fierce look on her face, the Amazon asked, "Do you really have the resolve to protect Haruhime from what is toe? Why should I entrust her to you?" Without answering her question, Vahnpressed his domain and focused his intent on the Amazon girl in an instant. She was temporarily stunned and, in the time it took for her to regain control of her body, Vahn wrapped her arms and legs with [Enkidu] before stepping in with Shundo and cing his hand on her abdomen. The Amazon looked at him with absolute shock and discovered she could do nothing about the chains holding her arms and legs tightly. No matter how much strength she mustered, the didnt even move by a single millimeter. She looked down at Vahn and was about to berate him before she felt a powerful heat spreading through her body that made all the muscles in her lower body forcibly rx. The chains wrapping around her legs dissipated and she was lowered to her knees with the chains holding up her torso and arms. cing his palm on the Amazons head, Vahn stated inly, "No matter what happens, I will always fight to protect the things Ive chosen to protect. Even if I have to face difficulties, I will never give up in my goal of creating a happy world for myself and the people in my care." Without giving her time to respond, Vahn converged his aura into the Amazons body and began driving out the foreign energy that had been soaked into her mind. The Amazons eyes widened as she gritted her teeth to resist the wave of energy overtaking her body without exnation. After a few seconds passed, she felt most of her stamina hadpletely drained as an emptiness overtook her body. Apanying the emptiness, however, she could feel a sense of liberation, almost like a burden that had gued her mind had been removed. The chains wrapped her arms loosened and Vahn helpedy her on the floor as he looked into her eyes and said, "You arent the only one that is willing to do whatever it takes to help others. Now you can make your own decisions...just dont get in my way." Vahn stood up after driving out the poisonous pink energy that had been tainting the Amazons body. Though he wasnt entirely sure, he intuited that it was like the charm Divinity of Isthar and it had been controlling the actions of the girl in front of him. She obviously cared about Haruhime yet chose to let her stay in this nightmare facility. The only reason Vahn could think of behind her actions was that she was acting against her will. Since she still kept a bit of her sanity and protected Haruhime even under the influence of another, Vahn knew she had to be someone with a strong mentality. The Amazon looked up at him with confusion and relief on her face as she asked, "How? It shouldnt be possible..." Vahn looked down and showed a somewhat confident smile as he responded, "Ive never much cared for what others thought possible. My only concern is doing my best to protect the things I care about...Im going now, will you stop me?" For several seconds, the Amazon looked at Vahn as if he was some anomalous entity that defiedmon sense. Even though she could tell he was weaker than her, he was able to defeat her before she even had enough time to process a war cry. Now, he had weakened her to the point where she couldnt fight back at all and had even removed the charm effect from her mind. There was nothing she could do to stop him, even if she wanted to take a hard stance to protect Haruhime. Releasing a muted sigh, she looked up at Vahn with an appraising smile as she said, "My name is Aisha Belka...please protect Haruhime. Ill trust you for now and try to buy you some time." Vahn nodded his head before setting a Hi-Stamina-Potion on the ground that would allow Aisha to recover a bit of her strength. Even after his surprise attack, her aura hadnt turned hostile toward him at all so he knew she wasnt currently a threat. Before turning away and entering the room with Haruhime, Vahn muttered, "We all choose the path we follow...dont do anything that would make others sad. Ishtar cant move against me easily and Ill do what I can do deal with her in my own way." Without waiting for her response, Vahn opened up the door to Haruhimes room and stepped over the threshold. He could sense Aisha picking up the potion before moving along the corridor with a spirited aura that was much more lively than the mellow aura she had previously. While he was focused on her, Haruhime twitched a bit before she sat up from therge futon that was soiled with somewhat disgusting fluids. She saw the entrance of the boy before her and made no efforts to conceal her body as she wiped off her exposed skin with a towel and moved toward her client. Vahn noticed her movements and his expression turned a bit pained as he grabbed Haruhimes wrists and prevent her from trying to remove his clothes. She had a confused expression on her face as she looked up at him with her cid green eyes and asked, "Did you want something else Sir? I...might be a bit inexperienced-" Before Haruhime could continue, Vahn ced his hand on her head and used [Hands of Nirvana] to drive away her anxiety as he exined, "I havee here to save you from this ce Haruhime. Im friends with the Takemikazuchi Familia and they asked me to help you..." Though she was confused, Haruhimes body flinched when Vahn mentioned saving her and the fact that he knew her friends. She could hardly believe that his words were true, but the warmthing from his hand made her feel strangely safe and secure as it pushed away the bad feelings from her mind. With tears in her eyes, Haruhime shook her head and exined, "Its toote...I dont deserve to be saved anymore. Im a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e...a dirty girl that is the enemy of heroes. If you try to save me, youll just invite disaster on yourself..." Vahns heart felt like it twisted in his chest as he shook his head and cradled the sides of Haruhimes face and looked directly into her watery green eyes. He exined seriously, "This isnt a life you chose for yourself, you have just as much a right as anyone else to be free and search for your happiness. I dont know what kind of life youve lived for the past three years but I can say with certainty youre not a dirty girl that doesnt deserve salvation." Haruhimes grabbed Vahns wrists and pulled her head away from his hands as she eximed, "No, you dont understand..." Before she could continue, Vahn decided he needed to rify something since it might help here to terms with the situation, "Haruhime, Im not sure what you think, but Im something of an expert when ites to inspecting the bodies of others. Without any doubt, I can guarantee you are still a v.i.r.g.i.n..." Though she had a mncholic expression before, now Haruhime had an incredulous look on her face as she stared at Vahn and said, "Eeeiii~? That isnt possible!" As if to prove some kind of point, Haruhime picked up the towel she had used to wipe down her body, "Look, look at all this dirty stuff! Every time I have a client, I always wake up covered in this foul liquid!" Grabbing the towel from Haruhimes hands, Vahn turned it into ashes before shaking his head and exining, "There are several ways to confirm it once we get you out of here. All you have to do is ask a goddess of Fertility or have another woman verify it for you. If I had to guess, that fluid was probably ced on your body just to put mental pressure on you and prevent you from developing the desire to escape on your own..." Haruhimes eyes were wide and she seemed to have trouble contemting everything Vahn was saying. Pressing down her ears with her hands, Haruhime squatted down on the floor and muttered to herself, "Can it really be true...am I not a dirty girl after all?" While she was lost in thought, Vahn walked over and helped calm her mind as he knelt down beside her and helped close up her red kimono. She looked into his blue eyes and saw the care and concern he had for her and asked, "Is it really true? Can I still be happy? Will you really save me?" Vahn showed a slight smile and said, "Of course, even if you didnt want me to save you, I would still take you away from this ce. The world is far bigger than this small room and youll eventually find the happiness you seek if you never give up. Dont worry about Ishtar or any of her Familia, there are a lot of great people that will help to protect you from her influence." As he spoke, Haruhimes eyes began to clear up a bit as her tail brushed the ground slowly. For a brief moment, Haruhime hung her head and muttered to herself for a bit until she looked up and said with a hopeful voice, "Please save me!" Responding to her words, Vahn had a smile on his face as he gently stroked her hair and said, "You dont need to ask at all... lets go, there are a lot of people that would like to see you safe and happy. If we work together, there is nothing we cant ovee." Without continuing the conversation any further, Vahn picked up Haruhime in a princess carry that made her fl.u.s.ter a bit before wrapped her arms around his neck. She immediately noticed that Vahns body was incredibly hot, almost like a hearth whose warmth brought safety andfort while driving away the darkness in her heart. Since he was carrying her like a princess, Haruhime couldnt help but feel like he was a hero that had arrived in her hour of need and freed her from her suffering. Just like the stories she read often in the past, Vahn had suddenly taken the ce of each of the heroes in the novels while she was the damsel in distress that needed saving. Though she wasnt sure what the future held, Haruhime wondered if she might be able to live happily ever after just like the heroine in a fairy tale... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Reunion : Solicitation,Vahns Resolve,Haruhimes Desire) I am currently at $718/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 256 - Misty Morning Air

Chapter 256 - Misty Morning Air

Vahn followed the corridors of the brothel in silence as he evaded any paths where others were located. One of the best benefits of his domain was his ability to track presences, regardless of what level of the building a person was on. After a few minutes, he made his way to a window and opened thetch before stepping out into the cold night air and using Shundo to jump to a nearby roof. The entire time he was carrying her, Haruhime tucked her head against his chest and kept absolutely silent while hugging his neck. Since Shundo connected two points and allowed him to transfer between them seamlessly, it wasnt actually based off eleration and momentum. Even if he moved rapidly enough that he would have broken the sound barrier, it had no adverse effects on his body or the person he was carrying. Vahn could tell that Haruhime was very weak so he made sure to use Shundo instead of running through the streets with her in tow. To prevent her from s.u.mbing to the cold morning air, he also channeled [Heart of the Eternal me] and kept the area around their bodies warm. From Haruhimes perspective, she felt brief periods of weightlessness and opened her eyes periodically to see Vahn the area around her disappear from sight only for it to be reced by apletely new scene. She felt like Vahn was teleporting through the sky while holding her in his arms as the warmth from his body and domain drove away the cold night air. She knew that it was cold enough for frost to build up on metal during the mornings, yet the only thing Haruhime felt was a pleasant warmth and the security that Vahns embrace brought her. Though he was ignoring it from the time being, Vahn heard the system notifications for every time Haruhimes affection increased for him. After giving it a brief nce, he saw it was already nearing ny points and suspected she might actually reach the threshold toplete the quest before he even got halfway to the Manor. Since he already expected that she would grow attached to him, Vahn was already prepared for the consequences and would help Haruhime stabilize her mind and interact with others for the time being. Vahn knew from personal experience that saving a girl from dire straights had a big impact, but he didnt want every girl around him to be so reliant on him. Though he didnt think about it much before, Vahn felt like he had a preference for girls that were in control of their own lives and proactively doing their best to improve. Since Haruhime was weak, she fell into the category of people he needed to protect until she was strong enough to ovee her own mentality. The real problem came from the fact that Haruhime was currently undergoing a change to her own mentality. Since she thought she was dirty and Vahn had told her she wasnt, he suspected it would be a powerful driving force behind her future actions. He couldnt determine what was going through her mind, but every additional point of affection she felt for him was like an rm in Vahns mind. When he had briefly looked over it earlier, alongside the 88 affection, Haruhime already had the words (Fated Partner) next to it. He hoped she would be able to stabilize with the influence of the others girl at the Manor since he knew there was no easy way to change her mind without saying that he didnt want to be with her. Even if he said it, Vahn wouldnt have believed it himself as he thought she was actually quite beautiful and had already told her that he would protect her. Though it might be a mild inconvenience, Vahn was confident he would be able to deal with Haruhime over time. He did, however, feel a strange desire to find some malepanions to offset his burdens somewhat. As he had heard from the girls in the past, Vahn was very aware that he had some kind of aversion towards other guys. After he thought about it, it was very likely due to the fact that the majority of the people rted to his own trauma in his past life were men. Over the course of the fourteen years, Vahn had only ever seen girls inside manga and anime and only personally interacted with two real females. Even here in the Danmachi record, most of the problems he had to deal with often rted to men or were perpetrated by them. Until this instance with the Ishtar Familia, Vahn hadnt really associated girls with as many negative emotions as he did with men. Now that he had driven a wedge between himself and Welf a bit, Vahn needed to interact with more guys and potentially expose them to some of the girls around him. Though it might be difficult, Vahn needed to find some real friends that he could interact with or he wouldnt be able to release his tensions easily. However, other than Bell and Welf, Vahn wasnt too sure of his interactions with other guys except for maybe Finn, Gareth, and potentially Bete. Even in the manga, Vahn hadnt seen too many guys that he could easily be friends with as even Hermes seemed somewhat suspect in his intentions. As he stepped off a high chimney and jumped through the sky, the image of Take and Ouka appeared in his mind and Vahn came to a brief stop as he looked down at Haruhime. Noticing they had stopped, Haruhime looked up at Vahn with her cid green eyes and asked, "Is something wrong?" Vahn shook his head and exined, "I was thinking about the Takemikazuchi Familia. Ill need to inform them that youre in my care, and theyll probably stop by and potentially want to take you in their custody. Since they arent that strong, I was wondering if there might-" While he was exining, Haruhime put a bit of strength in her arms and ced her head against his chest. Since she hadrge fluffy ears, they actually tickled his chin a bit which caused her ears to flutter as she said, "I want to stay with you. Im happy to see my friends again, but I want to stay with the person that saved me..." Since Vahn was going to exin that he wanted her to stay even if Take wanted to take her away, he just remained silent and increased the warmth of his own body before using Shundo to move to the next building. The only thing he had been worried about was Ouka making a scene, but Vahn could just deal with that when the timees. Vahns impression of Ouka wasnt actually that bad, even though he came off as a little abrasive in their first meeting. He seemed to be a devoted and focused individual and was very respectful to his god. If possible, Vahn thought they could be friends in the future since he thought Ouka was the type that could be strong with a bit of polish. Once things settled down, Vahn could even give Ouka a me seed, though he didnt know how effective it would be on a guy since it increased their growth based on their feelings toward him. Other than Ouka, Vahn thought about hanging out with any other guys and then taking them out for drinks or something. Though he used to be cautious in the past, Vahn was absolutely certain he was entirely immune to alcohol now. Even drugs had no effect on him at all as they were instantly filtered by his blood. Knowing this, Vahn figured he could get together a group of guys and potentially even create his own work of men just like the girls had done. Vahn felt like it would be nice to have other guys he could trust and seek advice from to help him deal with issues that werent always addressed easily by girls. After around half an hour, Vahn stepped into his own courtyard and tried to set Haruhime down but she continued to hold onto his neck as she looked around the rtively expansive plot ofnd and therge Manor contained within. She had long reached 100 affection for him, and Vahn had her [Hearts Desire: Sanjouno Haruhime] stowed away in his inventory. He decided to put off viewing it until she had stabilized as it might influence his treatment of her in the near future. After a few seconds, Haruhime turned her head up at Vahn and asked, "Is this going to be our home?" Hearing Haruhime say our home before things were even rified, Vahn released an inaudible sigh through his nose and had a wry expression on his face as he nodded his head. Since she awkwardly held on to his body without letting him put her down, Vahn carried her the rest of the way to the front door while exining, "This is the Hearth Manor, home of the Hestia Familia and my personal residence. Youll be safe here until we can find a way to deal with the Ishtar Familia. Even though she has a bit of wealth and influence, there is no way she can easily pressure us with the backing of the Guild and the Alliance. Ill exin the detailster; just know that youll be safe from here and that the Takemikazuchi Familia will be able to easily visit in the future." Since it was still only around 4:30 AM, it was too early for anyone else in the Manor to be up and Vahn wasnt able to open the door easily with Haruhime clinging to him. Realizing the awkwardness of the situation, Haruhime asked, "Can you hand me the key, I can open the door..." Vahn smiled a bit before hugging Haruhime and saying, "You have to let me go eventually Haruhime. Youre in an unstable state right now and need to rx your body a bit more. Dont worry, Im not going to disappear and leave you behind." Though she frowned for a short moment, Haruhime eventually said, "Im sorry..." while climbing down from Vahns arms. He ced her gently on the floor before unlocking the door and making his way into the warm interior of the Manor. Haruhime followed behind him and was suddenly acting very timidly as she looked around at everything with moderated curiosity and intrigue. Vahn saw her actions and smiled widely before exining, "Feel free to look around as you please. Other than some of the girls rooms, youre allowed to go wherever you want without restriction. Just make sure you stay within the premises unless youre being escorted by someone. Though the security of the Manor is very powerful, it doesnt mean it is impossible to break through by professionals." Listening to Vahn speak, Haruhimes ears twitch a bit as she tilted her head questioningly and asked, "Girls rooms? How many girls live here, are any of them close to you?" Vahn nodded his head before showing the way to the study where he normally received guests. He didnt want to stay and talk in the foyer since the sound echoed around the wide halls and might disturb the others. When they were inside, Vahn had Haruhime sit down on the sofa and gave her some warm tea with sugar and began exining the situation to Haruhime. One of the personal promises he had made to himself in the past was to never lie or try to conceal his rtionsh.i.p.s unless it endangered others. If Haruhime truly started to fall for him after things settled down, Vahn wanted her to know exactly what she was getting herself into. Since she was still young, Haruhime had plenty of time to find a real love instead of dedicating herself to the first man that saved her from tragedy. He wanted her to know this was a safe ce for her, but also wanted her to know this was not the only ce for her. If there was something she wanted to do in life, Vahn wanted her to work hard to make her own dreams a reality without worrying about any matters of repayment or being bound by a strange sense of obligation. The entire time Vahn was recounting his story, Haruhime sat with a surprising amount of elegance and nearly perfect etiquette. Even when she sipped the tea, she always used two hands and remained silent as she stared into Vahns eyes while he spoke. By the time he was done with his story, Haruhime nodded her head before a small smile showed on her lips and she said, "I already made one of the first decisions of my entire life earlier after you saved me. I wanted to stay here with you, and just the thought of that makes me happy. Even if I cant be your lover, I would be satisfied with just being your mistress or your concubine. Before today, I thought I was a dirty girl that would spend the rest of my life being tainted by others. I wont leave this ce unless you want to throw me away. Even if I cant be your concubine, I can still be your maid or even a servant if you prefer." Vahn frowned slightly and said, "I want you to be happy Haruhime, I dont want you to dedicate yourself to me just because I saved you. You should find something else you want from life instead of spending it devoted to someone else." In response, Haruhime had the same elegant smile on her face as her expression remained unchanged and she said, "Youre misunderstanding Vahn. My entire life until I was kidnapped had been a sheltered one...if not for the Takemikazuchi Familia, I may very well have spent my entire life alone until I was married off to another n. The only things I ever had were books and the brief periods of time where I could y with other children during the twilight hours of the night. Ever since I was kidnapped, the only thing I had ever wanted after that was to escape that nightmare...just like the stories I read, I wanted a hero toe away and save me from the bad guys. I had thought it was toote, but now you told me that Im still a maiden even after all these years...I cant deny my own heart and seek a happiness that I have no solid concept of...all I know is that, right here at this moment, I am happy to be alive. To be sitting here and hear you exin things to me while showing so much care and concern for my well being, I dont think there is anything more I could have asked for..." During Haruhimes long soliloquy, Vahn continued to stare into her deep green eyes and noticed they hadnt wavered in the slightest as she spoke. Even her aura, instead of bing chaotic, just continually burned brighter as her own words began to inspire confidence in herself. Though Vahn felt like she was brainwashing herself to believe what she was saying, he also understood that she truly believed in her words at the moment. When her words ceased, Haruhime held her hands together on herp and looked as if she was going to bow before Vahn reached out his hand and stopped her actions. Since she was from the Far East, he knew she was going to try and act subserviently to him unless he forced her away. Vahn wanted her to be happy and intended to have her interact with the other girls so she can experience more of what life has to offer than just the stories in her mind. Ironically, though for very different reasons, Haruhime was simr to his past self who could only find sce in the manga and some anime. He knew that the happiness they brought was just temporary and that there was far more to life than the preconceived notions that could be derived from words and pictures on a page. Vahn looked into her green eyes and said with a serious tone, "Never bow subserviently to me Haruhime. I saved you because I wanted to and, regardless of how you treat me, I will protect you until you be strong enough to protect yourself. I will respect your feelings but know that I cant reciprocate them until Im confident you have found a greater purpose in life than simply being at my side. It may be selfish of me to say, but I prefer girls that are constantly striving to improve themselves...I think it is a tragic life to live only for others. When you finally find something else to believe in, I will be here waiting for you. If you cant find it yourself, I will even help push you in the right direction..." The entire time he spoke, Haruhime continued to stare into Vahns aquamarine eyes. She had been a little surprised when he turned into a human earlier, but she hadnt said anything and just marveled at his handsome appearance. Hearing Vahn constantly saying things to benefit her life without even trying to take advantage of her only cemented the idea she had in her mind about being together with him forever. Since he wanted her to be strong, Haruhime decided to put in as much effort as she could to match his requirements. Even if she pretended it wasnt her primary focus and chose to pursue something else, Haruhime buried the idea deep in her heart that she would always take the path that brought her closer to her hero...she wanted to live happily ever after by his side no matter what it took. (A/N: Alternate Titles: First Impressions Are Powerful,Vahn Seeks Camaraderie,Haruhimes Resolve : In one fuzzy ear and out the other) I am currently at $718/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images Chapter 257 - Obstinance

Chapter 257 - Obstinance

Since it was still early and the others had awoken, Vahn showed Haruhime around the first floor of the Manor and kept his attention split between the other presences in the house. Everything he showed Haruhime got a small rise out of her and she excitedly trotted about next to him and asked questions about everything. All of the furnishings in the house had been put there by him, so Vahn was able to answer all of her questions which brought her no small amount of happiness. Vahn noticed that Haruhime acted very elegantly most of the time, but whenever she saw something knew she immediately disregarded manners and excitedly asked about it. She was especially fond of the onsen since it reminded her of home. When she saw that Vahn had also remodeled the dining room to emte the designs of the Far East, Haruhime was ecstatic. Even though he hadnt done it for her, she felt especially blessed that she could experience part of her own culture in the ce she had decided to stay. Since he saw how she reacted, Vahn wondered if it might be a good idea to remodel part of the Manor in the future. They presently had almost no use for the east wing of the Manor, and Vahn figured it might be appropriate to model it after the Far East. When he pitched the idea to Haruhime, she seemed to be very excited and once again began muttering to herself silently for a few seconds before resuming her well-mannered behavior. Vahn wanted to exin that his decision also rted to the time he stayed with Tsubaki, but he decided to keep it to himself for the time being. When he finally noticed peopleing downstairs, Vahn escorted Haruhime back to the dining room so that he could introduce her to the rest of the residents. Hearing that she was going to meet the other girls, Haruhime had a gentle smile on her face but Vahn could see that her aura had red up a bit. So that she wouldnt cause any problems, Vahn decided to exin, "There is another girl that will be present, her name is Preasia, try to remain calm so you dont unnerve her. She has experienced a terrible trauma and needs the care and concern of others..." Hearing the foreign name, Haruhime asked about the girl and Vahn exined the circ.u.mstances of how he saved six ves and crushed a small group of ve traffickers while he was searching for her. Though she seemed concerned at first, Vahn noticed Haruhime became very happy when he talked about saving the girls even though that wasnt his original n. Though she hadnt said anything about it yet, Haruhime added a newyer of cement atop the idea that Vahn was the hero she had been waiting for. When they arrived at the dining room, everyone was present including, Eina, Hestia, Fenrir, Emiru, Maemi, and Preasia. Other than Fenrir, everyone seemed to be surprised at Vahns arrival as Hestia and Eina both stood up and approached him. Eina looked toward Haruhime and said in a gentle tone, "You must be Haruhime, Im d Vahn was able to save you without incident." Before Haruhime could ask about Eina, Hestia also said, "Wee to the Hearth Manor! Since Vahn decided to protect you, this ce will be your home until you decide to move on~!" Though she wasnt being forceful, Vahn noticed that Hestia was somewhat implying that Haruhime should leave in the future. Haruhime seemed to notice it as well since she stepped closer to Vahn and grabbed his sleeve without responding to Hestias words. For a very brief moment, Hestias expression changed before returning to her normal, gentle, look. Vahn took a deeper breath than normal and made the introductions, "Haruhime, this is Eina, one of my first wives alongside the goddess Hephaestus." Eina bowed politely and had a simple smile on her face which caused Haruhime to return the greeting out of habit. Vahn introduced Hestia next and saw the glimmer in her eye so he said, "And this beautiful goddess is Hestia, the goddess of our Familia and the caretaker of everyone within the Hearth Manor." Though she knew he was just pandering to her, Hestia pressed out her chest proudly and said, "Thats right~! This beautiful and amazingly gentle goddess is the head of the Hestia Familia that shares my name~." Before continuing her words, Hestia stepped on the opposite side of Vahn before hugging around his waist and pressing his right arm between her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Continuing, Hestia said, "Im also one of the closest people to Vahn~" As if challenged by her words, Fenrir stood up from the table and shouted, "Fenrir closest to Vahn!" Everyone looked over at the rambunctious wolf girl while Vahn turned his attention to the sheep girl next to her. Even when Fenrir shouted out, Preasia remained unphased and just continued to watch the scene y out with a nk expression on her face. After releasing a quiet sigh, Vahn used the lull created by Fenrir to introduce everyone else to Haruhime before preparing for breakfast. Since they knew Vahn had only shown up and liberated them while he was trying to find Haruhime, both Emiru and Maemi were very fond of Haruhime even though they had just met. Haruhime also responding to them politely and seemed to hit it off with the twins very quickly. She was especially drawn to the maid outfits and tried to pitch the idea of bing a maid herself, except she wanted to be Vahns personal maid. Vahn refused her offer as politely as he could and told her she should focus on a pursuit that didnt involve serving others. Using it as an opportunity, Vahn also informed the twins that they didnt have to act as maids either, but they both refused as it was something they wanted to do themselves. Even though he didnt understand how they could like cleaning, Vahn noticed that their auras remained stable when they spoke so he knew they were telling the truth, or at the very least believed their own words. During breakfast, Haruhime had wanted to sit next to Vahn but had lost the opportunity to Eina and Hestia. Haruhime didnt want topete with the two girls at all, so she just sat next to Eina with her body rtively close as she tried to reach her tail around the backside of the half-elf and reach Vahn. Because of the dexterity and length of her tail, Haruhime was able to reach him if she sat close enough to Eina. When Vahn noticed the tail touching his side, he gave her a strange look that just caused her to smile in return as she ate her food with small bites. Eina, the person between the two of them, continue to smile without making anyments as she leaned into Vahns shoulder a bit. After breakfast, Vahn embraced Eina and saw her off after she refused his offer to carry her back home. She said she liked the early morning air and would be fine on her own, but Vahn still sent a mental note to Fafnir and had him follow along in her shadow until she arrived safely. Vahn had to inform the Alliance about the matter with Ishtar and make sure none of the weaker members involved would be exposed to her schemes. Though she likely wouldnt target a member of the Guild, there was no telling what a goddess might do when it came down to it. Just like Laverna, she could take actions without thinking of the consequences at all... While Fenrir was teaching Emiru and Maemi to read, the three of them were also taking care of Preasia. Vahn and Hestia showed Haruhime around the upper floors of the Manor as Vahn mentioned the idea of refurbishing the western and eastern wings to represent different cultures. Since most of the people in the Manor currently lived in the central area, there hadnt really been much use for the two wings and it wouldnt cause a problem if they redecorated a bit. Hestia was even excited to be able to experience multiple cultures just by walking a few minutes between the wings of the Manor. When it came time to help Haruhime pick a room, she was somewhat distraught to learn that all of the rooms around Vahns had already been taken by other girls previously. The room to the right of Vahns had been taken by Mn and Tina, but was also being used by Fenrir and Preasia currently. The room on the left had been taken by Ryuu since she was one of the first to move in and had gotten an early lead on everyone else. Across from Vahns room, in one of therger bedrooms, was the area where Hestia slept when Vahn was sleeping with others. It was also the room where Hephaestus stayed and wasnt together with Vahn and had a lot of clothes strewn about carelessly. The rooms to the left and right of Hestias bedroom had been taken by Lili and Naaza, even though they werent officially part of the Hestia Familia. Naaza had been intending to move in soon, but had been training alongside Lili and Tsubaki recently while trying to work on her breakthrough. Lili waspletely determined to join the Hestia Familia in the future and wanted to share the same room with Vahn but ended up having to pick one nearby instead. Seeing that all of the best rooms were taken, Haruhime wanted to insist that she stay in the same room as Vahn, even if she had to sleep on a separate bed or sofa. When she found out about his hidden forge, she was even willing to stay inside there andmented about how warm it was on the inside. Hestia, even though she made an effort to not act jealously, couldnt tolerate the way Haruhime was acting and eventually shut her down in lieu of Vahn. She exined to Haruhime that Vahn needed his own room and often spent time with other girls, so there was no way she could live within the same room regardless of her reasoning. Even she, as Vahns goddess, had to have her own room and sleep alone sometimes... Dejected, Haruhime picked the room closest to the stairs in the hopes of being able to track when Vahn leaves and arrives more easily. To wee her to the Familia, Vahn actually gave her several bookshelves to decorate her room and purchased a variety of fairy tales from other worlds and some educational texts for her to read. Since reading was her favorite pastime, Haruhime was over-the-moon to receive several hundred books of her own to browse whenever she liked. Other than training, Vahn gave herpletely free-reign to decide what she wanted to do with her time for the foreseeable future. Though he hardly followed the advice himself, Vahn wanted Haruhime to rx so she could focus on recovery instead of worrying about the past. After Haruhime was properly settled in, it came time for the ceremony to induct her into the Hestia Familia. She had already made the decision to join and stay in the Manor from now on, even though she kept refusing to undergo the ceremony unless Vahn was present. When he mentioned that she could stay without joining the Familia, Haruhime kept insisting that she join while continually refusing to join at the same time. Since Vahn also wanted to confirm a few things himself, he eventually caved in but required her to properly conceal herself. Hestias impression of Haruhime wasnt the best but she also could tell that Haruhime wasnt a bad girl and just sought out Vahn like most of the other troubled girls around him. The main reason she felt threatened was due to the exotic nature of Haruhime and the fact that Vahn was rather handsy when it came to the girls with fluffy ears and tails. She knew that, even if Vahn put up a wall between him and Haruhime, he would eventually crack in time. The fact that he so easily conceded to her obstinance so early on was a red g and she intended to bring the matter up on theworkter... During the ceremony, Vahn sat at Haruhimes back even though she wanted him to sit in front of her. Vahn watched Hestia carve the crest with intrigue in his eyes as he inspected the entire process with his [Eyes of Truth]. Though he had been able to emte the ceremony to an extent, Vahn was still curious about how the blessing was actually applied. He could see a strange energy that flowed alongside the mana in Hestias fingers that used her Ichor, the blood from her fingertips, as a catalyst. When Hestia had finished carving the crest, she used a piece of paper to record Haruhimes information and was preparing to tell her to get dressed before Vahn said, "Wait, you should know that I can also read the status board and update statuses, right? I also have a technique that lets me take a peek at thetent abilities of others...I want to confirm my suspicions about a few things." Haruhime heard Vahns words and had a happy expression as she tried to agree, but Hestia had a frown on her face and showed Vahn the recorded information of Haruhime. Holding out the paper, Hestia stated firmly, "I already recorded her parameters and skills, and Ive even identified the reason why Ishtar was probably after her in the first ce. What else do you expect to find that even a goddess cant see through her own crest?" Vahn took the paper and his brows raised slightly as he looked over the information. He could see that Haruhimes stats were rather low, but her Magic was much higher than normal. The most notable thing was the existence of two magic skills called [Uchide no Kozuchi] and [Kokonoe] but Vahn wasnt able to discern their use and rank until he investigated it for himself. Vahn looked into Hestias crystalline blue eyes and exined patiently, "Hestia, you know me better than almost anyone else...do you really think I have any other thoughts other than what I stated? You should have heard from Hephaestus about my ability to update status, and Ive also used it on Fenrir several times..." Vahn noticed that Hestias eyes watered a bit as he was speaking which caused his words to trail at the end. After a few seconds, Hestia said with a small frown, "I know youre telling the truth...I really do trust you...I just dont like how quickly this girl is trying to weasel her way into your life. There are other people that are still struggling to obtain your affections!" Seeing Hestias approaching tears made Vahn feel a little heartbroken as even Haruhime gave her a sad, somewhat apologetic look. Walking forward, Vahn paused in front of Hestia as she looked up at him with weepy eyes. Realizing that his current position made Hestias impact even stronger, Vahn couldnt help butugh at himself as he loosely embraced her petite body. He asked in a quiet voice, "What can I do to ease the insecurities in your heart if even you arent ready to take the next step? Please tell me how I can help you...just like you said earlier, youre one of the most important people to me. I dont want to see you sad anymore." Hestia remained silent for a while as she ced her forehead against Vahns chest and contemted matters for a bit. She didnt know what had overtaken her at the moment and felt guilty about how Vahn was currently acting so gently toward her even though she had obviously overstepped her bounds. Because he had exined things from the outset, she knew what kind of life Haruhime had to live for thest three years...the fact that she somewhat resented, even envied, the unfortunate girl made Hestia hate herself a little. Just like Vahn said, even though she felt like she loved him, even though she wanted to do many things with him, she was also very afraid to take that small step forward that would change her life forever. Hestia felt like she would lose a part of herself and, even though she felt like she would gain more in the end, she was still afraid... After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Hestia looked up at Vahns face and tried her best to smile as she asked, "Can we go out on a date, just the two of us?" Vahns concerned expression turned into a gentle smile as he nodded his head and said, "Sure, however many you want. I need to find more time to rx anyways, so itll be good to spend time quality time with my beautiful, somewhat spoiled, little goddess." Hestias false smiled turned into a real one before her eyes widened a bit and she shouted, "Please dont talk about my height so casually~!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wee to the crib...,Room Assignments,Hestias Troubled Heart) I am currently at $718/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 258 - Confirmation

Chapter 258 - Confirmation

After Hestia calmed down, she sat behind Vahn and watched as he used [Yggrasils Favor] to emte the ability to read status in conjunction with his system. He dripped a bit of blood on Haruhimes back and, even though she expected it, Hestia was surprised to see her own crest activate for someone else. She noticed that, unlike her own ability to read status, Vahns had some extra intricacy that she hadnt seen before. Though she had trouble understanding it, Hestia knew that Vahn was able to see extra information from his skill just as he had imed. She even began to wonder if she should have him inspect the other girls...muchter in the future. Haruhime had a small frown on her face as she closed her eyes, not from pain, but because of how fl.u.s.tered she was feeling. Even though she had a powerful androphobia, Haruhime felt no aversion against Vahns touch at all. Instead, she actually felt pleasant and giddy feelings welling up inside of her as the tingling feeling from her back persisted for around five minutes before Vahn said inly, "Thanks Haruhime, you can fix your clothes now." Releasing a short sight, Haruhime pulled up her red kimono and fixed her obi before looking back to see what Vahn had discerned from her Status Board. As he expected, there was much more to Haruhimes Status than the values that Hestia had written down previously. In fact, she was far more overbearing than Vahn had expected and he couldnt help but pity theck of foresight on behalf of Ishtar. She obviously just wanted Haruhime for her magical ability, but the actual value of Haruhimes potential far exceeded her understanding. Vahn also began to understand the significance of the characters that were involved in the original plot and wondered if he should inspect Aiss Status Board in the future... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Sanjouno Haruhime Race: Renard LV. 1 POW: I11 END: I28 DEX: I12 AGI: I30 MAG: F367 Skill: [Inari:Innate(sealed)] (A/N: BTW, Vahn wouldnt record these down so dont worry about Hestia seeing them) Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B],[Kokonoe:D] Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)] (A/N: BTW, Vahn wouldnt record these down so dont worry about Hestia seeing them) [Uchide no Kozuchi] Rank: B Level Boost Magic that can only be used on a single target, after which an interval urs before it can be cast again. It cannot be used on the caster. Enhances all parameters on the target by 30% of their hidden status total. Chant: Grow. That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes. Until the bell tolls, bring forth glory and illusion. -Grow. Confine divine offerings within this body. This golden light bestowed from above. Into the hammer and into the ground, may it bestow good fortune upon you. -Grow [Kokonoe] Rank: D A special enchant magic that creates a maximum of nine tails on the user depending on their limit. The user adds the effects of a second magic they chant connect to each of the tails to multiply its effects. (Current Tails: 4) Chant: Kokonoe. Beloved snow. Beloved crimson. Beloved white light. Please let me be beside you - this love I have found at the end of two thousand nights. My name is Magic Fox. Former destroyer. My name is Ancient Song. Former dreamer. For you who beat your wings like a bird, I shall allow the nine spirits to dwell in me. Echo, song of gold, sacred poem of Tamamo. White face, golden fur, king of nine tails. Oh, tails of the auspicious beast, consume all, grant all wishes (Affected Magic Chant) - Dance! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unlike Lili, who seemed intent on remaining a Supporter in the manga, Haruhime had two Innate abilities instead of one. Based on their names alone, Vahn assumed they rted to magical prowess and support. Since Haruhimes magic stat was significantly higher than the rest of her parameters even without every fighting monsters, Vahn assumed her development was already being influenced by the Innate skills. He had learned that a persons Innates always existed in their bodies, they just had to have something to trigger their awakening. Vahn hadnt overlooked Haruhimes magic just because her Innates though, and he was actually shocked when he understood their capabilities. Since his stats were very high for his Level, if Haruhime used her magic on him he would be nearing the Status of a Level 4 without even using his Innate abilities to enhance his fighting potential. With the inclusion of his own abilities, Vahn could theoretically even fight against a Level 6 with his current equipment... After exining Haruhimes skills to the two girls, Hestia was in abject shock as she read over the information. Though she could see the use of a magic, she couldnt identify the chant or identify the efficacy as Vahn could. She even suspected, based on his earlier reaction, that there was even more that he was able to discern from reading Haruhimes status than he made known. Considering that it was something Haruhime didnt need to hear, she decided to ask him about itter when they were alone. Though she knew about Kokonoe, Haruhime was surprised to learn about the existence of her level-boosting magic. Because of Aisha, she knew she had a unique magic, but Haruhime had never learned about what made the magic special. When she originally got her crest of Ishtar, Haruhime had been left in the dark about her own Status before beginning her life as p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e in training. Now that she learned about her magic, she felt a fire stirring within her heart because she thought she would be able to help Vahn in the future. Even if she wasnt that strong herself, she could specialize in support and buff the entire Familia in the future. With a confident expression on her face, Haruhime pumped her tiny fists and said, "I know what I want to do now! I want to be a support specialist and learn magic for healing and buffing our allies~!" Vahn was already thinking of the future possibilities of Haruhimes skills, so he was pleasantly surprised by her outburst. Hestia also couldnt fault Haruhime at the moment since she also realized the incredible potential of her skills. If they were able to nurture Haruhime, she would be one of, if not the most important members of their Familia in the future. Vahn reached out his hand and began to pat Haruhimes head, something which she found very pleasing, while Hestia stared at the action for several seconds before sighing. She wanted to protect Vahn and the children that joined their Familia in the future so there was no way she would be able to push away Haruhime. She would have topromise with the fox girl and do her best to get along in the future even if she had slight inhibitions about the presence of another woman around Vahn. After sorting her thoughts, Hestia released a sigh before fixing her expression and saying, "You have an incredible magical skill Haruhime, Im d to have you in the Familia. I might have acted inappropriately earlier, so Im sorry...I also want to apologize to you as well Vahn. I dont know why, but I just feel so jealous at times..." Haruhimes smile grew even wider as she bowed slightly toward Hestia and said, "I also want to apologize for barging into your lives like this Hestia-sama. I know you care about Vahn deeply and I dont mean to take away his time from others...Id like it if we worked together and got along better in the future." As usual, Haruhime was very polite and showed proper courtesies even when someone was in the middle of apologizing to her. Vahn nodded his head slightly because he thought her behavior and bearing weremendable traits. Turning to Hestia, Vahn showed an earnest smile and said, "As long as everyone can be happy, I have noints at all. I worry more that youll overburden yourself instead of worrying about your general behavior. Hestia released an exasperated sigh as she gave Vahn a sidelong nce and said, "I think youre the least qualified person in the world toment about other people overburdening themselves~! I wouldnt be nearly as frustrated if you didnt treat me so well..." Towards thetter half of her words, Hestia trailed off a bit and Vahn wasnt able to hear her well. Haruhime, however, heard everything she said and stepped forward with an elegant smile on her face as she leaned over and whispered into Hestias ear, "I can help you if you want Hestia-sama...I may not have much experience, but Ive received a bit of education on various...matters..." Hestias eyes widened a bit before she looked at Haruhime with a somewhat fiery look in her eyes before dragging the young Renard toward her own bedroom. To prevent the confused Vahn from asking questions, Hestia shouted over her shoulder, "Go spend some time with Fenrir and the others~! There will probably be a lot of peopleing aroundter so spend some time with them!" As they stepped out the door, Haruhime gave a backward nce at Vahn and he could almost swear he saw a glimmer in her eyes that unnerved him a bit. Following Hestias advice, Vahn went downstairs and followed the corridor until he came to the room where the other girls were located. One of the best things about being able to sense presences was that he didnt have to search through rooms just to find the people he was looking for. When he entered the room, Fenrir had already been expecting him as she had her sights turned toward his location before he even touched the doorknob. Vahn saw that Fenrir was sitting next to Preasia on cushions that they had set on the ground while reading picture books meant for children. Seeing the twins so seriously staring at the images and trying to memorize the words made Vahn inadvertently smile. After they noticed his presence, Maemi put down the picture book as she and Emiru stood up together and bowed politely while saying in concert, "May we be of assistance Master?" Vahn habitually rolled his shoulders as he exined, "You dont have to call me Master, just Vahn will do. Seeing girls call me Master might make me feel excited, but it also feels wrong...if anything, just call me Captain?" Before responding, the two girls looked at each other before nodding their head in sequence and saying, "Vahn-sama." Seeing the glimmer in their eyes, Vahn gave a wry smile before walking over and picking up the picture book from the low table. He realized that he wasnt able to easily rebuke the twins when they performed synchronized actions since he took more than double the impact at how adorable the sight was. Holding up the picture book, Vahn saw that it was a story about a hero that saves a princess from a dragon. Curiously, there were small markings on the hero that obstructed his original hair color to appear simr to his own. Fenrir got excited and asked, "Vahn read for us!?" Before he even responded, Fenrir patted Preasia who stood up with her characteristic nk expression. Vahn felt a little worried about their interaction as he moved over to therge sofa nearby and ced cushions around as he sat down and prepared to read. Since he ced four cushions on the ground, Vahn was going to read to the girls from memory since he had stored the information within his head previously. Against his expectations, Preasia sat on the area right in front of him without sitting on the cushion at all. Before he could make sense of her actions, Preasia reached her hands forward and Vahns brows immediately shot up before he gently stopped her hands with his left hand. He could feel his body shaking a little as he said as gently as he possibly could, "You never have to do anything like that ever again...Fenrir, Emiru, Maemi..." Understanding his words, the twins guided Preasia away from Vahn before helping her sit on a cushion. Fenrir sat behind Preasia and hugged her body from behind as she gentled patted the shaggy hair of Preasia and whispered, "There, there, be happy, be happy...." The whole while she was being moved around, Preasia continued to stare at Vahn with her light-grey, lightless eyes... As Vahn hadnt been using [Will of the Emperor], he wasnt prepared for what had just happened in front of his eyes. He felt an incredible anxiety intermixed with a powerful hatred as his teeth ttered a bit. Other than when he had found Mn in the past, Vahn had never felt so much uncontainable hatred as he felt now. Since he wasnt using anything to control it, Vahn was experiencing the emotions in full and began to breathe heavily as each of the girls gave him worried expressions. Fenrir seemed especially frustrated as her eyes began glowing scarlet while she tried to distract herself by tending to Preasia. After failing to control his breathing, Vahn began to release his domain to forcibly calm his mind as he sat with his head in his hands while covering his eyes. At this moment, Vahn wanted nothing more than to know the name of the monster that had hurt Preasia. He wanted to make the scoundrel pay and bring them to justice so that she might find some closure and be able to move forward. Vahn couldnt even begin to imagine what kind of person would do something so tantly cruel to someone that looked so innocent... While he was hanging his head in rage, Vahn heard a small sound that he had never heard before. He didnt know why, but his mind began to clear up a bit as he strained his ears to hear the sound. After several seconds passed, Vahn heard the sound again and looked up from his hands with slightly teary eyes as he stared at the small girl in front of him. The other three girls remained absolutely silent as Preasia said for the third time, "Do you...cry...for me?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dual-Innates,Haruhimes corruption,Today is going to be a long day...) I am currently at $718/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 259 - Pain

Chapter 259 - Pain

For several long seconds, Vahn didnt know how to respond as he stared into Preasias still nk expression. Even after he saw her lips move, Vahn almost felt like it was his imagination until she began repeating her words for the fourth time. For a brief moment, Vahn wanted to cry out andfort the girl but he willed himself to remain still as he muttered in a soft voice, "I wanted to help you...I want to make the man that did this to you pay dearly." As if she were responding to a different question, Preasia asked, "Will you...hurt me?" Her words made Vahn grit his teeth so hard that he felt like they were going to crack. He looked at her straight in the eyes and barely forced out the words, "I would never hurt you...I want to heal you. You shouldnt have had to go through this...it just isnt right!" If the sc.u.mbag was in front of him right now, Vahn swore he would rip out the mans guts so they could both find out the color of his insides. Preasia remained quiet for several minutes and Vahn noticed she didnt even blink a single time as she continued to look into his eyes. He didnt know what she was thinking at all and wasnt sure if there was even anything he could say to help her. Fortunately, Fenrir didnt be able to take the silence as she stated confidently, "Vahn is good. Vahn never hurt Preasia. Vahn only beat bad people, Preasia good girl." To emphasize her words, Fenrir patted Preasias head with her paws in aforting manner. Though her head bobbed slightly with the pats, Preasia continued to stare into Vahns eyes for a while until she asked, "You can...heal me?" For the briefest moment, Vahn thought he saw a spark in Preasias eyes, almost like a single glimmer of hope in an infinite darkness. Without exining anything, Vahn drew a line into his palm and it began to bleed slightly. Demonstrating his [Hands of Nirvana], Vahn created a line of light with his index finger andpletely removed the cut as if it had never been there in the first ce. For the first time, Preasia turned her gaze away from Vahns face and stared at his hand nkly for several seconds. Vahn saw that she was leaning her head forward a bit, so he slowly moved closer to her and allowed her to inspect his palm. Preasia continued to stare nkly at the now-healed hand before gingerly reaching out and touching Vahns palm with her hand. The first thing Vahn noticed was how cold her hands were and he had to fight against the urge to help warm them up. After a while, Preasia moved her hand away and rolled up the sleeve of her sweater and revealed several of the wounded covering her arm. There were small holes that looked like she had been poked with a hot skewer and there even several derogatory names permanently carved into her flesh like animal and ve that made Vahns brain buzz. In a dazed state, Preasia traced her fingers over several of her own scars, including the insulting words. Vahn couldnt help but swallow a bit of saliva because of how nervous he was feeling. He wasnt even capable of forming any excess thoughts as he continued to watch her actions in silence. Vahn watched as Preasia touched the word animal for a long period of time before she muttered in a quaking voice, "Im...not an animal...Please...make it go away." Preasia held out her arm to Vahn and he nodded his head and exined, "You may feel an itch or some difort...it is because your wounds are regenerating..." Channeling his energy into his fingers, Vahn slowly traced his index finger over the word and began to erase it. Even though he knew it was painful, Vahn noticed the Preasia didnt flinch in the slightest and just continued to stare as the word was erased from her arm. For the first time, Preasias expression began to waver as she hesitantly touched her ruddy pink skin that looked somewhat irritated after the treatment. Even though it still itched slightly, the hateful word was now gone. Other than the memory, nothing remained but clean and healthy skin. Vahn saw her wavering eyes moisten as a bit of light returned before Preasia began sobbing loudly. Her cries were so loud that both Hestia and Haruhime showed up to investigate and saw the scene of four people with tears in their eyes as three of them tried consoling the loudly crying girl on the ground. Vahn looked into the crystalline blue eyes of Hestia and the cid green eyes of Haruhime with a pained look and they both realized he was asking for their help. If it were up to him, Vahn would simply heal all of Preasias wounds and hope she recovered in time. He couldnt deal with the girl who had been catatonic before but was now sobbing inconsbly on the floor. Because of his earlier rage, Vahn didnt know how to react at all and suddenly wished that Eina or Hephaestus were here to guide him. For Haruhime, this was her first time seeing Vahn look so lost and she couldnt stop herself from walking forward quickly before sitting next to him and trying to help console the small sheep girl she had met earlier. She didnt remember her name, but she could tell that things had to be serious given how Vahn was acting. Since she also didnt know how to deal with the situation, she just began whisperingforting words to the crying girl while trying to soothe her. Hestia, who had been hesitating due to her own concern, felt somewhat at a loss by Haruhimes decisive response. Even though she couldnt do anything to help the situation, Haruhime immediately moved forward to try while she, a goddess, was stuck at the sidelines watching. The only thing Hestia knew was that Vahn needed her help but she didnt know how to help him... Vahn uttered a quiet thanks to Haruhime before turning back to stare at Hestia. Even he didnt know what he wanted to ask of her, but Vahn felt like she should have a solution. In his mind, Hestia might act selfish and spoiled sometimes, but she was inherently a kind and gentle girl that empathized with others. Though he didnt know why Vahn believed Hestia would be able to help in the absence of motherly figures like Mn and reliable girls like Eina... Hestia saw the expectant look in Vahns eyes and felt a bit of fear well up inside her from the pressure contained within his gaze. However, there was also a small me that rose up to overtake the fear as a confident glint passed through her eyes. She didnt want to let Vahn down, so Hestia moved forward calmly and with her characteristic gentle smile as she stated clearly, "Please move away from Preasia for a moment." Though they didnt understand her intentions, every girl except Fenrir moved away from Preasia. Vahn saw Fenrirs actions and gently ushered her away from Preasia to give Hestia an opportunity to take action. Though he saw her aura fluctuate greatly earlier, Vahn noticed Hestia had stabilized a bit even though her aura still flickered like a candle. When everyone had cleared away, Preasia continued to cry on the ground as if theirck of presence had no meaning to her. Hestia kneeled down next to her and, instead of trying to console her directly, cradled Preasias head in her hands as she gently turned her face upwards and made eye contact with the watery light-grey eyes. Though her actions seemed tock delicacy, Hestia asked in a very gentle manner with a hopeful look on her face, "Do you want all the bad memories to go away?" Preasia continued to look into Hestias deep blue eyes as her sobbing slowly calmed down. There was still a stream of tears pouring down her face, but she said through muted sobs, "Please...please help me..." Hestia hugged Preasias head against her chest even though her horns got in the way slightly. She stroked the back of her hair and exined in a gentle tone, "Vahn will help you...you just have to believe in him. The people who hurt you will nevere back, you can be happy as long as you continue to push forward. The reason gods are envious of people is that they have the ability to change...even when sad things happen, you just have to continue to seek happiness...as long as you never give up, there is nothing that can stop you from moving forward except yourself...dont let bad memories from the past affect how you live in the present...dont give any more power to the people that hurt you. Youre better than they can ever aspire to be...youre safe now." Vahn almost felt like Hestias soothing words were a spell that was something akin to a magical spell. She was so gentle and confident in her speech that even Vahn felt somewhat affected and hopeful for the future. He wasnt the only one affected either, as every girl, other than Fenrir, had somewhat serious expressions on their faces as if they were lost in contemtion. As the target of the words, Preasia had started to take deep breaths as her body shook. After a few seconds of silence, Preasia looked up, not at Hestia, but at Vahn and pleaded, "Please heal me...I want to forget...I dont want these scars anymore!" Though he still felt chaotic emotions inside, Vahn nodded his head and stated firmly, "Ill heal you. I wont leave a single mark behind." Vahn stood up from the ground as Hestia helped lift Preasias body. With shaky hands, Preasia started trying to remove her sweater and Vahn realized she wanted to be healed now. Nodding to the twins, they both moved forward to help Preasia with her clothing while Hestia and Haruhime approached Vahn to see if they could help with anything. Vahn thanked them but said, "Leave it to me, Ill take care of everything." Waving his hand, Vahn pulled out the table that he had purchased for the purpose of massaging in the past. It was a long table that could be inclined slightly and had a cushioned hole where a person could ce their face andpletely rx while they wereying on their stomach. Thinking for a moment, Vahn also ced arge mirror nearby so that Preasia could more easily inspect her own body before and after the fact. Vahn assumed she would want to verify things immediately and then he would send her away with the other girls to wash up while Vahn contacted a few people. Perhaps due to her exposure as a ve, but Preasia didnt have any noticeable aversion to being seen n.a.k.e.d as her clothes were fully stripped down to just her panties. Because of the cruelty of her former owner, not even her genitals or backside were spared and the final garment was removed which caused some of the girls to begin shaking slightly at the sight. For Haruhime, this was her first time seeing something so terrible and she could do nothing but hold her mouth as she did her best to contain her sobs. Hestias aura was very chaotic but her expression remained gentle as she walked forward and guided Preasia in front of the mirror. When Vahn had set it out earlier, she immediately understood its purpose and took the initiative to support Preasia. Seeing her own reflection, the small light that had appeared in Preasias eyes began to fade somewhat before Hestia whispered, "This isnt you...this is what someone tried to make you. Show them youre not a ve...youre a free girl now and will never have to see this form again." As if rekindling a me, the small light in Preasias eyes came back with marginally more intensity as she walked over and sat on the table with the assistance of Hestia. Because she was most heavily impacted by the wounds on her front, Preasiaid face up and had a pleading look in her eyes as she gave onest look at Vahn before closing her eyes tightly. Vahn knew it would be a somewhat painful procedure and said, "I will do a massage that helps rx your body so you dont feel as much pain. You wont be able to move easily so dont panic..." Without saying anything, Preasia nodded her head slightly and kept her eyes firmly shut. Vahn took a deep breath and used [Hands of Nirvana] to force Preasias body to rx while dealing with some of her smaller wounds. The tension in her body soon faded away and she opened her eyes and nkly stared to the side where Hestia sat holding her hand. It took nearly forty minutes, but Vahn was able topletely remove the scars from the front of Preasias body. It was an incredibly unnerving experience when he had to remove the scars from the inside of her thighs. Preasia, who was almostpletely unable to move, still tensed up her body somehow and grit her teeth while Vahn finished the procedure. After her frontside was healed, Hestia helped Preasia inspect her own body. When she saw the absence of any noticeable scars on her body, Preasia wasnt even able to cry normally. She just stared with wavering eyes at her own reflection as if she was incapable of believing what she was seeing with her own eyes. Since she didnt seem to be making any movements on her own, Hestia helped take Preasia back to the table as Emiru stepped forward and helped. Preasias backside was actually severely more damaged than her front and it took Vahn more than an hour to heal her wounds. Though he couldnt be sure, he thought that the scars on her back were caused by a whip. There were even areas that cut more than a centimeter into the skin and looked incredibly painful even though they had scarred over. The monster behind the actions must have used a low-grade potion to force the wounds closed after the vile act. Just the fact that Preasia had almost no actual reaction from what should be an incredibly irritating healing process showed that she was almostpletely numb to normal pain... By the time nearly two hours had passed, all of the wounds covering Preasias body had beenpletely healed without a single scar remaining. Because she couldnt see her back, Vahn set up a triple-mirror setup that was typically used in changing rooms. Using the mirrors, Preasia was able to see her body from every angle and she even inspected the areas around her tail and ears where there used to be burn marks. After a while, Preasia looked like she had begun to hyperventte and eventually passed out as her body was caught by the twins that had been attending to her. Hestia had left earlier when Vahn asked her to pass messages for him along thework. Vahn helped carry the unconscious Preasia to the girls onsen and was apanied by Haruhime, Emiru, Maemi, and Fenrir. While the girls changed out of their clothes, Vahn found a shallow pool and helped submerge Preasias body without removing his clothes. Even though he could unequip them, Vahn felt incredibly insecure about being around Preasias body while being n.a.k.e.d. A few minutes after he entered, the other girls walked into the onsenpletely n.a.k.e.d without minding Vahns presence at all. Even Haruhime followed along and just gave Vahn aforting smile as she helped take over the duties of cleaning Preasia. Vahn offered a polite thanks to the girls and didnt stare at their bodies at all before stepping out of the pool with his soaked clothes and walking through the empty changing room before swapping into dry clothing. A fierce look appeared on his face as Vahn walked towards Hestias room to find out if she had heard anything yet. Vahn wanted to find the man that did this and make him pay dearly...even if it brought no closure to Preasia, he wanted to vent his own frustrations on the person who he could only identify as a monster. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Glimmer of Hope,Hestias Gentleness,Vahns Wrath Is Invoked) I am currently at $718/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 260 - Desserts

Chapter 260 - Desserts

Arriving outside Hestias room, Vahn knocked on the door to announce his presence before entering into the room. He saw Hestia at her desk writing on arge scroll before she looked back with an encouraging smile while a touch of sadness was present in her eyes. Remembering her earlier actions, Vahn smiled and said, "Thank you, Hestia...I didnt know what to do at the time. Preasia...she isnt like anyone Ive ever had to deal with before." Putting down the quill, Hestia hopped out of her chair and walked over to her bed before sitting down and saying, "Come here Vahn." Vahns fierce expression eased a bit as he released a sigh and walked over to the bed and sat down next to Hestia. She scooched back on the bed before patting her thighs, indicating for Vahn to use her legs as ap pillow. Though he didnt understand what she was trying to do, Vahn epted her offer since, of all the goddess and girls he had been with, Hestia had the most inexplicably soft body. Since they slept together a lot, Vahn always feltfortable whenever they were in contact so he dly epted thep pillow. Hestia stroked his hair for a bit before asking, "Vahn, what is it you want to do right now? Tell me the truth..." Her gentle words and soothing tone caused Vahn to rx his mind a bit as he responded, "I want to make him pay...I want the person that hurt Preasia to suffer..." Hestia caressed the side of Vahns face and looked into his eyes as she asked softly, "Will that make you happy?" The simple words caused Vahn to nk for a moment as he stared into her clear,ke-like blue eyes that seemed to contain an infinite depth to them. After a few seconds of silence, Vahn responded in a muted tone, "No..." Nodding her head a bit, Hestias expression changed into a gentle smile as she asked, "If you could let Preasia hurt that man to her hearts content, would you stand at the side and watch her?" Her words caused Vahn to frown as he tried to picture the delicate looking Preasia using a hot skewer on another person and carving words into someone elses flesh. Gritting his teeth for a moment, Vahn responded in a quieter tone than before, "No...I would try to stop her...she shouldnt be-" Before Vahn could continue, Hestia ced her index finger on his lips to halt his words. Vahn closed his mouth and had a sad look on his face before Hestia continued, "It isnt your burden to bear everything Vahn...can you tell me names of everyone youre currently trying to protect?" Vahn thought for a few moments before muttering, "Haruhime, Eina, Tina, Mn, Lili..." Before he could continue, Hestia silenced his words again and said, "People often list the names of people by the priority they ce on them in their minds...even though you empathize with Preasia and want to do something for her, the actions you want to take are things youd prevent her from doing. You also have so many things that you want to protect...now isnt the time for vengeance. You need to rx and focus on taking care of the people around you while we do our best to take care of you. Preasia is already safe...let her recover a bit and then you can worry about the matters of her pastter. Right now, our Familia is caught between the Isthar Familia and the Entertainment District as a whole...Please remember your own priorities and stop getting caught up in every little moment..." For more than a minute after her words faded, Vahn continued toy in silence as Hestia stroked his hair gently. Since he hadnt said anything for a while, Hestia whispered in a soothing tone, "Take a nap Vahn...rest for a bit...youve worked hard. Ill wake you when the others show up...for now, just sleep..." Vahn listened to Hestias words and slowly closed his eyes while enjoying the soft sensation of her thighs and the calming sensation of her hands. It wasnt the first time he had been told to slow down and rx, but the words seemed to have a bit more of an impact when they came from Hestia. Since she was oftenzing around, it was somewhat rare for her to be the one tending to others...Vahn suddenly began to feel very tired as the tensions slowly drained from his body until he eventually fell asleep. Hestia continued to stroke Vahns hair while gently caressing his face. She stared down at his sleeping expression from above with a profoundly gentle look on her face and a hint of concern in her eyes. He looked so gentle and innocent while he was asleep...nothing like the decisive and heroic boy that he acted like when he was awake. She wished that they could just stay here in this moment forever, just the two of them sitting in silence. It hardly made sense to her how a boy so young could bear so many burdens willingly and continue striving so hard to meet the expectations of others. Hestia knew she also relied on him quite a bit, even though she only pestered him when they were at home... Looking back toward the scroll, Hestia could see several lines of writing appear before floating off the page and falling into a small journal-like book next to it. It was a magical item called a Record Logbook and could be parented to amunication scroll to record everything that had been transmitted and received. Earlier, before Vahn had knocked on her door, Hestia had gotten word from Eina about several murders that had taken cetest night. The Guild had gone to investigate the residences of the various men and women that patronized the illegal ve trafficker. Though not always the case, a great number of the residences had been the sight of grisly murders. Because Eina had already met Preasia, she had checked the information about her prior owner and had found the man amongst the list of casualties. Hestia was afraid that Vahn, having lost the outlet for his emotions, would have struggled to cope with the situation. Hestia would much rather he forget about the matter entirely for the time being... -Several Hours Prior- (A/N: BTW, serious trigger warning. This section contains very graphic themes and isnt suitable for those with fragile sensibilities. You wont miss much, if any, of the story by skipping this part of the chapter.) Having separated from the boy that saved her life, Shiva made her way through the back alleys of the red light district before crossing through the northern section of the City where the homes of various wealthy businessmen resided. Because of her actions against her would be masters, Shiva had been traded around by several men due to the exotic nature of her body. Even under the ve crest, she was able to resist the pain and fight against the vile men that saw her as an object to be possessed to fulfill their own desires. One of the clients, the one responsible for her losing the ability to speak, had been the same man that was the previous owner of Preasia. She had been purchased by him several weeks after he got his monstrous hands on the petite girl and had seen the devastation wrought on her body. Because the man had an elitistplex and thought himself to be of a superior status to Preasia, he tormented her body and treated her like an animal to feed his sadistic urges. The only thing that kept him from raping her was the fact that he considered the action beneath him. Of course, this didnt stop him from using her to tend to some of his other needs as he forcibly trained her body to respond to his presence lest she faces a severe punishment. When Shiva had arrived at his small mansion, he tried making her do the same actions as the pitiable girl while also insulting her for being of a lesser species even though he was just human. Resisting thepulsion of the ve crest, the moment the vile man put his p.e.n.i.s into her mouth, Shiva tried to gnash her teeth to tear off the disgusting member. Unfortunately, due to the resistance of the crest, she was prevented frompleting the act and her brain had nearly been fried as a result. After beating her body severely, the man ended up returning both she and Preasia to the ve trader while demandingpensation in the form of higher quality ves. Though Shiva never saw the girl that he purchased, if Vahn was there he would have recognized both the girl and the gentleman as the people he had seen when he first entered the brokerage. Even though he looked like a kindly middle-aged man, he was actually a cruel and sadistic human being that sought pleasure in the suffering of others. When she and Preasia had been returned, they used some expensive medicine to help heal her body while scrubbing down Preasia with various ointments and medicines to try and hide her scars. Only an hour or so after their return, they were forced to meet their new prospective master and eventually met Vahn... Thinking back about the gentle-natured boy, Shiva couldnt help but feel grateful for his actions that led to her freedom. She was, in fact, nearly a Level 4 and had been a prisoner of war between two conflicting tribes within the Land of no Sun. After being humiliated, she was sold to the nearby City of Orario and had met several different masters before finally being liberated by Vahns kindness. Now, Shiva was determined to ughter the fools that treated her as amodity to be traded amongst themselves. She would butcher them all before leaving the City and getting revenge against the nsman that tarnished her honor as a proud Dark Elf Huntress. Stepping into the home of her most recent master, Shiva sneakily made her way through the corridors before finding her way to the secret entrance that led down to the dungeon where the man kept his ves imprisoned. Because of his superiorityplex, the man had more than a dozen ves of different races that had all been severely mistreated. His current purchase looked to be a young human girl with blue hair and an already nk expression on her face. Her body was covered in several wounds and she was forcibly bound to a wooden table that contorted her body into whatever shape suited the man. Since she was human, the old man was forcibly raping the girl with a mad and sadistic expression on his face as Shiva sneaked up behind him quieter than the night. The man was so lost in the act that he didnt react at all as a knife passed through his lower back and severed part of his spine. He immediately slipped out of the poor girl and fell to the ground with an agonized shriek as he stared at his attacker with a crazed expression and shouted, "Yooooouuuu! Y-y-you vile sow! How dare a disgusting animal like you attack me!?" Not offended by the mans words, Shiva showed a cruel and sadistic smile that could give the mans a run for his money. She yed with the dagger in her hands as she walked forward slowly... Fearing for his life, the man tried to desperately crawl away from his assant as he cried out for one of his servants or guards to save him. Unfortunately, he had made a concerted effort topletely soundproof his own dungeon to keep it concealed. Now, while his guards earnestly protected his property, he would be at Shivas mercy until she finally thought it was time to send him on his way to Hades. After reaching a wall, the man could go no further and turned backed to stare at the trail of blood that had been left by his own body. His gangly, aged, legs were covered in the filth and blood that covered the floor of the dungeon as he stared into the cold eyes of Shiva and muttered in a pleading voice, "P-p-please dont do this...Ill give you money, anything, just leave this ce. I-I-Ill never tell anyone about this if y-y-you just walk away!" Shiva brandished the knife in her hands and admired the blood covering the de as she smelled it. After taking a whiff, she had a frown on her face as she scrunched up her nose and retorted, "What a foul smell odor...are you really a man? Why does your blood smell closer to that of a goblin...eeeeei, look, even your emaciated arms and legs match a goblin, dont they?" Though he was still profoundly afraid, the man couldnt help but scowl at beingpared to such a lowly creature. He tried to shout out once again, but the moment he opened his mouth a sh of light passed in front of his face and his tongue and lower jaw werepletely severed from his body. Since he was only a Level 1, the man couldnt even see the actions of the Level 3 Shiva. He tried to scream out again, but the only thing he could manage was a pained gurgling sound as he tried to stimy the flow of blood with his hands. Shiva stared down on him a bit before walking over to the tools the man used for his hobby. There were also several types of experimental potions that were used to seal wounds and treat infections. Shiva grabbed a few hooked tools, a hammer, and some of the potions as she made her way over to the man that once again tried to crawl away. She used the hammer to crack his wrists before shattering the joints of his fingers to prevent him from trying to crawl away again. He couldnt resist her actions at all and was helpless as she shoved a potion down his open gullet. Since he had no lower jaw, he couldnt resist her actions at all as the wounds slowly closed around the bottle. Shiva held the side of his face and gave him a gentle smile before smashing the ss bottle into the top of his mouth and destroying several of his remaining teeth. When the man passed out, she took the hooked tool and ced it on the inside of his thigh, approximately next to the knee, and jammed it into his leg before pulling up with a tearing force. The man instantly woke up and tried his best to scream but was unable to. All he got for his efforts were several pink-hued bubbles that were frothing around his nose and air-hole as he struggled to breathe. To prevent him from suffocating, Shiva jammed a tube into hisrynx and fixed it in ce with loose bands. She didnt care if he died, but she wanted him to savor the experience more before he passed on. For the next half hour, she continued to carve away and y his flesh while inspecting each part of the mans body. Before she moved on, she would use the experimental potions to heal his wounds and then neatly arrange the body parts for him to view. By the time she was done, the only thing that remained of the man was his torso and head as he stared at his own butchered limbs with dead eyes. Shiva showed an incredibly gentle smile as she stroked his tattered and sticky hair for a few seconds while saying in a soothing tone, "Dont worry, itll all be over soon...this next part is your favorite...it would be a shame if you went your entire life without experiencing it yourself." Pouring the remaining salve and potions on the mans body, Shiva bent forward before severing the mans p.e.n.i.s. Since she had force-fed him an aphrodisiac earlier, even though he was in severe pain, the man still had an erection. She tied off the base of the member to keep the blood from flowing and then removed the remnants of the vial that was in his mouth. The parting gift she left for the main before freeing the ves in the mansion was his own p.e.n.i.s shoved deeply into his throat... (A/N: The title is a y on the phrase Just Deserts. Get it, because the title is just Desserts(O,..,O) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Softness,Whims of Fate,Shivas Vengeance) Chapter 261 - Reunion

Chapter 261 - Reunion

While Vahn was enjoying afortingp pillow from Hestia, the other girls were helping tend to Preasias condition. After wiping down her body and helping to warm her up, the twins clothed her in a fresh sweater and shorts before carrying her to their room. They thought about taking her upstairs to where Fenrir slept, but navigating the stairs with an unconscious body didnt seem ideal. Even though Vahn had given them both their own beds, the twins spent most of their time together when they could and only used one of them. They set Preasia in the leftover bed and went about their other assumed duties while Fenrir and Haruhime watched over her. Since it was still somewhat early in the day, only around 10 AM, it took a while for some of the people on thework to mobilize. Hestia had let everyone know of the arrival of Haruhime earlier and had just informed them earlier about the incident regarding Preasia before finding out about the previous nights murders. Eina wanted toe back over but was busy with her duties thus the first members to show up at the house were Ryuu, Mn, and Tina. Ryuu was only a temp worker now and both Mn and Tina had the weekends off, to begin with. The only reason they didnt stay at the Hearth Manor yet was that Mn didnt want to immediately leave the Hostess of Fertility that had shown she and her daughter kindness. Maemi had been expecting guests since earlier and politely escorted them to the study where she and Emiru did their best to exin the situation with as many details as they had learned. Mn was somewhat reminded of her own recent trauma and empathized greatly with Preasia while Tina found it hard to hold in her own tears. She didnt have any outbursts, but she did hug her mother silently with wet eyes. Ryuu had a somewhat cold look to her eyes but was more worried about Vahns current state of mind than anything else. She knew Preasia would be fine while staying at the Hearth Manor, so Ryuu wanted to make sure Vahn was okay since he was the core of the group within the Manor. When she went upstairs, Ryuu lightly knocked on the door before opening it when she heard Hestias quiet words. Looking into the interior, Ryuu saw Vahn asleep atop Hestiasp while the petite goddess gently stroked his hair in an affectionate manner. A little bit of the worry in Ryuus heart diminished as she showed a small smile and bowed politely before closing the door and returning to the study. She was able to tell that Hestia was tending to Vahns mental state and didnt want to interrupt the peaceful atmosphere. In hindsight, Ryuu realized she had never given Vahn ap pillow in the past and wondered if it should be something she did more often to help him rx. The second group to arrive at the Manor, slightly after lunch had started, was the Takemikazuchi Familia. Take had arrived with Ouka, Chigusa, and a long raven-haired girl wielding a katana. Since they had been waiting for their arrival, Vahn immediately awoke when he sensed their presence and stared up into Hestias stark blue eyes for several seconds in a slightly dazed state. Hestias hands came to a stop after she wiped away Vahns bang and leaned down to kiss him on the forehead. Unfortunately, perhaps due to her inexperience in the matter, Hestia hadnt considered the size of her b.r.e.a.s.ts in the equation and ended up pressing them into Vahns face before they both had small reactions of shock. Vahn enjoyed the incredibly soft sensation until Hestia moved away which caused him tough slightly as he sat up from the bed. Leaning over, Vahn gave Hestia a light peck on the lips before whispering, "Thanks, Hestia, I feel a lot better now." Though her eyes had widened slightly at the kiss, Hestias smile returned to normal and even grew marginally as a happy expression appeared on her face. She ushered Vahn out the door and the two made their way down to intercept the Takemikazuchi Familia that was nearing the front door. Seeing Ryuu in the foyer, Vahn smiled and thanked her even though he wasnt sure why. She simply returned his greeting politely before returning to inform the others about the arrival of new guests. Before they could know, Vahn opened the door and wee the Takemikazuchi Familia into the Hearth Manor while taking a look at everyone in attendance. Ouka had once again apanied Take, as he should, while Vahn also got a glimpse of two different girls, one he had seen, and the other he had only observed in the manga. Hitachi Chigusa was the girl he had met during the kidnapping incident and she was a petite and docile girl that stood around 149cm tall. She had a gentle and timid disposition with medium-length raven ck hair that covered her green eyes. Other than her nearly non-existent b.r.e.a.s.ts, the most striking thing about Chigusa was that, even though her size was diminutive, she had arge shield on her back. Vahn couldnt imagine the small girl as a frontline vanguard no matter how he thought about it... The other girl Yamato Mikoto, who was around 151cm and attired in the same type ofvender kimono as Chigusa except, unlike Chigusa, Mikoto had a visible sarashi that wrapped around her growing b.r.e.a.s.ts. Since both girls were only around 14 years old, they hadnt grown into their manga counterparts yet but Mikoto was quickly approaching her future self. Like Chigusa, she also had raven ck hair but with a pair of equally ck eyes to apany them. To contrast Chigusas timid disposition, Mikoko had a serious and cool look on her face even though Vahn could see her aura flickering with a bit of excitement. Take bowed politely after Vahn invited his Familia into the Manor and each of his children followed his example and showed proper courtesies. However, the moment courtesies were exchanged, Ouka looked directly at Vahn and asked in a somewhat brash tone, "Where is Lady Sanjouno?" Takeughed awkwardly Oukas words and politely bowed as he said, "Forgive Ouka, he is in somewhat high tensions after we received your words so suddenly. Since weve been on the trail for three years, the fact youpleted the task within three days was a bit of an impact on everyone in the Familia." As it wasnt Vahns first meeting with Ouka, he hadnt taken offense at his words and merely bowed politely to Take before escorting the group to the study. Vahn held the door for them and revealed Haruhime sitting on one of the sofas while the twins tried arranging tea on a cart to the side with less-than-practiced motions. When she saw the sight of the Takemikazuchi Familia, Haruhimes eyes watered a bit but her expression remained gentle as she stood up and bowed deeply to the approaching group. Ouka released a relieved sigh before cing his hand on Vahns shoulder and using his deep voice to say, "Seriously, thank you." After his short words, Ouka followed Take into the room with Chigusa close at his back. She bowed politely to Vahn at muttered in a quiet voice, "Thanks, Vahn..." Vahn nodded toward her as Mikoto stepped forward and looked between him and Haruhime. As Haruhimes best friend, she was the most affected by her safe recovery and felt very grateful to Vahn for his assistance. She bowed low before saying in a serious tone, "This is our first meeting, I am Yamato Mikoto. Thank you for saving Haruhime, if there is anything I can do to return this kindness, please let me know." Vahn shook his head with a smile before gesturing toward Haruhime and saying, "Were allies Mikoto, dont worry about matters like repayment. I saved Haruhime because I wanted to, not simply because I was asked to. Instead of worry about me, you should go to her and think about other thingster." Mikoto stared into Vahns eyes as he spoke and her serious expression didnt fade at all before she eventually bowed again and made her way into the room. Vahn watched Haruhime hug the two girls as Ouka stood off to the side with a gentle expression with Take making polite words to the twins. Vahn noticed the two girls blush slightly and raised his brow a bit at the strange sight. Hestia had stopped next to Vahn and stared into the room at the sight of the reunion for a few seconds before asking in a low voice, "Youre not gonna try to get close to those two girls as well, are you? I think the small one likes the big guy, but the serious looking one might be a good choice..." Since Vahn hadnt been thinking about the matter at all, he was surprised to hear Hestia mention it as he turned toward her and saw an expression of mock humor on her face. He realized that she was actually teasing him andughed a bit before making his way into the room with a smile on his face. Vahn didnt see the expression of humor on Hestias face turn slightly serious as she released a sigh and looked at Mikoto before turning her sights to the twins that seemed to be getting smooth-talked by the handsome Takemikazuchi. She could tell that the two girls were receptive to others, so there was a chance they wouldnt be so reliant on Vahn in the future. The problem was, she had seen the serious look on Mikotos face earlier and saw the genuine tears in her eyes when she embraced Haruhime. They seemed to be very close and were likely even near the same age as well. Since Haruhime would be living in the Hearth Manor, Hestia expected to see Mikoto around the Manor more often in the future and knew something would probably happen because of Vahns gentle personality. Even though he had a weakness for girls with a tragic past, most of the girls on thework knew that Vahn actually liked the serious and hardworking type more than the fragile type. This made Mikoto, who was simr in age to Vahn, somewhat of a contender if she decided to enter the circle in the future... After everyone settled down, the group took their seats and the Takemikazuchi Familia was surprised when Haruhime sat close enough to Vahn that there was zero distance between their h.i.p.s and even wrapped her tail around his waist without changing her elegant disposition at all. Hesta sat on the opposite side of Vahn and frowned slightly before pretending to ignore the tail. She had already allied with Haruhime earlier and could get affections from Vahn when there were fewer eyes trained on them. Scanning over the group, Hestia saw the contemtive look in Mikotos eyes and released a sigh inside her mind while Vahn opened the discussion. Vahn recounted the events of the rescue operation and also brought up the matter of how Ishtar had already anticipated his arrival to an extent. Though they had bought some time, the matter wouldnt officiallye to a conclusion until the Ishtar Familia was dealt with. Though he didnt mention it to the group, Vahn had noticed that the quest hadnt actually beenpleted even though he already rescued Haruhime. This implied there was still a scheme running behind the scenes that needed to be dealt with before the quest was concluded. Since one of the failure conditions now stated Escape of Ishtar, Vahn knew he would have to do something to deal with the goddess in a somewhat permanent fashion. When he was finishing up the story, Vahn stated firmly, "Because of her own choice, Haruhime has joined the Hestia Familia and has fallen under my protection for the foreseeable future." Vahns words caused Takes brows to rise slightly but he didnt seem against the idea while even Chigusa and Mikoto actually had relieved looks on their faces. The greatest affected seemed to be Ouka, but he just grits his teeth and remained silent because he was aware of his own weakness. They had no easy way to flee the City and return to the Far East and there was nothing his Familia could do to resist the Ishtar Familia at all. Even a single one of their Level 4 members would be enough to take out his entire group... While a silence had overtaken the atmosphere, Haruhime spoke out with gentle words, "I have decided to stay with Vahn by my own volition. I am grateful to everyone for their efforts...truly, I cant express my gratitude for all you have done for me. However, I must follow my own heart on this matter because I want to be able to live a happy life from now on. Vahn saved me from that nightmare and it is now my dream to live alongside him..." Though she couldnt put much force into it, Vahn could feel Haruhimes tail tighten around his waist and everyone in the Takemikazuchi Familia had noticed her reaction. Take had a small smile on his face as he bowed politely and said, "Vahn, please take care of Haruhime from now on. She is in safer hands with you and I believe she will also be much happier here." As if to piggyback off of his words, Mikoto spoke out, "I want to join the Hestia Familia as well, at least until this matter is concluded. I might not be strong enough to contribute much, but I want to help protect Haruhime." Without waiting for Vahn or Hestias response, Takes smile widened a bit and he said, "That is a great idea, it will also increase the bond between our two Familia in the future." Vahn wasnt too surprised since he had seen the look of conviction in Mikotos eyes earlier. Haruhime seemed especially happy that her friend wanted to stay with her while Hestia, who had also expected something like this to happen, just stared into the void withzy eyes and a practiced smile. She knew that, even if Mikoto only meant it as a temporary leave, she would probably stay around just because Haruhime was here. Since Haruhime wanted to support Vahn, that would mean Mikoto would be at his side a lot in the future as well. Simply due to his nature, they would probably grow closer over time as Haruhime whittled down both of their defenses... After it was officially decided that Mikoto was going to join the Hestia Familia, the Takemizuchi Familia left after a celebratory lunch. They were celebrating the safe recovery of Haruhime and also sending their well-wishes to Mikoto and the prosperity of the Hestia Familia. On their way out, Ouka approached Vahn and had an earnest expression on his face as he said, "I know it wont be easy, but I will work hard to ovee you in the future. We may not have started off on the right foot, but I think of you as a worthy rival. Lets both work hard to protect the things we care about..." Ouka then reached out his hand and Vahn gave him an appreciative nod before epting the handshake and saying, "With the right mentality, you can be much stronger. Its not well known, but I am also a [Master Smith]. If you or the Takemikazuchi Familia have any equipment needs, please feel free to patronize the Hearth Manor in the future. Ill be more than happy to forge equipment for those I consider friends..." Oukas expression turned especially serious as he nodded his head and briefly thanked Vahn before leaving alongside Chigusa and Take. Chigusa looked back at Vahn for a moment and had a small smile on her face as she bowed before turning back and standing near Ouka. Vahn could see that not only Chigusas but Oukas aura gravitated toward the opposite person a bit. Though he wasnt sure of their rtionship, Vahn felt like the two had a mutual liking for each other. With a small smile on his face, Vahn reaffirmed his desire to make awork of male friends to talk to and share advice. He felt like they could learn a lot from each other and Vahn also knew that his situation was somewhat uniquepared to many others. If he wanted to rx and take things slowly like people kept telling him, Vahn figured the best method would be to spend more time for himself and make some friends... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Peaceful Silence,Hestia Familia Recruitment Drive In Full Swing,Vahns desire for brotherhood grows) I am currently at $718/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 262 - Silence

Chapter 262 - Silence

After the Takemikazuchi Familia left, Vahn introduced Mikoto and Haruhime to Mn, Tina, and Ryuu. Since she was their senior with the Familia, Ryuu was very nice to the two girls while Tina seemed to be a bit standoffish now that there were two more people around Vahn. Mn didnt seem to mind at all and was mainly focused on the matters regarding Preasia, who still hadnt woken up. Vahn inspected her condition earlier and knew she was simply fatigued and allowed her to continue sleeping. Fenrir seemed very protective of Preasia, so Vahn left her to look after the small sheep girl. Mn also stayed nearby while teaching the twins how to properly prepare meals since their cooking was somewhat substandard. Since they were from a nomadic tribe, their cooking skills amounted to the ability to roast and season meat with spices they ground using a pestle and mortar. Tina was focused on interacting with Haruhime and Mikoto and was learning about the past of the two girls. She already knew Vahn was searching for Haruhime, but it was the first time Tina learned of the situation behind her captivity. Soon after, any inhibitions she had towards Haruhime faded away and she decided to be friends with her if she could. While this was going on, Vahn had moved to the highest balcony within the Manor and was overlooking the premises with a thoughtful gaze. Ryuu stood at his side because they were discussing matters and trying toe up with a way to deal with the Ishtar Familia without being overly reliant on the Alliance. Loki had already started preparing to mobilize some of her Familia and had even sent notice to the main expedition to return early if possible. Hestia was currently in her room writing messages through thework and reading through the logbook to see if anything important had been mentioned since earlier. Since it was still quite cold, even though it was now the afternoon, the wind blowing through the balcony was somewhat biting. Though he was unaffected, Vahn noticed that Ryuus aura was faltering a bit and knew she was probably cold. With a sigh that caused arge cloud of condensation to build up, Vahn turned around and smiled at Ryuu as he said, "You dont have to stay out here with me Ryuu." As he spoke, Vahn handed her a threeyered mantle that was lined with dense furs on the inside. Ryuu epted the mantle with a smile and didnt respond to Vahns words as she wore it around her shoulders. Vahn gave her a wry smile and notice that her ears were turning red, not from a blush, but because of the cold. Using [Hands of Nirvana] and the warmth of his body, Vahn covered Ryuus ears and felt the cold sensation transmitted through his fingers. When he saw Ryuus aura re up a bit, and a slight blush appear on her face, Vahn smiled and the two stood in silence for a while until he hadpletely warmed her body. Since elves only allowed their loved ones to touch their ears, Ryuu was somewhat sensitive to the intimate contact. However, she felt very warm from Vahns touch as well and didnt resist his actions at all. She had already allowed him to see her n.a.k.e.d body and even allowed him to touch her ears when they took a bath previously. Since she had already made her resolve, Ryuu just enjoyed the warmth and stared into Vahns aquamarine eyes with a slight smile on her face. Now that his mind was a bit calmer, Vahn expanded his domain and used [Heart of the Eternal me] to warm up the entirerge balcony. Ryuu felt a warmth simr to spring spread through the area and gave a hum-likeugh before she said, "Did you forget you could do that?" Vahn blushed slightly at her words and removed his hands from Ryuus ears. He had been so focused on the matters with the Ishtar Familia that he hadnt paid any mind to the cold until he noticed Ryuus condition. Tilting her head to the side slightly, Ryuu asked, "Do you likep pillows Vahn?" Vahn turned his head back to Ryuu and considered her words for a short while before nodding his head. Of the things he liked to do when rxing,ying on thep of a girl was something that brought him a lot offort. He had even fallen asleep on several asions in the past so there was no way he could refute the words. Seeing Vahns nod, Ryuu also nodded her head as if affirming something before taking off the mantle and spread it on the floor. Even if Vahn had warmed up the air, the cold stone of the balcony was still biting to the touch. After she sat down, Vahn realized what Ryuu was doing and a small smile appeared on his face as he sat next to her. She looked into his eyes for a moment before smoothing her apron with her hands and nodding. Vahn took her offer and rested against Ryuus thighs while looking up into her sky-blue eyes from below. Repeating the actions of Hestia, Ryuu began to stroke Vahns hair affectionately. Though her thighs werent remotely as soft as Hestias, Vahn still veryfortable against the somewhat springy and firm thighs of Ryuu. He didnt fall asleep, but Vahn closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment shared between the two of them. Hestia eventually showed up on the balcony and saw the scene before locking eyes with Ryuu who had noticed her arrival. For a moment, Hestia felt a little jealous of Ryuu but also remembered her earlier actions of leaving Vahn to her care. While she was thinking of leaving the two to themselves, Vahn raised his body and turned toward Hestia since he had already detected her arrival. Ryuu also removed the wrinkles from her apron before standing and folding the mantle after they stepped off of it. Hestia felt a little awkward since she thought she had spoiled the mood but returned to normal when she saw the natural smile on Vahns face. The trio made their way inside where it was warm and closed the doors of the balcony behind them. Since Vahn always carried around a bit of furniture in his inventory, he set out a sofa which they all sat on so they could discuss what Hestia had learned from thework. Ryuu sat slightly away and showed a small smile to Hestia as if encouraging her. Since Hestia still felt like she interrupted them earlier, Ryuus encouragement felt a little awkward but she still epted the small kindness and even felt a little emboldened as she sat in Vahnsp. As it wasnt the first time she had done so, Vahn was fine with Hestias action especially considering that her body was almost unnaturally light. Though he had inspected her from himself with his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn believed there was a unique quality to Hestias body that made her softer and lighter than other girls and goddesses. When everyone had situated themselves, Hestia exined, "There is an ongoing investigation into the illegal ve trafficking ring that you had tipped the Guild off about. They are tracking down several of the people listed in the customer list and are also trying to bust other fake brokerages that had connections to the facility you discovered." Vahn nodded his head thoughtfully and wanted to ask about the matters concerning Preasia but Hestia continued, "I talked to Loki and Hephaestus about Isthar, and Loki seems to be nning to challenge the Ishtar Familia to a Wargames to prevent them from approaching us about Haruhime. Though I didnt originally mention it to Loki, she also knows about Haruhimes magic because Hephaestus didnt want to keep it a secret since Haruhime would probably follow you on expeditions in the future anyway. They did stress that her magic is kept confidential in most situations, at least until the probationary period between the Alliance and our Familia expires." As he had simr thoughts, Vahn stated, "Dont worry, I will protect Haruhime until she bes stronger. I have plenty of allies to help as well..." Vahn gave a nce over at the smiling Ryuu and she nodded her head almost imperceptibly. Hestia had been leaning against Vahns chest with her eyes closed, so she missed the look as she nodded her head and continued, "It was the consensus of everyone that, for the time until now and the Denatus, you shouldnt leave the Manor much. Even though Fenrir might have an urge to kill monsters, I think she will be stable while she is tending to Preasia. Let Loki deal with the Ishtar Familia for now and focus on protecting everyone within the Manor while trying to rx a bit before things pick up and youre pulled into some other unavoidable trouble..." Towards the end of her words, Hestia looked up at Vahn and arched her head enough to where he could look down into her eyes from above. He could see the worry in her eyes and even felt Ryuu nod her head outside his line of sight. All of the girls around him, including Eva in the orb, had been telling him to rx more. If not for the matter regarding Haruhime, Vahn would have followed their advice and focused on his personal life for a bit. Now that she was under his protection, as long as Vahn paid attention to the security of the Manor things should be fine. Even if they had a specialist, there was no way for someone to enter the premises of their grounds without Vahn or Fenrir picking up their presence. Vahn squeezed Hestias hands that had been holding onto his and disyed apliant smile as he said, "I think rxing sounds like a great idea...Ill still continue my training a bit, but I want to treat my hobbies more casually for a time. I also want to try and create my ownwork of guy friends and maybe even spend some personal time to myself and continue my studies..." Vahns words made Hestia sigh slightly since his idea of rxation still revolved around performing several actions that othersmitted a lot of effort to. Unless she and the other girls forced him to rx, he would probably immediately return to some tedious task and ce all of his focus on it. She did note his desire to have more male friends though, and it had actually been mentioned several times on thework. Hephaestus and Eina especially wanted Vahn to interact with more males so that he could experience a different kind of bond than that between a boy and a girl. Because of Vahns behavior, it was difficult for him to have actual female friends since he always treated girls deferentially and with a lot of empathy. This closed the distance between Vahn and most girls and gave them a somewhat tense rtionship that could easily devolve into feelings for each other depending on the situation. It was their hope that, if Vahn rxed with other guys and saw how they reacted to women, his mentality would change a bit and he wouldnt be so easily influenced by girls in the future. Of course, not all the girls agreed with this, at least not in the same vein as the hopes ced forth by Hephaestus and Eina. Though she didnt consider herself part of the faction, Hestia somewhat agreed with Syr and the girls at the Hostess of Fertility. She was okay with Vahn having male friends, but she didnt think it would be good for them to enter the Familia. Since a lot of girls around Vahn had some trauma rted to men, they werent easily willing to expose themselves to an environment where they were living with a man other than Vahn. Syr even brought up the rhetorical situation of what might happen if one of the men got jealous and made passes at some of the girls within thework. Though it would be fine if the feelings were reciprocal, on the off chance that something adverse happened it would cause irreversible harm to the groups unity and would also heavily impact Vahn as a result. Even Eina wasnt able to refute her words easily since she was also aware of the situation of many of the girls around Vahn. It was his kind and gentle nature that allowed them to be around Vahn easily without fear of anything happening, but that wouldnt be the case if other men were added to the equation. While contemting the matter herself, Hestia asked, "Do you know any guys you want to be friends with?" Since it was something he had thought about recently, Vahn said, "Ouka seems like a good guy and has the drive to be stronger...I think Take isnt bad either, though his actions are a bit offputting at times...I think Welf and I can be good friends and I want to help with his research...I think Gareth would be a good role model, especially since Ill be a father in the future..." Hestia had been listening to Vahn and trying to imagine each of the guys he mentioned in her mind as she considered if they would be a good or bad influence on Vahn. She was also somewhat unnerved by Takemikazuchi, since he had the natural tendencies of a gigolo and flirted with girls casually. Hestia felt like he would actually be a terrible influence on Vahn even though she wished he would take away some of the less impactful women out of Vahns life. Suddenly, while she was lost in her own thoughts, Hestia felt like a gong had sounded in her mind when Vahn mentioned Gareth and bing a father in the future. Even Ryuus eyes widened a bit at Vahns words, even though she had already heard the news about Hephaestuss apparent pregnancy. It was still too early to see any signs, but Hephaestus had apparently confirmed the matter with a goddess of fertility that she trusted. Though she believed Vahns words, she couldnt help but get a second opinion and had been in a jubnt mood ever since. Now that Ryuu was hearing Vahn speak of the matter though, it had a slightly different impact. Since elves were long-lived, she hadnt considered the matter of children but now thought of Vahn being the father of some of her own... Hestia felt a bit of anxiety welling up in her heart since she realized Vahn was already undergoing a shift in his mentality with a focus towards fatherhood. Though she didnt understand why Hestia felt like the window of opportunity for them to grow closer together was shrinking rapidly. She affirmed her decision to meet up with Hephaestus more often and even nned to discuss matters with Loki, even though she wasnt fond of her former rival. Though she hadnt met him, Hestia knew Gareth was a member of the Loki Familia and wanted to vet him to see if he could be a good role-model for Vahn in the future. It seemed that, while Vahn was going to be focused on rxing, she was going to be progressively busier in the future. However, the more she thought about it, the more excited Hestia felt because she began to realize what she could do for Vahn from now on... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Loki, she protec, she atak, but most importantly she act,Rxing vacation full of training, forging, and research,The seeds are nted...) I am currently at $718/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 263 - Schedule

Chapter 263 - Schedule

After their discussion, Vahn drew up a schedule alongside Hestia and Ryuu that had severalrge blocks of time devoted to rxation. Vahn would be waking up early, just like every other day, and he would begin training Haruhime, Emiru, and Maemi in basic CQC techniques. Even if Haruhime only wanted to focus on magic, Vahn still wanted to improve her endurance and agility as well. The twins only wanted to be support units, but Vahn wanted them to be agile as well to make proper use of their racial traits. Both girls agility parameter was their highest stat and they had lithe and flexible bodies suited for agility-based fighters. Once their morning training waspleted, Vahn had his first block of rxation and was free until lunch to do whatever he wanted. Hestia emphasized he needed to use part of his time to rx and told him to clearly tell people what he wanted to do. If he left it to others, Vahn would just get wrapped up in the momentum of things again and it wouldnt be rxation at all. After lunch, Vahn was allowed to work, but only if it wasnt a serious project or something that could cause strain to his body. The day would wrap up with a bath, dinner, and then finally bed time. Even though he thought it was rxing, Vahn was prohibited from using his massage technique unless it was during the afternoon. Unless it was for more intimate purposes, Vahn should spend his evening resting instead of pushing himself to satisfy others. As he was drawing up the schedule, Vahn couldnt help but feel like it wasnt going to be as simple as what they drew out on the paper. He had the weekends off, but it seemed strange to him that his primary job right now was meant to be rxation. Knowing other people would be hard at work while he was supposed to bezing around didnt sit well with him, but he still finalized the schedule and agreed to adhere to it unless something happened. Afterward, Hestia transmitted the schedule through thework while Ryuu and Vahn returned to the others to exin things. Ryuu had taken on the position of Vice-Captain in the Familia, so she was the person that would be in charge most of the time and would help the girls train. Other than a bit of guidance, Ryuu wanted Vahn to focus on developing his own skills instead of worrying about others. It was impossible for most people to emte hisbat style, and the girls were simr to Ryuu in the fact they would be agility oriented. Since Ryuu was also incredibly talented with magic and [Concurrent Chanting], she was actually the ideal candidate to train the girls. Vahns ultimate role ended up being converted into a sparring partner and observer while he was meant to be training his own skills. Mikoto, who had moved into Haruhimes room, would also be training primarily on her own since she practiced a unique form of swordsmanship and also specialized in detection magic. Vahn was surprised to learn that her skill, [Yatanoshirogarasu] had the ability to detect hidden enemies as well as track allies within the same Familia. It wasnt nearly as developed as his own sensory abilities, but it was still an impressive technique that suited the role of a scout and vanguard unit. By the time the afternoon rolled around, Preasia finally woke up and Fenrir immediately entered a high-tension state that drew Vahns notice. He realized that she seemed receptive to the fact he could sense her aura and now used it tomunicate with him if he was far away. After a short while, Vahn gathered everyone into the dining room while the twins helped Preasia out of their room. Though she looked very tired, Vahn saw that the light had returned to her light-grey eyes and felt more than a little relieved to see her on the road to recovery. After settling down onto a sofa, Vahn sat across from Preasia while nked by Haruhime and Hestia once again. Both girls had very gentle looks in their eyes and Vahn felt like the entire atmosphere had turned a little lighter while everyone was showing concern for Preasia. He felt like this was the ideal situation and something he wished he could see more often. The sight of people working together in concert to support each other had been something he aspired to see ever since the expedition in the dungeon. Vahn liked to see everyone helping each other out to bear the burdens of one another. Preasia must have felt the atmosphere as well since her eyes were watery even though she didnt begin crying again. Though it was a strange way to describe it, she had a very sheepish and timid nature but it was a great improvementpared to her catatonic state from earlier. She hung her head low and peeked up through her curly bangs and said in a muted tone, "Thank you...for healing me..." Vahn showed a gentle smile and spoke quietly as if he was afraid to startle her, "You are very wee Preasia. Im happy to see youre recovering a bit...feel free to stay in this Manor for as long as you please. You dont have to worry about anything, just go at your own pace...everyone here will help look after you." Until she stabilized or made a decision on her own, Vahn didnt want to put any pressure on Preasia at all. At least until the matter with the Ishtar Familia was resolved, he wanted her to stay alongside girls like Haruhime and Fenrir since Vahn believed it would be ther.a.p.eutic for her. Mn and Tina were also around, and Mn was very receptive to the suffering of Preasia and would hopefully be able to heal her heart after they get to know each other better. Preasia heard Vahns words and looked around at everyone and noticed that, other than Vahn, every else in the vicinity was a girl. They all had happy expressions on their faces and showed concern for her, so she began to feel like this really was a safe ce. Back when Vahn had first purchased her, she thought he was just scheming against her until she dropped her guard. She was afraid that the moment she thought it was safe, Vahn would reveal his real self and then drag her into a deeper pit of despair. Instead, he treated her kindly since the beginning and even healed the wounds on her body. After several long seconds of looking around at everyone in the room, Preasia turned her gaze back to Vahn and nodded her head before turning her face down and saying, "Thank you..." For the next few minutes, Vahn reiterated the schedule for the future days while Hestia tacked on a few things while also talking about the regtions of the Familia and their rtionship with the Alliance. She let everyone know about the dangers of the Ishtar Familia and to always be on guard unless they were inside the Manor or apanying Vahn, Ryuu, or someone else that was trusted by them. Though it was a quiet atmosphere after that, the mood had turned for the better when everyone started eating dinner. Since Mn was staying over, she had cooked a lot of food for everyone in order to celebrate all of the new members of the Hestia Familia and wee them into the Manor. The twins assisted her and even made a few light dishes alongside Tina such as sds and porridge. Since Preasia wasnt able to keep down foods well, the porridge had been made the help nurse her back to health. After her earlier words, Preasia had turned silent and only made curt responses in a very quiet voice whenever Fenrir said things to her. Since Fenrir had always been around her ever since she arrived, Preasia was slowly dropping her guard against the voracious wolf-girl. After dinner, all of the girls went to take a bath together while Vahn rxed in the mens bath by himself and just enjoyed the heat of the water. Though he had expected Ryuu or Hestia to try and join him, he was actually a little relieved toy back in the water on his own while enjoying the cold night air on his skin. Because they were only separated by a wall, Vahn could hear the somewhat cheerful sounds of the girls next door and it made him feel very rxed knowing they were enjoying themselves as well... --- On the other side of the divider between the mens and womens pools, all of the girls were in thergest pool and had somehow devolved into a discussion regarding each others bodies. It had started when Fenrir made a passing remark to Preasia and then matters exploded when Haruhime made ament asking about Vahns taste in women. Though not everyone was discussing things at first, it quickly developed to the point where they were each proactively discussing Vahns assumed preferences. Representing the busty and petite faction, Hestia proudly unted herrge, wless, incredibly fair b.r.e.a.s.ts to the rest of the group. With a somewhat haughty expression on her face, Hestia imed, "Even if Vahn doesnt care about b.r.e.a.s.t size, I know he thinks mine are the softest~!" In response to her words, many of the girls looked between their b.r.e.a.s.ts and Hestias as if topare them. Other than Mn and Mikoto, everyone else had either modest b.r.e.a.s.ts or still-budding b.r.e.a.s.ts like Haruhime. As if to confirm Hestias im, Ryuu had snuck up behind her and reached around before coping a feel that made Hestia shriek out before shying away from the sneaky assant while muttering, "Only Vahn can touch my b.r.e.a.s.ts..." Ryuu looked at her andmented, "They really are very soft." Ryuu then touched her own small b.r.e.a.s.ts and felt they were a little firm because of her lean and athletic figure. She also began to poke and prod around her body while feeling the tension of her own muscles with a strangely concerned expression on her face. Though they hadnt said anything at first, Emiru and Maemi began to mimic Ryuus actions while inspecting their own bodies and the body of each other. Since they were identical twins, there were little to no differences between them and they appraised each other as if they were looking at themselves. They also had somewhat lithe figures with modest b.r.e.a.s.ts and were on the thinner side due to their racial traits. Fenrir was everyones strange behavior and said, "Vahn likes pat pat. Vahn no care about other things. Be good and Vahn give pats to everyone!" Since she had been talking to the twins, they both tilted their heads in the same direction and asked, "Pat pat?" Every girl in the room, with the exception of Emiru, Maemi, Mikoko, and Preasia had a reminiscent look on their faces as they recalled all of the petting they had received from Vahn in the past. Several of them had even received his massages while others had been a victim of sorts. Even Haruhime had been stroked by Vahn on their very first meeting and she had a pleasant smile on her face that was noticed by Mikoto as she asked in a low voice, "Is Vahn really that kind of boy? He seemed like the honest and polite type to me..." Haruhimes smile widened into a radiant expression as she began to preach the virtues of Vahn with a healthy amount of embellishment. Her speech was so momentous that every girl that had received pat pat from Vahn pitched in their ownments, even the rtively taciturn Ryuu. By the end of the discussion, the phrase godhand had be the agreed upon way to refer to Vahns technique. For those that had received his affections in the past, they had expectant looks on their faces while the four girls that had yet to experience it had mixtures of anticipation and curiosity. The only two that didnt proactively participate in the discussion much were Fenrir and Preasia who were sitting at the side. Fenrir made a few remarks, but Preasia just listened to everyones words in silent. After matters started calming down and people were getting ready to leave, Preasia asked Fenrir in a low voice, "Is it really...such a nice thing?" As if she had been asked the easiest to answer question in the entire world, Fenrirs eyes zed a bit and she stated proudly, "Vahn is the best, super good!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Routine Established,Celebration : Silence,Herald of the Godhand) I am currently at $718/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 264 - Temptation

Chapter 264 - Temptation

(A/N: NSFW btw...) As he had bathed alone, Vahn was finished long before the girls side had even started washing their bodies. The warm feeling of the water continued to permeate through his body and Vahn was enjoying the sensation, even though he could have emted the feeling with his [Heart of the Eternal me]. Since they always bathed right before bed, Vahn trudged his way up the stairs and entered his own room beforeying down. The idea of rxing had been reiterated so many times that Vahn suddenly felt somewhat lethargic and wanted to sleep early. Nearly a half hourter, Vahn detected several presences and saw the girls were splitting up to go to their individual rooms. Mikoto was staying with Haruhime and Vahn released a relieved sigh since he imagined she might try to sneak into his room. Mn and Tina stayed in their room with Preasia and Fenrir while Ryuu also went to her own room. Vahn was a little sad because he was looking forward to spending time with Ryuu every now and then. Since they had already progressed to the point where they werefortable being n.a.k.e.d around each other, Vahn had some expectations that they would sleep in the same bed one day. Because the twins were in the downstairs room near the kitchen, that left only one person left within the pool of people that might join him. Since her aura was muchrger than a normal persons, Vahn knew Hestia had the intention of sleeping in his bedroom since she was approaching the room from the left side of the hallway. Her room was directly opposite his, so if she intended to stay there she would deviate more towards the right. As expected, Hestia neared his room a few secondster and opened the door before stepping inside without announcing her presence at all. Hestia was aware that Vahn tracked peoples auras, so she had dropped the habit of announcing her presence to him long ago. Vahn already let her enter his room whenever she wanted anyway, so she had no inhibitions as she made her way over toward the bed in the dark room. After removing her gloves, ribbon, and hair ties, Hestia crawled into the bed alongside Vahn and snuggled up against him. As per usual, Vahn hugged her body gently without them having to exchange words at all. Other than the nights other people slept in the bed, Hestia and Vahn had spent every other night together so it was habitual for them at this point. While Vahn was rxing, he heard Hestia whisper, "Good night Vahn..." He then felt a small feeling against his cheek and turned over to see Hestia closing her eyes as she rested her head against his shoulder. Vahn could see she was behaving in a much more docile manner than normal and understood she was trying to allow him to rx properly. Even though she would probably climb on his body when he was asleep, Vahn was happy to see how thoughtful she was acting. It reinforced the idea that he should be rxing so Vahn quickly released the tensions from his body as he fell asleep once again. Even though Vahn slept in an alert state, he wouldnt typically respond to the movements of other people if he hade to expect their actions. This allowed Hestia, when Vahn had been asleep for a while, to sit up and stare at his sleeping face with a contemtive look. There was a slight glimmer in herke-like blue eyes and she stroked his face affectionately. She liked to watch him sleep because he always looked so defenseless even though she knew he was actually on high-alert. The only reason he ignored her actions was that he genuinely trusted her and it made Hestia feel happy inside her heart. After a brief period of hesitation, Hestia straddled Vahns body and stared down at him from above for a while. She took a few deep breaths before her clothes began to dissipate into petals that arranged themselves around their two bodies. After a few seconds passed, Hestia was sitting atop Vahns stomach in nothing but her panties. She wasnt sure what she wanted to do, but Hestia also wanted to be closer to Vahn in the moments they shared together. Since it wasnt that often she got to sleep with him alone, Hestia decided to take a small step forward. For a few minutes after, Hestia sat atop Vahn and felt the slight chilling from the room that was a stark contrast of the heating from Vahns body. She felt a slightly giddy feeling in her stomach the more she focused on the warmth and regretted not asking Vahn to sleep without his tunic on. Though the fabric was thin, it felt somewhat abrasive due to the texture of the cloth against her bare skin. Even though she didnt want him to wake up, Hestia had a bit of expectation and wondered how he would react if he saw her now. Though she knew he wasnt the type to lose control, a small part of her wished that Vahn would wake up, see her sitting on top of him in just her panties, and then attack her in a brutish manner. Releasing a short sigh, Hestia looked down into the gentle sleeping expression of Vahn with a small amount of resentment coloring her deep blue eyes. Even though she knew it was her own hesitation that kept him from doing anything, Hestia wished he would be more proactive instead of worrying about pressuring her. After more than twenty minutes passed, Hestia gave up because she was unwilling to wake him by her own efforts. Instead, she leaned against Vahns body like normal and tried to calm her heart as she fell asleep while enjoying the warmth from his body. --- While Vahn was asleep, he felt like he was floating in a warm space as a subtle pink aura spread through his mind. It was a very pleasant, almost tantalizing feeling and Vahn could feel the warmth spreading through his body and calming his mind. Vahn didnt often dream while he was asleep, so it was an interesting and new experience that Vahn found very enjoyable. He wondered about the origin of the aura and how it hade to affect him within the space of his own dreamscape. Since it didnt seem threatening at all, Vahn let the feelings spread through his body because they made him feel happy... As he continued to enjoy the feelings, Vahn lost track of time until the pink aura diminished by arge amount. Vahn felt saddened, almost like he had lost something for a moment even though he didnt understand what he had felt. The pink aura still remained, even though it wasnt nearly as prevalent as before, and Vahn wondered about its origins as he closed his eyes within the dream and entered a strange meditative state. Though he couldnt make out what was said, Vahn felt like there was a sequence of nine words ying through his mind... After a long time, Vahn felt an itchy sensation in his heart as his mind began to buzz inexplicably. He opened his eyes in the dreamscape and saw a hazy pink aura clouding the area that continued to affect his mind. As ifpelled by some primal instinct, Vahn lifted his head and smelled the pink haze and it instantly spread through his mind like a hammer striking an anvil. It was an incredibly aromatic scent that was eerily reminiscent, almost like it was something he had been exposed to often yet was never able to identify. Though he felt a bit of anxiety, Vahn continued to sniff the pleasant aroma as if he was trying to identify the source... --- When Vahn awoke the next morning, he felt his heart was racing a bit and he was still sniffing even when he left the dreamscape. Even though he was awake, Vahn could still smell the powerful aroma except now he was able to identify it somewhat. It smelled strangely of honey and lemon with a subtle, almost robust, smell. Opening his eyes, Vahn couldnt help but swallow at what he saw and realized what he had been doing in his dazed state for thest few seconds. He didnt know how it happened, but Hestia seemed to have inverted her body through the night and he was only a few inches away from her butt at the aromatic mound that was concealed by a thin white cloth. His heart began to beat faster in his chest because Vahn realized he had actually been tilting his head forward because he was drawn by the scent. Though it wasnt nearly as powerful as Hephaestus, Vahn could smell Hestias aroma and could even see, with his enhanced vision, the briefest hint of moisture through the fabric. To make matters worse, since he often hugged Hestia while he slept, Vahn had been supporting her body around her waist and had been holding her still as hecently smelled her panties. He wasnt sure how long she had been awake, but Vahn could see Hestias pink aura fluttering like a me as she continued to remain silent. Though he realized she had probably done something to try and entice him, Vahn still felt somewhat embarrassed alongside the feelings of excitement welling up inside him. There was no way Hestia had identally inverted her body and the fact she remained silent even while awake seemed to confirm his assumption. Vahn felt incredibly conflicted at the moment because he was drawn to the sight in front of him almost as though it had a maic attraction. He had never seen a girl from this angle and it was a strangely tantalizing sight to behold. Since Hestia was incredibly soft, to begin with, Vahn felt very tempted to lean his face forward just to see how far Hestia was willing to feign ignorance. Everything was so close that it wouldnt take any effort at all for him to take decisive action... Releasing a sigh, Vahn saw the cloth flutter a bit and he could feel Hestias body tremble slightly as her aura wavered for a moment. However, as if to refute the smallpse in intensity, her aura expanded marginally and burned with greater fervor after the fact. When Vahn moved his hands slightly, he suddenly realized what was different than normal. Since all he could see was her rear and legs, Vahn hadnt noticed that Hestia wasnt wearing her dress before now. He could feel the heat of her body on his palms and he became absolutely certain she was trying to appeal to him. Vahn felt like he was on the precipice of something and didnt know if he should take the next step. However, he didnt want to leave Hestia hovering between her own uncertainty either since it must have taken a lot of courage on her part to even go this far. The fact that her aura expanded when it momentarily destabilized told Vahn that she was pushing herself but wasnt willing to give up just because she was scared. To answer her courage, Vahn hugged Hestias waist tighter as if he was pulling her body into a hug and leaned forward with his nose just enough to contact the fabric. He could feel a slight moisture on his nose and notice that the heartbeat of Hestia was transmitted through herrge b.r.e.a.s.ts all the way to his stomach. Her aura turned chaotic, but it didnt copse and continued to burn a vibrant pink as Vahn inhaled her scent with a long and deep breath. From the moment he started until the moment he exhaled, Vahn felt like his brain had begun to melt from the stimting aroma. Even though he traditionally had perfect control over his own body, Vahn felt a powerful impulse to lose control. From Hestias end, she had teary eyes and was biting her bottom lips as she drew short and powerful breaths. She had braced herself for Vahns actions but still felt incredibly embarrassed when he actually began sniffing her panties. To make matters worse, he took an almost impossibly long breath that made her heart begin to race with an increasing intensity. By the time he was done, she had turned cherry red and her eyes widened at the sight that appeared right in front of her eyes. Though she had heard the rumors before, it was Hestias first time seeing Vahn get an erection even though it was through his loose sleeping trousers. Hestia felt incredibly intimidated but continued to push herself further as she felt spurred onwards by Vahns actions. She had heard from Haruhime that this was an intimate position that was favored by both guys and girls, and Hestia thought she would be able to tolerate things if she didnt see Vahns face. Now that she managed to get a rise out of him, Hestia felt a minuscule amount of confidence build up from somewhere deep inside of her as she reached forward and gingerly opened the button on Vahns trousers. Vahn suddenly felt exposed and his eyes widened as he took short and shallow breaths through his nose. The more he inhaled Hestias scent, the greater the feeling of excitement in his own body as an anticipation grew inside of him. Since he hadnt originally intended to get erect, Vahn though Hestia would have shied away instantly but, against all expectations, she actually continued to push herself even further. After a few seconds, Vahn felt a small hand grab around his p.e.n.i.s and he began breathing hard enough that he could see Hestias body rise and fall with the expansion of his lungs. Though she felt an incredible amount of anxiety at the sight of Vahns erect p.e.n.i.s, Hestia didnt shy away and instead inspected its form with her eyes. After a few seconds, she reached forward and touched it with her fingers before testing its girth with her hand. She was surprised because she was barely able to touch the tip of her index finger to her thumb. If not for the fact she had seen the two girls herself, Hestia wouldnt believe something like this could enter a girl. She had a bit of confidence as a goddess and her own durability, but it seemed almost hopelessly impossible. After contemting for a bit, Hestia decided to proceed further along the steps mentioned by Haruhime and raised her body a bit after cing her arms and Vahns h.i.p.s as support. From behind, Vahn peeked up over Hestias butt and saw her back with a look of intrigue and expectation in his eyes. Though he never mentioned it to anyone, he had seen something simr to their current position previously and had taken a brief nce before looking away. He assumed she must have learned something from Haruhime, but Vahn wasnt sure how far she was willing to go before she backed down. Hestia could feel her body rise and fall with Vahns breaths and also felt his heart beating powerfully as a heat spread through her thighs. She knew he was very excited and it pushed her rabbit-like heart even further as she moved her drooping hair to the side and lowered her head to the tip of Vahns p.e.n.i.s. Before going any further, Hestia stopped her motions almost as if she were kissing the tips of the ns even though it was actually a result of her hesitation. After a few seconds passed, Hestia gingerly licked forward with her tongue and pressed it against the swollen ns as if testing its taste. Though it tasted slightly salted, Hestia couldnt help but swallow a bit of saliva as her heart began to increase to an unimaginably fast rhythm. Because of the salty taste, the saliva in Hestias mouth began to build up and, since she was already known for drooling anyways, the moisture dripping through the crack of her lips and slid down the side of Vahns p.e.n.i.s. Hestia had followed the drool with her eyes and felt both embarrassed and stimted at the same time. Without waiting any longer, Hestia began licking the tip of Vahns p.e.n.i.s while doing her best to ignore her own difort. Other than Hephaestus kissing his ns, this was the first time Vahn ever had a woman put the tip of his p.e.n.i.s in their mouth. It was an incredibly moist, hot, and stimting experience that made his legs shiver a bit every time Hestias tongue came into contact with his member. However, Vahn felt like it was strangely frustrating that she kept repeating the same action even though it was very pleasant. Since he knew she had never done anything like this before, Vahn was unwilling to say anything and thought he should do something on his end to encourage her forward. Because her legs were spread to the sides of his body, there was no way for Vahn to easily remove Hestias panties. Instead, he reached his hand under her belly and grabbed the fabric with the thumb of his left hand before pulling it to the side. Hestias actions immediately stopped and her aura became increasingly unstable as she felt the hot breath of Vahn tickling her exposed genitals. Vahn didnt say anything at all and just continued to stare at the slightly ruddy mound that had a small trickle of moistureing from the nearly wless slit. Almost as if it were reacting to her breathing, the line would open slightly every now and then and gave Vahn the briefest glimpse of the interior of Hestias v.a.g.i.n.a. After several long seconds passed between them, Hestia seemed to have made a decision and began licking Vahns ns again while her legs tensed up a bit and began to shake. Vahn had a small smile on his face as he used both thumbs to open the slightly puffy vulva and peered at the pink interior that had be incredibly flushed from the increased blood flow through Hestias body. At the base of the vulva, or the top if she were upright, Vahn could see a hooded nub but decided to ignore it for the time being as he traced his own tongue for the first time against thebia of a girl. Vahn noticed that taste of the juicesing from Hestia were distinctly different from the smell and it was somewhat lighter than he expected. It was somewhat sweet, honeylike, but it had an almost tart taste at the same time that was hard to describe. Hestia felt like her heart was going to explode from the foreign stimtioning from her v.a.g.i.n.a. Though she had masturbated out of curiosity before, there was never a time where she had experienced something else touching the interior. She hadnt even grown enough courage to do anything the more than fiddle with her own sensitive bead a bit in the past. It was both a pleasant, yet ticklish, sensation that made her body contract all the way up her abdomen every time Vahn licked the interior. She tried to distract herself and stop Vahns actions by gripping his p.e.n.i.s with both hands firmly as she continued to lick around the top of his p.e.n.i.s. However, no matter how hard she tried, Hestia realized she was running a race where she was at a significant disadvantage. Since she waspletely inexperienced, she had no idea how to stimte Vahn further while he earnestly broke through her defenses without any resistance at all. Instead of just licking, it was almost like he was savoring her insides as he pressed his tongue into different areas and gauged her reaction. Every time she clenched up more than normal, he would press into the area with his tongue before gently rocking his head. During these times, Hestia couldnt even do anything as she pulled away from his p.e.n.i.s and tucked her body low to his abdomen. The only thing she could manage was licking near the base a bit as she continued to suffer from Vahns eagerness and curiosity. Around seven minutes in, Vahn began to get immersed in his actions until he noticed a marked increase in the amount of moistureing from Hestia as her insides began to writhe about slightly. Vahn knew from experience that she was approaching climax and considered if he should push her a bit further to see how she would react. After a brief period of hesitation, he noticed that Hestia was trying to reposition herself to continue her efforts and Vahn felt slightly emboldened. Though not nearly as much as what he had done to Ais, Vahn inserted the slightest amount of energy into his thumb as he leaned forward andpped against the slightlyrger hole while pressing Hestias tiny bead. Hestia suddenly felt a powerful fear overtake her body before a shock ran along her spine that seemed to collide with her thoughts and shatter them into tiny pieces. Unable to hold her own voice down, the only thing Hestia could do was try to cover her mouth as her body arched like a shrimp against Vahns abdomen. She could feel a ridiculously pleasant feeling spreading through her body as a lightheadedness clouded her mind. It was way more stimting than anything she had ever felt and Hestia wasnt able to rationalize what was happening to her body. The only thing she knew was there was afortable heat underneath her and she could feel Vahns arms firmly wrapped around her h.i.p.s, almost like they were trying to prevent her body from flying away... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hesitation vs. Expectation,Pink Dreams,Yin Yang Convergence ?) I am currently at $718/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 265 - Oversight

Chapter 265 - Oversight

After Hestias body rxed, Vahn could feel her taking long and drawn out breaths and sheid powerlessly with her head on his pelvis. Knowing she probably wasnt going toe down any time soon, Vahn eased his mind and pushed away the tensions in his body with assistance from [Will of the Emperor]. After a few seconds, his p.e.n.i.s calmed down and he fixed Hestias panties before gingerly rolling her off of his body. She seemed to regain a bit of her rity as Vahn stroked the side of her face and whispered, "You did well Hestia...thanks for your efforts." Leaning down, Vahn kissed Hestia on her lips for a brief moment before wrapping her body in a nket. Hestia stared at Vahns back like she wanted to say something but felt like she didnt have the ability to form rational thoughts for the time being. Even now, her body would feel a wave of vibrations originating from her lower body. The only thing she really knew was that she was sad to lose Vahns warmth as she reached out her hand and grabbed at his tunic only to falter forward. Vahn caught her before helping hery back down on her back. Looking into her watery blue eyes, Vahn could see a bit of the longing contained within. Releasing a helpless sigh, Vahn re-entered the covers before hugging Hestias body for a while longer. He could sense that some of the other girls were awakening, but it would take them a bit of time to get ready for the day. Feelings Vahns warmth, the sad feelings that had begun to spread in Hestias heart were dashed away as she put as much strength into her powerless arms as she could and held onto him. Vahn was a bit distracted since Hestia was clinging to him with her soft, n.a.k.e.d, body from the front. He had unequipped his tunic earlier and could feel the heat of her body and the rigidity of the tiny protrusions on the tip of her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Though she didnt have much strength, Vahn felt like Hestia was trying to merge her body into his as he gently stroked her glossy ck hair. Vahn angled his head before tilting Hestias chin up so he could see her hazy expression that was still within the stages of a deep blush. There was even a bit of fluid dripping down from her nose even though Vahn could see rity deep within her eyes. He knew she had recovered for the most part and was just seeking has affection in the heat of the moment. Vahn wiped away the stray trail before leaning in and giving Hestia a brief series of kisses. He didnt want to push her any further for the time being since some of the girls had already made their way downstairs. Hestia eventually loosened her grip by a bit and tried to sit up in the bed as she began to regte her breathing. She looked into Vahns face and asked hesitantly, "Vahn, do you love me?" Vahn also sat up in the bed and continued to hold Hestias gaze as a natural smile covered his face. He knew Hestia wasnt asking for anypliments or embellishments of the truth, she simply asked the question that was on her mind and wanted an equally simple response. With a gleam of confidence in his eyes, Vahn said proudly, "I do, I love you, Hestia." A small smile appeared on Hestias face and she bobbed her head a bit as if having confirmed something before asking, "But you love other people as well, dont you?" Though it was a marginally more difficult question to answer, Vahn still nodded his head without any hesitation and said, "I do." Hestia released a long sigh in response and hung her head thoughtfully for several seconds. She stared down at her own figure that was still covered with a blush and a lightyer of sweat and began to think about all the time she spent with Vahn. She knew he was a demigod and they would likely be together for hundreds of years. In that time, she knew Vahn would have several wives, lovers, and a host of children with girls and goddesses other than herself... However, even though she knew all of that and still felt uncontroble pangs of jealousy, Hestia still wanted to be with Vahn. He was the most caring and gentle person she had ever seen and he never gave up no matter how hard things got. Though he had moments of weakness, he never shied away from his emotions and willing soughtfort and support from others. He was both incredibly strong while also being remarkably fragile at the same time...Hestia wanted to protect him and be one of the pirs that supported him in the future. After affirming her own feelings, Hestia decided to support Vahn however she could without trying to restrict him. Just like he showed leniency toward her behavior, she would tolerate his actions and even try to bring him closer to the people he cared about. With her resolve found, Hestias expression returned to normal as even her aura turned remarkably calm and stable. Looking into Vahns eyes, she could see the care, concern, and a brief hint of fear before it was dashed away when they made eye contact. She showed Vahn her most loving smile as she stated confidently, "I love you too Vahn. Please take care of me from now on...Ill do my best to make your dreams a reality." Hearing Hestias words and seeing her expression, Vahn felt a profound feeling of happiness well up inside him as his instinctually cradled Hestias face within his hands and smiled widely. Unable to keep his thoughts to himself, Vahn stated, "Im so d I met you Hestia...thank you for loving me." Leaning forward, Vahn sealed Hestias lips with his own and she passionately reciprocated his advances. It was almost like she threw her inhibitions away and just lost herself in the moment to the point where they both forgot to breathe normally and ended up inhaling and exhaling powerfully through their noses. While they were enjoying each others embrace, a knock sounded on the door that startled both Vahn and Hestia back to reality. Hestia quickly smacked the top of Vahns head and hissed, "Dont keep the others waiting!" Vahn went from startled to stunned as he looked as Hestia bashfully covering her b.r.e.a.s.ts with the nket. From around the bed, petals started to converge toward her body and Vahn knew she was getting dressed. She looked up at him with a fierce blush on her face and said, "Dont look at me like that...we can continue where we left offter. I also have a lot of things to do today..." Vahnughed a bit before ruffling Hestias hair and jumping out of bed. After wiping himself down with a towel, Vahn used the equipment function of his system to change instantly before opening the door and greeting the patiently waiting Ryuu. Her sky-blue eyes squinted slightly but she didnt say anything other than, "Good morning Vahn." Vahn smiled in response and said, "Sorry for having you wait, lets head down and begin our training." Ryuu nodded her head and they both made their way downstairs and toward the back entrance of the Manor. The other girls were already waiting in the area designated at the training area that had been decorated with several different types of training equipment. Since he was in an incredibly good mood, Vahn greeted all the girls happily and inspected everyones current state before noticing a peculiarity. Even Preasia, who was sitting off to the side with Mn, had a strange look on her face and Vahn looked around to see it was mirrored by almost everyone else. Tina had also decided to join the training and Vahn could see a small blush on her face and he quickly began to realize why everyone was behaving strangely. Though it wasnt by any intent of his own, the majority of the girls present were all Beast Humans. Mn and Tina were Cat People, Emiru and Maemi were Snow Leopards, Preasia was a Sheep Person, and Haruhime was a Renard. The only exceptions present were Mikoto and Ryuu, but Vahn had suddenly realized what the squinted eyes of Ryuu meant earlier. Because he had been tending to Hestia so attentively, Vahns face and chest had beenpletely soaked in her scent. Since the majority of the girls present were sensitive to smells, they were all giving him strange and somewhat bashful looks. Perhaps the most affected, since she had the strongest senses by arge amount, was Fenrir who stared at Vahn with intensely glowing eyes. She didnt know about matters regarding s.e.x, but that didnt mean her instincts werent kicked up by the powerful smelling aroma that wasing from Vahns body. She walked over while everyone else was quiet and arched her head towards Vahn as her nostrils opened and closed rapidly. Vahn stepped back a bit, but Fenrir pressed her nose against his chest and said, "Vahn smells like Hestia. Very strong scent!" Though he knew everyone was already aware something had happened, Vahn couldnt help but feel a little embarrassed at being called out by Fenrir. He was trying toe up with an excuse to exin things away but Haruhime said in a manner that sounded like she was eager-to-please, "How wonderful~! It seems like Hestia-sama took my advice and seeded~!." Vahn looked over into her glowing green eyes and felt a bit of me for the somewhat air-headed Haruhime that had a gentle and pleased expression on her face. As the only one unaware of the situation, Mikoko leaned over and asked, "What did you tell Hestia-sama to do?" Vahns eyes widened and he shouted, "Haruhime, dont say things that would be a bad influence on Fenrir and the other girls!" Since she was just about to tell Mikoto, Haruhime paused for a bit before tilting her head far to the side as her ears twitched a bit. Perhaps due to her training and three-years captivity, but Haruhimes sensibilities seemed to have been corroded a bit. She responded matter-of-factly, "It isnt anything to be ashamed of if two people love each other. I wouldnt mind doing it myself...if youd have me." Towards the end of her words, Haruhime held her cheeks and blushed as she released a strangeughter. Piggybacking off her words, the worst-case-scenario in Vahns mind happened as Fenrir titled her head for a moment before looking up at Vahn and saying, "Fenrir loves Vahn?" Since it was in the form of a question, Vahn didnt know how to answer and Fenrir seemed to have confirmed it for herself as she reiterated, "Yes, Fenrir loves Vahn!" She sped her ws a few times as if she was hyping herself up before looking upwards at Vahn and asked, "Vahn loves Fenrir~?" Vahn felt like he had just walked face-first into an immovable wall using his fastest speed which could spontaneously break the sound barrier. He knew that saying yes was like stepping on andmine, but saying no would be like walking through an entire minefield. Even hesitating and keeping silent wasnt an option as Fenrir was bing increasingly more frustrated when Vahn didnt answer. He could even see her ws growing marginally so he reached out his hand and instinctively pat her on the head as he said, "Vahn loves Fenrir too..." Fenrir showed the closest thing to a smile that she could manage and seemed to get hyped up as she ran over toward Haruhime and shouted, "Haruhime, teach Fenrir how to do love!" Fortunately, before Haruhime could say something out of ce, Mikoto put her hand over her mouth while Mn skipped over quickly and gingerly picked up Fenrirs body. Fenrir seemed frustrated for a brief moment but Mn bounced her body up and down as she whispered soothingly, "Remember, you have to study hard if you want to know things like that Fenrir. Are you going to break your promise~nya?" Hearing Mns words, Fenrir looked between Vahn and Haruhime several times before hanging her arms powerlessly and letting Mnfort her. She remembered people telling her often that she needed to study hard in order to grow up or she would cause trouble for people around her. She had made a promise to Mn and Tina to work hard until she was able to read through an entire big book and write a report about it. If she did well, Mn said she would teach her how to be an a.d.u.l.t. Fenrir had gotten so worked up by the exciting scent and the words of Haruhime that she ignored her own promise and now felt sad. However, she also seemed to realize something as she looked over toward the twins, Emiru and Maemi, and whispered, "You need to study more also, no cheating..." The twins had been standing near each other and watching the situation with light blushes on their face since they were very aware of the smelling from Vahns body. Hearing Fenrir address them, they suddenly felt very bashful and turned their gazes away from the fiery eyes of Fenrir. Since she was not only their senior in the Familia, but also teaching them how to read and write, the two girls couldnt refute her words so they muttered, "Of course...", "Yes...". Though they were often in sync on everything, they were so fl.u.s.tered by the series of events that their connection had been temporarily severed. Vahn felt like he had made a grievous error and looked at the silent Ryuu with a wry smile on his face. As if she had understood his unasked question, Ryuu bowed slightly and said, "I didnt think about the girls senses and overlooked the matter. Ill take care of things here if you want to go wash up." Unable to me Ryuu at all, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Sorry Ryuu, it was my own fault. Please dont me yourself...Ill be back in about half an hour." As he left the training area, all of the eyes within followed his back with various expressions on their faces. Even Ryuus eyes had a slight glint as she muttered quieter than even Fenrir could hear, "It was bound to happen sooner orter, its better to get things like this out of the way early. Now the girls can focus on their training and grow stronger faster..." Since Ryuu knew about Vahns [Prometheus] and the fact he would probably impact the girls lives deeply in the future, she let Vahn be in this awkward situation to ensure his own happiness in the future. His greatest sense of security woulde from the girls being strong enough to fend for themselves without being overly reliant on him. Since the seed had already been nted, Ryuu wanted to nurture it a bit so that the girls would have greater motivation in the future. However, because she had somewhat taken advantage of him, Ryuu swore to make it up to him in the future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Loneliness After the Fall,Haruhimes Influence,Ryuus Devotion) I am currently at $718/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 266 - Observation

Chapter 266 - Observation

Though he didnt like to get his fur wet that much, Vahn bathed while in his Bih form so he could ensure that Hestias smell was removed from his body. When he first transformed, he noticed that her scent was overpowering his olfactory senses and understood why all the girls were giving him strange looks. If he didnt have better control of his own body, Vahn very well might have gone back up to look for Hestia due to the sense of excitement he felt. Even though it wasnt nearly as powerful as someone like Hephaestus, it was a very enticing, mind-numbing fragrance. Vahn also took the time to check on the system notification he had ignored earlier after getting wrapped up in the atmosphere with Hestia. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Hestia Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: S Rewards:10,000OP, 1x[Hearts Desire: Hestia] Grade Rewards: 1x[Divine Hearth], 1x[V.i.r.g.i.n Promise], 9,000OP [Divine Hearth] Rank: Unique Use: Creates an invible space in an area where no harm can befall those within. Forces those within to remain calm and regenerates any pre-existing wounds. Duration: 72H [V.i.r.g.i.ns Promise] Rank: Unique Use: Baptizes the user in a holy light and restores their body to a pristine condition. Danger: This item ces a heavy burden on the soul and can only be used a single time without irreversibly damaging the user. (A/N: Since it might not be clear, all Unique items are single-use consumables. However, it is possible to get more than one Unique item, thus the specification for single time on [V.i.r.g.i.ns Promise]) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though he was tempted to use her [Hearts Desire], Vahn decided to not be so overly reliant on the items for the time being. Since he wanted to always use them in sequence, as long as he didnt activate Haruhimes, Vahn decided to hold onto Hestias. He was sure both desires would be things he would want toplete when he viewed them and it would likely interfere with the intentions of the girls which was for him to rx. Though he couldnt bring the item up, Vahn imagined Hestia telling him to not worry about it while gently stroking his head. From now, all the way until he was forced to leave this record, Vahn would always be nearby Hestia and part of their shared Familia. There was no need to rush the progress of their rtionship even further, especially with the major steps they had taken this morning... After around half an hour, Vahn showed back up at the practice field and watched the girls following a routine that had been created by Ryuu. Other that stretches, they seemed to be focusing on running back and forth while navigating obstacles, simr to the training he had designed for Lili when they first met. Ryuu was trying to improve their reaction time, kic vision, proprioception, and dynamic movement abilities. Vahn could see that the beast girls were naturals at it and believed Ryuus decision to conduct this type of training was correct. Since he had just taken a bath, Vahn decided to train his mental abilities and magic instead of doing anything strenuous. He sat down on the ground and continued to watch the girls dash about as he took notice of their form and figure. Since he had been fl.u.s.tered earlier, Vahn hadnt gotten a good look at the clothes that the girls were wearing and was only just now taking notice. Because they hadnt yet gone shopping for clothes, the girls were all wearing clothing that he had purchased previously and had been stored within one of the severalrge closets in the Manor. The twins had matching outfits with tripleyer pale-blue vests without sleeves. Though it wasnt as noticeable as someone like Lili, Vahn could see glimpses of their midriff as they dashed about the obstacles. They had on matching tan shorts and long ck leggings with a pair of ck boots. Since their tails were much thicker than normal, Vahns eyes were drawn to them a bit as they were somewhat umon. Both girls had medium-length hair with rounded ears that were speckled with ck spots while their bushy, rounded, tails had rings along the length. They had pale, somewhat silver hair and looked at home in the cold air since they were so lightly dressed. Haruhime was wearing a modified red kimono that Vahn was certain he hadnt purchased himself. After gazing at it with intrigue, Vahn noticed a sewing line along the hem of the short skirt and realized she, or Mikoto, must have modified it during the evening. Vahn really needed to purchase Haruhime some new clothes since she seemed to like wearing her kimono-like clothing. With her current modifications, the kimono now only went up to the middle of her thighs instead of down to her ankles, simr to Mikotosvender kimono. Her long and incredibly fluffy tail dangled around behind her as she struggled to keep up with the exercises. However, no matter how much she struggled, Vahn could see a glimmer of confidence in Haruhimes eyes as she continued putting in efforts. Because her skirt was short, Vahn got a little distracted since Haruhime wasnt wearing any leggings. She had long, almost pale, white legs and Vahn noticed that, while her moves were inexperienced, there was a dance-like quality to Haruhimes steps. Since her tail swayed around behind her, Vahn kept giving it nces until he noticed something that made his brows rise slightly. His desire to purchase clothes for Haruhime increased several folds since he realized, for whatever reason she might havee up with, Haruhime wasnt wearing panties. Turning his attention away from the sight, Vahn watched Tina also doing her best to keep up with Ryuus instructions. She was wearing a small brown sweater that went down to her upper thighs. Perhaps inspired by Ryuu, who she had gotten to know in the recent weeks, Tina was also wearing something like ck short that looked closer to the gym shorts he saw girls wear in manga. Vahn wondered if it was some unspoken rule for female adventures, especially the agility-based ones, to wear small shorts or hot-pants that didnt constrict their legs. He also suspected it could simply be because of their tails and that looser clothing might be ufortable for them to wear... While he was watching Tina, Vahn felt a gaze from his right and looked over to make eye contact with the smiling Mn. He returned her smile and also noticed that Preasia had been staring at him as well. She had a somewhat nk expression on her face and kept her head low, but she still peered toward him with her light-grey eyes. Perhaps she was weak to the cold, but Preasia wore baggier clothes than most girls even though she still wore a pair of small shorts hugging her h.i.p.s. Though it wasnt conclusive evidence, Vahn figured she also wore the smaller clothes so it would be restrictive on her shaggy tail. After waving to the two girls, Vahn watching Mikotos swordy for a bit before turning his eyes to Ryuu who was watching over everyone attentively. Since Mikoto was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, Vahns only thought was to have her go get several changes from the Takemikazuchi Familiater. He could also take the girls shopping and get Fafnir to protect their small group from the shadows. Since the kimono Haruhime was wearing was the same one she had one when he saved her, Vahn knew that it had only been cleaned once since then. Even though she was bathing, Vahn didnt think it was hygienic for her to wear the same thing every day. He wasnt sure if she ever had panties at all and med himself for the oversight since it was quite an ordeal... So that he wasnt used of simply gawking at the girls, since Vahn had noticed their gazes would periodically turn to him, he began using [Thria*Mimos] to see if he could emte the races of the girls around him. Since it was a skill he didnt use often, Vahn wasnt that great at controlling it and it still heavily restricted his other abilities. Other than his Innates, all of his other skills were unusable while under the influence of the magic, and this was the primary reason he hadnt taken action against Shauntac at the time. Since they were periodically paying attention to him, the twins noticed that Vahns hair grew slightly longer and matched the color of their own. His human ears eventually vanished and he instead had two roundish ears on his head as a long tail grew out from his back while he was seated. As they came from an entire tribe of Snow Leopards, they immediately recognized that Vahn had somehow transformed into their race. For various reasons, they suddenly felt more excited about the future prospects and put more efforts into their training. Unaware of the small event he had triggered, Vahn then returned to his human form for a moment to recover his energy. Even though it didnt take much energy to sustain, the actual transformation using [Thria*Mimos] was incredibly costly. After resting for a few minutes, Vahn turned his attention to Haruhime and noticed that she was staring at him with a somewhat fervent gaze and gleaming eyes. He wasnt aware of it, but she had also seen him transform into a Snow Leopard and was expecting that he would also be a Renard. Though Vahn wasnt sure of Haruhimes gaze, he used [Thria*Mimos] and his hair turned from dark brown to a light blonde as pointed ears grew from his head with a slight curve. He also had bushy white fur growing out of them while a long tail grew from his backside. Haruhimes eyes widened at the sight and Vahn couldnt help but smile seeing her reaction. Because he was curious, Vahn also tested the feel of his own tail to see how itpared to Haruhimes. Seeing his action, Haruhime had an elegant, yet excited, smile on her face as she was tempted to walk over and let Vahnpare to two directly before she got a stern look from Ryuu. Sticking out her tongue slightly andughing, Haruhime returned to her training in earnest and pushed herself even harder. Since he had been watching from the sides, Vahn noticed that the twins and Haruhime had both increased the intensity of their training after his transformations. He wondered if he had somehow inspired the girls and it brought a small smile to his face as he returned to his human form and meditated. His next target was Fenrir and the moment he looked over at her Vahn could see her scarlet eyes and she shouted, "Me next, do me next~!" Though some of the girls faltered, Mn began tough from the side as Vahn ground his teeth slightly. After a brief hesitation, Vahns hair turned sharp and bristly as it transitioned from dark brown to midnight blue. Before he even finished the transformation, Fenrir stopped her training and ran over with wide eyes even when Ryuu called her back. Other than his eyes, which remained aquamarine, the rest of Vahns body changed to match the racial traits of Fenrir. Since he used her image as a reference, Vahn grew hair on his forearms and calves as his finger cracked a bit before shrinking back into ws. Fleshy pads grew on his palms and fingers as small ws sprouted from the tips. Vahn never realized how top-heavy Fenrirs ears were since he could feel them flop slightly when he moved his head. Her action of tilting her head from side-to-side suddenly made a lot more sense to him. As she had stopped right in front of him, Fenrir had seen Vahnsplete transformation and patted the ground a bit before happily plopping into hisp and shouting, "Same, Same, Vahn and Fenrir are the same~!" Since she was wearing herbat attire, the only clothes on Fenrirs body was an Amazonian inspired top and bottoms. Though she was a bit on the thinner side, Fenrir still had the pleasant feeling of a girlbine with her somewhat bristly and warm smelling fur. Since he didnt n to transform like this often, Vahn extended his paws out, pad-side up, and held them out for Fenrir to happily grab. Though it wasnt a normal way to hold hands, Vahn noticed that their paws fit together well up until he was suddenly poked by Fenrirs ws. Realizing she had poked Vahn, Fenrir let go of his paws and bounced out of hisp with an apologetic look on her face and a somewhat sad expression in her eyes. Since she was immune to her own ws, Fenrir thought that Vahn, who looked like her, was also the same. Vahnughed her reaction away as he bounded up to his fit and showed that the wounds had already healed. Though it was a bit awkward, Vahn patted Fenrir on the head with his paws before sending her back to training. Before she turned away to follow his words, Fenrir still bowed slightly and said, "Im sorry Vahn..." Vahn was briefly surprised before a pleasant smile appeared on his face as he watched the wolf girl run back to the rest of the group. Since she had a somewhat selfish personality by default, Vahn was happy to see Fenrir being considerate of others and even apologizing. He felt like it had a lot to do with Mns influence and maybe the introduction of Preasia into her life so he was happy to see her maturing somewhat. After recovering his energy through meditation, Vahn transformed into a sheep person under the ever-present gaze of Preasia and noticed that the bnce of his head felt wrong. Since he had never had anything like horns, Vahn was somewhat ufortable in the form but still showed a polite smile to Preasia. Though her expression hadnt changed much, Vahn could see her aura re up a bit when she watched him and he even gained a marginal amount of affection from her. She, like the other former ve girls, had all been touched by him when he removed their ve crests previously. Though Preasias original affection toward him was only twenty, it had slowly crept up into the lower 70s in thest few days. As for the twins, they actually had identical affections of 81 and had stabilized between 79-81. As for the girls that werent around, Mona had an affection of 58, Shizune had an affection of 52, and Shiva, unexpectedly, actually had an affection of 85. Since she also started in the low values, Vahn wasnt sure what she was doing after they parted to grow fonder of him over time. He expected she would show up again in the future and was also somewhat curious to learn what she had been up to in her absence. After returning to his human form, Vahn continued to meditate silently for around twenty minutes until he heard Tina shout, "Arent you going to turn into a cat perso~nya!?" Vahn opened his eyes and saw the small cat girl fuming as she stared at him with slightly moist eyes. Vahns brows raised and he looked over toward Mn to see her covering her mouth and stifling augh. Realizing he had transformed into the race of every other girl, Vahn couldnt me Tina for holding a grudge since it could have seemed like she had been left out. Rising to his feet, Vahn slowly transformed into a male cat person with chestnut brown hair and aquamarine eyes. Though she had a somewhat bitter expression before, Tinas eyes rounded when she saw the new and improved Vahn. He was very handsome as a human, but she felt her heart pulse powerfully in her diminutive chest after seeing his Cat Person transformation. However, though she felt very excited, there was also a strange longing that made her feel a bit of sadness in her heart that she didnt quite understand. Vahn had seen her aura fluctuate a bit and looked over to see that Mn also had a reminiscent look in her eyes as she stared nkly at Vahn. Though he wasnt certain, Vahn felt like he was suddenly beingpared to Mnste husband and Tinas father. Both girls had a different kind of longing in their eyes and Vahn felt a strange pressure suddenly bear down on his mind as he followed his original intentions and used Shundo to appear in front of Tina. The reason he had stood up earlier was to step forward and console Tina, but now he felt a little intimidated by the small cat girl in front of him. Tina was only around 115cm tall presently, so she was much shorter than the rest of the girls in the area. Even Hestia stood nearly a full head over the small girl so Vahn usually had to kneel down if he wanted to make direct eye contact with her. Though he originally only wanted to pat her on the head, Vahn noticed the excited expression on Tinas face fade a bit when he approached as she looked up into his face with wide, slightly moist, eyes. Vahn showed a gentle smile and decided to do what felt natural so he bent down and picked up Tina by her arms before hugging her into his chest. He supported her bottom with his forearm and patted her back as he gave an apologetic expression to Ryuu and walked over toward Mn. When Vahn stepped in front of her, Tina suddenly felt a bit of sadness seize her heart and she couldnt help but look into his eyes with a pleading expression. Seeing his gentle smile, a bit of happiness fought against the sadness and Tina felt even better when Vahn picked her up. Though they had hugged a lot, and even slept together, in the past, it was a big difference from how she currently felt. Tina suddenly felt very safe in Vahns arms as she rested the side of her head against his shoulder. She didnt know why, but she began crying a bit as Vahn carried her over to her Mother and the three shared a short hug before Vahn carried her into the warm interior of the Manor. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Caught ck-Jawwed Staring,Fenrirs Expectations,shbacks to the Past) /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $718/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 267 - Strain

Chapter 267 - Strain

After making their way inside, Vahn looked over the Manor and noticed Hestia was still asleep in the room. Since she had some bags under her eyes, Vahn assumed she either didnt sleepst night or had trouble sleeping before he finally woke up. Thinking about the best course of action, Vahn just walked toward the study that was nearby the dining room and sat on one of therge sofas that were spread throughout the Manor. Mn sat next to him while he quietly pampered Tina who had tucked her face into his cor and soaked his tunic with warm tears. Mn leaned against Vahns shoulder andid her head next to where Tinas was as she gently stroked the back of her own daughter. She knew why she was acting this way, as she too felt a bit of mncholy after seeing Vahn in his Cat Person form. Though Vahn didnt look much like her husband, they actually had the same chestnut brown hair and somewhat simr heights and builds so it was easy to ovey them atop each other especially when he treated them kindly. If not for the difference in facial structure and demeanor, it would have been easy to mistake Vahn for her former husband at a nce. Since Tina had lost her father at a very young age, she didnt have the greatest memory of him and only the primary features stuck in her mind. This made it so that, even though she knew it was Vahn before her, the trust andfort she felt from him triggered her recollection of her father and caused her to have a small breakdown. After a few minutes, Tinas choked voice sounded out through the silence, "You arent my Papa..." Even though her words sounded harsh, Tina still hugged Vahn tightly and shook a bit before repeating the words, "You arent my Papa..." Vahn continued to stroke her back gently and made eye contact with Mn who stared back at him with her golden eyes with a somewhat tired look. She didnt seem to know what to say either since Tinas word were the truth and they actually didnt have the rtionship where Vahn would be considered her step-father either. Vahn hummed slightly before a small smile appeared on his face as he c.o.c.ked his head to the side to look into Tinas face. When she saw him look at her, Tina turned her head away as if she were refusing to look at him while he was still in his transformation. When he was about to speak up, Tina interrupted his words by saying, "I dont want this...I dont want you to treat me like a child..." However, even though her words were a refusal, Tina didnt let go of Vahns neck and continued to cling to him. Since he could sense her struggle, Vahn wasnt sure of what to say and just continued consoling her by rubbing Tinas back gently. He wanted to say he didnt treat her like a child, that he actually considered her more sensible than himself, but Vahn didnt know how to say the words in a way that would benefit the current situation. As if she had never expected him to say something to begin with, Tina continued, "I will continue to work hard...I will be stronger and stronger...so for now...please justfort me for a little longer..." Until the end of the outside training session, Vahn sat aside Mn as they leaned into each other while bothforting the small cat girl. They all remained silent and enjoyed the atmosphere between the three of them until Tinas ears twitched at the sound of people entering through the back door. After taking a few deep breaths, Tina finally pulled her head away from Vahns shoulder and looked into his aquamarine eyes with a somewhat sad, yet hopeful, expression. Vahn returned a small smile and moved his hand to stroke her hair, but she leaned forward and gave him a small peck on the lips before crawling down from hisp and the sofa. Mn and the nkly staring Vahn watched Tina trot away and exit through the door without saying a word. Vahn saw her presence bolt through the corridor as soon as the door closed and she seemed to be running off to the girls changing room before anyone else was able to get there. He suspected she probably wanted to jump into the water and hide the evidence of her tears or potentially rx a bit before returning to her usual self. From his left, Mn suddenly said, "Vahn...do you really think all of this is okay?" Since they had still been leaning into each other, Vahn could feel Mns warmth as he turned to look into her golden eyes. He could see the same kind of hesitation that she had when he first asked her and Tina to live with him. Vahn thought about his answer for a moment before saying, "I just want the both of you to be happy. It might seem strange, maybe even rude, but I dont see you and Tina as romantic interests currently. Though I think youre very beautiful and would like to be with you someday, I dont think were ready for that type of rtionship at all. Tina is cute, but she is also very young... I can tell the affection she has for me is warped slightly and I think exposing her to people that can help her grow is better than ignoring her..." Even though Vahn expressed that he didnt see her in a romantic light, Mn didnt pull away or have an adverse reaction to his words. She also didnt see Vahn in that way and was simply trying to help ease her own daughters tensions. Though she thought he was very handsome and had even forted herself to his image, Mn was bound by her own sensibilities and the fact that her daughter was also interested in Vahn. She did want to spend time with Vahn, because it had been a long time and she had some minor frustrations, but Mn also knew what kind of situation they were all in. Mn knew that, if she was truly hurting, Vahn would care for and protect her...even if she took some liberties with him. The only thing that kept her from taking that step was the existence of Tina, the only person she truly loved in her life presently. Since Mn remained quiet and just snuggled against him, Vahn mentally sighed in relief since he thought she might be offended by his words. With a small smile on his face, Vahn continued, "There is a lot of time...we dont have to think about everything and make decisions that will affect the rest of our lives right now. I think, when youre ready, you and Tina can live here and be stronger alongside the rest of the Familia. Even if you dont want to go into the dungeon, this ce will always be a weing home to the two of you..." Mn nodded her head slowly and her ears tickled Vahns neck a bit as she said, "Thank you Vahn...for everything youve done for us..." Rising from his shoulder, Mn showed one of the few genuine smiles Vahn had seen on her ever since the incident. In a manner simr to Tina, Mn leaned forward and gave Vahn a slightly prolonged, yet simple, kiss. When she pulled away, she whispered, "Thanks for everything you will do for us as well...I dont know how our lives might have been if we never met you, but I know they would have been over if you never came to save us...truly, thank you..." With onest peck on the lips, Mn smiled before flicking Vahns cat ear and making it twitch. As she walked away to go prepare breakfast, Mn chuckled, "Cat ears look adorable on you, but I feel like your normal appearance is more suitable~nya." As if reminded by her words, Vahn returned to his normal appearance as he watched Mns back exit through the door. After a few seconds of silence passed through the room, Vahnid back on the couch and released a somewhat exasperated sounding sigh. He couldnt help but feel that, even though he was supposed to be rxing, his body was in even higher tensions after everything that had happened. He actually didnt mind physical exhaustion much, it was the mental strain of dealing with emotional situations that weighed heavily on his heart and mind. Vahn began to wonder if he needed to be more decisive at times and pay more attention to the mental states of others before he took action. Even though it was rarely his intention, Vahns actions seemed to always trigger some event that caused emotional development in himself or others...he began to, for the first time, feel like he needed to be less invested in the lives of others if he wanted to actually rx. Since all of the girls were bathing presently, the only other presences roaming around were Hestia, who had woken up, Mn, who was in the kitchen, and a mellow aura that Vahn was almost certain belonged to Preasia. He could see her wandering about the corridors slowly, almost as if she was looking for something. Since she hadnt participated in the training, she didnt join the other girls in the bath and also didnt go toward the dining room where everyone would be gathering. Using contextual evidence, Vahn was almost certain she was looking for him...it felt like, even if he didnt take action, just like this, someone woulde to find him... Though he wanted to help her, Vahn knew Preasia was in an unstable mental state and it would probably be detrimental if they got close so soon after he healed her body. It was simply way too soon and she would probably be emotionally attached to and overly reliant on him if he tried consoling her. Vahn already noticed that she was often staring at him, even when he turned his attention towards her. Though he didnt know what was going through her mind, Vahn didnt think it would be healthy for either of them if they were alone together so he stood up from the sofa and made his way toward one of the nearby windows. Vahn utched the lock on the window and opened it enough that he could squeeze through and step out into the cold morning air. Since he was on the first floor, it was easy to close the window behind him and then he jumped up to the roof by rebounding off one of the support struts of the Manor. Without stopping in his normal spot, Vahn continued to climb higher until he found his footing and used Shundo to leap to the highest spot in the eastern wing. He somewhat felt ashamed to flee away from his own Manor, but Vahn believed it was the best course of action other than inly rebuffing Preasia. Afterying down on the cold tiles of the roof, Vahn actually enjoyed the refreshingly cold air and the breeze blowing over his body. Even though he could resist the cold with his [Heart of the Eternal me], Vahn restricted the skill somewhat and allowed the cold to wash over him and spread through his body for a bit. For around an hour, Vahn justid on the roof in silence until he felt a pulse of energy pass through his body that sounded a small rm in his mind. It wasnt his instincts kicking in, but Vahn knew he had been detected so he assumed Mikoto had used her skill to look for him. Warming up his body for a few seconds, Vahn tilted his body and used Shundo to connect a point between the roof and the ground. He could jump off normally without problems, but he didnt want to leave a hole in the courtyard that would have to be fixedter. Afternding, he made his way through the front door and walked toward the kitchen where everyone was waiting for him. The cold air had helped to clear his mind a bit, so Vahn felt somewhat refreshed as he walked into the warm room and saw the faces of his friends, Familia, and loved ones. He even passed his eyes over Preasia, who stared at him silently through her shaggy, tinum blonde, bangs. After greeting everyone, Vahn sat at the table next to Ryuu and Hestia and looked around to notice that Haruhime and Mikoto were still wearing their kimono. Vahn even suspected that Haruhime might still be without panties so hemented, "This afternoon, Ryuu can take a few of you into town to purchase clothes and other necessary items. Our Familia increased by arge amount in thest few days and I know not everyone has a proper change of clothes to wear presently." Since Vahn knew they would probably want to go with him if he offered, he decided to throw out Ryuus name without asking her permission. She didnt seem to mind at all and simply nodded her head in response to his words. Haruhime seemed happy at the idea of going shopping, but Vahn had an apologetic smile on his face as he said, "Sorry Haruhime, until the matter with the Ishtar Familia is settled, Id like for you to stay in the Manor. There will be plenty of time in the future to do other shopping and explore the City, and Ill even escort you myself when the timees." Though she was a bit dejected at first, Haruhime ced the tips of her fingers together and had a happy expression on her face as she said, "Im looking forward to it~! Please make sure its just the two of us when the timees." Since it wasnt the first time a girl wanted a personal date with him, Vahn just decided to agree to Haruhimes wish. She had lived a difficult life and a single date wasnt asking for much from him other than a bit of his time. After Vahn agreed to her request, Haruhime was in a good mood as she slowly picked at her food with chopsticks and ate happily. Everyone began to make polite conversation with each other and the atmosphere was loosening up a bit as the girls started discussing what they wanted to buy. Since Vahn had made a small fortune when he sold some high-quality equipment to the Guild in the past, he wasnt really hurting for money and didnt mind if they spent a fair amount. Many of the girls had nothing were almost forced into a life of servitude and darkness so Vahn wanted to help ease their hearts a bit. If spending a little money could make them happy, Vahn didnt mind spending it all if he had to. Since he was now a [Master Smith], as long as he put in enough effort a single piece of equipment he made could be worth several tens-of-millions of Valis. Though he still wanted to pay back Hephaestus one day, Vahn didnt think she would actually ept the money even if he offered it to her. After breakfast, the girls go together a huge group that consisted of Ryuu, Fenrir, Emiru, Maemi, Mikoto, Mn, and Tina. Though she wore other clothes every now and then, Hestia usually wore her godly dress when around the Manor. Haruhimes living essentials and clothing would be purchased by Mikoto and Preasias would be dealt with by Mn. Since Preasia was still recovering her mental state, it wasnt safe for her to be exposed torge crowds and busy ces where it would be easy to bump into other people. Even if she were in arge group of other girls, there was always a small possibility something might happen and she was the least capable of defending herself. When everyone had left, Hestia asked Vahn, "So, you have rxation time until lunch. Did you have anything nned?" Ever since their interaction this morning, Vahn noticed Hestia had been acting rather reservedpared to her former self. She had a gentle smile and a steady aura and Vahn could see a perpetual sparkle in her deep blue eyes. After thinking about her question for a bit, Vahn said, "I think Ill just lounge about in the library in the western wing. I want to enjoy a bit of peace and quiet and simply read books for a bit." Vahn had the ability to purchase thousands of books rtively cheaply through the system, so he had devoted an entire section of the western wing into a library in the past. Hestia nodded her head before grabbing the wrists of the excited Haruhime and the timid Preasia and dragging them away. Haruhimes ears began to bob and she said, "Hestia-sama, I want to go read as well." In response to her words, Hestia said inly, "You have plenty of books in your own room and Vahn needs time to rx on his own. He wouldnt be able to focus and stay calm if there are people around to distract him. Besides, there is a lot we need to talk about...I heard about the incident with Fenrir earlier..." Hearing Hestias tone, and seeing the ming look in her eyes, Haruhime couldnt help but feel like she should apologize. She remembered Vahns earlier reaction and knew she had probably done something wrong. Just as she was about to say something, as they had already gotten far away from Vahn, Hestia whispered, "Besides, I wanted to ask you some other questions...I dont want Vahn to overhear us." Though she was briefly confused, Haruhime seemed to realize what Hestia was talking about and she muttered in a cheerful voice, "Certainly~! Im d to be of help Hestia-sama. In exchange, you have to tell me how Vahn reacted though..." A glimmer passed through the blue eyes of Hestia and the green eyes of Haruhime for a moment as they made eye contact with each other. Preasia, who had been silently dragged along by Hestia, was previously staring back toward Vahn but now perked her ears up a bit at the conversation. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Not the Papa!,Its like chewing five gum,Haruhimes Corruption Spreads) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $718/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 268 - Network

Chapter 268 - Network

(A/N: Im going to do some intermission/side story/perspective chapters to flesh things out a bit for the future plot. Let me know what you think and if youd like more of this kind of thing in the future~!) When Vahn finally left her workshop and returned to the Hearth Manor, Hephaestus went back inside and copsed on the nearest chair before resting her head against the table. She had a silly expression on her face and rolled her head back and forward on her arms as she thought back to the previous days experiences. Her first time, as well as the following 34 times after, was more than she had ever expected. Even though Hephaestus had experience with gods in Heaven, there was nothing that remotelypared to her time with Vahn. Not only did he not mind her past, but he treated her gently and affectionately from start to finish. Even when she got bold and acted out of character, Vahn was always there guiding her along the path to greater pleasures. It was a far cry from the selfishness she had experienced from others and couldnt even think of them in the same vein as Vahn. Hephaestus had never felt so loved, nor did she love someone so much in her entire long life that spanned eons. Even now, though they had already parted, Hephaestus could still feel the phantom presence of Vahn within her. There was a gentle warmth in her body that persisted no matter how much time passed and Hephaestus couldnt help but feel it was a result of her apparent pregnancy. It was hard to believe, but she knew Vahn wouldnt mislead her on the matter to Hephaestus affectionately stroked the area above her w.o.m.b with a dazed and joyous expression on her face. Everything she would experience from now on would be a unique experience that had never been shared by another goddess before. Even though goddesses of fertility could conceive children, they didnt do it through the normal method at all. Instead of ovting naturally, their Divinity would allow them to conceive at any time and the child would always, without exception, be a normal mortal of the same race as the father. What Hephaestus was experiencing was andmark achievement for any goddess, something that had long been desired by thousands without any hope to obtain. Though she didnt care much, Hephaestus knew she and Vahn had written a new chapter in the history of this world and she was looking forward to every small step along their shared path. While she was thinking about the future, Hephaestus had a thought and a big smile appeared on her face as she made her way to her office and pulled out a scroll from the shelf. Nearby were several color-coded quills that, when used, would cause the words she wrote to appear on a variety of other scrolls throughout the City. Ever since their meeting, which was joking referred to as the Vahnatus by some, Hephaestus had issued partnered scrolls to each major faction. By using a colored quill, she could write messages that only went to a specific group while the ck quill went to everyone on the entirework. Taking a peach-colored quill, Hephaestus wrote a message to one of her old acquaintances who was in charge of a small D-Ranked Familia in the western section of the City. She was a kind goddess named Epona and her principle Divinities were in Fertility and Equestrianism. Hephaestus had known her for a long time and, though they werent good friends, she knew Epona could be trusted. The main reason her Familia had never grownrge was due to the fact that she ran it like a Hostel that epted short stays from adventurers down on their luck for little to no cost. Even after fifty years, her Familia only had nine people, and three of them were her actual children. While waiting for Eponas arrival, Hephaestus started sending more messages on thework to inform the other girls about Vahns movements. It wasmon practice that, whenever Vahn showed up somewhere, someone would try to inform thework just in case something happened. When he left, they would send another message with his intended destination and to let the people on the other end prepare if necessary. It wasnt meant to constrain Vahns actions, just to give the girls time to prepare themselves for his arrival. Though it wasntmented on too often, Vahn had a propensity to take things very seriously in any given moment and it could be a trying experience for both him and the girls he was involved with. The main holders of the scrolls were Hephaestus, Eina, Loki, Hestia, Syr, Tsubaki, and Anubis. Of course, after thework became more popr, Hephaestus and Loki had teamed up to give a smaller scroll to each of the main girls around Vahn. Becausemunication scrolls werentmonly used, the ink was incredibly expensive and they actually purchased arge quantity that was meant to be distributed at each of their nned meetings. To facilitate their own use, Loki had actually taken on a request for an expedition to venture to the 28th floor and actually acquire more materials for its production. Though they hadnt told Vahn, it was ironically their desire to maintain thework around him that lead to the current expedition of the Loki Familia. Remembering the amount of effort Loki had been putting into the matters concerning Vahn, Hephaestus couldnt help but release a sigh. She was the most aware of how badly Loki wanted a child of her own since they had known each other for a very long time even during their stay in Heaven. Since she had been acquainted with Hestia, Hephaestus often interacted with the somewhat troublesome goddess and she had even maintained a cooperative rtionship between their two Familia even before the Alliance was formed. Now that she was pregnant with Vahns child, Hephaestus only had to confirm it before letting Loki, Anubis, and Hestia know about the matter. They had already discussed it in the past and, even though Hestia and Loki have something of a rivalry between each other, Hestia agreed that she wouldnt do anything that would affect the rtionship between Loki and Vahn. Since Hestia had been on the fence about her own feelings, she didnt have much say in the matters of who Vahn had children with especially since they had a prior promise with each other. As for Anubis, though she also wanted a child in the future, she wasnt in any rush to put pressure on Vahn at present and didnt mind waiting several years if necessary. Ever since the negotiations between the Alliance and Ouranos, Anubis had been focusing her efforts on helping her Familia improve their strength and provide them with a proper education. She knew Vahn was in a tricky situation and wanted to increase the independence of her own Familia so they wouldnt be a restrictive force in his life in the future. This was why, even though she was unnaturally fond of Vahns massages, Anubis had avoided contact with him much since their separation. Since she intended to serve Vahn for the rest of her life, Anubis wasnt in a hurry to push things forward and force Vahn to take their matters into consideration for the time being. For the other girls, Tsubaki had made some jokes in passing about her record with Vahn but most of the girls in thework saw through her facade. To try and incite her further, Anubis had actually avoided the date they had arranged between her, Vahn, and Tsubaki just to bring the two somewhat closer together. When they heard that Tsubaki actually punched Vahn and left him kneeling in the streets, they couldnt help tease her when they found out about itter. She tried to y it off as just getting another point over him, but it was dismissed by the rest of the group. One of the most troublesome girls, and this was something both Hephaestus and Eina realized early on, was the girl named Syr. Since Vahn spent a lot of time with Chloe at the Hostess of Fertility, they had long been aware that he might influence some of the other girls as well. When they learned of the existence of Syr after their first meeting, Hephaestus and Eina quickly realized she was a central figure in the group. Ever since then, even though Vahn mainly just pursued Chloe, Syr had slowly broken down his defenses and introduced other girls into his life. Now, other than Chloe, Vahn had advanced his rtionship with Ryuu while also developing some small degree of familiarity with girls like Arnya, Lunoire, and especially Syr. Though she didnt act in a way that showed she was trying to interfere with others, Syrs actions had been a big red g within the upper echelons of the group on thework. They had heard about her confession to Vahn and knew she was pursuing him and, as time progressed, her influence in his matters increased imperceptibly to the point where she had be a powerful voice within thework. Matters only elerated further when she assumed protective responsibility for Mn and Tina after the incident and how she was the first to pitch the idea of Ryuu protecting Vahn in the dungeon. Remembering the elegant and gentle grey-haired, grey-eyed, girl, Hephaestus couldnt help but release an exasperated sigh. Syr seemed to be the type that was great at managing things behind the scenes and even Lokiplimented her ability to subtly manipte people. They thought she would be a good choice in helping manage things around Vahn, but they also had some inhibitions about her motivations. Since they all knew that Syr liked Vahn, it was a little strange to them how she was steadily building up his rtionsh.i.p.s with other girls instead of trying to progress on her own... While she was lost in thoughts, Hephaestus heard a knocking on the door and was broken from her reverie as happy feelings began to push away the negativity that had begun to build up. Without wasting any time, Hephaestus opened the door to her workshop and wee the very motherly looking goddess inside with a smile on her face. Epona was around 160cm tall and was a rather plump, yet beautiful, goddess with curly orange hair that had been arranged into a loose bun. She had light-purple eyes and a perpetual smile on her face that made everyone that saw her feel calm. For her attire, she wore a traditional yellow dress that went down to her ankles and had something simr to a red smock overtop. Before Hephaestus even broached the topic, Epona had a curious expression on her face as she tilted her head and viewed Hephaestus. She wasnt sure why, but something seemed to be different about Hephaestus and it caused a peculiar feeling to buzz in her mind. After a while, Epona saw that Hephaestus was wearing her normal outfit and there didnt seem to be anything different about her appearance at all, excluding the happy expression that had reced her perpetually cool look. Thinking about why she might be happy, Epona curiously inspected her a second time and noticed that Hephaestus was actually pregnant. With a gentle smile on her face, Epona was about to congratte Hephaestus before her own words got stuck in her throat. Hephaestus had just been about to ask and had seen Eponas reaction which caused the smile on her face to be incredibly vibrant. Though she believed Vahns words, it was a distinctly different feeling to get confirmation from a source she knew to be reliable regarding such things. Eponas eyes widened and she asked, "How?" Hephaestus still had a big smile on her face but she shook her head and said, "Ill be exinedter at the uing Denatus. I need you to keep this an absolute secret for the time being." With her eyes still opened wide, Epona nodded her head like a chicken and said, "Yes, sure, certainly, I wont tell a word. But, Hephaestus, how is this possible? I can tell you didnt suddenly develop a Divinity rted to fertility...the energy in your body is like the convergence of life energy...it is far different than how I get pregnant." Since Hephaestus couldnt exin matters yet, she just talked a bit about how things would be revealed at the uing Denatus. Unable to press Hephaestus further, Epona put the matter to the back of her mind as they began discussing how the pregnancy would likely progress. Since Epona had more than twenty children over the course of the fifty years, she was a wealth of information for prospective mothers. She told Hephaestus about what she should expect, the signs to watch out for, and also cautioned her on the dangers of overworking and ingesting anything that could alter the body and affect her mental state. Since Hephaestuss experience would be apletely unique development, Epona even offered to be Hephaestuss midwife, to which he happily agreed and thanked Epona for. After nearly four hours of lecturing from the razzled and jubnt Epona, the two finally parted ways and Hephaestus nearly skipped back to her room to share the news on thework. Not even twenty secondster, she got a response from Loki who was suddenly in very high spirits. If not for her being leashed in by some of the other girls that showed up, she might have gone knocking straight on Vahns door. Loki was eventually settled by none other than Hestia, who reiterated that Vahn was currently on a mission to track down a girl named Haruhime. Afterward, Loki calmed down a bit since she knew it would be adverse to her position if she tried to pressure Vahn on the matter. Instead, she said she would pass information to the expedition party and have them return early in the event that things grew out of their control. She also told Hestia that, if Vahn was in any kind of trouble, Loki would be willing to mobilize all her forces to help Vahn out... Once the conversation had calmed down a bit, Syr actually changed the atmosphere a bit by asking about Hephaestuss experience with Vahn. Though Hephaestus didnt immediately answer, Syrs question caused some of the other girls to express interest, including Loki and Hestia. Since she wasnt ashamed of her interactions with Vahn, Hephaestus eventually caved in and started recounting several of the details about their interaction. The more she talked, the more heated things became and she even boldly dered to the group that she had let Vahn leave his makers mark on her backside... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hephaestuss Doki Doki Time,Baby in the Oven : Confirmation,Story Time With Hephaestus...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 I am currently at $718/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 269 - Expedition

Chapter 269 - Expedition

(A/N: This is also an intermission/side story) In the depths of the 30th floor of the dungeon, a beautiful golden-haired swordswoman stood facing three giant monsters that were more than five meters in height. They were covered in blood-colored scales that were incredibly resistant to both physical and magical attacks and appeared reminiscent ofrge dinosaurs and pseudo-wyverns. Not only were their sizes great, but their power was awesome as they thrashed about trying to crush the rtively small, byparison, girl. Each of their strikes shattered the floor of the dungeon and sent small clouds of smoke and debris shooting through the air like lethal shrapnel. The creatures were known as Bloodsaurus and they were typically hunted by an entire party of adventurers. Though they werent fast, they were incredibly powerful and most attacks werent very effective unless the person was capable of prating through their thick hides. However, seemingly unaware of the supposed durability of their scales, the small girl dashed along the ground before kicking off with enough force to shatter her foothold. Shooting like a bullet, the girl was wrapped in small green particles of wind as she used the holy looking sword within her grip to instantly behead one of the monstrous creatures. Ignoring their fallenrade, the other two Bloodsauras tried to crush the girl but she managed to evade their lethal blows easily. While they were distracted, a loud shout came from above one of the Bloodsaurus as a small, brown-skinned, girl fell from the sky and smashed her gigantic weapon into the back of the second monster and shattered its spine. From the impact point, an invisible pulse of energy radiated outwards before copsing in on itself and crushing the internal organs of the Bloodsaurus. This was the [Crushing Blow: A] function of the gigantic weapon and something that always caused the brown-skinned girl tough gleefully. Her job done, she vaulted off the Bloodsaurus and flipped upside down in the sky while drawing a smooth arc through the air beforending lightly on her bare feet. For the final Bloodsaurus, there was another brown-skinned woman garbed in red, very revealing, clothing who attempted to decapitate the monster with her twin des. Though she managed to cut through the thick hide easily, she wasnt able to sever the entire head without performing a sweeping spin,nding back on the ground, and then kicking off with force to attack the same spot for the third time. Thest Bloodsaurus copsed to the ground as she stared at the powerful des in her hands with a mild grimace on her face. Off to the side, the main group of the Loki Familia had been watching the engagement with unveiled intrigue on their face. Ever since they had set out on the expedition, the three girls had been a force to be reckoned with and had been tearing through the monsters much faster than normal. Finn was very impressed with their performance and even thought to request Vahn to forge him a more powerful weapon in the future. He was currently using the spear Vahn had forged, but it wasnt nearly as strong as the weapons used by the three girls. Even Lefiya had an incredible useful staff that had caused Riverias eyes to light up when she had seen it in action. Once the three monsters were taken care of, the support party moved forward and began to harvest the resources from the corpse before it dissipated into ashes. The hide from the Bloodsaurus could be treated and turned into low-grademunication scrolls while their blood could be converted into the magical ink necessary for their use. It took about 40 liters of blood to create a single liter of ink after it had been processed. Since it was almost impossible to refine within the dungeon, most people didnt waste time trying to collect the blood even though it was an incredible source of ie. Finn approached the three girls, who were Ais, Tiona, and Tione respectively and said, "Very well done, you three are performing excellentlytely." In response to his words, Ais showed a happy smile as she stared at the unblemished [Gram] that Vahn had made for her. Tiona had a somewhat silly smile on her face as she remarked with augh, "Did you see me crush it~? Every time I smash a monster, it gets my blood pumping~." As if giving homage to the name, Tiona spun around happily with [Dance of the Amazon] in her hands. Even though it didnt have the incredible endurance of [Urga], Tiona liked [Dance of the Amazon] much more since it made her feel light on her feet. There was also much less impact on her hands whenever she hit something and the ability [Crushing Blow] was very satisfying. The only person who seemed dissatisfied by Finnspliment was, surprisingly, Tione. Even though she would normally love to hear him sayplimentary words to her, she couldnt help but frown as she looked at Tiona and Ais before sheathing her twin swords. Though she was fond of the two des, since they were quite beautiful and intricately designed, she became increasingly aware that they were a much lower quality than the weapons wielded by the two girls. Finn had an awkward smile on his face, because he was the most aware of the changes in Tione as ofte. She was always trying topete with Ais and Tiona but seemed to be falling behind a bitpared to the other two girls. Since she considered herself the older sister, Tiones pride had taken a bit of a hit during this expedition and she had beenining to him when they set up camp in the evenings. After turning things over to Raul, Finn returned to their encampment with the rest of the main party, including Gareth, Riveria, Bete, and Lefiya. Though he had made rude remarks when he first saw the weapons, Bete had quickly learned that hisments were misced. He thought that the weapons were either baubles created by an ipetent cksmith or something that Vahn had purchased to try and woo the girls. When he learned that Vahn had personally forged them and saw their efficacy inbat, Bete couldnt help but keep his silence around the girls while he vented his concerns to Gareth over alcohol in private. Ever since he was, more or less, spurned by the girls, Bete had been in a tense mood and had required outside assistance from an Amazon girl at the red light district to ease his tensions. Now that he had been away for so long, Bete wanted to return to the surface and rx away from the pink mood of the two idiot girls. When they were settling in for the night, the girls had gathered together in their shared tent and started talking about various matters until the conversation eventually transitioned to a topic they had discussed oftentely. Tiona had a happy expression on her face and was polishing her [Dance of the Amazon] as she remarked, "I cant wait to see Vahn again~! It feels like it has been so long, I wonder if he has be even stronger~?" Tione heard her sistersment and nearly spat the words, "Bah, all you do is talk about that kid non-stoptely! Look at you, youre behaving like more of an idiot every day..." Without taking any offense at all, Tionaughed in a silly manner and said, "Youre just jealous that Vahn gave me and Ais such powerful weapons~. Even Lefiya got a pretty good staff and all you got were a pair of butter knives, ehehehe~!" Piggybacking off Tionas words, Ais smiled and said, "Nnn, very powerful. I like this sword...it is my favorite." There was a confident glint in Aiss eyes as she stared into the reflective surface of [Gram]. Unlike her other swords, which always broke after a certain amount of time passed, [Gram] seemedpletely capable of resisting her techniques. Even without polishing, its l.u.s.ter never faded and Ais had never seen so much as a drop of blood mar its beautiful white surface. Tione gnashed her teeth at the two girls and looked at her intricately designed swords as if they were useless. If not for the fact they were actually much stronger than her previous pair, Tione would have thought Vahn had pulled the wool over her eyes. She knew he had gifted her the des with good intentions, but now his kindness was a constant reminder of her own failures as ofte. Even if she knew that Vahn wasnt ostracizing her, Tione felt a little annoyed that he didnt show her at least as much attention as her own twin. It didnt help that Finn continued to deny her advances and had even inly stated that he would only ever marry and have babies with another Pallum. Even when she promised to use the medicine so she wouldnt get pregnant, Finn still denied her constantly and didnt fall for any of her ploys to get him drunk. She had even tried to slip him an aphrodisiac, but he managed to trick her into drinking the ss she had offered him before having Riveria heal her while Tiona and Ais detained her. Ever since that incident, Tione had felt the distance between her and Finn grow marginally and she had nobody else to me but herself. Lefiya had seen the tensions increasing in the atmosphere and tried to ease the mood a bit by saying, "When we return to the surface, well be able to put in a request with Hephaestus-sama and have some custom equipment made. Im certain she would be able to make you a pair of swords that would even exceed Tiona and Aiss weapons." Though she had said the words to encourage Tione, it didnt help that she was constantly carrying around [Heal] like it was a precious treasure. Tione released a long sigh after looking at Lefiya cradling her staff and said, "Even if Hephaestus forged me a pair of powerful weapons, I feel like Vahn would give them something more powerful than anything I received...Graaaaah~!" Unable to release her own frustrations, Tione fell back onto the ground and rolled around while clutching her head. The other three girls in the tent stared at her like she had lost her mind until Tiona beganughing mischievously. Hearing her own sisterughing at her suffering, Tione red at her and said, "Dontugh at me, Im still the big sister! Even my b.o.o.b.s are getting much bigger than yours!" After Tiones outburst, Tiona just began tough loudly as she yfully said, "I might have cared before, but I know Vahn doesnt care about that kind of thing at all~! All I have to do is walk up to Vahn and ask him to kiss me and he would willingly do so. If were alone, he might even fondle my butt...or maybe a lot more ya know~?" Tione shot up from the ground and had tears in her angry eyes as she shouted, "Dont rub it in Tiona! Youre not so special to Vahn after all. Hell, I bet if Lefiya or I tried, Vahn would willingly have s.e.x with both of us as well!" Suddenly being dragged into such a dangerous conversation, Lefiya blushed so quickly and fiercely that a pah sound came from her head and she copsed backward with her eyes spinning around. Instead of refuting her words outright, Tiona nodded and said, "I dont think Vahn would just sleep with anyone, but I think hed consider you and Lefiya. I think it might be a long time until then though since Lefiya is still too young for things like that~?" Since Ais had waited until her birthday, she also nodded and said, "Lefiya needs to wait...maybe in a year?" Hearing Aiss words, Lefiya fl.u.s.tered even more and said, "I-I dont think...I dont think that Vahn and I suit each other...waaaaaah." As Lefiya spoke, Ais looked over at her and c.o.c.ked her head to the side and asked, "You dont like...Vahn?" Ais suddenly seemed to have be a bit sad as she turned her head down and began to polish the wless surface of [Gram]. Before Lefiya could say anything to console Ais, Tione looked at Tiona and asked incredulously, "What makes you think I would even let him sleep with me? You know I like the Captain and want to have his children." Tiona still had a smile on her face, but she stoppedughing as she said inly, "I want things to work out between you and the Captain, but I dont think things will ever go the way you want. There is more than a twenty-five year age gap between you and the Captain ispletely dedicated to his ideals. Unless he eventually married a Pallum girl and raised an heir, I dont think he would ever sleep with you. I cant imagine you waiting another ten, or more, years without losing your patience and doing something you regret. Besides, you have to be pretty dense if you think we havent noticed the way you act around Vahn. Even if its because of jealousy or you just wanting to tease him, you definitely dont have your guard up against him at all, do you?" The whole while Tiona was speaking, Tione furrowed her brows low without responding. Everything her little sister was saying was the cold, hard, truth of the matter and there was nothing she could do to change it. Even if she pushed things even further, it would only widen the gap between her and Finn instead of shortening it. Vahn, however, was always nice to her and paid her plenty ofpliments even when she was pushing the boundaries a bit to get even with Tiona. If not for the fact she was in love with Finn, Tione would have pursued Vahn as well since he also had the self-sacrificing mentality that she found to be attractive. Tione just didnt want to give up on her first love, even though, as her sister said, there was more than a twenty-five year age gap between her and Finn. Whenpared to Vahn, who was actually simr in age to herself, it seemed to be a much more sensible to pursue him instead of Finn... Tiona watched her elder sister silently contemte matters for a while before saying, "Vahn promised that, when we finally have children together, that we would be able to raise them as a family." Tione raised her head and frowned as she said, "That isnt possible, you know the customs..." Tiona immediately shook her head and said confidently, "No, I believe in Vahn. If he says it is possible, I know it wille to pass somehow. Youve seen it as well, how much effort he puts into things. Vahn wouldnt say something like that unless he had a n of action that had a certain degree of sess. If its him, I think our children can live free from the tragedy of growing up in Telskyura." Before Tione could respond, Ais nodded her head and said, "Vahn always tells the truth. He will be the strongest." Hearing Ais, Tione looked between the two smitten girls and could see a fiery confidence burning deep without their eyes. Though she had trouble believing their words, Tione also thought that Vahn was a pretty reliable guy, just not to the almost fanatic extent of Tiona and Ais. Looking over, she saw Lefiya had a thoughtful expression on her face so she asked, "What do you think, Lefiya? Do you think Vahn is as reliable as these two idiots im?" Though surprised to be addressed, Lefiya calmed down and considered her words before holding up the [Heal] in her hands and saying, "An item like this staff, ording to Riverias and my research, shouldnt be possible. No matter how much we try to understand its structure, we only get closer and closer to an infinite number ofplexities instead of finding any answers. If Vahn created this staff, he is capable of things that fundamentally alter thousands of years of magical research and study...I think...I think he is very reliable." Toward the end of her words, Lefiya blushed beet red and lowered her head while holding the staff to her budding b.r.e.a.s.ts. Tiona frowned further because she knew that Lefiya was a magical prodigy and that Riveria was the most preeminent mage in the entire City. If they werent able to crack the logic behind the staff, it meant that Vahns capabilities were revolutionary. She also knew he had invented several things that revolutionized forging in the past as well...Though she had never considered it before, Vahn seemed to defymon sense and always pushed himself ever closer to his goals. If he really told Tiona that he would guarantee they could raise their children, even she was beginning to believe there was some truth to the im. Releasing a sigh, Tione looked toward the direction of Finns tent and muttered to herself, "Captain, if you dont take me soon..." Before Tione could finish her utterance, Finn entered through the p of the tent next Riveria and said, "Well be returning to the surface sooner than expected. Loki-sama sent notice that there might be an incident going on rted to Vahn and the Alliance. Make sure to head to sleep soon since well be heading out very early." Without waiting for their response, Finn nodded his head with a smile and left the tent with Riveria. Before they left, Riveria looked back and saw the various degrees of excitement on each girls face and said, "Looks like youll be able to enjoy a date with Vahn again pretty soon." Ais had a contented smile on her face as Tiona ced away her [Dance of the Amazon] and shouted, "Im going to sleep~!" Lefiya had a slight blush on her face and began to change into her sleepwear as well while Tione, the only one who had been excited for a different reason, stood nkly and stared at the p where Finn had just exited. Since she had just been thinking about him, Tione got excited when he showed up so suddenly. Now that he left without even giving her any personal words, she felt slightly bereaved and shouted, "Captain, you idioooooot~!" Finn, who had just left the tent to inform the rest of the encampment paused for a moment and had an incredulous look on his face as he asked Riveria, "Riveria, did I do something wrong?" Hearing his word, Riveria had a thoughtful expression for a moment before exining, "Maybe she thought you were going to do some night crawling? Its hard to tell when ites to Tione at times..." Finn released a deep sigh and rubbed his temples as he began walking away from the tent once again. After a few seconds, he remarked, "I hope she doesnt stress herself out too much. Even though I respect her feelings, I wish she would respect mine a bit...it isnt a simple matter for me to make such concessions. I guess thats just a part of youth..." Since Finn was 38 and Riveria was 97, they were both some of the more mature members of the Familia alongside Gareth who was 54. When Finn had defeated Tione a few years ago, he never expected that she would be so obsessed with him and it was one of the matters that gue his thoughts on several nights. He almost wished someone woulde along and defeat her so she wouldnt be so stressed out all the time...for a brief moment, the figure of an aquamarine eyed boy passed through Finns mind before he shook his head and muttered, "I hope he doesnt cause us even more trouble..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: SMASHING~!,Tiones Envy,Finns Never-Ending Troubles) I am currently at $731/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 270 - Relax...

Chapter 270 - Rx...

(A/N: Technically an intermission chapter but connects to the actual start of Vol. 9) After entering the library, Vahn climbed the woodendder that connected to the shelves and reached for the book at the highest shelf on the left. Though he could put the book in his inventory and record all the contents to his mind, Vahn much preferred actually reading books the old-fashioned way. Unless it was a topic is was studying, Vahn would rather leisurely thumb through a book and enjoy the story at his own pace. Since they werent organized at all, the book Vahn ended up selecting was actually a romance novel that seemed to be targeted towards women. Since he didnt have any preference, other than reading manga, Vahn tucked the book under his arm before climbing down thedder and finding afortable spot to sit. Looking at the cover closely, Vahn saw the title of the book and read it as Dreams Under the Moonlight and it had been written by an author simply called Ventus Valim. Since it had been made from the system, the book lookedpletely brand-new and had a refreshing smell even though the design looked somewhat ancient. Vahn was able to read anynguage he had ever seen so the characters within the novel werent indecipherable to his eyes. For the next few hours, Vahn slowly thumbed through the book and read its contents with a mixture of intrigue and light humor. The book was about a woman named Angelica who had been betrothed by her father to marry into the family of their long-time enemies. Both ns had grown tired of the fighting and agreed topromise by marrying the first-born daughters of each family into the opposite family. This would allow them to have familial bonds with each other and pave the way for future cooperation so they could get an advantage against the other influential families within the region. Angelicamented her fate, not because she was being forced to marry into the family, but because she was actually in love with another boy who was the younger brother of her betrothed. They had long ago started meeting up in secret and professed their love to each other and one day swore to elope into a far-offnd the escape their families. Now she was being forced to marry his elder brother, who was a somewhat cruel and licentious man that was notorious for his exploitation of many vige girls. When her lover tried to oppose the marriage, he was actually struck down by his father on the grounds that he was betraying the families interests. In his stupor, the boy professed his love for Angelica before his family and was locked away within their personal dungeon until after the wedding ended. The older brother, because of his cruel nature, had actually grown much more interested in the marriage after that as he lorded it over his younger brother who was locked away. He told Angelica that, unless she married him, he would ensure that her former lover never left the prison. Since he was the next head of the family, he had a lot of influencepared to a fifth-born son within the family. Though she grieved for her own misfortune, Angelica still agreed to marry the evil man in order to free her lover. Even if she had to suffer at the hands of her husband, as long as her lover was free she would be happy. For the next several weeks, she was forced to interact with the cruel man until his actions escted to the point where he tried to force himself on her. Though she resisted and cried out against the injustice, he forced her into silence with threats and she eventually caved in and lost her purity. The only sce she found in the situation was the hope that her lover would be freed after the day of her marriage. Matters escted after that night and they grew progressively worse as the man forced her to do many shameless acts while using the same threats against her each time. Since she had already lost her dignity, Angelica gave in to his demands and had him swear to treat her former lover well. The man promised on his honor that no harm woulde to his younger brother as long as she listened to his orders. Though it pained her greatly, Angelica bore his brutality and continued to suffer severe indignities to protect the lover in her heart. Finally, the day for the wedding came and Angelia married the cruel man with a false smile on her face. She looked around and saw that everyone was wearing fake smiles, even her own family who professed their love and support for her. Even though she had obviously been suffering for weeks, they were so afraid ofpromising their treaty that they allowed her to suffer. How own mother had even given her two vials containing small pills, one for aphrodisiacs, and another meant to numb pain. They had no illusions about the nature of her husband and knew it would be difficult for her from now on. On the wedding night, she was carried away in the mans arms while both families cheered for them as he alighted her to the bridal chamber. When they were alone, Angelica pleaded that her former lover is freed only for the man to cruelly smile as he pinned her to the bed. He told her that they werent officially married until the night hade to an end. It was the tradition for a new husband and wife to seal the deal and spend the night together while the two families celebrated in another room. Angelica begrudgingly gave in to his demands and serviced him well into the morning even though he made her do many embarrassing things. When morning finally came, Angelia was mentally and physically exhausted because the man had not treated her gently in the slightest. Since he knew she was working hard to please him, he forced her to do many difficult things and even punished her whenever she failed. Since his punishments made it harder for her to follow his orders, things got progressively more difficult as the night continued. By the time morning came, Angelica had several bruises covering her body and could onlyment her fate for dealing such a cruel hand to her. When the sunlight finally crested through the windows, she released a relieved sigh and once again pleaded for her lover to be freed. The cruel man smiled and sent for a servant to retrieve his younger brother and bring him to the room. Angelica, though exhausted beyond her limits, felt happy to be able to see her lover once again after having been separated for so long. She somehow managed to lift her body from the bed as the manughed menacingly from her side. Before she could understand his reaction, he powerfully pped her behind and knocked her face-forward onto the bed. Grabbing her from behind, the man continued to vite her even as the servant boy returned holding a vase. Angelica couldnt understand what was happening until her husband exined that his younger brother had died of pneumonia the second night of his imprisonment after s.u.mbing to his wounds. The entire time she had been ving away to free him, even going so far as to devote her body to a man she hated, had been spent trying to free a dead man. After waving his hand to the servant, the boy opened up the vase and dumped out a pile of ashes onto the ground in front of Angelica as she stared nkly toward her front while the monster that called himself her husband continued to vite her... Unable to continue reading, Vahn shut the book with a snap and incinerated it into fine ashes before dispersing them through an open window. He had continued reading in the hopes that things would turn out better, that her lover would be freed, that they might be reunited through some whim of fate. However, no matter how far he read, things only got progressively worse for the tragic Angelica. It wasnt the first time he had read a book with tragic themes, but Vahn couldnt help feel a dissatisfaction inside of him as he imagined the suffering of the girl that didnt even exist. Releasing a sigh, Vahn sat against the sofa and looked towards the roof and realized he got too emotionally invested in things whenever he empathized with others. Since he was currently in a record that only existed in a manga previously, Vahn knew it was theoretically possible to visit the record where the girl Angelica existed. However, Vahn also knew it was unrealistic to try and save everyone simply because they had been written in a tragic manner. His journey would never end if he went about trying to change the fate of every person and try to make them happy. Every record he went to would have its own stories, its own tragedies, its own actual fate that could be altered depending on his actions...it was simply too much. For the second time, Vahn released a long sigh and tried to stop thinking about the matters of the book. He was already wrapped up the lives of so many people and his actions were already altering the very fate of the world he was currently in. If he couldnt guarantee his own happiness and the happiness of those around him, what right did he even have to try and change the fates of even more people? Especially people that didnt even currently exist...by going to that record, he would make the events real and it wouldnt just be Angelica that suffered. There would be an entire world, millions, if not billions of people that would each have their own lives... Vahn closed his eyes for a few seconds and began to calm his mind as he allowed his perception to wander in his surroundings. He saw that the girls had returned from their shopping trip and were split between three different ces. Each of them was living their own life, intricately connected to his own, but entirely separate. Though he could empathize with them, Vahn could never truly see things from their perspective without seeing their hearts desire. Vahn also realized that, if he wanted to, he couldpletely alter how everyone around him lived on a whim... If Vahn truly wanted to stop caring, if he truly let go of his own inhibitions and stopped focusing on others, he would probably be able to enjoy life a lot more. He could do whatever he wanted, even sleep with whoever he wanted. He could research the things he liked and live without any restraints since he could create an infinite amount of wealth using his cksmithing. Since he didnt rely on a goddess to update his status, he could even dive into the dungeon and, as long as he didnt drop his guard, probably conquer it in one go. He could slowly gain more subordinates, train them up to be stronger, and then build up an unstoppable army... But, that was if Vahn could stop caring and throw away everything that he believed in. His whole purpose of visiting this world was to pursue freedom and be happy, but it was never at the expense of others. Though he might not enjoy every single moment, Vahn felt like he was truly happy to be around everyone. They all came together to influence each others lives and he was able to make them happy by bearing some of their burdens. His empathy allowed them to open themselves up to him and it added an incredible amount of variety to his life. Especially since Vahn had met girls like Hephaestus, Eina, Hestia, Chloe, Tiona, Ais...there were so many people that Vahn had grown an extreme affection for. Even goddesses like Loki, someone he never thought he could get along with, were vastly different than his initial expectations. She worked so hard for him, even though he had actually given her nothing but a promise and a lot of trouble. Even when shepletely opened up her heart to him, Vahn simply asked her to be patient so he could manage his own life for the moment. Withoutint, she conceded to his request and has worked earnestly behind the scenes ever since. She was even trying to bear the brunt of the Ishtar Familia just so he could rx more and protect Haruhime... Vahn realized, yet again, that he wascking in decisiveness and resolve. Though he always took action in the heat of the moment, Vahn was actually terrible when it came to being alone and trying to reason his way through things. Perhaps it was because he had be overly reliant on others, but Vahn understood he wascking a couple of things to function properly and be a truly reliable person. However, the didnt seem to be an easy solution to remedy this other than simply...growing up and experiencing more. He had already changed so much in thest eleven months since his arrival and couldnt even imagine how much he would change in the next year...the next ten years...or even the next hundred years. Even as early as this time next year, Vahn would be a father, perhaps to several children...Vahn felt like that would be a big impact on his character and would shape his personality quite a bit. With a thoughtful expression on his face, Vahn held his hand to his chin and muttered to nobody, except perhaps the everpresent Sis, "So the only solution...is to live...why does that seem like such a difficult thing?" Vahn started tough at his own deduction as he rose from the couch and started walked toward the central section of the Manor. If he couldnt find out the answer on his own and needed more experience toe to a conclusion, the best method was to simply gain more experience. Sitting in silence just made him brood over things he couldnt even affect, so why be alone when there were a number of people he could share the burden with? As if realizing something, Vahn paused for a bit until a small smile appeared on his face. Looking out the window and up into the murky sky above, Vahn muttered, "Life might be a personal experience...but living is a shared experience. Since my body doesnt age, I could have stayed in the Western Forests for a thousand years and would have lived just as many. However, I wouldnt have experienced a fraction of the life Ive lived here in the City...I understand why the godse to the mortal world from Heaven now. They are ageless, eternal, with infinite lifespans...but it is only when they are free from Divinity and descend to the mortal world that they truly live..." Vahnughed at himself and continued walking forward without worrying about things he couldnt change. Even if he passed through various records in the future, it would mean nothing if he didnt live and experience what they had to offer. Vahn decided that, instead of worry about the future from now on, at least in regards to other worlds outside his control, Vahn would ce his full attention on the current record. Even if he had to struggle a bit, happiness had long been in his grasp. The only thing he ever had to do was reach out and seize it... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Tragedy Genre Is Quite Frustrating,You cant save everyone,What is a life if not lived to the fullest?) I am currently at $731/1200 of my new goal~! If I can reach this amount, I intend to start having character profiles and images of all the characters created so I can update the information to a wiki~! Though the Wiki will be essible by anyone, only Patrons will receive the high-res versions of the images <3 Chapter 271 - Work...

Chapter 271 - Work...

Since it was almost time for lunch, Vahn headed toward the kitchen where he came across Mn, Tina, Emiru, and Maemi preparing lunch for everyone. They each noticed his presence and Vahn just smiled and nodded before walking over and saying, "Let me help out today." Tina had the briefest hint of a forlorn look in her eyes so Vahn just casually reached out and gently stroked her head across the ears once with a subtle amount of calming energy in his palm. She tilted her head with his movement and pepped up a little bit as Vahn grabbed some vegetables and started skillfully dicing them up. Mn gave him a gentle smile and began cleaning the other veggies before cing them in a pile for Vahn to dice. Vahn swiped over the diced bits toward Tina and she began to neatly arrange them into portions for each meal. Emiru and Maemi had been watching from the side while peeling potatoes and had somewhat envious expressions when they saw Vahn pet Tina. They had heard a little bit about his prowess and were very curious about if the rumors were true. However, it was very difficult for them to approach Vahn because he didnt express any direct interest in them after their arrival. They had some mild expectations on the first night and even hoped that Vahn would visit them in their quarters. Ever since he saved them, the twins had some mild delusions about living happily alongside the kind and handsome boy that saved them. Though they hadnt mentioned it, both girls had actually dreamed of moving to the City to escape the monotony of their tribe. They thought their greatest chance at happiness would be to find a rich and handsome boy and be his maidservants. Even if they couldnt be his wife, they thought they had an advantage since they were twins and could serve the same man together. Now that Vahn continually showed them kindness and even gave them arge allowance to purchase clothing, both girls were wondering what they could do to close the distance between him. Since he obviously had a number of women, they were hard-pressed toe up with ideas to draw his affections. Though they didnt discredit their own looks, Vahn was even involved with actual goddesses and wasnt someone they could easily approach with their background. There was also the matter of their senior named Fenrir who seemed like she might legitimately devour them if they stepped out of line. Whenever they saw her glowing, scarlet, eyes, both girls felt a primal fear inside of them and couldnt help but back down even though she seemed much younger than them. After the five prepared lunch, they took it out to everyone that had been waiting inside the dining room. The order had changed up a bit and Haruhime had swapped seats with where Ryuu sat earlier. Hestia still had the spot to his right and Vahn noticed that Preasia had perpetually imed the spot directly across from him. Since her affection had slowly been building up, Vahn knew she had some kind of thoughts about him but he decided not to worry about the future and just live in the present. There were too many matters on his te to worry about how he would deal with another girl and Vahn realized it wasnt actually a bad problem to have in the first ce. He would simplyy down the same guidelines as he had for Haruhime, Lili, and other girls and let nature takes its course. During lunch, the girls talked about everything they had bought and Vahn, as casually as possible, nced over to confirm that Haruhime was actually wearing panties now. She stuck close to his body and like to wrap her tail around his waist but retained most of her elegance and continued to each lunch while making polite conversation. Vahn noticed that Hestia seemed to be acting a little strange but she refused to answer when he asked if anything was wrong. Instead, she gave a strange soundingughter and muttered something under her breath that he couldnt hear. Of course, this didnt stop Hestia from leaning into him a bit and periodically asking Vahn to feed her bits of food. Their small actions drew the attention of everyone at the table, but nobody asked him to feed them as well. Even Fenrir, the person some might expect to ask to be fed, was already being fed by Mn from the outset. She couldnt hold utensils with her paws and almost always ate food offered to her by other people since her table manners were rathercking. When Mn and Tina werent around, it usually fell to Vahn to tend to her during meal times. After lunch was beginning to wrap up, Ryuu looked over and asked, "Vahn, what do you have nned for this afternoon?" Vahn was curious about what Ryuu wanted and didnt actually have anything nned at present so he said, "I hadnt decided yet so Im open to suggestions if there is something on your mind." Even though he had been talking to Ryuu, Vahn noticed a strange reaction from most of the girls that made him squint his eyes slightly in curiosity. Ryuu nodded her head and said, "I discussed the matter with Hestia previously, but Id rmend you update and check everyones Status Board within the Familia. If you have the ability to identify hidden skills, the sooner we learn everyones hidden potential, the better it will be in the future. Id also like you to chest my Status Board if possible so I can change my training methods ordingly." Vahns brows raised slightly and he seriously considered Ryuus words. He had told both her and Hestia about Haruhimes hidden Innate abilities and expressed they needed to be kept a secret from the wielder or it would be harder to awaken them in the future. Even if he couldnt tell the girls themselves what hidden skill they might have, Ryuu would be able to help guide them in the future. As for Ryuu herself, she ced a lot of trust in him, so Vahn would be able to help guide her along the correct path even without revealing anything. Since Vahn was very interested, especially in any characters rted to the original plot, he decided to agree without offering any form of argument. Though there werent any outcries, Vahn noticed a shift in the atmosphere of the room and Preasia had actually turned her eyes away from him and was staring at Hestia. Realizing what she must be thinking, Vahn stated seriously, "Preasia, you dont have to worry about joining the Familia or anything so soon. Focus on your recovery for the time being and dont let any feelings of fear and insecurity guide your decisions. Youll be able to stay here for as long as you wish so please consider everything seriously..." When he started talking to her, Preasia turned her attention back to Vahn before eventually nodding her head and saying, "If...you say so..." Tina had also seemed like she wanted to volunteer to join the Familia based on the momentum, but decided to keep her words to herself after she heard Vahns words to Preasia. Mn noticed her actions and gently patted her head before whispering, "Dont worry, well be able to visit more often in the future. Until youre older, there isnt any benefit to getting the crest since you cant enter the dungeon yet. Vahn also wants you to enjoy your youth a bit, so take it slow and have more fun." Tina nodded her head in response and finished up the rest of her food before everyone started cleaning up. Since it was a good opportunity, Vahn actually gave measuring tapes to Mn, Emiru, Maemi, and Haruhime. Though the girls gave him strange looks, Vahn exined that he needed everyones measurements for if he was going to make armor for everyone in the future. He could have taken the measurements himself, but Vahn left the work to the experienced hands that knew a bit of knowledge regarding tailoring and sewing. While they were busy recording everyones measurements, Vahn waited in a room with Hestia and Preasia as they waited for the girls toe in one at a time and have their Status Boards checked. To make matters easier, with the exception of Mikoto, all of the girls had changed into small ck dresses that were very cute, but alsopletely open at the back. Vahn thought it was suitable until he noticed there wasnt actually an opening for their tails and he got the briefest glimpses of the undergarments contained within. Since the twins had matching figures, only one of them needed to record their measurements which left Maemi to be the first girl to get her Status Board checked. She was also the girl that casually shed her panties to Vahn before she sat down on the stool in front of him. He could see her tail slowly move from side to side and she was very obviously trying to appeal to him. Since Vahn decided not to get wrapped up in the momentum of girls so easily, before Hestia could say anything to reprimand Maemi, Vahn reached out his index finger and touched around four inches above Maemis tail. Maemi reacted like she had been shocked and jumped off of the stool while giving everyone behind her a full view of the contents of the little ck dress. She looked back with a confused expression and Vahn exined with a casual smile, "I appreciate your efforts, but this isnt the time or ce for that kind of thing. There is plenty of time in the future to worry about things like that and you only recently arrived in the Manor. Rx and spend some time with your sister, you both had a rough time until now." Maemi rubbed the area on her back where Vahn had shocked her before nodding her head and saying, "Yes Vahn-sama...Ill behave from now on." She then sat down on the stool in a somewhat dejected manner before feeling a warm andforting feeling on the top of her head. Though she was confused for a moment, Maemi realized what was happening and nearly purred instinctually before Vahn removed his hand and said, "That is an adorable reaction...lets go ahead and begin. You might feel a little difort, but it should pass within five to ten minutes." Hestia gave Vahn a strange look but he just sent her a wink that made her blush slightly and hold the edge of her short dress. Vahn was curious about her behavior and intended to ask what was wrong in detail after checking everyones Status Boards. To push matters along, Vahn dripped a bit of his blood on Maemis back while both Haruhime and Hestia watched his actions with interest. Ever since he had teased Maemi earlier, Haruhime had started to feel a little more excited and wondered if she could get Vahn to tease her in a simr manner in the near future. It seemed very exciting and she also wanted to be pet afterward if at all possible... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Maemi Rain Race: Snow Leopard LV. 1 POW: I28 END: I33 DEX: I13 AGI: I51 MAG: I18 Skill: [Gemini: Innate(sealed)] Magic: - Development Skill: - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahns brows raised because he hadnt actually expected to see that Maemi had an Innate ability. It was also his first time seeing herst name so he asked, "Yourst name is Rain?" Maemi seemed to be happy about his curiosity and exined, "Nnn, in the Northern Tundra, the mostmon tribe names are Snow, Ice, Rain, Storm, and Sleet. My sister and I were born into the Rain tribe whose territory was usually subject to rainstorms every few days." Vahn nodded his head thoughtfully and said, "It is a unique name and I think it suits you. Thanks for letting me check your Status Board Maemi." Maemi showed a happy smile before bowing politely which made Vahn smile wrly since the thin fabric of the dress hung off her body and revealed her uncovered b.r.e.a.s.ts. He wasnt sure if it was an oversight on her part or if she hadnt given up her earlier attempts. Seemingly unaware of the mishap, Maemi exited the room in a chipper mood while Haruhime beganughing like a bell to Vahns left. He turned over and saw her green eyes shining a bit as she said, "Everyone here is so interesting~!" Before Vahn could ask what Haruhime meant, Hestia eximed, "More like everyone wants to take advantage of Vahns kindness. Even when he clearly stated that she should act more reserved, she couldnt help but sneak in one final attempt to get Vahn excited. She could have worn tape under the dress if she wasnt intentionally trying to appeal to Vahn even further. Ill bet that sister of hers tries the exact same thing while attempting to pass it off as being polite~!" Haruhimeughed at Hestias words and said, "Its it wonderful though~? If Vahn wasnt such a capable person, he wouldnt be able to draw people to him like this. Even Preasia, who seemed like she might never open up to anyone, has been watching him with a jiiiiiiii like gaze whenever theyre in the same room together. I think its very natural for a hero to have many girls chasing him." As if she genuinely believed her words, Haruhime had a pleased expression on her face as she emted a prayer gesture while looking into the distance toward something only she could see. Against expectations, the next girl to enter the room was actually Mikoto. She wore the same magenta kimono with a dark red obi around her waist. The only difference is, instead of wearing a sarashi, Mikoto had removed the bandages and let her growing b.r.e.a.s.ts hang freely. Even though she was currently only 14, her b.r.e.a.s.ts were approaching the mid-range of a C-cup. Without any hesitation, Mikoto bowed slightly before looking over at Haruhime for a brief moment. Turning her back to Vahn, she loosened her kimono and revealed her bare back as she sat on the stool and remained silent. Since she hadnt said anything, Vahn immediately began the procedure aftermenting that it might feel slightly ufortable. Mikoto nodded her head in response and continued to remain silent as Vahn dripped his blood on her back and began checking her Status Board. Every Status Board he had checked had an Innate ability so far, and Vahn was curious to see how long the trend wouldst. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Yamato Mikoto Race: Human LV. 2 POW: I75 END: I70 DEX: H132 AGI: H119 MAG: I50 Skill: [Yatanokurogarasu:C] Magic: [Futsunomitama:B], [Apocalypse: Innate(sealed)] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:C] [Yatonakurogarasu] Rank: C Use: Enemy search within effect range, also reveals hidden enemies. Effect is exclusive for monsters and only works on monsters that the user has encountered before. Active Trigger (30S Cooldown) Use: Familia member search within effect range. Only works on those in the same Familia. (6M Cooldown) [Futsunomitama] Rank: B Use: Created a projection of space and amplifies gravity in a given area. Chant: I respectfully speak to you, my War God that can break through anything, lead me from the precious heaven. Give my petty body divine power of your grand body. Rescue them light of purification, sword of crushing evil. Sweep sword of suppression, sacred sword of conquest. It arrives here now by my order. Descend from heaven, rule the earth - shinbu tousei [Abnormal Resistance] Rank: C Use: Nullifies abnormal status effects such as poison under the given rank. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once again, Vahn confirmed that Mikoto also had an Innate ability alongside a few other useful skills. He had never heard of gravity magic, so he was somewhat interested to see how useful it was forbat in the future. The thing he found odd was how low her stats were even though she was a proficient swordswoman. Vahn wondered what kind of training regimen she had undergone with Takemikazuchi and figured it was likely due to the fact she focused more on training than actually ying monsters that attributed to the lower parameters. After thanking Mikoto for her time, she fixed her kimono before bowing politely and saying, "If youll excuse me Vahn, Id like to observe the proceedings from the side." Since he already allowed Haruhime to observe, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Please, it isnt a problem if its just watching." Mikoto showed a polite smile before bowing again and then sitting next to Haruhime in a seated position known as seiza. Since she hadnt let the next person know toe in, Hestia bounded to her feet to go inform the person waiting while Mikotos eyes widened a bit at her own blunder. When she tried to get up, Vahn waved his hand andughed, "Dont worry about it, Hestia already got up and is taking care of it. If you try to stop her, itll just make matters awkward." Mikoto furrowed her brows a bit but stayed seated as Vahn suggested. Haruhime giggled gently from her side and whispered, "You dont have to be so tense Mikoto, Vahn isnt the type to be overly concerned about things like manners and etiquette. Even if he is your Captain, you should treat him in a more friendly manner if you want to disy your loyalty~!" Since Mikoto always had a very serious expression on her face, to the point where her eyebrows were always angled at forty-degrees, she didnt seem to take too much from Haruhimes words and just nodded before remaining silent and with her back straight. Since Ryuu wanted to get her Status Board checked in privateter, the next girl to enter alongside Hestia was Emiru in a simr ck dress as her sister. Hestia walked next to her with an anticipatory look and reached out to ce her hand on Emirus forehead when she tried to bow in front of Vahn. With a victorious expression on her face, Hestia said, "Eeii~! Your sister already gave away your little trick! Just sit on the stool so we can finish things up quickly." Emiru gave Hestia a pitiable look which made her continue, "Dont look at me like that, you can get Vahn to pet you if you behave properly." As if she had just heard a magical spell, Emirus stood up straight and sat on the stool quietly with her hands elegantly folded in herp. Vahn couldnt help butugh out a bit as he said, "This might be a little ufortable, but itll pass quickly." Emiru nodded her head and said, "Yes, please make it quick Vahn-sama!" Though he couldnt see her face, Vahn imagined tiny mes in Emirus eyes as he dripped a drop of blood on her back and checked her Status Board. Though he had a slight expectation that they would have some slight differences, Emirus stats werepletely identical to her twin sisters. Vahn assumed it likely had something to do with their shared Innate and began thinking about how to trigger it in the future. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Emiru Rain Race: Snow Leopard LV. 1 POW: I28 END: I33 DEX: I13 AGI: I51 MAG: I18 Skill: [Gemini: Innate(sealed)] Magic: - Development Skill: - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After confirming her status, Vahn kept true to Hestias word and used [Hands of Nirvana] to gently stroke Emirus head and ears for a few seconds before sending her away with a happy expression on her face. When she was gone, Mikoto stood up and bowed politely as she said, "Thank you for allowing me to witness things for myself Vahn. I know it wasnt my ce to make such a request so Im grateful that you epted my selfishness." Vahn stared at her actions before shaking his head and stating in a firm tone, "Mikoto, that type of thing isnt necessary. From now on, were members of the same Familia, and I treat my Familia as if they were my actual family. Unless its a secret I need to keep, you dont have to worry about overstepping your boundaries too much. Ill let you know if the matter is important, so just rx and enjoy your time with Haruhime." Though she had listened attentively to his words, Mikoto seemed to interpret them in a slightly different manner as she kneeled down on one knee and bowed her head for a few seconds. Vahn had read several books on the Far East and knew this was a way that warrior showed loyalty to their leige within ns. Vahn sighed a bit in his mind because he thought the honorable and serious nature of Mikoto would make her life more difficult in the future. However, unless it was a situation like with the Anubis Familia, Vahn understood such ceremonies were important to those with a warriors spirit. From the side, Haruhime covered her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono andughed elegantly before saying, "Everything here is so interesting~! I cant wait to see what happens in the future." Her words caused Mikoto to end her small ceremony and then she nodded to Vahn before making her way out of the door. Vahn could see that Mikoto was heading toward the training area, likely to continue polishing her skills and train her swordsmanship. Haruhime also gave an elegant bow and followed after her while leaving Vahn and Hestia in the room alone. Vahn had a wry smile and just shook his head because he also agreed that things were actually quite interesting. However, there was another matter on his mind besides worrying about Mikoto, so Vahn turned to Hestia and asked, "Is something wrong Hestia? You seem to be behaving strangely ever since lunch." As he had stated, Hestia had been acting very reservedly and seemed to have something on her mind as she nkly stared into empty space with a gentle smile on her face when not engaged in conversation. Hearing Vahns words, Hestia looked up at him andughed in an awkward manner before saying, "Loki ising over tonight..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Baby got back~?,Mikoto is surprisingly weak,Author Style: Cliff-Summoning Jutsu~!) (A/N: This is actually thest chapter for the night, so sorry for making it a cliff. Tomorrows chapter will take a bit of effort, so look forward to them (O,...,O)~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful Chapter 272 - Guest

Chapter 272 - Guest

Though Vahn usually internalized a lot of his reactions, when he heard Hestias words he couldnt help but utter a quiet, "Eh?" The image of the mischevious goddess passed through his mind and Vahn imagined herughing like a sly fox goddess for a brief moment. Hestia sat down on the cushion that had been used by Haruhime during the previous proceedings and exined with a sigh, "I...I called her over...I was thinking things might get o-o-out of hand tonight." Hestias eyes opened wide at her own words and she gave Vahn a sidelong nce. Vahn recalled the events of this morning and agreed that things might progress a bit further once the evening came unless something happened to change the sleeping arrangements. He might not have made a move instantly, but if Hestia tempted him again Vahn had decided to take more decisive action and progress their rtionship to the next level unless she backed down. Now that an extra variable had been added to the equation, Vahn couldnt help but ask, "Did you and Loki talk about something on thework?" Hestia grabbed the sides of her head with a w-like grip and shook her head fast enough to make her long twin-tails dangle about as she made a "Guuunununununuuuu~" sound as though she was very frustrated. After several long seconds, she managed to calm down and exin, "I want to ask Hephaestus for advice, but I grabbed the wrong quill! Why are both pens an off-shade of red!? Whyyyyyyy~?" Since the quills were usually color-coded based on hair color, or other attributes, Hephaestuss was a darker scarlet red, while Lokis was closer to a true-red in color. Though it wasnt easy to mistake them, it was possible if someone wasnt paying proper attention... Vahn imagined what Hestia might have asked Hephaestus and quickly understood it likely had something to do with the events earlier in the week. If Hestia had actually sent a message to Loki regarding things like s.e.x, Vahn could imagine the look on the mischevious goddesss face and it caused him to frown a bit and say, "I told Loki not to rush things...even if she thinks you might be getting ahead of her, it doesnt mean Ill just..." Vahn couldnt finish his own sentence because he started to recall everything Loki had been doing for him in recent history. He had just realized earlier that he hadnt really done anything for her and had been feeling slightly guilty about things. Hestia groaned slightly and corrected Vahns misunderstanding, "No, its not anything like that at all...As I said, Im the one that asked her toe by after we talk about a lot of things." Releasing a long sigh, Hestia continued, "Im not good at exining things like this, thats why I didnt bring it up before you asked. Wait for Loki to get here and youll understand..." Her words finished, Hestia fell backward as if she had beenying on a bed, but the only thing that would greet her if she continued to fall was a hard floor. Though he was slightly distracted about the thoughts of Lokis visit, Vahn saw Hestias actions and quickly swooped down to catch the airheaded Hestia. He supported her head with his left hand while wrapped his right arm around the front of her body and grabbing her waist. Sessfully catching her, Vahn released a relieved sigh before smiling and staring into Hestias suprised blue eyes. She didnt seem to realized what had happened yet until Vahn exined, "You almost just fell back onto a marble floor with your head..." Though she already had wide eyes, Hestia still managed to open them further as she recalled her previous actions. Just as she was about to enter a bashful, albeit fl.u.s.tered, state, Vahn leaned forward and gave her a short kiss on the forehead and said, "Be more careful. I might be able to heal you, but Id much rather never see you hurt to begin with." Hestia dazed for several seconds until Vahn tried to help her stand. Coming to her senses, a glint of light passed through Hestias eyes before she reached up and grabbed Vahns head and pulled it toward her while he was still bending over to help her up. Vahn almost lost his bnce and copsed into Hestias b.r.e.a.s.ts, but his reaction time had developed to the point that a normal fall wouldnt catch him off guard. He reached his right hand under Hestias but and grabbed her back with his left hand as he kicked off the floor with Shundo and came to a stop holding Hestias body on the other side of the room. Since she was very high on his body, Vahns face was still buried in her b.r.e.a.s.ts as she wiggled back-and-forth in his embrace and smothered him a bit. After a short while, Hestia hugged his head a little tighter and said, "Uuuuh, Vahn, why are you so loveable sometimes~? Thank you for preventing me from falling..." Though it was somewhat awkward, Vahn nodded his head that was firmly nted in the soft, marshmallow-like, b.r.e.a.s.ts of Hestia. Seeing his reaction, Hestias smile winded a bit before she whispered in a gentle tone, "No matter what happens tonight...please see it through till the end. I still feel like my heart isnt ready, but I know that I love you..." Vahn pulled his head away enough to stare up into Hestias hazy blue eyes that contained a slightly solemn light deep within. He could see her inhibitions, but also understood there was more than a small amount of love within her expression. Even her aura was burning like a slow, but stable, me that oriented itself towards his body. Seeing her expression made Vahns heart feel a powerful warmth spread through his body that caused a smile to appear on his face naturally. Lowering her body a bit, Vahn promised, "Ill do it Hestia...and Ill make sure it is a pleasant experience that wont leave any bad memories...I love you too." For a short few minutes after that, Hestia and Vahn indulged in each others lips without things devolving due to passion and fervor. They just loosely embraced each other and partook in slow, gentle, small kisses full of care and love. For the rest of the afternoon, Vahnzily drew up diagrams of armor and weapon designs that might be suitable for the girls in the Familia. Since they were primarily agility-based fighters, Vahn knew most armor wouldnt suit them but still designed things like bracers, leg-guards, b.r.e.a.s.ttes, and a variety of different weapons they might use. It would likely be a while before they actually required the items, but Vahn wanted to start solidifying the designs now so he could change them based on the wants and needs of each respective girl. Since it wasnt a simple task to design the concepts for equipment, Vahn only finished three different diagrams by the time he picked up the approaching aura enter within his domain. Since gods and goddesses had muchrger auras than normal, Vahn was able to tell that it was Loki and that she had shown up alone. Either that or she had left her escort outside the range of his domain and had continued the rest of the way on foot. Regardless, Vahn began cleaning up the designs and material that had beenid out on the table and prepared to make his way over to greet her. Since he was currently located in the annex behind the eastern wing, there was no way for him to greet her in the foyer, but he could detect that Hestia had arrived in his stead with some other presences apanying her. A few minutester, as Vahn was making his way over to the study where they greeted guests, the presences other than Loki and Hestia left the room, probably because Fenrir had detected he was nearby. Since she had the same energy signature as himself, Vahn was easily able to identify Fenrir regardless of how many other people were around. He had seen her located near a diminutive aura that probably belonged to Preasia while she staid well away from Loki. As the girls exited through the door, they all gave various different greetings to Vahn before making their way over towards the dining room and kitchen. Since it would be dinner time soon, the twins left with Mn and Tina while Fenrir apanied Haruhime and Mikoto while dragging along Preasia. Though he wasnt aware of it yet, Haruhime had taken to helping the girls learn to read a bit since she was very interested in reading books herself. Fortunately, after his discussion with Hestia, Haruhime knew well enough to avoid certain topics around Fenrir for the time being and just read to her normal stories about heroes rescuing damsels in distress. After seeing off the girls, Vahn entered the room and was immediately greeted by Loki who had arge grin on her face, "Yoooo~! It feels like I havent seen you in a while, did you get even taller now~?" As if to check it herself, Loki rose from the sofa and walked right in front of Vahn and tried to check their heights by cing her hand atop her head and moving it across to Vahns. A small smile appeared on Vahns face and he grabbed her wrist and said, "My height hasnt changed at all recently, so lets put that matter aside for now. Its...good to see you Loki." Hearing Vahns words, Lokis eyes opened a bit and she stared into his face beforeughing slightly and moving back to the sofas, specifically the one where Hestia was sitting. Vahn walked over and could see Hestia doing her best to remain calm, but could also see the vein in her temple gently throbbing with his enhanced vision. Loki had left enough of a gap between her and Hestia for Vahn to take the seat, but he sat across from the two goddesses to make the conversation flow more smoothly. Hestia saw his seat choice and tilted her head slightly before bounding over the hardwood table and plopping down next to Vahn. Before Loki could say anything, she grabbed Vahns arm and squeezed it against her right b.r.e.a.s.t with a victorious look on her face. Against her expectations, however, Lokis expression didnt change at all and she just nodded at Hestia before asking, "So, do you know why I came here tonight Vahn?" Interrupting Vahns answer, Hestia eximed, "Eeeeeii~!? What kind of nonchnt reaction is that!?" Before answering Hestias question, Lokis expression turned into a somewhat serious one as she looked toward Hestia and said, "I told Vahn that I would do my best to set aside our differences and work together from now on. Trying topete with you would just cause problems for all three of us in the future." Hestias eyes opened wide and she suddenly felt like she had been behaving childishly and had just gotten scolded from her bad behavior. The victorious look on her face faded and became a somewhat defeated one as she released Vahns arm and tried to sit properly. Hestia still wasnt used to the drastic change in Loki whenparing her present self to the past interactions they had between each other. Since she knew Loki better than anyone else, Hestia had seen how much effort she had been putting into reconciling their differences all while trying to protect Vahns interests. Vahn looked toward Hestia and affectionately stroked her hair as he addressed Loki, "You have to remember, Hestia hasnt had as much time to adapt to the mortal world as you have Loki. Other than spending time within the Manor, she hadnt had many opportunities to experience much else." Hestia had a happy smile on her face as she enjoyed Vahnsforting touch and her aura stabilized by a great deal. Instead of clinging to him, she gently leaned against his body so Vahn ced his hand around her back and on her waist. Lokis smile returned slightly and she stated yfully, "I wonder if a day wille when you treat me gently~? I have to admit, Im actually pretty jealous that Hestia gets to spend so much time with you." Releasing a sigh, Loki shook her head and continued, "Anyways, there are a lot of things we need to discuss with not a lot of time. We dont want to keep the others waiting for us and there is still much to do before the sun rises..." For a brief moment, Lokis aura red up before immediately stabilizing again. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Marshmallow Goddess,Level 1s geared in S-Rank equipment,A wild Loki appears~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful Chapter 273 - Strategy...?

Chapter 273 - Strategy...?

Vahn nodded his head and asked, "I have a few thoughts, but what did you want to discuss?" Before she answered, Loki sat with her legs crossed and rested her chin on her hands that were resting on her knees. Loki was wearing her traditional attire: tight shorts, small blue, skin-tight top, long sleeved arm warmers with a hooded attachment, and a pair of ck stocking with blue boots. She always sat sloppily and, even though nothing was visible, it always drew the eye when a girl had their legs spread unexpectedly, especially if they were wearing shorts that didnt leave much at all to the imagination. Loki saw the brief glimpse Vahn had given her but just smiled without drawing attention to it as she said, "We need to discuss the matters concern the uing Denatus and how were going to deal with it. Even though well also be discussing it as a group, since Ive been delegated at the speaker of the group, I need to make an informed decision based on what you want to do. Depending on how things y out...well, lets just say it wont be easy to deal with the fallout in the future. There is also the matter of Isthar...but, well, I dont think shell be much of a problem. I challenged her to a Wargames and now she intends toin about the matter at the next Denatus...really, that woman has no sense of reality." Vahn had a serious expression on his face and he asked, "Then the important matters must be rted to [Enkidu] and Hephaestuss pregnancy then?" Loki nodded her head and continued, "Maybe not just Hephaestus...I feel like the window of opportunity for myself is shrinking rapidly. I already recalled the expedition party, and I dont think itll be that easy...well, lets set that matter aside and Ill exin the reasoning first. The best option would be to only have Hephaestus be pregnant right now and then we can pass it off as some kind of fluke..." Releasing a sigh, Loki looked up and continued, "But thatll still draw a lot of attention from multiple parties that want to approach you without any restraint. Itll all cause a stir in both the mortal and godlymunities since Hephaestuss pregnancy would be considered an anomaly." Loki, though her eyes were closed, squinted as her brows furrowed and she said, "Not only would this potentially put you both in danger, but I dont think Hephaestus would want to keep it a secret at all. One solution would be to provide evidence that it isnt a fluke and show multiple instances of the event repeating itself. The major drawback of that, well, it should be obvious...there would be goddesses lined up trying to get close to you. We should be able to hide the existence of [Enkidu] and then vet any goddess that wants to approach you by holding them to a vow of secrecy..." Tilting her head down into her hands, Loki continued, "But that may not really be a permanent solution...there are too many loopholes to exploit and the best method would be to protect the information and use it as leverage to protect you in the future. However, that would severely restrict your movements...there is also the matter that, even if youre not the one doing the deed...well, I heard about the procedure from Hephaestus. You have to actually be there if you want to guarantee the pregnancy, right?" Since the process involved both [Eyes of Truth] and [Hands of Nirvana], Vahn was required to be in close proximity to the goddess in question to guarantee the sess of the pregnancy. With a serious expression on his face, Vahn nodded in affirmation to Loki before she continued, "So even if we wanted to protect your identity, youd be exposed pretty quickly..." Loki remained silent for several long seconds before she looked upwards at Vahn with open eyes and asked, "Vahn, tell me, do you intend to keep going into the dungeon even after you secret is revealed at the Denatus?" Vahn furrowed his brows because he understood why Loki would ask that kind of question in the current circ.u.mstances. If he truly had a way to guarantee that goddesses could get pregnant, he would be highly sought after for his services and there would be a lot of resistance against him actually entering the dungeon. Not only would the said goddesses want to protect him, but there would be a number of people that would actually try to kill him for their own personal reasons. However, even though Vahn didnt care too much about the dungeon, he felt like his destiny was intricately connected to it and he was drawn by his own intrigue to reach its depths. Loki saw Vahns determination and said, "Then well have to exin it in a manner that makes it seems like it isnt such an easy procedure while also binding any goddess that receives treatment with a vow...But even this wont go over too easily unless we try to mize or regte things...but I feel like you wouldnt be too open to that kind of thing." Hearing Loki mention requiring people to pay him for the right to bear children made Vahn frown a bit, even though he understood it might make things easier. Seeing his expression, Loki stated inly, "No matter how you look at it, we would have to be selective about who actually get i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed...after all, you arent trying to destroy the world, are you?" Hearing the seriousness in Lokis voice, Vahn asked, "What do you mean? Of course, Im not trying to destroy the world..." Loki nodded her head before exining, "Tell me Vahn, what do you think would happen if every goddess had a child, not necessarily your own mind you..." Vahn thought about the matter and imagined that there would be a marked increase in the number of demigods in the world so he said, "There would be a lot of half-gods around..." Loki nodded her head and said, "Thats right, and what happens if theyre able to also have children, not necessarily with gods, but there might be a chance..." Though he was still confused, Vahn imagined the number of people with pseudo-divinity would increase exponentially over time if it wasnt regted. His expression became especially serious because he realized why Loki asked if he was trying to destroy the world... With a satisfied smile on her face, Loki nodded and said, "Its good that you can think things through properly, that makes the future look a lot more promising. As you seem to have guessed, the number of Demigods in the world would increase over time. Since youre more god than man, you would likely live for hundreds, maybe even thousands, of years. Over that time, even if you only had a child per year there would be thousands of your own children running around, much-less the children that you help others obtain. If your children arent bound by the restrictions of some other demigods, the bnce of power in the world would fundamentally change after a time and there would be a shift in the status quo of the world. Within a few generations, every current race in the world may even cease to exist as your genes slowly spread through the entire continent. Though it might not be your intention, you would inadvertently drive the other races toward extinction because of their inability to pete in a natural way with your children, and the children you help goddesses have." At this point, even Hestia had her eyes opened wide and she just stared nkly into space, unable toprehend the implications of Lokis words. Vahn was holding the bridge of his nose between his index and thumb and tried imagining the world that Loki talked about. He couldnt exin it to the girls, but Vahn knew he could actually live forever in this world if he decided. It might not happen quickly, but there was no way Vahn would restrict his own kids in their pursuit of happiness. Over time, his children would have kids of their own and they would eventually move on to have their own kids... Loki exined slowly and enunciated every word, "The number of goddesses you help bear children needs to be restricted...especially if they are children sired by you. You should be at least 75% god, so that would make any children you have with a goddess close to 87.5%. If, by some coincidence, they are able to have children with a god or goddess...that brings the blood purity to 93.75%...even if you tried to protect all of your kids, there would always be a group that would try to push the purity even further through various means. Within a few hundred years, there may be people that are infinitely closer to the power of the gods walking amongst mortals...Your kids might even live for millions of years and sire entire generations of pseudo-gods..." For the first time, Vahn had some fear rted to having children of his own and didnt know what was the correct decision to make any more. He didnt regret his actions, but he was afraid of what the future might hold, not necessarily for himself, but his children, their children, and so on...After a while, he looked up at Loki, who still had her eyes open and fixed on him and asked, "What do you think I should do? I want to help if I can...but I dont want to destroy everything in the process." Even though Vahn knew Loki actually desired destruction, it didnt pertain to the mortal world and only extended to the Heavens. If she was bringing the matter up, she must have thought of a solution of sorts... Loki responded seriously, "We have the goddesses that learn of [Enkidu] and the procedure join the Alliance and have them vow to raise the children under careful observation. Not only your own children, but we need to protect every child that is born through the use of [Enkidu] until we can collect more data. We also need to ce a restriction on how often the procedure can be performed as well ase up with something like a requirement that couldnt be replicated by anyone other than you...well, a lot of that can be managed by the gods and goddesses already in the Alliance. Your main responsibility would be to...well, not give in so easily just because you empathize with someone. Just like in the instance with Laverna, there are simply goddesses that arent deserving of pity depending on the circ.u.mstances...others just arent capable of being good mothers even if they had a child of their own. Even I fall into thetter category and would likely do something regretable unless Im restricted in the actions I can take..." Vahn ruminated over Lokis words for several minutes in silence while Hestia worriedly pat his back. She wasnt the type to think ahead that much, so Lokis revtion had been a big impact on her as well. Though she didnt expect it to happen any time soon, Hestia also wanted to have a child of her own one day...but now she wasnt sure if it was the right thing to do. Perhaps the world ced the restrictions on goddesses for that very purpose, simply to maintain the bnce and protect the natural order. After a while, Vahn looked up into Lokis eyes and stated clearly, "I agree to some personal regtion...but I will still continue to search for a solution to conception rates of the various races. Humans shouldnt be the only race that can freely conceive alongside gods while goddesses and the half-races have to bear tragic fates. I dont think the future youre talking about is truly destruction, but closer to evolution. It might cause chaos, but chaos is everpresent in the world regardless of the actions I take. I believe that we can change the flow of history as long as we set a proper example for others to follow and aspire towards bettering ourselves and improving the quality of life for everyone." There was no way Vahn could n that far ahead and understand the repercussions of his actions, but he understood it was simply wrong to prevent people from having children just because of his personal inhibitions and fears. It was a profoundly selfish thing to do and there was no way he would deny his own children that right if they wanted to build families of their own. Vahn couldnt even imagine doing something so cruel to people that he wanted to protect the happiness of. Though he hadnt noticed it himself, Vahn had increased his grip on Hestias waist and held her a bit closer to his body. She looked up at saw the serious look in his eyes and felt slightly less insecure about the future while Loki startedughing loudly and patting her knee with her hand. With a fervent expression on her face, Loki showed arge smile as she said, "Thats the right answer~! That is the beauty of being mortal; making decisions without regards to the consequences and just enjoying life to the best of your ability!" Loki began tough in a strange manner with her hand over her mouth before continuing, "Change is the beauty of life! F.u.c.k monotony, f.u.c.k expectations, lets live life to the fullest without regrets~!" Unable to contain herself, Loki stood from the sofa and had a fiery look in her eyes as if she could see a glimpse of what the future might hold. With decidedly less momentum, Vahn also stood up and had a confident look in his eyes as a giddy feeling spread through his body. The future wasnt some foreign thing he had no control over, but something he would be there to experience for himself. If he did his best to positively influence the future, Vahn refused to believe things would end badly. His children would be influenced by his actions and the guidance of the many strong women around him. Vahn couldnt even imagine they would end up as the disreputable types if he raised them well and taught them properly without forcing any expectations on them. He could teach them that happiness was a construct they created and shared with other people through the bonds they established and the choices they made... Hestia, though she wasnt entirely sure of the reason, also started getting hyped up and clung to Vahns back after wrapping her arms around his neck. The only thing she really understood was that Vahn would continue to do his best to ensure the happiness of everyone in their Familia while doing his best to better the lives of others. Loki saw Hestias actions and gave Vahn a coy look with a glimmer in her eye as she asked, "Are you just going to spoil Hestia~? You know, Ive been working my butt offtely...even though it seems to grow back pretty quickly?" As she spoke, Loki turned sideways and rubbed her butt yfully before asking, "Want to help me make sure~?" Since they werent that far apart, Vahn tilted his head slightly and squinted his eyes a bit before using his index and middle finger to test the tension of Lokis left cheek. Her eyes opened slightly wider before a cheeky expression appeared on her face. She made brief eye contact with Hestia before stepping over the wooden table and reaching her hands around Vahns body. Vahn mirrored her actions with a markedly more gentle expression in his eyes until he heard Hestia squeal and fall from his back onto the sofa when Loki pinched her butt. Before Vahn looked back to check on her, Loki leaned forward and gave Vahn a passionate, very experienced, kiss on the lips. (A/N: Alternate Titles: For the Future,Evolution IS the natural order,Loki, Trickster Goddess) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 274 - Compromise

Chapter 274 - Compromise

While Loki had started kissing Vahn, Hestia red at her with teary eyes as she rubbed her butt and said, "Loki, I thought we were supposed to be getting along!? After savoring the moment for a bit, Loki removed her lips from Vahn and peaked over his shoulder and said, "Well, I thought about groping your butt since you were clinging to Vahn...but I couldnt resist giving it a nice pinch instead. I promised not to interact with anyone other than Vahn like that, so unless he wants me to Ill keep my hands to myself..." Vahn tilted his head with a thoughtful expression and said, "Id like for the two of you to get along better, but I dont think it should be through teasing each other...its confusing to think about the rtionsh.i.p.s between girls. Since I dont have many guy friends, I dont have a good baseline to make my judgments from...Hmmm." Loki heard Vahns words and had a yful look in her eyes as she removed her arms from around his neck and walked by his body towards Hestia on the couch. Hestia red at her a bit before her eyes widened when Loki began groping her b.r.e.a.s.ts. She screamed, "Loki, you gori girl~!" Hestia then tried to kick away Loki, but she turned her body to the side and fell towards Hestia before sealing her lips. Not only Hestia, but Vahns eyes widened and he wasnt sure if he should interfere with the situation. It was the first time he had ever seen one girl kiss another so his mind nked for a moment as a dizzying feeling overcame his mind. Hestia resisted Loki but couldnt do much to resist the highly experienced hands and tongue of the trickster goddess. After a few seconds passed, Hestia closed her eyes tightly and began to blush fiercely until Loki finally pulled away with a trail of saliva connecting their lips. She peeked into Hestias watery eyes with a slight fervent expression and whispered, "Lets get along better from now on Hestia...we both love the same man after all..." Hestia gnashed her teeth for a bit and held Lokis gaze before turning her head to the side in a huff and saying, "Dont just do as you please, I only love Vahn..." Hestias bashful actions seemed to incite something in Loki who caressed her face and tried to kiss the fl.u.s.tered Hestia again before Vahn grabbed the red ponytail at her back and prevented her actions. Though he thought it was an enticing sight, Vahn heard Hestias words and decided to interfere before things got out of hand. Loki gave a false cry of pain as she patted Vahns hand holding her ponytail and said, "I give, I give, its not nice to grab a girls hair under normal circ.u.mstances~!" Vahn let her hair go and Loki separated from Hestia before giving her a cheeky look and saying, "Well, its whatever for now, but I think things might get interestingter on..." Understanding her implications, Hestia blushed and hung her head which let Vahn understand what they were talking about. Ever since he heard Hestia say that Loki wasing over, Vahn assumed she might be staying the night as well. Especially after the earlier talks about children... Vahn squinted his eyes and, instead of asking Loki, looked toward Hestia and asked, "Hestia...did you two already decide something between yourselves?" Hestia looked up and had an awkward expression on her face while Loki bit the fingernail of her thumb and had a somewhat excited look on her face. Hestia swallowed with a big gulp and exined, "I thought...I thought it would be unfair to get ahead of Loki since she was working so hard...and....and I was kind of scared to be alone." As she spoke, Hestia began to breathe more deeply and Vahn could see her expression wavering a bit. Vahn remembered Hestias earlier words about not backing down and knew she was pushing herself pretty hard to ovee her own inhibitions. Since she had a frenemy type rtionship and rivalry with Loki, they would be able to goad each other on and she would be able to muster up her own resolve. With a serious expression on his face, Vahn looked at Hestia for several seconds until her eyes stopped wavering and her aura began to stabilize. Even without him saying anything, Hestia realized Vahn was looking through her intentions and seeing the extent of her own resolve. If she backed down after Vahn agreed, it would probably be just him and Loki while she slept in her own room and dealt with the frustrations of knowing what was going on in the opposite room. As if making an excuse to justify her actions, Hestia exined, "Well be together a lot from now on, so I think its only fair if Loki gets to spend time with you first. Besides, this way I can make sure she doesnt do anything strange..." Continuing off of Hestias words, Loki retorted, "I might do some strange things if Vahn wants, but Im not going to make him do anything. Even if he doesnt tend to me often, I dont mind being his ything as long as I eventually get what I want..." Though Vahn had been seriously staring at Hestia, he faltered a bit when he heard Lokis words and gave her a strange look. Loki saw his expression and exined in a serious manner, "Its not that strange, I just dont want to try to be in control of your actions when were together. I know myself better than anyone else and things would get out of hand if I didnt take a more submissive role in the rtionship. Except maybe Anubis, Ill probably be the best option if you want to vent any of your interests or frustrations. Most of the girls just want a simple and affectionate love, and that might be healthy for a time, but youll eventually want to try other stuff. Even if you can hide it from others, I can tell that youre the curious type that likes to push the boundaries after experiencing that massage of yours..." For a moment, Vahn had an absolutely nk expression on his face as he listened to Lokis words. The main reason he needed someone to rein him in originally was due to his interest in getting a rise out of the girls the associated with. If not for things being exined to him clearly, Vahn knew he would have walked down a slightly more deviant path since goddesses like Anubis were around him. Though it was difficult to admit, Vahn actually did like to see the different reactions he could get from the girls depending on his actions...and he might never mention it, but there was a small shadow in his heart after his visit to the red light district. Seeing the look on Vahns face, Loki continued, "Remember, I said you can dress me up and do whatever you want back when we first made our agreement. If you step over the line, it would be better to hear it from me instead of one of the more delicate girls around you. Unlike most of them, Ill always give it to you straight regardless of if were in public or in private. However, from now on, Ill only devote myself to you since that is my personalmitment...Ive told you before, but the opportunity to have a child is something that fundamentally changed my expectations in life. Everything else is secondary...and Ill do whatever it takes to make that expectation a reality." Both Vahn and Hestia gulped at seeing the seriousness of Loki and hearing her resolute words. Hestia was beginning to realize that her resolve was much weaker than that of some of the other girls around Vahn. The fact that she wanted to regte his rtionsh.i.p.s at all seemed strange considering she was the onecking in resolve and self-control. For Vahn, he was just imagining his future interactions with Loki and could feel his brain buzzing slightly with both anxiety and anticipation. Of all the girls around him, Loki was the one least inclined to ce restrictions on him currently and always took actions to clean up his messes. In a way, she was actually one of the most devoted girls to him, even if that devotion was only to guarantee she was able to have a child. Swallowing a second time, Vahn asked seriously, "Are you intending-" Before he could finish, Loki gave him a serious look and said, "Ill get pregnant when you choose to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e me. I dont mind if we y around a bit before then. I dont want to step on Hephaestuss toes and take away her right to have the first child. I will say one thing though..." Loki looked over toward Hestia and said in a very serious manner, "I dont think Hestia should have a child any time soon. It might sound selfish, but I think she is better suited to helping raise other children than having her own for the time being. If all the goddesses around you get pregnant so close together, it could cause problems in the group synergy in the future. It might act as the catalyst that makes other girls want to have children just because they are afraid of being left out." Though Vahn frowned slightly, it was Hestia who responded to Loki as she said, "I also dont think it would be a good idea for me to get pregnant. It already feels like Im cutting ahead of other people and I dont want to be the source of friction that drives a wedge between Vahn and others anymore. I already decided to support him and take care of everyone in the Familia from now on, even if that doesnt include having a child of my own." Since Hestia had never imagined having a child in the past, she didnt really have a good understanding of what she would do once she had one of her own. Hestias words made Vahn briefly remember their earlier discussion about regting things so they can get a better understanding of the situation. Since he was only 15, there was no rush to have arge number of children, especially considering that he might live in this record for hundreds of years...With a gentle expression on his face, Vahn stroked Hestias hair before lovingly kissing her forehead. She looked up at him with her crystalline blue eyes and they could see the love they shared between them. In a way, other than descending from Heaven to look after him, this was the first sacrifice Hestia was making to ensure Vahns happiness. It made her feel a little bit better about how often she had Vahn spoil her even when she clearly overstepped his boundaries sometimes... Before they got caught up in their own atmosphere, Loki leaned forward and stared at them with a mischevious expression. She had a big grin on her face as she said, "Oh no, please, dont mind me, I just want to see how the two of you kiss~! If you have any questions, Ill be willing to answer them~." Hestia had a fierce blushed on her face and pushed Vahns chest which caused him to nearly fall over since the wooden table was right behind his legs. However, as long as his feet were in contact with the ground, Vahn was able to use Shundo. Both Hestia and Loki tried to reach out to grab him as he disappeared from their sights before reappearing a few meters away. Since they hadnt expected him to suddenly vanish, both Hestia and Loki collided with each other before nearly falling on the table. Before they hit the hardwood surface, Vahn moved all the nearby furniture into his inventory and stepped forward to catch both goddesses in his arms. Even though less than two seconds had passed, there had been a huge change in the scene as a sequence of unexpected events yed out. Because he had grabbed them by the waist and caught them against his chest, Vahn decided to tease Loki while punishing Hestia a bit for nearly causing an ident to happen. Putting a bit of strength in his grip, Vahn grabbed the firm left cheek of Lokis butt while pressing his hand into the marshmallow softness of Hestias right cheek. Since they were leaning against him and had each other as shared supports, Vahn lifted up their bodies a bit and had a teasing smile on his face. Hestia was heaving and Vahn could feel her heart rapidly beating like a startled rabbit after feeling Vahns hand on her body. Loki, however, broke from her stupor quickly and whispered, "I dont mind staying like this for longer, but dont we have to go eat dinner eventually?" Hearing her words, Vahn ced them back on the floor before fixing the furniture and table. After everything was sorted out, Vahn asked onest time, "Hestia, are you absolutely sure about this?" Hestia, who had been focusing on calming down, heard Vahns words and startled a bit before firmly stating, "I made my resolve earlier, dont keep asking me to repeat the same things over and over! You should be mentally preparing yourself and expressing your gratitude for being able to take my first time~! Ive protected this v.i.r.g.i.nity of mine for..." Hestia almost shouted out her own age but suddenly faltered before stating, "For a long time! Make sure you treat me well or Ill make your life difficult from now on~!" Vahn knew that Hestia was one of only three goddesses in the western pantheon that had kept their v.i.r.g.i.nity, so he treated Hestias words very seriously and said, "Leave it to me, Ill make sure you never have any regrets for as long as I live Hestia!" Unexpectedly, Hestia kicked Vahns butt with her bare foot and shouted, "Youre giving me plenty of regrets already you dumb boy~! Make sure to make it up to me properlyter." Then before Vahn could recover, Hestia pointed toward Loki with her index finger and shouted, "From now on were partners as well Loki, so no more teasing me or Ill make sure you never have time alone with Vahn!" Without waiting for their responses, Hestia stormed out of the room and left the door open behind her as she made her way towards the dining room. Though she was surprised at first, Loki took on a thoughtful expression and stroked her chin as she said, "Ill only want to tease you even more if you say things like that you chibi goddess..." As if a thought came to her mind, Loki looked toward Vahn and said, "I might need your help with somethingter...dont freak out when the timees, okay?" Before he could ask, Loki waved her hand dismissively and said, "Dont worry, I know Hestia better than anyone...just leave it to me and support as best you can, okay?" Though Vahn wanted to ask, Loki didnt seem to be willing to tell him what she had nned. He knew her words about knowing Hestia best were true, but Vahn still said, "If she reacts badly, Ill put a stop to it instantly..." Loki shook her head and exined as if she knew what Vahn was going to say, "I already heard about the incident this morning, you shouldnt fool yourself into thinking Hestia is as naive and innocent as she acts at times. Just trust me on this one...Remember, your ability to see auras isnt as reliable as you might expect, especially when ites to gods and goddesses..." Vahns eyes opened a bit at Lokis words and he couldnt help but feel like he had actually overlooked something. He spent a lot of time with Hestia and trusted her deeply, but she did actually do things outside his expectations quite often...After a brief period of contemtion, Vahn nodded and gave Loki a serious look and said, "Youve done a lot for me Loki, so Ill trust you on this matter and do my best. Just understand that I care deeply for Hestia and dont want to see her hurt in any way..." Even though she knew Vahn was being serious, Lokiughed a bit and said, "Hestias position is too cemented in your life, Im not going to do anything to interfere with that fact. Trust me, Hestia wont be hurt at all..." Without continuing the conversation, Lokiughed in a strange manner before stopping at the door and looking back at Vahn. With a yful smile on her face, she whispered in a seductive tone, "Its something to look forward to..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gimme dat baby...,Small in different ways,Lokis Scheme) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 275 - Long Night (1/3)

Chapter 275 - Long Night (1/3)

(NSFW Btw...) Vahn followed behind not long after Loki had left the room. He had a thoughtful expression on his face intermixed with a bit of curiosity. Seeing the amount of confidence she had in her words, Vahn was wondering what Loki had in mind for the evening. The only thing he was certain about was that things were always somewhat more interesting when more people were involved. Ironically, it helped Vahn pace himself because he tried to show attention to everyone instead of losing himself in the moment with a single person. When he was with Hephaestus...things got a bit out of hand and she almost had to kick him out the next day because of it. The seating arrangements had been changed again since it looked like Loki had kicked Haruhime out of the spot where she was likely sitting earlier. Vahn saw she had a somewhat docile look on her face as she sat next to Fenrir and Preasia while Loki was acting in an unrestrained manner. When Vahn sat down and they started eating, the atmosphere got a little better but things were still somewhat awkward. For many of the girls, this was their first time meeting Loki and she hadnt been shy at all aboutplimenting the girls and even teasing them a bit. She especially liked to tease Fenrir, but Fenrir was having none of her behavior when Loki tried to say something to Preasia. She ced her paws on the table and sat forward and said, "Loki bad! Dont say mean things to Preasia!" Loki was informed about Preasia and would have normally kept to herself, but she had seen the look on the sheep girls face and the fact that she never looked away from Vahn was interesting to her. However, she realized Fenrir was very protective of the girl so she awkwardlyughed while drinking a small cup of wine that Vahn had given her earlier. Though she had heard about the girls that joined Vahns Familia, Loki was somewhat excited to see the variety of girls at the table. Since she had been abstaining ever since making her promise with Vahn, it was difficult to keep her old habits froming out when she was around him. She was actually about to sleep with both him and Hestia, so her tensions had been loosening a bit as she imagined any ys she might have with the girls present in the future. After dinner, everyone lounged about a bit while doing their own things before preparing to take a bath and go to bed. Mn and Haruhime had be the defacto leaders of the teaching people to read faction with their star pupils being Fenrir while Tina acted as an assistant. Mikoto had asked Ryuu for some pointers, so they went out back and were getting a bit of evening training in before taking a bath. The twins were learning to read while Preasia, who already knew how to read and write, was just sitting off to the side with a thick book in arge plush chair alone. As for Vahn, Hestia, and Loki, they were slowly starting their own preparations for theing night. Hestia had wanted to take a bath with Vahn, but Loki dragged her off to the womens side since none of the other girls were bathing yet so she could help Hestia prepare properly. She made a remark about potential dangers and things she needed to watch out for that werent appropriate for Vahn to hear so Hestia begrudgingly apanied her former rival. Since Vahn could detect their presence in the next room, he knew when they would be finishing up so he just enjoyed the heat of the bath while looking forward to theing night. By the time the other girls were beginning to show up in the bath, Loki and Hestia were on their way out and had been intercepted by Vahn who escorted them upstairs with a hint of giddiness in his step. When the finally entered the room, Loki actually pulled out a series of charms even though she clearly didnt have pockets to keep them. She saw Vahns curious look and yfully stuck out her tongue as she ced them around the four corners of the room. By the time she was done, Loki activated a barrier that caused the entire room to feel somewhat dense and Vahn realized it prevented sound from traveling more than a short distance through the air. Loki demonstrated the principle by looking over toward Vahn and Hestia, cupping her hands around her mouth, and yelling with enough force that she leaned her body forward and her face turned a little red. Even though they were only a few meters away, Vahn and Hestia didnt hear a single word, nor did they hear theughter of Loki until she walked within three meters of them. She said mischievously, "Now it wont matter how loud we are~." Vahn made a mental note to find out where she got the charms while Hestia was acting very jittery and had a blush on her face while holding the edges of her dress. Seeing her reaction, Loki turned to Hestia and stated clearly, "You have a choice to make, Hestia. You can either try to have a more normal interaction with Vahn and trust that hed treat you gently, or you can open yourself up a bit and interact with Vahn on a more meaningful level. Since its your first time, you have the option of treating it specially and wanting to enjoy the experience alone. However, if your first time is with another woman in the room, your expectations about s.e.x will probably undergo a big shift. Its not just me, but youll probably be involved with other girls in simr situations in the future...so, what will you choose?" Simr to their first meeting, Hestia ced her hands together as if she were praying to some unseen force and her body and aura slowly became stable. After she was calm, she looked into Lokis slightly revealed red and said, "I know Ill do a lot of selfish things in the future, so I want my first experience to change my expectations. I dont want to continue being a restriction on Vahn in the future, so Im not going to back down after I already made my decision." As she spoke, Hestias dress began to wilt away into white petals that decorated the floor around her feet. The only thing that remained was the blue ribbon under her b.r.e.a.s.ts, the ornaments in her hair, and the stark white panties around her h.i.p.s. Loki nodded her head and said, "Commendable resolve~! Since that is the case, Ill be leading things along so you dont end up getting hurt or doing something regrettable. Afterward, well, thats something to look forward to." As sheughed in a strange manner, Loki began to peel away her rtively skin-tight clothing. Starting from her boots, she kicked them off before sitting on the edge of the bed and removing her stockings. Looking over, she saw Vahn and Hestia staring and asked, "What are you two waiting for, an invitiation~? If you dont know what to do, you can help Vahn undress or just wait in the bed like a good girl." Her words finished, Loki wiggled out of her arm warmers before stripping off the thin cloth covering her nearly non-existent b.r.e.a.s.ts. She gave a nce to the side and saw Vahn take a peek and noticed he didnt have an adverse reaction at all so she released a small sigh of relief in her mind. Following Lokis advice, Hestia began to awkwardly help Vahn undress with slightly shaky hands even though Vahn could have simply unequipped his clothes to save her the trouble. On the bed, Vahn looked over and saw Loki give him a cheeky grin before sliding down her form-fitting shorts and revealing deep-blue underwear that was slightly transparent. Since Vahn wore somewhat loose clothes, it was easy to remove his tunic and, after he removed his shoes, the trousers were able to simply be dropped after his belt was loosened. The only thing that remained was the boxers he wore underneath his clothes so they both stood there in just their undergarments as Loki took the initiative and stripped hers off. Without any semnce of shyness, she propped one of her legs up on the bed to give the two a full presentation of her hairless genitals. Even though she was experienced, Loki almost looked like a v.i.r.g.i.n given the slight puffiness and clean nature of her mons pubis. There was a slightly enamored blush on her face as she asked, "Well, what do you think? I usually dont let people gawk so much, but Ill make an exception for the two of you." Vahn showed a slight smile that Loki hadnt expected and simply stated, "Youre beautiful." Her eyes opened slightly and she dropped her leg down before turning away and crawling toward the center of the bed. Calming herself, she said, "Lets get this started before things be too awkward." Vahn had stared at her somewhat toned backside as she was crawling away and, hearing her words, leaned a bit as he stripped off his own boxers. Hestia saw his actions and her eyes widened before stripping off her own panties in turn. Her nude figure, minus the nearly wless b.r.e.a.s.ts, had a somewhat dangerous look to it that made Vahn feel slightly ufortable. If not for the fact that she was literally more than a million times his age, he expected he wouldnt be able to follow through in the end. Before Vahn had finished taking in the sight of Hestias body, Lokimented, "Wow, I really cant help but envy your b.r.e.a.s.ts, Hestia." cing her hands on her chest, Loki pushed together her negligible mounds before sighing and shaking her head. When she removed her hands, Vahn saw that she had slightly peach colored n.i.p.p.l.es that matched the color of her lips. Though she didnt have much in the b.r.e.a.s.ts category to speak of, it wasnt as if she had none whatsoever. Perhaps inspired by Lokis words, but Hestia had a more confident look as she grabbed Vahns hand and eagerly pulled him along while saying, "Its okay, Vahn doesnt care about things like that at all~! Even if my b.r.e.a.s.ts are the best, other people have their ownmendable qualities." Since she hadnt expected Hestia to try to encourage her, Loki gave her a strange look as the two climbed into the bed next to her. She had a serious urge toment how awkward they were making things since she knew Vahn was at least a little experienced with women. Things would have gone a lot smoother if he was behaving more proactively, but Loki assumed it was likely due to her words about leading things along earlier. Since she had asked him to support her before dinner, he was probably already acting the role of a participant when he should be the one pushing them both forward. Loki realized she needed to find someone to teach Vahn properly or it would make matters more difficult for everyone in the future. She knew she couldnt be trusted to teach him, so Loki started juggling ideas around in her head as she helped Vahny on his back. Once Vahny down, Loki looked to Hestia and said, "Okay, I heard about your little charade this morning, so you should already have some idea of what to do. If you try to start off having s.e.x without the proper preparations, youll just end up hurting yourself. Unless you want Vahn to help you rx with a massage, the best method would be to let him make you orgasm a few times before you finally lose your v.i.r.g.i.nity. Ill also show you one method of how things are done..." As she spoke, Loki straddled Vahns h.i.p.s before cing her feet on the bed and presenting herself clearing to both Vahn and Hestia. Though she was very thin, Loki was actually the same height as Vahn and had a properly mature body, minus the b.r.e.a.s.ts. She had somewhat wide h.i.p.s and a firm butt that feltfortable when she was sitting on top of him. Other than the slightly puffy mound, Loki looked like a proper woman and had the air of someone very experienced with the situation. She motioned to Hestia and said, "Go ahead and straddle Vahns face; make sure you get your legs around his arms so he can support you if you fall over. Vahn, well, I think youll be able to manage on your own..." Her movements were awkward, but Hestia got into position over Vahn as she bashfully muttered, "Excuse me..." Though he lost sight of Loki, Vahn got a close-up of Hestias v.a.g.i.n.a for the second time today. There was a powerful smelling from her and Vahn notice that, though it wasnt much, Hestia was already beginning to show clear signs of arousal as a small moisture built up along the thin line of her v.a.g.i.n.a. From a ce where he couldnt see, Vahn heard Loki say, "Lean your body forward a bit and lower your waist so you dont cramp up. Dont worry, as long as you dont ce your full weight on him, Vahn should be fine. If things got really dangerous he could fling both of us off his body in an instant." As Lokis words fell, so too did Hestias h.i.p.s and there was a brief moment where she actually sat on his face which left damp feeling on his mouth and chin before Hestias body shot up. Lokiughed a bit and said, "Dont put all your weight on him, just lean forward a bit and...here, grab my hands." Hestias heart was already beating wildly in her chest after she dropped down onto Vahns face. She could feel his hot breath against her privates and it made her feel a powerful anxiety in her own body that was slowly beginning to build up with the rising heat of her abdomen. Seeing Loki hold out her hands, Hestia grabbed them and felt a little more stable since she didnt feel like she would fall over as easily. With a gentle smile on her face, Loki released one of her hands before moving her h.i.p.s back a bit and saying, "Vahn, make sure you treat Hestia gently down there for a long while...Ill be moving on to some more...educational things for her to see." Though it was a bit awkward, Vahn nodded his head and it came into contact with the small crevice that had begun to open slightly in front of his face. He could feel Loki grab his p.e.n.i.s while he supported Hestias h.i.p.s and opened up herbium and pulled her h.i.p.s a little closer to allow him to have easier ess to the interior. Hestias body flinched as Vahn began, once again, licking the inside of her v.a.g.i.n.a in a manner that made her heart ache a bit. She periodically clenched up as mild shivers of pleasure ran up her body while she red at Lokis actions in front of her. Loki had repositioned Vahns p.e.n.i.s in front of her v.a.g.i.n.a and stared at it for a moment before raising her h.i.p.s and cing the ns against the entrance of her v.a.g.i.n.a. Using the ns as a wedge, Loki arched her h.i.p.s a bit so that herbium and vestibule were visible. She pointed at the smaller hole and said, "This isnt a ce you should be concerned with, make sure to get the tip into the second hole underneath..." After seeing Hestia nod, Loki took several deep breaths before fixing the angle and very slowly rocked her h.i.p.s while lowering her waist. Every time she breathed out, she lowered her body a bit more until she had gotten about half-way. Since she was much more experienced than Hephaestus, taking Vahns full length wouldnt be an issue, but she didnt want to spook Hestia from the start. She was also curious about Vahns tolerance since she had heard Hephaestus talk about his stamina. Even though he twitched slightly, Loki noticed that Vahn didnt lose his focus at all as he continued to meticulously work away at Hestias defenses. Loki reached her hand out and grabbed Hestias free hand with her own as they leaned toward each other a bit. She had previously been leaning back so that Hestia could see everything clearly, but now Loki felt like her switch was on the verge of flipping and was growing a little impatient. After leaning toward Hestia close enough for their b.r.e.a.s.ts to touch, Loki lowered the rest of her waist and made smooth progress until her pelvis rested against Vahns. She released an extremely satisfied sigh against the top of Hestias b.r.e.a.s.ts and muttered, "Even if I wanted to, I dont think I could be with someone else after feeling like this..." Vahn actually wasnt the rgest person Loki had ever been with, but the somewhat flexible and thick nature of his p.e.n.i.sbined with the powerful heat were almost intoxicating to her. She could feel her w.o.m.b descend slightly even though the tip of Vahns p.e.n.i.s was already pressing into her cervix. From Vahns perspective, he could feel a very pleasant sensation, almost like an incredibly warm and firm glove wrapping around his p.e.n.i.s. Lokis insides were far different than anything he had ever experienced. Even though there was a pleasant firmness to her insides, they also felt incredibly soft and flexible, almost like he would be able to move at different angles than anything he had experienced before. He could even feel a pressure on his ns that was pressing down against him to the point where he could feel Lokis rampaging heartbeat. For several long seconds, Loki didnt move at all and just kept staring into Hestias watery eyes as she was pushed closer and closer to climax by Vahn. She was gritting her teeth a bit and breathing through her nose in order to hold down her own voice, even though there was a sound barrier around them. Hestia felt very embarrassed to have another person staring directly at her just a few inches away when she imagined the silly look that must have appeared on her face as she tried to resist the increasinglyrge pulse of pleasure that kept transmitting through her body. Vahn couldnt see what was going on, but he thought that Loki was taking things slowly to give Hestia time to adapt to the situation further. He continued to tirelesslyp up the increasing amount of fluidsing from Hestias interior while gently massaging the interior flesh near her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s. He wanted to see if he could make her orgasm without directly stimting the small bead and noticed he was getting increasingly closer to his goal as her insides writhed about slightly with her contractions. Hestia began to make a long, frustrated, sound from her nose that sounded like a repressed m.o.a.n as Vahn continued his efforts without a single moments reprieve for her. She felt like she was a container that had been filled uppletely and was about to overflow while also feeling incredibly embarrassed to have her former rival staring intensely into her face. She had tried to free her hands earlier, but Loki held on tightly and she had lost the strength to pull away after that. She just leaned her b.r.e.a.s.ts into Lokis body until she eventually couldnt get enough air just breathing through her nose. Just as she was about to overflow, Hestia released a gasp of air and, the moment she was about to breathe in to resist the urges from her own body, Loki leaned forward and inserted her tongue into her open mouth. Hestias eyes opened wide at the sudden kiss and dropped her guard for a moment which allowed Vahn to tip the ss that represented the pleasure that had built up inside of her. Hestia had the urge to gnash her teeth, but she could feel the slimy stimtion from inside her mouth and had an instinctive response to keep her mouth open. She breathed heavily through her nose while Loki continued to kiss her and Vahn ceaselessly extended the duration of the reverberations in her body. After several seconds, Hestias body was losing strength and she dropped her h.i.p.s a bit and absentmindedly returned a bit of Lokis invasive kiss. (A/N: Alternate Titles: N.a.k.e.d : Beautiful,Pettanko vs. Oppai,Passionate Loop) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 276 - Long Night (2/3)

Chapter 276 - Long Night (2/3)

Vahn felt Hestias h.i.p.s drop, so he stopped his efforts and just tried top up anything that wasing out of Hestias body without stimting her too much. Her insides were wriggling about and Vahn noticed that the contractionsing from her body were long with very brief windows of time where she would loosen up. He wondered what kind of feeling would be transmitted from her body to his p.e.n.i.s if they were to have s.e.x. Though he couldnt be certain, Vahn imagined it might be like a vice given how intense her reaction seemed to be. All the while this was going on, Vahn waspletely unaware of the joint attack of Loki above him. Loki continued to skillfully invade Hestias mouth in her stupor while supporting her body through their connected hands to keep her from falling over. When Hestia finally started toe down from her personal trip to space, Loki changed her approach from being intense to being exceptionally gentle. Without separating their lips, Loki slowly angled her head to the side and caressed the inside of Hestias mouth and tongue with her own in a slow, probing, fashion. Hestia had already absentmindedly responded to Lokis kiss earlier and was a bit distracted by the pleasant sensations attacking both sides of her body. By the time she returned to her senses, she noticed that Loki was suddenly treating her gently and realized that her own tongue had intertwined with her former nemesis. She embarrassingly pulled her head away and frowned as Loki whispered, almost inaudibly, "Rx, were not enemies Hestia...Im just trying to make this pleasant for you..." Without pushing any further, Loki pulled back her h.i.p.s a bit and said loudly, "Vahn, Im going to start moving now. Keep tending to Hestia, but be a little more gentle for the time being. Women are very sensitive after they just climaxed...Hestia, watch me closely..." Vahn heard Lokis words and, very gently, began to prod at the insides of Hestia that had be a lot hotter than they were previously. He could feel Loki reposition as the firm sensation of her insides suddenly be incredibly tight as she angled her body and tensed up. Vahn was momentarily surprised by the sensation and exhaled powerfully through his nose before taking a big whiff of Hestias scent. He could feel his brain buzz and a dizzying sensation overwhelmed his mind for a moment before he returned to normal. From his p.e.n.i.s, he felt Loki loosen up her body a bit before changing the angle and powerfully squeezing on his p.e.n.i.s again. He was more prepared this time, so Vahn rhythmically grits his teeth before continuing his efforts to ease the tension of Hestias body. Though she had rxed a lot, Vahn still felt like she wasnt ready for the next step. Every time she flexed her abdomen, Loki tightened the muscles in her anus and twisted her body a bit to stimte Vahns p.e.n.i.s inside of her. She was impressed with how resistant he was to stimtion since most boys would have audibly gasped or even released a bit of pre-ejacte since he had already been primed by how long they were connected earlier. With a somewhat devious look on her face, Loki turned her attention to Hestia and said, "Dont let me fall..." Though she didnt understand, Hestia nodded her head and Loki tilted back her body a bit. Repositing her feet so that she was squatting on the bed, Loki began to raise and lower her h.i.p.s while trying to find the most pleasant angle. Since she had a lot to work with, it wasnt that difficult and she began to release enamored m.o.a.ns that made Hestia blush as she stared into the flushed face of Loki. She would periodically look down to where she and Vahn were connected and could see that Lokis v.a.g.i.n.a had expanded much greater than she expected and she could easily take in Vahns rtivelyrger p.e.n.i.s. Though she had known it was possible, Hestia still had trouble believing the rumors and was only now confirming it with her own eyes. She didnt think any woman would have been able to stretch open so much, but also realized it made sense since women were capable of birthing pared to the full body of a baby, even Vahn seemed somewhat small. Vahn noticed that Hestia was beginning to loosen up a lot more but it was hard to focus with the literal attacking from Loki. She had found an angle that was very pleasant for him that dragged the underside of his ns along the interior of her v.a.g.i.n.a. Vahn could feel a slightly rougher, almost bumpy spot, where Loki would twist her waist and strike whenever she lowered her h.i.p.s. Every time she did so, Vahn could feel Lokis body vibrate slightly as the interior of her v.a.g.i.n.a mped up and she released a very sensual m.o.a.n that tickled his ears and made his heart race. After nearly ten minutes, Hestia began to tense up her body again and had lowered her head to resist the rising pleasure. Every time she did so, however, Loki would fall back a little and Hestia would pull her to prevent her from falling over. Loki would then give her a grateful smile as she continued her efforts for a while before saying, "Youve...gotta be...kidding me...Vahnnnnn~!" Though her own tolerance was high, Loki had been attacking her own weak spots while trying to forcibly make Vahn ejacte. She was beginning to get very frustrated because she had already had several small orgasms while he continued to go strong and only twitched slightly when she teased him. Vahn stopped his efforts a bit to try and answer Lokis words, but Hestia groaned, "Nooo...dont stop...you idiotttt..." Since she had been on the brink, the fact that Vahn suddenly stopped was agonizing for Hestia who wasnt that experienced with such matters. She felt like Vahn was teasing both her and Loki since she had never seen her in such dire straits before. Vahn opened his eyes slightly before grabbing Hestias h.i.p.s and continuing his efforts with a bit of extra attention to the three slightly tense spots he had identified as Hestias sensitive areas. Loki noticed Hestia started holding her breath a bit, so she leaned forward until they were right in front of each other and said in a voice loud enough for Vahn to hear, "Vahn...I need you to move...I need your h.i.p.s as much as you can..." Then, in a voice Vahn couldnt hear, Loki whispered quietly to Hestia, "Hestia...lets...do it together..." Because she had been holding her breath, Hestia panicked when Loki approached since she thought they would end up kissing again the moment she needed to breathe. When Vahn lifted his h.i.p.s in a jerking motion, Loki was pressed into her b.r.e.a.s.ts and their lips briefly touched as her weight dropped on Vahn a bit. Hestia began to panic because it was a different type of stimtion when Vahn was moving his h.i.p.s to collide with Loki. Every time he moved, Loki m.o.a.ned sensually in her ears with her face right next to hers. Hestia could feel her mind begin to nk from holding her breath, so she released a gasp on Lokis shoulder while preparing herself for theing attack. Instead, Loki just kept m.o.a.ning while leaning into her body and holding her hands tightly. Hestia was confused for a moment before Loki whispered sensually, "Together..." Vahn impacted Loki again and their lips briefly touched for a moment while Hestia drew long breaths with aplex expression on her face. She could feel herself reaching her own limits and noticed that Loki had an almost suffering expression on her face. Though their situations were very different, they were both sharing this experience with Vahn together...even though she was still trying to focus on just herself and Vahn somewhat. Vahn impacted Loki again and she fell forward for a slightly longer period of time and once again briefly kissed Hestia while opening her glossy eyes a bit. Hestia absentmindedly kissed Lokis lip before she pulled away and prepared for Vahns next thrust with an incredibly enamored look on her face. Loki opened her eyes slightly and licked her lips where Hestias tongue had touched earlier without breaking eye contact with the pair of hazy blue eyes. Hestia swallowed a bit of saliva and could feel Vahn moving as an expectation welled up inside her own heart. When the impact came, Loki fell forward and once again ced her lips against hers. This time, however, Hestia hesitantly returned the kiss and her already rampantly beating heart began to beat even faster. Instead of holding hands, as soon as Vahn dropped his h.i.p.s, Loki reached around and hugged Hestias body as they shared a passionate kiss with each other. Hestia timidly mirrored her actions and closed her eyes as if trying to escape reality a bit as she clung to the body of her former rival. From below, Vahn suddenly noticed that Lokis body had be a lot more stable so he pressed his feet to the bed and moved his h.i.p.s faster and faster since he was also approaching the peak of his own pleasure. He could feel Lokis body writing around his p.e.n.i.s and an incredible excitement built up inside of him at the prospect of having all three of them climax at the same time. The moment he was about to burst, Vahn clenched his butt tightly and resisted the urge until Lokis body began to mp down on him hard. He released his own tensions with one strong thrust while also stimting the insides of Hestia with a brief amount of energy from [Hands of Nirvana]. At the same time as an irresistible pleasure passed through his lower body, Vahn felt a waterworks on his face as both girls shared a strangely muted m.o.a.n above him. Vahn raised his h.i.p.s a few more times as a viscous and hot liquid dripped down from where he was connected with Loki. After several seconds, Vahn released a rxed sigh while the two girls above him supported each others bodies. Vahn felt a powerful sense of aplishment and enjoyed the scent of Hestia as he waited for the girls to calm down. A minute or so passed, and Vahn could feel both girls moving about a bit on top of him and he wondered about their strange reactions since it seemed to be somewhat odd. Though difficult, it wasnt impossible for Vahn to peak around so he titled his head and looked over Hestias butt and could see that they were both passionately making out on top of him. Vahns mind nked for a moment and he suddenly remembered Lokis words from earlier. He didnt know when they started, but she had somehow incited Hestia to kiss her and they seemed to be absorbed in the moment even after things had calmed down. Vahn suddenly felt very awkward and didnt want to be ignored so he said, "Umm..." Before he could say any actual words, Hestia broke out of her daze and dropped her but onto his face. Vahn could feel the heat from her moist v.a.g.i.n.a as she slid off his nose a bit and uttered in a shrill voice, "Waaaaaaaah, what are you making me do~!?" Loki shook her head and had a serious expression on her face as she said, "As I said, I was just making things more pleasant for you. Dont worry about minor details so much...you should be preparing yourself for whates next instead. That is unless you n on suffocating Vahn to avoid the matter altogether~? Hestia followed Lokis finger and realized she was literally suffocating Vahn with her own, surprisingly open v.a.g.i.n.a. She was briefly shocked at the flexibility of her own genitals until she suddenly raised herself from Vahns face and moved off to the side and said, "Vahn, Im sorry, please dont die~!" Vahn was actually able to hold his breath for several minutes, so he wasnt actually in any danger. Seeing Hestias fl.u.s.tered reaction, he began tough in a very happy manner which eventually spread to Loki. Hestia stared at the two of them with slightly furrowed brows because she felt like they wereughing at her. Loki stoppedughing first and took a deep breath before clenching the interior of her v.a.g.i.n.a as much as she could. Vahn stoppedughing and took a sharp breath which made Loki smile mischievously. She had seriously underestimated Vahns stamina, so she wanted to get a minor win against him after her resounding defeat. Keeping the tension of her v.a.g.i.n.a, Loki slowly raised her body and could feel her own inside distend a bit as if they were in danger of being dragged out by the invasive member. The moment she cleared the ns, there was an audible popping sound that could be heard by all three of them before Loki fell backward onto the bed and released a very satisfied sigh. Sheckadaisically said, "Vahn, you really have what it takes..." Vahn didnt know what she meant by her words as he sat up on the bed and stared at her n.a.k.e.d body. She hadnt bothered to close her legs, so Vahn could see an off-white fluid draining from her slightly open v.a.g.i.n.a that had turned a rosy blush while covered in an incredible amount of her own fluids. He could see Loki look toward him through her slightly open eyes and Vahn muttered his impression, "Beautiful..." Even though she had a slender body, Loki looked like a proper woman and, now that she had just made love with him, Vahn felt a little proud at seeing her tired, yet enamored, face and body. Loki covered her eyes with her forearm and dismissively said, "Yeah, yeah, youre a smooth talker. You need to focus your attention on Hestia now before her body calms down too much..." Because she could feel her heart twinge a bit from Vahns words, Loki covered her own expression and tried to ignore him since she was slightly afraid she might monopolize him regardless of Hestias presence. Though it wasnt the first time a man had whisperedpliments to her, it seemed a lot more genuine when it wasing from a stupidly honest boy like Vahn. With onest look at Lokis body, Vahn turned his attention to Hestia and saw she was bing increasingly nervous now that it hade down to the moment of truth. Her aura had been like a stable me earlier, but now it was like a chaotic wisp of fire that was on the verge of being extinguished by the wind. Vahn, as gently as he could, asked, "Are you ready Hestia?" Hestia took several deep breaths and stared up at him with her watery blue eyes but didnt answer his question at all. Vahn felt slightly unnerved with how small she was and suddenlycked the resolve he thought he had found earlier. He remembered Hestia telling him to not hold back and to go all the way, but he couldnt help but hesitate after seeing her current apprehensive appearance. Suddenly, a loud sigh came from his left and Vahn saw Loki climb up and re at him before crawling over to Hestia. Before Hestia could rationalize what was happening, Loki pushed down her body andid on top of her. Since there was a 25cm height difference between them, Loki was able to lean over Hestias body and cover her with room to spare. She pressed her legs under Hestias before raising her knees and holding their bodies together at a zero distance. Hestia fl.u.s.tered and tried to resist against Loki, but Loki leaned down and sealed her lips for a brief while as Vahn looked on with a shocked expression. He could see that Lokis slightly open v.a.g.i.n.a was pressing against Hestias as his own s.e.m.e.n dripped down from hers before sliding down the barely open crevice of Hestia. It was a dangerous sight, but Vahn was more confused by the fact that Loki had suddenly pinned Hestia without warning. He could see the chaotic aura of Hestia and was about to interfere before he noticed it had begun to rapidly stabilize so he awkwardly held out his hand without saying anything. After a few seconds had passed, Loki looked over her shoulder with slightly open eyes and said, "How long are you going to keep her waiting...?" Right before she had turned to speak to Vahn, Loki had pulled away from her kiss with Hestia and whispered, "Youre scared, thats fine...this is an important event for you...but Vahn is too nice to be able to take the initiative if youre afraid. Let me distract you for a bit and things will get a lot easier...dont be afraid Hestia..." Hestia had a somewhat fearful look on her face, but she feltforted by Lokis calm words so she nodded her head. She knew it was her fault that the situation had suddenly turned awkward, but Hestia also felt a small amount of resentment that Vahn had failed to follow through as he promised. Even if she hyped herself up, Hestia had been protecting her v.i.r.g.i.nity for millions of years, so it wasnt something she could easily give up even if it was to the boy she loved. Vahn suddenly felt ashamed after seeing Lokis look and moved over to get into position as she turned away and began gently kissing Hestias face outside of his line of sight. Since she had aligned their pelvises, Vahn couldnt see Hestias face since it was underneath Lokis chest. All he knew was that he had probably made a serious mistake and couldnt continue to falter now that Hestias aura had calmed down. He remembered Lokis words about auras not always representing someones true emotions and realized he might have hurt Hestia a bit. Angling his p.e.n.i.s, Vahn was briefly distracted by the two ovepping v.a.g.i.n.as since it was truly one of the most tantalizing sights he had ever seen. Taking a deep breath, Vahn spread Hestias v.a.g.i.n.a slightly with his fingers before finding the correct angle. He noticed her aura red up to a monstrous amount, but decided to stop hesitating as he leaned forward a bit and drove his h.i.p.s forward before wrenching open the incredibly tight entrance of Hestia. Since he hadnt expected it so soon, Vahn had driven past the resistive membrane that was located surprisingly close to the entrance of Hestias v.a.g.i.n.a beforeing to a dead end after only 10cm of his p.e.n.i.s had entered into Hestia. Hestia literally shrieked at the intrusion as Loki rolled off her body so she and Vahn could see each other. The moment they made eye contact, Hestia loudly shouted, "Vahn, hold me, please, it hurts so much!" Hestia had tears in her eyes and her aura was more turbulent than anything Vahn had ever seen before. Without hesitating, he leaned down and embraced Hestia powerfully as she sobbed in his chest. She loosely hugged his shoulders and kept repeating, "It hurts...it hurts..." Vahn felt terrible at causing Hestia so much pain so he began trying to soothe her by gently stroking the back of her head and saying, "Its okay Hestia...Im here...I love you...its okay..." Loki sat with her legs crossed from the side and nodded her head beforeying down on the bed and staring at the ceiling. She muttered to herself in a voice neither of them could hear, "Vahn really needs a mentor...and a teacher...maybe Tsubaki?" With thoughts running through her head, Loki decided to take a short nap since she was actually quite exhausted. She expected it would take a while for Vahn to tend to Hestia and didnt want to feel like a third wheel as she watched them awkwardly make love to each other. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Awakening,Lokis Defeat,Loki x Vahn : Bromance!?) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 277 - Long Night (3/3)

Chapter 277 - Long Night (3/3)

For several agonizing minutes, Vahn continued to console the crying Hestia who had started to put more strength into her grip. She had moved her hands from his shoulders to Vahns neck even though she wasnt tall enough to easily hold him from her current position. If not for the fact that Vahn was arching his back slightly, Hestia would most likely have to hug around his chest or shoulders since she was only 140cm tallpared to Vahns 165cm. She had stopped repeating how painful the situation was and instead began regting her breathing. Vahn stroked the side of Hestias face and kissed her gently on the lips, but she didnt respond to his kiss at first and just turned her head sideways a bit as if refusing further kisses. Though he knew she didnt hate him, Vahn couldnt help but feel that Hestia was building a wall around her heart at the moment. Shifting his hand from her face, Vahn reached toward where they were connected and tried to use [Hands of Nirvana] to ease her pain, but Hestia instantly red at him with fierce eyes and said, "Dont you dare take this from me! Grrrrrr, Vahn, you big fat idiot~!" Hestia released Vahns neck and covered her eyes with her forearms and began to cry, this time in sadness instead of pain. Hestias words smashed into Vahns brain like a ton of bricks dropping from the top of Babel Tower. In the time when his mindpletely nked, all the reasons behind what Hestias words could mean shed through his mind and Vahn realized that, even though it was painful, Hestia ced a lot of importance on this moment and didnt want to do anything to make things easier. He remembered her earlier words about not hesitating and yet, once again, he had hesitated after her pained outburst. Vahn realized that he had made a big mistake when treating Hestia like a normal v.i.r.g.i.n girl since her v.i.r.g.i.nity had been nurtured over millions of years and not one-to-two decades. While other girls ced some significance on it, Hestia had been defined by hers for an almost unfathomable amount of time... Gritting his teeth briefly, Vahn threw aside his inhibitions as he leaned down and ced his forehead into the pillow next to Hestias head. He whispered in a firm tone, "Hestia, I love you...Im going to move now. Bear with it..." Without responding orally, Hestia nodded her head but still continued to hide her teary eyes behind her arms. Vahn saw her aura actually stabilized a bit and it gave him a lot more confidence in his current actions. Even though he might not be able to understand everything from her aura, Vahn could see the obvious signs if something was going well. Vahn hadnt been paying attention to it previously, but now that he was preparing to move he realized that Hestias insides were invible with their tightness. Not only did it seem impossible to enter, but now it seemed impossible to exit. If not for his high endurance, Vahn imagined it would have actually been painful to stay inside of Hestia without moving if he were a normal person. Now that he had achieved the impossible and broke through her chastity, Vahn wasnt going to back down so he clenched his teeth again and tried pulling his h.i.p.s back with a slowly increasing amount of force. It got to the point where Hestias vulva had distended and clung to his p.e.n.i.s for a few centimeters which made Vahn fearful that something catastrophic might happen. Even now, his inserted p.e.n.i.s hadnt been loosened up on at all and Vahn was genuinely concerned he would injure Hestia if he kept trying to remove his ns from her insides. Finally, right when he was about to give up, Vahn nearly slid out all at once which caused Hestia to cry out painfully before biting her lip and stifling her own cries. Vahn instantly realized she was trying to spur him onwards by trying to hide her own pain... Though he didnt often curse, Vahn couldnt help but swear in his mind while screaming, Dammit at the top of his imaginary lungs. He might be able to alter his size over the course of a few days, but there was no way to change things at the moment. Vahn also suspected that Hestia might me him if he tried to make things any easier on her. Mustering up his courage, Vahn grabbed Hestias wrists and pulled them away from her eyes. He could see her pained expression and tear-stained face as he said, "Hestia, kiss me...dont focus on the pain, just focus on our kiss. Leave everything to me and dont resist no matter how hard it gets..." Without waiting for her response, Vahn ovepped his lips with Hestia and inserted his tongue as deeply into her mouth as he could manage. She began to return his kiss passionately as Vahn lifted her right leg with his left hand while also grasping her left b.r.e.a.s.t with his right hand. Though she tried to gasp, Vahn continued to seal Hestias lips as he used [Hands of Nirvana] to fondle her b.r.e.a.s.t with a bit of strength in his fingers. She had inexplicably soft b.r.e.a.s.ts that were incredibly malleable and Vahn could almost grab them from any angle without difficulty. He rolled her n.i.p.p.l.e with his thumb and sent waves of stimtion into her muscles while feeling the rapidly beating heart of Hestia through his palm. Hiking up her right left even further, Vahn re-inserted himself into the invible depths of Hestia. She m.o.a.ned a painful intonation but didnt break away from the kiss and instead wrapped her arms under Vahns armpits and grasped the hair on the back of his head with a death grip. Though it was painful, Vahn knew it wasnt a fraction of what Hestia was going through so hepletely ignored the mild ache from the back of his head. Vahn noticed that the vice-like grip of Hestias v.a.g.i.n.a hadnt faded at all, but now he could feel a throbbing sensationing from where they were connected as a heat slowly began to spread from her insides into his p.e.n.i.s. Vahn understood that the throbbing sensation was her v.a.g.i.n.a slowly trying to ease up as her arousal continuously began to build. The problem was, it wasnt happening fast enough because of the size difference between Hestias interior and his invading member. Since the interior of the v.a.g.i.n.a could more than double during arousal, Vahn knew things would get easier for Hestia if he could get her more excited. Noticing the pink aura clinging to his body, Vahn suddenly had an epiphany as he spread his own domain to match the confines of the room. During his testing and forging, Vahn realized that, though he couldnt stop it from expanding out as a sphere, he could prevent it from traveling through objects if he wished. He had experimented with using it to physically push things in the past using this technique, and now he was using it to increase the density of his aura by constraining it to the room. Everything within the room shook slightly as a formless energy began to appear within the air. Even Loki woke up and looked around the room with wide eyes but kept her silence. Vahn pulled away from Hestia and stared into her deep blue eyes and said, "Hestia, use your Divinity...Ive sealed this spacepletely." Hestia thought Vahn was trying to do things in a roundabout manner for a moment but couldnt understand what activating her Divinity would do. After a brief hesitation, she calmed herself from the intense pain and spread her own aura that began to intermingle with Vahns domain within the room. She suddenly felt a strange feeling in her body as two forms of energy entered inside of her... When Hestias pink aura had spread through his body, Vahn could feel a powerful arousal rise up inside of him but it was held back by his [Will of the Emperor]. Instead, he absorbed the energy through his pores and used [Yddrasils Favor] to redirect it and imbue the energy into his [Hands of Nirvana]. Ever since his first experience with Hephaestus identally stimting him in the past, Vahn had been curious about how others auras could influence each other. Vahn realized that, since the energy spread through his body and was powerful enough to influence him, he should be able to channel the energy as well and imbue it into his own techniques. Though he didnt realize it, Vahn was actually following the same core principle that would have allowed him to learn the [Magia Erebea] from Eva in the orb. He was using a foreign energy, absorbing it into his body, and then converting it into a form he could use by leveraging his own body as a conduit... Instead of her aura sending Vahn into a state of arousal, Hestia was experiencing her own emotionspounding through Vahns right hand that was massaging her b.r.e.a.s.t. Her heart rate was already beating faster than a stethoscope could detect, but it seemed to increase marginally as a heat spread through her body. She didnt know what was happening, and the pain was still there, but Hestia was slowly beginning to feel an incredible excitement rising in her own body. She put more strength into her grip as a reddish aura that emphasized the use of her divine power spread across her body. The pained looked in her eyes slowly faded as a slightly enamored look took its ce. Vahn could feel Hestias body heating up as her hair slowly began to float around them. The throbbing from inside her v.a.g.i.n.a still continued, but now Vahn felt a pleasant moisture apanying the vice-like grip of her insides. Removing his hand from her b.r.e.a.s.t, Vahn stroked Hestias face and said, "I love you..." Sealing her lips, Vahn redoubled his efforts and actually managed to slide out from the interior of Hestia with marginally less difficulty than before. Though she still m.o.a.ned in a painful manner, Vahn could hear the undertones of pleasure as her throat hummed slightly. The longer their embrace continued, the easier it was for Vahn to move, even though his actual progress into her insides wasnt that far. He had initially only gotten about 10cm into Hestia, and now he was around 13cm and it didnt seem to be increasing much at all. Though it was a strange sensation, since half his p.e.n.i.s was normal while the other half was being squeezed like a vice, Vahn ignored it and continued to kiss Hestia who had begun to return his advances with a moderately passionate response. He wasnt sure how much time had passed, but Vahn suspected it was close to half an hour when Hestias Divinity slowly began to fade as a somewhat exhausted look appeared on her face. She had a fierce blush and had seemed to be enjoying herself since her painful cries had turned into pleasured gasps. Hestia was in an incredibly aroused state because of the influence of her own aura that had been channeled through Vahn, but he realized that she didnt seem to be nearing climax even though her vice-like insides had loosened up with a slippery moisture allowing for easier movement. Without knowing when she had arrived, Loki spoke out from Vahns right in a casual tone, "Its not easy for a girl that just lost her v.i.r.g.i.nity to orgasm from just their v.a.g.i.n.a. Especially since they would be a bit numb with someone of your caliber being their first partner. Even if she doesnt want it, you need to stimte her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s or thisll only be painful after a while." Vahn stared into Hestias dazed expression and saw her close her eyes in expectation so he reached down, after using his left arm to support his body, and used his index finger to rub the small nub at the top of where he and Hestia were connected. He didnt immediately use [Hands of Nirvana], because he wanted to ensure that the experience was more genuine even though he had relied on a bit of a loophole earlier. Vahn noticed that the more he stimted the little bundle of nerves, the greater the amount lubricating fluid was emitted from Hestias v.a.g.i.n.a. It wasnt a new revtion, but Vahn was surprised by how quickly her body was beginning to respond and he was even able to slip slightly deeper into her interior. Hestia began to let outbored breaths that were intermixed with pleasant sighs as Vahn maintained a steady and rhythmic pace with his h.i.p.s. Other than when he experienced emotional and mental strain, Vahn could continue almost tirelessly without rest and only changed his movements depending on Hestias reaction. Just like Loki had done, except this time it was by his efforts, Vahn was looking for a pleasant area within Hestias insides. Though she still gripped the half of his p.e.n.i.s like a vice, Vahn was able to angle himself a bit as if he were exploring the interior for a hidden treasure. Suddenly, as if by apletely random coincidence, Hestia released a loud sound while sucking in a breath of air. Her breath was immediately followed by a strange gasp and Vahn tried recalling his movements as he pulled back his h.i.p.s and tried finding the exact same angle. While continuing to stimte her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s, Vahn pressed his h.i.p.s forward at the assumed spot and Hestia immediately opened her eyes and shouted, "Thats no good~!" before releasing a strange squeaking gasp. As if to refute her words, Loki spoke out again and said, "There is usually a sensitive spot following the nerves of the c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s that runs parallel to the urethra...if you can keep hitting that area shell probably climax very quickly. Dont worry, she might think that she is losing her mind, but shell be okay in the end..." Hestias eyes widened and she said in an urgent manner while still clinging to Vahn, "Vahn, dont listen to this little demon! I definitely wont be fine~!" Vahn was surprised by how much energy Hestia suddenly had since she had been somewhat lethargic and tired while releasing gasping m.o.a.ns earlier. Vahn squinted his eyes and said in a soothing voice that sounded evil from Hestias perspective, "Itll be okay, Ill keep you from flying away and hold you until youe back to your senses..." Vahn knew that the best way to bring an end to this was to make things as pleasant as possible for Hestia and overwrite any of the pain she might have felt earlier. As if she wanted to refute his im, Hestia opened her mouth but had her lips sealed by Vahn as he pinned her leg firmly to the bed. Her aura red up as if she were going to explode as Vahn found the correct angle and mercilessly attacked the dangerous spot inside of her. Hestia began to release a continuous squeaking m.o.a.n and tried moving her h.i.p.s to counteract Vahns attack but wasnt nearly strong enough to resist his urate strikes. Every time Vahn hit that spot with his precise strikes, Hestia felt a wave of vibrations spread up her body and she felt like her insides were crawling with ants and electricity. Vahn felt Hestias insides begin to writhe powerfully so he increased his own piston was easing the tensions that he had maintained to keep himself from ejacting for thest few minutes. Hestia managed a high-pitched squeal while they continued to kiss and she began pping his back in a panic but Vahn continued his precision assault until her vice-like v.a.g.i.n.a mped down on him with an immense force that made him immediately ejacte. The force was so strong that he had actually been stopped mid-stroke by Hestia and moved her body upwards without being able to enter a single millimeter further. Hestia felt such an intense climax that she couldnt form any words as a high-pitched sound emerged from her throat and out of her nose while she squeezed Vahns body as if she was trying to fuse with him. If not for her b.r.e.a.s.ts acting as a cushion, she had a slight notion deep within the recesses of her mind that she might have seeded in the attempt. From the side, Loki watched things y out with a fervent expression of interest on her face. She had seen the technical prowess of Vahn and how he was able to effortlessly target the same point even when someone resisted. Loki felt like, even if she didnt take control and just entrusted her body to him...she would probably be able to experience something entirely brand-new. Because of the amount of s.e.m.e.n ejacted from Vahn, he actually began to feel a small amount of pain since he couldnt move his p.e.n.i.s at all and the pressure continued to increase inside of Hestia. Though he was intrigued about it whenever he was licking her earlier, Vahn now had a bit of fear for the ridiculously strong pressureing from her rtively diminutive body. He felt like her v.a.g.i.n.a was somehow trying to punish his p.e.n.i.s for daring to take her v.i.r.g.i.nity. Things got so bad that Vahn couldnt help but furrow his brows which caused Loki to ask, "Eh~? Whats with that reaction?" Tilting her head behind Vahn, Loki saw his p.e.n.i.s inside of Hestia and she could actually see it squeezing the portion of Vahns p.e.n.i.s still stuck inside. Her eyes widened at the realization that Vahn probably couldnt even move at all. After nearly two minutes of increasing difort, Hestias body began to rx and she fell powerlessly from his neck against the bed. She had a wavering light in her crystalline blue eyes and a slightly opened mouth while her fiercely flushed face was covered in ayer of sweat. The moment she let go of him, Vahns p.e.n.i.s actually almost flopped out of Hestia because of the pressure that was suddenly released. Loki had been staring at their connecting point and nearly took a shot of s.e.m.e.n to the face with how forcefully Hestias v.a.g.i.n.a closed. She stared at the liquid nkly before falling onto the bed and cackling like a maddened hyena. Vahn was just relieved to have been shown leniency by the dangerous organ so he released a sigh as he stroked Hestias face lovingly before kissing her in a gentle manner. When he separated from her, at nearly the same time, they both said, "I love you..." It would have been an incredibly touching moment if not for theughing demon behind them who continued herughing fit for nearly three whole minutes. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Loves Bears All Pains,Technical Prowess,PLOP~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 278 - Be Water My Friend

Chapter 278 - Be Water My Friend

Once Loki finally stoppedughing, she looked over at Hestia and Vahn cuddling together before yawning and moving to the edge of the bed. Vahn noticed her actions and kissed Hestia on the forehead before asking, "Are you not going to stay longer?" Since Vahns bed was veryrge, Loki had her backside to him as she crawled away. She looked over her shoulder and wiggled her butt before saying, "There are people always watching the movements between the Hestia Familia and the Alliance. If I stay the night, itll cause even more problems when there is already a lot of things on our tes." Loki jumped out of the bed and began to wear her clothes, starting from her leggings. Vahn watched her actions and frowned a bit because he knew her words were urate. Before he said anything though, Loki turned around while wearing nothing but ck stockings and said, "As I said, I dont want to step on Hephaestuss toes, so Ill probably stop by again after a week or two passes. As long as I get a baby in the oven before the Denatus, everything should progress smoothly." When Loki was speaking, she rubbed her stomach with a seductive look in her slightly opened eyes. Vahn released a sigh before wiping down Hestias unconscious body and tucking her into the covers after he reced them with a new set. Loki continued to dress and would asionally look over to see Vahn meticulously performing the after-care while being attentive to the sleeping Hestia. She felt a little jealous but slid her shorts overtop the panties she had worn earlier. When she finally finished dressing, by wearing her arm warmers, Loki popped her neck and rubbed it a bit before heading towards the door. Because she had been far away for a while, Loki couldnt hear Vahn approach her from behind and didnt notice his presence until he ced his arm gingerly around her hip. She looked to her right and gave him a curious gaze as he said, "Ill at least apany you part of the way..." Vahn didnt feel like it was right to just let Loki leave with such a strange atmosphere around her. His words caused Loki tough as she ovey her hand atop the one Vahn had put around her waist. When they got to the foyer, Loki peeled his fingers away before stopping in front of Vahn and staring directly at him. Because they were the same height, their gazes matched perfectly and Vahn felt a small amount of inspiration as he wrapped his hands around Lokis lower back before holding her close and kissing her lips. It wasnt nearly as passionate as their earlier kisses, but Vahn felt like there was a lot more emotion in their embrace. Just as he was thinking about teasing her a bit, Vahn felt Lokis hands grab his own butt and he snorted through his nose andughed a bit. Without hesitating further, Vahn slid his hands down and gripped the toned and springy butt of Loki and held her body up against his in an awkward fashion. After a couple of seconds passed, Vahn set Loki back down and she released a hot sigh before pushing away his chest. Before she left into the cold night air, Vahn gave her a warm cloak event though she could resist the chill with her own powers. Loki wore it with a cheeky grin on her face before saying, "The next time, we should do things privately, maybe with a bit of wine and a warm atmosphere~! Ill leave it to you to prepare everything, so make sure youe up with something interesting before then." Just after she opened the door, Loki looked back and squinted at Vahn onest time before heading out into the dark night. When she finally left, Vahn released a sigh and shook his head because he wasnt sure what to think when it came to Loki at all. He felt like he could trust her, but also knew it was her nature to scheme and eventually deceive those that did. Vahn wasnt sure where the line between truth and lie blurred, but he believed that Loki would act in his interests since he was aware of her hearts desire. Even if herpulsion made her take actions to trick others, Vahn knew she couldnt trick her true desire and change the foundation of her own character so easily. With the thought that there wasnt much he could do besides remaining vignt, Vahn began to absentmindedly n his next private meeting with Loki... Since Hestia was exhausted from the long session and the intense stimulus, she had entered a deep state of unconsciousness but Vahn was happy to see she had a smile on her face as she clung to the pillow next to her. The moment heid down, even though she was both tired and asleep, Hestia seemed to have detected his warmth and climbed atop his body while still n.a.k.e.d. While marveling once again at how light and soft Hestias body was, Vahn pulled the covers up to her shoulders and gently cradled her as he too went to sleep. The next morning, Vahn awoke in a slight daze before quickly regaining his senses and looking down into the glimmering blue eyes of Hestia who was supporting her face with her hands and staring at his face with a gentle smile. Before he could tell her good morning, Hestia shifted her body, grabbed the sides of his face, and began to kiss him in a very proactive manner. Vahn held her waist loosely and they continued their embrace for nearly a full minute before Hestia pulled away, still holding his face, and said, "Vahn, I love, love, love you~!" Seeing her excited and happy expression, Vahn smiled and said, "I love you, Hestia, thank you..." As Vahns words finished, Hestia gripped his head tightly and hugged his face into her b.r.e.a.s.ts as she made a happy squeal while nuzzling against the top of Vahns head. It took quite a while for Hestias affections to stabilize and she only stopped when Vahn said, "We should take an early bath before the training begins. I dont mind too much, but its a little embarrassing when the girls give me strange looks." Though she hadnt been there for the incident, Hestia had heard about it previously and also felt somewhat embarrassed by the fact. After snuggling up for a bit longer, they both made their way to the onsen and shared a small pool together. Hestia yelped a bit when she entered the hot water, but shook her head when Vahn offered to help ease her pain. Though she didnt re at him like the previous night, Hestia said in a very serious manner, "I want to experience everything...it makes me feel like a normal girl that has dedicated everything to the man she loves." Afterward, Vahn gently tended to and washed her body while acting very lover-dovey with a gentle Hestia. She didnt act nearly as spontaneous or clingy and just enjoyed his care with a peaceful and loving smile on her face. Once the bath was finished, Hestia returned to the room to sleep for a bit longer while Vahn went into the backyard and began training with the girls. Mn and Tina were present, though they would be leaving after the training ended to return to the Hostess of Fertility with Ryuu and Fafnir escorting them along. They usually stayed in the girls dorm during the week while working in the pub during the afternoons. Though there wasnt a real need for them to do so, Mn and Tina got along well with the girls there and enjoyed the environment so Vahn didnt have anyints. Most of the girls there, other than Syr, were between Level 3 and 6 while there was a lot of support behind the scenes that kept everyone inside protected. Since Vahn didnt participate in the basic training that Ryuu was having the girls undergo, Vahn was off to the side watching and performing his own routine. Since it was difficult to increase parameters without gaining exillia, the only purpose behind training was to enhance technical skills and master things like magic and abilities. It was also a good opportunity to train martial skills by sparing with other people and increasing yourbat awareness while developing and honing your senses. The best example was someone like Mikoto, who also trained alone off the side. She would hold her katana in a very stable stance while focusing her mind and breathing to an intense degree. The moment when it felt like her presence had reached the peak, she would immediately strike out with an incredibly fast sh of her de while trying to cut through the wooden pirs that had been nted in the ground in her personal area. Vahn could see that her actual technique was incredible, but it took her way too long to increase her focus and she would often waver in her actual strikes. Though she had incredible mental discipline, there seemed to be a feeling of hesitation every time she brandished her de. Vahn felt somewhat inspired by her discipline and wondered if he should work on improving his own sword abilities. Though he didnt have any techniques like Mikoto, Vahns [Swordsman] skill was Rank A and he had a very high adaptability when using the sword inbat. Since he usually fought using his instincts and Innate abilities, Vahn had never really needed to learn actual techniques since he had been trained specifically by Tsubaki to adapt to anything. Developing actual styles gave you incredible potential, but it also made you less fluid when actually fighting against enemies that didnt conform to the rigidity of your style. Vahn kind of wanted to convince Mikoto to focus more on actual fighting instead of just practicing a theoreticalbat style that left gaps in her movement and made her attacks predictable. Though it wasnt a fairparison, Vahn couldnt help but recall the sword dance of Tsubaki and how it flowed like an incessant current while Mikotos attacks were very precise but inflexible. Perhaps it was the difference between a Level 5 peak adventurer with a lot of experience versus a Level 2 adventurer who was still just a very young woman. Even though her body was maturing rapidly, Mikoto will still only fourteenpared to Tsubakis thirty-six years of age. However, since there were girls like Tiona, Tione, and Ais, who were far stronger than Mikoto, Vahn knew it wasnt necessarily the age of a person that determined their strength... After watching her movements for a bit longer, Vahn pulled out therge katana he had purchased a long time ago when he first went weapon shopping with Lili. Because the weapon was rather weak, Vahn had never really used it in the past and never had any need to rely on it during his actual fights. Since Vahn could detect even the minor movements of Mikotos muscles when he focused his attention, he could almost emte her form perfectly after a little practice. He even tried copying her breathing and could feel that his mind became somewhat calmer and he could feel the oxygen-rich blood flowing through his body. Vahn continued to focus his mind while emting Mikotos stance and felt the different sensations in his body to try and find any ws that seemed obvious. The very first thing he noticed was that there was a severe restriction to any sidewards mobility since he was focusing a lot of his weight on toes of his left foot while relying on his back foot as a pivot, likely to deflect any approaching des. Vahn realized the stance was excellent for fighting against other swordsmen, but it would be very difficult to apply to other forms ofbat. Perhaps the biggest weakness, however, was the fact that the stance seemed to be more responsive than actually offensive in form. Though he could see from Mikotos strikes that there was a powerful force in the shes, Vahn noticed that it would be next to impossible to chain together the attacks without fixing his stance first. This created a gap in his movements and made it difficult to adapt if his opponent was even slightly faster than he was. Though he hadnt paid it any mind at first, Vahn was aware that Mikoto was focusing her attention on him and had even sheathed her sword with a serious expression on her face. Vahn took several slow and steady breaths and, instead of holding the katana in front of him with two hands, he adopted a loose stance while lowering the katana toward the ground. Instead of tensing and focusing his body, Vahn continued to breath used the method he observed from Mikoto while switching his weight from his toes and even distributing it on both feet. With just a slight shift of his body, Vahn could use either foot as a pivot for the next set of actions and, when he finally felt like he had achieved a proper fluid state, Vahn moved his body toward one of the wooden pirs. Since Vahn lead with his body, instead of the katana, it looked like a motion full of gaps but Vahn knew he would be able to change direction instantly if necessary. Shifting his weight, Vahn leaned in with his shoulder as the katana trailed slightly behind his movements as he let the tip of the de flow naturally from his right hand, across the front of his body, and angled toward the ground. Using his shoulder to control the rotation, Vahn red his arms until the motion traveled through his elbow and began to elerate forward until his tensionless wrist followed the motion as well and he cut through the wooden pir in front of him with a beautiful arc. Vahn smiled before swiping the katana down as if he were dislodging any blood that might have marred the de if his opponent had been a living entity. After he put the katana away in his inventory, Vahn nodded politely toward Mikoto and said casually, "Attacks should flow like water or move about freely like the wind. If you focus too much of your attention on practiced movements, you wont be able to adapt to changes in the situation if your opponent is stronger and faster than you are. There are also monsters that have higher durability and powerful strength that wouldnt give you the time to disy your techniques..." Mikoto had an especially serious look on her face as she bowed low and said, "Thank you for your guidance!" Vahn saw her overly serious response and shook his head slightly before sighing, "A sword is motionless without the intent of its user to swing it. If you maintain such a rigid personality, it will reflect in your swordsmanship..." Taking a deep breath, Vahn pulled at the katana again and faced toward the sky as if he werent focusing his attention on anything in particr. Shifting his weight almost imperceptibly, Vahn used Shundo before taking a fewcent steps and disappearing again. Mikoto watched his movements with a shocked expression on her face as the other girls in the training area also looked over. By the time Vahn had repeated his actions eight times, he threw the katana back into his inventory before looking at everyone in the area with a smile on his face. Without saying anything, Vahn sat down on the ground and began to meditate, pleased with his actions because he thought he had acted cool in front of everyone. Though his movements and attacks seemed impressive, Mikoto had an incongruous feeling in her heart as she walked over to the closest wooden pir that Vahn had attacked earlier. At first nce, it seemed to be untouched but as soon as Mikoto touched it, it fell over with an almost wlessly cut surface. Compared to her own attacks, which always left a slight wavey pattern in the wood, Vahns attacks were much more precise even though they seemed almostckadaisical in their execution. Mikoto had neverpared her strength to Vahn before, but she suddenly realized that there was also a monstrous gap in their skill and technique as well. The worst part was, up until he vanished, Mikoto could see all of his movements clearly...this indicated that his initial attacks werent something that was beyond her parameters to execute... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Loki Doki Doki,Hestias Shift In Mentality,Vahns Chuuni Phase Acting Up) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 279 - Intrigue : Changes

Chapter 279 - Intrigue : Changes

Vahn continued to meditate quietly, but he kept part of his attention focused on everyone around him. He had somewhat expected Mikoto to ask him questions, but he could sense that she had moved off to the side and was trying to swing her katana with one hand as if she were ring her in a whipping motion. Vahn smiled slightly but couldnt help but remark internally about how serious she was acting while trying toprehend his attacks on her own. Moving his eyes a bit, Vahn watched the other girls training and used [Eyes of Truth] to stare through his own eyelids to observe them more clearly. Though he could see they had a fair amount of potential, most of the girls had never really trained before and all of their movements were clumsy and awkward. Other than Fenrir, Haruhime actually had the fastestprehension of everyone and Vahn could see the subtle influence of dance in her steps. He suspected that she would actually be able to learn fluid movement faster than Mikoto if she put in the effort. Since Vahn felt like Ryuu and Tsubakis movements were always very fluid, he knew it was the correct route for people that werent overly reliant on power. Of course, there were exceptions, since Tiona was also very nimble and light on her feet while having an almost monstrous level of strength. After their training finished up, the girls went off to enjoy a bath while Vahn got a head start on cooking breakfast alongside Mn. He enjoyed the warmth in the atmosphere when it was just the two of them cooking together, even though Preasia sat in a chair off to the side and watched them silently. Tina and the twins, Emiru and Maemi, showed upter and helped prepare the remaining dishes and they all ate together. Hestia was still upstairs sleeping, so Vahns sides were taken by Ryuu and Haruhime and the overall atmosphere was very pleasant. Though it was still early, Mn and Tina left for the Hostess of Fertility with Ryuu and Fafnir in the shadows. Unless something changed, theyd be staying at the dorm until the weekend came around again and Ryuu would be apanying them unless Vahn needed her assistance. Of course, this didnt mean they couldnte to visit as it was only about a twenty-minute walk at a normal pace. Ryuu could cover the distance in around five minutes if she ran at her with the assistance of her magic and they could even use Fafnir in the event of an emergency and cover the distance in less than thirty seconds. Though it didnt get to use it much, Fafnir was capable of reaching around 4100km/h and flew like a bullet through the air once it got up to speed. Since Hestia wasnt around to stop them, both Haruhime and Preasia followed Vahn to the library but kept to themselves as all three of them read books in silence. Haruhime did sit on the same sofa, but she was trying not to distract Vahn since he was supposed to be rxing. Preasia sat a little bit away from the two and would nce from over the top of her book at Vahn without trying to be obvious. Of course, her movements were very noticeable since they were somewhat unnatural to begin with. Vahn had very high perception and awareness of his surroundings, so her attempts to hide her actions were fruitless. Vahn knew it was too early to easily associate with Preasia, even though he was somewhat curious about how fluffy she was. The same could be said for Haruhime as well since he would be periodically distracted by her long tail. Though she around 150cm tall, her tail was also nearly 80cm long and it looked exceptionally soft and Vahn had often been tempted to want to touch it as she gently tapped it on the sofa while silently reading the book in her hands. Vahn realized that, as Loki had said, he was simply too interested in new things and had an almost insatiable intrigue to experience them. Since that was the case, he understood how dangerous things could get since he didnt imagine that Haruhime or Preasia would resist him at all... Fortunately, Vahn was able to resist his own urges until lunch came when he finally reunited with Hestia who had a very bubbly disposition and a happy smile on her face. Without caring about the surroundings at all, Hestia hugged Vahns waist tightly before standing on her toes and reaching up to kiss his face. Vahn was momentarily surprised but returned her affectionate action with moderated passion before they all sat at the dining room table. Even though the other girls gave her strange looks, the only person that said anything was Fenrir who also managed to get a kiss from Vahn on the forehead. During the meal itself, Hestia acted in a very loving and caring manner as she awkwardly tried to help Vahn eat while also expecting him to return the gestures. Since he really did love Hestia, Vahn didnt mind tending to her while Haruhime helped Fenrir eat her food with an elegant smile on her face. It didnt really need to be said, since every girl knew something must have happened between Vahn and Hestia for them to be acting as they were. Haruhime herself knew that Hestia was essentially making things clear without expressly saying anything so that the others wouldnt be able to use their ignorance as an excuse. If she, and the other girls, wanted to get closer to Vahn, they wouldnt be able to do it in a roundabout manner. After lunch was finished, Hestia and Vahn shared another kiss before she left him to do his work while apanying the other girls to teach everyone to read and write. The only person to hesitate was Preasia, who watched Vahns back for a while until Fenrir pulled her along with the rest of the group. On the way to the annex containing the workshop, Vahn thought about how he could go about making some guy friends and potentially getting out of the house without endangering Haruhime and the other girls. Without Ryuu and Fafnir nearby, Vahn, Fenrir, and Mikoto represented the entire strength of the Hestia Familia. Fortunately, if Haruhime used her level-up magic, Vahn would probably be able to fight on par with a Level 6 while Fenrir and Mikoto should be able to hold their own against lower-ranked Level 3s. However, even if that were the case, Vahn realized that the actual strength of the Familia needed to be drastically improved in the future. Other than increasing his own strength, he would need members around Level 4-5 so that power could be evenly distributed when people were out and about. He already had Ryuu, who was a Level 4 capable of fighting above her Level, but Vahn needed a magical ace or someone that specialized in defense and formations. Unfortunately, there were just too many restrictions on himself and the other members of the Familia as long as the situation with the Ishtar Familia continued. Since she was the representative of the Entertainment District, that meant he had actually made an enemy out of several dozen criminal Familia as well. Though they couldnt do much to him, the people in his Familia were a vulnerability that couldnt be easily addressed without taking them into the dungeon to Level up. Once he was in his workshop, Vahn continued to design different types of equipment while also experimenting with a few ideas that he wanted to try. Though he wouldnt easily credit her with the idea, Vahn had a strange desire to dress up the girls around him in the armor he had created for them. Since his dexterity was very high, things like sewing were very easy for Vahn and he was able to intricately stitch together the fabrics if he wanted to. It would take a lot of practice, but Vahn felt like he could ask Mn and Haruhime to teach him how to make dresses and other kinds of clothing. Since Ais was the most doll-like girl around him, Vahn pictured making an outfit that would suit her that was somewhat different than her original attire. Unlike her future self, she presently wore a fair amount of armor that looked like a multi-ted dress that protected all of her vitals and looked a bit ufortable. After giving her [Gram], Vahn felt like the colors white and blue suited her well and he wondered if it was possible to make armor that wouldnt inhibit her mobility that could ent the holy feeling that she gave off when wielding the sword. He decided to go shopping with her and see if there was any armor they could find that suited her. Vahn would then be able to modify the design to match Aiss preferences and enhance her abilities even further... After a few hours had passed, Vahn had purchased a few mannequins that he had shaped to try and match the features of Tiona, Ais, and Ryuu. Since he could actually recall significant events, Vahn was able to clearly picture the n.a.k.e.d figures of the three girls and had modeled the mannequins to match their figures with a surprising amount of detail. He had learned how to shape and sculpt alongside Eva, so he was able to make rudimentary shapes that emted their original forms urately. Of course, this didnt mean Vahn modeled their facial features and s.e.x.u.a.l characteristics since he thought it would be embarrassing if anyone walked in and saw them. Even though it wasnt the real person, Vahn felt a strange feeling of happiness as he garbed the bare mannequins with different types of cloth and tried finding something that matched his impression of the girls. For Ais, he used whites, greens, and golds, while Tiona was creamy colors and browns with warmer colors intermixed within. For Ryuu, she seemed to like natural colors that went along with those found in nature, so he chose leafy greens, neutral blues, and natural beiges and browns. It would probably take a few days to finalize anything, but even putting together the basic shapes of the outfits was very fun from Vahns perspective. They didnt have any visitors in the evening, but Hestia told Vahn that the Loki Familia expedition would likely return tomorrow afternoon. Since he had spent a fair amount of time over thest few hours thinking about them, Vahn was looking forward to Tiona and Ais potentially visiting in the near future. To a lesser extent, he was also looking forward to seeing Tione and Lefiya again as well but mainly wanted to see if he could get some advice from Gareth. Because of the current state of affairs, it wasnt easy for them to interact with the Alliance, but Vahn was also known as a skilled cksmith even though his [Master Smith] skill hadnt been revealed yet. There was no way the Guild would be able to interfere if members of the Loki Familia came by to purchase equipment. Since there were several members of the Loki Familia using the items he made, there was plenty of evidence showing that this was the case, at least on the surface. After dinner, Hestia once again took a bath with Vahn and they affectionately talked about various matters before making their way back to the bedroom. Since Fenrir still stayed with Preasia, Hestia had Vahn all to herself and was intending to take proper advantage of this fact after realized that Loki had left the talismans in the room. Unfortunately, though she seemed willing, Vahn prevented Hestia from pushing herself and said she needed to take better care of her body for the time being. Since she refused to let him heal her, there were various dangers to indulging in intercourse so soon after losing her v.i.r.g.i.nity. And, though he didnt mention it, Vahn was actually a bit intimidated by Hestias v.a.g.i.n.a after the experience of the previous night. He was hoping that, after her body healed and became more ustomed to the act, it wouldnt be nearly as painful when Hestia inevitably orgasmed and mped down on him. Hestia didnt seem too convinced by Vahns words, even though she knew he was telling the truth and just showing concern for her body. Knowing that there would probably be various girls around Vahn in theing weeks, Hestia wasnt willing to lose their personal time together just because of a little difort. Since she was a goddess, there wasnt any danger of infection and her body would eventually heal no matter what happened. After sitting on top of Vahn, her clothes wilted away and she looked down at him with glimmering blue eyes and an almost scary expression from Vahns perspective. He had never seen such a look on Hestias face and couldnt help but swallow a bot of saliva as he tried to ask if anything was wrong. Before he spoke, however, Hestia asked in a strangely cold, yet sultry, tone "We love each other Vahn...right?" Without hesitation, Vahn nodded his head and firmly stated, "Of course, I love you dearly Hestia, youre one of the most important people in my entire life." The strange smile on Hestias face grew a bit and she squinted her eyes and said, "Yes...but you know Im a jealous and possessive girl...even though Ive opened my mind to allow other girls. I know where I stand in your heart, and its not at the top..." Rubbing her hands on Vahns chest, she pulled open his tunic button-by-button and continued, "When were alone like this, even if it isnt true, I want to be the most important person in your heart...I want to experience the undeniable proof of our love...I already gave you my most precious thing, so you can give me at least this much right?" Vahn could feel his brain buzz as he listened to Hestias words and felt the caress of her fingers. Though it wasnt much, he could even feel a heating from her crotch as a moisture built up on his belly. Without waiting for him to say anything, Hestia leaned down and stared into Vahns eyes at a near zero distance with her infinitely deep blue gems. With a voice that sent shivers down his spine, Hestia said, "Dont be selfish Vahn...let me worry about my own body...it isnt fair if you think you can use your gentleness to deny me something that my heart wants. Stop hesitating...or Ill always have some doubts about your affections for me...even if I know that isnt the case, I just cant help think about it when Im alone...so please, make me unable to forget your presence even if you have to go away for a long time." Though he knew she didnt have charm magic, Vahn felt a strangepulsion when hearing Hestias words. She often spoke gently to him and it helped calm his mind greatly, but now the voice that usually eased his mind was causing the tensions in his body to rise. Even though he didnt normally react without his intent, for the second time in just as many days, Hestia managed to get Vahns p.e.n.i.s erect without any effort on his own part. When she moved back, Hestia could feel the hard object pressing against her inexplicably soft buttocks and she smiled with an enamored expression and said, "I love you Vahn...forever and ever...now make sure I never forget you love me as well...no matter how much time passes." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Return to Routine,Vahn wants to y dress-up,Hestias Fragile Heart) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 280 - Planting Seeds

Chapter 280 - nting Seeds

Vahn awoke the next morning in a slight daze and felt the heat from the soft and light body of Hestiaying against his chest. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts were pressed closely to his body and she was sleeping soundly with her arms crossed under her head. She had a silly smile on her face with a healthy amount of drool dripping from her mouth, down her arms, and onto Vahns chest. The most noticeable thing, however, was the diforting from his lower body that was held like a vice with a gentle stream of warmth soaking the exposed half of his p.e.n.i.s. Hestia, after a somewhat short session of love-making, came up with the brilliant idea of sleeping atop Vahn with his p.e.n.i.s still inserted inside of her. Since he could maintain his erection without difficulty, it wasnt too trying a matter. The problem, as expected, was the fact that Hestias insides firmly mped down on him without any room for movement whatsoever. He had somewhat been convinced that it would help her body adapt, but Vahn didnt feel like there had been any real changes since the previous night. Since she had been very tired, Vahn wanted to let Hestia continue sleeping but had to get out of the current predicament so he could go about his own business for the day. Poking her cheek a bit, Hestia slowly opened her sleepy eyes and stared nkly into space for a moment before reaching down with her hand and feeling the presence of Vahns p.e.n.i.s firmly held inside of her. For a brief moment, Vahn could see a glimmer pass through her eyes before her expression turned gentle and she kissed him and then said, "Good morning Vahn, I love you~" Vahn smiled and gave her a quick peck on the lips before saying, "I love you too Hestia, but its time for me to get up." Vahn stroked her silky ck hair with his hands and she gave him a very loving expression before cing her chest on his head and saying, "I like staying like this...just for a little longer." She hugged around his shoulders loosely and pretended to go back to sleep but Vahn was very aware she was awake by how active her aura was. Now that she had set aside her inhibitions, Vahn realized Hestia was acting a lot more spoiled than normal without acting out as much. She was very assertive even though she pretended to act passively and Vahn was beginning to realize what Loki meant about Hestias personality being slightly different than his expectations. After a few minutes, Vahn noticed most of the girls were already beginning to awaken so he rubbed Hestias back and said, "I have to go wash up Hestia..." Instead of responding, Hestia continued to feign being asleep so Vahnughed silently before turning to his side and gently trying to separate from her. The moment he did so, however, he felt a painful sensation wrap around his p.e.n.i.s and realized he couldnt move his h.i.p.s away from her body at all. Hestias eyes opened and she released a long, somewhat sensual, sigh before saying, "I wish we had met sooner Vahn..." Taking several deep breaths, Hestia loosened up her own abdominal muscles and eventually ejected Vahn from her interior. Vahn gave her one more kiss before leaving a bucket of warm water and a dry towel nearby in case she needed them. When Vahn left the room, Hestia stared at the door nkly for a while before reaching down to her lower abdomen and muttering, "It feels a little lonely..." With another long sigh, Hestia grabbed the small rag and used the warm water to wipe herself down before drying off and returning to the bed. Though she had managed to get some sleep, it wasnt that easy to stay asleep for a long period of time when there was a foreign body inside of her. There were several times through the night when she had awoken and thought about waking Vahn up so they could continue where they had left off the previous night. Before she fell asleep, Hestia decided she would talk to the more experienced girls on thework to see if there was anything she could do to make it easier to ept Vahn. Even after pushing herself to the point of exhaustion, it seemed impossible to get more than halfway and it made Hestia feel a little frustrated since it felt like she had failed somehow. She knew it would probably be possible with Vahns assistance, but Hestia was determined to be able to manage the feat on her own... Unaware of Hestias determination, Vahn performed his schedule without any major hups or deviations. He took a pleasant bath, practiced his magic in the backyard, and watched the progress of the other girls. Since Mn wasnt present, there was one minor change, however. While Ryuu was training Haruhime, Emiru, and Maemi, Preasia had sat near the meditating Vahn with about a meters distance between them. She didnt say anything, just sat silently and watched Vahn while hugging her knees and trying to stay warm. It was very cold in the mornings, and Preasia didnt seem to have much resistance to the cold at all since she always wore heavier and thick clothing, even though she wore shorts underneath with a pair of thick, wool, stockings. Vahn took pity on her and used [Heart of the Eternal me] to warm up the area with his domain. Other than her affection increasing marginally, Preasia didnt have any other reaction to the sudden warmth in the air. Since she didnt have to bathe with the other girls, Preasia followed along behind Vahn when he went to the library and stole the seat that Haruhime had taken the prior day. Vahn felt a little awkward, but he wasnt going to let Preasiaa behavior get to him since he didnt mind her presence. He even had the briefest expectation that she would one day want to cuddle with him in the next few weeks and he couldnt deny he was somewhat interested. She had shaggy hair on her head with a short tail that hung below her sweater. Though she had a thin body, Vahn couldnt help but feel like Preasia was fluffy and thought she would have been a very huggable girl if he had met her under different circ.u.mstances. When Haruhime showed up in the library, she tilted her head slightly before a gentle and elegant smile appeared on her face. She didnt seem to care that Preasia had taken her spot and just picked up a new book before cing a cushion on the floor beneath where Vahn was sitting. After bowing politely and saying, "Excuse me~." Haruhime sat down and leaned her back against the front of the sofa right before where Vahn was sitting. He wanted tough at her actions, so Vahn didnt restrain himself and did just that as he said, "You behave adorably sometimes Haruhime." Haruhimes tail dexterously waved about as her ears twitched and she responded in a bell-like voice, "I am just so happy these days Vahn...Ive gotten to experience so many new things, and its all because you saved me." Vahn understood Haruhime felt true gratitude by how her aura radiated out confidently while a gentle light glowed in her beautiful green eyes. She had somewhat droopy eyes and always seemed to have a gentle look on her face with a wless disposition. Haruhime kept her back straight, was always very polite, and had a subtle air of nobility about her that she only dropped when she was around him. Seeing her ears twitching about, Vahn released a sigh and asked, "Do you mind if I pet your ears and tail every now and then. I wont lie, theyre a bit distracting and Im a little interested..." Vahn had decided to be more decisive ever since he read the book of tragedy a few days ago. Though he faltered a bit around Hestia, he still wanted to try and be more proactive and express his wants and desires clearly. He could see Haruhimes aura wave about gently as a happy expression appeared on her face, but it was Preasia who spoke up first, "Do you like...to pet?" Vahn and Haruhime looked over and saw Preasia holding therge book to her chest while staring over the top and maintaining a constant gaze in Vahns direction. Though he thought it might cause future problems, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Ever since I first came to the City, Ive always had an interest in things like that. I also have a skill, [Hands of Nirvana], that allows me to imbue different kinds of energy into my palms and fingers. I like seeing if I can bringfort to others while also trying to experience their unique reactionspared to others." As Vahn spoke, he reached out with his left hand and a gentle light appeared on his palms as he stroked Haruhimes head and her very fluffy ears. Her eyes widened for a brief moment before she closed them and just silently enjoyed the caress with a pleased expression on her face. Preasia watched from the side and had seen the familiar energy in Vahns hand and asked, "Its the same...as when you healed...my body." Vahn nodded his head while absentmindedly stroking Haruhimes head and said, "Its called [Hands of Nirvana]. Even if I came across someone seriously injured, I would be able to save them as long as they still had a bit of life left in them..." Preasia hung her head a bit in contemtion before saying in a low voice that Vahn could barely hear, "I wouldnt mind...if you want to...pet me also." Vahn ced down the book in his right hand and dropped it on the cushion before shaking his head and saying, "You know, I do actually want to pet your hair Preasia. You seem to be very fluffy, but I dont think its the right time for things like that. Youve been through a lot and should focus on recovering your body and mind without pushing yourself. Unless you can open up to the others first, I dont think youre ready for that kind of thing." There was a sad look in Preasias eyes for a few seconds until a gentle light slowly began to build up within the light-grey pupils. She looked back toward Vahn and said, "I will try...everyone seems nice...especially Fenrir...and Mn." Without saying anything else, Preasia put down the book she was reading on the table nearby and said, "I will go and...teach the others." Vahn watched her back and felt like she was taking the first steps on the road to her recovery. He was very afraid that she would be overly attached and reliant on him, so Vahn wanted her to interact with others before anything happened. Since he had been stroking Haruhimes head the entire time, she had a very pleased expression on her face before saying, "It is just the two of us now Vahn~. I dont mind if you want to hold me and do even more~." Haruhime opened her somewhat droopy green eyes that had a bit of expectation contained within their depths. Vahn c.o.c.ked his head to the side a bit and said, "Haruhime, youll probably be in the Familia for a long time...and, as I said earlier, I am very interested...well, in a lot of things. Until you be much stronger, I dont want you to push yourself and try to get wrapped in my life so much. Even if you truly want to stay with me, you need to have something else that drives you other than your feelings." Haruhime nodded her head once with her eyes closed before opening them partially and saying, "I already found something that drives me forward Vahn...I will continue to grow stronger for both our sakes Ive set a goal for myself to be strong enough to protect everyone in the Familia. I want to help unify everyone and experience new and exciting things with all the friends Ive been making~! Just as you said previously, I already treat everyone here like my precious family..." As Haruhime spoke, she crossed her hands over her chest as if she could feel the warmth of her own heart permeating through the air. Though it might have been a product of his imagination, Vahn could also feel the warmthing from Haruhime and knew she truly believed her own words. It was actually simr to his own desire, so Vahn couldnt find any fault in her words. He even realized why all the girls around him worried about his mentality since he also had a strong urge to tell Haruhime not to push herself. Vahn found somefort in knowing that he could see his own traits reflected in others and help shape his understanding of his own thoughts and actions. After a short while, Haruhime raised her face to look at Vahn and he suddenly felt it was a little awkward for her to be seated on the floor. Patting the spot next to him, Vahn said, "Here, we can read together if youd like..." Haruhimes curved ears perked up a bit and her elegant smile turned into one of moderate jubtion as she fluidly rose from the cushion, straightened her kimono, and then sat next to Vahn after giving a curt bow. The moment she sat down, Haruhimeid her tailed across Vahnsp in a casual manner as if it were perfectly natural. Vahn took a slow, deep, breath before asking, "Is there some tradition rted to a man touching the tail of a Renard?" As he asked, Vahn actually purchased a few books through the shop and started perusing through the information rted to Renard cultures and traditions. Haruhime shook her head and said, "There isnt any specific tradition, but its usually a show of affection if its just touching...if you also had a tail, wrapping them together would have been a sign of courtship." Since Haruhime knew Vahn could actually transform, she blushed slightly and bowed her head with upturned eyes. Finding the information within his own mind and confirming Haruhimes words, Vahn smiled and saw the look in her eyes before saying, "If you can get to Level 3-" Before he could finish, Vahn could see a fire light up in the core of Haruhimes green eyes and she asked in a very assertive tone, "When can we go into the dungeon?" Vahn couldnt help butugh out once as he passed his hand along the smooth and soft tail of Haruhime and said, "Ill try toe up with a method soon, but itll probably be after the situation with Isthar is resolved. For now, just focus on increasing your foundation..." Vahn had a thought as he gently caressed the tail under his palms without any major response from Haruhime. Her tail didnt seem to be as sensitive as a cat persons, maybe due to the thickness of the fur... Shaking the stray thought from his mind, Vahn focused on his original epiphany and furrowed his brows a bit before saying, "Haruhime, I have a skill that can increase your potential, but itll require me to ce what is called a me seed in your heart." Vahn realized that Haruhime didnt have a boost-type skill, so she would benefit greatly from [Prometheus] since she already reached the affection cap. Haruhime had a thoughtful expression for a while before a happy smile appeared on her face and she started loosening up the obi holding her kimono closed. Before she finished, Vahn said, "You can turn your back to me, I dont have to put in the seed from the front." In response to his words, Haruhime leaned her head low and to the side before asking, "But you dont have to put it in from the back either, right~?" In the brief moment, before Vahn refuted her words, Haruhime dropped her Kimono from around her shoulders and revealed her snow white, budding, b.r.e.a.s.ts with a smile on her face. She stated clearly, without any sign of being fl.u.s.tered, "Please proceed, I want to see the process with my own eyes..." Seeing the earnest look in Haruhimes eyes, Vahn shook his head with a smile before opening up his palm where a beautiful fiery seed had appeared. He could see its light reflected in Haruhimes eyes and he said, "This will be ced in your heart...and itll nurture your growth depending on how strong your feelings are." Dazed by the beautiful me in Vahns hand, Haruhime asked, "Feelings?" Turning her eyes toward Vahn, Haruhime seemed to realize something as her smile grew marginallyrger. Vahn nodded his head and continued, "Yeah, depending on how strong your feelings are for me, the me will help increase your strength based on the bond between us." Haruhime reached out and grabbed Vahns wrist gingerly and said, "Please...Ill show you how strong I can be." Vahn reached out his left hand and stroked Haruhimes head as he reached forward with his right hand and gently inserted the me seed into Haruhimes chest. Since he had already experienced it a few times, Vahn was prepared for the wave of pain that wracked his body down to the core. Other than gritting his teeth slightly, Vahn showed no obvious signs of pain in his expression. Feeling the heat in her chest, Haruhime suddenly felt like her own emotions werepounding, almost as if they were feeding the tiny me like kindling. It grew stronger and stronger and Haruhime could feel its heat spread through each part of her body without exception. Though she didnt say anything to draw attention to it, there was also a subtle heating from her abdomen but Haruhime just expressed her feelings as a smile before closing her eyes and enjoying the sensation. After the pain faded from his body, Vahn had Haruhime turn her back to him so he could update her Status Board and see if anything had changed. As expected, Haruhime got the [Prometheus Blessing: A] skill and had a marginal increase in all of her parameters. The biggest increase had been in her Magic parameter, which had a massive increase of 60%. Vahn also noticed Haruhime had actually learned the [Spirit Healing] Development Ability which would be incredibly important for her continued use of magic in the future. Since most Development Abilities didnt awaken until Level 2, Haruhime had a huge advantage before she even stepped on the path to bing strong. (A/N: Btw, stats dont increase much without killing monsters.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Sanjouno Haruhime Race: Renard LV. 1 POW: I11->I15 END: I28->I33 DEX: I12->I16 AGI: I30->I36 MAG: F367->D587 Skill: [Inari:Innate(sealed)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A] Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B],[Kokonoe:D] Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:D] [Uchide no Kozuchi] Rank: B Level Boost Magic that can only be used on a single target, after which an interval urs before it can be cast again. It cannot be used on the caster. Enhances all parameters on the target by 30% of their hidden status total. Chant: Grow. That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes. Until the bell tolls, bring forth glory and illusion. -Grow. Confine divine offerings within this body. This golden light bestowed from above. Into the hammer and into the ground, may it bestow good fortune upon you. -Grow [Kokonoe] Rank: D A special enchant magic that creates a maximum of nine tails on the user depending on their limit. The user adds the effects of a second magic they chant connect to each of the tails to multiply its effects. (Current Tails: 4) Chant: Kokonoe. Beloved snow. Beloved crimson. Beloved white light. Please let me be beside you - this love I have found at the end of two thousand nights. My name is Magic Fox. Former destroyer. My name is Ancient Song. Former dreamer. For you who beat your wings like a bird, I shall allow the nine spirits to dwell in me. Echo, song of gold, sacred poem of Tamamo. White face, golden fur, king of nine tails. Oh, tails of the auspicious beast, consume all, grant all wishes (Affected Magic Chant) - Dance! [Spirit Healing] Rank:D Slightly increases the recovery rate of mental energy and mana. [Prometheuss Blessing] Rank:A Growth dependant on the strength of the caster that applied this blessing. As long as the originator lives, the recipient of this blessing will experience rapid growth based on their feelings for the originator. If the feelings fade, the me seed within the heart will dwindle before eventually burning out. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Warmed Within the Hearth,Preasias Resolve,Haruhimes Potential) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful Chapter 281 - Arrival

Chapter 281 - Arrival

After updating her Status Board, Vahn informed Haruhime about the changes in her parameters as well as her new skill and Development Ability. She was highly enthused to learn she had obtained the highly sought after [Spirit Healing] Development Ability since it was one of the most important skills she could obtain if she wanted to be a caster and support specialist. Since Haruhimes main parameter was magic, it would be one of the more useful abilities she could learn when leveling up and she had now obtained it, not for free, but as proof of the bond between her and Vahn. With a happy smile on her face, Haruhime leaned in and tried to embrace Vahn, but he grabbed her shoulders with his hands and said, "Fix your kimono Haruhime..." Since he had given her the me seed and then checked her Status, Haruhime still had her kimono drooping off her shoulders and around her wait. Hearing his words, Haruhime looked down at her bare b.r.e.a.s.ts before cing her right hand over her heart and saying, "I can feel it...its like my emotions are burning in my chest and giving me strength..." Vahn smiled wryly after seeing her ignore his words, so he reached forward and grabbed the sides of her kimono and raised it back to her shoulders himself. Haruhimes eyes squinted until Vahn pat her on the head and said, "Ill help you be stronger as well, so keep working hard and well both make our dreamse true." Haruhime showed a gentle smile and began fixing her clothes before resuming her generally elegant behavior. Tucking her feet up under her body, she leaned into Vahns shoulder and picked up the book he had been reading earlier before flipping it open. With his hand along the back of the couch, Vahn let Haruhime lean against his chest while listening to her eloquently enunciate each word in the story. He had never been read to in this manner before, so Vahn enjoyed the moment by leaning back with his eyes closed while casually running his left hand along the smooth tail of Haruhime. Vahn slowly began to rx and enjoyed the time they spent together without doing anything to forward and pushing the boundaries. He was serious about Haruhime improving his strength first since it would cause problems if he started spreading himself thin trying to protect a lot of weak people. It would simply increase the amount of stress he was under and could potentially cause conflict within the group since there were other girls working hard to improve. The rest of the day was rtively uneventful other than the fact that Hestia was acting openly affectionate during lunch. In the afternoon, Vahn continued to work on designs with his primary focus being functionality over form. He didnt want to make any big design changes without input from the girls that would be wearing the equipment and also knew that both Tiona and Ais were in their growth phases. Since Ais was much smaller and immature than her future self, Vahn knew it would require a lot of effort to re-design equipment that kept up with her growth. By the time dinner came, Vahn was a little sad that neither Tiona or Ais had stopped by, but he found out from Hestia, who had talked to Loki, that they were nning to stop by the following day. When he heard the news, Vahn was all smiles but Hestia seemed to have a switch flip inside of her so she dragged him to the bath afterward and they washed each other. Vahn felt like Hestia was somewhat unstable but attributed it to the fact that it was because she had just lost a v.i.r.g.i.nity that she had protected for her entire long existence. From Vahns perspective, it wouldnt have made sense if she was entirely okay considering the amount of time she had protected it. Remember her words from before the event, how he should be grateful that she was giving it to him, Vahn decided to treat them seriously so he cherished her and tended to her various demands. Even if things got a little out of hand, Vahn knew Hestia would cool down a bit with time and the influence of other people on thework. While they were bathing together, Hestia thought she had another brilliant idea and, since they were alone, she wanted to have s.e.x in the onsen. Vahn held her close and treated her body lovingly and helped calm her down while exining there should be a time and ce for everything. Vahn assumed that it would be next to impossible to actually enter Hestia inside the onsen since any of her love juices would be dispersed by the water. Without a lubricating medium, Vahn didnt think things would go well and proved it to Hestia when tried inserting a finger into the tender flesh. Realizing that Vahn was correct, Hestia ended up cutting the bath somewhat short with the excuse they could just take one in the morning. Vahn conceded, but only after they had performed a cursory wash and rinse of their bodies. To help ease her tensions, Vahn carried Hestia in a princess carry through the Manor and avoided detection since the other girls had entered the bath earlier. When they finally arrived in their room, Hestia had already started shedding petals and had an enamored and possessive look in her eyes that was somewhat intimidating. Since Hestiacked stamina, she didntst long before copsing from exhaustion. In the short ten minute interval, she had once again tried to ride Vahns h.i.p.s from a seated position while using some strange breathing technique to try and force himself deeper inside of her. Hestia made it about 60% of the way before she couldnt put any strength into her legs and abdomen anymore. Withbored breathing, Hestia copsed onto Vahns chest and he gently embraced her for a while until her breathing returned to normal. Afterward, Hestia entrusted her body to Vahn and he used abination of massage techniques, not using [Hands of Nirvana], and the knowledge he had of Hestias body to push her over the edge of pleasure once again. She had taken to clinging to his arms and trying to hug his legs with her as if she were trying to keep him inside of her. Vahn had tried something new and rolled Hestias b.r.e.a.s.ts with his tongue which made her eventually cry out and hug his head with unnatural strength. Since it was something new, Vahn had gotten somewhat immersed in the act since the texture of Hestias n.i.p.p.l.e in his mouth was interesting. By the time of his ejaction, Vahn had helped Hestia orgasm three times before she yet again requested to sleep while holding each other. Vahn was adapting somewhat to the omnidirectional vice-like grip of Hestias v.a.g.i.n.a and just stroked her long ck hair until she eventually fell asleep. Even though he felt somewhat ufortable, Vahn was very aware that Hestia was beginning to loosen up a bit when rxed. She still became dangerous during her climaxes, but Vahn was able to prepare himself properly by observing the changes in her body. As long as he wasnt caught out of her too much, it wasnt that difficult to tolerate. During the next morning, Hestia still acted a bit spoiled and even wanted Vahn to carry her to the bath before the other girls woke up. He epted her words until she wanted to stay connected along the way which he adamantly refused. Though he wasnt aware of the trait, Vahn didnt want to be an exhibitionist that did s.e.x.u.a.l acts where others might see them. Even if he could track the presence of everyone and avoid detection, Vahn knew it was a deviant behavior that should be avoided. Hestia eventually gave up trying to convince him and he just carried her in a normal princess carry, both to the bath and back to the bed. When Vahn left to begin his training, Hestia watched his back with a bit of longing in her eyes as she ced her hand on her lower abdomen. Though she made progress by following the advice of Loki, it wasnt nearly to the point she wanted to be at. She wanted her body to adapt to Vahnpletely and felt a little lonely when he finally parted from her. Whenever they were together, Hestia felt like they were part of the same entity and didnt know how Vahn could so easily leave her behind in the room. She knew he had responsibilities, obligations, and dreams for the future, but she still wished he would make a few concessions. Because she had only recently descended, Hestias sense of time still hadnt adapted to mortal sensibilities yet. As an entity that had lived for millions of years, it was difficult to adapt her mentality to one that ced emphasis on each individual day. --- During the training, Vahn noticed that Haruhime was putting in a lot of effort and had even started practicing [Concurrent Chanting] with Ryuu since her primary attribute was magic. She didnt want to be a pure caster, since she knew the significance of mobility, so Haruhime wanted to quickly learn how to cast magic while on the move. She didnt yew know any new magic, but Vahn had been nning to purchase some grimoires for her soon. He had already given her some books rted to the fundamentals of magic, but they didnt actually help Haruhime learn any magic to cast. Vahn intended to introduce her to Lefiya and Riveria, since they would probably be able to teach her the fundamentals properly while improving her understanding of how to situationally cast magic. Since Lefiya could literally use any magic she knew the chant of, she could be considered the perfect mentor for aspiring mages. After the training was finished, Ryuu left the house after sharing a short embrace with Vahn and disappearing into the morning mist to return to the Hostess of Fertility. The rest of the girls went to bathe, including Preasia who was making an effort to open up to the others alongside Fenrir. Even though Fenrir wasnt able to curb her urges by going into the dungeon right now, she was able to keep her frustrations under control because she had been so focused on Preasia for thest few days. Just as she had be the mascot of the girls on thework, all of the new girls were actually very fond of Fenrir because she often acted cute unintentionally. Even the twins, Emiru and Maemi, who seemed to be somewhat fearful of her, were always treating her well and had even helped dress her up in some new clothing. Vahn once again read alongside Haruhime and they enjoyed a quiet atmosphere with each other until lunchtime had eventuallye around. To supplements Fenrirs needs, Vahn made sure there was always a healthy amount of hard food for her to eat since she didnt particrly care for the taste. Preasia had be her support for eating most foods, but left Fenrir to eat things like metal on her own. Everyone had been told about the dangers of Fenrirs teeth and ws, so they showed the proper caution. Even though she had made drastic improvements, Fenrir still had a tendency to leave small pock marks on the table on ident. During the afternoon, while Vahn was working, he detected the presence of five people and a smile immediately appeared on his face. Instead of walking through the annex and following the corridors through the east wing, Vahn leaped out the nearby window that was left open for venttion. When hended outside, he used Shundo to navigate around the Manor and intercepted the approaching group that consisted of Tiona, Ais, Tione, Lefiya, and a ck-haired cat girl that had a lithe figure and very beautiful features with long ck hair and ck eyes. Though he was previously excited, Vahn couldnt help but feel like there was something strange about this situation. Even before they exchanged words, Vahn felt that Loki was trying to help him out but had sent a beautiful girl with cat ears and a tail onto his doorstep and he immediately felt a small headache... Because he hade to a stop, Tiona decided toe forward and meet Vahn but dashed across the courtyard and throwing herself around his neck. Vahns body spun with her momentum and he wrapped his arms around Tionas waist as they shared a passionate kiss to celebrate their reunion. When they finally parted, Tiona eximed with a happy smile on her face, "Im happy to see you again Vahn. Also, that weapon you made me is amazing~!" To thank him even more, Tiona squeezed Vahns ribs with her monstrous strength and happily spun his body around a bit before Ais walked over and said, "Tiona, youre hurting Vahn...bad." With a sheepishugh, Tiona set Vahn back on the ground before dusting off his tunic with her hands and apologizing. After Tiona separated from him, Ais walked forward with [Gram] sheathed at her hip even though most of the other girls were without their weapons. She thumbed the hilt affectionately before staring into Vahns eyes and saying, "Thank you very much...I love this sword." Vahn tilted his head a bit with a smile on his face before wrapping his arms around Ais and tilting her head to kiss her lips for several long seconds. When they parted for a bit, Ais looked up with a slight glimmer in her eyes and mumbled, "I love Vahn more though..." Vahn was incited by her words and tried to kiss Ais again, but a cough came from the side and they both looked over to see Tione with an emotionless expression as she said, "Its cold out here." Hearing her words, Vahn looked her over before turning his attention back to Tiona and saw they were both wearing their normal attire while walking around barefoot even though it was nearly zero degrees outside. They didnt seem to mind the cold much, but Vahn saw that Lefiya was wearing a thick coat and her ears had turned red from exposure so he led them into the warm interior of the Manor before escorting them to the study. Hestia had known of their arrival, but she was lounging aboutzily while ignoring the group since she knew she would probably cause trouble in her current state. When they sat down, the twins had actuallye into the room with a tray of tea and snacks which caused Tione to ask sarcastically, "Look Tiona, even though there is already a set of twins around him, Vahn seems insatiable and finds another pair..." Continuing off her words, though with humor instead of coldness, Tionaughed and said, "Arent they super cute~? I miss when we used to look identical to each other. Instead, I fell behind a bit...ehehehe...maybe not though?" Tiona pressed her b.r.e.a.s.ts together with a hint of sadness in her eyes before clinging to Vahn and rubbing her cheek against his. Vahn was sitting with Tiona and Ais at his nks while the other three girls sat on the opposite sofa. After leaving behind the tea, the twins bowed politely before excusing themselves from the room. Since Lefiya and the unknown cat person hadnt said anything, Vahn showed courtesy and greeted everyone, "Its good to see everyone again after being separated for so long. Especially...Ais, Tiona...I missed you." Vahn grabbed both of their hands before turning his attention to the girls across from him and continuing, "Tione and Lefiya as well, it feels like we dont get to spend enough time with each other even though youre always apanying these two. Did you find the weapons I gave you to be useful?" Vahn wanted to know who the stranger was, but he didnt want to overlook matters and behave strangely so he asked about something that Tiona and Ais had both mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, Vahn didnt know his words triggered thendmine known as Tione as she immediately responded, "Oh, were they meant to be useful!? I thought the swords you gave me were decorative after seeing what everyone else was using! Tell me Vahn, do you have some personal vendetta against me that makes you want to treat me poorlypared to everyone else!?" Tione had a frustrated expression on her face that made Vahns eyes open wide in confusion. He remembered her being the type that teased others, not someone that got emotional and had inexplicable outbursts. Ais frowned while even Tiona had a somewhat serious expression on her face as she stared at her twin sister who was unfairly using Vahn as she said, "Tione, you know Vahn isnt that type of person at all. Youre not a newbie, you know those swords of yours would probably cost more than a million valis yet he gave them to youpletely free of charge. Even if youre frustrated with Finn, that doesnt give you any right to take it out on Vahn when he had treated us all fairly." As if offended by Tionas words, Tione scowled and turned her head to the side and said, "Fairly? Easy to say when youre one of the girls that get to receive all the benefits...I just get the leftovers out of pity. I guess I havent given him enough benefits to enjoy preferential treatment. Even though you got to bathe with me and even slept with my own twin...tsk." Vahn was often passive when he was being spoken to, but he couldnt stand the usations of Tione so he stated firmly, "When I took a bath with everyone, it was with the consent...of almost everyone present. The gifts I gave you afterward had nothing to do with that at all, and my rtionship with Tiona has always been one of mutual love. I dont exchange items for benefits with anyone." Surprisingly, the first person to take to Vahns side after he spoke was Lefiya, who was still holding the [Heal] staff that Vahn had given her in the past. Ironically, she was the only person of the four that had received an item that he hadnt personally forged and technically had the greatest right to argue against him. Instead, Lefiya looked at Tione and said, "Vahn has always been a gentle person that treated everyone around him fairly. It isnt right that you expect him to give you the same treatment as his actual lovers when there isnt a strong bond between you..." Even though she had a blush on her face, Lefiya did her best to state her words confidently. Tione still had a frustrated expression on her face, but she was no longer scowling since there wasnt much she could saw when her only ally had taken Vahns side. Looking around, she saw everyone giving her strange and serious looks and suddenly began to feel a little ufortable because she knew she was the one in the wrong, not Vahn. She was justshing out at him because of her failures to approach Finn and how happy Tiona and Ais had been ever since their return journey. Even Lefiya had been in good spirits the entire way back...of course, the biggest impact had been when the expedition reunited with Loki. Everyone could tell she was practically glowing and was fiercely motivated when talking about the uing Wargames with the Ishtar Familia. Her behavior was unnatural and it wasnt easy to guess something had happened between her and Vahn very recently. When they were alone, with just the girls, Loki had exined things in detail and even given them their own scrolls for thework including a logbook of everything they had missed during the expedition. The girls had a small slumber party where they went over everything and discussed ns for the future...Tione couldnt deny that she was very jealous of everyone. The final straw had been when Loki actually asked Anakitty, the cat girl who had yet to be introduced to Vahn, to temporarily join his Familia to help protect and train the new girls. She even gave her a warning that Vahn might try to approach her whileyering on advice to each of the girls about what to pay attention to if things start to progress. Though she had a crush on Raul, themander of the 2nd party, Anakitty had been shunned by him due to his dense and timid personality and was interested to meet the boy that had impacted the lives of so many girls, including her goddess and two highly sought after flowers. As if she had a minor epiphany, Tione looked over at Anakitty, who had been silently sitting at the side wondering if she was ever going to be acknowledged. With a cruel smile on her face, Tione leaned forward a bit but was interrupted when Tiona asked inly, "Tione, do you want to be one of Vahns lovers too~? I dont mind, what about you Ais?" Tiones n began to break down and waspletely crushed when Ais responded, "Nn, I think Tione is behaving strangely. If you like Vahn, you just have to tell him..." Vahns brows raised as he looked between the two girls curiously before locking eyes with the befuddled Tione across from him. Her aura had been chaotic before, but now it was like a wispy me with a bit of pink intermixed with purples and greens. Since he had touched her previously, Vahn could see that Tiones affection for him was at 85(Confused) so he was certain she didnt currently like him as the two indicated. He assumed something had probably happened between her and Finn and the gift he had given her had somewhat served as a catalyst to make her frustrations worse. Shaking his head, Vahn said in a serious tone, "Dont worry Tione, I was nning to help everyone make equipment by request soon. I didnt want to trouble Hephaestus with having to do all the work, so I was going to bring up the idea and personally forge things. It hasnt been announced yet, but Ive already reached [Master Smith] and have some confidence in my skill." Tione faltered even further while Tiona, Ais, and Lefiya all congratted Vahn with various degrees of happiness. As the two that had benefited the most from Vahns equipment, Tiona and Ais were very much looking forward to receiving anything he designed for them. Though Hephaestus was a much more prolific cksmith, she didnt have the attention to detail that Vahn had since he was very familiar with their capabilities and personalities. Using it as an opportunity, the ck haired cat girl decided to take the initiative and said, "Congrattions on bing a [Master Smith] Vahn. Im Anakitty Autumn, by the way~!" Vahn smiled at the beautiful cat girl and bowed slightly before saying, "Ms. Autumn, Im sorry for thete introductions. As you know, Im Vahn Mason, Captain of the Hestia Familia, and it is my honor to meet you." Vahn would always refer to girls by their family names when first meeting them, even though they would usually immediately correct his form of address. As expected, Anakitting waved her hand dismissively and said, "Dont mind such formalities, Vahn, well probably be spending a lot of time together for the next year or so and itll be awkward if you act so reservedly." Though he tried hard to prevent it from showing on his face, Vahns expression loosened a bit and he released a sight that was a mixture of more emotions than he could identify. Anakittys ears twitched and she tilted her head to the side in a confused manner. She reyed her words over in her mind and couldnt understand Vahns reaction at all but was interrupted by Tione, who had managed to recover after suffering an impact from Vahns revtion. Standing up from the sofa, Tione had an expressionless face as she asked, "Is there a training grounds...?" Vahn didnt know why she was asking at first, but suddenly realized she probably wanted to break something given how her aura was ring up. He originally thought she wanted to go release some stress so he nodded his head and was going to give her directions before she said, "I want to fight you Vahn." (A/N: Not a lot of chapters today, but youll notice that some are 3-4k words. I managed 118k wordsst week, and Ill be trying to average between 100-120k words (50-60 chapters of content) for the time being. Let me know if you think the chapters should be shortened or if you like the longer blocks of content more.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Renard Audiobook,Hestias Insecurities,Vahns never-ending troubles) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful Chapter 282 - Clash of Feelings

Chapter 282 - sh of Feelings

Vahn looked up at the standing Tione and could see the will to fight kindled within her eyes. It had been a while since Vahn fought against someone that was clearly stronger than he was, and he was actually interested in the challenge. He didnt know if his skills had gotten rusty, because he had been reliant on his equipment in the fight against Kuji, Lavernas subordinate, and [Enkidu] when he fought Aisha to save Haruhime. Even so, Vahn didnt think there was any point to fighting Tione when she was behaving strangely and out of character. He felt like she wouldnt be able to control her attacks properly and there was a real chance one of them could get hurt in the process... Seeing the fighting spirit in Tiones eyes, Vahn released a mental sigh as a small smile appeared on his face and he stood from the sofa. Even though he rationalized it as a bad idea, Vahn didnt like the thought of backing down from a challenge. He didnt consider himselfpetitive, but whenever he looked back at the past Vahn couldnt remember refusing a challenge. No matter how difficult things got, he always pushed himself forward and became increasingly stronger. Without the will to exceed his limits, there would be nothing that drove him forward since there was already a lot of stability in his life. If he wanted to, he could avoid the dungeon and any troubles and just live the remainder of his long life making a fortune while enjoying thepany of the girls that cared for him. But, though that might seem fulfilling, Vahn didnt think he would be able to be truly happy in such a situation. He even had a slight fear that he would degenerate into something that would drive some of the people around him away. --- When the group made their way outside, they werent the only ones to do so as Haruhime and Mikoto had apanied behind the group. Fenrir wanted toe, but Vahn was afraid she would lose herself to her frustrations if he was beaten up right in front of her. She was being tended to by Hestia, Emiru, Maemi, and Preasia while they kept her distracted far enough away from the training area that she wouldnt be able to sense the fluctuations of energy. Coincidentally, the decided upon ce has been Vahns room, but he wasnt aware of it at the time. Since there were sound dampening talismans installed, they would be able to prevent Fenrirs sensitive ears from picking up the echoes and reverberations of the fight. Tione began stretching to loosen up her joints as she looked over toward the loose, casual, stance of Vahn. While rolling her shoulder, as if she were warming up for a punch, Tione asked, "Tell me Vahn, if you went all out, do you think you could defeat me?" Her question caused some of the other girls in the area to show very mild expressions of shock, since it would be next to impossible for a Level 3 to defeat a Level 5 in normal circ.u.mstances. They were even more surprised when Vahn nodded confidently and said, "If things got serious, I would have around a 70% chance at victory..." Vahn also wanted to say that, if it were truly a fight to the death, his odds were near 100% in a fight against a single opponent. [Enkidu] was a powerful asset and, if he could drag the fight out a bit, it would be possible to use his domain and [Rakshasa Body] to turn the fight in his favor. As if she had expected his words, Tione nodded her head before stretching her legs and beginning a short story, "You know, Tiona and I werent always in the Loki Familia. When we first arrived in the City, like most Amazons, we had the option of trying to move up through normal Familia or getting involved in something stupid like prostitution. Amazons arent actually thatmonly epted in normal society because of our cultures and traditions...but we wanted to avoid that kind of life and joined a weak Familia at first. Once we got stronger, we went around challenging people because our former Captain was weak and we had reached a dead end in our progress..." Tione stood up and loudly popped her neck before loosening up the joints in each of her fingers with loud sounds like bones breaking. She had a somewhat mncholic mood as she continued, "Because of our pride, we not only announced that we would join the Familia of the people that defeated us, but we would also be their women if they were suitable partners. You should know that Tiona and I are a little uniquepared to other Amazons, but we still announced our im to the public in hopes of meeting capable fighters. By the time we had defeated more than seventy challengers, we were eventually approached by Gareth...and Finn. Because we were only Level 3 at the time, there wasnt much we could do against powerhouses at the peak of Level 5, and that is how we ended up in the Loki Familia. Finn had been my opponent, and I eventually wanted to devote myself to him because he was handsome, strong, and had a strong, self-sacrificing, character..." As if to stop Tione from continuing on, Tiona shouted out, "Dont misunderstand Vahn, even though I respected Gareth, I never had any intention of actually being with him~!" Tiona had a slightly panicked look on her face which made Tioneugh scornfully before saying, "Dont let her fool you, us Amazons arent so quick to throw away our pride and renege on our words. She is just trying to cover up the fact that Gareth treated her like a child and never gave her a chance from the very beginning..." Tiona made a strange shout and said, "Tione, you traitor~! Even if its the truth, you didnt have to tell Vahn..." Tiona had a very dejected look and plopped onto the cold grass with a defeated look in her eyes. Because she had only been twelve at the time, she had been spurned by the 51 years-old middle-aged Gareth no matter what she tried to do. She never loved him, because he didnt have the heroic traits she was looking for, but it didnt stop her from trying... Vahn had a wry smile on his face before ncing over at the dejected Tiona and saying in a thoughtful manner, "I guess Ill have to thank Gareth then...Im not sure I can imagine what life would have been like if Tiona hadnt shown me her favor." Hearing Vahns words, Tiona sprung back up to her feet with a happy expression on her face as sheughed in a Ehehehehe~" like manner. Not everyone would be as magnanimous or understanding as Vahn, since the Amazon culture was often hard to understand for most people. Tione had a slight frown on her face as she watched their interaction with a touch of envy in her eyes. Before they could spoil the atmosphere for the fight, she continued, "Ill be honest Vahn, I do like you a bit...but not nearly as much as Finn. Im jealous of Tiona being able to find happiness while I have to keep struggling in a vain attempt to change Finns mind. Even though I know, if he did actually make concessions for me, I probably wouldnt be able to return to him after I had a child..." One of the reasons Tione liked Finn was due to his steadfast nature and unwillingness to bend easily. If he suddenly lost that trait just because she whittled down his defenses, she would probably raise their child alone before wandering the world again for a new partner... Hearing Tiones words, Vahn had a serious expression on his face and waiting for Tiones continuation. After a brief period of solemnity, Tione turned her eyes up at Vahn and said, "I can only respect those that can defeat me...so I want you to go all out. If you can defeat me..." Without continuing further, Tione grit her teeth and prepared a stance as if she were waiting for the start of the fight. Vahns brows furrowed a bit and he asked, "So youre saying I can use all my resources...and youre just going to fight bare-handed?" Instead of responding, Tione just maintained a serious look on her face with her fists up in a gesture simr to a loose boxing stance. With her silent ascent, Vahn had a bit of a dilemma to face due to the unique quality of his skills and abilities. Even though she was letting him use everything, Vahn didnt think it would be fair to rely on his equipment to edge out a stale victory. He wanted to fight her using nothing but his own skills and abilities, but he also knew it would be impossible to win...unless he was trying to kill her. For a brief moment, Vahn remembered the angst and trepidation in Hestias eyes when he had hesitated in the past and a small me was lit in the pit of his stomach that egged him onward. Turning to the spectators, Vahn said, "Haruhime, buff me..." Though she was surprised at first, Haruhime eventually started uttering a bell-like chant while swaying her body about as if she were going to start dancing. She was already developing the habit of moving while chanting even though she hadnt yet learned the actual skill. After a few seconds had passed, an azure, wispy, light emerged from Vahns body and prompted him to transform into his Bih form while expanding his domain. Since Tione and Tiona had both only reached Level 5 a few months ago, they were at the beginning stages in developing their parameters. With Haruhimes level-up magic, Vahn had the base parameters of a Level 4 peak and could reach into Level 5 with the use of his domain and Bih form. With his equipment, he would even be a match for some of the weaker Level 6s, at least as far as parameters were concerned. For someone to reach that point naturally, they would probably have the edge in regards to techniques and trump cards to use. Now that his preparations wereplete, Vahn and Tione were likely very simr, at least in base parameters. The problem was that arge portion of Vahns status came from his magic, while the majority of Tiones were focused on purely physical ability. Unlike Tiona, Tione had a small talent for Magic but had reached her current Level primarily through developing her power, endurance, dexterity, and agility. Even if they had simr amounts of parameters, she would edge out ahead in almost every category because of her specialization. However, Vahn still had confidence in his advantages... Vahn opened his stark-blue tiger-like eyes and stared into Tiones brown eyes before throwing a small effigy toward her in a casual manner. Though she had been in abat state, Tione realized that Vahn hadnt started the attack yet and caught the small figurine in her hands. Before she asked, Vahn exined in a serious manner, "That is a very rare item called [Effigy of the Hero]...I created it using a special technique that requires the .u.mtion of exillia of in monsters. Whoever has that item on their person, as soon as they take near-fatal damage, they will immediately heal all injuries and have their parameters boosted by arge amount before entering a temporary inactive state a few minutester..." Vahns words echoed like thunder around the training area because the item he just described would be a powerful, life-saving, item that couldpletely change the situation of a fight in the dungeon. Holding out his hand, Vahn showed the second effigy as he looked into Tiones eyes and said, "No holding back..." Tione saw his convictions and gripped the effigy tightly in her hands before cing it inside of the silver sp that prevented her revealing, swimsuit-like, top from revealed her n.a.k.e.d b.r.e.a.s.ts. Vahn hadnt expected the sp to actually be a locket and he briefly saw a faded image of a handsome blonde boy inside of it that he recognized as Finn. Though he wasnt sure why, Vahn felt a little annoyed at Finn, even though he knew it was everyones choice to love who they wanted. Since Vahn had little actual resistance against women, it wasnt easy for him to rationalize letting down a girl that ced so much hope and love in him. It was tragic in a way, that Tione would love someone dearly even knowing the target of her love would never reciprocate her feelings. Though subtle, Vahn tensed his hands a bit and prepared for Tione to retake her stance. The moment she did so, Vahn released the tension of his body and fluidly transitioned into a low crouch before saying, "Tione, Iming..." Without waiting for her response, Vahn disappeared from his spot using Shundo... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is already a degenerate though,Tionas Embarrassing Past,Battle of Emotions Begins) (A/N: Im not sure if Ill be able to write much today, I have a bad fever xD.) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 283 - Crushed

Chapter 283 - Crushed

Since she had never actually seen Vahn use Shundo before, Tione was briefly caught off guard before kicking back powerfully with her long legs. Even though Vahn was must faster than her in bursts, just like when he fought Tsubaki, he couldnt outmaneuver the reaction time and instincts of Tione at all. He had tried to get behind her and use a palm strike, but he ended up catching her bare foot before a wave of energy passed through his hand and he could feel his bones creaking under the strain. Though he initially began to slide back from her titanic strength, Vahns feet were still in contact with the ground and he managed topletely override the knockback force using Shundo to reposition. Tiones eyes opened wide since she had expected to knock Vahn back before following up with another attack. Instead, the moment she kicked him away, Vahn reappeared near her unguarded abdomen in an instant and struck forth with a very recognizable [Fist Strike], that was the bread and butter of her unarmedbat as well. She tried to use her pivot foot to twist her body and offset the strike, but Vahn fist still collided with her abdomen, even though it was slightly off-center. However, though he hadnded a powerful blow that sent Tione through the air around five meters, shended back on her feet in a nimble manner before red glint shone through her eyes. Without any words, Tione charged forward with a terrible momentum and smashed into the ground where Vahn had been standing. He evaded her charge using Shundo and then ducked low to avoid her roundhouse kick before dashing away once again. Vahn quickly realized that Tiones strength wasnt the only monstrous thing about her seeing as how he couldnt find an opening now that she had evaded his first blow. The best advantage he had was his ability to spontaneously change direction and outmaneuver Tione who could only charge in a single direction quickly. It took time for her to find her footing before literally flying several meters through the air with her powerful leaps and crushing small craters into the ground below. If Vahn used his [Xunw Protector](s), he might be able to trade blows with her, but he was currently in a contest of pure strength, skills, and abilities. With that thought in mind, Vahn didnt evade the next attack but received the dropping heel of Tione thatnded powerfully on his guard from above. A fervent, maddened, gaze appeared in Tiones eyes after sessfullynding a strike on the nimble Vahn. His feet nted several inches into the ground as spider-web cracks spread out from beneath him. Vahn knew both of his arms were broken, but he managed to receive the blow with a confident smile on his face before leaning into Tiones body with his own. She instinctively tried to grab around him in a grapple, but Vahn used Shundo to propel them both forward without doing anything to stop his momentum. Just like when he was learning Shundo, if he didnt properly connect the two points he would continue forward and trip, usually for several yards, due to the speed. Tione hadnt expected the situation at all as the both crashed heavily into the fortified walls of the Manor. The defensive formation activated and red runes spread through the area preventing any actual damage to the structure. However, it was the invible nature of the defenses that made the surface even harder as Vahn smashed Tiones back into the wall. She exhaled a painful gasp before trying to lock Vahns body down only to find him vanishing from within her grasp. Spitting out a bit of blood, the red glint in her eyes increased in intensity as she red at Vahn more than twenty meters away with a crazed expression. Though he had never seen it in action, Vahn knew this was Tiones [Berserk] skill which increased her power based on the amount of damage she had taken. However, even though she had hit the wall with thousands of kilograms of force, Vahn hadnt actually done much damage to her at all. Since he had an expert level understanding of the bodies of others and things like injuries, Vahn could see he hadnt even fractured any of Tiones ribs in their collision. Because of the nature of physicalws, Tiones body had a powerful ability to disperse attacks and she could even resist things like acid and mes with just her skin for several minutes without issue. Though he couldnt be sure, Vahn quickly tried to calcte Tiones Endurance parameter as he evaded her barrage of heavy blows that had be much stronger than before. Since she was one of the few that aspired toward mastery before increasing her Level, Tione should have around 4300-4500 Parameters per Level-up. Just ounting for Endurance as being 20% of her Status, Vahn could conclude that Tione had a base Endurance of around 4000. With his current strength being 2544, there was almost no way for him to deal damage to her without relying on his skills. Even the powerful shockwavesing from his hands simply broke down the moment he made contact with her tender, yet incredibly resistant, healthy brown skin. Of course, it wasnt simply his inability to hurt her that was the biggest issue...it was the fact that more than a quarter of Tiones total parameters likely came from her tyrannical strength. Now that she was using [Berserk], each of her blows were enough to break bones while he would be lucky to bruise her body. Though he didnt have any regrets about his own status distribution, Vahn was beginning to realize the downside of specializing in Magic as his primary stat. Without any magical spells to cast, he was at a bit of a disadvantage unless he used a few tricks. By now, more than a minute had passed and Vahns arms had begun to mend to the point where they were usable again. However, before he could try to get a hit into one of Tiones vitals, she suddenly dropped her guard with a smile on her face. Because it was an abnormal development, Vahn was momentarily caught off-guard even though he remained on high alert. In apletely casual manner, Tione made a motion as if she were going to toss something over to Vahn but, instead of gently, the rock flew out of Tiones hand like a bullet which smashed into Vahns thigh with enough force to leave arge gash in his leg. Vahn winced while Tione shouted, "Lets see if you can dodge with one leg! Graaaaaagh!" She had leaped high into the air and looked like she wanted to smash down on Vahn with both fists clenched. With a slight frown, Vahn used Shundo without any major difficulties while Tione nted herself nearly a foot into the ground before bursting out of it like a crazed lioness. Debris flew everywhere and she charged at Vahn with a fierce gaze as if she hadpletely lost her mind. Vahn knew that [Berserk] not only depended on the damage she took but was also influenced by her anger in a simr manner to Fenrir. Since he hadnt been fighting her directly, Tiones frustrations continued topound and she seemed to genuinely intend to bring him harm. Shundo didnt require the use of two legs, since it was just connecting two points within his domain, so Vahn was still able to use it while he tended to the wound with [Hands of Nirvana]. Tione saw his actions and gnashed her teeth before beginning a furious chant that Vahn didnt recognize. With a bit of panic, Vahn used Shundo to close the distance and try to interrupt her cast, but Tione just tanked the blow to her diaphragm without stopping her words at all. The only thing Vahns strike aplished was making her exhale slightly through her nose. Tione finished her chant by shouting, "Capture time, stop time, and trample over time!!!" Vahn tried to dash away with Shundo, but the moment he reached the end point of his movement powerful bands of energy wrapped around his limbs and prevented him from moving a single inch. For a brief moment, Vahn felt like he understood how his opponents would feel if he used [Enkidu] on them, but that thought was set aside in an instant when Tione charged toward him low the ground as if she was going to tackle him. If she managed to mount his body, Vahn would suffer her tyrannical strength in a position where he couldnt easily defend himself. Instead of panicking, Vahn converged fire elements into his body and quickly increased his own temperature to nearly 1500 degrees Celsius while simultaneously using [Chainbreaker] in an attempt to break free from his restraints. Because of the intense heat, and the fact it was very cold outside, there were waves of energying off of Vahns body as his clothing incinerated into ashes that revealed his n.a.k.e.d Bih form for all the spectators to see. Though it wasnt his intention, his actions made Tione falter a bit while the other girls in the area all had varying reactions. Tiona literally got fired up at the sight and had a zing passion in her eyes as she shouted, "Oooooooooohhhh~!" Ais had a fierce look in her eyes as she stared at Vahn while holding Tiona back with the assistance of the slightly befuddled Anakitty. Haruhime had her usual elegant demeanor except there was a strange glint in her eyes as they squinted slightly. Even though she had an aversion to men and a fierce androphobia, it didnt seem to extend to Vahn at all. As for Mikoto, she maintained her disciplined and serious look, except there was a slight twitch in her brows. The most drastic reaction was, of course, Lefiya, who had squatted to the ground with a shrill squeak and had a fiercely blushing face as she stared through the gaps of her fingers. Vahn had only heated his body with the intent of increasing his offensive power and make Tione slightly apprehensive, but he wasnt going to waste the opportunity he had created so he dashed forward with Shundo and struck forth with a kick to Tiones side. Her eyes wavered for a brief moment before she made a passive attempt to try and defend herself bypressing her body instinctively. Unfortunately, her temporary daze made her unable to process things clearly so she received Vahns blow, which was hot enough to melt steel, with her exposed side. The daze she had been in vanishedpletely as she rolled to the ground and tried to disperse the heat in her body before bouncing back to her feet with a mad look and started to shout before Vahn appeared right in front of her again. Since he knew she would be fine with the effigy, Vahn wasnt pulling his punches at all even though the smell of burnt flesh was very nauseating. If he didnt have the physical power to break through Tiones defenses, he needed to rely on his other abilities to do so. Unexpectedly, Tione gnashed her teeth and swallowed her words as she reached forward to grab Vahns red-hot shoulders as he drove his fist into her gut. Vahn could feel her fingers pierce into his shoulders and also noticed that, though his body was hot enough to melt steel, it only caused a nauseating smell toe from the blistered skin of Tione as she c.o.c.ked her head back and leaned forward to give him a powerful headbutt to the crown of his head. Vahns vision ckened in an instant, but he still managed to instinctively use Shundo to send them both careening through the courtyard. When they stood up, Vahns body was already changing into his turtle form and he had a powerful urge to pass out as he started into the fierce eyes of Tione who didnt even blink when blood dripped from her forehead and into the open eyes. Vahn was having trouble forming any thoughts at all and was relying on his instincts and willpower to prevent himself from passing out. The familiar cold sensation had long spread through his body, and it seemed to be the only thing supporting him at the moment. Since it wasnt the first time he had received a heavy blow to the head, Vahn imagined that he had a severe concussion or maybe even some slight hemorrhaging as blood dripped from his hair. For a short period of a few seconds, they both just stared at each other before Tione released a bestial warcry and began her attack with renewed intensity. Vahn was in a strange state where he was unable to form thoughts, so he trusted his instincts and used the enhanced defenses of his turtle form to receive the heavy blow of Tione. She also seemed to have lost her mind a bit, because she didnt seem to care that he was responding contrary to her expectations. When her heel collided with the palm of Vahn, a green glow emerged from the scales on his body before he struck forward with his free right hand upwards toward Tiones abdomen. The green glow increased in intensity as Vahns fist connected with Tiones torso and there was a powerful pulse that spread through her body that was difficult to dissipate. She could feel her organs trembling as she spat out an unhealthy amount of blood and kicked off Vahns face before flipping through the air and trying tond upright. The moment she contacted the ground, Tiones strength left her legs and she fell heavily to the ground. However, she wasnt worried about her own condition as her [Berserk] state was immediately broken and she stared over toward Vahns position with a powerful anxiety clearly present on her face. Tione had a very rare ability called [Backdraft] which greatly enhanced her power to ridiculous levels when she was in a pinch. Since she had suffered a serious, debilitating, blow, Tiones parting kick to Vahns face had carried the effect of her [Backdraft] and she felt nearly no resistance from his head before she kicked away from him. Now that she looked over, she had seen Vahn still standing with his back arched and she nearly had a mental breakdown at the sight of his face after her attack. There was a literal indentation in Vahns previously handsome face and she could tell that most of his facial bones had been crushed while both eyes bled profusely. The attack hadnt carried through his body at all, so it almost looked like Vahn had died...still standing firmly on his feet. She wasnt the only one to have a serious reaction as Haruhime immediately passed out and was caught by the nearby Mikoto who had a look of disbelief on her face. Lefiya, who had been bashfully staring at Vahn through her fingers, had apletely nk look on her face while Tiona and Ais had the most drastic reactions of everyone present. Ais shakily walked over to Lefiya after releasing the delirious Tiona and kept muttering, "Lefiya...help...Lefiya..." Ais wanted Lefiya to use [Heal] in order to help Vahn but was unable to actually form the sentence in her mouth. Lefiyas mind hadpletely nked and she couldnt even hear the words of the girl she idolized more than anyone else. Tiona shouted loudly like a wounded animal, "Tioooooooooneeeeeeeeeee!" Without hesitating, she charged at her catatonic elder twin with a fierce look in her tear stained eyes. As Tione looked between Vahn and her younger twin, she also started to tear up but couldnt find the words to express her current emotions or make any excuses. Seeing the aggrieved look in her own twins face, Tione felt absolutely terrible about her decision and closed her eyes to ept whatever happened next. Before Tiona could close the distance, a dark silhouette appeared in her trajectory and caught the tyrannical blow of the enraged Amazon. Tiona immediately tried to attack again beforeing to a pause as she stared into Vahns face with a look of utter disbelief. Since Tiona had kicked forward, Vahn had grabbed her calf in an awkward position, but instead of letting her go he hiked her leg up further before embracing Tionas body to prevent her from taking any further actions. Right now, his parameters far exceeded everyone present, so he could easily overpower Tionas current strength. The entire area became silent as Vahn gave a gentle kiss to Tionas forehead before saying, "Ill pass out soon, dont do anything strange to my body...even if I cant move, Im still aware of everything going on around me." Vahn released Tionas leg and her foot thudded to the ground as she continued to stare nkly into Vahns face. Even Tione had a look of disbelief until she saw a small effigy where Vahn had previously stood...it looked like a tiny, disfigured, heroic figure that was currently zing with a powerful me that seemed to Tione to be the me of hope itself. She ced her hand over the silver locket at her neck and remembered Vahns words at the start of the fight... "That is a very rare item called [Effigy of the Hero]...I created it using a special technique that requires the .u.mtion of exillia of in monsters. Whoever has that item on their person, as soon as they take near-fatal damage, they will immediately heal all injuries and have their parameters boosted by arge amount before entering a temporary inactive state a few minutester..." Though she felt a powerful sense of relief that Vahn was okay, Tione also knew that she had made an error that could have affected the lives of everyone around her. There were so many people that had expectations for Vahn, herself included, and she had dealt near-fatal damage to him because of her own negligence. If the item he had given her wasnt as powerful as he had imed, Vahn would have died because of an error she had made in a moment of panic...Opening the locket at her neck, Tione held the tiny effigy Vahn had given her in her palms before staring at the picture of Finn that she kept hidden within. Tione released a sigh and looked over at, not only Tiona, but Ais and a blond-haired fox girl hugging Vahn with relieved expressions and tears in their eyes. She could see that Lefiya also felt a lot of relief and had fallen to the cold ground with a happy expression on her pale face. Tione realized she would have to make it up to everyone presentter, or they might never be able to forgive her for what she had nearly done. However, while she was thinking of what to say, Vahn looked over and had a gentle expression on his face as he asked, "Are you okay, Tione?" She could see that he had a genuine concern in his eyes as he looked at the areas that still throbbed in pain on her body. For a brief moment, Tione frowned before releasing an exasperated sigh and saying, "You win...I cant fight you anymore. Do whatever you want with me..." Tione fell back onto the cold ground with her arms spread and looked towards the cloudy sky overhead. She felt a powerful mncholy in her heart, but also a bit of relief apanied by a healthy amount of expectation. It was almost like a heavy burden had been removed from her shoulders and all the tension in her body was released all at once. There was even a gentle warmth that began to spread through her body... With a frown on her face, Tione looked over and saw Vahn using a staff simr to Lefiyas and casting a healing spell on her body. Without a few seconds, her burns hadpletely vanished and she could feel the aches from her body dissipating rapidly. Vahn was also wearing clothes again, even though she didnt see when he put them on. Thest thing that happened, before this event came to a conclusion, was Vahn smiling and saying, "Lets call this one a draw..." As his words finished, Vahn fell face-forward toward the ground before he was quickly caught by Tiona and Ais. (A/N: I know some people will ask, so know that [Effigy of the Hero] costs 100k OP, and Vahn used 200k, of his 268,399 OP to purchase them. This brings his bnce to 68,399OP remaining.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Shundo is Unfair,Berserk Amazon,NOT THE FACE!) (A/N: Im not sure if Ill be able to write much today, I have a bad fever xD. I might take a nap after this chapter, so dont expect any for a few hours at least.) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 284 - Awareness

Chapter 284 - Awareness

After Vahn copsed powerlessly into their arms, both Tiona and Ais had somewhat concerned expressions on their faces until Lefiya reminded them, "Vahn said he would pass out after the item wore off...but he would be unable to move for a while." Now that Vahn was asleep, Lefiya had calmed down a lot as well and walked over to check if he or Tione needed her assistance with healing. Huruhime wanted to step in and help, but she could tell that the two girls were much closer to Vahn than she was and didnt have any easy to step in with her current capabilities. When everyone had calmed down a bit, Vahn wasid on the ground while Ais gave him ap pillow and watched over him like a hawk. Even though it had been an ident she, as well as Tiona and Haruhime, werent able to easily forgive Tione for what she had done. Right now, Tione sat off to the side with a defeated look while Lefiya checked over her body to make sure there werent any seque from the fight. Haruhime sat near Vahn on the ground, even though she didnt have any real resistance against the cold. Mikoto watched over the group while standing next to Anakitty, who had been watching everything y out as if she had been viewing a drama. After a few minutes passed, Tiona looked over at Tione and said, "If anything had happened to Vahn..." Without continuing her words, Tiona gripped her hands a bit with a conflicted expression on her face. Her words echoed through the area and weighed heavily on several of the girls minds. Tione herself was affected greatly as she looked over at the sleeping Vahn and said, "Ill leave it to him to decide my fate...even if he calls it a draw, I wont ept that. I know he has a lot of powerful equipment that he didnt use, and there is also those chains of his that never made an appearance...even though he went easy on me, I lost control of my own power and made a grave error. I lost..." Since they were close to Vahn and had read everything on thework, most of the girls present know about the existence of [Enkidu] and Vahns sword [L?vateinn]. The members of the Loki Familia also knew that he had a third form, not just the two that he had used during the fight. If Vahn had turned into the form he used to kill the Goliath, there would have been no way for Tione toe out ahead. He had held back his strength to ensure that he wouldnt identally kill Tione, and had even given them both life-protecting items to protect them in the event of an ident. No matter how any of them looked at the situation, it was obviously Vahns win considering the oue. Tiona looked down at Vahn and said, "He said he would be awake...so that means he can hear everything were saying now, right?" Looking over, Tiona saw Lefiya nod her head so Tiona continued after staring at Tione, "I know Vahn...he will probably forgive you and even ept you in his heart...but I dont want you to approach him like this. It isnt fair that youre using him as a substitute for Finn and had almost killed him because of your own frustrations. If Vahn hadnt nned a countermeasure for the worst case scenario..." Ais had a somewhat serious look on her face as she stroked Vahns head and said, "Tione...punishment." Hearing theirbined words, Tione released a long sigh and said, "I wouldnt be able to avoid Lokis wrath anyway...Ill ept whatever punishment you cane up with. Im not going to shirk my responsibility in this matter." Tione shrugged her shoulder to escape Lefiyas inspection and said, "You should tend to Vahn for now, Im fine..." Lefiya nodded her head and walked over to where Vahn wasying down before kneeling next to him. Magical light emerged from her palms and she was looking for any injuries he might have sustained that needed to be treated. After scanning him from head to toe, Lefiya noticed there werent any abnormalities and she released a relieved sigh that made Ais ask, "Is he okay, Lefiya?" Lefiya nodded her head and exined, "I remember he said that the item should have healed all his wounds...he is in perfect condition except for the fact that the mana in his body seems to be dissipating instead of gathering inside. It is like he is in Mind Down...but I think its just a side effect of the item he had used. Other than...all the blood and stuff...he is perfectly fine." When Lefiya finished her diagnosis, her words caused everyone to look over Vahns body and realized that, though he had changed clothes, he was covered in a bunch of dirt and caked-on blood. Since most of the girls were adventurers, they didnt mind that much but it was still a sorry sight to see someone in. Tiona looked at Mikoto and Haruhime before asking, "Where is the bath? I will clean off his body and help him wear some clean clothes." Incited by her words, Haruhime responded, "No, Vahn is the Captain of my Familia, Ill take care of him myself..." Before she could get out of hand, Mikoto ced her hand on Haruhimes shoulder and shook her head. She then turned her attention to Tiona and asked, "What is your rtionship with Vahn?" Though Mikoto was somewhat informed, she wasnt one of the girls on thework and didnt know most of the information rted to Vahn. She spent most of her time training and searching for Haruhime in the past without paying much attention to other matters. Tiona exined with a happy smile, "I am Vahns first lover~! Ais is also his lover..." When Tiona had responded to Mikoto, a small me ignited in Aiss eyes as she looked over and nodded her head and said, "I epted everything..." Unaware of the implication behind Aiss words, Mikoto turned her attention to the other girls present and asked, "And what about everyone else?" Releasing a sigh, Tione said, "Well, I might be one of his future lovers...and weve already bathed together. Besides, even if I shouldnt be near Vahn, I need to help keep my sister under control..." Mikoto nodded her head before turning her attention to Lefiya who immediately blushed fiercely and hung her head low as she hugged [Heal] in her arms. She stated in a very bashful manner, "I-I-Im just a...f-friend..." As if disagreeing with her, Ais shook her head and stated inly, "Lefiya is too young..." Tiona piggybacked her words and added, "Yeah, but she has already bathed with Vahn and seen him n.a.k.e.d a few times~! As long as Ais is around, I imagine she would probably be involved one day, ehehehe~." Lefiyas face blushed a beet red and she didnt respond to anyone as Mikoto turned her gaze to Anakitty who waved her hands and said, "This is my first time meeting Vahn, but Ill probably be joining the Familia and staying here from now on? I think Ryuu is the Vice-Captain, so Ill be the Lieutenant unless Vahn finds a better option." Mikotos brows raised slightly before she bowed politely and said, "Please take care of us in the future..." Haruhime also bowed politely but was still focused on Vahns condition and wanted to volunteer her support. Mikoto, now understanding the situation a bit, looked around and said, "Ill entrust Vahn to everyone here while exining the situation to Hestia-sama...Ill also take-" Mikoto looked over at Anakitty who responded, "Ah, my named is Anakitty Autumn, its nice to meet the two of you." Mikoto nodded again and said, "Ill take Anakitty with me so she can talk to Hestia-sama about joining the Familia." Before Mikoto could finalize things, Ais spoke out and said, "Secret for now...you should let Vahn exinter." Mikoto looked at the serious expression of Ais before furrowing her brows slightly and agreeing to her words. She knew things might get blown out of proportion once Hestia knew about what happened and Vahn would be the best person to control the situation. After that, everyone made an agreement before Mikoto showed the way to the onsen before dragging along Haruhime with Anakitty apanying them. In the changing room, all of the girls began undressing without minding the situation at all with the exclusion of Lefiya. She wanted to follow along with Anakitty and the others but had been asked to stay back with Ais just in case anything happened. Since Tiona couldnt be trusted to wash Vahn, Tione and Ais were required to look after her which left Lefiya as the person to take care of Vahn. Lefiya knew that Vahn was aware of everything happening around him, even if he wasnt able to see or say anything. She felt very embarrassed to undress and bathe with him again, but also wanted to make sure he was okay... After she had undressed, Ais walked over to where they hadid down Vahn and began to peel off his clothing in an awkward fashion. Since she actually struggled with her own clothing sometimes, it wasnt easy for Ais to help another person, especially if they were unresponsive, undress. It eventually turned into a situation where she had unbuttoned his top and had been trying to pull off his trousers but she just dragged him along the bench a bit without removing them. Tiona wanted to help out, but she already had a slightly flushed expression on her face and had even swallowed a bit when she thought nobody was looking. Ironically, Tione was having a somewhat simr look even though it wasnt nearly as obvious. Fearing for Vahn, it once again came down to Lefiya to help Ais undress him. Though things went smoothly, Lefiyas blush had spread all the way down to her budding b.r.e.a.s.ts with how fair her skin normally was. She felt incredibly embarrassed but was able to keep her cool since the n.a.k.e.d Ais was nearby. When Vahn was fully n.a.k.e.d, every girl present let their eyes wander a bit before Lefiya looked away and started trotting toward the interior of the bath as if she was escaping the room. Tione and Tiona followed behind her shortly after while Ais picked up Vahn in a princess carry and took him toward one of therger pools where everyone had gathered. Even though he was unresponsive, the briefest hint of a blush appeared on Vahns face after being carried in such a manner by a girl that was more than 10cm shorter than he was. Ais helpedy Vahn in the water and served as a literal Vahnguard to keep the two Amazon sisters at bay. From the moment Vahn was fully n.a.k.e.d, Tiona had been very quiet and was obviously restraining herself while Tione also had a moderately fervent expression creeping in her eyes. Since she now recognized Vahn, the way she saw him was undergoing a rapid change within her heart and mind. Ais was very perceptive of the situation and ushered them to the far side of the pool away from Vahn while leaving his care to Lefiya. From the moment Ais walked away and left behind Vahns body for her to tend to, Lefiyas heart began beating like a frightened rabbit and she had trouble finding a spot to focus her eyes. She noticed that Vahn was very handsome and had an incredibly toned body with lean muscles. There didnt seem to be any imperfections or abnormalities in his form and most of his features were perfectly symmetrical. The most distracting thing was, of course, the fact that Vahns dragon was clear to see in all its intimidating glory. Though she tried to avoid it, Lefiya would periodically nce over at the submerged member as she used her shaky hands to wipe down Vahns body. Since she had grown up surrounded by girls, Lefiya had always been somewhat wary of men and had even developed a crush on Ais after she had saved her in the past. Though she didnt think she was a lesbian, Lefiya had never found a boy that she genuinely liked and hadnt been considering matters of love since she was still young. Elves followed the customs of other species and also became a.d.u.l.ts at fourteen, but they didnt reach physical maturity until their early twenties due to their longevity. Lefiya was currently only thirteen, so there was still a long time before she would have normally considered matters of love. However, she felt like she had been exposed to Vahn a lot and had slowly been worn down by his presence. He was always kind and gentle to her and, even though they werent in a rtionship, Vahn always paid attention to her mental state while encouraging her and even giving her gifts. Since it was her desire to apany Ais on her journey to y the One-Eyed ck Dragon, Lefiya knew she would be spending a lot of time with both of the people she idolized... Wiping away the blood from Vahns face, Lefiya released a warm sigh and muttered, temporarily forgetting Vahn could hear her, "You really are handsome..." Seeming to have remembered that Vahn was awake, Leifyas eyes opened widely after processing her own words. For the remainder of the bath, Lefiya washed down Vahns body in silence while avoiding the tender areas to the best of her ability. After the momentarypse in her mental state earlier, Lefiya was now overly aware of everything she was doing with her hands. Even though she used a sponge tother up Vahns body, she used her hands to wipe him down after submerging him up to his neck. She had even noticed that Vahn had a slight blush on his face and wondered what he might be thinking about the situation after hearing her earlier words. Just before it was time to exit the bath, Lefiya leaned forward and whispered, "Please continue to treat me kindly in the future..." Vahn, who had been stuck in a strange state for a while, could sense everything around him from the moment he had copsed in the backyard. Even though he couldnt see with his eyes, he was very aware of his surroundings with his ability to sense auras and his spatial awareness. Since he could also hear everything that was being said, he knew who each aura belonged to and had heard all the words they had said about him, including the matters regarding Tione. He noticed that her aura was beginning to look very simr to Tionas, so Vahn understood her impression of him had changed drastically in a short time. The thing he didnt expect, however, was that Lefiya would get wrapped up in taking care of him. Ever since their first meeting in the past, Vahn never knew how he should treat Lefiya. He always treated her well, since he knew she was important to everyone else and also showed some small favor for him. However, she was always somewhat distant and Vahn never knew how to approach her at all. There was also the fact that he was aware of things like age restrictions and various customs. He knew Lefiya was too young to actively pursue, but Vahn still treated her kindly since he didnt want her to feel left out. Since she was always influenced by Tiona and Ais, Vahn thought they might be involved in the future, but he never expected her to have a momentary slip and whisper that he was handsome...being called handsome by a young and bashful elven girl made Vahns heart tickle a little bit and he started paying too much attention to everything she did after that. At first, Vahn had just been rxing and enjoying the unique situation, but now each of Lefiyas actions seemed far more intimate than normal. He could feel her aura shaking and was very aware of the subtle pink that had started to color it from the edges as if it were slowly corroding away the sunlike yellow that made up the majority of her aura. When it came time for her to rinse him off, Vahn felt the water reach his neck and he actually felt slightly afraid since it would actually be very easy for her to drown him, even though he knew she wouldnt do such a thing. Feeling her smooth palms tracing over his body, Vahn could feel his own heartbeat begin to elerate and noticed that Lefiya was aware of it too since she stopped her hand on his chest. A few minutes after, Vahn could hear the other girls making a small ruckus and knew they were discussing leaving the bath. He had already beenpletely cleaned by Lefiya, who had even used a small cloth to wipe down his hair and remove the blood that had soaked into it earlier. She was very attentive in her actions and Vahn felt a hint of anxiety spreading through his body when she wasying his head back against the warm stone of the bath. For a very brief moment, Vahn could feel a soft sensation touch his arms as Lefiya leaned near his ear and whispered, "Please continue to treat me kindly in the future..." Apanying her words, Lefiyas affection shot up to 97 and Vahn felt an urge to swallow his saliva but couldnt move even a single muscle in his entire body. (A/N: I am still sick, but I woke up and decided to write a chapter before going back to bed. I feel like Im recovering a bit, so Ill try to release another 6-7ter today.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tiona Is Ruffled,Anakitty Has No Idea What She Walked Into,Lefiyas Tender Care) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 285 - Stance

Chapter 285 - Stance

After a small fiasco where Ais and Lefiya helped Vahn wear a change of clothing, they were looking for a ce to keep his body until he awoke. They didnt know how long he would be out ofmission, and thought it would be best to return him to his room. Since he was now clothed, Tiona had volunteered to carry Vahn and was supporting him on her back as they walked through the Manor and headed upstairs after meeting with Haruhime along the way. The entire group made their way into Vahns room, and for many, this was the first time they had ever entered. Hestia had been sitting on the sofa with a subtly blushing Anakitty and they stopped their conversation when the group had arrived. Fenrir was the first to notice the arrival and trotted over quickly in her maid getup and had a very frustrated look on her face after seeing Vahn on Tionas back. She red at the girls and asked, "Who hurt Vahn?" Even though they were much stronger than Fenrir, everyone present felt their instincts trigger an rm in the back of their mind. Tione looked like she was about to take responsibility, but Hestia said from the couch, "Fenrir, Vahn is okay and needs to rest properly. Please dont wake him up right now, okay?" Hestia had a gentle look on her face, but her blue eyes were scarier than the glowing scarlet eyes of Fenrir to some of the girls, especially Tione. After Vahn wasid in the bed, Hestia addressed everyone present, "If youre not in an active rtionship with Vahn, please leave the room. Dinner will be ready in a few hours, so youre wee to stay as long as you leave afterward." Hearing Hestias words, everyone had slightly different reactions and began to leave the room. Fenrir wanted to stay, but Hestia had her apany Preasia, Haruhime, and Mikoto. The only people left in the room were Tiona, Ais, Hestia, Vahn, and Tione, who had been asked to stay since Hestia knew she was the culprit behind the current situation. She hadnt heard the full details from Mikoto and Anakitty, but she had heard a bit and was going to be waiting for Vahn to tell her the restter. Hestia looked at Tione and could tell she was reflecting on her actions, but she still felt the smallest amount of distaste in her heart for the Amazon girl. For Vahn to have passed out in such a manner, it had great implications about what had happened. The fact he had asked Fenrir to be distracted before they even began was evidence that things had gotten out of hand. Turning her head away from the apologetic looking Tione, Hestia evaluated Ais and Tiona with an appraising look. She had known about the two girls previously but had never been properly introduced to them since they had gone on an expedition shortly after she descended. The only time she had met them had been during the birthday celebration, but she had kept to herself at the time since she was trying to understand the situation better. Now that she got a good look, Hestia realized that Tiona had a very lively, almost childish, appearance. Though it was a strange way to describe someone, Hestia felt like she was simr to a light breeze, or a breath of fresh air. Even though she didnt know much about the girl personally, she could tell that Vahn probably needed a girl like her in his life. Her impression of Ais, however, was distinctly different than that of Tiona. Ais looked like a very youngdy, not even a woman yet, and her appearance was almost wless and doll-like. It looked like she had been made by a master artisan of the gods and Hestia couldnt find anything negative to say about her besides the rtively expressionless look on her face. Though she wasnt sure why, Hestia felt like Ais was a very dangerous girl to keep around Vahn. Since Vahn didnt have muchmon sense, Hestia could imagine him getting caught up in Aiss life and unable to escape if things took a strange turn. Without beating around the bush, Hestia asked both girls with a serious expression on her face, "Tell me what you think about Vahn. I dont want to hear that you simply like, or love, him. I want to know why you like him and what you n to do in the future from hereon. I wont hide it, but I love Vahn a lot, maybe even more than most of the other girls and goddesses. He is the person Ive decided to dedicate everything to, and I wont let him suffer just because of his gentle nature and eagerness to please others. If you cant give me a proper exnation, Ill have to ask that you dont try to maintain a long-term rtionship with him in the future. Vahn needs stability in his life...if you cant help provide that for him, you should be friends...not lovers." Tiona wasnt intimidated at all and answered with a thoughtful, yet happy, expression on her face, "I can tell you care about Vahn a whole lot, but I dont think my feelings would lose out at all. I am the first girl that fell in love with Vahn, and he is the hero that helped pull my heart away from the darkness of my past. Though I cant be with him always, I also intend to dedicate my everything to him...because he has already be a big part of how I define myself." As if a testament to her True Love Status, Tiona didnt waver at all when she spoke to Hestia. Even though she wasnt always eloquent, she could seriously discuss matters that were near and dear to her heart. Hestia nodded her head approvingly because she realized Tiona was very serious about her words and would probably willingly sacrifice herself if she could protect Vahn. She also didnt interfere in his life much and even allowed him to seek happiness from other people without restraint. In many ways, Hestia realized that Tiona was far ahead of her when it came to the rtionship she had with Vahn. Unlike her selfish and possessive nature, Tiona simply became happy knowing that Vahn was happy and doing his best. Even though she was a mortal, she wasnt in a rush and even worked toward improving herself without weighing down Vahn at all. Turning her head, Hestia could see Ais with a slight frown on her face as she looked toward the sleeping Vahn with a contemtive look. Sensing Hestias gaze, she turned her golden eyes and stared into the blue gems of Hestia before a slightly serious look appeared on her face. Though she rarely spoke long sentences, Ais stated confidently, "I like Vahn a lot...I love him...if I had to, I would love him more than anyone else. He is strong and he grows very quickly...he gives me hope that the future will be better. I want to walk the same path with him...and see if I can find the happiness I lost. Even if you wanted to force me away...I will alwayse back to Vahn. Being together with him...makes me feel like things will be okay." Though she had a frown on her face, Hestia didnt try to refute the words of Ais at all. She knew that Vahn needed something to motivate him to grow stronger and would never abandon someone he had already decided to help. Even if she tried to drive a wedge between the two, both Ais and Vahn would probably seek each other out regardless. However, Hestia felt a bit of fear in her heart because she knew that, if anyone was to get Vahn killed, it would probably be this beautiful golden-haired girl in front of her. The only thing she could think of to say was, "Please, dont let Vahn do anything too dangerous..." Hestia put her hands together like she was praying and earnestly implored the two girls that had been his first lovers. After they affirmed her request, Hestia turned her gaze to Tione and asked, "And what about you? I remember you acting strangely ever since the birthday party...I can tell you also like Vahn, but how did things develop to this point? Depending on your answer..." Of all the girls around Vahn, Hestia felt like this Amazon girl didnt suit Vahn at all. Not only was she the sister of Tiona, but she had even caused Vahn to overextend himself and get hurt. She wasnt aware that Vahn had actually suffered a fatal attack, but Hestia could tell by the way Tione was acting that something very serious had happened. Tione had a wry smile on her face as she looked between Ais, Tiona, Vahn, and then back to Hestia. She hugged her arms under her b.r.e.a.s.ts and had a forlorn look on her face as she exined, "Ever since I watched Vahn fight the Goliath, I thought he would be a worthy partner one day. Afterward, when I saw him in the bath, it made me feel a little excited and I wanted to tease him a bit. When he got in a rtionship with my sister, I felt envious and frustrated because I had lost my pride as the elder twin. Though he doesnt reciprocate my feelings at all, I had been in love with a Pallum man named Finn for thest few years...seeing Tiona with Vahn was a big impact on me..." Releasing a long sigh, Tione looked at her own sister and shook her head before continuing, "After seeing how well things were going between Vahn, Tiona, and Ais, I started to get impatient and made a lot of efforts to approach Finn and change his mind. However, nothing I tried could get him to lower his guard and it just ended up building a wall between us...because I couldnt cope with the situation properly...I started wanting to tease Vahn and Tiona more so I could appease my own feelings of unease..." Tione had a somewhat mournful look on her face because she could see that Hestia was staring at her with a cold re while even Tiona and Ais were giving her strange looks. She was very aware that she was in the wrong and had been using Vahn as an outlet for her frustrations. Because he was handsome, capable, and even in a rtionship with her twin, Tione couldnt easily stand by the sidelines and pretend everything was fine. After a brief hesitation, she exined, "Whenever I apanied Tiona on her dates...I was always very jealous of how Vahn treated her. He was always nice and showed her affection, while the person I loved had spurned me for more than three years. Since he is so easy to approach...I decided to take advantage of the kind and gentle nature of Vahn and have him show me some affections as well..." Looking over toward the bed, Tione had a sad smile on her face before continuing again, "He really is a gentle fool...even though I didnt do anything to earn his favor, he always showed me kindness and even treated me well alongside my sister. He never left me out of things and even took all my teasing in stride without faltering in the slightest. Though he had no need to do so, he always treated me as a friend and showed that I had a ce in his heart if I needed it...Because of this, I started to have a change in how I felt about him and it had turned into a longing feeling after we had left for the recent expedition. Vahn gave us all weapons, and even though the swords he gifted me were high quality, I could feel the difference in treatment between myself, Tiona, and Ais..." At this point, Tione had a struggling expression on her face and her brows were quivering slightly as she said, "I felt afraid...even though he had shown me so much kindness, I could see that Vahn didnt treat me the same way as Tiona and Ais. I knew I had no right to expect his affections, but I cant help but consider myself deserving of the same treatment as my own twin...I just wanted to be happy as well. Even if I couldnt get the same exact treatment, I wanted Vahn to show me that he cared about me almost as much as Tiona...because I had started to give up on my own love." Tione released a strange, self-ridiculing,ugh as tears began to appear in her eyes. She looked at the three girls and asked with a pitiful expression on her face, "Do you know what Finn said...when I told him that I might fall in love with Vahn if he didnt give me a chance?" As if she were feeling scared and cold, Tiones body shook a little bit and she hugged herself and stated, "He said, "That would be for the best. I hope Vahn treats you well." Without any hesitation at all, even though I hadid everything bare for him, Finn easily dismissed me without a thought..." The reason Tione had been in such high tensions for the visit to the Manor was that she had been in a chaotic state of mind ever since Finn had made his intentions clear. She could still remember the encouraging smile on his face as he stared up from the paperwork he was filling out. Moments after his words fell, he began writing on the doc.u.ment with his quill as if she hadnt said anything significant that required his further attention. Since she didnt want to disturb his work, Tione showed him a cheerful smile before wishing him well and leaving his office. Swallowing her saliva, Tione wiped away her tears and had the same self-ridiculing look on her face as she said, "I wanted to call out Vahn for treating me differently and get him riled up enough that he would be willing to fight me. I thought that, if he was at least able to put up a good fight, I would be able to change the target of my affections to him. I didnt think it would be any time soon, but I hoped my heart would be healed over time as I watched him slowly close the gap between us and eventually overtake me. When that happened, I could be with both him and Tiona and we could work hard to make our shared dreame true...I also dislike the customs of the Amazons, and I dont want my daughter to have to undergo that kind of life...I wanted her to be free...so she didnt have to suffer the same burdens we had gone through." A hopeful look appeared in Tiones eyes as she looked toward Vahn again and continued, "But, instead of putting up a fight...Vahn actually managed to defeat me. Even though...even though..." Tione remembered thest blow of the fight and how devastated she had been when she saw Vahns appearance after the error she had made. Almost as if her body had responded to the thought, Tione once again fell to her butt after her legs lost their strength. With a fearful look on her face, she stared up at the three girls and said through tear-stained eyes, "Im sorry...I just wanted to be loved..." Tiona had also been remembering the event and had a difficult expression on her face, but she couldnt simply ignore the state of her big sis. They had struggled together their entire lives, and she knew Tione better than anyone else. Though she couldnt forgive her for what had happened, she wouldnt continue ming her just to make her feel guilty. There were other ways they could reconcile their problems other than just holding me over each other after all. Unable to bear the current, pitiful, state of Tione, Tiona stepped forward and hugged her sister and tried to help console her. Being embraced by Tiona, Tione began crying as she embraced her little sisters body and the two held each other closely with their titanic strength. Gently stroking the back of Tiones hair, Tiona looked up at Hestia and had a wry smile on her face with a gentle gleam in her eyes as she said, "Sorry Hestia, Tione can be a bit of a doofus at times...but she is a good girl. Please dont hate her for one mistake...she is already the person most affected by her actions." As if to support Tionas words, Ais nodded her head and said, "It is painful...not to be loved." Since she had lost her parents and suffered a great deal in the past, Ais felt a bit of empathy for Tione having been neglected by Finn. Hestia had slightly furrowed brows as she stared between Tiona and Ais before turning her attention back to the crying Tione. She could tell that she was very sorry for her actions, but that only made Hestia more fearful of what had actually happened. Since Vahn was the person affected by the situation, Hestia had intended to allow him to make the final decision and handle things himself. She now realized, however, that things werent nearly as simple and clear-cut as she had expected. Though she empathized greatly with Tione, she still cared more about Vahns well-being and didnt want to see him hurt because of a lovelorn Amazon that couldnt control her emotions properly. As she had been thinking about her decision, a ginormous head popped out of the floor and shocked everyone in the room. For a brief moment, Ais had put her hand on the hilt of her sword due to the sudden appearance of a dragon. Fortunately, she had seen Fafnir and developed a bit of resistance against it and managed to keep her calm. When Ais rxed, everyone else in the room also calmed down a bit since it wasnt their first time seeing Vahns variant dragon either. Fafnir itself looked between them with an innocent glint in its blue eyes as it stared over at Vahn on the bed. After c.o.c.king its head to the side in a confused manner, Fafnir looked toward the girls and said, (*Hestia, Vahn says to not be harsh to Tione...he says he knew things would get out of hand from the start...that is why he made Fenrir stay away and used the effigy to ensure their safety. He said, if you want to me someone, you should me him for letting things get out of control...*) Hearing the childish voice of Fafnir speaking in their heads, Hestia gave an exasperated sigh before shooing away Fafnir so it could return to Tina. The fact Vahn had called it over showed that he had been paying close attention to the conversation and didnt want Tione to be med for the oue. Though Hestia wouldnt easily forgive the Amazon girl, she wouldnt show any action on the surface to drive a wedge between her and Vahn. After things calmed down a bit, she would bring the matter up on thework and get the consensus of everyone before she made her final decision. Tione had arge frown and her eyes wavered a bit as she looked over at Vahns body with a light blush on her face. Even when she had erred greatly, he still showed her the same kind and gentle behavior that had actually made her life somewhat difficult recently. Now, he had not only defeated her, but he simply set aside the fact she had nearly killed him as if it were just a casual matter. She could feel a burning sensation in her body and it was noticed by Tiona who gave her a serious look before turning to Ais and saying, "Ais, we need to take Tione away from here, quickly." Hearing Tionas words, Ais looked over and saw the somewhat feverish gaze of Tione and understood what was happening so she helped lift Tione up and carry her out of the room as Hestia watched their departure. Once they were gone, Hestia walked over and locked the door behind them before reactivating the sound-dampening talismans that had been disabled after Anakitty and Mikoto showed up. After that, she walked over to the side of the bed before crawling atop Vahns body with a fretful look upon her face. Since she knew he could hear her, Hestia said in a low tone, "Vahn...please dont make my heart worry so much. If you were to die so soon...I think I might not be able to stay in this world anymore. I would rather follow your soul to Heaven and watch over it until your reincarnation than live in this world without you..." As she spoke, Hestias clothes began to wilt and fall away from her body in petals that decorated the covers. Though he felt slightly apprehensive, Vahn also knew that Hesti was greatly affected by the situation even though she didnt know the full extent of what had happened. He could sense the fear she felt because of the purple hue of her aura that was intermixed with greens and pinks. This showed that she was feeling jealous, envious, afraid, and affectionate all at the same time. Vahn wanted tofort her, but he couldnt get his body to respond to his intentions at all. [Effigy of the Hero] didnt simply paralyze the body, but it put it into a dormant state to protect it from the aftereffects of forcefully regenerating the body and exhausting its potential. Vahn might be able to break free using [Chainbreaker], but it would have potentially disastrous consequences. Hestia was slowly removing his clothing and muttered, "I know you probably cant move...but I want to feel closer to you so forgive me for my selfishness. Make sure to recover quickly, please...I will stay with you until then." After Vahn was fully n.a.k.e.d, Hestia looked over his body before resting her eyes on hisid p.e.n.i.s and releasing a hot sigh. Since he didnt seem to be able to get it up, there wasnt much she could do at the moment so she justid her n.a.k.e.d body against his and enjoyed his warmth for the time being. She didnt know how close she hade to losing Vahn forever, but Hestia didnt care as long as she could be with him now. (A/N: Yeah, I know I should be sleeping...its not easy toy down and do nothing for an entire day. Ill be taking another nap after this (O,...,O)~! Medicine-sama, save me please TT___TT) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Interrogation,Tiones Broken Heart,Hestias Angst) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful Chapter 286 - A Promise of Forever

Chapter 286 - A Promise of Forever

For the remainder of the three hour period where he couldnt move, Hestiaid against Vahns body and had nuzzled her head into his neck where she had periodically kissed him. Even though he couldnt put any strength into his body, Vahn could still feel the pleasant sensation of Hestias light body and soft b.r.e.a.s.ts pressing against him. There was even a trickle of warmth on his abdomen that made his heart itch a bit. It was a strange feeling since Vahn almost felt like he was at the mercy of others in his current state. Strangely, he didnt feel afraid though since he ced a lot of trust in Hestia, even though she could be a little intimidating at times. When the dormancy period finally ended, Hestia had still been nuzzling against him and Vahn moved his arms to embrace her back. The moment he moved, Hestias body twitched a bit and she raised her face to stare into Vahns eyes with a very excited and happy expression as she said, "Vaaaaahn, you finally woke up~!" As she spoke, Hestia rubbed her cheek against Vahns and began to shower his face with kisses soon after. Vahn returned her kisses a bit until she started to release hot breaths against his neck and he had to put a stop to her advances by gently pinching her fleshy, marshmallow-like, butt. Hestia slowed her actions a bit and had a forlorn look on her face as she asked, "Do we really have to go...? We can skip dinner and there is always time to spend with other girlster." Since her weight was almost negligible to him, Vahn sat up and guided Hestias body so that she was sitting on hisp. Though her genitals pressed against his, Vahn didnt have any reaction and just loosely embraced Hestia as he said, "I cant fathom what it was like to live for so long Hestia...so I cant really understand what youre going through right now. All I know is, I love you dearly...but I also have to live my life to the fullest and do my best. There will always be time for us to show our love, but we cant avoid our responsibilities and ignore the presence of others..." Hestia lowered her head with a sad look and muttered, "I feel like everything that is happening will just be a blip in my life...even if you live for hundreds of years, Im afraid it wont leave a big enough impact on my heart tost for the rest of eternity. I want to savor the time we have together since I know there wont be as much time in the future...I dont want to ever love anyone else, so please make me unable to forget you Vahn." Vahn stroked one of the long twin-tails of Hestia before moving his hand to tilt her chin up so they could lock eyes. With a loving expression and a serious look in his eyes, Vahn said, "Listen to me Hestia...look into my eyes and know Im telling you the truth. No matter what, I will never leave you to suffer an eternity alone. I dont know how, but I promise that well be together forever..." Vahn didnt know how, but he knew it would be possible for him to return to the record if he put in enough effort. Even if he was one day forced to leave because of the strength of his own soul, Vahn would find a way to return one day or at least create a bridge between the record of Danmachi and other worlds. Though she thought he was just trying to console her, Hestia could see the serious look in Vahns eyes and she heard the confidence in his voice. Since he was almost incapable of lying, she knew he was telling the truth and would try to keep his promise. Though the anxiety in her heart didnt fade, Hestia could feel a bit of relief welling up inside of her and trying to push out the negative emotions. Everything about Vahn pushed against the walls ofmon-sense, and she believed he would be able to find a way and they would be able to stay together forever. With a happy smile on her face, Hestia grabbed the sides of Vahns face and gave him a simple kiss that contained a lot of emotion. Their lips ovepped in a single motion and she held his face against hers for several seconds before separating. As she prepared to move off of his body, Hestia gave him a coy look and dragged herself across Vahns lower body before finally turning away. The petal on the bed began to gather toward her with a mysterious light and Vahn watched the entire scene with an amorous look in his eyes. Hestia was a very beautiful goddess, and she had a plump butt even though she was rather petite. After they both got dressed, the two made their way downstairs and headed toward the dining room. It wasnt yet time for dinner, but the majority of everyone present had gathered there. The only people missing were Tione, Tiona, Emiru, Maemi, Lefiya, and Anakitty. Vahn could detect four presences in the kitchen, so he knew they were preparing the meal for everyone present. Since the twins werent that great at cooking, Vahn was hoping that Lefiya and Anakitty would be a good influence on them. He had never tasted their cooking, but Vahn assumed it would be better than braised or roasted meat. Vahn turned his attention to a nearby room and could sense to simr presences and assumed they were Tione and Tiona. He could see that Tiones aura was unstable and her affection had hit 99(Love) so Vahn knew she had undergone a drastic change. Tiona was probably trying to help her calm down and they were likely waiting for Ais and Lefiya to finish eating before heading home. Vahn released a short sigh because he realized it was very difficult to live as an Amazon when their urges had such a powerful influence over their actions. Everyone present was happy to see Vahn on his feet, but it was Haruhime and Fenrir that had reacted first since they had sensitive noses and ears. Fenrir ran forward and grabbed around Vahns waist as she rubbed the side of her face against his chest and said, "Vahn is better now, Fenrir happy." Since it was umon for Fenrir to act affectionately Vahn stroked her ears with [Hands of Nirvana] and said, "Sorry for worrying you Fenrir, Im super okay now." Fenrir nodded her head and repeated his words in her own way, "Super duper okay~?" At this time, Haruhime also approached and had her characteristic elegant appearance with droopy eyes. Vahn could see a bit of moisture building up in her eyes as she smiled toward him so he reached out his free hand and stroked her hair and ears as well. Seeing everyone feel concern for him, Vahn felt very warm on the inside and looked toward everyone in the room with a gratified expression on his face. After settling the two girls, Vahn sat next to Ais with Hestia still clinging to his body a bit. Ais stared at her actions with interest before leaning against Vahn as well with a small smile on her face. Haruhime seemed to want to participate as well, but she didnt see any gaps in the atmosphere for her to exploit at all. She sat next to Mikoto with slightly drooping ears while sipping away at her tea. Throughout the entire series of events, Preasia just remained silent and continued staring at Vahn. He had noticed her look and gave her an appreciative smile which caused a brief hint of a smile to appear on her own face before she lowered her head further. After a while, the four girls in the kitchen started bringing out the food and Lefiya nearly dropped the dishes she was carrying when she saw Vahn sitting with everyone. A blush immediately covered her face because she was calling the events during the bath. She had a slight hope that Vahn wouldnt wake up before she left, but now she had to face him head-on before she had time to calm down. Vahn saw her actions and also had a hint of blush appear on his face as he said, "Thank you for taking care of me Lefiya..." The fierce blush covering her face turned a deep crimson as her ears began to waggle up and down in an adorable manner that Vahn had never seen before. In a very quiet voice, almost like a squeak, Lefiya said, "Im happy to help..." From Vahns left, he heard Hestia mutter in a voice that she probably didnt intend for him to hear, "Another one falls..." Vahn pretended to ignore her words before cing out a few dishes of his own that he had kept in his inventory. The majority of the food prepared by the four girls were lighter items like stew and sd, so Vahnplimented things with a few items of his own. Looking over, Vahn made eye contact with Anakitty and said, "Sorry for everything that happened earlier. I wanted to wee you to the Familia Anakitty." She showed a polite smile and responded, "Please, call me Aki, all my friends andpanions call that. Ill be in your care from now on Vahn, but I will also do my best to meet any expectations you might have for me." Vahn returned her smile with one of his own and said, "Wee to the Familia, Aki." Even though Vahn knew she had been sent by Loki, he understood it was probably for the best since he desperately needed stronger members to help look after the weaker girls. He didnt know her capabilities yet, but Aki was a Level 4 and looked to be near twenty years old. Vahn assumed she had a wealth of experience and would be a good influence on the other girls in the future. His only concern, since she had been sent by Loki, was that she was also going to be entering his circle within the future. Not just because of Hestias influence, but Vahn felt like there were simply too many women around him and the number seemed to constantly be increasing. Setting aside the matter, for now, Vahn started the meal after asking some of the girls to take food to Tiona and Tione and keep thempany. Surprisingly, Preasia volunteered to go and was apanied by Fenrir and the twins, Maemi and Emiru. Vahn gave the girls his thanks before enjoying the meal with the remaining members present. It wasnt very lively since Ais was quiet and Lefiya was absentmindedly picking away at her food without eating much. Hestia just stuck to his side with her eyes closed as if she were sleeping while Mikoto and Haruhime both had good manners and remained rtively silent. However, though the room was quiet, the atmosphere was warm and Vahn enjoyed the peaceful ambiance. After dinner, Vahn escorted the girls through the courtyard before parting ways at the gate after sharing embraces. He gave Tiona and Ais a strong embrace with a short kiss before loosely embracing Tione with a wry smile on his face. She had a mildly frustrated look on her face with a glint of passion in her eyes as she squeezed his ribs with a bit of strength. Thest person had been Lefiya who stepped forward with her head down and loosely hugged Vahn without saying anything. She was nearly 20cm shorter than he was, so Vahn had to reach around her shoulders and the center of her back to hug her. After a few seconds passed, Lefiya separated from him before taking her staff from Ais and bowing slightly and turning away with a red face. Vahn watched their departing figures with a hint of mncholy in his eyes even though there was a satisfied smile on his face. Separating from people he cared about always made him feel a little lonely and he almost wished there was more of him to go around. However, though Vahn had thought of the idea of maybe trying to learn shadow clones, he didnt want to rely on such a thing since it seemed very impersonal. Though they might not say anything, Vahn would feel like he wasnt paying proper attention to the girls around him and didnt want to have the type of mentality where he relied on his clones to take action for him. There was also the fact that the technique actually cost 25,000,000OP and he currently had less than 100K. ---- (A/N: People seem to have a misunderstanding that Vahn can buy skills and simply learn them. This isnt the case at all...Vahn can purchase scrolls and manuals, but he has to learn andprehend the skills himself. You could argue that grimoires are an exception, but Vahn cant actually purchase grimoires through the shop because they are unique items. There are no duplicate grimoires, and the shop would be able to create an infinite number of them if that werent the case. For Vahn to acquire a grimoire, at least one from Danmachi, he would have to purchase it with Valis. Keep in mind, he could probably acquire grimoires from another record, but they would probably cost a lot of OP and wouldnt necessarily function the same way as the grimoires in Danmachi at all.) ---- After seeing the girls off, Vahn returned to the Manor and was intercepted by Hestia in the foyer. Since he had already taken a bath earlier, she shepherded him up the stairs even though Vahn wanted to speak with Aki a bit before bed. She gave him the justification that they would be together for the next year at the very least, so there was no reason to find out everything about her on the first night. Vahn couldnt argue with her when she was acting like this, so he eventually snatched up her body before carrying her to their bedroom. He had already seen her zing reddish-pink aura before he had even entered the Manor and knew she was just trying to seek his affection. After passing his perception over the other presences in the house, Vahn threw Hestia gently onto the bed and another night of progress between them began. By the end of events, Hestia had been left exhausted but had a happy smile on her face because she had passed the 18cm mark. The two then went through their strange ritual of sticking together as they both eventually fell asleep...Though it was still somewhat painful, Vahn began to feel like the current situation was normal and it made him feel strangelyfortable. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hestia is a little broken,Lefiyas Bashful Behavior,All ording to keikaku... (keikaku means n)) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful Chapter 287 - Awakening

Chapter 287 - Awakening

Vahn awoke, not in thefort of his bed, but in an infinite, cold, dark, void-like space. Even though it felt very lonely at first, Vahn recognized this space and wasnt afraid as he tucked in his body and began expanding his domain. zing mes slowly filled the space with an intermixture of azures, golds, and vermillion reds. Vahn enjoyed the powerful feeling as the sphere of me slowly spread from his body until it became several hundred meters in diameter. Once it reached a stopping point, several pairs of eyes appeared within his domain and slowly took the familiar shapes of his [Rakshasa Body] transformations. Directly in front of him, Vahn could Bih standing proudly but he noticed there were strange runes covering its bodypared to the past. Though he wasnt sure how, Vahn could tell that Bih was slowly undergoing a transformation that would likely benefit him in the future. Reaching out his hand, Vahn ced his palm against the crown of Bihs massive head and pet it for a little while as a show of gratitude. Bih had been an important transformation and had been the core of Vahns fighting style for thest few months. Under his hand, the 10m long white tigerid down in the void with a thud and began purring ripples of energy that destabilized the surrounding space with a please look in its icy-blue eyes. After a short while passed, Vahn turned his attention to his other threepanions, even though they were yet unnamed. Vahn knew he was unable to name them until he had reached the awakening status of [Rakshasa Body] in the real world. He could see a longing look in eyes of the regal looking azure dragon to the east and an almost fervent gaze from the vermillion bird to the south. When he turned his attention to the ck turtle to the north, Vahn saw, not longing, but pride within the ck and green eyes of the giant turtle. From around its 20m frame, a giant head peaked out and gave a curious nce at Vahn with golden eyes. Vahn had never noticed it before, since he wasnt able to spend much time in this space, but he could see a golden snake-like creature surrounding the body of the ck turtle. Vahn floated toward the duo and they bowed low with their heads near each other with an expectant glimmer in their eyes. During his fight with Tione, Vahn had gone from 94% awakening in his turtle form to 100% when hepleted his transformation. It had actually been this notification that distracted him a bit and allowed Tione to use his face as a springboard. When he told everyone that it wasnt all her fault, Vahn had meant it...even though he felt very embarrassed to try and exin why he had been in a daze. If possible, hed like everyone to forget about the matter in the future so he could bury his own shame in the passage of time. Shaking his head, Vahn put the matter behind him and pressed his palms to the heads of the giant turtle and snake before him. For several long seconds, there was absolute silence within the space as a gentle light began closing from the interior of Vahns pupils. Since he was n.a.k.e.d within the space, the tattoo of a turtle and dragon began to appear of Vahns body as scales began to grow along his arms, shoulders, head, and legs. Green runes began glowing on the scales as a confident look appeared on Vahns face and he uttered a series of words that shook the entire space around them with their echoes, "Henceforth...you shall be Xunw." Vahn could see green runes begin to appear along Xunws body as it roared powerfully toward the empty void above. Follow its cue, the other three sacred beasts began to release their calls all well. Bih released a deep roar that felt like it could shake the soul, while the vermillion birds cry sounded like the wrath of nature itself. Most impressively was the roar of the azure dragon which overpowered the other three and sounded truly tyrannical as electricity spread around the space around its body. Vahn turned his attention to the two unnamed beasts and promised, "One day...I will name you two as well." With his words finished, Vahn could feel his mind begin to fade and he knew his time in the space hade to an end. When he next opened his eyes, Vahn could feel thefortable heat of Hestias body atop his own. He absentmindedly began to stroke her hair and she wriggled about on his body a bit before finally waking up and staring into his face with her clear blue eyes. Without saying anything, sheid her head back down on his chest and Vahn could feel a powerful mping feelinging from hisher region that made him clench his teeth slightly without his smile breaking. He could tell she was refusing to part for the time being but Vahn had already expected something simr to happen so he traced his finger along her spine using [Hands of Nirvana]. Hestia released a sensual m.o.a.n as her body began to tremble powerfully before all the tensions in her body faded away. Vahn could feel a trickle of moisture around his member, but the painful mping had ceased as he pulled up Hestias body and freed himself from her interior. She had a dissatisfied look in her eyes, but Vahn just continued to kiss her and tend to her body for a bit until she had calmed down. He wasnt certain, but Vahn felt like Hestia was not only trying to adapt her body to him, but his body to hers. Even after they separated, Vahn could feel a phantom sensationing from his own p.e.n.i.s and a strange longing inside of him to be together again. After dressing, Vahn made his way down and rinsed of his body before making his way to the training area and greeting Ryuu. The other girls were still getting ready, and Ryuu was the only one in the backyard for the time being. Vahn noticed she had been looking around at the various holes and craters in the ground with a curious glint in her eyes. Noticing his presence, Ryuu showed a small smile and said, "Good morning Vahn." For some reason, Vahn felt a strange pang of emotion in his heart so he stepped forward and loosely embraced Ryuus body which caused her eyes to widen slightly. She didnt resist his embrace and eventually put her arms around his back as well and rested her head against his shoulder. Vahn whispered in her nearby ear, "Sorry...I just felt like holding you for a bit." Even Vahn didnt know why the smile of Ryuu had triggered him to take action, but it felt like the right thing to do and he followed his intuition. Angling her head to the side, Ryuu spoke in a low voice, "You dont have to apologize for holding me Vahn. Even I want to enjoy your affections when there is no one else around." Vahns smile widened and his pressed his head against Ryuus forehead and rocked their bodies slowly from side-to-side in silence. Just before some of the other girls arrived, Vahn gave Ryuu a short kiss on her light-peach colored lips and enjoyed their softness for a few seconds before parting. Ryuu had a thoughtful look in her eyes as a gentle smile touched her lips until she noticed the arrival of the other girls and turned serious. Afterward, Ryuu met with Aki and they discussed how to help the others girls train and even sparred a bit to get a better understanding of each others capabilities. Aki used a shortsword and was very agile with impable technique, but she wasnt the opponent of Ryuu. After a few minutes of exchanges, Aki had taken on apletely defensive posture and could only deflect the attacks of Ryuus wooden swordstaff in a vain attempt to prolong the fight. She eventually fell onto the cold ground with a wry smile on her face as sheplimented Ryuus capabilities andmended her for being a capable vice-captain. Ryuu helped her up and paid her a fewpliments as well before they started training the ck-jawed girls that had been watching from the sidelines. Vahn had also been watching the fight, and he couldnt help but find the figures of the two girls inbat to be captivating. Ryuus attacks were smooth and had a fluid-like quality while Aki had a very beautiful and lithe figure with incredible flexibility. She was able to use her sword to parry Ryuusparatively heavier attacks and gain some small advantages during the beginning of the fight. Unfortunately, she had no way to keep up with Ryuus stamina and the fact that her attacks got increasingly stronger based on how fast she was moving. When they were splitting into groups, Aki began training the twins since they didnt seem to have much talent for magic and would likely be pure agility-based fighters. Ryuu ended up training with Haruhime, Fenrir, and even included Mikoto in their routine since she had noticed the fluidity of Ryuus movements and also used a bit of magic. Haruhime was going down the route of an agile support caster while Mikoto seemed intent on remaining a vanguard unit that specialized in crowd-control magic. Vahn had finally gotten the opportunity to see her gravity magic, Futsunomitama, when she used it to crush a rtivelyrge area of the backyard. Upon activation, a purple sword that triggered his danger senses fell from the sky and collided with purple circles that had isted a space in the yard. Every time the sword hit a new circle, the gravity within the areapressed further until the ground, approximately 15m in diameter, had ttened and sunk several inches. The major downside behind the magic was how much mana it required to actually use. Since Vahn could see the mana of others if he focused his [Eyes of Truth], he could tell that Mikoto used more than 70% of her total mana just using the spell once. Since she also focused on swordsmanship and keeping her status bnced, Vahn felt like she wouldnt be able to efficiently use the spell in the future unless he coulde up with a method to help her expand her mana pool. He wondered if he would be able to make a talisman, or a piece of equipment, that would be able to store excess mana forter usage and actually pulled out a piece of diagram paper and started sketching out the idea. Preasia looked over at his actions from the side in silence since she wasnt participating in the training at all. By the time the training hade to an end, Vahn had drawn several basic designs for a pair of bracers and even a ne that could be useful for Mikoto. The bracers could be used to rece her current guard, and Vahn figured the ne would also be suitable for her. He wouldnt admit it, but he had been thinking about Mikotos visible cleavage and wondered if the ne would be able to nestle between the growing pair of b.r.e.a.s.ts simr to how the [Sapphire Star] was almost always present between Hestias. Since it was still a work in progress, Vahn ced away the diagrams and kept it a secret since he didnt want Mikoto to get her expectations up and lose focus of her own progress. Vahn was very aware that an over-reliance on equipment could lead to stagnation and actually affect how parameters increased. For proper growth, you had to fight against monsters of simr skill and constantly push yourself to ovee your limits. If you used powerful equipment to avoid having to fight directly, the only thing youd affect is your dexterity and magic parameters while your physical stats showed minimal increases. After the training ended, the girls went to bathe while Vahn walked to the library as it had be his habit as ofte. Preasia left for the dining room and was going to wait for the others so they could eat breakfast together. She wanted to follow Vahn, but was doing her best to socialize with the others and try to find out how she could be useful. Preasia had no desire to be an Adventurer since she didnt like the idea of killing monsters and facing hardsh.i.p.s in a cold and dark environment. Since she had spent a few weeks within a foul dungeon, Preasia wasnt in any hurry to return to a simr environment. She instead spent her time reading up on things like mixing, alchemy, and magical formations in the hopes of being able to support everyone without having to actually enter the dungeon herself. In the library, Vahn had beenying down and reading a book rted to a hero that slew a red dragon the size of a mountain. It was a foreign fairy tail from another record, and Vahn found the contents very interesting. He was actually very fond of hero stories and had developed a dislike for the tragedy and horror genres since he felt like most of the situations were forced. Since he knew his own capabilities, Vahn couldnt help but put himself in the shoes of the protagonist and wonder why they made such terrible decisions that usually led to themselves, or their friends, getting hurt or killed. He preferred the stories where the hero constantly strove forward and overcame obstacles to eventually achieve his goal and save the greatest number of people. There were still some tragic elements, but Vahn felt like they made the journey of the hero more impactful and gave their inevitable triumph more meaning. After about an hour of solitude, Vahn could feel a gentle, sky-blue, aura tinged with yellows walking toward the library. Since it was different than most girls, Vahn knew it was probably Aki so he sat up from the sofa and ced the book on the table before waiting for her arrival. She entered the room shortly thereafter and looked around at the thousands of books lining the shelves before turning her gaze to Vahn and showing a kind smile that reached her eyes a bit. She performed a small curtsey and red her short white skirt a bit before saying, "I figured we had a few things that needed to be discussed in private. Sorry if Im interrupting your rxation time..." Vahn couldnt help but pass his gaze over Aki a bit and take in the sight of her peculiar beauty. She had the typical lean figure of a cat person but showed an impable sense of style with her ck, white, and gold attire that enhanced her youthful qualities. Her features were very beautiful and she had a natural smile on her face that emphasized her seemingly kind nature. The only thing that seemed strange was how her tail was almost always curved upwards instead of dangling downwards like most of the cat people he had seen. It drew a natural, s-shaped, curve from the top of her h.i.p.s and came up till around her shoulders. (A/N: If youre confused about Aki: /vi/Oi76HY_tJyQ/maxresdefault.jpg ) After releasing a short sigh, Vahn smiled at Aki and said, "Its no bother at all, Aki. As you said, there were several things I wanted to talk to you about. This is a good opportunity..." Vahn ced out a set of tea and snacks on the table which made Akis smile widen as she put her hands behind her back and walked over in a somewhat cheerful manner before sitting down on the sofa with an appropriate amount of distance between her and Vahn. Before she sat down, she smoothed out her skirt and kept her legs close together to prevent the contents from being identally visible. Vahns brows raised slightly because it was actually almost abnormalpared to some of the girls around him. Aki giggled slightly before picking up a small fish-shaped cracker and nibbling on it a bit before taking a sip of tea. Her tail twitched about slightly and Vahn thought it was an interesting reaction so he ate a few snacks of his own before enjoying the fragrant ck tea with a small amount of honey. After a short while, Aki tilted her head a bit and asked, "Are you not going to ask me anything?" Vahn finished sipping his tea before cing it on the table and nodding, "I was thinking about how and what I should ask you. For now, how about you exin your reasoning foring here. I cant really speak about Lokis behavior...but I know there is a reason behind all of her actions. For you specifically to appear, there must be a greater reason behind it than is apparent from the surface." Akis expression didnt change much, but she released a short sigh and said, in a very quiet tone, "Loki-sama already gave me permission to speak openly, so...well, it all started...with an idiot boy..." (A/N: I know some people are concerned about my health, so Ill tell you that Im beginning to recover. Im still down in the dumps a bit, but Im feeling much better after sleeping for a good fourteen hours, followed by an additional nine after eating a hearty meal and replenishing my fluids. Im hoping to be fully recovered by the end of today, so thanks for all your support <3) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Xunw,sh Between Vice-Captain and Lieutenant,Dont tell me Aki has a tragic past too...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 288 - Lieutenant

Chapter 288 - Lieutenant

Aki had a reminiscent glint in her eyes, but Vahn could also see a touch of disappointment contained within as she narrated her story. She showed a sad smile and continued, "You see, I joined the Loki Familia around seven years ago, when I was only twelve. Since I was too young to be an official adventurer, I acted as a support on the expeditions into the middle levels. There was a boy who joined around the same time as me, and we were both of a simr age and ended up working together a lot. His name is Raul, and he is the currentmander of the second party of the Loki Familia..." Akis ears flickered once before she turned to Vahn and asked, "Do you know why most girls be Adventurers when there are so many other professions avable?" Vahn furrowed his brows in contemtion before saying, "Because they want to be stronger...this world isnt that kind to people that are weak." Aki nodded her head approvingly before saying, "That is one of the main reasons, but it is also because we want to be able to create a better future for ourselves. One of the best ways to make a lot of money and secure your own future is to be an Adventurer and eventually meet a capable partner to spend the rest of your life with. I dont actually like fighting...its very stressful and I constantly have to put my life on the line if I want to earn enough money to support my equipment needs and living expenses." Looking toward empty space, Aki said with a mncholic smile on her face, "With a few exceptions, most girls want to meet a good guy before we get too old so that we can settle down and raise a family properly. The stronger you be as an adventurer, the greater the dangers you face. If we wait too long, there is a good chance that we could get killed, or the person we fall in love with would die and leave us alone in the world to take care of the children..." Hearing Akis words, Vahn remembered Mn and Tina and couldnt help but frown slightly. Akiughed a bit and continued, "You see, I wanted to actually be done with adventuring before I reached twenty. Ive already worked very hard and have been doing this for arge portion of my life. Ive seen girls younger than me die within the dungeon, including some of my very good friends...I dont want to be doing this forever, even though I dont have any real aversion to the dungeon. I just want my life to have something more than struggles and hardsh.i.p.s...but, it doesnt seem like things were fated to be easy for me." Aki began tough derisively at herself before a gentle smile appeared on her face and she stared into Vahns eyes. Vahn thought she was expecting him to say something, but her smile widened a bit before he could find the words and she continued, "I got off on a bit of a tangent...well, as I was saying earlier, everything started with an idiot boy. Because we joined around the same time, Raul and I worked alongside each other and helped to support one another as we slowly increased our strength. After two years, we became official adventurers and even joined one of the smaller parties that went into the dungeon. We always watched out for each other, even though Raul has a very unreliable personality...he still put in a lot of efforts to protect everyone from harm." Aki breathed in shortly and released a sigh through her nose as she said, "But he really is an idiot...even though we spent so much time together...we even purchased simr types of weapons with matching guards so we could be closer to each other. However, even when I told him about my feelings and we became an actual couple...the only thing we ever did was hold hands on asion. He always got very fl.u.s.tered and even started avoiding me when I tried to push his boundaries a bit. When he was finally mademander of the second party, he actually acted like we were never in a rtionship in the first ce, which I guess was true since we never even kissed." Shaking her head, Aki had a wry smile on her face and continued, "You know, after one of our sessful expeditions, he even apanied a group to the red light district." Aki released a strangeugh before saying, "I heardter that, even though he paid for a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e and took an aphrodisiac, he actually just held the girls hand and slept quietly without actually doing anything. To make matters worse...that idiot actually picked a cat person p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e with ck hair!" Releasing a sigh of frustration, Aki turned to Vahn with slightly furrowed brows and said, "After that, I officially broke things off with Raul and he expressed the desire for us to continue being good friends with each other. Since I was his lieutenant, it wasnt easy to get out of the situation so I just sucked it up and pretended like nothing had happened, which was pretty easy seeing as how we never did anything more than holding hands briefly...after that, I started to lose faith in several things, including my own charms as a woman..." A light blush covered Akis face and Vahn could see a subtle pink color appear within her aura as she continued, "Loki-sama saw my state and...helped heal my heart a bit. Though it wasnt too often, we spent a few nights together and she made me feel a little less insecure about things and encouraged me to continue trying." At this point, Vahns brows had raised slightly and he had widened eyes as a ticklish sensation appeared in his stomach. He didnt know how the man named Raul could have turned away such an adorable girl, especially till the point where she started seekingfort from other girls... After taking a few, slightly hot, breaths, Aki looked up at Vahn and said, "Dont misunderstand...Im not a lesbian or anything like that. I still even like Raul a bit, but I just dont have any confidence that he would be a good partner anymore. After talking to Loki-sama anding to understand the situation a bit, she rmended that I help out the Hestia Familia for the next year. If Raul really cares about me, he would try toe after me and bring me back...if things go well, Id return to the Loki Familia after the cooldown for a conversion ends." Vahn nodded his head and said, "So, youre just staying her temporarily to try and-" Before he could continue further, Aki shook her head and had a cheerful smile on her face as she said, "Dont misunderstand, Ive already set aside my desire to be with Raul more than a year ago when we officially split up. The thing Im looking for is a reliable man and safe ce where I can find some sce for my heart and eventually retire to raise my own family. Ive heard a lot about you from Loki-sama, and I dont mind spending time with you if youd be willing to ept me. I might give Raul a chance if hees to the Hestia Familia and asks for me, but I dont have any intentions to leave unless he puts in a lot of effort. I heard you were very affectionate and treated the women around you very well, so Id like to experience what its like to be around a man that has a little more backbone...besides, Loki-sama told me that Hestia-sama would probably be in an unstable state for a while after you first had s.e.x. If you need my assistance, I can help reign her in for you..." At this point, Vahns expression was somewhat incredulous because of Akis words and how casually she brought up somewhat heavy topics. With a bit of apprehension, Vahn asked, "So, if I wanted to do something..." Akis smile widened a bit and a somewhat yful look appeared in her eyes as she said, "As long as youre willing to take responsibility for me in the future, I dont mind helping take care of your urges a bit. One of my roles here is to help keep stability within the Hestia Familia and help you have a somewhat normal rtionship with girls. I might be willing, but that doesnt mean Ill go out of my way to act uncouth when were supposed to be doing other things." Vahn was confused and Aki could see it in his expression, so she continued, "It means, keep intimate stuff for the night-time hours while focusing on business the rest of the time. If youre always receptive to the advances of girls without regards to the time, ce, and asion, itll cause a lot of problems in the future. I heard you have a bad habit of petting girls, so youll need to curb that habit a bit if you want to have normal rtionsh.i.p.s. For now, Ill help keep the other girls under control and act as your secretary and lieutenant since I have a lot of experience managing the affairs of a Familia. Ive noticed there are a lot of things missing around here, including an actualmand structure and rules that everyone needs to abide by. You may not be aware of this, but most people that join a Familia undergo a contract-type vow with the god or goddess so they cant easily jump ship. You have a lot of secrets to protect, but youre surrounded by people that have no restrictions ced on the information they can spread to others..." Vahn could feel his lips pursing instinctually as he listened to the lecturing tone of Aki as she exined everything he had been overlooking since the Familias establishment. Since he treated everyone like family, Vahn didnt want to ce any restrictions on them at all. He trusted they wouldnt say anything to bring him harm, but realized that Aki had a point, likely one that had been rooted in her mind by Loki herself. Even though Vahn was the Captain of the Familia, he hadnt actually been doing anything other than taking care of his own matters while leaving everything else to others to deal with. Ryuu was very reliable, but she was only around during the mornings since she still spent the majority of her time at the Hostess of Fertility. This left arge gap in the chain ofmand and prevented any organizational regtions from ever forming to keep people in line. It might not be a problem now, but it could eventually be a big problem in the future if there wasnt a propermand structure and rules for everyone to abide. For nearly two hours, Aki continued to lecture Vahn about responsibilities and how he should carry himself around others. She said that, unless he nned on turning his Familia into his own personal harem, he needed to ce restrictions on how the girls acted. She even used the fact that Welf had refused to join the Familia as justification and exined that he wouldnt be able to invite men into the Familia unless a lot of changes took ce in the future. Since so many of the girls had him as their focus, any other guys would only cause turmoil within the group and potentially cause problems if not managed ordingly. The best thing he could do, if he truly wanted to recruit men, would be to create a mens dorm or split the Manor into sections for males and females while restricting intimate rtionsh.i.p.s to being maintained outside of the Manor. It was a strange revtion for Vahn, because he had never actually considered another person having s.e.x inside the Manor other than himself. He imagined one of the guys he recruited sneaking off to a hidden area, like one of the studies, and making love to one of the girls in the Familia and it made him feel strangely ufortable. He even imagined what it would be like to identally stumble onto the scene of someone elses intimacy and how awkward it would be to brush aside the matter and return to normal. As if she could understand his thoughts, Akiughed a bit and exined, "You see, when people are in a rtionship like that, they normally move outside of the main residence of the Familia and move into the surroundings. If they want to stay in the dorms, they normally go out on dates before visiting one of the private rooms in the red light district to enjoy some time together. Its actually very rare to be in the type of Familia that youve currently created...if its just you and a bunch of girls, things shouldnt be too difficult to manage as long as you designate spaces for that type of activity. Since there are three sections to the Manor, you could specify a specific room for intimate actions and then youd know if a girl was seeking you out if you stopped by and saw them within...besides, I know you probably sleep with Hestia-sama every night, but that wont always be the case in the future. There is also a problem with the scent...I was in your roomst night, and it has a very powerful aroma all over the room. For some of the girls, that would be a big problem, so you might want to have multiple rooms that you sleep in where you can create sound dampening formations without having much furniture within so they can be cleaned easily..." Vahn could feel his brain buzzing a bit, because it almost felt like they were discussing turning the entire Manor into his own personal residence where he could sleep with any woman he wanted as long as they were present within certain areas. He could feel a heavy pressure and a cold sensation in his stomach since it actually seemed somewhat wrong to treat his rtionsh.i.p.s in such a casual manner. There might be a lot of girls around him, but Vahn had never considered them to be avable whenever he was in the mood. Other than someone like Loki...Vahn actually didnt think it was that easy to approach the girls and always waited for them to take action. He knew, especially after the incident with Hestia, that this wasnt necessarily a good thing, but Vahn wanted to keep things in moderation without pressuring the girls around him. Seeing his silent and contemtive state, Aki smiled and said, "You really dont have to worry about it so much Vahn. Youre still very young, and there are a lot of things youve yet to experience in life so dont get too caught up in the details. Ill help manage things while you focus on your own work, so just let me know if there is anything you want to change Ill do my best to implement it. Your focus right now should the Ishtar Familia and dealing with Hestia-samas current state of mind. Loki-sama told me that she would probably be trying to make you do several strange things because of her own insecurities, so youll need to find a way to reign her in without hurting her too badly. The best method would be to invite other girls to sleep with you, since the biggest problem would be Hestia-sama trying to monopolize you...I cant speak from experience, but Loki-sama said it isnt umon for v.i.r.g.i.n goddesses to go a little crazy after they first lose their v.i.r.g.i.nity." Vahn nodded his head mechanically because he was the most aware of the changes in Hestia ever since their initial union. Every time they were alone, she was practically glued to his body and was always doing very uncharacteristic things. She had a bit of desperation in each of her actions and Vahn felt like it wasnt getting any better just because he spent more time with her. In fact, the more time they spent together, the more her nature was changing and she was bing increasingly more possessive...at least at night and in the mornings. Vahn even feared that she was developing a strange dependency on s.e.x, simr to what he had been encouraged to avoid after he first lost his v.i.r.g.i.nity. Akis tailed flickered a bit and she said, "I was told that, if you couldnt find a solution on your own, I could help you reign in Hestia-sama a bit. If you werent receptive to that, you could just implement a rule that everyone sleeps in their own rooms at night to prevent futureplications. It might be difficult at first, but itll probably be better for everyone in the long run and give us enough time toe up with a solution for the future. I can discuss it with the other girls on thework and tell them about some of the things that Hestia-sama has probably been keeping secret from everyone. She wont be able to easily oppose the consensus of the group, so that would probably be the best course of action if she begins to spiral out of control. Ultimately, its up to you what you decide to do...Ill just be here if you need my help with anything." Vahn gave Aki a wry smile because it felt like she was making a lot of sacrifices just to help him out. After he heard her story earlier, Vahn knew she had troubles finding love and had even spent some intimate moments with Loki. Her presence here showed that she was willing to throw herself into the chaotic entanglement of his life without any realmitment other than doing what she thought best for her own happiness. In a way, she reminded him a lot of Tiona, except that she had a very rational and stable mentality that could take the important details of a matter into consideration. The fact that she made herself open to his advances actually made it very difficult for Vahn to not want to pursue her a bit... Reaching out his hand, Vahn wanted to pet Akis ears but she intercepted and asked, "Do you intend to make this library that kind of ce? I dont mind, but what if someone shows up and walks in on us...?" Aki had a slight blush on her face and Vahn could see her aura re up a bit and it made him swallow at the implication behind her words. He just wanted to pet her head a bit, but she interpreted it to have a greater connotation since, as he was just now remembering, it was typically only eptable for lovers and close family to rub the ears of a cat person. Vahn smiled and pulled away his hand and exined, "Sorry, I just felt a bit grateful for everything you were doing...I have a bit of a habit of petting the heads of girls around me. Ill stop if you think its a problem..." Akiughed and covered her mouth with squinted eyes as she said, "No, I dont mind at all. Like I said earlier, as long as youre willing to ept responsibility...I really do want to be treated well by an aplished and handsome man...I wouldnt havee here just because Loki-sama asked me to if I didnt have a few expectations of my own. Its just that, unless you n on changing the nature of the Familia a bit, you should only do that kind of thing in private. Just because were alone, that doesnt mean were enjoying actual privacy...unless this room isnt amon area that other people can visit?" Vahn ruminated over her words a bit and almost exined that he was the only person that really used this library, but that didnt mean it wasnt essible by others. Haruhime usually joined him when he was reading, and Preasia had also visited in the past. Though he could detect their approach, if he actually did anything with Aki, Vahn knew the girls would be able to tell what happened based on smell alone. Since there were a number of beast-people in the house, Vahn really needed to be more careful about his actions or it could cause problems for some of the other girls. Aki saw the contemtive expression of Vahn and scootched over next to him until their h.i.p.s were touching each other. Vahn looked over and saw her tail twitching about while there was a casual, kind, smile on her face as she looked up at him. She was only 158cm tall, so she had to look up a bit to make eye contact with him. With a strangely happy look on her face, Aki whispered, "If its just a bit, Ill make an exception...we havent actually made up any rules yet after all. As long as its more than just holding hands..." Vahn smiled, but he was actually trying to stifle a smallugh because he could feel a bit of the resentment Aki had in her voice. He could tell she still liked the man named Raul, since she wouldnt harp over the matter if it wasnt important to her. Vahn could also see that, though her aura had a pink hue to it, her actual affection toward him was on the lower end at 63 points. Though he felt a little guilty, Vahn thought that Aki was a very beautiful girl and didnt have a lot of resistance when it came to dealing with girls that had already made their resolve. cing his right hand around her waist, Vahn held Akis body a little closer to his own and began stroking her ears affectionately. The moment he did so, her affection immediately jumped up to 80 and the pink within her aura became more pronounced. (A/N: Alternate Titles: It aint easy being a woman in a medieval society,Lokis Influence : Regtions,RIP Raul) (A/N: Some people might bring up the matter of NTR, but think about it from the perspective of a girl that doesnt want to spend the remainder of her beauty years fighting monsters. Life expectancy in a world like danmachi doesnt exceed more than 60 years for most races, and it is SIGNIFICANTLY shorter for most adventurers. The stronger you get, the greater your odds of dying if you continue to try and be stronger. In a society where you be an a.d.u.l.t at 14, waiting until your mid-twenties to marry and settle down is considered veryte. Anakitty is already 19, so you can imagine why she would be impatient after a while kappa.) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 289 - Lax Regulations

Chapter 289 - Lax Regtions

Vahn enjoyed watching Akis tail twitch as he yed with her ears affectionately for a few minutes. He had even used [Hands of Nirvana] briefly in his right hand that was ced on her waist and gently stroked her side a bit. It was very interesting because her mouth became very tiny and she closed her eyes as her chin quivered a bit as she resisted the pleasant feelings. Vahn was briefly tempted to do more, but they had just had a conversation about regtions and setting aside a proper ce for such things. He did, however, lean forward and try to catch the tip of her cat ear in his lips. Since she had been right next to him, Vahn had been watching them flicker asionally and wanted to tease her a bit since she was receptive to his actions. The moment he caught her ear in his mouth, Aki let out a loud mewling, "Nyaaaaan~! Dont bite my ears~." Vahn couldnt help butugh since it was the first time she had slipped up in her speaking habits since they met. Aki was usually very level-headed and spoke fluently without any obvious verbal ticks. However, she still had themon trait of all cat people he had seen when she was excited and this made Vahn feel a little satisfied, especially since she had made no effort to actually pull away from him. After gently nibbling on her ear for a few seconds, Vahn pulled his mouth away and rubbed her head while saying, "Aki, you are so adorable..." She hung her head a bit under his palm and had a mild blush on her face as she red upward into his eyes for teasing her so much. Vahn was very aware that her aura had started to gravitate toward him and knew she was probably reaching the limits of her own tolerance. If he continued any further, things would take a turn down a strange direction and they might end up doing something intimate here in the library. Since he knew how much she disliked indecisive behavior, Vahn was very tempted to push things further but knew it wouldnt be the best way to handle the situation. Though he didnt know what she had done with Loki, Vahn assumed that Aki wasntcking experience and was probably receptive to trying new things. He suddenly had a thought so he whispered softly, "Aki, sit on myp..." Vahns heart started beating quickly, because he felt like he was acting out of characterpared to his usual self. Most of the girls around him werent easy to approach since they had some kind of trauma or mental burden that made them require his attention. Aki, however, was one of the older mortal girls around him and she had a very stable and rational personality. Vahn felt like he could push himself a little further if it was with a girl like her... Aki still had her ring expression, but her eyes opened wider at Vahns words before a slight blush appeared on her face. She had thought that Vahn was just going to tease her and then walk away after taking liberties, but now she realized why Loki had cautioned her previously. During their discussion, Loki had told Aki that Vahn actually has a lot of restraints in his interactions with most of the girls around him. She said that Vahn needed someone more stable and receptive to his advances that was also near his level of strength. This is why Vahn had lost control when he was with Hephaestus since she was receptive to his desires and had let him release his tensions for nearly an entire day. Whenever he was with someone like Hestia, he was always taking a passive role and doing his best to tend to her needs instead of his own. After recalling their conversation, Aki felt a bit of expectation in her own heart because she was wondering how far Vahn was willing to go. Her words earlier about showing restraint had been true, but she also didnt want to back down after things had developed this far. She wasnt a lesbian, but most of her s.e.x.u.a.l experiences had been with women and she was looking forward to spending time with a real man. With a small amount of inhibitions, Aki tried to scoot over and sit in Vahnsp, but he said, "Try and face me..." Hearing his words, her heart immediately began to beat faster because of the potential implication in his words. She knew about the girls around Vahn, especially the cat people around him, so there was a very high possibility he might do something that makes her heart waver in a dangerous direction. For a few seconds, Akis tail twitched about before she stood up from the sofa and stood right in front of Vahn. She made eye contact with him before muttering, "Excuse me..." as she crawled on top of hisp and sat down with her legs straddling his in what could only be seen as a very intimate action. Vahn enjoyed the pleasant feeling of her butt pressed against his legs and could even feel a small amount of warmthing from the space concealed by her white skirt. Vahn ced his hands around Akis back and she immediately tensed up and leaned forward before he even touched her body. She ced her hands on his shoulders and nuzzled into his neck as if it were the most natural position to take. Vahn was immediately reminded of Chloe and knew what Aki was expecting. Soon after his cor was bare, Aki stopped her actions even though Vahn had ced his hands on her pert buttocks. She traced around the bite mark on his neck before nonchntly moving her head to the other side of Vahns cor and pulling aside the tunic to see if there were a bare area. While she was inspecting his neck, Vahn put a little energy into his fingers that made her butt tremble a bit under his touch. He asked her in a somewhat yful manner, "Did you really want me to grab your tail?" Akis eyes widened a bit as she looked into his eyes with a bit of confusion on her face before realizing he had never actually indicated what he was going to do when she sat on hisp. She could feel the tingling sensation from his palms, but he had made no attempt to grab her tail even after her preparations were finished. Vahn shook his head and said, "No, its fine...you wanted me to take responsibility earlier...and Im somewhat interested to see how things progress from now on." Before Aki could say anything, Vahn slipped his right hand under her skirt before scooping her tail in his palm and loosely gripped it. Akis back straightened a bit and she had a serious look in her eyes that was touched with a hint of mncholy as she sighed, "If only Raul could have been as decisive as you..." Vahn furrowed his brows a bit, but he still had a smile on his face as he asked, "Having regrets already?" Aki shook her head and stated inly, "The only reason I became an Adventurer was to get strong enough to protect my happiness in the future. I dont want to be stuck going into the dungeon for the rest of my life...besides, my heart isnt strong enough to wait another seven years for a man that has only ever treated me like a friend." Though there was a hint of mncholy in her eyes, Vahn could see Akis resolve overshadow it greatly. Her aura was also clinging to him heavily and Vahn knew she didnt have as many inhibitions as her face might show. After nodding his head, Vahn put a bit more strength into his grip and began to squeeze Akis tail while stimting it with his thumb and [Hands of Nirvana]. He was interested to see how a cat person would respond if he touched their most sensitive spot with the inclusion of his energy. To reward his curiosity, Aki arched forward and bit powerfully into his right shoulder and Vahn could feel her teeth break through his skin. She released a loud m.o.a.n and exhaled heavily through her nose as Vahn grit his teeth to resist the pain while fondling her tail with his fingers. Even though it was somewhat painful, Vahn continued his actions and whispered into Akis ear, "I want to try something...bear with me unless its too much, okay?" Since Aki was technically still a v.i.r.g.i.n, Vahn was curious how she would react to his massage when her body was in a s.e.x.u.a.lly stimted state. While still holding her tail, Vahn began tracing his left hand along Akis back and targeting her pressure points to ease the tension of her body. He was curious if he could actually cause the body of someone that had tensed up through stimtion to actual calm down. He also wanted to make the experience memorable for Aki so she didnt have any regrets about her choice. Since she had been a partner of Lokis, Vahn had some slight expectations that she had a bit of tolerance against stimtion. For a short minute or so, Aki resisted his hand even though he put in a fair amount of effort to ease the tension of her body. It seemed that the tail of a cat person overrode some of their other functions and could still cause their body to tense up even when the muscles were rxed. Vahn thought it was a very interesting reaction, because Aki still tried to bit into his shoulder but was losing her ability to mp down with her teeth. She just continued to releasebored breaths through her nose while doing her best to hold on while Vahn was stroking her tail. Vahn was also very aware of the warm moisture that had started to soak through his trousers from underneath Akis skirt. After around ten minutes, Akiid powerlessly against Vahns body as he slowly moved his hand around her back and checked for any tense areas that might have emerged without his notice. Noticing there were no points untended, Vahn hugged Akis body which was covered in ayer of sweat. There was so much moisture built up beneath her that Vahn was almost certain there was more than v.a.g.i.n.a.l secretions contained within. Though it was a light smell, Vahn could detect a slight aroma of urine that made him feel a little bad about his actions. Vahn ced his hands on Akis butt and leaned back so she wouldnt fall backward with his next actions. He was tempted to nibble on her ear again, but Vahn just whispered to her instead, "Since it isnt a good opportunity to push ourselves too far...please be satisfied with this for now." Unable to respond to his words, Aki just licked his neck once with her somewhat rough tongue to show that she was listening. Vahn felt his heart itch from the ticklish sensation as he said, "Take a deep breath..." Following his words, Aki drew a long breath and held it in preparation for what was toe. She had already been pushed further than she ever expected, so she was a bit afraid of what was toe if Vahn told her to take a breath first. cing his right hand at the connecting point of Akis tail, Vahn traced his left hand along the line of her back before stopping at the base of where her head connected into her neck. The technique he was about to use was one of the more cautioned acts that could be used on a female. It was known as the convergence of heaven and earth and required him to create an anchor point for his energy at the top and base of the spine that would be able to diffuse through the rest of the body. Vahn expected that it would likely lead her to the biggest conceivable climax, and he was a bit worried if she would actually be okay. Since there were no dangers to the technique, Vahn assumed she would be okay and began to the procedure that he had always wanted to try in the past. The moment he ced the pinpoint energy into the area near her tail, Akis tail turned ramrod straight and Vahn could feel a heavy flow of moisture against his waist as he triggered the spot at the top of her spine as well. She immediately released the breath she had been holding and made a strange, throaty, sound like "NyaahahaaahaaaAaaaaaaa" as Vahn traced both hands, one down, the other up, until they came to the same point at the back of Akis spine. Vahn noticed that the strange sounding from Aki immediately faded and he looked to see her stared wide-eyed with a silent cry as if she were unable to form any sounds at all. Aki mechanically turned her head toward Vahn without blinking and just continued to stare at him with her hazy ck eyes as a powerful series of vibrations ran through her body. Vahn began to feel worried that he had gone too far since her reaction had been very different than his expectations. He expected her to potentially cry out or have a somewhat violent reaction, but the only thing she was doing was staring at him as waves powerful enough to be felt by him ran through her body. Vahn noticed that Aki wasnt breathing at all, so he quickly began pressing into her pressure points to disperse the energy that had been building up in her body. After a few quick presses, Akis fell like a marite that had its strings cut and Vahn had to catch her with his right arm and hug her body as he worked to undo the procedure. Nearly two minutester, Aki was breathing shallow breaths while being cradled in Vahns arms with what Vahn could only describe as a happy or peaceful expression on her face. He released a relieved sigh since it seemed like she had enjoyed the massage greatly and had just fallen asleep after her tensions were released. Vahn held her body and stroked her long ck hair even though it had been soaked through a bit with sweat. A whileter, Vahn felt the warm moisture that had soaked through his trousers began to feel cold an ufortable. He didnt want Aki to get sick while sleeping with wet clothing, so he needed to either wipe down her body or take her to the bath. Laying her body down on the couch, Aki curled up into a ball and Vahn was finally able to see the aftermath of having Aki sit on hisp. His trousers had beenpletely soaked through and it looked like he had wet himself with howrge the stain was. So much moisture had built up, that it had even pooled a bit and soaked into the sofa underneath them. When Vahn stood up, there was the outline of his own butt in the cushions of the sofa created with arge stain. With a bit of hesitation, Vahn leaned down and smelled the cushion at a fair distance away and could smell a powerful scent of urine. He had assumed Aki might have wet herself, but he hadnt actually confirmed it until now. Though he didnt me her at all, Vahn still felt a little unclean at the moment and also wanted to take a bath himself. Afraid that it might cause a minor fiasco if they were seen, Vahn used his domain to scan the area around the manor before picking a route. After picking up Akis unconscious body, Vahn stowed away the sofa to hide the evidence before using Shundo to appear next to the window. Even though it was very cold outside, Vahn would be able to make the trip in only a few short seconds and it shouldnt be a problem for either of them. He didnt want to risk walking through the halls since, even if he wasnt spotted, many of the girls would be able to detect the scent. Vahn would need to double-back and clean the libraryter just in case the aroma had spread through the air. This caused him to remember Akis earlier words, and Vahn realized it was probably a good idea to actually designate an area as she had mentioned... After dashing through the courtyard, Vahn appeared at the top of the Manor before making his way over the roof andnding in the back area where the onsen was located. Vahn ced his palm on Akis diaphragm and massaged it a bit with [Hands of Nirvana] to wake her up. She opened her eyeszily and stared up at Vahn before looking around the area to try and make sense of the situation. After collecting herself a bit, Aki reached out with her right hand and pinched an exposed section of Vahns skin with her fingers and twisted it powerfully as she said, "You cant give girls that kind of massage...youll break them if you arent careful." Vahn winced a bit but allowed her to continue since he knew he was at fault for what happened earlier. With a wry smile on his face, he said, "Sorry Aki...I got a little carried away. You were just acting too cute and I wanted to see if you-" Before he could finish, Aki wriggled out of his hands and began inspecting her own body while saying, "I dont care about anything like that. If I wanted you to stop, I could have said or done something..." Aki inspected the dampness of her own spats and smelled it with her hand before wincing and saying, "Ive never been stimted to the point where I actually peed myself...sorry about that." Without saying anything else, Aki began to strip off her clothing and throwing it off to the side near one of the pools. Vahn had been preparing to exin that she wasnt at fault, but he got a bit distracted by her actions and watched her undresspletely. Though Aki still had a lithe figure, she seemed a little softer than the other cat people Vahn had seen. She wasnt fat at all, but her body didnt seem to be that toned. Even her modest b.r.e.a.s.ts actually looked more like puffy mounds than shapely assets. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts were approaching a B-cup, but they looked somewhat soft and immature even though she was nearly twenty years old. When she had almostpletely undressed, Aki had a slight blush on her face as she thumbed the sides of her spats with a bit of hesitation. Vahn thought she was embarrassed to be seen n.a.k.e.d by him so he turned his head and could hear the sound of clothing being moved about quickly before Aki said, "You can turn around now." Vahn was a bit confused until he noticed the bundle of fabric that Aki had hidden away in the pile of clothing. He realized she probably didnt want him to see her panties that had likely been soaked with pee so he ignored the matter and took in the view of her body. She had somewhat slender h.i.p.s and a pert butt that wasnt veryrge, even though it was somewhat squishy to the touch. The thing that caught his eye though was the fact that she didnt actually have much visible pubic hair and it looked like she actively kept it trimmed. Aki had a slightly embarrassed look as she exined, "I have a small bald spot when it grows in...so I try to keep it shaved. Do you think its weird?" Vahn shook his head and had a smile on his face as he stated confidently, "Aki, your entire body is very beautiful. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to see it for myself...I feel very fortunate." Aki released a relieved sigh before a strange mncholy appeared in her eyes for a brief moment. Vahn had noticed it and was prepared to ask but she exined without him having to do so, "I was thinking about that idiot again...You know, I tried to seduce him once and he just panicked before running out of the room..." Vahn furrowed his brows slightly and asked, "You really loved him, didnt you?" His words made Aki hang her face a bit but she shook her head and said, "I wanted to love him, but I also needed him to love me and show it through his actions. Call me a pragmatist, but there are several things I want in life and waiting around for a boy to wisen up isnt one of them..." Without exining further, Aki walked over and dropped her body into one of the steaming pools and said, "Come on, if someone goes to look for us and we arent around, it would cause a few problems. I also want to go clean up the library a bit..." Vahn nodded his head and began to undress before joining Aki in the same pool. She inspected his body with an appraising look and remarked, "Loki-sama was right, its more than a little on therger side. Just let me know if you want to do anything, I have some pills that help with dtion so I should be able to manage with enough preparation." Vahn tilted his head and asked, "Dtion?" He began to browse through his mind for information as Aki exined, "Yeah, its not always easy for a girl to ept someone of your size without some repercussions. Loki-sama gave me some medicine that I could give to Hestia-sama and some of the other women if things developed to that point. It might not allow for full insertion, but itll help a lot if there is any difort..." Though she exined things casually, Aki had a slight blush on her face that wasnt caused by the heat of the water. However, Vahn hadnt noticed it at first because he was thinking about how Hestia might react when she learned about such a medicine. When he turned his attention to Aki to ask about it, he saw her expression and realized he shouldnt be worrying about other girls when he was alone with another. With a smile on his face, Vahn asked, "Since the current situation is my fault...let me take responsibility and wash your body." Hearing his words, Aki looked over with a smile on her face before moving through the water anding to a stop next to Vahn. She traced her hand over the area where she had bitten him earlier and said, "I have a bit of responsibility myself... lets wash each other instead." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn likes teasing the kitty,Vahns attempt to remain symmetrical,Akis Appeal) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful Chapter 290 - Shift

Chapter 290 - Shift

After spending nearly twenty minutes in the bath with Aki, the two dried themselves off and Vahn gave Aki some of the clothing he kept within his inventory. She was a little surprised that he had womens clothing, but Vahn just exined it away as having been necessary in the past and he liked to be prepared. She happily epted the small ck shorts and the pale-blue blouse he gave her before wearing them overtop somewhat intricately designed ck panties that he handed her. When she had received them, she tilted her head to the side with a thoughtful look before wearing them in a smooth motion. Vahn was preparing to return to the library to make sure things were cleaned up, but Aki prevented him from doing so and said she would take care of it herself. He assumed she didnt want another person potentially cleaning her pee, so Vahn nodded his head and decided to cool off his head a bit by heading outside and sitting on the balcony. The sky had been cloudytely and there was even a very short period when some snow had fallen. Unfortunately, it didnt pile up at all and Vahn wasnt able to experience his first snow day. During the lunch period, Aki had decided to take the opportunity to discuss the various rules and regtions that the girls would have to follow from now on. Though she couldnt do much about the fact that some of the girls had already joined the Familia, Aki still asked that they all take vows rted to the non-disclosure of information, working alongside criminal Familia, andpromising the interests of others within the Familia. With Hestias support, every girl present made vows, including Preasia even though she wasnt actually in the Familia yet. As a show of his own support, Vahn also made the vows in front of the girls with a few minor stiptions rted to him specifically. One of the things the girls had to do, other than their assigned duties, was study information about the dungeon. They were also given price lists, lists ofmon drops, ingredients for making medicine, and other misceneous information that would be useful when they finally entered the dungeon in the future. Since some of the girls didnt know how to read well at all, Aki also pitched in and helped educate the illiterate members alongside Preasia, Haruhime, and Fenrir. Mikoto still spent her afternoon training and honing her skills while Vahn had been preparing to return to his workshop but was stopped along the way by Hestia. Hestia had a somewhat difficult expression on her face and Vahn could see her aura was drooping pitifully even though it still retained its reddish-pink hue. Before he could ask what the matter was, Hestia spoke up to answer his concerns, "I talked with Hephaestus and Loki earlier...Vahn, am I being a bother to you?" Vahn furrowed his brows a bit and stated firmly, "Hestia, Ive told you several times that I like your behavior. Even if it gets a little out of hand at times, its always exciting and I like spending time with you." Instead of showing a relieved expression, Hestia let out a sigh and said, "Loki said youd say something like that...so its true, Ive been taking things too fartely." Without continuing the conversation further, Vahn stepped forward and hugged Hestia tightly around her shoulders before pressing her head to his chest and stroking her hair. In response, Hestia grabbed the back of his tunic and held the fabric tightly with her hands and muttered, "Vahn...why is it so hard to be in love with someone? Even though I know you have to be free, I cant help but want to keep you locked away in our room, away from all the terrible things and people youll face in the future. I dont want to see you in pain while you struggle to help other peoples dreamse true..." Vahn didnt know how to answer her question for a bit and continued to stroke her hair before saying, "I dont know Hestia...Ive only ever thought about doing my best. Even when things get hard, the trust people put in me helps drive me forward...it is knowing that there are people that love me waiting for my return that helps me ovee difficulties. Even if I stayed in that room with you for a while, life would eventually find its way to us and force us to face it. Id rather take the initiative and face life head-on rather than be caught off guard when I least expect it..." Stroking the side of Hestias face, Vahn tiled her head and saw the watery blue eyes on the verge of tears. With a gentle and loving smile on his face, Vahn whispered, "Hestia, wont you face it together with me? There is much more to life than being cooped up within that bedroom, or even being here in this Manor. I think youll find the answer youre looking for if you open your heart to others and see the beauty in the world, not just the dangers...it might be my take as a mortal, but I know that you can live forever...without having lived life for a single day. I want to make the most of every moment, and I want you to be there with me during my times of triumph, as well as when I face defeat. With a beautiful goddess like you waiting for me, I feel like I can get back up no matter how many times I fall down..." Though her expression hadnt returned to normal, Vahn could feel Hestias aura expand rapidly until the point it had epassed by their bodies in the reddish-pink atmosphere. After a few seconds, a cheerful smile appeared on Hestias face and she ced her hand overtop Vahns before saying, "Vahn, I love you so much~! Even when I feel lost and empty, youre always there to show me the way...and you even fill me up in various ways." Vahn could see the moderately seductive glint in Hestias gaze as she looked upward at him with her shining blue gem-like eyes. Vahn leaned down and rubbed noses with Hestia before carrying her off to the side and seating her on one of the nearby sofa. She seemed to be getting in a strange mood, but Vahn ced his hand on her head and used [Hands of Nirvana] to help calm her down. Her aura began to slowly decrease in intensity and she had a difficult time trying to make any advances against Vahn as he gave her a casual smile and continued forcibly calming her down. Eventually, Hestia gave up and allowed Vahn to hug her from behind as she sat in hisp and behaved. Vahn began exining everything he had experienced since his first time with Tiona and Ais, as well as the regtions, concerns, and countermeasures that had been put into ce to keep him from going down a deviant path. He talked to Hestia about moderation and putting more emphasis on each individual moment instead of over-saturating life with thoughts of s.e.x. Vahn knew Hestia hadnt been associating too much with the rest of the Familiately, since she spent most of her time within their room and he cautioned her about making a bad impression on the girls hearts and minds. Though she seemed a little hesitant at first, when Vahn began exining to her about the lesson she had given him about treating their Familia like family, Hestia was unable to refute him at all. She just listened silently and asked a few questions to rify matters which Vahn was able to answer easily. Vahn wanted Hestia to treat everyone in the Familia well, since she was actually the core of the group, even though there were a lot of people that treated him as their focus. Even if Vahn was the representative of the Familia during expeditions, Hestia was the actual face of the Familia and there were various things that could only be managed by her. He talked to her about some of the things he had discussed with Aki earlier, but Hestia had actually told him that she had already heard about them directly from the source. After nearly three hours of discussion, all while Vahn helpedfort Hestia, it was decided that Hestia would be sleeping in her own room to set a better example for the others girls to follow. If they always saw her sleeping with Vahn and dragging an e.r.o.t.i.c scent through the house, it would make things difficult for everyone in the future. In exchange for herpliance, Vahn promised that they would be able to spend time together, but had to n it properly in advance and needed to make sure it was in a location that wouldnt interfere with the lives of others. He pitched the idea about expanding the Manor in the future and even digging further into the ground and foundation around the premises. They already had a wine cer and arge amount of bas.e.m.e.nt storage space, but Vahn thought it would be a good idea to expand it in the future and even n for escape tunnels in the event that they needed to move in and out of the Manor stealthily. Adding onto Vahns ns, Hestia pitched the idea of breaking down the wall separating the two onsens and segmenting off a private area with adequate soundproofing for private bathing. She also wanted to try building a sauna and even asked if Vahn could build a second private area for things like massages. Because he had plenty of diagram paper on hand, Vahn began to draw out the ideas after quickly sketching out the blueprints of the Hearth Manor using his minimap as a reference. Though he had never studied architecture seriously, Vahn had read several books on it and learned a bit when he was living alongside Eva in the orb. Hestia began to get very excited at the prospect of modifying their home even further since she seemed like the type that enjoyed staying at home. As a final add-on, she even brought up the idea of converting the west wing into a medical ward and daycare since there would probably be a few kids running around in the future. Long before they were finished drawing up ns, it was already time for dinner and they were both surprised to know so much time had passed. If not for Vahn detecting Haruhime moving through the corridors looking for them, they might have caused everyone to wait for theirte arrival. During dinner, Hestia brought up the blueprints they had been working on and starting an exciting discussion with all the girls present about things theyd like to see incorporated in the future. Even Aki got involved in the conversation because she thought it was a very good idea to make modifications in preparation for the future. As of now, the Manor was more so something that had been designed to be lived in as a residence. Most Familia Manors were designed as a central hub and the actual residences for the members were elsewhere. The conversation was so lively that dinner went on nearly an hour over the usual amount of time they took to eat. Everyone was in a good mood as they cleaned up the dishes and all made their way toward the bath together. Vahn wasnt exactly dirty, but he also decided to take a short bath since it was a pleasant feeling to experience the cold air inbination with the hot water of the onsen. Every time he saw the steamy pools in the low light of the evening, Vahn felt like he had entered a mystical realm that was almost exclusively his own. Other than when he shared it with others, Vahn had the entire mens onsen to himself even though it looked like it could hold more than fifty people. After soaking in one of the murky pools, Vahn allowed his body to rx and reveled in the experiences of the day. His interaction with Aki had been interesting, and he was looking forward to how things might progress in the future. He really wanted to meet the man named Raul and see what kind of person would be able to ignore the charms of such a beautiful woman. As he was rxing, Vahn could hear a bit of amotion from the womens bath, which wasnt that abnormal if not for the fact that he saw several presences near the dividing wall between the onsens... For a brief moment, Vahns mind nked before he recalled Hestias earlier suggestion about breaking down the wall and creating a private bathing area. Since it made more sense to create the private bath first, Vahn hadnt expected that they might try to immediately implement the idea. He didnt mind seeing the girls n.a.k.e.d, but Vahn felt like it would be troublesome if he was in the same bath as eight other girls so he shouted out to stop them but swallowed his words when they turned to walk away without doing anything. Deciding that it might be the precursor to some future development, Vahn finished washing his body before escaping from the onsen... After he returned to his room, Vahn was curious so he transformed into his Bih form to see what kind of aroma was present in the room. He immediately regretted the decision since Vahn was hit by a literal wave of Essence of Hestia and he could feel his heart begin to itch before dissipating the feeling with [Will of the Emperor] while ceasing his transformation. He had adapted to Hestias scent a bit and was almost able to ignore it during normal circ.u.mstances so he had never noticed how prevalent it was in the room. It was no wonder that Aki had a blushing face when she had been present the night before...she had probably been bathed in the aroma of their misconduct for the several minutes it required for her to have her crest converted. Vahn changed the bedding and ced a few incenses in the room that had the properties of breaking down scents while also making the room smell like sandalwood. Vahn wasnt sure what sandalwood was before, but he managed to purchase a piece through the shop and noticed it had a robust, yet pleasant, aroma. It strangely reminded him or Ryuu, and Vahn spread a few around the room in the hopes that it might clear up the air a bit. He also opened one of the side vents that were typically closed to retain the heat within the Manor. Since he was essentially immune to the cold, Vahn didnt mind lowering the temperature of the room to let some fresh air spread throughout the interior. For the first time in a while, Vahnid down in his bed alone and enjoyed the cool air against his skin as he spread his arms wide and released the tensions in his body... (A/N:Alternate Titles: Regtions : Order,Vahn has a moment of inspiration,Rx) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 291 - Peace and Quiet?

Chapter 291 - Peace and Quiet?

After the first night alone, Vahn felt a bit of incongruity in his own body because he had a phantom sensation that something was missing when he first went to sleep. He woke up several times through the night and realized that his fears that Hestia was adapting his body to her presence became cemented in his mind. Vahn knew she had no malicious intent, but it was still a bit awkward to realize how his own body had changed to have a strange expectation. He had even, for the first time, awoke to find his own p.e.n.i.s standing proudly without his consent. Hestia wasnt much better since Vahn saw a pair of bags under her eyes during breakfast and then carried her back to her own bed because she waszing aboutter. He gave her a short massage and noticed she was having the reaction of a mature woman, so he hoped it would help her calm down a bit and give her the opportunity to get some sleep. As for the other things going on in the house, Aki had very quickly be the go to for any matters and concerns had by the other girls. Though they had a fierce respect for Ryuu, most of the girls couldnt mesh with her well since she was rtively taciturn and serious. It was also through Akis management of things that Vahn actually had a wealth of time to himself to tend to his own matters. He was surprised that even Haruhime deferred to Aki, even though she still almost always sat next to him during meals. She had adapted her characteristic elegance and Vahn thought she was actually more naturally than she had been when trying to approach him. If not for the fact her aura was usually gravitating toward him, Vahn would have had the suspicion that her mentality had changed and she was beginning to focus more on her own life and development. The most notable change was how Preasia had begun to open up to the other girls more and had actually be very close with Haruhime and Mikoto alongside Fenrir. Since Fenrir liked having her own bush tail brushed, she got along really well with Haruhime as they both groomed each other with brushes. Vahn noticed that Fenrir was getting much better at controlling her own urges because she used to not be able to go three days without venturing into the dungeon to vent. Though it wasnt likely to ever be the case, Vahn wanted Fenrir to be able to live a life without being controlled by her hunger. After a few peaceful days had passed, Vahn began to realize that a lot of the things that had stressed him out previously were due to his own oversights. Now that there was order and regtions within the Manor, things had suddenly be a lot easier for him. Other than when he approached people, Vahn spent a great deal of his time working and having time to himself. It was a very big shift, since Vahn hadnt realized how important it was to have quality time alone. He learned a bit about management from Aki on asion, and also shared some intimate moments whenever he was feeling affectionate. It was during some of his intimate moments that Vahn was able to check the Status Boards of Ryuu and Aki, since he hadnt found the time to do so previously. Ryuu had been happy about the changes in the Manor because there were actually more opportunities for her to spend time alone with Vahn. She wasnt fond of public affection and did a lot to constrain herself so it wouldnt cause disorder within the group. On one of the days she had stayed a bitter, Vahn and Ryuu had cuddled a bit in the library while talking about the progress of the girls. They didnt do anything too forward, but Vahn did get to experience a bit of the bashful side of Ryuu when he nibbled on her long ears a bit. (A/N: Level 4s have a ton of skills~!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Ryuu Lion Race: Elf LV. 4 POW: F385 END: F311 DEX: B798 AGI: A804 MAG: C645 Skill: [Aeolus:Innate(sealed)], [Fairy Serenade:C], [Mind Load:C], [Aero Mana:A], [Concurrent Chanting:A] Magic: [Sovereign of the Wind:Innate(sealed)], [Luminous Wind:B], [Noah Heal:D] Development Skill: [Hunter:B], [Abnormal Resistance:B], [Magic Resistance:C] [Fairy Serenade] Rank:C Use: Increases the efficacy of magic at night. [Mind Load] Rank:C Use: Increases power in proportion to the amount of mana imbued into attacks. [Aero Mana] Rank:A Use: Greatly increases attack power based on how fast the user is running. [Concurrent Chanting] Rank:A Use: Allows the user to chant while moving about even under intense strain. Provides enhanced control over magical energy and prevents bacsh from chant disruption. [Luminous Wind] Rank:B Use: Attack Magic that summons green stardust to attack the enemy Chant: In the sky of a now distant forest. Infinite stars scattered in the endless night sky. Respond to my foolish voice, give me now divine protection of starfire. Give the mercy of light to the one that abandoned you. Come, wandering wind, the wandering traveler. Cross the sky and run through the wilderness, run faster than anything else. Imbue the light of stardust and destroy the enemy [Noah Heal] Rank:D Use: Healing magic that is capable of healing wounds and restoring the targets stamina Chant: The song of a now distant forest. The nostalgic song of life. Please bring the mercy of healing to those that seek you [Hunter] Rank:B Use: Improves abilities against monsters that the user has fought before and gained exilia from [Abnormal Resistance] Rank:B Use: Nullifies abnormal status effects such as poison under the given rank. [Magic Resistance] Rank:C Use: Increases resistance against all magical attacks. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Anakitty Autumn Race: Cat Person LV. 4 POW: E441 END: F320 DEX: C605 AGI: C663 MAG: G206 Skill: [Imprint:Innate(sealed)], [Command Howl:D], [Featherfoot:D] Magic: [Swift Tempo:C] Development Skill: [Hunter:B], [Abnormal Resistance:C], [Swordsman:B] [Swordsman] Rank:B Use: Increasesprehension of sword skills and techniques. Provides a moderate increase to the kic vision and spatial awareness of the user. [Command Howl] Rank:D Use: Increases transmission functions of users voice when tensions increase. Allows formands to be heard clearly across great distances. [Featherfoot] Rank:D Use: Increasesprehension of movement abilities and footwork. Provides a moderate increase to stealth rted abilities. [Swift Tempo] Rank:C Use: Increases agility of the target. Chant: Errant gale, be a swift tempo~! [Hunter] Rank:B Use: Improves abilities against monsters that the user has fought before and gained exilia from [Abnormal Resistance] Rank:C Use: Nullifies abnormal status effects such as poison under the given rank. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As expected, Vahn noticed that both Ryuu and Aki had Innate abilities so he was able to intuit that a person would have, at the very least, one Innate skill. For characters that had more impact to the main story, they seemed to have stronger Innates, or in the case of Haruhime and Ryuu, more than one Innate ability in their repertoire. Vahn began topile all of the Innate skills he had seen into a journal and wanted to keep track of their influence on a persons growth as well as their activation, assuming he was able to help any of the girls unseal their abilities. He knew it required a great amount of strain, as well as mental development for an Innate ability to awaken but, even if they were exposed to a real life-and-death situation, they may not awaken at all... By the time the weekend hade, a lot of things had changed in the Manor and things had calmed down a great deal. When Mn and Tina visited, they were received by all of the current residents of the Manor in high spirits and Vahn got to spend some quality time with the Mother-Daughter duo. Tina had calmed down a lotpared to her past self, and she was actively talking with the other girls to improve their rtionsh.i.p.s. She got along best with Preasia and Fenrir, but she also yed with the twins a bit. Haruhime wanted to grow closer to the tiny cat girl, but Mn and Mikoto had stepped in because they were afraid she might be a bad influence on Tina. However, the calmer and more peaceful things became, the more unnerved Vahn was feeling about everything that was happening. He felt like he needed to be taking proactive action instead of spending his time cooped up in the Manor and rxing. Though he liked having time to work on the clothing and equipment designs, Vahn felt a bit anxious about how smoothly things were developing. The Denatus was only two weeks away, and Vahn felt like theing two weeks would be full of challenges and developments that he may not be prepared for. On his immediate list of things that needed to be taken care of, there was the matter of Lokis pregnancy, trying to spend time with some of the girls outside of the Manor, as well as taking counter-action against the movements of the Ishtar Familia. Though he still spent some intimate moments with Hestia, Vahn felt a strange itch within his heart when he thought about the other girls like Loki and Hephaestus. He also began to have fantasies about his potential rtionsh.i.p.s with other girls and Vahn realized he might be developing the deviant tendencies that he had been cautioned about previously. Since he had so much free time, Vahn spent a fair amount thinking about possible date ideas, how he should interact with the girls, and potentially how they would spend their first time together. As he hadnt been able to visit the Hostess of Fertility recently, Vahn had begun to miss Chloe, and to a lesser extent, the other girls like Syr, Arnya, and Lunoire. He also wanted to check up on Mona and Shizune, since he hadnt seen the two ever since he helped save them from the clutches of the ve trader. Of course, the more Vahn thought about that type of thing, the more he wanted to associate with other guys since he still knew he was missing a few things to function properly. Though he knew a few people that had several wives, Vahn noticed there werent many, if any, guys that were surrounded by as many women as he was. Since he had seen Welfs reaction in the past, Vahn knew his situation was somewhat precarious and was afraid things would devolve to a point where he couldnt manage everything. Vahn was hoping that Eina would be able to help him manage things when she moved in after their marriage. Though he had an interest in several women, Vahn knew it wouldnt be possible for him to show every girl the same amount of attention and he was very worried about the future. Ever since Aki cautioned him about turning the Familia into his own Harem, Vahn had been thinking about what steps he needed to take to prevent people from seeing him in a strange light. He decided that it would be best to defer to his wives on the matter and only proactively pursue a small number of women. Because of his interactions with Aki and Hestia, Vahn knew there were different levels of intimacy he could have with women. Even though they had yed around a bit, Akis affection had never increased over 85 and usually returned to 80 after she had calmed down. Hestia, however, was always in a high-tension state and Vahn had to tend to her asionally in fear that she might overburden herself. Since there was no way Vahn could marry every woman around him, he knew that a lot of his rtionsh.i.p.s with girls were probably temporary. He was a bit sad about it, since he had an interest in many of the girls both physically and mentally. Vahn didnt know if it would be appropriate for him to actually take action against them if they would eventually move on. The only thing he was truly concerned about was their happiness, but it still felt a little sad to think about separating from people he cared for. He knew that, if he couldnt provide for their heart and offer them peace of mind, it was very possible the girls would grow distant from him just like Aki had been doing with Raul. The fact that he could still see Aki had affections for Raul prevented Vahn from thinking everything would always go as smoothly as they had been... One of the big impacts Vahn had suffered was knowing that Tione and Tiona werent able to visit him due to personal reasons. Ever since he had defeated her inbat, Tione had been on edge and had been struggling with her own emotions. After the matter of their duel spread on thework, Tione had been severely reprimanded and denied any opportunity to approach Vahn in the near future. Since she couldnt be trusted to control herself properly, Tiona also couldnt visit the Hearth Manor for the time being so she had been venting a few her frustrations with Tione as they went into the dungeon and caused a ratherrge amount of devastation with Riveria and Gareth watching over them. This led to the unique situation where Ais and Lefiya visited the Manor as a duo and lounged about in Vahns workshop. When they had seen the mannequins of themselves, Ais had a glint in her eyes and Vahn was given the opportunity to take her measurements and have her try on some of the clothing he had been designing for her. Since she was the type to get wrapped up in the momentum, especially when the matters concerned Ais, Lefiya also abashedly had her measurements taken by Vahn and had him promise to keep the information a secret. Though he already suspected it would be the case, Vahn was in very high tensions and felt happy whenever he saw the girls in outfits of his own design. Ais even pushed things further and had Vahn help her dress whenever he was exining matters. Since he also got to appraise their body from various angles, Vahn began humoring the idea of mastering the trade of being a tailor and dressmaker in the future. Seeing the various reactions of Ais and Lefiya was a very refreshing feeling for Vahn and he realized that he was the type that liked creating things to be used by the people he cared about. Vahn didnt really like cksmithing that much, and had only put in the effort because he wanted to keep his promise with Hephaestus. Ever since then, Vahn had been somewhatx and hadnt been working on his forging much and instead focused on creating diagrams and blueprints for future projects. He figured that he would be able to focus his efforts more when he had a reason to create items versus when he was just working to make money. The final nail in the coffin had been when Vahn was asked by Ais to help design a pair of form-fitting of undergarments for her since she didnt like the constrictive feeling of most fabrics. She often wore open-backed clothing which meant she only wore tape to cover her b.r.e.a.s.ts normally. Piggybacking off her words, Lefiya also muttered through stuttered sentences about wanting a pair for herself as well. When Vahn saw their reactions, his heart practically melted and he felt a powerful motivation rising up inside of him. (A/N: It wasnt specifically stated, so this time skip was between Tuesday-Monday of the following week. So roughly six days, which makes the Denatus is 14 days~! Also, for those that keep makingments about Akis presence...she is necessary to actually manage the Familia and was sent by Loki to keep an eye on both Vahn and Hestia. Vahn might be powerful, but he has few leadership qualities and no management capabilities. Ryuu might be strong and stoic, but she alsocks the qualities of a good leader and is more likely to follow order than dish them out. Aki was an active lieutenant and knows what it takes to make a Familia function and properly prepared before they enter a dungeon. She was a supporter when she was 12, and became an active adventurer when she was 14. She has a great deal of experience to draw from and is also a stable existence that isnt overly-reliant on Vahn. Peoplepare her to Eina, but they serve two fundamentally different roles. Aki is there to make sure the Familia functions, while Einas main purpose is to make sure Vahn functions o3o.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Stable Living Conditions,Level 4 OP,Vahn Doesnt Simply Slice Life, He Makes A Twelve-Layer Sandwich And Is Afraid To Eat It) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful Chapter 292 - Intruder

Chapter 292 - Intruder

Vahn had been sleeping within his chilled room when he felt a pulse of energy pass through the formation protecting the Manor. It was a small, almost unnoticeable blip, but Vahn had been in an alert state as things grew progressively more peaceful. Expanding his domain, Vahn began to look for the sign of any foreign presences within the 322m area of his perception. Though he couldnt perfectly map everything within his domain, Vahn was vaguely aware of the structure of the Manor and had memorized itsyout because of the efforts he had been putting into redesigning it. Using his mini-map in conjunction with his domain, Vahn was able to detect a presence trying to enter through the first floor of the west wing. Almost everyone within the Manor slept in rooms on the 3rd floor, but that wasntmon knowledge and Vahn expected that the intruder was either an assassin or someone sent to scout out the interior of the Manor. The only people on the first floor were the twins, but they were in the central area near the kitchen in one of the smaller rooms. However, Vahn wasnt going to wait around to see what the intruder was up to, so he jumped out of bed and immediately equipped hisbat attire before making his way out of the room. He noticed the Fenrir had awoken, but he sent her a signal telling her to protect the third floor. Vahn knocked on the door that was usually Ryuus room, but she had been sharing it with Aki since she didnt often sleep over. It was one of therger rooms, so it was able to easily amodate two beds and both Ryuu and Aki were used to sharing a room with others. Though she had been asleep, Aki quickly awoke even though Vahn only gently rattled on the door. She answered the door in a nightgown and Vahn had a brief thought wondering why cat girls seemed to wear nightgowns to be before briefing Aki on the situation. He had her stay near the stairwell connecting to the third floor while he made his way down to intercept the intruder who was slowly making their way through the rooms in the west wing. Vahn had a cold glint in his eyes as he pushed his stealth capabilities to the max and wore dark-colored clothing that had the properties of absorbing light. He could tell by the aura of the person that they were likely near Level 4, so he was certain they hadnte with good intentions. There was also the fact that the person had a mute aura mixed with greys and a hint of green which showed that, though they had never met, the person had feelings of envy or resentment toward him. Since the presence was cautiously making its way through each room, Vahn knew they were looking for something or someone. Though Vahn had likely made several enemies after interfering with matters in the red light district, the only person that would be able to mobilize a Level 4 would be the Ishtar Familia. Even if the person was just a hired assassin, there were few people that would take on a request to interfere with the Hestia Familia which was indirectly supported by two of the top three Familia within the City. Vahn really didnt want to destroy parts of his own Manor, so he waiting in the corridor connecting the west wing to the central area and opened up several windows even though it was below freezing outside. He then waited in the shadows and thinned out his presence to the point that most people wouldnt be able to detect him even if they had powerful detection abilities. He had already tested it previously with Mikoto, but he was able to iste his presence by condensing his domain and imbuing it with [Stealth]. Just like he had done with the Juggernaut, he was able to fool any magical or mental probes unless they came in direct contact with his body. After around twenty minutes, the presence entered the corridor and immediately paused when they saw the open windows and felt the chill on their skin. Surprisingly, Vahn noticed that the person hadnt made any attempt to conceal themselves and could see that it was a rtively handsome brown-skinned man with ck hair, cid green eyes, and a noble disposition. He scanned carefully through the area as if he was searching for something before hesitantly making his way forward. Vahn was impressed with the level of caution the man showed, especially considering the current situation. Since he had intruded into several ces himself, Vahn knew how disconcerting it could be when you stumbled into an unexpected situation. If not for his ability to scan the area with his domain, Vahn knew he would probably struggle to try and keep himself concealed in most situations. When the man lined up with one of the windows, Vahn moved forward with Shundo and ced his hand on the mans chest beforeunching them both out through the window and into the cold night air. Since he didnt correctly set thending point, Vahn and the unknown man carried their momentum before the intruder managed to separate from Vahn and the two opened a distance of around seven meters between each other. Without immediately attacking, the man dusted off his outfit before asking, "You must be Vahn Mason, Ive seen your picture. Ivee to deliver a message..." Vahn pulled out [L?vateinn] and asked, "Oh? What kind of message needs to be delivered in the dead of the night by an intruder that skulks around my Manor as if theyre looking for something?" The ashen de of [L?vateinn] began to glow with an intimidating red light as if it were about to burst into mes at any moment. The intruder frowned with a look of distaste on his face and stated, "My Mistress wishes to meet with you. Were it up to me, I would much rather see you in a ditch, but I must do as my Mistressmands." Without dropping his guard, Vahn looked over the man with his [Eyes of Truth] and noticed there were both ropes as well as unidentified drugs contained within the pouch at his back. Even if what the man said was true, Vahn could tell there was another purpose of his visit that he was glossing over. If the man hade across Haruhime before delivering his message, Vahn had no doubts he would have kidnapped her without a word. Without asking, Vahn knew the Mistress the man was talking about was Ishtar. Vahn brandished [L?vateinn] and drew an arc of mes through the air that caused the surrounding cold to vanish as an intense heat spread through the area. He stated inly, "You invade my home in the middle of the night after bypassing the defensive formation I set up to simply inform me that your Mistress wishes to meet with me? Curious that youd need ropes and what I assume to be sleeping drugs to send a simple message." Hearing Vahns words, the man became tense but didnt lose his condescending re as he said, "You have no right to steal the property of-" Before he could finish his words, Vahn used [Enkidu] to try and immobilize the unnamed pawn of Ishtar. Surprisingly, the man was able to side-step the super-sonic chain that tried to wrap around him as he rushed toward Vahn with a pair of gloves that seemed to be reinforced with magical runes. Unfortunately, there wasnt a movement skill within the record of Danmachi that could rival Shundo and Vahn disappeared so quickly that the briefest hint of an afterimage was left in his previous location. The mans eyes widened as he reached into a hidden pouch and threw a dagger at Vahns new location with pin-point precision. Vahn easily deflected the de with his gauntlets before once again trying to lock down the mans movements with [Enkidu]. Since it was dark outside, the man was able to react to [Enkidu] easily because it always created a gentle golden light whenever it exited through the void. Vahn frowned since it wasnt often an opponent was able to react to his [Enkidu] and it took a veryrge amount of energy to summon the chains. After ingesting a mana regeneration potion, Vahn stopped trying to use [Enkidu] and decided that it was pointless trying to capture the man. If he hade just to deliver a message, Vahn might have humored him since he was interested in dealing with Ishtar himself if possible. However, knowing that the man came with the intention of kidnapping Haruhime, Vahn had already added him to his mental list of enemies. After failing to hit Vahn several times, the man noticed that the annoying chains that appeared out of thin had stopped appearing. He saw Vahn ingest an unknown potion and thought he had overused his mana with a chantless magic. With a gloating expression on his face, the man resumed his noble demeanor and said, "Give up, youre not able to defeat me at your current Level. You might be strong for a Level 3, but your cheap tricks dont work on me. I might not be able to hit you, but you cant hit me either..." Vahn looked at the man like he was saying something ridiculous and noticed the expression of the intruder broke a little after seeing the look Vahn gave him. With a condescending smile of his own, Vahn said, "Tell your Mistress that, if she wants to meet with me, ask for an audience with the Loki and Hephaestus Familias first. If they agree, I dont mind meeting the owner of such a loyal dog." Hearing Vahns words, the man had a bulging vein on his handsome face as he red in Vahns direction. He drew in several deep breaths through his nose and seemed to be thinking of how he could make Vahn pay for his words. If it were possible to get around Loki and Hephaestus, Ishtar wouldnt have sent him in the middle of the night to try and infiltrate the Hearth Manor. Even if they were a criminal Familia, the Isthar Familia still acted above-board on the surface and put in a lot of effort to cover up their crimes. They might have crushed a few minor Familia in the past with sheer might, but there wasnt any opportunity to target the Hestia Familia with the number of hidden forces surrounding their Manor. Not only had Hephaestus and Loki purchased the surrounding properties, but they had stationed a number of personnel to watch the movements of the Ishtar Familia. There was even a team of investigators that belonged to the Guild watching over the movements within the Manor, and fighting in the courtyard would already create problems if they were seen. From the mans perspective, Vahn was using the shield of external forces to get his way and was now taunting the entire Ishtar Familia, his Mistress and himself included. If not for the strange technique Vahn used to evade his every attack, the man would have captured him and beat his face until he had be unrecognizable by even his closest family members. Of course, if he actually did that, Ishtar would probably punish him since she had taken an interest in the boy. This was the reason Vahn was able to see envy within his aura, because he was jealous that the Goddess in his heart had taken an interest in a boy more handsome than himself. After calming down a bit, the man said, "My name is Tammuz Belili, I challenge you, Vahn Mason, to a duel. If I win, you will apany me to meet my Mistress along with the harlot Sanouno Haruhime." Without saying anything about the conditions of his loss, Tammuz got into abat stance that looked reminiscent of an out-boxing style of CQC. He had his feet squared up and loosely held both fists up with his left fist forward. Vahn could tell that he would be able to respond to an attack from almost any direction except the blind spots behind him. Vahn squinted his eyes at Tammuz and was considering it if was appropriate to kill the man before him. He could tell that he was under the influence of Ishtars charm, but it was also a fact that he had invaded his home with the intent to bring harm to those in his charge. It might be true that he had stolen Haruhime from Ishtar, but it didnt make it eptable to break into the Manor of a Familia and kidnap one of its members. Even if Vahn killed Tammuz, there would be no way for Ishtar toin about the situation since they had gone about it in secrecy. She might try to pressure Vahn by spreading rumors and using him of various crimes, but there was no way she would be able to break through the wall of Hephaestus and Loki while Vahn was also shielded, to a lesser extent, by the Guild. Shaking his head, Vahn decided that it wasnt a kindness to himself or the people he was protecting to arbitrarily spare those actively trying to cause them harm. He wouldnt go out of his way to kill Tammuz, but he wasnt going to hold back if they were dueling seriously. If Tammuz managed to survive theing onught, Vahn would help dispel the effects of Ishtars charm and then heal his body a bit before turning him over to the authorities. Of course, this was assuming he survived Vahns expanding wrath. From the moment he referred to Haruhime as a harlot, Vahn had already bumped him up on the list several tiers within his mind. Throwing [L?vateinn] into his inventory, Vahn decided to even the ying field a bit and also test his new form in practicalbat. The white fur on his arms and legs began to condense into ck scales as his skin darkened and the tattoo of a snake coiled around his arms, back, and shoulders. Instead of using his Bih form, Vahn wanted to test his Xunw form since Tammuz seemed like a brawler. Of course, this didnt mean that Vahn was going to y fair at all, since hepressed his domain and began to condense fire elements into his body until he began to glow red-hot in the cold night air. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Trying to steal the cubs of a tiger while mama is still home,All kinds of gs were raised,Vahns curiosity isnt always pleasurable for people) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 293 - Showdown

Chapter 293 - Showdown

From the moment Vahn transformed into his Xunw form and began to glow, Tammuzs expression became especially serious. Without waiting any further, he kicked off from the ground to try and subdue Vahn before things got out of hand. Unexpectedly, instead of trying to evade as he had done previously, Vahn stood his ground and struck forward with a precise strike at Tammuzs chest. Since he figured something was abnormal, Tammuz dodged the blow by twisted his body and vaulting toward Vahns nk. During the motion, he felt an intense heat pass near his torso and looked toward Vahn with a fierce re. Since he had recently just exposed himself during the fight with Tione, Vahn had purchased a pair of trousers that were incredibly resistant to heat. They werent fire-proof, but they would be able tost for a while as long as he only heated up certain parts of his body. He was, however,pletely topless in the cold air as heat radiated from his body in waves. His muscles were exposed and his healthy tanned skin covered in tattoos was clearly visible to any observers. Because his muscles became slightlyrger in his Xunw form, Vahn currently looked as though he had a tyrannical strength and Tammuz could feel the pressure. Instead of trying to trade blows directly, Tammuz pulled out several nail-like projectiles and threw them fast enough to make popping sounds in the air. They passed through the after-image of Vahn and buried themselves deep into the ground more than 40m away. Tammuz frowned and rolled forward before vaulting off his hand after evading Vahns kick. He could feel the intense heat from the blows and knew it wouldnt be easy to resist unless he was looking for an internecine oue. Curiously, Tammuz noticed that Vahn wasnt moving around muchpared to his actions when he was a weretiger. Though he couldnt be sure, Tammuz thought that Vahn had given up his mobility in exchange for power and endurance. Since the movement technique he used had the fluctuations of mana, it would be possible to turn the fight into a battle of attrition if he nned things well. The problem was that Vahn was able to use storage magic and Tammuz couldnt even begin to guess how many recovery items he might have within. It might be a difficult fight, but it seemed the only way to progress was to suffer a bit and then get healedter. Vahn noticed that Tammuz had taken on a more defensive stance and didnt seem to be willing to trade blows with him directly. It was a bit annoying since he wasnt able to test his Xunw form if the opponent wasnt willing to actually fight him. Vahn began to realize that it wasnt always advantageous to use techniques that the opponent didnt expect. When against a veteran fighter, they would evaluate any new changes and try to find a countermeasure instead of tackling the matter head-on. Now Vahn understood why information about people was often highly sought after and could cost an incredible amount of Valis to obtain. If you knew all of your opponents skills, you could formte a strategy to deal with them easily. Since Tammus knew next to nothing about his actual abilities, he was ying it safe and being more reactive than proactive. For a brief moment, Vahn humored the idea of removing the fire elements from his body to try and draw in Tammuz, but it didnt seem like a rational idea unless he was able to somehow convince him that he was running low on mana. Since Vahn wasnt the greatest at deceiving others, he didnt have a lot of confidence in pulling it off without actually exposing himself. He had let Tione keep the effigy, and he was now realizing he should have perhaps kept it for himself. Ever since he was instantly killed by Tiones idental strike, Vahn knew that a fight could change in an instant if he dropped his guard. Thinking Vahn had dropped his guard, Tammuz pulled out a single, long, nail and threw it toward Vahns leg with an incredible force. Without even putting in much effort to evade, Vahn widened his footing a bit and the nail passed harmlessly in the ground behind him. Even if he didnt seem to be paying attention to Tammuz, his training with Tsubaki was deeply ingrained into his body. Since everything currently was happening within his domain, Vahn was almost untouchable unless the opponent could do something to drastic to distract him. Using the incredible brief window when Tammus had shifted his weight to throw the nail, Vahn stepped forward with Shundo as a green glow emerged from his scales. Tammuz backstepped to evade the blow, but he hadnt expected that Vahns attack didnt require him to actually make contact. Vahn had converged the shockwave that would have resulted from his attack andpressed it to a point before releasing it in front of his hand. Instead of dissipating into the air, thepressed force shot forward like an air cannon and mmed into Tammuzs body before sending him backward nearly ten meters. Before he had the chance to recover, Vahn had already appeared behind him and sent a powerful side-kick to Tammuzs exposed back. Since he was still receiving the air cannon, Tammuz wasnt able to react to the blow from his blindspot and felt his bones creak under the force of Vahns kick as the back of his tunic and the skin beneath began to burn away. He vaulted through the air once again and tried to recover, but Vahn appeared right in front of him with wide eyes and a somewhat tyrannical expression on his face with an uncharacteristically cruel smile. This was a trait Vahn had developed while soloing in the dungeon back when he was more active. Whenever he got deeply invested inbat, the cold sensation in his mind would continue to grow stronger and he feltpelled to dominate whatever he was fighting. It wasnt a simple rush of adrenaline, but the [Heart of the Eternal me] was pumping an incredible amount of oxygen-rich blood through his body and made him feel a little giddy and excitable. Vahn struck forward once again as the tattoo on his back glowed with a golden light before the scales on his forearm expanded slightly with green runes present in the centers of each one. Tammuz gnashed his teeth and tried to protect himself but was unable to resist the force since he had previously been sent flying by Vahn. Without hesitating for a single instant, Vahn brought his arm forward like a guillotine and connected his forearm with the cross-guard of Tammuz as he aimed for the neck. Since he wasnt able topletely defend against the blow, Vahn smashed Tammuzs own limbs into his neck and body before sending him spinning on the spot several times before he collided hard with the ground. Before Tammuz was able to recover from the blow, Vahn used several chains of [Enkidu] to appear near the ground and arch over Tammuzs body before pulling them tight and pinning him to the ground. Most of the chains wrapped around his body, but Vahn had managed to get one around his thighs while another had managed to slip through his guard and was firmly pinning down Tammuzs neck. For a brief instant, Vahn had a strange desire to smash Tammuzs head like a watermelon since he still had a condescending re in his eyes. Instead, Vahn decided to change his expression a bit and converged a small number of fire elements into the exposed ocr devices of Tammuz. Though it wasnt enough to permanently blind him, it was still an incredibly painful attack and there was nothing he could do to protect himself even by closing his eyes. Tammuz screamed out in pain, but Vahn stopped his cries by tightening the chain around his neck and temporarily stopping the flow of air. When his face began to turn purple and he had calmed down, Vahn eased up the chains a bit and said, "Dont move; if you piss me off any further, you wont be able to me me for what happens." Tammuz tried to refute Vahns words, but the only thing he got for his troubles was [Enkidu] tightening around his neck and body. There was nothing he could do but stare as Vahn ced his hand upon his head and a powerful energy began to pass through his body. Since he had experience with it, Vahn was able to dispel the charm effect from Tammuzs mind before pressing several points within his chest and abdomen to seal any chance he would have of trying to fight back when Vahn released him. When he was done, Vahn loosened the chains a bit, but didnt release Tammuz as he asked, "Tell me, do you still act in the interests of Ishtar?" Vahn knew that, even if someone was under the effects of charm, it wouldnt change their base personality much. If Tammuz was still hostile toward him, there wasnt any reason to let him continue putting the people he cared about in danger. Without any hesitation, Tammuz tried to spit toward Vahn as he shouted, "You think you can change my loyalty to my Mistress with your paltry tricks!? You overestimate yourself; you and your little Familia will be destroyed for having the audacity to interfere with my goddesss ns!" Vahn nodded his head with an approving smile as he said amicably, "Your loyalty is impressive,mendable even..." Then, without any hesitation, Vahn pulled out a non-descript ck de before driving it straight into Tammuzs heart. Since he was still a Level 4, Tammuz didnt immediately die as he resisted against the chains and tried to pull the sword out of his chest. Vahn bowed his head slightly and continued his words, "I hope she remembers everything you did for her in her final days." His words finished, Vahn twisted the sword and Tammuz instantly died from the severe trauma. Since it had been a duel, and he hadnt gone out of his way to excessively hurt Tammuz, Vahn got a surprising amount of good karma from the fight while only .u.mting 2 points of negative karma. He suspected it was probably due to the fact that he had slightly burned Tammuzs eyes earlier. As he wasnt able to fight back, it was an unnecessary action while the execution of Tammuz had been because of personal differences and not an actual grudge. Tammuz was genuinely willing to do whatever it took, including harming the people he cared about, all to appease Ishtar. Since he was in direct confrontation to Vahn, there was no negative karma involved in their dispute and Vahn actually got rewarded for all the terrible things Tammuz had done in the name of his loyalty in the past. For a short while, Vahn considered if he should turn Tammuzs corpse over to the authorities, or if he should inform the Alliance through thework so they could take action. Eventually, Vahn decided to not use the corpse of a person to send a message or as a tool to be exploited by others. Though his reasons were misguided, Tammuz was a loyal subordinate and had fought against Vahn in a rtively straightforward manner. Since Vahn had learned much from the fight, he didnt want to desecrate the corpse of his opponent so he performed a short burial rite before cremating the remains. Within Tammuzs belongings, there was a small locket that showed the picture of a rtively beautiful brown-skinned woman with amorous eyes. Vahn assumed the image belonged to Ishtar and he was able to see the initials T.B. underneath the picture. Considering it might be a memento, even though Vahn owed nothing to Ishtar, he decided to return it to her in the future. Even if she didnt personally care for it, it could be used to decorate her altar if she continued trying to pry into the lives of the people he cared about... After spreading Tammuzs ashes in the garden, Vahn informed Aki of everything that happened so she could spread word on thework. Other than Hestia, Aki also had two different scrolls within her room. One of them connected to thework, while the other specifically only transmitted to Loki. She had told Vahn about it, and he knew she was keeping tabs on both himself and Hestia while also regting things within the Familia on his behalf. Though he realized it could be rted to one of Lokis schemes, Vahn was able to tell that Aki had no ill-will towards him and he still informed Hestia about anything that happened so thework would always be aware of what was going on. The only reason he didnt tell her now was that it was very early in the morning and Vahn didnt want to blow the rtively minor event out of proportion. Leaving Akis room, Vahn made his way to the bath and soaked his body for a short while to remove theyer of sweat that had covered his body. Most of his sweat actually evaporated when he had drawn fire elements into his body, but it didnt mean he had stopped perspiring altogether. Whenever his blood was pumping rapidly, Vahn actually used up a fair amount of energy to maintain his actions. The moment he released his tensions and returned to his human form, Vahn began to sweat profusely even though it was -4 degrees Celcius outside. During his bath, Vahn was able to detect the presence approaching and knew it was most likely Aki since everyone else was currently asleep. As expected, she showed up within the onsen a few minutester and waspletely n.a.k.e.d. Vahn gave her a smile and made a bit of room so she could dip into the onsen next to him. Since he was bathing alone, he was using the same small pool that he had shared with Ryuu and Hestia in the past. She told him about the messages she had received from Loki while they cuddled together for a bit in the bath and shared some minor intimacy between each other for around half an hour. To reward her for her hard work so early in the morning, Vahn gave her a minor massage after she sat in hisp once again, this timepletely n.a.k.e.d... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Learning Through Experience,Tammuzs Loyalty,Aki working overtime) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 294 - Reflection

Chapter 294 - Reflection

After carrying Aki to her room, Vahn decided to get some fresh air and sat out on the balcony as he overlooked the property surrounding the Manor. It was already nearing 3 AM, so Vahn didnt see the point in returning to sleep after having been awoken and participating in a duel. Even though he had calmed down, Vahn still felt a bit of excitement that made his blood boil in anticipation. Since he had just recently fought with Tione, Vahn was a bit uncertain about the growth of his own strength. The duel with Tammuz had been a good opportunity for him to develop a bit of awareness for his own growth and he now realized that he was very strong, but could still grow much stronger. Even without delving into the dungeon, Vahn could fight well above his level depending on how he uses his skills in the future. Vahn didnt often have the opportunity to fight against strong opponents, and it was distinctly different from his experience fighting within the dungeon. Monsters were very strong, arguably stronger than most adventurers, but they had a very static way of fighting. As long as you could outmaneuver them and find an opening, it wasnt actually that difficult to defeat most monsters. Even something like the Goliath, a creature much stronger than himself, wasnt too difficult to defeat if he was properly prepared. If he fought it at his current strength, Vahn was confident he would defeat the titanic monster without taking a single hit. The important thing to note was that Vahns actual strength hadnt grown much since then, yet hisbat capabilities had drastically increased through practice and training. Just learning Shundo had pushed his capabilities to a point where most people, even those stronger than himself, werent his opponents. After he leveled up a few more times, Vahn couldnt imagine another Adventurer being his opponent, even the monstrously strong Ottar that he knew would be supporting Freya. Though Vahn had never met the man, his legend was well known throughout the City and he was inarguably considered the strongest Adventurer because of his alias, The King. Vahn felt that, as long as he reached Level 5, even the strongest Adventurer might not be his opponent if he avoided direct confrontation against him. Since he could freely maneuver within his domain, there werent many, if any, opponents that would be able tond a hit on him. If he switched to rangedbat, or learned a few magic spells, Vahn felt like he would be unrivaled amongst his peers. Of course, this was assuming he could be strong enough to reach that point and obtain Level 5. Vahn knew it was actually very difficult to increase your parameters unless you were fighting against monsters that allowed you to push beyond your limits. Because he was already capable of fighting things above his level, it meant he would actually struggle to increase his parameters further. It wasnt a simple situation where he could just mindlessly kill monsters and eventually grew strong; Vahn had to genuinely expose himself to threats and ovee intense difficulties if he wanted to reach the point where he was without equal. This was the big reason most people never got beyond Level 3, much less the rare adventurers that reached Level 5. As your capabilities increased, and you used higher quality equipment, it actually became increasingly difficult to be stronger. This was why the Loki Familia used a rather strenuous method to increase their strength, which was to allow their members to fight against powerful variants and bosses on their own. They would only step in if the person was unable to defeat their opponent, but this didnt remove the threatpletely. One ident would result in someone dying, and there was actually a high mortality rate amongst rookie adventurers and supporters that apanied the expeditions. Vahn began to wonder if there was a more efficient way to increase strength, not only for himself, but for the benefit of his allies and those within his own Familia. He had already observed from watching Ryuu and Fenrir, but they gained almost nothing from killing monsters on the upper floors. Fenrir had probably in well over ten-thousand monsters and had only marginally increased her status. Since Vahn was somewhat overprotective, he couldnt easily watch those within his charge expose themselves to danger. This might protect their lives, but it also stunted their growth because they had a mental reliance on him and knew he would always step in to save them. Vahn released a sigh that caused arge cloud of condensation to build up before dispersing in the surroundings. Just his normal body temperature was enough to make steam rise from his exposed skin while he was sitting idly on the edge of the balcony. Right now, it was cold enough that ice was building up on the grass within the courtyard yet Vahn was able to sit with his torso exposed without any difort whatsoever. He was limating himself to being in his Xunw form and he drew a striking sight for anyone that might be observing from the distance. ---- Within the highest floor of Babel Tower, a beautiful silver-haired goddess dazedly stared into a giant mirror that glowed with a magical light. Because of the angle, she could see Vahn sitting on the edge of his balcony with the cloudy sky and waning moon was a backdrop. She had a fervent expression on her face as a strange red glow was reflected in her eyes as she marveled at his figure under the influence of his Xunw transformation. Other than when he was within the protective formations of the Manor, the goddess had been watching his every move after knowing about the movements of Tammuz. Since Ishtar often interfered with her ns, the goddess, Freya, also kept tabs on her and had been observing the progress of events to see if she could find a method to garner Vahns attention. Even though Hephaestus had restricted her from approaching Vahn, it didnt mean she couldnt find ways to make him want toe to her. Freya might not be able to do things directly, but if his actions ovepped with her own ns there was always a way around the vow that kept her at bay. Now that her enemy, Ishtar, was also the enemy of Vahn, Freya was very tempted to deal with the problematic goddess. Even without approaching Vahn, there was a chance he woulde to her after the fact since she knew his character was very genuine. If nothing else, she could use it as leverage against Hephaestus and Loki to ease tensions and potentially have the vow she was under revoked. Though he couldnt feel her touch, Freya stroked Vahns face through the reflection and had an enamored look in her eyes as she whispered, "Vahn...when will you be mine~? Do you not grow tired of thepany of such troublesome girls...should I perhaps rid you of them to make your life easier? Nnnn~" Freya kissed the reflection of Vahn andid against the reflective surface of the magical tool as if her actions could bring her closer to the boy contained within. As Freyas vow only restricted her from scheming to interfere with Vahn, there was nothing that protected the other girls from her unless she specifically did it to get to Vahn. There were loopholes to everything, and Freya was very experienced with getting her way if it came down to it. She couldnt stand to see someone with so much potential escape her grasp, especially after watching him dominate someone above his own level...his figure when he was fighting was already deeply engraved in her body, especially when he had the tyrannical look on his face when he burned the eyes of his opponent. The moment he had stabbed Tammuz through the heart, Freya felt as if her own heart had been prodded and she couldnt help but climax a little. Freya released a hot sigh that marred the surface a bit as sheforted herself overtop Vahns reflection. A deep blush began to cover her face as she traced her free hand over the figure of Vahn and imagined what it would be like if they were together. All she needed was a single instance and he would be hers forever...this thought alone, where Vahn serviced her with his stoic and tyrannical expression was enough to bring her to the height of pleasure. She wanted to cultivate his potential and see how far he could grow since even she couldnt see his limits without being able to observe his soul. She knew he was definitely keeping it hidden somewhat because she had been keeping track of the events involving the Anubis and Osiris Familias in the past. For someone like Anubis to begin following Vahn after their first meeting, Freya knew there was something incredibly unique about Vahns soul even without seeing it for herself. This was the only reason she could think of for someone like Hephaestus, who typically avoided contact with people, and the trickster goddess Loki to band together and protect him. Freya m.o.a.ned loudly and copsed against the reflective surface of the magic tool before removing her hand and nkly staring at the moisture on her fingers. She gingerly extended her tongue to sample her own vor before a drop of moisture fell onto the image of Vahn below her. She looked down at his face, solemnly staring into the distance while wearing the moon as his silhouette before wiping her own nectar across the reflection of his body. Even though it wasnt really Vahn, Freya felt a possessive desire and called out, "Ottar...gather everyone. Ishtar has interfered with my affairs for far too long as is..." As her words fell, arge silhouette that had been watching the events from start to finish nodded before responding, "As you will." As Ottar exited the room, Freya stood up and the magic tool grew dim as the image of Vahn faded away. She walked into the adjacent room, which was a boudoir that contained an ensemble of outfits. Freya dragged her finger along the incredibly expensive assortment of dresses and mused aloud, "I wonder...what is the most appropriate dress to wear when sending off a dear friend~?" Freyas hand stopped on a beautiful ck one-piece dress that had a deep v-cut on the front andpletely exposed the back. It was form fitting and made of an incredibly expensive silk that could only be obtained from the Far East. Even though it had no defensive capabilities, the dress cost a total of 20,000,000 Valis and Freya thought it was suitable for the asion. After removing the dress from the hangar, Freyaid it against the intricately designed chaise lounge as the godly attire she was wearing began to fall as petals to the floor. If Vahn had been present, he would have noticed the dress disassembled in the same way as Hestias, even though it was predominantly ck with red petals instead of the pure white of Hestias. Though there was no one present to admire her figure, Freya still cut a beautiful image in the low-light of the room as she stood with her bodypletely exposed to the night air. She traced her hands along her body and mused toward the moon overhead, "I wonder when youll warm my cold body...Vahn." --- Unaware of the death sentence that had been passed on her, a beautiful brown-skinned goddess kicked the rtively handsome messenger that had been kneeling at her feet. She had just learned that Tammuz had not only failed his mission, but he had even died at the hands of the boy she currently set her sights on. She chewed the long fingernail of her thumb and had a vexxed look on her face as she shouted, "Phyrene, isnt there something we can do about this situation? Cant you send Aisha to crush that puny little Familia and get back my ve!?" In response to Ishtars outburst, a massive lump of flesh in the shape of a woman rolled over to stare at the anxious Ishtar. She was more than 200cm in height and weighed more than 240kg and had the face of a frog with healthy brown skin and somewhat visible muscles. Though there were few people that would agree with the im, this titanic lump of flesh was the Captain of the Ishtar Familia and considered herself to be the most beautiful woman within the entire group, evenpared to the Goddess of Beauty, Ishtar. After tracing her thick tongue across her lips, the Amazon named Phyrene looked at Ishtar through beady eyes and said, "Why are you always so stupid Ishtar-sama? The whole reason you sent that dumbass was because the Alliance would havee to protect the Hestia Familia if we took any major action. All youre doing is making matters more troublesome, and now we even lost abatant even though there is an uing Wargames." Ishtar scowled at Phyrene and shouted, "I dont see youing up with any ideas! If we cant recover that Renard brat, there would be no way for us to oppose Freya in the future. Damnit, why am I surrounded byzy ipetents while that bitch gets to surround herself with handsome men all day..." In response to Ishtar, Phyrene spat arge wad of spit onto the ground and remarked, "What an ugly personality...ming others because of your own ineptitude. Well, whatever, as long as we deal with the Loki Familia in the future well be able to recover that brat and then you can do whatever you want with her. I want that boy though, yeah, Vahn Mason was it? Im certain hell be able to appreciate my beauty, wahahahahahaha~!" Phyrene, though it had never been proven, had a reputation as a man-killer, preferring young boys to actual men. Her alias had even been decided as Androctonus, which literally meant Man-Killer. Because of her massive frame and status as a Level 5, Phyrene had killed a total of 103 boys after forcibly sleeping with them in the past. To cover her crimes, she would pummel them into an unrecognizable state before disposing of them in the sewers below the City. Hearing Phyrenes desire to obtain Vahn, Ishtar screeched, "No, I wont let you spoil another handsome boy! I need someone to rece Tammuz now, so youll have to find someone else to sate your ridiculous little fetish!" Phyrene grunted before rolling over and rising to her feet. She towered over Ishtar and stated inly, "Well see who gets their hands on him first then. Id like to see what you can do with him when Im done with him, wahahahahaha~!" Without paying any respects to her goddess, Phyrene walked out of therge hall and went to look for something to release her own urges on. She proudly imed herself to be the most beautiful and sought-after p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e within the entire Familia and actively chose her clients. If they werent willing to pay up for her services, Phyrene had no trouble providing an extra service, which often involved helping them pick out afortable ce to sleep for the night...and every night thereafter. (A/N: Alternate Titles: What it takes to be stronger,Freyas Intrigue,Beauty is in the eye of the beholder) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful Chapter 295 - Androctonus

Chapter 295 - Androctonus

As Phyrne made her way through the corridors of the Belit Babili, the Ishtar Familiapound, she came across a group of fellow Amazons and remarked with a snide tone, "Shouldnt you ugly bitches be guarding the perimeter or off earning some money for the Familia? Why are youzing about here like a bunch of idiots, huh~!?" The primary target of her snide remarks had been a rtively seductive looking Amazoness with a lean figure and very revealing clothing reminiscent of a dancer. She was currently the second highest authority within the Ishtar Familia, just behind Phyrne, and also the leader of their primary fighting force, the Amazonbat troupe, Berbera. If Vahn had been present, he would have recognized the beautiful woman as Aisha Belka, the Amazon he had freed from Ishtars charm during the rescuing of Haruhime. Aisha stared at Phyrne with venomous eyes and stated inly, "We know about what happened to Tammuz, so I had everyone gather just in case something happened. That boy, Vahn Mason, has incredible infiltration skills and might attack if wex our guard." Therge group of Amazons behind her nodded their heads in agreement while Phyrne spat arge wad of spit directly onto Aishas chest and said, "Eh, you would be the one to know that kind of thing after you let that snot-nosed kid steal that bitch out from under your nose, wouldnt you~!? Well, whatever, go and find me a handsome boy and bring him to my quarters unless you want to be their recement!" Without waiting for Aishas response, Phyrne walked away whileughing boisterously in a manner reminiscent of some crazed animal. Aisha wiped the spit from her face with a cloth that had been handed to her by a nearby Amazon. She saw it had a disgusting green and yellow hue and felt a strong urge to vomit before seeking out Phyrne and fighting her to the death. If not for the fact she wasnt a match for the frog-like behemoth, Aisha wouldnt stand by and ept such mistreatment. Her primary concern right now, however, was trying to convince the other members of Berbera to avoid any future conflicts that might find their way to the Ishtar Familia. She didnt want to draw attention to her actions by opposing Phyrne, who she had no chance to defeat inbat. Even if she used poison, the monstrous Amazon had an S rank resistance against abnormal status effects. After the blob of flesh had disappeared through a corridor, Aisha turned to the group of Amazons and said, "As long as Phyrne is in charge, the Ishtar Familia will continue down a path that puts all of our lives at stake. We cant continue to wait for Ishtar to lead us to our deaths as she provokes the alliance between the Hephaestus and Loki Familia. After Tammuzs invasion of the Hearth Manor, we need to be prepared for a counterattack and use the opportunity to escape. I know most of you have no real loyalty to Ishtar, so this is the best opportunity for us free ourselves from her licentious clutches." For the past few days, Aisha had been proactively colluding with the members of Berbera to stage something akin to a coup in an effort to escape Ishtars clutches. Fortunately, Ishtar wasnt capable of managing things on her own and had almost zero leadership capabilities. Because of this, she had put Aisha in charge of Berbera in an effort to shame her for having the audacity to protect Haruhime in the past. Even though the members of thebat troupe were loyal to Ishtar because of the effects of her charm, they had also been ordered by her to follow Aishasmands. Though Vahn hadnt realized it at the time, he had set events in motion that would inevitably change the lives of dozens of people after freeing Aisha from Ishtars control. As if set about by some divine cue, a loud explosion sounded within an area of the Belit Babili, ironically in the direction that Phyrne had disappeared to earlier. Aisha wasnt sure what was going on, but she assumed it was rted to Vahn and the Alliance atrge. She knew the boy was the decisive type, so it made sense to her that he would use the opportunity after being attacked to seek vengeance against Ishtar. Without dy, she turned to thergestbat potential of the Ishtar Familia and said, "Were moving, dont fall behind. If you wish to die for Ishtar, feel free to stay." Aisha motioned for the troupe to move and led more than thirty Amazons, eleven of which were Level 3, away from the sound of conflict. Their destination was the brothels owned by the Ishtar Familia, and their mission was to gather as many Amazons as possible and urge them to escape the aftermath. --- Phyrne had been very pleased with Aisha expression when she spat in the ugly girls face. She never liked the way the inferior Amazon looked at her and wanted to teach her a lesson but spared her since it was a hassle to manage things on her own. Phyrne would rather drink delicious alcohol, eat whatever she fancied, and sleep with whoever she pleased. The only thing she was missing in her life was a worthy man to sire her some children and was now eyeing Vahn with the intent of adding him to her collection. Though she destroyed the bodies of the men she had killed, Phyrne had a habit of preserving their genitals within jars that were hidden away in her private residence. Wondering about the worth of Vahn, Phyrne nearly stumbled into a figure that walked out and blocked her path. She stared down at the small figure and shouted, "The f.u.c.k are you standing in my way for you little shit!?" However, the moment she saw the figurepletely, Phyrnes frog-like eyes widened into saucers as she jumped back and barely evaded the spear strike that would have pierced her neck. The small figure had been a cat person wearing pitch-ck armor that included a visor that covered his eyes. He had onyx-grey hair and carrying an unadorned silver spear that shone with a lethal light. Even though they hadnt met often, Phyrne immediately recognized the cat person as Allen Fromel, one of Freyas loyal subordinates. Were it almost anyone else, Phyrne would have crushed the foolish person that attacked her, but Allen was Level 6, and closer to Level 7 than she was Level 6. Since he was an agility fighter and notorious for his skill with a spear, there was no way for Phyrne to actually fight against him without assistance. As she evaded his strike again, Phyrne shouted in a shrill tone, "Why the f.u.c.k are you here Allen!? Dont tell me that ugly bitch Freya is helping that brat too!?" The moment she uttered the words ugly bitch Freya, Allens ears twitched and a visible red light shone through his ck visor. Phyrne felt a powerful premonition of dread overtake her as a cold sweat built up on her already mmy skin. Without even seeing the path of the spear, Phyrne felt a powerful collision near her own heart as her body flew through the air and collided with a wall, destroying it in the process. She coughed up a mouthful of blood as heavy steps echoed from the corridor that she had just been sent flying from. Before she could climb from the debris, Phyrne her a cold voice speak through clenched teeth, "You filthy sow...you dare insult my goddess with your vile mouth!? Go die you frog-faced s.l.u.t~!" Allen leaped through the hole and created by Phyrnes body and began thrusting his spear toward her appendages in an attempt to disable her. Even though he told her to die, he actually intended to cripple her permanently so she would spend the rest of her life suffering. Even though she knew she wasnt a match for Allen, Phyrne did her best to trade blows with the much smaller cat person. He was more than 30cm shorter than she was and less than a third of her weight. All she had to do wasnd one good blow with her [Fist Strike] and she would be able to turn the fight in her favor. Unfortunately, Allen was far too quick for her and urately targeted near her vitals without actually piercing them. It was an incredibly one-sided fight because he was far more nimble than she was and outranged her with the use of his silver spear. In less than ten minutes, she had more than thirty wounds all over her body before she screamed out like an animal being ughtered, "WHERE THE F.U.C.K IS EVERYONE!?" Since it hadnt been that long since she separated from Aisha and the Berbera, Phyrne had some small hope that reinforcements would arrive to help her. However, the longer the fight dragged out, the more injured she became and the less likely it seemed she would survive even if help arrived. She had tried to heal some of the wounds on her body, but noticed that Allens weapon seemed to carry some kind of curse that prevented the wounds from closing. She was steadily losing blood and had already started to be light-headed from the severity of her injuries. Though it wasnt the true answer to her question, Allen showed a cruel smile and said, "Scream you dirty pig! Lo and behold, the intrepid and mighty Phyrne, the touted Man-Killer, bested by a man half her size~! Id say youre enjoying your just desserts, but I can tell by youre figure youve more than indulged plenty, hahahahaha!" At this point, they were no longer fighting each other in a life and death struggle. In the ten minutes they had been fighting, Allen had spent the majority of thest five just ying with Phyrne. It was rare he had such a rge target without it being an actual monster, so he was curious to see just how much blood she could lose before passing out. Though he couldnt be sure, he was almost certain she had lost enough to fill an entire washbasin. Unable to continue the fight, Phyrne kneeled and looked down on Allen as she asked, "What is your purpose here Allen? Even if Ishtar and Freya are enemies, there is no enmity between the two of us...if you spare me, Ill willingly be your woman and let you do whatever you want with my bo-." Before she could continue her words, Allens spear cut through Phyrnes mouth and severed her tongue while destroying several of her teeth. He literally spat his response, "F.u.c.k you, you filthy f.u.c.k.i.n.g pig! You think Id give up my goddess for a literal sow!?" Phyrne held her hands to her mouth and mumbled inaudible words beforeunching a desperate series of attacks toward Allen with the hopes ofnding a lucky blow. She knew that she would die if she couldnt defeat him in the next few minutes and find a way to stop the flow of blood from her wounds. However, no matter how much she tried to push her wounded body, she was already much slower than she was at the beginning of the fight. Even when he was enraged, Allen still fought with a level-headed mentality and easily avoided all her desperate blows while severing the tendons in her arms and legs with ease. After a long string of attacks, Phyrne eventually fell face-first into the ground with glossed eyes that were quickly losing their light. (A/N: Serious trigger warning ahead. Nothing significant happens after this point, so move on if you have weaker sensibilities~!) Seeing Phyrne fall to the ground, Allen walked around her gigantic body and confirmed that he had cut all of her tendons. Even if she was ying dead and wanted to get him to drop his guard, there was nothing she could do with her body in the current state. A cruel glint appeared in the red eyes shining through the ck visor as Allen walked over to one of the windows that was fixed with iron bars, almost like a prison. He swiped his spear across and picked up several of the long metal rods in his hand as he made his way over to the catatonic Phyrne. Uttering a short chant, Allen gathered mes in his hands and began to heat up the rods as he remarked, "So the reputed Androctonus falls to a man, rather ironic isnt it~? Well, I wouldnt want you to be lonely after you made an effort to seduce me, now would I? Here, as a parting gift, Ill leave you with an evesting memory of todays events." With a crazed look in his eyes, Allen went around to the backside of Phyrne and skewered the damp mound of flesh with the red-hot metal pipes. She squealed like a pig and managed to move her limbs slightly even though the tendons were cut. Incited by her muffled squeals, the cruel glint in Allens eyes grew in intensity as he inserted the remaining five rods alongside the first one. Even though the putrid smell of burnt flesh made him slightly nauseous, he couldnt help but feel a sadistic glee in Phyrnes suffering. From the moment she ndered his goddess, Allen had decided that her fate would not be a kind one. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Aishas n : Ripples of Fate,Phyrne engages a handsome man,Smells like teen spirit) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 296 - Comparison

Chapter 296 - Comparison

While Phyrne was being tended to by Allen, elsewhere in the Belit Babili there were several minor skirmishes still ongoing. The elite members of the Freya Familia had invaded the interior of the Ishtar Familiaspound and were ughtering anyone that bothered to put up a fight. Since Freya actually had the blueprints of all the surrounding buildings, she had stationed people at every conceivable exit to prevent Ishtars escape. She knew this incident wouldnt be over unless she was able to weed out the root of the problem herself. As long as Ishtar was atrge, she could simply charm any number of people to do her bidding and slowly build up her forces to be a pain in the neck in the future. Since the lowest Level of the elites within the Freya Familia was Level 5, they made short work of the Amazon warriors that had retained their loyalty to Ishtar. Though the premierbat forces of Ishtar had long fled, it didnt mean everyone in her Familia had abandoned her. There were quite a number of people, like Tammuz, that were fiercely loyal to the goddess of beauty that had tended to them in the past. Even without her charm, they would fight to protect the ce that had been their home and provided opportunities to them. Of course, there were a number of them that simply fought due to their nature of belonging to a criminal Familia. They were rather cruel and bloodthirsty individuals that thought too highly of themselves and were paying the prices of their hubris. Some of the most prominent fighters on the scene for the Freya Familia was a group of four Pallum warriors known collectively as the Gulliver Brothers. Though it wasnt abnormal for Pallums to give birth to twins, or even triplets, they were the rare exception of quadruplets within their race and were well-known for their skill and coordinated attacks. Their members consisted of four 120cm tall, white-haired Pallums named Grer, Alfrig, Dvalin, and Berling. Each member of the brothers was Level 5, and they wore matching ck armor with ck visors that concealed their faces. Nobody knew which brother was which and the only difference between them was the weapons they wielded. Though some had made an attempt to identify the brothers based on their weapons, it had been noted that each was capable of using the weapons of the others with nearly identical prowess. The only thing for certain was that the eldest brother, Grer, was the one that almost exclusively used a greatsword. Using their coordinated strikes, they quickly cut through several tens of Ishtar Familia loyalists and p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es without batting an eyelid. Even when a slightly stronger enemy showed up, Grer would immediately pressure them as the other three took to the nks and overwhelmed any resistance with incredible precision. Though the majority of their enemies were much weaker than they were, the brothers still teamed up and treated every engagement seriously without showing any leniency. Because they always maintained the mystery of their identity, they cut through the masses silently without uttering a single word throughout the massacre. Of course, though their capabilities were impressive, they were nothingpared to the tyrannical might of the man that had charged deep into the heart of the Belit Babili without stopping to draw a single heavy breath. Though his body was covered in blood, there wasnt a single scratch on the 210cm tall muscr frame of the Boaz man. He wielded two massive greatswords that typically required two hands to wield, each in a single hand as he swung them around as if they had no weight to them at all. Anything that crossed his path was immediately cut down without hesitation, including any obstacles that might get in the way of the beautiful goddess following behind him. Almost as if their progress hadnt been barred by more than fifty people, Freya and Ottar effortless made their way into the heart of the Ishtar Familia, all the way to the inner sanctum where Ishtar typically staged her nightly orgies. The area was more than 30m in diameter and was surrounded by curtains with pungent incense situation on each pir that had a tantalizing aroma. The entire center of the huge circle was a gigantic bed that was covered with a variety of pillows, nkets, and instruments of pleasure. Seemingly unaware of the chaos that had urred outside, Ishtar was currently being tended to by two muscr men before her eyes widened at the unexpected intrusion. Before Ishtar could say anything, Freya beganughing in an overly elegant manner as she mused, "Oh, please continue my dear Ishtar. It would be a shame if your final moments in the mortal ne werent spent enjoying what time you have left~." There was an incredibly cold glint in Freyas eyes as she observed the scene as if she was watching animals on disy. Though the two men near Ishtar had well-developed bodies, she could tell they were insignificant men that spent more time improving their bodies than actually developing their strength. They were very likely men personally cultivated for pleasure and served no other purpose whatsoever. In Freyas perspective, they looked like pitiful ants that had never broken free of their small little world. Ishtar looked at Freya with eyes that had widened as if they were trying topete with the full moon. Her gaze wandered to the mountain-like Ottar and gawked at the sheer presence of the man known as the King amongst all others within the City. He had a body as if it had been carved from granite by a heavenly artisan and she could see the line of his figure through his clothing almost as if it served no purpose other than to tease women. When she turned her attention to his eyes, however, Ishtars eyes opened even wider because the only thing she could see was apleteck of interest even as he witnessed her n.a.k.e.d figure. The fact that he was covered in blood and also wielded two giant swords sent danger signals to her mind and she suddenly felt like she was fresh meat served up on a silver tter. Waving away the two men, Ishtar stammered, "W-w-what are you doing here Freya!? Y-y-you have n-no business here! This is my home, not your yground where you can wander about freely!" Even though she put on a brave front, Ishtar already had tears in her eyes as she looked at the cold and amused expression of Freya. She had been constantly trying to charm Ottar, but he didnt waver in the slightest and continued to stare at her as if she was insignificant. Seeing that Freya didnt respond to her words, the worry in Ishtars mind continued to grow as she asked politely, "Freya, t-to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? Is there a matter I can help you address?" The only way forward was to take two steps back and put herself in a submissive position even though she had a profound distaste for the goddess before her. Freyas smile widened partially and a gentle look appeared on her face as she stated inly, "Of course Ishtar~! You see, there had been this really frustrating pain in my neck for thest few years..." Freya released a sigh and theatrically rubbed her neck as if trying to remove some difort as she continued, "If it isnt too much trouble, perhaps youd be willing to help rid me of it~?" Even though she knew what Freya was implying, Ishtar asked with a wry smile on her face as tears dripped from her eyes, "W-would you like me to help m-m-massage you?" Ishtar was doing her best to keep her nerves, but her teeth had already started to tter and she regretted sending her servants away. Even though both men were just Level 1, Ishtar suddenly felt very alone and afraid even though she was in the room that brought her the mostfort over thest fifty years. As if she were amused by Ishtars words, Freyaughed like a bell as she covered her mouth in a very elegant gesture before saying, "Silly girl, I have capable men like Ottar if I need things like that~! Unlike those pitiful toys of yours, my partners are quite capable you know~?" Ottar understood Freyas intentions as he swiped one of the greatswords in his hand through the air and a line of pressure bissected every single pir in the area cleanly. Even though the pleasure circle was 30m in diameter, Ottar was able to split each one in half with a single swipe of his de. There wasnt even in extra wind pressure trailing behind the sword and Ishtar hadnt even seen the movement clearly with her eyes. The only thing she was aware of was the small bald spot that had appeared at the very top of her head. Seeing Ishtars state, Freya began tough with an incredibly amused expression on her face as she said, "That is quite a look, perhaps youre trying to start a new fashion trend~?" Though she was profoundly afraid, Ishtar still red at Freya through her tear-filled eyes and screamed, "Freya, you bitch! What right do you have to do something like this!? Why must you embarrass me and put me down at every turn!?" In response to her words, Freya began to walk forward and Ishtar immediately fell onto her butt with her legs spread slightly as if by some primordial instinct. Even now, there was the proof of her licentious behavior dripping out from her inner thighs and it added a strange peculiarity to the otherwise serious atmosphere. Unaffected by the immortal sight, Freya continued to walk forward as she said, "It was your decision to oppose me when you arrived in the City those many years ago. Even though I ignored your actions and let you do as you please, you continued to act in spite of my generosity and constantly sought to oppose me. Did you honestly have the expectation that my patience was without limit~?" Within Freyas eyes, there was the visible light of a predator eyeing its prey and Ishtar wasnt able to move a single centimeter under the gaze of the goddess she hated. She had always been fiercely jealous of Freyas sess and the fact that her charm was much stronger than her own. Even though Freya had never proactively acknowledged their rivalry, Ishtar continued to undermine Freya whenever she got the chance just to vent her own frustrations. Ishtar looked up at Freya and realized that they were never even on the same ying field from the outset. Freya had slowly built up her forces and focused on nourishing elites while she just haphazardly charmed whoever caught her eye and tried to build an empire. The majority of her subordinates disliked her, and even refused hermands at times, while each of Freyas showed an unwavering loyalty toward her. Even now, though she had tried more than a hundred times to charm Ottar, he hadnt even flinched in the slightest. The only woman in his eyes was the beautiful, silver-haired, goddess that was looking down on her as if she were an insect. With tears streaming down her face, Ishtar asked, "Tell me Freya...what is the difference between us? Why do you get to be so happy and experience so much sess even without working hard? Why do you get to sit at the top of the tower above everything else while I have to slough away in this foul district surrounded by criminals and ipetent subordinates? Why do you get to live in the light and enjoy everyones adoration while I have to live in the darkness surrounded by filth, drawing the ire of everyone around me?" From an objective standpoint, Ishtar knew that Freya was more beautiful than she was, but they were both goddesses of beauty. She couldnt understand why Freya enjoyed so much sess while she had to struggle endlessly and constantly suffered setbacks. As if she were seriously considering Ishtars questions, Freya tilted her head slightly as she gently stroked her chin in a gesture of deep thought. After waiting for Ishtars expression to break down a bit, Freya smiled and responded, "Its an interesting thing, really, that you thought we were everparable in the first ce. I wonder where I went wrong to bepared to such an insignificant creature~?" For a brief moment, the indignity Ishtar felt from Freyas words overwhelmed her fear and she tried to scream out a rebuttal. However, the moment she opened her mouth, Ishtar felt a sickening feeling followed by an intense pain as she raised her hands up to her throat. At the moment when Ishtar had been stunned by her words, Freya drew a ck dagger and slit the pitiful goddesss throat before she could say anything to defend her own dignity. Freya watched as her expression turned into one of pain and incredulity as she tried to stymie the flow of blood from the gaping wound on her neck. Her healthy brownplexion quickly began to grow pale as she activated her Arcarum to try and stop the flow of blood. Unfortunately, the dagger Freya used was a cursed weapon and the wound couldnt be healed so easily. Since Freya didnt want to face the matter of killing a goddess on her own, she simply pushed Ishtar into a corner and forced the goddess to activate her own Arcarum. Aspensation for breaking the taboo, Ishtars body began to glow with a Divine Light as she scowled at Freya and tried to form words, but the only thing that came out of her lips was a line of blood that spatted along Freyas face. Freya continued to watch the light slowly dissolve Ishtars body as she was forcibly returned to Heaven. Since she was ejected for breaking her vow, she would be able to return in a few short decades instead of waiting for hundreds of years. This was themon oue for disputes between gods since it wasnt considered a heavy penalty to spend a few shorts years in Heaven to settle any enmity. After Ishtar hadpletely vanished, Freya wiped the blood off her face and remarked, "A curious thing, that you were able, in your death, to actually manage to leave an impression on me. Sadly, it wasnt asting one..." As she spoke, Freya wiped away the blood on a handkerchief before throwing it onto the sweat-stained cushions beneath her feet. Turning around, she smiled elegantly at Ottar and said, "Ottar, dear...please burn everything. I dont want a single building belonging to the Ishtar Familia to remain~." Without a change in expression, Ottar bowed subserviently and proimed, "As you will." (A/N: People aware of the original canon might draw some parallels with Ishtars current fate and the original plot. Please keep in mind that Ishtars fate was more or less sealed from the moment she decided to make Freya an enemy. The only thing Freya ever needed was any excuse to eventually get rid of her~! Also, I always found it strange that Ishtar never spread word of Haruhimes magic even when she died in the original plot. Its really weird, since oracle magic is totally a thing and there is a direct line ofmuncation with Heaven. Since the original Authorpletely ignores this fact, Im going to take a note out of their book and pretend Ishtar simply didnt care about Haruhime when she was returned to Heaven and kept the information to herself kappa (O,...,O)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Chuuni Brothers Quatro,Soundproof rooms go both ways, unlucky.,Till nothing remains...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 297 - Convenience

Chapter 297 - Convenience

Vahn continued to sit on the balcony while trying toe up with a solution for how to, not only increase his own strength, but the strength of those around him. He knew that, through The Path, he could eventually be stronger than anything else. However, Vahn also knew it would require an incredible amount of personal effort,prehension of his skills, and maniption of thews. Because of the restrictions of thews within the record, Vahn had to undergo the same process of everyone else within the world to be strong, albeit with ess to a system that made the process much smoother for himself. He could use items to enhance, not his parameters, but how his parameters will developter on if he puts in the effort. For example, even if he did millions of push-ups, ran for thousands of kilometers, and performed precise training for decades, Vahns actual parameters wouldnt change much at all. For the Falna to actually enhance someones parameters, they had to undergo the trials of the record, which was to kill monsters and face cmities. It wasnt possible to get to Level 10 by just killing goblins on the second floor, he had to constantly push himself in the pursuit of self-mastery while exposing his mind and body to stressful situations. With the use of items to increase his foundation, Vahn was able to get more growth out of his parameters when undergoing the same tasks as others. However, this also created a problem that he was just now beginning to face...Vahn was outscaling the natural growth and development of the Status Board. Vahn hadnt thought of it before, but increasing his parameters instantly instead of having his blessing updated through the normal method was actually going to restrict his growth unless he constantly put his life in danger to push his limits. One of the reasons other people could undergo massive leaps in development was because they could restrict their own capabilities by not updating their status. This allowed them more time to limate to their own skills and learn how to fight progressively stronger monsters even without their Status changing. By the time they finally updated their status, they would have huge leaps which would allow them to progress forward and slowly limate themselves again. Since his status automatically updated, it meant he would eventually hit a bottleneck where his parameters wouldnt increase much at all. The problem was that his Innate abilities and equipment simply made most threats negligible, so Vahn wouldnt actually get a lot of exilia from the fight even if he killed powerful monsters... As he was sitting on the balcony, Vahn released a sigh and looked toward the horizon to see that the sun was going to be rising soon. There was a gentle, warm, light that began to push against the darkness of the night and it would soon be time to train. Though he wasnt necessary for their exercises, Vahn liked to watch the girls train so he would have a better understanding of their capabilities for the future. He might be concerned about his own strength, but Vahn knew that the key to progressing further into the dungeon was having stronger allies. Most people took several years to reach upwards of Level 5 and higher, but Vahn was determined to help the girls reach that point within a short few years. Especially for girls like Haruhime, Vahn knew she would likely be the key to his own growth since he could exceed his limits temporarily and push himself further against much stronger foes. The problem was finding a method to increase her strength without actually exposing her to danger, even though she was required to be exposed to danger to increase her strength... Just as Vahn was preparing to head downstairs, he heard a notification within his mind and nearly fell from the balcony after he read the contents. Unable toprehend what had happened, Vahn read over the information several times before making his way inside the Manor to ask Aki if she had heard about any operations against the Ishtar Familia within thest few hours. Though he didnt mind someone stepping in to helpplete his own mission, Vahn was still very confused about everything that was happening because it almost seemed too convenient since he had just been thinking of how to improve the strength of others. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Quest Completed// [Quest: Rescue Sanjouno Haruhime] Rank: B (C-S) Objective: Rescue Sanjouno Haruhime from her captors. Optional Objective: Defeat and/or Kill captors: 2/10 Rewards: Upgrade Function Unlocked, 10x[Upgrade Stone], 14,000OP Grade Rewards: [Menor:C] Development Ability unlocked, 1x[Seal of the Challenger:S] [Upgrade] Use: Increase attributes of a piece of equipment by 1% of current stats and adds a +(n) suffix to the item. Requires [Upgrade Stone]s and has a higher chance of failure depending on the number of upgrades already on the item. [Upgrade Stone]s can be acquired for 100,000OP and are also a random drop from mobs within the record. 10x[Upgrade Stone]s can be exchanged for 1x[Upgrade Stone+]. 10x[Upgrade Stone+]s can be exchanged for 1x[Upgrade Stone++]. [Upgrade Stone] Rank: Unique Use: Upgrades a piece of equipment until +10 without any chance of failure. Failure increases by 10% per sessful upgrade after +10 and has a chance to destroy the item after +15. [Upgrade Stone+] Rank: Unique Use: Upgrades a piece of equipment until +20 without any chance of failure. Failure increases by 10% per sessful upgrade after +20 and has a chance to destroy the item after +25. [Upgrade Stone++] Use: Upgrades a piece of equipment until +30 without any chance of failure. Failure increases by 10% per sessful upgrade after +30 and has a chance to destroy the item after +35. [Mentor] Rank:C Use: Increases exilia gain of an ally when paired together. Allows formands to be clearly heard by the paired ally under duress. Skill efficacy based on the number of allies present. Current Maximum (1). [Seal of the Challenger] Rank:S Slots:0 P.Def: 0 M.Def: 0 Abilities: Indestructible, Challenger(S) A cor that grows a chain link that doubles base experience rate. Each link also doubles the amount of damage received by the wearer and increases the likelihood of receiving critical hits. (Critical hit chance depends on the Power of the attackpared to the Endurance of the wearer). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn knew that The Path usually helped him whenever there was something he wanted to do, but he hadnt expected such a windfall at this moment. He was previously brooding over what he needed to do in order to be stronger and then, momentster, someone elsepleted his quest for him and he received the exact reward he needed to continue forward. Since The Path was supposed to exist in order to grant his wish, Vahn had a smile on his face knowing it was looking out for him even when he wasing to a standstill on matters. With the [Seal of the Challenger], Vahn would be able to artificially increase the risk he faced during a fight while also increasing the amount of exilia he would gain in the process. Within the record of Danmachi, it very well might be one of the most powerful items he had ever seen. But, this wasnt the main reason for his excitement, as Vahn stared at the Abilities section of the ck cor with an expectant smile. Since Challenger was the ability of a piece of equipment, Vahn knew there should also be other ways to enhance the amount of exilia gained if he created items with that intent in mind. He expected it would be rather difficult, since the item gave no other defensive stats at all, but Vahn knew it was theoretically possible now. When Vahn arrived at Akis room, she didnt immediately answer the door when he knocked and he heard her voice from the interior so he entered the room. Aki was currently staring into the logbook that recorded the information from thework and was also directly corresponding with someone at the same time. Vahn knew he wasnt supposed to interfere with the girls line ofmunication, so he asked Aki what was going on without looking at the contents for himself. Since she hadnt gotten ready for the day yet, Aki was still wearing a cream-colored nightgown and looked over with a somewhat incredulous look on her face as she said, "The Ishtar Familia was destroyed overnight...were still collecting information, but it looks like the culprit behind the attack was the Freya Familia. Loki-sama wanted me to inform you that, no matter what happens, do not approach the Freya Familia for the time being." Hearing that the Isthar Familia was destroyed, Vahn had a mixture of emotions that ranged from relief, perturbance, anxiety, and apprehension. He was happy that the biggest threat to Haruhime had been dealt with, but Vahn was also worried about Aisha and anyone that had been forcibly charmed by Ishtar. He hoped they were able to escape the destruction and were able to find better lives for themselves in the future. Unfortunately, that hope was also tainted with a fair amount of anxiety because Vahn was afraid there was a very real chance they maye to him for assistance. He didnt mind helping out, but thest thing Vahn needed to worry about was a group of experienced Amazons invading his home. Tiona and Tione were already high on his priority list for matters that needed to be addressed in the future, and it would onlyplicate the matter if even more Amazons were present. Of course, the biggest issue, as Loki seemed to suspect, was the fact that the perpetrators of the attack had been the Freya Familia. Even without meeting her, Vahn was already very cautious of Freya for various reasons, including his own inability to resist women. Vahn knew that Freya was supposed to have an unnatural or unrivaled beauty, so he was actually somewhat afraid to meet her since he didnt have much confidence in his own ability to maintain his sensibilities. He knew her charm magic wouldnt work against him, but Vahn still had an interest in someone purportedly as beautiful as she was imed to be. The most important reason he didnt want to meet her, however, was because Vahn knew that she was actually a very difficult person to deal with and had brought about great harm to several people. Even in the original series, she was one of the driving forces behind Bells struggles because she was trying to cultivate him into bing stronger. Because of his own potential, and the fact he had an item like [Enkidu], Vahn knew she would likely be one of the biggest obstacles he faced in the future. The influence of her Divinity and the amount of power she wielded within the City made her one of the most dangerous people he could ever associate with. Now that she was taking action, Vahn expected there to be some kind of sh between himself, the Freya Familia, and potentially the Alliance within the near future. After promising Aki to avoid any contact with the Freya Familia, Vahn went downstairs and met up with Ryuu who told him a very simr thing. She had an especially serious look on her face and Vahn could see the concern in her sky-blue eyes. Though he hadnt been able to observe Freyas influence within the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn knew she had a connection with a number of the girls hemonly associated with there. Even though they had cut ties with her, Mama Mia still bore the Freya Familia crest while Syr had been the protege of Freya within the past. Vahn had actually expected Freya to approach him much sooner through the members of the Hostess of Fertility, but he was happy to see that none of them had ever tried to sway him toward her direction so far. Because of the matters taking ce presently, Vahn and Ryuu had cut the training short while exining the details of everything happening within the City. Haruhime had a simrly conflicted expression on her face when she heard about the destruction of the Ishtar Familia, and Vahn knew she was probably worried about Aisha and some of the other girls as well. Mikoto herself seemed genuinely relieved, but she still showed support for Haruhime and concealed her own emotions regarding the matter. Vahn informed them that they may be venturing into the dungeon after things begin to settle down, so he wanted them to make sure they were both mentally and physically prepared for what was toe. Ryuu had decided to stay over for the day, just in case anything happened, and she was going to be lecturing the girls about things they needed to consider before venturing into the dungeon. She took everyone to the study where they usually practiced reading and writing while Vahn kept Haruhime back for a short while and tried to console her. He hadnt been spending too much time petting the girlstely, so Vahn sat next to Haruhime on a bench and stroked her hair and ears while stating, "Dont worry, I had removed the charm effect on Aisha on the night I saved you. She should have been able to escape and assist others as well..." Hearing his words, Haruhimes tail flickered a bit and she turned her droopy green eyes toward him and asked, "Is that really true?" Vahn showed a gentle smile and nodded his head as he exined how he was able to drive away the charm effect using his own pseudo divinity. He hade into contact with Aisha outside Haruhimes room at the time and they had a short conversation where he was able to free her from Ishtars control. After that, Aisha left to go undermine Ishtars n while entrusting Haruhime to his protection. When she heard about everything that had happened, Haruhime had tears beginning to build up in her eyes as she muttered, "Aisha...thank you for everything..." As if relieved by the revtion, Haruhime leaned into Vahns chest with her face and gingerly held onto his tunic with her fingers as Vahn stroked the back of her long blond hair. Before they separated, Vahn exined to Haruhime about his [Mentor] skill that he had suddenly learned about after his fight against an intruder this morning. Though she was shocked to learn about the attempt to kidnap her, Haruhimes face blossomed into a beautiful smile when she heard about Vahns efforts to keep her safe without even alerting her that anything was wrong. Though she also wished she had been there to help, Haruhime was happy knowing that Vahn put in so much effort on her behalf and the image she had of him as a hero be even stronger. When he mentioned the [Mentor] Development Ability and exined its effects, Haruhimes ears were twitching about rapidly and there was even a subtle ze of motivation within her cid green eyes. Haruhime was very excited to know that she would probably be able to spend time alone with Vahn within the dungeon while also growing stronger at the same time. Without him having to exin much about its use, Haruhime wanted to try experiencing the skill herself and implored Vahn to use it. Since it was a Development Ability, that meant it had an activeponent before it took effect and Vahn was able to experience it for himself after following his intuition when using the skill. It allowed him to ce a small seal on the body of a person, and Vahn noticed it looked like a cartoonish depiction of his own face and it made him feel a little embarrassed. Coincidentally, a very small image of Haruhimes face appeared in a simr location on his own body which made the Renard girls eyes ze with a fiery resolution. Because Vahn hadnt known about the effect of the skill, he had ced the seal on the back of Haruhimes left hand and now they both had caricatures of each others face on the backs of their hands. Since Vahn wanted to test its efficacy and range, he used Shundo after having Haruhime calm down and dashed to the end of his domain. He noticed that the seal was still present and continued forward for a few dashes until he was around two-thousand meters away from Haruhimes location. The seal on his hand faded away and Vahn now understood the effective range of the ability and was pleased to see that it was actually quite far. After returning to the backyard, Vahn saw Haruhime with a somewhat dejected look on her face as she said, "The mark went away..." Vahn smiled at her reaction and wanted tough a bit since she was acting in an adorable manner. He was tempted to ce the seal in an unconcealed location to prevent his own feelings of embarrassment, but Vahn also figured it would cause a misunderstanding if someone saw the mark without knowing its purpose. He exined the matter to Haruhime and said he would tell everyone about the skills effect when they returned to the study. Though she was in somewhat low spirits, Haruhime nodded and followed alongside Vahn before her face bloomed into a smile when he said, "Dont worry, when I show off the skill in a bit, Ill make sure to demonstrate it on you." Hearing his words, Haruhime crossed her hands in front of her body in an elegant manner before wrapping the end of her tail around Vahns arm with a happy smile on her face. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lemme, lemme upgrade ya~!,Vahn is a man of culture,Uncertain Future : Moving Forward) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 298 - Relocation

Chapter 298 - Relocation

Vahn spent a few minutes with therger group as he performed several tests to see how the ability worked. As promised, he demonstrated it with Haruhime before Fenrir immediately jumped in and wanted to try it for herself. Vahn ced the mark on her shoulder and noticed that the mark on Haruhimes hand disappeared before a small midnight blue cartoonish Fenrir appeared on his own shoulder. This allowed Vahn to understand that the mark only worked on one person at a time, which made sense seeing as how his current Maximum was only one person. As an extra test, Vahn tried to ce the mark on the willing Preasias hand and noticed that it didnt work at all. It seemed like the mark considers allies to be those within his immediate Familia which prompted Preasia to want to join as a Supporter. Vahn tried to convince her to consider the matter in detail, but she ignored his words and went upstairs with Fenrir to look for Hestia. Vahn had a wry smile on his face before he was convinced by each girl within the room, with the exception of Ryuu, to ce the mark on them just so they could see what their own looked like. After parting with therger group, Vahn went to look for Aki and noticed that she was also in Hestias room alongside Fenrir and Preasia. Vahn knocked on the door to announce his presence before stepping inside and pausing as four pairs of eyes turned to him. He still had his hand on the door, and Vahn slowly backed through it before pausing in front of the closed door with a somewhat incredulous look on his face as he berated himself. Because Preasia had gone to Hestia to join the Familia, he had walked in during the ceremony and she had been facing toward the door without her sweater on. Vahn had seen the sheep girl in nothing but a pair of white shorts and stockings as her upper body waspletely bare. Vahn waited outside the door for a little while until Aki exited the room with a subtle smile on her face andmented, "Preasia said she didnt mind if you watched." Vahn released augh mixed with a sigh as he shook his head and said, "I was actually looking for you when I came up. I wanted to know if you had heard anything about what was going on and if there is anything I can do to help." Aki nodded her head before leaning with her back against the wall and exined, "Well, there was an incident not long ago where a group of Amazons had shown up near the Manor but were intercepted by the security teams in the surrounding area. Though their crests were inactive, they were still all members of the Isthar Familia and were detained for questioning. The leader of the group, named Aisha Belka, said she knew both you and Haruhime and I was going to inform you to head over and meet them when you found the time." For various reasons, Vahn sat with his back against the wall and slid down until he was sitting on the floor as he stared up at the roof. Though he had a smile on his face, there was a strange soundingughing from his throat that didnt quite reach an audible level, at least for normal people. Since Aki had sensitive ears, she was able to detect the dryughter so she sat down next to Vahn so that their shoulders were touching. With a kind smile on her face and a gentle expression in her eyes, Aki asked, "Do you want me to have them turned away?" Vahn immediately shook his head and exined, "No, she was telling the truth...she was the person protecting Haruhime before I was able to save her. Though we havent had many interactions, I still owe her a small debt and Im sure Haruhime would like to see her. She has been cooped up in this Manor for too long as is..." Akis ears twitched and she tilted her head to the side as she asked, "Then whats wrong?" Suddenly, as if she realized what the matter was, Aki began tough in a humorous manner with her eyes squinted as she said, "You must be afraid all of those girls want to join the Familia. Well, its said that theyre all Amazons and the majority are around Level 3...so it would actually bolster our numbers quite a bit. You do know that, even if they actually did join, you dont have to pursue any of them right~?" In response to Akis words, Vahn gave a mechanicalughter before exining his first meeting with Aisha when he entered the red light district in the past. He also expressed that Amazons seemed to be easily influenced when impactful things happen to them and were pretty headstrong when it came to their own desires. Vahn was afraid that, if Aisha promoted him within the group, he would have a veritable horde of Amazons seeking his affections. When he finally has children with Tiona and confronts Kali, that would likely be the catalyst for a major event if his Familia was full of Amazons at the time. Aki listened silently and contemted Vahns words with a serious expression on her face before she asked, "Vahn, do you want our Familia to be very powerful in the future?" Vahn turned his expression toward the roof again before saying, "Yeah, Id like for us to be very strong...but I think its fine if we just improve the Alliances strength as a whole instead of just focusing on ourselves..." Though he had realized something from his own words, Aki beat him to the punch and eximed, "Then the solution is simple, you can just have them join the other Familias. Since we dont have any active involvement with anyone within the Isthar Familia, it wouldnt be a vition of the Guilds probation to send prospective members to other Familia within the Alliance. You should know, but even a Familia that focuses on elites like the Freya Familia still has more than a thousand members within its ranks. Eventually, youll have to create several core groups like the Loki Familia while growing our ranks in the future...this is the reason why I said the residences shouldnt be the same as the actual Manor for the Familia." Vahn nodded his head in agreement with Aki, but he couldnt help but feel like things wouldnt go so smoothly. Because of Akis words, Vahn actually realized there was no detriment to epting the Amazons into the Familia because it would help bolster their numbers. It was also an opportunity to start spreading out the management of the Familia and start building a stronger foundation for the future. Since there were too many girls for him to identally get involved with, Vahn figured it would actually allow for men to join the Familia in the future, as long as he made the Manor the central hub and not the core residence of the Familia. Since the Amazons were all experienced women, they would naturally bring men into the Familia over time as long as Vahn restricted working as a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e. This would make it harder if he wanted to treat his Familia like a family in the future though... Shaking his head, Vahn stood up from the floor and helped Aki stand before saying, "Ill go ahead and meet with Aisha for now. Ill discuss the matter with Loki and Hephaestus and see if they have any ideas...it might even be possible that the Amazons have no intention of staying with a Familia at all." Aki disyed a polite smile before heading into her own room to grab amunication scroll to apany Vahn and update thework in real time. Afterward, they headed downstairs to inform Haruhime about Aisha and the four, alongside Mikoto, made their way to the location where the Amazon troupe was currently located. Because they had the strongest informationwork, the Loki Familia were the ones to intercept Aishas group, even though the leader of the security detail was a lower level than Aisha herself. Since her group had no intention of actually engaging inbat, they surrendered without a fight and hadnt even brought any weapons along with them when they initially approached the Manor. They were currently all within a nearby storage warehouse that was being used as a central location for the Loki Familia security detail that had been monitoring the Hearth Manor. There were also representatives of the Guild present and it didnt take long before Vahn was asked to make a short statement before being led toward the room where Aisha was being held. Within the room, Aisha was cuffed to a table and Vahn could see that she wasnt in the best condition even though her expression was calm. It didnt seem like she had been mistreated, but it also didnt look as though she had been treated cordially either. Because she wore incredibly revealing clothing, it looked like a pitiable sight and Vahn immediately destroyed the cuffs binding her even though the nearby Guild personnelined. Vahn gave the woman a fierce re with his [Will of the Emperor] before she evacuated from the room to make her report. Aisha rubbed her wrists and had a relieved smile on her face after seeing Haruhime behind Vahn with misty eyes. She stood up from the table and said, "Looks like I owe you another one, Vahn Mason...Its good to see you safe Haruhime; I assume youve been treated well after our little hero saved you?" Haruhime oveyed her hands in the center of her chest and responded with a happy voice even though her eyes were beginning to tear up, "Yes~! If it werent for you, Aisha, I wouldnt have been able to live long enough to find my happiness...thank you so much!" Mikoto, who had been standing next to Haruhime, bowed low and in a very respectful tone said, "Greetings, this may be our first time meeting, but know that I owe you a debt of gratitude for the efforts you put into protecting my friend. I am Yamato Mikoto, and I will do my best to repay this debt in the future!" Though it had a bit of a seductive undertone, Aisha smiled gently at the two girls before dismissing Mikotos words by saying, "Rx kid...Ive already benefited greatly from everything that has happened. Because of Vahn freeing me from Ishtars control, I was able to protect the lives of hundreds of my sisters in the ensuing chaos. The members I brought with me are just the elites that wish to find a better life within the City, as well as a few girls who wanted to remain for personal reasons. Nobody owes me anything...in fact, it should be my duty to repay the debts I owe to others." Though he had a powerful urge to release a pent-up sigh, Vahns expression retained a gentle smile as he listened to the two honor-bound girls talk about who owes the other a debt. He could tell by Aishas words that she would probably want to join the Hestia Familia and watch over Haruhime in the future and knew that some of the Amazons would likely wish to apany her. Before she pitched the idea herself, Aki, who had been writing away on the scroll, suddenly stood up and had a very business-like smile on her face as she said, "Aisha, Ive been talking with Loki-sama, and I think wevee up with a good solution if youre thinking about relocating the Amazons within the City." Aisha turned her head toward Aki with a curious expression on her face as Akis smile widened and she exined, "Hello, my name is Anakitty Autumn, Im the lieutenant of the Hestia Familia and Vahns personal assistant when ites to matters like this." Though Vahn had been the one to officially ept Aki as his Lieutenant, this was the first time he had heard her call herself his personal assistant. He raised his brow slightly but didnt refute her words even though he saw the somewhat yful look in her eyes. Continuing her earlier words, Aki turned toward Aisha and said, "You will understand it better in the future, but the Hestia Familia has been wrapped up in a series of controversies as ofte. It wouldnt be a good idea for members of the now-defunct Ishtar Familia to suddenly join the Hestia Familia since they had only recently been in contention with one another. Even though the Freya Familia were the ones to take action, it would be very difficult to sway public opinion to notbel Vahn as one of the colluding forces behind the return of a second goddess to Heaven. Though it may be possible to ept a few members, it would be ideal if the majority of the Amazons you had brought with you were split into the Familia that made up the Alliance so they would have a better chance of interacting with others and experiencing some degree of personal happiness. As it stands, if everyone suddenly joins the Hestia Familia, it would cause a division within the current members because your group massively outnumbers the present members of the Familia in both size and strength." Though he didnt vocalize it, Vahn suddenly felt very grateful for Akis presence and the solution that had been put forth by Loki and the other girls on thework. He nodded his head in affirmation and showed a genuine smile as he exined to Aisha,"Ive already received a bunch of help from outside forces and the majority of the members within my Familia are only Level 1. Theyve been working hard to improve and well be making gradual progress within the dungeon as we try to increase the rank of the Familia in the future. I think it wouldnt benefit their growth if there was a sudden influx of powerful women surrounding them as it would inhibit their desire to grow stronger. Since they each wish to be capable adventurers, I wouldnt want to see them relegated to the role of a Supporter just because they were lower levels than members that joined after them." Aisha looked between the smiling faces of Vahn and Aki before one appeared on her own face and she said in a subtly seductive manner, "Ara~? If that is the reason, I certainly agree...but I feel like there is a little more the situation~?" With a somewhat amorous look on her face, Aisha stepped forward as if she were about to approach Vahn which caused Aki and Haruhime to have varying responses. Akis smile didnt change at all as she moved to intercept Aisha while Haruhime moved closer to his body and grabbed the sleeve of his tunic as she said, "Miss Aisha..." Without stepping forward, Aisha hugged her body and began tough in a somewhat unconstrained manner before wiping at a bit of moisture from her eye. It wasnt that she was crying, but she had thought the current situation was quite funny and couldnt help butugh hard enough to make a bit of moisture appear in her eyes. She yed around with the sp of her bottoms that closely resembled lingerie and watched as Vahn clenched his teeth slightly in remembrance of their first meeting. After releasing a hot sigh, Aisha looked into Vahns eyes and said, "Well, even though I wouldnt mind having a go myself...I dont want to step on the toes of the precious girls around you currently. Just remember that Ill eventually repay my debts in the future, okay Vahn~?" After another short exchange, everyone within the room sat down and began to discuss the matter of the Amazons relocation. It was decided that the majority of their members would go to the Hephaestus Familia since they were in need of capablebatants for some of their missions. The rest, including Aisha herself, would be going to the Loki Familia and bing members of the second and third parties in order to support the executive members. Aisha was going to be made themander of the third group and it would beprised of several Amazons to make up the core of the party. Apanying Aishe, when they were parting ways, Vahn saw a somewhat young looking, very petite, Amazon who he learned from Haruhime was named Lena Tally. Even more surprising was the fact that she had an apparent connection with Bete within the Loki Familia and had decided to tag along with Aisha in order to get closer to him. Since Vahns impression of Bete was that he was a somewhat arrogant and abrasive person, he was surprised to see such a cheerful and innocent looking girl pursuing him. Though he didnt know the specifics, they had apparently even slept together several times and she had been trying, to no avail, to get him to ept her as his actual lover instead of just as a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e. Since she was one of the girls that had been forcibly charmed by Isthar, Vahn took pity on her and wanted to see if he could help Bete open up to her in the future. By the time Aishas group had dispersed, it was nearly lunch time and Vahn suddenly feltpletely re-energized since things hadnt turned out as problematic as he expected. He truly did have the desire to help his current members grow stronger, and most of the things he had said to Aisha were the truth. Because he now had the Upgrade function and the [Mentor] Development Ability, Vahn wanted to see how he would be able to use them to help the girls grow much stronger within a short period of time. He also wanted to test the effects of the [Seal of the Challenger] to see if he could increase his own parameters by exposing himself to a bit of danger. Though he wasnt foolish enough to delve into the lower floors with a small party, Vahn still wanted to try and fight the Goliath again to see how much progress he had made since theirst encounter. Now that the Ishar Familia was dealt with, and the Amazons were relocated, Vahn suddenly felt like a heavy weight had been removed from his shoulders. Even though he didnt mind staying within the Manor, Vahn had long realized he wasnt the type that liked to sit around and wait for things to happen. Thest two weeks had been somewhat tense and he had been feeling a strong urge to get out of the Manor to explore the City and delve into the dungeon. He also missed going to the Hostess of Fertility and taking the girls out on dates. Now that he suddenly had the major threats removed, the only thing he had to worry about was bing strong, maintaining a schedule with the girls on thework, and working alongside Hephaestus and Loki to counteract anything Freya might throw at them. Though most of the details were already arranged, Vahn also wanted to start preparing for the approaching wedding as he had been looking forward to it for some time. He hadnt told them about it yet, but Vahn had actually been working on wedding dresses for Hephaestus and Eina and intended to surprise them pretty soon. Imagining the bashful look on Einas face and the fierce blush on Hephaestuss made him smile like an idiot. Haruhime, who had been sitting at his side, took the opportunity to poke Vahns cheek with her index finger and say, "You seem very happy now, Im d~!" As if stirred to awareness by Haruhimes words, Vahns smile diminished a bit as he began to think about the various things that could go wrong in theing days...though he didnt like to swear, Vahn couldnt help but invent a new phrase within his mind as he remarked, Karma is a bitch.... (A/N: As youve probably noticed, Im not releasing too much today since its Thanksgiving. I had to go eat with family and take care of a few things. Ill still be releasing another 1-2 after this though (O,...,O)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Chibi Mark Desu~?,C-c-c-counter, BLOCK! NANI~!?,All Heroic Tales Are Deeply Ingrained With Tragedies) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 299 - Battery

Chapter 299 - Battery

After lunch, Vahn was a bit distracted thinking about his future ns and thinking of ways to increase the acquisition of Origin Points so he would be able to prepare for when something inevitably goes wrong. He had been a spendthrift as ofte, but Vahn didnt regret his purchases as therger ones had always been with a specific idea in mind. He knew he would be able to .u.mte a few thousand OP if he got back into forging, but Vahn only wanted to create equipment for use by those close to him, instead of just forging for OP. Though he didnt mind forging, Vahn wasnt fond of staying in one ce for too long. It may have something to do with the fact he had spent the majority of his time locked up in his previous life, but Vahn was happier when he was out and about and doing various things. Now that he wasnt so pressed to protect Haruhime, Vahn was considering other methods to procure origin points other than simply mass producing items. He had noticed it during his fights with Tione and Tammuz, and to a lesser extent when he first entered the dungeon, but Vahn was something of a battle junkie. He couldnt move around much in the past, but not he could freely vault off walls and fly through the air fast enough to shatter the wind around him. It was an exhrating feeling and Vahn couldnt help but feel an itch when thinking about his future battles. Though he wasnt fond of the whims of Karma, the one thing Vahn looked forward to was the fights that would result in his .u.mtion of positive karma. The greater the value, the more likely stronger enemies would seek him out and they would sh with the intent of forcing their values and ideals on each other. Because of this, Vahn needed to rapidly increase the strength of those around him since he understood his greatest weakness was the number of people close to him. Vahn had already decided to help train Fenrir ording to the method he had drawn out with Ryuu and Aki. Since she had incredible potential and willingly threw herself into danger, she was capable of rapid growth if Vahn took her into the deeper floors. Behind her was, perhaps the most important person he needed to help train, Haruhime, and her incredibly powerful Level-up magic and dual Innate skills. Her magic, [Uchide no Kozuchi] was only B-Rank, which meant that it was capable of growing further and potentially increasing parameters higher than 30%. Her [Kokonoe] was only D-Rank, and that meant it had an incredible potential for growth. Vahn had learned about the [Mage] Development Skills and the acquisition requirements for the [Hunter] skill and wanted to pitch the idea to Haruhime. Though he expected she would happily agree, Vahn wanted her consent since he knew it would be very difficult on her. Acquiring the [Hunter] skill required a person to y a total of 1,000 monsters within a 72 hour period and could only be acquired when transitioning from Level 1 to Level 2. It was one of the most highly sought after skills alongside rare skills and causality manipting skills like [Luck]. Knowing that their ventures into the dungeon would probably start soon, Vahn began to sketch out ideas for some equipment that would be used by Haruhime. She had adopted the style of wearing a very short kimono, simr to how Mikoto wore hers, and Vahn was wondering what kind of equipment he could give her that wouldnt restrict her movement. At the very top of his list, Vahn decided that she would need to wear shorts since he didnt want her to rush around shing her panties to their allies. Though he thought it was an interesting sight to see when watching them train, Vahn wasnt fond of the idea of other people gawking at the contents within. He would get her to wear short-shorts like Ryuu, or perhaps a pair of spats like Aki... After around an hour, Vahn had drawn up a rtively urate sketch of Haruhime from memory and had begun to design abat outfit that he thought was suitable for her. It was still a rough concept, but he had her wearing a red kimono with a ck obi and a ck, ceremonial, mantle. Since her movements were simr to a dance, Vahn had designed the outfit after the Shrine Priestess attire from the Far East. Haruhime had the Innate skill [Moon Priestess], so he had some expectation that it might influence her mentality to awaken the skill in the future. For her weapon, Vahn had decided to make her a wooden sword, simr to the one used by Ryuu, except it would have a more ceremonial look topliment her attire. Though she was still going to focus on the development of her agility, Haruhimes core parameter was her magic and Vahn had hope that she would develop a few offensive spells alongside her support repertoire. To wrap up her ensemble, Vahn designed a pair of anklets and bracelets that Haruhime would be able to wear since she didnt seem fond of wearing stockings. He would also create a ne for her and Vahn wanted them all to be set pieces that boosted her magic and provided defense and resistance against the elements. Though he didnt mind seeing her long legs, Vahn knew how cold it got in theter floors and was somewhat concerned about her catching a cold. After he was satisfied with the design, Vahn remembered his previous interaction with Ais and Lefiya, so he spent a few minutes thinking before designing a pair of undergarments that might suit Haruhime as well. She had the bad habit of wearing neither a bra or panties without Mikoto reminding her, and Vahn hoped she would be able to curb the habit if he made something specifically for her. Though it felt like he was taking advantage of her feelings for him, Vahn was genuinely concerned with how airheaded she could be at times. If not for sharing a room with Mikoto, Vahn wasnt sure Haruhime would ever remember to wear undergarments at all. He knew it was likely a habit she had picked up during her training in the Isthar Familia, and Vahn hoped she would be able to put it behind her in the future. Since there were still a few hours until he needed to wrap things up, Vahn decided to get a head start on creating the essories for Haruhime. It would probably take several days to design the rest of the equipment, but a few bands of metal shouldnt be too difficult. He could also make a matching pair for Mikoto since they shared a strong bond with each other and Vahn wanted to help provide something to unify them further. He also wanted to experiment with creating batteries that would be able to store excess mana when they werent inbat so they could make use of it in a pinch. It was a very simr concept to how Welf used his [Crozzo Blood], but Vahn figured it would be far more effective if he used his source energy. As they were essories for a girl, Vahn decided to use abination of mithril twined with orichalc.u.m and adamantine. This would give them a golden sheen intermixed with the beautiful white coloration of adamantine that would also greatly enhance the durability of the item. The problem was finding something to contain the mana, since most materials and gems acted as catalysts and not containers. They could enhance the efficacy of magic, but they didnt allow for magic to be stored within forter use. Inspired by [Crozzo Blood] even further, Vahn tried boring out a small channel within the interior of the mithril core of the bracelet. He purchased an incredibly durable syringe and drew a bit of his own blood with a somewhat conflicted feeling before shaking away the unpleasant thoughts. The channel within the bracelet was thin enough that it only required a single drop of his blood, but Vahn wanted to see how long he could store his blood within a container like a syringe so he filled the entire thing as part of an experiment. In his previous life, his blood couldnt be stored for more than 24 hours before it would turn to dust. Vahn hadnt conducted any experiments of his own, even though he knew his blood would probably be a powerful catalyst for alchemy in the future. One of the reasons Vahn had decided to try using his own blood as a catalyst was due to the fact that, while he may have a physical form, his body was actuallyprised entirely of source energy. This wasnt an umon thing though, since everyone, and everything for that matter, wasprised of mana and elemental energies. Every particle of matter around him was the culmination of several smaller bonds that he wasnt able to see even using his [Eyes of Truth], but Vahn was able to conceptualize them after studying up on the matter alongside Eva in the past. She really had been a great mentor for him and he made an incredible amount of progress in his own studies under her tutge. Vahn frowned as his own thoughts wandered a bit and he looked within his system to see that the time had just hit 5 PM. Even though it had been a while since he entered the orb, both his mind a body was still adapted to the expectation that he should be entering inside of it. Though he could tell it was in an inert state within his inventory, Vahn still pulled out the pitch ck orb and watched it for a few minutes before releasing a sad sigh and stowing it away. Shaking his head, Vahn sealed off the small hole where he had inserted the syringe and made sure there was a hair-like red line circling the entire bracelet within its core. Even though it was an incredibly small amount of blood, Vahn could see the energy contained within and began his experiment with a bit of excitement and the desire that it would be a sess. For a brief moment, Vahn humored the idea of trying to imbue the ability to increase exilia acquisition into the bracelet, but he decided against it since it might conflict with his intended oue. After calming his mind for a few minutes, Vahn held the ornate bracelet within his hands and focused his thoughts with the intent of making the bracelet a container for mana that would work in conjunction with other, simr, items while also protecting the wearer. Though the rest of the items werentplete yet, Vahn pictured the image of Haruhime within his mind wearing nothing but the anklets, bracelets, and a golden band around her neck before naming the bracelet [Fox Maidens Bracelet]. [Fox Maidens Bracelet] Rank:B P.Def: 17 M.Def: 404 Abilities: Durandal(C), Magical Amplification(C), Magic Vessel(B), Fox Maidens Set(B) An ornate bracelet designed to provide passive protection by creating a small field around the appendages to resist physical and magical attacks. Though weak individually, the abilities of this item are enhanced when used alongside simr items. Restriction: Renard Only (Female) Vahn was very pleased with the result, except for the fact that he had forgotten to include resistance against the elements in his mental image. Though it wasnt his initial intent, he had inadvertently imagined Haruhime wearing nothing by his essories and had gotten distracted by his own thoughts. Much less protecting her from the elements, Vahn had exposed her within his mind and felt a little embarrassed even though there was nobody around to judge him. To test the efficacy of the Magic Vessel ability, Vahn tried to insert a small amount of his energy but the bracelet flew out of his hand with a rebound. His mind nked for a moment before he picked up the item into his inventory and re-read the description again. Since it had the restriction of only being used by female Renards, Vahn couldnt actually test the item himself. Pulling the bracelet out of his inventory, Vahn inspected the interior to see if there had been any changes to the string of blood he had left within. To his surprise, he discovered that the blood had crystalized and noticed it had a strange pattern along the length that he couldnt understand. The more he tried to focus on it, the less focused his mind became and Vahn realized that more than twenty minutes had passed as he stared off aimlessly into space. When he tried to ask Sis what was happening, he could hear the sound of her voice within his mind but the words werepletely blocked from his perception. After exining the incongruity, Sis informed him that he simply didnt have a high enough Soul Tier to understand... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Growing Pains,Anyone wonder how the other girls will react when Haruhime gets a lot of essories~?,(Sealed)) (A/N: This might be thest chapter for tonight, Im in a pseudo fooda (UwU). I just want to take a nap xD) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 300 - Undercurrents

Chapter 300 - Undercurrents

Afterpleting the [Fox Maidens Bracelet], there wasnt much time left within his work block on the schedule so Vahn decided to call it a day. Since the matter with the Ishtar Familia was resolved, Vahn wanted to take everyone out to celebrate at the Hostess of Fertility. It was a good chance for Haruhime to get out of the Manor since the only ces she had known since arriving in the City were a brothel and the premises of a Manor. Vahn also wanted to meet with the girls that he hadnt seen in a while since he felt a little guilty for not making the trip. If he went at his maximum speed, it would only take a few minutes to reach the Hostess of Fertility, but even that small window would be enough for terrible things to happen if his enemies werepetent. Since hepleted his work early, the twins hadnt started working on dinner yet and Vahn was able to inform them of his decision before they started unnecessary work. After Akis arrival, Emiru and Maemi had started taking their jobs as maids very seriously and had been proactively cleaning around the Manor during the afternoons. Vahn wanted to say it was unnecessary, but he actually preferred a clean and orderly residence as well and there werent any other people that were willing to take to the task. Since the Manor was the Familias residence, it would normally be the job of the logistics staff and supporters, but the Hestia Familia technically only had one official supporter, which was Preasia. After hearing Vahns words, the twins bowed simultaneously and said in concert, "Thank you for informing us Vahn-sama~!" Vahn gave the two a wry smile as his hand twitched a bit before he nodded his head to seek out the rest of the girls. Ever since he had read their Status Boards, the twins hadnt been proactive in approaching him, but they still tried to y to his weaknesses and would always bow toward him with their twitching ears. Because of their actions, Vahns awareness about his petting habits was being developed quite a bit since he was very tempted to give in to his urges. Separating from the twins, who he sent to Fenrir and Preasias location, Vahn went upstairs and knocked on the door barring the shared room of Haruhime and Mikoto. After a few seconds, the one to answer the door had been Mikoto though it was Haruhime that asked Vahn toe inside. Since he hadnt entered the room after cing the furniture, Vahn was unaware of how much had changed since then. Because they were both from the Far East, the girls had slowly been changing theyout of the room to match their preferences and Vahn thought there was a very calming atmosphere within. Haruhime had been sitting on a cushion that was ced on the floor, but she rose from her seated position and crossed her hands over herp before bowing politely to wee him. Out of habit, Vahn also returned a bow which prompted Mikoto to bow even lower and the entire atmosphere became a little awkward until Haruhime started tough like an exquisite bell. Herughter caused the atmosphere to clear up instantly as Vahnughed alongside her and even Mikoto had a small smile on her face. Afterward, they tried to offer him a cushion to sit on but Vahn raised his hand and said, "That isnt necessary, I just came to inform the both of you that well be eating dinner at the Hostess of Fertility tonight. Since she hasnt had the opportunity yet, Id like for Haruhime to experience more of the City than just the Manor." Mikoto nodded her head in a curt response, but Haruhimes eyes began to glow a bit as she held the tips of her fingers together with a wide smile on her face. She seemed very happy with his words, and Vahn momentarily had inhibitions about the next part of his statement before sucking it up and holding out the bracelet and saying, "This is a prototype essory that Im working on to help the two of your with your mana reserves. It should be capable of holding a certain amount of mana that youll be able to useter when casting spells. I n to make matching pairs for both of you, but this one is called [Fox Maidens Bracelet] and can only be used by Renards." Though they had both been staring at the bracelet with curious expressions, the moment Vahn said the bracelets name and restriction, Haruhimes hand moved forward with the speed of a Level 8 and snatched the bracelet from Vahns palm fast enough to leave a shadow within the void. Vahns eyes opened slightly wider and he saw Haruhime gingerly holding the bracelet with both hands as she did a cheerful pirouette with a cheerful smile on her face. She turned to Vahn and opened her green eyes that were sparkling like gemstones and said, "Thank you so much Vahn, its lovely~!" Vahn awkwardly retracted his hand before a small smile appeared on his face and he said, "Youre wee, Haruhime. Ill be making another bracelet, as well as a pair of anklets and a ne toplete the setter. As I said, that is just a prototype so let me know if there are any problems whatsoever." He had been intending to exin how he had made the bracelet but realized it might be dangerous in various ways if he told Haruhime that his own blood was contained within. She was already treating it like a great treasure, even though it was only a B-Rank item. Vahn had a strange thought that he would one day visit her room and find the essories he made for her enshrined near her bed or something strange like that if she knew of their construction method. Since there was still time before they would leave, Vahn also showed Haruhime the designs for the outfit he was working on and he could feel the aura radiating from her body like a me even without looking in her direction. Though he hadnt pointed it out himself at the beginning, the very first thing that caught both Haruhimes and Mikotos attention had been the designs on the side of the diagram that showed a custom bra and panty that Vahn had actually intended to be used as supplementary armor pieces. The moment she saw the sketch, Haruhime got very fired up about it and wanted to assist in the production of the outfit if she could. Since her skills in sewing were actually higher than his, Vahn was very tempted to agree but knew there would be more to her request than simply sewing away at the side. After escaping the room, Vahn made his way over to inform Hestia and Aki about the celebration and to see if any new information hade in through thework. Though he had talked to her briefly during lunch, Hestia had been spending the majority of the day within her own room corresponding with the Alliance. She had told him some information about the Guilds investigation of the event and expressed her relief at how both he and Aki had handled the situation with the Amazons earlier. Since it had been proposed by Loki, and spearheaded by Aki, Hestias opinion of Akis presence within the Familia had improved marginally and they were now both within her room discussing matters. Though he wasnt restricted from entering Hestias room whenever he wanted, Vahn still knocked and waited for someone to open the door since the fiasco with Preasia was still on his mind from earlier. Aki was the one to answer and she showed her characteristic kind smile before inviting Vahn into the room and exining all the new information they had received. It turns out that the Freya Familia had made no attempt to cover up their actions at all and made a public statement that Ishtar had actually been trying to poach their members. Freya herself imed that Ishtar tried to charm Ottar and that was the reason for her decision to force her back to Heaven. Since her ims were actually true, the Guild wasnt able to find any fault in her words but still imposed a heavy penalty on the Freya Familia and were requiring them to spend an exorbitant amount of Valis to restore the areas that had been destroyed in the fire. Without batting an eye, Freya epted the terms but stated that none of their reparations would go to the establishment of brothels and dens that could be used by criminals and there was nothing the Guild could do to force her hand on the matter. The biggest issue that arose in the aftermath, which is what was currently being discussed, was how the Alliance had somehow been implicated by Freyas actions. Though nobody knows who pointed fingers first, public opinion was speaking of Freya as a co-conspirator of the Alliance that had recently been a hot topic within the City. Since Freya had tolerated Ishtars actions for so long, people were saying that she had taken action on behalf of the Hestia Familia which was already in the limelight because the Loki Familia had recently challenged the Isthar Familia to a Wargames because they had been targeting the Hestia Familia. Rumors had spread about the duel with Tammuz as well and people were iming it to be the catalyst that forced the Alliance to take drastic action and eliminate the Ishtar Familia. Since they wanted to avoid trouble with the guild, it was imed that the Alliance reached out to Freya for assistance and had convinced her to take action on her behalf since she already had personal grievances with Ishtar. Hestia has an especially serious expression on her face as she stared at Vahn and said, "Vahn, you mustnt be involved in this matter personally. If anyone tries to bring up the topic of approaching Freya, or the Freya Familia, you need to avoid giving in. Even if you feel inclined to thank Freya for her actions, you should resist the urge since you can be absolutely sure she had done so for personal reasons. No matter what happens, you need to avoid that woman until we can deal with her!" As he had no intentions of approaching Freya for the time being, Vahn easily agreed to Hestias words before telling her about the nned celebration. Since she was busy with thework and the matters regarding the Freya Familia, Hestia was going to remain and home and Aki would stay back to protect her. The security outside the Manor was already in a high alert status and there was little chance either of them would be exposed to danger so Vahn reluctantly agreed to let them stay. He did have them move into his secret workshop though since it had several formations that allowed it to avoid detection and could only be opened with a special key. Before parting ways with them, Vahn gave in and held Hestia for a few minutes in a rtively passionate embrace before giving Aki a few head pats and heading downstairs. The other girls were all waiting for his arrival and Vahn called over Fafnir to help in the escort since he didnt have absolute confidence in protecting the entire group if they were ambushed. Though he didnt use it often, Fafnir was already known as Vahns tamed monster and had even been registered with the Guild in the past. They had given him a lot of restrictions on its actions, but there wasnt any way they could regte itpletely since Vahn kept most of Fafnirs abilities a secret. The biggest restriction was being unable to ride Fafnir within the City unless it was during a state of emergency where lives were at risk. After Fafnir peaked up through the shadows, Vahn stroked its head and helped replenish its energy before it purred an evil sounding growl and returned to the shadows after thanking Vahn in a childish voice. Since things were beginning to calm down, Vahn intended to take Fafnir back into the orb in the future so it would be able to grow up even more alongside Eva. Though he didnt mind the childish sounding telekinesis, Vahn still imagined Fafnir to be cooler within his mind. He was looking forward to the a.d.u.l.t stage Fafnir and was curious how far its natural growth would take it. Vahn led the party of seven, including himself, along the route leading to the Hostess of Fertility while everyone was in high spirits. He also showed a charismatic smile as he scanned his surroundings with his domain for any signs of trouble. Because he was escorting six beautiful girls, Vahn got a lot of strange looks from both men and women within the surroundings. Not only the men, but several of the women had touches of green within their auras intermixed with various types of colors, both cold and warm. Fortunately, there werent many people dumb enough to try and approach the group to make trouble since Vahn was currently in his human form and was easily recognizable as the former Vulcan. Few people wanted to mess with the guy that was rted to the expulsion of two Goddesses and the disbandment of two Familia because the current understanding was that he had the backing of all three of the top-ranked Familia within the City. Of course, werent many didnt mean there were none, as there were still a few arrogant men that thought they had a chance and tried to make a pass at one of the girls he was escorting. Since they didnt have auras of negativity, Vahn had no reason to prevent their attempts though he did watch to see if the girls had a reaction. The only time he immediately put a stop to their actions was if they tried to make a pass at Fenrir or Preasia, since either case would likely cause Fenrir to lose her cool. Eventually, after turning away the fourth man, Vahn decided to just keep away everyone since the twins and Mikoto had absolutely no interest in the attempts of the random passersby. Vahn realized, by the time they were approaching the Hostess of Fertility, that he probably should have done so from the very beginning. He just didnt want to seem overly protective of the girls at first, but now he realized they expected his protection after noticing their slightly mncholic expressions when he defended Preasia and Fenrir but not themselves. Vahn shook his head before stopping outside of the Hostess of Fertility with a reminiscent smile on his face before taking a deep breath of the aroma leaking through the double-doors. Since it was rather cold outside, even though he had been keeping the cold at bay for the girls, the interior of the Hostess of Fertility looked very warm an inviting. Vahn led the way through the doors and caused a minor fiasco when the other patrons noticed the Vulcan leading in a group of beautiful young women. Mama Mia immediately brought the entire ce to silence with her loud voice before motioning towards Vahns private room with her head. Since they had arge group and were intending to celebrate, the waitresses that were attending them ended up being Syr and Chloe. Vahn was happy to see Chloe again and embraced her in a casual manner even without asking for her consent. She began tough in a yful manner before stroking his back and saying, "Did you miss me, nya~?" Though it was on a brief contact, Vahn stroked Chloes tail before saying, "Definitely...did you not miss me?" Chloes tail was still flickering about as she looked around to see if anyone was paying attention. She noticed that everyones gaze was present on them so sheughed awkwardly before muttering, "Of course I missed you~. Even though I can tie the ribbon myself, its not as meaningful unless you do it for me~nya." Vahn smiled widely and unashamedly fixed the ribbon on Chloes tail even though everyone was giving them strange looks. She had a flushed expression and a little me in her eyes before Vahn gave her a short kiss on the lips and said, "I missed you, Chloe..." Though she gnashed her teeth a bit from embarrassment, Chloe returned a kiss of her own before pushing Vahn away a bit and turning to the table where the other girls were eyeballing her with various expressions. Vahn was aware he had been very forward, but he really had missed Chloe and wanted to show that he wasnt embarrassed at all to be seen with her. From his side, Vahn could hear an elegantughter and he turned his head to see Syrughing with her hand covering her mouth. When she saw he was paying attention, her eyes squinted a bit and she remarked, "How envious...I guess you didnt miss me~?" Before he could answer, Syr stuck out her tongue yfully before ignoring him and going to take the orders of the girls. Vahn watched her back for a moment before releasing a short sigh and ruminating over the events of the past as he walked over. He knew about Syrs feelings for him, including her hearts desire, but Vahn had asked for time when she confessed. He gave the excuse that he wanted things to stabilize a bit before giving her an answer, even though he had been steadily pushing his rtionsh.i.p.s forward with other girls. Since he knew she acted in his interests behind the scenes, Vahn felt like he was exploiting Syr a bit even though he knew it was probably the reverse. Of course, Syrs exploitation seemed to manifest in her influence over the other girls within the Hostess of Fertility and she was steadying pushing them closer to him... During the celebration, everyone was in high spirits after the awkwardness from the beginning had cleared up. Since the majority of people present were considered a.d.u.l.ts, there was a bit of alcohol involved and even Fenrir partook a bit. She was initially refused the right to drink, but Vahn eventually gave in when her eyes had started to glow rather fiercely. It turned out his apprehensions in letting her drink were pointless, to begin with since she was actually able to ingest a seemingly limitless amount of ale and wine without getting even remotely drunk. By the end of the celebration, the only two people unaffected by the alcohol were Vahn and Fenrir, who had been having a st drinking the other girls under the table. Since it wasnt safe to escort a bunch of drunk girls back to the Manor, Syr had arranged for some space within the girls dorm to house everyone, except Vahn, for the night. Vahn had to pay an exorbitant fee to Mama Mia, but he didnt mind at all as money was one of the things he was least concerned about. After everyone had retired for the night, Vahn was left alone with Syr somehow and he furrowed his brows slightly because he knew she had machinated the events in her own way to lead up to this point. She was also the one that had first brought alcohol to the table even though they hadnt initially ordered any and Vahn knew it was her nature acting up especially considering that neither Ryuu or Chloe hade to see him off. Syr always paid close attention to his expressions and mannerisms, so she immediately understood she had been seen through but just disyed her characteristic cheerful smile and said, "Looks like you caught on to me~." She didnt say that she was d that Vahn was always able to see through her schemes even though the vast majority of people overlooked the small actions she took. Hearing her words, Vahn had nodded his head before showing a grateful smile and saying, "Syr, thanks for everything youve been doing for metely. Ive gotten to experience a lot of interesting things because of the actions youve taken on my behalf." His words had genuine gratitude since Vahn had actually gotten the opportunity to massage all of the girls within the Hostess of Fertility, though that included Mama Mia as well. Syr was also the one that arranged the dates in the past and had been on nearly half of them herself even though they werent an actual couple. Hearing Vahns words, Syr crossed her hands over her apron and stood tall with a truly cheerful expression as a slight glow passed through her eyes. Vahn was easily able to resist the effects of her charm and his smile grew slightlyrger as well when he saw how happy she was at that fact. Stepping forward until she was right in front of him, Syr looked up into Vahns eyes and said, "I wonder when your heart will be-" Before Syr could finish her words, Vahn gingerly wrapped his hands around her waist before holding her body in a loose embrace and saying, "Youve had a ce for a long time, probably longer than I even realized because of your actions. Well, not that that matters, I already decided not to hesitate when it came to making decisions about the things I want..." Even though Vahn knew things were probably going ording to Syrs n, he still felt a lot of affection for the beautiful young woman with light-grey hair and matching eyes. Since she probably wouldnt give up for several years, Vahn felt guilty at the thought of watching her help other people find happiness while the only thing she needed to be happy was his affections for her. Without wasting any more time on words, Vahn stared into the glittering eyes of Syr as they both brought their faces closer under the moonlight and shared their first kiss... //[Hearts Desire: Syr Flova] fulfilled. Extra parameter Love unlocked.// [Syr Flova]: Love 308(Fated Partner) //Bond established with [Syr Flova]// //Optional Quest Triggered// [Quest: A Mans Responsibility, Repeatable] Rank: B-SS Objective: I.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Syr Flova (0). Ensure a safe delivery; Current Children(0) Rewards: 100,000 OP, 1x [Guardian:(Nameless)] Failure Condition(s): Death, Syr Flovas Death, (Nameless) Childs Death Penalty: 200 Karma (0) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Haruhimes potential shows!?,Rumors : Politics,Just ording to keikaku...(T/N: Keikaku means n) <-(A/N: I know this is re-used, but I feel its appropriate for the situation.) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 301 - Intuition

Chapter 301 - Intuition

Though the kiss between Vahn and Syrsted quite a while, it wasnt overly passionate, nor was there any other intimacy between them. They simply held the kiss for a while and loosely held each others bodies in a very natural manner. Though he could feel a gentle warmth from her body, Syr was able to feel the heating from Vahn pushing away the cold night air and it made the entire experience more atmospheric for her. When they finally separated, she had a happy smile on her face with a light blush as she said, "That was my first real kiss you know~? Does it make you happy to be the person that received it?" Vahn returned a gentle smile and cradled her body a bit as he said, "Nnn, it was very pleasant...makes me regretful that I had waited for so long. Thanks, Syr..." Sheughed in a somewhat mischevious manner and Vahn could feel her aura begin to increase in size as she leaned against his body and said, "If youre really regretful...there are other things we can do..." Syr traced her hands from Vahns back and ced them on his chest before rubbing around in an inexperienced manner. He could see the blush on her face growing deeper, not because of amorous feelings, but because she was embarrassed by her own actions. Vahn grabbed her wandering hands with his own and shook his head with a gentle smile and said, "Sorry, Syr, I have to return to the Hearth Manor. There is a lot going on in the aftermath of Ishtars return to Heaven. Im sure youre aware of most of the details..." In response to his words, Syr released a slightly hot sigh and said, "Yes, Im aware that Freya seems to have taken action...Vahn, you have to be very careful of her. She has a strange way of manipting people, and I dont think things will end well if she gets her hands on you." As she spoke, Vahn could feel Syrs body shake a little and it wasnt from the cold. Feeling the fear within her, Vahn nestled his forehead against Syrs and wrapped his arms around her body before putting a small amount of strength in his embrace. He rocked her body a bit and said, "There is no need to fear...Ive alreadye up with a few methods to deal with Freya if ites down to it. Besides, I have a lot of confidence that Loki and Hephaestus would be able to prevent her from taking any meaningful action...just make sure you take care of yourself and the other girls and things should be okay." Syr had closed her eyes with afortable expression on her face and opened them when Vahn finished his words. He could see a confident glint in her eyes as she said, "I wont let Freya interfere with my happiness again..." For a short while after that, Vahn continued to hold Syr until he detected a presence spying on them from nearby. Seeing the look on his face, Syr tried to guess, "It must be Chloe...or maybe Ryuu~?" Without waiting for Vahns response, she turned toward the window where the presence was located and waved in a yful manner. Though she couldnt see through the crack between the curtains, Syr had guessed that the person spying on them had been Chloe. Since Vahn had a bond with Chloe, he could easily identify her presence and he just smiled wryly in response to Syrs actions. Her understanding of the girls within the Hostess of Fertility was almost unparalleled and she was able to read their actions and make judgments based on her intuition. The curtains in the window were pulled aside slightly and Chloes face peeked through and Vahn could see she had a mischevious expression. He tilted his head a bit in curiosity which prompted Chloe to pull aside the remaining curtains and reveal that she was currently wearing the panties he had gifted her in the past. She was even wearing one of his tunics and Vahns eyes widened marginally because he didnt recall ever leaving her one. From his side, Syr began tough as shemented, "Looks like I cant keep you to myself for too long~. Well, Ill see youter Vahn. Please stop by the Hostess of Fertility more often in the future..." Her words finished, Syrs eyes squinted a bit as she leaned forward and gave Vahn a parting kiss before winking at Chloe. Vahn was left in the alleyway leading into the girls dorm and he watched Syrs back for a brief moment before turning his attention to Chloe. Though he couldnt hear her, Vahn could see that she wasughing before waving her hand and disappearing behind the curtain. As she turned away, Vahn caught sight of her pert little butt and the pure blue ribbon wrapped around her ck tail. A small smile appeared on his face and Vahn wondered what would happen if he had epted Syrs offer earlier. Since there wasnt really a ce for them to go, Vahn had a slight expectation that he might have been invited into the girls dorm and finally got a glimpse of the interior. After releasing a hot sigh, Vahn shook his head before disappearing from the spot with the use of Shundo. Before he returned to the Manor, Vahn decided to take a break to calm his emotions a bit and enjoy the cold night air. Even though nothing had happened, Vahn still felt like a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders ever since he received news about the Ishtar Familias fall this morning. He felt like hisx emotional state allowed for his other emotions to have a greater impact on his mind and he was now in a strange mood where he felt pleased, rxed, and a little excited. Vahn knew his inhibitions about things were slowly beginning to loosen, and he had a slight urge to act out on his impulses a bit. This was the reason he had decided to cool down a bit, since Vahn was afraid he might return to the Hearth Manor before crawling into Hestias bed again. They had s.e.x a few times when they started sleeping apart, but now Vahn was in a strange mindset and the only two girls within the Manor were Hestia and Aki. He also knew that Aki would probably ede to his request, if he asked, and it might even develop to the point where he was with both girls at the same time. Since she had been a partner to Loki in the past, Vahn knew Aki already had the mental preparations but he still had some inhibitions of his own. Though he wouldnt turn her down if she made the push, Vahn still wanted to meet the man named Raul before he took the initiative. On a whim, Vahn c.o.c.ked his head and stared toward the tower of Babel that dominated the sky toward the center of the City. Even though he couldnt be certain, Vahn had a strange feeling that he was being watched. He had tried to probe it out with his domain, and had even asked Sis about it, but there wasnt any way to detect if his suspicions were true. He knew from the manga that Freya had a way to watch Bells progress, but he didnt know the full extent of her capacity for observation. Just know that she might be watching him was enough to make Vahn feel a sense of urgency though. Though he wanted to believe she wouldnt do anything too trying, Vahn remembered the event where she had charmed a Silverback just to test Bell. Not knowing if she could hear him, or if she was watching to begin with, Vahn muttered, "If you try to harm the people I care about...I will never forgive you. No matter what it takes, even if I was forced out of the City for a time, I woulde back and seek vengeance against you..." --- Within a dimly lit room on the top floor of Babel tower, Freya had been sitting in a throne-like chair sipping on a ss of wine as she overlooked a smaller version of her magic mirror. It took the form of a crystal ball and she had indeed been watching Vahns actions ever since she returned from her meeting with Ouranos. He had made some usations about her assisting the Alliance and she hadnt bothered to correct him on the matter and allowed it to spiral out of control as a rumor. Since she wasnt actually scheming anything at all, her vow hadnt been vited and she was very much enjoying the events as they yed out. Though she couldnt hear his words, Freya was able to read Vahns lips and she understood very clearly what he was trying to convey to her. An amorous smile appeared on her face as she sipped at the expensive red wine within her ss. Though she knew he couldnt hear her, Freya still responded to Vahns words, "You truly care about all those small women...it makes me a little jealous. All of this would be much easier if you just became mine..." As she spoke, Freya sloshed around the contents of her ss with a ruminating and thoughtful expression on her face. She didnt mind the matter regarding Ishtar, since it wouldnt cause her any real problems, but it was actually very troublesome to deal with the Alliance. They had already pestered her quite a bit about her intentions even after she told them directly that she hadnt made any ns. Now she was expected to meet them and negotiate and it had been the thought at the front of her mind for the majority of the day. Though she wouldnt mind eliminating all the girls around Vahn and eventually making him her own, Freya had a great deal of hesitation about actually going forward on the matter. Until she knew more about Vahns origins and capabilities, she actually didnt have confidence that her charm would work on him. Though it was much weaker than her own, Freya had watched the interaction between Vahn and Syr and she had noticed he resisted her rtively powerful charm without even batting an eye. If she truly drove a wedge between them because of her scheming, Freya was afraid that she would have to kill Vahn and waste his potential. Of course, she didnt even humor the thought that he would actually be able to seek vengeance against her even if she did sleight him. Freya continued to watch over Vahn in silent contemtion up until he eventually returned to the inside of the Hearth Manor. She felt a little annoyed that she was unable to see through the defensive formations of the Manor itself but she kept the crystal ball focused on the door for the future. Through her informationwork, Freya knew that the only people within the Manor right now were Vahn, a Level 4 female cat person, and the newbie goddess Hestia. Though she hadnt seen their interactions, Freya assumed there was likely something going on between Vahn and the girl named Aki. Since Aki wasnt a new adventurer, Freya had a lot of her information and assumed she was a spy that had been sent to keep tabs on Vahn and the Hestia Familia through Loki. Releasing a somewhat sensual sigh, Freya downed the remaining wine within her ss before rising from her throne. She had never had such a troublesome target to approach, but that made it even more exciting since she would inevitably get her hands on him. Try as they might, there was only so much that Hephaestus and Loki could do before they pushed her beyond the eptable limits and caused strife between the three top-ranked Familia. Because she had been consolidating her power for a long time, Freya knew she would be able to best thebined might of the Alliance but it would be at a cost she wasnt quite willing to pay. Not only would it be an incredible inconvenience to her other ns, but losing the Loki and Hephaestus Familias would cripple the economy within the City and halt the exploration into the deeper floors of the dungeon. Without Lokis forces paving the way forward, it would fall to Freyas Familia to take action and she wasnt fond of sending her children into the depths of the dungeon for Ouranoss benefit. Freya crawled into herrge bed that was made of the finest linens and silks that could be found within the entire mortal world. Her bedsheets alone were custom made and would cost in the market of 3,000,000 Valis. She had carried the crystal ball along with her and cradled it within her bosom as she stared into the interior and remarked to the darkness, "I want to be alone tonight...tell that sneaky woman that Ill agree to their meeting." An affirmation sounded from the darkness and Freya was able to see the silhouette of Ottars body leaving to fulfill her wishes. He was her current favorite and was also the strongest mortal she had ever seen in her time within the mortal realm. However, though Ottars potential was incredible, unlike anything she had ever seen, Freya intuition told her that Vahns potential was even higher. She saw how meteoric his rise was and had seen the many different techniques and abilities that he was capable of using. None of his skills were even remotely simr to anything she had ever seen before and Freya was unable to measure his depths at all. That was how her intuition caused her to view Vahn, not as a colossal bundle of potential that was taller than a mountain like Ottar...Instead, Freya saw Vahns potential as the unfathomably deep depths of the ocean, in both depth and breadth...she even had a slight expectation that she would be able to drown herself within its depths and it made her heart twist in her chest at being unable to obtain him sooner. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Blue Moon : ck Cat,You aint sneaky...maybe...probably?,Freyas Longing) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 302 - Abnormal Behavior

Chapter 302 - Abnormal Behavior

(NSFW Btw...) After calming his mind adequately, Vahn returned to the Hearth Manor and scanned the interior to see that Hestia and Aki were still within his secret workshop so he made his way up to the room and opened the false wall that separated it from his bedroom. Since Vahn was the only person that could open it from the outside, both girls knew he had arrived and Hestia put down her quill before walking over and jumping into Vahns arms. He could see she had a very tired expression and knew she had probably been working hard all day. When he turned his attention to Aki, she had her usual smile on her face as she said, "Wee back." Vahn smiled in response and said, "Here, you two have worked hard today, Ill give you a reward." Hestias body twitched and she stared up into Vahns face with her crystalline blue eyes and he could see her aura was quickly transitioning from a docile state to a highly active one with a pink hue. Vahn leaned forward as he raised Hestias butt and gave her a quick peck on the lips before saying, "Itll just be a massage for now while you brief me on anything new that happened." Though her aura didnt fade by much, Vahn saw it diminish a bit as Hestiaughed, "Ehehe, I guess thats fine as well~." Vahn smiled slightly at her reaction before lifting up her legs with his left hand and holding her in a princess carry before making eye contact with Aki. She nodded her head in response and picked up her own scroll before cing it away in her pouch and following behind. When they moved to Hestias room, Vahnid her down on the bed and she rolled about in a strange manner as her dress wilted apart rapidly. She looked up at Vahn with a pitiful expression on her face as she sheepishly covered her own b.r.e.a.s.ts and asked, "Just a massage?" Vahn furrowed his brows a bit because Hestia was acting up even though Aki was still present. As if she could read his expression, Hestia remarked, "Eeeeh, I already talked to both Aki and Loki about various things..." As she spoke, Hestias expression became a little rosy and Vahn arched his brows as he turned to Aki and saw a strange smile on her face. Her tail flickered a bit and she muttered in a low voice, "I dont mind..." Vahn immediately felt like he was in a dilemma because he had just walked into the situation that he tried to avoid earlier. It felt like his efforts to calm his mind had been fruitless because he was now suffering a join attack by two women he was fond of acting adorably in front of him. Vahn c.o.c.ked his head as if he were in deep thought before releasing a short sigh and shaking his head. Both girls saw his response but Vahn rified matters by saying, "I left the other girls at the Hostess of Fertility because they got a little drunk. There is a lot to do tomorrow and Ill have to wake up early to get everything prepared..." Vahn felt like he was making an excuse and noticed that neither Hestia or Aki showed a positive response to his exnation. Seeing their reactions, Vahn felt an urge tough and it showed as a smile appeared on his face and he said, "Fine, I wont hold back then if youre going to act like this." Though he put a lot of restraints on himself, Vahn was actually very interested in the girls around him. If they were going to act sad when he was trying to be considerate, he didnt mind giving them a light punishment for testing his boundaries. He still wanted to meet Raul in the future, so it looked like he was going to have to apologize to the mystery man that held Akis affections. Before either of them could react to his words, Vahn appeared behind Aki with his Shundo and lifted up her body before plopping her down on the bed next to Hestia. Because Vahn wasnt acting like himself, both girls were a little fl.u.s.tered but Hestia recovered quickly as an excited glint appeared in her eyes. She held out her hand and shouted, "Wait, wait one minute ~!" Vahn tilted his head and watched her butt wiggle to the side of the bed as she pulled out a small vial of pills and a cream he had never seen before. Aki had dazed for a moment, but seeing Hestias actions brought her mind back to reality as she looked to Vahn and asked in an uncharacteristically shy manner, "Are we going to...?" Vahn turned his head away from Hestias actions and stared into her beautiful ck eyes and stated firmly, "The final decision is yours, but I wont let you back down if you decide to stay." Hearing Vahns words, Aki swallowed a bit of saliva but didnt say anything as she started to strip off her own clothing. Vahn smiled at her actions and said softly, "Dont worry, Ill take proper responsibility...I wont let it be painful and youll be able to remember tonight for the rest of your life." Since Vahn wanted to try a few things, his words were very sincere and it showed in his expression enough to ease Akis heart. He almost wanted to continue his words and exin his intentions, but Vahn thought it would be more exciting if he kept the surprise untilter. They were the ones that had pushed him to this extent, so it was only proper that he gave her a light punishment. Hestia finished smearing the pale cream inside of herself before an excited expression appeared on her face and she shouted, "Okay, Im ready now~! Dont be surprised, ehehehehe~." Vahn saw the strangely confident look on Hestias face and he was able to intuit what she was up to. He already recognized the pills as the ones that Aki had brought over and the cream was likely meant to support her efforts. However, before she could make her move, she was intercepted by Aki who said, "That isnt good Hestia-sama, you need to properly prepare yourself before having s.e.x..." Though she was trying to keep up a strong front, both Vahn and Hestia could see that Akis face was beginning to glow with a rosy blush. Vahn stared at the two ck-haired girls as they held each otherpletely n.a.k.e.d and admired the sight for a moment before unequipping his clothing. Without changing his stance at all, Vahn was now standing n.a.k.e.d next to the bed and it caused both girls to look over. With a confident look touched with a trace of teasing, Vahn said, "Itll be fine, Aki, leave everything to me this time." Hearing Vahns words, Akis ears twitched and her tail began to flicker before she immediately startled when Vahn appeared right in front of them. Before they could react, Vahn reached around and hugged both girls before cing his fingers in the center of their backs. Though Hestia had been massaged by Vahn plenty in the past, Aki was the one who noticed what he was about to do and she immediately tucked her head and ced it against his chest while Hestia gave her a strange look. She turned to ask Vahn what he was up to, but the moment she turned her head Vahn traced his fingers down their spines while using [Hands of Nirvana]. Hestias body arched a bit but Vahn prevented her from falling over as she shouted out in a loud voice. Aki, who had already prepared herself, just tightly hugged Vahns body as a fair amount of fluid began to drain from her exposed genitals. Vahn didnt mind casual forey and taking his time, but he was still in the mindset of punishing the girls and didnt want to get caught up in their momentum. He expected they might put on a small y for him before they actually began, but Vahn didnt want to wait another ten minutes when he was already ready. Vahn allowed the two girls toy back against the bed and Hestia looked up at him through hazy eyes and said, "Vaaaaahn, youre acting strangely~" In response to her words, Vahn shook his head and stated inly, "Ive been cooped up in the Manor for a while and now it feels like there is arge weight on my shoulders since Im able to move about again. I tried controlling my excitement before I returned, but the two of you kept enticing me even when I tried topromise..." As he spoked, Vahn used [Hands of Nirvana] to stroke around the girls bellies and b.r.e.a.s.ts as he stimted their pressure points. He wasnt rxing them, so they were still able to move just fine, but their bodies were in a heightened state of pleasure and he wasnt letting theme down from the dizzying sensation. Aki seemed to have better control than Hestia as she was able to stifle her m.o.a.ns through gnashed teeth and just took several deep breaths to retain her reasoning. Vahn thought her reaction was interesting, so he decided to give her a short break as he turned to Hestia and said, "I dont often get to take the initiative when were together...so let me try to do things my way this time. Dont worry, I wont let anything bad happen to you..." Vahn stroked her face and uttered his words in a calming tone that made Hestia produce a strange cooing sound as she held onto his arm and said, "Do it Vahn...I like you better like thissssss~" Vahn raised his brows a bit because he hadnt expected Hestias words even though he knew she always wanted him to be more proactive. He was so afraid of identally hurting her that he had let her take the initiative every time they had s.e.x, but he now realized that was an unnecessary concern. Since Hestia felt closer to him when he sought her out, then he would bring them closer together than they had ever been before...Vahn turned over to Aki and said, "Watch closely." She swallowed a bit before nodding her head as she watched Vahn pry open Hestias stark-white legs to reveal the slightly puffy mound of Hestia. It was already dripping with a healthy amount of love juices and there was even a creamy color dripping out of the slightly red and somewhat swollen interior. Most of the time they had s.e.x, Vahn let Hestia sit on top of him and this was only the second time he had been the one pinning her body in this manner. Vahn ced some pillows under her butt before lifting her right leg and finding the correct angle. He noticed that the insides of her v.a.g.i.n.a were a lot hotter than normal and, even though the walls seemed to have swollen up a bit, it was actually much easier to move into her depths. The painful tightness had eased up by a great deal and Vahn felt an itchy feeling in his heart as he watched the smile bloom on Hestias face. He made it around 80% in before hitting a dead end, but he was able to keep going after he noticed the surprising malleability of her interior. After putting in a little effort, Vahn was more than 90% of his full length into Hestia before she released a sad sigh and said, "Even with all that...it wasnt enough?" Vahn could feel her frustrations and just shook his head before a confident glint appeared in his eyes and he said, "Like I said, leave it to me Hestia..." Before she could respond to his words, Vahn leaned forward and pinned both of her hands with his right hand and began to kiss her on the lips. She flinched at first but didnt struggle to escape until Vahn moved his left hand to her pelvis and she could feel the hot energying from his palms. Hestia tried to free herself from his lips to protest, but Vahn dropped his weight onto her and she released a loud shout that was muffled by Vahns mouth. Vahn had forcibly eased the tension of Hestias muscles around her pelvis, abdomen, and butt as he buried his full length into her interior. He knew it must have been painful for her and began to heal any damage that might have been caused as he continued to kiss her body until she calmed down. Aki had been watching Vahns actions from the side but instead of feeling scared by how domineering his actions were, she instead felt a bit of excitement and expectation in her heart. Though she didnt resent Raul, Aki had always preferred the type of man that took decisive action and didnt hold back when it came to expressing their love. She had spent several intimate moments with Vahn in the past and had actually been building up a few frustrations because he never went beyond a certain point with her. Though she greatly enjoyed the time the spent together, Aki had med Vahn a bit for his indecisiveness, especially when she had made herself all the experimental things he wanted to try on her. Now that she saw him acting in this fashion, Aki could feel an incredible heating from her own body and she also started to make preparations of her own as she began tofort herself. Though Vahn was almost entirely focused on Hestia, he still looked over to see Aki fondling her own b.r.e.a.s.ts as her fingers worked away at her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s while she watched him and Hestia have s.e.x with a fervent expression on her face. When they made eye contact, Aki opened her mouth a bit and released a m.o.a.n that sounded like a muffled, "Nyaaa~" sound. He didnt feel like he was in a rush, but Vahn was looking forward to what was toe after he finished off Hestia. With that thought in mind, Vahn turned his eyes back to Hestia and stroked her head for a bit after releasing her hands. She gave him an evil look before wiggling her own h.i.p.s a bit and releasing a light m.o.a.n. Reaching down, she could feel the zero distance between them and released a sigh before saying, "Were finally togetherpletely..." As her words finished, Vahn saw a glint in Hestias eyes as she wrapped her arms around him lovingly before a powerful mpingpletely locked his p.e.n.i.s deep within her v.a.g.i.n.a. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Insistence,Preparations,You activated my trap card!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 303 - Unexpected Reaction

Chapter 303 - Unexpected Reaction

(Still NSFW btw...) Vahn tried to pull back his h.i.p.s a bit but Hestias body moved to match his motion perfectly. She hugged her head against his chest and nuzzled against him as she said, "Ehehehe, I got you Vahn~" Even Aki stopped her own actions because of how strange Hestia was acting because Vahn had even lifted her bodypletely from the bed with a frown on his face. Since he waspletely buried within her, it was painful and ufortable like it had been in the past, but Vahn still felt a little incredulity about the sudden, and unexpected, change in the situation. It felt like Hestia had taken shape around his p.e.n.i.s beforepletely solidifying as a gentle andforting heat came from her interior and seeped into his body. Hestiaughed in a strange manner again before saying, "Lets just stay like this for a while, I promise Ill let you go in a moment...I just want to experience being together like this for a while...just a little while..." As she spoke, Hestia actually wrapped her legs around his h.i.p.s as if she were trying to pull them even closer together. Since she was much small than he was, it was actually very awkward to have her hanging from his body even though her weight was negligible with his current strength. He was currently supporting her body off the bed on his hands and knees while she literally clung to his body with more strength than Vahn had ever expected her to show. Fortunately, as she had next to no stamina, Hestia eventually couldnt continue the powerful mping and slipped off of his body and plopped onto the bed with a silly smile on her face. Vahn felt his brain buzz after looking down at her contented expression and saw her beautiful body covered in ayer of sweat from her exertion. A pressure began to build up in the bridge of his nose before he sent a nce toward Aki that caused a shiver to run down her spine and into her tail. Hestia saw his look and an enamored look appeared on her face as she weakly opened her arms and said, "Come...Ill ept everything~." Vahn exhaled loudly through his nose before repositioning himself and instantly burying himself into her depths with enough force to knock her body up on the bed a bit. She released a loud gasp and tried to hug around Vahns waist but immediately lost her grip the moment he moved his h.i.p.s again. Vahn started to knock into her body with a steady rhythm and Hestia raised her arms above her head and weakly grasped the pillow under her head as the released amorous and sensual m.o.a.ns that chiseled away at Vahns sensibilities. Even Aki had started tofort herself more passionately as he stared at the scene with a fervent expression on her face. Because of the medicine, Hestia had taken, Vahn was able to probe several angles that he had never gotten to try before against Hestia. He already knew her weak spot, but he was looking for any other areas that might cause her to shout out in an even louder voice. Even though she wasnt moving around much due to herck of stamina, Hestias voice seemed to be growing progressively louder as if she were trying to urge him forward. It was already to the point that he was taking longer, much more intense, thrusts that knocked into Hestia body with a loud sound. Vahn could even feel the fluids draining from her body ssh about and the sound echoes about in his mind and increased his tensions even further. He had only ever experienced something simr with Hephaestus and didnt expect hed have such an interaction with the rtively cid Hestia so soon. From the side, Vahn heard a nasally m.o.a.n from Aki and saw her release a hot sigh as she stared at their intercourse with zed eyes of her own. Since Hestia had been in a continuous orgasm for a while, Vahn sped up his movements even more until it got to the point where Hestias diaphragm spasmed with each thrust. She couldnt even m.o.a.n out and choked on her own gasps as she stared up at Vahns face with an incredibly passionate gaze. Vahn saw her look and kissed her lips while deeply invading her mouth with his tongue. He grabbed around her shoulders before lifting her body into a sitting position as he released an exorbitant amount of s.e.m.e.n into her steamy depths. Though he held her body up a bit at first, Vahn lowed Hestias weight onto hisp and allowed her to sit against him as her body continuously mped around him with fierce contractions for nearly an entire minute. Vahn held her powerless body for a while after before lowering her gently onto the bed before removing his p.e.n.i.s with a plop. Every time they finished having s.e.x, it was like Hestia was forcing out everything from inside of her without leaving any remnants at all. Vahn stroked her hair a bit and smiled at seeing how happy she looked whilezilyying against the bed. He took out a warm town and wiped down her body before doing his best to remove the stain from his own s.e.m.e.n from the bedspread. The entire aftercare took a few minutes before Vahn threw away the towel and locked eyes with Aki who had been leaning against the headboard and watching his actions with a somewhat impatient look on her face. Vahn gestured with his hands and made her crawl over to him as he said,"Ive never had s.e.x with a cat person before...tell me how you want it." Hearing his words, Akis ears twitched about and she lowered her head for a few seconds but didnt stop moving toward him. After she neared his body, she crawled up his torso with her heads and muttered, "I want to sit in yourp...just like in the library. I want you to hold my body tightly no matter what happens..." Her ears were drpoping down a bit and Aki had a somewhat pained look in her face as if she were imploring Vahn with, not just her words, but her actions. Seeing her reaction and hearing her words, Vahn felt his heart itch as if easy action she took tickled it ceaselessly. In a bout of inspiration, Vahn gripped Akis butt forcefully before standing on the bed and lifting her body. She held onto his shoulders in confusion as Vahn used Shundo and found his footing on the floor nearby. Before she could make sense of what was happening, Vahn said, "If were going to be facing each other, I wanted to try doing it while standing up once...I think itll make it more exciting for you as well." Without exining further, Vahn lifting Akis body before trying to haphazardly find the correct angle. Because it was his first time doing it in this manner, Vahn had no experience with his actions and realized that his own size wasplicating matters. Aki came to her senses and wrapped her legs around his h.i.p.s as if she were straddling his body and supported her own weight against Vahns shoulders. She had a very determined expression on her enamored face which caused Vahn to smile in a manner that felt awkward. From Akis perspective, she saw Vahn show an almost bestial smile that made her heart throb as she breathed in and out through her nose. Because she had already been working away at her own body for nearly fifteen minutes, Akis v.a.g.i.n.a was already opening slightly and gently contracting due to the minor echoes still bouncing around inside her body. Vahn finally found the correct angle before locking eyes with Aki and slowly putting a bit of strength in his hands that were wrapped around her h.i.p.s. Though she didnt exactly resist his actions, Vahn could feel Akis body tense as she passively resisted lowering her own h.i.p.s. After Vahn had sunk the entirety of his p.e.n.i.s within her rtively lukewarm v.a.g.i.n.a, he stopped his actions and continued to stare into Akis face. He could see she had a bit ofst minute hesitation even though she made no efforts to separate their bodies. She was actually stronger than him, so there was little he could do if she tried to free herself from his grasp. After a few seconds, Vahn traced his right hand over her left butt cheek before he loosely gripped around the base of her tail. The hesitation in her eyes vanished in an instant as she stared directly into Vahns face before turning her attention to the scar she had left on his shoulder. Vahn could feel her grip tighten a bit on his shoulders and he began to lower her body by using her own weight to sink further into her depths. Though she was a v.i.r.g.i.n, Aki had taken the same medicine as Hestia and he was able to smoothly enter due to her preparations. Soon after he entered, Vahn felt a resistance against his ns that made Akis body twitch but he continued forward undaunted as he gripped her tail tightly. Instead of biting him, Aki put her chin on Vahns shoulder where the scar was and hugged his body while holding her breath and resisting the pain. Since she was a Level 4, she was able to prevent herself from crying out at all and just released a long sigh when Vahn finally knocked against the back of her own v.a.g.i.n.a. Vahn had dazed for a brief moment because he realized that Hestia had changed his expectations about s.e.x a bit. Though it was an incredibly pleasant feeling within Aki, Vahn still felt a bit of incongruitying from the sensations on his own p.e.n.i.s. Vahnughed a little within his mind because he knew it wasnt fair topare two different girls, especially when he was currently epting the v.i.r.g.i.nity of one of them. Vahn wanted to kiss Aki, but she continued to hold his body as she wiggled her own h.i.p.s a bit as if trying to feel his p.e.n.i.s within her body. With a smile on his face, Vahn gripped her tail a little and caused her body to arch forward enough that she raised her own h.i.p.s. Vahn loosened his grip and raised his h.i.p.s as Aki fell against his body. Vahn felt a shiver run down his spine because the moment she dropped Aki weakly called out a , "Nyaa~" into his ear. As if the strange incongruity he experienced earlier had vanished, Vahn felt a bit of excitement well up inside of him as he repeated the action a few times. Every single time she fell, Aki released a mewling m.o.a.n that sounded like a cat crying out. The sound tickled, not only Vahns ears, but it felt like it was scratching his heart as he began to draw excited breaths. If not for the fact he was treating her body carefully since she had just lost her v.i.r.g.i.nity, Vahn wanted to move more intensely because of his previous entanglement with Hestia. Instead, he moved over to a wall and allowed Akis body to rest against it for a few seconds. She eventually realized what he was trying to do and stopped holding his shoulders in a death grip. Though Vahn couldnt see it himself, there were bruises marks on his shoulder that matched each of her fingers where she had been holding him. Though she felt a little scared at leaning her body against the wall, Aki ced her trust in Vahn and looked down at where they were connected with a strangely excited expression on her face. Because she was muchrger than Hestia, and had taken medicine to dte her own v.a.g.i.n.a, Aki was able to take in Vahns full length after her body warmed up a bit. There were small splotches of blood against Vahns body but it made her feel an inexplicable happiness, especially when she saw the passionate and loving expression in Vahns face. He began to trace his fingers over her abdomen as if electrical currents were trailing from his fingers. Aki felt waves of pleasure building up in her body as she writhed about under his touch. Vahn enjoyed each of her reactions and kept her bnced on his own body before leaning forward and sealing her lips. They didnt often kiss and Vahn was always surprised when he felt the slightly rough tongue of a cat person when they shared a deep kiss. It felt like she was able top up his saliva easily and they had surprisingly long tonguespared to humans, goddesses, and amazons. After Akis body started to grow a little limp, Vahn felt like she was ready for some more intense movements since he had already healed the wound within her v.a.g.i.n.a with his [Hands of Nirvana] while he was tending to her body. Though she wasnt nearly as tight as a needy little goddess, Vahn enjoyed the echoes of Akis own orgasms as her v.a.g.i.n.a writhed around his p.e.n.i.s in an incredibly stimting manner. Since they had started, Vahn had noticed Akis body had heated up to an almost incredible level and he was vaguely aware that her body was somewhat feverish. Though he wasnt an actual physician, Vahn knew a lot about the physiques of others and could easily understand their condition when he was in contact with them. Vahn knew a fair amount about Cat People, and he understood that a female cat person that had reached maturity would be in a dormant state of heat until they finally mated. The vast majority of cat person females actually got pregnant after their first intercourse and Vahn was able to understand why after seeing the changes in Akis body. He understood why she was always talking about taking responsibility because, unless he actively prevented it, there was a very high chance she would get pregnant if he ejacted inside of her. The image of Loki passed through his mind and Vahn wondered if she had machinated events this way or if she were trying to test him somehow. Vahn had already promised to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e her before the Denatus, but she had sent a lovelorn kitten into his arms after theirst parting. Because Aki was so receptive to him, Vahn had few inhibitions against her and appreciated everything she had been doing to help manage the Familia recently. They had spent a fair amount of time together and shared a number of intimate moments before things had finallye to this point. Since his memory was quite sharp, Vahn was able to recall the mncholic look on Akis face every time he didnt cross the line in the past. He understood she was more interested in having a family than actually venturing into the dungeon and had a healthy desire for children of her own. She had already been prepared for five years, and Vahn decided to reward her patience as he tightly embraced her shoulders and hugged Aki against his body. Aki was confused for a brief moment at Vahns especially intimate andforting gesture until she felt an intense heat swell in her own depths. She immediately released a gasp and returned his hug as she tightened her legs around his h.i.p.s. Though there was a great deal of murky liquid dripping from where they were connected, there was an incredible amount that made its way into her depths and she could almost feel her insides burning as they writhed about in a powerful climax that almost rivaled the convergence of heaven and earth that Vahn put her through in the past. That orgasm has actually caused her to awaken in the middle of the night in a panic with a damp stain on her bed for a few days, but this one was an incredibly pleasant and fulfilling one. Vahn heard a notification in his head and squinted his eyes a bit since the system always seemed to break the atmosphere at times. He gave a cursory nce as he continued to cradle Akis body while nuzzling his face against the side of her head. A small frown appeared on his face and he furrowed his brows, not because of the notification per say, but because thepletion grade ignored him a bit. He felt like in invalidated a bit of the feelings they shared between each other... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Anakitty Autumn Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Complete: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: C Rewards:10,000OP, 1x[Hearts Desire:Anakitty Autumn] Grade Rewards: 1x[Proof of Affection], 3,000OP --------------------------------------------------------------------------- As if to refute the notification, Vahn held Akis body a bit tighter and pulled her weight against him a little more. She released a muffled nyaaa~ and returned his actions by licking his neck with her rough tongue. Incited by her own action, Aki continued to lick Vahns neck affectionately and the unease he had felt from the system notification faded away. Though her tongue felt a little dry and rough, Vahn thought it was an incredibly pleasant sensation so he started to stroke her back lightly with [Hands of Nirvana] as they both showed their affections for each other for an entire twenty minutes before separating. Vahn had an ufortable feeling on his neck, almost like he had developed a rash, but seeing the glowing and amorous expression on Akis face as heid her down on the bed melted away any difort he had. If anything, he wanted her to lick his body even more and even nurtured the thought of convincing her to do so in the future. He figured that, if he did the same for her, she would probably be willing to give it a try... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I imagine Hestia taking up cardio soon...,Nyaaaaaa~,The Path allows the user to break through all obstacles, even an intimate atmosphere!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 304 - Pristine

Chapter 304 - Pristine

Just as he had done for Hestia, Vahn wiped down Akis body with a warm towel before cleaning up the mess that had dripped down onto the floor. Though her stamina was impressive, Aki was helpless against thebined assault of losing her v.i.r.g.i.nity and Vahns [Hands of Nirvana]. During their long embrace earlier, she had fallen asleep while she was licking his neck which is what eventually brought the moment to an end. Now that he saw the two n.a.k.e.d girls side-by-side, Vahn felt a sense of aplishment along with a strange urge within the back of his mind. Though he enjoyed himself immensely, Vahn realized that he was still a bit too excited after things hade to an end. Just like his time with Hephaestus, whenever he took control of the situation it was hard for him to calm down. He still paid attention to the girls needs and changed his movements based on their reactions, but Vahn realized his own stamina was an issue. Though he could calm himself whenever he wanted, there wasnt much he could about his mentality and the conflicting feelings within his body other than meditating and using [Will of the Emperor] to forcibly ease his tensions. Even if they didnt mind, Vahn was unwilling to have s.e.x with a woman when she had already lost consciousness and he wasnt going to forcibly wake up either of them. After covering their bodies with the nket, Vahn noticed Hestias bad habit kicked in as she actually climbed on top of Akis body and used her modest b.r.e.a.s.ts as a pillow. Vahn was tempted to separate them but decided against it since he thought it was a somewhat tantalizing sight. Vahn fixed the covers before rubbing both of their heads and stepping away from the bed. He pulled the [Proof of Affection] out of his inventory since he was curious about what Aki would want. He also humored the idea of using the [Hearts Desire]s that were beginning to stockpile in his inventory but decided against it. Vahn was enjoying interacting with the girls in a meaningful way without relying on exposing their secrets just to get closer to them. After activating the item, a light shone in Vahns hand before a strange stic band appeared in his hands. Vahn had never seen an item like it so he stored it within his inventory so it could be identified. The moment he saw the name of the item, a wry smile appeared on Vahns face before he removed it from his inventory and folded it up on the table next to the bed and left a note for Aki. He also looked through the system shop to see how much it cost in OP before finding it was priced at only 5OP even though it seemed like a rtively important item... [Maternity Band] Rank: H P.Def: 5 M.Def: 10 Ability: Abdominal Shaping(F), Incubator(G) An stic band designed to support a woman before, during, and after pregnancy. Allows for an easier time carrying the child and helps support the shape of the abdomen to prevent distension. Regtes body temperature within the area of the band. Though he hadnt checked to confirm if she was actually pregnant, Vahn knew Aki would probably like the item when she discovered it in the morning. Since they were both tuckered out, Vahn expected they would be sleeping in a bit and didnt n to stay in the room with them since he would be waking up very early and didnt want to disturb them. He nned to venture into the dungeon tomorrow, at least for a little while, and then meet up with Hephaestus and give her a [Materynity Band] of her own. He knew they probably wouldnt need it for a few weeks, but he imagined she would be pleased and might even reward him for his concerns. Now that he was in an excited state, Vahn actually had a strong urge to track down Hephaestus, and to a lesser extent Loki. She was likely still intended to get pregnant before the Denatus and Vahn felt willing to take the leap in his current state of mind. After dimming the lights and opening the vent a little to let some cooler air in the room, Vahn left the sleeping girls and went downstairs to take a bath. Though he had calmed his mind, there wasnt much he could do about his wandering thoughts since there was nothing to distract him. Instead of being tired, Vahn felt incredibly awake at the moment even after rxing in the bath for more than an hour. It was currently slightly after midnight and Vahn wasnt even sure if it was a good idea to go to sleep since he didnt feel tired at all. He even thought about venturing into the dungeon for a bit since it had been a while and his blood was boiling for a bit of action. However, unless he moved the girls into his workshop, Vahn was unwilling to leave them unprotected through the night. Even a moderately strong Level 1 might be able to defeat the current Aki after all. Eventually, Vahn gave up on sleep and headed toward his workshop to conduct more experiments with his blood. After seeing it turn into a crystal, Vahn was certain there were several unique qualities that hadnt been discovered by the disreputable scientists of his previous world. Though they conducted thousands of experiments at his expense, they never discovered a secondary use for his blood other than curing diseases and regenerating damaged tissue. Now that he was in a world where things like magic and alchemy existed, Vahn was able to make more progress in a few hours than hundreds of scientists made in his fourteen years of life. It gave him a small amount of pride knowing he had found sess where they had failed even through cruel and inhumane methods. Since he had already forged one previously, Vahn was able to almost perfectly emte his earlier process since he had adapted his mind and body to easily mass produce any items he had forged in the past. If it was something recent, especially something within the same day, Vahn could get progressively faster at creating the item without any loss in form or function. The second [Fox Maidens Bracelet] took him around three hours to forge,pared to the four and a half hours previously. Vahn then moved on to the anklets and, even though they were slightly different in structure, he was easily able to forge both of them with abined time of four hours. Since the sun rose slightlyter in thest few days, Vahn finished the three essories before it had peaked over the horizon. Now, he just had to make the ne after consulting Haruhime and he would havepleted his first set of batteries to assist Haruhimes magic. As the sun had started to appear on the horizon, Vahn made his way over the Manor using Shundo as he headed toward the Hostess of Fertility at his maximum speed to receive the girls and escort them back if necessary. After around eight minutes, hended outside and passed his perception over the interior of the girls dorm to confirm that everyone was still present and there hadnt been any issues. His arrival hadnt been ignored either, as he could see Fenrir moving about before hearing her muffled shouts through the door. After a few seconds passed, she came out the door after it had been opened by Syr and proudly proimed, "Fenrir protected everyone~!" Though she still couldnt manage a proper smile, Vahn understood the was happy and proud since he had given her the mission to protect the girls when he leftst night. He patted her head and ears with both hands as she gnashed her teeth happily to emte a smile. Vahn saw the gentle expression of Syr and sent her a wink that caused her to blush slightly before she greeted him. Since there were a lot of people present, she was acting in her usual manner instead of showing the false bravado she had the previous night. Though they werent open yet, Syr led the group into the Hostess of Fertility and Vahn was able to see Emiru and Maemi helping clean up alongside Arnya, Shizune, Mona, and Chloe. Lunoire and Mama Mia were in the kitchen with the preparation staff and Ryuu was already at his side wearing her Adventurers outfit after sessfully predicting he would want to visit the dungeonter. After interacting with everyone for a while, Vahn furrowed his brows a bit because he had heard Shizune talking about returning to the Far East before trying to settle down and find a husband. Since she was no longer a v.i.r.g.i.n, she had a concern that she would probably have to settle as someones concubine or mistress and live out the remaining number of her youthful years servicing others in the hopes of having children of her own. Vahn took pity on her situation and gave her the [V.i.r.g.i.ns Promise] that he had received from Hestia and exined its use. Everyone was surprised when he exined it could restore someones v.i.r.g.i.nity and Vahn even noticed a strange look in Haruhimes eyes before he once again told her she was still a v.i.r.g.i.n. Though she didnt quite believe the item did as Vahn said, since it was just a small translucent pearl, Shizune still thanked him with a polite bow before taking the pill in front of everyone present. Vahn had also been curious about its use and wondered what it meant to restore something to a pristine state. Less than a second after she swallowed it, a magical light began to cover Shizunes body and it looked like there was a hazy steam emitting from the pores of her skin. Everyone watched with intrigue to see if Vahns ims were true before their expressions all changed to shock and beffudlement after watching the changes that urred rapidly before them. Shizune originally had a very sensuous body with defined curves and a height of around 161cm with dark brown, almost ck, hair and purple eyes. Because of the years she had spent as a ve, her disposition had changed to show her experience and it was hard to hide the somewhat seductive look she had in her eyes that was entuated by the makeup she wore. Now, however, her frame had shrunk down to only 120cm and she shrank before everyones eyes as her waitress outfit hung somewhat loosely from her body. Her face grew a healthy amount of youthful fat and her eyes became more rounded while her fluffy fox ears looked almostically oversized on her head. She stared at her own tiny hands and uttered a confused, "Eeeeeeeiii~?" as her fluffy tail twitched about behind her body. Since she hadnt made any effort to conceal her body, Vahn gave her a cloak to wrap around herself for the time being as he said, "This was a little different than I expected..." Then, as a strange thought passed through his head, Vahn hesitantly asked, "Ummm, Shizune...when exactly did you lose your v.i.r.g.i.nity." The moment he asked his question, Vahn received some strange looks from several of the girls but Shizunesrge eyes opened wide as she hugged the cloak to her own body and muttered, "I was ten when my vige got attacked by bandits..." Without exining further, everyone understood the implication behind her words and had various degrees of indignation on their faces. However, they also understood what had happened and believed that Vahns medicine did exactly as he imed, just to an unimaginable extent. It hadnt simply healed her h.y.m.e.n, but it had reversed Shizunes body to the point before she had lost her v.i.r.g.i.nity while also removing scars and any signs of her previous age. Vahn awkwardly scratched his head because Shizune had been talking about returning to the Far East to seke a husband and settle down. Now, she would have to, realistically, wait up to four years before finding a partner and Vahn imagined it would be a very unique experience for whoever she decided upon. However, since it was only her body that reverted, Vahn wasnt sure Shizune was actually willing to wait that long and it made him feel a strange concern for her future. Though she was taller than Lili, Shizunes body was actually immature and it would be several years before she once again went through puberty and regained her womanly charms. The idea of a s.e.x.u.a.lly experienced woman walking around with the body of a child was slightly unnerving. As if she had read his mind, Syr turned to Shizune and asked, "Ano...Shizune, do you still intend to return to the Far East so soon and find a partner? I dont mean to be rude...but it isnt safe to travel in your current state." It was already very difficult for Shizune to make a trip when she was an a.d.u.l.t, and now it would be next to impossible for her to return without catching the eye of some ve trader. Since she was a Kitsune, she was a very rare find within the continent of Eden and would be even more sought after since she was still young. If they actually did catch her and find out how much experience she had while still being a v.i.r.g.i.n, Vahn shuddered at the thought... Shizune nodded her head in agreement with Syr and said, "Now that Im like this, I dont want to return to the Far East anymore. The only reason I cared was that I didnt have any hopes within this City, but now I have a chance to relive a lot of my life and change many things...I think Ill stay and work at the Hostess of Fertility now and then maybe even consider bing a Supporter and Adventurer in the future. I really dont know...I feel like I have so many paths to choose from all of a sudden." Almost immediately after she started responding to Syr, tears began to well up in Shizunes eyes as she hugged the cloak Vahn had given her closer to her body. Mn had been watching the scene y out and exchanged nces with Tina before they both made their way forward tofort the crying kitsune girl. Tina and Shizune were now near the same height and Vahn felt that they looked like a cute pair of sisters, even though their races were different. He had even locked eyes with Mn briefly and saw the care and concern she had for Shizune so he nodded his head which prompted her to ask, "Shizune, I know youre still technically an a.d.u.l.t...but I wouldnt mind epting you as my legal daughter if youre fine with that. Ill help take care of you and you can be Tinas big sis from now on..." As if her mind had regressed along with her body, Shizune hugged Mn and Tina with a very pitiable expression on her face as she began to cry loudly. Everyone present watched the trio embrace and even Mama Mia came out to inspect the ruckus before looking at Shizunes current state with an incredulous look on her face. She immediately looked toward Vahn and they locked eyes before she motioned to the back of the kitchen with her head and an angry look on her face. Vahn exchanged a wry smile with Syr before following behind Mama Mia and receiving a long lecture about doing strange things that make young girls cry. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Warm Belly, Happy Baby,Vahn is literally a machine,No woman, girl cry~?) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 305 - Dance

Chapter 305 - Dance

While Vahn was being sorted by Mama Mia, the other girls had helped Shizune change her clothing into a smaller outfit. Since Tina had started working at the Hostess of Fertility in the past, they had custom made a few waitress outfits for her used and Shizune was able to wear them easily. She was actually a little downtrodden when she noticed that her b.r.e.a.s.ts hadpletely vanished but knew they would eventually return in time. In fact, now that she knew how her body would develop, Shizune wanted to take advantage of that fact and try out a variety of new outfits to make the best use of her newfound youth. Though she was still considered an a.d.u.l.t chronologically, Shizune decided to act the age of her body and abstain from any rtionsh.i.p.s until she became an a.d.u.l.t again. Her youth had been deprived from her previously, so she wasnt in a hurry to lose what she had the fortune to regain. When Vahn saw the two young girls standing side-by-side in their matching waitress outfits, he showed a genuine smile and said, "You two really look like sisters." Both of the girls ears twitched about and Vahns smile grew marginally wider as he habitually reached out and stroked Tinas head. He had almost done the same for Shizune but hesitated mid-motion until she stepped forward into his hand and said, "You dont have to hold back on my ount~." For a brief moment, Vahn saw a glint in Shizunes eyes before her expression turned into a youthful and cheerful one. If not for the fact he could see her aura ring up, Vahn would have thought he imagined it. He refused to say it aloud, but Vahn expected that Shizune might try to join his Familia in the future when she tags along with Mn and Tina as their step-daughter/step-sister. He didnt really mind much but had firmly protected his heart from any actions she might try to take to approach him until her body had matured properly. Though her affection value was only 91, she did have a strange parameter within the brackets called (Beholden). After things settled down a bit, it was decided that Tina and Shizune would be poster girls for the Hostess of Fertility and support each other in their duties. Shizune had the bad habit of flirting with the patrons a bit because of her prior work experience, so Tina was going to be looking after her in order to correct her sensibilities. Shizune had decided to tease her a bit and began referring to Tina as her Big Sis which made the tiny cat girls tail flicker about excitedly even though she tried to control her expression and act the part properly. Vahn had decided he was going to be venturing into the dungeon before returning in the afternoon and seeing how things had been progressing by checking up with Hephaestus and Loki. Ryuu, Fenrir, and Haruhime were going to apany him after they escorted Mikoto, Emiru, Maemi, and Preasia back to the Hearth Manor. Along the way, the girls were in much higher spirits and Vahn brought up the idea of having them go shopping for equipment and necessities with Aki when they finally returned. Since he didnt want Haruhime to fight much yet, she didnt require powerful gear but Vahn asked Mikoto to pick out some appropriate equipment for her that she could use until he finished her actual equipment. Mikoto had wanted to tag along and venture into the dungeon with them, but Vahn asked her to look after the girls and safely escort Hestia if she decided to go shopping with them. To support their expenditure, Vahn gave each girl a golden card that was worth 100KV for personal items. When they finally reached the Hearth Manor, Hestia was still sleeping but Aki had long awakened and returned to her usual self. Vahn did notice, however, that she was already wearing the ck band around her abdomen and she was giving him a strangely loving look when they made eye contact. Vahn was actually very curious if she was pregnant and decided to take a peek inside of her body to see if there were any signs. Since he hadntpleted her hearts desire, he didnt receive the quest to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e her so it was impossible to tell through the system. Vahn did confirm that there was actually a fair amount of his own fluids still within her body and it made his eyes widen a bit because he wasnt able to identify if there was an actual egg within the jumbled mess. He decided to check againter, or maybe even wait for the signs to naturally appear with time. After exining things to Aki, Vahn gave her a tinum colored card with a single orichalc.u.m strip that was worth 10MV and would be more than enough to gear the girls adequately. Since Aki had a lot of experience procuring supplies and equipment, she was more than happy to take the girls shopping and Vahn had even given her a few extra gold cards for her personal use so she could buy clothing and other necessities. Though she epted them at first, Aki returned the majority and told Vahn that they should go shopping together in the future. Vahn nodded his head with a smile before returning the cards to his inventory and making the final preparations before heading toward the dungeon. Vahn gave Haruhime the [Fox Maidens Bracelet] and the two [Fox Maidens Anklet](s) and she happily wore them on her left wrist and both ankles. She had already been wearing the one he previous forged for her and was happy to have so many essories that matched. Vahn then asked her what kind of essory she would like around her neck, to which she pitched the idea of a choker or a cor of some sort. Vahn furrowed his brows at the idea, since he knew her request had nothing to do with her being a Renard or from the Far East. Though she didnt explicitly say it, Vahn felt like Haruhime was trying to make herself belong to him and wanted a way to prove her status. Since he didnt like the idea of Haruhime in a cor, Vahn told her that he thought it would be suitable if she wore something that would ent her future equipment and the current essories. As he spoke, Vahn actually remembered the charm he had obtained from Takemikazuchi in the past and pulled it out and said, "If youd like, I can make you a ne version of this charm?" Haruhime saw the small charm in Vahns hands and had a happy smile on her face with a touch of mncholy in her eyes. She gingerly took the charm from Vahns hands and held it like she was praying for several seconds before saying, "Yes, Id like that very much..." Vahn could see that Haruhimes eyes had misted up a bit and showed a concerned expression on his face that made her wipe away the brewing tears with her sleeve before she exined, "Sorry, this charm was given to me by my mother before she passed away. I had thought it was lost forever...thank you for returning it to me." Even now, Haruhime was still holding onto the charm as if she had obtained something precious and it inspired Vahn to reach out his hand and affectionately stroke her hair and ears. She showed a happy expression on her face before cing the charm into a concealed pocket within her red kimono. When everyone was finally ready, Vahn left for the dungeon while apanied by Ryuu and Fenrir. Vahn had discussed how to make the best use of his [Mentor] skill previously, and he was now going to be trying to test the efficacy of the skill. Both Fenrir and Haruhime had growth rted skills, Fenrirs being her [Devour:SS] while Haruhime had the benefit of his me seed in the form of [Prometheuss Blessing:A]. Vahn wanted to see how his [Mentor] skill affected both of them since he already had Fenrir as a good baseline for what would be expected from hunting weaker monsters. Before he left, he checked both girls Status Boards, even though it had been a little awkward since he hadnt brought it up until Haruhime had initially gotten dressed and ready to go. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Sanjouno Haruhime Race: Renard LV. 1 POW: I15 END: I33-I34 DEX: I16-I18 AGI: I36-I37 MAG: D587-D591 Skill: [Inari:Innate(sealed)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A] Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B],[Kokonoe:D] Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:D] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Fenrir] Level:2 POW: G205->F339 END: H156->H195 DEX: F311->E404 AGI: H173->F307 MAG: I92->H121 Skills: [Lunar Cry:C], [Freezing Roar:C], [Chainbreaker:C], [Devour:SS],[Huntress:A] Development Abilities: - Magic: - ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Even though Fenrir had killed thousands of monsters, and eaten hundreds of magic cores, her parameters hadnt grown by much since they had only ever gone down to the 7th-floor pantry. Vahn and Ryuu had wanted her to adapt to the changes in her body and be ustomed to fighting before she tackled any serious threats. As for Haruhime, she had never even seen a monster in person and this would be the first time she fought one as well. Ryuu had cautioned him that a lot of novice supporters typically froze up at the sight of monsters and things typically got much worse when they saw blood. Since Haruhime had a somewhat elegant and timid nature, Vahn was worried that she might suffer something simr and was prepared to step in at the first sign of a problem. After they arrived within the dungeon, Vahn gave Haruhime what they were referring to as the Mentors Mark. She had tried to get him to ce it on her thigh, but Vahn put it on her hand and she justed waved her tail in a wispy manner and enjoyed the momentary contact regardless of the fact that Vahn hadnt conceded to her request. Since she didnt have the weapon he intended to forge for her yet, Vahn gave her a B-Rank sword that was named [001]. Though he had forged more than 200 of the series, Vahn sold the majority and only kept the first seven for emergency purposes. It looked a little unnatural for her to be holding a weapon, but Haruhime still swung it about as if she were familiarizing herself with its range and weight. Not long after they had entered, the first floor, Vahn led the party through a side corridor before arriving in a room with two goblins present. Unexpectedly, Haruhime immediately got fired up and Vahn could see her aura zing a bit as she muttered in a voice not intended for them to hear, "Now I can finally get stronger and be closer with Vahn~!" Vahn had a wry smile on his face as he reminded Haruhime, "Even if they are just level 1 goblins, you must never, ever, drop your guard. Though it shames me to say it, I actually almost died when I first encountered a goblin. The fight ended in an internecine exchanged that nearly cost me my left arm..." Vahn hadnt intended to scare Haruhime, but he noticed that her aura waved a bit so he said, "Dont worry, I wont allow any permanent harm toe to your body. I just want you to develop an awareness that every enemy must be treated seriously, even if they are something as weak as a goblin. I know its been exined to you several times, but Ill repeat it again since this is no longer practice...you cant be stronger if you expect there are no consequences to your mistakes. Fight with your life on the line and ovee the trials before you if you truly wish to be stronger!" Because of his shout to hype up Haruhime, Vahn drew the attention of the two goblins and discreetly expanded his aura just in case. Fenrirs eyes began to glow scarlet at the sight of monsters, but she was standing behind Ryuu because they had exined that Haruhime needed to train without help. Seeing the goblins approach, Haruhimes aura red up again and she moved toward them with the sword trailing behind her body a bit. Vahn immediately realized she was trying to copy his actions when he was showing off to Mikoto in the past. Unfortunately, she wasnt very fast with her meager 37 Agility so it looked a little strange for her to try and emte his maneuver. Haruhime had primarily been focusing on developing her footwork and stamina during the training, so she was actually quite nimble on her feet even though her agility parameter wasnt that high. Renards were naturally agile and Vahn learned that her dance-like moves hade from her background as a noble heiress, with a fair amount of training during her tenure as a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e in training. Each of her attacks, though clumsy, had a peculiar elegance to them and she was able to easily sidestep the first goblin before tracing her foot in an arc across the ground, ring her h.i.p.s a bit, and swiping with the ck de across the goblins neck. It didnt immediately die, and a spurt of blood shot out from the severed artery and sshed onto Haruhime but she didnt flinch at all as she engaged the second goblin. Ryuu nodded her head approvingly and said, "She has the potential to be strong. Though shecks practice, there is a unique polish already present in her movements and her resolve already makes her better than most starting Supporters." Vahn nodded his head as well but didnt take his eyes off the fight as he watched both Haruhimes movements, as well as the small caricature of his own face on her hand. He hadnt seen any signs that it had been doing anything, so he was almost certain it meant that allies needed to be more than 2km away from them for it to take effect. The second goblin had put up more of a struggle than the first as it became slightly alert after itspanion had fallen in one blow. It tried using a stone club to intercept the blows of Haruhime, but she had the height, reach, and weapon advantage and was able to eventually cut through the club after performing a full spin where she arced the de over her body and drew a beautiful path from the heavens to the earth and bisected the club through the center. As if she were following his words to never drop her guard, Haruhime didnt get excited after sessfully destroying its weapon and leaned down a bit before stepping in and stabbing the goblin urately in its magic stone and turning it into dust. After the goblins were dead, Haruhime scanned the area without dropping her alert status before confirming there were no enemies present. During the fight, she had a very serious and focused expression, but now her gentle smile returned as she casually walked over to Vahn with a glimmer in her eyes. Vahn knew what she was expecting, so he pulled out a handkerchief and wiped off the blood from her cheek while wtroking her hair and ears and saying, "Excellent, very well done Haruhime." Ryuu nodded her head and piggybacked Vahns words and said, "Indeed, verymendable for a Level 1. You have a lot of potential for improvement, but youll be able to go far as long as you remember the resolve you showed today." Haruhimes smile bloomed like a flower as she bowed low and chirped, "Yes, thank you both very much for your kind words~! I promise Ill meet your expectations in the future!" After she finished her words, Haruhime stood ramrod straight and had a very happy expression on her face that caused Vahn to have an urge to pet her even more. After ruminating for around .003 seconds, Vahn gave in to the urge and began to stroke Haruhimes ears as he talked about his findings from observing the fight. Since there hadnt been any indicator of the skill activating, Vahn had put forth the idea of splitting into two groups while staying on the first floor unless Ryuu was confident she could reign in Fenrir if she lost control. It was either that, or they could continue as a group of four and let Fenrir vent any frustrations she had been bottling up before they returned to the surfaceter. Ryuu would then be able to take her back and then Vahn could wrap up the day by conducting the experiment to test the skills effect. They discussed it for a bit as Vahn pet both Fenrir and Haruhime in a very casual manner before inevitably deciding to split up. Since it would be more beneficial to test the skill while Haruhimes stats were low, Ryuu agreed that it would be best if she became the focus of the experiment and then Vahn could train the twins as the controlter. Vahn wasnt too sure hed get urate results, since Haruhime had [Prometheuss Blessing], but he figured the twins actually had a unique trait that would invalidate the experiment anyway. He wasnt sure how their sealed Innate skill [Gemini] worked, but there had to be something more to it since both girls had the exact same stats. Vahn was tempted to have them do two different training regimens just to see if there was a point where they would diverge but he wasnt sure that would be beneficial to awakening the skill. Though they were ironically the perfect pair to conduct the experiment, Vahn didnt want to prevent their Innate skill from awakening just to sate his curiosity. Just to be safe, Vahn gave Ryuu the [Rallying Whistle] which would alert him if they encountered a problem. Ryuu was surprised to hear about its use and Vahn got to see a rare moment where her expression broke a bit and her brows raised. She noticed his look and immediately returned to normal before tucking away the whistle in her pouch. As long as she blew into it, not just Vahn, but everyone within the Hestia Familia would be able to hear it regardless of where they were. It would then boost his agility and he would be able to track them quickly by following the magical trail that would appear after its use. Before they left, Vahn stroked Fenrirs head a little heavier since she actually liked firm pats more and promised her a reward if she behaved. In response, she patted her washboard chest proudly and said, "Leave it to Fenrir! Fenrir will beat all the smelly monsters into meat paste~!" Vahn sent the pair off with a smile and was actually something d to see Fenrir leave with Ryuu since he didnt really want Haruhime to see the sight of her eating still-living monsters and getting covered in their blood and gore. She might be fine with getting a bit of blood on her body, but even Vahn had felt a little nauseous the first time he watched Fenrir engorge herself in the past. Since he had actually beenpletely covered in monster bits in the past, Vahn felt like he had a much higher tolerance than Haruhime and had few expectations that she would be okay after witnessing such a sight. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dangerous, in various ways,Haruhimes Potential,Fenrirs Personal Banquet) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 306 - Potential : Growth

Chapter 306 - Potential : Growth

Because of theplex structure of the dungeon, it wasnt that easy to actually be more than 2km apart from allies on the same floor. Especially for the upper floors, since the actual size of the floor wasnt thatrge. The further down you went into the dungeon, therger the floors became, including the distance between the roof and floor. Though it had never been proven, there were some that believed that, if you made it to the bottom of the dungeon, it was actuallyrge enough to rival the size of the continent itself. The current clear record was held by the Zeus Familia, who had traveled up to the 59th floor in the past. It was imed that the 59th floor was one giant room and that the total length, from end to end, was more than 700km, which was muchrger than Orario itself. After around twenty minutes, Vahn noticed a change in the mark that was on Haruhimes hand as it began to glow slightly. He stopped her and said, "Okay, it looks like were out of range of Ryuu and Fenrir now. From here onwards, I want you to do your best to fight the monsters ording to your own skills and instincts. Do whatever you think it suitable for the asion and Ill back you up if things get too dangerous. Remember, you shouldnt expect that Ill be around to save you every time you get injured. How you fight isnt always important as why you fight, as it is your willpower and intent that will shape the adventurer you be and how your strength develops." Haruhimes ears began to twitch about as a fiery look appeared in her normally elegant, droopy-eyed, face. She looked directly toward Vahn with her shining green eyes and said confidently, "Leave it to me, Vahn~! Ill do my best to be a capable adventurer so that I can be of use to you in the future!" Vahn wanted to correct her words, but Haruhime immediately dashed toward the closest monsters, a group of kobolds, with the [001] sword in hand. After releasing a short sight, Vahn shrugged off her words and watched her battle from the side. He couldnt control how, or why, people were motivated to improve. As long as she was capable of growing stronger with the determination she had found, that was all that really mattered. Kobolds were significantly more difficult to deal with than Goblins, but Haruhime didnt seem to have too much trouble with them. Unlike the past Vahn, who had nearly died the first time he saw a Kobold, Haruhimes expectations were different and she had been training with Ryuu and Aki to develop an awareness against new monsters. It made Vahn feel a little awkward because he realized that his start had been much higher than Haruhimes and he had nearly died due to his own inexperience. Watching her move about with rtively inexperienced steps, yet easily able to dispatch an enemy he had trouble with made him want to knock his old selfs head. Though she wasnt easily able to target the monster cores, Haruhime was able to eventually cut down the three Kobolds since a B-Rank weapon was very strong on the upper floors. As long as she could make contact with them, the sword cut through their bodies easily without much resistance. Haruhime also had the benefit of enhanced senses and, even when a Kobold tried to attack her from a blind spot, Vahn saw her ears twitch as she tilted her body forward before twisting her waist and slicing the Kobold up through the center of its body. She became covered in its blood as the two halves of the body turned into dust around her. After they were all dead, Haruhime released a sigh as she inspected the state of her own body for a little bit. Her ears drooped low and she walked over to Vahn and said, "Im sorry, I got dirty again..." Vahn shook his head with a smile as he pulled out a towel and his [Decanter of Replenishment] to help wipe Haruhimes face. She had a pleased expression on her face even as her cheeks moved about pliantly under the towels movements. Vahn nodded his head and exined, "Even Im not strong enough to avoid being covered in a few bits of blood every now and then, so dont have the expectation that youll be able to easily remain clean in the dungeon. Its not actually umon for Adventurers to go several days without even having an opportunity to clean themselves unless there is someone in the party with water magic. Dont let it get to you just because you get a little dirty every now and then." Haruhime nodded her head and Vahn saw a peculiar glint in her eyes so he said, "I wont always help wipe away the blood from your body, so dont think you can get dirty as an excuse..." Since he had already wiped off her face, Vahn handed the towel to Haruhime and her ears wobbled a bit before drooping as she sighed, "I understand..." Seeing her reaction, Vahn patted Haruhimes shoulder and said, "Well, if you work hard, I dont mind giving you a hand as a reward." Haruhimes ears immediately shot up and Vahn could see her motivation had increased by a fair amount. He also noticed that the glow of the mark had increased slightly and wondered if it was necessary for him to inspire whoever he was paired with to make the effect even stronger. As they made their way into a slightlyrger room, Vahn detected there were five enemies present and knew it was probably too much for the current Haruhime. After informing her of the situation, she still wanted to give it a try and Vahn agreed since it was only through dangerous situations that she would experience the most growth. Before she went out, Vahn ducked low with Haruhime and exined, "Even though monsters arent very coordinated, it can be dangerous if you get surrounded. Try to stay on the outside of the monsters encirclement and keep at least one enemy between yourself and other monsters. They cant attack through each other without damaging the person in between, so its a good strategy when youre outnumbered." Haruhime nodded her head and listened attentively before taking several deep breaths and heading out into the room. The five monsters were a pair of Kobolds, apanied by three Goblins, and it would be the first time Haruhime had to deal with abination of monsters. Though she was slower than the kobolds, she was fast enough to outpace a goblin so she separated the two kobolds by kiting them to an open area before trying to dispatch them. Vahn noticed that she always swung the de inrge arcs and he knew it was an effective method, but it required a lot of stamina and wasnt suitable if the enemy had high durability. When one of the kobolds tried to attack her legs, Haruhime stepped back at an angle while swiping down with the sword in her retreat. It collided urately with the Kobolds skull and turned it into dust particles as the second Kobold jumped at her body with its sharp ws and open mouth dripping with froth and saliva. Haruhimes brows furrowed slightly as she reached out with her free left hand and tried to grab the throat of the leaping Kobold. She actually managed to pull off the action before stabbing through its body, but she also suffered several cuts on her arms from when it was thrashing about. Vahn frowned at the sight because he knew she would have been able to avoid such injuries if she wore proper equipment. Though the bracelets he made her had great Magical Defense, they offered almost no physical protection because of their small size. Haruhimes mouth was quivering a bit from the pain, but there was a fierce glint in her eyes even though they were tearing up slightly. Withoutint, she pushed herself forward to face the three remaining goblins. She was able to cleanly dispatch the first one, but it wasnt long after that before she fell to the ground with a muted sob and Vahn stepped in to immediately defeat the remaining two. Vahn moved over to Haruhime, who was doing her best to avoid crying, and grabbed her arm as he cleaned the wounds and began to heal her with [Hands of Nirvana]. Some of the wounds had cut more than a centimeter into her skin and she wasnt ustomed to dealing with pain at all. Vahn stroked the dejected Haruhime and tried to console her by saying, "Dont worry Haruhime, it was already next to impossible for a Level 1 to fight five monsters when they are just starting out. The fact you were able to react to the joint attack of the Kobolds and resist the pain of your injuries to continue the fight is more than what would be expected from most people..." Haruhime nodded her head slowly at his words and sniffled a bit before saying, "I wont let something like this stop me..." To reward her courage, Vahn ruffled her hair and ears for a bit before they continued deeper into the first floor. Since they were items he had personally forged, Vahn lent Haruhime his [Xunw Protector]s and exined their use. Though they were a stark contrast to the rest of her outfit, Vahn felt better at seeing Haruhime using some proper equipment. When she faced a group of three Kobolds, there was a simr incident as earlier where Haruhime tried to block with her left arm even though it would have been better for her to try and strike out instead. Fortunately, the Kobold couldnt even leave a scratch on the [Xunw Protector]s and even broke its teeth in the attempt. Vahn noticed a slight green glow emerge, but didnt see any noticeable signs of the effect activating. After the fight, Haruhime copsed onto her butt with a "Fuueee~" as Vahn walked over to see if she were okay. He noticed her mana had drained greatly and she was probably at the limits of her stamina. The fact she was able to kill 23 monsters in thest two hours on her own was prettymendable considering her diminutive 34 Endurance parameter. Combat wasnt just physically taxing, but also had a strong impact on the mind after your stamina began to drain. The fact Haruhime was able to persist for so long was very impressive so Vahn paid her a few heavypliments before carrying her body on his back as her reward. Haruhime nuzzled against his face and neck as she hugged around Vahns neck with the tattered sleeves of her kimono. Vahn supported her legs with his hand and quickly made his way through the dungeon using Shundo. Haruhime was amazed by his speed but kept to herself as she enjoyed the moment by holding herself closely against Vahns back. Vahn was in a bit of a hurry since he wanted to check Haruhimes Status Board to see if there had been any changes. Though he could do it within the dungeon, Vahn knew it was possible that Freya was keeping her eyes on him and didnt want to expose his secrets to her. There wasnt much he could do about hisbat capabilities, but he should do his best to prevent from showing off something like updating the Status Board of another person. After finally reaching the surface, Vahn leaned down a bit to let Haruhime down but she continued to hold on for a few additional seconds as they drew the attention of several passersby. Vahn jolted her body a bit by shrugging his shoulders and she eventually climbed down with an apologetic smile on her face before Vahn shook his head and said, "Dont worry about it." Vahn didnt really want to fault someone for being affectionate toward him, as long as they showed proper restraint when it came down to it. Now that they were on the surface, Vahn purchased a few meat skewers for them to snack on as they waited for Ryuu and Fenrir to exit the dungeon. Vahn sent a mentalmand to Fenrir, so it shouldnt take long before they also return to the surface. In fact, it wasnt even twenty minutes before Vahn saw Fenrirs cloaked figure trotting out of the dungeon alongside the stoic Ryuu. The moment she saw Vahn, Fenrir ran over and shouted, "Fenrir killed lots and lots of monster~!" She had her paws raised happily and Vahn noticed they werepletely saturated with blood andmented, whilst patting Fenrirs head, "Great job, Fenrir, lets go home and get you to take a bath and then Ill give you your reward, okay?" Hearing Vahns words, Fenrir looked at her blood-stained fur and released a strange soundingugh as if she was embarrassed before nodding her head and saying, "Fenrir will get super clean and then Vahn will brush her fur~?" Vahnughed before saying, "Sure, that sounds like a good idea." At this point, Ryuu had caught up and Vahn showed her a grateful smile before scanning over the group and saying, "Lets go home." All three girls nodded with different degrees of a pleased expression on their face as Vahn led the way back toward the Hearth Manor in high spirits. Of course, he had been conditioned at this point to actually be more alert when things were going smoothly, so Vahn had been scanning the surroundings along the way, just in case. After they returned to the Manor, Vahn quickly checked the Status Board of Haruhime to see if she had made any progress. Since Fenrir was fighting monsters much weaker than herself, there wasnt any chance that her parameters had grown so Vahn put it off untilter. When he drew his blood across Haruhimes bare back and the Status Board appeared, Vahn was pleasantly surprised by what he saw. It wasnt as ridiculous as his own growth in the past, but Haruhime had made a marked progress for only killing twenty-three monsters. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Sanjouno Haruhime Race: Renard LV. 1 POW: I15->I19 END: I34->I41 DEX: I18->I30 AGI: I37->I52 MAG: D591->C603 Skill: [Inari:Innate(sealed)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A] Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B],[Kokonoe:D] Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:D] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn showed Haruhimes updated Status, minus her Innates, to everyone present and Ryuu was the most surprised by her growth. Though it wasnt excessive, it was incredible growth for someone that had just ventured into the dungeon for just over two hours. Depending on how things yed out, it was very possible she would be able to reach Level 2 within a few weeks and Ryuu attributed it to thebined effect of [Prometheuss Blessing] and the influence of the [Mentor] Development Ability. Hearing both Ryuu and Vahn praise her, Haruhimes ears twitched about excitedly even though she had an elegant, yet happy, smile on her face. Afterward, the three girls went off to take a bath while Vahn looked through his system for an appropriate gift for Fenrir. He had inspected the interior of the Manor when they returned, and Vahn was aware that everyone was currently out, most likely enjoying an excursion while shopping for clothing and equipment. Since they had most likely gone to Babel Tower, it was very unlikely for anything to happen to them, though Vahn was somewhat tempted to go find them. Instead, since his instincts werent acting up, Vahn decided to trust that things were going well. He had already told Fafnir to follow Hestia along through the shadows, so he assumed they wouldnt be in any danger while in public. Around twenty minutester, Vahn could sense Fenrir running through the corridors before bursting into the room he was in wearing a clean pair of herbat attire. Vahns only impression was that she looked very healthy and lively as she quickly closed the distance between them while already holding the brush in her hand. Vahn smiled and received the brush as Fenrir hopped into hisp and began to tilt her head from side to side with her floppy ears. She asked in an almost humming tone, "Fenrir gets reward now~?" Vahn had already started to brush her somewhat damp hair before waving his hand toward the coffee table in front of them. A midnight blue gothic dress appeared on the table and Fenrir immediately jumped from hisp and began to inspect it excitedly. After patting it a few times with her paws, Fenrir raised her arms up high and said, "Fenrir wants to wear it now~!" Vahn set the brush to the side before helping pull the dress over Fenrirs head and arms. It was a somewhat snug fit, but the fabric was slightly stic and she was able to fit through it without much difficulty. Since it wasnt the first time she had worn a drew with a zipper, Fenrir had already turned around so Vahn could close up the back of the dress. Her tail flopped about for a bit until Vahn was able to maneuver it through the hole that was in between theyers of the dress. He then tied off the vibrant red bow to seal off the gap and make it fit snuggly around her tail so it wouldnt loosen when she moved about. There was a matching frilled choker that had a small, ck rose, motif that Vahn helped fix around Fenrirs neck before she excitedly looked around for a mirror. Vahn ced the three standing mirrors he kept in his inventory and Fenrir happily looked at her body from different angles before eventuallyunching herself over toward Vahn while shouting, "Fenrir loves new dress~! Master is the best" Vahn had caught her out of the air as Fenrir snuggled against his chest happy with her crooked smile. She had grabbed around his body with her paws tightened into fists so as to not identally scratch his back. With his brows slightly furrowed, Vahn said, "You shouldnt call me Master...just call me Vahn." Fenrirs ears twitched at his words as she stared up into his face with her eyes glowing slightly scarlet as she emted an awkwardugh and said, "Oops, Fenrir forgot because she was happy...Vahn is the best, dont be mad." Vahn shook his head and stroked her head before picking up the brush and patting hisp. Fenrirs awkward smile returned as she jumped up at sat in hisp with her back to Vahn and let him brush her hair, ears, and tail for a few minutes until Ryuu and Haruhime arrived. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Haruhime is trying her best,First Day : Quick Progress,Fenrirs slip) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful Chapter 307 - Big Three

Chapter 307 - Big Three

While Vahn was going about his everyday life and making ns of his own, there were others moving within the background with their own intentions. Chief amongst them was the beautiful, silver-haired, goddess that was waiting in arge, temple-like, room for her guests to arrive. She sat at the head of long, rectangr, table as she sampled an exquisite red wine that cost more than the average adventurer would make in their entire lifetime. She had azy expression on her face because her guests had already been ten minuteste, even though they were the ones that scheduled the meeting. Fortunately, she wasnt waiting much longer as two butlers wearing white masks opened the 10m tall double doors leading into the room and escorting in two, decidedly different, red-haired goddesses. They were respectively Hephaestus and Loki and, alongside Freya, they were the three most prominent and influential gods within the entire City. Though the Loki Familia was recognized as the current Number 1, it was, in fact, the Freya Familia that held the highestbat potential amongst all the Familia. However, that could change quickly if Loki and Hephaestus were to team up since the logistical support Hephaestus could provide would be a nightmare for any of her enemies. If Freya truly decided to cut ties with the Hephaestus Familia over this matter, she would irreversibly impact thebat potential of her own forces and stunt the growth of her children. Though there were other [Master Smith]s within the City, not a single one of them could hold a candle to the equipment produced by Hephaestus herself. As they entered the hall, Freya rose from her seat and assumed an incredibly elegant demeanor as a wless smile appeared on her face and she said, "Wee to my home, Hephaestus, Loki...it is good to see the two of you. Its not often we get together like this, so please, enjoy the food and wine at your leisure." Hephaestus had a in, almost cold, expression on her face as she stated, "Im afraid it will be rather difficult to ept your hospitality after the stunt you pulled yesterday. Though Id like things to stay amenable between us, you seem intent to force my hand on the matter..." More than anyone else, Hephaestus hadmitted herself to protect Vahn from harm, and the beautiful goddess before her was, perhaps, the greatest threat to their shared happiness. Freyas expression broke a little, but she kept her elegant demeanor as she turned to Loki and asked, "Loki, surely you didnte here to make trouble for me? Havent we had a cooperative rtionship for a very long time? Id like to think we were even considered to be friends..." Lokis smile widened a bit and she nodded her head theatrically as she said, "Certainly~! Im actually quite fond of you, especially that impable body of yours~. Unfortunately, things have changed rather drastically as ofte and Im afraid Ill be siding with Hephaestus this time around. Sorry, sorry, please forgive me just this once, kekekeke~." Seeing Lokis behavior, Freya released a sigh before gesturing to the chairs at her left and right before sitting back down. She had a mildly perturbed expression on her face, but her smile hadnt faded as she mused, "Well, isnt this quite the inconvenience...I wonder what action I ever took to sleight two goddesses that I had a cooperative rtionship for so many years? I never expected that one mortal boy would be able to drive a wedge in a rtionship that has spanned eons...Im rather heartbroken honestly." Loki sat down and sloshed the wine in her ss before downing to contents in one go before releasing a long sigh. She opened her squinted eyes and stared at Freya as she said, "With how long weve known each other, you think either of us would actually buy that? The only person using Vahn to drive a wedge in our rtionship is you yourself. If you didnt want to cause, you could have simply dropped the matter without it ever havinge to this." Freya squinted her eyes slightly and remarked, "Unless you care to exin how its fair that I have to be the only one to take a step back on this matter, youll be hard pressed to find the faultys with me. My love for talent and potential is well known, but Ive never been so rudely treated before I even made an attempt to approach someone. I cant help but feel there is more than a fair amount of injustice that Ive been forced to suffer just to...appease my own friends." Seeing Freyas nce, Hephaestuss expression turned sour as she responded, "If Vahn was exposed to someone like you early on, you would ruin his entire life with the excuse of pushing his potential further. Tell me, is there a single man within your entire Familia that hasnt been personally cultivated by you both physically and mentally?" Before Freya could respond, Loki added to Hephaestuss words, "Ive met with Vahn several times and I have to agree with Hephaestus on this one. With how you stick your nose into things, Im sure youve realized some of the unique qualities of that boy. Not only is he incredibly perceptive, but there is a very high chance he would have an immunity to your charm. If you tried to push him while he was in an unstable state, you would break him long before he ever reached his full potential. And that is only one of the many reasons were keeping him from you..." Freya sat in silence for nearly a minute as she ruminated over the words of Hephaestus and Loki before eventually asking, "The two of you were the ones that scheduled this meeting...tell me, why have youe here? Dont tell me it was to simply tell me to stay away from that boy...Ive already taken a vow to not interfere with him, so what more can you ask for?" Though she was annoyed at the current situation, Freya couldnt risk making an enemy out of both Loki and Hephaestus. It would simply create a huge inconvenience for her and undermine everything she had nned for the future. Hephaestus was the one to respond and she stated firmly, "Before we even discuss terms, I want to swear a vow of non-interference, not just in Vahns life, but in the lives of those around him-" Before Hephaestuss final word fell, Freyas wine ss cracked in her hands as she gave an immediate reply, "I refuse...How ridiculous would it be to have such a restriction ced on me without having gained a single thing? Negotiations are based onpromise, where both sidese to terms and decided a fair exchange. You expect me to make such an agreement before we even discuss matters...Hephaestus, you are severely overestimating my patience." The two goddesses locked eyes with each other, neither taking a step back until Lokiughed and poured another ss of wine for herself. Freya gave her a sidelong nce through her slightly squinted eyes and asked, "Do you find this situation to be humorous? Will the two of you really go to war with me over the matter of a single mortal?" Loki began tough even more boisterously after hearing Freyas words before saying, "Wrong again Freya, it would be you opposing us since were already deeply involved in this matter. Try to twist the perspective around and y the role of the victim all you like, but Im afraid youll find were not so receptive to your little act." Freyas beautiful smile turned into a light frown after seeing that neither goddess was giving her any grounds to stand on. She was absolutely sure there was something unique about Vahn and their actions only egged her onward and increased her desire to obtain him for herself. There was no reason for Hephaestus and Loki to team up if Vahn were just a normal boy, and that made the current situation very difficult for her to tolerate. She could tell that, if it were up to them, Hephaestus and Loki would never give her an opening to approach Vahn at all. The more she pushed, the more resistant they would be until things eventually escted into a full-blown war that destabilized the entire City...all for a single boy. After a few minutes of heavy silence, Freya looked up at the two goddesses and said, "Give me a single reason...I want to know what is so special about that child...tell me, and I may agree to your terms." This was the moment they had been waiting for and, even though they knew it might make the problem worse, Hephaestus and Loki had already agreed to tell Freya a bit of information about Vahn. They wouldnt be able to keep her from learning about it at the uing Denatus, so if they were able to restrict her a bit now, that would be the best case scenario. Loki picked up arge turkey leg in her hands and raised her wine ss as if she were making a toast as she said, "There is something worth celebrating Freya, did you know~? Vahn has already be a [Master Smith] and the wedding between him and Hephaestus has already been set with Ouranoss approval~!" Freya furrowed her brows a bit, because it would mar her reputation greatly if she did something like stealing the husband of another goddess. Not only would she lose face within the mortal world, but her reputation in the godlymunity would take a hit because of the overuse of her own charm ability. She turned to Hephaestus and saw the small smile on her face before stating in a cold tone, "I suppose congrattions are in order..." Before she could continue further, Lokiughed in a very mischevious manner and said in a low voice, "Oh, certainly, though not for the reason you might expect~." Freya looked between Loki and Hephaestus for a few seconds until Lokis expression turned very serious all of a sudden and she said, "Hephaestus...is pregnant." For a very brief moment, Freya didnt understand Lokis words before things finally clicked in her mind and she stood up from the table with shock clearly present on her face. A glow appeared in her eyes as she scanned over Hephaestuss body and noticed a strange convergence of energy within her w.o.m.b. There wasnt yet a soul present, but Freya was clearly able to see that Lokis words were true. Freya gnashed her teeth and stated firmly, "There is no way Ill back down on this matter, no matter what the two of you try to do. If Vahn has that capability, you have no right to deny him from me." It was Hephaestuss turn to stand up as she shouted loudly, "It is the right of Vahn, and Vahn himself, to decide who he wants to help get pregnant! Nobody, not even a goddess, has the right to make that decision for him. This is one of the reasons were forced to take this kind of action, because your irrational and possessive nature wouldnt just destroy Vahn, but it wouldpromise the potential happiness of many other goddesses!" Tensions between Hephaestus and Freya had reached a boiling point, but Loki continued to sit in her chair while takingrge bites out of the turkey leg in her hand. Before they started arguing further, Loki stated inly, "Youre misunderstanding something on a fundamental level here Freya. If you want to understand the situation better, youll take the vow that Hephaestus mentioned. I can guarantee that, depending on how things y out, youll be able to have children of your own in the future if you take a step back on this matter. Well be exining more in the future, but nobody is allowed to know the process unless theyve taken a vow to protect the information." Hearing Lokis words, Freya mulled them over in her mind a bit as she tried to make sense of what Loki had said. She had assumed that Vahn was the one that had to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e goddesses, but Lokis words seemed to imply there was something more behind it. If she tried to push forward and cause conflict between their groups, there would be a chance that shed eventually obtain Vahn just to find out she had made a grievous mistake. After regting her breathing for a bit, Freya sat in her chair and resumed a small amount of her elegant demeanor as she said, "I will take the vow, but only if the two of you make a vow to tell me the information without trying to deceive me. I wont be the only one to suffer restrictions if you cant even guarantee the credibility of the information." Hephaestus eventually sat down as well and said, "We expected you would say something like that before we came here." From within the satchel she had been carrying, Hephaestus pulled out an incredibly expensive contract scroll alongside several lower-grade scrolls. She allowed Freya to overlook the doc.u.ments for a while until she eventually handed them back and said, "This is eptable." The doc.u.mentid out the information they would provide for her without directly stating the details. It included a bit about their spection of Vahns origins as well as the basic procedure that was required for a goddess to get pregnant. It also included several provisions and penalties that were sufficiently harsh enough to get Freya to ede to their demands. Loki and Hephaestus signed the scrolls before Freya confirmed the contract with her own signature and sent it up in a ze of magical fire. After the mes entered each of their chests, Freya re-read her own contract before signing it and returning it to Hephaestus. It basically stated that she was unable to approach Vahn without being escorted by Hephaestus and Loki in the future. Unless he specifically went to look for her, she had to reach out to him through the two goddesses, but it was much better than not being able to meet him at all. The only thing she had to guarantee was that she didnt take any actions that would cause harm to befall Vahn, or those mentioned on the terms of the contract. Freya was somewhat surprised by the number of names, but she had investigated most of them previously and understood they were rtively important to Vahn. Now that she knew a bit about his capabilities, Freya had a bit of understanding about how he was able to get close to so many people in such a short amount of time. After Hephaestus confirmed the contract, Loki assumed a very business-like disposition as she handed over a doc.u.ment for Freya to peruse. While she was reading it, Loki exined, "Im sure youve already spected a bit yourself, but we can say conclusively that Vahn is an anomaly just by taking into consideration some of the information regarding his origins. He is, at the very least, 75% god and is capable of freely activating his own Pseudo-Divinity. We dont know for certain, but there is a high chance his Divinities rte to Fertility, Fire, and a few other spective things that arent important. The thing that concerns you is the fact that he has developed a technique that allows Goddesses to conceive children, but the resources that go into it are incredibly costly and it isnt a simple procedure to perform. Vahn is required to be present, but he doesnt have to be the one to do the deed to ensure conception." Freya had been listening closely to Lokis words while going over the description of the process within the doc.u.ment. She noticed it had several runes along the side that made it impossible to view, or record, from any angle and could only be read for an hour before the information disappeared permanently. It was a magical tool called a secret keeper scroll and was an incredibly valuable item because whoever read the information wouldnt be able to speak or write about it to others. Because of the amount of effort they put in protecting the information, Freya believed that Hephaestus and Loki were telling her the truth and asked, "How often can the procedure be performed? What are the costs?" Loki smiled before nodding to Hephaestus which caused her to rise from her chair. Freya watched her actions with intrigue as Hephaestus turned her back before lifting up the back of her shirt and revealing the crest that Vahn had carved into her lower back. Freya furrowed her brows a little before a smile appeared on her face after she sensed the energy contained within. Answering the question she had been about to ask, Loki exined, "Other than the material goods necessary for the ritual, Vahn also has to carve a blessing onto the body of the goddess undergoing the procedure. At the most, he can only use it every few weeks, but the cost and burden he has to bear on his soul is quite heavy. If he used it more than three times within a month, he would probably have to spend more than a year before he was able to use it again. There is a lot of information that still needs to be learned through trial and error, but we have plenty of time to learn more about the skill and the supporting procedure in the future. That is, assuming there isnt any trouble..." Hephaestus and Loki had decided that is was necessary for the crest to be carved by Vahn, since it would serve as proof for others that the procedure had been used on them. It also had the added effect that, even though Vahn couldnt actually give them a blessing, he was still able to detect the location of anyone who had his crest carved into their body. Loki herself had been looking forward to receiving her own ever since Hephaestus started bragging about it on thework. Though it was somewhat possessive of Vahn to leave his crest on others, it was also a very new and exciting thing that she had never experienced before. Freya had an especially serious expression on her face as she contemted everything she had just learned. She knew that there was probably more about the situation that she wasnt privy to, but she couldnt really fault Hephaestus and Loki for wanting to protect Vahn given the current revtions. Though she still had a powerful desire to obtain him for herself, Freya realized it wasnt necessary to provoke the two goddesses to eventually benefit from the situation. Given Vahns 75% divinity, Freya knew his children would have even thicker blood and it wasnt a big deal to wait for another fifteen, or fifty, years before she could reap an even greater harvest. There was also a very high probability she could control the situation a bit to receive a child of her own. Though she might be able to conceive with anyone, Freya was firmly resolved to have a child that Vahn sired himself...the only matter was how to go about guaranteeing she had the opportunity. As Freya was lost in her thoughts, Loki chimed in to cause a little chaos in her mindset as she said, "Oh yeah, Ill probably be getting pregnant myself soon. Im sure youve been keeping track of things, but Ive already made the preparations so Vahn will be out ofmission for a while. If youre wondering about how to best benefit from the situation, the best thing you can do is stay out of the way and not interfere. Once Vahn has stabilized a bit and grown stronger at his own pace, there will be plenty of opportunities for you to potentially interact with him. However, Im sure you can understand why it wouldnt be appropriate to make a move right now..." Freya nodded her head and stated, "This is apletely new situation that has never before been present within the history of this world. Until that status of the children birthed by goddesses is confirmed, its dangerous to push forward with so many unknown factors to ount for. For the time being, Ill take a step back and not interfere with anything...actually, Ill even take your side on matters in the future. The plebian masses already see us in the same light, so it wouldnt cause any major stirs. I dont want another goddess to try and step in while butting me out of things for their own convenience..." Freya squinted her eyes and turned to see the mischevious smile on Lokis face. She knew she had yed ording to Lokis script and willingly walked into the circle of protection surrounding Vahn. Picking up a new ss, since her previous one was broken, Freya filled it with wine before raising it slightly and saying, "Fine, Ill y along for the time being...but I dont want to be out of the loop on things. From now, up until Hephaestus gives birth, I want to know about all the developments so I can build up my own expectations. My only concern is that Vahn doesnt die before Im able to get what I want..." As if to ay her concerns, Hephaestus stated inly, "Vahn isnt so weak as to fall to normal circ.u.mstances. Unless there are people actively plotting against him, he is more than capable of oveing almost any situation. By the time the Denatuses to pass, there should be a lot of people siding with us on this matter and Vahn will only ever venture deep into the dungeon after his probation ends. Hell apany the Loki Familia on their expeditions and be well protected at all times..." Freya sloshed around the contents of her ss for a bit before taking a sip and saying, "Im not entirely satisfied with that. I wont interfere with Vahns life directly, but Ill have my Familia dealing with the dangers surrounding him in order to ensure his safety. Im certain the two of you can understand my concerns seeing how far youve gone to protect him yourselves...Hmm, Im guessing that was another one of Lokis ns?" In response to her words, Loki raised her own ss high and said, "Arent we all cooperating to ensure each others happiness~? Not only you, but a lot of people would probably lose their shit if Vahn actually ended up getting killed by someones plot. I can say with absolute certainty that a certain goddess of forging would probably start a crusade~." Though the atmosphere was still somewhat serious, Hephaestuss cool expression broke a bit when a blush touched her cheeks. Freya and Loki saw her reaction and began tough which caused her blush to deepen further as she resentfully said, "I only crushed a minor Familia that was causing problems...Im not the one that destroyed an entire section of the entertainment district, nor am I the one that has been sending their people all over the City to collect information and provide excess security around the Hearth Manor." As if the alcohol had started to affect her, Loki had a rosy blush on her face as she began tough in a sheepish manner that looked more shameless than embarrassed. Freya herself just sipped away at her wine as if she hadnt heard Hephaestuss quip at all. She noticed that the incredibly expensive wine suddenly had a somewhat bittersweet taste that she hadnt noticed previously... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tripartite sh,Lokis Machinations,Overprotective Goddesses) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 308 - Preference

Chapter 308 - Preference

After spending some time with Fenrir, Vahn left her with Haruhime as he and Ryuu went to her room to find out if anything had changed in the situation. Vahn learned that Loki and Hephaestus had arranged a meeting with Freya, but they hadnt heard anything back from them yet. He was a bit concerned that something would go wrong, but Vahn also had a lot of trust in Hephaestus, and to a lesser extent, Loki as well. If theybined their talents, Vahn didnt think things would develop in a negative direction, but he was a little sad that he couldnt give Hephaestus a [Maternity Band] and see her reaction. Once she finished checking through the logbook, Ryuu was nning to return to the Hostess of Fertility, but Vahn asked her to stay around the Manor because he still had thought about returning to the Dungeon once the other girls returned. Though he didnt do much himself, Vahn had enjoyed returning to the dungeon, even though it had only been around a week that he was away from it. He wanted to perform a few more experiments and see how the twins growth was affected by his [Mentor] skill and also give everyone the opportunity to battle alongside each other to limate to working as a team. The majority of the girls in the Familia were around the same level of strength, so it was better that they get used to each others fighting styles early on before there is any significant strength gap between them. Ryuu agreed to Vahns request with a smile and they returned to the study and enjoyed some afternoon tea alongside Haruhime and Fenrir. Now that she had a new dress, Fenrir was in a very spoiled mood and waszing about simr to host Hestia often acted in the past. Vahn got to see a unique interaction between Haruhime and Fenrir where they were brushing each others tails since they both had rather long, and fluffy, tails. Vahn and Ryuu sat next to each other, rtively close together, but not touching as they quietly enjoyed the atmosphere that had been created. After a while, Fenrir rolled away from Haruhime before moving over to Vahn and crawling onto the sofa and handing him her brush. Without saying anything, sheid stomach-down on hisp and rested her head against Ryuus thighs as her tail thumped with expectation. Since Ryuu wasnt immune to Fenrirs behavior, she began to stroke the back of her long, midnight blue, hair and ears gently as Vahn began rhythmically brushing her tail while Haruhime had a somewhat dejected look on her face. When Fenrir saw her expression, she stated matter-of-factly, "Vahn is the best...Ryuu is nice too. Harume is fluffy, but not that good at brushy." For a short while after Fenrirs im, Haruhime stared with a mock elegance in her demeanor while the light had faded from her eyes. She mechanically brushed her own tail until she noticed Vahn was staring at her with a bit of concern in his eyes. Haruhime stuck out her tongue bashfully before checking the kettle and taking it to the kitchen to prepare more tea. After she left the room, Vahn asked, "Fenrir, do you not like Haruhime?" In response to his words, Fenrir groaned a little before she said, "Harume is nice, but she keeps secrets from Fenrir. She teaches me lots, but Fenrir thinks she is weird and treats other people nicer." Hearing Fenrirs exnation, Vahn ruminated about why she would feel that way and realized it was probably all the warnings Haruhime had received about teaching Fenrir strange things. Vahn didnt really pay much attention to how the girls interacted with each other when they were studying together. He was either in the Library reading books, or within his workshop designing equipment and conducting his experiments. Before he could say anything to her, Fenrir added on to her earlier words, "Dont worry Vahn, Fenrir will be nice to Haruhime. Fenrir just likes Vahn the most and Vahn doesnt brush Fenrir much anymore." Vahns brows furrowed a bit because he realized he hadnt attended to Fenrir much ever since he asked her to take care of Preasia. Since he didnt want to pressure Preasia, he didnt show much affection to Fenrir when they were together. He realized she had probably been bottling things up without him noticing, but he actually felt a little proud that she had managed so well. Ironically, Vahn felt like Fenrir was getting better at managing her emotions than he was and it made him want to try harder. After some time passed, it was around 4 PM and the rest of the girls arrived back at Hearth Manor. Vahn had been reading with Haruhime and Fenrir and studying monster ecology so they would be better prepared for the future. Ryuu added in tidbits based on her own experience while Haruhime proactively took notes in a small journal Vahn had given her. When the shopping party showed up, they actually had a small wheeled carriage full of various pieces of clothing and equipment and everyone seemed to be in a great mood. Vahn was happy to see that Hestia was also in high spirits until she saw him appear at the door and her aura immediately began to ze as she leaped toward him like a bullet. Vahn caught her out of the air as she rubbed her cheek against his and said, "Vaaaahn, I love, love, love you~!" Her words caused him tough as he patted her back until she whispered into his ear and said, "My body is ready whenever you want..." Though she didnt strip, Vahn could see parts of her dress start to have cracks as if she were about to wilt on the spot. Vahn swallowed a bit since he was afraid he had awakened something in Hestia when he had been trying to help her develop brakes in thest week. Fortunately, Aki walked up while she was carrying some of the luggage and pinched the outside of Hestias thigh which caused the petite goddess to jump like a startled cat out of Vahns arms before rubbing the area under her butt. Before she could say anything, Aki stated clearly, "Hestia-sama, you dont want to trouble Vahn do you~?" Hestias eyes widened a bit before she looked around at her surroundings and her dress immediately became solid again as sheughed awkwardly and said, "Okay, we still have a lot of stuff to do so lets move everything inside~! Ehehehe." Everyone pretended they hadnt seen anything as they began moving everything to their respective rooms with Vahns assistance. The twins had tried to pitch the idea of doing a fashion show, but it got shut down rtively quickly when Vahn mentioned going into the dungeon if they were up for it. Though they had a few inhibitions, the twins wanted to try fighting monsters and seeing how much they had improved with their training. They were jealous that Haruhime and Fenrir had gotten to go earlier, so they were willing to enter even if it meant staying overnight. After they ate a light dinner, Vahn asked Aki to hold down the fort alongside Fenrir, Preasia, Haruhime, Mikoto, and perhaps most importantly, Hestia herself. Vahn was going to be entering the dungeon with Ryuu and the twins, Maemi and Emiru to see how their sealed Innate influenced their stats. Even in their sealed state, Innates had a big impact on a persons development, and Vahn was curious to see what effects their shared ability would have on their growth. He had thought about taking Haruhime and Mikoto along, but Vahn realized her Level-Up magic wouldnt actually have much use on the twins currently. Though a 30% stat increase was massive, it didnt mean much when their parameters were all Rank-I. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Maemi Rain LV. 1 POW: I28 END: I33->I34 DEX: I13->I16 AGI: I51->152 MAG: I18 Skill: [Gemini: Innate(sealed)] Magic: - Development Skill: - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Emiru Rain LV. 1 POW: I28 END: I33->I34 DEX: I13->I16 AGI: I51->I52 MAG: I18 Skill: [Gemini: Innate(sealed)] Magic: - Development Skill: - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though they trained together, Vahn was very curious about how their parameters actually developed at the same rate and wanted to see what would happen if they diverged at some point. Since there was no way to guarantee they got the same amount of exilia from monsters, Vahn expected that they would begin to show differences as time passed. He had trouble believing that, if one twin worked harder than the other, that they would both continue to grow at the same rate. If that were the case, it would mean it is the property of their Innate ability and Vahn would have to observe their training closely from then onwards. Since they had gone shopping for equipment, both of the twins were decked out in matching attire that consisted of dark-blue shorts without pockets. They had some pouches wrapped around their backsides, simr to how Aki wore hers, and Vahn thought it drew an interesting picture seeing their two rtively fluffy cat-like tails poking out from the back. For their tops, they wore something simr to a skin-tight tunic that Vahn saw a lot of female adventurers wearing within the dungeon. He still couldnt wrap his head around why girls wore somewhat revealing clothing since it didnt seem suitable for protection at all. Overtop the tight blouses, they wore rtively light b.r.e.a.s.ttes to protect their organs with a pair of forearm protectors and shin guards overtop their ck stockings. They had a pair of matching brown boots and both wielded somewhat thick daggers that looked more like curved cleavers and were around 40cm long. After they were prepared, Vahn led the twins into the dungeon alongside Ryuu since he intended to try a few experiments to see how their parameters developed. Though they didnt like to separate, Vahn wanted to see what would happen if he gave one of the sisters his Mentor Mark while the other sister trained with Ryuu. If their status diverged a lot, Vahn would help the other twin catch up and had exined his intentions in detail to which both girls replied synchronously, "Well do our best, Vahn-sama~!" Fired up by their own words, the girls then proceeded to y rock-paper-scissors together to see who got to apany Vahn until they eventually settled on a coin flip after throwing out the same results twenty times in a row. The final winner was Maemi who gave her identical twin, Emiru, a victory symbol with her fingers as the two groups split up before venturing into the first floor. Vahn gave Maemi the Mentors Mark on her upper arm as a small, silver, mark of her face appeared on his. She seemed very pleased and wasnt paying attention to her surroundings so Vahn stated in a firm tone, "Maemi, make sure you stay focused at all times. This isnt practice anymore, and youll be engaging in livebat from hereon. I will only help if you are in mortal peril, so expect that you could sustain injuries if you arent careful." The happy expression on Maemis face turned serious with a bit of hesitation mixed in her eyes as she nodded her head and said, "I-Ill do my best, Vahn-sama." For the first twenty minutes or so, Vahn demonstrated how to properly fight against monsters for Maemi as he was waiting for the mark to activate. The longer she watched him fight, the more resolute Maemis expression became until it finally came time for her to fight a monster for the first time. Her opponent ended up being a single Kobold and she tried to move forward to fight it but made a simr mistake as Vahn had on his first time encountering the monster. She stood her ground instead of making use of her high agility and tried to react to the Kobolds attacks in a passive manner. Though Vahn had told her he wouldnt step in unless she was in mortal peril, he ended up stunning the Kobold with his domain as he shouted, "Maemi, you need to always be on the move in order to make it harder for your opponents to react to your attacks. Your agility is your highest parameter, make sure youre using it to the full effect!" Startled by his words, Maemi began to sidestep around the Kobold as Vahn allowed it to move again. The Kobold was actually faster than she was, but it couldnt change directions as quickly as Maemi could. She was actually very limber and agile, so it was strange that she had tried to fight the monster head on in the first ce. The entire fightsted nearly seven minutes before Maemi eventually managed a ncing blow to the Kobolds leg to caused it to fall to the ground. Though she hesitated briefly at the sight of blood, Vahns call woke her from her stupor as she stabbed into the area where the magic core was located. After the Kobold dispersed, she fell onto her butt and hung her head low as she took long and strained breaths. Since she had never been in a fight against a monster before, the adrenaline had gotten to her a bit and she had overtaxed her stamina and mental strength. Vahn wasnt disappointed in her battle, since he had actually struggled immensely when he fought against a single goblin in the past. His first battle against a Kobold had nearly killed him, and Maemis current parameters are much lower than his were at the time. Vahn walked over and began stroking her silver hair before she looked up at him with tired, lc-colored, eyes with a hint of disappointment and a fair amount of fear contained in their depths. Vahn shook he head and said in a soft, gentle, tone, "You did very well Maemi...it might be hard to believe, but the first time I fought against a Kobold was only around four months ago. At that time, I had actually taken a serious wound to my abdomen before nearly losing my left leg due to the monsters ferocity..." Though her body began to shake after hearing his words, Maemi continued to look up at him as he exined, "Though it was a painful experience, I never stopped trying to improve until I eventually got to the point where I can fight on par with monsters that are more than ten meters in height...I can vault around the room at super-sonic speeds and crush boulders with a single punch...dont give up just because things are a little scary. The fear is what keeps you alive, and the desire to ovee that fear is what allows you to be stronger. It is only through strength that you can protect the things you care about and defeat the fear that tries to take root within your heart..." Though there was still a glimmer of fear within her eyes, Maemi nodded her head and said, "Yes, Vahn-sama...thank you for your guidance." Vahn then helped her stand before giving her one of the several stamina potions he had purchased for their use. Since the girls had low endurance, Vahn had thought to supplement their weakness with consumables. They were somewhat expensive, nearly 10,000V each, but Vahn wasnt overly concerned with the cost of items as long as he could protect the girls. After she gulped it down, a bit of her earlier vigor came back as Vahn stroked her rounded ears onest time before saying, "Here, Ill show you something interesting..." Vahn followed his minimap towards thergest group of monsters he could detect within the range of his domain. He eventually led Maemi to a room with a total of eleven monsters, all Kobolds, before handing her a cloak and saying, "Watch me..." She nodded her head and ducked down behind arge rock as Vahn took confident steps forward before transforming, not into his Bih form, but into a Snow Leopard form emting Maemis racial traits. He pulled out the same dagger he had kept ever since he first arrived in this world and gave it a reminiscent nce with his eyes before engaging the Kobolds that had started to charge at him. Though it wasnt a perfect copy, Vahn emted Maemis movements but added a bit of fluidity to them as he effortlessly cut through the Kobolds while evading each attack at the minimum distance. His perception had developed to the point that, if he was in a focused state, the monsters appeared to move in slow motion while within his domain. He restrained his own speed to be simr to how fast he had seen Maemi move and didnt suffer a single hit as he dragged the rtively weak dagger through the bodies of the Kobolds without getting a drop of blood on his clothes. When the final Kobold fell, Vahn looked over at the stunned Maemi who had glittering eyes as he said, "Though it would take a bit of practice, this is something youre capable of...as for my own capabilities..." As Vahns words fell on her ears, the only thing Maemi could see was the sh of his silhouette as he vaulted around the floor, walls, and ceiling at a speed that she couldnt track even with the enhanced vision of her species. Vahn eventually dropped to the center of the room, almost soundlessly, before he disappeared in an instant and appeared behind her before patting the top of her head and saying, "This is where you could get to in as little as four months..." Maemi had a fiery expression in her eyes as if she were staring at her idol as she shouted in a chipper voice, "That was so amazing, Vahn-sama~! I cant wait to be able to move like that....uuwuuuu, I want to get stronger even more now!" Vahn raised his brow a bit and c.o.c.ked his head to the side after hearing the adorable sound that Maemi made. She seemed to realize her mistake as she ced her hands over her mouth and blushed slightly before moving away and saying, "W-we should find the n-next monsters. Yes, very quickly, lets go~!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is best~!,Split the twins...wait a second...,(UwU)) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 309 - Phantom Pains

Chapter 309 - Phantom Pains

Vahn followed behind Maemi and reminded her to always be in an alert status while making use of her natural abilities to detect monsters. Since she was a Snow Leopard, she had enhanced eyesight, great hearing, a moderately strong sense of smell, but most importantly, her body was actually extremely flexible. Whenever they were doing their stretching exercises in the morning, Vahn noticed that both Maemi and Emiru were flexible to the point where they could bend their backs and ce their own feet over their shoulders. Out of curiosity, he tried to do the same thingter and realized that it was a nearly impossible feat until he pushed himself in his Bih form. This allowed Vahn to realize that the flexibility of their bodies even exceeded his own, which was already developed to a rtively ridiculous level. Maemis next opponents were a group of goblins, but Vahn finished off the majority until there were only two left. She kept her body low as she dashed forward and Vahn felt like she was trying to emte how ninjas ran in Naruto for a brief moment until she leaped onto the closest goblin, stabbed it in the head, and then tried to vault away in an inexperienced manner. Her momentum had knocked the goblin back and it made her flip fail tounch her body far but she was able to twist herself andnd on her feet regardless. Vahn felt like this was her natural instinct and thought the scene was very interesting to view from his current position. She tried to emte his smooth movements and swipe away at the remaining goblin, but the majority of her attacks were too shallow because she couldnt properly gauge the distance. Fortunately, she had learned her lesson and immediately moved to create a distance before trying again when the goblin attacked toward her. She used the momentum of its charges to strike at its sides and legs, but Vahn knew that type of moment wasnt suitable for most monsters and would correct her on itter. There needed to be more weight behind her strikes or she would never be able to prate the thick hides of the majority of monsters beyond the fifth floor. Vahn started to realize why the twins had chosen the weighted daggers that looked like curved cleavers. They didnt have the physical strength to deal with the monsters quickly and Vahn was wondering if he should ask Chloe to teach them how to properly handle daggers. After a short while, Maemi ended up getting around to the goblins back before stabbing it through the shoulder in the approximate location of its heart. She, fortunately, managed to clip the magic stone in its body which caused it to turn to dust before she fell onto her butt again and drew heavy breaths. Vahn shook his head with a wry smile before using Shundo to appear next to her and calming her body by cing his palm on her back. He could use [Hands of Nirvana] to help to remove any muscle strains in her body just like he used to do for Lili back in the day. Maemis breathing returned to normal after a minute or so passed and she enjoyed theforting energy on her back in silence before Vahn helped her stand again. She showed a somewhat bashful smile as she ced her index fingers and thumbs together and said, "Thank you very much..." Vahn pat her on the head once before saying, "Youre doing well, do you think you can keep going?" Maemi nodded her head confidently and they made their way further into the dungeon until she suddenly came to a stop a few minutester. Vahn could see her eyes widen a bit as her ears twitched about so he asked, "Is something the matter, Maemi?" She had a small frown on her face as her brows furrowed and she said, "Emiru is in trouble...she is very scared." As she spoke, Maemis body flinched and she held her hand at her side as she curled over. Vahn reached out to support her by the shoulder and noticed a small puncture wound had actually appeared in her side. Vahn healed the wound with [Hands of Nirvana] and tried to make sense of the situation as he asked, "Has anything like this ever happened before?" Though he wasnt certain, Vahn was rtively sure this had something to do with their Innate ability. Maemi nodded her head and had a concerned look on her face as she exined, "The reason we always stay together, is because whenever we feel powerful emotions, the other person can always feel it. We always get sick at the same time and when we got small injuries they would sometimes appear on the other persons body...there was even a time where we both broke our arms at the same time, even though I was the only person that fell from the tree." Though it wasnt the most gentlemanly action, Vahn lifted the side of Maemis bouse to confirm that the wound hadpletely healed. Her blouse was a vani-white, so she now had a dark-red blood stain where the puncture had appeared earlier. He was going to ask, but Maemis expression returned to normal as she stated confidently, "She is okay..." Vahn nodded his head before thinking about if he should return or not. He knew Ryuu could use [Noah Heal] to recover, not only wounds but stamina as well. As long as she was with Emiru, Vahn was confident they would both be okay. The most likely thing that had urred was that Emiru had met a goblin, or something simr, that had a weapon and got injured. After thinking for a while, Vahn said, "Lets take a break for the time being...I want you to try and focus on your sister and tell me if you can feel anything for the next hour or so." Vahn moved over to the wall and set a cushion down for Maemi to sit on as he sat with his back to the wall. She nodded her head and muttered in a low voice, "Thank you, Vahn-sama..." before sitting down on the cushion and trying to calm her mind. Just like when she spoke in concert with her twin, Maemi began to focus on the connection they had always shared to see if she could feel anything from her sister that was well over 2km away. A few minutes passed in silence before Maemi muttered in a somewhatzy, almost dazed sounding, voice, "I can see...Emiru, she is fighting against a Kobold..." Vahn didnt interrupt her words and was staring at her body with his [Eyes of Truth] active so he could see the fluctuations of mana in her body. He could also see that her muscles tensed up slightly, almost as if she were subconsciously matching the movements of Emiru. With this much evidence, Vahn was certain they had a very powerful bond, and it was likely a result of their sealed Innate. Though it would take some study, Vahn even assumed they could be experiencing each others growth if they shared their thoughts and experiences together... Another two minutes passed before Maemi smiled and opened her lc colored eyes and said, "She won~." Vahn nodded his head with a smile and said, "Go ahead and continue focusing...I want you to repeat everything you can see...focus on the feelings and try to imagine what Emiru is hearing...smelling...tasting...focus on all the senses you can share." Vahn had been speaking in a gentle, almost hypnotic tone as Maemi closed her eyes and rxed the tensions in her body. After a while, Maemi began to narrate everything she was experiencing, "Emiru...she is tired...and she feels...jealous?" Hearing her own words, Maemi giggled a bit before continuing, "Ah, she can feel myughter too...now she is a little angry. I can almost hear her cursing at me under her breath...oh, Ryuu-sama just yelled at her to stay focused." Without disturbing her much, Vahn whispered in a low tone, "Very good, Maemi...continue to focus on everything Emiru is experiencing." Emiru eventually got into a fight with three Goblins and was doing her best to follow Ryuus instructions and stay outside their range to prevent herself from being surrounded. Maemi continued to narrate everything she was doing, including how she used rocks as make-shift projectiles to create gaps in the Goblins defenses. One of the stones crushed the eye of a goblin and both Maemi and Emiru felt a bit nauseous before a warm energy spread through their minds after Vahn ced his hand on Maemis head. Emiru recovered quickly and eventually dispatched the three Goblins with a fair amount of excitement when she receivedpliments from Ryuu. Maemi opened her lc eyes and stared at Vahn as he removed his hand from her head and asked, "Were you able to feel everything?" Maemi nodded her head and exined, "Its a very strange feeling, almost like I was in Emirus body and fighting with her. When you put your hand on my head, we both felt a lot calmer and she was able to fight without feeling afraid..." Vahn nodded his head and, with a wide smile on his face, said, "Lets go to your sister, I think this is a significant matter that needs to be investigated further. If youre able to share senses like this, I think it would be better to train you together instead of separating you like this." Maemi nodded her head but Vahn saw the subtle mncholy in her eyes before he shook his head helplessly and said, "Dont worry, if you work hard Ill find a suitable reward for you. For now, aim for Level 2 alongside Emiru so you can help protect each other in the future. I think the two of you have a lot of potential if you strengthen the bond you share." Vahn wanted them to activate the [Gemini] Innate because he was very curious about the Innate abilities of other people. Each of his provided an incredible boost to his capabilities, so he had very high expectations for the unique ability shared by the twins. After hearing his encouraging words, Maemi showed a somewhat lovely smile and nodded her head in affirmation before following behind Vahn obediently. Along the way, Vahn asked her to try and send a message to Emiru so they would be able to intercept each other in a shorter amount of time. He even gave Maemi a map to see if they were able to read the same map through each others vision. Other than when she was fighting small groups of monsters, Vahn led Maemi slowly through the dungeon while having her focus on the connection she had with Emiru. A half hour passed before Vahn and Maemi reunited with the somewhat surprised Ryuu who was escorting Emiru. The twins got near each other and Emiru said toward Ryuu, "I told you, I could feel Maemi calling me~!" Ryuu nodded her head and walked over to Vahn as the twins were discussing their experience. He wasnt trying to keep anything from the twins, and he also knew they could probably hear him, but Vahn said in a low voice, "They share a powerful connection with each other that will likely affect their growth in the future. I was able to see that Maemis body actually reacted whenever Emiru was inbat, so I think their growth may be tied to each others." Ryuu had a thoughtful expression as she looked at the twins that were giving them sidelong nces and said, "I believe it...when Emiru got wounded earlier, I noticed that it began to heal before I even used my magic. She told me she could feel a warm energy and I assumed you had done something on your end." Ryuu could see the bloodstain on Maemis blouse and understood that Vahns words must be true based on the contextual evidence. Vahn had a thought, so he waved over the twins and they both walked over in concert with each other, tilted their heads in the same direction, and asked, "Yes, Vahn-sama~?" Vahn smiled and said, "I wanted to try something, though Im not sure if itll work out..." Both Emiru and Maemi had something expectant looks as if they were encouraging him to continue, so he said, "Here, let me see your left hands." Though they werent sure of his intention, the twins held out their left hands at the same time and Vahn ced his index fingers on the backs of each. He tried to use his [Mentor] skill to overwrite the previous mark but didnt have any luck since there were two targets instead of one. After releasing a short sigh, Vahn ruminated for a moment before saying, "I want you both to focus, not just passively feel each other, but truly focus on what each person is feeling..." Emiru and Maemi blinked in sequence before closing their eyes and trying to do what Vahn said. After waiting for a few minutes, Vahn gingerly touched Emirus outstretched wrist before pushing down on it slightly. He noticed that Maemis hand fell at the same time as Emirus before an intrigued smile appeared on his face. It was very interesting to see how a second person was able to react based on the stimulus received by someone else. After removing his finger, both girls hands raised slightly before he ced his index finger on the back of Maemis hand. He waited for a few seconds before trying to create a new Mentors Mark. There was a short pause between the skill activation and Vahn could feel a peculiar sensation pulsing through his own energy. It was very difficult to describe, and it was unlike anything he had ever felt before so it created a strange incongruity in his own body before a small mark began to appear, not just on Maemis hand, but on the back of Emirus hand at the same time. Vahn felt a bit of excitement in his heart and continued to form the mark until it eventually became solid. When he was finished, he noticed there was actually only half of his face on Maemis hand, while Emirus had the other half. On the same spot located on his body, two halves of the girls faces had appeared and perfectly ovepped with each other to form a singr whole. Ryuu had been watching from the side and had even felt the strange magical fluctuations that had passed between the three. She had watched the mana flow from Vahns body into Maemis before it created a strange kind of feedback loop that began to feed into Emirus body as well. She had seen the marks eventually form and wasnt sure of what to make of the situation other than the fact that Vahns experiment had been sessful. Once again, she was surprised by his capabilities because he always seemed to be able to make the impossible into a reality. A small smile appeared on her face as she began to build a few expectations about the future. Ryuu wondered what kind of miracles he would make in the future and how far they would be able to walk the same path together. (A/N: Alternate Titles: smol STEPS,Do you feel it now, Ms. Rain?,Queue we are one from the Lion King 2) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 310 - *Boop, Title at Bottom*

Chapter 310 - *Boop, Title at Bottom*

After the mark had fully formed, the twins opened their eyes and saw their two halves of Vahns face on their hands beforeughing together. Vahn saw how happy they were and exined, "Im not sure if it will have the same effect as the original since there is still a lot Ive yet to discover about the [Mentor] Development Ability. Well see how well the two of you fight together before heading back to the surface. Its starting to get a bitte, and its not necessary for us to stay here for too much longer." In response to his words, the twins faced toward Vahn and bowed politely and said, "Yes, Vahn-sama~!" Vahns smile widened because it was always interesting to see identical girls acting in concert with each other. Even their outfits were exactly the same, and the only difference between them was that Emiru had a slight hole in her blouse and there was a different half of his face on their left hands. Before they set out to hunt more monsters, Ryuu looked toward Vahn and asked, "Should I return to the surface then?" Vahn nked for a moment before turning his gaze and stared into Ryuus sky-blue eyes and stalling his words a bit. Before he answered, she showed a small smile and said, "Make sure you watch over them properly. I know you should be fine, even if Im not here to take care of you." Ryuu handed Vahn the [Rallying Whistle] and a pouch full of potions that he stowed away in his inventory. Since her presence would actually stall the progress of the twins, it wouldnt be possible for her to apany them without experiencing some diminishing returns. Vahn felt a little awkward having Ryuu leave so quickly, so he reached his hands loosely around her waist and they shared a short hug that made Ryuu lower her head a bit. Since she didnt like to show affection in front of others, she was a little embarrassed being seen by the twins but didnt make any attempts to pull away either. After a few long seconds had passed, Vahn released Ryuu and said, "Ill see you tomorrow, unless you intend to stay at the Manor tonight..." Though there wasnt any intent behind his words, all three girls misunderstood what he said as Ryuus ears wiggled a bit before she turned away and started running out of the dungeon without responding. After watching her back for a short while, Vahn turned to see the twins giving him a strange look that caused his brows to furrow slightly. They noticed his expression before small smiles appeared on their faces as if nothing had happened at all. After shaking his head, Vahn led the two girls deeper into the dungeon until they found a room with three Goblins, and a single Kobold skulking about. Vahn whispered quietly to the twins, "From now on, you dont have to focus so much on attacking yet...I want you two to work together and evade the monsters and create openings for the other to exploit. Focus on the connect between you and see if you can coordinate your actions..." Emiru and Maemi nodded their heads at the same time before marching out into the room. After they took a few steps, the monsters were alerted to their presence and the twins leaned low and began charging forward. They followed Vahns orders, so they didnt immediately attack and tried to shepherd the monsters within the room for nearly ten minutes until the monsters movements were interfering with each other. Vahn had been watching from the side and nodded his head approvingly at their tactics, but also knew it would be detrimental if the monsters were much stronger, and faster, than the two girls. Even though Maemi had never used stones, or throwing weapons in general, she copied Emirus actions from earlier and they began to pelt the monsters while running around them in a counter-clockwise manner. Though the monsters didnt have strong self-preservation instincts, they still began to shy away from thebined attacks of Emiru and Maemi as they tried to shield their faces. Vahn began to realize that the girls might have a talent for taming monsters, since he had read up on it a bit in the past. The only requirement was to eventually force a monster to submit without killing it, and it started to look like the four monsters within their encirclement were about to abandon the fight and try to run away. Not long after Vahn had the thought, the Kobold tried to sprint away from the group and break the encirclement only to be greeted by Emirus dagger as she lopped off its head. Since it had foregone defensive actions, it had left its body and head exposed to attacks. The most important thing to note, however, was that Maemi was able to exploit the opening when the goblins tried to move toward Emirus nk to attack them from behind. She stabbed her dagger into the back of the Goblins shoulder des and pierced its magic core before moving to attack the second one. The Goblins were confused about who to attack as Emiru turned around and both twins dispatched the Goblins before they were able to decide which direction to attack. After they had all vanished, both of the twins fell to their butts simultaneously which caused Vahns brows to raise slightly. Since he had been watching the fight through his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn was able to tell that they were, in fact, very tired. However, he could also tell they hadnt used up enough stamina to copse as Maemi had done previously. The fact that they both fell at the same time told him that they either experienced a mental load from focusing on the connection, or they hade to an agreement to try and get him to pamper them both. Judging by how their tails flickered about when Emiru gave him a sidelong nce, Vahn assumed it was thetter of the two possibilities. Vahn thought their actions were rather adorable and had a small smile on his face because they had acted synchronously to put on the act together. After a brief moment of thought, Vahn felt like teasing them while also testing something out at the same time. He walked over to where the two girls were sitting and asked, "Do you need me to help you recover, or would you like a stamina potion?" At the same time, both girls raised their right hands and chimed, "Help us, Vahn-sama~!" Vahn nodded his head and kneeled down next to Emiru as he said, "I want to test something out to see how the connection between the two of you works. Since I was able to help heal your wound earlier, I want to see if recovering your stamina affects Maemi. Focus your mind and rx your body..." Emirus ears twitched up and she had a pleased expression on her face as Maemis ears ttened and she adopted a dejected appearance. Vahn saw their reactions and wanted tough, but he instead said in a firm tone, "Emiru, Maemi, this is very important to discover the best method to help the two of you grow stronger in the future. Please, focus your minds and rx...if it works as intended, you should be able to feel the same sensations Maemi." Though she had been preparing toply with his words at first, Maemis ears shot back up after she heard the second half of Vahns statement. She locked eyes with Emiru and they both nodded before closing their eyes. Vahn waited for a little while before he noticed the twins breathing began to synchronize. Out of curiosity, he used [Eyes of Truth] to investigate and noticed that, though their hearts werent in concert yet, they were beginning to match each others rhythm. After waiting for around two minutes, Vahn noticed the twins had started to ovep their actions perfectly and he was even able to tell that their auras had started to turn the same. Confident in his next actions, Vahn ced his palm against Emirus back and used [Hands of Nirvana] to help recover any stress injuries in her body while replenishing her stamina a bit. He immediately noticed that there was a strange incongruity in his usage of the skill since it seemed to be operating at half efficacy, even though he was performing the routine normally. Though this might have confused him at first, Vahn smiled after realizing this and turned his attention to Maemi and noticed that his own energy had spread to her body even though he wasnt in contact with her at all. There was a bit of loss during the transfer, but this allowed Vahn to verify that he was, in fact, able to benefit both twins at the same time while focusing his efforts on a single girl. Once Emiru was fully restored, Vahn continued to replenish her energy to top off Maemi as he reached up with his free hand and gingerly poked the back of her ear. It was an almost negligible touch, but Vahn saw that both Emirus and Maemis ears twitched at the same time and he felt an urge tough with how interesting their reactions were. He was very tempted to conduct a few other experiments, but there were more pressing matters at the moment so he removed his hand from Emirus back and said, "This is actually one of the most incredible things Ive ever seen...you two share a powerful bond between each other and can actually influence one-another without touching. However, as it was seen earlier, this can also be a double edged sword since you both share the same injuries when you are synched up and experiencing powerful emotions." Hearing Vahns words, both girls nodded their heads and had their attention focused entirely on everything he was saying. Though they already knew they had a special connection, as theyd spent their entire lives together, it was only today that they realized how truly unique it was. The most important thing to them, however, was the fact they were able to share their senses and experienced the same pleasant feelings while also growing stronger at the same time. Unlike the other girls, who could only use the Mentor Mark individually, they were able to work together and benefit from each others progress. After going over his hypothesis for a bit, Vahn took the twins to another room where there were only two Kobolds. He nodded his head and said, "Okay, I want to try something new this time..." Vahn stroked his chin for a bit before he continued, "Ill keep Maemi here and use [Hands of Nirvana] to help keep her body in an optimal condition while Emiru fights the Kobolds. You dont have to focus on defeating them quickly, just try to move around as much as you can and I want to see if youre able to benefit from the energy transmitted through Maemi and continue the fight for a longer period of time." The twins nodded their heads before locking eyes with each other as if they were having a conversation that Vahn couldnt hear. He squinted his eyes slightly until they nodded at each other and Emiru charged into the room with her weapon drawn. Maemi moved over and muttered, "Vahn-sama, if you please..." Vahnplied with her request and ced his palm against her back before using [Hands of Nirvana] to replenish her already full energy reserves. Since she was focused on the connection with Emiru, Vahn was able to see her muscles twitch about as if they were simtingbat even though she was standing idly at the side. Vahn watched as Emiru stretched her limits and continued going without stopping for even a moment until nearly twenty minutes had passed and both Kobolds eventually died from blood loss. She had left several small cuts on their bodies and they were unable to keep up with how quickly she was able to change direction. Though they were actually faster than her, Emiru was incredibly nimble and was able to sidestep and rapidly change direction because she had been developing her footwork in the morning with Ryuu and Aki. After the Kobolds had fallen, Vahn could see that Emiru was having small muscle spasms like she had over-drafted her body by arge amount. Though not nearly as much as her twin, Maemi was experiencing something simr and this caused Vahn to have a very serious expression on his face. Emiru had been able to continue the fight because her stamina continued to replenish, but the mental strain had taxed her greatly and it started to whittle away at how well she was able to control her body. This was both a good and bad, at the same time, since it showed they would be able to push their limits beyond normal levels with his assistance. There was even a high chance they would develop skills over time or even awaken rare abilities in the future. The major downside, however, was the fact that it could leave a trauma in their minds and bodies if they pushed themselves too far. There was a lot of adrenaline pumping through Emirus body currently and she was very on edge because of the extended engagement. Though he could do it through Maemi as a proxy, Vahn walked over before cing a futon on the ground and saying, "Rx your body for a bit, Ill help calm your nerves. If youd like, you cany down as well for the time being, Maemi." Emiru released a long sigh after hearing Vahns words before she dropped to her knees and copsed face-first onto the futon with a tired expression even though her body had plenty of energy. Maemi had also been affected by her state, so sheid down next to Emiru and they very naturally held each others hands and tried to rx even though they were in the dungeon. Before he kneeled down to the left of Emiru, Vahn realized he was probably teaching them bad practices, since they should never really drop their guards. However, he had spent time with the Loki Familia and noticed that they were often rxed around each other without being overly tense as he had learned to be when adventuring solo. He expected it was good for both the body, and the mind, to not stay in such a tense state all the time and you should be able to rely on your party members more to share the awareness of your surroundings. Vahn also had his domain, so the twins werent wrong to trust that he would alert them if things got dangerous. Vahn began to casually massage Emirus body and realized that he had never performed his techniques on any of the girls that he had saved recently. He actually really liked to perform his massages, and had even intended to work it into his schedule in the future. The fact he had held back for so long against the former ve girls caused a wry smile to appear on his face. Though he knew there could be a stimting factor to the massage, Vahn didnt consider it to be s.e.x.u.a.l in nature and there was no real harm in performing it on the girls around him. It might cause their affections for him to rise, but that didnt mean he had to let it develop into feelings, nor did he have to reciprocate their advances. Since they were also being suppressed by Fenrir, Vahn figured it would be good for their bodies if he tended to them after the more intense fights in the dungeons. Less than ten minutes after he began, Emiru had already turned to putty under his hands because she had almost no resistance against his S-Ranked technique as a mere Level 1. Maemi had also been affected and Vahn got to experience the somewhat peculiar scenario where he was able to massage two girls at once, without ever having toy a finger on the second girl. Though his instincts didnt tell him he was being watched, Vahnpressed his domain to within 10m and applied [Stealth] to blur the surrounding environment. Just like when he used his [Heart of the Eternal me], Vahn was able to elevate the heat within his domain to an incredible extent bypressing his domain. Though he could still perceive everything perfectly, Vahn knew it was almost impossible to probe his domain with any type of detection spells without being present within the vicinity. Even Mikotos ability, that could track anyone within the same Familia, was useless when Vahn seriously concealed his presence. Though he wasnt absolutely certain things were safe, Vahn felt a little impatient and exined to the somewhat catatonic girls that he was going to check their Status Boards. Since she was the lesser affected of the two, Maemi nodded her head and murmured, "Yesss, Vahn-sama...mauuuu~" Vahn raised his brows a bit at the new response before shaking his head and focusing on the matter at hand. Though he had the intention of checking their Statuses, Vahn realized that the girls wore blouses that covered their entire torso. He had grown so ustomed to being around nude girls, that the matter hadpletely slipped his mind for a moment. After a brief moment of hesitation, Vahn shook his head before rolling up the backs of the girls blouses and revealing their bare backs. Since they had been taught by Ryuu and Aki, both girls wore tape over their b.r.e.a.s.ts instead of bras, so their backs werepletely exposed by his actions. Vahn proceeded to prick the tip of his index finger before tracing it down Emirus spine and drawing a line of blood. Her Status Board, which had been concealed previously, appeared on her back as the familiar Hestia Familia crest and Vahn thought it was very suitable for her. After the blue light faded, Vahn was able to interpret the glyphs on her back and record her status within the system before performing the same ceremony on Maemi. When he was done, Vahn fixed their clothing and waited for them to recover as he stared with a massive grin on his face after seeing their updated Status. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Maemi Rain LV. 1 POW: I28->I44 END: I34->I45 DEX: I16->I31 AGI: 152->I76 MAG: I18->I19 Skill: [Gemini: Innate(E)] Magic: - Development Skill: - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Emiru Rain LV. 1 POW: I28->I44 END: I34->I45 DEX: I16->I31 AGI: 152->I76 MAG: I18->I19 Skill: [Gemini: Innate(E)] Magic: - Development Skill: - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: [Gemini] (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ryuus Waggling,INTRIGUING,Godhand now spans the void) (A/N: Woooo~! Even though I was sick this week, I managed to pump out the promised 100k words with a bit of time to spare <3. Hope you enjoyed another exciting week following Vahn along on his journey to find happiness (UwU) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 311 - Odd Eyes

Chapter 311 - Odd Eyes

Vahn was very satisfied with the growth of Maemi and Emiru, as it was a great amount of progress for their first trip into the dungeon. The only thing he found unsatisfactory was the fact he was unable to read any of the information rted to their Innate ability at all. Since he could barely interpret his own Innates, Vahn understood the reasoning behind why he was unable to see the details, but it was still somewhat inconvenient. This meant the twins were the only ones who were able to figure out how to use their Innate ability, but at least he could inform them about his spection and the fact the skill exists in the first ce. After waiting for a few minutes, Maemi was the first to recover as she raised up her body and stared nkly at Vahn for a few seconds before a mild blush appeared on her rtively fair skin. Even if he hadnt touched her body directly, Maemi had enjoyed the pleasant feelings of Vahns massage and had dazed about for a few minutes after he raised the back of her blouse. Though she was very embarrassed, Maemi felt an excitement bubbling up in her belly that made her feel a little giddy. Vahn gave her a curt nod when they made eye contact and handed her the piece of paper that recorded their updated Status. Maemi received the paper and a smile bloomed on her face after seeing that, other than her magic parameter, every other parameter was increasing rapidly. She suddenly felt like Vahns words about her bing stronger were true and the only thing she needed to do was make the effort to improve alongside Emiru. As she scanned down the paper, Maemi noticed something peculiar and c.o.c.ked her head to the side as she asked, "What is [Gemini]? Ive never heard of such a skill before...could it be a rare skill!?" Maemi suddenly started to get very excited and Vahn exined with a smile, "Yes, it wouldnt be incorrect to say it is an incredibly rare skill that is unique to you and Emiru. Even with my powerful identification ability, I cant see through the secrets of your skill though, so youll have to rely on each other to understand its uses. At the very least, it seems to allow your growth to continue in pace with each other while also linking your senses and experiences, both positively and negatively." Hearing Vahns words, Maemi started to get fired up even more, since she understood that Vahns identification ability was even stronger than most gods. If he couldnt see through it, it meant the skill had to be very powerful and unique, even though it was currently only Rank-E. Since they had been lectured several times about how skills grow, Maemi knew that the skill being at Rank-E, even though she was Level 1, showed that it had a lot of potential for development in the future. While she was thinking about its potential uses, Emiruzily raised her body as well before turning to stare at Vahn and Maemi. They had noticed her movements and looked over with moderately shocked expressions when they noticed that the color of her eyes had changed from lc to a snowy blue color. Maemi immediately pointed with her index finger and said, "Emiru, your eyes, they are blue!" Emiru tilted her head with an, Eh~? sound before Vahn pulled out a mirror for her to check her reflection. The moment she verified her sisters words, Emiru frowned a bit and said, "But, I dont want to be different from Maemi..." Her eyes began to mist up a bit and Vahn noticed that the snowy-blue color faded until the original lc color returned. Emiru had been the first to notice the change and released a relieved sigh as her shoulders drooped. After a short duration, she walked over and shared a hug with Maemi while Vahn was ruminating about what he had just seen. Since it wasnt a simple matter to change the color of the iris, that meant it had to be the result of a magical ability, or a skill that changed the basic function of the eye. The only skill the twins had was their [Gemini], so Vahn was positive it had something to do with their Innate ability. After thinking for a while, Vahn asked, "Wehn your eyes had changed, did you notice anything else strange?" Emiru and Maemi gave him a confused look so Vahn exined his spection about how the change in her eye color likely had something to do with their rare skill. Because it was a very serious matter, Emiru tried to think about if there had been any other changes since the time she woke up. After a few seconds passed, Emirus face showed a bit of confusion as she said, "I dont think there was anything after I woke up...but I remember hearing Vahn-sama talk about the skill and exining things earlier. It was like I was Maemi for a short while...?" Vahn squinted his eyes and could feel his own interest in the subject expanding rapidly as he asked inquisitively, "Do you think you can focus on that feeling even more? Now that the two of you know about [Gemini], I think youll be able to make better use of the connection you share from now on." Hearing Vahns request, Emiru nodded before making eye contact with Maemi and the two seemed to be having another private conversation that excluded Vahn. He didnt know if they had telepathy, or if there was something more unique going on, but he understood they were somehow able to understand each other without even speaking. More than a minuteter, they both held out one of their hands and ced them together so that they looked to be mirroring each other. Vahn immediately activated his [Eyes of Truth] to see if there was something going on and he saw the mana in their bodies had started to intertwine until, nearly ten minutester, it became a smooth flow. The moment the flow stabilized, a snowy-blue light shed and Emiru vanishedpletely. Vahn panicked for a brief moment until he noticed that Maemi was very calm as she looked toward him with a small smile on her face. Her smile wasnt the only thing Vahn noticed, as she now had heterochromatic eyes with one being lc whilst the other was a snowy-blue. On her left hand, instead of a half-faced image of himself, it had now be a whole as if the two girls bodies hadpletely fused together. Vahn was about to ask what was happening until a gentle lc colored magical light shined and Emiru reappeared after splitting from Maemis body. The moment they separated, both of the twins passed out on the spot and Vahn could tell they were in a Mind Down status and hadpletely used up their mana. Before they fell to the ground, Vahn caught the two girls in his arms and stared at their unconscious forms with the light of interest burning vibrantly within his pupils. He had never seen two people fusing together in the manner that they showed, and it represented countless possibilities for the future if they were to master the skill. Though he couldnt be sure, since he had been somewhat shocked when Emiru disappeared, he still had his [Eyes of Truth] active at the time and felt like Maemi had be a lot stronger when they fused together. As that thought passed through his mind, Vahn angled his head a bit and mused, "Maybe that wasnt Maemi anymore...but both of them together?" There were so many questions that Vahn wanted to know the answer to, including if Emiru was the only one that would vanish and be absorbed by Maemi. If it worked both ways, the girls might even be able to avoid damage by absorbing the other into their body and randomly splitting to evade other attacks... Vahn grew excited at the prospects that their shared Innate showed and wanted to help the girls find out the best way to make use of their abilities in the future. For now, however, he just let the twoy down as he watched over them while they slept. Though it might have been misunderstood by a random passerby, Vahn ced his palms against the navels of the two girls and began to channel his energy into their body while using [Yggdrasils Favor] and [Hands of Nirvana] to replenish their mana with his source energy. Since the core of a persons mana came from around their navel, it was the best ce to insert the energy, even though simply holding hands would have allowed for a somewhat inefficient transfer. Though he had pretended to care at first, Vahn felt like the stomachs of the sleeping girls were somewhat springy, even though they still had the softness he associated with women. Since they had very lithe figures, there wasnt much, if any, fat on their stomachs and Vahn was tempted to press his hand more firmly against their bellies but resisted the urge. After a few minutes passed, the girls finally awoke at the same time and stared at Vahns hands where the two strange energies were entering their body. Vahn smiled at them and pulled his hands away and exined, "The two of you went into a Mind Down state and I replenished your mana reserves with my own. I didnt imagine youd like to spend the night sleeping on the dungeon floor so I decided to wake you up, sorry about that." Without responding to his words, the twins looked at each other as if they were having another private conversation before turning back to him several secondster and saying, "With Vahn-sama protecting us, we dont feel like sleeping in the dungeon is that scary at all~." Vahn gave the two a wry smile before ruffling their silver hair and standing up. He extended his hands to help the girls stand as he said, "Weve done enough for tonight, lets head home and get some proper rest. You two did very well, and thanks for listening to my selfishness whenever I asked you to try something new." The girls shook their heads and said, "No, Vahn-sama has allowed us to understand something very important about ourselves. Without your help, we may have grown apart at some point and never developed our own rare skill. Now, we feel like we can be a lot stronger..." The twins bowed their heads low and continued, "Thank you, Vahn-sama~!" Vahn felt very satisfied by the twins response and couldnt prevent a genuine smile from appearing on his face as he said, "You two have endless potential...I look forward to seeing how far youll be able to go in the future. Now, lets get out of this stuffy ce before it gets toote..." The twins responded with happy smiles as they followed along behind him obediently. On their way out of the dungeon, Vahn let the twins fight together to improve their coordination further and they were able to y most small groups of monsters without difficulty. This was the benefit of being able to update a status within the dungeon, because the twins parameters had been able to increase without having to return to the surface. They were already much stronger than when they had entered and it was very obvious to both themselves and Vahn. Seeing how rapid their own improvement was made the twins especially fired up and they managed to kill an additional 31 total monsters before they finally returned to the surface. It was slightly after 11 PM when they exited the dungeon, but there were still stalls within Babel that were open 24/7, so Vahn purchased ate-night snack for the twins before they headed back to the Manor. It was nearing midnight by the time they arrived, but Vahn was able to see that Hestia was still awake because she had just left his room and was heading down the corridor towards the stairs. Vahn had a wry smile on his face, because he briefly imagined Hestiaying on his bed like a certain Pallum and Chienthrope girl while enjoying his scent. Though they tried to get him to join them, Vahn sent the twins off to the bath alone as he moved to intercept Hestia. Though they seemed dejected at first, Vahn teased them by asking them if they had learned to read from Fenrir yet. The moment he mentioned the terrifying wolf girl the twins immediately gave up on their attempts and trotted off to the bathroom to change out of their somewhat grimy clothing and enjoy a nice, hot, bath. Hestia finally made her way down and Vahn caught her out of the air when she leaped into his arms. They exchanged a brief kiss before Vahn asked, "Did something happen that you needed to tell me before going to bed?" Hestia released a short sigh before staring up with her crystalline blue eyes and said, "I just wanted to wee you back when you finally arrived. There is some information though, from Hephaestus and Loki. They said that, as long as you avoid approaching Freya yourself, she shouldnt be a problem for the time being. Here, lets go take a bath and Ill exin all the details." Hestia dropped down from Vahns body and started leading the way towards the mens changing room. Vahn saw her casual actions and the ringly pink aura rising like a column of mes from her body as he followed behind her with a small smile on his face. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns Experimental Nature,Fuuuuuuuu-sion! Ha~!,Endless Possibilities) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 312 - Schedule

Chapter 312 - Schedule

Vahn learned through Hestia about the meeting between Hephaestus, Loki, and Freya within the top floor of Babel. Though he wasnt aware of the details, Vahn knew that Freya had likely been scheming against him and that she hade to an agreement to not interfere with his life and had even allied herself with Hephaestus and Loki, though she didnt actually join the Alliance. Vahn knew that he would probably have topromise with her a bit in the future, but at least he didnt have to worry about the troublesome goddess targeting the people close to him for the time being. Now that the looming threat of Freya had been temporarily dealt with, Vahn had a lot of freedom to take actions and start increasing the strength of the Familia. Even though he was Level 3, with two Level 4s assisting him, the Familia itself was still only I rank. Since they had neverpleted any actual missions through the guild and obtained any achievements, their Familias standing was still low and Vahn wanted to improve it now that there was time. He wanted to help the girls get to Level 2 while also trying to improve his [Mentor] Development Ability in the hopes that it will allow him to mentor more than one person at a time. During the next days training, Vahn noticed that Haruhime, Emiru, and Maemi were in much higher spirits than normal and were putting in more effort. It could have just been the result of their parameters increasing, but Vahn was able to see their auras burning brightly and knew they were very motivated. Once they were finished, Vahn gathered everyone together and exined what had been happening behind the scenes for thest two days. He also exined that now was the best time to try and improve their abilities while progressing into the dungeon andpleting quests for the Guild. Since they were going to be much more active, Vahn consulted with Ryuu and Aki to draw up a schedule for everyones duties, which even included a points system to obtain rewards. Aki had exined that it was bad practice to always give equipment and items to the members of the Familia, because it would inhibit them from developing a self-reliance on their own capabilities. Their members should be encouraged to push themselves a bit in order to obtain benefits since it would also promote their mentality and give them the motivation to grow stronger. Vahn agreed to their terms, even though they had only shown him one of the lists for the rewards, which included custom items and other things that the girls would have to exchange Valis, points, and materials to obtain. Vahn was aware there was a second list, but it was kept a secret from him which pretty much told him it was rted to services he provided, amongst other things. For Vahns own schedule, he would be alternating between escorting Haruhime into the dungeon, and teaming up with the twins so they could progress at a rtively even pace. Vahns main focus was on developing their skills and abilities, while Ryuu and Aki would alternate taking the other girls into the dungeon to develop teamwork and increase the Rank of the Familia. Fenrir was left on guard duty since Vahn wasnt the only one worried about how the other girls would react when they saw her devouring monsters. Though they knew she was Vahns tamed monster, it was hard to see Fenrir as anything more than a cute wolf girl that liked to be spoiled. Until their mentalities improved, and they were less sensitive to that type of thing, Fenrir wouldnt be partying with the other girls. Other than the time he had scheduled for entering the dungeon, Vahn also gave Hestia the green light to ept bookings for massages in the future as well as scheduling time to take the measurements of the various girls he would be making equipment for. Though he wasnt aware of it at the time, there was also a second list going around about who would get to spend time with Vahn when he took the weekends off. There was also a Vahnatus scheduled since Hephaestus and Loki wanted to gather everyone together and discuss the uing Denatus and what would change in the future. The number of attendees had grown by a fair amount, and they also wanted to make sure everyone was up to speed on the need to know information concerning Vahn. Though it might seem like the girls were trying to organize Vahns life for him, he actually had a lot of sway in what he wanted to do and could easily move about as he pleased. He might not be able to visit the headquarters of the members of the Alliance, but it didnt stop Vahn from meeting up with their members. The Guild had taken a wait and see approach when it came to enforcing his probation anyways since Ouranos suspected there was a major event ying out that would likelye to a head at the Denatus. Using this newfound freedom, Vahn visited Hephaestus with Haruhime and they enjoyed a long tea time where they cuddled together after Vahn gave her the [Maternity Band] and exined its uses. Haruhime also tried to make a good impression on Hephaestus and the two seemed to mesh together well when Vahn showed Hephaestus the equipment and essories he was developing for the young Renard. When Hephaestus saw the essories and learned about their function, she gave Vahn a fervent gaze like she was about to eat him up on the spot. Though it wasnt the first item she had seen that could contain mana, it was the first time she had seen it in such apact form like a bracelet. The capacity of its storage was actually very high as well, as it could store an average of 720 mana within each essory. This meant that, with proper preparation, a mage would have an emergency store of 3600 mana while also improving the actual efficacy of their spells. Vahns essories were another revolutionary concept that would fundamentally change the world in the future. Vahn exined how the items were produced and, after having Haruhime wait outside, gave her a specialized container that stored 500ml of his own blood within. Though the container he initially used couldnt keep the blood from decaying, Vahn had discovered that he could use the crystalline containers used for preserving the medicinal properties of potions to keep his blood for an indefinite period of time. Hephaestus took the container and had a serious expression on her face as she said, "Ill protect this process with absolute secrecy..." Hephaestus knew that it would cause a stir if people discovered that the blood of demigods, or gods for that matter, could be used as a container to store mana. Vahn nodded his head before lovingly stroking Hephaestuss face as he kissed her deeply for a time. Before they eventually parted and Vahn left for the dungeon, he kneeled down and caressed her rtively firm, muscr, stomach for a short while before kissing below her belly button. Hephaestus lovingly stroked his hair and Vahn could hear an endless number of notifications sounding in the back of his mind about how her Love parameter was increasing. She was currently the person with the absolute highest parameter for him, with her Love reaching 21,483 points. The next closest was Fenrir, who had a Loyalty value of 11,992 followed by Tiona who had a Love value of 1,165. After leaving Hephaestuss workshop, Vahn casually made his way toward the Dungeon while escorting Haruhime who was currently wearing a new kimono with a few other pieces of equipment topliment her outfit. Her previous kimono had been torn on the sleeves, and she now wore one that was slightly more durable while also wearing a pair of thin, ck, bracers on her forearms. Underneath her kimono, since it only extended to the upper half of her thigh, she wore a pair of ck spats that ran to around the middle-point of her thigh with a pair of thin shin guards that merged into her ck boots that had a slight heel to them. She originally wore a pair of sandals, but quickly learned that they interfered with her mobility and exchanged them for something more practical. Vahn felt like she was turning more into a kunoichi than a priestess, but he nned to fix the image a bit when he finished her equipment in the future. She also wore a ck obi around her waist with the white-gold essories on her wrists and ankles. Because her stats were still quite low, Vahn had decided to trade in the [001] he had given Haruhime before purchasing a magical weapon for her to use. He wasnt sure what item would suit her the best, but Vahn had noticed that Haruhime had been trying to replicate his movements with the katana in the past so he used the gacha function that he typically avoided and spent 30,000OP for three of the basic gacha roles. Since it allowed him to narrow down a few search terms, Vahn had input Katana, Magical, Beautiful since he thought they were the most suitable terms for Haruhime. Within his mind, there was a giant wheel that appeared and spun around before spitting out two white lights and a single blue light. Vahn quickly inspected the basic drops andpared the items to their original OP cost and realized he had lost around 13,000OP as theirbined total was only 7,000OP. Fortunately, the blue item was actually worth 91,000OP so he had obtained a positive. Vahn pulled out the katana named [Sakura Blossom] out of his inventory and raised his brows slightly due to the actual beauty of the design. Its scabbard was predominantly ck and it had vibrant pink sakura petals decorating its length as if a branch were extending from the guard. The handle of the katana was also ck, with white undertones, and the cord wrapped around the scabbard was a mesh of ck and pink interwoven in an intricate pattern. The guard itself was ck, but it had a beautiful design that also showed sakura petals iid into it as if the de bloomed from the handle. When Vahn unsheathed the katana, he noticed the de was wless and had an impable wavy pattern along the actual de. Vahn could read the characters on the de and understood they meant, Infinite, Sakura, and Blossom. Along the spine of the katana, there was an almost unnoticeable red line that, when Vahn channeled his energy into the de, glowed with a vibrant pink. [Sakura Blossom] Rank: A (Magic) P.Atk: 440+40 M.Atk: 880 Abilities: Blossom(B), Magical Amplification(B), Piercing(A) An intricately designed Katana that had been forged at the request of a proud Lord in a distantnd. He had gifted the weapon to his daughter, whose favorite past time had been polishing her swordsmanship under the perpetually blooming cherry trees within the mountains. Use: Blossom(B): Creates a storm of cherry blossoms that dance around the user and cuts through foes. Chant: Dance, fading effervescence. Blossom, petals of spring. ~Blossom! After reading the chant within his mind, Vahn c.o.c.ked his head a bit since he was able to imbue his energy into the de without saying a single word. He swung the katana and a gentle wind sprung up around his body as beautiful pink flower petals dancedzily through the air. They seemed to defy gravity, and whenever Vahn moved around, they petals would move with him and follow the path of the de. From the side, Haruhime had been watching his movements and muttered in a quiet tone, "Beautiful..." In her eyes, Vahn was moving around fluidly while surrounded by vibrant pink flow petals, almost like he was dancing in the wind, untouched by the murky darkness around them. Once he was satisfied, Vahn sheathed the katana and the petals dissolved out of the air before he handed to Haruhime and said, "This is for you, itll help you develop your Magic parameter while also improving your other capabilities in the future." Haruhimes eyes widened as she quickly snatched away the katana and held it like a priceless treasure. Vahn saw her reaction and smiled since he found her to be quite adorable at the moment. She had noticed his look and blushed slightly as her ears twitched about. After calming down, she fixed the [Sakura Blossom] through her ck obi and Vahn quickly realized the ck design perfectly matched the aesthetic of Haruhimes outfit. After exining the use of the weapon, Vahn led Haruhime into the dungeon without any hesitation as they made their way towards the deeper floors. Since he was worried about her ability to take on monsters with higher endurance, Vahn wanted Haruhime to fight some Dungeon Lizards while also learning how to control the [Sakura Blossom] to deal with groups of enemies. He noticed that the energy consumption of the katana wasnt that high, so Vahn hoped Haruhime would be able to make proper use of it since her Magic parameter was already over 600 points. She also had the essories fully charged and Vahn was curious to see how far she could go without his support. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Calm...,Hephaestuss Overwhelming Love,Scatter...I mean Blossom! If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Chapter 313 - Captivating

Chapter 313 - Captivating

Not long after he had gifted the [Sakura Blossom] to Haruhime, she got to use it in actualbat. Because the de was somewhat shorter, around 65cm, Haruhime was able to use it without interfering with her previous, dance-like movements. The only thing that seemed out of ce was the sheath so Vahn starting considering alternatives while watching her prance about and cut down monsters. He wanted her to get used to using the magical ability of the sword, so Haruhime would shout, "Dance, fading effervescence. Blossom, petals of spring. ~Blossom!" before the start of an engagement and there would be a few petals dancing around her body in a very captivating manner. Though there were significantly fewer petals floating around her body than when he used it, Vahn actually thought it was a very lovely sight. He also got to see the actual effect of the petals when a Kobold had tried to break through the small barrier of wind and three of them cut through its body as if there was no resistance at all. Vahn could see, through the use of his [Eyes of Truth], that the petals were highly condensed des of mana and the wind that flowed around Haruhimes body was actually a transparent magical energy that altered the flow of the petals ording to the movements of the user. This was why, even if Haruhime wasnt moving, the petals would continue to slowly revolve around her body and keep a safe distance away from her. After sessfully ying arge group of monsters, Haruhime waved the katana about happily and dissipated all the petals before she sheathed it. She would then run over to his side and Vahn would pat her head while exining where she could improve while her stamina and mana slowly recovered. Haruhime listened to his words very attentively and he was able to see her actively using the advice he had given her in the very next fight. Vahn began to suspect this was the influence of the [Mentor] skill, since she hadnt shown nearly the same improvement even though she had been training with Ryuu daily. Since the [Mentor] Development Ability was something that had never been doc.u.mented before, Vahn was the first wielder and the only one that could understand its use presently. Some of the things he had learned, though it was all still spection, was that the recipient of the Mentors Mark seemed especially receptive to his advice. There was also a noticeable glow to the mark, that only he could see, that allowed him to interpret how effective the skill was while in use. Through proper motivation, careful exnation, and adequate rewards, Vahn was able to make the mark shine brightly and it seemed to make his lessons more effective. Vahn honestly felt like the ability was a bit of a cheat, since he had the ability to already see auras to determine a persons mood, subtly manipte their affections, and could even use his [Eyes of Truth] to see through the ws in their movements to offer the most practical advice without forcing them to conform to his ownbat methods. One example was, Vahn noticed that Haruhime always focused her weight on her left foot as a pivot since she was left-handed. This meant most of her attacks came from the left side of a monster, since she liked to spin and slice them, but always left openings on her right side while exposing several other parts of her body. If she continued down this path, Haruhimes moves would be repetitive and she would be restricted in the means she had to attack the enemy. After Vahn pointed out the downsides and made a few suggestions, Haruhimepletely changed her approach tobat and started leading with her right foot more often and using it as a pivot for a variety of thrusts. She had even, after his suggestion, started trying to fight with her right hand and mirroring her former movements to improve the bnce of her technique. Vahn himself was ambidextrous, since he had very high dexterity as a [Master Smith], and had always fought with the use of his instincts instead of any actual technique. He usually fought with a somewhat squared stance that would allow him to change position easily and used a loose-grip to hold a sword that allowed him to swing it omnidirectionally without having any habits to speak of. He had picked up this habit after watching Tsubakis training, since she could also masterfully fight with both hands, even if she was wielding heavy weapons. As they were both [Master Smith]s, Vahn and Tsubaki had a benefit that wasnt enjoyed by most Adventurers which was an incredible flexibility in theirbat style. Because of their familiarity with weapons, they were able to use any weapon they got their hands on, even though Vahn was the most proficient with a sword. When Vahn exined his reasoning to Haruhime, she had sparkles in her green eyes and even asked, "Should I learn to forge as well~?" Vahn imagined Haruhime wearing a kimono while mming down a heavy hammer and couldnt help but feel there was an incongruity to the image. Instead, he shook his head and exined, "I dont think it suits you that much. Your movements are elegant and carry a simr quality to a dance, so Id like to see how far you can polish your own style in the future. I think youre more suited to elegant hobbies like tea ceremonies, reading, and maybe sewing." Though it felt a little strange to rationalize a person based on their appearance and disposition, Vahn couldnt help but feel like they were the most suitable things for Haruhime to practice. As if to prove his statement, Haruhime held up her sleeve to cover her mouth as she giggled with squinted eyes. After a short while, she showed an elegant smile and straightened her back as she asked, "Do you prefer me to act elegantly~?" Vahn furrowed his brows slightly and was thinking of his answer before Haruhime continued, "I know, you want me to do the things I want without worrying about you. But, worrying about you is one of the things I want to do; it makes me feel happy inside~!" Vahn swallowed his words and showed a slightly wry smile as he patted Haruhimes head and said, "Well, I dont want to make you unhappy..." Remembering her earlier question, Vahn nodded and said in a cursory manner, "I feel that the elegant and gentle Haruhime is the most suitable." Haruhimes ears waggled a bit and Vahn felt like her disposition suddenly changed to be simr to how it was when she first entered the Hearth Manor. She seemed to stand straighter and there was a practice to each of her movements and expressions as she followed behind him with short, but quick, steps. Vahn suddenly felt like he was escorting a nobledy even though she was wearingbat attire and carrying a katana. There was a gentle, almost cid, look to Haruhimes green eyes and they suddenly seemed to be as deep as a stillke. Vahn didnt know why, but he suddenly felt a bit of pressureing from the small Renard girl. After having spent an hour on the first floor, Vahn showed Haruhime down to the second level of the dungeon and tested her about her knowledge before they finally entered. She was able to urately name all the monsters on the floor, including their habits, weaknesses, and drop items. Vahn knew that theoretical knowledge didnt hold up against practical experience, but it would be very useful if properly applied to the strategies used when fighting monsters. Haruhime was able to use what she had learned during her study sessions to change how she approached the monsters and was getting better at dealing with groups. Her stats, when they started, were actually lower than the twins, yet she was able to fight for longer periods of time since her movements were more fluid and didnt drain as much stamina. She also had an incredibleprehension ability due to her naturally monstrous Magic parameter and it showed in how quickly she was adapting tobat. The twins had taken more than ten minutes to fight a group of five monsters together, but Haruhime was able to deal with a group of six Kobolds, each faster than she was, without issue while making the best use of [Sakura Blossom] to cover the gaps in her movements. Only four minutester, the final Kobold fell and Haruhime gingerly made her way over to receive praise. Around twenty minutes into the second floor, Vahn and Haruhime came across the first group of monsters that had a Dungeon Lizard in their numbers. It was a ratherrge monster, more than 2m long, and it had very resistant skin that was difficult to cut through for most newbie Adventurers. Their main weakness was theirck of agility, and Haruhime was able to deal with it faster than the rest of the monsters due to the fact that her de cut through it like a hot knife. She already knew the location of the core and had cut through the back of the Dungeon Lizard to urately strike the approximate location after performing a short hop overs its back, twisting her body slightly, and slicing downwards into its exposed flesh. Vahn had a somewhat conflicted look on his face as he watched her deal with the remaining monsters because it felt like her equipment was going to restrict her growth. Having an A-Rank katana as a Level 1 gave her an incredible advantage over most other Level 1s, and Vahn knew it could affect her mentality and growth negatively if she became overly reliant on her equipment. He would need to keep track of her development over time and get her used to a variety of weapons so that she wouldnt becent. Since she attacked as if she were dancing, Vahn thought about making her some weighted fans, or letting her use something like chakrams or short swords. Her final weapon would still be the ceremonial, wooden, sword-staff that he would make for her, but it was never a bad thing to increase the versatility of your capabilities andbat style. After she finished off the monsters, Vahn moved forward to intercept her as she came to receive his praise once again. Vahn stroked her head and exined, "For now, well keep going deeper into the dungeon until you reach your limits. Its still pretty early, so we should be able to make good progress before lunchtime. If you need a break before then, make sure you let me know before you strain yourself too hard. Rest is easily just as important as actually fighting monsters." Since she was currently getting her head stroked, Haruhime squinted her eyes a bit and made a polite "Nn." sound instead of nodding her head. Since Vahn had already mapped a few routes into the deeper floors, it didnt take long for them to reach the third floor and then progress through it to reach the fourth within an hour. This was the point where Dungeon Lizards became the dominant monster, and it ironically made it even easier for Haruhime to progress since she was able to easily outmaneuver them while ignoring their supposed high defense. A simple swipe with [Sakura Blossom] was enough to cut through the resistant hide while also creating a path for the razor-sharp petals to follow. Though he originally thought the Piercing(A) on the sword rted to its own de, Vahn began to realize it applies to the petals just as well. At this point, Haruhime was beginning to get in high tensions and Vahn decided it was time to take a break before she pushed herself too hard. It was fine to push yourself in order to exceed your limits, but it was very dangerous to overstress your body when fighting monsters weaker than yourself. Haruhime needed pressure for difficult fights, not because of mental fatigue and ack of stamina. After giving her his order, Vahn set down arge cushion for Haruhime to sit on as he sat against the wall of the dungeon and pulled out some snacks for them to enjoy an early lunch. Haruhime gratefully epted what she interpreted as Vahns kindness as she sat on the cushion he hadid out for her. Since she always sat with her knees under her body, Vahn was worried she would scuff the exposed skin on the rough floor of the dungeon and had given her a pillow for her benefit. They rested for about an hour and Vahn noticed that Haruhime was making an earnest effort to act elegantly as she sat next to him and took small bites of her lunch. The only thing that broke the illusion was the fact that she twined her tail behind his lower back, where there was a small gap between himself and the wall. It wasnt the first time she had done such a thing, so Vahn didnt mind it much at all. The only thing he felt was that she also had a subtle possessiveness to her as well, but didnt make it too apparent since it wasnt her intention to actuallypete with the other girls around him. Though he had already proven to her that she was a v.i.r.g.i.n, Haruhime still acted as if she were somewhat beneath the other girls that Vahn was in a rtionship with. When their lunch was finished, Vahn arose from the floor before helping Haruhime stand by extending his hand to her. Since she was actingdylike, Vahn put on the act of a gentleman and got a small, delicate,ugh out her rosy lips like a wind chime that helped rx the mind. Vahn then escorted her down to the 5th floor and the second half of her training began. Haruhime confidently discussed the knowledge she knew regarding the monsters that habitated the 5th floor, including the notorious Killer Ants that were famous for being the end of several novice parties. Vahn nodded his head and actually developed a strange thought that he might try to implement in the future. Vahn knew from discussing matters with Ryuu and Aki about the prerequisites for the [Hunter] skill and wondered if it was practical to hunt 1,000 Killer Ants within 72 hours or if he should camp out near a Pantry and allow them to kill anything that came near. Ryuu had purportedly gotten hers by following a well-doc.u.mented path in the dungeon that could trigger several Monster Parties, but that was a dangerous method if you werent properly prepared. Aki had gotten hers in a simr manner because she was part of the Loki Familia and they tried to cultivate their new adventurers properly. While he was mulling over the idea, Haruhime had encountered her first group of Killer Ants and had taken a cautious approach to engaging them. She knew they secreted a pheromone that could attach itself to unwary adventurers that would make it easy for other Killer Ants to track them. They also emitted a shrill sound that wasnt detectable by most people that was easily heard by other Killer Ants and would cause them to gather en masse and potentially overwhelm their enemies. The only solution was to avoid the pheromone was to apply a chemical to your weapon that would prevent the invisible chemical from tainting the de. You also need to avoid any direct contact with the Killer Ants and douse your clothes to mask the scent if all else failed. After formting a n, Haruhime made eye contact with Vahn who gave her the go ahead and urged her forward with a confident smile. They had already discussed that he would only step in if things took a bad turn, since he would easily be able to deal with any number of killer ants using his domain and [Heart of the Eternal me]. However, Vahn would only step in if Haruhime couldnt manage on her own and she didnt want to let him down so she pressed forward with her confidence rising and a fierce determination in her eyes. She actually didnt n to kill all of the Killer Ants, because it was her goal to increase their numbers and see how far she could go in order to measure her limits. Haruhime stabbed into the thorax of the closest Killer Ant and it immediately turned to dust as a shrill sound that made her ears twitch spread through the cavernous walls of the dungeon. Haruhime stepped close to the next Killer Ant and then smoothly evaded to the side of its body as it tried to lunge forward and attack her legs with its powerful mandibles. She rewarded its efforts by slicing off its head before spinning on her left foot, changing her sword to her left hand and slicing through the abdomen of the third Killer Ant. The initial group had five enemies, and Haruhime had killed two while disabling a third within the first ten seconds ofbat. The shrill sound continued to echo in her ears but she remained focused on the task and evaded thebined attacks of the remaining Killer Ants. It wasnt long after that she could hear several clicking sounds and a mild vibration through the ground as she loudly called out, "Dance, fading effervescence. Blossom, petals of spring. ~Blossom!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dance Dance Haruhime Revolution,Vahn is skilled with his hands,Haruhimes Drive) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 314 - And they all...

Chapter 314 - And they all...

After her chant, Haruhime began to skirt around the edges of the Killer Ants that had started to swarm. She knew it was dangerous to charge into their center and focused on using the fact they were clumped together to interfere with their ability to move. Due to the quality of [Sakura Bloom], Haruhime was able to cut through their hard carapaces easily as the sakura petals danced around her body and passively damaged any of the Killer Ants within their path. The petals were just as sharp as the katana itself and they drew beautiful arcs through the air as if they werent influenced by the Killer Ants at all. Haruhimes green eyes had an excited glint to them and she continued to pump more of her mana into the de as she swept up bits and pieces of the ants within the wind generated by her magic and they started swirling around her body along with the petals. It wasnt long before there were tiny pieces of Killer Ant bodies marring the surface of her outfit and staining her waist-length blond hair. Vahn frowned at the sight and wondered if he coulde up with a method to prevent simr things from happening in the future. Though it would probably be best to have Haruhime cut her hair, Vahn thought her current hairstyle was very suitable for her since it was rather elegant, and incredibly rare for hair to grow to that length. It had probably taken her several years, and her hair was very glossy and well maintained before she entered into the dungeon. After ying more than fifty Killer Ants, exploiting the fact that they were clumped together, Haruhime had started to breathe heavily and had long activated her essories to supplement her expired mana. Vahn was able to see how they affected a person, and he realized that waiting until their mana was diminished wasnt a viable option. When the mind was weakened from having low mana, it wasnt easy to make decisions, nor was it reliable to use external mana sources to supplement your ownck of mana. He was now able to understand that it was more practical to use the mana within the essories first, since waiting until you were already tired caused unnecessary troubles. However, even though she was struggling, Haruhime continued to dance around the Killer Ants and whittle away at their ever-increasing numbers. Though she knew something like this would happen, Haruhime gnashed her teeth with a pained expression on her face and continued to push herself even further. She kept repeating encouraging words, almost like she was screaming in her own mind, so that she wouldnt back down just because things were difficult. The only way she could pursue her dream was to follow this difficult road, or else it might be several years before she was able to stand at Vahns side. Haruhime knew what kinds of monsters he would face in the deeper floors, as she had been reading up on the information within the books. She knew that the current her would die with a single ncing blow from something like a Monster Rex, or even weaker monsters like Silverbacks and Minotaurs. Haruhime was aware of Vahns achievements, and the things he had done to get to his current level of strength, and none of what she was going through came close to his struggles. If she wanted to catch up to him, she couldnt back...down... Haruhimes eyes started to ze over as she took a step back to evade a Killer Ants mandibles and collided with the dungeon wall behind her. She snapped out of her daze and nced around her in an instant to realize she had beenpletely surrounded and had no means of escape. Mustering what power remained in her body, Haruhime ignored her plight and released a loud shout while swinging [Sakura Blossom] toward the group of Killer Ants. The petals tripled in number as a small whirlwind passed through the closest ants within the encirclement before dicing through their bodies as if they had been put into a blender. It was the first time she had been able to throw the magic of her katana and Haruhime had a contented smile as she copsed forward into Vahns embrace as he used Shundo to close the distance. Though she couldnt see what was happening, Haruhime felt a pulse of magical energy in the air as the shrill cries of the Killer Ants deaths lulled her to sleep. Vahn held the unconscious Haruhime loosely in his arms and had an affectionate smile on his face as he roasted the more than two hundred Killer Ants that had surrounded them. Within twenty seconds, the entire horde had been destroyed and the only thing that remained were several drops items and hundreds of magic stones. Vahn ignored them all and embraced Haruhime for a while as he inspected the injuries in her body. She had several muscle cramps, and even some tearing in her left leg and arm since she was still somewhat over-reliant on her left hand. As the fight got progressively harder, she had switched to using nothing but her left hand and it had created a lot of gaps for the Killer Ants to exploit. However, even if she had made matters more difficult for herself, Vahn didnt me Haruhime at all. He had been counting the total number of ants she had in, including therge number that was diced apart by her final attack. Against expectations, Haruhime had killed a total of 139 Killer Ants, even though most adventurers her level would have fallen to a tenth of that number. A lot of it was attributed to [Sakura Blossom], but it was an undeniable fact that she had pushed herself far beyond her limits to create the small miracle. Vahn couldnt help but feel immensely proud of her as he removed any seque that could remain in her body through excessive exhaustion. Before heid her down, Vahn pulled out arge brush simr to the one he used to deeply clean Fenrirs fur and removed all of the monster bits from Haruhimes hair. He wanted to clean her body, since he didnt really have an aversion to such things, but Vahn wanted to wait for Haruhime to awaken instead of doing anything untoward. He was almost positive she wouldnt mind, but Vahn always felt a powerful inhibition stop him from exploiting a girl that was asleep. He felt like they were very defenseless and it just seemed like a shameless thing to do so he just wiped down the exposed parts of her face and neck before lifting her up onto his back. It was already around 3 PM, so there wasnt a need to stay in the dungeon any longer. He wanted Haruhime, when she woke back up, to be afortable ce that was warm and safe. Even he felt a bit mncholic whenever he awoke in the dungeon, so Vahn expected a delicate girl like Haruhime to experience something simr. After arriving at the stairs, it only took Vahn around two minutes to actually get to the first floor, even without using Shundo. They had only gone down to the fifth floor, so there were only a few hundred meters of spiraling stairs to follow before arriving at the surface and following the path to the dungeons entrance. Though he drew a few concerned nces from the surroundings, Vahn just gave the actually concerned people a polite smile as he carried Haruhime through the first floor of Babel and exited into the Babel za. There were some people that had given him strange and menacing looks along the way, since he was somewhat famous in the City and was currently carrying an unconscious, rtively young, girl on his back that was covered in blood and monster bits. There was even a group of three rtively strong adventurers that tried to approach him and call out, but Vahn saw they had no good intentions so he sent a burst of intent at them before disappearing from the spot with Shundo. The group had consisted of a rtively handsome elven male with green hair and blue eyes, whilst his twopanions were somewhat beautiful girls, one with silver, the other with blond hair, that had an air of arrogance to them. Vahn didnt know, or care, what they had wanted and, even though they were Level 3, they flinched and dazed for more than a second after he vanished. The handsome elf looked around the area for a few seconds before scoffing at turning away with his hands around the two girls waists. Because he was using Shundo, Vahn arrived at the Manor within ten minutes before making his way through the foyer. He noticed that Hestia seemed to be out, and she had taken Fenrir and Preasia with her. The rest of the girls were probably still in the dungeon, because the Manor was currently empty. Now that they werent restricted to the grounds, Vahn didnt me the girls for wanting to get out more since he had also started to feel a little suffocated even though it had only been about a week that he was stuck at home. Unfortunately, since there was nobody to help him with Haruhime, Vahn was in a bit of a predicament. Instead of worrying about it, however, Vahn just shook his head before taking Haruhime to the west wing of the Manor. The real renovations hadnt started yet, but they had already designated an area as a medical ward within the west wing to treat any injuries that might be suffered by their members in the future. Though Vahn could heal most wounds, there were some things, such as broken bones and illnesses, that needed more specialized care. Vahn carried Haruhime to one of the small beds they had set out for patients before gently lowering her body onto its surface. Her clothes immediately blemished the white sheets, and this was the reason he had avoided setting her down on the furniture and carried her all this way. Vahn could tell that her mana was slowly recovering, and the only thing that was keeping her unconscious was the mental strain she had gone through. He knew the proper procedures for dealing with an unresponsive patient, but Vahn wasnt an actual physician so he had to take a roundabout method and wake her up before he did anything. Using [Hands of Nirvana], Vahn ced his palm on Haruhimes forehead and channeled his energy to help calm her mind and ease the influence of all the chemicals and endorphins pumping through her body. After around a minute, she slowly opened her sleepy green eyes before a gentle smile appeared on her face. Vahn returned her smile and exined in a soothing voice, "You passed out after releasing an incredible attack and defeating a total of one-hundred-thirty-nine Killer Ants. Your performance greatly exceeded my expectations Haruhime, Im very proud to be your Captain and ally. It was truly an amazing sight to behold...great job." As he spoke, Vahn gently stroked Haruhimes hair and continued to channel his [Hands of Nirvana] tofort her. Haruhime enjoyed the pleasant feeling for several long seconds before saying, "I told you, Ill be much stronger...no matter what it takes, Ill chase after my dream until I can catch it with my own two hands~." As if to emphasize her point, Haruhime raised her hands and gingerly grabbed Vahns wrist as she closed her eyes with a contented expression on her face. Vahn gave a short sight through his nose as a gentle smile appeared on his face. He knew exactly what Haruhime was trying to do and it made him feel a little blessed that she was putting in so much effort for him, no, them. Since he had put forth the restriction, just like he had done for Lili, Emiru, Maemi, and Preasia, Vahn wouldnt back down. Just like Ais had been Bells motivation within the original series, Vahn didnt mind acting as Haruhimes motivation if it would help to guarantee her happiness in the future. He could tell, even though she had only been to the dungeon twice, that she had an amazing amount of potential and more than a few heroic traits herself. She was no longer the damsel waiting for a hero to save her; she was now slowly walking toward the path of creating a legend of her own. Vahn knew it was within his power to help her, so he would do his best to make sure her story had a happy ending. Maybe one day, in the distant future, children would read her story and be inspired by her tale, just as she had been when reading fairy tales in the past... (A/N: Alternate Titles: What it means to ovee...,Ittoryu, Sanjouno-style Taif~!(Typhoon),The end goal never changes, but the distance is constantly shrinking. Work hard, young heroine~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 315 - Fortune

Chapter 315 - Fortune

After Haruhime fully awoke, she noticed the state of her own body and began to act something bashfully as if she were embarrassed by her current state. Vahn shook his head before smiling and cing his palm atop hers and saying, "Rx, I feel nothing but pride after everything you aplish. You cant always bedylike and elegant within the dungeon and there is something charming about a girl that can push through difficult situations without letting it affect them." As he spoke, Vahn pulled out arge basic before filling it with water and heating it with his [Heart of the Eternal me]. It was the same basin he used to help bathe Fenrir in the past, and he also set out a change of clothing for Haruhime since he had prepared a few extra pairs just in case her clothing got damaged in the dungeon. Haruhime graciously epted the clothing before setting it to the side and loosening her obi. Vahn averted his eyes and let her undress for a few minutes as he wondered about what the others were up to. He knew Haruhime was probably trying to appeal to him, but Vahn maintained his sensibilities and upheld a sense of propriety as if she were his patient. Haruhime emitted a quiet "Muuu~" sound before dropping down into the water and saying, "Okay, Im done..." Vahn passed his detection over her and noticed she had sat facing him before he casually walked around to her back without sparing her a nce. Seeing his behavior, Haruhime submerged half her face into the water and blew bubbles before Vahn handed her some soap, and cleaning powder for her hair. To distract her, Vahn said, "Id like to check your Status Board and see if anything has changed. Try to rx for a few minutes, Haruhime, I have a good feeling about your progress after that amazing fight earlier." Haruhime nodded her head before moving her long, blond, hair to the side and wrapping it around the front of her body. Vahn marveled at her pale and unblemished back for a moment before pricking his finger and drawing a line of blood down her spine. After he was done, the hieroglyphs disying her status appeared alongside the Hestia Familia crest. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Sanjouno Haruhime Race: Renard LV. 1 POW: I19->H133 END: I41->H174 DEX: I30->I98 AGI: I52->G201 MAG: C603->C665 Skill: [Inari:Innate(sealed)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Heroic Strike:G], Featherfoot(I) Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B], [Kokonoe:D] Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:D] [Heroic Strike] Rank: G Use: Raises power exponentially based on willpower and resolve. [Featherfoot] Rank: H Use: Increasesprehension of movement abilities and footwork. Provides a moderate increase to stealth rted abilities. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Vahn saw Haruhimes new parameters, he could help but pause for a moment as arge smile covered his face. His silence was noticed by Haruhime and she looked back in curiosity to see his expression before they made eye contact with each other. Vahns smile became even wider and he said, "Haruhime, you really have amazing potential. Not only did your parameters increase to an incredible extent, but you even picked up two new skills!" Vahn showed Haruhime her Status paper and she stared at it with wide eyes for a moment before she tried to stand up from the basin with an Eeeeeiiii~?". Before she could, however, Vahn ced his palm on her head and lowered her back into the basin and said, "Youre supposed to be washing up, dont overreact." Haruhime gave him a slightly begrudging look that caused Vahn tough as he set the paper off to the side and said, "Here, I already brushed your hair earlier, but let me wash it as a reward for your efforts." Hearing his words, Haruhime nked for a short moment before happily handing over the cleaning powder and a looseb so that Vahn could make good on his im. Vahn epted theb and spent around ten minutes washing Haruhimes incredibly long hair while paying extra attention to not damage it or pull on her scalp. Other than Hestia, Haruhime had the glossiest hair amongst all the girls around him and Vahn was really amazed at how healthy it looked, and felt, as he passed his fingers through it. When he was finished, Haruhime tried to get him to help wash her somewhat waterlogged tail, but Vahn handed her tob and said, "Maybe next time; Work hard Haruhime..." After ruffling her hair a bit, Vahn gave her a small smile before making his way out of the ward and heading toward his workshop. As he was leaving, Haruhime followed his retreat with her eyes until he hadpletely vanished from sight. After he was gone, she rxed her body in the water and blew bubbled for a few seconds before rising from the water and reaching for the piece of paper Vahn had left. Seeing her own parameters and skills left her somewhat baffled since the majority of her stats had increased by more than one-hundred points. Since her prior parameters, other than magic, were all below 100, to begin with, this was an incredible increase. Even though the paper became damp from her touch, Haruhime still held onto it as she stared happily at the numbers as a small fire was lit inside her heart. Though she couldnt see it, Haruhime imagined the me seed within her chest zing like an inferno. --- Within his workshop, Vahn got to work on forging the final piece of Haruhimes set items, the ne that would emte her fortune charm that she had received from her mother in the past. Since it would be a symbolic item, Vahn put a lot of care into its design and construction before realizing he had no idea how to actually make small chains for nes. Vahn purchased a few texts on the process and was blown away but the ridiculousplexity of creating individual links for nes without using things like machines to automate the process. He suddenly developed a deep respect for jewelers and craftsman as he purchased a few molds through the shop to make his job easier. Because of the fine quality, and thinness of each individual link, it didnt actually take too much time to melt down and shape the metal with the molds. The hard part was actually creating the gaps to segment the links together, and Vahn had to make incredibly precise cuts before welding the alloyed metals together and shaving off the imperfections with his [Eyes of Truth]. But the time he was done, it was actually nearing 11 PM and Vahn noticed everyone had returned and the majority of them had already gone to bed. He wasnt too surprised, since he had a propensity topletely focus on his tasks when he was doing aplex procedure. Just like when he had made the [Promise] for Hephaestus, Vahn hadpletely immersed himself in his work and the girls probably didnt want to disturb him. Unless there was an emergency, the only person that was allowed in Vahns workshop presently was himself. Vahn finished up connecting the final piece, the actual charm of the ne before holding it in his hands and marveling at his own craftsmanship. The chain had been created using adamantine and orichalc.u.m, just like the bracelets and anklets, and Vahn had interwoven the links together in a linking method called foxtail. Vahn thought it was suitable since Haruhime was a Renard and it would increase the durability of the chain so it wouldnt snap easily. As for the battery aspect, Vahn had left a crystallized t of his blood within the core of the charm that hung from the chain. When he was finished, Vahn decided to name the ne [Fox Maidens Fortune] in the hopes that it would act as the core of the set pieces and protect Haruhime from harm. [Fox Maidens Fortune] Rank: A P.Def: 7 M.Def: 777 Abilities: Durandal(C), Magical Amplification(B), Magic Vessel(A), Fox Maidens Set(B), Luck(C) An ornate ne designed to act as the core of the Fox Maidens Set. Enhances every piece of equipment within the same set and serves as a protective charm to shield the wearer from harm. This ne carries the hopes of its creator to protect the wearer and enable them to walk their path safely, without fear of the future. Restriction: Renard Only (Female) After the ne waspleted, Vahn had a happy smile on his face as he exited his workshop and woke up the sleeping girl sitting in the hallway and leaning against the wall. The moment she opened her green eyes, Vahn held out the ne and said, "Here you go, Huruhime...its called [Fox Maidens Fortune] and it will help protect you from now on." The sleepy expression on Haruhimes face vanished and she happily reached for the ne with her characteristic, godlike, speed. She was almost about to wear it herself before the sheepishly handed it back to Vahn and asked, "Can you help me wear it~?" Vahn nodded his head as Haruhime turned around and he helped hertch the back. Since he was able to perfectly envision her body when he worked, Vahn had adjusted the length of the chain so that the charm perfectly situated itself in the gap under her corbone without ufortably nestling into her cleavage. Since it had a squarish shape, Vahn had been worried that it would scratch her if it was too long. Once the ne was fixed around her neck, Haruhime held the small charm in her hands before squeezing it tightly and uttering a silent prayer. After she was finished, she turned around and gave Vahn a very loving smile before loosely embracing his body and saying, "Vahn, thank you for always looking out for me...I..." Though she didnt finish her words, Vahn understood what she was trying to say but shook his head slightly and returned her embrace as he said, "I know, Haruhime...Ill watch over you for as long as it takes." For the same reason she held back her words, Vahn also kept his to himself as they gently held each other for several minutes until the atmosphere got a little awkward and they separated. Vahn sent Haruhime off to bed after saying he needed to clean off his body and refusing her assistance in the matter. She gave up and went down the corridor connecting the central stairway as Vahn watched her back until she disappeared through the door at the end of the hallway. He released a short sigh before making his way to the mens onsen and enjoying a rxing bath while letting the cold winter air soak into his head and upper body. When he was finished, Vahn returned to his own room and it was nearly midnight by the time he fell onto the cold nkets and instantly fell asleep. --- Even though he had gone to sleepte the previous night, Vahn still awoke at 5 AM, even though it would be nearly two hours before the sun rose. Because it was well below freezing in the mornings, the girls had rescheduled their training and were spending more time reading books and learning about the dungeon than actually exercising. As they were all currently in the process of delving into the dungeon for the first time, it was important that they had the proper mindset and took the extra precautions necessary to prevent anything adverse from happening. Since Vahn had the support of Sis, as well as dozens ofpendiums regarding the dungeon, he didnt have to study up much so he decided to eat a private breakfast with Hestia and Ryuu while Aki took care of the girls. During their breakfast, Ryuu informed Vahn about everything that had happened with Fenrir the previous day while Hestia told him about any changes that had appeared on thework while also exining their absence in the afternoon. They had been invited out by Hephaestus and Loki before going to the cafe that had be theirmon meeting point and discussing various matters that Vahn would learn about at ater date. She also ran upstairs and brought back a logbook for Vahns personal use that showed all the bookings that had been made for his services. Vahn opened it to give it a cursory nce before his eyes widened a bit as he turned through severalpleted pages of bookings. The moment he began advertising his services, it had apparently exploded on thework and the girls had been vying for spots while making agreements with each other to jump the order a bit. Vahn had even noticed a few new names on the list, such as Tiona, Ais, Tione, Lefiya, and even Riveria had put forth her name, apparently out of curiosity. Vahn was looking forward to how the new clients would react before he noticed that a number of slots had actually been reserved by Ais. He remembered the first time they were together and how he had shocked her body a bit and wondered if she had a different understanding of the massage than expected. There was also a second list, which including equipment specifications and bookings to have their measurements taken and doc.u.mented. Vahn looked forward to the meetings, which also corresponded with each girls respective massage appointments. There was no specific date, and it was up to Vahn to reach out to the girls when he had free time and he began wondering if he should clear up his afternoons whenever possible. Depending on how early they left, Vahn could help one of the groups train in the dungeon from around 6-7 AM until around 2-3 in the afternoon. This was more than adequate for their current capabilities and was actually somewhat beyond their limits. If not for his presence to heal their wounds and carry the drop items, the girls would be making much slower progress than normal. Haruhimes currently Max Floor was at 5, while the twins had apparently gone down to the 4th floor with Mikoto and Aki. They had epted a mission from the Guild to collect 25 Dungeon Lizard hides and had taken until nearly 6 PM to finish. It wasnt that they were taking their time, but that Dungeon Lizards didnt often drop their hide and usually left small teeth and magic cores behind when defeated. Fortunately, they were able to sessfullyplete their mission and submit it to the Guild as the first official taskpleted by the Hestia Familia. Vahn was thinking if the event was worth celebrating, but it was eventually decided that it was unnecessary since there were more important benchmarks to work toward, such as leveling up or increasing the overall rank of the Familia as a whole. Ryuu lectured Vahn that celebrations should be more meaningful and that he shouldnt over-glorify mild achievements or it would give the Familia strange expectations and breedcency within their minds. They should be constantly striving to achieve great things, instead of celebrating every minor achievement. It should be their expectation to seed, and not something they expected to be rewarded for when the aplishment itself should be enough. ording to Ryuu, one of the number one causes of death in newer parties is bingcent after mild sesses and overextending themselves expecting the same sess to happen without as much effort. Since he had nearly died several times due to his own overconfidence, Vahn took all of Ryuus words to heart even though he had the bad habit of pampering the girls when using his [Mentor] Development Ability. He was just unable to treat them poorly, especially when he was alone with Haruhime, or alongside the twins, Emiru and Maemi. They were just too adorable, and he actually experienced a bit of pressure by holding back and having them work hard to grow stronger. After breakfast, Vahn waited for the twins to gear up before packing away some essentials into his inventory, which included rations, first aid supplies, and extra changes of clothing for the twins, which also including underwear and tape, just in case. The rest of the Familia needed to visit the Guild to pick a new mission, so Vahn led the two through the City streets and headed toward the dungeon while asking about their progress the previous day. Their Status Boards hadnt been updated, because Aki said it was better to wait until they had obtained a mild achievement or it would negatively influence their growth. If they constantly updated their status, they would definitely grow fast, but it would also cause them to face a bottleneck because they didnt spend time limating themselves to their current strength and oveing difficult situations. Vahn also asked if they had made any progress in their [Gemini] skill, even though they were very obviously synchronized ever since he saw them earlier. Not only did they match each others steps, while at his nks, but they mirrored each others actions almost perfectly and responded in a synchronous manner to most of his questions unless he asked them something individually. Vahn felt it was a little weird, especially since they were on each side of him, but he also thought it was incredibly interesting and wanted to see how far they could develop the skill in the future. Their current limit was fusing for a total of four seconds, but they would always pass out immediately after and only used it when they had returned to their room after dinner. When asked, they exined that the feeling wasnt all that different from when they were in sync with each other, just that it felt closer. They also imed that they experienced a strange feeling of power and it was like their senses became much stronger before they eventually cked out... Hearing their words, Vahn decided he would help the twins develop their magic parameter a bit and also create some essories for their use. Unless their internal mana developed, however, they wouldnt be able to make use of their fused state for a long time. Vahn even contemted having them cease going into the dungeon until he coulde up with a solution for their diminutive mana pool. It was a well-doc.u.mented fact that mana could be increased through meditation and study, but the twins were rather uneducated and couldnt even read and write properly yet. They also didnt have enough mana to make proper use of magical weapons, so Vahn was a little confused on how to encourage their growth for the time being. A strange thought passed through his mind all of a sudden before a ruminating, somewhat spective, smile appeared on his face as he c.o.c.ked his head to the side in deep thought. It seemed like a strange method, but Vahn felt like he would be able to manage depending on the circ.u.mstances...he had decided that, when their training for the day came to an end, Vahn wanted to have the twins fuse together and he would try to feed his mana directly into their bodies. If they were able to sustain the form for a longer period of time, Vahn was confident the mana within their bodies would begin to develop further since it was a fusion derived from an Innate ability. Just like his own magical parameter, if they were able to level up the skill, their parameters should grow to match. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Absolute Focus,Vahns bad habits,Experimenting with girls...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 316 - Experiment

Chapter 316 - Experiment

Vahn escorted the twins to the fourth floor of the dungeon before allowing them to take the lead and go at their own pace. His duty was to help them recover their stamina, praise them when they did well, offer them advice, and pick up all the loot using his domain. If they suffered any injuries, Vahn could heal them, but only after the fight was over or they were in serious danger. Not just the twins, but all the girls needed to develop some pain tolerance and suffer blows or their Endurance parameter wouldnt increase by much. While he was watching Maemi and Emiru fight, Vahn noticed their cooperation and synergy was rapidly developing and there was a strange tempo to their movements. He knew this would probably be exploited by stronger opponents, but it was a great tactic when teaming up against monsters. It was really interesting how one of the sisters would attack with a feint to draw a monsters attention to create an opening for the other to exploit. They were quickly learning how to deal with monsters, even when they were outnumbered. The biggest problem was theirck of stamina and ability to continue fighting for long periods of time. Since they were Snow Leopards, their actual stamina wasnt bad at all...the problem came from the fact that they were synchronizing with each other and it put a serious strain on their bodies and minds. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that, when they fought at the same time, it was like their stamina drained at more than twice the expected rate. It was like they were always pushing themselves well beyond their limits, even though their actual movements were rtively normal. Vahn knew this would likely cause their physical parameters to develop well, but it would potentially stunt their magical development. After around two hours on the fourth floor, the twins had managed to defeat 39 Dungeon Lizards, 17 Kobolds, and 11 goblins with only a few short minutes of break in between each room clear. During the breaks, Vahn would ce his palms on their heads and use [Hands of Nirvana] to recover their energy at the same time, since he noticed it actually made the process much more efficient. When he healed one twin, it would consume about twice the normal amount of energy, but only around 40% would be transmitted to the second girl. When he healed them both at the same time, the energy consumption was even greater, but the rate at which they recovered was far more than twice as fast. Vahn noticed that, if they were receiving the same treatment, they would synchronize even further and it would greatly enhance the efficacy of his [Hands of Nirvana]. Because he was curious about how this principle worked, Vahn wanted to see what would happen if the twins wore different clothing, or used different weapons when they fought. He gave Emiru the [001], while Maemi used her normal heavy dagger. For Maemi, he let her use his [Xunw Protector]s and a light cloak to force her to change her fighting style slightly. Theyplied to his request because the twins understood that Vahn was trying to help them understand the skill better so they could improve faster. When they eventually started fighting again, Vahn noticed a severe drop in their cooperation and ability to adapt to each others movements. This allowed him to confirm that their synergy was improved when they were matching in equipment and didnt allow much leeway for variations. It made sense, in a way, since the feedback would be very different if one twin used a greatsword, while the other wielded a spear and they usedpletely different attack patterns and movements. When asked about what they felt afterward, the twins exined that there were phantom sensations like things were different in their own bodies and it was a big distraction. However, Vahn learned that the strength of the sensations hadnt changed and this made him wonder if his observations and deductions werent entirely correct. It could be that, since the skill was still a low level, it made it difficult for the twins to adapt. It was something worth looking into in the future, but Vahn allowed them to return to their normal fighting style for now. As their parameters improved, and they Leveled up, the twins would naturally be more capable of using other weapons. There was no need to force them to change early on, as there was no guarantee it would benefit the development of their Innate ability, or their ownbat capabilities so soon after they started training. Though he was able to record the information in his mind, Vahn also doc.u.mented all of his observations, and spections, inside a journal as he watched the twins fight monsters. It wasnt necessarily for his own use, but so that he could let Ryuu and Aki look over the information alongside the twins. Vahn had no illusions that his perspective was always the correct one, and he knew it was often better to consult others that had more experience than himself. Besides, he had shown the journal to the twins earlier, and they were very happy to see the detailed information and sketches he had been drawing inside the journal. Though he didnt consider himself a capable artist, Vahn was able to rough out a rtively urate representation of the girls in midbat and point out his observations. With how much praise the twins gave him, Vahn felt like it was a perk of his [Mentor] skill that had been correcting the information that he picked up while watching them. He realized this might be the case when he read over the information he had just written and noticed it wasnt a thought that had actively passed through his mind. He just wrote it down on instinct as he observed how Emirus dagger deviated a bit when she was cutting through the thick hide of a Dungeon Lizard. His hands had naturally written down the importance of weapon maintenance and proper follow-through for strikes while casually drawing a dull dagger next to the description with a picture of a whetstone underneath it. Though he could easily repair their weapons with a [Whetstone], Vahn had been using his [Master Smith] ability to perform maintenance instead. [Whetstone]s were great for emergencies, but they werent necessary for simple wear and tear, so Vahn had taken to sharpening their des manually while performing on-site maintenance for their other equipment. It was moments like this when his inventory really came in handy because he could give the girls a change of equipment and immediately start repairing the damaged bits. Everything that he repaired with his [Master Smith] ability would receive a 3-7% boost to their stats, so Vahn was very satisfied and wanted to develop the skill even further in the future. After enjoying a light lunch, while nked by the twins, Vahn led the way down to the fifth floor so that the twins could go through what he mentally called the Ant Hell. He had gone through his own trial back when he first started venturing into the dungeon, and Haruhime had experienced something simr the previous day. Though it wasnt necessary, Vahn felt like it was a rite of passage for new adventurers and wanted to see how the twins would fare given the fact that didnt have magic weapons to use. Vahn mentioned his own experiences with the ants, while also telling the twins how well Haruhime had performed. Hearing how Haruhime, someone nearly three years their junior, had killed 139 Killer Ants made the twins feel a bit conflicted. Vahn wasnt the only one to notice theirck of stamina, as they were the ones actually experiencing it. They wanted to beat Haruhime, especially since there was two of them, but they also knew they likely wouldnt be able to fight for very long and their weapons werent suitable for monsters like Killer Ants. Per their request, Vahn gave them the swords [001] and [002], which were both B-Rank, much stronger than their D-Rank heavy daggers. They spent a few minutes practicing with the swords before eventually mustering up enough resolve to step forward into the fifth floor. Vahn watched their backs and gave an approving nod as he followed silently behind them and observed the changes in their bodies and auras. When they were synergized well, Vahn noticed that their auras became slightly stronger and their emotionspounded off of each others, much like his own interactions with Hephaestus at times. This could be a good thing, as long as they were both motivated, as it would prevent them from faltering easily. However, such a thing could also be a double-edged sword, since if they both felt fear and apprehension, it would be much more powerful than what would be experienced by a normal person. Unlike how Haruhime had let the Killer Ants swarm, Emiru and Maemi focused on killing them as quickly as possible in order to pace themselves and preserve their stamina. They wanted to kill as many as they could without having to rely on Vahn helping them recover, so they took turns moving and attacking while the other focused on exploiting gaps and regting their breathing. They obviously couldnt breathe for each other, but by rxing their bodies, they didnt put any excess strain on whoever was fighting at the time. Vahn had noticed this tactic they had developed, probably through their mental link, and couldnt help but smile appreciatively at their progress. Though he kept it primarily concealed from them, Vahn decided to use [Hands of Nirvana] to sneakily help replenish their stamina while they were distracted by fighting. As long as they didnt realize what was happening, the twins would think they were pushing themselves further and growing beyond their limits. Since exilia and parameter development was influenced by mental perception, Vahn was certain this would be one way he could help the girls within the Familia develop further. With his support, the twins started to grow more motivated over time after realizing how well things were going with their conservative strategy. Though they still didnt mass any ants intentionally, their des had long been covered in pheromones and it made errant ants track them down and their numbers had steadily been building up. After nearly three hours, the twins had managed to killed precisely 150 Killer Ants before Vahn had to step in and finish the job and protect them. Of course, Killer Ants werent the only things they had fought, because they had been traveling through the dungeon instead of staying in one area, the twins had also killed 19 Frog Shooters along the way. Vahn didnt bother to bring up the fact that Haruhime had killed herrge number of ants within a twenty-minute window, he instead just pampered the girls a bit while paying them a few heavypliments for performing well. It was actually more correct to use the method that had been incorporated by the twins, instead of the somewhat suicidal method used by Haruhime the previous day. If he hadnt been there to save her, she would have inarguably caused her own demise because she had been exceeding her limits by a fair amount. The twins, though less educated, were older and more sensible than Haruhime and took a more conservative approach that would likely preserve their lives in the future. After helping them recoverpletely, Vahn brought up the idea of having them fuse while he tried to help sustain the transformation by infusing his own mana into their body. Without much thought, they twins both agreed with excited expressions on their faces as they mentioned wanting to understand the form better as well. A few seconds wasnt enough to truly understand what was going on, and they were interested in the changes their body underwent during the transformation. Vahn was relieved to see their excitement and waited for the twins to finish their preparations before they performed the experiment. It took them several minutes to calm their minds and perfectly synergize with each other, so Vahn understood it wouldnt be a viable skill forbat unless they had made some drastic improvements. Eventually, Emiru opened her eyes and Vahn noticed they had turned the beautiful, snowy blue, color as she locked eyes with the lc-eyed Maemi and they ced their palms together. Emiru immediately vanished in a magical light before a heterochromatic Maemi appeared in front of him. Other than her eyes, there was no noticeable change in her body, though Vahn had confirmed irrefutably that their aura had increased by arge amount. Since it was the most efficient location, Vahn ced his palm over the navel of Maemi and began channeling his energy almost immediately after the transformationpleted. Maemi felt the powerful flow of energy enter her body as she stared down at the kneeling Vahn and muttered in a strange voice that sounded like when she spoke in concert with Emiru, "Vahn-sama...we feel very warm...very strong..." Vahn looked up into her blue-lc eyes and asked, "Can you describe any other changes you can feel in your body?" While he asked the question, Vahn noticed that his energy wasnt draining nearly as fast as he suspected, which allowed him to understand that the form didnt actually require too much mana to sustain, at least if they were standing still. Maemi ced her hands overtop the hand he had ced on her stomach casually before closing her eyes and saying, "Everything...everything is so much more...its like our skin is so sensitive that we can feel the air...everything we smell is so much more pungent...every sound so much more clear...and..." Maemi opened her eyes as a strange smile appeared on her face and she continued, "Everything we feel...its like everything is amplified...like were going to explode..." Vahn understood what Maemi was saying because her aura was muchrger than normal and he knew what kind of things she was feeling at the moment. He had already checked through the system out of curiosity but noticed that both Emiru and Maemis affections had vanished after their fusion. It might be because they werebined through an Innate, but Vahn couldnt see the values behind their emotions and it made him feel strangely unnerved with how she was looking down at him. Though Vahn could continue channeling energy into Maemi for several minutes, he decided to bring the experiment to an early end as he said, "Okay, that should be enough for the time being. Try to remember the sensation and practice when you can. As long as youre able to develop your Magic parameter a bit, youll be able to sustain this form for longer. This could be a powerful trump card for the future and allow you both to be much stronger." For the entire duration of the transformation, Maemi had continued to rest her hands atop his with that same strange smile her face. Hearing Vahns words, she nodded her head and said, "Yes, Vahn-sama...we will be much stronger...together." When Vahn removed his hand from her abdomen, Maemi touched the spot as if she were trying to feel the ambient warmth before her body split into two a few secondster. Vahn caught their bodies and released a relieved sigh before setting them on the ground afterying down a futon. He sat on the edge of it with his back against the wall and checked his system to see if there had been any changes. Both Maemi and Emiru had affection values of 92 for him and Vahn was wondering how the parameter was influenced when they fused. Though their aura was predominantly yellow, Vahn noticed that the small amount of pink along the edges was tainted with a passionate red. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Working twice as hard,Clever girls,Unknown Affection) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 317 - Walk

Chapter 317 - Walk

After around an hour, the twins began to wake up on their own and they both looked toward Vahn briefly before staring at each other. Vahn knew they were somehowmunicating, but he decided to interrupt them and said, "The two of you made great progress, but its about time for us to head back to the surface. You can take the rest of the day off to do whatever youd like." Hearing his words, the twins rounded ears twitched and Emiru asked, "Vahn-sama, do you have anything nned for the rest of the day?" There was a small sparkle in their eyes, but Vahn disappointed them when he nodded his head and said, "Yeah, I was nning on visiting a friend of mine named Welf. Im trying to put a few things together...well, youll find out about itter, probably." Both twins released a simultaneous sigh and Vahn smiled as he said, "Sorry, but I need to spend time doing my own things as well. Now that were not stuck in the Manor, I want to make the rounds and visit a few people I havent seen in a while. There is plenty of time to worry about other stuffter, so dont get disheartened. The two of you should spend more time with Hestia, and the rest of the Familia, instead of just cooking and cleaning all the time." The twins nodded their heads, but Vahn could tell they were still feeling a bit down so he said, "Well, Ill make you some matching essories pretty soon..." The prospect of receiving gifts dashed away the mood of the girls and Vahn couldnt help but show a wry smile on his face as he led them towards the surface. Because of their early return, it was slightly after 1 PM when they returned to the Manor, and Vahn left to change in his room before preparing to head out. He stopped by Hestias room and asked if there were any important changes before sharing a few affectionate moments with her and exining his ns for the day. She knew he was probably trying to improve his rtionsh.i.p.s and make some guy friends, so Hestia didnt have anyints. Vahn left the Manor and casually made the nearly forty minute walk to the Hephaestus Familia workshop district. Along the way, Vahn noticed that most people kept a fair amount of distance from him and he drew a lot of attention, even though he wasnt escorting the girls. Because he was no longer disguising himself, many people easily recognized him because there had been fliers circting around with his face all over the City. It wasnt that he was wanted, or being treated as a criminal, people were just afraid that they would be a victim if they crossed him. The actions Freya had taken when dealing with the Ishtar Familia were rather excessive and, even though he didnt have any direct involvement, people tied the event to him and his reputation had be somewhat notorious. The only thing Vahn could do was shake his head and ignore the bias people had developed against him. He still didnt understand how people could so easily change their opinions and then use them as justification for how they treated others, even if they had never met before. Vahn thought it was rather ridiculous because he understood that, if someone controlled the informationwork, they could pretty much make anyone out to be a viin and the popce atrge would believe the news without even considering the matter. He knew that everyone around him would probably react in the same way he had, yet they unjustly painted him as a bad guy based on a biased perception of the events that had transpired. To cheer himself up, Vahn had decided to stop over at Tsubakis Manor and visit for a while before checking up on the Anubis Familia. He knew Anubis had been making the children train with the Hephaestus Familia recently and they were trying to improve their capabilities while Vahn was on his probation. They had the goal of trying to reach Level 3 by the time his probationary period ended and then the entire Familia would probably migrate closer to the Hearth Manor, while some of the pack would likely try to join the Hestia Familia itself. After he arrived outside Tsubakis Manor, Vahn noticed her door was closed so he passed his perception through the building and confirmed there was no one present. He released a sigh before walking around the side path and heading towards his previous residence. Even though he wasnt supposed to visit the headquarters of the Familia in the Alliance, Vahn knew that restriction was primarily to restrain Hephaestus and Loki, and the Guild was currently treating him in ax manner because of the approaching Denatus. If they tried to make a big deal out of things, they would probably find themselves in a difficult position once a few matters came to light and more gods became aware of the situation. Ouranos seemed like an intelligent god, so Vahn imagined he would sweep the matters aside and overlook small sleights. Vahn smiled as he walked through the courtyard because he saw a familia aura moving through the foyer before exiting through the front door. The moment she locked eyes with him, Anubis showed an elegant smile before bowing and saying, "Wee, my Master...would you like toe inside?" Vahn walked forward and casually began to stroke Anubiss hair andrge fluffy ears as he asked, "I cant sense anyone here...are the children in the dungeon?" Anubiss tail had started to gently waggle about behind her as she nodded her head and said, "Theyve been inside the dungeon with Tsubaki for thest few days. Though it isnt anythingrge scale, they are conducting a mock expedition with the Takemikazuchi Familia, Miach Familia, and Hephaestus Familia. Tsubaki is leading the group, and she had taken Naaza and Lili along with her so they can get experience working withrge expeditions." Hearing Anubiss words, Vahn felt like he was missing out on something that seemed to be pretty fun. He was d the children, as well as Naaza and Lili, were working hard to be stronger, but he kind of wanted to be there with them. After shaking the thoughts from his head, Vahn said, "I cant stay for too long, and Im headed towards Welfs workshop soon..." Anubiss ears drooped a bit at Vahns words until he stepped forward when she had dropped her guard and embraced her from the front. As if by instinct, Anubis cried out, "Master..." as she fell into his chest and enjoyed the physical contact. Vahn knew that Anubis was one of the most devoted and loyal people around him, even though she was a goddess. She was also very receptive to his actions and he knew she had a bit of a deviancy in her personality and liked to be on the receiving end of things. Vahn caressed over the top of her dress at the area of her lower back as her tail wagged back and forth happily. He began using [Hands of Nirvana], though not too intensely, to rub her back as she clung onto his body and pressed her b.r.e.a.s.ts into his chest. An amorous expression appeared in her beautiful face and her moon-like eyes turned watery before Vahn gave her a short kiss and said, "Thanks for working so hard Anubis...let me give you a small reward." Anubis nodded her head before nuzzling against his neck and the side of her face as if she were trying to mark him with her scent. Vahn enjoyed the ticklish feeling as he wondered what he could do for Anubis that wouldnt require him to spend a lot of time within the Manor. It wasnt appropriate for him to do anything untoward while they were still in the courtyard since it would be a problem when the children returned if they picked up her scent. While he was lost in thought, Vahn felt a slightly hard object touch against him and looked down to see the cor Anubis was wearing. He briefly remembered the objects she had kept in her room at one point as a thought came to his mind and he asked, "Anubis...would you like to go for a walk?" Hearing Vahns words, Anubis pulled her head away and looked into his face with a bit of confusion until Vahn pulled out an object that made her heart nearly explode in her chest. It wasnt the same one he had taken from her room in the past, but Vahn pulled out a somewhat long leash that would be able to fit around the sp at the back of Anubiss cor. Vahn saw that her eyes widened and that her breathing had elerated quite a bit as her tail pped about with a speed he had never before seen on the elegant and exotic looking goddess. After she calmed down a bit, Vahn attached the leash to Anubiss cor and got to experience a very peculiar situation where he walked around with a beautiful goddess while having a leash attached to his wrist. It was almost unnoticeable if you werent looking for it, but the small tether made the entire situation seem strangely intimate. Even Anubis, though she maintained herposure, had a wavering light in her eyes topliment the blooming smile on her face as she walked at his side through the small gardens of the residence. The scary thing was how rapidly her loyalty was increasing even though they were just walking around... Half an hourter, Vahn eventually removed the leash from Anubis and her tail immediately calmed down to a steady rhythm as she said, "Thank you, Master..." Vahn swallowed his saliva as he reached out and stroked her ears for a bit and said, "It was an interesting experience...we should do it again sometime." Anubiss eyes squinted as a smile blossomed on her face and she said, "Ill be looking forward to it...every day...my Master~." She ced a heavy emphasis on thest word as Anubis leaned forward and did something Vahn hadnt anticipated. Starting from his corbone, Anubis dragged her tongue up his necked until she came to a stop at his cheek before kissing him once and stepping away. Vahn felt a little giddy, but he showed what he wanted to be a polite smile as he said, "Ille by soon..." They then parted ways, and Vahn felt a slightly cool sensation on his skin where Anubis had licked him since it was still very cold outside even in the afternoon. His heart had been beating rapidly for a while, and he was only able to calm down after walking for nearly ten minutes in silence. Though he knew she enjoyed the walk, Vahn couldnt help but berate himself a little at havinge up with the idea in the first ce. Because she had agreed to it so easily, Vahn ended up following through with his suggestion, but not he had a few regrets since he probably should have shown a little more restraint. He didnt mind taking Anubis for a walk, but Vahn was afraid that, if other girls found out about it, they would ask him for simr treatment. His reputation within the City was already somewhat bad, and he imagined it would only be worse if rumors spread around that he walked his girls on a leash. As if heading towards a bastion of hope, Vahn doubled his pace until he eventually arrived outside of Welfs workshop. Vahn believed that, if he interacted with more guys, he would be less prone to his small whims and experimental personality. It wouldnt be a problem if he pitched the idea and the girl refused, but most of the girls around him seemed to be too willing to try and please him. Vahn knew it was because he took actions that cultivated their affection towards him, but it still felt like he was constantly walking a tightrope that would lead him to a serious fall if he werent careful. He now understood why Loki had told him to go to her if he had any strange thoughts and interests since she would probably let him vent out his urges and correct his behavior so it doesnt be a problem... After entering into the somewhat dark workshop, Vahn noticed that the cold faded away quickly and there were several materials strewn about all over the ce. There was a small formation to alert Welf to the arrival of customers, so he came out from the back room of the workshop covered in soot before noticing who his guest was. Welf showed a friendly smile and said, "Hey man, wee to my workshop! Anything I can do for ya, or did youe around just to hang out?" Hearing Welfs amicable words, Vahn released a relieved sigh that caused Welfs brows to raise. He looked into the eyes of the red-haired youth and said, "Welf, we should hang out more often...hahahaha." Vahn beganughing, even though he didnt understand the reason himself. Welf looked at Vahn as if he had gone mad before cing his hammer on his shoulder and saying, "Sure, I dont mind hanging out. If anything, I could always use a hand on my research if youre not too busy. Unless you want to go get a drink or something, Im not really too social if I had to be honest." Vahn nodded his head and said, "Yeah, but if its alcohol we should wait until we gather more people first." Welf c.o.c.ked his head to the side and asked, "More people?" Hearing Welfs question, Vahn continued with a smile, "Yeah, there is this work that the girls have made that Im not allowed to use. I was thinking of making awork of my own to include some of my friends, colleagues, and rivals. We can use it to exchange information and discuss problems and stuff. Though I dont mind it much, it gets a little...stressful, to be around the girls so often." Hearing Vahn mention the problems with his girls, Welf frowned before releasing a long sigh and giving Vahn a vexed look as he said, "Vahn, how the hell are you able to have so many women surround you. I even feel like, in the few weeks we havent seen each other, that the number somehow increased even further...and thiswork...jeez man, what kind of life are you even living!?" Vahn released a strangeugh before he walked over and patted Welf on the shoulders and said in a low tone, "Let me tell you about it..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sheeple : Rumors,Anubim recharges her Vahnobtainium,Welf and Vahns frustrations) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 318 - First World Problems

Chapter 318 - First World Problems

Since he had never had the opportunity before, Vahn started telling Welf a bit about his past, including what he had been doing after arriving in the City. At first, Welf listened silently and made casual conversation with Vahn, but things quickly took a turn when Vahn mentioned saving Lili and then meeting Hephaestus. Welf closed up his shop early and pulled out a few sses along with a bottle of strong alcohol and they bothzed about talking about various things, though Vahn was the one leading the conversation. By the time a few hours had passed, Vahn had told Welf about his interactions with girls, including how he first met Tiona and Ais, how things spiraled out of control when he moved in with the Anubis Familia, and even the matters regarding Laverna kidnapping Mn and Tina and the most recent matters concerning Haruhime and the Ishtar Familia. Welf had long since started listening in silence as he slowly worked away at the contents of his ss until Vahn eventually wrapped things up with his concerns regarding his current rtionsh.i.p.s with women. Since Vahn and Welf were nearly the same age, he was hoping that he could rely on Welf to give him some advice, but the only thing he got from the red-haired youth was dead fish eyes and an exasperated sigh. Welf held up his ss and asked, "So, let me get this straight...youre now a [Master Smith]...youre getting married to Hephaestus, and a beautiful half-elf girl that works for the Guild...youre in an active rtionship with the goddess of your own Familia...as well as Loki, and most likely that Anubis woman...plus several other girls, some of which you havent even known for more than a week...?" Hearing how Welf pointed out matters, Vahn nodded his head before gulping down the entire contents of his ss. Even though he couldnt get drunk, he felt a strange urge to finish off the drink as if driven by some primal instinct. Welf saw Vahns actions and released a sigh before stating, "Man, youre a real monster...you know, its almost hard to not hate you right now. Not only do you get to be with the woman I idolized, but you actually have the capabilities to make her happy...yet, instead of being content with that, now youre building some kind of massive harem...even though you apparently arent doing anything to build it? It doesnt make any sense...yeah, I get that your handsome, wealthy, and also pretty strong, but shit man..." Vahn showed a wry smile before pulling out another bottle of alcohol and saying, "All Ive ever done was try my best...I just try to make the girls happy, its not like Im going out of my way to collect them or anything..." Welf held out his ss for Vahn to fill before taking a sip of the somewhat expensive alcohol and musing, "Good stuff..." He released a hot sigh before giving Vahn a look simr to a re and said, "Your problems arent really problems...most guys would probably willingly trade spots with you, even if they wouldnt be able to manage things..." Welf released a sigh before shaking his head and continuing, "Its really f.u.c.k.i.e.d up man. I know there has to be a reason behind everything, and you probably bust your ass, but it still makes me a little pissed off hearing youin about things like this..." Welf looked over and saw the dejected look on Vahns face before releasing another sigh and saying, "Dont worry about it, I know you wouldnt be telling me all this unless you considered me a friend. Honestly, Im more than a little jealous of you and thats why Im so annoyed...seriously man, you gotta exin to me what you do to get so many girls...do I need to start going into the dungeon or something? Ive only ever been interested in bing a great cksmith, but now it feels like Im wasting my time a bit..." Welf sloshed around the contents of his ss before downing the entire drink as if it were a shot. He released a steamy sigh because of the burning sensation that spread through his throat and body. Vahn scratched his head and exined, "Honestly...well, I can kind of sense peoples emotions and stuff. I just treat the girls nicely and do what I can to protect them...other than that, I guess I pamper them a bit and buy them nice things since I like seeing them happy...I really dont feel like I do much..." As he spoke, Vahn mimicked Welfs actions and threw back his own ss before enjoying the bite of the strong liquor. He looked into Welfs slightly ssy eyes and asked, "What do you usually do to get close to girls?" Welf furrowed his brows and stared into the transparent brown alcohol in his freshly topped off ss as if he were ruminating over his response. After a long period of silence, he looked at Vahn with a conflicted expression and said, "I...dont really do anything to try and approach girls. I guess I cant really me you for your sess when I spent most of my time just researching and doing my own thing. Other than Hephaestus, Tsubaki, and those two girls staying with her, I dont really really talk to any women unless they are customers..." Hearing Welfs confession, Vahn tilted his head and asked, "Huh, do you not like women?" In response to his question, Welf gave him an angry look and practically spat, "Of course I like women, what kind of dumbass question is that!? I...I just...dont think about it that often...?" Welf sat back down, and a contemtive expression appeared on his face as he started to consider why Vahn had enjoyed so much sess. He definitely wasnt always as capable as he currently was, but had to put in a lot of effort to obtain his current status. If his story was true, Vahn put in a lot of effort to please the girls around him, and it would make sense why they sought him since he provided them security, happiness, and other things...all he did was sit in his workshop most of the day unless he was going to a bar to release some stress. Vahn noticed Welfs silence and waited for a while before saying, "Sorry, I didnt mean to make things difficult for you Welf...I just felt like I needed to talk to another guy since Im usually so wrapped up in other matters." Welf swatted his hands a few times, almost as if here were knocking Vahns words out of the air as he said, "Yeah, yeah, whatever man, I know...its also good for me to hang out with people every now and then as well. I feel like my eyes have been opened in various ways..." Welf released a long sigh and asked, "Tell me, Vahn, what do you think I need to do to get a girl of my own? I dont really need arge number, just one would be fine..." Hearing Welfs question, Vahn began to seriously consider the matter by taking into consideration Welfs personality, characteristics, and what he had learned from interacting with various women. After a while, Vahn turned to him and asked, "Well, what kind of girls do you like? Ive started to understand that everyone has certain preferences, so my advice would probably depend on the type of girl you want to be with." Welf nodded his head and took a swig from his ss before saying confidently, "I like mature, confident, and capable women. Preferably, they need a big pair of tits and a plump ass..." For a moment, a blush appeared on Welfs face and Vahn squinted his eyes in curiosity but didnt get to ask before Welf continued, "Honestly...Id like a strong woman that can...look after me a bit." Welf hung his head low as if he were incredibly embarrassed by his own words. Vahn quickly imagined the people closest to Welf, which were previously Hephaestus and Tsubaki. He realized that both women met Welfs preference and wondered if they had helped shape his mentality through exposure. Though he didnt mind trying to set him up with Tsubaki, Vahn could tell there werent any of those types of affections between her and Welf. If anything, Tsubaki had a mild interest in him, and Vahn was also interested to see if he could help her have a child in the future. Since he obviously wouldnt help set Welf up with Hephaestus, Vahn began to consider any other girls he might know as he quickly began eliminating options in his mind. By the time he was done narrowing down the possibilities, Vahn realized that he actually considered a lot of the girls to be out of the running because of their affections toward himself. Though he didnt mind if they liked someone else, Vahn felt a little ufortable with setting them up with someone through his own actions. Since they liked him, it would feel as if he were looking down on their emotions and trying to throw them away to be someone elses problem. There was also the fact that, the only mature women he knew, that he wasnt in some form of rtionship with, were Mona, Mama Mia, Tsubaki, Shiva, Mn, and the receptionist girl he had met when he first entered the Guild, Fauna. Because of his interactions with Tsubaki and Mn, Vahn could easily remove them from the list, even though they technically matched Welfs requirements. Though he couldnt say why, Vahn felt like Welf would enjoy a rtionship with Mona, even though she was very weak. She might be a little plump, but she also had a very mature body and a kind disposition that seemed like she was the type to pamper others. As for Mama Mia, Vahn wasnt even sure she had an interest in men anymore, and she would probably break Welf on ident. There was a huge difference between a veteran Level 6 and a novice Level 1, not to mention that Mama Mia was in her 50s and muchrger than Welf since she was a Half-Giant. Thest girl, at least amongst those that readily came to mind, was the Dark Elf, Shiva. Vahn wasnt even sure she was still in the City, not if they would ever meet again in the future. However, if she did return, Vahn felt like she would get along with someone like Welf, and she also had a strong personality and a somewhatscivious body. Though it seemed a little shameless, Vahn guessed he would be able to persuade her to give Welf a chance if she came asking to repay her debts. When Vahn remembered Shivas debts, he also thought of the Amazon girls that had recently tried to join his Familia before his eyes opened wide. For a brief moment, Vahn almost stood up excitedly before shaking his head and rxing in the chair. Since Welf was only a Level 1, it would be almost impossible for him to maintain a rtionship with an Amazon. Even if one gave him a chance, they would probably up and leave him the moment they got pregnant. Though he might be able to ask Aisha to look after Welf, Vahn didnt think it was right to burden her like that. While Vahn was thinking, Welf had been paying close attention and saw all the changes in Vahns expression. Though it wasnt to the extent of the girls, Welf was able to read Vahn by watching how vocal his facial expressions were when he was lost in thought. He had seen the struggle in Vahns eyes after ruminating for a while and had also seen the excitement that briefly appeared before it almost immediately died. Welf finished off the contents of his ss and asked in a dejected manner, "Man, am I really such a shit show that even you cant think of a way to help me out?" Welf began tough at himself derisively before he tried to reach for the bottle and refill his ss. Before he could grab it, however, Vahn snatched it away and had a serious look on his face as he said, "Welf, youre not a bad guy at all...Im just trying to consider things from every perspective. To be honest, Ive thought of a few ways for you to approach a couple of girls, but the problem is...well, youre kind of weak...and maybe a little unreliable as far as your financial situation is concerned." Though it was a bit rude to say, Vahn was trying to consider the happiness of the girls and knew it would be a struggle if they were seriouslymitted to Welf in the future. Welf didnt take many customers, and he also didnt sell many of the things he forged. He spent most of his time working away and conducting his research, and not too many girls would be fine with that unless they had a support system. Vahn started to realize why the work used by the girls was such an important thing since they could always consult each other and seek the counseling of other members on thework. Welf frowned and his brows furrowed low, but he didnt argue with Vahns words at all. Even though they were nearly the same age, Vahns worth well exceeded more than 100MV, and his property and assets were probably in the billions. As for himself, he only had about 140KV to his name, and most of that was for procuring materials and maintaining his own livelihood. He couldnt do things like buying fancy clothes, purchasing expensive jewelry, or taking the girl out on long dates. He also didnt leave his workshop often, and he couldnt imagine a girl sticking around and helping clean up his mess while he ignored them for his own research. In fact, even though he oftenpared himself to Vahn, Welf had long realized that they werent even on the same level since their rivalry started. After Welf hung his head, Vahn refilled his ss and saidfortingly, "Welf, you shouldnt be so hard on yourself. Youre doing your best, and there is plenty of time for you to actually find someone to chase after. If you really want my advice, I would suggest you spend more time with the other members of the Hephaestus Familia and even consider venturing into the dungeon as a Supporter until you can reach Level 2. I know you also want to be a [Master Smith] someday, but youll never be able to reach that goal if youre still Level 1. You cant even get the [cksmith] Development Ability unless you reach Level 2 after all..." Welf nodded his head before taking a sip of the alcohol and saying, "Yeah, I...know youre right...especially seeing what youve been able to pull off even though were the same age. Tsubaki had pretty much beat that into me in the past, but I just blew her off and wasted thest few years while brooding over my own bullshit...feels like I tripped myself up at the starting line and then decided to take a break or something..." Welf waszily staring at the contents of his ss was berating himself yet again. Vahn frowned because he realized he probably did the same thing as the current Welf, and that was the reason why he worried the girls around him so often in the past. It was too easy to beat yourself up over things that happened in the past, even though there was nothing the past could do to actually stop you from moving forward. The only thing you needed to do in order to chase your dreams was take that initial step and never look back. Vahn thought the current Welf was somewhat pitiful so he said, "Welf, if nothing else, the thing Ive learned that women look for in a man...is confidence and empathy. If you dont act like a man worth being with, youll never be able to find a good woman...only someone that takes pity on you." Welf frowned but didnt argue with Vahn as he considered the words for a moment. He noticed that, even though he was drunk, Vahns words stuck with him and he was able to focus on them even though his mind was hazy. He wasnt aware that Vahn had been secretly using [Hands of Nirvana] through his domain to help diffuse the alcohol in Welfs bloodstream for a while so he retained his rity. The only thing he knew was that Vahns words seemed to resonate with something deep inside of him and it made him want to improve himself and be a better man. Vahn nodded approvingly and took a swig of his alcohol before saying, "If youre just worried about women in general, I know a few Amazons that I can introduce you to. If you have no aversion toward Beast Humans, I also know a rtively beautiful Cow Person that meets a lot of your requirements. However, even if I introduce the girls to you, its ultimately up to you to win their hearts. Though it might be a good idea to seek counsel from others regarding matters of the heart, everyone is responsible for finding their own happiness...their own love." Hearing Vahns words, Welf gave him a questioning look before a crooked smile appeared on his face. He ced his elbow on the table and said, "Tell me about these Amazons...and this Cow Person...she must have an impressive pair of tits on her, right?" Vahn raised his ss to his lips with a ruminating smile before tilting the ss a bit and saying, "Yeah, I think she might have the biggest pair Ive ever seen...though, they definitely cant hold a candle to a certain airheaded goddess..." Though he wasnt trying to insult Hestia, Vahn couldnt help butugh a bit at being able to vent to Welf in a casual manner. Welf had heard his remark and an incredulous look appeared on his face as he asked, "Do you mean that chibi goddess with the ck hair and the handlebars?" Vahn spit out the alcohol that he had just poured into his mouth after hearing Welf call Hestias twin-tails handlebars. Without concerning himself over the spill, Welfmented, "I dont know how you can do it man...I like the big girls myself." Welf had been gesturing with his hands as if he were tracing the outline of a woman before he continued, "She looks like a midget, even if she is a goddess...well, she is still better than that super shortie Pallum sidekick of yours..." Though Vahn was still listening to Welfs words, he couldnt help but imagine a strange scene that might appear in the future between him and Hestia. After a while, Vahn managed to shake the image from his mind and decided to tease Welf a bit since he had taken a small amount of mental damage from hisments. He locked eyes with the red-headed youth and asked, "Welf, are you still a v.i.r.g.i.n?" It was Welfs turn to nearly choke on his drink, because Vahn had waited until he had arge mouthful before asking his question. A bit of the expensive liquid had even shot out of Welfs nose as he said, "Ive been busy! Not everyone meanders about ying with several women like a certain dumbass without anymon sense." Vahn knew that Welf was insulting him, but he showed a polite smile and nodded his head as he asked, "Well, some of the girls I know...lets just say they have a bit of experience. If I introduce them to you, there is a fair chance they might...eat you up?" Welfs ruddy face turned somewhat crimson as he red at Vahn without saying anything for several long seconds. Eventually, he pulled his ss up to his lips and sipped on the beverage for a while before saying, "Yeah...that doesnt sound too bad." Since Vahn had only intended to tease him, he was somewhat surprised by Welfs interest in the suggestion. He quickly ran through the various Amazons in his mind before deciding to consult with Aisha to see if she had any suggestions. Vahn knew that there were some Amazons that were proactively looking for men, even in the Loki and Hephaestus Familias, so he didnt think it was a bad idea to introduce one of them to Welf...at least until he could find a more permanent solution to help this lonely little red-headed friend of his. (A/N: The title is a pun making fun of the fact that this is Vahns first world/record (O,...,O)) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bruh...seriously!?,What it takes to be a man,RIP Welf, Press F to Pay Respects) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 319 - Fall

Chapter 319 - Fall

After helping the wasted Welf to his room, Vahn left some medicine on the side table next to the bed before he exited the workshop. Since Welf wasnt actually that famous, there wasnt arge amount of security around his residence, and the only thing that barred entrance was a shoddy magical lock. Vahn shook his head and began to consider how Welf might be able to increase his own wealth and living conditions. He always had the option of magic Crozzo Magic Swords, but Welf was pretty adamant about never using them to make money. There was always a chance they would find their way into the hands of people that would misuse them, so there was little chance he would sell any. Vahn could probably help himplete the first phase of his research, but he imagined that would hurt the boys pride irreparably when he was putting in so much effort to make headway on his own. The best option seemed to be to find him an assistant, so Vahn was hoping he could bring up the matter to the girlswork to give Welf a hand. Other than that, his best bet was to gamble that one of the Amazon girls were willing to help him out. If that were the case, they would probably even help Welf fight within the dungeon and potentially build a rtionship over time. If the girl was sufficiently strong, there was absolutely no way she would identally get pregnant just because of the unique biology of Amazons. Welf would need to be of equivalent strength as the Amazon, or he would have to be recognized by her through his own efforts. This gave Vahn enough time to deal with the matters regarding Kali and he hoped it would give him some leeway to help out other couples in the future. At the very least, he should be able to help Welf keep any children he might identally sire if he falls in love with the Amazonian woman. Since he had stayed prettyte talking with Welf, it was nearly 1 AM and Vahn was walking through the cold City streets casually. At this time of day, because of the cold temperature, there were almost no pedestrians on the street at all. Though there was still the ambient sound of cksmiths workingte into the night, the streets were predominantly empty and there was a gentle fog rolling through the City that was actually quite cold to the touch. It left ice particles on Vahns hair and clothes, yet it didnt really affect him much at all and he just enjoyed the sensation as he passively scanned his surroundings for any signs of danger. Vahn was currently within the district used by the Hephaestus Familia members, so the security was actually pretty high and there werent any gangs or criminal groups in the area. Not many people were willing to offend cksmiths, since falling out with one group would pretty much lose you favor with every other group depending on the situation. Because of this, Vahn was able to casually stroll all the way to the Babel za without any incidents happening at all. There wasnt a single sign of any enemies, and he felt like he was too tense for how beautiful and peaceful the night was. Of course, this didnt mean Vahn was going to drop his guard, it just meant he should enjoy the moment a little more. Turning his head toward the tall tower nearby, Vahn looked toward the top and imagined if Freya was currently there. Even though he had been told time and again to avoid her, Vahn was somewhat curious about how beautiful she would be in reality. The designs in the manga didnt do justice to the actual people he interacted with in the real world, and Vahn knew Freya was touted as an unparalleled beauty. He had been cautious against her since the moment he came to this world, but his own caution just made him more interested in the actual goddess. He used [Heart of the Eternal me] and imbued a bit of heat in the atmosphere to clear up the visibility in the area as he looked towards the impossibly tall tower that pierced the heavens. After a few minutes, Vahn turned away from the tower and left for the Hearth Manor to get some rest. Tomorrow was Saturday, so he wasnt in a particr rush and even intended to sleep in and enjoy some rest and rxation. He knew most of the girls would be going to their meeting, and Vahn was considering if he should drop in and make a few demands of his own since everyone would be gathered together in one spot. Though they were taking action in his best interest, Vahn still wanted to take a stance of his own instead of having to try and bnce everything through second-hand words on thework. Vahn thought it would be a good opportunity since there were several things he wanted to say that could only be brought up when everyone was together like that. When he arrived at the Manor, Vahn scanned the interior and noticed that everyone was present. He could even detect that Mn, Tina, and probably Shizune, had stopped over to stay the night. Since they usually shared a bed with Fenrir and Preasia, Vahn had given them a ratherrge one and there were five auras snuggly bundled together in the same room. For a brief moment, Vahn felt a little envious and wondered if he should try to sneak into Hestias or Akis rooms. He hadnt really done anything with the girls for thest few days, and Vahn had a bit of an itch to scratch after his earlier interaction with Anubis. If not for the fact it was nearly 2 AM, Vahn probably would have shared some intimacy with the two girls. Since he had been standing outside for a while, a shadow flickered near Vahns right and he looked over to see the somewhat scary looking face of Fafnir staring at him with its icy blue eyes. Fafnirs current size was around 17m long, and its head alone wasrge enough to swallow a grown a.d.u.l.t whole. Just its eyes wererger than the melons sold within the market, and they were very intimidating if you didnt know anything about Fafnir. Since Tine and Mn were within the Manor, it had detected Vahns presence and had been watching him for a while until it emerged from the shadows and asked, (*Vahn, are you okay? Why do you stand in the cold? It is warmer inside.*) Hearing Fafnirs childish voice, Vahn smiled as he walked over and helped the dragon replenish its energy by stroking its head. Fafnir closed its eyes and enjoyed the sensation a powerful reverberation emerged from its throat that made the void rumble a little. Vahn knew it was just purring, but the fact that such a simple action actually made his instincts trigger made himugh within his mind. He rubbed his palm along the scaly ridge above Fafnirs eyes and said, "Im fine, Fafnir, I was just wondering about a few things before heading inside. Here, since Im not really that tired, how about we go for a little flight? Its been a while, and I think the air is especially crisp this early in the morning." Since it didnt often get to fly around, Fafnir quickly emerged from the ground in all its glory while shouting out in a happy voice, (*Yaaaay~! Lets go, lets go~!*). Vahn nodded his head before using Shundo to appear on the back of Fafnir where it had reshaped its scales to create a saddle for his use. The moment he sat down, Vahn felt a powerful gravitational shift as Fafnir shot up in the air like a bullet, even though it didnt disturb the surrounding air. It used magic to propel its flight, so it didnt have to p its rtively small, for the size of its body, wings. After a few seconds, they had already ascended several hundred meters in the sky before Vahn muttered, "I want to go higher, higher than the tower in the center of the City..." Fafnir shouted out an affirmation before angling its body and elerating upwards at an incredible speed. Because of the intense burst of momentum, there were several loud explosions that split through the air and they appeared high above the tower of Babel within a few short minutes. Since Vahn hadnt told it to stop, Fafnir kept going higher and higher until the air had be incredibly thin and it was nearly impossible for a normal person to breath. Vahn actually didnt require a lot of air to subsist off of, and he could even absorb energy through his pores to supplement hisck of oxygen. He regted his heart to pump slower and allowed the incredible cold of the atmosphere to seep into his body as they steadily rose higher and higher. After nearly ten minutes, Fafnir came to a progressive stop as it mused, (*Vahn, I think we shouldnt go any higher than this...I feel a little afraid.*) Hearing Fafnirs words, Vahn opened his eyes and looked around to see that there were nothing but stars surrounding them. Though he hadnt noticed it previously, there was apleteck of oxygen and just being exposed to the air was enough to make his skin gloss over with ayer of ice. Since Fafnir had a barrier that protected the people on its back, this showed that the temperature was likely several hundred degrees below 0. Vahn could feel that his body was almost weightless, so he stood up from the saddle on Fafnirs back and gentlyunched himself outward without any fear or hesitation. The moment he cleared Fafnirs body, Vahn could see a massive sphere below him that extended to the horizon. It was very simr to the time when he dreamed about floating high above the world and Vahn couldnt help but utter silently into the wispy atmosphere a silent, "Beautiful..." Vahn reached out his hand towards the giantndmass below him that he recognized to be the entirety of the continent of Eden. It seemed so small, even though it was thousands of kilometers wide...almost as if it were entirely insignificant in the grand scale of everything around him. Yet, that smallndmass, that wasrger than any world he had ever known, contained almost everything he had ever known and loved... For a few seconds, Vahn just hovered for a while until his body slowly began to elerate downwards and Fafnir swooped in and said in a very worried tone, (*Vahn, its very dangerous, please be careful!*) Vahnughed silently at Fafnirs concern and stroked its back before sending amand to descend. Though it was an exhrating feeling to be high above everything else, Vahn knew his ce wasnt this cold void surrounded by chaotic energy. He had a home, and there were dozens of people that relied on him, while some of them even found it within their hearts to love him. His ce was at their side, and he would work hard to guarantee that never changes until he was forced to leave this world. After descending for a few minutes, Vahn was humoring the idea of jumping off of Fafnirs back and seeing what it was like to fall to the ground from a few dozen kilometers. He knew some of the basic principles behind physics, and his current endurance was more than enough to survive a fall from terminal velocity. He could achieve spontaneous bursts of speed that broke the sound barrier, so a mere 200 or so kilometers per hour wouldnt even cause him to leave a dent in the ground if his dispersed the force properly. Since it was a somewhat rare opportunity, Vahn tapped Fafnirs back and said, "Im going to jump from here, go ahead and find a safe area outside of the City to enter a shadow. There are probably a few people that willin that they saw a giant dragon flying around in the sky above the City." Fafnir nodded its massive head and said, (*Okay, have fun Vahn. Thanks for taking me out to y~! I will go to protect big sis now~!*). Just like Fenrir, Fafnir had taken to calling Tina Big Sis, even though she was incredibly smallpared to the massive Fafnir. After it finished its telepathy, Vahn felt the wind barrier around Fafnir copse and he was suddenlyunched from its back as it quickly disappeared from his vision. The impact of the wind was enough to disorient him, because he had been traveling nearly 2,000km/h when they were descending earlier. He quickly decelerated to around 230km/h and finally recovered enough of his senses to enjoy the fall. Since he hadnt asked Fafnir to slow down first, he couldnt me the young dragon for its mistake that almost caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood. Vahn spent around eight minutes in free fall before he passed near the top of Babel tower and gave it a sidelong nce before transforming into his Xunw form. A few minutester, he approached the ground at a fast speed before flipping his body andnding squarely on his feet. A green ripple appeared on the scales all over his body before Vahn punched toward the sky and created a powerful shockwave that dispersed a huge cloud of fog. The cobblestone below him didnt have a single crack in it and Vahn smiled widely since he had greatly enjoyed the experience. He wondered if it would be a good idea to take some of the stronger people in his Familia along the next time he tried it out. Though it might be a scary concept, Vahn knew he could convince them if he exined it properly. It was arguably more dangerous to bound around at high speeds within the dungeon than it was to fall at almost any height. Vahn was actually confused about why it was treated as such a big deal in some of the manga he read in his previous life when the characters should be more than capable of performing the feat without issue. As he made his way back to the Hearth Manor, Vahn began to wonder what other kinds of things he could do for fun that would be an interesting experience for everyone. If he used his Xunw form properly, he could even dive from Fafnirs back with someone like Hestia without a problem...that seemed like fun. (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Welf,Fafnir is adorable,Vahn is an adrenaline junky) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 320 - Responsibility

Chapter 320 - Responsibility

Due to the excitement he had experienced, Vahn decided against going to bed and just went to take a long bath before preparing for theing day. It was already nearly 4 AM, so it didnt really matter if he went to sleep or not. With his level, endurance, and Innate abilities, Vahn didnt experience fatigue the same way as he used to. The only thing he needed to do to drive away the desire to sleep was increase his blood flow with [Heart of the Eternal me] and restore the rity to his mind by activating [Will of the Emperor]. He was almost constantly used it to maintain his domain, so it wasnt a big deal to miss a single night of sleep. Vahn spent his free time formting a n and deciding if, and how, he would go to the girls meeting. He knew that, just like thework, he needed to give them the freedom to do what they thought was best, but Vahn also wanted to address everyone together. Eventually, he decided to not cause amotion that could potentially disrupt the rtively amicable rtionsh.i.p.s that every currently had. Hed tell Hephaestus, Hestia, and Loki, about potentially dropping in towards the end of the meeting so that he could say a few things. As long as he didnt drop in unannounced, Vahn assumed it wouldnt be a problem, at least not as big a one. When the girls finally started to wake up, Vahn decided to bring an end to his long soak and join them for breakfast. Most of them would probably be sleeping in for a while since everyone had the weekends off to do their own things. This meant that, by the time he arrived in the dining room, there were only a few girls present. As they were the ones to prepare the meal, the twins were the first to arrive and it wasnt long before Mn, Shizune, and Aki came downstairs as well. Tina, Fenrir, and Preasia were still sleeping, and Vahn had noticed that Mikoto went outside to conduct her morning routine while Haruhime was still in their room. Vahn rose from his spot at the dining table and walked over to share a short hug with Mn before sharing a marginally longer one with Aki. Before he split from her, Vahn rubbed her belly and made her blush before everyone moved towards the table. The only person he had left out, Shizune, put on a yful, somewhat childish, act as she said, "Buuu, I dont get a hug~?" Vahn snorted a mutedugh through his nose before patting her on herrge furry ears and saying in a teasing manner, "Maybe when you grow up a bit?" Since he had ruffled her hair a bit forcefully, she gave him a pretend re before running over to Mn and whining,"Moooom, Vahn is bullying me~!" Mn startedughing in a mischevious manner that Vahn remembered from the past as she squinted her eyes at him and said, "Ara~? I didnt think Vahn was the type to bully little girls...Tina will be sad." Since it hadnt been long that Shizune became her adopted daughter, Vahn was very surprised by their interaction. He wondered if the damage done to Shizunes soul had caused her mental state to regress a bit. Before they reunited at the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn had never interacted with her when she was still an a.d.u.l.t. The only impression he had of her was that she was slightly sensual, with a rtively sad look in her eyes. Now, she seemed somewhat yful and had a cheerful glint contained within her eyes like she was a real child, and not an a.d.u.l.t in a childs body. Vahn shook his head and said, "If she wants to be treated like Tina, shell have to work hard and train with everyone else. Even if Ick inhibitions, I try to show the proper restraint unless its to reward people for their hard work." Aki, who had been standing nearby,ughed in a cheerful tone and said, "Thats right, you have to work hard if you want Vahn to spoil you~! Im also doing my best, you know?" Akis tail flicked and Vahn could see a few deep emotions in her eyes as she looked toward him. He took a deep breath to calm himself down, because he was somewhat tempted to carry her off to a room and spend some quality time with her since he knew she was working hard for his benefit. Though he had been rxing for a few hours, Vahn was still in somewhat high tensions from his experiences the previous night, and his freefall this morning. Since it was a rare opportunity, Vahn sat with Aki to his left while Mn sat at his right as both cat girls seemed toe to some form of agreement as they wrapped their tails around his back. Vahn closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment as he sipped on the bitter ck coffee within his cup. If Mn was acting like her old self, Vahn wasnt sure he would be able to resist her joint attacks with other people. If not for the fact that he was concerned about Tina, he considered punishing the mischevious cat girls for their misbehavior. Fortunately, they stopped ying around when Emiru and Maemi brought out some porridge for everyone to enjoy together. When they were done eating, Mn, Aki, and Shizune went into the kitchen to prepare something more substantial for the other girls that had yet to awaken, since they didnt like the thought of leaving all the work to the twins. Vahn ended up spending a little time with the twins nking him on the sofa as Shizune sneakily tried to climb into hisp. Since she hailed from the Far East, she had a small purple kimono on that was suitable for her tiny frame. Vahn managed to divert her and leave her to Maemi her pretended to console her for a while until the other girls started to arrive. Vahn used the opportunity to wake up everyone else and greet them before heading off to the kitchen himself to see if he could help out. Though he didnt dislike the situation at all, Vahn still felt a little pressured when he was the only guy while there were eleven girls present, most of which had some form of affection towards him. After he vented to Welfst night, Vahn realized that his situation was rtively abnormal, even though concepts like polygamy weremonce within the record he was in. Most of the sessful mortals, since gods were something of an exception, only managed around five official wives and very few other rtionsh.i.p.s. If Vahn threw away his inhibitions, there would probably be some girls that left him, but he could still imagine nearly eighteen that would stick around long-term. It was a scary thought because Vahn didnt know how he would able to manage if they all wanted to marry him in the future and worked hard to earn his affections. After breakfast, Vahn actually decided to spend a bit of quality time with Fenrir, since he knew she probably wanted his affections more than anyone else just because of her nature. Though he still told her to call him Vahn, she would have small slips where she would call him Master, and it was especiallymon when she was distracted or excited. Just like she had been for Preasia, Fenrir was very ther.a.p.eutic for Vahn, because she had a sunlike smell to her hair and was very cuddly. The best thing of all, at least for now, she had no real understanding of s.e.x and physical desires, so there was absolutely no pressure from her for the time being. They just sat on the balcony, outside in the cold, for about an hour as Vahn brushed her hair and tail before sending her off with the rest of the girls. Everyone was going to be attending the meeting and Vahn had told Hestia and Aki about his intent to stop byter. Unlike how he expected them to react, both girls werepletely fine with the idea of Vahning, as long as he didnt stay from the very beginning until the end. When they brought the matter up on thework, there was surprisingly zero contention for the idea and they even made it part of the official schedule. Vahn was supposed to show up right before lunch, and they had made up a block of time nearly two hours long to eat and spend time listening to whatever he wanted to talk about. Vahn was grateful for their consideration and had spent the time when he was with Fenrir thinking about what he wanted to bring up. Vahns primary concern was, as expected, the sheer number of girls that would be attending the meeting. No matter how often he thought about it, Vahn really didnt want to let any of the girls down, but he knew there would be conflicts of some kind in the long-term. He wanted there to be agreed upon rules, just like there were currently for the Familia, that would allow him a bit of freedom within his movements. Most importantly, Vahn truly wanted any of the girls he was with to be independent, just because he was afraid of what might happen if he eventually died or was forced out of the record. The more Vahn thought about the future, the more concerned he was with the present and how his actions would influence the lives of many people. Especially since he would be a father in the not so distant future, likely to several children within a rtively small window of time. If he was already spread thin with just the women, it would only be a bigger problem when there were children involved. This was especially so since Vahn was absolutely determined to do things like conquer the Dungeon, and eventually travel the world in the distant future. It wasnt even an exaggeration to say that he may instigate, and fight in, actual wars within the next few years. Ideally, though he knew it was a very unreasonable, even irresponsible thing to do...Vahn would be able to move about freely, with only his actual wives restricting his actions. He didnt mind anyone he was involved with having an open rtionship, or even finding other partners. Vahn wanted the freedom that, if they continued to pursue him, to take action without having tomit to a long-term rtionship that would require him to make sacrifices other than when they were in legitimate trouble. He knew he had an interest in several girls, but...there were only a few that he felt like he genuinely loved and wanted to be with for a long time. It wasnt a problem if the others wanted to be with him, and he would do his best to make them happy, but Vahn didnt want to be their reason for happiness. He didnt want to create a future where several girls would find themselves in despair just because he had fallen to an enemy or was forced out of the record. He wanted them to be strong, proud, and capable of moving on regardless of the struggles they faced. With the help of the other girls on thework, Vahn believed it would be possible for everyone to obtain some modic.u.m of happiness, even if he wasnt around... For a few hours, Vahn meditated on the matter in a state of absolute stillness. By the time noon was approaching, there was ayer of fine ice particles covering his entire body, including his hair and eyshes. Since he needed to head out soon, Vahn opened his eyes and expanded his aura slightly topletely evaporate the moisture around him. It was rude to keep even one girl waiting, and Vahn knew there were probably well of twenty all gathered together in one ce...all to help make his life a little easier. As long as it was within his power, he would do everything in his capabilities to do the same for them. Without further hesitation, Vahn stepped on the edge of the balcony before disappearing from the spot with Shundo. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Does a man many girls even deserve rest?, Ther.a.p.eutic Heaven Devouring Wolf Girl,If your ns for the future dont include your death, you arent living responsibly) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3 /user?u=14397149 Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 321 - The Second Vahnatus (1/2)

Chapter 321 - The Second Vahnatus (1/2)

Due to therge number of attendees, and the fact that ten of the members worked there, it had been decided that the second Vahnatus was to take ce at the Hostess of Fertility. Unlike the first meeting, where there were eighteen girls in attendance, there were now twenty-eight girls that had shown up, many for the first time. This brought the total number of women to participate in the Vahnatus to an astounding thirty-four members, and it was a number that would inspire awe in many, especially since the majority of the girls were very beautiful. The Hostess of Fertility had closed its doors to customers for the day and they had moved around the majority of the chairs and tables before linking them all together to allow for everyone to sit and discuss matters easily. This time around, those in attendance were Hephaestus, the Goddess Representative, Chairman, and First Wife of Vahn, Eina, the Mortal Representative, Vice-Chairman, and also the First Wife of Vahn. There was also Loki, the Spokesperson, and Negotiator for the entire group, and several members of her Familia including Tiona, Ais, Tione, Riveria, Lefiya, and Aisha. Anubis was also in attendance, but her entire Familia was still on an expedition with Tsubaki, so they were absent alongside Naaza and Lili. Thergest faction within the group was represented by Syr and it consisted of Mama Mia, Chloe, Arnya, Lunoire, Mona, and to a lesser extent, Mn, Tina, and Shizune. Wrapping up the attendees, there were the members of the Hestia Familia including Hestia herself, Ryuu, Aki, Haruhime, Mikoto, Emiru, Maemi, Preasia, andst but not least, Fenrir. Just as they had done so during the first meeting, albeit with greater efficacy this time around, Hephaestus, Eina, and Loki had everyone present agree to take a vow to protect the information discussed within and never disclose it to anyone outside of the group. As most of the girls had already made non-disclosure type vows, they quickly made the decision to do so, even though some were slightly hesitant and gave in to the pressure and momentum of the group as a whole. Since there were several new attendees, the matter concerning Vahns assumed origin was brought up yet again and, even though many of the girls present were already aware of his past, there were still several who got somewhat misty-eyed. For those just learning about it, it was quite an impact for them, especially in the case of Haruhime, Emiru, Maemi, Preasia, Mona, and Shizune. They all had tragic pasts of their own and had suffered no small degree of misfortune, but it was hard to imagine what Vahn had gone through before he finally obtained his freedom. All they usually saw when interacting with Vahn was a capable and understanding young boy that often pampered them and treated them with a respectful attitude even though they often pressured him a bit. They werent the only ones affected greatly, as there was also one girl who had a somewhat nk look to her eyes with a gentle smile on her face as she processed everything she had just learned. Perhaps more than anyone else, Syr understood what it was like to be used and exploited just because of the virtue of ones birth, and she heavily empathized with Vahns origin story. She had already made the decision to pursue and live alongside him, but these new revtions amped up her already firm resolve to ensure that they were able to be together forever. There was a powerful urge to protect Vahn welling up inside her, and she was slowly analyzing each of the girls present as if she were evaluating their existence and potential impact on Vahns life... After the prelude was taken care of, the tone of the conversation underwent arge shift as the topics turned to somewhat happier, yet stressful, matters. Though it was already known by most of the girls present, the matter regarding Vahns uing marriage with Hephaestus and Eina was discussed in detail, including when and where it would take ce. Of course, everyone present was invited to attend, and it would be a rtively private matter even though it would be highly publicized in theing days. They then moved on to discussions about the Denatus, and it was revealed to the group that Hephaestus was confirmed to be pregnant with Vahns child. This was a massive impact on several girls, for a variety of reasons, because it was a significant event that would change the momentum in the group indefinitely while also causing ripples throughout the world. Once things got to this point, though Loki was about to announce her own intent to get pregnant and their strategy at the Denatus, Aki had interrupted the conversation with an uncharacteristically bashful appearance as she imed, "Im...also...most likely pregnant with Vahns child." Hephaestus, who had been the only other girl present with a [Maternity Band], wasnt too surprised by the revtion, but it was a big impact on most of the girls present. Those that knew the biology of Cat Persons werent too surprised either, but girls like Tiona and Tione, were somewhat up in arms since Aki was their formerrade in the Loki Familia. Aki didnt shy away from their somewhat yful rebukes as she just smiled and rubbed her belly with a satisfied look on her face. Syr, once again, began to pay closer to attention to several other girls and also noted the lines of the [Maternity Band] that was being worn by Hephaestus and Aki. A few rms were ringing in her head and a plot was forming within the depth of her mind to regain the momentum and bring things in her favor in the future. Though she had no intention of vying for the first wife position with Hephaestus and Eina, Syr wanted to be a decision maker within the group and be one of the people closest to Vahn. Now that girls, other than Vahns wives, were beginning to get pregnant, she felt a little bit of pressure, especially when Loki expanded on their strategy in the uing Denatus. Not just mortal girls, but there would be goddesses trying to flock to Vahns side to receive benefits within the future and it would destabilize her position and threaten the bnce of the entire group if things got out of hand. The entire time she was speaking, Loki had been paying very close attention to Syr and the two had locked eyes several times and understood, to a certain extent, what the other was thinking. It had already been discussed within the leadership on thework, and each of the girls, Hephaestus, Loki, and Eina, realized the potential benefits, as well as the threat, that someone like Syr provided for Vahn and thework as a whole. Eina had already made her decision to act primarily in Vahns interest, to be something akin to his personal caretaker and big sister, while girls like Aki were meant to help manage things within the Familia alongside Hestia and Ryuu. Vahn still needed a woman to manage the interpersonal rtionsh.i.p.s on thework, as well as someone that was willing to organize his personal life so he wouldnt be so stressed out trying to keep up with everyone on his own. Though it could be managed by Hephaestus, Eina, and Loki herself, they all had other responsibilities and something akin to personal bias, either because of their disposition, or their Divinity. Hephaestus would always take to Vahns aide, but she was also busy most of the time managing her thousands of Familia members. Loki knew her nature, and she could potentially disrupt the established order within the group just because of the influence of her Divinity. Eina herself was a capable manager, but she was fully invested in Vahn himself and didnt know enough about the girls on thework to easily influence things outside of the Manor itself. Because of her nature, and her apparent devotion to Vahn, Syr was in the best position to have the greatest amount of impact on his life. They had already seen through her plot to essentially turn the Hostess of Fertility into a centralponent of Vahns existence ever since she protected Mn and Tina in the past. She then began developing Vahns rtionsh.i.p.s with the other girls and slowly cultivated the habit he had of visiting the Hostess of Fertility nearly every day. When Vahn needed someone to look after him, she was the one that pitched the idea of sending over Ryuu, and she had also been the one managing thework and arranging the various outings Vahn had gone on. She also convinced Mama Mia to shelter the former ve girls and has been steadily developing everyone within the Hostess of Fertility to be more receptive to Vahns presence. Even Eina herself agreed that, of all the girls around Vahn, Syr was one of, if not the, most capable women in his life, even though she was only Level 1. She had a fierce intelligence, a rational mind, and seemed to be very devoted to Vahn. However, there was a very high chance she would slowly try to take control of his life over time just to monopolize his affections by even a marginal amountpared to the other girls. Since she was somewhat maniptive and had a lot of influence on the girls within the Hostess of Fertility, she was also one of the biggest threats within the group as a whole. If they truly brought her into the inner circle, other than Loki herself, the others might not even be aware of what had happened by the time she seized control. Of course, since Loki was present, they would serve as a restraint on each other for the foreseeable future. The biggest, and scariest concern was what would happen if Syr eventually worked together with Loki, or alongside the problematic Freya, who she already had a pre-existing rtionship with. These were important things that needed to be taken into considerations by those in official rtionsh.i.p.s with Vahn, as they would impact, not only his life, but the lives of everyone within thework, as well as any children that may be born within the group in the future. It was something that had to be discussed in private so, for now, they focused on other matters including the potential aftermath of what would happen after Vahns ability to help goddesses get pregnant was exposed. Because of the Tripartisan Cooperation of the top three Familia, Vahn would be able to remain rtively safe, even if there were any that harbored resentment or ill will towards him. There was also the influence of the Alliance itself, and how they nned to restrict the information by forcing anyone that learned of the process to undertake a strict vow of secrecy. Since he would be a unique existence, the Guild would most like take Vahns side as well, as Ouranos was somewhat cunning but unable to directly oppose even a single one of the top three Familia, much less all three. He would most likely even try to protect Vahn for the benefit of the greatest number of people, but there was already a n in motion to pretty much shut him down at the start. Simply put, the Tripartisan Cooperation wouldnt even give him any room to maneuver on the matter because it was already the monw amongst gods in the mortal world to not restrict the actions of children outside their own Familia. Even if he could make an argument for the greater good, there would be no actual justification he could put forth that would allow him to use Vahn to cultivate demigods and heroes that couldnt be pointed out as tantly selfish, and borderline evil. Since mortals had the freedom to choose how they lived, they were capable of great good, as well as great evil, so if someone got their hands on a child sired by Vahn himself, there was always the possibility that a powerful force would arise in the world that had a devastating impact on society as a whole. Imposing strict regtions within their own small circle, and taking care of the children as a collective, was the best way to guarantee that something didnt go wrong. Once the matter of the Denatus was discussed, the conversation took a somewhat strange turn, because the girls were actually beginning to anticipate the arrival of Vahn before lunch. Since they had been discussing things like pregnancies, the inevitable discussion arose within the group as Hephaestus, Loki, and Eina began toy down the rules and restrictions that would need to be followed if any of the girls present decided to have Vahns children. For this part of the discussion, Fenrir had been asked to guard the outside and wait for Vahn to arrive with Fafnir since it was generally understood that she was too mentally immature and unstable to have that kind of interest at the moment. It was essentiallyid out that, if a girl within thework became pregnant with Vahns child, they were required to stay within the influence of thework until the child had reached physical maturity. Since Vahn was something of an anomaly, his children would likely have various skills and abilities, some of which might have never appeared before in history, and they would need to be closely monitored in order to protect them from outside forces. There were several big restrictions that the girls would also have to agree to, and the matter would always have to be discussed on thework and justified, even if it was a child born of mutual love. The biggest restriction that was to be imposed was the idea that, unless there were multiple children born at the same time, that the girls would need approval if they wanted to have more kids with Vahn. Since there were so many women around him, it would be an incredibly difficult thing to manage if Vahn sequentially got the same women pregnant over and over because of his Fertility attribute. Of course, there werent only restrictions, as there were also a lot of benefits that were also discussed. Essentially, any child sired by Vahn would almost certainly be protected until they reached a.d.u.l.thood. Simply based on Vahns nature, he wouldnt be able to mistreat his children and was perfectly capable of providing a somewhat stable environment, and financial security to ensure the development of the children. They also had ess to the other girls on thework for support, and they would be able to rely on each other to look after and care for each others children. Since he was likely going to arrive soon, they began to discuss why this was an important thing, as Loki made it known that Vahn was actually only capable of being happy with women that were self-reliant. For the girls that Vahn had ced restrictions on, they understood what she meant better than everyone else. Because Vahn was required to protect them, they were unable to break down his defenses and actually enjoy a proper rtionship with him. He treated them well, and even showed them affection, but it was impossible for them to cross that final line, even if they wanted to. This was another reason why the girls at the Hostess of Fertility had something of an advantage, since almost every one of their original members was Level 4, or higher. The only exception was Syr, but she was in control of the entire group, including the Level 6 Mama Mia. Just like Eina, she was one of the capable girls around Vahn that wasnt abatant. Since the matter was brought up, it started a discussion where the girls gave each other advice about what they could do to be more capable and make an impression on Vahn. The powerful girls like Tiona, Ais, Tione, just talked about what they had done to be strong whilst the nonbatant girls like the Goddesses, Eina, and Syr, discussed the importance of things like education and having a sharp mind that was also receptive to change. Since there were girls like Preasia, who had no interest inbat whatsoever, it was important to understand that the path to bing capable wasnt necessarily the path to obtaining strength. Knowledge, and influence, were arguably even more important than physical, or magical, potential. Of course, it wasnt an argument at all about the girls that had the greatest advantage to approaching Vahn. If they were strong, self-reliant, and ventured with him into the dungeon, it was almost a sure thing they would be able to eventually close the distance with him. As long as they put in the effort, Vahn himself would guarantee they could be strong. There was also the added benefit that, if they went into the dungeon alongside him, they didnt have to worry about carrying a bunch of items, looking the drops, or worrying about staying clean and such other annoying matters. Though the fights were hard, adventuring into the dungeon alongside Vahn was closer to a date than an actual struggle, especially since he was prone to rewarding the girls for their hard work. When the matter of how Vahn rewards people was brought up, it started a strange conversation that also included his moniker within the group as the godhand. It was an irrefutable truth, at least within thework, that Vahns petting ability was inarguably the best in the world. Even experienced women, and goddesses, werepletely helpless against his technique, and he was always especially affectionate with the capable women around him when they were in private. Aki had even brought up the matter of the Heaven and Earth Convergence and mentioned that it was a dangerous technique that she, even more than a week afterward, hadnt been able to stop thinking about on asion. As they were talking, it was nearly noon and everyone heard an exmation from the outside that brought a hush over the room as they all looked expectantly towards the door. Those with stronger senses had already started to smile and their reactions had slowly spread to the rest of the group as Vahn walked through the doors and looked over with a smile of his own. However, his smile copsed almost instantly as a somewhat shocked expression appeared on his face and they were able to see his head nodding slightly as if he were counting everyone present. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sixth Best Novel in Originals Kappa,Things Have Escted Quickly,Syrs Influence,The Legendary Godhand) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 322 - The Second Vahnatus (2/2)

Chapter 322 - The Second Vahnatus (2/2)

After Vahn finished confirming the total number of attendees five times, his casual smile turned into a somewhat wry one as he walked forward and said, "I-Its good to see everyone together like this...hahaha." In response to his awkward greeting, all of the girls present gave a variation of their own, though decidedly more chipper and affectionate than what he had managed. They had the numerical advantage, so the pressure on them was a lot less than what Vahn himself was experiencing. Fortunately, there were a few girls that stepped forward to ease the tensions for Vahn, including Hephaestus, Eina, and Hestia. He shared an embrace with the three lovable girls, which also included a brief kiss, even with slightly blushing Eina. Vahn felt a lot calmer after parting with the three girls and wasnt as affected when Loki asked with a mischevious smile on her face, "Surprised by the hole you dug for yourself~?" Vahn shook his head and, with a fresh smile on his face, said, "Just a little overwhelmed honestly...I imagine any guy would probably pause after seeing so many beautiful girls in one ce." Though it was a simplepliment, Vahn could feel the auras of almost everyone in the room stabilize and take on various warm colors, including a few vibrant yellows, sky blues, and pinks. One of the reasons he had been overwhelmed at first, was because the auras of the girls had been ovepping with each other, almost like they had be part of a greater whole and it was somewhat intimidating to see the chaotic state of the room when he first entered. After exchanging greetings with everyone present, Loki took the initiative again and said, "Okay, well be eating a light lunch and enjoying a few snacks for the next two hours or so. This is the time that has been allocated to Vahn, so please pay close attention and try not to interrupt unless its an important matter~! As everyone has noticed, we outnumber him a little, kekekeke~." Piggybacking off of her words, Hephaestus nodded and said, "We originally got together like this for Vahns benefit, so its important we take into consideration his will on matters. Understanding andmunication, just like what we have on thework, is important for everyones shared happiness." Vahn gave a grateful smile to the two goddesses before turning his attention to therger group with a little more confidence. He noticed that, with few exceptions, every girl present was paying attention to his presence and waiting for his words with small smiles on their faces. Because he was going to be addressing them all, he was standing in the area where Hephaestus had been sitting previously as she moved off to the side to watch him from the front. Vahn took a deep breath before clearing the area around him and dropping to his knees in a smooth motion. Before the girls reacted to his unexpected behavior, Vahn ced his hands on the ground before pressing his forehead to the floor and saying, "First off, even if it may not be necessary, I want to apologize to everyone here!" More than a few girls wanted to rise and have Vahn stand, but they were still following the advice of Loki and Hephaestus and just worried bit their lips instead of saying anything. Vahn kept his head bowed low as he continued, "I know how abnormal this situation is...even if everyone is okay with it, I know Im not enough to guarantee that everyone here will always be happy. I will do my best to meet everyones expectations, but I am only one person...I cant bear such a great burden all the time, so please forgive me." After his words fell for a few seconds, Vahn raised his head and passed his gaze over everyone present as he said, "I wont lie...I am truly grateful for the affections everyone has for me...and...I cant help but want to be with everyone based on my own curiosity and intrigue. If it were just acting intimately with people..." Vahn clenched his teeth before an incredibly confident look appeared in his eyes and he said, "I would be able to manage without difficulty." Though his im was bold, Vahn had confidence that, other than maybe Tiona, Tione, and Aisha, he was more than capable of tending to every woman present if necessary. The problem was managing the rtionsh.i.p.s and making sure everyone was happy in their everyday lives. At this point, Vahn rose to his feet and looked around at the various looks on the girls faces. Some were confused, but there was a fair number that had mild blushes and slightly expectant looks in their eyes. He nodded his head firmly before continuing, "The problem is, I know that isnt healthy, nor is it the right thing to do given the current situation. The main reason I came here was to let my own stance on the matters be known, since I want to do my best to make sure everyone is able to understand what Im going through during all of this..." Vahn took a deep breath before saying, "I cant always be around...because of my nature, and the things I want to aplish in this life, I cant guarantee I will be able to stay with everyone as much as Id like to...as much as some of you might need me to. There will be times when I may even be gone for several months, and there is also a very real possibility that I could die to any number of unknown circ.u.mstances...because of that, I cant easily involve myself with anyone that isnt independent or capable of living without my presence. Though I will always do my best to protect everyone, it puts me under a great deal of mental and physical duress when I try to manage my life around the lives of others..." A somewhat pained look appeared on Vahns face as he said, "Im just...not strong enough. And I know things will only get more difficult in the future...so I ask that, if by some chance you find it in your heart to care for me...if you make the decision to honor me with your affections...you also have the expectation that, at any moment, I may not be able to be there when you need me. I want everyone to be self-reliant, especially when I have to take into consideration the matter of having children in the future. Thiswork...Im positive that, if I wasnt fortunate enough to meet with Hephaestus and Eina, things wouldnt have progressed so smoothly..." Vahn briefly made eye contact with everyone in the room as he spoke before saying, "Because I ampelled to follow the path Ive chosen for myself, I want everyone to have their own convictions, their own path, something that theyve decided to dedicate themselves to in order to be happy...and that cant be me alone. I cant bear the burden of so many people having ced their expectations, their happiness, their burdens, all on my shoulders. And the simple truth is, I would do my best to bear it regardless of how much pain it caused me...until I eventually broke and made a mistake. If that happened, and it most likely would at some point, Im not sure if Id ever be able to recover from it..." Though he didnt kneel down, Vahn bowed to everyone present and said, "I know...I know what Im saying is selfish...because I should be grateful that so many beautiful, kind, and capable women...that youve deemed me worthy of your affections. But, I have to think about the worst-case scenario...I have to take into consideration my own nature, my own desires, my own interests. If I deny them, I feel like I will lose my way...so please understand my standpoint...and do what you think is best for your own happiness. No matter how much it pains me, I will always support your decisions and do my best to guarantee you able to obtain what you seek...even if it is a path that diverges from my own...I just want everyone to be happy, and not reliant on me...even though I also will do my best to make myself reliable so that you are never in danger..." The atmosphere within the Hostess of Fertility had almost grown eerily quiet, but Vahn actually felt a bit of relief since he could see that none of the girls present seemed to show any enmity toward him. Though some had fluctuations in their auras, none of them showed any negative emotions in regards to his words, and there were even a number of girls that had very loving expressions on their faces. Hephaestus was chief amongst them, but Eina, Aki, and even Syr, were both looking at him with gentle expressions with a hint of concern in their eyes. Chloe had a resolute expression and even girls like Tiona and Ais had kind smiles on their faces. After a brief period of silence, Loki was the one to ask, "So, if you had to put forth any regtions of your own, what would they be?" Vahn ruminated over her words for a bit before saying, "Unless I feel like they have stabilized, I dont want to be romantically involved with any girl under Level 3...I also dont want too many girls to get pregnant at the same time...and..." Vahn swallowed a knot that had found its way in his throat before he muttered in an awkward manner, "I want to...be able to...ummm...talk about the things I...want to try...on thework..." Even though he had mentally prepared himself, Vahn couldnt help but blush when he talked about something so deviant. He couldnt deny it, that he himself had a very strong interest in girls, so he wanted them to be aware of it and, for those that were interested, Vahn wanted to be able tomunicate with them and try out the things he was interested in. Though not everyone understood at first, it wasnt long before the entire room, excluding Fenrir, understood what Vahn was trying to say. Loki herself burst out intoughter as she eyed the various reactions of the girls within the room. She wasnt the only one, as there were a number of women present that were also exchanging nces with others within the room, especially Syr, who had a mild blush on her face and a slight glimmer in her light grey eyes. Vahn was also gauging everyones reactions and had seen several auras within the group re up with a stronger touch of pink, while others were practically zing about, especially Hestia, Tiona, Ais, and even Tione and Aisha. Loki finally stoppedughing and gave a cursory nce over everyone before she asked in a yful tone, "Anything else~?" Vahn nodded his head and said, "I want to be a good father...so Id like to be involved in raising my children when the timees. Though I will probably be in the dungeon a lot, Id like to be able to spend time with them whenever I can..." Loki waved her hand dismissively and said, "You dont really have to worry about that, since we werent going to let any of your kids out of sight anyways. As long as you want to meet them, I dont imagine there is a girl present who would even try to stop you...anything else?" Vahn shook his head and a somewhat wry smile appeared on his face as he exined, "I honestly dont have enough experience with life to even know what I want to do right now...Im just doing my best based on my understanding of the situation, so Ive probably overlooked several things. Please, if possible, always be honest with me so Ill be able to increase my own experience and make more informed decisions in the future. Im not sure how many times meetings like this will happen...but Id like to be present for some of them, even if Im not around for the full duration." As he was speaking, Vahn remembered a matter, so he tacked it on and said, "Oh, I want to make awork of my own as well, one with just guys. I stayed over at Welfsst night, and I feel like it was theraputic in a way...also, umm...I wanted to bring up something about that as well...?" Vahn scratched the back of his head as he looked around before saying, "Umm, Im actually not...that sure about how to...appeal to girls...and I wanted to help Welf find a partner as well." Since there were currently twenty-eight girls that had all gathered for his benefit, Vahn felt it was strange to say he didnt actually know how to appeal with girls. Surprisingly, several girls nodded their heads as if they were agreeing with him before Hephaestus said, "Yeah...Welf would probably have a lot of trouble with women, and I cant imagine you would be able to help him out with it given your personality. I know he had a crush on me, and its pretty apparent he had a crush on Tsubaki as well..." Even though he hadnt exined anything, Hephaestus had known Welf for years and even Loki added in after hearing her words, "So he is the type that likes older women, probably ones with big b.o.o.b.s and stuff..." She had a somewhat annoyed look on her face as she stared at girls like Hestia and Mona out of the corner of her eye. Vahn felt a little guilty with how the girls were reacting to Welf, and he almost regretted bringing it up when there was so many present. Everyone had started discussing the matter, even though the majority of the girls had never even met him. Vahn felt like he needed to defend his friend a bit, so he said, "Welf might not be that capable now, but he has a lot of potential and is actually a great guy. As long as he has proper guidance, I believe he would be able to be a better cksmith, as well as a capable adventurer in the future. The research he is working on it something that will revolutionize magical items, and its something that is worth investing in while helping nurture his growth..." Hephaestus nodded her head in agreement as she said, "Vahn didnt mention it, but his full name is Welf Crozzo. He bears the rare skill [Crozzo Magic Blood] and can create devastating weapons that would change the tide of almost any battle. He has a bit of a trauma since his familys reputation is somewhat disreputable, but he has been working incredibly hard to change that reputation through his own efforts. I agree with Vahn that he will likely be an incredibly capable person in the next ten years." Loki nodded her head next and said, "Especially if he is Vahns friend, its almost guaranteed hell have a fair amount of sess...so the real matter is finding a girl that can look after him so he doesnt break from associating with Vahn. I imagine he is probably very jealous, especially considering youre very near each other in age..." Aisha, the person that Vahn had originally wanted to talk to about the matter, had been listening to the conversation and said, "There are a number of Amazon girls that are looking for long-term partners...do you know if he has anything against non-human rtions?" Vahn shook his head quickly and exined, "No, he seems to just like strong girls with big b.r.e.a.s.ts and plump butts..." Though he said the words casually, Vahn felt a little embarrassed to broach the subject of someone elses preferences. Aishas smile turned somewhat sensual as she squinted her eyes and said, "Well, I know more than a few girls that would look out for him...if he is serious about growing stronger, theyll even protect him, especially if he has the support of people like you and Hephaestus-sama." Though she seemed to throw out the idea as a joke, based on how she was cackling, Loki said, "If he will one day be as capable as Vahn ims, it might even be better if you send multiple girls to him at once. Im sure itll help stroke his ego a bit and give him the encouragement to grow stronger, kekeke~." As if seriously considering the matter, Aisha nodded her head and said, "I know at least five girls that are Level 3 and know how to deal with younger men well. Theyre all pretty young as well, so theyll be more than willing to wait a few years for him to actually be more capable..." Hearing Aishas words, Vahn imagined Welf being surrounded by a group of exotic, brown-skinned, Amazon beauties and pictured the red-haired youth having a silly smile on his face. For a brief moment, Vahn wanted to p his image of Welf silly and he finally understood why so many men gave him looks of envy. After shaking the image from his mind, Vahn looked over towards Tiona, Tione, and Aisha before swallowing a fair amount of saliva when he saw the somewhat hungry looks in their eyes. To make matters worse, Ais had a simr look and Vahn could see apetitive fire burning deep within her pupils. Since he was unable to control his expression when he let his mind wander the girls close to him, and those with experience, were easily able to discern what he was thinking about. Vahn had a somewhat bashful smile on his face as he scanned over the group of girls and saw everyones expressions. Even when they were talking to each other, everyone was focused on him, so he felt quite a bit of pressure seeing how they reacted to his words and actions... Eventually, the lunch period came to an end and Vahn left the Hostess of Fertility to let the girls discuss the matters he had brought up amongst themselves. Given their initial reactions, Vahn felt like things should go well since there didnt seem to be any negative responses from the core of the group. Though some of the lesser involved girls might distance themselves from him, Vahn believed that things would take a turn in a positive direction for him in the future. It was impossible for him to bnce everything on his own, but Vahn knew the girls that were leading the discussion were capable of managing things due to their influence and experience. Especially with girls like Hephaestus, Eina, Loki, and Syr amongst their numbers. Though Hestia was also influential in his life, Vahn naturally excluded her because he knew she would likely never be able to ovee her own bias for the other girls within the group. He left the matters for the more mature, and highly capable, women in his life... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Everything starts from an apology,Vahns Resolution,RIP Welf) (A/N: Hope everyone is enjoying the sixth-ranked original novel TT___TT. Still cant believe we keep getting overtaken by a wish-fulfillment novel for women.) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 323 - Cycle

Chapter 323 - Cycle

Now that he had left the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn didnt actually know what he should be doing. There was no work to do, no girls to spend time with, and no objectives for him to currentlyplete. For the first time a while, Vahn had real free time and he didnt know how to spend it. The girls would probably be at their meeting for a few more hours, and probably even eat dinner together, so he had the majority of the afternoon to himself. He was half expecting, now that things were calm, for something to happen that would change the rtive peace he was enjoying. Since he didnt have any control over the actions of others, the only thing he could do was simply avoid looking for trouble himself. Though he had the urge to walk around and enjoy the City, Vahn felt like it was a g that would trigger an event to happen that would once again increase the burden on his shoulders. Even going into the dungeon seemed like he would stumble across someone that needed help, or he would somehow run across the expedition and meet Tsubaki, Naaza, Lili, and Nanu. He was somewhat interested in putting his theory to the test, especially since he wanted to replenish his diminishing Origin Point reserves. The girls were allowed to keep the magic cores of the monsters they hunted during the training, and they would exchange them for points and Valis when they returned to the Manor. This meant that Vahn hadnt really been gaining any OP to replenish his supply, and he was afraid it would be a problem if he didnt address it soon. Vahn had several ways to make OP, but the most effective method would inarguably be to y monsters. It was also the only way for him to grow stronger, but it was dangerous to venture into the deeper floors alone, even with his powerful abilities. He could use the [Seal of the Challenger] and stay on the upper floors, but it likely wouldnt make a big difference since he didnt really get hit at all. Simply not fighting back wouldnt really get around that problem, since the biggest factor to growth was the persons mental state. Vahn needed to experience real threats, not artificially created ones... Though he was lost in thought, Vahn still maintained awareness of his surroundings, and he saw a kid in an alleyway getting bullied by another group of children. Based on their clothing, they all looked like orphans and they were currently trying to steal the small roll of bread that was being clutched by the small child in a death grip as the curled up on the ground. Even though it was nearly freezing outside, the children only had cloths wrapped around their feet, and Vahn saw several cuts and bruises all over their bodies. Everyone around pretty much ignored the scene as if it were perfectly normal so Vahn released a sigh as he walked over. Seeing Vahn approach, the three bullies gave him a discontented look before trying to kick the kid on the ground and run off. Vahnpletely locked down their movements and they each froze mid-motion with expressions of abject terror on their faces. Though he hadnt noticed at first, Vahn could tell the children looked slightly more mature than normal, and he quickly understood that all four of them were actually Pallums. When he approached, he had a contemtive look on his face as he observed the four and said, "Exin what is going on..." The Pallum boy that was being beaten previously look up with a hesitant expression after seeing the three people surrounding him standing like statues. He swallowed his saliva and said, "I...I was just...trying to eat my bread...they wanted to take it from me." Vahn shook his head as he released one of the bullies and asked, "Why do you want to take his food?" The bullys mouth quivered a bit as they said, "Were hungry...it isnt fair that he gets to eat while we have to starve..." Vahn squinted his eyes and asked, "But its fair to gang up on him and try to take what isnt yours?" Hearing Vahns question, the boy fell onto his butt with fear in his eyes as he stuttered, "I-I-I-I..." Vahn shooked his head before infusing [Heart of the Eternal me] into his domain to warm up the air around them. He also slowly began to heal their wounds as he pulled out a few dishes of food and some rations that were used in the dungeon. The children all swallowed when they saw the sudden appearance of sumptuous meals out of thin air. Vahn released his restraint on the other two bullies and they all looked at him with trepidation and a hint of expectation. Vahn passed his gaze over them and exined in a patient tone, "Life is not always fair...sometimes it is very hard, and it seems like things will never get better. This will always be the truth unless you can work together...hurting others just increases the amount of pain and hatred within the cycle of life. You might hurt him now, but that pain will breed resentment...depending on how things develop, the people you hurt might go to drastic lengths to make sure you suffer just as they did. Its better to work together, that way you can help ensure each others happiness..." Each of the four boys looked at him with conflict on their faces and it made Vahn shake his head before he asked, "Tell me, how old are you, how long have you known each other, where are your families?" He turned his attention to each boy, one by one, and they stated, "Im 8...Ive known Todd and Marty for three years...they are my friends...and my family." Vahn nodded his head and the next boy said, "Im 8 as well, and Ive known Sean and Marty for three years...we grew up together." Thest of the bullies continued after Todd finished, "Im 7, and Ive been with Todd and Sean for thest three years...I dont remember my family..." After the bullies were finished, the final Pallum child said, "Im Sardyr...Im 10 years old...and Ive seen these boys a lot...they bully me because I am alone..." There was a deep resentment in the boys eyes that made the other three boys frown. Before they said anything, Vahn released a light pulse of energy and they held their words as he said, "So you do understand that things are easier when you work together...right?" The three bullies looked at each other before nodding their heads in affirmation. Vahn asked, "So, if Sardyr ended up hurting one of you in the future, what would you do?" The leader of the bullies, Sean, immediately said, "I would beat him up, ck and blue!" Vahn frowned and asked, "Is that fair?" The boy backed down a bit before muttering, "Yes...he hurt my friend..." Vahn shook his head and asked, "But he only did that because you hurt him...isnt that his right to take action? Why is it fair for you to hurt him, but not fair for him to hurt you?" The boys couldnt answer his question, so Vahn continued, "See, this is what I mean...you create a cycle of hatred based on your own justifications...your own bias...and it doesnt make anyone happy. For a temporary reprieve, you take from others, but the only thing youre doing is inviting unhappiness in the future. If Sardyr left, who would you steal from? Would you just move on to someone else? What happens if you steal from a lot of people and they all team up to get revenge?" Vahn saw a cruel glint pass through the eyes of Sardyr and he squinted his eyes and said, "Will taking revenge make you happy? Does it return to you the things youve lost? Would you truly be able to trust the people that banded together to bring harm to others? What happens when they turn their backs on you and hurt you as well?" Unable to answer his question, Sardyr just frowned with a conflicted expression on his face. Vahn looked over the four kids for several long seconds and said, "The only thing that can guarantee your happiness is strength...not just physical, or magical, might...but strength of character...and the strong bonds that tie you together as friends...even family. Instead of weakening yourselves and suppressing others, you should continue to grow stronger, together, so that you can protect the things you care about." Holding out the dishes, Vahn said, "I give you a simple choice...reconcile your differences and I will allow you to eat this food. Though I wont be around to enforce that you get along, I will trust that you remember the lesson I have taught you today. If we meet again in the future, and I see that you have created better lives for yourselves, I will make sure to reward you for your efforts. Know that, as long as you make the effort to change, life will get easier...even if you dont n for it, the future will alwayse...so do your best to make sure it is a bright one, and not one surrounded by pain and hatred. Be better than the life you have been forced into..." Though they may not have taken his words to heart, the four boys at least put on a show of making up with each other. They each shook hands and apologized for everything that had happened before Vahn allowed them to eat the food. When they finally got to dig into the dishes, the boys ate ravenously and Vahn exined the contents of the satchels he gave each of them. Though it wasnt pleasant, each one contained enough field rations for an a.d.u.l.t that wouldst an entire week. Vahn told them that, he wouldnt always stop by, but he would asionally appear in this area in the future. If he saw they were making an earnest effort to build a better life for themselves, he would give them more food and even other necessities. Vahn knew he couldnt adopt every orphan he saw on the street, so the best he could do was provide them some moral guidance and hope they pursue the change that would better their lives. Before he left, Vahn gave each of the kids 1,000Valis, which was enough to actually seek temporary shelter, or to purchase things like shoes. He couldnt give them more, because it would make them a target by other homeless people and older orphans. Since theyd been orphans for several years, they had enough street smarts to not unt their wealth. It also incentivized them to work together, because any one of them could betray the others if there were hard feelings between them. Though it was small, they now had a small amount of wealth they needed to protect, and the only people they could rely on was each other. After leaving the alleyway, Vahn continued on in silence for a bit as he wondered if it were possible to do something more meaningful for people in the same situation as the children. He knew that it wasnt actually a solution to just give them everything since it would only cause disreputable people to exploit them for further gain. There was simply no infrastructure in ce to deal with the homeless, provide for orphans, and prevent criminals, or disreputable a.d.u.l.ts, from exploiting their situation. No amount of money could fix the problem, because it would just be used to strengthen the power of those that exploit others and eventually escte matters unless someone took action to stop it. However, even if he eliminated every evil person, there was a very real chance someone amongst the orphans themselves would rise up and rece that person once they got a taste of power and authority. It was a never-ending cycle, and the only permanent solution seemed to be education and setting a proper example...only by putting in an effort to change their own situation could people truly ovee their trials and move on with life. With that thought in mind, Vahn turned his attention to the system for a moment and saw the perpetual 99 Affection of Lili and knew she was still someone that hadnt been able to move on from her tragic past. Though she was putting in an exorbitant amount of effort, she hadnt taken many actions to correct her mental state and she was still overly reliant on other people to function. Vahn didnt know what he could do to help her since the only person that could truly change her mentality was Lili herself. Even if he went to the Soma Familia and forced them to repent for their past actions, there was no guarantee it would help her. The alcohol production Familia was already under pressure from the Guild and was being forced to change their ways after the various illegal dealings they were involved with were exposed. Lili didnt even have to do anything, and the Soma Familia would be forcibly corrected over time while anyone that hadmitted a crime would face their due punishments. Vahn shook his head and knew that the only thing he could do was continue working hard to live by example. The girls on thework would always look after her, and when she eventually joined his Familia in the future, Vahn knew she would probably begin to stabilize. If nothing else, the best solution to Lilis problem was simply time. The stronger, and more confident, she became, the happier she would be. Once she opened up to others, a lot of the things that caused her pain in the past would slowly fade away. Vahn actually believed that girls like Preasia, Haruhime, and even Fenrir, would be very ther.a.p.eutic for her. Other than Naaza and Tina, Lili didnt have many actual friends. For the rest of the afternoon, Vahn ruminated over a few matters before psyching himself up when he detected the arrival of the girls. He believed that most of the solutions to his problems would be found through thework, and he ced a lot of trust in the capable women that ran it. His primary focus should be doing his best to develop, not only his own strength, but the strength of the Hestia Familia itself. Everything else would be dealt with after consulting with everyone, unless it was a matter that could only be dealt with by Vahn personally, such as something like a quest. When he went downstairs, Vahn greeted all the girls that had just arrived which included Hestia, Aki, Ryuu, Fenrir, Haruhime, Mikoto, Emiru, Maemi, Preasia, Mn, Tina, Shizuna, and surprisingly, Loki. The moment he saw the red-headed goddess, Vahn paused for a bit as a small amount of expectation took root inside of him. She immediately noticed his reaction and yfully stuck out her tongue before saying, "There are a few things we need to talk about~. It might take a while, so how about we use your bedroom~?" Vahn swallowed a bit before he turned his attention to Hestia and saw her release a small sigh before saying, "Ill be expecting you to make it up to meter..." Without saying anything else, she walked off with the majority of the other girls, including Ryuu. The only ones that stayed behind were Loki and Aki, who looked to Vahn and asked, "Do you want me toe along?" Vahn could see her aura red up a bit with a pink hue, but he shook his head and said, "No, I think I need to talk to Loki in private for once..." Aki nodded her head before her tail flickered about and she whispered, "Ill be next door if you need me..." After her words fell, Aki gave Vahn a quick hug before making her way upstairs ahead of them. Vahn turned his attention back to Loki and saw arge grin on her face before he too smiled. Just as she was about to make ament, Vahn moved directly next to her with Shundo and picked up her body in a princess carry and said, "I wonder what well talk about~? It must be very important..." Loki had opened her eyes in a rather surprised expression for a moment before she gingerly hung her arms around Vahns neck and whispered, "I cant help but feel like its the most important thing in the whole world..." Vahn nodded his head and, with a gentle smile on his face, whispered in return, "Then I guess we shouldnt idle about here in the foyer..." As soon as his words finished, Vahn appeared at thending between the first and second floor which shocked Loki a bit as a curious expression appeared on her face. She yfully said, "Ara~? A little fast, arent you~?" In response, Vahn used several Shundo to appear at the third-floor corridor before he said, "Hmm, I feel like I can turn the tables and make you faster though~?" As he spoke, a mild electrical sensation appeared on Vahns fingertips that made Lokis body shake a little. She opened her red eyes and said in a hot voice, "You little brat...lets talk." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir eat bully~?,Break the cycle,Loki came to talk, but Vahn wants her to sing) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 324 - Justice

Chapter 324 - Justice

(A/N: NSFW btw...) After they made their want into his room, Vahn set Loki down on his massive bed and she rolled around on it for a bit as he put his shoes and tunic into his inventory. When Loki saw his bare back, she gave him an appreciative whistle and said, "I feel like you would make an excellent model for sculptures...hmm, I imagine you might have a few in the future~?" Hearing her words, Vahn showed a reminiscent smile and said, "Ive actually seen several dozen of myself...Eva was a skilled artisan and painter." Loki sat on the bed with her legs crossed and said, "My bad, my bad." Vahn shook his head and said, "Dont worry about it, the orb will eventually reactivate in the future. She used to wait years for my return, I can ept waiting for a while myself..." Loki showed an uncharacteristically gentle expression before leaning forward and saying, "Well, lets talk about a few things before the fun begins. As you know, I cant really stay around for too long and there are a few things you need to know about what happened at the Vahnatus." Vahn gave Loki a wry smile when he heard the name of their meeting which made herugh yfully before eventually continuing, "Well, the most important thing would be how were spinning your ability to help goddesses get pregnant. Since we made a vow regarding it, it would be helpful if you y along and perform the procedure as we discussed." Vahn nodded his head before turning around and sitting with his legs crossed facing Loki as she said, "First off, and this should be pretty fun for you...that little love stamp you put on Hephaestus, well, that is going to be a permanent thing for a while. We have to y up the theatrics a bit, and it also lets us keep track of any of the goddesses that are in the mortal world. Its a bit annoying to say, but there is a loophole that would let any goddess that took a vow simply return to Heaven for a few years and then theyd be able to b about the details easily. If any of them suddenly vanish from the mortal world, at least wed have a bit of a heads up to run a counter-information strategy." Hearing Lokis words, Vahn imagined the mischevious goddess with his Makers Mark above her butt and it sent a slight shiver down his spine but he still agreed. He wondered if he should ce it elsewhere, since her usual outfit would make it visible whenever she was walking around and it was rather embarrassing to consider. Loki seemed to have guessed his thoughts as she ced her hand below her navel and said, "I was actually thinking about getting it on the front side..." Seeing Vahns shocked face, she began tough as if she were a child that just pulled off a prank sessfully and got away with it. Vahn smiled and shook his head, but he also mentally added a tick mark next to Lokis name in his mind. Loki herself felt a chill run down her back as she gave Vahn a spective nce before continuing the discussion, "Another important thing to keep in mind is, weve said there is a big restriction on how often you can use the skill. This is to buy us time and allow how often goddesses seek you out in the future. If things expand too quickly, we wouldnt be able to contain the information easily so youll have to take it slow for a few years. Leave it to us goddesses to vet anyone that tries to approach you for assistance in that regard, since well able to get a better sense of the situation that you can. Just dont go around randomly helping goddesses get pregnant and everything should be fine." After Vahn nodded his affirmation, Loki showed a mischevious smile and said, "This next part it something that should be very interesting for you...well, simply put, we discussed the things you brought up before putting them to a vote. Though some people might have just voted along with the majority, there wasnt a single vote against the things you were concerned about. Aki has a new logbook and scroll for your own personal use, and itll let you reach out to any of the girls that have the paired scrolls. Whenever you have something you want to try out, you can pitch the idea to the interested parties and...well, Im sure you can figure out where to go from there." Vahn felt a little giddy after hearing Lokis words, because it was almost like he was given permission to seek out the girls whenever he wanted. He was curious to know which girls actually received the scrolls, but he imagined it was being kept secret as a surprise. Lokis smile grew a bit wider before she continued, "Also, we officially made the requirement that, if a girl wants to receive a paired scroll connect to yours, they need to go through Hephaestus and Eina and submit evidence justifying their reasoning. Though it isnt a permanent solution, since there is always a chance you might give in to their pressure on your own, itll keep some of the weaker girls off your back for the time being. We also gave all of the other girls smaller scrolls if they wanted to reach out to anyone on thework for mentorship and advice...so you can be happy knowing youll be surrounded by capable women in the future~." Vahn released a long sigh after hearing Lokis words, because he knew it was a very selfish request, even though it was how he truly felt. The only girls he didnt feel pressure from, were the girls that were eight mentally, or physically strong and reliable. It was very stressful to look after people like Lili, Haruhime, Preasia, Emiru, and Maemi. If thework absorbed that burden and left the decisions to progress to him, Vahn felt like that was the best way to deal with the situation. Even a single goddess on thework had millions of times the experience he had in dealing with such situations. Since there were likely to be well more than five goddesses on thework in the future, Vahn believed things would work out. Loki started to yfully kick her feet up and down on the bed as she said, "And thest thing, about getting girls pregnant and stuff...well, as I said earlier, you dont really have to worry about that. There is absolutely no way wed allow any of the children you sire to disappear out of sight. It ismon practice for children born into a Familia to receive a weaker version of the Familia crest to promote their growth and keep track of them. The best part is, it cant be overwritten until they are at least ten, so you dont have to worry about someone kidnapping them and overwriting their crest. You can continue focusing on your own stuff and take as much of a role in raising them as you think you can manage when the timees..." Lokis words felt like they chiseledrge chunks of a heavy weight off of Vahns shoulders and he suddenly felt as light as a feather knowing that his children would be protected. Though Freya was likely to cause a bit of tension in things, Vahn knew that thebined forces of the Alliance, with thework behind it, would be more than capable of watching over each other. As long as it was used properly, everyone could cover the weaknesses of everyone else and they would be much stronger as a unified whole. With goddesses like Anubis and Hestia, who both have powerful maternal and familial instincts, Vahn knew there would probably be arge number of children running around in his courtyard in the future. Just imagining a group of kids, the majority his own, sitting around and listening to Mn, or one of the other experienced girls, teaching them was a very heartwarming scene to imagine. Vahn looked toward Loki with a smile on his face, because he imagined a chibi version of herself sitting around and ying with the other children. She noticed the look in his eyes and opened hers marginally before Vahn expanded his domain within the room and [Enkidu] slowly sn.a.k.e.d its way out of the void surrounding them. Though she had great self-control, Vahn could see Lokis lower jaw shiver a bit before her smile expanded greatly and she started to breath more deeply. The aura surrounding her body red up like a bonfire and had a fiery, passionate, red making up its core while a profound and rich pink made up the outer perimeter of its me-like appearance. Before they wrapped around her, Loki affectionately stroked [Enkidu] that was slowly making its way through the air in defiance of gravity. She gave Vahn an upwards nce like a maiden in love and said, "Thest time we were together, I told you that you can do whatever you want with me...show me the extent of your curiosity. I took the leadst time, but now Ill just respond to whatever you want to do...lets both enjoy ourselves...just make sure Im able to walk away in an hour or two or Ill have you carry me all the way back." The chains slowly started coiling around Lokis arms and Vahn leaned forward before focusing his attention on the skin tight clothes she often wore. Though it was generally very difficult to take things off another person, it wasnt too hard if they were stationary so Vahn was able to touch each piece of clothing and stow it away in his inventory. Lokis eyes widened a bit at the sight before sheughed sheepishly and said, "Thats convenient~." Vahn slowly traced his hands over her body with the assistance of [Hands of Nirvana] as if he were admiring every inch of her body, which was actually spot on. He hadnt gotten to fully experience Loki in theirst meeting, so he was nning to fully explore everything that made up the loveable trickster that worked so hard for him. As he traced his way to the small shorts she wore around her h.i.p.s and stored them into his inventory, Vahn muttered in a somewhat soothing tone, "Dont worry, I dont mind carrying you at all..." When his words fell, the blue panties she had been wearing also vanished and she was left in nothing buck her ck stockings and shoes. Loki was acting very docilepared to her usual self and just watched all of Vahns actions with an undisguised curiosity on her face. She knew he was a capable technician and was wondering what he would put her through. Though it wasnt the first time she had been admired by a man, it made her heart flutter in expectation watching the care Vahn put into his actions. His hands were literally like electricity passing over her skin and everywhere they passed quickly became covered in a healthy blush. Even though she hadnt vocalized it yet, Loki knew that Vahn was the type that could conquer womens hearts through his gentle, and incredibly stimting, affection. She had been with countless partners in the past, but none of them were able to make her feel anything close to what she was currently experiencing, and they hadnt even started the main event yet. Of course, she also knew the chains that werezily hovering in the air had a big influence on her current emotional state. Vahn lowered Lokis back to the bed and stared down on her from above with a passionate and appreciative gaze in his eyes as he said his impression from theirst meeting, "Beautiful..." Though it was a very uncharacteristic act, Loki gingerly covered her exposed b.r.e.a.s.ts with her hands and turned her head bashfully to the side. Vahn knew she was probably putting on an act, but it was an incredibly convincing one given the circ.u.mstances. He ced his hands at her feet and put her blue boots into his inventory leaving thest bit of clothing on her body to be the pair of long ck stockings. He actually thought they drew a beautiful contrast on Lokis figure, so he decided to let her continue wearing them. A glint passed through Lokis eyes but she didnt say anything even though she understood Vahns intentions. She already knew about his interest in designing clothes for the girls around him, so she had actually expected him to have a healthy interest in y rted to clothing. Though it wasnt anything major, just the fact he had her continue wearing her stockings was a big g and she knew it would be interesting information to tell the other girls on thework. She could also tell that, even though there was a lot of affection and appreciation in his gaze, there was a very subtle amount of possessiveness that was exactly the type of thing that made girls fall in this type of situation. Everyone wanted to feel like they were wanted, so that possessive glint would rule the hearts of several girls in the future... Vahn had paused for a while as he traced his palms along Lokis legs for a while as he stared at the freely flowing liquidsing from her rtively perfect looking genitals. He knew she was very experienced, but it didnt show at first nce, almost like it was a testament to her Divinity as a trickster. Vahn knew how incredibly pliant her insides were and he couldnt help but think of a few ways to make things more interesting for the veteran goddess. After deciding the first step, Vahn locked eyes with Loki and said, "Im going to use [Enkidu], it shouldnt be ufortable so just rx your body and leave everything to me from here on." The only response he got from Loki was a smile as a glimmer passed through her red eyes and she lifted her hands above her body instead of protecting her nearly non-existent b.r.e.a.s.ts. Vahn nodded his head and willed [Enkidu] to tie up her arms before lifting her ankles so that the chains could wrap around her calves as well. Thest chain wrapped around her body, since it was necessary for the seal to activatepletely. Fortunately, it didnt require that the chains be tight, so they loosely hung around Lokis limbs even though they didnt let her separate her wrists. Vahn though the look suited the current Loki, so he allowed her hands to be bound together. He noticed that Lokis aura stabilized by a great deal, but it didnt lose its passionate colors and this caused Vahns smile to be more genuine. He knew that, from this point onwards, he would be experiencing a Loki that had never been seen by anyone else, not in the millions of years she had lived. Loki herself felt a powerful sense of relief spread through her body as the emotions she had been doing her best to control previously suddenly became more real. It was almost like, even though the chains were somewhat restrictive, she had be free for one of the first times in her entire life. She couldnt stop herself from releasing a long, hot, sigh as her eyes opened to reveal a loving expression as a blush spread on her face. Vahn suddenly looked a lot more handsome than he did previously and the beating of her heart increased rapidly until it became a powerful drum within her chest. The moment Vahn reached forward and pressed his palm across her body, she couldnt stop the urge to release a repressed m.o.a.n intermixed with a sigh. It was a very freeing experience because she knew it wasnt an act she had put on just to fool him. As he had been paying very close attention to her, Vahn noticed the changes in Loki and it made his own heart begin to beat rapidly in his chest. He noticed that the small rosebud protrusions on her diminutive chest became sharp and the flow of liquid from her slightly open v.a.g.i.n.a turned into a veritable flood. He could even see a small crimson bead peaking out through its hiding ce as the healthy looking organ began to contract in expectation. Vahn couldnt help but feel like the current Loki was a very beautiful girl and it showed on his face as he turned his attention to her expression. Though he originally wanted to tease her a great deal, he now felt like making gentle love to the goddess who had her Divinity repressed by his chains. He felt like it would almost be cruel to mistreat her as she was at the moment... After a brief hesitation, Vahn ced his hands along her thighs and put her stockings into his inventory as well before leaning over her body and matching his gaze with hers. He could see the confusion in her face as he reached out and gingerly caressed her cheek and said, "You said youd leave things to me...and Ive decided that there is plenty of time in the future for other things...for now, I just want to make love to the real you." Loki stared back at him with slightly widened eyes as Vahn leaned down and sealed her lips. Though she was very skilled with her tongue, Vahn took the initiative and didnt let her fall into her own pace. He felt like the current Loki was a maiden that had never truly been with a man, and it made him feel a powerful urge to pamper and love her properly without doing anything untoward or deviant. As Vahn continued to give her gentle, yet incredibly passionate, kisses Loki felt like her heart was about to explode. She had a strange urge to free her hands and hug his body and even felt a slight amount of fear at everything she was currently experiencing. It was like she wasnt herself and everything was like a heavy impact that whittled away at her reasoning. She had never been in a situation where she wasnt in control and it was bing increasingly difficult to even form thoughts as she began to lose herself in the moment. After what seemed like an eternity, Loki felt an incredibly hot and invasive feeling in her lower body and released a powerful m.o.a.n and was even able to cause [Enkidu] to shake a small amount. Without any intense or violent movements, Vahn continued a slow and steady rhythm as if he were gently caressing the opening in Lokis cervix with the tip of his ns. It wasnt the pleasant knocking movement that he enjoyed with some of the other girls, but a very gentle contact that was held for a few extra milliseconds before they parted temporarily. Unlike the past, however, Vahn only ced a small amount of focus on his h.i.p.s as his main focus was on kissing Loki and gently caressing her body. Every time she writhed about under his hands and released womanly m.o.a.ns, Vahn felt a powerful sense of satisfaction, because he could tell by her bodys response and the aura that was sticking to him like a viscous liquid that she was truly reacting to even his smallest actions. For nearly an entire hour, Vahn showed Loki what it was like to be gently loved and tended to by a man that appreciated her, the real her that no one else in history had ever known. She was just a woman that sought her happiness and desired freedom away from the constraints that had been unfairly imposed on her by fate. Even bound in chains, she was freer now than she had ever been in the eons that defined her existence. There was no scheming, no tricking, nopulsion, just pure emotion, and mutual affection. Every climax she felt was more real than everything she had experienced before and Vahn had even loosened up her hands so they could be closer. She knew he was fully attentive to her needs without expecting anything from her other than herself at this moment and it made her feel a powerful sense of relief. Toward the end, Vahn held Loki gently in his embrace before putting a bit of strength into his hands wrapped around her body and pressed his ns against the opening of her cervix before he released the most intense ejaction of his life. He had been holding himself back for a very long time, and now everything that he had bottled up was released into her insides as they stared into each others eyes. Unlike her usual squinting expression, Lokis eyes were opened in a natural manner and they silently held each others gaze in a mutual understanding of the current events. Not only Vahn, but Loki herself knew she would probably try to make use of this experience for her schemes in the future. However, for the time being, none of that mattered at all and they were simply able to enjoy each others presence. Vahn pressed his forehead against Lokis and whispered, "Im going to begin...just hold me and rx your body...." Loki nodded her head and moved her arms from Vahns neck before embracing his body and saying, "Thank you Vahn...truly..." Though she had hidden her face in his chest, Vahn had heard the quiver in Lokis words and could feel her body shaking and knew she was beginning to cry. Vahn whisperedfortingly into her ear, "Im the one that should thank you...youve given me everything, including the real you....Ill one day find a way to free your from this burden...for the sake of you, and our children..." Loki nodded her head silently without saying anything as her body continued to shake, now with an added intensity. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wat, theyre actually just talking...,Vahns Fetish Awakens,Doki Doki Loki, For Realsies This Time) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 325 - List

Chapter 325 - List

Vahn spent a few minutes in intense focus as hepleted theplicated procedure necessary for a goddess to get pregnant. Coincidentally, even though it would typically not be guaranteed even if he followed these steps for other races, the fertilized egg seemed to be protected by the Divinity of the goddess by the time the process was finished. When he removed [Enkidu] from Lokis body, Vahn had closely observed the process and saw a strange energy begin for form in their body as if it was nourishing the egg further. It was very simr to what he saw when he inspected Hephaestus but decidedly different from when he had observed Aki. When he was finished, though she had already realized it since he removed [Enkidu], Vahn rubbed the top of Lokis head and said, "Its done...looks like youll be a mother in the future." In response to his words, Loki remained silent for a while before she unashamedly turned to the side after releasing his body and wiping her previous tears on the nket. Now that she wasnt bound by [Enkidu], her Divinity immediately took hold of her mind and she regained her sensibilities. After she was finished, she looked up into Vahns face with a cheeky smile and asked, "So, did you decide where you want to put the mark? Or did you want to continue from where we left off~?" Even now, they were still together, and Loki flexed her lower body as if she were trying to tease him. Vahn maintained a gentle smile while squinting his eyes a bit before he leaned down and kissed Lokis forehead affectionately and said, "I feel like that would taint this moment a bit...Ill put the crest on your back." Hearing his words, Loki pushed against Vahns shoulders to free her body out from under him before rolling over onto her stomach and musing, "Gee, so sentimental~. Well, I cant stay for too long anyway, and its already been quite a while..." Vahn saw the tensions drain from Lokis body a bit and she closed her eyes as if she were rxing, but he could see that her aura was fluctuating a bit. Since she had recovered her Divinity, Vahn couldnt be sure she wasnt putting on an act, but he felt like she was impacted heavily by what happened earlier. After tracing his index finger along the line of her back, Vahn figured it would be best to put the mark where Lokis top usually covered her back. Since her default clothing was pretty revealing, he was worried that she would be embarrassed to be seen with the mark so often. The moment he tried to do so, however, Loki berated him a little and told him to, Man up and take responsibility. Vahn wasnt sure what taking responsibility meant at this moment, but he bit the bullet and carved his makers mark in her lower back, in an almost identical location as Hephaestus. Though she had a somewhat fleshy butt, it still looked a little strange to see his mark on such a thin waist like Lokis. Since she wanted to see what it looked like, Vahn put up the standing mirrors and watched her put on a small act as if she were trying to seduce him. She struck a few poses and gave him some amorous nces while asking about his opinion. Vahns response was to smile and say, "Beautiful...", as he walked over with a warm towel to help clean her body and wipe up the mess she was making on the floor. Her response was to scratch her head awkwardly before having Vahn return her clothes so she wasnt forced to stand n.a.k.e.d in the middle of his room any longer. Vahn removed them from his inventory and Loki, before she had finished cleaning herself, put her panties nonchntly before quickly wearing the rest of her clothes. Though he wanted toment that it would be ufortable, Vahn let Loki do as she pleased and finished cleaning up the floor before handing her a [Maternity Band] and exining its purpose. Though she had already known its use, Loki listened to Vahns words to the end and then asked, "Are you sure you just dont want me to cover up my back~? Youre not embarrassed are you~?" Vahn nodded his head and said, "I wont lie...it is a little embarrassing...but it also makes me feel more than a little proud..." As he spoke, Vahn reached out and stroked the mark that Loki had been waggling in front of his face yfully. She stood there for a short while before walking a few steps towards the door and saying, "You dont need to see me out, there are already people waiting for me. You should spend some time with the other girls now that youve given me what I want~. Im sure that boob goddess and that fretful cat will be happy to see you..." Lokis words trailed off a bit when Vahn grabbed her hand and said, "Ill escort you for now...its quite cold outside and I can protect you. You have more than yourself to worry about now..." Lokis brows furrowed a bit before she muttered, "Whatever...lets go before it gets toote." Vahn nodded and walked Loki downstairs, through the foyer, and all the way to the front gate while keeping the freezing air at bay with his domain. Surprisingly, the people waiting for her happened to be Riveria, Ais, Tiona, Lefiya and Tione. Vahn felt very embarrassed to see them, especially when Loki broke free from his grasp and walked over before proudly showing off her mark and saying in a teasing voice to the other girls, "Lookie, lookie, Vahn is such a tyrant, marking me as his own~! You girls need to be careful from now on or you wont even know what happened to your body before it is no longer your own~." Tionas eyes shed over and she leaped over and clung to Vahns neck before pressing herself against him and saying, "Thats fine with me~Ehehehe." Before things got out of hand, Riveria said in a rather cold tone, "We need to get out of here before these two idiot Amazons cause trouble." After Tiona stepped forward, Tione also had a strange look on her face and had been intercepted by Ais even though Vahn could see her eyes glowing with a subtlepetitive me as well. Tiona pouted a bit before giving Vahn a surprisingly deep and passionate kiss before jumping off of his body. When she stepped away, Ais said, "Watch Tione..." before walking over and also giving Vahn a rtively passionate kiss for a marginally longer period of time. When he was finally released, Vahn looked over the outfits everyone was wearing before pulling out an assortment of threeyer cloaks for them to wear to keep warm. Even though it was below freezing, Tiona and Tione were still walking around in their revealing attire as if they were unaffected, but Vahn could see a slight blush to their skin from exposure. Loki was his biggest concern since she was essentially just wearing shorts with a top that looked more like a skin-tight band than an actual piece of clothing. Her stomach and back werepletely exposed, and Vahn was more than a little worried something would go wrong if she walked around in her current state. Vahn helped each of the girls, excluding Riveria and Lefiya, who already had on cloaks as if to show they were the more sensible girls within the group. When everyone had some form of protection against the elements, Vahn saw them off with a smile and agreed to meet up on asion. Not only Tiona and Ais, but Tione and Lefiya had already been giving a paired scroll linked to Vahns. Vahn wasnt too surprised by Tione, but Lefiyas was a bit unexpected since she wasnt truly considered an a.d.u.l.t yet. She was, however, Level 3 and mentioned that she would only be going along if Ais was around and just didnt want to be the only one left out. Vahn realized that peer pressure might force some of the girls on thework to act outside of his expectations, so he started thinking about possible solutions... When he returned to the Manor, Vahn was intercepted by Hestia who asked, "Is Loki pregnant now?" She had an especially serious look and Vahn saw a surprising depth in her crystalline blue eyes. He nodded his head and stated firmly, "Yes, without a doubt." Hestia nodded her head before walking forward and hugging around Vahns waist before cing her head against his chest. After a short period of silence, she said in a muted tone, "In the future...not now, but muchter, I want a child of my own..." Vahn stroked the back of her hair while gently embracing her body and saying, "Yeah...without a doubt...Ill do my best when the timees." Because she was unwilling to walk on her own, Vahn carried Hestia back to her bedroom and spoiled her for a bit before they parted. She seemed to be adversely affected by the fact that her longtime rival had gotten a big advantage against her, but was also doing her best to not make irrational decisions in the heat of the moment. Due to how Hephaestus and Loki had exined things to Freya, it was technically impossible for a third goddess to get pregnant right now, since Vahn was supposed to be overburdened by the process. Even if she wanted to have a child of her own due to her emotions welling up, Hestia knew it would cause problems for everyone in the future and bottled up her emotions for the time being. Vahn knew it was probably very difficult for her, and he didnt mind spoiling her for however long it took for Hestia to be happy. Before he left her room, Vahn helped Hestia fall asleep and bundled her up tightly within the nkets. He dispersed the light chill that hung in the air and brought the room to afortable temperature before quietly closing the door behind him. After leaving, Vahn scanned over the shared room of Aki and Ryuu and could tell that both girls were awake so he gently rattled on the door before it was answered by Aki. A gentle smile appeared on her face and she asked, "Is Loki-sama pregnant now?" Vahn nodded his head as he walked into the room and said, "Yeah..." Though she had been sitting previously, Ryuu stood up when Vahn walked into the room and gave a polite bow with a small smile on her face. Vahn returned her greeting with a smile of his own and said, "Sorry to bother youte in the evening..." Ryuu shook her head dismissively and said, "No, youre allowed to enter here whenever you want. It isnt any trouble at all...Vahn." Hearing Ryuu call his name always made a warm feeling spread through Vahns heart and his smile turned marginally more affectionate to disy that fact. Aki, who had walked off to the side after he entered the room, came forth with a rolled up scroll and threerge logbooks and exined, "Loki-sama should have told you about it earlier, but this scroll will be your line with the active girls for the time being. Feel free to write anything you want into it and there will almost always be someone to spread the word..." Vahn took over the four items as Aki continued, "The logbooks are all for different purposes. The red one is for correspondence between you and the girls that have a paired scroll with you. If you send out a message, anything they write back will show up in there. The blue logbook is a list of everyone that is currently interested in being together with you...itll show the current status of the girls with things like Free, Busy, Away, and if they are in the dungeon and other things like that. Thest logbook is for private messages from the girls that want to reach out to you without having their words seen by the rest of thework. Everyone has been told not to take things too far, but it was agreed that people should be able to reach out to you privately at times..." Vahn listened carefully to Akis exnation before flipping open the blue logbook out of curiosity. Even at a casual nce, Vahn noticed a surprising number of names with most of the statuses left nk presently. There were a few names he didnt expect to see, and Aki seemed to realize what he was thinking so she giggled and said, "Your little speech earlier inspired a few girls to muster up their own courage and take a step forward. Though it doesnt mean theyll do anything you want them to do, you can still reach out to those girls and try your luck...its kind of like them saying they are open to the idea of being with you, but its up to you if you want to follow through on things. Im sure that a few of them are simply curious...you know, your name and capabilities get around on thework. Even Ive done my fair share of bragging~." Akis words resonated within Vahns heart and mind for a bit since he was just thinking about the influence some girls might have on the rest of the group. Seeing one of the names near the top of the list, Vahn looked towards Ryuu who turned her head to the side slightly and averted her eyes. Vahn didnt know how the order was decided, but he imagined that they asked the girls and wrote down the names, which implied that Ryuu had been one of the first girls to put forth her name. Even Aki, someone he was actively involved with, lost by two positions. The only girls ahead of her were Hephaestus, Eina, Loki, Syr, and Tiona. Following them were Ryuu herself, Ais, and Aki, with an unnervingly long list under them that was more than twenty lines long. Vahn closed the logbook for the time being and made conversation with the two girls for around twenty minutes before finally leaving for his own room. On the way out, he rubbed noses with Aki while hugging her waist before sharing a short and tame embrace with Ryuu. Since Vahn felt like teasing the taciturn elf a bit, he gently ran his hand down her backside when they were separating and he noticed her ears waggled a bit as she gave him a sidelong nce before saying, "Good night...Vahn." With a small smile on his own face, Vahn nodded and said, "Good night, Ryuu, Aki..." Before he went to sleep, Vahn went downstairs and washed up a bit before finally making his way to his bed. He didnt sleep the previous night so it didnt take long for Vahn to pass out moments after heid down. His room was often the coldest in the house and Vahn enjoyed the chill against his skin as he breathed in the somewhat subtle aroma that served as evidence of his earlier bond with Loki. Her reaction under the influence of [Enkidu] had been a big impact on him, and Vahn spent the brief moment before he passed out thinking about possible solutions. It was a tragic thing that she was forced to live that kind of life by design... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Compulsion,Hestias Woes,Organization) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 326 Availability Chapter 326 Avability Vahn awoke the next morning, slightly before 5 AM, which had given him slightly more than seven hours of sleep. He typically didn''t require that much, but it was nice to sleep in every now and then. Though he could have slept in even longer, since there wasn''t anything nned for today, Vahn had been curious about certain matters so he pulled out the blue logbook, which he decided to call the Status Log and the green logbook which he decided to call the Secret Log. The red logbook was just the standard type, so it didn''t have any special moniker, at least for the moment. Though he was more curious about the Status Log, Vahn decided to look through the Secret Log first to see if any of the girls had sent him private messages. He noticed there were a few things, but also that most of the messages didn''t include who sent them. There were just a few sentences talking about various hopes and dreams, including desires like going on more dates and nning more events for everyone to get together at. The thing that caught his eye the most was a message that said, ''Whenever you can free up a good block of time, please let me know. -Syr''. Vahn was curious and wondered what she had in mind that would take up a long period of time... Since it seemed like something that required proper nning, Vahn decided it would have to be on the uing weekend, or it would have to wait until after the Denatus, Monster Feria, and his rapidly approaching wedding. After thinking for a while, Vahn pulled out his own scroll and was preparing to write until he decided that it would probably be more appropriate to tell her in person, or to pass the message through a method other than thework. Since she sent the message in secret, Syr might want to keep the matter outside of the limelight for the time being. Vahn decided he would just pass the message to Syrter when he went to visit the Hostess of Fertility. His other options were to let Fafnir pass the message for him, or to ask Ryuu to deliver the message when she returned. Since it was the weekend, she would be working there to help outter in the day. That decided, Vahn set aside the scroll and perused thest few private messages until he came across one that said, ''I want to go on a walk with Master again. -Anubis''. Vahn recalled the events of a few days ago and a small smile appeared on his face as he set aside the Secret Log. Anubis was one of the girls that he had a ''unique'' rtionship with, and Vahn couldn''t deny he enjoyed her care when they had lived together for a time. If not for her ''deviancy'', she would be very simr to Eina in how attentive she is to his needs. Her only problem is herck of awareness and general perception since she always seems to be focused on other matters. When Vahn picked up the Status Log, he hesitated a bit as a giddy feeling welled up inside his chest. He knew that, for the girls to add their names to the log, it showed that they were ''interested'' in being with him. If he reached out to them, and they weren''t busy, there was a good chance he could advance their rtionship further. It was actually a pretty terrifying realization because Vahn suddenly felt like he had a lot more power and control over things. He showed inhibitions before, because he knew he wouldn''t be able to manage so many things on his own. Now that the girls were aware of that, the fact they still put their names forth showed that they were at least willing to work through the potential struggles. Though some of them, as was mentioned by Loki and Aki, might have given into the momentum of the group, it would still strengthen the unity of the group if things were managed properly. When Vahn picked up the Status Log, he hesitated a bit as a giddy feeling welled up inside his chest. He knew that, for the girls to add their names to the log, it showed that they were ''interested'' in being with him. If he reached out to them, and they weren''t busy, there was a good chance he could advance their rtionship further. It was actually a pretty terrifying realization because Vahn suddenly felt like he had a lot more power and control over things. He showed inhibitions before, because he knew he wouldn''t be able to manage so many things on his own. Now that the girls were aware of that, the fact they still put their names forth showed that they were at least willing to work through the potential struggles. Though some of them, as was mentioned by Loki and Aki, might have given into the momentum of the group, it would still strengthen the unity of the group if things were managed properly. After taking a deep breath, Vahn opened the log and noticed that a lot of the information had been updated since the previous night. He could see the names and ''current status'' of various girls and it made his hands shake with the book in his hand... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status Log](A/N: Notice that this isn''t read through the system, at least for now kappa.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hephaestus: Busy: Avable on request... Eina: Busy: Contact in advance... Loki: Free: My body is always ready... Syr: Free: I''d like to spend more time together... Tiona: Free: Please let me know if you want to do anything! Ryuu: Free: Please consider Syr first... Ais: Free: I like spending time with you... Aki: Free: I''ll do my best if you need me... Chloe: Free: I heard Aki marked your shoulder~? Anyways, talk to Syr! Arnya: Free: I don''t know if I''m ready, but I will do my best! Also, you should talk to Syr... Tione: Free: I''m not allowed to meet you unless there are several others present... Aisha: Busy: Just let me know, I''lle running if you need me... Lunoire: Free: I don''t really know what to put here...you should spend more time with Syr... Anubis: Free: Please call me if you ever need me, Master... Lefiya: Free: I''d like to spend more time with Ais... Riveria: Busy: I''d like to talk about your skills and abilities... Tsubaki: Busy: Dungeon Expedition Naaza: Busy: Dungeon Expedition Lili: Busy: Dungeon Expedition Nanu: Busy: Dungeon Expedition ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other than the girls that looked like they were added on at the end, probably by Hephaestus, everyone else was either someone he was close to, or someone that met the ''conditions'' he mentioned during the ''Vahnatus''. Other than Lili, who was a special exception, everyone else was Level 3, or they were a capable woman or goddess. Now he could see their ''avability'', which they could update at any time, as well as a small excerpt of how they were feeling. The words were updated by the girls themselves, so Vahn was able to make a few guesses about their intentions just by reading the words. Seeing Loki''sment made himugh a bit, while seeing Chloe''s made him strangely nervous. One thing that was very apparent was that every girl, with the exceptions of Mn, Tina, Shizune, and Mona, at the Hostess of Fertility showed themselves as ''Free'', but they also all asked him to talk to Syr. Vahn knew she was the ''core'' of the group, but it was still a little strange to see other girls advocating for her within the logbook. With the message he had gotten from her in the Secret Log, Vahn thought she might be up to something and it made him a little nervous since it seemed the other girls had an idea of what it might be. It was either that, or they had discussed things with Syr and had decided to help support her, even though Vahn had already opened himself up to her a little... Vahn knew that Syr put in a lot of effort to try and appeal to him without being too pushy and he had never really done much for her besides sharing the asional embrace and that one night of kissing. They had been on several outings together since she would often apany other girls, but Syr always promoted the other girls more than herself. On their ''outings'', Syr always yed a support role and spent the majority of the time making polite conversation and trying to get Vahn topliment the other girl more. He knew she was making the other girls more receptive to him, while also weakening his resistances in her own way...now that their rtionship had be less ambiguous, he needed to take some initiative and probably reach out to her more often. For nearly twenty minutes, Vahn considered what actions he should take and how he should spend the rest of his day. Though he could easily reach out to any of the girls, even during the weekdays, the majority of his time with them waspressed into the weekends when he wasn''t in the dungeon. Now that he knew their ''avability'', and had a direct line ofmunication with them, Vahn was actually in a more precarious situation than before. Though he felt very powerful and unrestrained at first, he now felt like he needed to consider things properly or it could cause problems in the future. He could choose to spend time with one girl, or several girls, depending on how things yed out since they would all see his messages on thework unless he went to them personally... Vahn was in a bit of a dilemma because a part of him actually wanted to just reach out to any that he pleased and just y to the situation as best he could. Though he hadn''t been using any of the [Hearts Desire]s that he umted, Vahn was very curious about getting each respective person to 100 Affection, just so he could acquire a boost to his OP, skills, and potentially obtain unique items that couldpletely change the situation and turn it on its head. The [Matryoshka of Fertillity] and the [Virgin''s Promise] were two fate-altering items depending on how they were used. Vahn really wanted a way to be able to obtain simr items, since they were inarguably some of the most useful things he had ever gotten through the system and they were only obtainable as rewards. Before the girls made themselves ''avable'', Vahn was about to rationalize not getting close to them because of basic propriety and restraint. Now he was in a situation where it was tantly aware they were interested, and they even had support from thework itself to move forward. Vahn suddenly lost his ''excuse'' and was the only person that could make the decision to proceed based on his own desires and convictions. He had never expected that making things more transparent actually made the decision more difficult to make... After a few more minutes, Vahn pictured each girl within his mind in sequence, including everything he knew about their nature, personalities, and disposition. He eventually shook his head and sighed through his nose before deciding that there was no correct answer. The only thing he could do was what he thought was best at the moment and hope things worked out. Since thework was somewhat unified, he had to trust that his oversights would be taken care of by the people he had entrusted himself to. As long as he didn''t go out of his way to conceal things, there were literally dozens of people that would be able, and willing, to offer him advice on matters of the heart, mind, and life itself. Vahn stowed the logbooks into his inventory along with his scroll ofmunication. It wasn''t usable in the dungeon, but Vahn thought that was only a temporary thing and wanted to research how it functions in the future and find a solution. He knew there were items for observation andmunication that reached into the dungeon, so he figured it would be possible to discover a better method ofmunication if he put in the effort. For now, however, Vahn decided to try his luck and reach out to Syr. There were so many girls that were pointing him towards her that he wanted to make sure to reach out to her and rify things just so there aren''t problems in the future. It seemed strange if he were to reach out to any of the other girls within the Hostess of Fertility when they were all telling him to tend to Syr at the moment. It was still very early, so Vahn went downstairs to wait for everyone else to wake up and decided to take it upon himself to cook breakfast. A few minutes after he started, both of the twins came out of their room in a hurry without seeming to have had enough time to fix their maid outfits properly. Vahn knew they had probably detected his presence through scent and then smelled that he was cooking breakfast before rushing to prepare themselves. Vahn gave the two girls a smile and said, "It''s okay to take a break every now and then, so don''t be in such a rush when I''m doing something I chose to do, okay?" The twins nodded together and said, "Yes, Vahn-sama." Then, as if they hadn''t actually heard his words, they moved over to the side and began preparing breakfast with him. Vahn shook his head and allowed them to do as they please while focusing on his own preparations. He had decided to make arge number of hash browns with eggs and a few baked goods that he kept in his storage. The twins made rice porridge and a light vegetable soup topliment the meal and they set it out on the table in containers that retained the warmth of the dishes as everyone slowly streamed down from their rooms. Because of their habits during the weekdays, most of the people within the Manor woke up pretty early and it wasn''t long before everyone, with the exception of Hestia, had shown up to eat breakfast. After breakfast finished, Vahn told his ns to the group before leaving alongside Ryuu as they made their way to the Hostess of Fertility. As they were walking along, Vahn mustered up a bit of courage and said, "Ryuu, I saw your status...and I''m going to talk to Syr personally. My question is...umm, what kinds of things are you okay with?" Vahn couldn''t help but wince at his own words, because they were very awkward to ask, especially to a taciturn girl like Ryuu. She gave him a sidelong nce and didn''t say anything for a long while and Vahn almost thought he had offended her, even though her aura hadn''t changed much. When they were beginning to near the Hostess of Fertility, Ryuu finally said, "I don''t like public disys of affection...but if it is in private, I''d like to spend more intimate moments together...it''s up to you how far you want to go..." Hearing her words, Vahn stared into Ryuu''s sky blue eyes for several long seconds before nodding his head and saying, "I''d like to spend more time together with Ryuu as well...you''re a beautiful girl, and it''s veryfortable to be around you. I''ll try toe up with something that we''ll both enjoy..." Ryuu nodded her head with a small smile before suddenly saying, "If possible, please consider Syr first...I want to support her as much as I can. She has done a lot for me in the past, and I don''t want to feel like I''m betraying her trust for my own selfishness..." Vahn furrowed his brows a bit but stated firmly, "I''ve decided to be with Syr, but I''m not sure how to progress things. I''ll see what she wants me to do and then consider things from there..." Ryuu''s smile widened marginally and she said confidently, "I was worried that Syr wouldn''t be able to find a man to love, so I''m d someone like you appeared...in both of our lives. Though the situation is a bit...unexpected, I think it is for the best that things have progressed this way. Syr will be a powerful ally that can help unify the entire group if you give her your trust." The more he heard people advocate for her, the more disconcerted Vahn felt about Syr. He already opened his heart and decided to be with her, so it was a little strange to hear so many people still pushing for her to have more favor in his heart. He could tell they weren''t influenced by her charm ability, so it could only be a result of their trustbined with Syr''s subtle maniption. Since her actions often resulted in her helping people, Vahn didn''t consider Syr a bad person; it was actually the opposite and he had a lot of respect for her character considering everything she went through in the past. Shaking his head, Vahn showed a wry smile and said, "Don''t worry Ryuu, I''ll treat Syr well...I just don''t want to see others prioritizing her happiness over their own. I''d like everyone to get along well and for our shared happiness to spread amongst thework so that we can all live happier lives..." Ryuu''s eyes squinted slightly and her small smile grew marginallyrger, but she didn''t say anything for the rest of the way until they had arrived outside the Female Dormitory. Before she entered the door, Ryuu gave the surroundings a cursory nce before stepping forward and taking the initiative to give Vahn a light peck on the lips. Her expression loosened quite a bit and she showed a genuine smile for a brief moment as she said, "Vahn, never change...even if you say some silly things, it''s better to be optimistic and do your best...I''ll also do my best to secure my own happiness." Her words finished, Ryuu gave Vahn onest look before opening the door and proceeding into the dormitory. Moments after she entered the building, Vahn saw the second presence that had been nearby move to intercept Ryuu for a moment before making its way to the door and opening it to reveal the beautiful smiling face of Syr. (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''New day, new struggles?'',''Dangerously Tantalizing Information'',''Syr''s Influence'') If you''d like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the Patreon link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) Chapter 327 - Into The Unkown

Chapter 327 - Into The Unkown

When Syr walked forward, Vahn stepped in as well and smoothly wrapped his hands around her waist before giving her a short kiss. He could feel her aura fluctuate as a pink hue colored her face as if she were very embarrassed. Vahn felt like she was being mischevioustely and wanted to change the momentum a bit so he took the initiative and continued to hold her waist as he said, "I got your message Syr...what did you want to talk about?" Since she was a few centimeters shorter than he was, Syr had to look up into Vahns face with a pouty expression as she said, "Youre being sneaky today..." Vahnughed at her words which made her blush deepen a bit before he felt a painful pinch at his waist and stoppedughing but couldnt prevent himself from smiling as he said, "Ive had a lot of time to think recently and it feels like Im slowly getting a handle on things. I cant always be waiting for everyone else to take action and hope things go well..." As he spoke, Vahn loosened his grip of Syrs waist and opened a small amount of distance between them so she could regain herposure. Finally freed, Syr patted her chest in relief before giving a sideward nce at Vahn. After a few seconds passed, her normal expression returned and a gentle smile appeared on her face as she asked, "Well, I wonder when youll have time? Ive been thinking about putting together a small event of my own if youre not too busy in the future." Hearing Syrs words, Vahn tilted his head in curiosity and asked, "What kind of event?" A slightly mischevious expression appeared on Syrs face as she covered her mouth and giggled before saying, "Its a seeeecret~! Just make sure you dont have any other ns and that I have a bit of time to prepare things beforehand." Though he knew she was up to something, Vahn was somewhat curious about what she had nned so he said, "Sounds interesting...well, Im afraid I wont be able to split my time too easily after the Denatus, so I can free up some time next weekend if thats okay with you." Hearing his words, Syr ced her fingertips together as an especially satisfied smile appeared on her face with a strange glimmer passing through her eyes. Seeing Vahns expression change, she stuck out her tongue yfully and said, "Dont worry, Ill make sure to bring up the matter with Hephaestus and Eina before I finalize anything. For now, make sure you clear up your Saturday. Ill send you the information through theworkter~." Vahn nodded his head and began looking forward to the uing Saturday with apparent interest on his face. Syrughed at his behavior before asking casually, "What else do you have nned for today?" Hearing her words, Vahn turned his attention to Syr and could see expectation in her eyes. Other thaning to meet her, he hadnt really nned anything for the remainder of the day and had just nned to return to the Manor and spend some time with Fenrir and the other girls. Since it was still early, there was plenty of time before he needed to head back, so Vahn said, "Well, other than spending some time at home, I didnt have anything nned for today. I was thinking of freeing up some time for work, but I can put it off for the time being." As he spoke, Syr walked a bit closer to him without saying anything as she continued to stare into his face with a hopeful expression. Vahn released a short sigh apanied by a smile as he asked, "Did you want to go out with me for a bit, Syr? I dont think weve ever really had time to ourselves before." Even though heckedmon sense at times, Vahn wasnt an idiot and Syrs unasked question was putting a bit of pressure on him. He had no doubt she had sent that message earlier with something like this in mind, or she wouldnt have answered the door in casual clothing instead of her waitress outfit. Hearing Vahn ask the question she wanted to hear, Syrs face beamed with a beautiful smile and she said in a cheerful tune, "Id love to~!" Before he could change in mind, Syr walked forward and gave Vahn a quick kiss before she quickly moved back toward the door and said, "Ill be right back, make sure to wait right there! If I dont tell the other girls on thework, they might use me of sneaking around behind their backs, fufufufu~." Vahn saw the yful glint in her eyes before she winked and disappeared behind the door leading into the womens dormitory. As he was waiting, Vahn began nning what they should do for their impromptu date. It was too early in the day to visit most stores, and it was still very cold outside, around -2 degrees Celcius. It wasnt exactly the best weather for a date, but Vahn knew he would be able to protect her from the weather easily enough. He decided to leave the decision up to her unless she wanted him to take charge and lead her around. There were several ces he had scouted out in preparation for other dates, so he would just have to buy a bit of time before they actually opened up before taking her shopping. After a surprisingly long fifteen minutes, Syr came outside wearing a casual, pale-green dress that went down to her ankles. It was a lot like her waitress outfit, except there was a seam under her b.r.e.a.s.ts before it made a transition into a white, somewhat frilly, cloth that covered her chest and shoulders. Around her neck, she had something simr to a cor on a blouse, except it was just wrapped around her neck with a green ribbon. She wore a pair of brown, designer, boots and had a multiyer shawl-like scarf wrapped around her shoulders for warmth. Vahn hadnt expected her to change her clothing and realized that her earlier outfit was probably meant to prime him to ask her out on the date from the very beginning. Syrughed at Vahns confused expression before saying, "Its pretty cold out, but I dont mind changing back into my earlier outfit if youd like~?" Vahn shook his head with a smile before extending his arm for Syr to grab as he said, "Its fine, you look beautiful in both outfits Syr." Hearing hispliment, Syrs face beamed with a happy smile as she affectionally wrapped her arm through his and leaned against his body. Though he didnt have a destination in mind yet, Vahn began to walk Syr towards the direction of Babel za before asking, "Is there any ce youd like to go? It might be a little shameless to say, but I hadnt nned anything before I asked you out earlier. Of course, I have a few ideas if there isnt anything thates to mind..." Turning her head, Syr gave Vahn a thoughtful smile before saying, "There is actually a ce Id like to visit, so Ill have you apany me there today. Lets see, once we get to the Babel za, well go east through the crafting district and warehouses owned by the Hephaestus Familia. Once we get that far, Ill give you directions to our destination...for now, lets just enjoy the atmosphere for a while." As she spoke, Syr hugged Vahns arm a little tighter and he could feel a soft sensation transmitted to his arm. He blinked his eyes once and matched gazes with Syr as they both smiled at each other before walking a little closer through the biting cold air that couldnt approach within five meters of them. Along the way, Vahn and Syr made polite conversation about their concerns, though the main focus of the conversation was almost exclusively rted to his matters. Though she imed to not want to pete with Eina, Syr mentioned discussing things with Hephaestus, Eina, and Loki about managing Vahns schedule in the future. She said she didnt n to interfere in his life, but wanted to help make sure things ran smoother. When Vahn asked why she was willing to go so far, Syr said matter-of-factly, "Because, you epted me in your heart even after you knew what kind of person I was. In order to make sure I have time for myself, I want to make matters run smoothly for everyone. If you get wrapped up in drama all the time, I wont be able to spend any time with you because youll be busy with other matters." Vahn noticed that her aura had red up a bit and he could see the determination in Syrs eyes and heard the conviction held within her voice. He nned to talk with Hephaestus, Eina, and Loki about the matterter, but for now, he nodded his head and thanked Syr for doing so much, not for himself, but for both of them. He knew the importance of stressing togetherness when speaking with some girls, and Syrs smile bloomed when she heard him mention them together. After nearly two hours, they had made their way through several alleyways that Vahn knew to be attached to the somewhat notorious Daedelus Street. He had avoided the district in the past, even though he was curious about therge undergroundwork of tunnels and secret passageways he could detect through his domain. Though he hadnt explored it himself, Vahn knew Daedelus Street was considered a Labyrinth within the City, and he could tell there was much more to its existence than what was seen on the surface. However, though he was interested, Vahn decided to not bother himself with the matters beneath the streets since there were already several important things he needed to take care of. He would just talk about it with the otherster and ignore it for the time being unless something forced him to act. Twenty minutes after the entered the core of Daedelus Street, Syr pointed off toward a somewhat decrepit looking church that seemed rather rundown. For a moment, Vahn thought it was actually the church used by the Hestia Familia in the manga, but he could tell it was quite a bitrger than the small church from his memory. Syr saw the strange look in his eyes before pulling him along and exining, "This church is called Marias Orphanage, and I like to visit here and help out when I can..." Vahn was surprised that their final destination was an orphanage, and he began to suspect that their current date wasnt a simple matter, but something far more personal. Before they had arrived at the door of the Orphanage, a group of five children burst out of the door wearing clothing far too light for the cold air as they ran over toward Syr. The moment she saw the kids, Syr let go of Vahns arm as she walked forward to intercept the kids with a gentle smile on her face. She started talking to converse with the children before Vahn walked over and a young chienthrope girl with cream-colored hair asked, "Syr, who is this..." The moment she looked over at Vahn, the chienthrope girls eyes widened a bit before she yanked on Syrs clothing and asked, "Syr, this boy is so handsome, is he your boyfriend!?" Syr began tough as she pat the small girls head and gave Vahn a somewhat sheepish look as she said, "Yes...he is quite handsome, isnt he?" Hearing Syrs words, all of the children had different reactions, especially the somewhat wild looking human boy with brown hair and several cuts covering his face, arms, and legs. He looked like the type that had a carefree and adventurous personality, but he gave Vahn a somewhat mean look for a while before letting out an exasperated sigh. The boy walked over until he stood right in front of Vahn and looked up with a somewhat mature expression and said seriously, "My name is Rye, Im the eldest here at the Orphanage. If you hurt my big sis, Ill beat you up one day when I be a strong Adventurer!" Vahn gave the small boy an appraising look before reaching out and patting the boys head and ruffling his hair. He said in a confident tone, "Ill always do my best to take care of her, so leave your big sis to me and focus on bing strong. Im a pretty capable Adventurer myself, so Im curious to see how far you can go." Though he was annoyed at having his hair ruffled, the boys eyes lit up after hearing Vahn say he was an Adventurer and he asked in an excited manner, "Are you really an Adventurer!? Please, teach me what its like!" Their conversation hadnt been private, so the other kids also got a bit excited as they made their way over with Syr. The moment the small chienthrope girl got near Vahn, she had stars in her eyes before tilting her head and looking around. Though nobody had pointed it out yet, she could tell it was a lot warmer near Vahn so she said, "What is this!? Its all warm and fluffy around this boy, could it be the power of love!?" Syrughed in a cheerful manner while Vahn released an awkwardugh of his own before saying, "Lets go inside first and well talk there. Ill tell you everything you want to know, no problem." Hearing Vahns words, Rye pumped his fist in the air and shouted, "You heard im, lets go go go~!" As if recognizing him as their leader, the children followed along with Rye with the exception of the small chienthrope girl. She walked over to Vahn and stared up into his face as if she were looking at an idol and said inly, "Syr is super lucky to have a handsome boy like you as her boyfriend." Vahn smiled at the small child and reached his hand out to ruffle her hair. She looked to be around 7-8 years old, and Vahn could tell she was a bit of an airhead like Arnya. From the moment Vahn put his hand on her head, the small chienthrope girl made a strange, "Uooooooh~!?" sound before she eximed, "Its super warm~! What is this strange feeling, uuuuuuh, it makes my head feel all light and fuzzy~." Syr had been standing at the side andughed in a mischevious manner before saying, "We should head back before Mariaes grumbling. Why dont you carry little Fina along, Im sure shed enjoy that~." Hearing Syrs words, the cream-haired chienthrope girl named Fina reached up her arms and shouted, "Oh, oh, pick me up~!" Vahn gave a helpless smile at the quietlyughing Syr as he picked up Fina and held her loosely using his forearm as support. With her new vantage point, Fina leaned against Vahns shoulder and began patting his head with her tiny hand as she said, "I will pat you too, pat~! pat~! Ehehehehe~." Vahn smiled at the small girl and followed along next to Syr as they entered into the rtively lukewarm air of the orphanage. The moment they were inside, Vahnpressed his domain around the building and began to warm up the entire interior to make it morefortable. Other than some simple shoes and sandals, most of the children present were walking around barefoot and Vahn could see multiple scr.a.p.es and sores covering their bodies. Not long after they entered the church, a middle-aged looking woman with a somewhat serious, yet strangely kind, face looked over with a subtle smile. She looked to be in herte 50s, and she had raven ck hair tied up into a loose bun at the top of her head with a pair of prating dark green eyes. Seeing Syr, the woman said in a somewhat husky tone that would have sounded captivating if she were a few years younger, "Wee back Syr, its good to see you again...and this is?" Syr smiled beautifully before bowing slightly and saying, "Good morning Maria, Im happy to see you in good health. This is Vahn Mason, Captain of the Hestia Familia, and my boyfriend~." Hearing Syrs words, Maria gave Vahn an appraising look with a bit of hostility contained deep within her eyes. Vahn felt a little intimidated by the woman, but he bowed his head forward and politely said, "Greetings Maam, it is an honor to meet you. Im sorry for having troubled you without notice, but I came along at the behest of Syr, so please forgive me." Fina, who was still sitting in Vahns armughed yfully as she stroked the top of his head and said, "Maria, Vahn is a good boy~!" The older woman scoffed a bit before saying, "There isnt much good about Adventurers, but youre wee here whenever you like. If Syr brought you around here, it means you can be trusted so Ill believe in her judgment and not make problems for you. Wee to my, Maria Martels, Orphanage." Vahn smiled and bowed politely again as he said, "Thank you, Ms. Martel." In response to Vahns words, the woman scoffed again before she looked over toward Syr and said, "This boy is a smooth talker, sure you didnt get fooled by him?" Syr began tough like a bell without answering Marias question. Maria squinted her eyes as if she wanted to say something, but the small brown-haired Rye ran over and shouted, "Hey, didnt you say you were going to tell us stories!? Lets go!" Without waiting for his response, Rye grabbed the sleeve of Vahns tunic and pulled him over to therger group of children. While he was dealing with the children, Maria walked over the Syr and asked in a low voice, "Syr, why did you bring an Adventurer here? You should know better than anyone that all of these children became orphans after their parents died in the Dungeon..." Syr gave a brief nce at Maria before turning her gaze back to Vahn and saying in a quiet, yet confident, tone, "I believe in him...he has the power to heal people, especially children with traumas. I think hell be able to help each of the children be more confident and find the happiness they lost..." As if remembering something, Syr leaned over toward Maria and whispered very quietly, "He is also super wealthy and very charitable..." Hearing Syrs words, Marias eyes widened with a glimmer of light passing through them before she nodded her head and stated firmly, "He is a good boy, feel free to bring him around more often." The two girls, one young, one old, looked each other in the eye and began tough in a mischevious manner as they overlooked Vahn ying with the children and telling stories. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Just ording to keikaku (keikaku means n),Whatys beneath,Marias Orphanage) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 328 - Story Time

Chapter 328 - Story Time

Vahn ended up being surrounded by eleven children, with the oldest being Rye, who was only nine years old. The youngest was only four and Vahn felt a twisting ache in his heart seeing such young and innocent kids living as orphans. Even without being told, Vahn could tell from Marias reaction when hearing that he was an Adventurer that most of the children here likely lost their families in the dungeon. Because of this, though some of the children resented Adventurers a bit, they all had an interest in the subject and happily listened to Vahns stories. Because they had tried to sit on the damage pues and floor, Vahn set down arge futon for them to use and passed out snacks. Since he didnt think his personal stories were worth telling, Vahn told them some of the heroics stories he had memorized in his mind. Because he enjoyed getting a rise out of them, Vahn added sound effects and even used his domain to create a few tricks using mes and props that he purchased through the system. He even used his [Thria*Mimos] ability to copy the racial traits of some of the kids and put on a small thematic demonstrastion for them when he got to the climax of the story. The kids were in high tensions and shouted along with the story and reacted to everything he said with wide eyes and excitement. Because he had been thinking about being a good father, Vahn felt like he needed to be good to these children or he wouldnt be worthy of raising his own. Their reactions egged him on further and he got more and more excited even though he had long realized that Syr and Maria were quietly watching from a distance. When Vahn made eye contact with Syr, she gave him a yful wink before leaning against her palm and watching him y with the children. Vahn returned a small smile to her and focused his attention on the kids, because he realized it was probably her intention to introduce him to the children from the outset. Even though he knew she probably wanted him to donate to the Orphanage and help take care of the kids, Vahn didnt feel adverse to the situation at all. Most of the kids were cheerful and kind, even though life had seen fit to put them through an unjust situation at an early age. If possible, hed like to see each of the kids grow up happy and healthy... As Vahn was beginning a new story, he briefly locked eyes with a small half-elf girl with gold hair and pale-grey eyes. Vahn smiled at the child and asked, "What is your name littledy? What kind of stories do you like?" Vahn had noticed they were rtively docile and there were periods during his earlier stories where they stared off nkly into space. Hearing Vahn address her, the girl looked up and said, "Umm...you think Im a...?" Vahn tilted his head as if he were trying to understand what she was trying to say. The young half-elf averted her eyes and asked quietly, "You dont think Im a boy?" Vahn noticed that she kept her hair short and dressed like the other boys in the orphanage, but he thought she was just a tomboy. Even though they were very young, they had a very handsome appearance, but there was no way someone like Vahn would be fooled by surface appearances. His understanding of the physiology of every race within the record could be said to be well above most experts. There were also subtle differences between the auras of boys and girls, so the young half-elf couldnt trick him even if she was a specialist and master of disguise. Vahn noticed some of the kids had strange reactions, but he just politely smiled and asked, "Would you rather I pretend you are a boy?" The half-elf girl looked up at Vahns face for several seconds without saying anything. After an awkward silence persisted in the air for a while, they little girl said, "I like stories where the hero saves the princess..." Vahn squinted his eyes because he realized she had tried to sweep aside the matter without addressing it. He assumed she had some form of trauma that made her want to act like a boy, so Vahn decided to y along as he started narrating a story about a hero that slew the dragon that protected a castle where a sleeping princess waited for rescue. Not long after the story, Maria walked over and pped her hands to get the childrens attention before saying, "Lunch is ready children, make sure to thank Vahn before running off to wash your hands. Since its a special assion, I prepared some treats for everyone." Maria had a gentle smile on her face, even though she spoke with a firm and guiding tone. The children all listened to her words and ran off to a side room, probably where the bath and sink was located. Once again, the little chienthrope named Fina stayed behind as she tugged on Vahns tunic and waved him down to her level. He leaned down as she cupped her hand near his ear and whispered quietly, "Roux is scared of being a girl, so she tries to act like a boy. Dont be mad with her, okay?" Vahn smiled kindly at patted Finas head as he said in a gentle tone, "Youre a very kind girl Fina. Make sure to take care of her, and dont worry, I wont be upset over something like that." The cream-haired chienthrope giggled sheepishly before leaning forward and nting a sneaky kiss on his cheek before running offughing. When she ran off, Syr walked over and giggled before saying, "Ara~? Do I need to warn the other girls on thework about a futurepetitor?" Vahn shook his head with a wry smile and said, "Shell be happier with someone near her own age. She is simr to Tina, in a way, and I think she just has a small crush on me for being handsome..." Syr released a bell-like chuckle and asked in a teasing voice, "Oh, do you really think so highly of yourself~?" Vahn scanned the surroundings briefly and knew that only he and Syr were around so he unabashedly unequipped his tunic before striking a heroic pose that he used as the reference for one of Evas sculpts. Syr was unable to adapt to the sudden change and immdiately burried her face into her hands with a fierce blush on her face as she berrated in a harsh tone, "You dummy~! This isnt the time or the ce for things like that. Im going to tell all the girls, just you wait, hmph, hmph!" Vahn pretended to be heavily affected by Syrs words and put on a heavy act of dejection as he muttered, "So I guess you dont think Im handsome..." Even though he could equip it instantly, Vahn put on a show of slowly wearing his tunic while refusing to look at Syr. He knew that, the moment she saw his face, Syr would be able to see through his act without issue. Hearing Vahns words, Syr peeked up through her hands with an Eh? sound as she watched him wear his tunic. She furrowed her brows slightly, because she was around 99% sure that Vahn was teasing her. However, that 1% scared her enough to fl.u.s.teredly remark, "No, dont misunderstand Vahn, I think youre very handsome...uhhh, what are you making me say you bully." Though she was ustomed to teasing and manipting others, Syr was actually incredibly bad at receiving the teasing of others. Her face was beet red while her aura fluttered about chaoticly as she bured her face into her palms in an abashed manner. Vahn released a relieved sigh before he finished buttoning his tunic and looking toward Syr with a small smile. The moment she saw his face, Syr bit her bottom lip because she knew she had walked right into Vahns trap. She wanted toin, but Vahn closed to distance between them in the blink of an eye before stroking the side of her face gently and saying, "How fortunate...Im afraid I wouldnt be worthy of such a beautiful girl if I werent handsome enough." The moment Syr opened her mouth to say something, Vahn leaned forward and sealed her slightly parted lips for a few seconds until he detected a presence approaching. He pulled away and stared into her aggreived face with a smile before stepping away and creating a small distance between them. The person to show up had been Rye, and he saw the fiercely flushing Syr with teary eyes before he pointed his index finger straight at Vahn and shouted, "Ah, I told you not to hurt big sis! I thought you were a cool guy, but it looks like Ill have to teach you a lesson~! Oooooh, just you wait Vahn!" Rye then ran over and grabbed Syrs hand as he pulled her along towards the dining area and said, "Come on sis, you dont need to listen to this guy!" Syr allowed herself to be pulled along as she looked back at Vahn with a slightly confused expression as if she didnt know how to deal with the situation. Vahn sent her a wink that made her blush harder before she shot out her tongue and followed along with Rye. Vahn released a short sigh before turning his attention to the rather disheveled church that was in a rather sorry state of disrepair. Since it was located near Daedelus Street, this Orphanage was one of the poorer ones and Maria likely moved to this area to care for the numerous children that needed her help. She seemed like a very selfless person, so it was rather unfortunate that her Orphanage was in such a state. He suspected that Syr had probably brought him by so that he would help contribute to the orphanage in the future, and everything he saw made him want to do what he could. Though he hadnt seen it much, Vahn had noticed hundreds of orphans and homeless people within Daedelus street, including some living in the underground tunnels below the streets. Vahn didnt have anything topare it to personally, but he knew the social structure of this world could benefit from the development of infrastructure and the introduction of an organized education system. There were massive gaps in the technological development of different nations, and the main focus for most wealthy, or those apsiring to be wealthy, was bing an Adventurer. Because this not only increased their wealth, but their strength as well, it was a very lucrative path for many people to follow. The unfortunate downside of this, however, as the several thousand people that died within the dungeon each year. It was due to the average lifespan of most races in this world not exceeding 50 that had brought the age of a.d.u.l.thood down to 14 for the majority. It wasnt umon for people to start building families in theirter teens, and to have multiple children in their twenties depending on their financial situation. There were few people that lived to die of old age, because there was also no established medical system and elixers were incredibly expensive. For any major illness, it could typically cost hundred of thousands of Valis to try and cure, and it could potentially cost millions if it was something serious. This was well out of the affordable range for most people, since it was even possible to buy a small Manor for as little as 300-500,000V. There were also concepts like very in this world, and there was a massive difference in the treatment of different races within established society. Vahn was beginning to realize that the world atrge was aplicated mess and that he would have to contend against these matters in the future. He wanted his children to grow up in a world of eptance, surrounded by endless posibilities instead of a self-perpetuating cycle of hatred and sadness. It wouldnt be easy, and he might not even aplish it within his entire stay within the record, but Vahn felt like it was worth making an effort. By the time he conquered the dungeon, there would be few things that could sotp his momentum, even at the political level. His existence already irreverstibly altered the status quo of the world and he now had powerful allies at his back to help him move forward. The moment the other children started exiting the bathroom, Vahn smiled at them and followed along behind as they made their way to the dining room together. One of the children, a young boy around six years old with blue hair and eyes, looked up and asked with a hopeful expression in his eyes, "Will you tell more story after lunch?" Vahn smiled and ruffled the small boys hair and said in a kind tone, "Sure, Ill tell one especially for you...ah, you never told me your name." The boy smiled widely and Vahn noticed he was missing a few of his baby teeth as he said, "Im Tristan!" Vahn quickly scanned through his memories before nodding and saying, "Sure, I know just the story to tell...its called, Tristan, the Brave. Its about a hero that travels to a foreignnd to y an evil spirit and remove a curse that is destroying the kingdoms crops." Hearing that the storys hero shared the same name as him, little Tristan got fired up and asked excitedly, "Is that really the name of the story!?" Vahnughed at his excitement and pulled a blue book that was surprisingly close to the color of Tristans hair. He was too young to read the golden text, but Vahn said confidently, "These words say the tile of the book, and when you learn to read youll be able to understand that they say Tristan, the Brave." Little Tristan nodded his head happily as he traced his hands over the familiar letter of his own name and said, "It has my name on it...I wonder if I can be a hero too?" At this point, they had already arrived in the dining room and several children looked over when Tristan asked his question. Vahn scanned over the expectant eyes, including those of Syr and Maria, before he kneeled down next to Tristan and ced his hand on the boys shoulder. Without any hesitation in his voice, Vahn said confidently while looking into the deep blue eyes of the boy, "If you put in the effort and work hard, you can be anything you choose to be...hero, adventurer, or a proud craftsman. For those that are willing to work hard, there are no limits in life, just different paths...it is up to you where you wish to walk. Never give up, and youll one day be able to look back on life andpare yourself with the hero in the book. Depending on how things y out, and your own convictions, you might find their aplishments to pale inparison to your own. Work hard, Tristan, I believe in you..." As if he had set off a small explosion, every kid at the table started making a ruckus and asking Vahn if they could be the various things they wanted to be in the future. Seven of them wanted to be Adventurers, and Vahn enourged them to work hard and find a Familia full of people they could trust. If they did their jobs as supporters, they would be able to be Adventurers as early as twelve, but only if they worked hard and trained seriously. Fina, unlike the majority of the children, wanted to be a doctor and help at the Orphanage when she got older. Tristan wanted to be a hero, just like in the story. The little half-elf girl, Roux, said she wanted to be a schr and a doctor. As for the remaining two, they were too young to have a proper understanding of what was going on, so they just excitedly joined in on the conversation and said silly things as everyone sat down to enjoy the meal. Vahn noticed the dishes werent very nutritious, and even the treats offered by Maria were just hard candies. He was afraid to embarrass her, so he just offered a few small pieces of jerky topliment the meal, as there was almost no meat within the rtively thin vegetable soup and hard ck bread. Before he left, he nned to leave purchase a few goods that would keep well within the winter and also wanted to give them a few small futons for the childrens to use, as well as a number of thick nkets. As for Valis, Vahn passed his eyes over all the children and decided that it wouldnt be difficult to support them financially so he decided to give Maria 110,000V, 10,000 for each child present. It wasnt much, but Vahn didnt want to spoil them and would leave the final decision to Syr and Maria. He could always make other contributions to the Orphanage other than Valis, and that would be able to make the children happy without drawing the attention of anyone with bad intentions. After the lunch, Vahn told a few more stories to the children while also passively recovering any wounds they had on their bodies, including the several cuts on Rye. He gave them a few small toys and games to y with when he was away and told them the importance of looking out for each other, even though the entire group seemed to get along well. The kids were excited to receive so many things from Vahn, especially when he gave them each their own small futon and three nkets each. Several of the younger children had to share a bed, and arge number of the nkets had old stains and holes in them. Before he left with Syr, Vahn talked with her and Maria about things that he wanted to do to help the children from now on. Maria had an appreciative look on her face and gave Vahn a very sincere bow as she expressed her gratitude for his kindness. On their way back to the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn escorted Syr along in silence for a while as she held onto his arm tightly and leaned into his shoulder. Over the course of his stay within the orphanage, her affection had increased from 451 to 779 and he knew she was probably in a very good mood even though he didnt do anything other than what he thought he should do. In fact, he felt like he didnt do enough and even wanted to find a way to help more people, not just the children at Marias Orphanage. After nearly twenty minutes of silence, just as they exited Daedelus Street, Vahn stopped and looked into Syrs eyes as he said in a serious tone, "Syr...there are so many things I dont understand...but I know that there are some things that just arent right. Please, if you think of anything I can do to help, never be afraid to reach out to me...I want to do what I can to make sure every child has the right to a brighter future..." As he was speaking, Vahn thought about, not only his own past, but Syrs tragic origins as well. Even though they were in the middle of the street, Vahn wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly as he said, "What we went through...I dont want any other children to have to experience such tragedy. Lets do our best from now on...it may never be possible, but I feel it is a goal worth aspiring towards..." The moment Vahns words finished, he heard a few loud notifications in his head, including one which showed that Syrs love parameter had jumped from 779 to 1002 in an instant. He looked into her eyes and could see they were wavering slightly but there was a powerful light deep within. She reached up and grabbed the sides of his face before an amorous blushed appeared on hers and she said, "I feel like I love you more and more every time you open your foolish little mouth...uuuh Vahn, you hopelessly optimistic and handsome boy~!" Before he could say anything to defend himself, Syr leaned forward and passionately kissed him whilepletely disregarding the gawking onlookers. Vahn enjoyed her fragrance and the invasive little tongue that gingerly traced around the inside of his mouth in an inexperienced fashion. He held her body close and, since there were more than a few people that werent minding their own business, used Shundo to disappear from the streets. They reappeared on top of a nearby building, and Syr didnt even seem to notice the change in scenery as she tightly grasped the cor of his tunic and sought his lips for nearly an entire minute. By the time she pulled away and looked at the surroundings, Syr had a silly expression on her blushing face as she asked, "Ano...how did we get on the roof?" Vahn held her body closer and then used Shundo to appear more than 400m away on a different roof in a split second. There was no burst of speed, or change in momentum, so Syr thought they had teleported as she looked around with an expression of shock. Before she could rify matters, Vahn leaned closely and whispered, "I wonder if I can get us all the way to the Hostess of Fertility within the duration of a single kiss..." Syrs eyes opened wide and it seemed like she wanted to rebuke him, but it was Vahns turn to take the initiatve and seize her lips as they vanished from the roof yet again. (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Invention of Special Effects,Its a reverse-trap!?,Hope for the Future) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 329 - Blunder

Chapter 329 - Blunder

By the time they arrived the alleyway, nearly ten minutes had passed and Syr was breathing heavily because Vahn hadnt given her many breaks along the way. The only thing she could do was hold onto his body as the scenery changed around her and her mind fluttered about in a daze. When Vahn finally pulled away, Syr tried to chase his mouth for a brief moment before opening her eyes widely and shaking Vahns cor as heughed at her bashful reaction. Her face was redder than he had ever seen before and Vahn couldnt help but want to tease her more as he hugged her waist tightly and sent a shiver up her spine when he said, "I think I forgot something at the Orphanage, want to head back with me~?" Syrs eyes opened wide and she bit her bottom lip with a pouty face as she pushed away from his body and stormed off into the womens dormitory. She mmed the door behind her and left Vahn standing in the alleyway with acent smile since he could still sense her on the other side of the door. After a few minutes passed, Syr eventually opened the door a crack and peeked through it with her light grey eyes and a healthy blush on her face. She still had a pouty expression as she said, "It isnt fair when you can sense that Im still near..." Vahns smile widened marginally and he said, "It was a fun date Syr, thanks for going along with me." For a brief moment, it looked like Syr lost her bnce and nearly closed the door before she released a sigh and opened it enough to peak through again. Her expression righted itself a bit as she put on her characteristic gentle smile and said, "Dont forget about Saturday..." Vahn nodded his head and said, "Good night, Syr. Give the others my regards if it isnt too much trouble..." As he spoke, Vahn turned his head to the various presences that were spying on him and Syr. When she mmed the door earlier, it had alerted the girls present and they came to investigate while trying to be sneaky. Syr followed his eyes before muttering in a small voice, "Guh...you girls, spying on me when Im embarrassed..." A glimmer passed through Syrs eyes before she turned her attention back to Vahn and said, "Good night, Vahn, Ill see you soon~!" Before he could respond, the door closed and Vahn could see the presences within the dormitory quickly disperse as Syr rapidly approached their location. Vahnughed for a bit before he disappeared from the spot with the use of Shundo. By the time he arrived at the Hearth Manor, it was slightly after 10 PM and the sun had long disappeared beyond the horizon. As tomorrow was a day scheduled for entering the dungeon, most of the girls had already gone to sleep in preparation for waking up early. The only presences he detected still moving about were Aki and Ryuu who had been alerted to his arrival when he stepped through the formation surrounding the barrier. Vahn was reminded of his desire to spend time with Aki earlier, as well as his earlier conversation with Ryuu. For a short period of time, he had an urge to try and approach the two girls but didnt think that Ryuu would be receptive to that type of thing. Ryuu was a somewhat reserved woman and Vahn imagined their first time would be a private affair. Because they were roommates, Vahn couldnt easily make a move on Aki, and it would be somewhat awkward to ask her to join him in his room while Ryuu was staying quietly next door. After releasing a short sigh, Vhan made his way into the Manor and headed toward the onsen to cool his head in the cold air and hot water. Though he wasnt in high tensions like the past, Vahn was too aware of the girls now that he had the logbooks that were given to him earlier in the day. Since he hadnt checked them since then, Vahn decided to look through them for a bit to see if anything had changed. Fortunately, he learned he could actually check the information without removing the logbooks from his inventory, just like he could download the information of other books. This allowed him to be somewhat discreet about the matter, even though it was impossible for someone to sneak up on him presently. Vahn noticed a new message at the very top of the list that had been written by Syr. She thanked him for the date and how much effort he put into helping the children at the Orphanage. With a small smile on his face, Vahn continued to browse through the Secret Log for a bit and saw various well-wishes and smallments directed toward him. It seemed that a lot of girls had taken to writing kind words for his benefit, and Vahn took note of each of them with a happy smile on his face. He eventually came across a somewhat messy looking series of words that said, The Goliath is going to respawn on Thursday. We were going to go hunt it if you wanted toe along~! -Tiona. Vahn recalled hisst fight with the titanic creature and remembered his desire to fight it again. He figured that, if he offered them the drop items, the girls would probably let him solo it again. Even though he couldnt proactively work alongside any of the Familia within the Alliance, the Guild wouldnt be able to fault him for wanting to fight the Goliath, as it was a rtively rare spawn. After going through the Secret Log, Vahn gave a cursory nce at the Status Log out of curiosity. Even though he was going to cool off, Vahn still had a strange desire to know what the girls were currently up to. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status Log] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hephaestus: Busy: Avable on request... Eina: Free: Sleeping... Loki: Free: I dont mind ate night rendezvous... Syr: Busy: Good luck in the dungeon Vahn... Tiona: Busy: Oooh, I want to see you fight again~! Ryuu: Free: Thanks for spending time with Syr. Ais: Busy: Im curious how strong you have be... Aki: Free: Dont hesitate to knock if you are lonely... Chloe: Busy: Syr is going bonkers~! What did you do on your date? Arnya: Busy: The Witch has been awakened from her slumber...Vahn, help... Tione: Free: Lets go fight the Monster Rex on the 17th floor on Thursday! Aisha: Busy: Just let me know, Ille running if you need me... Lunoire: Busy: Syr is scary tonight... Anubis: Busy: The children have returned safely. Lefiya: Busy: I will prepare snacks and potions... Riveria: Busy: You shoulde fight the Monster Rex. I want to see your skills in action. Tsubaki: Free: I wonder if I write something here if Vahn will reallye? Ahahahaha... Naaza: Free: It is good to be able to contact each other like this... Lili: Free: I have returned Vahn! Pleasee find me whenever you want! Nanu: Busy: I will get even stronger... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though he wasnt too surprised that most people were busy, given howte it was, there were a few things that caused Vahn to pause in the middle of the corridor. Since there were so many people that wanted him to go fight the Monster Rex, Vahn had decided to take them up on the offer. The thing that truly brought him to a halt was the seemingly yful remark of Tsubaki. He knew she probably wasnt serious, but Vahn had a powerful urge to show up just to spite and tease her. Though he would probably take a hard hit for his efforts, Vahn wanted to see the mature bronze-skinned beauty blush a bit... He had only been a few steps from the onsen, the method he had intended to use to calm his mind, but now he feltpelled to act on his instinct. After stepping into the changing room, Vahn pulled out hismunication scroll and wrote that he would be attending the fight against the Goliath. Without stopping to change, he stepped outside in the open air onsen before disappearing from the enclosed area and into the freezing cold night air. He sent a briefment about going out for the night so that people wouldnt worry too much about his sudden disappearance. Now that he knew he could read the logbooks within his inventory, Vahn saw the various responses that wereing in questioning where he was heading. Hephaestus had even tantly asked if there was an enemy that needed to be dealt with and it caused Vahn to smile. He was tempted to say yes, since he was heading off to a battle of sorts, but he didnt want to trigger thework with his joke. He stopped on a rooftop and pulled out his scroll and quickly penned that everything was okay and that there wasnt anything to worry about. He said he just wanted to get some fresh air because he had been lost in thought ever since his visit to the Orphanage earlier. After he put away the scroll, Vahn continued toward Tsubakis workshop with a renewed vigor because she had even made a remark of her own in the red logbook joking that he was on his way to meet her. She got a few cheeky remarks from some of the girls, but Loki and Syr seemed to have seen through the truth as they said, Oh, youre in trouble now~, and Tsubaki...I feel like youre pretty sneaky. Since it was Loki and Syr speaking, the other girls that were paying attention to the event jumped on the bandwagon and started teasing Tsubaki. Though she didnt respond for a while, Tsubaki eventually sent a message asking, You dont really think he ising to my workshop right now, right?. Answering her question was Hephaestus, who said, Tsubaki, I just looked at the Status of everyone. I didnt think you were that airheaded... As he leaped through the air, Vahn couldnt help but let out augh that dispersed arge cloud of condensation. He didnt get to see what was discussed on thergerwork, but just reading the logs of what everyone was saying within his smallerwork was very entertaining. Though it wasnt likely as drastic as his imagination, he could imagine the fl.u.s.tered Tsubaki panicking after realizing her error. There was a good chance that she had gotten a little drunk after returning from the expedition, so she had likely intended herment as an actual joke. Unfortunately, she underestimated their vendetta and Vahn had asionally been thinking of how to get even with her. When he was around two minutes away, Vahn noticed that the information in the Status Logbook now listed Tsubaki as Busy and she had erased her earlier message and written, Ive gone to sleep. Reading the message, Vahn stopped atop a building and overlooked the residences in the far distance where arge number of workshops and Manors were close together. Since the logbook was supposed to state when a girl was being receptive to him, Vahn felt like he needed to pull back now that she changed her status to Busy. It was actuallyte at night, and there were likely several things she needed to take care of tomorrow since they had just returned from an expedition, even if it was just a practice mission. While he was lost in contemtion, Vahn noticed a new line of text, this time in the Secret Logbook that said, If youre almost here, Ill pour a few drinks for you...but nothing more. There wasnt a signature attached to it, but Vahn knew it was from Tsubaki so he leaped forward with Shundo and advanced in the direction of her workshop. After a few short minutes, he arrived on a wall adjacent to her Manor before concealing his presence. Though she hadnt been saying anything, Vahn was absolutely certain Lili had been paying attention to what everyone was saying on thework. He needed to sneak in without notice, or it would be a different problem entirely. Fortunately, because it was a Manor designed personally by Tsubaki, there was adequate soundproofing all throughout the house, including most of the rooms. Vahn jumped off the wall while evading theplex defensive arrays that were set up all around Tsubakis Manor. He had the key to enter whenever he wanted, but Vahn wanted to surprise Tsubaki and avoid alerting Lili and Naaza, at least for the time being. He had alreadypletely concealed his presence as he slowly maneuvered through the eastern courtyard and moved stealthily towards Tsubakis room. Along the way, Vahn noticed a powerful lump of mana and, even though it was very small, he knew that Lili had actually disguised herself andy in ambush. He knew about her promotion to Level 2, but he hadnt seen how her capabilities had increased ever since his probation started. She apparently had developed her magic to the point where she could disguise herself as a small animal, because Vahn could see what looked like a chestnut colored rabbit hiding in the shadows along the corridor. Since none of the rooms people slept in had windows open to the outside, the only way to get to Tsubakis room was through the corridor where Lili had posted herself, almost as if she were acting as a silent sentry protecting Tsubakis bedchamber. Other than knocking her out, Vahn couldnt find a solution to the current problem that wouldnt create a bigger one in the future. He really did care about Lili, and he didnt want to do anything to hurt her trust in him. Even though her Affection was locked at 99, Vahn knew her actual hidden parameters were probably very high. They had a future promise to be together, but it still didnt stop her attempts to try and get closer to him sooner. Since he didnt really spend much time with her ever since moving in with the Anubis Familia several months ago, Vahn could understand why she was so anxious. Prior to his solo journey into the dungeon, they spent a great deal of time together and that had spontaneously changed based on a decision he had made in his own interests. Vahn released a muted sigh that didnt pass beyond the area of his domain before he used Shundo to silently sneak up behind her. While he had his [Stealth] active through his domain, Vahn could conceal even his scent. [Featherfoot] made his steps absolutely silent and he could prevent any vibrations from traveling through the floor that would alert her to his presence. Since she was so focused on the corridor leading to Tsubakis room, she was caughtpletely off guard as Vahn reached forward and picked up the small rabbit by its sides. She immediately started kicking her feet as if she were an actual rabbit before seeing who had picked her up. The small bunny became somewhat limp in his hands as she stared at him with hazelnut colored eyes. Now that she had calmed down, Vahn whispered quietly, "Youve made excellent progress Lili...Im really impressed." Vahn had been investigating her transformation and noticed that, even though she had shrunk her body by a great deal, the small rabbit in his hands still weighed slightly over 30kg. She also had a Pallum sized aura, even though she was in a very small form presently. He noticed she was either unable to speak in her form, or she was trying to put on an act so he said, "Wee back...I heard you went on an expedition. Its good that youre safe." As he spoke, Vahn cuddled the tiny rabbit a bit and it writhed about in his arms before he could feel the small shape begin to increase in size. After a few seconds, the magical light that had epassed Lilis body faded away and she hung limply in Vahns arms since he had been holding her prior to her reversion. Her original size was only 110cm, so Vahn felt like he was holding one of the children back at the orphanage and it made a smile appear on his face before he set her down on the floor. She was wearing a pair of pink pajamas with, perhaps intentionally, small caricatures of bunny rabbits on them. Lili stared up at him with her light-chestnut colored eyes with a contemtive, yet sad, expression on her face as she asked, "You didnte here for me though, did you?" Vahn squinted his eyes before shaking his head and saying, "Things are never that simple Lili, especially with everything that has happened. Ill admit, I came here to tease Tsubaki a bit after her inciting words within the logbook. However, youve known me longer than anyone...you know Im not making an effort to avoid you, or anything like that. I just want to give you time, since I hope youll grow closer to the others if Im not putting pressure on you..." Whenever he was around her, Lilis main focus was always on him. All of the goals she had set for herself were rted to him, and she was the girl Vahn was most concerned about breaking down if something actually happened to him. Lili continued to stare up at him quietly for a long while as a moisture slowly built up in her eyes. Vahn could see her aura flickering greatly and knew she felt very hurt by his words, even though she also seemed to agree with him. She eventually couldnt bottle things up well anymore and tried to fall to the floor but Vahn caught her gently in his arms andforted her for the first time in a while. Though she wasnt being too loud, her cries caught the attention of Tsubaki who opened her door and was surprised to see Vahn holding the crying Lili in his arms. He gave her a wry smile since he didnt get to surprise her to the same extent as he originally intended. After around ten minutes, Lili finally stopped crying and just continued to nuzzle her face into Vahns cor in silence. Vahn felt her breath tickle his exposed skin so he rubbed her back and asked in a gentle tone, "Do you feel better now?" Lili released a lukewarm sigh before finally separating from his body with slightly swollen eyes. Her earlier tears hadnt been an act, she just couldnt keep bottling up the emotions she had been keeping at bay recently. A small frown appeared on her face and she bundled up her fists confidently and said, "Ill do it Vahn...Ill show you I can get to Level 3 before my birthday. Ill even try to get along with the other girls...there are just so many of them that Im afraid youll abandon me one day. I sometimes have trouble sleeping because Im afraid that youll forget about me..." Vahn shook his head and look straight into Lilis eyes as he asked, "Do you truly feel that way, that Id willingly abandon you..?" It wasnt an act, Vahn showed a genuinely hurt expression before he swallowed the knot in his throat and asked, "Did you forget our first meeting so soon? My convictions then have never faded, not for a single moment. It is my concern for you, that youll lose your way, that prevents us from being together Lili..." From the moment she saw his hurt expression, Lili started to breathe heavily like she was about to start hyperventting. As Vahn said, she knew him better than almost anyone else and she was also the most aware of how silly her fears were. If she were in danger, Lili knew that Vahn would move Heaven and Earth to try and save her... Lilis lower jaw began to quiver a bit as the stuttered, "I-Im so-" Vahn shook his head before walking forward and embracing Lili again and stating firmly, "Never, ever, say such cruel things, Lili. I know youre sorry, but it still breaks my heart to hear things like that. More than your apology, Id rather you continue doing your best...not for my benefit, but for your own." Lili nodded her head and held back her tears as she sniffled to prevent the fluids from draining from her nose. Vahn patted her back a few times before separating and handing her a small box. Lili hesitated for a brief moment before reaching forward and taking the box from Vahns hand. She opened it up and a surprised expression appeared on her face before the tears began falling from her already puffy eyes. Though he had identally destroyed the first one when he ventured into the dungeon, Vahn had reforged the paired locket that he had purchased with Lili in the past. Within the box, there was arge orichalc.u.m heart with a gap in the center where a smaller heart could be iid. Lili reached into he opening at the top of her pajamas and pulled out the silver chain before seating the small silver heart snuggly into the golden heart within the box. Vahn smiled and said with mock relief in his voice, "Whew...I was afraid it wouldnt be a proper match. Looks like I got it right...lucky~." Lilis brows furrowed low before she removed the locket from the box and ced it around Vahns neck. She looked at him with a stern expression on her face and said, "Dont break this one...I was very sad when I saw you werent wearing it anymore." Vahn smiled before ruffling her hair and whispering in a quiet voice, "Dont worry, this time I made sure it was indestructible..." Lili little face blushed furiously as she gazed at the small golden locket around Vahns neck. She fiddled with the silver locket around her own neck before saying in a somewhat urgent manner, "I want one to...one that will never break, no matter what happens." Vahnughed at her concern and she became a little fl.u.s.tered until he reached out his hand and said, "Of course..." There was a second box within his palm, since he had long anticipated her request from the very moment he reforged his. Without removing her previous one, Lili let Vahn ce the new locket around her neck and he yed with them both for a short moment before saying, "Thank you Vahn...for always being with me when I feel like Im going to break. Just like this locket, Ill persist forever without backing down..." There was a renewed conviction in the small Pallums eyes as she quickly leaned forward and sneaked a kiss on Vahns lips before trotting off along the corridor. As if she were embarrassed to be seen normally, Lili transformed into a small rabbit before disappearing around the corner. Vahn heard footsteps from behind and turned his head to see the smiling face of Tsubaki looking down on him. Answering a question he never asked, Tsubaki said, "She has really been working hard. Even when she is asleep, she always uses her magic to improve her own control over the spell. Though she has only been able topress her body till now, she keeps bragging about one day being able to increase the size of her body..." Vahn quickly understood Tsubakis implication so he released a small sigh before extending his hand for Tsubaki to help him rise. She pulled him up with a cheeky smile on her face before Vahn repeated his actions of the past and drew his fingers along her abdomen. His control over [Hands of Nirvana] was much stronger than in the past, so Tsubakis legs buckled the moment he got his feet under him. Tsubaki released a surprisingly sensual gasp as Vahn supported her body by her arms and whispered, "I didnt forget the reason I came here...I think its about time we even up the score a bit, unless you want to give up and call it quits~?" Even Vahn didnt know why, but he couldnt help but tease Tsubaki ever since he moved out of her Manor. She had tormented him quite a bit in the past, but it wasnt until his awakening that his desire to tease her arose. He truly believed it was a waste that she had given up having children, and if she showed any signs of opening her heart to him, Vahn was determined to give her a child of her own in the future. Though she had taken a few deep breaths at first, Tsubaki gripped around Vahns arms, which he was using to support her, and put a bit of strength into her fingers. She could feel Vahns bones creak a bit under the force, but she noticed his face didnt even flinch for a moment. A giddy feeling welled up in her stomach, in the same area where Vahn had touched earlier. Even now, there was a tingling sensation in her body like all of her nerves had been stimted simultaneously and it was almost impossible to put any strength into her lower body. She looked up and locked eyes with the young boy that used to be under her care and saw the serious, yet yful, look in his eyes as he waited for her answer. For the first time, other than when she was in battle, Tsubaki could feel her pulse quicken as she gnashed her teeth and said, "Im not going to give up against a snot-nosed brat that thinks he outgrew his britches..." Vahns serious expression morphed into a somewhat gentle one as he supported Tsubakis body before using Shundo to dash through the door she had left open previously. He kicked it closed behind him and said, "I wonder if your confidence willst until the end..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Restless,Fragile Heart : Tiny Animal,Cyclops Vs. Godhand) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 330 - Reason

Chapter 330 - Reason

After entering Tsubakis room, Vahn looked around briefly to take in the sights contained within. He had never entered her room previously, and he noticed there were a surprising number of intricately designed weapons lining the walls, simr to Hephaestuss office. Though he was somewhat interested in the items, he turned his attention to the woman that seemed to be contemting if she should break his arms or not. If he hadnt been resisting the urge, Vahn would have been slowly forced into his Bih form and his hands had started to be numb due to theck of proper blood flow. Tsubaki had noticed the surroundings changed in an instant, and she looked around in confusion for a brief moment because Vahns movement technique was unlike anything she had ever seen previously. She noticed he had been distracted somewhat, and she was currently trying to forcefully flex her muscles to try and restore the functionality of her lower body. All she had to do was distract him for a minute or so and he would lose any advantage he had gained with his sneak attack earlier. She didnt mind spending time with Vahn and sharing a few drinks, but she got butterflies in her stomach imagining what he might do if left unchecked. Vahn had noticed Tsubaki leaning forward slightly with her head down and saw her aura was turning cid and calm. He knew she was beginning to focus her attention, probably using the brief moment when he was distracted by her room as an opportunity. Though he could use Shundo to knock them off bnce, there was no way he could easily remove Tsubakis vice-like grip on his arms. The difference between their actual power was likely several thousand parameters and his only practical solution was to use [Hands of Nirvana] to disable her arms. However, there was a part of his mind that prevented him from removing her ability to resist, since they were currently supposed to be in a battle. After a brief moment of reflection, Vahn turned his attention to the low table where there were a few ceramic bottles of alcohol that was popr in the Far East. It wasnt the sake he had seen in manga, but it was something very simr that was distilled from a bean-like grain called Ponta. Because of her Half-Dwarf heritage, the alcohol Tsubaki usually drinks was several times stronger than normal alcohol. Vahn c.o.c.ked his head as if he were trying to see Tsubakis face and asked, "Arent you going to pour me a few drinks?" The moment he asked the question, Tsubakiughed and said, "Sure, I dont mind, but dont think Im unaware of your disposition Vahn. Ive seen you drink entire groups under the table, so youll be drinking alone if you want me to serve you." Vahn released a snort that was a mix between a sigh and augh before turning his attention to the table and dropping a small item that made a plonk sound. Tsubaki heard the noise and turned to see what Vahn was looking at before her eye widened. For a brief moment, her hands loosened up and Vahn converged his domain to extend the window as he freed his arms from Tsubakis grasp. She tried to reach out and prevent his escape, but Vahn quickly pressed a pressure point between her corbone and shoulder before jumping back. Before he moved away, he set a fewrge cushions on the ground to support Tsubakis falling body. Before it got destroyed in the ensuing chaos, Vahn recovered the item he had set on the table that distracted Tsubaki earlier. It was a bit of a cheap shot, but Vahn had set the [Matryoshka of Fertility] on the table while banking that Tsubaki would remember the item due to the previous incident. His guess had been on point, and her brows raised to a point he had never seen before with an expression of absolute shock. Now, after his escape, she justid on the pillows for a bit as Vahn saw her aura grow and be somewhat me-like. There was a hint of passion within the coloration, but it was predominantly the colors of anger intermixed with a bit of fear and trepidation. Tsubaki grabbed the pillows he had dropped to the floor and threw them like bullets as Vahn dodged around the room using Shundo. Even though they were just cushions, Tsubaki had monstrous strength and, if not for the fact the walls of her room were reinforced, she might have actually put holes in the walls. Fortunately, the walls were very durable and the only result was the pillows exploding into a tuft of feathers and fabric that Vahn expected would be annoying to clean upter. He could see a fiery light in Tsubakis uncovered eye with a healthy blush touching her bronzed skin. She was obviously very embarrassed, and her default response seemed to beshing out in anger to gain an advantage. After she ran out of pillows, Tsubaki looked around for something else to throw before Vahn appeared next to the low table and sat down in a casual manner. He picked up the ceramic cup and poured a bit of the crisp, somewhat bitter, alcohol into the cup before sipping it as if they hadnt just previously been engaged in a small scuffle. She could feel a warm energy flowing in her body as the feeling was slowly restored to her limbs. For a short moment, Tsubaki hesitated before eventually allowing herself to calm down and wait patiently for the tingling sensation in her body to cease. With Vahns assistance, it only took around forty seconds before she stood up and stretched her limbs a bit as she walked over to the table and sat down opposite Vahn. The moment she sat down, Vahn smiled and said, "Its fine, Tsubaki, if youre that afraid of my [Hands of Nirvana], I wont force you to do anything..." Tsubaki gave a somewhat dryugh before releasing a husky sigh as she reached for her own cup. In a gentle voice that made Vahns heart shake, Tsubaki turned her gaze and locked eyes with him as she said, "Youve grown up so quickly, Vahn, Im happy for you. Its hard to believe how much has changed...you know, I once thought you would be in my care for a few years as I slowly trained you up to be a [Master Smith]. I even wanted to nurture you as my sessor..." Vahn furrowed his brows a bit before cing his cup down on the table and saying in an apologetic tone, "I enjoyed every day that I lived here previously...though I didnt say it enough in the past, Im grateful for everything you did for me, Tsubaki. It was because I had a safe refuge here at your Manor that I was able to slowly break out of the shell that I had surrounded myself with. Youre even looking after Lili and Naaza, even though they should have been my responsibility, and not yours..." Tsubakiughed in a manner that made Vahns heart wrench in his chest, because he could hear the sadness contained in the humor. She leaned on the table with her elbow and supported her head with her hand. The only thing she was wearing was her red hakama and a white sarashi, so her b.r.e.a.s.ts swayed a bit with the movement. Tsubaki showed a wide smile with a reminiscent look in her eye as she said, "Honestly, it was good to have so much young blood around after such a long time. Other than clients, the only people that really visit this ce were Hephaestus-sama and Welf. This Manor has more than enough rooms for twenty people, so it was a little unnerving to stay here alone...Im d that Hephaestus brought you here, and you dont have to worry about those two girls. Theyre good kids, even though Lili still has a ways to go before she stabilizes..." Vahn stared into her uncovered red eye with a pained expression because he could feel the mncholying from her body, almost like it was a palpable, heavy, aura that permeated through the air. He frowned and said, "You dont have to be alone...there are all the girls on thework, and Hephaest herself...and..." Tsubakis expression became very gentle as she stared directly at him and said, "Vahn, youre a good, strong, capable person...but youre still just a kid. You have to understand that it isnt possible to help everyone youe across. Even though I get a bit lonely, Im also the Captain of an entire Familia and have more than a few things to keep me busy. There are plenty of young girls, and even a number of goddesses, that will look after you...you shouldnt be overly concerned with me. I epted my lot in life a long time ago..." Tsubaki saw Vahns expression worsen so sheughed and righted her body as she said, "Dont worry, Ill be perfectly happy when your younguns are running about. I imagine things will get pretty lively in the future, so you dont have to worry about me so much..." Vahns expression didnt loosen at all as he practically red at Tsubaki and asked, "Why are you so determined to have me believe your lie? How can you smile and act so dismissively when its obvious you have regrets!?" Hearing Vahns outburst, Tsubaki released a long sigh before her own expression turned serious and she asked, "Why are you so persistent when Ive already made my decision? Do you think you have more right to make choices about my life than I do? If youre just concerned with me having a baby, you can just leave that small doll with me and let me take care of things at my own discretion. The way you talk about the matter, its almost like youve made the decision that you have to be the one to do the deed!" Vahns mind nked for a moment at Tsubakis words and she noticed he didnt have an immediate response so she poured a drink and said, "You have plenty of things to worry about without adding my problems atop everything else. Go spend some time with the younger women in the group and leave the matters of the older-" Before Tsubaki could finish her statement, Vahns cup shattered to pieces in his hand and he said, "Tsubaki...I refuse. If you gave me a real excuse, I would back down easily, but I cant just sit here and listen to you lie and make excuses. Do you really think I can overlook all our past interactions, the hope that was present in your eyes when you found out you could get pregnant, and how yful and responsive you were to being teased by me?" Tsubaki ground her teeth a bit in frustration before saying inly, "It was never your right to choose...it has always been my decision to make. If it were just ying around, I didnt mind spending some time with you after you grew up a bit, but that was before...things have changed now. There are literally dozens of potential partners surrounding you, and there are even two, or more, that are already pregnant with your children. Im better suited to help raise the kids you have with the others than having a child of my own..." Vahn looked into her eye and asked in a stern voice, "Tell me...why? If you say it is because of your age, I...I..." Vahn flexed his hands in frustration because he disliked how easily influenced some girls were by their age. Even though both she and Mn still looked young and beautiful, they acted like they were some untouchable, unworthy, object that would profane him with their touch. After a brief period of silence, Tsubaki nodded her head and said, "Im old, Vahn...even if I can live well over a hundred years, I dont want my children to have to be embarrassed that their mother looks more like their grandmother. Im already 36, that means I would be, at least, 50 by the time my child reached a.d.u.l.thood. It might not show much now, since I take proper care of my body, but itll be much more apparent when Im older..." Vahn shook his head and said, "No, youre overlooking too many things while using your age as a convenient excuse! If I use my [Hands of Nirvana] on you, even just every few weeks, your age wouldnt even show within the next fifty years, much less fourteen. There are plenty of ways to keep you young, or even reduce your physical age depending on how things y out...Tell me Tsubaki, do you really think Im such a shallow and incapable man that I cant even put in the effort necessary to help you be happy?" Tsubaki frowned and didnt say anything for a very long period of time as she stared into Vahns face. His expression didnt falter at all and he just continued to show a serious expression as if he wouldnt ept any excuse she might try to give him. She knew she could easily put an end to the entire matter by simply refusing, and Vahn wasnt the type that would force her into the situation just like he had shown leniency on her earlier. If he had wanted to, Tsubaki knew she wouldnt even be able to resist him after his sessful sneak attack. Instead, he gave her time to recover and even de-escted the situation himself after she got angry and embarrassed. His perception was just way too high and it was almost impossible to actually fool him with simple lies and excuses. She also heard about Shizune, how her body was returned to that of a child, and she also knew the supposed health and beauty benefits of Vahns massage. Every single girl that had experienced looked healthier and more vibrant than they had previously, even the goddesses whose appearances shouldnt change regardless of how much time passes. After a while, Tsubaki began tapping on the low wooden table in a rhythmic manner as if she were in serious contemtion. The biggest problems she was dealing with rted to, just how Vahn mentioned previously, how they had interacted with each other in the past. There was also the fact that everyone on thework pretty much expected it to happen sooner orter, and this was the reason she had been avoiding Vahn and never showed up to receive his massage. When they had been conspired against by Anubis and forced on a date, she had been very nervous and had even brought the date to an early end when she KOd Vahn after he embarrassed her. It was all of this,bined with several other factors, that made it very difficult for her to answer Vahns question, especially since she herself knew it would be a lie, much less the perceptive Vahn. Eventually, Tsubakis finger came to a stop and she released a long and exasperated sigh that diffused the tense atmosphere that had spread through the room. She made the excuse about not wanting to cause trouble for Vahn, but her current actions would likely cause him even more trouble than if she gave up. He wasnt the type that could easily back down and understand things that contradicted themselves. The more she tried to push him away, though he would never do anything forcibly, the harder he would try to approach her in the future. She would also experience pressure from thework and there was a very real possibility Hephaestus, alongside several others, would approach and try to convince her. If she remained at loggerheads with thework just because of her own denial of the situation, it wouldnt make anyone happy at all... Tsubaki blinked and her expression loosened before she said in a yielding manner, "Fine, fine, I give up...Ill give you a chance to convince me. However, if Im not satisfied with the oue, you have to swear that youll never try to broach this subject again in the future." Even though she hadnt said what he had to do, Vahn nodded and said with absolute confidence, "I wont fail, no matter what." Tsubakiughed in an exasperated manner for a short while before saying, somewhat hesitantly, "Show me the full benefits of your supposedly unrivaled massage technique. They call you godhand on thework, but I wonder if youre capable of actually performing a miracle, since that is what it would take to convince me." Though he was confident before, there was now a literal ze of resolve deep within Vahns eyes that made Tsubaki feel like she just stepped on the tail of a dragon. She might be able to best a dragon inbat, but it was another matter entirely if she was expected to entrust her body to it. Before she could say anything further, Vahn stated in a firm manner, "If you leave it to me, regardless of how scary, or terrifying, things might get, Ill show you a miracle. Im more worried that your mind wont able to cope with the procedure though...no, youre a strong and capable woman, I believe youll be fine." Vahn nodded his head as if he had been convinced by his own words. Tsubaki, however, realized it wasnt a simple dragons tail she had stepped on as she asked hesitantly, "What...do I need to do?" Vahns eyes darted about for a few seconds as if he were recalling the procedure before exining with renewed confidence, "All you need to do...is believe in me. Believe that I would never do anything to harm you and that everything will be okay as long as you trust me. I dont want to scare you, but the procedure that Im going to perform will not be easy to bear...the only thing you can do after I start is trust that Ill bring you back safely..." The more Vahn spoke, the stronger the giddy feeling inside Tsubakis stomach became. She had no idea what he was nning, but she knew it would probably change her in a way she might not be prepared for. After a few seconds of silence, Tsubaki showed a resolved expression on her face as she looked into Vahns face and said, "I said Ill give you a chance, so Im not going to back down and renege on my own word..." Tsubaki began tough in an awkward manner before she continued, "Besides, I know that the other girls on thework would punish you harshly if you took things too far. You already have my trust, but its nice to have a bit of insurance..." Vahn nodded his head without refuting her words before pulling out the massage table that he used often in the past. It would be necessary for the start of the procedure, so he stood up from the table and motioned toward the massage table and said, "Youll have to strip down..." Without much hesitation, Tsubaki also stood up from the table andughed for a short while as she loosened the band fixing her hakama to her h.i.p.s. She gave Vahn a cheeky look and asked, "Are you just going to gawk as I get n.a.k.e.d in front of you?" Vahn shook his head in a casual manner without averting his eyes as he said, "After we begin, there isnt really any part of your body that I wont know. Besides, we bathed together plenty in the past and I have no aversion to seeing your n.a.k.e.d body at all. Youre a lot more beautiful than you like to pretend..." Tsubakis smile widened a bit and she had a helpless expression on her face as she loosened the fundoshi style underwear that she wore under her hakama. As Vahn said, they had been n.a.k.e.d together a lot in the past and she just wanted to tease him a bit. After she stripped herself of her bottoms, Tsubaki removed the small sp holding her sarashi around her b.r.e.a.s.ts before letting the bandages fall to the floor. Throughout the entire process, she noticed Vahn had been staring at her body in apletely different way than he had in the past. It wasnt a perverse re, but closer to an inquisitive and admiring gaze as he traced his eyes over every part of her body. She frowned slightly but ignored her apprehension as she walked over in a casual manner before holding up her own b.r.e.a.s.ts with her palms and asking, "I wonder if youll be able to prevent my b.r.e.a.s.ts from sagging, Ive actually be worried about it you know?" Vahn c.o.c.ked his head to the side a bit before reaching out with his index finger and poking into the springy, somewhat youthful feeling, brown flesh. Even in the rtively low light of the room, there was a sheen on Tsubakis healthy brown skin and he couldnt see any sign of sagging or stretch marks anywhere on her well-endowed chest. As he moved his finger away, Tsubakis b.r.e.a.s.t quickly resumed its almost wless shape without any difficulty at all so Vahn said, "Itll be no problem at all. You have very healthy and beautiful b.r.e.a.s.ts already, and I can guarantee theyll stay that way for years toe." Tsubakis brain had stalled for a moment when Vahn nonchntly pressed his index finger on her left b.r.e.a.s.ts and dragged it across her skin as if testing the resistance and feel before making a casual and confident promise while also sneaking in apliment. She stood there for a short moment and thought about teasing him by trying to hug his face into them, but the thought made her feel a little nervous. There werent any problems yet, but Tsubaki was afraid she would get excited by the rtively intimate contact and do something embarrassing before the massage even began. After deciding against teasing him further, Tsubaki let her b.r.e.a.s.ts hang freely before walking over to the table and climbing atop it. She noticed that, when she pressed her b.r.e.a.s.ts against the upper cushions, they sunk into the incredibly pliant material and made it easier for her toy down. It was her first time experiencing Vahns massage, so everything was a new experience and she found it to be a little exciting as she rested her face into the oval shaped hole that would allow her to rxpletely without interfering with her breathing. Vahn watched the process of Tsubaki climbing onto the table and admired her figure from behind for a bit until she had gottenfortable. Even though sheined about her age, there were nearly no signs of it on her body at all. She had springy, youthful, brown skin that had a healthy bronze tone. It was so healthy that, even when she wasnt perspiring a lot, there was always a subtle reflective sheen on her skin and both her b.r.e.a.s.ts and butt looked very soft. He could see the powerful muscles of her body, but they didnt actually change the somewhat supple, refined, and womanly figure of Tsubaki in the least. Though she had abs if she focused her attention on making them visible, her belly was nearly t and smooth when she was rxed. Unlike a supposed 36-year-old, she had the body of a woman in her twenties because of her racial traits, Level, and the care she put into maintaining her figure. A Half-Dwarf could live nearly two-hundred years if they were strong enough, so the 36-year-old Tsubaki was hardly even considered middle-aged by the standards of her species. After she hadpletely settled into the table, Vahn approached Tsubakis side and said, "Im going to begin, so prepare yourself for what is toe. Remember, no matter what you feel, trust that I wont harm you at all." From the hole in the chair, Vahn heard Tsubakis voice, "Just get started, show me what youre made of kid." Vahn nodded his head before flexing all of his fingers and cing them on Tsubakis back. He was very tempted to give some early attention to her very plump rump, but he knew there would be time for that kind of thingter. Right now, he needed to focus his full efforts on the procedure, since he was actually going to be using several techniques he had never practiced before. Tsubaki wanted irrefutable proof of his skills, and Vahn intended to give her a full course that would literally change how she saw, not only herself, but Vahn as a whole. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tsubakis Hesitation,Vahn is not deterred,RIP Tsubaki) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 331 - Nirvana

Chapter 331 - Nirvana

After resting his hands on Tsubakis back for a moment, Vahn confirmed the process in his head onest time before he began targetting the various nerve centers located in her body. One thing he had learned through his experimentation with [Hands of Nirvana] was that the skill was originally created for humans. There very various things he had to learn on his own, and this was the main reason why his skill didnt develop as quickly as it should have since he used it often. The original skill focused on acupoints and pressure points within the body and massaging things like meridians to open up the channels in the body. However, though there were simrities, there was a big difference in the basic structure of every different race he hade across within the Danmachi record. Because the energy system of the world was fundamentally different than the record where [Hands of Nirvana] originated, Vahn had to literally feel his way forward and experiment to better understand the skills use. Without this understanding, which eventually brought his skill to Rank-S, Vahn wouldnt be able to make use of the skill to its full potential. This would be a problem since, the penultimate skill he was about to use, which also was where the skill derived its name from, was called Nirvana. A single mistake could result in various seque in Tsubakis body, and Vahn would lose his confidence even if he spent years trying to remove the effects of his mishap... Though it wasnt necessary, Vahn contracted his domain to the small size and brought about a state of absolute focus to his mind. The cooling sensation slowly spread through his body and the almost imperceptible shaking of his hands ceased in its entirety. Vahn used his [Eyes of Truth] to scan Tsubakis body from head to toe as he ced his fingers at the various nerve centers located through her body. The original record showed a total of 43 nerve centers, but Vahn found a total of 53 within Tsubakis Half-Dwarf body. He also noticed they were perfectly aligned and he nned to fix this so that her body would be bnced in the future. The only nerve center that evaded his touch was the small bead hidden within the dark garden of Tsubaki. After he hadpletely rxed Tsubakis muscles, even in her fingers and toes, she becamepletely limp against the table and drew slow and steady breaths. In order for her not to suffocate in thetter half of the procedure, Vahn would actually have to forcibly expand and contract her diaphragm manually or she wouldnt be able to draw enough air to sustain her body. Though it was a tedious, and very dangerous, process, it was necessary so Tsubaki didnt injure herself when he started. Unfortunately, though there might be some, pleasure wasnt going to be what Tsubaki was feeling for the majority of the procedure. Her body would experience intense extremes of pain and other stimuli that a normal person wouldnt be able to tolerate. By the end, her mind should be long gone from her body and Vahn would have to guide her back or she might be lost to the world forever. Nirvana, the skill Vahn was going to use, was the ultimate technique that could be used with the [Hands of Nirvana]. It literally made use of the principles of enlightenment, rebirth, and severance from the cycle of life and death. If used on a dying patient, or one that recently died, Vahn would literally be able to resurrect them if he applied the skill properly. When used on a living person, however, it was able to revitalize the energy within the trillions of cells that constituted their body. Though it couldnt make them live forever, Vahn could extend the longevity of the cells by a great deal and prevent them from breaking down and decaying through the natural progression of time. There was arge downside to this, however, as the cells would catastrophically failter in life, much like how elves stayed young for hundreds of years without changing before suddenly aging rapidly into an elderly appearance. Vahn had studied a fair amount regarding the differences between species, because he was curious why others live far longer than everyone else. He was able to determine that the primary factors were the vitality of their cells, the physical endurance of the person, their magical capacity, and the strength of their soul. Since he could even inspect the bodies of goddesses, Vahn noticed that their cells were constantly being nourished by their Tier 4 souls and this was the secret behind their physical immortality. For elves, there was a simr process going on, but instead of their souls, it was their mana that nourished their cells. For physical fighters, and races like dwarves and giants, the vitality within the cells, and the natural temperature of their body, were much higher than other races. The most important factor for his understanding, however, had been his own body and blood. Vahn noticed that his cells werent being nourished by anything, but the energy contained within his blood seemed limitless. His natural regeneration didnt force the blood cells in his body to split and be defective over time...instead, the energy contained within the cells would spike for a brief moment before creating a perfect copy of the damaged tissue. This was what led to Vahns original breakthrough when it came to healing and influencing the energy within the bodies of others, because he knew he could use his source energy to create what could only be called a miracle by those unaware of what was going on. Vahn rubbed his hands together and they began to glow with a powerful, almost divine, white light that actually reminded him a lot of his blood in his past life. The light diffused into his own body, and it allowed him to see the shadows of his own bones and the powerful, energy-rich, blood flowing through his body. Vahn moved his fingers about dexterously and saw the various bones, tendons, muscles, and veins in his arms and hands move to match his movements. It was a peculiar sight, but Vahn felt encouraged since he knew this was the sign that the skill was being used properly. Since he needed to start from the inside and work his way out, Vahn ced his hand on Tsubakis back, in the area directly above her heart. He began to channel the Nirvana directly in her body and the healthy brown skin that made up her back began to take on a rosy shade before the luminescence of Vahns hand slowly spread in her body. As he continued to contact the same spot for nearly three minutes, Tsubakis body began to turn somewhat translucent under this palm as it began to slowly sink into her back. This was the first step of the skill, and the reason why it could even revive the dead, since Vahn had oversaturated the cells in both his hand, and her body, to the point where they were able to perfectly intermingle and move through each other. Though it was almost impossible to see through normal means, every single particle that constituted the great whole of objects, both organic and inorganic, were entirelyprised of mana. If you removed the mana from an object, it would turn into dust and vanish into nothingness. It was the subtle, almost imperceptible differences, in the mana of everything that prevented them from moving through each other. By perfectly matching the constituent mana in Tsubakis body with his hand, Vahn was able to insert it into her body without even disrupting the flow of blood or damaging the surrounding tissues. Nearly five minutester, though it was actually only a few centimeters of distance, Vahn arrived at Tsubakis heart and could feel it pulsing rhythmically through his own hand and arm. He began to channel the energy of Nirvana into her heart and it slowly pumped the life-giving energy throughout her entire body. As time passed, Tsubakis entire body began to start glowing and it was a very disconcerting sight for anyone other than Vahn. He knew this was part of the process, and his mind was in an absolute state of focus where the only things he could perceive were his hands and Tsubakis body. After nearly two hours had passed, the light hadpletely saturated Tsubakis body and she had long lost consciousness. Her entire body was slightly translucent now and Vahn could see every bone, muscle, tendon, organ, andrge blood vessel within her body. Even her aura had increased marginally and turnedpletely cid without a single ripple of emotion as it glowed with a pure white light. This state, as exined in the manual for [Hands of Nirvana], was called Enlightenment. Tsubaki was currently in a state where she had no thoughts, no emotions, and no sense of self. She was literally bing one with the record itself and, if Vahn didnt keep her grounded, there was a very real chance she would disperse into a cloud of pure magical energy. While channeling the energy into her heart continuously, Vahn used his free hand to target the various imperfections in Tsubakis body. After he put her into the state of Enlightenment andpletely dispersed his energy to epass her body, the next step was to remove any abnormalities and seque that existed within her body. He massaged the various parts of her body and molded the energy with his fingers to forcibly reshape the energy channels of her body while also repositioning her nerve centers to make them aligned with each other. Had she been awake, Tsubaki would have been experiencing a pain unlike anything she had ever experienced since Vahn was literally changing her body from the inside-out while pulling and manipting her actual nerves. Even in her state of Enlightenment, Tsubakis body responded to Vahns touch and seized up painfully even though he had forcibly rxed the muscles in her body. Stimting the nerves directly would cause her body to react, even if there was no tension in her muscles through her own will. Though he had long lost his sense of time, it was nearly 7 AM the following day when Vahn finished the second phase of Nirvana and hadpletely rebnced Tsubakis body. He also removed any microfractures in her bones, dispersed any swelling in her joins, and even improved the blood flow through some of her veins that had be affected by her constant strength training and work as a cksmith. He even removed some of the buildup of brackish material that had rooted itself in her liver before moving up andbing through the incredibly fine, porous, and spongey alveoli of her lungs. Though she properly ventted her forge, Tsubaki couldnt avoid breathing in a few microscopic particles of the various materials she used when creating items. Vahn had noticed this and removed the entirely of the built-up material so she would be able to breathe easily in the future without suffering from any sicknesses or ailments. The most awkward part of the procedure had, of course, been massaging and shaping the various womanly traits of Tsubaki. Even in a state of absolute focus, Vahn had hesitated for a few milliseconds before he started. He had to move her body around a lot, and removed some of the tension and strain that had been building up in Tsubakis muscles that supported her rtivelyrge b.r.e.a.s.ts. Vahn also noticed that her right b.r.e.a.s.t was marginallyrger than her left because Tsubaki was predominately right-handed the muscles were more developed. Vahn fixed this during his massage so that her body was almost perfectly symmetrical. He performed a simr procedure for all of her muscles, including the somewhat asymmetrical shape of her abdominal muscles and right glute. Since she leaned to the right when she swung her hammer, the entire right side of Tsubakis body was slightly more developed and unbnced. Of course, though the entire process as massaging her b.r.e.a.s.ts and body was awkward, the most difficult part had been saved forst. Vahn had flipped Tsubaki onto her back and spread her legs as he massaged the areas around, and somewhat inside, of her v.a.g.i.n.a. Things had be somewhat messy because of his actions, but Vahn ignored any difort and excitement he felt as he slowly helped revitalize the organ. Tsubaki hadnt been a v.i.r.g.i.n, but Vahn still massaged and restored a bit of the tension inside her vulva. It was a very strange sight to see the somewhat fleshy interior contract slightly before returning to a somewhat youthful state after a few long minutes of effort. By the time he was done, the slightly open vulva was sealed tightly in a youthful line and there was a springiness to the fleshy mound that made it seem entirely untouched. The final phase had been something Vahn was putting off since it was both disconcerting and highly problematic to deal with. Heid Tsubaki on her back and positioned her parallel to the ground before cing his left hand between her cleavage and slowly sank his palm into her body and ced it back in her heart. He had removed his hand several times earlier, to reposition her body, but he had to make sure she was never allowed to fall out of Enlightenment before he finished. Every separating for a few seconds could lead to her physical death, so Vahn was hesitant each time he moved her. After releasing a relieved sigh, Vahn ced his right hand under Tsubakis navel, right above her w.o.m.b. He had already inspected it earlier since he was curious about why it was so difficult for half-breeds to get pregnant, and Vahn noticed that a vast majority of the eggs within Tsubakis ovaries contained no vitality. They still had mana within them, but they were in a dormant, inactive state. There was also another problem, which he intended to fix right now, and that was that the actual fallopian tubes leading to her ovaries were less than a tenth the size of Hephaestuss and Lokis. When her body moved around slightly, or when she tensed her abdominal muscles, the small tubes were nearly pinched shut and didnt allow anything in, or out, of the small openings. This almost guaranteed that, even if Tsubaki was ovting, there was almost no way to guarantee the s.p.e.r.m would even be able to reach the egg, and that was assuming the egg was even capable of being fertilized since more than seventy percent were inert. After a few minutes, Vahns hand sunk into Tsubakis body and he came into direct contact with her w.o.m.b before tracing his finger into the interior. He couldnt actually feel anything since their bodies were perfectly fused through his energy, but Vahn still felt very strange as he diffused his source energy through his fingers and saturated the inside through direct contact. Vahn slowly moved his hand through her abdomen, literally centimeters every few minutes, and eased the tension of the muscles that constrained the entrances to her fallopian tubes. He gently prodded the bundle of nerves and slowly, very slowly, forced the pinhole opening to widen. Though he wasnt sure if it was a good metric to use, Vahn continued his efforts for nearly two hours until Tsubakis openings were simr im size to Hephaestus and Loki. Since goddesses had wless bodies, Vahn assumed this would be the ideal size that would guarantee the greatest chance of sess in her future attempts. Before hepleted the delicate procedure, Vahn tried to revitalize some of the inert eggs within Tsubakis ovaries and had a marginal amount of sess. Though he didnt really revive any, the vitality in the active ones increased by a fair amount. He then, though it felt incredibly terrifying, tried to contact the inert eggs with his energy before storing them into his inventory. His initial intention was to uses his [Eyes of Truth] to destroy the inert eggs, but Vahn was already very tired and he didnt want to risk overusing his energy for such a dangerous act. It wasnt much better forcibly storing the microscopic eggs into his own inventory, but it was the lesser of two evils and would allow Vahn to potentially study the inert eggs in the future. Surprisingly, he got a fair amount of good karma by the time he was finished with the procedure. Now that he hadpleted phase two, the next phase was arguably the most important because, if he failed, he wouldnt be able to actually bring Tsubaki back. He had to bank on her own willpower and his sessful execution of the skill as he slowly tried to restore functionality to her body. He flipped her body over onto her stomach and, instead of cing his hand back into her body, began rapidly pressing on a variety of pressure points, nerves, and muscle junctions to stimte them to activate. He had a few short minutes topletely reactivate her body before the state of Enlightenment wears off or she would suffer a severe trauma to her mind that she might never wake up from. Though her body had been kept in a near wless state for thest few hours, it had also be dormant as her mind hadpletely stopped putting any effort into sustaining it. He also had the task of waking her from the state before it wore off, or there was a real chance her body would just break down into the constituent parts of its mana. After pressing each of the key points, Vahn ced two fingers at the base of Tsukabkis head, where it connected with the neck, and two more fingers at the tip of her tailbone, right at the spot where her butt cheeks split. He waited patiently as he watched the synapses in her body fire from his earlier actions until they had all linked together and converged near the points of his fingers. The moment he felt the almost undetectable twitch of her body, Vahn put a powerful energy into his fingers as he traced them towards each other along the line of Tsubakis back. This was the original purpose of the Heaven and Earth Convergence skill, because it would even be able to ground someone that had obtained Nirvana, or Heaven, and bring them back to Earth. Tsubakis previously fluttering eyes opened wide, though Vahn couldnt see them, as she released a silent shout before a stifled, painful sounding, gasp like a scratchy monotone noise. Vahn had been paying attention to her body so, even though he couldnt see her face, he knew she had sessfully awoken. He couldnt see any problems in her body, in fact, he saw several great things about it, so he felt incredibly relieved. Though he would still have to check on herter to make sure there were no problems, Vahn released a long sigh before pressing on a few points to allow her to escape the perpetual climax her body was forced in to. Since he had held back quite a bit during the procedure, Vahn raised his hand and smacked Tsubakis left butt cheek with a bit of force as he said, "Wee back, Tsubaki..." His words finished, all the tensions drained from Vahns body and he passed out on the spot. Though she had been stuck in the echoes of her earlier climax, Tsubaki was aware of what Vahn was saying after feeling the stinging sensation on her own butt. When he fell, she moved to try and catch him, but his body had copsed toward her and knocked over the stand he had propped her body on. They fell hard to the ground, and Tsubaki rubbed her butt a little before removing Vahn, who had by providence fell into her b.r.e.a.s.ts, away from her body. She could tell he was in a state ofplete mental, and physical exhaustion, so she affectionately stroked his head for a bit before picking up his limp body and cing it on her own futon. Tsubaki wasnt sure what he had done, since she couldnt remember anything after the first hour or so, but she knew he had done his best for her. Tsubaki felt a little bad for Vahn, since he had worked so hard and she still intended to remain unconvinced and force him to take a step back for his own happiness. She stroked his head affectionately for a while and said in a quiet, almost inaudible voice, "Sorry...its better this way." After leaning over and giving him a kiss on the forehead, Tsubaki stood up and stretched her body a bit. She had noticed it earlier, but her body didnt feel anything like she remembered. The small aches that were always present in her joints had beenpletely removed and she felt far more limber and flexible than before. There was even a healthy sheen to her skin and she couldnt help butmend Vahns technique. Since she felt incredibly hungry, Tsubaki wanted to go make some food so she began to get dressed. She wore her fundoshi as normal, but the moment the cloth came into contact with her genitals Tsubaki felt a strange, almost out of ce sensation. Her sensitivity had faded a great deal with time, but now she actually felt ufortable with the cloth against her skin and immediately felt embarrassed after thinking about what Vahn must have done when she was passed out. She stripped out of the almost painful cloth and visually inspected her own crotch while also extending her fingers towards the now unfamiliar flesh. The moment she saw her own v.a.g.i.n.a, Tsubakis eye widened and she felt a powerful sense of incredulity well up inside of her. She felt like she had returned to her teens and she noticed that the feel of her own insides was far more firm and smooth than she remembered. Even the area where her h.y.m.e.n had been torn previously had recovered by arge amount and she was genuinely shocked by the revtion. Though she hadnt cared much before, now Tsubaki was very interested in the changes of her own body and moved over to arge secretary she didnt often use. Most of her clothing consisted of the same few outfits, and she didnt wear makeup at all, so Tsubaki didnt have a standing mirror in her room. The only one happened to be inside her somewhat dusty secretary and when she saw her own reflection she paused. For nearly a full minute, Tsubaki couldnt believe what she was seeing as she gingerly touched different parts of her body. Though she didnt have any wrinkles previously, her skin now seemed fresh, and young, almost vibrant,pared to its previous appearance. She didnt simply feel younger, but her reflection made her feel like she had stepped more than ten years into the past. Everything from the lines of her body, to her b.r.e.a.s.ts, v.a.g.i.n.a, and especially her butt, all appeared to be in a wless state. Every scar on her body had beenpletely removed and even some of the freckles that often bothered her had vanished entirely. Tsubaki spent nearly a half hour just inspecting her own body and, no matter how long she looked, she felt like she was unable to believe what her own eyes saw. She had even removed her eyepatch to verify she wasnt under an illusion and noticed that the flow of mana in her body was much stronger than normal. It was almost like, not only the joint tension, aches, and pains, but even the channels within her body and blood cirction had improved greatly. It was simply ridiculous because she felt like she hadnt simply recovered the prime of her youth, but exceeded it greatly. Though she didnt oftenpare herself to other girls, Tsubaki almost felt like she had be wless, like an actual goddess instead of a mortal. With her discerning eyes as a [Master Smith], she was even able to tell that Vahn had somehow bnced her body, including her b.r.e.a.s.t size and position of her muscles... Looking over, she saw the contented smile on Vahns face and frowned deeply for a few moments before noticing her own reflection. Though it was a strange thing to think about oneself, Tsubaki felt like a frown didnt suit her current appearance. It was like she was looking at her younger self upset and she couldnt help but want to reach out and cheer up the young woman. As her hand came into contact with the mirror, Tsubaki suddenly felt more grounded, like she had finally realized the woman within the reflection wasnt her younger self, but the person Vahn had literally shaped her to be. This was how he saw her, the ideal within his heart and mind, and it was that of a beautiful young woman in the prime of her youth, not an aging cksmith that was well past her prime. After having this realization, Tsubaki released a long sigh and drooped her head low before giving a sidelong nce at the sleeping Vahn. Based on the changes she could see to her body, Tsubaki even suspected there were several things she wasnt even aware of yet. Even if she wanted to pretend to be unconvinced, the moment the other girls saw her she would immediately be forced to retract her statement. A procedure that could fix imperfections while also revitalizing the body by nearly ten years was simply irrefutable evidence of Vahns earlier im. That meant that, unless she nned to go back on her own word for the first time in her life, there wasnt anything she could say or do to avoid the consequences of her own words. It looks like, though she had started with a massive lead, Vahn had overtaken her in an instant and invalidated any advantage she had gained over him. From now on, they stood on even grounds and there wasnt much she could do besides dying the inevitable... As she was still hungry, Tsubaki quickly got dressed in some lighter attire that she didnt often wear. Though she usually wore fundoshi, since her casual outfit was that of a hakama and sash, she was now wearing a proper pair of silk panties she used for special asions. The smooth silk was far less abrasive than the fundoshi and Tsubaki released a sigh knowing she would probably have to wear normal panties from now on, at least until her sensitivity faded. Instead of her sarashi and hakama, Tsubaki wore a simple bathrobe that was styled like a kimono without an obi. There was a simple sash that held it together and she walked outside of her room to get some food. The moment she unlocked the door, Tsubaki nearly stepped on the sleeping Liliying outside and turned her attention to see that it was still night time. She thought that the procedure hadsted longer and was surprised to find that not much time had passed at all. Lili woke up near her feet and stared nkly at her for nearly a minute before pointing and screaming, "WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO YOU!?" Tsubaki began tough at Lilis reaction and noticed that her own voice was less husky than normal. It seemed that, with the revitalization of her body, her voice had changed a bit to match. She sounded younger, more womanly, more vibrant than she had in the past. Lili stared at her with abject shock on her face as she said, "You were with Vahn for nearly an entire day without answering the door, and the moment youe out you look like youre barely out of your teens. What on earth happened!?" Tsubaki nked for a moment before asking, "You said, nearly a full day? Seriously?" She looked back into the room where Vahn was sleeping and felt more than a small amount of warmth spread through her chest. She knew he worked hard to obtain her approval, but she hadnt expected he spent nearly an entire day for her benefit. Of course, it made sense considering how drastically she had changed in the period where she was unconscious. She shook her head and looked back at Lili and said, "Even Im not sure what happened, I just know that Vahn did his best...here, Im very hungry and n to head to the kitchen and grab something to eat. Lets leave Vahn to sleep for now and then well ask when he wakes up..." As if she remembered something, Tsubaki began to sweat as she remembered the existence of thework that she and Vahn had likely been ignoring for thest day or so... Like the voice of providence itself, Lili nodded her head before worriedly gazing toward the room and saying, "A lot of people were worried and have been asking what was going on through thework. You have a lot of exining to do Tsubaki-sama..." Lilis words made a chill run down her back, but Tsubakiughed it away the moment her stomach grumbled a bit. Without warning, she picked up Lilis body and began to carry her to the kitchen. Lili struggled and said, "No, I just want to check on him~! Release me you gori woman!" Tsubakiughed joyously before spanking Lilis butt with her hand and saying in a cheeky manner, "Is that any way to speak to a beautiful young woman such as myself~? Hahahahaha." (A/N: Alternate Titles: I really have no words for this chapter, its so friggin long. 4969 words!,Vahns efforts,Tsubakis Revtion,h h h...(UwU) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 332 - Understanding the Situation

Chapter 332 - Understanding the Situation

In the period of time, nearly ten hours, that Vahn was asleep, Tsubaki had to deal with quite a few problematic issues. There had been so many messages on thework that she was honestly surprised that other hadnte to interfere. Fortunately, a number of girls had exined away the matter and ced their trust in Vahn to deal with the situation. Naaza and Lili were able to confirm that both Tsubaki and Vahn were still locked within her room, so there wasnt a major panic and they had simply chosen to wait while specting about what they were up to. As someone that had experienced Vahns capabilities in the past, Hephaestus simply believed that Tsubaki and Vahn were overindulging like when he had visited her in the past. This started a strange like of conversation where the matter of Vahns stamina was discussed. It was still fresh in many of the girls minds how he had boldly imed to be capable dealing with everyone that had been present at the time without issue. If he really could keep at things for more than a day, it was a rtively significant matter that needed to be taken into consideration. It was good, in a way, since it meant Vahn wouldnt be overstressed when sleeping with several women. However, it was also problematic, since there was a genuine concern that Vahn also couldnt be satisfied by any single girl either. If he was less restrained in his behavior, there could be all kinds of problems in the future. When Tsubaki finally jumped into the conversation and exined that Vahn had used his [Hands of Nirvana] and a special technique to alter her body, it wasnt long before thework exploded in a buzz of questions. Generally speaking, Vahns massagessted for an hour and, even in that rtively short period of time, the girls would feel revitalized for days. Their skin would turn glossy and any difort and aches they had would have vanished in their entirety by the end of the pleasant sessions. It was hard to imagine what Vahn could have done after spending nearly an entire day and there were more than a few people that were interested in the oue. When Lili added her own tidbits saying how Tsubaki had literally reverse aged it wasnt long before it was decided that Tsubaki needed to meet with Hephaestus and Loki to determine the extent of her change. They also needed to hear the details from Vahn himself and decided to wait until he woke up before pressing for more information. It was slightly after 8 AM when Vahn finally woke up, and he noticed his body had been wiped down and he was wearing nothing but his briefs. There was a towel on his head wrapped around a small magic item that was able to heat up after inserting a small magic core into the slot at the center. After asking Sis about the details of what happened after he lost consciousness, he discovered he had spent more than twenty-three hours using Nirvana on Tsubaki before cking out for an additional ten. It wasnt too unexpected since the actual procedure was stated to take an entire day to perform. The fact he took slightly less time showed that he hadpleted the operation quickly, but it also worried him that he might have made a few mistakes so he crawled out of the futon and wore a new grey tunic and a pair of ck trousers before making his way out of the room. Along the way, Vahn could detect several presences on the west side of the house and knew that two of them were gods. He released a short sigh and hoped that he hadnt caused a major stir and taken things too far. During the procedure, Vahn had been so focused on ensuring everything went smoothly that he hadnt noticed the overall changes to Tsubakis body until the very end. Even he had been surprised when he saw the changes and he was the one that actually conducted the procedure from the beginning. Since it had been his first time using the technique, Vahn didnt know anything about the changes other than what was mentioned in the description. The technique just detailed how it could restore the vitality within cells and remove any seque that had been experienced by the patient with the passage of time. It could return life to the dead, but its use on living flesh focused more on rebirth than resurrection. In summary, the final results depended on how far he pushed his efforts but it almost guaranteed that things like aging could be stalled for a time. When Vahn stepped into the dining room, he scanned over the surprised faces of Hephaestus, Loki, Tsubaki, Naaza, Lili, and, surprisingly, Riveria. Seeing the youthful look on Tsubakis face and the somewhat out-of-character clothing was a bit of an impact on his recently recovered mind, but he didnt get time to adapt to the change before Lili assaulted his body by tackling around his waist and hugging him tightly. Vahn habitually stroked her head as heughed to the room and said, "Good morning, everyone...it seems I might have gone a bit too far? Hahahaha." Though he could go longer periods of time without food, Vahn was happy to be able to eat a hearty meal as he sat down surrounded by people he trusted and cared about. During the meal, he was constantly barraged with questions by the two goddesses, but it was Riveria who asked a few pointed questions that struck at the root of the matter. Vahn exined his theories about vitality and energy and detailed therger details of the procedure, including what he had done to help bnce out Tsubakis body and remove any negative buildup that had appeared in her joints, arteries, organs, and blood. The biggest impact was when he unabashedly talked about his impromptu operation to potentially fix the fertility issue after exining the probable causes to the group of shocked women. Tsubakis expression had been somewhat priceless as her face had actually turned pale, with wide eyes, for a while before a youthful blush settled into her cheeks and her expression turned into a mixture between relief and happiness. The fact that he had potentially discovered the cause of infertility in Half-Races, as well as potentially discovered the secret to maintaining a persons youth, was a big impact on the group present. It was decided that the information needed to be guarded as an absolute secret until Vahn could better understand the process. If news spread that he could not only help i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e goddesses but could also perform an operation to replenish a persons youth, there would be no end to the troubles the entire group would face in the future. Vahn also made it very clear that the procedure was far moreplicated than the girls understood and it was decided that Riveria and Lefiya would be in attendance the next time he used it. Elves had a natural ability to sense mana, and talented ones like Riveria and Lefiya could even see the flow of elements in the air and understand the mystical properties of magic circles to an extent. Lefiya herself was what Riveria called a thousand-year prodigy and she could evenmune with the primordial spirits and borrow their power on asion. Vahn agreed to not publicize and use the skill whenever he wanted, as he already had no intention of doing so. It was an incredibly taxing procedure and it was only worth using in somewhat drastic situations, typically those involving life and death. Tsubaki had been an exception because Vahn wanted irrefutable evidence to convince her since he understood her intentions from the moment she brought it up. He knew that, unless he did something drastic, she would try and make an excuse to dismiss the changes he had brought about unless they were undeniably evident for everyone to see. Though she had been 36, and still way, she now looked like she hadnt even crested 25 and had a youthful vigor that could even rival some of the more mature girls in the group like Hephaestus and Anubis. She also radiated a bit of power from her body and her aura had increased in size by an almost imperceptible amount so Vahn figured he had actually raised her potential and mentioned updating her Status Board to verify his assumption. Since it wasmon knowledge among the upper echelons of thework about his ability to update statuses, it was decided that Vahn would update Tsubakis status and she unabashedly shrugged off the purple kimono she was wearing before removing the sarashi holding up her now beautifully sculpted b.r.e.a.s.ts. Loki even whistled at the sight while several of the girls raised their eyes in abject appreciation of the visual. Tsubaki herselfughed at their reactions before plopping down on the ground and having Vahn sit behind her. She had never been the bashful type from the start, so she didnt care about being seen by other girls, nor Vahn himself. They had bathed together often in the past, and now he literally knew her body better than she herself. Besides, being appreciated by the other girls present made her feel a bit of pride in her new body and she felt like showing off a bit. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Tsubaki Collbrande Race: Half-Dwarf LV. 5 POW: A823->A865 END: B775->A841 DEX: S914->S939 AGI: D564->D583 MAG: D557->C689 Skill: [Cyclops:Innate], [Overheat:B], [Surge:D], [Dragon Killer:B], [Oniyuri:B] Magic: [Will-o-Wisp:C] (A/N: Im going with the idea that she taught the skill to Welf, since it doesnt make sense that he ever learned magic or read a grimoire when he wasnt even Level 2, or a cksmith, by the time the original plot started.) Development Skill: [Master Smith:G], [Hunter:B], [Fire Resistance:B], [Abnormal Resistance:C] [Overheat] Rank: B Use: Absorbs oxygen through the pores to increase blood flow. Causes the body to heat up and enhances all physical parameters. Massive stamina drain. [Surge] Rank: D Use: Infuse mana into attacks to enhance their power. [Dragon Killer] Rank: B Use: Enhance all physical parameters by 50% when fighting against Dragons. Enhance all physical parameters by 25% when fighting against Dragon-Subspecies. [Oniyuri] Rank:C Use: Enhances physical parameters while decreasing the physical parameters of enemies hit by this skill. Has poor mana efficiency. [Will-o-Wisp] Rank: C Use: Super-Short-Chant Anti-magic fire that can disrupt other chants and cause magic to backfire. Chant: Burn out, Illegal work~! (A/N: Im not going to keep repeating the description of skills thatmonly appear unless the readers dont mind the info dump when skills are discussed.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After updating her Status Board, Vahn showed Tsubaki her status sheet and she was very surprised by her own growth. She was at the point that, no matter how much she pushed herself, there were rarely changes in her stats more than a few points every now and then. The boost she received from Vahns Nirvana was literally nothing short of monstrous. This showed that not only did the skill revitalize the body, but it also strengthened it and increased the potential of the recipient. It made sense considering that Vahn had actually massaged her muscles and removed any damage that had been contained within through excess training and overuse. The biggest surprise was her Magic stat increasing to arge extent, and Vahn exined that her aura had actually increased marginally during the procedure. As Tsubakis goddess, Hephaestus was able to see her updated Status while the others werent privy to the information since it was very private. Even though they were allies, everyone needed to keep their own secrets, especially someone like Tsubaki who was the Captain of an entire Familia. This didnt prevent Loki from asking about things after she saw the changes in expression from Vahn, Tsubaki, and then Hephaestus. Vahn had been surprised that Tsubaki actually had her Innate skill awakened, but it made sense considering her actual alias was Cyclops. She was already Level 5, so she had probably awakened it long ago and obtained her moniker from the skill itself. Tsubaki was surprised by everything that had been happening within thest day, and her own status was just a cherry atop the mountain of things she had to process. As for Hephaestus, she was very pleased with the revtion that Tsubakis growth had elerated to such a level and it was likely just the start. Now that her body was revitalized, it stood to reason that her potential had increased further and she would be able to finally break the limits of Level 5 in the future. The only thing she needed was an achievement and she would be able to Level-Up immediately thereafter. Hephaestus had looked over toward Loki after reading the information and stated simply, "We already agreed that this needed to be kept a secret, but now things are far more serious than we imagined. Vahns technique seems to be able to increase the actual potential of the recipient, though I cant say anything about the changes without Tsubakis consent." Tsubaki began tough as she heard Hephaestuss words and said, "I feel like I could even give some of your children a run for their money now, hahahaha~!" Lokis eyes widened marginally at their words and asked in a serious tone, "Is it really that drastic a change?" Though she could tell they were being serious, it wasnt something she could just let slide in a dismissive manner. Instead of allowing Hephaestus and Tsubaki to answer, Vahn spoke out to interrupt the flow and said, "All I did was awaken a bit of the potential already contained within Tsubakis body. It isnt to the extent that I increased it by arge amount, and it probably wouldnt have a drastic effect on anyone with a growth-rted skill or those that have already broken through their normal limits. Im not sure how long Tsubaki has been Level 5, but it was very obvious from my observations that she had stalled at her current level for a long time. If not for this fact, there wouldnt have been such a drastic change." Tsubaki nodded her head and said, "That makes sense...Ive been Level 5 for seven, almost eight, years. Now that my muscles have been loosened up and my joints and tendons have been restored to an undamaged state, it makes sense that my parameters would increase a fair amount..." Loki released a theatrically exasperated sigh and said, "What a letdown ~. It would have been amazing if you could keep using that skill the constantly improve the parameters of other people. Well, you should still consider using it on some of the girls to get a better understanding of the skill...though, dont push yourself too hard." Vahn nodded his head in agreement before everyone sat around and discussed the matters of the future in detail. Because of the strain, andplexity, of the Nirvana technique, Vahn decided to not use it unless the situation called for it. He did n to research the matter of infertility in Half-Breed races though and intended to record the details of his study within a journal. Riveria offered to help him out since it was very difficult for elves to get pregnant as well. They had a long gestation period, nearly 13 months, and the children born were often frail and sickly and required mana to sustain their health. Since Vahn showed an interest in resolving such issues, Riveria wanted to contribute since it was theoretically the most important topic to research in the entire world. Everything Vahn did was borderline revolutionary on a fundamental level, and she felt like he would create a stream of endless miracles in the future with proper guidance and mentorship. She even offered to guide him on his magical studies, since it wasmon knowledge that Vahns magic parameter was far beyond mortal levels. Since Vahn actually had a vested interest in learning magic, he willingly agreed to her request and they had decided to exchangemunication scrolls to keep in touch about their research. Riveria even gave him a magical grimoire, since he had talked about having Haruhime train in magic as well. She was surprised by Vahns ims about the Renard girls magical capacity and she was very interested to teach such prodigious students. By the time the discussion came to an end, it was nearly 1 PM and the group had eaten lunch together before splitting up to go about their various duties. Tsubaki left with Naaza and Lili to rendezvous with the expedition party, since they still needed to report to the Guild and exchange all the drops items they had obtained for Valis. Loki wasnt really busy, but she said there were a few things she wanted to look into without going into any details. Hephaestus needed to return to her own workshop as well, but Vahn escorted her and they held hands throughout the entire hour-long trip regardless of the number of eyes they drew. After dropping her off at her workshop, Vahn and Hephaestus shared a long kiss with each other as he affectionately rubbed her belly. When they finally parted, Vahn made a quick stopover at the Hostess of Fertility to greet all the girls present and enjoy a light snack and coffee before finally returning to the Hearth Manor. The moment he stepped into the foyer, Vahn caught the twin-tailed bullet that shot at his diaphragm like a lethal projectile. Hestia pounded on his chest with her tiny fists and said, "You cant be gone for so long without telling me, idiot, idiot, idiot~!" Vahn just cradled her body in his embrace for a while and consoled the bereaved goddess for a while before spending a bit of time tending to, and spoiling, her. Everyone except Preasia was currently in the dungeon, so Vahn spent some time cuddling with Hestia on the sofa after finding a room where Preasia wouldnt easily find them. She didnt seem to realize he was home yet, and Vahn felt like it would be somewhat awkward if the three of them were in a room together. Thinking of the timid sheep girl, Vahn began to wonder if he should help her find a bit of direction along the path she had decided upon. He knew Naaza would move into the Hearth Manor in the future, and he was considering having her mentor Preasia since she was interested in medicine... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Network Aze,Tsubakis Changes,Path of Divergence: Future Potential) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 333 - Excursion

Chapter 333 - Excursion

The rest of the evening was uneventful and Vahn just spent it interacting with the girls within his Familia. He worked on some of the designs for equipment in his workshop for around two hours, but then detected the arrival of the dungeon parties and brought his work to an end. They had all been happy to find out that he had actually returned and Vahn spent some time exining things as everyone enjoyed a long meal together. He also promised to go into the dungeon with everyone tomorrow and take them down as far as the 18th floor, just so they could experience Rivira and unlock the shortcuts and make use of the stairs in the future. Though they were mostly all still Level 1, Vahn, Ryuu, and Aki, would easily be able to protect the group from any threats. Most supporters, even though that ventured into the lower floors, were only Leve 1, while just a few remained Supporters after reaching Level 2. The Dungeon typically scaled the difficulty based on party size, with a few exceptions such as Monster Parties, but Vahn had one of the most powerful detection abilities and could easily guarantee their safe passage unless something unexpected happened. Because it would likely take the entire day, everyone was sent to bed earlier than normal since they would be heading out long before the sun rose. Even if they spent an hour on each floor, the deepest the majority of the girls had gone was floor 6, which meant it would take well over twelve hours to reach Rivira at a quick pace. They would then stay within the forests outside of the settlement and Vahn made a promise to go visit the site of the Astrea Familias grave with Ryuu while they were there. On Thursday, the group would head to the 17th floor and Vahn wanted everyone to see his fight against the Goliath while being protected by the Elites of the Loki Familia. It was also a good opportunity to expose them to First ss Adventurers and everyone was looking forward to theing fight. Before he went to sleep, Vahn pampered Hestia a bit since they would be gone for a good 2-3 days depending on how things panned out. She would be house-sitting with Preasia, but apparently intended to go and stay with the girls at the Hostess of Fertility just to make sure nothing happened while the Familia was in the Dungeon. Vahn had intended to have Fafnir protect them, so he was happy she had already thought about a possible solution. This was one of the greatest benefits of thework, since they could easily reach out and support each other after discussing things. Syr had immediately invited Hestia and Preasia to stay with them the moment she discovered that the rest of the Familia was entering the Dungeon. Though he still had plenty of time to prepare, Vahn spent about an hour going over his own equipment, buying a few emergency use items, and then reviewing his Status and skills. His parameters, excluding his magic, hadnt changed too much in thest few months because he hadnt been exposed to any actual threats. Even enemies like Tione and Tammuz didnt cause his parameters to increase, because you were unable to obtain exillia from the recognized sentient species, regardless of if they were good or evil. Still, even though he hadnt fought too often, his parameters were still growing very rapidly with the growth correction of his Innate abilities. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 15 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:3(3) -Power: 1906+(I61)->(H130) -Endurance: 2221+(F222)->(F254) -Dexterity: 1807+(H112)->(H172) -Agility: 1959+(H141)->(G204) -Magic: 3562+(SS1319)->(SS1553) Total:11455+(1855)->(2313) Soul Tier 2 (Hero Soul)->3 (Lord Soul) [Karma]: 4,733->7,907(RIP Vahns peaceful life) [OP]: 128,997 [Valis]: 108,772,631 Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:E], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth: B],[Bow Mastery:A], [Stealth:B], [Chainbreaker:S], [Heart of the Eternal me:SS], [Prometheus:A], [Call of the Reaper:B],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Featherfoot:B], [Hands of Nirvana:S], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:B], [Friend of Spirits:A] Magic: [Thria*Mimos:C], [Shundo:B] Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:A], [Spirit Healing:A], [Swordsman:A], [Master Smith:I], [Mixing:C], [Mentor:C] (A/N: It was asked on the Discord, so let me exin a bit about how skills/magic/DA grow. Skills are typically capped at Rank S, UNLESS they are Innates or abilities that exceed mortal limits. This is why a skill like [Heart of the Eternal me] is Rank SS, because it is literally derived from a goddesss Divinity. Magic is also restricted to a max of Rank S, same as Development Abilities. The big difference is that DA has the chance to evolve once the person hits Rank S and change into a higher tiered ability which resets it to Rank I. Hope that rifies things a bit.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Even though he was only Level 3, Vahn was able to learn Development Abilities through effort andprehending them through practice. With rare exceptions, most people had to choose a Development Ability once they reached Level 2, and they could only choose new ones each rank. Vahn, however, wasnt able to choose any abilities when he leveled up but also wasnt restricted on the number he could have based solely on his level. There was also the fact that the majority of people only had three magic slots, if any, while he didnt have a limit whatsoever. Strangely though, he wasnt actually able to learn most magic and he wondered if it was something about his constitution and intended to figure it out better when he trained with Riveria and Eva in the future. Vahn thought he could get around his inability to learn magic by using grimoires, but when he tried to take a peek at the [Icicle Edge] Grimoire he received from Riveria, he noticed that there wasnt a reaction from the book at all. Though he didnt intend to sneakily use it in lieu of Haruhime, Vahn wasnt able to restrain his own curiosity and had nned to apologize if things didnt go well. Unfortunately, or perhaps, fortunately, his body had absolutely no reaction to the Grimoire and he eventually gave it to Haruhime, who learned the entire thing in less than twenty minutes. She had entered a dazed state before falling asleep for a short while and then suddenly knew the spell, including its chant. Haruhime could now create spears of ice out of thin air andunch them at sub-sonic speeds to impale enemies. With practice, she would be able to mold them fast andunch them at far greater speeds. The best thing about the spell was, it was a super short chant spell that only required the activation key to fire. When she had used it the first time, Haruhime held out her palms and shouted, "Piercing Chill, Icicle Edge~!" before a 1 meter long spear of ice shot at the target. When she used it in conjunction with her [Kokonoe], she was able tounch four at a time and only required a single chant until the extra tails faded away. Vahn always found it a very curious sight when he saw her grow extra tails, and he was very curious about how they were actually attached to her body. After setting aside the matter of his inability to learn grimoires, Vahn did onest check of the items in his inventory before finally retiring to his bed. When he awoke the next morning, it was only 3 AM and he quickly made the rounds to wake everyone up, starting with Ryuu and Aki, even though he could already detect they were awake. They went to wake up everyone else while Vahn headed downstairs and set out breakfast for everyone to eat. He wasnt going to let the twins cook because it would take a good half hour or so to prepare food for everyone. It was his intent to hit the dungeon early so that they could be safely at Rivira before the crystals on the ceiling turned dark. There was no telling what would happen along the way, so it was best to leave early to allow for ample time for the miniature expedition to reach its destination. Once everyone had gotten prepared, and eaten breakfast, the entire group met in therge area of the foyer and Vahn got to inspect the entirebat potential of his Familia for the first time as they prepared to venture into the Dungeon together. Their numbers include himself, as Captain, and Level 3 with thebat potential of an introductory Level 5. Ryuu, the Vice-Captain, a Level 4 easily capable of best most Level 5 if she could extend the fight. Aki, his Lieutenant, a Level 4 who was a very well-bnced fighter and tactician. Mikoto, a High-ss Adventurer at Level 2 who specialized in scouting and gravity magic. Fenrir, technically a High-ss Adventurer at Level 2 who was actually a monster that obtained a soul and the blessing of Hestia. Then there were several Level 1s in the Familia, which included Haruhime, Maemi, and Emiru. Preasia was also Level 1, but she was a Supporter that didnt venture into the dungeon, at least for the time being. Vahn took in the view of everyone with a satisfied smile as he nodded his head and said, "This is great, before I even realized it the Familia had already grown sorge...Im excited to see how everyone will grow from hereafter. Keep your wits about you and make sure to listen to my orders, though you should prioritize Akis and Ryuus unless I overrule them. This is the deepest into the dungeon that youll all have ventured, and there are several monsters that are much stronger than you are at present. Leave it to us unless we expressly give you permission to act. Haruhime, you can use your support magic and [Icicle Edge] when you can, while you two, Emiru and Maemi, will use the crossbows you received. Well try to let you get the final blow on the enemies so you can receive experience and a boost to your exilia. As for you girls, Fenrir, please be on your best behavior and protect the girls from any enemies that slip by Ryuu, Aki, and myself. Mikoto will act as the rear guard and keep an eye out for any enemies that slip beyond my perception if Im focused on other enemies. It isnt likely to be the case, but it is better to be prepared than lower our guards. This is our first adventure as a Familia, and I want to make sure everything goes smoothly...Understood!?" The girls had all been paying close attention to his words and the moment he shouted they all gave a loud, cheerful, affirmation. Vahn nodded in appreciation of their response before leading the way into the freezing cold morning air. Though he could use his domain to keep everyone warm, Vahn wanted them to treat this excursion seriously and experience every small trial in its entirety. This would be an important test to see how well coordinated the entire Familia was in an engagement, and it would also be a test of his ability tomand the group as a whole. Aki had lectured him a fair amount on how tomand troops, but he had no actual experience and usually relied on his ownbat potential to ovee difficult situations. If he wanted them to be strong enough to venture into the deeper floors, they would have to grow ustomed to following his orders and coordinating their efforts to ovee powerful enemies. By the time they appeared on the lower floors, every single monster they faced could exceed Level 3, and there would literally be thousands of them. If their coordination wasnt impable, there was a very high chance casualties would ur, and Vahn found thispletely uneptable. It only took the group around fifteen minutes to reach the entrance to the Dungeon and another thirty to make their way through the first floor and down the stairs to the sixth floor. The moment they crossed over the threshold, Vahn turned to the group and said, "Emiru, Maemi, you take point. Mikoto, Fenrir, youll protect Haruhime while she will support the entire group from the backline. Use your mana sparingly and act like I wont be around to help you replenish your stores if they run out. Ryuu, Aki, and myself, well be watching from the side but wont step in unless an ident urs. Treat this with absolute seriousness and do your best to support each other. Haruhime, since youll be viewing the entire battlefield, itll be up to you to direct the attention of everyone inbat. Trust your judgment and do your best to ensure everyone gets through the next few floors in one piece." The girls all nodded their head and assumed the formation Vahn hadid out for them in his exnation. Fenrir wasnt ustomed to working in a team at all, but she also didnt want to be the only one left out and did her best to pay attention to Haruhimesmands as the group pushed forward into the sixth floor. Haruhimes buffs couldst for up to an hour, and she could increase the Level of up to four targets at once, which was perfect since the total number of allies within the party was also four. Though a 30% parameter increase wasnt that major for Level 1s, it was still a significant boostpared to their normal parameters. They were able to progress rapidly through the sixth floor without any major difficulties and the entire trip to the stairs leading down only took forty minutes. Since Vahn had mentioned she was in charge for the next few floors, Haruhime stopped the group outside the seventh-floor corridor and exined the enemies they would face from now on. This was the floor where Purple Moths, Needle Rabbits, and a few groups of annoying enemies started to spawn. After going over everything, Haruhime asked Vahn for the items he had prepared before their excursion and gave everyone, excluding Fenrir, a potion to prevent the toxins from the moth from affecting them. Fenrir had been down to the 12th floor before, and Vahn learned long ago that she waspletely immune to most status abnormalities, including poisons and toxins. Dressed in matching purple mantles, the group made their way into the 7th floor and fought against the waves of enemies that started to appear. The main reason most parties were restricted to four members was that the Dungeon actually increased the spawn rate of monsters when there were more people gathered together. Since there were eight of them, even though Vahn, Ryuu, and Aki werent fighting, the Dungeon still spawned a corresponding number of monsters for them to face. Fortunately, with the buff magic of Haruhime, Emiru and Maemi were able to coordinate their attacks and easily deal with many of the enemies they faced. Since they didnt have to worry about the poisonous powder of the Purple Moths, they were able to exploit their rtively low agility and defense to quickly dispatch most of the enemies. Anything that got through was taken out by Mikotos swordsmanship and Fenrirs indefensible ws. Fortunately, she didnt like the soft bodies of the Purple Moths and didnt start chowing down on them in the middle of the fight. After an hour, Haruhime noticed Emiru and Maemi had started to slow down a lot so she called out, "Mikoto, Fenrir, please take Emiru and Maemis ce in the vanguard for a while. Emiru, Maemi, fall back and try to replenish your stamina. Go ahead and use potions if you need them and well take a longer break once we get through this floor~!" Mikoto quickly affirmed Haruhimes orders and moved ahead of the twins to cut down a War Shadow that was trying to exploit their slowing bodies. Fenrir followed close behind and rapidly overtook Mikoto as the twins fell into the middle distance. Now that she had permission to attack, Fenrir cut loose and rapidly started dispatching the enemies far faster than the twins, or even Mikoto, could manage. Since she was immune to poison, Fenrirpletely ignored the powder in the air and rapidly jumped around and sliced through the enemies with her terrifying ws while biting into the bodies of some of the Needle Rabbits that tried to sneak attack her. As expected, the rest of the girls were a little surprised by Fenrirs fighting style so Vahn stepped forward next to Haruhime and said in a low voice, "You need to reign her in before things get out of hand. Remember, Fenrir is an evolved monster, so she will give in to her instincts if you let her get out of control..." Haruhime startled at Vahns words and remembered that Fenrir wasnt actually a Beast-Human, contrary to what her cute appearance would suggest. After they made their vow of non-disclosure, every girl was informed about the true identity of Fenrir and cautioned about some of her characteristics. However, though it was easy to understand in principle, it was very strange to see a monster in human form and things didnt truly click until they saw how she fought enemies. Haruhime understood why Vahn always let Fenrir go into the dungeon with Ryuu, instead of allowing her to apany the rest of the Familia. Haruhime paused for a moment before a resolute glint passed over her eyes and she shouted, "Fenrir, fall back and support Mikoto. Dont extend too far or youll expose yourself to attacks from the sides. Work together or well never be able to go with Vahn into the deeper floors~!" Though she had started to lose her senses while killing the monsters, Fenrirs ears twitched at Haruhimes words and she briefly looked back at the group and noticed she had run out quite a bit. She panicked for a moment before running over to the group and shouting, "Aaaah, Fenrir is a good girl! Fenrir will listen to Harume, so dont leave Fenrir behind anymore!" Without any propriety, Fenrir ran over before stopping in front of Haruhime with upturned eyes and an upset expression on her face. Haruhime smiled before petting the wolf girls head as she called out to the rest of the group, "Pay attention to the enemies, Fenrir will rejoin the fight soon~!" After sending out her order, Haruhime bent down a bit and used her red kimono to wipe away some of the blood on Fenrirs face and said in an encouraging voice, "Id like to be able to go with Fenrir into the deeper floors in the future as well. Make sure you pay attention and work together from now on...it would be sad if any of our friends got hurt because we werent paying attention. Doesnt Vahn always protect you when you make mistakes?" Fenrir tilted her head and looked over at Vahn and saw a small smile on his face before she nodded her head and said, "Vahn protects Fenrir and helps her grow stronger." Haruhime nodded her head and pet therge ears of Fenrir and said, "Just like Vahn protects us, we need to protect each other so he doesnt have to be sad. I want to make Vahn happy, so lets work together from now on, okay~?" Fenrirs eyes opened wide and she flexed her tiny ws for a bit before saying, "Fenrir will do it! Fenrir will make Vahn the happiest!" Her words finished, Fenrir broke away from Haruhime and ran over to take up her spot a few meters away from Mikoto. She waited for the enemies to approach her instantaneous attack range before dealing with them quickly and falling back to an appropriate distance without extending forward too far. Vahn nodded his head and stroked his chin as Aki said from the side, "Haruhime has good insight, shell make a capable team leader one day. It helps, especially considering she has powerful support magic as well. It was the correct choice to put her in charge, even though Mikoto is the most experience of the group." Vahn nodded his head and turned to the side to face Aki and said, "Mikoto is too inflexible, so there is a good chance she would hesitate to make difficult decisions. Haruhime has a strong drive to improve, and she is very considerate of others. She will be a core member of the Familia in the future, so I want her to have experiencemanding the party as early as possible..." Aki nodded her head and said, "From now on, Ill lecture her a bit on how tomand a group and have her lead the party whenever we venture together from now on." Vahn nodded his head and said, "Thanks, Aki, I can always rely on you." From his left, Vahn heard an almost indistinguishable snort and looked over to see Ryuus expressionless face as she watched the girls fight. When he turned to her, she matched Vahns gaze and said, "Ill make sure she learns [Concurrent Chanting] and how to cast magic while on the move...I might not be able to teach herplex magic like Riveria, but Ive never met anyone more proficient in [Concurrent Chanting] than I am." Vahn raised his brows slightly because it was very rare for Ryuu to say something so bold. He realized that she might feel a little jealous of hispliments to Aki, so he showed a gratified smile and said, "Thanks, Ryuu, as expected of my capable Vice-Captain..." Hearing Vahns words, Ryuu showed an incredibly small smile and nodded without responding to his words. Vahns expression didnt change much, but he startedughing inside his mind as he turned his attention back to the ongoing fight. If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 334 - With Some Flair

Chapter 334 - With Some ir

The Familia progressed through the seventh floor before eventually arriving the rtive safety of the corridor and stairs leading down to the eighth floor. As she initially stated, Haruhime had the group rest and recuperate for a bit before progressing further. It had taken them nearly an hour and a half to reach this point after leaving the sixth floor, and it was a sign that their progress was beginning to stall. Though they had put in a lot of effort, it was a simple fact that Haruhime, Emiru, and Maemi, were new Adventurers and not that far into their parameter development. Haruhime could cast her [Uchide no Kozuchi] around eight times, and the casts onlysted for an hour or so before wearing off. Since she only recouped around 30 mana an hour, it was impossible for her to sustain using the magic, especially if she wanted to support the group with her [Icicle Edge]. She had been making up for herck of mana by using potions, but it was only dying the inevitable. Unless for when Mikoto and Fenrir took point, the groups progress had slowed a fair amount. Since Mikoto and Fenrir were both Level 2, and rtively capable ones, they werent having much trouble yet, but there were simply too many enemies for them to fend off with the two of them. If not for Fenrirs [Freezing Roar], things would have gotten out of hand with how quickly the enemies spawnedpared to how fast they were dealt with. They had discussed it previously, but it was the general consensus that the tenth floor would be where the party fell apart. Mikoto and Fenrir would be able to manage, to an extent, but it would get to the point where Maemi and Emiru wouldnt be able to fight enemies without potentially suffering grievous wounds. They would have to take up their crossbows and support from the backline with Haruhime while Fenrir and Mikoto fended off the approaching waves on their own. By the time they got to the eleventh floor, where the agile Silverbacks lived, it would be next to impossible for them to fight if there were more than a few enemies. At that point, the only one able to fight would probably be Fenrir, as she had experience going down to the twelfth floor and didnt seem to be affected by the fog that would be present. After resting for a half hour, the group pressed on and Vahn noticed that Emiru and Maemi had already switched to their crossbows and Haruhime had activated her bracelets. It wasnt a bad idea, since she could slowly replenish her mana reserves while relying on the bracelets and the twins would be able to conserve their stamina. Fortunately, the most prominent monsters on the 8th and 9th floor were Goblins and Kobolds, so the group was able to make rtively quick progress through the levels. Though the enemies were faster, stronger, and greater in numbers, it didnt change their attack patterns much and the girls were all ustomed to fighting them. Fenrir was a nightmare for such monsters as her agility and reflexes were high enough that she could easily bully them from close proximity unless they had weapons. It took slightly under two hours to progress through the floors so Vahn suspected that their confidence yed a heavy role in how fast they dealt with enemies. When there were newer monsters, the girls showed a lot of caution and it slowed the progress of the entire party down. Since the Goblins and Kobolds of the 8th and 9th floor were stronger than the enemies of the 7th floor, they should have progressed even slower. Instead, the party moved along confidently and dispatched a number of enemies with rtive ease simply using their teamwork to carve a path of destruction through the two floors. When the party progressed to the outside of the 10th floor, Vahn listened from the side as the group discussed the various dangers ahead. Even Fenrir, who had actual experience on the floor, pitched in with her own views on the monsters. She described, in vague detail, that the Orcs were slow and powerful while the Imps were fast while also being weak and sneaky. The most problematic things were the loud and smelly Bad Bats that would be attacking them from the air. Without excellent marksmanship, it would be difficult to deal with them and they were one of Fenrirs hated nemesis. The only way she could deal with them was to use [Freezing Roar] to paralyze them out of the sky, but there was a major downside to the skill that it required arge amount of mana. Fortunately, Fenrirs mana recovered quickly, especially if she was eating the monsters and magic cores along the way. After the group progressed into the misty 10th floor, their pace was much slower than normal as everyone was paying attention to their surroundings. Visibility was terrible and it was even worse for the various Adventurers proceeded into the dungeon as it didnt seem to have a great influence on the monsters within the mist. A few minutes after progressing into the floor, there were various red lights shining through the misting from shadowy silhouettes nearly three meters tall. Some of the monsters, which were easily identifiable as Orcs, were even carrying trees that they had uprooted from the floor of the Dungeon with their monstrous strength. Emiru and Maemi immediately opened fire on the Orcs before they could close the distance, but their skills with a crossbow left a lot to be desired. Most of the prative bolts hit the rtivelyrge bodies of the Orcs, but they were just superficial wounds since you needed to destroy the core a few inches below their neck to actually kill them. Even when a stray bolt mmed into the forehead of an Orc, it kept shambling forward after making a pained roar but was otherwise unaffected by the projectile. Hitting them in the head wasnt a bad idea, but you had to destroy the entire brain if you wanted to turn them into dust using that method. Orcs had incredible vitality and very powerful regeneration to make up for the ws in their unbnced parameters. Seeing that the twins attacks were ineffective, Haruhime began to chant her magic while Fenrir and Mikoto stepped forward to deal with some of the Orcs that had closed in on the group. Unable to effectively use the crossbows on this floor, Emiru and Maemi switched back to their heavy daggers and teamed up to try and take out one of the orcs using their coordinated attacks. Because Orcs were incredibly slow, they were able to outmaneuver therge monster and exploit the huge gaps in its attacks to wound the regenerative flesh of the pig-like monster. Maemi eventuallynded a grazing blow on the magic core and turned the Orc into dust particles before releasing a satisfiedugh and retreating alongside Emiru to protect Haruhime. Since she hadnt learned [Concurrent Chanting] yet, Haruhime was defenseless when using her chants and needed to be protected from sneak attacks. It was fortunate that the twins fell back when they did, because Ryuu was preparing to eliminate the two Imps that had been sneaking up from behind if things continued as they were. As they approached, the twins immediately spotted the Imps and closed the gap to try and eliminate them before things spiraled out of control. Unlike the Orcs, however, the Imps were very agile and even used daggers of their own. If they were coordinated, they might have been able to beat the twins in fairbat, but fortunately, they werent very smart, even though they were sneaky enough to ambush prey. Emiru managed to cut the throat of the Imp she was fighting before moving over and supporting Maemi just as Haruhimes chantpleted. An additional three fluffy tails sprouted from her bottom in a magical light before wispy mes appeared on their tips briefly. The moment the wisps vanished, a total of four, meter long, icicles appeared out of thin air inplete defiance of gravity as Haruhime shouted, "Prative Chill, Icicle Edge~!" Her targets had been four of the Orcs harassing the group and the spears flew forward at fast speeds before prating the chests of their targets. The Orcs immediately turned to dust and Haruhime began chanting her magic anew while Emiru and Maemi protected her. Though it was slow, trudging, progress, the group eventually cleared the 10th floor after more than two hours of intermittentbat. The biggest issue to deal with had been the Bad Bats, but Fenrirs roar was enough to give the party an edge. There was a sticky situation where arge number of Orcs appeared out of the ground, in something simr to a Monster Party, but Mikoto had reacted quickly and used her [Futsunomitama], the gravity magic that affects an area, to crush therge majority of the group. She didnt have enough mana to support using the skill a second time, but it was a very devastating magic, at least on rtively weak monsters. Vahn felt like she was actually more suitable as a mage if she could use attacks like that, but had no intention of forcing her into a role when she obviously preferred swordsmanship. Not to mention, using magic wasnt always reliable as the mana cost and chant of powerful spells could take up to a minute, or longer, depending on the situation. Since it was no longer their turn to take point, Vahn stepped in and helped the girls recover their stamina and mana as they rested. Almost immediately after he offered to help, the atmosphere underwent a shift as the girls, excluding Mikoto, all wanted to receive Vahns attention first. Vahn gave them a wry smile before putting out arge basin for Fenrir and helped the wolf girl wash her body while also restoring her energy. Fenrir was happy to be the first person tended to by Vahn and actually teased the girls by making a strangeugh that sounded somewhat raspy. After she was clean, the water became murky from all the blood that had soaked her fur so Vahn poured it off in a side room away from the party. The other girls wanted to take baths as well, but Vahn told them to wait until they reached Rivira as he began healing all their small wounds while helping to replenish their stamina and mana. After patting Haruhime and the twins for a bit, Vahn moved over to the quiet Mikoto he gave him a in stare for a while before turning around. Vahn reached out his palm and ced it on her back as he helped recover her mana as well. Her magic consumed the majority of her mana, so she was actually struggling to stand and had been putting on a strong front for a while. Vahn didnt say anything and just silently helped her recover before removing his palm from her back. She nodded curtly and said in a polite tone, "Thank you, Captain." Vahnughed dismissively and said, "This is my duty, dont make a big deal out of it Mikoto. Im happy to help when I can." Mikoto nodded again with a polite smile before sitting with the rest of the group and eating the light lunch that had been set out. The group rested for about a half hour before Vahn led the way into the 11th floor proper while Ryuu and Aki protected the group. When there were smaller bundles of enemies, they would be leading the party in assaulting the enemies for experience. Mikoto and Fenrir were capable of fighting on these floors, as long as there werent too many enemies, and even the twins would be able to manage if they fought well. Haruhime was an exception since, if she used her magic properly, she could kill monster much stronger than her actual Level. This was one of the reasons mages typically became stronger early on while physical fighters took a while to catch up in Level until eventually exceeding them simply based on efficacy. As long as she hit the target with her magic, unless it had a resistance, Haruhime would be able to kill almost any monster on the current floors. Of course, they would only act if there were small groups of enemies. With their party size, the spawn rate of monsters was quite high and it would be necessary for Vahn, Ryuu, and Aki to take point for the majority of the floors. Vahn himself was getting hyped up, because he didnt often have an audience for his fights. He never realized it before, but showing off in front of the girls made him feel a little prideful and he wanted to do his best to act cool for them. Though he usually fought with his Bih form, Vahn was currently in his Xunw form because he wanted to limate himself to its use. He nned to fight the Goliath in his Xunw form so he needed to familiarize himself with it before the battle tomorrow. It also had the added effect...a four-meter-tall Silverback jumped down and mmed its fist at Vahn from overhead. Instead of dodging, Vahn held up his palm as a green light shone for a moment before the entire upper body of the Silverback exploded before it turned to dust. Every time he easily dealt with an enemy, there would be a cheerful sound from his back as the girls egged him on and paid him heavypliments. Vahn had a perpetual smile on his face as he used Shundo to appear under a Silverback before striking its abdomen with a heavy blow that caused a shockwave to pass through its body before it was sent flying back several meters. Vahn had never used his Xunw form in the dungeon after learning Shundo, so he was ecstatic to be able to circ.u.mvent the agility reduction that was imposed on his body. His Power and Endurance had been enhanced by a great deal, and his maniption of shockwaves made it nearly impossible for monsters that relied on physical attacks to harm him. Vahn felt somewhat tyrannical as he quickly dispatched dozens of monsters while Haruhime, Emiru, Maemi, and Fenrir cheered him on from behind. Because of his excitement, Vahn led the way through the 11th floor in a half hour and it would have been even faster if he hadnt let the girls fight a few Hard Armored to gain some experience. As they were rtively slow monsters, it wasnt too hard for the girls to take out the heavily armored monsters. Fenrir herself was their natural enemy, since her ws and teeth cut through the supposedly resilient armor as if it didnt exist at all. The only downside was, all of herbat techniques ensured that she was covered in monster fluids and gore. Vahn even suspected that she was actually making an effort to get dirty so that he would give her another bathter. Given her rather spoiled nature, there was a very high probability that this was the actual case... When they got to the twelfth floor, it was much the same as Vahn was more-or-less unstoppable with his ability to change between his Xunw and Bih forms freely now. There wasnt a single monster that escaped his awareness within a 450m radius, and his use of Shundo allowed him to almost teleport within the space of his own domain. He was moving around at such speeds that Ryuu and Aki couldnt help but feel shocked at the spectacle. They could still follow his movements a bit, especially Ryuu, but they realized that Vahn was a nightmare opponent for most people. Unless they were much stronger than he was, Vahn would be able to outmaneuver most enemies and, if things got bad, he would most certainly be able to escape without anyone being able to stop him. The other girls didnt really have a strong understanding of how abnormal Vahn was, so they just cheered on happily even after Aki reprimanded them for dropping their guard. Unfortunately, her words didnt have a permanent effect as the girls would cry out again the moment Vahn did something cool. She also felt a bit awed by his figure as he engaged enemies, so there wasnt much she could say to make the girls calm down. Given Vahns actions, both Aki and Ryuu were very aware that he was putting on a show for the other girls. There was an extra ir to his attacks and he almost always made sure the final blows were slow enough that even the Level 1s in the group could follow his actions. If it were the normal Vahn, he could defeat the enemies efficiently before moving on to the next group without batting an eye. By the time they reached the stairs leading to the 13th floor, Vahn waspletely free of any bits of blood and gore and proceeded forward with a confident smile on his face. He could see the sparkles in the girls eyes and it made him feel aplished, even when he saw the wry and admonishing looks from Aki and Ryuu. He sent the girls a yful wink before addressing the party, "From here on, well be taking a few shortcuts just to expedite matters a bit. There will be holes that appear on the floor, and Ill be carrying everyone down one at a time. Ryuu will guard the lower floor while Aki will protect everyone on the upper levels until I make my way back up. This will save us a lot of time because we can unlock the floors for everyone and backtrack at our leisure." True to his words, not long after they entered the 13th floor, Vahn found a hole leading down and grabbed Haruhime in a princess carry before jumping down the hole with Ryuu. He was using his Xunw form to invalidate the shockwave from the fall while Ryuu was strong enough tond on the lower floors without any major difficulty at all. When theynded, Ryuu immediately moved to start killing off monsters while Vahn supported her with his bow while protecting Haruhime. It only took a minute or so to clear the room before Vahn turned into his Bih form and scaled the hole leading to the upper floors. He then jumped down with each girl in sequence, including Aki who wanted to tease him a bit for acting cool. She hadnt jumped down with him when he carried down Mikoto, so Vahn eventually climbed up after waiting for a few minutes before jumping down with her in his arms. The words she had used to convince him were, "I dont want to hurt the baby..." as she ced her hands on her stomach and gave Vahn a pitiful look. (A/N: Capable Level 1s,Vahns ego intes a bit,Aki is sneaky deaky, kappa.) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 335 - Imprinting

Chapter 335 - Imprinting

Due to exploiting the holes leading downwards, it only took the group around twenty minutes to make their way to the 17th floor. On this floor, the number of monsters spawned was far fewer than the preceding floors, but they were individually quite strong. There were Lygerfangs, giant tiger-like monsters, as well as a few Minotaurs and a few smaller monsters like Hellhounds and Almiraj, rabbit-like creatures that often used small daggers and spears. They typically exploited the low-light of the cavernous structure of the 17th floor, but they werent able to get the drop on the group with Vahn present. After progressing through the floor for around half an hour, the group came across a pair of Minotaurs and Vahn decided to give the weaker members of the Familia a chance to fight. Even though the Minotaurs were strong enough to pose a threat to even Fenrir and Mikoto, Vahn believed they would be fine if they worked together. Fenrir charged at the closest Minotaur and tried to attack its legs with her ws while Mikoto followed closely behind to cover her in the event anything went wrong. The twins began to pelt the pair of Minotaurs with bolts while Haruhime watched from the backline and was prepared to use her short-chant magic to help out if necessary. As expected, Fenrirs attacks easily broke through the thick hide of the Minotaurs and left hugecerations on its body. However, the Minotaur didnt falter from the attack and managed to react fast enough to m its fist into Fenrirs side and send her flying several meters through the air before shended on her feet with fiercely glowing eyes. Mikoto had exploited the gap in the Minotaurs defenses from attacking Fenrir and stabbed it directly in its magic core with her katana. Though he originally intended to let the girls fight together, Vahn called out, "Everyone back away, let Fenrir fight alone!" Vahn could tell that Fenrir was triggered, so he needed to let her vent out a bit or it would be troublesometer. She was actually quite vengeful by nature and wasnt the type that would easily ept someones help when she was angry. Since she was Level 2, a Minotaur wasnt an opponent she couldnt match on her own and Vahn was standing by if she needed help. Fenrirs hair started to rise with her anger as she leaned low and prepared to destroy the remaining Minotaur. As if it could sense the danger, the Minotaur actually back stepped a bit and looked like it might try to run away. However, it wasnt long before it let out a loud bellow and charged at Fenrir as if to try and crush her with its powerful fists. It was actually faster than she was, in a linear charge, but Fenrir was far more agile than the Minotaur and managed to dive to the side before kicking back with her leg and leaving cuts with her feet-like paws at the back of the Minotaurs leg. Seemingly unaffected, it tried to twist its body and m its fist down onto Fenrir and left spider-web cracks on the ground as she evaded yet again. Exploiting the moment when it had leaned forward to attack, Fenrir jumped at the head of the Minotaur and grabbed both of its horns as she stabilized herself on its body. The Minotaur tried to reach up and grab her, but Fenrirs eyes glowed scarlet as she opened her mouth far wider than normal and bit down with terrifying sharp teeth. As if there was no resistance at all, Fenrir bit off the entire top of the Minotaurs skull before it turned into dust and dissipated in the air. Unappeased, she picked up the magic core and crushed it with her powerful jaws before absorbing the Minotaurs essence into her body. She turned back to the group and still had scarlet eyes with a slightly crazed expression on her face. Vahn squinted his eyes before using Shundo to approach Fenrir to prevent her from getting near any of the other girls in her current state. He ced his hand on her head and used [Hands of Nirvana] to calm her mind as he said, "You did very well, Fenrir, Im proud of you..." As shemonly did, Fenrir reached up and ced her paws around Vahns forearm, but he noticed her ws werent retracting much and it was very obvious she was restraining herself. She muttered in a somewhat cold sounding voice, "Master...Fenrir hungry..." Vahn nodded his head before looking back and saying, "Ryuu, Aki, take the girls the rest of the way, Ill catch up in a bit." Vahn threw over the [Rallying Whistle] and [Divine Hearth] for emergency use before leading Fenrir along as she chewed away on the link of [Enkidu] trailing from his palm. After they left, Haruhime muttered in a quiet, sad sounding, voice, "Poor Fenrir...it must be very difficult for her when she cant control her urges..." Ryuu, who often took care of Fenrir, nodded her head and stated inly for the rest of the girls who were a little unnerved, "She tries very hard to fit in with everyone, so make sure you treat her well to make things easier for her. Compared to her original self, she has made great progress and it shouldnt be impossible for her to learn to control herself even better in the future. Just remember, she doesnt have a lot of experience interacting with people so she needs everyones guidance from now on. Her potential is incredibly high, and she will be a core member of the expedition parties in the future, so make sure to get along well..." Though they were a little worried at first, Maemi and Emiru nodded together and said, "Yes, well take care of Fenrir from now on when were at the Manor." Ryuu nodded her head with a kind smile before saying, "We need to hurry...without Vahns detection ability there is no telling what might happen if we stall for too long. Aki, you protect the rear...Ill take point and Mikoto will protect the center of the party and use her detection magic to scout for enemies. Try not to draw too much attention to yourselves with the crossbows...and Haruhime, dont be shy about using your mana potions and essories. There isnt a great distance between here and the 18th floor, and well have plenty of time to replenish our reserves when we arrive." After organizing themselves a bit, the group set out at a moderate pace while remaining alert. Fortunately, the number of enemies on the 17th floor wasnt that great and they had four people within the party of six that could see in the dark, had powerful hearing, and a well-developed sense of smell. Most monsters were rather pungent and werent great at stealth so it wasnt that difficult to push forward if they were careful. Ryuu was able to kill most monsters in a single hit at this Level, so the groups progress wasnt stalled much until the arrived at the Wall of Grief an hourter. Ryuu could tell that the shadow within the wall would appear in the next day or so, which coincided with their intentions of venturing into the dungeon in the first ce. She then led the group to the corridor connecting to the 18th floor to wait for Vahn and Fenrir to catch up. Vahn had led Fenrir far away from the group and used his domain and minimap to maprge areas of the 17th floor to look for monsters. He noticed that Fenrir had calmed down a bit when it was just the two of them, but she was still very frustrated and needed to vent against monsters so Vahn found small groups for her to fight. Fenrir saw the group of five Hellhounds in the distance and dropped [Enkidu] from her mouth before charging toward the group. Hellhounds could breathe fire and were quite quick, but their defenses were abysmal, not that it mattered since Fenrirs ws could cut through adamantine easily. Vahn supported from behind and briefly stunned any of the monsters that tried to attack Fenrirs nks while she jumped around and literally tore them apart. They werent muchrger thanrge dogs so Fenrirs ws could easily cut several centimeters deep into their flesh, which was enough to cut through bones and muscles. They also werent able to change directions easily, so Fenrir could exploit their non-existent defense easily. She had grown a lot in thest two months and could even fight well when she had lost her senses and entered a blood rage. Her instincts, sense, and reflexes, were all abnormally high and it made her more than a match for most monsters. The only major threat to Fenrir were agile monsters with high offensive power and those that used magic and could fly. Though he had stunned it, one Hellhound managed to break through and try to bite at Fenrirs side, but she turned around and grabbed at its mouth with her paws. The Hellhound bit down on the somewhat fleshy appendage and bit deeply into her paws, but Fenrir closed her ws and squeezed its face until it dissipated into smoke. Vahn could see the wounds left by the Hellhound slowly closing as shepletely ignored the damage and continued to fight. Not only did she have powerful regeneration, especially when she was eating things. After the fight ended, she had spared a single Hellhound after cutting through its spine early in the fight. She picked up its body and began to devour the entire thing, fur, bones, and all. Vahn approached while she was eating and waited for her to finish before giving her the link of [Enkidu] in his hand. She reached out in a casual manner and grabbed it in her paws as she started chewing away at the indestructible chain. Vahn noticed that, even though she had suffered a few wounds, Fenrir was still calming down faster than normal. He had long known that she was the least stressed when it was just the two of them because she still struggled to truly open herself up to others after suffering Evas mistreatment in the past. Vahn felt like she only rationalized getting along with the others because they treated her well based on his orders, not their own volition. The only exception to this was Mn, Tina, and Preasia. After killing a few smaller groups of monsters, they came across a group of four Minotaurs and Fenrir said in a low tone, "Fenrir kill ugly cow monsters...then we go. Fenrir doesnt want to leave the others waiting." Vahn smiled and stroked the little wolf girls head and said in an encouraging tone, "That is very mature of you Fenrir. You really are a good girl." She nodded her head as if it were an undeniable truth and said, "Fenrir is a good girl so Vahn has to treat Fenrir well. Fenrir doesnt like being icky, so Vahn has to wash Fenrir properly." As if to emphasize her distaste, Fenrir tried to dislodge some of the blood from her fur before making a disgusted face. Vahnughed because he knew that, though she was pretending, there was some truth to her im as well. She had grown ustomed to wearing cute clothing and liked being clean since it made people pamper her more. Vahn gave her an encouraging pat on the back to urge her forward after saying, "Sure, but youll have to take a proper bath with the girlster. Its better if everyone gets along since well all be together for a very long time." Fenrir nodded as a strange smile appeared on her face and she said, "Yes, but Fenrir will be with Vahn forever and ever..." Her words finished, she charged at the group of Minotaurs that had been unaware of their presence due to Vahns concealment ability preventing sound from reaching them. Since four Minotaurs were a bit much for her, Vahn used his bow and shot a few arrows into the joints of the monsters without killing them or fully disabling them. Fenrir exploited the gaps in their movements and learned that it was much easier to kill the Minotaurs if she attacked them from behind. She could dig into their back with her indefensible ws before yanking out the magic core as the Minotaur struggled to try and reach her. She had a rtively small frame, and the Minotaurs werent very flexible, so she could easily exploit this fact to take them down unless they attacked each other. Monsters werent very smart, and they acted with strange restrictions in ce that usually prevented them from using attacks and magic that affected their allies. If Fenrir was on another Minotaur, the others couldnt easily attack her and just tried to pull her away but were unable to do so because whoever she was attacking usually iled about due to the pain they were experiencing. Vahn thought the sight was somewhat humorous because it felt like Fenrir was bullying them quite harshly. When there was only one Minotaur remaining, Fenrir got in a reminiscent pose simr to when she first entered the dungeon long ago. She held up both of her paws, ws extended, in something simr to a sumo pose as she faced down the Minotaurpletely undaunted by its massive size and incredible power. The Minotaur released a loud roar like it was trying to intimidate her, but Fenrir countered with her own [Freezing Roar] and temporarily stunned therge monster. Since it was obviously afraid of her, it wasnt able to resist the paralyzing effect of the skill. It stalled for several seconds and began to froth from its bull-like mouth before the light eventually faded from its eyes and it fell to the ground. Fenrir took a heroic pose simr to what Vahn had done when he was showing off earlier. She puffed out her nearly non-existent b.r.e.a.s.ts proudly and tilted her head up a bit as she looked down on the unconscious Minotaur with a disapproving re in her eyes. She sent short nces toward Vahn with her scarlet eyes and he realized what she wanted to he pped his hands as if he were impressed and said, "Wow, very powerful, very domineering~!" Hearing his words, Fenrir pat her chest with a thump and made the closest thing to augh she could manage, "Ehkekekeku, Leave it to Fenrir~!" She stepped forward and reached her hand through the Minotaurs chest and pulled out its magic core before trotting over and delivering it to Vahn with a smile on her face. Vahn praised her a bit more before leading the way towards the rest of the group that had been waiting for them. He had been slowing tracing a path towards the Wall of Grief while Fenrir was on her tirade, so there wasnt that great a distance to traverse before they arrived. Vahn had even suspected that Fenrir picked up their scent earlier, and that was likely why she had brought up regrouping with them. She still remembered Haruhimes scent that he had her memorize in the past, so it was very easy for her to track down the fluffy Renard girl even if they were separated by several kilometers. When they reunited with the group, Fenrir walked forward proudly and proimed, "Fenrir killed lots and lots~!" As if she werent affected by the bits of blood and gore covering Fenrirs body, Haruhime extended out her hand and affectionately stroked Fenrirs head andmented, "Fenrir is as strong as she is cute~!" Fenrir nodded her head before casually walking away from Haruhimes petting and walked over to get spoiled by Ryuu. Vahn c.o.c.ked his head at the strange disy because Fenrir always acted differently towards Haruhimepared to all the other girls. Though she wasnt very eloquent in her speech, she didnt really struggle to say any words. Yet, even though they had been around each other often, Fenrir still called Haruhime as Harume and usually didnt let herself be spoiled by the young Renard unless Vahn let them brush each other for a while. As if she had read his mind, Haruhimeughed before whispering, "She doesnt like me because my tail is fluffier than hers is...fufufufu~." Vahns eyes widened at the im and he noticed Fenrirs ears had twitched as well. Even though she had spoken quietly, Fenrirs ears were very sensitive and she gave Haruhime a sidelong re with slightly glowing eyes as she muttered, "Smelly Harume..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Racial Traits OP,Fenrirs Mini-Massacre,Smelly Harume...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 336 - Detour

Chapter 336 - Detour

After reuniting with the main group, everyone headed towards the stairs leading down to Rivira, the settlement in the safe zone of the 18th floor. Everyone wore cloaks that covered their body and obscured their heads since Vahn was rather famous, and not in a great way. There was a high chance they would be denied ess to the settlement, so Vahn had made the decision for everyone to camp in the nearby forests. The group followed behind Ryuu, since she knew a clearing near the site of the burial grounds of the Astrea Familia. Along the way, Fenrir c.o.c.ked her head and said, "Fenrir smells lots of smelly girls." Hearing her words, Vahn looked in the direction she was facing and couldnt sense anything so he asked, "Who is it that you smell?" He had some expectation and his intuition was confirmed when Fenrir waved her arms and said, "Fenrir smells the girls that were with Vahn. They smell like the stinky Loki." Other than Haruhime, Loki was another one of the girls that Fenrir disliked, and Vahn felt like it was almost her instinct to act that way around her. She is very sensitive to peoples thoughts and feelings, so someone with a chaotic aura like Loki would naturally stress her out just by being around. It didnt help that Loki was constantly trying to get closer to her and had even tried to brush her in a casual manner without permission. Vahn turned to Ryuu and said, "Take everyone along and set up camp. Im not sure when Ill be back, so go ahead and wash up before preparing for dinner. Ill make sure to be back before nightfall..." Ryuu nodded her head and said, "Ill protect everyone." Vahn smiled and saw them off before heading over to the likely location of the Loki Familia encampment. He didnt think they were on an expedition so they were probably camping in a small group located within one of the various forests. The Inn prices within the actual settlement were exorbitant, and the furnishings werent that great, so most people avoided staying there. The Loki Familia had a small lodge in the inner circle of the tree, but they probably didnt let normal Familia members stay there and chose to camp outside. There was also a very real possibility they were camping to avoid wandering eyes since they were nning to meet up with himter. After a few minutes of travel, Vahn was able to detect several presences within the area of his domain, so he picked up Fenrir and used Shundo to close the remaining distance. When they arrived in the small clearing, there were a few small tents that had been set up with a total of eight presences within his detection range. Four of them were off in the forest, and Vahn saw the tell-tale signs of a small stream and assumed it was likely Tiona, Ais, Lefiya, and Tione bathing. He was tempted to re-experience a moment from his past but decided it wouldnt be worth the trouble of dealing with the potential joint attack of the Amazon twins. Instead, he made his way to the slightlyrger tent where there were three people staying but was intercepted when the final aura, which belonged to Bete, stepped outside of his personal tent. Vahn realized he had made a bit of a mistake and, before Bete could say something that would cause problems, he grabbed Fenrir and used Shundo to dash away. Bete looked toward the direction he had fled and shouted, "What kind of pansy shit is that!? The f.u.c.k did you bother showing up for when youre going to run away like a little bitch!?" Unfortunately for him, Vahn had long retreated into the distance to avoid his snide and condescending act. Even if he understood Bete was just acting out, there was no way Fenrir would have been able to ept hearing someone speak so rudely to him. He just spent the better part of an hour-and-a-half calming her down, and he didnt want her to get incited by the irrational behavior of Bete. Fenrir was always happy to be carried by Vahn, so she didnt have anyints as shezed about in his arms while tucking in her hands and feet so that she didnt identally scratch him. Vahn set her down after opening up more than three kilometers distance from the Loki Encampment and told Fenrir, "I want you to go to where Tiona, Ais, Lefiya, and Tione are, okay? Tell me I want them to help you clean up, and I promise Ill wash you againter before bed. I have to go and talk to a few people, and theyll bring you back to me after your bath." Fenrir looked like she was going to pout for a moment before eventually nodding her head and saying, "Fenrir will go. Fenrir is a good girl." After patting her chest confidently, she ran off in the direction of the bathing girls and would hopefully avoid any trouble along the way. After confirming that she joined up with the others, Vahn returned to the Loki Encampment where Bete wasining to Finn, Gareth, and Riveria about how Vahn had run away. They all noticed his arrival before Bete tried to say something but was shut down by Gareth as Finn walked over and said, "Greetings, Vahn, its good to see you again." Vahn nodded his head and epted Finns handshake as he exined, "I was traveling with Fenrir, and I didnt want her to go berserk listening to Bete. She is with the other girls right now, so Ill probably leave when she gets back to avoid trouble." Finnughedcently before saying, "Sorry about that, I hope Bete hasnt caused you any trouble." Hearing Finns words, Bete shouted out, "He is the oneing into our camp without warning before running off! I didnt do jack shit, so why am I being med!?" Since Bete had never met Fenrir before, he didnt know anything about her. Finn had also never met her, but he had probably been filled in by Loki while Riveria, who was somewhat interested in Fenrir from their prior meetings, looked toward Bete and said inly, "Its your brash and thoughtless nature that is the problem. If you had met that girl, you probably would have said something to upset her. Vahn did the right thing by avoiding the confrontation, so youd do well to remember that you were irrefutably the cause of the current situation." Bete looked like he wanted to say something, but Gareth smacked him on the back and said, "Just drop it Bete, lets go have a drink. Ive got a new brew that I think youll be fond of..." Gareth looked over to Vahn and made the motion of drinking alcohol with his hand before saying, "You cane along if you want. There is a bit of time till the littledies return, Grahahahaha~!" Vahn nodded politely and said, "Sure, Id like to spend more time hanging out with a few guys...I feel like my life is a little oversaturated with womentely." Gareth beganughing heartily while Finn showed an awkward smile since he knew he had probably added to Vahns problems to an extent. Bete seemed to be triggered by Vahns words but was pulled along by Gareth who said, "Dont get yer britches in a bunch, dont you have girl troubles of your own these days?" Vahn raised his brows and saw the somewhat blushing, yet pissed off, face of Bete as he said, "Mind your own business you old coot! F.u.c.k, whose goddamn idea was it to let a bunch of p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es join our Familia...that little shit is so weak..." Gareth gave Bete a stern look and said, "It is the duty of a strong man to protect the women around him, just do your job and there wont be any issues. Besides, if youve any realins you dont have to sleep with thess, do ya?" Bete clicked his tongue but didnt say anything as he put his hands in his pockets and headed toward one of therger tents near the main tent alongside Gareth. Finn watched them for a while before turning to Vahn with an amiable smile on his face as he asked, "So, youvee for the Goliath subjugation, right? I heard from Riveria and the girls, so I was wondering when you might show up." Vahn nodded his head and exined, "If possible, I wanted to try and solo it again. I brought along my entire Familia to gain experience, and Id like them to see what it is like to fight against a Monster Rex. Im willing to give all the drop items and the majority of the magic cores to the Loki Familia." Finnughed in a casual manner and said, "I thought that might be the case. Very well then, that should be eptable. Its good to be working with you for the time being, Vahn." They shook hands again before Finn walked off toward the same tent where Gareth and Bete left to. Riveria looked toward the distance for a while before saying, "Im interested to see what other unique abilities youll use tomorrow. You can leave the protection of your Familia members to us and focus wholly on the uing fight." Vahn smiled and thanked Riveria before the politely separated and went to their own respective tents. Riveria moved to the main tent while Vahn went toward therge tent where the other guys were waiting and enjoying some rather strong alcohol. Vahn still remembered Tsubakis words of never drinking in the dungeon, but that was retracted when it was discovered he was immune to the effects of alcohol. If anything, it wasnt a bad idea for him to drink since he could use it to get people to lower their guards around him. When he stepped through the tent p, Vahn saw Bete with a flushed face and Garethughing in a jovial manner while nudging his side. Finn had a ss of his own and Vahn could detect the scent of honey in the air as he walked over and sat down. Bete had noticed his entrance and waited for him to sit before asking, "So, can you even drink alcohol!? You look like a bit of a lightweight to me..." Vahn couldnt help butugh which made Bete shout, "What the f.u.c.k are youughing at!?" Without concerning himself with Betes outburst, Vahn moved to the small stump next to Finn and pulled out a bottle of translucent brown alcohol he had purchased from the system called [Dwarven Drought]. It went for a total of 8,000OP and had even taken down Loki after just a few shots. Even though he hadnt removed the cap, Vahn saw a sheen in Gareths eyes as he correctly guessed, "Thats the so-called [Dwarven Drought], aint it? I saw Loki-sama lounging about for an entire morning after sipping on that for a bit the previous night. Grahahahaha, lets see if the rumors are true!" As a pure-blooded Dwarf, Gareth had an incredible tolerance and instinctual love of all forms of alcohol. He even carried a sk on his person at all times that was full of a highly concentrated base liquor that he mixed into other types of drinks. Vahn smiled and opened the cap to allow the nutty aroma to spread through the tent with a powerful aroma that smelled so strongly that you might get drunk just by exposure to the ambient scent. Finns eyes widened while Gareth has a fervent expression on his face as he poured the current contents of his ss onto the ground below. Bete looked like he wanted to say something, but there was a severeck of confidence in his expression after getting a whiff of the [Dwarven Drought]. As a werewolf, he had a very powerful nose and Vahn noticed the rudy blush on his face had already started to deepen. As Vahn poured a ss for Gareth, Finnughed before downing his own gon and setting it to the side. He stood up from the small stump and dusted himself off before saying, "I know when Im beat, so Ill excuse myself from this round. Please, feel free to enjoy yourselves in my absence." Bete looked like he wanted to follow Finns retreat, but he couldnt easily give up when Vahn was the one offering the alcohol. He finished off his ss before mming it down and saying, "Smells like piss, I wonder if it even has any taste at all!?" Gareth, who had just been admiring the smell with a contemtive look gave Bete a re and said in a hard tone, "If youve that kind of attitude, this alcohol is beyond you. This is some of the finest whiskey Ive ever smelled, dont tarnish it by trying to put on a strong front! Hmph!" Finished with his words, Gareth took a long swing of his gon before closing his eyes and savoring the experience. After he was done, he released a long sigh and actually breathed out a small cloud of alcoholic fumes as he said, "Damn, thats some good stuff!" Betes brows furrowed low and he gnashed his teeth for a brief moment until eventually asking, "Hey, can I get a taste of that...?" Vahn nodded and filled Betes cup to the brim before topping off Gareths and his own sses. Raising the ss, Vahn said in a happy tune, "To the Alliance, and our continued friendsh.i.p.s." Gareth immediately raised his own ss, but didnt clink them together since he was afraid to spill any of the alcohol onto the ground. He shouted out in a hearty, "Hear, hear, thats the way, Grahahahahahaha!" Bete didnt seem interested in the toast but he still nodded his head in an almost indistinguishable manner before taking a swig of his ss alongside Vahn and Gareth. The moment the rich, vorful, and fiery alcohol hit his tongue, his eyes widened and he began to cough painfully after breathing in a small amount of the liquid. It tasted delicious, but it was far stronger than anything he had ever tasted before. He couldnt think of how anyone would be able to drink such a thing as, after a single sip, he already felt a little light headed. He looked around and saw Vahn and Gareth easily working away at the contents of their sses without seeming to pay attention to his somewhat embarrassing performance. Gareth gave him a sidelong nce when Bete looked over and said in a stern tone, "Dont push yourself too hard kid...this is some expensive brew. Savor it as much as you can, there is no rush." Bete frowned as if he wanted to say something, but he saw Vahn refilling his empty ss and swallowed his words down. He had been thinking of challenging Vahn to a drinkingpetition, but now he realized he had nearly walked face-first into an immovable surface. Even after downing the entire ss, nearly a full pint of the powerful alcohol, Vahn didnt even have a light blush and seemed to be capable of drinking the whiskey like it was water. Even Gareth gave him an approving nod before savoring the contents of his own cup. Bete, unable to make any headway against the two seasoned alcoholics slowly sipped on the burning liquid until he passed out a few minutester with more than half the ss spilling onto the ground. Seeing the sight, Gareth released a sad sigh and said, "Damn, what a waste..." Vahnughed before cing down a cloth container onto the ground with a thud. Gareth eyed the package until Vahn gestured toward it. When he opened therge cloth, Gareths eyes opened wide as he saw a miniature keg that looked like it could hold around 5 gallons of alcohol. He uncorked the side and smelled the contents when an appreciative smile appeared on his face and he beganughing heartily. He raised his own ss, as if making a toast, and said, "Yer a goodd, Grahahahahaha!" Vahn took the initiative to do what Gareth had avoided earlier and clinked his gon against the middle-aged dwarfs before remarking, "We should do this more often after the regtions from the Guild loosen. Im trying to put together a group of guys to create a smallwork...well, if nothing else, just know that Im good to my friends, hahahaha." Though he couldnt get drunk, Vahn was in a good mood drinking alongside Gareth and the two were in high spirits until the girls eventually returned from their bath. (A/N: Fenrir smells smelly smells,Not today, Bete my boi!,Grahahahahahahahahahahahaha!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 337 - Illusion, or Reality?

Chapter 337 - Illusion, or Reality?

Since he had detected their arrival, Vahn parted ways with Gareth and left behind the small barrel for his own personal use. Gareths tolerance was incredible and he was able to work away, albeit slowly, at the miniature keg without any major difficulties. Vahn was curious how his body was able to process the alcohol so easily and he noticed some kind of strange, microscopic, creatures inside of his stomach that broke down the majority of the alcohol before process the rest as normal water. He knew these were bacteria since he had seen plenty in the bodies of others when viewing them with his [Eyes of Truth]. Since Dwarves were known for their tolerance, Vahn suspected there was a unique quality in their stomachs which allowed them to cultivate the special bacteria inside of their bodies without adversely affection their physiology at all. It was a very unique thing, so Vahn made sure to doc.u.ment it within a journal for future study. After leaving the tent, Vahn saw the girls walking over and stepped forward to catch Tiona who had jumped at him the moment they made eye contact. She began rubbing her face against his andughing cheerfully as she said, "Yay, Vahn~! I cant wait to see you pummel that dumb monster tomorrow~!" Vahn ced his hands around Tionas waist before giving her a short kiss on the lips which caused her smile to increase in size. From behind her, or ahead of Vahn, Ais walked over and said, "Tiona, be careful." Tionaughed in a silly manner before dropping from Vahns body and saying in a yful tone, "I know, I know~! Just make sure you dont hog him all to yourself, ahahaha~." Before Ais could step forward to get a hug of her own, Fenrir beat her to the punch and shouted, "Vahn, Fenrir is all clean now~!" Vahn habitually stroked her head and said, "Yes, that is very good Fenrir. Did you get along with everyone?" Fenrirs body twitched a bit before she looked to the side as if she were refusing to make eye contact and said, "Fenrir is a good girl..." Vahn gave a wry smile before looking around at the other girls and seeing they all had somewhat awkward expressions on their faces. Ais was the least affected, but she walked over and tilted her head to the side to stare at Fenrir and said, "It is my turn...?" Fenrir looked at her and frowned deeply before finally letting go of Vahns waist. Ais smiled and said, "You are a good girl...thank you." Vahn shared a hug, and a short kiss, with Ais before they all started talking about the battle tomorrow. It was decided that Vahn would be fighting alone since he really wanted to test his own growth. Thest major stint he spent in the dungeon ended not long after his fight against the Goliath, and it had been a somewhat close fight. His parameters had grown a fair bit, though not nearly as high as hed like, but his overall capabilities had increased greatly. When they heard about his n, Tiona got very excited because she imagined the image of Vahn fighting against the Goliath bare-handed again. She even had a small expectation that he might burn away his clothes, but Vahn assured her things should go well. As the crystals overhead started to dim slightly, Vahn decided it was time to head back to their own camp so he parted with the girls after a few short embraces and polite words. He even decided to give Tione a short hug, since she had been struggling for a while at trying to keep her own cool. Perhaps unwilling to be left out, and at the incitement of Ais, Lefiya stepped forward to receive some head pats and a very brief hug. Vahn then let Fenrir ride on his back, since she had been asking, and then rapidly made his way through the forest with Fenrir happily pointing the way with her devastatingly sharp ws. A few minutester, they arrived near the campsite and Vahn carried Fenrir the rest of the way as she wobbled about on his back. She was very careful to prevent her ws from pricking him, but it didnt stop her from moving about in a very hyperactive manner as she pointed toward every small bug and animal they came across. When a stray Almiraj had wandered along the path, she looked like she wanted to jump off his back to attack it but just growled until it ran away. Vahnughed and asked, "Are you going to let it run away?" Fenrir nodded and said inly, "Fenrir wants to stay with Vahn longer. Vahn not carry Fenrir when she has bloody fur." Vahn mused and asked, "You sure you dont want to get messy so I have to clean you again?" Fenrir didnt seem to care that she had been exposed and said, "Vahn said he would bathe Fenrirter. Fenrir enjoy sitting on Vahns back for now. Ehkekeke." After arriving at the campsite, Vahn let Fenrir of his back and she separated without a struggle before running off toward the campfire where everyone was preparing dinner. Vahn walked over as well and Aki exined with a polite smile, "We checked the area, there arent any other Adventurers nearby so things should be rtively safe. Well be running security in shifts tonight, just to give the girls experience in guarding a camp." Vahn nodded his head and patted Akis ears as he said, "Thanks for your efforts." Akiughed cheerfully and said, "Its my pleasure, Vahn~." Not long after they arrived, dinner was prepared and Vahn enjoyed the roasted meat, even though it was somewhat nd. It was a very reminiscent smell and taste, so Vahn ate it gratefully and thanked the twins for their efforts since they had been the primary cooks this time around. After dinner, Vahn set up his own tent quickly before taking Fenrir over to the nearby pond and washing up. As promised, he helped clean her body thoroughly before washing her somewhat bristly hair and removing any stray debris that was contained within. She had already been cleaned earlier, but Vahn still went through the motions since she seemed to be enjoying herself. Afterward, he took a dip himself and washed off before meeting up with Ryuu. He had promised to go visit the grave site of the Astrea Familia with her and he didnt want to keep her waiting for too long. Ryuu had been waiting in her Adventurer attire near the outskirts of the camp and smiled at Vahn as he approached with an apologetic expression on his face. Without waiting for any excuses he mighte up with, Ryuu nodded and said, "Lets go, Vahn..." She then started running off through the woods and left Vahn to chase behind her after nking for a short moment. After a few minutes, Vahn felt like his senses were being messed with a bit, but he was nearly immune to most illusions so managed to follow Ryuu easily. He used his [Eyes of Truth] to look around and saw several runes carved into trees, almost like a formation had been set up in the area. Eventually, Ryuu turned behind her and smiled after noticing that Vahn had kept pace even through the illusion barrier called Magical Forest Illusion that was meant to make people lose their way and wander back to the outskirts. When Vahn stopped next to her, she said, "It doesnt seem like I can get away from you so easily...Im d." Vahn blinked and asked, "Were you trying to run away?" Ryuuughed, uncharacteristic of herself, and said with a cheerful smile on her face, "Ive been running away for a long time...I think its about time I stop. Im d you came here with me...Vahn." Ryuu reached into her pouch and pulled out some flowers that had been wrapped in a special container to prevent them from wilting. Without exining anything, she walked over into the clearing where a mound full of weapons could be seen. Vahn could see various different weapons, nine in total, that were ced about and understood they likely served as the grave markers for her formerrades. Ryuu ced the white flowers on the grave, one for each weapon, before kneeling down and cing her hands together in silent prayer. Vahn watched from the side, and he could see Ryuus aura dim a great deal and it made his heart ache for her. Though he might have been able to help if he had been present, there wasnt anything he could do for her friends now that they had been dead for several years. The only thing he could do was support Ryuu and help her move forward so that she could honor the lives of her friends, instead of mourning their deaths. He knew she had already sought revenge for them in the past, but she didnt seem to have moved on after the fact. Vahn observed the grave for a bit but was primarily focused on Ryuus actions as she continued to pray in silence. He didnt really know what the best course of action to take was, but Vahn decided that doing nothing wasnt the answer. He took a deep breath before walking forward and standing next to Ryuu. He noticed she was paying attention to him, even though she didnt look directly at him. Vahn stood straight in solemn silence for a while before sitting on his knees next to Ryuu. He then bowed reverently toward the grave site and said in a solemn voice, "Please, leave Ryuu to me from now on...I will make sure she is able to find her happiness again. I wont let her feel lonely and lost anymore." Ryuu turned her head toward Vahn but he didnt match her gaze and continued to address the grave site, "I did not know you in life, but I will protect that which you left behind. Please rest easy knowing I will always do my best to provide sanctuary for Ryuu from no onwards. No matter how difficult things get, I will weather the storm at her side and protect her from harm. I hope your souls findfort and you are able to live a free and unfettered life in all of your future incarnations..." As he finished his words, Vahn bowed low enough to touch the ground and remained silent for nearly a full minute before straightening his back. He turned to look at the nk face of Ryuu and smiled before saying, "Sorry, I made the decision on my own...its just, you have so few expressions...Id rather see you happy than in pain with a sad expression on your face. You are far more beautiful when you smile, its like each time I see it Ive obtained a rare treasure..." Vahns own words echoed in his mind and he could feel his tensions rising as a warm feeling spread to his cheeks. Ryuu continued to look at him with a serious expression for a while before a small smile appeared on her face. As if a seed had been nted, her smile slowly widened until it bloomed into a beautiful arc that enhanced Ryuus beauty to a level that could rival goddesses. She reached out with her left hand and grabbed his right before saying in a whispering tone, "Im d you were the one to take my hand, Vahn...I feel like I can finally start moving forward again. I dont want to make myrades sad by continuing to live a life as a wanted criminal and vignte." Ryuu leaned against his shoulder and stared at the grave site with slightly moist eyes. Vahn stroked the delicate hand of Ryuu for a while before saying in a quiet tone, "I believe you...I feel like this is the first time you took the initiative to grab my hand ever since we met..." Vahn felt a tiny movement against his neck and turned his head to see Ryuus ear droop a bit with a rosy hue to it as she turned to look at their connected hands. After a few seconds of silence, she looked up into Vahns eyes with her watery sky-blue gems and said, "You know...my best friend...Alise...she told me that if there were ever a boy that could grab my hand...that I should never let him go. I feel like I understand what she meant better now..." Ryuu squeezed Vahns hand with a bit of strength before asking with a somewhat bashful smile that he had never seen before, "Is it fine...if I hold onto you forever?" As her words fell, so to di Ryuus head as she peered up at Vahns face with upturned eyes and discreetly bit her bottom lip. Vahn squinted his eyes slightly with a happy smile before reaching out with his left hand and tilted Ryuus face upward. Before she said anything further, Vahn whispered in a quiet tone, "It looks like I have a life debt to Ms. Alise...I should start paying it off as soon as possible." Vahn then stroked the right side of Ryuus face before leaning forward and sharing what would be one of the longest and emotional kisses he would ever enjoy with an elf... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Ryuu Lion Affection has Reached the Maximum// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: A Rewards:10,000OP, 1x[Hearts Desire: Ryuu Lion] Grade Rewards: 1x[Seed of the Tree of Life], 1x[Fairy Promenade], 8,000OP [Seed of the Tree of Life] Rank: Unique Use: Can bloom anywhere, including barren wastnds, toxic swamps, and even the void itself. Promotes the growth of all nt life in an area 40x wider than the tree is tall. Cleans the air and creates a natural barrier against toxins, poisons, miasma, and evil creatures. The branches of this tree can be used to make powerful magic staves and relics while the leaves can be used to create potent potions and healing salves. (Warning: Grows by a rate of 1m per month until maturity and then at an additional 1m per year for up to 1,000 years.) [Fairy Promenade] Rank: Unique Use: When active, all trees, nt life, and animals open a path for the user to pass unhindered. Prohibits those with malicious intent from following using the forces of nature itself to halt their advance. Duration:2H --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir likes Vahn best,Reponsibility...,Alise is the best wingman...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 338 - Peaceful Night

Chapter 338 - Peaceful Night

Vahn and Ryuu sat together before the gravesite until the crystals overhead had made the transition from being red, like sunset, until they began to glimmer like stars in the dark night sky. Ryuu released an uncharacteristic sigh, so Vahn asked, "Is everything okay, Ryuu?" She separated from his shoulder before turning toward him with a gentle smile as she said, "I was just thinking about a few matters...Its been a long time since I thought about the future and I only just realized I hadnt been considering matters properly for a long time. Ever since Syr saved me...Ive just been living day-to-day, at least until..." Ryuus face showed a light blush and she squeezed Vahns hand without continuing her words. Vahn stroked her hand with his thumb and stared into her sky blue eyes for several long seconds, unable to think of an answer to alleviate her concerns. After a short moment of hesitation, Vahn assumed a thoughtful look as he ruminated over matters as he spoke, "Ryuu...I dont really know what the future holds. So much has changed in such a short period of time that living in the moment is all Ive been able to do. Without so many people supporting me, I feel like I would have probably fallen in the Dungeon alone at some point...now, all I can do is my best to prepare for the future, but I also dont know the best path to take. All Ive understood after arriving at the City is...when we work together, were capable of oveing anything..." Ryuu squinted her eyes and tilted her head slightly as she said, "Maybe that is what it means to live...enjoying each moment, hoping for the future, but not living to shape it. Working hard to ovee your own limits and finding capable allies to stand with...it reminds me a lot of the past." Ryuus smile widened a bit in reminiscence before she turned to Vahn and said, "I think its fine...to live in the moment. If we make the most of it, onlypromising for everyones shared happiness, I think things will always turn out for the better. I want to see it...the future youll create by trying your best...it seems so...full of light." Ryuuughed in a gentle tone before continuing, "Sorry, I was thinking of how Chloe described you...that girl is quite devoted. She even became strong enough to confront Syr...well, just a bit." Vahn imagined the scene of the cool and mischevious Chloe confronting the stoic, elegant, and somewhat maniptive Syr. He already knew Chloe did her best to protect him in her own way, but he never imagined she would sh against Syr, likely on his behalf...even though she was only Level 1, Vahn couldnt easily imagining anyone getting an edge against the beautiful demigoddess. She had a way to see the true nature and desires of a person and her ability to manipte them was based on that principle. By guiding them in the direction they would have chosen for themselves, but making it appear as though she was the reason they arrived at that point, Syr was able to earn the trust of people on a fundamental level. She had even done the same when she took him to the Orphanage since there was no part of his character that would have been able to resist helping the children, especially since they had a connection to her... Ryuu leaned against Vahns shoulder and released a relieved sigh as she said, "I can see why Syr ces all of her hopes in you...even though you know her character, you dont shy away from it at all. You have an epting heart capable of empathizing with everyone you meet...even your enemies at times. Its good that someone like you appeared in her...our lives...she was a very sad and lonely girl before, even though she always had a smile on her face. She ys her schemes up a bit, but she is fundamentally a very kind and gentle girl who helps everyone she can..." Vahn nodded and said, "I know...I cant say with absolute certainty, but I feel like I know Syr almost better than anyone else. Were on simr wavelengths most of the time and can read each other well...hahahaha." After he finishedughing, Vahn leaned forward so Ryuu moved away from his body as he stood up from the ground before helping her stand. She dusted off her leaf-green cloak a bit before Vahn leaned forward and nted another kiss on her somewhat pale pink lips. After they parted, Vahn moved Ryuus hair to the side and gently stroked her left ear with his right hand. Her teeth chattered almost imperceptibly as she tilted her head with a light blush. Vahn smiled at her reaction and said, "I wish I could see you like this more often...I know Ive said it before, but your presence has a calming effect on my mind and body." Ryuu grabbed his hand before he could do anything else and said in a quiet tone, "Soon...well..." She shook her head and said, "Lets go, it should almost be time for my shift and the others may be getting worried." Ryuu tried to move forward while still holding Vahns hand but he stood his ground, even though he had nearly been knocked off bnce by their parameter difference. She looked back with a confused look and Vahn smiled as he said, "This is a rare opportunity, so lets take our time returning. There is something about escorting a beautiful elf through an enchanted forest in the middle of the night that makes my heart beat excitedly." To indicate this, Vahn pulled Ryuus hand until it rested against his chest. He had been telling the truth, as most of Ryuus behaviors stirred something inside of him and made him want to spend time with her. There was also a strange desire to tease her a bit, and Vahn felt like it was something about the racial traits of half-elves and Elves in general. Something about their stoic,posed appearances and gentle demeanors made Vahn want to get a rise out of them. For a few moments, Ryuu felt Vahns heart beating powerfully in his chest as she considered showing that her heart was also beating quite hard. Imagining Vahn cing his hand on her b.r.e.a.s.t only made the beating faster so she decided against mentioning it as she fell into a spot close to Vahns side. He smiled in return and they held hands the entire way back, which took nearly forty minutes considering their rtively leisurely pace. She also felt like it was a calming experience to walk through the forest together and even entrusted herself to Vahns guidance as she walked along with her eyes closed and enjoyed the cool wind against her skin alongside theforting warmthing from Vahns body. When they arrived at the camp, it had been Maemi that was on duty as she came forward to greet the two that had already separated. Ryuu still had an aversion to public disys of affection, but Vahn didnt hold it against her since she had allowed him to escort her for such a long period of time. As Maemi had indeed been covering Ryuus shift, Vahn sent her off to join Emiru after refusing to let Ryuu take over and cover both shifts. Since he had been the reason for the scheduling conflict, Vahn ordered her to get some rest as he assumed the post himself. She didnt have much resistance against him when it was just the two of them, so Ryuu eventually nodded her head and said, "Good night, Vahn." Vahn watched her walk off to the tent she shared with Aki before climbing up a tall tree, out of themon line of sight, andying on the branch while spreading his domain to his limit. If anything entered within 451m of their location, Vahn would be able to detect them, even if they had a powerful stealth ability. After twenty minutes passed, Vahn called out in a quiet voice, "Go ahead, I dont mind." With his permission, the small figure that had been sneaking around since he first took his post eventually popped up and trotted over to the base of the tree he was resting on. A few secondster, the figure scuttled up the tree before stepping onto the same branch and saying, "Fenrir smelled Vahne back...Vahn not sleep inside tent?" Vahnughed before gesturing to the small girl as she gingerly crawled onto his stomach before curling up into a small ball seemingly giving up hearing the answer to her question as she almost immediately fell asleep. A gentle smile appeared on Vahns face as he affectionately caressed the somewhat prickly hair of the spoiled little wolf girl. Every time he was together with her, Vahn felt like his soul was being healed, almost like she was ther.a.p.eutic to him. Other than the desire to spend time together, Fenrir had noplex thoughts regarding him and, even though she could literally rip him apart, Vahn feltfortable around her. Though he didnt show it enough, Vahn felt like Fafnir and Fenrir were like his own children, and he worried a lot about their growth and mental development. Unfortunately, unless they could get recognition from the citizens of Orario, it was impossible for Fafnir to flit about aboveground. His massive, and intimidating, body was more than enough to send crowds running. There was also a very real chance that he would draw the attention of disreputable sorts that would try to im him for themselves. Though the somewhat childish dragon was a very powerful Level 5, it wasnt remotely close to being unbeatable. Even Hestia, with a simple spear, would be able to y Fafnir if she managed to contact the blue scar covering arge swath of its chest. As for Fenrir, she was arguably more troublesome than the massive Fafnir, since she was something of an unstable existence. If he was away for a few days, Vahn was absolutely certain she would go on a rampage and potentially even harm her own allies. Other than himself, Vahn didnt know anyone that would be able to reliably calm her down, as even Ryuu was unable to do so without a great deal of effort. Vahn assumed Preasia might be capable of the feat, but she wasnt the type that would venture into the Dungeon unless there was a drastic change in her personality. She was a timid, somewhat docile girl, and disliked dark, cold, and humid ces like the Dungeon. Vahn was very aware of her reasons, so he had absolutely no intention of trying to force the issue, even though he knew she would probably try if he asked. Since he had been worried about it, Vahn had been discussing the matter with Hephaestus, Eina, and Loki to try and find a solution. The best bet seemed to expose Fafnirs existence during the Monster Feria and showing to the entire City that he was perfectly tame. Vahn felt a little ufortable publicizing such a thing because he had long stopped feeling like they were his subordinates. Though he could force them to obey his orders through exploiting their Loyalty, Vahn was happier earning their trust through his actions and guidance. He felt that this was the reason Fafnir and Fenrir were so affectionate to him, and even treated him as something akin to a father figure. Of course, there was the slightly unnerving fact that both of them would identally call him Master every now and then. After finishing up Ryuus shift, Vahn stayed on his post for an additional two hours and covered Maemis actual shift as well. When his time was finally up, Vahn patted Fenrirs back to stir her awake before carrying her down to the ground. She only made a cursory effort to wake up beforeying her face on his shoulder and hugging loosely around his neck as he carried her like a sleeping child towards the tents. Vahn woke up Haruhime and gave her a few minutes to get ready before retiring to his own tent alongside the sleeping Fenrir. Since he didnt get to spoil her much recently, Vahn let her sleep with him, as it had been a while since they shared a bed together. She actually got very stressed out if she slept alone and had never spent a night after bing a girl alone. Even after retiring to his tent, Vahn kept his domain active as he fell asleep cuddling the somewhat hot body of Fenrir. Her normal body temperature was around 40 degrees Celcius, so she was much warmer than most people, not that it made much of a difference to Vahn. Even if he took a dip in molten orichalc.u.m, which could reach temperatures of 1200 degrees, Vahn would remainpletely unphased. Of course, Vahn didnt use his [Heart of the Eternal me] and actually kept his body somewhat cooler than normal so she could sleepfortably. The next morning, Vahn awoke around 5 AM and roused Fenrir from her happy slumber before exiting the tent to muster everyone else. He had assumed she was happy because she had her somewhat crooked smile on her sleeping face. After everyone awoke, Vahn passed out some crepes that he had stored within his inventory. When had free time after visiting Hephaestuss workshop, Vahn had stopped over and visited the middle-aged man, named Ivaan, that ran the crepe stand he used to frequent often in the past. He bought the entire stock before leaving the kindly man a tip of 100,000V as gratitude for how delicious his crepes were. As he epted therge tip, he teasingly asked Vahn if he were single and offered to introduce his granddaughter to him. Vahnughed away the offer as he imagined the reactions of the other girls on thework if he picked up a vendors offered grandaughter. Vahn was happy to see that everyone enjoyed the crepes and he nned to patronize Ivaans stall more often in the future. If possible, hed even be willing to act as an investor to poprize the delicious treat. Though he knew the man enjoyed serving customers, they had often made small talk and Vahn heard some of theints that he had about life. Ivaans son made a living as an Adventurer, but he had never been able to exceed Level 2 even though he was nearly thirty years old. Because his son was often away in the dungeon, Ivaan had looked after his granddaughter since she was a baby and had opened the crepe stand to help support the rtively small family. Vahn thought it would be better if he could hire people to work for him as he ran the business from the background while looking after his family without having to spend hours a day working a stall in the market. After collecting all the tents, Vahn stowed them away in his inventory before leading the group toward the stairs leading up to the 17th floor. He was supposed to meet the Loki Familia in the adjoining room to the Wall of Despair, and there was a real possibility they had left even earlier to reserve the spawn. There were few parties that would try to contend with the Loki Familia for the rights to a Monster Rex, as they currently hold the record of the most kills within the entire City. The Familia as a whole had in a total of 139 Monster Rex(s) that they had reported to the Guild and gotten credit for. The Freya Familia was a distant second ce, as they had only eliminated a total of 71 reported kills. As expected, the Hestia Familia ascended the stairs and quickly came across Tiona who hade running down the stairs in a lively manner before leaping downwards more than twenty meters trusting that Vahn could catch her. Vahn then had to carry her body upstairs as she clung around his neck while iming to be recharging her Vahnobtainium reserves. Vahn had been made aware of the phrase in the past, but he always felt awkward to be addressed as some sort ofmodity that replenished the energy of others. However, when he thought about it in detail, it was actually something hemonly did by using [Yggdrasils Favor] and [Hands of Nirvana]. Since he could rationalize the characterization, Vahn decided to not make a big deal of it as he actually enjoyed physical contact quite a bit. Tionas lively disposition and cheerful smile were infectious while her body was both firm, and soft, at the same time as she pressed herself against him. When they got to the top of the stairs, Finn had an awkward smile on his face as he said, "Tiona, you shouldnt separate from the party like that, even if youre going to meet up with our...allies." Releasing a short sight, Finn corrected his expression before saying in an amicable manner, "Good morning, friends from the Hestia Familia. Though were unable to cooperate officially, I look forward to working alongside you on this endeavor." Disinterested in Finns words, Ais walked over before poking the loose face of Tiona who had yet to separate from Vahn as she said, "Tiona, very sneaky." In response, Tiona beganughing as she said sheepishly, "I wuuuuv him so much though~." She then proceeded to give Vahn a big kiss on the cheek before eventually standing on her own feet and walking over to the group with a yfulughter ringing in the air. Ais watched her back for a brief moment before turning her attention back to Vahn before showing a small smile and reaching forward to hug him silently for a few seconds. When Vahn asked what she was doing, she muttered in a confident tone, "Recharging..." (A/N:Alternate Titles: Moonlit Walk,Fenrirs Attachment,A highly sought after resource for both mortals, and gods...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 339 - Rematch

Chapter 339 - Rematch

It was still a while before the Goliath spawned, so the two Familia mingled and got to know each other a little better. Fortunately, Bete and Gareth were missing and Vahn learned it was because Bete had gotten ckout drunk the previous night and was temporarily out ofmission. This was a fortunate coincidence since Vahn didnt want any trouble to ur when the anti-social Werewolf met the anti-social Vanargandr, Fenrir. Vahn knew there would eventually be an incident caused between the two, but he was hoping to put it off for as long as possible, at least until Fenrir had stabilized even more. As for his strategy for the uing fight, Vahn was intending to use none of his equipment at all. Impaling Goliath with [L?vateinn] might not immediately end the fight, but it would deal enough damage over time that the Monster Rex would inevitably fall even if the entire party retreated. It was stuck within the room containing the Wall of Grief, so it wasnt too difficult to simply retreat and allow the mes to slowly consume its body without putting anyone in danger. Vahn wanted a true test of his own abilities, so he was standing off to the side stretching his body in his Xunw form wearing nothing but a pair of ck trousers. When he had demonstrated the skill earlier, Riveria had been curious about the tattoo so Vahn removed his tunic and allowed everyone to see the strange pattern on his back that looked like a yin and yang symbol surrounded by eight trigrams. Though she had the ability to decipher godly hieroglyphs, to an extent, Riveria couldnt make sense of the symbols at all. The only thing she understood was that each contained powerful elemental energies that were unlike anything she had seen before. For the duration where Vahn was preparing for the fight, she sat at the back with a small notebook as she drew out the patterns, with Vahns permission, for future study. In exchange, she agreed to demonstrate the magic circles derived from the [Mage] skillter on. Because of the nature of his system, Vahn could actually read hieroglyphs and break down the structure of magic circles since he could almost perfectly record them in his mind forter review. While he was preparing himself, Tiona was off to the side with the rest of the girls as she stared with a happy smile at Vahn and said, to Ais, "Vahn looks better and better each time I see him~. Arent those tattoos amazing? I wish I could transform, it would be super cool~!" Ais nodded and said, "He keeps getting stronger...it makes my heart beat quicken." Their small dialogue started a conversation between the other girls nearby as they discussed the various aspects of Vahn and what they liked about him. Fenrir adamantly imed to like Vahn the best, though she couldnt give any particr reason other than the fact he was himself. Tione thought he was very manly and had an incredibly fit body, which was a sentiment shared by all the girls present. Emiru and Maemi said they liked his gentle personality, handsome appearance, and the fact he pampered them on asion. Haruhime thought Vahn was very heroic, which made her an instant friend with Tiona as the two girls began discussing Vahns various acts of heroism. Mikoto said he was a qualified leader, even though he wasnt always that reliable and easy to approach. Her answer caused some of the girls to be confused because Vahn seemed like one of the easiest to approach people they had ever met. As for Lefiya, the only thing she could manage was a blush and a very dismissive answer about how hardworking Vahn was. After a few hours had passed, the shadow within the wall had reached a critical level as cracks began to emerge on the Wall of Grief. Vahn rolled his shoulders onest time as Finn shouted to the entire group, "Okay, everyone, lets fall back to a safe distance. Please, everyone under Level 4, do not exit the safety of the adjoining corridor. Riveria, Ill be relying on you if we somehow pull the Goliaths aggro." The entire group retreated to the corridor before Ryuu squatted down next to Fenrir and got her attention before exining, "Vahn is going to fight alone this time, so make sure you behave properly. The monster he is going to face is much stronger than you, so if you tried to help it would only make Vahns fight more difficult as he tries to protect you. Try to stay calm, were surrounded by strong and capable allies that will help him if things take a bad turn." Fenrirs eyes glowed a bit, but she nodded her head and said confidently, "Vahn will always win, Fenrir believes...." When the group pulled away, Vahn followed them with his eyes before asking himself with a wry smile, "I wonder if I can make myself look cool since there are so many onlookers? Hahahaha..." Thest time he had fought the Goliath, he was far less experienced and only had his Bih form mastered. Now he could use both Bih and Xunw freely and also had an unrivaled movement magic that far exceeded the capabilities of most people. Though it was a bit presumptuous, Vahn wanted to end the fight without taking a single hit, excluding the ones he nned to counter. Since he struggled so much during the previous fight, Vahn wanted topletely dominate the new Goliath without giving it a single moment of reprieve... A loud explosion spread through the room as the titanic Goliath broke free from the Wall of Grief with a monstrous shout that caused the air to tremble. For the lower level girls, they had to cover their ears and could barely resist against the terrible might of the Goliath and its roar. Vahn, however, remained standing without flinching in the slightest. He lowered both of his arms to his sides with clenched fists that began to glow with a green light as he stared unblinkingly at the Goliath. Free from his constraints, the Goliath targeted the closest thing within the vicinity and charged over with a tremendous force that shook the ground with each mighty step. It closed the 30m distance between itself and Vahn in less than two seconds before raising both arms and smashing down with the intent to crush the small foe before it. A green light shed and exploded out with enough force to create arge cloud of debris as the Goliath was pushed nearly 8m off the ground with both of its arms missing from the elbow down. When it had tried to smash Vahn, he used [Fist Strike] in conjunction with redirecting the Goliaths shockwave back at itself. Though he hadnt developed a skill for it, Vahn called this technique Countershock. Though he took arge burden on his body, and had sunk several centimeters into the ground, Vahn was mostly unaffected while the Goliath destroyed its own arms in the process. Though he knew she wasnt trying to distract him, Vahn heard a loud shout from Tiona from the side and he felt emboldened further. Using Shundo, he created a link between the ground and the chest of the massive Goliath before activating the magical ability. Since it was currently without arms, the Goliath couldnt defend its torso at all as Vahn appeared flushed against its body and mmed both of his fists powerfully toward the magic core within its chest. He didnt n to give the Goliath a single moment to respond to his attacks because Vahn wanted to have a true understanding of what it was like to go all out against a monster stronger than he was without relying on his equipment. The moment his fists collided with the body of the Goliath, its natural shock resistance tried to activate but a green light shed along Vahns scales and forcibly converged it about a meter within the Goliath. Just like when he fought against Tione, he caused a shockwave to explode within the body of the Goliath, with its magic core as his target. The chest cavity of the Goliath expanded into a sphere for a brief moment as Vahn kicked away from its body. Though it wasnt immediately destroyed, the Goliath released arge puff of purple smoke from its mouth which showed that it had been heavily damaged. Its arms began to rapidly regenerate, but it was temporarily unable to move from the sheer amount of damage Vahns two attacks had done to its body. Vahn released a somewhat disappointed sigh, because he found that the fight was far easier than he expected. The Goliath was rated as a Level 4 monster, albeit one that equated to several dozen other Level 4s. Vahn was only an intermediate Level 3 and wasnt even boosted by Haruhimes Level-Up magic. Because of therge size of the Goliath, and the fact it was almost exclusively a physical fighter, there was next to nothing it could do against Vahn. He had at least hoped that the fight could get his blood boiling a bit and the realization of his own power made Vahn feel a strange loneliness that he had to shake away before putting strength in his legs. Though it was mostly blocked by his trousers, a green light shed at Vahns legs as he kicked off mightily from the ground before inverting his body tond, upside down, on his feet after reaching the roof 100m overhead. It was a physical feat that even a Level 6 wouldnt be able to perform easily, but Vahn was able to manage it bypressing the shockwave through his feet without absorbing almost any of the resistive force into his own body. This greatly increased the force of his jump and allowed him to perform a physical feat that shouldnt be possible for a Level 3, regardless of how much power and agility they possessed. The Goliath slowly raised its head to meet Vahn, still unable to move its body even though it was trying its best to regenerate quickly. Its red eyes glowed with a chaotic light filled with hatred as it tried to use its pressurized air cannon to attack Vahn. Unfortunately for it, with its damaged core and ruptured mana channels, it couldntpress the energy properly and destroyed its own lower jaw while sending its teeth flying about for its efforts. Vahn shook his head pitifully as he kicked off from the roof with enough force to create a 10m wide circr crack in the durable bedrock. His velocity reached nearly 250 meters per second, or approximately 900km/h as he spun through the air twice and dropped a powerful axe kick into the forehead of the Goliath that sent a shockwave through its body that caused the ground to crack open beneath it. The body of the Goliath swelled up for a brief instant before the contained shockwave overwhelmed its resistances and caused its entire body to explode in a massive cloud of purple dust. Since he didnt burn any with his Vermillion mes, there were thousands of small magic cores that exploded from the gigantic core of the Goliath as well as a few meters of skin that had been preserved as a drop item. Vahn stood amongst the look with a conflicted expression for a brief moment before putting on a confident appearance as he waved toward the approaching girls with a smile. All-in-all, Vahn had managed to end the fight with a single Countershock and a mere two physical attacks, excluding the maneuvers he did to reach the roof and then descend for the actual attack. It might have been a bad matchup for the Goliath, but he was still somewhat disappointed by the ease with which he destroyed the Monster Rex that was considered a nightmare by some smaller Familia. Vahn caught the Amazon shaped bullet that flew at his face with enough force to knock him back nearly seven meters. He took more damage from her tackle, and follow-up kiss, than he had suffered in his actual fight against the Goliath as his bare back skidding along the rough and abrasive floor of the dungeon. Tiona had a heated expression like she was about to devour him as she eagerly sought Vahns lips in greedy kisses. Ais showed up almost immediately and grabbed the belt-like sash around Tionas h.i.p.s and pulled her back with enough force to separate her from Vahns body. Tiona iled around for a short while as Tione, who was also showing a dangerous light in her eyes, dragged her away with Ais so she could calm down. Ryuu arrived not long after Tiona had been pulled from Vahns body and extended her hand to help him rise while the rest of the group began to gather around andpliment him for his battle. The girls within his own Familia had reverential expressions on their faces, like they were meeting their long sought-after idol. Finn had walked over as well and said with an approving smile on his face, "Very well done, Vahn. Truly, you are bing stronger at an exponential rate. The Loki Familia is fortunate to consider you amongst our list of allies." Vahnughed as he epted Finns handshake and they began discussing the distribution of items. The Hestia Familia allowed the Loki Familia to take 70% of the magic cores. As for the drop items, Finn asked Vahn to keep them since they would be valuable materials that he could use to craft equipment for the girls in the future. Since it was something that would benefit his allies, he had no reason to keep the Goliath Hide from Vahn, who was known within the Executive members of the Familia as a capable [Master Smith]. It never hurt to increase the rapport they had with a [Master Smith], especially one that beat the previous record for the youngest [Master Smith] by nearly 16 years. To prevent any problems from arising, the two Familia separated after loot distribution and Vahns parting ceremony with the various girls within the Loki Familia. Though he didnt mind too much, it felt awkward having the girls of his own Familia staring at him when he exchanges hugs and kisses with the girls from another Familia. He knew they were all somewhat eager to be with him and he could feel their prative gazes on his back throughout the entire process. When he finally finished, Vahn bade farewell to the Loki Familia before leading the Hestia Familia through the 17th floor and starting their ascent to the surface. Along the way, they made short stops on each floor so the girls could experience the various monsters that appeared on each. Since Vahn wasnt a good example of how to fight monsters, Ryuu and Aki had taken point for the demonstration and had allowed the girls to fight the smaller groups as a team. It took them significantly less time to exit the dungeon than it had for their descent, so it was only 9 AM by the time they reached the surface. They reported the sessful subjugation of the Goliath and took credit for the kill under the name of their own Familia. Since they were only ranked I, the lowest rank a Familia could have, it caused a small stir within the Guild until they got a message from the headquarters giving them permission to validate the im. When Vahn learned this, he showed a small smile because he understood that the Guild was probably trying to butter up to him after understanding the situation better. Now that the top 3 Familia within the City were behind him, there were few options avable to them other than backing down andpromising. Though he didnt know her actual wealth, Vahn knew that Freya was likely the richest person in the entire City since she heavily consolidated wealth and assets. Hephaestuss Familia was one of thergest, and wealthiest, Familia in the entire city as well while the Loki Familia was the current Ranked 1 Familia due to their achievements in the Dungeon. When the three were considered together, they controlled more than half the wealth and power within the entirety of the City. If the Guild tried to pressure them, without a justifiable reason, it would cause discourse throughout the entire City and lead to political turmoil and economic decline. The benefits were far fewer than the losses they would sustain by trying to take a hard-line policy against the Alliance to try and suppress Vahn and the Hestia Familia. After the group arrived at the Hearth Manor, the entire Familia had a gathering,bined with a small celebration, as they discussed how everyone performed and the necessary steps for improvement. Now that the girls understood what a fight against a Monster Rex was like, their perspective had broadened greatly and their desire to be stronger had increased to match. After a bit of persuasion, Vahn agreed to escort the girls on trips into the Dungeon so they could meet the requirements for unlocking the [Hunter] Development Ability. If they wanted to be part of the main party in the future, they would need to start walking the path of an Elite now, since the longer they waited, the more difficult it would be to correct their ws. When their long lunch hade to an end, Vahn gave everyone the next few days off to prepare themselves mentally for theing trials. They were also making a few preparations for the uing Denatus, which was now only three days away. Hestia would be attending it from Monday-Wednesday in the following week, and that would serve as a pivotal moment for the entire Familia depending on how things yed out. Everyone listened to his words carefully before splitting off into smaller groups to go about their own business. Vahn himself had decided to go take a bath, which was a desire shared by the majority of those present as well. He went to the mens changing room while most of the girls left for the womens side. The exceptions had been Hestia, as she wanted to spend time together after being apart for a brief period. To prevent her from getting out of control, Aki had decided to join them as well while Ryuu stayed with therger group. Vahn enjoyed a long bath surrounded by the two beautiful, ck-haired, girls as they yfully bantered in the hot water while washing each others bodies. Aki knew how to twist Hestias words around on herself, so she was good at controlling the rambunctious little goddess, likely a result of Lokis influence. Since they had shared Vahn in the past, she used it as an excuse to y around with Hestias body a bit and tease her every time she tried to do something untoward during the bath. When Hestiained to Vahn about Akis disrespectful behavior, Vahn caressed her long hair gently before yfully pinching her soft buttocks with his fingers. Though she called him out for being a traitor, Hestia didnt take any actions to part from him as the trio spent nearly a full hour together in a humorous, somewhat pink, atmosphere. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Im gonna pre. -Vahn Mason,Physical Dominance,The Denatus Approaches...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 340 - Intuition

Chapter 340 - Intuition

When Vahn awoke the next morning, he peeled Hestia off of his body before he and Aki made their way to the bath to prepare for the day. After increasing their tensions after lunch, Vahn spent the rest of the day in his workshop temting out a few outfit designs before spending a bit of time with the girls at dinner. Afterward, Vahn retired to Hestias room alongside Aki and the three shared a few intimate moments long into the night. Ryuu had returned to the Hostess of Fertility to manage a few things, so Vahn gave in to the advances of the two girls before punishing them a bit. Hestia had tried to push herself without using the medicine, but she eventually gave up after failing in her attempts for a few minutes. She still had nearly no stamina, so the majority of his time had been spent with Aki after Hestia fell asleep. Her stamina, unless he pushed her to the limits, was nearly as endless as his own and it was nearly 2 AM before they finally went to sleep. Hestia had woken up intermittently and gotten Vahn to tend to her in the periods when Aki was recovering. Vahn had intended to visit the Hostess of Fertility for lunch, but when he mentioned it on the scroll, he was asked to wait until tomorrow. Ryuu had been staying there since the previous night, so Vahn assumed they were likely making preparations for whatever Syr had nned. Since the Status Log showed all the girls at the Hostess of Fertility as Busy, he began to feel very nervous because it seemed to involve all of them, with the exclusion of Mn, Tina, Shizune, and Mona. Though Vahn thought he was worrying over nothing, he couldnt help but have some minor expectations because his brain had taken a strange turntely as he more proactively pursued the girls around him. Even if he might be wrong in his assumption, Vahn felt like the event Syr had nned would likely result in him having s.e.x with one, or multiple, of the girls there... For the rest of the day, Vahn studied with the girls and cuddled with Fenrir to calm his mind in preparation for theing day. He had tried to rationalize several different things, including a party, or something more intimate like a private discussion. With the exception of, perhaps, Mama Mia, all the other girls within the Hostess of Fertility had some trauma rted to men. Though it was a strange thing to want, Vahn hoped that they just wanted to talk about their past and get to know each other better. However, no matter how much he tried to rationalize things, there had been too many signs with Syr, Chloe, and even Ryuu. Ever since he had seen the glint in Syrs eye when he made his bold im during the Vahnatus, he had some expectation that something like this would happen sooner orter. He was both excited, and admittedly very concerned since he didnt even understand the logistics involved when dealing with more than two women at a time. He didnt talk to anyone about it, nor did he try to find out any information since Vahn felt like it would be very embarrassing if he jumped to a conclusion that had nothing to do with the actual event they had nned. Though he kind of liked showing off a bit, Vahn realized he wasnt actually that great at dealing with stress and embarrassment until it was just between himself and another person. The more people involved, the more strenuous the situation was because he felt like, even though it might not be the case, he was being judged or tested for his performance. Just in case, when he went to sleep that night, Vahn spent a few hours studying various materials rted to the subject and even learned the term associated with such an event. The fact there was a coined term made him feel a little less insecure and Vahn studied the matters in detail because he wasnt willing to fail if put to the task. If Syr had somehow nned an orgy or harem presentation for him, Vahn wanted to make sure he was mentally prepared since his physical body and stamina shouldnt be an issue. Though he didnt particrly need much sleep, Vahn had been unable to rest throughout the night since his own concerns kept him awake. He couldnt help but feel he was getting himself riled up over a misunderstanding, but when he checked the Secret Log after finally giving up trying to sleep, Vahn saw a message that said, Everything is prepared, make sure to show up around 6 PM today. Dont both stopping by too early as weve closed the pub for the day. -Syr This message made Vahn feel like he had a thirteen-hour countdown to one of the greatest trials he might ever face. Since there was a very real chance he would have to tend to several women at a time in the future, Vahn convinced himself he needed to seed, assuming his inference was correct. If it turned out to be something entirely different, Vahn expected he mightugh himself silly on the spot because of how embarrassed he would feel. Since he wanted to get some proper rest before the event, Vahn invited Fenrir up to the balcony to rx in the freezing cold air with just the two of them for a while. When he was alone with Fenrir, the only expectations Vahn felt was just pampering her a bit. She almost never said anything unless he asked her questions and just silently enjoyed the time they spent together. When Vahn reclined on a sofa he had set out for them, she curled up next to him and fell asleep quickly even though she had rested well the night before. Vahn was somewhat jealous that she could fall asleep so quickly, but her rxed state allowed him to calm his own mind and he managed to fall asleep himself not long after. It wasnt until Haruhime came to look for them that Vahn awoke from his extended nap. He had rested for about five hours and felt a lot calmer now that he had rxed his mind and body for a bit. He hadnt even been using his domain since he was connected to the defensive formation of the Manor while he was resting. Vahn had been realizingtely that over-reliance on his domain was forcing him to act more like a god than a mortal. It always made his mind calm and rational, and Vahn started to believe this would have negative consequences on his ability to cope with things in the future. He noticed that every time he wasnt using it, he had small bouts of anxiety and was very reliant on others to be able to work through things. He didnt want to be a cold and detached person through overusing his domain, so unless he was out and about he decided to use it less often. His natural perception was already far greater than most peoples, and he could even detect presences and auras through walls. There wasnt a need to constantly keeping his domain at the maximum distance and it did nothing except promote his Magic parameter and unbnce his stats further. During lunch, Hestia had been casually sitting alongside Vahn and asked, "Vahn, can we go out on our date tomorrow? I want to go shopping for a new dress to prepare for the Denatus on Monday. Id like for you to help pick it out so Ill have more confidence...this is the first time Ill be attending the banquet, and Ill honestly admit Im very nervous..." Vahn ate the small sausage she had been holding out for him to eat before smiling and saying, "Sure, I promised to take you out on a private date soon anyways. This is a good opportunity and I havent made ns for tomorrow." Hestia pumped her small fist victoriously before standing up and saying, "I need to tell everyone else before they get any ideas~! Ehehehe, I get to go on a date with Vahn all by myself~." Without finishing her lunch, Hestia ran off to her room, presumably to send a message on thework about her date with him. Vahn saw that most of the girls were giving him strange looks, so heughed humorously before saying, "If you do well on our excursions and obtain the [Hunter] Development Ability, Ill agree to take you out on a short afternoon date. Ill help you pick out some casual clothes and treat you to a delicious meal as a reward." Haruhime, Emiru, and Maemi, all cheered up after hearing his words, but Preasia had a somewhat sad look on her face since she didnt actually enter the dungeon. Vahns cheek twitched imperceptibly as he said, "Preasia, I think I could use your help when conducting some experiments. Even though I have the [Mixing] Development Ability, I havent been able to create any potions of my own. If possible, Id like you to assist me and Ill walk you through the process until you are able to learn the ability for yourself." Hearing that Vahn had included her, Preasia showed a very small smile before lowering her head without actually vocalizing her response. She just continued to re at him as she slowly made headway on her own food while mainly focusing on feeding Fenrir. As for the adorable little wolf girl, she didnt seem to mind about dates, or many other things for that matter, and was just happy when Vahn spent time with her. She made a lot of effort to not be a bother when he was working, so Fenrir didnt even process that she wasnt included in the rewards that were mentioned. As long as she did her best, Fenrir knew she would always be able to get pampered by Vahn whenever time allowed. She just listened to everyone talking and said a few things in a quiet voice to Preasia every now and then. After lunch, around 4 PM, Aki hade to Vahn, who had been spending more quality time on the balcony with Fenrir, and showed a kind smile before asking, "Fenrir, do you mind if I speak to Vahn alone for a little while? Pretty please~?" Fenrirs ears twitched a bit before she crawled off the sofa obediently and said, "Fenrir is a good girl. Fenrir will let Vahn spend time with the others now." As she had spent the better part of the previous afternoon, and the majority of today, with Vahn, Fenrir was in a very pleased mood and didnt make anyints as she trotted into the Manor wearing her midnight blue dress. Ever since Vahn had gifted it to her, it had been her favorite outfit and she tried to wear it whenever they were at home. When Fenrir had left, Aki turned to Vahn andughed in a gentle tune before saying, "She seems very happy to get to spend time with you...well, not that I can me her." Vahn walked over and gently embraced Akis body before rubbing noses with her and asking, "Did youe to give me advice?" Aki tilted her head slightly and said, "Im not entirely sure what they have nned, but I have a few ideas after talking with Loki-sama. Syr had talked with all of the core members of thework before receiving permission, and Loki-sama wanted me to make sure you were in a healthy mental state. Its not really a secret, and Syr probably understand this as well, but this is a test that was given to her by Hephaestus-sama, Eina-sama, and Loki-sama. Because of her nature, there is a good chance she might work her way to the top of thework and they want to see how well she can manage things...if you feel any inhibitions at all, you need to make sure to inform everyone about what happened. Dont worry, well take care of things before they get out of hand...besides, I trust Ryuu and Chloe to look out for you..." Though it didnt confirm anything, Akis words made Vahn believe his inference had been on the mark from the beginning. She didnt mention it, but he also understood this was a test for himself as well, not just Syr. It would show if he was actually capable of pushing himself further in the regards of intimacy, and also let everyone understand if he was easily taken by the momentum of the situation. Because he would be outnumbered greatly if he lost control of things it could be a problem in the future. He needed to do his best to take control of the situation and not simply be exploited by the whims and needs of the girls around him. A healthy rtionship required both parties to give 50/50, in a bnced manner without greatlypromising. This was thrown out of whack very quickly when there were more than two people involved since Vahn couldnt give 50% of himself to every girl present, nor could they return the favor. There had to be amon grounds that they could find, or he would always be restricted in his actions in the future. Now was one of the best times to test this principle, since he would be getting married in the very near future and that wouldplicate matters a great deal if there were any tensions and concerns within thework. And this wasnt even taking into consideration the problems that would arise within the next few days after matters were rified at the Denatus... Vahn took a deep breath of the cold winter air before holding Akis body firmly in his embrace and saying, "Ill be fine...Though I cant say with absolute certainty, I believe Ive made the proper preparations. And besides, I trust Syr, Ryuu, and especially Chloe...Im not sure who else will be involved, but I believe in Arnya and Lunoire as well. If things devolve into a strange direction, Im certain Ill be able to take a step back and I know, at the very least, Ryuu and Chloe will support me." Aki nodded her head before leaning her head forward and giving Vahn a rtively long kiss on the lips. When they parted, she whispered in a happy tone, "It isnt just them, but every girl on thework will support you if things get tough. Just like you work hard to meet the needs and expectations of those around you, wellbine our efforts to ease your burdens~. I think if its Hestia-sama, Hephaestus-sama, and Loki-sama, youll be able to recover even if something goes wrong...Ill also be there, just a single knock on the door away." After talking for a short while, Vahn spent the remainder of the time he had left in a meditative state. He was trying topletely clear his mind and make sense of the indistinguishable words that constantly repeated like a mantra within his soul. It made sense, considering the words came from the gacha reward [Mantra of Eternity: SSS] that he had received long ago. He knew his Soul Tier wasnt high enough to discern the words, but Vahn had long ago realized that focusing on each sound helped clear his mind and speed up the replenishment of the energy within his body. Though he hadnt expended any yet, Vahn wanted to top off all of his reserves, including stamina, mental energy, and source energy. When the time showed 5:40 PM, Vahn stood up from his seated position and used Shundo to disappear from the balcony. His destination was the Hostess of Fertility to attend whatever event Syr had been nning for the entirety of thest week. (A/N: Shameless Plea: There have been a few trolls guing the review section with 1-star reviews and, unfortunately, doesnt have a system that prevents this from happening. Please, if you enjoy the story, I would implore you to take a few short seconds to leave a review showing your support for the novel. Stay ssy, and know that I appreciate all the support everyone had shown for me over thest two months weve been on this journey together. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns Enviable Lifestyle,Are these real concerns!?,Towards the Hostess of Fertility...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 341 - What One Person Can Do

Chapter 341 - What One Person Can Do

Because his pace had been unnaturally fast, Vahn arrived outside the Hostess of Fertility after around four minutes of travel. There were a number of people in the process of leaving and Vahn could see they were carrying various tools and appeared to be a group of craftsmen. Vahn made his way into the interior and Mama Mia noticed him as she yelled out, "Heya kiddo, looks like youre a bit early!" She had a big grin on her face as she looked down at him with her arms akimbo. Vahn smiled in return and looked around to see that there was a fair amount of changes that had started to take shape within the pub. Noticing his gaze, Mama Mia exined, "Every few months, we like to do some routine renovations to keep things fresh and interesting for our customers. Crews have been in here all day, and theyre trying to have everything wrapped up by tomorrow evening." Vahn understood that this conveniently timed renovation was likely brought about by Syr as an ideal cover for whatever she had nned. He had even passed arge sign on the outside of the building that showed they would be closed until Monday morning. If she had something nned that required all the girls, the only way to involve everyone was to either book the entire pub, or have the pub shut down temporarily. A number of people hadined after the ce had been booked for the Vahnatus, and this was likely a means to prevent them from having anyints. Mama Mia poured a tall ss of ale and gestured for Vahn toe over and take a seat. Vahn nodded and sat down before saying, "Thanks, Mama Mia." Hearing his words, Mama Mia began tough heartily before saying in a teasing tone, "Dont thank me so soon, most of these renovations are going on your tab after all." Vahns eyes widened a bit before he beganughing along with her. He raised his ss in friendly gesture before downing the entire contents in severalrge gulps. After a few minutes of casual conversation, the final crewman left the Hostess of Fertility and Mama Mia left the counter to lock up the building. When Mama Mia turned back toward Vahn her friendly expression had suddenly turned into a very serious one before she walked over and sat across from him at the bar. She grabbed a ss for herself, but before she could grab some of her own stock, Vahn ced out a small bottle of [Dwarven Drought] for her. She, like Gareth, was a pure-blooded Dwarf so she had a powerful tolerance and a love for alcohol. Even though her expression remained serious, she couldnt hide the fact that her aura had started to ze slightly as she nodded her head and said, "At least you havent forgotten your manners...thanks, kid." She poured a gon of the rich brown liquor before taking a probing swig and letting out a satisfied sigh. After enjoying the intoxicating aroma for a short while, Mama Mia set the ss to the side and her expression solidified as she said, "Ill be honest, kid, Im not at all in agreement with this little game youre all ying. I know youre a goodd, but I dont have much confidence youre up snuff to deal with the matters youre throwing yourself into. Tell me, what do you know about this ce?" Mama Mias brown eyes squinted, almost like she were trying to see through any falsehoods Vahn was intending to tell her. Vahn set aside his own gon without breaking eye contact with Mama Mia as he said, "I cant say I know much, but Ive spected and deduced various things. First of all, though I know you probably built this ce to protect the girls, I can also tell your blessing is still active. Ive inferred a few things regarding Syrs past and identity, so I imagine you were tasked with protecting her, for what purpose, I have no idea. All I can say on that matter is, I wont allow Syr to be exploited by anyone against her will..." Mama Mias eyes turned even more serious after hearing Vahns words, but she didnt interrupt him yet as he continued, "If I had to guess, though it is actually your intent to protect the girls, this ce still retains ties with the Freya Familia and is likely a front to draw in powerful adventurers for Freyas purposes. Since all of the women here have trauma rted to men, there is very little chance they would be courted easily and, even if they were sought after, the men would need to be somewhat capable since all the girls here are very strong. Other than Syr herself, and the recent additions, everyone else is at least Level 4 and very difficult to approach..." Mama Mia crossed her arms across her chest and released a heavy sigh before exining, "Its a lot moreplex than you realize...but that might not even matter for much longer." She then reached over and grabbed her gon then downed half the contents before she continued, "Yer right about a few things, the fact being that Im still loyal to Freya-sama. Though Im at loggerheads with her, she did a lot for me in my youth and I cant simply cut ties with her so easily. She asked me to look after Syr as she develops her ownwork and consolidates her own power in a unique way. Like you guessed, this ce would inevitably serve as a gathering point for capable adventurers that sought after some of the troubled women here and Freya-sama would have scouted them..." Her own words seemed to trigger something in her as Mama Mia frowned deeply before finishing off her ss before having Vahn refill it. She released a sigh as she shook her head and said, "Fortunately, or unfortunately for Freya-sama, that girl is far kinder and gentler than she expected. Though she found capable Adventurers and earned their trust, she never did anything that would bring them harm...I think she understands what Freya-sama was thinking and has been acting in an effort to truly cut ties with her in the future. Now that youre here...well, youre an easy out for Syr and the other girls...it helps that youre also handsome and able to actually resist her charm." Mama Mia waved her hand dismissively as if she were banishing her own words out of the air before she continued, "Well, as I said, it probably wont even matter now. Youre a bit of an anomaly and Ive already received orders from Freya-sama to support you if the opportunity presented itself. Still, even though that is the case, I cant easily ept the fact youre so involved with so many people. Keep this up and youll break down sooner orter kid...thatwork, well, it might be a brilliant idea, cant question that really, but it isnt a real solution to the underlying problems. Like you said, all of the girls here have traumas rted to men, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. They didnt be as strong as they are on ident after all, most of them have heavy burdens that even they struggle to bear. Even with something like thework, they cant easily reach out and ce their trust in others because they have their own inner demons to work through. If you actually go through with things and push your luck, youll end up bearing their burdens in the future and I honestly dont think you can manage it...I dont want to see those girls break down and lose themselves when you fail." While Mama Mia was speaking, Vahn paid close attention to each of her words and considered them seriously. However, though they were heavy words, everything Mama Mia said just made him feel more confident in his decision going forward. He knew it would be difficult, but Vahn didnt consider the matter troublesome at all. The problems the girls faced wouldnt simply go away with the passage of time, so Vahn wanted to help them ovee their trauma if he could. It might take years, but Vahn could support them emotionally during that time until he eventually helped them find a solution to ovee their burden. Just like in the case of Chloe, Vahn intended to one day visit the Empire, not to seek revenge for her, but to find absolution and pay respects to her mother. He wanted to free her from the darkness she was bound to, and he had truly started to love her a long time ago. Though he didnt feel the same way currently about some of the other girls, emotions could be nurtured with time and there was arge support group avable to them in the meantime. Vahn knew that there were few things, other than the whims of fate, that could stand in his way as long as he continued toward the future. Even if he wasnt the key to their happiness, he could be the catalyst that leads to a solution to help them find peace with the past so they can face the future, just like Ryuu had started to do. When Mama Mia mentioned the girls breaking from his failure, a resolute gleam passed through his eyes as his [Will of the Emperor] passively activated. He stared into her intimidating brown eyes and stated with conviction, "Fear of failure is not the path towards sess. If fear of failure is what drives you, youll never be able to ovee the matters of the past; youll never be able to find your way towards a better future! The girls here may have been dealt a cruel fate that requires them to bear a heavy burden, but there is nothing that dictates they must bear that burden alone! Your fear that Ill break down, that Im only one person, is wed from the outset...Im not alone, regardless of how lonely I feel at times, there are countless people I can rely on if I ce my trust in them...together...together, there is nothing we cant ovee!" By the end of his words, Vahn was standing off his stool and had left indents in the bar with how powerfully he was gripping it. Even though she was nearly Level 7, Mama Mia felt slightly intimidated at being stared down by Vahn. She could sense a dangerous light in the depths of his eyes that made her instincts trigger a hard to suppress fight-or-flight response. She saw the damage to the hardwood table before shaking her head and smiling, "Well, its good to have a bit of conviction when youre young...but thatll only get you so far if youre not properly prepared. The fact you know its better to work in a group is important, but what do you actually intend to do to help the girls? Spewing titudes doesnt defeat your enemies, nor does it put food on the table and provide security for your family. In fact, the bigger you talk, the greater the number of enemies that will line up to prove you wrong..." Uncharacteristically, Vahn began tough heartily and it made Mama Mia feel slightly unnerved since she thought he might have lost it. Vahn shook his head and stated inly, "I know better than most how my actions lead to consequences that could bring harm to those that I love if I make mistakes...but, Im prepared to live with that...knowing that Im not perfect, that Ill make mistakes that might cause harm to others...however, no matter how hard things get, I will never. stop. trying. I will work tirelessly to improve my strength, increase my authority, and pursue the ideals I believe in. There are no perfect ns, preparations, or solutions to any and all problems. The most important thing, the thing that I will never relent on, is HOPE. Hope that, as long as people believe in, and work towards, a better future...the closer it wille to fruition. It isntcency and concerns that create the foundation for tomorrow, it is ourbined actions, our unified resolve! You shouldnt ask what I can do for them, but what were able to do together! For a few seconds, there was absolute silence as Vahn and Mama Mia stared into each others eyes with serious expressions on their faces. After a while, it was Mama Mia who broke as she released a heavy sigh before standing from the bar. She had a wry smile on her face as she gave Vahn an appreciating look and said, "Looks like the previous generation is always destined to be overtaken by those that follow...Im getting too old, seems like Ive forgotten a few important things. Well, Ill be honest kid, I dont know what kind of future youre heading for...but I think you might be able to pull it off if you truly believe what you just said. Ive heard of, hell, Ive even seen a few of the revolutionary things youve done. Just the fact that Freya-sama is supporting you, instead of trying to make you hers, is already a miracle in and of itself..." Mama Mia shook her head before casually picking up the bottle of [Dwarven Drought] and walking toward the door as if to exit the Hostess of Fertility. She shook the bottle in her hand with a grin on her face as she said, "Thanks for the gift, Ill leave things to you for now...dont f.u.c.k it up, Vahn." After she exited the building, Vahn heard the doors lock and he could sense a powerful formation activate throughout the entire building. He sat in silence for a while and stared at the door in confusion because he had been left in the bar alone, without any of the other girls in sight. He could sense their presence nearby, but he wasnt sure if he was supposed to keep waiting or if he was supposed to try and go to them. It was already past the time he was told to show up, so Vahn actually felt a strange sense of guilt for having them wait for him while he talked with Mama Mia. Fortunately, the formation must have informed them about the situation as one of the auras started moving toward his location with a hurried pace. Since her aura was slightlyrger than normal, Vahn understood it was Syr heading toward him, hopefully, to exin the situation. Less than a minuteter, she stopped outside of the door leading to the pub before opening it silently as if she had forgotten Vahn had the ability to sense her. After a few silent seconds, Syr peeked through the gap and saw Vahn staring directly at her with an amused expression. She gave a relieved sigh before opening the door and saying, "I was afraid that Mama Mia might have scared you off. Looks like things went well." Complimenting her gorgeous smile, Syr was wearing an intricately designed white blouse with frills on the hem and sleeves. It was decorated with small ck ribbons and she had a very short ck frilled skirt that didnt even reach halfway down her thighs. Underneath the skirt, Vahn could see white stockings with a matching garter belt and a pair of ck slip-on shoes with red ribbons. With the mild blush on her smiling face, she looked almost dangerously tantalizingpared to her usual, somewhat modest, appearance. Syr had seen Vahns wandering look and the clear intrigue in his eyes as her face blushed slightly deeper and she yfully grabbed the edges of her skirt and raised the hem. She didnt actually reveal what was underneath, but Vahn swallowed on instinct when she asked, "Curious~?" Vahn took a slightly deeper breath and said, "You look great, Syr..." as he walked over toward her with confident and casual steps. As he approached, Syr let her skirt fall down as she bashfully looked away and said, "Ano...we shouldnt tarry here." Vahn smiled and, instead of embracing her as he intended, stroked her beautiful light-grey hair that framed her nearly wless face. His gentle action made her blush deepen before she grabbed his hand and said, "Follow me...and try to behave yourself...the night is young." (A/N:Alternate Titles: What Many People Can Do, Together,Vahn vs. Demi Ymir,Syr leads the way...for now) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 342 - Reason

Chapter 342 - Reason

Syr dragged Vahn, by hand, through a few corridors there customers didnt have ess to. There was even a sturdy security door that could only be passed through with the assistance of Syr. Not only the door, but the adjoining walls were heavily reinforced and the interior gap of the wall was filled with aplex array of runes. Vahn had seen it from a distance before, but seeing the security formation up close was an eye-opening experience. It wasnt as powerful as the formations guarding his Manor, but it was more than enough to buy the girls inside enough time rally in the event of an emergency. Excluding Syr, all of the core members of the Hostess of Fertility were at least Level 4 while Mama Mia herself was at the peak of Level 6. Around a minute after leaving the pub proper, Syr stopped outside of a door where Vahn could detect four other auras. She turned around and faced Vahn as she asked in a low tone, "Vahn, do you trust me?" Vahn blinked before c.o.c.king his head to the side for a brief moment and said inly, "Yes." Syrs face beamed with a lovely smile as she leaned forward and gave him a quick peck on the lips beforeughing. Seeing the somewhat surprised look on Vahns face, she said, "Honest boys deserve rewards~. Im d you trust me Vahn, especially considering..." Syr cut her words short before turning the doorknob and opening the door toward the interior. When she pulled him through the door, Syr said in a chipper tone, "Wee, Vahn, to a ce no man has ever stepped foot~! This is the centralmon room for the womens dormitory, though weve renovated it a bit for the asion." Vahn was stunned at the sight, not because the interior of the room was something beautiful and extravagant, but because of the people sitting on the sofas enjoying what appeared to be tea. As expected, Ryuu and Chloe were present, alongside Arnya and Lunoire, who Vahn wasnt entirely sure would be present. He had interacted with the girls often in the past, but their current appearance was enough to bar any words he would have typically used to greet them. Like Syr, every girl present was wearing a very simr outfit which consisted of differently colored frilled blouses, which didnt do much to hide their figures. Ryuu was wearing a very light green, Chloe had on a mute blue, Arnya had a light peach, and Lunoire was wearing a creamy beige colored blouse with darker ribbons that matched the base color, albeit a much darker shade. Toplement the outfits, they all had on skirts that matched the colors of the ribbons and were identical in design to the ck skirt worn by Syr. The onlymon feature among the girls was the fact they were all wearing white stockings with matching garter belts. Though the outfit looked great on Syr, it was a powerful impact to see a room full of girls lounging about casually in simr attire, almost as if they were wearing uniforms. Vahn heard aughter from his right and he turned his head to see Syr smiling at him with a subtly mischevious look in her eyes as she asked, "Though being speechless speaks volumes, isnt there something you should say at a time like this~?" Vahns eyes flittered about briefly because he was trying to process what he should say before muttering an, Ah and then turning to the girls with a genuine smile as he said, "Thank you, everyone, for allowing me to visit this ce...you all look incredible. Im actually awestruck..." Vahn awkwardly rubbed the back of his head as he traced his eyes over the girls in the room with a giddy feeling beginning to spread through his heart. Curiously, none of the girls returned his greeting immediately and it was Syr who spoke up after she pped her hands once before saying, "Okay, Im sure you have plenty of questions, Vahn, but a lot of that can wait for...well, it can wait for a more appropriate time. The thing Im sure youre most curious about is why everyone decided to gather here together...lets see, Chloe, shall we start with you~?" At Syrs behest, Chloe stood up from the sofa before performing a small curtsy and saying with a mischevious smile before turning her butt to the side and showing off her blue ribbon. She said in a yful tone, "Im here because I love Vahn, nyahaha~!" Vahn smiled lovingly at Chloe as they matched each others gazes until he heard a p from his right as Syr said, "Very good, an excellent reason~! Now, shall we have Ryuu go next~?" Chloe stuck out her tongue and winked at Vahn before sitting down next to Ryuu. Aftward, Ryuu brushed her skirt before standing up and saying with a small smile on her face, "I want to walk alongside Vahn, regardless of the struggles we may have to face...together. Im not sure about my own feelings, but this is the closest thing to love Ive ever known...I want to spend the rest of our lives together." For a few long seconds, there was absolute silence in the room until Chloe said, "Wow, Ryuu, thats pretty deep~nyahaha." Hearing Chloes words, Ryuu blushed slightly but continued to stare at Vahn with a firm conviction on her face. Their small moment was broken when Syr pped again beforeughing in an awkward manner as she said, "Wow, I could feel my own heart rate increase... lets move on to Arnya now~?" Ryuu nodded politely before sitting down on the sofa next to the cheekily smiling Chloe. As soon as she sat down, Arnya jumped to her feet and shouted in a somewhat fl.u.s.tered voice, "I-I-I wont back down, even if my heart is beating super hard right nyow~! Things like love, Im nyot sure about, but I knyow I like to y around with everyone and I dont want to be left out~nya! I-I knyow it might be a lot to ask, but please take care of me from nyow on~nya!" Before she was told to sit down, Arnya sat plopped onto her butt and covered her blushing face as she made a strange mewling sound. During her speech, her Affection, which had previously dropped down to 92(Curious), increased to 99(Love?) with a single notification from the system. The somewhat tense atmosphere that had been present in the room prior to her outburst waspletely dashed as everyone, excluding the politely smiling Ryuu,ughed a little at Arnyas behavior. Syr pped once again before saying, "Other than myself, that leaves just Lunoire~!" Hearing Syr call her name, the somewhat gentle looking young woman with light brown hair and hazelnut eyes stood up. Her face almost always had a smile on it, and her eyes drooped slightly at the edges which made her entire expression look soft and caring. She was 161cm tall and had a shapely figure and well-developed b.r.e.a.s.ts that wear nearing a C-cup in size. Other than her slightly plump thighs, butt, and b.r.e.a.s.ts, there didnt seem to be a single ounce of fat on her incredibly fit body which had been cultivating through martial arts andbat. She was a Level 4 Adventurer who moonlighted as a bounty hunter and often worked alongside Chloe on her more difficult missions. Lunoire stepped forward a bit as her smile grew marginally wider and she bowed politely before saying, "Well...I was told to be honest, so Ill speak unabashedly...please forgive my indiscretion Vahn." Her smile increased in size yet again as her eyes squinted slightly before she continued, "All I have ever wanted in life was to live a happy and peaceful existence. I never cared if my partner was handsome, or cool, just that he cared about me and provided a safe ce for me to spend my days. As long as it doesnt bother you if Ize about during my free time, Id like you to consider epting me as well." Finished speaking, Lunoire bowed slightly before sitting next to Arnya. Vahn was slightly confused, as he didnt expect the desire of a Level 4, especially one known for her violent streaks when she got angry, was that she wanted to bezy and stay at home. He understood that she likely had a good reason, and it was most probably rted to her own trauma. Now wasnt the time to pry into her past, but Vahn knew he would be able to provide the things she wanted and it would also give them plenty of time to work through things. Of all the people present, Lunoire had the lowest affection for him, but it was still a decent value at 94(Trust). Syr pped once again before saying, "Excellent, it looks like everyone has their own reasons for being here. As for myself, well, I obviously love Vahn..." Syrs smile blossomed widely as she looked over toward Vahn and continued, "I waited my entire life, hoping, praying, that I would meet someone like you. Now that Ive had the opportunity, Im willing to do whatever it takes to stay with you from now until forever...thank you Vahn, for everything youve done for me, and everything well do for each other from now on." Vahn had turned to lock eyes with her and he noticed she was actually beginning to tear up slightly. He was about to reach out his hand, but Syr moved off to the side with a smile after seeing through his intentions. Syr took a deep breath to calm herself before fixing her expression and saying, "Well, now that youve heard our reasons, what say you, Vahn? Nobody here will force you to ept them, and we have all discussed in detail about how matters would progress if youre ufortable with any of this. Even if you turn us away, well still have a strong bond as friends andpanions that trust each other." Piggybacking off Syrs words, Chloe said, "Vahn, its important that you understand that nobody here is trying to manipte you into epting this situation. We discussed these matters with Hephaestus, Eina, and Loki, before running it through Mama Mia to see how she felt about things. The only reason were making things clear is so that you understand everyones positions without overburdening yourself by trying to understand what everyone is thinking." Vahn smiled at their exnation before shaking his head and stating confidently, "Its okay, I had expectations about what might happen before I even came here. Though its a little embarrassing to admit, I even stayed upte thinking about how things might progress..." Vahn began tough a bit to diminish his own embarrassment after seeing the girls smile at him. After he calmed down, Vahn continued, "There are various things Id like to do for each of you in the future, but for now Ill simply state my own feelings about everything that is happening. I swear, everything Im about to stay, even if I dont understand it well myself, are my honest feelings..." After each girl nodded in turn, Vahn looked at Chloe and had a loving smile on his face as he said, "Chloe, I wouldnt be the person I am today if not for you...none of this would have been possible. You may not be the reason for my happiness, but you are the reason I was able to find it in the first ce...I love you very much." Though he hadnt expected it himself, Vahn could feel a pressure in the bridge of his nose, almost like he was about to tear up after confessing, once again, to the somewhat mischevious, beautiful, and infinitely kind Cat Person. It wasnt just him either, as Chloes mouth shrunk into a small frown as she was doing her best to not cry as well. Though it hadnt been that long since their first meeting, Chloe had seen the changes in Vahn from the very beginning. Before she had even understood the changes in her own heart, he was already at the core of her being and had now be one of the reasons for her own happiness. He was like the light of the sun, something she had shunned for a long time as she embraced the darkness of the night. Now that she had found him, the darkness seemed far more lonely and intolerable to her. She longed for the light, and now Vahn had be someone capable of helping pull her away from the darkness...just like she had made her best efforts to do for him in the past. Vahn took a deep breath after Chloe nodded her head with a gratified smile and allowed him to continue on to Ryuu. When he looked into her sky blue eyes and saw her lightly blushing expression and the peaceful smile, Vahn felt a lot calmer in an instant. His smile changed from one of love, and gratitude, to a much gentler one full of affections as he said, "Ryuu, you are one of the few girls that make my heart feel at peace...I dont even understand it myself, but its like you have a calming aura and I always feel like I can rely on you. From now, and forever hereafter, we will follow the same path...just like our promise on the 18th floor, we will find our shared happiness together. Then, when we look back on the long life we shared, well be able to express our shared gratitude toward Ms. Alise..." Hearing Vahns words, Ryuus stoic expression faded and her brows fells as her bottom jaw began to twitch slightly. Like Chloe, tears began to build up in her eyes because Vahn had said words that struck straight at the core of her being. Just as she had promised Alise, now that Vahn had grasped her hand, she intended to hold on tightly and never let him go. Even if he one day wandered into the realm of Hades itself, she would be at his side and bear the burden with him. Though she didnt vocalize it now, Ryuus desire to grow stronger increased exponentially at this moment. She had spent years stagnating after trying to enact her revenge, but now was the time to face the future and charge towards it...with Vahn. When Vahn finally turned to Arnya, she was staring at him with a strangely calm expression, drastically different from her normal airheaded persona. Vahn knew she was only pretending to act foolish, and he one day intended to find out and see if he was able to help her. For now, however, he smiled kindly and said in an honest manner, "Arnya...youre a very adorable, lively, and cheerful woman. I know you only approached me in the beginning because of your loyalty to Chloe, but Im happy were here together at this moment. I also dont understand love well, but I know its something that is shared between people that care deeply about each other...even if were not quite at that point yet, Ill do my best to earn, not just your trust, but your love and affection as well." Arnya smiled sheepishly andughed in a cheerful manner while scratching the side of her cheek awkwardly before resuming a serious expression. Though it was technically Vahns turn to speak, she said uncharacteristically serious manner, "It might be strange to hear this now, but I believe in you, Vahn...I hope I can reach that point...please show me what its like." After her words finished, she looked around the room before yfullyughing to dismiss the serious atmosphere she had caused to spread through the room. Vahn nodded his head seriously and said, "Leave it to me..." After Arnya, Vahn turned his attention to the smiling Lunoire and habitually showed the same type of smile. Of all the girls at the Hostess of Fertility, Lunoire was the one he interacted with the least. However, all the time they spent together was very pleasant and Vahn always felt a strange warmthing from her aura. She was a great listener and always spoke in aforting tone and had often tried to give him passing tidbits of advice. When she had shown up one day to suddenly receive his massage, Vahn had been surprised, especially when she unashamedly undressed andid on the tabled n.a.k.e.d. Vahn had gotten a great view of her figure since she had made no efforts to hide it and simply entrusted her body to his hands. Though it didnt matter much, that was when Vahn learned that Lunoire wasnt actually a v.i.r.g.i.n. She had a mature reaction to his massage and that had been the official start of their somewhat peculiar rtionship. Interestingly, though her desire seemed simple, it was actually almost identical to his own since before he even arrived in this record. His only wish, since he couldnt reunite with his mother, was to live a free and happy life. This made him feel a strange connection to Lunoire, and Vahn wondered if this was the reason they meshed together well even though they didnt talk that often. After ruminating over this a bit, Vahns smiled widened marginally as he said, "Lunoire, weve always had a strange rtionship with each other. Ive always felt strangely close to you, and we actually share the same simple desire...though it might not seem like it, the only thing Ive ever wanted was freedom and happiness. I think the biggest difference between us is that Im happiest when Im working hard to make the people I care about happy...since that is the case, I promise that I will show you the care you desire and promise to always provide a peaceful environment for whenever you feel the need for it." Lunoire didnt say anything in return, but her smile bloomed into a cheerful expression that reached her eyes. She, like everyone else present at the Vahnatus, knew about Vahns past and how he was imprisoned. His desire for freedom made perfect sense and she could understand the parallels he drew between them since she also felt the same. Her life had been rather tragic, especially after bing an orphan due to war. The only escape for her had been working hard to be strong enough to escape that sad cycle before she eventually made her way to Orario and met Chloe. Though she continued to work hard, her desire for a free and unfettered life had only been growing as time passed. Now that she had the opportunity to settle down a bit, she didnt want to pass it up, especially considering the type of person Vahn was. Though she didnt mind if her husband wasme, uncool, or even ugly, Vahn was quite the catch. He was fiercely perceptive, highly empathetic, incredibly gentle, ridiculously handsome, and stupidly wealthy. Since they also go along well and shared several things inmon, there was no way she would be willing to take a step back if he was receptive to her needs and also wanted to be with her. After smiling at each other for a short while, Lunoire gestured with her eyes toward Syr so Vahn turned to the beautiful young woman and returned her affectionate smile. There were several things he wanted to say to the remarkably intelligent and gentle girl, but the only thing that came to mind at this moment was a few short words. Vahn felt his heart pulse powerfully as his smiled grew soft and he said in a soft tone, "Sorry for keeping you waiting..." Ever since their first meeting, Vahn had constantly been having Syr wait for him. Even though she earnestly sought a ce in his heart, she took a back seat and promoted other girls over herself. Though she was slightly maniptive, she always took action to try and make him happier. In all their interactions after that, she was always very patient and understanding and never crossed the line or pushed beyond the boundaries until Vahn was the one to take a step forward. Even now, when she had arranged everything for his benefit, she let the other girls speak first and kept things on track while patiently waiting for her own turn. Though she already had a lovely smile on her face, Syrs smile blossomed as she pressed her hands together between her b.r.e.a.s.ts and looked at Vahn with an expression full of love, passion, and devotion. His five simple words spoke volumes and she knew there were several things that he wanted to say to her, all of which could wait tillter. The only thing that mattered was that, now, here in this moment, they understood each other. However, though she felt like this was enough, Vahn seemed intent to push her heart beyond the breaking point as his soft smile turned into a loving one as he said a sequence of four words that shook her to the core, "I love you, Syr." Though it wasnt the first time he had said the words, Syr felt like her heart melted at this moment and it showed on her face as she muttered through stifled sobs, "I love you too, Vahn. Thank you...thank you so much for being you." (A/N: This puts me at 101k words officially for this week. Thanks for reading another 50 chapters worth of content <3. I know some people wanted things to progress a little faster than this, but I feel like the buildup is very important to make the actual events more impactful. Hopefully, you dont feel like the situation with Arnya and Lunoire is forced, since they actually do have their own personal reasons for liking Vahn (which will be revealed inter chapters when it bes relevant to the plot~!). Stay tuned, and stay beautiful <3) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Just give me a reason, just a little bits enough...,Feeling feelings feels fulfilling, freeing, and fascinating,Just...ording to...keikaku???) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 343 - Hostess of Fertility(1/?)

Chapter 343 - Hostess of Fertility(1/?)

(Borderline NSFW~?) After a short while, Syr managed to recover herposure, at least enough to put on her characteristically gentle expression. She pped her hands together to draws everyones attention and said in a chipper tone, "Okay then, now that everyone has clearly stated their position, the only thing that remains is understanding the current situation. It doesnt seem like anyone here is confused, but Ill say it for rification in the event that there was a misunderstanding of sorts...ultimately, its up to you to decide what you want to do Vahn, but we....ummm..." Syr began to act very bashfully and was seemingly unable to continue her words easily as she cradled her own rosy cheeks in embarrassment. Ryuu had been watching Syr with an encouraging smile as she spoke, but now that she was mentally stalling Ryuu let out a short sigh and said in a calm voice, "There are several reasons behind why weve gathered here, but the most important thing is that we wanted to show our mutual support of each other and make our intentions clear in a setting where everyone was present. Chloe and I have been in a position to be approached by you for some time, but we wanted to help support Syrs love since she isnt easily able to make headway on her own..." Syr gave Ryuu an aggrieved re but Ryuu had been looking at Vahn and seemingly failed to notice as she continued, "Everyone here trusts Syr and wants to see her find happiness, so we didnt want to steal you from her before things had developed beyond a certain point. Now that everything is in the open..." Chloe burst outughing the moment Ryuu started to blush and hesitate before she chimed out in an amused tone, "If youre willing, Vahn, every girl here wants to celebrate and have s.e.x with you~nya! Its to show our unity, our sisterhood, and the emotions we all share together, not just with ourselves, but with you as well. How we go about it is entirely up to you though~nyahaha." With Chloes little outburst, the atmosphere in the room became somewhat awkward and tense. Vahn could see the somewhat pink auras of everyone turn a richer shade with a small tinge of red. Syr managed to calm herself down a little after things had been exined by Chloe so she said in a guiding tone, "Even though it might be a little scary, everyone here has resolved themselves for this moment and we all came together with the proper convictions. I feel that well have a much stronger bond as a whole if we experience this together, though I wont deny Id like some time of my own in the future, ehehehe." At the end of her words, Syr did her best to wink and poke out her tongue briefly in a teasing fashion directed at Vahn. Though he felt like his heart was going to explode in his chest, Vahn did his best to remain calm andposed as he overlooked all the beautiful girls that had gathered together, not simply for his, but for their shared benefits. There was something strangely calming about knowing that, even though they outnumbered him, and were actually stronger than he was, every girl present ced their trust in him and allowed Vahn to make the decision about how to proceed. Since they were willing to go so far for him, Vahn decided to state honestly, "Though Ive read up on it a bit, I dont have absolute confidence in handling more than three girls at the same time. I know things might get a little awkward if were all together, but I also feel like it will bring everyone closer if we share our first experience instead of splitting apart and making it a personal matter. Just imagining the other girls waiting for me in their rooms makes me feel somewhat ufortable, almost like Id have to rush matters..." Vahn took a deep breath and felt a little more confident after seeing that all of the girls were patiently listening to his words. He felt emboldened as the giddy feelings in his body slowly dissolved and were reced by warmth and passion as he continued, "Besides, seeing everyone together like this...it makes me feel very blessed, almost to an overwhelming extent. Youre all so beautiful..." Vahn continued to pass his eyes over the girls and, from their perspective, the only things they could see were his clear aquamarine eyes, unclouded by any negative emotions. The only thing they saw within the transparent depths were intrigue, appreciation, and gratitude, intermixed with powerful emotions. Syr began tough, almost as if she were trying to alter the flow of the atmosphere to prevent things from bing too tense. Though Vahn spoke clearly, and honestly, he wasnt saying anything to guide the actions of the others and Syr was aware this would be the case. Unless he was incited to action, there was a very real chance Vahn could continue to stare at, and appreciate, the girls for several minutes without actually doing anything. One of the things she had discussed on thework was helping Vahn learn to take control of the situation instead of being swept up by it. Due to the nature of his existence, with consideration of his personality, there was a very real chance Vahn would often be tending to several women at once. If he always waited for the flow to be dictated by others, it would eventually cause problems for everyone involved, primarily Vahn himself. After some of the attention had shifted to her, Syr beamed a beautiful smile and said, "Then the only thing that remains is what you wish to do...dont be shy Vahn, tell us what you want...nobody here will judge you, in fact, well do our best to make things exceed your expectations. You have to understand that, while thework may allow us tomunicate easily, you are the unifying force that brings us all together. Your hopes, desires, dreams, these are the reasons wee together...so you dont have to hide them from us. Just be yourself...I promise there are many of us that will love you regardless of how you change..." Incited by Syrs words, the only girls also pitched in a bit as Chloe said, "Syrs right, Vahn, restraint is important, but there are certain situations where its okay to let go." Following her words, Ryuu showed an encouraging smile and said, "Ill do my best as well..." Since Ryuu wasnt too fond of public disys of affection, it was a pretty big deal that she was putting herself in this position. If not for her trust in all the girls present, it would be nearly impossible to get her together in the same bed as another girl. Taking over the silence, Arnya pumped her fist and said, "Right, right, Im also very curious about how things will go~nyahahaha." As for Lunoire, her expression didnt change much as she mused with a gentle smile on her face, "Everyone trusts you, Vahn..." Each time one of the girls gave him encouragement, Vahn could feel something welling up inside of his chest that was on the verge of exploding outward. He knew exactly what Syr meant since he would likely never have a simple rtionship, at least with most of the girls currently on thework. Since he already had the resolve to help them ovee their pasts in order to build a better future, Vahn had no reason to hesitate at all, especially considering that they were receptive to his wants and needs. Every girl here was also stronger than he was, so there was no actual danger that things would take a dangerous turn if he lost his sensibilities for a moment. The moment things got out of hand, there would always be someone present to ground the situation, at least that was his hope. Vahnughed a short chuckle as he shook his head before saying with a gratified smile on his face, "Yeah, I know I shouldnt hesitate at all, its just a little difficult to rationalize and guide things along when there are so many girls present. It feels like I need to pay attention to everyone equally, but Im not sure that is even possible..." Vahn released a short sigh before continuing, "Ill just do what I can, so let me know if there is something you want, or something youd like to try. Ill do my best to satisfy everyone, especially if youre willing to entrust yourself to my care..." Seeing all the girls nod, with various types of smiles on their faces, Vahn nodded his head before a powerful embarrassment overwhelmed him. A blush deeper than almost any he had ever experienced showed on his face and it made all the girls curious about what he was going to say. Vahnughed in an awkward manner before taking a deep breath and saying in a slightly dry voice, "Ummm, Id like to...uh...see everyones panties?" When he had been thinking about how to start, Vahn remembered Syrs earlier action of lifting her skirt to tease him. Though he would see much more than just pantiester, Vahn was still interested in the sight of five girls showing their panties to him at the same time. As she had seen through his intentions, Syr walked forward and stood next to the other girls and said, "Okay, everyone, lets stand up in a line~!" She seemed to have taken the role of guiding the others in understanding what Vahn was trying to convey, and he realized this might have been the role she had delegated for herself after talking to Hephaestus, Eina, and Loki. Her organizational skills and management ability were incredible, and she also had a powerful understanding of how people thought, felt, and acted. Most importantly, she was the core of the group and inspired a great deal of confidence and trust in the other girls. Everyone stood up in a line as directed by Syr, and Vahn was able to see the heights and figures of the girls and directlypare them. Arnya was the shortest, at 150cm tall, while Chloe stood at a modest 158cm alongside Syr. Lunoire was 161cm, and the most mature looking of the girls, while Ryuu stood the tallest at 165cm, the same height as Vahn. They all had incredible figures that would inspire men to action with their thin waists, fit bodies, and various sized busts and butts to ent their impable beauty. Chloe and Arnya, more so than fit, had very lithe and flexible looking figures, even though they were somewhat petite and had modest b.r.e.a.s.ts. After they were all lined up, Syr grabbed the side of her skirt and waited for everyone to match her before they all raised their skirts in concert with each other. Vahns eyes widened more than a fair amount as he admired the beautiful thighs of the girls that wereplemented by their choice of white stockings, white garter belts, and most importantly for the asion, whitece panties. The impact of seeing all the girls showing off the hidden contents of their skirts all at once had been much greater than Vahn had expected. He wasnt the only affected either, as most of the girls had varying degrees of blushes on their face while Chloemented, "This is actually more embarrassing than I expected, nyahaha~." Her words snapped Vahn out of his daze and he showed arge smile as he honestly stated, "I feel incredibly fortunate to be alive right now." His words caused the atmosphere to mellow out into a pink haze until his emotions built to a critical level and he said, "In the future, Id like to see you all wear all kinds of clothing...I cant even imagine something unsuitable for your beautiful figures. However, for now, I think things will be progressively more awkward if I keep making strange requests." Vahn casually stowed away the sofas that were behind the girls and they all, with the exclusion of Arnya, reacted by dropping the hem of their skirts. As for Arnya, she just stood there with a red face and wide eyes, almost as if she had frozen in time for a brief moment. When the floor space had been opened up, Vahn set out arge bed and the atmosphere immediately became tenser. Vahn could feel the strange awkwardness in the air, but he also took note that all of the girls had somewhat passionate auras, even though there were small tufts of purples and oranges, which showed their fears and inhibitions. Vahn smiled and looked over the girls again and said, "In the future, I dont mind if youd like to wear cute outfits when were together, but I think, for this situation, its better if everyone got n.a.k.e.d." Though he could unequip his clothing in an instant, Vahn began starting to undress in the normal way before Syr snapped out of her daze and said in a guiding tone, "Vahn is correct, we shouldnt continue to dy things or there wont be enough time in the day to proceed forward." She also began to slowly undress, albeit with a little hesitation and awkwardness in her movements. As the youngest of the group of girls, even though she was the defacto leader, Syrs actions were a strong influence so the other girls also began to undress. The only one that struggled more than Syr was Arnya, whose tail had been twitching about chaotically for a while now. While they were undressing, Vahn unabashedly looked over and admired the figures of the various girls, several of which he was just seeing for the first time. Syr had a very youthful figure with fair skin and a surprisingly wless figure. Perhaps it was due to her demigoddess origins, but her body was nearly perfect in its bnce and beauty, including her slightly bulbous, budding, b.r.e.a.s.ts. Matching the pale red of her lips, her n.i.p.p.l.es were simr in coloration and everything about her seemed to trigger some primal instinct within Vahns mind as his heart began to itch. When she finally removed her own panties, after hesitating for several seconds, Vahns eyes widened marginally because he noticed that, like a goddess, she waspletely bare. Though he didnt say it out loud, Vahn felt like Syr was closer to a goddess in appearance than an actual mortal. Chloe had a very lithe figure, as Vahn had noticed before, with a thin waist and very athletic proportions. She had modest b.r.e.a.s.ts and a slightly paleplexion with a pert butt that drew a tantalizing sight when taking into consideration her ck cat-like tail that had a stark blue ribbon neatly tied near its base. Unlike the impably smooth Syr, Chloe had small tufts of ck hair around her slightly moist crotch. As for Ryuu, she had the lightestplexion of the group and was also somewhat simr to a goddess with how wless her beauty was. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts were the smallest of the group, but the pale pink protrusions at the center were somewhat mesmerizing because of how abnormally light they werepared to normal. As for her secret garden, it was neatly maintained and Vahn could tell she put care into her appearance. Arnya had surprisinglyrge b.r.e.a.s.tspared to most Cat People Vahn had seen. Though she still had the lithe figure of every other cat girl he had seen, her body seemed strangely more flexible and her b.r.e.a.s.ts were closer to a C-cup than the modest A and B-cups of others. As if to refute his misconception, her butt was also moderately plumper than expected and, against any expectation he had, she was also clean shaven down below. Vahn suspected that she had actually shaved herself to prepare for tonight since there was a slight tenderness still present. As for her tail, it was slightly shorter than normal and had the same coloration as the rest of her brown hair except for the fact there were three rings of white fur and the end was frayed into a tuft. As for Lunoire, she had a very womanly body with thergest b.r.e.a.s.ts in the entire group, though not by much since Arnya was very simr in size, even though she was 11cm shorter. The most notable thing, other than her kindly face, was the fact that she had a very fit figure with the hidden outline of powerful muscles slightly present under her skin. Though her waist was tight, her h.i.p.s were a fair bit wider than the other girls and she had plump thighs and a fleshy, yet muscr, butt. Although he still imed to have an appreciation for everything about a girl, Vahn couldnt deny that he felt his heart palpitate slightly after seeing her shapely butt. He had a strange urge to grab it with his hands, even though every girl present had a fine butt of their own. Syrs was actually close to perfect from Vahns perspective, but it was very obvious she was still growing as she was currently the youngest girl in the group at 16. As for Lunoires pubic hair, she had a healthy brown bush that was also neatly groomed. While he had been inspecting their bodies, the girls hadnt been shy about observing Vahn either. They noticed his figure had nearly no fat at all, and all of his muscles were clearly defined and had a very natural look to them. He wasnt incredibly ripped, but his figure still looked like it had been sculpted by the gods to be wless in structure. Though he was somewhat short for a man, he still struck a heroic figure with his healthy tanned skin and well-proportioned body. At least, they considered him well proportioned until he actually removed his briefs. Other than Ryuu and Chloe, the other girls went a bit wide-eyed at the reveal of Vahns sleeping dragon. They had heard the rumors and mentally prepared themselves for the night, but it was still somewhat intimidating to see for the first time. Even Lunoire, the only girl with experience in the group, swallowed in an audible manner that caused the other girls to give her sidelong nces. The moment thest article of clothing hit the floor, Vahn didnt want things to be awkward again so he looked around and gave everyone an appreciative nce before resting his gaze on Syr and saying, "Ive kept you waiting long enough Syr..." As he spoke, Vahn walked over to the incredibly bashful young woman who actually took a step back for a brief moment as she tried to cover her n.a.k.e.d body. She looked at the other girls andughed awkwardly as she said, "Its fine, I dont mind waiting until the end so I can watch over everyone..." Vahn shook his head with a smile before stepping close and grabbing Syr around her waist which made her entire body twitch. He leaned forward toward her rosy red ears and whispered, "But I want to do it with you first...please?" Syr released a strange sound as if she had suffered a grievance as her eyes teared up slightly from her overwhelming embarrassment. After letting out the strange cry, and seeing the teasing faces of the other girls, Syr hugged Vahn in return and said in a very quiet tone, almost like the squeak of a small animal, "Be gentle..." Vahn nodded his head and stroked the side of her face affectionately before turning his head to the side and saying, "Ill need everyones support for this...Chloe, Arnya, Id like for you to help tend to Syr. Ryuu, Lunoire, you two are the calmest so Ill have to apologize for having you wait a bit. I promise to make it up to youter..." Vahn then picked up the startled Syr and carried her over to the bed as everyone crawled in alongside them. This was always the most awkward part for Vahn, the moment before things officially began. He had a strange desire to just stare and gawk at the girls for long periods of times, so it was hard to get things started unless there was something to incite him. Now, he was doing his best to take the initiative and also cement things with Syr, the girl that had worked hard to arrange everything. He knew she probably intended to gost, and that was exactly why he had bumped her up in the order. Even though there was a fair chance this was her intent to begin with, Vahn was still the one that had made the decision and he intended to follow through until the end... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns Strategy,Beautyes in all shapes and sizes,Syrs n seeds/fails~!?) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 344 - Hostess of Fertility(2/?)

Chapter 344 - Hostess of Fertility(2/?)

After settling Syr onto the bed, Vahn got to look over her body from above as she made an instinctual attempt to try and cover her private areas with her hands. If not for her incredibly thick and pink aura that was practically sticking to his body, Vahn would have believed she was having second thoughts. Instead, he leaned over her body slightly and locked eyes with Syr as he began to trace his palm along her body. Though she was making an effort to cover her chest with her hand, Vahn was easily able to slip through her yful resistance. There was a fervent expression in her watery eyes and, even though she was putting on a show of behaving bashfully, Vahn could tell she had far more expectation than inhibitions. Within the depths of her eyes, there was a constantly glimmering light as her charm was passively activated and trying its best to affect Vahns mind. Chloe and Arnya had sat on Syrs nks and were watching the intimate moment between Syr and Vahn with unveiled interest and curiosity. As they had discussed earlier, they were letting Vahn guide things at his pace, at least for the time being. Though they werent ignorant about the matters between men and women, it was still their first times and, other than Lunoire, the only experienced person here was Vahn himself. After a few long seconds of caressing, Vahn whispered in a quiet, loving, voice, "You have an incredible body...its nearly wless, Syr. Dont worry, Ill make sure not to damage it in the slightest..." Vahn stroked the side of her face before nting a moderately short kiss on her lips. Since he couldnt get wrapped up in the momentum of events and fully focus on a single girl, he had to retain his senses and take control of the situation. A warm, stimting, energy began to appear on Vahns palm as he caressed Syrs right b.r.e.a.s.t with practiced movements. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts were very soft, but there was a suppleness to them as well which seemed to perfectly align with her youthful appearance. Syr released a hot gasp as her face formed into a small frown as she struggled to ept the stimtion. Vahn was taking care to not go overboard, but he needed to properly prepare her or there would be problemster on. The entire time he was caressing her body, Vahn continued to hold Syrs gaze and the two stared at each other with passionate expressions. She seemed to be struggling with something, and Vahn knew she very likely wanted to kiss him and get lost in the moment together. Vahn smiled gently before leaning down and sharing another, somewhat passionate, kiss with Syr before pulling his face away again. She had tried to hug his head with her hands, but there wasnt much she could do to hold him down with the constant stimtion to her body. Vahn whispered in a low, soothing tone, "Ill make it up to you plentily in the future...for now, just allow yourself to experience everything that is happening. Focus on the sensations and vocalize how you feel...dont be afraid, youre not alone right now, Syr." After he finished speaking, Vahn moved his head downwards and began performing an action that he had developed when dealing with Hestia. While he gently fondled Syrs right b.r.e.a.s.t, he began roll her left n.i.p.p.l.e with his tongue while gingerly sucking on the hard protrusion with a moderate amount of force. Syr immediately squeezed the back of his head and said, "Vahn...ahh...that feels strange~!" The other four girls were watching Vahns actions with interest and Lunoireughed gently from the side and said, "It seems the rumors are true...Vahn is a bit of a technician. At least you girls dont have to worry about being hurt." Everyone, excluding Vahn and Syr, gave Lunoire a passing nce and saw the care and concern on her face slowly melt away. As the only experienced girl among the group, they had been asking her about various things leading up until this moment. Her words made them all feel a lot calmer, including Syr who was currently suffering Vahns care. Vahn ced his left hand on the side of Syrs ribs and rhythmically massaged the area while cing his right hand on the bed as support. He let go of her n.i.p.p.l.e with an audible pop before tracing his head down and assaulting her body with small kisses. He kissed around her diaphragm and slowly traced further down her body, following the nearly indistinguishable line of her navel, the belly button itself, and the smooth transition of muscles leading down to the bare mound below. Throughout the entire duration of his journey, Syr continued to ce her hands on the back of Vahns head as she struggled to watch him by tilting her head. To help her, Chloe had grabbed a few pillows as support to make things easier. Though she had initially concealed the secret area with her hands, Syr had slightly opened her legs wider as Vahn traced his head down her abdomen. By the time he reached the youthful-looking mound, Vahns mind had begun to buzz from the strange, almost flowery, smelling from Syrs v.a.g.i.n.a. Usually, the musk of a woman was somewhat robust and bittersweet, sometimes with a warm smell. Syr, however, actually smelled incredibly pleasant, even though it was still a mind-numbing aroma. Vahn felt that not just her eyes, but her fragrance had the power to charm men as well. He was easily able to resist the effects as he arched his body a bit to lift up Syrs legs and spread them wider in a natural, rxed, shape. Just like every goddess he had seen, the line of Syrs v.a.g.i.n.a was almost a perfect line that only briefly opened with slight contractions even though she was already generating a healthy amount of fluid from the interior. Even though she was probably prepared, Vahn still wanted to make the experience more memorable for her, so he gingerly opened the impably shaped vulva and peaked into the somewhat pale, yet rosy, colored interior of Syrs v.a.g.i.n.a. Without any hesitation, other than preparing himself to resist the tantalizing aroma, Vahn leaned forward with his head while lifting up Syrs legs a bit. The moment his tongue contacted her interior, Syr arched her back and began pulling on his hair like she was trying to rip it out. Vahn could feel the small convulsions slightly reverberating through his hands, tongue, and cheeks, but he knew he could take her to much higher heights. Her reaction wasrgely rted to her inexperience, and Vahn knew she hadnt experienced a true orgasm yet and intended to bring her to it naturally without relying on [Hands of Nirvana]. He was actually very proficient in gauging the reactions of a girls body, so Vahn very quickly found a few more sensitive spots within Syrs v.a.g.i.n.a while, very gently, thumbing the small bead at the top in a probing manner. Syr released pleasant m.o.a.ns as she stared at the top of Vahns head with an incredibly passionate gaze in her eyes. Her light-grey eyes had started to glow silvery white and her charm was kicked into overdrive. For those with Divinity rted to beauty, they were very capable of charming people in normal circ.u.mstances, but their power was the strongest during intercourse. If Vahn wasnt capable of actually resisting her ability, he would eventually be a ve to her and would be unable to rationalize his own actions without her permission. However, Vahn didnt show any signs at all of the powerful charm having any effect on his body and it made Syrs heart palpitate powerfully in her chest. Though she had already made her decision to be with Vahn, it was only now that she had truly decided to dedicate her everything to him regardless of what happens in the future. Since her power didnt work against him, Syr felt like everything she was experiencing was the first real interaction she had ever had with another person. Eventually, her emotions reached a critical level and she shouted at the top of her lungs without caring about how others saw her, "Vaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahn, I love yooooooooooooooou~!" Vahn could feel the powerful reverberations of Syrs body and heard her loud exmation as she literally tried to bury his face into her depths while squeezing the sides of his head with her strangely slender, yet plump feeling, thighs. After a few seconds, her body rxed its tensions and Vahn freed himself before pulling out a towel and wiping his face after giving a wry smile to the other girls staring at him with varying degrees of a blush on their face. Though he didnt ask, he felt like they were all wondering what it would be like when he showed them the same care as Syr. Vahn had noticed that every aura within the room, though they were all ovepping, was focused toward him and it made him feel like the center of this small world. After drying his face, Vahn leaned over Syrs body and caressed her cheek before saying in a low tone, "Im going to start, Ill make it as painless as possible..." Syr shook her headzily and said in a slightly husky voice, "I dont care, do whatever you want with me Vahn. Im yours, now and forever...and youre mine..." The silvery light in her eyes doubled in intensity but Vahn just blinked away the effects before leaning down and kissing her lips without losing his own momentum. Syr loosely hugged his body as she felt a very hot feeling at the entrance of her own v.a.g.i.n.a. She immediately started taking rapid breaths before Vahn ced his hand on her abdomen and she felt a powerful, calming, energy spread through her abdomen. Before she could make sense of what he was doing, she felt a pressure and invasive feeling enter her lower body. After a very short period of time, there was a painful resistance and a muted pop before the invasive, ridiculously hot, object hit a dead end that made her abdomen convulse and sent an electrical current up her spine that made her gasp painfully as Vahn continued to kiss her. Almost as quickly as the pain hade, it rapidly dissipated and Syr almost felt like she had imagined it because of how brief the moment had been. She understood that Vahn had done something to ease her burden and a sense of relief spread through her heart with a strange sense of loss apanying it. Fortunately, Vahn continued to tend to her and any negative emotions were quickly banished as she indulged fully in his love and affection. Vahn had noticed that, from the very moment he inserted himself inside Syr, he could feel a strange energy trying to enter his body through his p.e.n.i.s. He knew that, once again, this was Syrs charm trying to take effect and it acted like a powerful aphrodisiac that tried to spread through his body. Fortunately, if it wasnt an attack on his mind, his body naturally diffused the hot energy just like it had done so when Eva drained his blood in the past. After the brief awkwardness, Vahn could feel the actual sensations of Syrs interior and was genuinely shocked by the conflicting stimtion he was experiencing. It was really weird because, though she felt tight, it wasnt constructive at all. It was almost like she was perfectly shaped for his p.e.n.i.s and he had been able to bury himself into her depths without any other preparation at all. There was also a strange, almost massaging, sensation that passively attacked various points of his p.e.n.i.s, even though he hadnt moved. Vahn began to realize that Syr didnt just possess Divinity rted to Beauty, but also very likely possessed one rted to fertility and s.e.x itself. Her body had immediately adapted to his size and shape, and even though she waspletely inexperienced her v.a.g.i.n.a itself was instinctively reacting in a manner that seemed inhuman. When Vahn finally began to move, he couldnt stop himself from releasing a hot sigh because, the moment he tried to withdraw, her v.a.g.i.n.a mped down with afortable pressure with a suction simr to an Amazon. He realized that having s.e.x with Syr would be a very dangerous thing in the future if she ever got truly proficient with controlling her body and power. Even if he had incredible self-control, Vahn could understand how someone would be addicted to s.e.x with a girl like Syr. It wasnt just her external beauty that was nearly perfect, but her insides matched, and perhaps even exceeded her nearly wless traits it in certain aspects. Since he wasnt making much effort to resist the buildup, it was only around five minutester that Vahn felt a powerful urge as he slowly pistoned into the slightly bloody mess where he was connected with Syr. She had also been releasing powerful m.o.a.ns that literally sent waves of a strange energy through the air that Vahn noticed had an influence on the other girls. It wasnt charming them, but their auras had bing increasingly red with a passionate hue as they watched the intercourse between him and Syr. Though he didnt stare too much, Vahn could see that Chloe had turned into a veritable mess and there was a noticeable sheen on her raven ck pubes as she watched him with somewhat hungry eyes. Vahn was wondering when Syr would climax again and he noticed a strange peculiarity as he continued to resist the urge himself. Every time he eased up on his restraint a bit, he could feel the reaction from her body changed slightly. Given her earlier reactions, Syr should have long climaxed from the stimtion she was receiving, but the only thing she did was release pleasant m.o.a.ns while matching his movements with her own body. Vahn began to suspect that her body had actually, through the influence of her Divinity, matched his own tempo and tensions. He felt like, if he held back for an hour, Syr wouldnt climax at all in that entire duration unless he did. It was a scary thought, because it meant her body was constantly reacting to his, instead of him having to time his own climax tofort the girl. To test his suspicions, Vahn rxed his own body while speeding up his pace marginally while pressing into her with his weight. He quickly reached a critical level and could feel Syrs body begin to release powerful vibrations before he eventually released himself deep within her ridiculously pleasant feeling v.a.g.i.n.a. They both experienced a powerful climax and Vahn could actually feel Syrs v.a.g.i.n.a contracting from the entrance to her depth in a powerful manner, almost like she was stroking his p.e.n.i.s with her insides and trying to wring out the contents within his urethra. It was more stimtion than Vahn had ever experienced and he couldnt stop himself from releasing a strange groan as a shiver ran along his back for nearly twenty seconds. For a brief moment, at the very end, Vahn felt a powerful energy try to spread through his body but was able to resist it instinctually. Though she had been taking long, drawn-out, breaths, Syr smiled and tried to speak between heavy gasps, "Im...so...d...youre you!...Vaaaaahn...hahaha...hahahahahaha~!" Because he had been able to resist, even during the critical moment, Syr felt an incredible sense of relief as she held her hands over her crying eyes and couldnt help butugh because of how happy she felt. She knew better than anyone how dangerous their s.e.x.u.a.l rtions would be and couldnt stop herself from letting her emotions show due to how relieved she felt at the moment. Things got even better when she felt Vahn pull her close and kiss her passionately for a long time... After a few minutes, Syr and Vahn had separated and she was beingforted by Lunoire and Ryuu for a moment as she tried to regain her calm. Even now, there were tears that would asionally fall from her face as Lunoire hugged her gently and patted her back in a caring manner. Though the situation felt a little awkward, Syr had wanted everyone to continue since it would help her calm down after the atmosphere changed again. She didnt want to be the reason why everything broke down and urged Vahn to continue with the other girls for a while until she regained herposure. Vahn was concerned with Syr, but he knew she was speaking truthfully and there were already two peopleforting her. The more affection and concern he showed for her right now, the longer it would take for her to actually recover. Unless he intended to take her away from this room and spend time alone, there was almost nothing he could do for her besides continue forward without hesitating for too long. Fortunately, Chloe was an attentive girl and had tugged on Vahns arm yfully and said, "Come on, Vahn, Ive also been waiting a long time~" As she spoke, Chloe affectionately stroked the bite mark she had left on Vahn long ago. Vahn nodded his head and showed a smile before moving over to the headboard and leaning his back against it. Cat People, especially for their first time, liked to hug from the front and lean into the male since it made them feel safe andfortable. He had learned from Aki, and several doc.u.mented sources, that they didnt like to be pinned at all, and it would actually stress them out a fair bit and cause them to feel a powerful anxiety. Chloe smiled before quickly mounting on top of Vahnsp before the atmosphere was temporarily destroyed when Arnya eximed in a loud voice, "Wait, you already have two bite marks!? What about me~nya!?" She had pointed at Vahns shoulder at the two differently sized bite marks and had a face of incredulity and shock. Chloe looked over with a somewhat fierce look and bonked Arnya on the head as she shouted, "Pay attention to the mood Arnya~! You havent even decided if you want to stay with Vahn forever, and you can always bite a little off to the side~nya!" Arnya rubbed the top of her head with a slightly teary expression until she heard Chloes words. Her eyes widened into saucers and she patted her fist against her palm and said, as if she had a profound realization, "Nyahaha, thats right, I can just bite nyext to Chloes bite~!" Chloe had an incredulous look of her own and seemed like she wanted to say something until Arnya waved her hand dismissively and asked, "Are you going to start~nya? I can see a lot more from this angle, nyahahaha~!" Because she was sitting in Vahnsp, Chloe would be the person doing most of the moving and Arnya could clearly see everything when she leaned over and stared at Chloes butt. Chloe tucked her head a bit in a surprisingly bashful manner as she muttered in a low, almost threatening, tone, "Nya...Ill get you back for this, Arnya...Just you wait~" Though it was a low voice, Arnya and Chloe were both Cat People and had very sensitive hearing. Arnyas eyes widened again as sheughed in a yful manner and said, "Nyahaha~? Dont be mad Chloe, arent we partners~?" As if to show solidarity, Arnya got closer to Vahn and Chloe before snuggling up next to Vahn and staring into Chloes face as she said, "There, Ill watch from up close without staring at your butt~nyahaha!" Chloes brows furrowed a bit until Vahn said in a gentle tone, "Chloe, Arnya, please dont fight. This is the first time I get to be together with everyone, so Id like for it to be a memorable experience without any negativity." Arnya responded before Chloe by rubbing her head against Vahns shoulder and saying in a cheerful voice, "Nyaaa, Vahn is so kind and gentle~!" Chloe released a short sigh before saying in a confident manner toward Vahn, "Im already more than ready, Vahn. Please treat me kindly~nya..." After she spoke, Chloe leaned forward and licked the bite mark she had left on Vahns left shoulder in the past. Vahn nodded his head and began kissing her neck in turn before gently grabbing her tail. Chloes body tensed up a bit before she raised her h.i.p.s on her own. Vahn used his free hand to stroke her medium length ck hair and ears before removing his hand from her tail and finding the correct angle for Chloe. After positioning the ns into her slightly lukewarm insides, Chloe released a mewling sigh before lowering her h.i.p.s a bit until the entire tip was inside of her. Sheughed in a somewhat mischevious manner before whispering, "I probably cant take it all, but I dont want you to be afraid of hurting me~nyahaha...grab my tail, Vahn, its already been yours since that moonlit light long ago..." Chloe then tucked her head firmly against his neck and licked the mark that showed their bond. For Cat People, kissing wasnt thatmon since they were more fond of licking with their somewhat rough tongues. The only reason most of them kissed at all was that it was amon trend that every species had adapted to show affection to each other. Following Chloes words, Vahn ced his hand around her tail and thumbed the blue ribbon before putting more force into his grip. She immediately rubbed her head and ears hard against his neck and face as arge volume of fluids began to drip from the area where they were connected. Vahn felt her body heat up a bit and he knew things were about to take a critical turn. Since Chloe was a Cat Person, and this was her first time, it meant that she would immediately go into heat and there was a very high likelihood that, unless she took contraception afterward, she would get pregnant. Vahn would leave the decision to her, but he felt like she would probably continue to try and act as his shadow for a long time unless he asked her to have children. Without any real hesitation, Vahn hugged Chloes body a bit as she dropped her h.i.p.s until Vahns tipnded against a resistive membrane. Chloe released a strange chuckle before raising her h.i.p.s slightly and putting a lot more force into her descent and immediately broke through her own h.y.m.e.n. Other than a small sigh, she didnt show any signs of pain or difort at all. As a trained assassin, and powerful Level 4, her pain tolerance was abnormally high and even the loss of her v.i.r.g.i.nity was easily tolerable. If anything, it made her feel happy as a powerful heat began to spread through her body and she lovingly licked the slightly salty neck and shoulder of Vahn. After a brief period where she adapted to the foreign object in her body, Chloe began slowly rocking her h.i.p.s from front to back as Vahn supported her movements while still gripping her tail. Though he felt slightly guilty about it, Vahn couldnt helppare Chloe to Aki, since they were both Cat People. Not only did they have simr figures, but even the feel of their v.a.g.i.n.as was strikingly simr. Chloes started off with a lukewarm heat and pleasant tightness, but her body temperature rapidly increased with her own heat and Vahn enjoyed the sensation and movements of her waist. Even though she was inexperienced, Chloe retained a lot of her sensibilities and actively sought to bring pleasure to herself and Vahn. It was a strange thing though, and Vahn realized that it may have been wiser to have s.e.x with Syrst, as he now couldnt help but feel like something was missing. He did his best to ignore the strange incongruity and managed to banish it entirely moving Chloes head so they could kiss. He also got to the seem the amorous and affectionate look in her hazy eyes as she eagerly sought out his lips without any hesitation. It took nearly twenty minutes, as Vahn wasnt relying on [Hands of Nirvana] and Chloe hadnt been prepared beforehand, but he eventually managed to bring her to climax after their slow lovemaking session. The moment she cried out a loud, eat shattering, Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~, Vahn released his s.e.m.e.n deep inside her fiery depths with the resolve of potentially fathering a fourth child. He held down her waist tightly, even though she was only able to ept about 80% of his length. The final decision would be left to her, but Vahn nned to talk about it if she had any insecurities over the matter. He didnt mind having more children, especially since he had been with Chloe longer than almost anyone else, but he wouldnt force the issue on anyone. He did recall, however, his daydream on that night many weeks ago when he imagined a childlike, smaller, version of Chloe running around in a white sundress ying with a miniature version of himself. If she decided to bear his child as well, Vahn felt like it would be a strangely fulfilling revtion... (A/N: I know it might be a concern of some people, so know that this type of scenario will rarely happen, and probably to a far lesser extent than this particr event. The purpose of these chapters is so that, when there are eventual timeskips, people understand that stuff like this would be happening in Vahns life without having to explicitly state that it happens. I try to romanticize and detail the first experiences of girls, and any new developments, so please bear with me on this (UwU) (A/N:Syrs Dangerous Capabilities,Emotional Outburst,Vahns Delusions~nya?) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 345 - Hostess of Fertility (3/?)

Chapter 345 - Hostess of Fertility (3/?)

After calming down her body for a short while, Chloe stared into Vahns face with squinted eyes as she ced her palm on her abdomen and leaned forward before whispering in a very quiet tone, "Are you trying to make me pregnant~? I feel like my insides are filled to the brim with a very hot liquid..." Chloe licked the side of his face, even against his hair, in a yful manner before she started to rock her h.i.p.s in slow movements. Before Vahn answered her question, and before she could enjoy the moment any longer, Arnya shouted out, "Nya!? Sneaky, sneaky~!" Without any sense of propriety, Arnya reached over and pulled on the end of Chloes tail and made her release a startled, "Nyaaaa!?" as she raised her h.i.p.s off of Vahns body. Unlike the base of their tail, which could be very pleasurable when handled properly, it was very painful for a Cat Person to have their tail yanked by another person. Chloe gave Arnya a fierce look before noticing that all the other girls were staring at her with a slight me in their expressions as well. She had gotten a bit lost in the moment earlier, so now sheughed awkwardly before moving off to the side before leaning over and giving Vahn onest kiss on the cheek. Vahn was going to reach out and stroke her hair, but Arnya tried to straddle his waist unexpectedly so he turned his attention to her and said, "Arnya, wait a moment." She looked at him with and had a slightly startled expression beforeughing sheepishly and backing off of his body. Vahn knew she was in very high tensions, and she was probably trying to rush things to ease her own heart. Seeing her back away with an apologetic expression, Vahn smiled gently before pulling out a towel and saying, "Dont worry, I just want to clean myself up a bit..." He had cleaned himself after being with Syr as well, since there was a mixture of fluids covering his genitals. Both Syr and Chloe had been v.i.r.g.i.ns, so there was a fair amount of blood mixed in and Vahn didnt want the girls to get sick by having another persons blood mixed with their own. Arnya quickly realized what Vahn meant as she watched him wipe himself off with the towel. After her tail twitched a few times, she crawled over to him quickly and grabbed the towel and said, "Let me help~nya!" She then attentively cleaned Vahns p.e.n.i.s and did her best to dry around the area with the towel before throwing it off to the side when she felt like it was enough. Vahnughed at her actions and stroked her somewhat fluffy brown hair and soft ears with his palm. She made a strange mewling sound and closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation as she asked, "Nyahaaaa, is it okay nyow~?" Vahn ruffled her hair a bit more before saying in a gentle tone, "Yes, Im ready now, Arnya..." She opened her eyes before making a wide smile and straddling Vahns legs. Instead of letting it sit between them, Arnya held Vahns p.e.n.i.s down before sitting on top of it. Vahn felt a lukewarm moisture covering his p.e.n.i.s and felt the somewhat plump buttocks of Arnya wrap around his ns and shaft. Before he could make sense of what she was doing, Arnya looked at his left shoulder and asked, "Will you really let me mark you, Vahn? Ive never really considered the matters of falling in love, but I know the importance of the marking a boy. Even if we dont officially get married, are you fine with being something like my husband? Are you really okay with sharing my burdens, even though you dont know anything about my past?" Unlike her normal self, Arnya had a serious, contemtive, expression on her face as she traced over the area where Chloe had bitten him previously. After she finished her words, Arnya turned to look at Vahn with brown, almost amber-like, eyes and waited for his response. Vahns smile turned far more gentle than it had been previously as he shook his head and whispered, "Arnya, the past isnt what defines a person...it is how they choose to act in the present, and what theyre willing to do to ensure a better future, not just for themselves, but the people they care about. All I can say for certain is, regardless of your past, and the burdens you shoulder, I will never back down when ites to helping the people close to my heart...when youre ready, your burden will be our burden, and youd be surprised with how easy things get when you learn to, not rely on, but trust in others..." Arnya smiled before resting her chin against Vahns shoulder and whispering, "I still dont know, Vahn...your answer brings me a bit offort, but Im not sure if its what Im looking for...but, I think that, in time, Ill be able to find the answer as long as you dont give up on me...I dont want to be an abandoned cat anymore...Id like a home...and people that care for me without having any expectations..." Vahn felt a ticklish feeling on his shoulder for a brief moment before Arnyaughed yfully. Without raising her head much, Arnya turned to the side and whispered directly into Vahns ear, "I want a red ribbon...or maybe a green one~?" Vahnughed before hugging Arnyas body tightly against his own. He could feel her strangelyrge b.r.e.a.s.ts press into his chest before reaching around and grabbing the base of her tail. As usual for a Cat Person, Arnyas body flinched at the sudden contact before she ced her hands on Vahns shoulders in a manner he was very familiar with at this point. Because she was snuggled into his shoulder, Vahn could see the other girls watching them with expectation before Chloe sent him an encouraging nod. Because he was giving most of the girls their first time, Vahn was focusing on them individually for the moment, but things would likely escte a bit when everyone had taken a turn. Syr had already calmed down and had even applied a cream to help recover for future actions as she watched Vahn having s.e.x with other girls with unconcealed interest. After ncing at each of the girls, Vahn nuzzled against Arnyas hair with his face and put strength into his grip around her tail. She immediately arched forward and bit him in a slightly lower spot that where Chloe had marked him previously. Vahn was already ustomed to the momentary pain as he began massaging Arnyas tail with his fingers which made her h.i.p.s naturally rise a bit as she bit harder into his shoulder. Because she had been sitting atop his p.e.n.i.s, the flow of love juices increased and she ended up stroking his member with her slightly open vulva and butt cheeks. Vahn was a little surprised by the unexpected sensation but continued holding Arnyas body tight for a while until she eventually calmed down a bit and released his shoulder. Arnya pulled her face away and ced her full weight on Vahn before looking into his eyes with a sight glimmer contained within her own. There was a small amount of blood on her lips, but Vahn didnt mind it at all as he leaned forward and kissed her on the lips for the first time. She was momentarily surprised but didnt make any attempt to move away as she enjoyed the new sensation as Vahn caressed her back while gently stroking her tail in an affectionate manner. After more than a minute passed, Arnya leaned forward and pressed Vahn against the headboard while raising her h.i.p.s. She eventually separated from his lips with a hot sigh before whispering, "Nyo more waiting, nyahahaha..." Vahn could feel her grab his p.e.n.i.s and try to position it on her own, but he squeezed her tail somewhat strongly and she immediately tucked her head down as she raised her butt. Vahn blew into her ear and made it flinch before whispering in a low voice, "Dont push yourself, leave it to me, Arnya..." Using his free hand, Vahn helped find the correct angle while still supporting Arnyas body by squeezing her tail. She had nodded her head at his earlier words and started licking up the blood that had been dripping from the wound on his shoulder. Not long after she felt a hot feeling enter her body, Vahn loosened up his grip on her tail and she slowly felt her h.i.p.s falling. Arnya released a mewling sigh at hot intrusion before recalling Chloes experience and cing her weight back as she tucked in her body slightly. Though there was a momentary resistance, Arnya easily broke through her own h.y.m.e.n and only paused for a few seconds before she started licking his neck again. Now that he had officially been with three Cat Persons, Vahn was able to have a rtively decent understanding of their racial traits through first-hand experience. Unlike goddesses, amazons, or even humans, the interior of their v.a.g.i.n.a was more lukewarm than hot. However, the moment they went into heat, Vahn could feel their entire body temperature increase by several degrees as their insides turned somewhat puffy and hot. It was a pleasant sensation, but it wasnt that tight even when he had epted the v.i.r.g.i.nities of three Cat Persons at this point. There was also a strange stickiness that caused more friction than what he experienced with most girls and Vahn felt like Arnya was even stickier than Aki and Chloe had been. Not only were her b.r.e.a.s.ts, and butt,rger than normal, but her muscles were more developed and her racial traits were more developed than others. Overall, it was a very pleasant experience and Vahn felt slightly guilty that he was able to rationalize things while he was supposed to be focused on the girl he was with. Using the same method to prevent himself form thinking, Vahn tilted Arnyas head and began kissing her as she slowly moved her h.i.p.s atop him. Surprisingly, though she was more petite than Chloe, Arnya was nearly able to ept himpletely even though it was her first time. It might have something to do with her developmentpared to other Cat Persons, but Vahn wasnt overly concerned with it and just enjoyed the moment. Arnya had great stamina and maintained a steady rhythm while regting her breathing. Vahn already knew her ditzy personality was a facade, but he only realized how well she could control her body when they were having s.e.x. Just like him, she seemed to be able to avoid reaching climax and didntpletely lose herself to the pleasure, regardless of how stimting things got. Eventually, after a half hour had passed, Vahnughed before separating from Arnya to take a few deep breaths. She had a cheerful smile on her flushed face and began tough slightly as well, without stopping her h.i.p.s from moving. Vahn stroked her hair affectionately before saying, "Though I feel like it would be interesting to keep going for a long while, we cant keep the others waiting for too long...Im going to increase the intensity a bit, okay Arnya?" In response to his words, Arnya leaned back and got as much of Vahn inside of her as she could before grabbing the sides of his face and saying in a heated voice, "I thought I might be able to get an edge over on you...looks like this is fated to be my loss...nyahaha..." Vahn could see the amorous expression on Arnyas face as she stared at him with her glossy brown eyes. Though she was still stuck at 99 Affection, Arnyas (Love?) had transitioned to (Love) after she spoke. When he saw the notification, the annoyance he had felt when he heard it faded away entirely as he grabbed Arnyas somewhat plump butt with both of his hands. As expected, it was very toned, likely due to her exercises, but it was still somewhat fleshy and malleable. Vahn held her gaze with his own and said in a low tone, "Ill make sure you dont regret it...Arnya." Hearing his words, Arnyaughed in a, Nyahahaha manner before leaning forward and giving him a deeply passionate kiss with her somewhat rough tongue seemingly intending to scr.a.p.e out the saliva from his mouth. He wanted toment that it was his defeat, especially considering that he was going to have to use [Hands of Nirvana], but that type of thing could wait forter. Right now, Vahn wanted to push Arnya over the edge and get her to orgasm for the first time while they were immersed in their kiss. Warm, stimting, energy began to flow through his hands that caused Arnyas butt to twitch with somewhat powerful spasms that echoed through her body. Vahn traced his hands along her butt until reaching her lower back and touched the skin around her tail with his index fingers. Her body experienced a powerful spasm and Vahn could feel a shiver run through her body that caused a flood to appear from where they were connected. Arnya began to move her h.i.p.s in a small circle without breaking free from the kiss as Vahn stroked up and down her back with the stimting energy. Unexpectedly, she held on for an additional ten minutes before experiencing a powerful climax that even caused her to nearly bite through Vahns bottom lip with her teeth. Fortunately, she seemed to possess enough wherewithal to notplete her action and only drew a bit of blood before giving him an apologetic expression after the fact. After they eventually separated, Arnya rubbed her lower abdomen a bit with a somewhat sad expression on her face as she said, "I dont think Im ready to have a baby, but Ill keep it if you want me to, Vahn." Even though it wasnt guaranteed, the vast majority of Cat Persons got pregnant after their first time and it wasmon to the point that most of them considered it a sure thing. Vahn shook his head with a smile on his face and exined in a soothing tone, "Arnya, no, everyone...you should keep this in mind. Though Id love to have children with everyone someday, Ill never force you into a position where youre obligated to bear my children. Though its a decision Id like to share with you, I will always leave the final decision to the girl...I cant carry the child for you, but I will do my best to help care for them when they are born." Arnya released a relieved sigh, but the apologetic expression didnt disappear from her face and she just stared off into space for a short while until Syr said in a yful tune, "I think, at least in my case, Ill leave it up to fate. I know you have the ability to tell if a girl is pregnant, but please never peak at the inside of my belly without permission, okay Vahn~? I want to be surprised when I finally have a baby~." Vahns brows raised at Syrs sudden request, but he nodded his head in affirmation and said, "Sure, I look forward to that day...I feel a little excited just thinking about it, hahahaha~" Syrughed like a bell along with Vahn for a short while before pping her hands and asking, "Okay, who would like to go next, Ryuu, Lunoire~? Were almost through with all the formalities and then well be able to move onto the more interesting things, fufufufu~." Ryuus face blushed slightly at the question as Lunoire began tough and said, "This isnt my first time, so its only fair if everyone gets to experience some alone time with Vahn. I dont mind just participatingter~." Vahn frowned slightly at Lunoires words, and she had noticed his expression before her own softened a bit and she said, "Dont worry, Vahn, Im not belittling myself or anything like that. Its just a simple fact that Im an exception amongst the other girls present here...please dont concern yourself with it too much and just worry about me when the timees." Seeing the gentle and caring expression on Lunoires face didnt do much to alleviate Vahns frustration since he could see that her aura had diminished a fair amount over time. The passionate red had long ceased to be present and, though there was still a vibrant pint, there were also colors of orange and purple slowly spreading through her aura. He knew her trauma was acting up a bit and she was doing her best not topare him to her past experiences. Unfortunately, though she might have realized it herself, Vahn could tell it was slowly affecting her mentality. It was almost like she considered herself used goods and was trying to act like she was unworthypared to the other girls present, who were all maidens at the beginning of this peculiar lovemaking session. Vahn shook his head after sending a nce to Syr and Ryuu and said in a firm tone, "Ryuu will feel better with the support of everyone, so Id like to be with you first Lunoire. I wont say I dont care about your past, but Im more concerned about the present and how to take care of you in the future. Even if you only want a secure and safe environment, there are several other things I want to give you...please, ce your trust in me." Before she could refute his words, Ryuu spoke out from beside Lunoire and said, "Lunoire, though I love Vahn deeply, Im still very ufortable about showing affection in front of others. I dont think Ill be able to take thest step unless I go after everyone else...then well all be on the same level and I wont have any reason to feel afraid." Though it was somewhat contradictory, considering the situation, Ryuus words werent actually false since she had more than a few inhibitions about the current situation. If not for the fact she had a lot of trust for Syr, and the other girls, Ryuu wouldnt be in this situation at all. Lunoire knew she was being egged on so she released a slightly exasperated sigh intermixed with a bit of relief that wasnt missed by anyone present. Vahn had also seen some of the purple in her aura dissipate, so he knew she was happy to be cared for regardless of how own apprehensions about herself. She showed a kind smile to Ryuu before saying in a gentle tone, "Okay, then, Ill go first..." Then, in a low voice that couldnt be heard by even Chloe and Arnya, Lunoire continued, "...thank you." As she moved over toward him, Vahn also moved to intercept Lunoire before leaning forward and kissing her surprised face. Her body froze for a moment before she fell back on the bed in between the other four girls with Vahn overtop her. Other than kissing, Vahn didnt do anything other than hold Lunoires body closely until she eventually started to return his kiss on her own. Vahn could tell that Lunoire didnt think highly of herself and he wanted to break that mindset by showing her how much he sought, not just her body, but her happiness. He didnt know about her past, but he had learned from peering into the hearts desires of many girls that it was an unfair burden that weighed heavily on the minds of most of the girls. He himself had a troubled past, but he had learned through interacting with others that there was no future in holding onto memories that made living in the present more difficult. Whenever he had cleared the hearts desires of girls, the thing Vahn noticed afterward was that their memories of the past slowly faded away and shattered into oblivion. They didnt lose them, of course, they just stopped caring about them and slowly tried moving forward towards a better future. After more than five minutes, Lunoire started patting on Vahns shoulder because she was struggling to breathe with how passionate their kiss had been. He eventually gave her a moments reprieve before staring into her amber-like eyes that were covered with a slightly glossy haze. Though he wasnt sure if it was the best answer, Vahn tilted his head slightly and showed the most loving expression he could manage as he gently whispered, "I dont know who hurt you...but I will do my best to never allow you to experience such a thing again. Let me show you, Lunoire, that Im capable of showing you the care and affection you deserve..." (A/N: Everything should be wrapped up in the next 2 chapters...(TT___TT). Stay strong my friends~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Catch a cat by the tail~! Nyahahaha!,Arnyas Stamina!?,Lunoires Anxiety) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 346 - Hostess of Fertility(4/?)

Chapter 346 - Hostess of Fertility(4/?)

After Vahns promise, he began to slowly trace his hands over every part of Lunoires body without making any efforts to hide his intrigue at her body. He used [Hands of Nirvana] sparingly and acted as if he was trying to explore every nook and cranny, every small freckle, and every sensation as if she were the most interesting thing in the world. Lunoire just released hot and gasps and watched Vahns actions with her droopy eyes. She could see that, though there was passion contained within his eyes, Vahn was more focused on her body, her needs, than his own desires. Even though he was literally familiarizing himself with her entire body, each and every one of her reactions, she didnt feel any aversion to his actions at all. Because of his focus, Vahn started to get immersed in his own actions as he lifted Lunoires arms and slowly traced his palms along their length until reaching her fingers. He inspected their flexibility, wiggled them about a bit, and also looked in and around her fingernails. On a whim, or perhaps due to his own curiosity, Vahn put one of her fingers into his mouth and nibbled on it a bit. Afterward, he did the same for her other arm before slowing working his way down her torso and abdomen. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts were slightly on therger side and had a very youthful shape, which made sense considering she was barely even twenty. Though they were slightly darker than the color of her lips, Lunoire had peach colored n.i.p.p.l.es with a few small bumps around the areole. For a brief moment, Vahn felt Lunoires aura expand a bit with a red hue so he bent down after testing their feel for a while and rolled her solidified n.i.p.p.l.e with his tongue. Lunoire released a long and hot sigh as she loosely ced her hands around Vahns head and hugged him with a minimal amount of strength. She was enjoying his exploration, but she didnt want to give into the stimtion too much since it was rare that she experienced such care. She hadnt told anyone about it, but her experience in the past usually had her doing everything so everything Vahn was doing was new and exciting. Even if she felt like he was putting on a show, Lunoire still wanted to enjoy the moment for however long it continued. Since he had so many other women, she had no illusions that Vahn would be able to always care for her, at least emotionally, but it was nice to feel wanted every now and then... After savoring the vor for a bit, Vahn traced his hands along Lunoires ribs and sent small bursts of stimtion along her sides that made her body quiver and her teeth tter a bit from the shiver that ran through her body. Since he already had his head to her body, Vahn wanted to treat Lunoire in a manner simr to the v.i.r.g.i.n Syr, so he began to gently kiss around her diaphragm while massaging her sides. Lunoire hadnt missed Vahns intent, but it actually made her feel like his behavior really was an act, since it was very simr to his treatment of another girl. Fortunately, Vahn was very attentive to her needs so he almost instantly stopped his actions and raised his head to smile down at Lunoire. She had a somewhat nk expression for a moment before smiling back as he traced his index finger along the line of her abdomen. Vahn had noticed it earlier, but Lunoire had the most obviously muscr figure of the girls. Because she was human, she didnt have the trait that made her body look lithe like a Cat Person. Instead, she had very visible abs whenever her abdomen flexed up a bit, and there was a very beautiful line that ran down from her diaphragm to slightly below her navel. This was the convergence point for her abdominal muscles, and Vahn thought it was interesting to see them tightly contract under his touch. In his opinion, she had an incredibly womanly figure with an equally incredible physique. She might not the wlessness of Syr, the cool beauty of Ryuu, the mischevious nature of Chloe, or the Liveliness of Arnya, but her Gentle disposition and natural beauty were more than enough to stir Vahns heart. He could feel it itching progressively more the longer he explored her body, and an anticipation began to show very visibly on his face. Lunoire stroked the top of his head and said in a very soothing tone, "Thats enough Vahn...youve shown me plenty of care already. Im read-nnn!" Vahn had ced his index finger around two inches below her belly button, just where the line of her abdominal muscles made the beautiful curve toward her neatly trimmed pubes. He traced his finger in a small circle that caused her muscles to twitch and contract as he drew a thin line of energy that stimted deep within her body. Vahn could smell a powerful, womanly, musk but ignored it for the time being as he looked into Lunoires watery eyes and said in a gentle tone, "I want to experience every part of you...is that okay?" He removed his finger and Lunoire let out a hot gasp before drawing several breaths in silence. She looked into Vahns eyes and saw the care and concern in his expression, but she could also see that he was being very serious and considerate of her needs... Lunoire released another sigh before closing her eyes for several seconds as she thought about what it was she actually wanted. She was tempted to see how long she couldy in silence and make Vahn wait, but she also knew the other girls were at her side, primarily to support her, though the only thing she currently felt from them was a little pressure. Though she wasnt trying to be, Lunoire felt like she was acting selfish because of her ownck of interest in men ever since her bad experience in the past. Vahn was very obviously not the same man that had hurt her heart, but it was hard not topare them since she had only ever truly gotten close to the two. Surprisingly, for her at least, several minutes had passed as everyone in the room waited for her toe to a decision. She hadnt even noticed so much time had passed until she felt a slightly cool sensation between her own thighs because the moisture had started to dry off and cool down. She opened her eyes and saw that Vahns expression hadnt changed much at all, just that it had turned much softer as he continued to stare down at her with concern in his eyes. Looking around, Lunoire noticed that all the girls had simr expressions and it made her feel a gentle warmth spreading through her heart. She looked back to Vahn and showed a small smile as she said, "I want you to make love to me Vahn...and I want you to listen to my story as you do it...I dont want it to be intense...I just want to enjoy the experience and vent my heart and frustrations. I know it might seem like a strange request...but I feel like, if its now, I might be able to ovee my past..." As she spoke, Lunoire reached down with her hand and grabbed Vahns rtivelyrge p.e.n.i.s and gingerly stroked the hot member with her hand. Though he still wanted to explore her body more, Vahn nodded his head with a confident smile and said, "Its not a strange request at all, Lunoire...if it will help heal your heart, Ill do whatever it takes. Right here, at this moment, youre surrounded by people you care about...this is a safe ce, and Ill never allow any harm toe to you as long as Im around and able to prevent it." As a show of his conviction, Vahn moved backward before cing his knees in between Lunoires thighs and hiking up her knees with his hands. Her secret garden became clearly visible and Vahn could see a fresh stream of moisture slowly trickling out of the slightly open vulva. Strangely enough, with his discerning eye, it didnt actually look like she had s.e.x very often, even though she seemed to consider herself in a negative light. At least now he would be able to learn the reason while also shortening the distance between them to zero. Vahn ced the tip of his ns between the hot and malleable flesh before angling at the hole leading towards the depths of her v.a.g.i.n.a. Throughout the entire process, Vahn continued to lock eyes with Lunoire and, once she nodded her head, slowly and steadily inserted himself into her depths before leaning over her body. Unexpectedly, though she imed to be experienced, Lunoires v.a.g.i.n.a was very hot and tight and it mpedfortably around the portion of his p.e.n.i.s that was inside of her body. The reason he had been shocked was, after entering past a certain point, Vahn actually felt a little bit of resistance in her depths and only got about 60% of the way in before he hit a dead end. Her v.a.g.i.n.a seemed much shallower than he expected considering her height and mature figure. The most peculiar thing was the fact that she wasnt any looser than some of the v.i.r.g.i.n girls he had been with, including the three Cat Persons in recent memory. Lunoire had also released a somewhat pained gasp when Vahn ced his weight into her h.i.p.s. She felt like she was being wrenched open and it was far different than her initial expectations, especially after seeing the other girls manage just fine. Though she was still in a bit of pain, Lunoire released a strangeugh as tears built up in her eyes and she said, "Im happy...its nothing like what I experienced in the past...I feel like Ill truly be able to forget if things are like this...haha...ha..." As she spoke, Lunoire had peeked down and saw that, though she felt Vahn pushing against her insides, there was still a surprising amount of his p.e.n.i.s outside of her body. With time, she knew her body would adapt to his and also realized that, when that happened, she probably wouldnt be easily satisfied by other people...this strangely brought her a certain level offort after considering the situation for a moment. Vahn leaned over Lunoires body until their gazes match with each others, almost like he was about to start kissing her. Lunoire smiled before bringing her hands up to his face and hugging his head toward her b.r.e.a.s.ts and cradling it there. Sheughed a little and Vahn could hear the reverberations in her chest as she said, "I wont be able to talk if were kissing...just focus on my body...it doesnt even matter if you listen to what I have to say..." Vahn could hear, along with her breathing, Lunoires heart beating rapidly in her chest beyond the firm, and supple, b.r.e.a.s.ts pressed against his face. He nodded his head, and to make better progress, lifted up her legs with both of his hands and exploited the flexible nature of her body to act as leverage as he slowly pulled back his h.i.p.s before thrusting in at a slightly faster speed. Lunoire released another pained gasp, but there was a sensual undertone to her voice as she said, "Yes, thats good...just like that...nnn..." Though it wasnt her first time having s.e.x, Lunoire felt like the experience was drastically different than anything she had experienced in the past. Instead of Vahn selfishly seeking his own pleasure, he was doing his best to care for her body and tend to her needs over his own. Given her prior experience with s.e.x, it was almost theplete opposite of her expectations and understanding of the process. Even now, as she thought about what she wanted to say, it was like he was carefully exploring her insides, almost like he was mapping each individual bump and fold...while also bing increasingly familiar with the depths as he gently, ever so gently, pressed against the back of her v.a.g.i.n.a. After around a minute of slow pistoning, Lunoire released a long sigh and tried to tell her story to the best of her ability, "I was born...in the Empire...when I was a young girl...both of my parents died...in a war...." Lunoire released another long sigh, not just because of the pleasure but due to the strange relief she was filling by speaking about her past. She took in a steady breath and continued, "I was only seven years old...and I was forced out of our house...to be an orphan on the streets...everyone...even the people that used to treat me kindly...suddenly acted like I was a burden...though they didnt immediately treat me poorly...eventually...they stopped giving me food....and stopped caring about my health...especially when the war was still ongoing...I had to run away to a different area...just to try and find food to survive..." Lunoire released a loud m.o.a.n after Vahn poked a particrly sensitive spot that she hadnt even been aware of before. Sheughed at her own outburst before stroking the back of his head and saying, "Go easy on me..." Vahn nodded his head and avoided hitting the same spot again, even though he had every intention of exploiting the weaknesster on. Lunoire showed a grateful smile before continuing, "For several years...I wandered about as a street orphan...until I learned about blessings...and joined a Familia called...a Familia called...nnnnnnnnnnuugh~" Though he hadnt been doing anything intense, Vahn had been steadily, rhythmically, working away at Lunoires defenses until she was unable to resist a mild climax. After taking several deep breaths, Lunoire tried her best to continue with slightly quicker bursts of words, "I joined the Leto Familia and became a Supporter when I was ten years old...I became an official Adventurer when I was twelve and reached Level 2...and then worked hard to build a better life for myself...when I was fourteen, I met an older man, around twenty-two years old, who was very handsome...and cool...and he treated me kindly and showed concern for my well being. He made me feel like...for the first time since my parents had died...that there was someone in the world that cared about me again...only two days after we met...he took me out on a date and convinced me to give up my v.i.r.g.i.nity to him...I was afraid to lose him, so I didnt turn him down...and even though I was very scared, I thought it was better than being alone again..." Lunoire had started crying as she recounted her tale, and this was one of the reasons why she didnt want to look at Vahns face. She didnt want him to see the struggle she was going through and just wanted him to treat her kindly and gently without showing a pained and empathetic expression to her. Lunoire didnt want his pity, and she didnt even mind if he never loved her, she just wanted him tofort her broken heart that had been slowly bleeding out for thest six years...no, ever since that day she was told her parents died. Though he couldnt see her face, Vahn could feel Lunoires body shaking, the quivering in her chest, and palpitations of her heart as her aura zed about in a chaotic manner. He pretended not to notice, but he did his best to secretly channel a calming energy into her body and hoped she wouldnt notice. After a short moment of silence, Lunoire continued, "After that, we made a promise to be lovers...we promised to live together in a small house...to raise a family and avoid having to live the rest of our lives fighting...so I started working even harder to increase my strength...because he was older than I was, and because I trusted him...I gave everything I earned to him, even to the point where I couldnt always afford to eat a good meal...whenever I asked him for help, he always gave me kind words and encouraged me to work hard...he told me I needed to be more self-reliant and not rely on the money we were saving up for our future..." At this point, every girl in the room was already vaguely aware of how Lunoires story was going to progress. There was clear anger in their eyes, including the supposedly ditzy Arnya, as they looked at each other and made a silent promise. Lunoire managed to collect herself a bit and said, "I worked so hard, for an entire two years...all that while, I did my best to make sure he was happy, since he always gave me kind words...I did everything he wanted me to do, even some things that I didnt want to try...whenever I resisted, whenever I hesitated, he would always show a face of disappointment...sometimes, he would even leave me for several days at a time until finally showing back up and treating me kindly again...because I didnt want to be alone anymore, I had been keeping track of the amount of money we had saved up..." Lunoire had put extra emphasis on the word we when she spoke it at the end, almost like she was spitting the word. Though he couldnt see her face, Vahn could feel the angering from Lunoires body and he felt the shaking of her body as she said, "I approached him and asked if we could live together...I told him how much money we had saved up together...I even found a nice little house for us to both live in that was rtively inexpensive...but the only thing I got for my troubles was a hard p to the face and a barrage of insults...he told me that he had used all the money for gambling, all in order to earn more so that we could live a better life...he told me that, because he was low on money, I needed to work even harder or he would leave me...as I cried on the ground, he eventually started to treat me nicely again...I was scared and didnt want to listen to what he said, so he pped me several times before leaving me there...because it was meant to be a celebration, I had asked him to meet at a public restaurant...so he left me on the floor in a crowded area and just walked away...a few dayster, when I was afraid of being alone...I tried to track him down with some of the money I had earned... I wanted to make up with him and try again to work toward our dream together..." For a long while, Lunoire fell into silence as her body spasmed as if she were in severe pain. When she next spoke, it was in a loud, crying voice, "I found him, together with another young girl at a hotel...when I confronted them, he actually used me of lying about our rtionship...he kept telling the new girl that I was just a crazy stalker...that I was a delusional woman that followed him around because I thought he was cool...and the young girl actually believed his words and shouted at me not to rob her of her happiness...!" At this point, Lunoire began tough in a somewhat hysterical fashion before she said, "Later that very same day, he came over to the Inn I was staying at and tried to apologize...he literally tried to tell me it was a misunderstanding and that I was the girl he loved the most....he tried to convince me that we could live a happy life together as long as we saved up enough money! Then, then, that motherf.u.c.ker actually tried to force himself on me when I told him to leave!" Lunoire put a bit of strength into her hands that were hugging Vahns head as she cried loudly without even trying to hide her sobs. After she calmed down a bit, Lunoire said, "Fortunately, I was already Level 3 and he was still stuck at Level 2...I resisted against him for the first time and even injured him to the point where he couldnt stand...not long after that, the girl he had been sleeping with earlier actually showed up at the door...she had been feeling uncertain after the earlier incident and had followed him and eavesdropped on our conversation...after I beat him up, she tried to use a dagger to stab him in the heart since she had just given her v.i.r.g.i.nity to him after they promised to be together...unlike me, she was a beautiful and sweet girl, yet he had managed to convince her to give up her v.i.r.g.i.nity after just one day...I stopped her from killing him, but I didnt prevent her from severely disfiguring his face...after that, we found out that he had actually been sleeping with a number of young girls...all so that he could pay off his gambling debts and find talent for criminal organizations...thats right, his idea of giving me a happy life...was to try and raise me to be a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e to pay off his own debts!" After taking nearly a minute to calm down, Lunoire took several deep breaths and became aware of the calming energy coursing through her body. Though she didnt notice it at first, she was aware of the foreign energy when she was trying to calm her mind. She realized that, even though she had beenshing out andying all her concerns on him, Vahn took them all in stride and continued to care, not just for her body, but her mind as well as he earnestly tended to her body. Her heart wrenched painfully in her chest as a new stream of tears began to build up in her eyes as she said, "After that, I became a bounty hunter until Leto-sama ended up returning to Heaven...since I had nowhere to call home, I decided to leave the empire...I wanted to start a new life and escape from that cruel ce...I came to the City of Orario and met Chloe soon after...we became partners and hunted down wanted criminals for around three years..." Lunoire looked over to the Ryuu, who currently had a gentle smile on her face, before saying, "We epted a contract to hunt down the wanted criminal Ryuu...after we failed in our mission and understood the truth of the matter...Chloe and I decided to join the Hostess of Fertility to protect Syr and Ryuu...the rest is history..." At this point, Vahn lifted his head from Lunoires chest and looked into her somewhat disheveled appearance before shaking his head and saying, "No, the rest is the future well make together...the past is important, it defines where we came from, allows us to reflect on the path we took, but it is not what defines who we are..." Vahn put a bit more force into his thrust and poked the sensitive spot of Lunoire and made her m.o.a.n out in a passionate manner. When she opened her eyes, Vahn leaned forward and stared directly into the amber pupils and said in a firm tone, "It is our actions in the present that defines us, nothing more, nothing less. Events of the past fade with the passage of time, but the present and future are things we can directly impact..." Vahn gave another hard thrust that made Lunoire cry out and grip the bedspread with her hands as he continued, "...things we can influence, things we can change...you have just as much a right as anyone else to be happy, and the sooner you understand that, the less power the past will have on you. You never had topromise from the very beginning, because seeking happiness, seeking freedom, this is the right of everyone that has ever been born into this world. Lunoire...I cant do anything for the young girl that lost her family thirteen years ago, but I can do my best tofort you for every year hereafter..." While he was speaking, Vahn had been steadily attacking Lunoires weak spots as they stared into each others eyes. She could see the honesty in his expression, the care, and concern within his eyes, and the conviction within hisforting words. Every time he pressed into her, she could feel a shiver along her back like he was trying to rewrite all the bad feelings that she had justid out for him. Even though she had ced her emotional burden on his shoulders, Vahn didnt shy away for a moment and continued to give power to his words with his actions. In between her pleasured m.o.a.ns, Lunoires brows furrowed low with a hesitant look on her face as she asked, "Will this happiness be able tost...Im afraid that, just like when I was...a little girl, that it will one day just vanish...and leave me alone without a ce to call home again." It wasnt Vahn that answered Lunoires question as Syr reached out and grabbed her left hand before saying, "That is simply preposterous, Lunoire, no matter what happens from now on, well always be together...were already one big happy family." On the other side of her body, Chloe, the person who had known Lunoire the longest, asked in a mischevious, somewhat teasing tone, "Nyaaa~? Were you nning to leave me behind one day Lunoire? I dont think my heart would be able to take it, nyahaha..." Hearing their words, Lunoire turned around and noticed that everyone was looking at her with expression of care, concern, and most importantly, love...though she had cried a lot in thest half hour, Lunoires eyes began to tear up again before she said in a sobbing tone, "Please let me be happy again...I want to know what it really feels like to belong...please, show me what it means to be loved, Vahn!" Vahn leaned forward and sealed Lunoires lips with a passionate kiss, reminiscent of when he had pushed her to the bed at the very beginning. This time, Lunoire reciprocated his advances with an eagerness that made Vahn pull away and stare into her confused face as he said, "You dont need to try hard to please me, Lunoire...just being yourself has always been enough. Thank you for giving me a chance to love you..." Without waiting for her response, Vahn began to nt gentle, short, kisses onto Lunoires lips. She gingerly returned his affections and noticed that the feelings in her heart werepounding rapidly, especially when Vahn moved from her lips and began kissing her neck and corbone. He began to thrust more rapidly than his steady pace from earlier, and she could feel the tensions rising in her body as they steadily built towards something both terrifying and exhrating at the same time. Unlike the empty experiences she had in the past, everything Vahn gave her was full of emotion and it sent her body into a state she had only ever known with him. Though she had climaxed more than once as he gently made love to her, what she experienced at the very end, when Vahn released the scalding hot fluid into her body, was something that pushed her mind beyond anything Lunoire had previously thought possible... After nearly three minutes, Lunoire was steadily brought down from her elevated state where it felt like her mind had reached the clouds. The weightlessness in her body turned into a heavy, almost mncholic, ache that slowly faded away as she felt the warmth inside of her own body. She opened her hazy eyes and saw Vahns kind face still smiling gently at her as he caressed her lovingly. Because she had overtaxed her mind earlier, Lunoire was in a dazed state that bordered between dreams and reality as shezily brought up her arms and hugged Vahns body. She could feel his warmth spread through her, almost as if it were trying to banish away any negatively that had rooted itself in her heart. It might take time, but Lunoire understood that one day, as long as she continued to feel this warmth, she would be able to ovee her past...the future suddenly seemed much brighter, all the way up until she passed out and darkness imed her. (A/N: Just one? more chapter left of the Hostess of Fertility micro-arc~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Leave it to me...,Lunoires Burden,What it means to be the light...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 347 - Hostess of Fertility(5/5)

Chapter 347 - Hostess of Fertility(5/5)

After Lunoire fell asleep, Vahn helped to wipe down her body with the assistance of the other girls before a small conversation started about whether or not they should continue. Vahn had considered the matter for a moment before addressing everyone present in a gentle, yet firm, tone of voice, "I understand things may be awkward, maybe even a bit difficult, but I know Lunoire would me herself more if we brought things to an early conclusion. I feel like the best thing to do is continue onwards without inting things too far and then, when she wakes back up, well all treat her well as if the past doesnt matter at all. Besides..." Vahn looked over at Ryuu and saw her eyes open marginally wider when he said, "I dont think Id be able to forgive myself easily if I backed down now." The entire group looked at Ryuu and the somewhat sad atmosphere immediately became more tense, with more than a fair amount of awkwardness as everyone waited for her reaction. Though she had already mentally prepared herself, Ryuu still had a fair amount of inhibitions about everything that was happening but she still nodded her head and, with a small smile on her face said, "Im ready Vahn, please treat me kindly..." For a brief moment, Ryuu had a strange thought to defend her figure but she knew from personal experience that Vahn thought she was beautiful. Though she didnt mention it, nor did she even care much in the past, Ryuu felt like her small b.r.e.a.s.ts werent very womanly. Vahn had seen the small fluctuation in Ryuus aura, but he couldnt understand what kind of thought she could have had and determined that she was just nervous. He could me her either because he was actually very nervous about finally sleeping with Ryuu as well. Though Vahn wouldnt advocate the matter, it wasnt incorrect to im that the majority of elves were far more beautiful than most people. Everything about Ryuu, from her incredibly athletic figure that appeared to not have a single sign of fat, to her beautiful, cool, sky blue eyes, was a step above normal considerations for what could be considered aesthetically pleasing and beautiful. In fact, now that things hade to this point, Vahn felt incredibly blessed to even have the opportunity of being with a girl like Ryuu so he showed a genuine smile and said, "Ryuu, youre so beautiful..." As Vahn spoke, he reached out his hand with a slight hesitation before feeling emboldened when Ryuu showed a healthy blush and said, "Thank you...you also look very handsome." While Vahn was slightly stunned by Ryuus words, they could both hear a slight giggling from the others and looked over to see Syr, Chloe, and Arnya all smiling in a teasing and yful manner. Ryuus blush became much deeper and for a brief moment, though he wasnt sure he had seen it correctly, Vahn thought he saw Ryuus ears waggle slightly. When he turned back to her, Ryuu reached out and grabbed Vahns hand on her own before moving it to her modest, yet tender, b.r.e.a.s.ts. Strangely, her blush faded marginally and Ryuu released an almost inaudible sigh as she smiled at Vahn. Thoughts rapidly passed through Vahns head before he whispered in a low tone, "Lay down, Ryuu...leave the rest to me." As he spoke, he gently moved his fingers to test the texture and feel of Ryuus b.r.e.a.s.t under his palm. Ryuu nodded her head at his words before somewhat awkwardlyying on her back. Even without his prompting, it looked like she was trying to emte the other girls and had spread her own long legs as if she were disying the contents of her secret garden. Vahns mind nked for a moment and his eyes were drawn to the slight moisture flowing from the slightly parted vulva that revealed a pale pink interior. It was a color that matched Ryuus lips and n.i.p.p.l.es and it was unlike anything that Vahn had ever seen so he was very curious. Vahn felt like he had dazed for a moment too long, so he shook his head with a smile before taking a position between Ryuus thighs. Surprisingly, Ryuu seemed to be bing progressively calmer as her mind adapted to the situation and Vahn felt a strange urge well up inside of him to break her expression down. He didnt know what it was about elves, but Vahn felt an urge to tease them every time he saw their cool andposed appearances. After leaning forward a bit, Vahn ced both of his hands at Ryuus waist and used a gentle stream of energy to trace up her sides. Though she closed her eyes and shook slightly, Ryuusposure didnt break from the stimtion and the only thing that changed was her breathing. The strange urge deep within him grew marginally stronger as Vahn moved his hands to Ryuus b.r.e.a.s.ts and felt her heart palpitating rapidly under his right palm. Feeling how quickly Ryuus heart was beating, Vahns smile turned more natural and he became decidedly more affectionate as he leaned over her body and surprised her with a kiss on the lips. Since she had closed her eyes to cope with the stimtion, she hadnt been prepared for Vahns sudden action but quickly tried to reciprocate with a kiss of her own. Though it was somewhat sloppy and unpracticed, it was still a very pleasant kiss and reminded, not just Vahn, but Ryuu of the time they had shared in front of the gravesite together. Vahn supported his body with his right arm before reaching over and grabbed Ryuus right hand with his left. She was slightly confused until Vahn pulled away from their kiss and whispered, "Show me where you want me to touch..." Vahn activated his [Hands of Nirvana] and a moderately stimting energy flowed from his fingertips as he gingerly stroked the area between Ryuus shoulder and b.r.e.a.s.t. Not that he was very close to her, Vahn could see her eyes wavering a bit from the stimtion and understood why she had closed them earlier. After a short hesitation, Ryuu ced her hand overtop Vahns and slowly began exploring her own body while a progressively deeper blush rose on her face as Vahn continued to stare into her eyes. Though he had expected it somewhat, Vahn still smiled with a small amount of shock when Ryuu ced his hand back on her b.r.e.a.s.ts. The wavering in her eyes increased and she squinted them as if she were about to close thempletely. Vahn leaned down and whispered a question into her long elven ears, "You have sensitive b.r.e.a.s.ts~?" Without waiting for Ryuus response, Vahn traced his thumb over her n.i.p.p.l.e and felt her body shake slightly as an ambient heat rose from the garden down below. Ryuus eyes closedpletely and her mouth shrunk into a small shape simr to a frown as she fought to resist against the pleasurable feeling. Vahn didnt know why elves tried so hard to maintain theirposure but it was very interesting to see such a cool girl unable to resist even light stimtion. He had even stopped using [Hands of Nirvana], but she continued to close her eyes as the blush on her face grew deeper and more rudy. Ryuus aura had already turned a rosy pink with a touch of passionate red and it was wrapping around his body in a mildly possessive manner. Vahn smiled widely, even though Ryuus eyes werent open to see it, as he leaned down and began licking her long ears. Ryuu, perhaps surprised by the sudden change, opened her mouth slightly and released a strange sound like a squeaking m.o.a.n as she reached up and hugged Vahns body. An elves ears were one of their most sensitive spots and it was a tradition that only close family and lovers were even allowed to touch them. Vahns licking of her ears was an incredibly intimate and stimting action, especiallybined with the stimtion she was receiving from her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Though she had done her best to not cry out, Ryuu started releasing small noises that strangely sounded like a mix between a squeak and a m.o.a.n. Every time Vahn heard one of the tiny noises Ryuu tried to conceal, he could feel the strange urge to tease her growing inside his heart and he couldnt help raise his head and stare into Ryuus face. Confused about why he had stopped, Ryuu opened her watery, sky blue, eyes to match Vahns aquamarine green ones as he asked, "How can you be so incredibly adorable?" Ryuus eyes widened and her mouth opened slightly like she was trying to answer the question but couldnt find the words. A strong heat began to rise in her face and Vahns smile grew alongside it as he briefly leaned forward to kiss her lips before moving to her other ears, shifting his weight, and massaging her other b.r.e.a.s.t without further questions. Ryuus defenses had been breached after the sudden change and now her cries were even more audible and increasingly adorable. Ryuus voice was usually somewhat husky, low, and very mature sounding, but her current sounds were much higher pitch and they literally sounded closer to squeaks because of how hard she was trying to prevent herself from crying out. Eventually, Vahn could feel Ryuus body begin to tremble greatly as she released a long and hot sigh against his shoulders. He realized that her body had actually climaxed just from having her ears and b.r.e.a.s.ts teased but the strangest part was how her orgasm seemed to have calmed her down a lot. Vahn had pulled away from her ears and saw Ryuus smiling face and loving sky blue eyes as she said, "Im ready...thanks for being patient, Vahn." Unsure of what to say at first, Vahns mind nked for a moment before a smile appeared on his face and he responded, "Ryuu, thanks for loving me... lets be together for a very long time." Ryuus smile grewrger as her eyes squinted in a happy manner and she nodded her head with an, Nn sound. Vahn positioned himself at the entrance of Ryuus v.a.g.i.n.a and immediately noticed a peculiarity that he hadnt expected. Ryuus v.a.g.i.n.a seemed to be palpitating at the same rate her heart was beating and it sent somewhat stimting pulses through his ns that made Vahn feel a hint of expectation since he imagined it would be far greater when he actually entered inside of her. He couldnt help but imagine that the sensation would make him feel even closer to Ryuu since he would literally be able to feel her heartbeat aligned with his through her b.r.e.a.s.ts while also feeling it pulsate around his p.e.n.i.s. It was a strangely intimate thought and Vahn briefly wondered it if was a racial trait of all elves as he slowly tried to make his way into the remarkably tight hole. Throughout the process, Vahn was staring into Ryuus sky blue eyes and noticed she didnt have much of a reaction even though a foreign object was entering her body for the first time. Instead, she just continued to smile lovingly at him and even nodded her head with arger smile when he had hit a pocket of resistance. Since he didnt want to hurt her, Vahn reached down and used [Hands of Nirvana] to stroke the muscles of her lower abdomen and make things easier while also preparing to ease any pain and difort she might feel. Ryuu felt the warm energy flowing through her body angled her head up to kiss Vahn on the lips before saying, "Im a tough girl, you dont have to be overly cautious with me...now do it, Vahn, and lets be together from now, until forever..." Vahn nodded his head and began to passionately kiss Ryuu as he put more strength into his h.i.p.s. Though the resistance was surprisingly strong, and the sound that emerged was actually somewhat spine-tingling, Ryuu didnt seem to have any reaction to what had to be an incredible amount of pain. Vahn wasnt sure if it was because elves were incredibly thin, but Ryuus insides were much tighter than he had expected because of her mature appearance. He could feel a warm liquid intermixed with vital energies draining from the area where they were connected and Vahn knew Ryuu had to be bleeding a great deal more than normal and he was only able to enter slightly more than halfway inside of her beforeing to a dead end. As he expected, Vahn could feel Ryuus heart beating and it sent reverberations through his body in a strangely intimate, yet moderately diforting, manner. Though she didnt seem to mind it much, Vahn was worried about the sticky and warm fluidsing from Ryuu so he sent his energy into her body to heal any potential damage that had been done before he did anything else. So that she didnt have the opportunity to in, Vahn started kissing Ryuu more deeply and intertwined her tongue with his own. Ryuus saliva tasted somewhat thin, but there was also a sweet vor to it and Vahn thought it was a somewhat addictive vor and tried to savor it a bit until he was confident Ryuu had recovered. Other than healing her wounds, Vahn had sent strings of stimting energy into her body and had even felt the effects on his own p.e.n.i.s and it made his body twitch. Though he knew about the concept of masturbation, Vahn had never performed that act because he felt like it would be a p in the face to all the girls around him. The sticky feeling was soon reced by a small wash of warm, moist, and lubricating liquids and Vahn feltfortable enough to start moving slightly. Ryuu, once again, actually started to be calmer after he began to move and, instead of releasing any kind of m.o.a.ns, she just kissed his lips and stared at him whenever they parted. Vahn felt like it was a strange reaction and, if not for the fact her aura was almost entirely a passionate red, he would have suspected she didnt feel much from their bond. Of course, he could also feel her heart beating rapidly from where they were connected and this was an indicator that his assumption would have been wrong even without the ability to see auras. Still, it made him feel a little remorseful because he would like to get a bigger rise out of her when they were doing something so intimate together. Vahn remembered that Ryuu seemed to have very sensitive b.r.e.a.s.ts and ears so he decided to resume his early actions and noticed Ryuu had an almost immediate response as she hugged around his body and started making her small sounds that tickled his heart. Though he wasnt entirely sure, Vahn felt like Ryuu was a girl that was strangely more sensitive in her b.r.e.a.s.ts than her actual v.a.g.i.n.a. It was a curious thought and Vahn tried to test his theory by sending a wave of energy through his index finger and thumb as he pinched the pale pink protrusion that had bepletely rigid. Ryuu immediately released a long sigh intermixed with a subtle m.o.a.n and Vahn understood there was a high probability his theory was correct. The only way he could make sure, however, was to trace his hand down to where they were connected and test to the sensitivity of Ryuus little bundle of nerves. Though he typically didnt think it was a good idea during a girls first time, Vahn wanted to make things more enjoyable for Ryuu so he lightly stimted the small nerve center and notice that, though there was arge increase in the stream of fluidsing from her v.a.g.i.n.a, Ryuu didnt have a strong reaction to having her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s massaged. Vahn stopped licking her ears to look into her face and Ryuus enamored expression melted a little as she smiled gently and encouragingly at him. While still watching her face, Vahn brought his hand back up to Ryuus b.r.e.a.s.ts and saw her lower jaw tremble slightly before she closed her eyes and released an adorable little squeak. Vahns eyes widened slightly because this more or less confirmed his theory and it seemed to be true that Ryuu felt more stimtion from her b.r.e.a.s.ts and ears than her own v.a.g.i.n.a. Since it was the first time he had ever experienced such a thing, Vahn felt a great deal of excitement as he released a gentle, yet steady, stream of stimting energy directly through Ryuus n.i.p.p.l.e. Ryuu gnashed her teeth a bit and released a mewling-like cry as her already ridiculously tight v.a.g.i.n.a mped down on him with a great deal of pressure. Vahns eyes widened as he moved his h.i.p.s at a quicker tempo to reach his own critical limit as he quickly moved to the other side of Ryuus body and massaged her right b.r.e.a.s.t while licking her left ear. Because of his efforts, Ryuu had a continuous sequence of orgasms that linked together and became increasingly more powerful. Her ability to stifle her own m.o.a.ns was very high, but Ryuu still started to make marginally higher pitched noises that were vastly different from any sounds she usually made. It wasnt long before Vahn reached his own climax and, against his expectations yet again, Ryuus eyes instantly opened wide the moment he ejacted into her and she yelled out a throaty, Aaaaaahhhhhhhhhh that hadpletely caught, not only himself, but everyone present off guard. Vahn had pulled away from Ryuus ears and saw her staring wide-eyed at him as her body went through powerful reverberations. Though she was obviously very affected by the orgasm she was going through, Ryuu was remarkably still able to talk as she stuttered, "I can feel it...the mana...the energy...its overwhelming...its like its trying to fill me uppletely~!" Vahn understood Ryuus reaction now because elves were incredibly sensitive to mana and she could only interpret his source energy-rich s.e.m.e.n as being profoundly thick with mana. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that, with just his Tier 3 soul, his source energy was several tens of times more potent than normal mana and it must have been quite the surprise for the generally cool elven beauty. Even after nearly a minute had passed, her body continued to spasm slightly as she held her hand over her lower abdomen with an incredulous expression on her face. After Ryuu had calmed down for a bit, she looked up at Vahn and asked, "I heard from Riveria that you had been researching about the issues regarding pregnancy of various races. Have you looked inside my body to see if there are any reasons for why elves typically take a long time to get pregnant?" Vahn was very surprised by Ryuus question and shook his head before saying, "No, I didnt want to be invasive without asking permission first..." Ryuu nodded her head with a smile and said, "I dont want to get pregnant yet, but Id like you to check to see if there is anything strange with my body...please, Vahn." Vahn nodded his head before slipping out of Ryuu and helping wipe down her body as he inspected the interior with his [Eyes of Truth]. As he anticipated, there was a surprising amount of blood that had soaked into the nkets beneath Ryuus butt and there were even several traces of it sshed about on her thighs and genitals so Vahn feltpelled to treat her with tenderness. When he peeked into her body, Vahn saw the strange sight of his own s.e.m.e.n but tried his best to ignore it for the time being as he investigated each part of her reproductive organ. Surprisingly, Vahn found no issues with the ovaries of Ryuu, nor were here fallopian tubes abnormal and it didnt make any sense why elves would have trouble conceiving. Since he knew there had to be a reason, Vahn began to change his vision to look more closely at the flow of energy contained within Ryuus body, with his primary focus on the eggs within her ovaries. He had confirmed they were all alive earlier, but now Vahn noticed a strange peculiarity now that he looked more closely. It was almost unnoticeable at first, but Vahn saw lines of energy passing through Ryuus uterus that seeped into her interior walls and made them writhe about. This was the reason for Ryuus powerful reaction earlier and he knew the root cause was his own s.e.m.e.n. It seemed like Ryuus w.o.m.b was trying to absorb the source energy within his ejacte and it was guiding it along the fallopian tubes and nourishing the ovaries and their precious contents. Vahn followed the trail of energy with clear intrigue written on his face that caused every girl in the room to hold their breaths so as not to identally disturb him. Vahn noticed there was a strange cyclic process where the energy was revolved around within the interior of the ovary before detaching one of the follicles and Vahn could see it rapidly develop in real time, almost as if time were being elerated and Ryuus body slowly began to heat up as her body entered an imposed ovtion cycled because of the induction of his source energy. After a short few minutes, the egg detached from the ovary before making its way into the fallopian tubes and catching against the inner walls. If things continued as they were, Vahn was absolutely certain Ryuu would get pregnant and he had a hypothesis concerning the reason behind the difficulties elves faced when it came to getting pregnant. Ryuu felt a strange feeling in her own body and her heart began to beat rapidly in her chest as she watched Vahn stare intently at something beyond her sight andprehension. The only thing she waspletely aware of was the fact that she could feel the mana he had released inside of her changing something within her body and it was a somewhat terrifying, yet strangelyforting, though. After a few minutes passed, Vahn looked up at her and said in a serious tone, "I cant be certain, but I think I may have found the reason behind the difficulty elves face when getting pregnant. Well, that can wait forter, for now, you need to consider taking contraceptive before things develop even further." Hearing Vahns words, Ryuus eyes widened marginally and she asked, "Am I pregnant, already?" Though she said she didnt want to have a child yet, Ryuu couldnt help but feel a little giddy at the idea that she had already be pregnant. Vahn saw her expression and smiled gently before reaching out and stroking her cheek. He shook his head slightly and said in a soothing tone, "Youre not pregnant yet, but your body has started ovtion and there is currently a fertile egg waiting in your fallopian tubes, ah, the ce where the s.p.e.r.m meets the egg. Depending on how things progress, there is a good chance you would get pregnant if you didnt take action, though it wouldnt be confirmed until a week or two passed and the egg made its way into the uterus, the ce typically referred to as the w.o.m.b." Ryuu nodded her head thoughtfully before looking over to Syr and asking, "Syr, can you give me one of the pills? Just knowing I can get pregnant is enough for now...I want to increase my strength and focus on training the girls in the Familia first. Vahn, you need to talk to Riveria about this as it could be a matter of utmost importance to the elven race..." Vahn nodded his head and said, "Yes, Ill let her knowter...though I suspect she might find out before I get a chance to tell her with how fast information travels over thework." Hearing his words, Ryuus eyes widened and she bowed slightly and said, "Excuse me for a moment..." before running off to a nearby roompletely n.a.k.e.d. Vahn watched her fair white butt wiggle about along the way until she returned a few secondster and said, "I sent a message to Riveria-sama..." Vahnughed at Ryuus behavior before feeling a little mncholic when she age the small blue pill that Syr had handed her. The feeling increased further when Chloe took one as well but Vahn was surprised when Arnya refused and said, "Nyahaha, Id rather leave nyature to takes its course. There is nyo actual guarantee that Ill get pregnyant and maybe itll be interesting~? I dont knyow, I just dont want to take a pill~nya!" Vahn felt strangely warm when Arnya gave him a quick nce and then Syr set the pills off to the side without taking one for herself. She had already stated earlier that she didnt mind getting pregnant, as long as it wasnt forced and she was able to find out about it naturally. Now that they had sorted out the matters of pregnancy, for the time being, the atmosphere became a little awkward because of the shift in the tone that had urred. Vahn had already slept with all the girls at this point, but it was only around 10 PM and he could see that everyones auras were still burning passionately and he knew things shouldnt end on such a strange note. Though Lunoire was still sleeping, there were four incredibly beautiful girls sitting on the bed n.a.k.e.d in front of him and Vahn tensions had actually only been increasing after everything that happened earlier. It felt like he was on an emotional roller coaster but now he was at the top of a long fall and the thought of moving forward was exhrating because he knew that, as long as he didnt take it too far, the girls would reciprocate as best they could. Vahn smiled and turned to Ryuu whose eyes opened slightly wider when he looked at her as a small blush touched her cheeks. Her reaction made Vahn hesitate for a moment before he said in a low tone, "Ryuu, can you watch over Lunoire for a little while? I dont want her to wake up and feel alone..." Hearing Vahns words, Ryuu showed a gentle smile before nodding politely and moving over to sit next to the sleeping Lunoire. Vahn followed her movements with his eyes and promised to make it up to herter before turning his attention towards Syr, Chloe, and Arnya. The three girls looked back at him with a bit of anticipation on their faces, especially Syr who had calmed down a lot since earlier. Vahn took a deep breath to work up the nerve to say, "I have a bit of confidence in managing three girls at once...I want to try doing it from behind with Syr..." Syrs eyes widened a bit before a beautiful smile appeared on her face and she began tough yfully before turning her butt towards Vahn. Chloe and Arnya seemed to be a little confused at first but didnt really have any inhibitions about having s.e.x from behind. As long as they werent pinned on their backs, everything else was fair game and interesting for the two curious Cat Persons. They lined up next to Syr and Vahn felt a powerful pressure build-up in the bridge of his nose before he actually felt a light trickle of blood when the pressure released. Seeing the three fair skinned girls line up with their butts out, gardens revealed, and the two tails nking Syrs immacte little frame was a powerful impact to Vahns mental state. The girls had been looking back over their shoulders and saw Vahns hungry expression before he used a towel to wipe away the small amount of blood. All three of their hearts began to beat rapidly when Vahn crawled up behind Syr and looked over her back with a somewhat possessive look as he stroked her somewhat pale backside. She felt a shifter run up her spine and her eyes turned slightly zed and she lowered her head to enjoy the feelings welling up inside of her. Vahn had also turned his attention to the firm, yet pliant, butt of Chloe and the fleshy, yet toned, butt of Arnya, as he traced his palms over their backsides and fiddled with their tails using his thumbs. The two cats girls mewled in a simr manner as their tails twitched about somewhat violently under his caress. Before things got too out of hand, Vahn turned his attention back to Syr before fixing his ns against the entrance of her somewhat intimidating v.a.g.i.n.a. He whispered in a firm, yet gentle, tone as he said, "Syr, Im going to put it in...Chloe, Arnya, do your best...I dont mind if you cry out a bit..." Before the three girls could respond to his words, Vahn slowly inserted himself into the dangerous organ of Syr and immediately felt his mind buzz from the unforgettable stimtion. At the same time, with [Hands of Nirvana] active, Vahn began to fondle the butts of Chloe and Arnya as he fiddled with their tails without squeezing them too hard. Syr began to release her sensual m.o.a.ns almost immediately after he pressed into her while both Cat Persons began to mewl and nyaa in a manner that made Vahns heart itch as giddy feelings and excitement welled up inside of him. Though it was a little strange not to hold onto Syrs h.i.p.s when they were having s.e.x from behind, Syrs body seemed to adapt to everything he did and, even though she was only a Level 1, she moved against his waist whenever he thrust forward to ensure that he always struck the deepest part inside of her. Vahns jaw shook a bit because of the tingling sensation running up his spine as he traced his index and middle fingers along the slightly open slits of Chloe and Arnya before inserting his energy-rich fingers into the interior of their vulva and finding the v.a.g.i.n.a.l opening. They began to wag their butts a bit from the stimtion as both girls pressed their faces low to the bed and gave out their characteristic m.o.a.ns as Vahn dexterously worked his fingers inside of them. He had already mapped out several spots of interest and stimted the nerve inside of their v.a.g.i.n.as that ran along the underside of their urethra and connect to their c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s. Both girls had a flood of liquidsing from their v.a.g.i.n.as as Vahn stimted one of the most sensitive parts of their bodies. Because of his efforts, all three girls were making incredibly loud m.o.a.ns and Vahn couldnt help but have wide eyes at the efficacy of his actions when he managed to bring all three girls, and himself because of how Syrs body worked, to climax. After releasing anotherrge volume of s.e.m.e.n into Syrs interior, she plopped onto the bed after Vahn pulled out and had a happy and enamored smile on her face. Chloe and Arnya had reached powerful orgasms of their own, but they had much greater stamina than Syr and had been awakened by Vahns actions. For a Cat Person, just climaxing wasnt enough as their instincts made them desire release inside of their bodies in order to ease their tensions. After helping Syr over to Ryuu and Lunoire, the two girls began to attack Vahn as a duo as Chloe mounted hisp while Arnya hugged him from behind and strangely began licking the opposite side of his neck, ears, and even his hair. Vahn thought it would be a weird feeling, but he noticed that the rough tongue of Arnya felt incredibly pleasant whenever she licked against his sideburns and temples, almost like she was grooming him. About half an hour into their little threesome, Lunoire eventually woke up and saw Arnyaughing cheerfully while shaking her h.i.p.s in Vahnsp and stalled for a moment before Syr whispered in a low, somewhat sensual, tone, "Its good to see youre awake Lunoire...Vahn, no, we were all worried about you. Because he didnt want you to me yourself if things came to an early end, Vahn has continued putting in effort and had us take turns taking care of you." Lunoire looked over at the deeply blushing face of Syr who continued to watch Vahn, Arnya, and Chloe go at it like wild animals in what seemed like a very fun s.e.x.u.a.l experience. After hearing Ryuus strange cries earlier, and now hearing the two cat-like and cheerful m.o.a.ns of Arnya and Chloe, Syr began to wonder if she should develop her own unique cry to try and entice Vahn with... Lunoire sat up on the bed and began to watch the three before turning to Ryuu and asking in a gentle tone, "How did it go, Ryuu?" Ryuu turned to gaze into Lunoires amber eyes with her sky blue pair and said with a lovely smile blooming on her face, "It was better than anything I expected...Vahn is very attentive and shows a lot of care and concern when having s.e.x. He tries to make it pleasant for the girls and can change his tempo to match their needs. Just watching him have s.e.x with Chloe and Arnya is the best example...they seem like theyre all having fun." Lunoire looked at the three wildlings and nodded her head as a beautiful smile bloomed on her face and she said, "Yes, I believe youre right...Id like to try having fun s.e.x myself." As if by providence, Arnya released a loud Nyaaaahaaaaahahahaaaaa~! before writhing about in Vahns arms for a few seconds. He held onto her tightly until she calmed back down and rose from his waist and looked over at the three gawking girls and said, "If you want to have funya with Vahnya, just do it~nya!" Vahn had looked over at the girls as well before Chloe pushed his back with a little force and sent him tumbling forward on the bed with a mischeviousugh. The girls hadnt been far away so, as Vahn fell forward, his face nted into the soft thighs of Lunoire before he recovered himself and showed a wry smile before sending a re at Chloe. She fell back on the bed and beganughing yfully before yanking Arnyas tail who was next to her. The brown haired cat girl yelped before looking down at Chloe who said in a mischevious tone, "Arnyaaa, lets y together~" Though she nked for a short moment, Arnyas face showed a yful smile of her own as she jumped on top of Chloe and the two girls began tumbling about in their own little world for a while as Vahn watched them with a bit of confusion, but a fair amount of intrigue. Syr beganughing from the side and Vahn looked over as she whispered in a quiet tone, "Arnya and Chloe have been the poster cat girls for the Hostess of Fertility for a long time and have always gotten along well. Now is a good opportunity to strengthen their bond, and it looks like theyre having fun~." Vahn turned his head back to look at the girls and could see that, though they didnt like to be pinned, Chloe was held down by Arnya who was licking her raven ck hair affectionately and she didnt seem to be stressed out by the position. As if understanding his confusion, Syr whispered, "The girls dont like to be pinned by men, but that instinct doesnt trigger for women since there is no danger. Itsmon for Cat Persons that are close to each other to groom one another to show their affection~!" Vahn nodded his head but struggled to pull his attention away from the tantalizing sight until Syr guided his head wit her hand in a gentle manner. Sheughed in a teasing manner and said, "Arent there three beautiful girls right in front of you~? I wonder if you still have the confidence to manage all of us, fufufu~." Incited by Syrs words, Vahn showed a thoughtful expression before looking at Lunoire and saying, "Im d to see youre looking a lot happier now Lunoire...do you think youre up for continuing?" Hearing him address her, Lunoires smile broadened and she said in a tone that was much happier than the gentle tone she spoke with in the past, "Sounds like fun, please take care of me from now on, Vahn~." After her consent, Vahn wanted to try something new and had Lunoire straddle his legs while they were both on their knees. On his nks, Vahn had Syr and Ryuu surrounding them as they shared a strange group hug together while Vahn kneaded their butts and caressed their v.a.g.i.n.as while Lunoire moved about on his waist at her own pace. She hugged onto Vahns neck and moved about with an added intensity that didnt exist earlier as she kissed him passionately on the lips. From his sides, Ryuu and Syr were kissing his neck and shoulders while pressing their b.r.e.a.s.ts against him while he stirred up their insides a bit. Though Ryuu didnt have much of a reaction, she still continued the act in earnest while Syrs m.o.a.ns tickled Vahns ear and made his brain buzz while he resisted her perpetual charm ability. Lunoire eventually reached a powerful climax before taking a minute or two to recover before moving on to a supporting role as the other two girls took turns of their own. Vahn had an idea, so he let Ryuu straddle his waist as hey on his back while Syr sat on his stomach and Lunoire got behind her. Vahn knew that Ryuu had more than just respect and trust for Syr, and he wanted to bring the girls a little closer together so, while Lunoire rubbed Ryuus sensitive b.r.e.a.s.ts from behind, Syr kissed her on the lips without any hesitation while Vahn fiddled away at her surprisinglyplex v.a.g.i.n.a as if he were trying to unlock its secrets. Ryuu, who was typically very reserved and maintained her sensibilities well, couldnt resist the triple attack and began to release her adorable little squeals of pleasure as Syr rocked her body back and forth on top of Vahns body for nearly twenty minutes until she released another loud yell after feeling the mana enter inside of her. Afterward, several things became a blur as Vahn, and all of the girls present, began to loosen their sensibilities and engage in several new and interesting s.e.x.u.a.l acts. Vahn knew this was the influence of Syr, as every time she was in a state of high arousal it spread through the entire room like a pulse of energy. However, since the charm effect didnt work on himself, nor did it actually influence the girls, Vahn didnt do anything to suppress it as it brought everyone closer together and made them act boldly with fewer inhibitions. He realized that Syr might be the key to makerger groups work together since she had a powerful influence just by being present in the same room. She also retained her rational mind, at least when she wasnt actively having s.e.x, and tried to guide things along and exin matters when anyone was confused. Because of her guidance, there were a few strange ys between some of the other girls and things even took a strange turn around 2 AM when Syr had everyone put on their uniforms from earlier for onest round as they all lined up with their butts facing Vahn and pleaded for his attention. Even Ryuu, who was usually averse to such things, joined in on the act even though her face had turned beet red up until her ears. (A/N: This is an omega length chapter because I didnt want to write an extra one to wrap things up xD~! 6,702 words, and it could have been even longer!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lion Taming: Squeaking instead of Roaring?,( ; )( ; )( ; ),Hostess of Fertility, where service and satisfaction are guaranteed~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 348 - Day Before The Denatus

Chapter 348 - Day Before The Denatus

Vahn awoke the next morning and felt like he had experienced some kind of spiritual enlightenment as he enjoyed the warmth from around his entire body. Though he had exhausted earlier, the few hours of sleep he enjoyed before waking up were the most pleasant he had experienced in a long time. He hadnt even used his domain while he was unconscious and just enjoyed thefort of the women curled up against his body. Chloe had sleptying on top of his chest and Vahn could see her raven ck hair and cat ears just beneath his chin. To his right, Syr was using his shoulder as a pillow while being hugged from behind by Ryuu while, to his left, Lunoire was using his other shoulder in much the same way. The only mild awkwardness came from Arnya, who Vahn could feel reclining in between his legs using Chloes butt as a pillow. All of the girls were exhausted, maybe even more so than himself since he had gotten a little carried away at the very end. Since he didnt want to keep any of the girls waiting too long, he had made full use of his [Hands of Nirvana] to give everyone a pleasurable experience they would be unable to forget. By the end, thest person standing had been Chloe who earned the right to sleep on top of his chest for her efforts. Just reminiscing about the sequence of events the previous day, and just this morning, Vahn had a sage-like smile on his face as he enjoyed the calming smelling from Chloes ears. Around 9 AM, Vahn detected an aura approaching and instinctively activated his domain to scout his surroundings as the enlightened andfortable state dissipated. He saw who was approaching and rxed a bit until the door mmed open with enough force to embed the doorknob into the wall. Mama Mia came in and boisterously shouted in a loud, somewhat teasing, tone of voice, "Get the hell up you little brats! You think ying around all night excuses you from your work!?" Her shout had caused all five girls to startle as the made futile efforts to cover their n.a.k.e.d bodies as Mama Mia charged over and flipped the entire mattress over and knocked them all to the floor. Vahn and Ryuu had protected Syr, while everyone else wasnt really affected by the fall at all due to their level. Of course, it didnt stop them from acting out andining a little as Mama Mia used a warm cloth to smack the butts of the girls as they ran off to their individual rooms. The only people left behind after her tirade started was Vahn, Syr, and Ryuu, who were all standing n.a.k.e.d before Mama Mia who had a fiery expression in her eyes. Vahn and Ryuu stood in front of Syr who was looking especially bashful and ashamed at the moment as she hid behind Vahns back. Mama Mia looked Vahn up and down with an appraising eye before her brows raised, mouth frowned, and she nodded thoughtfully before shooting him a thumbs up and saying, "Not bad, kiddo. Your little goddess sent a message on thework to remind you that youve got ns for today. Ill make an exception and let you use the bath, just dont make a habit of staying overnight in the womens dormitory. Show some consideration for the people that had to leave and stay elsewherest night!" Without any bashfulness, Mama Mia walked over to Vahn before throwing the towel she had used to smack the girls into his face with enough force to knock his body back a step. Mama Mia gave Syr and Ryuu a passing nce before sighing loudly and heading towards the door. After she left, there was a brief silence until Syrughed awkwardly and said, "Here, Ill show you to the bath Vahn. Ryuu, tell the other girls to clean up before getting ready for today...it might cause a problem if they walk around without washing their bodies first." As she spoke, Syr sniffed the air and blushed a little before dragging Vahn away towards a corridor that led to arge square bath and shower. There were three showerheads along the wall with a square-shaped bath that was around 2 foot deep and had various types of shampoos and soaps decorating the perimeter. Syr pulled Vahn over to one of the showers before turning it on and grabbed arge sponge before saying, "Ill wash your body, we need to make sure youre nice and clean before your date with Hestia, fufufu~!" Vahn nodded his head before grabbing a sponge of his own and saying, "We can wash each other, Syr, let me tend to you for a little bit longer." Her somewhat cheeky smile bloomed into a beautiful expression as they began wiping each other down until the other girls began showing up. Chloe had been the first girl to arrive and sheughed mischievously before walking over and using the same showerhead as the two with the excuse that there wasnt room elsewhere. Arnya and Lunoire paired up at one showerhead while Ryuu went to use thest one on her own. After a few seconds, Syrughed before handing her sponge to Chloe and saying, "Ill wash his body next time, okay~?" She then walked over to Ryuu and the two girls spent a bit of quality time together until everyone got into therge tub at the same time. After the bath ended, Syr had the idea to have everyone get dressed in their uniforms at the same time before they all made a small breakfast and served it to Vahn as a collective unit. They each acted in their usual manner except there was an added intimacy to each of their actions and Vahn felt very blessed to be able to experience such a thing. To thank the girls for their service, Vahn left them a rtively expensive set of strawberry shortcakes and cookies with a warm pot of tea that was good for blood cirction. Since all of the girls loved sweets, they thanked Vahn before Syr sent them a signal and they made a semi-circle and kissed his face and cheeks while Chloe and Arnya licked his ears once in a yful manner before they all backed away and startedughing. Even Ryuu had gotten dragged into the pace of the other girls, but Vahn felt like her opening up and being bolder wasnt a bad thing. Leaving the warm and cozy womens dormitory had been one of the most difficult and perplexing things Vahn had ever done. It was below freezing outside and suddenly losing the warmth of the five girls made him feel slightly mncholic. However, Vahn knew that, after everything that happened, his rtionship with the girls was much better and there would be several opportunities to spend time together in the future. The only thing he had to do was reach out to them through his personalwork and, if they werent busy, he would be able to spend time with him. That thought alone made Vahn feel a profound happiness as he made his way toward the Hearth Manor to retrieve another one of the important women in his life, his goddess and trusted confidant, Hestia. Because of the extra pep in his step, Vahn arrived outside the Hearth Manor in record time before stepping into the warm foyer just as Hestia was exiting the corridor that connected to the dining room and the study Vahn used to greet guests. She was wearing her normal godly raiment, the flowery white, super short, dress that barely covered the upper quadrant of her thighs. The big difference was that she was also wearing a long coat with fur around the hem and cor that went all the way down to her calves. Most importantly, however, was the fact that she had let her long ck hair down and it hung to her waist making her look far more mature than normal. Vahn had paused when he saw her, so Hestia began tough in a pleasant manner as she asked, "Do you like it better when I wear my hair down~?" Vahn smiled before walking over and running his fingers through her incredibly smooth, almost silken, ck hair. He matched her gaze and said, "Your hair is beautiful no matter how you wear it, however, knowing that youre wearing it this way for me makes me feel grateful. Thank you, Hestia..." Vahn bent down and kissed the smiling goddess for a few seconds before they both parted and sheughed in a cheerful manner. After a short while, she picked up the small designer purse and said, "Lets go, Vahn, for the rest of the day youre all mine~!" Vahn extended his arm out politely and Hestia grabbed it happily as they made their way outside. Though she had worn a jacket for warmth, Vahn made a small bubble around them and used his [Heart of the Eternal me] to push back the cold so that she wouldnt be affected at all. The strange thing was, regardless of the fact that it was freezing outside, Hestia was still walking barefoot without any trouble at all... It wasnt the best day for a date since it was somewhat cold and stormy outside, but Hestias smile was like sunshine that blew away any negative feelings the recipient might have. They didnt often spend time out on personal dates, so Vahn tried to make it memorable for Hestia and took her around to various stores and shops that she had shown an interest in. When she got tired of walking around, Vahn gave her a piggyback ride and even vaulted from rooftop to rooftop using Shundo and protecting her body from the chilled air. Hestia held onto his neck tightly and pressed her b.r.e.a.s.ts into his back as sheughed happily while enjoying the moment they shared. As it was the intent behind the date, Vahn took Hestia to a super high-end shop in the northern section of the City where a single dress could cost well over a million Valis. Hestia had been hesitant about spending so much money on a single dress, but Vahn convinced her when he picked up a beautiful white dress that was studded with sapphires and diamonds that had a blue sash made of satin that held the ensemble together. It was a somewhat low cut for the cleavage, but there was a beautiful white shawl decorated with the same blue color as the sash but arranged in a pattern of lines and lilies that ented the entire outfit. To apany it, though it didnt seem necessary, there was a pair of blue heels with small white lily patterns sewn into them. The entire outfit cost a total of 2.3MV, but Vahn purchased it without batting an eye after seeing Hestia try it on in the changing room. It had been such a strong impact that it felt like his brain paused for a good three seconds until Hestia did a pirouette and asked, "Though I can tell from your reaction, how do I look, Vahn~?" Hearing her words, Vahn came back to his senses and showed a somewhat foolish smile and said, "You look like a goddess, an unearthly beauty that transcends mortality..." Hestiaughed in an incredibly cheerful tone as she walked over and gestured for Vahn toe closer so she could whisper in his ear. When he leaned down, Hestia spoke in a somewhat hot tone as her breath tickled his ears and she said, "Dont forget that this beautiful goddess is. all. yours~!" At the end of her words, Hestia nted a kiss on Vahns cheek and he immediately paid for the dress while suffering a bit of embarrassment from theughing cashier who gave him a yful look. After she changed back into her normal clothes, Vahn stored the dress into his inventory before they continued their date well into the evening. Having experienced it earlier in the day, Hestias new favorite thing to do seemed to be riding on his back as he carried her about the City in what could only be described as a magical fashion. Because he was able to cover huge distances in rather short periods of time, they visited dozens of ces before Vahn finally carried her all the way back to the Manor. Since it was more romantic, theynded on the balcony instead of using the front door before Vahn set Hestia down on therge sofa he used for his naps on asion. Hestia had beenughing periodically throughout the date, and she now had a gentle, somewhat elegant, smile on her face as she said, "Vahn, thank you for taking me out today. It was everything I had hoped for, and more..." Vahn sat down next to her and she immediately leaned against his shoulder after he grabbed her hand. She giggled a bit before saying in a low tone, "The next few days are going to be difficult...Im still worried about meeting so many other gods and goddesses-" Before she could continue, Vahn had tilted up Hestias chin and kissed her to dash away the negative emotions he had sensed rising up inside of her. When he pulled away, Vahn smiled before standing up suddenly and picking up Hestia into his arms. He looked into her somewhat glossy blue eyes and said in a soothing tone, "You will not be there alone; trust in Hephaestus, Loki, and Anubis. The most important thing you can do is try your best, so dont let the pressure get to you...remember, no matter how bad things get, I will always be with you, Hestia. The promise I made, that well eventually be together forever, I truly meant it...now, let spend a bit of that eternity with just the two of us..." After he spoke, Vahn kissed Hestia deeply before dragging her off to his own bedroom andforting her well into the night... --- Early the next morning, Vahn woke up and enjoyed the somewhat reminiscent feelinging from his lower body as he sat up and stirred awake thezy and sleepy goddess in his embrace. She wasnt a morning person, so Vahn carried her down the stairs after helping her get dressed she could freshen up before meeting with the other goddesses that wereing by to pick her up soon. Hestia seemed to be taking advantage of his care and acted especially spoiled while Vahn treated her like a princess and saw to all of her needs attentively. He knew she was still nervous about the uing Denatus, so Vahn did his best to bolster her courage a bit before waiting in the study with her and Fenrir as the three of them snuggled up like a family as Vahn brushed Hestia, and Hestia brushed Fenrir in a congo line of happy feelings. Around 7 AM, Hephaestus, Loki, and Anubis had all shown up and Vahn treated everyone to coffee and snacks as they discussed the final matters about what was going to happen in the near future. From the moment Hephaestus and Loki enter the Denatus, it would be impossible to conceal the fact they were both pregnant with several goddesses of fertility present. Loki was going to use some information to leverage against the godlymunity and draw the support of as many gods and goddesses as they could without revealing any important details. Vahn learned that Freya was also going to make her support known and they had a tripartite cooperation to prevent any dissent that might ur. The most important things they would be advocating for is Vahns freedom to act, his right to provide his services to whomever he pleases, and the protection of any of the children sired by goddesses to fall under the jurisdiction of the Hestia Familia and the Alliance proper. They were using the notes and doc.u.ments that Vahn had provided regarding his research into the issues regarding infertility of several races as evidence to support the fact that he had more than enough qualifications to act without restriction and oversight. Many of the things he had already discovered were revolutionary concepts that had foiled both gods and mortals for millennia, so they simply had no grounds to stand on when it came to imposing regtions against Vahn, or the Alliance as a whole. Loki stressed the importance of trying to establish his own authority on the matters and had already gotten permission from Riveria to use her identity as elven royalty to act as Vahns backer on the matter of his research. When she heard from Ryuu the previous night, Riveria had actually considered visiting the Hostess of Fertility regardless of the circ.u.mstances to make matters clear personally. Vahns hypothesis regarding the infertility of half-races was already a matter of paramount significance and she nned to support his research into matters in the future. However, when it came to light that he may have discovered the reason why it was so difficult for elves to procreate, and potentially even had a solution, Riverias impression of Vahn suddenly had him elevated to a status of supreme importance. Though she hadnt yet confirmed the matters personally, Riveria had contacted her homnd and received approval to issue Vahn the status of Sage and Special Protectorate Status for the Hestia Familia. Vahn was surprised at the news, but he understood the significance of his findings for the entire elven species so he couldnt fault Riveria for her overreaction. If it helped to protect his Familia in the future, Vahn didnt mind having some kind of special title from a foreign power. Sometime in the future, Vahn wanted to visit the enigmatds where humans werent allowed to tread and this was a step towards that goal. He wondered if he should bring up the matter about him having obtained a [Seed of the Tree of Life] since it was considered a sacred object to the elves. After thinking about it briefly, he decided to put it off for the time being since there were already a lot of things on the agenda that needed to be taken care of. Since he had obtained the seed from Ryuu, Vahn wanted to use it to support his Familia and loved ones, and didnt want to deal with a situation where he was forced to hand it over before he had managed to nt it himself. After talking for nearly a full hour, Vahn embraced each of the goddesses before seeing them off at the gates. It was somewhat strange to consider, but as Vahn watched them walking away he couldnt help but turn his attention to Anubis. Of the four goddesses, she was the only one he hadnt slept with even though he knew she had wanted to for a long time. After his night at the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn felt a lot less inhibited and he wondered if he should try and find out if she were still interested in the idea in the near future. Vahnughed at his own thought before shaking his head and walking back toward the Manor to prepare. He was going to be heading into the Dungeon with Haruhime for the next three days and shouldnt be focused on thoughts of s.e.x.u.a.l conquest. That could wait until after the Denatus and certain matters were cleared up first... (A/N: This is the official end of the Volume, I hope you enjoyed~! Next Volume starts off with Haruhime training arc and the long-awaited Denatus~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Covered In Flowers,Quality Time With Hestia,Elven Royalty) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 349 - Blossom

Chapter 349 - Blossom

Almost immediately after he returned to the interior of the Manor, Haruhime was already standing in the foyer with fiery eyes and arge amount of luggage and consumables she had prepared for their descent into the Dungeon. Vahn saw her green eyes glowing with anticipation so heughed as he reached out and patted her hair as he said, "Looks like youre ready to go..." As he was speaking, Vahn realized something and asked, "Where is your katana?" Hearing his words, the happily smiling face of Haruhime froze before her eyes opened wide and she looked around at all of the items she prepared and realized she had forgotten the most important part. Haruhime made a bashful smile before bowing her head and saying, "Excuse me for a moment, I need to grab something from my room, Vahn." After bowing, Haruhime turned around and walked elegantly up the stairs until she had disappeared from Vahns sight. He could hear her footsteps hurrying up the stairs the moment she thought he couldnt see her and beganughing as he stowed away all of her luggage into his inventory. A few minutester, Vahn heard quick footsteps running down the stairs before they came to a stop. There was silence for a short while, likely because she had to catch her breath, before Haruhime walked around the corner of the stairsnding with an elegant smile on her face and her katana fixed in her customized ck obi. After everything was prepared, Vahn and Haruhime left the Manor and headed to Babel Tower before descending into the dungeon for their three-day training mission. There were two purposes behind this, the first being to make sure Vahn wasnt able to be reached at the Manor by external forces and gods during the Denatus. The primary reason, however, was to have Haruhime fulfill the conditions to unlock the [Hunter] Development Ability before she hit Level 2. Sharing exilia with another person invalidated the acquisition requirements, and it would also prevent Vahn from using his [Mentor] skill to help support her growth. Just like when he had experienced massive leaps in development in the past, Vahn was preparing to put Haruhime through what Ryuu and Aki had named The Crucible. Fortunately, due to his ability to update status boards without having to return to the surface, Haruhime had a massive advantagepared to other Adventurers. Once they entered the Dungeon, the two made their way down to the 9th floor before stopping just outside the connecting corridor leading towards the floor proper. Vahn turned to Haruhime with a smile and said, "From this point onwards, unless you are in mortal peril, youll have to pay your way forward on your own Haruhime. Whenever you think youve reached your limits, let me know and Ill update your Status Board before we press onwards. This isnt going to be easy, but I trust youll be able to be much stronger if you perform well. Though it might be difficult to believe, I reached Level 2 after a single short stint into the Dungeon...you share part of my own potential for growth because of that me seed in your heart. What an Adventurer needs, more than anything else, is the desire to seek the unknown and the spirit to never give up when facing adversity." Haruhime had an uncharacteristic serious expression on her face as she listened attentively to each and every one of Vahns words. When he was finished, she bowed in a serious manner reminiscent of Mikoto before saying, "Ill do my best Vahn...!" There was a ze of confidence in her eyes that would have easily been misunderstood as confidence and resolve if not for the fact that her aura was zing with a pink hue. Vahn shook his head with a small smile on his face because he knew that she would indeed try very hard, but only because she wanted to be rewarded after the fact. Since it would help drive her to be stronger, Vahn urged her onward without calling her out for her tangential thoughts. Vahn kept a fair distance behind Haruhime and eventually even disappeared from her perception entirely. Her goal was the go as far as she could without his assistance so his presence nearby defeated the purpose of the training entirely. She needed to have the wherewithal of an Adventurer and hone her senses to the limit or it would be toote for regrets if something happened in the future. Of course, it didnt stop Vahn from sneaking an [Effigy of the Hero] into the pouch on her waist before he had given it to her. It put him down to 18,309OP, but it was better than actually risking her life. The reason they had decided upon the 9th floor was due to the fact that the majority of monsters were only Goblins and Kobolds. Though they were much faster than their surface counterparts, it wasnt too difficult for experienced Adventurer to take out a medium sized group without difficulty. Since Haruhime was alone, the spawn rate of monsters would be restricted to a maximum of two people unless there was another party in the area. Vahn was confident that, as long as she paced herself properly, Haruhime would be able to y more than two-hundred monsters before they took their afternoon break. The requirement for the [Hunter] Development Ability was to y 1,000 monsters within a 72-hour window, so there was a very high chance they reached their mark in time. ---Sanjouno Haruhimes PoV---(A/N: Since its Vol 10, I want to try a few new things to make the story more interesting. Please bear with me and let me know what you think as the Volume progresses further (O,...,O)~!) Though she regretted having to part with Vahn, even though she knew he was still nearby, Haruhime moved forward with conviction while straining her ears. As a Renard, she had powerful hearing and eyesight that allowed her to easily see within the low light of the Dungeon. Every time she picked up a sound, her ears twitched before orienting toward the sound in a manner that Vahn would have found adorable. She knew that this was an important test for her and, if she were unable to ovee this trial, Vahn might lose confidence in entrusting her with important matters in the future. The thing she couldnt tolerate, more than anything else, was the thought of Vahn losing his trust in her. She wanted to stay together with him far into the future, so she couldnt allow herself to falter at one of the first steps... After traveling through a few confusing tunnels, Haruhime heard some guttural sounds that she immediately attributed to Goblins. Her nose twitched slightly as she smelled the air before squinting her eyes and squatting low to the ground. Based on what she could discern from her senses, there should be at least seven goblins nearby and Haruhime also smelled the foul smell of Kobolds in the air. She wasnt sure if they were near the Goblins, but they would likelye running if they heard the sounds of battle. One of the most dangerous threats to any Adventurer was monster reinforcements when parties dropped their guards on the verge of victory. Since the smell was rather pungent, she knew they had passed through the area not long ago and should still be nearby. Following the sound of the Goblins, Haruhime peeked around a corner before sighing silently to herself because there were eleven goblins instead of her presumed seven. She suspected there could be more present, but she was still somewhat disappointed and knew there was a lot of work she had to do before reaching the proficiency of someone like Aki. Haruhime noticed two of the goblins had battered weapons, likely obtained from other Adventurers, while the rest had makeshift clubs using small stgmites found around the Dungeon. She spent a few seconds determining the best method to defeat them before taking a deep breath and stepping out from the shadows and drawing her katana. Though she could eliminate them from afar with her magic, each cast cost between 30-50 mana and she would deplete most of her personal reserves before the fight came to an end. It was more dangerous to fight up close, but it allowed her to develop her physical parameters and was far more efficient than using a single target magic. When she drew the beautiful katana Vahn had gifted to her, Haruhime saw the small, dark-brown, caricature of Vahn on the back of her had and felt a rush of confidence burst from within her heart. She knew that the me seed was supposed to be based on her feelings for Vahn, so Haruhime did her best to cultivate her feelings whenever she was alone. Every monster she struck down took her closer to her ultimate goal of standing at his side and she wouldnt let any of them bar her passage toward the future. Without any hesitation, Haruhimes eyes widened in excitement and she shouted, "Dance, fading effervescence. Blossom, petals of spring. ~Blossom!" When she saw a total of seventeen petals dancing around her, Haruhimes face bloomed into a smile because it was two more than her previous limit. The goblins charged at her, but Haruhime was not the rookie Level 1 that could barely keep pace with the diminutive creatures. She leaned forward before kicking off forcefully against the grassy floor and running to the nks of the group of goblins so they wouldnt be able to surround her. The two nearest her body tried to leap toward and attack her, but Haruhime simply ntest her heel in the ground before spinning elegantly through the air without even swinging her sword through the bodies of the attackers. Stopping meant potentially getting surrounded, so she made use of the fact that the sakura petals followed her movements to send the razor-sharp pink petals through the bodies of the two foolish creatures. Neither of them died, but both were taken out ofmission which left only nine left asbatants. Every time she was with Vahn, he alwaysplimented her on her elegance, beauty, and the fact that her movements were like a dance. As the daughter of a noble n leader, Haruhime had spent years in her childhood practicing etiquette and dance. When she became a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e-in-training, they had also taught her how to dance for a man, but she had fortunately avoided ever having to perform like that. Since Vahn enjoyed her dance, she wanted to dedicate it to him, and no one else. If he saw her fighting style as a dance, she would polish it further and further until the point where not even a single drop of blood could mar the beauty heplimented her for... The only thing missing from her performance was the sound of music, but Haruhime supplemented thecking instrumentals by dancing to the tune of the Goblins cries. They werent pleasant, but it was enough to keep a steady tempo as she traced aplex pattern around their small group and cut them down with beautiful arcs of her katana that passed through flesh, organs, and bone, as if they werent even there. Three minutester, Haruhime brandished the katana once before slowly closing her eyes and sheathing it, as if she were drawing the performance to a close. Though it wasnt an impressive feat to y eleven Goblins, anyone watching would likely have pped andplimented Haruhime for her efforts. After sheathing her katana, Haruhimes ears twitched as she habitually looked around for Vahn to receive his praise. Realizing her own actions, Haruhime chuckled at herself before walking over and picking up the small magic cores that had been dropped from the monsters. Unlike when Vahn was apanying her, Haruhime had to pick up the loot on her own unless she decided to leave it behind. Since she was currently trying to save up enough points to be able to sit next to Vahn and have him feed her, Haruhime made sure to pick up every magic core and safely stash them away. As part of their incentive to work harder, Ryuu and Aki hade up with a list of rewards that could be received from Vahn. The top prizes included things like taking a bath together, taking a nap while cuddling, and the ultimate prize of receiving one of Vahns legendary massages for an entire two hours. There was even a perk that, if you were willing to give up part of the time, Vahn would have to wear nothing but a pair of tight bottoms throughout the session. When Aki had shown off the ck pair of underwear that looked like something a woman would wear, every girl present had fiercely blushing faces after imaging the image of Vahns tanned figure wearing nothing but a pair of small ck bottoms. For a brief moment, Haruhime felt a pressure in the bridge of her nose before her ears twitched and she looked toward one of the adjoining corridors and saw a medium sized group of Kobolds charging toward her. Instead of shying away, Haruhime pulled out her katana again with a small smile on her face as she said with a practiced elegance, "Dance, fading effervescence. Blossom, petals of spring. ~Blossom!" Though there were no instruments present, Haruhimes ears twitched and she felt like small bells had sounded and signaled the beginning of her dance. Unlike the guttural sound of Goblins, the tempo of the Kobolds growls and howls were far more pleasant to the ears... (A/N:Doki Doki Dungeon Date!?,Haruhimes Conviction,Dance, [Sakura Blossom]~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 350 - Denatus Begins

Chapter 350 - Denatus Begins

While Vahn was skulking around in the Dungeon with Haruhime, Hestia had apanied Anubis to the main location of the Denatus, which was located on the 30th floor of Babel Tower in arge ballroom decorated ceremoniously in the aesthetic of the western gods. There were giant stone pirs spread throughout the area and the entire room looked reminiscent of a giant temple, which was very suitable considering everyone in attendance, excluding some service staff, were all gods. The reason for Hephaestus and Lokis absence at the very beginning was so they were able to make preparations without causing a stir from the onset. It was their intention to arrive when the meet-and-greet phase of the Denatus transitioned into the banquet phase as it would prevent a fiasco where the girls were spontaneously crowded by arge group that would dy progressive discussions. Hestia had worn the beautiful blue dress that Vahn had purchased for her and she struck a striking figure amongst many of the other goddesses present, including the exotic looking Anubis. Anubis had worn a traditional ceremonial white robe that covered the majority of her body and was decorated with various golden ornaments around her upper arms, wrists, and the green sash around her h.i.p.s. The outfit traditionally required several different nes, but Anubis unashamedly wore the cor Vahn had given to her in the past and maintained an elegant disposition as she apanied Hestia from her left. Though she didnt treat Hestia as her better, she still showed her the deferential respect deserving of the goddess of her Masters Familia. As they were both new faces amongst the Denatus and were quite beautiful, the pair drew the attention of various other gods. Most of them knew of Hestia from their stint in Heaven, so they only gave cursory greetings weing her to the mortal ne while the vast majority tried speaking with Anubis. She politely greeted everyone but denied them any attempts to get closer to her, especially the various gods where were spontaneously trying to woo and court her simply to satiate their curiosity and add to their achievements. Gods and goddesses never married, since they were all immortal, but it didnt stop them from having temporary rtionsh.i.p.s and there were several gods that could count their godly conquests in the hundreds, if not thousands. The biggest turnoff for most goddesses was the fact that most gods knew each other and were braggarts and gossipers. Of course, this went both ways as there were several goddesses with the same traits, Anubis and Hestia were just far more reserved than most, at least in matters concerning men and rtionsh.i.p.s. After a small window of time passed, the majority of those present lost interest in the new duo and Hestia released a somewhat exasperated sigh as she looked toward Anubis and said, "If I wasnt so happy to be with Vahn, I might have been more annoyed that everyone seems more interested in talking to you rather than myself." Anubisughed in an elegant manner before saying, "I believe its because they fancy their odds of winning my affectionspared to one of the coveted v.i.r.g.i.n goddesses of the Northern Pantheon." Hearing Anubiss teasing words, Hestias face blushed a deep shade of red before immediately bing annoyed when she heard and abrasiveughter that reminded her of nothing but bad memories. "Why, if it isnt my dear Hestia~! I had heard you descended from Heaven, haaaaa, it saddens me to know that I wasnt invited to the ceremony. Even when I tried to find out where you had been staying I was unable to dig anything up. I see youre well dressed, tell me, is that friend of yours taking care of you now? You know, I dont mind helping limate to the human world and teaching you all sorts of things, Aaaahahahaha!" The voice belonged to a very handsome god with sun-like blond hair, golden eyes, and a golden wreath wrapped around his head. He was attired in ceremonial white robes with red and gold ents, but the most noticeable thing he wore was his arrogant and possessive expression as he unashamedly gawked at Hestias body. Hestia red at the unpleasant arrival and practically spat the words, "Apollo, Ive refused your advances time and again, yet no matter how many eons pass you still think Im some prize to be won. Leave me be, Ive long grown tired of your games and have begun to find your very presence distasteful~!" Though he grimaced for a moment, Apollo just scoffed and shook his head with an arrogant smile and said, "Things arent the same as they were in Heaven, why are you so uptight? Its not like epting my courtship will ruin your real body, youre just in a mortal form right now, so why continue this charade further? Why evene to the mortal world if not to experience everything you cant experience in Heaven~?" It was Hestias turn to scoff as a snide look appeared in her eyes and she said, "Oh, I intend to experience all kinds of things in my time here, just not with a persistent and egotistical jerk that has no sense of propriety at all~! Begone, Apollo, your presence alone makes the wine taste nd!" Apollo shook his head with a wry smile andmented, "Sooner orter, Hestia, you will be mine..." He then turned to Anubis as if Hestias matter had been put to the back of his mind and said, "Greetings, you are a very beautiful goddess arent you? Pay no heed to Hestias ramblings, she has just been frustrated trying to protect her little title. Given your appearance, you muste from the Souther Pantheon...Ah, forgive myte introduction, I am Apollo, one of the principal gods of the sun, music, poetry, and prophecy. It is an honor to meet such a beautiful goddess..." Apollo performed a polite bow and showed a radiant smile on his face as hepletely ignored the fuming and disgusted Hestia standing right next to Anubis. Anubis continued to show her elegance but her eyes twitched slightly as she politely bowed and said in a somewhat cold tone, "I am Anubis, Goddess of the Dead, Life, and Wisdom...it seems our Divinities are in conflict as, like mypanion Hestia, I cant help but feel abject disgust at your mere presence." Though she kept a polite smile, Anubiss words were biting and they made the c.o.c.ky expression of Apollo freeze up for a moment before he beganughing. After a few seconds, Apollo gave Anubis an appraising look and said, "I know of you, Anubis, the dog goddess that serves a human master. How disappointing, to see such a fine specimen wasted on a mortal...well, if you ever want to experience what its like to be with a real man, I dont mind taking you as my pet when your little toy grows inevitably dies. I wonder if youre like a dog in bed as well~? Aaaahahahaha!" Both Hestias and Anubiss expressions turned foul as they stared at Apollo with eyes filled with hatred. Seeing their expressions, Apolloughed boisterously until the atmosphere around the three froze after a bell-likeugh sounded. Even though he was a god, Apollo couldnt help but feel a chill run up his spine as he turned around to see the source of the sound and nked for a short moment as the sheer beauty of the goddess approaching. Freya had been paying attention to Hestia and Anubis ever since they entered the ballroom and had been eavesdropping the earlier conversation out of curiosity. Though she didnt mind Apollos brash and assertive behavior, the moment she heard him mention Vahns death she was unable to keep her calm and decided to step in. Apollo tried to recover his bearings to try his luck, once again, at making a pass at the goddess considered the most beautiful in the entire City. However, before he could utter a single word, Freya looked at him with her cold silver eyes and said, "Leave us, mongrel, youve no ce here. A single word from your lips and Ill have you pay the price in the arena~." Apollos face froze and he tried several times to find his words before eventually stepping down due to Freyas intimidation. Though he was proud of his collection, his Familia was only D-Rank, a far cry from the S-Rank powerhouse that was the Freya Familia. He didnt understand her anger, but he didnt want to stick around to escte matters further so he just made a polite bow before walking away with a much faster pace than when he arrived. Freya watched his back for several seconds before turning to the other two goddesses and saying, "Its a pleasure to meet the two of you, Hestia, Anubis...tell me, when are Hephaestus and Loki nning to arrive~?" As they had known each other for quite a long time, Hestia released a sigh since she knew about Freyas interest in Vahn. However, she had also been lectured several times by Hephaestus and Loki to not stir up the currently docile goddess and stir her to action. Since it was their first official meeting in the mortal world, Hestia performed a courteous bow and said, with a smile on her face, "Its good to see you, Freya...the others will arrive just before the banquet begins." Freya showed a thoughtful expression and said in an amused tone, "That must mean Loki got pregnant also...fufufufu, Im looking forward to the future." Freya began to turn away to mingle with the other gods until the banquet began before turning around and saying, "Ah, Hestia, if people like that bother you, please let me know and Ill deal with them if youd like~?" Freya began tough in a somewhat loud, but very pleasant tone that drew the attention of various gods within the room. As they watched her curvaceous back saunter about elegantly through the room, Hestia heard Anubis say from the side, "She is a very dangerous woman...I dont think Ive ever felt an aura quite like Freyas in all my years in both Heaven and the mortal world." Hestia nodded her head with a strangely mncholic expression as she said, "Freya is one of the few survivors from the Age of Myths. Though not one of the oldest, she is very nearly six-hundred-million years old..." Anubiss eyes widened a fair amount before she turned her head toward the petite goddess to her right. There were few gods that have persisted for such a long period of time without breaking, but Anubis could tell that Freya wasnt the only one with a marginally strong aura. Hestias expression and the way she casually spoke the words made Anubis believe there was much more to the diminutive goddess than she had originally realized. After a few hours of mingling, it was finally time for the banquet to begin as everyone began moving to their seats at the severalrge rectangr tables that had been brought out. There wasnt any particr seating order, except for the 10 spots that had been reserved at the main table where the avatar of Ouranos sat on his throne-like chair at the head of the table. He had a solemn and observant expression as he watched over the congregation of gods with an unwavering gaze. Moments after everyone had sat down, there was the sound of therge doors at the far end of the ballroom being opened as two red-haired goddesses walked in wearing simr ck dresses with red ents. Ouranos saw them from a distance and muttered in a low tone that was still heard by everyone in the room, "So, youvee, Hephaestus, Loki..." The two goddesses had confident expressions, almost like they were walking into a battlefield without a single sign of fear or inhibitions. They began walking forward as a slight stir passed through the various gods and goddesses in the room after seeing the unexpected arrivals. Many had been curious about the two goddesses that were leading the Alliance, and it was strange that they hadnt shown up even though Anubis, Takemikazuchi, and Miach, had all eventually gathered. Presently, they sat near Hestia at the second group of tables closest to the center. After nearing the central table, Demeter looked over at Hephaestus and Loki with her somewhat sleepy looking eyes before an expression of moderate shock appeared in her orange eyes. She was a very beautiful goddess with honey-colored hair, sleepy orange eyes, arge bust that could easily rival Hestias, and a very womanly figure as a result of her Divinities rted to Earth, Agriculture, and perhaps most important for this asion, Fertility. Her Familia was responsible for the majority of grain production and crop distribution within the City, so she sat amongst the group of ten at the same table as Ouranos. The moment she got a good look at the twote arrivals, Demeter immediately realized the peculiarity in their bodies but kept her silence for the time being. Loki assumed her spot to the right of Ouranos while Hephaestus sat next to her as they briefly made eye contact with Freya across the table who had a radiant smile on her face as she stared at Lokis belly with glowing silver eyes. Seeing her expression, Lokiughed in a somewhat mischevious expression before turning to steadfast Ouranos and saying, "We have a lot of matters to discuss, but I think it should wait until after the banquet has started. We wouldnt want to keep all the other gods and goddesses waiting, now would we~?" She then began tough in a manner that focused the attention of everyone present onto her. Not only Demeter and Freya, but there were several goddesses present that had realized the abnormality with Hephaestus and Loki, but none of them were willing to mention it with how tense the atmosphere had be. Since they were seated with Ouranos and three goddesses with Fertility Divinities, it surely had toe up in conversation. After all, if their senses werent ying tricks on them, the matter of goddesses being pregnant couldnt simply be brushed aside...could it? (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is a Stalker,Apollo is an asshole,Anomalous Arrivals : Tense Situation) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 351 - Taking a Stand

Chapter 351 - Taking a Stand

Ouranos observed Loki from the corner of his eyes before passing his gaze over every god and goddess present. He could sense the shift in the atmosphere amongst several goddesses and could feel the unrest spreading throughout the entire ballroom. Seeing the goddesses that reacted, Ouranos squinted his eyes because he realized they all had something inmon but it was a difficult matter to believe his own intuition. Before things got out of control, Ouranos addressed the entire congregation in a powerful voice that shook the air around them, "Now is not the time for idle prattle. Loki, Hephaestus, your absence till now must have a purpose and it is very obvious that there are some present who have realized this. Before spection runs wild, is there something you would like to discuss?" Loki beganughing boisterously at Ouranoss words without seeming to mind the re he was sending her way. Just as Ouranos had done before, Loki passed her gaze over everyone present before saying in a nonchnt voice, "There are several things up for discussion, but is now the best time? I dont mind, but what about your precious little banquet, hmmmm~?" Before Ouranos could say anything, Loki stood up from her seat and walked toward the small elevated tform just beneath where Ouranos was sitting. Everyone in the room turned their attention to her as Ouranos stared down at her back from above with a curious glint in his eyes. He wanted to know what she was going to say, but before she even said a single word Hephaestus, Hestia, Anubis, Takemikazuchi, Miach, and, once she realized what was going on, Freya also stood up and joined the small gathering. Seeing the number of gods and goddesses that suddenly stood before Ouranos, the entire room turned silent as a heavy atmosphere pressed on everyone present. There were a number of gods that began to feel very nervous because this was something unprecedented since the establishment of the Denatus. The first day was usually used to discuss impersonal matters and mingle a bit. Most of the important decisions were made on the second day and then the final day was used to issue out new alias while bragging and making polite conversation rted to the previous days discussions. Everyone realized that this Denatus would be different than every other before it and, though they actively sought interesting things to do, many gods felt concerned about the fact things were changing outside of their expectations. Hephaestus had taken her ce at the center of the group, but Loki stood before everyone while Freya, though it wasnt coordinated beforehand, had taken the spot to the left of Hephaestus was an intrigued smile on her face as if she really enjoyed everything that was happening. Before the old man on the throne lost his sensibilities, Loki turned to the congregation and raised the wine ss she had been carrying with her and said in a jubnt voice, "Today is an important day, and there are various matters worth discussing, however, chief amongst all topics is what Im certain many of you have realized at this point...indeed, your eyes are not deceiving you, this is not an illusion, nor is it a trick meant to sway and deceive~!" Using her free left hand, Loki rubbed her belly with an enamored glint in her eyes as she said in a low, seductive, tone to the entire group of gods and goddesses, "Alongside Hephaestus, I am also pregnant and with child..." The moment her words dropped, there was absolute silence for about three seconds before the entire ballroom exploded with loud exmations. Even Ouranos, though he had some expectations, showed something akin to a grimace even though there was a powerful glint of interest in his eyes. Several goddesses rose from their seats so Ouranos shouted out in a loud tone that made the stone and pirs tremble, "Silence! Take your seats and well discuss this in a civilized and rational manner. Youre all gods and goddesses, show some propriety and dignity!" As one of the eldest, and most powerful, of all the gods, Ouranoss aura was far too intimidating for the majority of those present to resist. Most goddesses of Fertility were pacifists by nature and they quickly returned to their seats and tried to keep their calm. When the room calmed down a bit, Ouranos turned his attention to Loki and Hephaestus before saying, "Exin...even though I have my guesses, I want you to state matters clearly before we open the topic to discussion." Loki beganughing as a fierce look appeared on her face and she said, "Certainly, exnations are in order, but as for discussion~? Im afraid this isnt a topic open to everyone present and many of the matters have already been settled~!" Ouranoss eyes squinted under thebined pressure of the three goddesses giving him smiling, yet incredibly serious expressions. Loki nodded her head before turning to the congregation and saying, "Simply put, none of you has the right to know anything about the matters rted to this incident, however, we have no delusions that it can be kept secret. Vahn Mason, the one formerly known as Vulcan, has discovered a method to help, not only goddesses but every race from Elves, Dwarfs, to the various Half-Races that struggle with infertility around the world. This method is difficult to perform and requires a special ceremony that will not be publicized because of the dangers andplexity associated. From here onwards, Vahn Mason, though still an Adventurer, falls under the jurisdiction of the Tripartite Union and the Alliance between the Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, Miach, Takemikazuchi, and our newest members, the Hestia Familia. If youd like to inquire about the process, prepare to be bound by a serious set of vows in order to protect, not just the information, but the children born through this new method." Various small discussions began to take ce around the various tables until one god stood up and shouted, "This is utterly preposterous! Assuming what you say is the truth, we cant have a mortal boy running around experimenting on goddesses. It is against the natural order, who knows what kind of negative consequences this could have!?" The god has beautiful silver hair, hazy purple eyes, and a masculine figure, yet somehow everything about him seemed imbnced, almost as though he were trying to be many different things at once and had no style of his own. This god was, rightly so, Zelos, the god of Jealousy, Zeal, and Rivalry. Without exception, every goddess present looked at Zelos with a death re that made the arrogant god choke on his words. Demeter, the highest ranked representative of fertility goddesses present, excluding Freya, stood up with her characteristic gentle expression except there was an added ferocity contained deep within her orange eyes as she stared down Zelos. Herforting voice had a trace of a hostile undertone as she said inly, "Of the gods here, I can name several, just off the top of my head, who have sired children with mortal women. Though few, there are even some that have had the opportunity to sire children that possessed a pseudo-divinity and became Demigods. Do you think, for even a single moment, it is fair that only gods have the right to sire children? You cant even begin to understand the pain and suffering of a goddess who has lived for millions of years trying to have a child but, no matter how hard they try, they were never able to. I consider myself very fortunate to be able to bear children of my own, but it isnt the same as a natural birth, since they are a product of Divinity and not the true bond between a man and a woman." As she spoke, there were several goddesses that nodded their heads with begrudging looks and moisture building up in their eyes as they red at some of the gods Demeter mentioned. Most gods and goddesses knew each other, and every time a god sired a Demigod or Demigoddess, they would brag about it endlessly. It has been a source of resentment that had been buried deep in the hearts of many goddesses and, now that there was finally hope in sight, they were unable to keep their feelings buried when someone made an outburst that potentially threatened their future happiness. Very quickly, the majority of goddesses present had already sided with the alliance while a number of gods were also leaning in favor of supporting them. However, this didnt mean there wasnt a rift being created within the group as the matter was very divisive since it threatened the natural order and put a lot of pressure on various gods that thought themselves special. Ouranos could see the great divide between the various gods and goddesses and knew this wasnt a matter that could be dealt with easily. He was actually in the same faction as Zelus and believed Vahns capabilities disrupted the natural order of things. However, he was one of the few gods that had been around since the Age of Myths and understood that change was necessary or the natural order itself would break down. There was no denying that the children born of goddesses had a much higher chance of being demigods than those born by mortal women, and Ouranos himself wanted to be able to control Vahns power to make proper use of it. However, it was almost impossible to oppose the Loki and Hephaestus duo when it was just the two of them...now, they had Freya at their side and the majority of goddesses present. He looked down and saw Lokis somewhat crazed expression and wide smile before releasing a heavy sigh. Before things turned more chaotic, Ouranos stood from his throne for the first time and towered over the rest of the congregation before bearing his aura down on everyone present. He stared down with his sky-blue eyes and spoke in a reproachful manner directed at no one in particr, "We have watched over and guided the sentient races of this world since the Dawn of the New Age. Each of you sword oaths to not to inhibit the natural tendencies and growth of mortals, but instead, promote them further to ensure their continual development. Other than his own Goddess, no one here has any right to constrict the growth and development of Vahn Mason. I will not take sides on this matter, but the Guild will take action to guarantee order is maintained within the City. However, given the nature and significance of Vahn Masons achievements, I will revoke the probationary terms that had been imposed on him so as not to sow discourse with the Alliance, and the various gods and goddesses supporting it." Due to his vows, Ouranos couldnt directly side with the Alliance, but it didnt stop him from taking action to guarantee order was maintained within the City. Vahn had already been a capable pawn in his ns before, but he had now been promoted to the position of a rook, or perhaps even a king considering his influence over the top three most influential goddesses. Without withdrawing his aura, Ouranos sat back down on his throne after speaking and continued to watch over the events with a solemn expression on his face. Anyone that had wanted to sow discourse would have had to rely on his impartial stance on the matter, but he had very clearly shown he would not give way to either side and had taken a stance using their principles as gods, and their vows, against them. Before anyone else could make another outburst, Loki showed a mischevious smile as her eyes opened widely and she said, "Vahn is a unique existence that is trying to improve the quality of life for everyone. Know that if any of you so much as think of causing problems for him, you will face thebined might of the top three Familia within the City. We will notpromise on this matter at all, and there are no negotiations to be held at all. If youre interested in working alongside the Alliance in the future, youll have to discuss things directly with Hephaestus and myself. There is nothing that stops you from approaching Vahn on your own, but know there will be a fierce amount of resistance if you try to scheme against him or manipte those around him~!" An evil, incredibly threatening, look appeared in Lokis eyes as she passed over a few key gods. It wasnt just her either as Freya, Hephaestus, Anubis, and Hestia, all gave the various suspect gods fierce looks. Since Freya was known to crush entire Familia, regardless of their rank, there were few people with enough courage to hold the gaze of the five goddesses. Other than Zelus himself, the only ones foolish enough to turn themselves into targets were the various egotistical and arrogant gods who typically treated their Familia as their personal harems. Though they all looked like handsome men, their expression belied the contempt they showed others. Chief among them was Apollo who immediately jumped to the conclusion that every goddess standing in the Alliance had probably slept with Vahn, including his Hestia. The thought of another man taking what rightfully belonged to him caused a powerful hatred to emerge inside of Apollos heart. However, he also began to develop an interest in the boy named Vahn Mason and was curious about what kind of person he was. If he truly had a way to guarantee pregnancy in any race, if Apollo managed to get his hands on Vahn, he would indirectly get his hands on every man and woman he desired... The very moment Apollos smile changed into a cruel and scheming look, he felt a powerful chill run down his body as his soul itself began to shake. He followed his instincts and locked eyes with Freya who stared back at him with an elegant smile on her face. Though he had more than one stint with Freya in the past, there was never a time where he was the one in control of the rtionship. Compared to all the goddesses he had ever known, Freya was one of the most difficult to deal with because she was incredibly decisive when it came to acting. Apollo realized he had made a terrible mistake and stood from the table without exnation before exiting the Denatus without sparing a nce at any of the gods and goddesses following his retreat. After a few minutes, things calmed down as the banquet continued as nned. However, instead of casual conversation, the single topic everyone was discussing all rted to Vahn and the matters concerning Hephaestus and Loki being pregnant. Since they didnt have the right to approach the main table, most of the goddesses had been approaching Hestia, Anubis, Miach, and Takemikazuchi. When they learned that Vahn was the Captain of the Hestia Familia, she immediately became the center of attention as arge number of goddesses, and various gods, all tried to make a good impression on her. Even in Heaven, Hestia didnt have many people that treated her well, or were even willing to make conversation with her, so she was very pleased at how things were going and talked happily with the other goddesses while leaving Miach and Takemikazuchi to deal with the gods. At the main table, there was an interesting conversation going on between Hephaestus, Loki, Freya, Demeter, and a docile looking goddess named Eirene. Eirene was a goddess with Divinities rted to Peace, Order, and Longevity. She had a very kind looking face with cid blue eyes and simrly blue hair arranged into aplex braid that ran down to her lower back. Her dress was rather in and looked simr to ceremonial attire with a white base and gentle blues enting it with a light gold sash wrapping around her waist. They were all discussing Hephaestuss and Lokis ns during their pregnancy, their expectations for childbirth, and how they intended to raise the children after they were born. As a goddess with a lesser Divinity rted to fertility, Demeter was the most experienced on the matters and asked, "Have either of you found a midwife? I would like to offer my support if youre having any difficulties." Hephaestus smiled at the question as she dazedly stroked her own stomach and said, "Ive asked Epona to be my midwife and Ive already been preparing matters for after the child is born..." Loki was mimicking Hephaestuss actions, except for the fact she had a mischevious smile perpetually showing on her face after their earlier sess. She looked over at Demeter sitting next to Freya and said with a sly grin, "I was nning on asking Epona as well, but I dont mind epting your help. If you want to get close to Vahn though, youll have to take a vow and follow our guidelines~" Though she spoke towards Demeter, Freyas eyes squinted slightly as she lifted her ss of wine and took a sip of its contents. Demeter had also noticed Lokis misdirection butughed along and said, "I have plenty of children of my own, Ill leave matters like that to the other goddesses, at least for the time being~." They werent the only ones listening in as Hermes tried to jump into the conversation by saying, "Im somewhat envious of Vahn, I wonder if Id be able to meet him~? He seems to have a lot of luck with women, so Id like to get to know him better, hahahaha~." Hephaestus looked over at Hermes and squinted her eyes before saying, "Isnt your Familia full of women already? Besides, I dont think youd be a good influence on Vahn..." Hermes began tough in a yful manner before saying, "There might be a lot of girls in my Familia, but none of them let me do anything. Its really heartbreaking every time Asfi swats my hand away~." Hermes was a rather handsome god with blond hair and orange eyes who had a very amiable appearance. He was dressed in attire befitting an Adventurer, almost as if he found his status as a god to be a joke. Throughout the City, he was known as the Messenger and was considered a neutral party whose Familia took on any kind of job as long as it was interesting. Loki looked over at Hermes and her smile grewrge as she said, "Be careful Hermes, if you try to get too close to Vahn you may end up losing some of your toys~kekeke." As a trickster goddess, Hermess facade couldnt fool Loki at all. Though he appeared to be an amiable person with a casual demeanor on the surface, it was simply a cover for his shrewd, cunning, and calcting personality which was very simr to her own. His primary Divinity was rted to Travel, but he was also known as a god of thieves and merchants. As long as he could earn a profit, or if it was something interesting, there was little he wouldnt do as long as he thought it was fun. He was also one of the only gods that could transition between the mortal world and Heaven without much difficulty which made him a dangerous entity to associate with when trying to protect a secret. Hermes overreacted to Lokis words and put up his hands in a theatrical disy of surrender as he cried, "Ah, please have mercy on me Loki-saaama~! Dont take my Asfi away from me, muuuu." Hermes put on a show of being very distraught that caused the elephant mask-wearing god next to him tough boisterously and pat him on the back. This was Ganesha, known as the God of the People, and he wore a red elephant mask to conceal the upper half of his face. He had a genuine smile on his face and ck hair with an incredibly muscr body touched with a healthy tan. He had been paying attention to the conversation as well and forted Hermes while jokingly saying, "If it makes them happy, you should let your children do whatever they want. Maybe I should see if my Shakti would loosen up a bit after meeting a capable child like that Vahn fe, Gaaaaahahahahahahahahaha!" Ganeshasugh was loud enough to resonate throughout the entire ballroom and was rather infectious as most of the people sitting at the tableughed alongside him. Hephaestus knew of Shakti and her serious nature and felt someone yful so she said, "Be careful what you wish for, Ganesha, Vahn has a way with strong women that have fragile hearts~." Hearing her words, Ganesha didnt seem upset at all as he crossed his hands over his chest andughed loudly, boisterously, and full of life. Ouranos had been overwatching the entire banquet and had periodically made eye contact with Hermes. Though he was troublesome to deal with, Hermes was a reliable pawn when it came to executing some of his ns and Ouranos wanted him to try and get close to Vahn in the future. Vahns power might very well be the solution to several problems that had beenpounding for thest thousand years. Ouranos felt like it was fate that a boy like Vahn would be born in this era and wondered if it was the whims of fate, or perhaps the will of the world itself taking shape. He had been hoping a hero would appear, he just never expected it was in the guise of a boy who could solve the problems of infertility in goddesses. In his 599,999,998 years of existence, Vahn was the first human he had ever heard of having such capabilities. Ouranos began to wonder if the world was on the brink of another major change and hoped that things would take a turn for the better as a result. However, his experience told him things wouldnt go so smoothly... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Baby on board,Try me b!tch~!,Ouranoss Experience) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 352 - Elegance : Progress

Chapter 352 - Elegance : Progress

While Haruhime had been dancing around and ying monsters, Vahn had been following behind her wearing a brackish brown cloak that, when used with his [Stealth] and domain, obscured other peoples perception of him. Even someone with a powerful sense of smell, or those sensitive to magical fluctuations, wouldnt be able to detect his presence unless they were within his domain. Because he hadpressed it a great deal, he lost the functionality of mappingrge areas, but he was easily able to keep track of Haruhime and observe her progress. Though her attacks didnt have the liveliness of Tionas, they were simr in the vein that both girls appeared to be dancing about when they fought. Vahn could even tell that Haruhime was trying her best to move at the same tempo as the monsters and it allowed her to exhaust them while conserving her own stamina. After nearly four hours, Haruhime had in a total of 61 Goblins and 33 Kobolds as she cut a somewhat random path through the ninth floor of the Dungeon. The numbers were far fewer than Vahn expected, but he considered it was due to the small party size and the fact that Haruhime was progressing forward very cautiously. He was satisfied to see her polishing her capabilities, but it did make things feel a little slow as he was more ustomed to a faster clear speed. Normally, though he let the girls fight, Vahn was the one picking the route they took and always went directly towards enemies without long gaps in between. This was one of the reasons why he often had to help the girls recover their stamina, but Haruhime didnt have that benefit at this moment and had slowed her pace to a reasonable speed. Of course, though he thought the pace was slow, Vahn didnt notice the passage of time clearly because he had been training his focus and intent on Haruhime the entire time. Though it was a little narcissistic, he felt like she was putting on a performance meant for him and her movements were somewhat mesmerizing as she continually pressed forward and cut through her enemies. The red kimono, ck obi, beautiful blond hair, fluffy tail, curved ears, and Haruhimes elegant, dance-like, movements ovepped with her swordsmanship and created a scene that was strangely alluring. Vahn felt like the only thing needed to elevate the experience to an idyllic level was a bit of apanying music and some fragrant tea... While he watched her fight, Vahn had started to tap his finger to the tune of Haruhimes dance before realizing he had uncharacteristically fallen into a daze and stopped paying attention to his surroundings. It wasnt until a Kobold lost its leg and began wailing that Vahn snapped out of his temporary daze and increased his alertness. Haruhime cleaned up the group of Kobolds a few minutester and brought her new total to 50 before continuing onwards with Vahn on her tail... ---Haruhime PoV--- After clearing several rooms of enemies, Haruhime had started to get into a natural rhythm and each of her actions became more fluid as she continued deeper into the Dungeon. Though she never dropped her guard and always scouted for the enemies using her senses, Haruhime felt a lot less concerned about the enemies on the ninth floor and had considered progressing deeper into the Dungeon. Since it had been exined to her that the only practical way to increase parameters was through trial, killing the same enemies over and over actually had diminishing returns after a while. To test her limits a bit further, Haruhime followed the trail of a pack of Kobolds silently before drawing their attention and kiting them to another group she had discovered nearby. Haruhime decided that, if a group of 17 Kobolds wasnt enough to challenge her, she would move on to the tenth floor after taking a short rest in the adjoining passage leading further down. Because she had pulled one group by having them chase her, Haruhime ended up surrounded by the two groups from the moment she entered the room. Instead of feeling afraid, a small smile appeared on her face and her pure green eyes became somewhat lighter as they began to glow with a gentle light. She unsheathed her katana and muttered in a sing-song like voice, "Dance, fading effervescence. Blossom, petals of spring. ~Blossom!" This time, she had used some of the magic power contained within her bracelets to enhance the effect and managed to summon a total of twenty petals. As she had been expecting, the moment Haruhime took a step and spun her body, she heard the sound of bells and whispered toward the darkness, "Please watch me...Vahn." Though she didnt know where he was, Haruhime believed Vahn was watching her attentively to ensure that she would be safe in the event of any mishaps. She felt like this moment, when it was just the two of them, was one of the few blessed moments she had experienced in her life. Previously, Haruhime had spent her entire life locked away from the world, be it when she was a nobles daughter, or when she had been turned into a ve and trained as a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e. Vahn had not only given her the freedom she so desired, but he also gave her a safe ce to stay and also helped increase her strength so she could fight against any injustices she might face in the future. Now that she had his attention, Haruhime wanted to dedicate her performance to him because the thought of having him watch her made her attacks feel smoother, more powerful, and more elegant. As Haruhime swayed like a willow in the wind, she cut a path between three Kobolds and severed one of their legs before it fell to the ground with a painful howl. She actually felt pity for the poor creature, but there was also a strange feeling of contempt inside of her because its cry had disrupted her dance for a brief moment. However, it was the energy fluctuation that caught her attention as she spun around and severed the head of an attacking Kobold before sliding back in a smooth pattern that kept her on the outside of the group of Kobolds. Though she didnt turn her attention fully to the location, Haruhime had seen a silhouette in the shadow of a boulder and for a very brief moment, she saw Vahns aquamarine eyes watching her. Haruhime didnt know why he had revealed himself, but she suddenly felt like all of her parameters increased marginally as happy feelings spread through her heart. There was a big difference between assuming someone was watching and knowing they were watching and now that Haruhime knew his location she did her best to always angle her attacks to better appeal to the boy hidden in the shadows. When she cut through the final Kobold, Haruhime brought her body to a slow stop before smoothly sheathing her katana as she angled her body casually towards Vahns location without showing any other signs she had discovered his presence. After her breathing had returned to normal, Haruhime turned around and swayed her h.i.p.s a bit as her tail drew an S-shaped curve through the air, almost as if it were inviting Vahn to continue his pursuit. Now that she knew he was nearby, Haruhime felt less tense and emboldened to delve deeper into the dungeon. It wasnt that she was bing overconfident, she just wanted Vahn to watch her defeat even stronger enemies to show him the results of her efforts. She wanted him to know that, without having to say anything to him directly, Haruhime feared nothing within the darkness of the Dungeon. Even if she inevitably fell to the attack of an enemy, Haruhime believed her life would have been worthwhile because she died pursuing the things she desired. Unlike her fate of being forgotten after having been sacrificed as a tool for Ishtars plot, Haruhime knew that not only Vahn, but several people would grieve for her loss. This thought alone made any fears and inhibitions she had about fighting vanish and inspired her to continue forward without any hesitation. After traveling for an additional twenty minutes, Haruhime found the path leading towards the stairs and continued forward while clearing an additional two rooms full of enemies. By the time she cleared the floor, her total count had been 72 Goblins and 59 Kobolds. The numbers werent too high, but Haruhime was still full of energy and hadnt depleted much of her personal mana stores. Other than some general fatigue, she was good to keep going for several more hours as long as she got a little bit of rest and ate some food. She initially nned to rest against the wall for a few minutes and enjoy a light meal, but got a pleasant surprise when Vahn walked out of the door she had just exited a few seconds prior. Though she had been about to sit, Haruhime jumped back up to her feet and did her best to appear as elegant as possible as she bowed politely and said, "Thank you for your efforts, Vahn." ---Standard PoV---(A/N: This means it focuses on Vahns perspective, but can jump around to other characters depending on dialogue. Pretty much, if Vahn is present it is standard pov since he is the main character.) Since she had made her way towards the side-passages at a much faster pace than she had been advancing earlier, Vahn assumed Haruhime intended to head deeper into the dungeon. Though he didnt mind letting her progress at her own pace, he was curious about her Status and wanted to make sure her supplies were topped off onest time before she continued forward. He walked over and Haruhimes smile bloomed further before she walked forward in small steps and closed her eyes before bending forward slightly. Vahnughed once through his nose before reaching out and petting the top of Haruhimes head. He had been nning to reward her, and she must have seen it in his expression because she instantly moved to appeal to him further. While continuing to stroke her head, Vahn thumbed the base of Haruhimes right ear to make it twitched slightly before he said, "Youre doing very well, Haruhime...but before you continue deeper into the dungeon, I wanted to update your Status Board and make sure you were properly supplied. From now on, Ill let you progress at your own pace until you decide to rest for the day. We still have a few hours left in the day so continue doing your best, okay?" Haruhime opened her previously closed eyes and Vahn noticed an almost imperceptible glow pass through them before she smiled and said, "Certainly, Vahn~." Without any hesitation at all, Haruhime began to loosen up her obi while continuing to look up into his face. Vahn felt his eye twitch before he averted his eyes and removed his hand from Haruhimes head as it was somewhat awkward to pet a girl that was undressing. After several long seconds, Vahn heard Haruhime giggle before she said, "Okay, Im ready." Vahn turned to look at Haruhime who was standing with her back exposed to him and her kimono hanging around her arms while covering her chest. She had pulled her hair to the side and was currently looking back over her shoulder with the same subtle glow Vahn had seen earlier. His eyes squinted slightly because he knew there had to be a reason for the glow since such phenomenon was always rted to magic. He pricked the tip of his index finger with a pin before tracing a line of blood down the lovely curve of Haruhimes back. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Sanjouno Haruhime Race: Renard LV. 1 POW: H133->H185 END: H174-G206 DEX: I98->G233 AGI: G201->F314 MAG: C665->B748 Skill: [Inari:Innate(sealed)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Heroic Strike:G], [Featherfoot:I->E] Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B],[Kokonoe:D],[Icicle Edge:G] Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:D->C] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For a moment, Vahn had harbored hopes that Haruhimes Innate might have awakened, but he suspected it was at least somewhat close, even though he didnt know which one it was. Fortunately, though his expectations were incorrect, Haruhime had experienced a massive leap in her Dexterity, Agility, and Magic while her [Featherfoot] had jumped an entire four ranks since herst update. After she fixed her clothing, Vahn showed the status sheet to Haruhime and said with a pleased smile, "It seems your parameters are increasing rapidly based on the fighting style youre trying to develop. Your footwork is making incredible improvements and your mobility parameters and magic are progressing in a good direction. By the time you learn [Concurrent Chanting], youll be a force to be reconned with." Haruhime stared at her own Status with an elegant smile and slightly squinted eyes before turning to Vahn and bowing politely while saying, "If not for the guidance of Ryuu and Aki, I would not be able to progress so quickly..." Haruhime wanted to credit everything to Vahns presence while watching over her, but she decided to save it forter when it would be more impactful. It was also an undeniable truth that, without Ryuu and Akis guidance during their morning training, Haruhimes foundation would be unstable. They taught her how to move her body, make proper use of her senses, and also helped educate her on the dangers associated with the Dungeon. Of course, if not for her desire to follow Vahn, Haruhime wouldnt have been nearly as interested in their teachings. Before letting her continue deeper into the Dungeon, Vahn decided to reward Haruhime for her efforts by brushing her hair and tail for her while she ate lunch. She happily epted his offer before sitting on the pillow he had ced on the ground for her use. Of all the girls Vahn knew, including most of the goddesses, Haruhime had the longest and most beautiful hair. When she sat down, it trailed all the way down her back and even touched the ground and it had a beautiful sheen with a satin-like quality to its texture. While fighting, Haruhimes hair danced about with her movements and, if not for the fact that she had a natural grace, would have likely gotten in the way. After entering the Dungeon the first time, Haruhime had considered cutting it but asked him what he thought and Vahn openly admitted he thought her long hair was very suitable for her. He had actually been researching a way to help damaged hair grow and retain its sheen ever since the incident with Mn, and now he had an added incentive because the idea of a Haruhime with short hair seemed strange to him. To get around the issue of it getting in the way, Haruhime typically wore her hair in a loose ponytail with arge red ribbon holding it together. Because of his interactions with Hesti and Fenrir, Vahn had grown ustomed to brushing the hair of girls and he found it to be a very ther.a.p.eutic experience. It also seemed to be enjoyed by the girls, so Vahn felt encouraged to continue since he couldnt see any downsides to the dual-purpose experience. It helped him rx and also served as a reward for the girls, so Vahn was happy to perform the act and had also wondered about trying other things. Now that he was getting into making clothes for the girls, Vahn considered other things he could do topliment their beauty. He was surrounded by so many unique, beautiful, and literally godly beauties that Vahn wanted to put in a bit of effort himself to nurture their traits further. While researching other massage techniques, he also looked into beauty treatments and learned about things like manicures, pedicures, and even cosmetology and hairdressing. He hadnt had the chance to use it yet, but Vahn suspected there were a few girls that would be willing to let him try it out on their bodies. If he did well, it would allow him to interact with each of the girls and offer them the individual treatment Vahn felt they deserved. By the time he was finished, Haruhimes hair and tail were very glossy and Vahn helped tie up her ponytail for her before she turned away with a gentle expression and resplendently glowing eyes. Her normal eyes were a natural shade of green, but they were currently much lighter and appeared closer to glowing green jade than normal eyes. Vahn didnt draw any attention to the change and helped Haruhime perform the final checks on her equipment before using a whetstone on her [Sakura Blossom] and allowing her to delve into the tenth floor. As she crossed over the threshold of the door, Vahn pulled out a journal and doc.u.mented Haruhimes changes, including the number of monsters she had in and. Because he had a strange obsession for details, Vahn even noted a few hairstyles that might suit her in the future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Stalker Mode : Exposed!?,Haruhimes Unwavering Heart,Vahn Mason, Massuer, Stylist, Cosmetologist, Technician, Master Smith, Tailor, Dressmaker, Lingerie Specialist, Connoisseur of Fine Liquor, Gourmand) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 353 - Moment of Reflection

Chapter 353 - Moment of Reflection

---Haruhime PoV--- Haruhime didnt understand it herself, but ever since Vahn had started brushing her hair earlier it felt like her heart was fluttering about in her chest. She hadnt mentioned it to him, but it felt like all of her parameters were increasing and she had a strange urge to prance about the Dungeon and defeat even more monsters. It was like there was an uncontainable jubtion well up inside of her and she needed to release it for, not the world, but just Vahn to see. However, everything she had learned told her to keep her senses about her and never lower her guard regardless of how confident she felt. Though it was important to trust your instincts, you should never neglect your training because, as was often said by both Ryuu and Aki, It will save your life. The tenth floor was typically beyond the limits of most Level 1s unless they were formed up into parties because the rooms were much wider and filled with a fog reminiscent of morning mist. There were a number of small monsters, known as Imps, that were always skulking about behind rocks and trees in order to catch their prey unawares while they were distracted fighting against the various Bad Bats and Orcs that popted the floor. Haruhime, fortunately, had the benefit of her enhanced senses or it would be very difficult to clear the floor since there was a high chance she might get caught off guard. Instead, since she had been to this floor before, Haruhime had memorized the various scents and was able to locate the hiding Imps as long as she paid attention. Haruhime heard a slight rustling of grass that made her ears twitch as she pulled out her katana. She didnt need to use its magic for a single enemy so Haruhime simply charged the diminutive creature and took the initiative to strike it down. It tried to defend with its dagger, but Haruhimes [Sakura Blossom] easily cut through it before bisecting the Imp from head to toe. She brandished the katana to disperse the blood that had marred its beautiful surface before continuing forwards. Theck of enemies actually made it harder to fight since she couldnt get into the correct tempo unless the fightsted longer. Fortunately, Haruhime caught a rather pungent scent that alerted her to the presence of Orcs hiding within the thick mist. She could easily defeat them using [Icicle Edge], but Haruhime wanted to test her capabilities against the notoriously durable monsters and their rapid regeneration. After following the trail, Haruhime found a group of four Orcs and a gentle smile appeared on her face before her body began to sway and she drew her katana and whispered in a sing-song voice that tickled the hiding Vahns ears, "Dance, fading effervescence. Blossom, petals of spring. ~Blossom!" A group of sakura petals began to slowly dance around her body as she leaned forward and dashed toward the Orcs with her newly upgraded Agility. After Vahn updated her Status Board, she had more than a 50% increase and Haruhime could feel a lightness in her body that made her feel free and unrestrained. Even though she was only 150cm tall, she wasnt afraid of the 3m tall Orcs at all and actually felt more excited than anything else. When she dodged the overhead strike of the Orc, who had been using arge club, Haruhime ced her weight onto her right foot before doing a backflip to dodge the second swipe and she heard the peculiar sound of bells ring once. When shended on her feet, Haruhime performed a short instep towards the Orc before performing a graceful, almost slow, strike through the air that cut urately at the location of its magic core. The sakura petals trailed behind her sh and peppered small holes in the body of the orc before it turned into dust. Haruhime heard the sound of bells again before she took a half step backward and tilted her body to evade the strike that had been aimed at her face. Though there was no music ying, Haruhime felt like she had fallen into the Orcs tempo and all of their movements were the apanying music for her performance. She knew Vahn was watching and wanted to appear as elegant as possible to please him. Though she hadnt intended to use it, Haruhime found herself raising her left hand as she muttered, "Piercing Chill, Icicle Edge~!" towards the Orc that had just raised both of its clubs at the same time. Since there was a second Orc at her nk, there wasnt any easy way to evade theirbined attacks and her instincts naturally guided her actions to use a magic spell to instantly kill the Orc. She then, instead of retreating away, stepped toward the Orc that tired to swipe at her from the side as she ducked under its arm making use of the size difference between them. Without swinging her sword, Haruhime simply walked past the Orc as the sakura petals trailed her movements and cut through its left leg and abdomen before leaving it on the ground screaming. Haruhime felt very strange at the moment, almost as if her mind was bing increasingly calm even though powerful emotions were coursing through her. She feltpelled to move about, but also restrained herself through instinct and she didnt know what was happening. The only thing she knew, even though she couldnt exin why she knew this, was that she had to dance...so she did. Even though there were still two Orcs present, Haruhime began to dance to a melody only she could hear as she effortlessly evaded the attacks of the Orcs who became increasingly violent. Their attacks cut through the air with enough force to disperserge amounts of fog and even a grazing blow would be enough to seriously injure her, yet Haruhime seemed to ignore their presence entirely. The only things their attacks managed to do was cause her long hair to dance in the wind as her body moved fluidly around the area. After around three minutes, the urge Haruhime had begun to fade and she sheathed her sword before kneeling down on the grass in silence. While she had been evading thebined attacks of the Orcs, their battle had caused an additional ten Imps to sneak up and contribute their efforts to the fight. However, the only thing that changed was the tempo Haruhime could feel in her body as she danced around and slew every monster without swinging her sword a single time. Now that her strange state had faded, Haruhime was ruminating over everything that happened and nurturing the pleasant feelings that were welling up inside of her. After sheathing her sword, she held both palms to her chest and felt like she could feel the me seed in her chest warming her entire body with itsforting, everpresent heat... ---Standard PoV--- Vahn had been crouching down in the grass around 100m from Haruhimes position and watched the entire fight from start to finish. He was in awe at what he had witnessed because, unlike the dance-like movements Haruhime used in the past, it seemed like she had actually started dancing seriously. The strange thing was, it was almost as though the monsters were moving to her tempo and were always one step behind everything she did. There were even times when she started to move before the monsters even attacked yet they went through the motions almost as if they didnt even realize she had moved in the first ce. Since he suspected it was the influence of a skill, Vahn had been watching part of the fight with his [Eyes of Truth] active and noticed arge area around Haruhime appeared to be illusory in nature. Several seconds after he realized this, Vahns eyes opened wide because he realized he had gotten caught up the illusion for a very brief moment and had been mesmerized by Haruhimes dance. He saw her spin on her feet and, as his eyes traced the tantalizing curve of her tail, Vahn noticed that Haruhime had moved a few meters away before he even realized what happened. Since he was supposed to be absolutely immune to illusions, Vahn had no idea how Haruhime was able to pull off what should have been an impossible feat. The only exnation was that it was the influence of her Innate skill must have some way to bypass his own [Eyes of Truth] and the implication triggered a g within Vahns mind. His understanding of his own Innates was shallow at best, and now he realized there were Innates that could exceed any preconceived notions he possessed about his own mental defenses. Though he realized it was dangerous, Vahn allowed his mind to focus on Haruhimes movements again and noticed that he didnt seem to be affected at all as long as he retained focus. However, when he saw her h.i.p.s sway gently like a reed and followed her tails with his eyes, Haruhime was suddenly several meters away once again. Vahns eyes opened wide and he realized the skill was either activated by Haruhimes tail, or took effect and exploited the gaps in a persons concentration when their thoughts shifted. To test his theory, Vahn focused all of his attention on Haruhimes somewhat pert butt, willowy waist, and elegant tail for nearly a full minute without any effect. This showed that it was likely the case that it exploited the gaps in a persons concentration so Vahn uncharacteristically imagined Haruhime performing her current dance wearing nothing but the lingerie he was designing for her. By the time he returned to his senses, Haruhime was sheathing her sword and Vahn felt a strange sense of shame and lowered his head to stare at the grass for a short while as he calmed his mind. During this moment, Vahn realized he could simply use [Will of the Emperor] and the cool energy would immediately remove the effects. Vahn released a small sigh of relief before turning his attention back to the meditating Haruhime with a small smile on his face. Even if she hadnt awakened her Innate, she had to be very close to it and Vahn realized it would be an incredibly powerful one when she honed her skills further. There was nothing more critical in a fight between two experts than being able to exploit the small openings in your opponents defenses. Haruhimes dance also seemed to push her senses, at least her hearing, to the absolute limit because Vahn had noticed her ears were twitching about in a steady rhythm and could detect mana .u.mting in them. The entire time she was meditating, Vahn used his bow in conjunction with [Call of the Reaper] to silently kill any monsters that approached near her. He understood it was very important to undergo moments of internal reflection to develop a better understanding of things at times. Even if she lost the timing to get the [Hunter] Development Ability, it meant nothingpared to awakening her Innate abilities. Fortunately, Haruhime only spent around forty minutes kneeling down on the grass before rising to her feet and dusting off her kimono and walking deeper into the floor. Though it was almost imperceptible, Vahn could sense a fundamental change in each of Haruhimes movements. Her steps seemed lighter, yet purposeful, while her body swayed about in a natural and elegant manner. The most noticeable thing, however, had been when, for a very brief moment, Haruhimes tail shed with an illusory blue light reminiscent of her [Kokonoe] magic that made her sprout additional tails. ---Haruhime PoV--- Haruhime had continued to focus on the heat in her chest and felt like she was stoking the small me seed with her own emotions, almost like her thoughts and feelings were acting like a billow. She could feel her heart beating in a steady rhythm and slowly spread through her body and made a tingling sensation appear in her arms, legs, and extremities. It was like the feeling of happiness, yet instead of just feeling it in her heart it had spread throughout her entire body. As it reached the limits of her limbs, the feeling stopped spreading and instead began to increase in intensity. Haruhimes desire to dance continued to rise higher and after more than half an hour passed she could no longer resist the urge and had to go find something to fight. The moment she stood up, Haruhime felt like her entire body was light and the tingling sensation sent strange reverberations through her body with every step she took. It was almost as though every step she took towards the path she had decided for herself increased the feelings she felt in her heart, mind, and body. Since she knew Vahn was watching, Haruhime resisted the urge tough out from all the emotions building up within her body and instead settled on humming a tune she had never heard before. All she knew was that it made the fluttery feelings in her heart persist for a longer period of time and she felt an eagerness spreading through her body to join the happy feelings as she locked onto a pair of Orcs with her pale-golden eyes that had small slits instead of a normal pupil. There was a strange red coloration around her eyes, almost as if she had applied makeup that made her elegant expression appear far more alluring than normal... ---Standard PoV--- Vahn had noticed that the moment Haruhime came across a new batch of monsters the air around her body changed once again so he immediately activated his [Eyes of Truth] and saw the illusory aura had activated again. He smiled widely because he was certain Haruhimes Innate must have awakened and he confirmed it by staring at the illusory second tail that was ovepping her real one like a phantom echo. Since he had done a bit of research to try and understand the Innate skills more, Vahn attributed this effect to her Innate called [Inari]. He had learned that it was the name of a nine-tailed fox deity that had a surprising number of myths that he had pulled from various records. Though he had yet to meet her, Vahn also knew there should be a goddess named Inari in the Far East who was considered the principle goddess of the Renard people. The fact that Haruhime had an Innate rted to her principle goddess showed that her noble bloodline wasnt just for show. Not only did she have an incredibly rare magic, but her Innate ability was probably the most powerful one that a Renard could possess. If his intuition was correct, Haruhime might very well have nine tails one day and be able to make use of her [Kokonoe] without even having to use the chant...assuming it didnt let her grow an additional nine tails. Vahn had trouble imagining what eighteen tails would even look like, so he believed his deduction to be true. Now that she had a better understanding of her skill, though Vahn wasnt even sure she knew it was active, Haruhime was able to defeat most of the monsters on the 10th floor without any real difficulty. The only thing Vahn felt somewhat unsatisfactory was how slow the battles were, even though it was literally a mesmerizing sight to behold. It was looking more and more like Haruhime wouldnt be able to y 1000 monsters within the 72-hour window unless he came up with a solution to elerate the process a bit. Since it might negatively influence her to know about it, Vahn decided to keep the matter to himself and try and probe some information out of Haruhime when they rested in the evening. (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Power of Emotions,Jiiiiiiiiiiiii~ -Vahn Mason observing Haruhime,What do we say to the God of Death? Lets dance~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 354 - Variant

Chapter 354 - Variant

---Haruhime PoV--- After spending three hours on the tenth floor, Haruhime was very aware that this floor no longer presented the challenge she sought. She didnt understand the changes in her body well, but Haruhime had realized something had changed ever since Vahn updated her status earlier. Though it was an incorrect assumption, Haruhime felt like Vahn had changed something inside of her and she had be much stronger. She redited her current progress to his support and the thought of him watching over her just made the feelings welling up inside of her even stronger. Her final fight on the tenth floor had been a group of nine Orcs that were surrounded by fourteen Imps. If it were her old self, before Vahn changed her, Haruhime would have certainly died against such great odds. Instead, after a few minutes had passed the only thing that remained of the enemies were several magic cores on four Orc Hides which Haruhime didnt bother to loot. After arriving at the rtive safety of the stairwell, Haruhime waited for a minute or two before sitting down after Vahn didnt show up. She felt her tensions ease up slightly and sat down on the cold Dungeon floor to recuperate for a bit. One thing she had noticed was, though her parameters had increased greatly, her dance slowly drained both her stamina and mana at the same time. Since [Sakura Blossom] didnt take too much mana to sustain, Haruhime understood there was something unique urring in her body that allowed her to break through her normal limits in exchange for a bit of mana. She felt like her emotions had reached a level that broke throughmon sense and had be her actual power. This thought made the bubbly feeling in her tummy rise even higher as she peacefully sat humming a tune for nearly an hour before continuing into the marginally more dangerous eleventh floor. Though she felt confident, Haruhime knew the eleventh floor was very dangerous for a single person to traverse since it was habitated by Hard Armored, Silverbacks, Orcs, Imps, and very rarely, Infant Dragons. Hard Armored had the highest defense of any monster on the upper floors while Silverbacks had incredible power and decent agility that could overwhelm rookie Adventurers. The Orcs and Imps wouldnt be too problematic but a single Infant Dragon could spell the end of her journey if she werent careful. Their me breath was powerful enough to burnrge holes without the hard dungeon floor and could melt through steel with rtive ease. Her only hope when encountering such a threat was to hit it from a distance with her magic even though its scales were some resilient against low-level spells. As she walked through the mist of the eleventh floor, Haruhime kept her senses trained on her surroundings and noticed there was a strange earthly aroma all around the area she had entered. Her ears bobbed up and down in a steady rhythm as she crouched low to the ground and stifled her own breathing to an inaudible level as she waited. Her senses had warned her of danger and she felt like retreat wasnt the correct course of action since it would expose her to whatever lurked within the mists. Her decision had proved the correct one as a 5m tall monkey-like creature shambled through the mist with glowing green eyes. Unlike a normal Silverback, instead of a single stripe of silver fur, its entire body was covered in silver fur and Haruhime quickly understood she had encountered a variant species. Since variants were typically a level higher than their counterparts, that made the monster before her a Level 2, and one marginally stronger than other Level 2 monsters. Therge monkey sniffed the air with loud inhtions before releasing a steady stream of hot condensation that caused the mist around its body to evaporate. Unfortunately, though she had made efforts to conceal herself, a solid red kimono and long blond hair werent exactly stealthy against the white grass backdrop of the eleventh floor. The Silverback Alpha noticed Haruhimes figure crouching as the fur on its body started to take on a reddish hue and it breathed a long stream of mes toward her. For its troubles, an ice spear crashed into the side of its face and caused a fair amount of damage that made the Silverback Alpha howl loudly as he leaped the full distance between itself and Haruhime. Haruhimes eyes had widened when the me breath came at her suddenly and she held out both arms to cover her face. Even if she got burned elsewhere, Haruhime didnt want Vahn to see her with burns on her face. She wanted to be able to smile for him always and couldnt forgive the monster for its affront against her on this matter. Strangely, other than a bit of heat, Haruhime didnt feel any painful burning sensation and noticed a bubble of invisible energying from the essories Vahn had lovingly forged for her in the past. Because the Silverback Alphas mes were magical, the M.Def of the essories prevented any harm from reaching her as a beautiful smile bloomed on her face and she called out, "Piercing Chill, Icicle Edge~!" Moments after her spear hit the monster, the mes came to a stop and Haruhime heard a loud roar ovepped with the sound of bells as she dodged to the side in a strangely slow spin that still allowed her enough time to evaded the leap of the monster. The moment she did a full turn, Haruhime smiled and whispered in a small voice, "Piercing Chill, Icicle Edge~!" while aiming at the side of her assant. The meter long spear of ice smashed into the side of the monster but only caused a small abrasion covered in ice to appear on its silvery fur. Less than a secondter, the ice melted away and the only signs of her previous magic spell was a patch of mangled flesh that hadnt gone remotely deep enough to do any serious damage. Fortunately, the monster seemed to be slower than expected and most of its attacks missed her by arge margin even though Haruhime felt like it should be faster than she was. Unable to hit the small creature flitting about around its body, the Silverback Alpha began uprooting trees and boulders to try and smash the small figure into a paste. Every time it tried, however, it noticed the weak creature seemed to disappear before popping up in a new location which made it roar in anger as its fur became progressively redder. Its anger exceeded the limits of its tolerance and the Silverback Patriarch began to smash the floor of the Dungeon around it with its heavy fists without even bothering to try and hit the small creature anymore. If it couldnt smash her when trying to, it would just smash everything around it instead. Loud explosions sounded through the room as a cloud of debris was slowly concealing the body of the Silverback Patriarch asrge chunks of sharp shrapnel began to fly about in random trajectories. Haruhimes tempo was disrupted by the random attacks and she cried out, "Dance, fading effervescence. Blossom, petals of spring. ~Blossom!" Haruhime began to take small steps as she rotated her body faster and faster in a strange manner as the sakura petals danced about her at a high speed. She tried to trust her instincts to evade the oing debris but several pieces still collided with parts of her body before a fragment of a decayed-looking tree lodged itself firmly into her thigh. Haruhime gnashed her teeth and continued her dance asrge amount of blood began to trickle down her leg. Though there were tears in her eyes, Haruhimes mind remained clear as she brandished her katana and a blue light began to shine as she began to chant without stopping her dance. She had never tried to chant while moving under duress, but Haruhimes instincts told her that, as long as she followed the tempo of her dance, she should be able to pull it off...she believed this monsters rage would not be the end of her journey. Though it was much stronger than she was, Haruhime refused to back down even though her body was screaming at her to simply stop. After taking a short step and turning, Haruhime muttered in a whisper as a blue light began to shine on her tail, "Kokonoe. Beloved snow. Beloved crimson. Beloved white light..." Arge piece of debris came toward her and Haruhimes body leaned on instinct but it still smashed into her shoulder and tore part of her kimono. Though she got knocked back a few steps, Haruhime continued to chant," Please let me be beside you - this love I have found at the end of two thousand nights. My name is Magic Fox. Former destroyer..." The Silverback Patriarch seemed to realize theing danger and stopped its tirade before running toward Haruhime on all fours with a fierce momentum and death contained deep within its glowing green eyes. Haruhimes dance had never stopped as her body vanished from the spot and reappeared to the left of the monster as she said, "My name is Ancient Song. Former dreamer. For you who beat your wings like a bird, I shall allow the nine spirits to dwell in me. Echo, song of gold, sacred poem of Tamamo. White face, golden fur, king of nine tails..." In its panic, the Silverback Patriarch forgot its earlier failure as it released a long stream of fire towards Haruhime who received the blow head on by positioning her katana in the path. The mystical bubble guided the mes around her body without damaging her in the slightest as she continued, "Oh, tails of the auspicious beast, consume all, grant all wishes, Piercing Chill, Icicle Edge~! - Dance!" Instead of the normal four tails, five tails bloom behind Harhimes back, each with a small blue me on their tips as five 3m long spears of ice appeared around her body,pletely unaffected by the heat. A powerful light glowed in her pale golden eyes as the speared continued to grow in size despite the powerful heat beforeunching forward with an air-breaking speed and piercing deeply into the body of the Silverback Patriarch. Unlike the meter long quick-cast spears she threw out earlier, the final attack of Haruhime had condensed the magical energy to form five 4m long spears that were far more lethal than the weaker version of the spell. She packed all of her mana into the attack alongside the remaining mana into her essories and believed in her victory as she sent the spears forward with a loud cry, "I wont stop here, not when my story has just begun!" After her shout, Haruhime saw the spears pierce into the Silverback Patriarch as its body began to swell up before exploding into arge cloud of purple dust. Thest thing she remembered before darkness imed her was a warm feeling embracing her body that prevented her from falling to the ground... ---Standard PoV--- When Haruhime had entered the 11th floor, Vahn had followed closely behind her and detected the presence of the variant much earlier than she did. Because the mist had nearly no effect on his vision, Vahn had seen the lumbering behemoth walking on all fours through the mist before changing its path toward Haruhime. He nodded his head because she had made the correct decision to hide, but also knew it would be futile since the monster seemed to have a very powerful sense of smell and eyesight that could pierce through the fog. He was tempted to step in and help, but Vahn thought it would be a good experience for Haruhime since there was no guarantee he would always be around to protect her. The [Effigy of the Hero] would allow her to win regardless of how strong the monster ended up being and it would be an eye-opener that would prepare her for the future if she could ovee the trial before her. Of course, though he rationalized it this way, Vahns body was incredibly tense as his fingers dug deep into the hard dungeon floor. There was a chilling cold in his mind because he had a powerful urge to leap forward and annihte the monster every time it got close to injuring Haruhime. His [Will of the Emperor] was the only thing keeping him in ce as he constantly muttered to himself, "Shell be okay, believe...shell be okay, believe..." When the Silverback Patriarch began to m the ground in a rage, Vahn felt like his mrs were going to be ground into powder with how hard he clenched his teeth. He saw the ten cm long piece of wood pierce clear through Haruhimes thigh and had almost leaped forward in the very next moment before noticing that Haruhime hadnt given up at all. With a deep breath, Vahn pulled out his bow and nocked an arrow while maintaining his [Stealth] and trained his sights on the Silverback Patriarch so that he could kill it at a moments notice. Though his focus was on the monster, Vahn noticed the mana around Haruhimes body began to fluctuate and he turned his eyes toward her and saw the illusory aura around her body had actually formed arge bluish-white fox with golden eyes sitting behind her. It was more than 3m tall and had two wispy tails behind its body as and followed each of Haruhimes movements like her shadow. Vahn could see the mouth of the foxs mouth moving, almost as if it were whispering into Haruhimes ears and he could also hear Haruhimes chant even though she was still dancing. A peculiar feeling welled up inside of him, almost like a powerful burst of inspiration, as Vahn lowered his bow. He knew that Haruhime was at a pivotal moment in her development and that his interference would be a p in the face to her convictions. Vahn saw the confident glint in her now pale-golden eyes and knew she wouldnt give up no matter how difficult the fight got. Toward the very end, when Haruhime had faced down the mes of the Silverback Patriarch head-on, Vahn saw the illusory fox behind her step forward before diving into her body. The moment her chant ended, Vahn saw Haruhimes four tails sprout into five as an illusory blue me appeared on their tips. He felt a powerful convergence of ice elemental energy pulled into the mes at Haruhimes tails beforerge ice spears, farrger than anything Haruhime had ever used before, began appearing out of thin air. Vahn, with his [Eyes of Truth], saw that there was a line of pure elemental energy contained within each spear, almost like an arrow of unstoppable magical energy. That small line nurtured the entire spear and prevented the mes from having any effect as Haruhimeunched them forward with a loud cry. Vahn saw all five spears prate through the body of the Silverback Patriarch before using Shundo to step forward and catch Haruhimes copsing body. She went into a state of Mind Down and had lost consciousness as Vahn held her body tightly in his embrace before vanishing from the eleventh floor and retreating into the safety of the adjoining corridor to tend to her wounds... (A/N: The Power of Belief,Never gonna give up~!,-sounds of popcorn being eaten-) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 355 - Insurance

Chapter 355 - Insurance

After the banquet concluded, Hestia managed to escape from the veritable horde of goddesses and made her way over to Hephaestus, Loki, and somewhat annoyingly, Freya. Anubis joined them soon after and the five goddesses parted ways with therger group and proceeded to the 48th floor of Babel which was designated as Hephaestuss private residence. She rarely ever used it, but it was stillrge enough to potentially house thousands of people if required. The group made their way inside as several attendants rushed about to prepare food and drink for the rare visitors. Hestia plopped down powerlessly onto a sofa and whined, "Muuuuu, I thought it was fun at first, but those goddesses need to learn some propriety. All they kept asking were things about Vahn and there were even several that want to try and get closer to him~! Grrrrrrr, Ill never let those hussies get their hands on my Vahn!" Hestia had been iling about with her arms and legs like a child even though she was still wearing the dress Vahn had bought her. Loki, who had been nearby, beganughing and asked, "Ara~? A bold im to make in front of his legal wife, dont you think?" Hestia looked over at Loki with dead-fish eyes before turning her gaze at the awkward smile of Hephaestus before saying in azy tone, "Even if I have to share him with a lot of other girls, Vahn is still mine...we promised to be together forever and I intend to take care of him no matter how much time passes." Hephaestus walked over before scooching Hestias legs to the side and sitting down on the same sofa. She looked over at Hestia, who let out a sigh and sat up, before saying in a calm tone, "Vahn isnt such a small existence that he can be contained by any single person...even if we all did our best to protect him, Im certain hell grow beyond our influence someday. The best we can do is make sure he always has a safe haven to return to...and the only way we can do that is to work together, Hestia." Without waiting for her response, Hephaestus grabbed Hestia and began snuggling with her as they had done in the past. They werent the most popr goddesses in Heaven, so their rtionship as friends was a powerful bond that wasnt easily broken since it had persisted for well over a million years. Hestia pouted a bit before rxing her face against Hephaestuss b.r.e.a.s.ts and saying in a muffled voice that made the red-headed goddess stifle augh, "Muuuu, Hephaestus, thanks for calling me toe down from Heaven. I didnt know it was possible to feel like this..." Before they could fall into their own pace, Loki sat behind Hestia and grabbed around her body and identally grabbed the tworge b.r.e.a.s.ts of the petite goddess and said in a mischevious tone, "Youre lucky Vahn was your first, Ive had to go through countless experiences before I finally understood what it meant to be a real woman~" Hestia began to writhe around under Lokis touch andined, "Graaaah, Loki, you mischevious demon, unhand meeeeeeee~!" Loki beganughing yfully as she drew her face close to Hestias and made the small girl blush deeply when she said, "Ara, but we got along so well when we were with Vahn...youre going to break my heart, He-sti-a~!" Loki drew her face slightly closer to the fl.u.s.tered Hestias until an elegantughter sounded in the room and Freya said, "Oh, I didnt know the two of you had reconciled and now have such a personal rtionship. Its good to see friends get along so well~." Loki turned away from Hestia and released her b.r.e.a.s.ts before addressing Freya with a sly grin on her face, "You already have a better understanding than everyone else at the Denatus about what is going on around Vahn. The question is, now that weve made our stance, how far are you willing to go to cooperate with us, Freya~? Freya titled her head slightly as she passed her gaze over the four goddesses, including Anubis who had been sitting at the side sipping on tea with a contented expression. She released a somewhat tired soundingugh as she shook her head and said, "Ive alreadymitted to helping protect Vahn from outside threats and have even taken several vows to not interfere with his lives, and the lives of those around him. I want to have a child of my own one day, so I have no intention of butting heads with the other girls around Vahn...so why do you ask how far Im willing to cooperate when Ive already made far more concessions than any of the other goddesses?" Freya knew that every time Loki opened her mouth these days, it often resulted in her having a powerful headache afterward. Loki stood up from the sofa before standing rtively close to Freya and looking up into her silvery eyes and saying in a serious tone, "How long have we known each other, Freya, around 140 million years? You think Ill believe for a moment youre willing to y second-fiddle to anyone for a long period of time? No, that isnt like you at all, Id much rather ce my bets on the sun failing to rise in the East any day of the week than believe that for an instant." Freya squinted her eyes in a provocative manner and said inly, "Vahn is too important an existence for every goddess, Im not going to oppose more than half of the godlymunity for temporary benefits. Just like Hestia...even if I wanted to keep him to myself, there would be too many factors preventing me from taking action, just like you and Hephaestus have done." Lokis eyes opened slightly as the boldly stated, "I am a dangerous existence to Vahn." Freyas eyes opened slightly as she tilted her head and asked, "Ara~? Are you talking about your Divinity? What are you trying to get at, Loki?" Lokis face turned into a somewhat sad looking smile as she said, "In order to give him more of a reason to give me a child, I swore off every other rtionship for as long as Vahn lives. Unless its with his consent, I dont even y around with my old favorites anymore." Freyas eyes opened a great deal because she knew Lokis habits more than most, as they had often worked together in the past. Because of this, Freya understood what Loki was trying to say and also understood why Loki had asked how far she was willing to go earlier. Freya furrowed her brows as an uncharacteristic frown appeared on her face and she asked, "You cant honestly be asking me to give up on all my other rtionsh.i.p.s just because I want to have Vahns child...even if I could somehow tolerate it for a while, you know I cant simply throw away the things I have invested my interest in. My Divinity wouldnt allow me to do such a thing...what youre asking is impossible!" Loki shook her head with a serious expression and said inly, "I know you cant give up Freya, and Im not asking you to do so. Even if Vahn knew about your rtionsh.i.p.s with other men, he probably wouldnt even mind that much since he himself has several ongoing rtionsh.i.p.s. The problem is how the Children of your Familia will treat him, and how your child would eventually be raised. The current you is simply unqualified to be the mother of one of Vahns children because there is no way you would be willing to part with it. Vahn would never allow his child to grow up in the type of environment you would provide, so unless you make a firm resolve of your own you would never be able to have one of his children. Youd be better off picking one of your favorites within your Familia and having them sire the child instead." As she listened to Lokis words, Freyas thoughts were racing through her mind and she was trying toe up with a counterargument. However, nothing she could think of would be able to convince the four goddesses in front of her, especially the problematic trickster standing before her. They simply knew each other too well and, as Loki had imed, there is no way she could part with her own child. If it were a girl, she would raise her daughter as her protege, the same way she had treated Syr. If it were a boy, she would nurture him into a powerful warrior that exceeds all others and, if he possessed a simr spark of Divinity like his father, she would desire to create another child with them. The thought of being able to cultivate a god within the mortal world resonated too strongly with her own desires, her own Divinity. As long as there were a chance, Freya couldnt abandon the thought and would have to pursue it even if it inevitably resulted in her return to Heaven. Loki said in a somewhat cold tone, "All goddesses will be bound by certain vows, but the ones binding the goddesses that wish to birth Vahns children must follow specific guidelines. There are too many unknown factors for any of the children to be entrusted to anyone else other than Vahn and the Alliance as a whole. You dont know that boy yet, but his capabilities are far greater than you can imagine. Do you think its an ident he has been able to find solutions, not just regarding the matter of goddesses, but also for Half-Races and even Elves? His perception would put many gods to shame and his innovative ideas are unlike anything that the world has ever seen. There is no one more qualified than he is, especially with ourwork of support, when ites to ensuring the children live long and healthy lives. What you would try to do only results in one end, no matter how much you try to force the situation. You will destroy yourself, or you will destroy your own hopes, potentially for the rest of eternity. Even before the Age of Myths, there had never been an anomaly like Vahn in all of history, are you really willing to wait another 600M year in the hopes that a second would appear?" Freya had a very conflicted expression on her face because she couldnt think of any way to poke a hole in Lokis argument. There was simply nothing she could say to call into question the fact that Vahn was qualified on the matters since he was the literal progenitor of the method and was the only person who even had a remote understanding of the process. If what Loki said regarding the other races was true, there was no room for her to argue over the matter at all and it was a very vexing feeling since she was very used to getting her way. Ever since she took an interest in Vahn, it seemed like all of her ns were being undone before she could even execute them and it was baffling considering there were few things standing in her way previously. After a long period of hesitation, Freya bit her bottom lip for a while before looking into the slightly open eyes of Loki and asking, "You wouldnt bring this up if you hadnt thought of something...so what did you have in mind...Loki?" She put extra emphasis on Lokis name, almost as if the word was somewhat distasteful on her tongue. Loki didnt seem to mind at all as her expression turned into a mischevious smile and she said, "Its simple, really, just that from the moment you eventually sleep with Vahn, you wont be able to sleep with anyone else up until the time the baby is born. When you finally give birth, the only way you will be allowed to keep the child would be to continue having a monogamous rtionship with Vahn. The vow will lose its effect after the child reaches a.d.u.l.thood, though you can renege on it at any time as long as youre willing to give up your child to be raised by the Hestia Familia. You will still be able to visit, but you wont be able to take the child away for long periods of time without supervision. This is the greatest leniency we can afford you, since you are simply too dangerous otherwise." Freyas frown deepened for a while after listening to Lokis words as several thoughts ran through her mind. Lokis terms werent actually that bad, and it wasnt as if she were that attached to her current children. If it meant forgoing a rtionship for little more than a decade, it wasnt that difficult considering she was several million years old. It was simply a blip in the endless flow of time that defined her existence and it was a small price to pay in order to receive a peerless child of her own. None of her current children would be able to hold a candle to the existence that she would give birth to in the future, and Freyas primary interest was pursuing the idea of a perfect, peerless, warrior. For several minutes, Freya ruminated over the matters until her expression slowly melted into a much softer one and she eventually smiled elegantly as she said, "Very well, Loki, but before I bear Vahns child, I want him to help me conceive one from someone else. I assume your little restrictions have no sway over my other children, correct?" Lokis expression turned somewhat serious before she nodded her head and said, "Yes, but keep in mind that if Vahn found out you mistreated your other children, it would likely affect his decision to allow you to have any others." Freya began tough like a bell before looking around the room at the other goddesses and saying, "Thats fine, but Ill have each of you make concessions of your own. Even without confirming anything, I know youve all probably been advocating against me to keep Vahn from approaching me. I want you to stop interfering with fate and allow things to happen as they will...Im curious what kind of person Vahn is to have brought about so much change in everyone that even Hestia, famous for her purity, would give it up for his benefit." Hearing her name, Hestia startled before shouting, "Someone like you wouldnt be able to understand at all, Freya! All youve ever been concerned with is your own interests, you wouldnt be able to understand someone like Vahn who puts in almost all of his efforts to help other peole. He isnt selfish and distant like any of the gods in Heaven, no, he is living every day to the fullest and that is something that not even I, or any god, would be able to understand! If you hurt Vahn, I dont care what it takes, I will make sure you regret it forever~!" As she spoke, Hestias Divinity began to activate and it actually put a great deal of pressure on all the goddesses present. Even though they were all goddesses, Hestiastent power was far greater than even someone like Freya. Freyas smile cracked a bit and her eyes took on a serious glint as she fought to resist against Hestias pressure using her own Divinity. She was just a third generation goddess, so there was little she could do against the first generation, Hestia. Since they originated from the same area of Heaven, Freya was very aware of some of the secrets rted to Hestias origin. The main reason most gods and goddesses avoided confrontation with the zy and troublesome little girl was due to the fact that, depending on the circ.u.mstances, they wouldnt even be able to defend themselves if she lost her cool. Not everyone was like Loki who didnt mind flirting with death and teasing the diminutive little goddess with big b.o.o.b.s. Freya knew that, if she actually hurt Vahn and triggered Hestias wrath, she would likely be destroyed in, not just the mortal world, but Heaven as well. With that thought in mind, Freya turned her gaze to the fiery red eyes of Hephaestus and finally understood the forge goddesses scheme. The reason she had called Hestia down to the mortal world to protect Vahn wasnt just because he needed a Familia, but because she wanted to use Hestias inflexible nature as a deterrent. Now that the small goddess hadmitted herself to Vahn, he had inadvertently got one of the greatest forms of insurance he could have...Freya released a long sigh before pulling back her own Divinity and saying in a defeated tone, "Dont worry, Hestia, though I mayy more than just my hands on Vahn, I wont do anything to actually bring harm to him..." Under her breath, in words that only Anubis managed to pick up, Freya continued, "...its not like Ive grown tired of living just yet." As someone from a different region of Heaven, Anubis wasnt entirely aware of the origins and powers of the Northern and Western gods, so hearing Freyas words had been eye-opening for the exotic goddess. She turned her moon-like eyes toward the small goddess she hadnt thought much of previously and vowed in her heart to butter up the over-protective Hestia. There were several things she wanted to do with Vahn in the future, so Anubis didnt want to make any enemies, especially with a goddess respected by the hot-headed Hephaestus. Out of habit, as Anubis thought about Vahn, she reached up and stroked the ck cor around her neck and it caused a small smile to appear on her face that drew the attention of the other goddesses in the room. Afterward, a strange conversation was spontaneously instigated as the girls began to talk about the various things they had received from him in the past. Though items like Hestias dress and her [Sapphire Star] were quite impressive, everyone had to bow down in defeat whenpared against Hephaestuss [Promise], the crest on her back, and the baby in her belly. Though Loki was a close second, she didnt have an item that linked her together with Vahn. Of course, just the memory of that fateful night together was more than enough for her...at least for the time being. (A/N: Alternate Titles: HephaestusxHestiaxLoki,Loki Vs. Freya,Hestias Victory, Goddesses Defeat) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 356 - Haruhime Awakens

Chapter 356 - Haruhime Awakens

After retreating to safety, Vahnid Haruhimes body onto the ground after setting down a thin futon. Her body was covered in several small wounds, but the most important thing to tend to were her shoulder and her right thigh. Her corbone had been fractured and had started to swell up with a dark purple coloration while her thigh had a 10cm piece of wooden shrapnel lodged deeply into it like a massive splinter that made a chill run down Vahns back. He pressed a few spots in the upper part of her inner thigh while doing his best to ignore the somewhat damp heating from Haruhimes lower body. The pressure point to stimy the flow of the femoral artery was near the connecting point between the pelvis and the interior of the thigh and Vahn could feel a dampness of the back of his hand when he had reached under her kimono to touch it. Once the majority of blood had stopped pumping out of her wound, Vahn poured an Elixer in Haruhimes mouth to start the recovery process before numbing her entire right leg using his [Hands of Nirvana]. The next part wasnt very pleasant as Vahn had to slowly ease the tension in her muscles to pull out the long splintered piece of wood. He used his [Eyes of Truth] to view the interior of the leg and made sure to remove any of the backward facing splinters that would prevent him from removing the entire piece from her leg. He didnt want to yank it out and leave a bunch of smaller splinters behind, so Vahn took extra care to make sure there werent any small protrusions that would cause more damage. After nearly twenty minutes, Vahn finished his surgery and removed all the small pieces from Haruhimes leg. The mangled hole left behind made Vahns brows twitch as he looked at Haruhimes peacefully sleeping face before letting out a small sigh. He took out a small knife and cut open his palm before letting his own blood drip into the hole until it hadpletely filled up Haruhimes wound. Vahns intention was to ensure that there were no infections, toxins, or excess bacteria left behind in the wound. His blood has properties to remove such impurities and it would help to guarantee there were no seque left behind as he used his [Hands of Nirvana] in conjunction with several Potions to help close up the wound quickly. By the time he was finished, the only indication of any damage was a small scar that Vahn removed to leave behind nothing by a pale white thigh with a small red tenderness where the wound was previously located. Her shoulder was easier to deal with since he was able to set the bone and speed up the healing process before covering her shoulder with another Hi-Potion. The bruising slowly faded away and waspletely gone a few minutester after Vahn channeled his own healing energies into the wound. Since he wasnt the type to overlook things, Vahn inspected Haruhimes body and made sure all of her wounds werepletely healed before releasing a sigh filled with relief. He wasnt actually concerned that he wouldnt be able to treat her wounds, but it still made him worried to see even a small cut on the girls around him if he could help. Even if was a bit excessive, or overprotective of him, Vahn still felt better when they were happy and unharmed. Though he thought about petting andforting her while she slept, Vahn decided it wasnt appropriate to do so without permission, even though he was certain she wouldnt mind. Instead, he wiped away the blood on her body with a hot towel before snuggly bundling her up in a nket so she could rest properly. It was better to recover naturally after entering Mind Down, so Vahn allowed Haruhime to sleep even though it was still early in the afternoon. Since it was a good opportunity, he decided to take a nap as well, so Vahn sat with his back to the wall near Haruhime and closed his eyes to rest for a short while. A few hourster, Vahn felt Haruhimes aura stir and immediately opened his eyes to see her sneakily trying to move over to him. Caught red-handed, Haruhime began tough bashfully before sitting up straight and showing a beautiful smile. Vahn noticed her eyes had returned to their normal, cid green, state and there didnt seem to be any other abnormalities in her body. Other than the fact her mana was still depleted, Haruhime was fit as a fiddle and looked as lovely and youthful as always. Vahn smiled with a gentle expression on his face as he gestured toward Haruhime which immediately caused the Renard girl to smile as she practically shot over like a bullet before snuggling up with her back to him. Vahn began to pat her head as he exined, "I havent been able to confirm it myself, but youve most likely awakened a rare skill while you were fighting. Well have to update your Status Board to confirm it, but can you tell me if you realized anything earlier?" Haruhimezily nodded her head with her eyes closed and said, "Yes...ever since you brushed my hair, it felt like there was a powerful warmth in my chest...when I fought earlier, it was like all of my emotions were welling up and bing my power. When I made my way down to the eleventh floor, it was like my entire body had be light as a feather and I felt a powerful energy coursing through my body. Even when I fought against the variant, the only thing I could think of was defeating the enemy...so that I could keep walking the path Ive decided for myself..." As she spoked, Haruhime had wrapped the tip of her dexterous tail around Vahns arm. Vahn could feel a strange energying from her body so he activated his [Eyes of Truth] and saw that, overtop her normal tail, there was an illusory blue tail ovepping it. Vahn was curious, so he reached around with his left hand and tilted Haruhimes head upward toward him. She opened her eyes and Vahn noticed that had almostpletely transitioned from their cid green stay to an off-shade of green that was bordering gold. Her pupils had started to contract in a strange manner and were taller than they were wide. The moment he looked into them, their color became richer and they were very quickly bing a pale-gold color as Haruhime whispered in a seductive tone, "Vahn..." Vahn felt a chill run up his back as a red blush appeared around Haruhimes eyelids and she tried to reach up and kiss him. Out of instinct, Vahn tilted his head slightly and she kissed the bottom of his chin beforeughing in a yful manner that made Vahns brain buzz slightly. Haruhime leaned her back against him and ced both of her palms on Vahns thighs before he grabbed her hands and pulled them away as he said, "Haruhime, dont get carried away. As you stated, I believe your skill isnt simply influenced by your emotions, but it also influences your emotions in a dangerous loop. You should be able to sense it yourself, but the little mana remaining in your body is starting to circte to sustain this ability. If you keep using it, at this rate, youll end up going Mind Down again." Haruhimes golden eyes blinked before she tilted her head down and closed her eyes as she took several deep breaths. Vahn watched her with his [Eyes of Truth] but it didnt seem like the illusory blue tail was going to vanish any time soon. Vahn suspected that he might actually be the reason for her current state since Haruhimes aura was a strangely passionate red intermixed with a pale blue color that was coiling around his body with invisible tendrils. He couldnt feel anything from their touch, but Vahn knew Haruhime was in a somewhat dangerous state so he said in a firm tone, "Haruhime, you need to get off myp. I dont think youll be able to calm down from this state unless you do." Haruhime tilted her head and opened her eyes to reveal they were fluctuating slightly before she let out a somewhat sad sigh and stood up from hisp. She muttered in a quiet tone as she pressed her hands over her heart and said, "I dont want to let this feeling go...I feel like I can do anything with this power...but I dont mind giving it up if it prevents me from being close to you, Vahn..." After Haruhime stood up, Vahn bounced to his feet as he heard her words and shook his head before saying, "You dont have to worry about anything like that, Haruhime. Once you learn to control that power and make it your own, you wont have to worry about being influenced so strongly by the side-effects. I have a few rare skills of my own, and they can be pretty difficult to adapt to, but it isnt impossible. After all, its a power that belongs to us, not the other way around." Though he was worried it might extend the time she was stuck in the form, Vahn reached out his hand and affectionately stroked Haruhimes long blond hair while using [Hands of Nirvana] to channel calming energy into her mind. Haruhime closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment before she began to hum a strange tune that Vahn had heard earlier when she was fighting. She didnt seem to notice she was doing it, and Vahn thought it was another aspect of her ability but was unable to determine its influence on her body even with his [Eyes of Truth]. The only thing he could discern that her mana fluctuated slightly in tune with her humming and it was a very peculiar sight to behold. After a while, however, Vahn decided that Haruhime needed to rest and also wanted to update her Status Board to verify some of his earlier conjecture. Though he felt sorry to disturb her small reverie, Vahn said in a low tone, "Haruhime, I want to check your Status and see if youve actually awakened a rare skill. Since you defeated a powerful enemy, you may have even gained an achievement and might be able to level up. However, I would caution you against leveling up too soon as it would hurt your foundation in the future. We also have nearly sixty hours toplete the requirements for the [Hunter] Development Ability, so there isnt any real rush to Level up now." Hearing Vahns words, Haruhime opened her eyes and Vahn noticed they were a pale green that was slowly restoring to their original color. However, the moment she opened them, Haruhimes eyes began to fade and take on an off-shade of gold that made Vahn release a short sigh that caused the young Renard girl tough as she quickly loosened her obi. Vahn averted his eyes but Haruhime asked, "Please, Vahn, I dont want you to look away...its not like Im n.a.k.e.d, though, even then, I wouldnt mind..." Vahn awkwardly scratched the side of his face before turning back to Haruhime with a nod. He had seen her n.a.k.e.d several times, and it was actually more awkward for him to look away than stare straight at her. Since she wanted him to look, turning his head just made the atmosphere tenser. Haruhimes face blossomed with a smile as she finished loosening her obi and lowering her red kimono with a bell-likeugh. Because he had brought up the concern of having to update the girls status in the dungeon, Ryuu and Aki had purchased ck tops and shorts that covered the chest while keeping the backpletely exposed. Most Adventurers, at least females, didnt wear bras in the dungeon since the stic bands and wires were ufortable after strenuous movements. Vahn could see the shape of Haruhimes b.r.e.a.s.ts through the ck fabric as well as a slight hint of her skin concealed underneath it. The most obvious thing though were the two small buds that were pressing against the fabric and Vahn knew Haruhime had wanted him to see them. Her eyes immediately turned a pale golden color with long slits for pupils as a red coloration framed her eyes as sheughed in what Vahn could only describe as a mischevious manner before she began radiating an aura of elegance as she turned around and swayed her h.i.p.s. With the motion, Haruhimes tail followed her movements before gently caressing the underside of Vahns chin with the tip. Vahn felt his brain buzz to an incredible extent and had to use [Will of the Emperor] to regain his calm as he stared at Haruhimes pale white back. Her tail was moving from side-to-side, almost as if it were in slow motion and Vahn could see the illusory blue tail trailing slowly behind in a hypnotic fashion. He knew her tail, or tails, were the catalyst for her power and Vahn knew that, even if she wasnt doing it intentionally, she was trying to seduce him with a powerful, almost instinctive,pulsion in each of her movements. Vahn ignored the matter for the time being as he pricked his finger and stretched it forward to draw a line down Haruhimes back. The moment his finger touched near the base of her neck, Vahn could feel Haruhimes body tremble slightly. When he traced his finger down, the trembling increased and she released a hot sigh that made Vahn have a strange urge to facepalm and rub his temples. He started to realize that Haruhimes awakened state could be very problematic for him in the future since he was the primary target of her affections. To get a better understanding of her ability, he would have to see if it also influenced other people or it might be impossible for Haruhime to fight in groups. If she was distracting her own allies, it wouldnt be very helpful when they were on expeditions in the future. If it just affected her targets, Vahn would be able to resist the influence of the skill as long as he used his [Will of the Emperor] to keep his mind calm. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Sanjouno Haruhime Race: Renard LV. 1(+) POW: H185->G222 END: G206->F371 DEX: G233->E419 AGI: F314->E448 MAG: B748->S929 Skill: [Inari:Innate(H)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Heroic Strike:G],[Featherfoot:E->D] Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B],[Kokonoe:D->C],[Icicle Edge:G->F] Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:C], [Mage(sealed)] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seeing Haruhimes updated status, Vahn was very pleased since his earlier deduction had proven to be true. Since it was rted to her tails, Vahn assumed Haruhimes awakened ability was rted to her Innate skill, [Inari]. Now that he had confirmation of the fact, Vahn started to have a better understanding of what was required to awaken Innate abilities. Though he wasnt certain, Vahn suspected that Bells [Liaris Freese] was also an Innate, which meant that the trigger was powerful emotions. As long as the emotions remained, the Innate would continue to develop and the person would grow progressively stronger. For the twins, it was their shared bond that served as the basis, but it was the emotions they directed toward him that resulted in the skill awakening. It was the same for Haruhime since it was her affections and attachment to him that served as the trigger for her own awakening. This was a double-edged sword, however, since if their feelings faded it could negatively affect their growth in the future. Haruhime not only had his me seed in her chest, which also depended on her feelings, but she was also influenced by his Mentors Mark as well as her own Innate. He knew what she meant when she mentioned it felt like her feelings were giving her strength. All three skillspounded to spur her growth forward and it was at a pace that would likely even exceed his own record depending on the circ.u.mstances. This would inevitably make her emotions even stronger though, as she would always rte her own growth and progress to the thoughts and feelings she harbored inside her heart. Just like Bell had pursued Ais endlessly in the manga, he had be Haruhimes goal and the thought of the fox girl chasing at his back put a little pressure on him. After mulling over matters for a short moment, Vahn handed the status sheet to the waiting Haruhime and said with a smile, "Your growth is nothing short of incredible, Haruhime. Not only did you unlock a rare skill, but I can even tell youpleted the requirements for the [Mage] Development Ability. Youll have to decide which one you want to choose by the time you level up in the future." Haruhime stared at her own status sheet as a somewhat strange smile appeared on her face and she hugged the piece of paper to her chest. She then turned to Vahn with her expression a mix between elegance and ardor as she said, "I will catch up to you soon, Vahn~!" Vahn felt like a small animal being eyed by a predator as he awkwardly smiled before nodding his head and saying, "Work hard, I believe in you, Haruhime." Sheughed in a happy manner before the pale-gold color of her eyes spontaneously dissipated and she nearly fell onto her butt in an exhausted manner beforeughing exuberantly when Vahn caught her... (A/N: I know some people might not like the fact that Vahn is focusing on the strength of others, but know that this is a very important matter. Im not going to detail the growth of every character, just those that will y an important role in the future plot. There is a veryrge misconception that some people have when they think Vahn could progress into the lower floors of the dungeon alone. Simply put, if he tried to do so, Vahn would almost certainly die without any other possible oue. He might be able to fight off dozens, even hundreds, of monsters at once, but monsters spawn in thousands in the lower floors. The Dungeon itself starts proactively trying to kill you as well, so the more tired you are, the greater the chance of monsters spawning near you. On top of all of this, there isnt a single safe area from the 18th floor all the way down to the 50th floor. There are also no shortcuts to exit the dungeon easily, and this is why Familia organize literal military expeditions to proceed further down. Vahn might be a logisticians wet dream, but that doesnt mean he doesnt get tired and run out of supplies.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Healing Haruhimes Harm,Innately Seductive?,The Power of Doki Doki Transcends All Records~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 357 - Skeletons

Chapter 357 - Skeletons

After the chaotic nature of the first day of the Denatus, events had be somewhat more organized as the second day proceeded as scheduled. There was a brief period for mingling and, unlike the day before, Hestia and the other gods and goddesses of the Alliance were the center of attention instead of bystanders in the party. When it came time for the banquet to begin, the majority of goddesses has moved to the same side of the room and there was a very obvious division between the males and females of the godlymunity. Some gods had tried to sit amongst the goddesses, but they had been shoehorned away so that other goddesses could sit down. The matter of potentially getting pregnant was too significant an event to take a wait and see approach, so many of them were behaving proactively. Many of the gods were understanding about the situation, as there were quite a few that had sired children over the years. However, there was a group of gods at the furthest table that looked over with resentment in their eyes as they discussed trying to pressure Ouranos to restrain, or even kill, the boy known as Vahn Mason. The vast majority of the gods at the table believed that goddesses simply had no right to bear children as it would go against the natural order. They believed that it was a unique privilege of gods to sire demigods and that the various goddesses were infringing upon. As for the others, they were the gods that had tried to approach the goddesses in the Alliance to get in their good books and were shunned and turned away. They simply couldnt tolerate that a human child was able to conquer goddesses they werent even able to approach, and he had managed to do it several times. With how things were going, those numbers may even increase in the future and they felt threatened by the existence of Vahn. Now that everyone had taken their seats, Ouranos overlooked the congregation and saw the split between the two groups and felt his temples throb when he saw the batch of discordant gods sitting at the periphery. He couldnt help but feel they were a bunch of egotistical fools that put the entire mortal world in danger through their frivolous actions and the fact many of them treated their Familia as their own personal ythings. Anything they had to say would no doubt be irrational and weighted down with a heavy bias imed as righteousness, justice, or other foolish titudes. The only thing that mattered in the grand scheme of things was that order was maintained yet these foolish gods would oppose it while iming to be preserving. The only thing the majority of those fools were preserving was that their selfish ways were allowed to continue unchecked. Ouranos began to feel like, after this fiasco was dealt with, there needed to be several changes in the regtions imposed on gods that decided to reside within the City. After a few minutes passed, Ouranos raised his hand a silent pressure fell upon everyone present as he said in a deep voice that caused the air to tremble, "Now is the time to address important matters within the City. If there is a mater you would like to discuss, you will be allotted time to make your concerns known. For those that have grievances with each other, you will act appropriately considering your status as gods. Settle the matter through moderation or challenge each other through a fair bout in the War Games. Ill not tolerate foolish prattle, so if you decide my time is best wasted listening to foolish drivel youll find my patience wears thin quickly." Though he didnt turn his head, Ouranos trained his eyes over the foolish gods sitting to the far right of the room. As soon as he finished his words, a loud shout reverberated through the room as a powerful looking god wearing a red elephant mask stood up and said, "If youre talking about events, youll be looking to hear from Gaaaaaneeeeeshaaaaaaaaa~! Graahahahahahahahaha!" Without any hesitation, Ganesha made his way to the elevated tform and began addressing the congregation in a loud tone intermixed withughter, "As youre all aware, the Monster Feria is fast approaching! Id like the support of every Familia that can spare their efforts to ensure that nothing goes wrong! This is an important event for the City and itll take each of us doing our best to make the event enjoyable for everyone present, grahahahahaa! Please, if you have any ideas, or would like to contribute, just let this Ganesha know and he will see it through to the end, Gaaaaaneeeshahahahahaha~!" This was the usual pitch of Ganesha every time the Monster Feria approached and he had even made the same ims at thest Denatus. However, against expectations, someone actually stood up to address the mboyant god. Ganesha beganughing since it was very rare for anyone to step forward, much less someone as prolific as Hephaestus herself. The beautiful red-haired goddess stood up and turned toward Ganesha as she said with a cool smile on her face, "Ganesha, as you have likely heard, Vahn possesses the ability to tame monsters as well. Im sure the entire City knows, but one of his monsters happens to be a gigantic ck dragon..." Several sounds emerged from the surrounding tables as the various gods began to gossip about the matters Hephaestus had brought up. Ganesha showed a wide, toothy, smile and said in a voice akin to a shout, "Ah, yes, I have heard rumors of Vahns supposed dragon! Are you offering to submit it as a participant in the Monster Feria? Are you not afraid one of my children will rob yourpanion of his pet? Grraaaaahahahah!" Hephaestus smiled enough that her eyes squinted slightly and she said in a confident tone, "There isnt a single child within your Familia capable of taming that dragon. It hasnt been poprized, but its strength exceeds that of a Level 5 floor boss." Her words shocked the entire congregation and even caused Ganeshas smile to break for a brief moment as he asked in a serious voice, "Are you serious? How could someone tame a dragon at the level of a floor boss...isnt Vahn Mason just a Level 3?" Loki beganughing from her seat after hearing Ganeshas words before saying in a cheeky manner, "Do you think just a Level 3 would be able to discover methods to help the various races get pregnant? Ah, actually, there are other matters weve yet to discuss that might as well be brought up now...that is if its okay with Hephaestus and Hestia~?" Hestia startled a bit at Lokis sudden address before standing up in her chair and saying, "As long as it isnt anything that threatens my Vahn, you can say whatever you like! Dont let me down, Loki!" She then plopped down in her chair and took a less-than-healthy gulp of wine straight from the bottle. Loki nodded her head in Hestias direction before turning to Hephaestus and giving her a serious look. Without any hesitation, Hephaestus walked over to Ganesha and he quickly stepped off the tform to make way so that she could address everyone present. Hephaestus showed Ganesha a grateful smile before turning to the various gods and goddesses sitting at their tables and said, "Vahn isnt just a Level 3, he is also the youngest [Master Smith] in history. He managed to reach the requirements for the skill less than two months after his 15th birthday which makes him nearly seventeen years younger than any other mortal cksmith." Hephaestuss words caused a stir in the crowd but it was nothingpared to the chaos when she turned to Ouranos and said, "Ouranos is already aware of the matter and I have even shown him an item forged personally by Vahn Mason. Because he had reached the requirements I set forth, I have decided to officially marry Vahn and am prepared to make an Eternal Vow to never take another husband for as long as my existence continues." There were several gods that, after Hephaestuss face had been fixed, had been trying to court her, not necessarily for marriage, but because she was an influential and beautiful goddess who was highly sought after. Her marriage was a devastating matter to learn about, especially considering the weight of the vow she intended to take. An Eternal Vow was made on the very Divinity of a god and, if they broke the vow, the god would cease to exist entirely. Hephaestus was essentially telling every god present that, no matter how much time passed, she would never be with anyone else other than a mortal boy. This revtion caused absolute chaos within the ballroom as one god, a rather handsome god with red hair and eyes, very simr to Hephaestus, shouted, "This ispletely uneptable. The most prolific goddess of forging cant make an Eternal Vow and marry a human boy. It doesnt matter how skilled he might be, what he might aplish, he will still grow old and die as you continue living onwards until the end of time!" The god that decided to speak out was named Ilmarinen, and he was known as the Eternal Hammerer and one of the few highly ranked forging gods within the City. Like Hephaestuss Eternal me, Ilmarinen also had a part of Divinity manifested as an item which took on the appearance of a golden hammer named the Eternal Hammer. He had long sought after Hephaestus ever since she descended to the mortal world because he believed he was the only one truly suitable for her. Now that she was nning to marry a human boy, he couldnt stand idly by as he said in a condescending tone, "Even when your face was disfigured, I still sought after you because of your skill in forging! I was even one of the few that actually gave you a chance when we were back in Heaven. What, now that your face is fixed, youre suddenly better than everyone else? How can such a prolific goddess be turned into amon harlot by a mortal child...disgusting!" Though her expression hadnt changed much at first, the moment Ilmarinen mentioned their rendezvous back in Heaven Hephaestus felt a profound feeling of disgust well up inside of her. Her expression turned from a proud smile into one of absolute indignation as she said in a cold tone, "The Hephaestus Familia challenges the Ilmarinen Familia to a War Games. Show me your worth you shriveled disgrace of a god!" As she spoke, Hephaestus made a gesture with her thumb and index finger that everyone was able to recognize which caused a stir ofughter at several of the tables. Since all the goddesses were sitting together, theirbinedughter was enough to sound throughout the entire ballroom and made the previous arrogant god blush a deep crimson as he shouted, "You filthy who-" Before he could finish the word, Ouranos shouted out in a loud voice that sent a small shockwave through the room that caused several sses to shatter, "SILENCE! If you dont have the courage to ept the War Games, show some dignity and step down! The matter of another gods marriage has no rtion to anyone but themselves. I can hardly believe you have the audacity to make a scene when there are so many of your peers present. How utterly disappointing..." Ilmarinen continued to stand for several seconds as he red at Hephaestus before sitting down in a huff. There was no way his Familia, which was only Rank D, would be able to face the titanic might of the Hephaestus Familia that was Rank S. The majority of his Familia were all cksmiths and they had few actual Adventurers which was the main reason their rank didnt increase. Making an enemy out of Hephaestus Familia wasnt a wise decision and he decided to take a step back. Unfortunately, Ilmarinen hadnt realized he stepped on a veritablendmine with his earlier words mentioning his previous rtionship with Hephaestus. She had decided to put the past behind her, but now that there was someone present that might go around talking about it, Hephaestus decided to press the matter. Hephaestus continued to stare at Ilmarinen for several seconds before turning to Ouranos and saying in a cold tone, "The Hephaestus Familia deres War against the Ilmarinen Familia. If they refuse to meet in a War Games, we will drive them out of the City for this gross indiscretion. The audacity of a Rank D Familia challenging a Rank S Familias honor is not so easily forgiven. The terms for reparations will be set at no less than one-billion Valis." Ilmarinen shot back up to his feet but he wasnt able to say any words as Hephaestus turned her gaze back to him without wavering in the slightest as she said, "You spoke so boldly earlier, I wonder where your bravado has gone? If you have any regrets, consider bing a better god in the future because the current you is nothing short of a disgrace." Before Ilmarinen could say anything, Ouranos nodded his head slightly and announced, "Very well, the Hephaestus Familia is well within their right to dere War against the Ilmarinen Familia due to the sleight of their god and the refusal of a civil War Games. The period of repayment will be set at 1 year where, if they are unable to turn over the appropriate amount of Valis, they will be forced to disband." Hearing Ouranoss deration, Ilmarinen plopped onto his seat and held his head in his hands. Because his Familiacked Adventurers, their actual wealth wasnt that great because they spent the majority of their earnings on more materials. A debt of 1BV was far more than he would be able to manage and it would inevitably result in the majority, if not all, of his Familia members leaving to avoid being involved with the debt. Even if he didnt disband them, he would inevitably be left to pay the debt alone unless he left the CIty and tried his luck in another country. The atmosphere had turned very tense until Ouranos turned his eyes to the congregation and said in a thundering tone, "I have personally witnessed the capabilities of Vahn Mason and had the honor of wielding a weapon he had forged. Hephaestuss marriage to him is well within her rights and it not a vition of her vow ounting for the fact that he has obtained the rank of [Master Smith]. This is a feat that has never been seen throughout history and will be taken into consideration for his future alias. The Guild will also issue a public announcement of Vahns aplishment in order to inspire future generations of cksmiths the world over...Hephaestus!" Though she had already been looking toward him, Hephaestus answered when her name was called, "Hephaestus is present!" Ouranos showed a very rare smile on his face as he said in a low tone, "The fact you are willing to go so far as making an Eternal Vow for the boy is a testament to the bond you share. I wish you the best of luck in the future and would like an invitation to the wedding if you have any to spare." Ouranoss words caused a small stir in the assembly as Hephaestus smiled radiantly and said, "It was intended to be a private affair, but Im certain everyone would be honored by the presence of your esteemed self." Ouranoss smile widened marginally before his face hardened and he turned toward Ganesha and said, "Continue the discussion concerning the uing Monster Feria. Im sure if its rted to that boy it would be an interesting event that would be talked about throughout the entire City." Hearing Ouranoss words, Ganeshaughed heartily before turning to Hephaestus and asking, "What did you have in mind, my friend!?" Hephaestus nodded her head with a smile and said, "An exhibition of Vahns tamed monsters to disy their capabilities to everyone throughout the City. To prevent people from panicking during a state of emergency, wed like them to see Fafnirs, the dragons, capabilities and expose his presence to themoners. As it is a key part of Vahns strength, it is unfair that he has to keep it hidden at all times to prevent amotion." Ganesha nodded his head before asking, "Exactly how big is this dragon that it would cause such a stir?" Hephaestus blinked in a confused state because she didnt actually know how big Fafnir was. Fortunately, Hestia was in attendance and shouted out a number that surprised the entire congregation, "Fafnir is slightlyrger than 17m from tip to tail~! He is an adorable little dragon and deserves to fly around the City instead of being cooped up all day!" Though he was surprised at first, Ganesha ced his hands on his h.i.p.s and began tough boisterously toward the ceiling before saying, "As long as the Alliance is willing to provide security for the event, Ill make sure Vahn gets a slot to disy his prowess to the entire City! Well, what say you, Hephaestus?" Before she answered, Hephaestus looked over at Loki and saw her nod before turning her sights to the rest of the members of the Alliance. This was to show that she took into consideration the opinions of everyone within the Alliance since they intended to recruit more people in the future. After everyone agreed, Hephaestus turned toward Ganesha and bowed slightly as she said, "Thank you, Ganesha, you have our word. The Alliance will help provide security for the entire event aspensation for allowing Vahn to participate." Hearing her words, Ganesha leaned back nearly thirty degrees and shouted, "Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanesha! This will be the best Monster Feria in the history of the City! I wonder how many more records that husband of yours will set before he is satisfied!? Grrrrahahahahahahahahaha~!" Unexpectedly, Loki decided to answer Ganeshas rhetorical question as sheughed mischievously and said, "Every time he helps a goddess get pregnant, he is setting a new record that will never be broken by anyone else~!" Her words caused a stir, primarily amongst the goddesses who began to talk amongst themselves with excited and anticipatory looks in their eyes. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gaaaaaneeeshaaa!, I Object! : I Dere War!,Fafnir gets a chance in the spotlight, literally~?) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 358 - Seeing Double

Chapter 358 - Seeing Double

The first day in the Dungeon concluded much earlier than Vahn had expected, and it wasnt without a fair amount of trouble. He had tried to help Haruhime recover her mana by channeling his energy into her abdomen, but the moment she had enough mana to support her Innate skill she would immediately start to transform. Vahn was able to tell exactly when the skill activated since her aura would always turn from a rosy pink into a passionate red with the strange golden aura that would extend its tendrils toward him in an almost possessive manner. Though her expression wouldnt change much, Vahn noticed that Haruhime would show a slightly enamored look deep within her eyes the moment the red markings appeared. He decided to just have her go to sleep early in order to naturally recover her energy while helping recharge her essories in the process. When sheid down, Haruhime didnt immediately fall asleep and Vahn could hear her humming the same strange tune as earlier while he was replenishing the energy within her essories. Though he wasnt looking directly at her, Vahn was aware of everything Haruhime was doing and he could feel her gaze on his back for several minutes as she continued humming. With his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn could feel the domain of Haruhime extending outwards for about nine meters and he felt like all of the mana contained within had taken on an illusory nature. Eventually, he finished recharging the essories before turning around to see Haruhime supporting her head with both hands as she watched him with a yful smile on her face. Her tail continued to sway about behind her until she rolled over onto her back and asked while staring at him upside down, "Vaaahn, do you want to rest with me~?" Vahn looked at her for a few seconds before sighing and tossing over the various essories in his hands. Haruhime startled as she spun around on the bed and grasped all the essories before they could touch the ground. She released a relieved sigh before happily wearing them in the blink of an eye. After she had returned them to their rightful ces, Haruhime plopped down onto the futon and fluttered her pale-gold eyes toward Vahn until he said firmly, "Haruhime, go to sleep. Staying awake longer is only going to dy things and that isnt the reason why we came into the Dungeon." Hearing his words, Haruhimes curved ears drooped downwards before she rolled up under the nkets and popped out her head onest time and asked with a pitiable expression, "Are you sure? I think I would sleep even better if we were together..." Shaking his head, Vahns expression turned softer and he said, "Youre being influenced too much by your own ability right now. Until you learn to control it, its too dangerous for us to interact closely. Dont get me wrong, Haruhime, your power isnt the issue here, it is yourck of control that is the problem. I will do my best to help you understand your power, but the only surefire way is to limate your body to its use. When youre able to keep your skill active without it influencing your mind, I dont mind giving you an appropriate reward." Though it looked like she was going to pout for a moment, Haruhimes expression turned into a smile before she snuggled up into her futon and whispered in a sultry voice, "Ill work even harder...make sure you think of my reward properly, Vaaaahn~." From within the darkness of the futon, Vahn could see Haruhimes pale-golden eyes staring at him with a subtle glow present in their depths. --- The second day in the dungeon was rtively uneventful except for the fact that Haruhime had to take a long break after traversing each floor. Though the eleventh floor had been her temporary limit, she had made her way down to the 14th by the time the afternoon hade around. Her total monster count was 403, and there was slightly more than half the time remaining before they were supposed to return. Of course, they could stay longer and let Haruhime hunt even more monsters to guarantee things, as it didnt really restrict the person to attempting the feat a single time. When Familias trained their members to acquire the skill, they usually stayed in the dungeon for an entire week and generally followed an established route that was well-doc.u.mented by veteran members within the Familia. Vahn had noticed that Haruhimes power made her a capable fighter since the majority of monsters didnt seem to be able to see through her illusions at all. Her dance had be increasinglyplex over time and Vahn felt like she was already fighting at the capabilities of a Level 2 even though she hadnt leveled up yet. When they returned to the surface, Vahn wanted to see how she would fair against Mikoto since they wouldnt be that far apart in actual parameters. Unless she managed to catch Haruhime with her gravity magic, Vahn didnt think Mikoto would actually be able to win against the somewhat broken Innate skill of Haruhime. However, though her use of the skill was improving, her control seemed to be slipping further and further. After a somewhat difficult fight where she had in a group of twelve Hellhounds, Haruhime actually looked over toward where he was hiding before walking over in a slow manner with an elegant smile on her face. Vahn was certain he hadnt done anything to alert her to his presence and he could tell that his [Stealth] hadnt actually been broken even though she seemed to understand his location. Without calling out to him, Haruhime stopped a few meters away from his hiding spot before looking around with a blushing face as if confirming no one was present. She released a relieved sigh before squatting down after pulling down the ck spat-like shorts she was wearing. Vahn immediately turned his attention away from her as he listened to the trickle of fluids colliding with the Dungeon floor... After around a minute, Vahn heard the rustling of clothes as Haruhime slowly made her way further into the dungeon without looking over at his location again. Though it could have been a coincidence, Vahn had seen the smile on Haruhimes face before she walked over and knew she had somehow detected his presence even without actually locating him. It was a strangely disconcerting thought since Vahn was confident he could avoid almost all forms of detection, both physical and magical. He was even able to avoid Mikotos detection spell and could hide right under the nose of a Juggernaut...yet he couldnt avoid the senses of a Level 1 Renard girl? Once Haruhime had left the room, Vahn walked out from behind his hiding spot and stared at the damp puddle on the ground that had a small amount of steam rising up from it. He released a sigh before shaking his head and following along behind Haruhime while maintaining an increased distance from her to avoid further detection. However, though he maintained increased caution, Vahn was able to tell that Haruhime was somehow able to sense him now even though he remained hidden. She kept sneaking nces in his direction and seemed to be controlling her movements as if she were trying to show off to him. Since he had done something simr in the past, Vahn was easily able to see through her little act. The final straw had been when she identally stepped to short when evading an attack and a Hellhounds razor sharp teeth had caught onto the interior fold of her kimono and tore the entire thing open. Though she was still wearing the ck undergarment to protect her modesty, Haruhime continued the remainder of the fight facing toward Vahn and he could see a light blush on her face the entire time. When all of the monsters were killed, Haruhime released a relieved sigh before cing her hand over her heart by means of grabbing her own b.r.e.a.s.t. After a few minutes of calming down, she walked over before staring at a magic core and turning her back toward Vahn and bending over at the waist instead of bending down to pick it up. Because of her tail, the red kimono Haruhime was wearing slid up her body and Vahn got a full view of her ck spats several times as she repeated the action to pick up the remaining magic cores. Vahn released a sigh before stepping into the light and removing his cloak as he asked, "How are you able to detect my presence?" Haruhime startled as she jumped up and tried her best to resume an elegant demeanor before saying, "Ah, greetings, Vahn. Im not sure what you mean though~?" Seeing Vahn frown, Haruhime stuck out her tongue yfully and said, "Tehehe, Im just kidding~! I dont know how Im able to do it either, its just like I can feel you nearby. Even if I cant see, hear, or smell you, Im able to roughly understand your location!" After her small outburst, Haruhime suddenly turned bashful as she rubbed her thighs together and asked, "Did...you see it~?" For a very brief moment, Vahn was confused about her question until he averted his eyes and said, "No, I turned my head away...I could hear it though. Haruhime...you shouldnt be doing things like that." Haruhimes ears twitched at his words before she said in a low tone with her upturned eyes, "But, I want you to see my everything...even if were not doing anything together, I see want you to watch me. Just knowing youre the one watching gives me strength and courage...so dont turn away, Vahn..." As she spoke, Haruhime traced her hands up to her obi and began to loosen it even though they were still in the middle of a room where monsters could spawn at any time. As if she understood his concerns, Haruhime giggled before saying, "Even if I have to fight n.a.k.e.d, Ill be able to defeat monsters of this level easily~." Though she didnt quite get n.a.k.e.d, Haruhime striped down until she was wearing nothing but her ck, semi-transparent, top and the ck spats-like shorts. She still had on her actual armor, but it was a strange sight to see a half-n.a.k.e.d girl standing in the low light of the dungeon. After standing for a few seconds, Haruhime tilted her head and asked with a smile on her face, "Are you going to give me a change of clothes, or did you want me to dance for you~?" Without waiting for his answer, Haruhime took a step forward in a strange pattern that traced an s along the ground as her h.i.p.s swayed about gracefully with her tail following the motion. Vahn immediately snapped out of his temporary daze before pulling out a new kimono that matched the damaged one Haruhime had removed. She caught the tossed clothing with her hands beforeughing in a mischevious manner and saying, "Maybe next time then~?" As she got dressed, Haruhime took about three times the normal amount of time it took to wear her kimono. Throughout the entire process, she continued to bend her body at different angles as if trying to make sure that Vahn could see everything properly. Once Haruhime andpleted getting dressed, she turned back to Vahn and showed a gentle smile on her face as she said, "Thanks for watching, Vahn. Sorry for being a little selfish this time around...I just wanted to tease you a bit. I dont understand it myself, but getting a small rise out of you makes me feel happy. Ill try to be a bit more serious from now on, so please continue to watch over me as I do my best to catch up to you." After speaking, Haruhime bowed in a very prim and proper manner before the pale-gold in her eyes began to turn slightly green. Vahn raised his brow at the sight before a small smile appeared on his face and he said, "Sure, your dance is captivating from far away, so I imagine itll be even better up close. Since I cant really hide from you, Ill just stand off to the side and watch your performance until the end. Show me how far you can go Haruhime, I wont run ahead too quickly so take your time trying to catch up." Haruhimes gentle smile blossomed into a lovely expression before she released a somewhat sad sigh and said, "I wish moments like this couldst forever...just the two of us spending time together. Its almost like Im stuck inside a dream and the happy feelings keep spreading through my body ceaselessly...I dont really want to wake up anymore." Haruhime turned her head up toward the ceiling and continued, "I will be even stronger, Vahn...strong enough that, no matter how far you run, how fast you fly, or how deep you go, I will be able to stand at your side proudly." Turning back to Vahn, Haruhime had a soft expression on her face as she said, "Please always keep a spot open for me..." Though she might have expected him to hesitate, Vahn had long ago decided to ept Haruhime in the future after she increased her own strength. He knew she would probably grow attached to him after he had saved her since he had seen how rapidly her affection developed after he carried her for the first time. Haruhime was not only incredibly gifted but extremely beautiful as well; Vahn simply didnt have it in him to turn her away after everything that happened. He considered every person he saved a part of his responsibility, so he wouldnt simply leave Haruhime to someone else since she had chosen to follow him. With a happy smile on his face, Vahn reached out and stroked Haruhimes head lovingly as he said, "Thank you, Haruhime, for doing so much for me...no matter what, there will always be a ce for you at my side. Im actually looking forward to the day you step forward to im it..." Hearing Vahns words, Haruhime tilted her head up with a bright smile on her face and said in a cheerful tone, "I wont keep you waiting long~! Youre not the only one looking forward to it, fufufufu~!" As herughter sounded, Haruhimes eyes turned a vibrant gold color as a wispy blue light shone from behind her. Vahn had noticed it first, but it wasnt long before Haruhime turned her head and watched her own tail begin to fray from the tip. She panicked for a moment since such a thing had never urred before in the past. Her tail had always been one of the things she prided herself on and Haruhime couldnt even imagine what she would do if something strange happened to it. However, regardless of her will, Haruhimes tail continued to fray until it eventually started to split in a strange manner. After a few tense seconds had passed, her singr tail had now turned into two different tails that now jutted out from her bottom. Even though it had happened to her own body, Haruhime couldnt understand what was going on until she tried to move both tails simultaneously. She realized that, just like she could easily move her first tail, Haruhime had just as much control over the second one. Even though it didnt make sense to her why this was the case, she felt very happy at the realization as she turned her attention to the surprised Vahn and reached both tails around her body and rubbed them against him. He blinked before looking down at the two appendages before Haruhime whispered, "Now youll have to spend twice as long brushing my tails, Im looking forward to it~!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Haruhimes Exhibition,Rapid Growth In Both Power and Emotions,Touch Fluffy Tail(s)) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 359 - Tempo

Chapter 359 - Tempo

After Haruhimes tail suddenly split into two, Vahn used his [Eyes of Truth] to investigate as he was very curious about their nature. Haruhime had noticed the change in his eyes before turning around obediently so Vahn could get a better look. With a somewhat wry smile on his face, Vahn observed Haruhimes lower back and noticed several things, some expected, some not so much. The connecting vertebrae for Haruhimes tail had split into a Y-shape, and Vahn noticed that, whenever Haruhime moved it, the bone seemed somewhat flexible in nature and it was a very strange sight to see. As for one of the unexpected things, Vahn could see that Haruhimes tails both had the same illusory blue color trailing them and he suspected this was the sign they would split in the future. For the moment, the coloration was very light instead of the prominent, rich, blue coloration of the previous phantom tail. While he was observing the tails, Vahn noticed they swayed about in a strange pattern for a brief moment and, by the time he realized something had happened, Haruhime was turned around facing him while asking, "Is everything okay, Vahn~?" Because she had previously had her back to him, Vahn was surprised that Haruhime was now facing toward him while staring up with her pale-golden eyes with a hint of concern contained within. Shaking his head, Vahn used [Will of the Emperor] before exining, "Its fine, Haruhime, but it seems like your tails have some kind of hypnotic effect that creates a gap in the awareness of others. You should have noticed it earlier when you were fighting, but the monsters would always attack your previous locations instead of where your actual body is." Haruhime tilted her head to the side for a moment in confusion before nodding and saying, "I didnt notice it too much, but I believe youre correct, Vahn. All I was doing was following the tempo of the monsters and moving slightly faster than they were. From what I can tell, they cant move beyond their own tempo, so as long as I keep the rhythm they cant touch me...well, that is unless they stop trying to hit me and go crazy." Hearing the way Haruhime described it, Vahn was somewhat curious and asked, "Do you want to spar with me for a moment? Im curious about how that tempo youre mentioning works..." For a brief moment, Haruhime seemed to consider Vahns words before eventually shaking her head and saying, "Even if its just sparring, I dont want to ever fight you, Vahn. Im sorry, please forgive me..." As she spoke, Haruhime bowed very low in an apologetic fashion that made Vahn feel slightly ufortable so he said, "No, its fine...when we get to the surface, Ill have you spar with Mikoto and the others though." Haruhime raised her head with a smile and said, "Of course, Ill do my best~!" Vahn wanted to remark about why she was so eager to fight the other girls, but he decided against it before they both wandered deeper into the depths of the Dungeon. Since Haruhime had cleared the 14th floor with rtive ease, she was now going to be facing one of the most dangerous monsters in the upper floor, even for those that have reached the early stages of Level 2, the notorious Minotaurs... --- Vahn was watching Haruhime deal with her twentieth Minotaur and he couldnt help but release a short sigh because the ugly bull monsters had let him down yet again. Even when he fought them in the past, he couldnt help but feel like they were actually much weaker than rumored. Because of his training with Tsubaki, bipedal creatures were simply easier to deal with than almost any other type of monster. Though they had incredible strength, their agility wasnt impressive to the point where it was a major threat to experienced fighters. Their biggest weakness, however, was the fact that they were rather dumb and typically just iled their arms about trying to smash things. Since Haruhimes skill allowed her to exploit the gaps in someones thoughts, the Minotaurs just kept smashing random areas long after she had moved away. With the added benefit of a powerful sword, Haruhime had absolutely no trouble dealing with small groups of Minotaurs at all. Now that he was no longer hiding, Haruhime spent the majority of the time walking at his side as if they were enjoying a date. She had a happy smile on her face and let Vahn lead her around in order to more efficiently locate monsters. They didnt talk too much, but Haruhime would often wrap her dexterous tail around his wrist while maintaining acent smile on her face. If not for the fact that her ears were twitching about from various sounds, Vahn would have lightly reprimanded her for not paying attention. Though he was leading the way, Haruhime would release his arm long before they arrived near the monsters and spend a few seconds thinking about the best way to engage them before walking out. This showed that she wasnt simply ying around, but was also keeping her senses trained on her surroundings and treating the matter, at least a little, seriously. This time around, Haruhime was facing a group of eight Minotaurs, three more than any other group she had faced. To add to the difficulty, one of the Minotaurs actually had arge greatsword covering in nicks and scratches that was also missing the tip. Vahn was wondering how she would deal with it, but before Haruhime got anywhere near the Minotaurs she simply called out in a sing-song tone, "Piercing Chill, Icicle Edge~!" However, instead of the singr ice spear, this time there were two that appeared at Haruhimes nks that both shot toward the Minotaur wielding the sword. It tried its best to cut them out of the air, but the second one managed to slip through and impale it in the ribs with enough force that the tip of the spear jutted out from the back of its body. As it had been on the side where its heart would have been located, the Minotaur quickly s.u.mbed to its wound before copsing to the ground without ever getting a chance to use its sword. Seemingly happy about the change in her magic, Haruhimeughed in a dulcet tone before calling out, "Piercing Chill, Icicle Edge~!", "Piercing Chill, Icicle Edge~!", "Piercing Chill, Icicle Edge~!" as she began raining down ice spears on the poor Minotaurs that were trying to rush at her. Vahn was worried about her mana consumption, but he noticed she was using the equipment he had forged for her instead of her own reserves. He also noticed that every time Haruhime was saying her short chant, the illusory blue of her tails would sparkle for a brief moment just as she finished the chant. Just like her [Kokonoe], her extra tails seemed to be able to simulcast the spell she was using without the need for an extra chant. If this remained the case as her tails grew in number, it was theoretically possible that Haruhime would be able to cast nine spells with a single chant in the future... For the rest of the day, Vahn told his spections to Haruhime and they both worked hard in order to learn the best use for her skill. Knowing that she would one day be able to grow even more tails, Haruhime was very excited to learn more magic in order to make better use of her gift. As a Renard, she was very aware that her rare skill was named after their patron goddess, so she felt especially motivated to master it in the future. There was also the fact that, if she could grow nine tails, the time she would be able to spend with Vahn would increase a great deal whenever she could convince him to brush them. Since they were very soft to the touch, Vahn didnt really mind helping girls like Fenrir and Haruhime brush their tails as he felt like it was a very ther.a.p.eutic thing for his mind. By the time they decided to rest, it was nearly 9 PM and Haruhime had in a total of 744 monsters. Though he was worried about it initially, it seemed like Haruhime would easily be able to reach the required 1,000 now that he had started to track down the monsters for her. He felt that her pace was slow in the past, but now that her Innate skill had awakened Haruhime was able to dispatch groups of enemies without much difficulty. Even though he had a number of powerful Innates at his disposal, Vahn couldnt help but feel like Haruhimes was a bit of a cheat. Monsters were simple-minded creatures, often incapable ofplex thought, so they had no resistance at all against her skill. There was something a bit sad when watching monsters attack nothing over and over again for several hours, but at least he was able to see Haruhimes dance being polished in the process. One thing to note was, Haruhimes control over the skill had, at the very least, stabilized a bit and she was no longer acting as untoward as she had previously. She was still overly affectionatepared to her past self but seemed to be behaving better after he resisted her advances over and over again. Perhaps it was because she didnt want to offend him, but Haruhime began behaving in a more reserved and elegant fashion in order to get closer to Vahn without putting him off because of her behavior. The only problem was, Vahn had the ability to see auras and her act wasnt very effective when her aura was coiling around him like it was trying to fuse with his body. However, Vahn didnt simply turn her away since she was making an effort to control her power so he meticulously brushed her long hair and tails before updating her Status Board now that the day hade to an end. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Sanjouno Haruhime Race: Renard LV. 1(+) POW: G222->F318 END: F371->E444 DEX: E419->E483 AGI: E448->C607 MAG: S929->SSS1218 Skill: [Inari:Innate(H)->(F)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Heroic Strike:G],[Featherfoot:D->C] Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B],[Kokonoe:C],[Icicle Edge:F->E] Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:C->B], [Mage(sealed)] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Because her Innate seemed to be tied to her Magic parameter, Haruhimes growth had broken the limit and exceeded the S-Rank in parameter growth, which was the limit for the majority of people. All of her mobility parameters and skills were increasing rapidly as well and Haruhime was very quickly proceeding down a somewhat rare path where she was focused on both mobility and magic. Though she didnt have [Concurrent Chanting], she may not even need it now since her Innate seemed to be able to allow her to chant withing needing the skill at all. As long as she followed the tempo, Haruhime was able to continue chanting without having to stop her dance at all. As a test, Vahn tried to get her to do it in a normal state and, from this experiment, he was able to confirm his spection that it was another benefit of her Innate. It seemed as though Innates named after gods and goddesses were a great deal stronger than normal, especially if the person using the ability had a good understanding of the traits associated with the god in question. Since Inari was the patron goddess of the Renard people, Haruhime knew a great deal about her since she was the daughter of a noble family. Ironically, the reason for her exile from the n was because of a shrine offering she was used of eating which had been intended as a tribute to Inari herself. Vahn wondered if the two had some kind of interconnected fate and if he would be able to see the purportedly beautiful Renard goddess in the future. (A/N: Innately Dangerous,Dance Dance Haruhimes Evolution~,The Whims of Fate) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 360 - Alias

Chapter 360 - Alias

The final day of the Denatus was far moreid back than the previous two days and, after spending the morning in the discussion, the godly assembly had moved on to the final topic and has started to assign aliases. Since gods were typically very gossipy and liked to fool around they quite enjoyed assigning aliases to Adventurers and often chose things that werent always that appropriate in order to tease them and encourage them to work harder. The exceptions were in the cases of Adventurers that had noteworthy achievements, had set records, or were from powerful Familia and had their gods backing to get a normal name. A good example of this was Finn, from the Loki Familia, who had joined only after having Loki vow to ensure his alias became Braver so he could assume the mantle of the Pallums hero. As he was a hot topic right now, Vahn had actually been the first person brought up when it came to the discussion of aliases. Since he belonged to the Hestia Familia, she had been given an opportunity to pitch a name before the floor was opened for discussion and voting. Hestia had already discussed the matter with the other goddesses, so when she was put on the spot she stood up proudly and said, "I put forth the name Aldrnari as Vahns alias. Vahns affinity with fire is incredibly high and he can also be easily associated with someone that nourishes life after the efforts he has put into resolving the issues with infertility in the various races. It also ties him to his [Master Smith] skill, since it isnt incorrect to say he breathes life into his creations as well." Shortly after Hestias words finished, there was a great deal of support for the name from the majority of goddesses present. Although it was almost a confirmed matter, the topic was still open to discussion for the sake of formality and several gods tried assigning somewhat derogatory names to Vahn but they were all shot down quickly. Though they were just trying to be snide, they had very quickly been marked by Hephaestus, Loki, and Freya as problems that needed to be dealt with in the future. Even though they expected some bacsh from Vahns exploits, it was still very annoying to see rtively obscure, weak, and arrogant gods making trouble when Vahn clearly had far more support behind his back than they could afford to offend. Unfortunately, it was the nature of many gods to act without consideration for consequence and now they would have to pay the price. Ouranos had seen this as well, but he had decided not to take sides on the matter and allow the Alliance to remove some of his future problems for him. After Vahns alias became Aldrnari, it was decided that the other members of the Hestia Familia would receive aliases as well, since they had lost their previous ones after changing Familia. Ryuu was still a fugitive under her original identity, but that wasnt known amongst the godlymunity and her new alias became Zephyr after a bit of discussion regarding her capabilities. As for Aki, she got a rather unfortunate alias as Wandering Cat because she had left the Loki Familia very recently. There wasnt much known about Mikoto, so she received the alias Earnest de after the gods learned of her personality. In the case of Fenrir, even though she was technically a monster, this was a rtively well-kept secret so they managed to get her the alias Vanargandr after Loki pushed for the name earnestly. Loki had originally wanted to give the name to Bete when he obtained Level 6 because his current alias was actually Fenris, which was very simr to Fenrir. Now, however, she wanted to secure the name for Fenrir because she thought it was far more suitable for the somewhat unruly wolf girl. Once all the members of the Hestia Familia got their titles, there were a few more Adventurers who had been brought up, including Lili who had achieved Level 2 not long ago. She had yet to awaken her Innate ability, but Hephaestus had learned about it from Vahn and decided to tempt fate a bit by trying to secure her the alias As after discussing Lilis rtively rare skill [Artel Assist]. Unfortunately, the name was considered too impactful for someone that didnt have any achievements as an Adventurer. Instead, since she had been a support for so long, it was eventually decided that her alias would be Super Supporter since she had the ability to carry ridiculous loads. Hephaestus tried to take a stance on Lilis behalf, but Ouranos eventually dismissed her attempt and told her to encourage Lili to try harder to earn the alias herself if she wanted it. Regardless of how strong Lili became, it would only breed discourse and cause people toin unless she proved herself worthy of such an alias. The banquet discussing aliasessted for nearly two hours before every Adventurer that had recently leveled up received an alias of their own. When the godly congregation was finally dismissed, arge number of goddesses gathered around the members of the Alliance and began trying to arrange meetings or to try and get their names added to the nonexistent list they assumed would be going around. Loki took charge to reign in the wild goddesses and exined that the procedure wasnt easy to perform and required a number of resources and time to set up. They also needed to screen each goddess privately and have them take their vows if they wanted to move forward and have a child of their own. As for the few that wanted to have Vahns children specifically, that was another matter entirely and many of them had been set aside for the time being after pointing out the fact that Vahn was about to marry Hephaestus after New Years arrived. As for the list, there actually was one going to be created but it wasnt any of the new goddesses that were ced at the top. Freya had secured the spot for herself in order to strengthen the bond of the Tripartite Cooperative and had intended to choose one of her children as the father, with the candidate at the top of the list being Ottar. It was a well-kept secret, but Ottar was actually a partial demigod with a blood purity of 25%. His father had been a demigod born between the union of a god and a human woman while his mother had been a Boaz p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e that had coincidentally gotten pregnant after several sessions of lovemaking between the two. Freya had learned of Ottars birth and secured him early on in order to nurture him into being the ultimate warrior. With her care, he had grown to be one of the most powerful Adventurers in the entire world and currently holds the alias The King after reaching Level 7. Though he likely had several decades left to be even stronger, Freya wanted him to devote some of that time to raising their child in order to be his sessor in the future. The child born of their union would also be a demigod, but the purity of their blood would be 62.5%, much higher than Ottars own purity. --- After finally breaking free from the horde of goddesses, Hestia left Babel tower with Hephaestus, Loki, and Anubis as they made their way toward the Hearth Manor with an escort by the Loki Familia who had been prepared to receive them. Along the way, the goddesses talked about various matters that needed to be dealt with in the future including the procural of thend around the Hearth Manor for the Alliance. They had already purchased the majority of the surrounding properties, but they were now talking about building various residential houses and facilities before turning the entire area into the headquarters for the Alliance. With the Hearth Manor as the core, each core member of the Alliance would have a Manor of their own surrounding the area and it would be a central hub for their future cooperation. This would prevent any other Familia or organization from treading into the territory and would allow them to greatly enhance the overall security of the region just like things had been arranged for the Hephaestus Familia workshops in the past. With Eina as the liaison, there was even going to be a private Guild branch established within the Hearth Manor itself to serve as a direct line ofmunication between the Alliance and the Guild. Since theirbined might was inarguably the greatest within the City, there was a very high chance they would be the first to be contacted in the event of an emergency. The goddesses didnt mind this too much as it would give them leverage to use against the Guild for any future projects they want to bring forth. It also increased the reputation of the Alliance while having the dual purpose of expanding their authority and protecting the Hestia Familia at the core. Though it hadnt been discussed with Vahn yet, there was even a move to have the Hostess of Fertility itself relocated to the area since they would be able to receive the patronage of the literal thousands of members within the Alliance that would be staying nearby. With Freya consenting to the idea, Mama Mia had no reason to refuse the move and didnt oppose it since all the girls within the pub were already taken by Vahn and it might cause problems in the future if they were split up. There was also a very high chance that many, if not all of the girls, excluding Syr, would end up joining the Hestia Familia in the future. As for the new location, they had already started construction on the new Hostess of Fertility almost directly across from the main gate of the Hearth Manor so that it would be easily essible by those heading there in the future. --- As for the source of Mama Mias headache himself, Vahn was just beginning to leave the Dungeon after Haruhime sessfullypleted hunting one-thousand monsters consecutively without assistance. Even after she had cleared the required amount, Haruhime wanted to stay inside with Vahn and spend some extra time together until the early afternoon had approached and they enjoyed a light lunch. By the time they had left, Haruhime had cleared all the way to Rivira on her own, even though she was still only Level 1. It wasnt that she wasnt prepared to be Level 2, as her parameters had all increased greatly in the short three days they were inside, it was just that Vahn wanted Hestia to be the one to perform the final ceremony. She had never helped someone level up before and Vahn was somewhat worried that he would invalidate her purpose as the goddess of the Familia if he became the one responsible for training and updating everyones blessings. There was also the fear that, like himself, he wouldnt be able to allow the girls to pick the Development Abilities when they leveled up. The trip back to the surface didnt take long, as the stairs leading up only took about a half hour to walk if you took your time, and it was only around 2 PM by the time Haruhime and Vahn returned to the Hearth Manor. Vahn had noticed an incredible amount of construction crews working in the area and the entire district around his home had be abuzz with various people running about performing their duties. As it was one of the high-end regions of the City, there typically werent many people in the area in the past, but now there were thousands of people going about their business. When he approached the actual gate of the Hearth Manor, there were arge group of people surrounding it and trying to gain ess to the interior but were barred passage by the formation protecting it. Vahn frowned because he could see several grey auras with a few ck ones mixed in with the other rtively warm colors of the group. Though they didnt make up the majority of the crowd, there were a number of people with obviously malicious intentions hiding amongst the rest of the people gathered outside. Unwilling to deal with the situation from the outside, Vahn picked up Haruhime before using Shundo to jump over the wall surrounding the Manor and heading inside. His presence had been noticed by the crowd since the gate was a straight shot to the front door but Vahn just ignored them as he set Haruhime down and walked through the front door. He wasnt going to enter through the back door of his own house just because there were a few people blocking the gates. Soon after he entered inside, Vahn heard the pitter-patter of footsteps before he saw two people he hadnt quite expected to see running toward him with somewhat fervent expressions on their faces. Vahn opened his arms to catch the two girls, oneughing, the other crying before he kneeled down so they could put their feet on the ground as he asked, "Lili, Nanu, what are the two of you doing here? Whats going on outside?" The one to answer his question had been the beautiful and exotic goddess who walked out from the corridor leading to the study as she said in a gentle tone, "Master, everyone is waiting for you in the study. Please bring those two with you...Haruhime, you should take this time to go and get cleaned up." Haruhime observed the beautiful goddess with suspicion before seeing Vahn nod his head so she walked off to the side after bowing politely and excusing herself. Since they were very light, Vahn picked up the two small girls and asked, "Anubis...Im guessing things went well at the Denatus?" while he was investigating the interior of the Manor with his domain. He could tell there were a number of people present and was able to intuit that the restrictions ced on his cooperation with the Alliance had probably been removed. From within the study, Vahn could detect the presence of three other goddesses, likely Hephaestus, Loki, and Hestia, alongside more than a dozen other presences all gathered together. Answering his question, Anubis bowed politely and said, "Yes, Master, everything will be exined by Hephaestus-sama, Loki-sama, and Hestia-sama. Pleasee this way..." Vahn nodded his head before carrying the two girls along with him into the study as Anubis fell into her formerly reserved spot at his left, slightly behind him. Of course, Vahn also recalled the very recent experience where he had taken her for a walk and couldnt help but feel a little fl.u.s.tered before stepping through the threshold of the door and being greeted by a plethora of beautiful girls. Vahn habitually smiled at the site before turning his attention to the small goddess walking over to him with a massive grin on her face. Before anything else was said, Vahns expression turned soft and he said in a gentle tone, "Hestia, Im home." (A/N: Aldrnari roughly trantes to Life-Giving me, or me Which Nourishes Life,RIP Lili,Vahns Domain) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 361 - Twenty-Four

Chapter 361 - Twenty-Four

After exchanging greetings with everyone, Vahn sat down the sofa alongside Hephaestus and Hestia. Nanu had separated from him easily enough, but Lili held on for a few seconds longer before she was inevitably peeled away by Naaza. As for the other girls present, there was Loki, Anubis, Riveria, Syr, Ryuu, andst, but not least, the somewhat youthful looking Tsubaki. Vahn knew there were several other presences inside the Manor, but he hadnt identified them all yet. When things calmed down a bit, Vahn learned about everything that happened at the Denatus from Loki, including the fact that his new alias had been set as Aldrnari. After learning what it meant, Vahn had a happy smile on his face because he thought it was very suitable given everything he had been doingtely. Though hed have liked a cooler nickname, Vahn couldnt help but feel that it was better to have something that sounded good than something that inspired fear in others. Vahn also exined to the group the changes that had urred when he was training with Haruhime which spurred Ryuu and Riveria to go track her down out of curiosity. Ryuu was the closest thing to a mentor that Haruhime had, while Riveria had only arrived to exin in person that an envoy wasing from her country in order to confer Vahn his title and verify the veracity of his aplishments. Now that the probation was formally revoked, Vahn was able to freely move about between the various Alliance headquarters without restriction. This went both ways, of course, and Vahn learned about all the changes that were urring in the district surrounding the Hearth Manor. Though it would take time, there were a total of eight expansions and several other Manors that would be built in the area within the next few months. The renovations Vahn had nned in the past were also being approved and construction was going to begin in the next couple of days. Though the basic structure wouldnt change too much, there were going to be several add-ons to the Manor including a western annex intended to serve as an alchemyb and an extension of the onsen area that would be converted in a private massage parlor and salon for Vahns personal use. The barrier between the mens and womens bath was going to be torn down, but there was going to be a private bath installed in each wing of the Manor for anyone that didnt want to enjoy the munal bath. When Vahn heard this, he frowned slightly and asked, "Is it really a good idea to take down the wall? It doesnt bother me too much, but I dont want to put pressure on any of the girls within the Familia. It would also prevent any guys from join-" Before Vahn could finish, Hestia shook her head and said inly, "Vahn, I understand you might want to have some guys to hang around with, but I have no intention of epting any into the Familia at this point. There are too many girls that are involved with you that will be residing here in the future to let other men walk about freely. Not to mention, in the very near future there will even be several children wandering around..." Seeing Vahns somewhat dejected look, Hephaestusughed before leaning against his shoulder and saying, "Dont worry, one of the things we have being worked on is a clubhouse for your personal use that will be located near the Manor. Itll be a hangout spot for you and the other men that you decide to invite over and itll be a restricted area for all the girls unless there is an emergency. The Miach and Takemikazuchi Familia are going to be moving nearby and there are several boys in the other Familia that you can make friends with. Im also having Welf move his workshop in the area since Ill be building a research division of my Familia nearby. If you find any good guys that you want to recruit, you can always have them join one of the other Familia and still adventure together without any problems." Listening to the exnations of the girls, Vahn understood they were taking his needs into consideration but were also doing their best to protect the women around him and his future children. The only reason he was concerned about the matter of no men joining the Familia is that he had intended to recruit Bell when he came to the City in the future. Vahn felt it was strange that Bell wouldnt be joining the Hestia Familia, but he also understood that there was no real necessity for him to do so either. Bell wouldnt have to start from scratch with anything but gear issued by the Guild, instead, he would be nurtured from the very moment he bes an Adventurer. Since Vahn had inadvertently taken many of the girls that Bell might have gotten involved with, it might be better that he got a fresh start in another Familia this time around. After ruminating over the matter for a bit, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Okay, I can agree to that...however, I want the clubhouse to be bigger than normal and have workshops attached to it. If possible, Id like it to be located next to the research facility of the Hephaestus Familia and Welfs workshop since I n to help him out with his research on magic weapons in the future." Hephaestus nodded her head and said in a low tone while hugging Vahns body, "Sure, that sounds like a wonderful idea..." Vahn noticed that Hephaestus was behaving somewhat strangely and instinctively activated his [Eyes of Truth] and turned his attention to her stomach. Seeing the change in his eyes, Hephaestus began tough before poking Vahns cheek and saying, "Dont worry, Ive been told its normal to feel a little sick after about two weeks of pregnancy. You should have seen me this morning...hahaha." Vahn nodded his head but still decided to rub Hephaestuss back while using his [Hands of Nirvana] to help calm the bout of nausea she was having. Loki saw their interaction andughed in a mischevious manner before saying, "Oh, Ill make sure you rub my back when I get sick as well~. After you knocked me up, its the least you can do, shishishishi~!" Vahn shook his head while rolling his eyes before saying, "Sure thing, Loki, just call me whenever you need me. I need to be checking up on the two of you periodically anyways to ensure nothing goes wrong." Lokiughed at his words before standing up and saying in a teasing manner before plopping down on hisp, "How reliable~." Vahn suddenly felt a little nervous as Loki moved his hand to her belly because he could feel the aura of Hestia ring up to his left. The atmosphere was suddenly turning a bit awkward since he had one goddess sitting in hisp, one goddess raging on his left, and another goddess leaning against his shoulder on the right. There were several other people present, and they hadnt even finished their discussion from earlier. Almost at the exact moment he had reached the breaking point, Loki stood up from hisp andughed mischievously before sending a nce at Hestia and some of the other girls before saying, "Regarding the matters of pregnancy, children, and all that fun stuff...well, that was a big point of contention at the Denatus this time around. We managed to get the support of arge number of goddesses, but there are several gods that are somewhat pissed off. Im sure you saw the crowd of people outside~? Well, those are the Children of various Familia and theyre probably here representing their gods. Even though we tried to set up a system to prevent people from trying to hassle you directly, there are bound to be a few that ignore the rules. Just ignore them for the time being and well sort it out over time." Vahn nodded his head as he loosely embraced Hestia who had taken Lokis spot on hisp and asked, "They arent going to endanger the people I care about, are they?" Feeling the subtle pressure emitting from Vahn, Loki began tough before saying, "As I said, you dont have to worry about that for the time being. We already informed everyone important that itd be at least a month before you can perform the ceremony again. Also, there are a few goddesses that have booked your help and, though you have the right to refuse, they would be very helpful in supporting the Alliance in the future." Seeing that Vahns look change from a serious one to a slightly inhibited one, Loki continued, "Dont worry, though there are a number of goddesses that might want to try and pursue you, weve pretty much shut down the majority of them...however..." Loki looked over toward Hephaestus and they both sighed at the same time. Before Vahn could ask, Hephaestus began exining from where Loki left off, "The goddess at the top of the list is one of the more troublesome ones, but she is also one of the most influential and powerful supporters we can have...its Freya. We have prevented her from doing anything to endanger you, or those around you, but she will undoubtedly try to approach you in order to bear your child in the future. However, for the time being, weve managed to reign her in and she had instead decided to bear the child of someone else..." Vahns brows furrowed for a moment as he considered the matter. He knew he didnt need to be the one to do the impregnation, but he felt slightly awkward when it came to helping Freya get i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed by another person. Even though he had never met her, Vahn knew what type of person she was and how dangerous she could be if allowed to do as she pleases. The thought of her having a child of her own to do whatever shed like made him slightly ufortable. Even impregnating her himself seemed to be a more agreeable thing since he would be able to watch over the child after it was born... Loki frowned after seeing Vahns expression change and she said, "Vahn, though it is your right to use your power however you like, it will create problems if you try to bear everything on your own. Though it may not be pleasant, there isnt any practical way to prevent gods and goddesses from acting in ordance with their Divinity. Unless you n to only pick and choose the goddesses you like, there are bound to be children born to them that wont be happy. However, this is the case all over the world, and not just for goddesses. You cant help everyone...please remember that. Besides, Freya wouldnt do anything as long as she hasnt been able to bear one of your children, and we already have strict regtions for what shell be allowed to do when that timees. If youd like, Ill show you the contract we created for her if you want to add anything on to it." Vahn knew Loki was correct, and there were a number of children born every single day that would struggle for the rest of their lives simply due to the situation theyre born into. With Syr present, Vahn recalled the orphans that he was trying to help without directly interfering with their lives as well as the street orphans he had met the other day. He already knew he couldnt help everyone, but it still made him a little upset knowing that there was a high chance a child would be born with his help that may not be happy in the future. While he was lost in thought, Hephaestus had grabbed his right hand and squeezed it tightly as she smiled and said, "Focus on taking care of your own children, Vahn...well all do our best to support you as well, so dont worry too much about things you cant influence. Just do your best and follow the path you want to take, okay?" Hephaestus then leaned over and kissed him gingerly on the lips before pulling away with a gentle smile on her face. Seeing her expression caused Vahn to smile as well before he turned to Loki and said, "Fine, Ill help Freya out...not for her, but for everyone else that I want to protect. As for her having a child of mine, she will always be at the bottom of the list unless she can prove that she would be a capable mother. The thought of my own son or daughter having a half-sibling that is living an unhappy life away from them makes my heart feel a little cold..." Loki nodded her head in a serious manner and said, "Dont worry, once you take a look at the contract youll see that we thought of almost every contingency. Trust in us, Vahn, were not going to let anything bad happen as long as its something preventable." Vahn nodded his head and said in a serious manner, "I know that, together, there is nothing we cant aplish!" --- After discussing a few other important matters, Vahn found out from Syr about the Hostess of Fertility moving right across from the Hearth Manor and that they had actually worked things out with Hestia to use the west wing of the Manor as their new dormitory. Starting a few days from the present, all of the girls from the Hostess of Fertility were going to be moving in since it wouldnt take long for them to refurbish therge residence across from his Manor into a pub. When Vahn asked about what would happen to the old pub that was currently being worked on, Syr told him that it was actually going to stay in business, just that they would be hiring new employees to manage things. Though that had previously been the main branch, there were actually several other Hostess of Fertility branches located in other small Cities and viges like Melen and Rinka. Other than the girls from the Hostess of Fertility, there were several others that were taking the opportunity to move in while things were somewhat chaotic. Naaza and Lili would be moving into the Manor, and had even moved in the majority of their luggage the moment they found out that Vahns probation had been lifted. Nanu wanted to move in as well, but she was going to be staying with the Anubis Familia in their own Manor for the time being. She was the current Captain of the Anubis Familia, so it wouldnt be appropriate for her to suddenly leave just so she could stay with Vahn. Of course, this wouldnt stop her from visiting very often and spending time familiarizing herself with the other girls surrounding Vahn. The biggest impact Vahn had received was when he found out that the girls from the Loki Familia were also nning to move in while Loki herself had arranged to have the northern wall broken down so it can connect with the Manor she had purchased on the adjacent property. There were several gods and goddesses that didnt live at the Familia Residence, and now Loki was going to be using the Manor as her private home and was remodeling the interior for various recreational purposes she decided to keep hidden for the time being. Though he didnt mind, Vahn asked why the girls were going to be moving in and the answer he received was that it was simply more convenient. Since they were girls associated with Vahn, it would be better for everyone to limate to living together sooner rather thanter. It also allowed him to easy find them for things like designing weapons and armor and also put everyone close to the Dungeon. If it came down to people threatening the Hestia Familia, the greater number of powerful people present, the better. There were simply endless justifications for the move and Vahn had to take a step back after being barraged for a few minutes. With the inclusion of the girls from the Loki Familia, that brought the total number of people that were going to be living in the Hearth Manor to an astounding twenty-four, excluding himself and Hestia. Those that would be staying were Eina, after they married, Ryuu, Aki, Haruhime, Mikoto, Emiru, Maemi, Preasia, Fenrir, Mn, Tina, Shizune, Naaza, Lili, Syr, Chloe, Arnya, Lunoire, Mona, and the girls from the Loki Familia, Tiona, Ais, Tione, Lefiya, and apparently Riveria, who was to be the caretaker of the girls and nned to help Vahns research. Compared to the original members staying within the Manor, their numbers suddenly increased by two-hundred percent. Vahn felt like things were going to be very chaotic, but he was also looking forward to being able to spend more time with the girls without having to traverse half the City. Vahn now understood why it was necessary to tear down the wall in the onsen since there were simply too many people present for him to be the only person taking up half the space. Just imagining taking a bath with more than twenty girls made Vahn feel a little light headed and he considered using the private bath for the foreseeable future. However, no matter how the thought about it, Vahn didnt think he would be allowed to use that bath for too long...well, not that he really minded that much. Even if he didnt n to turn the Familia into a harem Familia, it didnt seem like he really had much choice considering how freely he allowed his affections to influence others. The only thing he could do was resolve himself to act more reservedly and defer to Eina more often when she started living with him in the near future. With her managing things alongside Syr and Hestia, Vahn believed everything would work out...hopefully. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sharing Information,Pregnancy is an important subject,There is no escape now, Vahn-boi~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 362 - Update

Chapter 362 - Update

By the time the discussion hade to an end, it was nearly 5 PM so Loki, Hephaestus, and Anubis had left to arrange things and make preparations for their own move. Nanu spent a short period of time having Vahn pet her before following along obediently. Vahn helped Lili and Naaza settle into their shared room before helping Naaza set up herb in the west wing. While they were at it, Naaza told Vahn about all the breakthroughs she had made in recent days and also talked about how she and Lili had been venturing into the dungeon alongside Nanu, Maat, and Chione. Naaza was still Level 2, but her capabilities had skyrocketed after receiving the [Yis Bow] from Vahn in the past. They were able to easily venture down to the 18th floor without any difficulty whatsoever and had even gone down to the 25th floor on the mock expedition. After everyone was settled, Vahn got to experience bathing with arge number of women before dinner. There were still girls on the womens side, including Haruhime, Mikoto, Maemi, Preasia, Mn, Tina, and Shizune. As for the former mens side, it was Vahn, Hestia, Naaza, Lili, Syr, Fenrir, Ryuu, Aki, and, surprisingly, Riveria. Her reason was simply, If the wall is going toe down soon, youll eventually see my body regardless." Vahn wanted to point out that she could use the private baths, but he decided to keep his opinion to himself since Riveria wasnt the type that easily backed down on the decisions she had made. There was also the fact that, despite being 97 years old, Riveria had a thin and lean figure like the other elves he had seen in the past. Though she looked slightly more mature, there wasnt a big difference between her and Ryuu even though there was nearly an eighty year age gap between them. She had a slim figure, very modest, yet nearly wless, b.r.e.a.s.ts, a tight waist with a fit butt, with a pair of long and slender legs. Her hair was a beautiful, emerald green color and her eyes were a luminant jade that made her expression appear to be very cool and intelligent. Since he hadnt exactly hidden his gaze, Riveria squinted her eyes and said, "I dont mind if you gawk, just dont turn it into a problemter on. It would be more appropriate to consider our rtionship as colleagues that share simr interests. Because of my status, even if you wanted to pursue me I would have to refuse you. It would be better if you paid more attention to the other girls and leave other mattersying." Vahn stared into her jade eyes for a moment before nodding apologetically and saying, "Sorry, Riveria, I just got distracted for a moment since it was a new experience. It wasnt my intent to make you ufortable and I should have taken into consideration your own circ.u.mstances..." Since there were so many girls approaching him, Vahn didnt have a lot of resistance when it came to being exposed to other girls. Though he hadnt considered Riveria amongst those he was interested in, Vahn was still curious about her body since he could tell there was something unique contained within. Since she was a High-Elf, Vahn had a certain degree of intrigue rted to studying her in detail. Riveria released a small sigh as she crossed her arms under her rtively small b.r.e.a.s.ts and said in a in manner, "Curiosity is a healthy trait, especially for someone that has an interest in research. As long as you maintain a sense of propriety, I dont mind allowing you to study my body at your leisure. I understand better than most how important it is to experience something first-hand instead of relying on a book to gain knowledge. My status as royalty puts me in a position where Im duty-bound to assist you in any matters rted to your future research. Until Lefiya bes capable enough to take my ce within the Loki Familia, Ill be staying here to watch over everyone so lets do our best to get along without worrying about formality. I wouldnt be here in the bath if I was going to mind such things after all." After their short dialogue, Vahn ended up being washed by Syr and Aki while helping to wash Hestia, Fenrir, and, since it had been a long time, Naaza and Lili. Though Naaza blushed fiercely, she still had a happy smile on her face as Vahn washed her back. Lili, on the other hand, got a bit carried away and tried to have Vahn her front as well before she ended up being pulled away Aki and Naaza with an aggrieved expression on her face. Vahn had a wry smile on his face before spending a short while rxing and looking over the girls for a bit before bringing the bath to an end. He noticed that Lili and Naaza had developed a little more since he hadst seen them, especially Lili. Her height hadnt much, if at all, but she had a very healthy figure and Vahn could see the subtle lines of muscles in her abdomen and shoulders. As it had been a long time since he had checked, Vahn wanted to view the Status Boards of some of the girls so he could get a better understanding of the current situation. He also asked Hestia to update Haruhimes Status so that she would be able to level up. When the other girls learned that Haruhime had reached the point where she was ready to hit Level 2, they were very surprised since it had only been a few weeks since she started training at all. The most shocked were the veterans like Riveria, Ryuu, and Aki, but Vahn exined how Haruhimes growth was elerated based on his own parameter development through her me seed in conjunction with his Mentors Mark. She had also awakened a rare skill that let her break through the S-Rank parameter limit for magic and Riveria was very enthused about taking her on as a student in the future. When it came time to actually update the statuses, Vahn noticed one of the bigger changes he would have to deal with in the future. Unlike the past, where the girls were somewhat more reserved and cautious about how they acted, now that there were so many women present they seemed topletely overlook the presence of a boy. They acted morefortably around each other and showed a lot fewer reservations as they sat around chatting in a friendly manner in nothing but their bras as they waited for their turn. Vahn didnt mind the sight since it was actually quite nice, but he knew it was just the precursor to future developments. This was probably why the girls had wanted to bar other men from entering the Manor in the future, as it would interfere with the groups cohesion and unity. If they had to constantly be on their guard all the time, it would cause tensions to increase that would potentially drive everyone apart or cause discord within the group. By acting more openly and bonding with each other, they were able to essentially create a sisterhood of sorts while using Vahn as the lynchpin that holds everything together. Vahn knew this was likely the influence of Syr, as everyone seemed to be getting along especially well with her as she guided the conversation and kept things flowing smoothly. There were some unfortunate side-effects of everyone acting more openly however, and Vahn got his first taste of it when Lili started walking aroundpletely topless before sitting in front of him to have her status checked. She acted in a bashful manner and openly tried to flirt with him while overreacting to his touch as he traced his finger down her back. Her sensual m.o.a.n caused the atmosphere in the room to tense up as everyone watched Lili writhe about under his finger. Vahn could feel the vein in his temple twitched as he tranted her status and recorded it onto a sheet to track her growth. (A/N: Though I kept track of Lilis growth in my spreadsheet, Im going to show thest doc.u.mented parameters for her so everyone understands how far she had grown in thest five months. This is one of the few times where Im going to show someones hidden parameters since Hephaestus would have kept track of it and recorded it before allowing Lili to Level up.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Liliruca Arde Race: Pallum LV. 1->2 POW: I91->A887 - I10->F302 END: H107->S941 - I10->E417 DEX: H183->C676 - I10->H123 AGI: G250->D598 - I10->H106 MAG: F353->B811 - I10->G285 Skill: [Artel*Assist:E->C], [As: Innate(sealed)], [Prometheuss Blessing], [Oniyuri:H](new)<--(A/N:Remember, she is Tsubakis Martial Apprentice) Magic: [Cinder*E:C->B] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:G](new) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn was very impressed with Lilis growth and put on a smile as he paid her a few heavypliments while his brow twitched. When she received her status sheet, Lili had turned to him without minding the fact she was topless as she happily overlooked her status and even snuck in a hug after Vahnplimented her. Feeling her plush b.r.e.a.s.ts pressing into his waist made Vahns mind buzz a bit as he passively stroked her head until she eventually pulled away after seeing Akiing over to retrieve her. Vahn noticed there were a few girls that didnt seem to fond of how Lili was acting and decided he needed to exin things to them in the future or it could cause problems. He knew Lili acted somewhat uncouth, but he also understood the reasons for her behavior since he knew about her past. If she acted normally after being treated as a tool for her entire life, Vahn would have found that strange since he himself wasnt quite functional. Without the massive support group around him, Vahn was certain his life would have been filled with far more difficulties. He wanted Lili to open up to others so he decided to have her befriend Mn, Tina, Preasia, Shizune, and Fenrir. Shizune might be the odd one out in the group, but she also had a lot of experience being exploited and should be able to help Lili. After having witnessed it for herself, Riveria wanted to have Vahn update her Status as well as she unabashedly removed her robe. Because she wore a full-body robe, when she removed it she was wearing nothing but light-greence lingerie and Vahn thought it was very suitable for her. Her appearance drew a few wide-eyed looks from some of the girls who hadnt seen her earlier and Vahn couldnt me them as she had an almost unearthly beauty. As a noble High Elf, Riveria was closer to a spirit than a normal elf and it showed due to her unnaturally long ears, unblemished white skin, and perfectly symmetrical appearance. She even wore her hair in a way where you could almost draw a line down her body and both sides would be nearly identical of each other. As she sat down, Vahn drew a line of blood down the long line of her back and the Loki Familia crest appeared. This was ironically Vahns first time seeing Lokis crest and he was a bit surprised that it looked like a clown with its legs crossed, arms open, and a strangely unnerving smile on its face. He decided it wasnt worth worrying about and stared at the massive list of Riverias Status with abject shock on his face. Riveria was the first Level 6 he had ever viewed the Status of and her Skills, Magic, and Development Abilities were all developed to a ridiculous extent. (A/N: Seriously, Riveria is known as Nine Hells, and I feel like I had to pass through ten just to finish her status~! Also, most of Riverias magic dont have their chants listed~!(TT^TT);; I had to make up a few, so bear with me since I have no idea what logic the author used to create them (O,...,O)) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Riveria Ljos Alf Race: High Elf, Spirit(sealed) LV: 6 POW: H188->H189 END: G204 DEX: D520->D522 AGI: E445->E448 MAG: A828-A831 Skill: [Freyrs Blessing:Innate(sealed)], [Concurrent Chanting:B], [Fairy Anthem:A], [Alf Regina:A] Magic: [Wynn Fimbulvetr:A], [Rea Laevateinn:S], [Vas Windheim:A], [Liv Illusio:B], [Veil Breath:A], [Via Shilheim:S], [Fil Eldis:A], [Luna Aldis:A], [Van Alheim:A] Development Ability: [Yggdrasils Roots:Innate(sealed)], [Mage:A], [Treatment:A], [Abnormal Resistance:C], [Spirit Healing:A], [Magic Resistance:A] [Concurrent Chanting] Rank:B Use: Allows the user to chant while moving about even under intense strain. Provides enhanced control over magical energy and prevents bacsh from chant disruption. [Fairy Anthem] Rank:A Use: Increase the effect of all magical spells based on mana used and chant length. [Alf Regina] Rank:A Use: Enhances all magical abilities of elves within the users magic circle. Converts all magical energy of elves within the circle to mana and absorbs it to enhance the efficacy of all magic spells. [Wynn Fimbulvetr] Rank:A Use: Extreme cold Magic that uses Ice and Time elementalws Chant: Harbinger of the end, the white snow. Blow with the wind before the twilight. Closing light, the freezingnd. Blizzard, the three severe winters - my name is Alf [Rea Laevateinn] Rank:S Use: Wide area Annihtion Elemental magic to seeks out enemies and tears their bodies apart in an indefensible tornado of devastation. Chant: The me will soon be released. Creeping war, unavoidable destruction. The horn of battle sounds aloud, the cruelty of conflict will envelop all. Come, crimson mes, the ruthless inferno. You are the avatar of hellfire. Sweeppletely, bring a close to the great war. Burn them through, Sword of Surtr - my name is Alf [Vas Windheim] Rank:A Use: Wide area magic that uses Wind and Space elementalws to create a vacuum that causes instantaneous dpression in enemies and boils their insides. Chant: Lord of the Void, hear my call. Let unto mine enemies the suffering of absence. Soundless cries, endless suffering, rob mine enemies of their very breath. Those that seekpassion and absolution will fall into the eternal abyss, never seeing the light. Embrace all that will never be, expand into nothingness. Reapers embrace, bringer of solitude - my name is Alf [Liv Illusio] Rank:B Use: Absolute Barrier magic that blocks physical attacks. Mana cost based on damage received. Chant: Be a barrier of light to shield mine allies against harm - my name is Alf [Veil Breath] Rank:A Use: Provides resistance against physical and magical attacks while also providing minimal regeneration effect. Duration: Dependant on mana used and damage received. Chant: Assemble, breath of thend - my name is Alf [Via Shilheim] Rank:S Use: Absolute Barrier Magic that blocks physical and magical attacks. Mana cost based on damage received. Chant: Dance around spirit of the atmosphere, lord of light. Contract with the guardian of the forest, and envelop us with the song of thend. Surround us be a great barrier of forest light and protect us - my name is Alf [Fil Eldis] Rank:S Use: Light Healing magic that regenerates flesh and heals status abnormalities. Minimal mana cost. Chant: Breath of recovery - my name is Alf [Luna Aldis] Rank:A Use: Medium Healing magic that regenerates flesh and heals status abnormalities. Moderate mana cost. Chant: Return to form - my name is Alf [Van Alheim] Rank:A Use: High Healing magic that can even reattach lost limbs and remove most status abnormalities. Massive mana cost. Chant: The Light calls you back. Return from the darkness of the abyss. Break free from despair - my name is Alf [Mage] Rank:A Use: Improves magic power, widens effect range, and increases the efficacy of all magic. Creates a magic circle under the user when chanting magic. [Treatment] Rank:A Use: Improves the efficacy of all healing spells and support magic. [Abnormal Resistance] Rank:C Use: Nullifies abnormal status effects such as poison under the given rank. [Spirit Healing] Rank:A Use: Greatly increases the recovery rate of mental energy and mana. [Magic Resistance] Rank:A Use: Greatly increases resistance against all magical attacks. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn was awestruck reading Riverias status and nked for several minutes before passing the sheet over for her perusal. Seeing that Vahns reading showed the development of her magic, Riveria was very impressed since she hadnt actually seen such values before. With Vahns assistance, she would be able to improve upon her weaknesses and now had a much better understanding of her own skills, magic, and development abilitiespared to the past. She turned to Vahn and had a small smile as she said in a low tone, "Thank you, Vahn, this has been very informative." Vahn nodded his head with a wry smile while scratching his cheek since Riveria was facing toward him seriously thanking him while wearing nothing but lingerie. A thought passed through Vahns mind and he turned to Riveria and said, "Ah, I didnt put it on the status sheet, but you actually have two unawakened rare skills. Though I typically keep them hidden, youre already Level 6 and I think you might be able to help me understand how such skills are awakened if you know about them." Riveria had already been impressed with Vahns capabilities, but hearing that he had actually seen two rare skills hidden in her status, she was somewhat dumbfounded as she asked, "What...are they called?" Though she didnt quite believe him for a moment, Riveria knew what kind of boy Vahn was and he wasnt the type to tell lies. Vahn nodded his head before exining Riverias Innates in the vein of rare skills and also gave his spection about how they might be awakened. Riveria listened patiently with her thumb on her chin in a contemtive fashion that made Vahn feel slightly unnerved so he casually held out a robe for her to wear. Riveria stared at the extended robe for a moment before looking down at her own body and noticing her current state. She looked around at the onlookers for a brief moment before refusing the robe in Vahns hand and wearing her own with an almost unnoticeable blush on her face. Unfortunately, Riverias affection had actually gone from 73 down to 72 in the process and Vahn couldnt help but shake his head in a defeated manner. Once she was properly dressed, Riveria turned back to Vahn before bowing politely and saying, "Id like to discuss this matter in detail at ater date. For now, my presence is only dying things so Ill excuse myself. Thank you for updating my status, Vahn, I trust youll keep these matters a secret in the future." Vahn nodded his head and stated in a firm tone, "I will never casually talk about the secrets entrusted to me...ah, and thanks for letting me check your status. Your trust means a lot to me, Riveria, thank you very much." Since she had bowed to him, Vahn gave a formal bow in the etiquette of the elves that made Riverias brows twitch as she hurriedly said, "Never bow like that before me..." Without waiting for his response, Riveria red her cape before departing the room without sparing anyone a nce. Vahn noticed her Affection had dropped from 72 down to 68 and he felt at a loss since he didnt know what he had done wrong. Ryuu walked over and had aplicated expression on her face as she said, "Vahn...remember that elves never let those they dont trust touch them. For a High Elf, it is even more problematic and yet Riveria-sama allowed you to do so freely. She also disyed her n.a.k.e.d body to you earlier in the bath, so if you treat her in a formal manner she will only be hurt by your actions..." Vahns mind nked for a moment before he smacked his forehead powerfully because of his own foolishness. It had been a major incident when Ryuu had joined him in the bath the first time, and it wasnt as though he was unaware of elven customs. High Elves were almost sacred entities within the elvenmunity and Riverias actions were an obvious sign that she was treating him as an equal. If he acted formally toward her, it was the same as saying he didnt consider himself worthy of her fellowship. Anticipating that he might want to go apologize, Ryuu said, "You shouldnt apologize, Vahn, just show your sincerity through your actions from now on. If you follow her before finishing here, she will only hold you in contempt for avoiding your duties in order to pursue personal interests." Hearing her words, Vahn looked around at the other girls waiting for him to check their status. The atmosphere had taken an awkward turn after his interaction with Riveria and leaving would only escte matters further. After releasing a small sigh, Vahn nodded his head to Ryuu and said, "Thank you, Ryuu, Ill try to do better from now on." Vahn then turned to the waiting girls and bowed apologetically and said, "Forgive me for making you wait, I got a little carried away by the momentum of the situation." None of the girls really held it against him since it was Vahns sincere nature that made many of them hold affections for him in the first ce. After things settled down, Vahn checked the Status of all the girls present, excluding those without Status Boards. Included amongst those that had their status checked, there was Mn, Tina, Shizune, and Preasia. Now that they were going to be permanent residents at the Hearth Manor, the girls had taken the initiative to join the Familia after Hestia had finished helping Haruhime level up. Shizune and Tina wouldnt be allowed to venture into the dungeon until they were older, but it didnt stop them from getting the crest and having Vahn check their status. Mn and Tina actually had the same Innate ability which made Vahn specte that they could be inherited between parent and child. The name of the skill was [Eclipse] and Vahn wasnt able to really infer anything about what it might rte to since he couldnt imagine the girls obscuring the sun. As for Preasia, her Innate was called [Golden Fleece] and Vahn thought it was strangely suitable for her considering she was a Sheep Person. It seemed like a defensive Innate, so it was very unlikely she would ever awaken it unless she started venturing into the dungeon. Shizune actually had two Innates, which Vahn found somewhat surprising since he hadnt heard of her in the original story. Her Innates were called [Tamomo] and [Moons Prayer] respectively and Vahn was able to infer that they were racial Innates rted to her being a Kitsune. Vahn kept the matter a secret for the time being, but he intended to bring it up when he talked to Riveriater... (A/N: For those that might be upset that Im not including the Status of nonbat personnel at this time, please try to show a bit of understanding. The word count had already broken 4k at this point and I have been researching to write the chapter for several hours...they will have their time in the limelight, but it probably wont be for a considerable amount of time.) After tending to the new members of the Familia, Vahn also helped Naaza check her status and discovered she had an Innate that was likely rted to alchemy and was a magic called [Awen]. From what he could understand, it should allow her to either enhance the cauldron she was using or potentially even create a cauldron using nothing but magical power. As for her parameters, she had been apanying Lili into the dungeon and also had a me seed inside of her which promoted her growth. Though it wasnt to the extent of Lili, Naaza had made impressive progress in her growth and was well on her way to Level 3. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Naaza Erisuis Race: Chienthrope LV. 2(+) POW: H143->G266 END: H128->F312 DEX: G203->D619 AGI: G255->E557 MAG: H105->F382 Skill: [Bow Mastery:C], [Eagle Eye:G] Magic: [Awen:Innate(sealed)], [Darbh Daol:D] Development Skill: [Mixing:C] [Bow Mastery] Rank:C Use: Increases uracy when equipped with a bow. Provides slightly enhanced vision when the user focuses. [Eagle Eye] Rank: G Use: Allows the user to see at great distances when focusing on a target. Decreases peripheral vision but protects eyes against rapid changes in the amount of light entering the pupil. [Darbh Daol] Rank:D Use: Decaying magic that creates balls of magical energy that bore through the target. Chant: Devour flesh. Devour bones. Devour marrow. Let mine enemies know true torment. Scarab king, carve a path of devastation as you Devour life itself. The essence of suffering shall sustain you and perpetuate an endless cycle of suffering - Devour, Darbh Daol! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The final status he checked was Haruhimes since she had just reached Level 2 and there was a chance something might have changed after the fact. He hadnt originally intended to look, but she had joined the queue of girls and waited patiently for him to go through everyone else before happily plopping down on the stool with her back exposed. Vahn released a light chuckle before dragging a line of blood down her back and confirming her current status. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Sanjouno Haruhime Race: Renard LV. 1->2 POW: F318->E440->I10 END: E444->C648->I10 DEX: E483->C698->I10 AGI: C607->SS1053->I10 MAG: SSS1218->SSS1548->I10 Skill: [Inari:Innate(F)->(E)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Heroic Strike:G->F],[Featherfoot:C->B] Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B],[Kokonoe:C],[Icicle Edge:E->D] Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:B], [Hunter:I], [Mage(sealed)] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Haruhimes growth was nothing short of monstrous and Vahn was wondering if the twins would be able to replicate the feat in their uing excursion. They already had their Innate ability awakened, but there were still several unknowns rted to their skill and Vahn wasnt sure how it affected their growth. Till now, they werent able to hold their transformation for more than twenty seconds and Vahn wasnt sure how it was affecting their growth when they were split. He was looking forward the helping them discover the best method to use the skill, but for now, he simply felt mentally exhausted and decided to call it quits after finally updating everyones status. Though he had the option of inviting almost anyone to sleep with him, Vahn had decided to snuggle up with Fenrir because he wanted to rx and also spend some time with her since she was probably frustrated that he was gone for nearly three days. After telling everyone good night, Vahn retreated to his room with the happy Fenrir and he spent around twenty minutes just hugging her body like a pillow before she rolled up into a ball on his chest and went to sleep. She was wearing a cute ck and white frilled nightgown that Vahn had helped her wear and her hair smelled like shampoo with an underlying earthy aroma that Vahn found very calming. He probably wouldnt get much time to himself in the future, so he wanted to enjoy the silence for a while longer and Fenrir was always the best person tofort him unless Eina was visiting. Thinking of the gentle and kind half-elf, Vahn felt somewhat mncholic before a happy smile appeared on his face as he thought about the uing wedding. Vahn felt like her presence in the house was the one thing he was missing in order to bnce out everything else, so he tried to will time to move forward slightly faster as he very slowly drifted off into darkness. (A/N: Seriously, fuuuuuuuuuuck this chapter xD. Info dumps are a nightmare since I have to do research and check to make sure things are consistent. I hope this chapter pleases you all, because I think it took literally three times the amount of effort as other chapters of equivalent length TT__TT) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Heaven at Home,Riverias Fellowship,Fenrir,fort my tired heart...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 363 - Strain

Chapter 363 - Strain

Not long after he had fallen asleep, Vahn was stirred awake by fluctuations in the security formations surrounding the Manor. He immediately expanded his domain and detected a number of presences near the front gate before taking a few seconds to make sense of the situation. Since there were four familiar auras, Vahn could guess who they were so he patted Fenrir awake before saying, "I have to go receive some guests, Fenrir, Ill be back in a bit. You can stay here, okay?" Fenrir yawned widely before bobbing her head and saying, "Fenrir will wait. Fenrir is a good girl. Hurry back, okay?" Finished with her words, Fenrir plopped down onto the bed before immediately dozing off again in an adorable fashion. Vahn smiled before stroking her head a bit and it made her curl up into a ball with a smile on her face. Vahn had gone to sleep rather early, so there were a number of people still up and moving around the Manor. By the time he got outside to see what was happening with his own eyes, the incident hade to an end and Vahn saw several unconscious peopleying about on the street outside his manor with swollen faces and a few twisted limbs. Riveria, Ryuu, and Aki, had shown up to help sort the mess out and Riveria was lecturing the four girls that had arrived carryingrge backpacks that reminded Vahn of the first time he met Lili. The moment they noticed his presence, one of the girls simply ignored Riveria as she ran over in a cheerful manner before picking up Vahn in a hug and saying, "Aaaah, Vahn, we get to live here now, isnt that awesome~!? Ehehehehehe~!" The girl that was currently squeezing his ribs to the point where they were on the verge of fracturing was none other that Tiona. Releasing a slight gasp of pain, Vahn said with an awkwardugh, "Its good to see you, Tiona. Tell me, what happened here?" Tiona set him down on the ground as the rest walked over and Riveria exined in a in tone, "Some of these idiots tried to bar the passage of the girls to ask questions and ended up insulting Tiona and Ais...well, they got what they deserved. You four, head through the gate and get situated while I exin what happened to the guards." Riveria shook her head before gesturing everyone to leave as there were a number of armed guardsmen running over. Other than Tiona, the others that had arrived were Ais, Lefiya, and also Tione. They were all wearingrge backpacks and Vahn could tell they were full of clothes and other necessary items and they had probably moved over in a hurry after Loki returned to the Twilight Manor. After they made their way into the foyer, Aki asked, "Are you going to return to bed, or do you n to help the girls move into their rooms? I dont mind showing them around if youre tired, Vahn." Vahn smiled before shaking his head and saying, "Its fine, Aki, Ill take care of it. Im not so exhausted that I cant spend some time with new arrivals to the Manor. Thanks though, I appreciate your concerns...you as well, Ryuu, get some rest when you can." The two gave him smiles before Aki said, "Okay, Vahn, you know where I stay if you need me for anything..." Vahn nodded his head before seeing the two off with his eyes as Ais asked, "Are we causing trouble for you...?" She had her head tilted to the side and there was clear concern written on her rtively nk expression. Tiona also had a nervous smile on her face while Lefiya didnt seem to be able to bear the atmosphere and said, "I-Im sorry for showing up sote!" She then bowed at a low angle that caused her body to fall forward because of the giant backpack she was wearing. Vahn chuckled as he reached out and stored away the massive pack before catching Lefiya with his right arm around her stomach. She immediately blushed a fierce red before separating from him with a wawawawawa sound before saying, "Thank you for catching me, Im sorry~!" Vahn then casually stored the other packs into his inventory before smiling and saying, "Im d you all came, regardless of what time it is. Ill go ahead and show you around for a bit before helping you pick a room. Riveria is staying in the west wing, but most of the second floor in the central area is still avable." Hearing his words, Ais tilted her head to the opposite this time and asked, "Can I...stay with you?" Vahn nked for a brief moment before saying, "Everyone needs to have a room of their own, and I decided to rest with Fenrir and rx for the evening. Sorry, Ais, Ill make it up to you in the future..." Ais shook her head before a small smile appeared on her face and she said, "No, you should rx when you are tired. I just wanted to spend some time with you..." Though he knew she was trying to be nice, Aiss words caused Vahn to suffer a bit of mental damage because he hadnt spent much quality time with the girls ever since their first time together. Looking over, Vahn could see the understanding smile of Tiona and noticed that even Tione had an awkward expression on her face. Lefiya was behaving as bashfully as normal, but Vahn could also see she had an apologetic expression after the earlier incidents. Vahn thought to himself for a brief moment before remarking in his mind, Well, I imagine it would be nice to rx together from time to time... Resolving himself, Vahn showed a gentle smile and said, "After I show you around, and help you choose rooms, Ill show you my room...if its okay with Fenrir, I dont mind if we stay together for the night. It hasnt been easy for me either, especially after the two of you had gone on the expedition. Lets enjoy some quality time together, just as long as its actually rxing and sleeping, hahahahaha." Perhaps she had been infected by Vahnsugh, but Tiona pounced forward before hanging around his neck and rubbing her cheek against his as she said, "Aaaaah, Vahn, youre the best~!" Vahn then led the girls around the Manor with Tiona hanging from his body as they casually greeted anyone they crossed paths with along the way. It was only a half hour past 9 PM, so there were still plenty of people up and about. It wasnt their first time at the Manor, so Vahn just showed them all the important locations they should be aware of. He showed them his workshop and briefly talked about the various designs he was working on. Lefiya and Ais had helped him work through some of the designs in the past, but Lefiya still had a fierce blush on her face when she looked at the outfit Vahn had been working on for her. The final straw had been the pure white panties with a small red ribbon on it that made steame out of her head as she fell to the ground. After Lefiyas revival, Vahn took them to the west wing, a location that hadnt been visited by the girls in the past. He showed them the library, which happened to be next to the room Riveria had chosen for herself. Lefiya was excited at the selection of books while the two Amazon sisters, Tiona and Tione, looked at them with awkward expressions. Though they could both read just fine, the two werent really fond of books since it didnt really appeal to Amazon sensibilities. Tiona just liked to read hero stories while Tione primarily focused on love stories and dramas. Vahn had noticed Ais staring nkly at the books and, when he asked if she liked books, Ais turned to him with a mncholic smile and said, "I like...when others read them to me." Because he had seen her hearts desire, Vahn knew about Aiss past and that she had grown up having her mother read for her. He nodded his head and said in aforting tone, "Ill read for you sometimes...if youd like." Ais showed a smile and looked like she was about to agree before Tionaughed cheerfully and clung to him again as she said, "Read for me too, Vahn~! I think anything would be interesting as long as were together, ehehehehe~." Vahn smiled wryly at Ais before saying aloud, "Sure, Im pretty fond of reading myself. When there is time, I dont mind sharing the experience with others." After leaving the library, Lefiya was considering staying in a room near Riverias until she learned that most of the girls liked to room up together forpany. Hearing this, Lefiya immediately changed her mind and decided to be Aiss roommate after getting her consent. The elven girl was over the moon at the thought of staying with the girl she idolized as she had stayed in the girls dormitory away from Ais in the past. Though she adventured with the main party of the Loki Familia, Lefiya was still considered more of a rookie than a capablebatant. Because of this, she stayed with the other junior members of the Familia and had been rooming together with a Level 2 human girl named Elfy Colette. Vahn then showed the girls to the 2nd floor in the central area and Ais, after confirming where Vahn was staying, picked the room directly below his as she said, "We will be closer together...if I stay here." Though he was certain she wasnt doing it intentionally, Vahn felt like all of Aiss words tonight were like arrows that caused mental damage. He knew she had something akin to separation anxiety because of the fact she had lost both of her parents in the past. Though he had never thought he had abandoned her in the past, Vahn felt guilty for not spending more time with the taciturn girl. He actually wanted her to open up more and show a wider array of emotions so he needed to put in more effort if he wanted to make that thought a reality. Since the room was ratherrge, Tiona and Tione also wanted to stay in the same room and quickly received permission from Ais while Lefiya mented her misfortune. In total, the room was nearly 1200 square feet so there was actually more than enough space for the four girls so Vahn began to set out beds for their use. The first one he had set out was a normal sized bed that could amodate two people easily, but Tiona said in a yful tone, "It will be inconvenient if there are a bunch of beds in the same room. Wont it be more fun if everyone sleeps in the same bed~? We can put the extras in the other rooms and reserve them if anyone wants to sleep in their own bed, ehehehe." Once again, Ais was quick to agree while Tione didnt seem to mind at all since she was ustomed to staying with Tiona. She knew her sister was the type that liked to hug people to sleep and she had a simr trait as she had oftenined to Tiona when she was rejected by Finn. Lefiya, however, waspletely overwhelmed by Tionas words and Vahn wasnt sure if it was because she was going to be sleeping in the same bed as Ais, or if she wasmenting having to share a bed with three other girls. Ais walked over to the distraught Lefiya before squatting down and asking, "Lefiya, do you want your own bed?" Hearing Aiss question, Lefiya came back to reality before squeaking out the words, "No-no-no-no-no~! I want to stay in the same bed as Aissssssuuuuuuuuuuu~" Lefiyas own words seemed to overload her mind as she fell back onto her butt as if her soul had escaped her body. Unlike her normal blush, Lefiya had a somewhat loose expression on her face and seemed to be smiling as a strangeugh sounded from her throat. Tiona had been standing next to Vahnughing before she said, "Lefiya reeeeeeeeeaaally likes Ais, ehehehehe~!" Vahn nodded his head with acent smile because it wasnt anything he hadnt realized for himself. It was mainly Aiss rtionship with him that brought Lefiya progressively closer to Vahn in the past. Vahn knew that she wasnt actually a lesbian, as it wasmon practice for elves that were traveling outside of their home country to associate with members of the same s.e.x before they returned home. Ryuu and Riveria werent the only elves that didnt like to be touched, as it was a trait that was shared by nearly every single elf traveling about in the outside world. This was pushed to an extreme limit when it came to the opposite s.e.x and most elves soughtpanionship with the same s.e.x since it wasnt considered a taboo since they were unable to bear children through such rtionsh.i.p.s. It was actually very rare for elves to have children with races other than elves since it was considered shameful as the union often resulted in a child without purpose. Half-elves usually didnt have much magical potential, if any, and they were also nearly incapable of bearing children. Since it was the custom of elves to support the continuation of life, it was considered a grievous offense to actually be responsible for the creation of a half-elf. This pretty much meant that, for the 60-80 years Lefiya would be wandering about in the outside world, the majority of people she would associate with would be other girls. Unless it was necessary, most elves didnt even allow members of the opposite s.e.x to touch them. Since she didnt have any resistance to him, this showed that Lefiya actually considered him in high regards, even though he still lost out to her idolization of Ais. She wasnt an exception either, as Ryuu had even joined an all-female Familia in the past to avoid having to associate with men at all. If not for the circ.u.mstances of her promise with Alise, it would have been difficult for Vahn to actually approach Ryuu. To facilitate the girls request, Vahn set out a massive bed that was simr in size to his own, though it was much cheaper since he actually couldnt afford anything more expensive with his current OP. Fortunately, they didnt seem to care at all as Tiona happily jumped into the bed before rolling around. Tione also moved over to sit on the edge of the bed as she felt its softness with her hands and said, "This is a very nice bed..." Then, with a somewhat fervent look in her eyes, Tione turned to Vahn and he immediately raised his hand and said, "Its gettingte, so Im going to return to my own room soon. I promised Fenrir I wouldnt be away for too long, and I dont want her to get upset by breaking my promise." Hearing his words, Tione frowned before plopping down on the bed face-first and saying a few muffled words that Vahn couldnt understand. After hearing Vahns words, Ais began quickly undressing before dumping out therge backpack she retrieved from Vahn onto the ground. She began digging through the pile of clothing that had been contained within while she was wearing nothing but a pale-white pair of lingerie. The other girls started preparing for bed as well, including Lefiya who bashfully received her own backpack from Vahn. Unlike the mess of Aiss clothing, all of Lefiyas had been neatly folded and she quickly found her own sleepwear before blushing furiously after giving a sidewards nce at Vahn. Noticing her reaction, Vahn turned his head away and could hear the rustling of clothes for a few minutes before Lefiya managed to wear a pair of light-pink pajamas. Ais was still going through her massive pile so she walked over and helped sort through them before finally finding the article of clothing Ais had been looking for. Seeing what she had picked up, Lefiya blushed furiously before making another wawawa sound as Ais retrieved the garment from her hand. Vahn had noticed what she had picked as well and wondered why she hadnt simply decided to sleep in her underwear. What she had been looking for previously turned out to be a light blue babydoll dress that was transparent except for the area that covered the b.r.e.a.s.ts. Ais quickly discarded her own bra before wearing the transparent cloth and saying in a in tone, "Okay, Im ready now...time to go to bed?" From the side, Tiona opened her eyes wide and said, "Ooooooh, nice going Ais~!" Tiona herself had just removed therge cloth around her waist before removing all of her essories and cing them off to the side. The only thing she was wearing was her white band-like top around her b.r.e.a.s.ts and a pair of super small shorts that hugged her butt perfectly. After they were ready, Vahn was preparing to lead the way to his room before he noticed an incongruity as Lefiya was trailing behind Ais and Tiona in tiny steps with her head down. Noticing they had stopped, Lefiya looked up with a blush on her face and said hastily, "I-i-i-if youre not going to d-d-do anything....umm...I just wanted to...wawawawa~" Lefiya crouched down on the floor and held her head as her ears drooped low and waggled up and down to emphasize her embarrassment. Ais looked at her for a few seconds before turning to Vahn with what he could only interpret as a pleading look. Releasing a short sight, Vahn shook his head helplessly before saying, "Its okay, Lefiya, you cane with us..." Before Lefiya responded, Tione shot up from the bed and shouted, "Eh, are you telling me Im going to have to stay in this giant bed by myself!? Nooooo way, I want at least Lefiya to helpfort my heart~!" In a very uncharacteristic manner, Tiona turned to her sister and said in a low tone with a serious expression on her face, "Tione, your promised..." Though he wasnt sure what they had promised each other, Tionas words seemed to have an impact on Tione as she quickly bent over in a defeated manner before plopping back down on the bed. Vahn might not have known, but she knew exactly what Tiona was talking about. Before they had left, she had to sit down and get lectured by Loki for nearly an entire hour about what she was allowed to do. Because she had nearly killed Vahn in the past, she was actually prohibited from getting close to him until he was strong enough to protect himself in the event she lost control. This meant that, until Vahn was at the peak of Level 4, she wasnt allowed to approach him regardless of how frustrated she felt in her heart. At least she knew it was only a temporary thing, unlike how Finn had shunned her advances for years and would have likely continued doing so for many more. After Tione crawled into the bed, Tiona grabbed Vahns arm before guiding him out of the room before things got out of hand. Ais and Lefiya were also aware of Tiones punishment, so they didnt take pity on her at all and followed along without a word to the bereaved Amazon. They had been present for Lokis lecture and were required to promise not to show leniency on her or it wouldnt be considered a punishment. Loki had also asked them that, unless Vahn was the one approaching her on his own initiative, they should prevent him from showing leniency on her as well. He was highly empathic by nature and didnt really consider Tiones mistake to be a big deal, even though it would have been disastrous if he hadnt possessed a miracle item like the [Effigy of the Hero]. When the arrived at his room, Vahn opened the door and Fenrir immediately sat up from the bed with sleepy eyes before frowning after seeing the other three girls with Vahn. Before she could cause a scene, Vahn held out his hand in a calming manner and said, "Fenrir, these three are all very close to me, just like Hephaestus and Hestia. Since they dont get to spend much time with me, I decided to let them sleep with us tonight. Please try to understand...dont you feel sad when we arent together?" Though he felt guilty to use Fenrirs emotions against her, Vahn didnt want the situation to escte into a problem since it was starting to gette. It wasnt Fenrirs first time meeting the girls, and she already knew they were very close to Vahn yet had to live far away. Even with her rtively simple mind, Fenrir understood what Vahn was saying but it still made her upset since they were sleeping together alone before the girls had shown up. After a few seconds of gnashing her teeth, Fenrir looked at the closest person, which happened to be Ais, and asked, "Do you...feel sad?" Ais c.o.c.ked her head to the side and contemted the question for a bit as she locked eyes with Fenrir. They were both somewhat simple girls thatckedmon sense and werent verymunicative, so it was a little awkward that Fenrir had directed the question to her. After careful consideration, Ais nodded her head slowly and said, "I miss Vahn...sorry...for taking your time..." Even though it was a broken sentence, it was actually easier for Fenrir to understand Aiss simple words so she patted the bed next to her with her paw and said, "Fenrir will let you stay, but you have to be a good girl." Ais nodded her head before showing a small smile and saying, "Thanks..." She then walked over and crawled into the bed as Fenrir watched her before turning to Tiona and asking, "You also, feel lonely?" She tilted her head to the side and Tiona mirrored the action before saying in a strangely mncholic tone that made Vahns heart twist in his chest "I waited for Vahn for a very long time...and every night were apart is very difficult for me. Without someone stopping me, I dont think Id be able to avoid running over in the middle of the night...ehehehe~" Fenrir nodded her head before shooing away Ais a bit and patting the spot next to her and saying, "You can stay here, close to Vahn. Fenrir will be nice to you from now on." Ais had a slightly dejected look on her face as Tiona happily ran over before jumping into the bed. Feeling how ridiculous soft Vahns bed was, Tionaughed out loud and said, "Wow, this is the best bed Ive ever felt~! Thanks, Fenrir~!" Hearing Tionas words, Fenrir nodded her head before turning her attention to Lefiya and squinting her eyes. Caught under the gaze of the terrifying wolf girl, Lefiyas body turned jittery as she tried, and failed, to stutter out a response. Just as Fenrir looked like she was about to get angry, Vahn stepped protectively in front of Lefiya and said in a soothing tone, "Fenrir, Lefiya wants to spend time with Ais. You dont have to worry about her causing any trouble..." When Vahn stepped out to protect her, Lefiya felt a powerful sense of relief before freezing up after hearing his words. Though what he said was true, Lefiya couldnt help but feel like there were something wrong contained in them. Even if she wanted to be together with Ais, she wouldnt sleep in the same bed as a boy if she didnt want to spend time with him as well. She began to wonder if Vahn didnt actually see her as a woman anymore after she failed to show any interest in him. After their experience together in the bath, Lefiya had thought they had be much closer but now realized Vahn didnt seem to feel the same. Even though she wasnt in a rtionship with him, Lefiya felt a little saddened since he worded his response like she was only here as a tagalong to Ais... Vahn had noticed Lefiyas aura waver greatly and he turned around to see the somewhat sad smile on her face and the slight moisture in her eyes. His mind nked for a moment before he heard Fenrirs somewhat husky voice say, "Ah, you are sad as well~? Fine, Fenrir will let you stay with Vahn also." Though it wasnt close to where Vahn would sleep, Fenrir still patting near the area since she had apparently understood something from Lefiyas reaction that even Vahn seemed to be unaware of. Lefiya nodded her head before slowly crawling into the bed next to Fenrir who waved her hand awkwardly before reaching out and using her paw pads to pat Lefiya on the head while saying, "No cry, no cry...be happy, Fenrir will not bully you." Seeing the considerate behavior of Fenrir, Vahn began to wonder if there was something wrong with his brain today. He had just inadvertently offended Riveria previous, and now he had done something simr to Lefiya even though he had just rationalized her behavior earlier. If she just wanted to be with Ais, there is no way she would have agreed to stay in the same room, much less the same bed, as a boy. Vahn suspected that spending so much alone time with the transformed Haruhime had whittled away at his sensibilities somehow. Now that there were a lot of changes suddenly happening around him, Vahns brain seemed to be filtering out things and his focus was severelyckingpared to the past. This was the original reason he had wanted to sleep with just Fenrir earlier and now he realized it was probably a mistake to force himself to receive the girls given his current mental state. Vahn lowered his head and held his left hand up to gently rub his temples as he exined in a tired voice, "Im sorry...I dont know what wrong with me today. I didnt mean to make you upset, Lefiya, and I know youre not just here because of Ais...for some reason, I just cant think straight right now." Noticing they were also about to try and apologize, Vahn dropped his hand before shaking his head with a smile and saying, "No, none of you are to me...Im just a little overwhelmed because of all the changes recently. I think that spending time rxing with everyone will help calm my mind..." As he spoke, Vahn walked over before climbing into the bed himself and plopping down into the spot Fenrir had reserved for him earlier. She wasnt the type to care for conversation, so Fenrir immediately crawled onto his chest before balling up into a small form and snuggling against Vahns chest. Shezily said out loud, probably for the other girls benefit, "Vahn is tired...we have to let him rest. Be good girls and behave..." Her words finished, Fenrir closed her eyes and almost immediately began making the sounds of someone that had fallen asleep. Vahn began to casually pat Fenrirs hair while looking to his left and locking eyes with Tiona. She was staring at Fenrir before sticking out her tongue yfully and snuggling up against his left side with a cheerful smile on her face. Ais was sitting behind her and seemed to be somewhat sad since she was on the edge of the bedpared to the other girls. Because of Fenrirs arrangement, Lefiya had ended up to the right of Vahn, which was the opposite of Aiss expectations. She had expected Lefiya would snuggle up with her while she was resting against Vahn but now she was separated from him by Tionas body. However, when she saw Lefiyas fl.u.s.tered face Ais showed a small smile before saying, "Lefiya...lucky..." Without any other words, Ais hugged Tionas body from behind and the Amazon girl giggled a bit after feeling Aiss hands wrap around her belly. Lefiyas mind nked for a moment because she had wanted to swap spots with Ais but had lost the initiative. Fenrirs head had been tilted toward her and, even though she appeared to be sleeping, Lefiya could see Fenrirs eyes open slightly and staring at her. It was very obvious since the room was somewhat dark and Fenrirs eyes were glowing with a gentle scarlet light that shone through the slightly open eyelids of the wolf girl. Lefiya swallowed a bit of saliva before whispering quietly, "Ano...excuse me..." She then awkwardid down next to Vahn without actually touching his body directly. Lefiya could feel the heating from his body and felt very embarrassed by the current situation since she had expected to have Ais as a barrier earlier. Vahn had closed his eyes and was resting and Lefiya could see the tired expression on his face ever since earlier. After a great deal of hesitation, Lefiya decided she needed to put more effort into making things clear so she gingerly reaching out her hand before loosely cing it on Vahns arm. She noticed that his eyes opened and he turned toward her slightly so she lowered her head with a fierce blush before squeezing his arm a bit without saying anything... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Loki Familias Invasion,Tiones Lamentation,Lefiyas Resolve) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 364 - Bonds, Old and New

Chapter 364 - Bonds, Old and New

When Vahn awoke the next morning, his mind had turned a lot calmer and he could feel the pleasant warmth of the girls spreading through his body. During the night, perhaps because he kept his room rtively cold, Lefya had snuggled up closer to him with a somewhat silly expression on her face and it made Vahn feel a pleasant feeling in his heart. Tiona had somehow been ripped from him and was currently sprawled out in a very udylike manner and Ais had taken her spot and looked like a wless doll with her fair white skin, beautiful golden hair, and impable facial features. Vahn could imagine her somewhat slowly peeling Tiona away from him through the night before sneakily moving across her body and it made a smile appear on his face. Perhaps she had never broken the habit, but Fenrir woke up nearly at the same time as he had before turning her head up at him with her slightly glowing scarlet eyes in an inquisitive manner. Vahn scratched the back of her head affectionately and said, "Good morning, Fenrir. Lets have another interesting day today, shall we?" Fenrir nuzzled up against his chest while enjoying Vahns caress as she said, "Lots of new people...Fenrir will do her best. Be happy, Vahn, Fenrir will protect you." Vahn chuckled lightly at Fenrirs words as the other girls around slowly woke up after hearing their conversation. Since they ventured into the dungeon, they were all used to waking up early like the majority of Adventurers within the City. Ais opened her eyes without moving and stared at Vahns face for a bit before saying in a quiet voice, "Good morning...Vahn...do you feel better now?" Vahn nodded his head before he felt Lefiya pull herself away from his body quickly with a squeak. He looked over and saw the bashful elf covering her face with both hands with her face nearly glowing from how red it was. She opened her fingers slightly to look back at him with her dark blue eyes and said, "I-I-Im sorry...I didnt mean to...uuuuuuuuuuuh~." Vahn, curious about her reaction turned his eyes to where she was looking and saw a ratherrge drool stand on his light grey tunic where she had been resting her head. Reaching out his hand, Vahn gently stroked Lefiyas head and made her face turn a deep crimson as her ears waggled up and down without avoiding his touch. Tiona woke up as well and almost immediately bounded up to her feet and stood on the bed as she pointed down at Ais and said, "Eeeeei!? Ais, youre sneaky~!" Ais looked up at Tiona with a in expression on her face before turning her head in a somewhat coy manner and muttering, "I wanted to sleep next to Vahn...its better to take turns?" Ais looked back to Tiona with an innocent expression that made the Amazonessugh yfully before tackling Ais with open arms and rubbing their faces together as she said, "Aaaah, I cant be mad at you Ais, youre too cuuuute~!" After everyone had awoken, Vahn helped Fenrir get dressed while the other girls returned to their room on the second floor to change as well. Since she was going to be doing her morning training, Vahn helped Fenrir change into herbat attire after helping strip down her previous clothes. Unlike how she acted in the past, Fenrir obediently worked together with Vahn so it was easier for him to help her get the garments on her body. She still didnt like clothes all that much, but Fenrir was fond of wearing the things Vahn had given her. The other outfits she wore were so that others would spoil andpliment her, but she still preferred the cute clothes Vahn made for her through the system shop, even though she didnt know of its existence. A few minutester, Vahn went to the back courtyard and there were already a few people gathered to conduct their morning training routine. Daily practice was one of the most important things, especially when you were just starting out. Even when they ventured into the dungeon, the girls still woke up early in the morning to do an hour of training before taking a bath and enjoying a hearty breakfast. Seeing Vahns arrival, everyone present gave him a morning greeting and Vahn felt a bit of warmth in his heart to fight against the freezing cold air as he returned their greetings. Fenrir went off to train with Aki alongside Emirua, Maemi, Tina, and even Shizune. She was wearing a simr tight vest and short to Tina and Vahn suspected she had probably borrowed the clothing for training. Even though they were still too young to enter the Dungeon, it didnt stop the two from building up their foundation for future growth. Even Mn and decided to train a bit and was sparring with Mikoto in order to hone her skills that had be a bit rusty with time. Not long after Vahn sat down to meditate, Tiona, Ais, Lefiya, and Tione, all showed up in the backyard and watched the other girls train for a moment before walking over and taking seats near Vahn. Turning his head, Vahn asked, "Do you not train in the mornings?" Tiona was the one to answer his question as she said with a smile, "Amazons might spar every now and then, but we do all our training in actualbat. Ais used to train hard in the past, but after he strength stopped increasing rapidly she focused more on killing monsters instead. As for Lefiya...ehehehe, she is superzy ya know~?" Hearing Tionas words, Lefiya pouted and said in a ming tone, "Tiona, dont say such cruel things...I just focus more on my magic development and elves dont have strong bodies like Amazons..." Tionaughed at Lefiyas pouting face before bounding over and hugging her from behind and saying, "Ayaya, dont be sad Lefiya, I was just teasing you~!" Vahn smiled at their interaction and he thought the way Tiona associated with people was very refreshing. She was always so bubbly and vibrant and Vahn was happy they would get to spend more time together from now on. Her presence, alongside the other girls in the Loki Familia, would also serve as inspiration for the other girls since they were more than just a little stronger than the girls in his Familia. Remembering the small training arc in the manga between Bell and Ais, Vahn turned to the taciturn girl and asked, "Ais, I was wondering if you could help Haruhime train every now and then. She might just be Level 2, but youll be surprised at her strength." When Ais gave him an inquisitive look, Vahn pointed at Haruhime and continued, "Looking at her now, Its hard to believe she has only been training for a few weeks and was initially just a Level 1 with almost no parameter development." Ais looked at where Vahn was pointing and saw a familiar girl that she had met in the past during Vahns duel with Tione. She hadnt known about Haruhimes growth but, hearing what Vahn had just said, she began watching Haruhime with a serious expression of interest on her face. After a few minutes, Ais asked, "She is Level 2 now...? You helped her?" As a Level 5, Ais could easily see through Haruhimes strength and knew it shouldnt be so easy to be stronger in such a short period of time. Even she had taken nearly a year to reach Level 2, and her talent wasnt the type of thing that could be taken for granted. Vahn, hearing Aiss question, nodded his head but said, "I watched over her, but her growth is entirely rted to her own efforts. Without the desire to grow stronger, she wouldnt have gotten to this point as quickly as she had. Though she might have the benefits of my me seed and my [Mentor] skill, she still put in the effort and has created a small miracle on her own." Ais turned her attention back to Haruhime who was fluttering about in an elegant manner while training with Ryuu. Even though she was two levels lower than Ryuu, she was strangely able to put a little pressure on the veteran Adventurer and Ais was very interested in her growth. She believed Vahns wordspletely and knew that Haruhime must have put in effort greater than her past self if she had gotten this far in such a short period of time. After a few moments of contemtion, Ais stood up from the ground and walked over toward Haruhime and interrupted their training in order to see for herself how capable Haruhime was. Ryuu turned her attention over toward Vahn and saw him nod his head before having Ais take care of Haruhimes training for the time being. Haruhime got fired up and put in even more effort as she sparred with Ais who spent most of her time just deflecting Haruhimes attacks with rtive ease. Seeing that Ais was getting involved in the training, Tiona asked in a yful tone, "Tione, should we help those two get stronger~? They seem like the type to fight based on their instincts and I think itll be good for us to get closer to the other set of twins, ehehehehe~." Tione had been watching everything happening silently before nodding her head in a curt manner after hearing Tionas words. Vahn was grateful they decided to take the initiative to interact with the other girls but it seemed like Lefiya took a bit of a mental impact at being the only one left out. Seeing her behavior, Vahn decided to extend a helping hand to the fl.u.s.tered elf girl and said, "Lefiya, why dont you try talking to those girls over there..." Vahn pointed over toward where Naaza and Preasia were sitting together while they watched Lili perform a strange training of her own. She was wearing a rtively small training outfit that consisted of what looked like a mesh sports bra and a pair of small red shorts. She was upside down supporting her body on her fingertips as she very slowly moved her body into different positions without losing her bnce for an instant. Vahn could see the lines of her muscles and was impressed with the control she showed over her own body that was producing steam because of how cold it was outside. Lefiya looked over for a few moments before nkly staring at Lilis intense training methods. Since Lili was a very small girl, being a Pallum, it was a strange sight for Lefiya to see someone her size putting in so much effort to improve their physical ability. While she was hesitating, Lilis body underwent a sudden change as a magical light shone and she spontaneously grew a fluffy tail and ears like a chienthrope without losing her bnce. Lefiya made a slight, Eh? sound before watching as Lilis body glowed against, this time with a pair of rabbit ears and a small tuft of a tail popping out of the exposed skin above her shorts. Vahn noticed Lefiyas reaction and said, "Thats Lilis unique magic, [Cinder*E]. She can use it to mimic the racial traits of other races and has even gotten to the point where she can copy animals. Ive even seen her turn into a small rabbit in the past...hahaha." Remembering the adorable rabbit version of Lili, Vahn started tough in a humorous manner. Hearing Vahns exnation, Lefiya said in a somewhat serious tone, "Transformation magic is one of the rarest and most difficult magic to develop...incredible." Without saying anything else, Lefiya stood up before dusting off her dress and trotting over to where the three girls were. Vahn could see the intrigue on Lefiyas face and it caused him to smile contentedly. He hoped that a girl like Lefiya would be able to help Lili open up more. Since Lefiya was an incredibly talented mage, she should be able to help Lili understand her magic better and the two should develop as friends, especially if Lefiya told Lili that he had asked her toe over. Lili was actually a very smart girl, she had to be in order to survive, so she would be able to infer that he was trying to help her get along with the other girls. As expected, the moment Lefiya walked over, Lili pressed off from the ground with her hands before listening to Lefiyas exnation. Momentster, Lili looked over and Vahn showed her a gentle smile before nodding his head which made the small Pallum girl sigh before showing a somewhat awkward smile as she started talking with Lefiya. Vahn continued to watch them for a while and noticed that, after they exchanged a few words, Lilis expression turned more natural and she seemed to enjoy the conversation she was having with Lefiya. Naaza and Preasia were also involved and Vahn nodded his head in satisfaction seeing the auras between the four girls stabilize and mesh together a bit. Though he hadnt arranged for Preasia to get close to them, he had mentioned to Naaza the fact that she wanted to learnpounding and mixing. Naaza probably approached Preasia on her own initiative and exposed her and Lili to each other naturally since the two girls often spent time together ever since living together at Tsubakis. Vahn was hoping that, through interacting with more people, Lilis heart would slowly start to heal and she wouldnt treat people so distantly. After the training session came to an end, Vahn decided to address everyone and told the twins that they would be putting off their three-day excursion until the Monday of next week. Since everyone was supposed to have the weekends off, Vahn didnt want to take them into the dungeon on a Thursday as it would eat into their free times. He also wanted to take a short break himself to deal with all the changes that were happening within, and around, the Manor. Vahn encouraged everyone to get to know each other better over the next few days and said he would call on them if there were any matters that required their participation. Most of them would still be venturing into the Dungeon and Vahn asked if the girls from the Loki Familia, specifically Tiona, Ais, and Tione, could apany them and help guide the girls training. Everyone was much more understanding than Vahn expected as they all easily consented to his decision. When Vahn had finished his exnation, the entire group made their way to the baths and Vahns mind nked for a short moment when he remembered that he would probably be bathing with even more girls now. It even turned into a bigger situation than his mind anticipated since, after learning that the wall was going to be torn down anyways, the Amazon sisters decided to take it upon themselves to open arge hole in it. With nothing to bar their entrance, everyone ended up on the mens side of the bath, including the girls Vahn had been distant with. Emiru, Maemi, and Preasia all stared at his n.a.k.e.d figure with various degrees of blushes on their faces and Vahn felt especially ufortable with the unwavering gaze of the sheep girl. Fortunately, he was able to distract himself by helping tend to other girls like Fenrir and Ais. One unexpected thing, which also helped Vahn calm down, was when Lefiya offered to help wash his back with a fierce blush on her face. Vahn realized she was trying her best to open up to him and it made him feel happy as they created a small congo line where he was washing Aiss back while Lefiya washed his. He also suspected that Lefiya had made her offer because she lost the right to wash Ais and decided Vahn was the next best option. After the rtively chaotic bath, everyone got dressed together before making their way to the dining room and enjoying a lively breakfast. Syr had stayed over the previous night and had taken charge of the kitchen before helping the other girls, specifically Mn, Tina, Shizune, Emiru, and Maemi, make breakfast for everyone. Vahn had been looking forward to the new menu but what showed up before him was rather...unexpected. Though Syr had helped prepare the food, the only person she made anything for was Vahn himself. What ended up in front of him was something that didnt look quite edible and Vahn had the peculiar realization that he couldnt even describe what the dish looked like. It was like when he was looking at something about his Soul Tier and was simply iprehensible. Under the watchful eyes of Syr, Vahn happily ate the food and discovered that it didnt actually taste bad. Everything, including the texture, aroma, and vor were all somewhat difficult to describe but Vahn knew it wasnt bad somehow. Since it wasnt difficult to eat, Vahn showed a polite smile and thank Syr for her efforts before scarfing down the entire meal as she smiled happily at his praise. Since she could easily read Vahns expression, Syr knew he didnt actually think anything bad about the food and this made her feel happy since the reaction of most people was less than receptive. After breakfast, Ryuu escorted Syr back to the Hostess of Fertility in order to help the girls start moving. Vahn offered toe along to carry the luggage, but Syr politely declined and told him to rx a bit since she was worried he was pushing himself too hard. After sharing a short embrace with the two girls, they departed through the early morning mist as Vahn sent a mentalmand to Fafnir to have it follow the two girls to protect them. The incidentst night was still fresh in his mind and Vahn was concerned that some people might heckle the two girls after seeing them exit through the front gate. He also decided that, when construction started on the Manor, Vahn would have several emergency exits built into the underground that would connect to the surrounding Manors of the Alliance. This would allow them to move about freely without drawing the attention of anyone on the surface. Soon after Ryuu and Syr left, the other girls started splitting up into three different parties before heading off to the Dungeon for their daily training. The first group consisted of Ais, Haruhime, and Mikoto since they seemed to have bonded a bit after their earlier training. Group number two wasprised of Tione, Aki, Emiru, and Maemi while the final group consisted of Tiona, Naaza, Lili, and, surprisingly, Mn. She had decided to start making an effort to be stronger and wanted to polish up her skills in actualbat while also watching over the somewhat troublesome girls of the third group. As for those that stayed behind, Fenrir didnt enter the dungeon because Ryuu was with Syr. Riveria and Lefiya were also nning to stay back because Riveria wanted to discuss Vahns research and also talk about their future training regarding magic. The final stay at home group ended up consisting of Vahn, Riveria, Lefiya, Fenrir, Preasia, Tina, and Shizune. Hestia was also home, but she liked toze around until it was nearly time for lunch unless there was something going on that required her attention. She just stayed up in her room talking to the other girls on thework to pass the time while munching on snacks that she had received from Vahn. As for Vahn and the rest, they ended up all gathering in the library in the west wing and helped Riveria reorganize things to change theyout into something simr to a school before everyone sat down for her lecture. Rather than sit around with nothing to do, the girls decided to attend Riverias lessons with Vahn in order to increase their own understanding of magic. They also wanted to be able to help with his research if possible since it would allow them to spend more time with him. Riveria didnt see a big difference between teaching one person and teaching a group since, as long as they listened properly, it didnt require any additional effort. She had Lefiya acting as her assistant and used a ckboard that Vahn had set out for her to start her introductory lessons on magic starting from the history of magic itself which dated back to the Age of Heroes. There are four doc.u.mented ages in history, which included the Age of Myths, Age of Darkness, Age of Heroes, and the current age, which was called the New Age since there had yet to be anything to define it. Many people were beginning to refer to it as the Age of Adventure, but that would be for future schrs to decide just as they had determined that the Age of Heroes ended nearly a thousand years ago when the Tower of Babel was used to seal the dungeon after Albert Wallenstein, the Hero King, failed to defeat the One-Eyed ck Dragon, which was then simply known as the ck Dragon... (A/N: Alternate Tites: Raaaaaax,Vahn rxing at home while the girls enter the dungeon, kappa,Riveria-senseis Lecture Begins... If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 365 - History

Chapter 365 - History

The Age of Myths was defined as the period in history dating back nearly six-hundred-million-years ago. It was a time when the world was a singr ne and gods freely roamed the nearly infinitendmass of the primordialnd known as Aiua. During the Age of Myths, the gods suffered no restrictions to their powers at all and many possessed a singr Divinity which gave them absolute influence over a set ofws. By working alongside each other, they were able to create hundreds of small worlds that were popted by strange and wondrous creatures. As even the gods had yet to understand the meaning behind their existence, they sought purpose for themselves through their creations and endeavored to create a nigh-infinite number of entities as a reflection of themselves and the Divinities they embodied. For several million years, other than some small interaction with each other, the gods, which wouldter be known as the Primordial Deities, kept themselves busy with their own creations without interfering with each other. However, this would not always be the case as there were several gods that began to lose interest in their own creations that were limited by their Divinities. They sought stimulus through observing the creations of others and began to form rtionsh.i.p.s and bonds with like-minded gods and goddesses. After nearly one-hundred-million-years had passed, the gods had split into several groups of varying sizes andbined their Divinities to make entire worlds in their image. Unfortunately, none of the creations of the gods were entities that possessed a soul, nor were they truly sentient. Though they could create life in an endless variety of forms, it wasnt truly alive in the same vein as the gods saw themselves. Everything they created was simply temporary and they grew bored of it quickly. Since there were no new gods being born, it got to the point where several gods began to lose their sense of being as there was no true stimulus, just fabrications they had made to distract themselves. Though they foundpanionship in each other, even this became a temporary reprieve when taking into consideration concepts like eternity. Some gods even grew desperate and tried to destroy the primary shards that represented their Divinity in order to escape the endless monotony of their lives. However, regardless of the power they wielded in creation, they were unable to destroy the Divinities that gave them their power. A great divide urred between the Primordial Deities as many began trying to find way to enter long slumbers, while some even made an effort to break free from the constraints of the world entirely. Some believed that, because there were powers behind the scenes that allowed for their existence, there had to be a way to interact with, or even break free, of them. The leader of what wouldter be known as the Discordant Gods were two Primordial Deities named Nyx and Erebus. They gathered arge number of Primordial Deities with Divinities rting to Darkness, Yin, Time, and Destruction. The mission they had set for themselves was to either find a way to discover a means of True Death for the gods, or the find a path to break free of the constraints of the world they were unjustly born into. Opposing the Discordant Gods were the two Primordial Deities known as Ouranos and Gaia. They led the group of gods that were most heavily involved in the creation of things and directly opposed the Discordant Gods who reveled in destruction. Because of the fundamental differences in their nature, the two sides werent able toe to apromise and there were several instances where they would sh against each other which resulted in realm-wide devastation in the worlds they had created previously. Even though their creations didnt possess True Life, it was still very demoralizing for the Primordial Deities of Creation since their opposition of the Discordant Gods inevitably lead to the destruction of the things they held dear. Throughout the fighting, Ouranos continued to watch over everything as an objective observer and tried to mediate between the two factions since he considered it his duty to do so. He controlled the principle Divinity of Space and, alongside Gaia, they were the two responsible for the structure of the current realm. Gaia grieved at the devastation wrought by the Discordant Gods, but Ouranos advocated that both Life and Death were necessary and that the world must maintain a bnce or it would stagnate and lead to the propagation of the monotony that was so trying for many gods to bear. For nearly seventy-million-years, the two sides continued to sh until the entire realm, and all worlds contained within, had been devastated to a point where many worlds couldnt sustain life in any shape or form. Many of the gods that possessed Divinities rted to creation simply gave up creating new things because it was always painful when the Discordant Gods inevitably destroyed them. Though it might have been something to celebrate since they had technically won the fight, the Discordant Gods began to fight amongst themselves after there was nothing new to destroy. Without having new things to ruin, many of them began to lose their minds and even tried to force the creation gods to make new things without any sess. Seeing what had be of their forces, Erebus and Nyx finally tried topromise with Ouranos since he had always advocated the necessity of both sides. However, when they finally went to him, Ouranos simply stated that it was the right of all gods to choose to use their power at their leisure. Though they had taken sides, there were no entities above others and everyone had the same rights to choose how to live out their eternities. Ouranos told the two that, if they truly wished to reconcile with the gods of creation, they would have to show it through their actions ande to apromise. Since it was the Discordant Gods that caused the problem, it was their responsibility as gods to clean up the mess they had made. If they truly desired change, they needed to focus less on destroying things mindlessly and proactively contribute to maintaining the bnce lest they invalidate their own purpose. Because of their pride, Erebus and Nyx werent able to agree with Ouranos and they continued trying to find a way to force the other gods to do as they willed. However, though they all controlled various differentws, all Divinities were fundamentally equal in power. No matter how hard they pressed, the gods of creation simply shrugged off the various different attacks, schemes, and plots that had been created by the Discordant Gods. The gods of creation knew that, without their creations, the Discordant Gods would eventually break down and it was much easier to tolerate creating temporary existences than trying to preserve things just so that others could destroy themter. As expected, the Discordant Gods broke down long before the gods of creation since, without a way to express their Divinity, they quickly began to deteriorate and there were several that had retreated to distant regions of the realm in order to try to seal themselves away in solitude. Unable to persist with their old methods, the Discordant Gods approached Ouranos and Gaia and undertook the first vows. They swore to uphold the bnce between creation and destruction, but only if the gods of creation helped pursue the concept of True Death. There were several Primordial Deities that had started to turn catatonic as they were unable to express their Divinities. Ouranos agreed to their terms and the two sides came to the first meaningfulpromise in history. After the vows were officially made, there was a drastic change in the nature of the realm itself and both sides felt the echoes. All of the Primordial Deities that were part of the vow suddenly became much weaker as their Divinities began to nourish the realm together in a manner unseen since the dawn of the Age of Myths. The Primordial Deities didnt understand the changes at first and went about their duties as normal until a goddess named Nuwa created a small creature that was a peculiar existencepared to anything she had created before. Unable to understand what was unique about the small, six-legged creature, Nuwa showed her creation to the other Primordial Deities and they quickly discovered the incongruity in the creature. Against all expectations, the small, six-legged, nine-eyed, bulbous, creature possessed the first mortal soul in all the realms. Unlike the temporary creations of the past, this creature was capable of rebirth and, as long as the cycle of creation and destruction was bnced, would continue to be reborn infinitely in various different forms. Spurred by Nuwas discovery, the creation gods entered a mad frenzy of creating new worlds once again and noticed that the majority of their creations were still normal and only a few possessed souls. Dissatisfied, they began working alongside the deities capable of creating True Life and contributed their Divinities to create a variety of different entities as all the Primordial Gods began to watch their creations in interest. Even the Discordant Gods were satisfied with the changes in the realm because, even without them having to act personally, destruction was wrought by the creatures that were created. Because they possessed weak souls, the creatures were capable of evolving over time and repeated and endless cycle of death, rebirth, life, and eventual death once again. Since life evolved in many unexpected ways, the gods were no longer bored and proactively watched over the various different worlds with interest. Whenever the monotony got difficult to deal with, the only thing they had to do was introduce new variables and watch how the creatures within the worlds would react and change under the new stimulus. By the time nearly three-hundred-million-years had passed, there were more than a billion different worlds within the realm that were visited by the various different gods of creation and destruction. Now that things were bnced, the realm had stabilized a lot and most of the gods found purpose in observing the changes within the world while only taking action whenever they wanted to see what changes would ur from their interference. However, this turned out to be a temporary peace as the Discordant Gods that had fled to the distant corners of the realm began to return. Unlike their old selves, they had changed into monstrous creatures far removed from the immacte existence of the other Primordial Deities. From the moment the first god returned, the gods of creation and destruction noticed a drastic change within the realm. One of the strange, tentacr, gods began to rampage and destroy several worlds that had existed for millions of years without a single thought. When other gods tried to approach the inconsiderate god to reason with them, the monstrosityshed out at them and, for the first time in history, a god was killed. A stir urred within the realm amongst all gods because they were all omniscient and had immediately learned of the incident as it happened. It turned out that, after theirpromise which brought bnce to the realm, the excess power had been absorbed by the slumbering gods at the edge of the realm. Though their Divinities had warped into something chaotic, almost unrecognizable, they were much stronger than any of the other gods within the realm. During their emergency meeting, these returned gods became known as the Old Gods, because they still had the incredible power that Primordial Deities possessed before thepromise a hundred million years prior. Though there were several that still sought True Death, the gods of destruction were unwilling to seek assistance from the Old Gods due to the fact they were not simply killing the gods they struck down, but they were absorbing their Divinities and imprisoning the essence of their victims inside of themselves. If they werent stopped, the Old Gods would eventually consume all of the other gods and bring absolute destruction to the realm. Many began taking up arms to oppose the Old Gods, but Ouranos continued to observe the events in solemn silence as they transpired. A long war was fought between the gods of the realm, both creation, and destruction, against the Old Gods that sought nothing but chaos, destruction, and the propagation of madness. In the resulting conflict, nearly all gods were destroyed and assimted by the Old Gods before they were eventually defeated when Gaia, Erebus, Nyx, and the god of Light, Aether, sacrificed their lives by fusing their Divinities together in a desperate attempt to save the realm...When asked about his decision to not interfere at the end of the long war, Ouranos would remark to his fellow god who was on the verge of death, "Life and Death, be it mortal or god, these are both necessary for the world to change and move forward. Had I died in the conflict, that would have been my fate...I will continue to watch over this world and maintain this realm, so go peacefully my old friend..." With these parting words, Ouranos held the body of his longtimepanion Gaia as her body dissipated into oblivion... By the time the war had concluded, there were only seven Primordial Gods remaining including Ouranos, Nuwa, Brahma, Tiamat, Amenominakanushi, Ymir, and the enigmatic Tartarus. Using their powers, they endeavored to restore the realm to stability before consuming the majority of their own Divinity to reverse the devastation that had been caused by the Old Gods. They were able to turn back time nearly to the point before the first conflicts between the gods of creation and the Discordant Gods in the past. Though they were unable to revive the dead gods, they were able to return the Divinities to the realm before shattering them into smaller shards to increase the stability of the resultant realm. Because there werent enough gods to keep the worlds from destabilizing, they split the realm into three different states before sealing the majority of all Divinities within the new realm that became known as Heaven. As time passed, the fragments of Divinity regained sentience and this resulted in the creation of the first generation of gods in Heaven. Not all the Primordial Deities stayed in Heaven though, Nuwa and Tiamat both remained in the old realm of the gods which became known as Hell. Tartarus had sacrificed her own body, while retaining her Divinity, to be the bridge between the three realms while her main body became the foundation of the mortal world. Ouranos, Brahma, Amenominakanushi, and Ymir remained in Heaven to guide the new generation of gods to be better than their past selves while teaching them to cope with the various fragments of Divinity they possessed. The period of time after the Age of Myths came to an end was known as the Age of Darkness, since there was not a single entity within the mortal world that drew the breath of life. All of the souls that had been created in the past were still within the cycle of reincarnation, but there were no gods to breathe life into the world for a very long period of time. By some strange twist of fate, Nuwa was the one toe up with a solution to the problem as she used arge amount of her power before feeding it through Tartarus and into the Mortal World. She nearly exhausted all of her Divinity, but various creatures began to appear in the surface world with a single sentient species that became the progenitors of all humans. With the birth of primordial man, the gods within Heaven gained a new purpose and began following the path of their ancestors and working to regte things within the mortal world and ensure the continuation of life and propagation of the human race. Unfortunately, since Nuwa had been unable to control her power through Tartarus, the strongest creatures on the surface were not humans. In fact, due to their weak souls, humans were one of the weakest species in the entire world and were easily killed without Divine Intervention. Worried that humanity would be wiped out, several gods worked together to speed up the development of the more docile creatures in the mortal world and eventually created the entities known as spirits. Because they possessed a small portion of the power of the gods, the spirits were incredibly powerful and even possessed a certain degree of immortality. Representing the gods in the mortal world, the spirits went to the aide of humans and thus started the Age of Heroes as Humanity fought alongside Spirits to reim the surface. Though spirits werent supposed to be able to bear children, fate seemed to be whimsical as there were several humans whose souls increased in strength over several generations and they eventually managed to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e several spirits over several millennia. This was how all of the races that are currently present in the world came to be, the result of the bond between humans and spirits. As for the High Elves, who pride themselves as the Descendants of Spirits, the only thing that made them truly unique was the fact they had performed selective breeding early on to ensure the purity of their bloodline to cultivate the power of miracles that was used by the spirits, which wouldter be known as magic. The High Elves werent the only species to develop a unique culture since the majority of the races were inhabitants of specific regions and didnt spread from them for several thousands of years. By the time the various races began to interact with each other, theirmon ancestors were no longer important and they focused more on the differences between the races than their shared qualities. Not long after the surface had started to be peaceful, the various different descendants of primordial man began to wage war against each other for superiority. Disconste about the state of the world, arge number of gods began to pressure the Primordial Gods, who were then known as Elder Gods, intoing up with a solution. Ouranos initially resisted but, after recalling his failure in the past, decided that his resistance against the gods was actually going against the principles of allowing change to ur in the world. He decided to use the ancient bridge created by Tartarus to establish a pathway between Heaven and the Mortal World, but one that could only be used after the gods underwent several vows to restrain their power. Ouranos descended with the first batch of gods, which also included several first and second generation gods and goddesses such as Odin, Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Amaterasu, and a plethora of others. The spread throughout the mortal world and sought out champions to continue the fight to reim the surface while also trying to put an end to the strife between the different races. Ouranos found a human with a powerful soul named Albert Wallenstein and bestowed him the first Falna, the blessings that humans received from gods to break the limits of mortality. With his allies, including the spirit Aria, Albert traversed the continent that became known as Eden and helped to resolve the differences between the various species while eliminating the powerful monsters that still roamed the surface. It wasnt until Alberts death against the ck Dragon that the Age of Heroes came to an end. With his death, the Tower of Babel, which had been constructed in Heaven to act as the anchor between the Mortal world and Heaven, was brought down to Eden to act as a seal to cover the living Dungeon where the now One-Eyed ck Dragon fought its climactic battle against Albert. Drawn to the Heavenly tower that had appeared in the mortal world, representatives from every race began to gather around the tower and this became the foundation for what would one day be known as the City of Orario. True to his neutral nature, Ouranos dered the City to be a sovereign nation that epted all races in an effort to draw new heroes to the City in order to challenge the Dungeon and eventually grow strong enough to defeat the dragon sealed within its depths. For thest 997 years, Orario had continued to develop and had be the central power within the entire continent and had now grown to the point that it was unrivaled within the world... (A/N: In the beginning...,Ouranos, the Eternal Watcher,Perpetuation of the Natural Cycle...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 366 - Preconceptions

Chapter 366 - Preconceptions

At the end of Riverias long recounting of events, Shizune raised her tiny hand and asked in a somewhat childish voice that suited her body, but not her age, "That is a very interesting story, but I dont understand what it has to do with magic~?" Riveria snapped the book she had been reading shut before turning to the kitsune girl and saying in a in tone, "It is important to understand the History of all things when discussing magic. Magic is derived from the miracles that had been created by spirits in the past...those miracles only existed because of the natural forces in the world that had been established by the gods that had helped shape the world in Heaven. Understanding magic is understanding the very structure of the world and peeking into thews that govern everything, not just in the Mortal world, but also Heaven and Hell. When youre chanting magic, you are recounting stories, legends, and myths in order to draw upon their power and recreate it in the present." Vahn stroked his chin in thought as he listened to Riverias words before asking, "So...when a new magic is born, it is because a new story, or legend, had been created? By that logic, doesnt it mean that anyone should be able to create a magic spell as long as they have an understanding of the elementalws governing it and are able to convey their intent to the world itself?" Hearing his question, Lefiyas eyes opened wide while Riveria nodded in approval and said, "That is correct, Vahn, very well deduced. This is why the chant could vary from person to person even when casting the same spell and also why not all grimoires arepatible with people. Without understanding the story and legend behind the spell, it doesnt matter if you know the chant for the spell...well, there are exceptions to everything..." In thetter half of her words, Riveria had turned her attention to Lefiya and made the bashful elf blush. Though he had turned his attention to Lefiya and smiled at her reaction, Vahn was actually lost in his own thoughts as the processed the information Riveria had told him. Most of his magical knowledge came from his interactions with Eva and Vahn understood that, while both systems were different, they actually used very simr logic. Vahn began to wonder if this was the case for magic systems in all worlds and began wondering if magic was simply the product of a powerful story. With this thought in mind, Vahn thought about how Eva formed her magic and realized she only ever used chants whenever she wanted the spell to be stronger. This meant that she was able to form the spell using her imagination and understanding of the spell structure without requiring a chant at all. Chantless magic didnt seem to exist in the record of Danmachi, but Vahn assumed it should be possible since magic circles existed and skills like Riverias, which allowed her to extend chants, also existed. Seeing Vahn lost in thought, Riveria squinted her eyes in interest before asking, "Did you think of something, Vahn?" From what Riveria understood, Vahn had an inexplicable ability to intuit things using a form ofmon sense that was founded in rationality but held few simrities with anything she had observed in her 97 years of life. Most of his thoughts were revolutionary and he was able to make logical leaps that others simply werent capable of. He was like a nk te where anything could be written and, after a certain amount of time passed, the te would be able to provide a solution to the problem, even if it was something that confounded schrs for generations. Vahn turned his attention to Riveria and saw a strange sparkle in her jade-green eyes, like the light of expectation, or maybe even hope. After thinking how to best answer her question, Vahn decided to say, "Maybe...can you show me one of your magic using a chant? I want to see the magic circle that is created by your [Mage] Development Ability." Riveria considered his words for a moment before nodding her head, raising her hand toward him, and saying, "Assemble, breath of thend -my name is Alf." During the short chant, a forest-green spell circle appeared under Riverias body before a green glow surrounded Vahn and he could feel an invisibleyer of protecting covering him from head to toe. Though it was very brief, Vahn could rece the scene of Riveria casting her magic over and over in his mind, even in slow motion if he wanted to. When he focused his attention on something, The Path enabled him to record everything his sense picked up and y it back just by making a request of Sis. She could even analyze the data for him while he focused on other stuff and help provide a solution at ater date when it was more convenient. Using this rey feature of his mind, Vahn slowed down the image of Riveria casting her spell and noticed that, though the magic circle seemed to appear all at once, it actually formed in a specific sequence. Vahn blinked to snap himself out of his reverie and activated his [Eyes of Truth] before saying, "Please, Riveria, can you cast the spell again? I think I might have picked up on something..." Without hesitating, Riveria nodded before pointing at Lefiya and using the exact same spell, this time drawing it out a bit more for Vahns benefit. With his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn was able to see that, not only did the magic circle not form all at once, but it also had a different distribution of mana cirction through it in aplex structure. When Riveria finished the chant, the structure would freeze for a brief moment before dissolving and infusing itself into her target. Though it no longer had the same shape as the magic circle, the structure of the spell didnt change between the time it was a magic circle and when it had been infused into someone elses body. The most important thing to note, however, was that Vahns trantion function in the system actually allowed him to interpret the magic circle asnguage. Though he didnt entirely understand how it worked, the magic circle Riveria made had aplex structure that, when tranted, literally meant Assemble, breath of thend - my name is Alf. It was exactly the same as her chant, without a single bit of inflection or deviation. After ying the sequence over and over in his mind, Vahn held out his hand and, at the same pace as the circle was formed in his mind, said, "Assemble, breath of thend - my name is Alf." There was no magic cirlce that appeared and Riveria gave Vahn a strange look since he had pointed at her while mimicking her chant. She thought he might have interpreted things in a strange manner before she suddenly felt a formless energy cover her body and her eyes widened in abject shock. Vahn, however, didnt see any changes and just felt a powerful throbbing sensation from his temples as he began to rub them to alleviate the difort. Before understanding the changes that had happened, Vahn said in an apologetic manner, "Sorry, I guess I made a mistake..." While he was trying to alleviate the pain in his head, Vahn sensed Riveria approach him quickly so he turned his eyes and saw the shock on her face as she said, "You didnt make a mistake...I dont understand what you did, but whatever it was, it worked. Please, Vahn, exin what just happened." Seeing the confusion on his face, Riveria unsheathed a small dagger and cut towards her own arm before a green light shone andpletely deflected the dagger. Vahn immediately understood what Riveria meant now so he said, "I copied the magic circle in my mind...and then just repeated your words as the circle formed..." Hearing Vahn casually mention that he had duplicated her magic circle in his mind, Riveria actually showed an awkward smile beforeughing in a strange manner. As if she was copying Vahn this time, Riveria lifted her hand to her head and began rubbing her temples. She understood that Vahn was likely telling the truth, but it turned out that the truth was something inexplicable, almost impossible to evenprehend. Elves had studied magic circles since the existence of the [Mage} Development Ability was known yet, after nearly a thousand years of study, hadnt been able to understand their structure at all. Yet, here Vahn was sitting at his little desk telling her he had seen through it after watching her cast the spell twice...the most problematic thing of all, however, was that the magic she had used was Elven Magic. There hasnt been a single instance in the history of magic where someone from a different race was able to emte, much less duplicate, the magic of another race. Specifically, Vahn had used magic that was only useable by High Elves within the direct lineage of the Royal Family...he even used the Royal Familys name Alf as the activation key... Riveria sat down at the desk she had set up for herself before waving toward everyone in the ssroom and saying, "Everyone is dismissed for the time being...go have lunch and thene back in two hours. Vahn..." Riveria looked up and showed a somewhat tired expression on her face before shaking her head and saying, "There are a lot of things we need to talk about. Lefiya, you can stay as well, I dont think Ill be able to make sense of everything if its just me alone." Though they were confused at first, the girls listened to Riverias words when Vahn reiterated them. After hearing it from him, the girls all left as Preasia walked over to wake up the sleeping Fenrir before taking her with them. When everyone else had left, Lefiya looked up at Vahn before saying, "Vahn, Id like to see your Status Board...I want to confirm with my own eyes that you dont possess any skills to emte magic like Lefiya." Knowing that Riveria wouldnt be able to see through his Innates, Vahn nodded his head in agreement since she had allowed him to see her Status Board the previous night. Vahn stripped off his tunic and stood bare-chested before the two elven girls as Riveria looked at him with a in expression while Lefiya turned her face away with a blush. Pulling over one of the chairs, Vahn sat down and allowed Riveria to look at his status after she pulled out a strange, blood-colored, vial of liquid and ced it on his back. Vahn knew it was the illegal magic item known as Status Thief, but he didnt really care since he had allowed her to view his Status freely. Though she couldnt read all the hieroglyphs making up his status, Riveria was able to understand the majority of it and noticed that Vahn had two magic she had never seen before, but neither of them exined his ability to duplicate the magic of others. Most importantly, Vahn possessed no racial traits or skills associated with elves and his status clearly listed him as a human. Just to be sure, Riveria asked, "Can you show me both of your magic skills, please...?" Vahn nodded his head before immediately disappearing from his spot and reappearing three meters away. Before she asked, Vahn said, "That is my chantless magic, Shundo. Its a movement type magic that links two points in space and allows the user to transition between them. Its hard to exin, and its not a magic Im trying to poprize, so youll have to forgive me for keeping the finer details a secret." Thest thing Vahn wanted to see was a bunch of people running around using Shundo and using it for devious means. Just imagining an assassin capable of using the skill sent a shiver down his spine and he had long agomitted to only teaching the skill to people that had taken a vow of secrecy to protect the information. Riveria nodded her head, because she could understand why such a skill should be kept secret. It was a powerful ability and likely one of Vahns core strengths and it was his right to teach others about the skill at his leisure. Seeing Riveria nod, Vahn showed a small smile before thinking about Haruhime since she was the first person that came to mind when he was thinking about racial traits to copy. Using his [Thria*Mimos], Vahn turned into a male Renard with blond hair and aquamarine green eyes while standing in front of the two elves who were shocked to see his sudden change. Vahn flexed his hands and said, "This is my magic, [Thria*Mimos], it allows me to mimic the traits of animals and beast humans, though it prevents me from using the majority of my other skills in the process." Seeing that Vahn had transformation magic, Riveria thought there was something unique about his pseudo-divinities that hadnte to light yet. After thinking how best to structure the question, Riveria asked, "Vahn...have you always been human?" Vahn blinked for a moment since it wasnt a question he expected. Without much hesitation, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Yes...Ive been human for as long as I can remember..." Hearing his words, Riveria released a sigh before saying, "That magic you used earlier, it should be something unique to High Elves. Lefiya is able to copy my chants with her skill, but that is a unique ability that is incredibly rare within elves...you shouldnt be able to use the magic at all since youre a human." Vahn thought about her words for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "No, that doesnt make any sense Riveria. Like you said during your History lesson earlier, everyone has amon ancestor and all the races within the world resulted from the union between primordial man and spirits. Though we have different racial traits, the core structure of all the races in the world are fundamentally simr. If magic is the culmination of a persons understanding of a story, legend, or myth, it means anyone able to understand the structure of the spell should be capable of casting it." Riveria was surprised by Vahns rebuttal but couldnt help but agree that his spection, at least in theory, was correct. However, all of the studies rted to magic were the evidence against his im since, other than Vahn himself, there has never been a single other exception to the rule. One of the biggest points against his theory was the fact that most half-breeds couldnt even use magic at all since the changes in their body made them incapable of forming anything but a few fundamental magic spells. While she was thinking over matters, Riveria noticed Vahns eyes had changed colors as he passed his gaze of herself and Lefiya as if confirming something. They were the same eyes he had used when watching her cast her magic earlier and Riveria couldnt help but feel like he had just seen through herpletely. Before she asked, Vahn started exining, "Other than a few physiological differences, the basic structure between elves and other races is the same. There are a few differences in how the mana is formed within your bodies, but that isnt something that cant be emted by others..." Vahn got lost in thought for a brief moment before saying, "If I emte the flow of mana, I believe I would be able to be an actual elf after a few weeks passed." Vahn knew his body could change depending on his perception, so if he changed the flow of his mana and wanted to be an elf is should be possible. Not just Riveria, but Lefiya looked at Vahn in confusion before he said again, "Im telling the truth...though I wouldnt be a natural born elf, I can almost guarantee that Id be indistinguishable from the real deal. It might even update on the status board if I maintain the image for a long enough period of time. If the only difference between races is minor fluctuations in the energy contained in their bodies, it isnt impossible to alter the structure of the body...besides, I seem to have a talent for transformation magic and understanding the physiological structure of other races. Remember what I did for Tsubaki?" With Vahns reminder, Riveria remembered how drastic the change in Tsubaki had been and began to seriously consider his words. Thinking she didnt believe him, Vahn tried focusing on his own image within his mind by passing his perception over his own body. He was already made of pure source energy and had incredible control over the energy within the bodies of others, so it stood to reason that he could replicate the changes in himself. He tried imagining himself as an elf and began willing the energy in his body to emte the flow he had observed in Riveria. She and Lefiya had minor changes, probably because Riveria was a High Elf while Lefiya was a normal elf. Vahn figured it would be more believable if he emted a High Elf since it should be marginally more difficult to pull off. Since they were both very perceptive to mana, Riveria and Lefiya turned their attention to Vahn and saw something that was hard to describe since both of their minds nked. Vahns dark-brown hair began to turn into an emerald green from his roots and his tanned skin actually started to turn lighter at a visible rate until he became somewhat fair-skinned. Since he hadnt been wearing a shirt, the girls saw his body be thinner as his ears began to increase in length beforeing to a point. Even his height began to increase marginally before he opened his now jade green eyes and inspected his body before pulling out a mirror for a better view. With a satisfied smile on his face, Vahn paused for a moment before turning to the girls and saying in a confident manner, "That wasnt as difficult as I expected. Though I wont be able to hold the image for too long, I should have be a High Elf now if youd like to check my Status Board to confirm." For several long seconds, Riveria just stared nkly at Vahn because his appearance was actually very simr to her own and she knew he had used her as a base when changing his body. She had no words to refute his earlier ims because he had clearly shown that his words were credible and that all preconceived notions of magic were wed on a very fundamental level. Riveria knew that Vahn would likely revolutionize the very concept of magic in the future and it would likely be usable by anyone that made the effort to study it. For now, however, Riveria was most concerned about checking the veracity of Vahns words as she used Status Thief to reveal Vahns crest. As he had imed, his race now showed High Elf instead of Human and everything Riveria thought she knew about magic shattered into pieces... (A/N: Character Poprity Poll: http://.easypolls/poll.html?p=5c0af404e4b095756bdd4e61) (A/N: Special Christmas chapters for those that get in the top of the rankings~ (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns casual mimickry,Theories only exist until new Theories emerge to rece them,Riveria gets broken...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 367 - Getting Carried Away

Chapter 367 - Getting Carried Away

Lefiya had been watching all of the changes in Vahn since the very beginning and she was starting to suspect that her presence had been unnecessary. Riveria had wanted her to remain behind to better make sense of Vahns deductions but everything he was doing made no sense to her at all. Just seeing Vahn turn into a High Elf right before her eyes caused her mind to nk because of the incredulity of the situation. There was also the matter that High Elves, and Elves in general, werent predisposed to physical development, yet Vahn stood in front of her with a rtively thin frame that was still incredibly toned. Seeing him as a High Elf made her heart feel like it was going to explode in her chest and she couldnt even continue to stare at his muscr figure and had to turn away. As for Riveria, she continued to stare at Vahns crest with a nk expression for several seconds before reaching out her hand and tracing her index finger of the hieroglyphs that revealed Vahns current race. Even now, when the evidence was right in front of her, she couldnt quite believe what she was seeing and continued to trace her finger over the mark as if to reveal its secret. Vahn didnt mind her touch, but he started feeling like things were taking a strange turn so he asked, "Have you been able to confirm it properly? I dont mind staying like this for a while, but its a little awkward to have you constantly touching my back..." Hearing his words, Riveria pulled away her finger with a slightly startled expression on her face before almost immediately resuming her taciturn expression. Now that Vahn mentioned it, Riveria realized what she was doing was actually very inappropriate considering the culture of High Elves. If Vahn was a natural born High Elf, touching his bare back as a female High Elf would have been considered a very intimate gesture since it was the tradition that Elves didnt associate with the same s.e.x until they had returned to their mothend and had undergone various courtship ceremonies. She was very confused with everything that was happening because, even though she knew Vahn was Human, it was inarguably a High Elf in the present moment. Riveria felt like her understanding of, not just magic, but the actual identity of her people was being broken down by Vahns existence. Though she wasnt one of the elitists that advocated Elven supremacy, she still had the pride of a High Elf and it was difficult to process that someone was able to freely transition their race to be something that had been considered sacred by her people for millennia. Fortunately for both girls, Vahns body started slowly returning to his original form at a visible rate and they were able to calm down after about ten minutes when he had lost his Elven traits entirely. Riveria released a relieved sigh and said, "There are so many things Id like to try and understand regarding what you have discovered today. I dont believe its an exaggeration to say that youll one day revolutionize magic in its entirety...ah, its hard to even process everything that is happening. Its almost like my life has been spent pursuing a dead end..." Hearing her words, Vahn shook his head before showing a casual smile and saying, "I dont think its quite as simple as my exnation makes it seem...it wouldnt be incorrect to consider myself an exception, not the rule. Though I might be able to help you make sense of how magic works at a fundamental level, it doesnt mean I can revolutionize magic on my own. It would be through ourbined efforts and research that real change is made since what I do is something unique to my body and not something I can replicate in others..." Seeing the confusion on Riverias and Lefiyas faces, Vahn continued, "Well, I figured you might be worried that I would be able to simply turn people into other races, but that isnt the case at all. Just like Im able to hold the image of your spell within my mind, Im also about to do the same with my own sense of self while also recording the information of the people I view in detail. Changing the flow of energy in a persons body requires constant focus and it would have to be maintained for a long period of time as their mind and body adapt to the change. I might be able to pull this off for myself, but it isnt something I can help others understand since, if they were able to understand it, they wouldnt need my help to change. Even if they might not like the race they are born as, everyone would have adapted to being themselves after growing up and experiencing various things over time. The body may change easily, but the mind is something that can be surprisingly persistent and inflexible..." Riveria started to understand what Vahn was trying to say so she asked, "So youre saying that it isnt simply the structure of a persons mana that determines their race, but also their mental image of themselves...if they dont truly believe the image they create, they wouldnt be able to replicate the feat you performed..." Seeing Vahn nod in affirmation, Riveria squinted her eyes before cing her hand on her chin and saying in a thoughtful tone, "The real question is how youre able to do something so inconceivable after simply thinking about it once...your mind, the very structure of your thoughts, is fundamentally different than anything found in the mortal world. Perhaps it is tied to your origin as a Demigod...hmm..." While Riveria was ruminating over matters within her own mind, Lefiya decided to try to break into the conversation but, before she asked any questions of her own, she said, "Vahn, please put your shirt back on..." Hearing Lefiyas words, Vahn showed a big smile on his face as he saw her blushing expression. Since he didnt want to stress her out too much, Vahn equipped a tunic from his inventory and it immediately covered his body. Seeing the sudden appearance of the tunic was somewhat surprising, but Lefiya still released a relieved sigh as she pat her chest a few times before saying, "Thank you...ano, I was wondering about a few things...? I kind of understand what you said about magic circles being like nguage, since they are formed by chants, but does that mean its possible to cast magic without a chant if you understand the structure of the magic circle? I noticed that both of your magic were usable without chants...did you create those spells yourself? Also, umm, Riveria...when you read Vahns Status Board, did he have your magic listed? If he is able to use the magic, shouldnt it have been added to his list of usable magics?" Lefiya wasnt considered a prodigy for no reason as her questions all struck at various important subjects even though it didnt seem like she put a lot of thought into it. This was the reason why Riveria wanted her to stay behind and she began to seriously consider the answer to the questions Lefiya had asked while turning her attention to Vahn. He was currently lost in thought and was likely trying toe up with the best way to exin things. Riveria respected that, although he could be a prolific mage by keeping the information to himself, Vahn was the type that tried to help increase the understanding of others. Though he might not reveal his own secrets, he wouldnt hide things that could benefit others and help them develop themselves. His alias Aldrnari and the title of Sage were very suitable and Rivera began to wonder if she should take any other actions to elevate his status. Now that he could freely turn into a High Elf... Riverias thoughts were brought to a halt when Vahn began exining, "I dont think chants are even important, at least for casting general magics...the chant just gives power to the spell, while the magic circle reinforces and enhances the power of the magic that is being cast by the user. The most important thing should be understanding the elementalws youre trying to make use of and having a proper image for the phenomenon youre trying to create. Umm, lets try this..." Vahn had noticed the two girls had somewhat confused looked on their faces so he wanted to try an experiment to help them understand what he was saying. Holding out his hand, Vahn recalled the various images of Bell within the manga using his [Firebolt] magic. It was a super short chant magic and also didnt have a magic circle, but Bell was able to cast many different versions based on the amount of effort he put into the spell. He could even empower it with skills like Argonaut to create a much stronger version of the magic which shouldnt be possible given the traditional logic that Riveria mentioned earlier. Though he had never met Bell, Vahn felt a strong bond with the heroic boy and considered his existence within the record of Danmachi to be one of the strongest legends, even though it had yet to be written. Confident that his deduction was correct, Vahn aimed at the ckboard and created the image of Bell using firebolt in his mind and said, "Firebolt~!" From the center of his palm, a small spark of me shot out before colliding with the ckboard and causing a small explosion that created a hole in the center. Vahn smiled since, through this experiment, he was able to confirm that he could actually use any magic that he was able toprehend and hold a powerful image of within his mind. Since his status didnt show he had the spell listed, this showed that the magic system he was creating had nothing to do with the record of Danmachi itself, at least for the time being. Just like when he had been learning [Shundo], Vahn was able to use a simplified version of the spell until he attained some degree of mastery in it. If he continued to use the spell, Vahn was confident he would one day be able to make it his own, instead of just something he had copied from Bell. Seeing the mild shock on the two Elves faces, Vahns smile widened marginally since he fought the dumbfounded and embarrassed faces of elves to be some of the most adorable. They were typically stoic, cool, and collected, so seeing such an abnormal expression on their faces made something in Vahn strangely happy. After nodding his head, Vahn exined, "All I did was hold the image of someone casting firebolt within my mind and then replicated the actions at the same time as the image reyed itself. Theoretically, if I practice the spell enough, I would be able to use it without using a chant at all. Admittedly, this would make the spell much weaker, and there also seem to be restrictions based on the structure of a persons body. When I used Riverias magic earlier, I got a painful headache for a brief moment, most likely since I was human at the time and had used elven magic." Hearing Vahns exnation, Riveria asked, "So, youre saying that other races can use racial magic but there is a bacsh due to how the mana is structured in the body?" Vahn nodded his head and said, "Yeah, its like the nguage changes a bit based on the internal structure, or mana circuits, of the body. If you try to force the spell to cast without running it through the proper channels, the spell would probably fail, or potentially even rebound depending on the understanding of the caster. This is most likely why people have different chants, since the same chant may not bepatible with different people based on the structure of their mana circuits. There should be a way to reverse engineer the magic and make it universal, but Im not sure where to even start in order to understand that." Everything Vahn was saying was something revolutionary in the minds of the two capable elven mages and they were both taking notes as they asked Vahn various questions in order to hear his personal spection. Based on what Vahn said, it seemed like the current magic system was based more on assumptions than actual logic and reasoning. The current system showed that magic was a phenomenon emting the miracles created by Spirits and used the stories, legends, and myths created in the earlier ages as the source of their power. Vahns system of magic was very simr, but it was fundamentally different since it showed that it was more-so the strength of the belief behind the magic that mattered. Theoretically, a person could create an entirely new myth and, as long as they believed in the power behind it, the magic would be equally powerful. It has nothing to do with anything concrete from the past, but was entirely dependant on the persons understanding of elementalws and their ability to influence them through the nguage of magic and the image they were able to formte in their own minds. To demonstrate this, Vahn got a bit carried away and started using a variety of different magics based on the images he had created in his mind. Previously, he couldnt really use any magic and wasnt even able to make use of a grimoire, yet now he was able to case all kinds of spells just because he believed he could do so. Not only had he read a fair amount of manga in his previous life, but Vahn had also downloaded several thousands of different books rted to heroes, myths, and fairy tales. Since he was able to actually visit the record of the worlds contained in the books, Vahn was able to easily imagine himself as the protagonist of those worlds and could use a simplified version of the magic from their legend. This was a major revtion for Vahn and he couldnt stop himself from trying all kinds of different spells, each something that heavily impacted the two Elves watching him. It was like their roles had reversed and, instead of being here to learn magic from Riveria and Lefiya, the two were eagerly taking notes and asking him an endless stream of questions. Since he was the type to get carried away when people were interested in what he was doing, Vahn stared showing off a bit and, when Lefiya asked aboutplex magic like space and time, Vahn got a little overconfident and wondered if he would be able to stop, or even reverse, time. It was hard to understanding something like time, at least regardingws, but Vahn was confident he would be able to pull something off and tried using a magic spell from one of the stories he had read in the past. After focusing his mind, Vahn extended his hand towards the ckboard he had damaged earlier and simply said, "Ad Past..." It was a magic spell that was used for everything from repairing the damage done to buildings, to even recovering the wounds of the target. Unlike a healing spell that used elementalws of light, recovery, restoration, or rejuvenation, [Ad Past] was purely rted to time and literally reversed time for the object in question. Unfortunately, though the ckboard actually started repairing, Vahn immediately entered a state of Mind Down after less than a single second of trying to maintain the magic. Neither girl had expected his sudden copse so Vahn fell face first and actually smashed into Riverias desk in a painful sounding collision. Fortunately, his endurance was much higher than the damage output of the desk and he didnt suffer any actual injuries. Vahns copse had awkwardly been around the same time as the other girls had shown up, so Riveria had to cut the sses short after noticing that Fenrir seemed like she was going to throw a tantrum after seeing Vahns unconscious body. They carried Vahns body over to the soft and Fenrir sat on his body and red at everyone else in the room and caused all the girls present to feel more than a little intimidated. As the presumed cause of Vahns copse, Riveria became the primary target of Fenrirs gaze and, even though she was Level 6, the High Elf felt a powerful desire to defend herself against the small wolf girl. Her instincts that had been developed over nearly a hundred years were telling Riveria that Fenrir was actually a threat to her life if she dropped her guard for even a moment... Fortunately, Fenrir was very loyal to Vahn and, even though she was currently hostile towards Riveria, she wouldnt do something like actually attacking unless Vahn was in danger. Her standing orders were only to attack other people if they were trying to hurt her, and Fenrir didnt want to betray Vahns trust by ignoring his orders and acting as she pleased. Instead, she just sat on top of his chest for a while before curling up into a ball and watching Riveria without even blinking her glowing scarlet eyes. The other girls had tried to get close to her on asion, but Fenrir would stare them down and say, "Fenrir will protect Vahn...stay away..." Even Tina and Preasia werent able to get near the overprotective Fenrir no matter what they tried to say or do. It wasnt until Hestias arrival, after learning about the incident, that Fenrir eventually allowed them to move his body to the medical ward which was located near the Library. Vahn had ordered Fenrir to follow Hestias orders so, unless she said something that conflicted with her other orders, Fenrir would listen to the small goddess obediently. Of course, it didnt stop her from watching over Vahns body from his side as he was treated by Lefiya while being nursed by Hestia. Riveria had been forced away so she had no choice but to let Lefiya look after Vahn while spending a few more hours teaching the younger girls about magic. Even though she knew her understanding was wed, it was still informative for the girls that had no knowledge of magic at all... Vahn awoke nearly five hourster and could feel a soft feeling on the back of his head as a somewhat cool palm traced its way over his head and through his hair. When he opened his eyes, he saw Hestia looking down on him with a gentle smile as she said, "Youre finally awake, sleepy head, everyone was worried about you..." Before Vahn could say anything to respond to her, Fenrir jumped atop his body and began affectionately rubbing her head and ears against him like a pet dog that was thrilled to be reunited with its owner. Vahnughed at her actions as he pet Fenrirs head while using [Hands of Nirvana] to help calm her down while Lefiya exined what had happened. He wasnt too surprised by her words since he had already realized what had happened in the brief period of time before his copse. It seems that trying to make use of timews, without having a proper understanding of them, was a very foolish thing to attempt. Even the Oblivion skill of his [Eyes of Truth] wasnt nearly as draining as trying to reverse the time of an inanimate object by a full second. After understanding the situation, Vahn made rounds throughout the Manor and apologized to everyone for the inconvenience he had caused. He took Fenrir around with him and tried to help her understand that it wasnt the fault of anyone else, but his own mistake that had caused trouble for others. Because of his insistence, Fenrir eventually faced down Riveria and said, "Fenrir is sorry..." before bowing in an adorable manner that made even the taciturn Riveria smile before saying, "Its fine, Fenrir, you were just trying to protect Vahn. I should have been more cautious so he didnt get so carried away..." Riveria gave Vahn a slightly ming look and he felt a little embarrassed since he knew he had indeed gotten carried away since everything going on at the time was very interesting. The others had already returned from the dungeon, taken baths, and had even eaten dinner, so Vahn ended up in the onsen with a much smaller group than the previous two instances. Hestia, Lefiya, and Fenrir had all been taking care of him, so they were the only ones in the bath after Lili failed to infiltrate it, even though she had taken one earlier. Vahn wasnt sure if they had worked something out on thework, but it seemed like Ryuu, Aki, Mn, and Syr were all watching over Lili to keep her from doing anything foolish. Even if she wasnt willing to open up to others, it didnt seem like they were willing to let her keep to herself and were slowly breaking down her walls since they knew how important she was to Vahn. Vahn found the bath with just four people to be far more rxing as he helped wash Fenrir and Hestia whilst Lefiya scrubbed away earnestly at his back in a fl.u.s.tered manner. They then enjoyed a small meal together and spent a bit of time with the other residents of the Manor, even though they had already eaten dinner earlier. Vahn set out some snacks for the group while the twins served tea and everyone as they all recounted their experiences in the dungeon earlier in the day. Aiss group had gone down to the 17th floor and she had focused on trying to help Mikoto since, after Haruhimes incredible growth, she was feeling a little pressure. Tionas group actually went all the way down to the 21st floor for a short while since Naaza and Lili were actually very capable Level 2s with the addition the S-Ranked gear Vahn had given them in the past. As for the final group, Tione had only taken them down to the 14th floor since Emiru and Maemi didnt have a great deal of stamina. Though Aki was with them, and they had the protection of a Level 5, it didnt mean the girls were capable of fighting without worry and they were actually the group to return the earliest. Hearing about everyones exploits, especially those of the girls that had gone beyond the 18th floor, Vahn began looking forward to venturing into the dungeon himself in the future. Now that he could freely enter with the members of the Alliance, he could start probing into the 19th-25th floor of the dungeon rtively safely. It would also be fun to spend time with Tiona, Ais, Lefiya, Tione, and probably Riveria, as they delved into the deeper floors together. They couldnt go beyond the 25th floor safely, since that typically required expeditions, but it was still something new and exciting that Vahn had yet to experience. Vahn decided that, after helping the twins reach Level 2, he would start focusing on increasing his own strength for a while and try to reach Level 4 within the next six months. If he managed to pull that off, there was a high chance he would be able to reach Level 5 before the start of the original timeline and Vahn felt he would have more than enough strength to influence any of the major events that might ur due to the influence of fate and karma. Most of the original events had likely been irreversibly altered by him, but it wouldnt stop nned events that hade to pass by the various forces behind the scenes from taking ce. Though he hadnt read much about it in the manga, Vahn knew there were evil forces at work that would rear their head in the future. He couldnt exactly keep his head down and avoid drawing attention to himself, so the only option he had was to increase, not just his own power, but the capabilities of everyone around him to ensure that things would progress smoothly. He was actually looking forward to crafting outfits for the girls and gearing them up with his creations now that the majority of them were living together with him... After thete dinner came to an end, the conversation continued for nearly two hours before finallying to a stop after the clock indicated it was 10 PM. Vahn faced a small dilemma almost immediately thereafter since he knew that some of the girls would probably want to sleep together with him in his room. To prevent things for escting to a point beyond his control, Vahn took the initiative and invited Mn and Tina, which also included Fenrir and Shizune, to stay with him for the night. He really wasnt in the mood for doing anything s.e.x.u.a.l, so Vahn wanted to spend time with some of the girls that he was close to without having to worry about anything happening. Hearing Vahn ask her to stay with him for the night, Tina was very happy and immediately agreed before Mn could even get out a single word. Shizune, even though she was supposedly the older of the two, also pitched in and supported Tina as they happily dragged Vahn away along with the excited Fenrir. Unable to escape the momentum of the three girls, Mn ended up following behind and Vahn spent a fair amount of time before they actually went to sleep brushing, petting, andbing the hair of the four girls. When it finally came time for bed, Vahn ended up covered in the smaller girls while Mn cuddled up against him on his left side. Vahn noticed that the body temperature of the three smaller girls was much hotter than that of the a.d.u.l.ts, but he still preferred the gentle warmth and pleasant aromaing from Mn at his side... (A/N: Character Poprity Poll, dont forget to vote~!) easypolls/poll.html?p=5c0af404e4b095756bdd4e61 (A/N: Its simple, really, you just have to do the impossible,Fenrir protec,Youth Troupes Invasion) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 368 - Management

Chapter 368 - Management

The following day proceeded in much the same way as the previous one; Everyone woke up early, performed their morning exercises together, and then took a bath before enjoying a lively breakfast and breaking off into teams to enter the Dungeon. Vahn was still taking a break and had stayed home with the youth troupe that had entered the tutge of Riveria and Lefiya. Though he didnt stand to gain much from the sses, Vahn still attended them dutifully in order to expand his knowledge on the subject so that he could make his own breakthroughster. He then exchanged notes with Riveria and Lefiya as the three of them discussed magical theory while Vahn brushed Fenrir. When the girls started returning home from the Dungeon, they called their research session to a close and everyone started sharing their experiences for the day while enjoying each otherspany. Vahn did his best to spend time with various different girls during this period, but he had realized something that would most likely be a problem in the near future. It wasnt that he acted uninhibited and did whatever he wanted in the past but, now that there were so many girls staying in the Manor, Vahn didnt actually know how he should be acting around them. He knew that, if he showed affection to some girls, there were several others that would also seek hispany and Vahn didnt know how best to split his focus and make everyone happy. It seemed a lot easier to manage when everyone was apart but, now that they were all together, Vahn was at a loss and unable to take action... ---Network PoV--- Vahn wasnt the only one who had noticed the problem as, since they outnumbered him quite a bit, thework had quickly caught on as well. Syr hadnt expected Vahn to spend a lot of time with her after she started living in the Manor, but she was still somewhat bothered by the fact that he didnt really approach her, or any of the girls for that matter, for anything more intimate. At this point, it was getting to be nearly an entire week since Vahn had any rtions with the women on thework and she knew things would be disorderly if the matter wasnt addressed expediently. Since her official duty was supposed to help manage the affairs of the Manor, Syr had brought up the matter on thework and it quickly exploded into a lively discussion about possible solutions. They knew that the primary problem was the fact that Vahn had actually developed a certain degree of self-control and also had a strong sense of propriety. If he was alone with girls, he had a tendency to get out of hand, but he always acted sensibly when there were many around, especially if there were girls that werent in an active rtionship with him. Vahn wasnt the type that liked to pressure others and, because he didnt want to make anyone feel left out, he simply left everyone out and focused more on treating people kindly instead of intimately. A good example of this was when Vahn was bathing with the girls and always tried to act calm even though that was actually the abnormal reaction most people would expect. Syr had asked why he didnt simply use the private bath if he felt ufortable and Vahns response had been along the lines of I dont want to make the other girls feel bad by using the private bath and making it like Im avoiding them... Since he was terrible at lying, this showed that Vahn, even though he wasnt in a rtionship with some of the other girls, still treated them considerately in order to make them feel like they belonged to therger group. The easiest solution seemed to be the simply have the girls move out of the Manor again, but this was opposed by a number of women and had been shot down early by Loki and Syr. Unless Vahn made that type of decision on his own, it would only cause him to me himself for the oue and put pressure on him to work even harder. Even Eina agreed with their decision and exined that it was actually very normal for Vahn to behave this way when introduced to arge amount of change over a very short period of time. His life was already very fast-paced and somewhat chaotic, so having things happening outside of his control would naturally cause him to slow down and consider matters more seriously. Though it was a strange metric to use, it was pointed out that it should be possible to determine Vahns mental wellness depending on how much time he spent with the girls he wasnt in a rtionship with. The biggest indicator for this was Fenrir and, if Vahn was spending a lot of time with her, it usually meant he was feeling insecure and wasnt sure about what actions he should take. Using this method, it was easy to understand that Vahn was struggling with the situation since he had been staying with Fenrir nearly the entire day after returning from the Dungeon with Haruhime. Riveria had even pointed out that, while they were discussing magic theory, Vahn had even been pampering her while only passively contributing to the conversation. Syr brought up that the best solution should be to help Vahn regte things without having him have to think about spending time with every girl. They had already been talking about creating a schedule and had even given Vahn logbooks so he could check the status of girls, but he hadnt been using them ever since his return. This showed that, for the time being at least, Vahn wasnt even thinking about being with any of the girls. He couldnt make them all happy at once, nor could he proactively make the decision about who to approach, so his subconscious response was to avoid the problem. By creating a schedule and having him agree to it, Vahn would be able to take the actions he wanted to and it would also allow him to spend time with the girls in a structured manner. The only downside to this was, it might cause conflict in the future and it might make Vahn feel like his rtionsh.i.p.s were more of an obligation or a responsibility. Though it likely wouldnt happen for a long time, it could easily be a major problem after things persisted in the same manner for a few years. The ultimate solution seemed to be something that had already been thought of long in the past, ever since before the first Vahnatus. Once Vahn got married, he would most likely defer to his wives on such matters and simply do his best to meet the expectations of therger group while also focusing on the things he wanted to do. Vahn was a very curious boy, and his interests stretched a wide spectrum that included everything from cooking, crafting, forging, tailoring, and a variety of other hobbies. He needed to have his own time to do the things he was interested in, including adventuring into the dungeon and pursuing the goals he had set for himself. His only real problem seemed to be his indecisiveness because, though he was empathetic by nature, he couldnt understand what people expected of him. After discussing things for nearly four hours, the girls on thework came up with a few temporary measures to help make things easier for Vahn. Hestia gave her approval and agreed to work alongside Syr to manage the affairs of the Manor while Aki and Ryuu would take the primary responsibility of managing the Familia. They would all work together to find out what Vahn wanted to do since he was actually very receptive to questions and always answered honestly. After getting his opinion, they would make a schedule that best reflected his desires and would monitor him by focusing on his interactions with the younger girls. After the wedding, Eina would be the defacto leader within the Manor and work alongside Syr, though her primary focus would be taking care of Vahn while Syrs would be taking care of Vahns rtionsh.i.p.s with the other girls. Ultimately, they still left the decision for Vahn to make since his happiness was one of the most important matters to address. It was the consensus, by an overwhelming majority, that Vahn needed to always have the most power to regte his own life. Hopefully, as long as he was making the majority of decisions for himself, he would mature in time and things would be easier to manage. He actually matured very quickly and there was also the matter of the orb within his possession that would eventuallye back into the picture. They knew he was able to spend several days in there at a time and it should help him a great deal in the future if they have him focus on rxing instead of working. As for other concerns, it was decided that they would speed up the construction of Vahns private retreat where he would be able to enjoy time away from the girls if he got too stressed out. They were also going to reach out to some of the men within the various Familias and have them spend some time with Vahn since he desired malepanionship. Vahn got along very well with Gareth and Welf, but there were also several others that would either be good role models, or good friends to Vahn in the future. Since she had also been involved in the conversation, Aki threw out Rauls name and Loki quickly agreed to it after a healthy amount of teasing. Though it was unlikely, the girls on thework wanted to increase the number of Vahns male friends to at least rival that amount of girls he was in a rtionship with... ---Godhand PoV--- Unaware of the conversation that had been taking ce in regards to his happiness, Vahn was currently sitting arge cushion with a number of girls lined up happily waiting for their turn as he used a variety of brushes tob through their tails and hair. After dinner, Vahn had decided to spend some time with Fenrir and was conducting their usual ceremony of brushing and cuddling when Haruhime made ament about how envious she was of Fenrirs treatment. Surprisingly, perhaps because she had been in a good mood after spending so much time with him, Fenrir easily gave up her spot and allowed Haruhime to get brushed as well. Spurred on by the change, some of the other girls also showed an interest in getting their hair brushed. Vahn actually liked pampering the girls in this type of manner, so he happily epted the responsibility and ended up going through Fenrir, Haruhime, Shizune, Tina, Tiona, Ais, Naaza, Lili, and eventually Preasia. Unlike the other girls, Preasias hair was somewhat shaggy and hard to brush since it was slightly curled in various different directions. However, it was also much softer than he had expected and thebination of shaggy and soft culminated into what Vahn could only describe as fluffy. He took special care not to get the brush stuck since he didnt want to pull her hair, and put in extra effort to get the areas around her horns. Though he would never shave her head, Vahn was very curious about how the horns grew out of the areas above her temples since they were somewhatrge. Remembering that he could actually transform into a Sheep Person himself with [Thria*Mimos], Vahn decided to confirm it for himselfter. Once it started gettingte, everyone went about performing their own routines to prepare for bed as Syr approached Vahn alongside Hestia, Ryuu, and Aki. They exined to him about what they had been discussing on thework and Vahn was very surprised since they had actually beening up with a solution to the problem that had been on his mind since Wednesday. It was times like this that he truly felt grateful to the existence of thework and all the girls that were paying attention to his mental state and needs. Vahn was more the type to help bear the burdens of others and wasnt fond of reaching out for help since he thought he had a responsibility to do his best...even though he also knew it was also necessary to rely on others. He knew it was a bit of a contradiction, but Vahn didnt know how best to deal with all the new things happening in his life. In total, he had only spent slightly more than eleven months in this record and this was after spending fourteen years trapped inside of ab without any meaningful interaction with other people. A lot had changed in a very short period of time, so the sudden changes after the Denatus had just overwhelmed him for the moment. After discussing matters with Hestia, Syr, Ryuu, and Aki, Vahn gave them the go-ahead to start trying to schedule and structure his life a bit. It wasnt too different to his old schedule, and there wererge blocks allocated to himself so that he had plenty of time to do the things he wanted, but the biggest change was in his nightlife. Unless he specifically wanted to sleep alone, or alongside someone in particr, they wanted to try and arrange a rotation so that the girls could recharge and share some intimate moments with him. They were also going to be creating areas that would be off-limits to the younger girls, as well as those not in an active rtionship with Vahn, so that the girls could spend time together and make themselves more avable to his approaches whenever he was feeling up for it. The way the nightlife schedule worked was, every girl was put into a rotation and they actually had denotations off to the side of their names that showed what they were receptive to. One example was, most girls would like to spend time alone with Vahn, but there was also a number that didnt mind spending time with him alongside the other girls. In this instance, it showed the girls who were okay with and Vahn was actually able to reach out to anyoneing up in the rotation to spend time with them, and their various pairings. The most noticeable members on the list happened to be the majority of the goddesses and Syr herself. They were pretty much okay with being involved with any number of people while Hestia only had the other goddesses and Aki within her list. Vahn spent a fair amount of time going over the list with the four girls so that he was able to properly understand what everything meant. Afterward, he decided to give it a try since he really did want to spend time with the girls and strengthen their bonds with each other. Though he wasnt sure how they had arranged the order, Hestia was at the top of the list and this meant that, unless he specifically wanted to sleep with someone else, Vahn had to start with her. He didnt really mind, as Hestia was one of the girls he had the most intimacy with. Though he was tempted to try and see if she was willing to invite another girl as well, none of the girls on Hestias list were nearby and Vahn didnt want to inconvenience them. Since it had been a while since they had been alone together, Vahn decided it would be nice to have a change of pace so he retired to his room alongside the excited goddess and spent some quality time with her for around half an hour. After she had fallen asleep, Vahn enjoyed the once omnipresent sensation wrapped around his member as he rxed against thefortable pillows supporting his head. Though he didnt regret only inviting her, Vahn had somehow forgotten that Hestiacked stamina. Even though he hadnt treated her intensely, she didntst for very long and Vahn did most of the work himself in order to make sure she enjoyed their time together before Hestia inevitably passed out. If he had invited Aki along, they probably would have gone at it for another two hours but it was actually nice to take it easy every now and then so Vahn just affectionately stroked Hestias silky smooth hair while enjoying the ridiculously soft sensation pressing against his chest where Hestias b.r.e.a.s.ts were being smooshed against him... (A/N: Character Poprity Poll, dont forget to vote~!) http://.easypolls/poll.html?p=5c0af404e4b095756bdd4e61 (A/N: Routine,Self-Managing Harem,Vahn can no longer be pleased by just one girl (O,...,O)) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 369 - Brown-Skinned Beauty

Chapter 369 - Brown-Skinned Beauty

Though everyone had the weekends off, the majority of the residents within the Manor were the types that woke up early regardless. One of the few exceptions was Hestia herself, who had a tendency to easily sleep upwards of 10-12 hours depending on her exertions the previous day. Because of this, Vahn got to experience peeling her from his body once again before bundling her up in a roll of nkets so he could prepare for the day. Even though he had taken the previous two days to rx a bit, he hadnt really done much idling about since he was very interested in the topic of magic. Now that the weekend hade, Vahn wanted to go out and do something interesting so he sent a message through his personal scroll to let everyone know about his ns. Since he had spent the night with Hestia, Vahn went down for an early morning soak in the onsen and noticed there were a few girls inside that had arrived before him. After entering himself, Vahn saw the presences he had detected were Mikoto and Haruhime. Ever since she first learned that the Manor had an onsen, Mikoto had been quite fond of taking baths but she often avoided taking one at the same time as Vahn. Recognizing it was the two girls, Vahn gave a wry smile before deciding to enterter since he didnt want to shame Mikoto while she was spending time with Haruhime. Before he had fully left the bathing area, Haruhime called out in a polite tone, "Ah, Vahn, you dont have to mind us. Mikoto..." Hearing her words, Vahn turned back and saw that Haruhime had a somewhat gentle smile on her face as she looked toward Mikoto. Vahn turned his attention to the generally serious swordsman and saw that, as expected, she had a serious expression on her face as she said, "I want to stay with Haruhime...I also want to be much stronger in order to protect the things I care about. Though I know you are unlikely to ept my allegiance, I already consider you my liege and will dedicate my de to protecting this Familia. Something like being seen n.a.k.e.d...I will learn to ept it." For a brief moment, Vahn considered if he should leave the onsen regardless of her words since both she and Haruhime werent on his privatework. However, he inevitably decided to honor Mikotos resolve since it was something of a big deal for her to take a step forward like this. Her affection for him was at 89(Loyal), but Vahn knew she was slowly opening up after interacting with the other girls, especially Haruhime. She was at the age of a.d.u.l.thood, so it wasnt unexpected that she would be interested in the opposite s.e.x to an extent. Now that Haruhime was actually stronger than her, even though Mikoto had been training for years, there had been a subtle change in her awareness because she understood the reason behind Haruhimes, and many of the other girls strength, was because of their emotions. This was Vahns first time seeing Mikoto n.a.k.e.d but he decided it would make things difficult if he stared so he only gave her body a casual nce before checking her development in his mind. Though she was barely an a.d.u.l.t, her b.r.e.a.s.ts were growing well and she would likely have somewhatrge b.r.e.a.s.ts when she fully matured. Mikoto also had long ck hair, ck eyes, and a somewhat angr face that emphasized her traits as someone hailing from the Far East. Her eyebrows were smaller than usual, and it appeared like she also had a serious expression on her face because they were angled toward her brows at a nt. As for her figure, she was very slim and had a somewhat paleplexion with a thin waist and a rtively small butt. After Vahn joined them, Haruhime was very pleased with the unexpected boon and happily attended to Vahn after he gave her permission. Mikoto, seeing Haruhimes behavior, also tried to attend to him but Vahn said she didnt have to push herself if she was ufortable. As if incited by his words, Mikoto grabbed the sponge regardless and helped wash his back and shoulders while Haruhime scrubbed his arms and chest. She also tried to help clean his lower body and legs, but Vahn prevented her from doing so before helping shampoo and wash her long hair and tails. When she had first arrived back at the Manor with an extra tail, it had caused a bit of a stir since it was considered a very rare trait for a Renard in the Far East. Typically, if someone had more than a single tail, they were actually required to be shrine maidens and serve the goddess Inari as her attendants. Haruhime had no interest in this at all, however, since the girls that suffered such a fate would also be required to maintain their purity until death. As for males that had more than one tail, there had never been a single instance of such a thing urring in the entire history of the Far East. Male Renards themselves were actually quite rare and the gender ratio in their species was around 15% to 85% between males and females. The males also had shorter ears and tails and didnt possess the same capacity for magic as their counterparts. After the bath came to an end, Vahn parted with the two girls before greeting some of the others that were wandering about the Manor, mostly on their way to the dining room for breakfast. Vahn spent some time discussing various topics with the girls before politely refusing the offer to go on a date with Lili and Naaza. He exined that he intended to go visit the Anubis Familia today and see if they needed help moving their stuff before discussing a few matters with Tsubaki. His ns carried into the afternoon, but he told them he should be back by around 2 PM and promised a surprise for everyone within the Manor for when he returned. Vahn didnt tell them what it was, but he was intending to practice his massage techniques more often and was going to use it as an opportunity to spend time with everyone privately. It would only be around 15-20 minutes per person, but Vahn would guarantee it was a very high-quality twenty minutes. This would also prevent them from getting sick while also serving the purpose of improving blood cirction while enhancing the natural beauty of the girls. If he could, Vahn would like to be able to spoil the girls and take better care of each of them individually. He had thought about saving up to purchase a scroll for a technique like the [Shadow Clone Jutsu], but Vahn decided against it after discussing the matter with Sis. Since the technique literally split the energy of the person in half for each use, Vahn would quickly run out of energy trying to maintain the skill. There was also the fact that he would have to bear the mental strain of each clone and none of them would be able to use his Innate abilities or earn Exilia from monsters. It could potentially be a solution for gaining OP, but the mental strain of one of his clones eventually dying could cause him problems in the real world if he was focused on something else. Though it seemed like an interesting idea, it was simply an unreliable technique without something like a tailed-beast to sustain the extra clones and mitigate the mental strain received by the user. Vahn had enough trouble dealing with stress on his own, and his clones wouldnt have the benefit of using [Will of the Emperor] to protect themselves. (A/N: Seriously, if you actually know how shadow clones function, you would very quickly understand why its a bad idea. Shadow Clones are just azy gimmick that invalidates real problems since EVERYTHING can be solved if there are enough people working on the same thing. The only way Shadow Clones actually work is if the Authorpletely ignores the logic behind the skill or gives the MC some bogus way of ignoring the severe detriments. There is a reason why its an S-Ranked skill in Naruto, and there is also a reason why every fanfic that relies on that type of mechanic dies out and gets dropped. The story quickly bes uninteresting when Shadow Clone Jutsu is the literal solution to every problem (O,....,O)~! I could literally write a 5k+ word chapter exining the detriments of the ability, so stop spamming it in thements as if its an actual solution without thinking about it.) --- After he separated from the girls at the Manor, Vahn headed out into the cold morning mist and made his way toward his former residence behind Tsubakis Manor. The Anubis Familia would be moving into arger residence to the south of the Hearth Manor in the future, but it was currently being worked on and had yet to be prepared for their move. The Hearth Manor itself was also about to undergo construction, but it would be in several passes starting from the foundational work and the underground section before moving on to the structures above the surface. Estimates put the time required at around two months, but they were dying the beginning of the project until after the wedding. Around twenty minutester, Vahn arrived outside of Tsubakis before deciding to head inside for a short visit. He had seen her once after performing Nirvana on her, but Vahn still wanted to spend time with her when he could, especially now that she was living alone again. Her workshop was located in the center of the entire Hephaestus Familia workshop district, and she still had to perform her duties as both a [Master Smith] and the Captain of the Hephaestus Familia. Since Hephaestus herself didnt participate much in the management of the Familia, most things were left for Tsubaki and a few trusted executives to deal with. Vahn would have liked Tsubaki to move near the Hearth Manor as well since he didnt want to see her alone, but it was simply impossible for the time being. It was only around 7 AM, so Tsubaki hadnt yet opened for business but Vahn was able to easily enter through the courtyard without being barred passage by the security formations. Of course, since he hadnt hidden his presence, Tsubaki was alerted to his arrival and appeared in the corridor that Vahn had been walking down towards her room. She likely hadnt expectedpany, since the only thing she was wearing was what looked like a purple yukata and was barefoot even though it was below freezing in the open air corridor. Seeing Vahns appearance, Tsubaki crossed her arms and showed a cheeky grin as she said, "Heya, kiddo, what did you stop by for this morning?" Vahn c.o.c.ked one of his eyebrows as he titled his head at her question. Though she might not realize it herself, Tsubaki only called him kiddo, or kid, whenever she was trying to hide her embarrassment or get a higher position than him in the conversation. After he used Nirvana on her, she had started calling him by name, but now seemed to have reverted to her old habits. Vahn squinted his eyes and responded with a small smile, "Good morning, Tsubaki, I came to visit you. I thought you might be lonely in thisrge Manor all by yourself and wanted to see how your body was holding up against the cold. Tell me, do you feel any sensitivity or difort~?" Vahn knew that, after someone underwent Nirvana, most of their nerves would be renewed and their body would be very sensitive for several weeks after the fact. Now that he had a better look at her, Vahn knew that Tsubaki was most likely wearing the loose yukata because other clothes were likely rough on her tender skin. Since he had high visual acuity and enhanced perception, he was also very aware that she wasnt wearing her usual sarashi around her b.r.e.a.s.ts and was likely wearing either silk panties...or no panties at all. As soon as he spoke, Vahn noticed Tsubakis aura re up as she slightly averted her eye andughed before saying, "Yeah, Im still adapting to the changes in my body...you really did a number on me, kid. The cold is fine, but there are a number of problematic issues Ive been dealing with...Ill have to get even with you someday." Tsubaki released a long sigh that sent a cloud of condensation through the air because of the heat of her breath. Vahn squinted his eyes slightly beforepletely disappearing from Tsubakis line of sight before the cloud was able to dissipate. Tsubaki hadnt seen his movement, but she sensed his appearance behind her and prepared to turn around before she felt a jolt of electricity run from her tailbone up her back. Vahn hadnt caused Tsubaki to lose control of her body like in the past, he just decided to tease her a bit since she was putting up a front against him. However, he hadnt expected that his simple touch would make her release a stifled m.o.a.n before she red at him with her slightly watery eye and said, "You snot-nosed little brat...do you think you can just y with my body at your leisure!?" Vahn had still been surprised by her earlier reaction and hadnt processed her words before Tsubaki grabbed him by the cor of his tunic and flipped him over in a blurred motion. He prepared himself for the impending collision but, against any expectations he had from their past experiences, Vahnnded gently on the hardwood floor instead of smashing through it. He had tensed his body for an impact that never came so there was a slight dy in his mental processes before he felt a pleasant weight mount his stomach as Tsubaki sat down on top of him. Because of the design of a yukata, when Tsubaki sat on his stomach with her slightly open legs, the fabric opened up and created a tantalizing image with her healthy brown skin and the conceal contents that were ever-so-close to being visible. Tsubaki hadnt missed his nce at all, since there wasnt much that could avoid the eye of a [Master Smith], and asked in a teasing tone as she gripped Vahns tunic with her immense strength, "See something you like...Vahn~?" Hearing the somewhat sultry voice of Tsubaki, Vahn gulped audibly and caused the tyrannical Tsubakis smile to grow a great deal as she yanked his upper body off the ground and said, "I dont go back on my word, Vahn...after what you pulled, I dont really have much of a choice on the matter anymore...I decided to give you a chance, so make sure you treat the matter seriously if you intend to take responsibility for this body you so carelessly made into your own." Tsubaki released a sigh after saying the words she had prepared in advance for this inevitable meeting. She had originally intended, before experiencing Vahns Nirvana, to turn him down and allow them both to move on with their lives. Tsubaki considered herself somewhat past her prime, and she didnt want to burden Vahn with having to worry about her when he already had so many younger girls on his tter. However, against any expectations she had, Vahns technique had far exceeded her assumptions and now she couldnt help but ept him after the efforts he had put in. Not only had she be far more youthful, but her body was nearly wless now and even her strength, which had long started to stagnate, had increased greatly. Even if she was considering finding a guy to settle down with and have a child, Tsubaki felt like she would be betraying Vahn if she gave the body he had made for her to another person. Vahns mind nked for a brief moment after hearing Tsubakis words before he showed a genuine smile and said, "Youre a good woman, Tsubaki...thank you." Tsubaki snorted a cloud of heat before yanking Vahn by the tunic and sealing his stupidly smiling face with a somewhat inexperienced kiss. She had only ever had one other partner in life, but he had died more than ten years ago in the Dungeon and her life had been very busy after that. This was her first kiss in her new body, and she still felt very awkward since she was kissing a boy more than twenty years younger than her. Vahn didnt seem to mind at all, however, as he casually grabbed her butt and pulled her forward before she fell deeper into the kiss and pinned him to the ground. From the moment she kissed him, Vahn realized Tsubakis awkwardness and decided to take the initiative in order to ease her tensions. When he grabbed her butt, Vahn felt his mind buzz for a brief moment and he actually eximed, Wow... in his own mind before pulling her forward and fondling the strangely malleable, yet incredibly firm, rear end of Tsubaki. Herrge b.r.e.a.s.ts pressed into his chest and he felt her full weight as he guided her tongue with his own and turned the awkward kiss into one filled with passion and building emotions. Though hergely ignored it at first, Vahn eventually turned his attention to the system briefly because he had heard a louder notification. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Tsubaki Collbrande Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: S Rewards:10,000OP, 1x[Hearts Desire: Tsubaki Collbrande] Grade Rewards: 1x[Proof of Affection], [Master Smith] Increased from I->H, 9,000OP ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tsubaki had been at 98 Affection before, so it wasnt too unexpected that she suddenly hit 100 while they were sharing a passionate kiss each other. Vahn was pleasantly surprised that his [Master Smith] had actually increased in rank since each sessive increase as a monstrous wall to ovee. He put a little more strength into his grasp and Tsubaki actually m.o.a.ned slightly as he more eagerly sought her lips. Vahn suddenly felt a jerking sensation and heard the sound of cloth ripping before a brief chill touched his skin. Tsubaki had torn apart his tunic with her hands and had traced them along his chest before gripping his shoulders in a manner that made Vahn feel slightly nervous because his bones began to creak painfully. She must have noticed it herself, as Tsubaki pulled her lips free from Vahns kiss and gave him an awkward smile as she said, "Sorry, I cant quite control my strength yet...give me a few days and things should be fine...maybe? Hahahaha." Tsubaki tried tough in her characteristic manner, but Vahn could feel the awkwardness radiating from her body as he reached up and pulled the slightly open cor of Tsubakis yukata apart. As he had deduced earlier, Tsubaki had indeed not been wearing anything to cover her b.r.e.a.s.ts and Vahn got a full view her very healthy, remarkably wless, and incrediblyrge b.r.e.a.s.ts. Before she could say anything, Vahn smiled and mused, "Now were even...though I cant help but feel I got a slight advantage~?" Though he hadnt expected her to act bashfully, Tsubakis response was still somewhat unexpected for Vahn as she didnt make any effort to cover herself at all as she began tough, this time without any awkwardness. Vahn was happy she had recovered until Tsubaki reached down and pinched both of his cheeks with her fingers as herrge b.r.e.a.s.ts dangled in front of his face. Vahn tried to grab her wrists and break free of the torment until Tsubaki said, "I read the note you sent earlier, shouldnt you be running off the Anubis and those brats? If you stay around much longer I cant guarantee youll arrive in one piece, hahahaha~! Besides, do you really want to carry around the smell of another woman when youre about to walk into a den full of Chienthopes? Use your head you idiot boy~!" Finished with her lecture, Tsubaki released Vahns face beforeughing at his now swollen cheeks. Vahn rubbed the tender flesh with a frown before a glint passed through his eyes and he tried to reach out for Tsubakis exposed stomach. Though she had beenughing heartily, Tsubaki wasnt the type that fell for the same trick over and over again so she easily swatted Vahns hand away before saying, "My body is way too sensitive for that type of thing right now. Dont push your luck too hard, Vahn." Vahn showed a wry smile before reaching his hand out again, this time without trying to touch Tsubakis belly as a light glowed in his palm. Tsubaki had been preparing to swat his hand away again in a yful manner before noticing the change. After around two seconds, a strange container appeared in Vahns hand and she asked, "What is this, some kind of medicine?" After using the [Proof of Affection], a small container appeared in his hand and Vahn checked through his system to see that the item was called [Magic Lens]. Curious about its function, Vahn checked the description before a satisfied smile appeared on his face as he said, "Inside the container, there is a small lens that can be ced over the eye. If you wear it on your magic eye, it will allow you to control its activation while keeping its appearance simr to your other eye." Tsubaki arched her brow before reaching out and opening the small white container in Vahns hand. Inside, there was a clear, highly transparent, circr disc submerged inside some kind of fluid. Unaware of how to use it, Tsubaki asked, "You said it goes on the eye, how so?" Vahn nodded his head before saying, "Remove your eyepatch, Ill help you wear it properly. ording to the information in my mind, it should be a permanent solution, though youll be able to remove itter if you choose." Tsubaki casually removed her eyepatch and Vahn saw the chaotic blue eye contained within. He had seen it when using Nirvana in the past, but there wasnt much he could change since it was an integral part of Tsubakis strength and it wasnt like she had a deformation like Hephaestus had in the past. Vahn actually thought her magic eye was pretty cool, but he knew it also put a strain on her mind if it wasnt sealed away by her eyepatch. After Tsubaki removed her eyepatch, Vahn touched the clear lens with his finger before saying, "Stay absolutely still...this wont hurt at all, I promise." Minding Vahns words, Tsubaki remained perfectly rigid as he opened her eyelids wider with his right thumb and index finger before cing the clear lens against her eye with his left hand. The moment the lens touched her iris, it glowed with a pale light before Tsubakis magic eye turned the same deep red as her right eye. When Vahn removed his hands, Tsubaki blinked a few times before checking her appearance in the mirror Vahn handed to her. Seeing that her eye looked normal, Tsubaki showed a brilliant smile because she also felt that the lens sealed away her magic eye in a simr manner as her previous eyepatch. Vahn was pleased to see how happy Tsubaki was at viewing her own appearance so he showed an equallyrge smile until she gave him a sideward nce before yanking him over by his torn tunic and kissing him once again. He didnt mind being kissed, but Vahn felt slightly awkward about being handled by someone much stronger than he was. It was especially bad when Tsubaki, perhaps trying to get even with him, wrapped her hands around his butt and yfully squeezed it a few times beforeughing out loud when he squirmed. Before she sent him off to Anubis, Tsubaki gesticted with her hands andmented, "You have a great butt, Vahn." beforeughing at his bashful appearance as he fled the premises. (A/N: My Lord, My Liege, My...Lover?,Not a real solution,Tsubakis Dominance?) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 370 - Nanus Progress

Chapter 370 - Nanu''s Progress

(A/N: NSFW Btw...) Not long after he escaped from Tsubakis Manor, Vahn arrived outside his old residence and workshop. Just like in the past, Anubis was already waiting for him before he stepped through the courtyard and Vahn could also sense that Nanu was also present. When he entered into the foyer, the two bowed politely to him as Anubis said, "Wee, Master, it is a pleasure to see you today~." After Anubis finished her greeting, Nanu said, "Master, thank you foring to visit us. I have been working hard to increase my capabilities, so please feel free to test me whenever youd like!" As the first person to receive Vahns me seed, Nanu had benefitted greatly from it and was well on her way to Level 3. Though she was around average strength amongst the members of the pack in the past, she was now much stronger than the other six children. Vahn affectionately stroked the small girls head in a somewhat rough manner that made her coo in a pleased tone as she rubbed her head against his palm. Recognizing the look in Vahns eyes, Anubis bowed her head politely before excusing herself without a word. Nanus ears twitched slightly at the sounds of her exit, but she pretended to not notice and, when Anubis finally disappeared, she stepped forward and started rubbing her head against Vahns abdomen after wrapping her arms around his waist. Now that she didnt have to front with Anubis around, Nanu teared up a bit as she said, "Master, I want to spend more time with you...I am doing my best, but my heart hurts from not being able to see you..." Nanu was sniffling a bit as Vahn used [Hands of Nirvana] to ease her mind as he continued to pet the back of her head. After a few minutes of consoling the small chienthrope girl, Nanu took him to their previously shared workshop and Vahn checked her progress and walked her through some of the steps she had been struggling with. Though she had also be Tsubakis apprentice, she spent the majority of her time trying to improve her skills alone since she didnt want to betray Vahn, who was her first Master and future mate. Once she had shown her progress in forging, Nanu sparred with Vahn in order to disy the growth in herbat skills. Nanu was still incredibly flexible and used a fighting style that made proper use of her instincts, but she couldnt gain any edge against Vahn after the qualitative improvement of the majority of his skills. Instead of being upset at her one-sided defeat, Nanu was actually ecstatic that Vahn was so strong and he could see apetitive me burning within her eyes while he walked her through various techniques that would help her strength develop further. By the time their training session had ended, Nanu was left gasping for air whileying on the cold grass without seeming to mind it at all. Her olive-brown skin was radiating a bit of steam because of her exertion and, when she saw Vahn looking down on her, Nanu showed a somewhat hopeful smile as she pulled up her shirt and showed her belly to him. Vahn arched his brow slightly before showing a smile and reaching out his hand to rub the somewhat hot stomach of Nanu as she happily writhed about on the grass with a happy expression on her face. Around the time for lunch, Nanu was sitting with her back to Vahn while he brushed her hair before she suddenly sat up and said in a straightforward manner, "Thank you for being so kind to me today, Master. I will continue to endeavor to be a worthy mate for you in the future!" Nanu then bowed in a somewhat reverential manner before trotting off towards the inside of the residence with a pitter-patter of footsteps. Vahn followed her retreat with his eyes before turning his attention to Anubis, who had just recently arrived and had likely been the trigger for Nanus departure. Anubis showed an elegant smile that reached her eyes before she bowed politely and said, "Good afternoon, Master...I havee to receive your affections...that is, if youll spare a few for this faithful servant~?" Vahn bounced up to his feet before vanishing from sight the moment his foot touched the ground. Anubiss ears twitched, but she didnt break herposure as she turned to her left and matched gazes with the smiling Vahn as he said, "Youve been too good to me, Anubis, today Ill spoil you plentily as thanks for everything youve done. Its not an order, but Id like you to tell me honestly if there is something youd like to do..." Vahn paused for a moment as he stared deeply into her moonlight eyes and continued in a low tone, "As long as its within my power, anything is fine..." As he spoke, Vahn reached out his hand and stroked the interior of Anubissrge and fluffy ears with his thumb in a spot he knew she enjoyed. Though she usually appeared very elegant the majority of the time, Anubissposure immediately broke down under Vahns touch as she fidgetted about with a slightly enamored look on her face. Her tail began to waggled from side to side in a steady rhythm as she asked in a somewhat husky voice, "Maaaster...anything~?" After passing his perception over the surroundings and confirming there were no onlookers, Vahn closed the distance with Anubis before wrapping his hands around her waist and stroking the top of her tail with his fingers. She released a stifled crying sound as Vahn leaned close to her pointed, dog-like, ears and said, "Today, it can be anything you want...as long as youre willing to tell me honestly." Anubis grabbed the hem of his new tunic with an angsty expression on her face as she looked up into his eyes and said in a somewhat pitiable tone, "Master, please be rough with Anubis...she wants to feel like she belongs to her Master...haaaaaauuu~." Vahn was a little caught off guard when Anubis began to speak in the third person but he still continued to maintain his demeanor as he whispered into her ear using the type of tone he used to speak with Fenrir, "Good girl, Anubis, youre being honest...now you just have to tell me what you want me to do..." When she heard his words, Anubis shook her head powerfully and her ears battered Vahns chin in a somewhat confounding manner he thought was very adorable. After a few seconds, she looked up at him with a sad look and said, "No...Anubis cant make such a request. Master has to make the decision...no matter what it is, Anubis has already prepared her heart..." Vahn began to feel a bit of pressure from her words because he hadnt actually thought of anything he wanted to do with her before visiting. There were a number of things he wanted to try with her in the past, but Vahn wasnt sure it was appropriate to go to that extent in the present moment. After a very brief moment of hesitation, Vahn saw the almost pleading look in Anubiss eyes before resolving himself for what was toe. He didnt know how far he would push her, but Vahn couldnt help but feel curious about how far Anubis would allow things to develop. He knew she had a few deviant tendencies, but he didnt know the extent of her submissive nature and her desire to be dominated. Vahn really wasnt the type to forcefully have someone submit to him, but it didnt mean he wasnt interested in putting on an act and expanding his range and curiosity. Ultimately, he just wanted to make the girls that worked hard for his sake happy, and Anubis had done a lot for him in the past and would continue to serve him well into the future. Vahn promised to be back at the Hearth Manor at 2 PM, so he had slightly under an hour and a half to spend with Anubis before he would be forced to return. ounting for taking a bath after the fact, Vahn had little over an hour to tend to her needs and this was plenty of time given that this would be a somewhat exploratory experience. After confirming his n of action, Vahn pulled out the leash he had used when taking Anubis for a walk in the past and her ears immediately perked up as she happily presented her neck to Vahn. Once he fixed the link to her cor, Vahn said in a firm andmanding, "Anubis,e!" Vahn knew quite a bit about the ecology of the Southern Tribe and about their customs for how an Alpha was supposed to behave. If she wanted him to dominate her, he would y the part until the very end to remove any unease that might be present in her heart. Anubis beamed a smile as she followed along behind Vahn with her tail beating from side-to-side hard enough to create a small sound of wind being distorted. Vahn followed his memory and walked Anubis to her room before she paused and had an awkward smile on her face as she said, "Master...Anubis overstepped her boundaries and moved into Masters room when you left. Please punish Anubis for her mistakes..." She had a passionate look in her eyes that were also filled with expectations as she pleaded to Vahn for a punishment. Vahn c.o.c.ked his head to the side before squinting his eyes and dragging her next door to his old room. He didnt pull on the leash too hard, but Anubis released a strange choking sound that had several undertones that made a shiver run down Vahns spine. Vahn noticed that his room hadnt changed much since his departure, but he could smell a powerful scent in the room that undoubtedly belonged to Anubis. She might not have done it intentionally, but Vahn knew that she had masked the former scent of Hephaestus with her own pheromones and likelyforted herself in the bed he used to treat as his own. Though he initially nned to use the bed, Vahn recalled the first time he had triggered Anubiss arousal in the past and how she had presented her butt to him while supporting herself against the wall. It had been a powerful memory that firmly nted itself in his heart, so Vahn wanted to return the favor to Anubis now that he had the opportunity. After thinking about the best way to punish her, Vahn showed what he hoped was a cruel smile as he gazed at her expectant look and said, "Strip, all the way down to your lingerie...if youre not wearing any...well, Ill have to punish you even more~?" Hearing his words, Anubis quickly discarded the robe she had been wearing and, as Vahn had anticipated, she was indeed missing any undergarments. She had probably nned for things to develop in this direction after receiving his earlier message and had likely prepared herself for the encounter. The only thing she was wearing after removing the robe was the ck and gold cor Vahn had given her in the past as she proudly disyed herself before him. Vahn admired the exotic nature of Anubiss beauty from the tip of her ears down to the delicate toes on her feet. She had the same olive-brownplexion of the past, a very shapely and mature figure with somewhatrge, impably wless b.r.e.a.s.ts. Her most striking features, other than the long ck hair, were her moonlight colored eyes that emitted a gentle glow, therge pointy ears on her head, and therge bushy tail iling about like a propeller on her rtivelyrge butt. Like all goddesses, she waspletely bare around her genitals and her skin had a healthy gloss with a somewhat subtle blush beginning to rise due to her increased excitement. Now that she was fully nude, Vahn nodded his head with a smile and said, "Turn around, I want to look at your tail." Anubis happilyplied and turned her back to Vahn before doing her best to stop her tail from wagging so he could view it better. Vahn had actually wanted to do this for a long time, so he leaned down near the base of Anubiss tail, right where it connected with her backside, and stared at the connection before getting at a zero distance and smelling the topside. He lifted her shaking tail with his hands and dragged his nose along its length and could feel his brain buzz from the stimting scent of the pheromonesing from the somewhat bristly, yet incredibly soft, fur. Though he hadnt done anything yet, Anubis released a stifled cry intermixed with a sensuous m.o.a.n as she said, "Maaaster~" Her voice tickled Vahns ears and he opened his eyes after enjoying the smell of her tail for a while. After standing, Vahn said in a teasing tone, "Youre quite beautiful, Anubis, and your tail has a tantalizing smell with a fine texture..." Vahn had decided that, since Anubis wanted to be punished, he would do the opposite and pamper her plentily since it would torment her more than if he were actually rough with her. He began to gently trace his index finger over her exotic body while using [Hands of Nirvana], but not before he said in amanding tone, "Dont move at all...the more noise you make, the longer your punishment will be..." Even though he was pressed for time, Vahn was curious about each of Anubiss reactions and tormented her for nearly twenty minutes as he treated her body as if it were incredibly precious. Her body had been shaking as if she were left out in the cold for a long period of time even though her body was burning up. She released muffled cries from the constant stimtion and there were a few tears welling up in her eyes as she fought against the urge to move and make noise. Vahn almost felt pity for her, but Anubiss Loyalty had been constantly increasing for a while and her aura had long-ago turned a passionate red with a vibrant pink mixed within it. She likely understood Vahns punishment and was actually agonizing while also feeling very happy at the same time. After another small flood of fluids drained down her thighs, Vahn decided her punishment had gone on long enough as he stood close to her back and gingerly bit the tip of her pointy ear with his teeth. Anubis wasnt able to stop herself from crying out and she immediately leaned her back against Vahn with her mouth gasping for air before she clenched her teeth together tightly as if still following his earlier orders. Vahn traced both palms from the outside of her thighs upwards until he had his hands on the connecting tissue between Anubiss torso and her legs. He thumbed the bones of her pelvis gently before slowly guiding her body forward and forcing her to take small steps. Anubis began to drawbored breaths as she entrusted her weight against Vahn and took awkward steps until they were less than a meter from the wall they had been facing. Vahn arched his fingers into a w-like shape and traced his nails up Anubiss body as he uttered two words that made her body tremble greatly, "Bend over..." As she began to move, Vahn helped Anubis as he pushed down against her shoulder with just enough force that she wasnt actually unable to resist him. Her tail began to beat about rapidly as Vahn inspected the veritable flooding from her slightly open vulva. She had the wless v.a.g.i.n.a of a goddess, but Anubiss arousal had made it so that the enticing mound had an eager look to it. Because of how violently her tail was wagging about, Vahn gripped it with a bit of force which made Anubiss body shake as she released a loud m.o.a.n and another tide of fluids that had a pungent aroma that made Vahn feel a little dizzy. He wasnt trying to hurt her, so Vahn activated his [Eyes of Truth] to make sure there wouldnt be any damage as he lifted Anubiss h.i.p.s slightly using nothing by her tail. She immediately screamed out in a scarily aroused voice, "Maaaaaaaaasterrrrrrr~!" Her upper body fell down slightly until the point that her butt was actually higher than her head and she was standing on the tips of her toes as Vahn lifted her body from the sensitive tail on her backside. Vahn confirmed that, though it was likely painful, his actions didnt damage the bones or muscled in her tail and instead most of her nerves were firing as if she was in immense pleasure. Vahn hadnt properly prepared himself before getting to this point, so he unequipped his clothing before bingpletely n.a.k.e.d in the blink of an eye. He felt a strange sense of conquest in him before he even did anything just because of the somewhatpromising position of Anubis and her very over the top reaction. He grabbed his readied member before cing the ns against the surprisingly burning v.a.g.i.n.a.l entrance of Anubis. The moment he made contact, Anubis began to take deep breaths through her nose before exhaling loudly. He saw her clench her hands into fists as she closed her eyes in preparation for his entrance yet, after several seconds passed, nothing changed. Confused, Anubis tilted her head to look at Vahn and, the moment he saw her eyes Vahn jerked his h.i.p.s forward with a fair amount of strength and she practically yelped before releasing a powerful shriek at the top of her lungs. Understanding that her body was well prepared for his insertion, Vahn had waited for the moment when Anubis had rxed due to her confusion before pressing forward in a single decisive thrust. She immediately put her hands back against the wall during her loud shriek that very quickly turned into a sensual sounding m.o.a.n before shrinking into a throaty gasp when she ran out of oxygen. Vahn noticed that, other than the surprising heat of Anubiss v.a.g.i.n.a, she actually mped down fiercely in a manner very simr to Hestia. However, Vahn noticed an immediate difference as a strange massaging sensation began to take ce within Anubiss insides and it was very stimting even though he couldnt exactly move his h.i.p.s. As he had never had s.e.x with a Chienthrope, Vahn wasnt sure if this was a racial trait or if it was something specific to Anubis. His concerns were answered quickly, however, when Anubis exined with a panting voice, "Anubis became...a chienthrope...because she likes...when it hurts a bit...Master...please dominate Anubis even more...even if it hurts...I want it to huuuurt~." From her words, Vahn understood that s.e.x with a Chienthrope probably didnt require the male to move at all. Instead, they were almost locked together by the mping force and Vahn knew that, if he actually moved, it would likely be painful as he dragged her insides a bit with his movements. Though he was hesitant for a moment, Vahn decided to trust Anubiss experience and give her what she asked for. Vahn let her h.i.p.s fall a bit as he stopped pulling her tail and instead grabbed her h.i.p.s with his hands for better leverage. He noticed that he still couldnt move easily and Anubiss body followed his movements as she was unable to easily support her own weight in the current position. Resolving himself, Vahn grasped her h.i.p.s with a much stronger grip that would most likely leave bruises on her skin as he pushed her h.i.p.s forward while pulling back his waist. Anubis released a loud cry that sounded like a mixture of pain and pleasure as Vahn forcefully pulled out his p.e.n.i.s from her insides. Though it didnt e out, Vahn watched the somewhat scary sight of Anubiss v.a.g.i.n.a invert slightly as it clung tightly to his p.e.n.i.s. After getting slightly more than halfway out, Vahn thrust himself forward with a bit of intensity and pumped against Anubiss butt as his eye twitched a bit. The powerful grip of her v.a.g.i.n.a on his p.e.n.i.s actually made the thrust somewhat painful and Vahn felt a twinge of severe pain shoot through his p.e.n.i.s and up his spine. The normal state of his erect p.e.n.i.s was abination of firmness and flexibility, but Vahn realized that would be a problem considering what Anubis requested of him. After having experienced rapidly changing his body very recently, Vahn willed his p.e.n.i.s to be harder and focused on making it less malleable so he could oppose the mping power of Anubiss somewhat dangerous organ. As a stop-gap measure, Vahn had moved his palms to Anubiss butt cheeks and began releasing a powerful stimting energy that alternated between his hands and made her butt spasm as all the nerves fired and caused her h.i.p.s to shake rapidly while easing up the muscles in her lower body. Anubis released a strange cry like, Gyaaagagagagagagaga in the same rhythm as his stimtion and Vahn felt like she might be losing her mind but noticed that her aura was surprisingly stable. After a minute or so, Vahn had sessfully hardened himself and returned his hands to roughly the same spot on Anubiss h.i.p.s. It was easy to find since there were actual handprints left behind because of his earlier actions. Now that he was more durable, Vahn repeated his earlier action and had a much easier time removing himself before pounding hard into her interior again. He felt less stimtion, but it was still a very pleasant sensation so he didnt mind it much and began trying to keep a steady pace as he slowly pulled out over and over again before repeatedly pounding against her somewhat plump butt. Vahn got distracted by the ripples that ran through her backside and a strange urge began to well up inside of him because of her cries. Deciding it shouldnt be a problem he couldnt fix, Vahn removed his right hand from Anubiss hip before raising it slightly and dropping it down swiftly to smack Anubsiss backside. Anubis released an almost hup-like m.o.a.n as she drew a sharp breath before sending Vahn a strange, almost taunting smile and said, "Harder...Master...punish Anubis more and more~." Incited by her words, Vahn began to proactively spank Anubis and her shouts turned into strangely pleasant cries that became progressively louder over time. This continued for some time until Anubis seemed like she was losing the strength to support her body with just her arms. Vahn had a dangerous thought and decided to help her by grabbing the leash that had been dangling down from her cor since the very beginning. He pulled back on it a little bit and Anubis made a slight gagging sound before her aura red up immensely as she grasped her cor with both hands and an extended tongue. Vahn could feel another tidal surgeing from Anubis as her insides writhed around for what felt like the twentieth time. They didnt have much time left and Vahn felt like something dangerous might awaken inside of him if he continued trying to test Anubiss limits during their very first time together. He could tell she was very satisfied since her Loyalty had increased nearly a thousand points in thest hour, so Vahn decided to bring things to an end. He walked forward while pulling up Anubiss upper body with the leash and pressed her against the wall so she could support herself more easily. Knowing she would probably enjoy it more if he was rough, Vahn pressed his weight against her and squished her against the wall a bit as he powerfully pistoned upwards into her body while using [Hands of Nirvana] to stimte Anubiss abdomen with his right hand, and her little bead of nerves with his left. Anubis began to spasm slightly and dropped her arms powerlessly as she drew short and shallow breaths from the overwhelming stimtion. Even her feet were lifted off the ground by Vahn every time he pressed into her body and it seemed like she was on the verge of asphyxiating before Vahn finally released arge stream of s.e.m.e.n into her depths with one final push while pressing her firmly against the wall. He continued to hold her while passively inspecting her body to make sure she wasnt actually injured from his actions. Other than some light bruising, she was entirely fine and even her breathing was beginning to recover at a faster rate than he expected. After around two minutes of light spasming, Vahn let Anubis slide down the wall as he gently guided her h.i.p.s back until he managed to separate from her. It might be another racial trait of a Chienthrope, but the moment he released inside of her, Anubiss v.a.g.i.n.a dropped a bit as if it were trying to absorb his s.e.m.e.n before loosening up a few secondster and releasing the powerful mping that had persisted since the beginning. Though he didnt let her fall, Vahn allowed Anubis to drop to the ground before sheid almost lifelessly on her side with a dazed expression. Even though this was the case, Anubiss tail gently lifted from the ground before thumping against the floor over and over as a satisfied smile appeared on her face. (A/N: This puts the word count for the week at 103k words, but I may write another chapter before the reset. Lots of loooooong chapters this week.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Jebaited~!,Anubiss Switch,Hurts so good...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 371 - Godhand Marathon

Chapter 371 - Godhand Marathon

After Anubiss fall, Vahn helped wipe down her body before bundling her up in a roll of nkets and tossing her into the bed to stay warm. They talked for a while about the matters of the future and how Anubis, once the children in the pack were self-sufficient, intended to abolish her Familia and be his servant at the Manor. She didnt want to abandon the responsibility she had to the pups after Vahn had gotten her to ept them indefinitely in the past. They were already making marked progress towards bing functional a.d.u.l.ts, and it would be but a short two years until thest of the children reached maturity. It was already somewhat rare in the Southern Tribe for those that have reached a.d.u.l.thood to stay in their original pack unless they were under an Alpha. Now that Vahn was out of the household, the boys were more proactively increasing their strength and bing more independent. Maan and Rasui had even started courting each other, though it looked like Chione still wanted to follow Anubis in the future and nned to be a servant as well. As for the twins, Akil and Ata, they had been looking outside of the Familia forpanionship and had both started courting the same girl from the Eirene Familia. When Vahn heard that she was in her twenties, he wasnt entirely sure what to think, but it was ultimately up to the boys to seek their own path. Besides, he couldnt say much when there were girls like Tsubaki and Mn in his life... After parting with Anubis, Vahn quickly washed up in the bath to remove the very womanly smell that had soaked into his pores and wafted off of his body. There were a number of girls with sensitive noses back at the Manor, and Vahn didnt want to trigger them by carrying Anubis scent around with him. This was something he had to keep in mind often in the past, since there were a surprising number of girls that were susceptible to such scents. Fortunately, though Vahn still had inhibitions about it, there werent any men with that trait within the Manor or it would cause a stir with how much pheromones were emitted by the twenty-plus girls residing there. The trip back to the Manor took nearly twenty minutes, but Vahn still managed to arrive just before 2 PM as promised. Though his schedule was ultimately decided by himself, Vahn knew it was important to do his best to adapt to the needs of the girls whenever he could. There would be long stints of time for himself, so he wanted to make them happy in the rtively brief moments they were together. Upon arrival, since word had spread about his earlier promise, there were a surprising number of girls waiting for him. Seeing their numbers, Vahn realized they had probably talked on thework and deduced his intent since even Hephaestus, Loki and Aisha had shown up. He also found out from Syr that the girls were going to do a rotation at the Hostess of Fertility and, with that as the justification, she became the first to receive his massage for the day. He didnt have a permanent room for treatment yet, but Vahn had set up a temporary parlor in the past since this wasnt the first time he had given massages to the girls. Unlike the past, however, Syr stripped down entirely n.a.k.e.d instead of using the undergarments and towel that Vahn had prepared. She had a very youthful figure and was like a beautiful young flower that looked ripe for plucking, but Vahn would have to wait forter if he wanted to do something like that. For the time being, he helped her climb onto the table and getfortable before he started their session. Because Syr was no longer a v.i.r.g.i.n, his massage quickly became far more intense than she had expected and, by the time she was finally free, Vahn had to carry her out in a bundle since she was unable to walk under her own efforts. Syrs appearance raised a g for some of the girls, but the rest had excited and somewhat anticipatory looks on their faces, especially those that had yet to receive his massage in the past. After passing off Syr to Ryuu and Aki, Hephaestus was the next victim since she still had work to return toter in the day. Unless Vahn specifically wanted her to stay for longer periods of time, Hephaestus was usually very busy and had built arge backlog from all the time she had taken for them in the past few months. Her expenditures had grown by an incredible amount recently and she had taken on severalrge contracts to make up for the deficit. Vahn knew about her struggles and had given her the patents for several designs he had blueprinted. Hephaestus, using her knowledge and experience as a goddess of forging, had greatly improved upon his initial designs and was making a veritable fortune off selling the finished products to other Familia. He made sure not to include anything that would cause an actual revolution, because Vahn understood that, with the current state of the world and how corrupt things were, it would only lead to great suffering for arge number of people in order to benefit a select few wealthy individuals. The best example of this was the Pallum people who had arge portion of their poption as ves. Because they reached physical maturity quickly, didnt require a lot of food to sustain, and reproduced rapidly, they were the go to choice for ves that worked in dangerous and unsanitary conditions. Even though their species could live well over 140 years, the average life expectancy of a Pallum hardly reached 45. Introducing concepts like machinery and assembly lines would just greatly increase the number of casualties on a continent-wide scale and cause a severe burden on the environment. Though he hadnt seen what his own Earth looked like, Vahn thought the continent of Eden was a breathtakingly beautiful ce and didnt want to see it spoiled because of the greed of a few people, likely gods, and goddesses. Vahn was very careful with Hephaestus body during their session because he was very nervous to do anything that might injure the small bundle of life that was slowly growing within her w.o.m.b. He actually spent the majority of their session together watching the small, somewhat spherical-shaped, embryo to make sure nothing happened to it. Even though he knew she would be fine, Vahn couldnt help but feel a little scared by the incredibly minuscule possibility that something could go wrong. Hephaestus was very aware of Vahns concern and just enjoyed their time together since, even without him pushing her to the limits, it was still a very enjoyable and rxing session. When the girls saw Hephaestus walk out on her own with a deep blush on their face, Vahn got a few strange looks from them that made him show a wry smile before taking Loki into the room. She happily stripped down her clothing but, instead of removing everything, Loki kept her ck stockings on and teased Vahn for a bit before hopping onto the table that Vahn wiped down with a sterile towel. Much like Hephaestus, Vahn was worried about Loki so he didnt do things too intensely and just helped remove any tensions in her body and helped loosen up her joints. Because she wasnt prevented from speaking, Loki spent the entire twenty minutes goading him on and teasing him for how much care he was showing her body even though she was in a safe phase. Towards the end, Vahn had been riled up a bit by her so, before he let her walk out of the room, he pinched her somewhat fleshy butt with enough force to make the trickster goddess yelp for a reprieve. After getting dressed, Loki walked out of the room rubbing her butt fervently with an aggrieved expression on her face as she warned the other girls to be wary of Vahn destroying their butts. With her exit, the next victim entered the room and it happened to be someone Vahn hadnt quite expected. Mn had joined the queue at some point and, because she hadnt been able to experience his massage before, the other girls allowed her to move up in the line since she was the caretaker of the youth troupe. When she entered the room, Mn had a somewhat bashful smile on her face as she asked, "What do I need to do~?" Though she put a bit of inflection on her words and tried to act in a teasing manner, Vahn could see through her nervousness by how her aura was fluctuating. Vahn warned her that things might be somewhat intense since it was her first time and then waited for her to change behind the curtain he had set up off to the side. She stepped out wearing her pale-yellow lingerie and holding a towel to cover her front before climbing onto the table and trying to rx. Though he didnt verbalize it much, Vahn enjoyed massaging the various beast-girls more than normal since the inclusion of the tail and ears made him feel a little excited because of their incongruity. Mn had a beautiful curve to her back with a mature and somewhat fleshy butt with a chestnut brown tail poking out from the connecting muscles between her back and butt. Because of her tensions, Mns tail twitched about every time he touched her back until it got to the point where it just dropped down sadly after Vahn forcefully removed the tensions from her body. For around twenty minutes, Mn released stifled mewling sounds that were unique to Cat Persons as she twitched about under his touch as powerful reverberations passed through the entirety of her body. Since she was a mature girl, Mn experienced the full effects of his massage and, because she hadnt had a partner since her husbands death, it caused her body to react somewhat violently and Vahn had to wipe up the table and part of the floor when he was finished. Mn had a fierce blush on her face as she held her hands to cover her embarrassment when Vahn carried her out and turned her over to Ryuu and Aki before they took her off to the side to help her get dressed and recover. The next person to receive his care was Ais and she was surprisingly resilient and managed to move around a bit and talk to Vahn throughout the entire session. Out of curiosity, Vahn inspected the internal structure of her body and noticed that her nervous system was distinctly different than a normal human beings. She actually had higher sensitivity, but it also seemed like her body naturally inhibited the stimtion she felt and this was the reason she retained her awareness throughout the session. It was very simr to his first time with Ais, how she proactively sought his touch even after he had forced her to undergo a powerful climax. Even under an incredible amount of stimtion that would potentially break a normal person, she was able to continue forward undaunted and the massage ended up more like a conversation than a one-sided matter. Tiona had been next up after Ais and, because of the potential danger, she was also apanied by Riveria who was also watching over the quickly recovering Ais at the side. Tiona had a massive grin on her face and a vibrant expression as she yfully discarded each piece of her clothing. Though she had a very diminutive chest, the rest of Tionas body was very athletic and had beautiful curves, especially her toned and plump butt. Even stationary, it looked like she was always on the verge of dancing and the line of her navel made Vahns brain buzz. However, as expected, Tiona was getting excited far faster than normal and could barely contain herself as she hopped up onto the table. To prevent things from getting out of hand, Vahn quickly started rxing her body and her reaction was excessive to say the least. From the moment she began to lose control of her body, Tionas aura began to re up powerfully and it wasnt long before she reached a critical level and they had to bring the session to a swift conclusion. It seemed that when an Amazon was in an excited state, their body reacted very negatively to being repressed and having its functions inhibited. Though she had an excited and happy expression at first, Tiona instinctively tried tosh out to force her body to move after Vahn began forcefully rxing it. Since he didnt want to overtax her mind, Vahn returned functionality to Tionas body and changed to a different method and just gently caressed her with calming energy that made herugh and giggle in a pleasant sounding tone. Since she was unaffected by the massage, Tiona was able to recover immediately and sat off to the side with Ais in nothing but her off-colored white top and bottoms. Both she and Ais had expressions that were a mixture of curiosity, trepidation, and intrigue as they watched Vahns next client prepare herself. Even Vahn felt especially nervous because he hadnt actually anticipated this oue and was caughtpletely off guard when Riveria made her interest in the massage known. The worst part, though Vahn didnt really have aint at all, was that Riveria stripped down unabashedly after witnessing Tiona do the same earlier. Vahn wanted to correct her misunderstanding, but he felt more than a little intimidated by the mature High Elf. As he had often thought whenever he saw her, Riveria had a nearly wless body that credited her species greatly. Her noble air, cool expression, and transcendent beauty made Vahns fingers twitch a bit since he was very aware of how big a deal the current situation was. It was already a serious matter when she allowed him to see her n.a.k.e.d body in the bath, but it was an order of magnitude greater than she was allowing him to freely touch her in what could only be understood in an intimate manner. It might not be the intimacy between lovers, but it was the type enjoyed bypanions that possessed a great deal of trust for one another. Even Riverias affection showed her at 79(Trust) and Vahn was somewhat afraid of how she would respond under the effects of his [Hands of Nirvana]. Before she flipped her body over on the table, Riveria turned to Vahn and asked in a in tone that only exacerbated Vahns current state, "I wonder, Vahn, can you still easily turn into a High Elf?" Vahn was caught off guard by the question but, after he processed it in his mind, nodded his head and said, "Yeah, now that Ive done it once, it should be much easier if I ever want to try again..." Riveria gave a curt nod and said in a low tone while holding her chin with her fingers, "I see..." Then, without following up her question, Riveria turned her body over andid down on the massage table leaving Vahn confused. Vahn didnt know if Riveria wanted him to turn into a High Elf for the massage, but seeing as how she didnt say anything he assumed it was just a random question she thought of, spur of the moment. Without worrying about it too much, Vahn stood next to the rather tall and limber body of Riveria and began using his [Hands of Nirvana] to massage her body. Though he felt nervous at first, Vahn quickly got into his own routine after noticing that she didnt have any strange reactions and her aura remained steady. Though he hadnt expected otherwise, Riveria was still a v.i.r.g.i.n at the age of 97 and this meant that the massage was simply an incredibly rxing and pleasant experience for her. Vahn noticed she had a great deal of tension in her body and there were several knots he helped to remove before the twenty-minute duration hade to an end. After sitting up on the table, Riverias movements became somewhatzy and she had a subtle smile on her face as she stretched her body without paying heed to Vahns presence. Because she was a very beautiful girl, Vahn couldnt help but swallow a bit of saliva when she had stretched her arms above her head and caused her modest b.r.e.a.s.ts to rise. Though his eyes only wander briefly, Riveria hadnt missed it but didnt say anything as she jumped off the table and started getting dressed. Before she left the room with Ais and Tiona in tow, Riveria nodded her head politely and said, "Thank you, Vahn, it was an enjoyable experience." Vahn nodded his head and saw the three out of the room before turning his attention to his system and seeing that Riverias affection had increased to 81(Trust). He released a relieved sigh because, up until the very moment he had finished the massage, he had been somewhat concerned about offending her. For the rest of the afternoon, Vahn continued to provide massages for the majority of the girls and slowly worked his way through Naaza, Lili, Chloe, Hestia, Haruhime, Mikoto, Lunoire, Ryuu, Aki, Aisha, Arnya, and,stly, Maemi and Emiru. The twins had been a unique experience since they had entered the room at the same time. Vahn had stared with Maemi and been very distracted since, while he was massaging her body, Emiru would realease stifled and pleasant m.o.a.ns as well. When they swapped ces, it was even worse cine Maemi had experienced the massage and was able to associate the feelingsing from her bond with Emiru to her own memories of the event. Even though both girls were still v.i.r.g.i.ns, they had made a bit of a mess in Vahns parlor by the time they were kicked out. Vahn was positive the two were trying to entice him and their little y had caused his brain to buzz for the entirely forty-plus minutes they were with him in the room. As for the remaining girls, they were primarily the youth troupe and Preasia. They had wanted to participate as well, but were denied the opportunity based on abination of their ages and, in the instance of Preasia, their situation. Of course, Vahn wasnt the type to leave people out of things so, before the group ate dinner together, Vahn pampered the girls a bit and had the somewhat awkward experience of helping them bathe after Fenrir influenced them by mentioning how pleasant it was to have Vahn wash her. He didnt really feel anything for the girls, but it was still awkward since Tina had a strong crush on him, Shizune was actually a mature woman with the body of a child, and Preasia was actually an a.d.u.l.t but was petite and acting strangely under his touch. Though she didnt cry out or m.o.a.n, Preasia somewhat eagerly pressed against his hands and even stared directly at him in silence for a long period of time after the fact. The rest of the evening was rtively uneventful and Vahn just cuddled up with Fenrir for a little while as he went through the process of brushing the hair, fur, and tails, of the youth troupe before everyone retired to bed for the night. Vahn was in somewhat high tensions from his experience with Anubis in the morning and the extended exposure to all the girls in the afternoon, so he wanted to release his tensions by inviting Syr and Ryuu into his room. Syr had been the next on the schedule while Ryuu had listed Syr as the only girl she was fortable with so Vahn spent some time with the two distinctly different girls for nearly three hours. Vahn did his best to tend to both girls and it was a great way for him to release his tensions, but he also realized he had made a grievous error in his selection. Though he hadnt forgotten about what it was like to have s.e.x with Syr, Vahn had overlooked the fact that it was dangerous to be with her without a buffer of time between her and other girls. He ended up having to vent himself on Ryuu, though she didnt seem to mind at all, because Syrs influence on the situation was somewhat dangerous for his mind and body. She seemed to notice it as well, so she wasnt overly aggressive and actually helped Vahn tend to Ryuu quite a bit as the usually taciturn elf squirmed under theirbined efforts with her adorable squeaking m.o.a.ns... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Anubis Familias Future,Seven Hours of Massaging~?,RIP Ryuu...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 372 - Thrillseeking

Chapter 372 - Thrillseeking

Waking up Sunday morning sandwiched by Syr and Ryuu was a refreshing experience and Vahn spent the first part of the morning sharing a bit of intimacy with the two in the bath. Though she still maintained her cool personality, Ryuu was opening up a lot when it was just the three of them and Vahn enjoyed her affections that seemed to be stirred by the presence of Syr. When they were in the bath, Ryuu stuck close to him and helped wash his body while Syr helped clean Vahns hair. Vahn returned the favor and helped clean the two girls before finally bringing their private moment to an end when it came time to prepare breakfast. Syr, though she seemed tock any cooking skill of her own, always managed the kitchen for meals and her guidance actually increased the quality of food prepared by the other girls. Vahn found this to be very strange since, if Syr was such a capable teacher, it didnt make sense why she was unable to make delicious meals on her own. During breakfast, Vahn was talking about his ns for the day and mentioned that he wanted to try something new that he thought would be fun for the girls. Before everyone got excited, however, Vahn had Sis run the numbers and mentioned that anyone with less than 1800 total Endurance wouldnt be allowed to participate. This pretty much eliminated anyone under Level 3 and left quite a few of them saddened by the fact. Vahn consoled them for a bit and exined that there were simply some things that couldnt be done unless you had the capabilities required. If they wanted to be involved in some of the more interesting things he had in mind, they would have to be stronger through their own efforts. Though he left it optional, all of the girls he asked toe along with him ended up agreeing without requiring any convincing. Even though Vahn didnt tell them what they were going to do, they all thought it should be fun and exciting since he wasnt the type that would genuinely endanger them. The participants ended up being, Tiona, Ais, Tione, Ryuu, Aki, Riveria, and, even though she didnt meet the requirements, Fenrir. Vahn could easily watch over one person, and he wanted Fenrir to experience something new and exciting. Since he would be in the Dungeon for another three days, Vahn knew Fenrir would be sad when he was away and wanted to spend time with her when he could. Before they left, Vahn told the other girls they wouldnt actually be gone too long and that he would try to think of something fun for everyone else to do when he returned. After taking several suggestions, Vahn parted with the girls at the Manor and lead everyone to the Southern Gate before logging their exit in the logbook. First-ss Adventurers were required to undergo vows after reaching Level 4 and higher since their power was capable of causing chaos outside of the City if they werent kept in check. Though there were several loopholes that weremonly exploited, the majority of First-ss Adventurers followed the rules so as not to cause problems for themselves and their respective Familias. Once they exited the City and found arge enough clearing, Vahn turned to the group and said, "Okay, I wanted to keep this a secret from the younger and less durable girls since it would cause a lot of problems if anything went wrong. Ill look after Fenrir, but Ill trust each and every one of you to take care of yourself from hereon. Dont worry, even if its scary, youre not actually in any real danger as long as you keep your sensibilities..." Vahn was being intentionally vague in order to increase the tensions and it was very obvious to most of the girls present. Riveria crossed her arms and asked, "So, were doing something dangerous, but is also safe as long as you have above a certain threshold of Endurance...?" She c.o.c.ked her head to the side in thought but was interrupted when Tionaughed loudly and asked, "What are we going to do, jump off a cliff or something~?" Though it wasnt by much, Vahns eye twitched a bit and several of the girls had noticed it. This was the downside to being in a group full of girls with very high levels as they were all very perceptive and constantly paying attention to the changes in other people. Vahnughed awkwardly as everyone gave him strange, almost usatory looks before he shook his head and said, "No, were not going to jump off a cliff..." Shortly after his words fell, a massive dragon head appeared out of the ground and made Ais flinch for a moment as she grabbed for a weapon that didnt exist before calming down. Fafnir c.o.c.ked its head to the side and said, (*Hello everyone~! Vahn, you called for me~?*). The moment Fafnir popped out, it spoke into the minds of everyone present with its somewhat adorable and childish voice. Though they were all aware of its existence, most of the girls didnt interact with Fafnir much and were still a bit intimidated by its appearance. However, the moment they heard its voice and saw its actions, most of the girls immediately lost their tensions and started affectionately patting the evil looking colossal dragon. The only exception to this was Ais who, even though she had seen it several times, was still somewhat ufortable around dragons in general, especially giant ck ones. Vahn grabbed her hand in his own and said, "It makes me sad that Fafnir always has to hide away, so Id like everyone to get along with it whenever possible. Fafnir will be a very important part of our family in the future..." Ais had gripped Vahns hand with her own and listened closely to his words before nodding her head and saying, "I will do my best...family..." Vahn gave Ais a short embrace and stroked her long golden hair for a bit as he whispered, "Thank you, Ais, Ill also do my best for everyone." When they eventually parted, Vahn pulled Ais forward and helped her climb onto Fafnirs back before everyone else jumped up to the tform it had created for theirfort. This was the first time any of the girls, minus Fenrir, had ridden on Fafnir and it was quite an experience for them when itunched itself from the ground with enough force to uproot some nearby trees. Tiona immediately shouted out, "Whoooooooa~! This is super amazing~!" She was holding onto a small handle that grew out of Fafnirs scales and was peeking over the side of Fafnirs body as they ascended higher and higher into the sky. Tione, surprisingly, seemed to be afraid of heights as she clutched onto her own handle with enough force that it looked like she might break it off. Vahn knew this would be a trying experience for her and knew he would have to watch over her if anything went wrong. Hopefully, her fear of heights would fade away after the fact since she would know for a fact that heights werent a factor she needed to be concerned with... Ais sat next to Vahn and snuggled up to him without using the handle while Fenrir sat in hisp and kicked her legs about in a yful manner without seeming to mind being at an increasingly incredible height. Ryuu and Riveria had thoughtful expressions on their faces as they inspected the flow of mana around Fafnirs body that allowed it to fly without actually relying on its wings. Vahn couldnt me them, as he had also looked into it quite a bit in the past since he would like to fly through the sky on his own one day. As for Aki, she seemed to be nervous but was holding up much better than Tione and had enough courage to peek up and over Fafnirs back on asion. Since the magical barrier around Fafnirs body protected them, even though it was moving faster than the speed of sound Vahn was able to speak to everyone without issue. Now that it was toote for them to back out, Vahn exined in a somewhat teasing tone, "As I was saying earlier, were not going to be jumping from a cliff. I once traveled to the upper atmosphere on Fafnirs back and tested out what it was like to fall from a great height. It was a very enriching experience and Id like everyone to experience it for themselves since it is more freeing than you might expect..." Hearing his words, Tione finally managed to break the handle she was holding onto as she shouted, "No way, no how, are you insane!? If we fall from this kind of height, wed be dead for sure!" Tiones eyes were round as saucers and it appeared like she was looking for some way off of Fafnirs back, excluding the method in Vahns mind. Tiones sentiments seemed to be shared by the other girls as they gave Vahn strange looks like he was putting their lives at risk based on a delusion. The only ones that seemedpletely fine with the situation were Tiona, Ais, and Fenrir in hisp. Riveria had a serious expression on her face, but she kept to herself since she assumed Vahn was going to exin things to convince everyone. Vahn noticed everyones reaction and shook his head with a smile on his face as he asked, "Do you know what happens when you fall from a great height?" Tione, being the person with the highest tensions said, "Youll die!" Vahns smile didnt break as he asked, "When you leap about at your highest speed, do you ever feel the air break around your body like a shockwave?" For a few moments, Tiones mind nked before she responded, "Yes, but what does that have to do with anything!?" Vahn nodded his head and exined, "For that type of phenomenon to ur, you have to temporarily exceed more than 1200km/h and break what is called the sound barrier. Everyone here should have a basic understanding of why its called the sound barrier since, after you break through that threshold of wind, all sounds temporarily cease to exist, right?" Even Riverias Agility exceeded 3,000 total parameters so she was also capable of bursts of speed that could break the sound barrier even though she was a mage. Everyone knew exactly what Vahn was talking about so they nodded their heads before he continued, "When falling from a great height, you have to take into consideration things like gravity, atmosphericposition, and wind resistance to generate what can be called terminal velocity. For humanoids, this value never really goes beyond 300-350km/h depending on the angle your orient your body at when falling..." Riveria squinted her eyes after hearing Vahns words and said, "So, youre saying that, regardless of height, you can fall any distance as long as your body is capable of resisting the terminal velocity of free fall...?" Vahn nodded his head with a smile and exined, "Thats right, since everyone here can break the sound barrier and be perfectly fine, there is absolutely no reason to believe falling from any height would harm you. Youre more likely to injure yourself with your normal movements than to sustain any serious injuries, regardless of if you fall from a thousand meters, or one-hundred-thousand meters. Even if you cant break that speed on your own, as long as your Endurance is high enough there is absolutely no danger involved. Justnd on your feet like if you were jumping from a few stories on a tall building. It is fundamentally the same impact force regardless of any extra height..." As everyone was processing his words, Vahn smiled and continued, "The only real threats would be the potential internal damage to organs and the discement of fluids in the body from the impact, but that is all mitigated by thews that govern high-speed movements when you have high Agility and your bodys natural ability to mitigate shockwaves with High Endurance. Especially for the physical fighters, you should be very aware of how your body is able to disperse shockwaves from punches strong enough to shatter boulders, right?" Vahn had turned his gaze to the baffled Tione who was having trouble processing everything she had just heard. Hearing Vahn addressing her, Tione thought about his words for a moment before nodding her head and saying, "Yeah, I know what youre saying...I just never really thought about it like that before..." Vahn smiled wider and said, "I have already tested this personally and was able to safelynd even though I jumped from a height far above the height of Babel Tower. It took several minutes for me to reach the ground and, since I was able to disperse the shockwave, I didnt even leave a crack on the ground below. As long as you dont panic, youll notice that you are actually falling a lot slower than your maximum movement speed. Why should you be afraid of moving slowly just because youre high up?" Hearing the way Vahn exined it, Tione couldnt help but feel she was worrying about nothing. She had fallen from a cliff when she was a child and had broken her leg so, ever since that incident, she had been afraid of heights and avoided tall ces whenever she could. Now that Vahn exined it clearly, it started to seem like her fears were almost ridiculous... Riveria had been lost in thought as she processed Vahns words and understood that he was likely correct. It had never been something anyone else tested before in the past, so such concepts like terminal velocity didnt exist in any schrly publications. It was simply epted that, if you fall from a great height, you would likely die. The longer you fell, the greater the speed you would reach but, ording to Vahns words, there was actually a maximum speed to attain...it was a very interesting concept and Riveria could tell from Vahns honest expression and confident smile that he was certain about what he imed. She had no reason to believe he hadnt tested it himself in the past and she was starting to look forward to testing the veracity of his ims. After ten minutes, the group reached a height of around 400km and the air had thinned a lot while the cold had started to creep through the protective bubble around Fafnirs back. Vahn had brought them to a stop and pushed against the chill with his domain and exined in an excited manner, "From this height, we can literally fall for nearly an hour and a half without any problems whatsoever..." Vahn noticed that the majority wasnt even paying attention to him anymore as they were all overlooking the world below with unveiled intrigue on their faces. He showed a happy smile as his expression turned gentle and he spoke in a tone that resonated with most of the girls in the group, "Its truly beautiful, isnt it...I wanted to share this experience with everyone..." With the change in his tone, everyone turned their attention to Vahn and saw his expression as he overlooked the world alongside them. Ais had been next to him the entire time and said in a quiet voice, "I never imagined such a sight... its beautiful..." Her impression was shared by the entire group, especially Riveria and Ryuu. Elves were somewhat prideful by nature and had a strong connection with their home forests and the itself. However, seeing the world from above like this, showed them how small the concept of a single forest was in the grand scale of things. From their current point, they could see the majority of the continent of Eden below them, including their home forests to the west. For several breathtaking minutes, everyone just stood in silence as they looked down at the world below from a perspective that was iprehensible by most people in present societies. Only the gods were privy to such a view and now they all knew how truly small the massive world beneath them was. Fenrir was the only one who didnt seem to care, but she remained silent since she didnt want to bother everyone else. She just held onto Vahns right arm tightly and enjoyed the moment they were together without paying attention to much else. Vahn, however, had been paying attention to everyone and was happy to see their captivated expressions. After letting them take in the moment for a while longer, Vahn said in a calm voice, "Its time...who is willing to take the first step with me...?" Hearing Vahns words, a nervous atmosphere spread over everyone present until Tiona shouted confidently, "Ill do it~! Even if its actually super scary, I know things will be okay as long as were together!" Though Vahn was already holding hands with Ais and Fenrir, Tiona jumped over and clung to his body with a happy smile on her face even though Vahn could feel her body shaking from the tensions. Ais, from his left, also said in a surprisingly calm tone, "I believe in Vahn...I am not afraid." Fenrir, perhaps caught up by the momentum, shouted loudly, "Fenrir will be with Vahn forever! Fenrir isnt afraid of anything!" Vahnughed, clearly pleased at the girls reactions before turning toward the other, somewhat hesitant girls, and saying, "Riveria, if youre worried about it, you can use your barrier magic to protect everyone. Ill be going ahead, so if the rest of you cant muster up the courage, feel free to return to the surface with Fafnir. Youll actually arrive much faster than we do, so wait for us down below..." Though she should have been happy to have a way out, Tione felt annoyed by Vahns words and walked over to the four-person huddle before pinching Tionas side with her fingers. Tiona screamed but didnt let go of Vahns neck as she stared at Tione and said, "What are you trying to pull!? That really hurts you know~!?" Tione frowned and shouted in a fl.u.s.tered tone, "Can you just let go of him for one moment you dumb gori girl!?" Tiona looked like she was about to refuse but, seeing the frustrated expression on Tiones face, she decided to relent for the moment and released Vahns neck. Tione released a relieved sigh before shooting Tiona a grateful look as she stepped forward and unhesitatingly kissed Vahn. Vahn was surprised by Tiones sudden intimacy, but he was even more surprised when she held the sides of his face, looked into his eyes, and said, "Vahn, I know you might not have the same feelings for me as you do Tiona, but know that Im not going to back down...I...I love you too!" Without waiting for his response, Tione let go of his face before jumping back with enough force to break free of the bubble surrounding Fafnir. Before she started her descent, she looked back at the group and said, "If its for love, why should I have any fear at all!?" Not two secondster, Tione began to rapidly descend and turned into a small dot shortly after as the majority of people stared down with fear, shock, and a powerful trepidation. Without waiting any longer, Vahn released a heartyugh as he picked up Fenrir in his arms and leaped off Fafnirs back as he shouted while doing a front flip, "Baaaanzaaaai~!" Fenrir, perhaps emting him, waved happily at the group on the back of Fafnir and shouted, "Banzai, banzai~!" Not willing to be left behind, Ais shot off Fafnirs back like a bullet and followed after them before Tiona jumped off a few secondster with a yfulughter ringing through the air. As for the rest of the group, they all stared down with hesitant expressions since, even though they believed in Vahn, it was still difficult to ovee the instinctual fear of falling a great distance. After around twenty seconds passed, Ryuu nodded her head to the remaining group and said in a confident tone, "I will follow Vahn...I already made my decision. Hesitating this long is shameful..." Without any further words, Ryuu leaped over the side and shot down head-first in order to try and close the distance with the previous group. The only two left on Fafnirs back was Riveria and Aki and the two girls looked at each other for a few moments until Aki eventually released a sigh and said, "Banzai~?" With an awkwardughter, she jumped off Fafnirs back as a strange nyaaahahahahahaaaaaaa type scream sounded from below. Riveria followed Akis descent with her eyes for a few moments before holding up her hand and saying, "Assemble, breath of thend - my name is Alf." A green barrier covered her body before she released a sigh and leaped off Fafnirs back before saying, "Return to the surface and wait for us...banzai..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sneaky Vahn...? Exposed!,Small world...,Lemmings~! Banzai!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 373 - Fall

Chapter 373 - Fall

---Tione PoV--- Not long after she jumped off Fafnirs back, Tione had spun through the air several times before stabilizing her body with her arms and legs spread wide in a free-falling posture. The waistcloth that had been tied around her h.i.p.s had been caught by the wind and torn from her body and she cursed Vahn within her mind for not thinking about everyones clothing. She did notice, however, after she fell for about twenty seconds she had stopped elerating entirely. If anything, Tione felt like she was falling slowly and the only way she could go faster was the change her posture to cut through the wind. She realized that Vahns words had been true and, just based on her current speed, there wasnt any danger at all. This realization was a very liberating thing for Tione since she had a great fear of heights in the past. After flipping over her body, Tione was falling towards the continent and staring upwards toward the sky as if she was looking for the others. Though the air was frigid, it didnt affect her much and it actually felt very pleasant against her skin. However, she had a strange desire for warmth and wished she had pulled Vahn along with her when she took the leap of faith. Her confession just before her jump had been a pretty big step forward for her since it was the point where she officially decided to give up on Finn. Even though they didnt spend too much time together, Vahn showed her far more care than Finn had ever shown. She was always his subordinate and, other than the time they spent at the Twilight Manor and on expeditions, they didnt really do anything intimate at all. Now that she had ovee her fear of heights, she suddenly felt like it was much easier to ovee the other things that burdened her heart in the past... ---Godhand PoV--- Though he had only leaped down a few seconds after Tione, the actual distance between them was several hundred meters. Vahn had been slightly concerned about her, so he was trying to close the distance to make sure she hadnt passed out or something. Though she would still survive the fall, Vahn didnt want her to have a bad experience since he wanted to do this type of thing more often in the future. As for Fenrir, she was clinging to his body like a ko while doing her best not to dig her ws into his back. She wasnt afraid at all, especially since Vahn was holding onto her, but it was still strange to be falling upside down toward the. Her instincts were screaming at her that, if she fell to the ground at this rate, she would definitely die. However, Fenrir had long stopped listening to her instincts and ced all of her trust in Vahn since she knew that he would always protect her, just like she would protect him... Because they had been falling head-first towards the ground, Vahn saw a red speckle with his enhanced vision and recognized it to be Tione since his eyes literally zoomed in on her after he spotted her. She had turned face up and was falling toward the ground with her eyes closed, but Vahn could tell she was still awake by her body posture and stable aura. Tione looked to be at peace with the current situation and Vahn smiled knowing she had been able to ovee her fear. Since she was in a neutral posture, it wasnt too long before he was able to close the distance to her before realizing how difficult it was to approach someone else in freefall. Vahn overshot her by arge margin and passed by Tione like a bullet as he startedughing out loud which caused her to startle as she flipped over her body to stare at him with an incredulous look on her face. Because of the wind surrounding them, they couldnt actually speak to each other, but bits of Vahnsughter carried through the air since he was lower than she was. He did his best to try and control his descent as Tione angled her body to slowly close the distance between them. Because they were both high levels, the control of their bodies was very high and it wasnt too long before they had closed the gap and stabilized by reaching out to each other. When she grabbed his right hand, Tione had a big smile on her face as she tried to shout out words that couldnt bridge the short distance between them due to the wind whizzing by. Vahn shook his head with a smile and mouthed a few words of his own which allowed her to understand he couldnt hear her at all. With a somewhat frustrated look on her face, Tione pulled Vahn closer to her and grabbed onto his body with Fenrir in between them as she shouted as loudly as she could in his ear, "I SAID I LOVE YOU, YOU IDIOOOOOOOT~!" Because of the zero distance between her mouth and his ear, Vahns eardrum rattled and his winced in pain beforeughing at her confession. Before she misunderstood his response, Vahn leaned forward and tried to say something as her long hair whipped up into his face and smacked him in the eye. She had little metal ties on the ends of her braided sideburns and Vahn took one directly to the eye which made him wince as a bit of moisture built up at the edge of his closed eyelids. Tione had an apologetic expression on her face but Vahn just shook his head before leaning forward quickly and giving her a kiss as the three of them rapidly fell towards the ground. Vahn was constantly being barraged by Tiones hair, but he just kept his eyes closed and epted the assault as he held Tione in his arms until he detected another group of presences closing in on them. When he pulled his face away from hers, Vahn saw the enamored blush and the fervent expression on her face before he shook his head and pushed away from her with a wink as he pointed upwards. Following his finger, Tione saw a sh of brown skin wearing nothing but a small white top and bottoms that she recognized as her own twin sister. Tiona had also lost her waistcloth and, perhaps due to the aerodynamic nature of her body, she was quickly closing the distance like a Vahn-seeking missile. Vahn could tell that she was approaching too quickly so he reached out his hand and simply chanted, "Raging winds, hear my call, slow Tionas descent for me~!" Since the only thing that mattered when casting magic was your image and the intention behind your chant, it was actually possible to cast any kind of magic you believed would work. Vahn genuinely wanted to slow Tiona down and knew the most reliable method would be to increase the wind resistance of her body. Since she was within the range of his domain, he could perfectly track her trajectory and hit her with a light green bullet that shot out of his palm and slowed her bullet-like descent to a crawl right before she collided with him with open arms. Though he only heard bits and pieces of it, Vahn could tell from Tionas expression and the reverberations passing between their bodies that she wasughing jubntly. She had probably seen him kissing Tione, so Tiona grabbed the sides of his face and started kissing him passionately as the spun around chaotically through the air without regard for their current situation. Vahn was enjoying the stimulus since he hadnt expected their freefall to suddenly turn into a make-out session and it made everything far more exciting. Most fighters were omnidirectional experts so, even though they were spinning about randomly, Vahn was able to keep his orientation without getting nauseous at all. He just spent a short while twining his tongue with the overeager Tiona before reaching his hand out and repeating, "Raging winds, hear my call, slow Aiss descent for me~!" Ais had jumped down right after Tiona, so she wasnt far behind her and quickly closed the distance with the obvious intention of catching up with Vahn. Vahns spell had no effect on her, however, as it broke against a green barrier that appeared around Aiss body. Though his eyes widened for a moment, Vahn calmed down quickly when Ais naturally decelerated to match their pace. With his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could tell that Ais was manipting the wind around her very skillfully and was even shielding herself from the wind resistance battering everyone else. With Aiss inclusion, their group became a strange three-way hug with Fenrir stuck between everyone else with a somewhat frustrated expression as she shouted loudly, "Dont squish Fenrir!" Because Aiss wind barrier had wrapped around everyone else, they all heard Fenrirs shout and Vahn began tough as he said, "Lets just enjoy the fall, for now, Ill make sure to invite the two of you to my roomter~." Vahn sent the girls a wink before pressing lightly against them and breaking free of Aiss barrier. Understanding the meaning behind his words, Tiona stopped controlling her fall and began to flip around acrobatically whileughing about. Vahn knew that, if they were on the ground, her actions would look closer to a happy dance and he found her falling figure to be rather beautiful since her skin-tight clothing didnt leave much to the imagination. Ais also seemed somewhat happy, but her expression was also serious as she began to elerate downwards at a faster pace than the rest of the group. Vahn felt like she wanted tond first, probably because of herpetitive nature that liked to turn arbitrary things into apetition. Her actions werent missed by Tione and Tiona, but neither girl had magic to help them against the wind and quickly gave up thoughts of trying to win against Ais in a race toward the ground. They just enjoyed the fall until Vahn sent them a signal and decelerated his body which made him shoot high above them. He hadnt actually gone up, but they were falling much faster than he was and it was a strange sight to see. ---Ryuu PoV--- Ryuu, unknowingly, was going through much the same experience as Tione had when she made her earlier leap. After resolving herself to jump off Fafnir, she felt a little afraid at first but, after falling for a few seconds, she noticed that her speed had stopped increasing. If she pushed her limits, Ryuu was actually capable of running faster than she was currently falling. Her fears vanished shortly after this realization and she began trying to experiment with controlling her descent. However, simr to Tione and Tiona, Ryuu quickly lost a bit of her clothing when she turned her feet toward the ground. She had been wearing casual clothes for the outing, which included a light blue skirt that got caught in the fierce winds and torn from her waist. Her blouse also tried to ride up her body, but she managed to keep it down with her hands before flipping upside down with an embarrassed blush on her face. Though Vahn had profound insights at times, he also had a bad track record when it came to paying attention to the smaller details. Even if he didnt want to spoil the surprise, he should have told the girls to wear tighter clothing so they wouldnt lose the garments as they fell. Now, instead of enjoying the fall, Ryuu had her thighs clenched together tightly to make sure her vani colored silk panties didnt get torn off her body as well... ---Aki PoV--- After mustering up what little courage she had, Aki leaped off of Fafnirs back and screamed in the manner characteristic of Cat Persons for about thirty seconds until she realized that she wasnt actually falling that fast. If not for the fact that her blouse was starting to peel down her stomach, she would have enjoyed the cool air passing through her long ck hair and whizzing by her ears. Even when she wasnt adventuring, she always wore a simr ck blouse that hugged around her chest without having any shoulder support at all. There was a strip of leather-like material about two wide that acted to create friction between her blouse and skin to prevent it from falling even during intense maneuvers. It wasnt, however, resistant to constant wind pressure and, since she had been falling head first, the wind had coincidentally been catching the small gap in her cleavage which caused her blouse to expand from the intruding air and slowly inch its way further down her body. The only thing she could do was hold it with her hands to keep it from descending further since, when she tried flipping right side up, the air had caught in her skirt and the cold sensation against her thin ck spats sent a chill up her spine. The posture she decided upon was falling with her back toward the ground as she fixed her blouse as best she could before tightening the belts around her waist. After arranging her clothing better, she spun around and fell in a neutral position that caused her descent to slow, but also prevented the wind from trying to peel her clothing off her body. She had a wry smile as she imagined Vahn scheming to have the girls lose their clothes, even though she knew it wasnt his nature to do such a thing. Aki wondered if any of the other girls had trouble and tried remembering what everyone was wearing. She knew, undoubtedly, that Tione and Tiona had probably lost their sashes and nearly burst outughing after remembering that Ryuu had the misfortune of wearing a skirt today. Her smile froze, however, when she recalled that Riveria was wearing her usual robe that went all the way down to her knees... ---Riveria PoV--- Riveria had the most inhibitions about jumping and she immediately regretted her actions soon after since, like all the other girls, she waspletely unprepared for the raging winds. Her typical attire consisted of a creamy beige cloak, which was now long lost, a light green sash, which she was desperately holding on to, and a green military-style robe known as the Elf Kings Holy Robe. She also had on a pair of sleek looking ck trousers and long brown boots, but that was a minor reprieve as she desperately tried to rebutton her robe that had been torn open by the winds. If there were any onlookers, they would have gotten a clear view of her somewhat pale skin, that had turned lighter from the cold, and the lime-greence brassier concealed her modest b.r.e.a.s.ts. She cursed Vahn for his oversight, but also knew it was her fault for not properly considering the matter as well. Even when they first started their magic discussions, Vahn had a tendency to overlook things and had even gone into a Mind Down state from his own overconfidence. He spent a lot of time thinking about things, but this also meant he was easily caught off guard when unexpected situations urred. Because he was what could be considered an omnidirectional fighter, Vahn wore clothing that hugged the body easily during intense movements. Riveria, however, wore somewhat loose robes and a cloak since she was a caster and didnt move around a lot during fights. The only thing she was grateful for at the moment was the fact that she always wore pants under her clothing instead of a skirt... ---Godhand PoV--- After slowing his descent, Vahn controlled his body with his target being Ryuu who he had detected above his current position. She was falling head-first toward the ground, so the distance between them was rapidly shrinking and Vahn was surprised when he noticed that she wasnt wearing her skirt anymore. Given the ming look he could see in her sky-blue eyes, Vahn knew he had made a mistake and suddenly recalled that both Tiona and Tione were also missing their waistcloths. After resolving himself for the lecture that would likely follow, Vahn altered his trajectory to try and match Ryuus descent as they slowly closed the distance between each other. Because of his spatial awareness, which was nearly wless due to his domain, Vahn was bing adept at being able to control his body through the air. With a bit of careful maneuvering, Vahn managed to reach Ryuu before grabbed her outstretched hand and pulling her closer to his body. She tried to say something, but Vahn couldnt hear her and just leaned forward and decided to push his luck by saying, "Vani really suits you, Ryuu..." as he gently pinched her slightly exposed butt. The ming look in her eyes turned slightly sharper but Ryuu wasnt able to hide the blush on her cheeks as she mimicked his actions and pulled close to his ear and said, "Vahn...Im going to make you pay for this..." Vahn blinked rapidly a few times because he didnt know exactly what someone like Ryuu would do to make him pay. Deciding to try and avoid the potential trouble, Vahn made an effort to appease Ryuu and pulled out a pair of dark blue spats from his inventory. Without exining what he was trying to do, Vahn pulled Ryuu up towards the ground as he traced down her body slowly. Ryuu didnt understand what he was trying to do and grabbed his hair to prevent him from going any further down since she thought he was going to tease her. Vahn realized from the fluctuations in Ryuus aura what she was afraid of, but her actions just urged him onwards as he began stroking the back of her exposed thighs with his palm while using [Hands of Nirvana] to shock her a little. Her grip on his hair tightened, but Vahn didnt mind the pain much and continued to pull up on her body until he could get the spats around one of her legs. Ryuu felt the foreign cloth on her leg and realized what Vahn was trying to do so she released a sigh and helped him. After she got both of her legs into the fabric, Vahn shimmed up her body as Ryuu pulled his tunic before pulling up his body from the shoulders. Vahn managed to get the thin, skin-tight, fabric around Ryuus butt and recover a bit of her modesty before sneaking in a kiss and pinching her butt again before escaping. Ryuu sent him a re but, after a few seconds past, mouthed the words, Thank you, Vahn. as she slowly fell further away from him. Vahn waved at her with a casual smile on his face and said, "Ryuu, youre so adorable..." He knew she couldnt hear him, but his words seemed to have been conveyed as she turned her face away with a blush and elerated toward the ground. Vahns next target was Aki, who was surprisingly higher up than he had expected. Unlike the other girls, with the exception of Ais, Aki was still wearing all of her clothing but she still gave Vahn a subtle re with a smile on her face. After a bit of careful maneuvering, Vahn managed to close the distance with her in a simr manner as the previous girls. When he grabbed her, Vahn leaned forward and asked, "Are you enjoying the fall?" Aki held onto his shoulder while patting Fenrirs head and said, "Its very exhrating, but you should have thought about everyones clothing~! My blouse keeps trying to escape and my skirt isnt exactly suitable for this type of activity!" Though she was wearing a skirt, Aki also had on a pair of moderately thick ck shorts with white bands around them. There wasnt any danger of her being exposed, but Vahn could understand how annoying it was to have her skirt pping around and threatening to make her blouse ride up her body. Because there werent any shoulder straps, Aki faced a problem no matter how she oriented herself and the solution she had found was to simply fall t instead of angling her body up or down. Vahn thought about it for a moment before reaching out and cing her skirt into his inventory. He also started to ce items like her belts and pouches into his inventory, just so they werent lostter on. Aki was surprised by Vahns actions at first but realized it was probably better than trying to prevent the clothing from being torn off. He also pulled out a different blouse that would be able to hug her shoulders and helped her shimmy into it with a great deal of effort before removing her old blouse by storing it away in an instant. The blouse he had given her was something that hugged the body tightly, so Aki was able to cut through the air smoothly now that she was just wearing the tight blouse in conjunction with her form-fitting shorts. Vahn then hugged her body close and spoke into her ears as he said, "You look cute in outfits like this, it really brings out your lithe figure! Im gonna head up and see how Riveria is doing, so Ill see you in a bit~!" Vahns current mindset was might as well press my luck so, before he separated from Aki, he gave her a quick kiss and a firm squeeze of her toned butt. She squirmed a bit from his touch and startled when, right before he pushed away from her, he grabbed her tail yfully and ran his hand along its length. Aki released a mewling cry and tried to grab him before he could get away, but Vahn changed his posture and immediately shot up away from Aki. Though she tried to reorient her body to slow her descent to match his, Vahn was always higher up since he generated more wind resistance and also had Fenrir attached to his body. She frowned for a short moment before sticking out her tongue yfully and heading downwards so Vahn could go help Riveria. It took Vahn nearly a full minute before he finally detected Riveria and understood she had probably jumped long after everyone else. When he got closer, Vahn saw her state and began to panic after noticing she was clutching onto her sash and ring at him with a cold expression on her face. For a brief moment, Vahn considered descending and dealing with herter, but he eventually decided to try and help her if she was willing to ept his assistance. He knew that she would likely be angrier if she was embarrassed in front of the other girls so Vahn mustered up his resolve and slowly navigated toward her. Unlike the previous instances, Vahn didnt reach out for her since she didnt extend her hands due to her current predicament. Vahn tried asking if she needed his assistance, but she didnt seem to be able to understand what he was trying to say as she mouthed the words, I cant hear you. Thinking she might be able to hear him if he was underneath her, Vahn fell lower and changed his trajectory to try and match her descent. This turned out to be a mistake though as, the moment he entered the same path as Riveria, his body created a windshield that allowed her to descend faster and she collided into his body with an impact. Both of them werepletely okay by the collision, but they still spun around in the air for a while hugging each other to regain their orientation. Fenrir seemed to be especially frustrated by the situation since Vahn could feel her ws digging into his back a little as she wiggled her body around in between him and Riveria. Vahn quickly controlled their orientation and managed to recover before trying to create a bit of distance between them since he could feel Riverias b.r.e.a.s.ts nearly pressing into him as she stared into his face with a stern expression. Instead of separating, however, Riveria grabbed Vahns arms before leaning forward and saying, "Help me fix my robe, and never speak of this to anyone. You also owe me a new cloak..." Vahn nodded his head before leaning forward and whispering into Riverias long ears, "Sorry, Riveria, I should have thought about this type of thing beforehand. Ill personally make you a cloak that is much better than your previous one..." Riveria nodded her head and her expression became less serious as she patiently allowed Vahn to try and close up her robe. Vahn, however, was very distracted since it was difficult to fight against the tearing wind while trying to button up the robe. He was using his body as a shield, but Riverias robe was simply too long and was trailing behind her body and exacerbating the situation. It didnt help that he was slightly distracted by her lime-green brassier and the light blush that was slowly appearing on her face as he continued to stare at her chest while touching her body. Her affection wasnt changing at all, but Vahn was aware that Riverias aura was turning slightly chaotic from their close proximity to each other. After failing to button the robe for nearly five minutes, Vahn gave up continuing to use the same method when a gust of wind caught some of the buttons he had already closed and tore them open again. Fortunately, the robe itself was of an incredible quality and they werent ripped off by the sudden tearing force. Though it was awkward to approach the slightly blushing Riveria, Vahn still pulled closer to her and spoke into her ear, "Im going to try something...if anything goes wrong, please protect Fenrir." Riveria wasnt sure what he was going to do, but she knew it would probably be something ridiculous and had a few misgivings about agreeing to his request. However, she decided it was better than maintaining their current state since her embarrassment had grown to near intolerable levels. With Riverias acknowledgment, Vahn focused his mind andpressed his domain to around 10m instead of the usual 455m. As the density increased throughpression, Vahns ability to manipte the energy within his domain increased alongside it. He hadnt really had any use for this beforehand, but now that he had a greater understanding of magic, Vahn knew he would be able to make use of the elemental energies within his domain if he conveyed his intent properly. His goal was to manipte the wind elements in the air and create a bubble to protect them from the chaotic wind flow, just like how Ais had been doing earlier. It was actually much easier than he expected since the density of his domain was already acting somewhat like a shield and had slowed their descent by a fair amount. After nearly a minute had passed, the air around their bodies had turnedpletely stagnant and Vahn could feel the air outside pressing against the semi-solid boundaries of his domain as it bore the brunt of the wind pressure. It was almost like he had created a physical barrier against a wind cannon, and it was very taxing on his mind to keep the domain stable as he quickly helped arrange Riverias robe using his dexterous fingers. Riveria had been somewhat distracted by the phenomenon around Vahn but was stirred awake when he started closing up her robe with strangely practiced motions. For a moment, Riveria thought about helping him, or even doing it herself, but she just let him do as he pleased as she tried to make sense of what was going on within his domain. Once he had helped button up all sixteen buttons, Vahn released a relieved sigh before slowly releasing his control of the wind elemental energy in his domain. He knew releasing it all at once would cause arge amount of turbulence, so he eased them back into the fall instead. Riveria noticed the change and leaned forward as she said, "You were able to iste the wind elements within the area of your aura. That is an incredible feat, Vahn, Id like to discuss it more in the future. Elemental control is something that is generally only possible for spirits, so I think it could be the key to future breakthroughs..." Vahn nodded his headzily before pulling out a [Senzu Bean] to recover his diminishing stamina. He then did his best to down a mana recovery potion but discovered it was very awkward to drink things in free fall. Even though he had put the lip of the bottle in his mouth, a small amount got caught by the wind and ended up flying toward Riverias face and coincidentally hitting her lips. Vahn furrowed his brows slightly before swallowing, both saliva and the mana potion, as Riveria licked off the slight moisture with her red tongue. Her affection increased by one point, up to 80(Trust) and Vahn felt Riverias aura fluctuate slightly, even though she didnt say anything. To prevent her from having any other wardrobe malfunctions, Vahn and Rivera descended together for more than an hour until the ground was fast approaching in their sights. Vahn had his back to the earth and Riveria was the one to tell him, "Well probably touch down in around a minute..." Vahn nodded his head and contracted his domain again and seized control over the wind elemental energy, not to slow their descent, but to allow Riveria to separate from his body andnd without her robe getting torn open again. The hour-long fall, where they shared a few awkward conversations, had given Vahn enough time to recover his energy and regain some rity with the assistance of [Will of the Emperor]. Riverias affection had increased by an additional point, but Vahn was more concerned with theirnding for the time being. The wind around them stopped battering against their clothes and Vahn gently separated from Riveria as they fell weightlessly in the bubble he had created. Vahn quickly transformed into his Xunw and hugged Fenrir, who had actually fallen asleep from boredom, before orienting his feet toward the ground. Around fifteen secondster, Vahn collided with the grassy terrain and nted his feet firmly against the ground as time seemed to stop for a brief moment before arge crater emerged around his feet. Since he could redirect the shockwave up through his body while holding Fenrir, Vahn had countered it and sent the entire wave into the ground around him. Riverianded nearby and appeared to gently touch the ground as a wave of energy passed up through her legs and dissipated. The only sign that she hadnded from her long descent was a slight indentation in the undersoil beneath the grass. She walked over and inspected the crater around Vahn before asking, "You redirected the shockwave into the ground?" Vahn nodded his head as he transformed back into a human and set the now awake Fenrir on the ground. She yawned in an adorable manner before rubbing her sleepy eyes with her paws and asking, "Is it over? Fenrir was having a nice nap, fuuuu~" Vahnughed at her reaction and began affectionately rubbing her head as he and Riveria waited for the others toe to them. They were thest three tond, but it didnt mean everyonended near each other. Because of the influence of winds, their trajectories could easily be off by several kilometers unless the group had stayed together. Fortunately, everyone wasnt too far apart from each other and were able to reunite quickly after Fafnir showed up and acted as a massivendmark by hovering in the sky overhead. A 17-meter long ck dragon was quite the contrast against the bluish-white backdrop of the sky overhead. Once they were all together, Vahn got to share a happy embrace with the jubnt Tiona, earned a kiss from the victorious Ais, experienced some awkwardness with the blushing Tione, received some false ire from Ryuu, teased the coy Aki with her own skirt, and then, once everything had calmed down, he got a long lecture from the entire group about proper preparations before going on outings as he consoled himself by brushing the happy Fenrirs hair... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wardrobe Malfunctions,Happenstance,Reunion : Lessons Learned) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 374 - Intrigue : Cooperation

Chapter 374 - Intrigue : Cooperation

During the hour-long lecture, Vahns mind had wandered a bit as he started thinking about possible outfit designs that would be viable for most situations. Though he thought they looked cute, Vahn didnt understand why so many girls wore skirts when they entered the dungeon. There was also a number that wore tight shorts, or things that could be removed easily and Vahn began to wonder about a practical solution. He wanted to do more things like this in the future, and it would spoil a bit of the surprise if he always had to tell the girls what kind of clothes to prepare. There was the option of simply packing a bunch of clothes for them in his inventory, but Vahn wanted a better solution that would also be able to protect their bodies. Because his imaging ability within his mind was nearly perfect, Vahn could visualize any of the girls he had seen n.a.k.e.d within his mind. He could even find out the specifics of their body have Sis analyze the memories and this allowed him to perfectly estimate their dimensions for the purpose of creating clothing. Of course, he still used the taping method just to verify things since many of the girls were still in their growth phase and changed marginally over time. Vahn figured the best solution was to try and crack the method about how godly raiments were formed since, when he asked Hestia about it, she didnt actually know the answer. ording to Hestia, and Vahn verified this with other goddesses, they each had a specialized outfit they could simply create out of nowhere. It was self-repairing, always conformed perfectly with their body, and even ensured they werefortable regardless of temperature and humidity. Hestias was the flower-like white dress that she wore most of the time, but Vahn also learned that Loki and Hephaestus had outfits of their own. Lokis looked like a ck one-piece swimsuit with a strange red and blue pattern that looked somewhat tacky. As for Hephaestus, her raiment was a long-sleeved white top that only covered her arms, shoulders, and b.r.e.a.s.ts, while keeping her abdomen and back exposed. She also had a pair of frayed blue shorts that barely hugged her rather plump butt. Part of the cheek still poked out under the shorts and Hephaestus didnt like to wear it because it was way more revealing than shed like. Vahn had also asked about Anubiss raiment, but she, against his expectations, refused to talk about it... Vahn had inspected Hestias raiment several times, but he had been unable to actually understand the principles behind it. It seemed to siphon for the gods divine power, but Vahn was unable to sense the flow of energy for divine power at his current Soul Tier. He could see the obvious effects when it was active, but Vahn couldnt see through the energy itself and hadnt found a way to replicate the effects. When he tried to analyze one of the petals from Hestias dress by inserting it into his inventory, Vahn was unable to do so because it was a soulbound item. It was one of the few things he couldnt store into his inventory, and it was the final indicator that there would be no shortcuts to discovering the secrets contained by the raiment. The lecture finally came to an end and the group started making their way back to Orario while Vahn was still ruminating over the matter. Since Tiona was sticking to his body, Vahn had actually been visualizing her in his mind and was trying on various outfits and designs he thought were suitable for her. It wasnt nearly as interesting as seeing someone dress up in reality, but it was very helpful to conceptualize basic designs and Vahn thought it was pretty fun. From his side, Vahn felt Tiona poke his cheek as she asked, "What are you thinking about so serious~?" Since he didnt consider it an actual secret, Vahn smiled and answered honestly, "I was thinking about you..." Hearing his words, Tiona began tough happily as she hugged his body closer and drew a few nces from some of the other girls. Vahn knew it was probably a good idea to exin things more clearly, so he said in a tone that was easily heard by everyone, "Im trying toe up with outfits designs that I think would be suitable...something like an all-purpose outfit that could potentially be worn under normal clothing. I am curious though, and since everyone here is a girl I wanted to ask why most female Adventurers wear skirts and shorts instead of pants and trousers?" There were various reactions from the girls, but the one who answered his question was Aki as she exined somewhat bashfully, "Ano...its because were girls, Vahn. We dont have the same capabilities as a man when ites to relieving ourselves, so its more convenient to wear a skirt or something that can be removed easily...its also less restrictive and allows for ease of moment..." Hearing Akis exnation, Vahns mind nked for a moment as he looked at the somewhat awkward expressions of some of the other girls. Things connected in his mind and a vivid image of Haruhime relieving herself appeared in his mind and he suddenly understood what Aki meant by the differences between males and females. Though he rarely had to use the bathroom, Vahn just had to loosen up his pants and everything after that was rtively easy. For girls, the mechanics were a bit different and Vahn had never taken it into consideration even though it was very obvious. Vahn wore somewhat loose clothing because, if he wore something tighter, it would feel very ufortable given his anatomy. Girls didnt have that same problem and wore form-fitting clothing because it was actually morefortable than wearing loose clothing that would rub against them ufortably...Even Riveria and Hephaestus, some of the few women Vahn saw wearing trousers, always wore very form fitting pants instead of the somewhat loose garments he often wore... Though it caused a bit of awkwardness in the atmosphere, Vahn was happy for Akis honest response and he felt as though he had a minor epiphany. He had never really considered the factor of making clothes easy to remove for such purposes, and it seemed like a very important thing he would have to ount for in the future. Vahn needed to design something that was form-fitting,fortable, breathable, good at regting temperatures and was very easy to remove in the event of an emergency. He had been experimenting with the idea of making a one-piece bodysuit to go under their clothing, but that seemed impractical since it would be hard to remove. There was the option of installing a zipper, or something simr, but there was a possibility it could break or tear,promising the girls dignity in the process. Vahn suddenly had the thought of Tionas outfit tearing open at the crotch from her intense movement and it made his brain buzz a little. --- By the time they made their way back to the Manor, Vahn hade up with what he thought might be a solution. When Aki had been having difficulties with her outfit, Vahn had given her a somewhat form-fitting blouse that hugged her body closely. She also had on tight shorts, so her body was able to cut through the air without difficulty. This inspired Vahn to think about creating a form-fitting undershirt and a pair of shorts that would be able toyer together to make a seal. It would be functionally simr to a bodysuit, but it wouldnt prevent the girls from being able to find relief in an emergency. He could make it, at the very minimum, twoyers so that the interior fabric would be absorbent while the exterior would be watertight. There were several things he wanted to try now, and Vahn was very tempted to head directly to his workshop and begin working immediately. Instead, Vahn chose to keep his promise to the group that stayed at the Manor and ended up, somewhat ironically, teaching the girls various beauty treatments while pampering them a bit. Vahn helped manicure and pedicure the girls hands and feet while also massaging their faces, necks, and shoulders as he helped brush their hair and style it up in a manner he thought suited each girl. His actions inspired the girls to get proactively involved and Vahn walked them through various methods to not only retain their beauty but also treat their skin and enhance their natural qualities. The moreplex stuff needed professional care, but there were various things they could do for each other that were very rxing and also helped cement the bonds between everyone. Haruhime ended up being Vahns assistant for many of his demonstrations since she had the longest hair, fairestplexion, and was already emblematic of natural beauty and elegance within the Manor. Syr also put in a great deal of effort, not assisting him, but following his teaching and helping some of the other girls try it out. Vahn got a bit carried away by the momentum and even started treating her like his student and trusting her to take care of the smaller details while he performed the majority of treatments himself. Most of the girls didnt mind helping each other, but they still wanted Vahns personal care moreso than that of another. Haruhime was especially pleased by the turn of events and, even though she retained her reasoning, her eyes had turned a beautiful golden color that earned her a fewpliments from the group. Vahn learned from Ais that Haruhimes transformation didnt seem to ur when they were in the Dungeon, yet she was still able to make use of her dance and illusions to deal with enemies. This allowed Vahn to understand that her eyes, and the aura permeating from her body, were something exclusively directed toward him. Unless they were her targets, Haruhimes allies werent susceptible to her illusions, but she seemed to have an instinctive focus on him due to her heightened emotions. Fortunately, as long as he used [Will of the Emperor], Haruhimes ability wouldnt work on him and Vahn could simply treat her the same as Syr, someone that had a natural charm that he had to be cautious of. Because of time constraints, not everyone had the opportunity to receive Vahns care which resulted in him giving a cursory wash of their bodies in the bath. Vahn was beginning to feel like the girls personal attendant, but tending to them like this actually made him feel happy, excited, and somewhat proud. Though they had various qualities, each of the girls were attractive in their own way and Vahn felt a strong sense of aplishment knowing they had all gathered together because of his efforts. He couldnt be with them always, so for times like this, Vahn ensured that he put in as much care as he could manage in order to assure them. Because he had the ability to see auras and affection, Vahns attentiveness was appreciated by the girls and was a very popr topic on thework after the fact. --- Almost every girl liked to be pampered, and Vahns ways of pampering were unlike anything most of them had ever experienced before. He always came up with new and exciting things to do, treated them with care an affection, and showed an interest in their concerns and needs. Though his attention was constantly split between them, most of the girls understood he was putting in what could only be described as a superhuman level of effort. He even spent a great deal of wealth on purchasing cute clothes and, as if that werent enough, he even designed outfits for their future use and was also a [Master Smith] that was capable of making powerful equipment for their benefit. Vahns ability to multi-task would break most people, and this was why a small number of girls were stepping up to cover Vahns weaknesses, chief among them being that he was just one person. Heading this was the proactive Syr and she was slowly converting several other girls to her line of thought in order to ease Vahns burdens in the future. Thework was already self-managing, and many of the things that could be dealt with by the women were already taken care of without Vahn even knowing about it. However, this wasnt enough since, when Vahn was treating arge number of girls, he needed people to act as support. Spending several hours of his recreational time dedicated to the girls would definitely be taxing with time, no matter how powerful his feelings for them were. Syrs intent was the unify the group more and was making use of the list that had been given to Vahn in order to connect the girls together through their shared acquaintances and who they were fortable with. She didnt have the intention of turning any of the girls into lesbians, but her experience with Ryuu showed that it would enhance the experience for many of the girls since it was a surefire way to break down their mental barriers and the defenses of their hearts. Just like they shared information, they should also share their thoughts, emotions, and burdens, all so that Vahn wouldnt be the only person carrying everything himself. To ensure sess, shemunicated her intent with Hephaestus, Loki, and Eina in order to clear the idea with them before putting forth the girls from the Hostess of Fertility as candidates. Each of the girls at the Hostess of Fertility had a trauma rted to men and they had several years of experience working alongside other troubled girls to support each other. Since they were all unified through Vahn, it put them in the best position to help unify the other girls because they were all rtively intelligent girls with a lot of power and experience. Chloe was assigned to get closer to Naaza, Lili, and Preasia. Chloe was very experienced at dealing with Lili and had even be one of her emotional anchors in the past. They werent friends, but they had a much closer rtionship than Lili had with the majority of the other girls. Chloe could also work alongside Naaza and Preasia because, though she wasnt a pharmacist by trade, she was actually far more experienced than the two girls. Ryuu was already close with Haruhime and Mikoto, but now her responsibilities extended to Ais and Lefiya as well. Ais had taken an interest in Haruhimes rampant growth and had be something of a mentor to the young Renard, but her mentality was somewhat skewed and she wasnt always the best person to exin things. Ryuu was very intelligent and could advise both of them while Lefiya acted as the relief of the group since she was very attentive and supportive of others. Mikoto was somewhat anti-social, but she got close to anyone that was friendly with Haruhime rather quickly, so her inclusion was very natural and she could also benefit greatly from Aiss guidance in swordsmanship. Arnya was chosen as the mentor for both sets of twins which included, Tiona, Tione, Emiru, and Maemi. Though she acted ditzy most of the time, Arnya was a very perceptive girl and could easily get close to other people with her amiable personality. She and Tiona had a natural synergy with each other and she would be a capable mentor for the twins because of her battle instincts and the fact that she was a Cat Person, simr to the two girls. They hadnt actually started training together yet, but Arnya would likely help the two grow much stronger in the future while Tiona and Tione also looked after them. Since they were also twins, the Amazon pair had taken an immediate interest in the two girls even though they were somewhat petitive about it. Being two years older than Tione and Tiona, Emiru and Maemi felt a strong desire to grow stronger so they arent swept aside after having lost their novelty. As for Lunoire, and Syr herself, they simply got along with everyone in the group and tried to pay attention to the needs of everyone. Lunoire was very good with children and had already gotten close to Tina and Mn after they started working at the Hostess of Fertility in the past. She had a good rtionship with Mn and was one of the few people that understood Fenrir and was allowed to brush her. Because she had grown up as an orphan, Lunoire had a soft spot for children and those that had suffered emotional burdens and trauma. She was highly empathetic and proactively listened to the girls, almost as though she had taken the position of surrogate mother and counselor in the group. Though it had never been brought up on thework, it turned out that, among the 24 girls residing there, 20 of them had grown up without one, or both, parents. The only exception to this were the twins, who had been sold by their parents, Riveria, and Ryuu, who had fled from her family when she was very young. Ironically, this shared trait, actually brought the entire group together since they were all looking for a family of sorts. Vahn was the unifying force for them all since his tragic past was something they could all empathize with and, since he was very empathetic to them, they developed a strong bond in a very short period of time. --- (A/N: Not really NSFW, but Ill put in a warning all the same...) Dinner within the Manor had be a lively event every single day and Vahn enjoyed the atmosphere of everyone getting along happily with each other. They all shared what they had done during the day, talked about things theyd like to do in the future, and also spoke of any concerns they had without worry of being judged. Vahn learned that there was actually a schedule among the girls which allowed them to sit with him during meals. Tonight, he had Naaza sitting to his left quietly while Syr sat to his right and proactively guided the conversations between the other diners. Knowing that he wasnt the only one with a schedule made Vahn feel a bit of relief because he knew thework was likely working together to sort things out on their own. Vahn knew this was the main reason why he wasnt allowed ess to it, as there was a very high probability that he would try to be involved with any, and everything, the girls were trying to do to make his life easier. Knowing they were making just as much effort, if not more, than him made Vahn feel very warm inside and he decided to keep his earlier promise by inviting Tiona and Ais to his bedroom. Since neither girl had any preference for others being involved, Vahn also extended an invitation to Aki, Ryuu, and Syr. He wanted to apologize to Aki and Ryuu for his earlier oversight and Syr would ensure that the experience was greater for everyone present. She and Aki were very capable of dealing with other girls and Vahn was curious how Ais would react to the foreign stimulus. Though he had to wake up early the next morning to apany the twins to the Dungeon, Vahn spent the hours between 8 PM and 1 AM tending to the five girls that had epted his invitation. Things got off to a somewhat sad start when Tiona took the Fallen again, but Vahn made sure to take special care of her first before advancing to the other girls. Syrs inclusion ended up being the correct decision since her aura spread to the other girls and increased their tensions greatly. She also helped tend to Tiona after the fact and ended up supporting her back while massaging Tionas diminutive b.r.e.a.s.ts as they both watched Vahn tend to Ryuu, Aki, and Ais at the same time. Ais was a bit overwhelmed by everything that was happening, but she had opened up a bit by the end of the session and had even started making out with, strangest of all considering the situation, Ryuu... By the time everything hade to an end, Vahn had cycled through the girls more than three times each and still had stamina to spare before finally bringing things to a conclusion while embracing Tiona with the assistance of Ais hugging her body from behind and holding up her arms that had been bound at the wrists. Tiona had a somewhat fierce look on her face as she firmly held Vahns h.i.p.s against her body with her tyrannical strength. Vahns solution had been to hold his palms on Tionas butt and stimting the muscles with [Hands of Nirvana]. Since she wouldnt let him move freely, Vahn made her muscles spasm rhythmically and she moved her own h.i.p.s under his guidance with somewhat scary m.o.a.ns resonating through the room. During this time, Aki was off to the side educating Syr further in how to treat women as Ryuu watched the two attentively with her sky blue eyes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fashionista Vahn,Syrs Influence,RIP Lefiya, being Tiones hug pillow...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 375 - Pressure

Chapter 375 - Pressure

After getting around four hours of sleep, Vahn awoke feelingpletely refreshed as he hugged the n.a.k.e.d bodies of Tiona and Ais and enjoyed their warmth for a short while longer. Everyone present, other than Syr, was going to be heading into the Dungeon as per usual, so they didnt have the luxury of sleeping in for too long. After sharing a few affectionate embraces,plimented by a healthy amount of passionate kissing, the group made their way down to the bath for a quick soak before heading outside to conduct the morning training. Seeing how lively everyone was so early in the morning, Vahn felt like things were going well and he was looking more toward the future every waking moment. Of course, as his happiness increased, so too did Vahns caution since he was very aware of the influence of karma on fate. Because he didnt want to worry about the matters alone, Vahn conveyed his concerns to Syr while the others were doing their morning exercises. He exined that he had an intuitive sense for when danger was approaching and had her pass along his message through thework to caution everyone to take special care while he was in the Dungeon. With the amount of power and authority thework had, there were few, if any, actual threats that could oppose them other thanrge organizations enacting evil and cruel schemes that targetted the weaker members of the Familia. Vahn never wanted an incident like what happened with Mn and Tina to happen again so, before he left for the dungeon with Emiru and Maemi, Vahn left behind the [Rallying Whistle] for Hestia so she could sound the call if anything happened on the surface. Even though they drew a lot of attention, everyone left for the Dungeon at the same time and enjoyed casual conversation without much regard for the freezing air. Since Orario was the central hub for Adventurers, there were arge number of them present even though it was very early in the morning. Because Vahn was rather famous in the City, he was easily recognizable, especially considering he was surrounded by fifteen strikingly beautiful girls. Though he tried not to let it bother him, Vahn felt a little guilty with how some of the other Adventurers regarded him. There were rumors going around referring to him as Flower Picker, Lascivious Fiend, Maiden Devourer, and Perverted King. Things didnt improve at all after it became known he was able to help goddesses get pregnant, even though it almost made him an untouchable entity within the City. Though they might resent him, there were few people that would proactively confront Vahn when the top three Familia were his backers. Once they arrived at Babel, the group split into several smaller parties before preparing to venture into the dark depths of the Dungeon. Vahn was going to be training Emiru and Maemi, so they were their own group after it was exined how his [Mentor] skill worked. Ais was going to be entering with Haruhime, Mikoto, and Lefiya while Tiona and Tione were leading Naaza, Lili, and Mn. The final group consisted of Ryuu, Aki, Fenrir, and, acting as their leader, Riveria. Because of Vahns warning, none of the groups were heading lower than the 18th floor, since it would take far too long for them to return if something actually happened on the surface. Every group had at least one member of the Hestia Familia in it so, if Hestia used the [Rallying Whistle], they would all be alerted to the emergency and could head to the surface to provide support. After splitting into their groups, everyone parted ways after all promising to take care of each other and ensure that everyone returned safely. Other than the younger girls, and Vahn himself, they all had experience with loss and knew how sad it was when arade lost their life. Vahn didnt even know how he would be able to deal with such a severe blow and prayed earnestly to powers far stronger than anything in the record that such a thing never happened. Though he had lost his mother in his previous life, it was before Vahn had even been aware of her existence. It wasnt until his death that he was reunited with her memory so Vahn didnt even know how to process loss yet. Even the thought of losing one of the girls he was close to made a solemn chill settle in his mind because he was certain that things would never be the same after the fact...No matter what it took, Vahn would seek out the source and destroy it thoroughly. --- Vahn escorted Emiru and Maemi down to the tenth floor with the two nking him from the sides with happy expressions on their faces. They had been looking forward to this excursion since it was a rare opportunity to spend some quality time with Vahn without having any interruptions. There was also an expectation shared between them that, with Vahns presence, they would be able to achieve an incredible rate of growth so that they wouldnt fall far behind Haruhime. Her rapidly increasing strength put a lot of pressure on the twins since they were older than Haruhime and had higher basic capabilities, at least in the past. Though their feelings didnt rival Haruhimes devotion, they also wanted to be able to stand alongside Vahn in the future and didnt want to be a burden to the rest of the Familia. After arriving at the entrance to the tenth floor, Vahn turned to the two and exined in a stern tone, "From here on, youll be going at your own pace to test the limits of your strength. The purpose of this exercise is to obtain the requirements for the [Hunter] Development Ability and, not to test your limits, but to exceed them. Rapid parameter development is impossible unless you undergo fierce trials so unless you are in mortal peril, I will not step in to assist you...also, you should know about the requirements for the ability and there is a fair chance that you may not be able to obtain it by fighting together. Im hoping that the bond between the two of your circ.u.mvents this issue." The two listened to him with serious expressions on their faces without wavering in the slightest. They had the benefit of speaking with several high leveled girls and knew exactly what kind of effort was required to obtain true strength. If they werent ready to put their lives on the line, their journey woulde to an end long before they reached their goals. Though they didnt mind simply bing maids, they werent willing to only be maids for the rest of their lives. Their dream might be a little skewedpared to the norm, but they wanted to be able to follow a capable master and have illicit rtions with him. If not for this slight delusion, they wouldnt have willingly allowed themselves to be sold in the past. The monotony of the tundra, the cold and hunger they felt every day, were far worse in the minds of the twins than having to serve someone for the rest of their lives... Meeting Vahn had changed their perspective quite a bit and they now desired much more than the life of a simple servant. Not only did he rescue them from the ve traders, but Vahn treated them well, bought them fancy clothing, and allowed them a great degree of freedom. He also helped develop their strength and had even strengthened the unique bond they had shared since they were very young. Emiru and Maemi couldnt even consider a life without each other and Vahn had guaranteed they would always be together, even if it sometimes put them through stressful and dangerous situations. They had lived more in thest three weeks than the entirety of their sixteen years prior. It was better to stake their lives in hopes of reaching a better future than it was to allow themselves to stagnate and lose the purpose they had found for themselves. After exining everything clearly, Vahn nodded his head with a smile before reaching out and stroking the twins hair and ears with his hand. They both showed pleased expression on their faces which bloomed into wide smiles when Vahn said, "Though it might be a little shameless for me to say, Ill make sure to reward the two of you plentily based on your performance...just make sure not to get carried away and make a mistake." Just as he had done for Haruhime, Vahn had hidden an effigy in each of the girls pouches in order to protect them in the event something disastrous happened. Since he couldnt afford a second one, Vahn had to borrow the one he had given to Tione in the past. He felt a little guilty about asking for something he had given to someone else, but Tione forced him to take it and practically shoved it back into his hands like it was a cursed object. Before sending them off on their first trial, Vahn gave the two a set of heavy daggers that were of a much higher quality than their previous pair. He didnt have enough OP to purchase unique weapons for them, but it didnt prevent him from obtaining a pair of high-quality daggers from Hephaestus. Though she had willingly parted with them, Vahn resolved himself to forge a stronger pair for the twins before returning the weapons in a pristine state after they were finished using them. Vahn also helped to update the girls Status Boards so he had a proper reference topare their growth over the next three days. (A/N: This is the update for when they first unlocked Gemini and from the excursion down to the 18th floor in the past. They are still rather weak xD...) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Maemi Rain LV. 1 POW: I44->H178->G214 END: I45->H133->H169 DEX: I31->G207->G273 AGI: I76->G259->F331 MAG: I19->F305->F382 Skill: [Gemini: Innate(E)] Magic: - Development Skill: - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Emiru Rain LV. 1 POW: I44->H178->G214 END: I45->H133->H169 DEX: I31->G207->G273 AGI: I76->G259->F331 MAG: I19->F305->F382 Skill: [Gemini: Innate(E)] Magic: - Development Skill: - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seeing their parameters, and theck of any skills or magic, Vahn was somewhat concerned for the twos safety. There were still many unknowns about the [Gemini] skill, and Vahn was hoping he would be able to peek into its secrets while they were progressing further into the dungeon. Before they fixed their clothing, Vahn hesitated for a short moment before releasing a small sigh and saying, "Wait, before you get dressed...I have something that will be able to help you." Hearing his words, the twins turned around at the same time and asked in perfect harmony, "Yes, Vahn-sama~?" He wasnt sure how it would affect them, but Vahn held out both of his hands and two small me seeds appeared in his palms. Vahn knew it was in for a great deal of pain, but pretended everything was okay as he exined, "These are called me seeds and they are produced by my skill [Prometheus]. By inserting this into your heart, it would greatly increase your potential based on the strength of your emotions..." After taking a deep breath, Vahn continued, "The rate of increase is tied to your feelings for me...so...umm..." Before he could exin further, the twins both showed simrly happy expression and shouted, "Please, Vahn-sama~!" Without hesitation, they both turned around and unabashedly showed off their snowy mounds with the little pink buds standing proudly. Since he had been bathing with them recently, Vahn wasnt too affected by the sudden reveal but he still felt a little awkward when he reached forward and put the seeds into their chest. Their faces turned somewhat flushed and they stared at him in what he could only understand as a hungry look in their eyes. Vahn was entirely unaffected, however, because he was using [Will of the Emperor] to its maximum effect to resist the ridiculous amount of pain that was echoing through his body. Every time he used the skill, the amount of pain he experienced increased exponentially and now he was giving out two at the same time. If not for his preparations, Vahn had no doubt he would have cked out the moment he touched their chests... After a few minutes, the pain began to fade away as if it had never been there in the first ce and Vahn looked into the flushed faces of the twins with a wry smile as he pulled his hands away from their b.r.e.a.s.ts. He knew it would have been better to insert it from the back, but Vahn wanted to give them a bit of motivation for theiring trial. Both Emiru and Maemi were sitting at 95(Amour) after having increased an extra two points during thest ten minutes. Their auras had red up a great deal, but Vahn did his best to ignore the raging pink mes as he said, "Okay, three days may seem like a long time, but itll go by faster than you expect. We may have to spend a bit of extra time depending on how things turn out, so its better to start earlier..." Though they werent the most educated girls, Emiru and Maemi were also able to see through Vahns expressions easily. Seeing his fl.u.s.tered state made the two girlsugh in an identical manner as they both squinted their eyes without covering their b.r.e.a.s.ts. Vahn was slightly unnerved by theirughter and averted his eyes before disappearing from sight using Shundo. The two girls were familiar with the skill and beganughing louder as they fixed their clothing and prepared to venture into the dungeon with happy moods. Though he was much stronger than they were, Vahn was still nearly two years younger and he was susceptible to being teased even though he was practically surrounded by girls. Knowing they could get a rise out of him, Maemi and Emiru felt somewhat proud of themselves as they resolved to do their best for the future. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Thats a very nice happiness you have there...,Small buds are capable of rapid growth if nourished properly (UwU),Hasty Retreat~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 376 - Slow and Steady

Chapter 376 - Slow and Steady

---Maemiru PoV---(A/N: So many people asked how their names would bine when they fuse...I thought it was obvious by the fact that they were named Ma-emi and Emi-ru...(O,...,O) After separating from Vahn, the twins made their way into the tenth floor proper in a simr, yet distinctly different manner than Haruhime had proceeded. As the two were Snow Leopards, they had excellent vision in the low light of the Dungeon and also had powerful noses and enhanced hearing. They skulked forward through the Dungeon as silently as possible but, instead of both focusing on the same direction, the twins actually split their focus and held hands as they progressed through the corridors leading to the various rooms where monsters awaited. Maemipletely focused on leading the way by sight, while Emiru walked forward with her eyes closed and concentrated on her sense of smell and listening for any fluctuations she could detect in the air. Because of their shared senses, the twins were able to make use of this unique method to enhance their detection capabilities while also strengthening their bond at the same time. The tenth floor was considered one of the safer floors since the majority of monsters that appeared were simple Gobline and Kobolds. Between them, they had killed more than three-hundred of such monsters, so they werent afraid at all of what was toe. They knew Haruhime had been able to progress down to the 17th floor through her own efforts, so Maemi and Emiru had set a simr goal for themselves. As there were two of them, they believed they would be able to achieve much more than a single person and, now that they had me seeds warming up their chests, they were even more confident. However, it had been stressed to them countless times that overconfidence resulted in mistakes so the twins maintained their focus and proceeded forwards with caution. It wasnt long after they separated from Vahn that the twins encountered their first group of monsters and Emiru immediately snapped open her eyes as they both dashed forward at the same time. The strategy they often incorporated was to herd the monsters together in a simr manner to how they helped to herd the flocks of reindeer back in their vige. By forcing the monsters together, it prevented them from easily changing the direction of their attack because they were almost unable to harm each other. Even though the monsters didnt seem to fear death, they still tried to avoid taking damage and were prone to retreating when pressured. Emiru was running forward at a somewhat low angle before jumping to evade a Kobold that tried tounch itself at her legs. She cut down with the vibrant red dagger Vahn had given her and easily sliced through the back of the Kobolds neck. A stream of blood shot out from the severed arteries and covered her legs as she continued her original trajectory and vaulted back to her feet after rolling twice on the ground. Though she frowned from the unpleasant liquid that had gotten on her legs, Emiru didnt stop since the fight was still ongoing. Other than exhaustion, the worst part of fighting monsters was always how dirty they got in the process. Not just Emiru, but Maemi also preferred cleanliness and neither girl was fond of the various bits and pieces of monsters that would get stuck to their bodies and clothing duringbat. It was their preference for cleanliness that was part of their motivation to be maids in the first ce since they didnt want to live in a dirty household. The absolute worst was when blood got on their long tails since it would soak into their fur and dry up which made it hard to removeter. Fortunately, it was also an opportunity for them to get spoiled by Vahn, so they tolerated it as best as they could. Maemi, on the opposite side of the group of monsters, was also enjoying the functionality of her new dagger while doing her best to avoid the blood spatter that would result from inurate strikes. The best way to deal with monsters was to destroy their magic core, as this would instantly dissipate their bodies without any gore whatsoever. The downside to this, however, was that the magic core would be lost in the process. Of course, there was an upside as well, since drop items were much moremon when a monster was instantly defeated. Maemi preferred to instantly kill the monsters when she could considering the smell of dried blood was very unpleasant and, without Vahn to clean their bodies, they would have to deal with the odor for several hours at the very least. A Goblin tried to exploit an opening that had been created when Maemi thrust her dagger into the neck of a Kobold, but she didnt even react to it at all as Emiru appeared at the Goblins nk before stabbing it straight in the temple. Though it drained their stamina much faster than normal people, Emiru and Maemi were able to share their senses and always cover each others blind spots duringbat. They knew that, when they became much stronger, they would be a force to be reckoned with in the future and weremitted to developing their cooperation to a level nearly inconceivable by most people. After the first blood of the trial, Emiru and Maemi continued cutting a rather gory path through the Dungeon and slowly made their way towards the stairway leading down. Their bodies were already very exhausted and they knew they needed to take a break before things took a turn for the worse. They had been fighting for more than three hours at this point and had in a total of 71 Goblins and 42 Kobolds after passing through more than twenty rooms. They hadnt been able to stop and rest for too long since there were time constraints and it was very probable they would need to kill a total of 2,000, or more, monsters to achieve the requirement of the Development Ability. The two safely made it to the connecting corridor before using the canteen Vahn had given them to help each other try to wash off a bit of the blood that had soaked into their clothing and fur. Even though they wanted to rest, it wasnt very pleasant to sit peacefully and recuperate when you were covered in smelly blood and bits of gore that had been flung away from the wounds of the monsters they fought. This was one of the downsides of having enhanced senses, as it was very difficult to ignore foul smells and abrasive sounds. Fortunately, they could help groom each other instead of having to worry about cleaning off their own bodies... ---Godhand PoV--- Vahn had been trailing behind Emiru and Maemi for the entire duration of their stint through the tenth floor. Their movementscked the elegance and dance-like quality of Haruhimes, but it was very interesting seeing how well they coordinated with each other. While he was watching them effectively sharing senses, Vahn began to wonder if there were some way to emte the method to link the senses of two other people. Unfortunately, he wasnt able to discern anything even with his [Eyes of Truth], and it seemed like their connection wasnt something that was transmitted, but something they happened simultaneously regardless of distance. It was very simr to his connection with Hephaestus through the eternal me, and how he shared a bond with the girls that had obtained the Love and Loyalty parameters. After experimenting with it a bit, Vahn knew his intent wasmunicated perfectly to his subordinates regardless of distance. This meant that, just like the twins, it wasnt something that was transmitted through space, but more like it was instantly entering their minds at the very same time he was thinking the order. Though he had tried to make sense of it, Vahn couldnt wrap his head around how something was able to travel great distances without any interference or timeg. If he could understand the principle behind it, Vahn wanted to createmunication devices that would be able to keep everyone connected without having to worry about distance whatsoever. Themunication scrolls were very helpful, but the costs were immense and almost unsustainable since the materials werent thatmon. After discovering that the Loki Familia Expedition had literally been to procure more ink, Vahn knew he would have toe up with a more practical solution. Of course, if that werent possible, Vahn would apany the Loki Familia down to the lower floors and store as much of the Bloodsaurus blood into his inventory as possible. His inventory inarguably made him one of the best Supporters that could possibly apany an expedition, since he now had a total of 173 unique slots for items and could store the entire corpse into his Inventory if necessary. Each slot could store up to 1,000m3 and could even store multiple of the same item if they were simr enough. After around two hours, Vahn noticed that the fatigue of the girls was starting to affect their ability to deal with monsters easily. If not for the fact they were covering for each other, it was very likely they would have suffered several injuries from some of the mistakes they were making. In fact, because they were covering for each other in moments of duress, it increased the stamina consumption of both of them from the strenuous movements made to assist each other. This was one of the major downsides Vahn had discovered about [Gemini] since it was very taxing on the girls both physically and mentally. Since their bodies responded to each others movements, it meant their muscles got tired faster and, as their senses were also shared, it meant the amount of information their brain had to process increased exponentially. Vahn watched as they persisted on for nearly an entire hour after they were exhausted and he found their effortsmendable. When he saw them enter into the corridor connecting to the stairs, Vahn considered if he should help them recover faster. Unfortunately, though he could heal their bodies and help recover their mana and stamina, there wasnt much he could do for their mental strain other than calm their minds a bit. He ultimately decided to wait and see how long it took for them to naturally recover their energy so he could use it as a baseline for the future. Helping them too much, in the beginning, would change their perception of the trial and make them more reliant on him to take care of their needs when things got tough. They needed to have a certain degree of self-reliance if they wanted to be able to break through the barrier that prevented them from growing rapidly. After resolving to let them progress at their own pace, Vahn turned his attention away from the wall and deactivated his [Eyes of Truth] since they had started to take turns cleaning each others body. Vahn sat with his back to the wall and expanded his domain through the ninth, tenth, and eleventh floor to make sure there were no dangers approaching. Thest he wanted was for a group of Adventurers to make their way up, or down, the stairs to find the two in the middle of cleaning their bodies. Even though the twins werent presently his, Vahn still considered them wards in his charge. Until they were self-sufficient, Vahn would protect them from harm and ensure they, at the very least, had the opportunity to reach their full potential. Surprisingly, Vahn did actually detect another party on the floor below them but it was fortunate that they didnt seem to be making their way up for the time being. They were currently just wandering around through the corridors, likely looking for rooms so they could hunt some monsters. Their party consisted of four people and Vahn decided to check in on them to identify if they might be a threat. Using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn peered down through the floor of the Dungeon and pierced through severalyers of obstruction before his vision arrived at the misty eleventh floor below. Vahn saw the group sneaking around while using the rocks and tree as cover as they hunted for monsters within the mist. It was a group of two males and two females, and they all looked to be around 18-20 years old. Based on how they cooperated with each other, Vahn figured they were likely third-ss Adventurers around Level 2. Theirposition had the men acting as vanguards, both using spears, while one of the girls carried a ratherrge crossbow. The final member of their party was a rather petite looking girl with somewhat tanned skin and she looked to be the supporter of the group with the rtivelyrge backpack on her back. Since they all looked like kind people and had neutral auras, Vahn decided they werent a threat and stopped his observation for the time being. Unless they made their way through a series of rooms, there was little chance they would follow the same staircase that connected to where Maemi and Emiru were located. There were actually a number of staircases leading down, so it was somewhat umon for Adventurers to meet each other unless they followedmon routes. This is why Vahn had the confidence to sleep within the safety of the corridors and had never once been disturbed. The fact that he had met Lili when he was ascending in the past showed how whimsical fate could be, though Vahn didnt resent this fact much since he was happy to have saved her. Imagining that she would have spent another two years in those conditions made Vahn very ufortable, especially considering what he knew of her past. Emiru and Maemi ended up resting for nearly two hours before deciding to proceed, not towards the eleventh floor, but back into the tenth. Vahn nodded his head before rising to his feet and disappearing from view before they exited the room. They made the correct decision to focus their efforts on the tenth floor for the time being since they would face more than a little danger on the eleventh floor with their current strength. Orcs werent easy enemies to deal with using weapons like daggers, and their stamina would deplete quickly while trying to deal with the ambushes from Imps. Taking it slow on the first day and testing their limits was actually a correct decision and Vahn intended tomend them for itter. This was something he had noticed was distinctly different between the twins and Haruhime since the very first time he apanied them in the Dungeon. They were always safe, rational, and typically thought about the situation in detail before making their decisions. Haruhime, however, was far more heroic in her approach and typically pushed forward without giving into her own inhibitions. This meant her growth was always stretching her limits, but it also put her life in constant danger if she wasnt properly monitored. The twins might not grow as rapidly, but their behavior would preserve their lives and likely allow them to steadily grow stronger in the future since, when they were actually put under pressure, they would experiencerge increases in their parameters if they could ovee the situation. Of course, if they were never put in those types of situations, they would continue to move forward at a rtively slow pace and most likely get left behind by the more talented girls like Haruhime, Fenrir, and the hardworking Mikoto. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Do you see what I see~? Do you hear what I hear~?,Vahn, God of Popcorn,Unnamed Pubs...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 377 - Bond

Chapter 377 - Bond

By the time the twins first day hade to an end, they had spent nearly nine hours fighting and had in more than three-hundred monsters. Given the conversation ratio for magic cores and drop items, they would have been able to exchange everything for around 27,000 Valis, which was more than what a party of five Level 1 Adventurers earned in a day. Since they were just two people, this showed how impressive their capabilities were, at leastpared to normal Adventurers. They were still a ways off from expectations and, at their current rate of growth, it would likely be several months before they reached the parameter development for obtaining Level 2. Though they had spent nine hours fighting, they had already rested for nearly six, including the time they took for meals. They had also yed it safe and spent the majority of the day on the tenth floor and only probed into the eleventh floor for about an hour before retreating. Vahn didnt me them at all, but he was very aware that even the twins were probably not satisfied with their own progress. It was starting to look like their Innate ability was actually restricting their growth since it fatigued them so quickly and, given that they had no support skills or magic, it was very difficult for them to fight monsters stronger than they were. When they had probed into the eleventh floor, Emiru had taken a bad hit from an Orcs club and, if not for the fact that their equipment was durable, she most likely would have suffered some serious internal injuries. The biggest problem, since it wasnt a wound that couldnt be healed with potions, was that Maemis capabilities took a hit alongside Emirus. When she got flung away by the impact, Maemi hade to aplete stop for a few seconds as she fought against the pain that was coursing through her body from their shared connection. Fortunately, she was able to recover before suffering any real damage of her own and managed to retreat from the floor after blinding the attacking Orcs with a shbang before covering their escape with a smoke ball. By the time they had retreated to the safety of the corridor connecting to the stairs, it was nearly 8:40 PM and they officially called the day to a close as Maemi helped tend to her sisters wounds. Vahn had seen with his eyes that, when Maemi had suffered the bacsh from their bond, she canceled it in order to regain her functions. Though this allowed her to treat Emiru without being distracted, it also prevented Emiru from being able to split the burden between them as she strained herself to try and drink the potion. Vahn had already known their ability was a double-edged sword, but it looked like Maemi might develop a trauma from this event and be less inclined to bond with Emiru in the future. Unable to continue watching from his hiding spot, Vahn walked into the corridor and made Maemi startle before she pat her chest in relief after seeing who had arrived. When she tried to stand, Vahn waved his hand and said, "That isnt necessary at all, tend to your sister. Here, Ill give you a hand..." Maemi nodded her head and a sad expression appeared on her face and she began to tear up as she kneeled next to Emiru. As for Emiru herself, she gave Vahn a somewhat apologetic smile with teeth stained with blood from her own injury. Vahn did his best to show a gentle smile as he kneeled down and ced his hand on her ribs. Orcs were rather well-known for their power and the attack Emiru received caused four of her ribs to fracture from the impact. She also had a bit of abdominal bleeding for an internal injury, but it was slowly recovering from the potion she had ingested earlier. Vahn channeled healing energy into her abdomen to repair some of the damage before he whispered in a soothing tone, "Spirits of light, spirits of healing, be a pleasant warmth and heal my ally. Remove her pain, replenish her blood, bring herfort - Heal..." Though it didnt matter what chant he used, the more emotions and effort he put into it, the greater the image would be and the more powerful the effect of the magic. Vahn could feel arge amount of mana drain from his body and flow through his hand using the same pathways as [Hands of Nirvana]. With his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see the blood in her abdomen slowly dissipate as her body magically absorbed it back into her circtory system. Even her ribs started to heal as a visible rate, but Vahn made sure they were set properly so she wouldnt have any difort. Around twenty secondster, though it felt like he used nearly 30% of his mana, Emiru had fully recovered and sat up from the ground with a grateful smile on her face as she said, "Thank you, Vahn-sama." Vahn reached out his hand and began to pat her head to fort her a bit before he said, "The two of you did very well today, so dont let a small hup destroy your momentum. This isnt a reason to give up using your [Gemini] skill, its actually proof that we need to put in more effort understanding its functions..." Turning his head to the left, Vahn saw the mncholic expression on Maemis face and could tell that she was afraid of synching back up. It wasnt that she didnt care about her sister anymore, she was just scared after having a close shave with what could have very likely been their death in most instances. Though she was paying attention, Vahn could tell his words werent really getting through to her and he began mulling over thoughts rapidly in his mind to find a solution. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Vahns attention was pulled to the fact that he was still habitually stroking Emirus head and he was inspired. With an expression of concern on his face, Vahn turned to Emiru and said in a gentle tone, "Im still afraid there might be some seque in your body, so Id like to give you a proper examination..." Vahn waved his hand and set out a futon on the floor of the Dungeon before continuing, "Ill help remove any remnant injuries and strains, and then Ill update your Status Board to see how your growth is progressing. Though it isnt entirely necessary, things will go smoother if you remove your blouse. You can keep on your shorts unless youre worried about having any injuries there..." Vahn began to feel nervous hearing his own words as Emirus eyes lit up like stars and she quickly shimmied out of her blouse. Before loosening the belt around her h.i.p.s and wiggling her butt and long tail out of the garment. Maemi watched her actions from the side with a slightly shocked expression as she asked, "Umm, Vahn-sama, what about me?" Vahn sent a nce her way as he moved to the side of Emiru and said, "I cant see any injuries on your body and I think youll recover quickly after a bit of rest. Ive been watching your fights all day, so you shouldnt have anything more than muscle fatigue to worry about." Vahn felt guilty about what he was doing, but he wanted to have Maemi make the decision to renew the link she had with Emiru without him directly forcing her to do so. If she wasnt consciously making the decision, the link would never be that stable and there was a chance she would endanger them both in the future if the connection was severed in the middle of a fight. Emiru had looked over to Maemi as well and muttered in a low voice, "Maemi..." She looked like she wanted to say something, but kept quiet for a few seconds as they two just stared at each other for a while. Emiru thenid her head down onto a pillow so Vahn flexed his fingers before sending one more nce at Maemi and beginning his inspection. Though it was subtle, Vahn was infusing two different types of energy into his hands at the same time. There was the predominant energy, which was like a warm heat that spread through and helped heal wounds, but there was also a moderately stimting energy that snuck out of his fingertips whenever he was right above the nerve cl.u.s.ters in her body. Not even a minute after he had begun, Emiru started releasing a strange wuuuu sound and Vahn knew this was how she and Maemi stifled their m.o.a.ns when they were excited. Since he was a professional, and had massaged her body fully only recently, Vahn didnt shy away and avoid her sensitive spots as he slowly passed his palms over her back, butt, and thighs. She had taken the initiative to remove her shorts, so Vahn kept his word and showed care to the area that was starting to turn flush from her rising body temperature. Emiru had somewhat pale, subtly snowy, skin and it made any change in herplexion very obvious. Especially for parts like her butt and b.r.e.a.s.ts, they were exceptionally white and she released a long sigh when he stopped his palms on her cheeks for a brief moment. He had noticed this in the past but the twins had firm butts with a strangeyer of softness that covered the toned muscles underneath... Without looking over, Vahn could feel Maemis aura ring up as well and knew she had already synchronized with Emiru as she had also started to release muffled cries. Vahn wanted to ensure the bond between them was strong, so he kept at his actions for nearly a half hour while focusing the majority of his attention on Emiru. Her body had long be very rxed and there was ayer of sweat covering her flushed skin and it almost sounded like she was purring from her throat as sheid on her stomach with her eyes closed. To finish things off, Vahn pricked his finger and said, "Im going to update your Status Board now...Ill check yours as well...Mae..." Vahn had lost his train of thought because, when he looked over at Maemi for the first time in nearly a half hour, he could see her leaning with her back against the wall with an enamored expression on her face as she absentmindedly moved her hand about in her shorts. Noticing Vahn look over at her, she quickly pulled her hand free from her clenched thighs and turned her face away with a deep blush spreading from her face and down to her neck and shoulders. Vahn was gobsmacked because he had never expected Maemi to start pleasuring herself from the ambient sensationsing from her connection with Emiru. After stalling for several seconds, Vahn mechanically turned his head away from the now bashful girl before tracing his finger along Emirus spine. The blood was absorbed into her back as the Hestia Familia crest appeared with a blue light and Vahn began deciphering the hieroglyphs to trante how her parameters had changed. He was surprised for a brief moment when he saw the addition of a skill, but then remembered that he had given them me seeds earlier. Maemis little incident had caused his mental processes to slow down a bit and it took him a short while to make sense of what he was seeing on Emirus back. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Emiru Rain LV. 1 POW: G214->G274 END: H169->G256 DEX: G273->F303 AGI: F331->E420 MAG: F382->C679 Skill: [Gemini: Innate(E)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A] Magic: - Development Skill: - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With Emirus incredible growth in Magic, Vahn was able to confirm a spection he had been keeping inside his mind for a long while. He knew that [Prometheus] increased their potential based off of his own and, because his Magic parameter was somewhat monstrous, it seemed to be influencing them all to have rapid development in their own magic parameter. Haruhimes Innate obviously influenced her magic as well, and this is why she had broken SSS-Rank even when she was Level 1. This was an important revtion because Vahn knew how vital Magic could be for a persons actual strength to increase. Lili and Naaza had also benefitted greatly from it and Vahn suspected that the development of her [Cinder*E] had likely been a result of her increase as well. Perhaps most important of all, however, was the fact he would theoretically be able to use his me seed to give someone an affinity with magic even though they have no natural talent for it. A good example, if she had been a lower Level than him, would have been Tiona. She was a unique case and, ever since she was a Level 1, her Magic parameter had always been stuck at I0. This meant that, even though she was Level 5, Tiona didnt have a single bit of useable mana in her entire body. She was a physical powerhouse and was actually much stronger than her own twin because of her unique constitution. Vahn had learned from the bubbly Amazon that, when she was younger, it had always been one of her dreams to be able to cast magic. This would also be able to help out the other, somewhat younger, members of the Familia like Tina and Shizune. Mn didnt possess any talent for magic and Tinas was also low with a rare magic parameter that started at I6. Most stats started off with a base of I10, so this showed that her actual talent with magic was somewhat abysmal. Shizune had a simr constitution since, unlike the Renard people, Kitsunes werent that adept at the use of magic and were focused more on physical development. Strangely, their race was actually known to have a variety of unique magic regardless of this fact and Vahn had thought it was a strange contradiction. The two were currently undergoing magic training with Riveria and Lefiya on asion, and now they would be able to use the magic they were learning if they put in a bit of effort. Of course, this wasnt all a good thing since it meant that any of the girls that received his me seed wouldnt have as great a benefit for their other parameters. Vahns stats were horribly skewed towards Magic, not that this was a bad thing, and it would influence their growth in the future regardless of his intentions. On the plus side, it meant they would all be able to make use of magic weapons, armor, and essories in the future. For a brief moment, Vahn imagined the tiny Tina and Shizune duo wearing something simr to a magical girls attire and parading around with wands as they cast tactical ss magic at their enemies... Shaking the somewhat scary image from his mind, Vahn waved over the still blushing Maemi and also updated her status after she finally managed to remove her blouse with Emirus assistance. Noticing their parameters were still the same, Vahn released a relieved sigh that made Maemi startle when his hot breath hit her exposed back. Her bushy tube tail flickered up in a jolt and actually brushed against his face due to its length. Maemi and Emiru had tails long enough that, if they were standing with them hanging freely, their tails would actually touch the ground. They were somewhat disproportionallyrge, but this was what enabled the two to run with their bodies angled low and also what allowed them to perform their acrobatic maneuvers. Of the girls at the manor, they actually had the most flexible bodies and were even his superior unless he pushed himself in his Bih form. Now that he had updated their Statuses, Vahn decided to make due on his promise to reward and pamper them a bit as he ced out the samerge basin that he used for washing Fenrir. Though he had some resistance to it in the past, now that he bathed with all the girls in the evenings, Vahn had stopped worrying about seeing them n.a.k.e.d now. After his skydiving date with the other girls, Vahn had even washed Maemis and Emirus bodies that evening and now had no inhibitions about doing so again. He might have cared if the reaction from the other girls had been negative, but their only response had been to queue up in the hopes of receiving his care as well. After he ced out the basin, both Emiru and Maemi had somewhat expectant gazes which quickly turned into expressions of excitement when Vahn said, "You should both get in at the same time, Ill help you wash up and remove any of the blood that might have soaked into your fur. Thisll be thest time though unless, lets see...unless you can make it down to the fourteenth floor on your own efforts? Your parameters are developing quickly and I think your magic is getting to the point where you might even be able to pull off your transformation in a pinch..." Vahn realized something and dropped his fist into his palm after a thought came to his mind and he said, "Actually, why not fuse together now and Ill wash your bodies at the same time? Im curious to see if you will both be clean when I take care of your fused body." As they were currently in a very synchronized state, both Emiru and Maemi shouted out with excited voices, "Yes, Vahn-sama~!" Without wasting much time, they began to strip out of their clothes until they werepletely n.a.k.e.d and Vahn put the dirty garments into his inventory. Both girls were still in their growth phase and they had fit, lithe, bodies with modest b.r.e.a.s.ts, silver hair, and circr cat-like ears and long cylindrical tails that were very thick and fluffy. Vahn could feel a bit of pressure in his nose but didnt let it get to him as he waited for the twins to finishing fusing together. They had ced their palms to each other and locked eyes for around twenty seconds before Emirus transitioned from their shared lc into a snowy blue. Every time they had fused together, it seemed like Emiru was the one absorbed, but Vahn couldnt be entirely sure that was the case since even his [Eyes of Truth] couldnt discern much since it was an Innate skill. Emirus body eventually vanished in a magical light and Vahn was left face-to-face with the heterochromatic Maemi who had undergone an instantaneous change in her demeanor. Vahn had noticed this in the past and could tell by their aura that she was in a very excited state and was quickly bing more aroused as time passed. Vahn wasnt sure if it was their feelingspounding off of each other, or if it was another strange trait of their Innate just like in the case of Haruhime. All Vahn really knew was that she was giving him a somewhat dangerous look like she was contemting whether or not to attack him. Since she hadnt immediately moved to the bath, Vahn c.o.c.ked his head to the side and asked, "Is something the matter...Maemi?" Maemi shook her head with a smile on her face and said, "Were fine...we were just lost in thought for a little while. Its very strange to be in this form...its like we have a lot of power and all of our senses are going haywire from how sensitive we are..." As if realizing something, Maemis eyes widened slightly before she showed a mischevious expression on her face and said, "We really are very sensitive right now...I wonder what it would be like for Vahn-sama to touch us like this...I think it would feel amazing...my heart feels like it will explode just thinking about it..." The heterochromatic Maemi ced both hands on her lower abdomen and had slowly started inching down lower as if trying to entice him with her actions. Vahn released a small sigh before giving Maemi a wry smile and saying, "Actually, before you get into the bath, Id like to try and check your Status Board again. Dont worry, Ill help replenish your mana so you can sustain the form for longer..." Acting as casually as he could manage, Vahn walked over before making his way to Maemis back as she followed his movements with a somewhat predatory look on her face without moving a muscle. Vahn had been curious about how their parameters changed in this form and now seemed like as good a time as any to confirm his spection. After pricking his finger, Vahn traced a line of blood down her back before cing his left hand on her shoulder as he started to channel his source energy into her body. As he began to check her status, Maemi reached up and grabbed his hand from her shoulder in a swift motion before tracing down her body, over her b.r.e.a.s.t, before finallying to a stop on her abdomen as she said in a teasing tone, "Its better if you insert it here...I can feel it deep inside of me...filling me up~" Vahn clenched his teeth a bit as he looked into her mischevious eyes for a brief moment before turning his attention back to her status without removing his hand from her smooth stomach. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Maemiru LV. 1(?) POW: D548 END: D512 DEX: C606 AGI: A840 MAG: SSS1358 Skill: [Gemini: Innate(E)], [Prometheuss Blessing:S] Magic: - Development Skill: - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahns eyes widened in shock when he saw Maemirus parameters, but he was even more shocked when he saw that their [Prometheuss Blessing] had increased from A to S with their fusion. Though he couldnt be certain of the effects, Vahn knew the difference between A and S of a skill was a qualitative leap. This meant that, if the skill still functioned the same way, Maemirus growth would be much greater than that of the sisters when they were split. This wasnt even mentioning that their parameters had literally been added together and she now had monstrous parameters that would shock the majority of people. At this rate, by the time they reached near the peak of Level 2, their fusion would actually be stronger than his Level 3...for a reason he couldnt entirely understand, Vahn felt a bit intimidated by this fact, especially after seeing the predatory look on Maemirus face... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Double-edged sword...,Vahns maniption,Maemirus Prowess) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 378 - Overwhelming

Chapter 378 - Overwhelming

After exining to Maemiru the changes in her parameters, she released a cheerful and moderately seductiveugh as she sad in a teasing voice, "If our parameters are that high, doesnt it mean well be qualified to be with you since our strength would have met your standard? We cant wait to hit Level 2...Vahn...sama~." Vahn furrowed his brows slightly at her words because, even though he had set the basic requirement to Level 3, it was an irrefutable truth that they would have the strength of one. If they learned any powerful skills or abilities, they would probably be much stronger than most of the other girls even if they were Level 3... Vahn considered the matter for a moment before saying in a firm tone, "That remains to be seen...it will depend on a variety of factors. You should know that there are restrictions for how high a persons parameters can grow for each Level. I cant say for certain how it will apply to your fused state, but it could be a very dangerous skill with serious consequences if you overuse it. Your magic parameter is far outstripping your other parameters at the moment, so there is a high chance you may not be nearly as strong as you think by the time your level actually increases." Though he was speaking truthfully, Vahn felt like his words were strange since it was almost like he was discouraging them somehow. Maemiruughed cheerfully before sauntering over to the basin and turning her head to give Vahn a yful wink as she lifted her leg to the edge of the tub and fully disyed herself for his view. Before she climbed inpletely, Maemiur said in an amused tone with her strange ovepping voice, "We know you arent the type to go back on your word, Vahn-sama. Leave it to us, well show you how powerful we can be when we are together~." Vahn continued in silence for a while as he watched Maemiru climb into the basin before releasing afortable sigh as she lowered her body into the steaming hot water. Vahn was starting to think the fusion of the girls had a strange effect on their mind and he was curious about how exactly they had changed. Individually, the girls were somewhat docile and could even be considered charming and adorable. Combined, however, they became confident, assertive, and were borderline domineering. The way their voice ovepped, the somewhat eerie heterochromatic eyes, and the tantly seductive nature of their fused form was a bit unnerving, to say the least. Of course, Vahn wasnt actually that worried about the two since he knew his own growth would almost certainly outpace theirs. He also understood that, though they were teasing him quite a bit, they didnt show any real possessiveness or other negative emotions. Though he couldnt see their affection, their aura was a vibrant pink with red undertones and a sunny yellow coloration that showed they were actually just very happy at the present moment. It was likely that they were simply unable to express themselves well with their heightened emotions so they acted out a bit and teased him due to their increased tensions. It was like when Haruhime first transformed and she was unable to regte her feelings well and even pushed herself to the point of copse more than once. With time, the twins should be able to achieve some mastery in their Innate ability and properly control themselves in the future. As promised, Vahn unhesitantly bean washing Maemirus body with a sponge and, even though her reactions were somewhat extreme, he didnt mind them much and continued tending to their body in a moderately professional manner. Moderately because, every now and then, he would tease them a bit just to get even with them for constantly egging him on. The best example of this was when they leaned forward and yfully waggled their butt toward him so Vahn reached out with the sponge and began to scrub their rump and the underside of their tail with a bit of force. They ended up gripping the edge of the basin and releasing a strangely ovepped wuuuu sound as Vahn held up their tail and made sure to clean thoroughly around the base beforethering up the tail itself andbing a thick brush through their fluffy fur. A few minutes into the bath, as Maemi was suffering a bit under his care, they suddenly split back into two with Emiru being the one Vahn was holding onto as she leaned against Maemis back and purred in a somewhat high pitched whine. Vahn remembered his earlier curiosity so he released her tail and asked in a casual tone, "Im curious, have you both been cleaned at the same time? Does the soap on one of your bodies duplicate and appear on the other? Ah...I should have tried to get you to wear an essory and see if it was split in two...well, there is always next time." Hearing Vahns words, the two girls sunk into the hot water while hugging onto each other with somewhat ming looks on their faces as they red at him from the sanctity of the tub. Vahn raised his brow slightly because their personalities changed drasticallypared to the bravado of their fused form. He could tell from a nce that a few of his questions could be answered somewhat easily, even though they werent really speaking to him at the moment. Vahn had thoroughlythered up their hair and now, though they still had suds all over, it was decidedly less than his earlier results. It looked like the amount had literally halved and Vahn spected that, if he had actually given them an item for use in their transformed state, it would be broken when they split apart. After the twins rinsed off their bodies, they seemed to have recovered their normal demeanors and tilted Vahn a bit when they climbed out of the tub, stood side-by-side while still n.a.k.e.d, and bowed at the same time as they said, "Thank you for taking such good care of us, Master~." They had reverted back to their old form of address so Vahn frowned and said, "I told you not to call me that...it feels awkward and wrong. Even if you dont consider it, I really want to treat the two of you like family and not as servants. I want everyone in the Familia to be one big family..." Hearing his words, the twins looked at each other for a brief moment with smiles on their faces until Emiru said, "When it is just the three of us..." Maemi continued, "We want to call you Master~" Following up, they both said at the same time, "It will make us the happiest~!" Vahn nked for a moment before furrowing his brows even lower as he asked in a somewhat apathetic voice, "But what about how it makes me feel? I want the two of you to be happy, but it just makes me feel strange when someone calls me Master. I already have the entire Anubis Familia putting me on a pedestal, I dont want my own Familia to do the same..." Perhaps they hadnt expected his response because both girls widened their eyes greatly and looked like they were about to have panic attacks with how much they were fidgetting about. Seeing their reaction, Vahn released an almost inaudible sigh as he mentally remarked, ("Well, it is probably just part of their dream...if I just treat it like a y, it shouldnt be a big deal..."). Before their panic had fully set in, Vahn stepped toward the still n.a.k.e.d girls and began to stroke their heads with his [Hands of Nirvana] helping to calm their minds as he said with a smile, "Now that I think about it, its not such a bad deal...if though youre older than me, its still pleasant to have to young girls call me Master. I think I was just overwhelmed for a moment since youre both cute individually, but an actual danger to my mental state when together...hahahahaha!" Though he hadnt intended tough at first, Vahn had calmed down a lot while he was speaking and felt happy when he saw the relieved looks on the twins faces as they blushed from hispliment. After they finally developed enough good sense to get dressed, Vahn helpedb through the girls hair and tails as promised before sending them off to bed in preparation for the next day. Though they had been at 95 previously, their interactions during their transformation and the words shared after the bath had increased the respective affections of the two girls to 99(Amour). They were just shy of hitting the cap and Vahn was tempted to try and push them a bit further since he was interested in what kind of reward he would get from the two simultaneously hitting 100 Affection. Instead, he decided to let things develop naturally, even though he knew most of his interactions with girls were anything but. He had changed a lot in thest few months, but many of his major changes in mentality had taken ce in just thest two weeks. Though the girls were likely shocked from his rapid growth, Vahn was the most aware of how much he had changed ever since that fateful date with Chloe. Now that he wasying against the wall of the Dungeon, Vahn couldnt help but think about the mischevious Cat Person that he shared deep affections with and had evene to love. She was arguably one of the most important people in his life and was someone he wanted to pull from the darkness in the future. As hey about and drifted off into thend of dreams, Vahn began to wonder what he could do for the loveable ck cat as he affectionately rubbed the mark on his shoulder. In the process, Vahn felt a few extra indentations and his smile turned even softer as the image of the ditzy Arnya appeared in his memory right as he fell asleep... --- Rest in the Dungeon was never truly peaceful and, as if smacking him in the face for his earliercency, Vahns rest was brought to an early end after four hours had passed. Several presences had entered into the area of his domain and Vahn could tell they were actually the same group of four that he had seen in the eleventh floor. They were currently making a mad dash toward his, and the sleeping twins, position and Vahn could detect arge number of hostiles chasing after them. This was the obvious sign that the party had the misfortune of encountering a Monster Party and Vahn wondered if they were supposed to have some connection with his fate due to the karma he had received. With a ruminating expression on his face, Vahn turned his eyes to the sleeping twins before making the decision to wake them. He had hoped they might wake up on their own, as their senses were rather sharp, but it seemed like they were a bitcent since he was watching over them. Vahn leaped to his feet and said in amanding tone, "Enemies approach, prepare forbat!" Part of their training with Aki had actually been wake-up drills, so Emiru and Maemi immediately sat up with a start and began fixing their clothing and armor into ce without questioning Vahns words at all. Seeing their response, Vahn nodded his head and decided not to me them for beingcent earlier since they still reacted properly when it came time to muster. The unknown party was quickly approaching their position but the twins were able topletely gear up within 37 seconds, amendable time considering the various straps they had to deal with. As soon as they were dressed, they both pulled out their daggers and got into a ready stance at Vahns nks and asked, "Should we go and fight?" Vahn shook his head and exined, "There is a group of four Adventurers heading toward our location with arge group of monsters, totaling 73, chasing after them. Based on their signatures, it seems like a group of Imps but there is one marginally stronger one amongst them. Well alter our tactics depending on how the party reacts...if they try to Pass Parade us, Ill take the both of you and use Shundo to flee. If they decide to stand and fight, the two of you will support them and Ill deal with the majority of the mob depending on how things y out." Pass Parading was an inexcusable offense and was something that could get a Familia forcefully disbanded depending on the situation. Sadly, it was surprisinglymon since people were prone to panic in stressful situations. The reason why this was sad was that it was nearly never reported since, when performed sessfully, there would be no witnesses to bring the matter to light. Though he wouldnt kill them personally, Vahn resolved to leave them to their fates if they tried something so shameless while he was protecting the two girls. He might not care much if it was just him, but if the group tried to perform a Pass Parade when there were frail girls present, Vahn would show them no leniency. Nearly a minute after his orders were passed to the twins, the group of Adventurers ran into the safety of the corridor and immediately looked toward Vahn and the twins as their supposed leader shouted, "Quick, you need to get away, there is a variant species chasing us!" Seeing the honest looking boy wave his arms in warning, Vahn showed an appreciative smile and told the twins, "Stay back and help treat their wounded...Ill make short work of this and return quickly." The moment they nodded their heads, Vahn used [Shundo] and appeared right behind the group and said, "Youre safe here, I wont let a single enemy beyond this point..." The leader of the group, a brown-haired man who looked to be around 19-20 years old, looked back at Vahn with a confused expression on his face before turning to the twins when they shouted, "Come over here, we have potions and first aid supplies! Vahn-sama will be perfectly fine on his own!" Vahns name was not only somewhat rare, but he was also very famous within the City right now so, as the group continued forward, the man asked, "Vahn...? As in the Sage Aldrnari, Vahn Mason!?" Hearing her leaders words, the raven-haired woman with the giant crossbow looked back before cing a bolt into the crossbow and kneeling down as if she were preparing to support Vahn from the rear. Vahn had been paying attention to all of their actions since he didnt truly trust them and would move the moment they tried anything shady. Fortunately, the woman released the heavy bolt and it skimmed nearly a meter to his right and impaled one of the charging Imps. Vahn felt inspired by themendable nature of the group and wanted to show off a bit since they seemed to know of him. He wanted the rumors surrounding him to change for the better, and the best way to do so was to have a few achievements from helping people in need. Since it had been a while, Vahn decided to disy a bit of his prowess as he drew [L?vateinn] out of his inventory and brandished it about in a wide arc that caused a veritable tidal wave of mes to move forward and mow down the mob of charging Imps. The only one that seemed resistant to the mes was the strange blue one that was nearly three meters tall. As for the rest, they began to squeal in pain as their bodies quickly burned to ash under the intense mes that couldnt be extinguished no matter how desperately they tried. Though she had been intending to support him, the woman with the crossbow turned into a statue as she saw the devastation wrought by Vahns single attack. She didnt know much about the Sage Aldrnari, other than the fact he was supposed to be ascivious, yet highly capable, Adventurer at Level 3. However, seeing him mow down more than fifty monsters with a single swipe of his fiery greatsword was a big impact and she felt like her support was a joke considering how easily Vahn dealt with the situation. When his clothes suddenly changed and he was standing with his incredibly toned and muscr torso exposed, she felt her heart tighten up and screamed out at the top of her lungs when she saw him leap into the deadly mes, "Adrnari, dont be rash~!" The mes of [L?vateinn] were much weaker than his eternal me and the vermillion mes, so Vahn changed into a pair of fire-resistant trousers before unequipping the rest of his gear. He jumped into the mes without any hesitation at all and leaped towards the wailing Blue Imp Chieftan with his sword drawing a wide arc and cut through the body of the once fierce monster as if it hadnt any resistance at all. Its arms had been severed along with its torso and there were orange kes of flesh and blood from the heat of the de as it passed through and cauterized the body instantly. Before the body had hit the ground, it inted for a brief moment before dissipating into purple smoke from the devastating attack. Vahn put away the drop items into his inventory before turning toward the group of Adventurers that were staring at him with abject shock on their faces as he casually walked through the mes. Because of their unique properties, the mes of [L?vateinn] actually stuck to his body and were trying to devour him but his absolute fire immunity prevented him from even feeling their heat. Vahn just walked out of the mes with the somewhat blood-red colored fire sticking to his body before he pointed the tip of [L?vateinn] at the raging inferno and extinguished the ze after several seconds. Satisfied by the result, Vahn returned the sword to his inventory before showing a kind smile and saying, "Im d youre all okay. If there are any serious injuries, I know healing magic and am a practiced physician. Please tell me if there is anything I can help with, no charge at all." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Carnivorous woman,Dont mess with the Godhand,[L?vateinn]s Legend Begins...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 379 - Recovery

Chapter 379 - Recovery

Hearing Vahns words,bined with his current image that created a strange contrast between kind and domineering, the four Adventurers stared at him with incredulous expressions on their faces. Vahn squinted his eyes slightly and changed back into his normal attire which was a matte grey tunic with ck trousers with arm and leg guards. He actually didnt wear shoes most of the time, at least while he was in the Dungeon, since he often fought in his Bih form which made ws grow on his feet. It was also much easier to move around and things like hot and cold didnt affect him much due to the eternal me beating in his chest. As he walked over, the party became somewhat alert but Vahn just continued to show a casual smile as he walked over to the young man cradling his injuredpanion, the somewhat petite Supporter girl who seems to have lost her backpack in the chase. The twins hadnt even had time to start their first aid treatment due to how quickly Vahn took care of the situation and they were just currently staring at him with somewhat flushed expressions. Based on how everyone was reacting, Vahn felt like his n to show off had seeded and he felt a little proud of himself. Using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could tell that the young girl, who seemed to be around 16-18, had a deepceration on her back and there was blood all over the futon that the twins had allowed them to use. Vahn could tell she wouldntst long at this rate, so he asked in a somewhat hurried tone, "Do you have any potions to help yourpanion? If not, let me take care of her for the time being. At this rate, shell end up bleeding out in the next ten minutes and itll be toote for regrets if you dy things further." Though the supporter girl was still conscious, she had zed eyes and was obviously in shock so Vahn had addressed the other three with his words. The leader of the group, the same brown-haired man with an earnest face, said, "We dont have any potions...but we can pay you backter if youre willing to he-" Vahn waved his hand in a dismissive manner to interrupt the mans words and said, "I already said you didnt have to worry about stuff like that. My treatment wont cost you anything, I just want to help out since you seem like good people." Vahn gestured with his head for the man holding on the girl to move but he just frowned in response and said in a somewhat usatory tone, "Ive heard of you...do you think Ill just let you do whatever you want with Sennas body? Just give us some potions and well take her to the surface for treatment, there is no need for you to do anything!" Hearing his ownpanionshing out at Vahn, the leader of the group said in a stern tone, "Jonas, dont be rude! If it wasnt for his assistance, we might have died and Senna wouldnt have been able to hold out until we exited the Dungeon!" The raven-haired woman seemed to agree with their leader as she said, with a bit of scorn, "Keith is right, youre making the matter moreplicated than it needs to be. Youre not in a position to make decisions for Senna anyways...just move away and let the Sage Aldrnari do his work. Are you really trying to drag our Familia down with how youre acting?" Vahn listened to their conversation for a short while and noticed things were going to get out of hand soon so he just pulled out a [Heal] staff from his inventory before using it on the wounded Senna. The blue haired man named Jonas tried to interrupt and say something, but Vahn just sent in an annoyed looked and locked the rtively weak Level 2 down on the spot. Other than gnashing his teeth and shaking profusely, the man wasnt able to move a single inch as the magic circle of [Heal] quickly closed the wounds of the supporter named Senna. When he was done, Vahn continued to lock down the raging young man and turned to their leader, Keith, and said, "I closed up her wounds, but she has still lost a lot of blood. You can let me take care of her, or you can take her back to the surface and have her treated at the Ward. I can leave the decision to you, or I can heal Sennas mind and wake her up so she can make the decision herself." After he was done speaking, Vahn let the raging Jonas free before batting him to the side with a backhand when the man tried to pick up his spear. The leader, Keith, looked over at hispanion and yelled, "Jonas, you need to calm down! Sage Aldrnari, please dont hold his behavior against him, Ill leave Senna to you...Trist, help out if you can." The raven-haired girl, Trist, nodded her head before slinging the giant crossbow on her back and walking over as Vahn ced his hand on Sennas forehead. As for Keith, he helped Jonas up by the shoulder and moved him off to the side and into the adjacent corridor so they wouldnt be in the way. Though he hadnt hurt him too badly, Vahn didnt hold back much with his backp and had angled his hand to dislocate Jonass jaw and disorient him. Vahn knew people often overreacted, especially when the people they cared about were harmed, but he didnt like the insinuation that Jonas expected him to do anything other than healing the injured girl. After kneeling down next to him, Trist gave the two twins a nce before turning to Vahn and asking, "Is there anything I can do to help?" Vahn shook his head and showed a polite smile as he said, "Dont worry, Im one of the more capable healers youll ever meet. Ive even receivedpliments from gods and High Elves...shell be okay, so just watch patiently. If I need your help, Ill let you know..." Trist nodded her head before moving off to the side so she wouldnt be in the way as she watched Vahns hands glow with a gentle white light. Not long after he began channeling his energy into her mind, Senna woke up with azy expression and sleepy eyes as she mumbled, "Where...am I...?" Vahn shot a nce at Trist, since he didnt want Senna to panic after seeing a stranger just after waking. Trist spoke out in a loud tone from an angle that Senna could see, "Senna, were still in the Dungeon. We came across the Sage Aldrnaris party and he is currently healing you. Just rx, Jonas and Keith are in the other room and everything is going to be okay..." Hearing herpanion exin the situation, Senna blinked a few times before staring up into Vahns face with her purple eyes and saying, "Sage...Aldrnari...you dont look as scary...as the rumors say...ehe...he..." Vahn showed a polite smile before saying in a calming tone, "I already closed up your wounds, but your body is still weak from blood loss. Though youll recover in time, I can help replenish the loss and help you recover quickly if youd like. It might not be much, but I also have a change of clothes if youd like...I imagine returning to the surface covered in blood isnt pleasant." Vahn really did carry a variety of different clothing for women in his inventory, so it wasnt too much trouble to give out a few sets to those in need. The back of Sennas blouse had been torn open from when she received the wound and her light blue skirt was a dark maroon color on the backside of her body from the blood that had soaked into it. It took a while for Senna to process his words, but she eventually nodded her head in a weak manner and said, "Thank...you..." Vahn nodded his head before helping calm her mind so she could sleep peacefully. After she fell asleep, Vahn turned to the woman named Trist and gave her a cursory nce with a flicker of his eyes. She was actually rather tall, around 173cm, and she wore form-fitting ck trousers with a ck blouse with what looked like a leather corset hugging her body and enting her hourss figure and moderatelyrge b.r.e.a.s.ts. She had aplex arrangement of belts and pouches with a variety of small tools and weapons located all over her body. On her back, she had a crossbow that was more than a meter long and carried arge quiver of metallic bolts on her lower back. She looked like a cool beauty and had angr onyx colored eyes and raven-ck hair. As for his current patient, Senna, she was rather petite at around 148cm and had a thin body withrger than expected b.r.e.a.s.ts for someone of her size. She had somewhat tanned skin, contrasting the fair-skinned Trist, and light brown hair with a pair of deep purple eyes when they were open. She had a youthful and docile looking face and didnt really seem suited for being an Adventurer at all. This was most likely why, even though she seemed to be Level 2, Senna was acting as a Supporter for the rest of the group. It was unfortunate that she had lost her backpack, likely when she received the attack to her back, and Vahn hoped they didnt me her too much for it in the future. Since Senna was asleep, Vahn addressed Trist and said, "Im going to help speed up her bodys natural recovery using a special technique...Ill also help to replenish her stamina, but shell probably be very hungry when she wakes up..." Vahn hesitated for a brief moment before shaking his head slightly and saying, "Well, I wont exin too much about what Im going to do, just dont misunderstand it." Hearing his words, Trist arched her brows but didnt say anything as she watched the same white light emerge from Vahns hands as earlier. She watched his actions with interest for a moment until a deep frown appeared on her face when Vahn ced his right hand slightly above Sennas left b.r.e.a.s.t while cing his left hand on her abdomen. Vahn ignored the gaze on his back and channeled his energy into Sennas heart and kidney to elerate her bodys natural ability to replenish blood. By stimting the vital organs, the kidneys started secreting a special protein that would travel through the body until it arrived at the heart and began spreading through the rest of the body under the nourishment of Vahns energy. When the protein passed through the major arteries, it would start to soak into the bones until simting the dormant cells within the bone marrow to produce more blood. Vahn could see this process while using his [Eyes of Truth] and was also replenishing Sennas energy and regting her body temperature so she wouldnt overheat and suffer any damage to her vital organs and brain. Overstimting the body to increase natural recovery would cause the body to heat up greatly and, if not properly taken care of, could cause more harm than good. Around twenty minutes passed before Vahn finally removed his hands and released a relieved sigh as he said, "Shell bepletely fine now, even if you didnt return to the surface immediately. By the time she wakes up, shell probably feel even better than before because of the oxygen-rich blood passing through her body. Here, you can help her wash up and change into these clothes..." Vahn set out therge basin and began to fill it up with warm water after handing a somewhat frilly white blouse to the confused Trist. Before he left, Vahn helped Senna wake up and set out some food for her since, the very moment she opened her eyes, a loud growl emitted from her stomach and caused her to blush a deep crimson. Though he didnt mind seeing the girls he was at least somewhat involved with, Vahn wasnt going to invade the privacy of others and left Senna to the care of Trist and the twins while he walked over to check on Keith and Jonas. When he entered the room, Vahn saw Jonas with a bandage set around his face leaning with his back against the wall with a worried and angry expression on his face. Keith was standing nearby, closer to the entrance Vahn just came through and had his arms folded over his chest as he watched over his rowdypanion. When they saw his arrival, Jonas immediately tried to rise to his feet but lost his bnce in the attempt. Vahn knew he had a mild concussion from his earlier strike but he would be okay after a week or two of rest. Keith shook his head before giving an apologetic smile to Vahn and asking, "How is she?" Vahn nodded his head and said in a confident tone, "She is already awake and will make a full recovery after she gets a bit of food in her belly. You can check on her for yourselfter, but right now she is taking a bath with Trist and the two from my party, Emiru, and Maemi. I also gave her a change of clothing to wear, and you dont have to worry about payment or anything like that." Hearing Vahns words, not just Keith, but Jonas showed a thankful expression as thetter plopped down onto the ground with a lot of the tensions rxing from his body. It was actually veryte and the party had likely been running around for hours prior to their retreat into the side corridor. Keith walked forward and extended his hand out as a friendly smile appeared on his face and he said, "Truly, thank you for everything youve done. Even if you dont want repayment, at least allow me to thank you with a beer or something in the future. Well make a celebration out of it, what do you say?" Vahns smile widened marginally as he epted the hand of Keith and said, "Im a bit busy at times, but I wouldnt mind a night out on the City every now and then. You have to be careful though, my reputation isnt that great and it might cause problems for you if you associate with me." Keithughed heartily before patting Vahn on the shoulder and saying, "If I cant even show gratitude to the benefactor that saved my party, I wouldnt be much of a man. There isnt much trouble greater than potentially wiping and losing the lives of myrades and myself." Vahn appreciated Keiths words, but he couldnt help but feel like they would face danger in the future if they actually started to get along well. Though he couldnt speak for Jonas, Vahn felt like Keith would be a good friend and figured it would be fun to hang out with such an amiable individual that cared for his allies. After a moments hesitation, Vahn decided that it was better to make friends and face struggles together than to simply avoidpanionship because something might happen. As long as he didnt get too close to them, any enemies he might have scheming against him most likely wouldnt bother with the rtively average group. Unless Vahn got very close to them, it simply wasnt worth trying to leverage any friendship they developed against him and risk inciting his, and the Alliances, wrathful ire. After talking things over a bit with Keith, Vahn learned they were all from an F-Rank Familia run by a goddess named Lakshmi. They only had seven total members, with the four present being Level 2 while the remaining three were all Level 1 and still rather young. The Familia itself was only around five years old, so it wasnt a bad start for a standard exploration type Familia. If they had actually fallen due to the Monster Party, the Familia would have received a heavy blow so Keith was very thankful for Vahns assistance. They also talked a little bit about private matters, even though Vahn was rtively dismissive when answering any questions rted to himself, his Familia, the Alliance, and his rtionsh.i.p.s. Keith, however, was very open about it and bragged about his courtship with Trist. They hadnt sworn to each other yet, but they had gone on a few dates and things were developing well between them. Imagining the honest looking young man alongside the cool beauty caused a bit of incongruity in Vahns mind, but he also thought they were very suitable for each other at the same time. Vahn could tell that Trist cared a lot for herpanions, even though she was harsh to Jonas for his earlier outburst. Keith was the current Captain of the Familia, so she would likely end up as his Vice-Captain or Lieutenant in the future since it seemed like Jonas was the current Vice-Captain since he had joined at the same time as Keith and the two were childhood friends. Trist had joined around two years ago while Senna had apparently only joined a few months ago after her previous Familia lost a War Games and was disbanded. This seemed to be the reason why she was somewhat passive now as Keith remarked that she still med herself a bit for the loss. Vahn empathized with the docile and gentle looking girl, but there wasnt much he could do to help her ovee her own mental burdens. She would probably me herself for the Monster Party as well, even though it had nothing to do with her and wasnt the fault of anyone involved. Like the rest of the party, she was simply one of the victims and would have lost her life if not for the whim of fate that brought their party across Vahn and the twins. Hopefully, since Keith and Trist seemed to be kind people, they would be able to help her recover her mentality and continue working to improve the quality of her life. Vahn could also see that the man named Jonas also had a lot of affection for the petite girl, even though it didnt seem like she reciprocated his feelings at the moment. After talking for a while, Vahn walked over to the sitting Jonas before pulling out his [Heal] staff and repairing his jawbone. He had been cautious at first, but the moment the white light passed through his body Jonas calmed down. After the light faded, he rubbed his jaw a bit with his hand before saying in an awkward manner, "Thanks..." Vahn gave him a curt nod before turning his attention towards the adjacent room moments before Emiru showed up and said, "Everything is fine now, Vahn-sama." With her words, Vahn apanied Keith and Jonas back into the room where Senna was now wearing somewhat casual clothes that consisted of a creamy white blouse with frills, and a red shirt with small ribbons decorating it. Other than thebat attire of the twins, Vahn only had casual clothing to lend out. Senna wouldnt be able to easily wear the shorts and the tight blouses that the twins wore because her h.i.p.s were thinner and her b.r.e.a.s.ts were muchrger. Seeing the somewhat out of ce Senna, Jonas walked forward with a wide gait and said in a relieved, somewhat happy, sound voice, "Senna, thank goodness youre okay...Im-" When Jonas tried to hug her suddenly, Senna shied away and avoided his embrace with a slightly apologetic look on her face apanied with furrowed brows and a frown. She very obviously didnt share the affections Jonas had for her and wasntfortable with him trying to hug her at the moment. Jonas pulled back his hands in an awkward manner and scratched the back of his head as he said, "Ah, sorry about that...I got a little carried away. Its just so good to see that youre okay now..." Senna nodded her head and said in a low tone, "Thank you for your concern..." Without tarrying near Jonas any longer, Senna walked over toward Vahn before crossing her hands over herp and bowing low as she shouted, "T-thank you very much for saving me! And for the treatment, and also for the bath, and also for the food, and also for the clothes...! Really, I can never repay you for our kindness!" Vahn could feel Sennas aura re up as her Affection increased from 54 all the way to 77 in an instant. Seeing the upset face of Jonas practically ring at him, Vahn shook his head and said in a polite tone, "I ept your gratitude, but you dont have to worry about repayment and the like. Just continue living a good life and doing your best, that is all I can ask for." The moment Vahns words finished, he heard a notification and saw her affection jump up to 81 and he felt a little baffled by how quickly she was falling for him. It wasnt the first time he had saved someone, so it wasnt that much of a surprise, but he also wasnt trying to start any new rtionsh.i.p.s. Though he didnt consider it trouble, Vahn had many things to worry about in his life with the current women he was involved with. Senna was a gentle and kind looking girl, but she didnt seem like the type that would be able to mesh well with the girls on thework. There was also the fact that her nature would likely restrict her growth and Vahn didnt want another person with a dependency on him. Perhaps they had realized something as well, because the twins walked over and stood at his nks before grabbing both of his arms as if making a statement. Sennas eyes opened wide and she turned fl.u.s.tered with a fierce blush on her face as she stuttered, "I-I-I-Im not...Im...ahhhhh, please dont misunderstand, I-I-I..." Trist beganughing in a somewhat mature manner and walked forward rubbing the top of Sennas head and saying, "Dont me her too much, there arent many girls that would be able to stay calm after being saved by a handsome and capable boy. Even I felt my heart flutter a bit earlier when you swept through that wave of monsters~." Hearing Trists words, Keith gave a somewhat theatrical shout and said, "Noooo, please dont leave me Trist! I can be better, just give me a chaaaaance~!" As if they had arranged it beforehand, Trist and Keith began tough after the short exchange and Vahn could see the affectionate gaze they shared. The atmosphere in the room turned a bit lighter, even though Jonas was still giving him a moderately hostile look. Since it was already veryte, Vahn didnt spend too much time talking with the party from the Lakshmi Familia and just promised to meet up at ater date to celebrate Sennas recovery. The girl in question was behaving very bashfully, but Vahn assumed she would calm down a bit after some time passed. A girls emotions, especially a docile girl like Senna, would always be in a state of high tension immediately after oveing a dangerous situation. The fact that Vahn had saved her life was probably skewing her perception of things for the time being and she would most likely calm down a bit after the reality of the situation set in. As they were going to continue pursuing their objective, Vahn didnt apany the party to the surface since they wouldnt be in any real danger on the stairs leading up. The entire party was Level 2, so they were able to venture all the way to the 18th floor without any great difficulty if they paced themselves. Going up decreased the danger, so Vahn didnt have to escort them just to ensure things went smoothly. After having grabbed onto his arms earlier, the twins had continued holding onto Vahn even after the Lakshmi Familia party had left. Vahn had a wry smile on his face as he felt the two girls pressing their somewhat modest b.r.e.a.s.ts against his arm in a synchronized manner. Before they got carried away, Vahn said in a firm tone, "There is still a lot to do in the next two days, so make sure you rest properly. Ill take care of all of this..." There was the matter of the bloody futon and the mess that had been made earlier, so Vahn started to ce the reusable stuff into his inventory after setting out a new spread for the twins to use. Unlike when they had removed all of their armor earlier, the twins removed their pouches and any hard straps covering their bodies before crawling into the futon and hugging each other as they normally did whilst sleeping. Vahn nodded his head at their actions because they were obviously learning a bit even without him having to exin things. In the event of an emergency, you didnt always have time to equip all of your gear so it was often better to wear what you could sleep infortably and set the rest off to the side for quick ess. Many Adventurers actually slept fully armored with their weapons at their side just so they wouldnt get caught off guard, even though that was a bit excessive unless you were in the deeper floors. (A/N: Alternate Titles: I swear, Im just healing her...,Lakshmi Familia,Savior Dependancy) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 380 - Drastic Measures

Chapter 380 - Drastic Measures

After resting for a few hours, Maemi and Emiru woke up and were ready to start the second day of their training in earnest. Before they started, however, Vahn stopped them and exined, "Well be doing things a bit differently today...but only if yourefortable with it. Im sure you both know, but pain tolerance and willpower are very important characteristics for growing stronger. The bond you share is one of your greatest assets, but it can be a double-edged sword if you arent mentally prepared for the consequences of making mistakes..." Vahn waited for the twins to process his words for a moment before the continued, "Cutting the connection so you didnt sustain any injuries was the correct decision, but there is a fair chance it could have mitigated some of the damage and prevented things from getting out of hand in the first ce if the link was stronger. I know its scary, but the two of you will likely suffer injuries in the future...sometimes even serious ones. Withstanding the pain and pushing forward is the only thing that can guarantee your life in such situations. Today, I will show you that sharing pain is sometimes necessary..." The twins had somewhat solemn expressions on their faces and both swallowed simultaneously after hearing Vahns words. Seeing their reaction, Vahn smiled and said in a soothing tone, "Dont worry, Im not telling you to go out of your way to take damage just so you can get used to it. In fact, you should do your best to avoid damage and constantly strive to deal with the enemies as efficiently as possible. The simple fact of the matter, however, is that you will take damage in the future and you have to be prepared for that inevitability. If you dont want to experience it, the only thing you can do is develop your skills to the point where you are untouchable." Vahn had reached out to pat the girls on the head and continued to smile as he said, "Today will be different since Im worried about youpleting the objective within the time constraints. Ill help guide you to the monsters and also observe the fight out in the open. I wont help you defeat the monsters, but Ill show you that it is sometimes necessary...well, youll find out when the timees. Just know that, no matter how dangerous things might seem, as long as you have allies you can trust there is always hope. The bond you share is something special that most cant evenprehend, you must cherish and nourish it because, when you finally master the skill, there will be few things that can actually threaten you." After giving them a few more encouraging words, Vahn let the twins lead the way but always told them which direction to take in order to find monsters. He didnt reveal their actual locations, so the twins still had to rely on their own senses in the misty environment of the eleventh floor. Because of their parameters, it wasnt that easy for the twins to deal withrge enemies like Orcs who had tremendous physical strength. They had the speed advantage, but their weapons werent very suitable for dealing any real damage to the thick-hided monsters. Though they were able to easily prate the defenses of the Orcs, it wasnt a practical solution with how quickly the wounds would heal due to the incredible regeneration of the brutish monsters. Emiru and Maemi managed to take down several of them using theirbined attacks, but it wasnt long before the inevitable happened. Maemi ended up getting blindsided when she was attacked by an Orc wielding two tree-like clubs. She scrunched up her body in a defensive posture with her dagger to receive the blow, but the tree still smashed into her hard and sent her flying several meters as she rolled on the ground. Though she coughed out a mouthful of blood, Maemi noticed that the pain in her body instantly disappeared and she felt like there was a strange incongruity in her body before returning to help Emiru. With theirbined efforts, they managed to break through the raging Orcs whirlwind like blows beforending a strike on the monster core located beneath its corbone. When the fight ended, Emiru walked over and asked with a concerned tone, "Maemi, are you okay? I feel like you are fine, but saw you take that hit and felt the pain..." Maemi furrowed her brows slightly and gave Vahn a sidewards nce and saw him standing casually a short ways away. Without answering directly, Maemi turned back to Emiru and sent a mental signal to her twin because their connection was still going strong. Emirus ears twitched and she tilted her head to peek over at Vahn as well before they both nodded in a subtle manner and continued further into the floor. Though they still struggled, the twins were getting much better at fighting the Orcs after ying more than twenty of them. As for Imps, they werent very dangerous at all as the majoritycked the deadly daggers that made them dangerous. Without the weapons, they were just emaciated looking humanoids with somewhat sharp ws. Though they had fast speed, their actual agility wasnt that great and it was very easy to cut through their thin bodies and make short work of most groups. Of course, this required there only being a few monsters present and things could take a bad turn if you found yourself surrounded by them in a choke point. Maemi and Emiru had been fighting a pair of Orcs that were assisted by a group of seven Imps. This wouldnt have been too troublesome, if not for the fact there was a Bad Bat that kept sending des of wind at them from outside of their range. Thebination of powerful Orcs, fast Imps, and ranged Bad Bat were somewhat overwhelming for the rtively inexperienced girls. After managing to take down three of the Imps, Emiru tried to exploit the gap that Maemi had made when one of the Orcs failed its attack. She leaped up with the intent to stab it in the back of the head but, before she was able to strike down, a de of wind passed by her nk and she felt an incredible pain on her lower back and a sickly feeling that made her feel nauseous. However, almost as soon as she felt the urge rise up, the sensations faded entirely with a strange warmth and she was able to finish her attack and disperse the Orc into a cloud of purple smoke. Afternding on the ground, Emiru kicked off to continue the fight and briefly locked eyes with Maemi and they both understood what was going on. They didnt know about Vahns [Wound Transfer], but they knew he was doing something to help them. Remembering his earlier words, they had a bad feeling and, after evading around the area for a moment, Emiru took a nce over where Vahn was standing and sniffed the air. A deep frown appeared on her face when she smelled the somewhat pleasant, almost sugary, smell of what she knew was Vahns blood. Though he didnt show any signs of being injured on his face, there was a thick aroma of blood in the air and she knew he had somehow taken the damage for her mistake... Understanding the situation, Maemi and Emiru put a lot more effort into the fight and took out their frustrations on the monsters that had no idea what was going on. After a few minutes had passed, they managed to defeat the final Orc and finished off the remaining Imps before simultaneously barraging the Bad Bat overhead with their crossbows. It dodged the majority of their bolts, but they eventually managed to hit it before pummeling its body after it fell to the ground. When everything was finally finished, they both ran over to where Vahn was waiting and saw the wry smile on his face. Seeing the frowns on Maemis and Emirus faces, Vahn knew they had realized what was going on and he knew this would be their reaction when he decided to take this approach. When they neared him, he smiled as best he could and asked, "Seems like you figured it out...?" Emiru walked right up to him and went around to his back to see therge bloodstain on his tunic. The wind de that had hit her earlier actually cut several centimeters deep and actually damaged her internal organs a fair amount. Vahn had immediately transferred the wound to his own body and used abination of healing magic and natural regeneration to recover the damage. He actually left the blood because he knew something like this would happen and he wanted them to pick up on it eventually. Seeing therge blood stain, Emiru and Maemi both teared up but, before they could say anything, Vahn exined in a soft tone, "A little bit of pain is nothing as long as the two of you can continue improving steadily and increasing the strength of your bond. I cant stop you from experiencing the pain of the blows, but I can bear the brunt of the damage for you. Dont feel sad since I would be much sadder if anything actually happened to the two of you. Allow me to do at least this much and, if you dont want me to have to feel this pain, you just need to do your best..." The moment he finished his words, Vahn heard two notifications in his mind as a fiery resolve appeared in the twins eyes and they shouted simultaneously, "Youre a big idiot, Master!" Then, just before they turned away to go hunt down the next batch of monsters, the twins looked up at him in concert and said, "We dont want you to be hurt...so well get even stronger. Please watch over us until were strong enough to watch over you..." Vahn nodded his head with a smile and tried to reach out to pat their heads but they simply turned away and ran off into the mist. For a brief moment, Vahn held his hands awkwardly in the air before pulling back and smiling widely as he checked the earlier notifications. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Emiru Rain Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: B Rewards:10,000OP, 1x[Hearts Desire: Emiru Rain] Grade Rewards: 1x[Proof of Affection], 4,000OP ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Maemi Rain Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: B Rewards:10,000OP, 1x[Hearts Desire: Maemi Rain] Grade Rewards: 1x[Proof of Affection], 4,000OP ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn decided to use part of the 28,000OP he obtained from them to pick out a reward when they returned to the surface. He was also somewhat curious so, as he started to trail behind the twins once again, Vahn pulled out the two [Proof of Affection] and wondered if they would be the same thing. Vahn activated the two items while thinking about each girl respectively and a magical light appeared in his hands which quickly took the shape of an item. Two strange fabrics appeared in his hands, one light blue, one ck, and Vahn was confused for a moment as a feeling of incredulity started to rise up in his mind. At first nce, Vahn was sure the items that had appeared in his hands were simply panties and he felt it was strange that the [Proof of Affection] that the twins sought was simple lingerie. They had aplexce pattern and were somewhat transparent but the thing that caused Vahns mind to stall was when, after he grabbed the sides and inspected the fabric closely, he noticed there was a gap in the area that was undeniably supposed to be covered. After hearing the sounds ofbat from the distance, Vahn immediately returned to his senses and threw the dangerous fabric into his inventory. Once inside, Vahn was able to see the name of the garments and felt his brain buzz at the words [Naughty Maids Victory Underwear]. For the first time since he had used a [Proof of Affection], Vahn was very seriously considering not giving the item to the intended recipient. He knew the items were supposed to increase his affection with the giftee, but giving such items to the twins right now seemed to be a bad idea. The moment when a persons affection hit 100 was the ideal moment to make use of the item, but Vahn didnt want to send them any signals that they might misinterpret. Though he was actually very interested in being with them in the future, if they chose to ept him, Vahn didnt want to go back on his word and wanted them to increase their strength first. Giving them victory underwear seemed more like an invitation than anything else... For a brief moment, Vahn imagined the twins in their adorable maid outfits both lifting their frilled skirts and disying themselves with bashful expressions on their faces. The image, especially with the stockings and garter belts, caused Vahns mind to go nk for several seconds before he made an earnest effort to safely store it away in the back of his mind. Though he didnt like the idea of keeping a present from someone, Vahn decided to hold onto the garments for the time being until things developed more. He suspected that, if he gave them the lingerie now, they would probably work even harder because of the motivation, but Vahn wanted to see how far they could go without being overly incentivized. If he decided to actually give them such an item, it would be very difficult to refute their advances in the future if they came at him wearing the gift he had given them. Vahn felt like his inventory was holding two ticking time bombs and it wasnt until he used [Wound Transfer] after Maemi shattered her wrist that his mind became calm again. He started paying closer attention to their ongoing fights and followed them around for the rest of the day. Whenever they were tired, Vahn would pamper them a little and help replenish their stamina before they returned to their task in earnest. By the end of the day, they had made it from the eleventh floor all the way down to the entrance of the fourteenth. They had struggled a bit with Hellhounds, primarily due to their fireball attack, but were able to ovee them easily after Vahn Gifted them both [Fireproof Mantle]s. He had several items on hand that could resist mes because of his own tendency to catch his equipment on fire and turn it to ashes. Before they went to sleep, Vahn helped the girls wash up again and tended to their hair and tails before updating both of their Status Boards. The girls were very receptive to his care and their synchronicity had increased greatly, especially since Vahn had been doing his best to mirror his actions for both girls. When he had been washing them in the bath, both twins responded in an identical manner to his touch and released the pleasant sounds in the same intonation to create a harmony that echoed in the safety of the corridor. Vahn had been overly aware of them ever since getting their [Proof of Affection]s earlier and he had been contemting giving the items to the girls on several asions. The way they responded to him was slowly whittling away at his sensibilities and Vahn started to feel like he was bing a bit of a deviant because he had seriously considered going back on his word several times... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Maemi Rain LV. 1(+) POW: G274->E403 END: G256->F371 DEX: F303->D549 AGI: E420->B700 MAG: C679->A813 Skill: [Gemini: Innate(E->D)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Fearless Spirit:H] Magic: - Development Skill: - [Fearless Spirit] Rank: H Use: Increases Focus and helps the user remain calm in stressful situations. Increases Pain Tolerance by a small amount. Active Trigger. (A/N: Active Trigger means the user has to toggle it on and off. It consumes mana while active.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Emiru Rain LV. 1(+) POW: G274->E403 END: G256->F371 DEX: F303->D549 AGI: E420->B700 MAG: C679->A813 Skill: [Gemini: Innate(E->D)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Fearless Spirit:H] Magic: - Development Skill: - [Fearless Spirit] Rank: H Use: Increases Focus and helps the user remain calm in stressful situations. Increases Pain Tolerance by a small amount. Active Trigger. (A/N: Active Trigger means the user has to toggle it on and off. It consumes mana while active.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Pdins Sacrifice,Not your average pair of panties...,Emotional and Physical Growth) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 381 - Disposition : Change

Chapter 381 - Disposition : Change

The presumed final day of their excursion started rtively early since the twins had slept early in the evening the previous day. This was something that often happened when venturing into the Dungeon, as following a set schedule was nearly impossible. Even on expeditions, there would be times that, because they had been inside for several weeks, the active hours would have skewed to the point where everyone was awakete in the evening. From the moment you left the 18th floor and proceeded further into the Dungeon, there were nearly no actually safe areas and rest was a luxury that only the powerful and prepared could afford. Because he had been leading them around to find enemies, their kill counts were 641 for Maemi and 593 for Emiru respectively. Unfortunately, they didnt gain the [Hunter] Development Ability by reaching abined 1,000 kills and Vahn was starting to worry they wouldnt obtain it when they hit it on their own either. To meet the requirements of the ability, you had to y a total of 1,000 monsters within a 72 hour period without help. Vahn had hoped their Innate would supersede this restriction since even the world itself almost considered them one person. It wasnt too bad though, even if they were unable to obtain it this time, as the twins had grown much stronger in a very short period. Thebination of [Prometheuss Blessing] and the correction ability of their own Innate had been allowing them to develop at a pace that would likely cause another stir once they returned to the surface. Before Vahn had set a new one, Ais had the record for the shortest period of time to obtain Level 2 from an introductory Level 1. This was a big deal because, even though it was somewhat frowned upon for children to venture into the Dungeon, Ais had only been eight years old at the time. It had taken her a total of 11 months and 18 days, whereas Vahns officially recorded time was only 6 days. He had the benefit of stockpiling his parameters and keeping his level low before he even joined a Familia, so it wasnt really the case that he had aplished such an incredible feat. If anything, his record should have been set to slightly more than seven months, even though that was still rather impressive. As for Haruhime, Emiru, and Maemi, they had actually been training for less than a month and, though they had only recently been registered as Adventurers, Haruhime was already Level 2 and the twins were able to level up at any point. Haruhime would have the real record at this point, as she had obtained Level 2 in around 23 days while the twins had hit the requirements for Level 2 after 29 days. There were several downsides to their rapid growth, however, and it would skew their perception a bit of what it meant to progress as a more normal pace. Ais had this problem, though it wasnt to the extent as it had been in the manga. She almost desperately pursued strength but, once you started outscaling the monsters you fought, it was incredibly difficult to achieve any real growth. Not just Ais, but all First-ss Adventurers had this problem and, even after fighting for several weeks, or even months, their parameters would only increase by a few points. In the few months since their meeting, Ais had ined to Vahn that her total parameters had only increased by around 40 points even though there were several thousand monsters dead as a result of her efforts. For now, however, the twins were struggling adequately and it wasnt easy for them to deal with the opponents due to their rtively basic equipment. Vahn was currently watching them fight three Minotaurs together and they were having a great deal of trouble as a result of their diminutive size and the short attack range of their daggers. Minotaurs were typically ted as Level 2 killers and the twins were still both Level 1, with most of their parameters leaning into the Magic category. Unlike the monstrously talented Fenrir, with her incredibly battle instincts, and the almost broken capabilities of Haruhime, the twins were rtively normal in their methods for dealing with enemies. This was important for their development, however, since adapting your fighting style through your own experiences was very important. The twins had chosen daggers as their weapons of choice, but now they might choose something better suited for fightingrge monsters. Since they were going to be training with Arnya, Vahn could imagine the two picking up the spear in the future and it seemed very suitable given how flexible their bodies were and how synchronous their fighting style was. Exploiting the openings of monsters with a spear was much easier than with a dagger and they could make use of their rapidly developing Agility to outmaneuver most future enemies. After struggling for around ten minutes, Emiru managed to dodge low under the arms of a Minotaur and cut a clean path through its thigh which heavily affected its mobility. As if enlightened, the two girls began circling around the three Minotaurs in their characteristic manner and attacking the legs of the Minotaurs whenever they would try to attack. Monsters werent very intelligent, so Emiru was able to draw the attention of one of them while Maemi quickly dashed by the back of its legs and cut through both of the defenseless calves. Now that they had figured out how to deal with the Minotaurs, the rest of the fight was rtively easy even though they had to execute the iling Minotaurs from a distance with their crossbows. It wasnt the first time they had wanted to swap to different weapons so, as if they had heard his earlier thoughts, the twins walked over and asked, "Master, do you have any weapons with a greater range? Were having trouble dealing with monsters that outrange our attacks." Seeing that they were speaking in sequence with each other as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Vahn smiled before asking, "I have several different types of weapons, but are you sure a sword is the best option? There are bows, spears, halberds, katanas, and even hammers, if youre having trouble breaking through their defenses at all." Maemi and Emiru turned to each other and made eye contact for several seconds before turning back to him and asking, "What does Master think would suit us? Wed like something that is cute and elegant if possible. Haruhimes katana is very beautiful and even Lili and Naaze have incredible pieces of equipment." Hearing their indirect int, Vahn c.o.c.ked his head in a thoughtful manner while browsing through his system shop. He had a total of 93,418OP, with more than 30,000 being redited to the twins in thest two days, so it wasnt that difficult to find a usable weapon for them. Even his [Runic Tamahagane de] was only 2,000OP and had been an A-Rank weapon. S-Rank weapons typically cost well over a hundred thousand Origin Points, but the A-Rank could spread anywhere between the 2,000OP cost as the de and the 91,000OP cost of Haruhimes [Sakura Blossom] very easily. Vahn was aware, as he had be a [Master Smith] through an almost inhuman amount of effort, that there were massive differences between the capabilities of weapons at the same rank. Even now that he could forge S-Rank equipment, the difference between something he forged now, and something he might create in ten years, would nearly make the items iparable. After thinking about it for around a minute, Vahn decided to tempt fate a bit and push them toward the direction he thought would be suitable for them in the future. Vahn turned his attention to the patiently waiting twins and said, "If its just a matter of range, it would probably be ideal if the two of you used spears. It would allow you to continue developing your current fighting style and would allow you to safely attack monsters from the middle-range. If you want more shing capabilities and power output, there is also the option of choosing a ive or a halberd. The difference between them being that ives typically have longer des while halberds usually have weighted des for cleaving, much like heavy axes..." Emiru and Maemi locked eyes with each other for a brief moment once again before saying, "We want to increase our Power parameter more, so well use a halberd for the time being." Vahn nodded his head thoughtfully and decided to leave matters to fate as he put 10,000OP into the Standard Gacha with the categories being set to elegant, cute, and bnced. Even if the twins wanted to use a heavy weapon, it would be better for their agility development to use something that wouldntpromise their mobility too much. Using the gacha, even if he got unlucky and missed getting a blue drop or higher, the item would still be in the upper B-Rank. The giant wheel in Vahns mind began to rotate for a short moment before it spit out a capsule that had a light blue color. Vahn hadnt used the gacha system too much, so he wasnt entirely sure what each color meant. Since it wasnt the rich blue of [Sakura Blossom], Vahn assumed it was slightly weaker but should still be decent. Mentally opening the orb, a beautiful ck and gold halberd with ents of midnight blue. Vahns first impression of the weapon was that it was very elegant and noble and, seeing it was named [Saint Halberd], Vahn assumed it was rtively powerful. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Saint Halberd] Rank: A (Magic) P.Atk: 910+90 M.Atk: 200 Abilities: Astral Shift(A), Valkyries Pride(B), Durandal(B), Crushing Blow(C) A weapon wielded by a prideful Valkyrie from a foreign record. Pushing the limits of its materials and borders on the Divine in terms of capabilities. This weapon requires that its wielder remain loyal to their Master and willing to go to any length to ensure victory on their behalf. Use: Astral Shift, allows the user to teleport themselves, or the halberd, short distances. Requires the user and the halberd to be in different locations. Restrictions: Valkyries Pride only recognizes a single weilder. If unable to earn the acknowledgment of the weapon, it can lead to mental copse. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seeing the capabilities of the halberd, Vahn was very surprised since it was actually bordering the potential of the S-Rank. Though it had some usage restrictions, it shouldnt be a problem in the long term and Vahn could easily just forge a new weapon for them in the future. After checking in the system shop, Vahn found it was listed at 83,000OP and, with a heavy heart, Vahn purchased a second one in order to ensure the twins had identical weapons. The way their [Gemini] Innate skill seemed to work required that they dressed identically and even used the same weapons. Though it didnt seem to change the equipments stats, it was required that they be identical in order toplete the fusion. Vahn didnt know if this would always be the case, but it was a safe assumption for the time being. Vahn pulled out the beautiful halberds and was surprised to see they were 2.4m long and surprisingly well bnced even with axe and spearhead attached to the end. With his [Metallurgy] skill, Vahn could tell that the metal was made of a strangeposite that got progressively denser towards the base of the halberd. With his hand in the center, it was perfectly bnced even though its appearance seemed anything but. The twins eyes were glued to the halberds in Vahns hands and he could even see the glimmer of sparkles deep within their pupils. Before he handed them over, Vahn tried to swing the halberd but time seemed toe to a stop as he heard a deep, womanly, voice echo in his mind, (*Whom dost thou serve?*) After a brief pause, Vahn realized this was likely the Valkyries Pride taking effect and he thought it was a very intriguing phenomenon. The weapon didnt have a soul, not that he could see, and it obviously wasnt sentient. Yet, despite this fact, the ability of the weapon allowed it to emte sentient thought and it was trying to create a contract with him. He could feel it probing his mind with a strange energy and knew that, if it found him unworthy, it would likely try to attack and injure him. Though time had stille to a pause, Vahn imagined himself smiling as a cold sensation spread through his mind and he said, "I serve no one. I create my own path!" The weak tendril of energy couldnt oppose his [Will of the Emperor] at all and time immediately returned to normal as Vahn smiled at the presumptuous halberd in his hand. Feeling the twins gaze on him, Vahn turned to them and exined, "These weapons are unique amongst anything else Ive ever seen or created. They have a function that allows you to make a contract with the weapon in exchange for using its power. You should know that there is a chance the weapon could cause you a powerful mental bacsh if you arent prepared to earn its acknowledgment." Both twins tilted their heads at the same angle and asked, "What do we have to do to earn its approval?" Vahn exined all the details he had discerned about the weapons and both Emiru and Maemi epted them without hesitation. He knew they would likely recognize him as their Master since they already addressed him as such, but Vahn didnt mind it too much. They already have his me seed in their hearts so the [Saint Halberd] would actually reinforce their feelings and promote their growth even further... ---Maemiru PoV--- After hearing Vahns exnation of the weapons, Emiru and Maemi felt a bit of excitement well up inside of them as they reached out and took the beautiful halberds into their hands. Just as they had requested, Vahn gifted them elegant weapons and they could tell the quality was incredibly high. When they heard about its abilities, they were even more shocked than Vahn and eagerly tried to bond with the weapons. Because they were still in a synchronized state, Maemi and Emiru actually ended up experiencing the stoppage of time at the exact same moment as the voice echoed within their minds, (*Whom dost thou serve?*). Without any hesitation, the twins responded at the same time, ("We serve our Master, Vahn Mason.") The image of the young and handsome boy appeared within their minds and they began to recount all of their memories of the past month in reverse order. Even though it was their memories, the twins were experiencing things from an outsiders perspective and it seemed to be focusing on Vahn and the emotions they felt. Whenever he was watching over them, they felt confident a strong sense of security knowing that he was always taking care of them. Every time they suffered a wound, they would see Vahn flinch subtly without his expression changing in the slightest as he looked over them with what they interpreted as pride and intrigue. Their memories continued to reverse and they got to experience Vahns care again and saw themselves behaving somewhat shamelessly while Vahn showed a happy andcent expression as he pampered them. Next, they were taken back to the Hearth Manor where they were constantly trying to earn Vahns approval and doing their best to act their roles as maids. Vahn seemed somewhatckadaisical as a Master, but they still respected him greatly and desired to be at his side regardless of how difficult things got. The moment this thought passed through their minds, the twins saw the embarrassing sight of themselves in their own private room ovepped with each other in a sensual andpromising position. Maemi was staring down at Emiru wearing one of Vahns old tunics as she pressed her into the bed and teased her for a long while before they swapped positions and continued their y. Things progressed even further back and they saw the sight of themselves training in earnest while Vahn watched over them from the side. For a brief moment, their image of him warped into that of a Snow Leopard male and both girls felt a fluttery feeling welling up inside of them. After the image faded, they were back on the rooftop after Vahn had just saved them from the ve trader. Even though they had resolved themselves to the lives of ves, they were happy that such a handsome and gentle Master had purchased them. Before he had released them, they had already decided to serve him to the best of their abilities and earn his affections. Thest memory that passed through their minds was standing in front of Vahnpletely n.a.k.e.d as ves that had just discarded the small cloth used to cover their bodies. Just as they had done then, they had pressed themselves together and had pleaded to him in an attempt to earn his favor and sympathy. From the very moment they saw the handsome boy sitting in the seat as a potential buyer, they had municated with each other to do whatever it took to convince him to buy them. They had literally given up their former lives and put themselves into an uncertain situation where they would potentially suffer for the rest of their lives. However, they believed that, as long as they were together, they would be able to find some happiness. Seeing such a kind, handsome, and, though they wouldnt ever say it to him, gullible boy, they had decided he would be their Master. As the memories faded from their minds, the same voice echoed once again, (*Thine desire for the Master ye shall serveth is impure and full of selfishness. However, thine feelings are strong and true, thus I shall ept thou as my Master.*) They could feel a strange energy spread through their mind and body until a powerful warmth emerged from their hearts. Though they couldnt see it, they knew this was the warmth of the me seed that Vahn had given them in the past. For a brief moment, right before they felt time begin to flow again, they saw themselves dressed in regal and elegant armor wielding their halberds together while nking Vahn. The instant before time returned to normal, they heard the voice once again, (*This is one of many possible futures. Thine resolve will determine the course of fate. Go forth and serve our Master.*) ---Godhand PoV--- Vahn had tried to discern something from the contract between the halberds and the twins by using his [Eyes of Truth]. Because it seemed to actually influence time somewhat, Vahn wasnt able to see through how the contract was performed but he was able to detect the flow of energy for a brief moment at the very end. Though he wasnt aware of it from their perspective, Vahn also saw a strange illusion of the twins wearing a strangely elegant battledress adored with midnight blue, golds, whites, and feathers. It was a powerful image and, though it was only for a brief moment, Vahn developed an interest in the garb he had seen. Since he had near perfect recall, Vahn could analyze the image in detail, even though aspects like the back of the attire, which hadnt been able to see, were left a mystery. After the energy dissipated, the twins blinked their eyes slowly before looking up and staring directly at him. Their expressions were usually somewhat cid and youthful in the past, but now Vahn could feel confidence radiating from Emiru and Maemi. Their brows were furrowed very slightly and they had an air of pride and a subtle coldness contained within their voices as they firmly stated, "We will serve you faithfully for the rest of our lives, Master. If it will make your path easier, we will march into the very depths of Hell itself to clear the way. On our pride, our honor, and our desire, we make this vow on our very souls." As their words fell, a strange light appeared on the bodies of the twins which Vahn recognized as the ws affirming that a vow had been made. He was toote to stop them and there was no way he could change their minds now that the deed had been done. Emiru and Maemi continued to stare without wavering in the slightest as they patiently waited for his answer. Even if Vahn refused them, they had already resolved themselves to follow him regardless. As the voice had said, their motives were somewhat selfish and impure. Even before they knew anything about Vahn, they were already willing to take advantage of him so they could live better lives. However, even though they were being exploitative, Vahn epted them regardless and showed them continued kindness. He even pushed them forward to be stronger and they now realized that, so they didnt be a burden to him, they needed to get much stronger. Just as he had been constantly looking after them, they wanted to return the favor in the future and continue walking alongside him regardless of how difficult things became. Even if it cost them their lives, it was better to die at Vahns side after having done their best than it was to die a shallow existence that only got by while exploiting the kindness of others. Seeing the unwavering light in the twins eyes, Vahn showed a grateful smile before reaching out his hands and ruffling the girls silver hair. Though they were obviously happy at the contact, they maintained stern and serious expressions until Vahn said, "Very well, but know that I forge my own path. If you believe in me and seriously consider myself to be your Master, you will trust in my judgment and follow behind me obediently. I can clear my own path, but its good to have people I can trust watching my back..." Vahn had been tempted toment, Looks like I obtained two adorable kittens..., but he decided to treat the matter seriously since the twins were showing such stern expressions. Hearing Vahns words, Emiru and Maemi showed happy smiles and puffed out their chests a bit as if they had obtained some manner of pride from what he had said. After ncing at each other for a brief moment, they turned to Vahn and said, "In order to give Master the confidence to continue forward, we will do our best to protect everything at your back instead. We wont let you have any regrets, or our pride would never allow us to hold our heads up high again." As if they had practiced it beforehand, the twins lifted their halberds before mming down with enough force to embed the pointed end into the hard Dungeon floor. Vahn felt like they had suddenly be much more confident and their resolve even made him feel a little bit of pressure. It was slightly offset by the fact they were both adorable girls, but Vahn still found their current disposition to bemendable. Now that he was somewhat stuck with them, Vahn rubbed his chin with an awkward smile on his face as he hesitated over a matter. Seeing the resolve of the twins, Vahn decided to show a little of his own as he reached out his hands and said in the most casual manner he could manage, "Though it may not be appropriate, considering the situation, I wanted the two of you to have these. I...think they might suit you...in the future..." Though he had resolved himself, Vahn still stumbled a bit toward the end as the girls grabbed the blue and ck fabric out of his hands with curious expressions on their faces. Because they had mmed the halberds into the floor previously, they were able to use both hands to inspect the gift Vahn had given them. Maemi and Emiru both opened their eyes wide after realizing what Vahn had given them. They were currently holding the garment from the sides and they could clearly see the missing piece and it made them both show rich blushes on their faces as they nced between themselves and Vahn. Seeing their behavior, Vahnughed in an awkward manner and said, "Ummm, they are called...[Naughty Maids Victory Underwear]...I thought the two of you would...like them?" Hearing Vahns words, the twins stood close to each other and seemed to be having a mental conversation between them in a hurried manner. The silence made Vahn feel even more awkward and he could feel a heat touching his cheeks the longer the silence persisted. After nearly an entire minute had passed, the twins turned to him with smiling faces and started to loosen the buckles of the belts supporting their small shorts. Vahns eyes widened a bit and he was going to object but they spoke before he could find the words, "It is a gift from our Master, we want to wear them now. Are you going to take them away from us~?" Unable to answer their question easily, Vahn withdrew his hand and watched the twins smile as they removed their small white shorts. They were both wearing rather in panties underneath and quickly stripped them from their pert bottoms before throwing them towards the mentally stalled Vahn. He passively caught them out of the air and felt the ambient warmth from the cloth as Maemi and Emiru happily wore the crotchless panties he had given them. Seeing the sight, Vahn couldnt help but think it was infinitely more e.r.o.t.i.c than when they werepletely bare. The twins seemed to agree with this thought because, when they inspected each other, they had fiercely blushing faces. After a short period of time passed, they both turned to Vahn and asked, "What do you think, Master?" Vahns mental processes hade to a crawl, but he still managed to say a few words, "It looks...good on you..." After he spoke, Vahn instinctually swallowed the saliva that was .u.mting in his mouth and the twins both beamed at his words and reaction. Without pressing their luck too much, they began to put their shorts back on as Emirumented in a yful manner, "Ah, it feels a little strange..." Piggybacking her sisters words, Maemi chuckled and said, "Yes, but it makes me feel closer to our Master. Every time it rubs against me..." Emiru nodded her head in agreement and continued, "Yes, it feels like were receiving our Masters care...I think I might need to wear thicker shorts so it doesnt look like I peed myself..." Hearing Emirus words, Maemi nodded her head over and over before turning to the statuesque Vahn and asking, "Master, do you think it would be better for us to wear skirts? Or maybe we should wear ck shorts so it isnt so obvious? Hmmm...I think a skirt-" Continuing where Maemi left off, without a single pause in the actual sequence of the sentence, Emiru said, "-would be very convenient." Both twins nodded and smiled in a somewhat teasing manner at Vahn and said simultaneously, "Dont you think it would be convenient as well, Master?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Twin Terrors,Twin Valkyries,Vahns Resolve) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 382 - Smooth Progress

Chapter 382 - Smooth Progress

After escaping from the twins momentum, Vahn had them progress further into the Dungeon to test the capabilities of their new weapons. They still had arge number of monsters to hunt and there wasnt a great deal of time left before the time they were supposed to return. With their newfound resolve, Maemi and Emiru proceeded forward with a confident air about them. Following Vahns directions, they quickly came upon a group of five Minotaurs, two more than they had been able to fight previously. The [Saint Halberd]s wielded by the twins weighted around 60kg, which was far heavier than the daggers they used previously. It wasnt a great deal of weight, especially considering that some Adventurers could lift thousands of kilograms when exerting their full strength. However, it was still much heavier than the 5kg daggers they used previously and would help develop their Power parameter when they adapted to its use. Vahn felt it was a little out of ce seeing two somewhat petite and lithe girls, each only 158cm tall, running around with 240cm long halberds. Strangely, their more than 75cm long tails offset this image and actually made them look more bnced than expected. The only incongruity seemed to be because of the rest of their equipment. The girls were wearing tight ck shirts with small white shorts hugging their waists. They didnt wear stockings, so their legs were bare until reaching their socks and dark-brown boots that went more than halfway up their calves. They also had a pair of armguards and several belts and pouches for the items they kept on their person. When they didnt have Vahns support, they had also been carrying small backpacks and looked like the traditional scout or thief type Adventurers. Now that they had heavy weapons, Vahn thought the image he had seen in his mind suited them more. Instead of an exact replica, however, Vahn was considering designing a maid stylebat uniform instead. Vahn knew a little bit about Valkyries after scanning through the knowledge in his head and knew some considered them to be Battle Maidens. Though it might be a strange conclusion to reach normally, Vahn figured a Battle Maid was more suitable to the twins since they were determined to be his maids in the future. While thinking about possible designs, Vahn was watching Maemi and Emiru fight the group of five Minotaurs. Unlike the indirect fighting style they employed in the past, the twins were now somewhat overbearing in how the approached the fight. They still circled around the monsters but, instead of whittling them down with grazing blows, they now drewrge arcs and cut deeply into the bodies of the Minotaurs. The physical attack power of the halberds was quite high so they were able to cleaverge parts off the Minotaurs with each attack. Emiru had even cut more than an entire meter into a Minotaur when she had angled her halberd and mmed it into the corbone of the monster after it tried to smash toward her. The reason this was significant was that it was a blow dealt when she jumped back to evade the Minotaur, which meant she hadnt been able to put her own weight and momentum behind the strike. Inspired by her sister, Maemi stepped low under a Minotaurs backhand before twisted her body and drawing arge arc with her halberd angled nearly parallel to the ground. The axe head came into contact with the nk of the Minotaur and passed through arge portion of its abdomen before continuing clear through to the other side. Maemi jumped away to avoid the literal tide of blood and intestines that poured out of the Minotaur before it turned into purple dust. After realizing how much damage they could deal, the twins became far more confident and made short work of the remaining three Minotaurs. The rest of the day proceeded in much the same manner and it wasnt until the twins came across arge pack of Hellhounds that they actually had a bit of trouble. Though it wasnt to the extent of a Monster Party, there were a total of 32 Hellhounds and it was a bit overwhelming for the girls who were still Level 1. Fortunately, they were able to backtrack into a corridor while drawingrge arcs with their halberds to keep the monsters at bay. Though they had to tank a few fireballs with their cloaks, they managed to retreat to the choke point and were able to slowly whittle away at the Hellhounds numbers by using the spearponent of their halberds. When they fight finally came to an end, they both copsed with their backs to each other andughed in a relieved manner. Vahn had been watching from a few meters behind the girls and had absorbed a great deal of damage from them over the course of the fight. There was one point where Maemis leg had gotten caught in the maw of a Hellhound but Emiru was quickly able to dispatch it before Maemi even released a scream. Vahn transferred the somewhat serious wound to himself and Maemi released a powerful warcry as she bisected an approaching monster. It was her battle spirit igniting that eventually turned the fight in the twins favor and they began mowing down the monsters without too much regard for defense. Though they still dodged what they were able, they began using the non-vital areas of their body to fend off some of the attacksing their way. As a result, by the time the fight hade to an end, they were very exhausted and the vast majority of their equipment had been torn apart or stained by blood. This was the final nail in the coffin and Vahn resolved himself to make armor for the girls in the future. His OP pool had dwindled to a pathetic 3,294OP at this point, so he didnt have the option of giving them anything from the shop. There was also the fact he had already gifted them the halberds, so they wouldnt be able to make use of it even if he could purchase armor for them. --- Because of time constraints, the twins persisted forward using stamina potions and by having Vahn recover their reserves with his [Hands of Nirvana]. They were very proactive about requesting his assistance when necessary and had even started a rotation where one twin received treatment while the other fought. This had a dual purpose of Vahn helping one of them recover quickly while the other also received passive benefits through their shared link. Because of this, they had nearly 100% uptime for fights, excluding the period where they were searching for enemies. They continued forward through the night and into the next day while only taking breaks to use the bathroom and eat meals. By the time their excursion hade to an end, the twins had carved a path of devastation down to the 17th floor and killed 1,103 and 1,008 monsters respectively. Vahn noticed that Maemi seemed to be the dominant of the two twins and he felt it made sense considering that Emiru was the one absorbed during their transformation. Though they had the exact same parameters, it seemed like Emiru was more reliant on Maemi than the other way around. Because of this, Maemi got a lot of the st hits on monsters and he caused their expedition to increase for an extra two hours as a result. Fortunately, they both hit the requirements for the [Hunter] Development Ability after ying 1,000 monsters even though they had helped each other. The record seemed to consider themselves a singr entity but also recognized they both possessed their own souls and blessings. As they didnt have the issue of possessing too many Development Abilities, Vahn had updated their Status Boards after Emiru got her one-thousandth kill and they each hit Level 2 in what could only be considered a ridiculously short amount of time. (A/N: Im so tempted to just lump them together as Maemiru instead of listing both status xD) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Maemi Rain LV. 1->2 POW: E403->A807->I28 END: F371->C662->I19 DEX: D549->C641->I18 AGI: B700->A889->I24 MAG: A813->SS1001->I72 Skill: [Gemini: Innate(D)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Fearless Spirit:H->G], [Rallying Cry:I] Magic: - Development Skill: [Hunter:I] [Rallying Cry] Rank: I Use: Slightly increases parameters of allies based on morale. Active Trigger. Duration: 30S ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Emiru Rain LV. 1->2 POW: E403->A807->I28 END: F371->C662->I19 DEX: D549->C641->I18 AGI: B700->A889->I24 MAG: A813->SS1001->I72 Skill: [Gemini: Innate(D)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Fearless Spirit:H->G], [Rallying Cry:I] Magic: - Development Skill: [Hunter:I] [Rallying Cry] Rank: I Use: Slightly increases parameters of allies based on morale. Active Trigger. Duration: 30S ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Their parameters werent nearly as high as Haruhimes when she leveled up, but their bnce had transitioned from being focused primarily on Agility and Magic and now leaned more towards Power and physical development. If they continued at this pace, they would likely be very durable fighters in the future that would also be able to deal arge amount of damage to foes. The fact they both had the [Fearless Spirit] and [Rallying Cry] skills would make them an important asset in group fights in the future. Instead of being agile support fighters, they were now walking the path of frontline vanguards and Vahn would need to create equipment for such purposes in the near future. Seeing how much they had grown, the twins actually had moisture building up in their eyes as they happily ced their palms against each other jubntly. Vahn had praised them heavily for their growth andmended their evolvingbat style and how capable they were at using the halberds after a single day of live practice. Actualbat was one of the fastest ways to develop battle awareness and enhance capabilities, and the twins had achieved a monstrous growth. Vahn recalled the first time Emiru had used her halberd as a spear and impaled it into a Lygerfang with enough force to pin the monster to the wall. Her body then turned into a bluish-white sh of light and she instantly appeared next to the halberd before pulling it out the wall and continuing the fight without pause. Seeing the short range teleport in action, Vahn felt a powerful urge to research the ability and adapt it to other pieces of equipment. If he could somehow put the Astral Shift ability on something like daggers, Vahn would be able to somewhat emte the Fourth Hokages Flying Thunder God Technique from the record of Naruto. He already had a decent understanding of spatialws, since his Shundo dealt with the shrinking of space to an extent, so Vahn was confident he could crack the skill one day. The [Saint Halberd] was only an A-Rank item, so he wouldnt simply concede defeat since he was a [Master Smith] capable of forging S-Rank items when he put in the effort to do so. While he had been lost in thought for a brief moment, a magical light shone and Vahn saw Emirus body disappear as the heterochromatic Maemiru stood before him. If nothing had changed since theirst fusion, Vahn knew the current Maemiru had more than 8,000 total parameters and was closer to an introductory Level 3 than her base Level of 2. Since he hadnt expected their sudden fusion, Vahn furrowed his brows slightly in confusion until Maemiru said in a teasing tone of voice, "We worked very hard, will Master give us a reward now~?" As she spoke, Maemiru loosened the belt holding up her shorts and Vahn was able to see an intriguing sight that made the awkward atmosphere instantly shift. Because they had just had their Status Boards updated, the current Maemiru was topless as they had been pressing against each other before their fusion. This meant that, after she removed her shorts, the only thing they would have been wearing was the victory underwear Vahn had given them in the past. The thing that caught Vahns eye and made his brows raise was the fact that the two differently colored underwear had now fused together and were precisely 50% blue and 50% ckce divided perfectly in the center. Though it drew the eye to the contents of the gap, Vahn was more focused on the fact that the differing garments had fused at all. This clearly showed that they didnt have to be identical to each other to actually pull off the transformation. Maemiru had been teasing Vahn at first but, seeing the intrigue and curiosity in his expression, they suddenly felt like things would develop in an interesting direction. However, instead of doing anything proactive, they noticed that Vahn was still staring at their exposed crotch with a thoughtful expression on his face so they turned down to see what he found so interesting. Noticing that their panties had been split between blue an ck, Maemiru didnt really know what to think of the situation but they understood that Vahn probably wasnt going to make love to them. The delusion they had of Vahn ravishing their body in the dark and damp Dungeon shattered a bit and they felt a little awkward being exposed before his intrigue. After mulling over a few things in his mind, Vahn turned his attention to the flushed face of Maemiru before pulling out a simple ne that he had stored within his inventory. Handing it over to the spontaneously bashful girl, Vahn said, "Im curious about what will happen when your transformation breaks. Go ahead and get dressed since the Dungeon isnt really the ce for that type of action. Were supposed to be heading back to the surface pretty soon, but we can go kill a few more monsters if youre feeling antsy." Though he suspected he very well might have s.e.x in the Dungeon one day, Vahn knew now was not the time. It was already Thursday morning and Vahn wanted to spend some time coordinating with Fafnir before the Monster Feria this weekend. Maemiru released a sigh that sounded like a mixture of dejection and relief as they started to get dressed. Though it was temporary, they happily put on the ne Vahn had given them before picking up the now heavier halberd. That actual damage of the weapon didnt seem to have changed at all, but it appeared that the weight had been doubled from their fusion. Vahn had wanted to check the actual status of the item, but he wasnt even able to hold onto it now that it had bonded with the two girls. This also meant he couldnt put it into his inventory so the girls would have to carry the 2.4m long weapons around with them whenever they were nning to enter the Dungeon. After around four minutes, Maemirus transformation came to an end and Emiru appeared next to Maemi as they both used their halberds to support their exhausted bodies. As he had expected, the ne he had given the two girls had been split in half and Vahn was able to deduce that their fusion made their bodies ovep between Emirus left and Maemis right. This conclusion came about from the fact that Emiru had been wearing the blue panties and Maemi had been wearing the ck ones. When they fused together, Maemis left iris had turned snowy blue while the right one remained the same lc as their base forms. The panties themselves had been split down the center with the blue color on the left and the ck color on the right. Though it would require a lot of testing, Vahn began to theorize several possible applications for this rather unique interaction. He wondered if they would be able to equip an indestructible item while in their Maemiru state and if it would be broken after they split apart... Vahn helped the girls recover their stamina and mana before they finally started their ascent to the surface. It was now nearing 6 AM and Vahn suspected it might even be possible for them to intercept the other groups on their way to the Dungeon if they were lucky. He couldnt be certain they would be entering today, especially since some of them would probably want to spend time with him, but there was always a chance. The [Rallying Whistle] had gone unused over the three-day period, so Vahn was hopeful that nothing bad had happened on the surface. His instincts had triggered a bit during the excursion, but it was never to the point where he felt like something terrible had happened. Around a half hourter, the three arrived at the entrance to the Dungeon and stepped out from the rtively muggy and warm depths and into the cold and fresh air of the Babel Tower. There were several groups entering and exiting the Dungeon early in the morning, but they werent lucky enough to cross paths with anyone from the Familia. Depending on how long the morning training, bath, and breakfaststed, it wasnt that umon to show up at the Dungeon until after 7 AM. It was currently just after 6:40 so there was a rtivelyrge window where they might ovep with each other. Vahn was looking forward to the small reunion with the girls and wanted to spend a bit of time with Fenrir when he got back to the Manor. Though they drew a lot of attention, since the twins were identical, rather cute, and had giant halberds, Vahn felt very rxed since it was a lot less intense than the gazes he received when traveling with therger group. He even heard two people mention him saving the Lakshmi Familia from a Monster Party so Vahn was in a very good mood even though the majority ofments made about him were still somewhat negative. It didnt matter what the naysayers said, especially when it was an assumption based on bias, and Vahn was happy to have helped Keith and hispanions. When he had a bit of free time in the future, Vahn intended to visit the Lakshmi Familia and see if Keith was willing to be his friend. Of course, he nned to time his visit after Sennas affection faded a little since he could see the value through his system. Right now, it had actually increased from 81 all the way up to 85 and her bracket parameter was listed has (Idtry). Vahn wanted to give her a bit of time to cool off or he would have to eventually take a stance even though he knew she would probably be upset by his words. Though he didnt like to make people sad, Vahn knew he couldnt keep increasing the number of girls he associated with since he could hardly manage the current amount, and that was taking into consideration that they actually managed themselves... (A/N: Alternate Titles: OP Weapons make everything easier...,Maemirus False Bravado,Vahns biggest fan?) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 383 - Smelly

Chapter 383 - Smelly

Because they hadnt been in a hurry, Vahn, Emiru, and Maemi all arrived at the Hearth Manor after traveling on foot for around half an hour. Vahn hadnt even made it through the courtyard leading to the foyer before he saw a presence bolting toward him after exiting through the front door. Fenrir had the closest thing to a smile she could manage as she trotted forward excitedly and said, "Vahn, Vahn, Fenrir killed a super big monster! Praise Fenrir~!" Though he wasnt sure exactly what she had killed, Vahn still grabbed the sides of Fenrirs head and began to yfully scratch behind herrge fluffy ears. Fenrir released her somewhat scratchy and awkwardugh as some of the other girls began to walk out into the cold. Vahn could detect arge number of presences inside the Manor, so he assumed they hadnt actually gone to the dungeon today. To prevent everyone from congregating outside, Vahn picked up Fenrir and said, "Lets go to the study where its nice and warm." Fenrir raised up her left paw while holding onto Vahn with her right as she shouted, "Yay, onwards, lets go, lets go~!" Once they were inside, Vahn learned about the events up the past three days including how Fenrir had fought a giant monster known as a Mammoth Fool. They typically stood around 6-7 meters in height and weighed several thousand kilograms. They were covered in long red fur that was resistant against both physical and magical attack and their incredibly dense skulls were affixed with fourrge, spear-like, tusks that could deal devastating damage. Their Power and Endurance were immense, but they were very slow and, as their name indicated, they were considerably dumber than most monsters. It was rumored that, in their massive heads, their actual brain was only slightlyrger than a walnut. Though they were monsters that typically only spawned on the lower floors, the party consisting of Riveria, Ryuu, Aki, and, of course, Fenrir, had encountered the stray monster after it had wandered up from the 19th floor through one of the side tunnels connecting to the 18th floor safe zone. Because the Dungeon was constantly changing, it wasnt that umon for monsters to wander into the 18th floor and Fenrirs group just happened to be nearby after Riveria requested a stopover at the small residence maintained by the Loki Familia within the settlement... ---Previously in the Dungeon, Fenrir PoV--- When her Master had entered the Dungeon with Emiru and Maemi on the first day, Fenrir had been in low spirits from the very moment they separated on the surface. She hated when her Master would go away and it always made her feel anxious inside of her tummy as if a powerful hunger was going to take control at any moment. Because she didnt want to make trouble for him, Fenrir pooled her courage and decided to beat up all the stinky monsters in order to vent her worries. She knew that, if she performed well and killed lots of monsters, her Master would praise her a lot when he returned. Fenrir lead the way into the Dungeon apanied by the kind Aki, the pleasant smelling Ryuu, and the new girl that smelled like dirt and trees, Riveria. Though she didnt know why herself, Fenrir knew that her Master was very concerned for the ck-haired Cat Person. Her instincts were telling her she needed to protect Aki no matter what and, since Aki was very kind to her all the time, Fenrir didnt mind. As for Ryuu, she didnt like Ryuu too much since she was always around and didnt talk often. She knew her Master cared about the Elf and, since Ryuu smelled pleasant, Fenrir tolerated her. Thest person, Riveria, Fenrir didnt like her at all, no way, no how. She didnt trust the mean High Elf at all and thought she was trying to take Vahn away from her because they got along well. However, though she didnt like the dirty High Elf, Fenrir still did her best to listen to her words since Riveria was the leader of the party. Though Fenrir didnt agree that the strange woman should be in charge, she forgave Riveria after experiencing the use of her barrier magic. Fenrir didnt like to get dirty when her Master wasnt around, because she liked when he cleaned her body the most. Though she allowed Ryuu and Aki to wash her, she didnt like their touch and it made her body feel chills whenever they washed her. This was because Fenrir had an instinctual fear for the girls that were much stronger than her and didnt like to expose herself when her Master wasnt nearby. As for why she forgave Riveria, it was because Riverias barrier magic prevented the blood and monster bits from getting into her fur. Realizing this, Fenrir understood that even stinky dirty High Elves had their uses... For the next two days, Fenrir killed lots of monsters during the day and slept in her Masters room at night with Preasia. Though she felt ufortable about it, Fenrir decided to keep the fact that they snuck into her Masters room when he was gone a secret. Not too long ago, Preasia and her had moved into their own room and usually shared the same bed. Whenever her Master was away, Preasia convinced her to sneak into his room and they would cuddle up and enjoy her Masters scent together. Fenrir knew Preasia was bullied a lot in the past and it was her mission to make sure she was protected. Since Preasia said that her Master wouldnt mind, just that he would be embarrassed to know they snuck into his room, Fenrir had agreed to keep it a secret. It made her feel a tingly feeling inside her heart being able to smell her Masters scent even when he was away. On the final day, Fenrir knew her Master would be returning soon and was very excited. She wasnt satisfied with the number of monsters she had killed the previous two days and had gone on a rampage. Though she didnt remember much of what happened after that, Fenrir remembered waking up inside a forest with Aki and Ryuu and learned that Riveria had gone to some ce that had a simr name to talk to some people. Fenrir didnt really care where the dirty girl had gone and just spent some time idling about in the forest after allowing Aki to brush her hair. Fenrir was very bored waiting around so she started sneakily hunting arge beetle that was on a boulder. Being able to skulk through the tall grass undetected made Fenrir feel excited and she wanted to be able to get all the way up to the big bug without it noticing her. After several minutes, Fenrir was in close proximity to the beetle and jumped quickly, though not nearly as fast as she could move, to catch the beetle with her mouth. Because it had looked super hard, Fenrir had been excited about being able to eat it but now, after finally getting her teeth around it, she realized it was very soft. Since she didnt want to waste food, Fenrir was a good girl and ate everyst bite even though she didnt like eating soft and squishy things. After ying around for a bit, Fenrir smelled a super smelly smelling from deeper in the woods and she could feel her instincts ring up. Though she didnt know what the smelly thing was, it made her feel a little scared and excited so she turned to Ryuu and waved her arms as she shouted, "Fenrir smells a smelly monster~! Fenrir kill!" Without waiting for permission, Fenrir ran off toward the source of the smell at her fastest speed. Fenrir thought she was going super fast, but seeing Ryuu and Aki catch up to her almost instantly made her frown. She wanted to be the fastest and strongest there was so that her Master would always praise her and she could protect him better. Fenrir didnt want to be at the mercy of the strong girls around her, she wanted them to have to ask permission to touch her and know their ce. A few minutester, Fenrir could feel the ground vibrating and saw a super huge monster covered in red fur. Fenrir noticed the bare parts of its body were covered in thick scales and the big white tusks jutting out from its face looked super duper hard. She heard Ryuu call the monster a Mammoth Fool and Fenrir thought the name was funny. Now that she knew what it was called, Fenrir couldnt help but think that the big smelly monster looked very dumb. Of course,pared to her, every monster was super stupid and only her big brother, Fafnir, was smart enough to be her equal. Seeing Ryuu preparing to fight the monster, Fenrir iled her arms and shouted, "No, Ryuu, stop! Fenrir wants to kill! You stay, protect Aki, Fenrir will go!" Ignoring the words of cautioning from Ryuu, Fenrir turned around and used her favorite skill, [Freezing Roar], to intimidate the big, stupid, smelly, monster. Though it wasnt stunned for as long as shed like, Fenrir was able to get around to the side of its body before it managed to recover. When it tried to sweep at her from the side, Fenrir shouted, "You are so dumb, Fenrir is going to eat you whole!" Before it could finish its movement, Fenrir dug her unstoppably sharp ws into he thick fur and hide of the Mammoth and held on as she quickly climbed up its body. Even though it iled about and tried to buck her off of it, Fenrir didnt care at all and arrived at the very top of the monster a few secondster. Fenrir had learned about this strategy in the past with her Master and had discovered that it was a very good tactic against most monsters. Getting on the back of a monster was usually a death sentence for them since she had unstoppable ws and teeth that could bite through anything except her favorite toy. For several minutes, Fenrir ughed while riding the back of the Mammoth as it desperately tried to fling her off and attack with its massive trunk. Because she was near the back, Fenrir was far out of reach and the monster was too dumb to try and roll in order to remove her from its body. Satisfied that it couldnt do anything to her, Fenrir stuck her tongue out at the observing Ryuu before digging her ws deep into the hard and boney back of the Mammoth Fool. Though she was displeased about the blood that was soaking into her fur, Fenrir wanted to be able to brag about killing a super big monster to her Master when he came back home. Since she had never eaten Mammoth Fool before, Fenrir used her ws as leverage and started to literally bore her way into the body of the monster as it released powerful roars and thrashed about while destroying trees, boulders, and anything else that got in its way. This was futile, however, because Fenrir was already deep inside of its body and nomming away at the hard interior. She was happy because, even though the meat of monsters was usually soft, the Mammoths was hard and pleasant, even if it smelled bad. After chewing clear through the spine of the monster, it lost control of its back legs and pathetically began to drag them around before it eventually s.u.mbed to fatigue. Fenrir ughed happily and continued chewing on the spinal column since it was much harder than the surrounding flesh until eventually, after around seven agonizing minutes, the Mammoth Full swelled up until it dispersed into purple dust. Fenrir was annoyed since she wasnt able to eat more, but was also happy because she had beat the big monster easily. Her only regret was that her Master hadnt been here to see it since he would have praised her and helped clean off the blood that literally caked her from head to toe. ---Godhand PoV--- Hearing the recounting of events from Ryuu, Vahn heavily patted the jubnt Fenrir who had taken over hisp. He nuzzled into the back of her head and said in a happy tone, "Im so proud of you, Fenrir, youre getting stronger and stronger!" Fenrir did her best tough as she dangled her feet happily and said, "Yaaaay, praise Fenrir more and more~!" Since he really was impressed with the fact she had taken on a rather difficult opponent with ease, Vahn did as Fenrir asked and spent the majority of the morning pampering her while talking about his experience over thest three days. Hearing that the twins had also reached Level 2 in a ridiculously short period of time, everyone was very impressed, especially Ais who had a serious expression on her face. Emiru and Maemi were very happy to be the center of attention for once and proudly talked about their conquest while brandishing their [Saint Halberd]s about until Aki reprimanded them for using weapons indoors. Ais asked them a bunch of questions and eventually convinced them to show her their capabilities as arge portion of the group went to observe. Vahn had been busy pampering the bubbly Fenrir and left them to their own devices for the time being. Of course, not everyone had gone to observe the fight as Haruhime, Preasia, and Syr had stayed behind. Using the opportunity when the other girls were away, Syr and Haruhime nked Vahn and continued making conversation while he was brushing Fenrirs bristly hair. Though he hadnt been concerned at first, Vahn felt a strange pressure at being nked by the two while Preasia sat across on the opposite sofa holding a pillow and gazing directly at him. Even though Syr was just making polite conversation and exining things that had happened on thework, Vahn was very aware of her passionate aura sticking to his body as her charm magic periodically triggered whenever she would get excited. Haruhime wasnt much better at all and Vahn could feel her tails rubbing affectionately against his back as she leaned her weight against his shoulder. She wasnt saying much at all, and simply maintained an elegant demeanor and gentle smile on her face, but Vahn was very aware of her golden irises and the tendrils that were wrapping around his body. After making small talk for around twenty minutes, Haruhime suddenly made an out of the bluement that seemed to trigger Syr to show a somewhat strange smile, "Im not quite sure what, but I can tell that the twins have changed more than just their strength. They seem to be even lewder than in the past..." Vahn wanted to ask exactly how she knew the twins were lewd since they seemed to behave normally most of the time. However, he was too distracted by the pink auras surrounding him and was caught off guard when Syr leaned close and whispered in his ear, "Should I add them to the schedule~?" Though she had been quiet, every girl in the room had sensitive ears and Haruhime immediatelyughed like a bell as she gave a whisper of her own, "If youre going to add them, please consider putting my name down as well~." Fenrir didnt know what they were talking about but, hearing them keep mentioning the same thing over and over, she asked, "Vahn, can Fenrir be on the schedule thingy as well? Fenrir will do her best to be lewd too?" Though he had been a bit fl.u.s.tered by thebined attack of the two mischevious girls, Vahn took a heavy blow when he heard Fenrirs words. He sent a re at the two apologetic looking girls before hugging Fenrirs body tightly and saying, "You dont need to be on a schedule or anything else like that, Ill spend plenty of time with you when I can. I prefer the cute Fenrir that is always doing her best to get stronger, dont ever be a lewd girl, okay?" Though she didnt know what it meant to be lewd, Fenrir nodded her head obediently and said, "Yes, Fenrir wont be a lewd girl. Fenrir will be the cutest and strongest for Vahn. Smelly Harume can be the dumb dumb lewd girl." Hearing Fenrirs abrasive words, Haruhime asked in a pitiable tone, "Why is it dumb dumb and not just dumb? Are you saying Im twice as stupid now~?" Fenrir actually nodded her head in affirmation of Haruhimes words and pointed to her two tails that were still sneakily touching Vahns back. As if stating something that was very obvious, Fenrir said, "Ever since Harume got another tail, she has been especially dumb. Fenrir can smell it, Harume is even stinkier now than she was before." Haruhime began to pout after hearing Fenrirs words as she asked in a subtly sobbing voice, "Vahn, do you think Im a smelly dumb dumb?" Vahn had no idea how things had developed to this point but he didnt want the girls to be fighting like this. The one thing he was certain of was that Fenrir was probably justshing out because she had sensed the change in atmosphere from earlier and was directly her ire towards Syr and Haruhime as a result. Vahn patted the top of Fenrirs head and ruffled the hair he had been previously brushing and said in a firm tone, "Fenrir, you know its not nice to bully others. Haruhime is doing her best in her own way, and you dont have to worry about her harming me at all." Noticing the sad look that appeared on Haruhimes face, Vahn showed a kind smile and said, "Haruhime, you already know my impression of you, so you dont have to ask such silly questions. Just do your best and be yourself, dont worry about what others think. I really wish the two of you could get along better...after all, youre both very cute and I enjoy brushing your fluffy tails." Feeling Fenrir fidget on hisp, Vahns smile turned a bit wry and he continued, "However, its a bit unfair that you have two tails to brush, so I guess Ill have to spend twice as long on Fenrir topensate...?" Fenrir began to dangle her feet happily as she mused, "Vahn is the best to Fenrir after all~!" Just as things were beginning to calm down, Vahn could detect that therger group was making their return and he turned his head to see Syr mouth the words, Sorry for causing trouble. Vahn shook his head slowly in response and mouthed, Its fine, just please be careful with your words around all of the younger girls. Fenrir might be a monster, but she is very impressionable and tries to emte others. Syr showed a happy smile after hearing Vahns words and giggled silently before saying in a quiet tone, "I think the only person Fenrir really tries to copy is you...I can tell that she likes you a whole lot, isnt that right Fenrir~?" Unaware of the silent conversation that was had previously, Fenrir nodded her head and showed her crooked smile as she said, "Yes, Fenrir likes Master more than anyone else. Only smoky Hephaestus and nice Eina are allowed to say they like Master as much as Fenrir." Vahn knew that Fenrir had a bad habit of calling him Master whenever she was excited and he knew it was next to impossible to get her to stop. It seemed to be the influence of the Loyalty parameter since both Anubis and Fafnir did the same. Fenrirs Loyalty was a monstrous 37,419 at the moment and it very rarely ever decreased nowadays. Though he didnt know the full influence of the parameter, Vahn knew it had a subtle effect on the minds of his subordinates and, the higher their Loyalty, the greater value they ced into his words. It was likely due to her Loyalty towards him that Fenrir was able to function as well as she was without giving in to her urges anymore. She very rarely felt hungry anymore and it was usually a small matter that was rtively easy to deal with. Thinking about Anubis and Fafnir, Vahn had a momentary urge to go for a walk but was more focused on the thought of training Fafnir. He had around a day and a half to prepare for the Monster Feria, so he needed to take Fafnir away from the City and try toe up with a routine for the exhibition. Even though many people would still be afraid of it, Vahn wanted them to at least ept Fafnirs presence so it could freely move about the City instead of skulking in the shadows. Though it was dangerous, especially if anyone discovered its weakness, Vahn still thought Fafnir would be happier to be free. It would also make his own life more convenient because he would be able to travel around the City very quickly after sending Fafnir a mental signal asking it toe to pick him up. Though it felt a little strange to think about Fafnir as a mode of transportation, Vahn knew the dragon actually liked whenever he rode on its back so it would be an opportunity for the both of them... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrirs Triumph,Fenrir smells a smelly smell,Fenrir no Lewd!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 384 - Playing

Chapter 384 - ying

Vahn stuck around at the Hearth Manor until after lunch and had spent the majority of the morning interacting with the girls. Even though not a great deal of time had passed, the Hostess of Fertility had alreadypleted the first stage of its move and they were going to be celebrating their grand opening in theing week. The only thing the constructions crews had done was refurbish the bottom floor of the adjacent building which had previously been the atelier of a clothing designer in the past. It already had plenty of floor space and it hadnt taken long to build the actual bar and kitchen area and, since the girls were going to be staying at the Hearth Manor, they had saved time by not having to build a dormitory. Because of this, though they were not all present during the morning period, the majority of the girls from the Hostess of Fertility had made the move into the West Wing. They had taken control of the residences on the second floor and had all grouped near each other. The exceptions to this were Syr, who actually stayed on the first floor nearer to the centralmon areas, and Ryuu, who stayed in the room next to Vahns with Aki. The rest of the girls, Chloe, Arnya, Lunoire, and Mona, all had their own rooms in a corridor with six options to choose from. As for why they werent all present, it was because the majority of the girls were helping Mama Mia clean and prepare the pub for its grand opening on Monday. Once they had all finished lunch, Vahn told everyone about his intentions to take Fafnir outside of the City so they could practice for the Monster Feria that was less than two days away. Since Vahn was a person of importance, he wasnt easily able to exit the City on his own as there was a high chance that, if there were any people after his life, they would find out through their private channels about the fact that he had left alone. Though it would be nearly impossible for them to actually do anything to him, especially with an escape method like Shundo, it would still cause unnecessary problems that could be avoided by traveling in arger group. Though Vahn was thinking about who to take along with him, it actually turned into a situation where everyone had drawn lots. Since they all seemed to be enjoying the experience, Vahn didnt mind so much and he actually thought it was funny when the girls that pulled a miss stick had a very overdramatic reaction. As for the winners, there was the victorious Ais lording herself over the pitiful Tiona, the triumphant Tina, and the bashful Lefiya who was muttering off to the side with a flushed face while lost in her own delusions. Apanying them, since it would be unsafe otherwise, was Riveria and, the automatic inclusion, Fenrir. Before they left, Vahn gave a set of thick coats to Tina and Lefiya, since Tina didnt have any resistance to the cold and Lefiya seemed somewhat susceptible to it even though she was Level 3. Vahn could keep the cold at bay with his domain, but it was better for them to have their own means to resist the cold just in case. Tina was in a bubbly mood since she was going to be leaving the City for the first time and it was on an excursion with Vahn. As for Fenrir, Riveria, and Ais, they were all very resistant against the cold and didnt need his care, though it didnt stop him from making the offer. Ais simply stated the, if she were cold, she would just snuggle up with him as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Riveria already had a new mantle, even though she was still waiting for Vahn to make her a recement for the one she lost in the past. As for Fenrir, she was simr to Vahn and liked the cold air against her skin, even though she was wearing a cute maid outfit that covered the majority of her body. It took them around forty minutes to reach the Southern Gate and, after leaving their names in the logbook and making the required vows, they exited the City soon after. Completely ignoring the cold air, Tina ran around happily alongside Fenrir and the two young girls seemed to be having a lot of fun as they walked along the path away from the City. Ais, true to her earlier words, was sticking close to Vahn and they had started holding hands not long after exiting the gate. Lefiya was on the other side of him, but she was standing a short distance away with a hesitant look as she held the [Heal] staff Vahn had gifted her tightly in her tiny hands. As for Riveria, she was walking at the back of the group and watching over everyone with a stoic expression on her face. After traveling a fair distance from the City, Fafnir popped out of the shadows and asked in a very happy sounding voice, (*Vahn, we are going to y today~!?*) Even though it wasnt capable of showing any expressions, Fafnir was obviously very excited to be able to spend the rest of the day outside. Without any hesitation at all, Tina walked over and nuzzled against the hard-scaled face of Fafnir and said in a happy tone of her own, "We get to y a lot today~nya! Fafnir is a good child and shouldnt have to hide in the shadows~! Make sure to work hard with Vahnya and show all those silly people youre a good dragonya~!" Fafnir ughed in everyones mind with its childish voice and said, (*Ill do my best, big sis~!*) Since they needed to be further away from the City so as to not draw attention, everyone got on Fafnirs back and flew around at a rtively slow speed while searching for arge enough clearing to conduct their training or, as Fafnir, Fenrir, and Tina seemed to call it, ying. Even though Fafnir was a colossal ck dragon, it was still arguably the youngest child within the group and was actually very sociable even though it was a dragon. Unlike Fenrir, Eva had treated Fafnir very well and had even taught it magic for four years within the orb. Though she could fly around on her own, Eva would oftenze about on Fafnirs back as they drewzy circles around the castle she had built and talked about Vahn. After finding arge enough clearing, they touched down and everyone hopped off Fafnirs back while Vahn helped Tina down. Because of its interactions with the other children, Vahn had started thinking about if it would be a good idea to use some of the kids for the exhibition. If the public saw Fafnir getting along with small children, their fears of it should fade quite a bit. Though it might incite some evil people to try and take action against it in the future, it was still a viable option since Fafnir was actually very strong. Its only weakness was the massive glowing scar on its chest but, as long as it avoided getting hit there, everything would be fine. As for the annoying weakness, Vahn had been trying toe up with a solution for it ever since his duel against Fafnir in the orb. He learned from Eva that Fafnir actually couldnt learn defensive magic at all and any attempt to protect the weak spot actually made the giant dragon lose all of its power. It was possible to cover parts of it, but the greater the surface area covered, the weaker Fafnir would be. It also made the magical energy within its body unstable, so there was no practical solution to protecting the weak spot. Though it had near perfect control over reshaping its scales, none of them could reach around to the front of its body to protect the scar. It was a very perplexing thing because Fafnir could shape its scales into small statuettes of people if it wanted to. The worst part of all, and this was a very recent discovery, was that any barrier or shielding magic used on Fafnir would immobilize it. Vahn had been very surprised to learn of this massive weakness since it would be terrible if someone that intended to harm Fafnir learned about it. Vahn was even nning to make a massive cor for Fafnir that had the ironic effect of blocking defensive buffs, magic, and effects. The only permanent solution to guarantee that Fafnir was always safe was to keep it out of directbat with anything. Fortunately, it had high perception and various long-range magic spells it could use to annihterge groups of enemies without getting near them at all. And, though the scar was several meters long, it still only covered a small part of the surface area of Fafnirs body. As long as it reacted in time, Fafnir could defend itself with its powerful wings and incredibly durable scales. After watching the kids y around for a bit, Vahn waved to Fafnir and said, "Okay, Fafnir, are you ready to begin our training for your big day?" Hearing his words, the massive dragon that was acting as a yground for the girls c.o.c.ked its head and closed its giant blues eyes and said, (*Yay, lets y Vahn~!*) Vahnughed and gestured for the other girls to step off to the side for the time being so he had plenty of space with Fafnir. Once everyone had moved out of the way, Vahn nodded and extended his hand out and said, "We need to show everyone that youre a good dragon, but was also need to make sure that people dont try to hurt you and the girls youre protecting. I need you to behave and respond to all mymands to the best of your ability, but also demonstrate that you arent a pushover for anyone with bad intentions." Hearing Vahns words, Fafnir c.o.c.ked its head and released a powerful roar that caused the void itself to vibrate a bit as it shouted, (*I wont let anyone harm big sis and everyone else close to Master!*) Because Fafnir was actually much stronger than he was, Vahn had to shield himself from the powerful roar while Ais protected Tina. After the roar faded, Vahn gave Fafnir a wry smile and pointed over at the girls that were covering their ears as a result of the loud noise. Fafnir followed his finger and became fl.u.s.tered as it moved around in an awkward manner and said, (*Ah, big sis, Im sorry~! Nooo, Master, what do I do!?*). Vahn stepped forward without minding that Fafnir was still wriggling about while tearing up the ground. This was one of the things Vahn had been worried about since Fafnir wasnt very ustomed to being aboveground and interacting with people. Vahn ced his hand on Fafnirs body and used [Hands of Nirvana] to soothe the panicking dragon as he said in a gentle tone, "This is why were training now, Fafnir. You just have to rx and behave, that will be enough. Since Fafnir is such a strong and powerful dragon, you need to learn to control yourself and always remain calm. If you go around roaring within the City, a lot of people would send usints and you might not be able to stay on the surface." Feeling the warm energy flowing into its abdomen, Fafnir crouched over and loomed above Vahn as if it was about to curl around him like a cat. When it ced its maw near him, Vahn changed the target of hit hands to Fafnirs head and began to gently stroke the hard scales as affectionately as he could manage. Vahn continued to speak in a gentle tone, "See, youre a good dragon, arent you?" Fafnir nodded its head and said, (*Im a good dragon that will protect everyone~!*) After Fafnir calmed down adequately, Vahn began their training and did his best to guide Fafnir through the routine he was making up on the spot. Since he wanted everyone to know how tame Fafnir was, Vahn came up with all kinds of ideas to show off their bond. He even came up with the idea of having Fafnir open its massive maw filled with a strange and chaotic energy and stepped into it. Other than Fenrir, all of the other girls seemed to get stressed out when Vahn did something that bordered on the edge of madness. Though there was no real danger, all Fafnir had to do was snap its jaws shut and Vahn would almost certainly die. Some of the other parts of their routine included actual ying around where Fafnir used its tail to allow Vahn to vault up high into the air. Vahn would perform a bit of acrobatics to excite the crowd and Fafnir would continue to use its wings and snout to catch Vahn and allow him to stay airborne. To make it even more exciting, they would be performing the entire stunt in the middle of the air above the arena. Since the majority of people were afraid of heights, it would be a tense moment for everyone watching and would be a true testament of the bond between Vahn and Fafnir while also disying its incredible control. The final part of the routine was intended to scare people, unlike everything that would precede it. Vahn had several simplified mannequins that he was going to fit with armor and space them around in the arena. One of Fafnirs demonstrations would be to use its scales as spears and prate clear through the various high qualities armors that would be on disy. Fafnirs attacks were incredibly quick so the majority of people wouldnt even know what happened until their brains took time to process what they had seen. Any high leveled Adventurers that could follow the movement would also be deterred since it was a feat Fafnir could perform incredibly easily. To reinforce the idea that it wasnt wise to mess with Fafnir, it would thenunch all the mannequins into the sky before using its dark magic to annihte them all before they returned to the ground. Fafnir had learned Sagitta Magica : Series Obscuri from Eva within the space, so it was capable of creating dozens of beams of dark energy that would follow the target like homing missiles before exploding on contact. Since darkness elemental magic was one of the more terrifying, and since Fafnir would be able to use the magic instantly, it would shut down most attempts to try and approach it, or anyone it was protecting. Magic within the record of Danmachi was one of the most terrifying forces in the world, so there were very few people that would want to fight a massive dragon that could instantly cast beams of magic that would pursue them until eventually exploding when it finally hit. Though he wasnt entirely sure if it was a good idea, Vahn wanted the wrap-up of the routine to involve a bunch of the younger membersing into the arena to cuddle with the terrifying dragon. Vahn had the benefit of being surrounded by youthful girls, beautiful women, and innocent children. Even if people had inhibitions, they wouldnt be able easily rationalize that Fafnir was evil if they saw it surrounded by cute, adorable, and beautiful girls. They might even be inspired to try and tame their own dragon to use as a chick ma in the future. Vahn wanted to fundamentally change the image of Fafnir in the minds of others so that it became the symbol of the Hestia Familia and inspired confidence in others. There were very likely to be conflicts between Orario and the other countries in the future, and Fafnir would be a trump card that would be able to defend the entire City with its tremendous might. Just imagining a crowd cheering for Fafnir made Vahn smile since he knew the evil looking dragon was very cute and innocent regardless of what its appearance might indicate. With that thought in mind, Vahn recalled the children from the Orphanage and wondered if it would be possible to get them involved as well... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Drawing Lots,y Date,Fafnir is a good dragon~! -casually uses pure darkness elemental magic to destroy things-) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 385 - Peaceful Night?

Chapter 385 - Peaceful Night?

After spending a few hours ying around with Fafnir, Vahn decided it was time to head back to the Manor before it got dark. During the rtively short flight, Riveria had been asking about the magic Fafnir used and Vahn exined to her that it was the system taught by Eva within the orb. One of the big differences between him, and other mages within the Danmachi record, was that he wasnt constrained by the logic and misconceptions that had been deeply ingrained in the various races. As long as you had a proper understanding of abilities, any type of magic system could be incorporated in the world since they made use of very simrws. This wouldnt always be the case, such as if he went to a record without mana at all, but it was a safe assumption for any world with energy and mana systems. Not just Riveria, but Lefiya also asked a lot of questions as they both had a vested interest and genuine curiosity regarding magic. Vahn did his best to answer what questions he could, but there was a bit of a disconnect whenever they were discussing things since Riveria and Lefiya were deeply rooted in the logic of this world. Thus far, though Vahn had demonstrated it several times, neither of the girls had been able to replicate the way he uses magic. There was a very good chance they might not be able to use it at all, and Vahn decided he needed to train someone that wasnt educated in the current system to see if it was even possible for others to learn his magic. Afternding a way away from the City, the group dismounted Fafnirs back and Vahn helped to replenish its energy while patting its head. Vahn wasnt even sure if Fafnir could even feel a normal touch, but it seemed to enjoy physical contact so Vahnforted it a bit before sending it back into the shadows. Hopefully, after the Monster Feria came to an end, Fafnir would have more freedom to move about. Even if it couldnt fly about freely above the City, it should at least be able to reside at the Hearth Manor and y with the other children. They proceeded the rest of the way on foot and Vahn held Aiss hand while supporting Tina with his left arm as she hugged his neck and was snoozing peacefully. She had gotten tuckered out while ying around earlier and had started to doze off on the return flight so Vahn picked her up to carry her the rest of the way. Tina looked like she wanted toin at first but eventually gave up when Fenrir wanted to take her ce. Though she managed to stay awake for a little while, she eventually fell asleep and was currently tightly hugging Vahns neck. He could feel the warm air flowing from her nose tickling his exposed skin, but Vahn didnt mind it much at all as he continued to talk with Lefiya and Fenrir all the way till the arrived at the gate. After passing through the checkpoint without difficulty, the group returned the Hearth Manor and Vahn passed over the sleeping Tina to Mn before heading off to enjoy a bath. Though he hadnt quite gotten used to it yet, it was much less stressful to bathe with everyone after experiencing it a few times. Several of the girls had used the opportunity when he was inside to trail in after him and they all had a pleasant time talking and helping each other wash while dinner was being prepared. Vahn noticed there seemed to be a rotation of sorts that had been established and he knew it was likely the influence of Syr and thework. The girls usually bickered over who would get washed by Vahn, but today they seemed to have alreadye to an agreement beforehand. As he had noticed during the previous meals, the same seemed to be true for the seating arrangements at the table and today Vahn was seated with Hestia, who was happily enjoying the opportunity, and Aki. Vahn enjoyed how simple life was in moments like this, because it seemed like everything was being taken care of even without him having to take any action. Though he tried not to show it, Vahn was always somewhat worried about things going wrong when he least expected it. He knew it was impossible to allocate time to every girl if he just went with the flow of things, so having them sort it out amongst themselves was the ideal situation. There were still a few hours until bedtime, and Vahn didnt really want to do anything strenuous for the time being since he had just returned from the three-day excursion with the twins. Vahn spent the evening in a rather unique way and had cuddled up with some of the younger girls as he narrated a book for everyone. To make the experience morefortable, Vahn used his domain to spread calming energy to everyone present. Though they all seemed to enjoy it, Vahn felt like he was the one benefiting the most at the moment since there were several soft and fluffy sensations surrounding him. Haruhime had snuggled up to his left and was behaving herself while Fenrir had secured hisp. To his right, there was Naaza who had her characteristic calm and seemed to be enjoying the rare moment together. There were several others present, even though Vahn had only originally intended to read peacefully, but Vahn didnt have anyints whatsoever. Though he been in somewhat high tensions over thest few days, Vahn didnt feel like having s.e.x with anyone this evening so he decided to spend the night in much the same manner as he spent the evening. Since he always spent time with her when he returned, Vahn had asked Fenrir, Shizune, Mn, and the awakened Tina if theyd like to stay together. These were all considered safe options from Vahns perspective and it would guarantee that he was able to rx since Fenrir usually went to sleep instantly and nobody would want to wake her. Everyone agreed but, against his expectations, Mn had asked, "Vahn, I know you might have different intentions, but can we let Lili sleep with us as well?" Vahn had been caught off guard by Mns words but considered the matter seriously because he could see the softness and concern in her expression. Though Lili was rooming together with Naaza, she had actually been sleeping together with Mn, Tina, and Shizely. He wasnt sure what kind of understanding they had reached, but many of the girls on thework seemed to be looking after Lilitely. She was smiling a lot more than in the past and Vahn understood that Mn was likely trying to create opportunities for her to open up more. Though he considered the matter carefully, only a few seconds had passed in reality before Vahn nodded his head with a gentle smile and said, "Sure, I dont mind at all. As long as she behaves herself...it should be fine." Mnughed with her eyes squinted before saying, "Shell be fine, I believe if she experiences normal affection it will help her a lot..." Vahn understood what Mn was trying to say since he was also worried about Lili on asion. Because she had lived her entire life exploited by others, Lili was too eager when it came to trying to show and receive affection. Since everything good in her life had been a temporary happiness, she was almost desperate in trying to experience everything she could before it was once again lost. Mn had gone to retrieve Lili while Vahn had already taken the other girls up to his room to prepare for bed. He, fortunately, changed his nkets every time he spent the night with some of the other girls, so there wasnt a smell that might set off Shizune and Tina. Of course, that didnt stop Shizune from trying to tease him as she said in a snickering voice, "Its a curious thing, for so many years it was men taking my clothes off...yet, by pure happenstance, now I have a handsome boy helping me wear them instead~." Since Vahn had helped Fenrir change into her sleepwear, he also did the same for Tina and Shizune, even though they were both capable of it themselves. Tina, at least when she was his Vahnguard, had been a very sensible girl in the past. Now, however, she was acting more and morefortable around Vahn and sought his affection without being overly eager for it. She usually acted as the role of big sister for the youth troupe, which also happened to include older girls like Emiru, Maemi, and Preasia. Since Mn was something simr to a surrogate mother for many of the orphaned girls, Tina had coincidentally be their big sis, even though she was actually the youngest in the group, excluding Fafnir. Even Fenrir was rather tame whenever she was around Tina and listened to her words during lectures and such. Mn and Lili arrived soon after and, from the moment she came through the door, Lili had a big smile on her face with glittering eyes as she said, "Thank you for letting me sleep here as well, Vahn. I was starting to feel a little lonely, ehehehe~." She tried to walk over with a bit of pep in her step, but Mn hugged her from behind and said in a gentle and motherly tone, "Now, now, Lili, you should be getting rxed and preparing for bed, not getting riled up. Remember our promise, you said you would behave, right~?" Lili frowned for a brief moment before letting out a mncholic sigh and saying, "Yes, I remember..." Mn hugged her a little harder before patting Lilis chestnut brown hair affectionately. From Vahns perspective, Mn and Lili looked like an actual Mother and Daughter due to the fact that they both had chestnut brown hair. If Lili used her [Cinder*E], they would be nearly indistinguishable from actual family. Seeing Lili being deferential towards Mn, Vahn showed a soft smile that wasnt missed by the small Pallum. She showed a somewhat bashful look and lowered her face as Mn started helping her prepare for bed. Though she was perfectly capable of dressing herself, Lili epted Mns assistance and, though she had a somewhat bashful and awkward expression, Vahn could see her aura dancing about with a happy yellow tinged with pink along the edges. Vahn climbed into bed with Fenrir, Tina, and Shizune while the other two were getting ready. As usual, Fenrir took her spot and curled up on his stomach while Tina and Shizune snuggled up with each other on his left. Vahn spent a bit of time gently petting Fenrirs somewhat rough hair until Mn and Lili also crawled in the bed. It seemed like Mn had given the spot on Vahns right to Lili but, before sheid down against his arm, Lili asked, "Vahn...you like girls with tails and fluffy ears, dont you?" Vahn blinked slowly and contemted her words for a brief moment before saying, "I do, but not to the extent that I would inherently choose them over anyone else. Everyone has unique traits that I find interesting and pleasant." Lili nodded her head as if she had expected his answer but pointed to Fenrir, Tina, and Shizune as she said, "Even so, I think youre happier if the girls you like are fluffier...I just want to know what you like best..." Mn had ced her hand on Lilis shoulder gently as though she were trying to get her to dismiss the matter. She had aplex expression on her face and sent Vahn a somewhat apologetic look. Vahn didnt really mind it too much, but someone else had beaten him to his answer as Fenrir opened her glowing scarlet eyes and said, "Vahn likes Fenrir best...and maybe Harume. Dont bother Vahn so much, Lili, you should sleep when its time to sleep." Hearing Fenrirs words, Lili showed a thoughtful expression before muttering a nearly silent chant, "Your wound is mine. My wound is mine, Echoing message of midnight." A gentle magical light shone after her words fell and a somewhat baffling sight appeared shortly thereafter. Even Fenrir sat up on Vahns chest as she pointed at Lili with a strangely offended expression as she said, "Ah, you cant copy Fenrir! Only Master can copy Fenrir!" Lili had used her magic and, as a result of Fenrirs words, had transitioned from being a normal Pallum to a small Wolf Girl. Her medium length, somewhat short, hair had be a deep midnight blue and she hadrge fluffy ears on her head and bushy tail. The most noticeable trait, however, was the fact she had also copied the paws of Fenrir, even though her fingers were more normal since she hadnt actually be a Vanargandr. Before things got out of hand, Vahn reached out his hand and gentled lowered Fenrirs paw as he said, "Fenrir, dont mind it so much. No matter what, there isnt anyone that can rece you, okay?" As he spoke, another magical light began to shine, this time on Vahn, and he also transformed himself to emte Fenrir a bit. Though she originally looked like she wanted toin more, Fenrirs eyes glowed intensely for a moment before she happily snuggled against the now transformed Vahn. She sent a look toward Lili and said, "Fenrir will let you copy her...you can be Fenrirs little sister if you are a good girl." Lili had been more than a little intimidated when Fenrir had stared her down with her scarlet eyes and there was a lightyer of sweat covering her body. Hearing Fenrirs permission, Liliughed awkwardly and said in a stutter, "H-ha...big sis...thanks?" Fenrir nodded her head in approval before patting the spot next to Vahn and saying, "Lili goes to sleep now, no more trouble, okay? Fenrir wont forgive you if you cause trouble. Even Fenrir does her best to not cause trouble for Master, so Lili needs to do her best as well. If Lili wants to copy Fenrir, Lili needs to be a good girl too." Though Lili was very nervous, she nodded her head at Fenrirs words and said, "Ill...be a good girl..." Mnughed at their interaction before ruffling Lilis somewhat oversized ears and saying in a gentle tone, "Lets go to sleep Lili, didnt you want to stay with everyone?" Hearing Mns words, and seeing everyones eyes focused on her, Lili nodded her head with a blush as she crawled next to Vahn and tucked her head into his shoulder as she stared up into his face. She hadnt been able to copy Fenrirs scarlet eyes, so Lilis were a gentle pink instead. Though he hadnt put too much thought into it, Vahn decided to show Lili a bit of affection so he rubbed his now bristly hair and forehead against the top of Lilis. She used her fake ws to hold tightly to his tunic as a happy smile appeared on her face. Now that things had calmed down, Vahn used his domain to remove the magic stones that were keeping the lights on within the room. Everything became dark in an instant, not that it mattered considering that everyone had night vision capabilities. Vahn spent the remainder of the time before eventually falling asleep simply enjoying the somewhat hot body temperatures of the small girls. He somewhat regretted not being able to feel Mns warmth directly, but she was currently hugging Lili from behind in a somewhat protective manner. Vahn decided this was for the best and simply let matters be as he slowly fell into the dark depths of unconsciousness... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Riverias curiosity : Furiously taking notes,Enjoying Peace and Quiet...,Mn is the best Mother-figure, excluding Tsubaki...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 386 - Tensions

Chapter 386 - Tensions

Vahn awoke somewhat earlier than normal the next day because he had smelled something unexpected, blood. Because he had copied the traits of Fenrir before he went to sleep, Vahn had an enhanced sense of smell and he could detect a strong odor of bloodced with a heavy amount of womanly pheromones. Though he had expected it to being from Mn, Vahn knew it wasing from the opposite side of his body and he opened his eyes and looked toward the origin, Tina. She was still sleeping normally and didnt seem to be in any pain, but Vahn was absolutely certain the smell wasing from her body. He hadnt been the only one stirred awake by the odor as both Fenrir and Lili had woken as well, seeking out the unexpected scent. Fenrir was especially sensitive to blood and there was a subtle glow in her eyes and she tilted her head to the side and stared at the sleeping Tina. To keep her calm, Vahn pat the top of her head with his right hand while wiggling his left arm that was being hugged by Tina. Since she wasnt a morning person, Tina didnt wake up immediately and Vahns movements had actually awoken Shizune and Mn as well. Mn had a thoughtful expression on her face which suddenly turned soft before she released a chuckle. Before Vahn asked what she found funny, Mn sent him a yful wink and said, "Looks like today is a big day for Tina. Dont worry about it too much, Vahn, she isnt hurt or anything like that. Why dont you head down early and let me take care of things here?" Vahn stroked the head of the sleepy Tina who was confused about everything that was going on as he said, "Sure, let me know if you need my help..." Mnughed at his concerned expression before shooing him out of his own room with a soft smile on her face. Lili and Shizune had apanied him, even though they were still just in their nightgowns. They both had clothes in their own rooms, so Vahn suggested they head over and change since everyone else would be waking up in about an hour. Before they left, however, Shizuneughed in a mischevious manner and asked, "Do you know what that smell was, Vahn~?" Vahn blinked in confusion as Lili released a sigh before answering in lieu of Shizune, "Tina probably just had her first period, so she will probably be a bit in the dumps today." Hearing the phrase, Vahn scanned through his memories for all the information he had rted to the phenomenon and understood what Lili was talking about. Vahn knew a method to help relieve any difort that might arise from a difficult period, but he decided to leave it to the women in the Manor. This was a sign that Tina was actually beginning to mature, so she would probably enter her growth phase pretty soon. With this thought in mind, Vahn felt like teasing Lili for reasons he couldnt quite understand so he said, "Looks like you and Tina wont be the same height for my longer...I guess she really is the big sister?" Lili had still been somewhat sleepy, but the moment she heard Vahns words she opened her eyes wide and said in a tone much louder than was appropriate, "Ah~! Vahn, I cant believe you would say something like that! Boooooo, boooooooooo~!" Though he had expected her to react to his words, there was nothing that could have prepared Vahn for the tiny fist that flew toward his stomach. Even though his Endurance was much higher than Lilis power, Vahn still felt a hard impact on his gut and he felt a shockwave pass through his body that made him feel weak in the knees. While he was holding his stomach, Lili gave him a somewhat threatening look as she blew away the steam rising from her fist. Vahns body was very hard, so she had felt a lot of resistance from the punch and now her hand hurt. She ignored it and, now that Vahn was bent over slightly, grabbed his face and said in a stern tone, "If you make fun of my height, I will show you how much of an a.d.u.l.t I can be in the future~!" Lili was still in her Vanargandr form, so she bit in a pseudo-aggressive manner with her somewhat sharp teeth before sticking out her tongue and walking towards her own room. Shizune gave Vahn a teasing look and remarked in a yful tone, "Ara~? How unexpected, to see Vahn on the receiving end of a pounding to the stomach~." Without saying anything further, Shizune ran over to the door leading to her own room whileughing in a very amused manner. Vahn didnt understand the implication behind her words at all and asked himself in a low voice, "What does she mean...Ive never pounded anyones stomach before?" Deciding she was just being mysterious in order to tease him, Vahn rubbed his stomach with [Hands of Nirvana] and made his way toward the stairs. He hadnt made it too far before Aki appeared at her door and looked through the corridor before asking in a curious voice, "Did something happen, Vahn?" Though he had put the matter behind him, Vahn decided to ask Aki since she had appeared at a convenient timing, "Aki, have I ever pounded someones stomach before?" Aki tilted her head in a confusion for a moment before cing her hand over her own stomach in an absentminded manner. Vahn had followed her action and, even though she hadnt really connected things and verbalized the words herself, he suddenly understood the sneaky innuendo Shizune had thrown his way. He could feel a warmth touch his cheeks and Aki also started blushing before she stuck out her tongue and said, "I dont mind...it feels pleasant, nyahaha~." Hearing her words, Vahn swallowed a bit of saliva before scratching his cheek and saying, "Maybe tonight..." Akiughed before throwing him a coy look and disappearing back into her own room. She had only been wearing her underwear, so she still had to get ready for the morning training as well. As he made his way down the stairs, Vahn felt like his tensions were suddenly starting to increase. He had held back while he was with the twins in the Dungeon, and had even taken a break to rxst night. Now, however, he felt like his switch had been flipped as a result of Shizunes remark and Akis behavior. There were quite a few things Vahn was nning to do today, but it now seemed like he would have to carry a bit of frustration with him until the evening came around. After arriving on the first floor and making his way to the study, however, Vahn had a thought and realized he perhaps didnt have to wait at all. Vahn looked through the logbooks in his possession and started looking through the posted statuses of every girl out of curiosity. Though he wasnt sure he was going to do anything, Vahn still wanted to see if anyone was avable...after briefly perusing the list, Vahn swallowed a bit and began to tap his leg in a somewhat impatient manner as he thought about his next course of action. Though most of the girls didnt actually list themselves as busy during the night, Vahn could tell by thements next to the status if he would be inconveniencing them. He knew many of them would be preparing for the morning training, but there were two names on the list that he knew wouldnt be. After thinking it over for a few minutes, Vahn released a sigh before rising to his feet and making his way towards the west wing of the Manor. He had detected Lili making her way down and knew that, depending on the form she took, she would be able to smell his arousal. He could use his [Will of the Emperor] to calm his mind, but Vahn knew he gave off a scent that excited some of the beast-girls when he was in the mood. He hadnt thought about it much in the past, but it had been pointed out by Emiru and Maemi when they were in the Dungeon together. Vahn had wondered why some of the girls would suddenly behave far more forward than normal, and they exined it was due to the scent he gave off. When he was thinking perverted thoughts, the girls could smell it and knew he was thinking about them. This encouraged them to push the boundaries a little and was the reason why, when the became Maemiru, they could hardly control themselves. Their sense of smell was doubled during their fusion, so Vahn was almost like a walking aphrodisiac to them since they were attracted to him. After walking for around two minutes, Vahn arrived at the second floor of the West Wing and began to feel a little nervous as he walked to the room at the far side of the corridor. Though he could have gone to Syr, Vahn knew it was somewhat dangerous to be with her, especially if it were just her. He would likely be even more excited as a result of visiting Syr, so he went to a ce where he knew he would be able to release tensions, instead of building them further. After verifying the status once again inside the log, Vahn gently knocked on the hardwood door and began to feel very nervous as he stood in the silent and dark corridor waiting for a response. More than a minute passed without anyone answering the door, but Vahn could sense the aura inside moving about, probably getting dressed. The longer he waited, the higher Vahns tensions grew and he nearly abandoned his n of action before noticing the aura finallying to the door. After the surprisingly loud sound of the lock faded, the door opened to reveal the confused face of Lunoire. When she saw Vahn, her confusion turned into a gentle smile and she said, "Good morning Vahn, I hadnt expected your arrival. Was there a matter you needed me for?" Vahn felt very awkward and rubbed the back of his head as he said, "Good morning...Lunoire...I, um, saw your status in the logbook and I thought..." Lunoires eyes opened marginally before her expression turned softer and a beautiful smile appeared on her face. She peeked out into the corridor to see if anyone else was present before grabbing Vahns arm and pulling him inside of her room. Vahns inhibitions turned out to be pointless as, from the very moment she understood his purpose, Lunoire became very proactive. There was only around a half hour, as Vahn would have to go take a quick bath, but it was more than enough time since it was very rare to have Vahn alone. Lunoire had opened her heart to Vahn when she recounted her past to him during their first time together. Though she was content with just living a stress-free and happy life, receiving Vahns affection and care made her feel very satisfied. Though she couldnt keep him for herself, just spending a bit of time alone together eased her heart a great deal. Though he couldnt be called a master, Vahn was what could be considered a technician when it came to pleasing girls. He was very attentive to their needs and, even though he hade to her to relieve his own stress, Vahn paid more attention to Lunoires responses and made sure she enjoyed it, likely far more than he himself did. This made Lunoire put in a great deal more effort than even she had expected since she wasnt satisfied knowing that she was the only one getting off in the moment. Unfortunately, her efforts just resulted in Vahn getting even more of an advantage against her since he could retain his rationale while she was straining herself a bit and pushing her body in ways she wasnt quite ustomed to. Lunoire realized that, unless Vahn didnt use his [Hands of Nirvana] at all, it would probably be impossible for her to ever get the upper hand against him. She already knew that Vahn couldnt really be satisfied by one person and having him alone emphasized this point greatly. Even though she was Level 4, Lunoire realized he had far more stamina than she could cope with... Contrary to Lunoires misunderstanding, Vahn had actually enjoyed himself greatly and felt very relieved by the time he left the room. He didnt really have s.e.x for the release aspect since his bodys natural regeneration would almost allow him to continue indefinitely as long as he had sustenance. Vahn liked to have s.e.x for the experience itself and the emotional connection he could build with the girls through their shared union. As long as they were receptive to his intrigue, Vahn was happy just seeing their various responses to his actions. Like Loki had pointed out in the past, Vahn just liked to experience new things and had a curiosity that sometimes made him push the limits of things at times. Vahn genuinely liked getting a rise out of the girls, and the reason he paid so much attention to their responses was to make sure he didnt overstep his boundaries and traumatize them... After helping Lunoire clean up, Vahn gave her a short kiss filled with a healthy amount of affection and passion. Her face had a heavy flush on it and her eyes were slightly glossed over, but she reciprocated his kiss as he used [Hands of Nirvana] to help restore some rity to her mind. Though she didnt have fuzzy ears atop her head, Vahn still liked stroking the hair of girls and Lunoire was no exception. After their kiss persisted for around a minute, Vahn pulled away with a smile on his face and said in a soft tone, "I need to go take a bath so Im notte for training. Go ahead and take a rest for as long as you need...Ill exin things to Syr if you want to sleep in." Lunoireughed with a happy smile on her face as she used her hand to remove a bit of Vahns hair out of his face. She brought her hand to a stop on his cheek and said in a low tone, "Thank you foring to me Vahn, I feel like a heavy burden has been removed from my heart now..." Vahn mirrored Lunoires actions and ced his own hand against her cheek in a simr manner as they just locked eyes with each other for a moment. After thinking about how best to order his words, Vahn said with as much tenderness as he could manage, "Lunoire...just like you asked me to, I will do my best to make sure you know what it means to be loved. Please tell me if there is anything you need...I will always be here when you need me. You dont have to be alone anymore, no matter what you decide to do in the future...promise me youll do your best to be happier from now on, okay?" For a brief moment, Lunoires eyes began to moisten before a strange rity took over them and she yfully pushed Vahn away and said, "Get going you doofus, you dont want to bete. If the girls know yourete because you were crawling into my bed, youll have a lot of exining to do." Lunoires expression had turned to her characteristic gentle look but Vahn could see a happiness in her smile that reached her eyes ever so subtly. Though she didnt have max affection for him, Lunoires has always hovered in the lower nies in the past. Now, however, her affection had increased all the way to 99(Love), instead of the bracket parameter being stuck at (Trust). Vahn knew there had been a fundamental change in the way she saw him so, before he left her room, Vahn shared another embrace and a very deep kiss with Lunoire until she literally tossed him out of the bed... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn smells blood...,Shizunes Mischievousness,Lunoires Happiness) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 387 - Small World

Chapter 387 - Small World

For what seemed like the first time in more than a week, Vahn enjoyed the onsen on his own without any disturbances. He felt very refreshed after his short rendezvous with Lunoire and was just floating atop the hot water as the cool morning air soaked into his exposed skin from above. Of course, he couldnt stay inside the bath too long or he would bete for the morning practice. Vahn wasnt even remotely ashamed of going to visit Lunoire, especially after doing the deed though till the end, but he didnt want to cause a stir in the group just as they woke up. He knew his interaction would likely make its way to theworkter, but that was another matter entirely. Afterpletely removing the womanly scent wafting from his body, Vahn used his [Heart of the Eternal me] to immediately evaporate the water from his body before instantly changing into clothes through the system. Vahn really enjoyed the convenience provided by the system for situations like this, because he could simply queue up equipment in his slots and freely swap between outfits. Now that he could also manage to change his form and race, after a bit of concerted effort, Vahn felt like he could be a master of disguise. The only thing he couldnt really mask easily was his base odor and aura. He couldpletely conceal it using stealth, but if Vahn wasnt seen, it didnt really matter how he looked and invalidated the need for a disguise to being with. Since he had spent the night, and part of the morning, mimicking Fenrirs racial traits, Vahn felt like practicing changing his form more fluidly. He knew he didnt even need [Thria*Mimos] now, though it certainly made transforming much easier, so Vahn wanted to improve his base capabilities more. He had originally been somewhat worried about losing his identity, but Vahn had made a perfect copy of his base form within his mind and could always reference it if he forgot how he looked. As Vahn was thinking about the best form the take, he remembered his earlier interaction with Lili and wondered if it was even possible for him to transform into a Pallum. Drastic physical changes would generally take a very long time, but Vahn figured it would be possible if he put in a lot of effort. He knew that, at some point in the future, he would likely end up in a physical rtionship with Lili and had been very concerned about the matter for some time. Now that she was living in the Manor, Vahns thoughts would wander to the various girls and their future interactions. Though she would probably in, Vahn wanted to be able to take a smaller form for her benefit... Just as usual, the girls started their training in earnest as Vahn sat off to the side and observed while practicing his mental control and meditating. Vahn had greeted everyone beforehand and now sat in his designated area on a stone dais he had ced within the yard. He didnt know why, but Vahn felt a strange attachment to the stone dais from his memories just beforeing to the record. Trusting his intuition, Vahn set out a tform for himself and realized it greatly increased his ability to focus on his meditation. He now sat absolutely still with the quiet and obedient Lefiya sitting a bit away from him without taking any actions that might disturb him. After forming an image in his mind, Vahn began altering the flow of energy in his body to match the pathways he had previously established in his mind. He knew there were differences between the energy flow of males and females and it was important to take it into consideration when he was trying to transform. Though he hadnt told Riveria and Lefiya, Vahn had felt like his pectoral muscles were beginning to inte as a strange incongruity appeared in his abdomen. This was the main reason he had brought his transformation to an early end, as Vahn was worried he would turn into a girl after following Riverias pathways. Fortunately, her b.r.e.a.s.ts were rather small so Vahn had been able to pass by unnoticed under the girls gaze. Morning training usually persisted for around an hour, but Vahn had long noticed everyone had gone silent after spending about twenty minutes transforming. His focus was entirely on his own body so he couldnt really tell what they were up to, but Vahn was certain they were watching him. His ability to focus could put many people, even gods, to shame and Vahn was able to tune out any and all sights, sounds, and sensations without losing his awareness of his surroundings. At any moment, if his instincts triggered, Vahn would be able to respond to danger without getting caught off guard. In fact, he was more likely to get caught off guard in a normal situation than when he was absolutely focused on a task. If not for his passive awareness of the auras around him, Vahn wouldnt even know their training hade to an early end. After nearly an entire hour had passed, Vahn opened his eyes and saw seventeen sets of eyes staring at him with interest. He could feel a cold sensation on his exposed skin as the air had been able to prate through therge gaps in his clothing. Since he usually worse a full-sleeved tunic, Vahn raised his hand and saw that his sleeves were now far behind the range of his normal reach. After managing to free his hand from the sleeve, Vahn noticed it was very tinypared to normal and began tough out loud after confirming his test was a sess. He had thought it would be much harder, but it seems as though being a Pallum drastically changed his height as if it was being regted by the record itself. His race now listed him as a Pallum and Vahn had shrunk from his 168cm down to a minuscule 125cm. While he was distracted by his new body, Vahn felt his instincts trigger but he was unable to evade in time as Tione picked up his body from behind and squealed in a girly voice, "Oh my goodness, how is this even possible!? Youre sooooo adorable~!" When Tione picked him up and began to squeeze him, Vahn felt a cold breeze pass through his lower body and noticed the eyes of everyone present widen marginally. Though he was used to the nce of others, Vahn still felt embarrassed at the fact that everyone present had turned their eyes to his now rtively normal sized p.e.n.i.s. It was stillrger than average, but it wasnt as monstrous as it had been in the past. Unaware of the faux pas she had caused, Tione kept squeezing Vahn affectionately while dangling him off the ground in a verypromising manner. Momentster, she felt a powerful strike hit the top of her head and she immediately copsed to the ground as Tiona shouted, "Dont handle Vahn like that, Tione! L-look at what youve done you stupid fool~!" Tione had dropped Vahn forward when she took the blow to the head and saw a pair of delicate white cheeks that gave her a strange urge to reach out and pinch them. Before she was able to follow her instincts, however, a pair of boxers appeared to cover the stark buttocks before several shes of skin showed and the chibi Vahn was now standing in new clothes patting his chest with a small blush on his face. Before the girls could start barraging him with questions, Vahn exined, "Ive already shown this to Riveria and Lefiya in the past, but I have a knack for transformation abilities and magic. By altering the flow of energy in my body, I can temporarily change into almost any race as long as I can hold a proper image within my mind. I wont im to be an expert, but I doubt there are many people as familiar with the physiology of the various races than I am. As you might have already realized, Ive changed my form to match that of a Pallum since I was curious about the limits of my ability." Though many had already anticipated the fact he had be a Pallum, it was still a very big surprise since it was difficult to believe how drastic the change had been. Lili especially had a very conflicted expression on her face that looked like a mix between excitement, beffudlement, and a healthy amount of curiosity. Vahn was currently only a few centimeters taller than she was and he had much lighter brown hair than his traditional dark brown. His healthy brown skin had be somewhat pale and his athletic and muscr body had be much thinner and streamlinedpared to before. She didnt know for certain, but Lili felt like Vahn had modeled his transformation to match her and it made her heart beat rampantly in her chest just thinking about it. Vahn didnt want to stand out in the cold being interrogated by the girls, so he had everyone go take a bath to prepare for breakfast. He hadnt really exerted himself during the training, so Vahn thought to avoid taking a second bath but was denied the opportunity. The girls were very interested in his new form so Vahn eventually gave up and apanied them into the bath. This resulted in apletely new experience for Vahn since he was usually the one washing the girls but now he had be the central focus. Everyone seemed a lot bigger now, since he was so smallpared to everyone else. Chloe and Arnya had been present during the morning training and, now that Vahn had be a little boy, Chloe was beside herself and in a state of high tensions. She was practically sticking to him for the entire bath and proactively protecting him from the other girls. The only ones she showed leniency towards, other than herself, were the children and Mn. Though he usually helped wash their bodies, Vahn ended up in a strange situation where Mn was affectionately washing his body with the help of the fiercely blushing Tina. Today had been her first period, so she was overly aware of Vahn and was acting very differentpared to her past self. By the time the bath hade to an end, she had nearly passed out from the hot water and her own anxiety overwhelming her. Tinas copse had brought the bath time to an end and Vahn was able to finally free himself from most of the girls. Though he didnt mind it, Chloe didnt leave him unattended for a single second and had even happily helped him get dressed. Vahn originally tried to equip his clothing, but she yfully poked his chest and said, "Come on, its okay, isnt it~? Nyahahaha." Vahn knew Chloe had a thing for young boys, so she was acting somewhat uncharacteristically at the moment and Vahn thought she was kind of cute so he gave in and decided to let her pamper him for once. During breakfast, the seating arrangement had been changed once again but it had taken an unexpected turnpared to the past. Vahn was sitting in Chloesp as she rested her chin against the top of his head and hugged his body tightly from behind. Some of the other girls tried toin, but her only response was tough in a mischevious and dismissive manner before saying, "Im recharging~nya!" This continued for some time until an unexpected situation urred and, against any precedents that had been established, Hestia awoke early and came down for breakfast. The moment she saw Vahn, Hestias eyes turned into saucers and she practically pried him free of Chloes clutches with a strangely fervent expression on her face. It wasnt the first time Vahn had been pressed into Hestiasrge and ridiculously soft b.r.e.a.s.ts, but it was the first time he had been picked up by her as she released a girlish cry and hugged him with a terrifying amount of strength. While he was enjoying the sensation enveloping his face, Vahnmented inside his mind about how dangerous it was to be a little boy surrounded by girls... --- Vahn finally managed to escape the mob of girls after pacifying each of them by allowing them to hug his body. Most of them were satisfied with normal hugs, but Vahn experienced more than a single pair of b.r.e.a.s.ts suffocating his face before the event hade to an end. The only exception among the girls present had been Riveria, who hadnt participated directly and just asked a few questions instead. The strangest part, however, had been when Vahn ended up having to hug the smaller girls in the group, He was used to being one of the taller people in the Manor, but now he could barely see the tops of Tinas, Shizunes, and Lilis, heads. Even when he tried to pet them, it actually felt somewhat strange since he was nearly at eye level with the mildly blushing girls. None of this had prepared Vahn for the strangest part of the experience when, the typically much smaller Fenrir, now stood nearly 20cm taller than him. In a manner simr to Chloe and Tione, Fenrir had a strangely possessive expression with glowing scarlet eyes as she tightly hugged his body and even patted his head for nearly ten full minutes. Even when the other girls tried to convince her to let go, Fenrir would just snarl at them and say, "Fenrir will protect the tiny Master~! Vahn is small now, so Fenrir will look after him!" Her words finished, Fenrir actually picked up Vahn and tried to run away from the rest of the group before she was eventually talked down by Vahn himself by the time she reached the staircase. After things had settled down, lots were drawn again to see who would apany Vahn to go y with Fafnir. Though she had stopped trying to run away with him, Fenrir was still protecting Vahn, especially from Chloe and Tione, so she was automatically included. As for the victorious Ais from the previous day, she was now crouching down at the side with Tiona as they both drew circles on the ground. Earning the envy of some of the other girls, Lefiya had managed to win again and was trying to console Ais by offering her spot to the dejected girl. Her offer was shot down, however, when Syr told her, "Lefiya, we have to treat this in a fair manner. If you didnt want to win, you shouldnt have entered at all. If people started trading their wins with each other, it would cause problemster on." The final two winners had ended up being Preasia and Maemi. Emiru was saddened that she had failed to a victory of her own, but she consoled herself after telling Maemi to put her efforts into their connection. She nned to retire to her room for the day and link with Maemi so she could experience everything her twin experience. Understanding her sisters desire, Maemi promised to maintain the connection properly and they spent several minutes synchronizing with each other before it was time to leave. As for Preasia, she gave a small fist pump when she pulled the winning lot but hadnt said anything. She had also been present when hugging Vahn earlier and had held him tightly against her somewhat rough wool sweater that she liked to wear. Wrapping up the members was Riveria since she was the highest Level of everyone present and was the most capable when it came to dealing with any trouble that might arise. She was very intelligent, highly rational, and possessed a wide assortment of all-purpose magic that she could use in an emergency. She had several years of experience babysitting Ais, Tiona, and Tione, so she was very suited to the role of chaperone for the field trip of the group. Since Vahn was currently in a somewhat childlike form, he had earned a fair amount of teasing. Before he left, Syr had even informed him that she told the rest of the girls on thework about his transformation and that Hephaestus, Eina, Loki, and Anubis would all be visiting in the evening. After hearing the news, Vahn didnt really remember much of what happened after that as he walked through the City holding hands with Lefiya. Vahn had been surprised when she asked to hold hand and, when he asked why she was suddenly being so forward, Lefiya responded with a cherry-red face, "I-I promised Ais that I would treat you the same way as she does since she couldnte along..." Vahn epted her excuse with a smile and allowed her to lead him along while Fenrir stuck to his free arm. It was a very strange experience for Vahn, now that he was smaller than the two petite girls, and it felt like he was being the one guided through the streets by an escort of older women as if he was a child that needed protection...there was one good thing about the situation, however, since none of the men on the street gave him looks of resentment in his current form... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Rxing bath...,A Wild Shota Appears!?,Vahnguard in Full Force) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 388 - Dark World

Chapter 388 - Dark World

After a short flight, the group ended up in the same area as the previous day and Vahn divided his time between practicing with Fafnir and ying with the girls. He had never really thought about it much in the past, but Vahn realized he never really did any normal ying at all in the past. During his previous life, the only fun thing he did was reading manga and watching anime if he behaved. When he got to this record, he spent the majority of his time learning how to survive until he became strong enough to protect himself. Ever since then, he had somehow ended up as one of the key decision makers, not just in his own life, but the lives of others. It wasnt until now, while he was ying catch and tag with the girls, that Vahn realized he had never really yed in a normal way... Even though it was very cold outside, the area around the training area was as warm as spring due to the influence of Vahns domain and everyone was enjoying a pic for lunch. After his earlier realization, Vahn had decided to spend arge part of the morning just having fun without worrying about the future at all. He hoped that, when he finally had children of his own, they wouldnt grow up in a simr manner as he had, not even knowing how to y properly. Vahn had long ago realized that the record of Danmachi was actually quite a dark ce rife with persecution, racism, and deeply rooted corruption. Orario, even though it had an incredible amount of problems, was actually the safest ce in the entire continent. Ever since the war between Humans and Goliaths in the past, the continent had been in constant turmoil and almost every country was at odds with the others. The elven kingdom to the west propagated the idea of racial superiority and their only allies, even taking into consideration gods, were the Dwarves. As for the Dwarves themselves, they proactively enved several races and even epted the soiled offspring of the Elves as life-long servants for their bars, inns, and taverns. For the Half-Elves sent to the Iron Hills, their only choices were death or servitude without the possibility for freedom. Other than in Orario, any Half-Elf found by one of the Elven elitists would be killed on sight. As for the Amazons to the east, their Queen had issued a decree towards all nations that, if they entered the territory of the Amazons, they would be in on sight. Other than the vige on the outskirts of the Eastern Jungle, Nazaria, entrance into the territory of the Amazons was treated as an act of war. They considered the very idea of intermixing with other races a threat to their culture and saw themselves as the superior species amongst all others. Other than a few exceptions, such as Kali herself, even gods werent allowed ess to their territory. For the Amazons, the men of other races were simply breeding stock and there were thousands of incidents in the past where they had actually kidnapped and raised boys to serve their needs. The sad fact was, these were actually not the extremes inparison to some of the others powers within the world. In the area of the Northern Tundra, where Emiru and Maemi were from, there was an unknown power that controlled the Frost Giants and Ice Wolves near Mount Olympus that would periodically send out a wave of terrifying monsters to thin the herds of the surrounding viges and settlements. The average Frost Giant, when it reached physical maturity, was around Level 3 while their elites could easily break Level 5. However, the absolute worst example of how dark and dangerous the world was could be seen in how the Ares Familia ran their Empire. The Empire was helmed by Ares, The God of War, Conquest, and Domination. He didnt rule his empire through typical politics and building infrastructure, but forced people into the position of serfs in order to further his desire for conquest. His Familia was thergest in the entire world with more than 100,000 conscripted members. The Empire used a caste system with clearly designated levels that could be obtained by citizens and, if you were a lower tiered citizen, you could actually be killed on sight for sleighing someone with a higher position in society. They advocated might and merit without any infrastructure to support such principles. Nearly 70% of the entire poption were third-ss citizens, which were nothing more than ves since The Empire itself promoted the superiority of social standing. Since second-ss citizens hated being treated badly by first-ss citizens, they took out their frustrations on the weak and downtrodden. This perpetuated an endless cycle of hatred and ensured that all those that actually had real power within the Empire were selfish, egotistical, and morally corrupt individuals. If they werent, they would have been weeded out by a society that looks atpassion, empathy, and schrly pursuits, as weakness. Lunoire had been the daughter of a second-ss household, so her life had been rtively easy-going while her parents were still alive. When they died, however, her own family quickly stepped in to seize the property of her parents and kicked her out of the house she had lived in her entire life. Though some of her parents former friends showed her somepassion, they very quickly threw her to the wayside when she became an inconvenience. It was things like this that made Vahn want to change the world so that, not just his own family and children, but everyone would have the opportunity to live a happy life. Though he hadnt brought it up to the girls on thework yet, Vahn was trying to think of a method for how he could bring about permanent change in the world. He knew he would need power, but simply using scare tactics and threatening people wouldnt be enough to change things. The power he needed wasnt individual might, though it would certainly help, but influence and authority. If he could create a legend for himself that spread through the continent, simr to how Finn lived his life, Vahn could inspire people toward the change he wanted to see in the world... Vahn had been eating a tuna sd sandwich with a serious and thoughtful expression on his face when Shizune reached over and poked his cheek while asking, "Why so glum~? Are you not satisfied with having a pic alongside so many cute girls?" Vahns expression softened a bit when he looked into the deep amethyst eyes of Shizune and saw the concern contained within. Now that he was paying closer attention, Vahn noticed that everyone had turned silent and had somewhat solemn expressions on their faces as they stared at him. Vahn felt a bit of warmth spread through his chest and he said in a soft tone, "Im actually very happy right now...I just want to make sure this happiness continues far into the future. Sorry, I was just thinking about a few serious matters, I didnt mean to ruin the pic." The paws wrapping around his back tightened into a firm embrace as Fenrir nuzzled into the back of his head and said, "Vahn worries about everyone. Dont worry, Fenrir will protect everyone for Vahn." Fenrir had been hugging him from behind during the pic because she seemed very fond of Vahns Pallum form and only separated from him when he was training with Fafnir. Though they were having a pic with several different dishes, she had been perfectly content just hugging Vahn without eating anything at all. Hearing Fenrirs words, Vahn chuckled before saying in a tone mixed with both amus.e.m.e.nt and seriousness, "Not just Fenrir, but everyone will work together to protect our shared happiness. We must be much stronger so nothing can every threaten...our family." As he spoke, Vahn looked around at Lefiya, Maemi, Shizune, and even Riveria. As a High Elf, Riveria was actually in a very unique position and was even going out of her way to have an Envoy visit Orario in order to officiate his title as Sage. She didnt have the bias and elitism of most High Elves, and was actually a very intelligent and sensible woman, but she still acted in ordance with her duty toward her people. Vahn knew there would probably be a conflict between himself and the Elven Kingdom in the future and Riveria may very well be a key yer in the events toe. Thinking about the Elven Kingdom, Vahn suddenly had a thought, almost like a small epiphany as he asked, "Ah, Riveria, do you think you can help me out during the exhibition?" Riveria, hearing Vahns question, squinted her eyes slightly and asked, "How, exactly, would you like me to help?" Seeing the intrigue and healthy skepticism in Riverias expression, Vahn smiled and said in a casual tone, "I want you to cast one of your strongest attack spells on Fafnir. Since I want to deter anyone from trying to conspire to attack it, showing off its capacity to resist magic would be very helpful." Rivera put her fingers to her chin in a thoughtful manner before saying in a very in tone, "Im afraid my magic might end up killing your dragon...are you certain its a good idea?" Though he wasnt trying to make fun of her, Vahn startedughing in a yful manner before saying in a somewhat teasing tone, "Other than your Wynn Fimbulvetr, your other magic will probably have no effect on Fafnir at all. I might not have mentioned it in the past, but Fafnir actually possesses a very high-grade magic immunity, not resistance, but actual immunity. Since it is also Level 5, the majority of your spells wouldnt be able to get within 20m of its body." Hearing Vahns words, Riverias eyes opened in shock before she looked at the colossal dragonzing about at the side, apparently asleep. She was already impressed by its capabilities, but now Vahn was telling her it was also immune to magic? Since she was one of the few people that knew about Vahns naming ability, Riveria knew he could potentially make several such creatures if he had the intention to. Magic immunity was an incredibly rare, and decidedly terrifying, ability that would make most people think twice about confronting such a creature. Vahns words had also sparked her intrigue, since Riveria was very curious about the veracity of his im, so she nodded her head and said, "Sure, but Id like to test a weaker version of the spell before using anything more powerful. I dont want the burden over identally killing one of your tamed monsters on my shoulders..." Aftering to an agreement, the group enjoyed the pic until everyone was satisfied before setting up the stage for the next performance. Vahn exined to Fafnir what they were going to do and its response was a yful, (*Ahahaha, I can tell that Riveria isnt as strong as Eva. Im not scared at all~!*) Though she was usually a very stoic and taciturn woman, Vahn had seen Riverias aura re up slightly as her brow twitched. There was a strangelypetitive glint in her jade green eyes as she held out her staff and began a very long chant, "The me will soon be released. Creeping war, unavoidable destruction. The horn of battle sounds aloud, the cruelty of conflict will envelop all. Come, crimson mes, the ruthless inferno. You are the avatar of hellfire. Sweeppletely, bring a close to the great war. Burn them through, Sword of Surtr - my name is Alf!" A massive, emerald green, magic circle had appeared under Riveria as she was chanting her magic. Everyone, excluding Fafnir, was standing within the safety of the magic circle since the entire area for precisely 300m was a danger zone. Fiery red cracks appeared along the ground as Fafnir took to the sky and spread its wings in a majestic, somewhat domineering, manner as it released a loud roar. Following the tremble in the void, massive tornadoes of fire erupted from the ground and began to converge on Fafnirs position from the periphery of the spells range. All of Vahns instincts were triggering rms inside his mind and he knew that, even though it looked like simple fire, the mes of Riverias [Rea Laevateinn] actually carried the elements of destruction as well. It tore apart the soil, trees, and boulders before breaking them down into fine particles of ash and dust while trying to overwhelm the giant ck dragon in the sky. Vahn knew that, if he had been the target of the attack, he would have certainly died without a single part of his body remaining in the aftermath. Fafnir, however, domineeringly hovered in the sky with an almost mocking glint in its stark blue eyes as the tornadoes broke against an invisible barrier surrounding its body. Magic relied on elemental energies andws to create the phenomenon that could be observed in the real world, but Vahn could see with his [Eyes of Truth] a sphere around Fafnir where foreign magical elements couldnt enter at all. The moment they came into contact with the sphere, they would dissipate in an instant and return to their neutral state in the atmosphere once again. Though everyone had shocked, and somewhat terrified expressions on their faces, Riveria was the most affected by the sight she was seeing before her. The spell she had cast was only half power but, just as Vahn had imed, it couldnt even get near Fafnirs body at all. She didnt have the same ocr prowess as Vahn, but Riveria could sense an abnormality in the air around Fafnirs body from the feedback she received through her magic. Since the elemental energies were currently under her control, she could sense whenever they impacted the target and knew they were dissipating the moment they came into contact with the space around Fafnir. She could postte that, unless she used a spell from within the effective range of Fafnirs ability, she wouldnt be able to deal any significant damage to it unless she used her most powerful spell and used all of her mana... After the devastation came to an end, Fafnir dropped down from the sky with a loud thud and shouted in a happy voice, (*Vahn, did you see, did you see~!? Ahahahahaha, Fafnir is the nemesis of all mages you know~?*) Just as Eva had remarked to Vahn in the past, it seems that Fafnir was aware of the title she had given it. Vahn walked forward after clearing a path for the girls and they allplimented Fafnir while Riveria hung her head in dejection from the rear. She had heard Fafnirs words and taken a mental impact since it had such a cute voice but said such biting words. With the experiment concluded sessfully, Riveria agreed to help Vahn showcase Fafnirs prowess so it could act as a deterrent in the future to dissuade any enemies that might plot against it. Though it wouldnt stop some people from trying, it would at least prevent the majority of the rabble from wasting everyones time. Fafnir was the defacto guardian of the youth troupe, which were the most vulnerable girls within the Familia, so it was very important that it was feared by their enemies. Even though Vahn wanted the majority of people to ept its presence, he didnt want to inspire any confidence in his enemies by making Fafnir appear to be weak. Since they had inadvertently destroyed arge swath of the forest, Vahn spread around arge variety of seeds while flying around on Fafnirs back. He had briefly thought about restoring the damage by nting a Tree of Life, but the moment the thought passed through his mind Vahn felt like an idiot for even thinking about wasting it on such a thing. The [Seed of the Tree of Life] was actually an incredibly important item that he could use as leverage in the future if there was any conflict with the Elves. Vahn had also thought about nting it within the orb once it became active again, but decided it would be a bad idea since the orb was temporary. Losing a self-propagating tree that could live for an indefinite period of time seemed foolish. It was even possible to nt the seed within space, or even something extreme like the center of an active volcano. The seed could grow in any conceivable environment as long as thews of the world werent contradicted. This included the bottom of the ocean, the frozen tundra, or even the body of arge organism if such a thing even existed. Once it bloomed, it would bring life to the area and could even, if enough time had passed, terraform an entire since it was capable of creating oxygen and nurturing nt life regardless of the presence of seeds to germinate. The Tree of Life was one of the most miraculous existences in the entire record of Danmachi, and Vahn needed to seriously consider how he would use it in the future. If he nted it arbitrarily, such as in the backyard of his Manor, it would be an incredibly eye-catching sight and would immediately lead to conflict with the Elves. As they were descendants of nt Spirits, Elves actually relied on the existence of their Tree of Life in order to make procreation easier. This was the reason most Elves never had rtionsh.i.p.s outside of their home forest because, even if they fell in love, it almost never resulted in offspring. When it did, it was always a Half-Elf and, ording to the oldws and customs of the Elven Kingdom, would require the death of the resultant child. If Vahn nted the seed within the City, it would likely lead to a dispute between Orario and the Elven Kingdom regarding the ownership of the tree. A Tree of Life only created a single seed throughout its entire lifetime so, if Vahn actually had a seed and nted a tree, they could argue the point that he had stolen it from them. Since only the Elven Royalty knew the location of the actual seed, they could maintain the pretense and try to force the issue to try and establish sovereignty within Orarios borders. The Elven King had long been looking for justification to invade Orario, and Vahn didnt have any intention of being the reason behind their foolishness. He would rather burn down the entire tree than have someone use it for their own selfish agenda. Of course, if he actually burned down a Tree of Life, he would likely draw the ire of the entire Elven species besides those that knew the truth. Making an enemy out of an entire race of gifted mages wasnt exactly a wise decision given the current circ.u.mstances Vahn found himself in. After cleaning up the area a bit, the group made their way back to the Hearth Manor before it started to get toote. Along the way, Vahn enjoyed the escort of the girls once again even though he began to feel a bit of anxiety that got increasingly more severe the closer they got to the Manor. Bothered by the strange incongruity, Vahn began thinking about the reason for his instincts triggering at such a moment. He didnt sense danger, and none of the people around seemed hostile to him... A few minutes away from the Manor, Vahn had a sudden realization and felt a cold sweat start to build upon his back even though it was below freezing outside. He wasnt sure how he had forgotten about it, but Vahn now recalled Syrs words when he was leaving the Manor about Hephaestus, Eina, Loki, and Anubis stopping by in the evening. Though he wasnt afraid of the women, he, in fact, loved them quite a bit, Vahn was still concerned about how they would react to his current form. As he wanted to limate to being a Pallum, Vahn had stayed in the form for the entire day since it would have taken nearly an hour to reverse the change. He had gotten caught up in enjoying the peculiarity of the situation and now he had to face the final bosses soon. Hephaestus would probably try to protect him in the same manner as Tione, Chloe, and Fenrir, whilst Loki would probably crack up and tease him incessantly. As for Eina, she had a strange desire to have a younger brother so, now that he actually looked somewhat like a child, she might have a strange reaction outside of Vahns expectations. In the case of Anubis...well, she probably wouldnt change much at all considering her nature. She would probably try to pamper him more, but he couldnt see her reacting out of character since she had a soft spot for children... Lefiya, who was once again holding his hand, looked over and asked in a concerned voice, "V-Vahn...is something wrong? Your h-hand...its sweating a lot..." Hearing her words, Vahn shook his head with a wry smile on his face and simply said, "I was thinking about how the girls were going to react when we got back home. All the events from this morning hit me like a ton of bricks and I was just getting a little nervous...Im not really used to being small like this, after all." Though it looked like Lefiya was going to say something, it was Fenrir who responded by hugging Vahn tightly and saying, "Fenrir likes the small Master the best though~! Vahn should stay like this forever and let Fenrir take care of him!" Lefiya saw Vahns expression after hearing Fenrirs outburst and understood his anxieties a bit. However, she didnt really pity him as the current situation was something he had machinated by his own actions. Even she felt a strange possessiveness and a desire to protect him that she had never experienced before. Looking around, she saw that Shizune and Maemi also had gleams in their eyes as if they were agreeing with Fenrirs im. Though Lefiya liked the big Vahn a fair amount, she also wished he would stay small...just a little. She had never had any siblings of her own, and the small Vahn was much easier to interact with than his normal form... Vahn was very aware of how the auras of the girls were converging toward him but the only thing he could do about it wasugh as they continued forward towards the inevitable. If nothing else, Vahn has resolved himself to not get taken advantage of in his current form. If push came to shove, he had already made the determination to get the upper hand and take control of the situation. Fortunately, Eina was supposed to be there and Vahn believed she would prevent things from getting out of hand...hopefully... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Cruel World,Fafnirs Mocking Gaze,Godhand Vs. The Final Bosses) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 389 - Instincts : Intuition

Chapter 389 - Instincts : Intuition

By the time Vahn arrived at the Hearth Manor, his tensions had increased a great deal and he felt like, instead of entering his own home, he was about to face a floor boss in the depths of the Dungeon. However, even though he felt some inhibitions, Vahn was somewhat looking forward to what might happen. He continued forward with a subtle smile on his face and tried his best to maintain a casual demeanor all the way up until they made their way into the foyer. Because they were able to detect when people arrived at the gate, the groups arrival had already been noticed by various people inside the Manor, including the fearsome four. Soon after their entrance, several girls came into the foyer from connecting corridors including Hephaestus, Eina, Loki, and Anubis. The very moment theyid eyes on him, Vahn could see a visible shift in their auras as they began to re up with vibrant and warm colors. Vahn released an awkwardugh as he held out his arms to make it easier for Hephaestus, who had walked over with a fast gait, to pick him up. For what felt like the tenth time today, Vahn was squeezed into a pair of b.r.e.a.s.ts as Hephaestus practically squealed, "Hnnnnnn, how can you be so cute!? I didnt believe it at first, but you really have be adorable, Vahn! Ahhh, I just want to keep you for myself~fufufufu..." Vahn was getting somewhat ustomed to being handled, but he wasnt going to let her go at her own pace as he sneakily fondled her butt a bit with his tiny hands. Hephaestus made an Eh? sound before tilting her head down toward Vahn and saying "Uuuuhh, even if you look like a little boy, youre still a man after all..." Unwilling to be left out, Vahn ended up having to be hugged by Loki, Anubis, and eventually Eina. Loki, as expected, had teased him a fair amount before whispering in a low voice, "Your curiosity knows no bounds...did you want to give it a go~?" Without Vahn having to say anything, Loki took a fist to the top of her head for her troubles. Anubis had strong motherly instincts, so she behaved in a rtively tame manner and just cuddled Vahn a bit before turning him over to his new protector, Eina. Though Vahn had expected her to have a reaction, Eina surprised him a bit with her somewhat flushed expression as she gently hugged his body and patted the top of his head. When she thought the others werent paying attention, she had whispered into his ear, "Can you...call me big sis? Just once is okay..." Vahn had already expected something like this to happen so he leaned forward, very close to Einas pointed ear, and whispered in a gentle voice of his own, "Big sis..." Eina released a strangeughter and hugged him tightly before taking Fenrirs ce as his temporary caretaker. Though he had to interact with everyone, Eina was almost always at his side for the rest of the afternoon as they discussed the ns for the Monster Feria the following day. During dinner, Vahn was sitting in herp while Hephaestus and Loki sat at his nks. Even if there were a schedule for the other girls to sit with him, it was superseded by the presence of the head wives and Loki. By the time the discussions hade to an end, Vahn had another interesting experience where he had to send off each of the girls after allowing them to hug his body. Vahn felt it was a little strange, since he was actually in the form of an a.d.u.l.t Pallum. The fact all of the girls were treating him like a child left Vahn a little confused so he had asked Eina, "Eina, why is everyone behaving so strangely after I became a Pallum? I dont think there is anything wrong with the image I used for my transformation..." Einas response was to hug him tightly andugh before exining, "Even if youre a Pallum, you look like a younger and frailer version of your usual self. Its almost like youve regressed and be a child, much like Shizune. Im sure everyone just wants to protect you because of their motherly instincts...after all, we all know about your past and many of us would have wanted to help you...myself included. The only thing Ive ever wanted for you is to allow you to live a normal life, Vahn..." As they had all been in his room, Einas response was heard by the other girls and Hephaestus nodded her head and continued, "Einas right, Vahn. Especially now that Im pregnant, Ive been thinking a lot about what I can do to take care of our child...seeing you like this is like seeing what our own child would grow up to look like...haaaaaauuu~." Loki also began tough as she rubbed her own exposed belly and said, "Im actually wondering what my kid will look like since Vahn is so easily able to change his form, kekeke, the future is looking more and more interesting every single day~!" As for Anubis, she was sitting silently in the bed and looked like she wanted to take Einas position and hold Vahn but kept silent about the matter. She just had a gentle expression on her face as her moonlight eyes glowed in a very subtle manner. If not for the fact that her tail was gently beating against the bedspread, it would have almost been impossible to tell she was affected by the situation. There was also the existence of herrge aura, but that was someone only Vahn could see. Though it might have been an opportunity to experience something new, it became a situation where Vahn was simply pampered by the four motherly girls until it was time for bed. Even though his body was still mature, it was somewhat difficult to see him as anything other than a childlike version of himself so the girls, with the exception of Loki, were more interested in showing gentle affections than doing anything more intense. When it finally came time for bed, Vahn ended up sandwiched by Hephaestus and Eina in abined embrace and he realized just how small his body was when there were two mature girls surrounding him. Vahn felt like he was going to be enveloped by the two girls and went to sleep fully immersed in their warmth. --- Since he had made no effort to maintain the image, by the time Vahn awoke the next morning he looked more like a Half-Pallum than a pureblood Human or Pallum. His body had increased to around 150cm while he was asleep so, before the other girls woke up, Vahn focused his mind to fully transition back to his normal appearance. One thing he had decided to change, however, was his original height. Though he liked to be the same size as the women around him, Vahn had developed a desire to be taller than they were now that he experienced being small. It wasnt much, just a few centimeters, but Vahns final height hade to 170cm. As one might expect, the girls began to wake up as Vahns body was literally growing in size in their embrace. In his Pallum form, he only weighed around 37kgs and was very small. Now, however, he had be much taller and weighed around 80kgs with a lean and athletic body. Hephaestus and Eina had watched theter part of his transformation quietly until Vahn opened his aquamarine eyes and hugged them tightly against his bare chest. He had removed his clothing since it had been tightly sticking to his body earlier and was nowpletely n.a.k.e.d while the two girls rested against his body. Vahn heard Eina release a silent sigh andughed a little before giving her an unexpected kiss. When he finally released the bashful half-elf, Vahn teased her a bit by saying, "Big sis...do you not like me unless Im smaller than you?" Hearing his words, Einas face flushed even more and she buried her head into his shoulder and mumbled, "Hauu, I miss the small Vahn...no youre going to bully me freely...ehehehe~!" Vahn had started to panic a little bit at Einas reaction, but she sneakily gave him another kiss when he tried to say something to console her. Hephaestus wasnt willing to remain second fiddle while the two flirted, so she proactively sought a kiss from Vahn as well which eventually required him to kiss the now awakened Loki and Anubis. If not for the fact that Eina was reserved for the future, Vahn expected things might have developed in an interesting direction afterward but they instead just flirted and made out a bit before finally leaving the bedroom around an hourter. From this experience, Vahn realized it was actually more difficult to manage multiple girls when they werent having s.e.x with each other. Showing simple affections was somewhat difficult since it was harder to regte things and make sure everyone was enjoying it. As they needed to head out and arrange the security for the Monster Feria, Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, and Eina ended up leaving soon after having an early breakfast. In exchange for allowing his exhibition, the Alliance had guaranteed they would provide security for the event and would be seated alongside Ganesha during the opening ceremony. Though they wouldnt be handling all the matters personally, there were still several hundred people that needed to be assigned throughout the area. As for why Eina was also leaving, she had asked a friend of hers to cover her shift the previous evening in order to visit Vahn. Since her recement had been on during the morning shift, it meant she would have been at the Guild for nearly 24 hours by now and Eina needed to hurry back before an incident urred. Since the Hestia Familia was also part of the Alliance now, they also had some duties to perform but it wasnt going to be as normal security. Their task had been designated as ensuring that Fafnir didnt cause any damage if it lost control. It was a pointless assignment, but that was only due to the fact that Vahns taming was fundamentally different than normal. Other monsters could actually betray their tamers, but Vahns would continue to follow his every order unless their Loyalty had reached 0. Vahn couldnt give this type of information to anyone, as it was a function of The Path, so it was a well-kept secret and anything that had been intuited by the girls around him was simply spection. After idling about and spending time together in the morning, everyone began to leave the Manor in onerge group with Vahn leading the way. They needed to walk all the way to the eastern side of the City where the Coliseum could be found so there was quite a distance to cover. Tiona, Ais, Tione, and Lefiya had all left with Loki, since they were part of the security detail, but Riveria had stayed behind because she would be taking part in the exhibition. Vahn led the group of sixteen girls through the City while drawing a lot of attention from passersby. Since they were moving as a Familia, Vahn was proudly carrying arge banner that he had made which disyed the Hestia Familia Emblem. Though they werent well-known for any achievements yet, the Hestia Familia was incredibly famous in the City because of Vahns exploits and their inclusion in the Alliance. When they had talked about it the previous night, Loki and Hephaestus had mentioned that Vahn should focus on exposure and publicizing the Familia more often if he wanted to avoid all the negative rumors circting. Though it wasmendable to help others, the only way he could truly influence public opinion was the advocate to the public and garner support from the masses. Staying low key would just make him look mysterious and cause even more rumors to circte so it was suggested that, if he truly wanted to increase the rapport the Hestia Familia had with the public, he needed to act more openly and slowly change the impression of people through his actions in public. The Monster Feria was an important first step, but disying the forces of his Familia was equally as important. Even when the Loki and Hephaestus Familias returned from expeditions, they would turn it into a minor event by marching all the way to the Guild in order to report the sessfulpletion of the mission. This publicized their forces and increased the reputation of their Familia and also made it easier to recruit people in the future, though that probably wouldnt apply to the Hestia Familia for the time being. After nearly two hours of travel, the group arrived at the Coliseum and were escorted to their designated area by a woman who introduced herself as Shakti Varma, Captain of the Ganesha Familia. She was a beautiful woman with short, azure blue, hair, a cool and confident expression, and a professional and stoic disposition. Shakti was around 175cm tall, which Vahn paid special notice of since he had just adjusted his height to 170cm earlier, and she had rtively modest b.r.e.a.s.ts that were around a B-Cup. When they had arrived carrying their banner, a messenger asked them to wait for a moment before returning alongside the cool beauty. After introductions were carried out, Shakti looked around and asked, "I heard from Ganesha-sama that you were going to be performing an exhibition with a dragon? All I see is a horde of girls behind you..." Though Vahn didnt understand the reason, he could sense that Shakti was somewhat hostile toward him ever since her earlier introduction. Though her aura didnt make her appear to be an enemy, it was very obvious she wasnt fond of him for reasons he was unaware. Deciding not to mind it too much, Vahn smiled as best he could manage and said in a polite tone, "I have a method to keep it concealed so as not to cause trouble for others. Dont worry, Im ready to perform the exhibition as soon as the arena is prepared." Shakti gave a curt nod after hearing his exnation and said, "Very well, you will be called when the timees. Please dont wander around as you will be held ountable for any monsters losing control as a result of your negligence. If your Familia members would like to look around, they have ess to the waiting area and the viewing stands alongside everyone else..." Without exining things further, Shakti gave everyone a nce before quickly leaving the area. Vahn didnt know what he had done to upset the woman since they had never met before this moment. Hestia, however, seemed to have seen through something as shemented, "That woman, she is viewing you as a man. Even though she is old, I can tell that she is still a v.i.r.g.i.n...that elephant fool had probably tried to set her up with you. He talked about it a lot during the Denatus, saying that he wanted to see if you were capable of taming the Captain of his Familia as well. Looks like she got mad seeing how many girls you had apanying you, tough luck for her I guess, shishishishi~." Though Vahn wasnt sure Hestias intuition was on the mark, her sentiments seemed to be shared by many of the girls present and Vahn couldnt help but remark internally about the dangers of a womans intuition. Shakti was a very beautiful woman, almost remarkably beautiful, but Vahn could tell she was also on the mature side of the spectrum. He couldnt tell her exact age, as she appeared very youthful, but Vahn could determine by theplexion of her skin and the flow of energy in her body she was likely in her thirties, perhaps even older. Since she seemed to be a normal human, it was very peculiar that she had remained single and pure well after what was considered the prime of a womans life in the Danmachi record. Vahn decided to put the matter to the back of his mind, especially considering the fact that Shakti was the Captain of a Familia. Even if he wanted to pursue her, she wouldnt move into the Manor and would have to tend to her responsibilities, same as Tsubaki. Vahn had be somewhat promiscuous after his exposure to so many women, and he couldnt deny he was interested in Shakti as well, but he wouldnt go out of his way to pursue her at all. Just as he had done for Senna, Vahn wasnt trying to build up the number of girls around him. Though he wasnt against a temporary rendezvous, Vahn wouldnt do anything without discussing it with some of the girls on thework first. Just like he was treating Freya, Vahn was very interested in the potential experience, but he wasnt going to ignore his current rtionsh.i.p.s just to sate his own curiosity. There were very nearly twenty women he could visit if he was feeling lonely, so it seemed somewhat shameless to even consider sleeping with other girls. It was currently slightly after 10 AM and the Monster Feria had officially started with the opening ceremony and speech of Ganesha. Hestia had left to join the other gods of the alliance and they were all seated around the somewhat outgoing and mboyant god. As Vahn watched him move about excitedly and yell loud enough that the entire Coliseum could hear him, he couldnt help but feel a desire to befriend the strange god wearing a red elephant mask. He seemed like a really interesting person to hang around with and Vahn considered trying to approach him in the future. If he had really sent Shakti to him earlier, Ganesha was also likely considering working with the Hestia Familia in the future and had probably been trying to establish a connection between the two Familia through his intervention in Shaktis love life. As if he had been able to read Vahns mind, Ganesha turned toward the waiting area where Vahn was currently standing with arge grin on his face as he loudly shouted, "Aaaaand without further ado, Ganesha says let the Monster Feria officially begin~! Today, the Ganesha Familia, in cooperation with the Alliance between the Hephaestus, Loki, Hestia, Anubis, Miach, and Takemikazuchi Familias proudly presents a special treat for your enjoyment! You may have heard some of the rumors, but let Ganesha be the first person to officially introduce you to the one, the only, the Legendary Sage Aldrnari, Vaaaaaaaahn Maaaaaaaasooonn~! Ganesha wees you, young hero, graaaaaahahahahahahahahaha~!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: This is mine now...,Shakti is not impressed,Ganesha is very excited, Gaaaaneshaaaaaaaahahahahahahahahahahahaha~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 390 - Crowd Control

Chapter 390 - Crowd Control

Though there were rumors that had been spread throughout the City, it hadnt been highly publicized that Vahn was going to participate in the Monster Feria. Because of this, though there had been a great deal of excitement in the crowd earlier, there was a strange discordant stir passing through the crowded Coliseum that held more than 50,000 spectators. Many people had heard of Vahn, several even knew what he looked like, but very few had ever actually seen him. When he walked out of the waiting area apanied by a small girl and the rtively famous Riveria, many people didnt know how to react and simply began discussing the matter in hushed voices. Vahn had felt more than a little nervous at first, especially since his perception was overwhelmed by the number of people packed into the Coliseum. However, now that he experienced the reaction of the crowd, a cool sensation passed through his mind and he simply shook his head. Though he might care about the people individually, after getting to know them, Vahn realized it was pointless to worry about their reception of him. The only reason he was here was for Fafnir, not the ignorant masses that ced more value in rumors than their own understanding of a situation. After patting Tinas head, the young Cat Person showed a nervous smile before walking out into the center of the arena with somewhat mechanical movements. Unlike Vahn, she was still very nervous about how many people were staring at her with curious, confused, and some derisive expressions. She hadnt been part of the original routine, but Vahn had told her that she had the cutest and most innocent appearance, so she mustered what little courage she could manage and pressed forward. Once she reached the exact center, Tina turned to the stands where the gods were seated and waved in an awkward, yet happy, manner to the gathered gods. Ganesha had been a little confused about Vahns n, especially after seeing a small girl walk into the arena, but he couldnt help but show a toothy grin when Tina waved toward him. Even though the crowd was very loud, Ganesha was somehow able to be heard clearly amongst the various noises as he shouted, "Gahahaha, greetings littledy~! This Ganesha wees you to his arena~!" Tina had flinched a little at the strangely loud voice before remarking in an awkward tone, "Umm, hello Mr. Ganesha...samnyaa. I want to show everyone that Fafnir is a cute and kind dragon..." Ganesha beganughing in an amused manner at Tinas words before spreading his arms wide as if he were addressing the crowd, "Well, Tina, you have all of our undivided attention~! Everyone, lets give a round of apuse for the bravery of this young girl!!!" Though they didnt all start pping immediately, it wasnt long before there was a loud apuse resonating through the arena in order to encourage Tina. Even though she hadnt done anything yet, she was an adorable little girl that had the courage to stand in the center of therge arena on her own. If nothing else, she deserved their encouragement and it wasnt long before the crowd mentality kicked in and everyone got caught up in the festive atmosphere once again. Tinas tail was twitching furiously due to her nervousness, but she still managed to squat down to the ground and ce her hand on the shadow beneath her feet. In a loud, cracking, voice, Tina shouted, "Fafn-nya, its time toe out~nyaaaaa!" Because of the overwhelming noise of the crowd, nobody could actually hear what she said but it didnt stop them from alling to aplete silence several secondster when a massive dragon began to slowly emerge from the shadows beneath the small girl. Other than a few powerful adventurers, everyone felt an almost instinctive fear at the evil looking creature that was appearing right before their very eyes. Since it had emerged right beneath her, Tina was lifted by Fafnirs head until she was nearly 10m off the ground as it stood proudly before the crowd and said, (*Yaaaay, Tina, lets y~!*). Though Vahn had expected some reaction, nothing could have prepared him for therge mass of people that nearly copsed after hearing the cute voice of Fafnir respond to Tina. Ganesha had also stumbled slightly but immediately recovered as he leaned forward over the railing of the balcony and shouted, "IIIIIIINNNCREDIBLE~! Ganesha is impressed that such a powerful dragon is tamed to the level where it even responds to people other than its master! And that voice, absolutely adorable! Ganesha is very satisfied and the exhibition hasnt even started yet! More, show us more, the crowd demands it, gaahahahahahaha~!" Ganeshas outburst brought the crowd back to life and it was like his voice transmitted excitement throughout the entire Coliseum. Though they had been afraid by the sudden appearance of the 17m long Fafnir, seeing Tina sitting safely on top of its head was enough to let them calm down. This was, after all, the Monster Feria; it wasnt strange to see powerful tamed monsters put on disy, as that was the very purpose of the event from the start. Now that they knew this was part of the show, the crowd began to get hyped up and started cheering loudly for the show to begin. Vahn was impressed by how easily Ganesha could control the momentum of the entire Coliseum but put that matter aside for the moment as he said in a casual tone, "Fafnir, bring Tina to me." Hearing Vahns words, Fafnir remarked, (*Aye aye Vahn~!*) as it, very smoothly and gently, moved its body before lowering its snout to Vahn so that Tina could safely jump into his arms. Vahn easily caught her and gave her a few head pats as he whispered, "Thank you, Tina, you were great." Vahn could feel her body shaking a little bit from how nervous she was, but she still showed a happy smile and said, "Im not a little girl anymore...Im not afraid of the crowd at all!" Vahn chuckled before setting her on the ground so that he could continue the performance and show off how tame Fafnir was. After rubbing Fafnirs snout, Vahn gestured with his hands and Fafnir opened its mouth wide in response. Then, amidst the gaps of horror from the crowd, Vahn ced his upper body inside the massive maw until he had nearly inserted his entire body. The inside of Fafnirs mouth was surprisingly dry, and it didnt seem to care that it had its own Master sitting down on its tongue. Fafnir then lifted its head, mouth still open, as it slowly moved around so that everyone could easily see inside of its mouth where Vahn was waving casually. Afterpleting a full revolution, Fafnir angled its head and Vahn jumped out and vaulted through the sky as Fafnir continued a second rotation and sent its tail into Vahns trajectory. It almost looked like Fafnir was attacking Vahn, but the skilled adventurers easily saw through the truth of the situation long before Fafnirs attack came to a sudden halt, allowing Vahn to nimblynd on its scaly surface with his arms red wide. Vahn performed a polite bow for the benefit of the crowd as Fafnirs tail dropped slightly beforeunching him high into the sky. Though he was nearly as flexible as in his Bih form, Vahn was still able to contort his body as if he were a circus performer. When Fafnirunched him into the sky, he spun around several times in a controlled manner beforending on Fafnirs wing tip. Without any dy, Fafnirunched him even higher into the sky and followed along as they began what could only be described as a hair-raising dangerous routine. Even if it was the most skilled Tamer in the entire Ganesha Familia, they wouldnt be able to emte what Vahn and Fafnir were doing. It wasnt simply the bond between a Tamer and their Monster, no, even to the untrained eye it was very apparent there was a deep level of trust between Fafnir and Vahn. After a few short minutes had passed, the crowd was cheering loudly at the disy and were egging the show to continue. Then, very suddenly, the entire Coliseum was brought to a stunned silence for a brief moment when Fafnir, who had been dancing around with Vahn in mid-air, suddenly elerated towards the sky at a speed faster than many could follow with their eyes. All the saw was the literal after-image of Fafnir before a powerful burst of wind spread out and it was suddenly gone. Some of the more powerful observers had pointed to the sky and now everyone was angling their heads towards a small ck dot several hundred meters above the arena. A tense atmosphere passed through the crowd as, several secondster, they could see Vahn falling from the sky without Fafnir anywhere to be seen. Some people shouted out in horror while others even tried to break through the magical barrier to assist the falling Vahn. Just as he was about to reach the top of the Coliseum, a ridiculously fast blur passed overhead for a brief moment and Vahn disappeared from sight entirely. Before anyone knew what had happened, Vahn had actually reappeared in the center of the arena as if nothing had happened at all. Fortunately, his presence was quickly noticed as there were more than 50,000 people present and they all began to shout loudly in both excitement and confusion. Without exining anything, Vahn had already expanded his domain within the confines of the arena and started popting it with a total of thirty mannequins. Even to the untrained eye, everyone could tell that the armor worn by the humanoid mannequins was a very high quality. Some of it was even made out of Adamantine, and thebined cost of the disy likely reached into the billions of Valis range. Though the majority had no idea what the purpose of the suits of armor was, there were some that waited with solemn expressions on their faces for what they expected toe. However, as if refuting any expectations they might have had, ck spikes emerged from the shadows beneath the mannequins and easily prated clear through the exquisite suits of armor. Before most people couldprehend what had just happened, the entire floor of the arena under Vahn turned dark, almost as if a massive shadow was obscuring the arena from above. Momentster, Fafnir appeared looking something like a deadly porcupine as it had used the shadows beneath the mannequins to attack with its spear-like scales. Though he originally nned to have Fafnir shoot the spears out from aboveground, Vahn thought it would be more intimidating to show that he could easily attack enemies from the shadows. At this point, most of the noise from the crowd had ceased and a tense silence had gripped many people as they saw Vahn standing atop Fafnirs head as it slowly raised the suits of armor using the lethal spikes protruding from its body. Though they had opened up to it a bit earlier, there was now a dreadful aura spreading over everyone present as the looked into stark blue eyes of Fafnir as it lifted thirty suits of armor worn by mannequins, each of which could have been people if the circ.u.mstances had been changed. Vahn could feel the atmosphere changing rapidly, but he wasnt going to pull back now since he wanted Fafnir to be a clear deterrent for anyone that would try to approach it in the future. From the earlier performance, there was no way anyone would be able to argue that Fafnir wasnt fully under Vahns control. Even if some people tried to stop him from being able to fly around the City, they wouldnt have any real justification to stop him. If Fafnir could easily pass through, and even attack from, the shadows, it didnt matter if it was above or below ground. Unless they knew exactly where it was at the time, Fafnir would always be a threat to anyone trying to harm the Hestia Familia. With a smooth motion, Vahn cut his hand towards the sky and Fafnir followed it almost perfectly as itunched all thirty sets of armor high into the air. Then, without any dy, beams of pure ck lightunched out of some of Fafnirs scales before drawingplex angles and piercing through every suit of armor within the sky. The beams were far faster than the speed of sound, so most people saw them appear before seeming to have pierced through the mannequins in an instant. Before many could process this incredible feat, the mannequins all exploded in a terrifying wave of energy that sent ripples through the barrier protecting the crowd. At this point, after some initial panic, there was near-absolute silence in the Coliseum as Vahn pat the top of Fafnirs head and said in a gentle tone, "Way to go, Fafnir, that was excellently done." In response to his words, Fafnir responded in a happy voice as it waggled is massive wings, (*Yaaay, Vahn praised me~! Should I destroy even more things now~?" Though its words were childish, many people felt a chill run down their backs, especially when the stark blue eyes passed over several somewhat hostile individuals that Vahn had pointed out silently during their performance. However, instead of attacking again, an unexpected situation urred as a massive, emerald green, magic circle appeared on the far side of the arena. Ganesha had been enjoying the performance greatly but, seeing Riveria priming an incredibly powerful magic, he bolted to his feet and shouted, "Reinforce the barrier~!" Since it hadnt been kept a secret that Riveria would be participating in the exhibition, there were already several people on standby to channel their mana into the giant magic formations protecting the crowd from stray attacks and wild monsters. Though it had previously been invisible, there was now a subtly yellow barrier that had appeared around the entire arena that stretched more than 50m into the sky. Vahn felt incredibly nervous at this point, but he trusted in Fafnirs barrier as he sat atop its head and looked at Riveria in the distance. Though they were a ways away, Vahn could clearly see her clear jade eyes staring back at him with a hint of concern present. He showed a small smile and whispered in a voice she wouldnt be able to hear, "Do it..." Just as his words fell, massive red cracks began to appear on the floor of the arena as Fafnir immediately took to the air. The cracks exploded in a phenomenal disy of terrifying magic power as devastating tornadoes of chaotic energy erupted all throughout the arena. The fire was so bright that it seemed to darken the very sky above as the magic barrier protecting the crowd emitted fearful screeching sounds as it resisted the horrifyingly destructive magic spell. However, while all of this was going on, there were a great number of people that had been paying attention to the colossal figure in the sky that easily bore the brunt of the magic spell without any difficulty at all. Fafnir hovered in the air in a tyrannical fashion with Vahn sitting atop its head with his arms crossed in an incredibly casual manner. Aware of all the eyes on him, Vahn actually had the audacity to yawn in front of the onlookers before stretching out his body andying down on Fafnirs head. It wasnt just the crowd that had been watching him, unfortunately, and Riveria had also seen his disy. She had agreed to help him out, but now Vahn was inadvertently showboating at her expense and she could feel her left brow twitching in annoyance. Though she wasnt sure how she would do it just yet, Riveria promised to punish Vahn when she found the chance. Just like when she had punished Ais in the past, a glint appeared in Riverias generally calm expression and she showed a small smile on her face... Vahn,pletely unaware of the ticking time bomb he had set into motion, continued his little charade until the destructive energy hadpletely dissipated. He sat back up and looked around at the now destroyed floor of the arena before releasing an impressed whistle and patting Fafnirs head so it wouldnd. Fafnir dropped from the sky with a loud thud before lowering its head to the floor and allowing Vahn to step off. He was stuck in his acting casual manner still, so Vahn began to stretch a bit before turning his gaze over the crowd to gauge their reaction. Everyone was mostly silent, for the time being, so Vahn nodded his head in satisfaction before sending a signal to Tina, who had gone back to the waiting area earlier, so that she could initialize the final phase. She nodded her tiny head before waving at the other waiting in the wing as they all began to walk out inckadaisical and casual manners as they headed toward Vahn and Fafnir. The sudden appearance of a variety of beautiful girls brought some life back to the crowd and noise began to build once again. As they had practiced, Fafnir saw the girls arrival and moved toward the before rolling over submissively on its back. It cried out in a yful tone, (*Yay, praise me, praise me~! I did everything just like I was told, ehehehehe~!*) As it had requested, the girls began to climb on Fafnirs body without any noticeable hesitation and began to affectionately pet its body and rain heavy praises on it. Since the atmosphere had been tense for a few minutes, everyone was gobsmacked by the sudden change and didnt know what to make of the situation. Of course, there was a very obvious exception to this as Ganesha literally jumped from the balcony he had been standing on and performed several frontflips beforending on the ground in a manner simr to how Vahn hadnded at the beginning of his presentation. Without any hesitation, Ganesha walked over whileughing boisterously and patted Vahn on the shoulder as he said, "Very well done, Vahn! Let this Ganeshamend your performance and thank you on behalf of everyone present for showing us an incredible disy of finesse, suspense, and excitement! I am somewhat regretful though, as I should have saved your performance for the very end! Now everything will be overshadowed by your shadow dragon, gaaaaaahahahahahahahaha!" As heughed, Ganesha continued to smack Vahn on the shoulder heavily. Though he knew Ganesha was ying to the crowd, Vahn felt like he could feel a little resentment in the strikes on his shoulder. The crowd started to cheer after the momentum began to shift again and there were thousands of people crying out regarding the amazing performance. Many of them weremending him in a simr manner to Ganesha, though there were also arge number of men trying to call out to the girls during the confusion. Vahn passed his eyes of several of them andmitted their appearances to memory, just in case, as he walked alongside Ganesha toward Fafnir and the girls. As if he werepletely unafraid, Ganesha climbed up onto Fafnirs body and began patting its stomach as he said, "Well done little guy, you performed excellently. Without your cooperation, your Master wouldnt have been able to put on such a great show! This Ganesha thanks you for your effort, gaaahahahahahaha!" Fafnir had stirred a bit after Ganesha suddenly climbed on its body, but it didnt kick him off immediately and just sunk itself into the shadows as if it were submerging in water. Ganeshaughed loudly in response and said, "Graaaahahahaha, Im jealous, so jealous! What a smart monster!" Without tarrying too much, Ganesha said a few words to the girls present before patting Vahn on the shoulder again and climbing up adder that some members of the Ganesha Familia had set out for him. Before he had separated from them, Ganesha had paused by Vahn and said in a deep baritone voice, "Ill do what I can to make sure nobody causes trouble for either of your tamed monsters...I really would like to know what method you used to evolve them like this though. Since they have the same energy signature as you, its surely rted to a skill you possess...we should talk more in the future." Though Ganeshas words sounded serious, Vahn could tell by his aura that he was simply curious and probably wanted to get along well in the future. After he had been patted by Ganesha earlier, Vahn had been able to see his affection and it was already at a whopping 92(Trust) even though they had just met. As for the intrigue, almost every god Vahn had ever met was instantly at 100 simply due to how unique he waspared to other mortals. With Ganeshas departure, Vahn left with the girls after Fafnir descended back into the shadows. Even if it might be able to fly around freely in the future, it couldnt exactly stand at the side and watch the Monster Feria with other people. It would take time for word to spread about everything that had taken ce and it might not even be until the next Denatus before Fafnir is officially allowed to fly around. Of course, Vahn was now going to allow it to y around the airspace of the Hearth Manor and Alliance from now on. Hephaestus, Loki, and even Freya, had purchased up every piece ofnd for several kilometers around the Hearth Manor and it was almost a restricted area in a lot of ways. They didnt prevent pedestrians from walking the streets, obviously, but there was a heavy amount of security present and several patrols constantly making the rounds nowadays. Fafnir being in territory managed by the Alliance was easily justifiable since it wasnt the business of others what went on in the territory of other gods and their Familias. They lived in a region that had been dedicated to private residences, so there werent any people outside of the Familias connected to the Alliance living in the area anymore. The only people that would be exposed to Fafnir would be those visiting the Alliances territory in the future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Small Beginnings...,Pandering to the crowd,Shock and Awe Gaaaaaaneshaaaaa~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 391 - Conversation

Chapter 391 - Conversation

With the exhibitioning to a close, Vahns duties for the Monster Feria had officiallye to a conclusion. However, as the person solely responsible for the Alliances involvement in the event, Vahn wasnt just going to y around while everyone else had to work. After sending back the main group to take care of the setup for the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn decided to check in with the goddesses to see if there was anything he could help out with. After tracing his way through various spiraling corridors, Vahn ended up at the giant doorway connecting to the balcony where the gods were seated. Though there were some guards from the Loki and Ganesha Familias present, the two people in charge immediately recognized Vahn. Finn had been put in charge of managing the security forces of the Alliance and was currently guarding Loki, whilst Shakti was in charge of the event itself and was presently watching over Ganesha. When they saw him approach, Finn showed his characteristic smile and walked forward to meet Vahn, saying, "Good afternoon, Vahn, I didnt get to see it myself, but I heard you put on quite the show for everyone. Tell me, is there something that has brought you here?" Vahn returned Finns smile and nodded before saying in a casual manner, "I came to see if I could help out with anything. I didnt want to be sitting around while everyone else worked hard." Shakti, who had been standing a short distance away, said, "You have done your duty already; youre now just a spectator in an area you shouldnt be in. Please return to the stands unless there is something important that needs to be brought to the attention of the gathered gods." Hearing Shaktis words, Vahn squinted his eyes a bit as Finn showed a wry and apologetic smile before saying, "Shakti, Vahn is a very important member of the Alliance. If nothing else, he can join us in guarding this point, after all, he is the Captain of the Hestia Familia." Shakti looked as though she was considering the matter for a moment before nodding her head and saying, "Very well, but you cant enter the viewing area unless there is an emergency. Only designated personnel are allowed there and it could cause problems if you distract from the main event by suddenly appearing the viewing stands allocated to gods. Did you even bring a weapon?" As Shakti hadnt been watching Vahns exhibition, she hadnt seen him materialize the armored mannequins that assumed he was just ying around now. He was simply dressed, with a grey tunic and ck trousers without a single piece of actual equipment on disy, hardly appropriate for someone trying to help out with security. In fact, because of his rtive fame, Vahn was more likely to cause a disturbance by his presence than resolve any. Vahn didnt appreciate the abrasive nature of Shaktis words but, remembering the intuition of the girls in the waiting area, he decided not to make a big deal out of it and simply pulled out his [L?vateinn] and expanded his aura while equipping his full gear in an instant. Shakti became guarded after the sudden change and took a step back before realizing that Vahn wasnt actually doing anything but standing there in a casual manner. Of course, there was something else she noticed as well, the fact that Vahn had a subtle and teasing smile on his face. Finn was also very perceptive and just began tough in an effort to diffuse the tensions as he said, "I am very envious of your space magic, and youre so capable at using it, Vahn, very impressive. Exactly how much are you capable of storing nowadays?" Deciding not to tease Shakti unnecessarily, Vahn turned to Finn and said, "Im at around 170,000 cubic meters of space, though Im trying to increase it in preparation for the future expeditions." Not only Finn, but Shakti was very surprised by Vahns im of having such a massive space for storage. As the Captains of their respective Familia, they knew that was a monstrous amount of space and would make Vahn the ultimate asset for deep floor exploration. One of the biggest problems when proceeding into the lower floors was protecting the support convoy and ensuring there were adequate supplies for continued exploration. The majority of expeditions came to an early end because something happened that either endangers the Supporters lives orpromised the food reserves that had been prepared. During an emergency situation, it was impossible to protect the heavy carts full of food, grain, and rations, so they were usually abandoned during the retreat. Shakti suddenly recalled her god heavily emphasizing building a strong rtionship with the members of the Alliance, with a special focus on Vahn himself. She knew Ganesha was always trying to set her up on blind dates, so she had thought he was just up to his old schemes. Now, however, she was starting to see Vahn capabilities and, based on simple observations, Shakti knew it was likely just the tip of the iceberg. Releasing a muted sigh, Shakti gave Vahn a once-over and took note of the protectors, greaves, and the somewhat intimidating greatsword. Evenpared to her own spear, which had cost her nearly 300MV, Vahns sword seemed to be of a much higher quality. Though he had been talking with Finn, Vahn noticed Shaktis appraising look and focus on his weapon so he smiled before storing it away in his inventory. Shaktis eyes squinted slightly as she looked up into Vahns face as he exined, "That was my sword, [L?vateinn], one of the most powerful weapons I forged on my road to bing a [Master Smith]. Though its not as capable as the [Promise] I gave to Hephaestus, its still a decent piece of equipment." Hearing Vahns words, Shakti furrowed her brows slightly while Finn palmed his fist in sudden realization and said in a cheerful voice, "Ah, yes, Vahn, I suppose congrattions are in order? I had heard from Loki-sama that you had officially be a [Master Smith] and had beaten the original record-holder by more than sixteen years? Thest spear you gave me was quite exceptional, but I wonder if it would be possible to book a contract with you in the future? Ahahaha~" Though he wasnt sure why, Vahn could see that Finn was trying to support him in his interactions with Shakti. There was a subtle teasing look in the Pallums eyes as he looked back and forth between Vahn and Shakti with an amused expression on his face. Shakti wasnt senseless and could tell what Finn was trying to do but she just crossed her arms and averted her eyes slightly without changing her expression much at all. Vahn was a little surprised by her reaction and had a strange urge to know if her Affection was influenced at all by their interactions. Deciding it wasnt really worth worrying about, Vahn just made conversation with Finn while Shakti stood at the side in a statuesque manner. He and Finn talked about what to expect on the lower floors and Vahn was very surprised to learn about a variety of things he hadnt taken into consideration. It wasnt just for show that Finn was a Veteran Adventurer with more than twenty-five years of experience under his belt. He hadnt gotten to his position as Captain of the Rank 1 Familia on ident and was a veritablependium of information so Vahn asked as many questions as he could since he nned to visit the lower floors in the very near future. Now that he had finished the basic training for Haruhime, Maemi, and Emiru, Vahn wanted to focus on increasing his own strength for a bit. Pushing the girls too hard would be more harmful than conducive so Vahn wanted to give them time to adapt to the changes in their fighting styles. Just as he had experienced in the past by training with Tsubaki, Vahn understood that it was necessary to consolidate your strength and learn how best to adapt your fighting style to the situation. He also wanted them to seriously learn from the veterans in the group and take magic lessons from Riveria, though had hadnt gotten her consent yet. While they were improving their foundation, Vahn wanted to start probing into the Lower Floors and starting taking some missions from the Guild in order to increase the rank of the Familia. Since he could likely get Tiona, Ais, Tione, and various others, to apany him into the Lower Floors, Vahn knew it would be a lot safer to do so now. After all, even Lili and Naaza had ventured down to the 25th floor during their mock expedition and Vahn knew his capabilities exceeded theirs by a fair amount. As long as he had mana, and wasnt caught in an enclosed space, Vahn would be able to use Shundo to avoid most dangerous situations. However, Vahn wouldnt let himself get overconfident, after all, he had literally copsed four times in the Dungeon within thest half a year. If he had been unlucky, any of those instances could have spelled disaster and cost him his life. Vahn was at the point where he couldnt afford the mental burden of his own death because he knew it would impact the lives of so many people if he were to fall. He wouldnt stop pushing himself to reach the bottom of the Dungeon, as it was one of the things he had decided to pursue, but he would take the necessary precautions to ensure that, not just himself, but everyone came back alive. After a few hours passed, the nearby double doors opened wide and brought their conversation to a conclusion as the three walked forward to receive their respective gods. Loki, seeing Vahn, began tough loudly as she nudged Take and said, "See, I told you he would definitely be here waiting for us! Looks like you owe me ten bottles of wine from the Far East, kekekekeke~!" Takeughed in acent tone before remarking, "Yes, I shouldnt have doubted Vahn. I will ept my defeat with grace and dignity..." Ganesha also began tough in a boisterous tone that made Shaktis brows twitch when he asked, "Have you been getting along well with my Shakti, Vahn? She might appear a bit feisty on the surface, but I think the two of you could be good friends! Graaaahahahahahahahaha!" Vahnughed in the most casual manner he could manage before replying, "Ah, I wouldnt mind being friends in the future. Even if they never joined the Alliance, I think the Ganesha Familia would be reliable allies to have. As Captain of the Hestia Familia, I look forward to any cooperation we might have from here on." Hestia, who was standing with Hephaestus, chimed in after hearing Vahns words, "Thats okay, but just remember that Vahn isnt so easily taken advantage of if you get any strange ideas! Dont expect us goddesses to stand at the side and just watch things progress~! Isnt that right, Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis!?" Loki beganughing at Hestias words but Hephaestus just nodded with a happy smile on her face as she looked straight at Vahn and said, "Thats right, we will protect Vahn, no matter what happens in the future...that is the promise I keep in my heart." As she spoke, Hephaestus ced her hand over her heart and Vahn could feel a pulse in his own chest where the eternal me was dancing around. From the side, Loki suddenly said in a tone filled with awe, "Wow...this must be the power of the head wife...? Maybe I should ask Hephaestus-sama for Vahns hand in marriage next~?" Lokis words instantly destroyed the spontaneously warm atmosphere and caused Hephaestus to blush slightly before she walked forward and grabbed Vahns arm and said, "Lets get something to eat, I know a nice ce that isnt too far away from here..." The rest of the group said some quick goodbyes and started to follow along as well now that Hephaestus had taken control of the situation. After leaving the Coliseum, the group continued onwards together and made lively conversation with each other until they arrived near Babel za nearly an hourter. Vahn hadnt expected them to travel such a distance, but it was on the way to the Hearth Manor and Hephaestuss workshop, so it wouldnt cause any problems at all. When they entered the za proper, Hephaestus turned to Hestia and Anubis before saying, "You two should join us as well, I think it would be nice for us to spend time together." Anubis nodded her head politely but Hestia said, "Of course~! There is no way Im going to be left out of a dinner date with Vahn when were already together like this!" Hephaestus nodded her head and began leading the way as Loki shouted out, "Eeeiiii!? What about me!?" Hearing her words, Hephaestus looked over her shoulder with a teasing smile and said, "This is the power of the Head Wife~. Besides, are you just going to leave your escort standing outside waiting for you?" Behind Loki, there was Finn, Bete, and various other members of the Loki Familia present. Loki had increased her personal security after getting pregnant and was taking extra precautions to make sure nothing adverse happened to her child. No matter how much time passed, even if she lived for a hundred million more years, Loki would never stop resenting whoever harmed her baby while she was pregnant. Loki gnashed her teeth in mock frustration before taking a few steps and leaping to cling to Vahns neck as sheined, "Vaaaaahn, Hephaestus-sama is bullying me~! Dont tell me...Im being thrown away right after you knocked me up!?" Though he had been nning to y along with Hephaestus, Vahn felt more than a little pressure from Lokis words and couldnt help but swallow nervously as he stared at Hephaestus with a pleading expression and an awkward smile. Hephaestus, against his expectations, simply smiled and said, "If I have power as the Head Wife, dont you also have power as my Husband? I wont change my mind, but I also wont argue with you if you decide to let here with us...fufufu~." Before Vahn could make a decision himself, Loki swatted her hand toward the waiting Loki Familia and said, "Shoo, shoo, if youre here I might not be able to go along on the date! Come pick me up at the Hearth Manor in the morning! Get, get, get~!" Finnughed in a mechanical manner before signaling Lokis escort to return to the Twilight Manor. As he passed the group that consisted of Vahn, Hephaestus, Hestia, Anubis, and his own troublesome goddess, Finn said in a somewhat serious manner, "Take care of Loki-sama, Vahn. Ill leave her safety to you...farewell." Vahn nodded his head and watched the group make their way across the za before realizing that, even if he wanted to refuse Lokis attendance, he had lost the timing. With this realization, Vahn also noticed something else and asked in a curious manner, "Youre going to stay at the Hearth Manor tonight?" Loki squeezed herself against his back and licked the back of Vahns ear before saying, "Its not thatmon for all of us goddesses to already be gathered together and Eina had prevented anything from happeningst night. I heard about your little ys in the past, surely you can tend to us in the same manner~?" Lokis words seemed to influence the entire group and Vahn could feel passionate reds slowly spreading through the gigantic pinks auras that had already been surrounding him. Looking around, Vahn couldnt see any signs of apprehension on any of the girls faces so he squeezed Hephaestuss and Hestias hands before nodding and saying, "Ill be fine...leave it to me, Ill make sure everyone is satisfied properly..." Vahns words caused the girls to blush a deeper shade of pink as Loki yfullymented, "Most people would go crazy just to sleep with a single goddess, but here is a boy that casually promises to take care of four...how manly~." Loki had been sticking to his back for a while and, now that she had once again inted things with her words, both Hephaestus and Hestia reached around and pinched the mischevious goddess on her pert little butt... Following Lokis loud yelp, the group made their way to Babel Tower and ate at a rtively fancy restaurant where a single meal cost more than 50,000V. After enjoying the rich and vorful food, they made their way to the Hearth Manor and threw a wrench into the ns of some of the others girls by all being together. Though the status quo might change in the future, everyone on thework knew better than to interfere with Vahns time with Hephaestus and Loki, the two goddesses that currently carried his child. Syr even gathered everyone for a small get-together while Vahn, Hephaestus, Hestia, Loki, and Anubis were all taking a bath together and preparing for the rtively long night. Afterward, Vahn got to experience something that could only be described as Heavenly as he spent the night with the four beautiful goddesses. Other than Hestia, the other three were far more durable than normal girls and were also very receptive to almost anything Vahn wanted to do. They actually ended up coaching Hestia a bit so she wouldnt always be so easily defeated after a single round. Needless to say, it was a very educational experience for Vahn as well since he had be the object they were using for practice. He also got to experience the somewhat dangerous sight of Hestia being teased by both Loki and Hephaestus. They were both 165cm tall,pared to the 140cm Hestia, so Vahn had a strange delusion that they were bullying the petite goddess as she mewled sensual cries that itched his heart while he pinned down the heavily breathing Anubis from the side... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Finn, Pallum Wingman,Desire to probe Dungeon-chans depths,Vahns ascension to Heaven) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 392 - Concerns, Tempo, Teasing

Chapter 392 - Concerns, Tempo, Teasing

Vahn felt surprisingly refreshed the next morning, almost as if all the tensions in his body had beenpletely removed by the previous nights event. He was currently enjoying the warmth of Hephaestus on his left, Anubis on his right, and both Hestia and Lokiying on top of his body. Being sandwiched by the girls, Vahn enjoyed the smooth and soft sensations pressing against him as well as the warmthing from their bodies. Even Loki, though she didnt really have much in the b.r.e.a.s.t department, was very light and her small buds were still soft to the touch. During the evening, and stretching into the morning, Vahn had gone through several rounds with the four goddesses and had experienced a host of new things before the end. Hestia hadntsted for too long, but she didnt pass out as she had in the past because Loki would constantly tease her until she eventually woke back up. Hephaestus was very proactive and also gave into some of Lokis schemes along the way and things got a bit out of hand in the end. As for Anubis, she was behaving in a docile manner for the majority of the time until Loki eventually egged her on till the point where Vahn was taking her from behind while the mischevious goddess sat on her butt while making out with him... As Vahn reminisced about the events of a few hours prior, he had an urge to tease Loki but couldnt move either of his arms. Hephaestus and Anubis had imed them for their own use and Vahn wasnt in a position to move about freely without waking them. None of the girls had anything going on today, and it was also a weekend, so they could afford to sleep in a bit. Though the Monster Feria was still ongoing, all of the taming events had taken ce on the first day and had been carried out without incident. For the remaining time, the tamers in the Ganesha Familia were going to be showing off the various characteristics of the monsters that could be found within the Dungeon. They would be putting on exhibitions, much like Vahn had for the opening act, but there was no real danger of monsters going out of control anymore. The Alliance would still be providing security, but it wouldnt be to the extent as the previous days and didnt require the presence of any of the gods of the Alliance. However, they would still be leaving soon after breakfast since they wanted to give the other girls an opportunity to be with Vahn without having to worry about their presence. There were a few things Vahn wanted to do as well so, while he let the girls continue to sleep, he began looking through the logbooks within his inventory using the interface of his system within his mind. He had been spending a lot of time with the girls, but there were a few that he hadnt been with for a while. Though he couldnt simply divest his time fairly, Vahn still wanted to spend some time with the girls individually whenever he knew he would be away for a while. Since he was preparing to go into the Dungeon for a few days, Vahn would be away from the surface group for a while. Even if their feelings wouldnt fade after just a few days, Vahn was still a little self-conscious about the situation and would oftentimes check the affection of the girls through his system. Seeing many of them stuck at 100, he had been tempted to use the [Hearts Desire]s that had been sitting around for some time. If he used one of them, Vahn would feel obligated to use the rest so he had been putting it off ever since deciding not to rely on peeking into the memories of the girls to get close to them. Vahn was afraid of treating the girls affection parameters like stats that he could manage at his own convenience. As for the girls he wanted to spend time with, Vahn was going to see if Chloe, Arnya, and potentially, Tsubaki, wanted to do anything. Though there were other girls he should spend time with, many of them would be venturing into the Dungeon with him in the future. Vahn expected that, regardless of his initial intentions, something would probably happen when they were deep inside the Dungeon and away from prying eyes. Not just some of the girls, but even Vahn got excited bybat at times and his tensions would rise to match. Unless someone like Riveria was there to keep them in check, Vahn had expectations that Tiona and Ais would eventually get to him. Chloe and Arnya were going to be busy doing the setup for the grand opening of the new Hostess of Fertility tomorrow, but that didnt mean they would be busy in the evening. If Vahn reached out to them, it was almost guaranteed that, at the very least Chloe, would be willing to spend some time with him. As for Arnya, she was getting along well with the other girls, but she hadnt really been approaching him much even when she was in the Manor. Though she teased him a bit when he became a Pallum, she has been spending more time with the others than Vahn himself. Her affection was still at 99(Love), but Vahn felt like she was creating a bit of distance with him even though they were now closer together than ever. Vahn nned to find out what she was worried aboutter, but right now he shifted his focus to the final target that was currently at the forefront of his mind. Even before he used Nirvana on her, Vahn had been thinking about how he could approach Tsubaki and spend more time with her. Now that she had officially decided to give him a chance, Vahn had been a little antsy whenever he thought about the beautiful half-dwarf that used to tease him in the past. She still handled him a bit, but Vahn knew he could get an edge over her if push came to shove. As the Captain of the Hephaestus Familia, she might be busy with the Monster Feria, but Vahn hadnt seen her the previous day and her current status was listed as Free without any additionalments. Vahn felt like theck ofment was almost like a g that she was waiting for him to make the decision himself... The only thing that stopped him at this point, other than Tsubaki being somewhat tyrannical, was the fact that, when they finally did the deed, Vahn was nning to help her get pregnant. This wasnt really a problem, if not for the fact that Tsubaki was still the Captain of the Hephaestus Familia. If she was pregnant at the same time as Hephaestus herself, it would leave the Familia without any real leadership in the event of an emergency. Tsubaki didnt actually have a Vice-Captain and, though there were a few executives, the strongest among them was at the middles stages of Level 4 and nearly 50 years old. There was also the fact that, even if Vahn got Tsubaki pregnant, she would probably still be staying at her own Manor on the opposite side of the City. Though he would be able to visit her often, it still unnerved him a bit knowing she would be alone there with his baby in her belly. Even though she was very strong, it would make her the most susceptible target to anyone trying to harm them in the future. Hephaestus would probably have her stay in the Hearth Manor during the pregnancy, and potentially thereafter, but it would cause a variety of problems in the management of the Familia itself. Vahn didnt want to be the reason for the Hephaestus Familias copse and Hephaestus had already done so much for him... From his left, Vahn sensed a fluctuation in Hephaestuss aura and saw that she had opened her crimson/red eyes and was staring at him. Seeing him look over, she asked in a very low voice, "What are you so worried about, Vahn? Please tell me..." Though it often slipped his mind, Vahn remembered the bond he had with Hephaestus and that she was easily able to understand his state of mind even at a distance. When they were together like this, the feelings were more powerful and even Vahn could somewhat sense what was going through her mind. Hephaestuss 46,995 Love wasnt just for show and the bond they shared was something invible at this point. Vahn smiled at her concern before leaning over and giving her a kiss on the forehead. He would have tried for her lips, but thebined efforts of Loki, Hestia, and Anubis, prevented him from moving such a distance unless he wanted to disturb them. His concerns seemed to have been wasted, however, as Anubis had awoken the very moment Hephaestus opened her mouth. Her hearing was incredibly sensitive and she had always awoken shortly after Vahn even when they were separated by a wall in the past. Sensing the fluctuations behind him, Vahn stifled a small chuckle and decided they had slept in long enough already. Hestia would probably go back to sleep, but the rest of the girls were early risers since they were often busy. Vahn lifted his body and everyone began to shift around to get morefortable. Loki had woken up very quickly and had a smile on her face as she tried to sneak in a kiss, but Hestia was stillpletely passed out andzily hanging on his body even when he sat up. Remembering his earlier intent, Vahn reached his hand around and squeezed Lokis somewhat fleshy butt and gave her a kiss after her failed attempt to secure one herself. Other than the stockings Loki was wearing, everyone was presently n.a.k.e.d and snuggled up against the headboard of the bed while Hestia continued to sleep while mumbling periodically. Vahn didnt want to keep anything from the girls, especially since the goddesses were the people he trusted the most, other than Eina. He exined his concerns about Tsubaki, the incongruity with Arnya, and his intentions to venture into the Dungeon for about a week before returning and preparing for the wedding. Vahn also talked about his take on the situation regarding the Hephaestus Familia as well as some of his concerns in the far future in rtion to the Empire and the various other countries. By the time he had finished exining, even Loki had a somewhat serious expression on her face as she asked, "Vahn...do you want to rule the world?" Vahn blinked at the unexpected question but began to seriously consider it for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "If that would help the situation, I would do my best...but I just want to be happy and protect everything were building together. The faster things develop here in Orario, the more attention we will draw from the other countries and I cant help but be concerned about the future of our children...I dont want them to grow up in a world filled with so much hatred and sadness." From his right, Vahn heard Anubis say in a low and sad tone, "Master..." as she nuzzled lovingly against his shoulder and held tightly to his arm. As someone that had dedicated her life to taking care of orphans, Anubis was very aware of how cruel the world could be. Even though she was a goddess, life hadnt been easy for her in the territory of the Southern Tribe. The hierarchal structure of society there had delegated her to the role where she often had to support other gods, especially the egotistical and arrogant Osiris. Loki had a thoughtful expression on her face and appeared to be in deep thought as Hephaestus exined in a soft tone, "Tsubaki has done a lot, not just for the Familia, but for myself personally. She deserves a chance at her own happiness as well, so Ill do something about the situation in my Familia. Though she took care of a lot of important things, it isnt as though she was the lynchpin holding everything together. There are more than forty executives in the various districts, all capable cksmiths and Adventurers in their own right. My Familia has 1,319 members and more than 6,000 support personnel, Tsubaki wouldnt have been able to manage everything on her own, even if she wanted to." As the only Familia in Orario that didnt rely on ie from the Dungeon to sustain itself, the Hephaestus Familia was deeply rooted in the City itself and wouldnt copse from theck of a Captain. Tsubakis actual job usually entailed processing promotions for the various members while also leading expeditions on asion. The reason she lived in the center of the district was to take charge of the situation in the event of an emergency but, now that the Hephaestus Familia was part of the Alliance, there would always be someone to take a step forward if something actually happened. Tsubaki spent more than 90% of her time, other than sleeping, just forging various equipment and venturing solo into the Dungeon to test her weapons. Her absence might cause a small stir, but it wouldnt lead to the chaos and copse that Vahn had been worried about. With Hephaestus assurance, Vahn felt a burden lift off his shoulders that he hadnt even realized was there before. He could tell from Hephaestus stable aura, and the connection they shared, that she wasnt simply trying to mislead him to assuage his concerns. There was a confident and encouraging glint in her eyes and she seemed absolutely certain things would go well. Her looks made Vahns heart dance a bit and he was very tempted to push her down again, a fact she was also very aware of as her face began to flush slightly. Loki, however, put a stop to that when she said, "We might need to increase the Alliance a great deal in the future so that we can exercise more power within the City. We already control this district, but if we can expand the territory enough we could dere one of the eight Regions of Orario as the sovereign territory of the Alliance. If we consolidate enough Familias within our territory, we would be able to sway decisions during times of crisis. If youre worried about the Empire, and other forces, trying to put pressure on us in the future, the best counter would be to simply have too many people for them to deal with in a practical manner. If you be the representative for the entire Alliance, which would be possible with enough support, even Ouranos wouldnt be able to pressure you when there are diplomatic issues between Orario and other countries..." Lokis words trailed off at the end as she looked between Vahn and Hephaestus with a confused glint in her eyes before asking in a sheepish tone, "Did I interrupt something more important than the future happiness of our children~?" Hephaestus released a long sigh after hearing Lokis words because she could easily tell that the tricker goddess was trying to divert the attention away from her hup and back to the topic. Vahn also realized it and knew Lokis response had actually been after seriously considering the matter he brought up earlier. Though she had spoiled the atmosphere, she had only done so because she was thinking about the matters that were concerning him. The thing about mood, however, was that it could quickly be built back up if you take the proper actions. Loki was still pretending to be sheepish and confused, so Vahn took advantage of her pretense and poked her forehead with an increasing amount of force until she fell back on the bed. When she looked up, Lokis expression immediately changed as she realized the situation and she began tough in a coy manner before saying, "I guess present happiness is important as well~?" Though he had intended to simply talk for a while before they all went down for breakfast, there were still around two hours before anyone would begin to question their tardiness. Vahn had been set off by Hephaestuss words earlier, and now he was in the mood to punish Loki for ruining the mood. As if the fatigue of the previous night had been an illusion, Vahn spent some time tormenting theughing goddess by actually tickling her body until she had nearly passed out fromck of air. He then lifted her powerless and exhausted body before easily slipping inside of her and treating her gently for a while with the support of Hephaestus and Anubis, who also had their switches flipped. They spent the remaining time together as if the night had nevere to an end, all while Hestia slept at the side mumbling, "Stupid Vahn..." as she curled up into a small ball holding onto a pillow. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is truly a Sage,Tsubaki teacup just broke...,Lokis Suffering?) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 393 - Sickness

Chapter 393 - Sickness

After the three-versus-one battle between the gods and a mortal boy, Vahn emerged victorious with the use of his legendary [Hands of Nirvana]. He usually held back, but things started to escte more than he had expected so he took control of the situation and ended up leaving his room nearly two hourster with all three goddesses snuggled up next to the sleeping Hestia. Though he had felt refreshed when he first woke up, now Vahn felt a sense of aplishment, especially after he got Loki to beg for leniency. Fortunately, the soundproof barrier was going strong so, even though they had been quite loud towards the end, most of the others within the Manor werepletely unaware of the epic battle that had been fought so early in the morning. Of course, there was someone that had been aware of the climactic battle, as they had shown up outside of Vahns door and had even peeked inside after nobody answered. The soundproof barrier went both ways, so nobody on the bed had heard the knocking. If not for Vahns ability to sense auras, even he wouldnt have caught Syr sneakily peering in through the crack after slightly opening the door. Vahn could only me himself for failing to lock it as he sent her a sideward nce that made her scurry away with a blush. When he finally came downstairs, Syr had been waiting in the corridor leading towards the bath and was carrying a towel and a change of clothes, likely intending to join him if the smile on her face was any indication. Vahn walked toward her without any hesitation and asked in a teasing voice, "I never expected you were the type to peek at others, Syr, was there something you needed me for?" Syr blushed at his words but managed to keep her smile before she responded in a teasing tone of her own, "Ara~? I was just wondering if you were still inside your room. When nobody answered, I was going to head inside to clean up yet when I opened the utched door, I saw something quite unexpected. Fufufu, I never knew Hephaestus-sama was so flexible~" Now it was Vahns turn to blush slightly before he covered up his embarrassment by pulling Syr into his embrace and sealing her lips for a short while until the warmth in his cheeks faded. When he pulled away, Syr began tough in a coy manner before whispering, "Do you not have any ns today, Vahn? I wouldnt mind keeping youpany for a while..." Vahn pinched her nose in response before picking up the towel she had dropped as he said, "Sorry, Syr, but I was nning to go visit Tsubaki today. Ill exin everything inside the bath, care to join me?" Syr showed a pretend pouting expression before sticking out her tongue and epting the towel and heading inside. Vahn exined his ns to Syr while carefully attending to her body and she obediently listened while writhing about under his hands. Because she was being so well behaved, Vahn had started rewarding her with increasing intensity as long as she was able to properly respond to his words. During this time, Vahn realized that his expectations were beginning topound and his tensions had been progressively increasing ever since he woke up. Though he started the daypletely rxed, it was starting to seem like his entire schedule was turning into something tinged with e.r.o.t.i.cism. Even now, though they had simply started off talking, Vahn was somewhat aggressively kissing Syrs neck from behind as he stroked her belly and chest with his palms. Things eventually came to an end when Vahn detected another presence heading toward the bath so he released Syr and pat the top of her head to help her calm down before, of all people, Riveria entered the bath. She stopped at the entrance for a moment before walking over and entering the bath after nodding to acknowledge them. Vahn briefly nced at her beautiful body before releasing a silent sigh and bringing his bath time to an end. It justified his actions by telling himself he was just venting a bit before heading into the Dungeon for an extended period of time. All he needed to do to calm down was to find a member of the youth troupe since all the other girls were a little too receptive to him at times like this. During breakfast, Vahn met several of the other girls and Syr began pacifying them before they tried to have Vahnmit to any other ns for the day. True to his earlier intentions, Vahn was sitting next to Fenrir and Preasia during breakfast and helping feed the happy wolf girl for the first time in a while. As he had expected, it was very easy to calm down with the loveable little pup and all of her words and actions helped ease his somewhat tense heart. As for Preasia, Vahn was doing his best to pretend that he didnt notice her sneakily sniffing the aromaing from his body. After all, giving his current excited state, there were several girls present that were also taking whiffs of the air. Vahn could see their nostrils re up periodically and was very aware of the pink tinging their auras. This was one of the downsides to having nearly half the residents within the Manor being beast-humans. Without exception, they were far more susceptible to scents and pheromones than Humans, Elves, and Dwarves. Fortunately, Fenrir seemed to either be immune to the scent or didnt care at all as she acted perfectly normal. Vahn considered this a blessing since even Tina and Shizune were giving him periodic nces. Ever since her first period, Tina had been overly aware of Vahn, even though she already had a crush on him in the past. Vahn would have to be more cautious in the future and potentially even use a masking perfume to hide his smell so as not to trigger any of the other girls from now on. By the time breakfast hade to an end, Vahn had gone over his ns with the members of the Loki Familia and the senior members of the Hestia Familia. Vahn put forth the idea of venturing down into the 30th floor, kind of like a practice expedition for the future. Generally speaking, going anywhere beyond the 25th floor was considered too dangerous, but if they had arge enough group it would be safe. One of the troubles would have been taking enough supplies for the trip and then escorting back the loot, but Vahns existence almost invalidated the need for such preparations. Unless he somehow ended up dying, he could provide logistical support that exceeded an entire expeditions standard supplies requirements. (A/N: To put it in perspective, Vahns Inventory could fill the volume of 68 full-sized Olympic swimming pools. If he stored nothing by liquid inside of it, it would hold nearly 65 million gallons.) The reason why he had decided upon the 30th floor, even though he had never gone beyond the 18th, was for the sole purpose of hunting Bloodsaurus and obtaining their blood. During thest expedition, the Loki Familia had been able to process several thousand liters, but it still wasnt enough tost for a long period of time with continued use. Vahn wanted to nip the problem in the bud and gather enough of the precious resource to supply the entirework with enough ink to function indefinitely. He wanted to actually increase the power of thework in the future, but that would be impossible if there werent enough scrolls and magic pens to go around. Vahn also had the dual purpose of wanting to study how the scrolls and ink was made so that he could have a better understanding of how the scrolls themselves worked and try to improve upon them in the future. Though there were still preparations that would need to be made, it was decided that Vahn, Tiona, Ais, Tione, Lefiya, Ryuu, Haruhime, Riveria, and, perhaps most importantly, Fenrir would be making the trip. The twins, Emiru and Maemi, wanted toe along but Vahn said they werent ready for such a dangerous excursion. Haruhime herself was also not qualified for the trip, but her unique support magic made her a special exception. Her Innate also had incredible practical use duringbat, so she was going to be acting in the backline under the direct protection of Riveria. Lili and Naaza were also interested in going, but they were denied for the same reason as the twins, even though Naazas ranged capabilities put her on par with some Level 4s. Vahn did, however, promise to go into the Dungeon with both of them in the future so they could benefit from his [Mentor] skill and spend some time alone with him. As for everyone else, they would be holding down the fort and protecting the Manor from any potential enemies that might rear up. The girls from the Hostess of Fertility almost all had secret identities, and it was impossible to enter the Dungeon undoc.u.mented, so they were more of a hidden card that supported the Hestia Familia. They also needed to be around for the grand opening of the new pub tomorrow, and would likely be very busy for the entire week. Lastly, since they needed someone to actually be around to represent the Familia itself, Aki would be taking charge while Vahn and Ryuu were away. After confirming all of the ns, Vahn left things for the more experienced members to take care of as he made his preparations to go visit Tsubaki. He was looking forward to the meeting and wondering how things would develop when it was just the two of them alone once again. Of course, he didnt forget about his other ns either and asked both Chloe and Arnya if they would be free in the evening. Chloe had immediately agreed, but Arnya was acting a little strangely and awkwardly tried to talk around the issue without directly refusing. Vahn had been worried about her and tried to ask if anything was wrong, but the only thing he got in response after affectionately touching her cheek was Arnya spontaneously wretching and running off to a bathroom with hurried steps. Vahn just stood there nkly for a while with his hand still in the air until Chloe, who had been nearby, remarked, "Ah, I know why Arnya is acting weird~nya!" As they hadnt been the only two in the area, there were others that understood Chloes words from her outburst and Arnyas reaction. Aki and Mn began tough before following the earlier path of Arnya. Seeing the two girls that were taking action, Vahn came to a realization of his own and dropped his hand. From the side, he could hear Chloeughing in a cheeky manner before saying, "Arnya is experiencing morning sickness~. It looks like you have another mouth to feed in the future, maybe more~nya?" Because she hadnt taken a contraceptive after her first time, Vahn knew it was very likely that Arnya would get pregnant as a result. She had said at the time that she would leave it to chance, but Arnya had to know the odds were well over 90% and had epted what was closer to an inevitability than a simple game of ying the odds. Vahn wasnt sure if this was exactly what she wanted, but Arnya was now carrying his child in her belly regardless. Since he had actually been nning to go visit Tsubaki, Vahn now felt a little awkward and wondered if he should be helping tofort Arnya instead of heading out to meet another woman... Though he hadnt stalled for too long, it was enough time for Syr to walk over and ce her hand on his shoulder as she said, "Go, well take care of things here. There isnt much you can do for Arnya right now that cant be handled by the experienced women in the Manor. Just make sure to treat her well when you return, that will be enough. Besides, I dont think it would make her happy if you treated her too kindly when you havent done something simr for Hephaestus-sama, Loki-sama, and Aki..." Vahn had beenforted by the first part of Syrs words, but he felt a weight in his stomach as she continued. With a bit of hesitation, Vahn lowered his head slightly and asked in a low tone, "Am...I a bad father...?" From his left, Chloe c.o.c.ked her head to the side in confusion before matching gazes with the equally confused Syr. After thinking over the matter for a moment, Syr seemed to understand Vahns concerns likely rted to his own past and origins. She didnt know exactly what to say, but she decided that speaking was better than keeping silent so she hugged Vahn for a brief moment before saying, "Dont be an idiot, Vahn, you cant do everything yourself. Just being gentle, kind, capable, and caring, will make you a better Father than most. The only thing you need to worry about is protecting our family and, most important of all, making sure you are always able toe back to us...look around, I dont think anyone here would believe for a single moment youre a bad Father just because you dont rub someones back every morning..." Vahn looked around at the girls surrounding him and sawforting and encouraging expressions on their faces. He didnt think about it much, but Vahn knew that almost everyone present was either an orphan or without one of their parents. This was one of the reasons everyone was able to bond together so closely in such a short period of time, because they could easily empathize with each other and were all connected through him...In a way, though not even remotely, he was kind of like their surrogate father figure...or at the very least, a man of great importance in each of their lives. The most important thing, however, was that Syrs words about him not doing everything alone were absolutely true, as it was the strength of thework that even allowed him to act in the first ce. After looking over everyone once, Vahn nodded with a happy smile on his face and said a series of words he didnt use enough, but wanted to convey at this moment, "Thank you, everyone, I love you all so much..." Even though there were some girls that he didnt actually feel love for, Vahn still made the statement all inclusive since the very idea of specifically telling each individual girl he loved them was rather awkward. If some of the girls that had affections for him were left out, Vahn knew they would feel sad about the situation so he just yed it safe. In response to his words, there were various smiles, even someughter, but everyone seemed to be in a happy and pleasant mood all the way up until Vahn was kicked out of the Manor for tarrying too long. Tsubaki had already been informed through thework earlier, and Syr told him that it was rude to keep ady waiting. Vahnughed awkwardly as he felt the cold morning air on his skin before disappearing from the spot using Shundo. He decided to pamper Arnya when he returned in the afternoon, but for now his focus should be on Tsubaki and trying to break down her defenses. Vahn knew Tsubaki wasnt the type to easily let thingse to a head, but he wouldnt stop trying until she eventually gave in or outright refused his advances. He had no intention of forcing her at all, but Vahn knew she would probably never take the step forward unless he took the initiative. Tsubaki was very simr to Hestia in that when it came to actually cross that final line, she hesitated at thest step and required Vahn to take action to ease her anxieties. Vahn didnt know what burden Tsubaki harbored in her heart but, if she failed to open up to him he had a backup n already prepared. Though it might be sneaky, and he had put it off for quite a while, Vahn was willing to use her [Hearts Desire] if it came down to it...he didnt want Tsubaki to continue living alone anymore, no matter what it took. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Author Style: Infinite Bait Jutsu!, Author Style: Triple Cliff Summoning Jutsu!,Tsubaki Style: Stalling Techniques!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 394 - Chance

Chapter 394 - Chance

Vahn arrived in the streets outside of Tsubakis Manor and stared at the archway where the Hephaestus Familia Emblem could be seen. This ce had once been an important sanctuary for him in the past, and it hadnt even been that long since he spent a few months in Tsubakis care. So much had changed in such a short period of time and now, a woman who he had never thought about as anything more than a mentor and trusted ally, was waiting for his arrival as they both prepared to take the next steps towards their future. Without any further hesitation, Vahn stepped across the threshold and felt a pulse of energy pass from his body that would alert anyone with the formation key about his arrival. As he had passed his perception over the Manor, Vahn knew that Tsubaki wasnt in her reception room, nor was she in her private quarters. Instead, Vahn could detect her aura in a very familiar location and followed the once-familiar path towards the training area where Tsubaki had helped him understand what it took to be stronger. It was also a ce where, when he had trouble deciding the path to take, Tsubaki would help to show him the way forward. It may not have been the correct way, but life was lived ording to the path you walked toward the future, not the emphasis and time you spent concerning yourself over matters of the past. When Vahn arrived at the training area, he could see Tsubakis beautiful brown skin reflecting the dim sunlight as she wore nothing but a sarashi around her rtivelyrge b.r.e.a.s.ts. She was wearing her traditional attire of a red hakama, maroon undershorts, and a pair of ck sandals with red ties that held them to her feet. Currently, Tsubaki sat in seiza with her back toward Vahn and he could see her long ck hair tied together in a loose ponytail by a white ribbon. She was just sitting there, even though she had obviously noticed his presence, and was polishing an incrediblyrge and ornate katana, known as a zanbato. Vahn could feel the cold morning air graze against his skin and there was still a light mist that added to the atmosphere and solemnity of the scene. Though she was sitting silently, Tsubaki had the air of an unsheathed de that was waiting for a single moment of weakness before it would strike you down without hesitation. He wasnt sure exactly what she intended, but the one thing he could be certain was that Tsubaki didnt n to make things easy for him. However, instead of showing any fear or hesitation, Vahn stepped into the training area and assumed a position around 20 meters away from the seated Tsubaki. The very same instant his feet came to a stop, Tsubaki said in a husky and cold tone, "So...youvee, Vahn..." Vahn remained silent for a moment before replying, "I havee for you, Tsubaki..." Without saying anything, Tsubaki bobbed her head in affirmation as she continued to polish the zanbato in her hands. Several minutes passed in absolute silence as the tensions in the air continued to increase to the point that the actual air began to stagnate ande to a stop. The only movements were the rising and falling of Vahns chest and Tsubakis ceaseless polishing of the de in her hands. Vahn continued to watch Tsubaki without making anyrge movements as he tried to make sense of her intentions. Though her affection was still at 100, her aura waspletely stable and was filled with an azure blue color and a light green,pletely different from the rosy pink he had seen in the past. The only exnation was that Tsubaki hadpletely calmed her mind in anticipation of his arrival, likely by performing a practiced habit like polishing a sword. Since he couldnt see through her at all, Vahn didnt know if she wanted him to attack or if she was testing his patience. After a while, however, Vahn remembered the past and how Tsubaki literally beat him up for hesitating and worrying about things too much... With a small smile on his face, Vahn took a step forward and dispersed the gentle mist that had settled on his body. Because his body temperature was so hot, whenever the cold air settled on his face, hair, and clothes, it had turned into small beads of condensation that gave Vahn a strangely ethereal look as he calming walked toward Tsubaki. Almost immediately after he took the first step, however, Tsubakis aura converged to a point and she spun around in a fluid motion that actually carved a path through the void and traced and afterimage behind her as she swung the massive zanbato toward Vahns neck with an emotionless expression on her face. Vahns instincts all triggered simultaneously, but he ignored them entirely and continued forward to take a partial step with his arms slightly open as Tsubakis de came to a stop at his neck. Since he hadnt made any efforts to dodge, or even stop his step, Vahns body carried forward and the impably sharp de cut a shallow mark against his skin. Tsubakis brows furrowed slightly and she moved her de away before backstepping out of range of Vahns hands. The action that he had taken to counter Tsubakis assault was a very simple one; Vahn had decided to give her a hug and had refused to fight back at all. Seeing Tsubaki dodge away, Vahn followed her retreat with a somewhat sad smile on his face. Tsubaki frowned and said in a cold voice, "Are you not going to fight back? Do you think I wont beat you into the ground if you just stand there? Hahahahaha, you might have grown up, but it looks like you never developed anymon sense. How many thousands of times did I beat you in the past?" Without saying anything more, Tsubaki stepped forward in a low drawing stance and swung her de vertically towards Vahns abdomen. Vahn grit his teeth slightly but didnt stop his step even as the de passed nearly 3cm through his skin and left a bloody line right below his navel. Tsubaki frustratedly threw her sword to the side and it embedded itself deeply into the wall of her Manor as she stepped forward and punched Vahn squarely in the chest. He felt the impact pass through his body before spitting out a mouthful of blood and showing a somewhat sorry expression to Tsubaki as he continued to stand his ground. Tsubaki stared at him with a serious expression on her face with her deep red eyes and said simply, "I gave you a chance, Vahn, but youve failed...go back to your other girls and live a happy life." Without exining anything, Tsubaki gave a nce at the wound on Vahns stomach and started to walk away but was barred passage when Vahn appeared right in front of her with Shundo. She furrowed her brows again and grabbed the hand that he was trying to embrace her with before hurling his body over her and mming him into the ground. Vahn coughed up another mouthful of blood and felt some of his bones fracture as Tsubaki stared down at him from above. She released a sigh and turned away in order to retrieve her sword before stopping as Vahn said, "I feel like...youre losing every time you hit me...it isnt like the past at all...how will you get even with me like this?" Vahn had crawled back to his feet with a pained expression on his face yet still managed a smile as he began walking toward her once again. Tsubaki released another sigh and exined, "You know, after you reformed my body like this, I had made the resolve to dedicate myself to you. However, I dont want to just be a girl that you can call at your convenience, Vahn, I wanted us to be closer to equals. I wanted you to treat this matter seriously so we could fight it out and build up a bit of excitement before the winner imed their prize...but youre not ying along at all...youre just...being you, I guess..." Shaking her head, Tsubaki turned away and continued in a low voice, "You know nothing about me Vahn, not my origin, not my past, not even what I had hoped for in the future. Though you might have epted the me you came to know, I want someone that cares about the rest of me as well. I didnt even mind have a physical rtionship with you, but I cant build a family with someone that only sees me as a conquest...when you dont even have the courage toe and im me for yourself. Do you want me to just walk into your arms and swoon like a maiden...? I am first and foremost a warrior, secondly a [Master Smith], andstly a woman. What are you, just a boy that wants everything handed to him on a tter? Are you a real man, or will you just wait for others to give you what you want by making use of their traumas to get close to them?" Vahn was having a bit of trouble understanding what Tsubaki was saying at the moment, after all, the veryst time they saw each other she was flirting with him and had even teased him. Now, however, she was acting cold and distant while saying biting words that struck directly at his heart. He liked to battle quite a bit, but his instincts, other than the ones that had been telling him to flee, were saying to keep walking forward no matter what happens. Though things might have turned out as Tsubaki said, Vahn knew that the Tsubaki he made love to wouldnt be the real her, just the version of her she had created topromise with him. Vahn knew she didnt want him to worry so much about her, as she was a very independent and capable woman, but he couldnt simply leave her alone, no matter how much pain she caused him in order to push him away. Step by step, Vahn continued toward Tsubaki until she turned around and red at him with her fierce red eyes. She pulled the zanbato out of the wall and said in a serious tone, "This time, Im not going to stop my de just because you arent willing to back down. If you dont dodge, or fight back, prepare to lose an arm at the very least..." Without further warning, Tsubaki turned into a blur, but Vahn was able to follow her with his eyes and they continued to stare at each other as she drew her de in an upwards arc aiming toward his left armpit. Vahn simply smiled in return and even spread out his arm slightly to make the cut easier for her as he continued forward. Tsubaki stopped the de by twisting her waist and using her shoulder to collide heavily with Vahns body and sending him back several meters. He grimaced in pain and took severalbored breaths because one of his ribs had shattered while several others were heavily fractured. He released aughbined with a cough as he said, "I think you need to polish your sword more...my arm is still attached...haaa...haaaa" Tsubaki released another sigh before jamming the de of the zanbato into the ground. She gave Vahn an exasperated look and said, "What exactly are you trying to aplish by just walking forward constantly? The least you could do was try to catch me or something..." Vahnughed in a pained manner as he held his ribs and tried to set them using his [Hands of Nirvana]. Though it was somewhat agonizing tough at the moment, Vahn couldnt help himself as he saw the frustrated face of Tsubaki staring back at him. When he finally managed to calm down, he answered simply, "You were the one that taught me to never stop going forward...so Ill keep going. As for what Im trying to aplish...I just want to live a free and happy life, without regrets. We have our whole lives to fight, forge, and love, but here, at this moment, the only thing that matters is me being able to break your facade...I wouldnt be able to forgive myself if I fell for a person that wasnt the same woman that I learned to respect, the same woman that I had learned to love. You cared for me during a time where simply living was something I had trouble with, so why should I back down when youre the one struggling? Why should you be the only one to make sacrifices on my behalf...? The entire time Vahn was speaking, he was also taking slow steps toward Tsubaki without pausing for a single moment regardless of the pain. He wasnt even using [Will of the Emperor] to resist the pain and remain calm and just kept fighting through it using his own willpower and resolve. By the time he hade to the end of his words, Vahn was standing in front of Tsubaki and breathing heavily as he said, e...for you...Tsubaki..." In response to his words, Tsubaki held up her balled fist and said in a cold tone, "Grit your teeth, Vahn..." Following her words, Vahn did indeed grit his teeth, but only after showing a toothy smile while trying to reach forward once again. Seeing his silly expression, Tsubakis brows twitched as she stepped forward and twisted her waist as she jerked her arm around in a devastating right hook thatpletely whiffed behind Vahns head as a result of the step they both took. Vahn finally managed to grab Tsubakis waist just as the strength left his body and he said, "I caught you...see, I just had to keep walking forward. Thanks for taking thest step yourself...haha...ha." Tsubaki held up Vahns limp body with a tired expression on her face as she averted her eyes away from Vahn and murmured, "At this rate, youre going to have to use Nirvana on me again, because this kind of stress is going to give me endless amounts of wrinkles..." Vahnughedzily as he rested against the buxom and fragrant b.r.e.a.s.ts of Tsubaki as she held his body in her arms. Though he knew it probably wasnt the best timing, Vahn felt incited by her words so he let his hands fall from her waist beforeing to a stop on her impable bottom that he himself had helped shape. He couldnt muster a lot of strength, but he still managed to get in a gentle squeeze as he remarked, "Youre already beautiful, but Ill use it as many times as it takes as long as it makes you happy...hahaha..." Feeling his sneaky hands, Tsubaki squeezed Vahns head into her b.r.e.a.s.ts and beganughing, proving that her earlier demeanor was an act, as she said, "You little brat, just you wait, Ill make you take responsibility for what you did to my body...I wonder how youll be able to resist when you can barely move~?" Hearing her words, Vahn justughed as he continued to fondle her butt and said, "Its fine, I trust you more than almost anyone else, Tsubaki. You are a kind and gentle woman...with strong motherly instincts, so I think Ill be okay even if you take the lead...be gentle with me though, I broke a few ribs earlier...hahaha..." Tsubakis arms loosened a bit when she heard what Vahn said as she asked with a moderate amount of concern in her voice, "You really didnt defend yourself at all, did you? I held back a lot, but you got thrown around like a rag doll...Im starting to feel less annoyed at that Tione girl after experiencing this...you need to train harder, Vahn. If I had less control, you might have ended up dead...and I cant imagine Id be far behind once those girls found out." Vahn started tough as he continued to nuzzle into Tsubakis b.r.e.a.s.ts and said, "Dont worry, were the only ones here right now so it will be our little secret. I want to avoid a lecture if I can, after all, I did what I thought was best and just wanted to reach your heart...I dont have any regrets at all, even if it hurts quite a bit..." Tsubaki frowned and made a strange Muuuu sound before picking up Vahns body in a princess carry and walking towards the interior of the Manor with hurried steps. Along the way, she continued to pinch his side periodically while saying, "Go ahead, keep telling me how much it hurts, Vahn. I already feel bad enough about it as is, go ahead and keep rubbing it in, please, feel free!" If not for the fact she was pinching the soft flesh of his waist, Vahn very well might have continued teasing her. For the time being, however, he was too busy trying to keep his facial expression from breaking down as he resisted the urge to yelp. He kept his silence all the way until Tsubaki had carried him to her room and set him down on the futon. Vahn noticed she hadid out an extrayer, likely in preparation for the main event, and this realization made him smile until a shiny blue potion smashed against his forehead and sshed its contents all over his body. Before he had recovered from the sudden attack, Vahn felt several streams of liquid pouring down on him from above as Tsubaki emptied several expensive elixirs onto his injured frame. Each vial could easily cost more than 100,000Valis and Tsubaki was using ten of them at once to practically shower Vahn in the healing liquids. After he waspletely soaked through, all of Vahns wounds had miraculously healed after his body absorbed the potion through his pores. Tsubaki nodded her head and said, "Now you have nothing toin about..." At the same time she was speaking, Tsubaki removed the band at her waist and her red hakama fell to the floor in an instant. Vahns eyes opened wide and Tsubaki gave him a strange look as she asked, "What, decide not to have s.e.x with me at thest minute? I already told you, its toote for regrets now, Im going to make your body take responsibility for what youve done to me. And no using that little trick of yours to try and get an advantage either. You refused to fight me earlier, so well have to settle this the old fashioned way between a man and a woman!" Tsubaki hadnt stopped undressing while she was speaking and, by the time her words hade to an end, she was standing before Vahn in all her n.a.k.e.d splendor with her arms crossed under her nearly wless and ample b.r.e.a.s.ts. She had a challenging look in her eyes as she gazed down at the still clothed Vahn that waspletely soaked from head to toe. Vahn squinted his eyes at her before standing up in a casual manner as steam appeared from his body that evaporated the liquid from his clothing before he unequipped it in an instant. Though it was only a very slight reaction, Vahn saw Tsubaki swallow a bit when he suddenly became nude and her aura began to re up with a rosy pink tinged with a passionate red. Before she could say anything further, Vahn stated in a firm and confident tone, "You may be my better when ites to strength, speed, forging, and even life experience, but youll find Im more than your match when ites to the rtions between men and women. Lets wipe the te clean, Tsubaki, Im curious how many times youll be able toe out ahead...and how many times youll call out my name before this is over. Itll be your victory if you can make me submit before the evening...however, if you fail..." Though there was a good chance she would get pregnant through natural means, Vahn still ced out the [Matryoshka of Fertility] on the table, just as he had done the night when he visited her room and performed Nirvana. Tsubaki saw the small doll and her aura red up a fair amount before she turned her attention back to Vahn. Reaching out her hand, Tsubaki pushed Vahn back down onto the futon before reaching over and quickly snatching up the item. Vahn saw her action and wanted to say something but Tsubaki instantly ced the base of the Matryoshka a few inches beneath her navel. The moment it made contact, the small doll disappeared and an empty heart-shaped tattoo with the kanji for Fertility was left behind. Tsubaki rubbed the mark with her thumb as if she were trying to remove it before staring down at Vahn and said, "What part of taking responsibility didnt you understand? So, what happens if I fail to make you submit now? Come on, lets up the ante a bit Vahn~!" Seeing that Vahn didnt have an answer, Tsubaki showed arge grin and said, "Looks like Ill take the first point, hahaha. Lets see, if you cante up with something yourself...how about this, if I win, youll have toe up with a name for our child? If you win, Ill let you give me one embarrassing order of your choice, how about it?" Vahn had been processing Tsubakis words as she spoke and didnt really see how he lost in the situation. However, he apparently failed to respond in time as Tsubaki pinned him down from above in a practiced motion and said, "Ill take your silence as another victory for me. Really, I wonder how you n to get any points at this rate? Maybe you just want me to pamper you a bit, eh, Vahn~?" As she spoke, Tsubaki had grabbed Vahns sleeping dragon as if she were trying to stir it from its slumber. Vahns mind came back to rity by her awkward movements and a cheeky smile appeared on his face as he asked, "Having trouble?" Tsubaki shot him a nce andined, "Its not getting harder at all...dont tell me...you cant get it up for this old woman?" Tsubakis eyes suddenly widened into saucers as she leaned down and asked in a voice filled with concern, "Dont tell me youre having a sudden bout of impotence? This doesnt bode well for the other girls..." Though he was intending to tease her a bit, Tsubakis words cut Vahn deeply and, even though he knew she was just ying him, Vahn couldnt back down and immediately summoned his dragon. Tsubaki had been mounting his waist so she felt it rise before slipping into the gap between her buttocks in a domineering fashion as it nearly reached her tailbone. She exhaled once through her nose and Vahn could feel Tsubakis body shaking a bit even though she showed a teasing smile and said, "Ahahaha, looks like there is still a bit of pep in your little buddy..." Vahn reached out his hands and hugged Tsubakis body tightly as he pressed herrge b.r.e.a.s.ts against his chest and started kissing her. She used to be slightly taller than he was, but they were now both 170cm and easily lined up without any awkwardness to speak of. Though she wasnt that ustomed to kissing, Tsubaki still reciprocated his invasive actions and even tried to force his own tongue back into his mouth as if challenging everything he was doing...Vahn fought back against her and resisted the urge to use [Hands of Nirvana] as he continued to battle against her on a level ying field. If Tsubaki was going to treat everything they were doing as apetition, Vahn was determined toe out ahead in every category... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Unsheathed Sword,Even if you dont walk forward, the future will eventually find its way into your life. Its better to walk with your head held high than it is to lose yourself in the memories of the past. Live a little,ugh a lot, and love without regret~!,-Mortal Kombat Theme Song ys-) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 395 - Cyclops Subjugation

Chapter 395 - Cyclops'' Subjugation

(A/N: Oh, NSFW btw...) Vahn and Tsubaki continued their first battle for nearly ten full minutes until Tsubaki eventually had to draw a breath of air after Vahn rolled over partway through and reversed positions with her. She had been pinning him down at the beginning, but as the contest continued she had lost herself a bit in the moment and created a window of opportunity for Vahn to exploit. With the sudden change, her focuspsed and she was unable to continue for much longer and eventually had to pull her face away from Vahn to gasp for air. As he started to kiss her exposed neck, Vahn whispered in Tsubakis ear, "Thats one in my favor..." Tsubaki was stirred to action by Vahns words and surprisingly raised her knees up while spreading her own legs. Vahn was caught off guard because he could feel a radiating heat and moistureing from his waist before Tsubaki nted her bare feet against his h.i.p.s, gripped his forearms, and kicked up with enough force to life his body and flip him over her head. Just like so many times in the past, Vahn saw the world turn upside down for a brief moment yet, unlikes the past, Tsubaki didnt simply release him during the throw and used the momentum of the toss to follow his body before pinning him once again with her plump butt. Even though he was rather experienced as ofte, Vahn had never been thrown or performed acrobatic maneuvers in bed, so he was both excited and confused at the same time. He knew this was Tsubaki trying to keep the momentum in her favor and now she was pinning his arms from above as she kissed around his neck and chest. Though her movementscked practice, her control and perception were very high and she was quickly beginning to get a rise out of him through her actions. Vahns heart was itching a fair amount as he tried to free himself from her vice-like grip. She wasnt holding him hard enough to actually injure his wrists, but she was still nigh-immovable due to the difference in their power. There was never a time, more than this moment, where Vahn wished he was stronger. Just like when it came to dealing with Tione and Tiona, Vahn would need physical strength in order to prevent himself from being taken and on the receiving end of their assault. Vahn decided that Tsubakis advantage had been enjoyed for long enough and performed a feat of flexibility that was outside of expectation for most men. As if his spine was several times more flexible than normal, Vahn raised his legs in a manner simr to Tsubaki and lifted her body in a somewhat awkward position. She had been sitting on top of him, so there was nowhere to easily ground herself and she was easily lifted from his body and currently staring down at him with a cheeky grin as she said, "Does that make three for me?" Vahn smiled at her words before ogling the hanging b.r.e.a.s.ts as he gentle swayed Tsubakis h.i.p.s with his toes to make them sway from left to right. Tsubaki beautiful brown skin flushed red at her cheeks because of Vahns teasing smile in conjunction with his actions. Just as she was about to initiate her counter, Vahn dropped his feet away so that her body fell as he came to a seated position. Tsubaki hadnded on her feet in a squat and felt something hard briefly poke at her that sent a wave of electricity up her back. She was still holding Vahns wrists from earlier and currently held them above his head as he expertly sought out her exposed n.i.p.p.l.e and began rolling it with his tongue. Tsubaki was in an awkward position because, if she released his wrists, her bnced would make her fall back unless she kicked off from the futon and retreated. Sitting inly wasnt an option either, since every time she lowered her h.i.p.s she felt an invasive prod as Vahn twisted his h.i.p.s to match her movements with what she felt was an unnecessary amount of control over his lower body. Though she had anticipated it somewhat, Tsubaki was very quickly realizing she wouldnt be able to edge out any long-term advantages against Vahn unless she was willing to injure him. It wasnt that shecked the capabilities, but that Vahns Nirvana had actually left her body far more sensitive than in the past and she didnt have proper control over her strength, regardless of how much finesse she could show inbat. Every time he rolled her n.i.p.p.l.e. she felt a tingling sensation spread through her rapidly heating body and just wanted to hug his head to stop his motions. At this rate, the moment Vahn got any actual advantages, she would likely end up at his mercy until she embarrassingly had to beg for a reprieve as he had mentioned earlier. For a very brief moment, Tsubaki imagined herself being pinned by Vahn and crying out his name in a sensual tone and a giddy feeling spread through her stomach as her h.i.p.s dropped slightly once again. She felt the hot and invasive probe graze her ridiculously sensitive genitals and felt arge wave of electricity run up her body that caused her to release a deep, albeit brief, m.o.a.n. Vahn, hearing the sound, brought hisbination tongue-attack and suction to an end with a pop and stared up into Tsubakis flushed face with a smiling expression. Even without him saying anything, Tsubaki knew what he meant and it brought a frown to her face as he regained her bnce and released his wrists. However, when she tried to stand and get a better vantage, Vahn leaned back from her earlier actions and brought both of his palms to the backs of her knees with him. Instead of standing, Tsubaki dropped her weight onto his abdomen before Vahn rocked his body forward and ended up on top of her once again with a smile on his face. Tsubaki had the urge to retaliate during the maneuver but a part of herself had already resigned to submitting to Vahn in an effort match the image in her mind. The moment he was on top of her, reality seemed to ovep with delusions and Tsubaki mumbled a single word before biting her lip and frowning after she said, "Vahn..." Though it was very silent, Vahn had been staring directly into Tsubakis face from a near zero distance and had easily heard her utterance. He felt a burst of warmth spread from his chest but, instead of pressing his advantage in a domineering fashion, Vahn gently caressed the side of Tsubakis somewhat frustrated face and said, "Its time...Tsubaki..." Though it hadnt been a convention forey, Tsubaki had been producing an abnormal amount of love nectar for quite some time at this point. When she had been pressing him down earlier, Vahn had been very aware of the pooling fluids and knew she was more than prepared for what was toe. He didnt know if it was the influence of the Matryoshka, but her body was in a hyper responsive state at the momentbined with her already enhanced sensitivity. At this point, Tsubaki could feel Vahns member against her abdomen and it would only take a bit of repositioning before their union wasplete. She felt a powerful anxiety welling up inside of herself that she hadnt expected and Tsubaki didnt know if it were her prior inhibitionsing to the surface, or if it was her fear about being a mother after having given up on the idea for so long. For more than a decade, she had no hopes at all of bearing children but now, as soon as Vahn did the deed would she undoubtedly end up pregnant. Based on Vahns spection, her body wouldnt even be able to miscarry and she would have toe to term unless she ended up dying or doing something drastic. However, her willpower wasnt something that would waver as the result of a bout of petty anxiety. Tsubaki had already resolved herself for this moment several times in the past few days so she rxed her body and said in a husky tone, "Show me what you can do ki...Vahn." Seeing the unwavering gaze from Vahns aquamarine eyes made Tsubaki swallow the word kid, since she would have no choice but to see him as a man from here onwards. Not just any man either, but the man she had watched him rapidly develop into from the fragile boy in the past. Remembering his almost apathetic state at the time and ovepping it with his current focus and confident disposition, Tsubaki couldnt help but mutter in the back of her mind as a warm feeling spread through her chest, ("Youve really grown up into quite the man, Vahn...") With Tsubakis consent, Vahn nodded his head before pulling back his h.i.p.s and using his left hand to maneuver the tip of his ns into the surprisingly hot folds of Tsubaki. Vahn didnt know if it was a racial trait of being a Half-Dwarf, but he felt like the fluids of her body were slightly acidic and made a tingling sensation spread through his body aftering into contact with the hot nectar. Though she had been somewhat open in the past, Tsubakis vulva were somewhat taut and springy because of his prior efforts during the Nirvana procedure. Most notably, however, was how Tsubakis body shook slightly even with the brief contact of his tip against the seemingly unused slit. Vahn didnt expect the sight of Tsubaki biting her own lip to excite him so much and he had hesitated for a brief moment to burn the image into his mind before she gave him a reproachful re with her red eyes. With a wry smile on his face, Vahn buried himself into the hot interior of her fold and rubbed his ns inside the pliant, yet highly resistant and ridiculously hot,bia until he found the small and pulsating entrance he had been looking for. Even though Tsubaki wasnt a v.i.r.g.i.n, Vahn could hardly tell the difference at all since the hole seemed to be much smaller than the girth of his own members and his ns had to forcibly widen the resistant flesh as he eased his h.i.p.s forward. Tsubaki released a grunt infused with a somewhat sensual m.o.a.n as a bit of moisture built up in her eyes and she gave Vahn a begrudging look as she said, "You put so much effort into reworking my insides, but you couldnt adapt my body to more easily ept your little monster down there?" Because of the amount of pain, even Tsubaki felt like she had just lost her v.i.r.g.i.nity for the second time and reached down to the area where they were connected and probed around with her fingers before pulling them back to show a crimson liquid covering her fingers. She gave Vahn a ming look and saw his fl.u.s.tered expression before releasing a sigh and saying, "Whatever, we can start changing that the natural way from now on...just spare me from having you use your Nirvana on my v.a.g.i.n.a from now on..." Vahn wanted tough, but he couldnt muster up the courage since Tsubaki still had a look of me on her face as she regted her breathing like she was doing an exercise. Even though her pain tolerance was very high, considering she was both a Master Smith and First-ss Adventurer, Tsubaki truly hadnt adapted to the refreshed nerves and sensitivity that remained after Vahns Nirvana. Even small burns from when she was forging caused her to wince and she would use small doses of potions to remove the small burns because she had been overly aware of taking care of her new body. Though she had implied it before, she had been trying to save herself for Vahn ever since then and didnt want to blemish the youthful and wless skin he had conferred upon her. Tsubaki would never admit it, but it made her slightly happy that, even though she wasnt a true v.i.r.g.i.n, she emted the characteristics of one. It made her feel a lot closer with Vahn and she almost wanted to bury the past deep within her heart and try to move on, not because she had fallen out of love, but because she fell into a new one... Vahn had been waiting for Tsubakis body to adapt to his sudden intrusion while also reflecting on the situation and enjoying the strange sensationsing from his p.e.n.i.s. Tsubaki had the characteristic tightness of a v.i.r.g.i.n woman, but her muscles werepact and powerful which made her insides tense up and squeeze on him every time she exhaled. Vahn loved the soft and smooth bodies of some of the thinner girls, but he actually preferred the sensual glow of a strong womans skin and the subtle lines of the muscles beneath. Just like Hephaestus, Tsubaki had slightly visible abs whenever she exhaled and Vahn felt like he could just lose himself in touching them for hours if they let him. As for the other sensations he was feeling, Vahn hadnt been able to fit all of himself into Tsubaki and there were still a few centimeters exposed to the air. However, regardless of this fact, Vahns genitals were tingling from the fluids that had been soaked in through his pores and it made him clench his butt periodically from the strange sensation. He could tell his body was immediately rejecting the invasive fluids, but it was still affecting him slightly and Vahn was curious if it was a s.e.x.u.a.l characteristic of a Half-Dwarf, or if it was due to the [Matryoshka of Fertility]. He felt like it was thetter and had the subtle impression that, even if he himself had been infertile, the Matryoshka would have guaranteed he would be able to inseminate the girl under its effects properly. After she had regted her breathing for a while, Tsubaki gripped Vahns wrists and pulled him toward her body because he had been sitting upright and staring at her from above previously. She wrapped her legs loosely around the back of his and brought her feet to the interior before resting her feet by his knees. As she had said, it wasnt her first time having s.e.x and she knew how to make future movements easier and, now that she had prepared her body better, she wasnt going to continue being passive. Even if this was fated to be her loss, she wasnt going to go down without a fight so she grabbed Vahns face and asked, "What, are you waiting for me to tell you what to do? I thought you were supposed to be a man already...well, I can teach if you if you call me Mommy once~?" Though she flushed at her own words, Tsubaki still did her best to tease Vahn,pletely forgetting about his ability to see through auras and emotions. Vahns mind had nked for a brief moment when Tsubaki told him to call her Mommy and a strange incongruity happened as the memories of his own Mother briefly appeared within his mind. Though he had never truly known her, Vahn knew his Mother had cared for him deeply all the way up until the moment of her death. She wanted nothing by happiness for him and, even though he was such an abnormal baby, she held him lovingly as if he were the most precious thing in the world. That brief moment, truly on a few minutes in the entirety of his previous life, had been his salvation when he nearly lost himself in the dark abyss after his death... Tsubaki had only been intending to tease Vahn, but she saw himpletely stall at her words as silent tears began to fall from his eyes. Even though he was looking directly at her, Tsubaki knew his mind had wandered far away from this dark room that they shared. She suddenly recalled the matter of his origins and knew that her words had probably triggered something buried deep within him. Instead of trying to goad him on, Tsubaki grabbed Vahn and hugged him into her bosom as lovingly as she could manage while stroking his head in a soothing manner. Tsubaki had known that Hephaestus had sent Vahn to her so she could be something like a surrogate mother to him, but she hadnt realized how much he needed someone to fill the hole in his heart left by his actual mother. Though she couldnt guarantee it wouldnt change with time, Tsubaki decided that, even when she had a child of her own, she would look after Vahn until he no longer needed her to do so. A gentle smile touched her lips and she remarked inside of her own mind, ("Looks like I already have a big baby to look after..."). Even though there were other women that would suit the role, Tsubaki had already ced herself in that position many months ago and she wasnt going to let anyone else bear the burden for her... Vahn eventually returned to his senses and could feel the heat from Tsubakis body spreading through his own as she gently caressed his head. He suddenly felt incredibly embarrassed because he had never been forted like this when he was supposed to be having s.e.x. The fact that he had cried before one of the women he wanted to rely on him made Vahn feel somewhat ashamed of himself, but he couldnt deny that, deep within his heart and mind, Tsubakis embrace brought him afort he desperately sought. Before he had be aware of women, she and Hephaestus would often hold him like this without any expectations at all, other than providing him some momentary relief from his own trauma. After collecting himself for a few moments, Vahn raised his face and saw the loving expression of Tsubaki which made his heart twist in his chest as he swallowed a knot in his throat. Making gazes with him, Tsubaki squinted her eyes and flexed her powerful abdominal muscles to clench down on Vahns p.e.n.i.s that was still slowly pressing further into her depths. Vahn released a slight groan at the unexpected action of Tsubaki and was caught unprepared when she pulled up his face and began kissing him with no small amount of passion. Vahn had felt a bit of guilt overwhelming him earlier, but now Tsubakis actions were wearing away at his sensibilities and making his brain buzz once again. When Tsubaki kicked the top of his mouth and pulled away with an enamored look on her face, Vahn couldnt help butment in his mind, ("Ah, this isnt my Mother, just a woman who loves me...and someone Im supposed to love as well. Here I am talking about moving forward and yet I almost lost myself to my own past...") Shaking his head, Vahns disposition changed and he suddenly showed a confident expression on his face as he said, "Break time is over...prepare yourself, Tsubaki." Tsubakiughed in a yful manner at his words and pulled back her own legs to make his h.i.p.s move forward. Incited by her actions, Vahn tucked his head into the beautiful transition between Tsubakis neck and corbone as he began to kiss around on the healthy brown skin covered in a lightyer of sweat. He noticed that, though her sweat was somewhat salty, there was a subtle and intoxicating sweetness contained within. Without tarrying about any longer, Vahn began to move his h.i.p.s in deep and probing movements. Every time he would probe her depths, Tsubaki would breathe out in a regted manner and inhale every time he would pull away. She seemed to be trying to control the reaction of her own body, but it just incited Vahn to tease her more so he began targeting the weak spots inside of her. Though it was a bit shameless to say, Vahn was absolutely confident that he knew Tsubakis body better than even she did. He had seen thework of nerves inside of her v.a.g.i.n.a previously and knew every delicate and sensitive spot inside of her entire body like the back of his hand. Even Vahn was afraid of how much he could torment her if he really put effort into trying to make her cry out his name. As one would expect, the moment Vahn began poking her sweet spots, Tsubakis steady breaths turned into short gasps tinged with sensual undertones. Tsubakis voice was somewhat deep for a woman and she had a subtle and husky intonation to all of the sounds she made that caused Vahns ears to tickle. Knowing he could get a mature woman like Tsubaki to m.o.a.n in such a sensual way made Vahn feel a bit of pride and he continued swapping between the various points inside of her body to prevent her from adapting to his rhythm. He also continued top up the sweat on her neck and had been nibbling on her corbone for a while as she hugged his body tightly. Tsubaki had somewhat expected this to happen, but she was still shocked to her core at Vahns technical prowess. The reasons she had restricted his [Hands of Nirvana] was because Tsubaki knew, from the very moment he began tracing his hands across her body, she would suffer an absolute defeat. Even without the use of such a godly technique, Vahn was easily able to make the heat in her body spread rapidly as waves of pleasure passed from her abdomen to her head every time he moved his h.i.p.s. Though she did her best to stifle her m.o.a.ns, since they were rather embarrassing to hear, there was nothing she could do to prevent them from leaking out. She couldnt even use her strength to stop his movement because her control over her body was inadequate and Tsubaki was afraid of injuring him... Vahns efforts and Tsubakis inhibitions ovepped and turned into a cycle of increasing pleasure for the once proud swordswoman who was holding onto Vahns body almost like she was afraid to fall through the futon and into the earth below. He had traced all the way around her neck and corbone to both sides of her face before nibbling yfully on her ears. Tsubaki felt like he was avoiding kissing her just because he wanted to hear her cry out and she wanted to get even with him but was unable to muster any meaningful resistance. Even though she was so much stronger than he was, Tsubaki felt powerless against the current Vahn as he skillfully targeted pleasure centers in her body she wasnt even aware of. However, though she was incredibly sensitive, Tsubaki stillst nearly twenty minutes before releasing a powerful cry and removing her arms from Vahns back as she gripped the futon below and arched her body with enough force to momentarily lift Vahn. Because she had bucked him forward, Vahn inserted himselfpletely into her depth and was rubbing against the entrance of her cervix. Though he could hold back for a much longer period of time, Vahn lifted the back of Tsubakis legs so she wasnt able to hold up her h.i.p.s anymore as he leaned against her body and ejacted against the tiny entrance at the back of her v.a.g.i.n.a. Though she had already been having a powerful climax, Vahns ejaction sent a sudden wave of heat and pleasure through Tsubakis body as the small heart-shaped imprint above her w.o.m.b glowed with a pink magical light. A powerful, overwhelming, wave of pleasure wracked Tsubakis body and she could feel everything from the tips of her toes to the top of her head vibrating as she bit her bottom lip with enough force to draw blood. If not for Vahn pressing her down, Tsubaki had the illusion that her body would have floated away and there was even a subtle fear that she would have never been able toe back down again. Vahn had sensed the fluctuation of energying from Tsubakis body, but he was currently too busy embracing Tsubakis shaking body to pay any attention to the change happening below. The one thing he was aware of was the warm energy coursing through his own p.e.n.i.s and the strange sensation that Tsubakis w.o.m.b was actually absorbing his s.e.m.e.n. There was a burning sensation right below his navel, and Vahn could feel it wasing from Tsubakis body, likely from the imprint left behind by the Matryoshka. For an unnerving seven minutes, Tsubakis body continued to vibrate and even Vahn was beginning to suspect something was very wrong. However, her body eventually rxed and shezily brought her arms up around Vahns back to pat him a few times so he would lift himself from her body. Vahn blinked in confusion before separating from Tsubaki after what felt like an eternity. Her brown skin was covered in a beautiful sheen with the sweat that had been built up and even her long ck hair was matted around the loving expression on her face. Though he had seen her give simr looks previously, Vahn truly felt like Tsubaki had opened herselfpletely to him at this moment and he had a powerful urge to kiss her somewhat beige colored lips. Tsubaki, however, seemed to be more interested in the changes to her body as she gently pushed Vahn away when he tried to kiss her. She chuckled and said, "There is plenty of time for that, after all, arent we going to be together for the rest of our lives now?" Vahn had felt momentarily dejected but it was immediately dashed away by Tsubakis words and her awkward action of bending her body forward to stare at where they were connected. The ck imprint above her w.o.m.b was now a faded pink that was very simr in color to her own skin, albeit slightly lighter due to the pink coloration against her natural brown. Vahn saw the imprint as well and immediately activated his [Eyes of Truth] to see a strange sight before him. Beneath the almost indistinguishable imprint, there was now an incrediblyplex formation of magical energy surrounding the interior of Tsubakis w.o.m.b. Though he hadnt observed the changes as they were happening, Vahn could see the aftermath and the strange sight of his own s.e.m.e.n havingpletely vanished. Now, in the very center of Tsubakis w.o.m.b, nestled firmly against the interior walls, there was a vibrant bundle of vitality that was being nourished by the strange magical formation. Though it was somewhat outside of his expectations, Vahn could confirm without a doubt that Tsubaki was pregnant. Based on theplexity of the formation, there was likely nothing she could do to change that now... At some point, Tsubakis left eye had started to glow with a magical light and she could also see, though not nearly with the same rity as Vahn, the presence of a foreign magical energy inside of her own body. Though it normally would have terrified her, since the ipatibilities between magic could literally tear apart someones body, this magical energy made her feel a profound warmth that spread through her entire body and brought herfort. Out of curiosity, she did something that made Vahn panic greatly as she flicked with her full strength at the small imprint with her finger. The moment her finger, which would have been able to destroy arge stone, came into contact with the area a magical light shone and immediately repelled her with. She could feel her own finger had be numb by the rebound and began tough at the fl.u.s.tered Vahn before flipping over and pinning him to the futon. Arge grin appeared on her flushed face as she stared down at Vahn and said in a teasing tone, "Youve really done it now, Vahn! Now that we got the formalities out of the way, why dont we step up the pace a bit, hahahaha~!" Tsubaki dropped her weight against Vahns h.i.p.s as she spoke and had done so with enough force to make the imprint at her stomach glow for a brief moment as her w.o.m.b waspletely shielded from the impact. A wave of pleasure ran through her body that made her grin widen as she pressed Vahns shoulders to the futon and began moving her own h.i.p.s without giving him the opportunity to target her weak spots again. She didnt say it out loud, but she had given Vahn a few points for his earlier actions and now wanted to recoup her losses a bit... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Sealed Godhand vs. The Two-Eyed Cyclops!?,Mommy issues...,Cyclops are known for their powerful regeneration and endless stamina~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 396 - Taking Control

Chapter 396 - Taking Control

(A/N: NSFW, btw~!) After Tsubaki flipped him over on his back, Vahn couldnt do much more than try to get some small advantage by molding herrge b.r.e.a.s.ts with his hands. She had started a breathing rhythm with her eyes closed and, every time she lifted her butt from his body, Tsubaki would exhale loudly through her mouth as she tightened up her abdominal muscles as if she were trying to crush his member. Vahn could feel the edges of his eyes twitch as the edges of his ns scr.a.p.ed against her folds in a very stimting manner. He had tried to adjust his angle, but Tsubaki had pinned his legs with her hands and was carrying out a one-sided assault while he made feeble attempts to counterattack. It might have been tolerable at first, but Tsubakis enamored expression and teasing smile made Vahns heart itch. She had been persisting in a steady rhythm for nearly a half hour and Vahn felt a little bit of fluid drain from his p.e.n.i.s every time she lifted her body. He had tried everything from rubbing her b.r.e.a.s.ts, massaging her sides, stroking her abdomen, and even trying to rock her h.i.p.s. Tsubaki, however, easily countered his movements and, whenever he tried to reposition to get an advantage, she would pin down his shoulders once again with a teasingugh before continuing her assault. The most frustrating thing of all was that Vahn could tell that Tsubakis breathing and straining over her muscles was preventing her own climax. Though she was obviously feeling it greatly, Tsubaki was in a state of absolute focus where she wouldnt let him get a single advantage. Other than a few minor liberties, he was almostpletely at her mercy and was on the verge of snapping. Vahn knew that using [Hands of Nirvana] would immediately change the momentum in his favor, but it was also the same as saying he had given up and had to rely on cheating to win against her. As his tensions continued to rise from Tsubakis constant assault, Vahn tried ast ditch effort to get an edge against by trying to stimte her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s with his right hand, but Tsubaki caught it in an instant before pinning both of his wrists above his head as she leaned forward and pressed her b.r.e.a.s.ts firmly against his chest. She had a big smile on her face as she asked in a husky toneyered with amorous undertones, "Are you about to hit your limit~? Youvested much longer than I expected...its actually very impressive...but Ill be taking this win, Vahn..." As her words fell, Tsubaki began to sway her butt from side to side in a tight circle with Vahn still firmly held inside of her. It was incredibly stimting for her, but Vahn was much closer to release than she was to climax. She had felt the warm sensation spreading inside of her several times and knew he couldnt keep holding it in much longer. Vahn tried to free his hands from Tsubaki in onest desperate attempt before she leaned in and sealed his lips with a deep and passionate kiss. This was one of the few times when Vahn was on the receiving end and he wasnt actually that fond of it. Though he enjoyed everything that was happening, Vahn knew he was the type that liked to get a rise out of people more than he liked being forced. He didnt like feeling helpless in this type of situation and, if not for the fact that he cared about Tsubaki, Vahn would have escaped from her instead of letting his tensions loose and releasing his pent-up emotions deep inside of her body. Feeling the pressure expanding inside her depths, Tsubaki stopped kissing Vahn and released a hot sigh against the side of Vahns face when she rested her head next to his. Her breath tickled his skin and her words made Vahns heart itch fiercely when she chuckled and said, "Thats another point in my favor..." Vahn nodded his head in affirmation as he reached his hands around her back and held her firmly in his embrace. Tsubaki showed a happy smile and kissed the side of Vahns face as she stroked his cheek with her right hand. After a few seconds passed, however, Vahn said in a in tone, "Ill give this bout to you, Tsubaki, Ill even give you the final victory..." Tsubaki felt a bit of anxiety well up inside of her stomach as she listened to Vahns calm words and felt a bit of warmth enter through her back. Tracing his hands around her body, Vahn continued in a gentle, almost soothing, tone, "But, if youre allowed to use your strength to get an advantage, dont me me for using my own...Ill give you the victory, but it wont be without a cost. Its my turn from now until you call my name and Im satisfied...there is quite a bit of time left in the day..." Vahn had hugged Tsubakis body tightly against his as she weakly tried to lift herself from his embrace. With a slightly shaky voice, Tsubaki whispered, "I might have gone a little too far...but fine, do what you want, Vahn, just make sure you dont break me. You already changed my body from the inside out, at least spare me my mind and soul...hahaha..." Vahn nodded his head slowly as he stroked Tsubakis long ck hair with his hand and said, "I will never hurt you, Tsubaki, this much I can promise you. Just remember that teasing goes both ways...and, even though Im still young, Im also a man. My pride might not be developed to the same extent as some, but I still hold it close to my chest...of course, if you want me to stop for real, Ill-" Before Vahn could continue, Tsubaki pinched his left cheek with her right hand in a somewhat painful manner and said, "Shut up, Vahn, you talk too much. Now is the time to act, dont worry, Im not so fragile and I know you wont do anything that would risk our baby. Just make sure you start thinking of a name, Ill be expecting a good one..." Vahn freed his cheek from Tsubakis fingers and said in a confident tone, "Well both talk about it, after all, I want to know everything about you in the future. Ill make my decision once I have a better understanding of the situation. For now, my only concern is what Im going to be doing for the next...four, maybe five, hours?" Tsubaki swallowed hard at Vahns words before a shiver ran up her back as light reverberations began to spread through her body from Vahns unfair hands. He had been gently pressing into each of her pressure points and nerve cl.u.s.ters, almost like he was linking them all together and constantlypounding the tensions in her body while also forcing the surrounding muscles to rx. It was a very frustrating andplicated feeling because, even though she tried to resist the mounting pressure, each echo built up on top of the previous ones and they continued to bounce around in her body without ceasing for a single moment. Vahn could feel the vibrations through Tsubakis body and felt her v.a.g.i.n.a wriggling about as if it hade to life as her body entered the early stages of what would likely be a perpetual climax. He didnt want to push her over the edge simply using his massage techniques, but Vahn wanted to keep her at the precipice. He lifted her panting body before managing to shift her weight for a brief moment where he could get his feet under him. He hadnt done much to her lower body, so Tsubaki still had strength in her legs when Vahn gripped her butt and said, "Hold on tightly..." Tsubaki was currently biting her lower lip again as she loosely hugged Vahns shoulders with her arms and wrapped her long brown legs around his waist. Though things would continue on the groundter, Vahn wanted to try something interesting since he had confidence in Tsubakis tolerance. Using Shundo, he reappeared next to a wall before pressing Tsubaki against it with his own body. She was surprised by the sudden change and put as much strength as she could in her weak arms to hold onto Vahn as he pried open her legs with his hands and lifted them to the point where her knees touched the wall behind her. Since she couldnt put much strength into her arms, the only thing that kept Tsubaki from falling was the wall behind her, Vahns hands, and the hot rod that was piercing her to the point where a constant pink glow emitted from the imprint on her lower abdomen. Vahn used Tsubakis own weight,bined with the leverage he had gained, to piston powerfully into her body from below. Other than when he took someone from behind, Vahn felt like this was one of the positions where he could most reliably control the body of the woman. He wasnt sure if it was a trait of all girls, or just the ones he had been with, but they were all very flexible. When he had been with Hephaestus earlier, she had even been able to do a full split as Vahn rocked her h.i.p.s around. Though his own flexibility was very high, Vahn knew he couldnt do the same things as the girls because of the orientation of his bones. He could easily do a split, but it would cause some difort for obvious reasons. Another reason Vahn enjoyed this position was due to the loud, sloppy, intense, and e.r.o.t.i.c sound that wasing from where they were connected. He knew it was the pride of a woman to show their tolerance during intercourse and how effective the soundsing from their body could be when used against them. For a strong woman like Tsubaki, it was especially effective and Vahn could feel her legs quivering in frustration and she clung to his body and released sensual m.o.a.ns into his ears. Vahn pressed his weight against her even more and Tsubakis stifled m.o.a.ns became even louder as he adjusted his position and scrapped his p.e.n.i.s along the topside of Tsubakis v.a.g.i.n.a in slow and steady pistons that made her entire body vibrate powerfully as a flood of juices constantly dripped from the tantalizing brown flesh. A powerful reverberation passed through Tsubakis body and her womanly m.o.a.n became closer to a pitiful whine as she pressed her head into his neck. Vahn could feel a powerful stimtion gripping around his own p.e.n.i.s as a result of her climax, but he ground his own teeth and continued his movements to push Tsubaki further and further up the endlessdder of pleasure. This was something he had long noticed about women, the fact they were able to have simultaneous climaxes that could be drawn out for more than an hour if properly managed. He was a bit jealous since, though it was incredibly pleasurable for him, the moment of release was very short and faded away just a few secondster as if all the tensions in his body had been an illusion. Tsubaki began to pat his back as she muttered almost pitifully into his ear, "Okay...Vahn, thats enough...Ill call your name....as much as you want...just let me down..." Though she had made mental preparations for what was toe, Tsubaki had severely underestimated Vahns technique in conjunction with his [Hands of Nirvana]. Her body was way too sensitive after the change and it was like the energying from his hands was especially synergistic now. It might be because he had shaped her using that same energy, but Tsubaki felt like it was way stronger than she had remembered from the past. Even though his hands were just on the backs of her knees, it was like the energy was spreading through her blood and making her entire body ache from the waves of pleasureing from where she was connected with Vahn. Vahn slowed his movements, but he didnte to aplete stop as he said in a teasing voice simr to Tsubakis from earlier, "I dont simply want you to call my name, Tsubaki, I want you to scream it as I continue to push you higher and higher towards a greater pleasure. Ill let you down...as soon as I ejacte again, or when you say my name... lets say, one-hundred times?" With his words, Vahn pistoned hard into Tsubakis body and she released a long m.o.a.n before saying, "You...really..." Though not as hard as before, Vahn scr.a.p.ed himself along the top of Tsubakis inner walls and sent a powerful wave through her body that instantly changed her tone as she said, "Vahn..." The sensual way she had called his name was almost like the starting gun and Vahn moved his h.i.p.s in a very small circle as he undted in a steady rhythm while moving Tsubakis legs to match his movements. Tsubaki began to release gasping breaths but, instead of calling his name again immediately, she said in a serious manner, "If I ever hear...any of the other girls...mention this in the future...I will make sure you go through hell training....every day until you be...stronger than me!" Somehow, Tsubaki regained a bit of strength in her arms as she tightly hugged his body and ced her mouth near his ear without directly shouting into it as she loudly m.o.a.ned, "Vaaahn~" Though he had already been in an excited state, Vahns heart fluttered and he felt a chill run down his back at hearing Tsubaki call his name in such a manner. From then onwards, every time he scr.a.p.ed her insides, Tsubaki would continue to call his name over and over with an increasing amount of passion each time. Vahn could feel his teeth ttering and felt like his own sensibilities were beginning to deteriorate every time she opened her beautiful lips and called his name. He hadnt expected the impact of such a simple act to resonate so powerfully with him and he wasnt sure if she would reach one-hundred before he couldnt hold himself back anymore... Tsubaki had held back at first, but after repeating his name more than ten times she began to stop caring and just said Vahns name as loudly as she felt like. Every time he pressed into her, Tsubaki could feel him knocking against the barrier inside of her body and the resonate energy spread through her body like a tidal wave. She was beginning to feel like the time before her current climax was an illusion. It seemed to nevere to an end, no matter how much she tried to resist the pleasure, so the only form of release she could manage was crying out Vahns name as she held tightly to his body. Tsubaki could actually feel Vahn growing inside of her and could feel the powerful heat rising in his body and it only stirred her up even more and she resolved herself to beat him up in the future for doing such a thing to her. As if he wasnt satisfied with changing her body with his Nirvana, now Vahn seemed intent on rewriting her memory of what normal pleasure was supposed to be like. She just wanted to beat him up until he had turned into a pig face but the only thing she could do right now was to continue calling his name in the hopes that he would give her a momentary reprieve in the seemingly distant future... Even Vahn wasnt sure how much time was passing at this point as he mechanically counted the times Tsubaki called his name as he resisted the urge to release. Perhaps she had remembered her earlier actions, but every time he tried to pull out of her Tsubaki would mp her abdominal muscled and clench up her butt to tighten around his member as if refusing to let it escape. It wasnt the same vice-like tightness of a goddess like Hestia and Anubis, but it was a powerful force that almost made it seem as though her insides had turned into a powerful suction force. Tsubakis voice had, ironically, be like a beacon that showed him the way through stormy seas and warned him of an inevitable collision if he continued forward without proper caution. After what felt like an eternity for both of them, which was actually only around seven minutes, Tsubaki shouted Vahns name one final time as he finally released his built up tensions deep inside of her with a long gasp escaping his throat. Tsubaki herself, as if hypnotized by her own words, had released the final shout at the top of her lungs. Vahn felt like his legs were going weak and Tsubakis rtively light body began to feel heavy against his h.i.p.s. Before he actually fell over, Vahn did his best to use Shundo as they both appeared on top of the futon. Without the support of the wall, Tsubaki fell back while still in the middle of her own cry and Vahn used what remained of his strength to guide her body safely to the bed. She wouldnt actually have been harmed, even if he let her fall freely, but Vahn didnt want to be used ofcking delicacy after the fact. Vahn had slipped out of Tsubaki when she fell to the futon, so he also copsed next to her as they both drew gasps of breath and tried to regte their breathing. Since she was under the effects of [Hands of Nirvana], Tsubaki was at a severe disadvantage and Vahn was able to recover long before her. Tsubaki looked up at him with zed and passionate eyes and, from the very moment they matched gazes, Vahn could feel her aura re up and wrap around him greedily. He knew he had flipped her switch and there was still plenty of daylight left before he would have to return. Without much hesitation, Vahn crunched a [Senzu Bean] in his mouth before flipping Tsubaki over on her stomach and raising her ratherrge and plump butt so that she was on her knees. Vahn released a fervent sigh of his own as he stared at the slightly open vulva that dripped with abination of Tsubakis love juices and his own life-giving serum. It wasnt an exaggeration to say Tsubaki had the biggest butt among girls that he associated with and, because of his past efforts, it was very shapely and pleasant to the touch. Vahn could see her anus twitch a bit in a steady pulsing manner and it was slightly moist from all of the fluids she had produced earlier. Spreading her slightly swollen vulva, Vahn positioned his ns at the entrance to Tsubakis v.a.g.i.n.a before pressing forward with his h.i.p.s and straddling her legs with his own. Tsubaki released a long sigh at his re-entry and tried to lift her body before a shock ran through her back that made her copse back to the bed. Vahn had started massaging her butt using his [Hands of Nirvana] and was tracing his thumbs along the edge of her vulva and spreading them as he probed their interior and continually stimted her. He avoided the danger zone at the top, since he didnt want Tsubaki to actually break, but continued to knead Tsubakis fleshy butt and insides with his dexterous fingers as she buried her head into a pillow. Though he couldnt understand it fully, Vahn felt his instincts sending warnings to his mind and telling him that he was putting himself in an increasing amount of danger. He imagined that Tsubaki was probably going to be angry with himter, but that was something he would have to deal with the time came. Now, and for nearly three hours after, Vahn ced his full focus on Tsubakis body as they both experienced the changes that had urred ever since she experienced Nirvana in the past. Though it might be an illusion, Vahn felt like Tsubaki was bing increasingly more beautiful the longer they were together and it incited him to eagerly seek out her body. Towards the end, she had even started calling his name again and Vahns instincts went haywire the moment he pulled out of her body. By the end, they had spent nearly five hours together without rest and both Vahn and Tsubaki were exhausted from the exertion. Tsubaki was especially affected since she had been on the receiving end for a long period of time and was only now being allowed to recover. Though she had egged him on a bit, and greatly enjoyed the time they spent together, Tsubaki now felt incredibly embarrassed as she began to recall everything she had said and done at Vahns behest. There was even a point where he had pinned her wrists in the same way she had done to him, almost as if he were trying to get even with her. Now that the effects of his energy were beginning to fade, some rity returned to her mind and shezily raised her body to stare at Vahn sprawled out with his arms wide. After watching him for a few seconds, Tsubaki crawled over to the side and reached for a small vial before removing the top and downing the contents. She felt a cool sensation enter her throat before a warmth began to spread through her body. What she had consumed was a High-Grade Elixer that costs nearly 500,000V and recovered both stamina and injuries. However, even with the effects of the potion, Tsubaki could feel like there was something missing in her lower body as an ache continued to persist. Though it had been a long time since she experienced such a thing, Tsubaki knew her body was craving Vahns and it would likely take her several hours to return to normal. She pressed down on her own abdomen and dragged her hand down as arge volume of fluids drained from her interior. Because of Vahns actions in the past, her insides were very pliant and closed very quickly. This allowed a fair amount of buildup to persist even after the fact and Tsubaki knew it would probably be dripping out of her for the rest of the day unless she tried to clean it out in the bath... Releasing a long sigh, Tsubaki looked over and saw Vahn sitting up and she said in a in tone, "Vahn, Im sorry..." Vahn c.o.c.ked his head to the side in confusion and looked like he was about to ask a question before his eyes widened and he tried to rise to his feet. Tsubaki, however, had already moved over in a sh and used her long leg to kick at Vahns guard and send him tumbling through the room. Before he couldnd on his feet and use Shundo to escape, Tsubaki had already appeared next to him and grabbed his wrist mid-air before flipping him onto his stomach. As if emting their first meeting, Tsubaki dropped her n.a.k.e.d and plump butt down on Vahns back. She noticed a bit of fluid drain out of her v.a.g.i.n.a and leak out onto his lower back and begin to pool. Tsubakis brows began to twitch at the sight before she raised her hand and lowered it down to smack Vahns rear end and gave him his second spanking between two lives as she lectured him about proper restraint and to not bully women. When Vahn tried to apologize, Tsubaki said in a somewhat snide tone, "Sure, Ill forgive you, as long as you apologize one-hundred times~!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tsubakis Dominance,Vahns Vengeance,Godhand versus the fist of love!?) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 397 - Lady in Black

Chapter 397 - Lady in ck

By the time Tsubaki finally released him, Vahn had learned various lessons about how scary a mature woman could be. Fortunately, Tsubaki hadnt continued to spank him until he had apologized entire one-hundred times, but she did lecture him quite a bit after releasing him. Vahn sat with his back straight in a seiza position as the beautiful half-dwarf woman from the Far East paced back and forth before himpletely n.a.k.e.d. If his eyes averted from her face, Tsubaki used a reinforced bamboo fan to smack the top of his head and continued her lecture until it was nearly 5 PM. There werent many people that were restraining Vahn in his current life, so Tsubaki took it upon herself to discipline Vahn properly for doing things excessively. When the lecture finally came to an end, they both took a bath before changing into clothes that Tsubaki had set out previously. Tsubaki helped Vahn wear an indigo blue yukata with a white symbol on the back that disyed the Hephaestus Familia Emblem. Vahn had asked why it was necessary for her to help him get dressed, especially considering that he could equip clothing much faster, but Tsubaki flicked his forehead and said, "If you dont want my help, go ahead and refuse. Sometimes a woman just wants to help her man get dressed..." Without exining further, Tsubaki pulled the sash around Vahns waist tight before giving him a crimson red haori to wear over his yukata. Vahn liked the style of the Far East and had read up on it a bit, so he actually understood exactly what Tsubaki was doing and just wanted to tease her a bit. Though he wasnt going to do it in excess, he still liked to rile up the mature woman a little. It was a tradition in the Far East that, after you consummate a marriage through intercourse, the woman would help the man dress in a new set of clothing to emphasize the change in their rtionship. Vahn also knew there was another part to the ceremony, though they had skipped it previously since they had never actually mentioned getting married beforehand. There was a type of formal wear called a Furisode, which was a type of kimono worn by unmarried women in the Far East. Since Tsubaki wasnt a maiden and prided herself as a warrior, she wore a red hakama, which was typically associated with men. It was a tradition that, before you consummated the marriage, the man would slowly strip the newly wedded wife of her furisode before they had s.e.x for the first time as husband and wife. After the fact, the wife would wash the husbands body and help him wear a different set of clothing depending on the asion. If it was their first marriage, they would wear a white haori and, if the woman was still a v.i.r.g.i.n, there would be red sewn into the sleeves. The red haori that Tsubaki gave Vahn was indicative that she had dedicated herself to him as his mistress... Vahn wanted to release a sigh, but he just showed a polite smile and epted Tsubakis resolve as he continued the final part of the tradition even without Tsubaki having to exin anything. She gave him a wry smile after understanding that he knew what was going on and allowed Vahn to help her wear a velvety ck kimono known as a Kurotomesode. This was the traditional garb typically worn by married women and consisted of a crisp ck fabric with the pattern of a phoenix and a dragon embroidered into the lower half. There was also a beautiful crimson obi that Vahn wrapped snuggly around Tsubakis waist before helping to tie up her hair into a styled ponytail. Tsubaki was a little surprised that he was so capable at styling hair and allowed him to pin two crimson red hairpins into the top of her hair to ent the ribbon tying up the ponytail. By the time she waspletely dressed, Tsubaki had been turned from a fierce warrior, and capable cksmith, into a beautiful young woman with a confident disposition and crystal clear red eyes that shone like gemstones between the silky ck hair that framed her face. Seeing Vahn appraise her, Tsubaki showed a wide grin that somewhat spoiled the elegant image as she crossed her arms and said, "Well, thats that I suppose. I might not be your wife, but I can be one of your mistresses at the very least. Besides, this way I can support you and Hephaestus while also helping to take care of the household and the children when youre away. Be grateful, okay?" Vahn released a short sigh through his nose as he walked forward and took Tsubakis hands into his own as he said in a gentle tone, "I have been grateful for everything you have given me Tsubaki, including yourself. No matter how much time passes, no matter how difficult life may get at times, I will never forget moments like this. They will be my power and help me push forward towards a brighter future for our entire family...thank you, for everything you have, and everything you will do for me in the future. I wouldnt be the man I am today without your guidance..." Tsubaki showed a wry smile with glittering eyes as she leaned forward and said, "Vahn, you really do talk too much..." before kissing him deeply for nearly an entire minute afterward. When she finally released him, Tsubaki showed a happy smile and said, "You give me strength too, Vahn, and so much more...but those arent things we need to say each other. In fact, there is a simple way that saves a lot of time, you know~?" Seeing the cheeky grin on Tsubakis face, Vahn blinked twice in confusion before his expression turned soft and he hugged Tsubakis waist as he whispered, "Tsubaki, I love you..." Hearing his words, Tsubaki began tough boisterously for several seconds before she shouted, "It would be problematic if you didnt, you already put a baby in my belly, you idiot! Hahahahahaha!" Before he left, Vahn spent a bit of time sitting alongside Tsubaki in the open air corridor as they both sipped on tea and watched the waning sun begin its descent from the sky. They talked a little bit about the future and Vahn discussed his ns to go into the Dungeon and hunt Bloodsaurus on the 30th floor. If he had let her know sooner, Tsubaki said she would have gone with him as she also wanted to test out a new weapon she had forged recently. She also made ament about refusing to let Vahn die until he came up with a name for their child and told him to take better care of himself. The final part of their conversation rted to her moving into the Hearth Manor in the future and Tsubaki said she would take care of a few things before packing up and heading over once all of her supplies and tools were moved. She would likely have everything taken care of before he returned from the Dungeon and promised to reward him plentily when he got back to the surface. However, she also went into detail about having Vahn restart his training since it seemed like he had been cking off ever since he moved away. Tsubaki had a lot of experience training others, so she would likely be the head instructor for the girls since she was far more capable than Ryuu and Aki. Tsubaki finally kicked Vahn out of the Manor soon after their conversation wrapped up when he tried to cop a feel of her butt while they were sharing an embrace. Since she was still wearing her tight kimono, she couldnt move around easily and just hit him with a t sandal before shooing him away. Vahn protected the top of his head with his hands and escaped from the angered Tsubaki who had a big grin on her face as she watched his departing figure until he eventually disappeared from the streets using Shundo. She released a hot sigh before absentmindedly cing her hands on her abdomen and walking back into the warm interior of the Manor. Though she had never thought about it previously, the once familiar residence where she resided for nearly ten years now seemed somewhatrge, silent, and lonely... Vahn had made his way back to the Hearth Manor wearing the yukata and haori that Tsubaki had given to him. The thought of removing it so suddenly made him feel a little awkward, but he knew it might cause a stir with girls like Mikoto and Haruhime present. He eventually changed out of the ceremonial clothing and stared it safely within his inventory for future use. There was no special significance to actually keeping it on, Vahn had just felt like he should have worn it for a longer period of time. He knew Tsubaki wouldnt begrudge him for such a thing and would probably reprimand him for not showing consideration to the other girls by keeping it on. When Vahn arrived at the Manor, he was met at the door by Fenrir, Hestia, and Syr before they made their way into the dining room where dinner had already been prepared. Vahn apologized to everyone for histe arrival and joined everyone since he had skipped lunch earlier. During the conversations that followed, many of the girls gave him knowing looks as they asked about how Tsubaki was doing. Vahn eventually caved under the pressure and told them that he had used the [Matryoshka of Fertility] and she was now pregnant as well. Both Aki and Arnya were present at the table and had thoughtful expressions on their faces as everyone offered various congrattions and started talking about celebrating in the future. Vahn had been paying special attention to Arnya and Chloe ever since he got back and could see that Arnya was still somewhat absentminded. She usually pretended to be a ditzy girl, but Vahn knew she was actually a prodigious talent when it came tobat. He could tell there was something on her mind as ofte and hoped it was just the pregnancy weighing on her mind. Vahn knew she didnt have any problem getting pregnant, or she would have taken the contraceptive with everyone else, so there must be another reason. Unless, of course, Arnya got pregnant intentionally and was now brooding over a matter that had yet toe to light... Mealtime in the Hearth Manor usually turned out to be closer to an event than a normal meal as there was always a moderately festive atmosphere as everyone talked happily amongst themselves. Many of the girls got along well with each other and Vahn could see the budding rtionsh.i.p.s shared between everyone, even the newer additions to the group. One of the most problematic girls that were constantly on his mind, Lili, was even happily sitting with Lefiya and Preasia as they talked about various topics, many of which included him. Vahn credited the sess of things to Syrs efforts and the existence of thework. Even now, the girls would periodically open up the little logbooks they carried around with them everywhere and briefly write something inside that would be transmitted to the other girls at the table. Vahn was somewhat jealous of this and thought about extending his ownwork through Ouka, Welf, Gareth, and maybe Keith, Finn, and the yet unseen Raul. Vahn was actually beginning to worry if he would ever meet the man that might have ended up as Akis lover if circ.u.mstances had been different. There was a good chance they had already met and Vahn was simply unaware of it because they had never been introduced. After the long meal came to an end, everyone split off into their own small groups to do various activities before bed as Vahn made his way to his own room. Typically, when he sent an invitation to the girls, they would usually arrive at his room after making their own preparations. He had sent his offer to both Chloe and Arnya since he wanted to spend time with them before entering the Dungeon, but neither had shown up even after he was inside his room for twenty minutes. Vahn could track the auras of everyone in the Manor and could tell that both Chloe and Arnya were in her room and he assumed the slightlyrger aura with them was Syr. Vahn wondered what they were talking about but knew he couldnt get involved with everything or it would cause problems in the future. Everyone needed to have their secrets and, unless she willingly revealed the information, Vahn couldnt force Arnya, or any of the girls, to reveal the matters they wanted to keep secret. Vahn had decided toy down in his bed and simply enjoy some rare time alone, if that ended up being the case. Though his tensions had been high throughout the day, he had rxed a lot after his time with Tsubaki and actually wasnt in the mood for doing anything else. Of course, he wouldnt back away at all, especially since Chloe was one of the girls he invited. Chloe was actually one of the girls closest to his heart, and Vahn was always worrying that he didnt spend enough time with her. She didnt seem to mind it at all, and her Love parameter was constantly increasing, but Vahn still wanted to do more for her when he could. Arnya was in a simr situation, but she and Vahn had always been closer to friends than actual lovers. Though Arnyas affection was 99(Love), Vahn felt like she had distanced herself from him after their first time together... Though he had been somewhat lost in thought, Vahn still detected the presences outside his door and sat up around the same time as they knocked. Soon after, the door opened to show Chloe with a smile on her face as she yfully shouted, "Nyahaha~! The beautiful Cat Person Duo, Chloe and Arnya have arrived~!" Behind Chloe, Arnya was also present in a set of peach pajamas that were covered in small cartoonish figures. She had a slight blush on her face and her ears were twitching about periodically as she walked into the room and closed it behind them. This was one of the things that Vahn found confusing because he could clearly see Arnya pink and yellow aura, which implied she felt both happy and affectionate, but she also had an awkward and almost mncholic look on her face as she hesitantly walked over with Chloe. Chloe was wearing a white nightgown that barely reached her waist and each of her movements gave Vahn a glimpse of none other than the pair of stark white panties he had gifted her in the past. She came battle readypared to Arnya, who was wearing pajamas that covered her top and bottom, and Vahn could also see the line of an undershirt and shorts beneath the loose fabric. Unlike Chloe, she didnt seem to want to be here and Vahn felt a bit pained by this realization and wondered if there was something unique about her aura that made it harder to read than others. Her aura seemed normal, so she shouldnt be a demigoddess, but her actions were a clear contrast of the aura radiating from her body. Vahn snapped to attention when he heard Chloeughing yfully as she said, "See, we told you he would be worrying, didnt we?" Arnya nodded her head slowly and stared at Vahn with an apologetic expression before bowing and saying, "Im sorry, Vahnya! Please dont worry about me too much, Ive just been thinking about the past a bit is all~! Ever since..." Arnya ced her hands on her stomach and blushed a rosy pink before continuing, "Ever since I got pregnant, Ive been thinking a lot about my past family and friends...Im just worried that this happiness wontst...that I wont be strong enough to protect my...no, our child..." The worries that had been starting to root themselves in Vahns mind vanished entirely after hearing Arnyas words. He showed the best smile he could manage before shaking his head and saying, "Its not a worry you have to bottle up inside of yourself, Arnya. There are plenty of people that will help you carry your burdens, myself included. There are many things in life that, as individuals, we are unable to aplish yet, when we work together, they suddenly be very easy to manage. Please, confide in me when you are feeling worried, I will do my best to bring you somefort and ease the burdens in your heart..." Arnya had glittering brown eyes as she stared at Vahn while Chloe had startedughing from the side after having already crawled onto the edge of the massive bed. Vahn and Arnya looked over at her and she said, "Though it isnt the same, you said something very simr to what Syr said youd say. That girl knows you better than she knows herself, nyahahahaha~." Arnya seemed to recall what Chloe was talking about as her eyes opened wide and she beganughing as well. Vahn was left there staring at the two Cat Persons that were sharing augh on his behalf. He just shook his head in mock exasperation before patting the bed and saying, "Here, lets rx tonight instead of doing anything intense. I feel like spoiling the both of you..." Chloes tail twitched after hearing Vahns words and his eyes were drawn to the blue ribbon tied around her tail for a brief moment. A sudden realization hit Vahn and he turned his eyes to Arnyas tail, which was also twitching about but was without the promised ribbon. Vahn mentally remarked, ("Sis, if I make a promise with a girl, please periodically remind me about it so I dont forget...") An elegantughter sounded in his head before Sis said, (*Certainly, Vahn, leave it to me...however, its not very manly that you have to rely on my help to keep promises with girls...fufufu*) Vahn felt embarrassed by Siss words and waited for Chloe and Arnya to crawl into bed before he pulled out a green ribbon. Arnya saw the small ribbon and blinked several times before her eyes widened and she pointed at herself and asked, "Mi~nya?" Vahn originally tried to show an honest expression and thought about making an excuse but decided to instead say, "Sorry, I had forgotten about it previously..." Arnya began tough in a cheerful manner as she waved her hand dismissively and said, "Nyo problem, I was beginning to worry a bit, but you managed to pull through in the end~nyahaha." Vahn took a bit of a mental impact from Arnyas words until she turned around and waggled her butt at him as she said in a mischevious tone, "Put it on me, Vahnya~!" Vahn got on his knees and approached Arnyas behind and got momentarily distracted by her somewhat plump rear that was marginallyrger than most Cat Persons. During his momentarypse, Arnya asked yfully, "I dont mind, but how much longer are you going to make me wait~?" As if to emphasize that her tail was stillcking a ribbon, Arnya flicked it once and it lightly whipped Vahns tunic. Without making her wait any longer, Vahn reached out and began to tie the green ribbon around the base of Arnyas tail. Her body flinched when he tightened it snuggly but she said, "Ah, I can understand why other girls do this...it makes my heart feel at ease for some reasonya~?" From the side, Chloe reached over and gently pulled on the stray end of the ribbon and said, "Ah, its nice and tight. Youre lucky, Arnya, when Vahn first gave me my ribbon he didnt know how to tie it properly at all~." The two girls began tough in their characteristic nyahahaha manner as Vahn still kneeled behind Arnya. Even though he had already tied the ribbon for her, she seemed to be pretending to be ditzy and had forgotten to stop waggling her butt even when she wasughing with Chloe. Vahn would have felt she was trying to seduce him if not for the fact that her aura was very stable and had more yellows and blues in it than pinks and reds. In other words, she was just being yful and wasnt trying to actually stir him up at all. Deciding to take the initiative a bit, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Okay, Ill spoil the two of you a bit and then well go to sleep. Weve all got big days tomorrow, so Ill make sure your body is in pristine condition for your Grand Opening. As an apology, Ill start with Arnya so you can stop wagging your butt andy on your stomach for now." Arnya began tough in a coy manner after hearing Vahns words before saying, "Nyaaaa? I heard you were fond of butts and just wanted to apologize to you for making you worry about me~nyahaha." As she spoke, Arnya flopped down onto her stomach and left Vahn ck-jawed after hearing what she said. He looked over and saw that Chloe had a gentle, yet mischievous, look as she watched him with her beautiful green eyes. Like all Cat People, both Chloe and Arnya had a yful and mischevious personality and they fed off of each other well. Even Aki and Mn were very simr and Vahn realized it would actually be very fun if they spent more time just enjoying each otherspany. He didnt have to spend all the quality time with the girls just having s.e.x with them. Just like he had done with Tsubaki, at least after they had s.e.x, it was actually very refreshing to simply talk and drink tea with each other. Since he hadnt been visiting the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn had almost forgotten about how he simply used to spend time pampering Chloe while sheid down in hisp and ate his offerings. Vahn nodded his head with a thoughtful smile as he began to massage Arnyas back while only partially relying on his [Hands of Nirvana]. When Chloe asked what he was thinking about, Vahn exined, "I just realized something very important...I think I want to try being friends with everyone, not just their lovers..." Chloes brows raised slightly and she c.o.c.ked her head to the side as she said, "I think it would probably depend on the girl, but I think it would be a good idea to get closer to them as well. We all know so much about your past, but I think there is a lot about the girls that you havent learned yet..." As Chloe spoke, she gave a nce down at the drooling Arnya who was very much so enjoying the massage and seemingly unaware of their conversation... Vahn traced his thumbs along Arnyas spine and caused her pajamas to rise up a bit and reveal her lower back. She wiggled her legs slightly as her tail flickered about and she released a mewling cry even though Vahn wasnt overly stimting her. Since he wasnt going to try and undress her, Vahn changed from rubbing her back to using his fingers to ease the tensions in her muscles. Because they had experienced his massage before, many of the girls around Vahn didnt actually have any strains he needed to take care of, but he still went through the motions just because he didnt like to cut corners on things like this. All the while he gave Arnya a massage, Vahn was thinking about Chloes words and knew she waspletely correct. Just as Tsubaki had said earlier, Vahn knew almost nothing about many of the girls, other than the small tidbits he had picked up through casual conversation. He knew about Chloes past, because she had told him, but Vahn had almost no information about any of the girls unless he had viewed their [Hearts Desire]. He knew a lot about Lili because she too had told him about her past, but Vahn didnt even know the girls he was close to like Hephaestus, Tiona, Ais, and several others. Yes, he had seen their important memories, but they had never told him directly and were entirely unaware that he knew the traumas hidden deep inside of their hearts... Vahn had been thrown into a very unique situation and, because of his empathetic nature, character, capabilities, and even wealth, he had somehow gotten close to arge number of women in a very short period of time. The strangest part was how they had actually created thework and expanded their own numbers a bit through their own careful moderation. Because they had been looking out for him, they held their private Vahnatus and spread his information to the girls that were previously unaware of his past. His empathy,bined with their sympathy, and various other factors, had brought them very close together in a decidedly short period of time. Even the number of girls he was sleeping with increased exponentially after he finally fulfilled his promise with Hephaestus... Aftering to this realization, Vahn made a firm resolve deep within his heart that, until he was able to better understand the girls already involved with him, he would avoid situations where he might get close to others. He didnt want to be someone that simply created bonds with people without regard to their past and where theyd like to go in the future. Vahn wanted the girls to be self-reliant, but he also knew they would likely get wrapped up in the major decisions he made in the future. Since there was a very real chance he would be involved in wars, it meant there would very likely be some of the girls standing at his side during the trials he would face. Vahn wanted to be closer to the girls he cared about, as he had started to truly love several of them. When he returned from the Dungeon, Vahn had decided to talk with Hephaestus, Eina, Hestia, Loki, and Syr, about his concerns so he could try and get a better understanding of each girl. Though he wouldnt force them to share, Vahn still wanted them to have that level of trust with him. He would put off using any of their [Hearts Desire]s that he might obtain until hearing directly from them what they wanted. This would allow him to justify using the item, as there was a very real chance that some of the girls might not even truly know what they want. Once he had finished up with Arnya, shezily climbed up from the bed and, before Vahn could start tending to Chloe, Arnya hung from his neck and pressed her deceptivelyrge b.r.e.a.s.ts into his chest and began to lick around his chin and neck. Vahn looked over at Chloe with a mild panic on his face, but her response was to simplyugh as she helped Arnya push him to the bed as they both started licking around his body with their rough tongues after stripping off his tunic. Vahn was very confused by what was happening and tried to respond to their strange actions, but both girls straddled one of his arms and sat on it with their butts as the continued to lick his body in a yful manner for nearly twenty minutes. When they were finally finished, Arnya simply said, "You spoiled me, why cant I spoil you~? You have strangely sweet sweat, its very peculiar~nya." After they released him, Vahn began massaging Chloe as well, but now there was an added element to things as Arnya kneeled behind him and hugged his body as she continued to absentmindedly lick him. She had even moved up to his hair at one point and didnt seem to be bothered by it as she licked the base where his hair connected to his neck. Vahn didnt understand how such a simple thing could be so pleasant but just did his best to ignore it while he continued to massage Chloe. When her time hade to an end, Vahn ended up getting jointly assaulted by the two girls once again. Arnya seemed to have be fond of licking around his hair and ears, but Chloe was far bolder and licked around his lower abdomen and even tongued his navel several times. Eventually, Vahn noticed the passionate red that had started to emerge in their auras and knew they had also had their switched flipped after nearly two and a half hours of affectionate contact. Though he had initially said they were going to just going to spend some time together, that changed very quickly when Chloe went even lower down his body and began to sniff and lick around his trousers as if trying to get at something contained within. Arnya had also been pressing her chest to his and Vahn could feel hard protrusions scratching against him so he changed his mind and the three began an additional two hours of lovemaking. Arnya and Chloe worked very well together and made the entire experience very fun so Vahn ended up losing out and getting caught in theirbined momentum. At the end of things, Chloe hade full circle and Vahn had to grit his teeth as she dragged her rough tongue around his ns... (A/N: This volume was originally supposed to end around the Monster Feria, but I decided to wrap up a few things in preparation for the Dungeon Expedition. There are a lot of ovepping subplots going on, as well as a few major events that have been set in motion. Look forward to the future~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sneaky Tsubaki Secures the Early Victory,You know nothing, Vahn Mason,Affectionate Kittens) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 398 - Capabilities

Chapter 398 - Capabilities

Vahn had underestimated how mischevious Chloe and Arnya could be together, not that he minded since he would be away from them for more than a week. Depending on how things yed out, unless something went wrong, they would end up spending around 1 day traveling and 6-8 days actuallypleting their quest. Bloodsaurus, thoughmon starting at the 30th floor, werent so easily processed for their blood and the majority would likely end up vanishing into purple dust depending on how they were killed. Typically speaking, one of the best ways to deal with them would be to sever the spine at the base of the neck in order topletely immobilize them. This would give you enough time to drain their blood before they inevitably dissipated. Even though he hadnt gotten too much sleep, Vahn ended up peeling this mischevious kittens off of his body in order to prepare for theing day. Arnya seemed to have developed a taste for him the previous night and, even though she was still sleeping, she would periodically lick his chest throughout the night. When he moved them, both girls woke up and opened their slightly glowing eyes which enabled them to see in the low light of the room. Vahn habitually reached out and pet the two of them as they snuggled up against him and began to nuzzle their heads and faces against his own. Though he didnt have a preference persay, this was one of the reasons Vahn liked beast-people, since they had somewhat animalistic qualities that made them very adorable at times. After spending a few minutes with the girls, Vahn exined the situation before patting their bottoms and sending them back to bed so they wouldnt be tired for their big day. Before he left, they both had him refasten their ribbons for them, iming that it felt better when it was tied by the person they loved. When he finally ended up leaving his room, Vahn was in a great mood because of the affectionate actions of the girls throughout the night. He knew they were probably just trying to encourage him, and Vahn was very grateful for theirbined efforts... When he got back from the Dungeon, Vahn nned to try and find out from Arnya exactly why she had been so down recently. As he wasying infort the previous night, Vahn reyed through the scene at the Hostess of Fertility that fateful night and remembered that Arnya was originally against having children. She had actually apologized to him several times in the beginning yet, by the time the girls were taking the contraceptives, she had changed her mind entirely. Vahn could see the mncholy hidden deep within her eyes and he knew there was something more that she had yet to mention. He had confidence she would eventually tell him on her own, but Vahn wanted her to confide in him earlier, especially if it was something rting to their child. Likely due to the fact that they would be heading into the Dungeon very early this morning, there was a lot of activity within the Manor even though the sun had yet to start rising in the sky. When Vahn had gone to take his early morning bath, even though he got some strange look from the beast girls, almost everyone was present and talking amongst each other as they waited for his arrival. Because he was going to be gone for a long time, they had wanted to spend some extra time with him. Vahn felt very warm at the notion he was such an important fixture in their lives, so he spent some extra time helping wash down the bodies of the girls he would be away from for the next week. Vahns care ended up making them miss their morning training and the group spent the remaining time eating a lively breakfast and talking about future ns. Though it wasnt the best time for it, Vahn had been talking about his own desire to grow stronger so he could help the other girls increase their own parameters in the future. His words had caused a change in the tone of the conversation and brought up the topic of rare skills and Vahns apparent ability to help people awaken them through the use of his [Mentor] Development Ability. After the girls found out that Riveria had allowed Vahn to check her Status Board in the past, which revealed that she also had sealed skills, Vahn ended up having to check the Status Boards of the other girls that would be entering the Dungeon alongside him. Vahn didnt mind that much, as he was very curious about the parameters of the girls from the Loki Familia, but he felt like it had turned the lively atmosphere into a rosier color tinged with pink. Many of the girls in the Manor had few inhibitions around him, given the fact that they all bathed together, but it didnt stop peoples auras from fluctuating the moment clothes starteding off... (A/N: I know some people would be curious about their hidden parameters, so I did my best to average them out based on the growth of the girls recorded on the Wiki. Let me know if you find any inconsistencies and Ill try to update themter~! As for why Vahn would know this, Riveria would have gotten the information from Loki and helped him track it since they are researching things together.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Tiona Hiryute LV. 5 POW: 3577+(G203)->(G208) END: 3439+(H182)->(H185) DEX: 3161+(H133)->(H137) AGI: 3199+(H145)->(H151) MAG: 0+(I0)->(I0)<--- These are big fat zeroes~! Skills: [Titan Virga:Innate(sealed), [Magic Devouring King:Innate(sealed)], [Berserk:B], [Intense Heat:B] Magic: - Development Abilities: [Fist Strike:A], [Diving:B], [Abnormal Resistance:C], [Crush:C] [Berserk] Rank: B Use: Greatly increases attack power every time the user takes damage. [Intense Heat] Rank: B Use: Greatly increases all parameters in a pinch. Increases critical hit rate depending on stress levels. [Fist Strike] Rank: A Use: Greatly increases striking potential and efficacy of bare-handedbat. Allows the user to shape energy in the hand and imbue it into their strikes. Naturally enhances critical hit rate and provides a moderate increase to agility. [Diving] Rank: B Use: Enables the user to swim as well as a fish underwater while also increasing the base power of physical attacks in the water. Greatly increases the ability of the user to resist pressure and enables them to hold their breath for a long period of time. [Abnormal Resistance] Rank: C Use: Nullifies abnormal status effects such as poison under the given rank. [Crush] Rank: C Use: Greatly increases critical hit rate when equipped with heavy weapons. The heavier the weapon, the greater the increase. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Ais is a monster...killer? OP nheless~!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Ais Wallenstein LV. 5 POW: 2241+(F302)->(F305) END: 2182+(G288)->(G290) DEX: 3293+(E441)->(E447) AGI: 3266+(E428)->(E433) MAG: 3600+(E472)->(E480) Skills:[Sylph Queen:Innate(sealed)], [Progenitor of Wind:Innate(sealed)], [Avenger:A] Magic: [Void Sword:Innate(sealed)], [Ariel:B] Development Abilities: [Child of Destiny:Innate(sealed)], [Hunter:B], [Abnormal Resistance:C], [Swordsman:A], [Spirit Healing:A] [Avenger] Rank: A Use: Greatly increases attack power against monsters; Massively increases attack power against dragon type monsters; Proportionally increases attack power based on hatred. Critical hit rate increases based on emotional state. Causes explosive damage on critical hits. Active Trigger. Restriction: Inhibits emotions and damages weapons used by the user. [Ariel] Rank: B (Spirit) Use: Super Short Chant magic that creates a barrier of wind around the user that can be used both for both offense and defense. Greatly increases the agility of the user and adds a piercing effect to all attacks. Chant: Tempest [Hunter] Rank: B Use: Improves abilities against monsters that the user has fought before and gained exilia from [Abnormal Resistance] Rank: C Use: Nullifies abnormal status effects such as poison under the given rank. [Swordsman] Rank: A Use: Increasesprehension of sword skills and techniques. Provides a moderate increase to the kic vision and spatial awareness of the user. [Spirit Healing] Rank: A Use: Greatly increases the recovery rate of mental energy and mana. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Tione has a wall of textpared to her little sister TT__TT) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Tione Hiryute LV. 5 POW: 3273+(H185)->(H191) END: 3069+(H156)->(H163) DEX: 3130+(H141)->(H144) AGI: 3128+(H142)->(H145) MAG: 788+(I71)->(I74) Skills: [Titan Bruna:Innate(sealed)], [Wrath:Innate(sealed)], [Berserk: A], [Backdraft:B] Magic: [List Iorum:E] Development Abilities: [Fist Strike:B], [Diving:A], [Abnormal Resistance:B], [Healing Power:D] [Berserk](A/N: Btw, some skills have variations. Tiona and Tione have two different types of berserk) Rank: A Use: Greatly increases attack power every time the user takes damage with the effect increasing based on the anger of the user. Influences rationality based on anger levels in exchange for enhancing all parameters. [Backdraft](A/N: Unlike Tionas [Intense Heat], Tiones [Backdraft ONLY affects Power. RIP Vahn~!) Rank: B Use: Raises the users attack power exponentially in a pinch. Guaranteed critical hit rate. [List Iorum] Rank: E Use: Binds the target based on probability and emotional state. Sess rate dependant on magic parameter. Chant: My desire that was sunk in the sea, my longing that was nurtured in the sea - the time hase. Shape yourself, bare your fangs, and be a snake. Escape the sea, cross thend, and cover the world. Capture time, stop time, and trample over time [Fist Strike] Rank: B Use: Increases striking potential and efficacy of bare-handedbat. Allows the user to shape energy in the hand and imbue it into their strikes. Naturally enhances critical hit rate and provides a moderate increase to agility. [Diving] Rank: A Use: Enables the user to swim as well as a fish underwater while also increasing the base power of physical attacks in the water. Greatly increases the ability of the user to resist pressure and enables them to hold their breath for a long period of time. [Abnormal Resistance] Rank: B Use: Nullifies abnormal status effects such as poison under the given rank. [Healing Power] Rank: D Use: Increases efficacy of healing items and magic on the user. Very moderate increase in natural regeneration and stamina recovery. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Oh my goodness, Lefiyas power and endurance xD. I had to retcon numbers for her or she would literally be weaker at Level 3 than most of the girls are before they hit Level 2. Not sure what the hell the original Author was thinking x_x. She would have had an average of 2530 Status per level, which is simply ridiculous. Even after updating the numbers, she is still ridiculously weak...Im not sure how mages even survive in a world where people can move faster than the speed of sound. This child needs some [Mentor]ship badly...) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Lefiya Viridis LV. 3 POW: 371<-Original-Retcon->421+(I58)->(I159) END: 538<-Original-Retcon->692+(I72)->(I74) DEX: 1069<-Original-Retcon->1281+(H122)->(H125) AGI: 1113<-Original-Retcon->1459+(H149)->(H154) MAG: 1998<-Original-Retcon->1998+(G208)->(G215) Skills: [Fairy Cannon:D], [Concurrent Chanting:E] Magic: [Rattatoskr:Innate:(sealed)], [Arcs Ray:C], [Fuside Farica:D], [Elf Ring:C] Development Abilities: [Daughter of Wishe:Innate(sealed)], [Mage:H->Retcon(C)], [Abnormal resistance:I->Retcon(G)] [Fairy Cannon] Rank: D Use: Increases the efficacy of magic. Effect doubles when used with attack magic. Active Trigger. [Concurrent Chanting] Rank: E Use: Allows the user to chant while moving about even under intense strain. Provides enhanced control over magical energy and prevents bacsh from chant disruption. [Arcs Ray] Rank: C Use: Single-target homing magic. Twice as effective against dark elemental entitities and the undead. Chant: Unleashed streak of light, bow limbs of the holy tree. You are an expert of the bow. Shoot, sniper of the fairies. Prate, arrow of absolute uracy [Fuside Farica] Rank: D Use: Wide area attack magic that rains fire down upon enemies. Chant: Proud warrior, snipers of the forest. Take up your bows before the advancing plunderers. Answer the call of your brethren and ready your arrows. Tinge them with me, themplight of the forest. Release them, the fire arrows of the fairies. Falling like rain, burn away the savages [Elf Ring] Rank: C Use: Summon Burst Magic that is able to use any Elven Magic. Requires the user to know the chant of each magic used and have the requisite amount of mana required for both spells. Chant: I wish upon the name of Wishe. Ancestors of the forest, proud brethren. Answer my call ande to the ins. Connecting bonds, the pledge of paradise. Turn the circle and dance around. Come, ring of fairies. Please - give me strength [Mage] Rank: C Use: Improves magic power, widens effect range, and increases the efficacy of all magic. Creates a magic circle under the user when chanting magic. [Abnormal Resistance] Rank: G Use: Nullifies abnormal status effects such as poison under the given rank. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Refresher for those that might want to know. Im already like 2 hours into this info dumb, so might as well~! Im starting to realize that the original Author seriously f.u.c.k.i.e.d over everyone except Bell. The average parameters between levels seems to hover around 3300-3600 for most people, yet Bell gets to have 5546, 5396, and 5258 per Level? Even Ais only had 3668 when she hit Level 6. What kind of consistency is this stuff, when Bell literally gets to Level 4 in 4 months while EVERYONE else takes several years xD???) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Ryuu Lion LV. 4(+) POW: 1637+(F385)->(E400) END: 1583+(F311)->(F317) DEX: 2371+(B798)->(A808) AGI: 2409+(A804)->(A813) MAG: 2018+(C645)->(C652) Skill: [Aeolus:Innate(sealed)], [Fairy Serenade:C], [Mind Load:C], [Aero Mana:A], [Concurrent Chanting:A] Magic: [Sovereign of the Wind:Innate(sealed)], [Luminous Wind:B], [Noah Heal:D] Development Skill: [Hunter:B], [Abnormal Resistance:B], [Magic Resistance:C] [Fairy Serenade] Rank:C Use: Increases the efficacy of magic at night. [Mind Load] Rank:C Use: Increases power in proportion to the amount of mana imbued into attacks. [Aero Mana] Rank:A Use: Greatly increases attack power based on how fast the user is running. [Concurrent Chanting] Rank:A Use: Allows the user to chant while moving about even under intense strain. Provides enhanced control over magical energy and prevents bacsh from chant disruption. [Luminous Wind] Rank:B Use: Attack Magic that summons green stardust to attack the enemy Chant: In the sky of a now distant forest. Infinite stars scattered in the endless night sky. Respond to my foolish voice, give me now divine protection of starfire. Give the mercy of light to the one that abandoned you. Come, wandering wind, the wandering traveler. Cross the sky and run through the wilderness, run faster than anything else. Imbue the light of stardust and destroy the enemy [Noah Heal] Rank:D Use: Healing magic that is capable of healing wounds and restoring the targets stamina Chant: The song of a now distant forest. The nostalgic song of life. Please bring the mercy of healing to those that seek you [Hunter] Rank:B Use: Improves abilities against monsters that the user has fought before and gained exilia from [Abnormal Resistance] Rank:B Use: Nullifies abnormal status effects such as poison under the given rank. [Magic Resistance] Rank:C Use: Increases resistance against all magical attacks. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Someone asked, so Ill exin why Vahn can see the basic description of Fenrirs Innates. It is because Vahns subordinates (which were remade using his source energy) are a part of him and a produce of The Path. Just like his own Innates, he cant see through them, but he CAN see the basic information about them.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: [Fenrir] Level:2(+) POW: F339->D582 END: H195->E470 DEX: E404->B801 AGI: F307->C671 MAG: H121->G275 Skills: [Lunar Cry:C], [Freezing Roar:C->B], [Chainbreaker:C], [Devour:SS], [Huntress:A] Magic: - Development Abilities: [Devour:Innate(SS)] [Lunar Cry] Rank: C Creates an emblem of the moon that bes progressively more crimson depending on the amount of blood spilled. Enhances all attributes but may cause the user to enter a berserk state. [Freezing Roar] Rank: B A blood-curdling roar that can resonate with the body of the target and cause paralysis. Low chance of causing mental copse. [Chainbreaker] Rank: C Status increases if the wielder is bound, sealed, or imprisoned. Increase is proportional to the stress of the user and their desire for freedom. [Insatiable Hunger] Rank: Innate (-) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* Passive: Hunger tied to emotions. The greater the stress, the more powerful the urge to eat. Affects rationality as hunger grows. [Devour] Rank: SS Passive: Allows the users teeth to melt anything and convert it into energy within the body to elerate growth. [Huntress] Rank:A Greatly enhances all senses when excited. The greater the desire to hunt the target, the more powerful this skill bes ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Sanjouno Haruhime Race: Renard LV. 1->2 POW: 440+(I10)->(I43) END: 648+(I10)->(I77) DEX: 698+(I10)->(I80) AGI: 1053+(I10)->(H153) MAG: 1548+(I10)->(G218) Skill: [Inari:Innate(E)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Heroic Strike:F],[Featherfoot:B] Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B],[Kokonoe:C],[Icicle Edge:D] Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:B], [Hunter:I], [Mage(sealed)] [Heroic Strike] Rank: F Use: Raises power exponentially based on willpower and resolve. [Featherfoot] Rank: B Use: Increasesprehension of movement abilities and footwork. Provides a moderate increase to stealth rted abilities. [Uchide no Kozuchi] Rank: B Use: Level Boost Magic that can only be used on a single target, after which an interval urs before it can be cast again. It cannot be used on the caster. Enhances all parameters on the target by 30% of their hidden status total. Chant: Grow. That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes. Until the bell tolls, bring forth glory and illusion. -Grow. Confine divine offerings within this body. This golden light bestowed from above. Into the hammer and into the ground, may it bestow good fortune upon you. -Grow [Kokonoe] Rank: C Use: A special enchant magic that creates a maximum of nine tails on the user depending on their limit. The user adds the effects of a second magic they chant connect to each of the tails to multiply its effects. (Current Tails: 4) Chant: Kokonoe. Beloved snow. Beloved crimson. Beloved white light. Please let me be beside you - this love I have found at the end of two thousand nights. My name is Magic Fox. Former destroyer. My name is Ancient Song. Former dreamer. For you who beat your wings like a bird, I shall allow the nine spirits to dwell in me. Echo, song of gold, sacred poem of Tamamo. White face, golden fur, king of nine tails. Oh, tails of the auspicious beast, consume all, grant all wishes (Affected Magic Chant) - Dance! [Icicle Edge] Rank: D Use: Super Short Chant magic that creates spears of ice that can be used to impale the target. Chant: Piercing Chill, Icicle Edge. [Spirit Healing] Rank: B Increases the recovery rate of mental energy and mana. [Prometheuss Blessing] Rank: A Use: Growth dependant on the strength of the caster that applied this blessing. As long as the originator lives, the recipient of this blessing will experience rapid growth based on their feelings for the originator. If the feelings fade, the me seed within the heart will dwindle before eventually burning out. [Hunter] Rank: I Use: Improves abilities against monsters that the user has fought before and gained exilia from ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After Vahn finished updating everyones Status Board, he spent some timeparing the data that he had recorded within the System and noticed there was an incredible amount of variance. It seemed that Tiona, Ais, Tione, Lefiya, and even Ryuu, were all much weaker than he expected. Of course, they werent actually weak at all, in fact, they were much stronger than he was. Regardless of this being the case, their parameters per level were simply much lower than the girls he had been mentoring. Even Ais, though she had a monstrous four Innates, none of them were active and her actual parameters were even more skewed than his own. Vahn thought that his magic parameter was going to be one of his key weaknesses in the future, but now he realized his other parameters werent low at all. Though he couldnt rival physical specialists like Tiona and Tione, he was far ahead of the natural capabilities of Ais and Ryuu. Since both girls were much stronger than he was, this allowed Vahn to understand thatplementary skills and experience yed a huge role in actualbat potential. He remembered Tsubaki lecturing him the previous day about cking off in his own training, and now Vahn realized that her words were far truer than he had initially believed. As they were both researching the rare skills, Vahn shared his data with Riveria and they spent a little time talking about the numbers, everyones potential, and possible ways to help awaken their abilities in the future. Vahn also took the time to ask about why Lefiyas stats were so low and Riveria answered in a in tone, "Mages are unique amongst mostbatants and its often better to Level up as soon as you hit your parameter limit so you can continue growing faster. We might sacrifice some physical stats, but we can more than make up for it with our offensive capabilities. The firepower of magic makes it iparable to the rtively small damage output that can be meted out by physical fighters and is often the key to victory in the lower floors. Youll understand it yourself in the future when we go deeper into the Dungeon..." Vahn sat with his arms crossed in thought as he processed Riverias words for a moment before shaking his head. Riveria raised her brows slightly at seeing Vahns reaction until he looked over at Lefiya and said, "Lefiya, if youre not against it, Id like to help you train in the future...though Im reaching the limits of its use, I have a skill called [Prometheus] that allows me to enhance the potential of others based on their feelings towards me. This is one of the reasons for the monstrous growth of Haruhime, Emiru, and Maemi, and the reason why their magic parameter is able to break the limit. At the very least, I should be able to help you get a few hundred additional magic per level and it would also allow your physical parameters to develop..." Lefiya became fl.u.s.tered at Vahns words, especially in regards to the fact that her growth would be based on her feelings for him. However, before she could process how to respond to him, Vahn turned his eyes away and looked back at Riveria as he said, "Riveria, I think the current magic system has some fundamental ws. I can agree that the power output is amazing, but it shouldnt have to require the sacrifice of physical development at all. Eva, the girl that taught me about Shundo, is a mage far greater than anything Ive ever observed in this world, including you. The most important thing is, her power and agility are so far beyond my own that I cant even track her movements at all...no matter how I look at it, she is a true mage and every other mage Ive seen is simply constrained by the wed logic theyve cultivated over thousands of years." It was Riverias turn to get lost in thought as she began thinking about Vahns words in a very serious manner. Time and again, Vahn had shown her how wed their system of magic was and, like he had pointed out with the three girls, their magic growth was excessive even without the use of magic. If Vahn could actually teach them the methods of the woman named Eva, their capabilities would probably far exceed her own in the future. Just the fact he would be able to allow Lefiya to break the limits of stat growth would make the young elf far more capable than herself when Lefiya reached the same level. Her current magic parameter was only at 5,826, but she was also Level 6pared to the Level 3 Vahn who had revealed his to be 5,115. With Vahns help, Lefiya would probably be around 6500 at Level 6, and 8,000 when she was nearing Level 7. Realizing this, Riverias valuation of Vahn had increased exponentially and she knew he would cause great ripples in the world that would likely persist for millennia as each concept he introduced was something revolutionary. No matter how much effort most people put into training, they could never break the S999 limit for stats, not even she herself had ever managed to do so. Yet, Vahn made it look easy and, against conventional reasoning, he even helped other people do the same simply through guiding them through the process and supporting their growth. Just his ability that allowed him to identify hidden skills within someones Status Board was a significant discovery that had gone undoc.u.mented for more than a thousand years... Vahn spent a few minutes talking with the expedition team about how to increase their strength in the future and made promises that, once he was capable of using his mes seeds on them, Vahn would give one to Tiona, Ais, and even Tione. Ais had a somewhat scary look in her eyes after knowing she would be able to break through her limits with Vahns help while Tiona was simply happy that she would potentially be able to use magic in the future. One of her biggest regrets, ever since she received her blessing, was never having developed a single point in her magic parameter. Tione was happy to be included and agreed to be thest person to receive a seed when the time came. Afterward, Vahn stored the majority of his misceneous items inside a storehouse and left the task to Aki for organizing everything. Though his inventory was massive, the 170 slots had a restriction that Vahn couldnt work around easily. Each slot held 1,000m3, but Vahn could only store a single unique item in each. This meant that, even if it were something like a small ingot of Iron, it would take up an entire slot. Though he could store simr items in the same slot, this wasnt the case for things like weapons, armor, and equipment in general. This was one of the reasons Vahn had been thinking about making a uniform for the girls since he would be able to stockpile them all into the same slot. Then, when their clothing was damaged by the environment and fighting, Vahn would be able to easily provide them a change. Of course, Vahn had already found a few loopholes around how the slots worked, as he had confirmed long ago that he could store backpacks and containers full of stuff in the same slot. By having each girl pack luggage, Vahn could store it all into individual slots forter use. Vahn had discovered this when he stored Lilis backpack in the past, and verified it by simply being able to store things like potions and clothing that consisted of multiple fabrics. If the inventory truly only allowed a single type of object, it wouldnt make sense for it to allow a ss vial and its contents in the same slot. By the time the group was ready to leave, it was nearing 8 AM, muchter than the 7 AM time they had set for their initial departure. Along the way to the Dungeon, they talked about battle formations and each persons assigned duty within the party. Though Riveria was the most capablemander, she had given the role to Vahn since the expedition was his idea and he was also the Captain of the Hestia Familia. Thus, with her blessing, Vahn became the Commander of the expedition while Riveria became his Vice-Commander. Tiona, Ais, Tione, and Fenrir were set as the vanguard unit while Vahn himself had been delegated to the backline with Riveria, Lefiya, and Haruhime. Since he was their Support, and also the Supplies Convoy, it was too dangerous for Vahn to fight in the frontlines unless absolutely necessary. Ryuu became the rear guard for the group and would assist the vanguard if necessary while also rotating out with anyone that sustained injuries. Though Vahn wanted to fight with the vanguard, he understood it was important for the Commander to have arger overview of the fight and allocate personnel properly. Just like he had made Haruhime do in the past, he would regte things from the backline and use his domain to track the enemies while supporting with his bow. He was also the most capable of protecting the backline, as his Shundo allowed him to respond to almost any situation faster than anyone else. With his [Wounds Transfer], he could even absorb the damage of the vanguard party and allow them to stay in the fight longer by using the ranged version of [Hands of Nirvana] to help recover their stamina. He hadnt realized it before, but Vahn had inadvertently walked a path where he was closer to a control specialist and leader than a simple fighter. His situational awareness, spatial recognition, and support capabilities were simply too suited to the role he found himself in...not that he minded. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Affecionate Kittens,Massive Ass Dump,Vahn, ranged, melee, tanky dps, assassin, mage, tank, support, and jungler, all wrapped up in one defective man~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 399 - Large Tree Labyrinth

Chapter 399 - Large Tree Labyrinth

Because they were able to use the stairs all the way to the 17th floor, it took less than an hour to reach the 18th floor and arrive at the settlement Rivira. Along the way, Vahn got to experience the capabilities of Tiona and Ais for the first time. He had seen them fight in the past, when they were against the Juggernaut, but Vahn had never actually fought alongside the girls in normal circ.u.mstances. Though he wanted to do his best and try tomand from the backline, they simply dealt with everything immediately after it showed up. Ais was like a living typhoon that cut through her enemies and turned them into dust with simple movements while Tiona used her [Dance of the Amazon] to literally smash everything effortlessly. Tione was also able to deal with entire groups of monsters in a short period of time, so Vahn hadnt actually done anything other than fire arrows at some of the monsters further away from the main group. Though he hadnt dropped his guard at all, Vahn spent the majority of their excursion through the 17th floor talking to Haruhime and Lefiya about what they would be doing during fights. Haruhime had yet to learn any real support magic and there was no need for her Level-Up magic in the current situation. She just periodically used her [Icicle Edge] to target monsters in the periphery while Lefiya just held her staff without doing much at all. When he had asked about it, Lefiya exined hesitantly that mages typically saved their mana for emergencies and serious threats so, unless the situation called for it, she just stood in the back and waited for the proper timing. Vahn didnt agree that this was the best course of action, but he also knew that most of the traditional magic cost an exorbitant amount of mana. The current Lefiya could only cast her most powerful spells a handful of times and could only copy a single one of Riverias before she waspletely drained. Vahn was beginning to realize that the efficacy of magic, in general, was terrible and there had to be a better way. Though he already wanted to meet her, as he thought about her often, Vahn was seriously hoping that the orb would reactivate soon. There was so much he could learn from Eva and it would serve as the foundation for the new system he would help to establish in the Danmachi record. Until then, the best thing he could do was the forge mana batters for Lefiya, and potentially Riveria, as long as they signed an exclusivity contract with him and never allowed other people to study the items. Even though there was a negligible chance anyone would actually discover the secret of his blood contained within the items, Vahn wasnt trying to poprize their existence at all. Until he established a strong enough power to resist any of the forces that would try to oppose him, Vahn didnt want to unnecessarily spread knowledge regarding such items as there would be countless evil and cruel people that would cause endless tragedies in order to obtain them. Once the group had arrived at Rivira, Vahn made the decision to proceed directly to the 19th floor without tarrying at the settlement. There were a number of disreputable types that made Rivira their home, as it was a rtivelywless area that wasnt privy to the same restrictions as the surface world. Though the Guild tried to regte things, they had no actual jurisdiction within the Dungeon itself and merely managed ess to it on the surface. It would be far too troublesome to establish a permanent settlement of their own in the Dungeon, as the severeck of infrastructure made it more of a liability than anything else. Vahn didnt necessarily agree with this, but he also had the benefit of purchasing building materials from his system shop if he wanted to build a base of his own. One of the things Vahn had been considering for the future was establishing an actual base within the Dungeon, not on the 18th floor, but all the way down at the 50th. Though the base would likely be the target of whatever evil forces actually called the Dungeon home, Vahn knew it would be easier to deal with them in the interim than it would be to oppose other forces on the surface world. If he could establish an actual foothold in the rtive safety of the 50th floor, Vahn would be able to easily protect his future children from harm and also train them up in the hopes of further descending into the Dungeon. The 50th floor was nearly the same dimensions as the entirety of Orario on the surface, nearly 200km in diameter, so there was more than enough space to build a fortified residence that could also serve as a major checkpoint for any adventurers strong enough to descend to that level. There was also the fact that Vahn just thought it would be cool to have a secret base of his own deep within the Dungeon for his research. He had the benefit of transporting the required resources without any major difficulty, so there wasnt any real reason not to. It was better he created a foothold for himself and the Alliance since they would be the main forces delving deeper into the Dungeon in the future anyway. --- The entrance to the 19th floor was in the root system of the giant tree in the center of the 18th floor. There was a group stationed at the entrance where you could ept requests to gather materials between the 25th and 30th floors, but Vahns group just bypassed the checkpoint without bothering to leave their names in the logbook. Though it wouldnt prevent the various informants from knowing they entered, it was better that they didnt give away extra information since it was always better to keep their enemies guessing. Even though there were restrictions in ce that typically prevented direct conflict in the Dungeon, as it could cause your blessing to be a curse, it didnt mean there werent loopholes that could be exploited by the various criminal Familia that also patronized the Dungeon. After descending more than 300m of stairs, Vahn finally took his first steps onto the 19th floor and noticed the entire structure seemed to beposed of wood, almost as if it were a part of the giant tree above. Instead of the glowstones that illuminated the Dungeon in the upper floors, there was now a moss growing along the ground, walls, and ceiling that created a gentle bluish-green light that lit up the area. Riveria, who had been standing at the side, said, "From here onwards, the Dungeon bes what is known as the Large Tree Labyrinth. Many of the gathering requests issued by the Guild take ce between the 19th and 30th floors and it is one of the best ways to generate ie for the Familia while also increasing its rank. Though, I imagine you wont have as much trouble as some groups with your storage magic..." Vahnughed at Riverias remark before waving his hand and saying, "Okay, everyone, keep your guards up and stay focused. Tiona, Tione, Ill be relying on you to prevent any monsters from getting through to the backline. Ais, youll be the primary vanguard, but make sure you dont get too far ahead of the group, okay?" Hearing Vahns words, Tiona and Tione gave surprisingly motivated responses while Ais just nodded with aplex expression on her face. Though they had only been traveling as a group for a short while, Vahn was already very aware of Aiss propensity to move ahead as if she turned into a mindless killing machine duringbat. Seeing the intensity in which she slew monsters, Vahn was beginning to realize that her trauma was actually far greater than he expected. Fortunately, she seemed very receptive to his orders and had been staying back with the main group instead of running too far ahead. Seeing their affirmation, Vahn nodded with a smile and continued, "Fenrir, Ill let you fight freely, but you have to make sure youre always near Tiona and Tione, okay? Ill support everyone using my bow and issue orders as needed, so make sure youre always maintaining some awareness of the situation so you can respond when necessary. Though Ill trust in your judgment, since youre all capable Adventurers, I wont tolerate any failure to respond to my words in a timely fashion. I may not be a qualified Commander yet, but Ill learn better if you work with me instead of directly opposing mymands..." Though he hadnt directly been speaking to her, Ais frowned slightly before saying, "I want to get stronger...much much stronger...but I will trust you, Vahn." Vahns brows raised slightly at Aiss words before Tiona bounded over and hugged the beautiful golden-haired girl andughed in a yful manner as she said, "Ahahaha, Ais following orders is a very rare thing, Vahn, make sure you reward her properly when we return to the surface~" Though she didnt seem to mind Tiona hanging from her body, Ais frowned at her words and asked, "Am I really...so bad at following orders?" Hearing Aiss words, everyone from the Loki Familia began tough in an amused manner while Riveria just rubbed her temples. As the Vice-Captain of the Loki Familia, she had been the victim of Aiss inability to follow orders for nearly six years at this point. Though very subtle, Ais blushed at everyones reaction to her words before walking forward around 20m as if she was going to run ahead once again. Instead, she stopped at the 20m mark and patiently waited for everyone else to start moving forward at Vahns order. Vahn hadnt given any orders to Haruhime, Ryuu, Riveria, and Lefiya, as they had very specific roles and were already very capable of performing them. Riveria stood to his left like a stalwart guardian while Lefiya and Haruhime stood at his right. Vahn had been surprised at Haruhimes behavior since, against his expectations, she had remained rtivelyposed ever since they entered the Dungeon. She was showing an elegant demeanor and even her use of magic was very casual, almost emotionless in its execution. Vahn had thought she might cause problems and try to stick to him, but she seemed to be in control of her emotions and actually stood on the opposite side of Lefiya away from him. Because he wanted to hunt a variety of monsters as they progressed, Vahn guided everyone along the path that had numerous enemy signatures. They came into a room where there were more than twenty monsters and Vahn could identify them as Bugbears and Lizardman. A Bugbear was arge bear-like monster that stood nearly 4m tall and had a massive head that was nearly asrge as its torso. It had a massive maw full of sharp teeth and humanoid hands capable of using natural weapons that spawned within the Dungeon. Though they looked like brute-type monsters, they were actually known for their agility and ability to catch parties by surprise. As for the Lizardmen, they were actually one of the more dangerous monsters faced by parties first venturing into the 19th floor as they were some of the first monsters parties would face that fought with tactics. Lizardmen typically stood around 2m tall and traveled in groups of 5-12 depending on theposition of their party. They were covered in a variety of different scales colorations including blue, green, and red, and this generally indicated the elemental attribute associated with the breath they could shoot out from their mouth in a pinch. The reason they were such a big problem was the fact they had a rudimentary form ofmunication and proactively fought together in fights. They also used nature weapons that took the shape of spears, swords, axes, and even shields. The many variations could be overwhelming for inexperienced parties but... From the moment she entered the room, Ais took off with an explosion of wind and jumped directly into therge group of Lizardmen without any hesitation whatsoever. The green aura surrounding her body cut through the monsters in a manner simr to Haruhimes [Sakura Blossom], albeit much stronger. Ais used her [Gram], which actually had a greater effect against Lizardman, to cut through five with a single swipe before making short work on the remainder of the group. As for the three Bugbears, Tiona had taken out one in a single blow while Tione had severed the legs of another. Thest one was the most unfortunate of the three as it had been designated by Fenrir as her prey. Fenrir was actually much slower than the Bugbear, but Vahn had loosed a total of seven arrows in the span of a single second, all targetted at the knee joints of the Bugbear. Though his attacks didnt do any major damage, as he wasnt trying to kill it, it allowed Fenrir to get the edge and she was eventually able to get to its back before pouncing on from behind. The most terrifying thing about Fenrir was, even if the monster was made of hard scales and thick hide, the moment she got her hands on it, the fight quickly came to an end. She was easily able to cut outrge swaths of a monsters body with each swipe of her ws as she quickly tore away at the defenseless interior. Because of her fight against the Mammoth Fool, Fenrir knew that injuring the spine was a very quick was to incapacitate monsters and used the same method to deal with the current Bugbear before she eventually found the location of its magic core and ripped it out. As per usual, Fenrir held up the magic core proudly so that Vahn could put it in his inventory before waving at her and sending her off to continue her happy ughter. She used to bring the cores all the way to him, but now she simply presented them to him from afar and did her best to stay in the formation. During the Hestia Familias first excursion, Fenrir had learned the importance of fighting in a group and never breaking away from her assigned roles. Even if she didnt fully understand why it was important, Fenrir still did her best to perform the role assigned to her so that she could get Vahn to praise herte. When she had seen Ais get lectured for going far ahead, much like she used to do in the past, Fenrir had proudly puffed out her almost non-existent chest in pride since she had already learned better. Watching the four girls make short work of what seemed like strong monsters, Vahn couldnt help but show a satisfied smile, even though he also had an urge to fight on the front lines himself. Once they made camp near the 30th floor, he knew he would have ample opportunity to get his own hands dirty. He could also use this experience to familiarize himself with the monsters ecology through observation so he could make better determinations for how far it would be safe to progress when he was helping train the other girls in the future. Vahns [Mentor] Development Ability had increased from C to B when he was training with Emiru and Maemi, and he could now leave his mark on two people at the same time. Since it was rtively safe to go as deep as the 25th floor, there was nothing to stop Vahn from ying as many monsters as he wished in the future. There was also the fact that Vahn actually liked sniping monsters at a distance with his bow. Whenever they came intorger rooms, Vahn had the advantage of his domain to detect the position of enemies and was able to urately target the magic cores of several monsters. The ease with which he dealt with them let Vahn know they werent really worth fighting up close. He had long known that his own growth outscaled most monsters, and this would likely be the greatest restriction on his parameter development in the future. Fortunately, he had the [Seal of the Challenger], somewhat awkwardly, ced around his neck like a jet ck cor. There were currently four golden links hanging down from it and Vahn had them tucked into his tunic. He didnt really understand why Anubis and Nanu liked cors since it felt very awkward wearing one himself... Each link of the chain doubled the amount of exillia he got from monsters while also doubling the amount of damage he would receive. The number of links seems to be restricted by the Tier of the record, so Vahn was currently only able to use four. Since it only affected base exillia gain, this meant that Vahn was gaining a total of 400% exilia, but it also meant that, on the off chance he did get hit, he would be taking 1600% more damage. Since it also increased the likelihood of him receiving a critical hit, it was actually very possible for Vahn to get instantly killed if he dropped his guard. This made Vahns tensions very high and, even though he wasnt fighting in the front lines, he still felt a bit of pressure every time a group of monsters showed up. Because he had the benefit of seeing his parameters updating in real time, Vahn was able to track his growth without having to go through a ceremony like everyone else. This was one of his greatest strengths, but also his biggest weakness as it would be a constraint to his growth as he didnt have the option of fortifying his foundation like others. Without the use of shop items, such as pills and elixirs, Vahn wouldnt be able to enjoy the growth rate he was currently managing. Fortunately, he had a cheat like The Path, so there was a conceptually infinite number of ways for him to increase his strength without ever truly experiencing a bottleneck... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 15 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:3(3) -Power: 1906+(H130)->(H198) -Endurance: 2221+(F254)->(E327) -Dexterity: 1807+(H172)->(E213) -Agility: 1959+(G204)->(G226) -Magic: 3562+(SSS1553)->(SSS1604) Total:11455+(2313)->(2838)(A/N: AKA 5.5 canon Lefiyas per level. Im still super tilted knowing this!) Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) [Karma]: 7,907->8,004 [OP]: 33,115 [Valis]: 419,583,990(A/N: This number alone could allow Vahn to have an evenrger harem, kappa.) Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:E], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth: B],[Bow Mastery:A], [Stealth:B], [Chainbreaker:S], [Heart of the Eternal me:SS], [Prometheus:A], [Call of the Reaper:B],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Featherfoot:B], [Hands of Nirvana:S], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:B], [Friend of Spirits:A] Magic: [Thria*Mimos:C], [Shundo:B] Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:S], [Spirit Healing:A], [Swordsman:A], [Master Smith:I->H], [Mixing:C], [Mentor:C->B] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn Mason, Builder of Forts?,Aiss Bad Habits,Vahn gets spanked by Tsubaki and then wears a cor the next day...coincidence!?) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 400 - Fools

Chapter 400 - Fools

As they made their way progressively deeper into the 19th floor, the group eventually came upon a room that was muchrger than the others. Vahn detected several presences in his domain but, before he even alerted everyone to the number, Fenrirs ears shot up and she began to wave her arms as she shouted, "Big monsters are near, Fenrir can smell them! Vahn, watch Fenrir kill them all!" For a brief moment, Fenrir bolted in the direction of the enemies beforeing to a stop soon after passing Ais. She turned back and the two stared at each other for several seconds as if they were having a secret conversation. Fenrir red at Ais before moving back into her own position and waiting patiently for the entire group to progress forward instead. Vahn had a small smile on his face after watching Fenrirs actions before saying to the entire group, "I can sense the presence of a herd of Mammoth Fools nearby, about seven total. There isnt anything else within my range, but keep your wits about you and pay attention if I give out any orders. Other than that...Ais, Tiona, Tione, I want the three of you to take care of two Mammoths each and leave the final one for Fenrir to deal with. Go ahead and show me what youve got, Fenrir, Ill be watching closely." Hearing his words, Fenrir began to flex her paws excitedly as her hair began to be more bristly as her tensions increased. Tiona beganughing at her reaction and suggested, "Mammoth Fools are pretty slow, I think Fenrir might be able to take care of more than one if she is smart about it. Ill go ahead and take care of one, but Ill leave thest one for you, okay Fenrir~?" Fenrir frowned deeply at Tionas words before nodding her head and saying, "Tiona is a good girl...leave it to Fenrir. Fenrir will kill them all if she has to!" Tione and Ais looked like they wanted to give one of theirs to Fenrir as well, but Vahn shook his head silently since he knew it was better to avoid idents. Fenrir would probably be able to defeat all seven, but it would likely require her to enter a berserk state. There was also a very real possibility that she could get injured in the process, and it simply wasnt worth it at the moment. They werent supposed to be tarrying on the 19th floor, so Vahn ordered everyone to advance forward without further discussion. After entering the room, Vahn saw the seven massive monsters in the distance and raised his brow at their sheer size. He knew Mammoth Fools were a major threat to convoys because, when a herd charged at an expedition party, it was very difficult to stop their momentum. The head of a Mammoth Fool was incredibly hard and resistant to attacks, and their thick fur was resilient against both physical and magic attacks. Vahn imagined he would be able to deal with them rtively easily, since he could simply use Shundo to get to the top of their head before using his Xunw form to send a shockwave directly into their brain. Vahn felt the urge to put his theory to the test, since he had been feeling antsy just staying at the backline. Something about ying giant monsters resonated deeply with Vahn and he wanted to try and defeat one in a single blow, just as he had done against the Goliath. This was also a good chance to make sure everyone was listening properly, so Vahn shouted, "Wait, fall back!" Tiona, Ais, and Tione all stopped shortly after his words fell, but Fenrir had continued forward for several meters before startling and returning to her position with a fl.u.s.tered and frustrated expression on her face. Vahn looked toward Riveria and said, "Follow up with the group when I move forward, I want to try something of my own. Remember, the range of my perception is 473m, so I can sense you as long as youre within the confines of this room." Riveria nodded before saying, "Be careful, there are a lot of people relying on you, Vahn." Vahn smiled at her concern before using Shundo to step next to the frustrated Fenrir and patting her wild, midnight blue hair and ears. When she looked up at him with her glowing scarlet eyes, Vahn smiled and said, "Come, Fenrir, lets y together this time." Fenrir showed her best smile before clinging to Vahn as he looked to the other three girls and said, "Ill be going ahead, make sure to protect the backline. I shouldnt need help for numbers like this..." Tionas eyes began to glow with a fervent me as she balled her fists up and said, "Alright~! I cant wait to see how you crush the enemies, ahahahaha!" Tione stretched her body as if she were tired and said, "Try not to take too long, I dont like waiting around when my body is excited." As for Ais, she just nodded her head with a small smile on her face as she said, "Good luck...Vahn." Vahn smiled at the three before his body began to transition into his Xunw form and he disappeared from sight. They couldnt follow his movement with their eyes, but they were able to track his location through their own battle instincts and perception. Before Vahns body appeared atop a Mammoth Fool, they were already looking at the spot as if they had predicted where he wouldnd. The Mammoth Fool began to thrash around after two people suddenly appeared on its head, and Vahn managed to swap away the massive trunk that smashed toward him. Pure physical attacks, unless they couldpletely overpower him, were useless when he was in his Xunw form. The only thing the monster received for its trouble was a sheen of green magical light shining on Vahns arms before its trunk exploded into gore that sshed away from him and Fenrir. The wolf girls eyes opened wide at the sight and she looked at Vahn with the glimmer of idtry as her Loyalty began to increase rapidly within the system. Vahn began tough, both at Fenrirs reaction and how exhrating it felt to be able topletely counter such a massive monsters blow with a simple backhand. He pat Fenrirs back so she would let go of him before he grabbed the belt around her waist as she iled about excitedly and shouted, "Fenrir will fly~!" Vahn nodded his head and shouted, "Fenrir, show me how much youve grown!" As he spoke, Vahnunched her over at a nearby Mammoth Fool and she began to quickly cut through its flesh the moment she made contact with it. Vahn shook his head at the somewhat gruesome sight before steadying his feet at the Mammoth beneath him tried to buck him off. With a tyrannical glint in his onyx-ck eyes, Vahn smiled and said, "Dont worry, I didnt forget about you, big fe~." Vahn ced his left palm against the Mammoths head as he reared back his right fist, telegraphing the punch he was about to throw. The ck scales on his arm rose slightly and came to sharp points as they glow with green runes. Vahn knew it was possible to charge his attack, but he had never been able to use it in such a convenient situation as the one he currently found himself in. Two secondster, just as the Mammoth reared up on its hind legs in order to eject him from its back, Vahn struck down in a swift motion before his fist gently contacted the monsters head without making a single sound. Strangely, the Mammoth stopped its rising motion and simply fell over as Vahn used Shundo to pick up the bloody Fenrir before moving to the next batch of enemies. He had enough time to pick her up and throw her to the next enemy before the first Mammoths head exploded with a subtle green explosion that turned its supposedly durable skull into a purple mist along with the rest of its body. As for the one Fenrir had been attacking, it was decidedly less fortunate than itspanion as it woefully howled after losing the functionality of its back legs. She seemed to really enjoy chewing through the spines of monsters right now, almost like she was going through the teething phase Vahn had read about in preparation for his own children. From the sidelines, Tiona was jumping several meters in the air as she loudly shouted and cheered for Vahn and Fenrir. Almost as if she didnt require any air to sustain herself, Tiona keptughing without ceasing as she yelled, "Go, go, Vahn, go~! Fenrir, kill em all~! Ahahahahahahaha!" Tione had gone to talk with Riveria as they both stared at the ughter while Ais watched from closeby with an unwavering gaze. A subtle light glowed in her golden eyes that reflected the image of Vahn defeating monsters with nothing but his fists. She could kill the monsters also, even much faster than Vahn, but he seemed to enjoy it much more than she did. Seeing him ying with Fenrir as they both had smiles on their faces, Ais felt like her fighting style was far more mechanical and restricted... As for the other girls, Lefiya had a somewhat pale expression on her face after seeing the amount of blood and gore that had been flung about. Haruhime was almost the inverse and, much like Ais, she stared toward the image of Vahn with golden eyes of her own. The main reason she had been able to easily control herself is that she had been apanying Vahn without actually fighting. Seeing his dominance made her feel excited and she wanted to be much stronger so she could stand beside him forever and ever. There was a subtle charm and finesse in each of Vahns moves and Haruhime could feel the tempo resonating in her heart. She wanted to be able to join Vahns dance and eliminate enemies alongside him, not just stand at the back as a spectator... Thest of the spectators had been Ryuu, but she was splitting her attention between both Vahn and Fenrir. Ever since she had dedicated herself to Vahn, Ryuu had also been trying to increase her strength in order to be able to help him even more. She knew that, though she was Level 4, Vahn was nearly her equal in terms of strength. If not for the difference in experience, she would have almost no chance against him in an extended engagement. If it was a fight to the death, and Vahn went all-out, she didnt even have the confidence tost more than ten minutes. Ryuu knew about Vahns me seeds as well and, in order to ensure that it would have the greatest effect on her, she had been cultivating her feelings for him every day. Aki and Syr had taught her a lot of things and now her heart constantly fluttered whenever she was around Vahn... Unaware of the thoughts going through the minds of the spectators, Vahn struck down his third Mammoth before jumping over to retrieve the cackling Fenrir. She was in very high tensions because it was very rare for her to be able to kill monsters alongside Vahn like this. He could tell she was very happy so, for the final Mammoth, Vahn moved over with Shundo before smashing down with his fist against the base of the monsters neck. Its body immediately copsed because Vahn had broken its neck and severed the nerves in its spine with his blow. Patting the hyperactive Fenrir on the head, Vahn said in a calm tone with a smile on his face, "Okay, Fenrir, I want you to try and harvest as much of the materials as you can before the Mammoth turns to dust...think you can do that for me?" Vahn knew that the education the girls received also included dismantling monsters before they died and it was a very important skill to learn if you wanted to efficiently hunt monsters for quests. Just like when they fought the Bloodsaurster, they would have to defeat them without actually killing them if they wanted to harvest the blood. Vahn was a little ufortable with the fact that he would be draining the blood from a living creature, and he also suspected it might give him negative karma for doing so. To counteract this, it was possible to paralyze the monsters, ease its mind with [Hands of Nirvana], and then offer it the proper rites to thank it for its contribution and sacrifice. As long as he cultivated the proper mentality and took steps to avoid making the enemies suffer, Vahn should be able to mitigate any potential negatives that might arise. Taking Vahns words as an opportunity to be praised, Fenrir jumped off of the Mammoths back with a start and moved around to the head before using her ws to skillfully cut through the fourrge tusks. While she was working, Vahn had his hand on the back of the Mammoths head and was using his [Eyes of Truth] to inspect thework of its body as he eased any pain it might feel. He was able to confirm that the ims of its brain being very small were true and Vahn didnt have to use much energy to put it to sleep once he found the small andpact organ. After it was asleep, Vahn ced his hands together in silent prayer and, even though the monster didnt have a soul, he hoped it might find a better life if it were ever reborn. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir smells the big smelly monster!,Father Daughter Bonding~?,Vahn has an Innate ability to raise gs?) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 401 - Convenience

Chapter 401 - Convenience

Fenrir managed to remove all four tusks and a total of 93rge scales before the Mammoth eventually s.u.mbed to its wounds. Vahn was able to confirm that he didnt get any negative karma from her actions, so he released a contented sigh before jumping down next to the jittery Fenrir that had stars in her eyes as she waited to be praised. Vahn found her to be especially adorable, so he picked her up by her armpits and spun her around as sheughed happily. The others made their way over before Vahn supported Fenrir with his arms as she yfully nuzzled against him. Tiona put the tip of her index finger in her mouth and had a longing look on her face as she said, "Ah, I want to be held by Vahn as well..." Her earlier excitement, when she had been cheering for the two of them, hadnt been without reason. Tionas instincts always red up whenever Vahn was showing off, and she knew he was getting progressively closer to her in strength. Though she was managing to control herself for the time being, Vahn hadnt missed her increased breathing and the light blush that was covering, not just her cheeks, but Tiones, Haruhimes, and even Ryuus. Vahn saw their looks and felt a pressure in the bridge of his nose before rubbing foreheads with Fenrir and setting her back down on the ground. Before things took a strange turn, Vahn stored the loot into his inventory and saw that Mammoth Fools were worth around 1,500OP each. The monsters in the middle floors were worth a great deal more than their upper floor brethren and Vahn had gained nearly 40,000 OP in the few short hours they had been on the 19th floor. After looking everything, Vahn nodded to the group and said, "Okay, weve still got a long way to go before we reach our destination. Lets find the staircase as soon as possible, Im starting to get hungry after moving around a bit." Following Vahns orders, everyone resumed their ces in the formation, but not before Tiona sneakily approach Vahn and nted a wet kiss on his cheek before dancing away with a happyughter. Vahn shook his head with a smile on his face as another presence snuck up from his right and Vahn turned to see the golden-eyed Haruhime staring up at him. The deep red makeup around her eyes gave her a seductive look as she said in a low voice, "How envious~." Vahn felt a chill run down his spine but managed to keep his smile as he reached out his hand and plopped it atop Haruhimes head and ruffled her silky hair and fluffy ears a bit before signaling everyone to move forward. Along the way, the group continued dealing with any monsters that appeared while Vahn put all of the drops items into his inventory. As he had noticed Lefiya was somewhat pale, Vahn asked in as gentle a voice as he could manage, "Is everything okay, Lefiya?" Lefiya gave a bashfulugh as her ears drooped low in an adorable manner and she said, "Sorry, Vahn...Im not so good with blood and stuff..." As she spoke, Lefiya looked at Vahns bloodstained clothing from when he had been carrying Fenrir. He hadnt actually gotten any on himself when he was fighting, but Fenrirsbat style wasnt very refined. She easily got covered in blood, which was the reason she wore such little clothing, each piece being made of a material that wouldnt stain or absorb liquids. Vahn frowned slightly at the blood on his arm before a thought came to his mind and he looked at the blood on his body with his [Eyes of Truth]. He could see the individual elements that made up the bloodsposition and used his [Hands of Nirvana] to try and pull the elements away from his body. This was the same as when he removed toxins but, instead of requiring contact with his body, Vahn was pulling the blood through the air while using his domain as the intermediary. Though it hadnt worked at first, the somewhat dried blood began to ke as it peels away from his tunic and began to pool in the palm of his hand. Inspired by his sess, Vahn had a big smile on his face and began to trace his hand over each area where blood had soaked into his clothing. Riveria and Lefiya stared at his actions with unconcealed intrigue in their eyes with a subtle amount of incredulity in their expressions. As Elves, they were able to see the flow of mana and could somewhat understand what Vahn was doing. It was a type of magic that required a lot of finesse and would be almost impossible to replicate without an almost absolute control over the elements. It was somewhat frustrating, especially for Riveria, because Vahn was able to easily do what should be impossible. Without any magic chant, or so much as a chant, he was, before her very eyes, casually creating a brand new magic that once again proved the ws in their own magic system. After he had gotten the hang of it, Vahn was able to casually wave his hand over the areas with blood and easily pull it out of his tunic. By the time he was done, he had a small orb of congealed blood in his right hand which he threw off to the side to dispose of it. Transforming into his Bih form, Vahn smelled the area to see if there were any lingering odor and was able to confirm that he had removed most of it. With practice, Vahn knew he would be able to get even the small particles that remained behind. With a bit of finesse, he should even be able to use the same technique for other kinds of fluids and debris, as long as he could identify and understand its structure. Now that he was clean, Vahn smiled at the befuddled Lefiya before cing his hand on her head and patting her for the first time in a while. She had been intently watching his earlier actions and had been caughtpletely off-guard by his sudden touch. Her eyes opened wide and her face turned crimson red before she passed out on the spot. Vahn quickly caught her body before she fell to the ground as Haruhime beganughing like a bell from behind. As he hadnt intended to make her copse, Vahn ced his palm against Lefiyas forehead and used [Hands of Nirvana] to help stir her awake. Lefiya opened her dark blue eyes a few secondster but, the moment she saw Vahns face in close proximity to her own, the blush came back with a greater intensity and she immediately passed out again. Not just Haruhime, but the other girls had noticed what was happening since they had stopped moving forward. Tiona wasughing loudly while holding her stomach while Tione was simply shaking her head with an exasperated expression. Ais, worried about Lefiyas state, walked over and asked, "Is Lefiya okay?" Vahn nodded his head and, resisting the embarrassment that was tinging his own cheeks, said in a confident tone, "Shes fine, she just passed out from the blood rushing to her head so suddenly. Ill...wake her up again...?" Vahn had a terrible premonition as Ais squatted down next to him and began poking the beet red face of Lefiya with a curious expression on her rtively nk face. For the second time, Vahn used his energy to help Lefiya wake up but, once again, the moment she woke up and saw not just Vahn, but Ais as well, her face turned a maroon color and Vahn had the illusion he could see her soul escaping through her open mouth as she made a wawawawawa sound and copsed. Tiona beganughing so hard that she was rolling on the ground while holding her stomach. The only way to proceed at this point was to wait for Lefiya to recover on her own, but they were currently deep within the 19th floor. Staying around for too long wasnt ideal so Vahn did what he anticipated to be the incorrect choice and lifted Lefiyas body onto his back after putting her staff away in his inventory. He expected that she would probably act even more fl.u.s.tered to be carried, but Vahn didnt want everyone to wait around just because of his mistake. When he lifted her body onto his back, however, Vahn immediately regretted it because he noticed various things that he shouldnt have paid any attention to. Lefiyas body was very light, much lighter than he had expected, and he could feel her soft thighs against his palms and her budding b.r.e.a.s.ts pressing into his back... Vahn saw the looks the other girls were giving him and knew they had seen through his thoughts, likely because of his expression. With a light blush on his healthy brown skin, Vahn said with mock confidence, "L-lets go...weve been on the 19th floor for a while, so it shouldnt be much longer before we get to the stairs..." Tiona finally got off the floor and removed her [Dance of the Amazon] from the ground and began to walk forward while humming a familia tune. Tione followed along as well and the rest of the group started to move soon after. Ais stayed back for a little while and observed the sleeping Lefiya for a while before saying, "Lefiya...sneaky, maybe?" Aiss words made Vahn nearly stumble on a nonexistent obstacle before he corrected himself using Shundo to move forward a single meter. Ais, suddenly being avoided, showed a pouting expression before jumping ahead of the rest of the group and resuming her position at the front. Vahn didnt know what to make of Aiss reaction, as her Love hadnt gone down or anything, but her aura seemed to be ring up like a fire. He knew she was verypetitive, but he didnt know how she had been set off by the sleeping Lefiya that was on his back. Vahn assumed she would probably want to be carriedter, but that was a matter to deal with in the future and Vahns current focus was the petite elf on his back. While they were walking, Riveria spoke out from the side, "You and Lefiya have a very close rtionship..." Vahnughed in an awkward manner before saying, "Yeah, though it isnt anything intimate...she is still a little too young for that kind of thing." Riveria nodded her head in response and said, "She is a good girl and she will grow much stronger at your side. If..." Without continuing her words, Riveria shook her head before looking around the area as if trying to spot any hidden dangers. Vahn was tempted to ask several questions, like what she had intended to say, or what she was looking for, but he assumed she would have told him if it was his business. Without bothering her, Vahn continued forward as if the conversation had never happened and he heard a small notification in his head that showed Riverias Affection had increased to 90(Trust). Her affection was constantly fluctuating, generally around the mid-tote eighties, but this was the first time it had reached the benchmark of 90. Vahn wasnt sure what to make of it, but he felt like he had made the correct decision not to press her about the matter. A part of him was very curious about the continuation of her words, as it had seemed like she was about to say something about herself, but Vahn knew there was plenty of time in the future for such things. After clearing a few more rooms filled with monsters, Lefiya began to stir on his back but she didnt say anything. Vahn could feel her aura turn slightly pink and knew she had decided to pretend to have not woken up. A small smile appeared on his face and, just as he had done for Riveria previously, Vahn ignored Lefiya and allowed her to do as she pleased. If she was enjoying the moment, Vahn thought it was the least he could do to make it up to her for forcing her to pass out twice. She had technically fallen three times, but Vahn credited the final copse to Ais since Lefiyas reaction had been much stronger. Her Affection generally hovered around 92-94, and her parameters had been at (Trust) for a very long time. Vahn knew she liked him, so he was wondering when, if ever, the parameter would change into something else. Twenty minutester, the group finally arrived at the stairs and it was nearing 1 PM so they decided to rest and enjoy a meal before moving further into the Dungeon. Vahn set out cushions for everyone to use before cing a small table down using his inventory. He alsoid a futon off to the side so Lefiya could continue pretending to be asleep for a while longer before waking up when she thought enough time had passed. Before he had set her down, however, Fenrir walked over and said, "Lefiya, why are you still with Master? Are your legs injured?" Lefiya startled a bit on his back, but didnt respond to Fenrirs words and kept sleeping. Vahn was going to exin away the situation on Lefiyas behalf, but it was toote as Tiona walked over after hearing Fenrirs words. With a cheeky smile on her face, she reached out and poked Lefiyas side, just below the ribs, and the small elf girl let out a yelp and nearly fell from Vahns back before hugging his neck in a panic. Her face turned crimson again, but she didnt pass out this time as she stammered, "T-t-t-thank you f-for c-carrying me, Vahn. You can let me down now!" Following her wishes, Vahn set Lefiya down and she released a long sigh of relief before hiding her face away from the yfully smiling Tiona. Incited by Lefiyas actions, Tiona hugged her body and beganughing as she carried Lefiya over to the rest of the group while she released a frustrated and embarrassed sound while failing to escape Tionas grasp. Seeing their antics, Vahn showed acent smile before turning his head to the frowning Fenrir that was standing at his side. Vahn pet her head a little heavily and she tore her eyes away from the girls and showed a happy expression at having gained Vahns attention. He knew Fenrir still had inhibitions about many of the other girls in the Manor, even though she proactively made an effort to get along with them. She liked to be spoiled and, when Vahn wasnt around to spoil her, she always went to others for attention. Vahn wasnt sure the best method to get her to open up but assumed it would get better with time. She had already made incredible improvementspared to her past self, so Vahn was hopeful she would continue to mature steadily in the future. Of course, he hoped it wasnt too fast because he found the current Fenrir to be very adorable. It might be because the Akashic Record had made her match his subconscious image of what cute was, but Vahn had a strong draw to Fenrir and usually foundfort in herpany. Though he wanted her to grow up one day, he hoped she stayed like this for a while longer. She also seemed happy with how things were, for the most part, and Vahn did his best to pamper her when he could. One such example of his care was like now, where he was using his new method to help remove the blood from her body and fur. Fenrir was enjoying the ticklish sensation at first until she realized what Vahn was doing and began to pout without saying anything. Vahnughed at her reaction and said in a consoling tone, "Dont worry, once we settle downter Ill help you wash your body. I just dont want you to make a mess while were eating, okay?" Hearing his words, Fenrir showed her best smile and said, "Vahn is the best to Fenrir~. Fenrir wants to ride on Vahns back too, but not right now though. Fenrir is a good girl and will wait until we are out of the Dungeon. If Master is carrying Fenrir, he cant fight if things get dangerous..." Vahns eyes opened wide after hearing Fenrirs words since she was entirely correct and had said it loud enough that it was heard by everyone present. Though her mental functions were a littleckingpared to others, she still knew how to lecture people indirectly...Vahn felt like she was maturing faster than he was aware. Over at the table, Lefiya was getting teased by Tiona and, when they all heard what Fenrir said, she hung her head low as her ears wobbled pitifully. Even Tiona stopped teasing her as she said in a low voice, "Fenrir can be scary at times...haha..ha." As everyone at the table had experienced Fenrirs wrath before, they all gave subtle nods and simultaneously took a sip of the tea Vahn had set out earlier. It was a strange sight, really, seeing everyone sitting around at a table with silverware, tes of food, and soft cushions, all while being in the middle of the Dungeon. Such things were typically left behind during expeditions, but Vahn had a tendency to spoil the girls and tried to make things morefortable for them when he could. Vahn saw the awkward atmosphere and showed a wry smile on his face as he patted Fenrirs head and said, "Come on, Fenrir, lets go eat with everyone. Ill feed you this time..." Fenrir nodded her head after sending a nce at Lefiya and smiled at Vahn as she trotted over to what would be their shared seat for the meal. As he watched her bushy tail waggle about happily, Vahn couldnt help but think to himself if this was a precursor to what he would experiencing raising his own children. Even though he didnt have any of his own yet, Vahn remarked in a low voice that too quiet for even Haruhime and Fenrir to hear, "They grow up so fast..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Casually creating new magic...,Lefiya increasing her sneak parameter,Fenrir is surprisingly perceptive) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 402 - Unwavering

Chapter 402 - Unwavering

After taking a half hour break for lunch, Vahn ended up using his newfound skill, which was being referred to as cleaning magic to help Tiona and Tione remove any blood from their bodies. He did the same for Ais as well, even though she didnt have any obvious signs of the previous battles anywhere on her white and blue armor. The wind barrier that often surrounded her bodypletely shielded her from any debris that might stain her nearly wless appearance and this caused Vahn to notice a peculiarity... Vahn had never considered it much in the past, as he had never seen Tionas status, but now that he had seen her parameters for himself he noticed there was something wrong. He didnt bring it up to her, as it might alter her awareness and inhibit her growth, but Tiona was not without mana as her status board showed. Though it didnt use much mana, her weapon was a Rank A (Magic) item that Vahn had personally forged for her in the past. Many of its effects were passives, but the thin barrier of wind that would surround her body when she was moving was only possible if mana was fed into it. As they progressed down the 200m between the 19th and 20th floor, Vahn was closely observing Tiona with his [Eyes of Truth], trying to do as the name implied and see through to the truth behind her constitution. Like all things, both living and not, Tionas body wasprised entirely of elemental energies that supported the structure of the molecules in her body. Unlike others, however, she didnt seem to have any mana circuits, something that should be impossible given Vahns current understanding. If she truly had no mana, her body should be in a permanent Mind Down state because she wouldnt have the requisite mental energies to maintain consciousness. Fortunately, soon after they entered the 20th floor, Vahn led the group toward a group of monsters known as Swordstags. They were slightly under two meters tall and, unlike a normal deer or stag, they had long des for antlers instead. Beneath their matted fur coats, there were also small scales that covered their bodies, not that it made much of a difference considering the power output of the girls that immediately moved to engage them. Vahn had been watching Tiona move about and notice that, as soon as the wind barrier activated around her body, he could see a thin green string of mana appearing out of nowhere that ran through her body like a wisp of smoke. Vahns eyes opened slightly before he increased the amount of energy fed into his skill to enhance his vision even further. The reason he chose to do this was due to the purity of Tionas mana, which was generally a gentle blue or white color. For it to be green inside of the body didnt make any sense, as that was typically something that would only happen after you converted your own mana into wind elemental energy. Now that his eyes were capable of seeing even more, Vahn noticed that Tionas pores were inexplicably drawing ambient elemental energies into her body from the atmosphere. Not just any elemental energies either, but pure wind elements so that she was able to make use of the wind barrier surrounding her body. The find ended soon after and the girls went back to resume their positions before Tiona noticed Vahns fervent and unwavering gaze staring directly at her. He had a very serious expression as he scanned all over her body and she could feel his gaze touching her skin and making it tingle. Since she was still excited from the fight, her heart began to beat quicker the longer he stared at her and he seemed to notice it as his eyes darted to her chest as an icy blue light shone in them. Tiona could feel a strange sensation against her b.r.e.a.s.ts, almost like she was being seen through by his glowing eyes... When she had resumed her ce in the formation, Vahn noticed that the mana in her body began to alter its flow inside of her body. Instead of dissipating back out into the atmosphere, the moment Tiona stopped using the energy, it began to pool inside her abdomen and heart before disappearing in a strange manner that Vahn couldnt see through regardless of how much he focused. As he had been observing her body very closely, Vahn noticed Tionas heart began to beat rapidly and turned his attention to watch it for any abnormalities. For him to be unable to see through the process, it had to rte to an Innate ability, though Vahn wasnt sure which one it was. It made the most sense for it to be her [Magic Devouring King], but Vahn couldnt understand how that had anything to do with absorbing mana from the atmosphere so she could use a magic weapon. Vahns vision was suddenly obstructed by a transparent and very fluffy tail which caused him to blink and deactivate his skill. Looking to his right, Vahn saw Haruhime smiling at him with a gentle expression on her face as she said, "If you keep looking at her any longer, Im afraid she might attack you, fufufufu~." While he was confused, Haruhime removed her tail that was obscuring his vision and saw the deeply blushing Tiona giving him a sidelong nce with a somewhat hungry look in her expression. Vahn suddenly realized that her heart wasnt beating rapidly as a result of her skill, but due to the fact that he had been focused on her chest for several seconds... As the group made their way further into the floor, Tiona acted in a way very simr to Fenrir when she was frustrated and threw herself into a group of lizardmen and began to indiscriminately ughter them. Though he felt no true remorse for their loss, Vahn still sent them a silent prayer as their somewhat ruthless deaths were a result of his mistake. He was beginning to realize that, if something really did happen between him and the girls within the Dungeon, it would likely be a result of his actions having triggered them. Fortunately, Vahn had made the decision to bring along Fenrir for the trip to prevent anything from actually happening. There was also Riveria, Lefiya, and even Haruhime present, so Vahn was hoping things wouldnt take any strange turns once they set camp for the night. Sleeping arrangements hadnt been discussed yet, but Vahn knew he would probably be sleeping with Fenrir in order to avoid having to sleep with therger group of girls. It was inarguably far too dangerous to share a tent with Tiona and Tione so he would most likely end up staying with Ais, Lefiya, and Fenrir, which was a rtively safe group, all things considered. Sensing an abnormality, Vahn raised his hand and stated in a firm tone, "Stop, dont advance any further!" The girls immediately listened to his order and took battle ready stances as Vahn probed the room up ahead with his perception. After observing the flow of energy within the walls and ceiling of the Dungeon, Vahn turned to Riveria while speaking loudly for the benefit of the entire group, "There is arge fluctuation of mana in the next room...if Im not wrong, it is either a strange phenomenon in the Dungeon or the precursor to a Monster Party." Riverias cool expression became somewhat serious as she said, "Even if its only the 20th floor, a Monster Party can be very dangerous. Though Ill leave the decision for you, I would suggest taking a detour and finding another way forward." Vahn nodded his head but was still considering fighting in the room regardless. They wouldnt be caught off guard like the traditional groups which would be the victims of such a situation, and their group also consisted of several powerful Adventurers. Vahn himself had the benefit of his domain and could use his [Heart of the Eternal] me and [L?vateinn] to deal with arge number of enemies as well. After considering the matter for quite a while, Vahn nodded his head firmly and said, "Riveria, we wont always be able to avoid dangerous situations when were in the Dungeon. Now that we have a chance to tackle one while having ample time to prepare, I think we should push forward. Its also a good opportunity to let Lefiya gain some exillia so I want you to create a barrier to defend the backline while Tiona, Ais, and Tione clear away as many enemies as they can during Lefiyas chant. Haruhime, since we dont know what will happen, I want you to use your Uchide no Kozuchi on the vanguard, myself, and Riveria. Fenrir, Ryuu, I want the two of you to stay back within the barrier and be prepared for any changes in the situation." Tiona immediately shouted out a happy, "Alright~! Lets destroy them all, ahahahahaha!" while Tione and Ais also seemed to get a bit riled up at the idea of fighting what would likely be hundreds of monsters. Riveria gave a slightly exasperated sigh before saying, "Very well, it sounds like a sound n. We should stay oriented towards the door, however, just in case we need to retreat into the adjacent rooms." Vahn nodded his head in affirmation before giving the order to advance forward, knowing full well the Dungeon had prepared a trial for them to ovee. He hadnt mentioned it to Riveria, but Vahn was just as excited as Tiona, Ais, and Tione when it came to the thought of fighting a mass of enemies. The room they proceeded into was veryrge, nearly 300m in diameter, with the height of the ceiling nearly 40m above. There was arge number of root-like protrusions that connected all the way from the floor to the ceiling and would serve as cover for both allies and enemies alike. Though there were presently no monsters visible, everyone could sense the abnormality in the room since Vahn had pointed out the possibility of an ambush. Vahn himself was paying close attention to the fluctuation of magic and, just as the mana in the walls began to shift, he said in a clear tone that resonated through the area, "Riveria, barrier magic, now!" Riveria nodded her head and began her chanting as a massive emerald green magic circle appear beneath their feet, "Dance around spirit of the atmosphere, lord of light..." Just as she had started chanting, cracks began to appear all over the room as monsters began pouring out of the holes like water escaping a leak. The vast majority of the monsters turned out to be Bugbears, but Vahn had noticed the presence of several new enemies that might prove a problem if not for the prowess of the three Level 5s out front. Standing around four meters tall, though there was one muchrger, were a group of five Trolls that appeared within the monster horde. They had bark-like brackish brown skin that was shaped like dead trees. Vahn knew these branch-like protrusions were both very durable while also being incredibly sharp. They were considered some of the strongest monsters in the middle floors and their variants could easily be stronger than Level 3. Riveria hadnt stopped her chant while the monsters were converging on them and eventually finished long before the first contact ever happened, "Contract with the guardian of the forest, and envelop us with the song of thend. Surround us be a great barrier of forest light and protect us - my name is Alf!" A massive barrier appeared around the entire backline that wouldpletely prevent any enemy attacks from reaching them. Vahn realized he should have given this order earlier, but turned to the somewhat pale Lefiya and said in a calm, yet firm, tone, "Lefiya, use the strongest magic you can manage. Dont panic, youre perfectly safe..." Lefiyas aura had begun to waver like a me that was on the verge of being extinguished by a strong wind. Even though she was Level 3, Lefiya still didnt have a lot of confidence in herself and struggled when it came to dealing withrge groups of monsters. Vahn didnt understand this too well since, as a mage, it was precisely her job to deal with mobs of enemies. He wasnt sure how her expectations were able to deviate away from the purpose she had within the group, but he did his best to support her so she wouldnt hesitate for too long. Just as he had done in the past, Vahn stood slight behind Lefiya and said in a gentle tone, "You can do it, Lefiya..." as he ced his hand gently on her shoulder and channeled his own source energy into her body with [Yggdrasiles Favor] and [Hands of Nirvana]. Lefiya felt the familiar energy, the same which she had foundfort in during the fight against the terrifying Juggernaut, and nodded her head as she began her own chant, "Proud warrior, snipers of the forest..." While she was beginning her rtively slow chant, Ais had be a veritable typhoon of wind and had started a massacre against the hordes that had managed to close the distance. She, Tiona, and Tione, had all split up in order to protect the backline from three different directions and were trying to whittle down as many enemies as they could before the retreat order was given. Ais could see the massive 7m tall red troll in the back that was actually picking up other monsters and biting off their heads as it released a powerful roar that shook the entire room. It was far behind therger mass and Ais knew she wouldnt be able to go all the way over there, y the rtively strong monster, and then retreat all in the time it took for Lefiya to finish her chant. Though she felt a powerfulpulsion to fight against the strong monster, Ais was beginning to waver in her single-minded pursuit after having been exposed to Vahn. She was beginning to understand that there were more things than simply ying monsters that were required to be strong. Even though Vahn was a much lower level than she was, he was quickly catching up to her in strength and would probably exceed her within a year or two. Since he had stressed working together, even though he was growing so rapidly, Ais wanted to believe the path he walked was the correct one. She had seen the evidence in the ridiculous growth rate of Haruhime, Maemi, and Emiru and knew they would also be stronger than the current her in the future unless she changes her perspective... Thus, against the expectations of almost everyone present, Ais didnt charge forward to try and fight the Troll variant and instead used her Ariel to thin out the monsters closest to the barrier. Riveria was especially surprised by this change and sent a sidewards nce at the confident looking Vahn that had a small smile on his face as he rested his hand on Lefiyas shoulder. She could also see that Lefiya, who was typically somewhat unreliable inbat situations during expeditions, was calmly chanting her magic spell with her eyes closed. Her paleplexion had taken on a slightly rosy color and she was smoothly progressing through her chant as a gentle pink magic circle rotated under her feet. Vahn had memorized all the chants used by Riveria and Lefiya so, just as she was getting to the final incantation, he stated in a calm and loud tone, "Fall back, Lefiya will take care of the rest! Riveria, lower the shield!" Lefiyas brows twitched slightly as Vahn shouted, but she maintained her focus and continued her chant, "Release them, the fire arrows of the fairies. Falling like rain, burn away the savages!" Her chant ended almost at the exact same moment that Ais, Tiona, and Tione managed to get within her magic circle. Several small magic circles began to appear in the air overhead and red beams of energy erupted from their center and began to rain down on the monsters within the room. Seeing the devastation wrought by the small elf, Vahn nodded his head approvingly and helped recover the mana that Lefiya had exhausted. She had used nearly 70% of her reserves in a single spell, one of the major downsides to using wide AoE magic, and Vahn wanted to top her off just in case. Though there had been several hundred monsters still present in the room, by the time the explosion had cleared there were only a few dozen injured stragglers located around the area. The floor was littered with magic cores and drop items that Vahn began to loot before walking over and patting Aiss back as he said, "Go, Ais, destroy the enemy..." Ais had noticed that the variant Troll had survived the st, likely due to its fire elemental affinity having resistance against Lefiyas fire magic spell, and she had been contemting if she should go and fight it. When she felt Vahns hand on her back and heard his words, Ais showed a small smile and said, "Im going..." before dashing forward like the wind. Ais knew that Vahn probably wanted to fight the Red Troll himself, but he had left it to her and this made Ais feel both happy and grateful at the same time. She closed the distance with the massive creature just as it used a powerful roar of mes to try and scorch her body... Ais brandished her [Gram] andpletely dissipated the terrifying mes with the barrier of wind that surrounded her body. They couldnt get within three meters of her and Ais wasnt even able to feel the heating from them as she kicked off the ground with enough force to leave cracks against the hardwood floor. The Red Troll tried to smash its colossal arms into her figure but Ais dashed forward like a sh of light, directly through the body of the Troll. A tunnel more than 3m wide was formed in its body that continued to expand before it eventually reached a critical level and caused the Red Troll to turn into purple dust. Though it might be a very strong Level 3 monster, it wasnt a match for the Level 5 Ais that had what was considered one of the strongest possible skills, [Avenger]. When shended on the ground, Ais red her de before staring into its beautiful unmarred white surface. The small smile on her face turned into a more natural smile that reached her eyes as she stroked the wless de that Vahn had forged for her. Every weapon she had ever used in the past would eventually break after a bit of use, but the [Gram] in her hands hadst for months at this point without even requiring any extra maintenance. Vahn had helped her sharpen it once, but it was otherwise exactly the same as when she had first received it. The only thing that had changed in that time was Ais herself and, seeing the group walking over to join her, with Vahn amongst them, she felt like it was a good change... (A/N: Oh, this might not be necessary but Id like to exin why Vahn didnt give the [Seal of the Challenger] to Lefiya. There are a few reasons really, including that she doesnt yet have a me seed, but the biggest factor is...what kind of reaction do you think the bashful Lefiya would have if Vahn tried to give her a cor right before a big battle xD?) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Aint no party like a monster party,Vahns noob tactics,Aiss change in perception) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 403 - Monotony

Chapter 403 - Monotony

After sessfully defeating the Monster Party, it wasnt long before the group found a set of stairs leading toward the 21st floor of the Dungeon. They had spent a significantly shorter period of time on the 20th floorpared to the 19th, so it was somewhat refreshing to know they were making good progress. Lefiya had been in high spirits after the battle, primarily due to the fact that everyone in the group, including the generally taciturn Riveria, all praised her for the magic she had used. Tiona, especially, seemed to be hyped up after witnessing the devastating sight and had spun the small Elf around several times in jubtion. Ais also seemed to be in a very good mood after the fight and Vahn could see that her aura had be very stable after the battle came to an end. When they had discovered the staircase and decided to take a short break, Ais hade over to his side and sat against his shoulder with a happy smile on her face without saying anything. Vahn was a little confused by her behavior, but just epted her affections as he snuggled up with her, Fenrir, and the boisterous Tiona who didnt seem to be willing to be left out. Riveria watched their behavior for a while before shaking her head andmenting, "The Dungeon really isnt the ce to be ying around and flirting..." Though Vahn agreed, he just continued to y with Fenrirs oversized ears with a casual smile on his face as he said, "You never know what the future might hold, Riveria, its good to rx when you can. Dont worry, though it might not look like it, Im using my domain to scan everything around us. Even if an enemy tries to attack us through the floor or ceiling, I will be able to know about their presence long before they ever arrive..." Hearing Vahns words, Riveria didnt really have a way to argue so she just released a small sigh and looked for a spot to sit down on her own and rest. She found a nice t area that didnt have a lot of dust, but before she actually sat down a cushion appeared with a small circr table with fragrant tea present. Riveria could feel her brows twitch slightly as she looked over to see Vahnscent smile before sitting down on the cushion he had left for her. After taking a sip of the warm tea, she released another sigh and sat peacefully without ining about Vahns behavior. Tione, Ryuu, and Lefiya also had seats of their own and were ying some kind of gambling game using dice and cards that Ryuu had prepared. Vahn had been surprised when she first brought them out and, after asking about it, Ryuu exined with a somewhat mncholic look that she had learned about gambling from one of her formerrades. ording to Ryuu, the Pallum girl named Lyra had imed that, in order to properly deal with criminals and cheats, you had to understand how they thought and scammed people. The Astrea Familia had been a righteous familia that made many enemies by breaking up criminal syndicates in the past and there were several unique individuals within the group that had a variety of skills suited for capturing criminals. Ryuu was currently teaching Tione how to gamble and read peoples expressions while all three girls periodically sent nces toward Vahn, Ais, Tiona, and Fenrir. Vahn felt a little guilty every time they looked over but there wasnt too much he could do about the situation, as he wasnt the one to initiate it in the first ce. Ryuu didnt really like public disys of affection from the start, while Tione was something of a unique case amongst the rest of the girls. As for Lefiya, Fenrir was on guard against the little elf and probably wouldnt let her sit with Vahn, even if she mustered up enough courage to act. After resting for a half hour, Vahn figured it was time to continue forward since he wanted to try and get through another 2-3 floors before they called it a day. Ideally, they would be able to get to the stairs leading to the 25th floor, but that didnt seem likely with how long it took to clear each floor. The spawn rate of monsters was much higher and, unless they started bolting through the floors at the expense of their stamina, their progress wasnt that fast. On average, it took around 3 hours and, since it was already slightly after 3 PM, that would require around twelve hours if they set the 24th-floor stairwell as their goal. The 21st floor was much like the 20th, being that they were bothpletely made of wood with only a few areas where grass and herbs grew. Vahn had been collecting everything along the way and organizing it within his inventory because some of the herbs could be exchanged for several thousand Valis each. Of course, he wasnt nning to sell them and had intended to gift them to Naaza when they returned to the surface. She would be able to use them in her mixing practice, even though she didnt necessarily need them. Vahns wealth, even though he wasnt doing much, had been increasing rapidly and he wasnt even sure how to spend it all. He had been purchasing a lot of materials, clothing, supplies, and other misceneous items to help out around the Manor since he didnt have a better use for the funds. Because of the somewhat monotonous fighting that had been going on, Vahn had started to grow somewhat bored as they continued deeper into the floor. The strength of the monsters hadnt increased much and, other than marginally higher numbers, they were falling likes flies under thebined assault of Ais, Tiona, and Tione. Even Fenrir was able to kill many of the monsters with ease after bing ustomed to their fighting style. Her battle instincts were actually very high, after she had been trained a bit, and she systematically took out the monsters after identifying their weaknesses. Even though she didnt use any real weapons or equipment, as she didnt like being constrained at all duringbat, her ws were arguably sharper than Aiss [Gram] and she cut through the Lizardmen she was fighting as if their scales were an illusion. The only time things got interesting were when an irregr or a variant monster would show up. However, though it was cool to see their unique capabilities on disy, Vahn had yet to see a single monster that could withstand more than one blow from Ais when she got serious. Though Vahn could use his Shundo to move almost anywhere within his Domain, Ais was actually fast enough to close a 200m distance in less time than it took to blink. Vahn had experienced this when, after they encountered a giant purple Swordstag, Vahn blinked and noticed that Ais hadpletely vanished from his line of sight as the monsters head spun through the air. From this short expedition, Vahn was beginning to understand that he wouldnt be able to experience any real challenges in the Dungeon unless he was in a smaller group, or if they had ventured even deeper into the Dungeon. Generally speaking, it was very dangerous for a normal sized party to venture beyond the 25th floor, but that was generally for groupsprised of Level 2s and 3s. Their current party consisted of a Level 6, three Level 5s, a Level 4, Vahn and Lefiya at Level 3, and Fenrir and Haruhime at Level 2. The traditional party only had 5 members, so their group of eight was easily progressing, even though the Dungeon increased the spawn rate due to their presence. The thing that made it boring for Vahn was, now that he knew what to look for, he could easily predict the location of random monster spawns and had been using his bow to dispatch them before they could even break free from the wallspletely. Fenrir also seemed to have picked up on something, that Vahn wasnt quite sure how and, when a Troll tried to break free of a wall, Fenrir jumped forward and buried her ws into its face before ripping off the front part of its skull. When he asked how she had detected its presence, Fenrir just c.o.c.ked her head to the side and said, "Fenrir just felt it~? It was like a tiny voice in Fenrirs head saying a monster is going toe out." Vahn suspected that, due to the amount of Loyalty she had toward him, his subconscious thoughts might be transmitting to Fenrir and being treated as orders in her own mind. This was a bit of a concerning matter because, if such a thing were the case, Vahn didnt know how he might have been influencing Fafnir and, perhaps most importantly, Anubis. If they were only acting as they were because of the influence of his subconscious mind, Vahn felt like he was slowly brainwashing them to do whatever he thought. Fortunately, when he had this somewhat dark thought, Fenrir reached up and pat him on the head as she said, "There, there, Vahn is a good boy~." Either Fenrir was incredibly perceptive or his inference that she was somehow able to understand his thoughts was correct. Vahn would have to test his theory when he returned to the surface as there was also a very real possibility it was just due to the bond they shared. Just like he could sense Hephaestuss thoughts and emotions when they were nearby, it was also possible Fenrir could do the same. Vahn actually knew next to nothing about her species, Vanargandr, so it wasnt a good idea to make assumptions and automatically assume he had done some terrible wrong. With a grateful smile on his face, Vahn ruffled the smiling Fenrirs head and they continued further into the Dungeon. --- After nearly eight hours, the group arrived at the staircase leading down to the 24th floor, about where Vahn had expected them to reach considering their pace. Other than Lefiya, nobody was really that tired but Vahn still gave the order to make camp since it was better to rest when they had the opportunity. Tomorrow, after they cleared the 24th floor, they would officially be entering the 25th floor to finally begin their descent into the Lower Floors of the Dungeon. This was the bottleneck most Adventurers would stop at in their careers since it was very dangerous to proceed any further withoutrge parties or incredible personal strength and equipment. Vahn gave all the girls the luggage they had prepared and everyone started setting up their tents as Vahn started cooking food. Though he had various dishes within his inventory, it was better to cook some of the rations they had prepared since there was adequate time to do so. Using premade dishes was very convenient, but that didnt mean it was necessary, or even advisable since they would be more useful in emergency situations when there wasnt enough time to prepare other meals. Besides, Vahn actually liked to cook quite a bit and had been getting progressively better at it since his time in the forest. Other than Lefiya, who was talented at making sds, it turned out that none of the girls in the party knew how to prepare meals. Even Riveria, though she was 97 years old, typically left the cooking to the Supporters in the Loki Familia or just ate normal rations. Ryuu wasnt an exception either, even though she worked at a pub, and this left Vahn as the only practical choice if he wanted the food to taste good. For their meal tonight, Vahn was actually using a piece of meat that had been harvested from a Mammoth Fool that weighed nearly 20kg. He had learned from Aki how to make stew and also had several references avable within his mind to help out with the process. Though it was somewhat shameless, Vahn was even using his eternal me to control the heat within the giant pot and the me danced about happily at the opportunity to do something new. Tiona had finished setting up her tent faster than everyone else and leaned over the pot as Vahn was stirring it before taking a deep breath. She released a satisfied sigh and said, "It smells super delicious Vahn. Not only are you a hero, but youre even a chef? I starting to wonder if there is anything you cant do, hahahahaha~!" Vahn smiled before lifting up thedle and smelling the stew himself before offering it to Tiona. She happily took a sip of the rich and fragrant Mammoth stew before cing her hand against her cheek as she made a happy sound of savoring the vor. As if continuing Tionas words, Riveria had also walked over and said in a in tone, "Im also beginning to wonder where your limitsy. Given how things are progressing, Im starting to believe you never had any to begin with..." Vahn chuckled at Riverias words before filling up a wooden bowl and handing it to Tiona. The lively Amazon girl happily epted the bowl before sitting next to the patiently waiting Fenrir. Though he had intended the meal for Tiona, she used her spoon and said, "Fenrir, aaaaaaaaaaahn~" Fenrir frowned at first but, after seeing Vahns expression, decided to ept Tionas assistance as Vahn continued to prepare the meal for everyone else. Considering Riverias earlier words, Vahn ruminated for a moment before saying, "I think that, given the nature of the world, the only limitys in our understanding of how the world works. As long as you have the resolve to challenge existing conventions, I dont think its that difficult to ovee what most people would have considered the limit. Evenmon sense is something that is derived from thepromise made between groups of people in order to make sense of the world around them. Its not that I try to live my life without limits, but I dont believe in constraining myself without having made an effort to understand the reasons for why Im not able to do something...so, as long as I dont give up trying to understand why something works the way it does, I dont believe something like limits exist at all..." Riveria had a thoughtful expression on her face as she epted the bowl of sd that Vahn had given her. She simply couldnt wrap her head around Vahns thought process, even though what he said seemed to make sense. There were several parts of his statement that she didnt agree with, but when she thought about it using the context of his words, they were all things that she considered to be mon sense. In her homnd, it was mon sense that High Elves were the most superior species, second only to the spirits and the gods themselves. After leaving her homnd, Riveria quickly realized the error of her peoples ways and now, after having spent nearly seventy years in the outside world and having her perspective shaped by her association with other people, she meets an anomaly like Vahn that causes her to question everything she thought she knew. Even the matter of races having unique traits, skills, and magic associated with them seemed to be fundamentally wed. Vahn, simply by reshaping the flow of energy in his body, which was something she couldnt evenprehend truthfully, was able to emte and be any race as long as he had a strong enough image of it. Because of this, Riveria was beginning to feel like the only thing that made anyone special was the achievements they built for themselves after putting in an adequate amount of effort. Vahn looked over and saw Riveria lost in thought and could see her aura wavering about slightly in a chaotic manner. He wasnt sure what she was struggling with but, seeing as how she hadnt gone out of her way to avoid the conversation they were having, he decided to say, "One of the most important things Ive learned in the short time Ive experienced living with other people is that it isnt worth overthinking things at all. The most important thing you can ever do is continue forward along the path youve decided for yourself. Dont be bound by the past, do your best in the present, and continue forward toward a better future. These three things are the only thing Ive needed to get to where I am today...surrounded by people I care about, trust, and even love..." As Vahn was speaking, he had turned to overlook the other girls that were already enjoying the food he had prepared for them. They each had happy and pleased expressions on their faces and were enjoying the meal together without worrying about unnecessary things at all. Riveria also looked toward the other girls and saw their apparent happiness...even other Elves like Ryuu and Lefiya were getting along well with everyone and didnt seem to care that they were all currently in the Dungeon where their lives could be endangered at any moment. Though she had a thought to lecture them for theircency, she knew that being tense wasnt any real solution and that Vahns detection ability even invalidated the need to keep watch while everyone ate. This situations itself was so far removed from her general understanding of things that it was hard to believe everything happening right now was even real. Vahn just smiled at Riveriasplex expression before taking a bowl of his own and joining the somewhat lively atmosphere of the rest of the group. Since Tiona had taken the initiative to spend time with Fenrir, Vahn was freed up, perhaps by design, to sit with Ryuu and Tione now. They all had fun conversations with each other and Vahn even took the opportunity to tease Ryuu a bit by offering her a bit of the desert he had brought out for everyone. When he held the fork holding a strawberry cake toward her mouth, the cool beauty showed a light blush on her face before eventually giving in when Tione offered to eat it in her stead. All the while this was happening, Riveria sat at the periphery of the group on the cushion Vahn had given her as she slowly picked away at her sd... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns boredom,Fenrirs Perception,Riverias Conflict) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 404 - Good Fortune

Chapter 404 - Good Fortune

As it wasnt necessary to actually have anyone post up during the night, Vahn gave the order for everyone to rest after dinner hade to an end. When he retired to his own tent, he was apanied by Fenrir while the other tents were taken by different pairs such as Ais and Lefiya, Tiona and Tione, Ryuu and Haruhime, andstly, staying in a tent of her own, Riveria. Before everyone had gone to sleep, Vahn had set out three wash basins for the girls that wanted to take a bath and, as promised, he helped Fenrir wash her body before helping her wear a loose nightgown over herbat attire. Fenrirs hair always had an earthy and warm aroma and she always slept right on top of Vahns chest with her paws bundled up at her stomach, sped together so she wouldnt identally scratch anyone while she slept. She had gotten much better at controlling herself and rarely ever cut her own clothing anymore, nor did she scratch other people and tear apart the things she touched. She had even gotten to the point that, when she was practicing her writing, the words were always carved in a uniform manner, even though her handwriting was somewhat terrible. Fortunately, as he had somewhat expected Tiona to try and sneak into his tent, the night passed without issue and everyone woke up very early the next day. Since he wanted to get a jumpstart on things, Vahn handed out a variety of pastries for everyone to enjoy before continuing deeper into the Dungeon. The 24th floor of the Dungeon was the end of the Large Tree Labyrinth and also the official end-point of the Middle Floors of the Dungeon. Everything beyond, all the way to the record 59th floor, was considered the Lower Floors and a realm only visited by veteran adventurers and high ranking Familia. Unlike the 19th through the 23rd floor, the 24th floor had a lot more nt life spread all throughout the floor. The ceiling was nearly 40-50m at the highest points and there were severalrge trees, a variety of bushes, and various nt-like monsters and insects flying about. Soon after entering, Vahn had detected an abnormality within one of the walls and, after having everyone halt their advance, probed it using his bow after verifying whaty within using his [Eyes of Truth]. Once the barrage of arrows prated the wall, a giant, bulbous, red creature popped out of the wall before mming down onto the floor. It was around 5-7m long and had a variety of holes covering its body. It writhed about and tried tounch a viscous reddish-yellow liquid at the party but everyone was well outside of its effective range. Riveria, from the side, said in a calm tone, "Bloody Hive, its a trap-type monster that immobilizes its enemies before overwhelming them with Deadly Hos. They dont have a lot of offensive capabilities on their own, but they can be a major threat if they arent dealt with quickly..." Vahn nodded his head and said, "Thank you, Riveria." as he knocked a pair of mithril arrows on his bow and, after channeling arge number of fire elements, loosed them toward the Bloody Hive. As Riveria had been speaking, he checked the information within his mind and knew they were very weak to fire. For someone like Vahn, whose main attribute could be considered fire, they werent much of a threat. Before it even had enough time to spawn ten Deadly Hos, the Bloody Hive was already writhing about on the ground as it burned to ashes as a result of Vahns deadly mes. As for the Deadly Hos, they were nearly a meter long and made an excessively loud noise as they buzzed about in a strange manner. Their bodies consisted of a hard carapace that was covered in a variation of yellows, cks, and reds, and they had massive 20cm long ck stingers to glowed with a subtle purple light. As their named indicated, they had a deadly poison that covered the entirely of their stinger as well as a powerful set of mandibles on their heads. With theirrgepound eyes, they looked somewhat menacing, at least until they were shredded apart by the swift Ais momentster. Bloody Hives were a rtively rare monster on the 24th floor, so it was both auspicious as well as unfortunate that it was the first enemy they came across after entering. Amongst Adventurers, it was considered a sign of great fortune if you encountered a rare enemy right after entering a floor and were able to ovee it. With Vahns detection ability, most traps werepletely ineffective and they were able to make smooth progress while following his directions. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that, with Vahns presence with a party, any group could efficiently move through the Dungeon and he would likely be one of the key factors for any expedition into the deeper floors. Other than the few Killer Wasps that would fly at them from various directions, the majority of the monsters on the 24th floor were Hobgoblins, a type of goblin that stood more than two meters tall and had muchrger horns affixed in their heads. Many of them used nature weapons, such as clubs and spears, but they seemed to be somewhatcking in intelligence and couldnt coordinate with each other at all. Tiona was happily cutting her way through arge group of them as she spun her giant weapon around yfully. There was even a point where, when she vaulted off the ground, spun through the air, and shed down at arge Hobgoblin, that her weapon emitted a pulse before smashing the 2m tall Hobgoblin into a small ball less than 50cm in size. Vahn had seen this from the backline and had both of his eyes open wide after witnessing the sight. He knew this was probably the effect of the [Crushing Blow] that he had imbued into the [Dance of the Amazon], but he had never expected the effect to be so monstrous. Seeing a humanoid monster turned into apact sphere of flesh was enough to make even Vahn feel a little squeamish so it wasnt a surprise to him at all when Lefiya released a small amount of rainbow liquid from her mouth. Vahn rubbed her back to ease her nausea and looked over to realize that Haruhime, an elegant girl who most people would expect to struggle with such things, showing a in expression as she scanned the battle looking for an enemy of her own to target. As if she had sensed Vahns gaze, Haruhime turned toward him before smiling widely before chuckling in a yful manner. Though her eyes had been a cid green color, the moment she locked eyes with him, Vahn noticed they began to turn a pale gold. Though she seemed to be perfectly fine, Vahn still asked, "How are you holding up, Haruhime, let me know if you get tired..." Haruhime nodded her head and said, "Thank you, Vahn, Im fine~." Haruhime didnt have much to do so far, other than periodically using her magic to target distant foes, so she wasnt even remotely tired. Though she was tempted to pretend, she knew that not only Vahn, but the somewhat troublesome Fenrir would see through her act. She knew Fenrir was envious of her for various reasons, so Haruhime didnt want to make her upset and lose the opportunity to get closer to Vahnter. Since Vahn had previously spent time with Tiona, Ais, Ryuu, and Tione, Haruhime was nning to get some of his time for herselfter. She wasnt going to jeopardize things before then, so she just did her best to appear as elegant as possible for the time being. Seein that Haruhime was fine, Vahn showed an encouraging smile as he continued to pat the contradictory Lefiya on the back. She was simultaneously pale, from having witnessed the gory sight, but also blushing slightly from Vahns contact. Her appearance made Vahn feel sorry for her so, instead of directly patting her back, he used [Hands of Nirvana] on his domain to make everyone feel morefortable. Lefiya released a small sigh before doing her best to stand back up on her own two feet. Once sheposed herself, she bowed toward Vahn and said in a quiet voice, "Thank you, Vahn..." For a brief moment, Vahn reached out his hand to pat Lefiyas bowed head before saying, "No worries, Lefiya, Im always happy to help. Well take a longer break before going to the 25th floor if youre feeling tired. If necessary, I also have some medicine to help your stomach if youre still feeling sickter." Lefiya gently bit her bottom lip with a blush rising on her cheeks before saying, "I-Im fine..." She then lowered her head as if trying to hide her face and even moved to the other side of Riveria after a while. Haruhime began tough from Vahns side and he just shrugged in mock exasperation before continuing forward with the rest of the group. Nearly three hours into the 24th floor, as if proving the superstition of other Adventurers, Vahn sensed a muchrger presence in his perception. Though he couldnt see it at first, he was able to prate through the walls of the Dungeon, and any other obstacles, before setting his eyes on arge, emerald green, dragon that was nearly 12m in length. It actually seemed to have a bit of wisdom in its gentle blue eyes as it peered back towards Vahn as if having detected his gaze upon it. Right next to the dragon, there was a small tree, only around 3m in height, that seemed to be made almost entirely of crystal. It had vibrant green leaves that glistened in the low-light of the Dungeon and had a variety of yellow, purple, and red gemstones growing from its branches like fruit. With arge smile on his face, Vahn brought the group to a halt before exining, "I just discovered a Green Dragon protecting a Treasure Tree that is in the adjacent room. I dont see the path leading to the room, but we can probably break through the wall if we want to loot the tree. Im not sure if the dragon is dangerous since there seems to be something special about it, but be prepared to attack the moment it bes aggressive. Ais, your [Avenger] and [Gram] provide powerful benefits against dragons so Ill leave defeating it to you. However, dont attack until it bes hostile, okay?" Hearing that Vahn had discovered the incredibly rare Treasure Tree, everyone was in high spirits, even Riveria. Her staff, Magna Alfs, was an S-Rank item that cost nearly 340MV and made use of nine Magic Treasure Stones which could only be found from rare drops and incredibly rare natural treasures like the Treasure Tree in the next room. A single Magic Treasure Stone could cost upwards of 10MV, so it was an incredible boon to be able to discover an intact tree. As for Ais, she had aplex expression on her face after hearing Vahns words but still nodded her head in agreement. Though she would generally kill any monster on sight, she had learned from interacting with Fenrir and Fafnir that not all monsters were evil. Because it was actually very dangerous to inflict too much damage to the Dungeon, lest they incur the wrath of a Juggernaut, Vahn was thinking of other ways to breach the wall. After thinking about the matter for a few minutes, he saw the sky-blue eyes of Ryuu watching him and a smile crept upon his face as he pulled out an intricately designed trinket out of his inventory. This was an item he had obtained when Ryuu reached 100 affection and was known as [Fairy Promenade]. Its use imed that all trees, nt life, and animals open a path for the user to pass unhindered, so Vahn was hoping it might even work on the tree-like walls of the Dungeon. If it proved to be the case, Vahn resolved himself to treat Ryuu when they returned to the surface since it would be through her affections that they were able to obtain the Treasure Tree. Though she didnt understand why Vahn smiled at her, Ryuu returned his smile and watched as he activated another one of his mysterious items. A green light appeared around his body and, against the expectations of everyone present, the wall of the Dungeon began to open up as it created a tunnel that Vahn passed through whileughing in a very satisfied manner. Then, as if he had a sudden realization, Vahn turned back and bounded over to Ryuu before nting a short kiss on her unprepared lips. Ryuu blushed deeply, especially after seeing the other girls look at her, before pulling the fastener of her cloak to conceal part of her face from view. Satisfied with Ryuus response, Vahn led the way through the Dungeons wall as everyone followed behind him with a mixture of intrigue and confusion on their faces. Riveria, seemingly unable to keep her intrigue restrained, asked in an inquisitive manner, "That item...is it another thing you created? How is it able to control the Dungeon walls like this?" Vahn shook his head then, after thinking for a few seconds, exined, "This is an item that serves as proof of the bond I share with Ryuu..." Vahn looked over at the sky-blue eyes, which averted slightly after making eye contact, before continuing, "It allows the user to pass unhindered through forests and the like...since were currently inside a giant tree, I thought it might be useful here. Seems our luck is quite high today..." As he spoke, Vahn furrowed his brows slightly beforeing to a stop and scanning his surroundings once again. Everyone else came to a stop at nearly the same time and immediately became alert after seeing Vahns expression and behavior. Vahn knew better than anyone that, when things suddenly started going especially well, that was usually when something unexpected happened. Though he didnt understand why this was the case, Karma seemed to test those that had a lot of good karma and, the moment when they let down their guard while assuming everything was going well, that was generally when tragedy befell them. Shortly after he came to a stop, Vahn sensed the presence of a strange aura that was located in a passageway within the wall of the Dungeon itself. Its aura was unlike anything he had ever seen before and Vahn was curious so he began to stare directly toward it with his [Eyes of Truth] active. His instincts were sounding rm bells in his head and, after prating into the strange corridor, Vahn came face to face with what looked like a normal woman, if not for the fact that she had green eyes that glowed within the darkness. She was a tall woman, around 170cm, and she had a powerful physique with red hair and green eyes. Though she wasnt a conventional beauty, Vahn thought she would have looked attractive if not for the fierce expression on her face. Vahn wasnt sure how they were able to do it but, much like the Green Dragon in the nearby room, the woman seemed to be able to sense his probing gaze. She looked back with her glowing green eyes and mouthed a few words as she covered her n.a.k.e.d body with a cloak and walked away into the darkness before eventually escaping his line of sight. Though he wasnt that confident in being able to read lips, Vahn could rey her words over and over in his mind and was absolutely certain she had said two very familiar words..."Vahn Mason..." Seeing the serious expression on his face, Ryuu asked, "Vahn, did you see something? Is it an enemy?" Hearing Ryuus words, Vahn turned to the group and considered what how to exin that he had peeked in on a woman that was taking a bath in a glowing blue pool of liquid. He was almost certain that she was a monster, simr in nature to Fenrir, but he didnt know if she was actually an enemy or not. However, the cold look in her eyes and the fact that she knew his name was a red g so he exined, "I saw a woman...I think she is a humanoid monster, one of the ones that the Guild wants to capture or kill. I cant be sure, but she seemed to be around Level 5 and had a powerful aura radiating from her body...also, though I couldnt hear what she said, Im certain she called my name after detecting me." Realizing the incongruity in what he had seen, Vahn also said, "Also, there seems to be a corridor nearby that connects to the Dungeon, but it doesnt appear to be a part of it at all. Instead of wood, like everything else on the floor, it is made of stone...almost like it is manmade?" Vahn was very tempted to investigate further but decided against it since it was more important to procure the Treasure Tree at the moment. After making his decision, Vahn turned to the group and said, "Well capture the Treasure Tree and then backtrack to investigate the unknown corridor afterward. I dont think it would be a good idea to pursue the humanoid monster right now, as it has nothing to do with our objective, but we should inform the Alliance when we return to the surface." Riveria also agreed with Vahns decision and even put forth the idea of concealing the matter from the Guild entirely, at least until they were able to discern of the woman was an enemy or not. As for the man-made dungeon, she actually had a bit of knowledge regarding the rumors that Daedelus street actually connected to the Dungeon through abyrinthine structure located beneath the somewhat infamous district of the City. As Vahn had seen the structure for himself, he knew that it wasnt a simple rumor and his desire to investigate Daedelus Street increased quite a bit after listening to Riverias words. Knowing there was a monster girl that knew his name prowling about, Vahn didnt feel very at ease, especially since his instincts had been sounding dangers signals during the brief encounter. Thinking about the woman, Vahn couldnt stop himself from recalling her rtively powerful looking body that had been disyed openly. Though she wasnt very shapely, at leastpared to many of the women he had seen, her figure was very womanly and emphasized the power contained within by the visible lines of her muscles. She had a thin waist with exceptionally pale skin, almost as if she had never seen the light of day, and her b.r.e.a.s.ts were ratherrge. Her medium length red hair was somewhat wild and her glowing green eyes, even when he recalled them in his mind, sent chills down his back. Though he often felt like some of the girls gave him predatory looks, Vahn now knew for certain what it was like to be viewed as the prey of another person... (A/N: Alternate Titles: You ain sneaky!,Literal money tree,Vahns over here expecting a woman not to be mad when he peeks at them in the bath...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 405 - Treasure

Chapter 405 - Treasure

After passing through the long corridor in the wall of the Dungeon, the group came into the room housing the Treasure Tree and its guardian, the Green Dragon. Just to be safe, Vahn had Riveria cast a barrier while he himself, along with Ais and Fenrir, went to investigate the situation. From what he could tell, the Green Dragon didnt seem hostile yet, so Vahn wanted to see if it had any intelligence. If possible, they coulde to apromise and take some of the Magic Treasure Stones and then leave withouting into conflict with each other. Vahn wasnt the type that considered it to be eptable to steal from a sentient creature just because it benefitted himself. Even if he went his entire life without getting ahold of the stones, Vahn wouldnt have lost out at all. It would be pure selfishness if, after discovering the dragon was sentient, they killed it anyway just to line their pockets with Valis. Vahn was carrying Fenrir, in the event they had to flee away at a moments notice, as he approached the location of the Green Dragon after passing through a small forest. Once they came into the clearing, the dragon was looking toward them with its light blue eyes. With a low growl, it stood up on its hind legs and extended therge emerald wings that spread nearly 20m from tip to tip. General conventions wouldnt allow it to fly with such small wings, since its body was very heavy, but several creatures were able to get around that restriction through the use of magic, just like Fafnir. However, this dragon didnt immediately take flight and turn hostile, it instead stood its ground as if it were waiting to see what the three people before it would do. Seeing that it didnt start attacking, Vahn showed a gentle smile and spoke as casually as he could manage, "Were sorry for invading your territory like this but, if it wont be a great inconvenience to you, we would like to take some of the stones on that Treasure Tree. We dont damage its foundation, and well leave as soon as we collect a few..." Vahn wasnt sure if the dragon could understand him, but he wanted to at least try and negotiate with it. Since it wasnt attacking them, it was obviously not being influenced by the Dungeons control and had some semnce of rationality. The Green Dragon stared at Vahn for several seconds before turning its head to the small tree it had been protecting. After a while, it turned back to Vahn and a soft voice emitted from its mouth with a low growl, "I have protected this tree since my birth, I cannot easily part with the treasures within its branches...I dont know why, but it seems to be important to me." Hearing the soft voice of the dragon, Vahns smile widened a great deal because it was exceptionally rare to meet such a creature in the Dungeon. Since it was open to discussion, Vahn thought about what he might be able to offer the dragon in exchange for its treasures. Monsters in the Dungeon didnt actually require sustenance to live and fed directly off the energy contained within the Dungeon itself. It didnt seem to actually care that much about the tree itself and just seemed to be protecting it out of instinct. Vahn knew from thependium that a Green Dragon always protected a Treasure Tree, so they were likely interconnected entities with each other. It was very possible that, if they destroyed the tree, the dragon would likely follow shortly after. The gem-like quality of its scales wasnt too different from the trunk of the tree itself and this is why Vahn didnt want to press the matter if they couldnte to an agreement. However, he knew other Adventurers werent as magnanimous as he was and, if they discovered the dragon, a conflict would most certainly ur as a result of the innate greed of many Adventurers. After thinking for a while, Vahn decided it was best to simply ask the dragon itself what it wanted so he asked, "Is there anything youd like, perhaps in exchange for part of the treasure youre guarding?" The dragon closed its massive wings before arching its head low and saying, "I dont know...there isnt really anything I want...but I have always longed for the surface. Even though Ive never seen it, I have memories of an endless blue sky...a mountain range...and a small vige...I dont like this dark Dungeon, but I cant leave it." Vahn was very surprised by the dragons words, but he was even more surprised when Fenrir suddenly nodded her head and said, "Yes, this ce is a very sad and cold ce...Fenrir also wanted to see the surface but was unable to go up the stairs leading out. Every time Fenrir tried, there was a scary feeling in her stomach that made her stay...but Master showed me the light. If you are a good dragon, Master can take you to the surface. He can even help you be stronger and keep you safe, but you will have to do your best as well, okay?" The Green Dragon turned itsrge head toward Fenrir before walking forward with loud footsteps. Ais became very tense, but she just tightly gripped the hilt of her sword without actually pulling it as she continued to watch the scene y out. After it quickly closed the distance, the dragon leaned down and c.o.c.ked its head to the side as it stared directly at Fenrir with its light blue eye. Fenrir reached out with her paw and ced it on the snout of the dragon as they just stared at each other for several long seconds. Though the atmosphere was somewhat tense, it wasnt a hostile one and Vahn just continued to patiently hold Fenrirs body as she municated with the dragon. After nearly three minutes passed, the Green Dragon lifted its head and said, "I dont want to fight...but I do want to be stronger. You arent the first group to discover this ce, and I dont want to have to suffer anymore..." As the dragon spoke it turned to its side where there was still a broken spear embedded in its side. The wound had already healed, but there was a brackish color around the area that showed it had be infected. Vahn frowned at the sight, but he couldnt exactly me the Adventurers that had tried to fight against the Green Dragon in the past. Though it was possible they were greedy and cruel individuals, Vahn had never met them personally and they had likely already died in their conflict against the dragon. Since the Green Dragon seemed to be willing to follow them to the surface, Vahnpressed his [Will of the Emperor] into a small area and said in a firm tone, "I will promise to take you to the surface, but you will have to follow me. If you indiscriminately hurt others, I will be forced to take your life to protect everyone else. However, I will protect you and provide a safe ce for you to stay as long as you are obedient..." While he was speaking, Vahn converged his intent on the dragons mind and it began to tremble slightly under the pressure. He wasnt really trying to intimidate it, but the only way to actually rake it to the surface would be to subordinate it through the system. Once the 27 remaining days passed for his naming ability, Vahn could even confer the dragon a name and allow it to evolve, just like Fenrir and Fafnir. After resisting the pressure for a short while, the Green Dragon eventually stopped fighting against Vahns aura and dropped to the ground. Ais removed her hand from the hilt of her sword and watched as Vahn walked forward and ced his palm against the head of the submissive monster. Its light blue eyes shone with a magical light before they slowly came to a close and its body disappeared, not in a cloud of pure purple dust, but dust intermixed with a rainbow hue as arge magic core appeared on the ground. Seeing Vahn pick it up, Ais asked, "Its still alive?" Vahn nodded his head with a smile on his face and said, "Dont worry, it wont harm anyone anymore. Ill take it to the surface and find a ce to release it where it wont cause any major disturbance. Thank you for listening to my selfishness, Ais...I know you dont like dragons very much." Ais shook her head slowly before moving some loose strands of hair with her hand as she said, "No...I think the way you do things is correct, Vahn. I hate monsters that try to harm people...I dont want to see anyone I care about suffer...but, I know not all monsters are bad." As Ais was very near to Vahn and Fenrir, she reached out her hand and pat Fenrirs head as she continued, "Some monsters are very cute...and I liked jumping off Fafnirs back...we should have more fun together. I will still kill any monster Ie across, but I will do my best to not indiscriminately kill anymore...I think I will be much stronger if I change my perspective more." Vahn had tried several times to speak but he was unable to actually say anything because Ais had spoken a mouthful. She typically said a few short words, and rarely spoke full sentences, so Vahn hadnt expected her to say so much and just stood there with a somewhat dumb expression on his face. However, he knew well enough to smile before reaching out his hand and stroking Aiss long golden hair with his free hand. Her small smile became slightlyrger as the briefest hint of a blush appeared on her face. Soon thereafter, the rest of the group arrived after witnessing the Green Dragon simply vanish after Vahn had touched it. He exined the situation and agreed to Riverias request to allow her to view the naming ceremony when it came time to confer a name to his new subordinate. It was already Level 4, so Vahn was very excited about its future capabilities, even if it might never actually seebat. Though it might seem weird to imagine a dragon as a pacifist, it seemed like the Green Dragon he had obtained didnt like conflict at all. Vahn was already beginning to think of a suitable name for it, something the embodied its rtively peaceful mindset. Because he didnt want to potentially kill his new subordinate, Vahn didnt want to simply uproot the Treasure Tree after harvesting the valuable materials thatprised it. Fortunately, because he was still under the effects of [Fairys Promenade], Vahn was simply able to have the tree move to the side before cing the whole thing into his inventory. It was a very strange thing, as the tree wasnt a sentient creature at all, yet it was able to move its roots and move out the way when he tried to pass by it. When he saw the incredulous look on Riverias face after the fact, Vahn couldnt help butugh out, earning a bit of ire from the schrly High Elf. --- After collecting the tree, the group made its way back to the corridor Vahn had created earlier and followed the wall of the Dungeon until they came across a stone structure barring their path. Since it wasnt a part of the actual Dungeon, Vahn had no hesitation when it came to destroying the wall and breaking into the seemingly manmade structure. Unlike the mossy light of the 24th floor, the stone dungeon was fixed with small glowstones, very simr to the type found on the upper floors of the Dungeon. Following the path, they came to the area where Vahn had seen the monster girl and it turned out to be a heated pool that was thick with elemental energies. From what he could discern, it seemed suitable for treating injuries so Vahn was wondering if the woman had been recovering from wounds when he was stunned to silence a momentter... Tiona had ced her feet in the warm water and made a pleasant sound sigh before she asked, "If you saw the woman here, does that mean she was taking a bath? Ahahahaha~." Though she had just intended it at a joke, Tiona saw Vahns expression and began tough even harder at his expense. Ais, as if perturbed by Tionas deduction, walked forward and removed her glove before cing her hand into the rtively hot water. After confirming something within her mind, she began to undress with exining anything. Lefiya was the fastest to react as she covered her face with both hands, even though she was peeking through the cracks of her fingers, and said, "A-A-Ais, now isnt an appropriate time to take a b-b-bath!" Ais turned back and exined in a in tone, "If that woman can take a bath here...it must be safe..." Turning to Vahn, Ais continued and asked, "Do you sense anything...nearby?" Vahn blinked at the unexpected question and passively scanned through his entire domain before shaking his head and saying, "There arent any auras within 471 meters...but Im not sure-" Before he could finish his words, Ais loosened the strap of her b.r.e.a.s.tte and let it drop to the ground with a loud thud before stripping off her white dress with blue ents. Her actions incited a response from Tiona, who finally stoppedughing, but was now also stripping out of her clothes as she said, "Ah, this water is really great, I think it would be a good time to take a bath. The basins that Vahn provides are also super helpful, but Ive never gotten to take a bath in something like this before~." Tiona hardly wore any clothes to begin with, so she actually finished stripping in less than ten seconds before happily stepping into the surprisingly deep pool. It was only around 4m in diameter, but it immediately went straight down nearly 1.4m in a cylindrical shape. This made the water nearly reach Tionas corbone after she jumped in and it caused her to release a happy sigh before saying, "Vahn, you should join me~! Its embarrassing to be the only one n.a.k.e.d, hahahaha~." Contrary to her words, Tiona began to rx in the small pool and even floated her body on the surface as if she wasnt afraid of being seen n.a.k.e.d at all. Though he didnt agree that it was a great idea to take a bath now, Vahn was able to see there wasnt actually anything dangerous in the water. Ais and Tiona had already resolved themselves to take a bath in the moment, and didnt seem to be listening to reason, so Vahn eventually gave in and said, "Fine, but we cant stay too long...remember, we still have a mission and need to make our way down to the 30th fl-" As he was speaking, Tiona approached the edge of the pool before reaching out and pulling him toward the water with a mischevious smile on her face. Vahns brain stalled for a moment but he was still able to unequip everything on his body before sshing heavily into the mana-infused water. Now that he was submerged, Vahn realized the water was actually ridiculouslyfortable and his desire to leave suddenly faded entirely... Seeing Vahn suddenly n.a.k.e.d, Tiona swam over with a yful expression and stuck to his body before two more sshes sounded out in the dark Dungeon. Ais had finallypleted undressing and, though she hadnt removed any of her clothing, Fenrir had also jumped in. The water came up to her chin, but she still waded over toward Vahn faster than Ais could as she said, "Vahn, wash Fenrir~! Fenrir helped convince the Green Dragon so she deserves a reward~!" Hearing her words, Vahn was positive Fenrir was bing much smarter over the period he had been interacting with her in the Dungeon. She generally never said words like you, me, she, etc, but now she was speaking fuller sentences all of a sudden and was using reasoning to exin things. Just like when she had been dealing with Lefiya, she was showing a very high perception... As Vahn was thinking, he suddenly realized that he was the first person to notice that Lefiya was still awake but he didnt mind it and kept carrying her. Just like she was able to intuit the locations of monsters through their bond, Vahn now began suspecting that she was able to understand some of his thoughts and had discerned that Lefiya was still awake through his, not her own, perception. Vahn thought this was something worth looking into in the future, but for now he just happily yed with Fenrir, Tiona, and Ais. He was also somewhat distracted because, soon after Ais and Fenrir jumped in, the other girls began to undress as if they had given up on avoiding the situation. Nobody really wanted to be standing around for an hour while other people enjoyed a hot bath, so it didnt take much for them to justify joining in on the fun. Even Riveria, though she seemed to be the least open to the situation, removed her cloak and began unbuttoning her robe. Vahn remembered the fall that had taken ce just a week ago and the somewhat tantalizing sight of a fl.u.s.tered Riveria desperately trying to fix her clothing. They had fallen for nearly an entire hour together while staying in close proximity and Vahn had previously engraved the image into his mind. Now that she was suddenly undressing within the darkness, with only the gentle light of the pool and the glowstones above, Vahn felt his heart flutter a bit. Unlike other girls, who wore tape to cover their b.r.e.a.s.ts in the Dungeon, Riveria was wearing a proper green bra and neatly folded all of her clothes at the side. When she began wiggling out of her tight-fitting ck pants, Vahn had briefly stopped scrubbing Fenrirs head to stare at her rtively small, but incredibly fit and pale, posterior... Tiona set her chin on his shoulder and looked in the same direction before saying in a voice much louder than Vahn would have liked, "I thought you just like big butts, but it seems like you like all butts?" Vahns body turned into a statue because, without standing up properly, Riveria looked back at him with her butt poked out and there was a cold look in her jade green eyes. Curiously, she didnt say anything and just continued undressing before finally removing the dark green panties that had been affixed to her waist. Instead of dropping directly into the pool, she sat down on the edge and inserted her legs one at a time into the glowing blue water. After adapting to the heat, she lowered the rest of her body into the pool and released a contented sigh just like Tiona had done previously. Vahn, however, felt like the water had turned slightly colder because Riveria kept giving him chilly nces out of the corner of her eyes throughout the entire bath.. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir, Master Tamer,There is a time and a ce for everything, including baths!,Tiona is going to get Vahn killed, kappa) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 406 - Into the Lower Floors

Chapter 406 - Into the Lower Floors

An hour after they stopped ying around in the artificial Dungeon, the group finally found the passageway leading down to the 25th floor. Vahn noticed that, even though they had all gone much deeper in the past, Riveria, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Ryuu, and Lefiya all became tenser the deeper they proceded down the stairs. Tiona didnt seem to be too affected, but her cheerful demeanor had be more reserved and she wasnt speaking much along the way. Vahn understood that the 25th to the 27th floors were considered the bottleneck for most parties due to the unconventional battle conditions and the difficult enemies one would have to face. The 25th floor was known as the Great Waterfall and it consisted of a massive wall of water more than 400m wide that extended all the way down to the basin on the 27th floor 800m down. There were various slippery tforms, a variety of smallkes and ponds, and a veritable horde of monsters contained within their depths. Unlike the floors above, which typically only had 2-5 different types of enemies you would have to be wary of, the 25th through the 27th floor had at least a dozen. The most problematic thing, however, was the fact that many of them were either aquatic or amphibious creatures and were capable of barraging unprepared parties with ranged attacks. To make matters worse, there were moderately intelligent creatures that could fly around overhead and use both physical and magical attacks to rain down on the heads of a party. Thebined assault from so many directions had overwhelmed many parties in the past and, unless you had enough forces to discourage the monsters from attacking, it would be a constant assault until you reached the exit of the 27th floor. During that time, not even the ground you stood on would be safe since there were even monsters, known as Crystal Turtles, that disguised themselves as the tforms you would be able to stand on. Fortunately, Vahn was the natural enemy of monsters trying to sneak up on the party and they also had two people with the rtively rare Development Ability, [Diving]. Both Tiona and Tione had the skill and could even outpace many fish-type monsters in their own natural habitat. Tione herself imed she could even hold her breath underwater for nearly 40 minutes, assuming she wasnt engaged in strenuousbat. Tiona had something of a disadvantage because of how heavy her weapon was and often fought underwater after leaving it behind with the backline support group. Before they entered the 25th floor proper, Vahn brought everyone to a stop and began to discuss the various enemies they would face and the methods he had thought of to deal with them. Though the girls from the Loki Familia didnt need the lecture, Vahn still covered everything so that everyone was on the same page and knew their respective duties. They even discussed the possibility of simply jumping into the basin on the 27th floor, now that the girls knew that falling from great heights wasnt actually that dangerous. However, Vahn knew it was actually a very serious issue to jump into water than it was tond on the ground. After exining how surface tension worked and how it was even possible to get water stuck inside orifices, the girls quickly gave up on the idea. Of course, Vahn didnt think was entirely a bad idea and considered various ways they would be able to make the descent. It simply wasnt worth staying on the three annoying floors, and bypassing them would always be better than dealing with the constant barrage. They might have to face it on their way out of the Dungeon, but it didnt mean they had to deal with it right now. One option was to use his newly acquired Green Dragon to try and guide them all down, but it wouldnt have any easy way to deal with the aerial assault of other monsters. Though it was Level 4, that didnt mean it was immune to the damage build-up that it would have to face. Vahn thought about having Riveria use her barrier to surround the dragon on its descent, but he learned the barrier magic required the user to be standing on solid ground. Unable toe up with a practical solution, other than simply trying to jump to lower tforms, Vahn made the decision to proceed forward normally for the time being. If he found tforms within his domain that were within his line of sight, he could use Shundo and ferry the girls across, but that would depend on the situation. Since he was rather strong, it was actually possible for them to all cling to his body simultaneously, but the energy consumption would go up a great deal as a result. It was, however, one of their best options if they wanted to get through the floor safely. Since they would likely face assault from several directions, Vahn rearranged the formation to have Ryuu and Tione in the back, Tiona and Ais in the front, while he and Riveria nked Lefiya, Haruhime, and Fenrir. Fenrir had absolutely no ability to fight within the water, though her [Freezing Roar] would be very effective, so she was relegated to a support role for the time being. She couldnt actually swim, so Vahn decided he would teach her when they returned to the surface. When it came up, Vahn actually learned that Ais had a phobia about water, even though she could somewhat tread water. Riveria had averted her eyes when the topic was brought up and Vahn assumed she was likely the culprit behind the trauma. Once again, he realized he knew very little about the girls around him and resolved to remedy this when he was focused on forging and training in the future. After everyone was ready, Riveria used her [Veil Breath] on everyone which created a thin barrier that protected them against physical and magical attacks for a while. Unless the attack could overwhelm the defensive properties of the magic, it actually worked as immunity, so they would be able to tank any pot shots that might break through their defensive setup. Vahn had the ability to help Riveria replenish her mana, so it was possible they could break through the three floors without ever suffering any damage, though they would probably be soaked from head to toe in the process. With his [Wounds Transfer], they shouldnt be in too much danger unless they make a mistake and were caught off guard. Luckily, Monster Parties didnt spawn on these three floors and Vahns detection ability should allow them to navigate theplex structure of the floors with ease. Without any further hesitation, the group proceeded into the 25th floor and Vahn was surprised to see sunlight shining down from the crystalline structures jutting out of the walls. There was a massive waterfall that entered his sight which created an awe-inspiring sight as well as an explosive sound that made it nearly impossible to hear anything else whenever you were outside. He immediately understood why this ce was a challenge for many parties, as it would be nearly impossible to coordinate with each other through spoken word. Vahn, however, took exception to this and altered the density of the air around the periphery of the group to create a sound dampening barrier to block out the explosively loud waterfall. Riveria, once again, gave him a serious look before simply sighing and progressing forward without saying anything. Not even one minute after they entered the floor, a group of three Raider Fish jumped out of a pool and attempted to knock everyone off the narrow passageway they were walking on. Vahn had long noticed their presence so, the moment they exited the water, they were greeted by three arrows to their heads. Raider fish averaged between 1-2m long and could swim more than 80km an hour inside the water while exceeding 300km/h in short bursts. They had dense bluish-green scales along their bodies and very hard heads with a maw of razor-sharp teeth. Though they were the weakest monsters on the floors, they could be very deadly if they managed to surround you after knocking you into the water. They liked to ram their enemies over and over with their hard heads to weaken them before using their razor-sharp teeth to tear them apart. Unfortunately for them, and many of the monsters that would bar their path, Vahns detection wasnt blocked by the water at all. The moment they entered the 471m range of his domain, he would inform everyone of their approximate location and be ready to meet them with his bow. Though it wasnt as strong as the [Yis Bow] he had forged for Naaza, Vahn was using an A-Rank bow called [Yoichi Bow] that he had obtained through the premium gacha. He hadnt noticed it at first, but Vahn had been awarded a premium gacha ticket in his inventory after defeating the Goliath during the Hestia Familia excursion. It sat unnoticed in his inventory until he had been clearing things out in preparation for his current delve. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Yoichi Bow] Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 3 P.Atk: 470 M.Atk: 310 Abilities: Visual Acuity(B), Anti-Air Proficiency(B), Impable uracy(A) A bow owned by a proud warrior from a foreign record famed for having urately shot a fan said to block all arrows while on horseback. The original user was so skilled he was said to be able to shoot a diving falcon out of the sky from a distance exceeding 300 meters. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn also had an advantage enjoyed by no other archer, being that he was able to produce a nearly infinite number of arrows through his shop, store them all within his inventory, and nock them on his bow without having to draw them from a quiver. He could fire an average of one arrow every .2 seconds and, when he pushed himself to the limit, could even loose fifteen in a single second by nocking three arrows simultaneously. For a bow, the slots assigned to the weapon allowed him to queue up quivers within his inventory and mount multiple arrows simultaneously. Though he didnt use it often, Vahns skill with the bow was nearly unrivaled, simply because he had too many advantages with the benefit of his domain, several archery skills, and his enhanced vision with the passive effect of [Eyes of Truth]. With [Bow Mastery] increased to Rank-S through the use of a skill enhancement scroll, Vahn was able to see a projection of the targets destination and urately hit them by tracing their trajectory with nearly 100% uracy, enhanced even further by the corrective ability of the bow itself. It had been a while since Vahn was able to disy his archery skills to such an extent, so he was madly shooting any enemies that were appearing around them. Even though they were currently much stronger than he was, Vahns efficiency in dispatching monsters on the 25th floor even exceeded Ais, Tiona, and Tione. When a group of five Harpies showed up and tried to rain down razor-sharp feathers at them, Vahn had urately pinned an arrow in between their various sized b.r.e.a.s.ts. Though he knew of their existence in thependium, Vahn was surprised to see monsters with humanoid torsos that looked like mature women while their lower bodies and arms were that of a raptor. They werent very beautiful, considering their skin was a greyish blue covered in scales, but it was still a little distracting to see exposed b.r.e.a.s.ts flittering about in the air. (A/N: For those that are confused, carnivorous birds of prey are all considered to be species of raptors. So Falcons, Eagles, Vultures, etc, are all considered species of raptors.) The only enemies Vahn was having trouble dealing with were the massive Blue Crabs and Aqua Serpents that would randomly shoot jets of water at the group without leaving the safety of the water. The Blue Crabs were massive crustaceans that could exceed more than 3m in height and had one massive w that protected the area where their magic core was located. They were in the ss of monsters known as Metallic Creatures, and were highly sought after for their bio-organic metallic carapaces for use in the creation of armor. Though his bow was very powerful, Vahn was surprised to realize that he couldnt actually prate through the thick blue armor and had to leave it to the excited Tiona to, quite literally, crush them with her monstrous strength. As for the Aqua Serpents, Haruhime got an opportunity to shine as she pelted the water where they were located using her [Icicle Edge]. Though Vahns arrows could pierce the water, the resistance of the water itself would quickly diminish the force behind the arrows. When he tried to put more power into the arrows, Vahn was surprised to see that they actually broke the moment they contacted the water surface instead of actually prating through. Though he didnt understand the entire principle behind it, he considered it to be simr to how a body would break apart when falling into the water at a high speed. Haruhimes ice magic, however, made use of ice and water elementals and was capable of prating through the water rtively easily due to the sheer size of the projectiles. The 4m long Aqua Serpents that were badgering the group would be impaled by her magic as Vahn helped to replenish her reserves in between fights. Knowing that she was being useful, Haruhime was very excited and continued her magical barrage without ceasing, at least as long as the monsters were alive. Riveria and Lefiya had been surprised by Haruhimes dual casting and Vahn exined that she was able to use her tails as a catalyst to duplicate the magic spells. To demonstrate this principle, Haruhime used her [Kokonoe] to grow an additional three tails and used a total of five [Icicle Edges] to deal with arge Crystal Turtle that had been disguising itself as a tform in the water. Crystal Turtles could be more than 10m in diameter and typically had incredible defenses, but they were somewhat weak to magical attacks. As if mocking the crystalline structures on its back. Haruhimes target ended up having five 3m long spears of ice sticking out of its shell as it wailed in pain and tried to escape into the water. Tiona, however, seemed to take exception to this and leaped the 40m distance before spinning several times through the sky and smashing her [Dance of the Amazon] into the durable shell. Not only did her own [Crush] Development Ability trigger, but the [Crushing Blow] of her weapon activated simultaneously and left a massive crater in the turtles back, instantly killing it. Though he had initially wanted to skip the troublesome floors, Vahn was d he had made the decision to navigate through them. Even the rtively weak monsters, like the Raider Fish, awarded upwards of 25-40OP when he looted their magic cores. For therger monsters, like the Crystal Turtles and Blue Crabs, they were worth several hundred, to even several thousands, of Origin Points when looted. Vahn had exined that he was able to absorb the energy contained within the magic cores to fuel his ability to create items, so he was allowed to consume them all while collecting the drop items for the entire group. By the time they cleared the 25th floor, the group had killed well over a thousand monsters and Vahns OP reserves had shot from 98,316 to 317,844. Vahn knew he would be able to earn arge amount of OP in the lower floors, but this was far beyond his expectations and he was very excited at the prospect of being able to build arge reserve for the future. Anticipating he would be able to make arge amount in the near future, Vahn used 300,000OP to purchase an additional three [Effigy of the Hero] and passed them out to the group. Tione was happy to receive a new effigy and ced it, to Vahns surprise, in between her b.r.e.a.s.ts as if it was the safest ce to store it. Including himself, Lefiya, Fenrir, Tione, Tiona, Haruhime, and Ryuu all had effigies at this point. Ais didnt really need one, as her [Ariel] protected her from almost any attack that came her way, except for powerful physical blows. Riverias Elf King Robe, though it looked like a normal cloth armor, actually had incredible shock absorbing capabilities and was highly resistant against magic. Unless it was a surprise attack from something like a floor boss, she was the least likely to actually suffer a fatal attack in the entire group. Though Vahn always knew armor was very helpful, he had never really considered it imperative since manybatants actually didnt use much at all. Since the armor generally restricted movements, most Adventurers at higher levels only wore things like b.r.e.a.s.ttes, to cover their heart, and arm guards. As for restrictive armors, it was typically unnecessary since it was better to avoid damage entirely than it was to ever receive a blow. Knowing that Riveria was able to get such a powerful defensive effect from a piece of clothing, Vahn was inspired to develop a uniform for the girls even more now. If nothing else, he could finalize his idea of an undergarment that could be worn beneath other clothes that would also provide strong resistance against physical and magical attacks. Then, if the peculiar situation of the girls having their clothes destroyed urred, their dignity would still be protected by the bodysuits he would develop for them... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Like getting a 10-gallon enema UwU,Vahns Archery Prowess,Vahn wants to y dress-up. Someone call Loki and Anubis~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 407 - Dead Zone

Chapter 407 - Dead Zone

There were no distinguishable differences between the 25th, 26th, and 27th floors other than the density of the monsters the group faced. After realizing the ridiculous amount of OP he could earn on the floors, Vahn had the group progress through the floors at a somewhat slower pace than they had originally intended. Knowing that he could convert the magic cores into useful and unique items, even Riveria didnt have anyints and they systematically hunted every single monster within Vahns range of detection as they made their way deeper into the floors. Other than a break for lunch, the group had been inbat for nearly fourteen hours and everyone was able to experience the support capabilities of having Vahn in the group. Vahns own energy regeneration was quite high, with the support of [Mantra of Eternity], [Yggrasils Favor], and [Spirit Healing] constantly working to replenish his reserves. Using [Hands of Nirvana], in conjunction with his domain, Vahn was able to recover the stamina of everyone within the entire group while also directly recovering the mana of the mages within the group. His detection range was inarguably some of the best that anyone in the group had ever seen and his backline support using his bow was exceptional. Even when someone suffered the rare injury, Vahn would simply turn into his Xunw form before transnting the injury to his own body, which would rapidly regenerate without the need for using any consumable items. For their nine-member group, Vahn could sustain the entire party almost indefinitely, assuming they werent thrown into an unexpected situation. The only thing Vahn couldnt actually deal with was the mental strain everyone, including himself, faced by fighting such long engagements. Though he could use his [Hands of Nirvana] to help calm their minds, Vahn knew there was a real mental burden that people faced when going through stress for long periods of time. Even if his energy and stamina were filled to the brim, Vahn had often copsed in the past because of the mental burdens he had faced. Other than mana, or energy, there were also factors such as Spiritual Energy and Mental Energy, which Vahn had no methods of restoring at the moment. By the time the group had reached the staircase leading down to the 28th floor, everyone was mentally exhausted so Vahn decided to call it a day. Though they werent making progress as quickly as hed like, he now had a reserve pool of 299,316OP after purchasing the final two [Effigy of the Hero]s for Riveria and Ais. Vahns ability to scout and track enemies allowed to efficiently hunt monsters so he was assuming they would be able to make up for lost time when they finally reached the 30th floor tomorrow. The 28th and 29th floor were actually considered dead zones within the Dungeon, so they wouldnt actually take too much time to pass through because of the low number of monsters they would face along the way. Other than a few random monsters, such as Devil Mosquitos and Light Quartzes, they wouldnt face any real opposition on the next two floors at all. Of course, thecency some groups would have when finally reaching this point, had led to several party wipes because of the few variants that would sometimes patrol the floors. One example was the Merman Tyrants that would appear asionally and often led groups of more than a hundred Mermen into battle. Vahn had experienced fighting the organized groups of monsters on the 26th floor and knew they could be somewhat problematic if you couldnt deal with their Captains quickly. They had a strange method ofmunication that allowed them to strategize and try to get an advantage. Unfortunately, they werent able to do much once they had fallen into Vahns detection range and he was able to deal with them by firing explosive arrows into the water. Vahn discovered that the concussive wave of an explosion was even more effective in water, so he had switched to explosive arrows for dealing with the various fish-type monsters popting the floors. Though they looked somewhat intimidating with their humanoid forms, blue-scaled figures, webbed hands and feet, and the various natural weapons at their disposal, they werent able to aplish much against the organized partymanded by Vahn. Each Merman was, on average, a Level 2 monster so they couldnt oppose a party where the median level was around four. --- After setting up camp, the party sat around and enjoyed a meal together while talking about what they thought of the progress the group was making. Since it was Vahns first time inmand, he was very receptive to their input and took into consideration everything that had been brought forth. Riveria was especially interested in his ability to create items and had been pestering him about the specifics for nearly the entire meal. Vahn couldnt actually exin things to her, as doing so would get them all killed in the process, but he could still disclose a small amount of information while ying it off as the influence of his Pseudo-Divinity. He also stated that there were several things he needed to keep a secret, as they were important to keep himself and the people around him safe. As she had a plethora of secrets of her own, Riveria wasnt in a position to force the issue and spent the final part of the meal in silent contemtion. Freed up from her cross-examination, Vahn spent the rest of the meal goofing off with the rest of the girls before finally retiring for the night. Haruhime had somehow managed to win over Fenrir at some point throughout the evening so, when it finally came time for bed, Vahn was in a difficult situation where she was asking to sleep in his tent. As they had their own sleeping bags, Vahn didnt think it would be an issue until it devolved into a situation where several of the other girls also wanted to share the tent. Before things got out of hand, it was actually Fenrir who held up both of her paws in a grabbing gesture with her ws extended as she said, "Vahn has already yed with everyone else. Fenrir will keep Harume out of trouble so stay in your own tents! Everyone has to be fair or Vahn will be the one that has to suffer!" Vahn hadnt realized it before, but it seemed like Fenrir had somehow be his Vahnguard in lieu of Tina. It might be because of their exposure to each other,bined with the fact that he actually brought her along to keep the other girls in check, but Fenrir had taken the role of his guardian all of a sudden. Though it seemed like Ais wanted toin, she eventually just picked up Lefiya like a fl.u.s.tered hug pillow before carrying her off to their shared tent. Vahn fought the urge tough after witnessing the adorable sight before wishing the other girls a pleasant night and retiring to his tent with Fenrir and Haruhime. When they entered, Haruhime had a somewhat mischevious smile on her face and her eyes were shining a bright golden color. Contrary to his expectations, instead of causing any trouble, Haruhime obedientlyid out her own sleeping bag nearby Vahns before crawling into it after wishing him a good night. When he hadid down himself, Fenrir actually took the spot in between him and Haruhime instead of sleeping on his chest as per usual. Having her cuddle up to his side inspired a protective instinct in Vahn so he shielded her by hugging her from behind. From his vantage point, he could see the glowing eyes of Haruhime staring back at him and they eventually fell asleep, separated by the very awake Fenrir. The night passed uneventfully and Vahn awoke early the next morning before helping Fenrir change her clothes and prepare for theing day. She seemed to be abnormally tired and kept sending annoyed nces at the elegantly smiling Haruhime who was also changing nonchntly within Vahns tent. Though she was supposed to be in her growth phase, Vahn noticed that Haruhimes body hadnt changed much in thest few months, even though she was training often and also adventuring into the Dungeon. She was still around 152cm tall with fair white skin, long golden hair that reached beyond her plump little bottom, a pair of long golden tails with tufts of pale yellow fur on the end, bushy curved ears with a fair amount of fluff, and a pair of budding b.r.e.a.s.ts that were slightly whiter than the rest of her body. Other than her tail splitting into two, and her body bing slightly more toned, she hadnt changed much at all and Vahn was wondering if it was the effect of his [Hands of Nirvana]. He knew it was supposed to be able to fight against the signs of aging, to the point where it could even slow physical development, but he didnt think it would have such a drastic effect on someone that he had only sparingly used the technique on... Haruhime had noticed Vahns appraising look and made no attempts to hide her body at all as she slowly changed out of her sleepwear and into thebat attire that Vahn had customized for her. She still felt a little awkward to have such a short skirt, since she was used to wearing traditional kimonos, but it beat being stuck in a brothel and having to wear loose clothing that often exposed her body. Now that her life had changed so drastically, Haruhime only ever wanted to truly expose herself to Vahn and, seeing that he was looking at her, made her heart palpitate powerfully in her chest. She could feel the everpresent warmth located within her heart and felt power spreading through her body the longer he looked at her. Vahn noticed Haruhimes aura ring up greatly and showed a wry smile as he said, "Sorry, I didnt mean to gawk for so long...I was thinking about..." Haruhime shook her head and had a lovely smile on her face as she said in a sing-song tone, "Vahn, everything that I am, everything that I will be, they are all for you~. If you want to look at my body, even if you want to touch it, you dont even have to ask...it makes me happy knowing I can win your affections, even if but for a moment~." Vahn swallowed hard at Haruhimes words, but it was Fenrir who replied as she said, "Harume is a sneaky girl..." Hearing Fenrirs words, Haruhime covered her mouth with her hand and giggled in a girlish manner before continuing to wear her clothes withoutmenting. She did, however, angle her back to Vahn as her tails danced about yfully as if trying to entice him. Vahn shook his head in mock exasperation as he fixed the belt to Fenrirs waist before using a hard brush tob through the bristly fur of her tail. Because of her ageless trait, Fenrirs body never changed regardless of how much time passed. Even if Vahn styled her hair, it would revert back to the unkempt mess that it was usually in after around two hours, even if she wasnt doing anything. This meant that Fenrir always had a reason to be spoiled by the people around her because she liked to look neat and proper since she was in a phase where she tried to emte some of the more mature girls in the Manor. Once the two girls were ready, Vahn helped pack up the camp after passing out some crepes for the girls to eat for breakfast. They were going to be making the push to the 30th floor this morning before finally beginning their hunt for Bloodsaurus. For the next 3-4 days, they would do nothing but harvest the materials from monsters on the 30th floor in order to procure ingredients for use by the Alliance in the future. Even if they only hunted a few dozens per day, the amount of wealth the group would be able to .u.mte in this short trip would easily breach more than a billion Valis. Vahn also suspected that Bloodsaurus would be worth a healthy amount of OP, so he was looking forward torge boon they would obtain soon. He didnt actually n to sell any of the items the obtained, but it was still considered part of the Alliances wealth, as they wouldnt have to purchase the items off the market in the future. Vahns actual ability to procure wealth, when traveling with an expeditionary party, was likely to be unrivaled in the entire City. Most expeditions came to an end rtively early, as there was only so much that could be carried back to the surface on carts, but Vahn was able topletely ignore this restriction. As long as they made the proper preparations, Vahn could allow an expedition to stay within the Dungeon indefinitely. Assuming he was able to convert the magic cores into OP, Vahn could infinitely replenish the food stores of the expedition and even purchase building materials if they wanted to build a temporary base within the floors. When he apanied the Loki Familia in the future, the only limit they would likely face would be the waves of monsters crashing against the forces of the Familia. Vahn wouldnt steal the job of other Supporters, but he would make sure the expedition ran a lot smoother, at least for himself and his direct allies. Once everyone had their fill, Vahn gave the order to proceed into the 28th floor and the group took their first step into the dead zone. There were still pools of water located in the various rooms, but they were spaced far apart and Vahn couldnt sense many presences at all. Even after they cleared three rooms, and several passageways, they had onlye across a total of neen enemies, all Devil Mosquitos. They were monsters that grew up to 20cm in length and were quite fast considering they were on the lower end of Level 2. Devil Mosquitos had long, needle-like, mouths that were capable of prating through steel armor when they charged into Adventurers. They were able to suck nearly an entire liter of blood in just a few short seconds, so they were some of the most detested monsters in the entire Dungeon. Fortunately, they were incredibly weak and most Adventurers could kill them by simply swatting them with their fists. Fenrir had managed to catch one in her paws, even though she shredded parts of it, and bit off its head beforementing that it didnt taste good. Since there were so few enemies, Vahn made the decision to let Fenrir and Haruhime deal with the monsters while Tiona and Ais supported them in the middle distance. Tione was moved to the rear guard with Ryuu, even though it wasnt likely they would be ambushed from behind. Through his domain, Vahn would be able to detect if any enemies were trying to sneak up on them and he could even track the movement of energy in the Dungeon to determine where traps, hazzards, and Monster Parties would be located. Though nobody really dropped their guards, this made their progress through the 28th and 29th floor somewhat casual. It had only taken them a total of three hours to clear both floors and, by the time they were on the staircase leading to the 30th floor, they had onlye across 327 monsters. Vahns OP had only increased by an additional 13,080 points, so he wasnt very fond of the two floors and would do his best to bypass them quickly in the future. He now had a total of 312,396OP in his reserves and, before the group actually proceeded into the 30th floor proper, Vahn decided to update Fenrirs and Haruhimes Status Boards so that he could keep track of how much they progressed over the next few days. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 15 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:3(3) -Power: 1906+(H198)->(G207) -Endurance: 2221+(F327)->(F338) -Dexterity: 1807+(G213)->(F346) -Agility: 1959+(G226)->(G228) -Magic: 3562+(SSS1604)->(SSS1639) Total:11455+(2838) Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) [Karma]: 8,213 [OP]: 312,396 [Valis]: 419,583,990 Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:E], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth: B],[Bow Mastery:S], [Stealth:B], [Chainbreaker:S], [Heart of the Eternal me:SS], [Prometheus:A], [Call of the Reaper:A],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Featherfoot:B], [Hands of Nirvana:S], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:B], [Friend of Spirits:A] Magic: [Thria*Mimos:C], [Shundo:B] Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:S], [Spirit Healing:A], [Swordsman:A], [Master Smith:H], [Mixing:C], [Mentor:B] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: [Fenrir] Level:2(+) POW: D582->C616 END: E470->D513 DEX: B801->B840 AGI: C671->B705 MAG: G275->F335 Skills: [Lunar Cry:C], [Freezing Roar:B], [Chainbreaker:C], [Devour:SS], [Huntress:A] Development Abilities: - Magic: - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Sanjouno Haruhime Race: Renard LV. 2 POW: 440+(I43)->(H122) END: 648+(I77)->(H149) DEX: 698+(I80)->(H183) AGI: 1053+(H153)->(G267) MAG: 1548+(G218)->(E401)<---(A/N: This makes Haruhime almost the same MAG as Lefiya UwU) Skill: [Inari:Innate(E)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Heroic Strike:F], [Featherfoot:B] Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B], [Kokonoe:C], [Icicle Edge:D->C] Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:B], [Hunter:I->H], [Mage(sealed)] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- He recorded their updated information, alongside his own, in a journal before snapping it shut and giving the order to progress into the 30th floor. The reason he hadnt updated everyones status boards was due to the fact that, even though they had killed thousands of enemies on the way down, it was very unlikely that Ais, Tiona, or Tione, had earned even a single point in their parameters along the way. They were simply too strongpared to the monsters so it was almost a waste of time to even fight them, though it wasnt bad for skill development and increasingbat proficiency. Vahn was considering helping the girls undergo Nirvana, so that he could increase their potential, but he was somewhat hesitant after seeing the effects of his basic massage on Haruhime. If he revitalized their bodies like he had done Tsubaki, Vahn was worried they would end up looking closer to children than actual a.d.u.l.ts. It was a very different experience seeing them in real life, aspared to the cartoonish designs of the characters in the manga, and Vahn knew they were nowhere near the development of their future selves. Ais had a long way to go before she was a beautiful woman, and her current appearance was closer to an adorable, and exquisitely designed doll. Since Vahn himself didnt actually age, it wouldnt be that much of a problem in the near future but, after a few years passed and they still looked very young, it would probably be a point of contention. Vahn had a strange image in his mind where, after around fourteen years passed, he would have his own daughters looks nearly the same age as their mothers. He couldnt keep his children from developing, so they were bound to be simr in appearance after enough time passed. Even if it wasnt a real concern, Vahn couldnt help but think about it since it painted such a peculiar image within his mind. (A/N: Alternate Titles: The feeling of taking an overleveled party into a novice dungeon...,Vahns OP,In Time(tm)) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 408 - Boon

Chapter 408 - Boon

After making their preparations, Vahn gave the order to proceed into the 30th floor and their hunt for Bloodsaurus finally began. Though it wasnt a dead zone like thest two floors, there werent that many enemies present on the 30th floor either and each room was spaced out a great distance from each other. If not for the fact that Vahn was able to detect the presence of enemies, it would take a much longer period of time to actually locate a Bloodsaurus. Fortunately, it only took around ten minutes before they found a pair of the monstrous creatures and Vahn got his first look at the fat cow that would be the cornerstone of the Alliance. Standing approximately five meters in height, Vahn saw a pair of two reptilian creatures this thick, blood red, hide that was covered in wart-like protrusions. They hadrge, squarish, heads and long tails that got progressively thinner until taking on a whip-like quality. Each one was rated at the peak of Level 2, though there were a fair amount that would even reach Level 3, so they were rtively strong monsters that typically only traveled in small groups. Because of this, Vahn was inspired to fight on his own since it was a good opportunity to test his skills against monsters simr in level to him. Though he could probably end the fight very quickly by using his Xunw form, Vahn wanted to see how his normal strengthpared to therge monsters before him. Before the three tyrants at the front of the group went forth to y the Bloodsaurus, Vahn brought them to a stop and said, "Wait, since there arent that many enemies on this floor I think its a good opportunity to earn exillia for the weaker members in the party. Though I dont mind sitting in the backline and supporting everyone, I need to improve my own strength as well or it would be a problem in the future." Tiona, hearing Vahns words, stretched her body in azy manner and said in aid-back tone, "Sounds good to me~!" Tione and Ais also didnt have any problems with the arrangement, as they had actually killed thousands of monsters on the trip down. It was also good to watch how others fought so that you could have a better understanding of your own capabilities and help polish each others skills. Ais had already taken Haruhime under her wing in the past and, now that Vahn was also going to have her and Fenrir fight, Ais wanted to see how fast she was able to grow. Though it might not have any effect, since the emblem didnt glow when other allies were nearby, Vahn still ced his Mentors Mark on Haruhimes hand and Fenrirs upper arm. Haruhime stared at the cute image of Vahn on the back of her hand and chuckled before unsheathing her [Sakura Blossom]. Fenrir was also happy to have the mark on her upper arm and patted it happily with her paws a few times before assuming a low stance with her butt up in the air. She had copied Vahns crouching attack in his Bih form and often started fights in the somewhat awkward pose. As for Vahn, he was loosening his joints as he casually walked toward the pair of Bloodsaurus that finally noticed the presence of the group. He was going to fight one of them on his own while leaving the second one for Haruhime and Fenrir to deal with. Since it would be over the moment he used his Xunw form, Vahn took on his old favorite transformation before crouching low, simr to Fenrirs emtion of him, in his Bih form. Vahn preferred the agility of the form as it also made his Shundo more of an omnidirectional skill since he could easily vault of walls by finding his footing using his ws. With mes forming on his forearms, and his ws glowing a fiery orange, Vahn used Shundo to appear beneath the furthest Bloodsaurus before passing his superhot ws through the durable hide of the monster. The Bloodsaurus roared out in pain before trying to m its body down to crush Vahn beneath it. He was able to easily evade the blow and assume a position near the back of the Bloodsaurus where its whip-like tail was exposed. As his ws wouldnt be able to do the job properly, Vahn pulled out one of the mithril des he kept in his inventory and cut off the entire length of its tail with a swift sh. Since it had lost its counterbnce, the Bloodsaurus fell forward and struggled to try and regain its footing as Vahn leaped high into the sky before spinning several times and nting both of his feet into the head of the monster, forcing it into the ground. Before it was able to recover, Vahn buried his hand into the base of its neck and pulled out the magic core contained within amidst the smell of burning flesh. Though he was supposed to be trying to harvest them, Vahn wanted to fight at least one Bloodsaurus in the normal way to see how strong they were. Now that he knew they werent actually that big a threat, Vahn could formte a n to deal with the others as efficiently as possible. If it came down to it, he could even use [Enkidu] and just immobilize the monsters before using his [Hands of Nirvana] to lull them to sleep. Since that wouldnt really allow his parameters to develop at all, Vahn set aside that method for if they werent able to gather a satisfactory amount of resources within the allotted time. After tossing the magic core into his inventory, Vahn sold it through the system and obtained 2,703OP for a single Bloodsaurus. With a happy smile on his face, he then sat down and patiently watched the ongoing battle between Haruhime, Fenrir, and the remaining Bloodsaurus. Though the girls had never worked together as a duo, they were surprisingly well-coordinated, at least as far as Haruhime was concerned. Making use of her ability to read the tempo of a fight, Haruhime was able to easily follow up Fenrirs movements while drawing the attention of the Bloodsaurus to strike empty space. Fenrir herself, as expected, was able to make use of the gaps created to eventually climb up on the side of the Bloodsaurus. Just like when she dealt with the Mammoth Fools, the fight was over shortly after Fenrir took the monsters back. Her unstoppable ws were capable of rending its flesh without any major effort at all, and her teeth allowed her to bite through its thick hide and solid bones as if she were eating pudding. It wasnt a case of where she had to put in a great effort to eventually bite through a hard object, Fenrir simply chomped down before effortlessly nomming away on the back of the Bloodsaurus. After discovering that she could disable monsters by biting through their spines, it wasnt long before their target had copsed to the ground after having bepletely immobile. While it had been thrashing about to try and remove Fenrirs from its back, Haruhime had used her [Sakura Blossom] to skillfully sever the tendons in one of the Bloodsauruss legs before using her [Icicle Edge] to disable the other. Without the ability to thrash around in any meaningful way, the Bloodsaurus had no choice but to ept its fate. After it had fallen, ignoring any sense of propriety, both Fenrir and Haruhime trotted over to Vahn with happy expressions on their faces as he patted their fluffy-eared heads. They had managed to defeat the Bloodsaurus without actually killing it, so now they would be able to harvest it for a plethora of valuable items. Not just Haruhime and Fenrir, but even the girls from the Loki Familia were now able to obtain benefits from the secret rewards list. Vahn had been doing his best to keep track of the drops everyone had obtained so that they would be able to redeem the equivalent points when they returned to the surface. Being able to subjugate an entire Bloodsaurus, and obtain its loot, was a huge boon for the two girls and they were quite happy given the situation. Theirbined efforts had brought the fight to an end within two minutes, which showed they shouldnt have any real difficulty fighting the somewhat powerful monsters. Haruhimes and Fenrirs Innates were simply too suited forbat, especially Fenrir with her unstoppable ws and ability to bite through and devour anything. While Vahn eased the mind of the Bloodsaurus and lulled it into a deep sleep, Riveria was walking the girls through how to properly harvest the materials that could be collected from the body before it finally s.u.mbed to its wounds. They began to remove parts, such as the ws andrge teeth, and had even cut open the side of the Bloodsaurus to pull out its spleen, which was a very valuable mixing ingredient worth nearly 100KV. After he had finished pacifying the monster, Vahn performed a small funeral rite before fulfilling the most important part of their purpose foring to the 30th floor and drained arge amount of the monsters blood before storing it into his inventory. He managed to do this by finding arge artery connected to the main blood flow from the heart and setting out a massive container to store it. It was a somewhat delicate process, much different than the normal method by far, but Vahn was able to take care of it easily and collected nearly 800 liters of blood from a single Bloodsaurus before it turned into purple dust and vanished entirely. Vahn was very relieved when he didnt .u.mte any negative karma and offered a secondary prayer to thank the monster for its contribution to ensuring that his family would be kept safe in the future. Since he hadnt actually gained much from killing the Bloodsaurus, Vahn decided to leave theing battles to Haruhime and Fenrir. Forrger groups, the higher leveled girls began a rotation to thin out the numbers and .u.mte points for future benefits of their own. Even Ryuu got involved and they started, against Riverias counsel, gambling to determine who would be able to face the next batch. As thergest group to appear had only been five monsters, the group wasnt in much danger even if they were cking off. Vahn himself was constantly paying attention to the surroundings and, when Riveria had consulted him about the behavior of the girls, he simply said, "Were going to be here for a few days so I dont mind them having a bit of fun with things. As long as they are responsive to orders during an emergency situation, it should be perfectly fine." After a momentary period of contemtion, Riveria nodded her head in agreement and began making casual conversation with Vahn about various subjects she was interested in. Vahn was somewhat surprised that she was taking the initiative to talk about things so he indulged and asked a few questions of his own. Riveria had lived for 97 years and had traveled to several other territories before arriving in Orario so she was a veritable wealth of information. As for Riveria, she considered Vahns thought process to be fresh and borderline revolutionary, so she was very eager to get his input on matters that had long bothered her. By the time the day hade to an end, the group had killed a total of 61 Bloodsaurus and a few misceneous monsters that had wandered into the 30th floor from different floors. Of the 61 Bloodsaurus hunted, they had managed to safely procure ingredients from 29 of them, which was actually very good considering it was rare to be able to harvest more than 10% of the total resources on a standard expedition. Just converting the drop items, materials, hide, and blood into Valis would them in the ballpark of 174 million Valis, so they were making good progress considering it had only been a few hours since they had started. This was enough to even keep an S-Rank Familia afloat for more than a month, so it was a major boon for the group and had invalidated anyints Riveria might have had about the situation. As for Vahn, he was happy to have received an additional 119,547OP to add to his ever increasing reserves. After backtracking to the staircase between the 29th and 30th floors, Vahn had everyone set up camp before setting out a few basins for them to be able to wash their bodies. Though he couldnt be sure, Vahn was almost positive the monster girl he had seen was an enemy so he had shamelessly taken the mana-infused water that was in the pool and stored it into his inventory. He could see the mana contained within but was unable to understand how it was able to retain the energy without it diffusing into the atmosphere over time. He wanted to research the principles behind it before recing his onsen water with the revitalizing liquid in order to benefit the girls living within the Manor. Seeing how happy everyone was while currently using it in their baths, Vahn felt like it would be a worthwhile subject for future research. Vahn had also taken a bath as well, though he had shared a basin with just Fenrir and had helped clean her body as she happily sshed in the water. Because of the changes he had noticed in her behavior, Vahn had been paying special attention to her for thest few days and she was in an especially good mood, at least when she wasnt protecting him from the other girls. Vahn had experimented with trying to be more receptive to the girls, which is why he allowed them to gamble, and he noticed that Fenrir had released a lot of her tensions and wasnt as abrasive as before. From this experiment, though it would require further testing, Vahn was able to verify that Fenrir was indeed able to sense his train of thought through the bond they shared as Master and Subordinate. Because he had initially brought her along as a failsafe to prevent anything from happening between him and the other girls, Fenrir had been proactively keeping them away from him. She even showed a remarkable degree of perception and intelligence in order toplete her mission and had evenpromised with the girls to regte them. Since she was typically very anti-social, this was a red g in Vahns mind and had been one of the reasons he had noticed her strange behavior. Now that he had decided not to mind how the girls were acting, Fenrir did a 180 and was now acting much more casually while also trying to get spoiled by him at the same time. When she was on guard earlier, Fenrir had also stayed in formation and did her best to not deviate from the role she had been assigned. After Vahn loosened up the restrictions, she reverted back to her old self and was proactively seeking his praise after the end of every fight. Vahn didnt know how much she was influenced by his own thought process, but he decided he would need to take his subordinates into consideration when he acted in the future. He didnt want to identally reshape their behavior to suit his interest and was even worried that Anubiss strange behavior was actually a result of being exposed to him during a period of time where hecked restraint. If it turned out that she only acted that way because of the subconscious thoughts within his mind, Vahn wasnt sure how he would react. Since she was a goddess, Vahn assumed she was less constrained than a familiar like Fenrir, but he was still somewhat worried about it. He still recalled the time when he had given her a few orders and how she followed them, even when she was a bit conflicted about why she was behaving as she did. Vahn nned to have a long talk with her in the future, just like he nned to do with the other girls, to find out a bit about her past actions and behaviors. If her deviancy had been present for a long time, he would be able to verify that his actions might have guided her, but werent the determinant factor for how she acted. Because she wasnt being on guard against the girls, a situation urred when it came time for bed as Fenrir easily eded to the request of other girls to sleep in Vahns tent. Just like when she had let them stay with him during their first night at the Manor, Fenrir assigned sleeping positions to Tiona, Ais, Lefiya, and Haruhime. Ryuu and Tione looked like they wanted to stay in the tent as well, but it was already pushing the limit with five people. Vahn, feeling bad that they were left out, ended up purchasing arger tent that had onerge room and two smaller rooms on the side. After helping clean up the extra tents lying around, everyone in the party moved into Vahnsrge tent before sharing several futons that had been strung together instead of using sleeping bags. Riveria ended up staying in one of the side rooms, but everyone else shared the same bed and Vahn got to enjoy the experience of being surrounded by the fragrant girls while enjoying the ambient heat from their bodies. Everyone had enough sense to not try anything s.e.x.u.a.l, as Tione, Haruhime, and Fenrir were present, so it was a pleasant experience and made Vahn feel much closer to the girls. Ryuu had been restraining herself the entire trip, so she ended up procuring a spot at his side while, for the first time since they had known each other, Tione ended up on his right... --- Deep within an undisclosed area of the Dungeon, a diminutive figure sat around on a small stone chair while surrounded by severalrge pirs where thousands of yellow crystals, reminiscent of magic stones, were embedded. The figure looked very thin and frail and was wearing a ck cloak covering its entire body while its face was adorned with a ck and orange mask that created a jagged spiral pattern. It sat there upon the stone chair while tapping a ck gauntleted finger against the armrest as it contemted the information it had received earlier in the day. One of the primary targets of its Master was currently in the Dungeon, well within their operative range, but it was far too soon for them to take any action against him. Though their n was nearingpletion, there were still more than three years before things were ready to be taken to the next phase in their operation. They didnt have the forces to divert to try and capture the person of interest, Vahn Mason, and it was currently struggling with how best to proceed. The figure had been tasked to capture the boy alive and bring him to its Master, but there was almost no method it could think of to actuallyplete its task. It could muster some of its pawns to take action, but the target was currently being escorted by powerful first-ss Adventurers and there was a minimal chance of sess. It had seen, through its observationwork installed throughout the Dungeon, how fast the target was and knew it would be nearly impossible to lock him down. Any method to trap the target would likely result in its death or, as had been observed previously, the target would be able to move through the very walls of the Dungeon by some unknown method. The most problematic thing of all was that, even when it had tried to order one of its pawns to take action, the figure was met with a rebuttal and told to find someone else instead. Based on the information they had obtained about Vahn Mason, it thought the best course of action to take would be to lure it into a plot by potentially using a woman as bait. The target seemed to be licentious by nature and even traveled with a group that exclusively consisted of beautiful women. If they could take advantage of his nature, they might be able to capture the target without much of a fight... Releasing a long and shrill sigh, the masked figure picked up a blue orb within its hand that contained a small creature. Though there was no one around to hear its words, it still spoke out to the void in a contemtive fashion, "Vahn Mason...Sage Aldrnari...what a troublesome mortal..." cing the small orb into its robe, the masked figure stood up and walked into an adjacent room where several mirrors were embedded into the walls of the Dungeon itself. Each one showed a different floor of the Dungeon and the image was constantly changing to the viewpoint of other rooms and corridors. They had designed it so that there were various glow stones and crystals spread throughout the Dungeon, which were often overlooked by Adventurers, that were actually magic tools used to record images and transmit them to the mirrors connected to this room. The figures master had told it to not provoke the humanoid monsters known as the Xenos, as they were technicallyrades by fate, but now it was considering how best to make use of the foolish creatures that sought the sun. When it had received information about Vahn earlier, the figure learned that he had moved into an area they had been observing recently and tamed a Green Dragon through an unknown method. This wouldnt have been nearly as impressive a feat if not for the fact that the Green Dragon was actually a nascent Xenos that hadnt fully formed its intelligence. Since Vahn seemed to have an interest in taming such creatures, the figure was now considering if it could use one of the Xenos under observation to lure the boy into a trap... Regardless of if it was a sess, Vahn would either end up in their hands, or he would end up dead. The masked figure didnt share his Masters interest in the boy and saw him more as a threat to their ns than a potential ally to aid them in their cause. Though it would do its best to serve its Master, it didnt care if Vahn ended up dying while putting up a futile resistance. It was better to remove him from the equation entirely, especially considering they were about to transition into the next phase of their n. After swiping through several images, the figure stopped on one which showed a small vige hidden deep within the 20th floor of the Dungeon. There were several humanoid monsters reflected within its view and the figure was considering which would be the most useful. Since Vahn seemed to be weak against women, the figure waved its hand through several candidates andpared them to the information it had received about Vahnspanions. Though it didnt often interact with the Xenos, they were all under observation since many wereparable to first ss adventurers and would make worth pawns for their future ns. After passing through more than twenty different images, the figure stopped its hand before cing its gauntleted palm against the surface of the mirror and releasing a shrillugh... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir is the nemesis ofrge monsters~!,Casually earning 174MV...,Within the Darkness lurks even more Darkness) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 409 - Blazing Fervor

Chapter 409 - zing Fervor

For the better part of three days, everything proceeded as nned without any major hups urring at all. Haruhime and Fenrir were making steady progress and had gotten to the point where they could coordinate to take down a Bloodsaurus within thirty seconds. The overall efficiency of the group had increased a great deal, considering that they were doing nothing but killing the same monster every single day, and by the time Vahn was considering calling the expedition to a close they had secured materials from 171 Bloodsaurus. This brought the .u.mted wealth to officially break through the one-billion Valis mark, assuming the introduction of such arge amount of resources flooding the market and didnt affect the price. Regardless, as they wouldnt be selling the materials, it didnt really matter and the most important thing was that it would sustain theworks function for years toe without having to worry about supplies. Since Vahn would periodically farm Bloodsaurus in the future, he could even focus on expanding thework a fair amount while stockpiling the materials for future use. The thing Vahn was most enthused about, however, was the fact he had broken through a previously major threshold in his Origin Point reserves and now had a stockpile of 1,148,802OP sitting within his system interface. Vahn felt a powerfulpulsion to spend the OP to try and obtain another item like [Enkidu] or to test his luck by spending the extra 148k OP on the gacha. However, considering that most of the items he had an interest in cost several million OP, Vahn decided to stockpile it for the time being. There was no way of knowing what kind of enemies and situations he would face in the future, so having arge reserve was always beneficial. Just being able to purchase extra [Effigy of the Hero] was a great benefit in protecting the people he cared about. Vahn had long learned that purchasing skills didnt actually give him the ability to use them freely and required that he actuallyprehend how to use it through his own actions. This allowed him to understand that, just like magic, he should theoretically be able to use any kind of skill through concerted efforts and training. The benefit of purchasing it through the system just allowed him to have a much better understanding of the skill he was trying to learn and would walk him through the necessary steps to obtain mastery, just like he had for [Hands of Nirvana]. This excited Vahn a great deal but also raised a few red gs in his n to help the girls around him be stronger. Though he might be able to adapt any skill for his own use, this didnt mean others would be able to emte it, even if he put a lot of effort into training them. Vahn needed a better understanding of his own capabilities and needed to work more closely with the girls to see if they would be able to adapt his teachings and put them to practical use, perhaps with the support and influence of the [Mentor] Development Ability. Though it unnerved him slightly, Haruhime was scarily devoted to him so Vahn nned to teach her the magic system he would learn from Eva in the future. Lili was also, technically, his apprentice since their first meeting, so Vahn was nning to teach her a few things as well and hoped they would be able to learn how to use his [Shundo]. The reason why it was important to teach them both was due to the fact that Haruhime, though she had incredible magic potential, had already filled up all her magic slots. The maximum number of magic most people could use, assuming they ever reached that point, was a total of three spells. If Haruhime was able to learn [Shundo], it would be powerful evidence proving that he could adapt the system of another world to Danmachi without going against thews of the world. As for Lili, Vahn knew she would probably be adversely affected when she learned he had taken another disciple without paying any attention to his original student. Vahns [Mentor] ability could now influence two people, so he nned to train them both at the same time in the hopes they would develop as friends and rivals. Vahn knew that, if his experiments had conclusive results, he would end up establishing apletely new school of thought and introduce an entirely unique magic system into the power structure of the world. To prevent the information from reaching his enemies, he would have to be very selective in what he decided to teach others and would likely have to spend years refining the abilities he developed to be used by other people. It was a strange thought, but Vahn could imagine the world a thousand years from now being changed drastically by the actions he was taking today. There might very well be magic chants in the future that use the name of himself, and his allies, to confer power into the spells. --- After cleaning up their camp, Vahn gathered everyone for a short pep talk before they all began making their way to the surface. Since they had already achieved their intended purpose, they were going to try and bypass as many monsters as possible to ensure they were able to exit the Dungeon expediently. Vahn had been feeling a strange sensation in the back of his mind and had been cautioning the girls over thest three days about paying attention to any abnormalities they might sense. He couldnt shake the feeling that, while they had been hunting Bloodsaurus, Vahn and hispanions had been being observed by a force outside his perception. There was a possibility it could be Freya, but Vahn assumed it was likely rted to the monster woman he had seen previously. He kept having the strangest thought that she was angry with him for stealing her bath water... --- This was the first time Vahn was venturing up through the somewhat frustratingyout of the Great Fall while they were being assaulted omnidirectionally by monsters. Though their trip down hadnt exactly been easy, it was far more annoying to navigate the floor upwards since there were various elevated tforms that were used by monsters to attack them from a higher vantage point. If Vahn had been alone, he would have simply turned into his Bih form and broken through the floors after several minutes of using Shundo. There was always the option of carrying the weaker girls along with him, but Vahn didnt want to risk identally throwing everyone into a dangerous situation just because of his impatience. The path they had taken on their descent had changed since they had passed through it, so Vahn had to reroute the group along another path, hoping that it would eventually take them upwards. This was the reason why the Dungeon was known as the Living Labyrinth, as it was able to change form, repair itself over time, and even spawn monsters to take advantage of the situation of Adventurers. Vahn could see, while using [Eyes of Truth], there was argework of mana circuits that ran through every single wall, floor, and ceiling, so he knew it was likely the case that the Dungeon was a living entity. Knowing he was casually walking through its body made Vahn feel a little disconcerted, but he threw the matter to the back of his mind since he had no intentions of never returning. As the group passed near a cliff at the back of the waterfall, Ais suddenly jumped high into the air and intercepted a red blur that had been moving so fast that Vahn hadnt even had time to pass any orders before it was nearly within their defensive perimeter. Other than his instincts ring up, Vahn had been almost unable to react and it was Riveria who shouted, "Close the formation, stay together!" Vahn had seen the monster that Ais had struck down and immediately understood what was going on so hepressed his domain and increased the surface tension of the outside of his domain to act more like a barrier. Vahn could put the same amount of energy into expanding his domain to the limit as he couldpressing it to a 1/47th of the maximum size. This made the energy within his domain so dense that it was visible and allowed him to exercise a certain degree of control over the elemental energies contained within. Vahn issued the order, "We need to move forward quickly, dont tarry in one spot for too long! Lets move!" As he shouted his order, three more blurs smashed into the periphery of his domain and immediately burst into me from the concentrated fire elemental energies. Vahn was happy his n had worked and everyone began to move forward at a fast pace as several other monsters suicide bombed them from the top of the cliff. The monsters were a species known as Iguazu, crimson swallow monsters that were nicknamed the Invisible Reaper because of how fast they were able to move. Even though they were only Level 2, they could dive at speeds rivaling a peak Level 4 and far exceeded the limits of their own bodies in order to kill their enemies. Because of their super-sonic speeds, even if the Iguazu missed their targets, they would stter against the floor of the Dungeon and immediately die. Fortunately, it didnt seem like there was arge flock in the area so there were only a few dozens of the kamikaze creatures mming into Vahns domain before bursting into mes. Though the tension of his barrier wasnt actually that strong, it was the same principle for why his arrows broke when they struck the water at high speeds. The sudden increase in friction immediately decelerated the diving monsters and caused their bodies to shatter as a result. This, unfortunately, had the downside of blood and gore raining down on their heads from above. Vahn did his best to sweep away the debris, but a fair amount got through and Lefiya eventually copsed from her squeamishness. Before Vahn reached forward to pick her up, Ryuu had grabbed her and carried Lefiya under her arm after throwing the [Heal] staff toward Vahn to stow away. After around seven minutes, the party managed to clear through the area of the cliff and the monsters immediately ceased their pursuit. Luckily, they were simply very territorial and wouldnt chase Adventurers far beyond the area of their established nests. Unfortunately, the Dungeon didnt seem to be willing to give them any time to rest and, the moment the group slowed down to clean up, Vahn sensed an energy convergence on their position. With a wave of his hand, Vahn pulled out his [L?vateinn] and shouted, "Monster Party iing! Close up the formation! Riveria, barrier magic! Haruhime, prepare [Uchide no Kozuchi] and use it on me, Riveria, Ais, Tiona, and TIone!" Lefiya was currently out ofmision, so everyone surrounded her in a loose circle while Riveria chanted her barrier magic without questioning Vahns order. Several secondster, cracks began to appear in the walls, floor, and ceiling as hundreds of monsters began to spawn in a massive wave all around the party. Because they were in arge corridor, where there wasnt any water, theposition of the enemies consisted of Blue Crabs, Devil Mosquitos, and a few Light Quartz. Seeing this, Vahn felt his brain buzz because it would be a very difficultposition to deal with without Lefiya using her magic to thin the herd. The Blue Crabs were very durable and had a high resistance to prating attacks and magic, making their only weakness crushing blows. Devil Mosquitos werent a major threat, and many would simply die after they got caught up in the aftermath of other attacks. However, it only took a single mosquito getting through their defenses to spell disaster. The most problematic enemies were the rtively rare Light Quartzes that were present. They looked like luminescent crystals that defied gravity as they floated about and used powerful light magic beams to pelt at enemies from a distance. With the Blue Crabs leading the charge, and arge amount of Devil Mosquitos blocking the air, the Light Quartzes immediately began barraging the shield Riveria had erected with their magic from several hundred meters away. Vahns mind raced as he thought about possible ways to get through the danger before resolving himself and saying, "Well probably be able to break through by having Ais clear a path, but I think it will be better if I get outside of the barrier and fight alone..." Ais frowned at Vahns words and said, "I am stronger than you, it is better if I go." Vahn shook his head and looked around at everyone with a confident smile appearing on his face as he transformed into his Xunw form and seated his [L?vateinn] on his shoulder and continuing, "Its moments like this where I have the opportunity to shine. Im the only one that can move through the barrier without Riveria having to lower it, and my fighting style isnt very friendly to my allies. Protect everyone within the barrier, just in case anything happens, and leave this to me. If I dont get a chance to show off every now and then, how will I be able to hold up my head around you girls in the future~?" Before anyone could oppose his words, Vahn set down some recovery items to help Lefiya before patting Haruhimes and Fenrirs heads and moving to the periphery of Riverias barrier with Shundo. Riveria showed a serious expression on her face as she watched Vahn ce his palm against her absolute barrier and phase through it as if it was a thin veil of water. Her brow twitched and she decided to force an answer out of Vahnter but, for now, she just continued to maintain the barrier so he could fight without worry. With Haruhimes [Uchide no Kozuchi] active, Vahns parameters wereparable to someone in the middle range of Level 4. Though more than 30% of this was in his magic parameter, this didnt pose a problem at all for Vahn who was currently swinging around his [L?vateinn] with impunity. The perpetual mes spread from the massive ymore and, even though they werent super effective on the Blue Crabs, they were still causing constant damage and burning away the majority of the Devil Mosquitos. As they were the biggest threat, Vahn had focused his efforts on the Light Quartzes in the back and had smashed through their crystalline structure with his fist and caused them to explode from the inside. Vahn very quickly realized he would eventually get overwhelmed by the number of enemies he was having to dodge, as Shundo wasnt exactly a cheap skill to use if it was spammed constantly. Every swipe of [L?vateinn] drained a portion of his mana and he was already chugging potions every time he swept through and created a clearing in the massive horde of monsters. Fortunately, though they were resistant to normal piercing, [L?vateinn] had the ability Explosive Thrust, which allowed Vahn to aim at the gaps in the massive w of the Blue Crabs to explode their rtively fragile faces. Because of the excess amount of mes dancing about, Vahn had long been reduced to nothing but a pair of small shorts as he madly danced about and butchered as many enemies as he could. His [Heart of the Eternal me] was pumping a massive amount of oxygen through his body and Vahns mind had long turned cold as a state of absolute focus took over his mind. Regardless, even though he was nearly emotionless at this moment, Vahn felt a powerful excitement and knew his face was stuck in a perpetual smile. Even when a Light Quartz managed to strike his back directly with the powerful beam of energy, Vahn just released augh before disappearing from his spot and reappearing behind the monster and smashing into it with his fist. Vahn could already start to see the cracks in his ck scales and knew it wouldnt be long before this fight was concluded. The fight had only been going on for around five minutes, but Vahn felt like it had been hours as a powerful feeling of exhaustion had already settled inside his body. The cracks on his body had finally reached a critical level and he stowed away his [L?vateinn] so that it wouldnt be lost as a result. Afraid that the girls might try toe to his aide too soon, Vahn shouted out, "STAY INSIDE THE BARRIER!" as his body erupted in a burst of vermillion mes that immediately turned the eleven Blue Crabs surrounding him into ashes. Seeing the sight, Vahn felt a powerful excitement overwhelm him as he pushed the mes through his domain, while also doing his best to contain them within the domain at the same time. Though it didnt immediately affect the monsters within the domain, it wasnt long before the metallic bodies of the Blue Crabs began to glow with a fiery red as they shrieked in loud and garbled noises while bumping into each other and trying to drag their bodies along the ground. As their bodies began to melt, some of them even stuck together from the impact of colliding with each other and they made a garbled mess of a monster that eventually erupted into clouds of purple dust as even their magic cores were melted. Seeing this, Vahn smiled even though it felt like his own body was beginning to break down from the powerful energy erupting from his core. He was drawing deep andbored breaths as he controlled the vermillion mes to clear out the majority of monsters before eventually having to dispel the form due to ack of energy. Using what remained of his reserves, Vahn downed a mana potion and ran over to the barrier and pressing his palm against it before returning to the safety of its interior. Though he had also burned the loot items, Vahn had dealt with the vast majority of the monsters and there was no longer any real danger present. It was actually more troublesome that he had turned arge part of the corridor into molten stone and they would have to wait for it to eventually cool down unless they wanted to backtrack through the cliffs where the Iguazu were located. There was now a powerful wind passing through the corridor, as a result of the temperature differential between the interior of the corridor and the outside, so Riveria was still maintaining her barrier even though there were several monsters knocking against it. Soon after he entered the safety of the barrier, Vahn saw two brown blurs tackle him and he collided with the pale golden barrier behind him as he instinctively tried to free himself from their grasp. Both Tiona and Tione had fervent looks in their eyes after witnessing Vahns performance and, considering the fact that he was currently n.a.k.e.d, they couldnt resist their urges at all. As he was in a very weak state, there wasnt anything Vahn could do against the two fierce Amazons and he could feel his bones creaking slightly from their embrace. Tiona was breathing heavily as she said, "Vahn...youre so amazing...so amazing..." Tione seemed to agree with Tionas sentiments and even used the opportunity to seal Vahns mouth with a kiss before they both received a powerful impact from the blunt side of Aiss weapon. Both girls crouched to the ground and nursed the bumps on their heads with tears in their eyes as Ais said, "Vahn, clothes..." Though she was showing proper restraint, Vahn could see a simr glow on Aiss face as she stared down at his uncovered figure with a glint in her eyes. Vahn immediately wore some clothing andined to himself for his oversight yet again. Every time he turned into the Vermillion Bird form, Vahns equipment would bepletely destroyed. This wasnt even the first time it had happened, but he had been in too much of a hurry to return to the barrier and hadnt even concerned himself with the fact he was still n.a.k.e.d. Fortunately, it seemed like Lefiya had recovered from her earlier bout of nausea and was now perfectly fine, as Vahn considered her crimson face to be her default state after being around her for thest few days. To prevent Tiona and Tione from losing their sensibilities, Vahn was sitting on the ground meditating while Fenrir sat in hisp with her hair raised as she red at the two sheepish girls. Enough time passed that Riveria could no longer maintain her barrier and she said, "Ais, Tiona, Tione, deal with the remaining enemies. Well set a temporary camp here and hope that the Dungeon doesnt cause us any trouble for the time being. If you sense anything, Vahn, let us know immediately and well retreat as fast as possible." Vahn nodded his head slightly, without opening his eyes, as he focused on the indiscernible words of the [Mantra of Eternity] that resonated deep within his soul. If he could rest for around three hours, Vahn couldpletely recover his energy reserves and continue fighting, though the mental burden would be rather immense. This was the reason why Vahn wasnt able to freely traverse the deeper floors of the Dungeon that, depending on the situations he would face, there was also a chance he would run out of energy in a pinch. Though he could avoid most dangers with Shundo, it wasnt umon for the Dungeon to actually seal off rooms in the deeper floors. Unless you were able to deal with the monsters that spawned within the sealed room, you wouldnt be able to escape at all. Such situations often had a variant present as well, so it would spell the end for Vahn if he was caught in that kind of trap while trying to escape his enemies. To speed up his recovery, Ryuu was using [Noah Heal] on Vahns back so that he wouldnt have to waste any energy recovering his own stamina. Vahn could take items like [Senzu Bean]s to replenish such things, but he let Ryuu do as she pleased since she seemed to be in a tense state at the moment. Her aura was somewhat wispy and Vahn knew she had been impacted from watching his battle earlier. He knew she had a desire to grow stronger and this would likely serve as the catalyst for her increasing the amount of training she underwent in the future. Ryuu was only 19 and would easily be able to achieve Level 5 within a few months if she made the effort. If she waited for him to be stronger, Vahn would even be able to help her exceed her current potential by helping to focus on her Innates. When they returned to the surface, Vahn decided to draw up ns with Tsubaki and Riveria toe up with a method to help stimte the growth of the girls. As even Tsubaki wanted to be much stronger now, it was worth putting in the effort to understanding how Innates could be awakened reliably. After around two hours, Vahn could sense energy beginning to converge on them again so he immediately stood up and said, "We need to move, now. I dont understand why, but the Dungeon itself seems to be targetting us currently. Ais, take point, were going to be moving through these floors until we reach the Large Tree Labyrinth on the 24th floor. We cant stay here any longer or well risk being overwhelmed." Without having to exin further, everyone began to move ording to Vahns orders and they began running through the Dungeon at a steady pace. Since Lefiya was the slowest in the group, she was being carried by Tione while Vahn carried both Haruhime and Fenrir. Riveria, though she was a mage, actually had more than a thousand agility more than Vahn, so she easily kept pace with the group. --- A few minutes after the group escaped the corridor, several cracks began to appear in the walls, though not to the extent of a Monster Party. Instead, there were sevenrge monsters that looked like variant Mermen. Unlike the traditional 2m tall monsters, they were all more than 3m tall and, instead of blue scales, they each had red scales that were covered in horn-like protrusions. More than a fish, they had an appearance closer to dragons as they reached into the walls of the Dungeon and pulled out terrifying nature weapons in the form of tridents. The biggest difference between them and normal Mermen was the fact that they had horns on their heads and long tails growing out of their backsides. Of course, these were all purely cosmetic and the most important thing was that they were all much stronger, faster, and smarter than their lesser counterparts. One of them was slightlyrger than the rest and carried a giant curved axe and a shield that looked like a sea urchin. Communicating in a uniquenguage of their own, therger Merman issued orders to the rest of the group before they began to charge forward at a paceparable to Level 4 Adventurers. Their goal was very simple, kill the intruders that had caused severe damage to the Dungeon. Vahn hadnt done enough damage to incite the Dungeon into spawning a Juggernaut, but it was still enough to cause it to activate its defense systems and try to eliminate, not just him, but the entire group... (A/N: Btw, how are we losing in poprity to novels that update chapters with less than a thousand words xD? Im pumping out around 14k words a day and were rank 7 behind several broken trantions that are being bolstered by bots!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Such wealth~!,BANZAI!!!!,Dungeons Defense Mechanisms) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 410 - Ambush

Chapter 410 - Ambush

The group continued to ascend the Dungeon while doing their best to avoidbat as much as possible. Since Vahn was carrying two people, he wasnt able to make use of his archery and instead focused on cooking the monsters by converging fire elements into their eyes, ears, and mouths, while Ais and Tiona cleared the path. For weaker monsters, he could simply stun them with a pulse of his intent so they were making fast progress and eventually reached the stairs leading to the 26th floor above. However, before they were actually able to reach the entrance to the staircase, Vahn sensed a projectile enter the periphery of his domain and immediately ducked to avoid the red trident that pierced the space where his head had been. From the water at the sides, Vahn sensed several strong presences converging on their position and shouted, "Enemy ambush, theyre in the water...I sense seven monsters, likely variant species!" Using Shundo, Vahn broke formation and retreated to the rtive safety of the corridor before cing down Haruhime and Fenrir. It would have taken just a few seconds for them to also reach the door, but everyone except Tione stood their ground and prepared to intercept the enemies. Vahn nodded his head and pat the top of the two girls heads and said, "Fenrir, protect Haruhime within this corridor. Haruhime, renew your [Uchide no Kozuchi] on Ais, Tiona, Tione, Riveria, and Ryuu. Dont worry about me, Ill be fine." Tione arrived soon after and dropped off Lefiya before telling her to cast a barrier before rejoining the fight. Vahn had already returned with the use of [Shundo] and was currently helping support Riveria in the middle distance while Ais and Tiona were fending off the other enemies. Riveria was no stranger when it came to avoiding danger at a close range, and she was actually able to dodge several needle-like projectiles from the enemies without much effort. With the help of her [Concurrent Chanting], she had already applied [Veil Breath] to everyone and was now doing her best to evade attacks and chant her attack magic at the same time. From first nce, Vahn couldnt tell what kind of monsters the seven were, but they looked like abination between a Red Wyvern and a Merman. They each stood three meters tall and were covered in a dense assortment of red scales. Also, unlike the normal variant Mermen, they had long tails that were covered in scales and also had several spiked bones sticking out of the end. Though they werent that proficient with them, the ferocity of their attacks made the nature weapons they were wielding dangerous tools. Without the support of Xunw form, and his equipment, Vahn wouldnt be able to fend off their attacks and buy time for Riveria. Things werent all bad, however, as Ais had already defeated one of the two enemies she had been fighting and was currently dueling against what looked like the leader of the group. Though they were stronger than normal, the monsters were only Level 4 and werent a match for the agile Ais and her ridiculously powerful strikes. Because they seemed to have the blood of a dragon running through their veins, Aiss [Avenger] and [Gram] were in full effect and she had managed to cut through both the weapon and body of what Vahn was referring to as Draconic Mermen. A few tens of seconds into the fight, Vahn felt a surge of power pass through his body and this marked the official turn of the fight in their favor. Tione had already rejoined the fight alongside Tiona and they were fighting against a group of three monsters while showingmendable coordination with each other. They also received Haruhimes buff magic and were able to get an immediate advantage against the enemies they had been in a stalemate against. Ais, however, was the fastest on the uptake and had managed to decapitate the Draconic Merman Captain with a swift blow. Its head danced through the air with an incredulous expression on its face before it sshed into the water at the side. With the fall of their captain, the surviving five monsters tried to flee by diving into the water at the sides, but they were quickly followed by both Tione and Tiona who dove in after them. Riveria had finished her chant and sted the smallke and froze the entire volume of water contained within, including the two monsters that had fled into its depths. This left three remaining, the ones that were being targetted by Tiona and Tione. They had tried to put up resistance against the Amazon sisters, using their home-field advantage, but Tione was surprisingly more agile than any of them were able to deal with. Tiona had a bit of trouble, but she was able to avoid taking any fatal blows and had managed to steal one of the tridents before nting it into the belly of its owner. Though Vahn was using [Wound Transfer] to absorb the damage from their bodies, both girls were getting the benefit of their respective [Berserk] skills as time passed. After three silent minutes, at least on the surface of the water, both girls popped out from the surface with smiling faces before swimming to the shore. Once the situation became a 2v2, they were easily able to deal with the surviving monsters using their coordinated attacks. After losing their Captain, the other Draconic Mermen had be decidedly weaker and it was only a matter of time before they fell. It wasnt necessary, but Vahn helped Tiona and Tione out of the water before noticing they had both lost their waist cloths. They had probably ditched them for increased mobility in the water and now he got a clear view of their wide h.i.p.s, toned thighs, and fleshy butts. Though Tione had longer hair, andrger b.r.e.a.s.ts, the rest of their body had filled out in much the same manner and it made Vahns brain buzz slightly seeing them in what amounted to swimsuits. He set the matter aside for now, however, as the group made their way to the safety of the corridor before the Dungeon threw anything else their way. While they were making their way up the stairs, Vahn exined in a serious tone, "I have a feeling this isnt going to be the end of our troubles. I cant imagine the Dungeon can keep throwing powerful monsters like that at us, but stay on your toes until we reach Rivira. There is a good chance those monsters were only spawned by the Dungeon after I had damaged it a great deal. However, it doesnt hurt to assume there is a greater scheme afoot. Everyone, make sure you have the [Effigy of the Hero] that I had given you..." Hearing Vahns words, everyone reached into their various pouches, packs, pockets, and b.r.e.a.s.ts, to show they still had their effigies. Vahn gave a satisfactory nod before confirming that Fenrir also had hers safely stowed away in the small pouch at her hip. Now that he was positive everyone had their failsafe, Vahn turned to Riveria and said, "If you can, please try to keep up [Veil Breath] at all times when we are on the floors themselves. Ill make sure to scout the area, but we need to be prepared for any sneak attacks that mighte our way. Ill supplement your mana to the best of my ability and well rest for up to two hours between floors." Riveria nodded her head and started casting her chant for everyone present. Vahn gave Riveria a grateful look before addressing everyone else, "Tiona, I want you to move to the backline and rece Ryuu for the time being. Ryuu can fight better at the mid-range than you and your instincts will be useful if any other sneak attacks appear from behind. Ais, Tione, Ryuu, you three will make up the vanguard, but try to stay within 20m of the group in case of emergencies. I need to keep my hands free, so well slow our pace to match Lefiya, Haruhime, and Fenrir. The most important thing is that we all stay together so that Riveria can use her barrier magic, if necessary." After reshuffling the formation, everyone entered the 26th floor proper and began clearing a path to the 25th floor. Lefiya had apologized several times for being useless, but Vahn had just shaken his head and stated in a gentle tone, "Lefiya, there is no sense in beating yourself up over your performance. The most important thing is that you use it to shape the person you want to be in the future. As long as you continue striving to be stronger, you can rely on all of us to support you." Though there was a chance she would overload, Vahn still pat Lefiya on the head before turning his attention to a Harpy and pinning an arrow between its b.r.e.a.s.ts. Lefiya tightly gripped her [Heal] within her tiny hands for several seconds as a serious expression colored her face with a confident glow. She didnt cast it too often, but Lefiya began chanting her [Arcs Ray] magic to target distant enemies instead of standing in the backline. Though she would eat away at her reserves, she knew Vahn would be able to support her mana if it became necessary for her to use her AoE magic. She didnt want to continue being useless and wanted to believe in Vahns words. He had previously offered to help her be stronger and, because she had seen the changes in the other girls, Lefiya knew she too could change and be someone everybody could rely on... Fortunately, the Dungeon seemed to have returned to normal and the group was able to progress rtively easily through the 26th floor before entering the stairwell leading up to the 25th. As he had suggested, everyone sat down to take a break and Vahn passed out snacks. As they had still been excited from earlier, Vahn ended up being sandwiched by Tione and Tiona, though they had enough self-restraint to prevent themselves from doing anything problematic. They just cuddled up with him and rested with their eyes closed against Vahns shoulders. He was nearly 10cm taller than they were now, so it was very convenient for them to do so. As for Vahn, he was just happy that Tione was more epted in the group now, as he had never really med her for her mistake in the past. As he hadnt been using that much of his own energy, Vahn had managed to recover after resting for an hour and spent the remaining time helping replenish the reserves of others. His ability to recover his source energy far exceeded the traditional regeneration of the others who relied on [Spirit Healing] as their only method of recovery, other than rest. Since his source energy was far purer than their mana, Vahn was able to restore their reserves without expending that much of his own energy. He had noticed this discrepancy in the past and it made him a little frustrated since, when he cast magic, his efficiency was actually terrible and it cost him arge amount of energy to produce a much weaker result. Because he knew the actual values of the girls mana, after taking into consideration their magic stat and abilities, Vahn was able to understand he could convert a single point of source energy into ten points of mana. This should indicate that, if he used the same output in his magic, his spells should be ten times as strong as normal. Instead, perhaps due to hisck ofprehension, Vahn would be severely drained as a result of his casting and the effect wasnt even half the originals. When he returned to the surface, other than forging and preparing for the wedding, Vahn needed to spend time experimenting with his magic and developing a better understanding of how to use his own source energy. His actual control over elemental energies was much higher than even Riverias, so it was a little difficult to understand why he had trouble achieving simr results... The 25th floor also hadnt offered any real challenge for the party, but Vahn still had everyone keep their senses trained for the time being. Comcency, especially after having ovee a dangerous situation, was the most dangerous mindset a person could cultivate. Vahn couldnt shake the feeling that something was going to go wrong and, considering his past experience with such things, kept his mind open and his attention focused on the scouting out everything within his domain. Even when they had stopped to rest, Vahn continued scanning the surroundings while brushing Fenrirs fur. She was especially stressed out, likely due to her connection with him, so Vahn was trying to stay calm to help ease her mind. He had the benefit of [Will of the Emperor], so it wasnt actually that difficult to inhibit his own emotions and focus his thoughts on his domain. Though it was rather early, Vahn decided that it would be a better idea to set up camp before trying to clear the remaining floors the following day. Everyone was mentally drained from the earlier Monster Party, and sessive ambush, so Vahn wanted them to rest and recuperate. Instead of using tents, everyone slept on futons that Vahn had set out on the Dungeon floor while he kept the ce warm with his domain. Even though it wouldnt inhibit their response time by much, setting up a traditional camp would potentially cost them precious seconds if something actually happened. The girls also slept in the majority of their equipment and Vahn ended up getting poked in the side by the strap on Aiss b.r.e.a.s.tte for the duration of the evening as he enjoyed a light sleep... --- Near a gathering point on the 20th floor, where several trees bearing fruit could be found, there were a group of monsters that had human-like qualities to them. Though their appearances varied greatly, it could be seen that three of them were females, each gathering fruits, while the remaining member was male. While the others were picking fruits and gathering herbs, he stood guard atop arge boulder and scanned the surroundings with his steely blue eyes. It was difficult to tell at a nce, but this man was a member of the humanoid monsters known colloquially as the Xenos. His task was to escort the weaker members of his race when they were gathering materials and right now his instincts were ring up as if danger was approaching. Though his rebirth had only been a year ago, he was formed from the essence of a Silverback that had been in by a powerful Adventurer in the past. As a result, he had the strength of a Level 3, and could even fight against weaker Level 4 Adventurers for a time. Unlike other monsters, he stood proudly with armor that looked like it had been forged in the style of the far east. Though he had humanoid features, the majority of his body was still covered in white fur and there was a silver ponytailing out of the back of his helmet. Though he was a Xenos, he struck a somewhat heroic figure against the bright backdrop of the Dungeon as he brandished therge spear that was his namesake Silverspear. As for those in his charge, they were three female Xenos that were reborn from a Goblin, Bugbear, and a Hellhound respectively. Other than the Goblin girl, named Ecks, the other two looked more monster than human and were known as Beary and Nera respectively. Ecks was short-statured, with pale green skin, and looked closer to a human child than a monster. Other than herplexion and mangy brown hair, the only indicator that she was a monster were the two horns on her head. Beary had a human-like face, albeit somewhatrger than normal, but the rest of her body was covered in ayer of light brown fur from head to toe. She was the most mature looking girl in the group and actually had a thin figure only the thick mat of fur. As for Nera, she had a somewhat odd shaped body and, instead of a humanoid face, had a dog-like head with human-like eyes which created a somewhat eerie sight. Other than Beary, they had nearly nobat potential present and Silverspear was charged with guaranteeing their protection. Their kind was often captured and killed by what the Xenos referred to as Hunters. Silverspear didnt actually have anything against the races of the surface, but he hated the situation they were thrown into where they had be targets to be hunted and captured. Even though they had an agreement with a supposedly influential figure on the surface, they still faced endless persecution and several of hispanions had been killed, captured, and even much worse. Every time he had this current sense, Silverspear knew there was trouble approaching and, if he werent strong enough, he would have to witness the tragedy of losing even morepanions. Ever since he lost his mentor, Xad, Silverspear had resolved to never lose any other Xenos and had been training hard ever since. Though they were all born within the Dungeon, other Monsters hunted the Xenos just the same as they fought against the surface races. This meant he had to fight against Adventurers and monsters alike, so Silverspear had quickly been increasing his strength over thest year. His goal, other than protecting his people, was to one day defeat the Adventurer that had in him in the past, not that he intended to kill the seemingly young woman. He just wanted to show her that he wasnt simply some monster that had barred her path for a brief moment, almost as though getting her acknowledgment would validate his reason for being... Though he hadnt sensed the presence of the figure that appeared from the treeline, Silverspear brandished his weapon before jumping forward andnding in front of the masked figure wearing a ck cloak. In a deep, resonating, voice, Silverspear shouted, "Leave this ce or face my spear!" As he didnt actually hate the surface races, Silverspear didnt want to fight if he could simply scare away the enemy. The figure before him was rtively diminutive and he couldnt sense any aura from him at all. Assuming it was just some Supporter that had gotten lost from his group, Silverspear gave them the option of fleeing, all while keeping his guard up for any unexpected happenings. Hearing Silverspears voice resonate through the air, the three Xenos girls became alert and grabbed their baskets before fleeing towards the secret passage that would lead them to safety. Before they were able to get far, however, a red-haired woman bared their path and mmed a heavy cudgel into the ground as she said in azy tone, "If you try to run, I will eat you. Do me a favor and stay still like good children..." Though she could sense the woman before her was very dangerous, the Hellhound Xenos, Nera, opened her mouth to alert Silverspear that they had encountered an enemy. The moment she did so, Nera felt sickly sensation in her stomach as a profound sadness overwhelmed her mind as she fell into perpetual darkness for the second time... The red-haired woman had stepped forward as a blur and used her heavy cudgel to smash the Xenos girl that had tried to alert the somewhat troublesome man that was being kept at bay by the masked figure. Before the other girls were able to cry out, she reached forward and sealed both of their throats with her grip. She easily lifted up Eckss small body in her left hand before pressing down Bearys somewhatrge body into the Dungeon floor. Cracks spread out, but she was durable enough to withstand the blow without s.u.mbing. She tried to use her ws to counter, or at least free her throat so she could yell, but the only thing she got for her trouble was a crushed esophagus. Releasing an annoyed sigh, the red-haired woman released Bearys neck and said in a cold tone, "All of you would have been fine if you had stayed silent. I wasnt going to kill any of you, so you brought this upon yourself...how annoying." As her words came to an end, the woman reached her hand into the chest of the still living Beary and ripped out the vibrant magic core that had been sustaining her. Beary released sad tears from her pale-red eyes as her body slowly broke down into particles of purple dust. Without any hesitation, the woman threw the magic core into her mouth and crushed it between her powerful jaws as she stared into the terrified eyes of the diminutive Ecks. After swallowing the bits of magic core, the woman asked in a in tone, "So, are you going to behave, or do I have to force you to be quiet like the others? This whole thing is a pain in the ass, so dont force me to have to do any extra work, okay?" Without waiting for the girls response, the woman dropped her onto the ground and allowed her to finally take a breath of fresh air. As she kneeled down and dribbled drool on the Dungeons floor, the red-haired woman picked up her cudgel before setting it against the top of the girls head and asking, "So, what will it be?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Aiss Dominance,Comcency kills...,Simply Tyrannical) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 411 - Know your enemy...

Chapter 411 - Know your enemy...

After getting about six hours of rest, Vahn woke up because he had detected a presence within his domain. From what he could tell, it seemed to be simr to the red-haired monster woman he had seen in the past. She was skulking around in a passageway that ran adjacent to the corridor that connected to the stairs and appeared to being towards their position. Though he was tempted to investigate on his own, Vahn knew he probably wasnt a match for the woman and his awakening had already stirred Fenrir, and subsequently Ais and Tiona awake. Vahn sat up and exined for the benefit of everyone else, who was now also waking up, "That woman that I had seen on the 24th floor is heading in this direction. If she turns out to be hostile, lets do our best to try and capture her. However, if she proves to be a dangerous opponent, dont hesitate to kill her. From what I can tell, she seems to be around Level 5, but I cant see through her aura that easily and cant be certain that is the extent of her power." Following Vahns words, everyone began to prepare while Vahn cleaned up the futon and the additional supplies. However, even after waiting for several minutes, the woman stopped her advance and had been waiting around 300m away, separated from their position by a wall that was more than 80m thick. Vahn had been training his eyes on her and, though he wasnt sure how she was able to do so, she was returning his gaze with her glowing green eyes that were affixed with verticle slits like a reptile. Since she was just standing there, Vahn took the opportunity to investigate the interior of her body and confirmed she was definitely not human, or anything remotely close. Though she had the appearance of a woman, the internal structure of her body was far moreplicated, almostpact in its structure, and there was a resplendently glowing magic core right next to her heart. After staring at each other for a while, the woman began walking backward while maintaining eye contact until she stepped just outside of the range of his domain. Vahn squinted his eyes because, the moment she was beyond his perception, even his [Eyes of Truth] could no longer see her. A few secondster, Vahn could see a hand emerging from the darkness outside of his vision before azily smiling face appeared soon after. Vahn frowned as the woman waved her hand and moved beyond his perception once again, this time without reappearing even after waiting for several minutes. Vahn realized what she had done, so he said, "That woman has to be an enemy...it seems she was scouting out the limits of my perception. Damn..." Since he hadnt confirmed if she was an enemy before, Vahn was unwilling to use his [Enkidu] to try and capture her when he had the chance. Though it was very unlikely he would have been sessful, it was still frustrating to know the enemy had discerned information from him when he didnt even know who they were, nor the purpose behind their actions. They not only had his name, but now knew the current range of his domain and would likely use it against him in the future. Riveria saw the frustration on Vahns face and said, "Can you describe, in detail, what she looks like? We can spread her information through theworkter and try to find out where shees from. Dont let the enemys schemes get to you, as it will create gaps they would be able to exploitter. For now, we make our way to the surface and try to get a better understanding of the situation. The enemy obviously cant confront us directly, so there isnt any need to worry about a danger that has yet to arrive. Focus on building your strength and collecting information. You can even use their knowledge against them by increasing your capabilities in the future." Vahn nodded his head and cleared his mind of the negativity that had begun to take root as he said in a firm tone, "We move, as fast as we can manage without tiring ourselves out. I want to be out of the Dungeon, or at least near Rivira before night falls again. The rest of the formation stays the same, but well have Fenrir in the vanguard to gain experience and to try and detect any abnormalities." Fenrir thumped her chest with her paw and said in a confident voice, "Leave it to me, Vahn! Fenrir will find the enemy and kill them!" Vahn ruffled her bristly hair before doing as Riveria requested and drawing up a quick sketch of the woman while they were ascending the stairs. Though his skills werent to the extent of someone like Eva, Vahns ability to focus his mind, his high dexterity, and his ability to perfectly visualize an image, allowed for him to create a near-perfect sketch of the woman. As he had drawn it inside of his personalmunication scroll, her sketch, and the details Vahn had picked up from observing her, would be passed through thework. He also gave the scroll to Riveria so she could fill out several lines of information that would be read by the leaders of thework when they reached the surface. After they were done, Vahn had the party progress into the tree-like Dungeon of the 24th floor and they began their rapid ascent towards the surface. --- After leaving behind Vahn and his party, the red-haired woman made her way through several secret passages that connected to various parts of the actual Dungeon. She had been given the simple assignment of trying to establish contact with Vahn but, after sensing the alert state of the party, she decided against approaching them directly and had given up her assignment since it was too troublesome. Instead of doing as she was ordered, the woman made her way through several passageways before exiting through a hole hidden behind a giant boulder that was covered in invisible runes. Yawning, the woman walked towards therge crystalline structure that looked like red quartz and began to tear off huge chunks of it as she started chowing down on the hard crystal as if it were candy. Several monsters had shown up, as she was currently located at the Pantry of the 24th floor, but she quickly dispatched them before adding their magic cores to her menu. She could tell that there were many people in the group around Vahn that would be very troublesome to deal with and she needed to increase her own power since her boss would probably make her fight against them in the future. While she was eating, an annoying presence showed up nearby and she released a frustrated sigh before continuing to bore a hole directly into therge red quartz that was the typical food of monsters in the Dungeon. Though she only weighed around 43kg, she had already eaten more than 200kg of the red quartz and didnt show any signs of having consumed a greater volume of the crystals thanprised her entire body. Her body was able to almost instantly metabolize the energy contained within the red quartz and convert it into energy that revitalized the cells that constituted her body. Unfortunately, arge portion of it escaped out of her faulty mana circuits and the pores of her skin, so she had to eat a ridiculous amount of the material, supplemented by magic cores, to experience any real growth in her strength. A few minutes after she had detected it, the masked figure showed up and released a discontented sigh before saying, "I gave you an assignment...why have you disobeyed my orders once again, Revis?" The red-haired woman, Revis, chewed on another piece of red quartz for several seconds before saying in a cold tone, "That boy, Vahn Mason, he had the ability to detect my presence before I arrive. He is very cautious and the people around him are too troublesome for me to deal with on my own. My instincts were telling me that, if I actually tried to approach him as you suggested, I would either die or be captured. If you want to y around with him so much, feel free to do it yourself..." The masked figured smashed its ck, gauntleted, hand against the wall of the Dungeon and said in a shrill tone, "Our Master will be displeased to hear that you are neglecting your duties! What was the point of confronting those foolish Xenos if we cant even make use of them!?" Revis rolled her eyes before throwing the quartz in her hand like a bullet that flew by the masked figures head and prated clear through the Dark Fungus, a mushroom-like creature, that had been trying to sneak up behind it. Seeing the monster turn to dust behind it, the figure released a sigh and said, "Enyo-sama wants to capture that boy, regardless of the cost. Even if you have to sacrifice your life, you should be honored to do so for our Master. My purpose far exceeds your own, I cannot expose myself to such a dangerous situation..." Hearing the words of the figure, Revis red at it and said, "Ein...I dont care at all what you think. I may listen to you, but it is only when you are carrying the words of that troublesome woman. If she wants me to do something, Ill do it, but Im not going to put myself in a disadvantage just because of a scheme you cooked up on your own. Tell me, did you ask Enyo-sama if you were allowed to involve the Xenos in your plot?" The masked figure, Ein, turned away from Revis as its body shook in rage before saying in a cold tone, "Enyo-sama trusts me to carry out her orders without having to defer to her on every matter...if you are faithful to our Master, you would do as you are told and listen to mymands!" In response to its harsh wards, Revis just turned away and tore another huge chunk of red quarts from the massive pir and ignored itpletely. Ein saw her action and reached into its cloak before another bullet of quarts ripped off part of the cloak protecting its head. Revis looked back with her glowing green eyes and said in an icy tone, "Leave here, before I decide to add you to my menu...Ein." Ein ced its hand to prevent the wispy ck mist from escaping its slightly cracked mask before retreating into the corridor it had arrived from. Though it was incredibly angry at Reviss behavior, it knew she too was pivotal to its Masters n and couldnt simply be sacrificed at this time. For a brief moment, Ein had considered killing Revis but had decided against it after her disy of strength. She was one of the more useful pawns at its disposal, especially for dealing with Adventurers. Unlike that zealous fool, Olivias Act, Revis was able to infiltrate into ces like Rivira and exploit the male Adventurers that patronized the settlement. There was nobody else that could fulfill her purpose, so Ein decided to spare her for the time being. After passing through several hidden passages, Ein came across a structure that would make almost any Adventurer, if they knew of its existence, drool. It was an elevator that connected the 24th floor and the surface above. Instead of using the elevator, however, Ein continued through another series of passages that lead back into the actual Dungeon and allowed him to bypass several floors without having to worry about monsters at all. Though it was generally believed that there were only shortcuts for the first seventeen floors, this was actually a misconception. The Dungeon simply kept the shortcuts hidden and, if you knew where they were located, it was very easy to descend deep into the lower floors without having to worry about facing any danger at all. More than an hourter, Ein arrived at the natural vige that had been created by the Dungeon which it affectionately referred to as Eins Observatory. Over the course of a thousand years, theirbined efforts had resulted in establishing awork all throughout the Dungeon and, using the magic mirrors installed on the Observation Room, it was able to peek into thousands of rooms. It used the mirrors to collect information and observe events taking ce in the Dungeon and passed on its findings to its Master, Enyo-sama. The unfortunate downside was that it couldnt pick up sounds through the mirrors and had to pass messages from its Master to the rest of her subordinates manually... Once it arrived back at its personal domain, Ein made its way into a side room where there were two figures that could be seen imprisoned within cages. The first was the warrior Xenos, Silverspear, now bereft of its namesake and the powerful arm it used to wield the weapon. Fortunately, as a Xenos, he would eventually recover to his normal appearance with time and, even though he appeared to be on the verge of death, it wasnt the end of his path as a warrior. As for the second figure, it was the small Goblin Xenos, Ecks, that had been given the ultimatum by Revis. She had chosen to hold on to her life, not because she was afraid of death, but because she wanted to have a chance to avenge her friends in the future. Ein stared at the two figures for several minutes in silence before stating in a cold tone, "I will release you...if you live, or die, it will be up to your efforts. This situation is a huge farce, a massive blunder...if you would like to me anyone for what has happened to you, your friends, and your people, me the so-called Sage Aldrnari, Vahn Mason. If not for his existence, none of this would have befallen you at all...what a pity..." After it finished speaking, Ein brought out an ancient looking book that seemed to be made entirely of rusty metal and had several gears slowly spinning around on its cover. Opening the book, Ein uttered a short chan and passed its gauntlet over the runes contained within as cracks began to appear beneath the two Xenos. Just like how the Dungeon spawned monsters, but this time in reverse, the two Xenos passed into a rainbow-colored abyss before disappearing from the cages they had been kept in. Ein didnt really care where they ended up at all and snapped the book shut before walking over to its chair and sitting down. After several minutes passed, it reached out and sunk its hand into the void before pulling out a massive ck crystal ball. Reaching up, it unfastened the sp holding its mask in ce and arge amount of wispy smoke escaped through its hood as it looked into the crystal ball and said, "Enyo-sama...I have a report." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Master yourself, master your enemy,Carnivorous woman,This Ein is not the same as me, I swear~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 412 - Refreshing

Chapter 412 - Refreshing

Vahn was very stressed out, even if he did his best not to show it. On the way up to Rivira, he had constantly been devoting his full focus to his surroundings as the group steadily made their way up through the floors. Because the monsters became progressively weaker, it got easier and easier the higher they went and, by the time they had reached the 20th floor, even Haruhime and Fenrir had joined in on the fighting. Vahn had let them take part since Fenrir needed to relieve the stress she had been receiving from Vahn. When Fenrir was frustrated, it was very obvious to everyone around her and, because many of the girls were very perceptive, they knew Vahn wasnt in the best state of mind either. It wasnt that he was struggling with the difficulty of the situation, as there was apparently no danger to them at all, but Vahn was stressed out because he felt like something supposed to happen. The more time that passed without his expectations bearing fruit, the more unnerved Vahn felt and he wanted to discover how they were able to track his position in the Dungeon. It was almost inconceivable that they had full control over the Dungeon itself, or they wouldnt have to go to such lengths to target him using such an indirect method. If they could spawn Monster Parties, track his position in the Dungeon, or even freely move between floors, Vahn didnt see how they would have any trouble killing or capturing anyone. The one thing he knew was that they seemed to be able to find him, but that was most likely rted to an ability like [Diviniation]. Vahn had been curious about how Freya was able to peer at anyone she wanted, generally without them being aware of it at all, while even being able to ignore the restrictions imposed by the Dungeon. He knew she was able to see what was going on inside, though he didnt know the extent of her ability, and learned that it was rted to one of her Divinities, Divination. There was even a [Divination] Development Ability, so Vahn knew it was possible that, if someone was talented enough with the skill, they should be able to track his position, even if he was in the Dungeon. He also knew, however, that it was possible to block such things by setting up formations, seals, and certain types of physical barriers. If they were able to track him, even after he incorporated such matters in the future, it would mean they had a way of tracking people through the Dungeon itself. Just as Riveria had suggested, Vahn was now focused on understanding his enemy and discovering their capabilities. He would develop countermeasures against their ability to spy, not only on himself, but his allies that would be entering the Dungeon in the future. Vahn was already very tempted to stop the others from entering the Dungeon in the future so that they couldnt be captured and leveraged against him, but Vahn knew this would be counterintuitive and cause more problems in the future than it would solve presently. The enemy obviously didnt have the means to maneuver that easily in the Dungeon, and there shouldnt be any practical way for them to target any of the girls through practical methods. He also couldnt avoid the Dungeon himself either, so Vahn would have to find a solution in the near future if he wanted to avoid trouble. --- With their increased pace, the group managed to clear through the middle floors very quickly and had arrived at Rivira, the settlement on the 18th floor, with more than enough time to return to the surface before dark. It was barely 5 PM at present so, if they continued to hurry, they could be back at the Hearth Manor within an hour or two. Before they continued onwards, Vahn took Riverias advice and they all stopped at the small residence managed by the Loki Familia for their expeditions into the lower floors. They used it as a staging area for supplies, which they would build up over several weeks, before consolidating everything together for their long expeditions into the Lower Floors of the Dungeon. Presently, the Loki Familia made quarterly trips to the 51st floor of the Dungeon to harvest items from therge dragon, Cadmus, and also harvest the spring water it guarded. Within the residence, there was a very raremunication magic tool that was permanently affixed to the ground of a secret room in the bas.e.m.e.nt of the building. The Loki Familia had invested a lot of resources into installing a permanent line ofmunication that ran all the way from the 18th floor and continued upwards through the stairs using the route often taken by the Loki Familia. The reason they were able to do this was, unlike the deeper floors which changed their structure very often, the staircases on the first seventeen floors were always located in the same areas. It was possible to run a ry from the 17th floor, all the way up to the surface, without interference. Though they had to periodically inspect the link to ensure it wasnt damaged, it was still better than not having any method to contact the surface for logistical purpose and to report emergencies. After resting for around an hour, Vahn made the decision to return to the surface so they could find sanctuary within the Hearth Manor. Until he got out of the Dungeon, Vahn wouldnt be able topletely calm down and he wanted to be able to enjoy a nice long rest. Other than the minor hups they had along the way, especially in their return trip, everything else had gone very smoothly. Vahn now had 1,263,117OP sitting in his reserves, had increased his strength by a marginal amount, had helped Haruhime and Fenrir grow much stronger, and had even gotten a new subordinate, the Green Dragon, and the Treasure Tree it guarded. The 17 Treasure Magic Stones that had decorated its branches were worth, at the very least, one-hundred-seventy-million Valis. All things considered, their week-long excursion into the Dungeon had been highly sessful and, if not for the machinations of enemies he knew nothing about, Vahn would have been ecstatic. He had never realized how frustrating it was to face an unknown enemy, even though he knew there were evil forces at work in the background. Now that he had been able to put a face to the forces at work, their presence had seeded themselves into his heart and mind and now Vahn was determined to undermine their ns. As long as they targeted him, Vahn would do everything in his power to oppose them, especially if they tried to target the people he cared about. Even though he knew it would probably irreversibly change his perspective of the world, and perhaps all worlds to follow, Vahn would destroy the entire Dungeon if necessary...even if it took him years, and his entire lifes efforts to aplish... --- As expected, from the very moment they reached the stairs leading to the 17th floor, the groups progress became iparably smooth and they were able to reach the surface after an additional forty minutes of travel. The moment he stepped out into the first floor of Babel, Vahn felt like a heavy weight had been removed from his shoulders and he couldnt help but release a relieved sigh. The fresh air of the surface had an instantaneous calming effect on his mind and it felt like the looming threat in the shadows had lost its power to influence him. Though he couldnt confirm it yet, just based on his instincts, Vahn felt like his enemies werent able to influence the surface, at least for the time being. Just as he had released his sigh, Riveria handed him back his ownmunication scroll and said, "For the time being, well have to show a bit of caution whenever were entering the Dungeon. I dont know the extent of our enemies capabilities, but I can deduce they dont have too many strong membersprising their group. You only ever saw the one woman, and it may very well be the case she is acting alone...though it is unlikely, considering the situation..." Riveria looked around the area and squinted her eyes before saying, "We should leave this ce, there are too many eyes and ears about." Hearing Riverias words, Tiona released a long sigh that was a mix between relief and exasperation as she said, "Maaaaan, its so much better to be on the surface after being cooped up in that dreary ce for so long. Vahn, we should go and have some fun tomorrow~!" Vahn furrowed his brows for a very brief moment before showing a loose smile and saying, "Sure, I think that would be for the best. I feel like all my nerves have been pulled taught; it would be good to loosen them up a bit..." As if taking his words as an invitation, Tiona stuck her body to him and dangled from his neck as she yfully rubbed her face against his cheek. Though her actions drew the attention of the surroundings, Vahn felt like things had returned to normal all of a sudden so he couldnt help but smile. --- By the time they had reached the Manor, Vahn felt a lot more refreshed, likely as a result of the cold winter air and the warmth of the surrounding girls. Things escted when, before the even made their way through the courtyard, several people exited through the front door of the Manor and came to greet the group. Vahn spread warmth through his domain as he caught the goddess-shaped bullet thatunched herself at him. Hestia tightly hugged his body and said, "Vahn, wee home~! I missed you so much~." Vahnughed as he embraced Hestias waist and, without worrying about the surroundings, kissed her on the lips for several long seconds. When he finally released her, Hestia had a fiercely blushing face and a vibrant pink aura as she stammered, "T-t-there is a time and a p-ce for everything...gnnnnuuuu, lets go inside and talk!" Vahn gave an apologetic smile to the expectant looking girls that also seemed to want a kiss of their own as he followed Hestia into the interior of the pleasantly warm Hearth Manor. He had noticed this several times in the past, but this was the first time Vahn had truly appreciated what this ce represented. No matter how stressful things got, nor how his enemies schemed against him, Vahn would always have a ce to return to in order to find a momentary reprieve from his struggles. It wasnt the Hearth Manor itself, but the people contained within that brought him the sce his heart and mind desired. Though it was somewhat uncharacteristic of him, Vahn was a bit overly affectionate during their following discussion and had cuddled up with several girls until. Even Tsubaki, who had moved in at this time, didnt go out of her way to tease him and had even taken the task of washing his back during the bath as her own. She was easily the most mature looking woman in the group, even though she had a youthful appearance after experiencing Vahns Nirvana. Syr also seemed to get along with her very well and was even somewhat deferential to her, likely due to Tsubakis past, present, and future roles in Vahns life. She had been his surrogate mother, mentor, forging master, caretaker, and now she was also his lover and mistress. Syr understood that making an enemy out of Tsubaki would be very detrimental to the groups synergy, so she had quickly given grounds to the somewhat frank, and borderline tyrannical, woman. Tsubakis presence in the Manor was very impactful and, other than Syr, she had even reigned in arge number of the other girls as well. She was Lilis mentor, since Vahn was her master, and also treated Naaza as her protege. Because of her straightforward personality, she got along will all the girls at the Hostess of Fertility and also developed a strong bond with Mn, as they had very simr circ.u.mstances, and was even helping look after Tina and Shizune. She had already started helping Mikoto train her swordsmanship, had been looking after the twins, and was also getting progressively closer to Preasia. Since he knew she had only moved in three days ago, Vahn was somewhat awestruck by how quickly Tsubaki had found her way into the very core of the group. After the rtively long bath, it wasing time for bed and Vahn had to make an important decision. Though he wanted to sleep peacefully, Vahn also felt a strong urge to release his tensions and spend time with the girls that had been waiting for their return on the surface. He ultimately decided that, since he was going to be spending a lot of time lounging about the Manor in the near future, he would spend his evenings in a more proactive manner. As one of the girls most affected by his absence, Vahn ended up inviting Hestia to stay with him, alongside Tsubaki, Syr, and Aki. Tsubaki had never been involved with girls before, but she was very proactive and had quickly subjugated the mischevious Aki after being goaded on by Syr. Vahn had noticed this when he was with Tsubaki in the past, but she was a bit of a bully when it came to disying affection. Since she couldnt vent on him, as he was dealing with multiple women at the time, she picked on the only girl in the group that was strong enough to deal with her teasing. Vahn felt a little apologetic to Aki, as he hadnt intended for her to be his shield against Tsubaki, but she seemed to be enjoying herself, so Vahn assumed she wouldnt me him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: TFW Karma isnt a b!itch...,Burdens removed?,Tsubakis Tyranny) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 413 - Emberwisp Silk

Chapter 413 - Emberwisp Silk

Early the next morning, though he hadnt gotten much sleep the previous night, Vahn awoke to feel very refreshed. Contrary to how he usually slept, usually on his back with a girl in each arm, Vahn had actually slept inbined embraces of Tsubaki and Hestia. Being sandwiched by the tworge pairs of b.r.e.a.s.ts had been far moreforting than Vahn had expected and he slept so peacefully that he hadnt even bothered to maintain his domain in his unconsciousness. When he awoke nestled between the beautiful brown b.r.e.a.s.ts, surrounded in Tsubakis womanly fragrance, Vahn couldnt help but hold her a little tighter in response. She had also awoken from the movement, so Vahn spent the first half-hour of his day hugging the motherly woman... --- After going through his morning routine, Vahn talked to the girls that were nning to enter the Dungeon and cautioned them to be very careful. He knew it was impossible for them to actually avoid entering entirely, as they all had a strong desire to be stronger, but showing extra caution would help to guarantee their safety. Of the two, Vahn had also informed Haruhime and Lili about his intentions to have them assist in his experiments in the future while also teaching them his unique magic system in the hopes they will be the first to awaken to its usage. His words caused a small stir in the group, but Vahn refused to take any more disciples until he had a better understanding of the situation. He did, however, assign the girls into training pairs and wouldnt prevent them from seeking pointers from each other. As for the actual requirements to be his recognized disciple, even though Vahn had a lot of trust in everyone, they had to undertake one of the more powerful vows within the contract system of magic. The vow was known as the Immutable Vow and, much like the Eternal Vow, it persisted throughout a persons life. Unlike the Eternal Vow, however, it had no bearing on their actual soul after death and, if the girls somehow managed to go through reincarnation and retain their memories, they would be able to pass on the heritage they had obtained. Vahn didnt leave them to be the only ones tomit though, as he also made a personal vow to both girls in a small ceremony that everyone attended. It was a little awkward, as it somehow felt like a wedding, but Vahn didnt mind as both Lili and Haruhime seemed to be very happy at the situation they found themselves in. They wanted something permanent to show their status as his disciples, something that wouldnt be emtable by anyone, so Vahn ended up having to use his ability to create crests to carve a permanent Mentors Mark onto the back of their left hands. He had thought to refuse at first but, seeing as how the crests could be hidden and revealed freely by creating a key, it would actually serve as irrefutable proof that they were his disciples in the future. It could even be an important method of identification for thework of tunnels that were going to be created under the Manor in the future. After the somewhat short ceremony hade to an end, Vahn left the two girls to celebrate with everyone else as he left for his own workshop. He wouldnt be proactively diving into the Dungeon for a while, not simply because he was being targeted, but because he needed to prepare for his own wedding. He also wanted to get a better grasp on magic so Vahn had divided his schedule between forging in the morning, spending a bit of free time after lunch, and then researching magic in the evenings alongside Riveria, Lefiya, Haruhime, and Lili. Riveria was also going to be teaching standard magic to the girls that were interested but required that anyone learning had to dedicate themselves to it and not drop it partway. If they gave up studying, she would never take them as students again. As for what Vahn wanted to work on for the foreseeable future...it was a secret from both Eina and Hephaestus and, even knowing they had already been having dresses prepared for themselves, he was creating designs of his own. Vahns understanding of dressmaking wasnt up to par with the standards of the record, but he had a variety of knowledge from other worlds that he could adapt to fill in the nks. As long as he put in the effort, Vahn could make suitable dresses to the two girls, even without having to retake their measurements. This allowed him to work in secret, and it would also serve as Vahns first study into forging dresses, and other types of clothing, to create powerful defensive items for the girls. Generally speaking, it actually wasnt that difficult to make equipment that used leather, hide, and even the carapaces of monsters to create light and medium armor that had high defensive stats. However, other than the fact that it used rare kinds of silk, Riverias Elf King Robe was entirely made of standard, albeit high quality, materials. Since there were various outfits he had purchased from the shop that also had high defensive parameters, Vahn knew he would be able to make progress into the field with a bit of effort. Though it might take years, Vahn had an ambition brewing in his mind to be able to develop S-Rank lingerie in the future... For now, he used the system shop to purchase various types of fabrics that he would make use of in theing days. It typically took months, sometimes even years, for apletely new wedding dress to be manufactured, but Vahn only had two weeks. He believed that, with his high dexterity, the support of his system, and his [Master Smith] Development Ability, he would be able to manage the two dresses in time. He had already practiced a fair amount in the past and had several temtes to work from so, after selecting a beautiful red silken fabric called [Emberwisp Silk], Vahn began working on the first dress. To make the process easier, he created a mannequin that would probably cause Hephaestus to blush if she hadid her eyes on it. Vahn had discovered a very useful item in the past, known as [Memory Putty], which allowed him to infuse his energy into the material to change the shape into anything he could imagine. Since he had a perfect image of Hephaestus, the mannequin matched her features perfectly, albeit in a matte beige color. Even Vahn felt a little embarrassed at the sight but managed to resist to urge to inspect it with his hands as he began to arduous process that awaited him. The roll of silk that came from the system shop had precisely ten meters of fabric, so Vahn had plenty of room for experimentation since a single roll only cost 2,000OP. Though drawing would help, Vahn could visualize the designs he wanted to create within his mind to a startling degree of uracy so, after imagining various different base shapes, Vahn began to cut the silk skillfully with almost machine-like precision. Instead of using a pair of scissors, Vahn had set out a length of the silk and was using an incredibly sharp scalpel made of pure orichalc.u.m. Its cutting-edge could be maintained by using [Whetstones] so Vahn had decided to use it instead of the magisteel scissors that sat pitifully at the side. By the time Sis had informed him it was time for lunch, Vahn hadnt made much actual progress on the dress. He had, however, cut out several pieces of fabric that he had been sewing together with as much precision as he could manage. He, fortunately, discovered there was also [Emberwisp Silk Thread] within the shop, so the sewing line waspletely invisible at a nce. Vahn knew the final design would make them even more indistinguishable so he was very satisfied with his mornings work. He would be able to get the fabric onto the mannequin tomorrow and could start the process of embellishing the dress to suit the beautiful goddess that had reshaped his entire life. The reason he had chosen the [Emberwisp Silk] was that it had nearly the exact same pigment of red as Hephaestuss hair and eyes. He would also be enting it with crimson since he wanted to show her that he found her eye, the very thing that had burdened her for so long, to enhance her beauty greatly... --- Soon after he exited his workshop, Vahn embraced the patiently waiting Tiona and even surprised her with a long kiss. His workshop, unless he specifically invited someone in, was considered off limits since he oftenpletely lost himself in his focus. Tiona had been waiting outside for a while, so Vahn wanted to reward her patience. They had made ns the previous day about going out and having a bit of fun together, so Tiona had stayed back instead of venturing back into the Dungeon with the other girls. Though they could have all taken a few days of rest, Ais and Tione had apanied the lower leveled members of the Familia into the Dungeon in order to protect them from any danger that mighte their way. After nearly three minutes, Vahn released the flushed-faced Tiona because he had sensed her aura was beginning to turn and he knew he would be the one at a disadvantage if he pressed his luck. Tiona showed a huge smile on her face as she said in a cheerful tone, "Ehehehe, remind me to wait for you more often~. So, where did you want to go have fun?" Vahn shook his head and, with a genuine smile on his face, said, "Tiona, just spending time together with you makes me feel like Im having a lot of fun. Lets go wherever you want, Im just happy to get some private time between the two of us." Vahn senses Tionas aura re up again, but she managed to contain herself by giggling for several seconds and squeezing his neck a little tighter. She had been hugging around his neck while Vahn had, as she had taught him, been holding onto her waist as he pressed her body against his own. Once she managed to calm down, Tiona said, "I dont really have any ce I want to be, besides being right here with you, Vahn. Other than fighting, I never really put a lot of thought into other things...ehehehe~" Hearing Tionas admission, Vahn blinked and realized this was as good an opportunity as any to actually get to know the loveable Amazoness better. She had been his first, the girl that had awakened him to the bonds between men and women while also being one of the most important supporters of his rtionsh.i.p.s with other girls. However, though he had seen her [Hearts Desire], and had talked to her a bit about her past, Vahn didnt know much about Tiona at all. Now was a good opportunity to change that fact so, Vahn pulled the smiling Tiona closer to his body and whispered, "Tiona, lets get to know each other better...I want to know everything youre willing to tell me, okay? I wont ask you to reveal any of your secrets, but I feel like well be much closer if we talk more often..." Though Vahn felt like he was being slightly invasive, Tionas smile widened a great deal after hearing his words as she rested her chin on his shoulder and said in a soft tone, "Vahn, past, present, future, all that I am will be open to you. If youre the one asking, I will tell you everything..." Vahn inadvertently swallowed a bit after hearing Tionas words and she began tough cheerfully as he led her to an area where they could enjoy some privacy. The entire East Wing was presently Vahns territory and the 2nd and 3rd story werepletely off limits to the girls Vahn wasnt involved with. Though he hadnt made any use of it in the past, the area had been designated as the location a girl could stay if they wanted to have intimate moments with Vahn. Now that he was heading to the area with Tiona, Vahn actually noticed there were other presences on the second floor and, using his [Eyes of Truth], he could see Syr lounging on a sofa while reading a book. He also detected Hestias presence on the third floor, but Vahn avoided the two girls for the time being and entered one of the smaller rooms that didnt even have any furniture present. Nobody stayed in the East Wing, most of the time, so there had never been a need to furnish all of the unused rooms. Vahn set down arge sofa for their use and spent the next three hours snuggling up with Tiona as she told him everything he wanted to know about her past... Much of what he learned was things he had seen in her [Hearts Desire], which made since as Vahn was now aware that the images he saw when using the item were the memories close to the girls hearts. They were the things that defined the women around him and this was the key reason Vahn didnt want to continue peeking into their hearts without learning from them beforehand. Since he couldnt actually tell them the truth about his past, it felt very invasive and borderline maniptive if he was able to make use of such sensitive information to get closer to the girl. Tiona told Vahn about her childhood, how she had grown up in Telskyura as a child born into the Kali Familia. She and Tione had been offered to the somewhat emaciated looking goddess as warriors to be raised for fighting within the Coliseum. It was incredibly rare for twins to be born into the Amazon tribe, especially unique girls like Tiona and Tione, so they had a novelty that attracted Kali. In order to stay together, they were put through various trials and trained inpletely different methods of fighting in order to split them apart and pit them against each other. She wanted to understand which of the two sisters was the superior twin, and reveled in the idea that they would eventually grow to resent each other. Kali, like many Amazons, only considered strength to be important. Things like beauty, kinship, education, and politics, none of these mattered to the small-statured goddess at all. Though both girls had been exceptional fighters, Tiona was obviously the superior twin, at least when it came to raw fighting capabilities. However, no matter how hard she tried, Kali was never able to get the twins to fight against each other. Even when she manipted Tiones emotions, by treating her poorly in favor of Tiona, Tiona simply didnt fight back at all when Tione tried to loose her resentment against her. Kali reversed their treatment and called Tiona a failure as an Amazon, but Tiona proved her im to have no grounds by defeating every single Amazon within her own generation, including several from the generation prior. The only person she always lost against was Tione, simply because she would never fight back at all. Over time, Tione had given up ying to Kalis whims and the two twins became much closer and banded together to oppose the games of the goddess. With time, they were able to earn their freedom and received the right to leave the Familia and venture out on their own as a.d.u.l.ts seeking their mates. Amazons didnt take age into consideration for maturity so, even though they were only seven at the time, they were allowed to leave the country as they had both already reached Level 2, coincidentally on the very same day. Everything after that ounted for their various travels, the small towns they had stopped at, how they were treated with contempt and abhoration by normal citizens. Because they were very young, they initially had trouble finding a Familia but were eventually able to earn a ce after defeating active members of the Caerus Familia. Though they were originally relegated to the role of Supporters, the girls continued to show their strength and had even defeated their Captain who was Level 3 at the time. Unable to restrain the two girls, they began their journey as Adventurers until they got tired of the way they were treated by the members of their own Familia. Even after proving themselves through actualbat, they werent treated very well by the other members and their Captain, likely resenting them for shaming him, tried to have them perform demeaning tasks to embarrass them. Tiona had tried to bear the brunt of the punishments so that they would have a ce to stay, but Tione lost control and ended up thrashing the entire Familia. Tiones actions had caused outrage and the twins were severely scorned by the public and had nearly been imprisoned on baseless ims. Tiona finally lost control when Tione had been ambushed by their formerrades and the two girls ended up reaching Level 3 in the resulting conflict before fleeing the town. (A/N: They dont get exillia from fighting people, but you can still earn an achievement and earn the right to level-up through martial duels.) Tiona and Tione eventually arrived at Orario, nearly three years ago, and had started searching for a new Familia to join. After learning their lesson in the past, they stuck together and quickly earned fame as Familia Crushers. Though she was very embarrassed to say it, Tiona also told Vahn about how they had publicly announced that they would not only join the Familia of the ones to defeat them, but they would also submit to the men that defeated them and be their lovers. They managed to fend off several disreputable types that had a propensity towards young girls, as they were both only twelve at the time, until they were eventually defeated in fairbat by Gareth and Finn. Tiona stressed several times that anything she had tried to do with Gareth was just because she wanted to be true to her word... Vahn dismissed her concerns and just pulled the lovable Amazon into his embrace and decided to prove to her how little he was concerned about her previous crush. Like Finn, Gareth had never once reciprocated Tionas advances and had evenpletely shut her down very early on. Since Gareth wasnt really her type at all, Tiona had it much easier than her twin, who had bepletely infatuated with Finn after having been defeated by him. Now, by happenstance, Vahn had both girls at arms reach and could even spend intimate moments with the two girls, though he hadnt really made any advances on Tione yet. He was, however, fully capable of handling the giddy girl in his arms as he moved her to hisp, fondled her toned butt in his hands, and continued kissing her even after reaching the danger zone. Tiona knew herself well and, while she was pressing Vahn to the sofa, pulled out a premixed dose of [Fallen] and ingested the contents before attacking Vahn in the moments before the medicine took effect...by the end of their entanglement, Vahn was nursing a few bruises but it was ultimately Tiona who had suffered at his hands for nearly a full hour before they had to draw their rendezvous to a close. Tiona had prepared several doses of medicine, but it was near time for the girls to start returning from the Dungeon and Vahn needed to meet Riveria so they could discuss the matters he wanted to research. After helping her get dressed, as her body was still weak, Tiona said in a yful tone, though Vahn could sense the underlying seriousness contained within, "In the future, we should get Ais and Tione toe with us. I dont think I can manage you on my own anymore~." Vahn nodded his head in agreement as he kissed her on her cute little nose. He noticed she had also included Tione in her statement, likely as a result of having shared their past with him. Vahn had seen the mncholy in her eyes earlier when she had been talking about how they were raised under different teachers. Tiona had been taught by an Amazoness by the name of Argana Kalif while Tione had been mentored by Arganas twin sister, Bache Kalif. Both girls were the Captains of the Kali Familia and Vahn hadmitted them to memory in preparation for the future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Jebaited Title~?,Dressmaker Vahn,Quality Time with Tiona) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 414 - Research

Chapter 414 - Research

Even though they had cleaned up in one of the private baths, Vahn noticed that almost every girl that came across her realized he had spent time with Tiona. Though he didnt understand it entirely, even Vahn could see that she was practically glowing after the fact and, even though they hadnt said anything about it, it was easy to infer from how she was acting. Vahn felt like, after she had talked to him about her past, she was in a much better mood and it was obvious in her demeanor and how she spoke to others. When Ais had finally returned from the Dungeon, even though he was studying with Riveria at the time, she showed up in the Library and simrly asked the same question as Tiona had the previous day, "Vahn, can we have fun tomorrow?" Before Vahn answered, Riveria shot a nce at Ais and said, "If youre not going to contribute to the conversation in any meaningful way, please leave Ais." Ais frowned slightly and looked over toward Riveria and their eyes seemed to lock for a brief moment before Vahn deescted the situation by saying, "Sure, Ais, well talk about the specifics after dinner." Ais squinted her eyes before a small smile appeared on her face and she said, "Ill see youter, Vahn...I look forward to it." Without tarrying any longer, Ais briefly looked toward Riveria as she exited the room. When she left, Riveria released a sigh and said, "That girl has changed a lot ever since she met you, though it doesnt seem like herpetitive spirit has undergone the same evolution..." Vahnughed at Riverias words before remarking, "I think its her way of getting closer to people...she doesnt want to be left out things, and its not like she ispetitive with all the girls. Tiona and her have a bit of a rivalry..." This time, Riveria released one of her exceptionally rareughs before turning back to her notes and saying, "I cant infer anything from the sample you collected in the Dungeon...Im not sure how you can get a liquid to maintain magical properties after being exposed to the air. If the body absorbs the energy when people are bathing in it, reason states that it should lose its properties over time..." Though there were arguably more pressing matters to consider, such as further developing his magic system, Vahns hands were tied until he could reunite with Eva. Riveria might be able to offer him advice, but it would primarily be up to him to make any significant improvements to his magic. Vahn knew she would probably be willing to help him, but having Riveria watch over him as he trains and meditates, all while she stood at the side and took notes, made him feel a little queasy. He hadnt thought about it much recently, but Vahn didnt like the idea of someone studying him like that. Though he trusted Riveria, for the most part, he still had an aversion to the idea due to his past lifes trauma. Avoiding that situation, for the time being at least, Vahn had brought up the idea of magic vessels, specifically how different items were able to contain mana, and potentially even absorb it through the atmosphere. He had gotten the idea from the bathwater he had stolen from the red-haired monster girl as, even after using it several times, it still retained its healing properties and mana density. Vahn had observed the liquid while the girls were bathing and noticed that it, very very slowly, absorbed mana from the surroundings. Other than organicpounds, there were no other liquids that could retain mana so well, and none of them were able to continue absorbing it from the atmosphere without a catalyst. Vahn had confirmed that, though it was full of elemental energies, there was no vitality contained within the fluid at all. This raised a lot of questions in Vahns mind, and also served to make him feel somewhat unnerved about his unknown enemies. If they were able to create such a liquid, for the simple purpose of using it as bathwater, Vahn wondered what else they would be capable of. Just the fact they were making use of the artificial Dungeon was something that worried Vahn a great deal. For the structure to reach all the way to the 24th floor of the Dungeon, it would have to be more than 5km deep, and likely connected to several parts of the actual Dungeon. Such a structure boggled the mind and Vahn couldnt understand how such a thing was built without drawing the attention of literally everyone. Instead, it was simply a rumor that had apparently never been verified even after nearly a thousand years of spections, investigations, and probes...Vahn didnt think this was possible at all, which meant that the Guild, or more appropriately, Ouranos, had to be aware of it. --- Vahn had separated samples of the liquid into more than a hundred vials and both he and Riveria had been testing how it responded to different stimuli. Vahn noticed that, even with the use of [Yggdrasils Favor] and [Hands of Nirvana], he couldnt actually get the fluid to absorb his source energy at all. Instead, there would be a chaotic reaction, much like when he tried mixing, and Vahn would have to clean up the mess that resulted from his attempt. As a result, he was now sitting inside arge basin as he continued trying to insert varying levels of his energy while trying to understand the principles behind it. Riveria has some small degree of sess in her own experiments, as her mana was easily absorbed into the liquid. Even without a skill like [Hands of Nirvana], Riveria was very skilled at controlling her mana and could easily infuse it into magic items. Whenever she inserted her mana, the glowing blue liquid would be brighter and eventually turn an off-shade of white after enough exposure. Vahn didnt have any problem with her sess, but he noticed she would give him a gloating look every now and then while also asking if he needs help. After he broke the tenth vial, she even teasingly asked if he would like her to wash his back. Thinking he would be able to get her back, Vahn epted her offer and Riveria unabashedly walked over to the basin, while holding an entire rack of vials, before dumping it on top of his head and saying, "Looks like youre getting a little hot-headed, maybe you need to cool down? Your clouded mind is interfering with your ability to focus...let me guess, youre thinking about your ydate with Ais tomorrow?" As he felt the chilled liquid passing through his hair and covering his scalp, Vahn showed a wry smile and simply shook his head. He could tell by Riverias aura that she hadnt been affected by his teasing at all so he considered this small exchange his loss... After cooling his head, Vahn was using his elemental control, with his domain as the medium, to shape and manipte the water within the basin. He had only tried it on a whim earlier, but now Vahn realized it was actually very easily influenced by his domain. After a bit of practice, he had even gotten the liquid to appear solid and turned it into a small figurine that was simr to Ais, at least as far as the silhouette was concerned. He couldnt make any of the finer details at all, but it was still an impressive disy, if Riverias expression was anything to go by. Even if she didnt look at him directly, Vahn could detect the fluctuations in her aura and was able to read the changes in her typically cool expression. He had a lot of experience after associating with Ryuu, so Vahn knew what to look for when an elf was trying to hide their emotions. Realizing he had garnered her interest, Vahn decided to push his experiment further and used the same technique he had invented to clean clothing, to remove all the liquid that had soaked into his clothes. Since she wasnt currently using it, Vahn also exercised his control over all 100 vials, nearly one liter of liquid, and shaped it into a miniature version of Riveria herself. Because he wasnt able to emte the finer details, such as clothing, Riveria saw a 12cm tall version of herself, seemingly n.a.k.e.d, that Vahn was doing his best to make walk around atop the table. Riverias brows twitched at the sight, but she still observed the scene with interest and even started taking notes after a while. Once she had finished scribbling into her journal, Riveria sent a pulse of mana in the direction of the miniature Riveria and caused it to disperse across the desk. As if she hadnt just destroyed his painstakingly constructed creation, Riveria began to write again as shemented, "So, it seems like your control over elemental energies can still be interfered with..." Vahn felt an urge to chuckle, but then he paused and furrowed his brows as he considered Riverias words. If Riveria could interfere with his elemental control, why couldnt he interfere with the flow of other peoples mana, such as when they were chanting spells? Riveria noticed Vahns look and snapped her journal shut as she asked in a curious tone, "Another epiphany? I wonder what kind of groundbreaking concept youll introduce this time..." Though she hadnt intended to, Riveria released a slightly exasperated sigh before furrowing her brows slightly at her ownpse in decorum. Vahn hadnt paid any real attention to her slip at all, so Riveria squinted her eyes and waited for him to eventually tell her what he had discovered now. He got this way at times, even though she knew he was aware of everything going on around him, and he would simply nk and get lost in his own thoughts for a while. Riveria knew from experience that most prodigies were somewhat entric and, since this wasnt the first time he had done so, she patiently waited for his awakening. Vahn had been ying the image of Riveria casting her magic over and over within his mind as he observed the flow and its influence on the magic circle. He already understood that the magic circle was just anguage that was influenced by chant, the image the person had in their mind, and the belief they had in the spells functionality. Since it was nguage, it should actually be very easy to interrupt their words with his own, just like in a real conversation. Though he might not have that much proficiency when it came to casting magic, Vahns source energy was a much higher tiered energy than mana itself. By influencing a spell with his own energy, Vahn should be able to do several things, such as interrupt it, change its structure, or even cause it to backfire... The spell Vahn was focused on, since it seemed to be the safest option, was Riverias [Veil Breath]. He could tell that there were subtle changes in the structure of the magic circle, even though the chant didnt change at all. Vahn was able to interpret this as Riveria designating a target and he was focused on the part of the magic circle that was changing to reflect her intent. After he was confident he understood it well enough, nearly twenty minutes had passed and he noticed that Riveria had a somewhat icy look for a brief moment before she returned to normal and asked, "Did you realize something?" Vahnughed awkwardly before saying, "I think I might have found out a way...to counter, or change, the structure of magic...?" Riverias expression didnt change at first, but she slowly hung her head before bringing her right hand up and rubbing her temples after closing her eyes. Vahn felt a brief bout of pity for Riveria before saying in as casual a manner as he could manage, given the situation, "Can you try using your [Veil Breath] on me? I want to see if I can change how the spell functions..." Riveria raised her head slowly before taking a deep breath and asking, "What exactly do you intend to change about the spell? I dont want my own magic to blow up in my face like your experiments with the vials..." Vahn felt a bit of an impact at Riverias quip before shaking his head and saying confidently, "Your magic...shouldnt bacsh. If I tell you what Im trying to change, it might alter how you cast the spell and interfere with the experiment. Please trust me, Riveria." Riveria released an almost imperceptible sigh through her nose and began to chant her magic without asking any more questions, "Assemble, breath of thend - my name is Alf." Though she wasnt quite sure what had happened, Rivera felt a strange incongruity in her magic circle, even though her mana flowed ording to her intent. However, she immediately noticed that something was very wrong as a magical light covered her body for a brief moment and her [Veil Breath] activated...on the wrong target. When Riveria had started chanting her magic, Vahn had seized control of the elemental energies within her magic circle and altered the part that designated himself as the target. Since he had seen Riveria use the magic on herself several times, Vahn knew how to change it so that she became the new target. Seeing the light cover her body, he couldnt help but smile widely as this confirmed a variety of his spections. Riveria, however, interpreted his smile as somethingpletely different and flicked her pen at Vahns face before he easily tilted his head to the side and evaded it. Riveria frowned slightly before recovering her normal expression and saying, "You...somehow changed the target of my magic...through the magic circle? How..." Riveria held her fingers to her chin in deep contemtion and Vahn knew that, like himself, she was also lost in her thoughts a bit. Unlike him, however, Vahn knew she was paying close attention to his words so he exined, "This further proves that magic is based on intent, or image, and how it influences the nguage that you use tomunicate with the elemental energies within the world itself. Even though you use the same chant, your spell never misfires and hits the incorrect target, at least for your [Veil Breath]. I can tell that, even though it is minuscule, there is a small change in the flow of the mana within the magic circle and, after reying it multiple times in my mind, I was able to infer that this change designated the target. By altering the flow of energy within the magic circle itself, I was able to emte the flow to designate you as the new target..." Hearing Vahns words, Riveria felt her brain begin to buzz due to how incredulous she felt at the present moment. What he was saying, even though it made sense, was simply far too ridiculous for her toprehend at the moment. He was basically saying that, as long as he had seen a magic circle once, he would be able to change it however he likes. Not only could he change the target, but he could outright prevent the magic from working...or much worse, cause an Ignis Fatuus which would make a mages spell backfire and explode. Riveria had thought that Fafnir was a Mages Nemesis, but it turns out that its Master was the true monster between the two... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bathing is important,Riverias revenge,Vahn can put a skilled mage in a Mind Down state just by speaking to them...RIP Riveria) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 415 - Will you...

Chapter 415 - Will you...

Vahn awoke the following morning and peeled the sleeping Lunoire from his body before stroking the exposed butt of Chloe, who wasyingzing at the side. After spending the afternoon researching various things with Riveria, Vahn spent the rest of the evening peacefully. He bathed with the girls, ate a hearty dinner where he learned about their adventures, and then wrapped up the night by inviting all the girls from the Hostess of Fertility, with the exclusion of Mona, into his room for the evening. Because she had been visiting him a lot recently, Syr actually refused his invitation and had Aki take her ce. Since she had been bullied by Tsubaki the previous evening, Vahn spent some time with the loveable kitten before suffering at thebined efforts of Chloe, Arnya, and Aki. Everything was wrapped up with Aki supporting Ryuu before Vahn finished the events of the evening with Lunoire. Even though it was only the second day since his return from the Dungeon, Vahn was in a great mood now, even more so than he had been after obtaining a great boon from the Bloodsaurus. Spending time with the girls, developing new items for their use, and researching the things he was interested in; these were all far more rxing than dealing with the potential schemes of his enemies. Vahn felt a strange feeling of liberation knowing that he could almost do anything, within the confines of the Manor, without actually being questioned about his actions. Though this wouldnt be the case if he stepped out of line, he was often able to skirt the line and get away with it without rpense. Vahn knew he would have to return to the Dungeon, and he actually didnt mind fighting against enemies, but he preferred the moments like this where he could choose between his options freely. He could spend time at home, take a casual stroll into the Dungeon, fly in the upper atmosphere with Fafnir, or even splurge money within Babel Tower at his leisure. The only thing he was truly missing was the kinship between men, but Vahn knew that would be easily aplished in the future. He hadnt visited yet, but Vahn knew where Welfs new workshop was located and it was very close to what would be his clubhouse. He had already extended invitations to Welf, Ouka, Takemikazuchi, Miach, Gareth, Finn, and even Bete so they could have ess to the building. Vahn easily won over most of them by saying he was going to stock the ce with [Dwarven Drought], but Bete outright refused his offer on the grounds that he didnt have time to y around with weaklings. Vahn knew the Werewolf boy was actually busy dealing with girl troubles so he didnt mind much that Bete had refused his invitation. Once he visited the Lakshmi Familia in the future, Vahn intended to extend his offer to Keith as well, though that was a n much further in the future. He didnt know why, but Sennas Affection for him was now at 99(Idtry) and it had been worrying him every time he looked at the value. Thinking of his own girl problems, Vahn was reminded of Welfs current situation and the response he had gotten when he sent the red-haired youth the invitation. He hadnt met them yet, but Welf was currently being protected by four Amazonesses, three of which were Level 3, while one of them was Level 2. Vahn had learned that, though they werent in any official rtionsh.i.p.s, Welf had the experience of being taken care of by the four girls all at the same time and, ever since that fateful night, he had suddenly be a lot more mature. He had even started venturing into the Dungeon with the girls in order to be stronger and, as Tsubaki had described it, he had a confident glint in his eyes. Knowing that Welf was happy made Vahn feel strangely relieved, as he knew the boy once had very strong feelings for the woman he was about to marry, the goddess Hephaestus. Though his feelings amounted more to a crush than anything else, it didnt change the fact that Vahn had usurped a position that Welf would have dly filled himself. However, Vahn felt like the current Welf was much better than the struggling cksmith back in the manga. Though he was still a bit arrogant, he was a lot more personable and had opened up a lot after associating with the Amazons. The fact that he was beginning his training to be stronger a full two years ahead of the original timeline,bined with how he was now proactively researching his own [Crozzo Magic Blood], showed that he had a lot of potential for future growth and development. --- Vahn spent the first part of the morning helping to allocate Tsubakis workshop space within the annex located behind the East Wing. Vahns primary forge was located within his own room, but he did most of his work in therger workshop in the main area. They werent taking in the same room, since working with textiles was done in an entirely separate room than metalwork, but Vahn and Tsubaki now shared the same workshop with each other. This brought Vahn a strange feeling offort since therge workshop had seemed a little lonely as he was the only one using it. He had originally intended it as a ce where any cksmith in their Familia would be able to forge, but that seemed less likely given that Hestia had shut down the thought of having other men join the Familia. Fortunately, now that Tsubaki lived within the Manor, things were bing increasingly more lively. Not only was she now in the same workshop as him, but she had also been proactively engaging with all of the girls within the Manor itself. She had taken charge of the morning training sessions and even sparred with Aki and Ryuu to help polish their skills further. Tsubaki was a great teacher and had a keen eye for detail since she was also an aplished [Master Smith]. Though their training hadnt actually been wed before, it was now starting to take on a more cohesive appearance with Tsubakis guidance within the group. Even Vahn himself was under her tutge, though his actual training amounted almost exclusively to sparring with Tiona and Tione presently. They were the most parable to Vahn in fighting style, so he spent the first hour after waking up getting beaten up by the two rambunctious girls... For today, Vahn had focused most of his efforts on fixing the dress temte to the mannequin and making any necessary adjustments while following the instructions of the books within his mind. When he had first decorated the mannequin with the fabric, Vahn noticed that everything kind of hung off of it and it didnt seem very form fitting and elegant at all. He wanted to make the fabric hug the body instead of drapping off of it, so Vahn had to create extra seams on the interior of the dress that would conform to the shape of Hephaestuss body. Instead of simply covering the b.r.e.a.s.ts and butt, Vahn had it follow the contours and created seams that would ce a small amount of emphasis on the areas. He had designed it to be somewhat delicate, like lingerie, but also very elegant at the same time. By the time he had finished the first pass, Vahn felt like he had actually just created a beautiful red corset, called a bodice, as he hadnt yet attached the gown or sleeves that would bring it to life. Since it wouldnt properly cover her bottoms, Vahn felt like the current form of the dress was strangely e.r.o.t.i.c and began ying with the idea of making the gown detachable. Imagining Hephaestus wearing just the bodice,ce panties, a garter belt, and silk stockings covering her long legs made Vahns heart palpitate powerfully in his chest. His mind was drawn to the beating of his own heart and he imagined the passionate look on her face as he removed the restraints holding the gown to her waist and resolved himself to make the idea a reality... --- After wrapping up his work for the day, Vahn made his way out of his workshop and poked the sleeping Ais in the cheek for a short while until she woke up. Vahn had promised to spend some time with her during his lunch period and she had stayed home to wait for him. She spent the first part of the day talking with Preasia and helping look after Shizune and Tina, both of which had taken a liking to Ais because how beautiful and powerful she was. Vahn had detected her arrival about an hour ago and she must have fallen asleep because she had nothing else to do. He felt a little bad that the girls seemed to show up early, and was almost tempted to allow them free ess to his workshop in the future. However, he would put that off until he finished working on the dresses for Hephaestus and Eina since he wanted it to be a surprise. Ais showed a small smile after seeing Vahn and asked, "Are you finished...?" Vahn nodded his head before wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling against her forehead with his own. Ais hugged him as well and snuck a kiss on his lips with a smile on her face as she said, "I dont have much to talk about...I already told you what I remember about my past...and you already know that I want to avenge my family...other than fighting, I dont have anything...at least until I met you, Vahn. Now I understand what my friends at the Loki Familia had been telling me for the past six years...that strength isnt a single-minded pursuit for vengeance, but something you seek in order to protect the things you still have..." Vahn stroked the back of Aiss hair as she rested her head against his shoulder and mumbled her words in a soft voice. He could tell Ais wasnt being entirely truthful and, though she likely believed in what she was saying, she still had a powerful urge to avenge her family. She had made marked improvements, both in her perception of the world and how she associated with people, but she still had a long way to go. It was very likely that, unless she was able to see the One-Eyed ck Dragon dead, she would never be able to move beyond her trauma. Vahn also knew her past was far moreplicated than what could be observed from the surface and that it would likely be a significant matter he needed to resolve in the future. Since Ais father was the hero, Albert Waldenstein, this meant that she had to have been born over a thousand years ago...yet she was alive in the modern day and was currently only fourteen years old... After thinking of how to best converse with her, Vahn said in a soothing tone, "Youre a strong and beautiful woman, Ais...perhaps the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. We dont have to talk about the past, as that is something we can take care of in the future, so lets just talk about everything else instead. Lets talk about the future...the life we can build together...the family we may one day raise...the ces you might want to visit. Im sure you know this, but there is so much more to life than the revenge you seek...the world is a very big ce, Ais, and Id like to experience it with you someday." Ais raised her head and stared directly at him with her beautiful golden eyes as if she were trying to piece deep into his mind and discern an answer to a question neither of them truly understood. Remembering the world she had seen from the back of Fafnir, how the City of Orario had be a small dot within her vision, Ais knew that Vahns words were true. The world was a very big ce, muchrger than the small world that she had lived in ever since waking up and being found by the Loki Familia. She had been told so many stories by her mother in the past, about the various interesting ces that were located all over the world. It used to be her dream to travel the world and visit such locations alongside her mother and father, but that dream had been shattered long ago when both of her parents died in their fight against the One-Eyed ck Dragon. Her father, the man everyone called the Hero King, had often saved her from danger when she was younger and, every time he did so, he would tell her that she needed to find her own hero, someone that would look after her for the rest of her life...someone like the boy that was currently bringing her so muchfort that it made her heart hurt. Against his expectations, Ais began to tear up and she spontaneously started crying into his chest with sad sobs that made Vahns mind nk. He didnt know how his words had set her off, but he could tell that Ais was both deeply grieved, but also very happy at the same time. Unwilling to press her for answers, Vahn just pulled her into a side room and spent the rest of his lunchbreakforting the lonely girl. When she had finally collected herself enough to exin what she was thinking, Vahn was very surprised and felt a powerful motivation to be even stronger in the future. He had already known that she was seeking a hero, as it had been something reflected in her [Hearts Desire], but now he was absolutely resolved to see it through on her behalf. She only sought vengeance because, until she had started opening her heart to others, the only thing she had left of her family in the world was the terrible monster that had imed her parents lives. Ais didnt want to be lonely anymore and realized that, even if she managed to kill the dragon one day, it wouldnt bring her family back to her. Realizing this had been a big impact for her, but it was nothing as devastating as the impact Vahn received when she turned her face up at him with a heart-wrenching expression and asked, "Will you...be my hero?" Vahn had never seen such a real expression on Aiss face, and it made him mortified that the first true emotion she showed to him was grief, desperation, and only a small amount of hope. Though he had already been embracing her, Vahn put a lot of strength into his arms and hugged her body as tightly to his body as he could manage. He could feel her shaking in his arms and he said in a pained tone that reflected his own indignation at the tragedy Ais had to suffer, "Ais...I will be your hero...Ill never give up, no matter how difficult things get. I wont let you down, no matter how heavy the burden bes...I wont disappear until a dayes where I can wipe away these tears and see a true smile on your face. I wont make you cry, Ais, unless its tears of joy...I swear on everything that I am, everything I will be, no matter what it takes!" (A/N: Thest paragraph was kind of a joke, even though it is also relevant at the same time~! If its to cringe for you, as it should be, the official end of the chapter was when Ais asked Vahn to be her hero (UwU)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is Lewd,Sleeping Beauty,I can be your hero baby~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 416 - Sowing Seeds for the Future

Chapter 416 - Sowing Seeds for the Future

During the afternoon, while Vahn was researching with Riveria, his mind continually wandered to Aiss situation and various other things outside of his control. If he had entered the world a thousand years ago, instead of three years, he very well might have stood a chance at changing her fate. Now, however, the only thing he could do was endeavor to make the rest of her life better than the past that had scarred her so deeply. After the recent stint in the Dungeon, where it felt like he was being yed by Karma, Vahn had been somewhat hesitant about dealing with so many unknown enemies. For something to be a manga, or anime, it had to have an overarching plot filled to the brim with viins and evil schemes. Though he could help nurture Bell into the hero of the world, as he was already fated by the record to have such an existence, Vahn couldnt rely on the young boy to settle the matters that gued him and the Alliance. It very well might be possible, as Vahn was entirely sure how his existence in the record influenced those that were fated to save the world and the like. However, even if Bell somehow could help resolve the problems of Vahn, and his family, he wouldnt be contented just standing at the side and hoping things go well. Vahn knew that, no matter how hard Bell tried, he wouldnt be able to exceed his own growth through The Path. If Vahn put in enough effort, he knew he could be strong enough to endanger the record itself, a realm far beyond what Bell would ever be able to aplish... After some time, while Vahn was just mechanically performing experiments, Riveria asked in a low tone, "What is bothering you, Vahn...?" Vahn startled briefly before smiling slight after seeing the concern in Riverias eyes as he said, "Sorry, Riveria, I was just thinking about how to resolve future matters...its no big deal, really, I just need to figure out how to be the strongest in the entire world, hahahaha." As he had been speaking, Vahn thought about Eva and the magic spell [Magia Erebia] that he had yet to learn. If it was the strongest ability of a Tier 5 entity, Vahn knew it could probably be the very core of his strength in the future. Riveria squinted her eyes slightly at Vahns reaction and said in a somewhat exasperated tone, "Youve figured something out...I really wonder how your brain works sometimes. At this rate, by the time I have to return to..." As she spoke, Riverias words trailed off and a contemtive expression appeared on her face and she shook her head and returned to her own experiment. Vahn arched his brows slightly at her abnormal reaction and wondered if this was one of the situations where he was supposed to be quiet or if it were one of the very rare situations where he should say something. Riveria didnt really like people prying into her life that much, especially when she brought an end to the conversation herself. After thinking for a short while, Vahn showed a wry smile and decided to say, "After I learn magic from Eva...do you want to be my apprentice?" Riveria head been writing in her notebook and her pen slipped several centimeters after hearing Vahns words before giving him a moderately incredulous look and asking, "You want me to be your student...?" Vahn nodded his head in a casual manner and continued, "We already treat each other as equals, for the most part, and already learn things from each other without any inhibitions. Eva, though its not quite that simple, would still be considered my Master when ites to learning her system of magic. I cant betray her and simply teach it to others, even though Ill be willing to assist in yours, and Lefiyas, research..." Riveria showed a serious expression for a moment with her hand on her chin before asking, "Youre able to recall the image of things within your mind, so you should be able to emte Evas magic...or at the very least, draw one of her magic circles?" Vahns eyes opened slightly before he nodded and said, "I can draw her magic circles, but I cant copy her magic so easy due to itsplexity...I think you might be surprised." As he spoke, Vahn whipped out arge piece of paper and started drawing from memory one of Evas magic spells, Nivis Casus, which creates a magic avnche of ice and snow that can even, as she imed, overwhelm Fafnirs anti-magic capabilities. Seeing that Vahn hadnt questioned why she brought up Evas magic circles, Riveria released a small sigh of relief through her nose as she looked at the earnest boy that easily gave in to the intrigue and curiosity of others. She didnt actually mind bing Vahns student, especially after witnessing all of the innovative things he did, but their difference in status would only cause problems in the future. If it had been many years ago, it might have been possible, but her time was slowly running out as the days ticked by... Riveria had been intending to return to the Elven Kingdom after finishing Lefiyas training, but it was looking more and more like Vahn would take up a task that should have been hers toplete. She was slowly losing her ce within this group and, the stronger Vahn became, the sooner she would inevitably have to leave. Though she could exercise a bit of selfishness, it would be a big problem in the future if she stalled her return for too long. Even if she had long ago stopped believing in the elitist mentality propagated within the Kingdom, Riveria still had an obligation to her people to return one day and share what she had learned in the outside. If High Elves acted selfishly, not that they were benevolent creatures in her heart, it would cause the Kingdom to copse over time and eventually lead to cultural decay. The only way to improve the situation was internally, and Riveria needed to actually be there if she wanted to enact the change she wanted to see in her people. Riveria knew that her people would one day be left behind by the times, or a great war would result from their behavior and mistreatment of other races. Now that she had met someone like Vahn, Riveria knew that such a day wasnt far in the future and she didnt want the future generations of Elves to suffer because of the folly of their elders... While Riveria was watching silently from the side, Vahn traced a total of 139 ovepping magic circles that were far moreplex than anything that existed in the Danmachi record. Even Riverias most powerful magic spell only created a magic circle that made use of 26 magic circles and a variety ofplex runes. He didnt understand it entirely yet, but Evas ability seemed to far outstrip the general conventions of magic within the record and made further use of geometric shapes than the circles themselves. Instead of forming everything as a single cohesive structure, her magic seemed to alter the structure of the spell as she cast it, allowing her much greater control and power output based on the amount of mana used to cast the spell. Eva could, in the span of several seconds, output more power than Riveria could channel in more than a minute of chanting...all while moving around at supersonic speeds that Vahn couldnt even track with his eyes. It took him nearly a half-hour, but Vahn finally finished drawing the magic circle that Eva was able to form in an instant. When he was finished, Riveria blinked and turned her attention to the piece of paper for a short while before asking, "Are these all of Evas magic circles? Theyre moreplex than I expected, but I dont think-" Riveria stopped her words as she saw Vahn shake his head and, with a wry smile on his face, exin, "Though there are 139 magic circles ovepping with each other, they are all part of the same spell, Nivis Casus. When Eva puts in a bit of effort, she can even smash an area of several kilometers with millions of tons of ice and snow...after chanting for about eight seconds." Riveria had been surprised when Vahn said thisplex magic structure all belonged to a single spell, but she actually felt a great deal of fear at thetter part of his words. For someone to have such devastating magic, they could rule over the entire mortal world without anyone being able to oppose them at all. It was closer to the realm of gods than anything than anything a mortal should be able to achieve, regardless of how much effort they put into bing a capable mage. Riveria wasnt aware of this, as Vahn couldnt share that kind of information, but Eva was much stronger than the majority of gods within Danmachi, at least in her own record. Evas power had progressed to a level that, even if she fought against one of the gods in Heaven, she would most likely emerge as the victor without any major challenges, unless she faced someone with a Divinity rted to light. In her own world, she had defeated several other immortals and even a host of gods, and this was before she reached the peak of her power. Though she had difficulties facing holy, sacred, and light-based, opponents, she was an entity at apletely different tier than the gods in Danmachi. The fact that she could create a personal dimension, such as the orb that Vahn used, with its ownws showed that she was beyond the capabilities of even a Primordial Deity like Ouranos. The only restriction she faced, other than her curse, was the limitation of her knowledge concerning thews that governed her record of origin. Seeing the shock on Riverias face, Vahn continued, "The scariest part of is how she is able to reinforce her body with mana to grossly exceed the physical limits of other people. Though I have never met anyone at that level, I would put her above Level 10 in parameter development...and she doesnt have the blessing of a falna at all. Without magic power, she probably couldnt even lift a heavy rock but, with her power charged to its maximum, I feel like she could probably punch through the floors of the Dungeon without any real difficulty." This was the biggest difference that Vahn had observed in Evas magic system, the fact that she could enhance her bodies capabilities without actually using a spell to buff them. If he could actually incorporate her magic system into the record of Danmachi, Vahn felt like the limitations of Level wouldnt be important anymore...assuming thews of the record didnt restrict its usage any. Hearing Vahn making another ridiculous im, which was undoubtedly true, Riveria felt a powerful exhaustion pass through her mind and she released a long sigh without worrying that Vahn was right in front of her. He didnt seem to care about such things anyway so Riveria was quickly beginning to stop caring herself about maintaining appearances. The only thing that really mattered right now, at least in Riverias mind, was the fact that Vahns impact on the world would be far greater than she imagined in the future. Even though there wasnt any guarantee he would be able to learn the same magic as the girl named Eva, he would still be able to understand its structure well enough to doc.u.ment it and research it for the future. Vahn himself might not get to the point where he can threaten the entire continent on his own, but the legacy he leaves behind would undoubtedly stir the world and create an age all its own. A thousand years from now, instead of calling the current era the New Age, schrs would likely refer to it as the Age of Magic, or even the Mason Magic Era. Riveria knew that, unless drastic changes were introduced in the world to adapt to the wave Vahn was going to stir up, many countries would be swept up, or even away, when the wave passes them. She knew he would cause strife in the world, even if he wasnt the one to instigate it, but she didnt think it would be to the extent that she was beginning to get a glimpse of. Unless something drastic happened, like Vahn being assassinated before he could influence others, his momentum would slowly be unstoppable. However, if he actually was killed, it might even more chaos in the world when the various goddesses lost any semnce of propriety andshed out at whoever had the audacity to destroy their happiness. Vahn was already bing a powerful influence in the world, even if he wasnt aware of it himself, and his importance was quickly reaching a point where he could potentially move nations to his cause. Riveria hadnt told him about it yet, but one of the reasons the envoy had been dispatched was to see if Vahn was worthy enough to receive an invitation to the Elven Kingdom. He would be the first human in nearly a thousand years to step foot on their sacred ground, and it was all so that the High Elves would be able to steal credit for any of Vahns achievements in the future. Riveria also knew that, if Vahn actually epted the invitation and went to the Elven Kingdom, he would probably be killed soon after they realized they couldnt control him. Fortunately, she knew Vahn would refuse the offer since he had powerful ties to the City, though she had discussed the matter with Loki and Hephaestus to make sure he didnt fall into their scheme. The work around Vahn was bing a powerful force that would be able to protect Vahn from almost any real harm that mighte his way. In the next several decades, the Alliance may very well control the entire City of Orario, or at the very least one of the eight sections of the City in its entirety. Even without Vahn doing anything personally, there will be hundreds-of-thousands of people at his backing, just because the ideals he represents for so many people. Ouranos would likely promote him as a hero for the masses and Vahn would have a strong rtionship with many gods and goddess because of his actions. Even if it was only ten goddesses per year, Vahn would have won over more than half the gods in the entire City in the span of a decade... For the second time, Riveria released a long sigh before looking at Vahn patiently waiting for her topose herself. Shaking her head slightly, Riveria showed an almost imperceptible smile and made a decision that she hoped would save her people from the inevitable destruction they would have wrought themselves, "If youre able to learn that level of magic from Eva within the next three years, I will be, not your apprentice, but another one of your disciples. However, when that timees..." Riverias smile turned into a slight frown as she struggled to finish her words. Instead of continuing in the same vein, Riveria decided to simply observe Vahns progress for the time being and said, "Make sure you select your future disciples well...even if its a girl that you love, it doesnt necessarily mean they are capable of properly using that level of magic. Please think about the consequences of your actions on future generations if someone with a cruel nature learned the level of magic your Master is going to teach you..." As she had suggested, Vahn imagined, not anyone else, himself using the cataclysmic level of magic that Eva employed with a wave of her hand. If used indiscriminately, Vahn would be able to conquer entire nations as long as he had enough energy in his reserves to handle the output. Since there would be no magesparable to him, there wouldnt be any major opposition and, if he was truly an evil person, he could even bombard entire cities from the stratosphere...before anyone knew what happened, Vahn could enact mass genocide on a group of people without them being able to muster any real resistance against him at all. Of course, he wouldnt be able to get to Evas level within the record, as he would be forced to leave the record long before then lest he destroys the entire thing. Even a portion of her power, however, was enough to be uncontested within the world unless there were peopleparable to him in power present. As Riveria was suggesting, even if the people he taught were all kind people, it didnt mean their descendants would be kind at all. It was very possible that, like the elitism imposed by the elves, his future descendants would band together and create a society of their own that imposed its ideals on other groups. Vahn knew there would be a lot of conflictster in his life, and this would lead to resentment that would be born by future generations...it was somewhat terrifying to consider. He could dedicate his entire life to bringing peace to the world but, if he made any major mistakes in his decision making, it could eventually lead to great travesties in the future, long after he left the record. After imagining the potential devastation that could be wrought after his passing, Vahn nodded his head and stated as confidently as he could manage, "I will do my best, Riviera, but Im only one person. The most I can do is live by the example I believe in and hope that people are inspired by the life I lived..." Vahns mind was suddenly brought to the street orphans he had met in the past, and the children at Marias Orphanage. As if he had discovered something important, Vahn brought his fist to the palm of his hand as arge smile appeared on his face and he said, "I know what I can do! When I gain enough power and influence, I can open up a school in the future and do my best to make sure the legacy were creating now would be passed down through arge number of people!" Riveria thought the idea of a school was a good idea, but she also knew it would actually increase the chances of something going wrong in the far future. Before she was able toment, however, Vahn shook his head with a smile and said, "I dont have to teach them the powerful spells that Eva uses, but we can still teach them the basics of how to interpret the nguage of magic. If we let people make breakthroughs in a natural manner, after helping them cultivate the proper mentality, their innovations would eventually spread throughout the entire world. If we avoid the situation where we ce an emphasis on any specific race, and always advocate the idea that personal motivation and achievements are what matters, we could potentially create an entire generation of schrs that endeavor to shape the world in a positive light. Its not a sure-fire solution, but it beats having my future descendants bing tyrants just because they think they are special by virtue of their birth...even if I treat my children special, that is because they are special to me, not by providence." Hearing Vahns words, Riveria released another sigh because she knew that what Vahn was proposing is simr to the changes she wanted to see in her own people. The difference is, he was taking the steps to prevent it from bing a problem from the beginning, whereas she was trying to undo millennia of self-propagating elitism. If Vahns school epted any race and actually made them able to use magic, it would probably be one of the symbols of power in the City and propel Orario into a new era that would revolutionize the entire world. If Vahn broke down what made races special and cultivated the mentality that the only thing that mattered was ones efforts, it could very well change the world for the better. There would undoubtedly be bad seeds, but they would be able to see such people growing up and simply weed them out of the system early on. This would inevitably breed resentment in people, but they would always fall far behind the progress of those that make real efforts to improve their lives and the lives of those around them... After thinking the matter over for a while, Riveria made another decision that she hoped would impact her people in a meaningful way, "When...or should I say if that timees, Id like to assist in the curriculum development and also bring some of the students from the Elven Magic Academy to attend." Riveria knew the most important peopel to influence were the younger generations and, if she could change the mentality of a few children, they would have a powerful influence of everyone else within their social circles. If she hand-picked a few capable students and had them study under Vahn for a year, Riveria knew it wouldpletely change their perception of the world and, when they eventually returned back to the Academy, their changes would be noted by others. Even if there were teachers that tried to call into question Vahns teachings, they simply couldnt do anything to deny the facts before their eyes, especially if it was public. If they didnt change their teachings and continued to advocate that Elves were a superior species, they could simply be denied the right to send students to Vahns school in the future. It might not show for the first few years, but after an entire generation, the Elves would feel the pressure from being left further and further behind the rest of the world, or at the very least Orario. Vahn nodded his head but began tough after understanding a part of Riverias intentions. He knew she possessed a strong sense of duty and felt a great deal of pressure to fulfill her obligations to her people. She would probably protect the information she obtains as his disciple, but Riveria would be able to teach the children at the school he would build and slowly change the status quo within the Elven Kingdom over time. To ensure that she was in the best position to do so, Vahn gave Riveria a wide smile and said, "When the timees, Ill have you be one of the teachers at the school. Itll be easier for Elves, or potentially even High Elves, if their teacher is one of their own kind. Of course, I n for everyone to have multiple teachers, but you can be the one primarily responsible for their education." Riveria squinted her eyes slightly at Vahns words and considered the matter for a moment before deciding it was probably the best course of action to take. If she truly epted Vahn as her Master in the future, it would already cause a bit of unrest in her homnd, but that was a risk Riveria would have to take in order to guarantee the Elves had a ce in the world Vahn would create. She knew Vahns existence was something to enact necessary change in the world, so the only thing she could do was ride the wave, lest she gets swept up and crushed by the immense momentum he would generate... As if realizing something very amusing, Vahn looked at Riveria with a mischevious smile on his face and remarked, "If you be my disciple, that would mean Haruhime and Lili have seniority over you...hahahahahaha." Riverias eyes opened slightly wider after hearing Vahns words before she began to, against his expectations,ugh along with him. Vahn felt a chill run down his back as she looked at him with her jade-green eyes and said, "Well see...you never know what might change in the future, especially with someone that irresponsibly breaksmon sense present...fufufufufu." Vahn swallowed hard at Riverias words beforementing, inside his mind, ("Is that any way to talk to your future Master...?") As if she had read his mind, Riveria squinted her eyes and said, "You have a long way to go if you want me to call you with honorifics...Vahn." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn considers using Bell, kappa,Power to shake the world,Dan-na-sa-ma~?) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 417 - Pride

Chapter 417 - Pride

For the rest of the week, Vahn continued working on the wedding dress he had intended for Hephaestus. He hadpleted the bodice of the dress long ago and had spent the remaining time embellishing the details as he ovepped severalyers of semi-transparent silk for the gown section. The entire gown red wider and would eventually drag to the ground somewhat and Vahn had sewn it in such a way that it appeared to spiral slight before branching out into mes. To conceal the split seam, as it was meant to be detachable, Vahn had gotten the idea to use the feathers from a Firebird, an incredibly rare monster that typically appeared around the 19th floor of the Dungeon. By the time he had finished the gown itself, Vahn had been inspired to intermix synthetic emerald colored feathers amongst the plumage and had altered the dress to be reminiscent of a phoenixs tail. He then made a secondyer, overtop the original bodice, where he iid several types of cut magic cores that would act as catalysts for the enchantments Vahn intended to imbue into the dress. Vahn had gotten the idea to actually sew the formations that connected each magic core on the inside of the dress, and this was why he had to make it twoyers instead of the original one. At the core of the formation, Vahn had used one of the Magic Treasure Stones, which looked like arge ruby, that would be seated in the valley of Hephaestus b.r.e.a.s.ts. After iying all the formations, Vahn spent the remainder of the time he had left to embroider a me-like pattern into the dress and, though it wasnt necessary at all, he also made a sp where Hephaestus would be able to store her hammer at the back of the dress. Even though she might only wear the dress once, Vahn still wanted it to have functionality and had ensured that the fabric was flexible enough that it wouldnt restrict her movements at all. The only part he couldnt really exercise any control over was the gown, as it was intended to stand out and enhance Hephaestus natural beauty and draw the eye of onlookers. To prevent the dress from getting dirty, as it would be dragging along the ground, Vahn had painstakingly rubbed a special oil on the underside of the fabric that would prevent it from collecting dust and debris along the way. It also made the entire underside of the dress waterproof, so Hephaestus wouldnt have to worry about cleaning it too much after the fact. Thest step was to actually finish the mechanism that would allow the gown to detach from the bodice at a moments notice. Vahn had interwoven small gemstones between the feathered plumage that were linked together in a locking formation that firmly held the dress together. However, if someone possessed the key, they could simply touch any of the gemstones and will them to unlock and separate the two parts. Though he hadnt gotten the real Hephaestus to try it on yet, Vahn took a great deal of pride in the dress he had made for her. It might not be the same quality as the one she had already prepared, but Vahn was confident it would be far more practical. Assuming, of course, that the final phase of his n actually seeded. Vahn had interwoven small threads of sinew into the inneryer of the fabric and had used several precious materials in its construction. Though it hadnt required any forging, Vahn knew that sewing could still be generalized and influenced by the [Master Smith] Development Ability. It might not have required the use of a hammer, for the most part, but it was still an item he had painstakingly forged for an entire week. Confident that everything would go well, Vahn focused his intent and willed that the dress would be able to protect Hephaestus from harm while also enhancing her beauty even further...since she had spent so much time shunned by even her fellow gods, Vahn wanted the whole world to see the beauty that Hephaestus had be, the beauty that belonged solely to him...with that thought in mind, Vahn uttered, "Henceforth, you will be the first masterpiece I have created in the form of a dress. Please, protect the woman I love...[Phoenix Fire Dress]. Though it wasnt to the extent of when he used the [Keeper of the Akashic Tome], there was a very brief phenomenon where the dress glowed with beautiful scarlet light. When the light faded, the dress remained rtively the same, though there was now a subtle sheen to the fabric and each of the magic cores glittered like stars that were affixed to the me-like bodice that was shrouded by the plumes of the Firebird. All of the colors seemed more vibrant now and Vahn knew that, once Hephaestus wore the dress, they would stand out even more without distracting from the beauty of Hephaestus herself... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Phoenix Fire Dress] Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 0 P.Def: 370 M.Def: 900 Ability: Phoenixs Pride(A), Fire Immunity(A), Shock Resistance(C), Weatherproof(B) A wedding dress created with care by a skilled Master Smith for the Goddess of Forging, Hephaestus. Makes use of a variety of precious materials, as if embodying the feelings the creator had for Hephaestus during its production. When wearing this dress, the user creates a me-like aura that causes them to stand out from everything else in the world, like a proud phoenix rising to overshadow the sun itself. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As Vahn held the dress in his hands, he noticed that he was shaking a great deal and slowly put focus into his [Will of the Emperor] to calm down. Not only was this a dress he had created for the woman he loved, but it was also the first piece of cloth armor that he had been able toplete with his [Master Smith] ability. Though the physical defense wascking, as one might expect from fabric, the magic defense was arguably the more important of the two values. It also had, not Fire Resistance, but Fire Immunity alongside a powerful effect like Shock Resistance. The ability to absorb shocks almost gave the outfit inherent Endurance parameters, even though it had no actual effect on the body...at least for the time being. Now that Vahn knew it was possible, this had opened up the floodgates in his minds and he began to get very excited about the garments he would forge in the future. Though he was very excited, and even tempted to immediately give the dress to Hephaestus, Vahn contained himself and covered the dress in a protective film before setting it off to the side. He still needed to design a dress for Eina before giving them to both girls at the same time. If not for thebined efforts of the two caring women, Vahn wouldnt have been able to arrive at the point he currently found himself. He probably wouldnt have even gotten into forging at all, at least for a very long time. Now, he could create items that would protect himself, the people he cared about, and the people he woulde to care for in the future. Equipment might interfere with the growth of the user, especially when it came to weapons, but it was still an important protective measure that could guarantee their safety during an emergency. Taking a small hit to your growth in exchange for preventing potential death was a fair trade any day of the week. There was only an hour left before he was supposed to be wrapping up things within his workshop, but Vahn started on cutting the fabric for Einas dress using the time remaining. Vahn had a bit of trouble choosing a color he thought was suitable for Eina since every neutral and cool color seemed to ent her beauty equally. He inevitably settled on blue, as it would create a contrast between her and Hephaestus while also emphasizing the soothing qualities that Eina embodied for Vahn. Hephaestus was like the fire that burned in his heart, literally, that pushed him forward along the path he had decided for himself. Contrarily, though she still supported him, Eina was more like a refreshing spring where Vahn could refresh himself and rx when he needed to ease his tensions. As for the design itself, Vahn wanted to make them nearly identical to each other though, instead of Firebird feathers, red gemstones, and green magic cores, Vahn was going to use the incredibly valuable Frost Falcon feathers, blue gemstones, and abination of white and pale blue magic cores. This would make Hephaestus look like a Phoenix, wreathed in mes, while Eina looked like an Ice Phoenix, that glittered like the cool night that calmed the mind and brought thoughts of peaceful sleep to observers. Now that he had a better understanding of the process, Vahn expected he would be able to finish the dress within four days and could use the remaining time to create apanying garments, such as lingerie, stockings, and other adornments. There were infinite possibilities open to him now and, though he hadnt paid much attention to it earlier, he had even gained more than 4,000OP after creating the [Phoenix Fire Dress]. Though he hadnt been entering the Dungeon for the entire week, word had spread on thework that he could absorb the energy in monster cores to fuel his creation ability. They werent purchasing them from the market, as that would cause a stir within the public, but Vahn had been receiving all of the monster cores from the girls when they return in the evening. Thebined efforts of sixteen people were far more than Vahns personal efforts and he had been able to increase his OP reserves to 1,984,559, even though he had spent a fair amount buy supplies for the dresses. Now, not only was his personal wealth increasing, but Vahn was passively generating a fair amount of OP through thebined efforts of the girls themselves. As for other changes that had taken ce over thest few days, it had also gotten around that Vahn was showing interest in the girls pasts and he had spent a fair amount of time each day speaking with a different girl about their pasts, their current desires, and what they hoped for in the future. Thus far, he had talked to Tiona, Ais, Tione, Syr, Lili, Naaza, and today he would be talking with someone he had been curious about for a while, Arnya. Vahn knew that there were several things Arnya was keeping a secret, but she seemed to be willing to open up to him a bit and was going to exin things to him. She was in her third week of pregnancy, so she had already resolved herself for the future and now intended to clue him in on the important bits he needed to know. Vahn hadntpleted cutting all the fabric, but his time wasing to a close and he had already detected Arnyas presence outside of the workshop. After the small fiasco with Tiona and Ais, Vahn had installed a sofa outside of the workshop and even set out a pot of tea with a tray of snacks for them while they waited. Once he had finished organizing his tools, a habit he had picked up when he was learning from Tsubaki, Vahn made his way out of the workshop and saw Arnyazing about on the sofa while nibbling on some fish-shaped crackers that he thought she would enjoy. Though he was certain she had noticed his presence, Arnya continued to act in a somewhat udylike manner as she ignored his approach. After several interactions, Vahn already knew many of Arnyas weaknesses, but he knew the best way to tease her was through a very simple method. Reaching out his hand, Vahn gently rubbed her belly as he kneeled next to the sofa and put his ear to her stomach. Arnya beganughing in mock surprise as she said in a coy tone, "Nyahaha, cant you see inside without having the check every day~? Youre so helpless~nya." As she spoke, Arnya stroked the back of Vahns head with her hands, without wiping the crumbs from her fingers at all. Realizing her mistake, Arnya spent a bit of time picking the pieces of out Vahns hair as he absentmindedly listened to the sounds of her body. This had be a habit that Vahn had developed a few days ago when Hephaestus had visited and, after they made love with each other, had Vahn rest on her belly and listened for the sounds of the extra heartbeat that pulsed quietly, but with a steady rhythm, deep within her w.o.m.b. She was the furthest along in her pregnancy, so Vahn was able to actually experience the first signs of the life he had helped to create. Even though there were other girls present, Vahn couldnt stop himself from crying silent tears before he simply started thanking Hephaestus over and over while they allforted him. Ever since that night, Vahn had been taking the opportunity to listen to the bellies of the other girls that were bearing his children. It was this action that had incited Arnya to actually agree to talk with him, so Vahn was also indirectly reminding her of the situation through his actions. He could tell she was still hesitant about the situation, and he wanted to help ease her heart and give her the confidence she needed to put the thoughts that burdened her to words. Not only physical burdens, but emotion burdens were something that others could help you carry. They had created a life together and would spend several years doing their best to raise their child to maturity, so it was a littlete to hesitate now that the deed had been done. After several minutes passed, Arnya asked in a soft tone, "Do you hear anything?" Without raising his head, Vahn opened his eyes and smiled at her and replied, "Not yet...its still a bit early. From what Ive read, itll take around five to six weeks before the heart begins to beat audibly..." Arnya chuckled silently as she stroked his hair and asked, "Then why do you insist on checking~?" Vahn had already thought about his answer, as he had expected the question, so he said simply, "I feel even closer to you like this...closer to the life we created together. Even if it odds arent in my favor, I want to hear the very first beat of our childs heart..." Arnyas expression broke for a brief moment and a bit of moisture began to build in her eyes as sheid back her head and closed her eyes. If not for the small quiver in her lip, it would have looked like she was simply rxing and letting Vahn do as he pleased. Vahn also closed his eyes and gave Arnya as much time as she needed to find her resolve as he continued to listen for the signs he knew wouldnt appear for at least another two weeks. He could, however, hear the natural functions of her body, her breathing, and her rapidly beating heart. Vahn could also sense the chaotic fluctuations in her aura and knew she was feeling very anxious, even though she was doing her best to not show it. Nearly twenty minutester, Arnya continued to stroke his head and said in a quiet, almost inaudible voice, tinged with a sob, "I dont want to talk about my past, Vahn...if I could, I would put those matters behind me and never think about them ever again. There are some things you should know though...you have that right." Though she still had her eyes closed, Vahn could see the tear fall from the corner of Arnyas eye and he reached out to wipe it away before sitting next to her on the sofa and pulling her into his embrace. He had already felt her body shaking earlier, but it was a lot more obvious now that he was holding onto her. Arnya took several deep breaths and said, "Most of my family died a long time ago...but the people who killed them are already dead. My only remaining family is my brother, Allen Fromel...the man known as Vana Freya, the fastest spear serving Freya. Though we cut ties with each other long ago, I know he still tries to look after me since Mama Mia scouted me to work at the Hostess of Fertility when it had just opened. Even though he only ever showed up when I was off duty, I know he stopped by every now and then because Syr and Mama Mia had told me about it..." Vahn nodded his head and continued to rub Arnyas back to help keep her calm with the assistance of his [Hands of Nirvana]. Feeling a warm energy entering her body, Arnya paused for a few seconds as she tightened her grip on Vahns tunic and buried her head into his shoulder. After a short period of silence, she continued, "Allen mes me for my failure back when we were younger...when he finds out Im pregnant, he might try to cause trouble for you...Im sorry, Vahn. I know...I know I might have any right to be a mother...but I want to have a family again!" Since she hadnt told him about her past, Vahn didnt know why Arnya considered herself undeserving of being a mother. It likely rted to the mistake she had made but, unless she told him about it, he was more likely to learn about the matter through the brother. For now, that wasnt important at all, however, since he currently had a heartbroken cat girl crying on his shoulder. While Arnya was sobbing, Vahn spent a bit of time collecting his thoughts before grabbing her shoulders and pulling her away from his shoulder. She had a slightly incredulous look on her tear-stained face until Vahn reached out with both hands and ced them on both sides of her cheeks. With a gentle look in his eyes and a soft tone, Vahn said, "Arnya...the past doesnt determine our worth as parents...if that were the case, I may very well be the least qualified person to have children. However, Im doing my best to be a man that can take pride in everything I do, everything Ive created, and everyone Ive loved. Youre such a loveable and earnest girl, and Im certain youll make a great mother...I will help bear your burdens until you realize it for yourself." Arnya nodded her head slowly before muttering, "Vahn, please, no matter what it takes...dont die...promise me..." Vahn smiled in a natural manner and rubbed the sides of Arnyas face as he said in a casual tone, "Arnya, you dont have to worry about that at all...I dont think Id be able to die at this point, even if I wanted to. I have too much to live for...too much to look forward to..." As he spoke, Vahn lowered his gaze to Arnyas belly and it was clearly seen in his expression the expectation and pride he took in his aplishment. Arnya, seeing Vahns expression, nuzzled against his hands slightly after covering them with her own. Vahn could see that her aura was beginning to stabilize and she said in a somewhat yful, yet scarily serious tone, "Vahn...I want to have lots of babies...even if I have to raise them on my own, I want to have lots and lots...sorry for my selfishness." Though he might have had a problem with it previously, since he didnt want to be overwhelmed by having too many children at once, Vahn had recently worked out a n for creating a school alongside Riveria. He couldnt reasonably be expected to run an entire school if he couldnt even manage a few of his own children, so he was feeling more confident about things with every passing day. Though he didnt understand how many lots and lots implied, Vahn nodded his head with a confident smile and said, "Even if you have a dozen, or a hundred, I will do my best to care for them all. I imagine it would be rather lively to have a bunch of adorable Cat Persons running around...we do have a big yard, after all..." Arnyaughed in a somewhat silly manner as she said, "With a beautiful mother and a handsome father, our children are bound to be more than simply adorable~nyan! Our sons will be heartbreakers and our daughters will be tyranyacle maidens~nyahahaha." Vahn felt a cold sweat start to build upon his back, but heughed alongside Arnya before hugging her close to his body and saying, "I cant wait, Arnya...I love you." Arnya began rubbing her head against his chest as she responded in a in tone, "I know, Vahn, and that is why I love you as well. Thank you for picking up this abandoned cat, nyufufufu..." Vahn continued to hold Arnya for a while when she suddenly began grinding against him slightly and he could see her aura ring up with a passionate red. He could feel a pressure in the bridge of his nose as his heart begin to itch when she said in a sultry tone, "Weve never been alone together like this...Im getting excited...nyufufufu~." Though he hadnt done anything with Ais, Lili, and Naaza, it was well known that Vahn had a long rendezvous with Tiona and Syr after their discussions in the past. As Arnya said, it was rtively rare to get Vahn alone, and now was a period of time that had been allotted to just her. Understanding her desire, Vahn picked up Arnya as she began to yfullyugh as he carried her off into a private room... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hephaestus about to be looking fiery~!,Einas watery image,At least Cat Persons dont have litters~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 418 - Reflection : The Way Forward

Chapter 418 - Reflection : The Way Forward

As the days continued counting down towards the wedding, Vahn was spending the majority of his time within his workshop to make preparations. He knew the girls had long suspected he was up to something as they had stopped seeking him out during the lunch block. Vahn nned to spend more time with the rest of the girls in the future, as he really wanted to know more about them, but he was grateful for the time they had given him. The matters regarding Tiona, Ais, and Arnya, weighed somewhat heavily on his mind and, now that he had some sess making armor out of fabric, Vahn was in a creative frenzy. Of course, before he got to into his current groove, Vahn hadpleted Einas dress within the four-day time frame he had set for himself. The final product looked nearly identical to the one he had created for Hephaestus, except that it made use of blues, purples, and icy whites with the inclusion of the Snow Falcon feathers. Instead of a me pattern on the bodice, Vahn had decided to sew white threads that linked together glimmering gemstones that made the entire outfit appear simr to constetions in the night sky. If Hephaestuss dress was supposed to represent a Phoenix standing out against the backdrop of the sun, Vahn wanted Einas to embody the cool embrace of the night and the peaceful end of the day. Einas dress didnt pete to stand out amongst anything and almost seemed like a natural part of the night sky with wispy clouds that slowly ambled through the upper atmosphere... -------------------------------------------------------------- [Phoenix Night Dress] Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 0 P.Def: 349 M.Def: 920 Ability: Phoenixs Embrace(A), Ice Immunity(A), Shock Resistant(C), Weatherproof(B) A wedding dress created with care by a skilled Master Smith for the Half-Elf, Eina Tulle. Makes use of a variety of precious materials, as if embodying the feelings the creator had during its productions. When wearing this dress, the user creates a calming aura that affects everyone that enters their vision, like the night overtaking the day and weing them into a peaceful and pleasant rest. -------------------------------------------------------------- When Vahn had firstid eyes on thepleted dress, he imagined Eina wearing it and had a strange urge to simply rest his face against the mannequin and go to sleep. The best part was that the cool colors of the dress wouldntpete with the neutral brown hair of Eina, her gentle expression, and her emerald green eyes which would shine like two beautiful stars when the ensemble was brought together around her thin frame. He nned to have the two women try on the dresses this weekend so he could tailor them, though it likely wouldnt be necessary, before the wedding on Wednesday. Even though it hadnt been publicized much, the entire City was talking about Hephaestus wedding to Vahn and, as he hade to know through the rumors, her intent to make an Eternal Vow pledging herself to him. The fact that Eina was also going to be marrying Vahn was also being spread, but it was somewhat overshadowed by the fact that the most prolific forging goddess in all eight regions of Heaven was marrying a mortal man and making an Eternal Vow to him. This meant that, no matter how much time passed after Vahns death, Hephaestus would continue to devote her love solely to him until the very end of her immortal life. When Vahn learned about this, he waspletely overwhelmed by the information and his behavior after the fact had been the reason why the girls gave him a bit of space. Vahn knew it was very possible for him to live forever, but only if he forsook the growth of his soul and restricted himself to this record for the rest of time. He had even discussed the matter with Sis and learned that it was possible to work hard to obtain his own Divinity, which would make him immortal within the record of Danmachi, same as the other gods and goddesses. Doing so would upset the bnce of the world if he remained in the mortal ne, so he would have to ascend to Heaven if he wanted to take that route. This would make him suffer the same restrictions as other gods, except that he would have The Path to help him resist thepulsion of his Divinity. The downside to this was, Vahns ascension would fundamentally alter the record and cause it to evolve over time to match the limitations of his own soul, which was inherently without limit. It might not happen any time soon, but Vahns presence would eventually cause the record to proceed to Tier 5 and, if an incredible amount of time passed, all the way to Tier 9. This might not seem to bad if not for the fact that thews that woulde into y within the record could drastically change the power bnce of the world. Just like the chaos and uncertainty during the Age of Myths, Vahn would throw the entire record into perpetual chaos and, after enough time passed, there would even be several entities naturally born into the world that would exceed the current gods. He couldnt learn all of the Tiers just yet, but Vahn knew that Tier 4 was called the Divine Soul Tier while Tier 5 was known as the Realm Soul Tier. At Tier 4, a person at the peak of power could even create entire worlds if their understanding of thews wasprehensive enough. Once someone grew beyond the peak of Tier 4 and entered the Realm Soul Tier, they could conceivably create an entire realm, which divergent timelines, parallel worlds, and a nearly infinite number ofs that could support life. This sounded like an incredible thing, if not for the fact that thews themselves would create a being to regte things at this tier. Before Vahn even reached Tier 5 himself, it was very likely a different entity would be born into an existence that would be much stronger than the power he would possess at the time. The records constantly had to maintain a bnce, which was regted by karma, which meant that the more powerful and good Vahn became, the stronger the influence of evil that would emerge to counterbnce his power. Unless he could throw away his emotions and be the bncing factor himself, Vahn would enter an eternal contest against progressively stronger enemies that would be created by the record itself to serve as his bors. Oveing his enemies would further increase his growth, which would, in turn, lead to even stronger enemiesing into existence. Since his soul was fused with The Path, there was a very real possibility that other records would eventually be linked with the Danmachi record and he could conceivably bring chaos to every record in The Path if enough time passed... Even if that was the case, Vahn actually didnt mind that much at all, as there would always be an infinite amount of chaos that intermixed together with all records. Linking them would introduce new variables within the world, but things would always stabilize after enough time passed and he would be one of the guiding forces in such a world. One of the problems Vahn faced, if he were to ept such a life, would be the feelings of loss he would have to deal with when his loved ones inevitably died. He might live forever, but that didnt mean all the girls around him would have the same capacity. The same applied to his future children as well and, even if he could conceivably make them all immortal, this wouldnt necessarily be a good thing for the record itself. Vahn had no delusions that all of his children would be good, and he also knew that not everyone wanted to live forever. One of the things that made life worth living for so many people was knowing that each of their actions in the present were significant in their shorts lives. They could measure their own value by the life they led and ept death peacefully before returning to the cycle of reincarnation. By the time Vahn helped people be immortal, they would eventually go through the same thing as the various gods and goddesses, where their mentality would slowly wear down over time unless they fulfilled their purpose. One of the reasons gods could tolerate eternity was because they always had a purpose that defined them from the very beginning, a fundamentally different mindset than that which was enjoyed by mortals. Other than the ones that would die naturally, after refusing to live forever, Vahn knew he would be faced with a decision in the future where he might be asked to let the girls he loved die after they simply get tired of living. It was also a near-guarantee that, after enough time passed, Vahn would even have to strike down one of his former lovers that had turned to evil or even put down his very children because they had gone down a deviant path. Unless he stopped having children, Vahns progeny would eventually spread through the world, and perhaps all worlds, that woulde about as a result of his ascension. As the lynchpin for everything, it would always fall to Vahn to take action and there was even a very high chance that his own children would try to ovee him for their own ends. This wasnt even the worst case scenario, however, which would be if Vahn himself entered the deviant path... Vahn really did want to visit more worlds in the future, but if he became the core of the Danmachi record and propelled it into higher nes, the only way to do so would be to link the worlds using The Path as an intermediary. Unless he was also strong enough to keep them from influencing each other, this meant that entire multiverses would eventually collide in the future, simply because Vahn was curious. The sheer devastation that would result from his actions would be iprehensible and, if Vahn himself decided to destroy things after having a change of heart, he might be some kind of universal threat that gave birth to a powerful force of good that would eventually eject him from the record after striking him down. Depending on how he dealt with the situation, Vahn might enter a cycle where he visits several worlds solely for the purpose of destroying them or trying to connect them back to the Danmachi record itself...such a concept sent shivers down Vahns spine just thinking about it. The most frustrating thing of all was knowing that Vahn would eventually have to face a situation where records ovepped in the future, regardless of if he wanted to or not. Unless hepletely stopped his own growth by sealing away his power, Vahn would continue to rise to greater height and would eventually find his way in a record where that kind of thing was considered normal. If Tier 5 could create an entire universe, with divergent timelines, that meant Tier 6 was likely capable of creating entire multiverses, or more. Vahn couldnt even wrap his head around what Tier 7 and Tier 8 were like, though he knew that Klyscha, the Goddess of Dreams, was an entity that existed at Tier 8. From what Vahn could infer, she was literally the lynchpin for a nigh-infinite number of records, each with a potentially infinite number of worlds, fates, and the lives that lived them... It was hard to conceptualize, but Vahn would one day be at the same level as Klyscha herself, and inevitably even exceed her with enough time. Vahn couldntprehend what kind of changes he would go through in order to reach such a point, but the one thing he knew was that he didnt want to arrive at the apex through cruel means. He might have to ruthlessly strike down his enemies, destroy entire species of terrifying creatures, and even create entire universes, but Vahn didnt want to be cruel in his methods. Ultimately, the decision Vahn found himself facing was a rtively simple one...he had to choose if he wanted to walk The Path alone, before eventually reuniting with some of the girls in the future, or he would walk it alongside them and face the challenges of the future together...at least, that was what Vahn believed until Sis stepped in with a chuckle and said, (*There are so many more paths you can walk, Vahn. The Path itself is here to help guarantee your freedom, not force you down a tragic route that would bring you heartbreak. As long as you search for a way forward and truly desire it, you will always find the route that leads to the greatest amount of happiness.*) Vahn blinked, shocked by Siss sudden interruption of his internal reflection. Sis, as if finding his reaction amusing,ughed within his mind for a short while before continuing in a gentle tone, (*You will have to deal with several difficult situations and it is almost guaranteed you will face heartbreak and loss...but that doesnt have to be how you define your life in the future. Death is a natural part of the cycle of all things and, as you yourself have realized, not everyone desires eternal life. The vast majority that seek it arent capable ofprehending what that means and, like in the case of Eva, it often quickly turns into a curse...*) Listening to Siss words, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation because he knew she was speaking the truth that he had already discovered for himself. What he didnt understand is what she meant by there being other paths forward, other than the ones he had seen for himself. Answering his unasked question, Sis said, (*You mayck the power yourself, but you can use The Path to buy time for yourself in the future. If you still want to visit other worlds without having to worry about the passage of time in the Danmachi record, you can always seal away the entire thing and put it into stasis. You might not possess the power yourself, yet, but that doesnt mean you cant make use of The Path to obtain the means...you simply have to desire it with all your heart and it will be so...that is your power, Vahn.*) Almost at the same exact time as Sis finished speaking, Vahn heard a loud notification within his mind and became startled when he investigated the source. Vahn intuitively believed almost everything Sis said, as she had been thepass that had guided him forward for his entire second life. When he heard her words, he knew she was showing him the way forward and, as she had suggested, he believed that there would be a path that would allow him to experience the necessary growth without having to guide an entire world forward and face constant strife in trying to deal with the aftermath. This belief was answered immediately, and now Vahnughed loudly within the confines of his soundproof workshop as he scanned over the notification several times before saying, ("Sis, you really are the best...if you were a real woman, I think I might fall in love with you.") Sis began tough like a bell within his mind as Vahn took onest look at the notification with her soothingughter as the background music... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Optional Quest Triggered// [Quest: I Shall Seal The Heavens](A/N: Kappa o3o) Rank: SSS Objective: Obtain 100,000,000,000 OP and purchase a [Dimensional Anchor: Stasis] from the system shop. Rewards: All unlocked functions in The Path evolve, 3x[Spirit Vessels], 1x[Enlightenment Stone] Failure Condition(s): Death, Failure to obtain requisite amount of OP before leaving the record. Penalty: Danmachi Record inessible until Tier 8, All Karma Nullified after leaving the record. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Einas Ethereal Beauty,The Burden of Eternity,Thats a lot of zeroes...would only take 1,369 years of farming Bloodsaurus to obtain though~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 419 - Development

Chapter 419 - Development

Now that Vahn knew there was a method avable that could solve some of the problems he was facing in the future, he felt a lot more confident about things toe. Though it was a somewhat ridiculous amount of OP required, it made sense considering he would be putting an entire record,prised of three realms, into stasis. If it didnt cost a lot, Vahn would begin to seriously question how the world worked as even some skills cost several hundreds-of-millions of OP. Of course, knowing there was a way didnt actually mean it was essible and now Vahn was in a peculiar situation where, like when he was doing his weapons quest, he had to potentially stockpile a lot of OP. He could average slightly more than 200K OP on a good day hunting Bloodsaurus, but that would mean that it would take nearly 1,400 years for him to actually obtain the requisite amount, assuming he didnt spend a single point of OP before then. Even quests that could take nearly nine months to finish, such as the [A Mans Responsibility] that popted his quest log, only awarded 100,000 OP as their base reward... Vahn needed toe up with a method to make a lot more OP in the future and he knew there were a number of ways he could do so. Just like when it came to forging, Vahn knew that taking up a trade could generate OP. Even when Vahn did something rtively simple, like cook a meal for the girls, he would generate a small amount of OP as a result of the effort he put in. There was also the fact that his subordinates generated OP for him every time they killed something, as well as his ability to convert items containing magic into sources of OP as well. This showed that there were a variety of methods he could employ, and he could probably even create more depending on the amount of effort he put into things. The most important thing seemed to be his own perception, just like how The Path awarded him a Quest based on the understanding he had derived from Siss words. If Vahn ced enough value into the things he was doing he could, theoretically, even earn OP from simple actions like petting Fenrirs head or brushing her tail...with this thought in mind, Vahn immediately left his workshop in order to test his new theory. It was currently Thursday, but he knew that Fenrir had stayed home after obtaining Level 3 the previous evening. She had gotten the opportunity to cut loose and had wiped out an entire Monster Party on the 19th floor while Ryuu, Tiona, and Mn watched over her. Mn had been apanying Fenrirs party a lot recently and was even more reliable than Ryuu when it came to calming her down. Fenrir had actually been able to level up for a long time, but it had been dyed since her parameters were still hovering around a value of 3,000. After defeating nearly six hundred monsters sequentially, and putting forth an incredible amount of effort in the process, her parameters had shot upwards of 4,000 and she wanted to finally level up. (A/N: I noticed that I havent actually been updating Fenrirs status with her Innates, my bad~! Also, since someone wanted to know what the (-) means, its an Innate that how no inherent limit at all. If Fenrirs soul could bear the burden, she could eventually get to the point where she could devour entire realities, or even concepts like Laws xD) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: [Fenrir] Level:2->3 POW: D582->S902->I0 END: E470->A805->I0 DEX: B801->SS1089->I0 AGI: C671->S943->I0 MAG: G275->F388->I0 Skills: [Insatiable Hunger:Innate(-)], [Lunar Cry:C->B], [Freezing Roar:B->A], [Chainbreaker:C], [Devour:SS], [Huntress:A->S], [Endeavor:H](new) Magic: - Development Abilities: [Chain Attack:I](new) [Endeavor] Rank: H Use: Parameters increase the longer the user is in activebat. [Chain Attack] Rank: I Use: Increasesprehension ofbo attacks and allows the user to draw more power from longerbination chains. (A/N: Generally, the more attacks in abo, the bigger the falloff since you have to expose yourself to continue the attack. Fenrir doesnt have this restriction anymore and would just get stronger the more fervently she attacked something~! Protect your backs!!!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fenrir theoretically had unlimited potential, but Vahn knew the requirement was counterproductive and would negatively affect her mental state if she fullymitted to using it. The [Insatiable Hunger] Innate ability was the source of her potential and, in order to make the best use of it, Fenrir would have to give in to her urges and devour everything around her. This would make her emotional state unstable and, in order for her to be even stronger, she would have to suffer the burden of a perpetual hunger that literally drove her mad. Vahn would much rather her be an adorable little wolf girl than a crazed beast that simply killed everything in its path to obtain strength. He knew Fenrir wouldnt be happy living such a life and simply recalling the first few weeks where she struggled to adapt to other people pained his heart a little. --- As he could keep track of everyone within the Manor, Vahn easily located Fenrir and noticed that, from the very moment he began looking for her, she was already inbound and looking for him. One of the things he had verified after returning from the Dungeon previous was that Fenrir was a bit of a unique case amongst his subordinates, like due to her incredibly high loyalty. Anubis admitted that she has always had her tendencies, which was verified by Loki who had already been aware of it from the rumors she had heard about Anubiss past. As for Fafnir, it understood Vahns intents well, but it seemed to have much more of an open mindpared to Fenrir. Vahn knew that Fenrir hadnt truly opened up to other people and most of her interactions with them were closer to apromise than actual affection. The closest exceptions were Mn, Tina, and Preasia, but she wasnt quite to the point where she genuinely cared for them. If Vahn ordered her to not associate with the other girls, he knew she would easily toss them aside and follow his order without even batting an eye. It was something disconcerting, but Vahn knew this would change with time and was looking forward to the day where Fenrir would show an actual smile, instead of the crooked attempt she often made at one. Less than two minutes after he had left the workshop, Fenrir came trotting down the hallway he was in wearing her adorable little maid outfit. Vahn could see that her hair was partially brushed, which meant she had walked away from whoever she had gotten to brush it for her. He could sense presencesing towards them and knew they had been in the room with Fenrir when she had likely made a swift, and probably unexined, exit. With her same crooked smile, Fenrir stopped right in front of Vahn before tilting her head to the side and asking, "Vahn was looking for Fenrir~?" Nodding his head, Vahn smiled and said in a casual manner, "Yes, I was thinking of rewarding you for the efforts youve been putting into bing stronger. Since you leveled up recently, I thought I would spend the rest of the day spoiling you however you like, as long as its not anything too bad." Hearing his words, Fenrirs scarlet eyes began to glow and she began to fidget with excitement as she shouted, "Yes, Fenrir has been waiting~! Dont worry, Fenrir is a good girl, she wont make Vahn do anything strange~! Here, Vahn, follow Fenrir!" Even though she said to follow her, Fenrir trotted around to Vahns back and used her paws to urge him forward towards the door she had arrived through. Fenrir ended up taking Vahn to the room where she had been previously with Preasia, Tina, and Shizune. They had been searching for her after she left and had met Vahn and Fenrir along the way before they all returned to the room together. Vahn felt it was a little strange to be locked in a room with small girls, but he wasnt exactly worried about it either. Tina was a sensible girl, Fenrir was a good girl, and Shizune was...well, she was a bit of a troublemaker but still acted appropriately most of the time. She did have a bad habit of goading people, but she never actually did anything that might upset anyone. It was arguably Preasia that was the most difficult girl to deal with, as she was the quiet type that liked to stare at Vahn silently from the side. She had opened up a lot to the other girls, as the majority were younger than she was, but she still stayed very quiet whenever Vahn was around. He knew she talked often when he wasnt in the room, but it was hard to believe since the majority of the time he spent around her involved her watching him with her watery aura. Before he had started looking for Fenrir, all of the girls were ying dress up and had been helping to style Fenrirs hair for her. Vahn had given them all cute clothes in the past and they had been mixing and matching outfits to try and find things that suited each of them. Now that he had entered the room, however, they were more focused on why he had stopped by than doing what they were previously up to. When Tina had asked, Fenrir answered in a very matter-of-fact kind of voice, "Vahn is going to spoil me properly, pay attention, okay? If you work hard, you can get Vahn to spoil you as well~! Fenrir will show you how to be a good girl, kukukuku~." The other girls stared at Fenrir in confusion before turning their eyes to Vahn as he exined with a smile, "Fenrir isnt wrong, as I often try to reward people for their efforts. Since she had been performing well in the Dungeon, and had recently leveled up, I decided to spend the next few hours pampering her however she wants me to." Fenrir thumped her chest in pride before raising her chin high as if looking down on the other girls in the room. She had her same crooked smile as she said in a chipper tone, "Fenrir may not be the strongest, but she works super hard to be stronger! One day, Fenrir will be the strongest of all and will get Vahn to pamper her everyday~!" It was Vahns turn to raise his brows slightly because, from how Fenrir worded things, it seemed like she wanted to monopolize him a bit in the future. He already pampered her plentily, nearly every single day, but it seems like she isntpletely satisfied with that. Though he had already resolved himself to be much stronger, Vahn now felt moderately more motivated to increase his strength to stay ahead of the rambunctious little wolf girl. While he was having an internal dialogue, Fenrir had been lecturing the other girls before turning to Vahn and spreading both of her arms as she said, "Vahn, hug Fenir~!" Vahn opened his arms marginally and Fenrirpleted the action and nuzzled against him as she remarked, "See, Vahn is a good boy, he treats Fenrir the best of all~. As long as Fenrir works hard, Vahn will pamper her lots and lots, ehehehe~." As he hade with the intent to pamper her seriously, Vahn held Fenrir tightly and stroked the back of her hair as she wiggled about in his embrace. He could tell she was much stronger than in the past, likely even more powerful than he was currently, as her movements were kind of hard to control and she was able to move about quite a bit even though he hugged her tightly. After a few seconds passed, Vahn heard a small blip in his mind and turned his attention to the system interface where he saw something that brought a smile to his face. -------------------------------------------------------------- //[Petting] Development Ability Unlocked. Current Rank: (I)// 2 OP obtained... 1 OP obtained... 2 OP obtained... -------------------------------------------------------------- Just like when he had obtained the brand new Development Ability [Mentor], Vahn was able to create an entirely new one based on his perception. Since he decided to genuinely consider petting as something that he could get better at over time, much like most Development Abilities, he was able to create an entirely new skill. Vahn didnt gain his abilities through the normal method, which required a person to unlock them when they leveled up. Instead, his were almost exclusively quest rewards from raising his affection with other people and from the Optional Quests he would randomly unlock. Vahn was beginning to understand how The Path allowed him to pursue the freedom he desired, as it made the impossible possible based on the effort he put into things. Since he had a lot of experience petting, he was able to turn it into a Development Ability entirely unique to him. This one was somewhat embarrassing, however, so Vahn intended to keep it a secret for the time being and see how far he could develop it over time. Just being able to gain small amounts of OP while petting the girls made Vahn want tough out and thank The Path for its benevolence. Fenrir, as if noticing a change, raised her head and said, "Master is getting better at pampering Fenrir..." Then, as if to contradict her own words, Fenrir let go of Vahn and freed herself from his arms before walking over to the sofa and saying, "Tina, move, please, Fenrir wants to use the sofa" Tinas eyes opened before she fl.u.s.teredly jumped off the couch while saying, "E-excuse me~nya." After Tina moved, Fenrir nodded her head before patting the sofa and saying, "Vahn, sit here, Fenrir wants to sit on yourp~." Vahn was beginning to feel like things were taking a strange turn, but he was still in a good mood after having unlocked a unique Development Ability so he let Fenrir be a little selfish for the time being and sat on the sofa. After he sat down, Fenrir did something somewhat out of character and climbed ontop with her legs straddling him. Vahns brow twitched very slightly, as Fenrir had usually sat with her back to him so he could brush her hair. Either that, or she wasy on hisp and behave as he stroked her hair and ears. The way she was currently sitting was far more intimate than normal, and Vahn felt a terrifying premonition which was confirmed when Fenrir said, "Vahn, kiss Fenrir~!" Without waiting for Vahn to obey, Fenrir tried to raise her body and steal a kiss from Vahn but he was able to stop her action by holding down her waist. Fenrirs eyes immediately began to glow slightly as she asked, "Vahn wont kiss Fenrir?" To prevent her from making a second attempt, Vahn ced his hand on top of Fenrirs head and used [Hands of Nirvana] to stroke her hair and ears. He noticed that the OP he was earning increased slightly, but he ignored that for now and asked in a soothing tone, "Fenrir is a good girl, why are you trying to make me kiss you so suddenly? That kind of thing-" Fenrir,pletely against the character she had developed, interrupted Vahn and said, "Fenrir has seen Vahn kiss all of the other girls, but he doesnt kiss Fenrir at all. Fenrir knows Vahn is the best to her, but she doesnt understand why Vahn treats her different. Is it because Fenrir is a monster? If Fenrir is a monster, then why does she have to act like a girl and wear clothes? Fenrir doesnt understand, Vahn, please tell Fenrir!" Vahn frowned slightly and looked around at the other girls for a brief moment and saw a guilty look in Shizunes eyes as she averted her gaze away from his when he looked at her. For Fenrir to be behaving like this so suddenly, she must have been influenced by someone else since she was typically rather docile when it came to interacting with him. She usually tried very hard to not make trouble for him, but now she was getting stressed out and trying to force him on the issue. The biggest problem was, Vahn didnt really have an easy way to answer the majority of her questions at all. He treated Fenrir more like a daughter than anything else, and he didnt want her to be like the other girls in his life... After forming his thoughts, Vahn looked into Fenrirs scarlet eyes and framed her face with his hands as he said in a soft tone, "Fenrir, I worry for you a great deal...you know that, right?" Fenrir nodded her head slowly and Vahn continued, "I want you to be able to live a happy life, without that kind of influence. Until you can open your heart to other people, and before you are able to be more mature, I dont think its a good idea to do anything like kissing. Its just like Emiru, Maemi, Haruhime, Preasia, and the other young girls. I can pamper you as much as you want, but until your mind bes more stable, I cant do anything else with you. Since well be together forever, I dont want to see Fenrir be a bad girl that always tries to get her way by force..." Fenrir frowned while Vahn was speaking and he could see her clenching he paws open and closed as her ws constantly changed their length. He knew she was trying to rationalize what he was saying in her own way, and he was even helping her a bit by making his intent known through their bond without directly ordering her to do anything. After thinking for a while, Fenrir lifted her head and asked a question that dealt critical damage to Vahn, "Can you grab Fenrirs butt?" Vahn resolved himself to try and avoid showing too much affection to the other girls in front of Fenrir from now on. He had been so good about avoiding it in the past, but he knows she had seen a fair amount of things he should have kept from her during their trip into the Dungeon. The constantly assault of Ais and Tiona had quickly worn away at his inhibitions before the first day had evene to an end. One of his bad habits involved grabbed the girls butts, so it seemed like Fenrir had taken an interest in it as well. Vahn had washed her body several times, including her small butt, but he had never actually grabbed it before. Being asked in such a question, while he had been waiting for her to work through things, was a bit unexpected for Vahn and his mind nked for a short while after. Fenrir showed a pouting expression and asked in a low voice, "Vahn touches Fenrir lots and lots, so why cant he grab her butt now? Fenrir doesnt understand..." Stirred awake by Fenrirs words, Vahn exined as best he could, "Washing in the bath, massages, and even pampering you, these are all different than what youre asking for Fenrir. There is a big difference between affectionate actions and intimate actions, and I cant do thetter with you until you grow up a little more..." Fenrir continued to show a pouting expression before eventually releasing the first sigh Vahn had ever heard from her. With a somewhat pitiable expression on her face, Fenrir titled her head up and asked in a quiet voice, "Can Fenrir sit on Vahnsp and have him hug her? Fenrir can tell...Vahn isntfortable...but Fenrir wants to be closer to Vahn even more..." This was a much easier request to answer, even though it was a bit awkward being straddled by a girl in a non-intimate manner and Vahn decided to concede defeat and say, "That should be fine, as long as youre wearing proper clothing..." As if all her sadness from earlier had been an illusion, Fenrirs expression became brighter as she hugged around his body and said, "Vahn is the best to Fenrir~!" Vahn stroked the back of her hair and looked around at the other girls in the room with a wry smile on his face. He could see that each girl, especially Shizune and Preasia, had wavering auras that were intermixed with a bit of pink. Vahn hadnt expected the situation to turn so awkward and decided that he needed to make sure to always have one of the older girls around so that he didnt get caught up in the momentum of the youth troupe. After Fenrir had calmed down a bit, Vahn continued to pamper her after he convinced her to interact with the other girls. Just having them awkwardly watch was a bit unnerving, so Vahn ended up in a situation where he helped brush all of their hair, though only after moving to the main study where other people often frequented. Shizune had tried to pitch the idea of Vahn ying dress up with them, but Vahn gently flicked her fluffy ear in response and earned the title of bully from yet another girl. Even though her mind had appeared to have regressed somewhat, she still had all of her memories from her life as a ve. Shizune had made marked improvements in her behavior, but it was very obvious that she wasnt acting like a kid her age. Since Mn had been going into the Dungeon more often, she hadnt been spending as much time with the two young girls and Vahn was considering measures to help them develop into proper a.d.u.l.ts. Syr was often around the Manor, and there was also Tsubaki present, so he could probably have them look after the youth troupe during the day. There was also the possibility of getting Hestia more involved in the Familia, as she was the temporary caretaker of Fenrir before Ryuu moved in. They actually got along very well with each other, as Fenrir was closer to the girls that Vahn was in a dependant rtionship with. Other than Loki, Fenrir got along well with Hephaestus, Eina, Hestia, and Tsubaki, even though she wasnt exactly close with them like she was with Mn, Tina, and Preasia. For the girls that were more reliant on him, Fenrir simply tolerated them, likely because she could sense the stress that they sometimes caused him. Since Hestia was going to be one of the primary caretakers of the children in the future, it would be a good chance for her to get some early practice in...or he could just have all the more mature women rotate the duty? Either way, there was a simple way to resolve the situation so, when they had taken their break to eat lunch Vahn brought the idea up through his own personalwork and knew it would undoubtedly reach the correct person. When he couldnte up with the answer on his own, consulting thework was often the best choice since the girls were actually very sociable with each other and knew a great deal about everyone else on thework. Vahn suspected that, as early as this evening, there would probably be a mother figure around the youth troupe from now on. (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Path is an enabler,Fenrirs Frustrations,Ticking time bomb...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 420 - Control

Chapter 420 - Control

Now that he had the [Petting] Development Ability, Vahn had spent the rest of the day trying to get a better understanding of the skill. Like all Development Abilities, theprehension of the user is what determined its level and, with enough practice, they would even be able to evolve the ability once it reached S-Rank. Since he had just obtained it, the ability was currently only ranked I but, after spending about three hours with the youth troupe, it had increased to H. Since all the girls were Beast-Humans, they each had animal characteristics and were very pettable. Though it looked like hair, Fenrirs head was actually covered in a dense, and somewhat bristly fur. She also had fur on her forearms, calves, and part of her lower back that connected into her bushy tail. Vahn discovered that, by brushing all of her fur, he could obtain around 270 OP in about twenty minutes of effort. It wasnt much, but it was better than obtaining nothing for doing something he would have likely done regardless. As for the other girls, Tina was a Cat Person, so her hair was actually rather smooth and she had a pair of cute little cat ears atop her medium length chestnut brown hair. Though she also had a tail, Vahn knew that was an off-limits territory, as he didnt want to trigger the small cat girl, especially with how aware she was after having her period. She always blushed slightly whenever they interacted in the past, but now her face would turn crimson and she would appear to be struggling after Vahn stroked her head for a while. Shizune was a bit dangerous to pet, since her mentality was somewhat unique, but she had a very fluffy tail and a pair ofrge ears atop her head that were also very soft to the touch. Her reactions when getting pet were a bit much, so Vahn didnt often spend too long pampering her. The most problematic girl, however, was still Preasia. Vahn couldnt ignore her when he was pampering the other three girls so he ended up, for the very first time since she had started staying in the Manor, petting her head for a fair amount of time. Throughout the process, she angled her head up with both of her eyes closed and Vahn could feel her aura surging out like a me as she enjoyed the sensation of his hand atop her head. As he had been using [Hands of Nirvana], since it rewarded more points, she enjoyed it quite a bit. Though most girls enjoyed his touch, Preasia was especially sensitive since he had once used the skill to remove all the horrible scars that had marred her body. After he had stroked around her curly, and remarkable fluffy hair, for around ten minutes, Preasia opened her eyes and asked, "Tail...?" Vahn stopped his instinctive feeling to swallow before shaking his head gently and saying, "Your tail is a bit small..." Because she was a Sheep Person, Preasia tail was rather small and looked more like a tuft, simr to a Rabbit Hume, albeit somewhat longer. For Vahn to pet her tail, he would almost be stroking her butt at the same time just by proximity. Lifting it up and fondling it seemed a bit dangerous as well, so Vahn didnt think it was a good idea since he didnt have that type of rtionship with Preasia. Preasia continued to stare up at Vahn for several seconds before a light blush covered her cheeks and she said, "I...dont mind..." Vahn released a very small sigh through his nose without letting the smile fade from his face as he shook his head and said, "Sorry, Preasia, I dont think youre ready for things like that. I..." He wanted to say that he couldnt bear the emotional burden of having to take care of her right now, and that he wanted her to be more stable, but Vahn also knew about the efforts she had been putting intely. Other than when she was around him, Preasia had been getting along well with the other girls and often spent time going about and helping out with various tasks. She was also earnestly studying with Riveria while also learning how to mix potions and treat wounds with Chloe and Naaza. Preasia wasnt the type of girl that wanted to ever go into the Dungeon, so she wanted to be useful by being able to take care of everyone back home...even though Vahn would likely be the one called in an actual emergency. This was one of the reasons why Vahn didnt know how to deal with Preasia because he didnt know when it was appropriate for them to actually be closer. Even though Haruhime and the twins were in the same category as her, Vahn had actually shared a number of intimate moments with the other three girls. It was because he had seen the efforts they were putting in while he only heard about the efforts Preasia was making. Realizing this, Vahn began to feel like he had wronged the petite young girl, even though she was older than he was... Seeing the somewhat mncholic look on Preasias face, Vahnmented in his mind, ("Vahn Mason...youre way too weak against the tears of girls...") Then, without too much hesitation, Vahn tried to keep a straight face as he gently caressed Preasias rtively small tail. Her body startled for a brief moment before she tried to stand closer to his chest. Unfortunately, she didnt seem ustomed to such an action and Vahn took her horns straight to his diaphragm. His endurance was far higher than any threshold she would be able to ovee, but it still felt like a hard thump that made her be muddleheaded after the fact as she said, "Awaaau, Im sorry, Vahn..." Vahn chuckled at her cute reaction and ced his hand atop her head and said, "Its fine, well try it again next time. Riveria is probably waiting for me, so Ill head over there soon. Watch over the little ones for me, okay?" For a brief moment, the mncholy had returned to Preasias face before her expression normalized and she said, "Yes...Ill do my best too..." Vahn nodded his head and remarked, "I know, Preasia, youre doing great..." before patting all the girls on their head onest time and making his way towards the Library where he researched various things with Riveria. They were still studying what she had named Essence since it seemed to be capable of absorbing pure elemental energy into theplex molecr structure. Unfortunately, though Vahn could see the molecules themselves, he couldnt push his vision to the extent where he could see theplex structure thatprised them. It was hard to believe, but Vahn suspected that each molecule actually had a formation that allowed it to absorb mana, perhaps made up of the atoms themselves. Of course, he had no way of verifying this presently and it might just be some kind of special liquid that had been made through alchemy, something he hadnt really studied that much yet. It would be easiest to ask the red-haired woman, but Vahn didnt think she would be too open for civil discussion. At this point, he was almost positive that the only thing that kept her from attacking him was the presence of the other girls around him at the time. As he had been unable to understand how the liquid actually worked, Vahn had been trying other experiments while Riveria tested several hypotheses she hade up with. Vahn knew that the Essence was incredibly responsive to his domain and he had be increasingly adept at controlling it. After seeing how easily Riveria was able to channel her mana into it, Vahn had gotten the idea to try and infuse the elemental energies from the atmosphere into the Essence and had managed to make several simultaneous breakthroughs immediately thereafter. Though he couldnt infuse his own source energy into the liquid, he could use his domain as an intermediary and give it the properties of the elements in the air. The curious thing was, it didnt just have to be water elements as they were receptive to all types of elemental energies. When he had first tried the experiment, Vahn used what he was most adept at and tried infusing fire elements into the water while expecting it to evaporate into steam. However, to his and Riverias surprise, the Essence actually just turned ruby red with an orange glow contained within. Curious, Vahn pooled the fluid in his hands and could feel that it was incredibly hot to the touch, not that it was able to burn him. When he poured it into a basin that he had filled with water, it began evaporating the contents rapidly until the only remaining was the Fire Essence at the bottom. After a while, it even started to melt the metal basin and Vahn quickly removed it before dispersing the elemental energies contained within. From this experiment, they understood that the Essence was definitely not water, even though its basic appearance was very simr, albeit with a subtle blue glow. Though he had much less control over them, Vahn tried infusing other elements into the Essence and had varying degrees of sess, but remarkably no failures. Just like it was able to absorb pure elemental energy from the air to replenish the contained mana within the molecules, it was perfectly capable of adapting to each individual elemental energy as well. When he put water elements into it, the Essence became a deeper blue color that left behind a cloud of condensation as Vahn manipted it through the air. When he tried earth elements, it became simr to mud and could quickly transition from a fluid state into a solid state. Vahn had found this very interesting since it was almost like having a, very fragile, transformation weapon. The coolest experiment of all though was when he infused air elemental energy into the Essence and it became a vibrant green color with a subtle azure core. When Vahn moved it through the air, it created a small tempest and, when he moved it very quickly, it even served as a solid de of air. Though he had already seen a lot of potential uses for the Essence, Vahn understood it had a high potential to be used as a weapon if he could mass produce it. Since it didnt take much of his own energy to manipte, Vahn could theoretically have an entire pool full of the Essence and freely use it to fight his enemies. Since it didnt get evaporated from fire, it didnt seem to have any major weaknesses besides entering a clear, and inert, state when it was out of mana. Vahn currently had around 5,000kg of the Essence in its base state and, after a fair amount of experimentation, knew he could exercise control over the entire volume if he didnt do anythingplex. The only downside to this was that it took a very long time to actually infuse elemental energies into such arge shape and the speed of the fluid slowed down a great deal if he tried to keep it all together. Vahn had tried aplex experiment by creating smaller orbs that could revolve around him, but his perception couldnt keep track of so many objects at once and they would quickly break down. This didnt really deter him, however, and he actually found that it was an excellent way to improve his control over his own energy in the future. When he had discussed how inefficient his magic was with Riveria, even though his control was actually very high, she spected that it was likely that his control was actually skewed a great deal and not nearly as developed as he imed it to be. Vahn was very good at focusing on specific things very intensely, and could even emte things that he had observed after simting it a lot within his mind. However, even though he could do this, his adaptability was actually terrible and his control over a broader spectrum of energy was nearly nonexistent. He had always been making use of his domain as an intermediary for his control and, now that he was having to do things manually, his skills were subpar at best. If Vahn could learn to control his source energy properly and filter it several times to the point where it was morepatible with mana, he might very well be able to use magic normally. Even though the system was wed, it was still very powerful since Vahns capacity for using magic was inordinately high with his imaging capabilities. Source energy was simply too strong to be used normally within the record and this was the reason he struggled when it came to things like mixing and using magic. He had been able to avoid trouble when it came to cksmithing only because it took a very intense focus and he was able to make use of his domain throughout the entire process. Magic was an internal process and mixing was closer to chemistry than anythingparable to forging. Using his source energy to enchant the regent simply caused it to explode, regardless of the amount he used. Unless the ingredients were very high quality, Vahn would never be able to make use of his [Mixing] ability without learning how to better control his energy and convert it into a useable form. Fortunately, his practice with the Essence may very well prove to be the key to improving his control in the interim and he was certain that Evas training would be the penultimate solution. Besides, it was cool to be able to manipte a fluid that could turn into any element since it looked very simr to telekinesis and was incredibly versatile. --- During the evening, after his research, and subsequent training, waspleted, Vahn had taken a bath with the girls before they all sat down and enjoyed a meal together. Vahn noticed that both Tsubaki and Mn were sitting with the youth troupe now and this brought a smile to his face because he knew that word had quickly spread through thework. Speaking of which, the popr topic of conversation seemed to be rted to the uing wedding and everyone was in a buzz about it and it was one of the only things anyone was talking about during dinner. As they were speaking, the girls would give Vahn amused nces and ask if he had made any preparations regarding the event and he knew they were insinuating that he had been working on a surprise for Hephaestus and Eina. The frustrating part is, even though he tried desperately to keep it hidden, the girls could easily see through his facial expression and seemed to derive some pleasure from making him fl.u.s.ter about and evade answering them directly. Vahn kept note of how many times each girl teased him and promised that, when he was making outfits for them in the future, he would get even with them at the time. After dinner had finallye to an end, Vahn became incredibly motivated and wanted to put his new [Petting] ability to the ultimate test and invited Chloe, Arnya, and Aki to spend the night with him. Every time he was with the three cat girls, it was always a very exciting experience and Vahn had quickly developed a unique appreciation for the grooming habits of the girls. Though it would undoubtedly devolve to the point where they were having s.e.x with each other, Vahn knew that a great deal of their time together would be pure petting. The girls would reciprocate his actions by licking all over his body and it had be mildly addictive since their rough tongues were surprisingly pleasant against his bare skin and they proactively licked almost every part of his body. Aki hadnt had the habit before, but the moment she saw Arnya and Chloe doing it, she had immediately joined in on the fray and now it always turned into a situation where Vahn would end up being groomed by the three girls after they were done making love. He would also spend a fair amount of time listening to Akis and Arnyas bellies, while Chloe teased him about getting pregnant herself...eventually. By the time the night hade to an end, Vahn had increased his [Petting] Development Ability from H to G and he had learned a great deal about how to properly use it. It seemed to enhance almost all touches he performed on the girls, including his massages, and they hadplimented him several times for his increased skill. Even though he hadnt been bad at petting them before, each girl noticed a marked difference and couldnt help but bring it up after experiencing the change. Vahn just exined that he was trying new ways to make the girls happy and they epted it rtively easily, even though he knew they suspected there was more to his words. Regardless of everything else, this brought his total OP gain for the entire day, excluding the amount he gained from converting magic cores andpleting Einas dress, to 17,393. Since this was a result of him just petting the girls, Vahn was very satisfied with the result and he knew that he would be able to earn even more in the future. There was even a very real chance that, if he managed to get the ability all the way to S-Rank, it would evolve into something even better... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Petting Fiend, Vahn Mason,Birth of the first bender~!,Licky licky~nya?) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 421 - Blazing Passion

Chapter 421 - zing Passion

When Vahn awoke the next morning, he looked over to the side and saw Chloe and Aki ovepped with each other from the previous night while Arnya was sprawled out over his body in a very unbing manner. Since he hadnt seen this habit from Mn and Tina, Vahn was rtively sure it wasnt a racial trait of Cat Persons, but every time he was with the girls they always slept in awkward positions unless they were snuggled up with him. It created an interesting and somewhat tantalizing view as he could once again see Chloes pale white butt exposed to the air, so Vahn didnt really have anyints and just reached out his hand to cop a feel after noticing her eyelids flutter awake. Chloe opened her green eyes that seemed to glow slightly in the low light before peeling Aki off of her and rolling over next to Vahn to say, "Nyahaha, youre so affectionate all of a sudden~." Vahn couldnt stop himself from smiling at her words because he had gained 2 OP from sneaking in his earlier touch. He wanted to increase the rank of the skill quickly, as it was a very interesting ability, so Vahn would be a little more proactive for the foreseeable future. Leaning in, Vahn kissed Chloe on her lips while reaching down with his right hand and thumbing the tail of Arnya, who was pretending to be asleep whileying across his body. He could feel her tail twitch under his touch as she released a mewling sound intermixed with a yawn and said, "Am I still dreaming~nya? Vahnya doesnt even give me time to rest even when Im asleep, nyaafuuuuu~." Hearing Arnyas words, Vahn brought his kiss with Chloe to a momentary end and released a heartyugh before saying in a somewhat cheeky manner, "Its still a little early, let me pamper the three of your for a bit before we head down to the bath~." As he spoke, Vahn activated his [Hands of Nirvana] to the full extent of its potential and traced his index finger up Arnyas spine as her mewls tickled his heart. The didnt have enough time to go another round, but Vahn could help their bodies wake up and re-energize them for theing day. His actions incited them to take action as well and Vahn ended up in a strange situation where he had all three girls leaning against his body as he passed his hands over their chests, bellies, backsides, and tails. Chloe had already been in the optimal position, so she ended up being the one to kiss his lips while Arnya and Aki licked the sides of his head in an extremely affectionate manner... --- After enjoying a rose-colored morning, Vahn ended up back in his workshop with a huge grin on his face. He didnt remember when it happened, but there hade a point where he was much less proactive in petting the girls. In the past, Vahn could recall several memories where he always seemed to be petting someone but, after everyone moved into the Manor, he noticed he had cut back on it a great deal. Other than when he was praising the girls for doing well, Vahn had been trying to act with a bit of reservation so as not to incite anyone to inadvertently cause undue stress that could disrupt the synergy of the group. Since he was quite fond of touching the girls, Vahn liked the new change after awakening his [Petting] because the way the girls acted when he was touching them made him feel happy. Even when they had been taking a bath, Vahn noticed he got a lot more OP when he was helping wash their bodies than when performing simple touches. This showed there was a lot about the ability he wasnt aware of yet and the thought excited him greatly. In fact, it was so distracting that Vahn intended to do something fun during his lunch break today and was already looking forward to it with a child-like giddiness as he skillfully cut patterns of silk with the precision of a machine. Vahn was going to be making apanying garments today and, since it was an important experiment to him, he would be creating several different designs to test a variety of interactions he was curious about. As for what he was currently working on, he was cutting pieces of silk into three different sections that, if they were to even take a momentary nce at them, anyone would be able to recognize them as the three sections of a pair of panties. All across his worktable, there were several different pairs that he had purchased from the shop as well, all so that he could do research, so Vahn was sitting with arge grin and an apparent giddiness in his body as he unabashedly designed panties for the girls to wear. It wasnt a whimsy he had in the past, something which might fade with time, no. Vahn genuinely wanted to be able to design an S-Ranked lingerie in the future and he was taking his first steps on that long road starting now. After doing a bit of research, Vahn learned that most panties were split into three different sections, front, back, and the connecting cloth that served as a bridge between the two pieces and also acted to catch fluids that the girls might emit through exertion or during their periods. There were some risque designs that took a great deal more cloth, and some rtively reserved ones that only took a single piece, but Vahn was starting with the basics for the time being. Fortunately, the [Emberwisp Silk] and [Tesarian Blue Silk] were both moderately stretchable fabrics that expanded in all four necessary directions to make them form fitting to the body. The material became somewhat transparent when stretched to the limits, but Vahn thought this would just enhance the image and didnt mind it too much. He did, however, make sure that the inner lining was properly installed to cover all the important areas. Though the silk was veryfortable to the touch, this wouldnt necessarily be true after they had undergone wear and tear through use. Most panties had a cloth inner lining that would serve to soak up sweat and make the garment morefortable against the particrly delicate areas. To hold everything together, Vahn had to purchase a thin stic band that would hold everything together after he sewed a pattern into surface. With his dexterous fingers, that would make seamstress cry tears of jealousy, Vahn was able toplete the first fiery red pair of panties after just an hour and forty minutes of effort. This was more time than he anticipated, but Vahn had gotten somewhat distracted trying to ensure everything went well. It felt a little awkward to be handling womens underwear for such a long period of time and he hadnt quite adapted the proper mentality yet. His end product was a rtively simple pair of panties that created a strange incongruity because of the valuable materials that went into their construction. Since he hadnt tried anything experimental just yet, it was expected that his prototype wouldnt look that amazing. Vahn was simply curious about how high a grade he could make a simple piece of cloth after putting in a marginal amount of effort into its construction. Satisfied that he had met his own requirements, Vahn picked up the zing red pair of panties by the stretchy band and tested its stretchiness with his hands before saying, "You shall be known as the first of the [zing Passion] series of lingerie...protect my girls properly, okay?" Though it felt strange to be talking to a pair of panties, Vahn did so confidently and a small magical light shed and he earned 308OP. -------------------------------------------------------------- [zing Passion Panties] Rank: D Slots: 0 P.Def: 13 M.Def: 40 Abilities: Fire Resistance(D), Weatherproof(E), Insted(E) A pair of panties forged with an inordinate amount of care that belies the simplicity of their design. Created with the intent that the creator would have the same fervent passion viewing them on the body of a woman as he had during their production. -------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn felt an urge to puke up blood after reading the description of the ability since it made him sound like a bit of a pervert. However, he was able to bury the dark thoughts and still show a smile on his face because of the triple abilities and the defensive stats that were present on a rtively thin and flimsy looking piece of clothing. As for why the stats were rtively low, Vahn knew it was simply a result of the fact he hadnt used a lot of rare materials in its construction. He hadnt sewn any formation into them, nor did he infuse any magic cores or rare metals. They were just a simple pair of panties that also had much higher defensive parameters than youd expect from first appearances. Now that he had his weapon in hands, Vahn had a cheeky smile on his face as he set them to the side and started production on the second pair. He was very tempted to put his n into action immediately but knew it was too early to do so as it would interfere with his work. For now, he wanted to familiarize himself with the process of developing the garments and put all of his focus into a pseudo-mass production mode. He had purchased several different types of silk from the shop and also had a fair amount of matchingce that he could use to embellish his future products. He wanted to test and see if simple embellishments could enhance the rank of the final product in order to efficiently increase the rank of future garments as far as possible. Unlike weapons and armor, clothing was the type of thing you change very often and Vahn knew it would be impossible, at least for now, to make several A and S ranked garments for each girl. When the second block of his schedule finally arrived, Vahn had finished an additional two pairs of panties, one blue and the second ck. Since he couldnt think of a better name on the spot, Vahn decided to go with his earlier naming convention and called the first pair [Cool Passion] and the second pair [Midnight Passion]. He had originally been tempted to call the ck pair as [Dark Passion], but the name sounded a bit dangerous and he changed to something more reserved. The [Cool Passion] had a fair amount ofce sewn into it and Vahn had even adorned it with a small, vibrant blue, ribbon on the front. As for the [Midnight Passion], Vahn made them rtively in but had affixed two small, pale gold, gemstones on the front and back. It took a fair amount of effort, but he also painstakingly inscribed a small formation using a needle to trace liquid golden ink across the band... -------------------------------------------------------------- [Cool Passion Panties] Rank: D Slots: 0 P.Def: 20 M.Def: 51 Abilities: Ice Resistance(D), Weatherproof(D), Insted(E) A pair of panties forged with an inordinate amount of detail by a passionate Master Smith that grew enamored with the production process. Thece was designed to draw the eye to the concealed garden in the center and inspires thoughts of slowly peeling away the fabric to reveal the secrets contained within. -------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- [Midnight Passion Panties] Rank: C Slots: 0 P.Def: 19 M.Def: 72 Abilities: Tantalizing Fragrance(C), Size-Correction(C), Weatherproof(D), Insted(E) A pair of panties forged with an inordinate amount of detail by a crazed Master Smith that became obsessed with drawing power from a pair of panties. These panties can increase the potency of pheromones emitted by the wearer, but they only affect their intended target instead of influencing innocent bystanders. -------------------------------------------------------------- Every time Vahn read the descriptions of the panties, he felt an urge to hammer his head against the wall after retorting to whatever function within The Path that created the descriptions. Each one made him seem progressively more like a deviant, but at least the parameters were increasing as well. Since only he could see the descriptions, he wouldnt have to worry about being embarrassed so he put the matter to the back of his mind for the time being and just appreciated his handiwork. He hadnt been able to verify what the Size-Correction ability did, but Vahn had hopes that it actually changed the size of the panties to match the wearer. Though he had the measurements of the girls in his mind, Vahn didnt have much experience designing lingerie and there was a very real chance it would be ufortable for some of the girls because of their size. With his weapons prepared, Vahn had a smile on his face as he stored the garments into his inventory and made his into the connecting corridor leading towards the area where Tsubakis personal forge was located. Vahn trusted Tsubaki to keep his secret for him, at least until he could give the dresses to Hephaestus and Eina tomorrow. He also wanted to spend more time with her with just the two of them so he could hear more details about her past so they could build a stronger bond. Vahn was nning to use the [Hearts Desire: Tsubaki Collbrande] after the fact, so he had been looking forward to the moment ever since the thought first crossed his mind. He could also use the opportunity to tease Tsubaki a bit and get her to try on the panties he had created. She had the most sizeable h.i.p.s amongst the girls he associated with so he would have to give her the [Midnight Passion Panties] to pensate. Just imagining her wearing the simple, yet tantalizingly ck, garment made Vahns heart itch a fair amount. Tsubaki had beautiful brown skin and the colors red and ck suited her body very well and would ent her shapely figure even further. As their proximity was very close to each other, Vahn arrived at Tsubakis forge after just a few seconds and entered the open doorway where he could hear the sounds of metalworking being done. He saw Tsubakis skin glistening with ayer of sweat as she removed the facemask that she had been wearing and looked back at him with a smile. There was a small amount of soot masking her face, so Vahn also smiled widely before standing off to the side so she could finish her work. Since they would also be eating lunch, Vahn set out a table with a small single-person sofa chair that he intended to exploitter. Vahn used his domain to clear a bubble around him before setting some aromatic dishes on the table and waiting patiently for Tsubaki to wrap up whatever she was working on. After a few minutes, Tsubaki finished organizing her tools before releasing a satisfied sigh and asking, "Got a towel" Vahn tossed over a towel that had been stored within his inventory and Tsubaki wiped off her face and several parts of her exposed skin before tossing it back to Vahn with a cheeky grin on her face as she asked, "Well, what brings you to my forge so suddenly? I can think of a few reasons, but Im curious what excuse youlle up with to get in my pants~?" Vahn had just been reaching out to grab the towel before dropping it after hearing Tsubakis words. He knew she was just teasing him but her words had already taken the momentum away from him and made it slightly more difficult to progress forward. Tsubaki waved her hand dismissively as sheughed in a boisterous manner before saying, "Dont worry about it, Ive actually been expecting you to stop by any day now. I imagine you probably want to ask a bit about my past, probably tease me a bit to ease the awkwardness, and then well have a long bout of passionate love-making, right?" Before Vahn answered her question, Tsubakis grin grew much wider and she said, "I didnt even have to use my backup guesses at all...seems I hit the bullseye on the first attempt? Hahahahaha!" As sheughed, Tsubaki walked over and picked up a chicken leg before unceremoniously sitting in Vahnsp and cing her free arm around his shoulders and leaning into him. After taking a bite of the chicken leg, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his slightly open mouth and inserted her tongue, along with the small piece of chicken, into his mouth. When she pulled away, Tsubaki had a slight blush on her face as she smiled and said, "I imagine things will be harder if you just sit there with a nk expression on your face, Vahn. Come, lets eat and Ill tell you a few things about myself to make you feel better." After she finished speaking, Tsubaki bit off another piece of chicken and held it in her teeth as she smiled widely and leaned forward. Instead of inserting it directly into his mouth, Tsubaki maintained a short distance away from Vahn until he leaned forward and took the piece of meat from her mouth of his own volition. Vahn wasnt sure how he had forgotten this simple fact, but Tsubaki wasnt the type that liked to lose the momentum in a situation. His hopes of teasing her and controlling the situation were wed from the start and the best he could do was pick up some minor advantages along the way. He knew he would be the inevitable victor, but it was still aplicated feeling to be teased so easily by an older woman, even though she looked very youthful. Vahn reached his right arm around her waist before taking the piece of chicken from her hand so she could grab some food for herself as they talked. Tsubaki c.o.c.ked her head to the side in a thoughtful expression for a few seconds before saying in a casual manner, "Well, Ive already thought of what I wanted to say beforehand, so Ill keep it pretty short for now and then build on it if it ever bes important in the future. Lets see now...ah, though it might look like Im from the Far East, it was actually my mother that immigrated to Orario long before I was born. She was an aplished cksmith in the Hephaestus Familia, so she built a small residence that emted the style from the Far East and taught me the traditions as I grew up. Her name was Sakuya Mitsubaki and she was both an aplished warrior and cksmith...she was my role model, mentor, and my beloved mother..." Though she had started off casually and confidently, Tsubaki became somewhat solemn as she spoke about her mother. Seeing Vahns expression, Tsubaki poked his face with her somewhat greasy finger and said, "Anyways, as for my father, his named was Gawain Collbrande, a dwarf that came to Orario from the Iron Hills in the search of new techniques to further his cksmithing skills. He and my mother hit it off, since he appreciated the unique technique she possessed even though she was both a woman and a human. However, after he knocked up my mother, the bum ran away back to the Iron Hills without looking back. He left my mother to raise me on her own and, even though I didnt understand her reason for doing so, she had given me his family name and told me not to resent him. I dont have any respect for that coward, but I also dont hold any real grudges against him except for the fact that he didnt even show up when mother died...I sent several letters through the dwarven caravans, but I never got a single response in return..." Even though she imed not to have any grudges against the man, Vahn could tell that Tsubaki would probably string him up if she got the opportunity. There was a deep resentment in her red eyes that glimmered with a borderline murderous light. After sheposed herself a bit, she showed a wry smile and continued, "To return the care my mother had put into raising me, I pursue the dual path of a warrior and cksmith and honed my skills to the best of my ability. When I was around sixteen, I met a guy that I thought I would be able to spend the rest of my life with and we worked hard together to build our dream of having a family of our own. Unfortunately, when we were on an expedition, he ended up taking a bad hit from a monster and died from his wounds soon after. That was around ten years ago, so I had been abstinent ever since then and given up on having children of my own...until some idiot came along and overstepped his boundaries until he eventually broken down my resistances..." As if she were trying to cover up her earlier mncholy, Tsubaki leaned in and kissed Vahn in a rtively passionate manner for a few long seconds. He could take a bit of the honey that was used to season the meat intermixed with her saliva and did his best to reciprocate her affection since he knew she was hurting a bit. After they separated, Tsubaki showed a gentle smile and ced her slightly greasy hand against Vahns cheeks and affectionately stroked it. Seeing the traces her fingers left behind, she began tough before saying, "That about sums up my past, without going into any finer details. I guess some important stuff would be Hephaestus making me her protege after my mother died and things like my promotion to Captain and obtaining [Master Smith], but those arent really that important at the moment. The only thing that really matters, the thing you need to keep in mind from now on, is that I love you, Vahn. You have given me more in thest few months than I ever expected to receive from another person for the rest of my life..." Tsubaki took Vahns greasy left hand and ced it against her own abdomen where the almost imperceptible pink imprint still remained. With a coy smile on her face, Tsubaki slowly closed the distance between them as she asked in a sensual tone, "The question now is...how do you n to take responsibility? You should be able to see it, right, from my aura? Even when were apart, its like my body remembers your touch...youve turned me into a bit of a strange woman now, havent you?" Vahn could see a passionate red in Tsubakis aura that had been showing subtle signs of emerging ever since he first stepped into her forge. He knew that he had been a little irresponsible in how he treated her in the past and she had even confessed toforting herself during the nights they were apart. Because of her refreshed nerves, Tsubakis body was especially sensitive ever since he used Nirvana on her and she even imed there was an increased effect from his [Hands of Nirvana] on her body after the fact, something which Vahn had already verified as the truth. It wasnt mentioned in the manual, so it was a bit of a surprise to him as it seemed like her body could constantly be nourished just by using the normal version of [Hands of Nirvana] on her. It was almost simr to how he infused energy into Fafnir and Fenrir, so Vahn suspected it was something akin to a mutation that had resulted from his source energy being the catalyst used to perform the technique. During the momentarypse in his thoughts, Tsubaki had started kissing him deeply while pressing her ample bosom against his chest. Though she had wiped her body down earlier, there was still a sheen to her healthy brown skin and Vahns body was quickly stirred to action by her advances. He could prevent himself from responding but, after hearing about the matter from Syr, he decided to let himself act more natural to encourage the girls. Syr had told him that, if a girl was trying to tease him and he didnt have the proper reaction, it might hurt their pride a little. Judging by how Tsubakis aura red up when she felt the bulge in his pants, Vahn knew that Syrs words werent incorrect... Before things got out of control, Vahn decided to try and gain a bit of momentum for himself so he lifted Tsubakis body and stood from the sofa before setting her back down. She was going to embrace him again, but Vahn reached out with both of his hands and grabbed her b.r.e.a.s.ts and kept her at bay. Tsubaki had a questioning look on her face as she looked down at his hands and said, "Did you want to do a bit of forey first? Trust me, Vahn, my body is already more than ready after all that build up earlier..." Vahn shook his head with a smile and said, "There is plenty of time for things like that, after all, we have more than three hours left of the second block of the day..." Hearing his words, Tsubaki swallowed slightly before swiping his hands away and creating a bit of distance as she asked, "So, what are you scheming then?" With a cheeky grin on his face, Vahn pulled out the [Midnight Passion Panties] and tossed them over to the confused Tsubaki as he said, "I forged these, take a look at let me know what you think. Ah, please keep it a secret for the time being, at least until tomorrow evening." Tsubaki had a trained eye and could easily see through some of the secrets contained within the silky ck lingerie Vahn had casually tossed to her. It wasnt the first time she had seen cloth armor, but it was definitely the first time she had seen someone create a pair of panties as a piece of equipment...just imagining the serious expression on Vahns face as he forged them made her want to smack him upside his handsome little head. Thinking her incredulous look was due to confusion, Vahn exined, "Even though its thin silk, it has the capabilities of some leather armors and also possesses four abilities, including two unique ones, one of which Im sure youll find interesting when you try them on." Hearing Vahns words, Tsubakis brows raised slightly and she began tough before asking, "So this is your game, eh? Ive never yed dress-up for a boy before, so this should be an interesting experience." As she spoke, Tsubaki casually held the panties with her teeth as she began to strip out of her clothing. She had only been wearing her red hakama, sarashi, and maroon bottoms, so it didnt take long for her to remove them all and reveal that she was actually already wearing a pair of ck panties. Vahn had been drawn to the sight, especially when Tsubaki was peeling them off her captivatingly long legs. When she had finished, Tsubaki showed a cheeky smile of her own as she threw the still warm pair of panties toward Vahns face like an arrow. Vahn was, fortunately, able to snatch the fast moving projectile in his hand and, thinking he could tease her a little, leaned forward slightly to give it a sniff. Tsubaki justughed in response and asked, "So, anything other than sweat mixed in there~?" As she implied, there was a very womanly fragranceing from the panties and Vahn had long noticed they were moist to the touch so he nodded his head in affirmation of her question. As she was wearing the [Midnight Passion Panties], Tsubakimented, "Theyre a bit small...are you trying to tease me and say my butts big? I figured that would...be..." Tsubakis words trailed off because she noticed that the size of the panties had increased to match her proportions and she was easily able to get them around her h.i.p.s. They were a little small by design, but they didnt cut into her at all and she knew that the small golden gemstones likely had something to do with it. To answer her confusion, Vahn exined with a smile, "They have an auto-sizing function ability...Im nning to make an under armor for all the girls in the manor, so I wanted toe up with a method to make the fabric fit everyone without having to make adjustments." Tsubaki gave Vahn a slightly incredulous look before a teasing smile appeared on her face and she asked, "Just how much effort did you put into one pair of panties, Vahn? Dont get me wrong, I appreciate the efforts greatly, but I cant help but feel youre walking down a strange path." Vahn had been tempted to tell Tsubaki about his dream of creating S-Ranked lingerie, but he decided to put that off for the time being until it was considered normal for him to do such things. For now, he just smiled and said in a teasing tone, "I made a few simple pairs, but I was afraid I wouldnt be able to make any that would fit your wlessly shaped, plump, sof-" Tsubaki turned into a blur and appeared next to Vahn before knocking the top of his head with a slight flush on her face. Though it was a surprisingly painful strike, Vahn was distracted by Tsubakis freely hanging and shapely b.r.e.a.s.ts that had moved about a great deal from her movement... Seeing Vahns gaze, Tsubakis blush became even deeper and she reached forward and grabbed the cor of his tunic and ripped it off his body. Vahns eyes widened as Tsubaki pulled him close and said in a sensual tone, "Ill teach you to tease me...someone needs to educate you properly or you might hurt the feelings of other girls in the future..." As she spoke, Tsubaki had reached around Vahns back and yfully grabbed his butt in the same manner he often did to her. Before their conflict began, Tsubaki gave Vahn a few more guiding words, "Dont expect all the girls to simply wait to be teased...unless youre willing to be on the receiving end as well...?" Vahn didnt mind such things, but it was still somewhat frustrating to be teased, especially when he knew she was acting out a bit. However, since he often did the exact same thing, Vahn let the matter slide and simply resolved himself to oveing the situation and getting an advantage. One of the reasons he hade to Tsubaki today was to put his [Petting] ability to the test. She had a very high tolerance but was also incredibly susceptible to his [Hands of Nirvana]. Vahn wanted to see how much OP he could get by tending to Tsubakis body while they were making love. He had originally intended to simply give her a massage, but he wasnt going to deny the advances of one of the women closest to his heart... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lingerie Designer, Vahn Mason,Tsubakis Maturity,Vahns scheme...?) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 422 - Intuition

Chapter 422 - Intuition

Vahn had learned a great deal during his rendezvous with Tsubaki within the warm confines of her forge. Chief amongst them is that she was currently, as far as he could tell, the best method to generate OP through the use of his [Petting] Development Ability. He had already confirmed this was the case previously, but using his actual massage techniques increased the amount OP he received through the skill and also increased the efficacy of [Hands of Nirvana] at the same time. Since he had already pushed his massage technique to S-Rank, Vahn was excited at the possibility of one day increasing the skill even further and breaking the limit of its potential. He was aware that his Nirvana was actually different than the described version, most likely due to his source energy, so increasing the potency of the skill even further was a tremendous boon. In the three hours he was with Tsubaki, other than getting her to call his name a few times, Vahn had managed to .u.mte an additional 7,143OP. This was more than producing an A-Rank piece of equipment and made Vahn giddy with expectations about the future. Unfortunately, as he had gotten somewhat carried away, he ended up receiving Tsubakis punishment when she managed to recover which inevitably led to him being nearly suffocated in her b.r.e.a.s.ts before she released him and let Vahny on her stomach. He spent the remaining time they had together listening for signs of life, which had be a very ther.a.p.eutic thing for Vahn in thest couple of days. When their break had officiallye to an end, Vahn was helping Tsubaki wipe down her body with a hot damp cloth that also had the functionality of diffusing scents. Vahn knew he wouldnt always have time to take a bath every time he released his tensions during the day, so he had scoured the shop until he found a solution to his problem with the beast-humans being present in the Manor. It wasnt that he was embarrassed to have daylight rendezvous with the girls, and he knew it would spread regardless of the actions he took, Vahn just didnt want to inconvenience himself and his partner by forcing them to have to bath every time they were together. Besides, wiping down the body of the woman after the fact was something Vahn was very fond of since it felt like he was taking personal care of their bodies and it also allowed him to help recover any fatigue they might feel. As he was wiping the sweat off her b.r.e.a.s.ts, Vahn had stopped his hands for a moment so Tsubaki smiled widely and asked, "How are they~?" Vahn nodded his head with an earnest expression on his face and said inly, "They have a great shape a full feel to them. I could be off by a bit, but Id say theyre nearly 9kgbined...its amazing that you can fit nearly a fifth of your body weight on just your chest..." Tsubaki began tough loudly at Vahns words before swatting away his hands and taking the towel from him. With a lecturing tone, she gave Vahn an appraising look and stated, "Vahn, you say too much, too often, but at least youre honest about how you feel. Ill finish up here myself since you shouldnt keep others waiting...ah, by the way, Ill be keeping these." Tsubaki held up the [Midnight Passion Panties] for Vahn to see andmented, "I want to study them for a bit and see if I can crack the principles behind them on my own. In exchange, you can keep my earlier pair that you sneakily stowed away with your storage magic. Make sure to wash themter, okay~? Vahn gnashed his teeth slightly at the impact of Tsubakis words because it made him sound like a pervert that collected warm panties from his women. Other than Tsubakis current pair, Vahn only had a pair belonging to Loki so he didnt think it was a fair usation to make. Shaking his head, Vahn walked forward and embraced Tsubaki for a short while before preparing to leave. Thinking he could get an advantage, he decided to cop a feel of her butt as well and, when he separated from the embracemented, "I think your butt weighs more than your b.r.e.a.s.ts..." Using [Shundo] to evade the smack that was approaching his head, Vahn exited through the door after auto-equipping his clothing and running away before the blushing tyrant could get her hands on him. As he made his way through the Manor, Vahn wasnt exactly sure what he should be doing right now. Tsubaki might have told him not to keep others waiting, but he hadnt actually made any ns for the afternoon since Riveria had gone into the Dungeon. He could do a bit of research for himself, but his perception was slightly askew from normal and it was hard to break the currentmon sense of the world without someone deeply rooted in it nearby. Passing his perception over the entire Manor, Vahn looked to see who was currently within the residence and saw Hestia with Tina, Shizune, and Preasia, while Syr seemed to be in the kitchen chopping vegetables, likely for use in this evening dinner. Everyone else was currently either in the Dungeon or out on the City, so Vahn could only rely on his Status Logbook to find out if anyone was avable to have fun. If not, it wouldnt be such a bad thing to go spend time with Hestia and the youth troupe for the afternoon. Other than Tsubaki, who was still Free, most of the girls were currently Busy - In the Dungeon. The ones that were currently avable were Hestia, Loki, Syr, Aisha, Anubis, and Nanu. Loki could be fun to hang out with and Vahn hadnt visited the Twilight Manor in some time, but there were a few names that caught his eye that made him ruminate over the matter for a short while. For her to be on the list, Aisha had to have received permission from thework, but Vahn had never actually spent any time with her at all. Vahn still remembered his first fateful meeting with Aisha and how she had tried to tempt him by removing her bottoms in the middle of an alleyway. Even though he had only taken a brief glimpse, he could still perfectly recall the image in his mind if he thought about it. Vahn had somewhat expected her affection to fade with time but, much like the peculiar Senna, her affection constantly hovered around the upper 90s, even though he had rarely ever spent time with her. He recalled in the past that, right after he turned her and the Amazons away her affection was in the lower 80s. This meant that, even without him being around her at all, her affection had constantly been growing for him and Vahn felt somewhat guilty about it. Aisha hadnt done much for him, not that he had done much for her either, but she had helped him out with Welfs situation in the past and Vahn felt like he owed her one. Though he could try to make it up to her through normal means, Vahn knew that she would probably want to have s.e.x with him eventually. The problem with that was...Vahn didnt want to end up having any Amazons getting pregnant with his children right now since he wasnt remotely prepared to deal with Kali and the Amazon Queen. He also didnt want to force anyone to have to use a drug just because he didnt want them to get pregnant, and he felt like it would be an insult if he refused to actually ejacte inside of her even though he was willing to have s.e.x. Though she was Level 4, Aisha was an experienced woman when it came to dealing with men and, since she already recognized him as being stronger than she is, there was a very high chance she would get pregnant after the fact. Vahn wanted Tiona to be the first Amazoness he i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed so it wasnt an easy decision to make. It would probably be better to just go and check in on Welf, or make the rounds to the other members of the Alliance since he had never done so, even though he was the Captain of the Hestia Familia. There was also the option of going to visit Anubis and Nanu, but Vahn knew he would be too tempted by Anubis if they were alone at any point in time. Even if he went there with the intention of just ying with the children, it would probably escte to something more risque by the time he left. After ruminating over the matter for a few minutes, Vahn decided to leave the matter regarding Aisha alone until he could talk it over with Tiona, Tione, Loki, and Aisha herself. She seemed like a rational girl, so there was a good chance she would take contraceptive after the fact if Vahn exined the situation to her. He decided instead to head toward the Miach Familias temporary residence before stopping over to visit Takemikazuchi, Welf, and, potentially, wrapping things up by stopping over for a drink at the new Hostess of Fertility. Even though it was just right across the street from the Manors gate, Vahn hadnt actually visited the establishment yet. Other than Syr, all the girls should be working there right now and Vahn could also spend some private time with Chloe. He was almost certain that Mama Mia, and the girls themselves, would have prepared a private booth for him. Because he couldnt put the girls into apromising position, Vahn would be able to rx and just enjoy some quiet time with them without having to worry about things devolving because of his ownck of inhibitions. There was also something about sneakily spending time with the girls that other people desired right under their noses that made Vahn feel somewhat prideful. After letting Hestia and Syr know about his ns, Vahn left the Hearth Manor for what felt like the first time in nearly two weeks, which made sense seeing as how that was the case. He had been so absorbed in his training, forging, and research, that Vahn hadnt really exited the Manor at all ever since his return from the Dungeon. Stepping outside of the gate made him feel an incredible sense of incongruity as he looked around at the few pedestrians walking along the street. His appearance drew the eyes of several people, as it was no secret he habitated the Hearth Manor as the only male within the residence. Vahn knew about the rumor calling his home as the Harem Manor, but he decided not to let it get to him since, regardless of how he felt about the situation, it wasnt exactly a baseless im like many other rumors. Some guys looked like they had been waiting for him to exit, but Vahn just ignored them after scanning them with his [Eyes of Truth] and left from their view using his [Shundo]. They had rtively neutral auras, but Vahn noticed they were somewhat grey and probably didnt have great intentions if they were camping his gate. He could deal with them when he got back, assuming they had the courage to stick around after he had sent a pulse of his intent to stun them for a brief moment as he disappeared. The strongest among them was only Level 3, so Vahn wasnt intimidated by them at all... However, soon after he had left the area, Vahn felt his instincts trigger slightly so he stopped and passed his perception over them a second time to see if there was anything he missed. Two of the grey auras now had a slightly darker color to them intermixed with the red of fury and anger, but everything else seemed normal. Releasing a sigh, Vahn couldnt help but feel like karma would never actually give him any breaks. Even after spending twelve days within his Manor, the moment he exited the premises there was already trouble waiting for him. He felt like Bell, who seemed to simply stumble into the plot irrespective of time, ce, or distance. Vahn never understood how the boy was able to seemingly teleport to wherever the plot was happening, but now he was starting to understand that it was the whims of fate that machinated such events. Since the men were hostiles, Vahn decided to deal with them himself so that they couldnt badger any of the girls returning from the Dungeonter. A single Level 3 wasnt a threat to any of the dungeoneering groups, but Vahn would rather resolve the situation on their behalf so they dont have to experience such a distasteful event. He also wanted to understand why his instincts would trigger for such inconsequential people since this was the type of feeling he usually had when something important was happening. Appearing right in front of the men, Vahn asked in a cold tone while bearing down his aura on the men, "Why are you standing outside of my gate? What business do you have here?" The only Level 3 in the group, a strong looking man in his mid-twenties with brown hair and orange eyes, red at Vahn and said, "You arrogant little..." Cutting his words short, the man tried to fix his expression as he continued in a low tone, "We came to join the Hestia Familia since there seems to be a severeck of men present. Having so many women unprotected will invite disaster, so we decided to-" Before the man could continue spouting his drivel, Vahn raised his hand and said, "Thats enough of that. The Hestia Familia isnt epting any applicants and Im personally turning you away as the Captain of the Familia. If I catch you skulking around my Manor in the future, Ill turn you over to the guards." Vahn could tell from their behavior that they were just some random horndogs that thought they had a chance at some of the girls in the Familia. It wasnt his first time seeing jealous men, so Vahn dismissed them aftermitting their features to memory. He would draw up a sketch and submit it through thework so that, if they continued trying to pressure anyone in the Familia, they would be dealt with. The only thing that confused him was that his instincts obviously werent triggered by these men, yet he had sensed the fluctuation almost immediately he parted...Vahn realized that his instincts didnt trigger until he had already left them behind, so it might not have anything to do with them at all. Remembering the number of people, and who they were, still remaining in the Manor, Vahn disappeared from view once again before reappearing outside his own front door and passing her perception over the entirety of the Manor. There werent any new presences inside and Vahn could tell that everyone was behaving normally so he released a small sigh of relief as he passed his perception around the area and looked for any abnormalities. He had a small scare that, when he had left the area earlier, one of his enemies had used it as an opportunity to invade the Manor while it was rtively unprotected. Right now, the strongest person in the Manor was Tsubaki, who was Level 5, but if they were able to slip through undetected it could lead to a tragedy before she had the time to react. Fortunately, at least on the surface, it seemed like his intuition was wrong. However, Vahn wasnt satisfied with that at all and continued to look around the area for any abnormalities. The group of men were still outside the gate throwing stones against the barrier preventing their entry. Growing fed up with the idiots, Vahn used his [Heart of the Eternal me] to heat up the area around their bodies until they were no longer able to tolerate the heat and fled away with steam rising from their bodies due to how cold it was outside. All the while he was dealing with them, however, Vahn kept his focus on his surroundings and was waiting for his instincts to trigger once again. He assumed that whatever had set them off had used the men as a cover and expected them to take action while he was distracted again. Unfortunately, no matter how much he pretended to have dropped his guard, nothing else set off his instincts and this annoyed Vahn greatly. He felt like he had to be overlooking something so he began systematically inspecting the formations installed around the Manor while also looking for any abnormalities both inside and outside of the walls. Once he had finished his rounds, he inspected the area where he had used [Shundo] earlier just to make sure it wasnt something in that area that had triggered him. The problem with the Alliance buying up all the surrounding properties was that there were several vacant buildings that were scheduled to be demolished in the future or appropriated for use by future residents. Vahn noticed that there was a secret pathway under the building near where he hadnded previously and released a sigh at his own oversight. Because he had separated from the men earlier, Vahn had been paying more attention to them than the rest of his surroundings andpletely ignored the fact that there had been presences inside the building to his left earlier. Now, however, the building waspletely empty and Vahn could see the escape tunnel that was hidden within the bas.e.m.e.nt. After penning the info into hismunication scroll so that Hephaestus and Loki were aware of the situation, Vahn inspected the interior of the residence and found signs that a lot of stuff had been rapidly cleaned up and there was a fair amount of burned debris inside the hearth located in the bas.e.m.e.nt. Whoever had been present had likely carried what they could before burning the evidence of whatever they had been up to. Making his way to the upper floors, Vahn found that several of the curtains were open, which wasnt anything abnormal, if not for the fact that it was just the windows facing the Hearth Manor. Every other window was tightly shut, likely so that nobody could see inside to find out the building was upied. Vahn spected that they were likely spying on the people going in and out of the Manor, probably in an effort to determine the strength of the Hestia Familia and doc.u.ment the schedule of the inhabitants. There was a real possibility they had been targetting one, or many, of the girls that were heading to and from the Dungeon every day in order to get some leverage against him, or the Alliance as a whole. Vahn released a long sigh that caused a massive cloud of condensation to spread through the interior of the small residence. A cold sensation ran through his mind as an eerie blue light shone in Vahns pupils when he destroyed the false wall that concealed the hidden passageway. He could tell from theyout of the tunnel that it hadnt exist for more than a few weeks, but he didnt know how anyone was able to secretly aplish building such a thing when there was so much construction going on in the area and several thousand members of the Alliance moving about. The only thing that really mattered was that they obviously didnt have any good intentions if they were watching over the Manor in secret. Even though they hadnt done anything yet, Vahn couldnt forgive anyone that plotted against the people he cared about. If their target was him, that was one thing, but if they targetted his loved ones he would make sure they paid the price of their transgressions. With that thought in mind, Vahn transformed into his Bih form and willed his sense of smell to be even stronger as he sensed the air for ambient scents. After finding several, Vahns tiger-like blue ices shone with a cruel light as he stepped forward into the dark escape passage without any hesitation... (A/N: Important announcement~! Ill be driving to Florida to celebrate my Fathers birthday and spend the holidays with my family. Though Ill be taking the week off, Ill still be releasing around 2 chapters a day with the promised special chapters that will be released on X-mas as well. Look forward to it, and thanks for all of your support~! Happy holidays (UwU)!) (A/N: Teasing Tsubaki~,Karma is a bitch o3o,Vahns wrath is invoked) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 423 - Within the Darkness

Chapter 423 - Within the Darkness

Progressing through the tunnel, Vahn had a scowl on his face as the corridor had quickly broken off into several directions after progressing for nearly 300m. Because his domain stretched 474m, he was able to tell that the system of tunnels was far moreplicated than he had anticipated and it seemed like the one he had just passed through was just a recent addition. The most annoying thing of all was that the smell he had been tracking went down every single corridor and he was able to understand that it was a false scent that had been spread to mislead anyone trying to pursue those that had fled through theplex system. However, Vahn wasnt so easily led astray by theck of a proper scent and there were several ways he could track his enemies. Using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn scanned through the area and looked for any signs that the elemental energies in the air had been disturbed. Just like when he was tracking the goddess Laverna, Vahn was able to see the somewhat chaotic fluctuations that urred in the air when people passed through a location very recently. Everything, be they people or monsters, were constantly absorbing elemental energies from the air while releasing small amounts passively. Unless they couldpletely constrain their energy, Vahn would still be able to follow them even without their scent. The only exception would be is if there was a powerful flow of mana through an environment, which could happen with some formations, but nothing like that had been installed in the tunnel system, at least at his current juncture. Knowing that his enemies had tried to trick him through such a method, Vahns anger increased marginally as he used [Shundo] to arrive at the next juncture and repeated the process of inspecting the fluctuations in the air. During this time, he detected the arrival of two of his own allies and waited for them to catch up to his current position before continuing forward. Momentster, Vahn saw the subtle glow of two pairs of eyes before both Chloe and Arnya showed up inside the corridor and quickly closed the distance with him. Removing their hoods, Chloe asked in a cold tone, "Did you find anything?" Nodding his head, Vahn exined, "I dont know who they are, but to have a system like this shows they have to belong to arge organization or Familia. The way the tunnels are constructed doesnt seem like they were dug out normally, but more like they had been carved with the use of magic. I can track them through their energy fluctuations, but Im not sure if I should continue forward. Since the scent in the air is fake, they probably already returned to the surface and blended into the crowd...what do you think we should do, Chloe, Arnya?" Chloe was wearing her assassin attired that consisted of a ck top, white shorts, a ck cloak, and several sets of daggers fixed to the belt around her waist. As for Arnya, she looked like a typical adventurer wearing a white tunic, red skirt, ck spats, and a pair of leather gloves and boots. There was arge belt wrapped across her chest and abdomen, and she was carrying a spear that had the head concealed by a tan cloth. Vahn knew that is was the golden spear that was partnered to the silver spear of her brother Allen, though he didnt yet know why she kept it concealed. He wanted to mention that, if her spear gave away an identity that she wanted to conceal, she could simply use a different weapon. However, though she pretended to be a ditz at times, Vahn knew Arnya was actually very intelligent and she had to have her reasons behind it. Even now, she had a cool look thatpletely contradicted her normal character and her expression was very serious. After listening to Vahns words, both Chloe and Arnya sniffed the air before Chloe sighed and said, "Nyahaaa, I can tell that the scent is fake as well. It smells like someone walks through here periodically and just sprays around...they have to be part of an organized group to pull off something like this. I think we should fall back and let the Alliance investigate it and just report it to the Guild for now. It could very well be a trap they hadid specifically to draw you in, so its not a good idea to continue the pursuit if there is little chance well actually catch them." Continuing where Chloe left off, Arnya nodded her head and said in a clear tone that belied her usual mischievousness, "For them to have been so close to the Manor and avoid detection, they couldnt have been there for long. The Alliance has patrols that periodically sweep the buildings, so there is a high chance this entire setup is just a trap. Lets return to the surface and then we can try to map out the corridors from above ground. Even if you can probably escape it, I imagine it wouldnt be pleasant to have the ceiling copse in on you. Its too dangerous for you to expose yourself like this, especially when the enemy seems to be organized, Vahn." Hearing both girls telling him to return to the surface restored a bit of rity to Vahns mind and allowed him to rx a little. He could see the concern clearly shown in their expressions and knew it was as they said, that he was the likely target for anyrger schemes. Even if one of the girls was captured, they would have likely been used as leverage to get to him specifically. By heading into the enemies territory without any information, Vahn not only exposed himself to more danger, but he also left fewer defenses for the Manor as a result. As Arnya said, he could just as easily map the tunnel system from above as he could from below. It was far less likely they had set traps on the surface, as they would have been noticed by the Alliance patrols when doing so. Though it wasnt the best time for such a thing, Vahn reached over and stroked both girls on their heads and felt a little at ease when they both squinted their eyes and dropped their serious expressions. With a smile on his face, Vahn said, "Lets get out of this ce...I can just stroll around when we get to the surface and create a map of the tunnelwork. My [Shundo] will be much more effective aboveground anyways..." As he spoke, Vahn felt his instincts re up slightly and he turned his vision to the corridor he was about to go down earlier. For a very brief moment, Vahn felt fluctuations in the air so, without questioning his own instincts, he sent a wave of mes down the corridor and increased the temperature to nearly 1,000 degrees Celsius after a few seconds passed. The mes caused the airflow in the tunnel system to fluctuate greatly and created a powerful backdraft as the fire consumed the oxygen in the air. Within the mes, Vahn saw a silhouette appear for a brief moment before they mmed their hand in the wall and lines of earth elemental energy appeared which caused the entire tunnel system surrounding them to begin copsing. Arnyas tail turned rigid as she tried to grab Vahns arm as she shouted, "We need to get out of here, nyaow!" Vahn pulled free from her arm as he red at the person that had started the copse. He wasnt sure how the figure was able to pull it off, but their aura was almost entirely concealed and the only thing that gave it away was the absence of energy within the area surrounding it. Vahns domain turned a pale gold as [Enkidu] emerged from the air and created a grid above their heads that stopped the copse from reaching them as he extended two chains to try and capture the figure. Realizing the danger contained within the chain, or perhaps just trying to escape, the silhouette dropped into the ground and burrowed deep into the earth before disappearing from Vahns perception several secondster. Chloe had been watching Vahns actions and asked, "What was that, the enemy? Could you tell how strong they were?" Vahn shook his head before looking back at the two girls and saying, "I couldnt sense them at all. If not for my instincts warning me something was wrong, they might have been able to walk right up to us without me noticing at all. The only thing I could detect was nothing, and that was what gave them away. Just seeing that it was able to resist my mes shows that, at the very least, they have high capabilities...though I dont think they were that strong. Theyre probably a specialist that uses unique magic rted to the earth, but I didnt sense any magical fluctuations until after the magic activated...it could also just be a rare skill since I wasnt able to see through it at all..." Chloe nodded her head before looking at the beautiful golden chains preventing the ceiling from copsing in on them. Most of the tunnels surrounding them had copsed and they would have been buried in debris if Vahn hadnt taken action when he did. It was somewhat ironic that they had been warning him about such a possibility right before it actually happened to them. Realizing what she was thinking, Vahn chuckled before reaching out and patting her again as he said, "It was actually your warning that made me more cautious and I had already started thinking about preventative measures if such a situation actually urred. Thanks, Chloe, Arnya." Arnya didnt stop Vahn from stroking her ears, but she still c.o.c.ked her head slightly and asked, "How are we going to get out of here? My spear isnt very suitable for digging..." Vahnughed at her words before pointing toward the ground where the shadow beneath their feet had been growing and bing darker. There was nearly no light in the tunnel earlier, but Vahns [Enkidu] was casting a beautiful golden light that illuminated the area they were in and cast long shadows in the small area. Once they saw the shadow, both girls understood what was going on and made room for Fafnir to peek up out of the spot it had been hiding in since earlier. Since the Hearth Manor was nearby, Vahn had been able to call over Fafnir and it arrived a few secondster and had been on standby since before he even entered the tunnels. Once they had cleared enough space, Fafnir lifted its head out of the shadows and asked, ("Vahn, Chloe, Arnya, do you need my help~?") Vahn smiled before walking forward and stroking Fafnirs head and saying, "Yes, please help us get out of here Fafnir. You should be able to shield us from the debris and break through to the surface, right?" Fafnir lifted its head toward the ceiling and its stark blue eyes glowed for a bit before it said, ("I cant get through the chains, Vahn. You will have to move them or I will be stuck in the shadows.") As it spoke, Fafnir raised its body and leaned over Vahn to shield him from the debris that would be freed as soon as he removed [Enkidu]. Chloe and Arnya moved under Fafnirs head as well and clung to Vahn as he allowed [Enkidu] to disperse so that Fafnir could take further action. He had already confirmed there was nobody on the surface so, other than a bit of coteral damage, everything else should be okay. When the silhouette copsed the ceiling earlier, it had probably done a fair amount of damage on the surface anyway, so it wasnt like adding a little more would have any major consequences. Thus, when the golden radiance faded and the entire tunnel returned to darkness, Fafnir began to raise its body from the shadows while using its darkness magic to dissolve the surrounding earth. Other than the magical light glowing from the scar on its chest, everything else waspletely dark for several agonizing seconds until beams of light broke through from above and entered the tunnel. Fafnir continued to clear around the area until debris stopped falling onto its back before saying, ("Okay, everything is clear, Vahn~!") Vahn rubbed Fafnirs stomach and used [Hands of Nirvana] to pass energy into its body as he said, "Thank you, Fafnir, youve been a great help once again." Fafnir giggled under his touch and said, ("Vahn, that feels very nice, much better than normal! How strange, hehehehe~!") As it spoke, Vahn noticed that his OP was increasing and this made himugh because he had been somewhat distracted earlier and forgot about his [Petting] ability for a moment. After Fafnir dove back into the shadows, Vahn grabbed Chloes and Arnyas waists before using [Shundo] to escape from the tunnel. They would have easily been able to climb out on their own, but Vahn wanted to be gentlemanly and save them the effort. The tunnel system had only been about 10m underground, enough that they could have jumped out, but they still allowed Vahn to do as he pleased and obediently held onto his body. When they appeared on the surface an instantter, Vahn released their waists as Arnya said, "That technique is amazing...if possible, Id like to learn it in the future. Or, if nyaat myself, you should at least teach it to our child. Yes, that sounds like a good idea~nya." Vahn nodded his headcently as he scanned around the area for any signs of the enemy, even though they had likely escaped long ago. It was weird to be looking for nothing, but now that Vahn knew what he needed to be aware of it was much easier. He could from the surrounding devastation that nearly an entire City block had been copsed from the enemies earlier attempt to entrap them, and this showed they were likely a mage that was around Level 5. Vahn would probablye out ahead in a normal fight, but they would be a troublesome enemy if they used guerri tactics like this. Since reinforcements were already mobilizing, Vahn surveyed the area with Arnya and Chloe for a while making casual conversation. When people began to arrive, Chloe and Arnya had dawned their hoods and retreated from the area, as they both had somewhat sensitive identities. Their enemies probably already knew about them, as they lived at the Hearth Manor, but they still didnt reveal themselves to the public, or even the Alliance atrge. Knowing they wanted to protect their identities, Vahn started thinking about a few new equipment designs that might be suitable for such things while he exined the situation to the Alliance squadrons and the City Guards from the Eirene Familia. Though he had nned to walk around the area and visit his friends, Vahn spent the rest of the afternoon walking around and mapping the tunnel system instead. He drew out a map for the Alliance so they could investigate thework of tunnels at ater date and also alerted them to several empty buildings that were connected to the system. Thework was far extensive than even Vahn had suspected and he realized that the enemy earth mage was going to be a pain to deal with. Unless they set up formations to prevent them from using magic, it was even possible that the mage could burrow underneath the Hearth Manor itself and copse the entire building. Fortunately, the type of security formation they had installed prevented such thing and, unless they copsed the entire ground supporting the foundation of thend the Manor was built on, it wouldnt be a problem. However, realizing that the enemy had such an extensivework, Vahn knew it was possible for them to actually perform such a feat given enough time. The fact that they didnt try allowed Vahn to infer a very important piece of information and allowed him to connect the dots on a few factors that might have otherwise been overlooked. For them to avoid tunneling under the Manor in such a manner showed that, one way or another, the enemy knew about his detection ability... --- During the evening, after he had returned from assisting in the mapping of the tunnels, Vahn gathered everyone in the Hearth Manor to discussed the matter in detail. Even Loki and Hephaestus had shown up for the asion and gave their input on the matter as they discussed countermeasures that could be implemented against the mage. The Manor was about to be under construction soon, since they were going to be expanding several things and building a few new structures, so they would also be digging awork of tunnels themselves that would serve as the core of a much more powerful formation that would link together all five of the main Alliance Manors in a massive defensework. This would be an exorbitant cost, but there were plenty of ways they could make enough Valis to cover the costs in the future. Though they hadnt sold any of the materials, Vahns mini-expedition had earned over a billion Valis in just the span of a week so, if he apanied arger expedition, they could likely increase their earnings greatly. It was already nned, since the Loki Expedition usually made deep Dungeon probes every 3 months, that they would be trying to increase the record floor clear towards the middle of January. This meant that in as early as three weeks, Vahn would be on an expedition that wouldst upwards of a month. During this period, as many powerful members of the Hearth Manor would be away, the Hestia Familia would be protected almost exclusively by the Hephaestus Familia and, after Loki suggested it, the Freya Familia. Vahn was scheduled to meet Freya before the expedition began and they would be able to use the protection of the Hestia Familia as leverage since Vahn was going to be doing her a big favor. It was a bit awkward, but he had agreed to help Freya get pregnant with one of her other lovers so that he wouldnt have to worry about her doing anything to him or the people around him for at least nine months. Though she wasnt part of the Alliance proper, Freya was one of the three members of the Tripartite Cooperative, so she had actually been taking care of several enemy forces that were approaching the Hestia Familia in the shadows. As for other security measures, it was decided that everyone would always travel in groups of four, even though this was already the case from before. Because there were a few low leveled members in the Hestia Familia, they were almost always looked after by someone that was Level 4 or higher, with someone that was Level 5 apanying them in the Dungeon itself. It might seem a little overprotective, but Vahn wasnt the only potential target for their enemies. In order to get to him, or just to weaken the Alliance, any of the girls were a potential target, just like Mn and Tina had been in the past. They each understood this and hadnt any intentions of going against the decision in the first ce, so everyone agreed to follow the security protocols withoutint. After the long discussion came to an end, Vahn retired for the evening with the apaniment of Hephaestus, Loki, Arnya, and Chloe. They had all worked very hard on his behalf today, so Vahn wanted to thank them for their efforts and reward them while developing his [Petting] ability. Though Chloe and Arnya had already noticed it the previous night, Hephaestus and Loki also realized the difference in Vahns touch and gave him a few heavypliments that inted his ego somewhat. By the end of the night, he had actually given each of the girls a half-hour massage before they thanked him in their own way after the fact. It was the first time the girls had cooperated together and Vahn was reminded once again about how dangerous Loki could be when she made Arnyas back arch after ying with her for a few minutes...Vahn could get a simr reaction with a bit of effort, but he was surprised with how deftly Loki was able to handle other girls... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I have special eyes~!,Who dat!?,Countermeasures) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 424 - Gift

Chapter 424 - Gift

Waking up sandwiched by two goddesses was something Vahn had experienced several times, but each time seemed like apletely new experience. Even though they had very differently sized b.r.e.a.s.ts, Vahn feltfortable with both Hephaestus and Loki snuggled up andying against his chest. Chloe was hugging Loki from behind and seemed to be chewing on her ponytail while Arnya wasying in a very dangerous situation with her head on his thighs as she drooled against his leg in a somewhat awkward fashion. Vahn was amazed at how dedicated she was when it came to putting on her act, even though the majority of people had seen through it long ago. Loki had even tried to get her to confess the previous night, but her reaction was to bite Lokis butt after she could no longer deal with the teasing of the mischevious goddess. Since it was Saturday, there was no need to wake up early, at least in normal circ.u.mstances. Vahn, however, had several things he wanted to work on and he knew that Eina would be arriving rtively early as well. He hadnt exined the reason, but he had asked both she and Hephaestus to visit his workshop early in the morning. Hephaestus had stayed the night, but she was busier than evertely as she had been preparing for the wedding, taking on new contracts, and also dealing with matters rting to the Alliance and the ongoing construction. Loki and Hestia were helping her out a lot, but Hephaestus had thergest responsibility as the Chairman of the Alliance. Since she was also the chief financial guarantor, there was a great deal of paperwork she had been tending to in thest few weeks. Knowing this, Vahn had spent the vast majority of the previous night simply pampering her after they had engaged in a few bouts. He knew that, even when they were married, Hephaestus would often be busy until things had stabilized. Even though she would be moving into the Manor after the wedding, she would still have to take care of her other responsibilities until the migration of personnel had beenpleted. The onlyint she had about the situation was something that made Vahn very fl.u.s.tered, as it was primarily rted to his activities during the daytime. Because he hadnt been limiting his intimacy with the girls to the evening hours, Hephaestus sometimes had to deal with phantom sensations in her body that would sometimes continue for hours since Vahns stamina was abnormal. Fortunately, the [Promise] he had given her in the past seemed to help deal with the urges by a great deal and she had also been growing ustomed to the sensations on her own. As a goddess, her adaptability was quite high but she still asked Vahn to show a bit of restraint or to at least give her a warning beforehand. She had apparently been in a meeting with contractors before having to call it to a quick end when Vahn had been ying around with Tiona previously. Since Tiona was the first girl that he had spent time with during the lunch block of his schedule, Hephaestus had been caughtpletely off guard and had to retire to her workshop after dismissing the contractors. Knowing that Hephaestus was working so hard for their futures, yet he was constantly inconveniencing her, made Vahn feel very guilty. However, Hephaestus didnt seem to mind at all and simply encouraged him to do as he pleased, as his happiness was her happiness as well. Once the matters regarding the migrations and construction werepleted, it wouldnt be a problem anymore so Hephaestus told him not to worry about it. Vahn nodded his head in affirmation, even though it was clearly written on his face that he was still going to worry about it. He had already started thinking of several ways to make things easier for Hephaestus, or else he would have to restrict his activities more in the future. Because of his guilt, Vahn pampered Hephaestus after waking everyone up and, after they had all taken a bath, he helped her get dressed and also brushed her hair. Loki had left soon after breakfast while both Chloe and Arnya left to take care of a few things before heading out to the Hostess of Fertility. The weekends were usually far busier than the rest of the week so the Hostess of Fertility opening at 8 AM instead of 10 AM. Since it was a short distance, Vahn escorted them over while also making rounds outside of the perimeter of the Manor before returning to the interior. Though there were patrols investigating the area, Vahns perception was far higher than theirs and he was able to scan the surroundings far more efficiently. While he was making the rounds, Vahn detected Einas arrival and used [Shundo] to intercept her soon after she walked through the gate. She was startled by his sudden appearance and dropped the box she had been holding in her arms. Vahn swooped forward to catch the package while also supported Einas body after she lost her bnce trying to hurriedly catch it. Eina gave him an usatory look with a blush on her face as she said, "Thank you, Vahn, but please dont startle me like that. Youre going to give me a heart attack..." Vahn smiled widely at her reaction before cing his forehead against hers and whispering, "Eina, Im d youre here...even though its only been a few days, Ive missed you." Vahn was now taller than Eina by several centimeters, so she had to look up slightly at him with a somewhat bashful look on her face apanying her gentle smile. Vahn was always surprised by how beautiful her emerald green eyes were and he felt like he could get lost staring at them as a powerful instinct to rest began to rise up inside of him. Even though her blush had started to spread to her ears, Eina reached her arms around Vahns back before tilting her head up and giving him a quick peck on the lips. After pulling away, Eina hung her head low and said in a very soft voice, "I missed you too, Vahn...I brought you something, but youll have to wait until we get inside before you open it." Eina looked around the area before separating from Vahn and grabbing his hand as she led the way toward the entrance of the Manor. Vahn could see that her aura was ring up with a pink hue that danced about like it was being influenced by the wind. She seemed to be very embarrassed, so he was looking forward to what Eina had brought for him. He was very tempted to peek into the package with his [Eyes of Truth], but he didnt want to betray her just to appease his own curiosity. When they entered into the door, Fenrir had popped up and startled Eina once again as she spread her arms and said, "Eina, wee home!" Just like she often pandered to Hephaestus, Fenrir had shown up to greet Eina when she entered into the foyer. After raising her hands in an excited manner, she then tried to lift up the corners of her dress as if trying to perform a curtsy. There were two tiny golden knots that had been tied to strings so that she could grab it between her small paws without tearing her dress with her ws. It was an incredibly adorable disy and Eina let go of Vahns hand as she leaned forward slightly and affectionately stroked Fenrirs head as she said, "Thank you, Fenrir, youre very cute this morning~." Fenrir blinked several times as she tilted her head slightly and repeated, "Eina looks very cute this morning as well." As she spoke, Vahn and Eina both caught her sending nces at Vahn so he walked forward as both he and Eina pet her ears and praised her for a few minutes. Afterpleting her mission, Fenrir ran off to return to wherever she had been before detecting Einas arrival with Vahn. Through his perception, Vahn could see she was going to where Hestia and several of the girls were gathered. Therge study that connected to the dining room was amonly used area by everyone in the Manor and more than half of the residents were currently gathered there. After Fenrir had trotted away, Vahn led Eina this time as he escorted her to the East Wing and followed it through to the connecting Annex where his workshop was located. Hephaestus and Tsubaki were already there waiting and, when he saw what they were discussing, Vahn nearly fell over. Because the workshop was a private area where few people had ess to, Tsubaki was currently showing off the [Midnight Passion Panties] to Hephaestus. The reason he had been so caught off guard wasnt that Tsubaki was wearing just panties and her sarashi, but that Hephaestus had been kneeling down and inspecting the garment with a very serious expression on her face. Eina was also caught off guard by the sight and said in a confused voice, "Ano...good morning Hephaestus, Tsubaki...I see you are in high spirits...?" Hephaestus blushed slightly and stood up as Tsubaki beganughing boisterously as she casually stripped off the panties and set them on the table before fixing her hakama. When she had removed them, the ck silk garment noticeably shrunk and Hephaestus picked them up and exined, "Tsubaki was showing me an item Vahn had forged...please dont misunderstand...*cough*..." Hearing Hephaestus words, Vahn felt a cold sweat build up on his back as Eina sent him a look as she mused, "Ooooh? Ive never heard of someone forging a pair of panties before...is that why I was asked toe here so early?" Vahnughed awkwardly before exining, "I actually called you and Hephaestus here because I had prepared a gift for the two of you. The panties...they were just an experiment rted to creating armor that looked like normal clothing for the girls. They might look like a normal pair of panties, but they can automatically adjust their size to the wearer and also have high defensive capabilities..." Eina continued to give Vahn a slightly worried look as he justified his actions and tried to exin the specifics of their functionality. Fortunately, Tsubaki and Hephaestus both came to his aide and convinced Eina that he was speaking the truth. It wasnt that she hadnt believed Vahn, it was just a rtively abnormal situation and she was just caught off guard a bit. In order to ease some of the awkwardness, Vahn handed Tsubaki a purple tunic before having all three girls sit down on arge sofa he had set out for them. Once they were situated, Vahn released a sigh and began to amp himself up as he said, "For thest two weeks, Ive actually been working on a special gift that Im hoping you would both be pleased with..." Seeing how nervous Vahn was, both Hephaestus and Eina began to build their expectations as they watched him with slightly glittering eyes. Vahn usually put an exorbitant amount of effort into the things he created so, for him to be so nervous about the gift he had prepared, it must be something incredible. Vahn pulled out the two mannequins that were covered in a white film that obstructed the contents and he began to feel giddy as he exined, "I know that its a tradition that the groom doesnt see the wedding dress until the ceremony, but I wanted to take a more proactive role instead of sitting on the sidelines and having the two of you deal with everything. You dont have to use them, but Id like you to consider these dresses...I put all of my efforts into creating them, and I hope they are to your liking..." As he spoke, Vahn ced his hand on the white film and threw them into his inventory while leaving the Hephaestus and Eina shaped mannequins wearing the [Phoenix Fire Dress] and [Phoenix Night Dress]. When he had revealed the two dresses, all three girls eyes opened widely because, though they had spected about what Vahn was working on, none of them had guessed it was wedding gowns. The most incredulous thing was that each dress looked like a masterpiece and both Tsubaki and Hephaestus were very aware of the amount of effort he had to put into their construction. Eina was stuck in a stupor as she looked at the beautiful blue dress that she assumed had been personally made by Vahn for her use. Her current dress was very beautiful, but staring at the blue dress Vahn had created made her heart thumb powerfully in her chest and she began to take deeper breaths as she asked, "Is that...for me...?" She pointed to the blue dress and Vahn smiled widely and before exining, "Yes, this wedding dress is called [Phoenix Night Dress]...when I created it, I wanted it to embody the-" Before Vahn could exin the creation process, Eina had leaped up from the sofa before happily embracing him. As if she had been awakened by Einas action, Hephaestus also rose from the sofa before walking over and affectionately stroking the beautiful red dress until Eina had finally freed Vahn. Taking the opportunity, Hephaestus also hugged Vahn tightly and shared a long kiss with him before saying in a tone full of affection, "Thank you, Vahn, its beautiful..." Vahn nodded his head with arge smile on his face as he hugged Hephaestus waist tightly and responded, "It had to be, or it wouldnt be worthy of someone as beautiful as you, Hephaestus..." Vahn received another passionate kiss for hispliment and it almost seemed like Hephaestus was about to push him down on the floor before Tsubakis cough brought her back to reality. Though the atmosphere was still rose-colored, everyone had calmed down a bit and Vahn exined, "The red dress is called [Phoenix Fire Dress]...it has high defensive stats and is also a magic item with four abilities infused into it, including one unique ability called Phoenixs Pride. Its other abilities are Fire Immunity, Shock Resistance, and Weatherproof. When you wear this, it will enhance your beauty greatly and make you stand out regardless of how many other people are present..." Hephaestus listened to Vahns words as she looked at the dress with an enamored look on her face as she traced her fingers along theplex arrangement of magic stones that adorned the bodice. Seeing that Hephaestus seemed very pleased, Vahn smiled before continuing for the equally enamored Eina, "The blue dress is called [Phoenix Night Dress] and has equally high defensive capabilities. Like the [Phoneix Fire Dress], it has four abilities including a unique ability called Phoenixs Embrace. As for the other abilities, they are Ice Immunity, Shock Resistance, and Weatherproof. When you wear this dress, it will emit a calming aura to everyone that looks in your direction. I wanted to create a dress that embodied the peaceful feeling you always bring me..." Hearing Vahns words, Eina turned her attention away from the dress and her expression melted into an incredibly gentle look as she smiled and said, "Vahn...thank you so much. I will always look after you from now on...because..." Eina began to blush furiously and her gentle expression turned into a fl.u.s.tered one as she continued, "Because...I love you~!" Einas sudden exmation surprised, not just Vahn, but the other two girls in the room. Everyone present loved Vahn, and he loved them, so it was a triggering mechanism for someone to exim it so suddenly. Hephaestus giggled with a slight blush on her face as she said, "Ara~? Eina is so bold this morning...I dont want to be left out, so let me also profess my love." As she had been closer to Vahn, Hephaestus moved over and embraced Vahns head into her b.r.e.a.s.ts tightly as she whispered in a sensuous tone, "I love you...Vahn." Vahn nodded his head and stammered, "I love you too, Hephaestus...I love Eina and Tsubaki as well.... every day I-" Before Vahn could continue, Tsubaki hugged his body from behind and gave Hephaestus a yful look as she whispered, "You talk too much, Vahn...but that is one of the things I love about you...fufufufu~" Eina showed a pouting expression at the two mature girls behavior as she said, "Muuuu, you girls are being sneaky today. I can barely tolerate Vahns teasing, so please go easy on me..." Tsubaki and Hephaestusughed in an amused manner before releasing Vahn and pushing him towards the bashful Half-Elf. Eina caught Vahns head before mimicking Hephaestus action of hugging his face to her chest as she squeezed him tightly and repeated, "I love you, Vahn...thank you for the dress." Vahn knew Eina was pushing herself a bit by doing something so intimate, so he felt very warm inside as he hugged her waist and rested his head against her chest as he said, "I love you too, Eina...youre wee." --- After the atmosphere cleared up a bit, Eina and Hephaestus began undressing in the middle of the workshop before Vahn helped them fit into the dresses. He didnt want to reveal the mechanism yet, so they had to squeeze into the dress from the bottom and it required a bit of assistance. Fortunately, Vahn had used fabric that had a bit of give, so they were able to get into them without any great difficulty. Since he had made the dressed to perfectly match the figure of both girls, they didnt actually require any additional tailoring at all and Vahn just spent a few minutes questioning them about the feel and bnce of the outfit. While they were answering his questions, Tsubaki had been inspecting the mannequins that Vahn had used when creating the dresses and noticed that there were a lot of extra details. When a lully appeared in the conversation, Tsubaki asked in a teasing tone, "So, did you make these mannequins yourself, Vahn~?" Though he could hear the insinuation in her voice, Vahn answered her question with a bit of confusion on his face, "Yes? I used a material called [Memory Putty] and sculpted them to emte Hephaestus and Eina as urately...as possible..." As he spoke, Vahn realized why Tsubaki had a teasing look in her eyes and his expression had been noticed by both Hephaestus and Eina so they looked over as well. They had been so distracted by the dresses earlier that neither girl had paid too much attention to the mannequins that were in their likeness. Hephaestus had simply assumed it was simr to her, but now she saw the amount of detail Vahn had put into it and she couldnt help but blush as she inspected the mannequin by walking around it slowly. Einas face had turnedpletely crimson and her ears were drooping slightly as she red at Vahn and said, "Vaaaaaahn, we need to have a serious talk~!" Even though she was still wearing the wedding dress Vahn had made for her, Eina walked over and began lecturing him in a serious tone with a very fl.u.s.tered expression on her face. All the while this was going on, Tsubaki wasughing loudly before deciding to tease Hephaestus a bit by grabbing the mannequins butt. She actually hadnt expected it to be soft to the touch, so Tsubakis eyes opened wider and she remarked, "Wow, its so big and soft...I think I know why Vahn... wait a second!" Though Eina was still currently lecturing Vahn, Tsubaki interrupted her and asked, "Vahn, who else did you make a mannequin of? Did you make one for me as well!?" Knowing there might be a life-sized mannequin that showed her privates in detail made Tsubaki feel very embarrassed. She had been intending to tease Eina and Hephaestus a bit, but now she realized that if Vahn was able to make mannequins of the two, he could have very easily made one of her as well. Tsubakis words had caused all three girls to stare at Vahn and he suddenly felt very embarrassed as he tried to exin, "I just wanted them to be as urate as possible...I made a few, but I havent made one for you yet, Tsubaki..." Tsubaki released a sigh of relief before giving Vahn a serious look and saying, "If you ever want to make something for me, just let me know. Id rather be here personally than have you gawking at a doll that looks like me..." Hearing Tsubakis words, both Hephaestus and Eina also asked Vahn to inform them if he wanted to make more clothing for them in the future. At the very least, he shouldnt use such detailed mannequins anymore. Even if there was a negligible chance anyone would ever see them, just knowing such things existed was a very unnerving thing. As he had felt the same way when Eva made nude statues of him, Vahn eded to the girls words but still had to listen to theirbined lecture for nearly an hour after the fact. The only constion he found at the sudden series of events was that both Hephaestus and Eina looked very beautiful in the dresses he had made for them... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A Goddess in each arm, a cat on each leg~?,Fenrir is a smart girl,Vahns attention to detail) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 425 - Making the Rounds

Chapter 425 - Making the Rounds

After promising to use normal mannequins from now on, Vahn helped to remove the dresses by cing them into his inventory while they were still attached to their bodies. Other than with Loki, he had never used this capability before so both Hephaestus and Eina were startled when they were suddenly bereft of clothing. They had taken off their bras earlier, so Eina was left wearing nothing put pale pink panties with white stockings, while Hephaestus simple had on a pare of vanice panties. She used to wear more normal panties, but now wore expensive designer underwear whenever she came over to visit Vahn. Though it had already been assumed in the past, a lot of the girls knew Vahn had a thing for clothing and she decided to y up to it a bit. Now that he was actually making clothing, including lingerie, it was pretty much cemented in the minds of the girls that Vahn enjoyed dressing them up. Before they put their clothing back on, Vahn gave the [zing Passion Panties] to Hephaestus and the [Cool Passion Panties] to Eina so he could get their input. Vahn earned a few looks that made his cheeks feel hot, but they both tried them on without any realints. Vahn didnt get to see Einas n.a.k.e.d body often and he was surprised to find out she was now bare down below. It didnt look like she had shaved, so Vahn assumed she had either had it waxed or applied an ointment to remove the roots. He knew it was a tradition for Elven women to purify their bodies before getting married, but he hadnt expected Eina to follow the tradition since Half-Elves were scorned by Elven society. She had noticed his look and ended up turning her back to him but that only made Vahns heart palpitate because he got an even clearer view when she bent over to wear the panties. Eina was able to slip into her stark blue panties easily, but Hephaestus struggled a bit by the time the zing red pair reached her thighs. Even though they were made of a stretchy fabric, Hephaestus butt was ratherrge, not that it was fat at all since it was actually very toned, and she was unable to wear the rtively small pair of panties. Hephaestus had a blush on her face as she finished pulling up the too-small pair of panties until they had firmly seated themselves on her hip. Vahn swallowed a mouthful of saliva because the fabric bit into her skin and created a tantalizing sight because the stretched fabric had turned transparent in almost every area except the groin. With a fierce blush on her face, Hephaestus looked at Vahn and said in an awkward tone, "Theyre a little small...but otherwisefortable." Tsubaki cracked up at Hephaestus remark before tracing the lining of the panties that were cutting into her butt with her index finger. Because Hephaestus had a powerful body, her pliant cheeks were actually somewhat resistant to the fabric and it looked like the only thing keeping it from snapping was the quality of the material. Hephaestus smacked away Tsubakis hand and red at her before peeling the tight garment off of her body and changing into something more suited to her figure. As they had already agreed to wear the dresses during the wedding, Vahn promised to make her a more suitable pair before the event. After Eina and Hephaestus had properly worn their clothes, they spent a bit of time in Vahns workshop as he sketched out designs and got their input on how he could improve his personal line for the girls. Hephaestus and Tsubaki were both skilled [Master Smith]s as well, so they also contributed their own designs while Vahn exined the mechanics behind how he was able to draw so much potential out of the fabric. Hephaestus had alreadypletely seen through it with her gods eye, but Tsubaki had only gleaned into bits and pieces after inspecting the fabric for a few hours. Vahn knew from their exnation that his naming ability was somewhat unique since they were only able to give abilities to equipment after careful nning and preparation. Generally, even Hephaestus only put 1-3 abilities onto a high-quality piece of equipment while the vast majority was left as a nk te since most Adventurers wouldnt be able to make proper use of such abilities anyways. However, though they typically had fewer abilities, Vahn knew that almost every ability Hephaestus put her effort into imbuing was nearly guaranteed to be S-Rank. Tsubaki inevitably decided to focus more on creating weapons than expand her skill set to include clothing, as she wasnt that fond of creating armor in the first ce. Because she was a warrior before she was a cksmith, Tsubaki preferred to make powerful weapons and personally test them by venturing into the Dungeonpletely solo. Her record clear had taken her all the way to the 37th floor since she imed she would also venture deeper than her age through her own efforts. Since he had experienced what the Lower Floors were like, Vahn was somewhat shocked to know how far Tsubaki had been able to venture on her own. He knew that Ais, Tiona, and Tione actually had simr records, but for some reason, he had never imagined Tsubaki in the same vein, even though he knew she was another battle maniac like the other three. It eventually came time for Hephaestus to leave and, since she didnt have an escort on hand, Vahn escorted her back to her workshop with the use of [Shundo] while also holding Eina in his other arm. She had been busy training her recement at the Guildtely, so she wasnt able to stay at the Manor for too long. After the wedding, however, she would be a permanent resident even though her official office wouldnt be inside the Hearth Manor. She wasnt the only one that was being sent by the Guild either, as there was also a need for an appraiser and official notary to report missions that had been epted andpleted by the Alliance. Eina was going to be the Branch Head and Liason, but she couldnt manage the entire Alliances matters on her own. Because of the no male policy of the Hestia Familia, the two additional personnel that were being sent over were named Misha Flott, one of Einas longtime friends, and Rose Fat, who was one of the senior Guild personnel and had rtions with the Loki Familia in the past. Vahn was slightly concerned about the presence of two more women in the Manor, especially considering they were 17 and 24 respectively, but Eina assured him it wouldnt be a problem, at least for the time being, with a somewhat scary look in her eyes. Misha was apparently a closet lesbian while Rose had sworn off being in a rtionship with any Adventurer that actively went into the Dungeon, as she was afraid of being left alone if they died. The fact that she was a werewolf was still a bit of a red g for Vahn personally, however, as he couldnt deny he was interested in women of exotic species. The only other werewolf he had ever met was Bete, which showed that they were very rare and it didnt help matters any that Eina professed she was a very beautiful and mature woman that had been confessed to many times over the years. After dropping off the two girls at their respective destinations, Vahn decided that he wanted to do what he had failed to aplish the previous day, which was to visit the gods of the Alliance and stop by Welfs workshop. He had already informed everyone at the Manor that he would be out for a few hours, so there werent any problems with him running around the City freely for a while. Though it hadnt yet ranked up, Vahns [Shundo] had be much more fluid over thest few weeks and his transition speed was much faster than in the past. A trip that would typically take ten minutes in the past, at his full speed, now only took him seven minutes instead. One day, Vahn even wanted to learn the evolution of the technique that would allow him to even use the magic ability on the void itself. (A/N: Btw, the void is typically just the air or space around a person.) As he approached from the west, Vahn first arrived at the Miach Familia Manor that was still under constructions even now. Their members were staying in a temporary residence in one of the previously purchased buildings and Vahn got to officially meet their members for the first time. Other than Miach himself, there were only eight people present and Vahn noticed that the majority of them were female with the exception being a single male member. He wasnt aware of it in the past, but most of the active males had died as a result of the Pass Parade that nearly cost Naaza her arm in the past. One of the reasons she hadnt stayed with the Miach Familia was because several of the girls, even though they couldnt me her for the ident, would still feel a bit of resentment if she were around. Three of them had lovers that died while the rest were simply fans of Miach himself and didnt want any additional petition. Miach received Vahn in high spirits and introduced him to everyone in the Familia, but Vahn could tell he wasnt actually nearly as wee as Miach wanted him to be. Before the Alliance was established, nearly a third of his members had actually left the Familia and now it had be a somewhat awkward ce to be. There were several people trying to join now, fortunately, so things should improve in the near future for the rtively small Familia that specialized in the production of medicine and potions. The fact that they had powerful allies, as well as a massive Manor andrge plot ofnd, would make them very popr for prospective alchemists and budding Adventurers in the future. After enjoying a short conversation over tea, Vahn left the awkward residence and headed through the yard of his own Manor before leaping over the eastern walls and heading to the Manor in the east. Lokis residence was being built in the north, while the Anubis Familia would be residing in the south. Vahn wanted to visit Anubis and the packst, as it would probably eat away the majority of his time once he arrived. Stepping into the construction site, Vahn saw therge shrine that was being constructed in the style of the Far East, as well as the massive dojo-like structure that was being built adjacent to it. Takemikazuchi was a principal god of Swords, Storms, and Martial Prowess with the lesser divinity of War. His Familia was being turned into the same type of Familia he had run in the Far East, where he trained orphans and those that wished for a better life to be great warriors. Presently, the Takemikazuchi Familia had been reduced to a total of five members though, like the Miach Familia, there were several prospective members trying to join. Take refused the vast majority of those that attempted to get close to him, as he wasnt fond of those that simply looked at the Familia as a means of getting closer to the Hephaestus, Loki, and Hestia Familias. He would rather walk the area of Daedelus Street and look for orphans than ept the seemingly powerful Adventurers that were showing up at his doorstep and making bold ims. One of the reasons for this was due to the fact that Ouka, the Captain of the Familia, was still very young and was currently only Level 2. If he epted veteran Adventurers, it would undoubtedly cause conflict even if they genuinely wanted to join the Familia without ulterior motives. Taki, Ouka, and the timid Chigusa, all showed up to receive Vahn once his presence was known on the premises. Even though they could stay in a temporary residence, they had already started living inside the Shrine and had been proactively assisting in the construction. When they saw Vahn, Take had an amiable smile on his face as he bowed politely and said, "Wee to our home, Vahn. It is a pleasure to see you in good health." As he was typically well-mannered, Vahn returned the proper courtesy which prompted by Ouka and Chigusa to bow politely as well. Ouka had his characteristic serious expression while Chigusa had a small smile on her face as she stared through the part in her bangs with her faded green eye. She allowed her hair to cover part of her face, which was somewhat strange since Vahn expected it would interfere with her responses during a fight. After moving to one of thepleted rooms, Chigusa prepared tea for everyone while Vahn sat on a cushion across from Take while Ouka kneeled on the tatami mat floor in a proud seiza. As it was the polite thing to do, everyone waited for Chigusa to serve the tea and sit at the side before both Vahn and Take lifted their cups and took a sip at the same time. Vahns eyes shed slightly at the fragrance and taste as he recognized it to be the same leaves he had given Take in the past. Understanding Vahns reaction, Take chuckled in a calm manner and said, "My apologies, but the leaves you gave me are the best we have to offer presently. Even though weve received an inordinate amount of support from the Hephaestus Familia, weve tried to manage our other affairs without overly relying on the kindness of others." Vahn shook his head and, with a polite smile on his face, simply stated, "Its quite alright, as this happens to be my favorite brand of tea." Take inclined his body forward slightly in a nascent bow and said, "Your words have eased a heavy burden from my heart. As our benefactor, I was worried you would find ourck of decorum dissatisfactory." After he spoke, Take locked eyes with Vahn and they both smile beforeughing amiably and setting their tea down before assuming a much more casual demeanor. Now that they had gotten the niceties out of the way, they didnt have to continue putting on an act and allowed the tension in the air to dissipate. Even Oukas shoulders drooped slightly as Chigusa released small bell-likeughter. Now that everyone was rxed, Vahn asked, "So, how have things been for the Takemikazuchi Familiately?" Take released a small sigh before shaking his head and saying, "Honestly, things have been going both good and bad for our small Familia. Having the backing of the Alliance has drawn a lot of attention to us and we simply dont have the capacity to deal with the situation smoothly. Not many people are tolerant of the culture of the Far East and Ive had to turn away almost every Adventurer trying to make use of my Familia as a stepping stone." As Take spoke, Ouka hung his head with a somewhat difficult expression on his face and Vahn could see him gripping his hands tightly. Chigua looked over at him with clear concern but it didnt seem like Ouka had any attention to spare her as he was lost in his own self-deprecating thoughts. Vahn c.o.c.ked his head in a thoughtful manner before saying, "I can probably help Ouka be stronger and you can always reach out to Hephaestus and Loki if youre having trouble finding members. Loki adopts a lot of orphaned children into her Familia to train them as Supporters and future Adventurers, but they would probably be better suited under your tutge instead. They had hundreds of members, but only three main groups that lead the expeditions, so they wouldnt be hurting after losing a few of the younger members at all." Take nodded with an appreciative look in his eyes while Ouka raised his head and asked, "What do you mean by saying you can help me be stronger? I dont need the pity of the man I see as my rival..." Hearing Ouka call him his rival, Vahn felt a small me ignite inside of him as a serious expression appeared on his face and he stated in a firm tone, "You have the resolve to consider yourself my rival, butck the conviction to do whatever it takes to actually be stronger?" Vahn shook his head in a disapproving manner before continuing, "Youre still just a kid..." Even though Ouka was older than he was, Vahn couldnt help but find his mentality somewhat childish. The fact that he held his pride so close to his chest like it was something precious, even to the point of allowing it to restrict his growth, was something Vahn found ridiculous. Just knowing he had a girl doting on him from the side yet he was seemingly unable to realize it made Vahn somewhat annoyed. Ouka stood up after hearing Vahn call him a kid and red down at him with fierce eyes as he said, "Ive heard rumors of your strength but have yet to witness it for myself. I wonder how strong the mighty Sage Aldrnari really is to go around calling the conviction of others into question?" Take frowned slightly before releasing an almost inaudible sigh through his nose as Chigua fl.u.s.tered slightly and stood up to block Ouka. When Chigusa blocked his path, Ouka ced hisrge hand on her shoulder and moved her to the side as he took a step toward Vahn. Chigusa wasnt hurt at all by his actions, but Vahn felt annoyed by how Ouka was able to toss aside the girl that loved him. The fact that Vahn knew Ouka had affection for her made it even worse because he couldnt see how someone could possess so much pride that they ignored the fact they were hurting their loved ones. Vahn sent a nce at Take and saw the resignation present in his eyes and the slightly apologetic smile on his face. Take understood that Ouka needed to be taught a lesson so he wasnt going to interfere in the guidance Vahn was about to confer to the prideful boy. Understanding Takemikazuchis intent, Vahns inhibitions faded in an instant and he leaped up and struck the guard of Ouka and sent him flying through the bamboo door and out into the corridor. Ouka managed to right himself without falling to the floor, but the only thing he got for his persistence was Vahns foot colliding with the side of his head which sent him crashing through the wall and out into the adjacent courtyard. As he wasnt trying to actually injure him, for the most part, Vahn was holding back a great deal but was still easily able to overwhelm Ouka. Though they were simr in age, Ouka was only at the middle ranges of Level 2 while Vahn already had the requisite stats to reach Level 4. Even if Ouka fought desperately, there was simply no way he could put up any meaningful resistance against Vahn at all. Of course, this didnt stop him from rising back to his feet, rubbing his cheek with the back of his hand, and then spitting out a mouthful of blood as he red at the approaching Vahn. Seeing Oukas expression, Vahn furrowed his brows slightly and asked, "Is this the limit of someone that considers themselves my rival? You looked so powerful when you were pushing aside a small girl earlier...strange." Hearing Vahns words, Ouka showed a bit of confusion for a moment before gnashing his teeth and charging forward with a fierce momentum and trying to grapple with Vahn. From the moment his movement began, Vahn felt like the world had slowed down marginally and he was able to see every individual muscle on Oukas body moving in concert with each other to support his blow. It was obvious Ouka was very skilled, but their parameters were simply iparable with each other so Vahn twisted his body before spinning in the air and using Oukas face as a springboard andnding back on his feet. Vahn could tell that, at the very best, Ouka only had around 800 Agility,pared to his nearly 2200. Even Vahns Power and Dexterity, the things that Ouka likely excelled at, were at the very least more than a thousand points higher. Since the return for parameters was exponential, and not linear, this meant that Vahn was several times stronger than the maximum output Ouka could manage. It was almost like an a.d.u.l.t fighting against a child, even though Ouka was nearly 20cmrger than he was. Vahn suddenly felt a like like he had swapped positions with Tsubaki and now he was looking at Ouka like his former self. Before Ouka could stand up, Vahn used [Shundo] to appear next to his body before kicking him hard in the ribs and sending him tumbling across the grassy courtyard for several meters. Chigusa had shown up at this point and tried to go to his aid, but Vahn shouted, "Stand back! Lets see how far his pride can take him. He already pushed you to the side earlier, so let him follow through until the end. Dont worry, Ill hold back properly and even heal his wounds afterward." Chigusa had startled slightly at Vahns shout, but she still stood in between him and Ouka with a fierce resolve in her eyes as she said, "No, this isnt right. Were supposed to be allies, not enemies with each other! Arent you supposed to be a nice boy that is looked up to by Mikoto and Haruhime-sama!?" Vahn nodded appreciatively at Chigusa and began to say, "Youre right, Chig-" but Ouka had used the brief moment to stand up and ce his hand on Chigusas shoulder. She looked back at him with a concerned expression and saw the ferocity in his eyes as he said, "Chigusa, let me fight...I need to know the difference between him and me..." Chigusas eyes teared up slightly and she muttered, "Ouka...please..." As if he had remembered Vahns earlier usation, Ouka didnt push Chigusa to the side and just walked around her before assuming a battle-ready stance once again. Seeing his action, Vahn nodded his head before assuming his own stance and saying, "Looks like you arent aplete fool after all..." Oukas eyes squinted slightly and he tried to rush Vahn again in an attempt to tackle him to the ground. He knew he wasnt a match for Vahn in speed, so the only chance he had was to take the fight low in the hopes that he could outmaneuver Vahn using what he was proficient at. Vahn, however,pletely ignored his attempt and stepped forward before locking hands with Ouka and closing his fingers like a vice as he smiled into the fiercely scowling face of Ouka. Gnashing his teeth, Oukas incredibly muscr arms increased in size marginally and Vahn could tell he was using some kind of skill to increase his power. For a very brief moment, he felt himself be pushed back since Ouka had a greater momentum due to the size difference between them. Of course, Oukas advantage didntst long at all as Vahn lowered his h.i.p.s and used his body as a pivot to leverage Oukas own momentum against him. Before he was able to react at all, Vahn had lifted hisrge frame off of the ground before mming him back down, hard. Though Ouka suffered a severe blow, he actually tightened his grip on Vahns hands in a vain attempt at trying to disy his pride, but Vahn simply shook his head and said, "What use is pride if it only hurts yourself and those around you? Having pride in your convictions, strength, friends, and bonds, these are all worthwhile things. If the only thing you have pride in is your pride itself, then youll end up a mockery when facing a stronger opponent. How do you expect to be stronger when you cant even break free from your own mentality? As I see it, youre simply just an arrogant child ying at being a man..." His words finished, Vahn squeezed Oukas hands tightly and forced his grip to loosen before throwing him over to the side where Chigua was fl.u.s.tering about with a conflicted expression on her face. When he was speaking earlier, Vahn had been bearing his [Will of the Emperor] down on Ouka and it had caused the boy to lose consciousness at the end. Hopefully, this lesson would serve as the catalyst for Oukas future growth since Vahn really did want to see him as a rival as well. If the prideful boy could open his heart to others after his defeat, he would be much stronger in the future. To assist in this, Vahn walked over and handed some ointment and bandages to Chigusa who was shielding Ouka once again. Chigusa had a confused expression on her face when she saw Vahns gentle expression and the first-aid supplies he was holding out for her. Vahn showed a small smile and said, "This fool needs someone to look after him...he would probably resent me a bit if I was the one to tend to his wounds, so Ill leave it to the girl he likes." In the end, Vahn sent a wink at Chigusa and she blushed slightly as she epted the supplies and said, "Ouka...doesnt..." Vahn shook his head and stated in a firm tone, "No, I can see it clearly. I have the ability to see auras and the fact that both of your auras gravitate towards each other shows you have mutual feelings. His pride probably prevents him from approaching you easily, so youll have to take the initiative if you want to develop as a couple in the future. You know, Chigusa, it is often the support of women that makes a boy turn into a capable man...I should know since I wouldnt be where I am today without amazing girls at my back." Hearing Vahns words, Chigusa had a bashful expression and she began to fidget before kneeling next to the unconscious Ouka and lifting up his body. Even though she was a small girl, she was actually a powerful tank that specialized in Power and Endurance, so she was easily able to lift the nearly 90kg Ouka as if he had no weight at all. As she carried the unconscious Ouka toward the waiting Takemikazuchi, Chigusa sent a grateful smile at Vahn and he could see a conviction contained within her eyes that hadnt been there previously. Her aura was sticking closely to Ouka body and, even though he wasnt aware of it himself, Oukas was intermixing with hers as if driven by some primal instinct. Vahn smiled before waving at simrly smiling Take and deciding to take his leave so Ouka had time to think without his presence putting pressure on him. Watching Vahns back, Takes smile increased in size and he turned to Chigusa and said in a calm manner as if the Captain of his Familia wasnt currently beaten to the point of unconsciousness, "Vahn is right, Chigusa. Ouka has carried a heavy burden before he was ready to bear it so his mentality has warped slightly as a result. You have my apologies, as it is primarily my fault he has be like this...please, take care of him for me from now on." Chigusa flushed slightly at Takemikazuchis words before nodding her head and saying in a resolved voice, "I will do my best...so that Ouka can do his best as well. I will be a strong woman so that he can be a strong man!" Take smiled before trying to help her carry Oukas body into the room so he could receive treatment. Chigusa, however, shook her head and said, "No, Vahn-sama left Oukas care to me, and Ill see it through until the end." Hearing her words, Take nodded his head before making way for the young girl as he remarked in his mind, ("Vahn-sama? What am I then, sashimi? Hahahaha.") (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP 2 Guild Girls,Pride before the fall,Chigusaa Resolve is ignited~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 426 - Welfs Change

Chapter 426 - Welf''s Change

Leaving the Takemikazuchi Familia, Vahn headed towards his next destination which was located rtively nearby. With his ability to use [Shundo], he could quickly move through the City so it was surprising to Vahn that this was the first time he was visiting Welf at his new workshop. Because it was next to his own clubhouse, which was quickly reaching the end of its construction, Welfs workshop was located less than three kilometers away from the Hearth Manor, so Vahn was able to reach it in less than a minute after he had set it as his destination. If not for his focus on his work, and spending time with the girls, Vahn could jump over to his workshop whenever he wanted and continue to build their rtionship as friends. There were downsides to long-range use of [Shundo] however, so Vahn tried not to be overly reliant on it since it wasnt that difficult to run the distance if he wasnt in a hurry. The only reason he used [Shundo] this time is because he wanted to test just how quickly he could cover the rtively short distance during an emergency situation. Vahn tried not to make assumptions when it came to protecting his loved ones, so he had to know exactly how long the trip would take even though it was nearly negligible. With how fast some people could move, arriving just a few seconds slower could spell disaster and Vahn had Sis monitor his logbooks just in case the girls sent him an emergency message. --- Welfs workshop was a dual residence that had two floors and, from what Vahn could tell at a nce, around eight total rooms excluding therge space that had been set aside as his forge and research station. Since Vahn could detect several presences inside, he assumed Welf was home so he knocked on the door even though he had detected the fluctuation of the small formation that had been set up. Welf still remained rtively low key, so his residence wasnt that morous and seemed somewhat spartan in appearance, at least from the outside. A short whileter, Vahn heard several locks unfasten before a mature looking Amazon appeared at the door and gave Vahn a somewhat fierce look for a moment before her expression softened and she said, "Sage Aldrnari, we hadnt been expecting your arrival. Have youe to visit Welf, or did you have business with us Amazons?" Vahn could see the womans aura gravitating toward him slightly and it made him wonder if it was a good idea for him to visit Welf unannounced. Even though this girl was obviously in a rtionship with Welf, it didnt mean she had proper control over her instincts, especially after spending several years as a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e. Vahn was somewhat famous in the Amazon circles, and they were some of the mostmon solicitors whenever he was walking around the City in the past. Vahn smiled politely and waved his hand in a dismissive manner as he said, "I came to visit Welf, but I cane backter if he is busy..." As Vahn spoke, he turned his attention to the collected presences and realized he had inadvertently interrupted Welfs fun. The mild blush and antagonistic look the Amazon had given him when she first opened the door was a clear indicator of his transgressions, but she didnt seem to mind as she grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the interior of the workshop whileughing. She showed Vahn to what looked like the room where Welf would negotiate with clients before giving him a sensuous look and leaving the room, likely to inform Welf of Vahns arrival. Amazons didnt wear much in the way of clothing, so from the very start, the buxom woman had been wearing nothing but a beige top and bottoms that looked closer to underwear than actual clothing as she walked around barefoot. She had a very mature disposition, a somewhat fierce and confident look on her face, and a very shapely set of b.r.e.a.s.ts withrge h.i.p.s and a pert butt. Because of how Amazons fought, many of them had very toned butts and this one was no exception and even exceeded Tiona and Tione, though only as a result of her age and maturity. Vahnmended his past self for turning away the Amazons that had arrived at his door, as it was very likely he would have been entrapped by them over time with how forward they acted. Soon after the woman went up the stairs, Vahn could hear the sounds of quick movements and stomping before Welf came running down the stairs with arge grin on his slightly flushed face. Because of his long association with Tsubaki, Welf often wore clothes in the style of the Far East and he was now wearing a loose ck yukata and a pair of red briefs that were visible from his quick movements. It was very obvious he had just thrown on the closest set of clothing he could reach and Vahn got a brief glimpse of his rtivelynky figure that had the signs of muscles beginning to build on it. Welfughed loudly and approached Vahn very quickly before wrapping him up in a bear hug and shouting, "You really know how to treat your friends, Vahn! Ahahahahahaha!" Vahn blinked in confusion before seeing the look in Welfs eyes and understanding what he was implying. Vahn felt somewhat awkward being hugged by a man, but he still pat Welfs back in the same manner before they parted and Welf walked to the side and grabbed very familiar alcohol from a nearby cupboard. Vahn had left several types for his use when theyst parted, and now Welf had grabbed some of the more expensive brands before pouring a ss for both himself and Vahn. Sitting down on the opposite sofa, Welf had arge grin on his face as he raised his ss and toasted, "Lets see, how about a toast to our continued friendship and the beautiful women at our backs?" Nodding his head, Vahn clinked his ss against Welfs and they both said, "To friendship and beautiful women!" before downing the contents of their ss in one fell swoop. Though he didnt feel the impact like Welf, Vahn still released a hot sigh as was customary for such an exchange. Afterward, they both started tough as the sound of footsteps emerged from the stairs and Vahn got his first glimpse of the four Amazons living with Welf. Welf gave the women an enamored look and his smile grew evenrger as he said, "Let me introduce everyone! As you girls are likely well aware, this is my good friend, Vahn Mason, the man known as the Sage Aldrnari and the Captain of the Hestia Familia! Ahahahahahaha!" Welf pat Vahns shoulder heartily before gesturing at each woman individually and saying, "These beautiful women are Sonia, Maia, Vestal, and Kris. Theyve been a great help ever since theyve arrived, so Im very grateful for their presence!" Like the first woman, who Vahn now knew was named Maia, each Amazon was wearing nothing but various colored tops and bottoms that fully showed off their figures. Hearing Welfs words, the women all gave Vahn greetings and he was once again made aware of his influence of such girls as their attention was slowly beginning to turn towards him along with their auras. Other than the first Amazon, Sonia, every girl seemed somewhat interested in Vahn but Welf surprisingly didnt seem to mind it too much. Because all of his women were Amazons, Welf knew a fair amount about their culture and habits and knew that he could only me himself if he werent capable enough to keep them. He had matured a lot in a rtively short amount of time and was now putting in his best efforts after having the women promise to give him a chance. As a disy of their convictions, each girl had actually taken a vow promising themselves to Welf alone for the next three years, though it didnt stop them from perusing Vahn and making inviting remarks. With Welfs permission, things could quickly take a strange turn but Vahn clearly expressed he had no such interests, and would likely avoid such a situation since there were numerous beautiful women waiting on him at home. Each of the Amazons were beautiful women, which seemed to be a racial trait as Vahn had never met an ugly one. He actually hadnt even met an old looking Amazon before, so Vahns assumption was that they were the type that retained their beauty into their old age. There were surprisingly few texts regarding the Amazons, as theirmunity and cultures were highly secretive and segregated from the outside world. Vahn did, however, get to enjoy the sight of their bodies as he talked with Welf about his research and also discussed some of his own progress as a [Master Smith]. Welf immediately became very serious the moment the topic changed and Kris, who had been rubbing his back previously, rose from the spot and left with the other girls as if they were respecting Welfs privacy on the matter. As Welfs research was actually top secret, they knew they werent to be present for the discussion and excused themselves after sharing a kiss with the over-eager youth. Vahn realized he should probably expose Welf to some other guys as well since it looked like he would end up controlled by the girls around him if he didnt develop his sensibilities a bit. When the women finally left, Welf activated a formation key and a soundproof barrier spread throughout the room as he released a sigh and remarked, "I used to envy you for the number of women surrounding you, but I now pity you more than anything else. Those little vixens drain me dry every day, not that I really mind it, hahahahaha." For a very brief moment after hisughter ceased, there was a somewhat mncholic look in Welfs eyes as he said, "I used to think I would be happy just being with one woman, but now I dont know if Id forgive myself if I let any of those girls go. I want to be a stronger warrior and a better cksmith so I can keep them with me far into the future..." Vahn nodded his head and said in a firm tone, "Youll have to be prepared to fight for them if you want them to stay with you for the rest of your life. The Amazon Queen isnt very understanding, so make sure youe to myself and the Alliance when the timees." A serious expression appeared on Welfs face and he said, "Cultures and traditions can be such bullshit...first I have to deal with the stigma of my own family, and now I stand to lose my women in the future if I be strong enough to get them pregnant...ridiculous!" As Welf spoke, Vahn poured another ss of the strong alcohol and gave a very understanding nod at the youth before they both downed their second shots. Because he had been venturing into the Dungeon often, Welfs research had slowed down a fair amount but his actual progress had increased. He had been so focused on his research in the past that he had stalled his own progress by following random tangents that often led to dead ends. Now that he had broadened his horizons a bit, Welfs judgment had improved and his strength was rapidly increasing as well. With the protection and influence of the Amazons, Welf had be a bit of a battle maniac and, even though they were originally talking about his research, he ended up gloating about his battles within the Dungeon after he got a little drunk. He was still only Level 1, so his greatest conquest ended up being his fight against a variant Hard Armored, but it was still much better than the version of Welf from the manga at this point in time. By the time Welf waspletely drunk, he had started trying to narrate his first experience with the four Amazons and Vahn got to learn how they came to reside with him in the past. Aisha had gathered up a number of the more mature women in the group, since she had heard that Welf liked the somewhat motherly and caring types, before bringing them all to Welfs workshop unannounced. When they had first met him, Welf showed the girls his skills as a cksmith before the four current Amazons decided to take care of him. There had originally been eleven girls, so Welf admitted that he was grateful that there were only four since they had moved in that very same day. When night time came, he was very nervous but ended up falling into the momentum of the experience girls as they tended to him for several hours until he eventually fell asleep cradled in Sonias arms. Welf admitted to Vahn that, though he liked all of the girls, the only one he really loved at the moment was Sonia. Vahn could tell that she also had affections for Welf as well, and decided to tell Welf even though his brain might not be capable of processing Vahns words properly. Sonia was the most mature looking of the Amazons and had apparently even given birth in the past before her daughter died during her training. She was still a proper Amazon, but her loyalty to her species had diminished a great deal after the fact. Knowing that Welf needed a mother figure in his life, she took to the role willingly and was the leader amongst the other girls as she was also the strongest in the group. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts were on the limits of a C-Cup, and she had a very shapely figure with the visible lines of muscles under her healthy brown skin. Her ck hair was tied into a loose ponytail that reminded Vahn a lot of Tsubaki, but her somewhatx and gentle face with her purple eyes created a clear contrast. As for the other girls, Vestal and Kris, they also looked mature but Kriss b.r.e.a.s.ts were much smaller than the other girls and she was somewhat petite. She was the one that gave Vahn the most attention earlier and he could tell she was also the youngest of the group and the least in control of her own instincts. Vahn wouldter discover that each girl, Sonia, Maia, Vestal, and Kris, were 31, 25, 27, and 18 respectively. Each girl, with he exception of Kris, was Level 3, with Sonia being very close to the requirements for reaching Level 4. As they aged, and increased in strength, their control over themselves increased to match so it wasnt too surprising that the youngest, and weakest, member of their group would be eyeing Vahn. She had spent less than five months as a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e and hadnt gotten her urges out of her body and somewhat eagerly sought strong and capable men. --- Welf eventually passed out after drinking too much so Vahn deactivated the soundproof barrier and informed the girls that he was about to leave. Sonia showed up the quickest and gave Vahn a grateful smile as she said, "Thank you for looking after our Welf, Vahn Mason. You are wee here anytime, though please give us advance warning in the future, fufufufu~." Though he wasnt drunk at all, Vahn blushed slightly and scratched the back of his head as he said, "Sorry about that, I should have been more thoughtful..." As he spoke, the youngest Amazon, Kris, decided to say in a cheerful tone, "You should visit more often in the future, Im sure Welf would be happy. Lets be good friends from now on, okay~?" Kris stepped very close to Vahn and pressed her budding b.r.e.a.s.ts against his arm before Sonia bonked the top of her head hard and said, "Kris, dont be so eager or youll offend both Vahn and Welf." Kris rubbed the top of her head and sent a fierce look at Sonia before immediately averting her eyes when the older Amazon squinted. The other two had shown up at this point and Maia remarked, "Dont be too harsh on her, Sonia, even I cant help but feel my body acting up when someone like Vahn is around. Not only did he save us from that shitty life, but he is also a very powerful man..." Vestal nodded he head and added on, "Maia is right, you cant fault Kris for following her instincts as an Amazon. If Welf actually allows it, even I wouldnt mind spending some time with the famous Sage Aldrnari~." As she spoke, Vestal sent a wink at Vahn and he just returned a wry smile and said, "Well, Ill be heading out now...it was a pleasure meeting you all. Im sure well be good friends in the future, but I will respect Welf as my friend and avoid doing anything untoward. Youre all beautiful women, but I have my own principles to live by..." Sonia nodded her head thoughtfully, but the other three girls didnt seem quite as understanding even though they didnt press Vahn any further. For the majority of Amazons, rtionsh.i.p.s werent that important at all and they simply followed theirpulsion to find capable mates to in order to have the most capable children. If not for their jobs as p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es, they would have all likely had daughters by now and would have gotten the urge out of their system, but they hadnt been as fortunate as Sonia, at least as far as conceiving a child was concerned. Most patrons in the red light district are rtively weak and this made it exceptionally difficult to find suitable mates to sire their children. Vahn ended up leaving the somewhat dangerous workshop behind and resolved himself to meet up with Welf at his own clubhouse in the future where they could hang out without worrying about the somewhat troublesome girls influence. He didnt hold their behavior against them since Vahn knew it was very difficult for Amazons to fight against their urges. Tiona and Tione practically attacked him when they were triggered, so Vahn couldnt fault them when they actually showed a surprising amount of restraint. The fact that they willingly took a vow showed they were serious about being with Welf, at least for the time being, so the only thing Vahn needed to do was help Welf get stronger and there wouldnt be any major problems in the future. Worst case scenario, Vahn could just let Kris meet Tiona and Tione and they would instantly shut her down since Amazons were very deferential to strength. Tiona and Tione were both Level 5, even though they were still very young, so most Amazons would take several steps back when they saw the rtionship between Vahn and the beautiful twins. --- Because he was in somewhat high tensions after visiting Welf, and dealing with the Amazons, Vahn was slowly walking towards the residence of the Anubis Familia and considering if he should visitter. It was currently around 2 PM, so he could just stop by the Hearth Manor and enjoy a meal as he calmed his body and mind for a while. If he visited Anubis, Nanu, and the rest of the pack, covered in the smell of women and alcohol he might lose a bit of face. At the very least, he would probably end up spending some quality time with Anubis, but this would likely upset the still too young Nanu... Vahn released a hot sigh that caused arge cloud of condensation to spread since it was still below freezing outside even though it was the afternoon. Anubis was just too stimting an existence to associate with easily because Vahns own inhibitions towards here were nearly non-existent. He was very weak to receptive women and, with perhaps the exception of Loki and Hephaestus, she was easily the most receptive girl in his life and had a very submissive personality that made it too easy to escte things. Because of this, Vahn decided that it would be better to visit the Anubis Familiater and just sent a message to Anubis inviting her to stay the night as pensation. He would escort her back in the morning and then spend part of the day with the pack instead of causing them any trouble by his current state. With his schedule suddenly freed up, Vahn decided to release his tensions at the Hearth Manor before spending the rest of the afternoon pampering the girls. He really wanted to train his [Petting] skill even further, so Vahn decided it was a good opportunity and intended to give short massages to each of the interested girls at the Manor. This would undoubtedly be all of them, so Vahn had already resolved himself to divide the group and tend to therger majority tomorrow since he had nothing else nned other than a bit of work. After scanning through the Status Log, Vahn decided to spend part of his afternoon with Ais and Tiona, as they were both currently free and residing in the Manor. Syr and Hestia would most likely apany him during the evening and Vahn had been spending a lot of time with Chloe, Arnya, and Akitely and decided to show some affection to the two girls that had been a part of his first time. Ais had been behaving differently after her confessional and had opened up a lot after that fateful day. Though they had spent a fair amount of time together afer the fact, Vahn still felt like he needed to pamper the inordinately beautiful girl more often... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Brown-skinned paradise,Welfs Resolution,Anubims Intuition is tingling) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 427 - Quality Time

Chapter 427 - Quality Time

When Vahn arrived at the Manor, he was greeted at the door by Fenrir in a light blue one-piece dress with pale pink bows tied in her hair right underneath her veryrge ears. Fenrir quickly moved forward and hugged Vahn around the waist as she said, "Wee home, Vahn~! Come y with Fenrir!" Vahn briefly passed his perception over the Manor before saying, "Sure, that sounds like fun." Even though he wanted to ease his tensions with Tiona and Ais, Vahn could tell they were with several others and it would probably be awkward to try and invite them away from the group. It was much easier to rx with Fenrir anyways, assuming she wasnt in a strange state like the previous incident. Following the happy Fenrir, Vahn ended up in a room with Mn, Tina, Shizune, Preasia, Haruhime, and the twins, Emiru and Maemi. He could tell they had been studying previously, as there were several books spread out on the low tables they had set up as a mock ssroom. Seeing Vahns arrival, though they had expected he had returned due to Fenrirs behavior, all of the girls were pleasantly surprised and weed him to join their study session. It turned out that Fenrir had just wanted to show off a bit and disy how much progress she had made in her studies. Vahn knew she was trying to mature faster and it was a little sad because he knew Fenrir wouldnt always be the somewhat innocent little wolf girl that usually brought himfort. After seeing Fenrirs progress, Vahn heavilyplimented her but also turned his attention to the previously illiterate Maemi and Emiru who had also mademendable progress. Toward the end of things, Vahn ended up surrounded by the cl.u.s.ter of girls while Fenrir sat in hisp and he read for the entire group. Mn was at his right, with Tina and Shizune clinging to her, while Haruhime and Preasia sat at his left. As for the twins, they were looming over Vahns head somewhat since they were leaning over his shoulders from behind the sofa. Vahn was a little distracted by the situation, but he quickly regained his calm and spent nearly two hours reading a heroic tale to the group before Fenrir released a yawn and fell asleep leaning against his chest. It wasnt really thatte in the day, so it was somewhat uncharacteristic for Fenrir to sleep so early, especially considering she didnt actually require sleep at all. Usually, she only slept during the evenings when other people were sleeping, or when she was rxing with Vahn and trying to keep him calm. This keyed Vahn in on the idea that Fenrir was trying to keep him for herself at the moment, or at least wanted to spend time with him. As he had been spending a lot of time with the other girlstely, especially during the evenings, Vahn had only been brushing her hair on asion and helping wash her body in the bath. This typically ate up less than an hour of his day, so she was probably feeling lonely. Deciding to pamper Fenrir a bit, Vahn closed the book and exined, "I think Ill take a short nap as well...I dont want to wake her if she is tired." This was Vahns way of passively letting the girls know he was going to spend time with Fenrir, but it ended up turning into a situation where he napped with all the girls cuddled up with him instead. Even Mn, who had a yful smile on her face before she closed her eyes, had leaned her head against Vahns shoulder as she hugged Shizune and Tina to her body. The only exceptions were Maemi and Emiru, as they had been standing behind the group, but it didnt stop them from cing cushions near Vahns feet and cuddling up with each other as he did his best to pretend this was normal. Things continued in thisfortable, yet decidedly awkward, manner until Anubis arrived at the Manor around 5 PM. Emiru and Maemi needed to head to the kitchen to help prepare dinner, and Vahn wanted to stretch his legs after having sat down for so long. When Fenrir awoke, she released another yawn before nuzzling against Vahn onest time and saying, "Vahn is the best to Fenrir~." After scratching behind her ears for a bit, Vahn had Fenrir hop out of hisp and they all transitioned to the dining room where people generally congregated in the evenings. When Vahn arrived, he saw something rather surprising as Ais had her hair styled up in a ponytail while Tiona and Tione had also changed their hairstyles and had obvious signs of makeup on their faces. He found out that they had been learning from Tsubaki and Syr how to apply makeup, even though Vahn never recalled either girl ever wearing any. Tiona had medium length hair with somewhat longer sideburns that came to an end in two golden ornaments. Now, however, her hair had two small tufts at the top like pigtails and she looked decidedly more youthful than previously. As for Tione, her sideburns were usually braided but now her entire hair was styled in a loose ponytail that came over her shoulder instead of hanging at the back of her head. It was a somewhat mature hairstyle that was ented by the fact he was curled slightly. Vahn gave the girls amplepliments, even though he was very tempted to tease Tiona for how childish she looked currently. Though she had the obvious signs of maturity, especially around her legs and h.i.p.s, her chest was very small and her hair, when it was styled up in short pigtails, made her look much younger than normal. ented by the fact they were also wearing somewhat casual clothing, instead of their Amazon attire, she almost looked like apletely different person. If not for the fact she had clung to him, as was her normal behavior, Vahn would have doubted they were the same person as the makeup also altered her facial features very slightly. Unfortunately, their new styles didntst long after Vahn brought up the idea of giving out massages so he could practice his skills further. Since he hadnt been able to spend time with Tiona and Ais earlier, Vahn started with them and helped restore their default appearances in the process as the sweat from their bodies had marred their makeup a bit after the fact... Ais had always enjoyed Vahns [Hands of Nirvana], but he noticed that she was now a lot more vocal about it and even released somewhat tantalizing m.o.a.ns during the process. Her previous responses were always stifled, or outright non-existent, even though her aura would always re up and there would be a glimmer in her eyes. Now, however, she had taken the initiative toy on her back and guided Vahns hands across her body as she stared at him with passionate eyes and releasedbored breaths and sensuous m.o.a.ns that caused his brain to buzz. When the fifteen minutes had finished, Ais rose from the table and clung to his neck as she gave Vahn a passionate kiss before saying, "Thank you...it was very pleasant, Vahn." If not for the fact there were other girls waiting, Vahn would have likely pushed Ais down on the spot because of the rising emotions in his body. Fortunately, Ais didnt take things much further and just wore the bathrobe that Vahn had given all the participants before leaving the room with a flushed face and a light smile on her lips. Tiona burst into the room shortly thereafter, apanied by Tsubaki who was supposed to reign her in if she lost control. Vahn, seeing the beautiful brown-skinned girls realized that his self-control had been slipping greatlytely as he had a powerful urge rising up inside of him that he had to ease with his [Will of the Emperor]. Whenever he massaged Tiona, she always started off byughing for a long period of time before herughter ceased entirely and turned to soft m.o.a.ns that were generally very long and drawn out. Vahn couldnt forcibly rx her body, as it would only make things stressful for her, so he had to give her a rtively normal massage while using his energy to stimte her nerves in a gentle fashion that caused her body to vibrate slightly. Because of his [Petting] ability, she enjoyed it a lot more than in the past, however, and made sure Vahn was very aware of it since she started narrating half-way through about what parts of her body felt the best. Following Tiona, Vahn gave a massage to Tione with Tsubaki watching curiously from the side once again, also with the intention of reigning in the Amazon if she lost control. When she stripped off her robe, Vahn noticed something that startled him somewhat and he couldnt help but swallow a bit of saliva as she climbed onto the table with her back facing upwards. It wasnt umon for the girls he gave a massage to, especiallytely, to bepletely nude during the process, however, Tione had done something Vahn hadnt expected at all and was wearing a very small pair of ck panties that looked closer to a string than actual underwear. When sheid down on the table, Vahn could see the fabric arranged into a T-shape that disappeared into the crack between her two cheeks as if guiding the eye to follow. After collecting himself, Vahn ignored the undergarments, at least on the outside, but he kept thinking about how he could improve upon his own designs in the future as he massaged Tiones back. Because she was still a maiden, Tione was able to rx greatly during the massage without releasing any sensual m.o.a.ns. Of course, this didnt stop her from gasping out and giving subtle m.o.a.ns of pleasure as the procedure was incredibly rxing. She had a lot of pent up stress, especially over thest few months, so Vahns massage was very ther.a.p.eutic for her. Once he was finished, she gave him a bashful look and said in a somewhat low voice, "Thanks..." before leaving the room rtively quickly. Vahn followed her back with his eyes as Tsubaki walked over and stripped out of her own bathrobe and said, "Remember, Vahn, she is still being punished for her previous actions. If you feel bad for her, just get stronger even faster, okay? Now, lets hurry up and get started, I dont want to lose any of my own time because youre lost in thought!" Tsubaki smacked Vahn hard on the shoulder before climbing onto the massage table with her belly facing upwards. Vahn was distracted by the sight for a brief moment before asking, "You dont want me to massage your back?" Tsubaki gave him a cheeky look and said, "If Im on my stomach, youll probably just rub my butt until I cant even walk properly. This way, I can keep an eye on you and make sure you dont do anything strange when Im not paying attention..." Shaking his head, Vahn smiled and walked over to Tsubaki before rubbing his hand along her abdomen and making her take in a sharp breath of air. He now knew that the imprint above her w.o.m.bpletely protected the fetus that was continuing to develop inside of her body and, unless shepletely ran out of mana to support the formation, there was no danger to it at all. This allowed Vahn to tease her a great deal because his own energy resonated with both her body, as well as the seal at the same time and greatly enhanced the amount of stimtion she felt. She might have made ament about keeping an eye on him, but her actions also allowed Vahn to see her reactions because her face was clearly visible to him. Tsubaki also seemed to realize this immediately after he started, but she didnt back down at all and just gnashed her teeth and released husky m.o.a.ns periodically when she ran out of breath. Vahn might not be able to rub her butt, but now he had to option of stimting her b.r.e.a.s.ts, abdomen, thighs, and calves. He avoided the danger zone located between her inner thighs because he didnt want to get her scent covering his hands. Tsubaki was releasing arge volume of love nectar, and Vahn could smell its somewhat powerful aroma which made his brain buzz as a giddy feeling spread in his abdomen. He knew that tonight was going to be a rough night and added Tsubaki to the list of girls he wanted to invite to stay with him. Just imagining her beautiful brown skin ovepped with the olive-brown skin of Anubis made his heart itch a great deal... After Tsubaki left, Vahn ended up wiping down his hands with to mask the scent of her body since she had sweat a great deal during the procedure. Luckily, or perhaps not, the next group that entered the room consisted of Mn, Tina, Shizune, and Fenrir. Because Vahn helped to wash their bodies in the afternoons,bined with the fact that he proimed his massage to not be s.e.x.u.a.l, he had agreed to let the youth troupe participate for the first time. Fenrir had received his massage before, back when it was just her, Hestia, and himself living in the Manor, but it was a first time for Tina and Shizune. Even though he saw them n.a.k.e.d often, Vahn had the girls wear thin clothing to cover their bodies during the massage since he wasnt going to do anything to stimte their bodies like he did for the a.d.u.l.t women. He actually did his best to not use his palms at all and just gently pressed into their nerves to help ease the tensions in their bodies. Because they were young, they actually didnt have any real knots or sores in their bodies, except for some seque from training so hard in the mornings. Tina had been the first up and she had been very fl.u.s.tered as she peeled off her bathrobe and revealed her vani colored blouse and a pair of ck spats. When she was ready, she bowed to Vahn and squeaked, "T-t-t-thank you f-for letting me participate, Vahnya~!" Vahn felt his tensions calm down a lot because of Tinas behavior and showed a small smile before helping her climb onto the table since she was too small to be able to do so herself. Though she had entered her growth phase, Tina was only around 118cm tall and the height of the table came to her chest. Just like when he had given a massage to Lili in the past, Vahn couldnt help but be surprised with how small Tinas body was when she wasying on her stomach. Her chestnut tail was twitching about furiously every time he touched her body until it eventually lost strength and drooped down pitifully as she released quiet mewling sounds that were characteristic of all the Cat Persons Vahn had ever given massages to in the past. Tinas, however, were decidedly more adorable because of how innocent each of her reactions were. Throughout the entire process, she tightly gripped the sides of the table with her eyes closed and she did her best to stay quiet as the blush from her face slowly crept down her back as even her shoulders began to turn red. Even though he had gone very easy on her, Tina waspletely powerless by the end of the fifteen minutes and hadpletely fallen asleep soon after the procedure ended. Mn carried her body and giggled yfully at Vahn before saying, "Ill put off my on session until ater date; make sure to treat me well when the timees, fufufu~." Because Mn was going to take Tina to their room to rest, Vahn ended up refusing to give a massage to the mischevious Shizune because, even though he had told them to wear appropriate clothing, she had stripped down into a pair of pure white panties without a top at all so Vahn booted her out and sent both her and Fenrir back to Mn. Fenrir knew she could get Vahn to give her a massage in the future, just like Mn, so she escorted the troublemaking Shizune to their room like a prison warden as the Kitsune girls ears hung low on her head and her tail fluffy tail drooped sadly in between the slit at the back of her robe. Coincidentally, the time he had spent with the youth troupe made Vahn calm down a lot and he now had a desire to sleep peacefully instead of spending the night with the other girls. Since he had already asked Anubis toe over and had even invited Tsubaki, however, Vahn would allow things to progress naturally. Of course, if possible, he would see if they could all just cuddle up together without doing anything strenuous at all. He hadnt invited the key yer yet, which was Syr, so there was a chance he could just spend the night sandwiched by the two very mature women and simply rx the night away in a blissful state. The youth troupe had been thest bunch for the evening, as Vahn had divided the group into two, so he spent the extra time he had been awarded rxing in the bath with the other girls. Anubis had washed his back as he made casual conversation with Syr and Ryuu while washing Hestias long ck hair with an expert-level of care. Afterward, deciding it was better to spend some of his evenings rxing, Vahn retired to his room with Anubis, Tsubaki, and Hestia. Syr seemed to have suspected something, but she didnt say anything at all and Vahn was able to easily convince the three busty women, which consisted of two goddesses, to simply cuddle in peace. Anubiss ears drooped for a very brief moment, but she quickly recovered with a smile when Vahn promised to escort her back to her residence early in the morning. Hestia and Tsubaki hadnt had any problems at all with the arrangement so Vahn ended up being sandwiched by two beautiful brown-skinned women while the petite and inexplicably beautiful Hestia slept on his stomach. Since all three girls had rtivelyrge b.r.e.a.s.ts, Vahn felt like he was being surrounded by plush marshmallows as he enjoyed the varying body temperatures of the three loveable women after he kissed them all good night... (A/N: Happy Holidays~! I hope everyone is having a great time ^_^) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Interception~!,Vahns inspiration,Plush Embrace) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 428 - Twenty-Two

Chapter 428 - Twenty-Two

(A/N: Somewhat NSFW~? Sorry for my absence over thest 16 hours or so, I was fishing with my 70-year-old father yesterday evening~) On the edge of consciousness, Vahn could feel a powerful aura enveloping his body and a strong pressurebined with an inordinately fierce suction enveloping his p.e.n.i.s. The moment he came into awareness, Vahn felt a pleasurable sensation run up his back as, for what felt like the first time in his life, he was brought to ejacte unaware of the situation. Opening his eyes, Vahns widened because he was no longer in his own bed and there was a girl he had never seen before with her lips against his pelvis after somehow fitting the entirety of his length into her throat. She had pale blue hair and was staring up at him with a pair of golden eyes that shone with a yful glint as she pulled her head away from his crotch. Vahn could see her throat dete as the incredulous sight of his own member being revealed from her lips urred before his very eyes. It wasnt the first time someone had put his p.e.n.i.s in their mouth, as Hestia, Chloe, and Loki had all done so in the past, but it was the first time he had seen anyone take his full length. Vahn had no idea how she was able to do so without choking, but his question was brought to silence when she stuck out or tongue before swallowing the remnants still contained within her mouth and said, "Thanks for the meal~!" Then, before Vahn was able to make sense of what was going on, the girl tried to climb up into hisp and he was able to see her clearly for the first time. The moment Vahn saw her actual body, he felt a terrifying feeling well up inside him since she looked closer to a young girl than a woman. The strange pale-blue haired girl was only around 130cm tall and looked very petite with her slim figure, b.r.e.a.s.ts small enough to fit in the cusp of a persons hand, and apletely smooth slit that was somewhat puffy with a dangerous sheen of liquid tracing its way slowly down her thighs. When he reached out his hands to her shoulders, the girl gave him a pouty look while Vahn suddenly became distracted by his own body for a brief moment. He could tell that his hands were muchrger than normal and he was wearing intricately designed red bracers that were moreplex than anything he had ever seen before. Then, as if refusing to give him any time toprehend the situation, a massive set of doors slowly began to open in the distance, nearly 500m away, and the small girl in his hands showed a startled expression before inexplicably disappearing into a puff of blue dust and light. Vahns hands drooped now that he wasnt pressing against something and he saw the 20m tall ornate doors opening slightly as a familiar face appeared which eased his heart somewhat. Though her disposition had changed, Vahn could tell it was the same goddess he hade to love in the past, Hephaestus. She was attired in a beautiful red dress that Vahn could tell was a greater masterpiece than anything he would be able to forge. On her wrists, and around her neck, there were beautiful golden essories that radiated with magical power and Vahn felt like her current appearance was reminiscent of a queen as she walked toward him with confident steps and an awe-inspiring aura. Because the distance was precisely 500m, it would take her a short while to reach him and Vahn used the time to get his bearings and look around at the unknown room he found himself in. He hadnt noticed it earlier, but he was in a massive circr chamber sitting on arge ornate throne that served as the heart of the gigantic formation that flowed throughout the entire room. Using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see that the formation extended far beyond the confines of the room and noticed this was something he shouldnt be able to confirm at all. His maximum range of the skill should be around 475m, but he was easily able to see beyond the 500m confines of the room and far beyond... The biggest change, however, had been in his own body and this made Vahn even more confused since his figure should never change unless he wills it to. He was currently 180cm tall and his muscles were far more developed than they had been in the past. Other than an intricately designed robe, and various essories, the only thing he was wearing was a pair of red protectors that covered the backs of his forearms. Because of this, Vahn could tell that his skin was somewhat fairpared to the healthy brown of the past so he rose from his throne and set out arge mirror to see the rest of his figure. Other than his glowing aquamarine eyes, Vahn felt like he was looking at a stranger, even though a part of his mind told him this was indeed him. He had ashen-ck hair that extended near his shoulders and was swept back like a ck lions mane. Vahn thought it looked kind of cool, but he was too distracted by the long ears growing out of his head to mind his hairstyle too much. Checking his status, Vahn felt a bit of dread, confusion, and relief, because he could easily ess The Path and confirm that his race was currently Progenitus. The fact that he could ess The Path allowed Vahn to know this wasnt a dream, a terrifying thing to be sure, but it also brought him relief knowing he wasntpletely out of his element. To ease his mind ever further, Vahn called out within his own mind, ("Sis, what is going on here?") Several seconds passed in silence and Vahn felt a powerful sense of dread pass over him before the sound of Hephaestus voice stirred him awake, "Vahn, is everything okay? Youre behaving strangely..." Turning her head down, Hephaestus saw Vahns standing member and a scowl appeared on her face as she asked, "Was it that little brat again? Oh, when I get my hands on herter!" Vahn had so many questions right now, but the first thing he asked was, "Who...?" Hephaestus heard his words and c.o.c.ked her head to the side in confusion as she asked, "Was Leh not here...or are you trying to cover for her?" Releasing a long sigh, Hephaestus gave Vahn a ming look and said, "If you continue spoiling her so much she will just keep getting worse, Vahn. You need to discipline her more..." Without exining anything else, Hephaestus pressed against two emeralds on her dress and the entire thing turned into wisps of me as the garment receded back into the ne around her neck. Vahn saw Hephaestus nude figure as she walked forward and ced her hands against his bare chest and looked up at him with enamored eyes and said, "Instead of worrying about little girls, why not y with this small Empress every now and then...?" Vahn had habitually put his hands around Hephaestus back and was staring down at her as he tried to make sense of the situation. The fact that she called herself a small empress was a clue and,bined with the fact that he seemed to be in a throne room, he somewhat assumed he was her Emperor. Though he desperately wanted to confirm what was going on, Hephaestus had expertly lifted her leg against his body while using his shoulders as support before deftly lowering her h.i.p.s and releasing a hot sigh against his chest. In what sounded like teasing, intermixed with a bit of me, Hephaestus kissed the base of his neck and said, "Fuuuu, it feels like its been so long...youre always so busy these days...let me keep you to myself for a short while, okay~?" Though he didnt mind carrying her body, Vahn backstepped before sitting in what he presumed was his throne so that Hephaestus could move more freely. She gave him a grateful look and began to move her h.i.p.s in a skilled manner, unlike anything Vahn had ever experienced from her before. Vahn felt her insides were very familiar, but her techniques had increased greatly and she also skillfully attacked her own weak spots without him having made any efforts. Unwilling to be left out, however, Vahn began tracing his hands around Hephaestus back and started kissing her. For a brief moment, she showed a shocked expression before a few tears streamed from the corner of her eyes. Vahn felt a bit of grief in his heart when he saw her tears as, even though he could tell she was happy, it felt like Hephaestus was ming him somehow. It was almost like he hadnt shown her any affection in a very long time and she was both happy and sad at the same time. Another thing that Vahn noticed was that his [Hands of Nirvana] was behaving differently and Hephaestus squirmed about at just the briefest touch. Her earlier efforts turned into an eagerness that made Vahn feel somewhat terrified as she spun her h.i.p.s quickly and grasped both sides of his face as she kissed him with a skill that dwarfed his own. Not too long after they began, Vahn felt the urge to release once again and ced his hands firmly against Hephaestus h.i.p.s before lowering her down and doing so deep within her. Hephaestus eyes opened widely and, the moment he ejacted inside of her, she arched back and shouted so loudly that it echoed around the chamber for several seconds after, "Thank yoooooooou, Vaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahn~!" Hephaestus gripped his arms tightly as powerful reverberations wracked her body and she gasped loudly before leaning forward and tucking her face into his chest. She ced her arms loosely around his h.i.p.s and began to cry as she kept muttering, "Thank you...thank you...thank you..." Vahn had no idea why she was behaving this way, but it made his heart twist painfully in his chest so he embraced her tightly against him and asked, "Why are you thanking me, Hephaestus...?" As Vahn spoke, he noticed something that made his heart tremble as he had looked into her body with his [Eyes of Truth] for a brief moment and noticed that she was no longer pregnant. Before he could ask what had happened, Hephaestus lifted her tear-stained face and kissed him passionately once again before giggling and pulling away nearly a full minuteter. She gently passed her fingers through his hair and muttered, "Maybe Ill need to thank Lehter...she seems to have confused you a bit...? Its been more than three years since you decided to release inside of me, so I was very grateful...if you dont want another child, Ill go visit Eos and get it removed..." Vahn blinked in confusion when Hephaestus mentioned three years and he knew things had changed far more than he expected. To hide his expression from her, Vahn pulled Hephaestus close and muttered, "Lets have another child..." as he looked into his system and inspected his status in detail for the first time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 37 Race: Progenitor, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:9(9) -Power: 7709+(B888) -Endurance: 8318+(B807) -Dexterity: 7516+(C753) -Agility: 7906+(C766) -Magic: 16104+(SSS1112) Total:11455+(2838) Soul Tier: 4 (Divine Soul) [Karma]: 9,713,802 [OP]: 9,617,446,007 [Valis]: 12,229,557,479,885,940 Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:B], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:A], [Eyes of Truth:B],[Bow Mastery:S], [Stealth:S], [Chainbreaker:SS], [Heart of the Eternal me:SS], [Prometheus:S], [Call of the Reaper:SSS],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Featherfoot:SS], [Hands of Nirvana:SS], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:B], [Friend of Spirits:S], [Sower of Life:S] Magic: [Thria*Mimos:S], [Shundo:SS], [Void Movement:SSS], [Magia Erebea:SSS], [Heavens Fall:SSS], [Throne:SSS], [Spear of Heaven:SS], [Abyss of Despair:SS] Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:SS], [Well of Spirit:A], [Master Swordsman:A], [Master Smith:A], [Alchemist:A], [Sage:B], [Godhand:B], [Master Aesthetician:C], [Arch Mage:A] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn couldnt form any thoughts for a very long time as he continued to stroke Hephaestus hair as she sobbed happily against his chest. When Hephaestus had mentioned three years passing, Vahn wasnt too worried, as he had slowly been trying to prepare his mind to live forever, but the fact that twenty-two years had passed made him nk for a long while. He had initially dreaded that Hephaestus might have somehow lost their child, but it now seemed like his children had probably grown up already. This entire situation was outside of his expectation so he just sat stroking Hephaestus while continually calling out to Sis, who still seemed to be missing from his mind. As she could feel his body shaking, Hephaestus eventually looked up and saw Vahns expression before showing a face of profound confusion of her own. The Vahn she knew was a stoic man who was unshakeable in his resolve as he conquered his enemies without a moments hesitation. Now, however, the man she had loved for decades seemed to have vanished entirely, almost like he had been reced by a different person. He was a lot like when she had first met him in the past, almost like he had no idea how the world worked and needed someone to help guide him forward so he wouldnt be lost against the flow of time. Reaching her hand up and stroking his mortified face, Hephaestus asked in a gentle tone, "Vahn...tell me whats wrong, please. I will always do my best to help you..." cing his hand overtop Hephaestus, Vahn felt slightly at ease as he saw the love andpassion contained within her red-crimson eyes. Just as he had done in the past, Vahn decided to speak the truth to her so he exined, "Im not sure what happened, Hephaestus...it seems like Ive lost all my memories for thest twenty-two years...thest thing I remember is falling asleep surrounded by Tsubaki, Anubis, and Hestia...everything after that is apletely nk." Hephaestus blinked several times in confusion before cing her hand over Vahns heart and confirming he was indeed the same Vahn she knew. If what he said was true, which she could somewhat infer by his honest expression, it meant that he didnt remember anything since before their wedding night... With a bit of worry and trepidation, Hephaestus asked, "So you forgot everything...even our children?" Vahn blinked in confusion and was about to say something but Hephaestus released a long sigh and answered his unasked question, "We have three children...two daughters, and one son. They are named Ina, Vana, and Egan...you also have several children with your other wives..." Hephaestus released a long sigh before affectionately stroking Vahns confused face and climbing off of hisp. She felt a little lonely having separated from him, but she knew this matter was very serious and she couldnt handle it on her own. Pressing the emerald around her neck, mes wreathed Hephaestus body and her beautiful dress reappeared once again. Seeing Vahns intrigue, Hephaestus showed a teasing smile and said, "You made this dress, you know~?" Vahns eyes widened and he asked in a disbelieving voice, "I...made that dress...?" Hephaestusughed at his very innocent reaction and a profound warmth spread throughout her chest. Vahns reactions were a lot fresher than his typically serious personality and she felt like she had stepped back in time more than twenty years all of a sudden. She now understood why he showed her so much affection when they were having s.e.x and even willingly allowed her to get pregnant once again. With a glimmer in her eyes, Hephaestus said, "Everything around us is something you either designed or constructed yourself...Im sure youll be very surprised~. Ill make sure to show you aroundter...for now, Ill summon someone that can help make sense of this situation and potentially help recover your memories..." Seeing Hephaestus begin to walk away, Vahn felt uneasy so he reached out and her body was actually pulled to him in an instant. Though she was confused for a moment, Hephaestus smiled lovingly before kissing Vahn once again and saying, "Dont worry, Im not going anywhere Vahn. Even though things havent always been easy, Ive never truly left your side for even a moment..." As if realizing something, Hephaestus showed a conflicted expression before her smile reappeared and she said, "Ill arrange an audience with everyone that can help...and Ill show you something that will hopefully stir your memoriester. For now..." Hephaestus reached out at the side of Vahns throne and pressed a midnight blue gemstone that made a loud mechanical sound pass through the floor. Vahn hadnt noticed it earlier, but there was a massive motif of a wolf in front of his throne that was nearly 20m in diameter. When Hephaestus pressed the gemstone, the floor began to open in a spiral as arge tform lifted up from the darkness. Vahn could feel an incredible amount of pressure spreading through the atmosphere before his own [Will of the Emperor] shattered itpletely. After several seconds of silence, excluding the loud mechanical sounds, the tform reached the same level as Vahns throne room and he saw something that both terrified him and made him feel relieved at the same time. Fenrir was wrapped up in resplendent silver chains and was crouched down on the floor staring towards them with her fiercely glowing scarlet eyes. When the tform came to a stop, she pawed something on the floor that loosened the bindings on her body, but didnt remove them, and she rose to her feet wearing a strange skin-tight outfit Vahn had never seen before. He could sense a ridiculous amount of power radiating from her body as she tilted her head to the side and asked in an eager and clear voice, "Master, why have you awakened me? Do you require my assistance?" Vahn waspletely caught off guard by how eloquently Fenrir spoke and how majestic her demeanor was even though she was wrapped in silver chains. Unable to answer for himself, Hephaestus released a chuckle and exined, "Fenrir, your Master has amnesia and has lost his memories for thest twenty-two years. Can you protect him for me while I gather the council?" Fenrir c.o.c.ked her head to the other side and asked, "Amnesia...? That is troublesome...very well, I will do my best and protect Master. After all, it is my duty, no, my honor..." Fenrir had a fervent look in her eyes and kneeled down towards Vahn as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Vahn felt saddened by her actions and she seemed to immediately realize it as she lifted her head with clear concern on her face. Hephaestus, realizing her misunderstanding, said in a gentle tone towards the incredibly loyal wolf girl, "Vahn doesnt remember all of the vows you have taken, Fenrir, he just remembers the time when you used to behave very spoiled back at the Manor. For now, so that Vahns heart and mind can be at ease, why dont you get him to spoil you for a little while~?" Fenrirs eyes opened wide and the scarlet glow increased in intensity as the chains coiling around her body sparkled with a magical light. After several seconds of silence, she tilted her head and asked in an adorable manner, "Master will spoil Fenrir~?" Vahn, awakened by her words, nodded his head with a gentle smile on his face and said, "Fenrir is a good girl...Ill spoil you as much as you want." For a brief moment, when Vahn said Fenrir was a good girl, she flinched slightly but didnt break character as she quickly drew aplex pattern of runes on the tform sealing her away. Hephaestus ruffled Vahns hair before kissing him on the forehead and saying, "Ill be back shortly, Vahn. y with Fenrir for a bit...she has been pretty lonely in thest couple of years..." Vahn really wanted to know exactly what had happened in the past, but he decided to trust Hephaestus judgment and allow her to summon the so-called council. She seemed to believe they would be able to help and Vahn knew she had a better grasp of the situation than he did. For now, he just focused on the runes Fenrir was carving as Hephaestus quickly walked toward the same doors she had entered through previously. Nearly three minutester, Fenrir finished drawing a giant magic circle that covered her entire tform and caused the chains to loosen once again, this time releasing herpletely. She released a long sigh before turning her attention back to Vahn and smiling in a natural manner. Because he had never seen her manage a real smile, Vahn was very surprised and even more so when she startedughing yfully before bounding over to him happily. As he was sitting down, Fenrir immediately tried to hop up into hisp and Vahn remembered that he wasnt wearing pants at all so he quickly equipped a random pair from his inventory. Fenrir sat down in hisp before showing a curious expression and rubbing her butt against his member and saying, "Ah, you forgot that as well..." Though he didnt want to believe it, Vahn asked hesitantly, "Did we...?" Fenrir nodded her head in acent manner before hugging Vahn and saying, "Vahn is the best to Fenrir...even when she was a bad girl..." As she was hugging him, Fenrir began to smell around his body before a scowl appeared on her face and she said, "Leh...Master needs to be careful...no, Fenrir will protect you until you remember things clearly." Hearing the same name once again, Vahn began to form his question as a powerful fear welled up inside of him, "Who is...Leh?" Fenrir blinked in confusion for a moment before a fl.u.s.tered expression appeared on her face and she said in a hesitant manner mirroring his own, "She is...Freyas daughter...?" (A/N: Once again, sorry for posting this somewhatte. There will be a few more chapters today to help clear up the confusion that was caused by this chapter (UwU)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Story just got deep...kappa,What the f.u.c.k? Twenty-two years!?,Freyas Daughter...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 429 - Gap

Chapter 429 - Gap

Hearing Fenrirs words, and seeing her expression, Vahn felt the fear inside of him transition to terror as he asked in a low tone, "Who is the father...?" Fenrirs ears drooped at his words and she exined, "Master...Leh is the daughter of Master and Freya..." Vahn felt an icy chill spread through his mind in an instant and his awareness suddenly expanded to nearly 2km and he could sense everything around him in detail. He couldnt believe that one of his own daughters would do such a thing, but he mainly med himself for it happening even though he didnt understand the situation at all. Fenrir shivered under Vahns pressure and exined, "Master, stay calm, please...its not that simple, I just cant exin it well. You will understand when the otherse...please stay calm, please..." Hearing the plea of Fenrir, Vahn felt his heart wrench in his chest because he had never seen her act so pitifully before. He could sense powerful energying from her body and knew she was much stronger yet was acting more subserviently than ever before. Even though she was obviously highly frustrated, based on the glow of her eyes, she didnt show any signs of her hunger at all and was desperately trying to pacify him. Vahn noticed an abnormality in the surroundings and could sense the formations in his perceptioning to life as if in response to his domain being activated fully. The massive formation under his throne continued to the edges of his domain and likely proceeded even further beyond and it would have been an awe-inspiring sight to behold if not for the revtions that were beginning to overwhelm him. He kept screaming inside his mind for Sis to exin what was going on, but the only thing he received as a response was a horrifying silence. If not for the fact Fenrir was sitting in hisp, Vahn felt like he would go on a rampage and, if the fluctuating void was any indicator, he would destroy everything in his surroundings in the process. Fenrir began nuzzling against his chest and Vahn found his arms naturally closing around her back as if drawn by muscle memory. Her tail, which was generally dormant in the past, began to wag slightly from side-to-side, another sign that things had changed drastically. Not only was she more emotive, but she showed genuine signs of intelligence and understanding with a variety ofplex emotions. Even though twenty-two years had passed, she remained almost exactly the same except for her outfit and her behavior. Without Sis to ease his mind, Vahn felt like Fenrir was one of the only things that could ground him at the moment. He had never felt so afraid and uncertain before and desperately sought answers. At the same time as Fenrirs ears twitched, Vahn detected a presence appear within his perception as Fenrir shouted out, "Leh! Did you do something to Master!?" Even though there was nothing but empty space, both Fenrir and Vahn could detect the presence of the girl that raised her hand and moved through the void as if she were taking a casual stroll. Fortunately, she was no longer n.a.k.e.d but instead had on a muted grey bodysuit ented with golds and stark whites. Vahn was able to see her petite figure once again and felt the chill in his mind increase in intensity as he saw what should be his own daughter stare at him with amorous eyes filled with confusion. Fenrirs aura more than doubled in size, but she continued to cling to Vahn without moving to attack the confused Leh. Responding to Fenrirs earlier words, Leh showed a small smile and asked, "What did I do~? I didnt do anything strange at all, Fenrir. I just yed a little prank on Papa before he stopped me...I thought he was getting in the mood since he didnt stop me, fufufu~." The 500m radius around Vahns throne was considered invible territory so it was impossible for anyone to get near him without his notice. Leh thought he was just spoiling her and letting her get away with a bit of mischief before putting a stop to her antics as normal. Now, however, she realized there was something very wrong with the situation since Vahn allowed Fenrir to sit on hisp. Vahn continued to stare at Leh and asked in a cold tone that was caked with fear and inhibition, "Are you...really my daughter?" Lehs eyes opened wide in confusion before panic appeared on her expression and she asked, "Fenrir, what happened to Papa!? Dont tell me..." Fenrir continued to scowl at Leh and responded in an icy tone, "Master has lost his memories...he doesnt even know Leh anymore. Stay away from Master, or I will punish you in his stead..." Lehs eyes began to shake in their sockets as she turned her golden gaze to Vahn and asked in a stuttering voice, "P-papa...doesnt remember...me?" Vahn felt pained by her tone but he was far too angry at himself to even make an attempt to console her. Because he had a near-perfect memory, Vahn could still visualize everything she had been doing to him earlier and it terrified him that he might have be a person that allowed such things. Not only did Hephaestus seem lonely, but Fenrir was sealed away beneath his feet and behaving very strangely while his own daughter looked at him with a lovers gaze. Even now, though she was obviously very impacted by the revtion that he had forgotten her, Vahn could see her gigantic aurapletely permeated with a passionate red that gravitated toward him in a greedy manner. Since he had a greater awareness now, he could even see her affection value was set to Love and had a value of 137,596. If not for the fact he had confirmed she was still a v.i.r.g.i.n with his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn felt like he might just eject himself from this record entirely. Leh had started to walk toward him, so Vahn held up his hand and stated in a firm tone, "Until I have a better understanding of the situation, please stay away from me..." As he spoke, an unexpected phenomenon urred and Lehs body was forcibly teleported away from him in an instant. Vahn blinked in surprise because he felt his energy had flowed to enact his decree and didnt even leave an opportunity for Leh to respond. Even though she seemed to be able to move through the void herself, she was currently pressing against an invible barrier with a saddened expression on her face before sliding against it at crying in a small ball on the ground. Vahn felt pained, but her red aura terrified him greatly and he did his best to ignore her suffering. Seeing that Leh was punished, Fenrir released a relieved sigh and exined, "Leh has Divinities rted to S.e.x, Space, and War...Master shouldnt me himself too much for her behavior. It isnt your fault..." Vahn was confused once against as his mind processed Fenrirs words by ying them over and over. Through her brief exnation, he was able to understand that Leh was very close to a goddess and was likely influenced greatly by her own Divinities. If he had never found a way to properly inhibit Divinity over the twenty-two year period, it meant he wouldnt be able to do anything about her urges. His union with Freya had resulted in a daughter that waspelled to have s.e.x and yet she was still a v.i.r.g.i.n...Vahn began to understand the situation a bit, but he couldnt resolve the fear that was still inside of his heart. While they were waiting for Hephaestus return, Fenrir exined some of the key events that had taken ce while Vahn did his best to behave normally and pamper her. Since his memories were connected to his past self so clearly, his behavior was very normal to him but seemed to make Fenrir both happy and sad at the same time. ording to the chronology of events that Fenririd out, it seemed that after he got married to Eina and Hephaestus, Vahn continued delving into the Dungeon in the pursuit of the organization that was targeting him and his family. Working with the Alliance, he managed to eventually defeat them after nearly four years and managed to clear through to the 73rd floor of the Dungeon after confronting a goddess named Enyo... After defeating Enyo, the Alliance managed to confront the One-Eyed ck Dragon, which was apparently just the avatar of the real thing. Beyond the seal, the Dungeon continued and they had yet to reach the bottom even after making several attempts over the twenty-two years that had passed. Vahn himself had stopped going into the Dungeon after a while and began waging war against the Empire and the Kingdom of Rakia after they tried assassinating himself and several of his wives in an attempt to kidnap his children which were being called Nascent Gods instead of Demigods. Because of his bloodline and the purity of his soul, his children hadnt been born as normal Demigods and instead possessed souls that were unbound by the restrictions of the record. Though it hadnt happened yet, several of his children were nearing Soul Tier 4 and were well on their way to bing gods and goddesses... The most devastating thing Vahn had learned about was the death of some of his lovers and the abdication of two of his children that had fled into the depths of the Dungeon, never to be seen from again. Vahn had asked about how they died, but Fenrir refused to exin the details and wanted him to ask the Council in detailter. He did, however, learn about how one of them had died as Fenrir hugged him tightly and began to cry tears of grief, unlike anything he had ever seen before. She squeezed him tightly and started apologizing over and over as he stroked the back of her hair and tried to console her. When she eventually calmed down, Fenrir exined through sobs how she had killed Ryuu and seriously injured Tiona in the past. Vahns heart shook at her words, but he continued to hug the crying girl tightly as he tried to process this information in his mind. It was apparently the death of the girls that had caused Vahn to be somewhat distant with everyone else and he had set about on a journey of conquest to bring some semnce of peace to the world. His current title was Emperor of the Heavenly City, which was supposedly a giant floating fortress that he had constructed with the assistance of the Elves and Dwarves after entering an Alliance with them in the past. Though Fenrir exined that he had been a kind Emperor, Vahn knew from his Karma value that things hadnt gone as smoothly as she would have him believe. The fact that people close to him had died, and two of his children had even betrayed him, was a huge g to Vahn. Nearly two hourster, Vahn could sense several presences enter his domain and he reached out his hand and simply stated, "Come..." and they all appeared mid-step before him even though they had been nearly 2km away. As if they were used to such things happening, seven of the new arrivals kneeled low as Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, Freya, and an unknown goddess all walked forward and lowered their heads slightly in a formal greeting. Vahn furrowed his brows at their actions as Fenrir spun around on hisp and leaned her back against his chest as her hair became slightly bristly from her frustration and she looked to Freya and said, "Your daughter got grounded by Vahn...you should go to her since you would just make matters worse by being here!" Fenrir was openly hostile to Freya, but the ridiculously beautiful goddess justughed in an elegant manner before turning to Vahn and saying in a teasing manner, "I suppose this is our first time meeting...my husband~. Dont worry, Ill make sure to take care of our daughter until things return to normal...fufufufufu." As Freya stated, this was Vahns first time seeing her and his mind had nked because of how beautiful she was. Even though everyone present was handsome and beautiful in their own right, Freyas beauty was transcendent and Vahn felt like he could lose himself staring into her silvery eyes if not for the influence of his [Will of the Emperor] resisting the charm that was invading his mind. Hephaestus released a somewhat frustrated sigh and waved for the seven people to stand as she began the introductions, "We five goddesses are the Empresses that have helped to reign over your Empire in thest eight years. They are Inari, ruling over the Far East, Anubis, ruling over the South, Freya, ruling over the West, and Loki, ruling over the North. It has been my honor to serve you at your side over the years and help rule over the empire and help regte matters on your behalf..." Vahn looked to everyone as Hephaestus had introduced them, starting with the new goddess that she had called Inari. Vahn recognized the name and could see the silvery white nine tails that were poking out of the backside of her beautiful red kimono. She had very long silvery hair with curved ears standing proudly at the top of her head with somewhat angr eyes that were simr to Lokis in how they were almost slit-like. Like Haruhime, who Vahn could see standing at the back, she had a red blush on her eyelids and Vahn could feel a powerful charm emerging from her body as well when she looked at him with her golden eyes. Loki and Anubis, other than their outfits, looked exactly the same as he remembered, but Haruhime had changed greatly since he hadst seen her. She had obviously matured a lot, but still looked very young and Vahn could see eight golden tails dancing around behind her as she also locked her pale-golden eyes on him with a beautiful smile on her face. He could feel a powerful aura radiating from her body, much like the other six members present at her sides which included four more beautiful young women and two handsome men. However, without concerning himself too much about their identities, Vahn was drawn to Hephaestus words and asked, "What about Hestia, where is she?" Not only Hephaestus, but everyone had a nk expression for a brief moment before Loki exined, "Hestia never left the Hearth Manor...she wanted to take care of the home you had built together and said she would always be waiting for your return if things got difficult..." As Loki spoke, she looked toward one of the men that was standing in the back and Vahn turned his attention to him as well so the man bowed and said, "Father...Mother is in good health, though she misses you and would like to see you visit more often." Vahn blinked in confusion for a brief moment before asking, "You are my son...with Hestia?" The ck haired handsome man with light blue eyes nodded in a firm manner before raising his chest in pride and saying, "Forgive me, Father, for failing to introduce myself properly. I received the name Damen Mason from my esteemed mother, the goddess Hestia, and his imperial majesty, the Emperor of the Heavenly City, Vahn Mason." The handsome man, who stood around 175cm tall, seemed to take great pride in his identity and Vahn could sense a noble air radiating from his body as he spoke. Loki beganughing and said in a teasing tone, "How peculiar, to see ones own son introduce themselves proudly to their own father...kekekeke." Hearing Lokis words, Damen blushed slightly and looked at Loki as if all his earlier pride had been an illusion and said, "Sorry, mother, I got a little carried away..." Hearing Damen call Loki mother as well, Vahn was confused until Hephaestus exined, "Most of your earlier children call everyone that lived in the Hearth Manor as mother..." Vahn nodded his head and everyone else began their introductions, starting with Haruhime, who looked to barely be twenty years old even though she was simr in age to Vahn. She now stood around 160cm tall and her b.r.e.a.s.ts had blossomed slightly and were now nearing a C-cup in their size. Her long hair now trailed nearly to the floor and had been intricately braided to part around her eight tails that spread from her backside like a golden fan with their white tips. During her introduction, Vahn learned that he had two children with Haruhime, named Seren and Kino, and that she was currently one of the few Level 8s that served him. She still wore a red kimono, but it now went down to the floor and she looked closer to an empress than many of the goddesses that he was married to. Inari, as if she refused to be outshone by Haruhime, also introduced herself once again and even tried to approach him before she was stopped outright by Anubis and Hephaestus. Vahn could see that Inari and Haruhime didnt actually get along that well with each other, though he didnt yet understand the reasons why. They were very simr in appearance, though Haruhime looked arguably more elegant, and the only big difference was the number of tails they had and the fact that Inari seemed to be in the Loki faction as far as b.r.e.a.s.ts were concerned. Even their kimonos were somewhat simr and it was almost like they werepeting with each other as they both turned their golden eyes to him. Vahn learned that he had a single son with Inari, named Zenkoshiro Mason that was the current Daimyo in the Far East. As for the other five others present, Vahn learned they were all his children and it made him sad to see that they had all grown up without him even knowing them at all. They were each of a different race, even though, as he would learnter, they were all of the same exact race. The other handsome man, who had emerald green hair and long ears introduced himself as Masonia Ljos Alf, the current King of the Elves and the only son he had apparently sired with Riveria. Vahn had several questions about how he had won over Riveria, but he was interrupted by the other introductions and had to set the matter to the side for the time being. The first young woman, excluding Haruhime, introduced herself as Sakuya Mason and Vahn learned that the beautiful brown-skinned girl was his daughter with Tsubaki. Like her mother, she had the same skin tone and a powerful aura like a warrior that radiated from her body. Unlike the red eyes of Tsubaki, however, she had eyes simr to Vahn, though they were somewhat darker. Her hair was raven ck and had been tied up into a ponytail behind her head and Vahn learned she was currently Level 7 and that Tsubaki was still living at the Hearth Manor and served as thebat instructor at the Academy he had founded several years prior with Riveria. The second woman also had brown skin, but Vahn could tell by the pointy ears and the bushy tail behind her back that she was likely his daughter with Anubis. She had an elegant disposition, but Vahn felt like she had her mothers nature when she introduced herself as Persia Mason and bowed low to him before surprisingly him by saying she was his daughter with Nanu. It turned out that, even after twenty-two years, he had never had children with Anubis and she simply took care of his other children before eventually bing the presiding goddess over the South. Persia was the current ruler of the Southern Tribe and had united the entire region, which had now be closer to a fertile in than a desert. As for the final young woman, she had the smallest stature, around 133cm, and rosy pink hair with sky blue eyes. Vahn actually didnt recognize her racial traits at all, seeing as how she had subtle pink scales covering her arms, neck, legs, a purple gemstone in her forehead, and a lizard-like tail poking out above her butt. She introduced herself as Serene Mason and was apparently his daughter with a Xenos woman name Miene, who was the sister of a Vouvire woman named Wiene. Vahn was surprised to learn that he had met the woman through Bell, who had be one of his most powerful allies and had be known as the Lord of the Dungeon. He was currently leading the expedition deeper into the Dungeon and resided within the ptial fortress Vahn had built on the 50th floor, known as Haven. After the introductions, Vahn was rubbing his temples as he tried to process all of the information that he had just learned. Fenrir hadnt been around for many of the events, as she had been locked away most of the time after her outburst. She didnt know about many of the events that had transpired with the rest of the Alliance and had always been safely kept at Vahns side so she wouldnt identally harm anyone else. This left huge gaps in the information she had given Vahn earlier and he had now gleaned a bit of the surface of things through the introductions he had with his own wives and children. Once he had collected his thoughts a bit, Vahn turned his gaze to Loki and saw her surprisingly serious expression as she stared at him with clear concern in her eyes. Vahn asked in azy manner, "Loki...please tell me who all have died...and how many children I have total..." Loki swallowed hard beforeughing awkwardly and saying, "I feel like I got the short straw here...ahahaha..." Seeing that nobody else wasing to her aid, Loki then released a sigh and exined, "The ones that have died are...Chloe, Ryuu, Emiru, Maemi, and...Tina..." Vahn clenched his throne so hard that his fingers tore through the nearly indestructible metal and his aura weighed heavily on everyone present. Loki bore the brunt of the pressure and said through gritted teeth, "Vahn...calm down...your power is too strong for our mortal forms to withstand!" Hearing her words, Vahn looked around and saw everyone was having trouble withstanding the pressure of his aura, including Fenrir who was at ground zero. Vahn did his best to reign in his own power as he asked, "How did they die...?" Loki swallowed hard and didnt answer for a while, so it was Freya who answered in a clear tone as if the pressure hadnt affected her as much as the others, "Chloe died fighting against a woman named Valletta Grede, one of the pawns of the errant god Thanatos. In your fury, you used your [Enkidu] to tie him up and made him subject to the same poison that Chloe had fallen to...he suffered for neen days before finally returning to Heaven." As she spoke, Freya had an amorous look on her face as if she was recalling the scene and found it very interesting. After releasing a slight m.o.a.n, Freya turned her silver eyes back to Vahn and continued, "Ryuu died to your little pet...it was a really tragic event. Looks like she got lucky that you lost your memories..." Hearing Freyas words, Fenrirs ears drooped low and she began to sob slightly in Vahnsp because of the guilt that gued her heart and mind. Vahn felt anguish in his heart, but he stillforted the disconste Fenrir. He hadnt been alive to experience the loss of Ryuu, and it was hard to believe she was actually dead, so he did his best tofort her as Freya continued once again, "Emiru died in the Dungeon after overextending herself...Maemi was at the Manor and mourned greatly before she passed away soon thereafter. I remember that, after their death, you copsed seven floors of the Dungeon and slew a total of ten Juggernauts before destroying Enyos pawns after ming them for the girls deaths..." Freya released a throaty m.o.a.n as she closed her eyes and rubbed her abdomen without any regards for the atmosphere. Vahn felt the chill in his mind be increasingly colder as he watched her performance until she finished by saying, "Tina...she fell into the plot of one of the enemies trying to get close to you and died without anyone knowing about it until nearly a yearter. You used the power of the Alliance topletely purge the criminal syndicates within Orario and then..." Freyas silverly eyes glowed with a magical light as she breathed heavily and said, "In the middle of the fiery ruins, that is where we shared our first time together~!" Vahn waved his hand and forcibly ejected Freya from the room and deposited her near their daughter so she would no longer spoil his mood. He didnt even know how he was able to forcibly teleport them, but it was an instinctive action that he was able to call upon at a whim. He knew he possessed an incredible amount of power now, but he had no idea how to actually make use of it. The fact that he was Tier 4 meant he had to be a god, and Vahn didnt even know his own Divinities, assuming he had any. Freyas words let him understand that he hadshed out every time one of the girls died and likely caused the deaths of tens of thousands of people in his outrage. Just knowing Tina had died under his nose, without him knowing when or how, made Vahns brain buzz with a maddening chill that threatened to overwhelm him entirely. Though she was shaking under the pressure, Hephaestus walked forward and ced her hand on Vahns cheek and whispered, "Vahn...you are right to be angry, but that was nearly fifteen years ago...the people involved are already dead..." Hearing Hephaestus words, Vahn nked once again and realized that he hadnt had a clear understanding of when events took ce. Because he had been hearing about them sequentially, Vahn felt like it was all new information, but the actual events had taken ce many years ago...realizing this, Vahn began to cry pitifully as his own lovers and children watched him with expressions of pity and concern on their faces... (A/N: Enjoying the ride?) (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Curse of Divinity,Lonely Throne,The Power of the Past : Regret) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 430 - Great Power (1/2)

Chapter 430 - Great Power (1/2)

As he sat upon his lonely throne crying, Vahn wasforted by Fenrir and Hephaestus before Haruhime, Inari, and Anubis all came forward to helpfort him as well. Loki stood at the side and waved away the other five while having Masonia wait with her. Though he was grieving, Vahn realized he was aware of everything happening within the room without any exceptions. With his power flowing freely through his body, Vahn could even sense the individual molecules of his own body, the flow of mana in the atmosphere, and the emotional state and heartbeats of everyone around him. Even though it was very interesting, Vahn couldnt bring his mind to focus at all as images of those he lost passed through his mind. When Inari and Haruhime worked together to wrap him with their tails, bringing him a surprising amount of warmth andfort, the only thing Vahn could think of was Tinas childish face crying alone in the darkness... Vahn felt overwhelmed by the image of the girl andshed out with an anguished cry before waving away almost everyone around him and teleporting them outside of his throne room. He didnt feel like he deserved any of theirforts right now and just curled up into a ball on his own throne and hugged Fenrir as he cried over a loss he hadnt been able to experience himself. Though she was obviously ufortable being squeezed by Vahns immense strength, Fenrir didntin at all and just continued stroking his head and saying soothing words to help him calm down. The bond between them allowed her to share his grief and the only thing she wanted was to see his smile once again... --- Even though his mind had been in a daze, Vahn knew it took exactly seven hours, forty-nine minutes, and seventeen seconds for Loki to machinate a way to break into the barrier he had erected. Because they were concerned about him, they couldnt let him mourn alone so Vahns son, Masonia, and his daughter, Leh,bined their powers over space and magic to eventually break through his erected barrier. If he were at his full power, they wouldnt even be able to put a scratch on it, but Vahn had no idea how to actually exercise any control over his current capabilities and just relied on instinct and his own emotions to draw power. He actually didnt want to be alone right now, so they were able to crack through in a rtively short period of time. Vahn knew they had worked hard to get inside, so he didnt eject them again and just continued to brush Fenrirs hair in an attempt to keep calm. This was the way he was behaving with his [Will of the Emperor] active, so Vahns actual grief was far greater than his current mentality could manage. Over the nearly eight hour period, he had several thoughts of suicide but was brought back by Fenrirs concern. He knew his death wouldnt be the actual end of his life, just his ejection from this record, and he didnt want to abandon the people that cared about him. They stood by him for twenty-two years, even when he had probably lost his way, and Vahn felt like he owed them that much. The only ones that entered his throne room were Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, Haruhime, Inari, and Masonia. Though she had helped break the barrier, Leh was guided away by Freya in a clearly dejected manner as she cast several nces toward the doors leading to his throne while being pulled away. The rest of his children left, likely to return to their own duties, leaving Vahn to Hephaestus and Loki to take care of. They had onlye to the Heavenly City after being summoned by Hephaestus and didnt have the luxury of staying away from their own dominions unless Vahn asked them to. The current him wasnt the same Emperor, or father, that they had loyally served and they didnt want to see him in his current state at all. Once they got near his throne, everyone stopped a few meters away from his throne and looked at Vahn cuddled up with Fenrir with a great deal of concern in their expressions. The most neutral ones were Loki, who had a serious look, and his son, Masonia, who had the stoic disposition of a High Elf. With this thought in mind, Vahnmented in a dull tone, "Youre a lot like your mother...where is she these days?" Hearing Vahn address him, Masonia bowed his head low and responded, "Mother is well...she spends her days as the Headmaster of the Orario Magic Academy and is continuing her research in high spirits." Vahn imagined Riveria sitting at a table stacked tall with books and it brought a small smile to his face knowing that he had somehow gotten closer to her in the past. Before anyone else could say anything, Vahn turned his head to Loki and asked, "I asked earlier how many children I had...please tell me..." Lokis eyes opened slightly and she c.o.c.ked her head to the side in thought before saying, "The ones that we are aware of...total eighty-three..." Vahns hands, which had beenbing through Fenrirs hair, came to a stop and he tried toprehend what it meant to have eighty-three children that they were aware of. This implied that he likely had kids with other people over time and had never even cared for them after the fact...he could tell that Loki was trying to let him process a bit of the information and was feeding it to him in bits and pieces when he was calmer. Nodding his head, Vahn asked in a mncholic tone, "Who are the mothers...and what has happened to them over the years?" Loki looked to Hephaestus as if pleading for assistance and the forging goddess released a small sigh before saying, "Most of the girls, with the exception of Mn, Tina, Emiru, Maemi, Ryuu, Chloe, Misha, and...Eina...all gave birth to at least one child. Lili and I were the only ones to give birth to three children...and the rest were various goddesses and people outside of the Alliance..." Vahn noticed that the majority of the girls listed off were those that had died and his heart twisted in his chest until a name he hadnt expected at all came up. With clear trepidation on his face, Vahn looked directly at Hephaestus and asked, "What happened to Eina?" Hephaestus showed a mncholic expression with a wry smile and exined, "Eina...is still at the Hearth Manor with Hestia...she said she will always be waiting for your return..." Vahn released a sigh of relief before asking, "Why did she never have a child? Did something happen?" Hephaestus nodded her head with a sad smile and said, "Eina had several miscarriages before deciding to give up having her own child and helping to raise the other little ones that were running around the Manor..." Vahns mind turned cold after hearing Hephaestuss words and he imagined the gentle half-elf woman raising his other children when she deserved to have her own. He couldnt imagine how he failed to let her have a child when he was able to help goddesses conceive... Realizing something, Vahn asked, "Why couldnt I help her prevent the miscarriage? Why didnt I use Nirvana to help her...?" This time, it was Loki who shook her head and exined, "Eina refused...she wanted to care for the other children since you were too busy to do so yourself...after Chloe and Ryuu died, you changed a lot, Vahn. Though you did your best when you were around, you spent the majority of your time in the Dungeon and traveling around the world trying to resolve troubles in order to protect everyone." Vahn could feel tears welling up inside his eyes after Loki mentioned the deaths of Chloe and Ryuu once again and he could feel Fenrir shaking in his arms as well. He couldnt imagine how he had be so busy that one of the most important women in his life wasnt able to have a child of her own. Vahn knew Eina was the type to sacrifice for others, but he couldnt help but feel like he had failed her greatly. Seeing Haruhime and Inari at the back, Vahn had a thought and tried to clear his mncholy by asking, "Haruhime...Inari...we had children as well?" Even though Vahn recalled his son Zenkoshiro, he was still curious if there were any other children. He actually had a powerful urge to meet all of his children, even though he was also afraid of how they would view him in his current state. When she heard his question Haruhimes ears perked up and she showed a lovely smile and exined in a soft tone, "We had two beautiful boys, Vahn. They are currently students at the Academy and are doing their best to live up to their Fathers expectations~!" Before Vahn could ask Haruhime to rify the names, Inari spoke immediately after Haruhime, "We also had two children, Vahn! I can hardly believe this is happening...how vexing!" Vahn had no idea about how he hade to meet Inari so he asked, "Inari, how did we meet?" Hearing his question, Inaris silvery white hair red out slightly and she bit her bottom lip in a pouting expression as she red directly at him for several seconds. As she seemed to be unwilling to answer, it was Loki who exined, "When you were traveling trying to unite the world, you visited the Far East and tore apart their patriarchal society and abolished arge number of influential ns. To appease your wrath, Inari was offered to you as a sacrifice for peace and you epted her in order to create and hear to rule over thend." Inari fl.u.s.tered at Lokis exnation and blushed fiercely as she continued to re at Vahn and shouted, "You brute! How dare you forget everything you did to me!?" There were crystalline tears in Inaris eyes and Vahn felt a lot of guilt seeing them until Lokiughed in a mischevious manner and said, "Dont fall for her little act, Vahn, she was undoubtedly the one that tried to seduce you. She is probably just mad that you forgot her training, isnt that right Inari~?" Inaris blush turned crimson and she refused to answer Lokis words as she continued to re, not at Vahn, but Fenrir sitting in hisp. He had misconstrued her gaze earlier as resentment towards himself, but it seemed like she actually just wanted to rece Fenrir...Though he hadnt noticed it earlier, Vahn could see a pearl-white cor wrapped around Inaris neck with the initials V.M. disyed in gold. With a nk expression on his face, Vahn turned to Loki and she seemed to understand what he wanted to ask so she gave him a thumbs up and said, "I gave birth to a healthy baby girl and you cried a lot at the time~! I still remember the panic on your face as he squeezed my hand at the side, fufufu, it makes my heart beat just thinking about it. Oh, our daughter was named Disa Mason, and she is currently the Governor of Orario. She will probablye visit in the future, fufufu, I wonder what youll think when you meet for the first time." Vahn imagined what kind of daughter he and Loki would have raised for her to have risen to such a position. If she were anything like her mother, she would have probably been a rambunctious child when she was younger... Vahn felt the burden on his mind ease up at the thought and he released a small sigh before smiling at the group gathered before him. The entire time he had been speaking, his son had continued to stand stoically at the side and showed no signs that he was perturbed by the situation, other than a hint of concern in his bluish-green eyes. Vahn pat Fenrirs back and she startled for a moment before hopping out of hisp and allowing Vahn to stand. Vahn was much taller than everyone present and it felt a little strange to be looking down on them like this. As this thought passed through his mind, however, Vahn felt his height shrinking and noticed that his clothing also changed to match his appearance as he came to eye-level with Hephaestus. Everyones eyes widened because it was almost like Vahn had stepped backward in time and now looked identical to his fifteen-year-old self once again. It wasmon knowledge that he was immortal, but he had been in his Emperor form for thest fifteen years and it was a peculiar sight to behold seeing him turn into a young boy again. Vahn shook his head at their reaction and walked over to his own son and saw the boy startle slightly as he reached his arms out and embraced his son for what felt like the first time. He had no idea what kind of life his own loved ones had lived in the past twenty-two years, but Vahn knew he probably wasnt a great father to his children. Though he hoped this entire situation was aplex illusion he couldnt see through, Vahn still wanted to treat his loved ones better, especially his own kin. For several seconds, Masonia stood like a statue until thebined res of the girls caused him to awaken as he hugged Vahn in return. Like most High Elves, he wasnt ustomed to affectionate contact at all and this was actually the first time he had shared a hug with his own father. Since he had so much respect for everything Vahn had aplished, he had no idea how to deal with this situation at all and just copied Vahns actions even though every fiber of his being was screaming at him that this was abnormal. He imagined what kind of face his mother would give him when he told her about this and the only thing that came to mind was incredulity and disbelief. After hugging his son, Vahn made the rounds and gave everyone that was present an embrace filled with all the love he could manage. Other than his memories, Vahn knew he had lost a great deal over thest twenty-two years, but everyone present were the ones that had stayed at his side throughout everything. He didnt know what to say to them at all, so he just did his best to show it through his actions. During this process, Vahn noticed his energy instinctively flowed whenever he was hugging one of the girls and their auras would quickly take on a rosy pink hue that began to proliferate with a passionate red if he hugged them for too long. He didnt know exactly which skill was activating, but he felt like it was his [Godhand] ability, which seemed to be the evolution of his [Petting] ability that he had just started training in his memory. It was especially strange when he was hugging Inari and Haruhime because he knew they had both given birth to his children even though he had absolutely no memories of the first time he had spent with them. He couldnt even imagine how many hundreds of times he had been with Haruhime over thest twenty-two years, yet he had no memory of the event at all. He had even trained Inari, though he wasnt exactly sure what that meant, and she turned to putty the moment he put his hands around her waist and embraced her. Vahn felt like, if there werent others present, she probably would have gone into heat the moment he touched her. He could feel her charm enveloping his body as she hugged him with shaky hands and rubbed her head against the side of his face. After embracing everyone, Vahn turned to Fenrir and felt a strange anxiety because he had just been thinking about missing his first time with Haruhime and Inari. Vahn knew that Fenrir had probably suffered a lot in the past and had even given up her first time to him at some point, though he had no memory of the event. Vahns current mentality saw Fenrir as something closer to a daughter, and he couldnt even imagine having s.e.x with her. However, the moment he had this thought, the image of Leh appeared in his mind and Vahn felt that same fear from earlier well up inside of him and he had to shake the image from his mind. Vahn had no idea how he would deal with the demigoddess in the future and wondered if her behavior was something that resulted from his own failures as a parent. Because he was no longer able to conceal his expression from them, almost every girl present somewhat understood what Vahn was thinking so Hephaestus stepped forward and hugged Vahn from behind as she exined, "The only person that could keep Leh under control when she was younger was you...as she got older, however, her affection turned to love and she has been pursuing you ever since. Dont worry, you never did anything too serious with her..." Though he knew she was trying tofort him, Vahn understood what the words too serious implied and it made him hang his head in shame as he asked, "How old is she...?" However, as Vahn asked the question, the scene of Freya iming that their first time was after Tinas death, fifteen years prior, it meant she was likely on fourteen years old. Vahn was currently thirty-seven and the thought that his own daughter had such feelings for him made his mind turn cold once again. Hephaestus hugged his body tightly and exined, "Vahn, the Vanir dont age and mature in the normal way...Leh has looked the same way ever since she was five...though her behavior didnt change until she became an a.d.u.l.t." Vahn had several questions after hearing Hephaestus words, but he couldnt form any words as he tried to imagine that she had probably been making advances at him ever since a few months prior. Loki stepped forward and walked around to the front of Vahn with a serious expression on her face as she said, "Vahn, you know how influential a Divinity can be on a goddess, much less a mortal. Because you were worried about her, Leh was one of the few children you proactively tried to raise because you were the only person she would listen to. Even Syr, Hephaestus, and I, werent able to reign her in, much less that idiotic Freya. If you left her unattended, she probably would have killed several boys, including her own siblings, as she was growing up...you did your best, please remember that." Even though Lokis words made sense, Vahn instinctively resisted them with as much rationale as he could manage and he simply refused to believe there wasnt a better way. He would almost rather have no children than have one of his suffer such a tragic fate as being bound by a Divinity rted to s.e.x. If Hephaestus words were true, which they very likely were, it meant that she had reached maturity when she was essentially a toddler and had likely been very promiscuous growing up. As she was a very beautiful girl, she had likely even been a target of others and had to be kept away in order to protect, not just herself, but the people that would have been her victims. Vahn had no idea how he had been able to manage such a child, but it apparently wasnt the correct way given the current state of affairs. Loki frowned after seeing Vahns expression because she knew he wasnt buying her words at all. With his memory loss, he had regressed to one of the more annoying points in his life and he seemed especially childish since she hade to expect the somewhat tyrannical Vahn that had a domineering expression and demeanor at all times. Loki knew the current Vahn couldnt bear the burden of his own responsibilities and he would likely fall in the future if he werent protected from his enemies. Even though he was very powerful, likely the strongest in the entire world, there were numerous enemies and uprisings that were constantly trying to seize power away from him. As it stood, he would probably go on a rampage in the near future after he learned the full extent of the things he had done in thest twenty-two years. Hephaestus and Loki matched gazes for a brief moment before Loki turned to Masonia and asked, "Have you been able to discern anything? How long are you going to stand there like a statue!?" Masonia startled at Lokis outburst and his eyes glowed a brilliant blue and Vahn felt an invasive energy pass through his body that he almost instinctively countered. The image of his own sons head exploding appeared in his mind and Vahn gnashed his teeth as he resisted the urge to retaliate. Hephaestus hugged his body tightly from behind and whispered, "Its okay, Vahn, were here to help you..." After several tense minutes passed, Masonia released a long sigh and wiped the sweat from his forehead as he exined, "I cant sense any abnormalities in Fathers body at all...even the fluctuations of his energy are exactly the same as they have always been...Im sorry, Father, I have failed you..." Masonia had a profoundly regretful look on his face as he kneeled low to the ground and hung his head in shame. Vahn saw this and wondered what kind of father he had been that his own children bowed to him as if he were their master. Even the five goddesses that had apparently be his Empresses had bowed formally to him when they arrived earlier. These were the people that were supposed to be the closest to him, but Vahn had put them in a position where they acted almost subserviently to him. Even though his body wasnt tired at all, Vahn felt powerful mental exhaustion overwhelming him as the urge to simplymit suicide welled up inside him once again. With his own memory as the basis, he had spent less than a year in this world yet now had to deal with the fallout of an additional twenty-two years of additional time without any memory of it whatsoever. Though he wanted to do his best and try to live up to their expectations, Vahn could tell by the atmosphere that things had been irreversibly altered and he would likely never be able to reim what had been lost. Without Siss guiding voice inside his mind, Vahn felt like he wouldnt be able to live in this world that he had created through his own actions. Just imagining how he would deal with Leh in theing days, months, or even years, made Vahn feel an endless amount of trepidation and anxiety. With what remained of his mental faculties, Vahn scanned over everyone once again with his [Eyes of Truth] as if he were trying to see through the illusion that had entrapped him. From what he could discern, everything before him was absolutely real and the most depressing thing was that he still had ess to The Path. If this were a real illusion, he wouldnt be able to emte The Path at all, since knowing about its existence to such an extent would have caused whatever entity that had entrapped him to die. Vahn couldnt give any cohesive information about The Path to anyone within the record, so there was no conceptual way for him to be stuck in such a detailed illusion... The biggest indicator that this was reality was the fact that Vahn could see the intricate designs of the equipment everyone was wearing and had a subtle understanding of the massive formation at his feet. These were all things he had forged, so he had an instinctual understanding of them even though he had never forged suchplex creations in his memories. If he were in an illusion, he shouldnt be able to easily see through the logic of the world itself, much less create identities for his own children to an extent they looked like living and breathing entities. Realizing this, the anxiety in Vahns heart dissipated entirely and was reced by an emptiness that he had only ever experienced when he had watched his memories fading into non-existence in the past, before he had received The Path. Even though he could feel Hephaestus warm embrace as she desperately clung to his body, the chill in his mind had spread beyond his own control and Vahn felt like he had lost everything. He still felt love for everyone present, even the son he had never known, but it was overwhelmed by the powerful sense of loss that pervaded his mind. Just imagining that he would never see girls like Chloe, Ryuu, Emiru, Maemi, and Tina again made Vahn feel like the current reality wasnt worth living at all. From Lokis reactions, Vahn knew he probably hadnt been a good Emperor, or his own children and lovers wouldnt be so deferential to the point where they would bow to him when meeting. He had likely be cold and detached after the loss of the girls and had crusaded against the injustices of the world and imposed his own ideals on everyone in a selfish manner. This time, instead of teleporting the others away, Vahn closed his eyes and disappeared from his throne room and appeared far above in the sky and looked down on the world below. From his new perspective, Vahn could see a massive pce floating in the sky and, even though they referred to it as the Heavenly City, he couldnt see any signs of life. There were strange automatons moving about and a colossal amount of magical energy but, other than the signs of life in his throne room, there were no other signs of life that he could detect at all. Even Freya and Leh seemed to have disappeared somewhat, along with his other children, so Vahn assumed there was a teleportation circle as the pce seemed to be hovering about in the stratosphere, high above the world like an isted ind. Vahn could feel the cold energy of space invading his body, but he was easily able to resist it and this realization made him feel even colder inside as he turned his view to the void above. He felt an incredible power coursing through his body and noticed that the chaotic energy of space was being absorbed and fed into his own source energy. After a few seconds passed, Vahn felt his body transforming naturally and a ck aura intermixed with pale blue consumed his figure and he felt like he had be chaos itself. Reaching out his hand, Vahn felt like he couldmand the entirety of space and even managed to create a miniature ck hole after focusing for a short while. However, the more power he could exercise, the more powerless Vahn felt because he couldntprehend how things had gotten to this point. Just like his current action, Vahn felt like he had probably spent thest twenty-two years running away from things instead of facing them head-on. The only way he could imagine things getting to this point is if he was simply negligent and had been so focused on his own pursuits that he pushed everyone else away from him. Though he didnt know the details, Vahn could infer that he had slowly conquered the entire continent, including the inds in the Far East, and he could even tell that the Heavenly City was slowly making its way over the ocean and heading towards the unknown. Vahn felt so detached from everything at this moment that he couldnt even form tears so he just floated in space since he apparently didnt even need to breathe anymore. (A/N: Know that this was originally just one chapter, but the word count had broken 10k and I had to split it into two. The next chapter will release one hour after this one~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is good stock,Inaris unknown training,Vahn taps out...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 431 - Great Responsibility (2/2)

Chapter 431 - Great Responsibility (2/2)

Vahn stayed in the same spot, floating high above the rest of the world as his Heavenly City slowly continued its path along the horizon and became progressively smaller. Even though it was outside his detection range, Vahn could still feel its presence and knew he could teleport to it with a simple thought. He had no idea how he was able to do this but knew it was part of his power and likely rted to his own Divinity. He had been floating for nearly two days at this point, and Vahn had managed to somewhat understand what Divinities he had by seeing his own childrens capabilities. Leh seemed to have influence over space, even though Freya didnt possess such a Divinity, so Vahn was able to deduce that one of his Divinities likely rted to space. This, of course, was with the belief that Leh hadnt managed to develop such an ability on her own. Other than space, Vahn felt like he had a Divinity rted to Magic and Life, since he had an inexplicable skill like [Sower of Life] and remembered Hephaestus belief that she had been pregnant from the very moment he ejacted inside of her. Since he hadnt done anything to guarantee she was pregnant, Vahn felt like his past self hade up with a permanant solution and it likely rted to his own Divinity being either Life or Fertility. As for why he believed he had a Divinity rted to magic...Vahn had so many skills that transcended the restrictions of the world that he couldnt believe otherwise. If someone else imed to be a god of magic, Vahn felt like he would have to educate the foolish person since he felt like he could cast any magic with a thought. Even though he didnt remember the training, Vahn must have reunited with Eva in the past and learned from her because he had obtained the [Magia Erebia]. When this thought hade to mind, Vahn had inspected his own soul and found a n.a.k.e.d Eva curled up in the fetal position surrounded by several chains making a sphere around her body. Knowing that he at least had Eva, Vahn had calmed down a lot and almost teleported back to meet with Hephaestus and the others once again. However, imagining how he would face those he had yet to meet, Vahn couldnt muster up the courage to move from the spot and just continued hiszy orbit. --- Though he wanted to im he was unaware of how much time had passed, Vahn knew it had been precisely eighteen days, seven hours, thirty-two minutes, and nine seconds since the time he had teleported into space. He had long deduced that he also had a Divinity rted to Time and he was currently trying to make sense of how to use it in the hopes that he would one day be able to return to the past. Unfortunately, no matter how much effort he put into trying to use actual time magic, Vahn couldnt revert his own time for even a single second. He could influence other objects, to an extent, but his own time seemed to proceed forward irrespective of his own wishes. Vahn had lost count of how many times he had cried during this time, even though he knew it was a total of one-hundred-neen times instinctively. It was like Sis still existed in his mind and could answer his questions yet, no matter how desperately he cried out for her, he wasnt able to hear her responses at all. Because everything else felt like an illusion, even though he could see that it was reality, Vahn felt the loss of Sis to be the greatest impact to his mind. She had been the only constant in his life ever since he obtained The Path, but now her voice no longer reached his mind and this made Vahn feel terrified. He felt that, even if he left this record and tried to move on, Sis would never return again and this made Vahn grieve more than the loss of the girls and twenty-two years of his life... --- Nearly three monthster, Vahn detected a presence enter his domain and he teleported away to evade it for what felt like the ten-thousandth time, even though it had only been four-hundred-twelve. Vahn knew they were trying to use Fafnir to track him down but they couldnt get anywhere near him unless he allowed them to. Vahn was surprised to see how big Fafnir had be, as its body was now 26m long, but he didnt want to meet the girls that were riding on its back right now. He had been tempted to return several times over thest three months, but the memory of his earlier decisions not to always prevented him from doing so. If not for his curiosity to see who they sent after him, Vahn wouldnt even let them get close enough to trigger his domain at all. This time, Vahn had even detected Eina on Fafnirs back, but she was one of the people he was most afraid of seeing right now so he teleported an entire three-thousand kilometers away before continuing to teleport even further knowing that they would catch up to him if he stopped. However, even though he wanted to evade them, Vahn still teleported towards Eden so they could safely return to Orario without chasing him around above the ocean. Vahn had already learned that they would eventually give up after a while, so he went through the motions of evading them once again. However, this time things didnt go quite as he expected and Vahn felt a powerful energy locking around his body after his first teleportation. He knew they were trying to prevent him from moving using a powerful magic that he had never seen before, even though he somewhat understood it was something of his own creation. Vahn was briefly tempted to allow them to capture him, but he broke through the massive sphere of mana with a giant spear of chaotic energy that shattered the entire structure without any resistance whatsoever. Shaking his head, Vahn looked in the direction of the approaching ck dot and spoke into the void, knowing that his voice would carry to them, "Please stop chasing me...I need to work through things myself...I..." Vahn couldnt continue his words and just broke away from the re-emergent spell that was trying to lock him down once again. He ultimately came to a stop right above Orario and fell down from the sky until he came to a stop atop the massive Babel Tower and looked down at the City below with a deep mncholy. This wasnt the first time Vahn had viewed the City like this recently and he was tempted to once again return to the Hearth Manor and reunite with Hestia and Eina. One of the thoughts that came to mind often in the recent days was the im that they were both waiting for his return and had likely been doing so for several years. Vahn had promised to be with Hestia forever and every time he viewed the City from above he could feel his connection with her draw him back home. The cold of space had long spread through his entire body, and Vahn longed for the warmth of the home he had somehow lost...even though it was right in front of him. Unlike the previous times he had stopped by, Vahn decided not to flee away and instead allowed the strange transformation to dissipate as he sat on the edge of the 200km tall tower and looked down at the City with a nk look. The only thing that prevented him from being happy at the moment was his own indecision, but Vahn didnt know how to face the repercussions of his actions for thest twenty-two years. He knew that if he truly returned, he would feel obligated to do his best even though he didnt know where he would start. Twenty-two years seemed like such a long period of time, at leastpared to the life experience he had .u.mted for himself, and Vahn knew nothing about regting an Empire and being a good ruler. He even suspected that the entire reason he had created a solitary pce in the sky was so that he could avoid doing so himself. Instead, his past self had allowed his Empresses to manage things on his behalf and he knew most of his children were kings, queens, governors, and other types of rulers. In the span of two decades, he had conquered the entire world and now his family controlled everything...yet Vahn felt nothing but emptiness as a result. He felt like he had ruined the happiness of many others in his own pursuits and had now lost his own right to be happy...instead, Vahn felt like it was his duty to rule over from above and do his best to intervene whenever things got too difficult for others to handle... "Now you understand the price of power...its quite heavy, isnt it, Vahn Mason?" Hearing the unexpected words, Vahn teleported away from the ledge and appeared behind the tall old man that had somehow snuck up behind him through his invible domain of 500m. Vahn knew his magic [Throne] gave him full control over everything within 500m and it shouldnt be possible for anyone to get around his detection. However, even though he was now standing behind the 240cm tall man, Vahn couldnt detect his presence at all. The stranger waved his hand and Vahn felt the void around him be solid and he was no longer able to teleport at all. Reaching into his inventory, Vahn pulled out the SSS-Ranked [Longinus] from his inventory and ced the shimmering ck tip against the mans back and asked, "Who are you!? Tell me, is this all your doing!?" Vahn felt the chill fall to a point far below absolute zero and, if the man said he was the one responsible for everything that had happened, Vahn was prepared to make him suffer a fate worse than death. The man began tough and Vahn could feel the space around him shake as a powerful aura bore down on him from above as an unfathomable Divine Power emanated from the man. Before he could process what was happening, Vahn found himself in an empty white space and the entire world around him hadpletely disappeared. Though he had immediately activated [Eyes of Truth], Vahn still couldnt see through the man in front of him who had now turned around and revealed the face of a kindly old man. The old mans upper body was bare, revealing a powerful figure that was wreathed in a ck cloak with a hood that framed his elderly face. He had stark white hair and sky blue eyes that radiated with power as he smiled at Vahn before waving his hand, revealing a wooden table and two chairs with a piping hot pot of tea set out for their use. Vahn noticed that he couldnt muster any power, not even The Path, and the only thing he could do was re at the unknown man that continued to smile at him while gesturing towards the chairs. After a while, Vahn gave up resistance and just released a long sigh before sitting down and unceremoniously drinking a cup of tea. Afterughing out in a rumbling voice, the man sat down and enjoyed his own cup of tea as he continued to hold Vahns gaze with an unwavering expression of his own. Once he hadpleted half the contents of his cup, the man set his tea to the side and exined, "I believe introductions are in order...you are Vahn Mason, the Sage Aldrnari that seems intent on reforming the world. As for myself, I am known as Ouranos, God of the Sky and the chief representative of Orario and the Guild as a whole." Hearing the mans introduction, Vahns mind nked and he stared at Ouranos before asking, "What is this ce...? Did you create an entire world just to throw me into it and see how I would react? How is this possible?" Ouranos leaned back in his chair andughed loudly before shaking his head and saying, "Foolishness! As if I can exercise such power in the mortal world, especially for a unique individual such as yourself. This world is one that you had created on your own and Im merely something like a pre-recorded message set to trigger when you finally realize what you had sought for yourself." Vahn only grew further confused by Ouranos words and asked, "What do you mean!? What am I supposed to have realized bying to this ce? Can I return to the past!?" Knowing there was a possibility to return to the past, Vahn had sat up from his chair and knocked over the pot of tea in his outburst. As if he werepletely unphased by Vahns outburst, Ouranos picked up his cup from the table and took another sip as Vahn noticed that the state of the table had returned to normal. His own ss waspletely filled once again and it was like his previous action never happened. Ouranos squinted his eyes and exined, "There is no future, nor is there a past, there is only the present. Your desire to return to the past is simply ridiculous..." Hearing Ouranos words, Vahn plopped heavily in his seat and held his head with both hands as hemented how things had developed. After a long period of silence passed, Vahn lifted his head and noticed that the tea in his cup was still hot, even though he knew hours had passed since he began brooding. During his silence, he had been contemting Ouranos words and asked, "Im still in my bed at home...arent I?" Ouranos sky blue eyes glittered for a moment as a smile appeared on his elderly face and he shook his head, saying, "As far as I know, you should currently be staring nkly at a scroll, trying toprehend its secrets...Im not sure about anything else, as Im not aware of anything going on in the real world." Vahn released a relieved sigh before asking, "Has everything in this space been an illusion...or...?" Ouranos shook his head once again and exined, "The scroll you received is a rare artifact called the Scroll of Prophecy. Im not sure how it came into your possession, but it must mean that my real-world counterpart had taken an interest in your growth. The scroll allows the user to cast a powerful Divination spell that allows them to peer briefly into the future path they had decided for themselves. This isnt an illusion, nor is it a reality...neither is it the future, nor the past...it is simply the present you have constructed for yourself in your own mind. Theplexity of this world is an orchestration of your own mind, the logical conclusions you had derived with the progression of time, and a fair amount of disillusionment caused by the inevitability of fate..." Hearing Ouranos words, Vahn couldnt make sense of anything and simply wanted to ask, "My children...Leh...they arent real?" Ouranos eyes widened slightly and he waved his hand before a puff of blue magical energy appeared and the n.a.k.e.d body of Leh appeared floating in space. Vahn scowled at the old man that stared back at him without casting a single nce at the n.a.k.e.d body of his daughter. Lowering his hand, she disappeared from the space and Ouranos exined patiently, "As I said, this world is a construct of your thoughts, the future path you had decided upon, and a powerful Divination spell. Everything in this world can be absolute truth, assuming you dont deviate from the path you had decided on...that is why it isnt the future, merely a single path. Vahn nodded and felt a powerful feeling of relief overtake his body knowing that he could change the oue of things and avoid such a tragic and lonely future if he put in the effort to avoid it. However, before he couldpletely rx, Ouranos stated in a powerful tone, "Foolishness...this kind ofcency is what led to this future you seem to find distasteful...how irresponsible." The amiable smile on Ouranos face had disappeared and he now looked at Vahn as if he were viewing atrine pit full of refuse. Before Vahn could speak, Ouranos continued is a disruptive manner, "If your mind is influenced so easily by such things, youll find yourself unable to cope when things happen outside of your expectations. The entire reason you became a tyrant that conquered the world was over something petty like the deaths of loved ones..." Hearing Ouranos say something so serious in a dismissive tone, Vahn felt rage and tried to flip over the table only to find it waspletely immovable. When he tried to move around it, Vahn found himself back in his own chair as if he had never moved in the first ce. Ouranos continued to stare at him in contempt before saying, "If you truly want to avoid such a fate, you need to understand your responsibility to the world before you take action. You must understand that death is a natural consequence of your failures and oversights, not something you use as an excuse tosh out at the world because you cant cope with the emotional burden. If you irresponsibly allow such feelings topound, youll one day find yourself in the exact same position that youment so vehemently. Truly, you are just a child that has no understanding of the consequences of his own actions..." Before Vahn could utter a retort, he once again found himself on the edge of Babel as he looked down on the City below. Turning his head, Ouranos was gone and Vahn could now feel his own power radiating from his body. A powerful fear overwhelmed his mind as he realized he was once again trapped inside the Divination and, even though he tried to use [Chainbreaker] to break free, the only thing he aplished was exhausting himself and destroying the top of Babel Tower. As a world of his own construction, he couldnt break free from it, as he was the one that was keeping himself trapped in the first ce. Unable to break free from the situation through force, Vahn sat down on the ruins of the tower and looked down at the chaotic City below. When he hadshed out, several forces began to move in order to discern what had happened atop the colossal tower. However, the only people that had ess to the top were Freya and the other members of the Alliance, none of which were located at the top of the tower presently. Using the time it would take for them to mobilize, Vahn ruminated over Ouranos words and his earlier actions. Because his memory was nearly perfect, Vahn could rey events in his mind indefinitely and he slowly began to understand what Ouranos wanted him to know. ording to Ouranos words, this world was something Vahn had created for himself after using the scroll that Eina had given him. He didnt remember using it, but that was probably a function to prevent the user from realizing they were in such a world so it could enable them to act ordingly to their default personality. If Vahn knew this was a world of his own creation, he would have acted very differently, probably with much fewer inhibitions. After the twenty-two years had passed, his memories of the past were erased so that he could objectively view the world he had created and slowlye to understand the repercussions of his actions. If he still had his memories, he might not even consider the current state of the world to be a problem at all. This meant that this world was the future path Vahn was walking, though now it would be influenced by his knowledge of events and would be irreversibly changed when he finally left. Vahn recalled the earlier words, "Now you understand the price of power...its quite heavy, isnt it, Vahn Mason?" and began to understand why Ouranos had given him the scroll. Because he acted as the role of an observer, Ouranos wouldnt interfere with the world he would create and wanted Vahn to understand the consequences of his actions if he didnt take them into proper consideration. The thing Vahn was most afraid of was losing the people he had loved and now he got a glimpse of a world he had created after experiencing such loss. However, Vahn knew that he likely could have prevented many of the events from happening if he had paid closer attention to things... Chloe had died to an enemy attack, something that she shouldnt have been facing alone in the first ce. Ryuu had the tragic fate of dying at the hands of Fenrir in what Vahn could only consider having been something easily preventable by exercising care and caution. Fenrir would only ever do such a thing if she had lost control yet she had only killed one person while seriously injuring a second...this showed that she had been reigned in somehow and she had spent nearly two decades after the fact sealing herself away as a result of her own grief. This showed Vahn it was an ident that could have been prevented by simply paying attention to the warning signs that would likely have emerged beforehand. As for the death of Emiru, Vahn found this one of the most incredulous because he couldnt understand what had happened for Emiru to have been in the Dungeon without Maemi. The fact that Maemi died soon after showed their bond was still working, so Vahn couldnt rationalize what had transpired to lead to such a conclusion. He was tempted to go find out, but knowing the events in detail would likely cause him to make a mistake and would influence his decisions to an extent that would probably reshape his entire perspective on life. The final loss, Tina, was something Vahn didnt even want to think about in detail at all. Since she was part of the Hestia Familia, her year-long disappearance didnt make any sense unless she had left the Familia at some point. Since it had taken fifteen years prior, that meant Tina was around seventeen at the time of her death. The fact it took them a year to find out was something Vahn couldntprehend at all and he wondered what kind of scheme she had been caught up in to have gone through such a tragic event. Because of her experience being kidnapped, Tina should have had more awareness regarding such things and should have avoided such a situation. If she had been training with the other girls, her own strength had to be high and this made it even harder to understand exactly how she had been entrapped... Shaking the negative thoughts from his mind, the one thing Vahn could be sure of was that each event was something he could have prevented just by paying closer attention. Almost every event had taken ce as a result of his own negligence, and the negligence of thework behind him. However, he couldnt me them at all since he knew it was likely his behavior that had caused such events to transpire. Fenrir had probably lost control because she was influenced his own emotions, likely due to the grief he had experienced at the loss of Chloe. When Ryuu died, he probably felt even worse and potentially even med Fenrir or, even worse, tried to avoid ming her. The fact that she sealed herself away was an indicator that she hadnt been satisfied with his punishment and decided to punish herself instead. Everything simplypounded off of everything else and all of the events all had Vahn as the core since this world couldnt even exist without his actions influencing it. Without his notice, the world had suddenly turned white again and Vahn found himself sitting, not on the edge of the tower, but in the wooden chair holding a cup of tea. Ouranos now had a smile on his face as he repeated, "Now you understand the price of power...its quite heavy, isnt it, Vahn Mason?" This time, instead ofshing out, Vahn nodded his head solemnly and took a sip of the hot tea within his hands. After savoring the vor for a while, Vahn said, "Wielding great power and influence invites those that desire it to take action...a moment ofcency can lead to tragedy and, if one is not prepared to bear the consequences, they should never becent...this is the responsibility of those that wield such power. If I cant bear such burdens, I should avoid pursuing such power as it will invite further tragedy into my life that has far-reaching consequences that could even influence the entire world depending on my actions..." Ouranosughed loudly at Vahns words for several long seconds before arge grin appeared on his face and he said, "Everything that happens, happens for a reason. As long as you understand that, and cultivate a mentality that can ept the result of the decisions you make, you are worthy to rule. Know that, though other are responsible for their own actions, you are ultimately to me for any event you had set in motion as a result of your past actions...walk forward with your head up high, or do the world a favor at take your own life...though that also has consequences, as Im sure youre aware." Hearing Ouranos words, Vahn was reminded of the quest he had received to save Haruhime since the actions he had taken would have inevitably led to her death. He knew that he would likely receive simr quests in the future, likely to prevent such tragedies from happening, so he clearly understood Ouranos words and took them to heart. He also knew death wasnt the end of his journey, so arbitrarily deciding he should leave the record would just cement a future that he no longer had control over. Without the ability to put the record into stasis, it would continue forward regardless of his desires and those he left behind would have to deal with the consequences of his actions. Vahn couldnt allow such a thing, so he looked toward Ouranos and said in a confident tone, "I will shape a better future, not just for myself, but for everyone I love. I wont stray away from the path and walk such a lonely road...I dont want to end up in a future where those that I love treat me in such a distant manner. I would rather suffer and grieve at their sides than ever allow such a thing..." As he spoke, Ouranos eyes gleamed with a magical light before nodding his head toward the end of Vahns words and saying, "Very well, Vahn Mason, I will you good fortune. Ah, know that when you meet the real me, I will have no knowledge of what transpired in this ce. Though I will know that you obtained the scroll, I will not know what kind of world you created through your actions. Other than that, I can only hope you dont resent me for putting you through this test...farewell, Vahn Mason." Without realizing the transition was taking ce, Vahn suddenly found himself seemingly thousands of kilometers away from Ouranos before he was suddenly standing in his own room holding a scroll that had begun to turn into ash. The package that Eina had given to him when she visited the previous day was sitting on the countertop and it seemed as if not even a single second had passed, even though he spent several months inside the Divination. However, none of this was important and Vahn did something that he found very necessary for his own peace of mind as he asked, ("Sis...please answer me...") Without any hesitation, Vahn heard a confused Sis say, (*Yes~? Im here, Vahn, did you need something?*) Vahn felt like a weight had lifted off his very soul as he asked, ("Can you not see my memories from the Divination...?") As Vahn asked the question, he realized he actually couldnt remember the majority of things, other than small snippets and his conversation with Ouranos. Sis also seemed to be very confused as the memories repeated through his mind and she said in a concerned tone, (*Vahn, what exactly happened? Its like a very long period of time passed, but I cant make sense of the information at all...this makes no sense.*) Shaking his head, Vahn rubbed his hands through his hair and simply said, ("Do your best to sort through the information...some of it might be very important for future breakthroughs. For now, the only thing that matters is that were together again. Sis, you have no idea how great it is to hear your voice again...") Though he was doing his best to act calmly, Vahn had started to tear up as he spoke and Sis was very aware of the distress he was feeling. Before she could console him, however, a bundle of midnight blue fur burst into the room and shouted, "Vahn, are you okay!?" Without waiting for a response, Fenrir ran over before hugging his body tightly and patting his back as she said in a consoling manner, "There, there, Fenrir is here, dont be sad Vahn~" Vahn felt a brief moment of anguish after seeing Fenrir and ovepping her current state with the version of herself he had seen in his Divination. After his mind cleared up, however, Vahn leaned down and picked up the adorable wolf girl in his arms and hugged her tightly as he said, "Fenrir, please tell me if you are ever sad or hurting...I will always be here for you..." Fenrir was enjoying the sudden embrace but tilted her head in confusion after hearing Vahns words and stated matter-of-factly, "Vahn is being weird...Fenrir and Vahn will be together forever~! As long as Fenrir can be with Vahn, she will always be happy~!" Then, piggybacking Fenrirs words, Sis said within Vahns mind, (*I will always be here with you as well, Vahn. Together, we can make sure such a future neveres to pass. Remember, The Path will always have the answer you seek as long as you genuinely long for it. You dont have to worry about such a tragic thing evering to pass as long as we both do our best to prevent it...everyone else as well, were all here for you.*) Vahn nodded his head while holding on tightly to Fenrir as he said, both to the wolf girl in his arms and Sis within his mind, "Thank you...lets create a beautiful future together." (A/N: Know that I was very tempted to make the old man Stan Lee instead of Ouranos, kappa (UwU). Also, this will be the final chapter for the day since I didnt actually n to write nearly 20k words today at all <.<...see you guys tomorrow!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Depression...,Confrontation with Ouranos : Powerlessness,Home) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 432 - Revelations

Chapter 432 - Revtions

After collecting himself adequately, Vahn contacted Hephaestus, Loki, and Eina through thework and also exined a bit of what he had experienced to Hestia. Because the Scroll of Prophecy showed an actual path that he could walk in the future, this meant that many of people and events that took ce were things that would actually happen in the real world. Vahn didnt remember everything, but he remembered many key details and even knew the names of some of his enemies that they would face in the future. Just knowing that the One-Eyed ck Dragon in the Dungeon wasnt the real thing was a piece of information that would drastically impact their future, especially regarding Ais. Eina was originally too busy toe to the meeting but ended up arranging things after she understood the seriousness of the matter. Coincidentally, when she told the manager she had something to deal with, she was given permission to leave without them asking any details. When Vahn learned about this, he knew that Ouranos probably had expected this to happen ever since he gave the scroll to Eina. Vahn wasnt quite sure what to think about the elderly god, but he knew they werent enemies, at least for the time being. Their first official meeting would be at the wedding reception, but that was something Vahn would worry aboutter. Because of the significance of the matter, Vahn ended up using [Shundo] to retrieve Eina and Hephaestus while he sent Fafnir to pick up Loki. His enemies would find a way to get to him regardless of how low-key he tried to remain, so Vahn decided it simply wasnt worth worrying about at all. Based on what he knew from the Divination, Vahns enemies were far less sessful when he started proactively taking action that they werent able to adapt to. Giving them breathing room while trying to remain low-key was inviting them to bring harm to those that he loved, so Vahn wasnt going to keep taking a back seat role in his own life. Fafnir could fly much faster than Vahn could use [Shundo], so Loki was the first to arrive at the Manor, excluding Anubis who lived nearby and, by the time Vahn arrived with Eina and Hephaestus, the atmosphere had be very tense in the residence. Vahn was tempted to alleviate their concerns by exining things, but he didnt know if it was the best idea since there were several negatives involved. Until he talked things over with people more intelligent than himself, he couldnt make the best use of the information to guide his future actions. Especially when it came to the girls that had died, or those that he had a peculiar rtionship with...Vahn was very sensitive to their presence at the moment and knew he still needed to calm down a bit before he associated with them closely. --- Vahn had been tempted to have Riveria attend the meeting, as she was a very intelligent woman, but he felt awkward at having to exin that they ended up having a child that became the King of the Elves. He still wasnt sure what had transpired to bring them closer together, so Vahn was a bit on edge against her, and many of the other girls for that matter. He knew at some point, the path he had walked resulted in the majority of them getting pregnant and Vahn felt somewhat awkward knowing this, especially with girls like Lefiya, Preasia, and Shizune in the house. The Loki from the Divination mentioned that, of the girls living in the Manor, the only exceptions were, Mn, Tina, Emiru, Maemi, Ryuu, Chloe, Misha, and Eina. Many of the ones that had evaded him were those that had died while it was very understandable why he never managed to sire a child with Mn and Misha. After gathering Anubis, Hestia, Hephaestus, Loki, and Eina in his own room, since it was the only one that had a soundproof barrier installed in the central building, Vahn exined in as much detail as he could the events that had transpired. He had even written down a chronology of the events so they could get a better grasp of what he was trying to convey. Vahn included everything starting from the death of Chloe to Valletta Grede, his presumed response to the event, Ryuus death to Fenrir, and many other things. When he got to the part about conquering the world, Hephaestus, Anubis, and Eina had looks of disbelief while Loki seemed to get somewhat excited at the prospect. As for Hestia, she had a serious expression but just listened quietly while looking through the book that Vahn had written regarding the events. By the time he was finished with his recounting of events, Loki was practically fidgetting around before saying, "So I was right...if things continued as they were, you would eventually take over the entire world! Kekekeke, I never thought about being an empress before...and our daughter became the ruler of Orario? Shishishishi~!" Vahn frowned slightly so Loki put her hands up in a defensive gesture and said, "Dont worry, I know how serious this matter is, Vahn. Ouranos got us really good this time...that sly old fox! Using something as rare as a Scroll of Prophecy just to establish a link with the core of the Alliance!" Eina, who had been the one to deliver the scroll, had been the most affected by the revtions that were just brought to light. In a hesitant manner, she asked, "The Scroll of Prophecy...how urate is it?" Lokis eyes opened slightly and she looked between Hephaestus, Anubis, and Hestia before saying, "The Scroll of Prophecy isnt something as simple as letting the user view the future...it creates a perfect replica down to the flow of each particle of mana within the world. Every scroll is a precious artifact dating back to the reformation of the three realms, meaning they are between 500-540 million years old! It shouldnt even be able to exist in the mortal world, so Im curious to know how that old codger managed to pull such a feat off..." This time, it was Vahns turn to be surprised since he had searched through the shop for the scroll and found they were listed at 1,000,000,000OP each. Knowing Ouranos had used such a precious artifact just to establish a connection with him made Vahn feel somewhat ufortable. He started to wonder if Ouranos had gleaned something from the future through other methods and wanted to alter the course of events. However, Vahn didnt n to let himself get wrapped up in such schemes anymore and wanted to simply walk forward confidently while doing his best to protect those close to him. He was better prepared to face potential losses, but he was also determined to prevent them from happening in the first ce now. Vahn looked over everyone and said, "There are several things that need to be changed after taking these matters into consideration. Ive never cared much about power, or bing something like an Emperor, especially if I have to live such a lonely existence...but I will do whatever it takes to prevent such tragedies from happening if it is something I can avoid through proactive measures being taken. I dont want to restrict anyone lives, nor direct which path they walk in the future, but I wont stand idly by as they fall into the schemes of our enemies anymore. Also, Eina...I want you to undergo Nirvana before the wedding, or at least soon thereafter. Knowing that you spent twenty-two years raising my other children is something I cant agree to at all...not when Im in a position to change such things." Eina had been brooding a bit about having delivered the scroll to Vahn, but now shepletely nked after hearing Vahns firm deration. After processing the information, her face turned beet red and she lowered her head in embarrassment before saying, "Okay...Vahn..." Knowing that Vahn was determined to have her bear his children made her heart beat like a drum in her chest and she could feel a bit of anxiety and nausea welling up in her stomach. A small part of her wanted Vahn to wait before they conceived a child, but his determined look made her feel sheepish and powerless to resist his insistence. She couldnt imagine what it was like to have a burden of twenty-two years of memories to cope with, so she gave in very quickly since she was the root cause of the event. Vahn smiled as he affectionately stroked Einas hair for a few seconds before turning his attention to the gathered goddesses and saying, "One of the most important things we need to take into consideration are the Vanir that will be born in the future. The children I sired with goddesses werent normal Demigods at all, but something far more powerful. They reached physical maturity very early and then seemingly ceased aging after the fact...the most problematic thing is, as they grow in strength, the influence of the Divinities increases and they can potentially even be gods and goddesses if they grow strong enough. The evolution of my soul allowed me to awaken my own Divinities, so you should expect that our children will have such potential as well..." Though they already knew the matter was very serious, hearing Vahn say it so inly caused each goddess to show a solemn expression, at least until Hestia asked with a silly smile on her face, "So we had a son named Damen...? Ehehehe~" Vahn had also been serious when he spoke, but his mind stalled a bit when he heard Hestias words. With Hestias words as the catalyst, Loki said, "Ah, now I know that my child is going to be girl...Im kind of tempted not to name her Disa. Its a little frustrating knowing the machinations of fate..." Hephaestus piggybacked her words and mumbled, "Three children...I wonder how far apart they were...?" The only goddess that didnt get wrapped up in the conversation was Anubis, who had never given birth to a child sired by Vahn. She had a thoughtful expression on her face but remained rtively quiet until Vahn turned his attention to her. With a gentle smile, Anubis said in a low tone, "I will leave it to Master to decide..." Though she had been speaking to Vahn, everyone else heard her words and Loki began tough mischievously before snickering as she said, "As long as we try to increase our personal power, we can have as many children as we want~! Lets show fate that it can choke on the sands of time and die off for all we care!" Then, as if realizing something, Loki looked at Vahn and her grin grew abnormallyrge as she asked, "So, you and Riveria...kekekeke~." Eina seemed to be awakened by Lokis words and she turned to Vahn with a serious expression on her face as she said, "Vahn, you cant treat Riveria-sama poorly...oh my, can I really be the first wife in this kind of situation...fuuuueeeee~." Because she was a Half-Elf, it wouldplicate matters if Riveria and Vahn were to marry in the future, but Vahn ignored her plight and just hugged her from behind as he nibbled on her ear and said, "Dont worry about things like that anymore, Eina...it was worrying about such things that caused such a tragic future in the first ce. From now on, well do our best for our family without worry about how this world looks at us. No matter how you view things, this world is more broken than I am, so it would be better to try and fix it instead of worrying about trying to maintain the status quo..." Loki shot up at Vahns words and shouted, "Yes, that is correct! Ahahahaha, the world is constantly changing so why should we worry about keeping things the same when they are so obviously f.u.c.k.i.e.d up! It was never an option for the Alliance to not seize power over time because Vahns children would simply be too powerful to be suppressed!" Then, as if realizing something, Loki pointed to Vahn and smiled widely as she said, "Vahn, you need to be much stronger if you want to keep your own kids in line~! If they mature in as little as five years, that means they could quickly overtake you unless you regte them from an early age." Vahn recalled how deferential his own children were to him when he was an Emperor and knew that was likely the same decision he had made along that path. As Loki stated, his children would grow powerful very quickly and, if there wasnt anything keeping them under control, they would potentially bring devastation to the world. The fact that two of his children betrayed him was something fresh in his mind and Vahn regretted not asking about the identities of each of his children before he brooded in space for several months. He forgot many things from the Divination, but he was able to recall the names and significant events that were conveyed to him through his conversations with other people. Nodding his head, Vahn looked around and said, "I dont know what it means to be a good father...and I can tell from the Divination that it isnt something Im capable of without assistance. As long as there are threats, I will always have to increase my own strength to provide security for our family. If I have to be an authority figure for my own children, that is something Im willing to do, but I never want to be in a position where they are more respectful to me than affectionate. Please, if I ever walk down a path where Im pushing away those close to me...seriously...p the crap out of me until I return to my senses. Im the type that gets caught up in the momentum and suffers under the burden of my own emotions...I dont want to find myself with absolute power sitting on a lonely throne with everyone I love thousands of kilometers away." Vahn bowed low to the gathered women and pleaded for them to always guide him along the correct path. He knew that he had walked a path where they became distant and Vahn thought this was the greatest mistake he could have made. What was the point of having the power to protect the things he cared about if he couldnt even be close to them? Just imagining Hephaestus mncholy and her gratitude when they had s.e.x made Vahn feel very ufortable. Since she was the closest person to him in the Divination, it meant that he probably didnt spend much time with anyone else...Vahn didnt want to ever find himself in such a sad position again. As he was bowing, Vahn felt his head lifted by Hephaestus and she hugged him close as she whispered, "Vahn, no matter what, Ill always be at your side...just make sure to grit your teeth when the timees..." Hearing her words, Vahn began tough as he hugged Hephaestus body tightly against his own before lifting his face from her chest and sealing her lips. Even though he had hurt her so much, Hephaestus had never left his side even when he walked such a lonely path wrought with sadness. He felt like he owed her more than he could ever repay and didnt mind spending the rest of his life paying off the debt...with interest. Before they got lost in their own world, however, Vahn felt a smack to the top of his head that hade from Loki. She looked at the two of them with an incredulous expression as she asked, "Are we done talking? I dont mind if you lovebirds want to turn this into a massive orgy, but I thought we were having a serious discussion~!" Vahn swallowed his saliva while Hephaestus blushed and pulled away from him slightly without fully separating their bodies. Loki nodded her head and asked, "So, what are we going to do with this information? We obviously need to consolidate our power and start trying to eliminate our enemies, but what else needs to be considered? Do we share this information with the other girls on thework, or do you want to y it by ear and leave things to develop in a natural manner? Im sure Chloe would probably be a lot more cautious in her actions if she knew her death was the catalyst for such a dismal future..." Lokis questions struck to the heart of several matters and this was one of the reasons Vahn had gathered the core members of the work to exin the situation. Vahn knew that telling the core members was necessary, but he was conflicted about who else to inform since it could drastically alter how they choose to live their lives. Telling just those that he selected could be dangerous, since it would affect the group synergy and cause others to feel left out. However, it was the existence of so many spective lovers within the Manor that made Vahn very worried about informing everyone. With a slight grimace on his face, Vahn said, "I want to tell everyone...but I also dont want to tell everyone...it feels like Id be manipting them with information that is no longer true, but just possible. Just having this conversation has already altered the oue of future events and letting them know about such possibilities could have adverse consequences..." Loki nodded her head casually before asking, "So, youre worried about the girls that you havent had s.e.x with yet?" Vahn flinched at her words and his reaction confirmed Lokis spection which caused her tough as he earned himself a somewhat distraught look from Hestia. After a short while passed, Loki looked around at everyone present and said, "Who here expected any of the girls to escape Vahns clutches in the future? Just a show of hands, please~!" Of the girls present, the only one to raise her hand was Eina who looked around in confusion before lowering her hand out of embarrassment. Vahn felt somewhat ashamed knowing that it was expected that he would end up with most of the girls eventually. Out of nowhere, Vahn received a light p from Loki and she pointed at him with a serious expression and said, "You wanted to be smacked when you started pushing people away right~? I can almost guarantee that, when you do have rtions with those girls, it would most likely be because they wanted to be with you, even if its just for a short while. If you really want to create a future through proactive action, sitting on such information for fear of causing awkwardness is just ridiculous. If some of the girls get scared and run away, that is less for us to worry about in the future! Vahn, this whole fiasco is a result of you getting caught in the moment, so you need to start thinking about what you can do to ovee adversity, not worry about how it might impact you!" Without waiting for permission, Loki started walking toward the door while saying, "I know you want to tell them, so Ill save you the anxiety and inform them for you. It might be awkward, but youll have to learn to deal with such temporary things if you want to be able to deal with real problems in the future. Baaaah, sometimes I wonder how I ever fell for such an idiotic boy...still pretending to be innocent when youre literally ying around with a dozen different girls..." Hephaestus let go of Vahns arm and shouted, "Loki, dont do anything rash!" Loki looked back and asked in a snide tone, "Tell me, are there any actual downsides besides Vahn potentially losing a girl or two? Most of them would probably be happy knowing they actually got with him at some point, and its not like anything is set in stone now. Why are we even worrying about this when actual lives are involved?" Loki looked around at everyone for a brief moment before asking, "Lets simplify things then...go ahead, if you think there are any actual downsides besides some internal stuff that can be easily dealt with, please raise your hand~!" Though her words were harsh, everything Loki said generally cut straight through to the heart of the matter and Vahn couldnt help but agree with her ims. The only real reason he was withholding information was that it was awkward, specifically for Vahn himself. Knowing the potential dangers would make the girls more cautious and it also gave him more room to discuss things openly with them to ensure that such a tragic fate never came to fruition. The best example was how Emiru and Tina died, both fates that could have simply been avoided through simple discussion... Seeing that nobody raised their hands for several seconds, Loki nodded her head and said, "Such a powerful Divination is something we need to make proper use of, not something we need to keep under wraps. As long as we make the girls take a vow, there isnt any real danger of the information getting out to other people. If we want to make a strong organization to confront our enemies, well need to ensure that our internal bonds are unshakeable. Keeping information from those that are directly impacted by the events is just foolishness~!" Though she was interested in the future they would make from now on, especially knowing that Vahn had the potential to be an Emperor. Loki wanted to ensure that things went as smoothly as possible and knew Vahn would behave like an idiot trying to keep the information to himself. Even if he had no intention of doing so now, he would eventually act on the information in the future even if he didnt tell the girls about it at first. Since they would eventually find out, Loki wanted to bypass the drama and force the situation to a point early on so they could begin taking corrective actions much sooner. If the core of the group wasnt unified, there would be all kinds of problems that would need to be addressed in the future. --- After being convinced by Loki, the group moved to the dining room where almost everyone had been gathered together waiting for the important discussion toe to an end. Anubis had sent a message to Nanu, since she was one of the girls that gave birth to one of the Council members in the Divination, and she arrived shortly thereafter. Other than Freya and Inari, most of the people Vahn was aware of from the Divination were gathered together when Loki exined, "Okay children, Ill make this as simple as I possible can...if you intend to be involved with this idiot for the rest of your lives, youre going to need to take a final vow to protect all the information youre about to learn. This is something that will greatly impact each of you, so you need to have the conviction to carry the information to your graves regardless of any dissatisfaction you may feel in the future. Even if you choose to leave, you will never be released from this vow so take it seriously!" As Loki spoke, she pointed to the statuesque Vahn that was nked by Hephaestus and Eina with a mild blush on his face. Knowing that several of the girls were about to learn they gave birth to his children had overloaded Vahns circuits. Fenrir was even going to learn that she ended up killing Ryuu and would eventually have a physical rtionship with him. Though Vahn expected something to happen between them in the future, as they were both being that could live forever and would travel several worlds together, he hadnt expected things toe to a head like this so early. He was just hoping he would be able to convince her to wait, even if it was a bit selfish on his part in doing so. With the exception of Mona, everyone else was willing to take the vow and Vahn was somewhat surprised since had had almost disregarded her entirely. She spent most of her time working at the Hostess of Fertility so the only time he saw the busty Cow Person was during dinner. Unlike the other girls, she often used a private bath and was the girl that Vahn associated with the least. If Lokis words werent inurate, Vahn would have a child with her in the future unless she had simply left at some point before things got serious. Now that she had excused herself from the discussion, Vahn felt like she would probably leave in the future, or at least would never take a proactive role in the events that would transpire. Once Mona left, Loki took on the responsibility of conveying the Divination to everyone present and also passed around the five books Vahn had prepared earlier. Chloe had taken a bit of an impact knowing that she would have died within a years time to an enemy she had never met, but it was Ryuu and Fenrir who suffered the biggest blow early on in the discussion. Even though Fenrir hadnt actually killed anyone, she felt regret knowing that such a thing had ever happened. Unless they were trying to harm Vahn, Fenrir didnt want to hurt anyone because she knew it would make Vahn sad. Ryuu, knowing that she would die in such an unexpected manner, showed a serious expression and Vahn could see the mes of resolve burning in her sky blue eyes. Knowing they would die together, but far apart from one another, Emiru and Maemi promised to never separate in such a manner, no matter what life threw at them. As for Tina and Mn, the small cat girl sobbed in frustration while Mn hugged her tightly with Shizune after the revtion. Vahn felt very guilty seeing how distraught they were but hoped it would give them both a bit of awareness about the dangers they would face if they tried to bear burdens alone. Unless they left the Manor very early, they would always be the target of the enemies that appeared trying to undermine the Alliance... After that, things got both serious and awkward at the same time because Loki began discussing about Vahns conquest, his unification of the various species, the establishment of an Empire, the creation of an Academy, and even the construction of the Heavenly City. During these events, she also exined Vahns rtionsh.i.p.s with the other girls and told them the positions some of their future children had the potential of holding. Riveria knew about the existence of an item like the Scroll of Prophecy and that it wasnt simply a vision of things that might happen, but things that would happen unless events were changed. Riveria became pale knowing that she ended up in a rtionship with Vahn, but her uneasy feelings diminished somewhat knowing that her son became the Elven King and helped in the unification of all species. It was, in many ways, her penultimate goal so she was content knowing things had gone well, even if it was only after a war. Regardless of her wishes, Riveria knew that war was an inevitable consequence of rapid change so she wasnt too surprised knowing it was looming in the future. Knowing that Vahn also had the potential to ascend to godhood and even possessed a Divinity rted to magic had returned herplexion to a neutral state as a thoughtful expression appeared on her face. Ais had also taken a big impact knowing that dragon she was pursuing wasnt the real thing and that, even after twenty-two years had passed, they had never found the true body even when Vahn had the capabilities of traversing the entire world. However, she was able to redirect her hatred towards what she learned to be the true enemy, which was the Goddess Enyo that was sealed within the Dungeon. Tiona and Tione were at her sides and had been forting her a bit, even though Tiona had an awkward smile on her face knowing she had nearly been killed by the adorable Fenrir within the next two years. She decided to be better friends with the wolf girl so that, even if she lost control, there was a better chance that things wouldnt end in such a fashion. As for the rest of the group, knowing that they had conceived Vahns children in the Divination caused them to have a variety of reactions. Haruhime seemed to be especially jubnt as her tails danced around behind her while Mikoto had a vexed expression on her face. Lili, knowing that she had three children sired by Vahn, felt very prideful and had an excited blush on her face while Naazas tailed wagged slowly behind her. The worrisome Preasia and Shizune also had reactions that made Vahn feel somewhat unnerved because they both eyed him like a predator after knowing they would eventually get to him. None of the girls from the Hostess of Fertility were surprised at all and Tsubaki was just happy knowing that her future child was a girl that would bear her mothers name. She sat affectionately stroking her stomach with a happy expression on her face while the other girls mored about. Some of the biggest reactions hade from the girls that hadnt born Vahns children, however, especially the girls that had died. Chloe and Ryuu seemed to be burning with resolve to be stronger, but they also gave Vahn periodic and thoughtful nces. Mn had aplex expression on her face but it was Tina who was fired up now that she had been able to process things better. She had resolved herself to be much stronger and to improve her rtionsh.i.p.s with the other girls in the Manor in the future. Knowing that Shizune eventually got together with Vahn gave her a bit more confidence, which had been waning in thest few months since she had started to feel that she had lost the chance. She hadnt vocalized it to anyone, but she was somewhat resentful at having been born toote to actually be with Vahn. The biggest reaction of all, however, had been from the generally bashful Lefiya. Hearing that she eventually gave birth to one of Vahns children had caused her face to turn maroon and she had passed out on the spot with steam rising from her head. She ended up having to be tended to by Riveria since Vahns interference would just make the problem worse. As for Vahn himself, he had been watching everyones reaction with mixed emotions because he felt like all of his defenses had been torn down in an instant. Especially regarding Emiru and Maemi, Vahn felt like he wouldnt be able to refuse them for much longer since they had died before ever having the opportunity to be with him in a meaningful manner. He was positive they had s.e.x before the twins had died, but they didnt give birth to any children before then and now eyed Vahn from the side as they shared a mental conversation with each other. However, though her reaction wasnt the biggest, the most problematic girl was Fenrir who didnt even know what it meant to bear children yet. Her education on such matters had been limited and now she was about to receive a crash course from Riveria and Mn. Vahn expected that he would be able to keep their current rtionship for a few years longer, but Fenrir would eventually want to try various things with him in the future. He was hoping that he would be able to convince her to restrain herself with the excuse that they would be together forever and didnt need to rush such things... One good thing that emerged from the discussion was the existence of Bell, which had been brought up and emphasized by Vahn. He still hadnt met the hero-ss character yet, but he knew that Bell actually yed a big role in the events of the Divination when it came to facing their enemies within the Dungeon. Though Ais had been the Commander of Haven, Bell had been the one spearheading the expeditions in the Frontier Floors and was the only other Level 9 that Vahn had been made aware of. Even Ais had only reached Level 8, alongside Haruhime and Lili, and this was a testament to Bells incredible potential. During the discussion about the Dungeon, the matters of the Xenos were also brought up and Vahn himself was very curious to meet them in the future. Knowing that he eventually had a lover amongst the group of monster girls stirred up his curiosity a great deal, especially since his own daughter was rather beautiful. Their main reason for bringing this up was to prepare everyone in the Manor for their future meeting with the group so that there were no great tensions and conflict. Of course, since Vahn wasnt sure how their early interactions yed out, he made sure everyone was prepared to defend themselves in the event of an emergency...thest thing he wanted was unexpected deaths because people had dropped their guards thinking things would go well. (A/N: If it isnt obvious, Im nning on fleshing Danmachi world quite a bit, so dont expect him to move on to a new world within the next 1000 chapters kappa.) (A/N: Vahn speak the tru true,Loki aint having any of your shit,Add em to the schedule!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 433 - Reaction

Chapter 433 - Reaction

(A/N: I wasnt going to release another one today since the previous chapter was so long, but I decided to give a small snippet chapter of everyones reactions. This wont read like a normal chapter, so I can remove itter if people are annoyed by it. Enjoy your holidays, I sure am~!) ---Chloe PoV--- After hearing about her own death, Chloe wasnt perturbed if not for the fact that she realized it wasnt that far in the future. She had been nning to continue enjoying this lifestyle for a long period of time and even wanted to build a family with Vahn in the future once things had calmed down. Now, however, Chloe realized that things may never actually settle down and, if she continued taking a passive stance regarding things, she may end up losing her happiness because of her own weakness. She had already been working hard to be stronger, but now she felt like there were a fire that had been lit under her butt and she nned to do things above-board if possible. Instead of spending her days working at the Hostess of Fertility and keeping her identity a secret, she intended to be an Adventurer and improve her strength in the Dungeon. As for the matter of having children in the near future, she wasnt entirely sure she was ready but the future wasnt something that waited idly for people to reach it... ---Ryuu PoV--- Ryuu never expected that her death was rtively close at hand and, against all expectations, it would have been at the ws, or perhaps even teeth, of Fenrir. She knew that Fenrir wouldnt be a threat to her for a long time, so this meant her death was likely a result of her own failures at the time. If she was trying to calm Fenrir down, she might have opened herself up to a surprise attack before falling to the unstoppable ws of the berserk wolf girl. As an Elf, she had already nned to be at Vahns side for several decades, not a mere two years where she was unable to actually aplish anything. It was almost like an insult to everything she believed in and the promises that she wanted to keep to her fallenrades. Most importantly, however, Ryuu didnt want to leave Vahn to walk such a dark road on his own. She believed he was a righteous man that would walk a difficult path, but one where he represented the light, not the darkness. Knowing that he had be an Emperor that ruled over the world from above didnt bring her anyfort because she knew how lonely he must have felt bearing such a responsibility. Ryuu wanted to help guide him along the correct path, and she could only aplish that by bing much stronger. She wanted to be strong enough to bear a part of his burden and, if time allowed, she didnt mind bearing his child in the future. Being one of the only girls left out didnt sit well with her, especially considering that they had a life-long promise to each other... ---Maemiru PoV--- Hearing about their deaths, Emiru and Maemi immediately resolved themselves to always be together from now on. The fact that they had fallen in such a tragic fashion irked the two girls because it went against everything they wanted to obtain in life. Yes, they wanted to be much stronger, but only because they wanted to be with Vahn more often. They couldnt tolerate the idea that they had failed in such a way and had decided to be more proactive from now on. Since Vahn was obviously affected by their deaths, as it was written clearly on his face during the recounting, they knew it would be possible to get closer to him in the future. When they made eye contact with himter, they knew he was thinking the same thing so they starteding up with a method to spend more time with him. Ever since he had gifted them, the twins had worn the victory panties almost every single day in anticipation, after having washed them, of course. Now that his defenses were lowered, they began putting some of their ns in motion... ---Mn PoV--- Knowing that her daughter died in such a fashion, Mn wasnt entirely sure what she should do with the information at all. She had been trying to be stronger and had been one of the girls in the mother faction that looked after everyone else, but now it seemed like she was being forced to make a clear decision. ording to the chronology that was listed out, Tina would have died around six-or-seven years from now and, since it was the result of her leaving the Familia, it meant that she had never gotten together with Vahn. Now, however, it looked like her daughter was even more determined to be with him in the future and even her adopted daughter, Shizune, also had a mischevious light in her eyes. If Mn decided to stay here in the future, she might end up in a very awkward position, especially since she also had some affections for the handsome boy. She had hoped, considering how Vahn treated Tina, that they would be closer to a Father-Mother-Daughter trio in the future once he had kids of his own. Now, however, it seemed like she was the odd one out and unless she jumped on the bandwagon orpletely go off of it, there would be little chance of her being able to stayfortably in the Manor in the future. Since she couldnt see herself sharing the same man as her own daughter, Mn was in a peculiar situation and knew that dying the matter would onlyplicate things. The biggest problem was, Mn knew she wouldnt be able to deny Vahns advances if he proactively sought her in the future. Her body ached every time she saw him in the bath and she had even been trying to avoid him a bit except when he was around the younger girls and behaving. The smell he gave off made her feel very frustrated and she had even been having delusions about hanging around the East Wing when she was bored. If she didnt make her decision soon, Vahn might very well make it for her and then it would be toote unless she was willing to abandon the Hestia Familia when her daughter came of age... ---Tina PoV--- Tina had been very distraught when she learned of her own death, but it wasnt the fact that she had died that upset her the most. Knowing that the situation had developed to the point where she made the decision to leave was a big impact on her mind because she thought she would always be with Vahn and the Hestia Familia. Unlike when she was a simple Inn attendant that was helping her mother, she now felt like her life was full of color and a variety of interesting things. She had fancy clothes, lots of friends, and was quickly bing stronger while having ample time to y around with the other girls. Here at the Manor, everyone treated her kindly and Vahn often showed her affection whenever she sought it from him. She couldnt even imagine how things had gotten to the point where she made the decision to leave so she simply made the choice now to never do such a thing in the future no matter how hard things got. At the very least, Tina wanted to be strong enough that, even if something transpired that forced her to leave, she would never be a victim. Knowing the world was full of enemies that would prey on her in a moment of weakness, Tina resolved to simply never be weak again. Tina knew the shortest path to get to Vahn was to be strong so, just like Ais, Tiona, and Tione, she intended to be strong much sooner. If she pressured him hard enough, Vahn would probably let her enter the Dungeon, even though she wasnt an a.d.u.l.t yet. Tiona and Tione had reached Level 2 when they were five while Ais had managed the feat when she was eight. Since Tina was already eleven, she could use logic against Vahn to allow her to be stronger much sooner. He had a convenient ability like [Mentor] so he would probably even personally escort her to make sure she was safe. If he refused, she could use the secret technique her mother had taught her in the past and stare up into his face with watery eyes until he conceded. Vahn was a big softie, so he wouldnt be able to refuse her if she was persistent enough... ---Shizune PoV--- Shizune felt like everything she was hearing was a fantastical tale that was closer to fiction than fact, but she also knew that the conversation was very serious and everything she was hearing was the truth. She didnt mention it much, since she really wanted to do her best to re-live her childhood, but it was actually much harder than she expected. Though she tried to emte Tina and Fenrir to the best of her ability, it was impossible to erase the memories of the life she had lived before Vahn gave her that magical pill. It might have been possible if she hadnt moved into the Manor, but every time Shizune saw Vahn in the bath and had him wash her she knew how her body reacted to his touch and the thoughts that constantly gued her mind. Knowing she would be able to be with him made her feel a bit of relief, but it also made the pangs in her body more prominent and she began to wonder if she needed to take medicine just to deal with her urges so she didnt scare him off. Though she was grateful for her new body, Shizune felt like Vahn needed to take responsibility or she might go crazy in the future...four years was a very long time when it was rare for her to go more than four days without a man in the past... ---Aki PoV--- Aki wasnt entirely sure of what to make of the revtions given by Loki, as it was very difficult to actually wrap her head around the events that were mentioned. Her name wasnt brought up in any of the events, so it was safe to assume that nothing had gone wrong and she had likely spent her time managing things at the Hearth Manor, which was her original intent to begin with. She didnt want to spend the rest of her life in the Dungeon, and she couldnt see herself helping Vahn on his conquest, so Aki assumed she had stayed with the Alliance and helped take care of things alongside Hestia, Eina, and Syr. This brought her somefort, but it also made Aki feel a little awkward knowing that she hadnt been able to help Vahn in his time of need and had even allowed him to live a lonely existence in his Heavenly City. She resolved herself that, if Vahn ended up on such a path once again, she would at least be there for him to show him some of theforts he had brought to her when she was hurting. Since he was willing to take responsibility for her, Aki decided she needed to at least match hismitment...besides, it didnt seem so bad to live in a flying city now that she knew there wasnt any danger even if she fell from the tform... ---Haruhime PoV--- Knowing that she would not only have Vahns children but also became one of the few Level 8s that assisted him, Haruhime was over the moon with happiness. She could feel the me seed in her chest releasing a warm heat that became progressively hotter the more she focused on it. By the time the heat had spread through her entire body, she knew her transformation hadpleted and she wondered what it would be like when she had even more tails. Because her transformation had a charming effect that only worked on Vahn, Haruhime looked forward to his future reactions and the intimate moments they would share. Since there was a chance she would have a rival, Inari, Haruhime wanted to ensure that Vahn waspletely satisfied with her service before they ever got a chance to meet. She had failed to reach nine tails within the twenty-two year period, but that didnt mean she would fail this time around...just thinking about it made her release quietughter... ---Mikoto PoV--- Though she had resolved herself to allow things to develop naturally, as she wanted to be much stronger in the future, Mikoto had never expected that she would bear Vahns children in the future. She didnt know if it was in ten years, or ten months, and this uncertainty made her feel anxious. Not knowing how things reached that point made several thoughts pass through her mind and she couldnt stop herself from thinking of all the times she had admired Vahn in the past. He was very strong, to an extent she constantly struggled toprehend, and now he even had the potential of being an Emperor that presided over the entire world. Mikoto had decided to serve as his de, but now she found herself closer to a sheath that would bringfort to him when he sought her body. With Haruhime releasing strangeughter to her left, Mikotos thought continued to wander and she lowered her head in shame when Vahn turned his attention to her. She wondered what kind of face she was making right now and how she would be able to keep her pride a warrior if things kept up. If not for the fact that almost every girl around her was stronger than she was, Mikoto felt like she wouldnt be able to ept this situation at all. Even Tsubaki, someone she had respected from the very moment they met, was someone that had fallen to Vahn. Mikoto decided to confide in the powerful woman and seek her guidance since she found herself unable to process everything that she had just learned. Knowing she had a future child relying on her made her feel an amount of pressure that she had never experienced before... ---Tsubaki PoV--- Tsubaki had felt very concerned about all of the information that was revealed, but a lot of her worries were washed away when she learned that her child was going to be a girl and that Vahn had decided to name it after her deceased mother. Knowing that she would also grow up to be a powerful warrior that supported Vahn made Tsubaki feel pride, even though her daughter wasnt even born yet. Just knowing her daughter had be someone so capable made her want tough out loud and she was nning to tease Vahn as much as possible about the fact from now onwards. Tsubaki knew he kept some of that delicious [Dwarven Drought]ying around in his storage, so she was nning to have him crack out an entire kegter on, even if she wouldnt be able to drink much of it given her current condition. ---Syr PoV--- Knowing that Vahn had the capacity to be an Emperor made Syr feel incredibly vindicated because she was one of the earliest to recognize his potential, even though knowing about his origins at all. Ever since their first meeting, she knew Vahn would be an amazing individual and she wanted to support him to ensure that he would reach his maximum potential in the future. To her surprise, however, it seemed like his potential was actually limitless and this made her feel very excited about the future. She didnt mind the matter about having a child that much, since she knew it would happen sooner orter, and instead began scanning around the room and gauging the reactions of the other girls. They would be Vahns power in the future, and Syr knew it would be her responsibility to manage things to prevent them from turning into the somewhat dreary future that had been mentioned... ---Arnya PoV--- Arnya was very surprised by everything that was revealed, but she was more surprised by the fact that there werent any major incidents rted to her that were brought up. She had been very worried over thest few weeks that things wouldnt go well, but her concerns now seemed somewhat pointless since there didnt seem to be any issues at all. Other than the fact that she gave birth to Vahns children, there was almost no other information rted to her that had been gleaned from the Divination. This meant that, unless things drastically changed in the very near future, which was very unlikely, there wouldnt be any problems with her having children at all. Knowing this made Arnya feel very awkward because she had been keeping many things from Vahn in order to protect him, even though it was she that was being taken care of. If she had never revealed them in the Divination, that could be the reason why nothing went wrong, but these types of assumptions seemed strange to make since her previous assumption that things would go wrong was incorrect. It started to seem like the only thing she actually had to worry about was bing stronger and taking care of her own children...it was a strange thought to have since Arnya thought her life would be a little more dramatic given her past and the worries that gued her heart... ---Lunoire PoV--- Lunoire sat holding her hand against her cheek in a bit of a daze as she processed all of the information that was revealed by Loki. Other than having a child sired by Vahn, there werent any major events rted to her that were revealed which showed that she was able to live a rtively stress-free life with Vahn. This, however, didnt make her feel veryfortable because Vahn himself seemed to live a life steeped in turmoil. Lunoire wanted an easy life where she could simplyze about, but she didnt want to live it at the expense of others, especially the man she had fallen in love with. She started to wonder if she needed to start training again in order to help bear his burden, or if she should just be one of the women that protected the Manor and helped raise the children... ---Liliruca PoV--- Lili didnt care too much about the revtions of Loki until she got to the point regarding her bearing three children for Vahn, an aplishment only shared by Hephaestus, the closest woman to Vahn. Though she couldnt put herself on the same level as the prolific goddess, Lili felt like she had gotten a minor victory over the other girls and she began to feel a bit giddy in her stomach knowing that her desire to be with Vahn would one daye true. She had been keeping a secret calendar under her bedding that marked the days until her own birthday and began wondering if that also marked the date when she became pregnant. Lilis body had changed a lot every since meeting Vahn, primarily regarding how flexible and strong she had be, but she had been worrying about their eventual union. Lili knew he could turn into a Pallum, but she wanted to real Vahn instead and was now nning on getting some advice from some of the more experienced girls in the group. She already knew about the medicine that would help her body adapt to the experience faster, but that didnt get around the problem that she was barely 2/3rds Vahns size. Though his height fluctuated a bit, something that Lili found very enviable, he was generally around 170cm while she was stuck firmly at 110cm and would likely remain as such for the rest of her life. Her [Cinder*E] might be a potential solution, but Lili had never been able to increase her size, onlypress it. If not for the fact that she knew Vahn was weak to exotic women, Lili would have given up on developing the skill since it probably wasnt the solution she was looking for... ---Naaza PoV--- Naaza felt like her senses had dulled as she listened to Lokis story, but her attention was brought to focus when she heard about some of the things Vahn had created in the Divination. The thought of a floating City high in the sky fascinated her and she was wondering what it would be like to view the world from such a perspective. She had heard about the falling event that Vahn held in the past, so Naaza had been trying to increase her own endurance in order to attend such events in the future. Her own research had been progressing smoothly, but she had begun to feel like her efforts were for naught since Vahn was able toe up with items like the [Heal] staff and the [Effigy of the Hero]. Now, however, Naaza began ying with the idea of helping Vahn along with his research since it was revealed in the notebook that he had obtained the [Alchemy] Development Ability. She wondered if she had a hand in his acquisition of the skill and was looking forward to the long nights they spent together researching different chemicalpounds and creating their future children...it was very exciting to think about... ---Ais PoV---(A/N: Some copypasta magic~!) Ais had also taken a big impact knowing that dragon she was pursuing wasnt the real thing and that, even after twenty-two years had passed, they had never found the true body even when Vahn had the capabilities of traversing the entire world. However, she was able to redirect her hatred towards what she learned to be the true enemy, which was the Goddess Enyo that was sealed within the Dungeon. It brought her somefort knowing her true enemy and the person that threatened the happiness she had found for herself at Vahns side. Ais resolved herself to be strong enough to protect everyone because she didnt want to see the world where Vahn became a lonely Emperore to fruition. She believed Vahn had the capacity of a hero and he had even promised to be one in order to protect her happiness. If they worked together, there was little that could stand against them and Ais wanted to make sure there were no dangerous enemies left by the time she had their daughter. ording to the chronology, she wasnt supposed to give birth for another fourteen years, but this seemed like a very long time and she didnt want to be left behind by the other girls. As long as she got pregnant again in fourteen years, she should still be able to give birth to their daughter so Ais decided that she would have another child when Vahn was focused on his research and they werent proactively going into the Dungeon... ---Tiona PoV--- Tiona had an awkward smile on her face knowing she had nearly been killed by the adorable Fenrir within the next two years. She decided to be better friends with the wolf girl so that, even if she lost control, there was a better chance that things wouldnt end in such a fashion. Other than this, Tiona was happy knowing that she had been able to have children with Vahn and that he had been able to ovee the Kali Familia and reach apromise with the Amazon Queen. There werent any guarantees things would y out in a simr fashion, but just knowing it had gone well once gave her a lot of confidence in the future. She imagined raising their daughter alongside the other children in the Manor and it brought a smile to her face as she eagerly stared at the sheepish Vahn. ---Tione PoV--- Tione had found all of the revtions to be very interesting, though she wasnt quite fond of the path Vahn had taken. She loved that he was willing to go to great lengths to showpassion and understanding for others, even when it often brought harm to himself. Tione didnt want to see a future where he became a tyrant, nor did she want to ept a reality where her own sister nearly died at the hands of one of their allies. Though she wanted to wait for Vahn to be stronger than her, so that they could have a real rtionship, Tione now knew that she needed to be much stronger. Even if she wasnt able to obtain much in the way of parameter development, she could continue to improve her own techniques and work towards increasing herbat abilities for the future. She already sparred with Vahn in the mornings, but now she began eyeing some of the other strong girls in the Manor, specifically Tsubaki and her own airheaded little sister... ---Riveria PoV--- Riveria became pale knowing that she ended up in a rtionship with Vahn, but her uneasy feelings diminished somewhat knowing that her son became the Elven King and helped in the unification of all species. It was, in many ways, her penultimate goal so she was content knowing things had gone well, even if it was only after a war. Regardless of her wishes, Riveria knew that war was an inevitable consequence of rapid change so she wasnt too surprised knowing it was looming in the future. Knowing that Vahn also had the potential to ascend to godhood and even possessed a Divinity rted to magic had returned herplexion to a neutral state as a thoughtful expression appeared on her face. If their son had be King, this meant that he had reached the basic requirement for a.d.u.l.thood and had to be at least twenty unless they had forcibly installed him as King. Since it seemed like they had forged an Alliance with the High Elves, this didnt seem to be the case so it stood to reason that she was expected to have s.e.x with Vahn within the next year or it would break the chronology. Knowing this made her feel somewhat unnerved but, appraising Vahn with her eyes, Riveria didnt think it was actually a bad thing. He had probablye to her after the loss of Choe and, though she wasnt sure of her own reasoning, she had probably consoled him before they consummated the deed. Riveria knew she wasnt the overly affectionate type so she had likely gotten pregnant after their first time together, especially if she was trying to help Vahn feel better. Knowing that Chloe would likely not suffer the same fate, Riveria lost her reason to be with Vahn and now found herself in an awkward position because the felt pelled to be with him knowing that it would likely serve as the catalyst that unified the Elves and the other species. Since he had still founded the Academy, even though he was conquering the world, this showed that Vahn was a very earnest boy and likely listened to her even when he had started walking down a path more difficult than the one she herself faced. It was hard to believe, but Riveria found herself feeling empathetic towards Vahn and felt that they were morepatible than she had previously thought... ---Lefiya PoV--- Lefiya had been in stunned silence as Loki was speaking but the moment she heard that she was one of the girls that gave birth to Vahns children, it felt like all the blood in her body had rushed to her head and any thoughts in her mind hadpletely shattered into oblivion. Thest thing that passed through her mind before it was imed by darkness was the n.a.k.e.d image of Vahn leaning over her own body as she desperately clung to the sheets while Ais watched from the side... ---Preasia PoV--- Though she never had any doubts about it, as she never intended to give up, Preasia was very happy to know she would one day be with Vahn. Now that the matter was brought to light, she knew it was very possible that such an event would take ce in the very near future if she yed her cards right. It was unlikely that Vahn would go against the conditions he hadid out in the past, but now she should be able to convince him that she was ready for that type of rtionship if she could continue to improve her status within thework. She had already gotten close to several of the younger girls so, if she managed to get in with the older women, Preasia was confident that Vahn would give in to her. At the very least, he shouldnt be able to continue avoiding her to such an extent and she might even be able to get him to kiss her if they are alone together. If the timing was right, that kiss could turn into petting and, if she could rile him up enough, the petting could eventually result in much much more. Though she still had nightmares about her time in the dungeon, Preasia was confident she could satisfy Vahn and knew that he would do his best to make her feel safe and secure while also bringing her pleasures that she had never known before. If fate favored her, she might even be able to get pregnant even sooner than her original counterpart and then she would be able to spend even more time with him since he wouldnt be able to ignore his own child...just imagining it made her feel giddy and she couldnt stop herself from smiling at the boy that had impacted her life so greatly. Preasias only goal, ever since he had healed her body, was impacting his just a little and it was looking like that goal was an inevitability now... ---Nanu PoV--- When she heard what kind of life her Master had lived in the Divination, Nanu felt like she had failed him somehow until she learned that her daughter, the one she had with Vahn, had be one of the members of his Council. This showed that their daughter had been a capable individual and was someone trusted greatly by Vahn, even when he had be an Emperor that ruled over the entire world. Since Persia, a name Nanu became very fond of instantly, was described as a beautiful young woman that was on his Council, this meant that she was likely around herte teens at the time. Though Nanu wasnt that great at math, she was able to deduce that she had been able to get pregnant not long after she finally became an a.d.u.l.t. She had constantly been worrying that Vahn might one day abandon her, even though she knew he wasnt the type to do such things, but knowing that he had given her a child made her feel so happy that her tail was beating against Naaza and Tione without a care in the world. Even when Tione gave her a slightly annoyed look, Nanu simply smiled at her as she squirmed around on the cushion she was sitting on while resisting the urge tough and disrupt the atmosphere that had overtaken the room... ---Fenrir PoV--- Fenrir didnt know what was going on, but she knew that she had done a bad thing somehow and had even killed Ryuu, one of the people close to her Master. Even though she could see Ryuu right across from her, Fenrir knew that she had somehow killed Ryuu in the Divination and had been a bad girl that was sealed away. At least she got to stay by her Masters side, even though she had let him down, so that was something to be happy about. Though she didnt know what it meant, Fenrir knew she even got to be with her Master in an intimate way and she was going to get to learn about a.d.u.l.t things from Riveria and Mnter. She could sense that her Master didnt want to do a.d.u.l.t things with her yet, but just knowing he would eventually be together with her made Fenrir very happy. She promised to herself to never kill anyone close to her Master, unless he specifically ordered her to, so she would be able to spend even more time together with him in the future... ---Mona PoV--- Mona sat in a study far away from the discussion everyone else was having and sipped away at the expensive cup of tea she had prepared for herself. She felt somewhat guilty about excusing herself, especially since she was the only one to do so, but she wasnt sure she wanted to be wrapped up in the important discussion they were having. Mona was grateful to Vahn, and she was enjoying her current lifestyle immensely, but she didnt think she was qualified to keep such important secrets on his behalf, at least for the time being. She had already made a contract with Hephaestus and Loki to be a wet nurse for their children, as they couldnt produce milk on their own, but this was just a temporary arrangement and Mona was nning on using thepensation to open a bakeryter on. If things went well, she would only spend the next two years within the Manor, even though she might be involved with the Alliance for the rest of her life. She had been with a great number of men in her lifetime, and now she just wanted a single man to herself and couldnt open her heart to a man like Vahn, even though he probably had room for her in his. Because of this, she often disyed her gratitude to him but always made sure to keep a certain amount of distance between them since she didnt actually have much tolerance against handsome young boys. Though she might give in and enjoy a fling with him, that would be the same day she moved out of the Manor since she really didnt want to have a child in a household that contained several... (A/N: How the hell did this turn into a 5,745-word chapter when I originally thought it would be short!?) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Everyones Resolve,RIP Lefiya...,Monas Pragmatism) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 434 - Resolution

Chapter 434 - Resolution

After making sure everyone understood the significance of the Divination, Loki continued the conversation and exined, "I can tell many of you have different thoughts about everything that was just revealed, but the most important thing you need to take away from all of this is simple. From here onwards, you need to develop an awareness of your current position and where you n to find yourself, not in the next several months, but in the next several years. Because of your decision to associate with Vahn and continue to be part of the Alliance, you will always be targeted by those that wish to seize power for their own ends. For as long as you live, you may very well always be a target...never forget that." Not only the girls, but Vahn was surprised by the solemnity of Lokis words and decided he needed to speak up as well. If he sat by the side for such an important discussion, it could potentially hurt the confidence of those present. Mustering up his resolve, Vahn showed a serious expression and stated, "If you choose to leave, I will do my best to ensure you have a safe ce to retreat to...but, this world, though it has many beautiful sights, is a deceptively cruel ce. Many of you understand how cruel the world can be and that isnt something that is rted to our actions here and now. I want to make the world a better ce...so if you decide to stay here with me, you will be the enemy of everyone that pursues their own ends at the expense of others..." Vahn looked around and saw that everyone was paying close attention to his words and the only person that showed signs of wavering was Mn. He gave her an encouraging smile and nodded his head before saying, "However, though our enemies may be numerous, they will never be strong enough to break the bonds between us as long as we work together. Even though not a lot of time has passed, many of you are already far stronger than our enemies themselves and, with continued efforts, you will keep growing the gap between you and them. Know that I will do my best to support your continued development to the best of my ability, no matter how many resources it might require. If you ever need my help, if you ever have any concerns, regardless of how trivial they may feel to you, please always reach out to me. Knowing that my failures had resulted in the deaths of five of the people I care about is a heavy blow...I never want to experience such loss again, especially if it is something that could have been avoided if we worked together!" Everyone had different reactions to Vahns words, though most of them were positive and he could see the signs of resolve kindled within their eyes as their auras red up. Tsubaki shook her head with a sigh, but Vahn could tell she was also influenced by the atmosphere as she looked around at the other girls with a small smile on her face. Even Loki wasughing quietly to herself while Syr was proactively writing in a notebook and casting nces at everyone else. One girl, however, seemed to have taken special note of his words as Preasia asked, "Does that mean we can go into your workshop from now on?" Vahn nked for a brief moment and it was Hephaestus who answered, "If Vahn is busy, its better to leave him to his own devices since many of the things he develops require intense focus..." Tsubaki, Loki, Naaza, and Riveria all nodded their heads in agreement, but Vahn shook his head and stared at Preasia and said, "If you have concerns, Ill never be too busy to address them. However, please remember that everyone here is your support and there are several people that are more qualified to address most problems..." Preasia showed a small smile and nodded her head without saying anything else and Vahn noticed her aura wasnt the only one that red up at his words. Hephaestus shook her head with a wry smile on her face but didnt try to force the issue since it was important that Vahn decide his own boundaries. It was unlikely that many of the girls would actually disrupt his work, though they were very likely to sit in his workshop and simply watch him in the hopes of getting some of his attentionter. She decided to leave the matter to Syr, Aki, and Hestia, as they were already taking special note of the potential problem children in the group. --- For nearly five whole hours, the discussion continued and Vahn did his best to address any concerns that were shared by the group while Loki, Hephaestus, and Eina also pitched in and exined some of the changes that would likely ur around the Manor in the next few months. Construction was about to begin on the Manor and they were going to greatly increase the amount of security as well as reinforce the defensive formations of the entire property. Though this was already the case, everyone needed to be escorted by someone that was Level 4 or higher until they were capable enough to defend themselves in the event of an emergency. They also needed to fill out a basic itinerary when they were going out so that in the event they failed to show up on time, a search or rescue party could be dispatched at the earliest sign of trouble. Though it would interfere with their growth somewhat, everyone put in orders with Tsubaki and Hephaestus so that they could have suitable equipment made while Vahn researched how to draw out the potential of cloth and leather armors that would eventually rece their equipment. At the very least, every girl was going to be given arm guards, leg guards, and a thin adamantine b.r.e.a.s.tte that protected the heart. As for Lefiya, as she was a mage, her equipment was going to be forged by Vahn himself so that she could benefit from the amplified magical abilities of his arms. This was another highly protected secret, but the earlier vow was something that even gods wouldnt be able to break and there was no danger of the information being spread identally. Riveria, learning that Vahn had the capability to make such types of equipment, even asked if he would design some for her. Vahn noticed her behavior was less distant now and it made him feel somewhat ufortable because it was decidedly different from how she usually acted. He agreed to her request without thinking about it too much before Loki teased Riveria by saying, "You know, if Vahn is going to make clothes for you, hell have to get veeeeery familiar with your body~." Vahn fl.u.s.tered slightly, but Riveria nodded her head without her expression changing at all as she said, "Ill leave it to you when the timees." surprising both Loki and Vahn. The trickster goddess began tough loudly while Vahn simply nodded his head and said, "Yes...Ill do my best." --- After things calmed down at the Hearth Manor, Vahn escorted Hephaestus and Eina back to their workces since there were several things they were trying to wrap up in preparation for the wedding. It was hard to imagine, but Vahn would be marrying both girls within forty-eight hours and this realization made him giddy with anticipation. Just knowing the girls would be in the Manor more often, especially Eina, made Vahn feel an incredible sense of relief and happiness. However, when he was thinking about who else would be staying in the Manor from now on, Vahn came to a stop on the roof of a random building. When Loki had answered his question in the Divination, she mentioned all the girls in the Manor had given birth to his children with the exception of a few. Since Mishas name was brought up, this meant she had been ounting for the Guild Employees, which also included the werewolf, Ros. Loki wasnt the type to overlook such things, so it was highly likely that Vahn had gotten the woman he had yet to meet pregnant... Shaking his head, Vahn decided not to worry about it too much and would simply confide in Eina before things developed to that point. Vahn wasnt sure what would be the catalyst that brought him and the Werewolf woman closer, but he believed everything happened for a reason. If he didnt pursue her, she would probably never open her heart to him so it was ultimately a decision he would have to make when the circ.u.mstances presented themselves. Vahn was, however, very curious about what she looked like and he felt like many of his inhibitions were starting to slip after experiencing the Divination. He knew his mental defenses were lowered now and had seen many of the girls giving him contemtive looks during the meeting, likelying up with ways to get closer to him in the near future. Vahn wondered what kind of reasons they woulde up with and, if he had to be honest, it made him a little excited. They were all girls that had taken powerful vows to protect his secrets and they had all, at least for the time being, made the resolve to stay within the Hearth Manor at his side. Vahn felt obligated to do his best for the girls and didnt see any sense in keeping them at arms-length as long as they were working hard. Knowing that, in the Divination, even the girls closest to him were close to their deaths had changed Vahns perspective greatly. It would be tragic if he had the girls continually pushing themselves to get stronger only for them to die before receiving the attention they sought from him. Life could be tragically short at times, and Vahn didnt want to be one of the reasons their life had taken such a sad turn. Though he had been moving forward at a quick pace once again, Vahn came to a halt atop another building as the image of Riveria passed through his mind once again. He wondered how things would develop between them over the next few months since it seemed like she had made a decision to open herself up to him even more. Her affection was even at 99(Interested) now, even though it had generally been in the lower nies and was locked at (Trust). Vahn felt like the only thing that would prevent them from eventually ending up together were the decisions he made in the near future, as it looked like Riveria herself had be slightly more proactive. Riveria wasnt the only girl who had a change in affection either, as almost every girl that had attended the meeting, that wasnt already at 100 affection, was now sitting at 99. It seems that the knowledge of their future rtionship was enough to prime the girls and now any major action on his part could bring them to maximum affection. The only exception to this was Mn, which worried Vahn somewhat because she had been at 99(Trust) previously and was now at 94(Confused). Vahn knew she had taken an impact knowing Tinas fate, but he could tell it was something else that was eating away at her. Since her affection towards him was affected, it meant that the matter had to be rted to him and Vahn could somewhat infer what she was thinking. Tina had obviously made the resolve to be much stronger and pursue him, so Mn was likely struggling to cope with her own feelings and may even potentially be readying her own defenses with the intention of cutting ties with him in the future for the benefit of her daughter. Vahn had been treating Tina like his daughter, something that wasnt going to change anytime soon, but he knew he would probably give in to her if she continued to pursue him in a few years. Because of this, Vahn wasnt entirely sure what action he should take because he wanted to respect Mns decision without forcing her into anything. Vahn wasnt an idiot, most of the time, so he had seen all of the tell-tale signs of her desire to be with him, especially when they took baths together. The ability to see auras made Vahn very perceptive to such things and he could see the tinge of passionate red that would often be present in her aura. Vahn knew that, if he had made advances towards her, Mn would have probably given in to him very quickly. Vahn had done his best to ignore such signs, but now he felt like he was being drawn to make a decision in the near future or he might force Mn away in the future. He had long ago made the resolve to take care of her for the rest of her life, and he didnt want to imagine a future where she moved out of the Manor or just remained a caretaker for his other children. Because of her association with the Hestia Familia, it would be difficult for her to get close to other men in the near future, so this would require her to spend an additional four years alone if things continued to progress as they were. Mn was already 33, so that would put her at 37 by the time she was on the market once again. Vahn didnt mind older women, especially beautiful girls like Mn, but there were arge number of men that based their decisions to be with girls based on age and status. If Mn was only able to find a man because of her association with the Hestia Familia, Vahn knew she wouldnt be happy at all unless she met someone within the Alliance itself... After stepping into his own courtyard, Vahn shook his head because the image of Tsubaki berating him for worrying excessively came to mind. The simplest thing to do would be to approach Mn and let her make the decision for herself. Letting her brood over the matter for years would just make things even more difficult for her and, even though she might have an outburst of emotion if he confronted her, at least they would be able to work towards resolving the problem. In the worst case scenario, it would open Mns mind to seeking a different partner earlier so she wasnt just sitting in the Manor trying to maintain a status quo that had already been shattered long ago. As he had been standing outside for a while, Vahn was surprised that Fenrir hadnte to retrieve him yet. She had been developing a habit of greeting the important peopletely so it was somewhat surprising that he had been outside for several minutes without her adorable form charging him. Turning his attention to the Manor proper, Vahn scanned the interior and found Fenrir sitting in a room with four other people. After thinking for a moment, Vahn remembered that she was currently receiving a troublesome education from Riveria and Mn. The other figures were probably Tina and Shizune since their auras were somewhat smaller than everyone else in the Manor. Vahn had been intending to talk to Mn, but it didnt seem like now was the best opportunity so he turned his attention to the other presences in the Manor. Because of the important discussion earlier, everyone was currently present and Vahn felt a strange amount of pressure from everyone now that such things had been revealed. It was almost like each person was a ticking time bomb that could be set off at any given moment and the only thing it required was him taking any action that increased their affection in a meaningful manner. Even girls like Mikoto were no longer safe, especially since she had made her resolve when they met in the bath a few weeks ago. She was probably struggling with this information a bit, but Vahn knew Mikotos character wasnt the type to back down from such things. He could tell she was currently with Tsubaki and, based on the illusory aura, Haruhime was also with her. The most troublesome girls were the ones skulking around the areas he usually could be found in the Manor and Vahn could even see, who he assumed to be Preasia, sitting in his workshop as if she were waiting for his arrival. Vahn did have the urge to develop more clothing, especially the undergarments for Eina and Hephaestus, so that was currently a danger zone. Lili and Naaza were sitting in the study with Syr and Vahn could also see the twins, Emiru and Maemi, in their own room moving about with their auras ring like mes. As for the members of the Loki Familia, they were almost all located in the same room, likely talking with Lefiya or teasing the bashful Elf considering who was present. The final group of girls consisted of Hestia, Ryuu, and Aki, who were all gathered in the formers room and probably discussing the matters of the Familia itself since Syr wasnt present. Vahn didnt really know how he could face any of the girls right now, but he knew it was pointless to dy such matters and he needed to carry himself with confidence and resolution from now on. The Divination showed him the importance of disposition and how brooding over matters within his own mind only caused problems that would eventually escte to be tragedies. As long as he believed in himself, and trusted those that supported him, the future wasnt something that needed to be feared. Just as he had learned from Ouranos within the Divination, the only thing that existed was the present. Vahn knew life wasnt going to wait for him to live it, so he stepped forward with resolve and entered the warm embrace of his own home without any further hesitation. From now on, unless it was something that required careful consideration, Vahn decided to simply act instead. Hesitation would create gaps that could be exploited by his enemies and there was no need to fear losing the people that would abandon him based on his decisions. Everyone had to live their own lives, make their own decisions, and find their own happiness. However, if it was something that he could share with them, Vahn decided he would do everything possible to guarantee they could walk the same path. With this resolve, Vahn headed up the stairs and proceeded toward the room where Riveria, Mn, Fenrir, Tina, and Shizune were located... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Defenses breeched,Riveria knows what she is about,Vahn decides to be a man about things) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 435 - Resolve

Chapter 435 - Resolve

Since the study door had been open, Vahn walked straight inside beforeing to a pause when Fenrir snapped her head back and stared at him with glowing scarlet eyes. Vahn knew she had been aware of his presence long before he arrived, but his arrival in the study made it much harder to ignore his presence. She had spent thest half hour listening to Riveria and Mn exining the differences between men and women and learning how babies were made. Before Vahn was able to say anything, Fenrir jumped up and asked, "Does Vahn love Fenrir?" Vahn blinked in mild surprise before saying, "Yes, Fenrir is someone very important to me." The glow in Fenrirs eyes increased greatly and she covered her mouth with both paws as she sad back down snickering at Vahns answer. Riveria looked to Vahn and asked, "Did you need something, Vahn?" Since Vahn had to be aware of the discussion that was taking ce, Riveria had expected him to stay far away from this room. They had even moved to a study on the second floor, which wasnt visited often, just so Fenrir wouldnt be able to leave and go to him when he returned. Vahn nodded his head and looked around the room before bringing his attention to Mn and saying, "I wanted to talk with Mn." Hearing Vahn addressing her, Mn startled slightly and he could see her gripping her dress with her hands as her aura iled about chaotically. After a moment of hesitation, Mn asked, "Did you want to talk...right now?" Vahn nodded his head and smiled as he said, "I think it is something that needs to be addressed sooner, rather thanter. Riveria should be able to handle things here since both Shizune and Tina are sensible young girls." Fenrirs ears twitched slightly at his words, but she continued to hold her paws over her mouth without saying anything while Mn sat in silence for several seconds before standing up and saying, "Okay...Vahn." On their way out, both Vahn and Mn could hear Tina cheer, "You can do it, Mom~nya!" as she held up both of her small hands in an encouraging gesture. Vahn smiled as Mn began tough in a wry manner as he escorted her a fair distance away from everyone else until they reached a private room. Mn had be increasingly tense the further away from the others they went, but she didnt say anything and Vahn could see an almost indiscernible amount of red touch her aura. When they entered the room, Vahn closed the door behind them and, instead of asking her to sit, Vahn grabbed Mns hands and noticed they were shaking a fair amount. For a brief moment, it seemed like she was going to pull away but inevitably decided against it as she tried to put on a mask of bravado and asked, "Ara~? What did you drag me so far away to discuss, Vahnya..." Because of her nerves, Mn couldnt stop her own verbal tick from acting up and her face blushed slightly at the realization. Vahn squeezed her hands and exined, "Mn, even if it might be shameless for me to do something like this, I needed to talk to you as soon as possible. I wont waste time talking around the subject...I want to be more decisive, so Ill tell it to you directly...Mn, I love you." This time, Mn managed to pull her hands away as she turned around and created a bit of distance with Vahn and ced both hands over her furiously beating heart. Vahn could see her aura fluctuating like a me and could see her tail twitching about in frustration after his deration. Without giving her any time to process his words, however, Vahn continued, "I wont force you into anything, Mn, I just needed you to know how I felt. Regardless of what you choose to do, you will always have my support." Mn raised her hands and pressed down her ears as if she were trying to block out his words as she eximed, "This isnt fair, Vahn! My heart isnt ready for this kind of thing at all~nya!" Though she was refusing with her words and actions, Vahn noticed that Mns affection had jumped up to 98 and her aura was bing increasingly chaotic. He said he wasnt going to force her, but it felt like she was waiting for him to take action. Instead of doing something overly intimate, however, Vahn just approached Mn from behind and embraced her tightly as she writhed around in his arms. After nearly a minute of struggling, Mn finally calmed down a bit and just continued to take several deep breaths in an effort to regte her emotions. Throughout this process, Vahn just embraced her body tightly without taking any further action. He knew his actions were a bit unfair to her, but he couldnt let things continue to develop in such a passive manner anymore. Vahn knew how indecision could adversely impact the future, so he would rather deal with the fallout of the actions he took rather than regret the decisions he never made. Mn continued in silence for a while before leaning her head up at an angle and saying in a low tone, "Vahn...kiss me..." Without any hesitation, Vahn leaned around and kissed Mns lips as she had requested. He didnt know exactly what she wanted to discern from the kiss, but Vahn wanted her to feel his emotions so he eagerly sealed her lips with his own before invading the interior of her mouth with his tongue. He wasnt too forceful, but he danced around with her tongue for nearly a full minute before she released a hot sigh from her nose and turned away. Vahn could feel her heart beating rapidly from his palm that was ced near her abdomen and he could sense the changes in her aura. Hanging her head low, Mn asked in a quiet tone, "Do you love Tina...?" Vahn could feel her body shake slightly when he nodded his head and said, "I care for her like a daughter...but that will likely change in the future depending on the path she chooses for herself..." Mnzily nodded her head and whispered, "Shizune too...I can tell that she..." before releasing a sigh and saying, "Vahn, I dont want to be alone while both of my daughters live a vibrant life...am I a bad mother?" Vahn put some strength into his embrace and stated with absolute confidence, "Mn, you are a great mother. Circ.u.mstances have forced you into an awkward position, but that is something we can face together. I will protect all of you, no matter what anyone has to say about it..." Mn leaned into his chest and Vahn felt like she would fall to the ground if he loosened his arms from around her body. She looked up at him with a deep mncholy on her face, but Vahn could also see a slight glimmer in her eyes as she said, "I know...I know the Alliance will also protect us. The other girls in the Manor are kind and understanding as well..." Mn began to take deep breaths once again and Vahn felt like she was going to begin crying as she said, "Promise me, Vahn, promise that youll never try to convince me to have another child...and that youll always look after Tina and Shizune..." Mn knew she was walking down a path that contradicted her own sensibilities, but she just wanted to be loved again and it had been so long since she was held like this by a man. However, she swore that she would never bear Vahns children unless he never developed a rtionship with Tina. Sharing the same man already made her body shake with anxiety, so there was no way she could have his child if there were a chance her daughter would one day give birth as well. Vahn, understanding what Mn was thinking, nodded his head and said, "Mn, I promise...I will always respect your decision and do my best for all three of you." As he spoke, Mns breathing became increasingly ragged and Vahn could feel a major shift in her aura as it transitioned from a rosy pink into a passionate red that was intermixed with purples and even a small amount of grey. Vahn could tell that Mn wasnt truly convinced but had thrown caution to the wind as she turned around in his arms and began kissing him with tears streaming down from the corners of her eyes. He could tell she was ming herself for her own weakness, but Vahn promised that he would never fault her for such things. As he had told her earlier, Vahn really did love her as she had been the first person to show him what it was like to be cared for. Even though it was only for a brief period of time, Vahn had found a weing home at the Hearths Embrace and Mn had been looking after him ever since their first meeting. Now, it was his turn to return the favor as he began peeling away eachyer of clothing the protected her body... (A/N: Here there be NSFW material. Proceed with caution~!) Mns body fidgeted as Vahn de-clothed her, but she didnt make any attempts to stop him as she began to unbutton his tunic. Vahn surprised her when he unequipped his tunic and she found her hands against his bare chest suddenly. After a brief pause, she let her hands wander across his muscles until Vahn began lowering her dress around her shoulders. Mn was one of the taller girls in the group, standing at 170cm tall, and she had a lithe figure with a pair of modest b.r.e.a.s.ts that were around a B-Cup. Vahn had seen her n.a.k.e.d several times, but this was the first time he had looked at her like this, standing in the low light of the room with a flushed expression as she made a bashful attempt to cover her body with her hands. Though he didnt mind gawking at her athletic looking body, Vahn knew he needed to be decisive in moments like this so he moved closer to her before looking into her gleaming golden eyes, which were still moist with her own tears, and started kissing her again as he deftly unfastened her bra. He removed a sofa from his inventory and ced it behind him as he pulled her body, which was now attired in nothing but beige panties, that almost matched her skin tone, and a pair of white stockings. When he sat down, Mn was surprised at the sudden transition before staring down at Vahns figure as his clothes disappeared into his inventory. Free from its constraints, Vahns p.e.n.i.s shot toward the sky and Mns mind nked for several seconds as she stared at it. Aftering to her senses, Mn took a deep breath and peeled off her panties to reveal the contents contained within. She knew her own state very well and she was embarrassed to see Vahn staring at the mess she had be. Even though she felt a lot of inhibitions about what was happening, Mn knew her body wanted this and there was even a mild desperation welling up inside her body when she saw Vahns nude figure. It had been so many years since she had been with a man, and she had been dreaming about this moment even before she got to know Vahn well. From the very moment she teased the young boy and allowed him to touch her ears, Mn had thought about Vahn more than once, to an extent that Tina had even realized what she had been up to. Once Mn had peeled off her panties, Vahn smiled and muttered, "Beautiful..." which made the mature woman bite the bottom of her lip as she started to peel off her stockings. Vahn was tempted to tell her to keep them on, but this was an important moment for her and he didnt want to make things awkward. When she finally removed them, Mn grabbed her left arm with her right hand for a moment before sheepishly climbing up into hisp. She sandwiched Vahns p.e.n.i.s against their stomachs and Vahn could feel her body trembling when she pressed her somewhat springy b.r.e.a.s.ts against him and started kissing him once again. Even though her tongue was rough, as was the case with all Cat Persons, Vahn was skilled at kissing them since he had a lot of practice with Chloe, Arnya, and Aki. Vahn understood the significance of everything that was happening and knew he needed to be the one to guide Mn forward, even though he had to leave the final step to her. He began to trace his hands around her back using thebination of his [Hands of Nirvana] and [Petting] ability and she quickly began to release hot breaths as she writhed about against his body. Vahn was paying attention to each of her reactions and saw the wispy ck mes in her aura dissipate almost entirely after a few minutes before he reached down and before she could utter a word ofint, grabbed her chestnut brown tail with his hand. Mn pulled her head away from their kiss and arched her body as she released a powerful m.o.a.n while pressing her forehead against his chest and hammering it a few times. Vahn was somewhat confused by her reaction, but he continued molding her sensitive tail with his hand in a firm manner that wouldnt actually bring harm to the appendage. After several seconds, Mn red at him with her golden eyes before saying, "Vaaaaaaaaaahn, you jerk!" as she eyed his shoulders and found a spot to mark. Even though she knew something like this would probably happen, Mn hadnt expected Vahn to go for her weak spot at the very beginning. She still wasnt sure if she wanted to mark him yet, but it didnt seem like he was giving her much choice. Unless she bit him, Mn felt like she was going to lose her mind because it had been so many years since anyone had touched her tail, other than those cruel men that had cut it off. When she recalled that incident, Mn felt a small bout of panic but then she immediately remembered the warmth Vahn had brought to her during her desperation. Even when she had given up all hope, Vahn hade to her and pulled her away from that darkness. He had even been taking care of both her and Tina ever since then, even though she hadnt done much for him in return. Every time she needed something, it would always be provided to her and, even when she struggled interacting with him, he had shown an endless amount of patience and concern. Realizing this, Mn didnt know why she had actually been hesitating for so long because she knew Vahn would always do his best for her... Vahn grimaced slightly when he felt Mns teeth enter his shoulder but his expression quickly turned into a peaceful one with a happy smile on his face. From this point onwards, he would always carry the proof of their union on his body and Mn would also be aware of it. Even if she turned into a bashful and shameless woman, Vahn didnt care at all as long as she could find some happiness in his embrace. She had suffered a lot in the short time they had known each other, and now Vahn wanted to start changing things for the better. It might be awkward at first, but new things were always like that and, as long as they continued down this path together, they would be able to work through all of their issues together...just like a real family. Mn eased up her bit nearly a minuteter and started licking the area clean as she said, "Vahn, Im ready..." Vahn nodded his head slowly as Mn raised her own h.i.p.s while hugging his neck tightly as he ced the tip of his ns against her steamy entrance. He had noticed this earlier, but Mn was releasing an incredible volume of liquid even before she peeled off her beige panties. Her body had been awakened after a long period of dormancy and there was a lot of heat emitting from her v.a.g.i.n.a as well and Vahn could feel her body temperature had increased to a feverish extent as they embraced each other. Because she was more than prepared for his insertion, Vahn positioned his ns against the palpating entrance before pressing down on Mns h.i.p.s. He noticed she had started to hesitate so he helped her continue forward as she released a long, "Nyaaaaaaaaaaaafuuuuuuuuuuuu~" as he lowered her against his body. It had been a long time since Mn had s.e.x, so her body wasnt quite adapted to foreign entry and he only made it around 70% of the way into her depths before hitting a dead end. Mn began to released hot breaths against his moist neck before she began licking her own bite mark once again. Vahn grabbed around her body and hugged her with his left arm while using his right hand to rub the connecting point of her back and tail. He also pressed down with a steady pressure and Mns body was slowly sinking against his over time. Before he could make too much progress, however, Mn squeezed his shoulders with a bit of strength and said, "Vahn, its too much...my body ispletely stuffed...I want to move..." Though Mn didnt mind staying like this for a while, her body ached for action and it felt like Vahn slow movements were going to drive her crazy. She had been crying tears of anguish earlier, but now she felt like crying in frustration because he was being too careful with her body. Even though he hadnt responded to her, she already raised her h.i.p.s slightly before releasing a gasp as she lowered herself once again. Vahn was somewhat surprised by Mns eagerness but he understood her feelings and didnt want to let her down so he began matching his movements against hers and making her mewl every time his ns contacted the entrance of her cervix. Her insides were incredibly hot and Vahn enjoyed thefortable pressure that was gripping his member. She was far more eager than he was in her movements, so Vahn was able to focus on finding her weak spots as he stimted the nerves in her back and made her tighten around him every time her body spasmed slightly. Though she had taken the initiative for a brief moment, it wasnt long before Mn was hugging him tightly and releasing her adorable mewls against his neck. This was one of the reasons Vahn loved Cat Persons because all of their reactions made his heart itch with how adorable they were. Because she had lost the ability to move easily on her own, Vahn positioned his hands at Mns h.i.p.s and began moving them in a small circle as he traced around her cervix and made her body tremble at the stimtion. Vahn was using his thumbs to inject a line of energy into her pelvis and stimting the surrounding muscles in tune with her heartbeat. Mns grip around his neck had tightened to the point where it felt like she wanted to choke him, but Vahn didnt mind it at all just leaned forward slightly and nibbled on her exposed corbone. When he felt her insides begin to writhe about and vibrate, Vahn leaned back slightly and pulled Mns weight against him as he began to piston hard against her insides. Mn had been on the brink of a powerful climax due to the intense stimtion she was receiving from Vahn, but she was caughtpletely off-guard when he began to crush her insides in such an earnest fashion. She couldnt even gasp out and just squeezed his neck tightly as she held her own breath, almost as if she wanted to suffocate him in return. It had only been around ten minutes since they began and her body was already going through a level of stimulus she had never experienced before. Mn began to feel like, even if she wanted to leave Vahn in the future, she didnt think she had the courage to do so any longer. He wasnt actually that skilled, but even his simple actions attacked her weak points and, even though he was somewhat ufortablyrge, he used his p.e.n.i.s well and she found that her body had absolutely no resistance against him at all. Vahn knew that Mn would likely be taking a contraceptive after this, especially since her body was very obviously in heat, so he unhesitantly pressed her butt down and pushed up against her cervix with his ns and released himself inside of her. He could continue going for hours if necessary, but he knew that Mns body would continue to suffer until he ejacted inside of her. It was one of the racial traits of Cat Persons and she would just get frustrated unless he took decisive action. Now, even if they continued even further, the heat from her body would slowly fade and she would be able to rx a bit and enjoy the moment even further. Feeling the hot pressure swelling up inside her body, Mn released her contained breath and rxed her weight against Vahn as powerful reverberations passed through her body. As Vahn assumed, she intended to take medicine right after they were finished but was happy that he had released his s.p.e.r.m inside of her without any hesitation. She knew of Vahns exploits and that he could continue for very long periods of time without ejacting, so Mn understood he had been taking her state into consideration. She felt an incredible amount offorting from the invasive heat and it felt like Vahns powerful arms supporting her body would also be able to shield her from any adversity she would face in the future. Even if it was just a delusion, Mn wanted to believe this was the case and began to affectionately lick her own mark once again. She was a little frustrated seeing the other bite marks and felt a powerful sense of incredulity imagining that her own daughter might mark next to her own in the future...however, that would be something she dealt with when the time came. She already made her resolve and it was futile thinking about events far in the future. At the very least, she had nearly three years to spend with Vahn before she took a step back for her daughter... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Education is dangerous...,Mns Inhibitions,Release of tensions) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 436 - Machinations

Chapter 436 - Machinations

Vahn was just about to get into his groove, but it didnt seem like fate would allow him any leniency as he could sense a presence going from room to room looking for them. With a wry smile on his face, he lifted Mns flushed face and said, "It looks like ss time is over..." Mn was confused for a brief moment due to her current daze, but her eyes widened after a few seconds and she slipped off of Vahnsp with a throaty m.o.a.n. Vahnughed before rising to match her and grabbing her from behind as she was picking up her clothing. Mn panicked a bit and said, "We cant, Vahn..." Vahn nodded his head and said, "I know, I just wanted to be close to you for a little while longer." As he spoke, Vahn traced his palms across Mns body and she trembled under his touch without making any effort to resist him as she bit her bottom lip. Knowing that it wasnt wise to continue too far, Vahn freed Mn and helped pick up her clothes as she did her best to wear her stockings with her shaky body. She couldnt muster much strength in her lower body after Vahns assault, so she was struggling a bit since her body was still aching for his touch. Vahn didnt leave her unattended, however, and began using [Hands of Nirvana] to help her body recover quickly as he wiped her down with a masking towel. Mn released a hot sigh and allowed Vahn to help her get dressed since she likely wouldnt be able to manage it on her own. Besides, having a man care for her after their union made her feel a sense of security that she had long since forgotten... --- Vahn had been concealing their location with his domain, but it didnt stop Fenrir from following their path through the bond they shared and checking all the room along the way. Tina and Shizune were apanying her while Riveria had gone back to her own room after conveying the important information to the girls. Fortunately, as he had detected them from the moment they left the room, Vahn had enough time to help Mn recover and was currently erasing the smell from the room, even though he knew it would be futile. He might be able to fool Tina and Shizune, at least based on smell alone, but he couldnt mask it from Fenrirs powerful senses. There wasnt really any reason to conceal the matter in the first ce since both Tina and Shizune were smart girls and would easily infer what had happened simply based on Mns behavior. Vahn just wanted to make things less awkward and allow Mn to save a bit of face in front of her daughters. Giving them time to talk about it in privateter would be better than having the girls knocking on the door while they were still engaged with each other. Mn also knew it was futile to try and hide the matter, but she still used the towel to wipe down Vahns body as she asionally smelled it to make sure her own scent was erased. By the time Fenrir reached their location and pawed open the door, Vahn and Mn had already quickly cleaned up the room as much as possible. When Fenrir finally managed to open the door, something she had practiced a lot in the past, they were sitting casually on a different sofa since Vahn stored away the evidence into his inventory. Seeing Vahn, Fenrirs scarlet eyes glowed vibrantly and she bounded over before leaping into hisp without any hesitating and nuzzling against his body as she said, "Fenrir knows, fufufufu~!" Because she had finally learned what everyone was hiding from her, Fenrir was in a very good mood and wanted Vahn to praise her. Vahn nked for a brief moment before beginning to harvest some OP with his [Petting] development ability while waiting for Tina and Shizune to enter the room. Both girls immediately looked at Mn before very different smiles appeared on their faces. Tinas smile showed a great deal of relief and it looked like a heavy weight had been removed from her small shoulders while Shizunes expression was more of a teasing look and she even possessed enough boldness to wink at Vahn and Mn. Vahn remained as stone-faced as possible, but Mns face showed a light blush at the Kitsune girls teasing look. Mn averted her eyes and looked at Vahn as she said, "Vahn, why dont you let me talk with the girls for a little while..." Vahn was about to ede to Mns request, but Tina didnt seem fond of the idea and said inly, "Mom, everything is okay~nya! Im not going to be a little girl forever, so you dont have to treat me like a child~nya!" Without any hesitation, Tina walked over with Shizune and began to sniff around in the air before saying, "You covered up the scent well~nya, but I can tell you and Vahn-" Before she could finish, Fenrirs ears perked up and she raised one of her paws high and shouted, "Vahn and Mn had s.e.x~! Fenrir can smell it, fufufufu~! Fenrir knows Vahn has lots of s.e.x~!" Though he thought he was mentally prepared, Fenrirs somewhat brash words dealt critical damage to Vahns mind. However, instead of trying to beat around the bush, Vahn nodded his head and surprised all the girls present as he said, "Yes, thats right...Mn and I had s.e.x." Fenrir smiled at his words and looked like she wanted to say something but Vahn poked her cheek and said, "But that isnt something Fenrir needs to worry about right now. The reason you got to learn about it now is that it will be important in the future. For now, however, Fenrir is still too young and need to mature a bit before she is ready for such things. Just like Tina and Shizune, Fenrir needs to be an a.d.u.l.t first." Fenrir frowned slightly but didnt stop Vahn from poking her cheek as she said, "Fenrir knows...she can tell that Vahn doesnt want to have s.e.x with her yet, so she will wait like a good girl. Vahn has to spoil me lots aspensation though~!" Vahn blinked in surprised because he had never heard Fenrir use such a big word and he wondered where she had learned it from. For now, however, he just patted her back which prompted her to jump off hisp obediently. Rising to his feet, Vahn looked between Mn, Tina, and Shizune before saying, "Tina, I love your mother and decided to take care of her from now on. I also told her that, until you mature and decide the path you want to walk on your own, I would treat you as my daughter. The same goes for you, Shizune, even though I know youre already mentally prepared for such things. You have to take care of your body and do your best to enjoy this opportunity to the fullest. I know its not easy to act like a child, but you cant treat your body haphazardly. It will get easier with time, so please look after the other young girls in the Manor..." Tinas eyes opened wide at Vahns words before she balled up her little fists and shouted with her tail standing tall, "Vahn, I love you! Even if I have to wait until Im older, I wont give up on these feelings so make sure you have a ce for me in the future~nya! But...!" As she spoke till here, Tina looked at Mn before continuing, "But...until then, please be my Papnya~!" Tinas words hit Vahn like a brick dropped from the top of Babel Tower and he felt a little weak in his knees seeing the pleading look in her eyes. He had just said he was going to treat her like his daughter, but he didnt expect her to instantly call him Papa as a result. Just as he was about to nod in affirmation, Shizune also added in with a burst of coyughter, "Please look after me too...Papa~!" Vahn wanted toment that Shizune shouldnt call him Papa, but he had also just told her to do her best and enjoy her youth. If Tina was his daughter, and they were sisters, this made it appropriate for Shizune to also call him with the same term. However, before he could rationalize thispletely, Fenrir pawed his shoulder before tilting her head to the side with her ridiculously sharp w tugging at her bottom lip as she asked, "Fenrirs Papa~?" Vahn instinctually raised his left hand to his eyes and began rubbing his temples at the triple attack of the adorable youth troupe. He had told Fenrir not to call him Papa in the past, but it looked like she had decided to go with the momentum of the other two girls. From his left, he could hear Mnughing at him as she leaned forward and whispered, "Take care of our daughters...Papa~." --- It took nearly an hour, but Vahn finally managed to escape the confines of the small study and was now sitting atop the Hearth Manor and enjoying the cold air against his skin. Though he was fl.u.s.tered by theirbined attack, Vahn now had a smile on his face as he looked toward the horizon and marveled at the various structures of the City. This world really was a very beautiful ce, so it was a shame knowing that there was so much darkness underneath all of the beauty before his eyes. He had only ever known theb in his previous life, so being able to experience so much had really opened his mind to how interesting the world could be. Vahn wanted to share this feeling with others and guide them towards the light, so he was determined to make this world a better ce from now on. After all, he already had three daughters that relied on him and a host of beautiful women and goddesses...this type of life was quite nice. --- While Vahn was contemting his future actions on the roof, there was a slight stir passing through thework when it was mentioned that Vahn had s.e.x with Mn. There wasnt any real surprise since many of the girls had expected them to be together much sooner, but the manner in which it happened was a popr topic right now. They knew Vahn had been impacted by the Divination greatly, but his actions were indicative that he was proactively seeking to change his life instead of continuing to be passive. Vahn usually behaved rather reservedly, even though he was somewhat promiscuous, so this was a drastic change and was rather exciting for some of the girls. Syr had already been making the rounds and talking to the various problem children when she learned about this information and a beautiful smile appeared on her face as she read over the line of text. The report hade from Mn herself, and also informed everyone of the daughter status of the girls Vahn referred to as the youth troupe. Syr had been hoping he would be more proactive since it would prevent some other problems from arising in the future, so this was a wee shift. As long as she prevented the girls from getting out of control, Vahn should be able to mature properly and continue to develop and be more manly. The only problem Syr had ever had with Vahn was how passive he acted since his capabilities were easily at a level where he should be able to handle numerous women without issue. Though it wasnt wrong to regte Vahn himself, Syr knew that it was actually the women that required regtion more than him. Vahn was too easy to approach and was highly considerate of the wants and needs of the other girls, which would be something that restricts his growth in the future. Syr wanted all of the girls to develop a strong independence and be grateful whenever Vahn approached them. If they continued to go to him and ce their burdens on his shoulders, there was a chance Vahn would truly break and then they would all suffer the consequences. In her mind, an unrestrained Vahn was necessary for the happiness of everyone in the Manor so she wanted to make sure the troublesome girls understood the situation. After collecting her thoughts, Syr thumbed through the pages of her custommunication scroll and began writing directly to Loki, Hephaestus, and Hestia. She knew Eina wasnt the understanding type when it came to matters like this, primarily because she had the thought process of a mortal, so it was better she hear about things through Hephaestuster. Eina was very important for Vahns emotional stability, but she wasnt qualified to police the other girls even though she was going to be the head wife. This fiasco with the Scroll of Prophecy, while it had a good turnout, could have had devastating consequences if it had negatively impacted Vahn. Though she was an intelligent and sensible woman, she was prone to making mistakes and oversights and had inadvertently exposed the entire group to a potential disaster. Syr decided that Eina would simply be relegated to the role of Vahns caretaker and that it was now her responsibility to carry out her other responsibilities... --- Loki had greatly enjoyed riding on Fafnirs back and had been trying toe up with a method to convince it to be her permanant mount. Seeing the looks of awe and terror on the people below made her feel powerful and, since it wasnt willing to listen to her, she began wondering how she could convince Vahn to give her a dragon of her own. It might take a while, but Loki knew Vahn was capable of the feat since he already had a second dragon sitting inside his storage space waiting to be named. If not for the vow she took to not directly manipte him, Loki knew she could probably just prepare a few outfits and convince him to give in to her request, assuming she could get him alone. Of course, she had made her vows for a reason and was now feeling very vindicated since she knew Vahn had the potential to rule over the entire world and even ascend to godhood. In the nearly 600 million years the world had existed there had never been a single instance of a mortal bing a god so this revtion was incredibly significant. Everything Vahn was currently doing was slowly beginning to spread ripples that were expanding out and touching every part of the world. If enough time passed, Loki even believed he would be able to directly connect the mortal world and Heaven and potentially evene up with a method to restrict the influence of Divinity. Knowing that she may one day be free from the curse of fate, Loki didnt want to do anything that would jeopardize her position in Vahns heart. After arriving back at the Twilight Manor, Loki tried to invite Fafnir in for tea, but it simply shook its head before diving into the shadows and returning to protect the Manor. Loki released a small sight before a grin appeared on her face and she shouted to the startled guards, "Go get Finn! Move your butts, now~!" The two men gave a curt salute before running into the Manor with Loki casually walking behind them. She greeted her children along the way while thinking how silly it was to consider them as such when she had an actual child cooking in her oven. She liked to wear clothing that exposed her stomach in the past, but the belly band Vahn had given her felt veryfortable as it snuggly wrapped around her stomach and warmed her up. Gods were very resilient against the elements, so it wasnt really necessary, but Loki still liked to wear it because it constantly reminded her of the reality of the situation. It didnt take long for Finn to arrive in her personal quarters and Loki greeted him casually as she sorted through a variety of clothing that she had purchased recently. She took her promise to have Vahn and her y dress-up very seriously but had yet to find a good opportunity to do so since he rarely came to the Twilight Manor. Finn waited patiently for Loki to speak, even though he thought the matter had been urgent since the two messengers charged into his office. Instead, it looked like Loki was just feeling whimsical and Finn began wondering what Vahn had done to set her off this time. She had always been entric, but Loki had changed greatly after meeting the enigmatic boy who Finn also had a high opinion of. After picking up what looked like a leather swimsuit, Loki smiled before setting it to the side and looking toward Finn and saying, "There are two matters of utmost importance that I need you to take care of..." As she was speaking, Lokis smile widened because she knew one of them could likely be resolved if she talked to Freya so she changed her tone and said, "Actually, there will just be one for the time being. When you are on expeditions with Vahn, no matter what it takes, you need to guarantee that he will be safe. He is the type to overextend and put himself in danger, something that you should support, but never let him take unnecessary risks. You should understand his significance even without me having to exin things..." Finn nodded his head and showed an amiable smile as he responded, "Yes, Vahn is the linchpin of the entire Alliance and is instrumental to the development of not only the Loki Familia but all of the Familia rted to the Alliance. We would never be able to recover from the bacsh of letting him die, so I will personally guarantee his safety. You can rest assured, Loki-sama." Loki nodded her head, satisfied with Finns response but, before allowing him to leave, she smiled mischievously and said, "The next time Vahnes to the Twilight Manor, make sure to register him properly with the defensive formations. I want him to have full ess to the entire Manor, without exception~." Hearing Lokis words, Finn showed a wry smile before asking, "Without exception...?" Loki began tough as she nodded her head and said, "The more wee Vahn feel at the Loki Familia, the better a position well find ourselves in the future. I dont care if he wants to take a bath in the girls shower or if he wants to crawl into my personal quarters without permission. Dont worry though, he isnt t he type of boy to take advantage of such privileges so it wont make a big difference at all. Just knowing he has the option will be good enough, fufufufufu~!" Finn began tough in an awkward manner before bowing politely and saying, "I will make it so, Loki-sama..." After dismissing Finn, Loki stripped her clothing from her body and began to squeeze into the tight leather one piece before checking herself in the mirror. She knew Vahn wasnt really a deviant persay, but that his curiosity was without bounds if it was incited. Though she didnt mind letting him take charge in the bedroom, Loki was wondering how she could get him to be more experimental and it was likely that her choice of clothing would be important. However, when she was trying to pull up the rtively small zipper, Loki realized that her lower abdomen had begun to bulge a bit and the form-fitting one piece wasnt that easy to squeeze into. It was impossible for a goddess to actually get fatter so Loki knew this was a subtle sign that her body was beginning to change as a result of her pregnancy. Peeling the leather garment from her body, Loki began to inspect her nude figure in the mirror and noticed a bit of moisture beginning to build up in her genitals. With a cheeky grin on her face, Loki turned away from the mirror before crawling into herrge bed that used to be her love nest in the past. It wasnt easy for her to give up all her prior rtionsh.i.p.s, but she didnt have any regrets especially after feeling the tender bulge in her own stomach. Reaching under her pillow, Loki pulled out a rtivelyrge dildo that she had painstakingly modeled to emte Vahns member. It even had a small magic stone embedded in its base that warmed it up to a rtively hot temperature since Vahns p.e.n.i.s was almost scalding when it was piercing her body. She couldnt be with him every night since her presence was required at her own Familia, but that didnt mean she couldnt pretend to be with him. She knew he could sense powerful emotions from the women he was close to so Loki wanted to get to the point where he would be able to feel when she was thinking about him. With this thought in mind, she lubricated up the ratherrge toy before slowly gouging her own depths as a sensuous m.o.a.n escaped her lips. It was barely a fraction as pleasurable as being with Vahn himself, but it was better than nothing so Loki continued to assault her own body as she arched her h.i.p.s up and released her m.o.a.ns without a care in the world. After warming up, Loki triggered a second magic stone to activate and the toy came to life inside of her as it began probing around her insides in a very invasive manner. Lokis h.i.p.s began to undte under the stimtion but she was focused more on the thought of Vahn in her mind. She was trying to will her thoughts to reach him in the hopes that, one day in the future, he would be excited through the bond they shared ande seeking her... Nearly an hourter, Lokiid on the bed gasping for air as she let the toy be slowly forced from her v.a.g.i.n.a over several minutes. She didnt want to remove it herself since Vahn had a tendency to stay inside long after the deed was done. Loki knew she was behaving like a fool, but she wanted to go through the motions and act as enamored with the idiotic boy as possible. She knew she actually cared about him and constantly focused on the time they had been together when she got i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed. Everything else might be an act, but Loki knew that was the true her she desperately sought to be. Even if she had to fool herself through the use of her own Divinity, she didnt care as long as she got to stay in love with Vahn. After calming down, Loki rolled over and pulled a drawer that contained severalmunication scrolls. She saw there were several new lines in her logbook and was pleasantly surprised to learn that Vahn was taking a more proactive approach to things. Loki knew he was the type to harp over small details and worry about unnecessary things, so it was good to see he was trying to change. He had been so caught up in the idea that telling the other girls about the Divination would be manipting him, but he failed to recognize that he would use that information to guide his own actions and that would be true maniption. At least both sides knew the current situation and were able to rationalize their decisions based on the same variables... Seeing that she also had direct messages from Syr, Lokis smile turned into a mischevious grin as she picked up the light-grey pen that went directly to the woman she considered her own proxy. It seemed like Syr wanted to pass more regtions on the girls within the Manor and was looking for her and Hephaestus support. During the next Vahnatus, they could pitch the terms to the other girls and go through their little democratic y. Loki liked how unified the group appeared to be on the surface, even though there were obvious cliques that had begun to develop within the Manor itself. As long as there was a mediator between the groups, such as Syr, things should continue to develop properly without any major hups. After confirming her own support regarding Syrs policy changes, Loki swapped to a stark silver pen and began to write to the greatest danger the group faced in the near, and distant, future. Freya would be able to resolve a lot of their problems with the enemies on the surface, so it was good to rely on the unrestrained goddess. However, her unrestrained nature would undoubtedly be a problem that would have to be addressed at some point, Vahn had informed them about the existence of Freyas daughter, Leh, and Loki knew how such an existence could influence Vahns decisions in the future. Loki actually wanted Freya to get pregnant earlier, since there was a high chance that their child wouldnt be the same gender, nor would they be guaranteed to have the same disposition. With very few exceptions, almost every god with a Divinity rted to S.e.x was a Goddess so, if Freya gave birth to a son, there was almost no chance they would have such a Divinity. However, this would likely just change the target from the daughter targeting Vahn to the Mother targetting the son. Loki didnt really care about such things, but she was still somewhat perturbed by the thought since she knew it would negatively impact the group at some point, regardless of the steps they took to prevent it. However, it was a simple fact that, since things were running rtively smoothly right now, it would be much easier to manage such an existence now than when things got more troublesome. If they could get Freya supporting Vahn earlier, it would make a lot of their enemies much easier to deal with as well... Almost immediately after she penned a line of text to Freya, Loki saw silvery lettering appearing in her own logbook and she beganughing at how eager the goddess was. She knew Freya was the type thatpletely immersed herself in such things so there was a high chance she had noticed the movements of Fafnir earlier and had been sitting with her ownmunication scroll while waiting for a message to arrive. Loki informed her about the remnant of Exilius, the Thanatos Familia, and the existence of the woman named Valletta Grede. It didnt take a genius detective to understand that the catalyst that had set Vahn down a darker path had been the death of Chloe. Knowing the oue, Loki actually became less interested in such a future and now wanted topletely alter the series of events to see how far Vahn would be able to get this time around. She had even decided on a new name for her daughter, just as a big f.u.c.k you to fate. This time, it took Freya nearly two minutes to respond to Lokis message but when the response finally arrived it simply said, It will be taken care of. Loki felt somewhat sorry for Thanatos because she had actually met the god in the past several times and knew he wasnt actually the evil type. He was one of the principal gods of death and was actually quitezy by nature and allowed things to happen naturally. Of course, those that followed such gods, especially when they were connected to evil organizations, were usually the sadistic and cruel types. When Freya gets her hands on them, they will likely not have a pleasant end just because of how offended the goddess would be knowing that they would have interfered with her future happiness. Just as Loki was about to put away her own notebook and take a nap, she saw silverly letters appear once again and frowned slightly when she read the words, I want to meet Vahn after the wedding. It was already nned that Vahn would help Freya get pregnant before their next expedition so Loki understood that Freya wasnt referring to that and simply wanted to meet him sooner than scheduled. She could refuse the goddess, but it was somewhat difficult now that she had asked Freya to settle some matters for them. After considering the matter for a moment, Loki wrote, I can help arrange it, but you have to behave yourself. Before her words had even disappeared, Loki saw silvery letters start to appear in her logbook that said, Of course, my dear Loki. (A/N: I know some people might have issues with the fact that some enemies are dealt with so easily, but this is the actual influence of military and political power at work. Freyas Familia would have nearly 1,800 people while an organization like the Thanatos Familia has less than a dozen. There isnt really anyparison between them, so it stands to reason they would get squashed easily. This is primarily to make way for original plot in the future without having to rely on the canon plot as much, so enjoy the ride~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Seriously, kiddos, aftercare is important~!,Rumination, Plots, and Promises,RIP Thanatos) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 437 - Changes : Resolve

Chapter 437 - Changes : Resolve

Vahn awoke the next morning holding Ryuus tired body in his arms. Even though Ryuu wasnt overly fond of showing intimacy in front of others, Vahn realized that most of their experiences together had been with a group. Knowing that she had died in the Divination, Vahn wanted to spend some time with just the two of them so he had asked Ryuu to stay with him. She was somewhat surprised at first but, after warming up to the idea, Vahn got to see how proactive Ryuu could be when she wasnt embarrassed by others. Though he wasnt the type to be managed by one woman, Ryuu had put in a great deal of effort and had been able to match Vahn for nearly three full hours on her own. Realizing he had awoken, Ryuu opened her sky blue eyes and stared into Vahns face for several seconds before releasing a hot sigh against his chest and snuggling up against him as if she were afraid to lose his body heat. Vahn felt his heart itch a bit with how cute she was acting and hugged her body even closer until she inevitably whispered, "We have to get up, Vahn..." Vahn nodded his head but didnt release her body as he responded, "When I learn magic from Eva, Id like you to be one of my disciples, Ryuu..." Without showing any signs of confusion orint, Ryuu pulled her face up to match his as she said, "Sure..." before kissing him once again. --- During the morning training, things had changed quite drastically and it was decided that, instead of the one hour of training, things would be split into two one-hour segments that would alsobine breakfast as a break between them. Though it wasnt wrong to let people develop their ownbat style through actual battle, there were various things that could be shared between the members of the group to improve the overall capabilities of everyone present. Tsubaki had taken charge of the events, but she also had direct assistance from Ais, Tiona, Tione, Ryuu, Vahn, and even Riveria. For the first day, Tsubaki had her assistants demonstrate actualbat at a moderate pace that could be followed by the other members of the group. Unfortunately, this resulted in Vahn bing something of a punching bag for Ais, Tiona, and Tione until he had an internecine oue with Ryuuter. Vahnsbat style relied heavily on the use of his Innates and the support of The Path, so he had never fully developed hisbat potential to the highest point he was capable of reaching. He had started to improve his foundation when he lived with Tsubaki in the past, but there were several areas where he could make drastic improvements. It was a little frustrating being able to see the movements of girls like Ais but being unable to react to them properly. He had a major advantage if he took the battle to the middle-range, but that wasnt an excuse to improve his capabilities further. One of the most important things that were discussed, even though it was rtivelymon knowledge, was how to develop useful skills and abilities that could potentially be beneficial tobat. Vahn had been keeping track of the development of all of his skills and had verified things with Riveria and was confident he had gleaned into the secrets that would allow others to develop the same skills. After all, skills like [Featherfoot], which allowed a person to be far more nimble and also conceal the sound of their footsteps, were useful for everyone. One of the biggest weaknesses of many of the girls present, even for people like Ais, Tiona, and Tione, was that their skill development had taken a back seat to their naturalbat proficiency. Ais might be able to get around the need for the skill with her [Ariel] magic, but that didnt mean it wouldnt be very beneficial for Tiona and Tione. Using Haruhime as an example, Vahn postted that the only major requirement for skill development was having a basic understanding of the skill and wanting to develop it. Just like how he had been able to create an entirely new Development Ability, the record allowed for intent to directly trante into capabilities if you pursued them seriously. The absolute best example of this was the various rare skills and magics that were awakened by people that went through traumatic situations, such as Lili and her [Cinder*E]. Her desire to be able to change herself and escape her situation had turned into an incredibly rare transformation magic, something that had boggled the minds of magic schrs for centuries. Though they had all heard the spection about skill development before, it was much more impactful when Vahn and Riveria were both lecturing them and showed several examples that validated their ims. After learning about the events in the Divination, everyones desire to learn and improve had increased by a great deal so the lessons were taken very seriously by everyone present. Even though they were supposed to be eating breakfast, Vahn had noticed they were hardly even touching their food as they listened attentively to his, and Riverias, words. Having them treat the matter seriously made Vahn feel more confident in his own words which caused the atmosphere to bubble up with a bit of excitement as everyone got wrapped up in Vahns momentum. For the second half of the training, the groups had been divided based on the types of skills, abilities, and potentially even magic, that everyone wanted to learn. Being able to measure your progress in a group was a great way to build confidence because, if anyone in the group managed to awaken the skill, it would inspire the others to redouble their efforts. Even the stronger girls, such as Tiona, Ais, Tione, and Tsubaki were in the pool of people trying to develop the [Featherfoot] skill. Because of this, Vahn got to experience the strange sight of Haruhime teaching the girls how to dance since it was considered the most practical method to unlock the skill. Tiona and Tione were naturally gifted at such movements, and Vahn really enjoyed watching them emte Haruhimes movements. Ais and Tsubaki, however, were somewhat lead-footed and were struggling a bit though it didnt seem to bother either girl and Vahn could see apetitive fire burning in both girls eyes. --- After the training hade to an end, the entire group migrated to the bath and Vahn got to experience what it was like to bathe with the girls after the change brought about by the Divination. In the past, everyone acted very casually and took turns having Vahn wash their bodies, but now things were far more lively and there were even people ying around in the water, primarily as a result of Tiona and Fenrir stirring things up. Many of the girls were far less reserved in their behavior now and Vahn even struggled a bit when he was washing Tinas hair because Haruhime and Preasia were insistent on helping wash his body. Though Vahn was briefly tempted to refuse them, he ultimately decided to stop harping over such things and allowed the girls to pete against each other as the washed his back. All the while this was happening, Syr continued to sit at the side observing everything with Ryuu and Aki sitting with her as the partook of a private conversation amongst themselves. Vahn had noticed their small huddle but, when he looked over out of curiosity, Syr just waved yfully at him before sending a wink and turning away. Vahn knew Syr took her role in the Manor very seriously and understood she was likely discussing things with Ryuu and Aki because they were his Vice-Captain and Lieutenant respectively. Tsubaki and Hestia were probably more influential in the group, but they were also the types that would easily support Syrs decisions if she already had the backing of other girls. Though she didnt like Syr much at first, Hestia now spent a fair amount of time talking with her as they corresponded with the other girls on thework. As for Tsubaki, she immediately got close to the core of the group and was one of the most well-liked persons in the entire Manor even though her arrival hadnt been that long ago. --- To Vahns surprise, the bath actually took less time than normal and was a lot more fun than it had been in the past. Other than the brief hup where Shizune caused a stir by calling him Papa in a very affectionate manner, everything else went rather smoothly and Vahn could feel his own confidence increasing as if it were a parameter within The Path. By the time he had arrived at his workshop, he had even been discussing things with Sis to find out if there were a way to track his own emotional parameters for things like affection, confidence, anger, etc. Unfortunately, though he seemed to be able to do such things for other people, Vahn wasnt able to view himself in such a way...at least for the time being. Because he had some sess developing panties, Vahn was thinking about making a pair of stockings for Eina and Hephaestus but, after failing to make any form of progress for nearly an hour, he inevitably gave up on the idea. It was far moreplicated than he had expected to try and create a seamless fabric and, after he did a bit of research, Vahn learned that it was nearly impossible to do by hand. There was also the fact that stockings were far too thin to have any practical defensive capabilities unless he made them out of very valuable materials, so Vahn scrapped the idea until he could discuss the matter with one of the gods that specialized in creating fabrics. Vahn had long known that the clothing technology was far higher than almost anything else in the world, though he wasnt sure of the reason, and that seamless garments were verymon. Almost every female adventurer wore thinyers of cloth that perfectly conformed to their arms and legs and Ais even had a pair of arm warmers that wrapped around her fingers without the cloth bunching up at the joints. Vahns ability to create clothing was arguably better, as he was able to incorporate defensive capabilities and abilities into the garments, but his actual skill in producing clothing wasnt even a fraction of the records standard. Fortunately, it should be rtively easy to meet a god or goddess that had such capabilities and Vahn should be able to learn from them directly if he gives them adequatepensation. After deciding to scrap his idea to create stockings, Vahn purchased a pair of light green stockings that would highlight the green ents in Hephaestus dress before deciding to buy a stark white pair for Eina. Vahn felt like Eina was currently a very pure woman, so he thought white stockings were very suitable for her and even decided to make her new pair of panties white to match. It didnt really matter of the underwear matched the color of the dress, as Vahn would be the only one seeing them, so he went with his gut and created a tantalizing ck pair for Hephaestus before putting in a great amount of effort making an almost angelic pair of white panties for Eina. He even ented the design with small white feathers and used an almost indiscernible blue thread to sew the fabric together. During this process, Vahn had long noticed the arrival of the two girls that had been obediently watching him at the back but decided to focus on his work unless they specifically asked for him. It felt a little awkward seriously creating undergarments in front of the two, especially considering that his spectators were Preasia and Fenrir, but Vahn knew it was better to ovee the awkwardness now than let it actually bother him. Eventually, it would be normal within the girls of the Manor that he created clothing for them, so Vahn decided to just act as if this was already the case. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Tantalizing Secret] Rank: C Slots: 0 P.Def: 31 M.Def: 55 Abilities: Secret Revealed(E), Size-Correction(C), Dark Resistance(D), Weatherproof(E), Insted(E) A pair of panties forged by an obsessive Master Smith that grew determined to draw even more power from an undergarment. Though they are a glossy ck in their default state, these panties are actually capable of turningpletely transparent when the wearer enters a state of arousal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Maidens Purity] Rank: C Slots: 0 P.Def: 29 M.Def: 60 Abilities: Blessing of the Maiden(C), Size-Correction(D), Weatherproof(D), Insted(E) A pair of panties created by a delusional Master Smith intended as a gift to his betrothed as a testament to her maidenly purity. As long as the wearer maintains her purity, these panties can never be soiled and also emit a gentle and pleasant aroma. When the wearer loses their purity, the color of this garment will change to red and, depending on their depravity, they may even one day be ck. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn felt that every time he read the descriptions of the lingerie he made, it was like The Path was trying to insult and tease him. He had checked to make sure but Sis assured him that the descriptions werent influenced by The Path at all. It was apparently based on his own mentality when he was creating them and how his actions were interpreted by the record itself during the production process. Vahn knew there had to be more to it but it didnt seem like Sis was able to give him any insights into how the process worked in detail. Eventually, he decided to not let such things bother him and simply turned to the two waiting girls and asked, "Did the two of you have something you wanted to talk about?" Preasia had been brushing Fenrirs hairzily and had been paying close attention to Vahns actions for thest few hours. Now that he had started paying attention to them, she showed a small smile but was beat to the punch when Fenrir hopped off the sofa and asked, "Vahn makes panties now~? Fenrir wants a pair, as cute as possible please~!" Vahnughed as he heavily pat Fenrirs head andpletely invalidated the efforts of Preasia from her earlier brushing. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Preasia also asked in a muted tone, "I would also...please?" Vahn blinked before turning his attention to Preasia and saw her somewhat bashful behavior as she stared at the pair of panties on the table with her light grey eyes. She was currently wearing a pale yellow fleece sweater and, though she didnt bring it up herself, Vahn knew she wasnt wearing anything else under it. Though it was only a brief glimpse, Vahn had seen the contents of the sweater when she was sitting with her legs slightly parted earlier. He wasnt sure what she was expecting to happen, but it was very obvious by her behavior that she wanted something to happen. He imagined her getting him to pet her only to discover that she wasnt wearing any clothing under her sweater and then trying to tempt him to take further action... Shaking his head slightly to clear the thoughts from his mind, Vahn nodded and said, "Sure, I dont mind making you a pair but it will take a bit of time..." A thought passed through Vahns mind and a smile appeared on his face as he set out a stool and lifted Fenrir onto it before waving over Preasia and saying, "How about the two of you help mee up with a design? You can also pick the materials you like and Ill try to make you afortable pair to wear." Since he decided to treat this as normal, Vahn wanted to act casually and even get the girls involved to make things less awkward. Yes, it was a little strange to have them help design the garments he would make for them, but it was also kind of fun and seemed like a good way to spend time with the girls when he was working. Preasia walked over happily and then, without any suspense, leaned against the table at an awkward angle like she was trying to peer over at something, even though there wasnt actually anything of interest in her line of sight. Vahn knew what she was aiming for so, instead of pretending like he was unaware, he cast a nce over at the sh of pale white that appeared in the periphery of his vision. Preasia had leaned forward to allow her sweater to rise up on her body and Vahn was able to see her fair butt supporting the fluffy tuft of tinum blond fur that constituted her tail. Though it was only a brief nce, Preasia had been paying close attention to Vahns reaction and she seemed to be very pleased with the turn of events even though she didnt show any changes in her expression and pretended to not notice. For the designs of their underwear, Preasia decided on abination of cotton and silk for her panties and chose a simr color to the other clothing she often wore. Vahn had noticed this in the past, but she liked the pale version of most colors and it made her entire appearance always look somewhat softpared to most people. She ultimately decided on a pale pink color that wasnt too different from her actual skin tone and tried to get Vahn to fit them for her by taking her measurements. Vahn, however, told her in a teasing tone about his ability to create panties with a Size-Correction ability and she became somewhat distraught as a result. She knew Vahn was teasing her, which made her somewhat happy, but she was also disappointed that her scheme had fallen through so quickly. As for Fenrir, she kept asking what Vahn would like the most so he ended up making a pair of panties that he thought was suitable for her instead of a pair of her own design. Because he knew she would probably wear them often, as they were something he made himself, Vahn designed Fenrirs to be very durable andyered three different fabrics together to make the interior absorbent while ensuring that the exterior was cute and liquid proof. Fenrir, however, did have one alteration to add and wanted Vahns Mentors Mark imprinted as a design on the front. Vahns mind had nked at the request at first until Fenrir exined that she had heard about it from Tiona, who had learned about it from Ais and Lefiya. Vahn had worked with the two girls in the past and knew they had seen his designs for some garments and had probably spread the word about the design that had his face on it... Because of her insistence, Fenrir ended up with a pair of white panties that had a cute miniature version of Vahns face on the front and she seemed very happy with the result. Preasia looked like she had taken a bit of an impact because she also wanted something simr after seeing the final product that Fenrir was wearing proudly as she ran around the workshop wearing nothing but the underwear and a beige-brown top covering her diminutive b.r.e.a.s.ts. From the moment Vahn hadpleted the panties, Fenrir had excitedly gotten Vahn to help remove her dress before stripping off her bottoms and wearing the new garment. After making a round around the workshop, Fenrir ran over and gave Vahn a hug as she said, "Fenrir is going to go show the other girls~! Thank you, Papa~!" Vahn had stalled at Fenrirs words and she beganughing in a mischevious manner like a child that had justpleted a prank as she bolted out of the workshop. Vahn knew the other girls would see them eventually, so there wasnt any need to actually stop her, but her calling him Papa was still a critical attack against his mind. Fortunately, Preasia was still present and he was able to recover quickly when she asked in a quiet voice, "Can you help me wear mine also...?" Preasia had lowered her head with a blush as she stared sheepishly toward Vahn with an anticipatory look in her eyes. Vahn gave a somewhat wry smile before it turned into a more casual expression and he said, "Sure, Preasia, but there are other things we need to talk about as all. Know that I dont mind your behavior, as its actually somewhat refreshing, but you need to show proper restraint or it could negatively influence some of the other girls..." Preasia knew Vahn was talking about Fenrir so she nodded her head and muttered, "Sorry...I just...want to be closer to you..." Vahn smiled at her words and reached out to stroke her curly tinum blonde hair with the influence of his [Petting] and [Hands of Nirvana]. Preasia almost instantly closed her eyes and showed a happy smile on her face as she enjoyed the warm and tingling sensationing from her head. Using his free hand, Vahn picked up the pale pink panties before squatting down and bringing Preasia back to reality as she looked down at him with slightly glossy eyes. Before she lifted her legs to help him, she instead lifted her own sweater and revealed that it wasnt just her eyes that were moist. Vahn gave the fragrant mound a brief nce and noticed the rtively thick, but neatly maintained, pubic hair that matched the tinum blonde of Preasias hair and fur. When he originally healed her body, she had been bare down below and the flesh was covered in the marks of her abuse. Now, however, she looked very healthy and Vahn smiled before turning his eyes up at the girl and saying, "Lift your leg..." Preasia nodded her head, but she didnt lower her sweater at all throughout the entire process. Once he finally managed to cover her neatly maintained garden, Vahn released a slightly frustrated sigh before standing up and patting Preasias head once again. In a calm down, Vahn looked into her moist eyes and said, "As long as you continue working hard, it wont be long before we can be together. Im getting married tomorrow, so I dont have any ns of making advances on other girls right now..." Though her aura fluctuated for a brief moment, Preasia nodded her head and said, "I...understand..." Vahn smiled at her response before, against her expectations, picking her up by the armpits and seating her in hisp after sitting on the sofa that had been next to them. Preasia was very confused at what was happening because Vahn didnt exin before he started stroking the sides of her head and face and scratching around the area where her horns connected to her head. Vahn smiled because he noticed that, while he felt a lot of heating from Preasias lower body he couldnt feel any dampness at all, at least for the time being. Since Preasia seemed to be confused, Vahn traced his finger from her corbone to her chin as he said, "Just because I dont want to have s.e.x with you right now, doesnt mean I cant pamper you a bit. I know youve been working hard over thest few months, even though I havent done much to reward you for it. Since I have about an hour free in my schedule, let me catch up on my backlog a bit..." Preasias bottom lip trembled under his touch and Vahn could hear her teeth chattering quietly. She really was an adorable girl and her entire body was very soft, almost like she had a thinyer of fat covering her body even though she was actually very skinny. Vahn couldnt deny that he had always been curious about the girls living in the Manor so, now that he had decided to be more proactive, he wasnt going to keep holding back, especially when they were the ones making advances against him... //[Petting] Development Ability Increased from F -> E// Seeing the notification, Vahns smile increased marginally and he began to massage around the sides of Preasias head and the muscles in her neck. Her head began to droop a bit and she was releasing pleasant sounds under his touch. Vahn supported her head for a bit before deciding to hold her close to his body so she could rx more. Preasia immediately used the opportunity to hug around his rib cage as Vahn began to press the pressure points in her back. Because her sweater was very thick, Vahn ended up inserting his hands through the bottom and touching her bare skin only to notice that her body temperature was much higher than a normal persons. He didnt know if it was a racial trait of Sheep People, but Preasias core temperature seemed to be near 40 degrees and was somewhat hot to the touch. Soon after he began rubbing her bare back, Preasia started trying to lift her head but notice she couldnt put much strength into the muscles of her neck. It was very frustrating because she wanted to use the opportunity to try and kiss Vahn but couldnt easily lift her head from his shoulder. She could feel her own body trembling under his touch and, unlike the disgust she felt in the past, everywhere Vahn touched radiated a pleasurable feeling that made her want to do even more. Even if they couldnt have s.e.x, Preasia knew there were several other things they could do but she was powerless in his arms and suffered his one-sided pampering. Eventually, less than five minutes after he started, Preasia felt her body begin to vibrate slightly and she experienced a powerful contraction in her lower body when Vahn traced around the base of her tail. It wasnt the first time she had experienced a climax, but it was unlike anything she hade to expect from her own actions in the past. Topound everything she was feeling, Vahn even lifted up her head and kissed her gently on the lips and began to probe against her own with his tongue. Before allowing his invasion, Preasia tilted her head to draw a breath and say, "Vahn...I love you..." She could see Vahns eyes widen from a brief moment before a genuine smile appeared on his face and he hugged her waist tightly while supporting her chin and whispering, "I love you too, Preasia..." before kissing her deeply... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Preasia Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: B Rewards: 5,000OP, 1x[Hearts Desire: Preasia] Grade Rewards: 5,000OP, 1x [Proof of Affection], 1x [Vision of Aries] [Vision of Aries] Rank: Unique Use: Allows the user to view any subject, irrespective of distance and obstacles. Duration: 30M ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dance Dance, Skill Revolution,Vahn, Panty Expert,Excessive [Petting]) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 438 - Compromise

Chapter 438 - Compromise

Vahn was enjoying his time with Preasia, something that she also seemed to be enjoying greatly, but they were disrupted when he detected the approach of several other presences. Though she seemed to be somewhat disappointed, Preasia obediently listened when Vahn told her their private moment hade to an end. She ended up having to sit on the sofa in an effort to recover as Vahn smelled his hands to see if her sweat had soaked into him any. Since there was a subtle aroma on his palms, he wiped them down with a towel before Fenrir arrived with Tiona, Ais, Lefiya, and Tione. As the two that had originally seen Vahns designs, Ais and Lefiya were somewhat curious when they saw Fenrir running around the Manor showing off. Ais seemed to find the design to be cute, though she actually preferred somewhat more mature underwear ever since she got closer to Vahn. Lefiya had a beet red face because she knew the original design had been for her and she was fl.u.s.tering about thinking about if Vahn was going to make some for her in the future. Every time she saw him after the discussion the previous day, Lefiya would immediately flush crimson before hiding behind Ais or, if Ais wasnt avable, the nearest person. Even though Vahn wasnt going to attack her, she was very conscious of even having him look at her for the time being. When they had been in the bath earlier, she had even passed out after sitting in the hot water for about thirty seconds. Vahn spent the remainder of his break talking with the girls about the designs they would like to see when Vahn created panties for them in the future. Tiona didnt care much about the design at all, as long as it was something that wasfortable to wear. Tione, however, had learned about the victory underwear of Emiru and Maemi and wanted something simr. Vahnpromised with her by drawing up a design that folded over on itself and could be opened, if she ever required such a function. As for Ais, she actually wanted somethingcey that wasfortable to wear and left the design to Vahn to choose. When he was drawing it up, she leaned against his shoulder and watched his hands with glittering golden eyes filled to the brim with intrigue. After he had drawn up Ais, Lefiya was somewhat startled when Vahn asked what kind she would like for herself. She looked like she was going to pass out again, so Vahn avoided looking directly at her and focused on the paper and began doodling to give her time topose herself. Lefiya often wore warm colors, albeit with muted tones, so Vahn began drawing a pair of light pinkce panties that he thought might suit her golden yellow hair and dark blue eyes. He chosece because he was sure she would want something simr to Ais since she was a bit weird about such things at times. Realizing what he was doing, Lefiya moved closer and watched Vahn work before giving small tidbits of information to make Vahns job easier. She was very embarrassed by the matter, but she had been talking a lot with Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Riveria since yesterday and had started to ept the situation a bit. Unless things drastically changed, Lefiya couldnt see herself ever leaving the Alliance and moving away from Ais and all the other people she cared about. Vahn always treated her well and paid attention to her needs, so Lefiya didnt think it would be too bad to be with him in the future. She had already made her resolve in the past, though she hadnt expected things to develop to that point for a long time. Knowing she one day gave birth to a child of Vahns, it felt like there was now a countdown to what was turning into an inevitable event. At least she had the support of Ais for when the moment finally came. Of course, when she thought about Ais being with her during her first time, Lefiya ended up copsing against Vahn only to be caught safely by him once again. She released a hot sigh as a small smile touched her lips and she greeted the darkness once again. --- During the afternoon, Vahn spent most of his time rxing and discussing magic with Riveria and going over some of the specifics that he could recall from the Divination. Most of the memories Vahn had lost were rted to the time he was floating in space, so there were only small snippets of the sensations he had felt when teleporting around freely. Riveria was very interested in the formations that constituted the Heavenly City, but it wasnt something Vahn could directly recall even though he was able to draw up small parts of it. It was very frustrating because he had a near-perfect memory yet was unable to focus on the images contained within his own mind. Sis had been analyzing the data to the best of her ability but even she was having trouble since the memories didnt actually exist. Other than the stuff that the Scroll of Prophecy had allowed him to retain, everything else was missing in its entirety. While they were discussing matters, Vahn had noticed a distinct difference in Riverias behavior and wasnt sure exactly how he should deal with the situation. In the past, they usually sat across from each other, or Riveria would sit at her desk as Vahn conducted his own experiments. Now, however, Riveria seemed to be noticeably reducing the distance between them and there were even moments when their shoulders would touch when she was looking over the diagrams he was drawing. For a Level 6, she wouldnt make such mistakes so Vahn was a bit fl.u.s.tered and tried his best to focus on the discussion instead. After proceeding like this for nearly two hours, Riveria suddenly released a slight sigh and asked, "Vahn, what do you think of me?" Though he nked for a brief moment, Vahn looked into Riverias jade green eyes and said, "I think you are a wise and intelligent woman that I could learn a lot from..." Riveria nodded her head and seemed to appreciate hispliment but asked, "Yes, I know all of that. I can tell by how you act around me that you pay attention to my advice, even if your actions often go against themon sense of normal schrs. I even know that you probably think Im beautiful and show concern about my thoughts and actions based on how youve been reacting over thest few hours..." Vahn was beginning to understand what Riveria was actually asking him so he showed a serious expression and said, "I think of you more as a colleague and trusted advisor than a potential love interest...however, I cant deny that I have a physical attraction to your body and a mental attraction to your mind and personality. You are one of the few people I can talk with when ites to the things that interest me, and I consider us to have a rtionship of equals..." Hearing Vahns words, Riveria didnt seem upset at all and instead showed a small smile as she said, "Thats good, as I see you in much the same way. However, now that I have some insights gleaned from the Divination, Im seriously considering the matter of us being together and I want you to start doing the same." Nodding his head, Vahn was about to follow up Riverias words but she instead surprised him by leaning against him slightly while saying, "I want to see a world where Elves are able to walk amongst the other races without their being tensions between the species. As long as you continue to forge a path that creates a future for my people, I will stand at your side...however, there are things you need to be aware of. As you know, Im Elven Royalty and there are a variety of issues to us having an actual rtionship with each other and Ive even been engaged for nearly fifty years. The envoy that is being sent here by the High Elves is likely to be my fiance..." Vahn had been enjoying the contact with Riveria in a slight daze but his mind waspletely blown when he learned that she actually had a fiance. It wasnt like the situation with Aki and Raul, where they had a past rtionship and there wasnt anything truly wrong with him taking responsibility for her. Riveria had a very high social status and a fiance that was likely of equal social standing and one she had been engaged to for nearly fifty years. However, Riveria didnt seem inclined to giving him any maneuverability as she continued, "He is a despotic fool that engages in cruel acts...one of the reasons I have stayed out in the outside world for so long is to avoid that sc.u.mbag." As she spoke, Riveria had her brows furrowed low and it was very obvious that she disdained her fiance a great deal. Though he was somewhat apprehensive, Vahn recalled their son, Masonia, and how noble and respectful he was. He seemed like a wise king and was also very powerful, as he had been one of the few Level 8s in the entire world even though he was only around twenty years old. Following the chronology, Riveria would have likely gotten pregnant within the next year or so which meant that Vahn was fated to have a conflict with the Elven Kingdom in the near future unless he resolved himself to never be with Riveria. However, such a thought never even crossed his mind for due consideration as he looked into Riverias eyes and nodded his head as he said, "Not just the Elves, I want to create a world where everyone has the opportunity to reach their potential without the burdens of social injustice and racism weighting them down..." Riveria nodded her head with a thoughtful expression on her face for a brief moment before saying, "Very well then...but I wont allow you to do anything improper until you consummate your rtionship with Ainas daughter tomorrow. Worry about the other girls in your life and-" Vahn shook his head with a wry smile on his face as he leaned forward and gave Riverias a quick peck on the lips. She could have easily dodge him if she made an effort, but her mind had nked for a brief moment when Vahn acted outside of her expectations. Though it was almost indiscernible, there was the briefest hint of a blush that had appeared on her face before she red at Vahn with dissatisfaction. Vahn smiled at her reaction and exined, "It is good when everyone is thinking of each other, but imposing such regtions and guidelines just unnecessarilyplicate things. If were going to be together, Riveria, I want to do my best to learn to love you properly. I wont tolerate a rtionship where were just together because we share a vested interest in the same future...what kind of children would we raise if there isnt any love between us? My rtionship with Eina has little to do with how Ie to feel about you, so leave that matter to me. Besides, how do you think Eina herself would react if she found out you were acting like this on behalf of her and her mother...?" Hearing Vahns words, Riverias frown deepened and she began to consider the matter in detail as her thoughts ran rampant through her mind. Aina had been her closest friend and confidant when she abandoned her home forest and escaped the clutches of her Father. Aina had been a good friend to her when she was going through a troubling time so Riveria didnt want to betray her by poaching her daughters man. Because of the difference in status between them, it would cause many problems if the Envoy, her fiance, learned that she was with Vahn after he had married a Half-Elf. As a despotic elitist, there was a very high probability of him stirring up even greater problems that would eventually cause the situation to escte beyond their control. While Riveria was lost in thoughts, Vahn smiled and whispered, "Riveria, were talking about trying to change the world together...how far do you think well get if youre hesitating over trivial matters?" Feeling Vahn squeeze her hand with his own as he tried to convince her, Riveria frowned once again as the image of her Father and fiance passed through her mind once again. She had lived her entire life in spite of their ideals so there really wasnt any reason to conform to their intentions now. Her Father was the one that had engaged her to the man she hated without her permission so she didnt actually feel anything about her own marriage other than obligation. Riveria also knew that her children with Vahn would be born as something greater than a normal High Elf so many of her inhibitions had already started to fade. From the moment he had been able to transform into a High Elf, Riveria had whimsical thoughts about how it might be possible to change her engagement to Vahn but the Divination had shown such things had been unnecessary because Vahn himself had the potential of bringing about necessary change on his own. Her n to groom him into a proper Sage ended up being scrapped before she was able to make any headway on it at all... Aftering to her own conclusions, Riveria turned her eyes to match Vahns gaze and said in a serious tone, "I probably wont be able to stop you from acting out, but at least try to act with reservations when my fiance shows up. It would be best if the High Elf Forest doesnt learn of our rtionship for as long as possible..." Vahn nodded his head in understanding because he had actually been thinking about such things while Riveria was lost in her own thoughts. Just like in regards to the Amazon Queen and Kali, Vahn wasnt yet ready to face against the High Elves just yet. Unless the Envoy went out of his way to antagonize him, Vahn had already intended to tolerate a few grievances on behalf of Riveria and the people he cared about. Seeing the understanding in Vahns eyes, Riveria released a small sigh of relief and made an attempt to separate from him now that their serious talk hade to an end. Vahn didnt stop her from moving away but a mischevious glint passed through his eyes for a brief moment as he reached out and very gently rubbed her butt through her robe. However, instead of acting bashfully or trying to keep up pretenses, Riveria spun around quickly and smacked Vahn hard in the face with a in expression on hers. Shaking her hand, since Vahns body was quite hard, Riveria looked at the vibrant red handprint on his face and said, "Youre getting married tomorrow, Vahn, dont y games with me..." Vahn rubbed his cheek but his smile didnt break much as he said in a chipper tone, "Sorry, Riveria, I just got a bit excited thinking that I was able to get closer to such an incredible woman..." Riverias brows twitched slightly at hispliment before she said in a somewhat cold tone with a cruel smile on her face, "I treat my staff as one of my most importantpanions...maybe I should let the two of you get closer in the future?" As she spoke, Riveria picked up her [Magna Alfs] and spun it around in a skilled manner that sent a small vortex of wind out as a result of the force. The head of the staff had several pointy bits that seemed to gleam with a dangerous light as she brandished it toward him so Vahn changed his expression to a serious one as he said, "Ill behave..." Riverias smile turned more natural as she mused, "Thats a shame..." before setting her staff at the side once again. For the rest of the afternoon period, until they brought their research for the day to an end, Vahn and Riveria had returned to their old behavior. Vahn was somewhat mncholic because, even though they were supposed to be closer now, Riveria had opened up a proper distance with him as they talked about various different topics until it was time for dinner. At least he had gotten to kiss her without any serious repercussions, so that was something to be happy about. While Vahn was lost in thought earlier, he had been leaning against his right hand for a while without noticing that Riverias brow was twitching slightly. She was very well aware that it was the same hand Vahn had used to take advantage of her and it made her annoyed to see him casually resting his face against it. When they were preparing to leave the Library, she stopped him with her staff and said, "Wash your hands before dinner..." Though he wasnt entirely sure why she was behaving strangely, Vahn did as she said and washed his hands right in front of her while doing his best to ignore the pressure of her gaze. As they were making their way down the corridor that connected to the Central building, Riveria seemed to have another random thought and stopped Vahn once again. With a bit of confusion on his face, Vahn turned back to Riveria and noticed the small fluctuation in her aura that made his brows raise slightly. Riveria frowned and said, "Your ability to see auras is going to be the death of me..." before stepping forward and almost bringing her lips to his before she turned into a statue. Vahn had indeed been surprised by how Riverias aura was gravitating towards him, but the main reason for his shock was because he had detected the arrival of the two presences that hade to receive them for dinner. At almost the exact same time as Riveria moved in to kiss Vahn, Lefiya and Ais had opened up the door connecting to the corridor they were in and saw Riveria leaning close to Vahn, very obviously about to kiss him. Lefiyas face becamepletely pale as she mechanically backstepped through the door leaving the equally stunned Ais staring directly at the statuesque Riveria. As if she had decided to simply not process what her eyes were seeing, Ais trained her eyes of Vahn and said, "Vahn...everyone is waiting..." Without waiting for his response, Ais gave one more nce at Riveria before retreating in the same direction as Lefiya and closing the door behind her in a casual manner. After the two surprise visitors had disappeared, Riveria stepped away from Vahn and held her hand to her head and began to rub her temples as she said in an almost inaudible voice, "Damnit...now everyone in the Manor is going to know...Ill have to punish those two girls..." Vahn had a wry smile on his face as he tried to step closer to Riveria but she held the pointy end of her staff toward him and said, "Vahn, you knew they were there, didnt you?" Vahn, however, moved the tip of the staff to the side with his hand as he said in a calm voice, "Riveria, you were in control of your actions then, not me. Besides, it wouldnt have been right to keep it a secret from everyone else anyway. I understand you might want to keep things under wraps, especially since the wedding is tomorrow, but you have to remember that everyone has taken a vow to protect such information for the rest of their lives...they arent going to gossip with the outside at all." Riveria furrowed her brows for a short while before pulling her staff back and standing normally as Vahn stepped closer to her. She knew what he was thinking but decided to give him a few liberties since he had actually said something somewhat insightful. Even though she had already made her resolve, her instincts to protect her pride were hard to ovee and it was difficult to ept such incidents easily. However, as Vahn had stated, it was something brought about her own actions and she didnt have any rights to actuallyin about it, nor could she hold them ountable for the decisions she had made... Vahn smiled happily seeing that Riveria didnt try to evade him until she swatted away his hands as he tried to reach around her waist. With aplex expression on her face, she said, "I dont like to be touched in such a manner...please give me time." Vahn nodded his head and said, "Sure...we have plenty of time, after all..." as he leaned forward in a somewhat awkward manner and chased Riverias lips as she pulled back slightly. She, fortunately, didnt retreat too far so he was able to graze her lips for a brief moment before she agilely moved around him and said, "Okay, lets go..." Riveria had moved out of his way so fast that Vahn almost felt like he was going to fall forward before he caught himself and looked at her retreating figure with a somewhat incredulous expression on his face that slowly melted into a smile. Even though he felt like he could change quickly, especially after major events like the Divination, he shouldnt have the expectation that others were so quick to adapt. As he told her earlier, there was plenty of time for them to get closer but Vahn felt like it wouldnt actually take too long before he actually fell in love with the stoic, yet incredibly bashful, High Elf beauty. By the time he learned magic from Eva, she would even be his close disciple and Vahn was looking forward to the day when she called him Master with a flushed face. She had a fairplexion and ears that were nearly 10cm long. Vahn wondered if, like Eina and Lefiya, if her ears could bepletely red when she was embarrassed... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn Brand,Riverias pragmatism,Vahn likes to bully Elves) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 439 - Awkwardness : Acceptance

Chapter 439 - Awkwardness : eptance

Things had been changing rapidly in since the previous day, but it was the first time Vahn had seen such an awkward atmosphere at dinner after everyone moved into the Manor. Ais had a rtively nk expression on her face while Lefiya kept her head low and nibbled at her food without saying a word. Even though they hadnt said anything, it was very obvious by their behavior that something had happened when the two girls went to retrieve Vahn and Riveria. Given the revtions of the previous days, many of the girls could infer what kind of things might have happened, especially when they looked at Riveria eating with her eyes closed as she refused to make eye contact with anyone. Vahn was doing his best to act casually, but he wasnt that great an actor and his behavior was the primary reason for how awkward the atmosphere had be as he had made several attempts to try and change the mood by talking about the wedding preparations for tomorrow. Arge crew of workers had alreadye through and set up arge stage during the afternoon and the entire staff of the Hostess of Fertility had been booked to cater the event. They had been spending the majority of the day preparing for the wedding tomorrow and the reason for Ais and Lefiyaing to receive Vahn and Riveria was because everyone was doing a small celebration. Fenrir had been sitting with Tiona and Preasia and, perhaps because of her own curiosity and frustrations, eventually got annoyed with the atmosphere and asked, "Did Vahn and Riveria have s.e.x?" Though her question sounded innocent, it fell like a hammer on the heads of almost everyone present. Vahn felt like his body tilted about eight degrees to the side and Riveria, who had previously been taking a sip of tea, hadpletely shattered her cup. Her eyes opened slightly and she looked at the mess she had made before saying in a low tone, "Vahn and I did not have s.e.x, Fenrir..." before releasing a sight and saying, "Excuse me..." as she rose from the table and left the room. Realizing she had done something wrong, Fenrirsrge ears ttened against her head and she mumbled, "Sorry..." Then, as if suddenly realizing something, Fenrir jumped up from the table and followed the same direction as Riveria. Vahn followed her back with his eyes before looking around at the various expressions of the girls at the table. He had the urge to show a wry smile and trying to y down the issue for a brief moment but instead decided to exin things clearly. After taking a deep breath through his nose, Vahn smiled slightly and said, "It is very likely that Riveria and I will have a rtionship in the future that will likely cause conflict between the Alliance and the High Elf Forest. Even I cant say when things will develop to that point, just know that it is a secret and be prepared for anything." Though they had also been influenced by the awkward atmosphere earlier, Tiona and Tione both had wide-eyed expressions on their faces as Tione remarked, "I expected something to happen since you had children in the Divination, but I didnt think it would be so soon..." Her sentiments seemed to be shared by many of the girls at the table so Vahn raised his hand slightly to calm them and exined, "Riverias primary pursuit in the 97 years she has been alive has always been to expose the Elves to the rest of the world and ease the tensions between species. Since that is something we will all be striving for in the future, as it is the only way to protect our family and livelihoods, Riveria is doing what she thinks is best for her people. I have decided to support her to the best of my ability, but I will understand if any of-" Before Vahn was able to continue, Syr coughed to interrupt him before a beautiful smile appeared on her face and sheughed lightly. Syr made brief eye contact with everyone at the table, Vahn included, before saying, "Everyone here understands the significance of the events that had been discussed previously. Riverias actions shoulde as no surprise considering how serious she treats such things. Im sure many of you have also been considering your own futures, so try and show some understanding. If you have any concerns, please bring them to Hestia, Tsubaki, Mn, or myself and we will do our best to alleviate your worries~." As she spoke, Syr looked between several of the girls present but kept her focus primarily on Vahn himself. Vahn understood she was trying to tell him that he shouldnt be saying such things that constantly emphasized the girls had other options. Even if they didnt have thoughts about leaving the Manor in the future, if Vahn kept harping over it over the course of several years, he could inadvertently push them away. With the exception of Mona, who was away with Mama Mia, everyone present had already made the resolve to face their enemies together. Even though he was trying to be more decisive, Vahn was saying things that bordered on indecision because he was constantly giving them alternatives to their current lifestyle. He needed to let them make their own decisions and let those that were better suited to dealing with people take care of things without his interference. Understanding this, Vahn gave a somewhat apologetic smile toward Syr that caused her to send him a wink as they continued the rest of the dinner discussing less serious matters. Because he was getting married in the morning, Vahn wasnt going to have another event during the evening and instead decided to rx. However, this didnt mean he was going to sleep alone and he had instead taken the initiative to invite Mn, Tina, Shizune, and Fenrir to stay with him. Mn was somewhat fl.u.s.tered at first until her brain processed his invitation properly and she showed a happy smile on her face before all the girls, with the surprising exception of Fenrir, epted his offer. Fenrir had apparently already made ns to have a sleepover with Tiona and Ryuu, who had suddenly be very friendly with the wolf girl since the discussion about the Divination. Because she knew she had done something bad to the two girls, Fenrir was also doing her best to get along with them and, since she had been in a good mood all day, had easily agreed to their invitation. The fact that she kept her promise with them, even after Vahn invited her to sleep with him, made him smile and he promised to reward her in the future for being such a good girl. Vahn ultimately ended up having Tina and Shizune cuddle up on top of his chest while Mn used his shoulder as a pillow and hugged around the bodies of her two daughters with a contented expression on her face. Even though their union had been rtively brief, Mn was very satisfied because she knew things would be much easier to deal with in the future. A lot of her pent-up frustrations had been released in the short period of time and she fell asleep thinking about what she and Vahn would be doing in the future. She was determined to get her fair share before Tina and Shizune reached maturity because she didnt want to pete with the two girls. Not knowing what their mother was thinking, Shizune nuzzled into Vahns neck and he had to periodically jerk his head slightly because she would randomly ce her lips against his neck on ident and had even tried to lick his corbone at one point. Tina behaved properly, but Vahn knew she was paying attention to Shizunes actions and he could feel her body shake slightly before pinching her adopted sisters thigh a few times before they finally fell asleep. Vahn fell asleep soon after them while thinking about methods to help Shizune cope with the next few years. It was troublesome dealing with a highly experienced woman that was essentially trapped in the body of a young girl. Because of his interactions with Eva, Vahn didnt actually have a lot of defenses against her behavior because he understood her situation well. Shizune turned eighteen in less than two months and had spent arge part of her life developing habits that were hard to resist falling back into. If not for the fact that she had a strong support group, especially with Mn and Tina as her surrogate family, it was very likely she wouldnt even be a v.i.r.g.i.n anymore. Having to wait an additional four years would be a great torment to her unless she could one day learn to resist her urges properly. Unfortunately, there was a big problem with this as it didnt really seem like she wanted to resist her urges at all. Vahn knew Shizune actually was something of a bad influence on many of the other girls because, even though she didnt do it in front of him and Mn, it was very obvious she talked dirty behind their backs. Fenrir had been negatively influenced by her and Vahn could tell by Tinas reactions that she was very aware of her little sisters habits. Shizune often spent time talking with Haruhime and the other former ves and had even started to get closer to Tiona, Ais, Tione, and, very likely, Lefiya herself. She even tried to tease Vahn without much consideration for the situations so he assumed her behavior was even more problematic when he wasnt around... --- Knowing that Tina was a heavy sleeper and that Mn was very tired from the days exertions, Shizune actually woke up around three hours after falling asleep because she had been rather restless. She had been breathing in Vahns scent as she slept and she knew the state of her own body had be somewhat dangerous. As a Kitsune, her nose was quite strong and Vahns scent had almost because addicting to her in the past few weeks ever since she moved into the Manor. Since he was the only man around, it was like his scent had be a central part of her existence and, being able to smell him up close, made her body ache greatly. After shifting her body slightly, Shizune tried to slip her hands into her nightgown but she froze when she saw a pair of slightly luminescent aquamarine eyes open and stare directly at her. She had been thinking of bringing her body some fort, but it looks like her actions were noticed by Vahn who typically didnt wake up no matter how much she moved around. Biting the bottom of her lip, Shizune tried to appeal to Vahn with a pleading gesture as she writhed about and tried to reach down once again. She could see Vahns eyes squint slightly as he shook his head so she released a hot sigh against his chest and pulled her hand free of the humid nightgown. Vahn had felt a bit of warm moisture on his stomach and felt Shizune moving around on his body so he immediately awoke from his dreamless sleep and saw her attempting tofort herself atop his body with Tina sleeping next to her. He actually pitied her a great deal but still shook his head when she pleaded to him with her moist purple eyes that shone like amethysts in the nearplete darkness of the room. To ease her mind, Vahn hugged her body loosely with his right arm and held her head against his chest as he gently stroked the back of her hair as he inserted calming energy into her mind and body. Shizune seemed to calm down for a short while but it wasnt long before Vahn noticed her aura had started to re up as a deep, almost sickly, red spread through it. Though he should have noticed it earlier, Vahn realized that Shizune was exclusively breathing through her nose and had bepletely enamored by his scent instead of calming down. By holding her close to his body in an effort tofort her, he had just given her an excuse to indulge in herself a bit more and she had even tried to slip her calf between his thighs in a provocative manner. As if she knew looking at him would be an end to her mischief, Shizune kept her head low and avoided looking at him even when Vahn removed his hand from her head. In an almost inaudible tone, Shizune muttered, "My body aches...Pa-" Before she could finish her words, Vahn pressed into a pressure point near the base of Shizunes neck and she couldntplete the dangerous word. He had immediately been reminded of Leh from the Divination and a bit of anxiety spread through his heart as he whispered, "Shizune...dont call me that when youre acting like this...it isnt funny at all." Vahn noticed that Shizunes aura began to flicker in a panicky manner as her body began to shake atop his and she tried to form silent words with tears building up in her eyes. She knew she had messed up a great deal and was afraid that Vahn was now going to chase her away and refuse to spend time with her as they had done in the past. However, when she looked up at Vahns face he released a sigh before looking at her with gentle eyes before gesturing to the side with his head and gingerly rolling her body away from his. Shizune was very confused with his action until Vahn handed her a fresh pair of panties from out of nowhere. Shizunes eyes widened before she epted the panties and clutched them as if they were a lifeline before moving a fair distance away from Vahn. His bed was massive so there were several meters of space unupied for her to make use of. After moving nearly three meters to the side, Shizune looked over at Vahn and could see his reflective eyes watching her actions. She could feel her heartbeat quicken as she set aside the fresh panties and reached toward her own with a bit of eagerness. For a brief moment, Shizune harbored the delusion that she would be able to keep eye contact with Vahn as she pleasured herself but, before she could make get any advantages against him, a heavy nket appeared in the air above her and covered her body. Because of how thick it was, Shizune understood Vahn was telling her to keep quiet and take care of her situation on her own. She had a pouting expression on her face until she smelled a powerful aromaing from the heavy nket which she now realized was a thick mantle that smelled exactly like Vahn. Though it was still a bit lonely to tend to herself on her own, Shizune was grateful for Vahns reprieve as she clutched the cloak and breathed in his scent as she reached down with her left hand and brought somefort to her aching body... Vahn contracted his domain and created a soundproof barrier but he could see feel the vibrations of Shizunes movements through the bed because of how sensitive he was. Even though he wasnt looking at her, Vahn could detect her aura even with his eyes closed so he began focusing on the [Mantra of Eternity] to tear his attention away from her immoral act. He really did feel bad for her, but that didnt mean he could set aside his own principles and help her deal with things directly. Eva was an exception, as her body would never develop and she was well over six-hundred years old. She also had much better control than Shizune, most of the time, and had a very mature disposition. Deciding that it would probably be for the best if he didnt invite Shizune to sleep with him in the near future, Vahn did his best to fall asleep but was immediately brought back to his senses when he sensed Shizune nearing him once again. Opening his eyes, Vahn could see Shizunes moist purple eyes staring back at him as she crawled back onto his chest and snuggled up with Tina without saying anything. Vahn observed her for a short while and noticed her aura had begun to recede and stabilize so he felt a bit of relief before looking over at the somewhat soiled pair of panties that were balled up on the bed at the side. His [Shadowsilk Cloak] was also there and Vahn hesitated for a short moment before storing them both away into his inventory. Expanding his domain, Vahn then found the location of theundry hampers and inserted the dirty garments among the pile of other clothes before turning his attention away from them as if he had just disposed of a bomb. --- Vahn awoke the next morning at the same time as normal and saw the two innocent girls sleeping on his chest while hugging each other close like real sisters. Shizune looked to have slept well after tiring herself out and she now had a contented expression on her face as if the previous nights incident never happened. Vahn awoke Mn first and she quickly moved to awaken the two girls before helping them prepare for the day. However, when Shizune peeled off her nightgown and began to change into proper clothing, Mn noticed that her panties had changed during the night and gave Vahn a somewhat incredulous look. Though she didnt actually give him a look of me, Vahn still felt a bit of an impact and shook his head before gesturing at Shizune with his eyes and shaking it once again. Mn, seeing the honest expression and frustration on Vahns face understood the situation somewhat and frowned slightly before saying, "Tina, Shizune, I think we need to re-arrange our room assignments in the future. Youre both maturing girls so you need to start sleeping in your own rooms in the future. There may be nights in the future where I stay with Vahn, so it is necessary for the future..." Tina startled momentarily at Mns words before a resolved look appeared on her face and she pumped her fists while wearing nothing but her panties and saying, "Okay, Mom~nya! Make sure nyou work hard~!" Mn showed a confused expression on her face before realizing what Tina was implying and showing a slight blush as she muttered, "I dont think..." Vahn, covering for Mns embarrassment, ced his hand atop Tinas head and ruffled her hair as he said, "Get dressed, Tina, we have a busy day today." As if she just realized the state of her body, Tina startled once again and covered her chest as she said, "Dont stare at my body, Papnya~! Look after Mom until I be a beautiful a.d.u.l.t woman~!" Vahn tilted his head to the side in confusion and Mn began tough yfully as she walked forward and smoothed the wrinkles from Vahns tunic and said, "Go, Vahn, Ill take care of our daughters. You have other matters to attend to, fufufufu~." Vahnzily nodded his head before leaning forward and kissing Mns forehead and giving her head a stroke before ruffling Tinas hair once again and escaping the room. While all of this had been going on, Shizune had been curiously looking around the bed before Mn asked, "Shizune, what are you looking for? What kind of trouble did you cause for Vahnst night?" Hearing herself being addressed, Shizune looked directly at Mn with an expression that didnt belong to a child at all as she exined, "Youre not the only one that has needs, Mom...Im sure you understand how difficult things can be..." Mns eyes opened slightly wider before she released a sigh and pat Tinas still bare shoulder as she said, "Get dressed and head downstairs, Tina. I need to talk to your sister for a little while..." Tina nodded her head before digging through the small wardrobe that contained clothing that fit her size. Vahn had several different wardrobes in his room for the various girls that visited, including the members of the youth troupe. Once Tina left the room, Mn sat down on the edge of the bed and pat next to her with a patient expression on her face. Shizune furrowed her brows slightly and said, "Im very grateful for everything youve been doing for me, Mn, but I dont think Ill be able to keep up this kind of lifestyle for another four years." Mns smile didnt change much and she continued to pat the empty space next to her as she said, "Shizune,e and sit with your Mother..." Shizune showed a pouty expression that matched her age much better than the straight face from earlier as she said, "Youre not my real Mother, Mn..." Once again, without her expression changing much at all, Mn continued to stare directly at Shizune as she asked, "What is your name...?" Shizunes pouting expression deepened and she stared at the hand that continued to pat the space next to Mn. She had officially had her name changed to Shizune Yuel and had even been adopted by Mn and added to their official registrar with the City census. Even though Mn wasnt her biological mother, she was, for all legal intents and purposes, her actual mother. As she had grown up with thefort of her own, Shizune had actually found Mns presence to be very ther.a.p.eutic and calming to her ever since their current arrangement was established. With a pouty sigh, she trudged over to the bed and crawled into it as Mn hugged her body tightly and said, "There we go...Shizune is a well-behaved daughter, even though she is a bit mature on the surface..." She didnt want to admit it, but it was veryfortable being hugged tightly by Mn as she spokeforting words into her ears. After hesitating for a bit, Shizune asked in a low tone, "Why are you so kind to me...?" Mn hugged Shizunes body a bit tighter and said in a quiet tone, "Because I believe you deserve to live a life away from the cruel fate life had dealt you...and you wouldnt have been able to stay in the group if I hadnt done this..." Shizunes eyes widened at Mns words and she looked up to see the seriousness contained within her expression. Though it was painful to consider, Shizune knew Mn was correct and it was highly likely she wouldnt have been able to stay at the Hearth Manor if she hadnt been adopted by Mn. Vahn probably would have done his best to arrange things for her, but there was no way she would have been able to get to the core of the group so easily. Feeling Shizune shake slightly in her arms, Mn continued in a quiet tone, "You know it well, Shizune, as you are a very intelligent girl...you will one day be able to get closer to Vahn and, when that timees, he will more than likely exceed any expectations you might have. However, if you continue to press him like this it will only make things more difficult for both of you...after all, do you think Syr, Hephaestus, and Eina will tolerate this kind of behavior...?" Hearing the dreaded three names, Shizunes body turned a bit rigid before she pitifully said, "Mom...how did you go so long without a man...? My body, it aches so much..." Mn nodded her head in understanding and allowed her mind to wander slightly as she said, "It wasnt easy at all...if not for the fact that I had Tina, I might have gone crazy due to how lonely I felt at times. I found sce in focusing on my work and trying to ensure Tina grew up properly...it will be easier if you find a hobby or something that interests you to focus on. If you cant deal with things on your own..." Before she had to extrapte, Shizune had already nodded her head and said, "I know, there are lots of ways to deal with my urges...I understand why youre trying to get me to stay in my own room..." Just as she had done the night before, there were several methods she could use to heal the aching of her body, at least temporarily. Because she had been staying with Tina and Mn, however, she hadnt had many opportunities to tend to her needs because it would heavily impact the small family they had built. After understanding the situation better, Shizune hugged Mns body tightly in return and asked, "Even if I get my own room...can I still stay with you sometimes...?" Mns expression softened greatly as she leaned down and kissed the top of Shizunes head as she said, "Silly girl, you can sleep with me whenever you want...Im your mother after all..." Shizune bit her lip and could feel her nose tingling as moisture built up in her eyes and she buried her face into Mns blouse and cried for a short while as the motherly woman stroked her head gently and patted her back in aforting manner... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Teacup-san...,Shadow of Leh...,Familial Love) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 440 - Undercurrents : First Contact

Chapter 440 - Undercurrents : First Contact

As a result of the weddingter in the morning, the training for the day had been canceled yet everyone was already well awake and moving about with varying degrees of excitement. Vahn was intercepted by Syr at the base of the stairs and they both smiled at each other before she giggled and said, "Today is your big day, Vahn~." Vahn released a contented sigh before saying, "Its a little hard to believe..." Syr grabbed Vahns arm and guided him toward his designated location as she asked, "Are you nervous?" Shaking his head, Vahn said in a casual and calm manner, "No, Im happy. They are both women I love dearly and hold close to my heart...I have no reason to be nervous at all." Syr nodded her head before squeezing his arm slightly and mused, "Im a little envious~." Knowing that she had missed the timing to meet Vahn by just a few days, Syr often wondered how differently things could have gone if she had met him sooner. Of course, she was actually very happy with how things had turned out because she couldnt see herself elevating Vahn to his current status on her own. His happiness was her happiness, so Syr was all smiles even though her words were a bit mncholic. The two entered the waiting area where Vahn was going to be kept until Eina and Hephaestus arrived and could be whisked away by the others girls. As the groom, it was his duty to receive the guests that would arriveter, but he wasnt supposed to see Eina and Hephaestus until the ceremony began. He could almost perfectly envision how they would look, but Vahn knew it was important to go through the motions for such things as it was a very significant event for everyone involved. Waiting in the room for his arrival, Vahn saw Fenrir, Ryuu, and Tiona sitting on one sofa familiarizing themselves with each other while Ais, Tione, and Lefiya sat across from them. Most of the girls were taking care of various tasks, but each of the girls present were part of the internal security and were intended to keep Vahn distracted until Hephaestus and Eina arrived. Hestia and Tsubaki had already left to go receive the two and Vahn had an hour or so to spend with the girls before his own duties began. They had all been waiting for him, but it was Tiona who first called out as she raised the brush in her hand and waved as she said, "Good morning, Vahn~! Come take over for me. Fenrir has been a good girl and deserves a reward~." Fenrir showed a somewhat crooked smile at Tionas words before sitting proudly with her back straight as she eximed, "Yes, Fenrir has been a good girl! Kukukuku-" Vahn smiled at everyone present before Syr let go of his arm and said, "Well, I have my own duties to attend to. Take care of Vahn for a while, okay~?" before leaving the room in a casual manner. Vahn reced Tiona on the sofa, though she didnt actually leave it and just squeezed together next to Vahn was a cheerful smile on her face. For the next hour, Vahn carefully tended to Fenrirs somewhat messy hair while making conversation with the girls. Everyone congratted him for his marriage, even though it hadnt actually taken ce yet, and they all seemed to be in a very good mood so Vahn felt even happier with how things were developing. He knew there was a chance something might happenter, but he decided to enjoy the moments when he could be happy without worrying excessively about such things. During their conversations, Tione asked in a somewhat dismissive manner, "So, do you n on marrying anyone else after this? I know Hephaestus and Eina are calling themselves First Wives, so that means you intend to get married to more girls, right?" Though she had a in expression, Vahn could see her aura ring up slightly and, hearing Tiones words, most of the girls present were affected as well. Without harping over the matter, Vahn smiled as he skillfully braided part of Fenrirs hair and said, "I will most likely marry several girls in the future, though Im not sure how things will develop before such a timees. It would be best if I consult Hephaestus and Eina about such things, though I imagine I will end up marrying Riveria at some point regardless of what happens..." Ryuu, Lefiya, Ais, and Tione all twitched slightly when Vahn casually mentioned marrying Riveria in the future, even though they werent actually in love with each other yet. Ryuu and Lefiya understood Riverias position well, so they actually knew that Vahns words were likely to be true as it would cause even more problems if they didnt get married. However, hearing him mention it now was a bit of an impact for the two Elven women. As if he had understood their concerns, Vahn continued in an equally casual manner, "I dont care about social standing and how outsiders view us at all, but I know Riveria will likely have direct correspondence with the High Elf Forest in the future. As for those that stay within the Manor, as long as they have a good reason I dont mind marrying them. After all, after the matters in the Divination, I feel like getting much closer to everyone so that such a tragic thing never happens again." What Vahn was saying was his actual intent and, once he managed to get Einas affection to the max, he intended to use the [Hearts Desire]s of everyone that he had yet to use. He had originally been worried about knowing about the past of the girls in a one-sided manner, but now such concerns seemed pointless since he had an emotional attachment to almost everyone in the Manor and wanted to make them happy. Now that they had all taken Lifelong Vows and decided to stay within the Manor, Vahn had lost his reason for dying things. Just like he was starting to be more proactive with the other girls he had been keeping at arms length, Vahn wanted to take more decisive action regarding how he treated his rtionsh.i.p.s. After releasing a short burst ofughter, Tiona grabbed Vahns free arm and looked upwards at him with arge smile on her face as she asked, "If I tell you how much I love you every day, is that a good enough reason for us to get married~?" Aiss golden eyes began to glow with apetitive me as she stated inly, "I want to get married as well...though not for a while?" Though she started off confident, Ais wavered a bit in the end as she looked to her right and left at Tione and Lefiya respectively before saying, "I will wait..." Even without her exining things properly, Tione and Lefiya knew she was saying that she wouldnt want to get married until Vahn was with both of them. Tione furrowed her brows slightly before showing a small smile while Lefiya hung her head low and everyone present could see a deep blush begin to spread up her face and through her ears. Vahn smiled at their reactions before several presences entered his perspective and he turned his attention toward them. However, the moment he turned his head to the side Vahn saw a sh of brown before Tiona covered his eyes and said in a yful tone, "No peeking, Vahn~!" Everyone on thework knew that, even if he couldnt see through things in detail, he definitely had the ability to look through walls and other obstructions. When they had been in the Dungeon hunting Bloodsaurus, Vahn would often look through walls and was able to see things long before anyone else was able to pick up on them. If it was just the influence of his domain enhancing his perception, he wouldnt have been ring at things through walls like he had done. With a somewhat wry smile on his face, Vahn continued to brush Fenrirs hair even though Tiona was still covering his eyes and giggling. He knew he hadnt kept his secrets well, so it wasnt a surprise that the information had spread around on thework especially since insightful women like Riveria had been present. His actions of skillfully tending to Fenrir even with his eyes covered was his way of saying he didnt mind the matter of them knowing his ability anymore. Tione, however, seemed to find this interesting and asked in a teasing tone, "Can you see through clothing whenever you want?" Tiona stopped covering Vahns eyes and he could see sparkles in hers as she stared directly at him with a curious look on her face. Vahn tilted his head in thought before nodding his head and saying, "Its actually very difficult to see through things like clothing since people usually move around a lot. Because of how thin theyers are, Im more likely to see into the body of the person Im looking at than seeing their nude figure..." Tione had a mischevious smile on her face when Vahn first started speaking but then she became somewhat pale after imagining what it would be like to look at the muscles, bones, and organs of a person while trying to sneak a peek at them. Vahnughed at her reaction and exined, "One of the reasons Im such a skilled physician is because I have that capability, so dont let it bother you too much. Its not like what youre expecting, just know that it isnt really practical for the purpose you were thinking about initially. Besides, I dont think I have any need to peek at other women with the Manor in its current state..." With few exceptions, Vahn was almost positive he could get nearly any girl in the Manor n.a.k.e.d if he actually asked them. He loved to admire the bodies of the girls, but he didnt need to do it in such a roundabout manner given the current circ.u.mstances. Hearing his words, almost every girl present nodded their heads in understanding while some of them even had slight blushes on their faces. As Vahn assumed, they didnt really mind him seeing them n.a.k.e.d at all so there wasnt any need to sneak a peek at them at all. Even Lefiya shared the same bath with everyone and had exposed herself to Vahn more than thirty times at this point. Though she was definitely bothered by this fact, she didnt really have any inhibitions about it anymore and just felt embarrassed by her own thoughts at times. Unlike Vahn, who was somewhat bold with how he looked at others, she was ashamed that she often snuck peeks at his n.a.k.e.d body at times. As they were talking, one of the somewhatrger presences approached and Syr arrived at the door before smiling as she said, "Okay, until the reception phasees to an end, youll need to personally greet all the guests that arrive, Vahn." Vahn pat Fenrirs side and she obediently hopped out of hisp before trotting off to a mirror to check her current appearance. She had been behaving herself as the others were speaking because she knew she was the lucky person that got to sit in Vahnsp. Seeing how Vahn had styled her hair, Fenrir showed a big toothy grin on her face and gingerly poked at some of the braids with her ws. Her own body was immune to her abilities, so there wasnt any danger of cutting through her own hair. --- Vahn followed Syr to the gate where they would be greeting the guests together before having Emiru and Maemi escort them to the proper location. Syr had a list of everyone that would be attending and Vahn was present merely for the sake of formalities. He had quickly swapped into formal wear that matched the dress of the Far East because he wanted to pay homage to Tsubaki being the person that raised him after he entered the City. Since he had a healthy tan with dark brown hair, Vahn easily matched themon appearance of someone that hailed from the Far East, except for the fact that he had different facial features and aquamarine eyes. By the time they arrived at the gate, Vahn noticed there was an incredible amount of security located around the outside of the Manor, even though the wedding was supposed to be a rtively small and private affair. He even detected a massive presence that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up and, if not for the fact that it glowed with a gentle yellow, Vahn would have thought a powerful enemy had arrived. As if she could read his mind, Syr giggled and exined, "The Freya Familia had agreed to help provide security for the wedding and she has ced some of her elites in hidden areas around the premises. I imagine you must have detected one of them~?" Vahn nodded his head as he used his [Eyes of Truth] to get a better look and saw a man he recognized, even though they had never met, standing next to a woman he recognized but was unable to sense for some reason... --- Ottar was standing in the shadows of a window located in the same ce that was previously used by the people spying on the Hearth Manor in the past. They had specifically chosen this building, not because they had any rtionship with Vahns enemies, but because it was actually one of the best vantage points to view the Manor without being too obvious. Seeing Vahn turn his attention toward him, Ottar squinted his eyes slightly before saying in a deep voice, "His perception ismendable." Sitting next to him on a rtively luxurious wooden chair and sipping a cup of wine, Freya smiled as she looked into the crystal ball in her hands at Vahns face. She could see his eyes flicker with a stark blue color and deviate from Ottar andnd on her current position... A peal of sensualughter escaped Freyas lips and she said, "He can even detect me when Im wearing an artifact thatpletely masks my presence...or perhaps he can see through the walls with those beautiful eyes of his~?" Ottar nodded his head with his arms crossed and said, "He didnt notice you until he looked in this direction to stare at me..." Freyas smile widened and she set the crystal ball and wine ss on the small table next to her and rose to her feet. She slipped off the silvery robe she had been wearing and revealed her godly raiment which consisted of an incredibly revealing ck dress ented by red flower petals, very simr in structure to Hestias. Without any exnation, Freya pulled at one of the petals and the entire dress began to wilt from her body as she muttered, "If youre so curious, please look at me, fufufufu~" All the while Freya was acting strangely, Ottars expression didnt change for even a moment and he simply continued to watch Vahn with an unwavering gaze. He saw the boys eyes widen before he averted them to the side and avoided looking directly at them. Since Freya was beginning to lose herself in her own world, Ottar stated inly, "He turned away..." As she had just been tracing her hands down her n.a.k.e.d body and began to get excited, Freya was somewhat disappointed by Ottars words before gently waving her hand and sending the petals around her feet dancing about in the air before they stuck to her body once again. After sitting back in her chair, Freya picked up her wine ss and asked, "What kind of expression did he have when he saw my body...? Without any hesitation, Ottar exined, "He was fl.u.s.tered but otherwise unaffected...it was a very honest response." Freyas eyes squinted after hearing Ottar so she picked up the crystal ball once again and looked at Vahns face reflected in its surface. Ottar wouldnt lie to her so this meant that Vahn hadnt been affected by her charm at all, at least not in any meaningful way. Though she already expected this, it was still a small hit to her pride and caused an urge to well up inside her to make Vahn hers once again. However, this urge passed quickly when Freya remembered everything she stood to obtain in the future by maintaining amicable rtions with the Alliance, and Vahn himself. In exchange for helping deal with the Thanatos Familia and providing security for the wedding, Hephaestus and Loki had agreed to allow her to meet Vahn much sooner than nned. She wasnt sure what had happened, but Freya knew a significant event must have taken ce for everyone to urgently gather at the Hearth Manor previously. It seemed like Hephaestus and Loki were more willing topromise with her now, but Freya could also discern through their actions that they were also being very wary of her, even more so than in the past. This was why she wanted to meet with Vahn sooner and she was actually surprised with how quickly they both agreed... Sloshing around the contents of her ss, Freya ruminated for a short while before asking, "Ottar, dear, who do you think is the most qualified man to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e me~?" Though his expression generally never changed, Ottars eyes squinted slightly as he considered the matter seriously and responded, "If it were based on strength and capabilities, it would be me..." Freya nodded with a smile on her face and turned her silver eyes to Ottar as he continued, "If it were based on potential, I can tell that boy, Vahn Mason, will likely be stronger than me in the future. Even though he wouldnt be able to take an attack from me right now, my instincts tell me this wont be the case for much longer..." Freyaughed like a bell before saying in an amused tone, "That is indeed the case...even though I havent seen his soul for myself yet, my intuition tells me his potential is limitless. Even though he has only been in the City for five months, he has already risen to such a point..." Setting her ss to the side, Freya held the crystal ball with both hands and hugged it to her chest as she asked, "Ottar, if I left the decision to you, what do you think I should do~?" Ottar inclined his head slightly before contemting his response and saying, "I think you should always do as you please...you are like the wind, free and unfettered, so it isnt right for me to think on such matters. Allen may be a problem, but he shouldnt do anything that would offend you..." Uncharacteristic of her typical behavior, Freya pulled her legs up into the chair and cradled the crystal ball as she said, "I have the option of bearing the child of anyone I choose, even amongst my own Familia now...but if I choose Vahn, I will be unable to maintain my rtionsh.i.p.s with my currents lovers..." Hearing Freyas words, Ottars expression became somewhat solemn until Freya beganughing yfully before saying, "Dont worry, there are always ways around everything...besides, I think I may allow you to be the one to sire my child first~." This time, Ottar turned around to look directly at Freya and saw the seriousness in her expression. Nodding his head, Ottar said, "If Allen causes too much trouble, I will deal with him..." Freyas smile turned somewhat sad and she muttered, "It really is such a waste...he is such a cute boy. If only he wasnt so brash and obsessive..." Of all Freyas children, Allen was the most crazed amongst them when it came to his devotion toward her. Though they didnt fight seriously, Allen would definitely try to strike down Ottar if he were the stronger of the two. When it came down to the matter of Freya bearing a child, it was likely that he would take up his spear and cause amotion in an effort to earn the right. As he was nearly ten years younger than Ottar, he actually had a fair amount of room to justify such a right and would likely not stand idly by as the opportunity slipped through his fingers. If it were the case where he could sire a childter, it might not be that bad, but once it was known that he would lose his chance to Vahn, he would likely let loose his wrath. Unable to defeat Ottar, he may very well turn his spear on Vahn himself, especially considering that Allen had beenining about his sister being stolen by Vahntely. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahnguard Assembles,Silver eyes in the darkness,Allens frustrations) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 441 - Reception

Chapter 441 - Reception

Vahn had been surprised by Freyas presence within the room and had tried see through the secrets of the cloak she had been wearing before she began to strip. She obviously knew he was looking at her and Vahn got a brief glimpse of her almost unfathomable beauty before averting his eyes just before seeing herpletely n.a.k.e.d. Vahn knew he would have to deal with her at some point in the future and understood the necessity of being involved with her, even though he didnt appreciate her behavior at all. Freya had the potential of being one of his greatest allies in the short term and would be instrumental when they had conflict with the forces outside of the City in the future. Knowing she was present, Vahn spected she had likely reached apromise with Hephaestus and Loki and they would probably meet soon. What irked him was how she didnt seem to have any sense of propriety at all and this allowed Vahn to understand that she would probably continually make advances on him in the future. She was undeniably the most beautiful woman Vahn had ever seen and there was no way he could truthfully im he wasnt interested in her body, even though her personality, as influenced by her Divinity, was something he couldnt tolerate at all... Syr always paid close attention to Vahn and had noticed his reaction so a small frown appeared on her face and she asked, "Freya...?" Vahn nodded his head without concealing the matter and said, "She is with a domineering looking man that I would guess is Ottar, the King...she detected my gaze and tried to tempt me for a brief moment, but I was able to resist the impact of her charm." Syr gazed toward the direction Vahn had been looking with aplex expression on her face as she said, "Vahn, you must never drop your guard around her..." Syr knew Freya better than most people as she had once been the protege of the goddess and had lived with her for a while. Vahn reached over and ced his palm against Syrs head and said in a gentle tone, "Dont worry, I have no intention of showing any openings to her at all...but..." Syr released a small sigh because she also understood that Freya was inextricably connected to the Alliance and would find her way to the core of the group eventually. The fact that she had given birth to Vahns child sote within the Divination showed that Vahn had actually resisted her for nearly seven years before she finally got her way. Knowing that Freya was patient for so long showed that she also treated the matter with the Alliance very seriously and would likely not cause too many problems...at least for now. For a little more than an hour, Vahn and Syr stood at the gate and made casual conversation as they awaited the arrival of the guests. Syr talked a lot about potential issues that may arise in the Manor in the future so Vahn paid close attention to her words and took note of what he needed to pay attention to. During this conversation, their first guest actually showed up and Vahn was somewhat surprised to find that it was two women, one that he recognized and the other aplete stranger. However, based on the fact that that the young human woman with pink hair was Misha Flott, Vahn knew that the other woman, the Werewolf woman with red hair, was Rose Fat. Because he knew they had been together in the Divination, Vahns first impression of the woman was rather impactful and he dazed slightly at her intense expression and wild look. Syr smiled politely at the two and asked, "You two must be Misha and Rose, did you bring your invitations~?" Mishas pink eyes shone a bit when sheid eyes on Syr and she showed a big smile before reaching into her purse and pulling out a white invitation that was adorned with fiery red lettering and handed it to Syr as she said, "Hi there, Im Misha Flott, may I ask your name~?" Syrughed in a somewhat amused manner as she verified the invitation was legitimate with a small crystal and said, "My name is Syr Flova, its very nice to meet you, Misha. I heard youll be living within the Manor in the future, so have Emiru and Maemi show you around the premises for a bit." Misha was pleased by Syrs words and epted back her invitation before prodding Rose with her elbow and saying, "Rose, arent you going to say anything~?" Rose had a somewhat serious expression on her face and she had been staring at Vahn with an almost hostile look in her eyes. Vahn somewhat understood why she had suddenly be hostile so he bowed politely and said, "I apologize if I had offended you. Its good to meet you, Ms. Fa, Ms. Flott, my name is Vahn Mason, the Captain of the Hestia Familia and the groom for todays events." Mishas eyes turned into stars at Vahns introduction and Roses expression softened slightly as well. She had seen Vahns appraising look earlier and thought he was just another man gawking at her umon appearance. Like all Werewolves, Roses hair red out slightly and took on a somewhat wild look even though she put in a lot of effort to manage it. Most werewolves had grey, white, silver, or ck hair, so it was rather umon to see one like her that had rusty red hair that she had tied up into a ponytail. She had a cool appearance that could quickly turn into an annoyed and fierce look if the furrowed her brows slightly. As for her figure, which Vahn had taken a passing nce at, she had a very fit and athletic looking body with full h.i.p.s and an ample bosom that looked to be around a C-cup. Her most noteworthy features, however, were the pointed ears atop her had and the somewhatrge and bushy tail sticking out of her rear. She actually looked moderately simr to Fenrir, as they both possessed the characteristics of wolves. As for Misha, she had medium length pink hair, pink eyes, a somewhat handsome appearance and a limber body with moderately sized b.r.e.a.s.ts. She was somewhat short, around 150cm,pared to the 172cm tall Rose and looked almost zy next to the serious Werewolf girl. Vahn knew she was a long time friend of Eina and seemed to have a preference for women, so he didnt do anything that might offend her. She also seemed to have a high opinion of him since, shortly after his introduction, she closed the distance with him in an instant and grabbed his hands before holding them in an excited manner and saying, "Youre the boy that managed to steal our Einas heart~! She really lucked out this time..." Misha had looked Vahn from top to bottom before nodding her head with an impressed look on her face as she said, "Youre actually quite handsome, arent you?" Rose reached out her hand and gripped the top of Mishas head and pulled her back with an annoyed expression as she returned Vahns bow and said, "Im Rose Fat...well be in your care in the future." before dragging off Misha towards the waiting twins. After she was confident that Rose wouldnt be able to hear her, Syr giggled with her hand over her mouth before saying, "They seem to be very lively girls...what did you think~?" Vahn gave a wry smile before saying honestly, "Rose seems like another troubled woman...and Misha seems like a very lively girl." Syr squinted her eyes slightly and look toward the direction the two girls had walked before saying, "Yes, she seems to be a very lonely girl. I can imagine how the two of you became closer, probably after the deaths of some of the other girls..." Vahn furrowed his brows slightly at her words, but he knew her intuition was likely on point since Syr had a powerful understanding of people that Vahn couldnt match. Knowing that she would probably try to smoothen things out on his behalf, Vahn shook his head slightly and said, "Well see how things develop naturally..." Syr giggled silently withoutmenting on Vahns decision but she knew things were never that simple, regardless of how he wanted to behave. Being surrounded by women that supported Vahn every day would undoubtedly wear Rose down over time even if Vahn never talked to her at all. In fact, avoiding her would probably just make the somewhat violent looking woman even more annoyed. Vahn might be surrounded by girls, but his understanding of their hearts still required a bit of education and guidance. --- Over the next two hours, Vahn and Syr greeted a number of guests that had arrived to attend the ceremony. As they hadnt actually invited many people, most of the arrivals were the various gods of the Alliance and some of their important members. Loki had shown up apanied by Finn, Gareth, Aisha, Bete, and a petite Amazon named Lena Tally. Even though Bete had an annoyed expression on his face, he still let her cling happily to his arm as they walked into the Manor together. Vahn didntment on it, but he could see that Betes aura listed toward the somewhat young looking girl slightly and intertwined with hers a bit. Miach arrived soon after the Loki Familia and he was escorted by a beautiful woman named Maria Tulk, the current Captain of the Miach Familia even though she was only Level 2. She had purple hair and dark blue eyes and was being led by Miach by the arm as they showed their invitations before proceeding into the Manor. Miach was originally going to attend the wedding by himself since things were a little awkward in his Familia right now, but he eventually gave up his original ns after Maria persuaded him. As if by providence, the next group to arrive were people Vahn hadnt quite expected to see. The elderly Maria Martel arrived apanied by a group of three children that Vahn immediately recognized to be the chivalrous Rye, the lively Chienthrope Fina, and the timid Half-Elf girl named Roux. Vahn had learned the reason why Roux acted they way she did from Syrter and it had made him feel indignation at how cruel the world could be. Roux hadnt been born in Orario and had instead been birthed in one of the various settlements on the outskirts of the Western Forests. From the moment of her birth, she was treated very terribly until her mother eventually fled her vige in order to preserve Rouxs life. Soon after they entered the City, however, her mother died after trying to make a living as an Adventurer. In order to escape ve traffickers that would have tried to deport her to the Iron Hills, Roux disguised herself as a boy and had kept up the disguise for thest two years. Vahn weed them all with a smile and had Syr escort them personally into the Manor after making polite conversation for a short while. Rye had used him of cheating on his big sis and had to be pacified by Syr when the boisterous Fina said that Syr could just marry Vahn as well in the future. Maria reprimanded the girl for her remark but couldnt say much considering that Syr appeared to have an intent simr to Finas words based on the glimmer in her eyes. As for Roux, she didnt say much at all and just absentmindedly looked around at random pedestrians as she held onto Marias dress with a white-knuckled grip. Vahn watched the group follow Syr into the Manor and felt his own convictions grow stronger since it was unfair for a young girl to have to live in fear simply because of her race. It was the policy of the High Elves that all Half-Elves needed to be killed at birth or exported to the Iron Hills to service the Dwarves if their parents wanted them to live. Orario was one of the few safe ces for Half-Elves, though it didnt stop ve traffickers from kidnapping the young ones and bartering them to the Dwarven caravans that often passed through the City. When he had learned about this, Vahn had suggested having the orphans move into the Manor but Syr gently refused his kindness. Though she helped care for the Orphans on asion, Syr knew it would only create bigger problems if Vah showed such charity. Maria would simply find new orphans to tend to and, if Vahn felt sorry for each of them, the Hearth Manor would be more of an orphanage instead of the heart of the Alliance. Vahn was about to have his own children and it was simply too much to have other children running around. She suggested he just make contributions to the orphanage and allow Maria to do her work in peace. If he really wanted to bring about real change, he should instead focus on taking care of his own family and building the school he had in mind to help children in such tragic situations mature into proper a.d.u.l.ts. --- As it was approaching noon, most of the guests had arrived including Takemikazuchi, apanied by Ouka and Chigusa, Anubis, apanied by the entire Anubis Familia, and various goddesses who all seemed to have a good impression of Vahn. Vahn politely greeted each of them as Syr kept them at bay when they tried to get close to him. To name each of them, they were Demeter, a very motherly looking goddess with orange hair, honey eyes, and some of thergest b.r.e.a.s.ts Vahn had ever seen. Apanying her had been the goddess Eirene, who had a gentle aura with blue hair, watery blue eyes, and the disposition of a warrior with modest b.r.e.a.s.ts. They were two of the most influential goddesses in the entire City so they had been personally invited by Hephaestus to attend the ceremony. The second tost group to arrive was a couple that made Vahn feel nervous even before they introduced themselves. Vahn could tell by the disposition of the Elven woman with blonde hair and emerald green eyes that she had to be Einas mother, Aina. She was somewhat tall, around 171cm, and had a kind face that was almost identical to Einas. Apanying her was an honest-looking man with brown hair and an angr face that made him look very handsome. He was even taller than Aina, at nearly 180cm, and had an athletic looking build even though Vahn could tell he shouldnt even be Level 2. When they arrived at the gate, Vahn had be somewhat rigid before bowing politely in ordance with the customs of the Elves and saying, "Greetings, Mrs. Tulle, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. And you must be..." Vahn had never actually heard anything about Einas father before and this was his first time meeting the man who smiled and said, "Good morning, Vahn, my name is Thomas Tulle..." Vahn smiled in return before bowing politely once again and saying, "Greetings, Mr. Tulle, it is an honor to meet you..." Aina beganughing before walking forward and brushing the wrinkles from Vahns cor as she said, "Well be family from now on; dont be so formal anymore~." Thomas gave a wry smile before walking forward and cing his hand on Vahns shoulder as he said, "Ill be honest...this situation is a little bit different than I expected, but Im d my daughter found someone she loved so soon. Take care of her from now on..." Though he was doing his best to maintain a casual look, Vahn could see a bit of moisture building up in Thomas eyes before Aina took his arm and said in a gentle tone, "You big softie...well, well be going ahead, Vahn. It is great to finally meet the man my eldest daughter talks about so often~" Vahn nodded his head with a smile and watched the two of them walk towards the Manor arm-in-arm. Though they had never met, Vahn knew Eina had a younger sister that should be around thirteen at the moment. Even though it wasnt thatmon for Elves to conceive children, Thomas seemed to be somewhat potent as he was able to sire two children from Aina... Thest group to arrive was another pair, though not a couple as Aina and Thomas had been. Vahns expression turned somewhat serious when he saw the tall elderly man walking towards them with a casual yet confident gait. Even with his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn realized he couldnt see through the man at all and knew this was one of Ouranos avatars. Apanying him was a god with short blonde hair and orange eyes that nted at the ends in azy manner. He was wearing a strange orange tuxedo with a bright green checkered scarf that shed with the rest of his attire. Though he was somewhat handsome with an amiable smile, Vahn knew he was a somewhat troublesome god named Hermes that had often interacted with Bell in the manga. Vahns back straightened as they approached and he had to look up at Ouranos who gazed down with his sky blue eyes and rumbled, "Sage Aldrnari...Vahn Mason..I havee to attend the wedding between you, the goddess Hephaestus, and the Guild Liason, Eina Tulle..." Without shying away from the pressure, Vahn took a breath and spoke confidently, "Ouranos...I wee you into the Hearth Manor." Hearing Vahn address him by name, Ouranos showed an almost indiscernible smile as he knew Vahn must have used the Scroll of Prophecy with some degree of sess based on his disposition. Using the lull in the conversation, Hermes raised in his and said, "Yo~! The names Hermes, nice to meet you, Vahn." Vahn turned his attention to the smiling Hermes and returned a small smile of his own as he said, "Greetings, Hermes, allow me to wee you as well..." Hermes waved his hand in a dismissive manner as he looked toward Syr with arger smile and asked, "And who is this beautiful young woman~?" Syr, unfazed by his act, bowed politely as a glimmer passed through her light grey eyes and she said, "Greetings, Ouranos-sama, Hermes-sama, this little one is Syr Flova, matron of the Hearth Manor and aspirant bride to Vahn~." Vahns eyes widened slightly at Syrs words but he didnt refute them at all as Hermes fl.u.s.tered slightly with a downtrodden face and said, "Thats a shame..." Ouranos nodded his head slightly and said, "Syr Flova, you seem to be a capable woman..." before he turned his attention back to Vahn and said, "It seems the Sage Aldrnari is blessed to be surrounded by many capable women..." Vahn could tell that, though his words were somewhat abrasive, Ouranos was giving his honest impressive on things and it actually made him feel a bit of pride well up inside of him. Turning his attention to Syr, Vahn matched her gaze before replying, "Indeed, I truly have been blessed..." Syrs smile widened marginally as a rosy hue appeared on her cheeks before she said, "Shall we make our way inside~?" Vahn nodded in response before gesturing invitingly with his hands and saying, "Please, Ouranos, Hermes, if youll follow me..." Though it was considered rude for Vahn, a mortal, to address gods without honorifics, he was unwilling to do so since it would lower Hephaestus, Loki, Hestia, and Anubis if he called other gods with honorifics in their presence. Ouranos and Hermes didnt seem to mind at all and there was even a slight glimmer in the Sky Gods eyes as he walked behind Vahn. This was his first time meeting Vahn through his avatar and he could tell that Vahns potential was far higher than his initial assumptions. It had been a major gamble to give such a rare artifact to the boy, but Ouranos now felt vindicated since Vahn had obviously been positively impacted by it. He didnt know what Vahn had seen, but it was apparent that it inspired confidence in the boy and made him carry himself with pride and an echo of nobility. As there were only twenty minutes left before the ceremony officially began, Vahn escorted Ouranos and Hermes directly to the backyard where the borate stage had been arranged. There were more than forty guests present but Vahn showed Ouranos and Hermes to the VIP seating at the very front row where Loki, Anubis, Miach, Takemikazuchi, Demeter, and Eirene were already sitting. Lokis eyes opened slightly at the arrival of the two while the other gods had varying reactions as they began to exchange greetings. Vahn was required elsewhere, so he left the gods to mingle amongst themselves before moving behind the stage and finishing the final preparations with the assistance of Syr, Mn, and Aki. Vahns final outfit consisted of an ornate ck tunic with golden embroidery and solid gold buttons adorning it from top to bottom. Overtop the ck tunic, Vahn wore an ornate ck haori that had a ck inner lining with a white exterior sewn with the symbol that had been established to represent Vahns position in the Alliance. There were five small circles linked by an intricate pentagon, each containing the emblems of the five original members of the Alliance with the Hestia Familia emblem located in the center to emphasize their position as the heart of the Alliance. It was a rather bold design and it was decided that only Vahn would be allowed to wear this symbol on his back. Once he waspletely prepared, the three girls wished him luck before leaving him alone behind the stage as he waited patiently for the music to begin ying. Though he should have felt nervous, Vahn actually felt very calm at the moment and focused on his domain and regting the temperature around the guests to ensure that it was warm andfortable for everyone present. There was still a chance his enemies would try to interfere with the wedding, but it wasnt likely considering how much security had been mobilized for the event. Even when he was waiting at the gate for more than four hours, there wasnt a single person that was allowed to even enter the streets surrounding the Manor that didnt belong to the Alliance. The pedestrians that Roux had been cautious of earlier were actually just the constant patrols that had been looking for any signs of trouble. Given the thousands of people that were mobilized to ensure things ran smoothly, it was nearly impossible to even find an opportunity to interfere with the wedding, even though there were likely many people that wanted to. Knowing this, Vahn allowed himself to remain calm without worrying about excess concerns all the way up until the moment the music began to y... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Troublesome Goddess...,Womens Intuition,Ouranos Arrival,Vahns Calm) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 442 - Matrimony

Chapter 442 - Matrimony

When he heard the sound of the music begin ying, Vahn released a gentle sigh before opening his eyes and walking up the back of the stage and stepping in front of the gathered attendees who were all looking toward him with smiles. Vahn returned a wide smile of his own as he walked toward Hestia, who was standing at the ceremonial altar holding arge golden pot hearth that burned with a wispy me. As the Goddess of the Hestia Familia, which Vahn belonged to, she would be the one presiding over the ceremony and officiating the vows. She was dressed in a beautiful ceremonial white dress with a goldenurel wreath framing her long ck hair that had been let down for the purpose of the ceremony. Vahn stopped next to Hestia and she showed a vibrant smile without saying anything since, though she was on the stage, it wasnt her show this time around. Vahn felt a warmth spread through his chest as he stood tall and waited for the bridal procession to arrive. He wasnt sure how they had arranged things, but he could see that Fenrir, Tina, and Shizune were missing from the crowd along with Tsubaki and Einas father, Thomas. Vahn waited patiently for the tempo of the music to change to the sound of gentle bells that danced in the wind apanied by the sound of string instruments. Musicians were rtively rare in the danmachi record, but that didnt mean there werent any since Bards and Minstrels roamed thends. With the change in tempo, the doors at the back of the Manor opened and Vahns smile widened greatly when he saw the two beautiful women step over the threshold of the door together. Hephaestus and Eina were both wearing the dresses he had forged for them, but their beauty had been pushed to an almost ethereal level by the rest of their ensemble. Hephaestus had aurel wreath in her hair that was a zing red that was a few shades more vibrant than her own hair. Though she didnt need it, she had on a lightyer of makeup that ented her natural beauty and Vahn could even tell she had powdered her chest and shoulders. She carried arge bouquet of roses that were abination of reds and oranges and her entire outfit made her like exactly like what she was, a fiery Goddess of the Forge. True to the dress function, Hephaestuss entire body seemed to glow and it was like the entire world dimmed around her...all but one part of it. Eina had a silver tiara and her brown hair had been tied up into an intricate bun at the back of her head with her sideburns braided. Though Hephaestus stood out like a vibrant sun, Eina wasnt overshadowed by her at all and was gentle and cid like the moon with a calm aura spreading from her body. The bouquet in her hand consisted of roses that were colored white and blue and she even had a small amount of blue eyeshadow causing her vibrant emerald green eyes to stand out even more. Like Hephaestus, Eina had a beautiful smile on her face that caused Vahn to feel a mixture of warmth, happiness, and love for both of the awe-inspiring beauties... For many people, this was their first time seeing Hephaestus and Eina in their dresses and it was such an impact that even the musicians had stalled for several seconds as the girls followed behind the adorable Fenrir, Tina, and Shizune who were garbed in pure white dainty dresses. Fenrir had an awkward smile on her face with glowing scarlet eyes, but she still looked very cute as she led the way holding a ck orb that Vahn didnt recognize. Tina and Shizune were both carrying a dove gingerly in their hands, one for each bride, and they followed Fenrir with bashful smiles on their somewhat flushed faces. Vahn had an urge tough at the girls but managed to keep hisposure and stand tall as the procession made its way toward him. The music had started up again after their brief pause and everything was proceeding smoothly. Vahn couldnt fault the group because even he, who had some mental preparations as the designer of the dresses, had stalled when he saw them appear. He watched the two inordinately beautiful women approach them with happy smiles on their face and it felt like he might float away as a result of how happy he felt at the moment. Hephaestus was escorted by Tsubaki, who was wearing a beautiful kimono, while Eina was escorted by her father, Thomas. When she approached, Fenrir did her best to smile properly as she presented the orb to Vahn and said, "Here, Vahn, you will need this~!" Vahn nodded his head and epted the orb as Fenrir released a relieved sigh and muttered, "Fenrir didnt scratch it..." before standing off to the side where there was a small blue dot on the ground designating her spot. Tina and Shizune smiled at Vahn before taking their positions at each nk as they held therge white doves in their hands that were surprisingly well behaved. As they hadnt been far behind the three girls, Hephaestus and Eina stepped onto the stage with their apaniment, Tsubaki and Thomas, who both bowed politely before passing the two girls into Vahns hands. Vahn had epted Hephaestuss right hand with his left and Einas left with his right as the two girls stood at both sides of him facing toward Hestia. He hadnt felt nervous previously, but now Vahns heart was beating madly because of the synergy he had with Hephaestus. The moment he made contact with the two girls, he could feel their emotions streaming into him and they created a feedback loop thatpounded on everything they were each feeling. Even Hephaestus and Eina showed mild blushes on their faces that were covered with a lightyer of makeup. Hestias face was beaming as she said in a chipper tone, "Wee, fellow gods, goddesses, family, and friends, to the wedding between Vahn Mason, Hephaestus, and Eina Tulle. It is my honor as presiding goddess to bless these three in holy matrimony before such a prestigious congregation. May fate smile upon these three for all days toe hereafter and, should tragedy befall them, may they face their trials together with the resolve to ovee all difficulties. Though it is often difficult to face adversity alone, things be much easier when confronted by those that share powerful bonds of love between them..." Being the center of attention was something that Hestia adored and she spoke each of her words clearly and with emotion that affected the entire congregation. As the focus of her words, Vahn, Hephaest, and Eina all had serious expressions on their faces as they each smiled toward her. Realizing she was getting a bit carried away, Hestia began to blush a little and drew her opening remarks to a close as she dripped a drop of her own blood into the hearth and set it aze. The me burned a vibrant golden color before Hestia nodded her head and said, "The groom has the right to address his brides before conducting the ceremony...is there anything you would like to say before you officially be Husband and Wives?" Vahn took a deep breath before looking between Hephaestus and Eina, who both had beautiful smiles on their rosy faces as they looked at Vahn with gazes filled with love. With a firm nod, Vahn stepped back slightly so he could address both girls at the same time and said, "I honestly have no words to describe how blessed I feel right now...but I will do my best to show you a fraction of what Im feeling with what few I can manage. Hephaestus...Eina...no matter how many days pass from here on, I will never be able to repay what you have done for me...therefore, I ask that you allow me to spend the rest of my life doing so. I love both of you so much...I wouldnt be the man I am today if I hadnt had the fortune of meeting you..." Though he had tried to keep hisposure, Vahn felt tears begin to well up in his eyes and it was bing increasingly difficult to speak. Both girls had made so many sacrifices for him and, even though he knew they didnt want any form of repayment, Vahn felt like he wanted to do everything he could to make them happy... Hephaestus expression also began to break somewhat and her eyes became moist as a healthy blush spread through her cheeks. Vahn talked about feeling indebted to her, but she felt like she could spend all of her wealth and never repay a fraction of what she had received from him. It was a little unfair that he got to speak first because there was so much she wanted to say that paralleled his words. Just the fact that he had healed her eye was more than she could have ever hoped for but, against all expectations, she now carried his child and had the opportunity to experience the various miracles he created. He had pulled her away from what should have been an eternity of loneliness even though they had only known each other for a short five months... Eina was surprisinglyposedpared to the two, as she wasnt influenced by the power of the bond they shared with each other. Her expression had softened a great deal hearing Vahns words but, other than a powerful urge to hug andfort him, she wasnt that overwhelmed. Eina simply cared about Vahns well being, though those feelings had evolved into love over time, so she almost felt like a big sister watching her little brother get married, even though she was one of the brides holding his hand. She truly felt blessed to be able to experience a moment like this and knew that Vahn would create a brighter future for all of them. And, whenever he was tired from his exploits, she would always be waiting for his return to bring him even the smallest bit offort to warm his tired heart... Tilting his head back slightly to keep tears from falling, Vahn took several breaths to try and calm down. He could use [Will of the Emperor] to forcibly calm down, but Vahn wanted to experience every part of this moment himself, without the influence of skills and abilities. He could see the love and care in the eyes of his two beautiful brides and it gave him the confidence to continue as he said, "From now on, lets find our happiness together...I believe we can ovee as long as our bonds are strong enough." Hephaestus squeezed Vahns hand tightly as she muttered, "Lets be happy together...forever..." Eina giggled slightly at Hephaestus words before saying, "Im not sure I can manage forever, but I can promise the rest of my life..." At this point, the atmosphere had be a little awkward because many of the girls in the crowd also had eager looks on their face and it was very obvious for many of the other guests present that this wasnt a simple ceremony between three people anymore. Even Hestia, who was supposed to be presiding over things and guiding them forward had a slightly flushed face as she said, "O-okay...Ano, ah, yes!" After collecting herself a bit, Hestia smiled sheepishly and continued, "Though you entered here today as individuals you will leave together as Husband and Wives, perpetually bound by the union you have agreed upon. To consecrate your union, each of you must insert a drop of your blood into this hearth before swearing a vow to sanctify your marriage..." Since the girls were holding bouquets in their other hands, Vahn had to use a small needle to prick both of their fingers before using the same needle on himself. Together, they all ced their hand over the hearth and let a drop of blood fall from their fingers and into the wispy golden mes below. The mes became much more lively with the inclusion of the new blood before golden particles arose from the hearth and entered their bodies. Vahn, as the groom, took the initiative to say, "I, Vahn Mason, hereby swear a vow to uphold my responsibilities as Husband to both Hephaestus and Eina..." Following his words, Hephaestus said, "I, Hephaestus, Goddess of Forging, hereby swear a vow to uphold my responsibilities as a Wife to Vahn Mason..." Lastly, Eina smiled and said, "I, Eina Tulle, hereby swear a vow to uphold my responsibilities as a Wife to Vahn Mason..." With their vows finished, several more wisps of gold emerged from the hearth and entered the bodies of Vahn, Hephaestus, and Eina before the me began to dim and return to normal. Hestia smiled widely and dered, "Henceforth, may your paths never diverge and may you always find happiness andfort with each other regardless of the passage of time. By my status as a Goddess, I, Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth, hereby dere Vahn Mason, Hephaestus, and Eina Tulle as Husband, Wife, and Wife. You may kiss your brides~!" Vahn had taken a deep breath as Hestia spoke and immediately kissed Hephaestus for a short while before turning to Eina and doing the same. To make up for having her wait, Vahn kissed Eina for a little while longer before pulling away and embracing both women in his arms. Everyone in the crowd pped happily and celebrated in their own ways as they allowed themselves to get caught up in the momentum of things. However, before the celebrations could officially begin, Hephaestus stepped away from Vahn with a smile on her face as she turned toward everyone before turning her gaze to Ouranos and saying, "Before all those gathered here today, I, Hephaestus, would like to take an Eternal Vow toward my husband, Vahn Mason, with Ouranos, God of the Sky, as my witness..." Though it was already known by several people, as she had announced her intent during the Denatus, Hephaestus words still caused a stir in the crowd as Ouranos rose to his feet and said in a low tone that caused all other conversations toe to an end, "Very well...I, Ouranos, stand witness to your vow..." Hephaestus nodded her head before turning to Vahn and asking with a smile, "Where is the orb?" Vahn gulped as he took the orb out of his inventory and held it out for Hephaestus but she didnt take it into her hands and instead ced her palm above it and said, "On my soul, I, Hephaestus, swear an Eternal Vow to uphold my fidelity and never again know a man other than Vahn Mason..." Since he already knew about her vow, Vahn didnt say anything to stop her but added in his mind, ("I cant promise to never be with another woman, but I swear I will not leave you to spend an eternity alone...even if I one day leave this world, I will always return to you, Hephaestus...") When Hephaestus words came to an end powerful golden energy flowed from her hands and infused itself into the orb before the entire thing turned into particles and retreated back into her body. The orb was a powerful artifact called a Soul Orb that could even fuse with the soul of a god if they made a vow using it as a medium. From now, until Hephaestus soul ceased to exist, she would always be bound by her Eternal Vow lest she face the destruction of her soul if she failed to uphold the condition of her vow. Since she had made the vow without any other terms, it was nearly impossible for her to exploit any loopholes so she would carry her promise with her for all of eternity, even if it took billions of years for her to fade out of existence. Though she had just made a serious vow, Hephaestus showed a happy smile on her face as she moved forward and embraced Vahn tightly as she kissed him. Her actions triggered the official celebration as Ouranos nodded his head and even began to p, setting off a chain reaction that affected the entire congregation. Eina felt somewhat overshadowed by Hephaestus actions but showed a happy smile on her face as she walked forward and epted Vahns kiss when Hephaestus released him. Tina and Shizune used this as an opportunity to release the doves in their hands and everyone released a happy cheer as the birds flew towards the horizon... --- There wasnt a tradition of cutting a wedding cake, but the celebration after the ceremony did include a banquet where the groom tended to the male guests while the brides were received by the other women. Vahn ended up at a table with Ouranos, Hermes, Takemikazuchi, Miach, Welf, Ouka, Finn, Gareth, and Bete. Since it was a celebration, Vahn had set out a cask of [Dwarven Drought] which was inarguably the best liquor many people had tasted. Because it was also somewhat dangerous, many people mixed it with water to dilute it so they wouldnt get drunk after a single ss. Of course, this didnt stop some people from getting drunk quickly... Welf tossed back a ss of diluted drought as Garethughed loudly and egged him on in a boisterous tone while patting the copsed Betes back. After finishing the contents of his ss, Welf released a loud Paaaa~! beforeughing loudly and saying, "You really did it, Vahn~! Ahahahaha!" Ever since the ceremony had started, Welf had been somewhat nervous and a little mncholic. Hephaestus had been his aspiration for many years and it was still somewhat difficult to see her marry someone else, much less take an Eternal Vow after the fact. Though he knew there was no chance he would be with her, seeing her make the vow had been a big impact to him. Fortunately, he quickly made friends with Gareth and Vahn provided delicious liquor free of charge. Vahnughed awkwardly at Welfs outburst yet again before dodging another question from Hermes who had been probing him for details about the girls at the Manor. Hermes had a slightly flushed face, even though Vahn could tell from his aura he wasnt actually drunk, as he asked, "So, do you think I have a chance with any of the girls in the Hestia Familia~? I think our Familias could be powerful allies in the future if we, hic, work together more often. You know, hic, there are a number of beautiful girls in my Familia as well, ahahahaha, hic, hahaaaa" Vahn had no doubt Hermes likely had several beautiful girls around him, especially with how handsome he was, but Vahn had just gotten married and it was somewhat annoying to hear the god pestering him about other women. As if he had also grown tired of Hermes outbursts, Ouranos voice rumbled as he said, "Hermes, cease your nonsense. Show some propriety befitting your status as a god..." Hearing the reprimand of the senior god, Hermes ced his hands together apologetically and said, "Sorry, sorry, I just cant help myself when ites to beautiful women~. I still think we can work together in the future, however, so please dont be offended. The next time I stop by, Ill introduce you to some cute...girls..." As he was speaking, Hermes set his head down on the table like he was suddenly very sleepy and, to Vahns surprise, actually fell asleep. Vahn squinted his eyes slightly and he became more cautious against Hermes and decided he would consult Loki and Hephaestuster to see if there was actually any good reason to work together with the somewhat sly god. The fact that he arrived with Ouranos showed he had some status and, from what Vahn could recall from the manga, his Familia was actually quite powerful as well. The only problem was, Vahn felt like Hermes wasnt the type that could be trusted easily unless he was constrained by a vow like Loki and Freya. Since he didnt seem like the type to ept such restraints, it would probably be difficult to have anysting cooperation with the whimsical god. --- The banquet came to an end without any major hups, mainly because Bete had passed out early on after trying to drink the [Dwarven Drough] undiluted. Welf had fallen asleep after a bout of drinking with Gareth and, likely due to the fact he knew he was offending Vahn, Hermes also forced himself to sleep somehow. Vahn spent the rest of the banquet talking with Finn about their uing expeditions and even knocked a few sses with Ouka, though the somewhat serious young man still seemed to hold a grudge with Vahn. Take and Miach also contributed to the conversation, but they seemed to get along better with each other than anyone else at the table. After each group of guests left, with Vahn escorting them to the gate, he returned to the Manor with a giddy feeling spreading through his stomach. Because of tradition, Hephaestus and Eina had been whisked away by the other girls as they feasted inside the Manor, away from the men. The banquet had officiallye to an end when Syr came back outside and informed Vahn that the preparations were ready so he had to finish his job as a host and have everyone that didnt live in the Manor leave. Many of them had temporary residences or lived nearby so it wasnt a major issue that some of their members had passed out. Since the Amazons hadnt apanied him to the wedding, Welf ended up being carried on Gareths shoulder which caused Loki to have aughing fit because he was also carrying the red-faced Bete... When Vahn entered the Manor, he noticed that everything was almost eerily quiet and he could detect that, other than two presences on the third floor, everyone else was gathered together in the dining room. Vahn was somewhat curious about what they were up to but he knew that his dutyy elsewhere so he made his way up the staircase while skipping a few steps. He had been tempted to use [Shundo] to jump straight to the stairsnding, but he didnt want to seem desperate. Vahn couldnt deny he was very excited, but he didnt want to embarrass himself by acting too uncouth. This didnt stop him from moving fast enough to reach the outside of his own room in less than thirty seconds, however... For a brief moment, Vahn nearly knocked on his own door before realizing how ridiculous that would have been and instead turned the handle and stepped into the interior where the sound dampening barrier was already active. Though they were originally supposed to take off the dresses during their preparation, Vahn had told them they had a special function when he had given them to the two girls in the past. After they washed their bodies free of all the makeup, they wore the dresses once again before awaiting Vahn in their bedchamber. The final part of a traditional wedding in Eden had the girls receive their husband in the bedchamber after the wedding and it was quite the sight to see the contrasting red and dark blue of Hephaestus and Eina sitting on the bed with their dresses spread out like a fan as they both stared at him with flushed faces. Vahn could feel his heart pounding in his chest as he took a step forward before snapping around and locking the door behind him in a hurry. Unless there was an emergency, this was a night dedicated to his two wives and he didnt want any interruptions at all. Though he couldnt hear them, Vahn saw Hephaestus and Einaugh as he walked closer to them with a confident gait as his chest swelled up with pride at how beautiful the two girls were. He heard theirughter as he approached before Hephaestus asked, "So, what secret do these dresses hold that you even wanted us to wear them on our wedding night~?" Because she had been curious about it, Hephaestus had studied the dress in detail but was unable to discern what special functions Vahn had designed without taking it apart. With a smile on his face, Vahn gestured to Hephaestus and Eina and said, "Stand up, Ill show you..." Hephaestus nodded before arranging her dress and climbing out of the bed, taking special care not to damage it in the process. Eina, however, had started to be increasingly red as time passed and Vahn could tell her aura was flickering like a me. She may have made her resolve in the past, even to the point that they were now wed, but taking the final leap and losing her v.i.r.g.i.nity was somewhat scary. Of course, this didnt stop her from climbing out of the bed as well, even though she was somewhat mechanical in her movements. Vahn smiled at the two girls when they stood in front of him before tracing his index fingers along a series of gemstones adorning their h.i.p.s. The moment he pressed the correctbination, both of their gowns freed themselves from the bodice of their dresses and they were suddenly standing in what looked like a corset with their stockings, garter belts, and panties on full disy. Hephaestuss eyes widened slightly as an amorous smile blossomed on her face but Eina became beet red in an instant and covered her body with her hands even though Vahn had seen her n.a.k.e.d several times... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fire and Ice Phoenix Descend...,Eternal Vow,Bashful Half-Elf) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 443 - Wedding Night: Eina Tulle

Chapter 443 - Wedding Night: Eina Tulle

(A/N: Kinda seems weird to have to inform you this is NSFW...) Vahn smiled at Einas reaction and said in a soothing tone, "You look beautiful..." as he reached out a ced his palm against the top of her head. Eina startled for a brief moment before her blush deepened and she tried to stand tall without shying away. She hadnt been afraid to be seen n.a.k.e.d in the past but, knowing what they were about to do, she couldnt help but feel fl.u.s.tered. Seeing Hephaestus calm and casual appearance actually made her feel even more embarrassed so she bit her bottom lip before leaning against Vahns body and hiding her face as he stroked her hair. Seeing how Eina was behaving, Hephaestus showed a thoughtful expression before asking, "Vahn, do you have any extra beds in your storage?" Vahn had beenforting Eina but he hadnt stopped paying attention to Hephaestus and was aware of the fluctuations in her aura. Hearing her question, various thoughts ran through his mind before he nodded his head and said, "Yes..." He almost always kept futons, beds, sofas, tables, and chairs within his storage at all times since smallforts went a long way during stressful situations. Hephaestus smiled before walking over and triggering the mechanism that revealed Vahns hidden forge at the back of his room. Hephaestus released a long yawn while stretching her body and said, "Im actually kind of tired from overworking thest couple of days. I couldnt get much sleepst night either, so I think Ill take a nap and leave the two of you alone for a while..." Einas body twitched when she heard Hephaestus words and she raised her head from Vahns chest and stared at the tired goddess with her hazy emerald green eyes. Hephaestus showed a small smile before looking to Vahn and saying, "Let me borrow a bed for a few hours. Its still early in the afternoon so there is plenty of time for us to worry about other thingster..." Vahn felt somewhat guilty but he also felt a significant amount of gratitude for Hephaestus actions because it was very obvious that Eina wasnt the type of girl that was suited to group y. She was actually unique amongst all the other girls in the Manor in that, she wasnt that reliant on Vahn but more-so wanted Vahn to be reliant on her. Though she showed her affection, at least when they were alone, there wasnt a single instance of Eina beingfortable showing intimacy around other people. Hephaestus could see that her presence was causing Eina to feel very embarrassed and she decided to take a step back since she had actually been with Vahn well over a hundred times at this point. Even if it was just for a few hours, it wasnt wrong to let Einas first experience to be something more meaningful between her and Vahn. Using his domain, Vahn removed a bed from his Inventory and ced it within the secret room which caused Hephaestus to show a pleased smile as she triggered the mechanism to close the wall behind her. Before the wallpletely closed, she sent an encouraging look toward Vahn followed by a wink just as the wall obstructed their line of sight. Eina heard the mechanism in the wall click and released a sigh of relief, though her expression was somewhatplex as she said, "Im a silly girl, arent I?" Contrary to her expectations, Vahnughed heartily and hugged her waist firmly as he said, "Eina, please dont think things like that...leave Hephaestus to me, just like she left me to take care of you. You dont need topromise just because were married now, and I think most of the girls understand your presence is somewhat unique within the group...please dont change since I think the current you is the best." Eina showed a somewhat wry smile on her face before she tip-toed and kissed Vahn on the lips for a brief moment. Vahn, however, wasnt so easily dealt with and followed her retreat and gave her a much more passionate kiss in response. Unable to free her head from his grasp, Einas cute butt poked out as she tried to pull away from him. She had been somewhat unprepared for Vahns somewhat aggressive kiss and felt like she was going to suffocate since she couldnt draw enough air through her nose. Vahn finally gave her a reprieve when she began to p his chest, which had be bare without her noticing. Freed from his clutches, Eina looked up at Vahn with a red face and said, "Muuuuu...you always did like teasing me, didnt you?" Without any hesitation, Vahn nodded his head and smiled as he said, "Im not sure if its a trait inherited from your elven bloodline, but you look very cute when youre blushing...sorry about that." Seeing the me in Einas eyes, Vahn tacked on an apology to the end of his words and rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. The moment he did so, however, Einas expression softened and she began tough happily with her eyes squinted and a big smile on her face. Vahn realized that she actually liked teasing him a fair amount as well and had just gotten a slight advantage against him with her antics. Now that she had calmed down a little, Eina looked at her appearance and saw the stark white panties Vahn had created for her on disy beneath her blue bodice. She realized Vahn was somewhat mischevious in his designs at times and wondered if he had also done something to rtively intricate silk fabric. Putting that matter to the back of her mind for the time being, Eina turned around and said in a casual manner, "Help me out of this dress...even if you designed it to be durable, I dont want it to get dirty at all..." Vahn smiled before reaching out his hands as if to help loosen up the strings tying up the back of the dress but, instead of untying the small rabbit-eared knot, he pressed his index finger against the fabric and stored the entire thing into his inventory. Because the dress wasnt suitable to wearing a bra, Eina suddenly found herself wearing nothing but her white garter belt, panties, and stockings in an instant. She felt the heat rise to her cheeks but tried to control her expression as she looked at Vahns smiling face over her shoulder. Taking a deep breath, she said in a calm manner, "Lay down on the bed...I want to take care of you-" Vahn shook his head before wrapping his arms around Eina from behind and whispering into her pointed ears that were somewhat small as a result of her being a Half-Elf, "Eina, I know youll spend a lot of time tending to my needs in the future but, at least for tonight, allow me to take care of you...youre my wife now, and you deserve to be pampered on your wedding night." Eina tried to refute his words but Vahn started nibbling on her ear as he stroked her abdomen with an electrical sensation and grabbed her right b.r.e.a.s.t with his hand and pressed into two points that made her heart flutter. Vahn knew that some girls like to experience things in a normal manner for their first times, but he no longer saw the point of letting them suffer unnecessarily if he could make them feel good. As he expected, Eina grabbed his hands with her own and gasped, "Vahn, wait...ahh, please...wait-nnn~" To give her the opportunity to speak, Vahn stopped using [Hands of Nirvana] but he didnt stop his hands and even pinched the small little bud in the center of her b.r.e.a.s.t which caused her body to shake. Vahn had noticed with Ryuu that Elves, and apparently Half-Elves, were actually very sensitive in their b.r.e.a.s.ts... With the moderately less intense stimtion, Eina said through chattering teeth, "I know how skilled you can be when ites to things like this...but I want our times together to be more calm and rxed...I want to take care of your body and help your mind stabilize so you arent always under so much pressure." Vahn nodded his head before kissing above Einas ear and saying, "I know, Eina, and that is one of the reasons I care so deeply for you. I know that youre the girl that is the most considerate of my emotional stability..." Vahn continued to move his head down and kissed the back of Einas ear before continuing, "However, I also need to show you, through my own actions, how much you mean to me. Even if its just tonight, I want to shower your body with all the love and affection you deserve..." Eina had been grinding her teeth in an effort to resist the pleasure as Vahn began kissing the side of her neck before moving down to her corbone. Though he was being very gentle, Eina couldnt escape from his grasp due to the vast difference in their parameters. She knew she could get him to stop by telling him directly, but she also couldnt help but feel like she wanted to experience the love and affection Vahn wanted to show her at least once. With her teeth still tightly clenched, Eina muttered, "Just for tonight..." before a powerful energy flowed through her chest and abdomen that made her draw a cold gasp and stifle a m.o.a.n. Now that he had her permission, Vahn knew Eina was going to be very receptive to his actions unless he took them too far. To bring her somefort, he turned her around to face him before lowering her body onto the bed with her legs dangling off of it. Einas face flushed when he looked down on her from above and she covered her face with both hands, even though she was still peeking through her fingers with watery eyes. Vahn traced his hands down her body and gently prodded several pressure points, linking them together as he worked his way down her abdomen. Vahn was surprised to see Einas blush making its way down her neck as her skin began to take on a rosy color under his caress. Vahns attention was drawn to her navel, where there were two important pressure points, so he dragged his finger from her diaphragm and traced the subtle line of her abdomen down to the base of her belly. Einas body trembled and he could see goosebumps cover her skin that caused his smile to widen slightly before Eina mumbled, "Bully..." causing his mind to stall for a brief moment. Seeing the gentle smile on her face and the teasing look in her eyes, Vahn knew that Eina had gotten away with teasing him once again so he began to chuckle before cing his fingers against the garter belt hugging her h.i.p.s and storing it in his inventory. Eina didnt react much to this but, when Vahn ced his hands on her panties next, she actually released an audible gulp that caused Vahn to inexplicably swallow as well. For a brief moment, Vahn was tempted to move on to her stockings first but decided that he needed to work harder to be more decisive. Instead of storing them away in his inventory, however, Vahn thumbed the sides of the silky fabric and slowly lowered them down Einas legs naturally. Her body trembled during the motion and Vahn caught sight of the glistening mound that was almost as flushed as her face along the untouched slit. Because of his experience, Vahn even spected that Eina had never masturbated before because of the impable nature of the tantalizing organ. Even her scent was on the lighter side and she even smelled somewhat like how raspberries tasted. It was hard to describe, but this was the feeling Vahn got before Eina closed her legs slightly and concealed it. All of her reactions made Vahns heart flutter and he decided to help warm her body up, even though her skin had started to turn flushed and her body temperature had increased by nearly two degrees. Vahn said in a calming tone as he pryed open Einas legs, "Im going to help your body prepare so things will be much easierter on...trust in me..." Eina had tried to close her legs against his movements but let up after his calming words reached her ears. Vahn saw her nod before she looked down at him with her glistening emerald eyes. Vahn smiled before handing her a pillow so she could support her body without stressing herself out too much. Eina reaching for the pillow with awkward moments and took a few seconds to get herself situated before pausing for a moment and opening her own legs. Vahn smiled before kneeling at the edge of the bed and lifting Einas legs so that her feet could rest on the bed creating an M-shape as he hugged her thighs and brought his face closer to the glistening mound. Every time he did this for girls, Vahn knew they enjoyed it greatly and he had even gotten Loki to wrap his head with her legs to cope in the past. Eina panicked slightly when she felt Vahns tongue begin to trace around the outside of her v.a.g.i.n.a and she bit the back of her index finger in response to the foreign stimulus. As Vahn had assumed, she had never actually masturbated before because, when she had tried touching it in the past, she panicked and never touched it again after the fact. Everything Vahn was doing made chills run up her back and she didnt know how to react because her body didnt seem to want to listen to her. Other than releasing stifled m.o.a.ns, which made her feel incredibly embarrassed, she was at Vahns mercy so she tightly closed her eyes and held on as if her life depended on it... Almost as if he paid no heed to her resistance at all, Vahn skillfully probed around the interior of Einas vulva and brought his tongue to a point on the spots that were especially sensitive. Whenever he felt her body tremble slightly, Vahn traced his tongue slowly up her inner walls beforeing to a stop at the little bead crowing the top of her v.a.g.i.n.a. It was interesting feeling Einas trembles be progressively stronger before she finally released a gasp when he reached the end. He almost felt like a kittenpping up milk and made an earnest effort to catch the fluids draining from her body which had a somewhat acidic vor with a citrusy aftertaste. A few minutes after he started, Eina suddenly tried to close her legs and pressed the top of Vahns head as she shouted, "Vahn, wait, stop!" However, against her wishes, Vahn continued his efforts so Eina began to panic as she said, "Noooo, I feel like Im about to pee myself!" For a brief moment, Vahns eyes shed a stark blue and he confirmed there was nearly no urine in her dder and knew she was just inexperienced to the point that she had never climaxed before. To allow her to understand she wasnt about to pee, Vahn very gently sucked on her cherry red nub and rolled it with his tongue as she let out a somewhat shrill m.o.a.n and arge volume of milky fluid made its way out of her depths. Eina began to gasp in the echoes of her first climax before she heard Vahn say, "That was your first climax...dont worry, you didnt actually have to pee..." Though her face was already flushed, Einasplexion became one shade darker as she averted her eyes and bit her bottom lip without saying anything in response. Vahn gave a wry smile at her behavior before turning his eyes back to the palpitating interior of Einas v.a.g.i.n.a and probing the entrance with one of his fingers. Eina immediately turned her gaze back to him so he said, "Dont worry, Eina, leave it to me..." Though she seemed somewhat hesitant, Eina eventually nodded and continued to stare at Vahns actions with a mild amount of inhibition and a bit of curiosity. Vahn traced around Einas entrance before slowly sinking one of his fingers into her depths as she released a nasally m.o.a.n in response. Since she was a v.i.r.g.i.n, Einas entrance was very tight and Vahn could feel it mping around his finger in rhythm with her heartbeat. Just like when he had s.e.x with Ryuu, Einas body had a very simr response and it was almost like their hearts were connected to their v.a.g.i.n.as. Vahn knew this was a result of the arteries being somewhat closer to the insides of their thighs, but it still made him feel like having s.e.x with those of Elven heritage was somehow more intimate than normal. Though she was very tight, Vahn could easily fit two fingers in after a while and was able to wriggle them about even though her walls clung to his fingers. This showed that she was more than prepared but Vahn wanted to make sure things went as smoothly as possible so, before he removed his fingers, Vahn released strings of energy into her interior and caused the contracting muscles to rx by a marginal amount. Eina was inexperienced so she had no idea what he was doing and just continued to bite her lips and stifle her m.o.a.ns as her tensions continued to rise. Satisfied with the results, Vahn smiled before standing up and looking down at Einas ruddy face and whispering, "Its time..." Though her heart was already beating very quickly, Einas eyes opened and Vahn could see her chest trembling from the reverberations of her own heart. After taking several deep breaths, Einas expression softened a bit and she adopted the characteristic gentleness that always brought Vahnfort as she said, "Im ready, Vahn,e to me..." as she opened up her legs with her own hands. Vahns heart throbbed at her disy and he smiled knowing that, even at the moment when she was most stressed out, Eina still tried to care for him in her own way. Before he took thest step, Vahn traced his fingers along Einas calves and stored her white stockings away into his inventory. Though he thought they created a tantalizing contrast with her n.a.k.e.d body, Vahn wanted to make things as normal as possible for Einas first time. It was always somewhat awkward to have s.e.x at the edge of the bed, but it wasnt Vahns first time and he was easily able to find the correct angle, much to Einas relief since she was struggling a bit to maintain herposure already. After cing his ns against the hot entrance, Vahn lowered his h.i.p.s slightly and began to press forward as he pressed into the muscles above Einas v.a.g.i.n.a with his thumb. Eina held her breath and prepared herself for the approaching pain but was surprised to find that, other than a bit of difort and a strange aching feeling, there wasnt any of the sharp pain that she had heard so much about. Opening her eyes, Eina looked at Vahn with confusion before seeing hisforting smile. She immediately understood that he had taken steps to ease her suffering and a small feeling of loss spread through her heart before she felt a pressure easing up on her abdomen and a wave of pain began to spread through her body, pushing away the loss. Vahn had a somewhat wry smile on his face as he exined, "Dont worry, I wont take away the pain but I can still dy it and allow it to build up slowly instead..." Though the aching feeling in her lower body was spreading, Eina began tough in spite of the pain and said, "Youre such a silly boy at times...youre so caring in some of the strangest ways." Vahn continued to look at her with a loving expression on his face as he said, "I know how important a girls first time can be...thank you for giving it to me, Eina..." Toward the end of his words, Vahn shook his head because he could feel a bit of moisture building in his eyes. Einas expression melted in an instant as she opened her arms and said, "Come here, Vahn..." Though it felt somewhat awkward, Vahn leaned forward and allowed Eina to hug his body as she stroked the back of his head in aforting manner. Even though it was a seemingly awkward situation, Vahn found himself easily falling into her momentum and his mind began to calm down quickly even though he could feel her v.a.g.i.n.a pulsing around his p.e.n.i.s. He could feel her heart beating through her chest and from where they were connected and it seemed to create a loop with his own heart. Vahn even felt that, if things continued this way long enough, he would be able to match the rhythm of his heart with hers. Unfortunately, Eina seemed to have adapted to the difort as she whispered, "Go ahead and move, Im ready..." Following her instructions, Vahn slowly rocked his h.i.p.s which caused Einasforting actions to stall for a brief moment as she squeezed his head. However, she seemed to adapt quickly and continued to stroke his head as she focused on regting her breathing. This was a strange scenario for Vahn because he almost felt like Eina could lull him to sleep in the middle of having s.e.x. To prevent such a strange oue, Vahn began to kiss around Einas corbone as he changed his angle and pressed against the top of her inner walls. Eina released a sharp sigh and grabbed his head before giggling and saying, "Looks like youre determined to keep the initiative...thats okay...you can be as intense as you want to be. My body might not be that strong, but I can tolerate it if its for you, Vahn..." Vahn shook his head gently before cing his palm against the bed and raising his body. He looked directly into Einas slightly zed eyes and said in a firm tone, "Eina, I love you so much...Im not going to do something so selfish. I feel happier when Im able to get a rise out of the girls I make love to...even if it feels good to release my s.e.m.e.n, it isnt the reason I have s.e.x at all. I care more about making the experience pleasurable for my partners than my own satisfaction...it is the emotional connection that makes me feel truly satisfied..." Einas eyes widened marginally as she listened to Vahns words. After processing them for a short while, Eina asked, "So youll be happier if Im more responsive...? The very instant Eina finished her words she could feel Vahn grow inside of her and could see the excited look in his eyes. She began to giggle at his response before hugging his neck with her hands, lifting her head to his ear in the process and whispering, "Then Ill show you, Vahn, exactly how much Im feeling it..." After she finished speaking, Eina rxed against the bed and saw the somewhat fervent gaze in Vahns eyes as he looked at her with an enamored expression on his face. Vahn ced his right hand on her left b.r.e.a.s.t and sent a surge of energy into her body and she immediately released a sensual m.o.a.n without making any effort to stifle it at all. Vahn felt his mind go slightly numb as he traced his thumb around her a.r.e.o.l.a and caused her to angle her head and release a pleasured gasp before turning her watery eyes back to him. Even though she might be embellishing things a bit, Vahn could tell by the firing of her nerves and the fluctuation of her aura that she was feeling it a great deal. With arge smile spreading on his face, Vahn said in a somewhat husky voice, "Eina, youre seriously too good for me...thank you...I will never stop trying to make you happy, just to show you how happy you make me feel." In response to Vahns words, Eina pulled his head closer to her own and began giving him a passionate kiss that caused him to begin moving his h.i.p.s once again. She continued to release m.o.a.ns that caused her to pause their kiss but, the moment she regained herself, she redoubled her efforts. She didnt say it, but Vahns eagerness to please her made her feel very happy, especially because he seriously considered her words whenever she spoke. It was well known, even by Vahn himself, but she had always wanted a cute younger brother to look after and Vahns eagerness made her feel a strange sense of fulfillment, even if it was somewhat different than her expectations. Eina suddenly drew in a sharp breath and even grazed Vahns tongue with her teeth when his ns poked and especially sensitive area. Her body had even jerked to the side to escape the hot probe but Vahn didnt seem to be willing to allow her retreat as he lifted up her right leg and scr.a.p.ed her insides before poking the same spot again. Eina released his head and looked at him with an almost scared expression before immediately smiling in a bashful manner and saying, "That spot is a little intense..." True to her words, she told Vahn exactly how she felt and could see her words affected him greatly, almost like there was a tiny me in his beautiful aquamarine eyes. Vahn lifted Einas body slightly by her leg and made the angle even more optimal which caused her heart to shake slightly before she hugged him tightly and said, "Im ready..." even though she felt like she wasnt. Just as Vahn enjoyed seeing her reaction, Eina actually found herself to have a simr disposition and just wanted to see Vahn happy, even though it was a result of him bringing her a scary amount of pleasure. He was very cute in how earnest he was in his almost single-minded pursuit of bringing her greater pleasure. Eina wondered if this was how the other girls felt but harbored a strange hope that this was a unique feeling they shared between just the two of them. With Einas trembling body clinging to his, Vahn supported her h.i.p.s right his right hand and even lifted his foot to the bed toplete his own preparations as he skillfully hit her sensitive spot. He didnt focus just on that area, which was Einas saving grace, but knowing of its existence gave him a major advantage and her insides quickly began to writhe about, a prelude to therge orgasm that was about to seize her body. Though he could sense some fearing from Eina, it was the same as her fear of peeing earlier and Vahn knew it would pass quickly once her body actually reached the pinnacle. Vahn learned this from Loki, but it was actually somewhat umon for women to be able to climax from their v.a.g.i.n.as, especially during their first time, and shemended him for his technical prowess at being able to consistently bring them to greater heights. Under assault from Vahns steady rhythm, Eina could feel a primal fear welling up inside of her as she clung tightly to Vahns firm and stable body. Her own felt like it was turning into a wispy me that was about to burn out so it brought herfort being able to cling to something so sturdy. She felt like her body was being grounded by Vahns presence and, even though it felt like she was about to fly away, she knew he wouldnt let her go far. With this thought in mind, Eina didnt hold back at all and began to pant with sensual sounds escaping her lips before holding Vahns body tightly when a colossal wave overwhelmed her and threatened to sweep her away in its wake. She felt like a small ship rocking about in the waves of the Poseidon Sea yet, as she had expected, Vahn stayed a firm existence that she could cling to and became the anchor that kept her from capsizing... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Eina Tulle Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire: C-SS]// Completion Grade: S Rewards: 10,000OP, 1x[Hearts Desire: Eina Tulle] Grade Rewards: 2x[Heros Reprieve], 1x[Grimoire of Guidance], 9,000OP [Heros Reprieve](A/N: Eina OP) Rank: Unique Use: Immediately teleports the user into the embrace of the person they most desire to be with at the moment of use. [Grimoire of Guidance](A/N: Seriously f**cking OP) Rank: Unique Use: Allows the user to record a skill into the Grimoire and confer it to a single person. Skill proficiency based on theprehension of the recipient and is not a direct reflection of the initial skill. Applicable to all Skills, Magic, and Development Abilities with the exception of Innates. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hephaestus is bae,Einas cries...,Findingnd in rough seas...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 444 - Wedding Night: Hephaestus

Chapter 444 - Wedding Night: Hephaestus

When Eina finally returned to her senses, she could see Vahnsforting face looking down on her and it brought an immediate smile to her face as she said, "That...felt incredible..." Vahn gulped at her words before stroking her face and saying, "This is only the tip of the iceberg when ites to my feelings for you...I want to show you so much more..." Eina sounded a peal of yfulughter as her emerald eyes squinted happily and she said, "This time, it would make me happy if I get to be on top..." With her words as the starting buzzer, the two green-eyed love birds passed through several tumultuous storms of pleasure, battered by the winds of affection and the heavy rain of love that soaked their bodies through to the core. As a Level 1, Einas stamina wasmendable and she was able to continue forward with a subtle hint of eagerness in her actions as Vahn did his best to support her body. They took turns pampering each other until Einas body eventually began to cramp up and she couldnt muster much energy to continue. By the time two hours had passed, Eina wasyingzily against Vahns chest with slightly zed eyes and a tired, but loving, expression on her face. She noticed that, even though her body was very hot right now, Vahns was almost scorching to the touch yet, even though it should have felt somewhat ufortable, Eina instead felt a great deal offort being held by him. After they cuddled for a while, however, she looked into his face and kissed him without warning before saying in guiding tone, "I think its my turn to go to sleep now...I dont think Ive ever been this tired before..." Vahn understood what Eina wanted him to do, but he continued to hold her for a while longer as he said, "I wont leave you alone while youre still awake...let me help you fall asleep knowing that, when you wake up next, you will still be safely within my arms..." As he spoke, Vahn began infusing calming energy into Einas body as he hugged her close to his body. Einaughed without offering any resistance and insteadid her head against his chest with her eyes closed as she listened to his heart. It was a powerful rhythm and she somewhat envied the fact that Hephaestus was always able to hear it no matter how far apart the two were. In less time than it took to brew a pot of tea, Eina had fallen into a deep sleep but Vahn continued to hold her for nearly a half hour longer regardless... --- After wiping down Einas body and bundling her up in nkets to stay warm, Vahn walked over to the false panel located next to the wardrobe that kept some of his personal clothing. Whenever Emiru and Maemi washed his outfits, they would store them in the wardrobe for Vahn to pick upter. Vahn felt somewhat guilty about the girls doing theundry of so many people but they actually had a lot of help from the Hostess of Fertility group, Mn, and Tina. To make things easier for them, Vahn also gave them a type of detergent he had purchased from the shop that seemed to be able to remove stains easily and, against the expectations of everyone that was aware of it, prevent the clothing from wearing down as quickly. Once he had triggered the panel, the wall opened up and revealed the secret forge he very rarely used since obtaining his [Master Smith] status. He still created a fair amount of items, but not many of them required him to actually forge using his eternal me in the specialized furnace that Hephaestus had made for him. Vahn actually expected that Hephaestus would likely make more use of it than himself in the future since she would be staying in the Manor as her primary residence, even though most of her time would still be at her workshop until the construction finished. She was actually building another workshop, located just outside of the Manor next door to the Hostess of Fertility, and had been wrapping up most of her current contracts. Vahn could see Hephaestusying on her side, still wearing her red bodice and the ck silk panties, with her back to him. Seeing the curve of her body from the side, Vahn couldnt stop himself from admiring how shapely her body was, especially her full h.i.p.s and the nearly perfect butt that was barely covered by the rtively small surface area of the panties. Theplexion of a goddess was unblemished and wless in its construction, so Vahn always felt like he was admiring a masterpiece every time he saw Hephaestus body. Hephaestus had long since awoken and knew that Vahn would appreciate her body for a while and she could sense his thoughts and emotions through the powerful bond they shared. With a smile on her face, shezily rolled over her body and looked directly at him as she said in a sultry tone, "Ive been waiting for you...my husband~" Vahn felt a burst of pride spread through his chest and arge grin appeared on his face and looked a bit silly to the beautiful goddessying on the bed. Suddenly, she saw Vahns expression turn somewhat serious as a thoughtful look passed through his eyes and he asked, "Hephaestus, you have already given me...everything...tell me, is there something more I can give you to make you even happier?" A smile bloomed on Hephaestus face because of how Vahn had worded his question, making it apparent that he understood what she had done for him. As he said, Hephaestus had wanted to dedicate herself entirely to Vahn, for all eternity if necessary...if he continued simply imposing his selfish desire to make her happy, Hephaestus might have to punish him in the future. She was already happier than she had ever been and the only thing she really wanted right now was to make Vahn feel a little of what she currently felt. Her smile turned into a heavily seductive expression as she crawled onto her hands and knees, looked over her shoulder at Vahn, and said, "I want to feel your love for me with my body..." Vahn was drawn to the tantalizing ck divide between Hephaestus two impable butt cheeks and immediately used [Shundo] to appear behind her on the bed. Without stripping away her clothes at all, Vahn prepared to take Hephaestus as she was until he paused after seeing her stark ck panties turnpletely transparent. He quickly came back to his senses however when Hephaestus turned her head in confusion so he thumbed the fabric to the side and ced his ns against her fiery entrance. Hephaestus body was literally hotter than any of the other girls by far and Vahn always felt like he was plunging himself into a furnace, one used to temper his emotions for this goddess that had helped to re-forge his entire existence with herpassion and love for him. Hephaestus released a hot sigh at Vahns intrusion and even pressed her h.i.p.s back with a sharp m.o.a.n toplete the task. She could feel Vahns emotions pouring into her and felt his heart begin to race as he pressed down into her body from above. Hephaestus knew Vahn liked doing it from behind quite a bit and it made her feel very fulfilled to experience his own eagerness for her body. Though she hadnt said anything to him about it yet, Hephaestus had been feeling a longing in her bodytely after learning that Vahn had the potential to be a god. She had originally thought they would only be together for a few hundred years and had even nned to escort his soul to Heaven when he died. Now, however, Hephaestus knew it was very possible she would be able to spend her long eternity at Vahns side. It was even highly likely that their children would be able to rise to godhood as well and, instead of the temporary happiness she thought she had found, Hephaestus was eagerly looking forward to the rest of her eternity. Even if things werent always easy, she knew that, as long as their love was strong enough, they would always be able to work through things and experience greater happiness together... Vahn wasnt entirely sure what was going through Hephaestus mind as she released her sensual m.o.a.ns, but he could sense her aura bing thick enough that it almost had a physical sensation against his skin as it coiled around him. Her aura was so red it was almost like it waspeting against her hair color and Vahn could feel it entering into his body like a powerful aphrodisiac, simr to the incident he had with Hephaestus in the past. Instead of resisting it, however, Vahn allowed his domain topletely retract and mentally said, ("Sis, if things go too far, please bring me back...") before he let Hephaestus feelings wash over him. Afterward, Vahn actually couldnt remember much of what happened because it was almost like everything had be a dream. The only thing he was truly certain of was that he and Hephaestus had truly be a singr entity as they eagerly sought each others bodies. Because she could feel his thoughts and emotions, the moment Vahn threw away his inhibitions and gave in to her powerful feelings, Hephaestus felt her ownpound several times and this also fed back into Vahns body and created a powerful loop where neither of them knew quite what was happening. It was unlike anything Hephaestus had ever experienced, even after living for nearly five-hundred-million-years and it felt like her very soul was being entwined with Vahns, not just her body. By the time Vahn returned to his senses, with Siss help, nearly six hours had passed and Hephaestus was pinning him from above with their hand locked together as she desperately rocked her h.i.p.s. Her face waspletely flushed red and it was almost like she hadpletely lost her mind as sweat poured heavily from her body. The first thought that came to Vahns mind was that, at this moment shared between just the two of them, Hephaestus had be the most beautiful girl in the entire world. Even though the forge was a rtively dark room, it was like her body glowed with a vibrancy that outshone the sun itself. The second thing he noticed, however, was that his body had actually been infused with me elemental energy at some point and the bed had been turned to ashes around them. If not for the fireproof structure of the room, things could have gone very differently. Even though his body was fiery hot at spots, Hephaestus didnt seem to be affected by it at all and Vahn even felt a powerful heating from her body that almost made his seem lukewarm. It was a little strange since Hephaestuss body was so heavily covered in sweat when logic stated that it should be evaporating with the intense heat. Vahn figured there were principles at work that he simply didnt understand at the moment and focused on the matter at hand instead... Hephaestus could feel some rity returning to her mind, which felt like it had melted into a molten mess earlier, and saw Vahns passionate gaze looking directly at her with a fair amount of concern in their unfathomable depths. She could feel the heat from both of their bodies, especially from where they were connected and noticed that she was currently pinning Vahn against the hard floor, which had been charred ck. Both of their bodies were covered in sweat and soot and Hephaestus couldnt help butugh at the somewhat depraved sight as she leaned down and kissed Vahn. Even his tongue was like molten g and Hephaestus felt like they were reshaping each others bodies to be more suitable for each other. While Hephaestus was kissing him, Vahn had freed his hands from her and used his fiery red fingers to insert calming energy into Hephaestus body. He could tell she was also returning to her senses but still needed a bit of help because her emotions were always elevated to an iprehensible level as a result of her status as a goddess. Vahn could feel her feelings during their earlier union and, from the very moment he allowed them to wash over him, he hadpletely been overwhelmed. That was how Hephaestus felt all the time and, as a mortal man, Vahn couldnt even trulyprehend everything that she experienced. He was, however, vaguely aware that his own perception had expanded slightly and, instead of the 475m of the past, his domain now stretched to 483m... After helping Hephaestus calm down, shezilyy against his body on the sofa he had set out for them. Vahn was wiping her down methodically as she dazedly tried toprehend the ordeal she had just experienced. Though their s.e.x was always somewhat intense in the past, Hephaestus couldnt even put what just happened into proper words. It was almost like all her thoughts and feelings of pleasure had beenpletely dashed, as if they were an illusion, and now she knew heights so great they seemed to eclipse Heaven itself. What she and Vahn had just gone through could be best described as waves that intermingled together and got progressively stronger over time without cessation. If not for Vahn regaining his senses, Hephaestus felt like they could have been lost in that endless cycle for an eternity... In a somewhatzy tone, Hephaestus muttered, "I feel like everything I thought I knew about passion and pleasure was a misconception now..." Vahn wanted to smile wryly but he couldnt help but agree with Hephaestus so he nodded with a solemn expression his face as he wiped some soot from her rump. All of his actions made her aura re up but she was nearly unresponsivepared to how she had been in the past. Even though it had been nearly twenty minutes since they regained their senses, Hephaestus continued to stare off into space in a daze unless she was looking directly at him. Several minutes passed in silence before Hephaestus seemed to realize something and said, "Today is the first day of the new year...we should go spend it with Eina and the rest..." Vahn smiled before picking up Hephaestus tired body and carrying her to his room. Once her body temperature had returned to normal, Hephaestus had almostpletely lost her ability to move for the time being. Vahn had inspected her body in detail and, other than a surprising revtion, found no abnormalities in her body and knew she was simply fatigue. He couldnt me her either, as it felt like he would fall asleep the moment his head hit a pillow as well. If not for [Will of the Emperor] keeping him afloat, Vahn felt like he would sink into a peaceful abyss for a short while. It was nearly 4 AM but Eina was still sleeping, the result of her own exertions from the previous night. The loss of ones v.i.r.g.i.nity was a very tiring matter for most girls and Eina was simply a Level 1 Half-Elf, a race not known for their stamina at all. She had only been able to continue for two hours with Vahns support so she probably wouldnt wake up any time soon unless she was urged awake. Hephaestus saw her state and giggled slightly before saying, "She looks happier than normal...I feel like she was trying too hard in the past, so its good to see her rxed like this." Vahn nodded his head before using [Shundo] to appear near Einas sleeping figure and setting Hephaestus down gently. Before heid down himself, Vahn drank a [Revitalizing Elixer] since he knew he would need to wake up in a few hours, even if he didnt have any actual ns for the day. After draining the contentspletely, Vahn wedged himself between his two wives before hugging Einas unconscious body with his right arm and Hephaestus exhausted body with his left. She took the initiative to cuddle against him with what little strength she could manage and intertwined her leg with his before kissing him on the cheek. After a small bout of yfulughter, Hephaestus said, "Id like to experience that again in the future...but not too often. I dont think my body could feel satisfied anymore if I get used to that..." Vahn shared her concerns so he nodded his head before a somewhat mischevious smile appeared on his face and he said in a dismissive tone, "Ah, I noticed two life signs in your w.o.m.b earlier..." before closing his eyes and pretending to sleep. Hephaestus had alreadyid down her head and took several seconds to process what Vahn had said because of how casually he spoke. Once she was able to make sense of the words, it was almost like Hephaestus body hadpletely regained its energy as she sat up with an Eh? sound escaping her lips and looked directly at Vahn. With arge smile on his face, Vahn said, "Congrattions, Hephaestus, looks like youll not only be the first goddess to give birth, but it looks like youll be having twins..." Hephaestus hand immediately shot to her lower abdomen as she rubbed the somewhat tender skin with her palm and stared at her own body with a loving look that actually made Vahn feel a little jealous. His reaction didnt escape Hephaestus notice at all and she looked to him with an equally loving smile on her face as she said, "You silly boy...it isnt simply the case of me having twins...its us having twins...dont try to skip out on your own responsibility thiste in the game." As she spoke, Hephaestus returned to Vahns embrace and pressed her body firmly against his as if trying to emphasize they were one from now on. Vahn also held her body tightly and looked into her red-crimson eyes and said, "Always and forever, Hephaestus...I will neverpromise on such things..." before sealing the blushing goddess lips... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Stamina~!,Vahn discovers Dual Cultivation!?,Twins) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 445 - New Years Resolutions (1/3)

Chapter 445 - New Year''s Resolutions (1/3)

Vahn awoke around four hourster when he felt Einas body begin to stir awake. She had been sleeping for more than ten hours and still seemed to be somewhat tired when she opened her emerald green eyes and stared into Vahns smiling face. A smile blossomed on her own and she angled her head to kiss his lips before cing her head back on his chest and staring across at the sleeping Hephaestus. Eina began to wonder how long she should stay like this since she had started to feel a bit hungry and wasnt sure if she should say anything until her stomach seemed to have made the decision for her. Hearing the somewhat cute grumbling of Einas stomach, Vahn chuckled a bit before stroking her flushed face and saying, "Its fine, Eina, you dont have to worry about such things...well be together a lot from now on, so dont feel like you need to force yourself..." Eina had a thoughtful expression for a moment before raising her body and realizing she was stillpletely n.a.k.e.d. Before she asked, Vahn pulled a pair of casual wear suitable for her out of his inventory, including a light-green set of lingerie for her use. Eina smiled and grabbed the clothes before folding them neatly and saying, "Im going to go take a bath and get something to eat...if you need me for anything, please let me know, Vahn. I have the next three days off, but Ill be using some of that time to help Misha and Rose prepare their things..." Vahn nodded his head before tilting it to the side, ruminating over a few matters before Einaughed and said, "After Hephaestus wakes up, make sure to show your face around the Manor. Today is the first day of the new year so Im certain everyone would like to see you..." Her words finished, Eina scooted off the bed and wrapped her body in a bathrobe before walking toward the door with shaky steps. Though her body didnt really hurt, it felt like there was a full sensation in her lower body that had yet to fade. She noticed her own genitals were slightly swollen, even though Vahn had made ample efforts to make sure she didnt have any real injuries. If not for the fact that she wanted to feel things properly, there wouldnt be any difort at all so Eina didntin and did her best to walk normally. Once Eina left, Vahn started thinking about the matter that hade to his mind when Eina mentioned the fact that it was the first day of the new year. He had previously resolved himself to look at the various [Hearts Desire]s that had been .u.mting in his inventory and now, while he wasforting Hephaestus tired body, seemed like a good opportunity to do so. He would be stuck in the bed for a few hours longer and was actually curious about the contents of the orbs. The Divination had changed his outlook on many things and now he knew the important of knowledge, even if it was rted to past events. Having a stronger bond with the girls that had already decided to be with him was never a bad thing... As the first orb he had stockpiled, Vahn pulled out the pale orange [Hearts Desire: Haruhime] before breaking it in his hand and experiencing the stagnation of time once again. This time, however, he had his [Eyes of Truth] active and tried to pay attention to the phenomenon in order to get a better understanding of it before darkness imed him and he was once again brought into an endless ck space. The floor was non-reflective, but Vahn felt like he was standing on water as a result of the cool and wet sensation against his bare feet. Just like when he had used Chloes, Vahn found himself in a ck space surrounded by images that depicted Haruhimes past. Since he had some experience with the phenomenon, Vahn knew this indicated that Haruhime on longer cared that much about her past and simply kept some of the memories alive in her subconscious. By the time he looked through the various memories, the avatar of Haruhime should appear and the cycle would have caught up to the reality after she conveyed her feelings to him. His time in this space was merely to experience the things she held close to her heart and was willing to allow him to glean insight into... Vahn stepped in front of the first memory, which was a subtle yellow color, which meant it was a time when Haruhime was happy. He could feel her happiness as he watched an adorable little Haruhime ying with a spinning top alongside a chibi version of Mikoto. Even without experiencing it in its entirety, Vahn knew this was the first time Haruhime had left the shrine and snuck out to y with the young members of the Takemikazuchi Familia... Moving on, Vahn arrived at a grey image that was tinged with wisps of purple as he saw Haruhime bowing low in front of a fierce looking man that Vahn could understand to be her father. He had aplex expression on his face as he reprimanded her heavily for sneaking out but, though Haruhime didnt seem to realize it, Vahn could see the concern in the mans face. Several of her memories were rted to her father and Vahn found it somewhat sad knowing that many of them were tinged with negative emotions. Other than the times when she was ying with the children of the Take Familia, Haruhime only seemed to be happy when she was reading stories in a small room. Even the books themselves were things obtained from Mikoto since the only thing she was allowed to read normally were books on etiquette and how to be a proper wife in the future... Haruhime spent many of her formative years being trained to be a bride and Vahn even got to see the memory of when her father dered she would be married into one of the allied ns when she reached maturity. It made him frustrated seeing her crying figure in the deep blue memory and Vahn wished he could reach out andfort the small girl that wasnt even seven years old at the time. The fact that her own father made her bow low when he was speaking made Vahn very ufortable and he promised to never treat his children in such a way... Vahn noticed that, from the time of her kidnapping, Haruhimes memories became very sporadic and, other than some tragic sequences, she didnt ce much emphasis on them at all. Vahn could see gaps of several months in her memories at times and the only good ones were when she was being cared for by Aisha and looking toward the moon, praying for the arrival of her hero before it was toote. Soon after, Vahn saw the memory of Haruhime taking her first customer and it was a dark purple full of regret and inhibitions as she stared at the man that was more than twice her size. Vahn could feel darkness copsing in on him from all directions as the memory was suddenly cut short as a result of Haruhime passing out... Vahn felt his mind be somewhat numb at this point until he finally reached a memory that shone as vibrant as the sun with a tinge of pink on the edges. When he peered into the memory, Vahn could see his own figure somehow wreathed in light as if he was some saintly entity that had stepped into Haruhimes life. The rest of the memory looked dull and nd, almost like Haruhime couldnt see anything but his heroic figure in her mind at the time. It was somewhat embarrassing seeing himself in such a way because Vahn was aware of how embellished the image of himself was in her mind. When he picked her up, Vahn could feel warmth and happiness spread through his own chest as the image of himself in the memory saved Haruhime from the brothel... After that, most of Haruhimes memories became far more vibrant and Vahn saw several yellow, pink, and even some red ones in the memory queue. He got to experience some of the private conversations Haruhime had with the other girls, including the ones where she educated girls like Hestia, Lili, and even Mikoto. Vahn felt somewhat guilty watching her lessons which included some rather e.r.o.t.i.c practices. He even had to avert his eyes when she began teaching some of the girls how to masturbate since it seemed rude to stare at such things. Unfortunately, Vahn could feel the happy and somewhat teasing emotions that Haruhime experience at the time and it made his heart flutter a bit. The most difficult memories to deal with, however, were the times Haruhime had spent with him in the Dungeon. Vahn knew Haruhime was affected by his presence, but he had no idea she saw him in such a passionate light. Haruhime pushed herself so hard and most of the memories had been colored a passionate red that Vahn could feel spreading through his own body and making him heat up. Every time Haruhime looked at the version of him in her memories, her heart would begin to beat rapidly as powerful urges surged through her body. Vahn wasnt even sure how she was able to fight in such a state because her thoughts were gued by an over awareness of his presence... Vahn realized now that he had seriously underestimated Haruhimes infatuation with him and he actually felt somewhat guilty for denying her affections for so long. By the time he had gotten near present events, which included her memories of the Divination, Vahn had already decided that he couldnt keep putting Haruhime through such trying experiences. She put in an incredible amount of effort to improve and Vahn knew that, even if he gave in to her advances a bit, she would continue to work hard without developing a reliance on him. All of her recent memories pertained to how she could be stronger, strong enough to protect herself so that she could continue to walk at his side without worrying him... After watching the final memory, Vahn felt Haruhimes delicate arms wrap around his body as she rested her head against his back and muttered, "Thank you for saving me from the darkness, Vahn..." before the ck void around them began to shatter. Vahn turned his head to the fading memories and, even though she wouldnt remember what he was going to say, said, "I will do my best to be the hero you see in me..." The avatar of Haruhimeughed in a happy manner before Vahn suddenly found himself back in the real world once again. After releasing a long sigh, Vahn took another deep breath and hardened his heart before pulling out a resplendent blue orb, this one belonging to Hestia... Against his expectations, Vahn actually didnt end up in a memory where he had to experience the millions of years that Hestia had dealt with her version of loneliness. Instead, he appeared in what looked like an ancient temple that was filled with warmth that was emitted by a beautiful bluish-gold me in a hearth located at the side. There was a simple mat on the ground and Vahn could see Hestia sitting peacefully with her long ck hair reaching all the way to the ground and spreading out. As if she had detected his presence, Hestia turned around and had rose-red eyes as she whispered, "Vahn..." Vahn wanted to speak to her but, unlike the dark void full of memories, he didnt actually have a body and was more like a disembodied awareness. Hestia began tough before Vahn sudden found himself next to her with the warmth of the hearth spreading through his existence. He still didnt have a body, but that didnt stop Hestia from leaning against the void itself as if she found somefort in the action. With a somewhatzy voice, Hestia reached out her hand and stoked the hearth with a long golden rod as she said, "Im not sure how you found your way into my heart like this, but it makes me happy knowing you were able to do so...if possible, Id like to just stay like this forever...but Ill just be content with however long you can manage to keep your awareness..." Since he could say anything, Vahn thought of several words that might bring her somefort but Hestia justughed, almost as if she could hear him, and just said, "Quiet now, Vahn...just watch the hearth with me for a while...that will make me very happy." Though there were various things he wanted to say, Vahn turned his attention to the strange mes in the hearth and just did as Hestia asked. He didnt know why he feltpelled to listen to her, but it seemed very important so he gave into her selfishness once again... By the time Vahn returned to his senses, he found that the temple around them had ceased to exist and he now sat with his actual body, cradling the sleeping Hestia in his arms. She opened her eyes and Vahn could see that, instead of the pure blue of her real self, or the rose-red of her divine self, she now had eyes that were a mixture of blue and gold, the exact same as the hearth that had now vanished. With a beautiful smile blooming on her face, Hestia climbed up his body and sealed his lips for a very long time before saying in a happy voice, "Im d you stayed until the end..." Vahn felt like there were important things to take from Hestias words but he felt a numbing sensation that was preventing him from forming any coherent thoughts. It was very simr to when he had his memories erased after using the Scroll of Prophecy and Vahn felt like he had forgotten something very important. Hestia showed a somewhat mncholic expression on her face for a brief moment as she hugged his body tightly and said, "Just having you here with me when I needed you is enough...thank you, Vahn...please treat my other self well from now on..." With the end of Hestias words, Vahn felt like his thoughts were dissipating as her warmth spread through his body and he once again awoke in the real world... Though he couldnt be sure, Vahn felt like he and Hestia had sat at the hearth for an unfathomably long period of time. He didnt get to glean anything from her past and, though there seemed to be many important developments, he wasnt able to discern anything else from her hearts desire either. The only thing he knew was that, even though she seemed somewhat sad, the Hestia within the vision was also very happy that they were together. Checking the system, he could see that several notifications had appeared without his realization and was absolutely mortified when he saw the values listed... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- //[Hearts Desire: Sanjouno Haruhime] fulfilled. Extra Parameter Love unlocked.// [Sanjouno Haruhime]: Love 11,418(Devoted) //Bond Established with [Sanjouno Haruhime]// //Optional Quest Triggered// [Quest: A Mans Responsibility, Repeatable] Rank: B-SS Objective: I.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Sanjouno Haruhime (0). Ensure a safe delivery; Current Children(0) Rewards: 100,000 OP, 1x [Guardian:(Nameless)] Failure Condition(s): Death, Sanjouno Haruhimes Death, (Nameless) Childs Death Penalty: 200 Karma (0) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------- //[Hearts Desire: Hestia] fulfilled. Extra parameter Love unlocked.// [Hestia]: Love 520,108,023(Eternal Love) //Bond established with [Hestia]// //Optional Quest Triggered// [Quest: Origin of Heroes] Rank: SS-SSS Objective: I.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Hestia(0). Ensure a safe delivery. Rewards: 1,000,000 OP, 1x [Guardian:(Nameless)], 1x [Heroic Tale] Failure Condition(s): Death, Hestias Death, (Nameless) Childs Death Penalty: 520,108,023( Karma (0), Divine Tribtion Tiggered ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn had thought that Hephaestus had the highest value of Love for him, but it almost felt like Hestia had poured her entire existence into loving him. He didnt even know what to make of the number since it was hard to process how someone could have more than 520 Million points of love for him. It actually felt like there was a heavy weight on his chest all of a sudden and Vahn could even feel the existence of Hestia, almost as if she were stuck to his body. When he focused on the feeling, Vahn even found himself at Hestias side in an instant and could see that she was currently talking with Eina and Syr before suddenly turning her head toward him and showing a shocked expression on her face before it bloomed into a lovely smile and she hopped to her feet... With her rise, Vahn suddenly found himself back in his own room with a lightyer of sweat covering his body and he could sense Hestias aura making its way through the Manor like a homing missile toward his location. Vahn already knew that the bond he had with the girls became stronger depending on how high their parameters were, but he had never experienced an out of body experience like that the moment he thought about them. Hestia was obviously aware of it as well and ended up opening the door with a bit of force as she grinned at Vahn and said words he couldnt hear because of the sound-dampening formation. However, even though he couldnt hear them, Vahn knew that Hestia had said, "I love you~! before leaping at him like a goddess-shaped projectile... --- Hestias invasion had stirred the tired Hephaestus awake and she was shocked to find Hestia clinging to Vahns body like an animal in heat as she kissed around his face and neck inplete disregard of her presence. Her godly raiment had even begun to peel away from her body and it didnt seem like she had any intentions of stopping any time soon. Fortunately, Hestia was very weak and Vahn was able to raise his body and let her fall into hisp. Undeterred, Hestia began kissing around his chest with an enamored expression on her face and even sent a shiver through his pectoral muscle when she tried to roll his n.i.p.p.l.e with her tongue. Vahn pulled Hestias shoulders back and she began taking deep breaths with a feverish expression on her face as she said, "I can feel it...its like Vahns body is inside mine even though we were so far apart...I want to be together with you even more..." With her exnation finished, Hestia tried to cling to Vahn once again but found her arms pressed firmly against her sides as Vahn tried to calm her down. At this point, she was alreadypletely n.a.k.e.d and had even taken to grinding against him because she couldnt move her upper body easily... After Hestia managed to tire herself our, Vahn exined the situation to Hephaestus and the exhausted Hestia. He exined that, if he was close enough with someone, he was able to gain some insight into their thoughts and feelings and create a bond that linked them together, much like he was linked with Hephaestus through the eternal me. Vahn exined that the strength of the emotions made the bond stronger and that, when he linked with Hestia, her emotions had somewhat overwhelmed him and pulled his consciousness through the bond to her side. This triggered Hestias excited state because, as she said, it was almost like he had entered inside of her. Hephaestus assumed this was an evolution in Vahns abilities after her experience with him the previous night and cautioned him about putting too much of his focus on the bond that he shared with goddesses. Since they had lived a very long time, it would be very difficult for Vahn to actually bear the burden of their emotions, much like he had been easily overwhelmed the previous night the very moment he allowed Hephaestus to spread through him. Hestia was simply happy to know she now shared a powerful connection with Vahn and, from how he described things, it seemed to be the strongest bond of all. Toward the end of the conversation, Vahn mustered up a bit of courage and asked Hestia, who had beenzing about with a silly smile on her face, "Hestia, I know it may be somewhat rude to ask, but how old are you?" Not just Hestia, but Hephaestus eyes widened slightly because, even though she knew Hestia for nearly her entire life, she didnt actually know how old she was either. Hestias expression turned somewhat serious and it didnt seem like she was willing to give away the value until she saw the genuine curiosity on Vahns handsome face. Still on cloud nine after the earlier events, Hestia released a long sigh before saying, "With the advent of the new year, I should be precisely 520,108,023 years old..." As she spoke, Hestia hung her head as if she were very ashamed of the number and had a deep blush on her face. Hephaestus seemed shocked by the number and her mouth had opened into a small circle but Vahn didnt seem to mind it at all and just nodded his head as he hugged Hestias still n.a.k.e.d body in his arms. It was a somewhat strange though, but Vahn felt like Hestia had converted all of her .u.mted Love over the course of her entire existence and had ced it on him. Hephaestus was a somewhat stable existence when they met, yet her Love had rapidly built over time and, even though they had only known each other for around five months, her value was at 113,986. Hestia, however, was somewhat unstable and had been a v.i.r.g.i.n before meeting Vahn and giving herself to him. He now somewhat understood why she was so clingy after the fact since even Hephaestus was very affectionate when her numbers were much lower. Vahn spent some more time talking with Hephaestus and Hestia and asked a few questions about what it was like to live in Heaven. Now that Hestia had given away her own age, Vahn also got to learn that Hephaestus was 419,556,016 years old and they both began telling him about their pasts, with a few skimmed details on Hephaestus part. Through this conversation, Vahn got to learn that Hestia, much like in her [Hearts Desire] actually spent the vast majority of her time in arge temple dedicated to her simply stoking what she called the Divine Hearth. With further questioning, he even learned that it was the same wispy blue and gold that he had visualized earlier but, when Vahn asked about the significance of the item Hestia adamantly refused to answer. Knowing that he had an item in his inventory that had the same name, Vahn could specte somewhat and wondered if there was something that made Hestia unique amongst the other gods... (A/N: I figured some people would want a reminder, so here you go~!) [Divine Hearth] Rank: Unique Use: Creates an invible space in an area where no harm can befall those within. Forces those within to remain calm and regenerates any pre-existing wounds. Duration: 72H (A/N: Alternate Titles: Haruhimes Resolve,Peace...,The burden of Hestias Love,Secrets of the Heavens...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 446 - New Years Resolutions (2/3)

Chapter 446 - New Year''s Resolutions (2/3)

After his discussion with Hephaestus and Hestia came to an end, Vahn made the rounds and greeted everyone a happy new year. Hephaestus was still very tired so she ended up going back to sleep alongside Hestia, who also wanted to take a nap. Even though it was nearly 10 AM, Vahn found that many of the residents of the Manor were either still sleeping or were somewhat tired from the previous night. Not only had everyone stayed upte to celebrate the wedding, but they also brought in the new years together and, other than the youth troupe and the pregnant women, almost everyone else got drunk. Even Ais, who Vahn didnt think was the type to drink, had apparently passed out clinging to Lefiyas body like a hug pillow... Ultimately, Vahn ended up in his own workshop after finding out what Eina had nned for the rest of the day. She had been talking with Mn, who was also in the process of moving rooms with Shizune and Tina, and they ended up having Eina move into their old room. Mn, Tina, and Shizune all ended up in their own rooms on the second floor alongside Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya. Tina and Fenrir were going to be roommates, even though Fenrir actually stayed in various rooms depending on her own mood. She often slept with Preasia in the past, but now seemed to be getting closer with Tiona, Ais, Ryuu, Tione, and Lefiya as well. As it didnt actually eat any of his time, Vahn decided to go through the rest of the [Hearts Desire]s since he wanted to continue with the same resolve that he had found earlier. Hestias matter was somewhat unique so Vahn assumed the rest wouldnt be that difficult to manage. There were some he even looked forward to since he was interested to know what kind of background the girls came from to arrive at their current lifestyles. Checking his inventory, Vahn still had the [Hearts Desire]s of Aki, Ryuu, Lunoire, Tione, Tsubaki, Emiru, Maemi, and the recent additions of Preasia, Mn, and Eina. He somewhat regretted having put them off for so long since it seemed like a bit of a trial to go through each of them simultaneously... (A/N: The way a [Hearts Desire] works is that is shows is rtively simple. If the person cant let go of their past easily, or their past defines them, Vahn would experience the important memories held close to that persons heart. If the person had moved on from the past, but still has some lingering memories, Vahn would end up in the memory queue and get to experience the feelings of the person for each of those memories in sequence. For those that have no real attachment to the past, Vahn would see an almost sentient version of that person, their avatar, and then space would copseter. In other words, damaged people carry a greater hearts desire than functionally content people.) Using Akis [Hearts Desire], which had been a pale onyx color, Vahn ended up the same endless ck void except this time, like when he had seen Nanus in the past, there was a beautiful nude version of Aki waiting for his arrival with a smile on her face. Vahn could see a few memories fading in the backdrop of the world and noticed at a nce than many of them contained the face of a boy he had met before, though had never been introduced to. The Aki avatar smiled up at the memories and said in a somewhat sad tone, "Raul...I wonder how our paths diverged so greatly..." Though Vahn had already gotten over his guilt about the former rtionship between Aki and Raul, he still felt somewhat sorry to see her expression as she watched her own memories fade. However, her mncholy didntst for long and the avatar quickly walked over to him with a beautiful smile on her face as she stroked her lower abdomen and asked, "Do you want to listen...?" Vahn smiled widely at her offer before kneeling down and cing his ear against her belly. Though it was still a bit early in the real world, Vahn was able to hear a small heartbeat this time and it made any negative feelings he might have had fade away entirely... Awakening from the vision, Vahn got a simr series of notifications and the standard pregnancy quest as normal, with the exception that Aki was already listed as pregnant. He was a little sad to see that her Love was only at a value of 638 and decided to pamper her a bit more in the future before pulling out the leafy green orb belonging to Ryuu. Since Ryuu had already told her a fair amount about his past, Vahn didnt expect to glean too much from her [Hearts Desire] and even hoped she was one of the girls who he had already made to feel happy. Unfortunately, though he already had a lifelong promise with the beautiful elf, Vahn ended opening his eyes in the body of what he knew to be Ryuu... --- Ryuu was born into a tribe of Elves that cultivated sacred trees that were used to create various staves and artifacts for use by the somewhat oppressive High Elves. Throughout the early part of the vision, Vahn got to experience several instances of Ryuu being taunted and mistreated by arrogant High Elves and, even when sheined to her own family, they actually reprimanded her for inconveniencing the High Elves. Their family had been the servants of some of the smaller noble houses for generations and there was even a sickening instance where Ryuus mother, a kind looking Elven woman, casually exined to her how to cope with the situation if a High Elf decided to **** her. She was told not to resist or cause trouble since it would impact their entire family if she offended one of them... Combined with the fact that Ryuu had longed for the outside world, which her parents referred to as and full of savages and barbarians. Since it was actually the so-called beautiful High Elves that acted in the most disgusting of manners, even at the expense of their own subjects, Ryuu didnt believe their words at all and eventually fled her home forest. Soon after arriving in Orario, which she had learned from several caravans was the beacon of light for all races, she quickly found herself as a member of the Astrea Familia which was full of beautiful and capable women that had righteous principles, even if some of their dispositions were questionable. For several years, Ryuu was rtively happy and felt like she was aplishing something worthwhile with her life and had even made several strong bonds, especially with Astrea, Alise Lovell, Gojouno Kaguya, and the sly Pallum, Lyra. Though they had their share of conflicts, Alise was a kind and lively woman that always treated Ryuu well and taught her what it meant to truly represent righteousness. Other than the fact that Alise always called her Lion, Ryuu was quite fond of the woman and often confided in her when she was feeling down. As for Kaguya, she was a beautiful princess-like woman that hailed from the Far East and was somewhat unfazed by the general dealings within the Familia. She was a bit abrasive at times, but she had a strong sense of justice and often donated the majority of her earnings to various orphanages around the City. Lastly, the Pallum girl, Lyra, was a bit of a mischievous girl who had grown up on the dark side of society and finally found her way into the light by the time she became an a.d.u.l.t. She taught Ryuu how to exploit others, not for personal benefit, but to expose the true nature of people and track down criminals and con artists. Ryuu had never seen them together, but she also boldly imed that she was the closest woman to bing the wife of the Pallum hero, Finn Dieme... Unfortunately, Ryuus happiness didntst long at all and she learned the hard way that evil was drawn to the light, not to escape the darkness, but in an effort to snuff out the brilliance of would-be heroes. Her entire Familia, with the exception of herself and their goddess, was wiped out on an expedition to the 37th floor after falling into a trap set by the evil organization, Evilus. Ryuu barely escaped with her life and spent all of her days after that trying to seek vengeance against the cruel-hearted individuals that had robbed her of her happiness. Eventually, after going on a killing spree thatsted nearly two months, Ryuu found herself having vanquished the majority of Evilus but on deaths doorstep in the pouring rain after having s.u.mbed to injuries obtained during a fight with Chloe and Lunoire... Just as Ryuu believed she was about to breath herst, she managed to escape the battle with the assistance of Arnya and came across Syr in an alleyway. Fortunately, the two bounty hunters learned that they had fallen into the scheme of a lesser criminal organization and everyone ended uppromisingter as they all joined the Hostess of Fertility as a cover for future operations. Syr nursed Ryuu back to health and both Chloe and Lunoire apologized to her for the incident and promised to make it up to her in time... For the better part of three years, Ryuu had slowly started to regain her happiness by associating with the other damaged girls at the Hostess of Fertility. She came to respect Syrs character greatly and she even saw the image of her formerrades in the rtively young human girl. She had a nearly perfect appearance, was often kind to others, even at the expense of herself, and even spent arge portion of her money and free time helping out at an orphanage. The kicker, at least for Ryuu, was the fact that Syr was also a sly girl just like Lyra, even though she was much better at hiding it that the rambunctious Pallum girl... After returning from Melen, Ryuu and Syr met a very handsome boy at their main store and, against all of Ryuus expectations, the boy easily managed to reach out and grab her hand. She could feel her heart begin to beat rapidly in her chest and, from that day onwards, thoughts of the boy constantly gued her heart. Syr seemed to be interested in him as well, which made Ryuu somewhat sad since she didnt want topete with her, but Ryuu quickly learned that the boy, Vahn Mason, wasnt such a simple individual. It made her somewhat ufortable, but Ryuu learned that there were several women that were in active rtionsh.i.p.s with the boy, including two powerful Adventurers from the Loki Familia. However, even though she had thoughts of giving up on the matter, Syr actually constantly convinced her to give the boy a chance and even talked about how he could save all of them with his light. With Chloe and Arnya as the forerunners, Syr began to get every girl in the pub more involved with the boy, including Ryuu herself... Ryuu quickly learned that Syrs intuition had indeed been correct and, after a series of events transpired, Ryuu quickly found herself having fallen for the boypletely. The incident where he charged into the enemys headquarters to save the two Cat Persons resonated deeply with her and she wished that she could stand at his side to help vanquish evil. When they returned home that night, Syr had gathered everything together and began discussing a n to help Vahn and the two victim girls that he had saved... Over time, as Ryuu interacted more and more with Vahn, she found that her defenses had started to waver greatly. Though it was only for brief periods of time, she often found herself making casual contact with the boy and, as she listened to the recounting of his exploits, they made her feel excited and even happy. When things developed to the point that Syr had approached her to protect Vahn, Ryuu had epted without any hesitation at all. Just imagining what it would be like to spend so much time with Vahn, especially when he often did such heroic deeds, made Ryuu feel very excited... Though there were some hups along the way, especially regarding the troublesome wolf girl that Vahn had somehow tamed, Ryuu eventually found herself in several intimate moments with Vahn. When she was entrusted to care for him in the bath, Ryuu had decided that she wanted to keep her promise with her formerpanions and had made the decision to take Vahns hand and never let him go. However, even though she found this resolve inside of her, Ryuu knew that things wouldnt be so easy. Because of the light that he represented, there would be countless enemies that would rise to the task of trying to snuff him out. The more Ryuu learned about Vahn, the more apparent this became and she began honing herself like a de to take action when he was in danger. Even if it cost her life, Ryuu decided that Vahn couldnt die anymore... --- Vahn was surprised that Ryuus [Hearts Desire] didnt actually continue for much longer, especially considering they had be much closer after the visions in the orb. It seemed that, though they were both in love with each other, Ryuus desire seemed to extend beyond them and had a broader range that took into consideration their enemies. If he wanted to be able to satisfy her desire, something he thought he had been able to do several times in the past after making the promise at the gravesite, Vahn would either have to be strong enough that his enemies couldnt harm him. It was either that or he would have to help Ryuu get to a status where she was confident in her own power and could protect him herself. Somewhat disappointed that he hadnt pleted Ryuus desire, Vahn pulled out the hazy brown orb that belonged to Lunoire and crushed it into his palm expecting another long vision. However, against his expectations, Vahn found himself face-to-face with the gentle smile of the n.a.k.e.d Lunoire as the memories faded around them. She had already poured her heart out to Vahn in the past, without coating over things at all, and she was simply happy to be shown such care and concern by the handsome boy. After hugging his head into her chest, Lunoire stroked the back of his head and whispered, "Thank you for giving me a real home, Vahn...I think I have the confidence to start walking forward again...walk with me sometimes, okay...?" When he returned to the real world after what seemed like only a few seconds, Vahn felt like his brain had stalled a bit as the smiling face of Lunoire continued to disy within his mind. Releasing a long sigh, Vahn promised to treat her better in the future since it didnt really seem like she truly desired anything. Her Love parameter, which had been unlocked with the standard notifications, was only at 174 and Vahn wanted to change that to make her happier. This was something Vahn noticed crossed his mind every time he had realizations like this and it always resulted in a rtively simple, yet incredibly significant thought...he wanted to make all of the girls happier. With that thought in mind, he pulled out a snow-blue orb and tried to crush it, only to find that it was incredibly hard. As he had been pulling out the orbs in chronological order, Vahn had selected Emirus orb next and now found himself in a peculiar situation where it didnt break. However, he quickly realized that it likely rted to her sister so he pulled out the purple lc colored orb and held both of them in his hands. Squeezing his hands slightly, Vahn confirmed his spection as both orbs broke and he once again found himself in the ck abyss, this time alone as several vibrant memories passed through the void. Because they were almost always together, even during the bath and while sleeping, Emiru and Maemi had nearly identical memories and, it not for the fact that there was a strange three-dimensional illusion to the images, Vahn would have expected he was looking at just one series of images. Since the girls shared a different perspective, even for the same memories, the memories popped a lot more and Vahn was able to experience the conflicts both girls felt during each event... Vahn quickly realized that most of the colors of the girls memories were all dull and moderate colors, with few happy, sad, or even traumatic events at all. Other than the hunger and aching they would feel in their bodies during the harsh winters, the girls spent most of their time simply bored as they performed their duties. Since the women were required to take care of the livestock and tend to the homes, Emiru and Maemi were often only able to have fun if they yed together since many of the other children avoided them for being strange. Unfortunately, this peculiarity wasnt shunned by everyone and, as the girls continued to age, it was quickly arranged for them to marry into one of the other households within the n. The twins were very distraught over the matter because the man had been the same one that appeared in many of their negative memories because he always creeped them out. He often acted too nice to them and had even stumbled in on them in the bath when they were young girls. The fact that their father had betrothed them to the man, who was more than twenty years older than they were, made both girls very dissatisfied. He had taken advantage of the famine they were facing and simply used the dowry of a single fat pig in exchange for both of their hands. Unable to ept this oue, the girls instead convinced their mother that it would benefit the entire n if they were simply sold as exotic ves and exported to the City... Every time things got harsh for the n, merchants and ve traders would show up almost immediately so it wasnt difficult at all to arrange. Though their would-be husbandined about the matter, a single pig couldntpare against the entire cart of barley that was given by the ve trader aspensation. The cart would be able tost the entire small n for several months whereas the pig would have simply served as a luxury item unless they turned it into smoked jerky... Thus, with delusions of serving a wealthy Master, the twins escaped their boring lives in the Northern Tundra and became ves hauled away to the big city. To their surprise, and immense satisfaction, the first man that showed up to purchase them happened to be a very handsome young boy who seemed to have the air of a noble about him even though his face was very kind. Seeing himself reflected in the girls eyes, Vahn felt somewhat embarrassed because he could tell they saw him as an ideal mark and used theirbined charms to earn his pity. All of the memories after that, at least the ones the girls kept close to their hearts, became colored with a variety of warm colors in stark contrast of their past memories. Because the twins were somewhat delusional, Vahn got to see some tantalizing images of the two girls ying with each other as each took turns pretending to be him. When the memories progressed to the point that both girls had received the victory underwear from him, Vahn noticed that most of their important memories were when they were around him, or when the two girls were alone with each other in a scarily passionate manner. The only exceptions to this were when they were talking with some of the other girls and when they had learned of the Divination about their own demise... Once that final memory started to fade, Vahn felt two presences embrace him as both twins tip-toed and kissed the sides of his face. As a perfect mirror of each other, both girls began tough before saying, "We will be much stronger so that we can stay at the side of our loveable Master..." Vahn nodded his head in affirmation and allowed the memories to fade but, against his expectations, he found himself still in the ck abyss for a while longer as the two girls began rubbing against his body. Vahn could feel a pressure in the bridge of his nose as the girls panted simultaneously and mewled, "Master...when will you let us serve you properly...?" as the vision finally faded... Even when he awoke in the real world, Vahn could still feel the pressure in his nose because, just before the vision faded entirely, he could feel both girls rub a warm and moist part of their body against his hands. He didnt expect the avatars of the [Hearts Desire]s to actually be able to take such actions and it made him realize how peculiar the two girls were. Even in their memories, though they often fantasized about serving a wealthy Master, most of their delusions were s.e.x.u.a.l in nature. Because of their boredom early in their lives, both girls had been somewhat promiscuous, even though their fantasies only involved themselves instead of incorporating others into the mix. Knowing that he would likely have to confront the two girls in the near future, especially since he hadntpleted their quests, Vahn shook his head and pulled out a dark brown orb that belonged to Tione and crushed it into his hand with a bit of force. As he had expected, he found himself in Tiones past, much as he had for Tiona previously. Different from Tiona, however, was how Tiones memories were actually gued with a severe inferiorityplex for her own little sister instead of the desire for a hero and the will to escape their suffering by bing stronger... Tione hated how she was forced to constantly do battle against other children and how, no matter how many times she achieved victory, she was alwayspared to her more powerful younger sister. Tione didnt actually have a bad impression of Tiona at all, and she actually wished they could spend more time together as sisters, but that was something that wasnt allowed in their society. Because they had drawn the attention of Kali, they were split up very early on and were forced to train with two different masters. Tiones master, Argana, was a cruel and ruthless Amazon that purported strength over everything. She constantly put her through harsh training to be able to ovee her own little sister but, every time theypeted side-by-side, Tione found herself far behind her own twin. The only exception to this was when they were forced to fight each other and it made Tione feel like she was going to lose her mind because, no matter how poorly she treated Tiona during their duels, her younger sister never fought back at all. She would often have a silly smile on her face even when she was battered and bruised and, because of her failure to punish Tiona at the end, Argana would torment her during their trainingter. Eventually, Kali gave them some grace when she got bored of watching their one-sided fights and allowed the two to earn their freedom by defeating one-hundred opponents without a single loss in the span of a single day. Even though they were only seven years old at the time, Kali proimed them to be capable a.d.u.l.ts and allowed them to leave the vige in search of worthy mates. After that, Tione and Tiona became much closer but Tione always med herself for being the weaker sister and always tormenting Tiona because of the teachings of Argana. Just like Tiona refused to fight, she had the same option yet chose tosh out in the hopes that her own torment would be easierter on. However, it took Tione far too long to realize that it was simply Arganas nature to torment others and it didnt even matter how she treated her own sister... For several years, Tione wandered around the continent with her sister and was often saved by her whenever she lost her cool. Even though she caused so much trouble for Tiona, her little sister neverined about the matters seriously and often yed them off as a joke. This caused Tione to feel a great deal of frustration because she always felt like she was letting down her twin on every asion. It wasnt until they finally arrived in Orario and suffered defeat at the hands of Gareth and Finn that the dynamic between them began to make a turn. Because of the age difference, Gareth never gave Tiona a chance and, even though Finn never actually returned her feelings, Tione felt like she had gotten her first real victory over Tiona. Unfortunately, Tiona didnt seem to mind at all and simply went about life in a whimsical fashion as she steadily grew stronger and enjoyed each day to the fullest. Tione, however, found that pursuing Finn was quite a stressful life to live because, no matter how much effort she put in trying to get closer to him, he always refused her advances. Even when her body finally started to change, a fact she lorded over Tiona greatly, Finn still treated her like a child and, though he respected her feelings, never once gave her a chance. As time passed, Tione even realized she had be something of a gopher for the man that didnt have a ce for her in his heart. Though it was painful, just spending time with him made her happy so Tione tolerated the fact that Finn treated her as a convenient tool at times... Things continued this way for a time until Tione met the peculiar boy named Vahn Mason that her younger sister had been on a tirade about. Out of curiosity, she agreed to apany Tiona to meet the boy and was actually somewhat impressed by the amount of resolve he showed. He was very weak but never gave up trying to rise to his feet and, instead of resentment at having lost the fight, there was apetitive me in his eyes. Tione knew he would be much stronger one day but, against all of her expectations, they were reunited shortly thereafter and he had already transcended the growth she had expected from him. Seeing that her own sister had started to approach the handsome boy, Tione wanted to tease the two of them a bit and make her sister feel pressured. However, Vahn ended up being a peculiar boy that didnt behave in the normal fashion at all and was quickly conquered by her Tiona and, to her immense surprise, Ais. It ended up being Tione that felt pressured but things rapidly changed once again when she saw Vahn take an injury to his mind that he wouldnt be able to recover from. Tiona and Ais were both very distraught by the situation and, even though it was suggested to put him out of his misery, they eded to the twos demand to return him to the surface. Tione thought it was a tragic oue that would likely impact her sisters heart greatly but, deep within her heart, she couldnt deny she was somewhat relieved by the loss. However, this didntst long at all and, even though she constantly told Tiona that Vahn would never recover, he woke up after a mere nine days of being unconscious. Tione realized there was much more to the boy than she had realized and knew that her sister had definitely won out against her this time... Soon after, Tione experienced the event where Vahn charged into the Twilight Manor to steal away Tiona and Ais and it made her somewhat resentful of the fortune both girls had found. When her own sister returned a woman, Tione felt like a fire had been lit in her heart and she desperately stepped up her advances against Finn, even though he didnt wave in the slightest. As things got progressively better between Vahn, Tiona, and Ais, Tione found herself feeling very envious of the girls and, even though she didnt like him in the same way as the two, began seeking his affection as well. It made her feel somewhat vindicated with how easy Vahn was and it allowed her to justify that her own feelings for Finn were more real than what the three experienced... Tione realized once again that her expectations had been horribly misconstrued as she saw the power of the bonds between Vahn and the other girls in his life. Even though it was only for a brief moment, he had even touched her heart by his kindness and attentive personality. Every time she apanied Tiona and Ais on their dates with him, Tione always found herself feeling happy whenever Vahn would give her attention. Since Finn constantly shunned her, Vahn became one of the only constant sources of happiness in her life and she began to resent that he didnt show her even more affection... Tiones resentment continued to build up until it reached a critical point after they returned from the expedition to hunt Bloodsaurus. She had seen the weapons forged by Vahn for the other girls and it made her extremely jealous because there was a distinct difference in quality between their weapons. Her n to drug Finn with an aphrodisiac had been the final straw and Tione had begun to give up on the man that she had fallen in love with because she couldnt tolerate the constant heartbreak. Though she knew she wasshing out somewhat, Tione wanted to vent on Vahn because she believed that he was strong enough, and kind enough, to forgive herter on... The battle with Vahn made Tiones heart race and she started to realize that her feelings for the boy were bing increasingly stronger as the fight progressed. Though she was very angry with how he was constantly avoiding a direct confrontation, Tione was impressed by his speed and the prowess he showed during their fight. Even though he was much weaker than she was, he constantly came up with methods to deal with her attacks and was slowly gaining ground against her. By the time he grew the ck scales from his body, her heart had started to race even faster because Tione felt like she was on the verge of defeat. If Vahn was truly able to beat her, Tione felt like she could put her feelings for Finn behind her and finally find happiness for herself. Even though she might have to share the same man as her own sister, this didnt bother her at all and she even felt happy that they would be able to stay together... In agonizingly slow motion, Tione felt the shockwave from Vahns palms spread through her body before a powerful fury overwhelmed her and she kicked off of his face to open some distance for the next engagement. However, the moment her foot came into contact with his head, a powerful feeling of dread overwhelmed her as there was nearly no resistance at all and she knew that her blow had dealt a fatal degree of damage to the boy she had just decided to pursue. When shended on the ground and saw that Vahn was still standing, Tione had a brief hope that he was okay but it was dashed in an instant when she saw his previously handsome face had been turned to a pulp... As she stared at the image of her second love, dead on his feet, Tione couldnt form any coherent thoughts at all. She felt a powerful sadness seize her body as shemented the fact that she constantly hurt, or even destroyed, everything she cared about. Just as she had beaten her own sister in an effort to alleviate her own suffering in the past...just like how she constantly caused problems when they were traveling...just like she had unted her shallow victories as a result of her own vanity...Tione realized that the reason she was always unhappy was a result of her own shallow personality and desire to be loved...Now, however, just as she was likely to receive real love for the first time in her life...she had destroyed it, entirely on ident... However, Vahn once againpletely shattered her expectations and turned out to bepletely fine after the incredible item he had produced before the start of the fight took effect. Tione had just resolved herself to die as payment for her mistake but, instead of finding herself on the receiving end of a justifiable beating, she found Vahns gentle smile trying tofort her. Even when she had caused him so much trouble, even when she had literally almost taken his life, Vahn still showed her kindness and extended his hand to pull her away from her lonely existence. It was at this moment that Tione truly realized that she had fallen in love with the hopelessly heroic boy... Even when she faced severe reprimands, several punishments, and the ire of many of the women surrounding Vahn, Tione epted it all withoutint. Unlike her past self, which would haveshed out in an effort to deal with her frustrations, she epted everything willingly. It wasnt just her happiness that she had nearly destroyed, but the happiness of several other women, including various goddesses. If she wasnt punished by them, Tione would have taken to the task herself because she felt that she owed it to Vahn for the tolerance he showed her. Every time they met after the incident, Vahn didnt seem to pay it any mind at all and, if not for the fact he was following the guidance of others, he would have likely evenforted her further... Tione realized now why so many girls fell for Vahn because, even if it was someone as selfish and vain as she had been, he always looked for the light inside of others. Unless they were a threat to the people he cared about, Vahn was the type that could tolerate nearly any level of suffering against himself if it would allow him to reach through the darkness and save the other person. Though he was a bit of an idiot, he really did have the makings of a true hero as Tiona and Ais were so fond of bringing up. Tione wanted more than anything else, now that she had resolved herself to be together with him, to be someone worthy of his love... --- When he returned to reality, Vahn was in a slight daze as he processed everything that he had witnessed from Tiones [Hearts Desire]. Even though she saw herself in such a negative light, it wasnt incorrect to say that Tione had actually been a very tragic girl. She grew up without parents, was forced to fight for the entertainment of others, even against her own sister, and was constantly denied love and affection for her entire life. Other than Tiona, who was a paragon of tolerance that could even put Vahn to shame, Tione had nothing else. Most of her rtionsh.i.p.s with other people were somewhat shallow because she spent the majority of her time in her pursuit of Finn, someone that would never reciprocate her feelings... Vahn released a heavy sigh because he checked his notifications and realized that he hadntpleted Tiones quest and obtained her hidden parameter. Though it didnt seem like her initial desire at all, her heart had changed greatly after her interactions with him and it was now her wish to be a worthy woman for him. Vahn didnt like that idea of others trying to be worthy for him because he had never once considered her unworthy at all. It was somewhat frustrating to know that she was still beating herself up over a matter that hadnt even made much of an impact on him. The entire reason he had used the [Effigy of the Hero] is that he wanted both of them to go all out without inhibitions. Other than when other people brought it up, Vahn didnt think about the incident at all and found it somewhat incredulous to consider that others were harping over it. If not for the fact that he understood their justifications, Vahn would have probably walked straight over to Tione and whisked her away in a simr manner as he had done for Tiona and Ais in the past...However, that would have to wait forter as there were still several more [Hearts Desire]s to go through... (A/N: Alternate Titles:Unlimited [Hearts Desire] Works~!,The Power of Delusions,Tiones Vanity Is A Cover For Her Loneliness And Inferiority Complex (TT_TT) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 447 - New Years Resolutions (3/3)

Chapter 447 - New Year''s Resolutions (3/3)

After taking a short while to collect himself and make sense of some of the important details he needed to take note of, Vahn pulled out a crimson red orb as a smile appeared on his face. This was the [Hearts Desire] of Tsubaki and Vahn was somewhat hoping it wasnt too short. He had learned a little bit about her past from the woman herself, but Vahn was curious to know what kind of life she had lived before he met her. She had be one of the most important girls in life after arriving at the City and had been one of the key factors for his development. Even if it was just a bit, Vahn wanted to share Tsubakis experiences so he crushed the orb and embraced the stagnation of time that seized his body... When the vision took full effect, Vahn found himself in the endless ck abyss with the memory fragments floating around in the void. It wasnt to the extent of Tione, but Vahn was happy he would be able to at least see the memories Tsubaki considered to be important. Without any hesitation, he walked to the furthest image in the queue and noticed that, as he passed by the small windows that gave insight into Tsubakis past, many of them were full of warm colors with just a few touched by negativity interspaced throughout therger whole. From this, Vahn could tell that Tsubaki had led a rtively happy life, or at the very least had been content... The first memory Vahn got to see caused a huge smile to appear on his face and he mentally captured the image and even decided to immortalize it in a painting when his skills reached the requisite level. Inside the vibrant yellow image, full of happiness and good feelings, Vahn saw what looked like a five-year-old Tsubaki that was eagerly watching a beautiful woman forge, likely for the first time. She had an adorable expression on her face and looked like a rambunctious little girl while her mother, Sakuya, looked like a somewhat fierce woman with a confident expression as she hammered away at the metal. Vahn could tell that she wasnt a [Master Smith], but she was incredibly skilled nheless... Many of Tsubakis early memories were very happy events and Vahn could fee the joy she experienced for himself as he gleaned through them with a smile on his face. He didnt mind seeing the tragic pasts of the other girls, but it was very refreshing to be able to experience something like this on asion. He couldnt help but feel the chibi version of Tsubaki was heart-wrenchingly adorable and he wondered if this was how their daughter would look when she was a little girl. With this thought in mind, Vahn began to look forward to the birth of his children even more and happy feelings spread through his chest to match the childlike Tsubakis in the memory... Vahn finally came to the first significant memory in Tsubakis life and it was colored with a deep blue intermixed with purples and even a small fraction of furious red. What looked like a seven-year-old Tsubaki was holding a sheathed katana as she sat in seize in front of her Sakuya, who likewise had a katana of her own, as she exined to Tsubaki the identity of her father. Tsubaki had been curious about the man for a long time but knew it would upset her mother if she asked about it. However, when she finally possessed the requisite strength to be a warrior, her mother took the initiative to exin the situation to her. Tsubaki was sad to learn that her own father had abandoned them after stealing her mothers techniques and became full of righteous indignation in her tiny chest. She resolved herself to be a powerful warrior that didnt have to rely on anyone and vowed to exceed her fathers skills with a hammer. If he ever returned in the future, Tsubaki wanted to show him through her actions how much of a fool he had been to abandon them... Seeing the fiery resolve in the small girl, Vahn felt a bit of indignation of his own but there were many memories the go through and the current one faded unceremoniously even though he was still brooding over it. All of the proceeding memories were tinged with a fiery hue but were predominately full of good feelings. Sakuya was a harsh mentor, but she was also very fair, tolerant, and never shied away fromplimenting Tsubaki when she performed well. Vahn got to watch her evolution from a small girl, swinging around a katana that was far toorge for her, to a beautiful young girl that wielded a naginata like it was an art form. Unfortunately, Vahn reached a point in Tsubakis memories that had far more negative emotions than their predecessors. Her mother ended up getting a rtively rare disease that was almost exclusive to cksmiths and ended up bing very sick. Tsubaki worked hard to support both of them but the medicine for the treatment was very expensive and it simply dyed the inevitable. After two years of struggling, Sakuya finally took herst breath after drinking a tea to help her body rx so she could greet death peacefully. Throughout those two years, Tsubaki wrote hundreds of letters and paid exorbitant fees to have them delivered to the Iron Hills but never once received a reply from her would-be father. Though her mother died with a smile on her face, Tsubaki couldnt help but feel she had suffered a tragic and unjust end... Because of her promise to her mother to never stop doing her best, Tsubaki redoubled her efforts in her training and also quickly progressed as a cksmith. Vahn was amazed because Tsubaki had bounced back from her mothers death very quickly. She was obviously still very affected by the event but never relented on herself and constantly endeavored to live the life her mother would have wanted for her. Though she showed great sadness on the death anniversary, something which Vahn had cemented in his heart, she spent the rest of her time in high spirits and even made several friends in the Hephaestus Familia, something she had neglected in the past... The young girl in the memories blossomed into a beautiful young woman that looked very reminiscent of the current Tsubaki. Vahn, however, had a smile on his face because he could tell that the current Tsubaki was even more beautiful than she had been in her prime. Knowing this made him feel a great deal of pride in his own capabilities. However, this didntst for too long as, for the first time in a [Hearts Desire], Vahn got to experience the somewhat awkward past of a woman that had fallen in love with another man. Vahn could see what he knew to be the sixteen-year-old Tsubaki meeting a rtively in looking man that had an honest face and a resolute expression in his eyes... Though they started off as friends, it didnt take too long for Tsubaki to fall in love with the man, named Jonas Waller, who was always kind and attentive to her. Even though he was more than eight years her senior, Tsubaki found his care to be veryfortable and she even saw him almost like a surrogate father, at least up until he kissed her for the first time under the moonlight after their return from a sessful expedition. As they had known each other for nearly two years at that point, Tsubaki decided to open her heart up to the kind man and lost her v.i.r.g.i.nity the same night she had her first kiss. Because it was a very important memory to her, Vahn got to experience all of her thoughts and emotions in detail and it was rather embarrassing... True to Tsubakis previous words, the man was a very earnest fellow who worked very hard to make her happy after they became an official couple. His skills as a cksmith wereckl.u.s.ter, but he made up for his failure to earn a living through forging by venturing into the Dungeon and bing stronger at a faster rate. Tsubaki was happy that the man she fell in love with was so hardworking to the point where he even managed to be stronger than her after a year of effort. She had started focusing more on her forging and had been polishing her skills as a warrior without cing a heavy focus on the Dungeon anymore. They had been putting in a lot of efforts to build a family, something that Vahn was very aware of, so she was trying to adapt to the life of a woman that took care of the home... Unfortunately for both of them, their efforts were in vain and they had failed to conceive a child even after eight years. Tsubaki, though saddened by their failed attempts, wasnt nearly as affected as Jonas himself. He was already in his thirties and wanted to raise a family of his own before he became an old man that wouldnt be able to keep up with his own children. It was very obvious he was infatuated with the beautiful Tsubaki, something he proved to her often when they were together, and he med himself for failing to give her a child. At this point, they were both executives in the Hephaestus Familia and had achieved Level 4... Vahn had been feeling awkward experiencing all of the intimate memories, but he was more surprised by how strong a woman Tsubaki was. Even when she was obviously saddened by events, something she couldnt conceal from Vahn at present, most of her memories were predominately happy and full of positivity. Even when there was blue within the memories, it was almost never the dominant color at all. The only exceptions to this were when she was trying tofort the drunk and apologizing Jonas because she felt like she had failed him as a woman because of her race. At times like this, Tsubaki resented her own father even more because it was through him that she was born as a Half-Dwarf with a low fertility rate... Of course, even the powerful and positive Tsubaki couldnt maintain herposure at all times and Vahn eventually came to a series of memories that almost rivaled how sad she was during the two years that she had been taking care of her mother. Tsubaki and Jonas had learned that it was possible to create medicine from the horn of a Cadmus, the giant dragon that guarded the Cadmus Spring on the 51st floor, that could increase fertility. The Loki Familia had been probing into the Lower Floors a lot recently and, as the leaders of the expeditionary group, joined their party with the intent of obtaining the horn. Unfortunately, though they managed to obtain the horn with the assistance of the Loki Familia, Jonas had dropped his guard as a result of his own happiness and Tsubaki had to watch as he was ambushed by a Deformis Spider and took one of its spear-like legs through the chest. Even though she used all of the potions and elixirs she had brought with her, Tsubaki was unable to save Jonas because he had taken catastrophic damage to his lungs and heart. Jonas died trying to form words through bloodied lips but Tsubaki was unable to decipher what he was trying to tell her before he finally s.u.mbed to his wounds... As a result of the expedition, Tsubaki reached the requirements for obtaining Level 5 and spent the next several months focusing entirely on managing things within the Familia and improving her own skills in order to distract her from the loss of Jonas. She was only twenty-six when he died, which wasnt particrly old, but she had decided that her heart couldnt bear the burden of trying to have children with another man for another ten years. When the anniversary of her mothers death came once again, Tsubaki sat in front of the altar crying inconsble tears for several hours until there were simply no tears left to cry... After pouring her heart out to her mother, Tsubaki bounced back once again andpletely focused her efforts on supporting the Hephaestus Familia and pursuing her original goal of bing a [Master Smith]. Through her efforts, she was able to be the Captain of the Hephaestus Familia by the time she was twenty-eight and, though it had taken longer than she would have liked, reached [Master Smith] at thirty-one. This was a verymendable age to reach the prolific status of [Master Smith] so Tsubaki received a huge boost in fame and even managed to secure several contracts with powerful and influential Adventurers as a result of her skill... Vahn watched as Tsubaki continued to polish her skills as both a warrior and a cksmith but it gave him nofort anymore. He knew she was an amazing woman that had a strong heart, especially considering that most of her memories were still positive, but every time the anniversary of Jonas and Sakuyas deaths came around...Tsubaki always ended up in front of their shrines crying for several hours. It was almost like the bottled up all the negative emotions for the entire year and released them all when she kneeled in front of their graves and prayed... Vahn felt a dull ache in his heart because he knew that Tsubaki wasnt nearly as strong as the front she put on in front of others. However, his introspective thoughts were brought to a halt suddenly when he finally saw a memory that included himself. Vahn was surprised at first because, though he could recognize the boy in front of him as himself, it didnt look anything like how he currently saw himself. The boy in the memory looked sad and lost with somewhat dreary eyes and a perpetually mncholic expression on his face whenever he wasnt talking to someone. Through Tsubakis memories, Vahn was able to understand why so many of the girls in his life told him that his expressions were easy to see through. He could see his own eyes wander about Tsubakis body as clear intrigue appeared on his face as he inspected her. It was somewhat embarrassing because Vahn hadnt realized how bad his habit actually was. Tsubaki didnt seem to mind at all, however, and found his reactions very cute and refreshing. This didnt stop her from beating him up though and Vahn got to relive the experience of Tsubaki handling him like a child before the dropped down on his back once again in a fit ofughter... Vahn noticed that, from the moment he moved into the Manor and started training with Tsubaki, her memories had be far more vibrant than thest ten years of images. He could feel her concern for him as she slowly tried to guide him along the correct path and tried to help him open up his closed heart to others. Vahn also got to feel Tsubakis pride as she watched him slowly develop into a capable fighter and rtively skilled cksmith in a decidedly short period of time. He wasnt aware of it himself, but she had actually spent several long nights in her own room preparing materials for both he and Lili and corresponded with Hephaestus about their progress. Because she spent so much time on them, Tsubaki fell behind in her daily work and had topensate for it by workingte into the night. However, though this would have frustrated most people, Tsubaki seemed to be genuinely happy as she acted as caretaker and counsel to Vahn, Lili, and, eventually, Naaza. Vahn learned through Tsubakis memories all of the conversations she had with Lili and Naaza and it made him feel somewhat ashamed of his own emotional weakness at the time... Vahn could see that the queue of memories wasing to an end and could see that some of them began to be intermixed with pinks and, toward the very end, there were even some passionate reds ones. It had been a long time since Vahn had seen such colors in Tsubakis memories and knew it was the affectionate and intimate moments they shared with each other approaching. Vahn got to see his change in disposition after recovering from his mental injury and how relieved Tsubaki had been after realizing he would be okay. She had been very mncholic after learning he had also fallen in the Dungeon and had been spending the nine days drinking herself to sleep at night,menting her own failure to take care of him... When Vahn finally returned to the Manor, Tsubaki was incredibly relieved and marginally surprised by how much he had changed in such a short period of time. She found his change refreshing and supported his change to the best of her ability, even when he started to take some obvious liberties with her. Vahn got to experience the moment when he had teased Tsubaki for the first time and felt a wave of emotions spread through his body. From that point on, even though she didnt actually consider himself a romantic partner, Tsubaki felt a strange sense of happiness knowing that a young boy thought she was beautiful... Vahn slowly felt the changes in Tsubakis thoughts and feelings as he watched himself continue to change very rapidly before her eyes. He got to experience her care, concerns, inhibitions, and the small expectations that had started to bud inside of her. However, the most predominant feeling that gued Tsubaki when she was alone was indecisiveness and a fair amount of frustration because she could see how serious Vahn was bing about her, even though there were several younger girls around him. She had already given up on such things and, even though she harbored some whimsical thoughts, decided that she would eventually need to put a stop to his advances before it was toote and it became a burden to him... Unfortunately, or perhaps not, Tsubaki had severely underestimated the rate of Vahns change and she inevitably found herself in a very difficult position where she had to make an ultimatum. Though she had decided to turn him down, Tsubaki didnt want to hurt him and allowed him to attempt convincing her of his seriousness. This ended up being her biggest mistake, though Vahn could tell she was very happyter on, as there was no retreat left to her after realizing the changes to her own body. Denying Vahns feelings when he had put in so much effort to prove them to her would be unfair to the boy so Tsubaki decided to give him a chance... Vahn got to experience Tsubakis struggles adapting to the sensitivity in her body and got to witness, with a wide-eyed expression, Tsubakis personal exploration of the changes that had urred. Though he realized it every time they were together, Vahn felt like the Tsubaki in the memory was an incredibly beautiful woman and he was blessed to have been able to get closer to her... Finally, things reached the point where Tsubaki received the message through thework that Vahn was approaching her Manor. She knew things were nearing a point of no return and decided to give Vahn one final test in order to create a barrier between the two of them in the future. Even if she ended up giving her body and heart to him, Tsubaki didnt want him to bear her burdens on his shoulders like the other girls. She needed to show him that she was a powerful woman and, even if things didnt work out between them, she would be able to move on without him having to worry about her... Things didnt go as Tsubaki expected, however, and it was very frustrating to see how Vahn was able to peer into her heart so easily. Every time she hurt him during their duel, Tsubaki felt her own heart break a little because she knew that Vahn wasnt the type topromise when it came to his own feelings. Unable to defeat the boy before her, Tsubaki ended up giving inpletely and simply decided to give being a woman another chance. She had prided herself as a warrior and cksmith before she was a woman, but Vahn didnt seem to stumble at all and quickly reached the point where he unearthed the rtively fragile heart beating in her chest... Experiencing having s.e.x with himself was a very awkward thing for Vahn, but he still watched the memory and felt all of the emotions that had gone through Tsubaki at the time. He got to realize for himself the moment when she had actually fallen for him and it made everything after the fact feel more meaningful because he knew it was the union between two people that loved each other deeply. When Tsubaki felt the imprint on her body activate and guarantee her pregnancy, Vahn was nearly overwhelmed by her emotions and could even feel tears staining his cheeks... After going through the ceremony to be Vahns mistress, Tsubaki watched his retreating figure pass into the morning mist because walking into the secret location at the back of her own room where two pictures were enshrined. Unlike the previous times, when she had cried before the images, Tsubaki had a solemn expression as she apologized to Jonas for having fallen in love again and prayed to both of them to watch over her from now on. She swore to be a great mother that cared for her future children and promised that they would have a father that cared for and loved them without abandoning them... As this was the final memory, Vahn felt Tsubakis presence next to him as she too watched it begin to fade. Vahn looked over and matched gazes with the powerful woman as a smile bloomed on her face and she said, "Im sure you can understand it...but the thing Ive always desired was a family. I want to create a happy family and prove to my father that he was wrong to have left us...but Im not even sure if he is even alive. Its somewhat silly to think about, but I never got over the fact that he had left us and I was never able to meet him no matter how difficult things got...even when I experienced great sesses and became a [Master Smith], he was never around for me to prove him wrong. Promise me, Vahn, that you will care for our children properly..." Vahn nodded his head and embraced the avatar of Tsubaki as he said, "I will do my best to be a good father to our children, Tsubaki...not for your father, but because I love you..." The avatar of Tsubaki had returned his embrace with her own and, after hearing his words, said in a calm and gentle tone, "I know, Vahn...that is why I decided to ce the hope I thought I had lost in you.." Her words finished, the avatar of Tsubaki tilted her head to the side and gave Vahn a passionate kiss thatsted until he inevitably opened his eyes in the real world. Though he was unable to fulfill Tsubakis hearts desire, for the time being, Vahn knew he would be able to aplish it naturally in the future. She obviously had a trauma rted to her father and Vahn knew he would have to work with the Dwarves of the Iron Hills one day. If her father was still alive, Vahn would track him down and beat the man on Tsubakis behalf if he had to. Other than that, the only thing Vahn could do was show the strong woman the love she had always deserved. He also resolved himself to pay respects to her mother in the future, as that would likely make Tsubaki happy... After confirming the dates in his own mind, though he nned to talk to Tsubaki about themter, Vahn pulled out the next orb and resolved himself to finish them all. The next orb was a pale yellow and belonged to Preasia, someone Vahn knew had a troubled past. However, he also knew that such girls often didnt ce much significance on the past and, as he had expected, he ended up in the endless ck space staring at the n.a.k.e.d Preasia as the world around them shattered into pieces. Vahn did notice a strange incongruity, however, as the image of Preasia in front of him was standing in front of a broken version of herselfying on the ground. Though there was a bit of distance between them, Vahn could hear the pristine Preasia say, "I dont want to remember anything...the past is an insignificant memory filled with tragedy and suffering..." as she looked down at her previously scarred and battered body. Vahn had walked over and could see the Preasiaying on the ground had all the markings of her torture as she stared toward the void above with nk eyes. The pristine version of Preasia looked down at her former self with tears in her eyes but Vahn could also see a fair amount of frustration and even a bit of disgust. Preasia looked toward him with her light grey eyes and said, "Vahn...the only good things I have ever had in my life...are the things you have given to me...I know I may be a burden to you...but please let me keep this happiness that I have found..." Vahn c.o.c.ked his head to the side with a thoughtful expression on his face before he reached out his hand at pat Preasia on the head. Her body seemed to glow with happiness, but Vahn removed his hand shortly thereafter before kneeling down next to the catatonic Preasia on the ground. The pristine version seemed to be confused as she asked, "Vahn...what are you doing...? That me no longer exists..." Shaking his head, Vahn reached out his hands and, even though he shouldnt be able to use skills in this space, channeled his [Hands of Nirvana] and began treating the wounds of the girl on the ground. In a soft tone, Vahn exined to the confused girl, "Even if we are able to move on from our past, its not something we should neglect and forget. Though you look very different, this pitiful girl is the same as the pristine you that stands before me. If you cant ept your past, you will be a hollow and selfish existence..." As he spoke, Vahn continued to trace his hands unhesitantly across the injuries of the catatonic Preasia. The pristine version of herself stayed silent for the entire duration of the treatment until her past self had beenpletely healed. The only difference between the two of them now was the look in their eyes. However, almost immediately after he had finished his treatment, the pristine Preasia kneeled down next to herself and stroked the lifeless face as she whispered, "Even though the scars have faded...I still feel like they are on my body..." As she spoke, Vahn could see the wounds that had been healed in the past start to appear on the previously pristine body of Preasia. She noticed it as well but, instead of panicking in terror, she looked at each mark with clear eyes before nodding her head and saying, "I cant escape my past...but please allow me to pursue the future I seek for myself...You should know, Vahn, but the real me still has one part you havent healed yet..." Preasia ced her hands over her heart and looked at Vahn with a pleading gaze on her face as the entire scene finally copsed into nothingness... When he returned to the real world, Vahn spent a few minutes reflecting on how he should treat Preasia in the future. Even though she had obvious regrets, Vahn had actuallypleted her quest and she now had the Love parameter at 227 points with the bracket parameter (Lovelorn). This showed that Preasia considered herself to be in love with him but was unhappy because he didnt return her feelings. She was one of the more difficult girls to deal with but Vahn had already resolved himself the previous day to open up to her over time. As long as she continued to work hard for the future she wanted to obtain, Vahn couldnt find any reason to continue denying her affections. She would still need the guidance of some of the older women, but Vahn was confident things would go well as long as he treated her affections seriously. He didnt want to be like Finn, who had caused Tione so much pain and anxiety for several years... Thest two orbs belonged to Mn and Eina, one golden while the other was the same emerald green as Einas eyes. After a brief moment of rumination, Vahn shattered the golden orb and prepared himself to witness Mns past but the only thing that appeared before his eyes was Mns n.a.k.e.d body with a smile on her face. Vahn was somewhat sad because he wanted to know more about her past but his mncholy was cleared up quickly when Mn hugged him tightly and said, "Thank you, Vahn...for looking after me and my daughter...please take care of us from now on..." Releasing a soft sight, Vahn hugged Mns body and held her close as he said, "Even if youre happy with this oue, Im still going to find out more about your pastter...as for taking care of you, that is something I can promise from the bottom of my heart..." Vahn awoke in the real world with the happyughter of Mn sounding in his ears as he looked toward the emerald orb and crushed it in his palm. He hadpleted Mns [Hearts Desire], which simply seemed to desire personalfort and a safe ce for her and her daughter, and had unlocked her Love parameter at a somewhat frustrating value of 192. Mn was one of the first women he had met after arriving in Orario so it was a little disheartening to see her value was even lower than Lunoires... After time hade to a pause, Vahn found himself in another unique vision where he was in his own body except, instead of an endless ck void, he was in a small room using Einas thighs as a pillow as she stared down at him from above with a smile on her face. Vahn didnt know what to make of this situation at all until Eina whispered, "You know...I always wanted a little brother, Vahn..." beforeughing in a happy tune as she stroked his head... As if answering his confusion, Eina stroked the side of his face and exined, "Sorry, Vahn, but I dont have a tragic past like the other girls...I grew up rtively happy with parents that cared for me dearly. Though there were some that tried to put me down for being a Half-Elf, none of them were able to leave any real impact on my heart. With Riveria-samas protection, my family was able to live without facing any real hardsh.i.p.s and both of my parents are kind people...I was even blessed to have a cute younger sister..." Eina beganughing yfully as she grabbed both sides of Vahns face and stated in a serious tone, "Dont put your hands on her if you ever meet..." Vahn swallowed a bit of saliva as Einas pressure weighed down on him from above and he could see that she was especially serious. Though it was a bit shameless, Vahn had started to imagine what Einas purportedly cute younger sister looked like. She had seen the look on his face and wanted to make it very clear that she wasnt open to the idea of them ever being close. Vahn nodded his head and said, "I dont just go out looking for girls...I promise I wont do anything..." Eina began tough before releasing her vice-like grip of his face and stroking his head once again. After a short while passed, she mused, "Im more afraid that she would be the one that tries to get close to you...so just make sure you dont give her that opportunity. You cant ept everyone that falls in love with you into your heart Vahn...besides, I feel like I would be very stressed out if you ever got in a rtionship with her as well..." It was a little awkward being lectured like this within Einas [Hearts Desire] because Vahn knew that everything she was saying was her truest feelings. Though he had already said he wouldnt do anything, Vahn made a personal vow not to fall into the momentum of the girl when they inevitably met. If Eina was giving him a warning in her [Hearts Desire], there had to be a reason for it...likely the same reason for why she didnt attend the wedding of her own older sister... For what felt like an hour, Vahn justy on Einas thighs as she pampered him and made casual conversation. Vahn had started to realize that her [Hearts Desire], other than apparently wanting a younger brother, was simply to care for him like she was doing presently. Knowing that such things brought her happiness made Vahns heart feel warm so he said, "Eina, thank you for epting a troublesome boy like me as your husband...my life wouldnt be the same if I didnt have you to bring me to my senses on asion..." Hearing Vahns words, Einas smile became very affectionate as her entire expression softened and she mused, "Im happy to be your wife...even though I kind of just wanted to be your big sister...I just hope you can rx more in the future, Vahn...please tell me if you are ever hurting and I will do my best to help heal your heart. I dont want to see the future where you be a lonely Emperor..." Vahn nodded his head and was about to promise Eina that he wouldnt allow such a sad future to happen but his mind stalled when she leaned down while lifting his head and kissed his lips. Before Vahn could begin to enjoy the moment, he found himself standing next to his own workstation in a daze... Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Vahn checked the notification in the system and smiled widely after seeing that Einas [Hearts Desire] had been fulfilled and her love parameter was actually quite high at 3,479, even though they actually didnt get to spend that much time together. However, Vahn was surprised to find that the bracket parameter was something he had never seen before and it made him release a peal of wryughter as the image of the lovable Half-Elf appeared in his mind... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- //[Hearts Desire: Eina Tulle] fulfilled. Extra Parameter Love unlocked.// [Eina Tulle: Love 3,478(Sisterly Love) //Bond Established with [Eina Tulle]// //Optional Quest Triggered// [Quest: A Mans Responsibility, Repeatable] Rank: B-SS Objective: I.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Eina Tulle(0). Ensure a safe delivery; Current Children(0) Rewards: 100,000 OP, 1x [Guardian:(Nameless)] Failure Condition(s): Death, Eina Tulles Death, (Nameless) Childs Death Penalty: 200 Karma (0) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tsubakis Strength...,Preasias Trauma...,Onee-chan...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 448 - Research

Chapter 448 - Research

Even though it felt like he had lived several years of time, as it wasnt exactly a fast process to go through a persons memories, it had still been less than an hour since Vahn awoke. He now had a list of things he wanted to aplish in order to strengthen his bonds with the other girls and was also contemting getting other girls to 100 Affection in the future just so he could keep track of things more easily. However, the most important thing on his schedule was beginning his research into making under-armor for himself and the girls. He would begin probing further into the Dungeon alongside the Loki Familia in less than a week, so Vahn wanted to make some headway on the project before then. As for his rtionsh.i.p.s with the girls, Vahn nned to be less inhibited but was also going to shift his focus away from the girls, unless they had matters that required his attention. Besides, though it may seem cruel to some of the other girls, Vahn wanted to spend a few days with Eina since they were married now. She had three days off from work, even though she was still helping Misha and Rose get situated, so Vahn wanted to spend that time with her and, if she were staying over, Hephaestus... Of course, Vahn wasnt going to ignore the girls outright and even had several methods on hand to spend time with them that wouldnt actually eat into his work that much. Because of the little incident with Hephaestus, Eina, and Tsubaki, Vahn realized it wasnt appropriate to use detailed sculpts of their bodies as mannequins. He would instead do a lot of the basic work using simplified versions of the mannequins and then, once he was at a phase of his research where he needed to refine things, he would ask the girls themselves to assist him. Just imagining someone like Ais acting as his assistant made Vahn smile with a clearly happy grin on his face. Before he officially started his work, Vahn finished creating the batch of panties for Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya before setting them away snuggly within his inventory for the time being. Since he would be able to make better sets when his research was finished, Vahn only put in a marginal amount of effort into each of them with a focus on simply making themfortable. The only except was Tiones since the pair she wanted was rather unique with their ability to open at the bottom. Since she seemed to like the color ck, Vahn made use of shadowsilk that also ensured that the seam was concealed and made them look rtively normal. By the time he was finished, Vahn was already in the second block of his schedule but immediately decided to continue working after passing his perception over the Manor and eating a light lunch. There had been no unexpected arrivals at his workshop today and Vahn could see that everyones auras were stable within the residence. After confirming their status through his logbooks, Vahn pulled out a new mannequin that looked somewhat simr to Ais, as she had a good baseline body structure. She had yet to catch up to her future selfs potential and currently had a body that was blooming beautifully as a young woman. Compared to her future self, the current Ais actually wore several pieces of armor that didnt look toofortable to wear. Vahn remembered that her future self wore a simple b.r.e.a.s.tte and two metal tes at her sides without any other notable features. Now, however, she wore arm and leg guards that went up to her knees and elbows, wore ted armor on her upper body that continued into a battle dress, and even had shoulder pauldrons. She almost looked like an agility-tank hybrid that predominately relied on her [Ariel] to enhance her mobility to the extremes she was known for. Vahn knew the natural progression of herbat style would rely less on armor and her figure was presently the easiest to work with. This was also one of the first mannequins Vahn had created in the past so it didnt make use of the memory putty in its construction. The under-armor Vahn wanted to make needed to be all-purpose armor that wasfortable to wear, protected from the elements, resisted wear and tear, and also provided adequate protection to the girls. He also needed to take into consideration the biological requirements of the girls and had to make sure they would also be easy to remove. Since he had the task of creating a set for Fenrir, Vahn wanted toe up with something that even she would be able to remove easily. Though he had forgotten most things, Vahn still remembered the dresses worn by his Empresses as well as the silver and white bodysuit worn by Fenrir. For her to be wearing such a thing, it had to be forged by Vahn himself and he could remember a few of the details since he had been interested in it. Though he wasnt sure of the materials, Vahn knew he used threeyers that consisted of an absorbent inneryer, and an intricateyer of almost scale-like thin ting covered in runes, and a leathery outeryer that was likely meant to make it waterproof and help regte temperatures. Vahn wasnt able to recall the actual formations, but he knew that his future self had created something simr to mana circuits within the armor itself that should have enhanced the capabilities of the wearer by a fair amount. Since other armor could easily be worn over the top, he probably didnt try to make the under-armor with a focus on their defensive capabilities but pushed them to the extremes to draw out the potential of the girls instead. If they didnt get hit, there wasnt a need for any defense at all... As it was the mostfortable fabric Vahn had worked with thus far, he ended up creating the entire interior of the outfit using shadowsilk. It was a little difficult to sew together, but Vahn finally ended up with what looked like stockings that covered the body since, when the material was stretched, it became somewhat transparent. Vahn decided on a design that covered the h.i.p.s and about half-way down the thighs, much like a pair of spats, and a top that didnt cover the shoulders since many of the girls didnt like constrictive fabrics around their arms. Though he was nning on continuing his work using the shadowsilk as a basis, Vahn could tell at a nce that it likely wasnt going to work as intended... Vahn wasnt entirely sure what the scale pattern had been from the Divination but he knew it was a material that had to be organic and capable of containing mana. The future Vahn had very obviously used his Xunw form as the basis for the design since it was the only thing Vahn had ever seen that made use of scales with runic patterns on them. Vahn had never thought about it in the past, other than when he made his [Xunw Protectors], but it was actually a very good idea to try and enhance the capabilities of armor ording to his own transformations. His Xunw form was able topletely disperse shockwaves and, if he was able to truly incorporate that into the under-armor of the girls, even the mages in the group should have very high defense. It might take a bit of mana to upkeep, but that would also allow the girls to condition their bodies and adapt them to the constant use of mana, which was always a good thing. While in his Xunw form, Vahn studied the construction of his own scales and even plucked a few from his arm in the process. He harbored a small hope that he might actually be able to use his own scales as a resource but, when he returned to his human form, they simply dispersed into a brackish green powder. It might be possible to use them in the future, but Vahn would have toe up with another method than simply plucking them. At least he was able to use his [Eyes of Truth] to discern a bit about their structure and discovered that each scale had veins that served the same purpose as mana circuits that tied into the runes on the outside. Vahn should be able to create something simr to a refined scale-mail that was linked together by self-made mana circuitster on. It seemed like an unbelievablyplex task but that was the case with all high-ranked equipment. Vahn had never made scale-mail before, especially something asplex as what he was about to work on, so he did a bit of research before beginning. He realized his earlier intuition had been correct since he wouldnt be able to use a silk inneryer to hold together the scaled formation that he would have to create. He needed to use an absorbent material that was also durable enough to hold together theplex middleyer. Since it was the most functional material he had on hand, Vahn ended up using the skin of a wyvern that had been thinned to create a new base for the scales that would be embedded into themter. Unfortunately, the material wasnt actually that flexible at all and Vahn once again hit a dead end after a full days work. Even though he should have been frustrated, Vahn was instead happily scribing away inside a book all of the details that he would need to take into consideration in the future. Each failure was one step closer to actual sess and Vahn knew that consulting one of the gods that created the fabrics used in many Adventurer wear would likely be the key. Vahn had purchased some of the fabric from the shop but noticed it wasnt very suitable for his purposes either. He needed to learn how they made such fabrics so he could emte the process himself, but with much higher quality materials. It would likely require him to treat the materials with some kind of chemical solution that would soften them up, but Vahn wasnt aware of the specific solution that would be necessary as of yet. With a long list of potential solutions, alongside several designs that he would like to try in the future, Vahn made his way toward the dining room where everyone had started to gather. He intended to talk about his new research a bit and, when it was more appropriate to do so, give the new panties to the four girls that had requested them. Vahn knew he would end up making several other pairs in the future but didnt want it to be his primary focus for the time being. There were only five days left until the expedition began and he wanted to spend as much of his free time as possible creating the temte for future armors. Against his expectations, not that he should have been surprised at all, Tsubaki already knew how to treat hide to make it softer and made Vahn feel somewhat embarrassed because he hadnt considered asking her for help earlier. Riveria was also somewhat interested in his new research since he hadnt shown up in the Library today and they spent nearly two hours after dinner going over the notes Vahn had taken throughout the day. Tsubaki was very surprised at theplexity of the designs Vahn was trying to pull off whereas Riveria just stared at the various runes Vahn had drawn out with schrly intent. When asked where he learned suchplex and unique runes, Vahn transformed into his Xunw form and got to experience the rtively interesting scene of Riveria looking over his body and taking notes as she traced around the edge of his scales with her finger... As nned, Vahn ended up spending the night with Eina and Hephaestus, who had shown up after finishing up her own matters. Vahn had told her to message him if she wanted toe over sote, since it would be much safer, and faster, if he went to receive her. Hephaestus teased him for worrying so much but also eded to his desire and promised to let him know in the future unless he was away in the Dungeon or busy. Afterward, Vahn experienced being pampered by the two girls since Einas body hadnt entirely recovered from the previous night. S.e.x wasnt the only thing that could be done in bed and, with Einas guidance, Vahn ended up getting massaged by the two girls, once again realizing how rxing it was to be pampered by those that cared about him... --- While Vahn was shacking up and enjoying quality time with his two wives, others werent quite nearly as rxed. Freya had met with Hephaestus and Loki earlier and had arranged to finally meet with Vahn the following day. She wouldnt be able to have any alone time with him, but that didnt help her restless body calm down at all. After her meeting with the two red-headed goddesses, Freya had returned to her own private residence at the top of Babel Tower and summoned her four favorite children who quickly arrived in her throne room. Freya overlooked the powerful men she had been cultivating for thest few years starting with the strongest of the lot, Ottar. He hailed from the reclusive Boaz tribe from the Southern Sands and stood at 210cm tall with a powerful frame like an Adonis. Though he wasnt that handsome, his healthy brown skinbined with his rust-colored hair and eyes caused him to appear very attractive to many women. He was irrefutably the strongest Adventurer in the entire City and was the most loyal of all her children while also serving the Familia as its Captain. Next to Ottar, with a stern expression on his face, stood a handsome Cat Person with ashen grey hair and ck eyes. He stood around 170cm tall and had an athletic figure that looked somewhat tinypared to the statuesque Ottar. This was Allen Fromel, the man considered to be the fastest Adventurer in the entire City with his Silver Spear. He possessed the alias, Vana Freya, a title which he carried with pride because of the corrtion it had with Freya herself. To the nks of Ottar and Allen, there were two contrastingly handsome men that stood with straight backs and inarguably handsome faces. The man on the right was Hedina, an Elf that Freya had recruited long ago and had served her loyally for nearly twenty years. If not for the indomitable nature of Ottar, and the amazing potential of Allen, he would have been a candidate for the position of Captain when Mama Mia had left in the past. He had a very rare form of magic which made use of lightning and was very difficult to deal with. Not only did he have a version of the spell that could wipe out entire armies of monsters, but he also had an instant-chant version that could char the bones of weaker enemies with a single strike. Standing at the opposite nk was a man that Hedin didnt get along with at all, the Dark Elf Hogni. Contrasting Hedins blonde hair and blue eyes, Hogni had raven ck hair and red eyes that glowed with a subtle light. The two had been mortal enemies of each other that onlypromised when directly ordered by Freya. Unlike Hedin, who was a capable mage, Hogni was a pure swordsman that wielded a cursed ck de named [Dainsleif]. It was capable of cutting through anything and could even slice through magical spells, to Hedins distaste. The only downside to the sword was that it ate away at the sanity of the user and required them to kill something every time it was unsheathed. Once she had looked them over, Freya showed a beautiful smile before changing the position of her legs in a somewhat seductive manner that caused all but Ottar to be alert. With a somewhat cold smile on her face, Freya said in a casual tone, "Tomorrow morning, I will be meeting with the heads of the Alliance and Vahn Mason..." Hearing her words, Allen, Hogni, and Hedin all showed slightly dissatisfied looks on their faces but didnt say anything that might offend Freya. However, Freya hadnt missed their reactions at all and her expression turned icy as she said, "Vahn Mason is the key to my being able to obtain a child...I wont tolerate it if you offend him in any way. If you cant deal with him amiably, simply protecting him from the shadows will suffice...understood?" Though he hadnt been one of the three that showed a negative reaction, Ottar took the lead and knelt before Freya as he said in a firm tone, "As you will..." With his example, the other three all knelt quickly and repeated his words as Freya red at them with her icy silver eyes. After a momentary pause, Freya showed a smile once again and said, "Im sure you have all been thinking about ittely...the matter of me bearing a child, that is..." Hearing her words, the three once again flinched without saying anything at all. Freya nodded her head and stated clearly, "I have decided that the only two qualified to sire my child at present are Ottar and Vahn Mason himself...you three know my character well and should have never harbored any intentions of having children with me at all. If you want to change my mind, show it through your actions and rue merits that would impress me...I will not settle on the matters of my own child so you can only me yourself if I find you unworthy." For several long seconds, the room becamepletely silent as Freyas words echoed through the chamber. Each man gathered knew exactly what type of person Freya was and they had all chosen to follow her knowing full well their own ce. As she said, they had actually all given up on having children of their own unless Freya ordered them to sire children to make use of their potential in the next generation. Harboring intentions toward Freya went against everything they believed in, not that this made it easier for them to agree with her decision. Each of them, especially Allen, felt they were worthy to sire Freyas children and now resolved themselves to prove it to her. There was nearly no way they could defeat Ottar, at least currently, so they would have to seek other ways to impress her. Seeing that everyone gathered showed a renewed resolve to grow stronger, Freya smiled happily before standing from her throne and saying, "The person that can bring me the head of Valletta Grede will be taken into consideration when Im mulling over the matter in the future. Each sessive head of one of the Thanatos Familia members will award you bonus points...as for Thanatos himself...you can leave him to me~." Hearing her words, Allen shot to his feet and brandished his spear before leaving with haste. Not to be left behind, Hedin and Hogni both rose before bowing politely to Freya and following the path Allen had taken to exit. When it was just the two of them, Freya looked down at the kneeling Ottar and asked, "Do you think my decision is harsh, my darling Ottar~?" Ottar looked up and the only thing Freya could see reflected in his rust-colored eyes was an unwavering loyalty as he said, "If that is your desire, I am certain it is the correct path..." Freyas smile widened and she stood from her throne before walking forward and standing in front of Ottar. Even though he was kneeling, his head wasnt that low and Freya was able to easily grasp both sides of his face as he looked into his eyes. In a soft tone, Freya muttered, "Vahn will be apanying the Loki Familia on their expeditions in the future, leaving the Hearth Manor without a reliable guardian when all of the powerful members apany him. Until the construction of the Manor is finished, I want you to watch over that residence and ensure nothing happens to those within..." Ottars expression didnt wave in the slightest hearing Freyas orders and he simply stated, "As you will..." before she leaned down and began kissing his lips. Ottar reciprocated her actions before grabbing her waist and lifting her body in a practiced manner. Without requiring an exnation, Ottar carried Freyas body to her bedchamber as the ck and red petals wilted away from her dress... (A/N: Im officially back from vacation now~! Happy new year <3) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn inventing the plugsuit...,Riverias and Tsubakis assistance ,Freyas Machinations) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 449 - Unique

Chapter 449 - Unique

During the usual morning reverie, Vahn was caressing Hephaestus and Eina before the red-haired goddess released a somewhat tired sigh and said, "Vahn, Freya will be stopping by this morning with Loki..." As it was something he had already expected, Vahn simply continued to caress Hephaestus hair as he nodded his head and said, "Yeah, I sensed her presence the day of the wedding...dont worry, I dont n on giving her any ground. If Loki ising by, does that mean you and Eina will be there as well?" In response to his words, Eina began tough in a somewhat awkward manner as she said, "Ill worry about the mortal girls with Syr...if possible, Id like to avoid someone like Freya since she doesnt seem like the type of woman that would give any ground at all..." Since Freya and Loki were going to be arriving early, Vahn made the decision to prepare for the day a little earlier than normal and see how everyone was doing. Everyone was taking a break from the Dungeon since there was an uing expedition, but this didnt mean they were taking a break from their training. Vahn would be dealing with Freya, but he still made an appearance and gave his input on things while also viewing the progress of everyones skill development. With the opportunity present, Vahn had decided to take the time to discuss the [Grimoire of Guidance] with Riveria when the other girls split into their groups. Hearing that Vahn wanted to talk to her about something, Riverias expression be somewhat serious and sheposed herself in a visible manner which caused Vahn to ask, "Is there something wrong...?" Without faltering in the slightest, Riveria looked directly at him and said, "With how youre acting, I feel like youre about to say something ridiculous once again...I wanted to prepare my mind for the inevitable." Vahn paused for a short while at her words before he pulled out a golden grimoire that looked pristine and untouched. There werent any identifying marks on it at all and, when Vahn had checked the contents earlier, all of the pages were nk. Seeing Vahn pull out a book, Riveria showed a slightly confused expression as she waited for him to exin the situation. With a somewhat wry smile on his face, Vahn exined, "This is called the [Grimoire of Guidance]...it allows the user to record their understanding of any Skill, Magic, or Development Ability, with the exception of rare skills..." Riveria nodded her head with a small smile on her face as she looked at the golden grimoire in Vahns hands. Then, without any ceremony, she pinched the bridge of her nose with her eyes closed in clear frustration... Once Riveria managed topose herself a little, she looked back at Vahn with her jade-green eyes and asked, "How did you obtain such a ridiculous item...is it something you created? Can you create more?" Vahn nodded his head and exined, "This item is a natural product derived from the bond between myself and Eina. I can only obtain them through special circ.u.mstances and I dont know the requirements to obtain more..." Riveria had taken out a notebook which Vahn could see was titled, Observations of the Enigmatic Vahn Mason and began writing down notes for a short while before asking, "If you obtained that from your bond with Eina, does that mean you have obtained other items from your rtionsh.i.p.s with the other girls?" Riverias research switch had been flipped and now she wanted as many details as Vahn was willing to part with. Since their rtionship had improved over thest few days, Vahn didnt mind exining things as best as he was able since there was a fair chance Riveria might be able to help him make better use of the unique items. She was also one of the attendees at the Divination meeting and was now bound to protect the information Vahn released to her, even at the potential cost of her life. Thus, without any hesitation, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Every time my rtionship has reached a certain threshold, Ive always obtained a few unique items and, though it is very rare, Ive even obtained skills and abilities..." Hearing Vahns words, Riverias brows raised and she began to scribble rapidly in her own notebook as she asked, "What kind of skills have you obtained, and can you tell me what items, and from whom, you obtained them?" Vahn c.o.c.ked his head to the side in contemtion before saying, "I obtained [Heart of the Eternal me] and [Prometheus] from Hephaestus, [Mixing] from Chloe, [Friend of Spirits] from Ais, and [Fist Strike] from Tiona..." Before he was able to continue to items, Riveria gave Vahn a somewhat incredulous look and asked, "You obtained a development ability from your rtionship with Chloe...?" Vahn nodded his head and exined, "I was also able to advance my forging capabilities through my rtionship with Hephaestus and Tsubaki..." Riveria had aplex expression on her face as she scribbled a few extra lines andmented, "That is quite the convenient ability..." before shaking her head and asking, "Anything else...?" Vahn stroked his chin in a thoughtful manner before shaking his head and saying, "Everything else should be the items Ive obtained..." Riveria turned to a new page andbeled it as Unique Items before waiting for Vahn to begin going over what he had obtained. Since it would be best to get the problematic items out of the way first, Vahn pulled out a small golden hearth and what looked like a spiral walnut with green energy pulsing from it. Riveria was curious about the [Divine Hearth] but it was like her brainpletely stopped when sheid eyes on the [Seed of the Tree of Life] that Vahn had produced out of thin air. Before she had a brain aneurysm, Vahn picked up the seed and exined, "This is an item I obtained through my bond with Ryuu, along with that [Fairy Promenade] that I used to cut a path through the Dungeon walls previously...it is simr to what you suspect but fundamentally different at the same time." As a High Elf, Riveria was very sensitive to the existence of the rtivelyrge seed that Vahn was holding in his palm. She knew that, as he said, the seed in his hand likely had nothing to do with the sacred trees in the forest but she couldnt help but feel a bit of anxiety seeing him holding it so casually. Even if it was just simr in function, that seed could be of paramount importance to the Elven people in the future...however, when this thought crossed her mind Riveria suddenly realized that may not exactly be the case anymore. Many Elves relied on the seven Trees of Life in the Elven Kingdom to increase their fertility rate but Vahn had already seen through the issue with their fertility and would likelye up with a permanant solution in the future... Vahn stowed away the seed and hearth before pulling out the [Vision of Aries] and [Transfiguration Lens]s and exined their uses, bring Riveria back to her senses. She thought the [Vision of Aries] was rather impressive but when she heard about the use of the [Transfiguration Lens] obtained from her own goddess, Loki, she couldnt help but ask, "So this small oculus allows a person to literally be anything for twenty-four hours? Have you ever used it?" Vahn shook his head and held up the magnifying ss like object and said, "I never found a good time to use it in the past so Im not entirely sure how effective it is. Since it was obtained from Loki, however, I can almost guarantee it is powerful as all the items obtained from goddesses are phenomenal..." Riveria nodded her head and made a few notes before asking in a somewhat casual manner, "Have you obtained anything from me?" Vahn had been eyeing the [Transfiguration Lens] in deep thought so he was caught off guard by Riverias words. He looked up and saw her giving him a curious look as she held her quill to the notebook and prepared to take notes. Vahn shook his head and exined, "I havent been able to obtain anything from you, Lefiya, Arnya, and..." Before Vahn could recall the other girls he had yet to obtain a [Hearts Desire] from, Riveria showed a frown and asked, "What exactly are the requirements to obtain such items?" Vahn let his words trail off a bit before exining, "It seems to be dependant on the level of affection shared between myself and the person...though there are exceptions since Ive obtained items through previously one-sided affections before. If I had to state the reason, it would be dependant on the affections that the girl has towards me and I have to be aware of it...?" Riveria nodded her head and turned back a few pages to make some notes before she said, "So, if I show you enough affection it would result in the creation of unique items? Since you said it could be a one-sided affair, that means it doesnt involve physical contact or intimacy...so is it a matter of resolve?" Riveria seemed to be lost in her own thoughts and mumbled a few words to herself before looking at Vahn with a serious expression on her face. Vahn felt a bit of pressure from her gaze and could feel the hair on the back of his neck begin to rise. After nearly a minute passed in silence, Riveria frowned slightly before writing another line in her notebook and asking, "This might seem a bit rude, given the context of this conversation, but can you transform into a High Elf...?" Since he was also quite curious about what Riveria was trying to do, as it seemed like she was trying to like him even more, Vahn did as she said and spent about twenty minutes transforming... Because it was one of the things that had impacted him the most, Vahn actually set his intent on the yet undoc.u.mented race Progenitus as he transformed. He could still remember bits and pieces about that form and it wasnt actually that differentpared to a High Elf. Though it would likely take a fair amount of research to discover the secrets contained within that form, Vahn was still able to emte the appearance to an extent. Through his efforts, he ended up increasing his height to nearly 180cm and he had a lean and powerful body with ashen-ck hair that he swept back with his hands. When he opened his own eyes, Riveria was looking at him with a wide-eyed expression on her face as she asked, "Where...did you get the idea for this form...?" Vahn smiled and said in a somewhat deeper voicepared to normal, "It is simr to the form I assumed in the Divination, though the race is still considered a High Elf...what do you think?" Though he already saw, not only Riverias, but almost every girls auras fluctuate, he still wanted to ask since he wanted to tease her a bit. Hearing his words, Riveria showed an almost indiscernible blush on her face as she wrote a line of text in her notebook and started staring at him once again. Unlike the silence of before, this time Riverias expression was a bit unstable and Vahn could see the corners of her eyes twitching as her cheeks turned somewhat rosy. He thought her reaction was somewhat cute and decided to smile. The moment he did so, however, Riverias eyes widened slightly and she even averted them to the side as a notification sounded in Vahns head. Vahns smile became even wider as he said, "Looks like you managed to pull off your experiment..." in a distinctly teasing voice. Riverias eyes widened slightly and, without making eye contact with him, asked, "Did you make something...?" Vahn nodded his head and turned to the system notification before pulling out the items that Riveria had worked so hard to create... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Riveria Ljos Alf Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: S Rewards: 10,000OP, 1x[Hearts Desire: Riveria Ljos Alf] Grade Rewards: [Mage:C] Development Ability Unlocked,1x[Yggdrasils Branch: Alfheim], 9,000OP [Yggdrasils Branch: Alfheim] Rank: Unique Use: Specialized item that can be used on a Tree of Life to increase the potency of its effects. Part of the nine unique items used to upgrade a Tree of Life into the World Tree, Yggdrasil. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Even Vahn was shocked by the description of the [Yggdrasils Branch: Alfheim] so it wasnt an exaggeration to say that Riverias mind had called it quits for the time being. She held the item in her hands with a dazed expression on her face as she stroked it like it was one of the most precious things in the entire world. As for the jade-green orb that Vahn had produced, Riveria didnt pay it any notice for the time being as she contemted various matters in her mind. Eventually, she handed the small branch back to Vahn and said in a slightly exasperated tone, "I think that you will one day find an appropriate ce to nt your own Tree of Life in the future. When the timees, I want you to use that branch and well try to build a small haven for the Alliance in the future..." Hearing Riverias words, Vahn suddenly had a thought and wondered if the haven Riveria mentioned casually is what he had decided to create on the 50th floor. It could be a coincidence, but it seemed highly likely that this was the case since it was one of the few ces Vahn could actually think to nt the seed. Anywhere on the surface would just cause problems for themter on and it was actually a good idea to convert a part of the Dungeon in a very fertile ce. His other options were to try and create an orb, simr to the one used to contain the memory fragment of Eva, or find another ce where the tree could grow in rtive safety... Now that she had regained her senses, Riveria picked up the small orb in her hands and asked, "You said this was called [Hearts Desire]...and it contains memories of my past that are kept close to my heart? Does that mean youve been able to peer into everyone elses pasts already...?" Vahn shook his head and tried to exin, "Its not quite that simple as the orb only shows me the memories that the person wants me to see...it doesnt let me experience their entire past...unless that is something they want to share..." Riveria nodded her head and made a few notes as she handled the small orb with intrigue on her face. After a short while, Riveria handed it back and said, "I dont want you to use it just yet, as there are a few things I would like to try first. When the timees, Ill let you know when to use it and then I want you to tell me everything you saw, okay?" Vahn epted the orb and put it away in his inventory under the watchful eyes of Riveria, promising to put off using it until she was ready. Since their rtionship wasnt actually that close yet, Vahn knew he would have been able to peer into a lot of Riverias past. Unlike his earlier words, Vahn knew that the [Hearts Desire] was a lot more personal than he let on and it was very apparent that Riveria had seen through his earlier words. Riveria knew that Vahn wasnt telling a lie, but she could tell there was far more to the orb than what he had disclosed to her. She had even tried to break it in her own hand when she was handling it only to discover that it was seemingly unbreakable in her grasp. It was likely only an item that Vahn himself could use and she wanted to develop their rtionship further before he was able to take a peek into her memories. If possible, she would like to talk with him about the matters personally instead of letting him find out about them through such a mystical method... Vahn continued talking with Riveria about the various unique items he had obtained and the fact that he now had the [Mage] Development Ability after having obtained it from her. Riveria released a long sigh after learning Vahn had obtained such a skill for free but was somewhat happy that he had obtained it through her. This also allowed her to see Vahns own magic circles, which he was now able to create through using the Development Ability. Whenever he used [Shundo] now, Vahn saw small silver magic circles appear under his feet and he had recorded their structure using his [Eyes of Truth]. [Shundo] was a rtively rare space magic so Vahn wanted to study the structure of the magic circle to further his understanding in spatialws. By the time the morning training hade to an end, Vahn had learned a fair amount about his own skills because he was now able to evaluate them through his own magic circles. He even experimented with talking through his own magic circles and had some small sess in that regard. Because he was already able to use almost any magic, Vahn was now able to see how that was interpreted by the world itself and found that his own magic became more efficient through self-study. Even Lefiya hade over after seeing the magical lightsing from Vahns body and both she and Riveria were fervently taking notes on Vahns progress up until the moment three powerful auras arrived at the Manor... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Riverias torment...,Jiiiiiiiiiiiii...,First Steps of the Arch Mage...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 450 - Confronting Freya

Chapter 450 - Confronting Freya

Detecting Freyas arrival, likely alongside Loki and Ottar, Vahn realized he was still in his mock Progenitus state and knew it would potentiallyplicate matters if he met Freya like this. However, he decided that it would actually be beneficial to show up in a form she didnt expect as it would allow him to throw her off her groove. Since he had two [Transfiguration Lens]s in his inventory, and also specialized in transformation magic, he would be able to exin it away if it became a point of contention. She likely wasnt the type to spread rumors anyways, especially since she was trying to get closer to him, so Vahn decided not to worry about it. Even if his enemies knew he could change form, it would simply make them more cautious in trying to approach him and allow him to seize the initiative in future confrontations... Hestia showed up at the back of the Manor to retrieve Vahn and was surprised to see his current form. He exined his reasoning to her before they both made their way to the study where Hephaestus, Loki, Freya, and Ottar were waiting for their arrival. Vahn felt a little nervous about the uing confrontation but decided to treat it with the same conviction as he had decided to face the rest of his matters with. With the turn of the new year, Vahn wanted topletely reinvent himself and didnt want to get caught up in the momentum of others so easily. Freya seemed to be the type that desired control over a situation and Vahn knew it would only benefit him if he controlled the momentum himself. Before he entered the study, Hestia stopped him in the outside corridor and said in a serious tone, "Vahn, you have to be cautious of Freya, even if things eventually develop to the point where you have to promise with her...even if her behavior is a product of her Divinity, she has always been the type that embraced her fate. If you create a gap for her in your heart, she will seize it and never let go...she is even worse than me when ites to how clingy she can get..." Toward the end of her words, Hestia showed an embarrassed expression and hung her head low. Vahn smiled and stroked her silky ck hair as he said, "Dont worry, Hestia, I know precisely how dangerous Freya can be...besides, I think your behavior is cute. I know youve been holding yourself back a lottely, so dont be afraid to be a little needy at times..." Hearing Vahns words, Hestia looked up with glittering eyes and a beaming smile on her face before jumping up and clinging to Vahn happily as she said, "Ehehehehe, Vahn~!" As they werent too far away from the study, Hestias loud outburst had alerted everyone inside so Loki came out with a somewhat annoyed expression on her face as she said, "Hestia...there is a time and ce for everything..." Vahn, however, wrapped his arms around Hestias waist and took toward Loki as he said, "Its better like this...after all, this is our home. Freya might be a guest, but I cant prioritize her over the people I care about." Without any hesitation, Vahn sent a wink to Loki and carried Hestia into the room as she fl.u.s.tered about in his arms. Seeing Vahns peculiar arrival, Hephaestus showed a bit of confusion while Freya looked predominately unperturbed. However, though her expression remained unchanged, Vahn could see the fluctuations in her aura as he walked over and sat down next to Hephaestus before finally releasing Hestia. Then, before anyone else could open up the conversation, Vahn looked at Freya for a brief moment before staring at Ottar as he said, "Greetings, Freya, Ottar...wee to the Hearth Manor. This isnt exactly our first time meeting, but allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vahn Mason, known as the Sage Aldrnari and the Captain of the Hestia Familia...now, the question that begs an answer is...what brings you here today?" As Vahn spoke, he waved his hand and set out a variety of expensive teas, snacks, and even a bottle of wine since he knew both Loki and Freya were the type to partake of wine throughout the day, almost as if it were water. Freya herself stared at Vahn with a hint of confusion on her face for several seconds before asking, "You are Vahn Mason...?" Knowing that she was confused about his appearance, Vahn smiled and picked up his own teacup before exining, "That is correct...you see, Ive been working on developing a transformation magic and have even had some sess in developing items that can be used to change a persons appearance." After setting his cup down, Vahn pulled out the [Transfiguration Lens] and, without any ceremony, activated its effect... This was a good opportunity to test the limit of the item as well as put Freya herself off kilter so Vahn did something drastic that he knew wouldpletely seize the momentum in his favor. Before the eyes of the stunned goddesses, and one Boaz, Vahns form shrunk from his 180cm down to around 160cm and he became the spitting image of Tiona. Vahn had thought about taking things even further and bing someone like Hestia, but imagining a pair of giant b.r.e.a.s.ts on his chest was somewhat awkward. Of course, theck of his best friend down below made Vahn feel a strange sense of anxiety but he was able to ovee it by imagining he was in the form of someone he cared about deeply. Vahn smiled at the stunned crowd and spoke out in a voice that made him nearly want tough because it was identical to Tionas,"As you can see, Ive made a great deal of progress when ites to transformation magic~." Because he had been emting Tiona, Vahn found that he actually added a bit of inflection to his own words and this made him a little excited. However, Freya wasnt the most shocked by his transformation and it was Loki who asked, "What the hell is going on!? Did you really just be Tiona~!?" as she began to pat Vahns body earnestly. Without any warning at all, Vahn found Loki reaching in between his thighs before a fluttery feeling spread in his lower body. Lokis eyes widened into full circles as she muttered, "Its gone..." pping away Lokis invasive hands, Vahn frowned and said, "Loki, calm down, I can always change back whenever I want. Ill exinter; now isnt the type for you to freak out..." Because he was feeling ufortable in his baggy clothes, Vahn toggled through some items in his inventory before using his equip function to change into a new set of clothing. He didnt want to wear the super exposing clothes of an Amazon, so Vahn picked out one of the sweaters Preasia often wore and a pair of shorts. For a brief moment, he contemted if he should wear underwear but decided against it for the time being and kept on his briefs. Freya had managed to collect herself a bit, though she was surprised when Vahns clothing suddenly changed in an instant, and said in a bemused tone, "That is quite the impressive item you have created for yourself...Im sure it would be able to make the Hestia Familia a great deal of Valis if you sold it in the market." Vahn turned his eyes to Freya and said inly, "I had asked why you decided toe here Freya. Thus far, other than failing to charm me thirteen times, you havent stated your purpose at all. I dont mind associating with potential allies to the Alliance, but my time isnt mine alone these days..." Hearing Vahn tantly call out her failed attempts to charm him, Freya showed a slight smile before setting down her own cup and saying, "Very well...Vahn. I had thought it would be interesting to share a few pleasantries in order to consolidate our rtionship, however, I wont waste your time. Simply put..." At this point, Freya looked around at Hephaestus, Loki, and Hestia before saying, "I want you~." Freya began tough with her hand covering her mouth when the other three goddesses red at her. Without showing any signs that he had been affected by her words, however, Vahn nodded his head and said, "I know, but I have no intentions of bing yours Im afraid." Freyas eyes squinted slightly at his words before asking in a sad tone, "Do you not find my appearance to your liking?" Vahn shook his head and stated in a calm manner, "I wont deny you are one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen, but that doesnt mean much given the current state of affairs. I am blessed by many beautiful, kind,passionate, and capable women in my life. Though this is our first meeting official meeting, Im not overly fond of women that try to strip the first time Iy eyes on them..." Vahn remembered the scene from the day of his wedding and shook his head to prevent the image from rising to the forefront of his mind. Hearing Vahns words, Freya paused for several seconds as she processed what he was saying to her. She could tell that he had taken a female form to cope with her a little better, but there was also no discernable facy in what he said to her. He almost seemed to be genuinely offended by her actions the other day and this put her in a somewhat difficult position. Vahn didnt seem to be willing to give her time to think about the situation, however, as he said, "Im aware of the arrangement youve made with the Alliance, Freya, and Im grateful for the efforts you have put into securing your end of the agreement. When you are prepared, I am willing to assist you in your pregnancy as long as you manage toe to terms with Hephaestus, Loki, and Hestia..." Freyas eyes snapped back to Vahn and saw that he was looking at Ottar with an appraising look in his eyes. Because he was currently in the form of a female, Freya found his gaze somewhat annoying but didntment on it as she said in a teasing manner, "Im not sure if you know, Vahn, but there was also a discussion where it involved you being the one to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e me. I wouldnt expect you to act hostile toward the future mother of your child~." Though she didnt understand the full reason, Freya felt a chill run down her back when Vahn looked at her with a cold expression. Even though he currently looked like Tiona, Vahns capabilities werent altered at all and Freyas words had caused his [Will of the Emperor] to activate. Ottar became on high alert in an instant and Vahn felt a powerful danger sense arise in the back of his mind before Freya raised her hand and said, "Ottar, stand down..." Though Freya was tempted to let Ottar intimidate Vahn a little, she hadnt missed the glint in Hestias eyes as the lilies holding up her pigtails began to glow with a divine light. If Vahn was in any actual danger, it wouldnt be a surprise to Freya if she found both herself and Ottar dead at the hands of the vengeful little goddess. Ottar might be able to return to the cycle of reincarnation, but Freya would have to contend with an enraged Hestia in Heaven... The threat he felt from Ottar helped Vahn calm down a little so he pulled back his aura and said, "I have been doing a great deal of research into the potential of the children I will sire with goddesses. Because they will likely be born with a pseudo-divinity rted to their parents, I have to be very cautious when ites to impregnating goddesses. Though I will not back down if that is the decision you make, you should know that you will face numerous restrictions as a result and the child will have to be raised within the Hearth Manor. Until I can find a solution to thepulsions derived from Divinity, I cant allow you to act as you please..." Freya wasnt surprised to find that Vahn was researching such things but she found it strange that he was so confident in his words. Her ability to see through falsehoods was one of the best amongst all gods and she could tell he wasnt embellishing things at all. It was almost like he knew what kind of existences his own children would be...thus, with that thought in mind, Freya smiled slightly and asked, "Is there something about the children that sets them apart from normal demigods...?" However, it wasnt Vahn that answered her question as Loki mmed the table and said in a stern tone, "Until you have taken the necessary vows, you arent privy to that type of information at all, Freya! Dont try to y games when there are literally three other goddesses present!" When she had stood up, Loki had moved to block Freyas line of sight with Vahn so that the intuitive goddess could only guess at the truth without gleaning anything from Vahn himself. She could make all kinds of assumptions herself but it was nearly impossible to know anything for sure since it was Loki that took action. Throughout their entire rtionship with each other, that had persisted for nearly 400 million years, Freya had very rarely ever gotten any advantages against the trickster goddess. Thus, though her intuition told her there was something more special about Vahns children than normal, she couldnt be absolutely sure. The only thing she could rationalize was that the children had a unique quality as a result of the concentration of their blood. Either that, or it rted to Vahns own Divinities... Freya began tough in a dismissive manner as she looked at Loki and said, "Dear Loki...you dont have to be so tense. I was simply curious, after all, its a matter that rtes to my own child~." Lokis expression hardened for a moment before she looked back and saw that Vahns was rtively normal. A smile appeared on her face and she asked, "Is it really something you have to worry about right now~? After all, we agreed during ourst discussion that Vahn had the right to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e whoever he wanted. Even if you choose to bear his child, it is ultimately up to him if he wants to give you one~." Though she had been talking to Freya, Loki had been matching Vahns gaze and he understood what she was trying to do so he also smiled as she moved out of the way. Vahn could see the somewhat frustrated expression on Freyas face as she stared into the contents of her cup in clear distaste. Though Vahn didnt like the idea of holding such things against someone, he also knew that there was no need for him to be the one to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e goddesses. There were more reasons for him not to do so than to ever agree to such a situation and unless they could garner great benefits from the exchange, there was no reason to ede to Freyas desire. Vahn knew he would probably have to at some point, but that would be in order to protect the livelihoods of everyone else in the Manor... Freya turned her gaze between Loki and Hephaestus before saying in a low tone, "We also agreed that you wouldnt prime Vahn to have a bad impression of me...even though its our first real meeting, its very obvious he has guarded himself against me. This isnt a fair exchange at all..." Hearing her words, Vahn shook his head and exined without the goddesses having to speak, "That isnt entirely correct...I have been guarded against you because I could sense your presence at times and knew you were a threat to myself and the people I cared about. Other than a few words of caution, none of the goddesses have said anything negative about you at all. I have no reason to exin to you how I was able to learn about you, but know that it wasnt through any means given to me by the goddesses present." Loki beganughing at Vahns words as she looked at the disgruntled Freya and said, "You should be able to tell, right, Freya? We have kept our promises and have evenpromised to allow you to meet Vahn sooner. It was your own actions that have caused him to be guarded against you or else the vows we took during ourst meeting wouldnt be in effect anymore~." Freya bit her bottom lip hearing Lokis words as she scanned her own soul and saw the tell-tale signs of the vows she had taken. As Loki stated, the bonds were still in effect and it was very obvious that Vahns actions were entirely based on his own perception and the decisions he had made. With a somewhat pained and frustrated expression on her face, Freya looked directly at Vahn and her frown deepened. Seeing him as a woman was actually very annoying to her and it was almost like an insult because he had easily resisted her charm as a man. Releasing a sigh, Freya asked in a dull tone, "Why are you so guarded against mepared to other goddesses? How can you so easily trust Loki, an actual goddess of trickery, yet dislike someone like me, a goddess of beauty?" Vahn shook his head in response and stated in a calm down, "I know that Divinity can warp gods to do terrible things but it doesnt mean they are inherently bad. My interactions with Loki have shown me how dissatisfied she is with her own Divinity and she has taken many actions to win my trust...you, however, have only shown me distasteful actions and how you consider yourself to be above others. Even though you are sitting in front of three women I love dearly, you act indifferently and even tried to charm me right in front of them...not only did you insult me in doing so, but you insulted three people I care about deeply...how am I supposed to react to that?" Freyas mind stalled a bit when she considered Vahns words and, even though she found them abrasive to her ears, she could tell he spoke the truth. She now knew why it felt like he was offended by her...it was because she had offended him several times in a very short period of time. Even before they exchanged words she had tried to seduce him once and had even tried to charm him several times in front of three of his lovers, each a goddess, with one even being his wife. Freya was so used to things going her way that she was caught off guard by the sudden series of events and wasnt sure of what action to take. Once again, Vahn didnt seem to be willing to give her time to think matters over as he stated, "You have lived a long life, far longer than I can evenprehend, so I dont expect you to change easily. However, because I am a mortal that has lived a short life, I put more thought and emotion into each of my actions than normal. It is because of this that I cannot easilypromise with you, so please dont take it to heart. As one of the members of the Tripartite, you are one of our most important allies and I dont want our rtionship to be so tense. We will associate with each other often in the future and I will do my best to not be biased toward you...however, I will expect a simr amount of effort from you. If you cant show me even the basic amount of respect, I dont mind cutting ties with you in the future..." At this point, Vahn had turned to Ottar and rose to his feet to greet the man known as the King. However, Vahn realized a little btedly how awkward his actions were since he was currently in the form of Tiona. Ottar was rather massive and stood more than 50cm taller than he was at present, towering over Tionas rtively small frame. Vahn, however, didnt allow his own inhibitions to prevent him from taking the action he thought was appropriate. In front of the rtively confused Freya, and the somewhat nervous Hephaestus, Loki, and Hestia, Vahn walked to Ottar and asked, "Ottar...you love Freya, do you not?" Ottar looked down at the small Amazoness woman looking up at him and felt a small amount of incredulity since he knew the woman before him was Vahn Mason, the man his goddess had been eyeing. With a stern expression on his face, Ottar answered, "Vahn Mason, you should not shun Lady Freyas feelings..." However, Vahn didnt seem to mind his words at all as he tilted his head and asked, "Do you not love Freya after all?" Though he wasnt the type to show emotions, Ottar frowned slightly before looking over at his goddess and seeing her expression had stabilized. Vahns inciting words had been bothering him a bit but he would never take action without Freyas consent. Since she didnt seem to mind him answering, Ottar nodded his head and stated, "I love Lady Freya." Vahn smiled in what could be misconstrued as a cheerful manner, since Tionas default expressions were as such, before nodding his head and saying, "Then there is a simple solution to all of the current tensions. Freya, for the time being, you should concern yourself more with the people that already love you than trying to earn my affections. I also have my own children to worry about and I wont lie, dealing with a child that might potentially have a Divinity rting to s.e.x isnt something Im looking forward to..." Hearing Vahns words, Freyas eyes opened wide and she could see that, once again, Vahn was speaking from the heart. She started to think that the entire reason he was so hostile toward her was that he understood her Divinity and how problematic it would be dealing with a child that was predisposed toward such behavior... Freya released an almost indiscernible sigh of relief before her smile bloomed into an elegant expression and she said, "It was always my intention of having one of the children of my Familia sire a child first. Even though I offended them, and you, earlier, Im not trying to make enemies by stepping on the toes of the goddesses in the Alliance. I will wait until Hephaestus and Loki give birth before approaching you in such a manner..." Vahn nodded his head with a natural smile on his face until Freya smiled somewhat mischievously and said, "However, I would still like to get to know you a bit better over the next year or so...Ive never seen a boy that can change forms before~" Loki released an exasperated sigh while Hephaestus shook her head and gave Freya a tired look and said, "Vahn already had enough on his te, Freya, dont pressure him about such things. You already have plenty of toys at your disposal..." Freya unabashedly nodded her head and said, "Yes, I suppose you are right my dear Hephaestus...however, I cant help but be a little envious that you get to experience something so unique..." Before Freya could continue teasing the goddesses, Vahn looked over and stated inly, "Im more than confident in handling women without relying on such things. Ive never once used my transformation ability for such deviant behaviors..." Freya opened her eyes slightly wider but, before she was able to say anything, Vahn shook his head once again and said, "I will likely never need to as Im quite confident in my capabilities without having to rely on gimmicks..." As Vahn spoke, he looked toward Hephaestus, Loki, and Hestia and caused the three girls to blush slightly under his smiling expression. Even though he currently looked like Tiona, Vahns disposition naturally showed through and they understood he was boasting about his prowess. Even Loki, who was a rtively experienced woman, nodded her head and said, "Vahns technical prowess is abnormal...in fact, I feel more inclined to try and make things interesting for him just to make up for the satisfaction he brings me..." Though they hadnt done it in a while, Freya and Loki actually had a long rtionship in the past and she was very aware of some of Lokis plexities. Hearing Loki say such things in a serious manner made Freya feel a bit of an ache in her lower body as she gave Vahn an appraising look. Seeing the confidence he carried himself with, even as a woman, made Freyas heart flutter a bit and she wondered how she would be able to convince him to sleep with her in the future. For now, however, she set the matter to the back of her mind and looked toward Ottar as she said, "I have decided to have Ottar guard the Hearth Manor in the future when you are on expeditions with the Loki Familia..." Seeing Freya address him, Ottar bowed his head slightly and said, "As you will..." before returning to his statuesque posture. Vahn was slightly surprised that the King would be protecting the Manor while he was away and it made him feel slightly at ease knowing such a powerhouse would be nearby. Even in his static posture, Vahn could feel an immense threat radiating from Ottars body and knew that, if they were to actually fight, he would probably die before he knew what had happened. He might be able to egg out an internecine victory with an [Effigy of the Hero], but it was unlikely. As Vahn was looking over Ottars body, Freyaughed before continuing, "I know your expedition is in the next five days, so I would like to resolve the matter of the pregnancy before then. I believe you will be heading into the lower floors, and Im not fond of the idea of waiting an additional month..." The one to answer Freya was Loki as she nodded her head and said, "Thats right, theyll be trying to set a new clear record this time around so itll take at least two weeks just for travel time..." Even for an S-Rank Familia, it took nearly five full days for an expedition to even reach the 50th floor, assuming they were moving at a fair pace. Progress beyond that point slowed down a great deal so, even without setting any new records orpleting any quests, it would take a bare minimum of two weeks to make a round trip. Vahn contemted the matter for a brief moment before saying, "I can perform the procedure at any point, assuming youvee to an agreement with Hephaestus, Loki, and Hestia...other than a few preparations, most of which have already been made, everything is ready for whenever you are. Ive been expecting this situation to happen sooner orter and knew you would likely bring it up before the expedition started..." Freya smiled at hearing Vahns words and said, "Since Im not trying to have your child, there arent any extra preparations I need to make. Ive already signed a vow to protect the information pertaining to the process, among other things..." Seeing that Loki and Hephaestus were nodding their head, Vahn knew that things had already been taken care of before Freya was even allowed to meet him. With a slight smile on his face, Vahn said, "Well then, you just have to let me know when youre ready and then well proceed from there..." Freya nodded in affirmation before a curious expression appeared on her face and she asked, "Ah, there is one thing I was curious about...I know a bit about Anubis disposition, so Ive always been curious about why she was willing to be your servant. Im certain the matter pertains to your soul so, while Im under oath to not reveal your information, is there any chance you would be willing to reveal it to me? I am able to see souls so, depending on what Im able to discern, there is a fair chance I may be willing topromise on more matters in the future..." Vahns eyes opened slightly at her words before asking, "Loki, Hephaestus, is there any danger if I reveal my soul?" Hephaestus showed a thoughtful expression but it was, surprisingly, Hestia who answered, "Other than during a vow, there is no way for a god, even those that govern life and death, to interfere with a soul. It isnt umon for some gods to collect the souls of their favorite mortals after they die, but that doesnt interfere with the natural cycle of reincarnation at all. Freyas interest in your soul is likely rted to her Divinity in Death and her curiosity about your origins...it should be safe to disy it to her." Hephaestus was a bit stunned by Hestias words but Loki nodded her head and exined, "Hestia is right, there shouldnt be any actual danger besides this screwball losing her senses when she catches sight of it..." With the consent of the three goddesses, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Well then, take a look..." as he removed the concealment from his soul. The moment he did so, Freyas eyes opened wide and she even dropped the cup she was holding as she rose from the small sofa and stared directly at him. From her perspective, Freya saw Vahn turn from an empty abyss into a resplendent rainbow as his soul exploded from his body like a zing inferno. A normal soul could bepared to a small torch, but Vahns was like a star and, instead of a single color, it shone like a rainbow and Freya could even see a beautiful golden aura spinning around in the core of his soul...almost like a series of chains that made her own soul tremble slightly. Freya looked at Hephaestus, Loki, and Hestia before asking in an incredulous voice, "Has Anubis not told you what his soul looks like...? There is no way he is just a normal demigod...its impossible!" Anubis had actually brought it up to the other goddesses in the past but they were still somewhat taken aback by Freyas reaction. The simple fact of the matter was, not that they were privy to such information, Anubis had seen Vahns soul when he was Tier 2. Now that he was a Tier 3, Vahns soul was much more powerful and it would have likely even caused Anubis to experience a great deal of shock alongside an equal amount of vindication. Though she had looked at him with amorous eyes before, Vahn noticed that there was a fervent light in Freyas eyes now as she looked toward his chest. Vahn felt a bit of pressure from her gaze so he reactivated his [Veil of the Traveler] which caused Freya toe back to her senses. She gave him a somewhat serious lookpared to before and then turned her attention to the stoic and statuesque Ottar. Vahn could sense the fluctuations in her aura and decided to prevent things from spiraling downward as he said, "What you saw doesnt change the status quo of our current rtionship, Freya. If you have any intention of changing your decision based on something inconsequential youll find that Im not so understanding..." Freya furrowed her brows slightly and stated in a low tone, "After seeing your soul, I know that you arent a simple boy at all...I want my child to have the highest possible potential...but, I will respect your wishes on this matter. Ottar, dear, I will allow you to sire my child but know that you may have to care for it yourself in the future..." Compared to her previous self, Freya seemed a bit off and spoke earnestly without any pageantry at all. Ottar looked directly at her before nodding his head in a curt manner and saying, "As you will..." just as he always had. Vahn wasnt too fond of this oue since it felt like he was going to cause a child to have a sad upbringing, but he could also see the resolution in Ottars aura. Since he wouldnt abandon Freya in the future, it meant that Ottars child would still be nearby and Vahn could worry about them when the time came. Just as Vahn was about to suggest something simr, Freya smiled at Ottar before turning her attention back to Vahn and saying, "I want to get this taken care of as soon as possible...what do I need to do?" Vahn, expecting such an oue, nodded his head and began to exin, "Im not sure its appropriate to do it within the Manor, but youll need to be within the range of my domain so that I can carry out the first part of the procedure...after youre finished, then Ill finish the rest of the preparations on my own." Vahn c.o.c.ked his head to the side and, before Freya could ask any questions, Vahn turned to Loki and said, "Can I have you escort and exin things to Freya and then inform me when things are ready? I think it will be for the best if Im not involved directly as much as possible..." Loki smiled in a somewhat mischevious manner and said, "Sure thing, Vahn, just leave it all to me~! Were about to be renovating this ce anyways, so why not make use of one of the areas that is going to be under construction? Most of the time you help with the process will take ce here in the future regardless..." Knowing that a bunch of people would be having s.e.x in the Manor didnt seem to sit well with Hestia who interrupted Lokis words and said, "We will make a separate building for such things...I dont want strangers to be having s.e.x under the same roof where well raise our children..." Though she was a bit surprised by Hestias words, Loki ended up taking a step back when she considered the matter in greater detail. Since her own daughter would be running around the Manor in the future, it did actually seem strange to allow such behaviors. Fortunately, Freya seemed to havee up with a simple solution as she said, "I own numerous properties in the area and have already stationed many of my forces in the surrounding districts. One of the private residences has already been refurbished and we can make use of it for the time being..." It was a little strange to be talking about such matters so casually, especially since she had been looking forward to the event for a while, but now Freya just wanted to get it out of the way. She knew that giving birth to a different child sooner was the fastest way to get Vahns child in the future... (A/N: I know a lot of people are somewhat offended by Freyas actions. Well, this maye as a surprise to you, but that is the intended reaction. Freya is meant to be a bit of a bitch, not one of the actual love interests of the MC. In many ways, even though she stands on the side of our protagonists, she is one of the people that will always cause drama in their lives. However, its better that she cause drama than actually bring harm to anyone (this isnt even mentioning how influential she is within the City and how powerful an ally she makes). (A/N: Alternate Titles: Momentum...,Freya loses herposure,Vahn totally still looks like Tiona...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 451 - Procedure

Chapter 451 - Procedure

After leaving the Manor, Vahn realized that he hadnt taken into consideration what it was like being a woman. All of his movement felt awkward, almost like there was a void that he couldnt quite adapt to as he walked around. He wasnt cold or anything, but it felt strange wearing shorts meant for girls and feeling the wind against his legs was rather strange. Noticing his awkwardness, Loki had gotten close to him and asked, "How long are you going to stay like that? Dont tell me you prefer being a woman now..." Vahn flinched at Lokis words but it was Hephaestus who answered for him as her fist fell like a hammer on Lokis head. With a wry smile on his face, Vahn exined, "The item I used has a duration of twenty-four hours, but I can forcibly change back if I use my own transformation ability. It would likely take more than an hour though so Ill stay like this for a while..." Rubbing the bump on her head, Loki red at Hephaestus before saying, "You should show that form to Tione and see if you can pull a prank on her...it should be pretty interesting seeing how they react." Though her words were a bit strange, Vahn couldnt deny that he had actually thought the same thing earlier. It seemed like a unique experience that he could take advantage of since it was a rtively rare urrence. He had no intention of ever transforming his body into a girls through normal methods so it wasnt a bad idea to take advantage of the circ.u.mstances. Though he couldnt see himself as anything but a man, Vahn couldnt deny that he was somewhat interested in his current form... Before they got to the gate, Vahn brought the group to a stop and asked Freya, "How far away is your residence?" Freya had been paying close attention to Vahn ever since earlier so she immediately answered, "It would only take us around ten minutes to get there..." Vahn nodded his head before closing his eyes for a few seconds. By the time he opened them, arge shadow had started to appear near the group and he looked toward Ottar and said, "Dont attack my dragon..." As he had actually been present during the Monster Feria, Ottar was already aware of Fafnirs existence and didnt show any change in expression even when the ck dragon towered over the group. Freya looked up at Fafnir with a slight glimmer in her silver eyes since she was actually quite fond of it ever since she learned of its existence. Vahn had Fenrir lower its body to the ground as everyone climbed up on its back for the short flight. Since Freyas residence was within the airspace of the Alliance, Vahn didnt see any reason to walk. He wanted to get this matter taken care of as expediently as possible since associating with Freya wasnt exactly the best way to pass time. The sooner he could return to his own research in preparation for the uing expedition, the better. Once they were on Fafnirs back, Vahn looked toward Freya, who was currently being supported by Ottar, and said, "Hold on tightly...Fafnirs eleration can be a bit intense." Following his words, Hephaestus, Loki, and Ottar all grabbed the protrusions that came out of Fafnirs back and held on tightly. Hestia had stayed behind at the Manor since she wasnt the type that left very often and wasnt that interested in Freya getting knocked up. With his signal, Fafnir red its wings and sent a powerful gust of wind before it took off into the sky like a rocket. Within twenty seconds, ounting for deceleration andnding, Vahn had arrived at the area designated by Freya. Realizing how quickly they had arrived, Freya looked around in abject shock beforementing, "I need to get me a dragon like this..." Loki nodded her head in affirmation as Hephaestus dizzily stood up from Fafnirs back. Vahn had never expected her to be the type to get motion sickness and he found her reaction somewhat adorable as he rubbed the pale goddess back with gentle energy emitting from his palms. Suddenly, Vahn heard Fafnir say, ("Vahn, there is a strange feeling...") before it took the initiative to dive into the shadows and leave everyone standing in the grass. Vahn frowned and looked at Freya with a stern expression on his face as she averted her eyes andmented, "I cant turn off my charmpletely..." Vahn had gotten a notification from his system saying that Fafnir had resisted a powerful charm magic and knew that Freya had tried to sneakily charm Fafnir for a brief moment. Even if it was an idental thing, Vahn felt very offended by her actions and said in a firm tone through gritted teeth, "If you try to charm one of my subordinates in the future, I will cut all ties with you from then onwards..." Both Loki and Hephaestus also red at Freya while Loki shook her head and said, "You never learn, idiot woman..." Freya gnashed her teeth at Lokis remark before turning her back and leading the way into the Manor without refuting their words. Once they were inside, the group split into two as Vahn and Hephaestus went into a small parlour where several servants began attending them immediately. Loki, Freya, and Ottar left for a nearby room that was still within Vahns range. The reason why Vahn had asked Loki to be involved was that she would be able to handle Freya more easily than he would be able to. They had already coordinated a signal and Vahn was going to use [Enkidu] when Loki informed him things were ready. Vahn might be able to sense everything that is going on in the room, assuming he focused on it, but he was going to distract himself with Hephaestus and Loki until things were finished... --- When they entered the room, Loki looked around at the furnishings, including the massive canopied bed that was against the far wall. Before Freya asked, she already started exining, "Well, it doesnt really bother me too much but I dont want to watch your little y personally... lets see, the things you need to be aware of are pretty simple. Vahn has a specialized artifact that he has created that can temporarily seal the Divinity of us gods. When your body is wrapped in the chain, you will be mortal and that will allow your little pet here to take care of the basic part of the procedure. When he gives you the baby batter, have him wipe down your body and get dressed before he goes to retrieve Vahn. You wont be able to move throughout the process, but its a small price to pay in order to receive a child. The second part will be taken care of by Vahn himself, and that process is a secret youre not privy to. Just know that youll being out of things with a lovely little stamp on your backside~." Freya tilted her head slightly and looked like she wanted to ask questions but Loki held up her hand and said, "Do you really want to keep trying Vahns patience to find out the limits of his tolerance? You might not care about your own pets, but Vahn treats his like his own children, and not in a shallow way like most of us gods. If you keep pushing your luck, youll run out sooner than youd expect..." Freya furrowed her brows slightly before looking to Ottar and saying, "Ottar, dear, Ill be in your care for a little while..." Ottar nodded his head in a firm manner before Loki raised her hand and said in a serious manner, "Oi, big guy, make sure you properly wipe down your goddesses body and ensure she is dressed when youre finished. Even if they knock bodies in the future, that isnt something you need to worry about right now. Since she doesnt seem to have any, at least make it look like she has a sense of propriety, would you~?" Ottar seemed to take offense at Lokis words but Freya simply sighed and said, "Ottar, do as she says...even I dont want to keep offending that boy if I can avoid it..." Toward the end of her sentence, Freya looked in the direction of where Hephaestus and Vahn were sitting with a thoughtful expression on her face. Loki, noticing her strange behavior, showed a mischevious smile and said, "Didnt I ask you at our previous meeting what youre willing to give up in order to prove yourself to Vahn~? Even without the ability to see souls, I can tell that boy has the makings of greatness in him. Seriously, do you think its a coincidence youre able to have a baby through his efforts? You would do well to find your own resolve in the future or youll end up having regrets for the rest of eternity..." Freya turned back to Loki and saw her slightly open red eyes staring at her with a surprisingly serious fervor contained within them. Even though her expression looked mischevious, Freya could tell that her words were filled to the brim with caution. Though she might not have understood it in the past, Freya now earnestly believed Lokis words contained a fair amount of truth. Vahns soul, though smaller in size, was more vibrant than any god she had seen in Heaven. His potential wasnt even something she was capable ofprehending and most of his actions brought about change that had never before been seen in the world, even after nearly six-hundred-million years... Seeing Freyas ruminating gaze, Loki began to tap her foot before releasing a long yawn and saying, "So, we gonna get this started or what? I dont know about you, but I dont want to make this into a whole day..." Freya was broken from her momentary reverie and showed an elegant smile on her face before plucking one of the petals of her dress. She wasnt ashamed of being seen n.a.k.e.d by Loki at all and moved over to arge wardrobe and pulled out a babydoll nightgown that covered her chest and a pair of frillyce underwear forter. Even if she couldnt be n.a.k.e.d in front of Vahn, yet, she wanted to appeal to him as best she was able. When Freya had made her preparations, Loki pointed to the bed and said, "Itll save time if you do it from behind since youll have to be held by the chains for a while. The crest will go on your backside as well, and Im sure Vahn doesnt want to stay here for too long..." Loki knew that Vahn was fond of butts and, even though he didnt seem to like Freya, he would be able to appreciate the view. It also prevented Freya from being able to look at him easily since she would be wrapped up firmly in the chains. Thus, following Lokis instructions, Freya got on all fours before staring inquisitively as Loki pulled out a small golden orb. The air within the room took on a golden hue as five resplendent golden chains emerged from the void and began to wrap around Freyas body in a smooth fashion. Since they had been informed about the existence of the chains, the sudden appearance didnt cause Ottar and Freya to panic but instead caused the goddess of beauty to marvel at the innate beauty contained within the chains. Even though she considered herself to be one of the most beautiful things in all creation, Freya felt like her own appearance paled inparison to the resplendent golden chains. Even as a goddess, she felt like the chains twining around her body were more Divine than she was. Then, as if evidence of this fact, she suddenly found her own body to bepletely bereft of her own Divinity... Loki gave the bound Freya a thumbs up before smacking Ottars adamantine-like back and saying, "Well, youre up to the te now big fe...seriously, make sure you dress her properly after the fact. Ill be checking personally so, even if Vahn forgives her for theck of decorum, I wont..." Ottar gave Loki a sideward nce before moving toward the bed as he expertly peeled away his armor and clothing. Though she was briefly tempted to look, Loki shook her hand, which was sore from smacking Ottars body, and left the room without sparing them a further nce... --- Vahn and Hephaestus had been talking about his designs for the under armor that he was creating back at the Heath Manor before Loki appeared at therge set of doors with a tired expression on her face. She walked over and unceremoniously sat in Vahnsp as she held up her hand and said, "Vahn, heal my hand...that bastard is harder than any metal Ive ever seen..." Without minding Lokis behavior, Vahn took her hand into his own and used [Hands of Nirvana] to soothe her pain, even though he used [Wounds Transfer] topletely remove it the moment sheined about it. Loki smiled before leaning her back against his chest before a peculiar expression appeared on her face as she mused, "Ive gotta be honest, if you were going to choose a girl to transform into you should have picked one with a bigger chest..." Vahn had been ignoring Lokis behavior until she began to rub her shoulders against his rtively diminutive chest. Releasing a sigh, Vahn pinched Lokis bottom and sent the mischevious goddess jumping as he said, "When I was thinking about who to transform into, I wanted to pick someone with a smaller chest since it seemed even more awkward than simply having small b.r.e.a.s.ts...Im already dealing with a fair amount of awkwardness without having to worry about the size of my bust..." Hephaestus showed a wry smile on her face as she ced her palm against her cheek and gave Vahn a slightly worried look and asked, "Why did you even transform into a woman? Dont tell me you were simply curious...?" Vahn nodded his head without glossing over the matter and said, "Since I had the item on hand, I wanted to at least try experiencing it once. Besides, I needed to test the limits of the item in case I needed to make use of it in the future." Vahn then showed Hephaestus and Loki some of his own notes about the unique items he had been collecting. He didnt want to talk about it openly, as they were currently in the residence of Freya, and there was a fair chance they could be being spied on. Loki, seeing that the item had been obtained through her bond with Vahn, was quite excited at the prospect of being able to acquire simr items in the future. The fact that it was a rtively non-descript item, yet had such a powerful function, made Loki feel like it suited her personality well. Vahn told her that he was researching the items with Riveria and would let her know once he found out a method to produce them reliably. As he only had a single spare on him, Vahn couldnt give in to Lokis request to try out the item for herself. She was curious if the item actually worked on gods, something that Vahn also desired to know, but that would have to wait untilter. The only reason Vahn had used one earlier was that he had a spare and wanted to gain momentum against Freya. After a surprisingly long time of around fifty minutes, Ottar showed up at the doors and said, "Vahn Mason..." without exining anything before turning away once again. Vahn rose from the sofa and followed behind Ottar with Hephaestus and Loki in tow. Though he had already prepared himself, Vahn was still caught off guard when he walked into the room and saw Freyas butt poking out with a pair of pristine whitece panties on her bottom. After he entered, Ottar bowed to the flushed-faced Freya and exited the room without dy. The moment he left, Freya released a gasping sigh and said, "I didnt expect things to be so intense when my Divinity was sealed away...is this something you girls get to experience often?" Contrary to her earlier demeanor, the current Freya had a more genuine appearance and seemed to be exhausted after her earlier exertions. Without her Divinity supporting her, it was actually a lot more difficult to manage someone like Ottar than she had expected. Loki beganughing at Freyas question while Hephaestus simply averted her eyes and sat down on a nearby sofa. As for Vahn, he approached near Freyas backside and spared the perfect buttocks a few nces as he climbed into the bed. Freya tried to look back at him but found her movementsrgely restricted andborious. Eventually, she simply decided to let her tired body hang by the chains without trying to discern anything from the procedure with her own eyes. Once Vahn had climbed on the bed, Lokis eyes widened and she mused, "This is such an incredible sight...I never imagined that gori girl as the dominant type." Loki held the bridge of her nose as she spoke and Vahn could even see a small amount of blooding out of her left nostril as she peeked toward him with glimmering eyes. Vahn knew Loki was more interested in women than men, but it was a little awkward seeing her current behavior since she was directing her lecherous gaze at him. She looked a little bit like an old man with a long face as she eyed him leaning over Freyas body as if she were beholding an indecent act. Even Freya, who was typically immune to such things in her normal state, hung her head and refused to look at Loki for the time being. Deciding that the matter was best taken care of sooner, rather thanter, Vahn grabbed Freyas h.i.p.s and activated his [Eyes of Truth] as he peered into her body. She released a sensual m.o.a.n when he grabbed her but Vahn ignored her actions and focused on the matter at hand. Though he had already expected this would be the case, it was decidedly more awkward to guide a womans body into pregnancy if it wasnt one of his own. Seeing the inside of Freyas body stained white with the color of another man made Vahn feel a strange feeling of anxiety as he hastilypleted the procedure. When he finished nting the fertilized egg against the wall of the fallopian tubes, Vahn straightened Freyas body and began the process of carving his crest into her lower back. Even though Freya wasnt one of his women, Vahn felt a sense of conquest carving his own crest into her backside. Since he wasnt looking into her body anymore, Vahn got to enjoy the sight of her white buttocks for around ten minutes as hepleted the final part of the process. From now on, unless she had it altered by someone else, Freya would carry his mark on her body until she returned to Heaven. Of course, there was nothing that stopped her from concealing it whenever she wanted to. The entire process took about twenty minutes before Vahn lowered Freyas tired body onto the bed and removed his [Enkidu]. The chains melted away into golden particles that dissipated into the void as Freya released a long sigh and rolled over. From the moment the chains were removed, her Divinity returned to her body and she felt immediately revitalized. When she was on her back, Freya looked up at Vahn and gave a somewhat sad smile as she said, "Its too bad you arent a man right now...though I suppose I should still be grateful...thank you, Vahn Mason." As she spoke, Freya rubbed her abdomen before a magical light shone in her eyes. Even though the fetus hadnt started to develop yet, Freya was able to see life energy begin to converge in her own body and knew she was pregnant. Vahn didnt continue to stare at Freyas body, which was syed out in an obvious attempt to seduce him, and instead moved off of the bed in a casual manner. Looking toward Hephaestus and Loki, Vahn smiled and said, "Were done here... lets go home." From behind his back, Freya looked at Vahn with a somewhat annoyed look before closing her eyes and ignoring him. Her charm had absolutely no effect on him so she would need to find another way to approach him if she wanted to have any luck getting through his defenses. At least she would be able to experience giving birth to a powerful child, even though it wouldnt be nearly as strong as the one sired by Vahn... When Vahn left the room, Ottar was waiting nearby and looked toward him with his characteristic emotionless expression. However, though his expression didnt chance, Vahn could see the burly mans aura fluctuating slightly so he smiled and said, "Congrattions, youre going to be a father..." Hearing Vahns words, Ottars expression changed for the first time and Vahn was surprised to see an incredibly small smile appear on his face as he bowed and said, "Thank you..." before making his way into the room. Vahns smile widened as he followed the back of the King into the room before shaking his head. It was somewhat tragic knowing that Ottar was so grateful to have a child with his goddess yet Freya would likely not care about it in the slightest... Before heading back to the Hearth Manor, Vahn escorted Loki back to the Twilight Manor using Fafnir as a mode of transport. She tried to convince him to stay over for a bit and y, but Vahn politely refused her offer since he didnt want people to spread weird rumors about Tiona. As one of the ace members of the Loki Familia, everyone would think he was Tiona and it wouldnt take long at all for rumors to spread beyond the Manor and reach the rest of the City. Vahn was fine having rumors about himself proliferate but he didnt want to be the cause behind why is own lovers reputation was tarnished. Because she had tasks to tend to, Hephaestus also had Vahn drop her off at the workshop even though it sent a crowd of pedestrians running when theynded in the street. Vahn had been tempted to embrace her, as was his usual method of parting, but decided against it for the same reasons that he had declined Lokis invitation. Hephaestus also felt somewhat awkward about Vahns current appearance and, before they parted ways, told him, "Make sure to return to normal soon..." Vahn nodded his head before waving at her in a somewhat awkward manner and flying back to the Manor... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Freya, that aint no Silverback...,Nothing is Divine before [Enkidu],Vahn just wants a hug TT__TT) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 452 - Daily Life?

Chapter 452 - Daily Life?

Soon after he touched down at the Manor, Vahn could sense a presence rapidly making its way toward him. It was an aura simr to his own so Vahn was able to easily guess that it was Fenriring to greet him at the door, as per usual. However, unlike in the past, Vahn was now in a different form and he was curious how she would react. With a bit of intrigue, Vahn opened the door as Fenrir trotted forward and hugged his waist as she said, "Vahn, wee home~!" Vahn smiled and began stroking the bristly hair of Fenrir as he asked, "You can tell its me so easily?" Fenrir looked up into his face with a confused expression on hers as she asked, "Vahn was trying to fool Fenrir?" A peal ofughter escaped Vahns lips as he ruffled her hair and said, "Of course not, Fenrir, I wouldnt try to fool you like this..." Fenrir nodded her head happily before running off to her previous location without dy. Unless Vahn asked her to stay, she knew it was better to tend to her own matters so she wouldnt be a bother to him. Vahn watched her retreating figure with his eyes and realized she was growing up a lot faster after learning about the Divination... Vahn made his way to his workshop while thinking if he should stop by and try to prank some of the other girls within the Manor before he tried to return to normal. When he was having a discussion with Hephaestus earlier, Vahn realized that he couldnt easily alter his form right now and it seemed like the [Transfiguration Lens] was holding his current shape. He very well might be stuck as Tiona for the entire twenty-four hours at this rate, not that it particrly bothered him. It was sure to cause a small stir within the girls of the Manor, but Vahn expected them to be more intrigued than off-put by the current situation. Using the tips he had received from Tsubaki and Hephaestus, Vahn began to set out various types of hide and leathers that he was going to treat in order to soften them up. Treating them made the material slightly weaker, but Vahn was going to be working with severalyers for the final design and it wouldnt make a big difference. He used slightly thicker parts to cover the important areas, like the heart, spine, kidneys, and the interior of the thigh, before covering the entire thing with a thinyer of shadowsilk. The final interior base ended up looking like a bodysuit that covered the neck, chest, abdomen, pelvis, and thighs. Vahn felt it looked a little bit like the start of an assassins outfit and decided that he needed to use lighter colors for the exterioryers if he wanted to avoid making things excessively dark. Once he was finished with the interior design, Vahn turned his attention to the four girls that had shown up previously and had been watching him work for a fair amount of time. Seeing that he was now paying attention to them, Tiona shot up from the sofa and approached Vahn like a charging animal as she began to pat around and inspect his body with glittering eyes and arge smile on her face. Tione gave Vahn a strange look and said, "Im not even sure what to say about this..." Ais, however, seemed to find the current situation pretty interesting as she joined Tiona in inspecting Vahns figure. To save the girls the effort, Vahn equipped a stretchy amazonian top and a pair of small shorts so they wouldnt strip off the clothes he was wearing. Tionas eyes widened for a brief moment before she beganughing and said, "This is totally cool~! Its like looking at a mirror image of myself, ehehehehe~!" Tione looked Vahn up and down before focusing on a specific part of his body and nodded her head as she said, "Indeed...I could have almost mistaken him for me if not for a certain aspect..." Since Vahn didnt have his hair tied up like Tiona, it was hanging loosely around his head and there wasnt a great difference in his appearancepared to Tione, except that his hair was shorter. Tiona didnt seem to mind Tiones little quip as shepletely ignored the remark and asked, "Did you really be mepletely~?" Vahn shook his head and said, "Maybe appearance-wise, but it hasnt affected my skills and abilities at all..." Toward the end of Vahns words, he transformed into his Bih form and caused the eyes of all four girls to widen greatly. His ck hair be white, with ck undertones, and his brown eyes turned blue as a tiger-like tail poked out of his exposed backside. Fur grew along his forearms and calves at a visible rate and a pair of circr tiger ears popped out of his hair momentster. To emphasize he was still himself, even more, Vahn held up one of his ws and a tiny me appeared at the tip of his finger. Though her eyes had already been shining like stars, Tionas eyes shone with greater intensity as she held up both hands and said, "So coooool~! I wish I could transform like this~!" She picked up Vahns free hand and began running her fingers through the rtively thick white and ck fur with an unconcealed interest in her expression. Lefiya seemed to hint up something, however, as she asked, "If your body has changed into that of Tionas, how are you able to so easily use your magic and other abilities? Did the flow of energy in your body not change? What race are you currently?" Lefiya had grown somewhat ustomed to Vahns abnormalities and had been assisting Riveria a lot in her research when she had free time. Seeing Vahn transform and use magic so easily caused several new questions to appear in her mind because, as Vahn himself had stated, the only difference between races was the flow of their energy. If Vahn was emting Tionas body, he should have replicated her flow and lost the ability to use magic entirely. The fact that he was able to do so meant there was more going on than physical changes. Vahn had tilted his head in contemtion as Tiona handled his body freely and yed with his arms, ears, and even his somewhat sensitive tail. What Lefiya was saying was correct so Vahn had started to inspect the inner workings of his body in detail in order to better understand the changes that had urred. Since he had Tiona standing next to him, he could directlypare himself with her and find abnormalities much faster. Vahn hadnt really thought about it earlier, as he had been talking to Hephaestus while maintaining his [Enkidu], but the energy flow he had manipted to change his body was his default flow. Even though he was in the form of Tiona, his energy was still normal and wasnt remotely simr to the somewhat ditzy Amazon. After realizing this, Vahn exined the situation to Lefiya, who had already taken out a notebook, and they began to talk about the possibilities. It seemed that the effect of unique items was much greater than they had anticipated. Either that or it meant that the flow of energy was only one of the factors that determined a persons form and capabilities. Vahn knew about the existence of gics and wondered if it was possible to emte a specific flow while manipting the gic structure to give something a different shape. If true, Vahn might one day be able to engineer something like a homunculus that had the shape of a human but the energy flow of a dragon. He was nowhere near such capabilities and didnt even know where to start, but it was interesting to think about. By the time their discussion hade to an end, Vahn was being hugged by Tiona from behind as if she had imed his current body as her own. Ais seemed to have lost a bit of interest at some point and had started to inspect the designs Vahn was working on, including the under armor which was situated on a mannequin that looked vaguely simr to herself. When the main conversation between Vahn and Lefiya hade to an end, Ais pulled at the fabric a little and asked, "Is this for me...?" Hearing her question, Vahn smiled and tried to liberate himself from Tiona but was held firmly by the Amazon who began tough in a yful manner before letting him go. Vahn could tell that Tiona was a bit excited at the moment and sent a nce toward Tione which was easily interpreted by the elder twin. She felt a little annoyed seeing Tiona behaving like Vahn as she worepletely different clothes than weremonly worn by their people. The Vahn version of Tiona looked a lot more casual and confident than Tiona herself and Tione realized she was also likely overshadowed by him a bit. It was easier to tolerate in his base form, but now that they looked almost identical to each other, Tione couldnt help but feel a little bothered... To answer Aiss question, Vahn picked up the diagram he was working from and exined, "Im actually trying to make under-armor that can be worn by everyone in the Manor. Its something that can be worn under your normal armor and will provide extra physical, magical, and defensive capabilities. It will probably take a fair amount of research, but Im confident Ill be able to make armor that is suitable for everyone in the future. I want to make a standardized set of equipment that can be swapped out easily so that I can optimally stock my inventory with interchangeable parts..." Ais seemed to get excited at the prospect of new equipment, as was evident by the smile on her face. Anything that could make her stronger was something wee by the little Sword Princess. Since it was something created by Vahn, the same person that produced her [Gram], Ais couldnt contain her own excitement easily and her reaction caused Vahn to smile widely, satisfied by her response. Afterward, Vahn talked a little bit about the specifics and got the input of the present girls about their own preferences for such things. Tiona and Tione didnt seem to like the idea of having their backs and bellies covered since it would restrict their movements, but Vahn assured them that wouldnt be the case. If they ultimately couldnt tolerate the basic design, however, Vahn offered to tailor it to their liking once he made some headway in his research. Ais, believing that it would make her even stronger, actually asked for a version that covered the entire body. As for Lefiya, she didnt have much input and was just curious about how it would be able to enhance her magical capabilities in the future. Vahn exined about the artificial mana circuits he was going to create and it caused a tiny me of excitement to burn in the generally bashful Elfs eyes... Since they didnt want to keep him from his work for too long, the girls prepared to leave after eating a light lunch, provided by Vahn himself. Tiona, however, decided to ask, "How long are you going to be in my body like that?" Vahn tilted his head slightly and said, "Until around 8 AM tomorrow morning...?" Tiona smiled widely at his response and said, "I want to be able to sleep together with you when youre like this~! Tione and I have developed differences over time and seeing your current appearance is like viewing a second twin. Or maybe we can pretend to be triplets~!?" Tione flinched slightly at Tionas words before shaking her head and saying, "Ill pass...Ill wait until Vahn returns to normal before sharing the same bed. I have enough stress just dealing with one Tiona..." Hearing her big sisters words, Tiona began tough sheepishly as both Ais and Lefiya also removed themselves from consideration. Ais liked Vahns normal state more and it made her feel weird seeing him look like Tiona. As for Lefiya, she also felt it was a little strange seeing two Tiona side-by-side and wanted to stay with Ais instead. Tiona became a little dejected by the girls reactions but Vahn reached out his hand and patted the top of her head and said, "Sure..."pletely banishing any negative thoughts that were beginning to well up inside her. Vahn would have to talk it over with Eina, but he also expected she would sleep in her own room given his current appearance. Even though most of the girls were rtively fine with being in the same room, even during intimate moments, it was only because Vahn himself was there guiding things along somewhat. It was perfectly normal for the girls to have some inhibitions about sharing the same bed with him in his current state, even if they didnt actually do anything s.e.x.u.a.l. Vahn could tell by their auras that they didnt actually have any negative thoughts about his appearance and was even certain he could convince them if he wanted to. However, Vahn wasnt fond of forcing such situations on people and let them act as they pleased. After the girls left, Vahn continued working on the under-armor and started the arduous process of creating the scales and trying to attach them to the outfit. Because he couldnt recognize the material that was used in the Divination, Vahn assumed it was something he had created himself and began experimenting with different methods to produce them. Since the base material was bluish-ck in coloration, Vahn assumed it had been made of Mithril, as it was also capable of conducting mana and served a simr function. Making the actual scales was harder than he expected since the material needed to be incredibly thin. Vahn ultimately had to shave off kes of Mithril using an Adamantine scalpel before shaping them into the correct size. As for the runes, and the mana circuits, Vahn used his [Eyes of Truth] to create an incredibly thin channel before using a need to methodically insert kes of Orichalc.u.m into the channel. Once he got enough inside, Vahn used his ability to infuse fire elements into an object in order to melt down just the orichalc.u.m itself so it would be a singr solid. By the time he was finished with one scale, it had taken more than an hour and Vahn was certain this wasnt the correct method. Though he was positive the end result would be S-Ranked, Vahn knew this wasnt a practical method since each set of under-armor would take thousands of such scales before reachingpletion. Even if he worked on a single set for an entire month, Vahn probably wouldnt finish unless there were absolutely no hups. Since he wanted to create several sets of such equipment, there simply wasnt enough time if he used this method the entire time. He either needed toe up with a way to mass produce the scales, or he needed to find a more practical method to rece them. Vahn even began to suspect that it wasnt actually scales that he had seen in the secondyer, but simply a pattern that he had carved into a meshyer in order to emte a simr function. With his new train of thought, Vahn pulled out a piece of wyvern skin and tried carving a scaled pattern into the tough, but malleable, material. He found that it was much easier than trying to create individual scales, but it didnt seem like the solution he was looking for. He had some sess carving runes on the surface of the wyvern hide but there was no easy way to create the mana circuits that would be necessary to activate them. Though the hide allowed mana to flow through it, it wasnt remotely as efficient as a material like Mithril so Vahn ended up scrapping the idea after an additional three hours of work. After taking several notes on potential solutions, which also doc.u.mented his failures, Vahn cleaned up his workshop and decided to call it quits for the day. As he had exerted himself a fair amount during the production process, Vahn had decided to take a bath before dinner. However, he quickly realized things werent so simple since he was still in the form of Tiona and it almost seemed risque to take a bath right now. Of course, Vahns curiosity won out in the end and he proceeded into to the bath without any real hesitation. It was a strange feeling, being attracted to his own form as he undressed, but it was also somewhat exciting and Vahn felt like everything he was experiencing was new. The way a woman felt excitement was decidedly different from a man and Vahn could feel a giddy feeling in his lower body that had never existed before. Since it wasmon for many of the girls to bathe before dinner, there were several present, including Tiona herself. Though there was a bit of confusion at first, people quickly realized it was Vahn that had arrived and a stir passed in the bath when they saw his n.a.k.e.d figure. The biggest reaction, unsurprisingly, came from the girls Vahn wasnt involved with, such as Preasia, Tina, and Shizune. Fenrir didnt seem to care at all and had Vahn was her body as if there had been no changes in his appearance. As for his own body, he lost the right to wash himself and it was left to Tiona and Syr to take care of the task. Syr didnt seem to be too affected by his change and, toward the end of the bath when they were getting dried off, actually asked if he wanted her to stay the night. Vahn was tempted by the idea but knew things would probably develop in a strange way if he added someone like Syr to the mix. Syr teased him a little after his refusal but didnt make any efforts to try and convince him otherwise. Afterward, Vahn got to experience having his own hair brushed by another person for the first time as Tiona treated his body as her personal ything as he brushed Fenrirs hair. She even used ornaments to style up his hair in a simr manner to her own and seemed to really enjoy testing new styles using Vahn as a temte. Since he could change clothing in an instant, Vahn was able to show off a variety of different outfits to the insatiably curious Amazon before dinner was finallypleted. Vahn actually enjoyed the experience a fair amount because he also got to see Tiona in the outfits that she was interested in while looking at himself in a standing mirror. As long as he didnt consider the reflection to be himself, Vahn found it was much easier to cope with wearing womens clothing... Dinner was decidedly more awkward than normal and Vahn found himself nked by Tiona and Tione so they looked like triplets that were sitting together. This was Emirus and Maemis first time seeing his current appearance and both girls seemed to take a big mental impact at the change. Vahn assured everyone that his current appearance would return to normal by the end of training tomorrow and pacified them with strawberry cheesecake and milk-tea. The awkwardness of the girls had been spreading to him and Vahn had started to feel very embarrassed by his decision to turn into Tiona earlier in the day. Of course, not every girl had a negative reaction as Vahn seemed to be very popr with the youth troupe, after they had adapted to the change, as well as the more mature women like Tsubaki, Mn, and Syr. As for Eina, she hadnt been present for dinner as she was having a small celebratory party with her former colleagues that worked with her at the Guild. She was aware of Vahns current change, however, and had informed him that she would be sleeping in the bed next door unless he specifically needed her. As a result, Vahn ended up retiring to his room with just Tiona since he had declined the offers of both Syr and Loki, who had reached out to him through thework. Tiona didnt seem to like the idea of Loki showing up and ying with her body so it ultimately resulted in just the two of them sharing his bed. For the moment he entered the room, however, Vahn felt like he had made a grave mistake as Tiona instantly clung to his body in an overly affectionate manner and said, "I can control my urges much better when youre like this...it makes me want to y with you lots and lots~!" as she began to nibble on his ear... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir says, Vahn is Vahn...,Tiona bes a narcissist?,Danger~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 453 - Reflection

Chapter 453 - Reflection

Vahn could feel his brows twitching when Tiona began nibbling yfully on his ear and tracing her hands along the front side of his body. It could be because he wasnt used to the stimtion, but it felt like women were far more sensitive than men when it came to being touched. Vahn also considered it was just a trait of Tionas, but that wasnt something he could deduce at the moment because of Tionas antics. He had been wearing a grey tunic over his body but now Tiona was tracing her palm around his stomach so Vahn broke free from her. Just like when he was with Tsubaki, Vahn felt awkward to be on the receiving end of such acts, especially when he didnt know how to deal with the sensations of his current body. Tiona had a somewhat embarrassed look on her face as she ced her hands behind her back and said, "Sorry, Vahn, I just thought it would be interesting to try it out...after all, its not often you get to have a womans body, especially mine..." Vahn pat his chest in order to calm his fluttering heart and said, "There are big differences in how men and women experience pleasure, and I dont think it would be healthy if I got ustomed to such things..." As he spoke, Vahn felt a bit of peculiarity in his own words because he was, in fact, very curious about such things. However, seeing the long orgasms experience by some of the girls, Vahn was somewhat concerned about his own mental state. Hearing his words, Tiona showed a small smile but Vahn could see the dejection in her demeanor. She had been exceptionally yful ever since he assumed her form and was probably just curious about a few things herself. Tiona was one of the people Vahn disliked seeing upset more than anyone else, as anything but a cheerful and excited expression didnt suit her much. Even when he saw himself in the mirror earlier, Vahn felt like he needed to smile or it would simply be strange. Since he hadnt actually had many inhibitions about it, Vahn released a sigh and said, "I dont mind ying around for a bit, but I dont really want to be on the receiving end that much...besides, I didnt think you had bis.e.x.u.a.l tendencies?" Tionas smiled had brightened a fair amount at Vahns words and she simply waved her hand dismissively at thest sentence as she said, "I wouldnt feel like this if I didnt know it was you that I was with, Vahn. Its very interesting to see my own body, but its only because youre the one that took the form. I thought it would be something fun we could experience together since there arent any other girls present right now~." Vahn showed a wry smile at her words before unequipping his own clothing and climbing into bed in a mechanical fashion. Due to her excitement, it didnt take Tiona long before she had messily discarded her own clothing and leaped into the bed. Vahn felt a bit of anxiety welling up inside of him and wasnt quite sure how to get things started until Tiona closed in on him like a predator and pushed him down and sealed his lips. A primal instinct awakened in Vahn and he quickly rolled over and pinned the aggressive Tiona instead. She didnt make any effort to resist him at all and just beganughing as she reached out and prodded the pale buds on his chest. Vahn felt a shiver pass through his body as Tiona said, "My b.r.e.a.s.ts might be small, but they are actually really sensitive. I wonder, how does it feel to you~?" Feeling his own heart begin to race at the foreign stimtion, the corner of Vahns eye twitched and he performed a simr action against Tiona, with admittedly greater skill. Tiona beganughing once again and the intonation in her voice slowly changed into a more sensual tone. She didnt have the benefit of Vahns [Hands of Nirvana], but Tiona understood her own body well so she began to stroke Vahns stomach andughed as his expression broke somewhat. She wasnt entirely sure of the reason herself, but it always felt very exciting to have her lower abdomen rubbed by Vahn in the past. Even though he was sure she was experiencing more than he was, Vahn found himself losing the momentum very quickly since everything was new to him. Simply moving around was somewhat awkward so, now that he was being teased by Tiona, Vahn found that his own mental preparations were sorelycking. Instead of his mind buzzing as usual, almost like there was a pressure building up, Vahn found his body was actually trembling instead and it was almost like a current was running through his abdomen. It was almost like his entire body was an erogenous zone and Vahn realized he would likely end up losing out in the end if he allowed Tiona to seize the initiative. Unfortunately for him, even though he was the one on top, Tiona quickly got an advantage and, since it wasnt her first time doing lesbian y, ended up causing Vahns h.i.p.s to drop against hers when she opened her legs. Vahn had been straddling her earlier, but Tiona managed to force him down as he tried to escape her caress against his lower abdomen. When he fell, Vahn released out a high-pitch m.o.a.n that caused his face to blush a great deal as a result. Even when he was a man, other than a few grunts and heavy breathing, Vahn had rarely ever made any audible sounds of pleasure and he found his own inability to resist the reaction of his body to be very embarrassing. Realizing Vahns condition, Tiona smiled in a mischevious manner and asked, "Do you want me to take over, or did you want to try something different~?" He might not have realized it himself yet, but Tiona could feel her own body trembling as Vahn slowly grinded against her as he furrowed his brows. When he heard her words, Vahns frown deepened and he was very tempted to call it quits since it didnt seem like he would be able to keep going for long. There was a somewhat scary feeling beginning to well up inside him and it triggered danger signals in the back of his mind. Though it was a bit shameless, Vahn activated his [Will of the Emperor] to forcibly calm his body down as he looked into Tionas brown eyes and said, "This is more difficult than I expected...I dont think I can adapt to the situation easily if things progress much further..." Tiona titled her head sideways and asked, "Are you afraid to experience how a woman feels an orgasm? I know it can be pretty intense, but its actually very satisfying...I think you would regret it if you didnt experience it at least once~?" Hearing her words, Vahn ground his teeth a bit because he knew she was right. He didnt really have s.e.x to experience the pleasure aspect, for the most part, so Vahn couldnt easily rationalize why he didnt want to have an orgasm other than instinct. Seeing the conflicted look on Vahns face, Tiona showed a bit of concern in her expression before asking, "Vahn...you trust me, right?" Without considering the meaning behind her question, Vahn nodded his head and habitually replied, "Of course..." Tiona smiled in a cheerful manner after hearing his immediate response and said, "Just leave things to me then, okay~? I wont even tell any of the other girls what happened if it bothers you too much. I just want us to have something that is uniquely ours~!" Vahn, seeing the look in Tionas eyes, and feeling the fluctuations of her aura, eventually caved into her insistence as he said, "Fine..." Tionas smile widened as she easily swapped positions with Vahn and had himy against the bed before turning around atop his body. Before she leaned forward, Tiona said, "This might be a little intense so just focus on trying to make me feel good, okay~?" As it wasnt Vahns first time in such a position, he knew exactly what Tiona had in mind and it made his body tremble just thinking about it. However, he didnt want to back down after having made his decision so he grabbed Tionas h.i.p.s and pulled them toward his face as she bent down, flush against his body. Vahn felt an invasive and hot feeling against his lower body and instinctively closed his thighs together, something Tiona had already anticipated and prevented. Every time she moved her tongue, Vahn felt a tingling sensation run up his body and it wasnt until Tiona sat up and said, "My bottom is feeling a little lonely..." that he realized he hadnt actually started on his own end. Pushing his [Will of the Emperor] a little more, Vahn grabbed Tionas h.i.p.s and began attacking her weak spots in a skillful manner. He could feel Tionas body tremble and now knew exactly what kind of reaction she was having since a simr sensation was passing through his own body. Without the support of [Will of the Emperor], Vahn didnt think he would havested for more than a minute, even though Tionas actions were somewhat sloppy. It seemed like she was trying to learn from him, but there was a vast difference in their experience and technical prowess. Unfortunately, his advantage wasnt nearly as evident as usual and Vahn found himself clinging to Tionas h.i.p.s as he scrunched up his toes in an effort to resist the approaching wave that felt like it was beginning to rise up in his body. At this point, it was like his abdomen had started to vibrate in a strange manner as a feeling of impending doom gripped his mind. Feeling the changes in Vahns body, Tiona took a deep breath before spreading about the fleshy and pliant mound and peeled back the masking cap that covered her own little bead. The fact that she had been essentially feting herself was something that had been hoving in Tionas mind and she couldnt help but apologize to Vahn in her own mind since he was going to be the victim of her curiosity. Without any real hesitation, Tiona gently nibbled on the small bead before flicking it with her tongue in an awkward manner. She could feel Vahn pulling down on her h.i.p.s as he nails dug into her backside but it wasnt really that painful so she ignored it and continued her assault... Vahn adamantly refused to release any cries but he couldnt do much about his bodys instinct to cling to Tiona desperately as the reverberations in his own body increased to the breaking point. The sense of impending doom in his mind copsed and Vahn felt his legs spasm as electricity ran up and down his legs rapidly and he lost his ability to hold onto Tionas body. With the copse of his mind, Vahn felt like he couldnt do anything except simply experience the moment as his own mind began to wander in a murky abyss. If not for Tiona weighing him down, Vahn felt like he would have drifted away into that abyss and lost himself in the moment entirely... Tiona was very surprised by Vahns reaction and her own body felt giddy as she watched his legs tremble rapidly. Even though it wasnt really her body, Tiona could see her insides writhing around and she couldnt resist the temptation to prod the contracting walls and feeling their vibrations. It was a very familiar feeling against her fingers but also something entirely foreign because Vahns reaction was decidedly different from her own. It was somewhat amusing so Tiona kept feeling around his insides as she patiently waited for him to return from his trip. To her surprise, Vahn had been gone for nearly two minutes before he began releasing shallow breaths that tickled her own moist bottom. Vahny in a daze under Tiona and just stared up at the tantalizing mound and the perk brown buttocks that dominated his vision. He now understood exactly why the girls around him were so satisfied by his treatment because the pleasure he had just experienced was on the precipice of being called awe-inspiring. It was so far beyond Vahns expectations that he actually had trouble processing exactly what had happened since the vast majority of the experience had passed by as he was left unawares under Tionas warm body and pleasant weight. He could still feel Tiona poking around, each touch sending jolts through his body, so Vahn decided to return the favor before bringing this dangerous experience to an end... Without hesitation, Vahn traced his hands up and down Tionas back as he buried his face into the moist mound and began his own assault against her defenses. He had decided to make full use of his [Hands of Nirvana] so Tiona quickly dropped her entire weight against his body as she released sensual m.o.a.ns that tickled his ears. Vahn had done his best to stifle his own m.o.a.ning earlier, though it felt like he might have failed at the end, so he found her reaction satisfying. She was obviously able to resist the urge if she tried, but her actions showed Vahn that she wanted him to hear so he listened to her cries as if they were an apanying tune to the reverberations of her body. Tiona could feel Vahns earnest efforts to gain the advantage against her and did her best to try and resist but found that she was unable to even hold out for more than ten seconds. It was a little unfair that Vahn could make use of such methods but Tiona didnt really mind that much at all. She got to see Vahns first climax as a woman and it made her feel a strange sense of aplishment in having done so. She now had another one of Vahns firsts and it might even serve as the catalyst for future firsts they could experience together. The other girls seemed somewhat resistant against Vahn taking on the form of a woman, but Tiona didnt care at all since he was still the boy she fell in love with. Even though it was slightly different, all of his actions were performed with the same attention as always and it made Tionas body flitter about like a leaf caught in the wind as she allowed him to blow her away once again... --- As a result of his own unwillingness to have lost, Vahn ended up teasing Tionas body for nearly forty minutes before giving her a reprieve. He knew it was a bit mean to do so, but he felt like he had to do something or he wouldnt be able to cover up his own embarrassment. As for why he continued for so long, it was because Tiona would eventually adapt to his movements and start her own assault anew. Vahn discovered that his own body was even more sensitive than it had been previously and knew that, like he had been doing to her, Tiona would be able to trap him if she managed to get any momentum of her own. The first climax had been something beyond Vahns expectations so he was especially afraid of experiencing something even more intense... After surviving his assault, Tiona had cuddled up against Vahn and hugged his body tightly as she intertwined his legs with her own. They were precisely the same size as each other so it was very easy for them to ovep their bodies and be even closer. With a flushed expression and slightly zed eyes, Tiona muttered, "Even though youre in a different form, Im d we got to be together without using the Fallen..." Vahn simply stroked her slightly damp hair in response and said, "I should be able to reach Level 4 during the expedition, or at least sometime after. Once I reach that Level, there is a fair chance I would be able to overpower you with the assistance of Haruhimes magic..." Tiona put a bit more strength into her embrace and kissed Vahns lips in a passionate manner for several minutes before saying, "I think it would be a good idea to put off having children for another year or two...I dont want to have any ovep with the first batch of kids and I know youll be somewhat distracted by them when they are born. Since youll probably enter into a dispute with the Amazon Queen after we get pregnant, I want to wait until our power has increased much more..." Vahn had noticed that Tiona said we instead of I so she was likely including her sister in the equation. He knew she was correct to put off having a child untilter as now was simply not an opportune time. Vahn nodded his head after contemting the matter a bit and said, "I think I can reach Level 5 or 6 within two years, and there is a fair chance I will be able to learn magic from Eva in the time frame. Once Im strong enough, I can even give you a me seed and then we can both increase our strength in preparation of the future..." Tionas smile widened at Vahns words before she nuzzled her cheek against his and said, "The future looks brighter every day Im together with you, Vahn~." Vahn also disyed a smile of his own as he began to think about other methods to improve the strength of their group in the future. The key to everything seemed to be learning from Eva, but Vahn suspected there were plenty of other ways that he already had ess to and simply hadnt considered...after all, The Path was inherently without limitations and the only real restriction was Vahns understanding of it and willingness to exploit its functions. Just as he had decided to be more proactive in his rtionsh.i.p.s with the girls, perhaps it was time to seriously consider expanding his knowledge of his own capabilities in the near future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tionas eagerness...,Does this count as masturbation~?,Vahn considers cheating...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 454 - Breakthroughs

Chapter 454 - Breakthroughs

Other than a bit of awkwardness during the morning training, Vahns remaining time as Tiona came to an end uneventfully while he was discussing things with Riveria. However, due to his own oversights, Vahn ended up in girls clothing for a brief moment after the transition and quickly swapped out for his standard outfit as the stunned Riveria watched him. Aftward, Vahn ended up in his own workshop and started working on the under-armor once again. He still hadnte up with a solution to his current problems so Vahn decided to spend the day simply confirming that the scales worked as intended. After purchasing a simple leather glove through the system shop, Vahn spent a bit of time disassembling the rtivelyplicated glove before using string made from the tendons of a dragon. Though not nearly as effective as Mithril, the threads were capable of channeling mana so Vahn sewed aplex pattern on the inside of the glove that connected each of the scales on the surface. Since they took quite a while to manufacture, Vahn only made four additional scales and affixed them to the knuckle of each sleeve. (A/N: The part that the finger goes in on a glove is called a sleeve (UwU)) The formation Vahn had sewn was a simple one that allowed the user to infuse their own mana into the glove through the use of the [Fist Strike] skill. It was important that each scale activated simultaneously so that the force was properly transmitted through the glove and dissipated. The glove would allow a person to strike an object and dissipate the shockwaves that would have passed into the hand. It didnt increase attack power at all, but it allowed the user greater defensive capabilities if used properly. As the original glove hadnt been manufactured by him, the overall rank of the final product was rtively low but Vahn was, at the very least, able to confirm his conjecture. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Xunw Gloves] Rank: C (Magic) Slots: 1 P.Def: 140 M.Def: 17 Ability: Shock Absorption(C) Simple leather gloves that have been pushed to the extremes of their potential by a skilled [Master Smith]. Though simple in structure, these gloves carry the will of Xunw and allow the user to dissipate shockwaves if used skillfully. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once he hadpleted the gloves, Vahn recorded his findings inside his own journal before disassembling the gloves he had spent so much effort developing. Even though they were somewhat useful, Vahn wasnt going to give a piece of C-Rank equipment to any of the girls if he could make a stronger pair in the future. Other than Tiona, Tione, and Lunoire, the other girls didnt really fight with their fists anyway. As for selling them, Vahn was already earning money faster than he could spend so it wasnt really a pressing matter. Besides, there was no way Vahn was willing to part with the five scales that he had painstakingly forged on a sub-standard piece of equipment. During the second block of time on his schedule, Vahn ate lunch with Mn, Tina, Shizune, Preasia, and Fenrir and talked to them about some of the troubles he was having. Vahn didnt expect that they would be any help, but there was always a chance they could discover something he had overlooked and it was also fun simply talking with them. To his surprise, Vahn did actually glean some new information from his talks with the girls as, when he showed the scales to Tina, shemented, "This looks a lot like a snake scale..." Though it was a simple statement, Vahn felt like a mechanism had been triggered in his mind and the image of Fenrirs outfit once again re-appeared. As Tina had said, the secondyer looked a lot like snakeskin and, if Vahn could find a snake capable of channeling magic through its scales, he would be able to avoid having the manufacture the scales himself. Arge grin appeared on his face as he picked up the fl.u.s.tered girl and spun her around in the air several times before giving her a big kiss on the cheek. After setting her down, Vahn waved back at the group and said, "I need to go confirm something~! Great job, Tina!" before disappearing out through the door. Tinas mouth was opening and closing like a fish as she stared wide-eyed at the door Vahn had exited through as a deep blush appeared on her face. Mn began tough at her daughters reaction as she pat the small girl on the head and said, "See, there are plenty of ways you can be helpful to Vahn without exposing yourself to danger..." Tina had been talking to her about trying to convince Vahn to allow her to go into the Dungeon recently but Mn had asked her to put the matter off until he returned from the expedition. Hearing her mothers words, Tina nodded her head as she put her hand on the cheek where Vahn had given her a kiss andughed in a silly manner... Vahn made a beeline toward Tsubakis workshop and found her taking a break as she sipped on a fragrant tea in the rest area. Seeing Vahns haste, Tsubaki arched her brow and asked, "What has you so riled up, Vahn?" Vahn pulled out his monsterpendium, armor diagrams, and the scales that he had produced alongside the various notes he had taken about his own research. Tsubaki picked up the scale wither her finger and marveled at the craftsmanship as Vahn exined, "Im trying to figure out a faster method to create the secondyer of the under-armor everyone will use but I hit a snag early on since producing a single one of these scales takes quite a while. When I was talking to Tina, she said the scale looked simr to those on a snakes body so I was thinking about which monsters would have suitable materials..." Tsubaki had seen the incredibly fine Orichalc.u.m veins on the back of the scale and, after listening to Vahns words, said, "I agree that it will be more efficient to use the skin of a snake, but what will you do about this littlework of orichalc.u.m you have on the back?" Hearing her words, Vahn nked for a brief moment because he hadnt really considered a solution yet. Even if he picked scales that were naturally conducive to the flow of mana, that didnt mean it would flow the way he wanted it to. Using the skin would prevent him from having to make the scales on his own, but he would still have towork the thousands of scales together regardless. Seeing Vahns nk expression, Tsubaki smiled slightly and said, "Worm Wells are probably toorge, so youd probably have to make use of the skin of a Thunder Snake, Silver Worm, me Python, or any of the higher grades of dragons. The downside is they have their own elemental properties and many of the materials are either difficult to acquire, or hard to work with. I imagine you would have the most sess with a me Python at first, but if youre thinking of armor for the girls youd probably want to use a Silver Worm or a dragon variant like the Cadmus..." Since Vahn was immune to fire, he could easily work with the me Python materials and potentially even create some fire resistant armor for himself. Vahn took notes on Tsubakis rmendations before looking through the shop and confirming the prices for each of the materials she listed out. He had the benefit that he didnt even have to go into the Dungeon to hunt monsters for materials, though the conversion ratio was rather bad. Other than selling magic cores to the shop, most other materials didnt even sell for 1/10th their buying price. The Cadmus skin and me Python were even worth 120,000OP and 93,000OP respectively, though the acquired material was actually more than fair for the price. If Vahn sold therge piece of perfect Cadmus skin he obtained from the shop, not that he ever would, it would be worth well over a billion Valis. Even a small roll of the skin could be worth millions and Vahn received 10m of the material for his experiments. Tsubakis eyes widened when she saw Vahn materialize incredibly rare materials out of thin air but she already knew of his creation Divinity and recovered in an instant. Apparently, as long as he had enough magic cores to convert into the energy, Vahn was able to create almost anything he knew the specifics of. Since he could consult thependium for information, and also had samples of most rare materials, it wasnt that difficult to understand how he could create such things from scratch. Of course, Tsubaki also knew that there were unique qualities to the materials Vahn produced and it had been agreed that none of the items made using his materials should ever enter the market. Hephaestus had even informed her about how Vahn could use his blood to create crystals that could store magic, so Tsubaki wasnt surprised by anything the boy did anymore. If anything, it simply meant she could rely on him for any difficult to acquire materials in exchange for magic cores... As she watched Vahn sort through his materials in the middle of her workshop, Tsubakiid eyes on the dragon skin Vahn had purchased before asking in a curious tone, "Vahn, why dont you ask for Fafnirs help in producing scales? Cant it shape its scales into almost anything? I also tested the material sample you provided to me and it is even more efficient than Mithril with high resistance to foreign magics..." Vahn had been using a small scalpel to cut out a piece of Cadmus hide before his hand slipped and he dragged his scalpel clear through the table underneath. Tsubakis words had hit him like a brick and Vahn couldnt believe he had made such a massive oversight. He had even been riding on Fafnirs back the previous day and had several fragments of its scales in his inventory. Tsubakiughed at Vahns reaction before rising from the sofa and giving him a pat on the back as she said, "Dont let it bother you too much, Vahn. I just had the thought while I was watching you work with the materials and remembered that you described the scales from your memory as ck like mithril. I just thought, Isnt Fafnir also ck? and decided to ask if you considered it." Vahn nodded his head in azy manner before clearing away a section of the workshop and calling Fafnir. Now that Tsubaki said it, Vahn realized Fafnir was probably the source of the scales from the very beginning. It also had the ability to reshape and regrow its scales, assuming it had his source energy, so it was almost like a material factory if needed... Fafnir popped its head up out of the ground and said, ("Hello Vahn, hello Tsubaki~! Did you need me for anything~?") Vahn showed a wry smile on his face as he held out one of the small scales he had created and asked, "Fafnir, I know it may be a little rude to ask this...but do you think you could make scales that are simr to this one?" Though Vahn had researched the properties of Fafnirs scales, it still felt a little awkward to ask his own subordinate, which he treated like family, for materials. However, Fafnir didnt seem to mind the matter at all as it tilted its head to the side and looked at the scale with its massive blue eye. Vahn got to see the sight of its pupil, which was typically several centimeters wide, shrink down to the size of a pinhole as it inspected the scale in Vahns fingers. After a few seconds of concentration, Fafnirs head began to vibrate audibly before a wave of ck kes fell from its body and onto the floor. It c.o.c.ked its head to the side to inspect the scales it had produced before saying, ("I think they are the same, but I couldnt copy the tiny golden things inside~! Ill practice more in the future to see if I can figure it out~!") Under Fafnirs watchful gaze, Vahn picked up one of the scales from the ground andpared it to the one in his hand. Though Fafnir wasnt able to produce the Orichalc.u.m mana circuits, it was able to create the channels for them. Vahn released a heavy sigh before cing his forehead against Fafnirs snout and saying, "Fafnir, you really saved me this time...all of the girls will be much safer when I use these scales to make armor for them. Thank you very much..." Fafnirughed in its characteristic child-like voice before saying, ("Yay~! Im d I was able to help Vahn~!") At this point, even Tsubaki had picked up one of the thousands of scales that now covered her workshop floor. Even though it only took a few seconds for Fafnir to produce them, their craftsmanship was almost identical to the one Vahn had created. She was tempted to ask if Fafnir could shape a few des for her but, simr to Vahn, she didnt really feel it was appropriate to do so. If someone came to her asking her to shed some skin so they could use it to make armor, Tsubaki imagined she would nt a human-shaped tree as a result of their offense. After topping up Fafnirs energy reserves, which required Vahn to chug several mana potions, Vahn sent it on its way and promised to take it sightseeing when he returned from the expedition. When he had asked if Fafnir wanted anything, its response had been a cheerful, ("I want to go see lots of interesting ces with Vahn~!"). Since it spent the majority of its time in the shadows, primarily sleeping to conserve energy, Fafnir got bored at times and wanted to get out more often. It didnt mind the shadows, as they were veryfortable and rxing, but it wanted to spend more time with Vahn, Tina, and Fenrir. Once Fafnir had left, Vahn swept up a total of 71,999 scales and stored them into a single inventory slot. Because of the massive size of its head, and the rtively small size of the scales, Fafnir had produced a huge amount in a single sloughing motion that made Vahn feel like a fool for not going to the reliable dragon first. It had taken Vahn nearly five hours to make five scales, the majority of which was spent shaping the scale itself, so Fafnir had saved Vahn approximately 60,000hours, or nearly 7 years of effort...now Vahn just had to create the orichalc.u.m veins for each one and he could begin linking them together. Since she was curious about the process, Vahn showed how he liquidized the Orichalc.u.m using his own unique method before giving Tsubaki 2,000 scales of her own to practice creating her own items with. She might not be able to emte his control over me elements, but that didnt mean she wouldnt be able to make use of them for her own purposes. Even if she just used them to adorn some of her own weapons and armor in the future, they were materials almost equal in quality to Mithril that had already been refined into a usable shape. They were a glossy ck color as well, which made them especially suitable for use in a variety of different ways. For the rest of the afternoon, Vahn practiced creating the Orichalc.u.m veins until he got to the point where he couldplete a single scale in about five minutes. Since it initially took around ten, this meant Vahn had nearly doubled his pace and, by the end of the day, he had finished a total of forty-seven additional scales,pared to the five he would have been able to make. As the scales werent required to cover the entire mesh of base material, Vahn would need around 1400 total for a single outfit but he was well on his way and would get progressively faster as time passed. Even if his pace didnt increase at all, Vahn could produce around 100-120 of the scales per work day which meant he would be able toplete around three sets per month, at the very least. Vahn spent thest half hour cleaning up his workshop and going through a few variations of his design that could be more practical than his current setup. He had been using a synthetic material that consisted of Shadowsilk and processed wyvern hide, but now he was considering using the Cadmus hide as the base material and increasing the overall quality of the prototype with the intent of making it ready for practical use. The Cadmus hide was very thin, almost like snakeskin, but it was incredibly durable and was one of the most highly sought after materials for light armor in the entire world. Since Vahn had 30 square meters of the material, he had more than enough to use to construct the entire base of the outfits using it. It also had the benefit of being stark white, which meant it could be easily treated and dyedter on. --- As he was exhausted from the days exertions, Vahn made his way to the bath to wash his body before dinner was ready. There were already several people inside so Vahn walked in nning to make light conversation with everyone about the breakthroughs he had made. However, the moment he stepped over the threshold separating the changing room and the bath, Vahn heard a yelp before tilting his head to the side and dodging a wooden bucket that traced a beautiful arc through the air. Vahn blinked in confusion for a moment beforeying eyes on the culprit that threw the bucket and saw Rose ring at him with her teeth disyed as she crouched down in the water. Eina and Syr were both present, among other girls, so Eina put her hand on her cheek in an exasperated manner and said, "I told you several times that Vahn used this bath as well..." As for Syr, she had been making conversation with Rose previously and simplyughed at the Werewolf girls reaction before saying, "Other people also warned you plenty of times~." Rose red at the two girls before saying in an icy tone, "I thought he used it at different times than everyone else! How can you let him bathe at the same time as the other girls!?" Though she had been addressing Syr and Eina, it was the rxing Hestia who stated, "This entire Manor belongs to Vahn and he is also the Captain of my Familia. We havemunal bathing, so stop making a big deal out of things. Even that clingy pink-colored girl had enough sense to use a private bath after she was warned..." Misha and Rose had officiallypleted their move earlier today and had decided to take a bath before dinner with everyone else. They had been warned several times that Vahn would be using the bath in no uncertain terms so Misha had used one of the private baths after failing to invite along some of the other girls. Rose, however, ignored the warnings and treated the onsen simr to the womens bath at the dorm she used to reside at. As everyone stated, it was clearly she who was at fault, but this entire situation was somewhat nonsensical to her. However, as an outsiderpared to everyone else here, she didnt really have any ground to stand on at all. This didnt stop her fromshing out though as she looked toward the direction where Vahn had been standingpletely n.a.k.e.d earlier and noticed he was now missing. Syr rose up out of the water and gestured to Ryuu as the two followed Vahns path and headed toward the private bath he had decided to use. Fenrir, who had been treading water near Hestia, looked toward Rose and said, "This is Masters home...you should leave if youre going to cause trouble..." Hearing Fenrirs words, Rose turned her attention to the small wolf girl before swallowing audibly when she fell under the gaze of the scarlet eyes. Hestia came up from behind and grabbed Fenrir to calm her down as she said, "Rose, Fenrir isnt wrong...you are friends with Eina, but you are here on behalf of the Guild. We have arranged free food and boarding to you, but that doesnt mean you can take advantage of things to such an extent. Im certain there are more than a few people that would willingly take your ce as representative inside the Hearth Manor..." Eina winced slightly at Hestia words before turning to Rose and saying in a gentle tone, "Vahn is arguably the most important person in the entire Alliance and everyone within the Hearth Manor supports and cares for him. There are more than a dozen private baths to make use of, so please do so in the future unless you dont mind being seen by Vahn. As the head of the residence, it would be silly that a guest is able to kick him out of his own bath..." Though she wanted to back up her friend, Eina stood on Vahns side on this matter since she was, after all, his wife. Eina also knew that it wasnt Vahns idea to break down the wall initially and that he had even opposed it for a while before finally agreeing to the current situation. It wasnt as if Vahn did anything promiscuous within the bath, so it wasnt a major issue like how Rose made it out to be. Realizing that everyone present was giving her strange looks, including Eina, Rose understood that she had been in the wrong. Hestia was the goddess of the Hestia Familia and allowed Vahn to use the bath while Eina, Vahns wife, seemed to be perfectly okay with the situation. As an outsider, she had no ce toin about the situation at all since it was something manufactured by her own oversights... Eina reclined in the water until it came up to her neck and said, "Dont worry about it too much, Rose, as Vahn probably wont mind at all. If anything, I imagine he will be the one to apologize to youter during dinner..." Hearing Einas words, several of the girls began tough because they could imagine Vahn doing just that. Rose felt even more awkward so she decided to leave the bath early and prepare for dinner. They were currently staying in the first floor of the west wing, near the medical ward, which was also furnished with a kitchen. She and Misha were given all the necessary ingredients to prepare their own food but had decided to eat with therger group after discussing the matter with Eina and Syr previously. Now, however, Rose was beginning to feel like she should eat alone for the evening... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Gloves...,Vahn is an idiot at times...,Roses faux pas...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 455 - Preparations

Chapter 455 - Preparations

For the time remaining, leading up to the evening before the expedition, Vahn spent the majority of his time within his workshop making steady progress on the prototype under-armor. The Danmachi record had a twenty-four hour day and it wasmon for Vahn to spent ten hours in his workshop, two hours training during the morning, and the rest of his time with the girls within the Manor. He knew it was a bit unfair to invest so much time on his own focus, but Vahn was of the mindset that the girls needed to be proactively pursuing things of their interest as well. Even without him saying this outright, this seemed to be the consensus on thework and Vahn had been hearing about the extra training and hobbies everyone had been picking up. Through constant practice, Tsubaki had been the first person within the dance group to pick up the [Featherfoot] skill under the guidance of Haruhime. This had been andmark achievement in the group that spurred the others to put in more effort as well. Riveria was keeping track of everyones progress andpiling it in a data log that was essible to everyone within the Manor. Vahn himself had filled out several paragraphs about his own progress while also considering how best to use his the [Grimoire of Guidance]. The fact it allowed him to teach someone a Development Ability made it very difficult to make a decision... Vahn had the potential to create Development Abilities that had never existed before which meant that he could teach someone like Riveria his [Mentor] ability. There was also a short period of time where Vahn considered teaching Welf [cksmith] but decided against it since it seemed somewhat wasteful considering he would learn it on his own. If he held on to it long enough, Vahns options would increase and there was a fair chance he might even be able to put his [Shundo] or [Magia Erebea] into the grimoire instead. Having another person able to use such magic would increase the overall strength of the Alliance by a great deal. Just imagining someone like Ais moving around with [Shundo] and [Ariel] active sent chills down Vahns back... Thus, unable able to make a decision at the moment, Vahn spent his time invested entirely on the prototype he had been designing. His idea to make the base out of Cadmus skin ended up going through without a hitch and Vahn found the pristine white base preferable over the stark ck Shadowsilk. It also had the benefit of being lined with the unique scale pattern of the Cadmus, which Vahn could use as a guideline for when he was imnting his own in the future. As for the additional materials he intended to use, other than the scales created by Fafnir, Vahn had decided on aposite of adamantium with a hollowed core that had been filled to the brim with his own blood before converting it into a crystalline structure. Even though they were simple in design, each test te was at least B-Rank without any other enhancements so Vahn was nning to push them even further in the future. Hephaestus and Tsubaki had also been checking on his progress over thest few days and had been giving him reliable input that would increase the overall quality in theter stages. Hephaestus knowledge of forging was like a vast oceanpared to Vahns and she was able to demonstrate to him how to alter the basic structure of the metals he was forging using the eternal me as a medium. Vahn learned how toyer metals in specific patterns to make them even stronger before infusing me elemental energy into the entire thing to solidify it. When he checked the process with his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see that the alternating flow of the molecules made the metal far more durable than normal. The downside to this, however, was that it lost its flexibility and was harder to work withter on without melting it down entirely. Thus, with thebined effort of three [Master Smith]s, Vahn had made a great deal of progress on the prototype before stowing it away safely in his inventory the evening before they departed for the Dungeon. Even though there was a negligible chance it would get stolen from the Manor, Vahn wasnt going to gamble on it at all. Afterward, he spent the remaining time preparing for the expedition itself by cleaning up his inventory to make space for the materials they would harvestter. It was decided that Vahn would keep the size of his storage magic a secret since it would cause the Supporters in the expedition to becent. It was also a simple truth that the Alliance was still in the early stages of development and Vahns capabilities would cause more problems than provide solutions in the interim. As for those that would be apanying him on the expedition, there was an understandable concern about leaving the Manor unguarded so the group had been split into two core parties. Vahn would primarily be taking along Fenrir, Haruhime, Mikoto, Lili, and Naaza while Ryuu, Aki, Emiru, Maemi, Tsubaki, and Mn would stay back at the Manor with Hestia, Eina, Syr, Chloe, Arnya, Lunoire, Tina, Shizune, and Preasia. As for the members of the Loki Familia, they would all be participating since it was an expedition led by their Familia and they were the core members that represented the strength of the Familia. Besides, there was no way to convince any of the battle junky girls to stay on the surface when there was adventure to be had down below. --- During the early dinner, the day before the expedition, Vahn went over the details they would need to pay attention to while they were in the Dungeon once again. It was known that there was an organization within the Dungeon that would be trying to target them so they needed to be on guard against ambushes. Though it wasnt likely they would target the expedition itself, there was no way of actually knowing how things would y out since the enemy seemed to exercise some control over the Dungeon itself. Enyo, the name of their true enemy, was the greatest threat to the Alliance presently and Vahn didnt want to see a single person fall to her schemes. Vahn also discussed the need to keep a look out for the Xenos and try to avoid conflict, unless they were under attack by the group. As entities that lived within the Dungeon, they had ess to all kind of paths and shortcuts inessible to most people. If the Alliance could bring the Xenos into the fold, it would make it much easier to venture into the Dungeon in the future since they could avoid several dangers and even store supplies with the Xenos. Unfortunately, the Xenos would likely avoid the expedition party due to the sheer size of the group so it was unlikely they would meet any time soon. As for why Vahn could discuss these things openly at dinner, it was because Misha, Rose, and Mona ate away from the rest of the group when it was mentioned they would be talking about private matters rted to the Alliance. Vahn had tried to apologize to Rose in the past, since it was never his intention to peep on her, but she had beaten him to the punch and given an overly serious apology that Vahn had no choice but to ept. Ever since then, however, she had been rtively distant and always sat at the farthest point during dinner alongside Misha and, because she was trying to make things less awkward, Eina. Now that they were officially working at the Hearth Manor, the three had set up a counter in the rtivelyrge foyer to post avable missions while the building they would be working out of in the future was being constructed. Einas job as Liaison made her the representative in charge of the two girls but also required her to perform duties of her own, such as working the counter and officiating missions. Mishas job was very simr to Einas, though much less official, while Rose was required to take inventory and process any materials that are obtained through the Alliance and exchanged to the Guild. It took a little longer than normal for the conversion, as they couldnt keep a vault of Valis on the premises, but it was still very convenient for the Alliance that she was present. Now, instead of taking their haul all the way from the Twilight Manor to the Guild, the Loki Familia would be able to store things at the rtively close Hearth Manor instead. All things considered, it was very interesting to have a small Guild office within their own home and it was something Vahn found very exciting since, when he had epted a few tasks toplete during the expedition, they had all turned into official Quests within his system. Not only would he get the posted rewards, but Vahn could also acquire bonus OP and potentially even obtain extra items and materials. Unfortunately, there was a restriction that only allowed him to ept five quests at a time and they were all under the optional category. He was also restricted by the rank of the Familia itself since Eina was only allowed to issue missions to them ording to their standing. Even though they were considered the core of the Alliance, it didnt mean they were above the requirements of rank and would still have to put in the effort to improve themselves in the future... --- Since they would be gone for an entire month, or longer, Vahn had been spending his evenings proactively and had been inviting the group staying behind into his room. Other than Eina, the other girls didnt seem to mind group y that much and some even thought it was fun when everyone was together. The most poprbinations were the girls from the Hostess of Fertility, the kitten group, and the mature group. It hadnt been his idea, as Chloe was the one that brought it up, but Vahn ended up sleeping with her, Arnya, Aki, and Mn all at the same time and it was borderline addictive being tended to by the four Cat Persons. As for the mature group, they consisted of Hephaestus, Hestia, Loki, and Tsubaki. Mn might have been considered in the same group, but she had enjoyed her time with the other kittens since it seemed awkward to intervene in the fun of several goddesses. As for Tsubaki, she didnt seem to mind it at all and even proactively contended with Loki and Hephaestus... As for the evening before the expedition itself, Vahn spent the night alone with Eina and rxed his mind and body in thefort she brought him. Even when they had s.e.x, it was a rtively short-lived experience and, true to his word, Vahn let Eina take care of everything. It was a little strange to be rxing during s.e.x but Vahn felt like it was very Eina-like and allowed himself to rx without imposing on the gentle girl. The remaining time, up until he inevitably fell asleep, was spent with Eina massaging his body and saying words that wouldfort his mind. She never talked about any of the troublesome things that were going on and instead focused her efforts on talking about the beautiful future they would create together. As for her actual massage technique, Vahn had scribed for her the basics of the [Hands of Nirvana] technique and she was proactively trying to learn how to use it... --- Vahn awoke with the warmth of Eina hugging him from behind, as she had fallen asleep on his back once again, and it made it very difficult for him to want to move. Fortunately, she seemed to wake up soon after him and kissed the back of his head before squeezing his body firmly and rolling off of his back. Vahn looked into her glimmering, emerald green, eyes and saw the care and concern contained within so heforted her with a long and passionate kiss before saying, "I wont let anything happen, Eina...and Ill be back soon..." Eina nodded her head with a gentle smile on her face as she stroked the side of his and said, "I believe in you, Vahn...dont keep us waiting too long..." After spending a few extra minutes cuddling with Eina, Vahn ended up leaving the room behind with a renewed confidence in his gait. It wasnt that he didnt expect nothing would happen at all, quite the contrary, but Vahn wasnt going to let anything stop his momentum anymore. There were too many things he cared about to remaincent and this would be the first expedition where Vahn was able to break through the Lower Floors and enter the Deep Floors. He had been looking forward to this moment for some time and, given that everyone in the Manor was already awake, it was an excitement shared by everyone else as well. Though they wouldnt be apanying the expeditionary party, all of the girls that would be staying behind woke up early to send Vahn, and the apanying girls, on their way. They enjoyed a lively breakfast together and talked about the things they would be working on while Vahn was away. Since they had enough time to think about it now, Chloe and Arnya had decided they would be joining the Hestia Familia in the future and it seemed like Lunoire was contemting it as well. Vahn was happy they had made such a decision since it would greatly bolster the strength of his own Familia in the future. He was also curious about what Innates they might have locked away and was looking forward to uncovering their secrets when he returned. After breakfast ended, Vahn had a round of embraces with everyone as Misha and Rose watched the group with awkward expressions. At this point, neither girl was surprised by the status of everyone in the Familia and it was very obvious that Vahn was very important to most of, if not all, of the girls. Misha didnt seem like the type to harp over such things but Vahn had learned through Eina that Rose was a little bothered about this fact. Because Vahn was so important to so many people, Rose found it hard to ept that he was still venturing into the Dungeon and putting himself at danger. If he died, there would be a lot of people that would be hurt by his passing and he would end up leaving Hephaestus and Eina alone. Eina, however, had told her that it was important to live as you pleased without concerning yourself so much with death since it would make all of your decisions harder in the future. Trusting in the people you cared about was a basic requirement for love, so it wasnt appropriate to have such a negative train of thought all the time... Though she didnt seem to believe Einas words at all, Rose still ruminated over them a bit and watched the interactions between Vahn and the rest of the residents in the manner with her discerning gaze and unveiled skepticism. Vahn didnt really know how to deal with such a woman and simply allowed her to fall into the momentum of thework as time passed. Unless she wanted to open herself up to him, Vahn wasnt going to go out of his way to convince her that his life wasnt lived so haphazardly. He was the most aware of what he stood to lose, especially after the Divination, so there was no way he would waste his life away by dying early. It was actually far more likely that those around him would die, as he had the support of The Path, so Vahn had to be extra cautious to ensure they were safe. Thus, with a focus on caution and a healthy thirst for Adventure, Vahn boarded Fafnirs back with Fenrir, Riveria, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, Lili, Naaza, Haruhime, and Mikoto as they flew toward Babel za in order to unite with therger expeditionary party. Vahn would be part of the main group, focused on gaining exillia and looting items, while the rest of the members of the Hestia Familia were just going along to gain experience. They would fall into the second party, under themand of Raul, though Haruhime would be their actual leader. Fenrir might cause a few problems but Vahn was confident things would go well since she seemed to be putting an emphasis on getting along better with otherstely... After a short two-minute flight, Fafnirnded in Babel za after arge crowd of people cleared a path for it. Even though it wasnt umon to see Fafnir anymore, it was still a very intimidating sight for most people and there was a fair amount that would simply run away the moment it showed up. The group theynded near, however, didnt have any major response to Fafnirs presence and some of them moved forward without caution at all. Vahn waved at the approaching party and returned Finns smile as the small Pallum boy greeted, "Good morning, Vahn. I see everyone showed up, and a bit early to boot. Excellent!" Vahn nodded his head before introducing all of the members that would be apanying him and the roles they were suited to. Finn listened to Vahns exnation patiently while Gareth and Riveria began a conversation at the side. Once he had an understanding of the situation, Finn nodded his head and smiled before saying, "Very well, well have Haruhime act as the Hestia Familia representative in the second group under Raulsmand. Ive been informed to allow you to act at your own discretion by Loki-sama, but please defer to Riveria, or myself, if there is anything important, Vahn. As for this little one..." Finn had turned his attention to Fenrir who, unlike her past self, was standing in herbat attire without hiding her body with a cloak. She was very obviously not of the races of the surface and it was no longer a secret that Vahn was a capable tamer that could evolve monsters. Vahn put his hand on Fenrirs head and said, "Ill look after her as much as I can, but she can be a little hostile to those that insult her and the members of our Familia, especially myself..." Finn nodded his head in understanding as he looked back toward his own party where Bete was dealing with Lena, who was clinging to his side. With a wry smile on his face, Finn turned to Fenrir and said in a gentle tone, "Bete might be a little abrasive and snide, but he isnt an actual threat to Vahn and the rest. Please take that fact into consideration and do your best..." Though Fenrir was taller than he was, Finn talked to her as if he was dealing with a child. Fenrir didnt seem too fond of the Pallum boy but nodded her head and said, "Fenrir will be a good girl..." Finnughed in response before saying, "That is all I can ask for..." Afterward, the group made its final preparations while Finn and Vahn made polite conversation with each other. Vahn, however, noticed that Finn kept sending nces off to the side and his aura would flicker periodically. Since he didnt actually have to turn his head to see where Finn was looking, Vahn knew he kept sending nces to Lili. After a while, Finns interest seemed to outgrow what he could contain so he asked in a curious tone, "That Pallum girl, Lili, was it? I remember seeing her at the wedding but I was unable to speak with her at the time...do you think you could introduce meter?" Vahn furrowed his brows slightly at Finns request and asked, "Why the sudden interest in one of my Familia members?" Finn hadnt missed Vahns reaction and showed a somewhat awkward face as he said, "I have long been seeking a capable Pallum wife so that we can leave an heir to the Pallum people in the future. The way Lili carries herself shows that she is a capable woman with a lot of potential for growth in the future. I expect she would make a worthy wife in the future..." Toward the end of his words, Finn began to speak softer since he could see from Vahns expression that he had offended the boy. Vahn didnt mind people taking an interest in those close to him, especially if he wasnt in a rtionship with them yet, but it made him annoyed hearing how Finn spoke about Lili. Because of his ideals, Finn was a rtively close-minded person when it came to the subject of love and had even caused Tione to feel no small amount of indignation as a result. Now, even though he knew nothing about Lili, he had started eyeing her as a worthy partner. One of the things that irked Vahn the most was the prospect of anyone being worthy or unworthy for anyone else... In a rtively cold tone, Vahn said, "First of all, Finn, Lili is still a child so it isnt appropriate to speak about her in such a manner at all. As for what the future holds, that is entirely up to Lili and you should be aware that she has, at least for the time being, chosen to pursue me. That may change in the future, but it will be through your own efforts and her decision, not any intervention on my part. However, you should know that I will not stand idly by if you try to pressure her..." Even Fenrirs hair had started to stand up slightly as she looked at Finn with glowing scarlet eyes. As for Finn, he had an awkward smile on his face and, when Vahn had finished speaking, said, "But Lili is a Pallum...she isnt suitable to be in a rtionship with a human..." Vahn squinted his eyes and stared directly at Finn without saying anything until the mans eye began to twitch and he said, "My apologies, Vahn, I spoke out of turn...please dont be offended by my behavior, as it was never my intent to do so. I will endeavor to not make such mistakes in the future." Vahn continued to stare at Finn for a while and could see the earnestness in the mans behavior, even though there was still a mild fluctuation in his aura. Since he would have to work with Finn in the future, Vahn eventually nodded his head in a curt manner before saying, "We are allies that are inextricably bound together in the future. I will not cause any problems as long as you maintain a sense of propriety on the matter..." Finns smile twitched slightly at Vahns words before he nodded and said, "Very well, Vahn, I will keep that in mind." However, though he agreed with Vahns words, Finn couldnt help but send his nce at Lili once again before he returned to his position within the group... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Three [Master Smith]s are better than one...,Bitter Rose,Finns Ideals) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 456 - Where were you?

Chapter 456 - Where were you?

As this was an expedition focused on increasing the floor record, the Loki Familia had consolidated arge portion of their manpower as well as an incredible amount of resources for the event. Other than the two main groups, which consisted of the vanguard unit and the rear guard, there were a total of 308 personnel that had been designated positions in the expeditionary party. In total, the main group consisted of ten people, including Vahn, Fenrir, Finn, Riveria, Garth, Ais, Tione, Tiona, Bete, and Lefiya. As for the rear guard, they consisted of Raul, five yet unnamed Adventurers, Haruhime, Lili, Naaza, and Mikoto. Making up the garrison and support units, there were one hundred Level 2 Adventurers, thirty Level 3 Adventurers, eighty Supporters, and the rest were medical specials, cksmiths, andstly a group of five backline mages all at Level 3. The expedition escorted a total of elevenrge carts of full of provisions for the journey while most of the actual luggage was carried by the eighty Supporters. Vahn felt a little guilty seeing the loads they carried since it wouldnt have been that difficult for him to store everything in his inventory. However, if the entire expedition relied on Vahn just to function that could lead to a disaster if the group wasnt able to adapt in the event of an emergency. Along the carts, there were a variety of weapons, shields, bows, crossbows, spears, and consumable items that could be used by anyone as long as Finn gave the order. The Loki Familia trained its general personnel in a manner that ensured everyone was adept at multiple roles so they could fill in the gaps depending on the situation. Most notably, however, was how well coordinated everyone was and how efficiently things were managed by Finn, Riveria, and Gareth as they made their way deeper into the Dungeon. Finn had the [Command Howl] Skill at S-Rank so his voice carried over the entire expedition and was clearly discerned over the noises ofbat. When the group had encountered a Monster Party on the 17th floor, Finn had directed the younger adventurers to sortie and eliminate the enemies without any major hups urring at all. Since the monsters were rtively weak in the upper floors, the vanguard had actually been positioned as the rear guard while the younger Adventurers and Supporters cleared the way and earned experience. Vahn stood next to Finn and watched as the Pallummanded the entire expedition without difficulty and he couldnt help but feel that his own ability was somewhatcking. He always had a confident smile on his face, spoke in a clear and easy to understand manner, and never showed any perturbation when difficulties arose. As Vahn was more emotional when it came to fighting, he understood that there were several things he could improve upon for himself in the future. However, there was one trait of Finns that had quickly started to wear away at Vahns patience... Though Finn had been performing his dutiesmendably, his eyes often fell to the only other Pallum in the entire expedition, Lili. Unlike other Pallum Adventurers, which usually relied on rangedbat and support items, Lili was a vanguard fighter that dashed around the battlefield and carved a path of destruction through the enemy lines. She used a beautiful ck naginata that had a red tassel that danced around as she cleaved through enemies without difficulty. There was even a moment where she grabbed the wrist of a Minotaur and, to the awe of many, tossed it effortlessly through the air only to have the monster smash into the wall with most of the bones in its body broken. Because Vahn was at his side, Finn kept paying heavypliments about Lili and, when she dealt with the Minotaur, he said, "She has an incredible amount of power for a Pallum female. If she had been born a little earlier, it might have been she that represented the Pallum people as Braver. Im certain our people would be in awe if they were able to see her performance..." As someone that had dedicated their entire life to advocating for his people, Finn was a bit obstinate when it came to such matters and had constantly been wearing away at Vahn every time Lili performed an amazing feat for a Pallum female. Hearing Finns most recent remark, Vahn turned to match Finns gaze and found his amiable smile to be especially annoying at the moment. After taking a deep breath to calm himself, Vahn said, "Its curious how you advocate for the Pallum people yet seem to think so little of them. Lili is only a Level 2 and youre speaking about her feats as if they are amazing and unbelievable just because she is a Pallum? I wont deny Lili is a capable girl, but only because she has put in the effort to get to where she is...it has nothing to do with being a Pallum at all. How do you expect to represent all Pallums if youre surprised every time they aplish something...?" Contrary to Vahns expectations, Finn didnt seem to mind his somewhat snide tone at all and simply answered, "I dont think so little of my own people, Vahn, I just want to ce emphasis on their feats so they are talked about more openly. One of the biggest problems faced by my people is that they have been pushed down by other races for so long that it is unbelievable when they go against the norms established all over the world. I want all Pallums to take pride in the things theyve aplished and spread it all over the world so they can inspire our people, the ones that believe such things are impossible, to step forward and create a better future for themselves." Seeing the confidence in Finns expression and the firm belief he ced in his words was somewhat unsettling to Vahn because, while he didnt disagree with Finn, he couldnt tolerate the heavy bias the Pallum had about the world. While it wasnt wrong to advocate for Pallums in an effort to elevate their status, it would be more productive to establish amon baseline for all species in the world and learn to work together to aplish greatness. If Finns only goal was the incite Pallum to action, he was more likely to cause civil strife and conflict than actually elevate his people to a better social standing... Vahn looked around at Riveria, Gareth, Tiona, Tione, Ais, Lefiya, and even Bete before his eyes came to a stop on Fenrir at his side. Riveria was a High Elf that sought to ensure that her people had a ce in the world that broke away from the Elitism propagated by other Elves. Gareth hailed from the Iron Hills where other Dwarves proactively enved people to continue their industrious ways. Tiona and Tione came from a society that cut itself off from the rest of the world in order to protect its culture but also relied on the men of other races to propagate their own species. As for Lefiya, she fell into a simr category as Riveria while Bete, being a rtively rare Werewolf, was shunned by most societies who saw them as unhinged or monsters. Finn was a Pallum, the race treated as ves by almost every other race, especially Dwarves, but the future he wanted to see was impossible unless he was willing topromise. Every race had its problems and, unless they settled their differences and foundmon grounds, the only result advocating a species would have is war... However, one of the only mon enemies the races had in the world were monsters and Vahn knew that this wasnt natural at all. Even monsters, such as the Xenos and the variant species like Fenrir and Fafnir, were capable of obtaining souls. Other monsters were simply mana constructs that were created by the Dungeon and were intended to serve a specific purpose. If the other races truly banded together to defeat the real enemies, the world would eventually stagnate as people began focusing more on their differences than their shared values. Though he wouldnt walk the same path, Vahn was beginning to realize why his future self had be an Emperor. If things continued as they were, even principled men like Finn would simply propagate their ideals to the point where it caused further conflict. If the only way to reach promise was after a tragic thing like war, Vahn was certain it was the incorrect path. After ruminating over the matter for a while, Vahn turned his attention back to Finn and said, "Finn, you are an amazing person..." Hearing his words, Finns smiled widened somewhat before Vahn continued by saying, "But youre also an idiot..." This time, Finns smile broke a little bit as he asked, "What makes you say that, Vahn?" Vahn looked around once again before stroking Fenrirs head and stating confidently, "The only correct path toward a future where everyone can coexist together is one where all racese together andpromise. How many people are you willing to let die for things to fix themselves over time simply by setting an example for others to follow? If Pallums truly did think highly of themselves, which seems to be what you desire, it would simply cause conflict between Pallums and the other races in the future since they wouldnt be able to agree with each other..." Though his smile didnt fade, Finns expression hardened a bit as he contemted Vahns words. Vahn, however, wasnt quite done with the heroic boy as he said, "You consider Lili to be amendable Pallum...a worthy candidate to produce an heir to the Pallum people...but what do you know about her life and the struggles she had faced?" Finns expression returned to normal and he stated inly, "The past is only important whenparing ones aplishments against the struggles they had to face in reaching them. Lili ismendable because of the struggles she faced and the fact that she was able to ovee them." Vahn shook his head and looked at Finn as if he had just seen a delusional beggar on the street as he said, "Lili would have continued to suffer for years if not for the intervention of other people in her life. The same girl you think is worthy of you would have continued to suffer as you continue propagating your bullshit to others. She became stronger because she relied on her allies, none of which were Pallums, and continued working toward the future she wanted to create for herself. It is because she has been opening her heart to others that Lili has been able to continue forward and hold her head up high, not as a Pallum, but as Liliruca Arde...you would diminish all of that for your own convenience? How pathetic..." He hadnt been aware of when it activated, but Vahns [Will of the Emperor] had started to put pressure on Finn as he stood like a statue and bore the brunt of Vahns abrasive words. As Vahn stated, he didnt really know anything about Lili and it wasnt until he saw her at the wedding that he took any interest in her at all. If she hadnt been a Pallum, Finn wouldnt have even noticed her and many of her aplishments would have been overlooked since they werent as significant. Hearing Vahn speak made Finn feel as though he had affronted the boy and had earned his ire as a result. The most difficult part of the entire situation was that Vahns words cut through to the truth of the matter and were nearly impossible to refute. Though they sounded like titudes, the ideals Vahn purported were much purer than those he represented as the hero of the Pallum people. A mocking smile appeared on Vahns face as he tilted his head at Finn and said, "Feel free to try and pursue Lili to your hearts content...however, I can say with certainty that she would likely resent you the moment you open your mouth and spew that crap to her. What youre looking for, Finn, isnt a worthy wife to create an heir, youre looking for a worth tool to make use of for your own ends. Unfortunately, youll find most capable women arent so easy to manipte as you please..." Finn grimaced like he had swallowed a fly and said, "Im not trying to take advantage of anyone..." Vahn shook his head and said, "Youre willing to use your own life to set the example for the Pallum people...there isnt much more you would be unwilling to make use of when even your own life isnt beyond the scope of your ideals..." --- The expedition finally reached Rivira, the settlement on the 18th floor, after about seven hours of travel. A smaller group would have been able to make the trip much faster but the expedition had to escort their supplies and also deal with the Dungeon that would spawn waves of monsters to stall their progress. Once they reached Rivira, the expedition set up camp and began moving supplies from their staging area into the carts while leaving behind some personnel to act as guards. The Loki Familias expeditions werent kept a secret so there were numerous vendors out and about trying to barter goods and exchange supplies. There were even a fair number of people that made requests to the group while some wanted to apany the expedition into the deeper floors. It wasnt that umon to take on reputable Adventurers, as it was always better to have more personnel avable, but this time they refused everyones offer. Because it was known by all the core members of the Alliance that their enemies were stationed within the Dungeon, it wasnt advisable to ept the assistance of standalone Adventurers and Frencers from other Familia. There was no way of knowing who served as an agent, willingly or otherwise, for the enemy. Of course, they still epted any requests that could be dealt with as a matter of convenience even if they were unwilling to allow the groups to apany them. Even though there was still plenty of time left in the day, as the expedition had gotten an early start, they would be waiting until the morning of the following day before they entered the lower floors. Proper rest would be essential when the group was preparing to face the literal hordes of enemies that would bar their safe passage. Other than the stairwells and adjoining corridors, there were no true safe zones between the 19th and 49th floors. Until the expedition reached the 50th floor, it would be a nigh-constant assault from monsters as the Dungeon proactively resisted their invasion. Though Vahn was part of the main party, he ended up establishing his own tent which was shared by the entire Hestia Familia group and the members of the Loki Familia that resided in the Hearth Manor. The only exception to this was Riveria, who stayed in the main tent with Gareth and Finn since she was one of the coremanders of the group. As for how Vahn could fit so many people in his own tent, he had purchased a gigantic war tent from the shop that could easily support twenty peoplefortably. Since it was treated as one item, Vahn could even store clothing and supplies in the tent before moving the entire thing into his inventory. When the members of the Loki Familia saw a tent pop into existence it had caused quite the stir but Vahn didnt mind them at all. He had been in a rtively foul mood ever since his conversation with Finn earlier, which had resulted in the Pallum falling into silence except for when he gavemands to the expedition. Even though they couldnt see eye-to-eye with each other, Finn still did his duties as a Commander without showing any signs that he had been affected by Vahns words at all... --- Though he had plenty of supplies in his inventory, Vahn had decided to eat with the rest of the expedition party and decided to do something he had been intended to do for a long time. After filling up a small wooden bowl with a hearty meat stew, Vahn went to the location where the primary group of the rear guard was sitting. Vahn saw a youthful looking man with frizzy ck hair and ck eyes. He was attired in medium armor that consisted of a b.r.e.a.s.tte, pauldrons, and leg armor that was made primarily of magisteel infused with bands of Adamantine. He wore a green undershirt, white trousers, and a pair of tan gloves and matching boots with a medium-length sword strapped to his side in a ck sheath, nearly identical to the one carried by Aki in the past. Seeing Vahns approach, the young man showed a slightly startled expression on his face before he stood upright and knocked over his own bowl of stew. The beautiful Elven woman, with golden hair and green eyes, sitting next to the man showed a scowl and said, "Raul, pay attention to what youre doing! You spilled your food on my boots..." The Elven girl had turned her attention Vahn after following Rauls line of sight and allowed her words to trail off toward the end. Before Raul was able to say anything, she stood up and said, "Youre the Sage Aldrnari, Vahn Mason~! I never expected a human boy to be able to earn the title of Sage and at the behest of Riveria-sama no less! It is very nice to finally meet you, Vahn. My name is Alicia Forestlight, please let me know if you require my assistance with anything." Vahn was a little caught off guard by Alicias behavior since it was somewhat peculiar for an Elf to act so expressively. He quickly recovered and bowed politely, saying, "Greetings, Alicia, it is a pleasure to meet you..." before turning to Raul and showing a small smile as he said, "And you must be Raul...I have been wanting to meet you for some time." Alicia seemed to be pleased by Vahns introduction before an understanding expression appeared on her face as she looked between him and the fl.u.s.tering Raul. After hearing Vahn address him, Raul showed an awkward smile on his face as he said, "I-Its nice to meet you, Vahn...Ive heard a lot about your aplishments in the past and its amazing seeing how much youve grown in such a short period of time. Id never be able to match your achievements..." Hearing Raul casually inte Vahns aplishments while simultaneously belittling himself made Vahns smile break a little as he looked at the seemingly powerful looking Raul with confusion and asked, "Raul, what Level are you?" In response to his words, Raul stood straight and actually saluted Vahn as he said, "I am currently Level 4!" before turning into a statue for a few seconds and saying, "But only because Ive been blessed to follow in the footsteps of the main party..." Hearing Rauls words, Vahn was stunned to silence and saw that everyone else in the group seemed exasperated to hear Rauls words. Alicia, in order to smoothen over the tensions, said, "Youll have to forgive Raul, Vahn, he iscking in the self-confidence department..." Without refuting her words at all, Raul began tough awkwardly as he rubbed the back of his head. From Vahns perspective, he could see the mans rtively powerful aura dancing about like a me in the wind and it was very obvious he was feeling embarrassed at the current situation. Vahn had wanted to get to know the man that Aki had been in love with in the past, but he was now beginning to understand why things had never worked out between them. Raul was already neen and themander of the 2nd party in the Loki Familia, the current rank 1 Familia in the entire City. Vahn couldnt understand how he reached such a position if hecked self-confidence. Turning his head to look over the rest of the group, Vahn could tell they were all capable people based on the aurasing from their bodies and how they carried themselves. If anything, it looked like Alicia or the confident looking Chienthrope man should be the leader of the group... As if understanding Vahns expression, the Chienthrope man put down his spoon and spoke in a somewhat deep voice as he said, "Names Cruz Bussell, and Im the current Lieutenant of our fearlessmander here now that Aki isnt around." Hearing Akis name mentioned, Raul flinched before sitting down in a slump in less time than it took to bat an eye. Cruz looked over at him and shook his head in an exasperated manner before turning back to Vahn and asking, "How is Aki these days? I heard from Loki-sama that she got pregnant...presumably with your child?" Since Aki had been spending all of her time at the Hearth Manor, she hadnt been in contact with her formerrades ever since she left. Vahn unhesitantly nodded his head and gave the dejected Raul a nce as he said, "Thats right...Aki opened her heart to me and allowed me to take responsibility for her and our future child..." In response to Vahns words, Raul looked up with a somewhat mncholic expression on his face and asked, "Is she happy...?" Vahn squinted his eyes slightly and said, "She is happier than she had been initially..." A wry smile appeared on Rauls face and he didnt say anything in response to Vahns imed that Aki was happier now. He knew he had let Aki down several times in the past and was simply d that she had found someone that could give her what she needed in a rtionship. Seeing Rauls behavior made Vahn feel a strange anxiety in his heart as he looked down at the clearly dejected boy. Everything Raul did made Vahn feel ufortable and he couldnt understand how someone could clearly care about another person and simply allow things to develop to this point. Shaking his head, Vahn decided to state his actual purpose foring over and said, "Ive been trying to expand a personalwork of malepanions within the Alliance and wanted to extend an invitation to you. Even though Aki is with me now, I trust her judgment and believe you would make a good friend in the future..." Toward the end of his words, Vahn also turned his attention to Cruz and said, "I would extend the same offer to you, Cruz..." In Vahns opinion, Cruz seemed like a reliable ally to have and he was obviously much stronger than Raul himself. Cruz titled his head slightly and asked, "What benefits are there to gain other thanpanionship?" It was obviously a boon to be friends with the youngest [Master Smith] in the entire continent, but Cruz was wondering if there was anything else that he could expect from his involvement. Vahn, understanding his intentions, smiled as he said, "I do a lot of research into various subjects that would be beneficial to everyone involved in them. There are also a variety of alcohols and forms of entertainment that will be provided, many of which cannot be found no matter how much Valis you spend. I treat my friends well in the hopes they would do the same..." The way Vahn phrased things wasnt very detailed but Cruz still found it somewhat interesting so he nodded his head and said, "Sure, Id at least like to give it a try to see what its like. Even if our fearlessmander cant muster up the courage to stop by, Ill drag him along if necessary." Cruz smiled in a surprisingly mischevious manner as the rest of the group, which were predominately female, began tough. Raul released another sigh and said, "If you want to be my friend, I have no problems with that at all...hahaha..." Even though they wereughing at him, Raul joined in which caused Vahn to shake his head andment, "Gareth, Finn, and Bete should be members as well, so things should be pretty interesting..." before handing his untouched stew to Raul and walking away. --- When Vahn arrived back near therge cauldron to receive another serving of stew, he came across a peculiar sight which had caused a small stir in those that were gathered. Finn was standing next to theughing Gareth with a wry smile on his face as a red palm print glowed on his cheek. Given the rtively small size of the imprint, Vahn was easily able to understand what happened even before Finn said, "It seems you were right, Vahn. Lili doesnt seem to be very fond of me..." Gareth smacked Finns back in a hearty manner and said, "I think if she were any stronger, thess mightve ripped yer head off! Ahahahaha!" Finn tolerated Gareths heavy palms as heughed awkwardly in an effort to ease his own embarrassment... ---A Few Minutes Prior--- After confirming that everything was running smoothly, Finn left Riveria in charge of things as he went to check on the status of the encampment and grab something to eat. He had been thinking a lot about what Vahn said earlier and simply couldnt agree with what the young boy purported. Though Vahn wasnt wrong, Finn knew the things were far moreplicated than Vahn let on and there were far more variables involved that needed to be taken into consideration. It was impossible for every race to actually reach the type ofpromises Vahn was mentioning and, though it was nice to think about, it wasnt practical to take such actions in order to unite all peoples. From Finns perspective, it was far more productive to focus on ones own race and then try topromiseter down the line when you had established the foundation of your movement. While it may lead to inevitable conflict, such things were what led to change in the first ce and there were few, if any, ways to avoid bloodshed. Though he may be a demigod, Vahn was still fundamentally human so it was much easier for him to say such things as he was never in the same situation that many Pallums found themselves in... Believing that Lili would understand his perspective, Finn grabbed two bowls of food before making his way to thergest tent in the campsite. He had wanted to make ament that it was inappropriate for Vahn to have a tentrger than the Command Tent since it might lead to confusion, but Finn decided to let the matter slide since it didnt seem very productive to butt heads with the rather obstinate boy. Thus, with bowls in hand and a confident expression on his face, Finn entered the tent after announcing his presence at the entrance. Inside, he could see Haruhime, Mikoto, Naaza, and, most importantly, Lili, sorting through a variety of supplies and arranging them into kits. Haruhime had stood up to greet Finn, as she was the representative of the group, and bowed politely as she asked, "Is there a matter that requires our assistance, Finn? If you were looking for Vahn, I believe he had gone to meet with Raul at their campsite..." Finn returned a polite smile to Haruhime before saying in a confident tone, "Forgive my intrusion, but I came here in order to meet with Ms. Arde and discuss a matter of importance. As it may take some time, I also brought food and would be honored if you considered eating lunch with me." Hearing that Finn had arrived to speak with her, Lili showed a skeptical look on her face and said, "Weve never even talked before, so what matter of importance could you possibly have to discuss with me?" There was an unveiled hostility in Lilis words because she didnt like the look Finn was giving her at all. From the moment he entered the tent, it was almost like he was appraising her in the same way that some of the disgusting men from her past. Without minding Lilis tone, Finn showed an amiable smile and said, "It is a matter that concerns the future of our people and I would like you to treat the matter with due consideration before making any conclusions." Not only Lili, but Haruhime, Mikoto, and Naaza all showed expressions of distaste that made Finn feel particrly awkward since he was the only man present. In a somewhat icy tone, Lili asked, "How can anything Im involved with fall into the category of things that concern the future of our people, especially if its rted to you?" Finn continued showing his same smile as he looked around at the gathered girls and asked, "Would it not be better to discuss such matters in private?" However, Haruhime immediately answered his question as she said, "Our Familia doesnt keep such secrets from each other. How could anything you wish to discuss be so impactful, include one of our members, and be brought up while Vahn isnt present?" Finn considered how to answer Haruhimes rather heavy question but Lili spoke up before he could manage to find his words as she asked, "What did you want to talk about? If its something so important, surely it would be better for other people to know about it, especially our allies..." Hearing her words, though he was somewhat hesitant, Finn nodded his head and said, "You are a strong and capable Pallum woman so, once youre old enough to wed, I would like to take you in as my wife. I believe that our union will serve as an example for the Pallum people and our children will be able to pave the way toward a better future for our entire race." Hearing Finns words, Lili showed a deep scowl and asked, "Why the hell would I even consider such a thing!? I dont give a damn about the Pallum people at all and have already decided to be with Vahn in the future!" Finns smile twitched a little at Lilis words and he patiently exined, "It isnt safe for a Pallum to bear the children of a human and Vahn already has many women around him. The Pallum people need strong leadership tha-" Before Finn could continue his words, Lili walked forward and pped him fiercely across the face and sent both bowls tumbling to the ground as she shouted, "I dont give a rats ass about what is safe in your mind. The only thing that matters is that I decided to be with Vahn of my own volition. It is one of the only decisions Ive ever been allowed to make for myself, so who are you toe in and question it!?" Finn rubbed the rtively tender skin of his cheek and marveled at Lilis umon strength as he said, "Im simply worried about you and the entire Pallum people...Im certain you understand how difficult it can be for our people when they are growing up? They are exploited for the ends of other people and-" Lili had tried to p him once again but this time Finn evaded it easily, earning a fierce re from the rambunctious woman. Through gnashed teeth, Lili said, "I know exactly how hard it can be to grow up in the world as a Pallum, but what does that have anything to do with you, or anyone else for that matter? Ive known about you, Mister Braver, ever since I was a small girl. Yes, you have aplished many things, but where the f.u.c.k were you when I was going through that suffering you seem so intent to liberate others from!?" With a somewhatplex expression on his face, Finn tried to exin, "I cant help everyone, Lili, they need to be able to help them-" This time, Lili threw a fist at Finns face and he backstepped until he was outside of the tent. She red at him with her chestnut brown eyes and said, "You were off ying at being a hero while I was suffering at the hands of others. It wasnt just me either, as there are thousands of Pallums that are in the City suffering right this moment! What are you doing to help any of them!? If not for Vahn saving me, I probably wouldnt even be here today and yet here you are acting like I have some kind of obligation to help you!? WHY DIDNT YOU HELP ME!?" Finn had both of his hands up in a defensive posture and tried to soothe Lili by saying, "Calm down, Lili, Im certain you will understand things if you consider them rationally. You went through a lot, Im sure, but-" Without listening to Finns words, Lili kicked up a pebble that flew like a bullet at his face before turning her back and entering into the tent. Finn had easily dodged the projectile but he could feel the wind graze against his face and sting the swelling handprint that was on his cheek. It didnt seem like Lili was willing to listen to his reasoning at all so Finn decided to call a temporary retreat. He was confident she woulde to her senses in the future once she realized the impracticality of the rtionship she sought with Vahn. Even though Vahn was a capable man, with amendable character, he wouldnt be able to impact the lives of the Pallum people in the same manner as the two of them could if they worked together. Though she might not see eye-to-eye with him at the moment, Finn believed things would work out once she matured a bit and had a better understanding of the world atrge... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Large-Scale Operation,Rauls character ws...,Lili aint having your shit...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 457 - Fate

Chapter 457 - Fate

After learning about the situation through Finn and Gareth, Vahn couldnt do much but shake his head with a fair amount of exasperation before taking his own meal to go and pacify Lili. Since the swelling on Finns face was still fresh, Vahn assumed she hadnt eaten yet and grabbed an extra bowl for her. Finn had apologized for his behavior and asked Vahn to exin the situation on his behalf but Vahn ignored the request and said, "How you choose to live is your own choice, Finn, just as it is Lilis to choose the path she wishes to walk..." Vahn couldnt really understand Finns perspective at all, especially considering that Finn could have easily helped any random Pallum be stronger. If he truly believed Pallums were capable of greatness, why was he waiting for a strong Pallum to appear before taking action? As a Level 6, bordering on Level 7, he could easily reach out and mentor a host of Pallums that would likely follow his words simply to express their gratitude to him. He might want to wait for a Pallum to be strong through their own efforts, but Vahn couldnt see how anyone that overcame struggles like that would willingly throw their lot in with Finn. His ideals, though for the greater good, were also very selfish and borderline egotistical. When he arrived at his own tent, Lili was still in a huff and looked to the entrance with a fierce expression before realizing it was Vahn. As if her anger had been an illusion, Lili showed a happy smile and said, "Wee back, Vahn~!" before running over and hugging his waist. Haruhime, Mikoto, and Naaza all greeted him as well before Vahn asked, "Have you all eaten? I brought enough food for everyone..." Since they had been sorting supplies earlier, the girls hadnt eaten yet so Vahn passed out bowls for everyone before adding cookies and tea to the meal. Once everyone was settled, Vahn turned to Lili and said, "I saw the imprint on Finns face..." Hearing his words, Lili hung her head and her aura began to flicker chaotically until Vahn ced his hand atop her head and said, "Dont worry about it, Lili...I have no doubt he deserved that, and likely even more." Seeing that Vahn wasnt upset that she had attacked the Captain of another Familia, Lili showed a cheerful grin before saying, "That guy is a big jerk! Even though he has never done anything for me at all, he thinks he can juste and ask me to betray the people I care about just to suit his needs? Ridiculous!" As she spoke, Lili would intermittently munch on the small cookies Vahn had set out and she looked simr to a tiny, albeit frustrated, animal. Haruhime seemed to agree with Lilis words and nodded her head as she said, "He seems like a capable man, but I cant help but feel that his thought process is a little abstract. Its difficult toprehend how someone can rationalize their behavior and act like that..." Lili scowled for a brief moment before saying, "If he wants a pet wife so badly, he should just take a stroll around Daedelus Street for a single afternoon. Im sure he could find more than a hundred Pallum girls that could use his help. Instead, he tries to poach me out from under Vahns nose as a matter of convenience!?" The thing that offended Lili the most about Finn was the fact that he took an interest in her only because of the steps she had made to improve her life. If she had continued to live and be exploited by the Soma Familia, he probably wouldnt have even batted an eye at her, even if she were right in front of him. Her case, though tragic, isnt something that is unique even within the City of Orario, much less the other countries around the continent. Finn put in efforts to act as the role model for Pallums, but how many was he actually inspiring to achieve greatness? The only thing that was going through Lilis mind before Vahn saved her was how to survive another day. By the time Finns message reached most Pallums, they would have already ovee their childhood and have a deeply rooted prejudice. If Finn spent his time actually helping Pallums grow stronger, he could slowly build up a foundation to enact real change in the world instead of just hoping for it to happen naturally... However, there was one thing she was grateful for, though it seemed a bit strange to think about, and that was that Finn wasnt the one to actually save her. Because of his failure, Lili had been able to meet with Vahn and, as a result of that fated encounter, she learned what it meant to be stronger in order to ovee her fate. Vahn didnt simply want her to be stronger by showing her the results of his efforts, but he showed her how to be stronger. Not only that, but Vahn cared for her and introduced her to people that would support the path she had decided to walk, even though she didnt always act in an appropriate manner. Though she stillcked the rtionship she wanted with Vahn, Lili had already received so much from him and it was all simply because he chose to do it, not because he wanted to use her like Finn. In fact, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that she was the one using Vahn since she relied on him for so many of the things she had obtained. She would have been happy just to stay at his side as a Supporter, but Vahn had instead allowed her to be a capable Adventurer in a rtively short period of time. If someone told her six months ago that shed be well on her way to Level 3 by the years end, Lili would have looked at them like they were an imbecile...even if that person was her future self. After sipping on the rich stew in her bowl, Lili turned her head up at the smiling Vahn and said in a soft tone, "Vahn, thanks for being the one to save me..." As if they understood Lilis words, both Haruhime and Naaza nodded at the same time and turned their eyes to Vahn. Unlike Finn, who touted being a hero and tried to live by example, Vahn took proactive action and saved people, even at the cost of himself at times. Naaza still had phantom pains in her arm after waking up from a nightmare and Haruhime still had a mild phobia of most men as a result of her time in the brothel. Hearing Lilis words, and seeing the reactions of the other two, Vahns smile widened marginally and he said, "Im d fate brought us together like this...my only regret is not being there sooner..." Since Vahn knew of Lilis existence, he could have potentially arrived nearly a half a year earlier to save her. However, this would have likely resulted in him never saving Naaza so it wasnt incorrect to say fate brought them together. Though he oftenmented the influence of such things, especially when it was rted to karma, Vahn knew it was due to such things he was able to save people. Haruhimeughed while covering her mouth with her fingers and said, "Indeed, it isnt wrong to say our meeting was fated. Putting it that way suddenly makes me feel like a heroine in a heroic tale...fufufu~." Lili nodded her head and said, "Im certain stories will be written about Vahn in the future and they will include the times he saved us. Thats why we need to work hard to be strong so, when future generations learn of our story, they will understand anyone is capable of bing stronger as long as the right person reaches out to them. Unlike that crap that Finn spews, Vahn is the real hero that people should emte..." It was very obvious that Lili wasnt a fan of Finn, not that Vahn could me her, and she seemed intent to deride him at every avable opportunity. Herment about Finn finding a wife by saving other Pallums resonated strongly with Vahns own thoughts so he couldnt help but agree with Lilis rtively abrasive words. Vahn had actually decided to ask Finn the reasons why he didnt take such action since it was obviously a better alternative to waiting for a suitable partner to show up. Finn was already 40 years old so he would need to take more proactive measures if he wanted to actually leave behind a suitable heir for his legacy... As a result of the conversation shifting to fated meetings, Vahn spent about two hours simply chatting away with the girls. He had tried to extricate himself from the conversation at one point but Tiona, Tione, Ais, and Lefiya had shown up part of the way through and things became somewhat lively after the fact. Tione seemed to be a bit off after hearing about Finn making advances on Lili, but she eventually got caught up in the momentum of everyone else when they were talking about the future, primarily rted to being with Vahn. Other than Tiona and Ais, the other six girls had yet to actually advance their rtionship with Vahn to the level they would like and, now that Vahn was present and involved in the conversation, they began talking about their shared future together. --- After freeing himself from the girls, Vahn spent the rest of the day making preparations for the departure, which involved him making the rounds and getting to know the various smaller parties within the expedition. He was especially popr with the other cksmiths, almost all of which were from the Hephaestus Familia, and showed off a few his skills. For many other cksmiths, reaching [Master Smith] was an ambition they all shared and it was inspiring to meet someone as young as Vahn who had already climbed to such heights. Though there were some negative emotions mixed into some of their words, such things quickly vanished after they saw Vahn show off his skills. After all, if you couldnt appreciate the workmanship of another person, you wouldnt be able to call yourself a real cksmith. Vahn also used the opportunity to explore a bit of the 18th floor with Fenrir because he wanted to spend a little bit of time with her while also scouting for any abnormalities that might be present. He was able to find several points where the Dungeon fused with the artificially created one so Vahn updated their locations on a map that he would update periodically whenever new discoveries were made. Because he had his own minimap as a reference, Vahn was easily able to create detailed maps for other people use make use of in the future. As for Fenrir, she was simply happy to y with Vahn and was in an especially good mood when he gave her a ride on his shoulders during the return trip. After his return, Vahn was invited to take a bath with the girls but declined their offer since there was a fair chance that other girls from the expeditionary party might wander into the area. Of the 308 personnel, 97 of them were female so Vahn didnt favor the odds much. Since they wouldnt be able to bathe normally, at least until they reached the 50th floor, most of the girls were doing their best to enjoy the moment while they could. As for the girls in Vahns tent, they would have a much easier time since Vahn could simply set out a tub for them to make use of. If things got bad enough in the camp, however, Vahn intended to give basins for the rest of the expedition to use after setting up somerge tents to separate genders. It was difficult for Vahn to tolerate having people go through unnecessary hardship, especially when he could contribute and help bolster the morale of the entire expedition through rtively simple actions on his part... (A/N: Sorry guys, I had to cut this chapter short at 2045 words because I have to take care of personal stuff. Its nothing serious, so things should catch up by tomorrow morning~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Venting...,Vahn is the Hero of this story,Convenience : Morale) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 458 - White Palace : Beast District

Chapter 458 - White Pce : Beast District

Everything proceeded as scheduled, without any major hups, and the expedition set out at dawn the next day. Compared to his past experience proceeding beyond the 18th floor, Vahn was surprised by the sheer number of monsters that spawned to inhibit their progress. Fortunately, people were able to work together much better than monsters and, even though they were often outnumbered several to one, the expedition proceeded forward without difficulty. Since it was still rather early, and the monsters were quite weak, the rear guard was still clearing the way and Vahn got to experience the waves created by the members of his own Familia as they passed through the expeditionary party. Though Lilis raw power was a popr topic of discussion, especially considering that she was a Pallum, it was Naazas archery and Haruhimes dance that were most prominent. With the bow she had received from Vahn, Naazas capabilities had increased immensely and each of her arrows would create small voids in the monsters she targetted. Even if she missed her mark a bit, the miniature ck hole that would be generated was enough to lock down the movements of monsters and tear them apart if they were close enough. As for Haruhime, her dance had mesmerized quite a number of people and each of her movements were illusory and highly effective against the hordes of monsters. With her [Sakura Blossom], she was like an elegant tempest that passed through the enemies and left nothing but devastation in her wake, even though her movements seemed almost gentle in their execution. The only person that didnt stand out much, though she had a few fans in the crowd, was Mikoto. Though her swordsmanship was polished much more than Haruhimes, it was somewhat rigid and didnt look very showypared tot he dance of the beautiful Renard girl. There were a few instances where she managed to lock down arge number of enemies with her gravity magic, which was exploited primarily by Naaza, but she couldnt cast it often and it was quickly overshadowed by the performance of others. Seeing this, Vahn decided that he needed to upgrade Mikotos equipment in the future so she wouldnt feel as though she were falling behind the others. Even giving her a [Sakura Blossom] of her own would drastically increase her fighting capabilities and allow her to refine her style further, though Vahn assumed she would want something more unique. As for the final member of his Familia, Fenrir, she spent the majority of the expedition at Vahns side and only joined the fights when there were big enemies in the mix. When she did fight, however, she became the center of attention for most people because of how fierce she was duringbat. There were more than a few rumors spreading in the expedition that she was a monster, something which wasnt refuted, and it was a little difficult for some of the girls to tolerate the sight of Fenrir covered in blood after a short massacre. She was the type that fought with her body, without the use of weapons, so it was easy for her to get messy. As a result of this, however, Vahn was able to continually practice his cleaning magic, something which was noted by several people as a highly convenient skill. --- By the time seven hours had passed, the expedition had progressed to the entrance of the 25th floor and Vahn got an answer to one of the questions that had been guing his mind on the descent. He had been curious about how the expedition was going to transport the heavy carts through the watery floors since many of the paths were thin and some of the footholds were actually monsters. Their solution was to interge air dders that would be affixed to the carts so they would be able to float while people pulled them through the water. When this proved too difficult to manage, they would simply freeze the entire surface of the various small ponds andkes before maneuvering across, all while ying the numerous monsters that assaulted them. Vahn had been preparing to offer his assistance in transporting each cart, but it turned out the experienced Loki Familia was quite ustomed to the task and, by the time they reached the 27th floor, they hadnt lost a single cart. In the upper floors, since he didnt have anything to do, Vahn had been growing rather bored as his only duty was to inform Finn if there were any abnormalities in the Dungeon. He spent the rest of his time conversing with Tiona, Ais, Fenrir, Lefiya, and Tione and only periodically shot out with his bow or transferred the wounds of one of his allies when things got a little messy. Fortunately, by the time they reached the 25th floor, the vanguard unit took to the front and Vahn had been able to proactively clear the way for the expeditionary party behind. His detection ability was a great boon that the expedition had never experienced before so Vahns reputation in the group had leaped forward a great deal. The fact that he could give them an early warning before Monster Parties attacked was, on its own, enough to make some people jokingly refer to him as a Prophet. It was also quitemon to see Vahn shoot his arrows in a direction he hadnt even been looking only for a monster, which had previously been beneath the water, to jump up and receive his arrow to their heads. Though his arrows werent as showy as the pseudo-Yi arrows fired by Naaza, there was a clear difference in their skill that elevated Vahn to a higher position in the minds of many. By the end of the second day, the expedition had made its way down to the 30th floor before setting up camp in the rtive safety of the dead zones. Since it was a good opportunity, Vahn had taken the Hestia Familia members to hunt for Bloodsaurus while the expedition also split up to do the same. As for why Vahn made the decision to split from the rest of the group, it was so that they could make use of their rtively effective system to loot the materials of the monsters without drawing too much attention to themselves. Vahn also harbored a small hope that they would be able to bait out their enemies, which hadnt revealed themselves thus far, but they didnt seem willing to fall into his entrapment. It was likely a result of the fact that Finn had made Riveria follow them which led Vahn to believe that Enyo might not have any pawns that exceeded Level 6. After killing seven Bloodsaurus, and harvesting the majority of their materials, Vahns small party returned to therger encampment and took the opportunity to rx for the rest of the evening. Fenrir had beenining a bit about the smell of everyone at the campsite so Vahn discussed the matter with Finn before they erected tworger tents which were fitted with several wooden wash basins that could be freely used. To prevent any mishaps, they tents had been set up on opposites sides of the encampment and there was a massive banner in front of the girls that said no men allowed. As for Vahn, and his smaller party, they used their rtively spacious tent and bathed in private. Knowing that Vahn had been the one to provide such amenities, his reputation within the expedition had increased greatly, especially amongst the females. He had also provided dessert items during the meals they had been having so Vahns poprity had peaked after just two days of travel. Though they werent reliant on such things, as many of them were highly capable Adventurers, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that smallforts boosted the morale of the entire party. Finn had taken special note of this since, as the Commander of the expedition, maintaining morale was very important. Because he had been on such trips more than twenty times, Finn had grown ustomed to the rtively boredom that they would face whenever they werent proactively engaged inbat. This was the case for many of the veteran Adventurers as well since it was somewhat restrictive when you fought in a group aspared to when you ventured into the Dungeon as a smaller party. They also had to protect the cargo and the weaker Supporters along the way so it was very stressfulpared to the norm and, if not for the fact that expeditions paid incredibly well while also providing opportunities to be stronger, many would avoid them entirely. The addition of the Hestia Familia had added a liveliness to the entire trip that hadnt exist before since all of the girls were cute while Vahn himself was very convenient to have around. --- During the evening watch, which was taken by groups of twenty at a time, Vahn had been sitting atop arge rock with Fenrir curled up in hisp taking a nap. Even though Vahns detection ability outstripped the entire expeditions, it was still necessary for people to stay on high alert as there was no way of knowing when an enemy might actually attack. Since Vahn had experienced three instances where he couldnt detect something, even when they were within his domain, he didnt argue the point at all and had even been trying to improve his detection ability further. As he sat atop the rock, Vahn was sending out pulses of energy that almost took on a physicalponent as they passed around the various tents that had been set up. It was a concept simr to sonar and allowed Vahn to detect any physical objects that were touched by the pulse. He was hoping that, even if the enemy had a way to hide their presence, the pulse would still break against them and inform Vahn of their existence. His other method was simply to maintain his Bih form and concentrate on his sense of smell and the enhanced instincts that the form provided. He already had the intrinsic ability to detect danger in most circ.u.mstances, so enhancing his senses further could only benefit him. During his watch, Vahn had been keeping track of every presence within the entire encampment and had even taken note of when people exited and re-entered the camp to go take care of business. There was a chance that their enemies would be able to disguise themselves as a member of the expedition so Vahn had been observing the indicators on his minimap to ensure nothing was out of the norm. By the time his own watch hade to an end, the only thing abnormal Vahn had detected was when a couple snuck off to have fun behind a rocky outcrop at the periphery of the encampment. Vahn hadnt spied on them directly, but he let his own perception linger in the area since it was a gap that the enemy could have exploited... --- The third day of the expedition began long before the sun was actually ted to rise in the sky on the surface. Using the system clock, Vahn could tell that it was around 2:40 AM when the call was made for everyone to wake and prepare. Their goal for the day was to reach the 39th floor, which was rtively safe as it was considered a dead zone, before making their final preparations to breach to the 50th floor. From the 40th floor to the 50th floor, things would be a bit difficult since the expedition wouldnt be able to take a break at all until they cleared all ten floors. On average, it would take nearly forty hours to rush through, so it was better to reach the 39th floor as soon as possible so they could rest properly before the final push. Vahn noticed that everyone was in a rtively rxed moodpared to his expectations and, when he asked Tiona about it she exined that the next six floors would be somewhat boringpared to the previous floors. Until they reached the 37th floor, which was known as the White Pnce since the floors, walls, and ceiling were all colored white, there wouldnt be any real action to be had. Other than small groups of Lizardmen, a few Bloodsaurus, and some natural hazards like pitfalls and sharp rocks, there wouldnt be much going on for the next 10-12 hours. Tionas feelings regarding the matter seemed to be shared by the entire group of elites from the Loki Familia and even Finn had beencently carrying his spear on his shoulder while looking around for any abnormalities in the structure of the Dungeon. With Vahn present in the group, their detection ability and the efficacy in which they progressed through the Dungeon had increased greatlypared to the past. Even when they came across monsters, regardless of their strength, they would be mobbed down by the more than three-hundred members of the expedition without any difficulty whatsoever. There was even a case where a variant Blue Bloodsaurus had shown up and, from what Vahn could tell, it seemed to be around Level 4 in strength. However, before it could even cause any major disturbances and damage the supplies, it was assaulted with a wave of crossbow bolts before one of the backline mages caused its head to explode with a giant fireball. Unlike the previous floors, where the monsters greatly outnumbered the party, the tables had suddenly turned and, because people could work together easily, the expedition had been progressing smoothly. Most of the people didnt even bother to pay attention to what was happening at the front of the convoy and simply continued chatting with each other unless Finn had given an order for specific action to be taken. Even Bete, who was typically high-strung, was taking a nap on a cart that was being pulled by two Supporters as another two pushed it from behind. Vahn found his behavior to be a little annoying but decided to let the mattery since it wasnt really his business to interfere with such things. --- After around nine hours, the group found its way to the entrance of the 37th floor so Finn turned to Vahn and, with a smile on his face, said, "Your navigational guidance has been a true blessing for the expedition this time around, Vahn. Compared to the past, weve been progressing at an exceptional pace and we havent even lost a single cart of supplies to an ambush along the way." Gareth, who had been standing next to Finn, nodded his head and said, "Finns right, kiddo, youve been a great help. In all my years going on expeditions, this is the first time Ive seen a group pass through the Great Fall area without losing some supplies." Though he didnt care too much when Finn had been speaking, Vahn showed a polite smile when he was addressed by Gareth. Though Finn hadnt been bothering Lili since the previous incident, it didnt stop him from watching her like a predatory falcon which had been bothering Vahn a fair amount. Vahn was positive that he was looking for an opportunity to step in and save Lili from danger because, every time it looked like she was in a sticky situation, Finn would tense up slightly like he was about to rush forward. Unfortunately for him, Vahn and Naaza were constantly watching over Lili as well and their arrows usually broke the momentum of the monsters and created a gap that typically resulted in their deaths at the de of Lilis naginata. When she thanked Vahn for his assistanceter, Finn had a somewhat dejected look on his face and had even strapped a crossbow to his thigh, though he had yet to make use of it. Noticing that Vahn was still upset with him, Finn showed a somewhat wry smile before standing atop a cart and addressing the entire expedition. Though the majority of the members present had been to this floor, and beyond, it was still necessary to inform everyone of the impending dangers so they could prepare themselves physically and mentally. Through his exnation, Vahn learned that the reason the 37th floor was called the White Pce was that the entire floor wasprised of circr walls that were treated as districts. Starting from the outside, each district was known as the Beast, Soldier, Warrior, Knight, and Throne rooms. Unlike the previous floors, which were closer to abyrinth in structure, the 37th floor was full of wide open spaces and was even popted with Coliseums that could only be cleared once a certain number of monsters was killed. Though there werent many monsters outside of the Coliseums, they were almost all elite versions of monsters in the upper floors and the vast majority of them were Level 3 and higher. In the throne room, the expedition would face the monster rex known as Udaeus, which spawned every three months and was also the reason why the Loki Familia timed their expeditions three months apart. When he learned that there would be a monster rex waiting for them at the center of the floor, Vahn began to get excited and his desire to fight against the monster rose exponentially. From his right, Ais also seemed to get excited and Vahn could feel her aura flickering about like a me. Riveria, who had been standing near the center of the group, saw their reactions andmented, "Udaeus is a major threat for entire expeditions so dont get too riled up and try to fight it on your own." However, rather than be deterred by her words, Vahn got even more pumped up because he knew things were never so clear when it came to actualbat. With his [Shundo] and the existence of [Enkidu], Vahn was confident he would be able to topple the boss without any major hups... Once Finn had finished his exnation, he jumped down from the cart and Vahn immediately asked, "When we reach the Throne Room, I want to be part of the group that fights the Udaeus. If possible, Id actually like to try and fight it solo..." Finn arched his brows before aplex expression appeared on his face and he said, "Though the Udaeus is only Level 5, it has caused several expeditions toe to an early end with its massive area of effect attacks. I know you are very fast and have powerful abilities at your disposal, but it is too dangerous to allow you to fight such a creature on your own." Ais didnt seem to agree with Finns words, however, as she shook her head and pointed to Haruhime in the distance and said, "Haruhimes magic..." without extrapting at all. Finns eyes widened once again as he looked toward the rather frail looking Renard girl that possessed a great deal of potential and an incredibly rare magic. If she used her [Uchide no Kozuchi] to increase the parameters of Vahn, and some of the other girls, they would probably be able to best the Udaeus without any major difficulty. Realizing that it wasnt actually that far-fetched of an idea, Finn turned back and saw the confidence radiating from Vahn and Ais before smiling as he said, "Very well, but Riveria, Gareth, Bete, and I will be observing the fight to make sure nothing unexpected happens to anyone during the fight..." After a bit of discussion, it was decided that Vahn, Ais, Tiona, and Tione would all fight the Udaeus together with the senior members of the Loki Familia watching over them. It was already nned that the expedition would remain outside of the Throne Room before the fight began, so there wasnt any chance of coteral damage reaching them. Knowing that he was going to have a chance to fight against a powerful monster rex in a few hours, Vahns excitement began to increase and he began looking through his inventory and organizing items in preparation for theing fight. Of course, in order to get to the fight, Vahn had to apany the expedition in clearing the outer four walls as they slowly made their way towards the center. As Finn had exined, there werent too many monsters in the corridors themselves but, the moment they arrived at a gigantic circr structure, there was a massive influx of enemies. Because the coliseums closed themselves up when people entered, the main group of the Loki Familia would go in and clear the path while the rest of the expedition stayed outside and guarded the supplies. As a member of the main group himself, Vahn was allowed to venture through the thick walls of the Coliseum before they came into arge circr clearing in the center. After a few seconds passed where nobody new entered the room, the Coliseum walls mmed down as crystalline lights began shining all around the vicinity. Vahn activated his [Eyes of Truth] and could see arge amount of manage converging into the walls as monsters began to appear by the hundreds. Because they were currently in the Beast district of the White Pce, the enemies were predominately Loup Garou, Barbarian, and Lizardman Elites. The Loup Garou were a species of monster that only stood around 120-130cm tall but had very muscr bodies and agile frames that were covered in dark blue fur with wolf heads filled to the brim with sharp teeth. As for the Barbarians, they looked like variants of the typical Minotaurs that could be found in the upper floors except that they were far more fierce. The final monsters, the Lizardman Elites, were the fewest in numbers but also some of the more difficult enemies to encounter as they were capable of coordinating their attacks and also used weapons and armor to great effect. They stood between 170cm-200cm in height and predominately used spears to try and attack from a distance while maintaining a low posture that was difficult to deal with by the inexperienced. As they were vastly outnumbered, around 150:1, Vahn became a little nervous for a brief moment until he saw Aisunch herself into the crowd of monsters without hesitation and create a huge clearing with her [Ariel] dancing around her. In her single lunge, she had killed nearly a dozen monsters and had turned their bodies into a paste, almost as if they had gone through a powerful grinder before they dissolved into purple dust. She brandished her sword with a beautiful smile on her face before looking back at Vahn with a genuinely happy look as she said, "I love this sword..." before dashing off and continuing her onught. Vahn couldnt help butugh a little as he looked around and saw that everyone else had already started their battles as well. Riveria and Lefiya had begun chants, while Gareth protected them, as Finn, Bete, Tiona, and Tione all dealt with numerous enemies without any difficulty. Though monsters were constantly spawning, they werent worried about being overwhelmed since the waves would end the moment the kill count reached a certain threshold. Vahn could see that there was a formation that had been expanding under their feet as it absorbed the dusting from the monsters bodies and it would likely take around 1500 total monsters before it was finished. It actually wasnt that many, taking into consideration his past experiences, so Vahn began fighting uninhibitedly while keeping close to Riveria and Lefiya. He had noticed that everyone stayed nearby, likely so they could retreat to the safety of the magic circle, so Vahn had done the same. The first Loup Garou Vahn encountered was a little intimidating because their bodies rippled with powerful muscles and they looked a lot like evolved Kobolds. For a brief moment, Vahn imagined the Loup Garou biting away at his lower abdomen like the first Kobold he had encountered before striking the wolf-like monster in the head and created a void between its shoulders before the entire thing burst into purple dust. Then, as he wasmenting how weak the monster had been, a massive Barbarian with reddish-fur that was covered in scars tried to attack with a gigantic axe from Vahns nk. Since he had been making major improvements in his magic after awakening his [Mage] Development Ability, Vahn pointed his finger toward the Barbarian and sent a small icicle toward its head that traveled several times faster than the speed of sound. Vahn had emted Haruhimes [Icicle Edge] magic but hadpressed the energy to an extent that the Renard girl probably wouldnt be able to emte for years toe. As a result, the Barbarian came to aplete stop as it held the axe above its head which had slowly started to frost over. Though the magic was designed to prate the target, Vahn allowed thepression to break down on contact with the monster so it had exploded inside the thick skull of the Barbarian which inevitably resulted in its death before it even knew what happened. The only thing that kept it from turning into dust immediately was that Vahn hadnt destroyed the magic core, which was still trying to recover the wound of the Barbarian without any sess. Vahn had realized this a while back but his own Source Energy prevented many other effects from taking ce, especially things like regeneration. Since the mana couldnt force the Source Energy out of the Barbarians head, it had been frozen while still holding the same position. Satisfied with the result of his little experiment, Vahn turned his attention to arge clump of monsters before blue magic circles began to bloom like flowers around his body. Since he already knew the structure of the magic circle, the chant necessary for its construction, and how to manipte the spell further, Vahn could cast several [Icicle Edges] at once simply by forming the magic circles within his mind and then using his domain as the medium to form them in the real world. This allowed him to create a total of twenty small magic circles before firing them like a volley toward the group of monsters and retreating back to the safety of Lefiyas magic circle with [Shundo]. His temples had started to throb as a result of his exertions, but Vahn was happy that he had been able to use his magic in actualbat. As he had been thest to arrive in the magic circle, Vahn didnt have to wait long before Lefiya loosed her powerful [Fuside Farica] on the entire room. Since her magic caused several smaller magic circles to appear during the activation of the spell, Vahn had gotten the idea for his own modified magic from her. Lefiya used her primary magic circle to create the smaller magic circles while Vahn used his domain as the medium but they were fundamentally simr concepts. Vahn was just able to cut corners a little while Lefiya had to put all of her focus into her chant or there would be a potential bacsh as a result of the spellsplexity. However, because of the massive difference in the amount of effort put into the magic, Lefiyas was able to almost clear the entire Coliseum full of enemies while Vahns had only been enough to disable a small number while killing even fewer. He had tried to use her [Fuside Farica] in the past but Vahn felt like his brain was going to burst long before he had been able toplete the magic circle in his mind. Even chanting it out loud had caused a simr effect so Vahn had scrapped the idea for the time being. Though his Source Energy was of a higher tier than mana, it also meant there were various ipatibilities between known magic and the magic Vahn had to create on his own... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is so convenient,RIP Udaeus...,Magical Boy, Vahn Mason) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 459 - Steady Progress

Chapter 459 - Steady Progress

While Vahn helped Lefiya replenish her mana, the rest of the expedition made their way into the Coliseum and looted all the drops items before the group continued forward without dy. Vahn managed to acquire some Barbarian fur for himself but didnt think it would prove that useful so he tossed it onto the pile of other loot items. Afterward, the convoy progressed through several more Coliseums until the vanguard unit discovered a corridor that connected into the interior district, known as the Soldier District. Though Barbarians, Lizardman Elites, and Loup Garou still appeared there was now the inclusion of Obsidian Soldier in the mix. Obsidian Soldiers were massive misshapen monsters with obsidian bodies and a glowing purple light representing the location of their magic core. They fell into the golem ssification of monsters and the vast majority of them were highly resistant to magic with some being outright immune. Vahn noticed, however, that their resistances didnt seem to apply to his own magic so he had made a game out of sniping the lumbering monsters long before they fell into the range of the expedition. Riveria had taken note of this and, when asked about it, Vahn exined that he was simplypressing the magic spell into a form that could break through their resistances before allowing the projectile to explode inside their bodies, just as he had done with the Barbarian. Along the way, a presence fell into Vahns perception but when he looked toward the location the only thing he saw was a slight smear against the backdrop of the White Pce. Knowing that his detection wasnt so easily fooled, Vahn loosed a volley of arrows toward the location before the blur suddenly turned into a skeletal creature wearing what looked like a cloak that tried to charge toward the expedition before greeting the tip of one of Vahns arrows. Finn smiled when he saw this and remarked, "Skull Sheep, they are a bit troublesome because they like to hide away and ambush Adventurers. Since they dont have an odor that can be detected by the Beast People within the expedition, it isnt umon for us to suffer some casualties from their assaults." Vahn nodded his head before drawing his bow and targetting another nondescript area and loosing a single arrow this time. Unlike the previous ones, this arrow had a mithril tip and allowed Vahns to channel his Source Energy into it. When it struck the camouged creature it let out a shrill wine before its upper body detached from its lower body. It made an attempt to crawl towards the group before its body turned into purple dust that stained the floor of the dungeon before being absorbed. Seeing this, many people within the expedition gave out short cries as they jeered at the cowardly monsters that couldnt fool Vahns detection ability. Though they didnt cause too many deaths, most ambush monsters were severely disliked by Adventurers that have experienced their troublesome attacks. Like the Beast District, the Soldier District also had several Coliseums that broke from the rtive monotony of the journey. Vahn found the brief moments at the beginning of the battles to be quite exhrating because there were arge number of moderately powerful monsters that could be engaged simultaneously. It became a little game that he shared with the other girls as they all tried to kill thergest number of monsters before Lefiya cleared the room with her magicter. Because she had the protection of Riveria and Gareth, Lefiya had been given the opportunity to deal with therger mobs since Vahn could easily replenish her mana reserves after the fact. Before this expedition had started, Vahn had given Lefiya one of his me seeds through her back so she was more fired up than normal when it came to gaining exilia. As he had given seeds to Nanu, Lili, Naaza, Haruhime, Maemi, Emiru, and now Lefiya, Vahns pain threshold had been increased to 64% and it had been a rather intense experience when he gifted her the seed. Vahn was hoping that the orb would reactivate soon so he would be able to exploit the cooldown a bit more and gift a me seed to all the girls in the future. The correction provided by the [Prometheus Blessing] was simply too significant to overlook, especially since it allowed the recipient to break through the supposed limits of their parameter growth. By the time the expedition had reached the Warrior District, nearly three hours had passed without any major incidents urring. The main group of the Loki Familia was simply too dominant while the floor didnt provide any difficulty to them whatsoever. It might have been harder if they proceeded on their own, but they had plenty of time to rest as the convoy made its way forward and Vahns ability to replenish stamina and mana was simply a godsend. Instead of having to split their stamina and mana potions across the entire party, they just had to funnel them into Vahn himself and he would easily be able to help everyone else recover. The veteran members of the expedition were very aware of Vahns influence this time around and he had received several heavypliments from various people. There werent many people that wouldin about things progressing smoothly, after all. As for the other members of the Hestia Familia, they had been getting friendly with the 2nd team which and had be something akin to mascot characters of the expedition since they were all cute girls. Vahn had noticed that the majority of the 2nd team wasprised of females and learned this was primarily becuase of Lokis bad habits from Tione. Since she had wanted to surround herself with strong women, Loki invested a fair amount of the Familias resources into scouting them when they were young so they could be cultivated into capable Adventurerster on. Though there werent many that had actually given into Lokis scheme, there were a fair number, other than Aki, that had fallen into her clutches. It was surprisingly more difficult for strong women to find suitable partners, since there was the factor of a mans pride and the pressure of the Loki Familia bearing down on them, so many of the girls didnt have long-term rtionsh.i.p.s while they were still under contract. Like most Familia, Loki required the members that received heavy benefits from the Familia to take vows that guaranteed service for a varying number of years. This was the main reason why Ais, Tiona, and Tione hadnt actually join the Hestia Familia already because the contract was structured in such a way that it was nigh impossible for them to actually leave for the duration of ten years. Loki had never considered the possibility that her Familia would join an Allianceter on so there hadnt been any wiggle-room to make exceptions to this. The basic contract was for ten years, which would earn the Adventurer a hefty severance package, and the closest topleting theirs was Ais, who would be able to leave the Familia when she was neen. Tiona and Tione would be in the Familia until they were both twenty-two and Lefiya was an exception that would have to stay within the Loki Familia until she groomed her recement, just like Riveria. It didnt really matter which Familia the girls belonged to, however, so Vahn didnt let this information bother him since he was inextricably linked to Loki for the entire duration he spent inside the record. --- Once the expedition had proceeded into the Warrior District, Vahn noticed a sharp increase in the number of monsters that spawnedpared to the two outer walls. There werent any new monsters that he could see but there were a surprising number of variants that had been added to the fray. Vahn even got to see a Loup Garous Variant that was more than 200cm tall and had four arms with red fur. When he had tried to shoot it with his arrows, it was able to evade the majority of them rtively easily and, when they actually did hit, the majority of them simply bounced off with a magical light. With his blood boiling, Vahn signaled to Finn his intent before using [Shundo] to close the distance with the powerful looking monster. Since the average Loup Garou was around Level 3, Vahn could safely assume that this four-armed variant was at least Level 4. As monsters typically had higher parameters than Adventurers, this meant it would be a rtively even fight just based on the numbers. This was, of course, assuming Vahn didnt use his rtively overpowered equipment and simply fought with the use of his body. Thus, after stepping in with [Shundo], Vahn mmed both of his fists into the monsters body and felt the shockwave dissipate on contact. This showed that the monster either had very high endurance or was capable of using an ability to absorb shockwaves and mitigate damage. Vahn disappeared from sight as the variant monster tried to grab him with its second set of arms before throwing a small ck shortsword into the exposed nk of the creature. Just like the arrows had previously, Vahn watched a magical light shine from the monsters fur before the sword bounced off after having lost its momentum. This allowed Vahn to confirm that it was most likely a skill associated with the monster that allowed them to resist ranged attacked below a certain threshold. It was possible it had ranged immunity, but Vahn didnt expect such a rare ability to appear on the 37th floor unless it was a floor boss. The variant Loup Garou had high battle instincts so it was able to keep up with most of Vahns movements but was unable to actually reach him. Just like when he fought Tione in the past, Vahn was able to evade its attacks in an instant while the monster had to close the distance the old-fashioned way. Though it could perform strangely acrobatic maneuvers with the addition of extra arms, it wasnt enough to egg out any significant advantage against Vahn. Eventually, Vahn transitioned into his Xunw form before deciding to put the monsters ability to the test. When it leaped toward him once again, Vahn used [Shundo] to move back a single meter outside its range as it mmed into the ground. Seeing how close Vahn was, the monster spread its arms wide in an attempt to grab him but the only thing it received for its troubles was the same attack Vahn had executed previously. Unlike his initial strike, however, Vahns fists mmed into the monsters body and a spiral pattern began to appear in its muscr abdomen before the temperature against Vahns fists changed drastically and he felt a cool breeze. Using the same air cannon technique he had developed in the past, Vahn was easily able to ovee the mitigation of the Variants defenses and, as the two opposing vortexes of energy fused together, it had opened up arge hole in the monsters stomach before Vahn disappeared from sight. As a result of its resilience, the variant didnt die immediately and made an effort to swipe at its surroundings as the hole in its body slowly started to close up. Vahn was briefly tempted to allow it to recoverpletely but didnt want to be the reason why the entire expedition was stalled. With his bows in hand, Vahn charged an arrow very near its breaking point before loosing it towards the monsters head in an attempt to test the limits of its anti-ranged capabilities. Unexpectedly, there was no magical light at all so the only thing Vahn got to experience was his own arrow creating a tunnel through the monsters body before mming into the ground and causing a mild explosion. The monster immediately turned into purple mist from the severe trauma and left behind arge hide of red fur as a drop item. After stowing it away in his inventory, Vahn rejoined the expedition and the group continued forward without dy. When Tiona asked about Vahns feelings regarding the fight, he exined the unique qualities of the variant and his spections about its abilities. He was hoping that, if he used the fur it had dropped to make a cloak, Vahn could emte its anti-ranged capabilities a bit. Wolf fur was somewhat popr for cloaks as well, since it had natural instion and looked somewhat wildpared to normal fabrics. Though he hadnt thought much about it in the past, Vahn understood that many Adventurers proactively tried to look cool so they could leave an impact on other people. It wasnt actually that umon for some peoples first aliases to be rted to how they dressed. ording to Tiona, there was once an up-anding Chienthrope girl that wore a red hood every time she ventured into the Dungeon. When it came time for her to receive her first alias, she became known as Little Red Riding Hood because of how petite she had been. Aliases like Vahns Aldrnari were the type that stuck for life and he was grateful that he had never received a strange name since Hephaestus had always supported him. Everyone else seemed to be pretty satisfied with their own aliases as well, with the exception of Tione and Lili. Tiones current alias was Jormungand which sheined made her sound like a gluttonous woman. As for Lili, being known as the Super Supporter had been a heavy blow for her pride and she outright refused to introduce herself as such. When strangers brought it up in jest, they would earn a re from the small Pallum girl until they dropped the subject entirely... (A/N: Alternate Titles: You aint sneaky~!,1v1 me bruh...,Super Supporter~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 460 - Udaeus

Chapter 460 - Udaeus

After progressing through several Coliseums, the expedition arrived at the Knight District and Vahn got to encounter the final series of monsters recorded in thependium that made the White Pce their home. True to its namesake as the Knight district, the rooms were popted with Spartoi, which were skeleton monsters that had varying heights and were rated around Level 4 in strength. It was rumored that Adventurers that fell in the Dungeon became Spartoiter on because they would often spawn with various weapons and armor and had the skill to use them. Even if you encountered two simr Spartoi, both wielding swords, they could usepletely different styles and it was because of this that they were considered the most dangerous warrior-type monsters on the floor. Out of curiosity, Vahn made a habit out of destroying the small crystals that held their skeletal joints together before looting their weapons forter study. After they were identified by the system, Vahn found the majority were around C-Rank weapons while there were a few that even managed to reach B-Rank. The reason why Vahn had decided to loot them was that they were distinctly different from normal weapons as they had been created by the mana that had collected in the walls of the Dungeon. Vahn figured that, if he were able to reverse engineer the process,ter on, he would be able to make weapons and armor that could form like the dress that Hephaestus had worn in the Divination. As for other monsters that appeared in the Knight District, the expedition came across several Peluda, which were dark-green dragonoid monsters that had long snake-like bodies with arrow-like quills along its back. They could angle the quills forward and shoot them out as projectiles so Riveria had been using a physical barrier to protect the expedition whenever one of the troublesome monsters would show up. The quills themselves werent that dangerous but they were coated in a powerful poison that could overwhelm the abnormal resistance of most Adventurers. Unless your tolerance was B, or higher, you needed to avoid contact with the quills or you could be forced into cardiac arrest within half a minute. During one of the Coliseum encounters, when Vahn had been preparing to charge forward with the rest of the group, several Peluda had spawned simultaneously with a massive purple one mixed amount therger horde. If the green Peludas quills were like arrows, the purple ones were like spears that seemingly regenerated infinitely as it began to bombard the shield Riveria had erected. It was during this instance that Vahn got to experience a bit of Gareths prowess as he had borrowed Finns spear before tossing it like a javelin toward therge monster. A total of three shockwaves were generated by the momentous toss before the spear disappeared inside the purple Peluda and caused the entire thing to explode into poisonous dust. Gareth was the type of Adventurer that only leveled up when his Power and Endurance had reached the stat caps so Vahn could guesstimate his throw to have at least 5400 Power behind it, without taking into consideration skills and abilities. Vahn knew he had the rtively rare racial skill [Dvergr Enhance] as well, which could nearly double his power output, so it was very likely that his power had exceeded 9,000 when he pushed himself to the limit. Since Endurance didnt have much of an effect on projectiles and ded weapons, there were few, if any, monsters that would be able to tank Gareths blow head-on. Vahn knew that, even if he pushed himself to his absolute limits, he wouldnt even get close to what Gareth had disyed during his toss. There werent only positives to be gained from such a disy, however, as once the group had cleared the room and recovered the spear the only thing that remained of it was a bent rod and a shattered spearhead. Finn had been using Vahns [Moonlight Piercer] as his weapon of choice recently because it was easy to handlepared to his [Fortia Spear]. Though it wasnt nearly as strong as his primary weapon, it had be something of a personal favorite of his for general use. Holding the bent spear in his hands, Finn turned to Vahn with a wry smile on his face as he said, "It seems that this is the end of the line for this one..." Vahn saw the shoddy state of the spear and epted it from Finn before confirming that it was still recognized as a weapon through the system. Then, in front of the eyes of apologetic Pallum, Vahn pulled out a [Whetstone] and struck it against the broken de several times before the entire thing was restored to a pristine condition. The [Whetstone]s produced by Vahn werent a secret anymore, at least in the upper echelons of the Alliance, but Finn hadnt expected it to be able to have such a drastic effect where it could even restore a badly damaged weapon. When he epted it back from Vahn and tested the edge, he found it was actually better than it had been previously so he remarked, "Your skill as a [Master Smith] will be a great boon to our future expeditions, Vahn. Thank you for restoring this spear for me, as Ive grown quite fond of it as ofte." Seeing that Finn was genuinely pleased by the oue, Vahn nodded his head contentedly and said, "As long as its a weapon, Ill be able to use my [Whetstones] to recover it to an optimal state. It wont work if the weapon is in a state of disrepair, however, so take proper care of your equipment or Ill start charging you a maintenance fee..." Finnughed at Vahns words before brandishing the spear a few more times. As for what it meant to be in a state of disrepair, Vahn had conducted several experiments to see if he could exploit the [Whetstone]s and potentially produce an infinite supply of materials. He had created a pure mithril de, broken the tip of it, and then used a [Whtstone] to repair the damaged de. However, the moment the de shone with the magical light, which represented it was fixed, the materials Vahn had set to the sidepletely vanished. Vahn tried to circ.u.mvent this by storing away the fragments into his inventory but, the moment theposite materials were moved away from the original weapon, the [Whetstone]s lost their effect. Vahn didnt know the effective range of the small stone but it seemed to imply that, as long as the broken pieces were nearby, Vahn would be able to repair anything within a short period of time. --- After clearing several more Coliseums, the expedition arrived at a massive wall that looked as though it had been carefully constructed to resemble an actual pce. There were massive pirs that extended all the way from the floor nearly 400m to the ceiling. Finn gave out orders for the expedition to spread out and create a temporary defensive line as they investigated the interior and determined if the Udaeus had spawned. Since it hid within the floor and walls of the Throne Room, it was impossible to know if it had spawned unless they actually entered inside. At least, this would have been the case if Vahn hadnt been present. Though his domain couldnt cover the entire Throne Room, Vahn could see veins of mana spreading through the floor that all converged on a single mass of energy near the western wall. Ever since it was decided they would be the ones fighting it, Vahn had been discussing the tactics of the Udaeus with Ais, Tiona, and Tione. They had each fought the Udaeus in the past so they were very familiar with its tactics and answered all of Vahns questions. Though it was a floor boss, the Udaeus was one of the few immobile enemies that could be encountered in the Dungeon. Knowing its spawn location was an important piece of information because it would often try to ambush the parties that tried to clear the Throne Room thinking it was safe. The biggest threat posed by the colossal monster was its speed, range, and the area-wide magic that it used. Even if you tried to fight it from a distance, it had incredibly high magic resistance and could even spawn Spartoi if you went beyond the range of its attacks. Since there were no limits to the number of monsters it could spawn, the best tactic to employ was to stay within the range of the Udaeus and take advantage of the gaps in its attacks. Though it was fast, there were plenty of opportunities to exploit in its movements since it couldnt easily deal with multiple agility fighters at once. With the support of Haruhimes [Uchide no Kozuchi], everyones agility parameter had increased by 30% which had greatly boosted their potential speed. Just as they were preparing to enter, Riveria had stopped the group and reminded, "When the Udaeus moves, it can create massive shockwaves in the wake of its attacks. Dont drop your guard just because you were able to evade its attacks, especially you, Vahn. Most importantly, make sure to mind your footing since des can shoot up out of the ground in an instant and catch you unprepared..." Seeing Riverias actions, Finn arched his brows slightly and even Gareth gave her a strange look before saying, "Its rare that our Riveria is so considerate to others right before a fight..." Hearing Gareths remark, Riverias brow twitched before she ignored him and said, "Be careful..." to Vahn and the girls. --- After entering the room, Vahn indicated the location of the Udaeus before Ais activated her [Aeriel] and began to draw a wide arc around its location. Tiona and Tione charged toward the spawn location while Vahn prepared his own measures in the backline. Though it was purported to have incredibly high magic resistance, Vahn was curious if his own magic would be effective against the monster. As for Tiona and Tione, they actually werent nning to fight Udaeus head on and were merely intended to serve as a distraction for Ais to target the orbs that linked together the monsters joints. If they could disable its arms, the rest of the fight would be rtively straightforward because it would only be able to use its magic and summon Spartoi. Once they got within 200m of the Udaeus, Tiona and Tione dashed in opposite directions as a mass of crystalline ck des shot up out of the ground where they had been standing. Vahn had his [Eyes of Truth] active so he was able to see pulses of energy pass through the floor that triggered every time the girlsnded. As a result, the mana would condense into a physical form that would try to impale them from below. Vahn squinted his eyes in thought as the 15m tall skeletal floor boss exploded from the ground and sent huge shards of shrapnel flying through the air as it released an eerie roar that shook the air around them. Its body waspletely ck and it had massive horns on its head that made it look somewhat demonic and cruel as it swept its arms toward Tione. Though she was well out of its range, a wave of energy passed through the air and knocked the Amazon from the sky and sent her flying several meters before she bounded off the ground and evaded the des of ck crystal. Vahn was still outside of its normal range and hadnt drawn any aggro so the Udaeus hadpletely ignored him and the waiting Riveria, Gareth, and Finn. Vahn was using the opportunity to learn the patterns of the Udaeus to see if he could interfere with its own abilities any. Since he could see the flow of mana through the floor, Vahn had been trying to interfere with it using his own domain as a medium. Though it took a bit of effort, Vahn managed to get the rampant mana under his control after about two minutes. The Udaeus released another roar that caused a shockwave to spread all the way to Vahns position, nearly 400m away. The pulse of energy seemed intent to disrupt other magic spells but it was unable to influence Vahns domain at all. When Tionanded on the ground, after evading the Udaeus attack, she noted that there were no more annoying des trying to cut up her feet and she beganughing cheerfully as she charged toward the Udaeus without any fear. Tione had quickly caught on as well while Ais bounced around on the wall and charged toward the raging monster like a loosed arrow. Noticing its countermeasures had no effect, the Udaeus twisted its body and used the twisted de-like bones of its forearms to try and strike at the two Amazons charging its front. True to Riverias warning, even though they had evaded the strikes, both Tiona and Tione were sent flying by the shockwave that followed and were forced back nearly twenty meters in an instant. Ais, however, wasnt affected at all and managed to pierce her [Gram] into the Udaeus shoulder before vaulting away to safety as it tried to counterattack. Having shattered one of the orbs holding its form together, the Udaeus arm copsed to the ground as a new orb slowly began to grow from the joint. After c.o.c.king its head back for a brief moment, the Udaeus leaned forward and released a charged st of energy from its mouth as it traced Aiss path through the air. Everywhere the st struck, the hard bedrock of the Dungeon was cleaved and nothing but devastation left in its wake. Though Ais seemed to be dodging rtively easily, Vahn wasnt going to wait around so he used [Shundo] to get under the Udaeus and shot a concentrated bolt of light elemental energy toward the huge magic core protected by its rib cage. The bolt mmed into the sr plexus of the Udaeus and began to erode the ck bones at a visible rate before it tried to sweep up Vahn, who had long departed from the location with [Shundo]. Seeing that his magic had been effective, Vahn had a pleased grin on his face because it was turning out simr to how he had expected. The moment he learned that the Udaeus was a stationary creature, Vahn assumed the fight would actually be much easier than expected. He had already been able to freeze the energy passing through the ground so the Udaeus couldnt make use of its most powerful ability any longer. Without the threat of the des rising up from the floor, the Udaeus only threat were the shockwaves it could generate from its mouth and the massive amount of power contained in its strikes. Lifting its body with its remaining arm, the Udaeus looked toward Vahns location with its glowing red eyes and sent a pulse of energy simr to the Juggernaut from the past. Vahn wasnt fond of suffering from the same attack twice so he erected a small magical barrier that dissipated the pulse of energy and turned it into a harmless breeze that struck against his face and distorted his hair slightly. Vahn knew the name of the skill was appropriately called [Resentment] and was a rtively rare skill that could only be used by a few powerful Monster Rexes and the Juggernaut. It was rarely ever used, however, because it took arge amount of willpower to perform and would leave the user vulnerable for several seconds... As she hadnt missed the skill being used, Ais had drawn a beautiful arc through the air before appearing above the back of the Udaeus and shouting, "Lil Rafaga~!" and sending a tempest of magical energy through the unguarded back of the once fearsome monster. Though there was a brief moment of resistance, Ais eventually cut through the body of the Udaeus before jamming the tip of her sword into the massive monster core, causing the entire thing to explode into thousands of smaller cores in an instant. Other than a few bone fragments, which were worth a fair amount of Valis, the only thing that remained of the Udaeus was a veritable horde of magic cores that had buried Ais up to her neck as she wadded out of them with aplex expression on her face. Vahn had already appeared nearby so she walked up and said, "Vahn, cleaning magic..." as she dusted herself off. Fighting the urge tough, Vahn began removing the dust that hadpletely coated Aiss body as Tiona and Tione rapidly approached their position. As if she didnt care Ais was dirty at all, Tiona jumped at her body and began clinging to her as she stated in a cheerful tone, "Ais, thatst attack was amazing~!" Then, after doing a full revolution around Aiss neck, Tiona let go of her and jumped toward Vahn and began rubbing her cheek against his in an affectionate manner as she said, "I never thought the fight would be over so quickly with your help, Vahn~! How did you stop those annoying des from appearing!?" After finally separating Tiona from his body, Vahn began exining his strategy when the rest of the members of the first party had arrived. Riveria, having experienced Vahns control over mana in the past, wasnt that surprised by the revtion that Vahn had interrupted the Udaeus area magic. The thing she was most interested in was the light magic Vahn had used, which he once again exined away as a condensed bolt of pure elemental energy. Since the Udaeus was resistant and not immune, Vahn said its defenses could be overwhelmed if you focused your attack on a single point. As for the corrosive effect, that was simply the result of opposite elemental energies mixing together since the Udaeus was almost entirelyprised of darkness elemental energy. Though darkness could corrode almost everything else, the opposite happened when light was introduced into it. Just as he was finishing up his exnation, Vahn dropped a small bombshell on the group when he said, "Because it wasnt capable of moving, I most likely could have ended the fight in an instant if I made use of my [Enkidu]. The moment I wrapped its body in the chains, it wouldnt be able to move or use any of its magic at all. Since there are huge gaps in its skeletal structure, it would have been easy to destroy the core after it was immobilized..." Since Vahn knew where the Udaeus spawned, he could have easily entrapped it using [Enkidu] the moment it erupted from the ground. Unlike other monsters, which would have been able to evade the chains, Udaeus was stuck in one spot so it was a rtively bad matchup for the 15m tall skeletal creature. The only reason Vahn didnt do so was that it was important to fight against such enemies using your base capabilities in order to gain more exilia. He also needed to practice coordinating with the other members of the party since teamwork was inarguably the most important thing when it came to oveing their future enemies. Because it was a rather unique circ.u.mstance, it was decided that Vahn would receive the drops from the Udaeus because he had been regrly maintaining the equipment of the girls and he would be able to use the materials in the creation of future items. Riveria had also convinced Finn to give Vahn the majority of the monster cores, even though she didnt exin to him the reason why it was important to do so. Other than the residents of the Hearth Manor, nobody else knew about Vahns creation ability since it was a closely guarded secret that would cause great turmoil if it was discovered. As a result of Riverias actions, Vahn received a huge boon of more than 783,000OP in an instant, which caused arge smile to appear on his face. He hadnt been earning that much on the expedition thus far but therge influx had now pushed his current OP reserves over the four-million mark and allowed him to reach 4,013,754. Since it was Riverias efforts that had caused such an oue, Vahn made a mental note to reward her for her actions in the future. There were a nigh-infinite number of items within the system shop that would intrigue a girl like Riveria so he was nning to do a bit of research before picking out something suitable for her. After breaking down the defensive line and re-establishing the convoy, the expedition proceeded through therge spiral staircase in the center of the 37th floor. Seeing how difficult it was to get the carts down the stairs, Vahn was sure it would be even more frustrating trying to reach the surface in the future. Unfortunately, without an inventory like Vahns, people didnt really have a choice when it came to transportingrge volumes of materials and it was considered a necessary task to be performed by Supporters ofrge Familia. Fortunately, everyone worked together and the task wasnt too difficult to perform since people in the Danmachi record could even lift thousands of pounds if their Power parameter was high enough. The 38th floor was simr in appearance to the 37th floor except, instead of circr walls converging into a Throne Room, it had now resumed the appearance of a widebyrinth. Coliseums still appeared but the path leading to the 39th floor was rtively straightforward and the expedition managed to reach it after around two hours of travel. In total, it had taken the group 14 hours to pass through the 31st to the 39th floor, which was much faster than normal. The 37th floor alone typically took more than seven hours to clear, as a result of itsplexity and the fact it was nearly the size of Orario above at 200km in diameter. Because they had easily been able to discover the entrances into the inner walls, with Vahns scouting, the group had managed the trip in slightly under five hours. Since the 39th floor was considered a safety point, though it wasnt nearly as safe as the 18th and 50th, the expedition set camp atop arge teau that provided an overview of the surroundings. Unlike Rivira, which was full of lush greenery and variouskes and rivers, the 39th floor was nameless and looked somewhat dreary since everything was an ashen white color. Other than stone outcroppings, there was no noticeable scenery at all and, if not for the celebratory atmosphere of the expeditionary party, Vahn would have found the floor somewhat distasteful. Fortunately, he seemed to be rather popr amongst the gathered Adventurers and Supporters so any mncholy he might have felt was immediately washed away by the festive atmosphere... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gareth OP,RIP Udaeus-chan...,Safe zone...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 461 - Light Within the Darkness

Chapter 461 - Light Within the Darkness

During the stay on the 39th floor, Vahn spent several hours looking around the area in an attempt to find any passageways that could have been used by Enyos cronies tounch an ambush against them. However, other than some natural pathways, Vahn couldnt find anything remotely resembling a connecting passage to the artificial Dungeon. He wasnt sure how deep the structure went, but Vahn hadnt been able to find any signs of its existence beyond the 27th floor. This was a little strange to Vahn because he knew Enyo was supposed to be beyond the 60th floor and it didnt make sense how they were able to navigate to such a depth unless they had a way to bypass the dangers of the floors... After mapping the area of the 39th floor, Vahn returned to the encampment and began drawing out a detailedyout of thend before preparing for bed. Even if the Dungeonyout changed over time, Vahn didnt think it would be such a drastic change for wide open floors such as this one. Some of the secret passageways were rather thin and Vahn couldnt see how they would be able to maintain their structure if the Dungeon was constantly reshaping itself. Even though the walls, floor, and ceiling, were made out of a very durable bedrock, it was still possible for cave-ins and such to ur duringrge battles. As the ground was littered with massive stones, Vahn postted they had fallen from the roof at some point since it didnt make sense why the Dungeon would grow the outcrops on its own. He could see with his [Eyes of Truth] that, other than some ambient mana that could be found it all things, the rocks were rtively normal, at least for the time being. Compared to the previous rest periods, that couldst around 10 hours, the expedition had taken a total of 14 hours to prepare for the final push to the 50th floor. Vahn could tell everyone was far more tense than normal and it made it feel like the festive atmosphere from the previous night had been an illusion. As she had often done during the trip, Tione began exining to appease Vahns curiosity, "Beyond the 39th floor, it is almost impossible to know what the Dungeon will be throwing at us anymore. Once we reach the 44th floor, well even lose most of our visibility and only the fireing from the walls will be able to guide us forward. In the darkness between those floors, that is when we typically lose the most people..." Hearing Tiones exnation, Vahn furrowed his brows slightly because he expected such moments were ideal if their enemies nned to attack them. The fact more than three days had passed without a single appearance from them had been worrying Vahn a bit, as it was better to know the location of the enemy than have no idea what they were up to. Other than Enyo, the red-haired girl, and the strange earth mage, Vahn didnt even know what other forces they had at their disposal yet. Just the earth mage alone would be a major threat if they caught the expedition in an enclosed corridor... After preparations were finished, Finn gave the order and the expedition continued into the 40th floor, which still had the same white walls, floor, and ceiling as above. Though he wasnt at the furthest point in front, where Ais wasmonly found, Vahn stayed rtively close to the main party and maintained his own position in the formation as he scouted for any dangers. With the words of caution from Tione, Vahn had grown somewhat concerned about the members of his own Familia but they had been moved into the interior convoy at this point as it was too dangerous for Level 2s to fight monsters directly at these levels. As a result, Naaza had begun using her bow to fire at any enemy within her range while Lili had been using a crossbow. Mikoto, as part of her training with Take in the past, was also rather skilled with a bow so the three had made a small formation while Haruhime had been moved closer to the front. Her level-up magic would be a great boon during an emergency so she had been ced near Fenrir and they were surrounded by Riveria, Gareth, and Lefiya. Finn knew the importance of every member of the Hestia Familia, as it had been stressed several times by Loki, so he had arranged for them to have rtively safe positions before the expedition continued forward. Though he knew better than to mention it now, Finn was also concerned that Lili would be killed by a stray monster and this was an oue he found uneptable. After nearly seven hours of travel, the expedition arrived at the entrance to the 44th floor and Vahn could feel the tensions of everyone in the convoy increase greatly. Even the stairs led down were much darker than the previous stairwells and Vahn could smell a pungent sulfuric smell rising up from the below. Not only would general visibility be low, but many of the monsters in the new few floors were of the golem ss and wouldnt have any discernible scent. Since they often disguised themselves among other rocks, it was difficult to tell them apart from themon backdrop of the Dungeon. It wasmon, such as it had been on the 25th floor, for parties to simply fire an arrow at anyrge rocky outcrop in an effort to flush out anything hiding amongst the rubble. However, with Vahns inclusion in the party such things were unnecessary and, now that he had seen how the expedition was reacting, Vahn had decided to make a spectacle out of the next few floors. Once they descended the stairs, Vahn felt the temperature had increased by several degrees and there was now a foul smell all throughout the air. The floor, walls, and ceiling, were now constructed of a hazy red bedrock that made people feel hotter just looking at them. Interspaced through the red rocks, there were carbonized ck lines, almost as if magma had run through the cracks at some point, and Vahn could see a dangerous light glowing from within them. As Tione had mentioned, the only thing lighting the way forward was the fire contained within the cracks. With his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see veins of fire energy that flowed through the wall like an actual volcano so he began to exercise even more caution than previously. There was far too much to take under his personal control since the source was the Dungeon itself and not a monster, but Vahn wanted to avoid areas where the fire veins were closer to walls. Just imagining a geyser of mes erupting and epassing the convoy made Vahn feel a bit of a chill pass through his body. Unlike the majority of people present, Vahn was immune to fire but that didnt bring him muchfort since he was more concerned about the others. Once the entire convoy had entered the floor, Vahn nodded his head slightly before infusing [Enkidu] into his own domain, without actually summoning the chain itself or locking down the surrounding space. The space around Vahn, reaching outward for more than 487m, became infused with an awe-inspiring golden glow that pierced through the darkness and allowed everyone in the expedition to see. Though only slightly, Vahn also infused a mild stimting energy through his [Hands of Nirvana] to help everyone ovee any nerves they might have been feeling. Though they were confused at first, some of the people had experienced Vahns aura before and a small stir quickly passed through the convoy as word spread. Unlike the previous times they had passed through the somewhat nightmarish floors, the expedition now had Vahn in their midst and, just as he had done on the previous floors, he was certain to scout ahead for the safest path for them. Now that he had also started lighting the way, everyone began to feel a bit of excitement welling up inside of them, blissfully unaware that it was provoked by Vahn himself. Seeing the morale of the convoy bolstered, Finn smiled and thanked Vahn for his help before giving the order to move forward. True to expectation, Vahn marked every disguised me Rock along the way before they were quickly dealt with by Ais, Tiona, and Tione. me Rocks could be anywhere between 200cm tall to 400cm tall and they took on the appearance of red rocks, very simr to the floor itself, there had the same fiery lines drawn across them. When people approached, they would attempt tounch surprise attacks and reveal the fiery core at their head. Since Vahn could easily differentiate them from the normal rocky outcrops, the pace of the expedition had increased by a fair amount. He had originally tried to kill each me Rock on his own but, once their numbers began to increase, Vahn simply marked them for the girls to deal with. Naaza had even offered to let him use her [Yis Bow] but Vahn was actually trying to conserve as much of his source energy as possible since the drain of using [Hands of Nirvana] across the convoy was a little intense. As they passed through the 44th floor, there were more threats than just the me Rocks that the expedition had to be aware of. There an elite species of Hellhounds that called the floor home, known as Greater Hellhounds, that would roam inrge packs that had speedparable to a Level 3 Adventurer. Because of their numbers, it was impossible to prevent them from breaking through the vanguard but, since they had seen the group approaching from afar, there was adequate time for Finn to issue orders and, in less than a minute, those at the front of the convoy had made a shield line that spanned the entire corridor as those behind took up spears and bows. Even when the Greater Hellhounds used their me breath against the defensive line, the Adventurers held their ground without flinching as those with spears deal with anything that got close and crashed against the immovable line. Behind them, those skilled in rangedbat would support and, when the enemies numbers were too great, the mages would step forward and begin their chants. Seeing how well everyone worked together, Vahn could understand why the Loki Familia was considered the current Rank 1. Though they didnt have as many elite forces as the Freya Familia, their cooperation was impable and they were, from Vahns perspective, fearless against the veritable tide of monsters. Even when someone grew tired, there would always be someone else to take up the burden as they retreated to safety and healed up with consumables. Thus, with Vahns assistance, the expedition had been able to clear through the 44th floor in a record time of 53 minutes without suffering a single casualty. Vahn had been in his Xunw form the entire time and had been transferring wounds to his own body whenever someone took a bad hit. His own durability was much higher than most people and his regeneration, especially with the use of [Senzu Beans], would shock anyone that didntmonly associate with Vahn. Those that had actually suffered the wounds were very confused and word began to spread through the crowd about the miracles they had been experiencing. There had even been a man that took the projectile of a me Rock to their chest, which broke several of their ribs and burned their chest, yet, when he rose to his feet and tried to treat his wound with an Elixir, the man found his wound had vanished in its entirety. Hispanions had quickly arrived at his side to assist him and were confused by his miraculous recovery which quickly disseminated to the rest of the expedition. The more astute Adventurers had seen a simr urrence when the members of the Hestia Familia were fighting previously so it didnt take long for people to deduce it was another miracle created by Vahn. Finn was constantly paying attention to the state of the expedition and he could see the somewhat fervent gazes many in the convoy were giving Vahn. As for the boy himself, Vahn stood tall at the front of the convoy with a calm look on his face as his glowing blue eyes constantly scanned the surrounding for more danger. He would periodically draw back his bow before loosing an arrow at another hidden enemy before trusting others to deal with it as he maintained his vignce and looked for even more enemies. Finn had known Vahn would be a great boon to the convoy, even without knowing about the size of his storage magic, but he hadnt expected Vahns impact to be quite so drastic. It was easy to see that Vahns reputation within the Loki Familia had increased greatly in the short four days they had traveled together and Finn began to suspect that, by the time they returned to the surface, they might even begin to idolize the boy. Though it was a little worrisome, Finn knew it was a good thing since it would increase Vahns reputation in the City and would likely please Loki... Other than a single instance where one of the walls copsed and spewed forthva, the trip between the 44th-48th floors had been rtively uneventful. Even when the wall had copsed, Vahn had cautioned about its existence so Riveria was able to freeze over the entire thing with her [Vas Windheim]. Avoiding a potential tragedy, the mood in the expedition had improved greatly and, instead of the solemn expressions everyone had previously, most people had smiles and were chatting amiably with each other. This didnt mean they were beingcent, however, as the vast majority of the expedition was popted by veteran Adventurers that took their duties very seriously. At the entrance to the 49th floor, Finn had stopped the convoy before climbing to the top of a cart and addressing everyone. The 49th floor was home to a group of monsters referred to by some as the wave since they would often charge forward like a veritable tide. The monsters themselves were known as Fomoire and they were humanoid goat monsters that formed massive groups simr to actual armies. It wasnt umon to encounter an entire battalion of the creatures at a time with several variants among their ranks. They werent particrly strong, nor did they have any powerful skills, but their numbers and suicide tactics were difficult to deal with. Other than the wave, the biggest threat they needed to be cautious of was the Monster Rex of the 49th floor, which was known as the Balor. It was a giant golem-type creature with a massive glowing eye that was capable of using powerful area magic. Unlike other Monster Rexes, it didnt have a designated spawn area other than the fact that it was always near the entrance to the 50th floor. This meant it was somewhat difficult to deal with since the expedition would have to react to its presence the moment it appeared. With Vahn in the expedition, they shouldnt be caught off guard by its ambush, but they still needed to be careful. There were only three mages capable of casting barrier magic, excluding Vahn, and their coverage was only a 50m area at most. Failure to react to the Balors attacks in time could quickly shift the momentum of the expedition and it was encounters with the beast that brought many of their expeditions to an early end since their supplies would generally sustain a great amount of damage during the battle... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Caution, Idtry,Balors Wrath...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 462 - Tensions

Chapter 462 - Tensions

Entering the 49th floor, Vahn looked around and saw that, as Finn had stated previously, the entire floor was one massive room that stretched more than 200km in diameter. The entire floor was deste with no signs of life and there was a hot wind that blew through the air and caused the rust-colored sand to billow and obstruct the view. Other than massive rock formations, there werent any walls and, like the floors above, there were several monsters lying in ambush waiting for the expedition to enter their range. However, just as before, Vahn was able to notify them of the presence of most monsters so the group progressed forward with rtive ease. Unlike before, however, the convoy was linked together in a tight formation with shieldbearers taking up the outer perimeter as archers readied their bows. Even though it hadnt appeared yet, there was a subtle vibration that could be felt through the ground so everyone knew the wave would be making its appearance. They would only have a few short minutes to prepare the defensive line when the monsters finally showed up so they had to be on high alert. Though Finn was performing his role as Commander of the expedition, Vahn had been the one guiding the way as he could see the flow of mana through the floor and could trace it to the exit. Since there was a Monster Rex like the Balor present, the Dungeon fed a high amount of mana to a specific area and Vahn was able to deduce that the Balor would be found there. He also had the benefit of mapping out the area with his domain and could reference the minimap in his system interface for any uing obstacles. As a result, the expedition had been progressing steadily until the rumbling in the floor had increased greatly in magnitude. Finn held his hand up to his face andmented, "My thumb is itching..." before waving his spear up high and shouting, "Form the defensive line! Use the surroundings as a vantage point for our archers! Mages, ready your chants and prepare to target thergest concentration of enemies!" On the low end, a wave of Fomoire would have more than two-thousand monsters with several manders that would try to sweep over the expedition. Unlike the normal Fomoire, themander ss were generally capable of using magic and would have to be dealt with quickly before things got out of hand. As one of the designated archers, Vahn had leaped atop a 14m tall boulder to get a better vantage point and saw arge cloud of dust kicked up by the approaching wave. When they began entering into his domain, Vahn was surprised by the sheer number of enemies and could approximate their numbers to be around 3500. To thin the herd, or at least slow them down, Vahn began using his inventory and cing mines beneath the feet of the Fomoire as they mindlessly charged forward. The explosives werent enough to deal lethal damage to most Level 3 monsters, but it interrupted their momentum greatly as Vahn began to loose arrows toward what he believed to be themander ss enemies. Ais had followed Vahns arrows with her eyes and dashed toward the location where his arrows had broken against an invisible barrier before a wall of Fomoire began blocking for the rtively small ashen grey Fomoire behind them. Unlike the normal goat monster, this one was covered in runes and had a crooked staff in its hands as it began to chant a magical spell. Vahns arrow had been deflected by its barrier earlier, but it also managed to caused the barrier to copse as a result. The other Fomoire were trying to buy it time but Vahn simply ced explosives around their feet while directly breaking the chant of the mage. Momentster, Ais passed through the group like a humanoid blender as a vortex of blood and gore spun around her body before being discharged away from her. Even though she had killed more than thirty monsters with her charge, Ais waspletely unscathed and there wasnt a spot of blood on her body as she leaped up through the air andnded atop one of therge boulders effortlessly. As for Tiona and Tione, they were guarding the nks and thining the herd that had started to surround the convoy and assault them. Finn was skewering monsters with an elegant precision while Gareths axe cleaved throughrge swaths of enemies with a surprising momentum. Even though his Agility was somewhat low,pared to his monstrous Power and Endurance, he was still a Level 6 and could pass through the horde of Fomoire as if he were an unstoppable force. Vahn shook his head with a wry smile on his face as he interrupted the cast of another mage, which was the same as marking it for death by the perceptive sword princess. Eventually,rge veins of fire spread through the ground in a giant conal shape and Vahn had to retrieve the waiting Ais using his [Shundo] before the ground erupted in destructive tornadoes as a result of Riverias [Rea Laevateinn]. Her spell had wiped out the entire group of Fomoire in a single direction while Lefiya, whopleted her own version of the chants momentster, targetted the secondrgest concentration of enemies. Every time Vahn saw their destructive magic, he was always a little jealous since they were able to clear out more than a thousand monsters with a single spell. However, he knew his own magic would one day far outstrip their own so he was looking forward to the future. After the two destructive spells, there were only small groups of enemies remaining but they continued to charge toward the expedition as if their numbers had never diminished in the slightest. Evenpared to the vast majority of crazed monsters, the Fomoire were in a league of their own and many of them were even frothing at the mouth as they charged forward with a suicidal momentum. Vahn pitied the creatures somewhat but his hands never rested as he skillfully executed more than eighty enemies on his own. From start to finish, the entire engagement took less than seven minutes but it was still rather stressful on the convoy. Many Fomoire had broken through to the nks and had charged headfirst into the linked shields of the Loki Family. Since they were goat monsters, they had powerful horns on their heads and rigid backs that allowed their charging force to reach somewhat terrifying heights. Several people had broken bones, primarily wrists and forearms, while the mages in the group were moderately exhausted from spamming their quick cast magic on any enemies that broke through. Fortunately, even without Vahn using [Wounds Transfer], there werent any fatalities even though there were several casualties. As the expedition began to regroup and prepare to move forward, many of them were aware of the subtle vibrations that were spreading through the ground and their expressions had be stern and serious. While a single wave wasnt that dangerous, it was the fact that an expedition would have to face multiple of such waves that eventually wore them down. They couldnt simply hunker down and set up a defensive line either, as that would make them sitting ducks and would inevitably result in them being surrounded and overwhelmed. Vahn helped Riveria and Lefiya recover their mana by injecting his own source energy through their backs. It was most ideal to inject it around the navel, but Vahn correctly assumed both girls wouldnt appreciate such contact when there were so many people around. As for himself, he was chugging down a blood-colored potion that he had purchased from the shop known as an [X-Ether]. It was an incredibly expensive consumable item that cost 40,000OP but it had the amazing effect of recovering all of Vahns current source energy reserves. There was a downside that it could only be consumed every four hours, but it was still a very useful item for such situations. Since they couldnt afford to stay in one spot, the expedition had started moving forward at the same time as they healed the wounded. Vahn had a functionally infinite number of [Senzu Beans], and other recovery items, at his disposal so he absorbed the majority of injuries from the expedition members and earned their thanks as a result. It was no longer a secret that Vahn had a miraculous ability that allowed him to transnt injuries onto his own body, which healed at a phenomenal rate. Knowing that he was willing to bear their pain made their impression of Vahn much stronger than normal and there were more than a few in the expedition that had grown quite fond of the famous Sage Aldrnari. Though some might have questioned if he was worthy of such titles, that was no longer the case for anyone on the current expedition. After progressing for another half hour, another cloud of dust began to appear as the vibrations through the floor increased in intensity. Vahn had been thinking about possible solutions along the way so, after jumping atop another tall rock formation, he looked into the horizon and targetted thergest clumps of enemies that had just reached the periphery of his domain. There were several inert boulders located all over the ce and Vahn had the ability to store them within his inventory, as long as they were smaller than 1,000m3. Vahn had seen the efficacy of shrapnel and copsing rocks on the enemy forces earlier so he wanted to see if he could use the own Dungeon against the monster horde. Instead of wasting his OP to buy explosives, which rarely did fatal damage to the monsters, Vahn collectedrge boulders and then began to remove them from his inventory several hundred meters above the enemy. When the members of the expedition so meteors rain down from the sky they had been brought to a solemn silence as they watched the massive rocks smash into the defenseless enemies below. Though not every rock was exactly 1,000m3, the average weight of the boulders Vahn dropped on the encroaching army weighted between 2-2.5 million kilograms, more than enough to overwhelm the majority of enemies. It wasnt a tactic that could be easily employed in most areas of the Dungeon but, in an open area like the 49th floor, there was nothing preventing him from doing something showy. Through his efforts, Vahn managed to kill several hundred Fomoire before they got anywhere near the expedition and also managed to disrupt their momentum as they had to re-route around the rocks. Since it actually took a surprising amount of energy to put away such objects, something Vahn had never paid much attention to in the past, he couldnt continue his performance and had to take a knee before using his bow to target nearby enemies. Vahn typically only ced small objects into his inventory and he hadnt expected it to take so much of his energy to drop the twentyrge boulders onto the enemy. After he thought about it, however, Vahn realized that it made sense for there to be a conversion based on the volume of objects or there would be no need for him to have individual slots. His inventory grew along with him so, if he could truly make use of it without restrictions, Vahn could theoretically store away entire oceans in the future. If such a feat didnt have a cost, Vahn would have had some serious questions regarding thews governing the records that allowed such things... After a much shorter fight than the previous engagement, Vahn returned to the convoy and sat on one of the carts after he helped replenish the mana of Riveria, Lefiya, and Haruhime. Riveria had aplicated expression on her face when she had asked him about the giant boulders he had used against the enemies but Vahn just exined it away as using his storage magic to disce objects using his domain as a medium. As she had seen Vahn materialize objects far away from his body in the past, Riveria knew such things should be possible but it had still been a bit of a surprise to see it actually implemented. (A/N: To put it in perspective, imagine rocks the size of an Olympic swimming pool being dropped on the enemies. Not nearly as impressive as Grandpa Madara stacking meteors, but still pretty awe-inspiring if you dont expect such a scene.) --- After dealing with three waves of Fomoire, the expedition had arrived at an area where the rock formations had started to increase in density. As the majority of the members were veterans of previous expeditions, they knew this was indicative of the fact they were nearing the entrance to the 50th floor. The Balor had yet to make an appearance thus far so everyone was on high alert as Finn considered trying to break through the region in one push and escaping into the passageway leading down. Unlike the 39th floor, which would be sealed off during the fight with Udaeus, there was no such restriction on the 49th floor so it was very possible to bypass the Monster Rex and then deal with itter. Since his [Shundo] allowed him to move rtively uninhibited, Vahn volunteered to scout ahead and find the exact location of the Balor while also looking for the entrance to the 50th floor. Even if he managed to trigger the aggro of the Monster Rex, there would be plenty of time for the expedition to react to the impending attack once they knew of its existence. Finn had agreed to Vahns reasoning but had him take Ais with him since there was no way of knowing what might happen. Ais might only be Level 5, but she was one of the most agile and capable fighters in the entire Loki Familia. She would be able to buy time for the expedition to reach the entrance of the 50th floor while the main members of the Loki Familia congregated to defeat the Balor. Vahn agreed to take Ais, who had an excited smile on her face, along with him since he knew it was better to travel together than alone at times. Unlike Finn, however, Vahn didnt think the Balor would prove as great a threat as they thought. Just like the Udaeus, Vahn was confident he would be able to restrain the Monster Rex with his [Enkidu] if it wasnt fast enough to evade the chains. The Balor was arge golem monster and it was even possible that, while it was waiting in ambush, Vahn would be able to get the jump on it and capture it without incident. He had even stored away fiverge boulders into his inventory and was nning to smash them into the titanic creature to see if they could do enough damage. After grabbing Ais around the waist, which wasnt really necessary, Vahn disappeared from the sight of onlookers before reappearing near the periphery of his domain and getting his bearings. Ais had gotten a bit caught up in the mood as well and rested her head against Vahns chest as she hugged around his back and enjoyed the brief moment of togetherness. Other than the rough outlines of her armor, Vahn found Aiss presence to be veryfortable so he held her close as he passed his perception over the area before using [Shundo] once again. Using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn was following the flow of mana within the Dungeon until he eventually arrived at a point where it had reached a critical level. Though it looked like arge rock from the distance, Vahn could tell that the amalgamation of chaotic energy belonged to the floor boss. Since he had been concealing his own presence with [Stealth], the Balor had yet to react to their arrival nearby and this brought a smile to Vahns face... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hot and Steamy Dungeon Time~!,Raining fire and brimstone~!,You aint sneaky...!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 463 - Balor

Chapter 463 - Balor

Realizing Vahn had stopped for a longer period of time, Ais looked into his face and saw his smile and immediately understood what he was thinking. With a small smile appearing on her own face, Ais asked, "Are you going to fight it?" Hearing her words, Vahn squinted his eyes before shaking his head and saying, "I wont fight it directly, but I do want to check a few things. Since the Balor is rated as a Level 6 monster, I want to see if my [Enkidu] is effective on it. If things dont go well, well fall back..." Ais nodded her head in response before parting from Vahn and muttering, "Tempest..." as a barrier of wind appeared around her body. With Ais finishing her own preparations, Vahn focused his mind on the Balors location and contemted the course of action he was going to take. Not only was it more than 20m tall, but it was around 8m wide and Vahn wasnt entirely sure he would be able to summon enough of [Enkidu] to wrap it up in any meaningful way. Thus far, the only thing he had used the chain on is humanoids, which are rtively small targets, so Vahn wasnt even sure if the chains would work on such a colossal creature. This was the primary reason he wanted to try because, if he assumed the chains would work in the future and they didnt, Vahn would regret it if anyone got hurt as a result. Vahn also observed the flow of mana within the Dungeon itself and recorded everything he was seeing so he could research itter. Once the Balor died, Vahn was curious how the flow would change and how the Dungeon was able to actually generate such creatures. If he could figure out the process and emte it, Vahn would be able to create his own mana constructs in the future and potentially have an army of his own. The fact creatures like the Xenos exist, as well as Vahns own subordinates, showed that such a thing should be possible. There was also the fact that, Vahn assumed the world would be destabilized without the existence of something like the Dungeon so, if he actually destroyed it one day, he wanted a way to create a new one that could be better regted. After finishing his own preparations, Vahn nodded toward Ais as his domain turned golden and began to radiate a divine aura. Sensing the change, the Balor began to rumble as it freed its body from the Dungeon floor only to see five chains spiraling around its body. Vahn had prepared mana batteries of his own beforehand but, even with their assistance, he was finding it very difficult to generate enough chain to twine around the massive figure. Instead, he tried to bind the joints of the Balor while wrapping two chains across its torso and one around the area that should be its. Because he had the initiative, the chains were pulled tight by Vahn long before the Balor could make sense of the situation. Vahn had been watching the process with his [Eyes of Truth] and saw the flow of mana into the Balors feet cease in its entirety as it struggled to move the chains. Unlike past experiences, where things werent able to move at all, Vahn could feel the powerful might of the monster literally tugging at his soul. It was a somewhat terrifying experience, but Vahn was confident he would be able to hold on long enough. At least he knew physical might could overwhelm his [Enkidu] somewhat, even though he had sessfully bound the Balor. Without the ability to channel its mana, the only thing it could do was pull at the chains as the fiery red eye affixed in its head shone with madness... The moment Vahn had given her the signal, Ais had dashed forward with incredible momentum as a massive vortex of wind elemental energy danced around her. She saw the Monster Rex get wrapped up in Vahns chains and begin to struggle in a rage which caused her own smile to deepen as she kicked off another rock formation and aimed directly at the fiery core of the monsters head. Since it was able to struggle a little, Ais knew Vahn wouldnt be able to hold it for long so she wanted to end things with a single attack. The vortex of wind around her body converged into a spiral shape around her sword as she shouted, "Lil Rafaga~!" and mmed the tip of [Gram] into the rage-filled eye. Without the ability to muster its defenses, the Balor could only stare at the iing strike as it pulled futilely against the chains. Though Vahn would have only been able to hold it for a few seconds, Ais was capable of closing the 350m distance in less than a single second so it was more than enough time to spell disaster for the previously terrifying monster. Other than focusing its eye on the small figure just as it pierced into its head, the Balor couldnt muster up any other form of resistance at all. Thus, without any unexpected urrences, Ais prated clear through the Balors head and left behind a massive hole in her passing. Afternding far behind the Balor, Ais turned her head in confusion as she saw the colossal creature still standing on its feet. However, the moment the golden chains wrapping its body vanished, it erupted into a mass of purple dust as arge volume of monster cores fell to the Dungeon floor below. Before she could make sense of the peculiar happening, Vahn appeared next to her in an instant with a smile on his face as he said, "Every time I see that attack, its always phenomenal. Good going, Ais." Hearing his praise, Ais turned her head to the side and averted her eyes as a small blush appeared on her face. Her actions caused Vahns smile to widen greatly which caused her own heart to pulse powerfully in her chest... As they hadnt been too far away from the expeditionary party, Finn, Gareth, Tiona, and Tione arrived at the sight of the battle a few minutes after it hade to an end. Seeing the clearing where the Balor once stood, Finn had a somewhat perplexed expression on his face as Gareth began stroking his beard thoughtfully. Tiona and Tione, however, seeing Vahn standing at the side of Ais as the two flirted with each other ran toward their location with haste. Tiona unceremoniously mmed her [Dance of the Amazon] into the ground before leaping toward Vahn and Ais with both arms open. With clear excitement permeating through her body, Tiona asked, "Did the two of you really manage to defeat the Monster Rex on your own~!?" as Vahn caught her out of the air. Vahn exined how he had managed to pin the Balor down long enough for Ais to defeat it in one blow and Tionas eyes began to sparkle as she said, "You have to bring me along next time, okay, Vahn~!?" Just imagining the sight of a Monster Rex being defeated in a single blow made Tionas body heat up in excitement. If not for the fact that she had been pacified by her previous actions with Vahn, Tiona very well might have pushed him down. Her sister, however, had no such tolerance as a rosy blush covered her face and she was staring at Vahn as she chewed on her bottom lip... Fortunately, Tione still had a bit of awareness regarding Finn and wasnt going to do anything with both him and Gareth present. Though she wasnt a coward, she wasnt as bold as her little sister and maintained a sense of propriety when they were around others. As for Finn and Gareth, they had already anticipated that Vahn and Ais had defeated the Balor, but it was still somewhat surprising to hear exactly how they had managed the feat. On average, it would have taken them several tens of minutes to defeat the Monster Rex and yet Vahn and Ais had done it after a short encounter thatsted less than a few seconds. It was very difficult to believe and, if not for the mountain of loot in the clearing, Finn very well might not have. As for Gareth, he walked forward and smacked Vahns back heartily as he said, "Youre really something, kiddo!" before sending an approving look toward the smiling Ais as well. He didnt really care how the two had managed the feat and was simply impressed that they were able to pull it off without a hitch. When they had first heard the Balors roar, Gareth had been a little worried about the two and he was one of the first to charge forward as Finn began issuing orders to the expedition. Unfortunately, he was easily caught up to by the Amazon twins before Finn caught up shortly thereafter... Since the Balor had been in by Ais and Vahn alone, Finn had no problem with them splitting the loot amongst themselves but Ais gave everything to Vahn, just as she had done with the Udaeus previously. Vahn got to add an additional 817,000OP to his reserves and also managed to obtain some very rare materials in the form of drop items that looked simr to the rocks that constituted the Balors body. This was an expensive ore known as Refined Kaenseki and the chunk Vahn had received could easily be sold for more than 40,000,000V. It was very useful in the production of me-resistant equipment so Vahn was happy to have obtained it. After looting the pile of monster cores under the hawk-like eyes of Finn, the group scouted the area to find the entrance to the stairs before doubling back and reuniting with the expedition. When the convoy saw the group arrive, they released a loud cheer as a festive atmosphere immediately spread the entire party. Vahn was personally greeted by the members of the Hestia Familia, who had been somewhat worried about him since the expedition had been talking about how terrifying the Balor could be. Seeing him safe and sound made the girls happy, but it was ultimately Fenrir who got the advantage since she had detected Vahns arrival long before the other girls. Vahn recounted the rtively anti-climactic tale of the battle for everyone gathered but, instead of being disappointed by the ease in which they defeated the Balor, the expedition released a joyous cheer before they showed Vahn and Ais with praises. Most of them had encountered the Balor in the past and many had lostpanions to its surprise attacks. Rather than be bored by Vahns short story, they were instead very happy as a small amount of vindication spread through their chests. Even though Vahn and Ais were the ones to defeat the beast, it felt like an aplishment for all of them since conquering the Dungeon was a shared feat by all those that called the surface home. Finn allowed the celebratory atmosphere to continue for a short while before giving the order for the expedition to move toward the 50th floor. There was plenty of time to celebrate when they reached the safety area, after all. Thus, without losing a single cart of supplies, nor suffering the loss of a singlepanion, the Loki Familia expedition passed into the rtive safety of the 50th floor in high spirits. More than half of their expeditions came to an early end after the battle with the Balor, so there was a good reason to be in a celebratory mood. Finn even made a special exception and allowed Vahn to make avable a single keg of alcohol. Though people were limited to a single ss, they were still grateful for the opportunity and Vahn earned several drinking buddies when they got a taste of his [Dwarven Drought]. --- Unlike the barren and fiery floors above, the 50th floor wasparably vibrant and there were several different types of nt life present, though they were all muted greys and whites in coloration. There were also vein-like rivers that flowed all throughout the rtively massive floor as well as a fewrge springs that pooled up in certain locations. As per usual, the expedition hade to rest on a teau so Vahn was able to overlook the entire floor, which stretched approximately 250km in diameter. He knew this was the ce where they had created the Haven in the Divination so he was quite curious about the structure of the floor itself. Like the 18th floor, there were giant crystals that hung down from the roof above that emted the time of day on the surface and allowed those within to track the time. There were a few teaus spread around, simr to the one they were currently on, and the roof itself was several kilometers high. Vahn had been somewhat worried that the Tree of Life wouldnt have enough space to grow but that turned out to be an unnecessary concern. Even when it reached its height of 1km in the future, it would have plenty of space to spread its branches. As there was already ntlife and water present, Vahn knew that this floor could truly be a Haven for his own forces one day. The 50th floor had more area than the entire City of Orario itself so it was possible to house millions of people on the 50th floor in the future. The only major concern would have been food production, but Vahn never intended to have so many people live on the floor that they wouldnt be able to be self-reliant. With the influence of the Tree of Life, it shouldnt be difficult to actually grow crops since some of the trees already present on the floor were capable of bearing fruit. Now, it was simply a matter of confirming their enemies capabilities before massing enough forces to actually create the fortifications necessary to convert this floor into their own territory... After getting a basic understanding of the surroundings, Vahn told Finn, Riveria, and Gareth that he was going to take Fenrir for a walk and alsopile a map of the floor. The expedition was setting up a semi-permanant camp and would be in this area for the remainder of the expedition so Vahn had plenty of time to map out the entire area. Knowing of his speed and ridiculous mapping capabilities, Vahn was easily given leave from the camp so he picked up the bubbly Fenrir before exploring the floor. Along the way, Vahn discovered several points of interest where rare nts grew and also doc.u.mented locations where passageways connected into the 50th floor from other parts of the Dungeon. He couldnt find any signs of the artificial dungeon at all so Vahn began to believe his earlier conjecture, that the artificial dungeon didnt go that deep, was correct. Though the 50th floor was a safety area, Vahn still encountered a few lone enemies and allowed Fenrir to have a go at fighting them while he supported her from behind. Most of the monsters this deep were, at the very least, Level 3 so they were good opponents for the rambunctious wolf girl. This was, of course, until Fenrir actually managed to get her ws on the creatures which almost immediately spelled their doom. A lot of the monsters this deep were either humanoid in structure, or rtively slow and c.u.mbersome. Since Fenrir was adept at fighting humanoids, and could easily cut through even Adamantine with her ws, many of her fights became one-sided after she gained an advantage. Out of curiosity, Vahn had decided to check her growth since she had fought a fair amount of monsters on the expedition, many around her own level... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: [Fenrir] Level:3 POW: I0->G213 END: I0->H174 DEX: I0->G240 AGI: I0->G255 MAG: I0->I90 Skills: [Insatiable Hunger:Innate(-)], [Lunar Cry:B], [Freezing Roar:A], [Chainbreaker:C], [Devour:SS], [Huntress:S], [Endeavor:H->G] Magic: - Development Abilities: [Chain Attack:I->G] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It had been less than two weeks since Fenrir hadst increased her level so she was making steady progress even though her parameters hadnt increased that much. At this rate, Vahn was confident she would be able to reach Level 5 by the start of original events. Though Vahn had no illusions that things would continue in the same vein as the original story, he knew there were likely certain things that were bound to happen simply based on the timing of things. His enemies had likely been nning things far longer than the amount of time he had existed within the record so Vahn expected their ns to move forward in a simr time span. After all, if they could simply speed things up at their discretion, there was nothing that would have stopped them from already doing it. Since they hadnt shown up to interfere with the expedition yet, Vahn had been thinking about reasons why they wouldnt take action and this was the logical conclusion he came to. Though he harbored no hopes that this was guaranteed to happen, Vahn felt like his own window of opportunity to grow stronger had been expanded somewhat. The biggest justification he found for his inference was the fact that, even during the Divination, things didnt seem to pick up until after the death of Ryuu, which hadnt been for nearly two years, at least within the Dungeon. Since his own understanding of the source material wascking, Vahn didnt know how to deal with future events, many of which might require Bells presence to instigate. Vahn remembered that Bell was actually the one that managed to make contact with the Xenos, even in the Divination, so, unless Vahn nned to venture into the artificial dungeon or track them down, there wasnt much else he could do. As a result of this conjecture, Vahn nned to increase his own strength to the point where it wouldnt matter what his enemies threw at him. He was confident the orb would awaken within a few months and, once he managed to learn magic from Eva, Vahn was certain there would be few enemies that could actually oppose him. Though he didnt know the specifics yet, Vahn knew that Eva was functionally immortal and it was through her [Magia Erebia] that she had obtained that status. When Vahn learned the skill from her, it wouldnt matter how powerful his enemies were as Vahn could simply oust them in an extended engagement. This was the reason why, even though he wanted to develop his other parameters, Vahn had been primarily focusing on his Magic stat even more... -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 15 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:3(3) -Power: 1906+(G207)->(F308) -Endurance: 2221+(F338)->(C694) -Dexterity: 1807+(F346)->(D540) -Agility: 1959+(G228)->(F387) -Magic: 3562+(SSS1639)->(SSS1989) Total:11455+(2838)->(3918) Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) [Karma]: 8,213->9014 [OP]: 312,396->4,848,758(A/N: Vahn making those girls work hard...) [Valis]: 419,583,990->643,884,901 Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:E], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth: B],[Bow Mastery:S], [Stealth:B], [Chainbreaker:S], [Heart of the Eternal me:SS], [Prometheus:A], [Call of the Reaper:A],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Featherfoot:B], [Hands of Nirvana:S], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:B], [Friend of Spirits:A] Magic: [Thria*Mimos:C], [Shundo:B] Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:S], [Spirit Healing:A], [Swordsman:A], [Master Smith:H], [Mixing:C], [Mentor:A], [Petting:E], [Mage:C](new) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Balor is a bondage queen...,Everything the light touches...,Magic Boi, Vahn Mason...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 464 - Adventurers

Chapter 464 - Adventurers

During the evening, Vahn was invited into the main tent where all of the decision makers within the expedition were gathered. Since he was not only considered a member of the main party, but also the Captain of the Hestia Familia, it was unquestionable that Vahn should be present. Apanying him was Haruhime, as she was actually being groomed to be one of the future Commanders of the Familia, while the representatives from the Hephaestus Familia were also present. Thus, Vahn sat around a table, provided by him, as they started to discuss what actions they would be taking in the future. Finn sipped on the expensive tea Vahn had set out on the table before breathing a rxed sigh and saying, "Things have been going exceptionally well thus far...I believe everyone present is aware of the contributions Vahn, and the Hestia Familia, have made during this expedition. I would like to personally thank you for your efforts, Vahn, as Ive never experienced such a smooth journey to the 50th floor in the past." Vahn had been sitting next to Gareth as they made small talk so he raised his ss of [Dwarven Drought] to ept Finns gratitude. Seeing Vahn and Gareth in high spirits, Finns smile twitched slightly since there was no way either of them would listen to him if he told them to stop drinking. He knew from past experience that Vahn was immune to the effects of liquor and Gareth, being a pure-blooded Dwarf, also had a seemingly bottomless tolerance. After deciding to ignore the matter, Finn looked around at those gathered and said, "Henceforth, well have to be selective in the actions we take while also ensuring that the defenses of the expedition can be maintained. As there are new faces present, I will discuss how previous expeditions have gone and then we will make our decisions as a group afterward..." When Finn began detailing the experiences of previous expeditions, Vahn had given the Pallum his full attention and also took special note of key subjects. ording to Finn, it was nigh impossible for the expedition itself to actually proceed beyond the 50th floor because it was simply too dangerous. The main party would be able to defend themselves against the rtively small hordes of monsters, but there was no way for them to deal with the thousands that would spawn as a result of the expedition trying to breach the deeper floors. ck Rhinos, the mostmon monster beyond the 50th floor, could easily be Level 4 in strength while some of their variants reached Level 5. As the average strength of the expedition members was only Level 3, it was ill-advised to proceed as arger group. The way they typically handled matters was to set up a strong defensive line within the 50th floor and then send smaller parties into different parts of the Dungeon. Since the spawn rate was based on proximity, things were much more manageable in smaller groups. The main party itself would proceed into the deeper floors in order to finish some of the missions they had epted before returning to the 50th floor every day and depositing their earnings. Once they hadpleted their missions, they would then rally their strongest forces and make a push into the deeper floors in the hopes of breaking the previous clear record. Currently, the record belonged to the Zeus and Hera Familias, which had been able to prate into the 59th floor before they were forced to turn back since the harsh climate was too much for them to push through. ording to their records, the 59th floor was a frozen wastnd where the temperatures could easily drop below -60 degrees. Since the floor itself had never been mapped, and visibility was terrible, there was no way of knowing exactly how far you would have to travel under such harsh conditions before reaching the next floor. Since it was the trend that most floors carried the same theme for several levels, you might find yourself having to cover several thousand kilometers of a frozen hell before you finally broke through. As for the Loki Familias own record, they have been able to clear up to the 54th floor before having to turn away as a result of the constant barrage from the Valgang Dragons. Starting from the 52nd floor, the party wouldnt be able to stop for even a few seconds as the dragons breath was so powerful that it could prate through kilometers of bedrock and strike the unwary with a pir of me that could even melt down Adamantine. Without barrier magic, like Riverias [Veil Breath], tanking such a hit could prove fatal for most Adventurers, regardless of their resistances. Just imagining the pir of fire, as described by Finn, prating through more than six floors of Dungeon bedrock, and all the empty space between, made Vahn swallow. It wasnt that he was afraid of the fire, as it would be useless against him, but he was concerned about hispanions. Vahn decided that, once he returned to the surface, he would create essories that would be able to resist such mes to protect the girls in the future. Since Haruhimes essories could already create localized barriers, Vahn knew it should be possible to create more effective barriers that could shield the entire body, just like Riverias [Veil Breath]. Once Finn finished going over the information they had collected from their past experiences, he looked toward Vahn and said, "Vahn, I know it may be a strange request to make, given the circ.u.mstances, but I would like you to look into potential solutions for clearing the deeper floors. Your capabilities are rather unique amongst other Adventurers and you also have the wisdom of a [Master Smith] at your disposal. I will make avable all materials gathered by the expedition for your use if you believe it would be beneficial in clearing the deeper floors." As they had a plethora of supplies remaining, it wouldnt be difficult to stay within the 50th floor for more than a month. Finn was optimistic Vahn would be the key that would allow the Loki Familia to gain the glory of setting a new record. Contrary to Finns initial expectations, Vahn nodded his head without any argument whatsoever as he said, "Sure, Im very interested in what exists beyond the 59th floor. However, you need to remember that our enemies likely exist in that area as well so well need to take precautions against them if we want to break beyond that point. I would suggest trying to create a more permanant settlement within the 50th floor and consolidating supplies over a long period of time before we actually try to move forward. However, that will also allow our enemies ample time to react to our actions so it may be necessary for us to take a step back and increase our individual strength before we progress further..." Vahn knew that the Enyo must have a way to see what is going on in the Dungeon so there was little hope they would simply ignore the efforts to make a permanant settlement. However, Vahn was tempted to try anyways since they would potentially be able to draw out Enyos forces and then they would be able to deal with them. Regardless of how many resources were avable to them, Vahn knew they couldnt have an infinite amount and he was confident in winning a war of attrition. Since he could gain OP from the monsters they would send at him, Vahn could constantly replenish their own supplies. Defensive fights were always much easier than offensive ones, especially if you were able to break into enemy territory, so it could be a practical method. Finn had aplex expression on his face when he heard Vahn mention setting up a permanant settlement on the 50th floor. With a wry smile on his face, he exined, "We simply dont have the resources to set up a permanant settlement on the 50th floor and, by the time we returned to the surface and came back, any fortifications we established would likely be broken down. Unless we can make the settlement self-sustaining, in a short period of time, there is no way of getting a foothold in the deeper floors. Wed be better off trying to create a small base on the 39th floor, since it is much safer and could serve as a ry station for future expeditions..." At this point, Finn took a deep breath before continuing, "However, we simply dont have the manpower for such a momentous undertaking and there are few people that would want to live inside the Dungeon for long periods of time. The stress alone would wear away at them and it would feel more like a prison after enough time passed. Even from a logistical standpoint, there isnt any practical way to move enough materials to construct fortifications and we cant simply quarry stone from the Dungeon as it would be subject to changing shape over time. There is a very real possibility that monsters would be able to spawn within the fortification itself in that case..." As Finn spoke, Vahn was taking note of several details and considered everything the experienced Pallum had to say. However, by the time Finn had finished, Vahn felt slightly annoyed since there were several things that simply didnt make sense. After looking around and seeing that most people were in agreement with Finn, Vahn felt slightly unnerved until he saw that both Riveria and Haruhime seemed unperturbed. As they knew of the existence of Haven, they were aware that it wasnt as impossible as Finn was making it out to be. With renewed confidence, Vahn smiled before asking, "Why are we here?" Finn blinked in a confused manner before cing his fingers on his chin and saying, "Were here to discover the secrets of the Dungeon and toplete the missions we have epted to bolster the reputation of our own Familia and to reach greater heights as individuals..." Vahn was a little surprised by Finns response but nodded his head in agreement before asking, "How deep is the Dungeon?" Hearing his words, Finn paused for a brief moment before saying, "Nobody knows...it has existed longer than the continent of Eden itself and nobody has ever been able to reach the bottom." Vahn nodded his head once again as a firm resolve appeared in his eyes and he said, "We also have a duty to those on the surface to prevent the monsters contained within from ever seeing the light of day. As you said, nobody knows how deep the dungeon goes, nor what monstrosities await us within its depths. We do know, however, that all three of the major threats to mankind had emerged from the Dungeon in the past and had wreaked havoc that resulted in the loss of millions of lives..." Other than the One-Eyed ck Dragon, there were two more S-ss threats that had appeared in the past, known as the Three Great Quests. Thus far, the Behemoth and Leviathan had been defeated by the Zeus and Hero Familias, but the One-Eyed ck Dragon was still atrge. What Vahn was hinting at was the fact that all three monsters shared amon origin within the Dungeon and there were very likely even greater dangers lurking deeper in the depths... A solemn atmosphere began to spread through the tent as the reality of Vahns words settled on each person present. In the same firm tone as before, Vahn continued, "It is necessary for the safety of all those on the surface world for an elite few to probe into the depths of the Dungeon and unlock its secrets. There is simply no way around it since the potential dangers are far too great to overlook...even now, we know of at least one organization that has managed to take up roots within the Dungeon. If we continue to wait around passively as they continue to spread their influence, who are we to me when things reach the point of no return?" Finns expression had turned serious after hearing Vahns words and he said in a somber tone, "What you say has a great deal of truth to it, Vahn...but most people wont be willing to see things that way. Sacrifices may be necessary for progress, but there are few people that want themselves to be included in such statistics. Though we may be called Adventurers, most people that venture into the Dungeon to be stronger simply do so to increase their own quality of life. You would be hard pressed to convince arge number of people to venture into the depths of the Dungeon simply because it is necessary to do so..." Against his expectations, Vahn actually nodded in agreement with Finn as a smile appeared on his face. He knew Finns words struck at the truth of the matter and, as he imed, few people would be willing to make such sacrifices unless the incentive waspelling enough. This was one of the reasons why he said they needed to take a step back earlier since it wasnt really practical to nt their own roots any time soon. As Finn suggested, it would be better to make a base on the 39th floor first and then slowly establish a supply line over a long period of time. If they could establish settlements progressively deeper into the Dungeon, and create enough incentive for people to reach them, it wouldnt be impossible to one day reach their goal of progressing deeper into the unknown floors of the Dungeon. The average level of Adventurers might be rtively low for now, but that didnt mean it couldnt be increased over time. Vahn knew that, once his own Academy was founded, there would be an influx of capable Adventurers and mages roaming around the continent. Since the desire to grow stronger would be embedded into each of them, they would likely endeavor to reach depths of the Dungeon that had never before been seen. If they created an organizational hierarchy that supported the development of such individuals, everything else would simply sort itself out with the passage of time. Just like those gathered presently, there would always be those that seek greatness and wanted to carve their names into history by making new discoveries... Vahn spent about two hours exining his own ns to everyone present, including his intent to create the ry point that Finn mentioned on the 39th floor. Though he didnt give too many details, Vahn exined the potential of his storage magic to those gathered and how it wasnt actually as difficult as he mentioned to move mass amounts of supplies. As for the base that would eventually be created on the 50th floor, Vahn wanted it to be the core of the Alliance and to serve as a goal for others to reach in the future. Even by simply propagating the message that you could only be considered a first-rate Adventurer by reaching the 50th floor, there would be innumerable people that would aspire to reach it. By creating supply points in the Dungeon, the confidence of many people would increase greatly and the average level of Adventurers would go up over time. Vahns ns werent trying to make such things a reality in a short period of time, but they were designed to take ce over several years, or even decades. Regardless, it was something that was necessary for the future of all people and Vahn was able to convince those present that it was better to be the ones leading the way for such movements as it would guarantee their own power and authority in the future. Just as Orario was currently the strongest City on the entire continent, Vahns Haven would one day take that title for itself since the only people capable of even reaching it were those that had be strong enough to do so. By the time people were born within the Dungeon, and the City became self-sustaining, they would have a nigh-unstoppable momentum. Once they had a better understanding of the artificial dungeon, and came to apromise with the Xenos, the Dungeon would be a central hub for activity within the entire continent. It would no longer be a ce where a select few had ess to, but a ce where people aspired to see for themselves in order to create their own legacy. Rather than through conquest, Vahn was thinking about unifying people through progress instead. If he could create the strongest organization in the continent, the power base of Orario would also increase as a result and Vahn could influence regtions to make the City a better ce to live for all people. Though they were bound to face opposition from outside forces, they would eventually be forced topromise or else they would be swept up by the momentum of progress. Failure to adapt would likely result in the deaths of many people, and the potential copse of entire nations, but the resultant changes would bring people ever closer to a world where the only difference between people was the amount of effort they put into bing stronger. Vahns own children would be entities that could grow beyond the bounds of the record itself, so he was already starting to think of how the future would be shaped by future generations for the thousands of years that would follow... In summary, Vahn was nning to destroy the world by forging a path that forced people to walk forward or be swept away by the momentum of those that sought a better future for themselves. Of course, he didnt go over these ns with Finn, and the others present, but it was something he had decided for himself and was now proactively seeking. To ensure things would devolve into chaos, as there were bound to be people that used their power to oppress others, Vahn would have to create an organization that possessed the greatest amount of power in the entire world. He wouldnt force anyone to adopt his ideologies, but by making a safe ce for refugees that sought a better life, Vahn knew things would eventually change for the better. If corrupt forces took offense to the future he wanted to create, Vahn wasnt opposed to showing them the error of their ways... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn exists to break records...,Progressive Reform,Echoes of the Emperor...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 465 - Fortification

Chapter 465 - Fortification

As he had no missions of his own toplete presently, Vahn set to work helping the Loki Familia set up the defensive line starting the following morning. They had talked at length about the dangers presented by their enemies but it was ultimately decided that it should be okay as long as people traveled in their designated groups of four. It would simply be too time-consuming to travel inrger groups just to stay safe, as that would actually make it more dangerous since the natural spawn rate of monsters would increase. Thus, while Vahn was helping set up the temporary fortifications, Tiona, Tione, Ais, and Lefiya had formed into a group as they made their way into the 51st floor. Vahn had given them the rallying whistle, which would be able to reach the members of the Loki Familia, while also giving Lefiya a [Heros Reprieve] since she was the person in the most danger. She fl.u.s.tered about for a while but eventually epted it under the sparkling eyes and pressure of the other three girls... The Loki Familia traditionally set up temporary wooden posts around the camp that angled outward like spears. Since they were already on an elevated teau, it was simply intended to keep any stray monsters from roaming in while the entrances and exits were constantly guarded. Vahn ented this by taking therge stones he had stored away in his inventory and shaping them intorge bricks that provide a more permanant solution than simple wooden posts. One of the things he had discovered about the stones in the Dungeon was that they were made of a single material which actually made them much easier to shape. By controlling the elemental energies inside the bedrock, Vahn could image out shapes and then separate them from therger stone with a bit of effort. (A/N: Think earth bending (UwU)) There were a number of capable artisans within the expedition party itself, so Vahn had a lot of input from others and they quickly began building an actual stone fence around the perimeter that included observation towers and staircases. People in the Danmachi record were all much stronger than normal humans so the workload, while seeminglyrge, was actually easily managed by the seasoned Adventurers. As for how they could acquire the materials to buildrge-scale construction projects, Vahn could have purchased them through the shop but instead decided to do what Finn advised against and quarried it from the Dungeon itself. Vahn believed that Finns concerns were valid, but didnt think that they actually applied to the safety zones on the 18th, 39th, and 50th floors. There had never been a recorded incident of a Juggernaut appearing in the safety areas in the past and Rivira has had several hundred people living in it for decades. Vahn himself had destroyedrge sections of the 18th floor in the past and there were never any signs of it triggering the Dungeons defense systems. Though they were out of range, unless Vahn nned to scale the walls, he assumed the crystals on the ceiling actually served to ward away most monsters while the Dungeon itself, for reasons unknown, protected the sanctity of the safety zones. However, to ease Finns concerns, Vahn exined that he was only using stones that didnt have the mana of the Dungeon running through them. Just like therge boulders he had acquired from the 49th floor, Vahn simply made use of the rocky outcrops that were interspaced throughout the forests below. Finn had reluctantly agreed to Vahns conjecture but also had the expedition remain on alert for nearly the entirety of the first day when they were building the structures. Vahn had constantly been sweeping over them with his [Eyes of Truth] but, in order to ensure the Dungeon wouldnt reim them in the future, he set down a foundation of materials that had been acquired through the system shop. They hadnt managed to finish everything in one day, but the expedition hadpleted the framework for an octogonal shaped outer wall that had observation towers at each corner. When asked why Vahn had decided on an octagon, he exined that there was power in specific shapes and that an eight-sided structure would be able to support a powerful defensive formation in the future. With Riveria backing up his ims, as she was also quite proficient in the creation of formations, the expedition worked in shifts to ensure that the work was proceeding quickly. As a show of gratitude, Vahn had gotten permission from Finn to add some of his own dishes to the meals and allowed many people to experience their first taste of fried chicken with a rich malt liquor as an apaniment. Vahn was of the mindset that people were far more proactive when their morale was high so he didnt see the purpose of maintaining a gloomy and cautious mentality just because it was expected. As long as the people on guard duty took their jobs seriously, it wasnt necessary for everyone to always be high strung. Though there was the danger of people breaking down after adapting to rtivecency, it wasnt something that needed to be worried about over a short period of time at all. During the evening, the four-girl group of Tiona, Ais, Lefiya, and Tione had returned safely while the vast majority of other groups did the same. There were still some people missing, but it wasnt umon for nned trips to take more time than anticipated as a result of thebyrinthine nature of the Dungeon and its propensity to alter its shape at times. Most of the groups had been made up of a series of Level 4 Adventurers so there was a fair chance they were simplyte, assuming they didnt have the misfortune of encountering a monster party and getting caught off guard by something like a Deformis Spider. Vahn knew that Tsubakis former lover, Jonas, had died after getting caught off guard by one of the creatures and he had been a highly capable Adventurer in his own right. Tiona and Tione seemed especially fond of the fried chicken that had been added to the evening meal and, like many others, ate far more than the usual amount of food they would typically eat. Though it might have been unhealthy in some regards, Vahn knew that the food created through the system shop was very nutritious regardless of the contents contained within. Their bodies might not be able to absorb the source energy contained within, but it would still nourish their cells as it was naturally filtered out of their bodyter on. Only Vahn could enjoy the full effects of the food he purchased from the system, but it was still capable of sustaining others with ease. Eva had likened it to being food filled to the brim with mana, so Vahn was confident it was good for them... For a total of three days, four including the present day, Vahn continued pushing forward the construction of the expeditionary parties temporary base. They even got to the point where they installedmunal baths for both men and women by hollowing out arge section of the teau. Since Vahn didnt want anything to be a blind spot, he even designed the bottoms of the bath to have lines to enhance the formationter on before filling them with water. Setting up the formations to heat up the water wasnt viable in a temporary base like this, but the entire camp was within Vahns domain and he could warm it through infusing fire elemental energy into the water itself. As for ensuring the water was cleaned properly, Vahn drilled a drainage system through the teau itself and they would have to unplug it each day before Vahn, or anyone with a magic item that could produce water, would have to refill it. After ensuring the basic amenities were taken care of, includingtrines located on opposite sides of the encampment, Vahn worked with Rivera as they performed the painstaking ritual of setting up a defensive formation to protect the entire structure. To make their jobs easier, all of the tents were temporarily relocated, with Vahns assistance, before they took powdered magic stoned and drew out arge formation across the entire grounds. Because the structure of the base itself had been designed with formations in mind, Vahn ended up taking care of the moreplex patterns on his own while Riveria dealt with therger formation in the center. To serve as the core, they used some of therger magic cores that had been obtained from defeating the Udaeus and Balor during the previous battles. While Riveria and Vahn were setting up the formations, Finn had the rest of the expedition clear outrge sections of the forest so that they would have even greater visibility from the teau above. With nearly three hundred people working in concert, with the vast majority being Level 3 and higher, the task of clearing the forest was actually much faster than the tedium of setting up the formation. Even Haruhime could easily cut through trees with her sword while Lili could uproot entire trees with a bit of effort. They then arranged all the cut trees in a somewhat awkward circr shape that would act as a make-shift wall to slow the momentum of any monsters. Smart creatures could simply jump over the inconvenient structure, but it was still better than nothing as they currently had no other uses for the lumber. After a surprisingly arduous four hours, Vahn finally finished carving the important runes before linking them all together and activating the formation. Though it couldnt be seen by normal people, Vahn saw a dome take shape starting from the outside of the walls beforeing to a point at the center of the encampment. As for Riverias formation, it reinforced the ground and was what would allow intruders to be detected by those that contained one of the formation keys. It also had the purpose, whenbined with Vahns barrier, of regting the internal temperature of the camp and ensuring the air quality. The air of the Dungeon was typically somewhat stagnantpared to the surface so it was quite literally a breath of fresh air for those that re-entered the encampment. Finn, Riveria, Gareth, and Vahn were selected as key holders and registered everyone in the expedition so they would be allowed ess into the small fortress they had constructed. The barrier wouldnt actually be able to stop a wave of monsters, or almost any of the strong Adventurers present, but it would at least slow them down. If a foreign entity entered the space contained within the barrier, it would almost be like they were moving through a thick liquid and it would give those fighting inside a huge advantage against them. This was one of the reasons Vahn had been able to easily overwhelm Tammuz, the Vice Captain of the Ishtar Familia, in the past. The moment he broke into the territory of the Hestia Familia, his speed and reaction times had been marginally reduced while Vahn suffered no such restrictions. The reaction of the expeditionary party to thepletion of the fortress was one of uncontained jubtion as it was always better to live within the rtive safety of walls than it was to sleep in the rough. Many even jokingly talked about building cabins out of the wood that had been cut down earlier since they would have nearly three weeks of time to simply idle about as they maintained the defensive line protecting the supplies. Of the 308 personnel making up the expedition, with the exclusion of the main and secondary parties of the Loki Familia, only thirty could safely venture into the deeper floors for missions. This meant that, other than some Supporters that took the risk to apany Adventurers, there were 280 people simply protecting the base with nothing but free time. Having small recreational facilities like a bath made this ce feel a lot more like a home than normal and it stirred up a stronger desire to protect the little ce they had created for themselves in the heart of the Dungeon. Finn had noticed this sentiment within the group and it suddenly started to seem like Vahns idea about creating an actual settlement within the Dungeon wasnt as unfounded as he believed. Just like Rivira, there would always be people that sought the peace provided deep within the Dungeon simply because they preferred it over the rtive hustle and bustle of the surface world. In the Dungeon, you didnt have to worry about things like politics and the only thing that typically mattered was your own strength, and the strength of those you associate with. Though it certainly wouldnt be a normal ce, it was easy to see how powerful Adventurers might be drawn to the 50th floor just because it was interesting... As for Vahn, he had noticed the shift in the atmosphere once the base had beenpleted as well. One of the ns he hade up with to make Haven flourish in the future was actually creating the core branch of their organization within the 50th floor while also establishing an advanced branch of the Academy they would create on the surface. It was obviously impractical to teach peopleplex studies in a short period of time so there would always be a need for a higher tiered education system. If people wanted to continue their studies and obtain the more advanced knowledge that would be provided, they would have to graduate by reaching the 50th floor with a party of their own making. The option would only be given to those that had registered for the test, however, so there wouldnt be arge influx of people simply arriving at the 50th floor through things like expeditions in the hope of joining the Haven Academy. There would be exceptions made, of course, but that would be at the discretion of whoever ended up as the Headmaster at the time... Blissfully unaware of what her Master was thinking, Fenrir waszing about in therge basin that was set up in the Hestia Familias tent. Though she originally didnt like baths, primarily as a result of Eva, she had grown to love them as time passed. Being surrounded by the hot water was very pleasant and this water was especially nice because it was filled with her Masters essence. Vahn still made use of the special water they had obtained from the artificial Dungeon and, to keep it warm, he infused his energy into the adaptive molecules that made up its structure. This ensured that the water was almost always warm and, though most people wouldnt be able to sense it, Fenrir was able to feel her Masters presence wrapping up her entire body as a result. She hadnt had much to dotely, since her Master had been busy working, so Fenrir spent most of her timezing about in therge basin blowing bubbles in the water... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fried Chicken Supremacy,Little Slice of Haven,Happy pupper...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 466 - Refinement

Chapter 466 - Refinement

After shoring up the defenses of the teau, Vahn suddenly found himself with an excess of time and wasnt fond of the idea of spending the next few days waiting for the expedition to go further into the Dungeon. This was a good opportunity for him to improve his own strength as arge portion of the monsters in the surrounding floors were a higher level than he was. Though he could defeat the majority of them with ease, it was still a good opportunity to gain exilia and he could also help the girls increase their own strength if they coordinate together well. Vahn knew it was dangerous to venture out, especially with potential enemies lurking in the dark, but that was also the primary reason why venturing out at such times was important. The mentality of a person is often what resulted in the greatest amount of exilia gain so, as long as they were concerned their enemies may ambush them, they would experience greater pressure and, as a result, greater growth in their parameters. Just as the [Seal of the Challenger] didnt actually increase the amount of danger he was in duringbat, it only increased the potential damage he would take if he got hit. However, it was the pressure a person experienced knowing that, if they got hit, they would likely die, which allowed them to maximize the efficacy of the cor. Vahn had also been wanting to improve his actualbat abilities for a while now, so this was a good opportunity to break through his previous limits. Hearing Vahns reasoning, Finn was tapping his finger against the desk that had, of course, been given to him by Vahn when they were furnishing the Command Tent. Loki had given him express orders to allow Vahn to act as he pleased, but she also said he needed to guarantee Vahns safety since it would be extremely detrimental to the Alliance if he actually died. Finn knew Vahn was highly capable, but he could also imagine any number of things going wrong, especially since Vahn wanted to venture into the 51st floor with girls that were only Level 2 and 3. Since Vahn wanted to make use of his [Mentor] skill to help the girls get stronger, it meant they couldnt actually have support from other people as the skill wouldnt take effect. Even following them secretly would be nigh impossible because Vahn would be able to detect their presence within 2km through the luminance of the Mentors Mark... Seeing the conflicted expression on Finns face, Vahn simply smiled in a casual manner as he sent a signal for his faithfulpanion toe to his side. Without any significant dy, Fenrir came bursting into the tent with the same characteristic eagerness she often had around Vahn. Finn was surprised by the sudden intrusion but kept to himself as he watched the monster girl run to Vahn before hugging his body with her deadly ws. Even as a Level 6, Fenrir would often make Finn feel slightly unnerved at times because she often directed her hostility toward him when Vahn was upset. Though she wouldnt be able to actually harm him in a direct engagement, just knowing that her ws could tear through his weapons and armor with ease was enough to make anyone sweat a little. Before Finn had an aneurysm, Vahn exined, "I have items that would easily allow me to escape from the Dungeon in an instant, and I can also have Fenrir enter her core state if things became harrowing. I dont mean to sound overconfident, but there are few monsters that would actually be able to pose a threat to me, regardless of how strong they are. I cant exin to you the reasons, but Riveria should back me up if youre that concerned..." Though he knew she wasnt fond of it, Fenrir still nodded her head in understanding as Vahn turned her into her core state. In less than a second, her body had dissolved before turning into a midnight blue magic core that had a resplendent rainbow in its core. Seeing this, Finns brows arched and he said, "So she really is simr to the dragon you summoned in the past...that is quite the ability you have there, Vahn." Since Fenrirs clothes had dropped to the ground during her transformation, Vahn set up a curtain before resummoning her. Unlike Fafnir, it didnt take a great deal of source energy topletely reform her body so it wouldnt be difficult to secure her in an emergency situation. Even if she suffered a severe blow, Vahn could quickly return her to the core before reforming her bodypletely anew. The only downside was that her clothes werent part of her form so it was somewhat awkward if he wanted to make use of the conversion during actualbat. Vahn spected he could create some soulbound equipment for her, which should also carry with her into the core, but he hadnt been able to make time for it just yet. After she took shape once again, Fenrir grimaced slightly as a shiver passed through her body, almost like she was trying to discharge water. She stared up at Vahn with slightly glowing eyes and said, "Fenrir doesnt like going into the dark ce...unpleasant..." Vahn stroked her hair to appease her for a short while before telling her to wear her clothing since Finn looked like he was going to grind through his temples with how hard he was rubbing them. After she was properly dressed, Vahn continued his efforts to convince Finn before he inevitably consulted Riveria and Gareth on the matter. As expected, Riveria backed up Vahns ims and, as a result of her rtivelycent attitude, Gareth also agreed that it should be okay. Vahn had the highest perception in the entire expedition and could even avoid Monster Parties which meant the only danger would be if an actual enemy showed up. However, Vahns speed with [Shundo] was unmatched and there wouldnt be any enemies that could sneak up on them before Vahn would be able to retreat to safety. Though this might not be the case in an open area, as some Level 5 and 6 could easily close the 500m distance from the periphery of Vahns domain, it was almost certain they would never encounter such a situation in theplex corridors of the Dungeon. Since the other two Chief Executives supported Vahns decision, along with the actual goddess of their Familia, Finn had no ground to stand on and reluctantly agreed to allow Vahn to explore on his own. He did, however, encourage Vahn to travel with one of the executives of the Loki Familia whenever possible since it would be much safer. Having Tiona, Tione, or Ais guarding him would almost ensure things went smoothly as they were all capable of dealing with the majority of opponents that might ambush Vahns small party. With his own control and support abilities, they would likely even be able to defeat the enemy, much like he had defeated the Balor with Ais. Vahn agreed that, if they nned to venture far into the Dungeon floors below, he would take along one of the girls as protection. However, as Vahn didnt actually n to venture far from the corridors connecting to the 50th floor, it shouldnt be necessary to take such precautions. Though Finn was somewhat worried about the danger they might face, it was nothingpared to Vahns own caution regarding the matter. Finn might be inconvenienced by the loss of one of the Hestia Familia members, but Vahn himself would be devastated by his failure to protect them. He couldnt avoid putting them at risk, as it was required for them to be stronger, but Vahn wouldnt tolerate actually exposing them to mortal peril. The wouldnt have to venture far into the 51st floor to fight strong enemies, so there was no reason for Vahn explore too deeply at all. With Finns blessing, Vahn had about a week of time where he couldpletely devote himself to training his own parameters while promoting the growth of the girls. When they learned of the situation, everyone was excited by the idea and Vahn ended up having apletely filled schedule where he would enter the Dungeon several times a day while escorting different pairings. As he only had two of the [Heros Reprieve] unique items, at least when Lefiya was safely in the encampment, Vahn always had to take Fenrir along with him when he went into the Dungeon. There was also the fact that Fenrir was only truly manageable by Vahn himself and it was safer for everyone if she apanied him. Many people in the expedition had already developed a soft spot for the adorable wolf girl, but those with developed instincts were still very wary of her. Most of the Beast-Humans within the expedition were somewhat unnerved by her presence but they fortunately only made up a small percentage of the entire group... After drawing straws, the winner of the smallpetition ended up being Haruhime, who suffered the res of the other girls with a restrained and elegantughter. Vahn couldnt help but feel it was a little unfair that she was the first to apany him but she had won the game they had all agreed upon so there wasnt much he could do about it. Since she had the potential of being one of the most powerful people in the entire Familia, Vahn couldnt lie by saying he wasnt interested to see the direction her growth would take. One of the things he regretted the most about the Divination was not taking the time to check the status of other people since it would have given him a better idea of their capabilities. He might not have been able to remember all of the details, but just knowing a little would have been a powerful asset to spur their growth. Before they departed, Vahn confirmed the status of Haruhime and Fenrir to make sure he had a proper baseline to track their growth. As she hadnt been doing anything but ying around the past few days, Fenrirs parameters hadnt changed at all. Haruhimes, however, had increased a fair amount since she was one of the few low-leveled people that could still deal with powerful monsters. Other than those that had resistances to magic, most monsters were incredibly susceptible to magic spells and Haruhime was even able to one-shot Level 4s and 5s if she got a direct hit on their magic core. Since they would often clump up in massive numbers, Haruhime was able to spam her [Icicle Edge] into the crowd and .u.mte a fair amount of exilia for her efforts, though it primarily only benefitted he Magic parameter. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Sanjouno Haruhime Race: Renard LV. 2 POW: 440+(I43)->(H183) END: 648+(I77)->(G232) DEX: 698+(I80)->(G250) AGI: 1053+(H153)->(F348) MAG: 1548+(G218)->(B767) Skill: [Inari:Innate(E)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Heroic Strike:F],[Featherfoot:B->A] Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B],[Kokonoe:C],[Icicle Edge:D->B] Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:B->A], [Hunter:I->H], [Mage(sealed)] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though she was only Level 2, Haruhimes Magic was now easilyparable to a Level 3 Mage that had specialized in maximizing their Magic parameter. Generally, as 999 was the maximum for most people, a Level 3 Mage would have precisely 1,998 Magic when they reached Level 3. Haruhime, however, was already at 2,315 even though she still had a ways to go before she reached the threshold to increase her level. Only the residents of the Hearth Manor were aware of this since, if it were public knowledge, Haruhime would be touted as a monstrous genius that would be targetted by many magic fanatics that would want to know her secret. She wasnt particrly interested in fame either, so it was unlikely she would be famous before obtaining a few achievements and earning her alias. Right now, Haruhime was one of the few girls that didnt yet have an alias so Vahn wanted to help her reach Level 3 before the next Denatus. Since she was registered as a Level 1 with the Guild previously, her growth would cause quite the stir and it would help to guarantee she didnt get a strange alias as Lili had. Fortunately, the small Pallum had been able to bolster her own reputation on this expedition and she would likely receive a better alias at the next Denatus. Vahn was somewhat annoyed that they hadnt taken into consideration that she was technically still a child yet had grown a great deal in a rtively short period of time. He wanted the entire City to recognize her efforts in the future so she would have greater confidence in herself... --- After making adequate preparations, Vahn put his Mentors Mark on the two girls before leading the way through one of the corridors he had discovered in his earlier exploration. This would be the first time they ever ventured beyond the 50th floor so Vahn and Haruhime were both tense and excited. Fenrirs hair was standing on end a bit, but she was otherwise unaffected by the atmosphere and simply smelled around the corridor as they made their way down the 400m long staircase and into the 51st floor. Though he had heard about it, Vahn was surprised by theyout of the 51st floor when they finally crossed the threshold of the stairwell and entered the floor proper. Unlike any of the previous floors, the 51st was a series of corridors that all looked to be carved out of the bedrock of the Dungeon with tools. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all rtively t and the connecting points between them were 90-degree angles with a surprising degree of precision. It was a somewhat eerie sight to behold because there were visible corridors, which also turned sharply, where grass grew at the exact same height and density throughout. It was like the entire floor had been carefully shaped by humans hands and everything looked prim, neat, and organized. The biggest difference between this floor and the previous ones, however, was the fact that the ceiling was only around 8m in height, aspared to the several tens, or even hundreds, of meters of the previous floors. This meant mobility would be highly constrictedpared to the upper floors but also meant they would be able to take advantage of the terrain to channel enemies into an area. Vahn, however, had a different thought that crossed his mind and the image of the earth mage once again reappeared from his memories. This type of terrain was almost identical to the tunnels that had been formed under the streets surrounding the Hearth Manor so Vahn immediately entered a state of increased alertness as he scanned the walls with his [Eyes of Truth] and sent out pulses through his domain. Fortunately, though they were simr, Vahn could tell the Dungeon corridors were distinctly different than the escape tunnels he had previously been entrapped by. These walls had the mana of the Dungeon flowing through them and Vahn could even detect small masses of energy building in the walls that would likely result in monsters spawning once they got near. After confirming things with his senses, Vahn nodded his head before turning to the two fluffy-eared girls and saying, "From here on, we need to work together to ovee the enemies that appear. It wont be like the upper floors, where I can easily watch over you and protect you, so stay sharp and try to hone your skills to the best of your abilities. Im also going to be imposing some strict regtions on myself in order to increase the efficacy of my own training, so pay close attention to your surroundings and positioning..." Both Fenrir and Haruhime both affirmed Vahns words in their characteristic manners, Fenrir giving a loud affirmation while Haruhime nodded while bowing slightly, before they formed a triangr formation and progressed further into the floor. Since she was very receptive of the information received through her connection with Vahn, Fenrir had already started to pay attention to the areas where Vahn expected enemies to appear. The moment the Dungeon walls began to crack, Fenrirs hair stood on end and she burst forward with a surprising momentum and nted her ws into the face of the ck Rhino before it was able to free itself from the wall. Since they were Level 4 monsters, the fact that Fenrir had one-shot them so easily would make most people stunned. Vahn and Haruhime, however, werepletely aware of her capabilities and began to engage their own enemies without showing any major reactions. The Dungeon had spawned a total of nine ck Rhinos to impede them and Vahn charged toward thergest grouping of them in his Xunw form. Instead of outmaneuvering them using [Shundo], Vahn wanted to push himself beyond his previous limits and hone his actualbat abilities. ck Rhinos were humanoid monsters that stood around 220cm tall, so they were ideal opponents to practice martial arts and refine his fighting capabilities further. To make matters even more perilous, Vahn was wearing the [Seal of the Challenger] around his neck with one golden link dangling from it. The nearest ck Rhinos tried to lunge forward and impale Vahn with its powerful horn but Vahn squared up his feet in a firm stance before punching forward in what would be considered inspiring form if he were back on Earth. However, it was the result of his punch that would have filled people with awe as, instead of being forced back by the creature that weighed more than a tonne, it was brought to aplete halt as Vahns fist struck against its horn. Almost as if time had slowed down, a wave of energy rippled through the ck Rhinos before it began to bleed from all of its orifices and copsed to the ground. Momentster, it turned into a pile of purple dust because Vahns attack had ruptured the majority of its organs while also liquifying its brain. The only thing that remained to show that it had ever existed was a medium sized monster core and a rtivelyrge ck Rhinos Horn, which was amon drop item from them. Without showing any signs of satisfaction, Vahn maintained a firm expression on his face as he traced his foot around in aplex pattern and evaded each attack from the monsters as a near-zero distance. His old fighting style, before he learned how to use [Shundo], often made use of the opponents movements to exploit the gaps in their attacks. Vahn knew he had been too over-reliant on his mobility in the past few months and wanted to sharpen up his fundamentals while he had the opportunity. He had been suffering at the hands of Tiona, Tione, and Tsubaki a lot during their morning training so he had a strong desire to refine his actual hand-to-hand fighting skills further. Whenever arge gap would appear in the movements of the ck Rhinos, Vahn would strike forward and add to their momentum before knocking them far away. He wasnt in a hurry to finish them off, as he was still divesting a bit of his attention to Haruhime and Fenrir, so he only killed them when they tried to overwhelm him with their own momentum. The type ofbat style Vahn wanted to develop was based on countering with his Xunw form, so directly opposing powerful monsters was the best way to refine his skills. With the added danger of suffering severe injuries if he failed, Vahns senses were pushed to the extreme every time he struck forward with his seemingly indomitable fist. By the time he had finished off the four ck Rhinos he had been fighting, Haruhime and Fenrir had long finished off the others. Though their charging speed was much faster than her maximum speed, Fenrir was far more agile than the ck Rhinos and could make use of the difference in their size to exploit the openings in their attacks. Her ws easily passed through the tendons and ligaments of one of her opponents when she dashed through its legs and she managed to mount the back of a second one and bite into the back of its skull before it could use its human-like hands to pull her off. As for Haruhime, even though she was only Level 2, her Innate ability seemed like a natural counter to monsters that mindlessly charged at their enemies. She had even been able to goad one into smashing its head into the wall long after she had already moved from her previous location. The illusions created by her movements couldnt be seen through by such simple-minded creatures so she was actually the first toplete her battle, though Fenrir had technically killed one more enemy than her in a simr amount of time. As they had both finished before Vahn, the two girls watched him fight with slightly sparkling eyes and it was their gazes that made Vahn want to show off a bit. When he was fighting the final ck Rhinos, Vahn had adopted a casual stance without putting up his guard at all. The ck Rhinos charged toward him with a fierce momentum as Vahn reached outzily with his hand andpletely broke its charge with a seemingly simple palm. If not for the green runes glowing on his forearms, it would have appeared as though he had easily overwhelmed the monsters momentum without much effort. Only Vahn knew that it felt like his muscles had nearly exploded as a result of his showboating and that his final attack to the ck Rhinos had actually been him venting his own pain and frustrations... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A Rational Desire for Strength,Magical Girl Haruhime-chan,Be still my right arm...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 467 - Vanish

Chapter 467 - Vanish

Although ck Rhinos had incredible power and endurance, they were much easier to deal with than Vahn had expected. Even though the two girls had much lower stats than the monsters, their skills, abilities, and general capabilities, made them more than a match for the much stronger enemies. Fenrirs agility,bined with her unstoppable ws and teeth, easily overwhelmed the supposedly durable ck Rhinos, almost as if their hide was nothing but paper mache. As for Haruhime, her [Inari] almost made her untouchable and she gingerly evaded the enemy attacks at the near-zero distance, just like Vahn. Her [Featherfoot] was actually a higher rank than his own and her ability to read the tempo of a fight made Haruhime a deadly opponent. Vahn could tell that, once she became stronger in the future, there would be few people that could actually pose a threat to her...and this was when she just had two tails. As they progressed deeper into the floor, though not too deep, the trio became increasingly more efficient at dealing with the seemingly endless ck Rhinos that spawned from the floor, walls, and even ceiling. Vahn knew they made up the majority of monsters that spawned on the 51st floor, with the only exceptions being the Cadmus, Deformis Spiders, and any monsters that might have wandered in from other floors. Vahn personally wanted to hunt down a few Deformis Spiders since, even though he had never seen them before, he had a bit of a grudge to settle with the ambush predators. After defeating the current batch of ck Rhinos, Vahn turned his attention to Haruhime and Fenrir before feeling his body tilt slightly as he saw Fenrir sitting on the back of an incapacitated ck Rhinos as she munched on its arm. Seeing that Vahn had finished his fight, Fenrir showed a big grin as she continued to chomp away at the rtively hard body of the monster. Vahn knew she didnt really care about the taste of things, though she seemed to be mimicking the other girls by having a preference for sweets, so he was almost immune to her antics. He had just gotten caught off guard since it had been a while between thest time he saw her eating monsters. The only reason she would do so these days was that she was getting tired to Vahn walked forward and began cleaning off her body while also channeling his own energy into her. The moment Vahn began replenishing her energy, Fenrir dropped the limb she had been holding onto as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the warm flow of energy. Haruhimes tails twitched slightly but she didnt say anything as she kept watching their interaction from the side. However, though she was acting properly, Haruhime couldnt do much about her flickering and vibrant aura so Vahn waved her over and gave her some head pats to appease her. She walked forward with a small smile on her face before bowing her head slightly to make her ears more readily avable. Vahn might have been fooled, if not for the fact he could see her aura zing as her tails danced about in a mesmerizing arc behind her body. Though she was much better at controlling it these days, Haruhime couldntpletely restrain her abilities and Vahns actions would typically be the reason. Haruhime was one of the more sensitive girls within the group as she ced a lot of her attention on developing her feelings for Vahn. As Hephaestus had often done in the past, Haruhime often fell into a daze as she enjoyed the ambient heat that radiated from her own heart. The activation for her [Inari] was her own emotions so Haruhime had allowed them to develop freely while only putting in an effort to restrain herself in order to maintain the image Vahn had of her. Though she wasnt one of the girls he had known the longest, Haruhimes Love Parameter was currently at 11,719 and she had the highest parameter of any girl, with the exception of goddesses. Vahn did his best to ignore the almost viscous red tendrils that wrapped around his arm until he hadpletely cleaned off Fenrir. He knew Haruhime became much stronger when her emotional state was heightened so he wasnt too worried about her behavior. Though he wouldnt tell this to her directly, at least for the time being, Vahn had actually been thinking a lot about when their first time would be. He still wanted her to wait until she reached Level 3, as he wasnt fond of breaking his word on things, but he also knew she was well above the base capabilities of most Level 3s. Though she hadnt managed to win yet, Haruhime had even been able to pressure girls like Aki and Ryuu before they inevitably won as a result of the difference in skill, parameters, and experience. After walking through the same tunnels a few times, which was possible as a result of thebyrinthine qualities of the floor, Vahn noticed a flood of mana that had begun to converge in the corridor they were about to enter. Sending a signal to the two girls, they immediately came to a halt as Fenrir muttered, "Lots of baddies..." and her hair began to stand on end. Haruhime unsheathed her [Sakura Blossom] without any signs of fear at all as she waited for Vahn to make a decision. Thergest group of ck Rhinos they had killed so far only had thirteen monsters, which hadnt been enough to pressure them, but Vahn wasnt sure theyd be able to take care of arger mob. Even though their group only consisted of three people currently, Vahn knew the Monster Party could easily spawn more than a hundred monsters per person... Though he knew it wasnt the wisest course of action, Vahns expression hardened into one filled with resolve as he said, "Were going to fight them...Ill take care of the vanguard while Fenrir will deal with anything that gets beyond my range. Haruhime, this is a good opportunity for you to improve your magic parameter so boost our levels before providing covering fire from the rear. If I start to get overwhelmed, both of you need to back away as quickly as possible before I use [Shundo] to catch up. Dont delude yourself into thinking you would be able to extricate me from a dangerous situation with your current capabilities. I will be able to escape easily as long as the two of you are safe..." Without questioning Vahns orders, Haruhime began chanting her [Uchide no Kozuchi] as Fenrir crouched low to the ground and began to breathe heavily. She was letting her own anger and frustration increase since it would directly influence herbat abilities in theing battle. Once things began, she would activate her [Blood Moon] ability and likely go on a rampage on anything that managed to break through Vahns defensive line. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that her parameters could easily double if she managed to develop the moon on her forehead into a scarlet state that matched the color of her glowing eyes. Though it wasnt normally reflected in the system, Vahn knew how much of an increase Haruhimes buff gave him so he was able to infer his approximate strength with rtive uracy. Her [Uchide no Kozuchi] was a 30% increase to all of his parameters for up to an hour which meant that his stats had increased to more than 20,000 total, which gave him an equivalent status nearing Level 6, though the majority of it was in his Magic. Even his lowest parameter, ironically his Power, was currently at around 3,017, which was only around 800 points lower than a physical specialist like Tiona. (A/N: I didnt originally n to add this, but I expect people would want to know...) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 15 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:3(3) -Power: 1906+(F308)->(E415) Boosted: 3,017 -Endurance: 2221+(C694)->(B733) Boosted: 3,840 -Dexterity: 1807+(D540)->D597) Boosted: 3,125 -Agility: 1959+(F387)->(E460) Boosted: 3,144 -Magic: 3562+(SSS1989)->(SSS2019) Boosted: 7,255 (A/N: Ai caramba!) Total:11455+(3918)->(4224) Boosted: 20,383 Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) [Karma]: 9014->9023 [OP]: 4,848,758->4,693,728 [Valis]: 643,884,901 Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:E], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth: B],[Bow Mastery:S], [Stealth:B], [Chainbreaker:S], [Heart of the Eternal me:SS], [Prometheus:A], [Call of the Reaper:A],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Featherfoot:B], [Hands of Nirvana:S], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:B], [Friend of Spirits:A] Magic: [Thria*Mimos:C], [Shundo:B] Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:S], [Spirit Healing:A], [Swordsman:A], [Master Smith:H], [Mixing:C], [Mentor:A], [Petting:E], [Mage:C] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Under the influence of Haruhimes magic, Vahn could feel his own confidence welling up in conjunction with the increase in his power so he pulled out his [L?vateinn] and said, "Lets go, Fenrir, Haruhime!" before willingly stepping into the Dungeons trap. Soon after he advanced forward, cracks began to emerge from every surface of the Dungeon so Vahn brandished his [L?vateinn] and sent out a wave of mes the spread in front of him, epassing the entirety of the corridor. He had already changed into moderately fire-proof equipment so Vahn stepped forward like a fearless god of war directly into the encroaching mes. [L?vateinn]s firepower wasnt enough to overwhelm the defenses of the ck Rhinos, but it was still enough to cause them to writhe about in an attempt to extinguish the blood-colored fire. Vahn began sweeping the evil-looking de inrge arcs that left the bodies of several monsters split into pieces as their limbs danced around to mark his passing. Though Ais would still win in a duel, Vahns current parameters outstripped hers by nearly 3,500 points so he was like an unstoppable force within the crowd of Level 4 monsters. He could feel his blood pumping like molten iron through his body as he easily evaded the enraged attacks of the ck Rhinos and awarded their efforts with a red-hot sword that cut through their bodies as if they were nothing more than an illusion. Not only the sword, but Vahns own body had be an orangish-red like super-heated metal and even his punches were enough to leave fiery craters in the bodies of the unfortunate creatures. Haruhime watched Vahns image from the backline with wide eyes that reflected Vahns heroic figure dancing within the mes. She wanted nothing more than to join his dance of death and didnt even care if the mes would devour her as a result. The only thing that prevented her from moving forward was Vahns previous words and the value she ced in each precious syble. Just like Fenrir, who was charging at the few monsters that managed to free themselves from the mes, the only thing she could do was obediently follow Vahns orders. After bringing both of her hands together, almost as if she were praying, Haruhime muttered, "Piercing Chill, Icicle Edge~!" as tworge spears of ice formed in the air around her. Once they reached around 2m in length, they shot forward faster than the speed of sound as Haruhime chained together her chants. As soon as the spears of ice were preparing to shoot forward, she had alreadypleted her chant once again which resulted in two more icy projectiles to take the ce of the ones that had just pierced through her targets... The visage of the moon affixed to Fenrirs forehead continued to grow in intensity as she swiped her ws with enough force that she managed to decapitate her most recent victim. Though her range was seeminglycking, as her ws were rather short, Fenrirs attacks were so swift that the carried severingws that greatly extended the apparent range of her attacks. Even when she grazed her ws near the stomach of one of the ck Rhinos, without actually making contact with it, four 15cm deep gashes appeared across its abdomen that caused its steaming bowels to pour out onto the Dungeon floor as it writhed in pain. Each victim that fell to her ws made Fenrirs own excitement increase, but it was the image of her Master cutting through dozens of enemies at a time that caused her emotions to reach a critical level. In Fenrirs mind, her Master was at the level of a supreme being and she looked forward to the eternity they would share together as each progressively grew stronger... Vahn wasnt sure when it happened, but it felt like his own excitement had reached an extreme before his [Will of the Emperor]pletely dashed it away with its icy chill. In an instant, the crazed smile on his face faded and was reced by an expression of absolute confidence. He had instinctually converged his domain to the point where it became a visible substance that created so much pressure on the ck Rhinos that each of their actions seems to slow to a crawl. Even the mes that danced around their battlefield seemed tozily dance about in the ebb and flow of time. Each of his movements carried an unstoppable momentum and it was almost like he could feel the fear of the seemingly mindless creatures. Their red eyes, which once seemed fierce and full of madness, now flickered with the light of terror as they began to hesitate to take action against him. As ifpelled by an unknown force, Vahn turned his head and happened to match gazes with both Haruhime and Fenrir. Though he was subtly aware of it in the past, Vahn could now distinctly feel the devotion both girls had toward him and he knew it was feeding into his own power. His parameters didnt change within the system, but Vahn felt like his capabilities had undergone a qualitative change as a gentle voice whispered in his mind, (*Though an Emperor may possess iparable individual might, it is only through the devotion of their followers that they are able to obtain true power...*). After Siss voice passed through his mind, Vahns intent was drawn to the description of [Will of the Emperor] for the first time in several months... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Will of the Emperor] Rank: Innate (SSS) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* [Passive]: Transcend all limitations and boundaries. Increases growth based on the conviction of the wielder and their followers. [Active]: Only those who stand above the ranks of all creatures are privy to the Will of the Emperor! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- As it stated in the passive, Vahn was capable of breaking through all limits, but the most important factor was that his growth was based, not only on his own convictions, but those of his followers as well. At this moment, filled with a rity unlike anything Vahn had ever experienced, he could feel the bonds he shared, not just with Haruhime and Fenrir, but all of the people he had grown close to aftering to this record. Though they were separated by a great distance, Vahn could still feel their presence almost as if they had been at his side the entire time. However, though this realization was incredibly important, it was the activeponent of [Will of the Emperor] that drew Vahns attention presently... Vahn had awakened his domain at the same time as [Will of the Emperor], but it obviously had more uses than simply allowing him to exercise control over elemental energies and detect presences. He had been able to use it to subjugate monsters in the past, while also using it to glean insights into other system functions he hadnt previously been privy to. Now, however, Vahn felt like there was a powerfulpulsion spreading through his body as he saw the fear expressed through the eyes of the remaining monsters. Though he enjoyed fighting, Vahn didnt consider himself the type of person that reveled in the suffering of others. Even though they were constructs created by the Dungeon to repel invaders, Vahn saw their fear and took pity on the seemingly insignificant creatures. It wasnt by their own volition that they were set on their current paths, but something that had been arbitrarily decided by forces Vahn was not yet aware of. It may not be wrong for him to ughter them, but Vahn decided that, at this moment when he stood far above their meager existences, to spare them from suffering. With this intent surfacing from his consciousness, Vahns jade-green eyes began to glow with a profound light as the elemental energy under his control began to resonate with his domain. Vahn felt the chill in his mind reach a frigid level as a warmth spread from his chest to oppose it. Though they were contrasting energies, the two opposing forces intermixed with each other without any chaotic fluctuations at all before a feeling as though ice was melting appeared within his mind. The smile that had previously faded from his face reappeared but this time it was infinitely more gentle than the crazed expression from before. However, the domineering aura that was radiating from Vahns body didnt diminish in the slightest as he raised his right hand and muttered, "Vanish..." A wave of energy spread from Vahns body and passed through everything that stood before him within the corridor. The elemental energies contained within the air intermixed with the vital energies within the bodies of the monsters. Other than a select few individuals, which hadnt lost the will to fight, the rest of the ck Rhinos turned statuesque as the color began to fade from their bodies. Almost as if they had been turned into pirs of salt, the bodies of the monsters began to erode away as the breeze flowing through the corridor touched their figures. When Vahn pulled back his hand, the pulse of energy retracted and his domain returned to normal. As for the monsters, however, the receding pulse had caused their bodies topletely break down and, other than their cores and drop items, there was nothing left of their previous existence. Of the 143 ck Rhinos that had been present before his seemingly casual action, only 29 remained. Unlike their weaker brethren, these monsters were slightly stronger and there was a fair chance they could have even be variants in the future. Now, however, they had decided to walk a path that inevitably resulted in their suffering. Vahns previous action really was an act of mercy that instantly killed the other monsters without any pain at all. The only thing they experienced was a warm pulse spreading through their body and a feeling of release as the mana in their bodies was dispersed into the atmosphere. Without any energy to sustain them, the molecules that constituted their bodies previouspletely broke down into their constituent parts before their bodies ceased to exist in their entirety. As for the remaining twenty-nine, Vahn would have felt genuine respect for their resolve if not for the fact they were still mindlessly charging toward him. Now, he instead felt a small amount of disgust, not at the monsters themselves, but the entity that forced them to exist in such a pathetic state. Though their brethren were killed earlier, they at least showed signs of individuality when they learned to feel fear. As for these surviving few, they werepletely caught up in thepulsion hard-coded into them by the Dungeon. Even though they were heading directly toward their deaths, they showed no semnce of awareness on their faces and didnt react at all even when their panions had died. After brandishing [L?vateinn], the mes around Vahn began to disappear as a red and blue shadow passed by his nks and charged at the surviving monsters. Even without him giving them direct orders, Haruhime and Fenrir had an almost instinctual understanding of Vahns current state and immediately took action. With an almost mncholic smile on his face, Vahn pulled out his bow and began firing arrows into the joints of the ck Rhinos as Haruhime and Fenrir cut through them with amendable disy of skill. In her current state, Vahn knew that Fenrirs parameters had more than doubled since the scarlet moon on her forehead cut through the low light of the Dungeon like a shining gemstone. As for Haruhime, though she might not have been aware of it herself, Vahn had seen the strange giant fox enter her body once again as an illusory third tail danced around, echoing the movements of her other two... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Rising Emotions...,Its over...20,000!?,Bye Felicia...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 468 - Rampant Growth

Chapter 468 - Rampant Growth

After Haruhime and Fenrir finished cleaning up the monsters, the two girls ran over to Vahn with sparkling eyes that were ented by the fact both girls eyes were also glowing. When her [Inari] was fully active, Haruhimes eyes glowed with a pale golden light while Fenrirs almost always had at least a partial glow in her gem-like scarlet pupils. Vahn habitually stroked both of their heads and said in a gentle tone, "Excellent job..." as he surveyed the state of the Dungeon. With his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see mana flowing into the damaged terrain as it began to rapidly repair the damage that had been sustained by the hard bedrock. Just like he wanted to understand how monsters were formed by the Dungeons mechanisms, Vahn also had an interest in how it was seemingly able to convert raw mana into physical matter. Since he couldnt make sense of it currently, Vahn turned his eyes to the two girls that were standing obediently under his palms with their eyes closed. His [Hands of Nirvana] in conjunction with his [Petting] Development Ability was veryfortable to experience and Vahn had even been tempted to pass on the ability to Eina since he kind of wanted to experience it himself. He had tried to use [Petting] on himself, but there had been no discernable effect so Vahn wasnt exactly sure how the skill worked. It almost felt like it pelled him to pet a specific way, but it didnt seem to apply to when he touched himself. As it was beginning to get near lunch time, Vahn decided it was a good time to call their short excursion to an end. When he removed his hands from their heads, Haruhime and Fenrir had somewhat sad looks that made Vahn want tough but he instead said, "You both worked hard, so Ill make sure to reward you plentilyter. For now, lets return to the encampment or the other girls might me you for being greedy..." Hearing his words, Haruhime startled slightly before covering her mouth andughing like a bell. Fenrir was going to be apanying Vahn in the afternoon too, so she didnt really mind returning for a meal. Since she was covered in grime, Vahn would likely clean her body if she acted cutely in front of him, so Fenrir was actually looking forward to the return trip. Along the way, Vahn allowed Haruhime and Fenrir to take point as he followed behind them with the [Seal of the Challenger] disying four golden links. His Dexterity was a bit lower than hed like, so Vahn was trying to gain some boost it a little by practicing his archery. He was already at the point where he could make arrows curve in flight, even without a homing ability, so he was now trying to target specific joints and tendons within the bodies of the monsters. Since he had the ability to peer into them using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn already had a fair understanding of their physiology and could easily disable them with a few well-ced arrows. Almost as if she werent satisfied with how dirty she was, Fenrir had been ripping apart monsters with somewhat unnerving ferocity. Vahn could see that she seemed to have awakened a new ability because her attacks stretched much further than her ws could reach. As he was walking with his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn could see a strange energy coiling around her paws that was unlike anything he had seen in the past. There were plenty ofws at y in the world that was beyond hisprehension, so Vahn assumed Fenrir had awakened an ability rted to a rtively rare or obscurew he had yet to encounter. Knowing that there was still much left to discover made Vahn feel a strange sense offort since his earlier state made him feel like he had reached an apex he hadnt expected to arrive at so soon. Though there hadnt been any great change to his parameters after the encounter, Vahn felt like there had been a truly qualitative change to his domain and the efficacy of his [Will of the Emperor]. It was now firmly at 500m in diameter and Vahn could almost feel everything that was inside of it without even passing his intent over it. It was very simr to the awareness of space he had in the Divination so Vahn felt like he had peered into the secrets of spatialws a little after his minor breakthrough. As for the attack he had used, Vahn wasnt sure exactly what had happened and he had been ying the image over and over in his mind while discussing it with Sis. It was her words that had awakened Vahn from the strange reverie he found himself in, but she didnt really seem to understand what had happened either. Just as Vahn had feltpelled to act, Sis had also felt a strangepulsion to speak at the time. As they were both the same entity, though Vahn wanted her to be something more unique in the future, Sis was under the influence of Vahns Innate abilities just like he was. His [Will of the Emperor] was already at the pinnacle of its development and was a skill that truly transcended the records. The only limitation to the skill was Vahns ownprehension of its uses and, if his earlier experience was anything to draw from, Vahn was far from understanding the true nature of the skill. He knew it could influence his mentality and force him to act in a hyper-rational state, but he had no idea what the warm energy that spread from his chest was. He had believed, for a very brief moment, it had something to do with the eternal me. However, no matter how he looked at it, the eternal me didnt seem to be the source and it was almost like Vahns heart itself had created the energy. Though he described it was warm, it wasnt actually a temperature that Vahn felt and more like a strangeprehension, just like the chill brought by the [Will of the Emperor]. Since Vahns body could increase several hundred degrees in temperature, it was obvious that his brain wasnt icy when the skill was active. It was simply a feeling he had and Vahn was beginning to believe that he needed to pay more attention to it in the future. Being able to vanish more than one-hundred monsters with a wave of the hand was inarguably a useful ability to master. As they hadnt gone that far from the stairs, and Vahn had a perfect map within his mind, the three managed to return to the 50th floor after traveling for an additional forty minutes. They hadnt really been in a hurry and Vahn was letting the two girls gain more exilia because he was interested to see how much they had grown over the rtively short period of five hours. He had high expectations for them both as their auras had visibly grown within his eyes. Just as Bell was able to experience rapid growth in ordance with his mental development and aplishments, both girls had undergone something simr and, just as Vahn had experienced for himself, they too seemed to have experienced a qualitative change. There were no people remotely close to them, as the actual encampment was nearly 70km away, so Vahn had Haruhime and Fenrir expose their backs so he could update their Status Boards. Since she had obviously been wanting him to help her bathe, Vahn set out a wash basin for them both to use, as he expected Haruhime would also want to partake of his pampering. Even though they got into the same bath as each other, Fenrir simply pretended like she didnt see Haruhime at all as shethered up her own body to make Vahns task easier. Haruhime acted like she was in an amicable rtionship with Fenrir, even though she was being ignored, and Vahn could tell it was making the little wolf girl somewhat frustrated since she wanted to be a good girl, but also didnt like Haruhime much... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: [Fenrir] Level:3 POW: G213->E419 END: H174->G299 DEX: G240->D583 AGI: G255->C612 MAG: I90->G202 Skills: [Insatiable Hunger:Innate(-)], [Lunar Cry:B->A], [Freezing Roar:A], [Chainbreaker:C], [Devour:SS], [Huntress:S->SS], [Endeavor:G->E], [Severing ws:G](new) Magic: Development Abilities: [Chain Attack:G->E] [Severing ws] Rank: G Use: Infuses ws with severingws that greatly enhance the efficacy of attacks. Applies only to naturally formed ws. Wounds inflicted by this skill heal at a much slower rate. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Sanjouno Haruhime Race: Renard LV. 2(+) POW: 440+(H183)->(G251) END: 648+(G232)->(G298) DEX: 698+(G250)->(F372) AGI: 1053+(F348)->(E444) MAG: 1548+(B767)->(A837) Skill: [Inari:Innate(E)], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Heroic Strike:F->E], [Featherfoot:A] Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B], [Kokonoe:C], [Icicle Edge:B] Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:A], [Hunter:H->G], [Mage(sealed)] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn was very pleased with both girls growth, as it hadnt been that long since they delved into the 51st floor. Fenrirs growth, especially, was borderline shocking because she was a higher level than Haruhime but had gained arge increase in her parameters alongside obtaining a new skill. As for Haruhime herself, Vahn knew her Innate wasnt far from increasing in rank so he wasnt too worried about her at all. She was already much stronger than almost any other Level 2 in the City and was at a point where she could fight against several Level 4 monsters without assistance. Once she obtained her third tail, her abilities would be even more potent and it wouldnt be surprising to Vahn if she managed to get an advantage over the majority of the other girls, including Ryuu and Aki, within the near future. After showing them their new status sheets, Haruhime had a somewhatplex expression on her face as she looked over Fenrirs shoulder and saw the difference in their growth. Vahn reached out his hand and plopped it down on her head as he said, "Fenrirs growth rate ispletely different than a normal persons, so you shouldntpare yourself to her to the point that it bothers you. Youre bing stronger rapidly and could even reach Level 3 by the time we return to the surface. However, I would advise you to reach the limit of your parameters before you make the decision to level up..." Haruhimes negativity faded in an instant as she enjoyed Vahns touch and listened closely to his words. Remembering their past promise, Haruhime was very tempted to level up right this instant, but she also knew it would be a foolish decision that would irreparably damage her future. She wanted to exceed her future self from the Divination, so she couldnt afford to cut corners just because her body ached a little. Since she would probably brood if he ignored her, Vahn also paid Fenrir a few heavypliments that caused her moderately crooked smile to get progressively closer to something more natural. Though she was happy to receive his praise, Fenrir still managed to convince Vahn to give her a piggyback ride on the way back as they leisurely moved through the forest around 120km/h. However, though they were moving at a rtively quick pace, both Vahns and Haruhimes footsteps were nearly silent, with Haruhimes being the quieter of the two. Though his expression didnt change, this bothered Vahn somewhat and he considered if he should put more focus on his own [Featherfoot] in the future... The group arrived at the encampment around 1:20 PM before Vahn carried both girls up to the teau with his [Shundo]. They could havee back much earlier, but Vahn wanted to scout around the area a bit to see if anything had changed along the way. As they had all just experienced a rapid spurt of growth, Vahns instincts had been itching a bit and he felt like something would happen in the near future. Though he wasnt absolutely certain, Vahn believed the enemies had some way to observe them within the Dungeon so he expected they had started to move against him since he had ventured into the 51st floor with a rtively small party. Almost as soon as they entered the tent, Vahn saw a ck figurezing about on the ground and realized it was Lili who seemed to be brooding as she leaned against arge plush beanbag Vahn had set out as furniture. When she saw his entrance, her eyes glittered a bit before she released a sigh and continued to brood. Just as he was about to ask, Naaza put down her teacup andmented, "We assumed you would be back around lunchtime, so we already drew lots to see who would apany you. Lili is a little...down because she didnt manage to pull the winning lot." A wry smile appeared on Vahns face after he heard Naazas words and watched Lili roll over as she hugged the plush beanbag tightly and muttered, "Naaza is a traitor..." Hearing Lilis utterance, Naazas smile twitched a little as she looked toward Vahn and said, "It looks like Ill be apanying you this afternoon...please take care of me, Vahn." As he had never actually been able to apany Naaza into the Dungeon, Vahns brows raised slightly as a genuine smile appeared on his face. She had grown much stronger after receiving his me seed, and her skill with the bow made her a capable backline specialist that would benefit any party. Though Vahn would like her to develop her closebat skills more in the future, he didnt mind if she wanted to pursue the path of archery to its pinnacle. Fenrir patted her chest in an excited manner after hearing that Naaza would be the one apanying them and said, "Okay, Fenrir will protect Naaza so lets go, quickly~!" Naaza gave Fenrir a slightly perplexed look before Vahn said, "Fenrir has grown much stronger in a short period of time, so you can have some confidence in her..." Just as he was about topliment Haruhime as well, she walked forward before gesturing to Naaza and saying, "You can also be stronger if you believe in Vahn...work hard, Naaza~." Then, without stopping, Haruhime did something rather unexpected as she leaned down and picked up the pouting Lili, beanbag included, and carried herzy figure into one of the sidepartments. Vahn followed her figure with his eyes and a fair amount of confusion written on his face before Fenrir patted his side and whispered, "Harume and Lili talk a lot in private..." Hearing her words, Vahn had even more questions but it didnt seem like Fenrir or Naaza were going to answer them. When he gave a questioning look to the rtively mature Chienthrope girl, she simply averted her eyes and looked at Fenrir as she said, "Its a secret amongst girls..." Surprisingly, Fenrir nodded her head in agreement and Vahn could feel his mind dull slightly as a numb sensation spread through his temples. He had never imagined a future where Fenrir would keep secrets from him but he was also happy that she was getting close enough to the other girls that she had that level of trust with them... As he didnt often get to spend time with her, something that Vahn felt guilty about on asion, he decided to make it up to Naaza by giving her a princess carry as he used [Shundo] to arrive at a different entrance than the one they had used earlier. Though he was interested in confronting his enemies in the future, Vahn didnt want to meet on their terms and instead wanted to keep the momentum in his favor. By avoiding setting trends, it would be more difficult for them to interfere with his actions and would expose the girls to less danger. Along the way, Naaza tucked her head into Vahns chest and listened to his heartbeat while doing her best to ignore the fuzzy paws that were resting against her ribs. Her feelings for Vahn had never changed, regardless of the number of girls that had surrounded him, but she did sometimes feel a little lonely. She often thought about working alongside him in his research since he would also be able to help her make breakthroughs in her [Mixing], but she had never worked up the courage to distract him from the other things he was working on. Now that they could spend time together like this, while also growing stronger, Naaza felt a gentle warmth spreading through her chest that reminded her of the me seed that had taken root there long ago... Once they arrived at the stairs, Vahn paused for a moment as he looked at Naazas rtively plete attire. Unlike the other girls, that wore rtively thin clothing that allowed them to move about easily, Naaza wore a medium length skirt and had severalyers of clothing on her torso with a burgundy cloak that concealed her figure somewhat. She was the girl that dressed the most reservedly amongst all the girls Vahn knew and he was somewhat hesitant to ask her to reveal her back to him. Even during the bath, Naaza usually sat at a safe distance as she washed her body so Vahn felt like asking her to expose herself in the forest was a little inappropriate. Naaza, however, had seen the look on his face and a slight blush appeared on hers as she asked, "You wanted to check my Status...right?" She had heard the stories from all the other girls that entered the Dungeon with Vahn so she already had some expectations of her own. When he hadnt mentioned it at the encampment, Naaza was actually somewhat confused but she now realized he had simply overlooked it. Just like in the past, though Vahn was a surprisingly insightful person, he was still prone to making mistakes and oversights. He had been so reliable in the past few months that this simple truth had temporarily escaped her mind. However, this realization actually made Naaza show a small smile on her face because she realized Vahn was still the same innocent boy that she had fallen for in the past. Vahn mechanically nodded his head with an apologetic look on his face before Naaza began the rtively arduous process of removing heryers of clothing. Not only did she have on a cloak, but she also wore a thick leather b.r.e.a.s.tte that covered her heart as well as several bands. When she unbuckled the straps and removed the b.r.e.a.s.tte, Naaza then pulled her beige tunic over her head and revealed that she was actually wearing a corset and another thin piece of clothing underneath. With a rosy blush on her face, Naaza muttered, "Ive been worried about my figuretely, so I decided to start wearing a corset to help out..." She was a lot less active than the other girls and was ashamed to say that one of her favorite past times was eating sweets. Though she wasnt remotely fat, Naaza had noticed a bit of loose skin around her sides and had been worrying about it over the past few weeks. Seeing her tail droop low in shame, Vahn raised his brows slightly as his own heart throbbed a few times within his chest. Though she wasnt the most beautiful girl he hadid eyes upon, Naaza had a natural and gentle beauty that few people would harbor anyints about. Her bashful behavior amplified a bit of the guilt he felt so he awkwardly said, "If youre worried about it...I can help you..." as he lifted up his hands and emitted a gentle glow from them. As someone that had been privy to Vahns massages in the past, Naaza knew exactly what he meant so the blush on her face increased in intensity as she averted her eyes. Her tail, however, betrayed her as it began to waggled about behind her back while her aura red up slightly. After loosening what Vahn considered to be an unnecessary corset, Naaza peeled off the white undershirt she had been wearing before turning her back to Vahn to conceal her growing b.r.e.a.s.ts. Unlike the other girls, Naaza was one of the few that actually wore a bra into the Dungeon and she was currently clothed in a light greence bra that was almost inappropriate for Dungeoneering. Vahn instantly realized she had worn it to appeal to him so a wide smile appeared on his face as he reached forward and said, "Let me help you..." and skillfully unfastened the sp on the back. Naazas blush hadpletely covered her face at this point as she hung her head down low, refusing to make eye contact with Vahn. Her tail, however, once again betrayed her and actually brushed against Vahn several times, each causing Naaza to flinch slightly and force it to stop. (A/N: I didnt realize how long itd been since Naaza got a status update o_o) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Naaza Erisuis Race: Chienthrope LV. 2(+) POW: G266->D529 END: F312->D598 DEX: D619->S903 AGI: E557->A820 MAG: F382->S955 Skill: [Bow Mastery:C->B], [Eagle Eye:G->B], [Prometheus Blessing:A] Magic: [Awen:Innate(sealed)], [Darbh Daol:D->A] Development Skill: [Mixing:C->B] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though she was already at the point where it wouldnt be a surprise for her to level up, Naaza had been dying the event until Lili caught up with her. She also wanted to break the limits of her own parameter growth and was hoping to do so for both her Dexterity and Magic in the near future. As for Vahns take on the situation, he saw her still inactive Innate and a small spark ignited in his eyes as he began to think of ways to help it awaken. He knew that her Innate was likely rted to Alchemy, as all of the information he had obtained from the shop about directly corrted with the subject. It would likely be very difficult for her to awaken it inbat so Vahn said a few words that made Naazas shaking tail, which she had been fighting to keep under control, spin like a propeller, "When we return to the surface, Id like your help on my research, Naaza. There are various things Im unable to make any progress on because my own [Mixing] is limited..." Toward the end of his sentence, Vahns words had trailed off a bit as Naazas tail hit against his lower abdomen like a hammer. He quickly took a step back to evade the dangerous object because it had made his heart itch a little with how adorable her actions were. As for Naaza herself, she seemed to be especially aware of her own traitorous tail and quickly squat down as she began to cloth herself once again. Seeing that she was struggling with her bra, Vahn quickly stepped forward once again and repeated his earlier words, "Let me help..." as he put his Dexterity to great use and affixed the sp in the blink of an eye. Naazas body twitched at the momentary contact as she lowered her head slightly and muttered, "Thank you..." before wearing the rest of her clothing... Fenrir had been watching the interaction between her Master and Naaza attentively without averting her eyes for a single moment. Ever since she had received her education, Fenrir had been studying how the other girls acted around Vahn because she now knew what the scent he emitted meant. She could see that he was excited by Naazas behavior while the Chienthrope herself also began releasing a somewhat annoying smell. However, Fenrir knew it was bad to be jealous of the other girls around Vahn because it would make him sad. Thus, using her brilliant deductive abilities, Fenrir had instead decided to study each girl around Vahn and memorize the behaviors that made him happy. One day in the future, Fenrir wanted to use everything she learned to get the ultimate victory against the other girls by making Vahn happier than all of thembined... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns boosting service...,Lilismentations,Fenrirs genius) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 469 - Control

Chapter 469 - Control

Unlike the previous formation they had assumed earlier in the day, Vahn had decided to change things up since he wanted to practice his mid-rangebat capabilities. He hade up with the idea of refining his closebat skills in the mornings while trying to further develop his magic and control skills in the afternoons. Fenrir needed practice fighting multiple enemies to develop her own polish her own instincts further, so it was a good opportunity for her to get even stronger. Vahn actually believed she would be able to reach Level 4 by the time the expedition came to an end because her earlier progress had been startling, even by his standards. However, it wasnt Vahn initial intent to adopt this type of training style and he had made his decision after taking into consideration Naazas existence within the group. Though her agility was very high, she didnt have any mobility skills and was a pure backline specialist. Her ranged capabilities were exceptional and she could even kill powerful enemies with her [Darbh Daol] magic. It was an incredibly rare magic ability that made use of devouringws, so there were few enemies that had any resistance to it at all. As long as she managed tond the initial hit, it was almost guaranteed to kill her target after the spell literally ate through their bodies like a series of scarabs devouring the flesh of a corpse. Since it was a spell that targeted the insides, there was almost no way to survive it unless you had some form of magic resistance or outright managed to evade it. With her increased Magic parameter from obtaining his me seed, she had refined the skill to a scary extent and would likely even be able to solo the Goliath on her own, assuming she could evade its rage afternding the blow. The biggest weakness to the spell was that the initial projectile was somewhat slow and that it took time to devour the enemy. Fenrir happily led the way through the 51st floor as Vahn followed a few meters behind her while scanning the Dungeon with his [Eyes of Truth]. As Fenrir was even more sensitive to their bond now, it was almost like she shared his sight because she could intuit the location of enemies the moment Vahn located them. She was also in a very good mood since earlier and seemed to enjoy leading the way instead of waiting for others to guide her. As for Naaza, she kept pace at a rtively close distance to Vahn with her bow always at the ready. Every time Vahn saw the [Yi Bow], he couldnt deny that he was tempted to make use of the somewhat terrifying weapon himself. For a rtively small amount of mana, Naaza could infuse a bit of the record of Yi into the arrows and they could deal catastrophic damage to enemies while crowd controlling stronger monsters. Even a grazing blow could rip limbs from monsters and she had garnered herself quite a reputation amongst the expedition party since her attacks seemed to ignore both physical and magical resistances. Vahn wouldnt be surprised if she actually carried the alias [Yi] in the future or became known as a goddess of archery. The coolest thing, however, was the fact that whenever Naaza focused on something in the distance, her purple eyes would actually turn a golden color as the white sclera of her eyes turned ck. This was the physical manifestation of her [Eagle Eye] skill and Vahn was somewhat envious of the striking golden eyes that seemed to pierce through anything. Though his eyes literally carried that trait, Vahn knew they simply shone with a blue magical light which was actually rathermon amongst the phenomenon that would be generated by skills that affected the eyes. He could change his eye color whenever he wanted, sure, but there was something cool about how Naazas change in an instant. Their first encounter was surprisingly not against a group of ck Rhinos and Vahn was rather shocked to find a slightly wider room that had three hidden presences within. As she had also sensed the strange enemies up ahead, Fenrir scrunched up her nose and began to sniff around in the air before saying, "It smells like rotting meat..." Though she didnt care much about taste, Fenrir wasnt fond of powerful smells since her olfactory senses were stronger than almost any other race found within the record. Vahns expression turned into a somewhat cruel one that surprised Naaza but didnt seem to have any effect whatsoever on Fenrir. He looked back at the hesitant Chienthrope girl and said, "Sorry, Naaza, but I have something of a personal grudge against Deformis Spiders so I want to take this group out on my own..." Hearing Vahn mentioned the massive spiders, a shiver passed through Naazas body and it was Vahns turn to be surprised. She saw his expression and a wry smile appeared on her face as she said, "Ill leave this one to you...Im not that great with spiders..." Though he had been rather serious previously, Vahn couldnt help butugh in a hearty manner before giving Naaza a yful look and saying, "Leave it to me..." Without entering the room, Vahn actually sat down on the floor of the Dungeon and began to focus his mind as his domain converged around them. Even without his urging, Fenrir drew closer to Vahn and assumed a defensive posture which incited Naaza to partially draw her bow as her own alertness was increased. As for Vahn, he was trying to draw on his earlier experience where he had used the vanish ability while also making use of the experience he had quarrying stone for the encampment. Vahn knew that he could exercise control over elemental energies within his domain and the Dungeon wasnt an exception to this. It took more effort than inert material, but Vahn could essentially override sections of the Dungeon temporarily... After infusing his intent into the areas of the Dungeon near the Deformis Spiders, Vahn opened his eyes a cruel glint passed through them. Though he wasnt sure why he took such actions, Vahn brought his palms together as he sent out a subtle pulse of energy. Even though he wasnt in the room, Vahn could envision the entire scene within his mind as he willed the Dungeon itself to attack the unsuspecting spiders. Within the blink of an eye, three thick spikes protruded from the wall and pierced through therge abdomens of the Deformis Spiders as they began to writhe around and release a shrill shriek that made Naaza flinch behind him. Even Fenrirs ears twitched as her brows furrowed in distaste at the unpleasant sound. Though it was a bit cruel, Vahn began infusing me elemental energy into the Deformis Spiders bodies using his [Heart of the Eternal me] as they began to roast on the skewers Vahn had created. He actually had no intention of torturing them, he just simply chose an indirect method to fight them as they themselves were ambush predators. Though it likely wouldnt be interpreted as such by The Path, Vahn knew there was such a concept as karmic retribution and getting even with things on behalf of another person was actually an eptable thing as long as he didnt take it too far. It was futile to try and hunt every Deformis Spider within the Dungeon, as they could be infinitely spawned, but Vahn wanted to at least enact some form of justice on the first group he encountered. As a result of his own grudge with the Deformis Spiders, Vahn actually only obtained a single point of negative karma while gaining a surprising neen positive karma. This meant that his retribution hade to an end and that fate was rewarding him for carrying out his task without taking it to the extreme. However, since the method he employed was rather cruel, Vahn still obtained a cheeky point of negative karma, almost as if fate was giving him a mild reprimand. Moderately content with the oue, Vahn simply resolved himself to create an anti-spider weapon in the future that he would use as his weapon of choice for whenever he encountered another Deformis Spider. After rising to his feet, Vahn looked at the somewhat startled Naaza before smiling gently and stroking her droopy ears. She was one of the few Chienthrope girls he knew with t droopy ears and it always made her look somewhat sad whenever she wasnt smiling. As was the case with most of the girls these days, Naaza closed her eyes and a pleased expression appeared on her face as shepletely rxed. Vahns smile widened before he ruffled Fenrirs hair and said, "Lets continue forward...we can all be much stronger, but only if we put in the effort to do so." Though brief, Fenrir was satisfied by the fact that Vahn still remembered to reward her for protecting his body when he was focusing earlier. With his orders fresh in her ears, a predatory looked appeared on her face as she activated her [Huntress] and began hunting the unfortunate prey would find its way across her path. As Deformis Spiders were rtively rare, they didnt encounter anymore for the rest of the day as Vahn continued to refine what he was calling his elemental control. Though it wasnt easy, he was slowly learning to manipte the elemental energies in the air through the motions of his body. Other than fire, his control over the other elements wascking, but Vahn was still capable of manipting each of them to an extent. As long as he practiced, Vahn was confident he would even be able to use time elemental energies to literally freeze his enemies, at least temporarily. The moreplex elements took a greater amount of focus and actually had a surprising impact on his stamina instead of his source energy. As he was using the ambient elemental energies in the atmosphere, instead of using his own energy, the only upkeep for the ability was the energy he used to sustain his domain and the stamina usage he used in his movements. Vahn found that certain hand shapes and motions could actually influence different energies more easily and it kind of felt like he was creating hand signs like in Naruto, except none of the ones from his memory actually seemed to do anything. Whenever they engaged enemies, Vahn would instantly start off by infusing me elemental energy around the heads of the ck Rhinos, with emphasis ced on their eyes, and he was actually getting much better at hitting them while they were moving after a bit of practice. Without the ability to see, the monsters continued their momentous charges without any sense of direction as Fenrir jumped from their bodies with her increased Agility and carved massive gashes in their bodies. There was even one unfortunate ck Rhinos that Fenrir had vaulted over as she swiped her ws across its head. Vahn got to see the somewhat unnerving sight of a monsters head quadrisected before it burst into purple dust a few millisecondster. As for Naaza, her hands moved with impable precision as she skillfully loosed arrows towards the joints of the ck Rhinos, simr to Vahn. She actually only used the active ability of her bow whenever enemies began targetting her as she was experienced enough to know that conserving her mana was important. Since she had never partied with Vahn before, she wasnt ounting for the fact that he could replenish her mana or she might have been spamming them. She might not be that open about it, but Vahn was very aware that she enjoyed small moments of contact with him and it made his own heart flutter because of her adorable reactions. A pair of ck Rhinos managed to break from Fenrirs defensive line but she simply sent them a nce before turning her attention to other enemies. There was a slight frown on her face, as she had intended to prevent anything from getting through, but she was mature enough to know that pursuing every enemy would overdraft her. Instead, she decided to take out her frustrations on the other enemies while leaving the two stragglers for Naaza to deal with. Though she would definitely be the strongest, Fenrir knew it was also important for the other girls to be stronger too so Vahn wouldnt have to watch over them so much. Seeing the pair slip through Fenrirs ws, Naazas eyes turned sharp as she loosed two arrows that shone with a ck l.u.s.ter in less than a tenth of a second. Vahn followed their path with his [Eyes of Truth] as they mmed into the heads of the ck Rhinos and exploded into miniature ck holes that caused space to warp for around 1m and distort the heads of the monsters until they had beenpressed to a point. Before the effect of the arrows had faded, the monsters had burst into purple dust that was also absorbed by the small vortex of space elemental energy before disappearing from this world entirely. Every time Vahn saw the effect activate, he was impressed by the incredible firepower because he knew that Naaza only used about 3% of her total mana on the two arrows. Once she learned [Spirit Healing] in the future, Naazas capabilities would be monstrous and the effect would be even more pronounced. By the time she hit Level 5, or higher, Vahn could even see her taking out floor bosses with a single well-ced arrow. Though the credit might ultimately belong to the bow he had created, Vahn now associated the weapon with Naaza and couldnt see her using anything else after her current disy. Since she wasnt the most expressive girl, she looked stoic as she skillfully drew each arrow before urately hitting her target withmendable efficiency. More than any other person that used a bow, including himself, Vahn felt like Naaza was especially suited to using it. Though it was a strange thought to develop in the middle ofbat, Vahn wondered if he could shape the future of other Adventurers with the equipment he forged for him. He was now beginning to understand why [Master Smith]s were so selective with their clientele and typically only made weapons to suit the current capabilities of the Adventurer. If they gave out powerful weapons, it wasnt incorrect to say the Adventurer would be defined by the weapon they wielded. Vahn, however, didnt see this as something that was inherently bad since he knew it was possible to make soulbound equipment that would exclusively belong to the individual he created it for. As long as they continue putting in the effort to improve themselves, Vahn didnt think it was wrong for rtively weak Adventurers to wield powerful weapons. This was, of course, a bit of a bias and Vahn recognized it as such. It was his desire to ensure the girls were protected that allowed him to justify his actions as he didnt even mind using everyst bit of OP in his possession as long as he could ensure their continued survival... By the time their hunt hade to an end, they had encountered a total of 417 ck Rhinos over a period of six hours. Naaza had eventually gotten a bit winded during the extended engagement and blushed beet red when Vahn yfully ced his hand against her navel and efficiently recharged her mana. It was, after all, the most effective spot to insert his energy and he enjoyed seeing her try to keep her cool as her tail trembled behind her as a result of her attempts to keep it under control. However, from that point onwards, Naaza began spamming her Yi arrows a bit with the excuse that it was good for her Magic parameter development. Of course, for future replenishments, she made sure that Vahn inserted it through her back so she could hide her face from his view. As a result of their exertions, Naazas parameters had increased a fair amount, to the point where she would need to level up soon, while Fenrir had experienced another moderate spurt of growth. Proactively engaging opponents was her preferred method of fighting and she was adapting at a visible rate that would stun veteran Adventurers. Just this morning, though she didnt exactly struggle against them, Fenrir had taken a few minutes to defeat three ck Rhinos. Now, however, she could manage a group of seven in the same amount of time and had be increasingly proficient at using her [Severing ws]. Though it varied in length, Vahn had seen the wave of energy reach as far as 23cm at times and it had allowed her topletely sever the limbs of some of her more unfortunate enemies. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Naaza Erisuis Race: Chienthrope LV. 2(+) POW: D529->D570 END: D598->C619 DEX: S903->S998 AGI: A820->A860 MAG: S955->SS1071 Skill: [Bow Mastery:B], [Eagle Eye:B], [Prometheuss Blessing:A] Magic: [Awen:Innate(sealed)], [Darbh Daol:A] Development Skill: [Mixing:B], [Spirit Healing:(sealed)], [Mage:(sealed)] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: [Fenrir] Level:3 POW: E419->E478 END: G299->F340 DEX: D583->C639 AGI: C612->C688 MAG: G202->G299 Skills: [Insatiable Hunger:Innate(-)], [Lunar Cry:A], [Freezing Roar:A], [Chainbreaker:C], [Devour:SS], [Huntress:SS], [Endeavor:E], [Severing ws:G->E] Magic: - Development Abilities: [Chain Attack:E->D] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As for his own development, Vahns parameters hadnt changed much but his proficiency in manipting elemental energy had increased greatly. Though there was nigh-infinite room for improvement, Vahn could envision a future where he could even direct the spells of enemies after they had already been fired. Without using his own source energy, he would even be able to upturn the earth, freely transition water through its various states, or even lock his opponents within time. If he could grasp the concept behind it, Vahn might even one day be able to emte the effect of the Yi arrows through his own domain and cause spatial vortexes to appear within the bodies of his enemies... --- (A/N: Some people might be a bit concerned about the borderline info dumps present in the current chapters. Note that these chapters are recording the somewhat explosive growth of the members of the Hestia Familia as they are currently around Level 2-3 and fighting enemies that are AT LEAST Level 4. The amount of exilia they are capable of gaining on these floors, at least at their current level, is actually quite immense. Even though they might be dealing with the enemies with rtive ease, there is still a very real danger of them sustaining heavy injuries if they make even a simple mistake. This is also a good opportunity for me to flesh out some of the rtively obscure characters that had fallen to the wayside, so please be patient with me (UwU)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is the Avatar (O?O),What Hero doesnt have a legendary weapon?,Progression Diary of an Adorable Murder Floof) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 470 - Ignorance

Chapter 470 - Ignorance

As it was already dark on the 50th floor, Vahn carried both girls back using [Shundo] since it was always better to avoid engagements during the night. He had confronted Naaza earlier about increasing her level, but she had wanted to wait and see if she could break through the limit in her Dexterity as she had already managed the feat with her Magic parameter. Vahn cautioned her about overtaxing her body by pushing it beyond the bounds of its container, but Naaza had remained firm on the matter since it was only an additional two points in Dexterity and she could potentially even reach it after a single extended fight... Keeping that in mind, Vahn looked for signs of any enemies within the forests of the 50th floor but hadnt managed to spot anything along the way. By the time they had reached the encampment, Vahn had a slight feeling of regret inside of himself since he felt like he should have simply extended their time on the 51st floor a little so that she could reach her goal. The fact that she had stopped at 998 bothered him a fair amount because it was almost like fate was teasing him a little. Vahn even suspected that, when they tried to get thest few points to help her growth, that would be the precise moment when their enemies appeared. Once they reached the teau, the smell of roasted meat reached the three which caused Naazas stomach to growl as she averted her eyes from Vahn. Though they had eaten a few snacks during their excursion, they hadnt enjoyed anyrge meals and Naaza had been pushing her body quite hard. Constantly using your mana could actually drain away at your stamina while also leading to mental exhaustion so it wasnt surprising that she would be hungry. Unlike Fenrir, who could subsist entirely on the energy she received from him, Naazas hunger was only quelled by actual sustenance like food. After dropping off the two girls near the canteen setup, Vahn made his way toward the Command Tent to report to Finn about the days findings. He had actually been mapping out the areas he passed through along the way and was nning to hand it over to the diminutive Captain while seeing if he had any new information. As one of the decision makers within the group, Vahn was privy to any information that could affect the sess of their current missions. Though the Loki Familia obviously had its secrets, Vahn was a bit of a unique case amongst other outsiders since Loki herself was one of his lovers. Vahn tapped the bronze bell near the entrance before Finns voice could be heard from the inside giving him permission to enter. Though it was subtle, Vahn could hear a bit of exasperation in his voice and also noticed that Finns aura was slightly chaotic, though primarily stable. Even when they had been in the thick of battle, the experienced Pallum remained mostly unperturbed so Vahn was beginning to feel a bit of concern as he stepped into the tent. However, when he saw Finns reaction to his presence Vahn realized his conjecture had been inurate and a frown appeared on his face. Finn showed a wry smile and said, "Wee, Vahn, its good to see you have returned safely..." before releasing a sigh and saying, "Your intuition is correct...I had a bit of trouble with Lili earlier." Hearing his words, Vahns frown grew deeper and he said in a firm tone, "I warned you about trying to pressure her Finn. She is still just a child and she has spent the majority of her life experiencing great difficulties. If you continue this little charade, youll find that Im not the type that will stand idly at the side while someone badgers mypanion!" With both hands raised in a surrender gesture, Finn winced slightly as he said, "Youre misunderstanding a bit, Vahn. I just wanted to apologize to her for my previous actions but she didnt even give me an opportunity to speak before causing a bit of a scene and scurrying off to her tent..." Though Finn had an apologetic look on his face, Vahn wasnt truly convinced by his words at all as his aura fluctuated slightly as he spoke. It could have been the result of him remembering the difficult scenario, but Vahn had grown to associate such fluctuations with dismissal and attempting to cover up motives. In other words, though Finn was telling the truth, there were undoubtedly lies mixed within his words. Vahn walked forward until he stood right in front of Finns desk before pulling out a chain from his inventory and taking a seat. He continued to make eye contact with the Pallum, who required a tall chair to even sit normally at the desk, before saying, "From now on, you should stop trying to get closer to Lili. Much less courting her, I dont even want you bothering her unless she is the one toe to you for aide..." Finns eyes opened slightly wider after hearing Vahns words before a conflicted expression appeared on his face and he said, "Vahn, Im not going to force Lili into anything, but you must understand my situation a bit. Though she might not be fond of me presently, our feelings can grow for each other with time and I would-" Before Finn could finish his words, the air around them began to sparkle with a golden l.u.s.ter as Vahns eyes turned an icy blue and he said, "Your situation is entirely your business, not something others need to take into consideration to live their own lives. You may have your own goals Finn, some of which are very profound and even noble, but that has nothing to do with anyone that does not share your aspirations. Lili has already decided on the path she wants to walk so your current behavior is off-putting at best and obscene at worst. Youre a sensible person, one that carries a great burden on your shoulders, but it is a burden you had decided to bear of your own volition. If you continue trying to force others onto that type of path, while also purporting that youre waiting for ideal candidates to appear, youre simply a hypocrite. Youre trying to shape Lili into something she doesnt want to be in order to serve your needs, not the supposed needs of your people..." Just as Vahn stared at him unwaveringly, Finn returned his gaze with the light of conviction within his eyes. After waiting for Vahns words to fall, and taking an adequate amount of time to process them, Finn said in a calm tone, "You are right, Vahn...but I must still act in the way I see fit. Though she might feel a bit of pressure from my advances, I will never force Lili to ept my reasons..." Finn wanted to continue his words but he could feel his instincts warning him of impending danger and he could see the coldness that had set within Vahns expression. Though he considered himself tolerant, Finn couldnt help but feel slightly annoyed by Vahns actions so he said in a firm tone, "Vahn, there is nothing wrong with being ambitious and sharing love between other races, but there are simply too many ipatibilities between Humans and Pallums to have a healthy rtionship. From human standards, Lilis body is around the size of an eight to ten-year-old girl so it isnt right for you to allow her to pursue you like this. You might not have seen what its like for a Pallum to be pregnant with the child of a human, but I have and its absolutely horrifying. Youre more likely to kill her than make her happy!" Contrary to Finns expectations, Vahn had actually seen a Pallum that was pregnant with a human child as the girl observed in the red light district was such an example. He hadter seen a normal Pallum pregnancy and had actually been rather surprised by the difference between them. Finn wasnt wrong to be worried about Lilis well-being when it came to the matter of pregnancy, because there was a real threat of her dying during childbirth as a result of the size of the fetuspared to her body. However, this wasnt a restriction that Vahn actually faced as there were several ways he could guarantee her safety and the safe delivery of their future children. Without flinching in the slightest from Finns rtively harsh words, Vahn continued to stare directly at him as he said, "Just like Lili, there are many things you are unaware of regarding me, Finn. From now on, I would encourage you to consult Riveria and Loki on such things as, even though they might not reveal to you my secrets, they will allow you to make more informed decisions in the future. I can ensure you that Lili is in absolutely no danger from being with me, so if that is your only concern Ill have you take a step back and reflect on your current actions before we discuss this matter again. Know that I find your behavior reprehensible because you are making too many decisions based on your own shallow understanding of the situation and actually consider yourself to be in the right based solely on your ignorance..." Finn had been somewhat confused by Vahnsposure during his earlier exmation and the confidence he felt radiating from the boy actually made him feel like he had erred greatly. He knew full-well that Vahn was a unique existencepared to the vast majority of people and, as he said, that was about all he knew about him. Though he was part of the Alliance, Finn wasnt privy to the secrets of the Hearth Manor as even Loki refused to budge on the matter. He had tried to discern some things from Riveria, but she had simply closed her eyes in response before saying she couldnt speak on the matter. Though he wanted to refute, or even rebuke Vahn for his words, Finn found himself unwilling to find any meaningful things to say under the stalwart gaze of the boy in front of him. He had never been concerned with the height difference between himself and others in the past, but Finn couldnt help but feel a bit of pressure from Vahns presence. The sad fact of the matter is, hisck of information about both Vahn and Lili were a severe detriment if he wanted to have any rational discussion as he knew little to nothing about either of them. Realizing this, Finn ground his teeth a bit before a numb sensation spread through his thumb and it began to tingle, signaling to his mind that there was much more at y than his understanding allowed him to rationalize. After having stared at each other for nearly three minutes in silence, Finn eventually released a sigh before rubbing his forehead and saying, "Forgive me, Vahn, as I let my own assumptions affect my judgment. As you say, I will consult with Riveria on matters from now on and do my best to not interfere with Lili or the other girls within the Hestia Familia in an attempt to approach her. I will trust that you are acting in the girls best interest on the matter, especially considering that there are many other notable female presences in your life...Im not sure why I hadnt realized it previously, but I dont imagine they would allow anything to happen if she were actually in any danger..." Though he obviously couldnt fully ept things, Vahn could sense the sincerity in Finns words so he eased off his own pressure and the golden aura around thempletely vanished. If push came to shove, Vahn didnt minding into conflict with Finn because he knew the dutiful Pallum would eventually have to back down regardless of his own desires. Fighting Vahn seriously would not only damage his status as the Captain of the Loki Familia, but it would also create tension between him and Loki while also causing Lili to have an even worse impression of him. If Finn actually mustered up the resolve to kill Vahn, not that he would be able to easily aplish such a feat, his goals as Braver would never be met because he would have earned the ire of the entire goddessmunity while also offending the High Elves and losing the trust of almost every member of the main party of the Loki Familia. Things were simply stacked too heavily in Vahns favor and that was what enabled him to stare down the seemingly harmless Pallum as his instincts screamed at him to run. With tensions easing greatly between them both, Vahn stated his original reason for visiting and also handed over the maps he had created. Finn briefed him about the events that had taken ce during the day, including the loss of one of their Level 4 Adventurers who had died as a result of an ambush from a Deformis Spider. It wasnt someone that Vahn knew so he didnt really feel anything other than a mild empathy for the deceaseds survivingpanions. Though it wouldnt bring them back, Vahn swore to dedicate the next group of Deformis Spiders he killed as a parting gift to the deceased. He was very aware of concepts such as reincarnation, and even transmigration, so Vahn hoped it would give them some peace while simultaneously blessing their next life... After getting caught up on matters, Vahn ended up leaving the Command Tent without any special courtesies shared between them as he was currently not very fond of Finn. Though the Pallum had apologized, Vahn knew there would always be a small part of him that still sought Lili as a potential wife in the future. However, Vahn would never allow that toe about any longer unless it was expressly desired by Lili herself, and not simply through her words. She had been working too hard to simply be a cog in someone elses machinations and Vahn wanted to do everything he could to guarantee she lived the life she chose for herself. Arriving at his own tent, Vahn detected several presences inside before passing through the barrier that had been inscribed into the dualyered fabric that led to the inside. Since the tent also doubled as a private bath for the girls, Vahn wouldnt allow it to be unprotected so that any random passerby could sneak a peek at the contents contained within. Though he didnt consider himself the jealous type, Vahn wanted to protect the dignity of the girls as he knew they would be offended and upset it a stranger managed to take in the sight of their n.a.k.e.d figures. Since only Vahn could pass through the barrier, other than the girls themselves, none of them were surprised by his arrival as they all exchanged greetings. Other than Naaza, who Vahn could sense eating near the canteen, everyone else was present including a very disgruntled Lili. Without any hesitation, nor exnation of any kind, Vahn walked forward before standing over the rather small girl as she looked up at him with a hopeful light in her eyes. Vahn was never good at hiding his expressions so she had already seen through his state and expectations had begun to rise inside of her. With a soft expression and a gentle smile on his face, Vahn leaned down and embraced Lilis body tightly as he said, "I wont allow anyone to take you from me, Lili...the only person that can make decisions about your life from here on is you yourself and, as you have blessed me with the opportunity to care for you, I will not shy away from the responsibilities entailed...it may be a little bted, and Im not well-versed in such feelings, but I want you to know that I care about you deeply...and that I love you dearly..." Vahn had avoided saying such words to Lili for a long time because he knew they were somewhat dangerous for her to hear. However, now that he had butted heads directly with Finn, Vahn wanted to return to her some of the hope and expectations she had been cing in him for thest five months. Though she wasnt one of the closest people to his heart, Lili was still one of the most important people in his life and someone he had once resolved himself to protect regardless of the cost. With the same resolve that he had when he nearly died for her in the Dungeon, Vahn now spokeforting words into her ears before she hugged him with a surprising amount of strength and began crying. Though it took her a bit of time topose herself, Lili managed to mutter through trembling lips, "I love you...Vahn..." before tightening her grip even more... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Liliruca Arde Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire: C-SS]// Completion Grade: A Rewards: 10,000OP, 1x[Hearts Desire: Liliruca Arde] Grade Rewards: 1x[Heroines Prayer], 1x[Burden of Love], 9,000OP [Heroines Prayer] Rank: Unique Use: When the person this item is bound to is in mortal peril, this crystalized prayer will activate and cause them to enter an Immune state. Duration: 30S Soulbound:(Vahn Mason) [Burden of Love] Rank: Unique Use: When the person this item is bound to makes a heartfelt promise with the originator, they must see it through topletion. Sess will reward the bound dependant upon the severity of the promise made. Failure toplete the promise with cause an increasing amount of pressure to weigh on the bound unless they receive the forgiveness of the originator. Soulbound:(Vahn Mason) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: This is something of a bonus chapter as the idea had been preventing me from going to sleep...good night you EPIC readers~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Boi...,BOI...,Tears of an overlooked Heroine...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 471 - Burden

Chapter 471 - Burden

Though it was somewhat embarrassing, Vahn exined to the other girls about his confrontation with Finn as he cradled the still shaking Lili in his arms. She had been in a bit of a daze since earlier and, even though she was obviously enjoying his scent, Vahn didnt mind her antics since he had no reason to deny her affectionate behavior anymore. If she got too out of hand, he could always talk to her about the matter and it was highly likely the other girls would step in as well. As she had just undergone a bit of emotional turmoil, Vahn decided to spoil her for the time being even though she was a little distracting. The girls had already known about the conflict between Lili and Finn earlier as it was public knowledge that was known by pretty much everyone in the expedition. The encounter had been during the meal time so there were several people gathered in the canteen when Lili had her outburst and essentially used Finn of being a selfish bastard before storming off. She had spent the rest of the day being pacified by Haruhime and Mikoto until the girls from the Loki Familia had arrived. Tione, especially, seemed to be highly affected by Finns behavior and Vahn had seen her aura flickering about in a chaotic manner that was tinged with negative emotions, including anger. As someone that had spent two years pursuing Finn, Tione knew his personality better than almost anyone and it shook her a little knowing how he had behaved. In her heart and mind, Finn was the type of man that made sacrifices for others and invested most of his efforts in pursuing the ideologies he believed in. Imagining him pressing the issue about Lili, especially knowing she was still too young, and even trying to confront Vahn over the matter of their races unnerved her a little. She knew he considered himself the representative of Pallum liberation and wanted to create an example others can follow, but now she was starting to believe that his intentions werent as pure as they had originally seemed... After their discussion, which had included a meal and Lilis eventual recovery, came to an end Vahn had called an early end to his own day since he nned to get an early start the following morning. As they were the two girls within his own Familia that had yet to apany him, Vahn said he would venture into the 51st floor with Lili in the morning before returning around lunch time to apany Mikoto. Since she also wanted to get an early start tomorrow, while also maximizing her quality time with Vahn that had been going on for more than an hour already, Lili also retired for the night by essentially clinging to Vahn. With the exception of Mikoto, who had been struggling on the matter as a result of her own sense of propriety, everyone had actually been sleeping in the same room using onerge futon that covered the entire floor. His side was usually taken by Ais or Tiona in the past, but tonight it had be upied by Naaza and Fenrir as Lili stole the wolf girls spot on his chest. Though she was somewhat annoyed by this new change, Fenrir didnt say anything about the matter and simply snuggled up against Vahns side with a slight frown on her face. Fenrir knew that this was a special circ.u.mstance where her Master was spoiling one of the other girls, something she generally wouldnt be present for, so she allowed Lili to be spoiled for the time being. From her memory, Fenrir knew that Vahn often kept Lili away in the past and it was his interaction with the bully Finn that had caused this result. Fenrir swore that she would be stronger than the small Finn creature and bully him in the future if he made her Master upset again. As a result, though he couldnt quite pinpoint the reason, Finn felt his thumb itching as if it had a thousand ants crawling on it as a chill ran down his spine... --- Though no one had fallen asleep yet, everyone had be silent as the majority of the group actually decided to rest early as Vahn was generating a very pleasant aura presently. The exceptions to this were Tione and Lefiya, the former seemingly lost in her own thoughts while thetter had gone to discuss matters with Riveria, as was something she often did. Using the peaceful atmosphere to his advantage, Vahn pulled out a chestnut brown orb and shattered it without anyone being aware of his action. He had already resolved to make use of [Hearts Desire]s when he obtained them, with the exception of Riverias, so he wanted to see Lilis now that he had an opportunity. As time slowed to a crawl, Vahn spected that Lilis space would likely be simr to Nanus and that she wouldnt ce much emphasis on her past anymore. They had actually discussed her past several times at length and Vahn was rtively sure he knew most things about Lili already. He didnt mind viewing some of the tragic things that had happened to her, even though it would probably cause him to seek revenge against the Soma Familia members, but he also hoped that she could put it behind her and walk toward the future with him instead of worrying about such things... When he opened his eyes within the vision, Vahn released an audible sigh of relief before smiling at the unnervingly small n.a.k.e.d girl standing right in front of him. His current height was 171cm so it was a little strange seeing the 110cm tall Lili looking up at him with herrge chestnut colored eyes. However, without minding it too much, Vahn bent down and hugged her just as he had done in the real world and, much like her real self, she also trembled in his arms and began to cry. All around them, Vahn saw memories full of negatively fragmenting into small particles with very few colored with warm colors. There was so little warmth within the series of memories that it almost seemed wrong that there was any at all... Lili had been born into the Soma Familia as a result of her parents sleeping with each other without considering the consequences of their actions. Because her Mother had been on Soma, while also ingested several other detrimental things like drugs, Lili had actually been a slightly premature baby and had been even frailer than most Pallums. Though they had resulted in her creation, her parents werent actually married and were simply members of the same Familia so there was no real love between them at all. They both saw Lili as nothing more than a convenience that would one day be able to make their own earnings easier. If she was especially useful, they wouldnt have to work nearly as hard because they could get her to earn money for them... By the time she was old enough toprehend her own tragic situation, Lili was already being forced to work by her parents at the ridiculous age of three. However, her tragic fate had only just begun since, not long after they had put her to work both of her parents actually ended up dying within the Dungeon as the result of falling prey to a Monster Party. Lili was left alone in a Familia full of criminals and scoundrels and, now that she didnt have the protection of her parents, she was quickly exploited by others that wanted to make use of her for the same reason as her parents. This meant Lili spent her formative years, the most important period of her life, knowing nothing by pain, exhaustion, and the exploitation of others... In an effort to change her fate for the better, Lili actually tried to increase her own earnings and be independent at the tender age of five years old. However, as a result of the fact she was only around 70cm tall at the time and was even weak by a Pallums standards, there was absolutely no way she could be an Adventurer. She didnt have any real equipment, other than broken pieces she had picked from the garbage, and there was absolutely no way the Guild condoned her venturing into the Dungeon. This meant she had absolutely nothing supporting her growth while also having a much harder starting point than almost anyone else in the entire world... Lili failed to be an Adventurer and, after having nearly died to a goblin, which was actually much taller than she was, Lili fell into an even more tragic state as she was derided by her own panions for her ck of talent. As a result, Lili spent the rest of her life from then onwards with only a moment of reprieve when she ran away and was taken care of by an old couple. Since her existence was convenient for them, however, the Soma Familia tracked her down and punished her for trying to escape instead of knowing her ce. Until Vahn had appeared to save her, she had suffered nothing but beatings, malnutrition, and the borderline perversion of some of the members of her Familia. If he hadnt stepped in and taken responsibility for guiding her, Vahn knew she would have even be addicted to Soma and deviate even further into the darkness until Bell had shown up nearly two years from now. If he hadnt shown up, she likely would have even been forced into prostitution at some point because she would be able to earn the disreputable members of the Soma Familia even more money... The only warm memories that Vahn could see, which had taken the longest amount of time to vanish, were the memories Lili had forged after their meeting. Some of them had dangerous colors to him, especially when Lili had been making advances at him, but the rest were rtively tame and there were even a few with girls like Tsubaki, Chloe, Naaza, Preasia, Hestia, Mn, Tina, and Haruhime. Then, as if she had been waiting for the memories to nearly finish fading away, the avatar of Lili said, "Being held like this makes me feel safe and secure...almost like all the bad things in the world dont exist and the only thing that matters is that you are with me...Vahn, I know I can be a selfish girl, but...but..." At this point, tears had begun streaming down Lilis face as her body trembled greatly and she muttered, "The only thing....Ive ever wanted...was to be loved....just once...." Though he did his best to restrain his own anxiety, Vahns body had begun to tremble as he cradled the small crying girl in his arms. She really was very tiny and, knowing what she had gone through in life, Vahn felt righteous indignation spread through his heart simr to when he had first learned of her past. Even though she was putting the past behind her after this, Vahn had saved the images of everyone that was ever cruel to Lili within his mind as he nced over the darkest memories she possessed. Though they might have a changed a little with time, Vahn now knew the faces of the people that had tormented her the most. He wouldnt go out of his way to track them down, but Vahn swore that he would bring them to justice if they ever met in the future... Vahn continued to hold the avatar of Lili all the way until the final memory faded, which lingered for several seconds longer than all the others and was the moment they had just experienced in the real world. It showed him entering the tent and Vahn was surprised at how big he appeared from Lilis perspective as he walked forward and hugged her tightly and confessed his care and love for her. Compared to all of the other memories, this one shone the brightest of them all and even the avatar cradled in his arms looked up at it with moist eyes as if she was reliving the experience all over again. When it finally faded, she nuzzled into his chest and hugged his body tightly before saying, "Thank you for saving me...and giving me the love I longed for..." as the entire world around them faded from existence... When he returned to reality, Vahn was in a slight daze as he felt the rtively high body temperature of Lili spreading through him and her nearly negligible weight. Her [Hearts Desire] had beenpleted by the time he returned to his senses and he had received the standard quest as a result. What had surprised him, however, was that Lilis awakened Love parameter was at a rtively low 1,338 even though she was one of the girls he had known the longest. However, Vahn also noticed that it was steadily increasing at a rtively fast pace now and, by the time three minutes had passed, it had already reached 1,354. It seemed that Lilis Love for him had actually been stunted because he hadnt truly reciprocated her feelings until today. The fact it was as high as it was was a testament to the struggle she had been undergoing over the past few months and it made Vahn feel very guilty. As Lili was very obviously still awake, since she had been burying her face into his chest while straddling his body, Vahn looked down at her and said, "Lili, from now on, I will do my best to show you the love you deserve...but please act with a bit of moderation until you reach a.d.u.l.thood..." The reason why her Love had been increasing was that her infatuation with his scent and she had even transformed into a Chienthrope earlier to take it in even more. Her rtively heavy breathing was actually the reason why almost everyone else was awake as well, as it was rather distracting given the circ.u.mstances. Lili turned her head up to match his gaze and there was an almost drunken look on her face as she dazed for several seconds. A smile appeared on her face and her Love increased by a full thirty points in an instant when she said, "Ill behave if you give me a kiss goodnight..." Vahn had actually already embraced all of the girls while giving them differing intensities of a kiss, with the exception of Mikoto, including Lili. What she was asking for was like a bit more than the rtively tame exchange from earlier but Vahn nodded his head, somewhat against her expectations, and said, "I will do my best to keep my promises to you, Lili, so please treat your own with the same seriousness..." Then, before the small girl could react, Vahn temporarily liberated his arm from Naaza, as Fenrirs body tensed up slightly when he tried to move his right, before pulling up Lili and kissing her in an effort to pacify her. She immediately released a sigh through her nose and eagerly sought his lips as her rather small tongue entwined with his. Vahn even stroked his hand along her lower back where a tail was poking out of her nightgown and beating with loud thumps as she began to lose herself in the moment. Though several auras red up around him, Vahn promised he would make it up to the other girls in the future and did his best not to mind them for the time being. Lili had been shifting her weight further up his body as she more eagerly sought his lips so Vahn eventually had to bring her back to her senses by sending a jolt of energy above the base of her tail. Though it wasnt to the same extent as Cat Persons, Chienthropes were sensitive around their tails and Lili immediately scrunched up her body as a result of his actions and began to release hot and heavy breaths against his chest. When she pulled away, she had coincidentally locked eyes with the blushing Naaza and her senses began to return to her as she remembers Vahns words, as well as the promise she had made prior. After regting her own breathing a bit, Lili said in a slightly anxious tone, "Eight months and twenty-seven days...please make me truly yours on that day, Vahn...promise me..." When Lilis words finished, Vahn felt strange energy fill his body and begin to hover around the vessel of his soul with an anticipatory vibe radiating from it. He knew this was likely the [Burden of Love] activating with Lilis words as the catalyst but he didnt mind it too much and just nodded his head and said, "I already made that promise in the past, but I will repeat it if it brings you somefort, Lili...I promise, when you be a proper a.d.u.l.t, I will be the one to seek you out..." Speaking his words, Vahn felt like his previous actions of sharing a passionate kiss were somewhat suspect, but their actual age was less than a year apart so he didnt feel too guilty... A beautiful smile blossomed on Lilis face when she heard Vahns words while he himself felt the energy circling his soul activate before entering within the same stream as [Enkidu] as it waited for his promise to bepleted. It was a rtively significant promise so light had be rather dazzling as it patiently drifted about and revolved within his soul in the same direction as [Enkidu]. With their promise literally soulbinding at this point, at least for Vahn, Lili seemed content and started behaving once again but Vahn noticed she didnt exist out of her Chienthrope transformation. Though she wasnt directly breathing in his scent any longer, he could still see her Love parameter tick up every now and then so she was obviously still enjoying the moment. For the rest of the night, things were rtively uneventful and most of the girls began falling asleep soon after Lili stopped misbehaving. As for Vahn himself, he stayed awake until Tione and Lefiya had crept into the room before finally allowing himself to drift off. With him finally rxing, Fenrir also drifted off to sleep at nearly the exact same time but not before she nuzzled up against Vahn and began to tickle his arm with her shallow breaths. He might not have noticed it in the past but, now that Lili was doing something very simr, Vahn was aware that Fenrir was passively enjoying his scent... (A/N: Though it might not be necessary, I wanted to exin he original title, Burden, for anyone that was confused. Its essentially the ridiculous burden that was literally forced on Lili before she even knew what was going on in her life. The fact she awakened the rare [Artel Assist] and [Cinder E] show just how terrible things had been for her. If you take into consideration that her Innate ability is also [As], even though she was born with a weak body, it essentially shows that it was her fate to experience such suffering...fate can eat a dog turd and choke (O,...,O)!!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tiones awareness expands...,F.u.c.k the Soma Familia...,*shallow breathing*) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 472 - Changes : Similarities

Chapter 472 - Changes : Simrities

Though the crystals in the ceiling still showed it was dark on the surface, Vahn had awoken early, around 3 AM to prepare for the rtively long day toe. Some important events had been happeningtely, each more impactful than the previous, so Vahn was feeling a bit paranoid as he liberated his arm from Naaza and carried the drowsy Lili out of the room with Fenrir following close behind. Her sleep schedule was very synchronized with his own, at least when they were coordinating together, so she had awoken at nearly the same instant as Vahn himself. As for Lili, she had been in high tensions the previous night and was somewhat tuckered out so Vahn had to stir her into awareness with his [Hands of Nirvana]. After begrudgingly parting from him, Lili released another yawn before she stripped out of her nightgown and revealed a tight fighting attire that was simr to what Fenrir and the Hiryute sisters wore. Lili was another girl that didnt like to wear clothing that constricted around her midriff and her sleepwear, as it was inappropriate to use actual pajamas and stuff in the Dungeon, was apromise betweenfort and preparedness. As for what she would be wearing for the excursion itself, Lili was attired in a beige vest that only extended slightly past her ribcage, which also had a hooded attachment and a pair of red shorts. She used to wear skirts, but it wasnt suitable for herbat style so she took to wearing a rtively small pair of form-fitting shorts instead. She also wore a belt around her waist that was affixed with two pouches and a pair of ck stockings. For her defensive equipment, she wore the [Ass Grips] he had forged for her and a pair of A-Rank shin guards with a pair of flexible boots that had aplex treading that allowed her to kick off most surfaces easily. Her weapon of choice was an A-Rank naginata, that had been forged for her by Tsubaki, but she also made use of several small throwing knives and a variety of additional items that she had within her pouches. Lili was the type that studied matters rted to the Dungeon very seriously and she often carried arge variety of items for any situation. It was a little awkward, however, since it resulted in the two pouches on her backside looking more like spheres than traditional squared pouches... The only other essories Lili wore, at least for the time being, was the indestructible silver ne that was everpresent around her neck. It was the same heart-shapedbination locket Vahn had given to her when he visited Tsubakis in the past, and it was a perfect fit for the golden one that could be seen in the neck of his tunic. As for Fenrir, she was wearing the same small waterproof clothing as normal without any other pieces of equipment other than a small pouch at her waist. Other than a brush, the only items contained within were a few pieces of Adamantine and a shiny high-grade magic core that she had be fond of at some point. Seeing the two rtively lightly dressed girls, Vahn figured he needed to bump them up in the order for girls that would need his under armor sooner. There was also the option of purchasing something for them through the system shop, or gacha system, but he would worry about that this evening if it seemed to be a pertinent issue. Fenrir could already fight the monsters with rtive ease and he didnt want to introduce any sudden changes for Lili since there would always be a moderate amount of difort when wearing new clothing. There was one benefit to Lilis rtively light attire, however, and it presented itself immediately when he remembered he needed to check her Status Board and she quickly slipped out of the vest in the blink of an eye... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Liliruca Arde Race: Pallum LV. 2(+) POW: 887+(F302)->(D517) END: 941+(E417)->(C652) DEX: 676+(H123)->(F312) AGI: 598+(H106)->(E429) MAG: 811+(G285)->(C631) Skill: [Artel*Assist:C->B], [As: Innate:I], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Oniyuri:H->D] Magic: [Cinder*E:B->A] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:G->F], [Spearman:(sealed), [Swordsman:(sealed)], [Crush:(sealed)] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn had originally been paying attention to Lilis parameter development, while alsoparing it to his records within the system, and he was somewhat concerned about the haste she had shown when she reached Level 2. Her status total had only been 3,913, which wasnt actually that bad, but she had also already had the me seed within her chest. If she had exercised a bit of patience, Lilis foundation would be even stronger but Vahn also knew it was primarily his fault that she was in such a hurry before. If he had given her more care in the past, Lili likely would have be much stronger, just like Haruhime and the twins had be through his careful mentorship... However, any negative thoughts he might have had werepletely washed away when he saw the sneaky appearance of Lilis Innate having now awakened. He hadnt checked her Status Board recently, so he wasnt exactly sure when it had awakened and was now curious if their interaction the previous night had been the catalyst. Powerful emotions, apanied by a shift in mentality, were usually what led to such skills developing as even Tsubakis seemed to have awakened after the death of Jonas. Another thing of note was that her [Cinder*E] was nearing mastery and that she also had three potential Development Abilities waiting for her level-up. Though she didnt mind having her back exposed to Vahn, Lilli eventually grew curious as a result of his silence and asked, "Is there anything strange?" Vahn heard her words and immediately smiled before saying, "Youve awakened a rare ability and I was lost in thought about it for a brief moment. Tell me, Lili, have you noticed any changes in your body recently?" Lili nodded her head before turning around and exposing herself to Vahn as she lifted up her b.r.e.a.s.ts and said, "I feel like my b.r.e.a.s.ts have been getting a little biggertely..." Vahn habitually pinched the bridge of his nose before releasing a light chuckle and ruffling Lilis head as he said, "Go ahead and put on your clothing. Well figure out if there are any changes when we starting hunting monsterter. Just make sure youre paying attention to your instincts and dont be afraid to let me know if you notice anything." Once again, Lili nodded her head without immediately putting on her top as she remarked, "I feel like my heart is beating faster...can you tell?" This time, Fenrir was the one to respond to her as she stated in a somewhat husky and dull tone, "Lili, dont be a bad girl that bothers Master all the time..." She had ced emphasis on the word bad, as it was one of the worst things she could think of, and even slipped up by calling Vahn Master as a result of her frustration. Lili saw the subtle glow in her scarlet eyes and the fur of her tail and ears stood on end a bit and her movements became rigid. Since she was still in the form of a Chienthrope, her instincts were more pronounced and she was getting some serious danger signals from the unimpressed wolf girl. Fenrirs neutral expression actually made her look angry and the eerie red eyes were enough to even unnerve veteran Adventurers, much less a Level 2 like Lili. Vahn reached out his hand and plopped it on Lilis head and said, "Get ready to leave, we shouldnt dy things for too long. Dont worry, there is plenty of time for things like that when youre a little older..." Feeling the warm energy entering her body, Lili calmed down and managed to pull her eyes away from the predatory gaze of Fenrir and began fixing her clothing. Vahn nodded his head before sending a nce at Fenrir that made her ears droop slightly as she averted her eyes away from his. She knew it wasnt good to intimidate the other girls, but Lilis behavior had been a bit excessive and she could see that it was bothering her Master. Since he was pampering her too much, Fenrir thought she needed to say something or the annoying Pallum would keep wasting more time. Unlike the other girls, who Fenrir felt like she could learn from, she could tell that Lilis behavior was wrong even though her Master seemed to tolerate it a bit. She believed he had his reasons, but it still made her a little upset seeing someone get away with making things difficult for her Master... While Lili was fixing her clothing with slightly shaky hands, Vahn had been rapidly bouncing ideas around in his head as he thought of a way to pacify Fenrir and potentially bring her closer to Lili in the future. A few ideas seemed better than others and Vahn also changed his mind about waiting untilter to actually get some proper equipment for the two girls. They hadnt actually left yet, so it wasnt toote to make a few changes and Lili would also be adapting to her awakened Innate anyways, so it wouldnt make a big difference if her attire was changed. [As] seemed to be based around strength, so her Power would likely experience a qualitative change soon, but her actual Endurance and Agility were somewhat lowpared to what would be required to safely fight ck Rhinos. Though she had Vahns [Wounds Transfer] to rely on, as well as an [Effigy of the Hero], it was better that she was outside of one-shot range by enemies. Vahn stroked his chin in a thoughtful manner as a soft expression appeared on his face apanied by a smile. Lili c.o.c.ked her head to the side in confusion while even Fenrir detected the change in Vahns disposition and grew curious, almost as if her earlier angst wasnt nearly as important as what was going on with him. With both girls attention focused on him, Vahn said, "Id actually like the two of you to be a little closer in the future...and I also think yourbat style could benefit greatly by using your [Cinder*E] to emte the racial traits of a Vanargandr..." Vahn nodded his head as if he had made a profound discovery before also saying, "Ill give you both suitable defensive equipment as well...just let me think for a moment." Lili was somewhat surprised by Vahns words, but Fenrir didnt seem too fond of the idea as a frown appeared on her face. Vahn, however, chuckled before a magical light appeared from his body and it began to change at a visible rate as his equipment instantly swapped to something suited to his new appearance. Fenrirs frown vanished in an instant and she trotted forward before hugging Vahn tightly and rubbing her head against his chest in an affectionate manner. To ensure she didnt have anything toin about, Vahn also used his [Thria*Mimos] to alter his base shape and then solidified the change using his own mental imaging ability and deactivating the skill. It was a little bit of a shortcut, but Vahns race had changed to a Vanargandr in a short period of time and Fenrir was very aware of it. Vahn had only ever emted it in the past, but now he could feel a strange sensation in his body, almost like all of his pores were breathing, and even his jaw had a pressure in it that made him want to pop it to ease the difort. He obviously didnt have Fenrirs [Devour] and [Insatiable Hunger], but he had her hyperdeveloped senses and it was actually a little overwhelming. Vahn knew her vision, hearing, and olfactory senses were incredibly developed, but he had seriously underestimated just how strong they were. Vahn felt so many different scents enter his nose from all over the encampment that he had to activate his [Will of the Emperor] just to cope with it. He suddenly had a much greater understanding of why Fenrir got so easily frustrated all the time... From his left, Lili looked at Vahns change and felt a bit of excitement bubble up inside of her as she muttered, "Your wound is mine. My wound is mine. Echoing message of midnight..." and also changed her appearance to be very near theirs. She also experienced enhanced senses, though not nearly as developed as Fenrirs and Vahns, but was already used to such things since she often changed forms. Fenrir noticed her change and gazed at Lili for a little while before nodding her head and allowing her to copy them. She wouldnt have been okay with it if Lili was the only one to change since she didnt like the idea of anyone taking things from her, but it was okay since Vahn also changed. Fenrir could even tell that his scent had drastically changedpared to the past and she even poked her ws into his back sneakily to confirm something... Vahn felt a little prick at his back but it was more surprising than painful and Fenrir seemed to be especially pleased as a toothy grin appeared on her face as she nuzzled against him even stronger. Now, however, she didnt bother pawing at his back and Vahn felt eight pricks against his backside that were a little ticklish but not painful. He immediately realized why Fenrir was so happy but it was a strange thing to consider since he wasnt sure why her ws no longer affected him. It could be because Fenrir was a unique existence and thews governing her ws, which had no effect on her own body, now applied to him since they were the same race and also had the same source energy constituting their bodies. Vahn wasnt exactly sure of the reason, but he was happy that Fenrir was seemingly over-the-moon about the revtion. Though he would need to change his tunicter, since she had poked several holes in it at this point, it was a small price to pay to make the adorable wolf girl smile. --- Since he wasnt sure what was the most suitable for the girls, and couldnt learn about the features of items until he actually purchased them, Vahn decided to leave it up to fate and once again essed his standard gacha function through the system. The cost per pull was 10,000OP, but it still allowed him to choose categories so he picked body armor, form-fitting, and non-restrictive since neither girl was fond of restrictive clothing. Since the system would actually adapt the equipment for use for the intended target, this cases being the two rtively petite girls, he wouldnt end up with anything that was made for men. Even if he got a few misses, he should still be able to use them for his future research and there was a fair chance he could glean insights from the foreign armor designs. One of the built-in functions of the gacha system was a free pull when he purchased ten at once, so Vahn went ahead and fed 100,000OP into the system as therge wooden wheel began to turn in his mind once again. The majority of the orbs spit out from the hole in the center were white, which Vahn knew was the second lowest rating besides grey, with only the bonus item being a purple color that Vahn had yet to see. It was almost violet and Vahn felt a bit of excitement as he began opening up each orb while saving the win until the end. The first orb actually contained what looked like a white one-piece swimsuit and Vahn wasnt quite sure how it qualified as armor. After a quick nce, he saw that it had a total of 7 P.Def and was only worth 40OP within the system, one of the worst pulls he had ever gotten. The other nine items werent much better and looked like simple outfits that certainly fit the mold of form-fitting very well. One of them was even an item literally called [Blue Leotard] that Vahn couldnt tell apart from a simple swimsuit except for the fact it didnt seem waterproof. It had a whopping 3 P.Def and 0 M.Def and was only worth 13OP, overtaking the [Racing Swimsuit] as the new worst pull. Fortunately, the final item was definitely a win and Vahn was surprised to see what looked like a long-sleeved white top with frayed fur around an ornamental hood, but it also had a waist attachment and strange adornment Vahn couldnt determine the purpose of. The most surprising thing, however, was that it was worth 230,000OP within the shop... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Nezha Ladys Togi](A/N: I thought this looked neat...credit FFXIV kappa (UwU).) Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 2 P.Def: 400 M.Def: 800 Abilities: Nezhas Blessing(sealed) (1/5), Weatherproof(A), Shock Absorption(B), Unblemished(B) Afortable jacket with a loose fit that ensures ease of movement. Designed to emte the aesthetic of a youthful god that was free spirited but also vengeful. When all five pieces are gathered, allows the wearer to harness a fraction of the gods power. Soulbound:(unbound) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though it was long-sleeved, the sleeves red out greatly at the end and Vahn actually thought it matched the somewhat wild appearance of Fenrir. The only downside was that darker colors suited her more, but Vahn figured he could get a ck or blue version of the outfit if he purchased it through the shop. He also had the option of trying to purchase the other set pieces, but when he looked in the shop for Nezha armor, there was literally an infinite number of options, though only a few thousand that wereparable in price to the [Nezha Ladys Togi]. Vahn wasnt really in a gambling mood, though his stint with the gacha system might have said otherwise, so he put off trying to discover which pieces belonged to the set. Vahn bit the bullet and spent 230,000OP for another [Nezha Ladys Togi] and, as he had expected, it resulted in a ck version of the outfit whit white ents that would look much better on Fenrir. Since they had been patiently waiting for him to think, Vahn smiled at the two girls before pulling the top out of the system. However, the only thing that appeared was a small ne golden talisman on it. Vahn was a little confused at first but it was immediately reced by a great deal of excitement as he held out the ne and said, "This will be your new armor...I think youll find its pretty interesting." Vahn then helped Fenrir slip out of her top with a surprising difficulty, as his fingers had shrunk slightly and had turned into ws, before cing the ne around her neck. For a short while, Fenrir just stood there confused wearing nothing but small waterproof bottoms with her diminutive chest on full disy. She tilted her head to the side and let her ears flop as she asked, "Does this really count as clothing...?" From what she had learned from the other girls around her Master, Fenrir knew she was supposed to hide her b.r.e.a.s.ts so that other people couldnt see them. Now, however, her Master had given her a top that was nothing but a dangling te that she couldnt discern the purpose of. She didnt mind if he wanted to stare at her, but imagining the eyes of others looking at her made her hair begin to stand on end. Vahn pat her head with a smile and said, "Try to insert your will into the ne and something should happen..." Fenrir nodded her head before closing her eyes and focusing her mind on the ne. It was a little difficult since Vahn was still patting her head, but she did her best to follow his orders before a small rune appeared on the golden te and the clothes materialized out of thin air and wrapped around her body. It still left her stomach exposed, which Fenrir actually liked, and was veryfortablepared to the other outfits she wore. There was even a form-fittingyer of fabric under the thicker coating that felt very soft to the touch before it matched her body temperature and almost made it feel like she wasnt wearing anything at all. While Fenrir was looking over her new outfit, Vahn was also doing the same and his eyes were pulled to the red belt that had various gold rings around Fenrirs h.i.p.s. He wasnt sure of the purpose of it at all, other than decorative, but it looked cool and Fenrir didnt seem to mind it. In fact, it appeared as though she was very fond of the outfit before a curious expression appeared on her face and the outfit suddenly disappeared. Vahn was caught a little off guard since Fenrir was suddenly topless again, but the sh of skin disappeared momentster as the top reformed in an instant. Fenrir beganughing in her somewhat strange manner before saying, "Now Fenrir is even more like Master~!" Since Vahn was able to make his clothes appear out of nowhere, Fenrir felt like she was a little closer to him now. Vahn ruffled her hair a bit and considered wether or not to buy bottoms for her, but he wasnt sure exactly what to get for her and she probably was morefortable in her normal outfit for the time being. The belts around her waist, though seemingly without purpose, actually matched well with the off-ck bottoms she was already wearing so he decided to ignore it for now as he passed Lili a ne of her own. She happily snatched it from his grasp before wearing it around her neck in an instant. It was much shorter than her locket, which could reach down to the start of her cleavage, so it didnt get in the way. Just as Fenrir had done, Lili focused her mind on the ne before saying, "I can hear a voice..." as a rune appeared on her own te. Lili smiled before quickly removing her old vest and activating her armor, which perfectly shaped itself around her moderately developed b.r.e.a.s.ts. It actually made her chest look somewhat smaller, but everything else matched very well with her general attire. Since the belts around her waist were also red, it matched well with the color of her shorts and the golden rings ented the entire ensemble well. Even her ck stockings didnt sh at all and she seemed to like it just as much as Fenrir as she patted around her body and said, "Vahn, this is actually superfortable~! Other than when the fabric moves against my arms a little, it almost feels like Im not even wearing anything...?" It was a little strange to describe wearing nothing asfortable, but Lili didnt really know a better way to exin it since it felt like the outfit was actually a part of her now. Vahnughed at Lilis exnation before saying, "Those outfits are soulbound to you, so you are the only ones that can wear them. Their defensive capabilities are very high for light armor, and they have four abilities, including a rare set ability that Im not sure how to activate just yet. As for the others, they are Weatherproof, Shock Absorption, and Unblemished. That means they should befortable in any weather conditions, provide extra resistance against physical blows, and also be incredibly resistant to things like general stains and other wear-and-tear. If you damage them, you can probably re-summon them in a better condition, but it will likely take a bit of your mana in exchange." As if she wanted to put his theory to the test, Fenrir poked a hole in her sleeve in a very casual manner before her clothes vanished for a brief moment and reappeared once again. It was a very strange sight to see and Vahn wondered if this was how others saw him when he changed his equipment. Fortunately, his early posttion had been correct and now Fenrirs sleeve was entirely undamaged. Soulbound equipment could literally be stored within, and nourished, by the soul of the weilder, so it wasnt surprising at all to see such an effect. Fenrir seemed even more pleased to have her new clothing now since she wouldnt have to worry about identally cutting it into pieces in the future... After the girls yed around a bit, including Lili shing him once, the trio made their way to a new entrance that led down to the 51st floor. Since they were traveling around 110km, Vahn carried them both and covered the distance using [Shundo] to save time. They were both incredibly light, with Lili weighing an almost negligible 22kg while Fenrir wasnt much heavier at 38kg. Fenrir clung to his back along the way, since she liked doing so, while Vahn cradled the small Lili within his arms in a somewhat awkward manner. Because of her small stature, giving her a princess carry with a little difficult because he actually had to angle his arms inwards to hold her body properly. The better way to carry her was the manner he usually carried Tina and Shizune, who were actually slightly bigger than Lili now, and it was by supporting her with his forearm and hugging her back as she clung to him. Vahn felt like he was carrying her like a child, as that was exactly how he was holding her, but Lili didnt seem to mind it at all. He was briefly reminded of the fact that she had never received love from her own parents so he simply ignored it and just hugged her with afortable pressure as they made their way through the ashen grey forest. He had already promised to take care of her from now on, so Vahn didnt mind giving her some of theforts she had lost as he helped improve her strength while also developing and refining his own... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sneaky [As],Its almost like Im wearing nothing at all~!,Lili weighs about as much as three shot puts...around 50lbs x_x) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 473 - Hunt

Chapter 473 - Hunt

After making their way down into the 51st floor of the Dungeon, Vahn exined to Lili some of the dangers that would be present while also encouraging her to try and understand her rare ability, [As]. She had been somewhat surprised to know that her skill shared the same name as the bracers Vahn had forged for her in the past. Being a bright little Pallum, Lili could easily see through the fact that Vahn had done so intentionally in an attempt to spur her into awakening her skill passively over time. As she had been using the [Ass Grips] for several months now, she had some understanding of what her skill might do and the thought made her more than a little excited. This was already Fenrirs second day straight of fighting on the 51st floor, so she was already in the groove of things as she led the way forward in an alert status. Lili was a little distracted at first, but her disposition changed quickly when she saw the focus of Vahn and Fenrir. Her confidence in Vahn was a little abnormalpared to some of the other girls, so she didnt feel like she was in any danger at all even though the monsters were sure to be somewhat difficult for her level. Since the previous night, it didnt feel like anything to stop her anymore but she was brought back to reality when observing how seriously Vahn inspected every inch of the Dungeon while entrusting Fenrir to lead the way. After traveling for a few minutes, Fenrir leaned forward slightly and said, "Seven...Fenrir will go beyond. Lili will protect Vahn and kill what she can..." Without exining further, Fenrir ran forward and caused the monsters to begin spawning as Lili startled for a brief moment before brandishing her rather elegantly designed naginata and jumping toward the nearest ck Rhinos without hesitation. Vahn still felt it was somewhat strange seeing her wield a weapon that was more than 200cm in length, considering she was only 110cm tall, but the way Lili used it made it seem perfectly normal. Unlike Vahns training with Tsubaki, Lili had learned actual techniques from the lively [Master Smith] and it was very obvious in each of her movements. Using the foundation she had established in the past, where she was constantly in motion, Lili vaulted around the Dungeon in short bursts while tracing perfect arcs through the air and cleaving at the limbs of the monsters. The first enemy she faced hardly had enough time to get its footing before Lili had jumped forward more than 12m in an instant and cleaved a path through both of its legs. There was so much momentum behind her blow, that the ck Rhinos, that weighed more than a thousand pounds, actually spun sides following the path of her de. As he had watched her fight on the way down, Vahn knew this was abnormal even for the rtively Powerful Lili. Lili released a burst of excitedughter before stepping forward in a somewhat strange manner that made it appear as if her feet slid across the floor without any friction as her waist twisted and she performed a backward cleave that traced a path through the side of the ck Rhinos that had charged her. The de of Lilis naginata was around 40cm, so it cut arge gash through the monster that actually sent a ripple through its body as its forward momentum was brought to a stop and it was knocked off its feet. When she saw this happen, Lili released another pleasant soundingughter before nting her naginata in the ground and doing something that even caught Vahn a little off guard. When the third ck Rhinos charged at her, Lili decided not to evade it and stood her ground against the monster that was more than twice her height and twenty times her weight. With a terrifying burst momentum of around 700km/h, the ck Rhinos charged at Lili as she stepped forward slightly and twisted her body in a fluid motion. During her movement, Lili gripped one of the fingers on the outstretched hand of the monster before she jerked its body low and attempted to flip it using the same technique Tsubaki used to bully Vahn with. Using her body as a pivot, Lili attempted to convert the forward momentum of the monster into a rotational force but she was surprised to find that the finger of the ck Rhino detached from its hand when she jerked it downward. The ck Rhinos was still knocked off bnce by her actions, but it wasnt quite the effect she was looking for since her initial movement was simply too strong. However, her surprise faded away quickly and she tossed the thick ck finger to the side before leaping forward and striking the lower back of the ck Rhinos as it tried to stand. Even without the [Fist Strike] Development Ability, Lilis punch made a wave pass through the monsters body as it quickly overwhelmed the tragic creatures Endurance parameter and caused what could only be described as a crater to appear in its back before the front of its body exploded into a gory mess. Though the contact surface of Lilis fist was rather small, around 8cm, the shockwave that radiated from her blow passed through the body of the ck Rhinos and expanded before a massive hole, more than 40cm, appeared on the opposite side of its body. Lili was breathing heavily, not as a result of exhaustion but because of the nearly uncontainable excitement welling up inside of her. Though the [Ass Grips] already made her attacks very strong in the past, it wasnt even remotely close to her current power output. She already harbored some expectations when Vahn revealed the name of her rare skill, but this was way beyond anything her mind was capable ofprehending. It almost felt like she was stuck in a dream and the only thing that kept her grounded was the smell of blood, the sound of ongoingbat, and the sight of the boy she loved looked at her with a proud expression on his face... Seeing that Lili had actually killed her targets faster than she did, Fenrir felt a bit of anxiety inside her heart because she didnt expect the small girl to be a real threat. Though she was still dealing with thest two ck Rhinos, Fenrir had turned her attention to Lili as she loosed the devastating blow against her final enemy and it made Fenrir frown deeply before she rolled to the side and evaded the monster that had tried to tten her. Fenrir knew there were girls that were stronger than her, some much much stronger, but she couldnt tolerate the thought of someone weaker than she was being stronger. It made her feel vexed and confused because she tried so hard to get stronger and now Lili was able to cheat and increase her strength without any effort at all! Just as she was about to rip apart the closest enemy, Fenrir saw a blur of midnight blue before Vahn twisted the arm of the ck Rhinos and kicked it in the back hard enough to send it smashing into the wall and imnting the massive frame into the hard bedrock. Before she could make sense of what was happening, she saw her Master spin through the air before nting his foot into the shoulder of the final enemy and smashing it into the floor as he vaulted casually away from it andnded next to her. She wasnt jealous of her Master, Fenrir wished she could use the shiny ck scales to crush enemies just like him. Seeing his current form, which was the same as hers, in his Xunw transformation made Fenrir feel a little giddy until her Masters warm hand began stroking her head. Vahn had seen the abnormal state of Fenrir and noticed that, even though the fight wasnt that hard, she was on the verge of either going berserk or being overwhelmed by her hunger. Though she was a very adorable little creature, Vahn knew that Fenrir was prone to jealousy, especially when she had something she could directlypare between herself and another girl. Since Lili was weaker than she was, but was able to perform borderline ridiculous feats of strength, she was probably burning up with jealousy without having an outlet to vent her feelings. Vahn got a fun idea that might be able to appease her, so he c.o.c.ked his head to the side and stared into her glowing scarlet eyes before asking, "Does Fenrir want to hunt with me?" Fenrirs ears twitched as she adorably mirrored his action and tilted her head to the side in a simr manner and asked, "Fenrir can hunt with Ma...Vahn?" Vahn picked up her paw and dragged her ws across his own fur-covered forearms to remind her that she couldnt identally hurt him right now. Vahn actually wanted to experience what it was like to fight as a Vanargandr, so he didnt mind giving into his instincts a little if it made Fenrir feel closer to him. No matter how he thought about it, it seemed like a fun and unique way that he could y with Fenrir that couldnt be emted by anyone else unless they somehow had SS-Rank armor... To alleviate Fenrirs confusion, Vahn smiled and exined, "My ws are sharp, just like Fenrirs, and I also used to use a simr fightings style...remember?" Fenrirs foundation was actually a mimicry of his Bih form, so there were a lot of simrities between them. He had been trying to be more proficienttely and hadnt really let loose like he had when his Bih form was his primarybat style. Though they were strong, the ck Rhinos werent a great threat since theirck of Agility made them easy marks since everyone present could easily exploit the gaps in their attacks. Besides, Vahn was interested to see how developed his current instincts were as a Vanargandr since it strangely felt stronger than his Bih form of the past... As she was still somewhat confused, Vahn pulled Fenrir along and said, "Just fight how you want, and I will show you what I mean..." as he looked over and winked at Lili. She had been observing his interactions with Fenrir with a fit of simr jealousy and Vahn wanted to disrupt the momentum of any negativity she might be feeling. It was difficult to manage a party with two girls prone to jealousy, but Vahn expected he would be able to manage as long as he himself loosened up a bit. They were all simr in appearance, though drastically different in size, so Vahn wanted everyone to get along better. When she had seen Vahn wink at her, Lili startled slightly before running over and freeing her naginata from the Dungeon floor and shouting, "Wait for me~!" After progressing into an adjacent corridor, Fenrirs eyes darted to several spots as her hair edged out slightly. Vahn surprised her a bit by patting her back and saying, "Fenrir, lets hunt..." as he himself took a step forward while crouching low. Not wanting to be left behind, Fenrir dashed forward and leaped at a ck Rhinos in an attempt to rake her ws across its face and rend the flesh from its body. Her efforts proved sessful so Fenrir nned to target the next enemy before her Master appeared in her peripheral vision and gripped her hand. She didnt understand what was happening but trusted that her Master wouldnt bring her any harm. As she expected, Vahn pulled her forward slightly, almost as if he were pulling her into his embrace, before he smiled and said, "Fly..." and tossed her at the blind spot of another enemy. Following her instincts, Fenrir struck out at the monster but found her foot a bit off when she looked for a spot to bound away from. However, Vahn had moved along with her like a shadow and stuck the same monster with a fierce momentum while offering his body as a point for her to bound off of. Though it looked somewhat crazed, a happy smile bloomed on Fenrirs face as she nted her paws against Vahns shoulder and jumped back before using the ceiling as a second point and bounding once again, this time in a twisting motion as she passed by another nearby monster and decapitated it. A blue of blue passed by her once again and, without any hesitation at all, Vahn buried his own arm into the body of the ck Rhinos that tried to nk her and ripped out its monster core as an explosion of blood coated his body. Just like when he used to fight in the Dungeon, before his copse against the Juggernaut, Vahn had a smile on his face as he reveled in the thrill of the moment. His senses were focused to an extreme and the sensory stimuli passed over his body like a wave that made the fur on his arms stand on end as a result of his excitement. Since Fenrir was looking toward him, Vahn matched her gaze before twisting his body in a blur andunching the monster core he just obtained as a lethal projectile that passed clear through the body of another ck Rhinos. He then stepped forward before crouching down slightly as Fenrirs rtively cool to the touch, and incredibly soft and plush paw pads pressed into his bare back as sheunched herself off his body. Vahn kicked off the ground and followed her like an echo as they passed on opposite sides of an unfortunate ck Rhinos and separated its body at the waist. Lili had been fighting her own enemies, but she couldnt help but nce over at the duo with the desire to join in on the fun. However, the moment she looked over the second time, Lili heard Vahn shout, "Lili~!" as he kicked back a ck Rhinos toward her direction. She had just managed to deal with her own opponent, so it was almost a perfect window of opportunity for her to transition and deal with the new target. Lili ducked low, allowed the ck Rhinos to pass overtop her body, before smashing up with two open palms and forcing its body to collide with the ceiling of the Dungeon as the majority of the bones in its torso were shattered by her strike. Blood dripped down from its body like rain and fell into the dense midnight blue fur on her head before an excited smile appeared on her face. Just as she had been feeling a little jealous of Fenrir, Vahn had drawn her into the fight so Liliunched herself forward and threw caution to the wind as she spun through the air and kicked the head of the closest ck Rhinos. A loud cracking sound echoed through the corridor as the head of the monster drooped without support since Lilis strike hadpletely shattered its jaw and the neck bone beneath its skull. Even Vahn wasnt sure exactly how her strikes were generating so much power, but it was quite the sight to behold seeing a girl the size of a human child manhandle enemies several times her size. Since Lili had started to act withplete disregard for her own safety, something Vahn nned to grill her onter, he needed to look after her a bit more but it was much easier now that his domain had evolved to the point where he could sense almost everything within a given space. Even if he was fully focused on something else, Vahn literally couldnt remove his awareness of his surroundings from his own mind and it was almost like his brain was now capable of focusing on two things at once. With his enhanced senses and the overwhelming amount of stimuli his body was experiencing, Vahn felt nigh unstoppable as he pressed forward and continued the hunt alongside the two seemingly feral girls... --- For nearly a full eight hours, only stopping to replenish their stamina and enjoy some snacks and cuddling, Vahn carved a path of devastation through the Dungeon while acting as a protector of the two girls. However, it wasnt that long into the hunt that Vahn realized they might not need his protection at all as Lili had gotten caught unawares by a ck Rhinos as it tried to m down at her. Almost as if her body was reacting on instinct, she lifted up her arm and caught the fist of the monster before tightening her grip. Her fingers dug into the thick flesh of the ck Rhinos before she twisted its body like a rag doll with enough force that she ripped the arm straight out of the socket before mming her small fist into the hardest part of the monster, its horn, and shattering it like ss. Vahn had been preparing to go to her aid so he had gotten an up close and personal view of the sequence of actions before Lili turned to him, face and hair covered in blood, and smiled with a very cheerful expression on her face. Though his face had been in a stunned stupor at first, Vahn also smiled before stepping forward and pulling her out of the way of another monster that had tried to ram into her body. She beganughing happily before nuzzling against him for a brief moment and moving on to the next enemy without any hesitation. Lili had started to realize Vahn intent shortly after the hunt began so she didnt want to upset Fenrir by stealing advantages. Instead, she decided to earn his praise and cut loose with them since it was a lot more fun to fight together instead of on her own... As a result of their efforts, Vahn pampered both girls when they were taking a break by allowing them to recline against them as he rested his palms on their exposed navels and channeling and replenished their stamina, mana, and source energy. Though he might have earned the disproval of some, Vahn gently stroked their abdomens while making full use of his [Hands of Nirvana] and [Petting] which caused both girls to cover his hand with their paws as their abdomens twitched as a result of the pleasant and slightly ticklish sensation. Lili had eventually even given up on training to contain herughter as she rxed her body against Vahns chest and simplyughed out loud, only taking a break when her abdomen tensed up and caused her to hold her breath. Both girls were very slim, but Fenrirs body could easily be described as thin since she had no pronounced muscles on her body at all. Her skin was very smooth to the touch, but it was almost like she had no real fat on her body at all. As for Lili, she still had an incredibly petite and frail looking figure, at least at first nce, but Vahn could feel the tension of her muscles as he passed his hand against her abdomen. She had been doing nothing but full-body training ever since she began her apprenticeship under Tsubaki, so her entire body had been converted into a small bundle of incredible power. Whenever she tensed up, the lines of her abdomen became very pronounced for a brief moment and this hinted at the power bottled up inside of her diminutive frame. During those moments, Vahn felt like her skin had temporarily be as hard as steel and it was quite interesting... This cycle continued several times before they finally decided to call it a day as lunch was fast approaching. To wrap things up, Vahn pulled out arge basin and shared a bath with the two girls while also updating their Status Boards to mark their progress. Because they had been pressing forward with an almost mindless momentum, they had managed to kill a total of 1,002 ck Rhinos, and seventeen Deformis Spiders, in the eight hour period. Vahn had actually decided to call the excursion to an end at their 1,000th kill, but they couldnt simply allow the two remaining monsters to go free. As for their progress, Fenrirs had slowed down slightly but she was steadily nearing the peak of normal Level 3s. As for Lili, her growth had nothing short of monstrous, which made a bit of sense considering she was only Level 2 and had awakened her Innate. The most important change, however, had been the fact that Vahn felt like his own body was beginning to expand as he had started to reach the pinnacle of his parameter development for Level 3... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 15 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:3(+) -Power: 1906+(E415)->(A808) -Endurance: 2221+(B733)->(SS1065) -Dexterity: 1807+(D597)->(S919) -Agility: 1959+(E460)->(A867) -Magic: 3562+(SSS2019)->(SSS2302) Total:11455+(4224)->(5,961) Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) [Karma]: 9023->9108 [OP]: 4,252,009 [Valis]: 643,884,901 Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:E], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth: B],[Bow Mastery:S], [Stealth:B], [Chainbreaker:S], [Heart of the Eternal me:SS], [Prometheus:A], [Call of the Reaper:A],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Featherfoot:B->A], [Hands of Nirvana:S], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:B->A], [Friend of Spirits:A] Magic: [Thria*Mimos:C->B], [Shundo:B] Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:S], [Spirit Healing:A], [Swordsman:A], [Master Smith:H], [Mixing:C], [Mentor:A], [Petting:E->D], [Mage:C] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Vahns current limit is around 6500 parameters per Level, just as an FYI. If youre curious why his parameters seemed to explode, its simply an illusion because I hadnt mentioned it in a few chapters since it was focused on the other girls :P. Keep in mind that he is also using the [Seal of the Challenger] as well (UwU)~!) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Liliruca Arde Race: Pallum LV. 2(+) POW: 887+(D517)->(S943) END: 941+(C652)->(A805) DEX: 676+(F312)->(D558) AGI: 598+(E429)->(C666) MAG: 811+(C631)->(SS1002) Skill: [Artel*Assist:B], [As: Innate:I->G], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Oniyuri:D] Magic: [Cinder*E:A] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:F], [Spearman:(sealed), [Swordsman:(sealed)], [Crush:(sealed)], [Fist Strike:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: See, Lili, now THAT is how you fill out a stat line...PLUS ULTRAAAA~! Btw, her max would cap around 4500, though she could endanger herself by pushing her body further to around 4700.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: [Fenrir] Level:3(+) POW: E478->C611 END: F340->E495 DEX: C639->A850 AGI: C688->S900 MAG: G299->D513 Skills: [Insatiable Hunger:Innate(-)], [Lunar Cry:A], [Freezing Roar:A], [Chainbreaker:C], [Devour:SS], [Huntress:SS], [Endeavor:E->C], [Severing ws:E->D] Magic: - Development Abilities: [Chain Attack:D], [Fist Fighter:(sealed)], [Acrobatics:(sealed)], [Mimickry:(sealed)] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: As for everyones favorite murder floofer, she actually has no limits at all but the higher her parameters, the harder it is for her to resist her urges. Youll notice that whenever she is nearing the normal limit for other people, she begins to show signs of frustration. This is intentional o3o~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Thus Lili became known as One Punch Pallum,Wolf Pack,Tummy rubs for good puppers,Author-Style, Immersion Breaking Jutsu~!)(A/N: I may have had a wee bit of alcohol tonightds, so I apologize for any grammatical errors that may be present (UwU)~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 474 - Four Phases

Chapter 474 - Four Phases

Vahn leisurely made his way back to the encampment in an awkward manner because he had Lili clinging to his back like a ko as Fenrir stood on top of his feet with both of her paws ovepped with his. As he was able to use [Shundo] as long as one of his feet was on the ground, Vahn could still cover a fair amount of distance, though it took a little more focus than normal. Fenrir had convinced him that she wanted to experience what it was like to move forward using the skill and, as she didnt really get to hold hands with other people, she had grown strangely attached to the moment. Her ears were bobbing up and down in an adorable manner and Lili also seemed to be enjoying herself on his back so Vahn didnt let it bother him... Though they werent remotely what you could consider friends, Fenrir and Lili had at least learned topromise and tolerate each others presence because they realized they could work together to both enjoy some benefits. Vahn acted in a somewhat uncharacteristic manner on their behalf and he even seemed to greatly enjoy the experience so they had set aside their differences to make the most of the situation. From Vahns perspective, the two girls looked like a family, though he could tell there was a fair amount of tension between them, so he pampered them both since they were quite adorable. When they had exited the 51st floor, it was around noon and, as a result of the somewhat abnormal mode of transportation, it actually took Vahn almost as long as it would have taken for him to sprint, assuming he moved at his maximum speed, to reach the encampment. It only took a few minutes, but Vahn was surprised by the inefficient method since he was using a spatial movement skill. He had never realized how much his posture and freedom of movement affected the skill and, with Fenrir standing on his feet, it took him several seconds longer to link the two points beforepletely the jump. This was an important discovery because Vahn had been thinking of ways to improve his [Shundo] even further as it had been stuck at B-Rank for a long time, even though he used it very often. As they had already eaten lunch, Vahn took the girls straight to the tent under the curious gazes of several onlookers who saw Vahns and Lilis appearance. They could tell it was still the two Adventurers they had grown fond of over thest two weeks, but it was very confusing to see them have somewhat animalistic traits. At this point, everyone in the expedition knew that Fenrir was a tamed monster, but this actually made them more fond of her as it was very rare to see a truly humanoid monster, much less one that was as cute as she was. As long as they didnt antagonize Vahn, they knew she wouldnt really pay them any mind at all and simply behaved adorably in an attempt to appeal to her tamer, Vahn. Though it wasnt what he was most well known for, it wasmon knowledge that Vahn was inarguably the greatest tamer within the City as the Ganesha Familia actually publically proimed it as such. Within the tent, the only girls present were Haruhime and Mikoto, who had both been enjoying tea while it was very apparent Mikoto herself had already prepared for theing departure. Haruhime had shown an elegant smile by habit, but tilted her head to the side with intrigue disyed on her face as she remarked, "Those outfits suit the two of you very well..." She actually wanted to ask why they were all the same, but Haruhime had deduced the reason after a brief bout of confusion. Vahn had likely done something to bring the two closer together as it was very apparent that Fenrir was less hostile toward Lili now. Unfortunately, it didnt seem like the change extended to her as Fenrir showed a slight scowl and said, "Smelly Harume..." under her breath, but easily audible to everyone present. Vahn rubbed Lilis head and said, "You should take a long rest, Lili, I know you didnt get good sleepst night. You worked very hard today, and Ill see you this evening..." Against the expectations of almost everyone present, Lili nodded her head and actually yawned before saying, "Okay..." and dragging her tired body to the sleeping area. As Vahn had already noticed, she was actually extremely tired but it was primarily a result of mental exhaustion, as her stamina waspletely topped off while her mana was pooling around in her body at maximum capacity. That eight-hour hunt had been one of the most taxing experiences of her life and she had let her tensions get the best of her since it was also a very fun experience. She was even nearing the point where she could increase her level soon, so Lili wanted to rest in order to make time pass faster. After watching Lilis back disappear behind the room p, Vahn walked over and sat down after setting a cushion for himself. Fenrir plopped down in hisp as if it was the only eptable seat she could take but hung her head while tucking in her knees to create a small form since she didnt want to be in Vahns way. She also didnt want to look at Haruhime as the eyes she looked at Vahn with were very frustrating for Fenrir. Though she would never admit it, Fenrir saw Haruhime as her rival because they had a lot of parallels and were both extremely loyal to Vahn. There was also the fact that, though she didnt remember much about the Divination, she knew that Haruhime had won out against her and had grown into a very powerful entity that served Vahn much better than she had... Vahn wrapped his arms loosely around the bundled up Fenrir as he looked to Haruhime and Mikoto and said, "Well, I can tell you have already made your preparations, Mikoto, but I wanted to talk to you about a few things and also update your Status Board before we leave." Though she already sat ramrod straight, Mikotos figure tensed up slightly as she inexplicably tried to make herself appear taller and more stoic. After reaching her maximum height, Mikoto bowed her head in a somewhat subservient manner eximed, "I understand!" before straightening her back once again. Vahn experienced a small mental pause because he really wanted to remind her that he could see her aura flickering about and she didnt need to act so tense all the time. However, he knew a warrior like Mikoto ced a lot of value on their honor and pride so he didnt mind it and said, "Though the quality of your katana isnt bad, I think its about time you upgraded to something more long term so you can begin adapting yourbat style to fight more powerful enemies." Mikoto still used a katana named [Shinonome] that was only a C-Rank weapon. For a Level 2 in a small Familia, it had actually been a very suitable weapon for her. Now, however, Mikoto would almost always be fighting enemies much stronger than she was and her own potential had evolved after having a me seed imnted in her chest. As her katana wouldnt be able to cut through the hide of a ck Rhinos, Vahn wanted her to take the opportunity to adapt to a new weapon. For a brief moment, Mikoto showed a somewhat conflicted expression before she grabbed her katana and presented to Vahn with her palms ced upward in a relinquishing gesture. She was the type of girl that was somewhat bound by her culture and tradition, at least for the time being, so Vahn reached out and epted the katana by grabbing the center of it in an epting gesture. Though her aura belied her difort, Mikoto pulled her hands away without hesitation as Vahn inspected the de. It was made of Nosteel, a rtively low-ss material that wasmonly used in beginner and intermediate weapons, but its make was nothing short of marvelous. Even though it wasnt a powerful weapon, it was obvious a lot of love had gone into its creation and it had been something Mikoto carried at her side for more than half her life. Vahn passed his thumb along the side of the de, something that was generally considered impolite, but he was also a [Master Smith] and enjoyed some liberties when it came to such things. After he was done, he sheathed it once again before making eye contact with Mikoto and saying, "I will keep this katana for the time being, but I will return it to you one day much stronger. I know that it is believed in the Far East that a named sword can carry a soul, and I can see the care you put into maintaining this de over the years. I will give it a burial ceremonyter before using its constituent materials to forge you an heirloom sword in the future..." Hearing Vahns words, Mikotos aura stabilized a great deal and an inexpressible sense of relief passed through her body. Though she still sat upright, her shoulders rxed slightly as if a heavy burden had been relinquished from them. After putting the katana, no, [Shinonome], into his inventory for safe keeping, Vahn smiled at Mikoto and said, "I had originally intended to give you a sword simr to Haruhimes, but I think yourbat style is a bit different than hers. While hers is akin to an elegant dance, yours has always been one that borders on the level of faith and shows a heavy emphasis on discipline. Youve made admirable progress in trying to make your movements more fluid in recent months...I want to give you a weapon that enhances your current capabilities, but will also allow you to continue pursuing the way of the sword you wish to follow..." As Vahn spoke, he was also filtering through the gacha system once again because he truly believed that The Path helped him out a bit when he made pulls with conviction. He didnt truly want to gamble, he simply wanted to let Mikotos fate intermingle a little with The Path in the hopes that it would help make her own path easier to tread. The final weapons used by the girls would be ones personally forged by him and named through the Akashic tome, so this moment was a true test to see what hand fate would deal them. Unlike the Magical and Beautiful traits he had assigned for Haruhimes katana, Vahn selected Refined and Bnced since it seemed suitable for the situation. Therge wooden wheel, adorned with somewhat worn looking gold, began to spin around in his mind once again as orb began to emerge from the hole in the center. The very first one to appear was a muted grey that made Vahns eye subtly twitch but the very next one was a pale red, a color Vahn had yet to see before. Immediately following it, there was an even richer red which Vahn could deduce to be of a higher quality than the previous one. The next few were all white without any variations until a somewhat reminiscent blue light appeared on the bonus pull. Vahns memory could easily recall significant events and he recognized that it was the same color as Haruhimes [Sakura Blossom]. After seeing that the bright red katana was only C-Rank, Vahn immediately dismissed the other and opened the blue orb which contained a katana that had a ck sheath with a stark blue cord and a pattern like cresting waves embellishing the side. The handle looked rtively in, but the braid was a deep navy blue instead of a traditional ck or white... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Mizury-no-Mai] (A/N: Essentially dance of the water dragon or water dragons dance) Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 0 P.Atk: 900+90 M.Atk: 300 Abilities: Four Phases(A), Drink(A), Impable Edge(B), Piercing(B) A simple katana that belies the awesome power contained within its de. Forged by a skilled cksmith that had fallen in love with an enshrined river goddess who possessed the true form of a dragon. Inspired by the elegance of her dance, the cksmith created this sword as the embodiment of his feelings for the love that could never be. Allows the user to store fluids within the de to nourish it while also enabling them to exercise control over the four phases of water: liquid, solid, gas, and essence. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn was very surprised by the P.Atk of the weapon since it was bordering on S-Rank, though the M.Atk left something to be desired. However, it was the abilities and description of the [Mizury-no-Mai] that truly caught his attention as any control type ability was incredibly powerful if used correctly. The fact that it was also rted to water, especially while Mikoto was trying to make her style more fluid, also served to make Vahn feel vindicated about his somewhat presumptuous inference about The Path and its influence on fate. Now his belief in his deduction was even more pronounced and he began contemting if he should give all of the girls suitable items by relying on the gacha system. Until he could forge them unique items suitable to their characteristics, it would be a good temporary measure to take. After all, more than half of his pool of OP could be credited to the efforts of the girls within the Manor... Though it seemed like a fair amount of time had passed, it had actually been less than a minute in the real world before Vahn smiled and pulled the [Mizury-no-Mai] out of his inventory and performed the same relinquishing gesture as Mikoto. Even though she couldnt understand it herself, Mikoto felt a strange affinity with the katana Vahn had created for her. She reached out and gingerly grasped the katana in an epting gesture before pulling it close and stroking her hand across the ck sheath. From the moment she took it into her grasp, Mikoto felt like it was perfectly bnced in her hands and the length of the de was an ideal 90cm while the handle was slightly longer at 28cm. She actually preferred using a loose grip these days so the added length would allow her more freedom in her handling capabilities in the future. Vahn and Haruhime both watched Mikoto in silence as the swordswoman partially unsheathed the de and marveled at wless Hamon, the wavy pattern that adorned the length of the de. Mikoto was seemingly unaware of it, at least for the time being, but Vahn noticed that a subtle ripple emanated from the de when it was unsheathed and he could see that the water elemental energies in the air had be more active. He squinted his eyes slightly and watched Mikoto observe her own reflection against the surface before unsheathing it entirely and holding it up to check the edge. She appeared to have fallen into her own little world, something both he and Haruhime respected, so they waited patiently for her to familiarize herself with the weapon. Mikoto eventually sheathed the katana once again and closed her eyes in an effort to hide her own embarrassment at having behaved in an uncouth manner. After collecting herself, she opened her slightly glimmering ck eyes and asked, "May I be allowed to know its name...?" Vahn smiled in response and exined, "It is known as [Mizury-no-Mai] and it can be considered a first-ss weapon with quality almostparable to a masterpiece..." The quality of goods within the Danmachi record actually used a grading system instead of the rank system that Vahn made use of. The grades were Low, Intermediate, High, Third-ss, Second-ss, First-ss, and, if it was a quality weapon made by a [Master Smith], Master-ss, though most people simply called them masterpieces. Above these were Grandmaster, God, and even Artifact, but such items werent actually inmon cirction in the mortal world. After letting his words settle in for a short moment, Vahn continued, "Youll find that its physical attack power is quite high and that its cutting edge carries the Impable ability. Alongside that, it also contains the Piercing ability as well as two other rare abilities, Drink, and Four Phases. The Drink allows you to store liquids within the de, though Im sure of the limitations, while the Four Phases actually lets you control the different phases of water, including liquid, solid, gas, and essence. Simply put, it let you control water, ice, steam, and the pure elemental essence of water. I can probably demonstrate its use for you, but it may be more meaningful if you discern its capabilities for yourself..." For a warrior from the Far East, their weapons were equivalent to panions for them and it was considered rude to show you had a better understanding of theirpanion than the swordsman themselves... Mikoto understood that Vahn was showing consideration for her pride as a warrior so she bowed her head low and said, "Thank you, Vahn, I will show you that I am capable of wielding this katana through my own efforts..." Toward the end of her sentence, Mikoto let her words trail as she raised her head to make eye contact with Vahn and said, "However...I would appreciate your guidance as my Lord and Master in the future..." Even if he didnt demonstrate it himself, Vahn could guide Mikoto from the side and give her pointers without blemishing her pride. The most important thing of all though was the fact that she had addressed him as both Lord and Master. Unless Vahn refused her, she was essentially cing herself as both his vassal and apprentice. She already recognized him as her Lord, but the only person she had truly treated as her Master had been Takemikazuchi. This was a big step forward for the reserved Mikoto so Vahn bowed his head slightly to affirm the address and ease her heart and mind. The moment he did so, Mikotos affection had increased from 95 up to 99 and she seemed especially happy since there was an almost indiscernible change in her expression as her lips curled up slightly at the edges. Other than the times when she had reunited with Haruhime and discovered they had an onsen in the house, Vahn had never really seen Mikoto smile. Seeing how happy she was, he couldnt help but show his own happiness, which seemed to be contagious, as both he and Haruhime disyedrge smiles... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Smelly Harume...,That is quite the sword O____O,Subtle signs, drastic changes...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 475 - Heritage : Resolution

Chapter 475 - Heritage : Resolution

The happy atmosphere shared by the three, with Fenrir as a silent observer, didntst for long however as Mikoto seemed to recall what else was necessary before they departed. She had been thinking about heading out to train with her new katana, but the practical training against monsters was inarguably more important since she could hone her battle awareness at the same time. Though she still had inhibitions about it, Mikoto had already made her resolve in the past to serve Vahn as his de and, if he one day decided to push their rtionship forward, she had already prepared her heart after discussing the matter with Haruhime several times... Vahn had noticed the slightly chaotic fluctuations in Mikotos aura as the smile disappeared from her face and, although it wasnt that noticeable, how she had started to take slightly deeper breaths through her nose. Seemingly finding her resolve, Mikotos eyes became somewhat serious as she moved her hand up and unfastened the sp holding her shoulder guard in ce. Then, Mikotoko loosened her own kimono with somewhat rigid movements before revealing her b.r.e.a.s.ts, which were wrapped tightly with a cloth sarashi, simr to Tsubaki. Her breathing had be slightly morebored as she reached up to loosen the sarashi before her head drooped a bit and she decided to turn around instead. It almost appeared as if she was going to set aside her shame as a show of conviction, but she hesitated at the end after imagining how her behavior might be misconstrued by others as her tempting Vahn. Fenrir had already moved out of hisp so that he would be able to move easier so Vahn kneeled behind Mikoto before pricking his finger and tracing a line of blood down the curve of her back. The Hestia Familia crest came into existence and Vahn began scanning his eyes over the values present. Since she was one of the girls that generally went to Hestia for her Status update, this was the first time Vahn was seeing Mikotos progress since before they departed for their excursion in the past. Though she had made fair progress, Vahn could understand why she was feeling a bit of pressure as the majority of girls within the Familia had overtaken her in a short period of time. Even Haruhime, the girl she had sworn to protect from future harm was now much stronger than her and the few spars they had always resulted in the disciplined swordswomans loss... (A/N: I went back and checked only to realize I never posed Mikotos updated status in the past so Ill do so now...) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Yamato Mikoto Race: Human LV. 2(+) POW: 634+I75->E490 END: 628+I70->E488 DEX: 740+H132->C613 AGI: 722+H119->E404 MAG: 531+I50->D517 Skill: [Yatanokurogarasu:C->B], [Prometheuss Blessing:A] Magic: [Futsunomitama:B], [Apocalypse: Innate(sealed)] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:C], [Swordsman:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though her foundation was very bnced, Mikoto had increased her level far too quickly because she had been desperate to be stronger to save Haruhime. After they entered the City, Takemikazuchi had the fortune of establishing a connection with Hephaestus while also learning of the existence of the heroic Vahn so he had his children focus on growing stronger instead of simply searching the unknown City. He wasnt aware of this, but the current Mikoto was far stronger than her future self had been by a fair amount. However, whenpared to the growth of some of the other girls around her, she couldnt help but feel very weak and often spent several hours a day honing her skills in the pursuit of greater strength. While Mikoto was fixing her clothing, Vahn held his hand to his chin while in deep thought about methods he could employ to help her be stronger. She was certain to experience parameter development when they hunted on the 51st floor, but Mikoto was the type that ced greater value in her swordsmanship and actual skill than her base parameters. Since she didnt actually have any skills or abilities that modified her parameters any, Vahn understood why she would have such an emphasis since she didnt have anything else to rely on previously. Now she had the [Mizury-no-Mai], her strength would likely increase greatly but Vahn wanted to help her have something she could personally rely on, other than her equipment. If Mikoto was truly going to treat him as her Master, Vahn wasnt going to overlook her training in a passive manner anymore and wanted to help push her along the path she chose for herself. Other than making her do some training to develop [Featherfoot], Vahn wanted her to have an attack skill or something else that could bolster her strength in a pinch. Every powerful Adventurer he had seen all had some way to enhance her parameters while the only benefit Mikoto had was the support of Haruhime on asion. Relying on other people for such things could have adverse effects, however, since you might be over-reliant on their buffs and never develop any of your own... Vahn ultimately decided that he actually wasnt capable of teaching Mikoto and there wasnt much he could do other than offer her advice and guidance on her own path. She also had the guidance of capable swordswomen like Ais and Tsubaki, so Vahn changed his approach about things and instead decided to make use of The Path to assist him. Though it would put his daily expenditures over 600k OP, Vahn unhesitantly used the gacha again, this time looking for sword techniques and manuals that could help Mikoto increase her ownprehension. It could also benefit his own growth in the future if he decided to pursue sword techniques so there was no major downside to it at all, especially considering his own [Swordsman] was A-Rank. Against his expectations, the first orb that was spat out by the wooden wheel was a deep Indigo in color that had a powerful light shining within its core. Vahn had started to specte that the colors were either based on the color spectrum or the progression of chakras within the body so Indigo should be much higher quality than even the blue orbs that had contained the two girls katanas. If his assumption was correct, the grades should range between Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, with the highest rarity being abination of them all creating a resplendent rainbow such as when he obtained [Magia Erebea] and [Mantra of Eternity] in the past. However, Vahn also knew that the color should be based on his current Soul Tier so something that was rainbow when he was Tier 2 might be as low as Red in the far future. Other than the first Indigo orb, there were two red orbs while the rest were white in coloration with the only exception being the bonus pull which hade out as a dull grey that made Vahns eye twitch. He had felt like the bonus pull had a higher chance of being a win so it was a little unexpected to see a dud as the final item. Harboring a hope that it was a unique shade of ck instead of an actual dull grey, Vahn cracked it open and the only thing that popped out was a piece of paper showing three images. The first image was them standing still while the second showed them raising their sword only for the third image to be the exact same as the first. It showed the most basic form of a sh and Vahn knew his delusion had been shattered as he fed it back into the shop for a whopping 0 OP. Without wasting any more time, even though so little had passed that Mikoto was still wrapping her sarashi around her b.r.e.a.s.ts, Vahn cracked open the Indigo orb to reveal a somewhat worn looking silk scroll with ornamental carved bamboo at the ends in the style of the Far East. Vahn couldnt discern anything from its appearance so he threw it into his inventory to read the description and saw the name and rank of the scroll before his brows raised. After checking in the system shop, Vahn saw that it was actually worth 3,000,000OP and any worries he had about wasting his OP hadpletely flown out the window. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Flying Heavenly Sword Scroll](A/N: Or as many people would know it: Scroll of Hiten Mitsurugi-ry) Rank: S (Heritage) Use: A manual detailing an ancient kenjutsu style from the Sengoku Jidai, developed to allow a single samurai to defeat numerous foes single-handedly, created by Hiko Seijr I. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- After scanning the surprisingly lengthy contents with his mind, Vahn pulled out the scroll and held onto it with a serious expression on his face as he waited for Mikoto to finish dressing. When she noticed his look, her countenance also because serious because the atmosphere in the room had be somewhat tense a short while earlier. After she resumed her seat, Vahn held up the scroll as if it were an especially fragile artifact and said, "This scroll contains a powerful sword heritage that could allow you to one day be the greatest swordswoman in the world. I will entrust it to you for safekeeping Mikoto, in the hopes that you will master its contents and one day proliferate the techniques through your own disciples one day..." Mikoto was a little confused by Vahns ims, as they were very bold and it seemed very difficult to believe, but she reached out and the epted the scroll regardless while deciding to believe in his words. At the very least, she knew the contents of the scroll would allow her to be much stronger so Mikoto treated the matter seriously, especially considering that it was Vahns first official bestowment since bing her Master. Even if he gave her a scroll that caused her to gain proficiency in doing a task likeundry, she would study it seriously simply because of the value she ced in her own pride and the principles she lived by. Vahn wasnt the type to mislead people in such a way, however, but Mikoto had no way of knowing that the scroll she had just received would one day be one of the most coveted items within the entire mortal world... --- There obviously wasnt time for Mikoto to practice the [Flying Heavenly Sword Scroll] right now, so led her and Fenrir to another different entrance to the 51st floor. Mikoto hadnt been too fond of the idea of riding Vahns back or having him carry her, so they ended up running to a nearby entrance instead of taking advantage of his [Shundo] as a convenient mode of transportation. Vahn didnt actually mind running along because he was still a Vanargandr and there was something exciting about feeling the wind pass through his fur and therge ears atop his head. Other than his hyper-sensitive senses, the thing that Vahn had the most trouble adapting to were the tworge ears he had obtained as a Vanargandr. They were around 15cm long and it was very weird for him to feel them moving about atop his head. One of the reasons it was strange is because Vahn wasnt normally able to move his ears about in most of his forms yet, as a Vanargandr, they were capable of rotating around 30 degrees, almost like a rabbit, whenever he picked up on sounds. There was also the fact that, whenever he tried to rx and stop focusing on the various sounds around him, the ears would flop down unless he stood with a proper posture or willed them to stand tall. He started to realize why Fenrir, after obtaining her new body, would often flop her ears about in an adorable manner. Vahn felt she had been trying to get used to the muchrger ears and he wondered if he would have to do the same in the future since the form was actually very convenient for fighting. After making their way down to the 51st-floor entrance, Vahn exined to Mikoto all the things she would have to be aware of. She was only Level 2 and didnt have a cheat-likebat Innate to enhance her capabilities like Haruhime and Lili. She would also be using a new weapon so she needed to exercise caution while doing her best to avoid taking blows from the powerful Level 4 ck Rhinos. Fortunately, she had the benefit of years of training and her skills had been polished to a much greater extent than many of the other girls. Her agility should allow her to dodge the ck Rhinos with rtive ease, and the 90cm long de would be able to cut through the hide of the monsters without any major difficulties. As long as she didnt lose her focus, things shouldnt be a problem. With her passive ability to sense monsters she has in before, the moment she kills a single ck Rhinos and Deformis Spider things would get a lot safer for her. Hearing Vahns cautionary words, Mikoto listened with a serious expression on her face before responding, "I understand." in a firm tone the moment he finished. Vahn nodded his head with a smile before turning to Fenrir and gesturing to her to lead the way. They wouldnt be hunting like they had during the first half of the day, but she didnt seem to mind it too much at all. Fenrir knew that Mikoto was weak so it was important to make sure they took things slowly so idents wouldnt happen. When they finally approached the first group of monsters, Fenrir looked at Mikoto and said, "Mikoto will stay back and fight the enemies Fenrir lets through. Vahn will watch over you, but make sure you do your best if you want to be stronger." Mikoto nodded without showing before unsheathing her new katana and preparing for theing battle. Fenrir gave her onest nce before charging into the corridor and triggering the spawn of the ck Rhinos. She felt much faster now and had already killed nearly six-hundred ck Rhinos on her own so she unhesitantly charged at the supposedly strong monsters before passing her ws through them effortlessly. Her [Severing ws] allowed her to cut as deep as 30cm if she tried hard and each of the des carried the same unstoppable momentum of her normal ws. Fenrir didnt bother making sure they were dead, instead focusing on disabling them and controlling their movements since she still needed to let Mikoto fight. As a result, one of the first enemies she had attacked, which hadrge gashes in its thigh, had recovered a bit and charged toward Mikoto with significantly reduced speed. Seeing the enemy approach her, Mikotos expression turned even more serious and she even pursed her lips slightly as she leaned forward slightly and shifted her weight to the right while kicking off with her left foot. In the same evasive motion she used to dodge the ck Rhinos charge, Mikoto shed horizontally with [Mizury-no-Mai] and sliced through the side of the monster before using her right foot as a pivot to twist around and follow its back for the next strike. Because she hadnt done anything to stop its momentum, the ck Rhinos had continued forward and slid across the ground for several meters, still alive. Mikoto chased after it before piercing her katana into its back and pulling it out in an arc that left a 130cm gash in its back. Mikoto was surprised with how little feedback she felt from her own actions because the sword was much sharper than she had expected. After finding her footing, Mikoto targetted another nearby ck Rhino before dashing forward. Its momentous charge was much faster than her own, but Mikoto was able to easily change direction while the monster was forced to carry forward as a result of its own inertia and its propensity for mindlessly charging forward. Before it was able to slow down and change direction, Mikoto had stepped in behind it and traced her sword in a horizontal sh across the back of the ck Rhinos that nearly bisected its entire body. Once again, there was almost no feedback from the sh and Mikoto felt like she was passing her ck through water instead of a monster known for its durability. As a follow-up to her attack, Mikoto pierced forward with her katana once again, but this time she didnt put much strength into the movement. Her sword passed through the back of ck Rhinos like she was inserting it into a block of tofu before it turned into dust when she struck its magic core. Mikoto was somewhat conflicted with how easy it was to kill the enemies because it almost felt like she was relying more on the katana in her hands than her own strength. However, as long as she used any weapon at all, she was inarguably relying on it to defeat her enemies. Thus, though it caused her a bit of difort, Mikoto looked at the unblemished de with a somewhat affectionate look and resolved herself to be worthy of wielding it in the future. This katana would one day be an extension of her own body and a trustedpanion that she ced her fate in during the heat of battle. Having a strongpanion was always better than having a weak one so Mikoto promised that she would be strong enough so as not to hold the katana itself back... --- (A/N: Some people might be confused why a technique from a Tier 2 world could be S-Rank in a Tier 1-4 world so I will exin. It is simply because the technique, if used by people with superhuman parameters like those in Danmachi, would be pushed even further beyond the almost ridiculous levels seen in Rurouni Kenshin.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mikoko is a good girl,The birth of a legend,Doki Doki Sword Desu?) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 476 - Elemental Manipulation

Chapter 476 - Elemental Maniption

Vahn watched over Fenrir and Mikoto as the two girls fought against the ck Rhinos in very different manners. Fenrirs attacks were filled with ferocity and the way she moved around the Dungeon was somewhat abnormal as she made use of all four paws to reposition herself. She was very simr to Lili in that she used her entire body to fight, but Fenrirs attacks were far more animalistic than the small Pallums. As for Mikoto, most of her movements were practiced and highly efficient as the dodged around the enemies with polished footwork. Though she bent about in smooth curves like a dancing willow, Mikoto was like a tree with deep roots and always maintained bnce and control over her movements. Herbat style was very reliant on evading attacks and counter-attacking in the gaps between her opponents so she typically dodged attacks at a near-zero distance that made Vahn feel a little nervous at times because some of the attacks would sweep close enough to her that her hair would dance as a result of the wind pressure. As for Vahn himself, he was very nearly reaching the peak of his current parameter development and he wanted to maximize his magical potential. Many of his skills and abilities were highly reliant on the amount of source energy he had avable so Vahn wanted to ensure that his pool was evenrger. Though he used to be somewhat bothered by the fact that his magic outscaled his other parameters greatly, Vahn now knew that this was a good thing since it wasnt like his others were actually behind the norm. Even the most capable Adventurers typically only got two parameters to 999 before leveling up, but Vahns were almost always A or S rank with many of them reaching SS and SSS, values normal people couldnt reach without awakening their Innate abilities. He hadnt been able to practice much during the first half of the day, so now Vahn was focusing his [Eyes of Truth] while observing the changes in his domain as he tried to exercise control over the elemental energies contained within. Other than fire, Vahn didnt have proficiency with the other elements because hecked a supporting skill like [Heart of the Eternal] me that gave him perfect affinity. He wanted to get to the point where he could at least make use of the six basic elements in the future before he began to study moreplex elementalws. Not only in the record of danmachi, but the vast majority of records used fire, wind, water, earth, light, and darkness as the foundational hierarchy while moreplex elements were things like time, space, destruction, and creation. Elemental energies could also be mixed together in seemingly infinite variations, but that was only if the person doing so had the properprehension. Vahn could see the influence Mikotos [Mizury-no-Mai] had on the water elements in the air so he had been studying the simrities between her control and his fire elemental control. She wasnt at the point where she was able to wield the pure energies within the void yet, but that didnt mean the sword itself had no influence over them. Vahn noticed that whenever she swung the de, he could actually see ripples that emanated in the void, almost as if Mikoto were cutting through the surface of water. They would quickly disappear soon after, but Vahns eyes were able to discern their existence, however momentary they had been. As a result, he began waving his own hand through the air in an effort to emte the effect whilepelling the water elemental energies to follow his motions. With his visualization ability, Vahn was already able to create balls of water out of thin air and he had also practiced a lot with the Essence that he had been researching with Riveria. Because of this, water was actually the element he had the third greatest understanding of, losing out only to his Fire and Light elemental affinities. With his excessive use of [Hands of Nirvana] and [Wounds Transfer], Vahns understanding of the healing properties of light was remarkable and he had even experienced some minor sess in replicating the effects of the [Heal] staff in the past. Water also had several healing properties and was also one of the more neutral of all the elements, so it was easy to increase his proficiency with it. After about an hour of practice, other than when he was helping the girls fight directly, Vahn was at a point where his ws made small ripples through the air which actually caused his fur to be coated in condensation. As a result of the cooling sensation against his paw pads, and how normal everything felt, Vahn started to believe that Vanargandrs had a natural affinity with water and it seemed like he was able to make use of it by changing his race. This was an important discovery because he might simply be able to adopt the most suitable form for any future magic he uses. It also led him to believe that the reason why he had created a new race like Progenitus was so that he could make use of all the elements efficiently. If he could understand how the flow of energy in a persons body was influenced by their affinity, Vahn should be able to emte the affinities and create a form with perfect affinity with all elements... Though she wasnt having any major difficulties, Miko had tired herself out after about an hour and forty minutes ofbat so they had to take a break to replenish their stamina. She allowed him to ce his paw pads against her back to help recover her stamina, but Mikoto wanted to take a longer break to recover naturally while she also processed how she had been fighting earlier. While she was meditating, Vahn leaned against the wall of the Dungeon with Fenrir sitting in hisp as she yed with his left hand. She liked to over ovep her paws with his so Vahn let her mess around as he held out his right hand and formed it into a water ball before dispersing it once again by expanding the elemental energies away from each other. He wasnt actually getting rid of the water, but essentially allowing it to return back to the air before the ambient energy spread out through the void. Once Mikoto had finished meditating, she looked at Vahn and Fenrir before bowing her head and saying, "I apologize for the dy..." Vahn smiled at her before reaching out his w and pointing directly at her face as a small bead of water formed in front of her eyes. In a guiding tone, with a subtle humorous undertone, Vahn exined, "Rest is equally as important as actual training, so dont apologize so readily. Ive been using this time to refine my own skills, and Im sure Fenrir didnt mind at all..." Fenrir had interlocked her left paw with Vahns previously and lifted it up with a smile as she said, "Fenrir is happiest when she is with Vahn so she is grateful to Mikoto~." Mikoto stared at the two cuddling Vanargandr with a somewhat nk expression before nodding her head and rising to her feet withoutment. Vahns behavior was often very difficult for her to understand because he actually worked harder than almost anyone else, yet confidently made ims like "rest is important". She wanted to tell him he needed to heed his own words, but his hardworking nature was one of the reasons she had developed an appreciation for him. Though he might jump about from one thing to another, Vahn always put a ridiculous amount of effort into whatever he was focused on. He also had a gentle character that was very attentive to other people and possessed a noble and heroic spirit that caused him to throw himself into harms ways to protect others... Soon after their break hade to an end, the trio encountered a pair of monsters within one of the grassy corridors. They were both Deformis Spiders and were trying to blend into the shadows as they awaited their unsuspecting prey. Vahn knew that Mikoto needed to kill one of them so that she could benefit from her [Yatanokurogarasu], but it was actually too dangerous for her to fight up close. Unlike ck Rhinos, Deformis Spiders were actually somewhat difficult to deal with if you actually fought them up close. They had eight spear-like legs that they could assault you with and could just as easily move on the walls and ceiling as they could the floor. With the addition of toxic webbing and numerous eyes, which covered the majority of their blind spots, they were simply not worth fighting in a melee. Vahn had gotten a cool idea to deal with the two monsters, which were still hiding out of sight, so he began trying to gather water elemental energies from the airs and simply making it more humid within the tall grass. It was actually possible to infuse energy directly into objects, though there were somepatibility issues, but Vahn was going for a different effect and just wanted to make them wet. As it wasnt an attack, the two Deformis Spiders ignored the moisture building up around them until it was toote and Vahn sent a pulse of energy through his domain andpelling the water elemental energies to transition into ice as he forcibly infused the energies into the limbs of the spiders. They immediately reacted and tried to move away, but it wasnt as though they could immediately dislodge all the water from their surroundings just by thrashing about. Vahn had seen Eva used ice magic all the time in the past, so the field of grey-purple grass immediately turned into an icy white as the Deformis Spiders slowly came to a stop. As she also knew it was dangerous to get close to them, Mikoto held out both of her hands, one over the other, as she began chanting, "I respectfully speak to you, my War God that can break through anything, lead me from the precious heaven. Give my petty body divine power of your grand body. Rescue them light of purification, sword of crushing evil. Sweep sword of suppression, sacred sword of conquest. It arrives here now by my order. Descend from heaven, rule the earth - Shinbu Tousei~!" At the end of her chant, Mikoto spread her hands apart as a purple gateway appeared above the nearest spider and allowed an immaterial sword to pierce into its body. Beneath it, there was a second purple gateway and, when the tip of the sword made contact with it, a ck sphere appeared in Mikotos hands that showed an image of the Deformis Spider before it began to contract and crush the monster under a powerful gravitational force. Vahns [Eyes of Truth] were fully active as he watched Mikoto perform her exceptionally rare gravity-based magic. Of the elements most highly sought after for their overwhelming capabilities, gravity was at the same level as Destruction and Devouring magic. Even if the user wasnt that powerful, making the spell less effective, there was almost no way to escape the barrier created by the spatial magic unless you are capable of resisting it until the user entered Mind Down. This meant that a weak caster of gravity magic could even hold down powerful monsters and Adventurers that far exceeded their strength. Thus, Vahn was very interested in learning how to use such skills himself, without having to copy the magic outright. Just like when he tried using the higher grade magics of Lefiya and Riveria, Vahns source energy would drain very rapidly before he was able to actually finish the long chant... Unable to resist the oppressive force, as its body had been turned rigid from the ice, the Deformis Spiders body shrunk into a spherical shape before it eventually turned into purple dust. Mikoto released a heavy gasp before using the sleeve of her kimono to wipe away the sweat that had appeared on her brow. Though it wasnt able to fight back, the Deformis Spider was still a monster that exceeded Level 4 and it wasnt easy for her to crush it when she was only Level 2. Gravity magic might be one of the most powerful, but that also meant it had a very high rate of consumption when casting. Mikotos record, since she had been told to practice using it more often, was holding the gravity barrier for a total of 47 seconds before she inevitably fell to her knees inplete exhaustion. For the final Deformis Spider, Vahn was actually curious about something so a pale golden aura spread through his domain before a ripple appeared above the monster. As if it had been fired from a canon, a link of [Enkidu] shot out of the ripple and pressed into the ted cephalothorax of the frozen arachnid and mmed it against the bedrock floor of the Dungeon. For several seconds, [Enkidu] remained rigid as it pressed into the monster until eventually, after thirteen seconds, it prated straight through the monster beforeing to a stop against the floor of the Dungeon. Since he wasnt sure how the Dungeon would react if [Enkidu] began piercing into it, Vahn dispersed the chain before he could find out. Though it wouldnt break through instantly, it would eventually activate the Piercing(Divine) of the golden chains before potentially breaking clear through the floor of the Dungeon effortlessly. (A/N: Remember that [Enkidu] only has 100 attack power, so it takes time to ovee the defense of things. When it reaches that threshold, it will then pierce straight through the object.) Since she didnt want to bring them to a stop so soon after they just rested, Mikoto epted Vahns help in replenishing her diminished mana, though it was through her back and not her abdomen. Afterward, they made their way deeper into the floor while making sure to always return to previous corridors after they progressed forward for a bit. Vahn wanted them to always have quick ess to the stairs leading up because he had been able to confirm the structural integrity of the stairs was actually much stronger than the other parts of the Dungeon. He hadnt seen any signs that their enemies had tampered with it and it wouldnt be too difficult to break through any obstructions even if they tried to copse the ceiling. Vahn was constantly on alert for the arrival of any of Enyos cronies even when he was leisurely strolling in the Dungeon with the girls. Though he had only been able to make an orb around 20cm previously, Vahn had reached 50cm after four hours of practice and had started shaping it in an attempt to make things like ice spears. Unfortunately, though he was able to make the water float in the air, it was more difficult to manage with ice since the molecules became harder to manipte. However, Vahn was able to ovee this by simply holding a core of ice and then freezing the rest by having the water coat the ice in severalyers as it got progressively longer. It was kind of simr to how a stctite formed on the roof of a cave but much master. From the perspective of Fenrir and Mikoto, Vahn was sculpting ice out of thin air and it almost beautiful since his current appearance, with midnight blue fur and scarlet red eyes, matched well with the icy-blue mist and the crystal clear ice formations. There were several downsides to Vahn creating ice this way, regardless of how cool it looked, because it was almost in an inert state instead of a magically active state like when Haruhime used her [Icicle Edge]. Though they were simr in structure, they were fundamentally different because Vahns understanding of both water and icews was severelycking. Unless he made some breakthroughs in the future, it wasnt really practical forbat since the ice spears would just shatter the moment Vahn threw them at monsters. Some of them even broke from the momentum of the throw itself so it was kind of awkward. When this happened, Vahn did his best to avoid the gazes of the two girls and resolved to practice it in private in the future... After having killed monsters for slightly more than five hours, Vahn decided to call it a day and guided them back to the stairs leading up. Since their pace had been much slower than the hunt earlier in the day the group only managed to kill 384 ck Rhinos, with 204 credited to Fenrir, 91 for Mikoto, and a total of 89 for Vahn. Fortunately, Vahn was able to avoid having the least number of kill as he had defeated eleven Deformis Spiders while Mikoto only killed one. Vahns parameter total was at 6,199 now so he would likely be able to level up tomorrow morning if he put in the effort. As for Fenrir and Mikoto, neither girl had experienced that much growth though Mikotos was still fair seeing as how she was only Level 2. Ny-two total monsters werent actually that many and Mikotos new katana had stunted her growth slightly as it madebat much easier... (A/N: I decided to make Fenrirs status a little moreprehensive since some people pointed out that hers read so much different than everyone elses. If youre wondering why her Level 1 stats are kind of garbage, please recall that she used to be a simple kobold and they only reason they are that high is because of the several years spent inside the orb.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: [Fenrir] Level:3(+) POW: L1:400+902+(C611)->(C644) END: L1:500+805+(E495)->(D529) DEX: L1:550+1089+(A850)->(A889) AGI: L1:600+943+(S900)->(S931) MAG: L1:0+388+(D513)->(C612) Skills: [Insatiable Hunger:Innate(-)], [Lunar Cry:A], [Freezing Roar:A], [Chainbreaker:C], [Devour:SS], [Huntress:SS], [Endeavor:C], [Severing ws:D->C] Magic: - Development Abilities: [Chain Attack:D], [Fist Fighter:(sealed)], [Acrobatics:(sealed)], [Mimickry:(sealed)] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Yamato Mikoto Race: Human LV. 2(+) POW: 634+(E490)->(D548) END: 628+(E488)->(D532) DEX: 740+(C613)->(C694) AGI: 722+(E404)->(E470) MAG: 531+(D517)->(C609) Skill: [Yatanokurogarasu:B], [Prometheuss Blessing:A] Magic: [Futsunomitama:B], [Apocalypse: Innate(sealed)] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:C], [Swordsman:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn just casually walking while ying with water...,Gravity OP,Vahns failure to show off...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 477 - Various Shades of Red

Chapter 477 - Various Shades of Red

After returning to the encampment, Vahn dropped off the girls before making his way and reporting to Finn. Even if he wasnt fond of the Pallum these days, Vahn wasnt going to neglect his duties since he was an entrusted decision maker within the expedition itself. He had made a good impression on most of the Adventurers thus far, but that could change simply based on rumors that could circte around the canteen during meals. There was already a bit of tension that had been created as a result of Lilis outburst, but it hadnt gotten out of control as Finn himself exined to several people that he was at fault and had upset her. As Lili was almost like the mascot of the expedition presently, since people knew she was still young yet fought so ferociously, they still had an appreciation for her presence. Other than some missions having beenpleted, there was nothing new from Finns side either so Vahn returned to his tent and spent the rest of the evening ying around, this time pampering and being pampered himself. Because he was still a Vanargandr, though decidedly less dangerous than Fenrir, Tiona and Ais had been triggered by his appearance and Vahn found himself on the receiving end of a brush as he alsobed through Fenrirs and Lilis hair. Fenrir didnt seem too fond of Lili copying her still, but she let it slide since she likened the fact that Vahn was still transformed to her presence as well. If Fenrir could keep Vahn like he currently was, she felt like she would be able to tolerate almost anything. During bedtime, Vahn found himself being practically smothered by Tiona, Ais, Fenrir, and Lili. Since they had their own tasks to take care of, the majority of the girls in the Loki Familia werent easily able to venture into the Dungeon with him presently so they wanted to recharge while they had the opportunity. Even Tione had gotten a few advantages from him during the bath because Vahn hadnt really made any efforts to stop her. The only exceptions within the group were Lefiya, who was behaving as her usual bashful self, and Mikoto, who had spent several hours before going to bed training with her new katana before taking a bath alone... Early morning of the next day, Vahn spent a bit of effort extricating himself from Tiona and Ais before peeling Lilis body away from him and preparing to escape the sleeping area. Along the way, however, Vahn stopped near the dozing Lefiya and ced his palm against her forehead to awaken her. The previous night, they had been discussing the progress of the other girls and Lefiyas own had been brought up. As she had a me seed in her chest, Lefiyas potential had increased a fair amount and she stood to benefit greatly from Vahns [Mentor] Development Ability. Lefiya had a loose expression on her face as if she were thinking about a happy dream so Vahn felt a little guilty about breaking her out of it. As for Lefiya, she had been enjoying some quality time with Ais in her personal world before she felt a veryfortable yet invigorating warmth spread through her head. The rosy atmosphere vanished in an instant only to be reced by a giddiness when she opened her eyes and saw Vahns apologetic smile as he looked down into her face. She felt a tremble run through her body as a hot sensation emerged from her cheeks and started to spread down her neck. It felt like her ears were on fire as she instinctually hid her face with her hands in an attempt to hide from Vahns stupidly handsome face. After Lefiya came to her senses, she began preparing for the day, which included the simple task of wearing her somewhat cute pink magic outfit. Lefiyasbat ensemble consisted of a white blouse, pink skirt, white stockings with apanying garter belt, and pale-pink corset that made her already thin figure look even slimmer. The corset extended all the way past her h.i.p.s in a somewhat loose manner and there was an even lighter-pink three-piece coattail-like attachment that hung down to Lefiyas calves but was entirely open in the front. To ent the outfit, she wore a purple bow around her neck with a pink shoulder mantle that matched the color of her skirt. Though she used to wield beautiful staff known as [Forests Teardrop], Lefiya had taken to using the [Heal] staff that Vahn had given her in the past. It also had the ability to efficiently amplify her magic, just like her old staff, but also had the inherent ability to heal the wounds of others without requiring a chant. As for the other changes in her appearance, at least since associating with Vahn, Lefiya had two small orichalc.u.m rings on her middle-fingers as well as a pair of earrings that Vahn had forged for her in an attempt to create more essories that could serve as mana batteries. This was actually the first time Vahn saw her wearing them because she hadmented about how strange it felt to feel mana flowing through her ears in the past. It was also very umon for Elves to wear earrings, as their ears were sensitive and it irritated them greatly, but Vahns were the type that clung to the ears instead of piercing it. While Lefiya had been preparing herself, Vahn was doing the same thing as his previous stints with the other girls the previous days. Though she was fond of it, Vahn knew that [Heal] wasnt actually that powerful a weapon and he was considering getting her something more practical. However, he was a bit conflicted because Lefiyas actual power output made her capable of instantly killing the majority of monsters. Her only major weakness was her ridiculously low physical parameters and the fact that her chants could be disrupted since her proficiency with [Concurrent Chanting] wascking. Even though she had been learning from Riveria and the highly-proficient Ryuu, she wasnt quite at the level for actualbat yet. This meant that Lefiya required the protection of others or she could easily be killed by almost any stray monster... As he had seen several examples of Magic items that had powerful effects without requiring any chants, Vahn knew it should be easy to find her something that could increase her offensive capabilities without the restrictions of her magic system. Using his trusted gacha function, Vahn designated the search terms as Magical-Staff, Cute, and Efficient since he wanted something that ented Lefiyas adorable factor that would also serve her well in actualbat. Thus, after feeding another 100,000OP into the system, Vahn got several misses with the best among them being a pale red... Vahn experienced an eerie feeling of loss after looking at the seven grey orbs, three white, and a single pale red. This was the first time he had failed to use the gacha system and it made him feel like he had made a mistake in the search parameters. However, as there was a functionally infinite number of items that should match the search conditions, Vahn believed in himself and fed an additional 100,000OP into the gacha. He had experienced a huge windfall with Mikotos sword technique so he didnt mind failing a few times if necessary. Fortunately, The Path seemed to be paying attention now and Vahn received a leafy green orb and a pale blue one this time around. After cracking them open, Vahn saw the two staves and his eyes opened slightly wider in the real world when he saw the appearance of the one that emerged from the pale blue orb. It looked like a small wand adorned with arge star on the end and tiny angel wings poking out of the side. It certainly matched the theme cute, and Vahn thought it was actually suitable to the somewhat petite and adorable Lefiya. However, as it was the lower rarity of the two items, Vahn set it aside for the time being and turned his attention to the inarguably more powerful staff. What appeared was a beautiful wooden staff that twisted around at the end before blooming into what looked like a giant white tulip with a pink center and golden tips. Respectively, the staves were named [Mirakurun Magic Wand] and [Mikis Tulip] with equal A-Ranks, but decidedly different stats... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Mirakurun Magic Wand] Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 0 P.Atk: 0 M.Atk: 0 Abilities: Magical Transformation(A), Indestructible(A) A wand that can even turn a normal girl into a magical girl. Greatly amplifies the magical capabilities of the user and allows them to freely manipte the wand into a variety of shapes. Rumored to be powered by emotions, but it was never specified whether they had to be positive or negative~! Restrictions: Contract(unbound) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Mikis Tulip] Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 0 P.Atk: 80+8 M.Atk: 1400 Abilities: Radiant Lancer(C), Ex Healing(A), Magical Amplification(A) A staff once wielded by a petite, adorable, incredibly kind, and voracious gourmand rumored to have a stomach that rivaled a ck hole. Legends state that she was even capable of devouring everything listed on a restaurants menu in a single sitting. Rumored to have been banned from more than 9,000 buffets over the course of her lifetime. This staff allows the user to wield powerful magic to aid their allies, but be warned as the spirit of the young woman is retained in the staff... Restrictions: Gourmand(S) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seeing the descriptions of the two items, Vahn was very impressed by the [Mikis Tulip] while he was intrigued by the [Mirakurun Magic Wand]. He was curious what a Magical Transformation entailed and the influence it would have on the weilder. Since the wand had 0 Magic Attack, Vahn couldnt help but assume that the ability was a very powerful one, especially if the description was urate. The only thing he was worried about was the contract listed in the restrictions and the small warning contained in thest sentence... However, even the beautiful flowery staff had a pretty big restriction since the weilder would likely experience something simr to Fenrirs hunger. Just imagining the petite Lefiya munching away at food...actually brought a smile to Vahns face. She wasnt a big eater at all and he thought it would be somewhat funny to see her clearing away an entire table on her own without gaining any weight. It also had two active abilities, Radiant Lancer and Ex Healing that seemed very suitable for Lefiya. Active effects on items typically only required the intent to use them and there wasnt anything like a chant attached to the item. It would likely greatly increase Lefiyas potential inbat while also serving to enhance her other magics as it also had the Magical Amplification ability. Vahn decided to give Lefiya the [Mikis Tulip] instead of the [Mirakurun Magic Wand] because it seemed like the more useful of the two. As for the wand itself, Vahn decided he would let Tiona give it a try in the future since it said it could even make a normal girl into a magical girl. Vahn had actually wanted to study Tionas unique constitution in the past since he was very curious about the [Magic Devouring King] sealed Innate. If it was even capable of consuming the magical power of the wand, Vahn would at least have a better idea of how to help her awaken it in the future. He imagined that Tiona might one day be the bane of all mages since it seemed like her body was capable of absorbing massive quantities of mana, even though he couldnt see where it disappeared to. When Lefiya had finished readying herself, she turned to Vahn was a light blush on her face and said, "T-Thank you for waiting, V-Vahn..." This would be the first time she apanied Vahn into the Dungeon and, even though it was to hunt monsters, Lefiya couldnt help but shake the feeling they would be going on a date together. She also knew he would likely be closely guarding her for the entire duration and it felt like her heart was going to explode in her chest just thinking about spending the next few hours at his side, especially knowing that he would be helping replenish her mana when she was tired. Though he usually ced his palm on her back, Lefiya knew the most efficient method was through the navel and it made her stomach giddy imagining his wide palm against her bare stomach as he... Lefiya had been getting lost in her own little world while ignoring his calls so Vahn pulled out the [Mikis Tulip] and presented it to her while saying, "Here, Lefiya, this is a powerful magic staff that will greatly enhance your current capabilities. It is almost of the same quality as Riverias [Magna Alfs], but has a few unique abilities associated with it that make it better in some aspects..." Lefiya startled when Vahn pulled the staff out of thin air before hanging her head with a fierce blush on her face as she reached out and epted the staff while saying, "I-Im so sorry, Vahn! Thank you for the new staff, it is very beautiful!" At this point, Lefiyas face was red enough to rival Fenrirs scarlet eyes and Vahn was beginning to worry if things were going to be a bit problematic when they were in the Dungeon. Vahn spent a few minutes exining the functions of the [Mikis Staff] to Lefiya and she finally returned to normal when he mentioned the abilities Radiant Lancer and Ex Healing. Lefiya was a magic prodigy who often got carried away in her studies and research so she was especially interested in new magical abilities, even more so when they didnt require a chant. However, not long after Vahn had started his exnation, Lefiyas stomach released a loud protest that made the bashful Elfs eyes widen into saucers before her face turned beet red. They had yet to eat breakfast and Lefiya had been a little hungry, though she hadnt expected to be so hungry her stomach rumbled right in front of Vahn. She felt so embarrassed that she didnt even know how to make an excuse and just hid her face with her hands to an effort to calm her heart. When he heard the loud protest from Lefiyas stomach, Vahn had to desperately resist the impulse tough but he couldnt stop a smile from appearing on his face as his cheeks were touched with a little heat. Seeing her reaction made him feel a little guilty at the same time, however, so Vahn exined, "Because the staff is so powerful, there is a bit of a detriment to it as well. Im not sure if it makes the user hungry, but it should increase your appetite and food consumption by a great deal. Please let me know if there is any difort in the future, Lefiya..." Hearing Vahns exnation, Lefiya felt a bit of relief while several questions appeared in her mind. She was curious about how a magic staff could make someone hungry since she didnt feel any different and there wasnt any energy flowing from the staff into her body... Vahn was about to mention eating on the way to the entrance into the 51st floor, but Siss voice sounded out in his mind as she reminded, (*Vahn, dont forget that you need to update Lefiyas Status Board before you leave. I dont think she would be too fond of having to undress in the middle of a forest with just you and Fenrir present.*) Hearing Siss voice, Vahn was momentarily stunned before he thanked her for her reminder. Ever since he had asked her to keep track of important things for him, Sis had often reminded him of things he overlooked. He had a propensity of getting caught up in the things he was focused on so it was very helpful to have someone watching over him all the time. Though he knew it would probably cause the small Elf to fl.u.s.ter, Vahn said in a calm and casual manner, "Well eat breakfast before we leave...ah, I almost forgot about this, but Ill need to update your Status Board before and after the excursion. Im very concerned with your growth, so Id like to doc.u.ment it properly to ensure youre..." Vahn realized his faux pas almost immediately after it left his mouth as it caused Lefiya to turn into a beet-red statue before she drooped down to the ground as if her soul had left her body. Though he was worried about her growth, it was the development of her parameters and not her body that he was concerned about. However, he hadnt properly considered his words before speaking so he once again triggered the bashful Elf, this time to the point where she was moderately overwhelmed. From his side, Fenrir looked at the fallen Lefiya and remarked, "Lefiya is a strange creature..." as she tilted her head to the side in confusion. She could see that her Master enjoyed Lefiyas reactions, but was also troubled by them at the same time. Fenrir didnt know if she should try to act like Lefiya in the future, or if she should avoid behaving in a simr manner so as not to trouble her Master. She began to consider if there was a healthy bnce between the two that would allow her to get an edge, but it was so difficult to tell since all of Lefiyas behaviors were a little extreme. Fenrir knew she liked her Master, or else she wouldnt have made space for her in the bed previously, so she couldnt understand why Lefiya always turned into a tomato whenever she interacted with Vahn. The only thing she was certain of was that Lefiya was a strange girl that she would probably have to protect in the future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fifty Shades of Lefiya, all Red,Tiona, Magical Girl~!?,Strange creature...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 478 - Subtle Changes

Chapter 478 - Subtle Changes

Once Lefiya had recovered her soul back into her body, she spent a few awkward moments undressing as Vahn turned his back. He had seen her n.a.k.e.d body several dozen times, but things were a little different when it was just the three of them. She normally gravitated around Ais in the bath anyway so it wasnt as though she had ever shown signs of being fortable around Vahn, other than the time when she had cared for his static body after his battle with Tione. Vahn still remembered Lefiyas behavior at the time and knew she was simr to Eina in that she had a disposition that made her look after others. That was also the moment when Lefiya started letting her guard down around him, but that didnt mean she had dropped it entirely. Though he knew she had already removed her blouse, Lefiya remained silent for a short while before eventually mustering up the courage to say, "Sorry for the wait...you can turn around now, Vahn." When he turned back to look at her, Lefiya was plopped down on the ground as she hugged her clothes to her chest and kept her head low. She was a very fair-skinned girl so it was even more obvious how embarrassed she was since even her shoulders had turned a rosy color. Vahn saved her some unease by treating the matter as casually as possible as he traced his finger down her back as she tightly held her clothing. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Lefiya Viridis LV. 3 POW: 421+(I59)->(H119) END: 692+(I74)->(H150) DEX: 1281+(H125)->(G202) AGI: 1459+(H154)->(G243) MAG: 1998+(G215)->(D577) Skills: [Fairy Cannon:D->C], [Concurrent Chanting:E], [Prometheus:A] Magic: [Rattatoskr:Innate:(sealed)], [Arcs Ray:C], [Fuside Farica:D->C], [Elf Ring:C] Development Abilities: [Daughter of Wishe:Innate(sealed)], [Mage:C], [Abnormal resistance:G->F], [Spirit Healing:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The moment Vahn recorded Lefiyas status, he turned around and said, "Ive turned my back, Lefiya..." so that she could rx a bit. She turned her beet-red face to the side to confirm he was indeed looking away and began to get dressed as quickly as she could manage. To make things easier for her, since she was still very fl.u.s.tered, Vahn eased the mood by saying, "Your parameters are increasing at a normal pace, but Im very concerned about yourck of physical-based parameters. Other than your Agility and Dexterity, everything else is much lower than they should be. Yourbined parameters for Levels 1 and 2 are less than the individual parameter development of some others per level..." Lefiya listened to Vahns words closely and knew he was correct since she had never ced any focus on them whatsoever. She had always been focused on her duty as a Mage and had never valued them that much but, after learning that their magic system was wed, she had been worrying about ittely. Though she hadnt been able to truly experience what it meant to break through the limits yet, Lefiya had Vahns me seed inside her chest, something that she often stressed about, and knew her growth was only restricted by her efforts. She had been talking to Riveria a lot in private, as Riveria was her mentor and she had epted the role as the prolific mages protege. During their conversations, Riveria had stressed the importance of following Vahns doctrines since it would allow her to be much stronger in the future. She had even disclosed the fact that she was going to ept Vahn as her Master in the future in order to study magic from him. Thus, Vahns words fell heavy on her heart and she wondered how she would be able to satisfy both him and Riveria... Contrary to her expectations, however, Vahn continued his words, "Well, it isnt really that much of a problem if you just want to focus on mastering magic. As long as she isnt against it, I n to teach you how to use Evas magic in the future and it should allow you to enhance your body using your mana. Even Ive been focusing almost exclusively on my Magic parameter these days, so I cant really say much to others..." Vahn beganughing at himself as he saw his own magic had reached 2,431 just for his current level. If he tried to lecture other people about having a skewed stat line, he would probably have to reflect on his life choices. Lefiya had heard Evas name several times from Vahn and she often talked about the godlike mage with Riveria when they were in private. She really wanted to meet the powerful magician who could purportedly freeze several hundred meters of space in ice with the wave of her hand. Vahn had even described her as having the capability of walking on the air, teleporting through the void, and even creating things like clothing out of thin air. Lefiya was very interested to learn how she was capable of doing all of these things and, if Vahn was willing to teach them to her, she wouldnt mind bing his official apprentice alongside Lili, Haruhime, and her own mentor, Riveria... After fixing her clothing, Lefiya turned around and pat her chest to calm her heart before saying, "Okay, Ive finished getting dressed..." Vahn turned around and smiled at her, something that always made her heart palpitate powerfully before it began beating rapidly. She almost resented how handsome he was at times because it was almost unfair when he gave her kind and gentle looks. However, just as she was thinking this, Lefiyas stomach released another loud protest and she couldnt stop herself from releasing an embarrassed squeal as she crouched down and hid her face once again. She wasnt even holding the staff right now, so Lefiya felt like she had produced the sound on her own... --- Vahn set out some calming tea for Lefiya as well as several dishes of delicious breakfast foods and pastries that he knew she was fond of. To make things easier for her, he was even using [Hands of Nirvana] through his domain to make a calming atmosphere spread through the tent. Because they had already been up for a while, and Lefiya couldnt constrain her voice earlier, the majority of the other girls had woken up by now and had joined them for breakfast. With the inclusion of more people, Lefiya was finally able to return to normal except for the fact that she had been continually nibbling away at food without ceasing for nearly twenty minutes. Even without holding the staff, it was something that was gifted to her and was inextricably linked to her for the time being. As a result, unless she relinquished ownership of the staff, Lefiya had be a Glutton(A). She was a little embarrassed by this fact, as Tiona found it very interesting and continually offered her food. Though she resisted at first, Lefiya eventually gave in because Ais also offered her a fish-shaped fried pastry that was filled with a sweet bean paste that Vahn called Taiyaki. Tiona had been offended by the fact that Lefiya epted food from other people and clung to her until she eventually relented and allowed Tiona to feed her as well... --- As they had lost a bit of time, Vahn ended up convincing Lefiya to allow him to carry her so they would be able to reach the further entrances of the 51st floor quickly. During the short seven minute trip, Lefiya tucked her face towards Vahns body in an attempt to hide her expression as she loosely clung to his tunic. He was giving her the notorious princess carry and it took every fiber of her being to resist passing out from the pressure building up in her head. To make matters worse, Vahn had even given her another Taiyaki to munch on to distract her from the trip out of concern for her well-being. Lefiya wanted toment that it would be easier for her if he didnt show so much concern but just epted the snack and nibbled on it withoutmenting. Once they reached the entrance, Vahn set Lefiya down and began exining things a bit, even though he knew she was actually well aware of what to expect. She had been apanying Tiona, Ais, and Tione into the 51st floor all week so there wasnt much for her to know other than the subtle differences in how they were going to do things. Towards the end, however, Lefiya was stunned when Vahn said, "Since I want you to be able to develop your parameters even faster, I want you to consider the idea of having me act as a mana battery for you. Instead of replenishing your stores after the fact, I think it will be more efficient to recover your mana as you use it..." Vahn was really just practicing his own control over energy today, so he wouldnt be fighting up close unless it became necessary. He wanted to see if he could help promote Lefiyas magical growth by essentially baptizing her body with his source energy as she channeled her magic. Though she was fl.u.s.tered by the proposition, Lefiya considered the matter properly and understood Vahns reasoning and the intentions behind his words. She had already tested the Radiant Lancer earlier and it was an instant-cast magic spell that was simr to her own [Arcs Ray] except that it was much stronger, in exchange for having less of a homing capability. With Vahn supplementing her mana with his own ridiculous amount, Lefiya knew it would be possible to cast the spell over and over without experiencing the mental exhaustion that would typically be associated with the consecutive use of magic spells. This meant she would be able to develop her own Magic parameter much faster than normal, something that should be celebrated if not for the fact that it would require her to be in almost constant contact with Vahn... After thinking it over for a few minutes, Lefiya hardened her resolve as she gripped the [Mikis Tulip] in her hands and said, "Yes, Ill do it! P-Please look after me, V-V-Vahn~!" Thus, though it was a little bit of a strange sight to behold, Vahn escorted Lefiya through the Dungeon with his hand on her shoulder. Fenrir continued to fight in the vanguard with ever-increasing efficiency and was like a veritable whirlwind with her [Severing ws]. As for Lefiya, she gripped her staff so tightly that her fingers had turned white as she pointed the staff toward enemies and continually shouted, "Radiant Lancer~!" She did her best to ignore the hot surge of mana that would instantly enter her body every time she cast a spell and tried to vent her frustrations by spamming the spell at the enemies. Vahn was watching over Lefiya like a protective hen while he also observed the flow of mana in her own body and the effects of her spells. Each time one of the bright beams of light shot out of the tip of the flower at the end of Lefiyas staff, another monster would disappear from the world. Though Lefiyapared it to her [Arcs Ray], Vahn could see that the Radiant Lancer was several times stronger even though its actual consumption of mana was lower. The projectile itself was only around 30cm wide, but when it hit the ck Rhinos would create a small explosion of light that had even caused some of the monsters to disappear above the waist. The most important thing that Vahn noticed, however, was the fact that Lefiya had actually been siphoning off a bit of his own source energy to cast the spell. When he normally helped replenish their mana, there was a rapid conversion process that took ce in the girls bodies before the energy was adapted for their own use. This conversion ratio was incredibly efficient because the pure source energy was much stronger than mana which meant Vahn could top them off without using much of his own energy. His current pool was at 5,903 source energy and Vahn could convert that into about 68,000 mana by channeling it into Riveria and Lefiya. With his own regeneration, which was about 50 per minute, this effectively gave Lefiya a mana regeneration of 565 per minute even though her total pool was only 2,575. As for why it was important that her body was siphoning parts of his source energy, it was because the flow of energy within Lefiya was undergoing a subtle change as her body itself adapted to the higher tier energy system. Vahn was able to see theposite mana that made up the structure of objects, so seeing the flow within a persons body was very easy. He had long learned that everyone had a color to their mana that showed their affinities somewhat. It was also the same color that appeared when a persons magic circles appeared. Riverias was an emerald green color while Lefiyas was typically a light pink that matched the color temte of the outfits shemonly wore. Now, however, the flow within her body was beginning to turn even lighter and there were strands of pure white mana that had started to appear in her mana pathways... Unaware of the changes urring in her body, Lefiya pointed the [Mikis Tulip] toward thest ck Rhinos and shouted, "Radiant Lancer~!" once again. The projectile streamed forward with an unstoppable momentum that caused empty space to appear in the area where the monsters left shoulder and head used to exist. There wasnt any blood or gore, only a ckened wound that was momentarily visible before the monster dispersed into purple dust. Lefiya released a sigh before noticing her own lower jaw was quivering slightly as a result of her anxiety. The moment she paid attention to it, however, a warm energy entered through her shoulder and helped calm her down. Lefiya gave Vahn a sideward nce without saying anything before she started walking forward once again... Fenrir had been paying close attention to Lefiya for a while and was beginning to believe that it may be better to act like the strange girl on asion. She wanted to be able to walk through the Dungeon with her Master and began considering if she should learn magic in the future. Though she wasnt sure how to do magic, Fenrir believed that her Master would teach her if she asked him. However, when this thought crossed her mind, Fenrir was reminded of the scary Eva and a thoughtful expression appeared on her face...though she didnt like the evil woman at all, Fenrir knew she was a powerful Mage that was even the Master of her Master. With this realization, Fenrir began flexing her paws in frustration as an icy me appeared within her glittering scarlet eyes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bashful Elf,Feed the tiny creature~!,Magical Girl Fenrir-Chan!?) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 479 - Nourishment

Chapter 479 - Nourishment

As a result of the fact that Vahns personal regeneration enabled him to always top her off, while Fenrir actually had limitless stamina as long as she had energy within her body, the trio was able to continue their path through the Dungeon without the need for any long breaks. Vahn actually didnt get that hungry himself, unless he had exerted himself for long periods of time, and Lefiya just kept munching away at snacks periodically. Since Fenrirs hunger was rted to her emotional stability, she could survive for thousands of years without any need for food at all. A few head pats, a bit of source energy, and a healthy amount of praise were all the small wolf girl needed to keep going. Lefiya had been very uneasy early in the excursion, but she eventually got used to Vahns hand on her shoulder and began focusing more on casting spells. She had noticed the changes in her own body and how her magic was bing progressively stronger and it inspired her to put in more efforts. The only thing that bothered her now was that Vahn would often ask her if she needed anything to eat whenever they hadpleted a fight. From the moment she started thinking about food, her stomach seemed to have a mind of its own, almost as if it were trying to answer for her. As for his reasons for doing so, Vahn had been paying attention to Lefiyas metabolic processes as well and noticed that her body processed the food at an astronomical rate and broke down what she didnt need to sustain herself as mana. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that she was very simr to Fenrir in that regard, except for the fact that Fenrir could eat anything but didnt need to eat. Lefiya, however, required a surprising amount of food now and Vahn was actually starting to worry if she would have been able to live if there wasnt someone like him with an endless supply to give her. Fortunately, it didnt seem like she actually felt hunger pangs and it wasnt as if her body actually required additional nutrition. The food she was eating, after hesitantly epting it from his hands, went more towards her mana pool and revitalizing the cells in her body than towards the normal metabolic process. After having defeated a group of seventeen ck Rhinos, eleven of which were killed by Lefiyas magic, she was once again nibbling on a cat-shaped cookie with her head lowered slightly in embarrassment. Unlike in the past, where she would get full after eating a few bites of food, Lefiya never felt that feeling any longer and it was almost like she could eat infinitely. It was very worrying for her but Vahn had ayed her fears somewhat by exining the process that was taking ce in her body. It made her feel a bit giddy that Vahn was so aware of what was going on in her body, but she did her best not to think about it too much as she pulled another cracker out of the bag of goodies Vahn had given her earlier... Since it was somewhat bad for the mind if you were in extended engagements for long periods of time, Vahn had brought the excursion to a temporary halt after more than three hours of fighting. Because Lefiyas firepower was so high, their efficacy for clearing out the floor was somewhat startling and they had hunted a total of 503 ck Rhinos and 25 Deformis Spiders over the rtively short period of time. The main reason for this had been the fact they had encountered a Monster Party, which Vahn personally triggered after Lefiya was nearly finished with her area of effect magic. Since the spawns didnt trigger until people were already entrapped, Vahn had her begin her chant long before the fight actually began so she was able to sweep through the entire horde the moment they spawned. Unfortunately, of the 528 monsters hunted, 387 were killed by Lefiya so Fenrir was a bit angsty which was the primary reason Vahn had called the break. He now sat against the wall while pampering the somewhat pouty Fenrir as Lefiya sat a little away from them atop a cushion. She seemed to be lost in thought and only awakened from her reverie whenever she was surprised to discover her snacks had once again run out. Over the course of the half-hour they had rested, Lefiya went through several small pouches of cookies, crackers, and sliced fruits. Though she knew about the Gourmand ability, Lefiya didnt really understand why her body feltpelled to eat so much, even though she wasnt that hungry at all... While Vahn was grooming her fur, Fenrir let her body rx as shezed about as a result of thefort she was feeling. She had been frustrated at first and tried to protest a little by pouting but, after about five minutes of his care she gave up and almost forgot why she was even mad to begin with. After releasing a too-wide yawn, Fenrir said in a sleepy voice, "Vahn should be like Fenrir more often..." as she rested her head against his chest. Vahn had felt his danger senses trigger when Fenrir had opened her mouth much wider than normal and he got a clear view of her sharp teeth. Though she was rxed, Fenrir was still in her battle-ready state which included sharper teeth and slightly longer ws. However, when he heard her words, Vahn felt a bit of warmth spread through his heart as he poked her nose. He had returned to his human form before bed, so he didnt identally scratch the sleeping girls, and hadnt changed back into a Vanargandr since then... Just as the half-hour he had designated for their break came to an end, Fenrirs eyes opened and she extricated herself from Vahns body without him having to remind her. He wasnt sure how she processed the passage of time so well, but his intuition told him she didnt pay attention to it at all and got her queues from his behavior. Since he had been thinking it was about time for them to continue the hunt, Fenrir had woken up in an instant and was ready to go a few secondster, almost as if she hadnt been sleeping previously. Vahn smiled at her before rising to his feet and ruffled her hair somewhat firmly since she had told him in the past that she liked heavy pats more than soft ones. Fenrir squinted her eyes with a pleased expression on her face and felt like, once again, Vahn was the best to her. She was so happy that, when Vahn helped Lefiya rise to her feet like a gentleman, Fenrir was only slightly bothered and let it slide. As for Lefiya, she had been slightly startled when Vahn called out to her and had grabbed his outstretched hand without thinking at all. When he pulled her to her feet and supported her shoulder, Lefiyas eyes opened wide as her brain stalled for a few seconds before she said, "Thank...you..." The second half of their excursion proceeded in much the same manner as the first three hours, except this time Fenrir lingered around Vahn more until they got rtively close to the monster spawns. Vahn knew she was probably started to be a little jealous of his interactions with Lefiya, so he walked with his left hand on Lefiyas shoulder while he rested his right hand atop Fenrirs head. He couldnt help but feel like they looked a little strange but there was nobody present to judge them other than a few unfortunate monsters that crossed their path. Fenrir seemed offended by their existences now, as it took away from the time she could spend with Vahn, so she was especially fierce in her attacks when they managed to get near. Vahn shook his head as a slightly exasperated sigh escaped his lips when Fenrir jumped at a one of the ck Rhinos and sunk her teeth into its neck as she sunk her ws deep into its body. A veritable tide of blood emerged from the wound and covered her face and body. Fortunately, the [Nezha Ladys Togi] couldnt be stained by the blood, but it didnt stop it from reaching down to her uncovered abdomen and staining parts of her thighs. By the time the monster had dispersed into purple smoke, resulting in Fenrir jumping at the next one and leaving four huge gashes in its head, there was more blood visible on her body than exposed skin. When the enemies were finally dealt with, she used the sleeves of her top to try and wipe away some of the blood before running back over to Vahn with slightly averted eyes. Lefiyaughed at Fenrirs behavior but caught herself quickly and coughed to cover it up when Fenrir showed a slightly pouty expression and gave her a sideward nce. Vahn reached out and ruffled Fenrirs hair again and said in a soothing tone, "Fenrir, you shouldnt get upset so easily...Lefiya is a good girl, so the two of you should get along well." When he began rubbing her head, Vahn used his left hand and began pulling the blood away from Fenrirs body using his cleaning magic. Lefiya watched the process with interest on her face while Fenrir seemed to be contemting Vahns words. She knew that Lefiya was a good girl that was well-behaved and always did what she was told, so there was no reason for her to be upset with her. By interpreting Vahns treatment of Lefiya as his reward for her being good, Fenrir suddenly found herself feeling a strange bit of uncertainty since she was essentially punishing Lefiya for being good... Though she had a deep frown on her face for a brief moment, Fenrir looked over at Lefiya and said, "Fenrir is sorry for being...jealous of Lefiya...Lefiya is a good girl, so Fenrir will be nice to you too. Fenrir doesnt want to be a bad girl that punishes good girls..." Toward the end of her words, Fenrir looked at Vahn for guidance and saw the pleased smile on his face before he reached to the side of her ear and began scratching it. Fenrir tilted her head to make the angle better as a smile appeared on her face and she enjoyed the sensation. Vahn knew all the best ces to touch her and she knew she had done the right thing now. Lefiya saw Fenrirs treatment and felt a slight incredulity at the sudden happenings because she hadnt expected Fenrir to apologize to her for being jealous. Now that she suddenly saw Vahn rewarding Fenrir, Lefiya had a strange feeling in her heart that was slightly different than anything she had felt in the past. For the first time in her life, Lefiya felt like it had been her misfortune to have been born as an Elf. If she had been a Chienthrope, Cat Person, or another race with big fluffy ears, Lefiya felt like she could have enjoyed Vahns pampering just like them. Instead, just thinking about him pampering her made Lefiya feel very tense and it would immediately cause her heart to begin racing in her chest. She couldnt muster up the courage to appeal to Vahn, and also didnt have the tolerance to ept his affections even if she did... Seeing the satisfied expression on Fenrirs face, and the somewhat sad look she had when the petting came to an end, Lefiya couldnt help butment in an almost inaudible voice, "How envious..." Vahn hadnt heard her at all, but Fenrirs ears twitched slightly before she looked over at Lefiya with a contemtive expression on her face. Fenrirs reaction startled Lefiya and her heart began to throb as a result of her anxiousness until Fenrir turned away as if she hadnt noticed anything. When Vahn turned his head to stare at her, Lefiya fl.u.s.teredly turned her head to the side and refused to make eye contact with him until he said, "Lets...keep going?" As if she had just received a lifeline, Lefiya nodded her head rapidly and began walking ahead of Vahn and Fenrir as if she couldnt wait to return to killing monsters. After the strange interaction, Vahn noticed the Fenrir had returned to normal and was doing her best to kill enemies as efficiently as possible to avoid getting dirty again. Her [Severing ws] allowed her to avoid getting messy if she fought properly, so she tried avoiding attack trajectories that would cause blood to spurt at her. As for Lefiya, she had startled a bit when he returned his hand to her shoulder but manage to calm down and focus on the fights after a few minutes. Her magic had grown to the point where the massive bolts of light continued forward after colliding with enemies and it was almost to the point where the single-target spell had be an area of effect one. Vahn had noticed this change and saw that there was a wispy white tendril that had intermixed with the other bands of mana within her body now. Though mana was in all matter, it was also immaterial at the same time and Vahn likened it to a person having three bodies ovepping each other whenever he saw the flow within a persons body. There was the physical body, which was made of all their bones, organs, muscles, and nerves, while underneath it, ovepping with it but never touching, there was a magical body as well. The magical body nourished the physical body and allowed for phenomenon like skills and magic to be used by people. Within the magic body, there were several cores present with thergest one being located in the navel. The majority of a persons mana formed their main cored and it fed to all the other smaller cores that were located in the heart, brain, wrists, and ankles. Previously, the mana in Lefiyas body was light pink in coloration, especially around her primary core. Now, however, there was a distinct white band present within her navel that would spread through her body, passing through the cores in her wrists, before feeing into the staff in her hands. It wasnt source energy, but something closer to pure magical energy and it seemed like Lefiyas body had adapted to its use after intermixing with his own source energy for so long. As for the final body, this was the one Vahn had almost no awareness and understanding of, which he called the spiritual body. It was almost impossible to detect and even Vahn could only see an illusory version of it if he focused his mind. Much like the magical body, the spiritual body also had a core but this one was located near the heart. Vahn felt like this was actually the soul of a person, but even Sis wasnt sure about the true nature of the spiritual body for the time being. The most important thing to note was that Vahn could only see this from the girls that possessed his me seed within their chest, so it was very possible it was just a byproduct of the skill nourishing their body and had nothing to do with his other assumptions at all... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lefiya has be a foodie,Fenrirs jealousy,Vahns over here casually changing things within Lefiyas body...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 480 - Unexpected Changes

Chapter 480 - Unexpected Changes

Though they could have continued for a while longer, Vahn ended up calling the excursion to an early end after a little over five hours because he had started to feel a strange fullness. All of his joints ached slightly and hit total parameters had just crept over the 6,500 mark during their earlier battles. Even though he wasnt contributing that much to the actual fights, Vahn was expending a great deal of energy while sustaining both Fenrir and Lefiya while also practicing his elemental control when it was suitable. He wasnt gaining a lot of exillia, but his mastery of his own Innates and hisprehension of thews themselves were promoting his growth. Just like when he experienced huge developments in his Magic parameter in the orb, as a result of his Innates increasing in strength, Vahn was circ.u.mventing the worlds restrictions a bit. After the exited the 51st floor, Vahn decided to take a short rest to increase his own Level so he turned to Fenrir and Lefiya before saying, "There isnt anyone within 509m of our location, but I can look around for a bit and make sure there isnt anyone beyond that either. Ill set up a basin if the two of you want to wash up and then Im going to increase my Level. You can wait until we return to the encampment, but I can update your Status Board here if you want to check your growth..." Fenrir raised her paw like a rocket and said, "Fenrir wants to take a bath~!" before Lefiya had any chance to offer input of her own. Not wanting to make an enemy out of the small wolf girl, Lefiya showed a small smile and said, "I dont really need to take a bath...but Id appreciate it if you set up a tent before checking the area. Taking off my clothing in the open forest is a little..." Vahn nodded his head and removed one of the already established tents he had set up previously. Other than hisrge tent, Vahn had several smaller ones that were already in a condition to be used at a moments notice. To get around having to stake them down to the ground, Vahn had developed t stone bs that the tent rested on so he could create an entire encampment with the wave of his hand if necessary. Lefiya thanked him before making her way into the tent as if she were retreating while Fenrir was content with having an open-air bath. She wasnt worried about anyone showing up at all because she would have been able to smell the scent of any enemies if they had been in the area recently. After filling arge basin with the essence water and heating it up to a steamy temperature, Vahn scouted the surrounding area for a few kilometers and updated his minimap before returning a few minutester. Other than a few small animals and insects, there were no other life signs and Vahn could tell by the rtively stagnant currents of mana that there hadnt been anyoneing through this area while they were down below. The only signatures he could pick up were small spatial fluctuations he had created earlier in the day and there were no discernable tracks left behind by other Adventurers. As an extra precaution, Vahn sent out several pulses of his sonar-like ability just to make sure there were no invisible enemies trying to exploit a momentary gap in his awareness. Satisfied with the rtive security of the area, Vahn made his way back to their makeshift encampment and nearly fell over when hended nearby. Though she had said she didnt need a bath earlier, Vahn found Lefiya trembling slightly as she scrubbed Fenrirs hair and fur with a special shampoo that had no scent, as Fenrir was very sensitive to perfumes of most cleaning agents. She had removed barrette that held her golden-yellow hair up in a ponytail so it drapped around her back and shoulders as she made a futile attempt to hide her n.a.k.e.d figure behind Fenrirs body. As for the wolf-girl in question, Fenrir waves both paws at Vahn with a smile on her face and said, "Fenrir and Lefiya decided to take a bath together. Vahn should take a bath also~." Though the basin Vahn had set up for Fenrirs use was quiterge, as she liked to ssh around a bit in the water, it wasnt a size that would befortable for three people to use. He scratched the side of his hair with his eyes averted to the side as he thought of a solution but was surprised to find that Lefiya, who was still using Fenrir as a shield, peeked around and said, "I...I dont m-mind..." Vahn looked over at Lefiyas fiercely blushing face and she once again hid behind the grinning Fenrir who seemed especially pleased, almost like a child that hadpleted a prank. Vahn had only been gone for about seven minutes earlier so he had no idea what Fenrir had done to convince Lefiya to go to this extent... As Lefiya had likely mustered up a lot of courage for this act, Vahn decided not to disappoint her and the mischevious Fenrir. After unequipping his clothes, Vahn made his way over before lowing himself into the basin, opposite of Lefiya with Fenrir between them. Because of his height, his legs intertwined with Lefiyas which caused her blush to turn crimson as she breathed loudly through her nose. Other than when she had cared for his body, this is the closest Lefiya had willingly been to Vahn during their bath when other girls werent around. If not for Fenrir blocking her line of sight, and her unwillingness to stare at him, there wouldnt be anything blocking her from viewing Vahns figure up close... Vahn could see Lefiya had lost herself in her thoughts once again and decided to let here back to her senses on her own as he picked up a sponge and began wiping down Fenrirs body. She lifted her chin up high in response and spread both of her arms so Vahn could get all the nooks and crannies. Fenrir liked being washed by Vahn more than anyone else and it always made her feel very happy, like there were little fairies dancing about in her stomach. Fenrir had never eaten a fairy before, but she felt like this was the most urate description because she knew they spread happiness. While he washed her body, Vahn was passing his eyes over Fenrir with a bit of intrigue and concern as he carefully attended to her. Even though it had been several months, Fenrirs body hadnt changed at all and even the arrangement of her fur was exactly the same. Though her parameters were also increasing, there were no signs of their influence on her body and Vahn felt a simr concern for her as he had for Eva within the orb. He knew she would one day want to do a.d.u.l.t things with him but Vahn was worried it would be a very painful experience for her unless he could find a way to help her body mature and evolve even further. As she was genderless as a Kobold, Fenrirs transition into bing a female included some of the troublesome aspects as well. As he often tended to her body, Vahn knew that she could be considered a maiden and there was a very high chance she would always be one... When he had been talking with Eva about her past, one of the things she confided in him was the reason why her real form was a v.i.r.g.i.n even after six-hundred years. Though her real body wasnt developed, Eva could change her form with magic and emte the appearance of an a.d.u.l.t at the cost of a bit of mana. However, she ined to him about how creepy most men were during her time as a Shinso Vampire and that regeneration almost guaranteed the event would be very painful. As she was an immortal with nearly instant regeneration, Eva would be as much a v.i.r.g.i.n before having s.e.x as she was during and after the act came to an end. Though Fenrir didnt have instant regeneration, she still returned to her default state after enough time passed which meant her body would always be trying to return to normal instead of healing... Unaware of what he was thinking, Fenrir pat her paws on the water surface, since Vahn already washed her arms, and said, "If Vahn was like Fenrir, she could wash him...Fenrir really wants to wash Vahn sometime..." Broken from his mild rumination, Vahn looked into Fenrirs eyes and saw the briefest hint of a plea contained within them. Since he was afraid that he might identally scratch Lefiya, Vahn pulled his feet closer to his body until he knees came out of the water before a magical light appeared and caused his body to change. In even less time than the past, Vahnpleted his transformation into a Vanargandr and instantly felt his legs get soaked through by water. Fenrir was ecstatic at the change and immediately dove at Vahn before nuzzling affectionately against him like she had the first two times he adopted this form. Lefiya had been stirred to awareness by the fluctuations of magical energy and was surprised to find Vahns hair had turned the same color as Fenrirs as arge pair of ears drooped slightly atop his head. Though she wasnt entirely sure why, Lefiya felt a little less fearful now because she knew there was little chance of Vahn doing anything now that he had paws and ws. After releasing a small sigh of relief, Lefiya realized she had lost her shield because Fenrirs butt was popping up out of the water as her tail sshed about. She lowered herself further into the water and covered her chest in an attempt to hide her b.r.e.a.s.ts but noticed that Vahn wasnt really paying any attention to her. Though she had been relieved earlier, Lefiya now felt slightly vexed because she felt like she wanted him to look even though she would hide away from him if he did... Though he might not have known the reason, Fenrir knew exactly why she acted in this manner every time her Master became the same as her. She felt a powerfulpulsion to mix her scent with his, almost as if she were marking him with her scent. It was also veryfortable to rub against his body without having to worry about hurting him so it was very difficult to stop herself from indulging for a little while whenever he changed. When she was finally satisfied, Fenrir decided to keep true to her word by picking up the sponge and using it to wipe around Vahns chest, neck, and arms in a very unskilled manner. She couldnt hold the sponge properly since her ws would just tear through it, so she had topensate by holding it against Vahns body like she was squishing it. Vahn regretted his actions a little bit because Fenrir was eagerly washing his body while straddling his h.i.p.s. Fortunately, even though Syr had taught him to react to a girls actions, Vahn was still able to control himself and avoid a potential disaster scenario. He just enjoyed the somewhat unskilled washing of Fenrir and casuallymented, "We cant do this too often, Fenrir, but every now and then is fine..." Hearing his words, Fenrir nodded her head several times before patting Vahns shoulder with her paw and saying, "Fenrir will wash your back now~!" Then, instead of waiting for Vahn to turn around, Fenrir stood up from the basic and climbed around Vahns body before plopping into the water behind him. Vahn squinted his eyes as a small smile appeared on his face because of how clever Fenrir was trying to act... From behind him, Fenrir pushed against his head a little and said, "Vahn, you need to scooch forward or I cant fit." Vahn was very well aware of this but he wasnt the only one as Lefiya was looking at him like a small animal that had just encountered a hunter with their bow drawn. Her bottom jaw trembled slightly as her rosyplexion began to turn somewhat pale. However, though she had obvious inhibitions, Lefiya moved back slightly and pulled her feet up to allow Vahn more space to move. Vahn smiled slightly and said, "Lefiya, go ahead and turn around...Ill help wash your hair and also update your Status Board since its a good opportunity..." Though she was being very brave, Vahn could see Lefiyas aura sputtering like a me caught in a powerful wind so he wanted to give her an out that didnt result in her having to retreat and overtax herself. When she heard Vahns words, Lefiya felt a great deal of relief as she pulled in her legs close to her body and spun around in the basin without rising. She found that it was much easier to tolerate the situation with her back to Vahn and felt some smallfort knowing that he was worried about her. Though he smiled at her, Lefiya could see the concern in his eyes and knew he was giving her a promise that still allowed her to be bold. He didnt know it, but when Vahn had left earlier to scout the area, Fenrir hade into the tent and continued to tell her that she was a good girl and that it was okay to get pampered by Vahn. ording to Fenrir, it would trouble Vahn if she kept struggling so much and it was very obvious to Fenrir that Lefiya wanted Vahns attention because of her behavior and the earlier remark she uttered under her breath. It was a little strange, as Fenrir was somewhat ineloquent, but Lefiya found her words strangelypelling and she eventually decided to craft a scheme with the surprisingly clever wolf girl. After mustering up all of her courage, Lefiya ended up getting into the bath as she anxiously awaited Vahns arrival. Various thoughts ran through her mind and she was very curious how Vahn would react to her sudden appearance. However, she was also very embarrassed to be seen and her emotions were at war with each other and Lefiya didnt know which ones to focus on... Vahn could sense Lefiyas struggle as he gingerly moved her hair to the side and traced a line of blood down her back. Though he had ws now, there were small paw pads on the ends of his fingers and Vahn had pricked into one of them while paying special attention to avoid touching her skin with his w. A blue light shone on Lefiyas back as the blood disappeared and was reced by the smiling clown crest of the Loki Familia interspaced with several hieroglyphs that were written in thenguage of the gods that Vahn was easily able to interpret as a result of The Paths influence. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Lefiya Viridis LV. 3(+) POW: 421+(H119)->(G238) END: 692+(H150)->(D557) DEX: 1281+(G202)->(F330) AGI: 1459+(G243)->(F304) MAG: 1998+(D577)->(SS1008) Skills: [Fairy Cannon:C->B], [Concurrent Chanting:E], [Prometheuss Blessing:A] Magic: [Rattatoskr:Innate:(sealed)], [Arcs Ray:C], [Fuside Farica:C], [Elf Ring:C] Development Abilities: [Daughter of Wishe:Innate(sealed)], [Mage:C->B], [Abnormal resistance:F], [Spirit Healing:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn saw that Lefiyas magic had already broken through the cap, which made sense seeing as how she had killed well over a thousand monster while casting spells almost non-stop, but the most shocking thing was the change in her Endurance. Lefiya hadnt been engaging in directbat and hadnt been moving around much, which was why her Agility had suffered a bit, so there was no reason for her Endurance to increase so explosively. The only exnation was that she had been influenced by Vahns source energy and this was a very surprising revtion that he would need to test in the near future. Though it was only D-Rank, it was nearly reaching thebined totals of Lefiyas previous two levels so it was a significant matter that required further study. After recording Lefiyas status, Vahn handed her the piece of paper for her own perusal as he exined, "As you might have expected, your magic underwent a qualitative change today and you already managed to reach the standard peak. Though you might normally level up in this type of situation, your body should be capable of withstanding around 2,000-2,2000 additional parameters so I would encourage you to stay at your current level for a while longer..." While he spoke, Vahn had already startedbing through Lefiyas surprisingly long hair as he treated it with a light oil-based shampoo that was popr with the girls that had long hair. Lefiyas trailed all the way down to her butt, and he had seen her using it in the past and knew she was fond of the slight citrus smell. Lefiya had been so dazed by her own parameters that she didnt even have time to worry about Vahns expert-level care and just kept staring at her Magic stat with wide eyes. Though she knew it was possible, as she had epted the me seed from Vahn in the hopes it would one daye to pass, Lefiya still had trouble believing she was seeing her own stats. Now that it was confirmed she could indeed break through the limit, Lefiya felt a rising anticipation that spread through her body and made her tremble slightly. This was irrefutable proof that she had the capabilities of bing a powerful Mage that could even surpass her mentor, Riviera, who was considered one of the most prolific Mages in several centuries. She had always beenuded as a genius, but now Lefiya knew such things werent nearly as important as pursuing your path with an open mind and making efforts to improve yourself...limits were something that was arbitrarily decided by other people, not something you needed to be bound by. When she thought of this, the image of Vahn appeared in Lefiyas mind and she was suddenly very aware of his actions in caring for her hair. Her body began to tremble for a slightly different reason, but Lefiya furrowed her brows slightly to resist it as the anticipation she had felt began to change into a resolve... While he was washing her hair, Vahn saw an anomaly appear all of a sudden and parted Lefiyas hair to get a better view. He had yet to lock up her status board, so the Loki Familia crest was still visible and Vahn had seen a slight change sneakily take ce. Though most people might have missed it, Vahn was very attentive when he was treating a girls hair and had seen the small shift. After getting a better view, a small smile appeared on Vahns face and he was about to say something before a bit of soap got into his eye. Fenrir had been scrubbing around his shoulders and head once again and hadthered up enough shampoo that Vahns hair and ears could hardly be seen now. He wasnt sure if she had done it intentionally, but a small trail of shampoo had trickled down his face when he parted Lefiyas hair before it traced a path directly into his right eye... Vahn rubbed his eye and said, "Fenrir, I think that is enough shampoo..." before rinsing his hair with a wooden pail. Fenrir surprisingly startedughing in a somewhat mischevious manner before dropping the sponge into the water and hugging Vahns back while leaning against him. She still had suds in her own hair so Fenrir wanted to get rinsed off at the same time as him. Understanding this, Vahn continued to pour the hot whatever over them as he remarked to Lefiya, who had turned her head slightly to look at them, "Im not sure what changed, Lefiya, but I just noticed something very important that you need to be aware of..." Lefiya tilted her head slightly and asked, "What is it...Vahn?" as a blush began to rise on her face once again. Though he wasnt sure what she was thinking of, Vahn smiled and exined, "You awakened a rare skill, but it shows up in the Development Abilities category as [Daughter of Wishe]. Im not sure what it does, or how you actually develop it, so itll be up to you to figure it out. If you need any help, feel free to consult either me or Riveria and well both do our best to help you..." Lefiya had been very curious about what Vahn was going to say but his spoken words were far beyond any of her expectations and caused her eyes to open wide. A rare skill was something worth discussion amongst an entire City while a rare magic was something that could be a legacy for an entire n. However, neither wereparable to a rare Development Ability and Lefiya even knew partially why it had awakened when it did... Moments before she felt Vahn part her hair, Lefiya had decided to try her best to reach the true pinnacle of magic, which didnt seem to even exist. The only way she could do this was staying at Vahns side, but Lefiya didnt want to take advantage of him just because she wanted to learn from him. Knowing that the me seed in her chest was dependant on her affections for Vahn, Lefiya had resolved herself to do everything she could to be closer to him in the future. Though it was a strangeparison, Lefiya wanted Vahn to treat her in a simr manner as he treated Fenrir since the two seemed veryfortable and affectionate with each other. Lefiya even had a slight delusion about him turning into an Elf, or even a High Elf, to match her as he washed down her body with the same attention that he showed Fenrir. When this thought had crossed her mind, Lefiya sent out a silent prayer to Wishe, one of the first Elves born from a spirit in the past. Even the magic she was most known for, [Elf Ring], used Wishe in the chant and Lefiya always felt a strong bond with the ancestor of the Elves...now that she had awakened a Development Ability called [Daughter of Wishe], Lefiya wasnt quite sure of what to think but there were two things she firmly believed. From now on, she would be closer and closer to Vahn until there was no discernable distance between them. At the same time, she would endeavor to be one of the greatest Mages in history while studying and researching magic at his side. Though it took a bit of courage, Lefiya rxed her body a little bit before turning around to face Vahn without making any attempt to conceal herself from his eyes... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Lefiya Viridis Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Lefiya Viridis Wishes To Be Your Subordinate: Y/N?// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: S Rewards: 10,000OP, 1x[Hearts Desire: Lefiya Viridis] Grade Rewards: 1x[Wishes Teardrop], 1x[Wishes Blessing], 9,000OP [Wishes Teardrop](A/N: Dayum, Completion Grade: S rewards are legit...) Rank: Unique Use: If used within sixty seconds, this item can resurrect the dead and fully revitalize their body. Restriction: Causes a strong impact on the soul and will result in the loss of parameters depending on the state of the corpse. [Wishes Blessing] Rank: Unique Use: Helps to purify the bloodline of any descendant of Wishe. Restriction: Elves and High Elves. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: You thought this was a chapter about Vahn reaching Level 4?,Bath time with two gluttonous girls,I could really use a Wishe right now...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 481 - Master

Chapter 481 - Master

Vahn had been somewhat surprised by the notification within the system because the sound emitted when it informed him someone wanted to be his subordinate was always louder and more insistent than others. However, it didnt seem like he would be given time to think about it right now since, as he cast a quick nce toward the item descriptions, Lefiya had suddenly turned around and looked directly at him. He wasnt exactly sure why, presumably because of the subordinate notification, Vahn felt a little bit of pressure from Lefiya and inadvertently swallowed when she lowered her hands and stopped concealing her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Lefiyas body was trembling greatly and had taken on a rudy crimson coloration but the resolute look in her eyes persisted as she said, "Ano...I want you to look at me...for however long it takes for me to get used to it...please watch me closely from now on, Vahn!" Lefiya looked like she had justpleted a marathon after she shouted out thest words. She seemed to desperately want to conceal herself and was even leaning forward slightly as if she wanted to retreat into the water. Unfortunately, she just caused her b.r.e.a.s.ts to dangle forward slightly and made them even more prominent as they grazed the waters surface. Other than stare nkly, Vahn didnt know how else to react and it wasnt until the notification sounded within his head once again that he snapped out of his stupor. He habitually averted his eyes but this caused a strange reaction in Lefiya as she reached forward, almost like she wanted to turn his face back to her. Fortunately, Vahn looked at her before shepleted the action so she dropped her hands and continued to watch him with her resolute Dark Blue eyes. Vahn was thinking about his reaction when Fenrir, who had still been clinging to his back, said, "Lefiya is a good girl..." as if it was all the exnation he needed. As if incited by Fenrirs words, Lefiya raised her chin slightly and tried to sit up straight as she said, "Please...I want you to look..." Vahn released a silent sigh through his nose as he continued to ignore the notification from the system and began to look over Lefiyas body with his gaze. She trembled greatly and even started to bite her lip, but Lefiya made no efforts to hide her body and even stood up in the basin to reveal the contents that had been hidden by the warm water. Vahn was already very familiar with Lefiyas body, so he wasnt that surprised by the revtion, but it didnt stop him from feeling slightly flush because he knew the circ.u.mstances were somewhat tense. She was very fair skinned, had budding b.r.e.a.s.ts that looked like they would reach a B-Cup in the near future, and had a thin waist with somewhat thin thighs. She was a very cute girl, but Vahn couldnt help but feel she was far too young after casting a nce downwards. Lefiyas mouth was open slightly and Vahn could see her lower jaw quivering as she watched him trace his gaze across every part of her body. When he looked back up at her, Lefiya strangely nodded before turning around and moving her long hair to the front of her body,pletely exposing her backside. Vahn realized her intention and inspected her from top to bottom once again before mentallymenting, ("She has a very small butt...but its cute?"). Sis, hearing hisment said, (*You can probably convince her to exercise a bit if youre that worried about it, Vahn.*) Hearing Sissughter and her somewhat amused tone, Vahns eyes widened slightly before he turned his gaze back to Lefiyas face. When Vahns eyes were drawn to her butt, Lefiya felt a little self-conscious because she knew from the other girls that Vahn liked butts. Hers wasnt really much to speak of and she hadnt thought about it much until she somehow found herself disying her body to Vahn. She suspected he would im to not mind it, but Lefiya resolved to talk with some of the other girls, especially Tsubaki and Lunoire, as they both had bigger butts than other girls. She already knew dancing was a good way to shape her h.i.p.s and thighs so she could also try talking to Haruhime or learn the traditional dances from Tiona and Tione, both girls with developed butts... As he had seen her aura flickering about in a strange manner, Vahn assumed Lefiya was feeling a little self-conscious so he smiled and said, "Youre very cute, Lefiya...you will be a beautiful woman in the future." With an as expected kind of look on her face, Lefiya nodded before turning back around and sitting down in the water. To Vahns surprise, she had calmed down a great deal all of a sudden and seemed to be thinking about something until she said, "I know its a bit early, but I want you to take me as your disciple, Vahn. Even if Im able to reach the pinnacle of magic through my own efforts, Ive decided that I would rather get there with you...I dont know if what Im feeling is love, but I know Ive liked you for a very long time...I want us to be closer together until...until we can be as close as you and Fenrir are..." Hearing her name, Fenrir opened her eyes and looked at Lefiya as if she had just obtained a new rival. She had been resting against her Master because he was currently talking with Lefiya and had stopped paying attention until she heard her name mentioned. Seeing the resolute in Lefiyas eyes, Fenrir said, "If Lefiya is a good girl...Master will treat us both well...but Master is the best to Fenrir. If Lefiya tries to take Master away, Fenrir will..." For a brief moment, Fenrir was tempted to say that she would eat Lefiya but realized those were very dangerous words. If she made such threats right in front of her Master, he would undoubtedly think she was being a bad girl. She had been trying super hard to get along better with the other girlstely and didnt want to undo everything just to threaten a potential rival. Instead ofpleting her threat, Fenrir squinted her eyes and said, "Fenrir will work harder than anyone else to be Masters favorite...Lefiya can try her best too..." Lefiya had felt a chill run down her back for a brief moment but nodded her head in a resolute manner and said, "Yes, I will do my best from now on! Thats why...!" More than any of the previous instances, the notification of Lefiya wanting to be his subordinate sounded out in Vahns mind like a loud rm. He was tempted to refuse her in his mind while epting her in reality, much like he had done for Nanu, but Vahn believed Lefiya was much more stable than the Chienthrope girl. She was the type that put a lot of thought into her actions, putting even more into some of her delusions, so Vahn knew she had seriously considered the matter. Since he was also interested in something, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Very well, Lefiya, from this point on you are my apprentice. However, if youd like to be like Fenrir...you would have to be my subordinate as well..." Lefiya continued to stare back with a resolute gaze but Vahn could see several questions forming in her mind. Vahn smiled slightly and exined, "I can form contracts with people that gives me a stronger bond with them and allows us to understand each other better. But, and this is something you need to consider seriously, it also allows me to influence you slightly through my own thoughts...if you are loyal enough to me, I may even be able to dictate your actions..." Lefiyas dark blue eyes darted around as she rapidly processed the information Vahn was disclosing to her. She could tell he was being truthful to her and it made her both happy and worried at the same time. If his words were taken in an extreme meaning, it meant that he could even control her in the future, though it seemingly required her loyalty to allow him to do so. Lefiya was somewhat hesitant but she saw the unwavering gaze of Fenrir looking directly at her and nodded as she said, "Even if things get difficult in the future, I believe that you will never do anything to hurt me, Vahn. And...Im somewhat curious about how that bond works...if possible, please tell me when youre doing something so I can familiarize myself with it and understand it better..." Vahn had expected Lefiya to be more hesitant but she instead seemed somewhat insistent on the matter. It might be her inherent curiosity, as she was very interested in things that were somewhat mystical in nature. Before he nodded his head, however, Vahn asked Sis, ("I can remove the subordinate status from people willingly, cant I?") Almost before he hadpleted the question, Sis answered, (*Yes, but the persons Loyalty parameter in the system would reset to 50 and you wouldnt be able to ept them as a subordinate again.*) Hearing her reply, Vahn smiled and nodded his head as he said, "From now on, youll be both my Apprentice and Subordinate Lefiya...I promise that I will do my best to make sure you never regret your decision today." Lefiya smiled in return before blinking in confusion because she suddenly felt like there was a link between her and Vahn. She was curious, so she asked, "Can you show me how the pulsion works once...? And, umm, please dont make me do anything strange..." Vahn had briefly nced at the system and saw that Lefiyas Loyalty was already at 91, which showed that she had already made some pretty significant decisions about their rtionship. Since she was curious, Vahn considered the matter for a moment before ordering Lefiya to wag her ears. He knew Elves had a fair amount of control over their ears, if they put in the effort, and he thought it would be cute. As she was waiting for Vahn to tell her to do something, Lefiya felt like being passive was going to make things weird so she decided to lighten the atmosphere a bit by trying to make Vahnugh. After thinking about it briefly, Lefiya felt a bit of heat rise to her cheeks as she slightly flexed the muscles around the side of her head and made her ears waggle. She knew Vahn liked teasing Elves and he would probably find the action to be very cute. As expected, Lefiya saw Vahn show a wide smile but she was shocked when he said, "That is an example of how it works..." Vahn knew she was confused so he exined, "The bond works by linking our minds partially...I thought it would be cute if you waggled your ears and figured it wouldnt be too strange. How did you feel...?" Hearing his exnation, Lefiya was a little shaken because his thoughts almost aligned perfectly with her own. She had felt as though she were making a conscious decision and had even rationalized it before she took action. Since Vahn imed that was exactly what he wanted her to do, Lefiya felt a little lost until Vahn said in an apologetic tone, "I can feel your loyalty slipping...sorry, Lefiya, I didnt mean to make you do something strange." Hearing Vahns words, Lefiya raised her hands and waved them back and forth as she said, "No, its not that, Vahn! I was just a little scared by my own thought process regarding thepulsion. The action itself wasnt bad and I was happy when I thought you were happy!" Since she had decided for herself to follow this path, even after Vahns warning, Lefiya didnt want him to me himself, especially when she was the one to ask him to do something. Fortunately, he seemed to believe her so Lefiya released a relieved sigh as she pat her chest. She wasnt aware that Vahn had seen her Loyalty jump back up, though he also highly appreciated her exnation of things. Though it was a strange realization, Lefiya felt the softness of her chest and suddenly had a thought before asking, "You havent asked me to do anything else, right...?" Vahn tilted his head in a thoughtful manner before raising up his hand and saying, "I, Vahn Mason, hereby swear upon my Familia, my Crest, and my Goddess, Hestia, that I will never tell a lie to Lefiya Viridis when she asks me any questions I am allowed to answer in ordance with other restrictions and pre-existing vows. If it is a question I cannot answer, I swear that I will also specify the reason." Since Lefiya was willing to go to rather extreme lengths, Vahn felt like he owed it to her to show some conviction of his own. Seeing Vahn suddenly take a vow, apanied by a shing light that broke away and entered his body, Lefiya felt a warmth spread from her heart. Then, when he had finished the vow, Vahn turned to her and answered, "I havent asked you to do anything else." Hearing his words, Lefiya smiled widely before stutteringly saying, "I...I want you to t-tell me to...to...to...to let you t-touch my b-b-body! I dont want to be afraid anymore~!" Vahns eyes widened at her request before nodding his head and ordering her through their bond to allow him to freely touch her body. Since she seemed to be wanting to get used to it, Vahn also added on that she should tell him what she wanted him to do. It was a bit of a risque order, as Vahn had experienced a bit of a trauma with Anubis, but he believed Lefiya was a sensible girl. Since she had built up her anticipation, Lefiya was paying attention to her thoughts and actions as she held eye contact with Vahn. After a short while passed, Lefiya felt like things were taking too long so she mustered up her courage and asked, "Can you try touching my b.r.e.a.s.ts?" Lefiya assumed things had already taken effect and Vahn was just thinking about what he wanted to do. She saw him nod before reaching out his hand and poking his index finger on her left b.r.e.a.s.t, just two centimeters away from the cherry bud. Lefiya felt her heart rate increasing but was otherwise fine as she said, "You can move it..." Following her words, Vahn traced his index finger across her chest and Lefiya felt like her heart might explode any moment. However, she realized she didnt really mind his touch that much and it actually made her feel very excited instead... After a few seconds passed, Vahn pulled his finger away and Lefiya began calming her breathing as she ced her hand over where Vahn had previously touched and said, "It feels like my heart is going to beat out of my chest, but I kind of wanted you to keep going..." Realizing her own words, Lefiyas eyes widened as she turned her gaze to Vahn with a somewhat worried look, not because she was afraid he had done something strange, but because she didnt want him to think she was a bad girl. Seeing his calm expression and gentle smile, Lefiya released a sigh of relief and said, "This is better...I feel like I can get a lot closer to you now. I would like to try things like holding hands, or even sleeping next to you in the future...maybe even washing each other...and then we can-" Once again, Lefiya found herself saying the thought that were passing through her mind and she began to realize what was going on. Vahn showed an apologetic smile and said, "I thought it would be easier for you if you were able to tell me what you wanted instead of panicking while thinking about what I might do. You have a tendency to let your mind wander, not that I have anyints, mind you, so this should have made your more aware of what was going on. If youd like, I can cancel easily-" Lefiya shook her head suddenly and said, "No, this is better! I want to stay like this, but only when were alone!" Even though she had been thinking it, Lefiya hadnt expected the words to burst out of her lips and she felt both excited and a little scared at the same time. If things continued like this, Lefiya believed it wouldnt be long before she and Vahn were very close with each other. Since she already nned to be with him for the rest of her life, Lefiya wanted to be closer even sooner as it would also affect her growth rate and make Vahn more reliant on her. Stopped by Lefiyas outburst, Vahn modified her orders to only apply when it was just the three of them before turning to Fenrir and saying, "Fenrir, from now on Lefiya is one of us...you must take care of her and do your best to get along, just like you get along with Fafnir and Anubis..." Withoutint, Fenrir raised up her paw and said, "Fenrir will always protect the people closest to Master. Lefiya is very weak so Fenrir will watch over her when Master isnt around~!" Though she knew it was bad, Fenrir felt like rifying her status to Lefiya and expressing that she considered Vahn her Master with every fiber of her being. If Lefiya was going to be Vahns subordinate, Fenrir wanted her to make sure she knew Vahn was the most important. Lefiya nodded her head and said, "I will do my best to get along with Fenrir as well. Though she is a bit scary at times, she is also very cute and I know she is very important to Ma-" Just as the word was about to leave her lips, Lefiya realized what she was about to say and blinked in confusion before seeing Fenrirughing somewhat mischievously as she said, "Master likes us to call him Vahn, but we know in our hearts that he is our Master. Master is the best to Fenrir because Fenrir treats Master as her most important possession. If Lefiya wants to be closest to Master, she has to ept him in her heart. If Lefiya epts Master fully, Master will treat Lefiya almost as good as Fenrir~." Not only was Lefiya surprised, but Vahn was outright shaken by Fenrirs words. He knew it was a trait of those that were subordinated to him to call him Master, but he hadnt put that much thought into it before. It seemed normal for Anubis to call him Master and it wasnt unexpected for Fafnir and Fenrir, who had both been normal monsters previously, to refer to him as such. Now, however, Vahn realized his title as Master ran a lot deeper than he expected and it might even be rted to the Loyalty values of his subordinates. Lefiya was only at 103 and had nearly called him Master by mistake after hearing Fenrir repeat it a few times... Lefiyas eyes darted about for a moment before she looked to the fl.u.s.tered Vahn and saw his worry and concern. She covered her lips with her hand andughed before saying, "I want to call you Master when were alone like this...after all, you are my Master in magic and my Master through the bond we share with each other. I think it might actually be better like this...it already makes me feel a lot closer to...Master." Lefiya had almost said Vahn at the very end but it sounded wrong in her mind. When she changed the address, it made her feel slightly happy and his expression made her feel even happier. He obviously liked being called Master, even though he seemed troubled by it, so Lefiya found it interesting. The fact that Lefiya was suddenly acting a lot morefortably around him, even to the point where she could smile while still sitting n.a.k.e.d, made Vahn realized that the influence of the Unit Management function was stronger than he expected. It was less obvious with girls like Anubis and Fenrir, but it was very obvious with a girl like Lefiya whom Vahn had known for a long time. He decided to change up his order a bit and said, "From now on, Ill change it to where you let me know when things bother you, Lefiya. Please dont just follow all my orders and change your behaviorpletely just to suit me. Ive always thought Lefiya was a cute and sensible girl, so I hope youll stay that way for a long time toe..." Vahn knew she would treat the words seriously since he had also ordered her at the same time. In response to his words, Lefiya nodded her head and said, "Im a little worried that the other girls will think Im being strange, so Ill only act like this when its the three of us. However...Id like you to allow me to have fun with Ais too. I never had the chance to express my feelings, but Ive adored Ais ever since she saved me...I want to be closer to her and even harbored romantic feelings for her..." Hearing her own words, Lefiya felt her heart racing but she kept saying them until the end. Even if it was fake, Lefiya felt a lot more confident because she was able to vocalize the thoughts that often got jumbled up inside of her. When Vahn nodded his head with a smile and said, "Yes, I think most people are aware of that. Please dont change your rtionship with Ais, as she is also very fond of you, Lefiya. If youd like to be closer with her in the future, feel free to tell her about it as Im sure she will also look after you properly..." she felt like her brain was going to explode from the build-up of happiness and blood pressure... --- Vahn had never expected their short bath tost for nearly forty minutes and actually felt a bit prune-like when he finally extricated himself from the water. Lefiya had decided to help her senior and helped Fenrir wear her bottoms before tying the pouch around her waist as she held up her arms and allowed it. Seeing they were getting along better, though their interactions had be strangely hierarchal somehow, Vahn smiled before making his way toward the tent. The n.a.k.e.d Lefiya, and the clothed Fenrir, followed in behind him as the perpetually blushing Elf began getting dressed in the rtive security of the tent. They had already talked about it previously and both girls were going to watch over him as he increased his own Level. Sis had informed him that it could take up to an hour, as his body was somewhat uniquepared to the other residents of this world, so Vahn had decided to use the tent while the two girls ate their lunch and watched over him. When he opened up his status and saw his parameters, Vahn had a smile on his face before mentally pressing the (+) symbol and allowing the energy in his body to begin rapidly circting around his body. It felt like all of his pores had opened and he found himself slowly entering a meditative state as a cold sensation spread from his mind to meet the warm sensation emerging from his chest... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 15 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:3->4 -Power: 1906+(A808)->(A840)->(I0) -Endurance: 2221+(SS1065)->(SSS1104)->(I0) -Dexterity: 1807+(S919)->(S939)->(I0) -Agility: 1959+(A867)->(S900)->(I0) -Magic: 3562+(SSS2302)->(SSS2735)->(I0) Total:11455+(5,961)->(6,519)->(0)(A/N: His new total is 17,974 for the curious.) Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) [Karma]: 9108->9,435 [OP]: 4,252,009->4,113,548 [Valis]: 643,884,901 Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:E], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth: B],[Bow Mastery:S], [Stealth:B], [Chainbreaker:S], [Heart of the Eternal me:SS], [Prometheus:A], [Call of the Reaper:A],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Featherfoot:B->A], [Hands of Nirvana:S], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:A], [Friend of Spirits:A] Magic: [Thria*Mimos:B], [Shundo:B] Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:S], [Spirit Healing:A]->[Well of Spirit:I], [Swordsman:A], [Master Smith:H], [Mixing:C], [Mentor:A], [Petting:D], [Mage:C] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: I want you to look...,Complusion is scary,You thought this was just Lefiya fluff chapter? Surprise, Vahn even more OP now >:D) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 482 - Luncheon

Chapter 482 - Luncheon

When Vahn awoke from his reverie, the first thing he thought about doing was checking his new parameters but he got a little distracted when he opened his eyes and saw Lefiya taking a nap while hugging Fenrir. As for the wolf girl herself, her eyes had been focused on him, probably during the entire hour he was unconscious. When he awakened, Fenrir muttered, "Master has gotten even stronger now...Fenrir is happy." Her words caused Lefiyas slightly drooping ears to snap back up as she slowly opened her dark blue eyes and turned her attention to Vahn as well. As she was still a little absentminded, Lefiya said, "I wish Master would pat my head more..." Since Lefiya was still under the order to speak her mind, her delusion hade out of her mouth once again, though she didnt seem to notice it this time. Understanding that Lefiya was probably mentally fatigued from casting so many magic spells today, Vahn didnt stress her out bymenting on her small faux pas. Instead, he rose up to his feet and extended his...paw in an attempt to pat the two girls. Though his ws werent the unstoppably sharp ones of Fenrir, Vahn was still a little worried about scratching people on ident. Instead, he ced his paw pads atop Lefiyas head and used [Hands of Nirvana] to reinvigorate her while ruffling Fenrirs hair with his other paw. Afterward, the three made their way out of the tent since Vahn couldnt return it to his Inventory if they were inside. Though he could, it would make all the items in the tent spill out to the ground since the tent acted as their container. Since it couldnt contain living entities, like the three of them, Vahn had to exit the tent unless he wanted to store everything individually. After stowing away the tent, and the basin of water outside, Vahn gestured to the two girls and said, "Lets return to the others." Fenrir ran over before climbing onto his back and hugging his neck once again, while Lefiya hesitating for a brief moment before walking over and saying, "E-Excuse me..." before stopping right in front of him. Vahn smiled before leaning down and cing his right arm under her knees and picking her up in a princess carry once again. Her hands immediately went to her skirt to keep it from rolling up as Vahn shifted his weight and used [Shundo] to make his way to the expeditions encampment. Though she still flushed a fair amount, Lefiya didnt turn her face down as she had done previously and instead watched Vahns face with her somewhat reflective dark blue eyes... Even with Vahns hour-long meditation, it wasnt even noon yet so they didnt have to hurry back so Vahn stopped in between each use of [Shundo] to inspect the area carefully before the next jump. He didnt want to overlook any potential signs of impending danger since his instincts were messing with him again. They had been going off several times over the past few days, usually right after something good happened, and Vahn didnt want to simply believe it was a delusion he carried. Believing it was better to be on the alert, rather than becent, Vahn trusted his instincts even if there were no clear signs of trouble. Once they arrived at the encampment, Vahn set Lefiya down on the ground so she wouldnt be too embarrassed when others saw her. She pat her chest to calm her heart for a little while before saying, "Thank you for carrying me...Vahn." As they were back near other people, Lefiya needed to pay more attention to her form of address, even though it wasnt wrong to call Vahn, Master, as he would be teaching her magic, and various other things, in the future. Just imagining people giving her strange looks made her face begin to blush a deeper shade of red as she followed behind Vahn as they made their way to the tent. Since they had their own duties to perform, Ais, Tiona, and Tione were all away and the only people left in the tent were Haruhime and Lili. Mikoto was in the forest closest to the Hestia Familia tent and, when Vahn looked over to observe her, she was training in a new sword stance. Her face was covered in sweat and she had a very serious expression on her face so Vahn decided not to disturb her for the time being. She was probably trying our the techniques from the [Flying Heavenly Sword Scroll] since her stance seemed to match with the images from his memory. After entering through the tent ps and showing their presence, Haruhime and Lili both smiled as the small Pallum girl bounded up to her feet and said, "Wee back~!" as she closed the distance in an instant and hugged Vahns waist. Vahn pat the top of her head and said, "Im back, Lili..." before looking over to Haruhime and continuing, "Haruhime..." as the two others made their way inside. Fenrir gave Lili a squinty-eyed look but didnt say anything while Lefiya surprisingly opened her small mouth and said, "Lili, Haruhime, from today onwards I am also one of Vahns apprentices. Please take care of me from now on~!" Lefiya had bowed low with her hands crossed as Haruhime and Lili stared at her with very different expressions. Haruhime seemed to be amused while it appeared as though Lili struggled to process the information for a short while. Haruhime slowly rose to her feet before walking forward and sping Lefiyas hands as she said, "Wee, Lefiya~." which awakened Lili from her stupor. She looked up to see Vahns smiling face before releasing her hug and turning to Lefiya to say, "That makes you the sixth...wee, Lefiya..." As the first apprentice of Vahn, Lili was especially aware when any new girls joined the ranks because she knew they were both her rivals andpetitors. As for the other apprentices, they were Nanu, Haruhime, Fenrir, Mikoto, and now, Lefiya. Lili noticed that it was typically all the girls that were younger than Vahn and wondered if she should start counting Tina and Shizune into the mix pre-emptively... Though they had already eaten lunch, both Fenrir and Lefiya could continue eating indefinitely while Vahn was feeling a little hungry after his body underwent changes during his Level-up. Instead of the full feeling he had previously, Vahn felt like he had be noticeably stronger even though his parameters were all currently at 0, with the exception of his Magic which had snuck its way up to 38 already. Though his Endurance increased slowly over time as well, especially when using [Rakshasa Body], it was his Magic that always increased the fastest. This wasnt necessarily a bad thing, however, as it meant that all the girls could increase their magic parameter even if they focused on physical training. While they were eating lunch, Lili kept staring at Lefiya who was seemingly a bottomless pit now and felt a little envious because, since she thought her eating appearance was cute, Vahn must have thought so as well. She had already changed into her own mock-Vanargandr form, as Vahn had changed, but Lili was wondering how else she could appeal to him to be ever closer. As for the person in question, Vahn, he was thinking about something very different and might have even received a punch from the small girl if she knew what was on his mind. Since his increase in parameters, Vahns Power total had reached 2,746 and which meant that, after receiving Haruhimes buff, Vahns Power reached an impressive 3570. This put his power at about 250 points lower than Tionas, but around the same level as Tione... Since they obviously wouldnt use any skills to overwhelm him, this meant Vahn was a fair match for both girls now and he could probably even get an advantage against them if he pushed himself. He often thought about how Tiona was still waiting for him to get stronger while Tione carried a burden that made it hard for her to approach him because of her own punishments. Now that he was officially stronger than the elder twin, at least in raw parameters, she would be free to start making advances against him. This somewhat worried Vahn, as he knew how crazed she was regarding Finn in the past, but he didnt feel like he needed to worry that much. He might have to use some underhanded methods, but he was confident in being able to tame the eldest of the two Amazoness twins. Though they were all perceptive of Vahns thoughts, based on his expression and demeanor, Haruhime was especially sensitive to when people were thinking a.d.u.l.t things. Even though it might not be directed at her, the heat in her chest had already spread and her eyes turned a pale gold as she looked to Vahn and asked, "Vahn, what are you going to be doing from now on? Will you keep helping us increase our parameters or...do you just want to y around for a few days until the Loki Familia moves to break the record?" As they would be left behind if their strength was too low, most of the girls had been talking about bing as strong as possible before Vahn went deeper into the Dungeon. Hearing Haruhimes words, the glistening brown delusion faded from his mind as he looked into her slightly glowing eyes and said, "You and Lili are nearing the peak of Level 2 and should be able to reach Level 3 before we return to the surface, even without my help. Id like to train with Mikoto and Lefiya a bit more over the next few days since their parameters are a bit behind everyone elses. Lefiya will be going on the expedition deeper into the Dungeon and I dont want Mikoto to feel like she is falling too far behind..." Realizing that Haruhime was probably wanting to venture deeper into the Dungeon with them, Vahn shook his head and exined, "Other than Fenrir, I wont be taking anyone else deeper into the Dungeon with me. You are all much stronger than normal Adventurers your Level, but that wont make a big difference in the deeper floors. Even the Loki Familia has to leave behind the majority of its veteran Adventurers simply because the danger is too great..." Vahn saw the somewhat mncholic look in Haruhimes and Lili eyes, even though they both still had different types of smiles on their faces, so he released a slight sigh and said, "Ill be honest, I dont think its a good idea for us to be probing deeper into the Dungeon at all, at least not yet. Given what we know about our enemies, they are still in their preparation phase and it could be disastrous if we pressure them before were strong enough to fight against whatever might appear. Though it would be to our advantage to force them to elerate their ns, we have no idea what that actually entails and it could lead to many people losing their lives. Until I train with Eva, I dont want to force the issue just yet...so please be patient." Haruhime nodded at Vahns words and said, "I will keep growing stronger, Vahn, so that you wont have to worry about me so much..." Lili seemed slightly startled hearing Haruhimes words as she lifted herself from the table slightly and shouted, "With my new rare ability, I will be the strongest of all, Vahn! When that timees, youll have to take me with you everywhere, okay!?" Vahn was about to answer but Fenrir, who was snuggled up in hisp, raised her head and stared at the two girls and said in a somewhat icy and provocative tone, "Fenrir will be the strongest of all in order to protect Master...smelly Harume and Lili only think about themselves..." Though Fenrirs motivation were more than a little selfish, she still had the earnest desire to protect Vahn from harm while the other girls simply wanted to stay at his side. Neither girl seemed to be willing to refute the scarlet-eyed wolf girl but it didnt mean the resolve in their eyes had faded any. Instead, Vahn could see thepetitive spirit ignited in both girls as the looked at Fenrir sitting in Vahnsp with a mixture of resolution and slight envy. Though she often kept quiet at times like this, it was a fact that Fenrir had been around Vahn a lot recently and could almost always be found curled up in hisp. Most of the girls associated with Vahn would willingly take her ce but they knew it would cause tensions with the rest of the group if they tried. Fenrir, however, was a special exception and everyone knew it. Though she reigned it in a fair amount, Fenrir was a very problematic girl that constantly required Vahns attention in order to not lose control. Since it was her nature, there wasnt much anyone else could say about the matter since she was constantly making efforts to improve. However, it didnt make them feel any less envious of the matter since she got to enjoy privileges that others could only experience on asion. Even if they acted troublesome to garner Vahns attention, it would be a greatly negative thing since it was expected of them to be more stable existences instead of the inverse. This meant that, even if they copied her, it would only cause Vahn real trouble instead of making him fond of them... Interrupting their three-way staring contest, Vahn showed a casual smile as he hugged Fenrir a little tighter to make her drop the matter. He then looked around at everyone and said, "We all have a great potential to be stronger, even to the point where we may one day find yourself at the pinnacle of power in this world. However, that doesnt mean were already there so keep that in mind and focus your efforts properly. It is safe to assume that there is always someone stronger than we are, so never ck off and becent just because you are satisfied with your power..." Everyone present were his apprentices, so Vahn used a lecturing tone when he was speaking with them. Understanding his words, the three girls nodded with firm expressions on their faces because they knew it was true. Even in the Divination, they had yet to reach the bottom of the Dungeon after 22 years. This showed that, even though they had Level 8s and 9s in their midst, the enemies they faced in the Frontier Floors were troublesome. Then, as if answering Haruhimes earlier question once again, Vahn smiled and said, "Ill find out from Finn how many days it is until the expedition into the deeper urs. If there is time, Ill help Mikoto catch up a bit and then spend the rest of the time having fun with everyone at the encampment. I cant help but feel like something might happen soon though, so stay on your toes and try to be aware of your surroundings at all times..." Since Haruhime and Lili had beaming smiles on their faces when he talked about having fun for a few days, Vahn wanted to emphasize that they were still in enemy territory, at least until they took it from them and made this ce their own little Haven. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Riding the Vahn Express,Meeting between Master and Apprentice(s),There is always someone stronger...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 483 - Different Paths

Chapter 483 - Different Paths

After enjoying a long, and somewhat interesting, lunch with the girls, Vahn made his way out of the tent and jumped down from the teau to watch over Mikoto. She had been so focused on her training that she had likely skipped lunch so Vahn felt obligated to lecture her a bit as her Master. Even when he showed up at the periphery of the area where she was training, Mikoto continued to hold her sheathed sword in a drawing stance as she waited patiently for her opportunity. She had already noticed Vahns arrival but hadnt greeted him yet since he didnt seem intent on interrupting her. Vahn could see that, unlike her normal stance where she kept her sheath attached to her obi, Mikoto now held her sheath in her left hand in a somewhat loose stance as if she were preparing to draw her sword. When a gentle breeze passed through the forest and caused a leaf to fall, Mikotos brows twitched slightly as she unsheathed her katana in a swift motion and attempted to cut the fallen leaf. With her high dexterity and trained eye-sight, it wasnt that difficult a feat but Vahn noticed that there was almost no sound to the draw and it seemed to pass through the wind soundlessly before slicing the leaf into two halves. Though he thought it was rather impressive, Mikoto showed a conflicted expression before sheathing her katana. Afterward, she turned around and bowed her head low as she said, "Forgive me for making you wait." Hearing her words, Vahn furrowed his brows slightly and said, "Such formalities are a bit wasted, Mikoto. As long as they stay safe, Id rather everyone have some degree of independence...continue doing your best to follow the path you chose for yourself, dont feel obligated to act on ceremony with me. After all, though we may be Master and Apprentice, we are also family...family doesnt treat each other in such a distant manner." Vahn truly believed everyone within the Hestia Familia was his family and it worried him a bit since Mikoto behaved so distantly, even though she had also opened her heart to him slightly. He didnt want her to pressure herself unnecessarily, even though he appreciated her ideals and her earnest desire for strength. Mikoto nodded her head slightly and showed a softer expression for a brief moment before holding up her katana and saying, "Ive been practicing the techniques of the scroll you gave me...they are honestly more incredible than I expected. Though I didnt doubt you would give me something powerful, I hadnt expected something so...extreme. I will do my best to master this technique you have bestowed to me, Vahn. Thank you..." Vahn smiled before asking, "Have you made any progress with your water control since yesterday? I was thinking of taking you into the Dungeon this afternoon, but I wont force you toe along if you want to focus on refining your techniques." In response to Vahns words, Mikoto showed a somewhat thoughtful expression before saying, "I think it would be better to fight monsters to increase my experience further. There is plenty of time for training when I return to the surface, but its not often Ill have opponents like the ck Rhinos who are much stronger than me but easier to deal with than some of the more problematic enemies in the upper floors." Though they were very powerful, ck Rhinos were mindless and uncoordinated so, unless you ended up getting ambushed and overwhelmed by them, they werent that dangerous to fight if you have proper equipment. Mikoto would have died if she tried to fight them with her old katana, as she would have eventually been overwhelmed by them, but her [Mizury-no-Mai] was more than capable of cutting through their thick hides. Vahn nodded his head and said, "Very good, Mikoto, that is the correct decision. Though increasing your understanding of your current capabilities is of significant importance, it is still better to increase your parameters andbat proficiency. Working with stronger materials creates more powerful weapons when they are refined properly. However, no matter how much you polish a piece of iron, it wont be able to take down powerful monsters in the end. By increasing your parameters, youre strengthening yourself so that further refinement will be for effective..." Hearing Vahns words, Mikoto nodded her head and showed a resolute expression on her face as she said, "Im ready, Vahn." However, against her expectations, Vahn shook his head and said, "Ridiculous...remember what I said to you just yesterday, Mikoto? Rest is equally as important as training, and you havent even eaten lunch yet from what I can tell. Though your stamina might hold out, you need to constantly be aware of the mental strain you suffer from excessive training. If you cant rx more, youll only increase the number of bottlenecks you face in the future." Mikotos eyes widened slightly before she startled and grabbed the small bag that Vahn tossed at her. Opening it up, she found several doughy meat buns inside that were still warm and had a fragrant aroma emanating from them. As for Vahn, he plopped down on the ground and reclined in the grass as Fenrir bounded over and cuddled up next to him casually. Mikoto wasnt quite sure how to react but Vahn spoke out in a firm tone, "Eat, Mikoto, and then wake me up in around an hour or two. I pushed my body to the limits quite a bit earlier and just leveled up so Im a bit tired...dont disturb me for at least an hour." Because his body had been full for an extended period of time, Vahn wasnt lying about the mental strain he felt. The small event with Lefiya had allowed him to calm down and rx a bit, but it didnt mean he wasnt tired anymore. Without resting his mind and rxing his body for a short while, even Vahn could overtax himself and open himself up to making mistakes. On principle, Mikoto didnt have the right to refute Vahns words because he was both her Master, Lord, Captain, and the man she had decided to serve. Thus, without offering any words ofint, Mikoto looked for a spot to sit down before a wide cushion appeared on the ground out of thin air. She knew it was Vahn showing consideration for her so she looked over at his sleeping figure and bowed slightly before sitting down and enjoying the steamy meat buns Vahn had given her. They had a very rich vor on the inside, something that Vahn called curry, and Mikoto was quite fond of them when she first tried them in the past. Whenever they ate together, Vahn always produced a variety of differently vored meat buns and she was always somewhat excited to find out what vors they were... An hour passed in silence with nothing but the wind and sounds of nature to apany the Mikoto after she finished her meal. She would periodically look over at Vahns sleeping face and he seemed to be at peace with Fenrir snuggled up against him. Mikoto had never actually seen him taking a break like this before so it was a strange sight to behold. Though he almost always had a smile on his face, at least when he was talking to people, Mikotos impression of Vahn was a very serious and hard-working boy who was only slightly older than she was. It was hard to imagine herself being in the same kind of position he was in, even if she were much older, so she had a lot of respect for him. Seeing him expose himself like this, showing that even the Sage Aldrnari had moments of weakness, made Mikoto realize that he was simply human just like she was. Because she couldnt bear to wake him up from his peaceful slumber, Mikoto sat on the cushion and mediated for the entire two-hour period before Vahn awakened on his own. He sat up from the grass and released a long yawn before taking both of his hands and stroking the sides of Fenrirs head and ying with her ears a bit. Afterward, he looked over and showed a gentle expression as he said, "Thanks, Mikoto, for letting me rest for a bit longer." For a brief moment, Mikoto was going to say something like him not needing to thank her but couldnt find the words as Vahn rose to his feet and dusted himself off. The only thing she managed to do in the end was nod slightly before rising to her feet and preparing her mind to enter the 51st floor. --- After running over to their destination, as Mikoto wasnt the type that liked to rely on Vahn to get around, the entered into the 51st floor and began their hunt once again. Mikoto had changed up her style slightly and it looked like she was trying to practice the basic form of the [Flying Heavenly Sword Scroll], Battjutsu. Though it looked like a simple drawing technique, it actually allowed a person to enhance their speed by several times during the motion of unsheathing the katana. As the de curved slightly, a person could make use of their Power, Dexterity, and Agility simultaneously to achieve much greater speeds than simply swinging it. As it didnt requireplex movements of the body, as the action was guided by the sheath itself, the only thing they needed was proper timing. Though it was a rtively simple concept, Mikoto had never ced emphasis on it since it was abnormal to think of sheathing your sword in the middle of a fight. Now, after witnessing the might of such strikes, Mikoto was focused more on the concept of ending fights in a single blow. ording to the [Flying Heavenly Sword Scroll], speed was the most supreme force within martial arts as it allowed you to freely control and respond to your opponents. If two people were ofparable speed, it might be a battle of power and proficiency, but if a person were much faster than their opponents they could almost even ignore differences like power, techniques, and even defense. With unrivaled speed, there were no obstacles in the world and it was even possible to eliminate several opponents in a single strike if you were proficient enough... When a ck Rhinos charged at the intensely focused Mikoto, she lowered her h.i.p.s slights and traced her right hand along the handle of her katana. Just as the ck Rhinos was about to bear down upon her, Mikoto shifted her weight while drawing her sword in a sh of light. It wasnt much different from her own style ofbat, except for the fact that she executed the motion from a sheathed stance using one hand instead of simply swinging it with both. As she passed by the monster, Mikoto felt almost no feedback at all and, if not for the fact that the ck Rhinos waspleted bisected by her draw, she would have thought she missed. One of the principal aspects of Battjutsu was understanding the length, angle, and arc of the de as it was unsheathed so it would have been a big problem if she made such a fundamental mistake. Seeing that her strike had been more than sessful, Mikoto showed an almost imperceptible smile before sheathing her sword again and charging at the next enemy. Though Battjutsu was the most important basics [Flying Heavenly Sword Scroll], it still emphasized every form of speed as being pivotal in its execution. Mikoto wouldnt just need to have unrivaled drawing speed if she wanted to master the techniques contained within, she would need to harness the full potential of her body to achieve greater speeds while enhancing her senses to the extreme. There were several different breathing techniques and even some medicinal baths that were listed within the scroll, all which would enhance her perception, but it still required her foundation to be nearly wless and for her mentality to always be pursuing higher degrees of speed. One of the actual techniques doc.u.mented within the scroll was to be faster at running away fromrge groups of opponents in order to separate them when their differing speeds came into y. If they stayed together, you were almost guaranteed to be able to escape from a pinch if you run fast enough. However, if they made the mistake of splitting up to continue the pursuit, you could reduce their numbers and even eliminate their stronger and faster members before the weaker members could swarm you. Mikoto charged directly toward a ck Rhinos, who turned to match her charge with its own, before side-stepping at thest moment. However, instead of shing it instantly as she had done so previously, Mikoto spun around on her feet and leaped through the air before finding her footing and pursuing the ck Rhinos that had continued forward as a result of its inertia. When it started to slow down to turn, Mikoto had already been right behind it before drawing her sword at the moment when its momentum slowed downpletely. Exploiting the gap created by the ck Rhinos, Mikoto had felled it in a single strike before instantly resheathing her sword in the same motion. From an outsiders perspective, they would have simply seen a sh of light and a blur of Mikotos arms before she returned to her form and ran to the next enemy. Of course, Vahn wasnt a simple outsider and he had clearly seen the attack from execution topletion. ording to the scroll, it was possible to reach speeds ten times that of your general shing speed but Mikoto was only around three times as fast as normal. Given that her Dexterity was around 1400, with around 1200 Agility, Vahn was approximating her strike to be around the speed of an average Level 3. Though this might not seem that impressive, Mikoto was currently only Level 2 and her parameters were somewhat lowpared to those that pushed themselves to the limits. If she continued this kind of training until mastery, Mikoto might even be able to reach the draw speed of a Level 5, even if shepletely stopped developing her parameters further. This showed how monstrous the [Flying Heavenly Sword Scroll] was since it allowed a person to reach the pinnacle even without being that strong... Vahn was very tempted to try and master the skill himself in the future since it was something that seemingly defied themon sense of the record a bit. However, he believed that his pathy in the pursuit of magical and spiritual development and he wasnt actually that fond of swords. Though they seemed useful, and often were, Vahn wanted to get to a point where he wasnt reliant on anything other than his own body to ovee his enemies. He already had incredibly powerful weapons like [Enkidu] in his possession, which would continue on with him for the rest of his existence, so Vahn didnt see the need to focus on training his swordsmanship for the time being. Instead, Vahn intended to focus on magic, research, forging, and taking care of the girls within the Hearth Manor. The path of a swordsman was a long road that required countless hours of practice and refinement, and Vahn simply didnt have the time to worry about that right now. He also didnt want to stress Mikoto too much by showing more proficiency with the skill just because his parameters were somewhat ridiculous. Though he might practice it a bit within the orb in the future, since it would be a good opportunity to at least familiarize himself with it, he wanted Mikoto to turn it into a technique all her own. One of the things Vahn wanted to do, other than creating weapons and armor for the girls, was to give them all their own unique heritage. For Riveria, he wanted to help her be even stronger and study the very foundation of magic at her side. For Lefiya, she would be far more powerful than Riveria but her specialties would be based on the type of magic Vahn developed with her. For Haruhime and Lili, Vahn wanted the two girls to make the best use of their Innates and he intended ot teach them techniques that would enhance them further. He could already imagine a future where Lili could punch through an entire dragon with her fist, so Vahn wanted to increase her mobility even further. Fenrir copied his techniques for the most part, but Vahn nned to teach them to her seriously in the future, but her true powery in her unstoppable ws and the ability to devour anything... Each girl had different proficiencies and Vahn wanted to emphasize their individual traits instead of trying to make them simr to each other. Though hisbat style might ultimately be the strongest, that was only because he had far more Innates than normal and had a system like The Path to bolster his growth. Therefore, he wanted the girls to retain their individuality by doing everything he could to promote their growth along the paths they decided for themselves. It was a bit shameless, but Vahn wanted them to be unique so that they could inspire a variety of people in the future. He expected that many of the girls within the Hearth Manor would be the first batch of teachers at the Academy that he nned to build in the next few years. After training for around four hours, as it was already prettyte when they entered the 51st floor, Mikoto had made a great deal of progresspared to her previous self. They didnt have the somewhat ridiculous pace of Lefiya one-shotting everything with her magic, but it was still much faster than their previous stint. As a result, Mikoto had killed a total of 293 ck Rhinos on her own and had increased her parameters by a fair amount. The biggest thing to take note of was that Mikoto had already developed a new skill, something that shocked her to the core. There was also a big change in the bnce of her parameters as she had experienced an explosive growth in her Agility while her Dexterity was reaching the limit. Her stats had always been somewhat bnced in the past, though not for any practical reason, so it was good to see her developing in a direction that allowed her to be much stronger. This also helped Vahn to verify that mentality was important for parameter development and he began thinking of methods to help others more efficiently raise their parameters in the future... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Yamato Mikoto Race: Human LV. 2(+) POW: 634+(D548)->(D597) END: 628+(D532)->(D568) DEX: 740+(C694)->(S962) AGI: 722+(E470)->(B748) MAG: 531+(C609)->(B703) Skill: [Yatanokurogarasu:B], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Battjutsu:H](new) Magic: [Futsunomitama:B], [Apocalypse: Innate(sealed)] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:C], [Swordsman:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Rx...,Godspeed,Vahn wants his girls to be unique...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 484 - Preparations : Progress

Chapter 484 - Preparations : Progress

After returning from their training session, Vahn had his usual meeting with Finn and discussed various matters that were going on with the expedition. They had been fortunate enough to only sustain a few injuries, with only one death thus far, but their reserve stock of healing supplies had started to diminish. By Finns approximation, they would be able to continue their efforts for three more days without any issues, but it would be increasingly dangerous to take action as their supplies grew thin. If an emergency situation did ur,ter on, it would potentially turn into a disaster if they didnt have potions on hand to deal with the situation. Though Vahn had several hundred such potions in his inventory, he kept the matter to himself for the time being so it wouldnt weight into Finns decisions as Commander. He would use them during an emergency, assuming he couldnt heal the wounds on his own, but he wasnt going to support the Expedition unnecessarily since they were nearly finished with all their missions. At this point, the Loki Familia was just gathering extra stuff while the members focused on increasing their strength and earning personal profits. Vahn wanted the journey into the Deeper Floors to take ce sooner, so he didnt see any need to turn over his own emergency supplies for the benefit of others. Even if it was required at some point, Vahn would still request proper payment because he had to take into consideration the status of the Hestia Familia. They werent the patsies of the Loki Familia to be used for their convenience after all... Once his meeting with Finn hade to an end, Vahn updated Riveria with the pertinent information because he trusted she would make decisions that took into consideration the Hestia Familia and the Alliance as a whole. Finn was very loyal to the Loki Familia, but he was somewhat biased as a result of his ideologies and the life he had lived. As Riveria was a resident of the Hearth Manor, and someone he trusted, Vahn gave her a list of his emergency supplies after briefing her about Lefiyas progress and the growth of the other girls. They were both keeping track of the data and towards the end, Riveria told Vahn to keep his own Level-Up a secret and, if possible, put off letting the others increase their levels until they returned to the surface. This would allow them to rest properly after increasing their strength and also give them less of a reason for wanting to venture deeper into the Dungeon. The exception to this was Fenrir, as she was a monster and it wasnt that conspicuous for her Level to increase throughbat. As a result of his discussion with Riveria, which Vahn shared with the other girls, it was decided that he would help them increase their parameters as much as possible but they would have levels increased by Hestia before reporting their updated levels to Eina and the Guild. Though they all had a desire to grow even stronger, the girls understood that it was important to adapt to the changes in their body so they dont overdraft their potential. It might not be an issue, as they all had me seeds in their chests, but it was a real concern they needed to take into consideration. Growing too quickly could affect the mentality of a person and cause them to develop an ego or result in them making a grievous error duringbat. By refining their skills through training, they would be able to make better use of their parameters in the future while also promoting their growth further. Since he wasnt prone to keeping secrets, at least from the people he trusted, Vahn also discussed his own strength with the girls and the direction he was taking his own growth. This included informing Tiona and Tione that he was almost to the point where he was stronger than both girls. Knowing this was important for two reasons, as it meant Vahn was very nearly at the point where he could give the girls a me seed of their own while also bing a capable mate for the future. Though neither girl intended to get pregnant yet, especially knowing what the future might hold, just knowing they could made them excited. When they returned to the surface, Vahn promised to take care of them both... Tione didnt seem to want to wait, but she wasnt able to do anything since everyone slept in the same room. Unless she could catch Vahn away from the encampment somehow, there was no way for her to actually make any advances on him. With Tiona and Ais around, she wouldnt be able to trick him into leaving the camp with her either. As Vahn was stronger than she was, had higher perception, and even made use of a magic called [Shundo] that she couldnt really deal with, Tione had no choice but to be patient. She had already waited for a while, so it wasnt that difficult to wait for a little longer. However, this didnt stop her from fantasizing about identally breaking the crates of Elixirs so things would be sped up... --- Over the next four days, as there had been no major incidents that resulted in things being sped up, Vahn continued training with Fenrir, Mikoto, Lefiya, Lili, Naaza and the somewhat troublesome Haruhime. She knew there was pretty much nothing preventing her from being with Vahn any longer so she had been making steady advances on him while even trying to seduce him when they were in the bath together. After epting her offer to wash his body, Haruhime had covered her chest with soap before grinding against him while sitting in hisp. If Vahn had less control over his body, and Fenrir wasnt present to keep her in check, things might have developed in a dangerous direction. As a result of their efforts, most of the girls were at the peak of their growth for their respective levels and Vahn was satisfied to see they were all around 4400-4700 parameters per Level. As they were all Tier 1 souls, not that Vahn could determine this urately, they had reached the limit of their growth and would have to increase their level if they wanted to progress further. After reaching their peaks, each girl had be somewhat restless yet tired at the same time. Just like Vahn had felt full when he reached the limit of his own growth, they allined about aches in their bodies which generally resulted in Vahn pampering them a bit. The only exception to this was Mikoto, as even Lefiya had opened up a great deal when they were in private, who continued to polish her skills almost tirelessly. Unless Vahn made her take a break, she spent the majority of the time she wasnt on the 51st-floor training in the forest. Her [Battjutsu] had increased to G-Rank now and she had started experimenting with trying to use the techniques listed within the scroll. So far, other than the setup strikes, Mikoto hadnt had any major sess but it wouldnt be too long before she reached a basic mastery of the beginner techniques. She would likely be polishing the style for several years, so it wasnt too surprising that she hadnt made much progress after just six days. Her Agility and Dexterity had broken through the limit though, so she had a much stronger foundation to work with now... During the evening of the fourth day, Vahn found himself inside the Command Tent with Gareth, Riveria, and Finn as they began discussing the matters that would take ce starting tomorrow. Their food stores were still more than 80% full, as Vahn had been supplementing them a fair amount to appease the expedition members, but their essential supplies like Elixirs, Antidotes, and Medicinal Bandages were running low. They had reached the point where it was better to shore up their defenses than it was to continue trying to venture into the 51st Floor. This meant it was time for the main party, which consisted of Finn, Gareth, Riveria, Bete, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, Vahn, and Fenrir would be making their way deeper into the Dungeon. Finn wanted Haruhime to apany them into the Deeper Floors, as her [Uchide no Kozuchi] would be quite useful. However, Vahn outright refused to take her along because there was no easy way to guarantee her safety. He knew better than anyone how powerful her Level-Up magic was, but he wasnt going to use her just because she was convenient. Vahn was against trying to break beyond the 59th floor right now since it would potentially cause their enemies to panic and do something drastic, so he didnt mind if they returned to the surface sooner. Since Finn was one of the important members of the Alliance, Vahn directly told him about the potential threat their enemies posed and that it was simply unwise to provoke them until they were absolutely ready. Though he understood Vahns reasoning, Finn was obligated to at least try to break the record as it was the purpose of the Expedition currently. Vahn once again disagreed, however, as he said the purpose of their expedition was toplete their assigned missions and ensure the greatest profit with the least risk to their personnel. Even if it took longer, they would eventually have even stronger members to apany them into the Deeper Floors into the future and this would guarantee the Loki Familia was able to break the record. There was no sense in forcing the issue in the present, especially since there were few benefits to actually be had probing into unknown arctic floors. If they waited a year or two, Vahn could make equipment that waspletely weatherproof while also increasing the capabilities of all the core members. Putting their lives at risk for temporary glory was pointless, as the 59th floor wasnt the bottom of the Dungeon. As a result of Vahns insistence, and him receiving support from both Gareth and Riveria, Finn found himself in a difficult position where he was forced topromise. The current clear record for the Loki Familia was the 53rd Floor, so Finn said they would turn back if they were able to breach through to the 54th Floor, or if their supplies ran low. Though it was a bit shameless, Finn was relying on Vahns storage magic to hold the majority of their supplies so they wouldnt have to be reliant on weaker Supporters. It was customary for them to take some of the Level 4s from the second group to act as their Supporters in the Deeper Floors, but Vahns presence invalidated that. Since he didnt want to pressure Finn too hard, Vahn agreed to thepromise and became a back-line Supporter for the duration of the dive into the Deeper Floors. He didnt too much though, considering he wanted to protect Fenrir and Lefiya from danger anyways. This also allowed him to make better use of his support capabilities and allowed him to conserve energy for emergency situations. Simply being present to replenish Riverias and Lefiyas mana already made him a highly valuable asset to the group. Riveria had seen Lefiyas new staff and had eyed it like a predator as she took several notes about its usage and capabilities. Because she had been so interested, Vahn informed her that he could create her a staff that was simr, as it would be beneficial if she had no-chant magic on hand, but Riveria declined for the time being. Her staff was already near the pinnacle of S-Rank and was considered one of the five best staves in the entire world. When he had asked to analyze it with his Inventory, Riveria had agreed but Vahn found that he couldnt actually store the item away at all. Though he wasnt able to see through it, the staff apparently had a spirit of its own and simply refused to be kept away from its user. This was a surprising discovery for Riveria as well and she epted the staff like it was a priceless treasure, and decided to study it more in the future. From what he could discern, with his [Master Smith], [Metallurgy], and [Eyes of Truth], the staff was made out of Mithril, the incredibly valuable Holydite metal, the carved branch of a sacred tree, and nine Magic Treasure Stones embedded in the head. Compared to most weapons, it actually had a bit of an aura to it, so Vahn could understand why it was considered to have a spirit. Unless he earned the respect and trust of the weapon, it probably would never allow him to put it away in his inventory. This meant Vahn was rtively blind as he wasnt able to analyze the items forged by other people without letting them sit for a little while. He was, however, rtively confident he could re-forge the staff on his own and perhaps glean some insight into it as a result...? When Vahn had this thought, a very different one entered his mind and he simply opened up his shop and searched for the [Magna Alfs] within. Many of the items he received from the shop were forged by other cksmiths, at least in their original records, so there was no reason he could think of that it wouldnt be listed. As expected, Vahn easily found its price listed at 3,700,000OP and was rather surprised. However, he noticed that there were actually multiple [Magna Alfs] listed, including a version that was only worth 290,000OP. Vahn wasnt sure which version Riveria had but, since it was purported to be one of the five best staves in the world, he assumed it was on the higher end. (A/N: Btw, Vahn cant see items he forged within the system shop for obvious reasons :P) --- After finalizing their future ns, Vahn left the Command Tent with Fenrir and returned to the rest to exin the decisions that had been made. Haruhime had a slightplex look on her face when she heard that Vahn refused Finns request to have her apany them, but she didnt say anything. Vahn had already made his decision and it would just stress him out unnecessarily if she tried to be insistent. Besides, her presence would make it much easier for them to progress even deeper and Haruhime kind of wanted to return to the surface sooner. She was looking forward the hitting Level 3 and finally adding her name to the schedule. Though it had only been a few months since she was saved by Vahn, Haruhime hadnt wanted to wait one day, much less a hundred. She had put in all of her efforts to be stronger, all so that she could stay at Vahns side, and there wasnt going to be anything in her way once they returned to the surface... Since the majority of them would be rising early in the morning, everyone went to bed rather early after Vahn provided the food for a private dinner with just the residents of the Hearth Manor. Vahn discussed the importance of the other girls staying safe while he was away, something they were all well aware of, while Tiona incessantly teased Lefiya by handing her food. Even though Lefiya wasnt hungry, she felt a strangepulsion to eat things that were offered to her and it was difficult to refuse since Ais was also present. She had been able to open up a bit more in the past few days, as a result of Vahns orders, so Ais and her had grown a lot closer. As Vahn had been cuddling up with Fenrir and Lili every night, it was a little difficult to get space around Vahn. As a result, Lefiya had been able to cuddle up with Ais and it almost made her little heart explode in her chest the first time. Not only had she grown much stronger, to the point where she couldnt even believe it herself, but everything had been getting progressively better after she epted Vahnpletely. She was able to improve her rtionship with Ais, had made friend with Fenrir, and was even getting along better with girls like Lili and Haruhime. Though there had been nothing stopping her from doing so in the past, Lefiya credited her current happiness to Vahn, who had be somewhat numb to the constant increase of her Loyalty... (A/N: This was the official end to the chapter, but I guess everyone would like to know the current Status of everyone present (with the exception of Vahn, Tiona, Ais, and Tione. Once he reached Level 4, Vahns parameter development took a massive hit so he needs to fight much stronger monsters to grow fast again. BTW, good luck with this huge dump below xD.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Sanjouno Haruhime Race: Renard LV. 2(+) POW: 440+(G251)->(C798) END: 648+(G298)->(B825) DEX: 698+(F372)->(S902) AGI: 1053+(E444)->(S940) MAG: 1548+(A837)->(SSS1258) Skill: [Inari:E], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Heroic Strike:E->C], [Featherfoot:A->S] Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B], [Kokonoe:C->B], [Icicle Edge:B->A] Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:A], [Hunter:G->E], [Mage(sealed)] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Liliruca Arde Race: Pallum LV. 2(+) POW: 887+(S943)->(SSS1236) END: 941+(A805)->(SS1001) DEX: 676+(D558)->(C669) AGI: 598+(C666)->(B757) MAG: 811+(SS1002)->(SS1040) Skill: [Artel*Assist:B], [As: Innate:G->F], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Oniyuri:D->C] Magic: [Cinder*E:A] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:F->E], [Spearman:(sealed), [Swordsman:(sealed)], [Crush:(sealed)], [Fist Strike:(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Naaza Erisuis Race: Chienthrope LV. 2(+) POW: 457+(D529)->(D572) END: 434+(D598)->(C636) DEX: 615+(S903)->(SS1040) AGI: 722+(A820)->(S907) MAG: 378+(S955)->(SSS1137) Skill: [Bow Mastery:B], [Eagle Eye:B], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Critical Eye:I](new) Magic: [Awen:Innate(sealed)], [Darbh Daol:A] Development Skill: [Mixing:B], [Mage:(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:(sealed)], [Archery:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: [Fenrir] Level:3(+) POW: 1302+(C644)->(A811) END: 1305+(D529)->(B768) DEX: 1639+(A889)->(SSS1129) AGI: 1543+(S931)->(SSS1304) MAG: 388+(C612)->(B701) Skills: [Insatiable Hunger:Innate(-)], [Lunar Cry:A], [Freezing Roar:A], [Chainbreaker:C], [Devour:SS], [Huntress:SS], [Endeavor:C->B], [Severing ws:C->B] Magic: - Development Abilities: [Chain Attack:D->C], [Fist Fighter:(sealed)], [Acrobatics:(sealed)], [Mimickry:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Lefiya Viridis Race: Elf LV. 3(+) POW: 421+(G238)->(G294) END: 692+(D557)->(S913) DEX: 1281+(F330)->(B798) AGI: 1459+(F304)->(S908) MAG: 1998+(SS1008)->(SSS1708)(A/N: Now this is pod racing!) Skills: [Fairy Cannon:B->A], [Concurrent Chanting:E->D], [Prometheuss Blessing:A] Magic: [Rattatoskr:Innate:(sealed)], [Arcs Ray:C], [Fuside Farica:C], [Elf Ring:C] Development Abilities: [Daughter of Wishe:I], [Mage:B], [Abnormal resistance:F], [Spirit Healing:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Yamato Mikoto Race: Human LV. 2(+) POW: 634+(D597)->(C647) END: 628+(D568)->(C620) DEX: 740+(S962)->(SSS1209) AGI: 722+(B748)->(SS1003) MAG: 531+(B703)->(S941) Skill: [Yatanokurogarasu:B], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Battjutsu:H->G] Magic: [Futsunomitama:B], [Apocalypse: Innate(sealed)] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:C], [Swordsman:(sealed)], [Acrobatics:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: You made it. I am proud of you (UwU)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Finns Authority...,The Return to the surface will be bloody,Massive Dump) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 485 - Early Departure

Chapter 485 - Early Departure

After an uneventful rest, Vahn awoke early in the morning, around 3 AM, so that he could ensure everything was ready by the time they left at 5 AM. Since they were going to be apart for several days, everyone woke up along with Vahn and they all enjoyed a lively breakfast with each other as they talked about what they wanted to do when they returned to the surface. Vahn wanted to focus on forging for a while, make some headway on his research, and eventually start using the orb again once it reactivated. He epted that Naaza and Lefiya wanted to help in his research, and Vahn expected Riveria would probably join them, or at the very leastpare notes. As for the girls, many of them just wanted to find more ways to spend time with him in the future so Vahn promised that they would do family excursions on the weekends and go do some thrill-seeking in the countryside. He also wanted to map out the area around Orario moreprehensively in preparation for when enemies begin to appear. He also had the idea to start making secret bases all around the City so they would always have a safe haven if the Hearth Manor came under attack. Though he didnt expect many people would have the power to break through to the heart of the City, especially when they were surrounded by the Alliance, it was better safe than sorry. Thest part of his departing ceremony with the girls was to pamper them a bit before sharing short exchanges, which typically involved him having to embrace and kiss them. It was a little awkward, as he hadnt actually kissed them too often, but Vahn also gave Haruhime and Lili a kiss when they had asked. Having to kneel down for Lili made Vahn feel a little dull in the head, while Haruhime was far more skilled than he expected her to be. She actually had a strange honey-like taste to her saliva that was a little peculiar. His most surprising parting, however, had been when Naaza also asked for a kiss, though it was significantly tamer than the efforts of Lili and the assault of Haruhime. As for Mikoto, she wasnt quite at that stage yet though Vahn expected she would agree if he asked her to... Shortly after sharing his final exchange, something slightly troublesome happened that made Vahn feel a bit of panic stir inside of him. Fenrir had been watching the proceedings with her scarlet eyes and, once everyone had a turn, she asked, "Can Vahn kiss Fenrir~?" Though she knew about waiting until she was older, that had been before she became more aware of the important differences between the opposite s.e.x. Since Vahn even kissed Lili and Haruhime, Fenrir didnt want to be the only person left out so she stared at him with pleading eyes that actually made her look somewhat miffed. Vahn thought about it for a short moment before asking, "Fenrir, can you keep things in your mouth without them dissolving?" Though he didnt n to give her a deep kiss, Vahn was curious about it as it could be very important information for the future. Even the Fenrir in the Divination didnt try to kiss him at all so Vahn suspected it was a problem. Hearing his words, Fenrir tilted her head to the side and allowed her ears to flop before taking out her favorite magic core and cing it into her mouth. There was a small knotted cord attached to the zipper of her pouch that allowed her to open it by pulling it between the gaps of her paws. As Vahn had expected, the moment the core went beyond her teeth it broke down into a liquid form and Fenrir swallowed it on instinct. She had an expression like she had swallowed a fly until Vahn said, "Ill give you a small peck on the lips, but you cant do anything further. I might get a phobia rted to kissing if I ended up losing my tongue..." Fenrir perked up a bit and trotted over to Vahn as she said, "Fenrir wont eat Vahns tongue~! Kiss, kiss, kiss~!" As innocent as it sounded, Vahn couldnt help but feel slightly worried as he bent down and kissed the excited wolf girl for a brief moment before parting. She ced both of her paws over her mouth and rocked her body from side to side in a happy manner like she was trying to stifle augh. Once that small trouble was taken care of, though Vahn expected it might evolve into a bigger er, he made his way to the rendezvous area with Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, and Fenrir in tow. Command of the encampment had already been turned over to Raul, though Vahn wasnt exactly sure of the reasoning, so Finn, Riveria, Gareth, and Bete were already waiting for them near the camps entrance. Bete, always the abrasive egoist, saw them arriving andmented, "Its about time you bastards showed up..." before sniffing the air and saying and scoffing. Fenrir seemed to be very annoyed by Betes well, everything, but Vahn had told her several times not to associate with him. To enforce it, Vahn had even ordered her to do her best to ignore him unless he was trying to harm her or one of the members of the Hestia Familia. Completely ignoring Bete, Vahn smiled to Riveria and Gareth before saying, "I double-checked all the supplies, so were good to go, Finn." Nodding his head, Finn smiled at the group before looking around and saying, "Very well, it looks like everyone is ready to go. Our objective is to clear down the 54th floor and gather proof from the monsters located there. If possible, well doc.u.ment any new species and collect as many items as we can before returning to the encampment. If our supplies hold out well over this short expedition, we may stay a while longer on the 50th floor, but well evaluate that when the timees." Vahn nodded his head in affirmation before adding, "Keep in mind that there are enemies lurking within the Dungeon, so if you see anything strange share it with the group. Dont wander off on your own and keep your wits about you..." Hearing his words, Beta clicked his tongue before muttering, "This weakling is cautioning other people..." However, Vahn didnt even have to consider rebutting him because Ais looked at Bete with her golden eyes and a slightly displeased expression as she said, "Vahn is already very strong...even stronger than you...probably." Though she was confident in Vahn, Ais hadnt actually seen his performance recently and she knew that Bete wasnt exactly weak either. Bete seemed to be very offended by Aiss words and shouted, "Eeeeeiii!? What the f.u.c.k did you say!?" Just as he was about to take a step forward though, Gareth grabbed him by the arm and had a stern expression on his face as he said, "We have a mission to perform, now isnt the time for things like this. If you want to butt heads, do it like men and make a wager of it up on the surface. No sense in insulting each other and starting fights in the heart of the Dungeon. Besides, Vahn is right to be cautious, as that is the type of mentality that saves lives. You should be well aware of that, Bete..." As Gareth had been something of a father-figure for Bete for many years, the aggressive Werewolf boy simply jerked his arm away from Gareths grasp and started walking toward their destination. Finn turned to the rest of the group with a somewhat awkward smile before returning to normal as he said, "Everyone, stay on your toes and lets do our best to set a new record for both of our Familia!" Following Finns words, everyone raised their respective weapons and gave a short hurrah before heading in the same direction as Bete. Their pace would be rtively slow, as they were trying to conserve as much energy as possible, so it was a good opportunity to just make idle conversation for a while. Vahn was in the back of the group, acting as a Supporter and rangedbatant, alongside Riveria, Lefiya, and Fenrir. Since they had yet to actually start fighting, Tiona was hanging around Vahn and they were having a fun conversation until reaching the entrance to the 51st Floor. Though he normally would have exined things, Finn knew that Vahns group had enjoyed a great deal of sess on the 51st floor and it was unnecessary to brief them on it. Thus, without any major ir or hesitation, the group continued along the path until the first batch of monsters spawned. It was still the same old ck Rhinos, something Vahn had seen more than ten-thousand times over thest two weeks, but the number that emerged from the corridor was much higher than what he had seen previously. As their party size was at ten, far more than the three Vahn had been traveling with, the standard spawn of monsters was between 60-200 on the low end,pared to the 9-15 Vahn usually dealt with. Though they werent a major threat, especially with Lefiyas Radiant Lancers now piercing through enemies and devastating them, Vahn could see why it was impossible to take an expedition through these floors. Unlike the majority of the upper floors, the 51st and beyond had corridors that were only around 8m wide, 8m tall, and there were several twists and turns that appeared all around. It was truly the mostbyrinthine structure Vahn had seen and it would be impossible for arge group to traverse through with how many monsters would spawn. Vahn couldnt even imagine what it would look like with several thousand ck Rhinos clogging up the Dungeon floor, but it didnt seem like it would be pleasant at all. Even now, with groupsrger than one-hundred, they had to be dealt with quickly or there was a chance of them overwhelming the group with their tireless charging. Seeing how devastating Lefiya had be in such a short period of time, Finn looked back andmented, "It seems your training with Vahn has been going well, Lefiya. Im truly amazed at how strong youve be in such a short period of time..." Though he truly meant thepliment, Finns expression became a little weird because he saw Vahn walking with his hand on Lefiyas shoulder. It was a little out of ce, as they were in the Dungeon, but it was especially strange that Lefiya was okay with it. As it seemed like a strange thing to ask, the only thing Finn could do was shake his head and continue fighting while mentallymenting how another girl had fallen to Vahn. Finn was beginning to think that Vahns idea about saving people and helping them be stronger was the correct path since Lefiyas growth was simply ridiculous. Seeing as how she also seemed fond of Vahn, Finn wondered what it would be like if he raised a few capable Pallums up into warriors in the future. Even if he didnt specifically raise a girl to be his wife in the future, there was still a chance something might happen. Though he wasnt the type to brag about it, there had been more than four-hundred women that had sought him out in the past so Finn believed the odds were favorable... As for why Vahn was walking through the Dungeon with his hand on Lefiyas shoulder, it was to obviously let the girl continually cast her magic without having to worry too much about her mana consumption. Vahn had already confirmed that he could help promote Lefiyas Endurance by the constant baptism of source energy, so there was really no reason not to do it. He had even shared this with Riveria, though he didnt mention anything about source energy, and she had even been tempted to test it herself. However, Riveria wasnt really casting magic simultaneously like Lefiya so there was no need for Vahn to feed her a constant supply. She was conserving her mana for things like Monster Parties and other dangerous situations, so it simply wasnt the proper time to test Vahns theory. Besides, Riveria wasnt like Lefiya and she couldnt imagine showing any form of affection in public, even if it wasnt actually intended to be one. Since he wasnt supposed to be fighting, unless it was an emergency, Vahn continued to scan around the Dungeon and picking up any of the loose materials that would sometimes be hidden in the grass. Some of them were important ingredients in creating potions and Vahn knew that Naaza would be grateful for the extra resources for her research. He was also looking for any signs of tampering to the Dungeon itself while keeping his eyes peeled for enemy movements. It had been a total of sixteen days since the expedition entered the Dungeon and there had yet to be any signs of them at all. However, since the red-haired woman was able to track him down twice in a short period of time, Vahn knew they had some way to track them. They had probably set up some kind of trap, perhaps during their return trip, so Vahn hadnt dropped his guard. --- Because of theplexity of the floor, it took the group nearly seven hours before they reached the stairs leading to the 52nd Floor. Along the way, they had killed more than nine-thousand ck Rhinos and a total of 108 Formis Spiders, which had almost all been killed by Lefiya. Though she was already near the peak of Level 3, Lefiya still had a bit of room for further development and she would potentially even be able to reach as high as 5,000 parameters if she were lucky. Vahn had noticed a subtle change in her spiritual body after she awakened her Innate and it seemed to have increased her potential a fair amount. Vahn had previously discussed this with Lefiya and also mentioned the existence of the two items he had received from her, which he exined were the proof of their bond with each other. Knowing that Vahn had been able to create an item that was actually capable of reviving the dead had been a shocker to Lefiya, but hearing about the [Wishes Blessing] had left her inplete disbelief. An item that could purify the bloodline of Elves and High Elves was something that would, without embellishment, cause the High Elves to go to war in an effort to obtain. There would be no end to the killing that would be brought about as the result of such discovery because the purity of their blood was the most important thing. Though he had offered to use it on her, after returning to the surface, Lefiya adamantly refused to ept it because it was far too dangerous. She was well-known amongst the other Elves and High Elves so there was no way she would be able to keep it a secret if it somehow made her into something like a High Elf, or even a Spirit. Just knowing she was a direct descendant of Wishe was enough for her right now, though Vahn didnt n to let the mattery in the future. He would undoubtedly have a conflict with the High Elves anyways, so he didnt see the need to be so round-about regarding the situation. Lefiya would only benefit from receiving [Wishes Blessing] in the future, and Vahn was certain he could convince her to take it when they return. To guarantee things would go well, Vahn also discussed the matter with Riveria, who had an equally mortified response. Riveria didnt know that Lefiya was a direct descendant of Wishe, as most of her descendants were High Elves, but knowing that he had an item that purifies blood was a big problem. Lefiya wasnt a High Elf, so she would probably be killed if she tried to return to the Elven Kingdom after it became known. There was no possibility that the noble families would allow someone that wasnt a member to run around with their bloodline contained within her. They would treat her as the daughter of a traitor and potentially even kill her entire family just to ensure that there were no others born of the same heritage. Vahn hadnt taken into consideration Lefiyas family as she had never really talked about them in the past. Though he had her [Hearts Desire], Vahn talked to her about it and she asked him to hold onto it for the time being, just like Riveria. Though she couldnt give many details, Vahn learned from Riveria that Lefiya was actually orphaned and had spent many of her formative years studying at the Guild-sponsored School in Orario. Even Riveria wasnt entirely sure about where Lefiya originated, but it was actually very rare for an Elf to have dark-blue eyes. One of the reasons Riveria had made Lefiya her protege was in order to protect her while she researched her origins. Now that she had learned that Lefiya was a descendant of Wishe, her origins likely rted to the High Elf family known as Dal Alfan. Though they werent the only Elves to have dark-blue eyes, they were the ones that purportedly imed to belong to the direct lineage of Wishe. Riveria wasnt sure how an Elf was born to a family of High Elves, but it most likely meant that one of their members had a tryst with a normal Elf that resulted in pregnancy. Typically, such children would be servants and sent out to various branch families where their lives wouldnt be that great. If they actually found out about Lefiyas existence, they would likely try to im or kill her in the future. Though she didnt disagree with Vahn using the [Wishes Blessing] on Lefiya in the future, Riveria stressed that he should wait until they had already opened dialogue with the Elven Kingdom. At the very least, the Hestia Familia needed to increase its own power, so that assassins wouldnt be able to target her in the future. When he mentioned potentially having Eina or herself use the item, Riveria hesitated for a while before saying it was only right to use it on Lefiya. Besides, she wasnt a direct descendant of Wishe and actually hailed from the main bloodline of Alf, one of the ancestors of the High Elves. All of the members of her Family could typically be recognized by their emerald-green hair, but their most distinctive trait was their jade-colored eyes. Of all the elven families, they were the only ones that had jade eyes, though there were several variations of green spread amongst other families. The easiest way to confirm if the green was the correct jade was the fact that their eyes caught the light from angles and made them appear to glow, whereas normal green eyes didnt have such a feature... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir want kiss (?? ?),BeteReeeeeeeee~!,Lefiyas Origins (ѩn)? If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 486 - Flame Pillar

Chapter 486 - me Pir

The group made its way down therge staircase leading to the 52nd Floor before Finn brought everyone to a stop and exined, "As you all know, from here until the 58th Floor well be passing through the Dragons Vase. From now on, we can only stop moving when were on the staircases and when we read the ck zones...though youll have Riverias protection, everyone needs to take care of themselves and stay on their toes. If youre in one spot for more than twenty seconds, it could be a disaster..." Hearing Finns words, Vahn felt a little conflicted because it was hard to imagine a me that could burn through several floors of the Dungeon at once... Though it was doc.u.mented in thependium, Vahn couldnt understand how the 52nd-57th Floors had any monsters at all if the Valgang Dragons spewed their fiery breath all the way to the 52nd Floor. From Vahns perspective, that should kill the monsters as well and, if Riverias [Veil Breath] offered enough protection against such mes, it should have been an easy matter to clear down to the 58th Floor as soon as they entered. Vahn decided to keep quiet on this for the time being, but he couldnt help feeling bothered by the incredulity of the Dungeon allowing itself to be freely damaged by the Valgang Dragons while also killing its own monsters. Riveria started casting [Veil Breath] on everyone but, when it came time for her to use it on Vahn, he waved his hand and said, "I haveplete fire immunity, so I should be perfectly fine." As she was privy to some of Vahns capabilities, Riveria nodded her head and chanted her spell on Fenrir instead. However, Vahns words were a bit of a surprise for Finn, Gareth, and Bete, at least until they remembered the scene where Vahn had essentially turned into fire to kill the Goliath. Though he burned away all his equipment in the process, Vahn had emerged from the mes without any injuries at all. After preparations were made, Finn looked to Vahn and Lefiya before saying, "I dont think youll be able to stay so close together on the 52nd Floor. However, Ill trust you to protect our Lefiya if things get dangerous, Vahn. Though you may just be Level 3, I hear your speed even exceeds that of Level 5 when youre serious. Please watch over her closely..." Though he wasnt too fond of Finn, Vahn knew he wasnt really a bad guy at heart. Hearing him express concern for Lefiya improved Vahns impression of the Pallum slightly so he nodded his head and said, "Ill make sure nothing happens to either Lefiya or Fenrir." Hearing Vahns words, Finn smiled before gesturing to the group to form up and prepare to invade the 52nd Floor. Unlike the leisurely pace they had on the 51st Floor, the group was moving forward rather quickly from the very moment they crossed the threshold into the 52nd Floor. Vahns senses were being pushed to the extreme as he looked around for enemies. However, though they were moving as arge group, Vahn didnt see the normal signs that monsters were going to be spewed out by the Dungeon. This meant it was likely to be the type of floor where the monsters pre-spawned and roamed around the area. As he was thinking this, Vahn felt a powerful wave of energy enter his domain slightly ahead of their current position. If they kept running forward at their current pace, Vahn knew it would intercept their trajectory and he immediately realized Finns warnings about the Vgang Dragons were to be taken seriously. Bete, Tiona, and Ais were at the head of the group as the floor began to vibrate but they were all agile enough to immediately evade theing attack without having to be told. The seemingly hard bedrock of the Dungeon turned a red-orange for a brief moment before the floor erupted into a geyser of me nearly 5m in diameter before smashing into the roof. Finn called out, "Well go around to the East, lets move!" before they all moved into the adjacent corridor and continued running through the Dungeon. Vahn could sense the pirs of me long before they actually reached the 58th Floor, but it still surprised him that the Dungeon itself allowed this type of behavior. Though it wasnt the best time to be talking, Vahn asked Riveria, "Will this type of attack not cause a Juggernaut to spawn? Ive seen far less damage dealt to the Dungeon in the past that triggered their ire. It doesnt make much sense that the Dungeon is damaging itself to such an extreme, after all, arent the dragons all the way on the 58th Floor? Thats more than 2km down, at the very least..." Riveria didnt seem to mind Vahns question as she gave a curt nod and said, "Nobody really knows why the Dungeon makes an exception in the Dragons Vase, but there has yet to be any reported sightings of a Juggernaut at these Levels. Also, once the mes fade away and the holes cool down, the Dungeon will rapidly regenerate at these Floors..." As Riverias words came to a close, a pir of me erupted near them as Vahn grabbed Lefiya quickly and used [Shundo] to evade before letting her go again. She blushed slightly and said, "Thank you..." before running along once again. Vahn, however, looked down the hole for a brief moment and inspected it. It was a super-heated red, as the stone had been meltedpletely through, and at the very bottom, Vahn could see a pin-hole sized light that was likely the 58th Floor. If they wanted to, the entire group should be able to easily jump down to reach that Floor and Vahn wasnt sure why it wasnt obvious. The Loki Familia was intent on setting a new clear record, which meant they wanted to go beyond the 59th Floor, so Vahn couldnt understand why theyre current record was only the 53rd... Before anyoneined about him falling behind, Vahn stepped forward with [Shundo] before falling into ce between Lefiya and Riveria once again. As for Fenrir, she had been clinging to his back for a while now and was using Vahn as transport since it was dangerous for her to be on the Floor. Vahn was certain her instincts gave her awareness of the pirs of me, but he decided to let her have her fun for a while. Besides, she was the type of girl that pressed flush against his back, so it wasnt that distracting with her diminutive body weight. Though it was in the shadows, Vahn detected several presences in the space above their heads. Unlike the 51st Floor, the 52nd had high ceilings that could even reach several hundred meters which meant there could be monsters easily lurking above them. Vahn pulled out his bow and loosed several arrows into the darkness without stopping his feet. Several Deformis Spider corpses rained down from above before turning into clouds of purple dust long before they hit the ground. Though they would typically leave them behind, Vahn collected the drop items into his inventory shortly after they touched the floor without showing any signs of having done so. Finn had seen Vahns archery and said, "Very well done, Vahn." before leaping forward and stabbing his spear into arge scorpion that had emerged from a crevasse in the wall. It was a monster known as a Venom Scorpion and, like almost every other monster on the 52nd Floor, was an ambush predator that tried to sneak attack parties trying to evade the me pirs from below. Vahn quickly realized the theme of these floors and his curiosity about why they didnt simply leap down increased further. Though he struggled to believe this could be the reason, Vahn suspected it was because of the misunderstanding about falling that seemed to bemon in this world. As they were moving at a much faster pace than normal, the group managed to reach the stairs leading to the 53rd Floor after just three hours of running. There were far fewer enemiespared to previous floors, asrge groups would simply fall prey to the Valgang Dragons, so there wasnt much to slow them down. With Vahns detection ability and the general prowess of the present members, there were few things that could bar their passage. When they finally reached the stairs, Finn called the group to a temporary halt so they could recover their stamina before proceeding into the 53rd Floor. Vahn was standing at the side with a serious expression on his face as he scanned around the area and observed for any signs of their enemies. He somewhat expected that they wouldnt take action on these Floors, as it would be difficult to work around the Valgang Dragons, but there was no way of knowing for sure. One thing he was certain of was that these floors, even the stairs, were very different than those above and it was somewhat perplexing. Though it was popr belief that the Dungeon was a living entity, as it was able to proactively resist against Adventurers, Vahn couldnt understand why it would make itself essible in the first ce. Floors like these were a massive hurdle for the majority of Adventurers, but they were also easily exploitable by the bold. It was almost like the Dungeon was luring people deeper inside of it instead of trying to keep them out... A presence entered Vahns domain and he was immediately drawn to it with his [Eyes of Truth] active. Unfortunately, the only thing he saw was a ratherrge snake trying to creep up on the group through the shadows. Though no staircase was truly safe, the ones between the 52nd and 28th Floors were especially dangerous. Since it was recorded in thependium that the floors were home to a variety of ambush predators, Vahn wasnt surprised to see one trying to sneak up on them when they were resting. Fortunately, Vahn was easily able to detect its presence and this one even happened to be a rtively rare Thunder Snake. He wanted to harvest all of its materials so Vahn captured it with his [Enkidu] as it tried to resist by sending out vibrant waves of electricity. The brilliant shes of light had alerted the group but Vahn gestured to them as he said, "Its fine, I just captured a Thunder Snake using my chains. I want to harvest a few of its materials before it dissipates, so dont kill it outright." Following Vahn out of curiosity, the group saw a four-meter-long snake that was covered in thick green scales with a few golden ones intermixed in a jagged pattern. It was currently pinned down to the Dungeon floor by several resplendent golden chains and was entirely unable to resist. Seeing this, Finn held his right hand to his chin andmented, "So these are the chains you used to temporarily bind the Balor...they are quite interesting." Vahn walked over and ced his palm atop the aggrieved snakes head and lulled it into a deep slumber. He wasnt sure how much pain it would feel having some of its scales removes, but Vahn imagined it wouldnt be pleasant at all. In order to ensure it didnt feel any pain, Vahn put it into aa and severed the nerves in its neck so it wouldnt be able to feel anything. Though he wasnt sure if the structure was the same, Vahn fed threads of energy into the area of the Thunder Snakes brain to make it feel happy and full before he began pulling away each of the golden scales on its body. As it wouldnt even be able to move if it were awake, Vahn dismissed [Enkidu] and skillfully handled the body of the unconscious snake for a few minutes until it finally s.u.mbed and dispersed into smoke. Though it was a little awkward to see, the Thunder Snake had left behind a rtively rare drop after it died. Vahn picked up the vibrant green crystal that crackled with electricity on the inside before storing it away in his inventory. Though the Thunder Snake itself was rare, the coveted Thunder Ore it sometimes dropped was even more so. The small crystal Vahn had obtained could easily fetch upwards of twenty-million Valis on the market simply because it could be used to make equipment that resisted thunder magic and paralysis. After taking a half-hour break, which was made moderately more pleasant by Vahn providing ready-made tea and snacks, the group entered the 53rd Floor proper and began their journey towards the 54th. Vahn was beginning to feel like the several day trip was going to take less than a day at this rate, but knew this wasnt urate as they would be exploring and cataloging things on the 54th Floor before their return. Though it wouldnt be urate, temporary maps of the Deeper Floors were still purchased by the Guild research teams who attempted to understand the nature of the Dungeon through its structure andposition. There were also several unexplored regions of many Floors, some of which contained incredibly rare materials and never-before-seen monsters. An example was the Cadmus Spring Water, which was guarded by the white dragon Cadmus, on the 51st Floor. Though several expeditions had been made down to that Level before, it went undiscovered for many years and was now a highly coveted monster and item. The spring water could be diluted several hundred times to make numerous High-Quality Elixers, while the Cadmus itself was a treasure-trove of rare materials with its body being worth several hundred million Valis if harvested efficiently. As a result, however, the Cadmus was incredibly strong while the spring water typically only produced a few ounces after several months of .u.mtion. One of the reasons people seek to discover new things in the Dungeon was because it would bolster their fame a great deal while also providing them with the opportunity to name and ssify their discovery. Though it would have to be approved by the Guild, as some people werent very capable of naming, it would still be known by the entire City that you were the one to make the discovery. Within thependium Vahn had memorized, each monster had the name of the original Adventurers to encounter the creatures and the Familia they belonged to. The majority of the ones in the Deeper Floors had been discovered by members of the Zeus and Hera Familias, but there were a few that were doc.u.mented discoveries by the Loki and Freya Familias. The Cadmus itself had been a discovery of Finns in the past and was the primary reason why the Loki Familia had a bit of a monopoly on the coveted liquid. Though the Dungeon structure changed, the general location of important structures typically remained in the same rtive area. Finn had a map that doc.u.mented the approximate location of the Cadmus Spring, and they often undertook missions from the Dianchect Familia to obtain some. --- After another four hours of travel, made easier by Vahns mapping capabilities, the group arrived at the entrance to the 54th Floor and decided to take a long break to enjoy lunch. Vahn gave Finn the materials that he had stowed away for their rations before pulling out a few fresh ingredients of his own and setting up a make-shift kitchen. It was a little bit rude of him to do, but Vahn didnt care about being normal as he began preparing the ingredients to serve the girls. Lefiya had gotten somewhat skilled when it came to cooking, so she helped Vahn after wearing a cute frilly apron that he had given her. As for Tiona, Tione, Ais, Riveria, and Fenrir, they were seated at a low table with cushions as they sipped away at tea... Bete, holding the dried meat in his hands and the hard ck bread looked like he was about to have an aneurysm as Finn watched the event with a wry smile on his face. Gareth, however, simply walked over to the table and shouted, "Oi, Vahn, mind if I take a seat? Ill pay you for-" Before Gareth could finish, Vahn looked over and set out a new cushion and said, "Dont worry about it, Gareth, were friends after all." To emphasize the fact, Vahn set out a small gon of [Dwarven Drought] for Gareth and he happily plopped down on the cushion after setting his massive axe to the side. Without any hesitation, Gareth picked up the gon and began inhaling the rich aroma before remarking, "I can never get enough of this alcohol...it makes everything else taste nd byparison!" As he spoke, Gareth saw a small cask appear at his side and he began tough heartily, adding to the rtively lively atmosphere of the girls. As he didnt want to spend too much time making the food, Vahn made simple braised sashimi and added rice, salmon roe, and a variety of fruits and vegetables as an apaniment for the Elven women. Though they sometimes ate meat, the majority of their diet consisted of nuts, fruits, and vegetables, so Vahn was showing his consideration. To make things more interesting, Vahn baked some of the cut fruits and seasoned them with a honey drizzle and cinnamon before setting them out on the table as an appetizer. Unable to tolerate the lively atmosphere at the side, Bete threw his ck bread to the ground and said, "This is some bullshit! Were not down here to have a f.u.c.k.i.n.g pic!" Though Finn agreed with Bete, Vahns perception was the highest in the group and he wouldnt act like this if it wasnt rtively safe to do so. Since Gareth and Riveria had already sat down, there wasnt much he could say about the situation without sounding rude and abrasive, much like Bete. To ease the tensions a bit, Finn gestured to Bete to calm down as he asked, "Vahn, may we partake of the...festivities as well? I know it may not be appropriate to ask, but I believe its better for the groups unity if we all eat together." Without considering the matter to any great extent, Vahn waved his hand dismissively and two more cushions appeared next to the table. Looking over, Vahn matched gazes with Finn and Bete as he said, "The red cushion is for Bete..." before turning his attention back to the food preparation. Vahn had set out a blue and a red cushion for their use, with the red being next to Gareth and the blue situated next to it. Since Fenrir was nearby, Vahn didnt really want Bete sitting next to her because he wasnt too fond of the abrasive Werewolf. However, just as they were about to sit down, Vahn looked over once again and said, "If you intend to make trouble at the table, dont sit at it..." as he matched gazes with Bete again. Bete furrowed his brows deeply and looked like he was about to shout out once again before he noticed the red cushion vanish from sight. His words got stuck in his throat because Vahn didnt even spare him a nce. Though he looked like he had swallowed a bug, Bete kept his words to himself and noticed the red cushion appear once again. He promised that, when they returned to the surface, he would settle things with Vahn directly. For now, he would tolerate Vahns behavior because he simply didnt want to be left out. It pissed him off that so many of the people he had associated with over thest few years had jumped ship to Vahns side in the past few months and he didnt have any other way to express his discontent. As he sat down in a huff, Bete visualized an image of a petite Amazon girl in his head before picking at the appetizers Vahn had set out. It was both tart and sweet at the same time and Bete thought it tasted pretty good...realizing this, however, Bete couldnt help but feel a sour aftertaste rise up in the back of his throat... --- (A/N: Its never mentioned who actually discovered the spring, but Finn makes ament about knowing to location so I went with it. There are A LOT of inconsistencies in the source material xD. Like the fact that the Loki Familia had never made it down to the 59th Floor in the past but was somehow able to reach it in a few minutes after some of their members fell down a hole? That is very strange...Since when can you pass through 6-7 Floors of a Dungeon, which can be several hundred kilometers of a Labyrinth in just a few minutes?) (A/N: Alternate Titles: That fire though...,Vahn is confused by the illogical,Tastes like Defeat) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 487 - Adventure

Chapter 487 - Adventure

After enjoying a long lunch break, it was time for the group to breach into the 54th Floor and start their exploration. Though they would doc.u.ment the approximate location of the stairs leading down, it was decided that they would stay on the 54th Floor unless it was the closest point to retreat to during the evening. Their goal became to explore as much of the 54th Floor as possible before their supplies started to run low and they were forced to turn back to the 50th Floor. Based on how the size of the Dungeon increased the further down you went, it was approximated that the 54th Floor was more than 300km in diameter and had unknown dimensions, as there were variations in elevation for some areas while others becameplexbyrinthian structures. Finn gave the order to proceed forward and everyone began running through the Dungeon once again as, a few seconds after they started their journey, pirs of fire once again shot up from the floors below. It was amazing how the Valgang Dragons were able to calcte the trajectory of fast-moving objects and target them from several kilometers away. Vahn wasnt sure how they were able to aplish such a feat, but it reminded him of how the red-haired woman was able to sense his presence when he had looked at her in the past. Since there shouldnt be any easy way for them to detect his presence, especially if he used [Stealth] on his domain, Vahn likened it to some kind of sixth sense. It was either that or the Dungeon itself that was helping them make theplex calctions that would be necessary. After all, the pir of fire didnt really travel that fast, as it had to melt through several hundred meters of bedrock, which meant the Valgang Dragons would have to ount for nearly thirty seconds of high-speed movements when they released their fiery breath. The progress through the 54th Floor, while rtively fast as a result of their speed, was a slow and arduous process. Vahn actually found himself growing slightly bored because there were so few monsters and the me breath would have entirely no effect on him even if it did hit. Since he could detect it long before it reached them, Vahn was in no danger at all and kind of wanted to start walking through the Dungeon and cataloging everything at a casual pace. He could understand why these Floors were very dangerous for the majority of Adventurers, but that didnt apply to him at all and it made him a little on-edge continuing this farce. Another group of Venom Scorpians intercepted the party and, as they only numbered eight in total, were quickly taken care of by Bete, Ais, and Tiona. When they went to loot the drop items, the floor heated up and they all jumped to the side, once again evading the me breath without any major difficulty. To prevent any waste, Vahn had looted the lost items before the floorpletely broke down and separated them from the other items in his inventory, as per usual. This was another one of the reasons Vahn was growing bored, because Ais, Tiona, and even Bete, tore through the monsters with unstoppable momentum as if they were illusions instead of actual Level 4 enemies. Though Tiona wasnt really an agility-based fighter, she still had more than 3400 total agility and could easily kick off from the ground with enough force to cover a 50m distance in less than a quarter of a second. As for Ais and Bete, they easily fit the description of agility-fighters as Ais tore through enemies with her [Ariel] while Bete kicked his enemies hard enough to make air pockets in their bodies as a result of the shockwave. Since Lefiya and Riveria werent really using their magic, Vahn wasnt even helping to recover their mana so he found himself just looting items and scanning around the Dungeon for signs of danger. He had expected the Deeper Floors to be somewhat more exhrating than this and was somewhat disappointed by the reality. To pass the time, he started trying to catch the Valgang Dragons me breath with his domain since he had a perfect fire affinity. The breath was made up of pure fire elemental energies, though it was incredibly powerful and chaotic, so Vahn figured he would be able to divert them with enough practice. Unfortunately, it was already somewhat difficult to control stagnant fire elemental energy, much less the super-vtile me breath that was emitted by the Valgang Dragon. Though it was surprisingly not that hot, the mes had a corrosive element to them that allowed them to eat through the bedrock of the Dungeon without any major difficulty. Vahn couldnt iste what this element was, but it was very simr to his [L?vateinn]s mes. If he could figure it out, and truly exercise control over their breath, Vahn theorized he could add such an effect to his own mes to make them perpetual in the future. Unless he extinguished them himself, the mes would continue burning without ceasing and, since Vahns mes could reach up to Tier 4 in strength, he knew they would be a devastating weapon against most enemies. After nearly six hours of running, the group arrived at a stairwell that led down to the 55th Floor and proceeded inside of it to take a break and set up camp for the evening. Though Finn was very tempted to breach into the 55th Floor, he had already given his word and wasnt going to break it since it would cause his own credibility to take a hit. Unless others wanted to venture further in, specifically Vahn, Finn would let the mattery for the time being and be content that they already reached a deeper floor. Bete, however, explored ahead a bit and even entered the 55th Floor for a short while before returning. Since simply reaching the floor wasnt enough, as it was called a clear record for a reason, it wouldnt count as an achievement and was simply him obtained a new personal best for himself. When it came time to set up camp, everyone had their own personal tents to use but Vahn still set up arger tent for the residents of the Hearth Manor. It wasnt as big as the one that was used on the 50th Floor, which had been left behind, but it had enough sleeping room for ten people. As there would only be six using it, it wasnt that cramped at all. As for Riveria, she used her own tent, which had also been provided by Vahn, while Gareth, Finn, and Bete all set up individual tents for themselves. Bete seemed to be annoyed by the fact Vahn was still sharing a tent with the girls, but he had momentarily given up on trying to address the matter. There wasnt anything he could do to change the situation, so he kept to himself and just retreated into his own tent after dinner. For the evening watch, it was decided that people would have two-hour shifts to keep guard with Vahn, Fenrir, and Lefiya being made exceptions. Since Vahn slept with his domain active, while also using his own energy to conceal them somewhat, it wouldnt be fair to make him stand guard as well. As for why Fenrir and Lefiya were removed, it was because Fenrir needed to be watched over by Vahn while Lefiyas senses, except when it came to magic, were somewhat weak. The rest period had been designated as a ten hour period, so that everyone could get proper rest, with the first watch belonging to Finn... --- Though he was rxing his body and mind in a peaceful slumber, apanied by the warmth of Fenrir, Tiona, and Tione, Vahn was still aware of his surroundings somewhat. Whenever people moved around within his domain, a part of his mind constantly tracked them and it was things like this that made Vahn feel like his brain had split at some point. Even when his mind itself had slipped away into unconsciousness, he would still probe around with his intent and sense his surroundings. Though he couldnt see what was happening, Vahn could envision it somewhat based on his imagination and perception of things so it was almost like he had the ability to wander around even when he was asleep. Things were rtively peaceful for the first half of the night and Vahn only stirred slightly whenever an enemy would appear within his domain. His second self would alert the person on watch by infusing [Enkidu] into his domain to light up the surrounding area. As all those on the watch were Level 5-6, they would make short work of the enemies without having to stir the others awake. Everyone was surprised the first time Vahns domain alerted them, but then they appreciated it a bit after a while. Even Bete, who didnt think it was fair that Vahn got to stay sleeping in thefort of women couldntin too much after Vahn alerted him for the fifth time. This showed that, even though he was asleep, Vahn was always on watch while he only had to stay up for two hours. Vahn even picked up on the enemys presence before his enhanced senses could so Bete just sat quietly atop a rock with a solemn expression on his face... The third shift was taken by Gareth and had been rtively uneventful as he sat with his axe in hisp and sipped away at the small sk Vahn had given him. He usually diluted the [Dwarven Drought] by a fair amount, but he had entrusted Gareth with a bit of the real thing and the veteran Dwarf was very grateful. After the first surprise of Vahns domain alerting him to the enemy, Gareth had eased up a lot and simply overlooked the tents from a higher vantage point. Whenever an enemy would show up after that, Gareth would toss over a small rock in an attempt to smash them without leaving his perch. Though it made a loud sound, that would have awoken most people, the Loki Familia members were able to ignore it since they werent being alerted to any danger. Once Gareths watch came to an end, the next person to take up the post was the somewhat sleepy Ais. She escaped from Lefiyas grasp before climbing atop therge rock nearby with nothing but her sword. She hadnt bothered wearing all of her armor and was just dressed in the basic equipment that she went to sleep in. When she sat down atop the rock, Ais found a small tray with snacks and steamy tea on it before she sat down and enjoyed the calm and quiet atmosphere. She noticed that there would be a brief golden sh every now and then and quickly dealt with the monsters nearby. After returning to her perch, Ais patted herself down before sitting atop the small nket Vahn had set out and began to rx a bit when she felt the cold air of the Dungeon fade away as a warmth surrounded her... The final shift was taken up by Riveria and, shortly after she finished preparing for her post, she found a wooden table had been sat out for her with afortable chair to apany it. On the table, there were various journals and books present with a freshly brewed pot of tea and bite-sized snickerdoodle cookies at the side. Riveria released a sigh before looking over at the tent where Vahn was sleeping with the other girls. After shaking her head slightly, she sat down at the table and partook of one of the cookies before opening up one of the journals present. It was all of Vahns notes that he had been taking throughout the day and there was even a few excerpts about things they had discussed in the past. Riveria realized that Vahn must have been somewhat bored during their expedition and it brought a small smile to her face as she picked up the quill and began writing notes of her own. Though there were no visible changes in theyout of the Dungeon, it was time for everyone to wake up and Vahn had been one of the firsts to stir since he wanted to prepare breakfast. When he came out of the tent with Fenrir and the somewhat drowsy Tiona, Vahn saw Riveria writing in the journals while periodically looking around at the surroundings. She noticed their presence and gave Vahn a curt nod before returning to the journal in hand. Tiona stretched her body before clinging to Vahn and asking in a sleepy voice, "Vahn, make something sweet for breakfast, okay~?" As a result, Vahn decided to make the main dish as pancakes and then apanied it with bacon, eggs, and some rice porridge for those that werent too fond of sweets. With the smell of food on the air, everyone in the camp started to wake up soon after and came out of their tents seeking the source. Finn looked over at Riveria and was slightly stunned to see her sitting at a desk before promptly ignoring the matter and walking over to Vahn. Seeing what he was making, Finn asked, "Would you like my assistance, Vahn? Im not the greatest chef in the world, but I should be able to assist you easily enough." Though Vahn was tempted to decline, it felt like it would have been unnecessarily rude of him to do so. After nodding his head, Vahn turned over the skillet to Finn before he moved on to the next set of items and they started cooking together. As for Tiona and Fenrir, they were already sitting down at the table as Tiona helped Fenrir eat some of the snacks Vahn had set out. Unlike the previous lunch incident, Vahn had set out a low table with a total of ten cushions present with the same red one designating Betes spot. Without offering anyints, Bete just walked over and sat down next to the slightly groggy Gareth who had inadvertently emptied the sk Vahn had given him after returning to his own tent. He wouldnt be affected for long, but he was slightly hungover for the time-being and was nursing a cup of dark-ck coffee that Vahn had set out. As Bete had been one of thest people to sit at the table, the atmosphere was already somewhat lively after the girls had all washed up a bit and sat down. They hadnt taken a bath, but Vahn set out a small basin so they could rinse off their faces and brush their teeth before breakfast. Finn saw the lively atmosphere as he dexterously flipped over an omelet and remarked, "This is rather different from any other expedition Ive ever been on, not that Imining. Its good to see everyones morale is so high even though were so deep in the Dungeon..." Vahn nodded his headzily and cast a nce over at Finn before saying, "I used to think you had to treat the Dungeon very seriously because I had been made aware of the dangers by Tsubaki when she trained me in the past. Now...I dont think that is entirely the case...after all, were supposed to be on an adventure right now, and all the stories make them out to be fun and exciting affairs. Though Im not going to promotecency, I think exploring the Dungeon should be something that is enjoyable when we have the capabilities to make it so..." Hearing Vahns words, Finn was slightly surprised and had even paused his hands for a brief moment until the small of slightly burnt eggs reached his nose and he slid it off onto a te. Vahns words, though somewhat romantic in nature, really were what Adventurers were supposed to aspire towards. Other than those that entered the Dungeon simply to get by, many people pursued its depths in the pursuit of fame, glory, wealth, and power. Most of those that actually achieved them were typically very free-spirited people that eagerly sought new stimulus and wanted to experience new things, even though it wasnt always pleasant. It was this desire for adventure that had caused the Guild to beginbeling explorers and dungeoneers as Adventurers in the first ce. However, this was something that was often overlooked on missions and expeditions, and Finn hadnt really thought about it too much until he heard the words from Vahns mouth. It suddenly seemed like him harping over the small details was incorrect as there was no need to follow established conventions when people could be happy and productive at the same time. Typically, as an expedition reached the end, it had be something of a slog and people just wanted it to be over. This was why the majority of losses happened on the return trip, because people were simply too eager and were prone to making mistakes. However, Finn could actually imagine people wanting to stay longer with people like Vahn making things more fun for everyone. Though he couldnt imagine it happening any time soon, Finn was starting to see Vahns image of creating a permanant settlement in the Dungeon as a reality. Even if it was only a possibility, Finn knew it would be better to jump on the bandwagon early so a smile appeared on his face as he gave the young human boy a thoughtful look... (A/N:Alternate Titles: These mes are boring...,The Nights Watch,Happy Fun Times) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 488 - Brunch

Chapter 488 - Brunch

Using the map that Vahn had drawn out during their previous exploration, as he could quickly scribe it onto a piece of paper with a high degree of uracy, the group continued their exploration of the 54th Floor by searching areas and corridors they hadnt visited previously. With Vahns map, it was easy to see the paths they had taken and it wasnt remotely close to the presumed size of the actual Floor. As there were certain to be explored regions, which could be found easily with Vahns detection ability, everyone was determined to find something new. Even Vahn felt like there had to be a reason why the Dungeon had orchestrated the Dragons Vase as it had. It was almost like the Dungeon didnt want people to spend much time on the floors, almost like it was concealing something. After searching for nearly seven hours, without finding anything new and interesting, the group came across another set of stairs that led further into the Dungeon. Just like the floors above, there were several possible ways to progress through and it wouldnt be surprising to find more than a hundred such stairways on any given floor. As it was a good opportunity, the group took a rest for lunch while Vahn spent the time searching around the 400m of stairs and the adjoining rooms. He was curious about why the Valgang Dragons didnt target the stairs with their breath, since the materials were fundamentally the same as the rest of the Dungeon. Other than a variation, almost like a break in the flow of mana, there were no real differences between the stairs and the rest of the floor. Vahn wanted to know why there were two functionally identical flows that ran alongside each other without actually intersecting. By inspecting the top and bottom of the stairs, he could confirm that the break passed through the entire set of stairs and even continued beyond his perception. It was hard to imagine, but Vahn felt like he could theoretically bore through the Dungeon and, as long as he follows the secondary flow, he would be able to reach all the way to the surface or even follow down into the depths. Though the nned to test it in the future, as he had to know if this was the truth of the matter, Vahn set it aside for now and simply logged his deductions in a journal. When Vahn returned to the group, Tiona perked up and asked, "Didya find anything, Vahn~?" Vahn plopped down next to the table while shaking his head and saying, "Its something Ill have to look intoter, but it would be much safer to test on the upper floors. Ill let you know how it goes, but you shouldnt worry about it too much right now." Though she looked like she was listening attentively, Tiona didnt care that much about Vahns actual words and just wanted to talk with him. When he finished his exnation, Tiona nodded her head and asked, "When we get to the surface, you said you were going to try and finish the proto-type armor, right~? Im interested to see how things turn out, so please ask me if you need any assistance. Even if its just to model, I dont mind helping out~." Spurred on by Tionas words, the topic of discussion at the table immediately transitioned to the armor Vahn was making. Even Gareth and Finn were quite interested in it, but Vahn said it wasnt the type of thing he ever nned to sell. Because of theplexity of the design, Vahn only intended to make enough to be used by the girls within the Hearth Manor and would worry about other things after the fact. Though he was a [Master Smith], it wasnt actually a trade Vahn intended to pursue for profit or mastery. Vahn simply made the things he wanted to make, without putting too much thought into anything other than making them interesting and efficient. His main reason for doing so was because of the restrictions of the shop within the system, as it would be troublesome to only give each girl one piece of armor every few weeks. Though he had been able to get around things a bit with the girls that had their extra parameters unlocked, as he could give up to three items to some of them, it still wasnt really a practical solution. During the conversation, Gareth supported his cheek with his fist andmented, "I have a personal contract with Tsubaki, so Im not really bothered by not obtaining any equipment. However, it wouldnt be a bad idea to ept a few contracts of your own in the future, Vahn. Even if you dont have the heart of a cksmith, you certainly have more than enough skill to make use of. If you truly end up making new and innovative armors, you might be able to forge even more alliances in the future by creating custom-made equipment for powerful Adventurers." Hearing Gareths words, Vahn knew it was true but he simply didnt have the time to manage such things. It would be more convenient if he just purchased them something through the system shop instead, not that he could exin things in such a way. Though he trusted Gareth, Vahn wasnt going to exin his reasoning about things and simply nodded in affirmation of his words. Unless they took the same level of vow as the residents of the Hearth Manor, Vahn couldnt disclose any specifics to the three men present as there was always a remote chance they could disseminate it to other people. Finn and Bete were especially troublesome because there was no way of knowing how Finn would use the information while Bete was simply the type that rambled away sensitive information when he was drunk. Vahn didnt want to be seen as a convenience by Finn, nor did he want to have rumors circte as a result of Betes drunken ramblings when he vented his frustrations. From this expedition, Vahn understood there were various problems associated with movingrge groups of people through the Dungeon. Of course, in order to ensure their supplies were protected, it was necessary to do so, but this wasnt a restriction Vahn faced. He had been thinking about ways to reach further into the Dungeon to increase the strength of his own Familia in the future and was nning to try and get a foothold on the 39th Floor in the future. Though this expedition had been an interesting experience, Vahn wasnt too fond of how things had yed out and it almost felt like a waste of time, at least for him. If not for the fact he had been able to help the girls increase their strength quickly, while also finally reaching Level 4 himself, Vahn would have found things to be a bit droll. The simple truth of the matter was, Vahn had the capacity to make any expedition run much smoother than any other Familia on the surface. If he had been in charge of things, Vahn would have separated everyone into smaller cells to thin out enemies before they met up at various safe zones like the rtively secure stairs and the actual safety areas of the 18th, 39th, and 50th Floors. Even on the floors where monsters attacked in waves, it was possible to deal with them in smaller parties by simply avoiding the fight or having a bncedposition. Though monsters were very powerful, some far more so than Adventurers, they werent intelligent and they couldnt adapt to strategy and subterfuge at all. Traveling as arger group, though necessary forrge Familia expeditions, was something Vahn could circ.u.mvent entirely as a result of his Inventory and the limitless supplies at his disposal. Even a slow day on the 51st Floor earned him more than 200,000OP and, though he couldnt buy Elixirs and Potions that could be used by others, Vahn could purchase the materials used to make them. If they had a few people with the [Mixing] skill in the expedition, they could easily produce consumables for the entire party. This also applied to things like food, equipment, and a variety of other things. If there was enough support behind the idea, Vahn was even confident in establishing the ry point on the 39th Floor within the next year before moving down to the 50th Floor and beginning construction of their Haven... Since Vahn had been lost in his own thoughts for a bit, Ais poked his cheek with her gloved finger and said, "Vahn, dont worry so much...just do what you think is best. We will follow you..." Hearing Aiss words, Vahn looked into her shining gold eyes before looking around and seeing the supportive looks on the faces of the other girls. In fact, even Finn and Gareth showed appreciative gazes with the only exception being the always disgruntled Bete. Vahn decided at this moment that he needed to educate Bete when they returned to the surface before nodding his head to Ais and addressing the table as he said, "I think for the next nned expedition, we should stop on the 39th Floor and begin making a settlement there to serve as a ry station. Though it may be more profitable toe down to the Deeper Floors, there are too many unknowns and were simply not ready. Until we can establish a supply line and get a proper foothold, I dont think its wise to keep trying to go deeper..." Finn looked like he wanted to say something, but Vahn shook his head slightly and said, "Im not considering the matter from simply the perspective of the Loki Familia, Finn, though Im sure Loki would support me in the future. Im trying to consider things for the Hestia Familia and the Alliance as a whole...and not just them, but for every Adventurer that delves into the Dungeon and all those that live on the surface. If we, some of the strongest and most capable, arent the ones leading the way, what happens when things develop to a point where we need to lead? I believe that, if you want people to walk the correct path, you need toy it out for them and show the way..." Responding to his words, Tiona raised both of her arms as if she were very fired up and shouted, "Alrighty then! Lets turn this Dungeon into our own personal stomping ground so that other people can safely venture into it in the future~!" Surprisingly, the next person to speak up was Riveria who nodded her head and said in a calm tone, "Vahn is right, we cant simply wait around in hopes that things improve naturally. We need to be the ones that are taking proactive action if we want to truly bring about change..." Knowing what the future potentially held, Riveria didnt think it was the correct decision to keep acting passively on things. One of the things mentioned in Vahns journal was his idea about creating an Advanced Academy on the 50th Floor and she had thought it was an interesting idea since it would prompt people to be stronger. After Riveria, Ais, who had been staring at Vahn, said, "I want to kill the One-Eyed ck Dragon one day...but until then, I want to try and find happiness in my own way. After we defeat Enyo...I..." Though it wasnt the first time Vahn had seen her blush, it was one of the first times he had seen Ais frown in mild frustration as she struggled to speak the words from her heart. Vahn smiled at her before reaching out his hand and stroking her silky golden hair with his bination skills. She showed a slight smile before resting her cheek against his palm and saying, "I want to be a real family..." As if it were some kind ofpetition that had been incited by Tionas initial words, everyone began stating their own wants and desires for the future. Lefiya wanted to reach the pinnacle of magic, Fenrir wanted to protect Vahn, and Tione embarrassed Vahn slightly by saying that the only thing she wanted was to be loved. She had looked to him with a somewhat amorous look and Vahn felt like she might have attacked him if it were just the two of them alone. As for the men at the table, Gareth justughed heartily and chimed in with his own, "If we really end up making a settlement on the 50th Floor, you should open up a pub that serves that [Dwarven Drought]. I guarantee youll see an influx of powerful Dwarvesing all the way down to the 50th Floor just to get a sip of the stuff!" Gareths words always made Vahn feel warm inside so he nodded his head and said, "Not just [Dwarven Drought], I have plenty of other alcohols that cant be found anywhere else in the world..." Hearing Vahns words, Gareth suddenly became very serious as he said, "That wont do, Vahn. You cant simply serve unknown alcohol to guests...Ill make sure to test it all for you before you make it public. You might not think it to look at me, but Im quite reknown in the circle of Dwarves for my capable alcohol tasting abilities. With my word and reputation, forget Dwarves, youll have peopleing as far as the Far East just to sample a shot!" Vahn chuckled slightly as Gareth startedughing heartily as he pped his knee with his hand a couple of times. Seeing how things had yed out, Finn felt slightly exasperated because he knew Vahn would easily be able to get the support of Loki. In the future, instead of Vahn apanying their Familia, it might be the case that the Loki Familia was escorting him on his own expeditions. When they did establish a settlement on the 50th Floor, Finn had little doubt that Vahn would be the representative and that the credit would likely fall to the Hestia Familia, even if he did it in the name of the Alliance. With the amount of support he could garner as the Sage Aldrnari, Finn couldnt help but imagine a somewhat brighter future than the current state of affairs he hade to know. Though it couldnt be called a natural charisma, Vahn had the capacity to draw people together, something that was especially effective when it came to thedies... After taking a bite of the juicy steak on his te, Finn felt his resistances break as he chimed in after Gareth, "Your reputation has grown a fair amount within the Loki Familia as a result of this expedition. Ill exin the situation to Loki-sama and talk to a few key members to get support for the idea of establishing a settlement on the 39th Floor. Im certain that, if you can provide proper incentives, we will be able to make it a reality in the future." Hearing Finn also concede to Vahn, Bete clicked his tongue and said, "Even youre giving in to this kid, Captain? Has everyone lost their bloody minds...?" Everyone present heard Betes snide remark and showed slightly awkward expressions until Tione mmed her fork hard enough that it embedded in the table as she shouted, "Damnit Bete, if you dont fix your attitude Ill fix it for you! Vahn has never done a single thing to earn your ire, so why do you have to be a little bitch about everything!? You never even thanked him for saving your little girlfriend!" Bete looked like he was about to yell back at Tione but swallowed his words with an expression of disgust and incredulity when he heard her mention Lena. Though he had never said it, Bete was actually thankful to Vahn for arranging to have the Amazons stay with the Loki Familia. He never nned to be with Lena when she was a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e but, now that she was within the Loki Familia, Bete had been looking after her. Before things got out of hand, Vahn gestured to Tione and said, "Rx, I know Bete isnt actually as harsh as he tries to act. Im certain he has his reasons, and I already ignore most of the things he says...I dont really need his gratitude for things like that, as it was a decision I had made for myself, not on his behalf..." After turning his eyes away from Tione, Vahn looked at the disgruntled Bete and said, "When we return to the surface, I will show you that you have a severe misunderstanding about my strength, Bete. Afterward, Ill have you keep your snide remarks to yourself or you can only me your own actions for how I will treat you from then onwards..." As Vahn spoke, he allowed his aura to bear down on Bete and saw his hairs stand on end slightly as a fierce expression appeared on his face. However, Vahn could see that his aura was fluctuating greatly under the pressure and was even diminishing slightly when Bete said, through gritted teeth, "Well settle it on the surface then..." Though the atmosphere was somewhat tense, Gareth didnt seem to mind it at all as he asked, "Speaking of that littless, when do the two of you n to get married, Bete?" Hearing Gareths words, Bete felt forward and nearly mmed his face into the table before looking to Gareth and shouting, "Butt out, Old Man! Dont concern yourself with my business!" In response, Gareth simply beganughing as the tense atmosphere from beforepletely dissipated. Bete had a very slight blush on his face as he looked around at the table and decided to escape away at thest moment when he saw that even the monster girl was snickering at him. After grabbing his cup from the table, Bete stood up and walked off to the side without saying a word to the rest of the group. For the rest of their break, the group at the table started talking about ideas theyd like to see implemented when they began making the ry station on the 39th Floor. Vahn started taking notes of things, even though he knew the majority of them were somewhat impractical. Though creating bathhouses and the like werent too difficult, things like opening up a bakery and stuff were somewhat advanced for what they had in mind, at least for the time being. Once the Haven became firmly cemented in the 50th Floor, Vahn didnt even mind turning it into a small city, much less having a single bakery present. He already nned to build an Academy there, so it would make sense for other types of business to also be present. However, such things would need to be strictly regted as Vahn wouldnt tolerate criminal activity and the like urring within Haven at all... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Peculiarity within the stairs,Gareth is the Dad of the group,Little Slice of Haven) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 489 - Fiery Wrath

Chapter 489 - Fiery Wrath

For an additional two days, the group continued to explore the 54th Floor until they had mapped arge majority of the Floor. Other than a few variant monsters, which were simply stronger versions of present enemies, there were no major discoveries made. Though Vahn could see throughrge sections of the Dungeon, his vision was still limited to the range of his Domain and the floor itself was more than 350m thick, on average. As for the walls, though they were much thinner, many of the corridors simply connected to others to create thergerbyrinth. Other than a new nt, which Vahn had discovered was named [Vitaelilia] through his Inventory, there were no other major discoveries thus far. The group was currently encamped in one of the stairwells they had discovered, this one leading up to the 53rd Floor. Vahn had confirmed that the stairwells all continued further above and below the Dungeon, but he hadnt been able to see where they lead. Though he could see the path of mana, it continued on further than his perception reached and was almost entirelyprised of the bedrock that made up the Dungeon Floors. He wanted to try tunneling through them one day, but only when he had enough confidence to be able to defeat a Juggernaut without assistance. Vahn had been making the night watch easier for everyone present and not even Bete had any rude remarks to say during most of the meals. Though there was a spot prepared for him at the table, he spent the majority of the time eating his food in solitude. The only exception to this was during the evening meal when he would sit silently in between Gareth and Finn as he brooded over his own thoughts. When it had been his watch, Vahn had promised with him by setting out some tea and snacks to apany him during his shift. Though Bete didnt thank him for it, it seemed to improve his mood a bit. As dinner was preparing to wrap up, Finn got everyone attention by pping his hands a few times before saying, "I believe weve just about discovered the majority of the prominent features of the 54th Floor at this point. Though there are likely secret passageways and unexplored regions, we havent found any ways to ess them and I believe it is about time for us to return to the 50th Floor. Our supplies have been holding out splendidly, something we all owe our thanks to Vahn for, but I see no purpose in continuing as we are. Tomorrow morning, well begin our journey up before making a decision about whether or not to return to the surface..." Hearing Finns words, everyone was in a much better mood, especially the girls that had spent thest few days without an opportunity to enjoy a long bath. Vahn had been helping clean them with his magic, but they had grown ustomed to thefort brought by the hot water. Tione was especially happy, though for moderately different reasons than everyone else. She didnt so much care about the surface itself, as she was the type that didnt mind fighting every day, but she was looking forward to being able to spend some personal time with Vahn. During the night watch, the order had been decided as Riveria, Tiona, Ais, Bete, and, to wrap up everything and awaken everyone for the return trip, Finn. Just as he had been doing, Vahn added some smallforts for those on watch, including study materials for Riveria, a Vahn-shaped doll for Tiona and Ais, as he had been fond of the one Ais made for him in the past, and a mug of lukewarm cocoa for Bete. As for Finn, Vahn figured he was the overly serious type so he just woke up a little after Finns watch began and started preparing breakfast for everyone. The majority of members present were rtively poor chefs, so Vahn found himself preparing the meals ever since the first day. As he was coating some small sausages with a lightyer of butter and honey, Vahn allowed his mind to wander a bit because of how uneventful things had been. He started to believe that his presumption that the enemy wouldnt take action until the original events were scheduled to take ce. Though Enyo seemed to have an interest in him, she didnt seem to be willing topromise her ns just to try and plot against him. Vahn even felt like the only reason the red-haired woman had stalked them was because he had spied on her in the bath and even stolen her bathwater. The earth mage that had attacked him might not even be rted to Enyo at all, so it was possible he had just made several assumptions ande to misunderstand a few things. Vahn was certain the red-haired woman was an enemy since the vibe she gave him was something he had only ever seen from viins. Though her aura had been somewhat neutral, this could simply imply that she was rtively disinterested in him, though her impression had fluctuated a bit when shest parted with him. Vahn felt like she was a predator that was stalking him from the shadows, but his domain was muchrger now and he had yet to see a single sign of her ever since. Unless she was somehow able to ount for his growth, something that seemed iprehensible to Vahn at present, there shouldnt be any way for her to circ.u.mvent his constant vignce. After sitting down next to Tiona and Fenrir, Vahn took over the role of helping feed the voracious wolf girl as he looked around the table and asked, "How is the food?" Tiona immediately held out her fork with a piece of sausage on it and shouted, "This is delcious~! Its savory and sweat at the same time. I think it might even be my new favorite breakfast food~!" Everyone else seemed to have a simr opinion andplimented Vahn for his culinary skills. Even Lefiya, who had be quite the glutton these days, seemed fond of the small mountain of biscuits he had made for her. Just like the sausage, Vahn had zed them with honey and she had gone through more than twenty of them in the short period where they had been eating breakfast. As everyone was highly motivated to return to the 50th Floor, breakfast came to an end earlier than normal when Finn said, "Okay, everyone, Id say its about time for us to return. Im certain everyone else would be able to rx when we appear on the 50th Floor." Since the record-party consisted of every executive of the Loki Familia, it was rather unnerving to have them probe into the unknown without having any means of maintaining contact. If they were missing for more than a week, the expedition would have been forced to make the dangerous journey to the surface without their strongest members. The only other option was waiting but, without a way to replenish supplies, this was simply a death sentence if something had actually happened. Because they had slept in the adjoining corridors leading to the stairs heading to the 53rd Floor, the group only had to clear two Floors in order to reach the rtive safety of the 51st. Vahn once again took up the rear of the group with Lefiya, Fenrir, and Riveria as they started their miniature marathon to break through the Floor. Shortly after they began, Vahn felt raging mes enter his domain without missing a beat as they tried to intercept the group. He hadnt had any luck diverting the mes thus far, and it had grown somewhat annoying to constantly be barraged by them. Vahn had even been tempted to split from the group to jump down the hole and eliminate the Valgang Dragons below. Since he had the [Heros Reprieve], Vahn would be able to escape easily but decided against it as the item was rather precious. However, he promised to clear the entire 58th Floor in the future because it was supposedly one giant room. This meant he could seek vengeance against them to his hearts content once he made his way down there naturally. Just as they had done hundreds of times over thest few days, Ais easily dodged the pir of mes as Vahn picked up Lefiya and Fenrir under his arms and leaped over the hole with the rest of the group. They could both make the jump easily, but Vahn wasnt going to let any potential idents happen like them slipping into the hole. After reaching the other side, Vahn set them down on their own feet and they continued running forward without hesitation. Though she still fl.u.s.tered a bit, Lefiya had gotten very used to Vahn suddenly picking her uptely and no longer thanked him every time he helped her. She also knew she could make the jump easily, but it made her heart flutter whenever Vahn grabbed around her waist and jumped forward with her... At this point, Vahn was certain the me breath of the Valgang Dragon had nothing to do with their actual perception and it was almost guaranteed the Dungeon was telling them where they were located. Vahn had tested this bypressing his domain and infusing [Stealth] into it to the point where he was nearly indistinguishable from the air itself. Vahn could even move right through a detection formation like this, yet the Valgang Dragons still targetted him regardless. He couldnt imagine their perception was greater than a Juggernauts, so the only exnation that he could think of was that they had a way to detect movement, pressure, or their location itself after the Dungeon pass the information to them. After all, monsters typically had little to no intelligence so there had to be something helping them make the calctions. Vahn wanted to try increasing his [Featherfoot] to S-Rank in the future, or potentially learning a way to prevent his weight from being detected by the surfaces he stood on. At the very least, this would allow him to test his theory and, even if he was wrong, it would put him one step closer to understanding the mechanic behind it. Since he was sure there was a secret contained on the troublesome Floors, Vahn wanted to explore every nook and cranny of them in the future. Though he didnt care about the secret that much, even though it was interesting, it was the fact they had gone through so much trouble that made Vahn feelpelled to learn what it was. A few monsters bared their passage along the way, but the group eventually reached the stairs leading to the 52nd Floor after a short four hours of travel. Though it was a bit early, the group took a short break and replenished their stamina before continuing on to the 52nd Floor. Once they managed to clear this one, they would be on the safe 51st Floor and then take their time to return without having to worry about any major threats appearing. Almost everyone present, even Lefiya, could potentially y the Cadmus with proper preparations, so even the strongest monster of the 51st Floor wasnt a concern. Unlike the fast clear of the 53rd Floor, it took the group nearly ten hours to find a staircase leading upwards, almost as if the Dungeon was ying with them a bit. Toward the very end, Vahn had evene to a stop out of frustration and said, "Lefiya, Fenrir, move into the corridor..." beforeing to a stop. Though they looked back at him, both girls listened before the entire group became aware of Vahns peculiar behavior. Finn looked back with aplicated expression on his face from across the threshold leading into the stairs and asked, "Vahn, what are you intending to do?" In response, Vahn gestured dismissively and said, "Ill be perfectly fine...if Im not back within ten minutes, send Fenrir down and well return to the surface on our own." Finn frowned deeply and wanted to rebuke Vahn for his behavior, especially since he had been so obstinate about not going beyond the 54th Floor. However, he let the matter slide when Riveria said, "Vahn has a way to instantly reach the surface, though it cant be used very often...we should wait for him, hell be fine." Though they wanted to apany him, the other girls knew they would potentially just escte the matter into a real problem so they just looked at Vahn and wished him luck. Seeing how much confidence they had in him, and hearing Riveria make a rather bold im, Finn felt somewhat exasperated but didnt say anything to stop Vahn. Even if he wanted to, he had run out of time since the floor beneath Vahns feet turned red-hot before a pir of me erupted and consumed him. After the me faded, Vahn was floating in the air wearing nothing but a pair of red shorts that were covered in scales while in his Bih form. Almost as if he had absorbed the mes themselves, Vahns arms and legs were glowing red hot now and even his chest was glowing bright enough that the shadow of his heartbeat could be seen through it. Without any hesitation, he allowed himself to fall into the hole that had been created as everyone watched him disappear through its mouth. Finn released a sigh before looking around and seeing that the only people that were actually concerned were himself and Bete. Even Gareth was just stroking his beard with a small smile on his face while the girls all had looks of trust and confidence. Shaking his head, Finn moved off to the side and sat against the hard Dungeon wall while remarking in his mind, ("Ah, the wall and floor are rather hard...") --- Vahn didnt really consider himself hot-headed, but he felt like the constant harassment of the Valgang Dragons had progressively eaten away at his patience. It was annoying having to constantly evade attacks that did nothing to him, and he also wanted to imnt the idea inside Finns mind that they could simply reach the 58th Floor at any time by jumping down the holes. In fact, if they timed it properly, they could easily reach any Floor between the 52nd and 58th by using the holes created by the Valgang Dragons as a shortcut. The only thing they had to do was prepare a method to stop their descent when they reached the level they wanted, as the fire breath itself wasnt a major threat to them with Riverias [Veil Breath] active. After falling for about forty seconds, during which Vahn let two more breaths pass over him, he finally reached the hole in the ceiling of the 58th Floor. Unlike the Floors above, the 58th was very bright and there were strange yellow-orange crystals that illuminated the entire massive room as if it were daytime. Beneath him, Vahn could see a herd of giant red dragons that were more than 14m in length from the tip of their snout to their tails. In the air, there were also a few other bluish-purple dragons known as Ill Wyverns. They were rtively small, around 3m, but they were capable of supersonic flight and supposedly tormented Adventurers by making strafing passes with their toxic breath. Before Vahn reached the floor, the Ill Wyvern flock charged at him with a terrifying velocity as the pelted his body with toxic fumes that broke against him without effect. Though Vahn felt his body itching, the fumes themselves were dispersed by the intense heat of his body while anything he inhaled waspletely filtered by his body itself. When another powerful breath targetted him, the flock cleared the airspace and Vahn once again became enveloped in mes. However, before the dragon was capable of closing its mouth, Vahn had closed the remaining distance and helped it do so by smashing down on its snout and causing its head to cave in. For a brief moment, Vahn had transformed into his Xunw form before immediately transitioning back into his Bih form and using [Shundo] to begin his ughter. Valgang Dragons had incredible resistances and their firepower was some of the strongest amongst all monsters, or else they wouldnt be able to emit a pir of mes for several kilometers. However, their attacks werepletely useless against Vahn and they were somewhat over-reliant on their mes and ignored most other methods of attack. However, though their mes were fierce, Vahn found them to be mildpared to the temperature of his own body. On average, they were outputting around 2,000-degree mes while Vahn could push his body far beyond and was currently clocking a solid 4,500 degrees. His body was so hot that, every time he stepped on the ground to use [Shundo], there would be a 3m wide area of liquid bedrock where his foot had briefly touched. As they were so proud of their mes that they spewed them incessantly, Vahn wanted to show them what real firepower was like and used his white-hot ws to slice through the incredibly fire-resistant scales of the Valgang Dragons as if they were non-existent. It wasnt until a muchrger dragon spawn from the ground that Vahn cooled down a bit. However, much like its smaller counterpart, the Red Dragon spewed forth a veritable ser of fire at Vahn that was more than 15m wide andpletely consumed several Valgang Dragons in its path. Vahn, however, waspletely unharmed by the attack andnded in the huge channel it had created before using [Shundo] to appear at the center of its long neck. Vahn could see where the monster core was located, so he appeared right next to its location before reaching his w into its body and removing it as the entire dragon vanished in purple smoke. Satisfied with how things had turned out, Vahn looked the items that were littering the ground while also picking up those that were raining down from the sky. As he had been pushing his [Heart of the Eternal me] to the extremes, including infusing it into his domain, Vahn had created an aura that was hot enough that it had been heating up the entire floor around him for around 513m. The Ill Wyverns were only at the peak of Level 3, and their defenses couldnt tolerate the several thousand degrees of Vahns domain as they writhed about in pain before falling from the sky. Vahn thought it was quite the apocalyptic sight but had already appeased his frustrations and needed to return to the floors above. The height of the ceiling was nearly 500m, but Vahn had a way to negate that as his domain turned a pale gold color as a link of chain emerged from the void and created a rigid line in the air. Vahn used [Shundo] to leap up and used his [Enkidu] as a foothold to reach the hole in the ceiling. It would take some time for other dragons to spawn in the area and pester him, so Vahn wasnt worried about being interrupted. He needed to get out before the holes started to close up, which was why he set such a short time frame for his small venting session. Using his Bih form, Vahn created footholds in the walls of the hole before bounding up with jumps that were strong enough to cause cones of air to break around his body. In less than a minute and a half, Vahn had passed through six floors before arriving at the original hole he had leaped down. With one final leap, Vahn emerged from the hole before extending his hand and cing a barrier between him and the leaping Tiona. Because his body had yet to cool down, she would have burned herself if she got close to him so Vahn had no choice but to prevent her actions as expediently as possible. Tiona smashed into the rtively invisible barrier before rubbing her nose with teary eyes as she said, "Vahn, how cruel..." Vahn became fl.u.s.tered by her words but the other girls had already stepped forward as Riveria scolded, "Look at his body, Tiona, you would have burned yourself quite badly if you continued forward..." Hearing her words, Tiona frowned slightly before saying, "I dont mind getting a little burned though~!" Ais walked over and ced her hand against the barrier before looking down at Tiona and saying, "But Vahn would feel bad if you got burned...and then he would have to heal you..." Tiona reacted as if she had just heard a devastating piece of news and looked at Vahn was an apologetic expression and said, "Sorry, Vahn...cool off quickly, okay~?" Though she seemed genuinely sorry at first, Tiona quickly recovered and bounded up to her feet as she pounded her fist against the barrier. She wasnt the only one either, as both Riveria and Lefiya had walked forward to inspect it as well. Vahn alleviated their curiosity by saying, "Its not as strong as your [Via Shilheim], but it is a practical solution to stop some physical attacks. It wouldnt work if Tiona was serious, but it...was enough at the moment." Vahn still felt awkward seeing Tiona collide into the barrier and walked forward after dispelling his heat and immediately embraced her as he said, "Im sorry, Tiona..." From the side, Fenrir had been watching the events y out from start to finish and couldnt help but feel that Tiona had been a little sneaky this time. Her Master would havee into the stairs when he was ready, but she had jumped out regardless and caused a small incident that guaranteed that her Master would take care of her for a short while. They had all been a little worried about him, which meant they would want to wee him back when he returned, but Tiona had beaten them all to the punch. Though she had suffered a little, she now got to enjoy Masterss pampering as an apology...Fenrir thought she was indeed a very sneaky girl... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Excursiones to an end,Vahn is an angry boi,Sneaky Tiona...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 490 - Triumphant Return

Chapter 490 - Triumphant Return

While they were recuperating their stamina, Vahn exined the details of what he had seen on the 58th Floor and confirmed the ount of the Zeus and Hera Familias. He also talked about the practicality of moving between the floors using the tunnels formed by the Valgang Dragons like a shortcut in the future, something that caused a fair amount of difort amongst the group. Though Riverias [Veil Breath] was very useful, it wasnt guaranteed to protect them from several bursts but Vahn assured her it shouldnt be a problem. He promised to make something that helped to amplify her magic power in the future, while also researching how to create permanant countermeasures for the breath attacks. Though Finn knew the tunnels lead all the way to the 58th Floor, while passing through every floor in between, he had never thought about using them as a short cut before. It seemed a little ridiculous, but Vahns stunt showed that it was definitely possible, though there would have to be some preparations made beforehand. The fact that he had gone all the way down to the 58th Floor and returned in a matter of ten minutes, while also killing six Valgang Dragons, one Red Dragon, and several Ill Wyverns, was a big eye-opener for everyone present. The person that seemed to take the biggest impact, however, was Bete, who was standing at the side with a somewhat paleplexion. He had already agreed to fight with Vahn on the surface, but he realized now that Vahn was probably much stronger than he was. Bete had no way of replicating Vahns feat on his own and he also knew there was no practical way to deal with his [Shundo] either. He was already intending to force Vahn into a brawl, as he wouldnt be able to deal with his ranged attacks for long, but even that seemed like a bad idea if Vahn was able to be hot enough to melt the Dungeon... After resting for a good half-hour, the group made their way into the 51st Floor and pressed forward with the same momentum as they cleared the other Floors. Though they could afford to take it slow, it was already in the afternoon and everyone wanted to return to the 50th Floor before it got toote in the evening. The only thing that slowed their progress slightly was that Vahn had let Fenrir ease some of her own frustrations by joining the fight while Lefiya had started her barrage once again. She was very near the pinnacle of parameter development for her current level, but there was still a little bit of wiggle room. By the time she returned to the surface, Lefiya would be a veritable powerhouse as a Mage because she was effectively growing to standard levels at once. Vahn had been keeping track of her progress, as there was a real chance she might have to Level-up soon, and she was currently at a somewhat monstrous 1779 Magic. Added to her 1998 base Magic, this gave Lefiya a total of 3,777 Magic, which would have put her normally around the peak of Level 4, even though she was only Level 3. With any luck, she could potentially even reach the point where she would have been Level 5, even though she was just about to reach Level 4. It wasnt an exaggeration to say she was nearly a full level ahead of other Mages, and this gap would only continue to grow in the future. One of the biggest changes, however, had been the fact that the thread in Lefiyas body had now reached the thickness of a piece of yarn and her magic power and recovery rate had increased by a marginal rate. Even though she didnt have the [Spirit Healing] Development Ability, Vahn could tell that Lefiyas natural regeneration was nearing the lower ranks of the ability. As for her magic itself, her Radiant Lancer was to the point where it would continue forward until it collided with the Dungeon wall. Even if there were several monsters in between her and the resistant bedrock, the brilliant whilence would continue forward until it carved a decently sized concave hole in the Dungeon wall itself. As for the unfortunate monsters that got caught in its path, the only thing that remained of them were some ssy remains that almost instantly turned into purple dust. Seeing Lefiya killed five ck Rhinos with a single no-chant magic, Finn his a somewhat nk expression on his face as he asked, "That staff is a magic item...isnt it? I had been meaning to ask about it for a while..." Though he had addressed the question to Lefiya, Vahn squeezed her shoulder slightly and said, "It is a weapon I personally created for Lefiya to cover some of her weaknesses regarding magic. You shouldnt worry about the details too much, as it is a private matter. Just knowing she can take care of monsters without having to cast long chants should be enough..." Vahn knew that Finn wanted to ask about the possibility of having more items like Lefiyas staff. Though it would certainly increase thebat potential of the entire expedition, Vahn knew it wasnt a good decision to start feeding the items from the shop into the world. Finn had somewhat expected the answer so he took it in stride and simply dropped the matter for the time being. Though Vahn took a hard-line approach at times, Finn knew he was actually a pretty sensible boy that took the bigger picture into consideration, at least when it suited his own interests. When it came down to creating a true defensive line in the Dungeon, Finn expected Vahn would be one of the people supplying equipment to the people stationed there. It was a good way to incentivize people, as it would also allow them to grow stronger and earn a bit of fame for themselves. This would also increase Vahns reputation as a [Master Smith] and show that he treats the people that follow him well. Though he might not n for it, Finn could see Vahn eventually giving in just to ensure that things runs smoothly in the future... Unaware of Finns machinations, Vahn kept his attention trained on the Dungeon itself as he continued his perpetual pursuit for any signs that their enemies had taken action against them. In the future, Vahn wanted to explore around the Middle Floors more often, as that had been where he met the red-haired woman. He also nned to probe into the artificial dungeon, but only after his strength had increased to a point where he was confident there were few things that could stop him. Every day, twice a day, Vahn would check the orb in his inventory in the hopes that Eva once again awakened. When she finally reappeared, Vahn knew he would be much stronger and, the longer she was dormant, the more he somewhat regretted not learning from her when he had the chance. However, Vahn knew that it was his decisions that allowed him to get much closer to Eva as she likely would have treated their rtionship differently if he truly took her as his Master. He was also able to keep his promise to Hephaestus so, while he somewhat regretted hisck of strength, he believed he had made the best decision at the time. She would undoubtedly awaken in the future, so Vahn just had to exercise a bit of patience until that day came. Based on her personality, Vahn expected it would actually be shortly after the birth of his first child. He felt like Eva wanted him to spend more time with the girls in the real world, as they had be very close at the time, and it seemed like something she would do just to make Vahn focus on what he needed to do. After four hours of travel, as they had taken a bit of time to get their bearings, the group arrived at the stairs leading to the 50th Floor. It was currently 8:38 PM, ording to Vahns system time, so they had made it just in time to reach the camp and enjoy a long nights rest. When they reached the 50th Floor proper, Vahn oriented the group toward the direction of the encampment, as he had previously mapped the entire Floor, before they quickly made their way over. In a few short minutes, the group arrived at the camp and took the direct path leading up the teau so as not to spook the guards. Seeing the arrival of the ten-person party, the watch sounded a lighter rm to alert the camp of the main parties return. Most people were still up at this time, so people quickly gathered to wee the triumphant return of the group. When Finn announced that they had reached the 54th Floor and discovered a new species of nt life, it caused a round of cheers from the entire expedition as a festive atmosphere took over the camp. Always being the type to get drawn in by the atmosphere, Vahn escted things by getting Finns permission to add some alcohol to the impromptu banquet that had been set up. To make matters worse, Vahn also offered arge quantity of food for everyone to eat, something that made Finns brows twitch as he wondered about the capacity of Vahns storage magic. He already knew it wasnt normal, as it wouldnt be able to retain the heat of items and prevent them from spoiling, but he wasnt privy to the full details and was simply left guessing. Even Riveria wouldnt clue him in on any information other than the fact that she had made a vow to not disclose such things, one which had been presided over by Loki herself. Though it might not be obvious to others, Finn could see the signs that Vahn was being put into a position as the leader of the entire Alliance in the future. He had thought about the peculiarity of finding himself under Vahnsmand in the future, as it wouldnt make sense for him to be the one that continually apanied them, it now seemed like it was going to happen much sooner. With the support of the various gods and goddesses of each Familia, as he was the lynchpin, Vahn was in the perfect position to consolidate power as a result of his own ridiculous capabilities. Just the fact that Riveria was so supportive of Vahn already put his own authority in a precarious situation, something Finn would have to adapt to or he would eventually be forced to step down in the future. As he was stillmitted to his role as the Braver for the Pallum people, Finn couldnt afford to lose his position and authority in the near future, so the only thing he could do was backpedal a bit and go with the flow of events as they progress. Developing an antagonistic rtionship with Vahn as a result of his interest in Lili seemed like a particrly foolish thing to do now. Since Vahn had never rescinded his offer to join the work he was creating, Finn decided to try and get along better with him in the future. After all, Vahn was actually a person ofmendable character that was highly thoughtful of other people. It didnt make sense to try and force an issue against him, especially after taking into consideration thepleteck of information Finn had about Vahns true capabilities. Just the surface stuff was already enough to shake him down to the core, and this was likely just the tip of a veryrge iceberg... During the evening festivities, Finn decided to earn a bit of rapport for himself with the expedition by bringing up the fact they would be returning to the surface after resting for one more day. Hearing the news, everyone was much more excited than they had been, as thest few days had been somewhat boring being cooped up inside the encampment. Other than a few of the stronger groups, everyone else had been required to hole up within the small fortification they had created to protect the supplies. This meant they spent a fair amount of time sitting around and ying cards and dice as they eagerly awaited the return of the main group. As Finn had expected, many people became progressively nervous as the days passed, so it was music to their ears hearing about their imminent return. Though they sat with the expedition for the majority of the party, most of the girls eventually retreated to their private tent since there were more than a few men that acted uncouthly when they were drunk. They didnt actually do anything, but most young girls didnt want to be around that type of environment as the stares alone were somewhat frustrating. Vahn himself also left the party, though a littleter, but only after Tione had gotten drunk and had made several attempts to convince him to sneak away from the party. After helping her calm down, Vahn carried Tiones unconscious body back to the tent and set her down on therge futon. He pulled away all the sweat from her body before discarding the small orb of liquid off to the side and returning to the main tent to enjoy a rxing bath with the other girls. Thergest section of their tent had a table, which was big enough to seat everyone, while the rest of the area was taken up by a rtivelyrge wooden bath. Since a normal basin wasnt big enough, Vahn had purchased a bath through the shop that was about 1m deep and could easily hold up to ten people, though it would be somewhat cramped. As the only girls present were Ais, Tiona, Lefiya, Naaza, Lili, and Haruhime, there was more than enough space for Vahn. Mikoto had retired earlier, apparently being somewhat weak to alcohol, and Vahn had seen her passed out on the futon with a silly smile on her face. It was somewhat regrettable because Vahn wished she could smile like that when she was awake. During the bath, Vahn ended up getting assaulted by Haruhime and Lili for a short while before helping each girl, with the exceptions of Naaza and Lefiya, wipe down their bodies. Haruhime had been decidedly less bold this time around, so Vahn was grateful for that and carefully washed her ears for her. Renards had slightly curved fox-like ears withrge tufts of fur in their interiors to prevent fluids for .u.mting inside. To prevent things like infections, cleaning the ears was a very delicate process that required a lot of care and it was somewhat intimate to entrust it to another person. Though Vahn often washed her hair for her, as it was very long and silky smooth to the touch, it wasnt that often that he tended to her ears. As for Lili, she was very easy to clean as there wasnt a lot of surface area for Vahn to cover. Though she tried to make a bit of trouble, she didnt get too out of hand since Fenrir had been eyeing her a bit. After Lili, Vahn washed down Aiss body and once again marveled at her almost ethereal beauty and noticed that she was beginning to develop slightly. Though he approximately knew what she would look like in the future, Vahn had only seen that version of Ais on the pages of a manga and it didnt do a lot of justice when it came to describing the real thing. Vahn wondered how her body would develop further in the future and he felt especially blessed to see the changes with his own eyes. Tiona was up shortly after Ais and made things somewhat interesting by asking Vahn to wash her from behind. Vahn knew she was teasing him a bit, but the view of Tiona from behind made his heart itch and was a very pleasant sight so he indulged her. Fortunately, her b.r.e.a.s.ts werent very well developed so Vahn didnt have to reach far forward to wash the front of her body. He would never say it out loud, unless she specifically asked him in certain contexts, but Vahn thought smaller b.r.e.a.s.ts suited Tiona as they made her seem especially lively. Thest person to receive Vahns care was the uncharacteristically patient Fenrir who immediately reced Tiona shortly after Vahn rinsed her hair. Tiona yfully let herself fall back into the water as a result of Fenrirs invasion before she began to float on the top of the water spread-eagle. It wasnt long before she bumped into someone and, seeing that it was Lefiya, immediately attacked the bashful Elf while offering to help wash her back for her. As for Fenrir, she emted Tionas behavior and asked Vahn to wash her from behind as well. Though he was momentarily hesitant, Vahn had already washed Fenrirs body well more than a hundred times at this point so he didnt mind it too much. Just like Tiona, Fenrir was in a simr condition as a certain trickster goddess and Vahn knew she would likely be stuck like this for all of eternity unless she either died, or he found a solution. There was a great deal Vahn didnt know about his Innates, including his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]. Since it was possible to imbue a record into an entity without a fate, Vahn was able to drastically change the destinies of those that received his names. It also mentioned that they were capable of even exceeding the original record, which meant that further evolution and changes should be possible in the future. At the very least, Vahn wanted Fenrir to learn magic a bit so she would be able to transform her body a bit in the future. Though she wasnt nearly as small as someone like Lili, Fenrir was still rather petite, somewhat shorter than Arnya, and Vahn was very worried about her being hurt when things inevitably escted. As if she had read his mind, Fenrir angled her head up and let her head rest against Vahns chest as she said, "Fenrir will be fine..." in a soft tone. Though he used to be surprised with how much information she received through their bond, Vahn had already grown ustomed to her behavior. He reached up and framed her face before rubbing the bottom of her chin and making her lower jaw quiver slightly before saying, "Lower your head so I can wash your hair..." Fenrir nodded before tilting her head back down and patting the water with her paws in a happy manner as she let Vahn wash her hair... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lefiyas Laserbeams,Finn gives up,Fenrir evolves from Vanargandr into Copycat) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 491 - Toward the Surface

Chapter 491 - Toward the Surface

During the day of rest that had been assigned by Finn, the expedition prepared all of the supplies onto the convoy for theing journey. Since things were already consolidated into one area, it hadnt taken them much time at all so they spent the rest of the day talking about what they would do once they reached the surface. As for Vahn and the girls, with the exception of Mikoto who could be found training outside, they went unseen throughout the day, including during meals. Things had taken a strange turn at some point and Vahn had decided he wanted to pamper the girls more after Lili and Fenrir goaded him into it. He spent the rest day polishing his [Hands of Nirvana] and [Petting] and, by the time the day of the departure came, all of the girls seemed more vibrant than in the past. As they were already very beautiful, cute, and adorable, it was something that everyone within the expedition noticed and it started another round of rumors. Though it wasnt as extreme as some spected, Vahn didnt make any efforts to refute their words and they knew better than to try and badger the girls. He did notice a big change in the fluctuations of some of the women, however, and it was somewhat unnerving to be stared at with what could be described as feverish gazes. Vahn was a very handsome man with high status, a lot of authority, and an incredible amount of wealth. Combined with the fact he could make them more beautiful, Vahn became a very popr existence amongst the female troupe. Since it was very well-known he had a harem, some of the girls that were confident in their beauty thought they might have a chance. However, Fenrirs gaze deterred the majority of them while the more sensible ones recognized the fact that Vahn was already surrounded by a number of capable women, including actual goddesses. Unless they were willing to put themselves in a position to pete against some of the best within the City, their fortune likely wouldnt hold out. Just the fact that Loki, their goddess, was amongst the women surrounding Vahn was a powerful deterrent. Since Loki was somewhat lecherous and licentious by nature, many of the girls had been victimized by her in the past. She would be able to see through their plots rtively easily as well so, while they enjoyed looking and fantasizing, none of the girls had the boldness to approach Vahn. Once everything had been prepared, the expedition reformed the convoy and, after Finn gave the orders to march forward, the journey to the surface officially began. It generally took around five days to reach the 50th Floor, but the return trip could take nearly an entire week as they were transporting carts that were heavy with materials and supplies. Thus far, the expedition had been going on for twenty days, so they were still a little bit ahead of schedule as things had originally been nned for up to a month. Vahns existence within the expedition had caused things to progress much smoother than in the past, but it also elerated events by a great deal. As the majority of the girls from the Hestia Familia were near the limits of their potential, they took the initiative to help transport the supplies instead of trying to engage inbat. Lili was an especially wee addition since she could actually pull a cart that typically needed several people all on her own. Though others had offered to help, Lili wanted to try and increase the proficiency of her [Artel*Assist] while also showing off her strength so that people wouldnt underestimate her. Combined with her [As] Innate ability, Lili was dragging along a cart that weighed nearly 4,000kg on her own. She still needed help for elevated areas, especially on stairs, but was otherwise able to move forward without slowing down the pace of the convoy at all. For many people, this was a somewhat scary sight, because Lilis diminutive size made her look like a small child instead of a physical powerhouse... During the return journey, Vahn had wanted to speed things up a bit so he had allowed invigorating energy to permeate through the convoy to keep everyone in high spirits. To increase his own reputation even further, Vahn would periodically perform feats like raining boulders onto the enemy, spreading waves of fire, or even hurling icy cannonballs at monsters. Unless he replicated Haruhimes [Icicle Edge], Vahn wasnt able to make normal spears of ice that could emte the effects of her magic. Topensate, Vahn had instead decided to makepact cannonballs of ice that were infused with almost pure ice elemental energy. Using his physical strength to throw them, they would crash into enemies and disperse the collected energy into their bodies. As a result, unless they were fire-based or had resistance against ice, parts of their bodies would be instantaneously frozen. It wasnt the most lethal ability, but Vahn was focused more on building proficiency than anything else. For slightly more than two days, which was fast since the return often took three, the convoy continued tirelessly until they reached the safety of the 39th Floor. Vahn realized that reinvigorating people for long periods of time was a bit of a double-edged sword. Though their pace had increased greatly, the mental strain people had suffered during the trip was marginally greater than what they would have experienced dragging things out longer. Fortunately, nobody reallyined about it since they were now closer to the surface even sooner than expected. To make amends, not that anyone was ming him, Vahn purchased a veritable buffet of seafood for everyone and worked side-by-side with the chefs of the convoy to prepare the meals. Since the cooking techniques he made use of were foreign to the majority of the other cooks, Vahn taught them a bit and even spread around the specific recipes he was using. Though it might lead to a food revolution in the future, Vahn didnt think this was a bad thing at all as he was very fond of delicious foods. Though it was now beginning to fade from the forefront of his mind, Vahn could still recall the endless days of nd and tasteless food. Besides, everyone was happier when there was delicious food to eat and it made Vahns reputation within the expedition increase even further. Not only did he provide the materials himself, which had caused a few rumors to begin circting, but he also helped in the preparation. The fact they could be served meals by the Sage Aldrnari made many people feel like he was a very amiable and humble youth. The only time anyone had any real conflict with Vahn was when they said something to one of the girls that often surrounded him. At this point, most people had reigned themselves in even though they had just been teasing them a bit. It was very obvious that Vahn was close with all of the girls present and people werent dumb enough to make an enemy out of the Captain of another Familia, especially when that person was also the Father of their goddess child. Though it might give them a sense of conquest if they were able to seed, it was very obvious that Vahn would probably not take the matterying down. Seeing the methods he employed when dealing with monsters, even those that were confident in their strength found themselves far from his capabilities. Thinking he was able to aplish this when he was Level 3, and taking into consideration his age, many people treated Vahn like a maturing dragon that slept with one eye open... After resting for the evening, the convoy continued the climb in the hopes of reaching the surface within three days. Vahn still helped reinvigorate people, but he also spread calming energy through the crowd to help ease the tensions of their mind when they werent engaged in hardbat. The monsters were getting progressively easier the further they went up, so he had stopped assisting in battle and focused entirely on supporting those at the frontlines. Vahns support was his greatest miracle of all and there was even an incident where someone had taken a spear directly to their diaphragm and would have almost certainly died if Vahn hadnt stepped in to save him. Though people had opened up to Vahn a great deal, there was a noticeable shift that had started to ur the longer they were exposed to his presence. Instead of giving Vahn grateful looks and sharing a few amiable words, people began to look at Vahn with solemn and serious expressions with somewhat respectful eyes. Every time he saved someone, that was someones friend, ally,panion, and potentially even lover. Though many veteran Adventurers knew what it meant to lose someone close to them, that didnt mean they were ustomed to it at all. Vahns intervention made many of them very grateful for his presence and it had started to infect other people with a simr mentality. With everyones morale reaching ever greater heights, the expedition reached the 18th Floor, Rivira, well before the end of the third day. The atmosphere, especially after passing through the water hell of the 27th-25th floor, had reached a critical level and everyone was in high spirits as they invaded Rivira and began bartering goods. As the Loki Familia had epted several missions from those gathered within the small settlement, they set up a small station after setting up their encampment in the forest. Even if there was little chance of it happening, there were always a bold few that might try to steal from the carts in the dead of the night if they stayed within the settlement itself. It was better to have peoplee to them, receive their items, and then send them away than it was to keep everything in the heart of rtively wless territory. As for Vahn, he had been on high alert ever since they reached the Middle Floors and had been inspecting the Dungeon as they progressed higher towards Rivira. He had noticed that the artificial dungeon reappeared near the 25th Floor and there were increasingly more signs of it the higher they climbed. This allowed him to confirm that the artificial dungeon wasnt actually that deep, which meant their enemies had to be using pathways within the Dungeon itself to reach the Deeper Floors. Since they were restricted in their movements in the Deeper Floors, it made sense why they werent able to easily take action against them. Now, however, the enemy could pop up at a variety of locations and could even intermingle with other people since they didnt actually look like monsters. While the Loki Familia had been setting up their camp, Vahn had started exploring the area where he had recorded entrances to the artificial dungeon and began setting up small ping formations that would alert him as long as he was on the 18th Floor. There was a fair chance the enemies would be able to remove the formations, but event his would give Vahn more information about their capabilities. He had been using his highest stealth capabilities and had worn camouge equipment during the process so there was little chance he had been detected through conventional means. If they were still able to find him, it meant they had eyes within the Dungeon and were able to track the location of people through means he was unable to detect presently. To potentially lure them out, Vahn remained near one of the entrances for a few hours until he could feel the angsting from the girls through his bond with them. It was beginning to gette, so they were probably starting to worry about him somewhat. Since his enemies never showed, Vahn left behind a letter pinned to a tree in the event that they had been watching him and simply were unwilling to act. If it were still there in the future, as Vahn had hidden it away from themon line of sight, Vahn would be able to determine if they were truly able to spy on him. Though it wouldnt eliminate the chance they could be watching, it would show they couldnt watch everything. --- Around two hours after Vahn had left the area, in the dead of the night, a figure appeared from the concealed entrance that connected to the artificial dungeon. It was a man with a thin figure that had ayer of lithe muscles adorning his body. He was wearing what could only be described as white tribal attire and even adorned his face with a white skull mask with curved horns. As ifpeting with his outfit, the mans hair was also white and he carried himself with a mboyant and arrogant attitude as he walked forward and ripped the letter from the tree. Opening it up, the man read the contents before crumpling it up into a ball and discarding it. He looked toward the area where the Loki Familia had set up camp with a cruel smile on his face before eventually shaking his head and returning through the same path he came from. --- Though he had been asleep, Vahn had detected when the formation was triggered and it had immediately awoken him from his slumber. Along with his awakening, Fenrir also opened her eyes while Lefiya stirred about slightly. Within the contents of the letter, Vahn had stated, I dont know what your purpose is, but if you are my enemy I will not show you any leniency. If you have the courage, face me directly, as either friend or foe, and well see where each of us stands. I will arrive at that area within ten minutes if you havent fled before then. As the distance was only a few kilometers away, Vahn could cover it in less than a minute even without the use of [Shundo]. However, after just three minutes passed, Vahn felt another ping pass through his mind that made him frown deeply. This almost guaranteed that they were his enemy and showed that they had no intention of facing him directly at all. Vahn disliked schemers greatly and this caused him to feel greater animosity for them. At least he was able to confirm a few of his spections, assuming they werent trying to deceive him, so Vahn wasnt entirely dissatisfied with this development. He now knew they had a way to see within even the safe areas, at least around Rivira, but it didnt seem like they had detected him when he was in stealth. Even now, Vahn could sense that all of his formations were still active and this meant that they either didnt care if he knew when they were entering and exiting their pathways, or they were simply unaware of it. Since the person that read the letter obviously didnt have any intention of confronting him directly, Vahn stroked the back of Fenrirs hair to calm her down and slowly allowed himself to fall asleep. They would be returning to the surface in the morning and Vahn wanted to put the matter behind him for the time being since it wouldnt benefit any of them to worry about cowards. Now that he had reached Level 4, Vahns confidence had greatly increased and the only people he could see himself losing against were the more powerful Level 5s, like Ais, and a few Level 6s. Other than that, the only opponent he somewhat dreaded fighting against was Ottar, because Vahns instincts told him he wouldnt be able to withstand a single serious blow from the man known as the King... Early the next morning, Vahn awoke with everyone else in the expedition as they prepared for the final leg of their journey. They could have easily returned to Orario the previous evening, but they still needed to exchange items with Rivira and it was alreadyte by the time they had finished. Since climbing seventeen flights of stairs with carts wasnt something anyone looked forward to, they didnt mind waiting for one more night before returning to the surface. Once they reached the surface, they would have a two-week period where they werent required to enter the Dungeon at all. People were already making ns for how they nned to spend their vacation while talking about what they intended to buy. Expeditions were very profitable for everyone involved and most of thebatants would be walking away with small bonuses that typically exceeded one-million Valis. Even the Supporters would make several-hundred-thousand Valis while the remaining amount would go to the Loki Familias treasury to purchase the necessary supplies for the next expedition. Even Vahn was nning to have the girls take a decently long break so they could familiarize themselves with their new capabilities and advance their training. Now that they would all be Level 3, or higher, they would have a lot more freedom to move about the City in the future. Though they would still need an escort, while also reporting their intended destinations, it was still good for them to be able to move about more freely in the future. Thus far, Haruhime hadnt really explored the City much and had only ever gone out inrge groups. Now, there were few Adventurers below Level 5 that would even be able to hurt her unless they took her by surprise. Though she might cause a bit of amotion, as she had be increasingly beautiful with the development of her Innate ability, it was a good chance to spread awareness of her existence to other people. The Guild would undoubtedly spread the information of their achievements, but having some public exposure would be beneficial for both the girls and the Familia. Vahn expected he would have to apany them during the asion, but his schedule had opened up a fair amount for the foreseeable future. Until the orb awakened, Vahn would be holed up inside the Manor working on his research and the only times he nned to leave were during future expeditions and to apany the girls when they went out. He wanted toplete the prototypes for the girls armor, research a few of the things he had taken an interest in, and also develop his ownwork since his clubhouse should be finished by now. The most important thing on his schedule though, other than spending some time with the girls that had patiently awaited their return, was to leave the City and name the Green Dragon that had been safely stowed away in his Inventory... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dont mess with Vahns girls (O,...,O),Cowards,Slumbering Dragon) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 492 - Peace

Chapter 492 - Peace

After a four hour climb up nearly 2km of stairs, the expedition finally reached the surface and Vahn got to experience what it was like to move a massive haul of materials via escort through crowded streets. Since it was early in the morning, there were numerous people entering the Dungeon and they all cleared the path and apuded the expeditions return. The main members of the Loki Familia led the way with Finn holding a massive banner and it was quite the sight to behold. Vahn had been tempted to leave after a few parting words by using Fafnir, but he decided not to steal the spotlight from the Loki Familia this time around. Once the convoy reached Babel za, they came to a temporary stop as it hade time for the other Familia that had apanied them to part ways. Vahn stood with the group as Finn thanked everyone for their assistance while also expressing interest to work with them in the future. He had even taken the initiative to open the floor to Vahn for a little while, something that had caught him slightly off guard, but he managed to say a few encouraging words to the gathered leaders. Vahn was somewhat fond of the Hephaestus Familia cksmiths and even promised to do a demonstration for them in the future. It wasnt umon for [Master Smiths] to do annual demonstrations for aspiring cksmiths and many people were interested to see Vahns actual skill level since he was so young. After everyone began parting ways, Finn walked over and said, "The girls will be returning to the Twilight Manor to celebrate with the Familia and get their Status Boards updated. It looks like Lefiya had reached her peak, though Im sure youre more aware of that than anyone, so well be celebrating her rise as a Second-ss Adventurer. Im certain there are things you have to attend to, but I expect Ill see you early tomorrow morning when youe to receive them?" Vahn had already known that the girls would be returning to the Twilight Manor temporarily, as they had talked about it within their tent, so he simply nodded his head before shaking hands with Finn and saying, "Ill be bringing a surprise by, so look forward to it." Hearing Vahn mention a surprise, Finns expression broke slightly before he smiled widely and returned to the convoy and began leading the way once again. Vahn was left behind with Fenrir, Haruhime, Naaza, Lili, and Mikoto as they watched the departure until they had reached the opposite side of the tower. Vahn then turned to the patiently waiting girls and smiled before saying, "Were going to take a short detour before we return to the Manor, okay?" As the voice of reason within the group, Naaza asked, "Where are we going?" She didnt n to oppose Vahn at all, but she couldnt help but ask the question that was on everyones minds. As if to answer her question, the shadows at their feet expanded greatly as Fafnir popped up out of the ground and spooked several nearby Adventurers and pedestrians. Vahn rubbed its snout before answering, "I have a promise to keep to one of our allies, and Id like to take care of it before we get busy over the next few days." Vahn still wanted to surprise the girls a bit, so he was being a little roundabout in his exnation. Haruhime, Mikoto, and Fenrir had some idea about what he was talking about, but Naaza and Lili werepletely in the dark about the situation since they hadnt apanied Vahn during the Bloodsaurus hunt. After mounting Fafnir, Vahn didnt immediately depart the City because he didnt want to make a bigger scene by circ.u.mventing thews that governed every resident. Though it caused a bit of panic amongst the guards, Vahn arrived at the West Gate of Orario before filling out the paperwork for their departure from the City. Things went especially fast because of the pressure people felt from Fafnirs presence. Even though it didnt do anything to actually intimidate them, Fafnir looked inarguably like an evil dragon and its appearance was enough to unnerve weaker people. Most of the guards didnt exceed Levels 2-3, so the pressure from a Level 5 Dragon was a bit much for them. Vahn exined that he would check back in through the same gate so that they could inform others not to panic when a dragon appeared outside the gateter. Afterward, they mounted Fafnir once again before flying to one of therge structures that dotted the horizon to the northwest of the City. Eden was a mystical looking continent so there were several umon structures that couldnt be found on Earth, not that Vahn would know for certain. One of the features was a series of pir like objects that erupted from the ground at slight angles. The reason people called them pirs was because they were either cylindrical or squarish in shape and the peaks were also t. As for why you wouldnt see such a thing in other records, it was because many of them were several kilometers tall and there was no way they were formed naturally. Fafnirnded atop one of the massive pirs that were more than 7km wide before everyone climbed down to the surface. They werent the first ones to reach the top of one, as some people actually used them as a form of training by climbing to the top, but it was still a spectacle to behold, being able to look out over the nearby City from several kilometers in the air. Vahn eventually wanted to take them all freefalling one day, but there were other things to take care of right now so he pulled out therge monster core from his inventory and began infusing his energy into it. While he was infusing his energy into the core, which was taking a fair amount of time, Vahn exined, "When we entered the Dungeon to hunt Bloodsaurus, we hade across a sentient Green Dragon..." Vahn had already told them about this in the past, he was just reminding them so they understood the situation a bit better. Once it seemed like everyone recalled this fact, Vahn continued by saying, "I had promised to allow it to see the surface and live a lifestyle free frombat as much as possible. From here onwards, please treat this dragon as one of ourpanions and look after it so it understands the kindness of others...Fafnir, since youre a dragon as well, Ill be relying on you to look after your sibling, okay?" Hearing that it would have a newpanion, Fafnir roared out with its mouth with a terrible roar as a childish voice resonated in everyones minds, ("Yay~! Leave it to me, Vahn, Ill take care of them to the best of my ability~!") As if not to be left out, Fenrir pumped her paws in an excited manner and said, "Fenrir will also look after the Green Dragon as the big sister!" Then, as if realizing something, Fenrir tilted her head and asked, "Master, are you going to make the Green Dragon a girl or a boy?" Vahn had been thinking about that for thest few days as well, but he eventually settled on just naming the Green Dragon without thinking about its gender at all. He knew monsters could be genderless, so he would leave it to the Green Dragon itself to decide what it wanted to be in the future. However, he couldnt help but shake the feeling it would end up as a girl while Fafnir would likely be a boy, as its childish voice had taken on a more masculine intonation as ofte. Even as a Xenos, which is what Vahn assumed the Green Dragon to be, it had a soft and somewhat womanly voice so Vahn figured that is how it identified itself. To answer Fenrirs question, Vahn finished infusing his energy into the monster core and said, "Ill leave it up to the Green Dragon to make that decision. I should have consulted you and Fafnir about it bef-" Before Vahn could finish his words, Fenrirs hair stood on end and she said, "Fenrir is super happy to be a girl~! If Fenrir had been a boy, she wouldnt have been able to spend so much time with Master!" Vahn was slightly surprised by Fenrirs outburst but he didnt have much time to address her as a Green Dragon nearly 12m in length appeared after arge cloud of purple dust formed its body. When it opened its blue eyes, the Green Dragon looked toward the sky and dazed for a moment before a soft voice sounded out in a low growl, "The sky is so beautiful and vast...". Everyone was brought to a temporary silence, as abination of the sudden appearance of anotherrge dragon and the sadness they could hear in its tone. If the Green Dragon had tear ducts, it might have started crying as a result of seeing the cloudless sky above. Like most Xenos, it longed for the light of the surface and this was the first time it had been able to realize its dream. After staring at the sky for a short while, the Green Dragon turned its head toward Vahn before leaning forward and nuzzling against him in an affectionate manner as it said, "My Master, you have kept your promise...thank you...". Vahn used his [Hands of Nirvana] and [Petting] tofort the dragon, something it seemed to be somewhat startled by, as he said, "Ive only kept part of my promise so far, and Im about to make good on the second part. To ensure that others are able to ept your presence, Im going to bestow upon you a name. You should know that the name I give you can give you great power, or it can change your fate to guarantee you can experience the peace you desire. Depending on your choices, you can even be humanoid and take on the appearance of a man or woman...its all up to you." Hearing Vahns words, the Green Dragon opened its eyes with a slightly contemtive look as it turned to observe Fafnir and Fenrir. It could sense that they were the same as it was, monsters that hade to serve Vahn. It didnt know the name of the dragon, but the Green Dragon felt an instinctive fear towards it and knew it wouldnt be able to fight it at all. Even the small Fenrir had be much stronger since thest time the Green Dragon had seen her, so she knew Vahns words were true. Aftering to a decision, the Green Dragon turned to Vahn and said, "I will ept the fate my Master bestows me...just know that I do not like fighting...though I do desire the power to protect myself and others..." Vahn smiled before asking, "Do you have a preference about being a boy or a girl...or perhaps youd like to be genderless? Im not sure if Ill ever be able to change it in the future, so youll have to consider the matter seriously." The Green Dragon c.o.c.ked its head slightly before saying, "I am a female, even in my past life, so Id like to remain as such. As for my form, it doesnt matter to me that much as long as Im able to live a peaceful life..." Since the dragon wanted to be a female, Vahn respected its decision and began to form an image in his mind. There were surprisingly very few records he could find about dragons that protected nature, but that didnt mean there werent any. As part of an experiment, though it might have been rude to conduct it without permission, Vahn harbored the desire that it would be able to change form in the future. If it truly obtained the ability to do so, Vahn figured he would be able to glean some understanding from the ability and potentially even teach it to Fafnir in the future. Fafnir was still an adolescent dragon, which meant it would still grow muchrger in the future. Vahn was worried it might even reach more than 40m and it would be very difficult for it to move above on the surface. Its weak spot also grew in proportion to its size, so Vahn wanted to find a way to help it shrink its body so it would be safer. Some of the names Vahn had researched came up with results about a peaceful dragon of dreams and nature, named Ysera, a guardian of the mortal ne, Treva, and the more preeminent of the earth dragons, Gaea and Terra. Vahn knew there was a powerful primordial goddess by the name of Gaea, so he was somewhat worried about borrowing the name and inadvertently offending someone. Though he would be borrowing the name from a dragon from a different record, Vahn still had a few concerns about it. As for Treva, it might give the Green Dragon a lot of power, but it might also bind her to a fate of inevitable conflict. Thest name on his list was simply a nature spirit named Evergreen, and Vahn was curious what would happen if he wanted her to stay a dragon while giving her the name of a powerful nature spirit... Eventually deciding it would be best to take into consideration the Green Dragons desire for a peaceful life, Vahn looked up and asked the dragon itself, "I can name you Evergreen, which would give you power over nature and nt life, or I can name you Terra, which would give you dominion over the earth itself if you be strong enough. Neither would require you to fight, but both names give you great potential..." The Green Dragon blinked itsrge eyes once before asking, "Can I choose Terra Evergreen as my name? They both seem like good names and I do not wish for either to go to waste..." Hearing the Green Dragons question, Vahn found his mind had nked somewhat before thought began to rapidly bounce around in his head. Out of curiosity, Vahn opened up his system shop and did a search for Terra Evergreen and found several books and items rted to entities with that existence. Vahn was somewhat worried that the Green Dragon might end up being named after a person from a different record, one which had nothing to do with dragons, and it seemed like he had good reason to be. Since he didnt want to read through every book, Vahn decided to trust in the nature of his skill since it had even been able to make Fenrir into an adorable girl simply because he wanted the evolution to be cute. Vahn smiled before nodding his head and saying, "Well go with that then...from this point onward, you shall be known as Terra Evergreen, Dragon-Avatar of the Earth, and Guardian of Nature..." The instant his words finished, a vortex of energy began to envelop the Green Dragon and Vahn as powerful winds formed atop the surface of the Pir. Fortunately, the girls were much stronger now and they had the protection of Fafnirs magic to block the turbulent energy. It wasnt nearly as chaotic as Fafnirs and Vahn felt a gentle warmth spreading from the Green Dragon as her form shrank a great deal. After a bit of time passed, the 12m dragon had shrunken down into a sphere 3m in diameter as roots began growing from the ground and twining around it. The roots began to sprout branches from which rainbow-colored flowers began to bloom from. Vahn could smell an incredibly calming fragrance spread through the air as the turbulent energy immediately came to a stop, reced instead by a gentle breeze. The entire top of the Pir erupted with nt life as the cold atmosphere now permeated a spring-like warmth as a sea of flowers was formed throughout the entire 7km radius atop the Pir. The green energy that had formed into a sphere began to solidify until it looked like a piece of pure green amber with a shadowy figure located in its core. The energy in the air hadpletely stabilized and there was a very strange yetforting sense of peace that had enveloped everyone present. Vahn felt like there would be nothing better in the entire world than simplyying down in the field of flowers and enjoying the sunshine as he counted the clouds or took a long nap. However, he was more interested in the emerald-green amber that had been entwined with magical roots. Though they looked normal at first nce, there were emerald-green lines that grew along the roots that were full of vitality and life. Vahn felt like they would be incredibly valuable materials for alchemy but decided not to concern himself with it as he waited for Terra to emerge from the amber. He instinctually knew she would awaken very soon and turned his attention to the Unit Management to check her status in the meantime... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (Terra Evergreen) Age: 7 months 19 days (Ageless) Race: True Dragon Level: 4 Loyalty: 92 Soul Strength: Tier 1 (Named Familiar) Karma: - State: [Active], [Chrysalis] Skills: [Avatar of Earth:Innate(B)], [Guardian of Nature:Innate(C)], [Pacifism:C], [Aroma Therapy:B], [Healing Sap:C] [Terra Evergreen] A unique entity formed from the amalgamation of two records, The Earth Dragon, Terra, and the Queen of the Spirits, Evergreen. As an entity formed to be the embodiment of peace, they are unable to exercise their might in the majority ofbat situations but have incredible support potential. Within a given area, they are able to exercise rudimentary control over nature, with their power growing further the longer their roots are embedded within the soil. Proper nourishment could even give them full control over the, so take proper care of the one who bears this record, lest you face the wrath of the itself! [Avatar of the Earth] Rank: Innate(B) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* Passive: Allows the user to exercise dominion over thend in a given area. Proper nourishment is required to sustain their growth and they can be sick if thend in the area is polluted. Active: Strengthens allies within their territory while weakening enemies. [Guardian of Nature] Rank: Innate(C) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* Passive: Nourishes nt life and greatly elerates their growth. Active: Creates a Nature Spirit Guardian that siphons natural energy in the surroundings to defeat enemies. [Pacifism] Rank: C Use: Increases parameters when out ofbat. Sharply decreases parameters if the user builds negative emotions. [Aroma Therapy] Rank: B Use: Allows the user generates a fragrance that is pleasant to all entities. Calms the mind of those that smell the fragrance and reminds them of fond memories. [Healing Sap] Rank: C Use: Allows the user to produce sap that can be applied to wounds to rapidly regenerate damaged tissue. Can also be ingested and has a vor reminiscent of honey and sugar dew. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: The sky is so beautiful...,Combining Records,Every teamp needs a good support) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 493 - Natural Beauty

Chapter 493 - Natural Beauty

After about ten minutes of patiently waiting, during what everyone simply sat around and enjoyed the warm atmosphere, the emerald-green amber began to glow slightly before a crack emerged. Though it had appeared to be one solid object, after the crack appeared, an aromatic fluid began draining from the sphere that began to rapidly dissolve the outer shell. Vahn was tempted to collect a bit of it so he stored some of the running fluid into a vial before stowing it away in his Inventory. It would take a little while for the system to analyze it, but Vahn could sense an incredible amount of vital energying from it and assumed it would be useful. Though they could see the person within long before it hadpletely drained, it had taken a little while for her to bepletely revealed. Contained within the sphere was a mature looking woman with swirling runic formations covering her body in a strange pattern. They glowed with a subtle green glow and Vahn found them reminiscent of the veins that ran along the roots that had surrounded the cacoon she had been contained within. Her most striking features were the leafy-green hair that fell from her head in a free-hanging and elegant manner with slight curls and the small pair of wood-like horns that grew above her temples. As if to emphasize her existence as a Dragon-Avatar of the Earth and Guardian of Nature, there were actually leaves growing within her hair and incredibly fine scales covering her forearms and legs that were almost indiscernible from her normal skin if not for their gradient coloration. Though Vahn couldnt see it directly, he could see a green tail growing out of her backside that had the same type of scales except they were a much deeper green in color. The most surprising thing of all, however, was the fact that two extra appendages loosely hung from her lower back and it was easy to understand that they were a pair of wings that were distinctly different from any dragon Vahn had ever seen. Instead of leathery skin and scales, the wings actually looked closer to something that a bird would have except that the plumage was predominantly green and the looked more like long leaves instead of normal feathers. By the time the liquid had drainedpletely, Terra had fallen to the bottom of the root-like nest and her lower body was concealed by the remnant pool of fluid that remained behind. With the incredible vitalitying from the pool, Vahn likened it to a spring of life and it seemed like Terra was absorbing it into her body as the emerald green liquid slowly turned transparent like water. Before the process had finishedpletely, she lifted up her body somewhat weakly and revealed her figure that had previously been curled up in a fetal position. Though Vahn would describe her as a mature woman based on her facial features, her b.r.e.a.s.ts were somewhat smaller than his initial spection. Though they were still arger B-Cup, Vahn had felt like they should have beenrger for some reason but it was still interesting to see that the runes covering her body had left the somewhat plump looking mammary ns unscathed and there were small rosy protrusions marking their center. Terra eventually opened her eyes and revealed a pair of stark-blue eyes that glowed slightly and had a pair of vertical slits like a dragon. With the bright eyes and bronze skin, framed by the leafy-green hair, she was a strikingly beautiful woman that had a distinctly exotic feeling with her dragon-like qualities. Though he had missed it earlier, her nails were somewhatrger than normal and looked like the petals of a lily as they transitioned from pink to white. They came to scary looking points and Vahn could sense that they carried medicinal properties, which was a little strange since he had somewhat expected it to be closer to a poison. Most notably, however, was the incredible fragrance that was almost intoxicating and seemed to make everyone that smelled it somewhat reminiscent. Even Vahn was briefly reminded of the memory of his mother and it wasnt until Terra began speaking that his awareness returned. Seeing everyone around her in a very different light, as her own perspective had changed from a giant dragon to a woman around 175cm tall, that was currently sitting on the ground, Terra smiled and said, "I feel like everything about me has changed...it is a very interesting feeling..." As she spoke, Terra was inspecting her own body with interest and noticed that she had taken on several humanoid traits. However, she had a feeling like this was a temporary thing and her instincts told her she could be muchrger if she desired. Following this instinct, the runic lines on Terras body began to release a brilliant light as another sphere of green emerged and expanded in size. Momentster, her form had changed to a dragon that was more than 14m long and had distinctly different features than the previous Green Dragon. Vahn had been somewhat caught off guard by the sudden transformation as he had been nning to greet Terra and wee her into the world. He quickly recovered his senses as a wide grin appeared on his face because Terra was indeed able to transform, seemingly at will. Her dragon-form was 14m long and her wingspan looked like it reached close to 20m with massive feathery wings that almost looked like a canopy of leaves. Her body became covered in beautiful green scales that were slightly different in coloration and the small wooden horns on her head had grown into a branching crown around her head. She was so vibrant and full of life that there was even ayer of moss covering her back and flowers had started to bloom on her body that was exceptionally streamlined and thinpared to Fafnir. As for her eyes, they retained a simr look except for the fact they had increased in size and seemed to possess a great deal ofpassion and wisdom. She was a quadripedal dragon that had five ws on each hand with simr lily-like ws and the aroma she emitted had increased in intensity by a fair amount. Everywhere her ws touched the ground, grass would begin to grow thicker and flowers would start to bloom shortly thereafter. Terra released a pleasant-sound from her long and slender neck that sounded like a soft purr as she said in a simrly gentle voice as her human form, "It seems like I can still be a dragon...this is a very pleasant and familiar feeling, though it seems my body has undergone several changes..." Terra stretched her body and all the scales stood up slightly as they began to vibrate in different directions as they emted the sounds of nature. It sounded like leaves being rustled by the wind and it actually caused her aroma to spread even further, to the point where Vahn could actually see a visible mist emerging from beneath her scales. From the side, a childish voice suddenly rang out in everyones head as Fafnir said, ("So beautiful...little sis is so beautiful~!") Hearing its voice, Terra turned her head to Fafnir and c.o.c.ked her head to the side before releasing a pleasant-soundingughter as she said, "It is an interesting thing, to be called little sis by such an adorable sounding dragon..." To clear up any misunderstandings, Vahnmented, "Fafnir is a little over four years old, while Fenrir is slightly over twelve. From what I can tell, youre only seven months old..." Terra shifted her attention back to Vahn by swiveling her head in a gentle arc as she said, "Perhaps, but I had lived more than thirty years in my previous life...though I suppose that doesnt mean much. Very well, I will be the little sister, even though my big brother seems somewhat cute~." Though Fafnir wasnt actual male, it had referred to itself as the little brother of Fenrir and Tina in the past, so it wasnt incorrect for Terra to call it as such. Fafnir seemed to be very pleased as it stamped its feet up and down, but Fenrir seemed to want to rify something as she stepped forward and raised her paw before saying, "Terra, Im Fenrir, you can call me Big Sis~! Lets look after Master properly from now on, okay!?" Terra traced her gazed over to Fenrir and looked down at the small girl that made her feel an incredible sense of danger previously. Even after her body had undergone such a drastic change, Terra still felt intimidated by the small girl so she nodded her head and said, "Very well, Big Sis...its good to have two dependable older siblings to watch over me..." Fenrir smiled and patted her chest proudly as she said, "Thats right, Fenrir will protect you from now on! As long as you are a good girl, Fenrir will always be nice to her siblings!" Terra seemed to want to ask what it meant to be a good girl but decided to leave such questions forter as it felt like her energy was draining rather quickly. Though she didnt feel any difort in her dragon form, as it was closer to what she was used to, Terra realized the energy consumption was much greater than normal and she felt somewhat empty at the moment. It wasnt an incorrect feeling either, as her transformation from the Green Dragon into her current form had actually consumed a massive amount of her energy while the rest had escaped into the ground below to nourish the nts around her. As she was feeling tired, Terra emitted the same green light for the third time as her body rapidly shrank and returned to her human form once again. This time, however, she was standing on her own two feet without any feeling of shame or difort. Vahn could now see that runes extended all the way down her legs but seemed to leave her abdomen untouched while there was a strange pattern around her groin that looked like aurel leaf pattern. She didnt have any pubic hair to speak of, and her lower body seemed surprisingly muscr with slightly wider h.i.p.s than normal. Vahn wanted to see the rest of her body so, after a small hesitation, he asked, "Terra, do you mind turning around so I can look at your wings and tail?" Hearing Vahn mention her wings and tail, Terra spread them out and they reach nearly 4m wide, more than twice her height at 175cm. She then whipped her tail as if testing its feel beforementing, "It feels very strange to have wings and a tail in this form...its like all my weight is centered around my lower body?" as she turned around to let Vahn get a better view. Even though he earned some strange looks from the girls, Vahn couldnt help but swallow slightly when he saw the somewhat muscr and plump butt of Terra. She had a lightyer of scales covering the outside of her legs, but her butt itself was entirely untouched and was slightly paler than the rest of her body. As for her wings and tail, Vahn was somewhat shocked to see how muscr her back was and how developed her lower-back and abdominal muscles were. Instead of growing from the shoulders, Terras wings had supporting bones and muscture located underneath her ribs. With his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see that she had nearly three times the amount of muscle groups in her torso and it was obvious she could exercise a lot of power from her lower body and wings. Her tail itself stuck out from her back slightly instead of following a natural curve and she had a line of scales that covered her lower back and continued up her spine. Vahn thought it was a very interesting sight that only enhanced her exotic beauty, and he was somewhat interested in the structure of her body in general. Unlike the bones of birds, which were somewhat light and hollow, Terra actually had a lot of segmented bones that likely made her body incredibly flexible and the energy in her body, though Vahn could see it was diminishing, was full of vitality and what he could only describe as life elemental energy. Walking forward, Vahn asked, "Can you spread your wings again?" before carefully watching how the muscles stretched out as she extended her wings. Vahn had a slight urge to pluck one of Terras feathers but decided against it since he didnt want to give her any bad memories so soon after she obtained a new form. Since it would be bad to let Terra continue walking around in the buff, Vahn looked through his shop and purchased a green robe-like dress for her to wear. Since he had purchased it with her in mind, it actually had variousyers of fabric that dr.a.p.ed over her wingsfortably with sps and belts that secured around her tail. Vahn was always amazed how the system could adapt the items for use by other races and it was exceptionally useful for times like this. Handing the robe to Terra, Vahn exined, "Since you can take on a human form, you should stay like this and try to get used to it as much as possible. There are various girls located at the Hearth Manor, which will be your new homes, and they will teach you how to behave like a woman and what to take into consideration when you associate with others." Terra received the robe from Vahn and inspected it with curiosity before a vibrant smile appeared on her face and she said, "This is the first gift I received from Master, I will cherish it always..." Having a beautiful girl say such words to him, Vahn felt a bit of pressure rise in his nose as he looked to Naaza and Haruhime before saying, "Please help Terra get dressed...and make sure not to teach her anything strange, okay?" Unless she died, Terra would be apanying Vahn for a very long time and he had some expectation that she would eventually grow closer to him. For now, however, Vahn wanted her to just focus on adapting to a normal lifestyle and receive an education before things like that became an issue. Though she had lived for more than thirty years in her previous life, Terra was inarguably the youngest girl Vahn associated with, and he even nned to take her into the orb in the future so she can mature a bit and study magic with Eva. She seemed like a very intelligent girl so Vahn had high hopes for her future, especially since it seemed like she would be a powerful guardian that could watch over the Manor, or potentially even Haven, in the future. After the girls finally figured out the mechanics behind the robe, Terra was now clothed and Vahn couldnt help but nod his head as he gave her an appreciative look and said, "That kind of clothing suits you, though Ill leave it to you to decide the type you like to wear in the future. I may not look like it, but Im actually a capable [Master Smith] that also specializes in making clothing. When the timees, Ill make you a personal outfit that can bond with your soul so you can wear it between your transformations. In the societies on the surface, it is inappropriate to be walking around n.a.k.e.d in your human form, so please keep that in mind." Though Terra felt somewhat ufortable in the new clothes, she simply smiled in response to Vahn and said, "Yes, Master, I understand..." as she stretched her wings in an attempt to adapt to her new body. Vahn understood a few her concerns and walked forward before cing his hand atop her head and infusing energy into her body. Terras eyes opened slightly before she closed them with a pleased expression on her face. Vahn took this time to inspect around her temples a bit because he was somewhat curious about the wood horns that wereing out of her head. He could see they were attached to her skull but there were veins running through them that actually connected to the patterns on the rest of her body. With his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could tell that Terra had two different types of energy in her body that intermixed with her normal source energy. It was difficult to tell what they were, but Vahn defined them by his feelings andbeled them as Life Energy and Nature Energy. Thergest flow was that of the Life Energy, as it was the basic structure of her body that was fueled by her source energy, which pooled near her heart instead of her navel, simr to Fafnir. As for the Nature Energy, it was contained in the runes and the subdermal veins that covered her entire body. Even in her human form, as she was currently barefoot, the grass was constantly growing underneath Terras feet and it was very obvious it was an effect of her Innates. One thing Vahn was curious about was her [Healing Sap] ability, as it was the only thing he couldnt make sense of at the moment. He assumed it had something to do with the nts she grew, which would be very beneficial if they could cultivate it, but he decided to ask since she should know the answer instinctually. In her new form, Terra could consume a ridiculous amount of energy now so it was taking a while for Vahn to replenish her reserves. He even had to ingest a few mana recovery potions in the process. When he was nearly finished, Vahn asked in a casual manner, "You have a unique ability called [Healing Sap], and I was curious about how its produced. Can you tell me?" Terra opened her eyes and didnt seem to mind the question at all as she smiled slightly and said, "Ive never used it before, but I believe my body naturally produces it and stores it in an organ located in my lower body. I can try excreting some if youd like." Though it might have been a slip in her choice of words, Vahn had an eerie premonition and turned his [Eyes of Truth] back to Terra and inspected her lower body. Though she had a specialized stomach, Terra was more nt-based than truly human and she didnt have themon digestive organs at all. Instead, Vahn traced her metabolic processes and could describe them as a filter thatpressed the ingested nutrients as it was converted by her body into a pool of purified Life Energy...located near her butt. Her organs were fundamentally different than a persons and it looked like, rather than actual excrement, the supposed honey-like liquid was secreted from Terras butt... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Just ording to Keikaku,I wonder if she can fly with those wings?,Red Alert, Keikaku has gone awry!!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 494 - Changes at Home

Chapter 494 - Changes at Home

The smile on Vahns face had frozen up a bit but he eventually managed to thaw out and say, "No, its fine, you dont have to worry about it. However, I may...ask for your assistance in the future?" Vahn knew Terra would eventually have to relieve her body of the rtively valuable fluid and he was wondering how the organ functioned in her dragon form. It was a very awkward part of the body to obtain the sap from, but it wasnt as though Terra was actually a human so he would have to get over his difort eventually. For the time being, however, Vahn would ask for the assistance of Riveria or... As Vahn was thinking about the reliable High Elf, he could feel a cold sweat on his brow as Sis immediately said, (*Im sorry, Vahn, Ipletely forgot about that matter...*) Though Sis was very reliable most of the time, she was still part of Vahn and could make mistakes and oversights on asion. She had been analyzing data for Vahn earlier and had forgotten to remind him that he promised to let Riveria observe the naming ceremony. He had been so intent of taking care of it right after reaching the surface that his confidence had thrown her off. It happened very rarely, but this wasnt the first time Sis had made a mistake, not that it was actually her responsibility to remember things for him. Vahn would have to apologize to Riveria tomorrow when he introduced her to Terra... After shaking the image of Riverias cold gaze from his mind, Vahn gave Terra onest pat on the head before pulling his hand away. The corners of her eyes twitched slightly and she had a somewhat sad expression on her face before smiling gently. Vahn returned her smile and said, "Dont worry, I treat my Familiars like my actual family, so I will pamper you a little in the future..." Terras ears twitched in response to his words and Vahns eyes were drawn to the pointed ears that were actually lined with leafy-green scales that made them blend in with her hair. They were so simr that Vahn hadpletely overlooked them earlier because of how curly and long Terras hair was. It extended nearly to the middle of her back, stopping just before her wings sprouted, and even her bangs nearly reached her brows. Terra was a very interesting woman, but Vahn would wait until she was morefortable in her form, and had more loyalty toward him before he approached her in a studious manner. For the time being, he would let her adapt to the changes in her life while trying to ensure she can enjoy the peace she sought as the Green Dragon. Looking toward the other girls, who had slightly dazed expressions Vahnughed and said, "Okay, I think its time for us to return home. Remember, Terra is part of our family from now on, so look after her until she matures. Shell need everyones help for her education, and make sure you dont teach her anything strange!" Though Vahn had already said it once, he felt like he needed to emphasize it seeing Haruhimes mischevious smile. Afterward, everyone climbed on Fafnirs back to prepare for the return trip, everyone except for Terra that is. As she watched the others climb aboard Fafnir, Terra actually felt a strange emotion that made her a little anxious, especially when she saw Vahn board as well. She didnt understand the reason, but it felt a little lonely and she was somewhat envious of the happy look on Fafnirs expressionless face. Though other people might not be susceptible to its emotions, Terra could see through it and Fafnir was obviously very proud to be giving everyone else a ride. As Vahn turned to look toward her, Terras frown turned into a smile and she said, "I havent had the opportunity to spread my wings since obtaining this form. Ill follow behind, though please dont fly too quickly until I get used to things. My body feels a little unbnced in my current state..." Hearing her words, Vahns brows raised slightly before an intrigued expression appeared on his face and he asked, "Are you sure you can fly in that form?" Though her wings were 4m wide, Vahn didnt think they would be able to support Terras weight. Because her bones werent hollow like a bird, Terra was actually much heavier than her appearance might indicate. He hadnt verified it himself, but she was likely close to 170kg, much heavier than a normal person. Terra didnt seem to be worried at all and simply spread her wings and the feathers began to rustle slightly before she spread her arms to stabilize herself. Without actually needing to p her wings, much like Fafnir, Terra lifted off the ground and Vahn could see mana flowing in a loop underneath her wings to allow her flight. Seeing that she was actually capable of replicating the feat in her human form, Vahns intrigue was ignited and he began considering making a wing-suit in the future. He could imagine the twins, Maemi and Emiru, flying around the sky in the Valkyrie armor he was going to forge for them and it was an awe-inspiring sight, even though it was just in his mind. After wobbling about for a bit, Terra pped her wings once and lifted herself nearly 30m into the air in an instant before spread her wings wide to stop her eleration. Though she had shot above them, her voice still carried easily as she said, "It is very strange, but I think Ill be able to get used to it with a little bit of practice..." Vahn had noticed her speed was actually quite fast, which made sense considering she was a Level 4 monster evolved by the Akashic Tome. He wasnt sure how the two records influenced her growth, but she was already very powerful even without the blessing of a god. With her human form, she would be able to obtain the blessing in the future and this would promote her growth even further, at least in theory. Vahn stroked Fafnirs back, as it had been focusing its gaze on Terra in the sky with a somewhatpetitive glint in its eyes. Fafnir seemed very fond of Terra, but it also had the natural pride of a dragon that often shone through. It was a little concerning to think about, but Vahn felt like it had been influenced by his tendency to show off a bit, even though they didnt interact that often. During the exhibition, Fafnir had even gotten a little carried away and had taunted Riveria quite a bit, something Vahn had lectured it onter on. Now that it had apanion, one which wasnt that much weaker than itself, Fafnirspetitive spirit was burning even stronger. With Vahns signal, Fafnir spread its own wings and sent out a powerful gust before shooting up into the air with a fierce momentum. However, as Terra had requested, it didnt actually fly that fast and their pace was closer to a glide than elerated flight. Fafnir could easily reach upwards of 4,000km/h, but their current pace was less than 350km/h. Terra seemed to be able to keep up, but her hair was obviously getting in her way since she couldnt control her own wind barrier properly. As she was still adapting to her body, this included her control over her own energy and she couldnt form an energy barrier to prevent her hair for fluttering about chaotically. Vahn watched her flight with a bit of concern as she held both of her hands to her face to prevent her somewhat long sideburns from poking her in the eyes. Since she wouldnt be able to hear him otherwise, Vahn sent her an order to use the wake of Fafnir as a shield since it created a somewhat calm cone of air behind it as it cut through the wind. Following Vahns advice, Terra flicked her wings before tumbling through the air as she dropped into position behind Fafnir in a surprising disy of skill. Even though she wasnt used to her current form, it was obvious she was very ustomed to flying as even her Green Dragon form had allowed her to do so. She seemed to realize that having a smaller body increased her mobility even further and, now that the wind wasnt battering her so strongly, she began to smoothly fly behind Fafnir with a smile on her face. From his right, Vahn could feel someone tugging at his tunic and turned to see Lili with a somewhat concerned expression on her face as she asked, "Do you really prefer girls with tails and big butts so much, Vahn?" Vahns smile twitched several times until he eventually released an exasperated sigh and hung his head a bit as he responded, "Though they are certainly interesting, I dont think I have any kind of preference like that Lili. There are things I like about everyone, and I never really consider things like that..." It was true as, even though Vahn was fond of girls with plump butts, it was mainly because he thought they suited the women that had them very well. He couldnt even imagine a Hephaestus or Tsubaki with a thin butt, so Lilis question wasnt something he was really fond of hearing. Lili realized she had hurt Vahn a bit and she could see the tired expression on his face as he spoke honestly, even if it was in an exasperated manner. She felt guilty and hung her head before looking around at everyone else to see their take on things. Haruhime had the same annoying look on her face as she tried to act like an elegantdy, while Mikoto was gripping the handle on Fafnirs back with a pale expression. Naaza had a slightly troubled expression and showed a wry smile when their eyes met while Fenrir simply gave her a stink eye for upsetting Vahn. Turning her head up, Lili saw Vahns expression had softened as he reached out his hand and said, "Its okay, Lili, just remember that I have my reasons for liking everyone. I dontpare any of you, at least not intentionally...just be who you are, that is enough." Vahns words made her feel even more guilty, but she also felt happy at the same time so she showed an apologetic smile and said, "Sorry, Vahn...and thank you for being so nice to me." As he stroked her hair a bit roughly, Vahn chuckled and said, "Youre wee, Lili..." For the remained of the shot short flight, things were rtively peaceful and Vahn just kept looking back to make sure Terra was okay. Even if she fell from the sky, she wouldnt hit the ground with enough force to actually do any harm, but Vahn was still a little worried about her. He had no way of knowing what would happen if shended badly, as it was easy to break limbs if the joints were twisted with enough force. Even Vahn didnt have any confidencending on, for example, his fingers. He would probably survive easy enough, but there was a fair chance he would stub one of his fingers or potentially fracture one. Terra had very wide wings, so Vahn could imagine them getting twisted up a bit if she hit the ground fast enough. With their speed, they reached the West Gate of Orario after around ten minutes beforending just outside the gate after everyone else trying to enter spread out in a panic. Terranded behind them by pping her wings several times to break her speed as shended nimbly on the ground. Vahn could tell that the short flight had helped her increase her proficiency a great deal and she looked somewhat elegant with her wings folded up behind her. They were simr in color to her hair, albeit much shinier, so it almost looked like her hair reached near the ground as a result. Vahn wondered if this had been an intentional design, but he couldnt be sure since he had no understanding of how the Akashic Tome decided their final forms. Though some people looked disgruntled, none of them had the courage to step forward because the auras emitted by Fafnir and Terra were quite frightening if you werent a seasoned Adventurer. Even though she was a peaceful dragon that embodied the Earth and Nature, Terra was still a True Dragon and carried herself with a certain dignity that made it hard to match her gaze. Besides, there wouldnt be things like natural disasters and the wrath of mother nature if the earth wasnt capable of bringing about cmities. Beneath her elegant exterior, Terra possessed an incredible amount of power that could probably topple an army in a defensive fight. Her offensive power was somewhatcking, but from the moment her enemies entered her territory with ill intent, she would be a monstrous force to contend against. Just as before, the Gate Guards didnt dy Vahns entrance into the City, though they did ask some questions about the new addition to the party. Vahn exined that Terra was another one of his tamed monsters, just like Fenrir and Fafnir, to which the guards could only nod their heads to after seeing her ratherrge wings and the tail sticking out behind her robe. As there was no entrance fee required for pets, Terra was allowed to enter the City freely, though Vahn still had to register her with the Guild in the future. Since Eina, Rose, and Misha could file the paperwork, Vahn mounted Fafnir with the girls and they slowly flew towards the Hearth Manor with Terra following closely behind them. If not for his impable knowledge of the surrounding area, Vahn wouldnt have believed the massive Manor that appeared beneath them was the Hearth Manor. As the two drastically different buildings shared the same plot ofnd, Vahn knew it was indeed the newly renovated Manor and it was very surprising just how many changes had urred in the twenty-six day period. Instead of a Central Building with two Wings and an Annex, the Hearth Manor now made a huge square-shaped loop with arge empty area in the center where the bath and training areas were located. To the east of the Manor, there was now another small residence where high walls had been erected and concealed in a natural manner. Vahn presumed that would be where he met with various goddesses in the future so he turned his attention to the other changes instead. There was now a staging area on the west side of the Manor, with a path leading around to it, and a small building with the Guilds emblem affixed to the top. Overall, the Manor was more than twice the original size and Vahn was wondering how they had managed to finish things so quickly. However, when theynded in the courtyard, Vahn saw several signs of construction and there were more than thirty presences located beneath the Manor itself. Using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see people working away to build arge undergroundwork that even extended beyond the walls of the Manor in some ces. He was very interested in theyout they had decided upon because it was obviously an improvement upon his own designs. As Hestia was a goddess of architecture, she had probably changed up a variety of things after discussing it with the gods and goddesses of the various Familias that had been contracted for the work. Almost immediately after she crossed his mind, Hestia burst out of the front door of the Manor with an incredibly excited expression on her face before she leaped toward him like a missile and clung to his neck shouting, "Weeeee home, Vahn~!" Before Vahn could return the greeting, Hestia gripped the sides of his face like a vice and began kissing him in a somewhat forceful manner as she greedily seized his tongue with her own. Vahns hands naturally moved near where most girls waists would be as he gripped Hestias soft and plump butt with both hands, effectively triggering an explosion of red and pink from her aura. Though he knew her very well, Vahn often forgot Hestias diminutive size and had walked right into a trap set by the affectionate goddess. Fortunately, Hestia returned to her senses a bit when the others began to arrive and eventually climbed off Vahns body with a flushed and excited face as she turned to the other girls and said, "Wee home, everyone..." As she stood out a great deal, Hestia found her eyes drawn to Terra and almost immediately noticed the abnormalities with her body. Terra simply smiled in return and said, "Greetings, my name is Terra, a dragon that serves my Master, Vahn Mason." Before they could begin questioning him, Vahn raised his hand and said, "Lets talk inside; Ill make sure to exin everything in detail." Having a group of nearly twenty people congregating in the front yard was a bit strange so Vahn wanted to move into the interior of the Manor. Before they went inside, Vahnforted Fafnir and allowed it to sunbathe in the yard and fly around as long as it didnt wander too far. Fafnir was pleased by this revtion and nuzzled against Vahn with enough force that it crushed him into the ground slightly. Afterward, Fafnir walked around in a circle for a little while before plopping down near the staging area andying down with its wings spread out to absorb more sunlight. Vahn watched its actions for a short while before following the others inside. The interior, at least at the front of the Manor, hadnt changed much and Vahn found that the study theymonly used was also the same. It was more appropriate to say that the Manor had expanded several sections, whereas the original structure hadnt been changed that much. As Ais, Tiona, Tione, Riveria, and Lefiya were all at the Twilight Manor, the only people present were Hestia, Tsubaki, Syr, Ryuu, a glowing Aki, Mn, Tina, Shizune, Maemi, Emiru, Preasia, Haruhime, Mikoto, Naaza, Lili, Fenrir, and the newly added, Terra. Hephaestus was taking care of some of her work, but she had already been informed of Vahns arrival and would most likely stop by after lunch. As for Eina, she was sleeping in her room since she had done the night shift for the Guild office on the west side of the building. They had to maintain it 24/7, as it was the Guilds policy, so it was a bit difficult with just three girls. Mona had actually taken a crash course in Guild affairs and was now apprenticing with Rose to help out. As for the girls from the Hostess of Fertility, they were all working presently while Anubis and Nanu had simply yet to show up yet. Though there were several eager looking girls present, Vahns side ended up being imed by Tina and Shizune, the first of which was hugging his body tightly. She had been waiting for Vahns arrival every day since he left and had prayed for him every night hoping for his safe return. Tina had lost her own father within the Dungeon in the past, so it was somewhat difficult for the young girl to imagine Vahn staying in the Dungeon for nearly a month without hearing any news. As for Shizune, she simply took advantage of her small size and association with Tina to im Vahns right leg as her own. For nearly three full hours, Vahn exined what had gone on in the Dungeon, including the events rted to the expedition, the growth of himself and the girls, and the spections he had about their enemies capabilities. Hestia and Syr also briefed him about the changes that had been taking ce while he was away, including several underground chambers, a small prison, and thepletion of Vahns massage parlor and spa. As he had expected, the residence to the East was for meeting with goddesses and holding negotiations with diplomats and gods. As Hestia didnt even want male gods in the Manor, they had set up a secondary area for such things and there was even a passageway connecting the two buildings. During the long discussion, Anubis and Nanu had eventually shown up at the Manor and made their way inside after Fenrir went to retrieve them. Hestia and Vahn also took the time up update the Status Boards of the girls that had gone into the Dungeon and it had eased a burden off of each of them. Seeing that they were the only ones still at Level 2, Maemi and Emiru had resolute expressions on their faces because they knew Haruhime had gotten ahead of them by a fair amount. There was even the addition of a new girl at Vahns side, one that was far more exotic than themselves. When the topic had turned to Terra, Vahn exined that she was the same Green Dragon that he had subordinated back in the Dungeon during their expedition to hunt Bloodsaurus. The fact that she was a girl was something she had chosen for herself and Vahn also informed them that she had a dragon form that reached nearly 14m in length. Since she was young and uneducated, Vahn entrusted her care to everyone present and also exined some of the benefits she offered to smooth things over. Curious of Vahns ims, Hestia went through the induction ceremony to ept Terra into the Familia. Seeing herpleted Status Board, Hestia rxed a bit because she could tell that she would be a great asset toward the protection of the Manor in the future... (A/N: I was originally just going to put Terras Status here, but I expect everyone would appreciate seeing the updates of everyone else. Btw, Vahns wont be shown for a little while since his board takes up a massive amount of space and there have been no major changes.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Terra Evergreen Race: True Dragon LV. 4 POW: G293 END: C629 DEX: H144 AGI: D572 MAG: C696 Skill: [Avatar of the Earth:B], [Guardian of Nature:C], [Healing Sap:C], [Aroma Therapy:B] Magic: - Development Skill: [Pacifism:C] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Vahn has no way of knowing Terras base parameters per level until he gets an approximate idea from how her growth develops.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Sanjouno Haruhime Race: Renard LV. 2->3 POW: 440+(C798)->(B801)->(I0) END: 648+(B825)->(B828)->(I0) DEX: 698+(S902)->(S911)->(I0) AGI: 1053+(S940)->(S949)->(I0) MAG: 1548+(SSS1258)->(SSS1266)->(I0) Skill: [Inari:E], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Heroic Strike:C], [Featherfoot:S] Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B], [Kokonoe:B], [Icicle Edge:A] Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:A], [Hunter:E], [Mage:I](new) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Liliruca Arde Race: Pallum LV. 2->3 POW: 887+(SSS1236)->(SSS1243)->(I0) END: 941+(SS1001)->(SS1006)->(I0) DEX: 676+(C669)->(C672)->(I0) AGI: 598+(B757)->(B759)->(I0) MAG: 811+(SS1040)->(SS1044)->(I0) Skill: [Artel*Assist:B->A], [As: Innate:F], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Oniyuri:C] Magic: [Cinder*E:A] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:E], [Spirit Healing:I](new), [Spearman:(sealed), [Swordsman:(sealed)], [Crush:(sealed)], [Fist Strike:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Naaza Erisuis Race: Chienthrope LV. 2->3 POW: 457+(D572)->(D574)->(I0) END: 434+(C636)->(C641)->(I0) DEX: 615+(SS1040)->(SS1049)->(I0) AGI: 722+(S907)->(S909)->(I0) MAG: 378+(SSS1137)->(SSS1145)->(I0) Skill: [Bow Mastery:B], [Eagle Eye:B], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Critical Eye:I->H] Magic: [Awen:Innate(sealed)], [Darbh Daol:A] Development Skill: [Mixing:B], [Spirit Healing:I](new), [Mage:(sealed), [Archery:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: [Fenrir] Level:3->4 POW: 1302+(A811)->(A852)->(I0) END: 1305+(B768)->(A809)->(I0) DEX: 1639+(SSS1129)->(SSS1169)->(I0) AGI: 1543+(SSS1304)->(SSS1322)->(I0) MAG: 388+(B701)->(B719)->(I0) Skills: [Insatiable Hunger:Innate(-)], [Lunar Cry:A], [Freezing Roar:A], [Chainbreaker:C], [Devour:SS], [Huntress:SS], [Endeavor:B], [Severing ws:B] Magic: - Development Abilities: [Chain Attack:C], [Mimickry:I](new), [Fist Fighter:(sealed)], [Acrobatics:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Lefiya Viridis Race: Elf LV. 3->4 POW: 421+(G294)->(G298)->(I0) END: 692+(A913)->(A933)->(I0) DEX: 1281+(B798)->(A811)->(I0) AGI: 1459+(S908)->(S912)->(I0) MAG: 1998+(SSS1708)->(SSS1893)->(I0) Skills: [Fairy Cannon:A], [Concurrent Chanting:E], [Prometheuss Blessing:A] Magic: [Rattatoskr:Innate:(sealed)], [Arcs Ray:C], [Fuside Farica:C], [Elf Ring:C] Development Abilities: [Daughter of Wishe:I], [Mage:B], [Abnormal resistance:F], [Spirit Healing:I](new) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Yamato Mikoto Race: Human LV. 2->3 POW: 634+(C647)->(C651)->(I0) END: 628+(C620)->(C623)->(I0) DEX: 740+(SSS1209)->(SSS1218)->(I0) AGI: 722+(SS1003)->(SS1015)->(I0) MAG: 531+(S941)->(S945)->(I0) Skill: [Yatanokurogarasu:B], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Battjutsu:G->F] Magic: [Futsunomitama:B], [Apocalypse: Innate(sealed)] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:C], [Acrobatics:I](new), [Swordsman:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: I lied. After getting this far, I figured I might as well update everyones o3o. RIP Info Dump.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 15 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level:3->4 -Power: 2746+(I0)->(I28) -Endurance: 3325+(I0)->(I69) -Dexterity: 2746+(I0)->(I31) -Agility: 2859+(I0)->(I19) -Magic: 6297+(I0)->(G275)(A/N: Vahns Magic would make him the equivalent of a Level 7 Mage.) Total:17,974+(0)->(422) Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) [Karma]: 9,435->9,561 [OP]: 4,113,548->5,628,058 [Valis]: 643,884,901 Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:E], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth: B],[Bow Mastery:S], [Stealth:B->A], [Chainbreaker:S], [Heart of the Eternal me:SS], [Prometheus:A], [Call of the Reaper:A],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Featherfoot:A], [Hands of Nirvana:S], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:A], [Friend of Spirits:A] Magic: [Thria*Mimos:B], [Shundo:B] Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:S], [Well of Spirit:I], [Swordsman:A], [Master Smith:H], [Mixing:C], [Mentor:A], [Petting:D->C], [Mage:C] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Yo dawg, I heard you like Status.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Tiona Hiryute LV. 5 POW: 3577+(G208)->(F317) END: 3439+(H185)->(G221) DEX: 3161+(H137)->(H184) AGI: 3199+(H151)->(H191) MAG: 0+(I0)->(I0) Skills: [Titan Virga:Innate(sealed), [Magic Devouring King:Innate(sealed)], [Berserk:B], [Intense Heat:B] Magic: - Development Abilities: [Fist Strike:A], [Diving:B], [Abnormal Resistance:C], [Crush:C->B] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Ais Wallenstein LV. 5 POW: 2241+(F305)->(E403) END: 2182+(G290)->(F384) DEX: 3293+(E447)->(D543) AGI: 3266+(E433)->(D529) MAG: 3600+(E480)->(D571) Skills:[Sylph Queen:Innate(sealed)], [Progenitor of Wind:Innate(sealed)], [Avenger:A] Magic: [Void Sword:Innate(sealed)], [Ariel:B] Development Abilities: [Child of Destiny:Innate(sealed)], [Hunter:B], [Abnormal Resistance:C], [Swordsman:A], [Spirit Healing:A] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Tione Hiryute LV. 5 POW: 3273+(H191)->(G268) END: 3069+(H163)->(G250) DEX: 3130+(H144)->(H187) AGI: 3128+(H145)->(H192) MAG: 788+(I74)->(H103) Skills: [Titan Bruna:Innate(sealed)], [Wrath:Innate(sealed)], [Berserk: A], [Backdraft:B] Magic: [List Iorum:E] Development Abilities: [Fist Strike:B], [Diving:A], [Abnormal Resistance:B], [Healing Power:D] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dont mind it...,Thats no waist!,Lemme, Lemme Updatecha~!) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 495 - Wellspring

Chapter 495 - Wellspring

Toward the end of the conversation, and having everyones statuses updated, Hestia had asked in a hopeful tone, "So, what will you be doing from now on?" Vahn knew she had been somewhat lonely, and even more worried, about him as he had been away for nearly an entire month. In response to her words, Vahn showed a soft smile as he looked around and said, "Until the next expedition, Ill be staying around the Manor and working on various projects during the first block of my schedule. Though it may vary somewhat, I n to use the four-hour period in the second block of my schedule to spend some time with everyone, simr to what I had been doing before. As for the afternoons, there are simply too many things I have to research and I want to make some headway on them. As for the evenings..." Vahn had seen some of the auras ring up around him and he sent a yful wink to Hestia as he said, "Ill leave that up to everyone else for the time being. After reaching Level 4, Im even more confident in my stamina." A rudy blush appeared on Hestias face a result of Vahns teasing and she gripped the hem of her dress tightly as she said, "Ive also been working hard..." before swallowing her words as a maroon blush appeared on her face. She didnt want to admit that she had talked to Hephaestus and Loki to learn coping methods while Vahn was away. Hestia had even been exercising in the mornings by running around in the backyard for a fewps in an effort to improve her stamina. She wasnt the only one either, as Hephaestus training techniques had propagated on thework and had be popr. They had even gathered together to perform the routine a few times, something that would probably be put on a back-burner now that Vahn was present. With a lull appearing in the conversation, Vahn felt the atmosphere be somewhat awkward because he could sense the intentions of several girls in the room, all focused on him. It was still somewhat early in the day, just barely after high noon. Unless someone else brought up a topic of discussion, the tensions would continue to increase but Vahn wasnt quite sure of what to say. In an attempt to escape the atmosphere, Vahn turned to Terra and said in a tone that was addressed to everyone, "Terra, Ive been curious about your [Avatar of the Earth] and I was wondering exactly how it functioned. The Hearth Manor will be your home in the future, so you can set up your domain in the backyard if you wish..." Vahn felt the tensions in the air break instantaneously, though he earned a few looks of me as a result. Instead of asking them more questions, Vahn had diverted the topic to a girl that he had just brought home. Knowing this would happen before he spoke, Vahn epted their temporary ire and promised to make it up to themter. He didnt mind listening about their day for several hours, but being a single person involved in a discussion with twenty people was rather difficult. Though it felt like his mind was splitting these days, Vahn only had one body and couldnt hold a conversation with several people all at once. Terra had a perpetual smile on her face as she squinted her eyes slightly and observed the reaction of the other girls in the room. Though it was nearly indiscernible, the scales on her arms and legs raised ever so slightly as a pleasant aroma permeated throughout the room. She felt a bit of hostility directed toward her and wanted to avoid conflict outright if possible. In response to Vahns question, Terra angled her head with a thoughtful expression on her face as she said, "Its strange...I think I need a fertile area?" As her Innates were rted to records obtained from other worlds, Terra had a basic instinct about how to make use of them, but it would likely take her decades to truly understand the proper use of the abilities. Vahn had expected Terra would need open ground and he mentally gave her a thumbs up as he turned to the group and said, "How about we all move to the grassy area behind the bath, there should be plenty of sunshine there and I remember there was even a small garden in the area?" As the person that had been tending to it, Ryuu nodded her head as a slight smile appeared on her face as she said, "Yes, Ive been tending flowers there...spring ising soon, and they should be blooming in the next month or so. Chloe has also been growing some herbs while tending to the plots that Naaza had set up previously." Hearing there were even herbs in the area, Vahns smile became even wider because he had high expectations for Terras presence in the garden. There was even a high chance she would be able to get close to several of the girls in the Manor simply because she was able to promote nt growth. epting Vahns invitation to go view the garden, everyone moved to the back yard with the exceptions of Hestia, Syr, and Aki. They still needed to supervise the construction efforts, especially Hestia, and it was already bad they had been missing for over three hours. Vahn gave them all short embraces while patting the slightly bulging belly of Aki. Vahn felt like she had be even more beautiful in the month he was away and it made him feel giddy seeing her stomach bulge. After a brief trip to the back yard, which was now contained by the Manor itself, Vahn led the group behind the tall wall that fenced in the bathing area and obstructed it from view. Though it wasnt thatrge, a plot ofnd had been neatly maintained by the girls as a private garden that grew behind the wall. It was around 500x400m wide and Vahn could see that arge part of it had been designated as an herbal patch where a variety of different medicinal nts were growing. As for the rest of the garden, there were numerous different types of nts that were pleasing to the eye including several bushes that had small buds that had recently started to open slightly with the warming weather. Seeing the garden, Terras expression turned somewhat gentle before she looked up at the clear blue sky and stared directly at the sun. Vahn was tempted to caution her about the dangers of such an action, but he could see a lightyer of energy cover her eyes and it didnt seem to bother her much. Walking to the center of the garden, Terra looked around before spreading her wings wide and crouching down with her palms against the ground. Her tail tapped up and down in a steady rhythm as the feathers on her wings began to rustle. With his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn could actually see that Terra was absorbing energy through her wings, including energy from the sunlight itself. Vahn felt like she was simr to a nt, and this process made it seem like shared even more simrities with them. From Vahns right, Ryuu had an expression filled with intrigue as shemented, "She is very attuned to nature...its almost like she is a spirit of the forest itself..." Though it hadnt been that obvious when they were walking over, Ryuu could see the color of the grass had grown more vibrant around Terra as small flowers peeked up before blooming, irrespective of the fact that it was still somewhat chilly. Vahn nodded his head in response and continued to watch the strange phenomenon as he recorded every detail within his mind. After a few minutes passed, Terra stood up straight before wrapping her wings around her body and emitting a green glow that caused the entire area to warm up slightly. Though it appeared as though the light wasing from her body, Vahn was aware that she was actually absorbing even more energy from her surroundings and was infusing it into her hearts before powerful bands of energy trickled down into her body before spreading out through her feet and into the soil below. Terra actually started to sink into the ground slightly, almost as if she were taking up root before the energy began to spiral around in the ground. Small threads of energy spread out, almost as if they were searching for something and Vahn had some expectations for what it might be. Thinking that Terra actually needs seeds or other forms of nt life to begin the process, Vahn took out something that shared a simr fate with her previous Green Dragon form. Sensing the presence of the vibrant life energy, Terra opened her eyes and smiled at the small Treasure Tree Vahn had pulled out of his inventory. Surprisingly, even without Vahn transnting it into the ground for her, Terra reached out her hand and a thread of energy ran from her feet until it anchored itself to the Treasure Tree. In front of the startled expressions of everyone present, the tree began to walk toward Terra. Once it had reached its destination, the Treasure Tree actually split from its top and bisected itself into two parts that coiled around Terras figure. cing her palms against the green bark, it was almost like Terra was synchronizing with the Treasure Tree as its roots dug into the ground and began to coil in the same pattern her energy had formed earlier. Adding to the two segments that currently coiled around Terra, several other sections of Treasure Tree grew out of the ground, simr to the roots that had protected the previous cacoon. Vahn could see that her energy was actually depleting rapidly, so he turned to the onlookers and said, "Im going to help her..." before appearing behind Terra and cing his palms against her back, right behind her heart. Feeling Vahns energy enter her body, Terras smile blossomed at the same time as three thick roots sprouted up from the ground and coiled alongside the previous two. They created a water-tight basin that could barely fit Terras figure with her wings coiled up. With the addition of Vahn, it was an even tighter fit but he didnt mind it too much if not for the fact that his legs were more-or-less straddling Terras tail. He was sure she wasnt doing it on purpose, but her tail twitched about slightly in between his legs and, as a result of her height actually being slightly greater than his, it was a moderately stimting experience. Vahn could sense tendrils of energy spread through the ground rapidly as runes simr to the ones on Terras body appeared within the soil beneath the grass before disappearing. As they dissolved into the ground, the entire area became full of natural energy which actually absorbed the weaker elemental energies from the air to increase the quality of the soil. Pulses of energy began to emerge from Terras heart that spread through her body before passing through the ground through her feet. Each pulse carried out for about 300m before dissipating and the entire area around Terras location began to be filled with nt life. There was even a small tree that had started to emerge from the ground, like from a stray seed that hadin dormant, and it was a captivating sight to behold. Terras wings fluttered slightly as she turned her head and asked, "Master, do you have any water?" Though he could produce water on his own, Vahn harbored a hope that the essence would serve her purposes even better as he asked, "What do you need it for? I have plenty avable." Terra squinted her eyes slightly and said, "I need to fill this wellspring to nourish thend around me and establish my territory...please, if you would be so kind." Understanding her intentions, Vahn resolved himself to get a little wet as he began filling the three-meter wide basin that Terra had formed. Its height was around 80cm and Vahn filled it until it had reached around 74cm. With her emerald-green tub filled with water, Terra lowered her body slightly and it was almost like her leaf-like feather were losing their color slightly as it fed into slightly glowing essence. Terramented, "This water is very good...it can hold much greater energy than normal. It seems that my Master has many mysteries about him...how reliable." Terras feathers had actually be an off-green color that was beginning to turn closer to yellow. If not for the fact he could see the individual follicles of the feathers, Vahn would believe they were leaves because they looked almost identical. Even now, it almost looked like Terra was going through Fall as the vibrant green faded from her feathers and was slowly bing yellow and orange. Even her hair began to change slightly at the roots and Vahn felt like she was pushing herself quite hard toplete his request. The essence eventually took on an emerald color simr to the liquid that had epassed Terras body during her transformation and Vahn could sense an incredible amount of vitality within the liquid. It was slowly absorbed by the treasure tree through osmosis and fed into the surrounding along the unique formation that had been created by Terra previously. Not just the nt life that had emerged from the ground earlier, but the nts in the garden, including the herbs, looked as though they were full of life and the weaker ones even began to grow at a visible rate until they reached maturity and simply became vibrant and impable quality herbs. As she had crouched down earlier to submerge her wings, Terra had to stand up to end the ceremony but found that her legs were somewhat shaky. Though it was a bit awkward for him, Vahn lifted Terra up by her arms and pulled her out of the water since it seemed like she had lost her strength. Even with his support, Vahns own energy had drained by a great deal and it would take him around an hour or two to recover naturally. Ryuu, Haruhime, and Naaza hade forward to help Vahn support Terras body, but she just shook her head and said, "Set me down on the ground, Ill be fine in a short while." Following her words, Vahn settled Terra onto the ground and she rested on her knees before spreading out her wings wide. Unlike the leafy-green color they had been previously, the majority of Terras wings had be yellow while some of her plumage had turned orangish-red. The only thing that remained green were the tops of her wings, which hadnt been submerged in the water, and the majority of her long hair. After she kneeled down, however, the green began to spread from the tops of her wings and slowly diffused into the rest of her wings at a slow rate. Since he wouldnt be doing anything strenuous for the rest of the day, Vahn consumed a few mana potions from the system shop and ced his palm against Terras head to speed up her recovery. As she had hung her head low previously, Terra turned up her expression to look at Vahn before smiling and closing her eyes. Ryuu had taken a moment to observe the liquid in the wellspring, which was now down to around 50cm deep with Vahn and Terra having removed themselves from the inside. Elves were very sensitive to the fluctuations of mana, but they were especially sensitive to the presence of natural energy like what could be found right in front of her. The essence had a simr feeling as the sap of the Sacred Trees her family had tended to in the past. However, Ryuu felt somewhat guilty aboutparing the two because the essence in front of her had a much greater concentration of energy than any of the sap she had seen in the past. If they left this pool as is and came back in fifty years, Ryuu had no doubt the Hearth Manor would have long been reimed by forests and nt life. After twenty minutes, Vahn had managed to help Terra restore the vitality to her wings before plopping down onto his butt and wiping his brow. As if she had been waiting for him, Haruhime actually stepped forward and handed him a towel, which Vahn epted gratefully. She had seen him exerting himself and had leaped over the nearby wall and taken a towel from the nearby changing rooms. Vahn started wiping away his sweat as Terra lifted her body and rose to her feet in a sweeping motion as the tips of her wings dr.a.p.ed across the ground. When she stood uppletely, Terra looked around before stretching out her wings after confirming she wouldnt hit anyone. Vahn watched her actions with interest before asking, "What kind of effects will the wellspring provide? How does your dominion work exactly?" Terra fluttered her wings a big before coiling them behind her body and saying in a slightly confused tone, "Im not really sure, but this ce will die after a while if I leave it. The wellspring is to make sure the nts dont die since my dominion would break if that happened?" Though she had only been using her [Avatar of the Earth] at first, Terra had been afraid her actions would kill the beautiful garden. The wellspring she had created was actually a product of her [Guardian of Nature], which was intended to nourish the nts around and keep them from wilting. The only part of her ceremony that had anything to do with her [Avatar of the Earth] had been the spiral formation she set up at the beginning. Though she was very intelligent, Vahn could tell that Terra didnt know how to exin her actions properly, even though she seemed to have some understanding of them. He had seen everything she had done from start to finish, so he could always try to make sense of itter when her education level has increased. It was somewhat unfortunate that his [Eyes of Truth] couldnt see through Innates, as it meant Vahn had probably missed out on several keyponents of the ceremony. Hopefully, by the time she became more familiar with the skill, she would be able to intuit a bit of her own abilities and help him to understand them. Taking advantage of the temporary lull, Ryuu stated in a serious tone, "We need to make sure this ce is off-limits to other people in the future. Even a single ounce of that fluid would probably sell for several thousand Valis. The entire wellspring itself would be worth hundreds of millions of Valis. I wouldpare its potency to the Cadmus Spring Water, but the quantity ispletely different..." Vahn had already determined this as well, as he had been given the opportunity to see the coveted liquid during the expedition. A single drop of the wellspring essence could easily be used to make a high-quality Elixir, which would be worth around 10,000V. The entire pool could probably fund an A-Rank Familia for an entire year without having to enter the Dungeon even once. As there wasnt any chance of the people present spreading information about the wellspring, the only thing they had to be wary of was other people stumbling into the area in the future. Though it was unlikely to happen under normal circ.u.mstances, there were situations like the present where construction was being performed on the Manor and there were people walking around at times. The girls had been vignt about allowing people to wander, but there was never a 100% chance of something beingpletely secure. As a result, Vahn had the interesting experience of nting several trees in the back yard around the garden as Ryuu set up an illusion formation to protect the garden from people wandering into the interior. Vahn found it interesting to have a small forest in his back yard, as he could set up a gazebo in the center of a clearing, so he didnt mind helping out. When they were finished, Vahn had jumped up into the sky for a better view and saw that, even though there had previously been arge clearing for the garden, it now looked like the forest took up the entire area. Even if people had the ability to observe the Manor from above, the only thing they would see is a miniature forest that in the clearing of the Manor. To make it look even better, Vahn filled out the empty half of the space and only left a small 20m clearing in the center where they could have pics and stuff in the future. (A/N: Alternate Titles: 1 vs 20,Less than 4 hours as a human, already bathing with Vahn,Sure, Vahn is going to have pics in the clearing...) If youd like to support me as a writer so I can write even more stories in the future, please follow the ******* link below (O,...,O)~! Stay beautiful <3. Since it was requested, I also added a Paypal link if that is preferable~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 496 - Various Rendezvous : Gathering

Chapter 496 - Various Rendezvous : Gathering

During the time Vahn had spent nting trees, the other girls had slowly dispersed to tend to their own business and to enjoy some rxation, as the Dungeon atmosphere was somewhat tense. Many of them wanted to check up on the matters of thework while others simply wanted to explore the new Manor, something which Vahn also had an interest in. The only person around at the moment was Ryuu, as she had been setting up the formation with Vahn for around two hours. Terra had been taken away by Haruhime, which worried Vahn slightly, so they could explore the Manor and find a room for her. Vahn was a little curious about how she slept, as it seemed somewhat difficult to getfortable with wings on her back, but he was certain to find out at some point. When they were finished, Vahn and Ryuu stood in the clearing together in silence as they both enjoyed the warm rays of the sun bearing down on them, even though it was still a little chilly. Vahn hadntmented on it earlier, but Ryuu was wearing a green and white striped shirt and a pair of short blue shorts, a stylistic choice he didnt quite understand. She didnt often wear casual clothing around the house that often, so something must have changed in the time he had been away. Regardless, it still looked good on her and Vahn felt like a casual Ryuu was very nice as well... Since they were alone, Ryuus aura had gradually started to build up and her inexpressive face was touched with a light blush as a result of the tensions increasing. Taking the opportunity to get a little caught up with everyone, Vahn walked behind Ryuu and embraced her from behind as he muttered, "I missed you, Ryuu..." Though her body shook slightly at first, Ryuu calmed down quickly and leaned her weight against Vahns body as she angled her head and said, "I didnt think it would be so lonely be separated for a few weeks...Im d you returned to us, Vahn." Ryuu understood that most of the girls had felt the same way as her, while some had even greater anxieties to release. As a result, she wanted Vahn to keep that in mind so he didnt spoil her too much and lose sight of other important matters. Though he understood what she was trying to convey, Vahn used his left hand to tilt Ryuus chin as he kissed her on the lips gently. She was a good 8cm shorter than he was, which Vahn found strangelyforting because it was almost like he could shield her entire thin body with his own. The gentle kiss started off slow, but it didnt take long before the two began to lose their reservations and Ryuu eventually had to separate from Vahn because of the awkward angle. She then turned her body to his and they embraced each other for several minutes until Vahn gently lowered Ryuu to the grass andforted her body for just under thirty minutes... When Vahn and Ryuu emerged from the forest, Ryuus face was marginally more flushed than normal and it would have been obvious to any onlookers what had happened. Though she went into the forest with a striped shirt, Ryuu came out wearing a white blouse and there was a lightyer of sweat coating her skin even though it was somewhat chilly outside. As for Vahn, he had a perpetual grin on his face and felt incredibly refreshed and full of energy. To conceal her own embarrassment, Ryuu eventually ended up sneaking into the Manor to calm down while also giving Vahn reason to tend to the other girls. Vahn followed her back with his eyes and let them wander to her pert little butt that was now wrapped by a pair of green bottoms that were very suitable for Ryuu. He wasnt sure of the reason, but Ryuu seemed to like the color green as many of the outfits she wore were either green or had something green on them. Even when she worked at the Hostess of Fertility, the waitress outfit was also green so Vahn hade to associate the color with her a bit. By the time she had disappeared into the Manor, Vahn turned his eyes away from her and scanned his perception over the front of the Manor. As a result of the construction, Vahns domain couldnt actually cover the entire building anymore. Even standing in the central area, Vahns domain could barely breach into the surrounding walls. The inner courtyard, including the bathing area, garden, and small forest, was an entire kilometer in length and width, which meant Vahns 515m wasnt quite adequate any longer. Fortunately, this was 515m from him as a central point, when meant it actually stretched out for 1030m if he counted the two furthest points of his domain. (A/N: For those confused, Vahns Manor is quite massive, which is why it takes several minutes to move from one location to the next, even for these super-humans. Even with nearly 30 people living in it, its possible to move about without evening across another person if you use umon routes.) When he neared the back entrance to the central building, Vahn detected a presence that immediately caused a warmth to spread through his heart as he vanished from his location and reappeared next to the door before entering inside. Without making any detours, Vahn made his way to where threerge presences were located alongside one smaller one that matched his own. After a short while, Vahn reached themonly used study before entering inside and seeing the woman that had, not long ago at all, be his wife, Hephaestus. To match his own, Hephaestus smile widened greatly but Vahn could also see a slight flush on her face that made him sweat a little. After rising from the sofa, Hephaestus walked over with hurried footsteps and the two embraced each other, almost as if their emotions were colliding together before intermixing. Vahn hugged her waist tightly as Hephaestus rested her head against his shoulder with a slight moisture touching her eyes. After a few seconds passed, however, she muttered in a very quiet voice, "Its good that youre so lively just after your return...but it makes me a little lonely knowing you went to another girl first. I almost felt silly making my way over as quick as possible just to feel your emotions for another girl..." Vahn hugged Hephaestus even tighter and decided to be honest as he said, "Im sorry, Hephaestus, but Ryuu looked a little lonely and it was a good opportunity...Ill do my best to make it up to you several times over..." Hephaestus released a peal ofughter as she squeezed Vahn tightly and asked, "What are you doing for the rest of the day?" When she had learned that he returned, Hephaestus had wrapped up her current work and canceled the rest of her ns for the day. Vahn rocked her body gently, aware of the gazes that were being cast their way, and said, "This evening, I think we should all celebrate the sess of the expedition...but there are a few hours until then and I can feel that three goddesses need my attention..." Although Fenrir was present, and Vahn could feel her mild dejection, he still didnt think she was ready for that type of rtionship. When the time finally came, it would likely have to be a private matter between them as well, as Vahn didnt think she would be the type that appreciated petition in the bedroom. As if she understood this, Fenrir seized her brush back from Hestia before trotting off to find something to keep herself busy. Since she ran outside, Vahn felt like she was probably going to spend time with Fafnir and potentially even sunbathe with it. As for the goddesses remaining in the room, theirrge auras had expanded greatly as Vahn looked over Hephaestus shoulder and said, "I havent even seen my room in almost a month, care to join me?" --- Though they had gotten in the mood, Hestia still had the wherewithal to inform Syr of what was happening and she informed the workers so they could begin wrapping things up for the day. Afterward, Hestia made her way to Vahns room alongside Hephaestus and Anubis while preparations for the evening celebration began around the kitchen with Mn, Tina, Maemi, and Emiru. As for Terra, she was with Haruhime, Mikoko, Naaza, and Lili as they were all teaching her how to be a proper girl. Preasia was reading books within the Library while Aki and Syr were ensuring that the workers used the proper routes when leaving the Manor. Many of the people within the Familia that focused on masonry, construction, and architecture were male and Hestia wasnt fond of the idea of any of them trying to have friendly rtionsh.i.p.s with the girls in the Manor. Part of their contract, other than not being able to disclose the blueprints and passageways, was for them to only use designated passageways that would be decided by the representatives that were overseeing the work. As for those that were chosen for that position, they were Hestia herself, Syr, Ryuu, and Aki, each girls that had a deep rtionship with Vahn and strong sensibilities. As three was a bit of a magic number for Vahn, he was able to satisfy each of them over a two hour period before they needed to join the celebration. Hestia had surprised him with her increased stamina, but she still didntst that long under Vahns enhanced prowess with his [Petting] Development Ability. As for Hephaestus and Anubis, they had seemingly limitless stamina and were able to fill in the rest of the time while Hestia rested. Since she had to be present for the celebration, as she was the goddess of the Familia after all, Hestia needed to be able to move her body. For thest hour, she simply napped in the bed as Vahn, Hephaestus, and Anubis eagerly sought each others bodies after the rtively short parting. By the end of the event, Vahn wasying back with the sweat-covered girls pressing their buxom b.r.e.a.s.ts against his body as he took turns kissing them both. Hephaestus belly had swelled by a fair amount now, something that concerned Vahn greatly, but she said she was just fine and had been associating with three different goddesses of Fertilitytely. Before they had begun, Vahn had confirmed her state for himself and could see two small bundles of life snuggled up with each other. Hephaestus said that the twins were both girls, as purported by Epona, and Vahn felt a great deal of excitement imaging his daughters running around the Manor together in the future. He wondered if they would have his dark hair, or if both girls would have the vibrant red hair of Hephaestus. Since he hadnt taken the opportunity to meet all of his children in the Divination, Vahn had no way of knowing for sure and hemented his own psychological state at the time. Had he more rity at the time, Vahn could have obtained a great deal of information that could have been very useful, even if he forgot the majority of it. After helping the goddesses wipe down, not that it would hide the fact from anyone that would be present at the celebration, the four made their way down to the dining room where there were already several people waiting. The moment he entered, Vahn took a forehead to his diaphragm as Nanu mmed into his body with her tail wagging like a turbine as she said, "Wee back, Master!" Though he had exhaled a bit of air, Vahn didnt actually take any damage from her at all and actually had to rx his body to soften any impact she might have felt. He roughly pat her head and yed with her ears for a bit as he said, "Im back, Nanu, good girl..." Vahn felt like he was talking to a pet dog, but Nanu seemed pleased by his words as she rubbed against his chest as if she were marking him. When Nanu was finally appeased, as she knew it wasnt proper for her to act out when there were people of much higher status than her present, Vahn sat down at the table and immediately found Fenrir stealing hisp. As if she were trying to cover up Nanus scent, Fenrir rubbed the back of her head and ears against Vahn as the small Chienthrope girl starred with wide eyes at the disy. However, when Fenrir sent her a sidelong nce, Nanu immediately took a step back and stopped minding the matter since there was a distinct difference in the hierarchical rtionship between her and Fenrir. Though she might be Vahns future mate, Fenrir was Vahns cherishedpanion that would walk at his side for potentially thousands of years. Nanu knew from her discussions with Anubis that Vahn would likely live for a very long time, while Nanu herself would probablyst less than a hundred years if she focused on staying healthy. As a result, she reshuffled her perspective of things and developed a bit of a deferential rtionship with the girls that would live much longer than her, which had the goddesses and Fenrir at the top of the list... By now, Eina had also awakened from her rest but she was watching over the Guild Counter until just before the celebration began. Without his other wife present, Vahns sides were taken by Hestia and Hephaestus as everyone began making small talk, though Vahn once again found himself as the focus. He learned that Hephaestus had finished a new workshop that was located in the same area as Vahns clubhouse and Welfs workshop. The reason for this was that Hephaestus still needed to manage her own store and take on clients, though she had also converted the forge in the eastern workshop to house her Eternal me. She would be selling the majority of the items she forged out of her workshop, but she would be spending most of her time within the Hearth Manor, something that Vahn was very excited about. During the expedition period, the Hostess of Fertility had apparently hired several new girls as well since Chloe, Arnya, and Lunoire had all made the decision to join the Hestia Familia while he was away. They still worked at the Pub, though not nearly as much as in the past, this would likely change in the future as things start to pick up. After joining, they had been doing duo-missions within the Dungeon to slowly increase the rank of the Hestia Familia, which was now F-Rank, instead of I-Rank. With their addition to the Familia, it almost meant the average strength of the Hestia Familia was now near Level 3. Other than Chloe, Arnya, and Lunoire, there were also a few extra additions to the Familia that hadnt really surprised Vahn that much. Though they hadnt entered the Dungeon yet, Tina and Shizune had also joined the Familia during the expedition since there wasnt really any harm in them doing so. If anything, they would be able to develop their parameters further if their Innates had any effect on their growth. Vahn hadnt been able to check to see what abilities they had yet, but he would find an opportunityter to verify them. He knew that Tina, and likely even Shizune, would want to enter the Dungeon in the future and Vahn would feel a lot more confident if their Innates werebat rted. One of the biggest changes that had urred over thest month was the fact that the Alliance had expanded once again, and now included the Hestia, Hephaestus, Loki, Freya, Demeter, Eirene, Anubis, Miach, Takemikazuchi, and apparently even the Hermes Familia. Vahn wasnt too surprised by the inclusion of Freya, and both Demeter and Eirene had shown up at the wedding, but Hermes addition was a bit concerning. Sensing the conflict within him, Hephaestus had exined, "Dont worry, Hermes might be the scheming and whimsical type, but he also doesnt take action that might be detrimental to his interests. Being attached to the Alliance is far more beneficial than making an enemy out of everyone...though you shouldnt let your guard down around him either." Eina eventually showed up at the table and Hestia surprisingly moved to the other side of Hephaestus to give the seat away. Vahn understood that she was probably trying to support Einas position within the group and it made him smile knowing how thoughtful she was. Since there were a few people shuffling around, Vahn had Fenrir hop out of hisp as he stood up and intercepted the gently smiling Eina who had a look of relief within her emerald-green eyes. Though it wasnt a powerful embrace, Eina hugged Vahn tightly and began stroking his back in aforting manner as they hugged each other for several long seconds. A soft and soothing voice sounded out from her lips as she said, "Wee home, Dear..." Vahn felt an explosion of warmth in his chest as he looked into Einas deep eyes and said, "Im home, Eina..." before kissing her to affirm the fact. Though she enjoyed the kiss for a short while, Eina eventually pinched Vahn slightly to let him know not to get carried away. She had almost turned her head away to end the moment, but she wanted Vahn to do it so he didnt lose any face in front of the other girls. Understanding her intent, Vahn eventually separated from Einas lips but continued to hold her waist for a short while before saying in a somewhat firm tone, "This weekend, try to clear up your work schedule...I want to perform Nirvana on you as soon as possible..." Einas face already had a light blush on it, but Vahns words had startled her a great deal as a ruddy color emerged on her cheeks and began to spread to her ears. Without saying anything, Eina eventually nodded her head in a bashful manner before headbutting Vahns chest beforeing to a rest against it. She understood that Vahn was essentially saying that he wanted to ensure she would get pregnant in the future and minimize the chance of anyplications from urring... --- (A/N: Though it might be a little shameless, I would like to ask for the assistance of anyone that is willing to contribute to my ******* or Paypal in theing days. Were currently only at $631/640 minimum funds I need to be able to continue doing this as my job. As Im sure many of you can empathize with, the holiday season isnt exactly kind on the wallet and getting by with just the minimum is rather difficult. I dont have any problem just eating rice and potatoes, but they get a little nd after a few consecutive days xD. Sorry for having to reach out like this, but I really like writing this story and would like to continue doing it.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Doki Doki Ryuu-tan,Vahns Vs. Three Goddesses,Vahn likes to bully Elves) Thanks to all the beautiful people that have been supporting me on ******* during these interesting three months~! For those that have some spare changeying around, please consider making a small donation of $1-2 if possible. If youve read this far, youve gone through more content than the entire Harry Potter series and have read more than 1,450,000 words written by me, hopefully happily xD. If everyone that has added this novel to their collections just pit in $1, Id be able to write for the entire year without needing any other donations xD. /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 497 - Celebrations

Chapter 497 - Celebrations

After Eina and Vahn took their seats, it was officially time for the celebration to begin so Hestia raised up a ss mug full of alcohol called [Honey Stout] as she proimed in a loud voice, "Everyone, you did a great job on the expedition this time around. Not only did you increase the reputation of the Hesta Familia, but you also worked hard to increase your strengths and now our Familia has be much stronger than in the past! Most importantly, you all came home safe and sound, so thank you all so very much for your efforts~!" With Hestias words as the trigger, everyone else raised their own cups and gave various hurrahs before everyone downed the contents of their ss and the festivities officially began. Other than Tina, Shizune, and the pregnant Hephaestus, Tsubaki, Aki, and Arnya, everyone else was allowed to drink as it was a special asion. The only people too young were Lili, Fenrir, and Terra, but Vahn wouldnt be able to stop any of them from drinking. Lili put her life on the line as a vanguard in the Dungeon, so it would have been strange if Vahn said she wasnt old enough to drink, while Fenrir couldnt get drunk at all and Terras body simply didnt process the alcohol in the same way as everyone else. Terra didnt have a normal digestive tract, nor did she even have intestines. Instead, her body had two stomach-like organs that processed what she ate and she seemed to be restricted to organic produce and lighter meats like fish. Essentially, she was another girl that couldnt get drunk because the enzymes in her stomach broke down the alcohol into parts and then simply filtered it out instead of letting it enter her bloodstream. Vahn suspected it would make her sap slightly alcohol based but he decided not to worry about that kind of thing for the time being... As Eina had yet to be introduced to Terra, she kept sending curious nces as the mature dragon girl, who always returned a smile as if were her natural expression. Vahn saw this happen a few times before he realized he should be the one to exin such things and said, "Its a bitte, but this celebration also includes the addition of our newest Familia member, Terra. Like Fafnir, she is a True Dragon that I had tamed within the Dungeon and her original form is that of the Green Dragon that I had subordinated during the Bloodsaurus hunt. She is Level 4, but she wont really be abatant and will instead help to guard the Manor with Fafnir in the future." Because of her wings, which were spread out behind her since she was sitting low to the floor, Terra was a very obvious presence at the table even without anyone pointing her out. Several of the girls had yet to meet her earlier, including Eina, Chloe, Arnya, Lunoire, Anubis, and Nanu. They had spotted her immediately upon entering the same room since Terras leafy-green hair and wings stood out a great deal. It was easily understood she was another one of Vahns tamed monsters, but the fact that she was a woman caused the interest in her to increase a great deal. Terra smiled at everyone present and said, "Greetings, everyone, my name is Terra Evergreen. I havee to reside in the Manor today after my Master helped me evolve. I will do my best to get along with everyone, so please treat me kindly and teach me many things." After Terra introduced herself, everyone went around the table and made a short introduction of their own as well before the atmosphere of the celebration became decidedly less awkward. It was difficult to open up when there were strangers present, but now everyone had rxed a lot more after knowing what type of girl Terra was. She seemed to be very popr with the girls, as her hair, wings, and tail, were all somewhat unique and interesting. Since her personality was the kind and elegant type,bined with the fact she had an air of nobility while being highly receptive, made her easy to talk to and befriend. Though their dinners usually ran veryte, things continued deep into the night this time around as the festive atmosphere had be even more so after people began to get a little tipsy. Some of the girls, including Hestia, Lili, and Chloe, got outright drunk while only a few, such as the pregnant group and Syr, remainedpletely sober throughout. The obvious exceptions included Vahn, Fenrir, and Terra, but that was a result of their constitution and not the amount they had to drink. The truly surprising thing was that even Eina got a little drunk and eventually ended up falling asleep against Vahns shoulder after a few sses of beer. When the atmosphere had slowly started to die down, as a result of several of the younger girls falling asleep, Vahn looked to Chloe, Arnya, and Lunoire, the first two of which were currently teasing each other, and said, "Id like to check your Status Boards in the near future. I may not be able to give you me seeds right now, but I might be able to infer some things from your-" As Vahn spoke, the drunken Chloe boldy pulled off her ck t-shirt and revealed a cream-colored bra as she said, "Nyahaha, nyou can chyek it nyoow~!" Fortunately, Arnya still had her awareness as the grabbed Chloe around the ribs and picked her up before saying, "Ill take this mischevious cat to her room. Well see you tomorrow, Vahn." Arnya was in the pregnant faction, so she waspletely sober and surprisingly thinpared to the other pregnant girls. If not for the fact that Vahn could see the small bundle of vitality within her stomach, he might not have even believed she was pregnant. Chloe, though drunk, wasnt going to put up in major resistance and just allowed her body to go limp as Arnya carried her under her arm and left the room. This left less than half the original attendees present, if excluding those that had passed out, and Vahn knew it was time to call the celebration to an end and help everyone back to their rooms. Since it was his first official night back, Vahn retired to his room with just Eina while Hephaestus took the initiative to stay with Hestia, who had been in the faction of girls that had passed out. Once they were alone in the room, Eina had a deep flush on her face that was enhanced by how out of it she felt at the moment. It was a lot harder to think in her current state and she was wondering how things would y out now that it was just the two of them. Vahn, however, didnt like to take advantage of people when they were drunk so he simply helped Eina wipe down her body before cuddling up with her in the bed. Eina gave him a loving smile for his care and hugged him against her chest as she stroked the back of his head. There was no need to have s.e.x every time they were alone, and Eina actually just wanted Vahn to rx a bit since she knew he probably exerted himself a lot in the Dungeon. There were very different thoughts running through Vahns mind, however, as he knew he hadnt actually exerted himself much at all. Other than the stress of wondering when their enemies might attack, and the interesting interactions he had with the girls, there was nothing that exciting about the recent expedition at all. Vahn had felt somewhat constrained, but even when they were free to take action the monsters werent actually that great a threat, at least to himself. He knew his stamina wouldnt be able to hold out in the long run, but there were few monsters at any Level that could actually threaten him currently. This was one of the reasons Vahn wasnt as focused on the Dungeon right now, as it couldnt actually provide much stimulus to him presently and there were far more things he was concerned about. He was more interested in his research and working on the prototype armor he had been developing before he left. With his focus also invested heavily in the girls, Vahn was simply uninterested in the Dungeon, at least during expeditions. Since his own capabilities outstripped the mon sense of the world, Vahn felt it wasnt that productive at all until he was free to act with just the girls alone. When they made the Dungeon a part of their territory in the future, Vahn wouldnt be taking orders from other people at all. He might not be the most capable leader, likely far from it, but his capabilities more than made up for hisck of leadership qualities. He also had rtively devout girls that followed him, so it wasnt really a concern if he could inspire others to action... --- Though Vahn found his own leadership qualitiescking, this wasnt a sentiment that was shared by other influential people. Completely unaware of the situation, a stir had been passing through the Loki Familia after the triumphant return of the expedition. Finn had shown up leading the convoy back to the Twilight Manor with their banner waving proudly in the wind, but he couldnt help but feel things were distinctly different than normal. Their members would usually be relieved and happy to return to the surface, not that they didnt show signs of this, but now there was an underlying current of excitement and anticipation. Instead of simply talking about what they were going to spend their earnings on, people were already talking about how the next expedition would go... One of the mostmon names that spread around the group was Vahns, though the girls had their fair share of fans amongst those spreading gossip. The fact that most of the girls were only Level 2, but showed capabilities far greater than their level, impressed many people, even more so because they were all cute girls. Though they jokingly said all the girls were part of Vahns harem, they couldnt ignore the achievements they had earned. Not only Vahn, but all of the girls had a massive boost to their reputation while Vahn himself was talked about almost with a reverential undertone. Those that had been saved by him made their respect very clear and it had quickly spread through the whole convoy. Since Vahn had been fair and just during the entire trip, even sharing his own supplies with the convoy to make things better for everyone, there were few people that could actually dislike him. He was a handsome boy with a kind disposition that showed care and concern for everyone around him, even if it brought harm to himself in the process. This type of character wasnt the type that sensible people could hold a grudge against, and most of the members present now had a great appreciation for his existence itself. They had never been on an expedition that had gone so smoothly, and it almost seemed impossible that things had actually gone so well. This was the first time they hadnt lost at least two carts while suffering a number of casualties, with a few fatalities in the mix. Instead, they hadnt lost a single cart at all and actually managed to fill each of them to capacity, increasing their earning by nearly 20%. Other than three unfortunate deaths, there were no other casualties within the group at all because Vahn had been able to heal their wounds wlessly. As for the three that had died, they had all lost their lives aplishing missions away from the encampment. It wasnt an exaggeration to say, given the evidence, that Vahn had ensured the expedition hadnt suffered a single loss, be it in supplies or personnel. There wasnt anything he could do about those that died as a result of mishaps, especially if he wasnt there, so those numbers could be removed from consideration on the matter. Hearing the various rumors, Finn didnt know whether tough or cry and simply resolved himself to get along better with Vahn in the future. His position as Captain wasnt threatened, but the number of expeditions he leads would probably be on the decline from now on. Since the majority of their main members were in Vahns faction, Finn didnt really have much of a choice and simply intended to go with the flow from now on instead of trying to oppose it. He could even see that Bete had an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face, as his ears were far more sensitive and he could hear the discussions people were having. Vahn already had the support of Riveria, Gareth, Ais, Tiona, Tione, and even Lefiya at this point, leaving the only two on the fence as Finn and Bete. Finn had already taken a step back on his own volition, but Betes personality wasnt the type that could make such decisions withouting to a head against the things that troubled him. At this point, Bete knew he was probably in for a thrashing and his demeanor had be somewhat solemn amongst the expedition that was full of a celebratory atmosphere. When the Loki Familia reached the Twilight Manor, the rest of the Familia was waiting to receive them, including a somewhat disconcerting looking Loki. She would bepleting her first trimester in theing weeks so her belly had also started to swell up a fair amount. As she was already a thin and petite girl, even though her height was normal, Loki looked somewhat odd as a pregnant woman. However, even though it was a strange sight, she seemed much more vibrant than normal and her expression actually looked somewhat soft as she said, "Wee home. You all did well." As many people had already been talking about Vahn, Lokis appearance had reminded them of another important fact about the boy. Not only was he surrounded by girls in his own Familia, but he also had the affections of several goddesses, including their own. Though their impression had already been high, the respect people had felt for Vahn expanded a great deal, even though there was a fair amount of envy mixed in. Vahn enjoyed the benefits of his current lifestyle because of the efforts he put into his life,bined with his character. Given that he was only 15 years old, much younger than many of them, this showed how hard he truly worked to get to where he was. Though they could envy him slightly, the majority knew it would have been impossible for them to take his position as it would have likely overwhelmed them long before they reached that point. Finn smiled proudly and reported, "This time around, we made it back with all the carts and only suffered the loss of two Adventurers and a Supporter. There are no other casualties to report, and Ill submit the official paperwork after exchanging the materials at the Guild in the morning." Loki nodded her head but was somewhat surprised by the numbers that Finn had reported. She knew Vahns presence would have been a great asset to the expedition, but she hadnt expected things to go so well. Looking around, she saw the atmosphere of the group and her eyes opened partially as she said, "Good work, Finn. I look forward to your report...for now, get this stuff to the staging area and lets celebrate everyones return!" Finn gave a hand signal to the convoy and they once again began moving forward as they took the carts near the massive warehouse at the back of the Twilight Manor. As for the first and second groups of the Loki Familia, their duty officially ended at the Gate and they were free to roam around at their leisure. However, it was typically considered poor taste to avoid a celebration where you were one of the guests of honor, so everyone stayed at the Twilight Manor and made their way inside to bathe and change into casual wear. One exception to this was Riveria, who had followed Loki into her personal study since she was the one that would be reporting the matters regarding Vahn. Loki sat down in her cushioned chair and released a sigh of exertion as she ced her hand on her stomach and stroked absentmindedly as she asked, "So, anything interesting happen? I can tell something major must have gone down with how everyone was reacting. I dont think Ive ever seen Finn with such a bad poker face before, kukuku~." Riveria was standing in front of Lokis desk and watching her rather uncouth behavior with a straight expression as she nodded her head and said, "Vahns influence on the expedition had been greater than we anticipated. Even without making full use of his capabilities, just his support made everything run much smoother. He also managed to take down the Udaeus and Balor, thest of which was just him and Ais..." Hearing Riverias words, Loki wasnt actually that surprised and simply asked, "Did he use the chains?" As Riveria had been assisting in Vahns research, she knew a great deal about [Enkidu] and nodded her head, saying, "Yes, but only when he fought against the Balor. He was about to suppress it long enough for Ais to finish it off with her [Ariel] and there were no others present to witness it." A sh passed through Lokis eyes for a brief moment before a satisfied smile appeared on her face. Vahns [Enkidu] was undoubtedly one of his most dangerous secrets at present, and Loki was happy he had enough sense not to use it around the expedition. If she had known he used the aura from [Enkidu] as a torch, Loki might have run over to the Hearth Manor and strangled him...just a little. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Terra stands out Firma-ly...kappa,Party hard,Loki about to choke a boi) (A/N: A lot of people have been showing their support since myst request and Id like to especially thank, D. Nunes, J. Townsend, and Y. Bouchard for their Paypal donations~! As for the beautiful people that are pledging their support on *******, I would like to express my gratitude and know I intend to make a list thanking everyone on the 5th of every month with a bonus chapter based on a theme that will be polled for on ******* itself. If we can get the funds up to a consistent amount, Ill even let the ******* decided what artwork well havemissioned in the future <3.) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh (A/N: Thank you J.Townsend for your Paypal donation. It helps a lot <3) Chapter 498 - Early Morning

Chapter 498 - Early Morning

During the night, Vahn found himself having a dream, which was rather rare as he often slept inplete darkness. In the dream, Vahn felt a sense of weightlessness in his body, but there was also an incredible pressure pressing in on him from all directions. It wasnt painful so much as it was ufortable and Vahn struggled to open his eyes within the dream for a great deal of time. When he finally managed the difficult feat, Vahn found himself surrounded, not by the endless darkness he hade to expect, but a deep and vibrant blue. Though he might have believed, at least in the past, that he was submerged in water, Vahn knew that the massive ocean around him was actually pure elemental energy. Vahn wasnt sure why, but he found himself submerged in pure water elemental energy that seemingly stretched out omnidirectionally endlessly. As for how he knew it was a dream, it was because he couldnt ess the system and the only thing he could feel was the everpresent [Will of the Emperor]. Since his dreams often had some greater purpose, Vahn was curious why he found himself in such a strange situation. Other than when he entered the edges of the atmosphere atop Fafnir, Vahn had never even seen something like an ocean so he wasnt even sure what he was experiencing right now. Suddenly, Vahn felt a familiar presence and turned his head to see a massive shadow that almost looked like a mountain as it moved through the endless blue. As she shadow got progressively closer, Vahn found it had started to dominate his perception and, even though it had a fair distance before he was near it, Vahn had to angle his head up just to see the top of the shadow. Then, although it felt like a strangely long period of time had passed, Vahn found himself face-to-face with the owner of the shadow. It would have been more urate to say face-to-eye, however, as Vahn was looking into a massive ck voice surrounded by vibrant green as the continent-sized eye of Xunw peered at him. Vahn felt like the Xunw before him was the size of a massive and, even though it was a great distance away from him, it still dominated everything Vahn could see and just the pupil of its eye seemed like it could seat a mountain range within it and still have room to spare. When the massive creature blinked, Vahn felt the pure water elemental energies shift with a great, yet surprisingly peaceful force. It felt like the liquid around him was disced at several thousand kilometers per hour but it flowed around his body like a soft breeze. After another unknown period of time passed, Vahn found himself still floating except that the water elements had retreated. He now hovered in the void created by Xunws blink as he stared back at the massive creature with intrigue. Reaching out his hand, Vahn suddenly found himself next to Xunw as he touched against the side of its face. It almost felt like he was putting his hand against the ground and, if not for the fact he retained his weightlessness, Vahn might have misunderstood he was standing on a giantoid. When his hand made contact with Xunw, massive green lights began emerging from its body as each of its scales began to glow with a sea-green rune. As a single scale was several hundred kilometers across, Vahn had to move away from Xunws body to see what had happened. He spontaneously found himself several thousand kilometers away and could take in the view of Xunw once again, this time seeing the entire body of the immeasurablyrge turtle. Strangely, it felt like his perspective had changed and, when Vahn reached out his hand again, the massive Xunw now fit within his palm... --- Vahn opened his eyes and he could see green lights cast onto the ceiling above before he turned his attention to his own body and saw he had transformed at some point. The first thing he noticed, other than the sleeping Eina leaning against his chest, was that his scales now lookedpact and smoothpared to the past. They were almost like the scales of a snake now and there was a glossy texture that reflected a green shimmer, though it could have simply been a result of the scales refracting the light from the glowing runes covering his arms. Instead of the ratherrge runes on his equallyrge scales, there were now thousands of small runes covering the fine scales on his arms and the glowed in a strange pattern, almost like waves in the ocean. Without understanding how he knew this, Vahn felt like his control over water had suddenly increased greatly and he absentmindedly formed a water ball that was more than 2m wide with the wave of his hand. He could also see water elements in the past, but now it felt like they were waiting for hismands and Vahn found he could shape the ball of water into manyplex shapes, something that he had previously only managed with the essence liquid. With his excitement beginning to build, Vahn stretched out his index finger and manded the water elemental energy to transition into ice. Unfortunately, his control didnt seem to stretch into the four phases and the ice arrow he wanted to make fell to the top of the bed instead of hovering in the air. Eina had awakened after feeling an impact against the bed as the 1m long arrow fell onto it. She saw Vahns state before lifting up her body and staring at the orb of water. Unable to make sense of the situation, Eina gave Vahn a questioning look and asked, "Vahn, what are you up to? What time is it?" Curious by the answer himself, Vahn turned his attention to the system timer and found that it was 5:03 AM so he dispersed the water orb and said, "Its around 5 AM..." as he pulled out Evas orb before immediately freezing in ce. Though it hadnt activatedpletely, the orb now had a slight l.u.s.ter to it that made Vahns heart begin to race. For a brief moment, Eina was confused by Vahns reaction until her mind managed to process things properly and she suddenly remembered the existence of Eva. As the prolific mage was someone close to Vahn, that also shared a name simr to her own, Eina had inquired about her several times in the past. Seeing Vahn holding the orb with a shocked expression on his face, a smile appeared on hers as she asked, "Are you going...?" Surprisingly, Vahn shook his head before he stored away the orb and hugged her body closely and muttered, "Its beginning to wake up, but it hasntpletely activated. I cant insert my consciousness into it yet..." Eina allowed herself to be hugged by Vahn and did her best to ignore the slimy and cool feelinging from his arms. She had noticed the change in his hair and eye color immediately after awakening and she was now able to see the other changes to his body. Knowing he had the ability to change form, Eina didnt allow herself to be bothered by it as she enjoyed the warm feelinging from his heart. She could feel how fast it was beating and felt somewhat jealous of the woman she had never met. Vahn, seeing the mild fluctuation in Einas aura, felt like she had touched a soft spot in his heart as he reached up with his hand and tilted her chin to kiss her lips. He had seen her body recoil slightly when he touched her with his somewhat slick fingers so Vahn had dispelled his transformation. They hadnt been able to have any fun the previous night, and it would be difficult for them to have a lot of quality time togetherter on. With his right hand, Vahn reached around Einas body before tracing it under her pajama top and making her tremble before saying, "Let me take care of you...I know youll be busyter on. I want to do it..." Without waiting for his response, Eina moved around to the front of Vahn and weakly pressed against his chest to lower him back against the bed. She knew Vahn liked to tease her, which she allowed more than she probably should, but it was still a little scary for her to be on the receiving end of his affections during s.e.x. Vahn was much stronger than she was and, even though she feltpletely safe within his arms, she wanted to be the one to do things for him. Even then, she would still get a great deal of pleasure because of Vahns sneaky hands, but that was even more of a reason why she wanted to take the initiative. After straddling Vahns lower abdomen, Eina unbuttoned her light-yellow pajama top and revealed the somewhat perky b.r.e.a.s.ts contained within. Vahn earlier touch had caused goosebumps to cover her body and her little rose-buds were already standing assertively against the darkness of the room. As for her bottoms, Eina had just been wearing a pair of simple panties because she had somewhat expected that they would have s.e.x the previous night and wanted to be prepared. She was about to remove them on her own before Vahns sneaky hands found their way to her side and she suddenly felt a bit of heat against her lower body. With the blush on her face growing deeper, Eina gave Vahn a look of mock reproach before whispering, "Leave it to me..." as she traced her body down his... --- Vahn left his room shortly after 6:30 AM and felt incredibly refreshed as he made his way down the stairs and went to enjoy a nice hot bath in their refurbished onsen. Einas shift started at noon, so she had decided to take another nap as she was feeling a little fatigued. When Vahn reached the bath, he noticed a few presences inside so his eyes immediately transitioned to a magical blue color as he peered into the interior. After the small incident with Rose, Vahn wanted to avoid offending the woman. He hadnt seen her since his return, which meant she was probably living within the Guild building at the west side of the Manor, but it was better to be safe than sorry. As she had awoken early to conduct her morning training regimen, Mikoto was within the onsen and was being apanied by Tsubaki, who was also the type to never skip practice. Vahn could see that the two were talking and that Mikoto had a serious expression on her facepared to the cheerful smile of Tsubaki. Without any real hesitation, Vahn made his way into the bath and captured the attention of the two girls. Mikotos shoulder shrunk slightly but she didnt make any attempt to hide while Tsubaki stood up in the bath and said, "Good morning, Vahn, have a fun time with Eina~?" Vahn had been preparing a rebuttal of his own but he could see that Tsubaki, though it didnt show when she was wearing clothing, also had a slight bump on her belly. Noticing Vahns expression, Tsubakis smile changed into a grin as she gently caressed her abdomen and said, "You know, if you didnte out in time, I was nning to break into the Dungeon to pull you out. Make sure youre around...to..." Though she started off strong, a mncholy appeared in Tsubakis smile before it turned gentle and she said, "Its good that you came back safely, Vahn." Unable to stop himself, Vahn stepped forward with [Shundo] and startled Tsubaki slightly, though not enough to make her panic. He reached out his hand and rubbed her belly with ten times the gentleness she had used as he said in a low voice, "I cant afford to miss the birth of my cute little daughter...she really does look a lot like you, though not as...big?" As Vahn spoke, he turned his attention to Tsubakis buxom b.r.e.a.s.ts before she swatted away his hand and pushed him toward the deeper part of the onsen. She stared at Vahn picking himself up out of the water before teasingly saying, "Dont talk about our daughters body like that Vahn or I might have to break a few bones to teach you a lesson." Instead of picking himself uppletely, Vahn kept half of his face in the water and blew bubbles in a dejected manner that made Tsubakiugh boisterously as she sat back down and rxed in the hot water. Seeing her action, Vahn sat upright and smiled before saying, "Let me wash your body...its the least I can do right now." As though she were an Empress from the Far East, Tsubaki tilted her chin high with a smile on her face and said, "Ill allow it." She kept the matter to herself that she had already cleaned her body previously since she didnt mind being pampered by Vahn every now and then. While he was washing her body, Vahn found out what Mikoto and she had been talking about. During their morning training, Tsubaki had seen Mikotos unique sword techniques and had taken an interest in them. She was capable of using any kind of weapon, but her preferred weapons were the naginata and katana. Tsubakis skills were far greater than Mikotos, but she could tell that the techniques Mikoto was using were unlike anything she had ever seen before. Unfortunately, Mikoto didnt budge at all and simply stated it was a heritage technique she had received from Vahn. Understanding the situation, Vahn tilted his head to the side and cast a nce at Mikoto from the corner of his eye. After thinking for a moment, Vahn shook his head slightly and said, "Sorry, Tsubaki, but that is a technique I acquired specifically for Mikoto. I wanted her to have something unique that would allow her to keep pace with the other girls even if she walked a slightly different path. She is a pure swordsman, one of the most determined Ive ever met, and it would take that level of dedication to pursue that technique to mastery. Ille up with something else if youre interested in techniques..." Mikotos eyes widened slightly as she heard Vahns words and she hung her head to hide the lightyer of blush that had appeared on her face. Vahns praise was the type that was very important to a young girl like her, and it happened to be rted to the things she was most concerned with. After all, though she was a disciplined swordswoman, Mikoto was only a fourteen-year-old girl and she had often been thinking about if it was correct for her to continue on her path, or if she needed to consider matters as a woman properly. Vahns words were essentially giving her leeway to do as she pleased while also allowing her to forge a path all her own... Tsubaki hadnt missed Mikotos reaction at all and her response to Vahn was to simplyy back against him in azy manner as she looked up into his face and said, "If you want to give me something, make sure it is the type of thing Id be able to pass on to our daughter..." Tsubaki decided not to press the matter about Mikotos sword techniques at all, as she would be able to pick up a few tricks just by watching her train and spar in the future. However, hearing that it was a heritage technique, Tsubaki wanted something to pass to their children as well. Vahn didnt resist Tsubakis somewhat spoiled behavior, as she didnt often act like this and it was rather refreshing, and began to seriously consider the matter. However, he didnt want to force his children down any specific path so he said, "Our daughter will be a highly capable girl that has limitless potential...but I think we should let her be the one to choose the path she wishes to walk. Ill pick out a technique for you, but I dont want to see our daughter forced to learn-" Vahns sentence was cut short because Tsubaki had cupped her hands together before a jet of water shot out and sshed Vahn in the face. Tsubaki had a yful expression on her face, but there was a serious look in her eyes as she said, "Rx, I know how to properly raise a child without forcing them into anything...after all, Ive already looked after a fair number of troublemakers in recent years..." Vahn found himselfpletely unable to refute Tsubakis words because he knew she had, in fact, been his surrogate mother after Hephaestus reached out to her. She showed him a great deal of kindness and always looked after his mental state in the hopes that he would recover. Tsubaki had expectations for him, yes, but she never forced him to do anything. When he opposed her decisions with reason, she would take a step back and trust him to do what he thought was best, even if it sometimes resulted in him making mistakes. Looking down at Tsubakis face from above, Vahn smiled to match her own and muttered, "Youll make an excellent mother, Tsubaki..." Though it was almost indistinguishable from the general sheen of her eyes, a lightyer of moisture appeared in Tsubakis eyes before she closed them and said, "Ill do my best...for all of our sakes...thank you, Vahn." Since he was in a somewhat awkward position to embrace her, Vahn just reclined against the warm stones of the bath for a while with Tsubaki rxing against him. From the side, Mikoto looked at them both with aplex expression for a few minutes before saying, "Excuse me..." and rising from the bath. She had already finished bathing earlier and had just stayed in for a little while longer out of a strange sense of obligation. Now that Vahn and Tsubaki were enjoying each otherspany, Mikoto felt like she was invading their space a little. Hearing Mikotos words, Tsubaki let herself slide down Vahns body until she waspletely submerged before bursting up out of the water full of energy, She had her arms on her h.i.p.s and said, "Well, Ive been in here for like twenty minutes already so I think Ill get out now as well. Dont forget to go pick up the girls at the Loki Familia this morning Vahn. And make sure you take some time off, even if you dont feel tired!" Before she left, Tsubaki sshed a handful of water at Vahn again beforeughing and climbing out of the bath. She knew that Vahn wouldnt do anything to her in her current state and felt inclined to tease him a bit knowing he was defenseless. Vahn didnt mind the water at all and just epted it graciously without the smile on his face breaking at all. It was Tsubakis nature to worry about others and she probably intended to talk to Mikoto about a few other things as an apology for making her feel ufortable. Other than the lead-instructor during training, Tsubaki was in the Motherly faction with Mn, Lunoire, and even Hestia, so she did her best to look out for the girls. Without a constant effort on the part of everyone involved, the rtionsh.i.p.s of everyone in the Manor wouldnt be nearly as stable so Vahn was extremely grateful for their actions. Thinking of other girls he was grateful for, the images of Hephaestus and Syr ran through his mind before Lokis cheeky smile snuck its way in as well. It was actually correct to say Vahn was grateful to all the girls, but there were inarguably some he felt outright indebted to. Suddenly finding himself alone in the bath, Vahn wondered what the other girls were up to so he scanned his logbooks for the first time in a while and peeked at the status of everyone. Vahn noticed that some of the girls that had gone on the expedition hadnt updated their statuses yet, likely because they had broken the habit after not doing it for a while, but the most surprising thing was the new additions...it seems that some of the girls were very proactive within the Manor... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hephaestus: Busy: Avable in the afternoon... Eina: Busy: Sleeping... Loki: Free: Waiting for my prince charming... Syr: Free: I can make time whenever you need me, Vahn... Tiona: Free: Boohoo, Vahn, I have bruised on my ribs from Tiones drunken embrace! Ryuu: Busy: Im free if you need me, but please spend time with the others as well... Ais: Busy: Dungeon Expedition... Aki: Free: I would like to spend more time with you when youre not busy. Chloe: Free: Just let me know when you want to look at my status... Arnya: Free: Make sure youre considerate of the baby... Tione: Busy: Dungeon Expedition... Aisha: Busy: Im never really busy, you just have to let me know what is going on... Lunoire: Free: Wee back, Vahn... Anubis: Free: Id like to go on a walk with Master... Lefiya: Free: Thank you for helping me get stronger...Master... Riveria: Free: I heard rumors about you passing through the West Gate...with two dragons... Tsubaki: Free: Ill be in my workshop all day... Naaza: Busy: Dungeon Expedition Lili: Free: Id like to go on a date in the future, with just the two of us...! Nanu: Free: Id like to go on a walk with Master... Mn: Free: If you have the opportunity, it would be nice if you spent time with me and the girls... Haruhime: Free: I am waiting, always, Vahn... Maemi: Busy: Master... Emiru: Busy: We missed you... Terra: Free: My, this is quite interesting... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Its all a matter of perspective...,RIP Mikoto,Avability (O,...,O) (A/N: Thanks, once again, to J. Townsend for yet another donation <3. Id also like to thank the additional patrons that have pledged to ******* today as well as masteryr99 for his helpful contribution. I feel blessed to have had so many people express their support for the novel during these trying times. I will do my best toe up with some interesting plot developments that I think everyone will enjoy in the future~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 499 - Noble Nature

Chapter 499 - Noble Nature

From the status scroll, Vahn could tell that the girls from the Loki Familia were already awake and waiting for him to pick them up so Vahn didnt spend too much time in the bath. Since he was the only one present, however, Vahn transformed into his Xunw form once again before tracing his hands through the air and making simr ripples to Mikotos katana. The host onsen water within his vicinity swirled around him with the motion of his hands as he raised them and caused a section of it to rise above his head. Vahn enjoyed the somewhat turbulent water and felt his control over it had increased greatly, arguably even greater than the control he exercised over fire. He wasnt sure what had changed, but the shift in his Xunw form was a wee change because Vahn knew he would eventually be able to emte its influence in his base form in the future. These changes had also reminded him of the runes he had seen on Bih thest time he was in the endless void, but Vahn hadnt been able to discern anything from them previously. He knew there were changes to the form, but Vahn hadnt relied on it much forbat after the fact and had never discovered its increased potential. Now, with the changes in Xunw being so prevalent, Vahn was more inclined to research his Bih form in the future to uncover its mystery. For now, however, he needed to make his way over to the Twilight Manor so he climbed out of the tub and got dressed before going to look for Terra and Fenrir. Just thinking about Fenrir was enough to make the girle running, so Vahn went to seek the location of Terra. Though he had yet to visit it, Vahn knew her room was located on the first floor a short ways away from the twins. It was ultimately decided that, as she was going to be staying at the Manor the majority of her time, Terra would be looked after by Maemi and Emiru and help with the basic upkeep up the Manor. She would spend the rest of her time in the secret garden and enjoying activities like sunbathing, so she was actually very happy about the opportunity. As one of his familiars, she didnt suffer the same gifting restrictions as the other girls so Vahn had purchased her a custom Maid outfit that ended up being surprisingly suitable for her. It didnt take long for Vahn to find her room and she was already awake and moving about before he had arrived. As for Fenrir, he could sense her presence making its way toward him from Preasias room with hasty, but practiced, footsteps. She had scuffed up the floor a bit in the past with her feet-paws, so she moved in a peculiar manner at times when she was inside. Vahn knocked on the door to Terras room and heard her voice say, "Please enter, Master." so Vahn opened the door without hesitation before a wry smile appeared on his face. Terra was up and about, but she seemed to be having some difficulty wearing her clothes since she wasnt ustomed to them at all and it was difficult to get the fabrics around her wings properly. Realizing this Vahn began looking through his system to get her some soulbound equipment through the shop so she wouldnt have such problems in the future. After all, Vahn wanted to show her off this morning, so she would transition into her dragon form soon before returning back to her human form. After averting his eyes, Vahn said, "Give me a moment and Ill find you some suitable clothes that you can wear..." Terra smiled in response and gave up trying to wear her other clothes as she hastily stripped them free of her body. Sheughed slightly and said, "Clothing is strange and fascinating, Master, though I wont deny it is also a bit ufortable. Ill do my best to get used to them soon, so please let me wear lots of nice clothing from now on~." One of the things that Terra had learned about being a woman was that wearing stylish clothes was essential because it allowed you to enhance your own appearance while also appealing to others. She recalled seeing many vigers and Adventurers wearing different outfits and could distinctly recall that the women always wore nicer outfits than the guys and presumed this information to be true. Vahn nodded his head before confirming the parameters robe, form-fitting, and fortable through the gacha system since he couldnt select soulbound as an option. Since a majority of functional equipment with soulbound were things that cost in excess over 100,000OP, it made sense that he couldnt select it as a search parameter through the 10,000OP standard gacha. The only thing he could do was hope to get lucky like he had with the Nazha top or he would have toe up with a solution like setting up a changing station for Terra in the clearing in the forest out back. She would be able tond there in her dragon form before returning to her human form and wearing clothes...but Vahn felt that this would be a little unfair to her. Of the eleven orbs that popped out, the majority of them were white with the inclusion of two hits in the form of a vibrant orange and a pale yellow orb. The robe from the orange orb was something called a [Singers Robe] and it was an off-ck color with golden ents that was actually quite nice to look at. As for the second robe, Vahn was a little confused by its structure because it looked more like a purple backless-dress than a robe and was called [Robe of the Purple Order]. Neither had the soulbound option and didnt seem to have the function of the Nezha outfit so Vahn was a little disappointed before deciding not to mind it and doing another 10+1 pull. Vahn tried not to mind the n.a.k.e.d Terra standing in front of him as Fenrir trotted up behind him beforeing to a pause as she tilted her head and watched Vahn. He was standing there with his eyes closed momentarily and neither girl disturbed him just yet. On the second pull, Vahn got another yellow orb before opening it up to reveal a small white robe that didnt even look like it reached halfway down the thighs. Since it also didnt have what he was looking for, Vahn mustered up his resolve and tried to will the gacha system to give him when he needed. He removed the fortable option from the parameters and reced it with noble since it seemed more suitable for a dragon-girl. This time, the first orb that was spat out by the massive wooden wheel was a deep blue color and Vahn nearly pumped his fist in reality, especially after the second orb shot out was green. Unfortunately, all the others were misses, including the bonus pull, but Vahn had high hopes as he cracked open the green orb. What popped out was an elegant green robe that looked like it was also blue at the same time as a trick of the light. It was embroidered with golden runes and there were a few well-ced gemstones that ented its look. The best thing about it was that it looked like a three-piece outfit even though it was just a single robe. The outeryer was the peculiar turquoise robe that waspletely open at the front and hugged the waist before drapping down from the h.i.p.s. The secondyer was a soft purple bodice that also followed the flow of the robe itself while the thirdyer was simr to the first in that it was the same turquoise color but also red slightly like mes with golden patterns sewn into it. Vahn thought it was strangely suitable for Terra and noticed the name as [Anabels Robe] within the disy. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Anabels Robe] Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 1 P.Def: 280 M.Def: 900 Abilities: Natures Concealment(A), Magical Amplification(C), Weatherproof(B), Insted(B) Afortable robe which was worn by an elegant mage in a foreign record embroiled in turmoil and strife. This robe had been a gift from her star-crossed lover who suffered a terrible hand at the whims of fate. The one thing the man desired before his death was that his lover would be protected from harm so he prayed to thend itself to offer her protection. Soulbound:(unbound) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As the other robe, from the green orb, looked more like a ptial gown than a robe worn by normal people, Vahn decided to keep it in his inventory for the time being because he felt the [Anabels Robe] was very suitable for Terra. When he removed it from his inventory, a smile appeared on his face because what appeared was a golden ne with a diamond-shaped golden pendant on it and a blood-red ruby encrusted in its center. There were a variety of runes carved into its surface and Vahn felt a burst of inspiration strike him as he recalled that the Hephaestus in the Divination had a ne simr to this one. Just like the Nezha top, Vahn realized that the people that created the outfits in other records used pendants as the medium to create their magical outfits. Though he would want to study itter, Vahn reached out and said, "Here, take this and wear it around your neck. Afterward, infuse your intent into the pendant and you should hear a whisper in your mind that binds it to your soul. From now on, you should be able to call this robe whenever you like and it will serve as your general attire when youre transitioning between your dragon and humanoid forms." Hearing Vahns words, Terra stepped forward and received the pendant from Vahns hand as a glimmer passed through her eyes. As a True Dragon, she had an instinctual love for treasure and shiny things, so Vahns pendant was very wee by her as she ced it around her neck. Vahn instantly noticed that Terra was having a bit of difficulty attaching the ne so he stepped forward and helped her do so. With her Dexterity, he wasnt sure why she had any trouble but likened it to the fact that she didnt even have fingers before yesterday. With his assistance, Terra was able to wear the pendant before smiling to Vahn and closing her eyes to follow his instructions. A few secondster, a robe appeared on Terras body andpletely clothed her from head to toe in an instant. Other than her arms and legs, which were still bare since Terra liked to be able to touch and feel the ground, she was now fully attired in what could only be described in a Noble Mages attire. Curiously, the back of the outeryer was now in three parts so that it could make room for Terras wings and there was now an opening in the back that left space for her tail. Terra seemed to be very pleased by the outfit as she fluttered her wings slightly and traced her hands around her body and said, "It is morefortable than I had expected. Thank you, Master, for giving me such a beautiful dress." From Terras perspective, the outfit was much closer to a dress than a robe but Vahn corrected her and listed out all the benefits the robe offered. After he was done, Terra smiled vibrantly and said, "I wonder where the name Anabel came from~? How interesting to have a kindred spirit loved by nature~." Vahn somewhat wanted to remark that Anabel likely didnt have a pleasant end if she needed such a robe but kept it to himself as he turned to Fenrir, who was still in her nightgown, and helped her change her bottoms quickly before leading the way out of the Manor. Though Fafnir had sunbathed for several hours the previous day, and even flew around the area for a bit teasing people, it eventually returned to the fort of the shadows by the time night had fallen. As a creature with an affinity for darkness, it preferred thefort of the shadows more than the surface world since it was like being wrapped in a nket ording to Fafnir. The shadows were a chaotic dimension which was filled with almost pure darkness elemental energy, so it was good nourishment for Fafnir as well since its predominant element was also darkness. Fafnir peaked its head up out of the ground and said, ("Good morning, Vahn, Big Sis, Little Sis~!") Vahn reached out his hand and stroked Fafnirs snout as Fenrir leaped up to its back and pat the hard scales with her paws and said, "Fafnir is a good Dragon, very good~!" As for Terra, she simply chuckled without minding that Fenrir was subtly reminding her how she should behave. Terra then smiled at Fafnir and said, "Good morning, Big Brother, it is good to see you in high spirits." Fafnir released a burst of growlingughter with its actual mouth, seemingly very pleased by Terras response. As for Vahn, he couldnt help but wonder how Terras manners and etiquette were already so refined and his interest in her previous life was stirred a great deal... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Waterbending OP~!,Vahns gacha-luck is too high,30+ years of life, unknown) (A/N: There will be a few more chapters tonight, at the very least 1-2.) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 500 - Twilight Manor Courtyard

Chapter 500 - Twilight Manor Courtyard

As the Twilight Manor was one of the furthest points at the north of the City, it ced it as nearly 104km away from the Hearth Manor. Fortunately, it wasnt a great distance at all for many Adventurers and even Vahn could cover the distance within fifteen minutes at a rtively quick pace. With Fafnir, however, even when they flew at a slow and steady pace to allowed Terra to keep up, they still reached the area above the Twilight Manor in less than four minutes. Terra was currently in her dragon form, so it was quite the sight to behold seeing two dragons flying next to each other as their massive frames dominated the sky. The Twilight Manor was built on a plot ofnd that was nearly 5km wide so there was plenty of space for them tond even though there were numerous people out and about. Terra would have normally been at least slowed down by the barrier surrounding the Manor, but she was able to bypass itpletely since her signature was actually identical to Vahns. The same applied to both Fafnir and Fenrir as their bodies had beenpletely restructured by his source energy during their evolutions. Several members of the Loki Familia showed up after Vahnnded in the massive courtyard but they didnt show any hostility at all as they were already familiar with Vahn and Fafnir. Though Terra was a new existence, she was actually quite beautiful as far as dragons were concerned and she was much easier on the eyes than the evil looking Fafnir. Her scales glimmered vibrantly in the sunshine above and the aroma that followed in her wake was extremely pleasant for everyone that smelled it. It was a strangely reminiscent smell that was hard to describe, and Vahn spected it actually had a different scent for everyone that had the opportunity to inhale it. Vahn hopped down from Fafnirs back and waved to the guards who returned a salutation of their own before resuming their posts as one of them ran off to inform Loki of Vahns arrival. Though there was no way she hadnt detected his arrival through the barrier, it was still required to convey the details directly to her so she could prepare herself properly. Not that he minded waiting, but it was fortunate that the girls had already been expecting his arrival as they emerged from the Manor just a few short minutester. Vahn had a casual smile on his face at first, but his eyes widened marginally when he saw Lokis unbnced appearance and the somewhat cold gaze of Riveria. Loki was around ten-eleven weeks pregnant at this point but she looked strangely ahead of that timeline with how her belly was protruding. She was nearly the same size as Hephaestus, who was already well into her fourteenth week, with twins to boot. Vahn ignored the gaze of Riveria for the time being and inspected Lokis abdomen with his [Eyes of Truth] and didnt see any signs ofplications at all. Their daughter simply seemed to be gestating slightly faster than normal, not that there was anything normal about a goddess pregnancy. Vahn spected it was just a result of the mild differences in Divinities and potential even subtle variations in the construction of their bodies before they descended from Heaven. He would have to carefully doc.u.ment things in the future so there wouldnt be any surprises. Since Vahn felt strangely guilty about having Loki walk all the way to him, he stepped forward with [Shundo] and startled the goddess slightly before a cheeky grin appeared on her face and she mused, "My, how thoughtful~" and allowed Vahn to support her body. He wasnt sure why himself, but Vahn felt very alert around the pregnant women and it made him worried just seeing them walk around. Though goddesses had a bit of an immunity to the weather, Vahn infused fire elements into his domain and warmed up the surrounding air to keep her warm as he greeted Riveria, Tiona, Ais, Tione, and Lefiya in turn. After pleasantries were shared, Riveria looked over at Terra with interest and asked, "So this is the Green Dragon that you named previously...Terra Evergreen, was it?" As she had ess to thework, Riveria was already aware of a lot of the information concerning Terra, including that she had a human form. However, Terra maintained her dragon form as she said in a soft tone that was somewhat unexpected from a 14m long dragon, "Good morning, everyone, my name is indeed Terra Evergreen. I had the honor of being saved from the darkness of the Dungeon by my Master, who also saw fit to bestow upon me greater power and various opportunities. As we may be associating with each other for a time, please treat me well as I will do my best to return your kindness." Riverias cold expression softened up a bit as she waved her hand around in the air and enjoyed the fragranceing from Terras body. As a High Elf, she was even more fond of Terras presence than Ryuu and she could feel the natural energy radiating off of her. Even the ground below them, which was cobblestone tiles, had started to show signs of nts emerging through the cracks. Ryuu had told her about the wellspring in the center of the Hearth Manor, so Riveria was quite interested in the rather beautiful looking dragon. However, this interest actually made her a little more annoyed with Vahn since she would have liked to see the evolution process even more now... With a new dragon appearing, Lokis eyes had widened fully as she inspected the new beautiful dragon with a great deal of interest. She had been thinking about asking Vahn to help her obtain a dragon of her own, so seeing him alongside a new one made her a little excited. Though she knew it would be next to impossible to get Terra for herself, Loki wanted to try and secure the next one for herself in the future. If possible, shed like one that looks more like Fafnir though, as it had a more tyrannical appearance instead of a gentle and slender one such as Terra. Overall, Terra was quite popr with everyone and Tiona had even unhesitantly climbed onto her back andmented, "Wow, her back is super soft~!" as shey down and reclined against the grass-like feathers. Terra couldnt alter her scales like Fafnir, but her back was still wide enough to support 2-3 peoplefortably and it was also covered in grass-like feathers that covered the scales near her wings. Because of the vital energy from her body, she even produced actual nt life and there were flowers that had sprouted on her body. Vahn suspected that, if Terraid down in one area for long enough, she might actually be part of thendscape after enough time passed. As Terra was getting more familiar with the girls, Loki asked, "So, what are you going to be doing from now on, Vahn? I already heard from Finn and Riveria and it looks like you have a few big ns in mind." Vahn nodded his head and exined, "Yes, I want to prepare things for creating a supply-station on the 39th Floor, which could eventually even be an actual settlement, before moving deeper into the Dungeon and finding a foothold in the 50th Floor. Other than that, Ill be focusing all of my efforts on my research since I want to ensure that everyone is properly protected..." Loki leaned her back into Vahns chest, as he had been holding her shoulders from behind, and said, "Dont forget that you also need to think about our babies in theing months...there are also a few things that you need to take care of to cement our position on the surface. Though she has already had a few children over her own, Demeter would like our assistance conceiving a child and Eirene has also considered the matter seriously before joining the Alliance..." As he had already expected this to be the case, as both girls had shown up at the wedding to show their support, Vahn nodded his head and gently rocked Loki as he said, "Yes, Ill take care of it properly...just tell me when its necessary and Ill make time. Preferably, it should be during the weekdays since I n to spend the weekends with everyone." Though she enjoyed Vahns warmth, Loki still had to treat matters seriously so she exined in a firm manner that didnt really leave room for misunderstandings, "You may not have any feelings for them, Vahn, but you can also consider having them wait until a bitter if youre willing to help them bear children with your bloodline. Demeter has a few partners on-and-off, but she is the type that would be able to take care of children with love and care. As for Eirene, she has a strong sense of duty and nobility and would help firmly secure our position on the surface...you may not have feelings for them, but such things arent nearly as important to gods as they are to mortals. If you decide to have them wait, youd have to deal with Freya first though...she probably wouldnt take it well if she lost her chance to other goddesses." Vahn had been caught off guard by Lokis words but he couldnt help but consider them seriously as he understood the reasons behind her words. After the Divination, Vahn had looked into a variety of texts rting to governing as an Emperor and a King. He knew the importance of marrying and having children to strengthen Alliances and it would have to be a matter he treated seriously if he wanted to eventually seize control of the City. He wouldnt do anything to rob power from the Guild, he actually intended to help it grow, but Vahn knew he would one day need to interfere with the governance of the City if he wanted to root out criminals and the like in the future. The Demeter Familia was in charge of the production of food for Orario and the Eirene Familia were the ones that guarded and policed the City. Having them as part of the Alliance was a big power move already, but it would be firmly cemented if he helped them give birth to Vanir. There were few mortal women, much less goddesses, that wouldnt be proud to have powerful and capable children with endless potential. Since they would also inherit the traits of their mothers, they would have an even stronger bond with each other, one that could evenst for millennia given how long-lived the Vanir likely were. However, as Loki had pointed out, he would have to deal with the matters rted to Freya in the future if he wanted to pursue that path. Though she had officially joined the Alliance, making them the strongest power within the City, she still stood alone amongst all the other gods and goddesses. Her pride wouldnt allow her to take a lesser position against goddesses less aplished than she was. Though she made exceptions for Hestia, Hephaestus, and Loki, she wasnt the type that would be content with being passed-over in lieu of different goddesses... As if she could read his mind, Loki reached up and stroked the side of Vahns face as she said, "You dont have to worry about it too much, Vahn. Demeter and Eirene arent desperate girls, so they wouldnt mind waiting for several years as long as there was a promise. They both think highly of your character, especially Eirene, so you dont have to stress over the matter that much. I know youre worried about Leh, but that isnt something that should be at the forefront of your attention. We just have to take certain actions to keep the current godly assembly happy and there is literally a line of goddesses that want children. Eirene and Demeter had just skipped the queue a bit when they joined the Alliance..." Vahn thought about it for a short while before nodding his head and saying, "Ill meet with Eirene and Demeter to discuss the matter personally...as for the other goddesses that seek children, Ill let thework deal with the selection." In response to Vahns words, Loki beganughing in a somewhat mischevious manner as she patted his hand and said, "Youre so well-behaved, Vahn~. However, you need to be a bit firmer in the future so you arent taken advantage of...never forget that you are the reason were all gathered, so dont be afraid to take a firm stance on matters if youre worried about them. Just like when you showed up at the Vahnatus in the past...have a bit of confidence, as it makes our hearts more at ease knowing you arent going to break if things dont go well." Though she couldnt help but scheme a bit, as the matter regarding Eirene and Demeter wanting Vahns children was something she machinated after discussing it with the two goddesses, Loki was still very worried about Vahn. She was satisfied having a child of her own, but Lokis perspective had expanded a great deal after the revtions from the Divination. She had always known Vahn had the potential to rule, which was even more evident after the Expedition, but he wasnt the greatest leader. As long as there were other people working to make his intentions a reality, Vahn would likely take them all towards a greater future, even if there is a bit of conflict along the way. However, if he tried to take care of everything himself, or left the decisions to other people, Vahn could just as easily be a puppet instead. Fortunately, there were girls like Hestia, Eina, and Syr looking after him on a daily basis, but Loki couldnt help but worry just a little bit...after all, though she felt like the child belonged to her, Loki wanted Vahns influence in the life of their daughter. She had seen many orphans, and children that had grown up with just one parent, and wanted to make sure her own child was given all the best that life had to offer... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Smells like the *insert nostalgic time period here*,Riveria does not find this turn of events amusing,Lokis maternal instincts?) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 501 - Pandering

Chapter 501 - Pandering

After promising to meet with Loki in theing days, as she was busy managing matters with her Familia after the expedition, Vahn mounted Fafnir along with Riveria, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, and Fenrir. Tiona had wanted to ride Terra, but the elegant green dragon actually refused her, saying, "I would want my Master to be the first person to ride on my back. Please forgive me, Tiona." This was one of the troublesome things about having a dragon that could take human form from the beginning, as Vahn found it somewhat difficult to rationalize riding on Terras back since he had Fafnir with him. Since it spent the majority of its time stuck in the shadows, Vahn also felt obligated to use it as a mount because Fafnir seemed to enjoy it greatly. He could always make it up to Terra by spending time with her in the Manor, after all, which was something that Fafnir couldnt easily do since its size was currently fixed. On the flight back to the Manor, Vahn found himself nked by Tiona and Tione and it was very obvious they were more excited than normal. With his increase in parameters, Vahn was rtively close to the two in strength and, until he tamed their eager hearts, they likely wouldnt be able to calm down any time soon. As he had already nned to spend the evening with the girls from the Hostess of Fertility, Vahn was currently considering if he should tend to the two beautiful brown-skinned girls sooner, rather thanter. Being able to defeat them in the bedroom should help them calm down a great deal since it would pacify their instincts and allow them to act calmly around him in the future, except of course when he triggered them by doing something showy. Once they reached the Manor, Tiona made thement, "Wow, it feels like were just now returning home~!" in a cheerful voice as she leaped down from Fafnirs back. The other girls seemed to share her sentiments and everyone appeared more lively as they happily made their way into the interior of the Manor to explore. Vahn had stayed back with Tione a bit and grabbed her arm as he whispered, "Tione, if youre struggling so much..." Contrary to his expectations, Tione simply embraced him all of a sudden and said, "Im fine, Vahn, just call on me when youre ready. I know you must be busy after just returning to the surface, so just make time in the future for me and Ill be happy. We can invite Tiona and Ais along and make it into a celebration about returning to the surface~." Vahn felt a bit of warmth spread through his chest with how thoughtful Tione was being as he embraced her in return and sealed her lips with an unexpected kiss. He kept things brief since he wasnt trying to make things even more difficult, but it still caused her to breathe a little heavier before she made her way toward the Manor. The only people remaining outside were Vahn, Riveria, Lefiya, Fenrir, Terra, and Fafnir, so Vahn felt like it was time to face his fate as he turned to Riveria and bowed his head low, saying, "Riveria, please forgive me for forgetting my promise to allow you to observe the naming ceremony. I had been so eager toplete it that I hadnt been thinking properly and have let you down...I will do better in the future." Seeing Vahns somewhat eager apology, Riveria released a sigh and cast a nce at the grimacing Lefiya before saying, "Raise your head, Vahn. It is expected that people make mistakes, and you have a lot on your tepared to most. The naming was just a matter I was curious about, and it isnt as though it will be thest time you perform such a feat. However, I would like to be part of the next one so please keep that in mind." Though she felt a small amount of resentment at having missed the opportunity, Riveria couldnt imagine holding an actual grudge against Vahn for very long anymore. He worked very hard and had already startedying a foundation for the future, not just for herself and Lefiya, but for the entire Elven people. She had already decided to be with Vahn in the future, so it was difficult to rationalize staying angry at him when she knew it would actually hurt him more than most people. Hearing Riverias words, Vahn raised his head and smiled gratefully after seeing how stable and calm her aura waspared to the mild fluctuations that were present earlier. Since he suddenly found himself with more free time, as the matter with Tione had been pushed back temporarily, Vahn gestured to Terra and said, "Terra, please return to your humanoid form, and remember to wear your robe properly." Vahns words caused Riveria to squint slightly as she turned her gaze to Terra and watched as the 14m long dragon became enshrouded in a vibrant green light that rapidly shrunk. By the time it reached 3m in diameter, the light burst apart into wispy strands and there was suddenly a woman standing in a high-quality robe. Seeing Terras appearance, Riveria understood what Ryuu meant when shepared her to a spirit as the feeling she gave off was very simr. If she didnt have wings on her back, something Riveria found fascinating, she would have been indiscernible from the majority of spirits that took on human form. There was vibrant energy radiating from her body that was filled with life and warmth and, under her bare feet, flowers bloomed as grass coiled about in an almost yful manner. Riveria felt that, with her ability to create a wellspring of life, Terra could have be an idol for the Elven people. It seemed that Vahn had a natural inclination to do things that would eventually unify the Elves with other cultures in the future, as he not only had Terras support, but also possessed a [Seed of the Tree of Life], could transform into a High Elf, and had already gained some insight into finding a solution to the issues concerning Elven infertility... Lefiya had also noticed the peculiarities with Terra, but the thing she most took note of at the present was the fact that Terra was also one of Vahns subordinates. They had already introduced themselves earlier, but Lefiya still took the opportunity to bow politely and say, "Well be working together from now on, Terra. Lets both do our best for Master~!" Since she wouldnt have been able to keep it from Riveria, Lefiya had already exined the change in status between her and Vahn, though she didnt go into too many details. What Lefiya had discussed was the fact that she had taken Vahn as her Master to learn magic, which was something Riveria had even encouraged her to do, so it wasnt incorrect to address him as such. Terra, however, understood the true context of Lefiyas words because she could subtly feel a connection with the small Elven girl. Emting the polite bow disyed by Lefiya, Terra returned the courtesy and said, "I look forward to working alongside you, Lefiya. Im certain we can aplish more working together rather than dividing our efforts." Though the two girls smiled at each other, Riveria had a look of suspicion on her face as she looked between their unique interaction. She assumed there was likely more to things that werent currently made apparent, but decided to probe into themter as there was another matter that concerned her at the moment. Asking a question that Vahn was also curious about, Riveria turned to Terra and asked, "Terra, how is it that you are able to speak so fluently and behave simrly to the surface races? I understand you were an intelligent monster within the Dungeon, but that doesnt exin how youre able to carry yourself in such a proper manner..." Even now, Terra stood tall and had an almost noble disposition in the way that she carried herself. It was possible that it was simply instinctual for her, but Riveria wanted to learn more about the matter. Terra tilted her head slightly as a reminiscent look appeared in her eyes and she said, "Im not sure exactly how long I lived, but I had once roamed about on the surface. One day, I had been seriously injured by another monster and a small child had discovered my body. Though she wasnt very skilled, she happened to be the apprentice of her viges physician and she helped treat my wounds. I never recoveredpletely, but I was able to survive with her assistance over the course of several long months. Though I couldnt understand speech at the time, I felt indebted to the girl and she was always talking to me as she treated my wounds..." Though it seemed like Terra didnt mind going on even further, Rivera raised her hand and said, "I understand now, you learned how to interact with surface dwellers through your rtionship with that girl. Since you arent certain of your own age, you likely tracked it by the age of the girl over the course of her life until you eventually separated. As I do not want to pry into your past, I will drop this matter here for the time being...thank you for sharing with me." Riveria was very interested in Terrs life, but she didnt want to hear her narrate the entire thing while they were standing out in the courtyard. She would leave it to Vahn to discover the elements about her past as Riveria was truly more interested in the future right now. Terra smiled and bowed slightly to Riveria without continuing further, as it was something she struggled narrating as well. She didnt remember everything from her previous life, though her memories had slowly started toe back to her, but she did remember the little girl that slowly became a woman and eventually even had a family of her own. However, the most prominent memory in her mind was going to the aide of the girls family in her time of need before she was eventually killed by a horde of monsters. Because there were so many enemies, the girl and her family died long before she fell and it was their deaths that eventually caused her to give up her own struggle. She might have been able to fly away if she was in her peak condition, but the injury she had sustained in the past had been to her wing and she was no longer capable of flight at the time. The only thing she remembered after that was waking up within the Dungeon and longing for the blue sky once again. Strangely, it had been one of the things she couldnt recall directly and it was almost heartbreaking not being able to remember it... As a result of her struggles in her previous life, Terra had grown tired ofbat and shemented her new life where she was constantly attacked by Adventurers that sought her treasure. Even when she tried to reason with them, they often just came back with arger group and there would almost always be a fight. If not for her desire to return to the surface, and her instinctual desire to protect the Treasure Tree, Terra would have given up on life because she truly disliked fighting. When Vahn offered to make both of her desires a reality, Terra didnt truly believe him because it was difficult to trust humans. However, she could see the honesty contained within his eyes and it reminded her of past memories long forgotten. This was the reason why she decided to ce her trust in him at the time and it seemed now that her fortunes had been favorable. After the brief conversation took ce, the four went into the Manor as Fafnir plopped down in the same spot as the previous day andid down on the ground to sunbathe once again. It opened his massive maw to yawn as a rumbling growl escaped its throat and a sleepy look appeared in its eyes. It was happy to be able to stay on the surface now, but things seemed somewhat boring except when it was flying around with Vahn and having fun. Even flying in sky around the territory of the Alliance wasnt really that interesting so it spent the majority of its time sleeping as it released an intimidating aura at anyone, or anything, that mighte near the Manor. There were several people that passed by the outer walls that would find themselves spook as the stopped and looked over the top of the walls with thoughtful expressions. They didnt actually n to break in, they were simply curious what kind of ce the famous Hearth Manor really was. Unfortunately, they curiosity earned them a lingering feeling of dread if they stayed too long because Fafnir would bear its aura down on anyone that overstayed their wee without going through the front gate. Since it was nice and sunny outside, Terra went into the illusory forest and made her way to the secret garden to continue nourishing the nts in the area while expanding her territory even further. It would require constant effort on her behalf to expand her dominion and Terra knew it was her duty to make sure she did her best in guarding to Manor in exchange for a rtively peaceful lifestyle. It was very simr to her duty guarding the Treasure Tree, but Terra didnt mind at all since there was a beautiful sky overhead and she had a lot of freedom to move about as long as she informed people what she was doing. She also had a kind Master and there were many girls that treated her nicely, especially Ryuu, Haruhime, Maemi, and Emiru. It was much better to be surrounded by friendly people that it was to be trapped in the lonely Dungeon where she would periodically be forced to fight for her life. As for Vahn, Riveria, and Lefiya, they made their way towards the Library while Fenrir ran off to explore the Manor with the other girls. Now that they were back at the Manor, there were a few things they needed to properly catalog and discuss regarding their future research and Vahn also wanted to pander to Riveria as an apology for forgetting his promise. She seemed to realize this as well and took the opportunity to question Vahn about some of the things she had been curious about, including the evolution of his magical abilities and the specifics of his sensory capabilities. Though he couldnt exin everything to her, Vahn did he best to convey it in a manner that Riveria would understand and even broke down the existence of magic particles and the structure of molecules for her, revolutionary ideas that were somewhat hard to grasp. One of the things that was rather difficult to believe was Vahns exnation that mana itself had no elemental properties at all, at least in its basic structure. It wasnt until mana was given a purpose, as a result of the influence ofws within the world, that it finally gained an elemental charge. This meant it was possible to transition one elemental energy into apletely different one, which was easily seen through the process of converting water elemental energy into ice. Though they were simr, they were actually fundamentally different when it came to the aspect of the energies contained within them. Fortunately, their affinities were very close to each other so it was much easier to transition water into ice, and vice versa, than it was to change water into fire. This didnt mean it was impossible, however, which Vahn painstakingly demonstrated at the cost of using nearly 70% of his entire energy to turn a marble-sized ball of water into a ball of me. With his newfound mastery of water elemental energies, Vahn could use his perfect affinity with fire to perform such feats, effectively shocking both Riveria and Lefiya to the core. The biggest impact to them hadnt been in that small disy though, as Vahn took things to an entirely different extent when he demonstrated that it was possible to create something from nothing right before their eyes. Unlike the energy he used to create things within his body, which made use of external energy, Vahn used his Oblivion to created a sphere of iron roughly the size of a crystal ball that grew right before the girls eyes. Riveria had several difficult questions to ask after that, since she was interested in the differences between Vahn creation divinity and his ability to create things from nothing. He could already materialize weapons, armor, clothing, and even food from thin air, so she wondered about why he stressed the significance of being able to make an orb of iron. It took a bit of effort, but Vahn essentially exined it at using a temte, image, and desire to form and item from his understanding and using his soul as a medium to essentially perform an exchange with the world itself to produce items. The fundamental difference between creating an orb in the real world, and creating one through his divinity was that one created something from nothing. If they had enough understanding of the process, both Riveria and Lefiya would be able to create things in the future, even without a divinity of their own. Though she suspected there was more to it than Vahn exined, Riveria felt like he was trying to be truthful to her so it was likely just his own difficulties in exining the matter in a way she could understand. It made her feel slightly awkward so she didnt press him too much after he drew out various diagrams for her in order to describe the process. She suddenly felt like a child being educated by her tutor again, which was both refreshing and strangely disconcerting at the same time. One of the reasons she had left her home was because she craved knowledge and wanted to experience the outside world for herself, so being able to learn so much from Vahn was a very fulfilling thing for her. However, his age made her a little self-conscious because it almost felt like she was being treated like a child by someone that was 83 years younger than she was... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Good to be home,Terras Past,Kouhai-Riveria and Vahn-Senpai~!) (A/N: Once again, Id like to thank everyone that has been making pledges on ******* to show their support for the novel. We went from $631 to $821 pledged over the course of a single day so, if everything clears at the end of the month, I should be in a much better position to continue doing this even further into the future~! As for the lovely people that have made Paypal donations, I would like to extend a heartfelt thanks to each of you as receiving direct payments always makes me very happy xD, which Im certain most people can empathize with <3.) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 502 - Loose Ends (1/3)

Chapter 502 - Loose Ends (1/3)

Vahn spent the rest of the morning in the Library with Riveria and Lefiya before it was finally time for the second block of his schedule. He enjoyed a light lunch with the two girls as they made light conversation for a while before eventually parting ways. With the amount of information he had given Riveria, the two had a lot of things to discuss and ruminate over so he was now looking to settle a few other matters. With his return to the surface this time, Vahn felt like he had some loose ends that required wrapping up and he wanted to take care of them before he returned to his normal schedule. Though she was okay with dying things for a bit, Vahn still wanted to tend to Tione in the near future because he felt somewhat guilty having her wait since she had already waited quite a while. He already made ns with Syr, Ryuu, Chloe, Arnya, and Lunoire for this evening, but Vahn decided that he would spend the following night with Tione, Tiona, and Ais. He imagined things would get a little intense at the time, but that shouldnt be a problem as long as he put in the effort. Even without Haruhimes buff, Vahn knew that parameters were actually higher than depicted when he made use of [Will of the Emperor]. If he made proper use of his [Hands of Nirvana] and [Petting], Vahn was confident he would be able to gain an advantage against them. As for the other things he needed to tend to before things returned to normal, Vahn wanted to sort out matters with Haruhime, talk to Maemi, Emiru, and Preasia about the concerns they likely had, and eventually check out his clubhouse, talk with the people he wanted to add to hiswork, and then inspect the ongoing construction efforts. The thing at the top of his list, however, was spending a bit of time with Mn, Tina, and Shizune because he knew the original mother-daughter pair had likely been some of the most worried about his safety. Though Tsubaki was in a simr boat, she was a lot stronger than the two girls and Vahn could tell she was stable during the earlier bath. The family group could typically be found around the first floor, near the kitchen, as they often studied there and helped Maemi and Emiru with chores. This time though, Vahn found several presences in the central courtyard, which had previously been their backyard, and he could see Mn, Tina, Shizune, Preasia, Fenrir, and Ryuu all in outside training together. Vahn realized there was another matter he probably needed to deal with very soon, which was deciding whether he would allow the girls to enter the Dungeon for training. Though Shizune was in a younger body now, she was technically still an a.d.u.l.t and Vahn didnt have a strong case to stop her from entering the Dungeon. As for Tina, she had already brought up the matter of Tiona, Tione, Ais, and even Lefiya and Lili, as points to use against him as a reason to allow her to grow stronger sooner. Lefiya and Lili had yet to reach a.d.u.l.thood and Lilis actual start was lower than Tinas current which made it difficult for Vahn to rationalize stopping her... After making his way to the training area, Vahn sat at the side with Preasia since the girls actually continued their training even though they had taken note of his presence. This showed they were trying to follow the proper discipline expected of someone that wanted to enter the Dungeon and Vahn knew they were trying to show him this. As for Preasia, she had a small smile on her face when Vahn sat next to her and asked, "Vahn...can you...?" Not knowing how long he would be waiting, and considering that he hadnt spent much time with her, Vahn nodded his head and reached out his hand. Preasia, however, took advantage of the situation and stole hisp and leaned against him with a surprising deftness that caused Fenrir to cast her a nce. Vahn issued a silent chuckle and began fluffing Preasias hair as he yed around with her droopy ears and pet her head plentily. Since she was a Sheep Person, her ears were simr to an actual sheeps and they were somewhat long, rounded, and drooped down slightly in a manner that made her seem even more...sheepish. She was also a very petite girl, so it was easy to handle her when she was sitting in hisp, even when she wriggled around a bit under his movements. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Vahn asked, "What have you been up to while I was away, Preasia?" Preasia uttered a silent Uguuu sound before muttering, "I studied with Chloe a lot...but she is only good at poisons...and a few medicines. Without Naaza and Fenrir around...I spent most of my time reading books...and waiting for you toe back. I also spent a lot of time...with Mn...Tina...and Shizune..." Though she had started to get along with everyone in the Manor, Preasia had spent the majority of her time with Fenrir, Naaza, Lili, and Haruhime as her close friends so she had been a little lonely when they all went into the Dungeon. Because Hestia had imed Vahns room as her own while he was away, she couldnt sneak in easily and even spent some of her nights staying with Mn because she was a little afraid of staying on her own. Vahn could feel the subtle fluctuations in Preasias aura and gently hugged around her stomach tofort her body as he rested his chin against the top of her head. It was a little peculiar feeling her b.r.e.a.s.ts resting against his arms, but Vahn didnt mind it and just hugged her until her aura stabilized a bit. Though he was disturbing the training a bit, Ryuu just used it as an opportunity to make the girls work on improving their focus. If they couldnt keep their senses about them during emotional turmoil, they could end up losing their lives in the Dungeon. They also needed to simply get used to Vahns interactions with other girls if they truly wanted to be with him in the future, so Ryuu herself put in a little more effort. After around an hour of hard training, which had including things like sprinting, evading attacks for several minutes at a time, and actual sparring, it was finally time for a break so the girls approached Vahn and Preasia. Contrary to expectations, Fenrir didnt say anything about Preasia sitting in Vahnsp at all and just sat down near him, obviously making room for Tina and Shizune to be at his sides if they wanted to. Preasia was aware of this as well and eventually wiggled her butt a little before climbing out of thefortable seat with a bit of hesitation. With the seat currently freed up, Vahn earned a peculiar look from Fenrir, Tina, and Shizune but none of them moved forward to take it since they were covered in sweat and feeling more than a little self-conscious about it. Mn didnt seem to mind too much, however, as she sat down next to Vahn in a casual manner before asking, "Can you lend us some towels, Vahn?" Though the children seemed to have forgotten about it, Mn knew Vahn had towels that could help mask scentspletely which would solve the current predicament easily. Understanding her intentions, Vahn produced enough towels for everyone, including Ryuu, who epted it gratefully and wiped down her own body. When they smelled the scentless towel, Tina and Shizune understood its purpose and dabbed at the sweat on their bodies as if they were racing against each other. Both girls were wearing training garb that consisted of a ck tunic and small shorts for ease of movement. They also had on a pair of ck spats-like undershorts with long socks that made the small shin guards they were wearing morefortable. As they were both agility type fightings, at least for the moment, they were practicing with daggers and short swords since longsword and greatswords were a bit much for them at the moment. Tina also wore a small b.r.e.a.s.tte atop her tunic, simr in structure to the one her mother was wearing and had a small buckler to guard against attacks. Tina seemed to be following the same route as her mother and fought primarily with a sword and shield while Shizune made use of a pair of daggers, one marginally longer than the other. She actually practiced with Chloe a lot on her days off and also had a pouch on her hip that would one day hold things like smoke bombs, poisons, and other tools. Because of her rather unfortunate past, she was somewhat simr to Chloe and was drawn to the darkness a bit and her developingbat style showed it. Vahn wouldnt be surprised if she became something akin to a ninja or assassin in the future, though he would try to keep her closer to the light instead of letting her fallpletely in the darkness. Perhaps due to her experience in life, Shizune finished wiping her body down much faster than Tina and proudly imed Vahnsp as her reward. Tina had a devastated look on her face but bottled it up as she took her spot in her Mothersp instead. Since they were all sitting together, it made her feel like they were a real family and it wasnt too bad. Just as she was thinking about how to start trying to convince her Papa about letting her go into the Dungeon, Vahn had beaten her to the punch as he smiled and said, "Ill be taking a two-week break to focus on other things, but Ill take both of you into the Dungeon in the future if you get passing marks from Tsubaki, Ryuu, and Chloe." Tinas ears perked up and she leaned over toward Vahn and grabbed his arm as she excitedly asked, "Is nyat really true~nya!?" As a result of her excitement, her verbal tick showed up which made the small cat girl blush fiercely but she continued to stare hopefully at Vahn regardless. His smile turned especially gentle as he nodded his head and said, "Yes, though I think Ill have Mn apany us when I train you while Ill leave Chloe to help watch over Shizune. The two of you will continue training together, but I want you to pursue the paths you choose instead of feeling like youre forced into making a decision. If youd like to learn anything specific, please let me know from now on and Ill do my best to take care of it." Vahns words were very well received by the two girls as Tinaunched herself at Vahn and rubbed her cheek against his affectionately while Shizune took the opportunity to ask, "Does that mean well get one of those me seeds soon? Since I was born as a kitsune, my magic is somewhat weak and Id like to develop it further in the future..." Vahn pat Tinas back to help her calm down as he exined, "Ive almost reached the threshold of using that skill, and I think its a bit too early for the two of you to receive a seed. Because youre so young, I think it would be better for you to naturally develop your abilities instead of having them increase too quickly. We can focus on unlocking your rare skills and promoting your growth through your own efforts. Dont worry though, Ill give you me seeds one day, just not right now. I cant even give them to all the other girls that need one, so please be a little patient..." Shizune didnt seem to mind at all as her ears bobbed a few times and she remarked, "Thats fine with me, as it means well get to spend even more time together, ufufufufu~." Without the growth promotion of the me seed, Vahn would have to look after them even more as they fought to increase their strength the normal way. Unbeknownst to the two girls, however, Vahn was nning to promote their growth through other means while also discovering the actual effects of his [Mentor] Development Ability. It was hard to know exactly what benefits it offered since most of the other girls he trained had me seeds. With the Level 1 Tina and Shizune,bined with the Levels 3 and 4 Mn and Chloe, Vahn would be able to collect more urate data. Though Mn had a few inhibitions about her daughter entering the Dungeon so early, knowing that she would be there alongside both Tina and Vahn made her worries seem negligible. She knew it was important for her daughter to get stronger for the future, and it was a great opportunity for them to spend time together. Vahn might put her daughter through a few trials, but Mn knew he would never let anything happen to her and there shouldnt be any actual danger. He had already been strong enough to fight against Level 4s and 5s as a Level 3, so Mn had confidence that Vahn had be unimaginably strong after reaching Level 4 himself. For the two-and-a-half remaining hours of the second block of his schedule, Vahn spent his time with six girls and helped guide their training. Mikoto had shown up at one point, but she ended up making her way into the forest in the back so as not to disturb their training. Her destination was the clearing that she had heard about and she already knew the correct path from Ryuu. She knew the heritage Vahn had given her was actually far more advanced than her initial expectations and, after reading it through to the end, Mikoto understood she could reach a level of swordsmanship never before seen in the world. Knowing that the skill relied on speed, perception, and reaction timing, Mikoto had even taken the [Acrobatics] Development Ability to increase the flexibility of her body and her spatial awareness. By the time Vahns schedule was transitioning to the third segment, he had promised to help design outfits for both Tina and Shizune in the future as well help them choose a proper weapon. Vahn had an idea about making growth weapons for the two girls, but he was somewhat worried it would skew his own research results. However, it was far more important that the girls were safe and able to grow properly so Vahn was going to consult Hephaestus on the matter as growth weapons didnt actually exist in the record yet. Vahn couldnt even find the [Hestia Knife] through the system shop, since it was a unique weapon that was directly connected to Hestia. He would likely be able to purchase it in another record, but that wasnt very helpful given the current circ.u.mstances. Fortunately, Vahn knew that Hephaestus had the potential to make such weapons and she would likely be more than willing to help out. If he assisted her during the forging process, he could potentially even learn the skill himself while also spending time with the loveable goddess of the forge. They would also need Hestias support during the process, as her ichor would be the catalyst that made the weapon function, but there was little chance she would refuse. She was actually very fond of Tina, Shizune, and Fenrir since her motherly instincts were quite developed. As one of her divinities rted to Family itself, she had a soft spot for children and would probably be very motivated to assist them. As there was no time like the present, and knowing that Hephaestus had said she would be in the Manor in the afternoon, Vahn made his way toward the workshops after parting with the girls. Knowing they would need to getting passing marks from several people, their motivation for training had been ignited and they were nning to spend the afternoon studying about the Dungeon and training with Ryuu, Fenrir, and Mn. Though Fenrir might not be the best teacher, she was very strong and could demonstrate her fighting methods to the girls, which they were both interested in considering her foundation was built on copying Vahn. She had even taken the [Mimickry] Development Ability when she increased her Level and was able to emte Vahns voice if she put in the effort. The first time Vahn heard her practicing it, it made him feel a little bit of a chill, not because she was copying him, but because he was afraid who else she would copy in the future... (A/N: I hadnt rified this previously, but items like grimoires and personal-made weapons that are bound to people typically cant be purchased when Vahn is in the record. If Vahn was in another world, he could actually buy grimoire from Danmachi, but their effects would be far different than their function in the original world. This will be exined more in the future, so stay tuned~! Also, though this is a three-part mini-arc, you dont really lose much reading from chapter-to-chapter, so dont feel like you need to stockpile them~! I wonder if the people actually stockpiling them will read this message...xD) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Preparing for battle,Permission Granted,Fenrir was the sneaky girl all along!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 503 - Loose Ends (2/3)

Chapter 503 - Loose Ends (2/3)

This was actually Vahns first time visiting the workshop since his return from the expedition and he was surprised that several things had changed since hisst visit. The Annex now connected into the Manor itself and continued further to make room for arge storage warehouse, as both Hephaestus and Tsubaki needed space for their materials, as well as apletely new forge that was on the other side of the wall from Vahns. Hephaestus actually drew up designs for all kinds of mechanisms and was quite fond of things like trap doors so the two workshops were connected by a secret passageway. Since she kept her Eternal me at the Hearth Manor now, Hephaestus needed to ensure it was protected for when she was away, even from the other residents of the Manor. The Eternal me was inextricably linked to Hephaestus in the mortal world and, if it was somehow destroyed by someone, it would also result in her own expulsion from the mortal world until she recovered. Even if she had absolute trust in the residents of the Manor, Hephaestus was still a goddess that had lived a very long life and she wasnt the type to take chances with her own life. The surrounding walls had so many formations protecting her forge that even Vahn wasnt confident in being able to break into it without using the ess key. Fortunately, his own eternal me allowed him to bypass the protection and he easily found the mechanism to trigger the false wall to open with his [Eyes of Truth]. Since Vahn and Tsubaki were the only possible people that could enter, with theter only having ess with Hephaestus permission, she wasnt surprised by Vahns arrival and simply wiped the sweat from her brow with a loving smile on her face. Vahn found that Hephaestus grew more beautiful every time he saw her and he quickly stepped forward and embraced her loosely before sealing her smiling lips with a kiss. It was rare that they were alone like this and Vahn felt his own heart itching after realizing they probably wouldnt be disturbed at all within her forge. Even the Eternal me in her forge, alongside the one in his chest, was dancing about happily as the atmosphere slowly developed. Hephaestus eventually closed her teeth slightly to force Vahns tongue to retreat as she gave him an enamored look and said, "Im in the middle of work right now...give me a few minutes to finish up." Vahn felt his heart race and turned his attention to what Hephaestus had been working on before his interruption and saw a dark-green piece of metal that was being heated by the Eternal me. Vahn recognized the material as aposite between Adamantine and Novasteel and it was being forged into the head of a battle-ax. Vahn knew it would take more than a few minutes to finish and Hephaestus would likely let it cool down before reheating it in a painstaking processter. Though he stopped distracting her, Vahn didnt stand to the side and wait and instead said, "Id like to help, Hephaestus. If we work together, it will get done faster and we can talk at the same time..." Hephaestus smiled but Vahn could see aplex look in her eyes as she struggled, likely with how she should refuse him. With the focus she ced on her work, forever in the pursuit of a higher standard of quality, Hephaestus couldnt easily allow someones assistance with her work since, if it actually turned out slightly worse, she would actually reforge the entire thing because of her ownpulsion. Vahn understood her concerns somewhat and gently stroked her back as he softly muttered, "Dont worry, Ill just assist you with some of the basic parts and leave all the actual metalworking to you..." If it was just preparing materials, treating them, and forming ingots, Vahn had a lot of confidence and could even purchase perfect versions of them through the shop if she was that concerned about it. Unable to refuse Vahn easily, Hephaestus eventually released a hot sigh and said, "Okay, Vahn...since you are also connected with the Eternal me, I believe in you..." For the first time in history, Hephaestus allowed someone to actually assist with her work and Vahn did his best not to disappoint her. He actually cut open his palm before they started and fed some of his blood to the Eternal me, which it greedily devoured before dancing around in a highly excited manner. Hephaestus watched this with interest and then began issuing Vahn orders for the tasks he needed toplete, each unable effect the quality of the final product if she did her best. She wasnt truly surprised by his capabilities, but Hephaestus found it very interesting to see how capable Vahn had be when it felt like just a blink ago he had just picked up a hammer for the first time. Seeing that he was still using the hammer they forged together, Hephaestus felt more confident in the final product and did her best to shape the axhead properly. Though he had seen her work a bit, this was Vahns first time watching Hephaestus actually forge an item seriously and it made him realize truly howckl.u.s.ter his own skills were. The coordination between her and the Eternal me was something he couldnt hope to replicate without an incredible amount of effort. It was actually able to make tendrils of me under Hephaestus guidance as they worked in concert to create different patterns within the structure of the metal before she struck it with her hammer. Vahn could see that each strike actually infused energy into the metal in very specific shapes and patterns that perfectly reinforced the structure she had created with her earlier efforts. It was a level of control that made Vahn swallow dryly because of how ridiculous it was. Any confidence he had in forging waspletely eradicated by Hephaestus disy and he truly realized that he had barely taken just a few steps on a functionally endless path on the road to being a Master Smith... Vahn had no way of knowing her actual skill level, but if he were able to analyze it through the path he would see that Hephaestus didnt actually have the [Master Smith] ability at all, but there was an Innate attached to her that was simply called [Hephaestus:(-)]. Her true skill was that of a [Godsmith], which was a level unattainable without being an actual god, but it was invalidated by her existence. This is what made her skill iparable to other forging gods, even when she was restricted by thews of the record when she was in the mortal world. Without the use of her Arcanum and Divine Power, Hephaestus was still the greatest cksmith in the entire world and her skills could even match the performance of some gods there were still in the Heavens. The only thing that truly prevented her from creating even greater masterpieces were the restrictions of the materials she had to work with. Unlike those that were found in heaven, the materials in the mortal world had all kinds of impurities and even the air around her was working against her as a result of the somewhat chaotic flow of elemental energy naturally present in the world. Vahn had originally thought they would have an opportunity to talk, but Hephaestus work ethic made him feel a little ashamed of himself. From the moment she epted his help, Hephaestus becamepletely focused on her work and only looked over periodically to cast her glowing eyes at the materials he was working with. When she was putting in an effort, both of Hephaestus eyes glowed with a divine light simr to Anubis, except for the fact they were a fiery red. Instead of distracting her, Vahn feltpelled to put all of his efforts into his own work so that he didnt disappoint her. As a result, they finished therge battleax, something that Vahn felt would have taken him several days, after around two hours and forty minutes... Hephaestus was about to wipe away her sweat again, but Vahn had already pulled out a towel and began dabbing it off of her. A smile bloomed on her face as she remarked, "Youve improved a great deal, Vahn...Im very impressed." Vahn simply shook his head in response and said, "I never realized just how far apart our skill level actually was...it was a very eye-opening experience. Thank you for letting me help you, Hephaestus..." Though his words sounded somewhat self-deprecating, Hephaestus could see a fire in Vahns eyes, which he could feel himself as he aspired to increase the quality of his own work in the future. Even Tsubaki was more skilled than he was, albeit somewhat less innovative and experimental, and Hephaestus was several orders of magnitude more skilled than both of them. If Vahnw as like a small pool, Tsubaki was like a small pond, whereas Hephaestus was like the ocean itself... As she enjoyed Vahns care and concern, as he pampered her quite a bit as a result of her pregnancy, Hephaestus asked in a low and contended voice, "So, why did you originallye here, Vahn? I can tell you wanted to see me, but I know there had to be another reason behind your actions..." A wry smile appeared on Vahns face as he said, "I wanted to talk to you about potentially making weapons for Tina and Shizune. Ill be taking them into the Dungeon in a few weeks and I wanted them to have something that could grow alongside them instead of something that made them arbitrarily stronger than normal." Hearing Vahns words, Hephaestus titled her head to the side in thought before nodding her head and saying, "It may be a bit difficult, but I think I could manage if Hestia assists me. Since it wouldnt be good for their development to be overly reliant on a weapon, I think making them a weapon that can grow is a good idea. It wont be easy though, even for me...we also need to consider the materials properly so there arent any issues in the future." Now that Hephaestus had the idea in her mind, thought were racing through her brain as several different designs began to take shape. Unable to resist her ownpulsions, she moved into the adjacent room where there was a drawing table and immediately set about drawing up the blueprints necessary. Vahn had followed behind her in interests as she began peppering him with questions about the girlsbat styles, their height, weight, projected growth, the length of their arms, the dexterity of their fingers, and even how their bodies moved based on habits. Though he was a little caught off guard, Vahn was able to answer the majority of the questions rtively easily by relying on his memory and understanding of the girls bodies. Though it might not have beenpletely urate, Vahn could even somewhat project Tinas growth by taking into consideration the structure of Mns body and the images he had seen of her father. As for Shizune, he knew what she looked like as an a.d.u.l.t and, even if there were subtle changes as a result of her living conditions and other factors, there wouldnt be drastic differences in her basic appearance. He had also seen Tina train several times, while watching Shizunes progress earlier, so he knew their various faults and the habits they relied on duringbat. As a result, Hephaestus ended up drawing up a diagram of a 20cm long dagger for Shizune and a 50cm long shortsword for Tina, if measured just by their des. There were still changes that would need to be made for the final designs, but Hephaestus was satisfied with what she had drawn up and eventually set down the quill before she teasingly said, "Your knowledge about those two girls is rather...intimate?" Vahnughed in response without minding the matter too much as he said, "My memory is nearly perfect and I learned from both you and Tsubaki about how to properly measure things with my eyes and by relying on my perception. Before I came here, I had watched the girls training so their images are still fresh in my mind. Besides, I can confidently say I know at least one gorgeous goddess of the forge infinitely more intimate than almost any other girl..." As Vahn spoke, he traced his index finger across Hephaestus exposed corbone which made her release a hot sigh under the influence of his [Hands of Nirvana]. Ever since their wedding night, Vahn felt like there wasnt a single thing about Hephaestus body that he didnt knowpletely. Unfortunately, their presence would be noted if they were absent during dinner and there wasnt really enough time to prove it to her in any meaningful way. Instead, Vahn set out plush sofa for them and said, "We dont have much time, but we can still cuddle a bit before dinner...I want to listen to the baby." Hephaestus had an enamored and anticipatory look on her face at first, but it immediately softened when she heard Vahns words. Though she could easily manage the feat herself, she muttered, "Help me up...I dont want to hurt the baby~." Vahn obediently supported Hephaestus body over to the sofa before gingerlyying her against the soft cushions. If he could, he would pamper her endlessly up until the moment of the delivery but life was never so convenient so he just enjoyed this small moment to the fullest. Being able to rest his head against her abdomen as she stroked his hair made Vahn feel an incredible amount offort and he even had the urge to cry as a result of the emotions that had started to rise up inside of him. As faint as they might be, Vahn could feel the hearts of his two daughters beating within Hephaestus w.o.m.b and it made him feel strangely small and frail, almost like he was a part of them. Seeing Vahns reaction actually made Hephaestus tear up slightly and she felt truly grateful for everything that had happened over thest six months. Though she often prayed for a reprieve, Hephaestus harbored no actual hope that she would ever be free of the loneliness that had gued her. Even if she found a temporary love, it would be just that, temporary, almost like a momentary blip in her eternity. Through Vahn, she found apanion that she could walk with for a long time, potentially even stretching into eternity itself. He not only healed her scar, but he also healed the wounds of her heart and even blessed her with a child, the ultimate amalgamation of the love they shared. Their children even had the potential of bing goddesses themselves, except she was certain Vahn would find a way to manage the influence Divinity had over their minds and souls. He was truly an amazing little boy and Hephaestus couldnt even imagine a life where she had never met Vahn...just thinking about it made her feel a little lonely. Unable to prevent the words from leaving her lips, Hephaestus muttered, "I love you so much..." as she gently stroked Vahns head. He opened his watery eyes to match her own as an almost pained smile appeared on his face and he said, "Hephaestus...thank you...I love you so much...so much..." With Hephaestus words dealing critical damage to his heart, Vahn couldnt stop himself from crying tears filled with a plethora of powerful emotions that were far more overwhelming than his fragile heart could take. He felt so much love and gratitude for this beautiful woman before him and he couldnt find any way to express it because there was no way he could ever truly repay her for everything she had given him. Without her unwavering trust and support, Vahn imagined he wouldnt be nearly as happy as currently was. Though he might have found love, even started a family of his own, Vahn couldnt imagine it being nearly as fulfilling as everything he had now. Thus, unable to find any way to truly express what he felt, Vahn opened himself up to the goddess that had left a permanant impression on his heart and cried... --- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Eternal Bae,Pool Vs. Ocean,Crybaby Emperor...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 504 - Loose Ends (3/3)

Chapter 504 - Loose Ends (3/3)

After spending around half an hour together, Vahn and Hephaestus made their way to the dining room where everyone else had already started to congregate. Because her shift had started at noon, Eina wasnt present at the dining table, instead of leaving Misha sitting next to Haruhime with a somewhat loose smile on her face as she tried to butter up to the slightly tense Renard girl. However, noticing his presence, Misha immediately ceased her behavior and held up her hand in a form of greeting as she said, "Heyo, Vahn~! Wee back; its good to see you and the girls return to the surface without issue. You should know, everyone was suuuuper tense while you were away~." Vahn sat down with Hephaestus and Hestia at his side before casting a nce around the table as he responded to Misha by saying, "I heard youve been working hard on behalf of the Hestia Familia and the Alliance, Misha. Thank you for all of your efforts..." Mishas association with the girls in the Manor, even with her preferences, wasnt really a bad thing in Vahns opinion because she was sort of a method of exposing the girls to outside stimulus. If the girls cooped themselves up inside the Manor all the time without interacting with outsiders every now and then, it could cause all kinds of problems in the long run. Though he was far from a professional, Vahn had idly read a few books on psychiatry and stuff so he could better advise the girls when they were having trouble. Misha shot a thumbs up at Vahn and said, "Yeah, Ive been bustin my butt to make sure everything has been running smoothly, and it hasnt been easy, mind you! Hooowever, it was Eina that worked the hardest, so make sure you treat her niiiice and gently, okay~?" Vahn couldnt help but smile at Mishas remark and nodded confidently as he said, "Ill make sure Eina is happy, no matter what it takes. And not just her...I will never stop doing my best for everyone within the Hearth Manor." In response to his words, Syr beganughing softly before remarking, "Im certain youll do your best for people outside of the Manor as well, Vahn~." Tiona immediately jumped in and said, "Of course~! After all, Vahn is like a super-duper hero kind of guy, ya know~?" If there were a Vahn fan club, Tiona may very well be the leader with the vice-leader position belonging to Senna from the Lakshmi Familia. Even now, though he tried not to let it bother him, Sennas affection for him was firmly hovering around 99(Idtry) and Vahn wasnt sure how to address it in the future. Tiona wasnt the only one to agree with Syr, however, as Vahn earned a few embarrassing remarks from Chloe, Ryuu, and the never shy, at least when it came to teasing him, Tsubaki. Preasia also looked like she wanted to say something, but she generally kept to herself and just gazed intently into his face during their meals. As usual, dinner was a lively affair andst nearly an hour-and-a-half before it finally came to an end after tes had piled up a bit. The fact that the majority of them were around Lefiya made the bashful Elf hang her head, but it didnt stop her from nibbling away at a small tree-shaped biscuit. She wasnt really that hungry, but it felt like she could eat and found it hard to resist when there was food in front of her. Misha seemed to be fascinated by this, but there was no way to break through the wall of Riveria and Ais who shielded Lefiya from her clutches. Vahn had thought it he would be helpful, so he assisted the girls in washing the dishes and made use of his Xunw form to create a small vortex of water as he ran the dirty dishes through them. Maemi and Emiru stared at the skill with glittery eyes and asked in the characteristic synchronicity, "Can you teach us that skill~?" Though he wasnt sure they would be able to exercise control over individual elements, Vahn knew it was possible and promised to do his best, but only if they did so as well. Without any hesitation at all, both girls agreed to work hard with an almost scary amount of passion as their tail actually crossed before curling around and making a heart shape... While the others had been on the expedition, Maemi and Emiru hadnt stopped their training for a single day and were so in synch with each other that it was hard to find them in different ces these days. They even walked around with their tails entwined at times and perfectly matched each others movements without interfering with the other. Vahn knew he would likelye to a head against the two girls in the future, likely after he eventually took them into the Dungeon to help them reach Level 3. Maemi and Emirua were actually already at the basic parameters to increase their level but were correctly dying the matter so they could increase their parameters even further. Though they didnt have the same devotion as Haruhime, their desire to be with him was genuine, even if it was a bit peculiar in the way it manifested. Even now, Vahn was very aware that both girls still wore the victory panties he had given them as they had simultaneously bent down to pick up a fork that had dropped to the ground and showed him directly... Managing to avoid a confrontation with the twins, Vahn eventually retreated to his own room in preparation for theing night. Chloe, Arnya, and Lunoire had managed to take earlier shifts in the day so that they would have the evening off and were raring to go since early in the afternoon. Ryuu actually ended up passing on the event as she offered her help at the pub and instead had Aki serve as her recement. As she had already been forted by Vahn the previous day, she wanted to give him more time with the girls he had yet to tend to. Ryuu was always a very thoughtful girl when it came to herpanions and Vahn decided he would have to reward her when it was just the two of them again. Thest member of the entourage was Syr, who brought together the entire group seamlessly as its core. Other than Vahn himself, she yed the most important role inrger events and she was very aware of it. During the expedition, she had grown much closer to many of the girls within the Manor and now had a firmly cemented position within the group. Even Eina deferred to her on several matters while Hestia only interfered when it was something that bothered her. As she still wasnt ustomed to the mortal world that much, there were a few things she couldnt wrap her head around easily and this caused her to reach out to Hephaestus and Loki for support. Typically, if it was something that actually bothered Hestia, it ended up having to be changed slightly before apromise was found. However, the fact that three goddesses came together topromise with a mortal was a credit to the influence Syr had within the group. The only mortals within the group that would directly oppose her, to which she always took a step back, were Tsubaki and Riveria. Thus, with Syr kicking off the event, things quickly escted to a rtively intense level after a very short period of time. The resonance she caused in the other girls even made Chloe, Arnya, and Aki go into a heat-like state where their bodies burned up as the passionately sought Vahns fort. Vahn was worried about Arnya, but it hardly even looked like she was pregnant and there didnt see to be any trouble with the fetus at all. As for Aki, though she showed marginally more than Arnya, she managed to keep her sensibilities a bit and didnt exert herself too much. Vahn had even let her go at her own pace to be safe as she mounted his h.i.p.s and rocked her body atop his as he simultaneously tended to Syr and Lunoire as Chloe and Arnya explored his body with their tongues... --- The feeling of freedom and rxation Vahn felt after a long night with the girls was always an incredible feeling. His mind was always very calm after the fact and it felt like he just went through a long period of meditation in an endless pursuit of enlightenment. Just feeling the warmth of the five girls against his body, as if their affections radiated from their sleeping figures and intermingled with his very existence, made Vahn feel a profound sense of aplishment. Any of these girls, just by themselves, would cause any man to feel pride in themselves yet Vahn had the fortune to have all five at his side. With how eagerly they sought him the previous night, Vahn felt like anyints he might have in regards to his troubles seemed selfish. He truly lived a very blessed lifestyle, even if it was sometimes filled with difficulties machinated by fate... After checking the status of Evas orb, Vahn hesitantly extricated himself from the bed and allowed the girls to continue sleeping since he had put them through a bit of a trial the previous night. The only girls to escape his clutches were Arnya and Aki, but Syr, Chloe, and Lunoire werent so fortunate. Chloe, especially, had suffered a bit since Arnya, Syr, and Aki were all fond of teasing her even when she bore the brunt of Vahns torment. It was a strange thing to consider, but Chloe was surprisingly good at being bullied by other girls since her reactions were all a bit extreme and incredibly stimting. Unlike Arnya and Aki, who put in a fair amount of effort to control their verbal tick, Chloepletely embraced it and, when she was in an excited state, her outbursts were quite the impact on both the eyes and ears. Vahn went to the onsen and quickly washed his body as he prepared for the next few events that would be transpiring throughout the day. He was nning to spend some time with Haruhime during the early morning before spending the rest of the day making the rounds and spending time with the other girls. During the evening, Vahn would be inviting Tione, Tiona, and Ais into his room, or perhaps one of the newly renovated areas, before challenging them a battle. He imagined it would be rather intense, so Vahn wanted to rx for the other two blocks of his schedule to prepare his mind and body. Though it was a bit strange to imagine, Vahn didnt think he woulde out of things unscathed. Haruhimes assistance would be imperative to give him an edge, but Vahn felt a bit of guilt about having to ask her for assistance with other girls when, as ording to her current status in the logbook, she was still waiting for him herself... With the nature of Haruhimes Innate, Vahn actually felt a little intimidated but continued forward regardless because he had absolute confidence in his own Innates. Even if things got a little intense, he was certain things wouldnt develop in a way that he couldnt control. He even suspected that Haruhimes Innate might achieve some level of growth as a result, so Vahn was looking forward to the event for various reasons. After all, Haruhime was a very beautiful girl and there was a certain exotic quality to a woman who had two tails. As his imagination was very detailed, Vahn could imagine her involving the two dexterous appendages and it caused a bit of pressure to rise in the bridge of his nose. Unsurprisingly, even though they had the next two weeks off mandatorily, Vahn found Haruhime outside doing some early morning training. With the exception of the girls that had fought hard the previous night, Hestia, and Hephaestus, everyone else was already up and working hard to polish their skills as normal. Even Terra, who wasnt really there to train, was still sitting off at the side talking with Preasia with her wings spread against the ground. He hadnt asked her about it, but Vahn knew she did it to feel closer to the earth and he could even see her wings absorbing nutrients from the sun and sky as it was processed through her body and then fed out as elemental energy rose up from the ground in a mutual exchange. She gave the nts around her nutrients to grow even stronger while they pulled energy from the itself to feed into her body. Though he was very interested in the processes going on with Terra, Vahn considered how he would approach Haruhime without making things awkward. She was currently having a sparring match with Ais while Tiona, Tione, and Tsubaki watched from the side. Eventually, Ais managed to get an edge against Haruhime even though her Innate gave her an incredible edge against most opponents. Not only were Aiss parameters, excluding magic, around twice that of Haruhimes, but she actually relied more on her instincts and intuition when it came to fighting than simply her sight. She could intuit Haruhimes actions inbat while Haruhime had no way of reading Aiss tempo since it was based on her own somewhat chaotic movements. Unable toe up with a method to prevent things from being awkward, Vahn decided to simply deal with the potential fallout directly as he approached the group using the lull in the action. Ais was currently giving Haruhime bits of advice on how she could improve, but the conversation changed quickly when he made an appearance. Haruhime has a slightly embarrassed expression for a brief moment before she seemed to understand something from Vahns demeanor that made her grow excited very quickly. She had been using her Innate earlier, but it wasnt until Vahns appearance that the red marks around her eyes appeared and her somewhat off-green eyes became pale gold. Vahn released a slightly exasperated sigh through his nose at being so easily seen through before saying in a voice that only the five of them could hear, "I came to retrieve Haruhime...also, if youre not against it, I would appreciate it if the three of you made some time this evening..." Vahn suddenly felt like a young boy trying to confess to his crush as Haruhime bounced up to her feet and said, "My heart feels like its going to burst in my chest..." As for Tsubaki, she gave Vahn a somewhat reproachful look with a teasing glint in her eyes before shaking her head and whistling as she walked away. Tione and Tiona had eager looks that even outstripped Haruhimes while Ais seemed confused for a brief moment before a fiery light appeared in her eyes apanied by a rise in her aura as it took on a pink hue. After exining the situation to the three girls, including when and where they would meet up for the battle, Vahn retreated from the training field as casually as possible while the eyes of almost every girl followed him like heads were synchronized on a swivel. Vahn felt slightly queasy under their gazes but did his best to stand tall as they made their way into the Manor. When he finally entered through the back door, Vahn couldnt help but release a sigh of relief as Haruhime beganughing like a bell behind him. He gave her a wry smile before asking, "Did you ever have any specific hopes and desires about your first time? It may be a bit awkward to say, but Id like to help your dreamse true if I can..." Haruhimes eyes squinted until they had nearly closedpletely as she gave Vahn an enchanting look and a vibrant smile. Her eyes seemed to glow with increased intensity as she ruminated over the matter before shaking her head and saying, "I had long thought that my purity had been tainted so the only thing I ever hoped for was liberation from that darkness. Youve already given me that, and so much more...rather than selfishly seek my own pleasure, the only thing I can think of is thoughts of serving you with all my heart...and body..." Vahn took a deep breath as he processed Haruhimes heavy words. All of the anxiety and embarrassment he had been feeling melted away and the only thing that mattered at the moment was making this loveable little fox happy. Vahn gave a curt nod after a short period of thought and reached forward to pick Haruhime up in his arms as he said, "You desired a hero...so let me treat you like the princess from a fairy tale, at least a little bit..." Haruhime linked her arms around Vahns neck and ced her head against his chest as her tails danced about beneath her body. Each word Vahn spoke made the feelings in her heart grow even more and it was actually a little painful to tolerate with him simply holding her like this. She tilted her head up with watery eyes that reflected a passion deeper than the sea as she said, "Vahn...please dont tease me anymore..." Even though he wasnt actually teasing her, Haruhime couldnt tolerate being so close to what she wanted and still being made to wait. Caught a little off guard by Haruhimes words, Vahns mind stalled for a brief moment before he nodded his head firmly and disappeared from the small foyer around the back door and made his way to the East Wing where there was arge private parlor that was decorated in the manner of the Far East. True to their original intent, the entire wing had been converted to match the style except for the corridor leading towards the annex that connected at the far end of the East Wing. His own bed was currently upied, so Vahn took Haruhime somewhere he thought she would befortable. The red tendrils from her body had been clinging to him throughout the rtively short trip and she actually seemed to be in a bit of pain by the time he reached the room. Vahn set out a thick futon on the ground before gingerly lowering Haruhimes body onto its surface and viewing her captivating figure from above. She was already covered in a lightyer of sweat and her fairplexion had taken on a ruddy blush almost as if she had ingested arge quantity of alcohol. Her reaction was a little worrying, but Vahn knew this wasnt a point that he could afford to hesitate. Even without his prompting, she pulled at her obi to loosen her clothes and struggled to lift her body as if she had trouble mustering her strength. Even using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn couldnt identify the source of her ailment and couldnt see it as anything other than the influence of her Innate on her body. Her body temperature had increased several degrees and the illusory third tail hadpletely separated from the other two. Though it drew his interest, Vahn was more concerned with Haruhime herself so he reached down and began helping her remove her kimono as he prepared to take one more step towards the future... --- (A/N: This is technically the end of Volume 12 >:D. Tomorrow will actually have 5-7 chapters, with the majority of them being NSFW, so please prepare yourself. I also need to refresh my own mind, so Ill see you all tomorrow <3...P.S. Please dont hate me for this massive cliff. It takes a lot of effort to write good NSFW chapters TT__TT...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mishas clutches,Bashful Vahn,Author Style: Monstrous Cliff Summoning Jutsu!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 505 - Sanjouno Haruhime (1/2)

Chapter 505 - Sanjouno Haruhime (1/2)

The room was rather dark, as lights within the danmachi record were powered by magic cores and there were none active in their current room, but this wasnt an issue for either Vahn or Haruhime. Seeing her figure in the low-light of the room, Vahn could feel a subtle scratching at his heart that as heat spread through his blood as a result of his own [Heart of the Eternal me] pumping powerfully in his chest. Haruhime had always been a very beautiful girl, but seeing herying against the futon with a teary-eyed expression made a powerful urge rise up in Vahn that was only kept at bay by his rationality and concern for her. Haruhimes state was offpared to what Vahn had grown to expect and she seemed to be suffering a great deal of pain even though there were no signs of problems with her body. Other than the heat that was spreading from her abdomen, there were no other abnormalities and even the flow of her mana was strong and stable. The only discernable cause was the illusory third tail that fluttered around between Haruhimes legs alongside her other fluffy appendages. Laying on her back, all of Haruhimes tails writhed about in between her thighs and tickled against Vahns hands as he finally freed Haruhime from her outeryer of clothing. Vahn saw the obi wrapping up Haruhimes b.r.e.a.s.ts and made his hands towards the fabric as Haruhime whimpered in a pitiful manner, "Vaahn...please..." Tofort her, Vahn ced his hand against Haruhimes abdomen and was surprised by the heat radiating from her body as the tendrils of her auras twined around his forearm. He used his [Hands of Nirvana] to try and soothe her pain but she immediately bit her bottom lip as her fingernails dug into the futon. Vahn stroked the top of her hair and said, "Itll be okay, Haruhime...leave it to me. If your body is prepared properly, things will be painful for you..." As if she didnt agree with his words at all, Haruhime shook her head from side-to-side in a clearly frustrated manner. Just as Vahn was about to ask what was wrong, Haruhime seemed to reach a critical point and, almost as if her weakened state from before had been an illusion, she quickly pulled up her body while attempting to push him down. Vahns bnce and the sheer difference in their parameters werent easily overwhelmed, however, resulting in Haruhime leaning against him as she tore away at his clothing. Vahn was confused for a brief moment before realizing that Haruhimes state was overwhelming her own sensibilities and he needed to take more decisive action. Her Innate had a powerful influence over her own state of mind, and he had underestimated its influence at this critical moment. Unequipping his clothingpletely, Haruhimes rather sharp nails scratched against his chest before she realized he was now bare before her. Instead of wing at him in a desperate manner, she seemed to calm down a bit as she rubbed her palms against his body and began kissing him in a dazed state. Vahn wanted tofort her by petting and tending to her body, but he realized she wasnt in a normal state at all and instead began cing his hands against her clothing and storing them away in his inventory instead. Haruhime could feel the cool air against her flushed skin and it caused her aura to be even stronger in an instant. She tried to push against his chest once again, but Vahn was like an immovable mountain that made her almost want to start crying. Suddenly, Haruhime felt a pressure copsing in on her from all directions as the giddiness she had been feeling was being suppressed deep inside of her. Though the heat in her body didnt fade, she felt her mind regain some of its rity and looked up to see Vahns gentle face. He ced his hand against her cheek as white energy spread from his palms into her mind like a flood as he said, "Emotions may give you power, but if you lose yourself to them you will be a ve...the Haruhime I love isnt such a desperate girl. Have confidence, Haruhime, or I will be inhibited by my own concerns for you..." Though she was breathing deeply withbored, almost painful, breaths, Haruhime tried to calm down as she nodded her head and said, "It feels like my heart is about to burst...pleasefort me, Vahn. Ill give you everything, so please ept it..." Haruhime actually had a slight urge to taunt and seduce Vahn, but she quelled the urge and kept repeating words within her mind to remind herself that she needed to act properly. However, there was another presence within her mind that whispered tantalizing words of promise that were hard for her to ignore. It spoke of conquest, dominance, and obtaining Vahn for herself... Unbeknownst to Haruhime, the reason Vahn had forcibly suppressed her with his [Will of the Emperor] was that arge illusory fox had appeared behind her body and was currently staring at him with nted and greedy eyes. He hugged Haruhimes head against his chest and stared down therge white fox that was covered with red markings that were more than 10m in length. There were nine tails twining around behind its back that danced with an illusory fire that spread through the room as if it were setting it aze. Because its size wasrge, evenpared to the somewhat open parlor, its tails would pass through the walls, floor, and ceiling and the seemed to add an additional 10m to its overall length. Invasive energy tried to overwhelm his mind once again, but it crashed against the frigid wall of [Will of the Emperor] as if it had no substance at all. This was the seventh attempt by the fox to try and exercise some degree of influence over him and each failure caused its eyes to squint more. Vahn wasnt sure if the fox was actually a sentient entity, because he couldnt sense it at all and, if not for his [Eyes of Truth], he may not have been able to see it either. After the eighth failure, the foxs eyes opened wide as all of its tails flickered about before the nearly came to aplete stop. It was almost as if it was now moving in slow motion and its tails had be far more illusory than before. A light appeared within Vahns pupils as he gazed into therge golden eyes of the fox that seemed to transition from being greedy to...curious. Instead of diving into Haruhime as it had in the past, the fox leaned toward Vahn as if it were smelling him but there were no sounds to indicate whether this was the case. As if it had realized something, the fox shrunk slightly and paced around behind Haruhime as it kept eye contact with Vahn. From its actions, Vahn realized that it must not have thought he could actually see it at first and now it was suddenly curious about him. Either that, or it wanted to create a gap in his mind by tricking him into lowering his guard. Given what he had seen thus far, Vahn believed it might have been theter as he hugged Haruhimes body even tighter. Seeing Vahns actions, the fox squinted its eyes before they began darting around as if it were thinking. Thoughts of its sentience became more developed within Vahns mind and he was even considering trying to speak to it when its wispy tails suddenly flickered again and he felt the ninth wave of energy crash against his [Will of the Emperor], this time like a tidal wave as it attempted to overwhelm him. For a brief moment, there was a challenging look in the foxes eyes before a strangely human smile appeared on its face. It didnt seem to mind that its attempts had failed at all as it slowly walked over to Haruhime as its body got progressively smaller. Eventually, it was norger than the size of a fox kit as it jumped on to Haruhimes shoulder and stood on its back legs with its paws against his chest. The fox looked up and appeared to be quite adorable, but Vahn didnt drop his guard at all even when it began to nuzzle against his body in a seemingly affectionate manner. A few secondster, as if somewhat dissatisfied, the fox gave him another pitiable look before it disappeared into wispy blue mes. Vahn looked around for signs of its appearance as Haruhime began drawing deeper breaths as her body shook slightly in his arms. Realizing what had happened, Vahn felt more than a little annoyed because the small fox had obviously retreated into Haruhimes body. He couldnt even detect it at all now, as its energy was exactly the same as Haruhimes own. As it was her Innate, they were inextricably linked together and there wasnt anything he could do about it with his current power. On Haruhimes end, she had been doing her best to calm down as she enjoyed Vahns embrace and scent. The words in the back of her mind had increased greatly for a time but had eased up a short while ago, making Haruhime feel like they had just been her imagination. However, after the fox vanished from Vahns sight, Haruhime suddenly felt the heat in her body spreading once again but there was a strange rity to her mind instead of the anxiousness she had felt earlier. All of her senses were greatly enhanced and Vahns smell was like an intoxicating aroma that made her body burn, yet her rity persisted and it made her feel strangely in control of the situation. However, there was another underlying instinct within her thatpelled her to ce her palms against Vahn as she wrapped her tails around his body as if returning his embrace. Vahn felt the soft appendages wrap around him as a strange burning sensation touched his skin and tried to spread through his body from the illusory mes on Haruhimes tails. It was a very simr sensation to when Eva was draining his blood and Vahn knew that Haruhimes charm wasnt the only effect she could make use of to try and seduce him. Her tails seemed to be the source of her power and Vahn had suffered their illusory attack several times in the past. Though he had been in contact with them several times, this was actually Vahns first time suffering this type of attack from Haruhime and there was a strangepulsion in his body to simply ept it. However, Vahn wasnt going to be controlled so easily and he realized he would have to defeat the fox within Haruhime to ovee this peculiar situation. Without dying the matter any further, Vahn removed thest piece of clothing from Haruhimes body and revealed her delicate garden to the now hot air of the room. Though they had been illusory, the mes from the fox had increased the temperature of the room a great deal and it was nearly 40 degrees inside the parlor now. As Renards didnt enjoyying on their backs, as their tails jutted out slightly and it would be somewhat ufortable toy on them for an extended period of time, Vahn lowered Haruhimes body. She looked up at him with golden eyes and didnt say any words of resistance at all, though her tails tried to cling to him along with the red tendrils of her aura. Though he knew the girl before him was Haruhime, Vahn also knew there was another presence within her, not that there was any actual difference between the two. Since it seemed to want to challenge him, while Haruhime herself eagerly sought intimacy with him, Vahn decided to step up the pace as heid Haruhime on her side before grabbing her h.i.p.s and forcing her onto her knees. Haruhime released a sensual m.o.a.n as her nails dug into the futon and her tails spread out like a fan in front of his face before dancing about in a tantalizing and hypnotic manner... Vahn had prepared himself for the attack, but the next moment was marked by Haruhime crying out, "Vahn~!" as he found himself already inserted inside of her as he ravished her body. He was leaning over her back as her tails writhed about his body and he had even been pressing down her head. Haruhime had a heated expression on her face as she tookbored breaths and said, "Dont stoooop~." after feeling Vahns movements had ceased. As if it had realized Vahn had escaped its influence, one of Haruhimes tails snuck up his chest and rubbed around at his face as a captivating aroma touched his nostrils. The illusory blue mes tried to invade his mind through the pores in his skin before they once again crashed against the imprable wall of [Will of the Emperor]. Thoughts rapidly raced through Vahns mind and he realized the influence of the tails was based on his own mentality and the visual stimuli he received more than anything else. Since he had already been prepared to take Haruhime, the hypnotic effect of the tails had taken advantage of the gap and used his own willingness against him. Even though his [Will of the Emperor] protected his mind, Vahn wasnt immune to the things he chose to do. If Haruhime didnt cry out his name, he might not have even realized it before the event had already escted greatly. Realizing this, Vahn could help but shake his head as he mentally remarked, ("I didnt expect that today would have two difficult battles to ovee...") Vahn adamantly refused to be a bystander in this important event in Haruhimes life so grabbed around the base of her tails and traced his hand along theirbined lengths and held them together to prevent them from wandering. Haruhime tried to wiggle around her butt, since it was very restrictive for a Renard to have their tails bound, but Vahn didnt loosen up his grip andpletely prevented their mischief. He saw the bloody mess where he was connected with Haruhime andmented his own weakness. Fortunately, Haruhimes body seemed more than ready for the insertion and she didnt seem to be bothered by any pain at all. Even though it looked like he had been a bit forceful, almost as if he had stretched out her insides, her aura didnt fluctuate with the signs of pain at all. Since Vahn had stopped pinning down her head, Haruhime arched her back to look at him with confusion and a pleading look on her face. Vahn smiled and moved his h.i.p.s in a small circle that made her take in a quick breath before exhaling over a much longer length of time. With the momentum shifting in his favor, Vahn said, "Doing things in a forceful and savage manner goes against everything I know about proper s.e.x..." Though she was very educated on the matter, Vahn took on a lecturing tone as he used his left hand to stroke Haruhimes stark white backside with his [Hands of Nirvana] and [Petting]. She quickly lowered her head once again as her long hair poured around her face and she epted his actionspletely. Vahn was looking at Haruhimes backside with his [Eyes of Truth] and continued by saying, "If there is trauma to the body, it ruins the sensitivity and makes things unnecessarily painful...s.e.x is supposed to be something that brings people closer, not something that is selfishly sought from others. It is like apromise between two people to make each other happy...if it is a one-sided affair, it is closer to **** than the intercourse of lovers. I will make all of you mine, Haruhime, even that sneaky little fox hiding inside of you..." Haruhime couldnt hear Vahns words at all because he had been teasing around her entrance after finding a sweet spot a few centimeters in. As she had been a v.i.r.g.i.n, Haruhime was almost painfully tight but Vahns own tolerance against such pressure had increased greatly through conditioning. This allowed him to keep his rity even though it was a very pleasant sensation that made his ns burn with a stimting jolt that shot down his p.e.n.i.s with each probing thrust. He was very aware that the mes were even inside of Haruhimes body but he was able to easily resist them and enjoy their heat. Vahn finally found what he was looking for as he released Haruhimes tails and pressed his thumb against the small indent slightly beneath her tail, and a few centimeters above her pulsating little anus. The tails immediately tried to move around in a simr hypnotic manner as they had previously but, shortly after Vahn inserted a thread of energy into the small indentation, Haruhimes tails curled up in an arc that angled toward her head. Haruhime herself released a loud cry and wiggled her h.i.p.s but her tails remained rigid since Vahn had found a pressure point that had caused them to lock up. Haruhimes aura flickered about chaotically as she asked, "Vahn...what...my tails..." while still trying to get them to move. Vahn continued to watch her reaction with intrigue as he softly said, "Your tails are very beautiful, Haruhime, but they are also forcibly trying to take control of my mind. I know you well, and this isnt something youd want...right?" Hearing Vahns words, Haruhimes eyes widened and she put in an effort to regte her breathing before saying, "I would never try to control you, Vahn. I would rather cut my tails offpletely if they prevented me from being together with you..." Vahn stroked Haruhimes backside with both of his hands as he slowly pressed his weight into her, causing a shivering m.o.a.n to escape her lips as she lowered her upper body and raised her butt against him. After reaching the entrance of her cervix and pressing into it, Vahn said, "Going to such an extreme would just pain both of us, Haruhime...the only thing you need to do is gain control over your own power, and then well be able to enjoy these moments even more." Considering Haruhimes reaction to his movements, Vahn knew she was enjoying this a lot more than more girls that had just lost her v.i.r.g.i.nity. It was likely the influence of her Innate, or perhaps her own emotions overwhelming any pain she might have felt, but her body had been shivering in pleasure every time she exhaled. Contrary to her expectations, Vahn pressed the pressure point below her tails and restored their function as he said, "Use your tails how you please, without letting them do whatever they want. After all, they are a part of you...and Im actually quite fond of them..." As Vahn spoke, he stroked Haruhimes original tail in an affectionate manner as hebed his fingers through the incredibly soft fur. The second tail moved about in a mesmerizing fashion, followed by the illusory third tail, but Vahn didnt pay any attention to them and focused on Haruhimes original tail as he began to groom it with both hands as he slowly rocked his h.i.p.s. Without pulling out far enough to part from Haruhimes cervix, Vahn rocked his h.i.p.s almost as if he was knocking against her depths over and over. He knew there werent actually too many nerves around the area, but Loki had described the sense of fullness as beingforting to a lot of women when they were having s.e.x with the person they loved. Haruhime released gasps in time with his movements as she pressed her forehead into her forearms and enjoyed the moment while trying to exercise control over her tails. She realized now that her second tail wasnt listening to her at all and there was even a strange phantom sensation around her butt that made her a little frustrated. No matter how much effort she put into it, Haruhime found that she couldnt regain control over the once familiar situation and it actually made her resent the tail for causing Vahn problems. It was like having her left arm doing whatever it wanted, since the appendage was something that she naturally had full control over previously, and it was a very vexing feeling. If not for Vahns fort, Haruhime felt like this situation would be a lot more stressful than it currently was... (A/N: Keep in mind that Im not writing smut/p.o.r.n, so story developments are important even during NSFW scenes (UwU).) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gimme gimme,Mischevious Fox,Be still my tail...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 506 - Sanjouno Haruhime (2/2)

Chapter 506 - Sanjouno Haruhime (2/2)

As Vahn continued tofort her original tail, Haruhime felt a strange sense of loneliness in her other tails and, even though she couldnt exercise control of them, she kind of wanted Vahn to tend to them as well. It was a very peculiar sensation because Haruhime resented the disobedient limb but also wanted Vahn tofort it the same as her other tail because she felt iplete having just one of her tails tended to. Though it wasnt too obvious at first, since Vahns actions were very satisfying, Haruhime felt like the sensations from her lower body had started to fade into an echo as the feeling of being iplete continued to spread through her mind. Realizing this, Haruhime actually became a little annoyed because it was like her own mind was starting to disobey her as well. The strange voice had returned to her mind and waspelling her to appeal to Vahn for equal treatment and this made her realize that Vahns words of caution had greater implications. She had already felt it several times in the past, but Haruhime was very aware of the second presence within her body now. Though she wasnt sure if it could hear her at all, Haruhime shouted out in her mind, ("If you continue getting in the way of me getting closer to Vahn, I will do everything in my power to remove you from my body...I dont need you nearly as much as my heart needs Vahn!") Even now, Haruhime felt like the only things preventing her from going mad were Vahns efforts and the zing inferno that radiated from her chest. Though the presence had one-sidedly been speaking to Haruhime before, it now fell silent for a long period of time before an audible voice sounded in her ears, even though she knew it was closer to an auditory hallucination than actual sound, "Why do you let us be ruled by this man...? Even though he is capable, we can be much stronger...he should be ours...he CAN be ours..." As subtle as it might be, Haruhime could hear a strange resentment in the voices words that incited her anger. Instead of saying it within her mind, Haruhime shouted out, "You dont know anything about Vahn! You wouldnt even exist if I didnt do my best to get stronger to be at his side! I dont need you at all, Ive never needed you!" Vahn was surprised by Haruhimes sudden outburst but quickly realized what was going on as turned her body onto its side and lifted her up high, making use of her flexibility, before leaning down and sealing her lips. He had noticed that Haruhimes body had be somewhat less responsive earlier and now realized that the fox inside of her was trying to make the experience less pleasurable for her so that she would try and pressure him in its stead. Haruhime had tears in her eyes as she grasped Vahns neck and freed her other leg before flipping over on her back. Even if it was somewhat ufortable, she didnt care at all and just wanted to be with Vahn. If her Innate was inhibited her own sensitivity, Vahn was going to take matters into his own hands and conquer it if necessary. He could even make Eva, a being with instantaneous regeneration, writhe about under his hands, much less a tiny fox. However, he was still worried about Haruhime and pressed up both her right and left legs until it tilted her butt up off the ground and said, "Hold your legs yourself...Ill show that little fox that it cant get in our way." Following his words, Haruhime linked her arms around the backs of her knees and held up her legs in a tantalizing manner that excited Vahn much more than the hypnotic tails ever could. This way, he could see where he and Haruhime were connected perfectly and she was flexible enough that, even if he pressed down on her from above, her body easily contorted to match his movements. Vahn traced his thumbs around Haruhimes somewhat swollen vulva and traced them along the interior of herbia before pressing his thumb up against her somewhat underdeveloped c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s. Haruhimes body shook under his actions as she released a heavy sigh and cried out, "Vahn...it feels good...more..." Though he followed her words, Vahn also kept part of his attention focused on her tails and pinned all three of them with his legs. The illusory third tail and Haruhimes second tail kept writhing about under his legs as they coiled around and stroked his lower back. There was even a moment when the tail tried to make its way into the cleft of his buttocks so Vahn decided to take extreme measures. A golden aura spread through the room in an instant as a single golden chain emerged from the void behind Vahn and entangled all three of Haruhimes tails before pinning them down to the floor. Haruhimes eyes opened widely and the golden glow contained within them began to fluctuate, revealing the original cid green of Haruhimes eyes, almost as if a golden mist was being cleared from them. Within her mind, Haruhime could hear the voice shouting out, "No, we cant let him do this to us! We are one and the same, not two different entities! We cant let him bind us like this!" Haruhime, however, smiled as she looked into Vahns eyes and said, "You did nothing for me when I was suffering all those years...Vahn is the one that saved me...even if I had to give up all of my power, I know Vahn would still take care of me." Haruhimes only desire in life, other than being freed from that nightmare, had been to walk at Vahns side and support him. However, if she had to give up the things that Vahn loved about her in her pursuit of him, Haruhime would rather be powerless. Even if she could only enjoy his love periodically within the Manor, she didnt care at all...the only thing that mattered is that she was able to stay with him without trying to change him. She wanted him to remain the same heroic boy that had saved her, not be the thing she feared most about almost being a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e...being the end of a heros tale. Before Vahn had saved her, Haruhime felt like she wasnt even worth saving anymore because she knew well that she would fall in love with the man that liberated her from that love. Because she was a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e, she felt like she would corrupt and ruin their lives so she was simply satisfied with being a mistress or a concubine...she had thought she could be something more at Vahns side, but it seems that her own power opposed the happiness she sought. If that was the case, she didnt care about power at all and would rather be a servant that dedicated herself to Vahn than the cause of his burdens... There was a long pause within her mind before the voice said in a quiet tone, "We cant lie to ourselves...we know whatys dormant within our mind well. We cant simply be satisfied being beneath others...not after what we went through..." Haruhime nodded her head before another sensual m.o.a.n escaped her lips. The reverberations traced up through her body along her spine and made her mind wander, even though she was still able to retain a strange rity at the same time. Since she couldnt vocalize it through her lips, Haruhime responded within her mind and said, ("The only thing that forces us to be beneath Vahn is your behavior...dont you understand? If we be stronger, we wont be beneath him at all...we will get to walk at his side as equals..!") Haruhime understood that the presence inside of her was also a fundamental part of her, something that had always been there even when she couldnt feel its influence. She was simply too weak in the past, or simply didnt have the proper understanding tomunicate with it. However, she didnt mind giving it up at all if it stood in her way. Even if she had to start over from scratch, Haruhime would simply work twice as hard to eventually be strong enough to follow Vahn again. If she lost her powerpletely, she would be a servant and tend to him when he returned to the Manor... The voice waspletely aware of Haruhimes thought and shouted out, "This isnt us! We suffered for so long and now we have the power to change our fate! We should be the ones to-" Before the voice could finish its words, Haruhime asked, ("Will that truly make us happy? Can it make my heart feel like this? Surely you can feel it as well...this endless warmth...") When the voice sounded out again, Haruhime could sense the fear contained within as it said, "That power isnt ours...we are a ve to it. If we do not obey that boy, we will lose that power and then be left with nothing!" Haruhime smiled within her mind as her real body gasped out once again before Vahn sealed her lips with his own. She noticed this in the past, but his saliva was strangely sweet and swallowing it made her feel a warm sensation that made her feel even closer to him. As if it was frustrated at being ignored, the voice shouted out, "We cant do this! No, no, no, no, no! If we dont turn back soon, this boy will take everything from us!" In response, Haruhimes smile spread even more as she said, ("I want him to take it...my everything...OUR everything!") A powerful panic overwhelmed her body, but Haruhime didnt pay any attention to it at all and just focused on her interactions with Vahn. She clung to his body as if she were trying to truly be a part of him as her own body reverberated with powerful echoes of pleasure. Suddenly, it felt like the presence within her was trying to escape and she felt a tugging sensation at her lower body before another shouted sounded out in her ears, "We cant escape! This sted chain confines us! What is this!?" Though Haruhime had decided to give her everything to Vahn, the part of her subconsciousness that sought power and had manifested as her Innate didnt wish to be ruled. It resisted greatly, but the reverberations experienced by Haruhime wracked its own body and threatened to overwhelm it before long. Haruhime herself didnt know it, but the fox spirit was a part of her that she had given up in the past when she abandoned her hope, and it didnt want to suddenly be consumed once again by the powerful emotions that she was experiencing for Vahn. Unfortunately, it couldnt escape [Enkidu] at all and this caused its panic topound greatly as it desperately tried to convince Haruhime to consider the matter properly. If theypletely fell to Vahn, there would be no hope left that they would one day obtain the freedom they so desperately sought in the past. She knew that Haruhime feared being controlled by others, just as her life had been decided by others in the past. However, the only thing she got in response to her cries were the simple words, ("This is one of the first real decisions I made for myself...how can I be the thing standing in my way? Wont you apany me once again...to obtain our happiness?") The fox spirit trembled as another wave of pleasure wracked its own body and it sobbed fearfully, "Were scared..." Haruhime nodded as Vahn kissed her corbone and traced hisrge hand around her back as electricity spread through her body in a highly stimting manner. However, her rity never left her as she softly stated, ("But we can feel it...the love he feels for us...he needs us just as much as we need him...") Though Vahn had incredible power, strong convictions, and unrivaled capabilities...he was still just a young boy with a troubled past that even exceeded her own. Even with so many girls looking after him, she could still see that he had an emptiness inside of him that only girls like Hephaestus, Hestia, Eina, and Tsubaki could fill. Haruhime wanted to be in that same category...she wanted to be able to fill up that small gap within his heart and bring him just a part of the happiness he had brought to her... Though he had been holding it in for a while, as they had already been going at it for nearly half an hour, Vahn reached a critical point and leaned into Haruhimes body with his weight as he knocked against the back of her v.a.g.i.n.a while releasing a flood of s.e.m.e.n into her depths. Haruhime clung to him tightly as her body trembled at the invasion of Vahns hot fluids invading her interior. It felt like it was burning her insides in a strangely pleasant manner that shook the very foundation of her body. Ovepping with her own voice, there was a shudder within her mind as the voice mewled, "We cant escape anymore...this boy will never let us go, even if we want to run away..." Instead of being worried by these words, Haruhime smiled in both her mind and reality as she said, "Good..." Right after the word left her lips, the writhing tails ceased their movements as the illusory tail perfectly ovepped with the second one. Even with the restriction of [Enkidu], the second tail began to fray at the ends before a physical third tail appeared in its ce. Haruhime felt a powerful sense of liberation and surrender as the voice said, "Fine...we will walk with this boy...but we must increase our own strength even more. He is much stronger than us..." Haruhime nodded her headzily as Vahn slowly raised his body from hers and stared down at her. Their eyes matched at Haruhimes face bloomed with a smile as she said, "Were okay now..." Vahn had noticed the change in Haruhimes body and also took note of the fact that her aura had expanded slightly with the inclusion of her third tail. He remembered her aura had been even bigger within the Divination, but that wasnt too important right now as he stroked Haruhimes face and said, "I love you, Haruhime..." Vahn loosened up [Enkidu] at the same time as he spoke and Haruhime ovepped her hand with his as the golden color of her eyes stabilized andpletely covered the underlying green. However, she didnt show any signs of being influenced by her Innate at all as she said in a sensual and hot tone, "I love you too, Vahn..." The two continued to stare into each others eyes as Vahn moved his h.i.p.s slightly, effectively triggering Haruhime once again as her aura red up. However, they were both brought to stunned silence when a voice shouted out from beside them, "What about us~!?" As he couldnt sense its presence at all, Vahn was slightly startled by the sudden outburst and turned his head to see a small white fox with nine tails staring at him with a pouting expression and teary golden eyes. Vahn wasnt quite sure what to say until Haruhimeughed like a bell and said, "We can be a bit needy at times...please pamper us when you can, Vahn~." Unfortunately, Haruhimes words made him even more confused because it didnt exin the situation at all. Matters got even more confusing when the small fox pounced toward him and began rubbing against him in a far more affectionate manner than before as it said, "You have to treat us well, or we will never ept you!" The most surprising thing of all was the fact that Vahn could clearly feel the small fox even though he couldnt sense it at all. Instead of appearing illusory, it now a real body that could be seen even without his [Eyes of Truth] active. However, even with them active, Vahn couldnt see into the fox so he knew it wasnt a truly physical entity. He was so confused and curious at the same time that he wasnt quite sure how to act until Haruhime slipped off of him and picked up the small fox before hugging it against her chest. It looked especially adorable being held by Haruhime as its legs dangled about with its small nine tails wriggling about in a frustrated manner. Though he kept his guard up, Vahn reached out his hand habitually and began stroking the head of the small fox and immediately noticed that it was very soft and, most importantly, real. The little fox had both a happy and frustrated expression on its face at the same time as it said, "We will get even stronger to stay with you, so you have to treat us well!" As he had been hearing it for a short while now, Vahn could tell that the small fox had a voice very simr to Haruhimes, though decidedly much younger in its intonation. The most peculiar thing though was the fact that he could clearly hear her even though there was no actual sound emitted... As if she understood Vahns confusion, not that she had any real understanding of what was happening, Haruhime said, "This little one is our hope...something that I had disced long ago and neglected for too long. You brought my hope back to me, Vahn...and now I can get much stronger as a result~." Vahn had so many questions to ask but he also knew that Haruhime wouldnt actually be able to answer them. Innates were truly unique and defiedmon sense in ways he couldnt evenprehend should someone exin it to him. Even with his own capabilities, Vahn had no way to understanding theplexities of his own Innates, much less those of other people. The only thing he knew right now was that the little fox was part of Haruhime and it had somehow materialized after some changes urred in her body. The small fox wriggled its way out of Haruhimes arms before jumping up to his shoulder and curling around his necks with its tails wrapping around him like a scarf. Before Vahn could ask the question, it said, "Since we cant always be together normally, we split a part of ourselves to always apany you. You carry our hope on your shoulders, so never forget and neglect us!" After processing the foxs words, Vahn asked, "Wait, are you saying youre going to follow me around everywhere I go?" In response to his question, Haruhimeughed in an elegant manner and said, "I already said it in the past, Vahn, but I will always strive to stand at your side no matter what. It looks like my hope will be in your care from now on...take care of it, okay?" Vahn felt like he was pelled to rebuff Haruhimes words but couldnt think of anything to say after seeing the devotion contained in her eyes. Eventually, he just sighed before a smile appeared on his face and he said, "Ill do my best, Haruhime. Thank you, for everything youve given to me. I wont let you down." However, right after Vahn finished his words, the small fox bit his ear and said, "Dont neglect us!" Though its teeth didnt do any damage at all, Vahn winced slightly at the unexpected nibble as he reached up and tried to free the fox from his neck. However, he found that its body turnedpletely rigid as it nuzzled against him and he couldnt remove it unless he tried to do so forcibly... Haruhimeughed as she crawled up on her knees and pressed against his chest, saying, "You took good care of me earlier...now its my turn to take care of you. Though I used to be ashamed of my past, at least now I can make use of all that knowledge to try and satisfy you...please be honest and tell me how Im doing~." Though he hadnt allowed himself to be pushed down immediately, Vahn eventually gave in and decided to see how things progress. He couldnt deny he was interested in Haruhimes techniques since some of the girls he was with asionally used things she had taught them. As hey back, the small fox released his neck before jumping up to Haruhimes body and hanging over her shoulder as it watched him from above. Vahn felt like this adorable little fox would be the death of him one day... With Vahn on his back, Haruhime sat in between his legs and admired his member that was still wet with her own fluids. Though it wasnt very sanitary, Haruhime knew it was proper to clean up after the fact as she moved her long hair to her back and leaned over before cing the ns against her lips. Vahn didnt seem too surprised, which she had somewhat expected, but she wanted to get a rise out of him as she rolled her tongue around the tip in a practiced manner. She could feel him twitched slightly as she looked up into his eyes with her own upturned golden eyes and smiled. Seeing him hold his breath for a brief moment made Haruhime feel very satisfied as she took a breath before rxing her diaphragm and neck as she lowered her head against the rtively oversized member... Vahn wasnt sure if he should make anyment about it, but Haruhimes fetio was arguably better than her untrained v.a.g.i.n.a. When he saw her begin to lower her head against him, Vahn felt a jolt run along his length that tickled his prostate slightly and caused him to clench up. Haruhime then slurped up the remnant fluids as she created a vacuum with her mouth and cleaned his tip. Each of her motions brought her further down on his member until Vahn ns reached the back of her throat. However, Haruhime was undaunted as she angled her body and pulled his member downward and let the ns follow the curve of her neck. Vahn felt a shiver run up his spine this time as feelings of worry and concern fought alongside his waning rationality. Haruhime didnt seem satisfied with her current progress at all, however, as she lowered her own body before move against his. Vahn could feel the air from her nostrils tickle his pubes as she moved her tongue from side-to-side against the base of his p.e.n.i.s... Because of the angle she was at Vahn could see Haruhime looking up at him with smiling eyes as she ced her hands against his h.i.p.s and created a seal as she pulled her body away from his. The vacuum created by her seal was much stronger than previously and Vahn felt like Haruhime was going to drag his h.i.p.s across the futon as a result of her efforts. Though his tolerance was quite high, Vahn held his breath to resist the suction force before releasing a sigh as Haruhime started rolling her tongue around his ns again. The small fox on her back looked between his p.e.n.i.s before making eye contact with him and saying, "You should say something or we wont know how you feel!" The fox didnt seem satisfied with Vahns reaction as it jumped off Haruhimes shoulder and stood on his abdomen before cing its paws against his chest and looking directly into its face with an annoyed look. Vahn felt like this little fox was something simr to Haruhimes subconscious mind so he said, "It feels great, Haruhime...unlike anything Ive ever experienced..." as he surprised the small fox by grabbing its body. Surprisingly, Haruhimes body trembled a little when he grabbed the small fox and began massaging his fingers against its body to tease it. It writhed about and tried to escape his grasp as it said, "Uuuuh, you cant treat us like this!" Haruhime, however, raised up her head and smiled as she said, "Please tease that little one as much as you want, Vahn. If it didnt like it, it wouldnt havee outside to y...fufufufu~." The little fox opened its eyes wide and shouted, "No, thats wrong, we dont want to be teased!" Haruhime didnt seem to mind the fox at all and simply continued her own efforts, causing Vahn to sharply inhale once again as he gently squeezed the small fox. It mewled quietly as it said, "Gently..." in a very low tone that could have been missed if Vahn wasnt alert. Though, as its voice seemed to transmit directly to his ears, Vahn suspected he wouldnt have overlooked it even if he hadnt been paying attention. Since his [Petting] was even more effective on animals, Vahn began stroking the small fox gently with his right hand as he held it with his left to keep it from escaping and causing trouble. Its nine little tails danced about in a wispy manner as it gnashed its teeth with its eyes closed. However, it didnt make any attempt to escape and Vahn knew it could simply turn into a puff of mes if it really wanted to. Since it seemed to share a sensory like with Haruhime, Vahnforted the small fox as a small repayment for Haruhimes service... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Internal Struggles,Haruhime is secretly a Tsundere,Pet the smol fox) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 507 - Transition toward the Future

Chapter 507 - Transition toward the Future

After a little over an hour and a half, Vahn and Haruhime had brought their short tryst to an end. Though they could have both continued much longer, Vahn could see that Haruhimes was flickering about as a sign of her distress, even though she didnt show any signs of it through her actions. He had already healed her body, but the internal struggle she went through had exhausted her mental energies a bit and she would likely have to take a nap soon. The most obvious signs of this were the little fox that was already sleeping on his chest as Haruhime used his shoulder as a pillow with her leg intertwined with his. She still showed a willingness to continue but wasnt going to press Vahn since it was very clear that he had seen through her fatigued mental state. Vahn caressed the small fox with his right hand while holding Haruhime close with his left arm. It was very interesting because her body showed signs of the same stimulus as the fox and Vahn knew this went both ways, very simr to the bond between Maemi and Emiru. Haruhime made a muuu sound just as this thought crossed his mind and she said, "I want you to think about me when were alone like this. Though I have no problems with the other girls, this is a special moment..." Vahn rubbed his hand along her arm as he held her close and said, "Sorry, I wasparing the bond between you and the little fox to Maemi and Emiru. I wasnt really thinking about them that much..." Haruhimes ears twitched as she turned her eyes to the small fox and said, "Im afraid that she might inconvenience you a bit in the future..." Since the little fox seemed attached to Vahn, Haruhime was worried it would cling to him all the time and cause problems for him. Knowing that it acting based on her own subconscious thoughts made her feel more than a little embarrassed. It seemed to be like a younger version of herself and behaved in a very spoiled manner, almost like she was trying to test the limits of Vahns patience. Thinking this, Haruhimes mouth turned into a small frown because she didnt want to be a burden to Vahn. Though he also expected that it might be a little troublemaker in the future, Vahn wasnt too worried about it since he suspected it wouldnt act this way for long. He never had a real pet, but Vahn felt like he would be able to manage it well if he put in the effort. Besides, it was pretty cute and Vahn felt like it would be fun to tease it ever now and then. It might put up a strong front, but it wasnt the first time Vahn had dealt with a girl that liked to put up a front and act spoiled. If he treated her well and showed her kindness, it wouldnt be that long before she started worrying about being a bother to him. Even if she lingered around him for a short while, Vahn was confident she would mature a bit after a little careful pampering. Since Haruhime didnt want to worry about other girls, for the time being, Vahn just spent the better part of an hour cuddling with her and sharing a few of their concerns. However, things took a shift when Haruhime herself mentioned her worries about how weak she feltpared to a girl like Ais. Without the ability to read the tempo of her opponent, such as when the enemy was responding to her actions instead of taking the initiative on their own, Haruhimes rare skill seemed to lose strength. At least, this is how she felt even though Vahn didnt think this was the case at all. He believed that Haruhime misunderstood her own Innate ability a bit and simply needed to practice using it in a variety of situations to be more flexible. Now that she had the little fox to apany her, she had the opportunity to talk directly with it and make advancements in the future. Thinking about the little foxying on his chest, Vahn furrowed his brows slightly and asked, "What should we call this little one?" Haruhime also turned her attention to the fox and showed a conflicted expression as she said, "It is me...but it would probably be a little strange if there are two Haruhime. Hmmm...how about you call me Haru, like spring, and you can call her Hime, like princess. She behaves in a spoiled manner so it might be suitable..." Vahn snorted through his nose to stifle a chuckle because he wanted toment that her words also implied that she behaved in a simr manner. If she didnt work so hard to constrain herself, Vahn expected that Haruhimes personality would have ended up very simr to the little fox. Vahn felt like it was a bit overused and somewhatzy, but he said, "Calling you Haru is very affectionate...I like it. However, I think hime suits you as well since it reinforces the image thates to mind whenever I think of you. How about we call the little fox Shirohime while you stay as Haruhime. Since she is almost pure white, I think it suits her..." Haruhimes eyes opened slightly before she giggled like a bell and said, "Very well, from now on this little one will be Shirohime. But, when its just the two of us, Id like it if you call me Haru...and you can call her Shiro..." Hearing Vahn acknowledge that he thought Haru was affectionate made Haruhime want him to call her it, at least every now and then. As he had already expected her to say something simr, Vahn leaned down and kissed the top of Haruhimes head before whispering, "Haru..." into her fluffy curved ear. His breath was enough to make her ear flicker as a gloss appeared over her eyes and she cuddled up even closer against him. Vahn found that her soft b.r.e.a.s.ts were very pleasant against his body so he held her tighter to affirm the mutual affection he shared for her. From the corner of his eyes, Vahn hadnt missed the look that Shirohime had given him as she continued to pretend that she was asleep. As if she were actually a child, her eyes snapped shut when she saw Vahn cast his nce toward her and Vahn felt she was very cute. --- Since it was nearing the time for his second block, Vahn and Haruhime ended up making use of the small bath that connected to the parlor. He had specifically chosen this room because it had all the necessary amenities and would be easy to clean since the floor was covered with tatami mats. Shirohime ended up waking up when it was time to take a bath and she struggled in Vahns hands as he carried her under her arms with both hands. She wriggled about and said, "Unhand us, we can move on our own!" Vahn, however, feltpelled to bully the little fox and eventually lowered her into the water when he entered the hot bath himself. Shirohime showed a pouting expression and said, "This is no way to treat us...at least hold me properly." Vahn let go of her body and noticed that, though she floated in the water, it didnt actually show any signs that she was submerged inside of it. He felt like she was a real illusion, which is why her words sounded in his ears even though there was clearly no sounding from her mouth. Haruhime sat down next to him and said, "Little Shiro, dont bother Vahn too much or he wont pet you." Shirohime, however, stuck out her tongue and said, "Even if he doesnt pet me, I can feel it when he pets you, so ha!" The two fox-girls red at each other before Haruhime stuck out her own tongue and said, "Excuse me..." as she moved through the water and sat in hisp facing him. She let her tails get submerged into the water, which always looked a bit strange since the hairs on her tail were long and thickpared to the actual tail itself. It would also require a lot of groomingter, so Haruhime didnt often submerge her tails in the water. She didnt seem to mind it, however, as he ced her hands on Vahns shoulders and said, "But I know you will feel sad if Vahn only takes care of me...so its your loss no matter what~." Now that she had been able to finally get closer to Vahn, Haruhime had fewer inhibitions as she pressed her b.r.e.a.s.ts against his chest and began kissing him once again. Vahn still had a bit of time and he was curious to see how Shirohime would act so ced his hands around Haruhimes butt and reciprocated her actions. His [Hands of Nirvana] activated as he gently massaged his fingers against her rump and caused her tails to flicker about in the water. As for Shirohime, she looked at them with resentful eyes as she paddled around in the water without discing even a single drop. She could feel Vahns hands massaging her own butt and it was very stressful to feel phantom sensations while watching Haruhime be pampered. It made her feel a little lonely, just like when Vahn had ignored Haruhimes extra tails previously. Even though it was the same sensation, it felt empty if she wasnt allowed to be in contact with Vahn at the same time... Though she didnt look back to confirm, Haruhime giggled since she knew her little counterpart was staring at her with false resentment. As they were the same entity, Haruhime knew the little fox just as well as it knew her and there was no way she would be okay with getting secondary petting from Vahn. Try as she might, Shiro couldnt escape their nature and there were no real secrets she could keep from Haruhime. It felt a little strange to tease herself, but Haruhime also found it interesting because Vahn seemed to enjoy the peculiarity of the situation as well. She was genuinely willing to give up the part of her that was Shiro, even at the expense of her tails, so teasing her was a simple thing to do. Shirohime was very aware of Haruhimes thoughts and it made her even more frustrated before she swam over and wedged herself in between them. A few secondster, a small head emerged from in between Haruhimes b.r.e.a.s.ts and stared at Vahn with teary eyes and said, "You cant neglect us..." This way, even if Vahn didnt touch her directly, Shirohime could still feel like he was touching her and be close to him at the same time. As for Vahn, the appearance of an adorable little fox in between Haruhimes chest made a pressure rise up in the bridge of his nose. Since he wasnt in restraint mode, a sleeping sea dragon was stirred to awareness which caused Haruhime to raise her butt as a smile appeared on her face. She knew there wasnt really time to y around anymore, so Haruhime just wiggled her butt a bit before sitting down against the hot member that made the surrounding water feel lukewarm. Vahn gave her a wry smile before leaning down a little and looking at Shirohim in the eyes. Though it was slight, her mouth made a frown as her brows furrowed in annoyance before Vahn pissed her off when he blew into her snout. She shook her face from side to side and tried to make her way back down through Harhimes b.r.e.a.s.ts but was unable to do so when herrger counterpart pressed herself closer to Vahn. Shirohime turned her head to the side and tilted it down against Vahns chest as she muttered, "This is no way to treat us..." Haruhime eased up the pressure a little and said, "You need to behave if you want to be treated well, Shiro. How can you expect Vahn to be nice to you if youre acting in such a manner?" Though she didnt mind teasing the little fox, Haruhime didnt want to actually bully it since it was part of herself. Seeing its pitiful form made her own heart feel a little sad so she felt like she needed to take a step back and try to reason with the little fox. Shirohime didnt seem to share the sentiment, however, as she muttered, "We dont need this boy to treat us kindly at all..." in a low tone thatcked confidence. Even though he knew it was just trying to y him, Vahn took the bait and grabbed the side of Shirohime as she began to writhe about and scratch against him. It was strange being able to feel a small amount of pain but seeing no signs of the actual attacks at all. Shirohime shouted, "Unhand us you fiend, scoundrel, pervert!" Though he knew she didnt mean it, Vahn followed Shirohimes words and unhanded her, allowing her to plop into the water without disturbing its surface. Her head popped up out of the water shortly after and gave him a look of me without saying anything as she swam around before climbing up to the side of the bath andid down. Vahn felt a little bad for the fox but, the moment he turned his attention back to Haruhime, the fox ambushed him in an instant before curling up around his neck once again. Keeping true to her earlier words, Shirohime was unwilling to part with him even though she put on a facade of disliking their interactions. Vahn showed Haruhime a wry smile that caused her to show an apologetic look and say, "Sorry, Vahn...I..." Vahn shook his head and said, "Its no problem at all...besides, I dont think others will be able to see her and she is pretty cute." Though it was slight, Vahn could feel Shirohime shudder a little when he called her cute. A n began to for him his mind, but there were other things he needed to worry about right now so he traced his hands around Haruhimes body and began washing her as he said, "Though I think Ill be fine on my own, I may need your help before I go off with Tione, Tiona, and Ais..." Haruhime nodded her head as she rxed her body under Vahns caress and said, "I know...I had been waiting for you to bring it up ever since we returned to the surface. When you showed up at the training this morning, I could tell your intentions from the outset...its fine, you dont have to apologize at all. Even if little Shiro shows that Im a greedy girl at heart, I know I cant keep you for myself...and I fell in love with you even knowing there were other girls in your heart. Just knowing we can be together more often in the future is enough to make my heart feel like its going to burst...Im very happy right now..." Though it wasnt arge motion, Haruhime was moving around her h.i.p.s slightly as if emphasizing her greedy nature. She previously had androphobia and couldnt even imagine being with a man like this so it was a very liberating experience finally oveing the burdens that weighed her down. The fact that she was able to be with the hero she had fallen in love with made Haruhime feel like her life had suddenly be a lot more fulfilling. Not only was she much stronger than in the past, but she got to experience many new and interesting things...all because Vahn saved her on that fateful morning. Vahn could hear the notifications of Haruhimes Love constantly increasing and he couldnt help but smile as he grabbed her h.i.p.s a little firmly and raised her up in the water. There was a lot more he wished he could do for Haruhime, but there was plenty of time to worry about things like that in the future. For now, he knew how he could make her happy and it was something that he had grown proficient at in the past months. Understanding his intentions, Haruhimes face immediately underwent a transformation as her aura transitioned from pink to red in an instant. She reached her hand down in the water and moved her h.i.p.s around before taking a breath and lowering her h.i.p.s as a long gasp escaped her lips. From around his neck, Vahn could feel Shirohimes body tremble at the same time as she squeezed his neck a little tighter... --- Though what they did could technically constitute as s.e.x, Vahn had actually just washed Haruhimes body in a rather unique way as he skillfully maneuvered her about under his guidance. She even managed the transition of turning around so that he could wash her back without separating from him. Unable to keep up her own grip, Shirohime eventually fell off of his neck and plopped into the water once again before she crawled out of the side with a trembling body. Just as before, she came over to Vahns side but this time just rubbed her face against his back in a manner reminiscent of a cat. Vahn felt like she was bolder when he couldnt see her, which is probably why she moved behind him instead of climbing back onto his shoulder... After the bath, Vahn actually handed Haruhime a change of clothing that consisted of a beautiful ck Kurotomesode, simr to the design that Tsubaki had worn in the past. The biggest difference was that Haruhimes had a fox motif sewn into it instead of a Dragon and Phoenix. When Haruhime saw the clothing, her hands trembled a bit before a happy sigh escaped her lips when Vahn also produced a white haori for himself that had vibrant red bands sewn into the sleeves. This indicated to the informed that, though they hadnt gone through a traditional marriage, Vahn considered Haruhime a life-long partner and gave her a simr status. They could technically certify their marriage at any point after the fact, but there wasnt much of a difference between the two other than one is far more formal. Haruhime was an actual princess for a noble family, even if she was exiled, so Vahn wanted her first time to be more meaningful than just simple s.e.x. Haruhime helped Vahn wear his clothing before he helped her to the same with careful movements, almost like he was wrapping her body up like a precious object. Shirohime watched from the side without saying anything before immediately climbing up to his shoulder when they were finished. Vahn and Haruhime then shared a loving embrace with each other and sealed their bond with a kiss thatsted for nearly three entire minutes before Haruhime pulled away with teary eyes and ced her head against his chest. Vahn stroked her long silky hair and whispered, "One day, we will go to the Far East to find out the true reason behind why your life turned out like this. Even if you are happy now, I cant rest easily without knowing the reason myself." Though she had already left her past behind, Haruhime couldnt deny that she still had affections for her homnd. Even if her father hadnt disowned her, it was still the ce where her mothers grave was located and she wanted to visit them someday in the future. She knew there wasnt anything she could do to stop Vahn when he set his mind on something, so she just nodded her head and epted his kindness. If there truly was an underlying reason behind the events, she would see them settled in the end as a means of finding closure, not for herself, but for the past her that had gone through such tribtions. With this thought in mind, she looked to Shirohime on Vahns shoulder and saw that the small fox was always watching her attentively... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Spoiled Princess,Doing what one can...,Two sets of golden eyes) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 508 - Shirohimes Lamentation

Chapter 508 - Shirohime''s Lamentation

After escorting Haruhime to her room, as she was feeling very tired, Vahn made his way down to the kitchen to grab some food and decide how he wanted to spend the rest of the day. He was also very curious about something so, after he stepped into the kitchen and saw Maemi and Emiru sitting with their palms together, Vahn said, "Good morning, Maemi, Emiru...did you prepare anything for lunch?" Both girls eyes shot open as they mirrored each others actions and stared at Vahn and said, "Yes, we prepared salted rice balls with vinegar and a little bit of sugar." Vahn noticed that Emirus eyes had been an icy-blue color for a moment so he asked, "Were the two of you practicing your [Gemini] ability?" The twins nodded their heads and said, "Yes, weve been able to synchronize and stay fused for 49 minutes if were out ofbat~!" Though their parameters hadnt increased a great deal in thest month, Maemi and Emiru had made a lot of progress toward mastering their own Innate. Vahn hadnt been able to confirm it for himself yet, but the skill had increased from D to C while he had been away. Ever since they learned about their tragic fate, the girls had spent the majority of their time together and were almost perfectly in sync with each other. The biggest change in their ability was that it no longer took them several minutes to fuse together, which they demonstrated right now as Emirus eyes shed and she vanished from sight. Vahn smiled and rubbed Maemirus rounded ears as she mewled happily under his hand while doing her best to restrain herself. Even if she wanted to do something, they were in the kitchen and Maemiru knew it would trouble Vahn if she acted up. However, there was one girl that didnt seem content with their restraint as Shirohime tapped the top of Vahns head with her paws andined, "The first thing you do after leaving us is to go seek another woman? Simply shameless!" Vahns smile didnt waver at all as he continued to fluff Maemirus head while simultaneously stroking her cheek. She had been working hard and it was Vahns policy to reward people for their efforts, especially since he knew why they were working so hard. Shirohime tapped his head like a jackhammer and said, "You! Dont ignore us~!" Though Vahn could feel her actions, her paws didnt even ruffle his hair even though she was hitting the top of his head somewhat forcefully. The thing he had been curious about was if other people would be able to see Shirohime and this was evidence toward the fact that she was more an illusion than a real entity. He wasnt entirely sure why he was able to see, hear, feel, and even smell her, but the only people that knew of Shirohimes existence right now was Haruhime and himself. However, Vahn still wanted to be sure so he asked, "Maemiru, do you see a cute little white fox on top of my head misbehaving?" Vahn felt Shirohimes body flinch at the word cute once again but Maemiru seemed confused by his words but still looked toward the top of his head with intent. After several seconds, she shook her head and said, "I cant see anything, Master. Is there really a fox there?" Vahn nodded his head and said, "Yes, there was a change in Haruhimes rare skill and now a part of her is following me around. I was curious if other people would be able to see her, but it looks like that isnt the case." In response to his words, Shirohime tapped the top of his head and said, "We already told you that other people couldnt see us you dumb boy!" Though she believed Vahns words, Maemiru furrowed her brows slightly because it was very sneaky of Haruhime to have ess to such a skill. Maemiru considered Haruhime their closest rival so it was concerning if she were continually getting ahead of them. They already knew she had been with Vahn during the morning, so knowing she had attached a fox to Vahn annoyed them. Reaching out their hand, Maemiru touched the top of Vahns head and their hand passed right through Shirohime, not that they could see it urring. As for Shirohime, she bobbed around in annoyance and said, "These cheeky girls think they can touch us with their filthy hands!? Impudent, impudent, impudent~!" Toward the end of her words, Shirohime bit forward and snapped at Maemirus fingers which caused them to pull their hand away in surprise. Vahn frowned at this and reached up to grab Shirohime by her scruff as she wriggled about in his hand and said, "Aaah, unhand us you beast~!" However, Vahn unexpected hugged her to his chest which made Shirohime turn silent in an instant...until Vahn began lightly spanking her bottom. She immediately cried out, "You bastaaaard, you cant treat us like this you meanie, meanie, stupid head~! Youre going to make us...cry..." Vahn knew she was talking about the sleeping Haruhime, but he would have to make it up to herter since Shirohime needed discipline when she was misbehaving. It wasnt okay to bite others, even if it didnt actually do any damage to them at all. At least he was able to confirm something new about her, being that she could actually interact with other people, so he went a little easy on her. When Vahn finished spanking her, he rubbed her little rump with his [Hands of Nirvana] before loosening up his left hand so she could move about easier. She immediately ran around his shoulder and wrapped around his neck again as she pouted silently. Maemiru had watched this strange urrence from start to finish and asked, "Did you punish her for us?" Vahn nodded his head and said, "She needs to learn to treat other people kindly or she can only me herself for what happens..." Maemiru looked toward the top of Vahns head, where they assumed Shirohime was located, before bowing slightly and saying, "Shirohime, lets get along well from now on, okay~?" Shirohime looked at Maemiru before sticking out her tongue and saying, "Bleeeeh, we dont want to be friends with people trying to steal from us! Hmph!" Vahn, however, smiled and said, "She said she would like to be friends with you in the future as well, though it will take some time for her to get used to everyone." Maemiru smiled andughed while Shirohime whined, "That isnt what we said at all~! Not only are you a dumb pervert, but youre also a liar!? What kind of life are we going to live from now on...howmentable..." --- After leaving the kitchen, Vahn made his way toward a familiar presence as he took a bite of the sweet and salty rice balls that the girls had made for lunch. Curious, Vahn broke off a piece and asked, "Do you eat food, Shirohime?" Shirohime turned her head away from the offering and harumphed before saying, "We do not require sustenance. As long as our counterpart is healthy, we can persist indefinitely." Vahnzily nodded his head before taking his index finger and touching it to Shirohimes back as she muttered, "You...dont casually touch us as you please..." Ignoring her, Vahn inserted a thread of pure source energy into her body to see if anything would happen. He knew his [Hands of Nirvana] and [Petting] worked on her, so he was curious if his [Yggdrasils Blessing] had any effect. Shirohimes body trembled and she mewled, "Yooou, what are you doing to us...guuuu..." in a somewhat pitiful manner. Vahn was surprised by her reaction and began gently stroking her back with his finger as she caused her body to tremble even without using his [Hands of Nirvana]. Though he couldnt see the energy thatprised her body, nor could he even detect her presence, Vahn knew his source energy was the highest form of energy and it seemed to be useful against her. He suspected he might even be able to help fuel Haruhime as long as he had Shirohime with him so this was a very significant find. Many Innatepletely circ.u.mvented most restrictions in the record, so he could potentially even support Haruhime when she was far away in the Dungeon while he was in the Manor. Unable to keep her grip, Shirohime eventually let go of Vahns neck and fell straight into his clutches as she wiggled about with rueful cries. Vahn thought she was cute, so he cradled her with his left arm and scratched the tuft of thick fur on her chest as she red at him with her golden eyes. However, Vahn noted she stopped resisting when he held her gently and simply epted his actions apprehensively. With a smile on his face, Vahn said, "You really are adorable when youre behaving..." Shirohime turned her head up at him in a dismissive manner and said, "You should treat us better...we already gave everything to you. The least you can do is treat us kindly..." Vahn used his index finger to tilt her head toward him and said in a soft tone, "Kindness is nice to receive, but its better if both parties reciprocate it. The feelings are more meaningful if they are shared, instead of enjoying them selfishly. If youre a good girl, Ill pamper you when Im not busy...but I cant always be tending to you, even if you are my cute little Shirohime." Shirohime closed her eyes and turned her head toward his body and refused to look at him. However, her silence was simr to epting Vahns words, which was a good step forward. He didnt expect her to change after a day or two, but he hoped it would be sooner rather thanter. After a short walk, Vahn arrived outside where Tina and Shizune were once again putting all of their efforts into training. Today they were joined by Tsubaki, Ryuu, Fenrir, Mn, and Preasia, who watched from the side as usual. Vahns presence was noted very quickly, especially by the hopeful looking Preasia who began to get a little restless as she watched him like like a hawk eyeing a field mouse. Vahn smiled at her before gesturing to Fenrir, who had been watching the sparring between Tina and Shizune. After kicking up a small clump of dirt and grass, Fenrir immediately arrived at Vahns side and asked, "Did Vahn need Fenrir~?" As usual, Vahn reached out his hand and stroked Fenrirs head as he held up his left arm and said, "Do you see anything in my arm, Fenrir?" Shirohime looked at Fenrir and said, "We told you that other-" Fenrir nodded her head and said, "Fenrir can see a small white creature..." as she leaned forward and grimaced, continuing by saying, "Smelly..." Shirohime seemed to get offended by Fenrirs words and red up in Vahns arm as she shouted, "We are not smelly! You are the smelly one, you, you, you!" Fenrir scrunched up her nose and even went so far as to pinch her nostrils with her ws, even though it didnt look like a pleasant action to take. Vahn poked into Shirohimes chest and she overreacted a bit by biting his index finger in a rtively painless manner. Fenrir, however, took exception to this as her eyes immediately turned a vibrant scarlet as she looked at Shirohime like a prey animal. With his finger still in her mouth, Shirohimes eyes widened as she froze under Fenrirs gaze and was entirely unable to move. At this point, their little disy had caught the attention of the others as Tsubaki walked over and asked, "Whats going on over here? Fenrir, are you okay...?" Fenrir didnt bother answering Tsubaki as her hair continued to rise slightly like an animal on the verge of attacking. Vahns eyes turned sharp in an instant and he said, "Fenrir, you cant eat little Shirohime, okay? She might be a little naughty, but she doesnt have any experience interacting with others. Shell get better, isnt that right little Shiro?" Shirohime mechanically nodded her head before pulling her mouth slowly away from Vahns finger and tucking into his body as if she were trying to hide. Vahn saw this and mused in his head that this would be good medicine for her to gain awareness. He had suspected that, since Fenrir, Terra, and Fafnir were functionally a part of him, they would also be able to see her. His intention proved correct and Vahn was able to rationalize that Haruhimes Innate had somehow synchronized with him when they had s.e.x earlier. At least now he didnt have to constantly exin that he was talking to a clingy little fox spirit whenever people saw him behaving strangely. Since everyone was giving him a confused look, Vahn exined, "Haruhimes unique skill evolved earlier and there is now a cute little fox spirit that is attached to me named Shirohime. She is a bit clingy, but she is a good girl at heart so dont bully her okay, Fenrir?" Fenrirs hair had dropped slightly but she still continued to stare at Shirohime with hostility as she nodded her head. She obviously didnt truly agree with him, but there wasnt much Vahn could do to sway her since Shirohime was the one in the wrong. He knew Fenrir wouldnt actually harm the little fox spirit, not that she should be able to do any meaningful damage to her. Vahn wasnt sure if Fenrir could even interact with Shirohime, not that he would give her the chance given her current state. He would need Terras assistance to confirm that, since she wouldnt harm Shirohime even if the little fox offended her. Tsubaki nodded her head in understanding as she appraised Vahns current appearance, something which she recognized instantly. She wasnt the only one either, as Shizune had a somewhat forlorn look and a light ambivalence to her current expression. Vahns white haori and red threads was a rather bold statement and, had Haruhime been the first girl he associated with, it would have been the same as saying she had be his wife. However, though they both recognized his garb, neither girl said anything about it as Tsubaki instead inquired about Shirohime a bit by asking, "Is there a way we can see her? Im curious to see what kind of creature was created by a rare skill..." Though she didnt turn to look at Tsubaki, Shirohime muttered, "We arent a creature...we are a proud and noble goddess..." The word caught Vahns attention because he hadnt expected Shirohime to identify as a goddess, even though she definitely wasnt one by the standards of the record. He knew it was possible for some of the stronger Innates to embody specific records and principles, but hearing a fox created by the Innate skill [Inari] address itself as a goddess was a key detail that required further investigation. For now, he just shook his head and said, "She seems to be bonded with my energy signature, so only Haruhime, Fenrir, Terra, Fafnir, and I can see her. Ah, she isnt a creature...she is kind of like a pure white kit with nine tails and red markings on her body." Hearing Vahn saw that Shirohime was a nine-tailed fox caused both Tsubaki and Shizune to be surprised because, though it didntst long when they recalled that Haruhimes skill was called [Inari]. Tsubaki beganughing out loud before saying, "Oh, it looks like Haruhime had a strong fate with the goddess Inari. If she heard about that little kit of yours, she might go crazy with rage! Ahahahahaha~!" Vahn could clearly remember Inari from the Divination and he couldnt help but feel like Haruhime really did have a destiny tied to the peculiar goddess. Things wouldnt necessarily progress the same way, but Vahn technically had a fate with her too. Considering the fact that he intended to visit the Far East in the future, Vahn expected that their fate woulde to a head irrespective of the steps he took to circ.u.mvent it. Vahn smiled wryly before taking a breath and saying, "Sorry to have disrupted your training. I just wanted to test out my theory since it really is a curious development..." Since he could tell that Fenrir was still very frustrated, probably for more reasons than just Shirohimes existence, he reached out and stroked her head as he said, "Lets go out to y tomorrow, okay?" Though she hesitated for a short moment, Fenrir eventually tore her eyes from Shirohime and the vibrant scarlet faded slightly as she nodded her head and said, "Fenrir wants to do something fun with Vahn..." Vahn nodded his head and made a promise to make sure they had plenty of fun before sending them back to resume their training. After fluffing Preasias hair for a solid minute, Vahn told her to continue doing her best and parted ways with the group in the training area as he made his way into the forest. He wanted to understand as much about Shirohime as possible before trying to convince her to return to Haruhime before nightfall. He could be battling against Tiona, Ais, and Tione tonight, and he didnt imagine she would be too fond of attending the event. However, considering Haruhimes personality, Vahn suspected she might not actually mind it too much, even though she would probablyin a bit. Even without following the correct path, Vahn easily made his way through the illusory forest because normal illusions had no effect on him at all. He quickly found his way to the secret garden and saw the person he had been looking for, Terra, absorbing energy from the sun as she soaked her feet in the wellspring. It was a bit awkward since she was currentlypletely n.a.k.e.d, but Vahn didnt let it bother him since she was quite the beautiful girl. She had also noticed his presence the moment he entered the clearing and her robe immediately appeared as a smile bloomed on her face. Before Vahn even brought it up, Terra tilted her head slightly and asked, "What is this adorable little creature...is it a fox?" Shirohime peaked up and saw the rtively unthreatening Terra and seemed to be preparing a rebuttal until Terra furled her wings and snapped her tail against the ground as she leaped from the wellspring to get a closer look. Even if Shirohime was a real goddess, there wasnt much she could do against a True Dragon that wasprised of source energy. She couldnt even make any use of her power without Haruhime, so Shirohime was more of a mascot than an actual threat in her current form. Vahn smiled at Terra and exined, "This is Shirohime, she is a nine-tailed fox that is a part of Haruhime...want to try holding her?" Shirohimes eyes widened but she couldnt say anything before Terra reached out her hands and easily picked her up before hugging Shiro close to her chest in a motherly embrace and cuddling her. Shirohime writhed about and said, "We dont understand whats going on! This shouldnt be happening to us!" Terra freed one of her hands and began gently stroking Shirohimes head as she softly uttered, "My, you really are a cute little fox, Shirohime. My name is Terra Evergreen, it is very nice to meet you. If it isnt too much to ask, will you be my friend~?" Shirohime seemed to be very stressed out by the unexpected situation, but Terras innate gentleness was overwhelming and she quickly gave up her resistance as she pouted without responding to Terras words. Vahn smiled and said, "Just like Haruhime, you also need to open yourself up to others...Shiro. You will be much happier if you have more friends." Vahn knew that, just like Haruhime, Shirohime liked to be called by a pet name so he softly called her Shiro. As expected, her ears twitched at the address and she turned her pouting golden eyes toward him before drooping her head. Terra simply continued stroking her with a happy smile on her face, almost as if she werepletely oblivious to Shirohimes distressed state... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Maemirus Dedication,Smelly fox...,Terras endowments) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 509 - Flow

Chapter 509 - Flow

After suffering in Terras grasp for a short while, Shirohime had a somewhat sad expression on her face as she said, "Please let us go..." Since the moment she had materialized, Shirohume felt like she had suffered endless setbacks and it had started to dampen her confidence a bit. Not only was Vahn abnormal and somewhat immune to her powers, but the girls around him were all scary monsters that made her feel suppressed. She even contemted returning back to her body, but a part of her she couldnt exin didnt want to go away from the annoying boy that looked at her with intrigue and, when she was genuinely upset, concern. Terras eyes squinted slightly as she held out Shirohime and said, "It seems Shirohime isnt too fond of me, Master...how heartbreaking." Vahn reached out and epted the limp Shirohime from Terras arms and cradled her in his arms once again as she curled up into a small form and ignored everything else. Vahn knew she wasnt as fragile as she was letting on, especially after the trouble she caused earlier, but she genuinely didnt seem to like being put into unexpected situations. Even Terra, someone that was a pacifist and had a gentle nature couldnt break through her defenses just yet. Vahn gently pat Shirohime as he looked to the smiling Terra and asked, "So, how are you enjoying the surface? Is there anything I can do to make you happier?" Terras smile widened marginally as she swayed her h.i.p.s and turned her body. She walked toward the wellspring and gestured to it before saying, "I much prefer this garden than the dreary life in the Dungeon. Even if Im not truly free, I dont feel like my life would have as much substance if I left this ce. Everyone seems very nice and epting, even though Im a monster and they should have at least a little animosity toward me. I can see your influence in each of them, Master, and it makes my heart feel at ease knowing Im surrounded by people that share your beliefs..." As she spoke, Terra passed her fingers through the emerald-green essence as pulses of energy passed from their tips and diffused into the liquid before enriching it even further. Vahn could see that Terras efficiency was somewhat bad, evenpared to Fenrir, as nearly 30% of her energy had been drained since the previous evening. She was likely taking his previous words seriously and doing her best to spread her influence as much as possible, which Vahn could confirm with his [Eyes of Truth]. The swirling domain beneath the ground now stretched out to around 370m instead of the previous three-hundred. Terra turned to face him with her ever-present smile and said, "If I had anyints...I suppose it would be the restrictive feeling of clothing. Im certain I will get used to it with time, but its rather awkward to have to cover my body with fabrics much weaker than my own resistances. Fortunately, I have a Master that gifted me something rather high quality, as it is much morefortable than the other girls that Ive tried on~." Since she would have been able to detect most people passing through the barrier, Terra had been sunbathing in the buff since it felt better to expose herself to the sun in order to absorb even more energy. Though she had the appearance of a humanoid, while being a True Dragon, Terra shared many simrities with nts and it felt unnatural to cover her body. Though he could tell she didnt mind too much, Vahn c.o.c.ked his head and seriously considered the matter for a few minutes, even asking Sis for a bit of advice. She actually rmended making an outfit that had simr properties as the panties he had made for Hephaestus to use during their wedding night. He already confirmed that it was possible to make fabric turn transparent, so he could make herfortable and breathable clothing that could also either turn transparent or make it so that she could absorb energy from the sun and atmosphere more easily. After thinking it over for a bit, Vahn asked, "Do you absorb energy through your entire body, and is it simply the feel of the clothing that bothers you? I think I can make you something that is form fitting that doesnt feel restrictive at all. Ill have to put in a bit of effort, but I can even make it turn transparent if you want to make use of it when youre sunbathing in private." Terra released a peal ofughter that reminded Vahn of the sounds of nature. Her leaf-like feathers rustled like trees in a gentle breeze as she moved her hair to the side of her face and said in a soft voice, "My Master is very thoughtful...I feel truly blessed. Regardless of what you make, I will wear it with pride and treasure it forever~." Vahn could feel a cool breeze touch his skin as a fragrant aroma spread around the area as a result of Terras mood. When she was happier, the aroma she emitted carried simr traits and it made Vahn feel like he was reclining in a field of flowers while even Shirohime closed her eyes slightly with acent expression on her face. Vahn smiled and said, "Fortunately, your current appearance is suitable for a variety of different types of clothing. Ille up with something that will enhance your natural beauty even further. As for your sunbathing, its fine if you do it at your leisure just make sure you stay aware of your surroundings." Vahn could tell that Terras aura had absolutely no influence over anything off of the ground, which seemed to be her only real weakness. Even her flight speed was around 940km/h at her maximum speed, which meant she could even be shot down by a skilled archer above Level 4. Since he didnt want to disturb her too much, Vahn walked forward and said, "Ill help recover your energy before I go..." Terras eyes squinted slightly as she proudly puffed out her chest and closed her eyes and said, "As you will, Master~." Vahn knew Terras intent, but he wasnt sure if she was trying to save him time or she had learned something strange from the other girls. She obviously wanted him to infuse his energy directly into her core, which was in the center of her chest, right next to her heart, but Vahn already knew a way to keep it from being awkward. He wasnt at the stage where he wanted to take advantages with Terra, especially considering the matters he was currently involved with. Vahn walked around behind Terras back and she cracked her eyes slightly as the smile on her face grew marginally without her uttering a word. He ced his palm in between her shoulder des and used his [Hands of Nirvana] and [Yggdrasils Blessing] to infuse his source energy into her body. Unlike most races, whose source of mana was around their navel, Dragons had theirs located in their hearts. Terra also had a magic core, which would potentially result in her death if it were destroyed, located right next to her heart. Both vital organs were protected by a durable te of bones that Vahn suspected could easily rival Adamantine in durability. Even with his [Eyes of Truth], the could see that the molecr structure of the bone had a very stable structure that radiated with small bands of pure source energy. Most physical and magical attacks wouldnt be able to even put a scratch on that te and the tissues underneath it created a protective membrane that also resisted shockwaves. Even her bones were segmented in a strange manner, and Vahn felt like Terras bones could actually bend without breaking easily... After he topped off her energy, Terra opened her eyes and fluttered her wings before bowing politely and saying, "Thank you, Master, for once again bestowing your kindness upon me~." Vahn nodded his head and returned a polite smile of his own and said, "Ill be going to visit some of the other girls now, so Ill talk to you during dinner." Terra, however, shook her head and said, "I promised to y with my Big Brother, so Im afraid Ill be absent from dinner unless you would like me to attend, Master." Hearing that Terra was going to spend time with Fafnir, Vahn felt pleased so he shook his head and said, "No, its fine if you want to spend time with your siblings. Fafnir doesnt really get to spend that much quality time with everyone, so its good that he has a reliablepanion to look after him. I n to go y with Fenrir tomorrow, so you shoulde along with us then." Terras wings fluttered again and Vahn felt like this was one of the ways she disyed her own satisfaction. Since she always had a smile, it was a little harder to read her than most because he couldnt see the auras of his familiars in the same way as the others. Other than sensing their presence, as it was the same as his own, Vahn couldnt read their emotions so the only metric he had for their satisfaction was the Loyalty value. Even though it had only been a short period of time since she was released from her core, Terras current Loyalty was at 319 and their current conversation had started with her at 306. As expected, Terra nodded her head slightly and said, "I would love to go out and y with everyone, Master. I can already feel my heart rate increase in anticipation~." Though it was very subtle, Vahn could see that Terra was telling the truth so he felt like she really was excited. After patting her head for a bit, Vahn left the secret garden which he was contemting renaming to Terras Sanctuary since it really would be her own personal dominion in the future. He would have to consult her about the name since she should be the one to ultimately decide on what she wants to call her home, but he thought it was suitable. Thus, while supporting Shirohime like a baby that needed to be burped, Vahn made his way through the illusory forest and headed toward his next destination. Vahn quickly found his way at the clearing at the center of the forest and saw Mikoto training hard as a denseyer of sweat covered her body. Even though it was around 18 degrees outside, Mikotos kimono had be somewhat damp from her exertions and there was even steam rising from her body. She was currently standing in a very stable stance that made her presence feel muchrger than normal with both of her eyes closed. Her hand was held loosely on the handle of her katana and she waspletely stationary with the only movement of her bodying from her ponytail gently swaying with the wind. For several long seconds, Vahn could feel the tension in the atmosphere continue to increase and it was almost like the very air around Mikotos body was solidifying. Just as it reached a tangible level, Mikotos eyes opened at the same time as a sh of light appeared. Within the blink of an eye, Mikoto had drawn her sword in a beautiful arc before immediately resheathing it a momentter. She then fell to her knees and began gasping for air as a result of the exertion. Vahn could see that many of the muscles in her body had been strained a great deal and she had obviously been at her training for a while. Vahn walked out of the cover of the trees in front of Mikoto causing her to raise her head before pulling her slightly open kimono closed. She had been overheating and had loosened up her obi slightly to make breathing easier and hadnt expected Vahn to suddenly appear. Given his stealth capabilities, Mikoto realized he could have been watching her for a while and it made her flushed face take on a slightly more vibrant hue as she rose to her feet and fixed her clothing before bowing and saying, "Forgive my shameless disy..." Vahn waved his hand dismissively and asked, "Mikoto, I know youve said before that you intend to stay in the Manor and follow me, but do you really mean that?" Mikotos expression turned serious and she nodded her head firmly and said, "I wont abandon my own convictions. Unless you force me out of the Familia, I will continue to walk the same path for the rest of my life!" Vahn showed a light smile as he nodded and said, "That is indeed the case...so you really shouldnt continue acting so distant when were supposed to be getting closer, not further apart. Im not going to force you into anything, but you already recognized me as your Lord, Master, and even your future Lover. I wont ask you to throw away propriety, but you shouldnt be so tense since your growth with be elerated even further if you rx your body and mind." Just as he had done in the past, Vahn pulled out a katana before moving Shirohime up to the top of his head. Even if he moved very quickly, it was almost like she was anchored to him at times and he believed she would be fine. Mikoto looked like she had wanted to say something but immediately swallowed her words when she saw Vahn pull out his own katana. It wasnt nearly the same quality as her own, but she felt a wave spread from Vahns body the instant he wielded it. Vahn loosened up his shoulders and said, "Ive looked over the [Flying Heavenly Sword Scroll], but Ive never trained in any of its techniques. However, there are some things that Ive gleaned that match with my own ideologies..." Vahn pulled out one of the giant boulders he had stowed away in his inventory during the expedition and let it fall heavily in the center of the clearing. He nned to build a gazeebo there in the future, so he didnt mind if the grass in the area got ttened a bit. Terra could always regrow it if he asked, so Vahn followed his own advice and began to rx his mind and body. After taking several deep breaths, Vahn said, "The secret to the Flying Heavenly Sword is abination of speed, perception, and the control of your own body. However, if you forcibly try to exercise control, you will continually damage your body and wear away at the tendons and joints. Increasing your parameters allows you to bypass some restrictions, but it doesnt make your body impervious to wear and tear..." After loosening up all the joints and muscles of his body, Vahn felt like he would simply fall down like a marite if he rxed and further so hezily walked toward the stone as he said, "I once taught you that fluidity was the secret behind a true sword strike...it makes use of the entire body as a series of incremental pivots to create a flow through the body itself, allowing for greater speed, precision, and potential output...youll notice that I emphasized speed, just like the Flying Heavenly Sword. Even a reed, if moving at a fast enough velocity and at the right angle, could pierce through a te of Adamantine..." Vahn entered the effective range of his blow and allowed all the tensions of his body to release at the same time, resulting in him falling forward slightly. Instead of outright resisting this motion, Vahn guided his fall and used his own speed and footwork to elerate it forward in a natural motion. At the same time, Vahn shifted his weight slightly starting from his feet, following up his legs, elerating from his h.i.p.s, before the twisting of his spine and the swing of his arm had elerated to a monstrous level. He had tried to restrict himself to around Mikotos speed, but he found that his own movements were much faster than anticipated as the eleration of the de through his sheath had forced his motion to reach around eight-times the speed of a normal sh. Instead of restraining it, however, Vahn allowed the motion toplete naturally and ended up spinning around several times from his own momentum. He didnt sheath the sword as Mikoto had done, but he believed he had proved his point. Mikoto watched the scene y out, all the way up until Vahn entered what she referred to as the initial phase of his strike. The Battjutsu techniques in the scroll were all at least two-phase techniques and Vahns initial phase could only be understood as wless from her own limited perception. She saw the beginning of the move, but the next thing she knew Vahn was already beyond the boulder and was spinning around in a somewhat awkward manner. Mikoto understood he had underestimated his own speed but the result hadnt changed much, even though his follow-through was a bitcking. Because of swordws, one of the strange things that Vahn didnt entirely understand, a strange phenomenon urred when strikes were performed skillfully. His katana was around 95cm long, marginally longer than a normal katana, but the boulder he had sliced was more than 400cm in diameter at the widest points. However, when Vahn walked over and pushed against the seemingly undamaged boulder, the phenomenon he had expected had urred and the top of the boulder slid off the base at a 37-degree angle. It touched the ground without sliding offpletely, so Vahn stowed away the upper half as Mikoto walked over and observed his result while gulping audibly. Though it wasnt a perfect cut, the boulder had still been cut throughpletely and more than 80% of the surface was nearly level, albeit slightly askew as a result of his posture. As for the parts he hadnt cut through cleanly, they were still split from the ambient force from the de and were still rtively t, though the surface was somewhat grainypared to the smoothness of the rest of the rock face. Mikoto passed her palm across it and it felt almost like a polished stone with strange wavy patterns that sheered in the direction of Vahns strike. She released a sigh because she realized Vahn was still several times more capable with a sword than she was, even though he didnt truly specialize in it. Vahn walked over to Mikotos side and ced his hand against her shoulder in a casual manner as he infused energy into her body. He used his free hand to channel a healing magic spell to recover her muscles strains and internal injuries at the same time while saying, "Flow, Mikoto...like water..." When he finished topping her off, Vahn pat her shoulder again before walking off toward the forest to give her time to contemte his words on her own. She was the type that needed toe to an understanding through her own efforts to be satisfied with her progress, so Vahn was intentionally vague while also being direct at the same time. Mikoto had the perfect weapon to learn how to make her strikes flow, so she should be pushing as much emphasis in mastering it as she did into mastering the [Heavenly Flying Sword Scroll]. Mikoto watched Vahns back from the corner of her eyes until he disappeared through the illusory mist that permeated throughout the forest. She knew he was showing off a little bit, but also knew he had more than enough reason to act that way considering his age and skill. She released a sigh that caused a lot of condensation to cloud up around her. Vahns words were slightly cryptic, but his demonstration and the emphasis he ced on water were obvious indicators of what he wanted her to do. Since it hadnt really been that long since their return, Mikoto had been focused entirely on [Battjutsu] but now decided to rx and expand her mindset. She grabbed the hilt of her katana and pulled it out slightly, causing the cloud of condensation to disperse in an instant... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Terras Demeanor,Hold my [Dwarven Drought]...,Lord, Master, Prospective Lover...Chuuni) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 510 - Exploration

Chapter 510 - Exploration

After leaving Mikoto in the clearing, Vahn returned to the Manor without disturbing the girls training. He had been nning to keep making the rounds to talk with the others, but the only people that came to the forefront of his mind at the moment were Lili, Naaza, and Eina. Vahn knew that Lili spent a fair amount of time reading within Naazas Atelier, but Vahn wasnt sure it was the best idea to visit them since he wanted to rx before the evening. Since Hephaestus had left early in the morning to take care of a few things, Vahn decided to simply stop by and visit the Guild Branch located on the west side of the building before exploring the Manor a bit Vahn made his way to the small two-story building that appeared rather smallpared to the size of the Manor itself. Since it was a branch that only had four personnel working within it, it wasnt too surprising, but Vahn still felt like it was a little strange to see a building representing the Guild be so small. At least it was made with a simr design, so it didnt stand out too much from the surrounding architecture and looked more like a connecting building than a standaloneplex. Within the building, Vahn found a small counter where two women could be seen conversing with each other in a casual manner. They didnt really have to worry about strict regtions too much, as there was no chance of any inspectorsing through unannounced. The beautiful brown-haired girl with emerald green eyes showed a pleasant smile in response to his appearance, but the red-haired woman with somewhat wild hair furrowed her brows slightly before an awkward smile appeared on her face before it transitioned into a business smile momentster. Eina stood up from her chair and asked, "Good afternoon, Vahn, what brings you to the Guild today~?" Vahn smiled and said, "I was curious about the new changes around the Manor and wanted to investigate them. Since I knew you were working, I decided to stop by here first to visit for a short while. If Im a bother, I cane back at another time..." Vahn knew they didnt actually have a lot of work to perform since many of the materials obtained by the Hestia Familia were kept by him or exchanged with the system shop. He did have some mission items to turn in, but that wasnt really a pressing matter and he didnt want to suddenly make them busy when they were having a discussion. Rose squinted her eyes slightly as Eina chuckled and said, "Were not particrly busy with anything, so its a wee urrence to have you appear here unexpectedly. We were actually talking about some missions that could be good for the Hestia Familia to ept in order to increase their rank further. You should know that the group that remained behind during the expedition had worked very hard~." Vahn walked forward as Eina spoke and stood at the counter as she pulled out arge book with several mission listings contained within. Using the opportunity, Vahn added, "During the expedition, wepleted all of our epted tasks as well and I need to report theirpletion." Eina looked toward Rose who nodded her head politely and said, "I can ept the mission items and validate thepletion of each task at this counter. If there are arge number of items, we have space in the back to stow them, but it may take a few hours to sort through everything before you receive credit. We need to report the matter to the Guild and exchange the items for their respective rewards first." Since he had epted quite a number of missions, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Well probably need to use the back room..." Rose nodded and gestured to the small swinging door at the side of the counter and Vahn passed through it as Eina followed behind with the mission logbook. The Guild Branch building was much longer than it was wide and it followed back into a storage warehouse that had arge set of doors at the side leading to the staging area outside. There were severalrge tables present, much like what he had seen in the past, so Vahn walked over and began removing the items from his Inventory based on the quest log. He had the benefit of neatly arranging everything beforehand, so the items appeared in a prim and proper form that would make Roses job of inspecting them much easier. Seeing Vahns storage magic in action, Rose had a slightly envious look before she picked up a set of tools and set about performing her own duty. Before she began, Rose asked, "Did you have any magic cores you wanted to exchange?" Vahn shook his head and said, "I use cores as a material in forging, so its unlikely well ever exchange any here." After nodding her head, Rose began inspecting the materials while Eina opened the mission log and said, "There are actually a few personal requests that have been made by various Familia as ofte. We filtered through the ones that seemed like they just wanted to get closer to the Hestia Familia, but keep in mind that there is still a possibility." Vahn looked over the missions Eina had selected and noticed that some of them actually included requests for forging items and there was even one asking him to investigate an area outside of the City. The Guild knew of the existence of Fafnir, including how fast it had been flying about above the City, so there was a mission posted that requested him to visit an area a few thousand kilometers away. Monsters had been attacking viges in the food production areas to the West and they wanted someone to track down the nest and eliminate it. Since it was posted by the Guild itself, and also affected one of their allies, the Demeter Familia, Vahn quickly epted the mission. He wanted to go out and y tomorrow, and it seemed like a good location to have some fun. For the next two hours, Vahn sat in the back as Rose sorted through all the items he had produced to verify their quality and quantity. Vahn was aware that she was bing somewhat annoyed the longer he was around, especially since he had produced a table and chairs to enjoy a light meal with Eina. Since it was somewhat rude to be casually conversing while someone else worked, Vahn eventually ended up leaving the area, but only after leaving behind a magical kettle full of a fragrant tea and some baked goods for Rose and Eina to enjoy when he was gone. He knew that Rose seemed to be fond of sour food so he left some ckberry tarts for her. Shortly after he left the Guild Branch, escorted by Eina, Shirohime began thumping the top of his head as sheined, "How dare you ignore us for so long!" Vahn reached up and grabbed the little fox by its scruff and it struggled about until he held it right in front of his face and exined, "When Im conversing with people that cant see and hear you, it would interrupt the flow of conversation if I have to split my focus between you and them. Unless you have something important to say, I have to worry about the others first. Behave, Shirohime, youre a smart girl and should know better." Shirohime had a plex look on her tiny face and seemed to struggle with her thoughts for a short while before asking, "What do we get if we behave...?" Vahn nearly chortled because of the cleverness of Shirohime and her spoiled nature that really suited her adorable appearance. After thinking, Vahn smiled and said, "How about I groom your fur? Or maybe you want me to give you some heavy petting?" An even moreplicated look appeared on Shirohimes face before she muttered, "We arent your pet..." Vahn showed a slightly sad look before setting Shirohime on his shoulder and beginning his exploration of the Manor. It was fair to say it had more than doubled in size, and Vahn was curious about the areas he had yet to visit. Suddenly being ignored again, Shirohime pawed against the side of Vahns face after staying silent for a while and said, "Hey...hey...dont ignore us..." Vahn, however, decided to take a simr approach to when he first got close to Eva and let Shirohime think about her actions on her own for the time being. Even though he could feel her, Vahn knew she couldnt do any actual damage to him and it was more of a sensation than actual pain. He didnt even flinch with the immense pain of using [Prometheus], so he couldpletely filter out Shirohimes antics with ease. After making his way through the extended corridors connecting to the back half of the Manor, Vahn found that there were numerous rooms that had already been stocked with supplies for rearing children. He had entered through the West Wing, so it made sense that this would be where their kids are raised in the future. As he progressed further, Vahn found there were several nearby rooms that got increasinglyrger in size the further he went. It seemed that Hestia had designed things so that, as the children aged and grew up, they would have more space to work with. There were even some rooms that had private studies attached to them. The coolest thing though, which caught Vahns interest rather quickly, was that there were various secret rooms and corridors that connected with each other. It looked like the extensions of the building had been designed to be fun for the kids, but Vahn couldnt help but want to go through them himself. There was something interesting about navigating through a building without using the normal paths, and Vahn even found a few puzzles that revealed small rooms that looked like they would be useful for storing items. When he reached the official back of the Manor, Vahn found that the mechanisms came to an end before moreplex formations reced them. It didnt take him much effort to find his way through them, even without having prior knowledge, and Vahn found himself in a rather long space that appeared to be 500m long and around 80m wide. Though it looked simr in structure to the rest of the Manor from outside, arge part of the back central area had been turned into an open area that had been reinforced a great dealpared to the surrounding structures. Vahn immediately realized this ce must be for practical training and wondered why it wasnt already being made use of. Even the walls had formations to disperse magic spells, simr in structure to those found at the Coliseum. They were currently inactive, but Vahn could see the locations where magic cores could be inserted to trigger the formation in the future. Passing through the training area, Vahn found a door that even he didnt have ess to, at least for the time being. With his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see that there was workshop space that had been set up. Since this door connected to the East Annex, Vahn could understand why it was off-limits as it connected to his, Hephaestus, and Tsubakis workshops. There would be no reason for most people to use this door, and the workshops on the other side were probably for use by his and Hephaestus daughters. Nanu would likely end up making use of his space, as she was his official apprentice, but it was nice to know there was space if she wanted her own forge. Since Vahn had a secret forge in his bedroom, he had intended to let her make the one in his workshop as her own when she increased her proficiency. As Vahn was making his way to the exit, the one leading toward the illusory forest area, Shirohime began sobbing with tearful eyes all of a sudden as she said, "Please dont ignore us...Vahn..." This was the first time she had addressed him by name instead of saying you or boy, so Vahn reached up his hand and grabbed her once again. She didnt resist his actions this time and shivered a little when Vahn held her gently against his chest and pat her back, saying, "Its okay, Shiro, dont cry..." in a soothing voice. She was only around 30cm long, excluding her tails, so it was very easy to hold her against his chest by supporting her little rump. Her nine tails curled downward in a pitiful manner as she cried on his shoulder for a little while saying, "We dont like being ignored...it makes us very lonely..." Vahn had been forming a theory about Shirohimes existence ever since she had started clinging to him earlier in the day. Haruhime had said that Shiro was her hope, which had been lost in the past, and Vahn felt like she was like a split personality that Haruhime had formed in her childhood. She had been the daughter of a noble n and had been taught how to behave ever since she was a small child. Without a mother in her life, Haruhime had been very lonely and her own father neglected her in lieu of his other duties. It was to the point that, even when she wanted to discuss matters with him, she would have to take on a subservient role and follow procedure to gain an audience. As a result, Haruhime bottled up a lot of her emotions and developed something like a split personality that was buried deep inside of her subconscious. She behaved on the outside, but there was a little girl that craved attention and love hidden away in an area even she couldnt ess. Though she opened up a little after interacting with the children of the Takemikazuchi Familia, Haruhime had abandoned her hope when her own father had exiled her. When she became a ve, there was a long period of time where she didnt know how to act at all and simply ceased believing things would get better, even going so far as thinking she wasnt worth saving. Shirohime was like everything that Haruhime had bottled up in her youth, and it made her appear to be very spoiled and princess-like, because she was trying to get the love and affection she believed she was entitled to. Even if he wasnt entirely true, Vahn believed there was some credibility to his inference since he had experienced Haruhimes past through her hearts desire and could easily understand how something like Shirohime came into existence. Now that Haruhime had power, enough that she could change her fate, Shirohime manifested once again to take the things she wanted. Because Haruhime loved him, Shirohime was very attached to him as well, even if she misbehaved and acted spoiled. Vahn figured he needed to be firm with Shirohime, just like he would have to be with his own children, or she would never improve. He didnt mind giving her the affection she somewhat desperately craved, but true affection wasnt taken at the expense of the giver, it was something that was received based on the connection and bonds shared between two people. This meant that you also needed to give at the same time or the rtionship would break down when the other party simply had nothing else to give. It simply wasnt healthy to act out in an attempt to get the attention of others, when you could get it much easier by behaving andpromising with each other. Since he didnt have anything better to do, not that he couldnt find something, Vahn let himself get lost within the illusory forest as heforted Shirohime and enjoyed the scenic environment. Most forests had overgrown shrubbery and nt life, but theirs was artificially created which meant that the grass was neat and tidy while the trees were somewhat uniform in height and appearance. With the mist pervading throughout the area, it made it especially easy to get lost but Vahn found aimlessly wandering to be quite pleasant. Shiorhime had stopped crying at some point and had fallen asleep against his shoulder, very much like a child that had tuckered themselves out. As it was gettingter in the afternoon, nearing the time for dinner, Vahn decided he should head back since it was almost time for his night battle with Tiona, Ais, and Tione. This would also be the first time for Tione, so it was an important event that he needed to have the proper mindset when facing. Neither she nor Tiona would be using the Fallen this time around so it wasnt an exaggeration to say that his life could be on the line since their control was severelycking as a result of their young age and monstrous power. Ais was something of a failsafe to make sure things didnt get too dangerous, but she might ally with the two brown-skinned beauties if Vahn proves an actual match for them... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Thorny Rose,Pampered Princess,Calm before the storm...) (A/N: The next chapters wont be out for several hours since it will be multiple parts and they will be posted around the same time to prevent Cliff-Samas power for devastating the hearts and minds of the readers o3o~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 511 - Night Battle (1/3)

Chapter 511 - Night Battle (1/3)

When Vahn arrived in the dining room, he found that there were far fewer people than he expected present. There was still time before dinner was actually served, but most of the girls showed up early to help set the table and to chat long before dinner began. He could sense that there were some girls still bathing, but he noticed the distinctck of Tiona, Ais, and Tione at the table. It was a strange thought to have, but Vahn felt like they were already waiting for him at the rendezvous point even though there were more than two hours until they were supposed to meet up... Because he expected things to get rather intense, they werent going to be using his room since he still needed to conquer the two powerful Amazons. Without anything to hold them back, he would either end up at their mercy or they would be defeated by him. This was the only way to make them calm in the future since it would appease their instincts based on their recognition that Vahn was stronger than them. It would also serve as the catalyst for their future growth as well since they would try to defeat him in turn. Still, until they were able to get a victory against him, Vahn would be able to enjoy a normal rtionship with them in the future which was something to look forward to. During dinner, Terra, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Eina, Chloe, Arnya, Lunoire, and Haruhime were all absent, which made the atmosphere a little peculiar. Vahn ended up sitting with Syr and Ryuu at his sides while Fenrir red at Shirohime, who was currently covering her eyes with her paws and sitting on the top of his head. Eventually, she couldnt tolerate Fenrirs gaze and ended up climbing down to his shoulder before nuzzling around the cor of his tunic and jumping down into the interior. Fenrirs eyes glowed after seeing this but she didnt say anything when Vahn shook his head gestured for her to calm down. Shirohime seemed especially happy with her discovery and curled up into a ball within his shirt and seemed to be enjoying his body heat. Because of the tension in the air, dinner ended up being a little shorter than normal because most of the girls at the table understood that Vahn was going to be busy soon. Immediately after everyone started cleaning up, Fenrir came over and eyed the bulged in Vahns tunic with her paws opening and closing in a frustrated manner. Vahn reached out with both of his hands and gripped the sides of her head before looking into Fenrirs eyes and saying in a firm tone, "Fenrir is a good girl...right?" The light in Fenrirs eyes wavered like a candle on the verge of being blown out as she slowly nodded and said, "Fenrir is a good girl..." Vahn smiled and began moving his hands to stroke her face and head tofort her anxiety. Though he knew the girls were waiting for him, Vahn didnt n to show up until it was the agreed upon time since he still needed to talk with Haruhime before then. Since Fenrir seemed to be especially stressed out today, like because of her feelings of jealousy toward Haruhime and Shirohime, Vahn spent around forty minutes pampering her even though Shirohime pawed at his abdomen in a frustrated manner. He had let Fenrir sit in hisp as he simultaneouslybed his fingers through her hair while massaging the pressure points in her neck and shoulders to help her rx. Since she seemed to intentionally squish Shirohime every now and then, the little fox eventually ended up poking her head out of his tunic without saying anything and just pouting. Toward the end of their small session, Vahn wanted to give Fenrir something to help her cope for the rest of the evening so he tilted her head up and looked at her confused expression before giving her a short peck on the lips. Fenrirs eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her paws with a happy expression on her face. As for Shirohime, she showed a from and made a hmph sound before diving back into his tunic and wriggling her way to his back. Vahn felt that it was a little awkward to have a small animal crawling around inside his tunic, but he decided not to mind it for the time being and made his way towards Haruhimes room. Haruhime had been in a daze ever since she awoke from her nap earlier in the day. She felt like everything that happened earlier was a dream, but the aches in her body and the pleasant heat from her chest were all the proof she needed to know this was reality. There were also several instances where she could feel phantom sensations all over her body and many of them were very pleasant. Though she was surprised earlier when her butt was tenderized, awakening her from her nap with a start, Haruhime felt the warmth spread through her backside a littleter and hugged her pillow tightly as she fell back asleep. She wondered if there was a way to drop Vahn a hint that she didnt mind if he wanted to spank her for real. Even though it had been very surprising, Haruhime didnt really mind it and it made her heart race feeling thefortable heat spread through her butt after the fact... Vahn reached Haruhimes door and Shirohime crawled up his back before peeking out from his cor once again. It had urred to Vahn previously, but it was strange how she was able to solidify herself in a selective manner like this. She didnt even disperse water when she was swimming in it, but now that she had climbed into his tunic it was very apparent that she was there. It could have been an illusion, but Vahn felt like the sensations were a little too real and he wasnt fond of the idea that her influence over him was strong enough to make him hallucinate physical phenomenon. After hearing Haruhimes acknowledgment, Vahn made his way inside and found her sitting in her bed with her clothes in a somewhat disheveled state. She hadnt made any attempt to fix her clothing after knowing Vahn was at the door, but Vahn didnt mind the scene at all since it was somewhat tantalizing seeing a young woman partially clothed. Haruhime seemed to understand this as well and was doing it intentionally, even though it was something she had learned during her time as a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e in training. She had decided not to be ashamed of her past since the only person she had ever actually serviced was Vahn. Vahn reached behind his back and Shirohime immediately ducked back into his tunic to escape his clutches because she knew what he was intending. Unfortunately for her, Vahn simply unequipped his top and snatched the surprised fox before she fell down. She immediately began to struggle as she said, "No, we dont want to stay here! You cant abandon us like this!" Haruhimeughed as she reached out and grabbed Shirohime and began patting the teary-eyed fox as she soothingly stated, "Vahn will never abandon us...but we cant make him take care of us all the time little Shiro. Unless you want to see him with other girls, youll have to stay here with me for a bit. Besides, there are a lot of things I want to talk about with you..." Shirohime turned her head up at Haruhime and said, "Vahn should be with us always...he shouldnt go to other girls when were lonely!" Haruhime hugged the little fox tightly and pressed its head against her chest as she said, "You can feel it right...? Vahn is always with us, so be a good girl so we can get plenty of rewardster~." When Haruhime mentioned rewards, Shirohimes body flinched a little as she recalled the various forms of pampering she had received throughout the day. Every time she misbehaved, Vahn would neglect her, but the rest of the time had been pleasant... Without waiting for Shirohimes decision, Haruhime reached out her right hand and chanted, "Grow. That power and that vessel. Breadth of wealth and breadth of wishes. Until the bell tolls, bring forth glory and illusion. -Grow. Confine divine offerings within this body. This golden light bestowed from above. Into the hammer and into the ground, may it bestow good fortune upon you... ~Grow!" as a divine light struck Vahns body and greatly increased his parameters. Most importantly, his Power reached 3594, only 300 points lower than Tiona. With Haruhimes buff, Vahn was able to close the gap between their strength to a negligible level while being marginally stronger than Tione. Vahn showed a gentle and somewhat apologetic expression as he said, "Thank you, Haru...take care of Shiro for me, okay? Ill make sure to pamper you both in the future..." Haruhime showed a loving smile in return and said, "Ill always be waiting, Vahn...we both will be, isnt that right little Shiro?" Though she had a pouty face, Shirohime nodded her head and said, "We dont like being alone. You have to make sure toe back to us..." As the little fox spoke, her golden eyes became slightly watery until she eventually hung her head as Haruhime hugged her tightly. She had a lot of insecurities, but Vahn knew things would get better with time since they could rely on each other and the people around them to be happy. He would also do his best for both girls until they never had any doubts about his affection ever again... After leaving Haruhimes room, Vahn made his way to the nearby study and opened the window before jumping down and disappearing from sight with the use of [Shundo]. He only had an hour to make use of Haruhimes magic, so there wasnt much time to meander about and waste time. Since things were going to be somewhat intense, Vahn had decided to make use of the residence to the east of the Manor, the same one that was designated for his meetings with goddesses and diplomats in the future. There were threerge rooms, including one that was apparently made to be much more durable than the others. It was made as a reinforced structure that waspletely soundproof and impervious to spying magic, such as irvoyance and Divination. Since the matter of using [Enkidu] was a highly guarded secret, they needed a chamber that was able to protect the secret while also ensuring that the goddesses themselves couldnt be spied on. Vahn arrived at the residence in an instant before passing his perception across the rather stylish building and confirming there was a ck void within his vision surrounded by a dense assortment of runes. The fact that it even blocked his Innate [Eyes of Truth] was a credit to the security of the room and Vahn was impressed, especially considering the room wasrger than the aboveground building itself. The only ess point to it, besides a secret door that connected to a corridor leading to the Hearth Manor, was a small elevator that was concealed by a bookcase. Without being apanied by someone that was registered to the formations, it waspletely inessible since the room below was sealed off until the mechanism above was triggered. It was very apparent to Vahn that the number of secret doors and chambers had increased a great deal after Hephaestus and Hestias influence was incorporated into the architectural structure of the Manor. Hephaestus was an unrivaled [Master Smith] that liked to create mechanisms, while one of Hestias primary Divinities was rted to Architecture. With the two goddesses working in concert, the Manor was slowly turning into a fortress full of secret passageways and hidden chambers. Vahn was certain that the underground structures that were being constructed right now were even moreplex and he was looking forward to discovering each secret. For now, however, his main focus was on the three girls that entered his perception after the elevator cleared through the seal below. The moment Vahn saw Tiona, Tione, and Ais, he realized things wereing to a head very quickly since Tione had a fervent and almost predatory look on her face. Tiona was in a better condition, but there was eagerness radiating from her body while Ais, the only person with a normal reaction, had a little bit of concern in her eyes. She had been with the two girls since earlier and the atmosphere had worried her a bit since it seemed like Vahn might be in danger. Even though they were in a private room filled with people she trusted and loved, Ais was just as alert as if she were about to face a Monster Rex in the Deep Floors. Vahn stepped forward and let his own aura spread through the room as the pressure inside noticeably increased along with the temperature. Though he was interested in the structure of the room, Vahn focused his attention on the three girls and matched Tiones gaze as he said, "Sorry to keep you waiting...I hope youve prepared yourself properly." Tione was already drawing deep breaths and, the moment Vahn finished his words, she leaped toward him fast enough to form an after-image. Though he could track her movements, Vahn allowed Tione to grip his tunic before immediately unequipping it when she moved to pull him back. She lost her footing slightly and wasnt able to recover it in time as Vahn had already stepped forward to push her down. Though it felt a little scary, Vahn let loose because he knew it was necessary for the two girls to receive the full benefits of what was about to happen. After pinning her quickly, Vahn reached forward and grabbed at Tiones top before ripping it away from her body and revealing the budding brown b.r.e.a.s.ts with pale protrusions. Tione grabbed at his hands and tried to reverse their position, but Vahn pinned her forearm to the ground with enough force to crack the magically reinforced marble of the floor. Instead of showing any signs of pain, Tiones expression became even more fervent as she tried to buck Vahn forward with her h.i.p.s. At the same time, unable to contain herself any longer, Tiona hade forward and actually worked together with Tione to pull Vahn off bnce with an excited expression on her face. Ais looked to be concerned and was about to step forward before Vahn and Tiona disappeared from sight before a crashing sound was heard from the far wall. Vahn shouted out, "Im okay, Ais, just give me a few minutes..." Tiona, who had been embedded into the wall, curled up her body and kicked against Vahns chest with her bare feet to knock him back. Tione appeared behind him and grabbed him in a reverse hold before trying to suplex him in the same motion. Vahn briefly considered that they should have done this aboveground before shifting into his Xunw form andpletely dispersing the iing impact. Tione ended up in an awkward position without the ability to follow through as Vahn quickly shifted his weight and pinned her shoulders to the ground as he released a pulse of energy into her body intended to rx her muscles slightly and fatigue her. Though it made her frustration rise up a level, it wasnt enough to cause her any real stress as Vahn rolled to the side and evaded Tionas attempt to grab and pin him. At this point, they were in a position where each party was trying to pin and take what they wanted from the other person. Vahn was in a bit of a disadvantage considering it was two-against-one, but the smile on his face showed that he was enjoying the tussle greatly. Tiona immediately vaulted from the floor, twisting her body through the air, before kicking off the roof in an incredible disy of acrobatics and flexibility. When shended, her h.i.p.s rocked as she shifted her weight from side to side and traced a zig-zag pattern with her feet in an attempt to corner Vahn. Tione stayed on alert a bit away and was prepared to grab Vahn the moment he tried to evade using [Shundo]. Contrary to either girls expectations, however, Vahn stepped forward in timing with Tionas movements and forced her into an internecine struggle by locking hands with her. His agility was actually higher than both girls, neither of which had any reliable way to increase their parameter, while Vahn could push his own even further as he transitioned into his Bih form. Tionas expression turned simultaneously serious and eager at the same time as she tried to step in and break Vahns footing to get an advantage. Tione had also jumped forward the instant their hands locked together because she was confident Tiona would be able to hold Vahn long enough by using the difference in their Power. Just as Tiona stepped forward, Vahn converged his intent in an instant andpletely suppressed her actions for less than a single millisecond. He had long ago mastered stunning enemies with his domain, so creating a momentarypse in his opponents movements to exploit was something second-nature to him. Tiona hadnt expected it at all and quickly found herself bereft of the cloth at her waist as it flew into Tiones face. Vahn grabbed slipped behind Tiona in the same motion and ran his finger up the line of her back was a powerful electrical stimtion radiated from his index finger. She released a startled cry as she jumped forward and crashed into Tione, who had her vision blocked by the cloth. The twins ovepped with each other and fell to the ground as Vahn appeared overtop them, and pressed down into Tionas back the instant she tried to recover. She crashed into Tione once again before shifting her weight forward and trying to kick Vahn while somersaulting at the same time. Vahnpletely vanished and her foot passed through empty space before he was suddenly in the same position reaching out to grab her legs. It was a bit awkward, but Vahn grabbed Tionas ankles and spread her legs in a single motion, forcing her to stand on her hands as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp. A lot of a persons strength came from being firmly rooted to the ground, and Tiona had never been in this type of situation before. However, she wasnt known as a prodigy without reasons and she also had the support of Tione. She tucked in her body at the same time as Tione kicked upwards toward Vahns abdomen while supporting Tionas back so she could roll back to her feet. However, though he had been momentarily distracted by the sight of Tionas split legs, Vahn had forced this situation intentionally and had already prepared his next course of action. Vahn transitioned into his Xunw form and absorbed Tiones kick while stepping forward and pulling down on Tionas legs at the same time. With Tione having pushed up against her back to let her roll, Tiona found herself in an awkward position where the roll wasnt stopped and her body was forced into the arch of a shrimp as Vahn pulled her legs down. Tione had no choice but to lower her hands since she couldnt help Tionaplete her motion so the two ended up ovepped in a strange manner where Tiona was contorted almost dangerously. Her head was pressed against Tiones abdomen as Vahn forced her legs down from above while pressing into Tione and forcing her knees toward Tionas abdomen. At the same time, Vahn shifted his weight forward and sat against Tiones arched back and had effectively pinned both girls in a position where neither could easily maneuver their bodies. Just as he was about to release a sigh of relief, Tiona didnt seem dismayed by the situation, even though she was in the most awkward position, as she reached out and grabbed behind his knees before jerking him forward. She couldnt make use of the majority of her Power in the current situation, but it was very difficult to prevent your knees from buckling if someone pressed into the pits behind them with enough force. Vahn immediately lost his footing, even though he was sitting, as Tione kicked outward at the same time. Before he was able to react, Tiona had rolled with the motion she initiated and sat directly against his face before mping it between her thighs like a vice. Tione had coordinated with Tiona and found herself at Vahns belt as she tried to keep his h.i.p.s from bucking them away. She ripped away Vahns defenses in an instant before striking near his navel with her palm to stop him from moving. Every time he lifted his legs to try and get his feet to the floor, she reached back and struck at his knees with a hard strike that made his bones creak. His head waspletely locked down by Tiona and she was making an effort to seal both of his hands at the same time. Vahn was honestly impressed by their coordination with each other, but he was never the type that liked to be on the receiving end of things like this. At the same time Tione ripped off his briefs, Vahn once again converged his intent on Tiona and temporarily caused her body to tense up, though not as a result of her own strength. Effectively defenseless, Vahn reached up with both hands and pulled Tionas body forward while also raising his upper body using Tiones weight and the movement of Tionas fall as leverage. Tione reached up her hands to grab her sisters body as Vahn struck forward and knocked both girls away from him while snapping his hand shut at the same time, ripping off Tionas top. Her remaining clothing amounted to a pair of tight white bottoms because both girls had removed their jewelry and adornments in preparation for the battle. As for Tione, she had removed her own waist cloth after tearing away Vahns clothing so she was wearing nothing but a pair of red bottoms with a torn top hanging around her neck. Vahn smiled at the two fervent girls as he rolled his shoulders and remarked, "I guess well call the first round a draw..." before stepping forward the moment they stood back up... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Marching To Battle,This is definitely not pod-racing,The Battle Isnt Over Until The Twin Ladis Sing~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 512 - Night Battle (2/3)

Chapter 512 - Night Battle (2/3)

Because he had unequipped his own tunic, Vahn waspletely n.a.k.e.d after Tione had ripped open his trousers and torn off his briefs. He removed the remaining torn cloth and charged at the two girls who split up to nk him from the sides. Vahn was beginning to realize that there was almost no way he could pin both girls at the same time since their flexibility andbat sensibilities were simply too high. Even forcing Tiona into an awkward position nearly caused him to suffer a defeat so he needed toe up with a way to force them into submission individually. They werent actually fighting, even though it might appear otherwise, so he was extremely limited in his options... White energy began to radiate from Vahns palms that alerted both girls as they moved to evade his swipes against their bodies. Vahn had decided that the only way to win would be to stimte their bodies to the point that they simply couldnt remain standing. His own stamina was nearly limitless, so he would eventually be able to oust them as he sapped away at their stamina. It might cause them to feel frustration, but that was something they would have to cope with when they were defeated regardless. This could only end with them taking him by force or him doing the same to them. Not only would this not fix the two girls problem, but Vahn wasnt the type that liked to be on the receiving end so he stepped up his efforts as fiery blood pumped through his veins. Vahn leaped toward Tiona while crouching low to the ground, causing her to step back as Tione followed him from behind. Just as he was about to reach out and try to touch her, Vahn disappeared from both girls sights before appearing behind Tione and passing his palms down the side of her body while wriggling his fingers at the same time. She had initially been able to react to his movement, but Vahn stunned her body by converging his intent on her long enough toplete his action. Tiones body trembled before she instinctually tried to kick back at him with a very serious attack before falling to her knees and breathing heavily. Tiona leaped over Tiones body and kept both of her hands up in a grabbing motion that was also intended to stop Vahns hands. The excitement on her face had increased to the point where she almost looked mad with passion as she grabbed toward him while saying, "Vahn, this is super fun~! I really want to make you mine, ahahahaha~!" Though he didnt use them often enough, Vahn was proficient in close-quartersbat techniques after self-study and fighting against the highly proficient Tsubaki. He stepped back and traced his palms in a circle in and inward-to-outward motion to knock Tionas wrists away before stepping forward, saying, "Ill show you both my worth!" as he ran his palms up Tionas ribs and traced them over her diminutive b.r.e.a.s.ts. Tionas resistance against such attacks was much higher than the inexperienced Tione so she tried to grab Vahns arms by wrapping her arms around behind his elbows. If she could pin the sneaky hands to her side long enough for Tione to capture Vahn, it wouldnt matter even if she had to suffer for a little while. Contrary to her expectations, Vahn didnt try to escape and simply embraced her body as he ran his hands around her back. Tiona pinned his arms as her teeth chattered in an effort to resist Vahns stimting touch. He wasnt trying to rx their bodies but instead making them feel an incredible amount of pleasure. Though her bottoms were made to be absorbent, light moisture was escaping out from the sides of the stretchy fabric as Tiona released hot breaths against Vahns chest. Tione had recovered enough of her mobility to step forward and try to help pin Vahn, but the moment she got near they both vanished from sight before reappearing at a different location. Both Tione and Tiona realized at the same time why Vahn hadnt evaded and Tiona immediately let go of Vahns arms and tried to escape. Vahn wasnt going to grant her reprieve so easily, however, as his left hand found its way to Tionas bottom and relieved her of thest bastion protecting her dignity. He had stored away the garment into his inventory and stepped forward at the same time as Tiona tried to move back. Tiona pressed her hands to Vahns chest and tried to force him away but she suddenly found herself crashing into a wall and Vahn pressed against her. It wasnt a strong enough impact to do any real damage to her, but it was enough to break her action temporarily. Vahns hands were constantly moving around her body and causing echoes to eat away at her sensibilities. The worst part was that Vahn had shifted his weight and lifted her right leg as a hot object probed against her in a manner that made her heart itch painfully. Anticipation began to rise in her body as she mustered up what little strength she could manage to force him away. Vahn allowed Tiona to push him back as she gasped for breath and leaned forward slightly to cope with the reverberations wracking her body. Tione had once again made her way over an attempt to aide Tiona and felt very excited when she saw Vahn pushed away and knocked off bnce. She spread her arms to try and grab his body but hugged empty air at the same time as a hot electrical sensation wrapped around her right b.r.e.a.s.t and lower abdomen. Her body jerked in an instant as a cold feeling touched her lower body and she tried to elbow back to force Vahn off her body. Just as her grab had touched empty air, there was absolutely no feedback from her strike and the only thing that seemed to change in the situation was that her bottoms and panties were now missing. For a brief moment, Tiona had dropped her guard after hitting empty air for the second time. She had wanted to catch her breath real quick and hadpletely forgotten that there was currently no Tiona to keep Vahn busy. Though this small gap in her mentalitysted for less than a second, Vahn had once again grabbed her body from behind as he pressed his index finger against her little button his cing his right arm around her body to support her, just in case. Tiones eyes opened wide as a soundless yell escaped her lips causing her h.i.p.s to rise, back to arch, and feet to curve all at the same time. Vahn supported her body with his own as he groped her chest and gently probed the tidal gates that had failed to stymie the flow of fluids escaping Tiones lower body. Perhaps she hadnt prepared herself enough before entering this room because she ended up releasing more than just love juices at the sudden intense stimulus. Tiona had seen everything transpire and tried to step forward to aide Tione yet, much like her elder sister, she couldnt muster any strength in her legs and stumbled about like a newborn fawn. Just as she was about to regain her footing, Vahn and Tione disappeared and a premonition reached Tiona at the same time as her vision became dominated by brown skin. Vahn pushed Tione into Tiona, forcing the younger of the two twins to catch her sister as they both fell backward. Tiona knew things were about to get bad for them, but she couldnt simply discard the limp sister of her body because there was a non-negligible chance she could injure herself if shended badly. After sending the two girls to the ground, with Tiona cushioning Tiones fall, Vahn stepped forward and crouched down at the same time, aiming for the win condition with his left index finger. Tione was temporarily out ofmission, so the only threat remaining was Tiona. In a manner simr to her older sister, Tionas back arched as she squeezed the limp body of Tione after Vahn pushed her button. It felt like her lower body was connected to her brain and her mindpletely nked as a powerful reverberation sent her consciousness flying away. Vahn wasnt content with the current oue and knew things needed to be finished before he could truly begin to rx. Because they were the same size, Tiona and Tione perfectly ovepped with each other and Tiona was currently holding up her own sisters body as Tione straddled her h.i.p.s. Vahn grabbed Tiones h.i.p.s with his hands and pulled her back slightly so that her knees were properly grounded. He then grabbed her left arm and twisted it into her back before forcing down both of their bodies into the ground. Tionas butt ended up high in the air with Vahn leaning over her around the same time that she returned to her senses. She tried to struggle and free herself but she couldnt put strength into her lower body and Vahn was leveraging his own weight against her. In a desperate attempt to escape, Tione tried to use her free right hand to push away at the ground but, the moment she pressed her palm to the ground, Vahn had reached forward and snatched it up before pulling her arm straight and pressing her more firmly into Tiona. Vahn released a long breath before inhaling and stunning Tione once again to reposition her arm against her back and pinning them both at the same time. It was undoubtedly a little painful, but there was no danger of her joints dislocating unless she herself did so. Since he had control over her lower body, she wouldnt be able to get enough leverage for the action so Vahn had effectively won against both girls, though it was in a somewhat underhanded manner. Tione continued to struggle as Vahn wedged open both girls legs and said, "With this, its my victory..." Tione tried to jerk her body from side to side a few times as a hot object dashed away the coldness touching her lower body. Just like Tiona had in the past, Tione began drawing in heavy breaths as her body tensed up slightly at the foreign objects intrusion. She was simultaneously unwilling to admit defeat while also feeling an almost overwhelming sense of happiness at the same time. As for Vahn, he knew that Amazons didnt have a h.y.m.e.n and they resisted entry during their first time unless their partner was a bit forceful. Without any hesitation, Vahn found the correct angle and raised his h.i.p.s slightly before plowing deeply into Tiones body with enough force to make both girls shift several centimeters along the ground. Any resistance Tione showed ceased as she drewbored and heavy breaths with an amorous look on her face as she peered back at Vahn. This wasnt Vahns first time having s.e.x with an Amazon, so he wasnt caught off guard by the powerful vice-like grip that wrapped around him and seemed to suck him further into her depths. He had only made it a little more than halfway with his entry, but it didnt stop Tiones body from trying to devour him further. When he moved his h.i.p.s back, the suction force increased greatly and her insides writhed around as her muscles contracted enough to make his back shake as he released a small gasp of his own. Unable to defeat him in a contest of strength, it was almost like Tiones body was trying to defeat him in another way. Compared to his previous experiences with Tiona, it was a little overwhelming and Vahn quickly understood why having s.e.x with an Amazon was such a highly sought after experienced. The image of a cheekily smiling red-haired boy invaded Vahns thoughts for a brief moment and he decided to smack Welf the next time they met. Since their contest had entered a new phase, Vahn pulled back Tiones arms and lifted her body at the same time as he rose to his feet. Her weight pulled her further down against him as she c.o.c.ked her head back and said, "Vahn...what...are you doing~?" Tiones body waspletely in breeding mode and she could hardly think properly as her thoughts raced, considering methods where she could still win against Vahn. Vahn was in an awkward position trying to hold up Tiones body with her legs dangling but he was still able to set up a bed before he pushed her onto it. She released a gasp as she fell forward in a confusion at the sudden vacancy in her lower body. It made her feel incredibly frustrated in an instant as strength quickly began to return to her body. However, her anger didnt get her very far as an even more confused expression appeared on her face momentster. Vahn had pushed Tione to the side of the bed with her upper bodyying against it as her legs dangled from the side. He then reached down and picked up Tiona by her armpits as sheughed yfully and said, "I was just thinking I might have been able to recover a bit of my energy..." Though he would have liked to finish off Tione, this was irrefutably a two-versus-one situation and things would have be troublesome if Tiona was able to recover while he was busy with the elder sister. Vahn sat her body against Tiones lower back beforeying her down, using Tionas weight to continue pressing Tione to the bed. He then lifted Tiones legs by her ankled and contorted her body in an awkward manner before saying, "Hold these for me..." to Tiona. Though she shouldntply with him, Tionaughed and grabbed her own sisters legs and hugged them tightly as Vahn pulled down her h.i.p.s and pressed her button once again. Her grip tightened even further andpletely sealed off Tiones means of escape as Vahn found her steamy entrance once again and probed into his depths in an instant. Tione released a gasping m.o.a.n as she said, "Tionaaaa, you traitoooor~!" As for the younger of the two twins, she couldnt even hear anything her elder sister said as electrical currents caused her head to bob and twitch as she continued squeezing her sisters legs. Because of Tionas assistance, Tiones body was lifted at an angle that made Vahn scr.a.p.e against the backside of her v.a.g.i.n.a which just so happened to have several weak spots of the once-mighty Amazon warrior. As he pistoned her with powerful thrusts, the only solution to ovee the suction of her lower body, Vahn also simultaneously used his right hand to probe around and massage Tionas insides while using his left pink and thump to send alternating currents of energy into Tiones butt. The stimtion caused her body to rhythmically twitch in the same tempo as Vahns movements and she quickly found herself unable to do anything but breathe as she gripped the sheets tightly. Unable to stand at the side and simply watch, Ais had moved over and was currently crouching down as she watched Vahns p.e.n.i.s entering Tiones v.a.g.i.n.a over and over again. She was alreadypletely n.a.k.e.d and had her index finger held loosely in her mouth as she watched the events y out with intrigue and curiosity. Vahn turned his eyes toward her and saw the glimmer in Aiss golden eyes as a small smile appeared on his face and he redoubled his efforts with Tione. It might be a result of her unique first experience, but Ais had a tendency to watch when Vahn was having s.e.x with other girls, almost like she was a student eager to learn new information. He could also see thepetitive light in her eyes, likelyparing her performance to Tiones... Since this was going to be a long night, Vahn couldnt afford to hold out for too long so he didnt resist at all as the pleasure in his own body continued to rise like a tide. He was somewhat eager to move onto Tionas body next because the stimtion he received from Tiones v.a.g.i.n.a waspletely beyond his expectations. Vahn felt like this skin of his p.e.n.i.s was being dragged by her insides because of the powerful suction force and it was very difficult to resist outright ejacting every time he thrust his h.i.p.s. Without any attempt to prevent himself from doing so, Vahn had already started to release a small amount of prec.u.m before he could feel a surge pass through his body, causing him to speed up before pressing himself as deeply as possible into Tiones body as she cried out with a long, "Vaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahnnnnnnnn~!" Even though Tione was pinned down by Tiona, she still managed to arch her back with enough force to lift Tiona from the bed as a powerful climax assaulted her body. She had already been experiencing a long orgasm since Vahns earlier actions, but he had pressed her button with his middle finger at the same time as he pressed into her cervix with the tip of his ns. She couldnt think at all as various colors assaulted her vision before ckness overwhelmed them all. The only thing she felt after that, other than the overwhelming sense of pleasure, was a profound sense of relief and happiness... Vahns h.i.p.s trembled as he got to experience the phenomenon of Tiones cervix opening slightly as it gulped down his s.e.m.e.n into her w.o.m.b. Though it was rude to think of it as convenient, there was never any necessary cleanup whenever he had s.e.x with Tiona in the past, and that was a trait shared by Tione. Their physiology proactive sought to be pregnant and this included causing them to ovte during s.e.x with powerful men andpletely devouring all of the s.e.m.e.n pumped into them. Vahn could literally feel the opening in her cervix expand and contract as the suction of her v.a.g.i.n.a continued sucking his p.e.n.i.s deeper into her depths. Though she could hardly manage half of his length to start, Tione was now pulling him millimeter-by-millimeter further into her body until he was nearly 80% of the way into her depths. After feeling the suction force ease up a bit, Vahn pulled out his p.e.n.i.s from Tiones v.a.g.i.n.a and released a relieved sigh before prying open Tionas arms so she could drop Tiones legs. He made sure to catch her feet as the fell since he noticed that Tione had passed out during her earlier climax. Tiona wasnt in much better condition either, since Vahn had been ying with her for the rtively short seven-minute interval before he defeated Tione. She still had enough faculties to try and grapple Vahn after realizing what was happening, but he grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the bed as he ced his still wet ns, lubricated by the love nectar of Tionas own sister, against the steamy entrance of her v.a.g.i.n.a. Vahn took a breath and exhaled before lowering his h.i.p.s once again, this time iming a point against Tiona in their climactic battle. As she had long adapted to Vahns size, Tionapletely epted his intrusion before her legs locked around his h.i.p.s like a vice. Though the sensation he was feeling was otherworldlypared to his previous experiences with Tiona, Vahn was highly experienced with dealing with her as he leaned down and began rolling her n.i.p.p.l.e with his tongue. Tiona was rather weak against attacks against her chest so her legs loosened up slowly and allowed Vahn to pull out of her ridiculously tight v.a.g.i.n.a. Without her muscles being rxed by the Fallen, Tionas abdomen and v.a.g.i.n.a.l muscles were kicked into overdrive and Vahn was hardly able to move unless he did so forcefully. Like Tione, there was also an incredible suction that would slowly pull him into her body, even if he didnt move his h.i.p.s at all. Tiona saw Vahns reaction and beganughing cheerfully as she said, "Im d youre happy...but I think its my victory if its just based on how happy were feeling~. This is so much better than in the past...its like were having s.e.x for the first time all over again...ehehehe~." Tiona bobbed her chin a few times, a sign Vahn hade to associate with her wanting to kiss. Deciding he had already imed victory, Vahn returned Tionas freedom to her even though he knew she would probably try to squeeze the life out of him. As expected, just as he sealed her lips and began to kiss her passionately, Tiona gripped the bag of his head with her right hand as she hugged his body with her left. She had previously been pressed against the bed, but now she was sticking closely to Vahns body as he held them both up with his right arm. Unable to weaken her by attack her n.i.p.p.l.es, Tionas legs wrapped around him shortly thereafter as she greedily squeezed his p.e.n.i.s every time she exhaled. Vahn pressed against the bed and stood up before jumping off of it andnding on his feet, causing Tionas h.i.p.s to m against his as she released a throaty m.o.a.n. Vahn then allowed her to squeeze him as tightly as she wanted, even though it was somewhat painful, as he firmly grabbed her toned butt with both hands and began releasing waves of energy into her body that made her legs shake as some of her power left her. Vahn let Tiona take over the battle from above, but he was determined to achieve the final victory as he mmed his h.i.p.s against Tionas and caused her to gasp once again. Just as she had been doing previously, Ais was watching once again, this time standing below Tionas body as she looked up at observed the collisions with excitement clearly visible in her eyes. Even with moisture fell from Tionas body and sshed against her, Ais didnt flinch and, other than a small frown appearing on her face, there were no other changes in her expression. She reached up with her finger and wiped away the moisture before smelling it and cing it into her mouth to sample the vor. This time, her brows twitched slightly as she used her free hand to probe against the tidal gates of her own lower body andpared the vors. Aiss brows loosened up slightly as a proud look appeared on her face as she continued watching the battle between Tiona and Vahn. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Round Two...Fight!?,Victorious Godhand,The Fall Of Two Proud Warriors) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 513 - Night Battle (3/3)

Chapter 513 - Night Battle (3/3)

Tiona had enough sense to not dig her fingers into his back so, other than a few hand-shaped bruises and a bit of pain in his back, Vahn managed to im the final victory against Tiona even though it was at the cost of taking a headbutt to his chin when she jerked her body during a powerful climax. Vahn recovered quickly and just kissed her forehead as she hugged his body with a terrifying force, fortunately, less than he was capable of enduring. Though he was weaker than her in Power, Vahns Endurance was a monstrous 4440, which was more than enough to be able to prevent her from easily crushing his body with her strength. Just as usual, though much more powerful than previous experiences, Tionas bodypped up his s.e.m.e.n greedily and didnt allow a single drop to spill, even under the influence of gravity. From below, Ais could see Tionas body acting almost like a mouth as it expanded slightly and tried to pull Vahn deeper into her interior. This was something she couldnt emte, so it always made her a little envious every time she saw it happening. She had once tried to regte her breathing while flexing her abdominal muscles, but there wasnt anything she could do to make her own v.a.g.i.n.a actually create the same suction force as Tiona. Now that Tione was added to the mix, Ais showed a calcting expression as she considered ways to pete with the two simrly aged girls. Tiona eventually recovered her senses and released heavy breaths against Vahns chest before looking up and squeezing him as she yfully asked, "Can you peel me off your body~?" As it stood, unless Vahn could forcibly remove her, Tiona felt like it was her victory even though she had suffered a few defeats. Vahn, however, had already expected her antics as he ced one finger at the base of her neck and the other right above the cleft of her pert buttocks. Tionas eyes widened and she immediately released Vahn, knowing full well the repercussions if she decided to fight that final battle. She had once asked Vahn to perform the Convergence of Heaven and Earth on her out of curiosity, and it had affected her body for nearly an entire day after the fact. By the time her body had returned to normal, she had to change her underwear five times because of how ufortable they had be from her own fluids constantly leaking... Vahn chuckled and said, "It looks like the Sage Aldrnari has imed victory against the Hiryute Sisters~." Tiona sat against the bed with a loving smile on her face as she ced her hand against her lower body and said, "If we dont take medicine after this, well be pregnant...I can feel my body burning up and its a very exciting feeling...ehehehe~." Tiona then fell back onto the bed and sprawled out in a very udylike manner with a far-off look appearing in her eyes. Vahns own smile faded a bit and he said, "One day, Ill be strong enough that Hippolyta and Kali have no choice but to take a step back. Even though it is important to value ones culture, if it causes people to have to go through such trying situations, its simply uneptable..." Tionaughed happily as she pulled up her legs and spread them like a frog and said, "If you say things like that, youll have to calm down the heat of my body~." One of the things that got Tiona the most excited was when Vahn performed heroic actions and said words filled with conviction. Even though she had still been in an excited state, her lower body palpitated with excitement in an inviting manner as she looked into Vahns face with a passionate look in her eyes. However, another head popped out from over Vahns shoulder as Ais said, "Tiona...it is my turn..." while hugging Vahns body from behind. Aiss actions hadnt been a surprise to either Vahn or Tiona, so she simplyughed before rolling over to Tiones limp body and poking her in the cheek, yfullymenting, "I think you killed her~?" Contrary to her words, Tiones chest was rising and falling as she took in shallow breaths with her arms syed out and her legs dangling from the bed. Vahn had been in a hurry earlier, so he hadnt gotten the opportunity to take care of her body properly before he was forced into battle. Vahns expression melted seeing the two n.a.k.e.d sisters side-by-side and he said, "Tiona, look after her for me..." Tiona nodded her head and said matter-of-factly, "Ive been watching after this all-too-serious girl for our entire lives...even without you telling me~." Vahn briefly recalled their two varying [Hearts Desire]s and couldnt help but agree with Tionas words, as she had always been the one making concessions and trying to help Tione. Unlike the always cheerful and lively Tiona, Tione had always been somewhat desperate in all of her actions as she fought desperately to try and escape that shadow cast by her own little sisters brilliance. The main reason why Tiona had reached Level 2 at the same time as Tione was because she had always waited for her big sister to catch up with her. It was tragic that they two had been pitted against each other since the love Tiona had for her elder twin was one of the purest and most powerful bonds Vahn had ever seen. Even without the benefit of an Innate like [Gemini], Tiona had always done her best to help Tione, regardless of the pain she had to suffer as a result...true bonds were those that could withstand heavy burdens, and Tiona had withstood some that few would have been able to bear in her ce, including Tione... Feeling Aiss movements, Vahn was broken from his momentary reverie as she licked his shoulder, almost as if she were tasting his sweat. Ever since the first time they were together, Ais had always been fond of using her mouth, including sucking on his fingers, licking his lips, and even copying his own actions by licking his n.i.p.p.l.es. Every time they were together, Ais seemed to be more fond of licking than kissing so Vahn wasnt surprised by her actions at all. Just as he was about to ask how she would like to have s.e.x, Ais had already prepared an answer by saying, "I want to try something..." This was another trait that always made having s.e.x with Ais a fresh experience, because she was always interested in trying new things, almost like she was trying to master having s.e.x. Vahn nodded his head and asked, "What did you want to try this time...?" in a curious and expectant manner. Ais traced her tongue across his shoulder in a slow motion before saying, "Lots of things..." beforeing around to the front of his body and leaning against his chest. Ais ced her hand against the tip of his ns, which was peering out between her thighs with several centimeters of visible support. Ais seemed to be calcting something for a moment before she made a small nod and said, "I will hold you like this..." as she hooked her left arm around his neck and rubbed his ns with her right palm. Though he was a little confused, Vahn somewhat understood what Ais wanted him to but, as he was preparing to pick up her body, she shook her head and said, "I want to try standing...and then movingter..." Vahn had never had s.e.x where both he and the girl were standing since the angle seemed a bit difficult, but he was equally as interested in Ais when it came to trying new things. He pushed against her back slightly as she continued clinging to his neck and lifted her butt slightly as her back arched. Because of the difference in their height, Ais stood on her toes as Vahn pulled back his h.i.p.s and ced his ns against her slightly puffy vulva and probed toward the waiting entrance contained within. Ais lowered her body weight against Vahn and guided the angle with her own body, no longer the inexperienced girl she had been in the past. She then tried to stand up normally but had to stay on her toes since the angle was indeed difficult to manage unless she was raised slightly. This was why she was holding Vahns neck as support and it felt strange and exciting, even though it was somewhat awkward. Vahn wasnt sure of the best way to move about, but he knew he would need to support Ais a bit so he cupped her still-developing b.r.e.a.s.ts firmly to let her upper body rx a little. Aiss eyes opened slightly and a small smile appeared on her face, realizing that she could now move more easily. With the awkwardness of the position fixed, Ais began rocking her h.i.p.s in small motions as she closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of Vahns p.e.n.i.s inside her v.a.g.i.n.a. Every time she had s.e.x with Vahn, Ais felt a little bit happier than she had been in the past and now it had be somethingfortable that made her heart feel at ease. Since he was always receptive to the things she wanted to try, it made her eager to try all kinds of things with him so that she could get more of his firsts. She didnt know why it was so important herself, but Ais wanted to experience all kinds of things with Vahn before other girls took the opportunity for themselves... After adapting to Aiss motions, Vahn began moving his own waist slightly to oppose her movements to make it more pleasurable for them both. He knew that s.e.x with Ais was an exchange and a journey that they were both on together, so he didnt push her until she was ready to take the leap and fly. Tiona watched from the bed in her characteristic sitting posture, legs spread with her feet together as she held her ankles, as she marveled at their love-making. She knew that her body was always a bit eager and she sought proactive action from Vahn to feel at ease. This meant she didnt really enjoy slow s.e.x like Ais, and Tiona suspected this was something Ais knew as well... Because Vahn generally dealt with multiple girls, he wasnt always able to take things slow and steady with most of the girls. Other than Ais, the only girls he typically had slow s.e.x with were Eina and, very asionally, Ryuu. Some of the girls hadnt even had Vahn to themselves yet, so things were always somewhat passionate as everyone tried to keep the tensions high. Vahn also worked hard to make sure that everyone was properly stimted, so he kind of forced things to speed up through his own actions. Though she had her fair share of intense s.e.x, Ais was one of the few girls that had always been able to enjoy things at her preferable pace since she was often patient enough to wait for the other girls to be tired and less likely to interfere. After her body had heated up a great deal, Ais used her free hand to grab Vahns and guide it around her body as she said, "I love your hands...almost as much as I love you...make me feel good, Vahn..." Her words finished, Ais angled her head and kissed Vahn as he leaned around her shoulder and began to emit light from his palms. Ais released a quick breath through her nose as the sudden stimtion but quickly adapted before circling her h.i.p.s counter-clockwise as she relied on Vahns left hand as support. He also adapted quickly and moved his hand from her left b.r.e.a.s.t to her right, crossing his arm across her chest to let her lean against his bicep. A shiver ran through Aiss body suddenly as her insides began to writhe around Vahns p.e.n.i.s in a light orgasm. She temporarily stopped her kiss and released a pleasured sigh before saying, "You try something..." As they had often done, Ais would guide the initial act and then let Vahn experiment with her body before she took the initiative backter. By taking turns, they were both able to appease their curiosity while Ais was able to experience brief moments of uncertainty and surprise from Vahns actions. Vahn was also able to learn a great deal about how to pleasure other women because Aiss reactions were always very honest and straightforward. She would directly tell him when she felt good, even though her words werent always clear... Vahn had already been thinking about the next step and decided to continue with his initial n. Slowing his motions to let Ais prepare herself, Vahn leaned back and let Ais recline against him before picking up her legs with both of his hands. He initially brought them straight up, which caused Aiss body to tighten up noticeably but was somewhat difficult to sustain. After a few thoughts cycled through his head, Vahn pulled Aiss legs apart and support her body by holding the back of her knees. He could move a lot easier like this and was also pressing against the front of Aiss v.a.g.i.n.a with enough force to make a small bulge in her lower abdomen. Ais released a few short breaths from her mouth as she continued to cling to his neck with her arms raised. After regting her breathing, Ais smiled and said, "This is a little scary...but it feels very nice..." before looking down and widening her eyes. She reached down and pressed against the very slight bulge and it made her body shudder a little realizing how deep Vahn was inside of her. While holding his neck with her left hand, Ais continued cing her palm against her lower abdomen to feel the movement of Vahn from both the inside and outside of her body. Though he couldntpletely prate Ais from this angle, Vahn was able to easily target the sweet spots inside of Ais when he was holding her like this. Even still, Vahn was able to knock against her depths since entering herpletely typically pushed up her w.o.m.b a bit after her v.a.g.i.n.a expanded through arousal. Ais was still nearly as tight as she was during the first time they had s.e.x, but her insides were far more malleable now as she had long adapted to having s.e.x with him. Even during their first time, Ais had been able to ept himpletely, and she had worked hard to adapt her body to make it easier in the future. She also had immacte control over her body and often found the best way to move along with him, making things inarguably better for them both. Unlike most girls, who seemed to try and avoid their sweet spots, Ais could urately target them even without Vahns actions and often showed him the correct angle when they tried new positions. It wasnt that she was overeager to feel pleasure, but more so that Ais felt like she was supposed to do it in an effort to achieve some kind of victory against other girls. Vahn was aware of her petitive nature, but she showed proper restraint most of the time and never acted aggressively toward the other girls. They had already been having s.e.x for nearly twenty minutes, ten for the first position and an additional ten for Vahns alternative position. Tione had awoken by now and had a fierce look in her eyes before she saw Vahn and Ais in a strange position. Before she was able to makeplete sense of everything, Tiona whispered, "Just sit and watch...we already lost, so behave properly. Well get some points backter on..." Tiona knew better than to interfere with Ais since the golden girl usually showed a lot of patience when it came to waiting for other girls to finish. Besides, the hot feeling in her body had been persisting since earlier and Tiona felt very content right now, an emotion shared by her elder sister who obediently became a spectator. As if she had been keeping track of the time, Ais released a long sigh and said, "Sit down on the bed..." while looking over at Tiona and Tione. She was beginning to feel bad that the other girls were having to watch her but, while her body had several small orgasms, neither she nor Vahn had finishedpletely. Tiona saw her look and smiled widely in response without saying anything as Vahn sat on the bed. Aiss eyes darted about for a moment and she said, "Move back further on the bed...then hold my legs like you did earlier..." Though Vahn hadnt been able to move easily when he lifted her legs up straight, Ais had enjoyed the full feeling when her own legspressed against her stomach. Vahn was also able to easily insert himself inside of her, so Ais had expectations that it would be easier if he was on the bed... Vahn sat with his feet together, simr to Tiona, and squeezed together Aiss legs in the manner she had suggested. He found they were a lot more stable now and Ais was even able to drop her hands as she ovepped his right arm with her own. She grabbed his left hand and said, "Its fine like this..." as she pulled it away. Vahn was easily able to support Aiss legs with one hand while he was sitting down, so that freed up his left hand which Ais guided to her crotch in a suggestive manner. Vahn understood the ingeniousness of this position and naturally stimted Aiss c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s as she used her left hand as a support against his thigh and circled her h.i.p.s in small movements. Vahn rolled the budding bead between his index finger and thumb in practiced movements that made a healthy volume of fluid flow from Aiss v.a.g.i.n.a. Aiss body shuddered with greater intensity as she said, "This is good...it feels really good..." Pration was generally less pleasurable than stimting around the v.a.g.i.n.a itself, so it was inarguably more pleasant to make small motions that made her feel plete while having Vahn make use of his godhand. She had never brought it up, but Ais sometimes fantasized asking Vahn if they could try just ying around without having s.e.x sometimes. His massages were already incredible, but Ais felt like they could be even better if they made things more intimate. When there was time, Ais wanted to bring up the idea and see how many times she could feel the wave pass through her body simultaneously. Her current record was seventeen times, but Ais believed she could one day reach one-hundred...she didnt know why, but it seemed like it would be exciting giving it a try. Vahn could feel that Aiss body was reaching a critical level, even though his own had yet to reach that point. However, he already knew plenty of ways to ensure that his timing matched their own important event so, as he stimted Aiss c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s, Vahn extended his pinky and periodically proded against his own shaft, sending an electrical current through it that made his p.e.n.i.s twitch. Though he knew how, Vahn had made a resolution to never masturbate since there were more than a few woman that would help him relieve his urges if they got to that point. That didnt prevent him from taking some shortcuts during s.e.x, however, since Vahn felt it was more meaningful for the girl if they reached the peak together. Even Loki had agreed with this sentiment in the past, so Vahn did his best to match the timing of their major orgasms whenever he could. The interior of Aiss v.a.g.i.n.a began to writhe about madly as her body began to tremble, signaling the arrival of the oing wave. Vahn squeezed her body tightly and rocked his body slightly to assist in her movements as she reached a critical level. Just as her breathing had greatly elerated, with mouth slightly agape, Vahn hugged her even tighter as he pinched her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s lightly while proding his own p.e.n.i.s with his pinky and sending a jolt of energy through both of their bodies. She had already been nning to cry out, but Aiss body began to tremble powerfully, almost like she was having a seizure, while an ear-shattering scream escaped her throat heavilyden with a passionate and sensual intonation. The slow build-up of their s.e.x had reached a pinnacle in a moment and Aiss body began to jerk slightly after her shout as she desperately drew in breaths of air to resist the overwhelming pleasure... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fearful Convergence,Two experimental fools,RIP Ais...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 514 - Unity : Undercurrents

Chapter 514 - Unity : Undercurrents

After his preliminary bouts with the three girls, it was safe to say that Vahn had officiallypleted his warmup. Having imed victory against the two sisters, they had be a lot more docilepared to the past, albeit considerably more clingy at the same time. Perhaps because she had been out of the running previously, but Tiona and Ais allowed Tione to receive Vahns care several times before the long night finally came to an end. She seemed a lot less stressed out than in the past and, by the time their final bout hadpleted, Tione was sitting atop Vahn passionately moving her h.i.p.s as she leaned down and continually kissed him. There was a short moment where she had shed some tears, but it passed quickly after a teasing remark from Tiona... Because of their individual capabilities, and seemingly limitless stamina, it was nearly 4:40 AM when Ais had concluded things in a rtively decisive manner. She had drawn her lips into a resolute line as she held Vahns hands and skillfully rocked her h.i.p.s back and forth inrge motions as if she were rolling her h.i.p.s. This led to a deep and steady piston from Vahn, even without him having to put in the effort, as Ais breathed solely through her nose in deep and slow breaths. It wasnt that Tiona and Tione couldnt repeat her actions, as they were more than flexible enough to emte her, but their own bodies betrayed them because it was something difficult to move on their own. As Tiona and Tione were Amazons, their physiology was distinctly different from Aiss and their bodies didnt require much movement on their part toplete the act. Since their v.a.g.i.n.as created a natural suction while writhing about like a living organism, most Amazons could make a man ejacte even without having to move at all. They also had an instinct to try and win against Vahn when they got very excited, which he would have to manage before he suffered a defeat against them. After Haruhimes magic had worn off, things were a little precarious but Vahn was able to keep the momentum in his favor after they had calmed down a little. Vahn currently sat on the bed with Tione leaning against his back as she yfully nibbled on his ear while licking around it without probing into the interior with her tongue. She had done so previously and realized Vahn wasnt too fond of it so she had changed her tactics. As for Tiona, she wasying at the side supporting her head with her hands as she curious watched Aiss attempt at feting Vahn. Much like Vahn, Tiona had long noticed that Ais seemed fond of using her mouth even though she very rarely used it to speak. It was strange to see how proactive she generally had few expressions and was curt and restrained in her speech most of the time. While stroking the top of Aiss head, Vahn released a satisfied sigh andmented, "It looks like well have to ask the workers to repair this buildingter...for now, we should probably go take a bath. You girls should take a nap wh-" Ais had done something with her mouth where there was a spontaneous powerful suction force that made Vahn feel like his ns were going to explode. She peeked up at his face with curiosity in her eyes before gently licking the offended member. Vahn exhaled an exasperated sigh and said, "Go easy on me, Ais, Im a bit sensitive after all of that..." In total, he had been having s.e.x for nearly nine hours straight, and that was after he had spent several hours of the previous day with Haruhime... Though she liked to use her mouth, Ais wasnt too fond of the taste of s.e.m.e.n so she wasnt too eager to finish what she had started. She sat up and showed a small smile on her face as Vahn reached out and wiped up a bit of slobber dribbling from the side of her mouth. Ais was one of the most beautiful girls Vahn associated with and her current appearance made his heart itch and he was almost willing to go for another round after seeing her slightly amorous look and the small smile on her face. Fortunately, the girls were actually rather exhausted themselves, almost as if they had been fighting against several Monster Parties back-to-back. Without Vahn passively treating their bodies with his [Hands of Nirvana], they likely would have experienced muscle strains and cramps from the extended engagement. Since there was a small tub attached to the chamber, Vahn took a bath with the three girls as Tione and Tiona hugged his sides and washed his body together. Tione traced her hands around his chest and remarked, "You have be so much stronger in such a short period of time...it makes my body ache a little thinking about how strong youll be in the future." Tione uninhibitedly turned Vahns face toward her and kissed him once again, almost as if she couldnt resist expressing her own happiness at the moment. She had spent her entire life suffering and Vahn had provided her the first true reprieve she had ever known. Other than Tiona, he had officially be the most important person in her life overnight... Ais watched Tione and showed a slightly pouty expression with a contemtive look in her eyes for a brief moment. The look didntst for long at all before she changed to a smile and said, "Congrattions, Tione...and Tiona..." Even though Tiona had already been with Vahn several times, this was the first real experience they had shared together without involving medicine. The twins were her best friends, so she was happy for them even though she felt like Tione was being a little sneaky and aggressive now that there wasnt any distance between her and Vahn. Tiona was doing the same thing, but Ais had already grown to expect that kind of behavior from her even before now. Tioneid her head against Vahns shoulder and said, "Thank you, Ais...I think Im happier now than Ive ever been before. From now on, lets all do our best to make our dreamse true." As if realizing something, Tiones eyes opened wide and she leaped out of the tub as she shouted, "Tiona, if we dont take medicine soon itll be toote!" Tione was going to make ament about making arge family in the future before remembering that she would be pregnant soon if preventative measures werent taken. Her body was so full after being with Vahn that it had actually been unable to ept everything in theter bouts. She had no idea how he was able to output so much, but that wasnt the important thing to consider at the moment. Tiona showed a thoughtful expressionbined with a silly smile on her face before eventually letting out a sigh and climbing out of the bath as well. Shezily followed Tiones exit after saying, "The strongest Amazons in the Kali Familia are Level 6, while the Queensguard Captain is Level 7..." Though she had a smile on her face, there was a serious look in Tiona eyes as they stared off into the distance, almost as if she were peering into the future. Vahns strength was very important if they wanted to make a happy family, but they would also have to prove themselves if they wanted to be free from the restrictions of their culture. Tiona wanted to get strong enough to be able to walk directly into the Pce and take her freedom by force if necessary... With Tiona and Tione leaving the room, Ais smoothly moved through the water as she supported her body by cing her hands against Vahns thighs. She arched her back and looked up at him with a small smile as she asked, "Kiss...?" Vahns expression softened as he leaned down and kissed Aiss lips as she released a pleased Nnn sound. Knowing that the girls wouldnt be missing for too long, she didnt try to do anything else and just pulled away while saying, "When you go to fight...I wille with you...if we fight together, we can be even stronger." Though she knew Vahn was probably going to be stronger than her within the next year or two, Ais was confident she would still be able to help him. She would even be able to get stronger by fighting at his side, so she didnt want him to try and fix everything on his own. Vahn had often said simr words, as he was very aware that individual power wasnt the most important thing in the world. It took the strength of a group, or even an entire organization, to bring about real change and exercise true power. Even the gods of the world were restricted and there were few ways he could circ.u.mvent this inherent truth. His energy wasnt limitless, he wasnt the strongest, nor was he impervious to the influence of the skills and abilities of others. If someone had an Innate simr to Haruhimes, that could influence his mind subtly without him even noticing, Vahn would quickly fall. The only way around this was to be somewhat tyrannical, but this was a path he wanted to avoid since he didnt want the future from the Divination to repeat. After promising Ais that they would both be much stronger in the future, Vahn shared another kiss with the beautiful girl that had a fate inextricably linked with the record itself. His alterations to fate obligated him to do his best for her, and it was the least he could do after having received her very straightforward love... Since they couldnt stay holed up inside the secret room, Vahn returned to the surface with the three girls who suddenly seemed to be sleepy in an instant. Tiona released a loud yawn while stretching her arms before jumping to Vahn and dangling from his body as she said, "Carry me, Vahn~" Vahn just let her dangle from him as he released a yawn of his own, not because he was that tired but because Tionas had been infectious. This seemed to set of a chain reaction that made Vahnugh out loud before reiterating, "Youre all on vacation right now, so go ahead and rest all day if youre tired. Ill be heading outside of the City for a bit, but Ill return in the evening when you wake up." Tione was hugging his left arm, as she had be somewhat clingy after the previous night, and asked with a hint of concern in her voice, "Are you going to go do something dangerous? Im not really that tired..." Vahn shook his head because her words seemed to resonate with Ais and Tiona as well. To alleviate their concerns, he smiled and exined, "I was going to go out and y with Fafnir, Terra, and Fenrir. She has been a little tense because of her jealousy toward Haruhime and I wanted to spend some time with her to relieve some stress." Tiona giggled and said, "Fenrir is super cute, but she is a very anxious girl isnt she~?" Without Vahn responding, both Ais and Tione nodded her head because they had been interacting with her a lottely. Vahn walked the girls to their room and gave each of them a kiss before tucking them into the bed and stroking their heads lovingly before leaving. They had their own rooms but often shared the samerge bed together since it was more fun than sleeping alone. Lefiya could usually be found in the same bed, but she was currently up and about since most of the girls were training around this time in the morning. She was proactively trying to learn [Featherfoot] so that her mobility would increase slightly, even though she wasnt putting any emphasis on her physical development anymore. After leaving the room, Vahn dazedly walked toward the kitchen to get some breakfast before contemting his next course of action. He wasnt in any danger of passing out, but Vahn felt a little fatigued and was considering taking a short nap before leaving on his mission. He was also considering if he should take anyone else along, but there would be too many people volunteering if he offered. Since he had already taken care of many of the things that had been concerning him, Vahn felt like he wanted to rx a bit before he officially got back to work on his research. The only girl that he had yet to fort since his return was Mn, but he could always visit her or invite her to stay in his room during the evening. However, he kind of wanted to just spend the night with Eina and take another break... When Vahn arrived outside, after grabbing something to snack on from the kitchen, he found Maemi and Emiru sparring against Haruhime in a very one-sided two-versus-one situation. Even together, they couldnt get any edge against Haruhime, especially after having awakened her third tail. There was now an illusory me that rose from her tails like a hazy mist as she danced about and fought against both girls without any signs of duress. However, since Haruhime was present, this also meant that someone else was in the area and Vahn quickly found a pressure on his head after Shirohime appeared. He couldnt sense her at all, so she easily snuck up on him before once again demonstrating her clinginess. Vahn reached up to grab her and she surprisingly didnt resist him that much so he cradled her with his arm and said, "If you want to follow me, you have to behave properly. Ill be heading out of the City today with Fenrir, so you either have to stay behind or promise not to cause trouble. If you cant get along with her, I cant take you with me..." One of the purposes of taking Fenrir out was to relieve her stress, so it would be counterintuitive to let Shirohime, Fenrirs current source of stress, apany them. Shirohime showed a pouty expression as her eyes darted about chaotically before she said, "We wont go with you this time...but you have to treat us well when youe back." It was somewhat unexpected that Shirohime was so willing topromise after just a single night had passed. He wondered what she and Haruhime had talked about for such a drastic change to ur but decided to inquire about itter as he reached out with his right hand and scratched the hair tuft on her chest and said, "Sure, Ill pamper you plentily as long as youre a good girl..." Shirohime closed her eyes slightly before twitching as Haruhime, who had been sparring against Maemi and Emiru took a hit to the abdomen from both girls. She had gotten distracted by a sudden sensation against her chest and looked over to see Shirohime being pampered by Vahn. The gap was big enough for the twins to exploit and it resulted in her being pushed back from the momentarilypse in her defense. Vahn saw this ur and his eyes widened along with Shirohime as she said, "We cant be med for this..." before climbing up to the top of his head once again. Just as he often forgot about his bond with Hephaestus, Vahn forgot about the direct link between Haruhime and Shirohime and caused her to pay the price for his mistake. He released a sigh before rising to his feet, as he had been sitting down to begin meditating, but didnt get very far before Haruhime immediately continued the spar without hesitation. Maemi and Emiru hadnt known why she suddenly dropped her guard, so they continued fighting as well. Vahn felt a little awkward seeing this urrence before sitting back down on the ground and watching the fight from the side. Since they were just sparring, the twins hadnt struck Haruhime too hard so there actually wasnt a real need for him to step in at all. He had just feltpelled to apologize, but Haruhime was showing that she didnt mind the situation at all. Other than the spar between the three girls, there were several other fights taking ce in the back yard, likely because Tsubaki had told everyone to do so. Arnya and Lunoire were fighting against each other while Chloe was teaching Shizune close by. Tina was practicing attack and defense with her mother while Lili was doing a familiar training a bit away from everyone else. Just like the first training he had done with her, Lili was currently dodging arrows fired by Naaza as both girls practicing trying to read each other. Though Naaza was using blunt arrows, Lili would still take a hit to her body every now and then and there were a few painful looking bruises present. She was currently wearing what amounted to a sports bra and spats, so the discoloration of her skin was very obvious. Vahn was happy to see that everyone was working so hard to get stronger, even though they were on vacation and supposed to be rxing. This showed that they were seriously considering the matters of the future and Vahn felt both pressure and relief as a result of their determination. He had spent thest three days ying around with the various women he was involved with, so his own impatience regarding his work was slowly growing. However, he knew that he needed to rx more or the girls wouldnt be able to stay calm because many of them were very attentive to his state of mind. If he was calm and focused, they were also happier and there was no need to rush everything all at once. He was already at a point where he could confidently fight against most opponents, so his focus should be on supporting the girls and making headway on his own research for the time being... Toward the end of training, a shadow appeared in the sky above everyone as Fafnir descended from above and dispersed a wave of air pressure that spread over the ground below. All of the girls were very used to his presence so nobody was really surprised by its sudden appearance. Vahn, however, noticed an abnormality and felt a bit of confusion when he saw Terra jump down from its back and flutter her wings beforending softly on the ground. He hadnt expected to see Terra riding around of Fafnirs back since she was perfectly capable of flying in both her human and dragon forms. As she hadnded near him, Vahn asked the smiling Terra, "What have the two of you been up to?" She squinted her eyes slightly and looked up at Fafnir before saying, "Fafnir was showing me all the interesting sights within the Alliances territory before showing me the top of the tower. I cant fly as fast and high as he can, so he was kind enough to escort me~." Fafnir puffed out its chest proudly and said, ("I taught Sis lots of things about the City and what she needed to be careful about~!") Vahn immediately picked up on the fact that Fafnir was now calling Terra as Sis, instead of Little Sis, while her address had changed to simply Fafnir. It was likely a result of the difference in their mental ages, but Vahn felt like Terra had tamed Fafnir a little between the previous day and this morning. Terra nodded her head and said, "Fafnir is very knowledgeable, so it was quite an insightful experience. I was quite surprised with how much energy was contained at the top of the tower, though not nearly as surprised as when Fafnir showed me his full speed. As a True Dragon myself, Im quite envious~." Every word Terra said made Fafnir radiate an aura or pride as it loudly eximed, "As Vahns first mount, I have to be the strongest of all~! Sis can just protect thend and leave the sky to me~!" Terraughed pleasantly and seemed to agree with Fafnir before a sad look appeared on her face and she said, "I would like to fly around with Vahn every now and then though...but I guess Fafnir wont let me...how disheartening." Vahn realized the y that was taking ce in front of him and he was now very certain that Terra had a developed understanding of Fafnirs mentality. As expected, Fafnir flinched a little after seeing how sad Terra looked and said, ("Guunuuu, I can let Sis carry Master every now and then...") Terra showed a surprised expression as a radiant smile appeared on her face as she flew up and hugged Fafnirs neck while saying, "Thank you, Fafnir, youre the best~!" Fafnir tilted its head up with a prideful look on its face as it said, ("Of course, of course, ehehehe~!") Vahn had a wry smile on his face as he shook his head slightly, no longer considering Terra to be nearly as childish as her present age would suggest. Though shecked a real education, she was already literate since the girl from her previous life had read books to her often. She was also incredibly intelligent and seemingly capable of scheming against people, as she had likely spent the entire night setting up Fafnir for this current performance. Terra flickered her wings before descending to the ground and furling them up behind her as she smiled toward Vahn and said, "It seems I have the opportunity to carry you today, Master~." Vahn nodded his head and said, "Well be leaving after breakfast, so make sure to rest up for a bit before then..." He could see that nearly half of Terras energy had been expended so she had probably been doing more than just flying around with Fafnir during the evening. Though he wouldnt find out untilter, Terra had actually been very busy the previous night and had spent arge part of the evening mapping the City. Terras memory wasnt nearly as perfect as Vahns, but she could visualize terrain and memorize most of the things she had seen from above. She was also very sensitive to the flow of energy and had marked all the areas that concerned her. Since Vahn had given her the mission to protect the Manor, Terra didnt want to get caught off guard by external forces in the area so she had proactively scouted around while pandering to Fafnir. Now she could discuss the matter using her second favorite thing, the work, and make ns to ensure the Manor would be safer in the future. The most important discovery she had made had been around the Manor itself, as there were lines of earth elemental energy that had been set up in aplex formation all throughout the streets. Having dominion over the earth itself, Terra had broken the formation in its entirety because there was a dark intent contained within it... --- Within a secret room located deep beneath the streets of Orario, a thin man with pale brown hair was throwing around furniture in a maddened rage. He had spent thest two months setting up a powerful formation with the intention of sinking the Hearth Manor and, when he had gone to check up on it a few hours ago, he found that the entire thing had been destroyed. He had spent almost all of the funds he had been given for this assignment and now found himself in a position where all of his ns had been undone and he didnt even know the culprit. If he failed his assignment, he would almost certainly be killed if he tried to return to his homnd so his only choices were to try and assassinate Vahn directly or flee from the City, abandoning his family that was left behind in Rakia... mming his fist into the nearby wall, the entire thing began to collpase as a pulse of energy spread through it and he shouted, "F.u.c.k! F.u.c.k! This f.u.c.k.i.n.g assignment! Damn it all! F.u.c.k!" As he continued to shout out, the thin man continued to strike the wall in a rage with tears streaming down from his face. He felt like he never should have taken this kind of assignment as every day had been more stressful than the previous. Every action he took seemed to be undermined before he was able to make any real progress and there were simply too many forces moving around his target to carry out the assassination properly. To make matters worse, he knew there was no way he could actually fight against Vahn directly and even dropping an entire City street on the boy hadnt worked. At this point, the entire room had filled with dust and there wererge caverns that had been carved out of the solid terrain surrounding the man. He was only a Level 2, but his unique magic had allowed him to be one of the greatest assassins within the Rakia Kingdom. Ever since he was a young boy, he had discovered he had a natural affinity with the earth after surviving a rockslide in the mountains. Even though he was frail and weak at the time, he had been able to dig his way out of the earth and the massive boulders that had crashed against his body were soft as they bounced off of him harmlessly. Since then, he had been scouted by the Empire and had been trained as an assassin that enjoyed many great sesses over thest fourteen years. Now, however, he was facing an assignment that seemed impossible toplete and it was like his entire life was breaking apart at the realization that he would probably die in the near future. If not for the fact that he had a young son back home, he would have simply abandoned this assignment and run far away. The man dragged his tired body over to an earthen desk that he had created, one of the only undamaged things in the entire room. There were several diagrams spread out that had included the list of materials necessary to set up the massive formation he had tirelessly been working on. Next to the papers, there was the image of Vahn and several of the other residents of the Hearth Manor, none of which he had been able to get his hands on. They were simply careful to a ridiculous extent and it was maddening knowing that all of his efforts had been in vain. He sat down at the table and cradled his head as tears of frustration streamed down from his face. From the corner of his eye, he could see the smiling face of Vahn mocking him so he smashed the table and pitifully wailed, "Vahn Mason, I swear, no matter what it takes, I will f.u.c.k.i.n.g kill you!!!" before dropping to his knees and sobbing loudly... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Clingy twins,Terra is rather meticulous,RIP Earth Mage...Unlucky) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 515 - Disappearance

Chapter 515 - Disappearance

Before the girls made their way to the bath, as they were prone to do after morning training, Vahn exined his intentions while politely declining the participation of others. Since it was a mission outside of the City, it likely wouldnt be that difficult and Vahn could easily return with Fafnir if things became troublesome. He also wanted to give Fenrir the opportunity to vent while also doing a good deed for the people in The ins region. There were dozens of small viges located about the region with thousands of farmers belonging to the Demeter, and a few other agricultural Familias, in the area. As the region was of paramount importance to the livelihood of the City, the Guild had posted the mission to every major Familia, including the Hestia Familia as a result of its rtionship with the Alliance. After returning Shirohime to Haruhime, Terra transformed into her dragon form and Vahn climbed up on her somewhat narrow back. He noticed it was much morefortable than sitting on Fafnir and there was also a very pleasant aroma rising from her body that was very calming. However, since it would potentially demoralize Fafnir if he showed any preference for Terra, Vahn simply smiled as he held onto Fenrir and said, "Okay, lets go y for a bit..." As Fafnir didnt like flying too slowly, it ended up temporarily returning to the shadows for the time being and attached itself to Vahns shadow before taking a nap. Terras wings spread after hearing Vahns words and she said, "This is very exciting~." before taking off into the sky. Vahn immediately noticed that Terra couldnt easily regte the flow of air around her body so the wind battered against his face and hair as Fenrirs somewhat wild hair chaotically fluttered. Strangely, even though her hair was always unkempt, it managed to hold its shape in clumps instead of flying around in individual strands. Vahn thought was pretty interesting and wondered what kind of mechanic orw made it act in such a manner. The ins were located nearly 1,700km to the west of the City so it would take them nearly two hours even if Terra flew at her maximum speed. As they werent in a particr hurry, she flew through the sky around 650km/h and it was a pleasant and refreshing experience for both Vahn and Fenrir. Terra couldnt reshape her scales to make a hold, so Fenrir got to be embraced by Vahn throughout the journey and enjoyed the feeling of the wind passing through her hair and ears. As for Vahn, he looked out over the horizon and saw the signs of spring beginning to appear in the surrounding regions as the world slowly came to life after the passing of winter. Terra had felt like it would be fulfilling to have Vahn riding on her back and, after managing to convince Fafnir to give her the opportunity, she was able to confirm this was indeed the case. She didnt know exactly why, but a part of her felt the need to try and please him and there was a strange link that she could sense binding them. Just like Fafnir and Fenrir, she was very aware that she would continue to exist indefinitely, unless she died as a result of battle, so she was interested to see what kind of things she would get to experience at his side. After her first death, she had longed for the surface once again and wanted to see and experience many things she had been unable to previously. Vahn was a kind boy that was very considerate of others, so she felt very fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet him. As he hadnt done so previously, Vahn ced his palm against Terras back and began replenishing her energy as a gentleughter cut through the wind. He could tell that Terra was enjoying this experience and it made him happy to see her in high spirits. She couldnt really speak during flight since she didnt have the telekic abilities of Fafnir, but herughter would asionally reach his ears. Vahn had been worried that she would have been the type to never leave the Manor, but it seemed like this was an unnecessary concern and she appeared to be very curious and fond of traveling. After topping off Terras energy, Vahn was feeling especially tired and decided it would be a good opportunity to take a nap since it would take them around three hours to reach their destination. Though her back wasnt that wide, only around 3m, her overall length reached 14m and there was a nice and plush area between her wings that made for afortable bed. He might fall off if she performed any aerial maneuvers, but it wouldnt be a problem to rest during casual flight. Vahn stroked Terras back and said, "Im going to take a nap...Ill leave it to you, Terra." Though she couldnt hear him either, Terra was able to understand Vahns words through their connection so she tilted her head to the side. Vahn could see an understanding contained in her sky-blue eyes as well as a glimmer he didnt quite understand before she turned back to the front. Vahnid back in the grass-like feathers on Terras back and snuggled up with Fenrir who used his body as her own bedding. She seemed to enjoy the feeling of the air through her fur, so Vahn hadid with his head toward Terras so that he wouldnt get air running up his nose unexpectedly. To make things easier for Fenrir, since she was holding him somewhat awkwardly, Vahn transformed into a Vanargandr. As she had done so many times in the past, Fenrir seemed to get very happy in an instant as she began rubbing her head and face against him in an affectionate manner while digging her ws into his sides. As he had grown ustomed to small pains, Vahn didnt mind it too much and quickly rxed his mind to enjoy a nice rest. The fragrance from Terras body helped him calm down a great deal and it wasnt long before he had drifted off into unconsciousness. --- By the time Vahn had awoken, it had been around three hours and twenty minutes, slightly longer than he expected by not really a cause for concern. HIs body felt incredibly refreshed and there was a warm and numb sensation in his body that made him want to stretch out and continue sleeping. Resisting the urge, Vahn sat up and stirred Fenrir who had surprisingly continued sleeping even though she didnt actually require rest. There was a massive wet stain on his tunic and Vahn was very grateful that her saliva was inert when it was outside of her mouth. If it had the same dissolving effect as it did after passing the barrier of her teeth, Vahn would have had a hole in his chest the size of arge crystal ball. Fenrir opened her sleepy eyes and released a long yawn that caused her mouth to stretch a little too farpared to normal. Vahn always felt a little nervous seeing how her jaw could magically contort like that since it defied logic quite a bit. Looking around, he could see that Terra had flown into the center of a small vige and there were a few farmers with pitchforks and spears surrounding them as the majority of the other residents had hidden within their homes. Terra didnt seem too concerned and simplyughed as she said, "It seems like Im not very wee here, Master~." Vahn chuckled and stroked Terras back as he said, "People have an instinctual fear of things they dont understand, so dont let it bother you." Vahn could tell that the strongest person within his domain was only Level 2 and he was nothing more than a middle-aged human that seemed to be entering his twilight years rtively soon. This was the main reason Terra wasnt concerned since there was no way anyone in this area would be able to damage her at all, unless they managed to get lucky and hit her eyes, and Vahn himself would surely protect her. Her trust in him was already quite high and she was curious to see how he would deal with the hatred between the people on the surface and the monsters that roamed the world. After all, not every monster was a mindless creature and there was a number, like her past self, that simply wished to live in peace. So that things didnt escte too far, Vahn jumped off Terras back and had her return to her human form while also equipping her robe at the same time. Since she always produced a radiant light during her transformation, she was able to change her clothing at the same time without exposing herself. Seeing the sudden appearance of a beautiful girl confused the rtively simple farmers, but her wings undoubtedly showed that she was still a monster. The only thing that had been preventing them from trying to fight her off was the aura she had as a True Dragon and the calming aroma that had strangely permeated through the air making them somewhat absentminded. Vahn looked toward the middle-aged man with a receding hairline, thick eyebrows, and a greying beard and said, "My name is Vahn Mason, Sage Aldrnari and Captain of the Hestia Familia. I havee at the request of the Guild to investigate the monster attacks in this region. Are you the Vige Chief of this vige?" As he had spoken in a loud and firm tone, many people calmed down greatly including the middle-aged man who released a sigh of relief. Even in the countryside, many people had heard of the famous Sage Aldrnari and seeing how youthful Vahn was affirmed the rumors many people had heard. It was well known that he had tamed a dragon, but many people thought it was a giant ck dragon and not a green one that was able to turn into a beautiful woman. The Vige Chief wanted to make ament about this but decided against it since it was much better to see a beauty than it was to be suppressed by a giant ck dragon. Stepping forward, the man nodded his head and said, "Names Graft Reisfeld, Vige Chief of Luka Vige. Your reputation precedes you, Sage Aldrnari, and its a great relief knowing that someone of such fame hase to our aide during these trying times..." Vahn smiled politely and said, "Please, just call me Vahn. Though I have no aversion toward being called Sage Aldrnari, its a bit of a mouthful...ahahaha." Because he was a young boy who wielded great power and authority, it was surprising to many how amiable Vahn acted. He seemed more like a normal boy than someone that was rumored to be one of the strongest up-anding Adventurers in the entire continent. After introductions were carried out, Vahn was invited by Graft into his residence where he was briefed more about the situation in the surrounding areas. There had been several incidents of livestock disappearing recently while many small children had gone missing. Thus far, there havent been any signs of actual monster attacks and they had already dispatched search parties into the forest with skilled hunters in search of the missing children. The earliest incident was eight days ago while the most recent had taken ce just a single day prior. There was still hope that the children would still be alive, but it wasnt that likely. When Vahn learned that children had been going missing, a cold sensation passed through his mind and he had an urge to begin his search immediately. Unfortunately, even after several people had gone to investigate, there had been no signs of monster nests in the area and even skilled trackers had failed to find tracks. It was almost like the animals and children were simply disappearing spontaneously and without reason. However, there had to be a reason behind the disappearances and they needed to discover what was going on before things got even more out of hand. The officialmission was just to investigate, but there were extra rewards arranged if a solution could be found. Though unlikely, there would be additional rewards for the safe return of the missing children as well. Vahn listened to all the details before asking in a in tone, "The most recent child, where were theyst seen? If I can inspect the area, I may be able to discover something..." Graft nodded his head and said, "It was Martha and Jakobs kid, Benny. Poorss already lost er eldest to pox and now er little one has gone missing...Ill show you the area, Vahn, so please find that kid n bring im back home." After seeing how amicable Vahn was, Graft had dropped his polite pretense and had opened up a bit after venting his frustrations by exining the situation. He was actually a member of the Demeter Familia, so he had a lot of expectations that Vahn would be able to find a solution. It was rumored he had been able to track down two women that got kidnapped in a very short period of time, so his hope had been rekindled a fair amount. Graft showed Vahn to arge apple tree that had small leaves and tiny buds beginning to grow, a sure sign that spring was approaching. When they reached the area, Graft palmed against the tree and said, "Martha said Benny was yin around this tree before e suddenly up n vanished. We sent Barnes, the vige huntsman, to try n track em but even his old dog wasn able to pick up the trail." Vahn nodded his head and began to inspect the area with his [Eyes of Truth], paying attention to small marks and any signs of struggle and violence. It was very obvious that this area was yed in very often since the ground had been scuffed about and disced over a long period of time. However, other than some fresh initials carved into the tree that seemed to be a few days old, Vahn couldnt see anything that pointed toward how Benny had disappeared. Fortunately, Vahn had a reliable little tracker with him as Fenrir scrunched up her nose and said, "Fenrir can smell blood..." Vahn felt like sighing, since blood wasnt a good sign, but kept his calm as he asked, "Can you track it?" Graft had been very surprised by the small werewolf girls im but he was even more surprised when she said, "Fenrir can track it...but it isnt normal? All over the ce, mixed with other scents..." Fenrir tilted her head up and sniffed the air several times before pointing toward the sky. Though Graft seemed to be confused, Vahn immediately understood what Fenrir was trying to convey and several missing pieces of the puzzle fell into ce. He really did release a sigh this time before saying, "The other smell...is it like a bird?" Graft seemed to understand Vahns implication and a serious and solemn expression appeared on his face as he looked toward one of the nearby huts. When he saw Fenrir nod, any hope he had for Bennys survival vanished entirely as feelings of indignation welled up inside of him. Vahn was also angered by the situation but remained focused as he turned to Graft and asked, "The animals that went missing, what was thergest?" Graft released a sigh and said, "Other than a few goats, thergest was a small calf thatd been born about a month ago..." A calf could weigh between 35-50kg after about a month which meant that whatever was snatching them up should be a medium-sized predator since it only targetted small livestock and children. The fact that incidents had been happening in multiple areas, without any sign of the attacks, showed that it had a wide flight path and was potentially just a singr creature... Vahn pulled out a series of feathers from his inventory after consulting thependium and purchasing materials from the shop. Fenrir didnt even go through all of them before she reached out to a light brown feather with dark speckles and white stripes. A small amount of hope rose up in Vahns body, though not much, as he held up the feather and said, "Fenrir picked up the scent of a Griffin. Considering the size and weight of the victims, its probably around two years old, likely still a juvenile. I imagine it migrated here from the mountains to escape the chill of winter and recently started hunting in the area..." Graft rubbed his temples in frustration because even a young Griffin was at the very least a Level 2 monster. Unlike the monsters in the Dungeon, there were a few creatures on the surface that reproduced normally, Griffins included, and they were well known in the northern regions. Seeing the frustration on Graffs face, Vahn rolled the feather between his fingers before a sense of urgency welled up inside of him as he said, "Griffins dont always hunt just when they are hungry. They like to capture prey and take it back to their nest, so there is a chance that well be able to at least save the recent victims. I should be able to track it back to its nest and...at the very least, bring back its head for a bit of closure." Graft nodded his head with a firm expression as he said, "Aye, Ill trust it to you, Vahn. String that bastard up fer us..." As a natural born monster, hatched from an egg, Griffins wouldnt vanish after being killed and they didnt even have a normal magic core in their body. They were closer to animals than actual monsters, so Vahn could even bring back the entire body and turn it over to the vige if he chose. Vahn somewhat regretted his leisurely pace flying out to the vige but he didnt have time to think about things like that as he called Fafnir. Graft fell onto his butt when Fafnirs head peeked up out of the ground before emergingpletely from the shadows. He realized that the rumors of Vahn having a giant ck dragon werent exaggerated at all and he could tell it was much stronger than the elegant green dragon that had turned into a beautiful woman. Graft couldnt rationalize how a young boy was able to have so many powerful creatures at hismand when most people, at least amongst the rare few that had the [Tamer] Development Ability, were fortunate to have just one. Terra showed a small smile on her face before climbing onto the back of Fafnir with Vahn and Fenrir. She would have liked to have Vahn ride her, but understood now wasnt the time to harbor selfish intentions as speed was important. At least she had the opportunity to experience something new as she took the opportunity to sit next to Vahn since Fenrir was always close to him. She rationalized that it was fine for her to do so as well since she was also one of Vahns subordinates. Vahn had given her a curious look at first but shook his head slightly momentster before saying, "Fafnir, we need to find the nest of a Griffin in the area. Look for anyrge rocky outcrops or t teaus in the region. It shouldnt be more than 500km away, and its likely within the forests..." Fafnir spread its somewhat small wing, at least proportional to its body, as it shot up into the air with a terrifying momentum that caused Graft to roll back several meters. Even so, he didnt offer up any sound of aint as he watched Fafnir disappear toward the horizon and be a small dot mere seconds after departing. He then stood up on his feet and dusted himself off before looking back toward the hut from earlier with a solemn expression and shaking his head. He could tell Vahn was being truthful, but he also noticed that the boy himself didnt seem to truly believe his words. Even if Benny had survived being captured, the fact there were traces of blood in the air showed that he had sustained injuries. It had been more than twenty hours since they disappeared, so the boy would have likely bled out long ago... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Calming Aroma,Fenrirs nose > Doggos nose,RIP Benny...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 516 - Griffin

Chapter 516 - Griffin

Vahn sat atop Fafnirs back with his eyes closed, doing his best to pick up any signs of life as Fafnir slowly ambled through the sky around 3,500km/h. Because they needed tob the area, Fafnir had to its speed so that Vahn could process the information passing through his mind like a blur. Fortunately, Siss processing capabilities were much higher than his own so she was helping pick up the mass amount of ck on Vahns behalf. Since the Griffin shouldnt be too far away from its hunting grounds and should have made its nest at a high elevation, Fafnir primarily focused on areas that were high above the ground. There were several rocky outcrops in the Western Forests but few should host a creature as territorial as a Griffin. Terra watched Vahn from the side with a bit of concern on her face before wrapping her wing around him in an attempt tofort him. She didnt like seeing the cold Vahn very much because it didnt seem to suit him very well. Though she understood his reasons for being upset, she couldntprehend why he was so angry at the potential loss of people he had never met before. Just as the various surface races domesticated animals and grew crops to survive, Terra felt like the Griffin was simply doing what it could to avoid starving. Yes, they had to kill it to prevent further loss of life, but that didnt justify Vahns reaction in her opinion. It was the nature of the world that the strong preyed on the weak, something she had experienced herself in the past... Feeling the strangelyforting sensationing from Terras wing, Vahn looked toward the gentle looking woman and saw the concern in her eyes. He released a small sight and focused his mind, doing his best to calm down by making use of herforting aura and the fragrance emanating from her body. His anger didnt benefit the situation at all, so Vahn could somewhat understand why Terra was worried since his mentality had even affected Fenrir. She was sitting in hisp with her hairs on-end as she flexed her paws open and closed, almost as if she were ready to pounce at a moments notice. Though he didnt know how he would be able to manage it, Vahn knew he would have to learn how to remain calm so that he didnt make as many mistakes in the future. He would avoid bing like the Emperor, who seemed detached from everything, but the maturation of his mind was necessary if he wanted to be a good father and capable leader... Fafnir came to a near-instantaneous stop as a pulse of wind spread out from its body, dispersing the force of its rapid deceleration. A powerful aura spread through the area that was only a few magnitudes weaker than his own [Will of the Emperor] as Fafnir opened its mouth and released a powerful roar that shook the void. A short ways away, atop a small cliff leading into the side of arger teau, there was a young griffin that had just been about to take flight. It released a shrill whine before shrinking away and retreating back into its nest as Vahn exhaled a chilly sigh and jumped off of Fafnirs back. If it had made the mistake of taking flight, the Griffin likely would have immediately died after Fafnir tore its body apart. The average flight speed of an a.d.u.l.t Griffon was only around 650-700km/h, so it would have beenpletely dominated by Fafnir in an aerial battle. Vahn crashed into the Cliff without making any effort to disperse the force of his fall, causing cracks to spread under his feet as he walked into the caves entrance. Fenrir had been in his arms when he leaped down while Terra had followed behind shortly after his descent. Even if she was a [Pacifist], it didnt mean she would sit idly by if Vahn was in danger. All of his subordinates, Lefiya and Anubis included, had an instinctive desire to try and protect him. She was also curious about how Vahn would deal with the situation since his mentality worried her much more than the nature of the Griffin and the fate of its victims. The cave only stretched into the teau for around twenty meters so the three had quickly arrived at the Griffins nest as it shrieked loudly, aggressively fronting in an effort to scare them away. However, it was still spooked by Fafnirs earlier roar and couldnt muster up the courage to fight back even though it was cornered. It instinctually felt that all three of the invaders before it were much stronger than it so a sense of impending doom had started to settle in its mind. It scratched away at the ground and continued to retreat until its back reached the wall, causing it to jump and p its wings aggressively. Vahn looked around the area and saw no signs of life which made his mind numb slightly as he released a sad sigh and asked, "Fenrir...do you smell the scent of blood from earlier?" Her eyes were already glowing fiercely as she red at the Griffin and nodded her head. With her confirmation, Vahn felt momentary anguish before bringing his hands together, almost as if he were going to pray. The truth of the matter wasnt too different, as Vahn trulymented the minor injustice while also mourning the loss of the various children and livestock. Over the course of nine days, the Griffin had imed four victims and nearly twenty smaller livestock. While it may be true that they often kept live prey forte consumption, it was also a sad fact that young Griffins often hunted for sport without intending to eat their prey at all... After bringing his hands together for several seconds, Vahn opened his eyes and copsed his domain, converging the entirety of his pressure against the body of the Griffin. As a Level 2 monster, he could have easily stunned it but Vahn wasnt content with such a roundabout way of dealing with this issue. Though it was typically invisible, the space within the cave became dense with energy as the Griffins body was squeezed tightly before it fell to the ground. Vahn spoke out in a low tone as he continually increased the pressure, saying, "Hunting for sport is wasteful..." Though it had temporarily tried to resist, the Griffin ended up uttering a weak and pitiable cry as itpletely gave up any form of resistance. It couldnt even raise its head to plead for its life as the budding intelligence contained within its mind copsed. Even though it was still alive, its eyes had zed over with a nk look as Vahns began to emit a divine light. The atmosphere of the cave became very solemn and neither Fenrir or Terra could move a single muscle in their body as they waited for what was toe. His voice took on a powerful reverberation as he said, "Though I resent what you have done...I will still show you onest mercy..." Vahn had nearly uttered the word Vanish but remembered his promise to Graft and said, "Rest in peace..." A pulse of energy spread through Vahns domain along with his words and the Griffin immediately turned statuesque before bingpletely limp. The light had already faded from its eyes previously, but now it seemed like a shell of its former self as even its body heat hadpletely faded. Other than the minimal amount of mana used to keep its body from turning to dust, everything else had dispersed into the air as the pulse passed through its body. The previously vibrant colors in its plumage had now dimmed greatly and took on a grey and ashen tone. Vahn stowed the Griffin into his Inventory before looking at the still-stunned Terra and Fenrir as he said, "Lets bury the bodies...this will no longer be a cavern, but a mausoleum to honor the dead." Terra showed a sad smile on her face as she pped her wings to breath life into the stagnant cavern that had be eerily silent. Moss because to spread from her bare feet as Fenrir lead the way for Vahn by following the scent from earlier. The cave hadnt been uniform and there was a natural division that split it in to along the right side. Though he had prepared himself, Vahn still shuddered when he saw what was left of the victims. When they hunted for sport, young Griffins would bring back trophies to adorn their nests and it was a sickening sight that made Vahn feel nauseous. After averting his eyes, Vahn swept his hand toward the remains and cremated them using the eternal me. Since it was a divine me, Vahn felt like it was the best way he could honor them while also serving to purify the area of any negative energy and resentment. He brought his hands together again as he prayed toward the crimson-golden mes, hoping that the children would find happiness in their next incarnation. Long before his prayer came to an end, the remains had beenpletely broken down into fine ash so Vahn washed over them with water before pulling them all together and dispersing the water elemental energy in the orb he had formed. As if they had never been soaked, a small sphere of ashes had formed in the air and was kept solid by Vahns domain. Vahn took the orb over to where Terra was standing like a goddess of nature since the cavern around her feet had already started to sprout small shrubbery and vibrant nt life. Vahn spread the ashes over the ground before covering them with ayer of fertile soil that quickly converged with Terras energy and sprouted new life. Since this sight marked a grave, Vahn spread out a handful of lily seeds as he watched them quickly grow before blooming less than a minuteter. He then pulled out a marble b and carved the names Benny, Sully, Julia, and Keil into the surface and setting it on the floor. After releasing a heavy sigh, Vahn looked around the area before saying, "Lets return..." On the way out, Vahn took arge boulder from his inventory and sealed off the gave before having Terra cover it with moss and vines. This ce was around 219km away from the nearby vige, so Vahn didnt expect anyone to make a pilgrimage to pay respects. It was a sad truth that the bodies were likely located elsewhere, so it would be better to allow them to mourn with theirmunity... Turning his head up, Vahn looked to Fafnir and said, "Fafnir, I want you to destroy any visible monster nests in the area before rendezvousing with us when I call you. Make sure you stay high and away from any potential dangers..." Fafnir released a light roar and said, ("Leave it to me, Vahn~!") before taking off toward some of the areas they had previously passed. Before it had even gone more than five kilometers, Fafnir released a small burst of energy that shot like aser toward the ground. An explosion rumbled through the forest as a nest of goblins was annihted before Fafnir moved on without paying special attention to the result. Vahn sent it an order advising it to stay away from the deeper forest so it wouldnt unnecessarily provoke any Elven scouts. Terra had already turned back into her dragon form and was waiting so Vahn jumped up onto her back and immediately plopped down on the grassy area. Fenrir had jumped up shortly after and immediately cuddled up to him, saying, "Master, dont be sad...we came out to y, remember?" Clever as she might be, Fenrir couldnt easily empathize with what Vahn was going through and only understood that he was sad from his actions and the emotions shared through their bond. Vahn smiled before hugging her tightly and saying, "Well go y in a bit..." as he stroked her hair. As she was already used to forting Vahn, Fenrir turned quiet as she closed her eyes and nuzzled against him so that he could rx... With the ther.a.p.eutic Fenrir and the calming fragrance of Terra, Vahn was able to rx much faster than he expected. They reached the vige after twenty minutes, as Terra had been flying slowly to let him rx more easily, and Vahn had resumed his calm demeanor before jumping down to the awaiting crowd. Graft hade out with a hopeful looking woman but she immediately broke down in her husbands arms after seeing that Vahn was only apanied by Fenrir and Terra. Graft stepped forward with an understanding look in his eyes as he observed Vahn and asked, "Did you get that bastard?" Vahn nodded his head before waving his hand and leaving the corpse of the Griffin in the open town center for all to see. Though it would likely only bring them a smallfort, Vahn said in a gentle tone, "I cremated the remains and sanctified the area before erecting a marker to honor the deceased...this time, dont worry about the reward. I cant ept a reward for a mission like this..." Since his presence wouldnt make things easier for those present, Vahn stroked Terras snout before climbing back on her body and taking to the sky once again. Graft followed his figure with his eyes, shaking his head and remarking, "He is still a young boy..." before turning to gofort Martha and Barnes. After being in the air for a few minutes, Fenrir tilted her head up toward Vahn and asked, "Master, were those people important to you?" For Fenrir, failing to protect the people important to her Master was a big failure so she was beginning to feel very worried. Vahn, however, shook his head and said, "I had never known them...but you must always remember that all life is precious. Empathy, the ability to understand and share the feelings of other people, is important for mental and spiritual maturity...never forget this, Fenrir, and always do your best to preserve life...unless it is someone trying to bring harm to you and the people you care about..." Though she didnt understand itpletely, Fenrir nodded her head and ruminated over Vahns words as she enjoyed his caress. She decided to ask some of the other girls in the Manor about empathy and how they believed it was important so that she could understand it better. Seeing that her Master had ced so much importance on it, Fenrir feltpelled to understand it so that she could also empathize with him. The lonely look in his eyes made her own heart feel strange as her tummy felt anxious and empty. It would also allow her to mature faster, so Fenrir wanted to do her best to make Vahn happier however she could. Vahn had Terrand in a small clearing within the Western Forest as a pressure began to bear down on them from above. Fafnir appeared momentster andnding in the clearing next to Terra before it strangely sized her up. Out of nowhere, Fafnir suddenly said, ("Sis is a very beautiful dragon~!") before turning to Vahn and saying, ("Vahn, I destroyed eleven nests~! Praise me, praise me~!") Vahn held out his hand and rubbed Fafnirs snout before it plopped down on the ground and rolled over onto its back. As for Terra, she had smiling eyes but didntment on Fafnirs words as sheid on the ground in a strangely elegant manner, still in her dragon form. She spread her massive 20m wide wings and created arge canopy as she absorbed sunlight. After spending some time pampering and praising Fafnir, Vahn was sitting on its stomach stroking the scar on its chest as he said, "Fenrir and I will walk back to the City, so I want you to take Terra back to the Manor and wait for us." Fafnir had beenying with its mouth open and tongue dangling out before it snapped to alertness and said, ("Okay, Vahn, leave it to me~!") Terra, however, didnt seem too fond of the idea as she remarked, "If possible, I would like to stay with Master. I am worried about your safety and well-being..." Vahn smiled in return and said, "Ill be fine, Terra, so just wait for me patiently at the Manor. Im going to y with Fenrir for a bit and there isnt any real danger within the forest to either of our lives." Since both he and Fenrir were now Level 4, there were few things in the entire region that could actually threaten them. Those that might be able to would never be able to match his speed if he focused on fleeing, so Vahn wasnt concerned at all, especially with a [Heros Reprieve] avable if he needed to teleport away. Terra seemed like she wanted to issue a rebuttal but eventually just let out a sigh before turning back into her human form and flittering up to Fafnirs back. She looked down at Vahn, still in his Vanargandr form alongside Fenrir, and said, "Master, please take care of yourself...Big Sis, please look after our Master well." Fenrir raised her head pridefully and thumped her chest as she said, "Leave it to Fenrir~! Fenrir will protect Master properly!" Even at the cost of her own life, Fenrir wouldnt allow any harm to befall Vahn as long as she could prevent it. Of course, Vahn would never let such a thinge to pass and it was generally his job to look after her. After watching Fafnir fly off into the distance, Vahn ced his hand atop Fenrirs head and ruffled her hair as he said, "Here, Ill give you ride on my shoulders and well look for something fun to do. For now, lets just walk through the forest and enjoy the scenery for a bit..." Without even waiting for the full exnation, Fenrir had already climbed up Vahns back, leaving a few holes in his tunic as a result before sitting atop his shoulders happily. Since she knew there was no danger of identally cutting him with her ws, she set her paws on top of his head as he held her legs and started to walk forward. Vahn knew that Fenrir had been jealous of Shirohime riding on his head, so he decided to bnce things out a bit. He hade out here today to help her rx so he wanted to make good on his promise even if he felt a little mncholic. After all, it was far more important to care for the living than it was to mourn the death of those you had never known... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Terra is a monster (UwU),Empathy...,What is important...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 517 - Stroll Through The Forest

Chapter 517 - Stroll Through The Forest

Vahn had nearly forgotten how peaceful the forest could be since he had been so busytely that he hadnt ventured into it in recent months. It wasnt like the forests in the Dungeon, which were typically very quiet and there were few natural sounds, so Vahn had temporarily lost his appreciation for simply wandering in nature. The Western Forest had been his first home after a lifetime of suffering, but Vahn hadnt been able to truly take in everything that was happening during those seven months. He had been so focused on training, hunting, and surviving that he hadnt been able to enjoy everything the forest had to offer. Unlike his past self, when he had been a rtively weak Level 1, Vahn was now a Level 4 that could even rival a Level 6 if it were solely based on his Magic parameter. He also had his domain now so he could feel the incredible amount of life that was present within the forest, below the ground, and even jumping about in the trees. There were millions of small signatures that belonged to insects while hundred of birds flitted about in trees picking small nuts and berries that had yet to ripen. The entire forest was in a revival right now with theing of Spring and it was a very pleasant experience being able to simply take things in. Fenrir was also enjoying herself greatly as she bent over resting her chest against the top of his head while loosely hugging his chin and neck with her paws. It was a little awkward since she was 148cm tall and wasnt nearly as small as she seemed to believe, but Vahn didnt mind it too much since her weight was negligible at best. She never changed even so much as a hair, so Vahn had be very ustomed to her presence that seemed to be around him often in recent months. He couldnt say she was really that clingy, other than when he was in Vanargandr form, but it was more the case that she was always trying tofort him while getting spoiled at the same time. Vahn felt like she spent more effort on reacting to how he felt than she put into her own thoughts at times... Vahn heard a very pleasant birdsong overhead and looked up to see two Violet Thrushes, a rtively rare bird that could be sold in markets for up to 200,000V. They were very popr with young women because they had one of the most beautiful birdsongs among easily obtainable birds. Since he had been walking through the forest with his [Stealth] active, so as not to disturb the peaceful atmosphere of nature, Vahn had been able to get very close to two birds undergoing their courting ceremony. With theing of spring, many animals were preparing to find their mates as if they were eager to introduce new life to the already overflowing viridescence of the forest. Since he thought the song was as beautiful as purported, Vahn closed his eyes and listened to it for several minutes until another birdsong suddenly reached his ears, this one much closer than the other two. Vahn opened his eyes and tilted his head slightly to see Fenrir emting the birdsong with impressive uracy. Her song seemed to confuse the two Thrushes as the male bounced around on its perch looking for the petitor invading its territory. As it wasnt even strong enough to be ssified as a Level 1, the small bird had no way of detecting their presence even though they were only separated by a few meters. Vahn smiled before continuing to tread through the forest in a rxed state of mind as he listened to Fenrir practice her birdsong. Ever since she had learned the [Mimickry] Development Ability, Fenrir could often be found copying the voices and actions of the other girls. When she trained, she even tried to mimic their movements as if she were trying to familiarize herself with them. Vahn knew she wasnt trying to incorporate their fighting styles into hers, so it was more likely that she was preparing countermeasures against their moves by memorizing them. He had taught her in the past that knowing your enemy is the key to victory, as you could use the gaps in their techniques against them. She already had the habit of emting people, primarily himself, but now it had been taken to an extreme as her vocal cords had developed in a peculiar direction after obtaining the ability. After a half-hour, Fenrir began to tilt her head from side-to-side as she asked, "Master, do you like my song~?" Vahn gently nodded his head and continued walking forward, even though his eyes had been closed for a while as he listened to her song. Fenrir released augh that made Vahn pause his steps for a brief moment because she had sounded just like Tiona. Her ownughter was still a bit off, but she could copy theughter of another person, something that Vahn found strange yet interesting. Out of curiosity, he asked, "Can you copy my voice?" Fenrir surprisingly startled a bit when he asked her what he believed to be a simple question. Fenrir drooped her head and mumbled, "Fenrir has been a bad girl..." as she nuzzled against the top of his head. Vahn wanted to coax the answer out of her so he said very matter-of-factly, "Fenrir tries very hard to be a good girl, so she is a good girl. Even if you make mistakes every now and then, as long as you keep trying you will still be a good girl in my heart." Vahn felt Fenrirs tail thump against his back as her ears perked up at his words. Answering his earlier question, Fenrir hesitantly said, "Fenrir likes to talk to herself in Masters voice...because hearing Master praise Fenrir makes me happy..." What she didnt mention was that she also teased the other girls by copying his voice at times and calling out to them. Vahnughed a bit because he actually heard her talking to herself before, though he hadnt been paying attention to what she was saying at the time. He could easily imagine Fenrir ying around and mumbling to herself using his voice and it was quite the adorable scene. Finding a fallen tree, Vahn sat down and grabbed Fenrir before pulling her around to the front of his body. She had curled up a bit, so it wasnt hard to move her around even when he was sitting. There was a slightly concerned look on her face until Vahn sat her down and began patting her head while saying, "Fenrir is a very good girl...she is adorable, brave, and powerful~. She is also very clever and growing up steadily...though I kind of wish you would slow down a bit at times...ahahahaha~." Fenrir nodded her head with eyes closed and mumbled, "Fenrir will continue to be a good girl until she matures properly. Dont worry, Master, Fenrir will be patient and study hard..." She hadnt told him yet, but Fenrir had thought about the matter lots and lots before deciding to learn from the scary Eva in the future. If she went into the orb again, even though it would be very lonely, Fenrir knew she would be able to mature even faster. She had seen Eva and her Master do lots of a.d.u.l.t things in the past, which she didnt understand at the time, so Fenrir knew she was mature even though she was much smaller. Unaware of Fenrirs clever scheme to be an a.d.u.l.t, Vahn squished her cheeks with his thumbs and yed around with her ears for a few minutes before saying, "We should keep going or we will bete in returning." They still had nearly 850km of distance to cover and Vahn wanted to make some headway before they were inevitably forced to run the rest of the way. He could always call back Fafnir, but it would be more fun if they ran through the forest together. Vahn had already designated this as a rest day for himself, so he also nned to stay with Eina to recuperate a bit before returning to work tomorrow. This time, instead of riding on his shoulders, Fenrir interlocked her paw with his and happily matched his pace as she looked around the area, periodically emting different animals. Vahn thought it was pretty interesting seeing one person produce so many different sounds, so he curiously watched her from the side, effectively egging her on. However, this didntst too long as arge green creature that looked like a giant monitor lizard came running through the trees. It couldnt sense them at all, but this didnt stop it from continuing towards them as it hurriedly ran away from its pursuer, arge wolf that was more than 3m long. Vahn identified the two monsters as a Level 1 Forest Monitor and a Level 1 Ironback Wolf, both close to Level 2 but not quite making the bar since they were closer to animals than monsters. As they didnt pose any threat, Vahn pulled Fenrir gently to the side and leaned against a tree as he watched the Forest Monitor burst through the underbrush as the Ironback Wolf followed it closely. Though the lizard was faster, the wolf had more stamina and agility since it was a warm-blooded monsterpared to the cold-blooded Forest Monitor. It must have just recently awoken from its winter hibernation and had the misfortune ofing across a hungry wolf. Fenrir watched the chase with slightly glowing eyes as she was interested in joining and defeating both monsters. After they vanished, she looked up and asked, "Master, why do you not interfere to protect the big green monster? Wont it die soon?" She could tell that the Forest Monitor was very winded and it wouldnt be long before the Ironback Wolf ended up iming its meal. There were several other presences she could smell in the area, which were thepanions of the previous wolf moving at the nks a few tens-of-meters away. From her perspective, there wasnt a big difference between the races of the surface and monsters, so she was curious why Vahn didnt interfere. Vahn thought about his answer for a short while before saying, "You often have to take into consideration the situation at hand and the differences between what is hunting and what is being hunted. Unless they are a vegetarian, most creatures survive by eating the meat of other living creatures, perpetuating a cycle of survival of the fittest. Intelligent creatures can circ.u.mvent this by using their cleverness and ingenuity to get an advantage against stronger enemies, or even bing strong enough to directly oppose them, so we have to prioritize people over monsters. There is also the simple fact that, if we continually interfered with the Wolfs hunting, it would eventually die of starvation. Depending on the circ.u.mstances, the Ironback Wolf may have found itself the prey of the Forest Monitor in the future..." Though his question didnt actually answer Fenrirs concerns, Vahn honestly didnt know how to properly rationalize it either. He could simply say that people are good and monsters are bad, but that couldnt be further from the truth. Vahn had seen monsters that were far kinder and more innocent than children while some seemingly kind people turned out to be the real monsters. There were a few exceptions, such as Griffins hunting for sport, but Vahn had primarily seen cruelty as something propagated by people and not monsters. They had enough instinct to avoid attacking each other within the Dungeon while humans were prone to betraying closerades if there were enough benefits. Without things like vows in the world, Vahn imagined it would be even more chaotic than the somewhat dismal state of affairs currently present in the continent. After releasing a sigh, Vahn picked up the contemtive Fenrir as she immediately stopped thinking and just enjoyed being carried. Even though she was a monster that would literally devour anything, if not properly restricted, Fenrir was much purer than many of the normal people he had met. She didnt have a choice about her nature and proactively made efforts to behave and be good, while most people had a choice in their lives, albeit in inarguably dire situations at times, so Vahn found it easier to empathize with her than most people. However, Vahn didnt want to give up on people because he had also experienced great kindness from some, and had even received an overwhelming amount of love from others. He knew the world could be a better ce, and Vahn intended to do his best to ensure such a world was one day realized. A few hours into their journey, Vahn could hear the flowing of water as they came upon a river that was around 20m wide even at the thinnest point. He knew this was likely the river that flowed all the way to The ins and was often used to transport goods. As the harvest season had yet to arrive, there were currently no boats in sight which allowed Vahn and Fenrir to enjoy the scenic appearance of the winding river. It had crystal-clear blue water with smooth river rocks that could easily be seen in its depths. The most interesting thing were the numerous fish that could be seen swimming about in the water, many fighting against the current as they made their way up the river toy their spawn. Fenrir was fidgeting about excitedly so Vahn gently touched her back before she jumped into the rtively chilly water and tried to grab arge fish. Though she had no experience diving, Fenrir was incredibly agile and had caused a ssh that reached more than ten meters when she dashed into the water. Vahn was a little concerned about her since it was actually very dangerous to collide with water at high speeds, but she seemed to fine, perhaps using her instincts to make a proper judgment. A few secondster, Fenrir popped up out of the water holding a bloody white sturgeon in her ws with a proud look on her face. Unfortunately, she wasnt that great at swimming, to begin with, and had trouble holding up the fish as she bobbed her way towards the shore. Vahn felt encouraged to try something so he transitioned into his Xunw form before haphazardly trying to stop the flow of the river. Surprisingly, Vahn felt like he had been hit a charging ck Rhinos as he was dragged several meters along the bank of the river before being knocked over. This was very unexpected for Vahn so it wasnt a surprise when Fenrir discarded her catch and swam through the water faster than the surrounding fish before jumping out and eximing, "Master, are you okay!?" Vahn beganughing because, even though he had embarrassed himself, he was able to learn something very important as a result. After pacifying Fenrir, he rose to his feet and looked at the mighty river with eager eyes and an urge to dominate it erupting from the back of his mind. When using direct elemental manipting, it often relied on the movements of the body to exercise control over what you were trying to influence. This is why Vahn had to shape water with his hands and use various hand gestures to get the results he wanted. Since he had tried to stop the river, Vahn became linked with the flow under his influence before the rest of the river mmed into the slightly stagnant flow and carried him along. Vahn had never realized he could anchor himself like that and, now that he knew it was possible, his aspirations for achieving flight seemed a bit closer. If he could manipte air elemental energy and anchor himself to the flow of the winds created, he would theoretically be able to at least glide through the sky at a fast pace. Undaunted by his previous failure, Vahn pat Fenrirs head and said, "Im going to try something for a little while if you want to y around and catch fish. Everyone would be very happy if you caught a big catch, and Ill make sure to pamper you if you do well~." Hearing his words, Fenrirs eyes became sharp and she looked at the blissfully unaware fish as if they were already in her ws. Without any hesitation, she dove back into the water and swam around very quickly as she nabbed fish and tossed them out of the water. Compared to her earlier fault, she now looked like a seasoned pro that had been dive-fishing for twenty years... Vahn watched her for a short while before jumping into the water himself anding to rest at the middle of the river, firmly rooted to the bottom. He could currently hold his breath for hours if necessary, so he wasnt in any danger of asphyxiating any time soon as he took a wide stance with his feet against the bed of the river. The current was very strong, but Vahn could feel the water flowing smoothly around him while he was in his Xunw form so he was able to stand without being pushed back, at least for now. After focusing his mind, Vahn traced the flow of water elemental energy through his domain before once against pushing both of his hands forward in an effort to stop the water. This time, however, he didnttch on to arge section and instead tried to form a wall for a brief moment. Just as before, Vahn felt like he was hit by an unstoppable force as he was pushed back at the same speed as the flow of the river. It felt like he was trying to stop a mountain falling from the heavens and it seemed like an impossible feat to manage. However, Vahn had seen things like waterfall training and diverting the flow of a river in mana and he knew it should be possible. Even now, he was still able to hold his wall stably and it had caused the banks to be flooded slightly as a huge volume of water was disced after being dammed up by Vahn. Vahn eventually crashed into arge rock in the river and had a small hope he would be able to get some leverage before the rock was obliterated after his body felt a monumental pressure. For the millisecond before he was pushed further back, Vahn had resisted the flow of an entire river and it had immediately broken his wall. The only thing that kept his arms from shattering was the fact that his scales had shone with a vibrant ocean green as the force was dispersed into the water, discing thousands of gallons as a result of the massive explosion. However, even though his ability had activated, Vahn felt both of his arms had be numb so he jumped out of the river before plopping down on the bank and inspecting the damage. In total, he had seventeen microfractures in his bones while several blood vessels had exploded from the instantaneous pressure increase. Popping a [Senzu Bean] into his mouth, Vahn felt energy flow through his arms as the wounds instantly healed leaving small seque behind, but no actual damage. With his [Hands of Nirvana] and increased recovery rate, his body would naturally remove the aftereffects of the bean even without him doing anything. It wasnt like when he was Level 1 and his body couldnt properly filter the energy from the 50OP bean. The fact that it had such an effect for such a small price had resulted in Vahn purchasing a total of 1,000 of them, the majority of which were contained by a sack in his inventory. Looking out at the mighty river, Vahn gained an appreciation for the sheer might of mother nature and realized he wasnt yet ready to interfere with it, at least without making proper preparations. Vahn knew he would one day be able to manage the feat with proper mastery, so he intended to periodically return to the river in the future. Rather than simply erecting a wall, Vahn wanted to be able to stop the flow of the river for a short while within his entire domain. Hecked practice in influencing things far away from him, as it was much more difficult to target objects on the periphery of his domain than those that were much closer. For now, he decided to settle for something different as he stood on the bank of the river and watched Fenrir swim through water at nearly 90km/h, easily snatching up fish with her ws. After targetting a fish of his own, Vahn made a sweeping motion with his hand before the fish wasunched out of the river after being lifted by a small water spout. He then twisted his wrist and made a grabbing motion as he formed the spout into a sphere and sealed the sturgeon within. Unfortunately, his seal didnt seem very effective as the fish simply swam through his sphere before floundering about on the embankment as it tried to flop back into the water. Vahn dropped his hand to envelop the sturgeon again, this time forming the water sphere into a vortex by waving his right hand in a circr motion. This time, the sturgeon couldnt get its orientation to properly propel itself through the water and started spinning around with the disorienting current Vhan had created. Vahn once again tried to seal the fish within his sphere by trying to condense the water and increase the pressure. Even though it was in a liquid state, seemingly without any empty space, Vahn knew there were gaps between the individual molecules and he could control the elemental energy contained within to pel them closer together. Through the proper conversion method, this was how ice elemental could be formed and the orb quickly began to turn into a solid state starting by the outside icing over. After a few seconds, the sturgeon became trapped in a prison of ice as it swam around in a small circle against the 5cm thick ice and tried to break free. Since his experiment was both a minor sess and moderate failure, as he had tried to store the sphere into his inventory, Vahn moved onto his next experiment and froze the entirely of the orb this time. He was curious about being able to freeze organic objects before storing them away in his inventory, hoping that it might allow him to move living matter in the future. Unfortunately, this proved futile until the sturgeon eventually died from shock and exposure. Vahn actually earned a point of negative karma, which was somewhat understandable since he had caused it to suffer after tormenting it for his own personal interests. After storing it away in his inventory, Vahn moved over to the mountain of fish Fenrir had created and started killing the struggling survivors before throwing them into his inventory. This time, he didnt earn any karma at all, since putting a fish out its misery wasnt that great a feat. Vahn watched Fenrir swimming about and, the moment she was about to pounce on a fish, he slid his left foot forward before raising both palms toward the sky in a smooth arc. Instead of a spout, this time Vahn created a pir thatunched Fenrir up into the air as she fl.u.s.tered about in a confused manner. Before she fell back into the water, Vahn jumped atop a small ice tform he had made atop the pir and caught her before vanishing once again as the pir copsed. Fenrir shook her hair and fur, dispersing cold water all over his face and body, before asking, "Are we going~?" Vahn nodded his head and said, "You caught thirty-eightrge sturgeon, so Ill give you a thirty-eight-minute massageter." Fenrir immediately eyed more fish and fidgeted as she resisted the urge to catch even more. After drying off both of their bodies, Vahn let Fenrir ride his shoulders again before he vanished from the embankment with [Shundo]. They still had a fair distance to cover and it was already around 3 PM. He could easily run the distance within an hour but wanted to increase his [Shundo] proficiency by trying to dodge through the trees in small bursts. Thus, with Fenrir pulling on his hair like reins, Vahn dashed through the forest and quickly calcted his jumps before disappearing and reappearing a few dozen meters further along the path. Fenrir yanked on his hair slightly and yelled out in a voice simr to Tionas as she said, "Faster, Faster~!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir is a good girl...the best girl~! -spoken by Fenrir in Vahns voice,Survival of the Fittest,Waterbending Practice,Fenrir likes to ride her Master~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 518 - Nirvana

Chapter 518 - Nirvana

After his stint within the rtively peaceful forests, Vahn had returned to the Hearth Manor in a much better mood than he had departed from The ins. He spent the rest of the evening ying around with the youth troupe until eventually retiring to his room with Eina. She had been making a fair amount of progress in learning the basics for [Hands of Nirvana], though not quite enough to properly use the skill, so Vahn received a massage for her until he eventually fell asleep. This officially marked the end of his normalization period and was the small transition that meant it was time to return to work. Just like when he had been at the river, Vahns thoughts were constantly brought to his research and he had been slightly distracted whenever he wasnt with the girls. There were simply too many things he wanted to work on, starting with his prototype armor, more reliablemunication methods, and the growth weapons for Tina and Shizune. There was an even more important task he needed to tend to, however, which was inarguably more important than almost anything else. Eina had arranged things with Rose, Misha, and Mona so that she would be able to take the weekend off to undergo the Nirvana procedure. Not only would this ensure that her future childbirth problems would be solved, but there were several other things Vahn wanted to fix that he hadpiled into a small thesis for both Eina and Riveria to read. Riveria had received permission from Eina to attend the event and Vahn had been unable to refuse her after forgetting his previous promise to allow her to witness the naming ceremony, not that he truly minded her presence. Within the doc.u.ment, Vahn detailed some of the anomalous things he had found within Einas body through observation, primarily using her mother Aina as a baseline for how he would continue forward. Because she was a Half-Elf, Eina wasnt able to properly use mana because there were conflicts between the flow of mana in her body as a result of her shared heritage between Elves and Humans. Though there wasnt a big difference between the racial systems, it was enough to make casting magic a nigh-impossibility without an incredible amount of effort. She would have had to iste the individual flows and use them separately, something that was impossible for most people as they couldnt actually sense the difference between the mana at all. Vahn also described exactly how he nned to remedy the issue of childbirth for Half-Elves, which was slightly different than what he had seen in normal Elves. At least in the case of Ryuu, Vahn had seen that their body filters the vital energy within s.e.m.e.n to nourish the inside of their w.o.m.b to initiate the normal ovtion process. It would take constant nourishment topletely activate the body and there was a fair chance this would have to continue for a short while after the pregnancy was confirmed. The main reason why Elves had higher birth rates in the forest was that there was a greater amount of natural energy in the environment, including the vital energy they could naturally absorb into their bodies from the Sacred Trees within the area. For Half-Elves, the reason behind their infertility was once again rted to the differences between their Elf and Human halves. Einas body was still seeking nourishment from her partner, which wouldnt be a problem in the case of Vahn, but her body also couldnt properly regte the energy even after she received it. Instead of being contained within the w.o.m.b, the energy would slowly dissipate over time and this would inevitably result in the pregnancy bing a miscarriage. Vahn had several potential solutions to fix this, but he would be using Nirvana as a permanant measure by forcefullybining the two conflicting mana flows within her body using his source energy as a catalyst. When he used Nirvana, Vahn would be perfectly synchronizing his energy with Einas body, but this also meant that her mana would be intermingling with his pure source energy, a much higher form of energy than mana itself. Vahn was nning to bridge the two conflicting energies in her body by melding them together using his source energy. By the end of the procedure, Eina would technically be the only real Half-Elf in the entire world, except for a few naturally urring exceptions. This meant she would be able to use both the Elven and Human systems of magic in the future, though they wouldnt be nearly as strong as if she were a pure-blood of either race. She didnt really have any interest in learning magic though, so the only important thing was that there shouldnt be any problems with her future pregnancies. Thus, after spending two days working on his prototype armor and spending time with the girls, it was time for Eina to undergo Nirvana and Vahn had cleared up his entire schedule in preparation. Everyone in the Manor knew how important this moment was so, even if there were a problem in the Manor itself they would have to take care of it without Vahns presence. It was unlikely anything would happen, but they still made a few preparations like giving the construction workers the weekend off and having everyone stay home instead of wandering about the City. Though they hadnt gone out of their way to increase the tension by setting up a defensive line, everyone was still on hand to both serve as a deterrent against attacks and a failsafe for if something happened. After finishing their own preparations, Vahn, Eina, and Riveria made their way into his private forge located in the secret room attached to the Master bedroom. Other than Hephaestus workshop, this was the safest ce within the Manor itself and it would prevent any outside interference since Vahn was the only person with the activation key besides Hephaestus, Hestia, and Eina. Vahn set up the table he would be using as Eina nervously waited at the side in a bathrobe, clearly more than a little concerned about the changes she was going to experience in her own body. It was a little scary, imagining that someone would be shaping her body without her having any means of resistance, but she also ced a lot of trust in both Vahn and the nearby Riveria. Seeing Eina cast a nce at her, Riveria nodded her head slightly and said, "Vahn knows what he is doing and you are well aware of the significance behind this procedure. Just rx your body and, before you know it youll be up and about, ready to live the rest of your life in bnce." Eina smiled somewhat awkwardly at Riverias words and said, "I believe in Vahn...Im just worried about the changes a bit." Hearing Einas words, Vahn asked in aforting tone, "Is there anything youre specifically worried about...? If it isnt anything drastic, I can make small alterations..." Einaughed slightly before remarking, "If possible, I wouldnt want my appearance to change too much...the biggest worry I have is that Ille out looking younger than before and that my own little sister would end up looking like the eldest between us...hahaha~" Eina was only neen years old right now, so she was genuinely concerned she would look like a child after Vahn was finished. Though her height didnt really change, Tsubaki looked like she had regressed a good ten years...as for Eina, she didnt have ten years to spare... Vahn smiled, stifling an urge tough, before saying to the now bashful looking Eina, "You dont have to really worry about that, Eina. Your skin may look very revitalized, but your proportions wouldnt change much unless I proactively try to change them. If anything, you will look roughly the same age, but have a more refined look to your already incredible beauty...Im d I had the chance to marry you before since I imagine there would have been a lot morepetition had I used Nirvana on you at the start~." Eina puffed her cheeks slightly with a Muuuu before eventuallyughing along with Vahn as a healthy blush spread to her ears... After thest preparations were made, Eina stripped off her bathrobe and climbed on to the table with a lot of her nervousness having faded away. Vahn caressed her cheek lovingly before looking to Riveria and reminding, "From this point onwards, you must not interfere or disturb me regardless of any questions you may have..." They had already discussed the precautions previously, but Vahn still feltpelled to remind her. Riveria understood his concerns so she nodded her head without saying anything and just prepared to watch from the side. She would be allowed to move around and observe from up close, but she had to take all of her notes away from Vahn at a table that had been set up. Even if there was a negligible chance she would disturb him with her note-taking, it was too high. If she identally dropped her notebook or something, a momentarypse would be all it took for potentially devastating consequences. Vahn contracted his domain and brought his mind to an absolute state of focus as he ced his hands on Einas back and officially started the long process required toplete the procedure. He started off rxing each of Einas muscles while targetting the various nerve centers in her body carefully. By the time he was finished, Eina waspletely limp and couldnt even breath by how on volition, requiring Vahns assistance and the nourishment of his energy to sustain her life. Riveria watched this from the side with bated breath and understood, at least from a basic level, theplexity and danger of what Vahn was trying to do... After rxing her bodypletely, Vahn rubbed his hands together and the glow from his palms increased in intensity until it spreadpletely through his hands and up his forearms. This was the sign of using Nirvana and it made Vahn look almost divine in nature as he pressed his hands against the area above Einas heart and her lower back. Vahn watched attentively with his [Eyes of Truth] active to make sure that there were absolutely no abnormalities. At this point, he felt like he knew more about Einas body than his own, and it was almost like he was having an out-of-body experience as he carefully observed her interior. Eventually, the light had spread from Vahns hands into Einas body and Riveria got to see the somewhat terrifying sight of Vahns hand sinking into Eina. She had read the descriptions Vahn had provided, but seeing it in person waspletely different than reading a doc.u.ment on paper. It was somewhat difficult to even imagine the process, but this fundamentally proved that Vahns theory about magic was far more urate than this worlds current understanding. The fact that he could perfectly synchronize the mana within his own body, to the point where he could use it to revitalize and even reshape the body of another person was something unfathomable within the old system... By inserting his energy directly into her heart, Eina had slowly entered the sublime state of Enlightenment as the light spread through her body and nourished the trillions of cells contained within. Just as he had done with Tsubaki, Vahn began working from the inside to the outside, targetting the important marrow, bones, organs, muscles, veins, and even the fine capiries of her body. As Eina was still young, there werent many seque contained within her body at all, so Vahn didnt have to worry about undoing any damage she might have sustained. Instead, he immediately set about fixing the most important problems, starting withbining the two varying flows of mana within her body. Though it wasnt the same as the physical body, the mana body was perfectly linked together with the physical processes which meant that it could be influenced by altering the bloodflow and regting how the energy passed through the body. Vahn had ced his left hand on Einas lower back earlier with the intent of overwriting the mana in her body by diffusing his own source energy directly into the core of her mana contained around the navel. After inserting his index finger into the small vortex of mana, Vahn began to let his own source energy flow naturally into Einas body alongside the other bands of mana as they slowly intermingled with each other. Einas mana was a very gentle green in coloration, but there was a subtle blue contained within that made it look almost ethereal in nature. As for his source energy, it lookedpletely white at first but a thorough investigation would show that the core was actually rainbow-like inposition, being the amalgamation of all elements andprised ofws that Vahn couldnt even begin to understand. Einas own mana coiled around the bands of his source energy almost like they were drawn to it naturally and, after nearly three hours had passed, the color contained within her mana slowly began to fade until it settled on a translucent cyan color. Vahn confirmed that the two varying energies hadpletely bonded with each other before he allowed his source energy to naturally filter out of her body, as the only thing keeping it inside had been his guidance. Vahn released an almost inaudible sigh before all of the pores in his body opened and began to absorb the ambient energy within the air, including his own source energy that had escaped Einas body. His [Spirit Healing] had evolved into [Well of Spirit] after reaching S-Rank, and the replenishment of his own source energy could now be elerated slightly by the ambient energy from the void itself. Though his body was currently very hot, it made his skin feel cool as if there was an airflow pervading through his bloodstream before coalescing around his navel and condensing, somewhat inefficiently, into source energy. After nearly ten hours, Vahn hadpletely fusing the mana within Einas body, revitalized her blood marrow to ensure her natural recovery would be increased, strengthened her bones and removed any signs of microfractures, nourished her blood by infusing his source energy through her heart and allowing it to naturally spread, and cleansed her lungs of a small buildup of liquid that had spread into the alveoli, the microscopic air sacs the processed oxygen within the body. It might not have ever affected her, but Vahn wanted to prevent things like bronchitis and pneumonia from urring in the future due to temperature variations and infection... With the core structure of her body refined, Vahn started on the organs and muscles, ensuring that each important organ was in proper working words and being nourished by the mana in Einas body properly. This was also when he checked to make sure Einas w.o.m.b was in working order before inspecting the individual eggs contained within her ovaries to ensure they were healthy. Unlike Tsubaki, who had arge number of dead eggs, Einas seemed perfectly fine, albeit a littlecking in vitality. Vahn nourished them with his own energy for a short while before moving on to therger muscles of her body, what could be described as the reshaping process. Eina didnt want her body to change too much, which Vahn could understand as she was already a young and inarguably beautiful girl, so he just ensured that her muscles had improved flexibility so that she wouldnt experience muscle strains as easily in the future. She didnt do any heavy exercising, so there werent many things he needed to bnce out except for the muscles around her abdomen and the connecting muscles supporting her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Einas b.r.e.a.s.ts were still growing, but they had already be a healthy and pert B-Cup at this point. However, perhaps due to her diet andck of proper exercise, but the muscle tension had decreased marginally which made her b.r.e.a.s.ts curve slightly as they hung from her pectoral muscles. If they gotrger in the future, Eina might have to worry about saggingter in her life so Vahn nourished the muscles before ensuring that the nds within her b.r.e.a.s.ts were properly forming. It was almost imperceptible, but her left b.r.e.a.s.t was marginallyrger than her right so Vahn fixed it for her. As for her abdominal muscles, Vahn felt like Eina could probably benefit from doing a bit of stretching and proper exercise in the future. She had almost no discernable body fat, which seemed to be a trait she inherited from her Elven bloodline, but the tension of the muscles themselves and nerves were somewhat xpared to what Vahn considered normal. He couldnt imagine she would ever get fat, other than during pregnancy, but Vahn thought it help with her posture and prevent future back strains if he helped strengthen the muscles around her abdomen and lower back a bit. This required him to also work on all the surrounding muscle groups as well, to ensure everything was bnced and working together, but it would also guarantee that Eina wouldnt havemon aches and pains in her body unless she strained herself for long periods of time. By the time he had finished nourishing, strengthening, and massaging Einas muscles, spending perhaps too long on her somewhat small butt and long legs, twenty hours had passed and Vahn was feeling very taxed, not that his expression showed any signs of exhaustion orck of focus. Riveria had been watching from start to finish, even straining her own mind to process everything that was happening, so she had started to feel tired as well. When Vahn had been massaging Einas b.r.e.a.s.ts and butt, her brows had twitched slightly but she hadnt said anything for fear of actually disturbing him. She knew Vahns preferences well and had even thought about her own body on asion so, seeing him fondling the body of an unconscious Eina made her mind wander a bit. Riveria had seen the care it put into Einas butt and legs and wondered if she would have to experience something simr in the future... Vahn entered the final phase of Nirvana and was slowly returning Einas body to a natural state as he prepared to break her free from the state of Enlightenment. This was always one of the more awkward parts of the procedure because he needed to awaken her body and stimte all of her nerves simultaneously so they would all function properly. The only way to do this was to bring her down from Heaven and return her to Earth, which meant using the Heaven and Earth Convergence technique. Vahn quickly pressed each of Einas pressure points and nerve centers in reverse order before cing his fingers against the base of her neck and the end of her spine. He felt somewhat guilty but still brought his fingers together as powerful stimting energy spread through her body and caused her to convulse. Einas eyes immediately shot open and she released a silent shout for nearly twenty seconds beforeying limp against the table and breathing heavily, body still twitching about like all of her nerves were exposed to the air and salted. Vahn continued to scan her with his [Eyes of Truth] to ensure that all the nerves were firing properly, periodically touching some areas to make them activate in concert with the rest of her body. Unlike the previous incident with Tsubaki, Vahn still had a bit of energy to spare so he helped Eina calm down from the intense orgasm that wracked her entire body and whispered soothing words to rx her mind... Riveria watched Vahn use the Convergence of Heaven and Earth and it caused a fierce tremble to run through her body, almost as if she was experiencing the echoesing from Eina for herself. It was a little scary and made Riveria feel somewhat nervous to be in the same room as the two because Vahns care for Eina was strangely disconcerting to observe from the side. To distract herself, since the procedure seemed to beplete, she sat down at the table and began writing notes about everything she had witnessed. Though she could have done so during the procedure, Riveria didnt want to miss anything important so she had walked around and observed from start to finish. Using Vahns original outline as a guide, she began making notes of her own observations and wrote down several questions that she wanted to ask about the procedure. She also intended to observe Eina over the next few days, months, and even years since it was very important to doc.u.ment the long-term effects of such a ridiculous technique... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Important Matters,Eina, "Dont do anything weird..." -shortly before Vahn does all the things,Its not proper Science without doc.u.mentation~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 519 - Comparing Notes

Chapter 519 - Comparing Notes

Eina sat up from the table with Vahns help, feeling as though she were in apletely new bodypared to the past. She saw the fatigue in Vahns demeanor, his tired expression, and the incredible amount of concern he had in his eyes. Even though it was hard to understand what he had gone through, Eina knew Vahn had worked very hard so she showed a gentle smile and said, "Thank you, Vahn...you worked very hard. After this, let me take care of you for a while~." The reason why she had taken the entire weekend off, instead of just the day required, was so that she could adapt to the changes in her body and tend to Vahn, who she knew would be exhausted after the fact. Without Vahns support, it was a little difficult to even stand properly right now and it felt like every sensation, even the air against her skin, were somewhat sharp now. Vahn had set up a mirror for Eina to view herself and she immediately noticed various changes, fortunately, none too drastic. Her face hadnt changed much, except that herplexion had be lighter, but the rest of her body seemed a little offpared to her memory. She felt like her body was now more sculpted than it had been previously, with her b.r.e.a.s.ts appearing more visually appealing. There was a bit of difort around her armpits and around the side of her chest, but it felt more like tenderness than an actual ache or pain. The thing that stood out the most, other than the fact her skin seemed an entire shade fairer, was the tightness in her abdominal muscles. She could feel a tension in her stomach and, when she twisted her torso to inspect around her sides, Eina noticed the line of her stomach was more prominent than in the past. There was always a subtle crease in the past, because she dieted properly, but she seemed more fit now. However, her concerns about her belly flew to the back of her mind when she had turned to the side. Her butt had never been that big in the past but, though it wasnt really that small either, now it seemed fuller even though it didnt appear to have changed much. Eina touched her own rump with a bit of hesitation and felt it was somewhat more resistant than normal,pared to the somewhat plush feeling from the past... Vahn scratched the side of his cheek awkwardly and said, "When I was rebncing your muscles to make things easier for you in the future, I improved the flexibility and tension of your glutes and leg muscles. You may feel a bit of difort for a short while, but youll have a stronger foundation for the future if you want to start exercising and stuff..." Eina knew Vahn was telling the truth, but she could also see a bit of an apologetic look in his eyes. Instead of being upset, however, Eina showed a gentle, albeit somewhat bashful, smile as she said, "Its okay, Vahn...though I havent done it too often, I had been trying out Hephaestus exercisestely. This saves me a bit of trouble~." Though Vahn didnt believe he had a preference for butts, he knew it was always better to have more toned muscles and increased flexibility. People moved around on their feet, after all, so having stronger legs and developed glutes simply made life easier. Though his wasnt round like some of the girls, even Vahns butt was toned and solid because of how he moved around and fought. The biggest difference, however, was that the lines of Vahns body were very visiblepared to the girls and, though his muscles were strangely supple, it was easy to see the power contained within his figure. Even the stronger girls, like Tsubaki and Lili, only had muscles visible when they strained themselves whereas Vahns were always clearly defined. After confirming the changes to her body, Eina was relieved that there hadnt been any drastic changes like what she had expected to happen. Other than her body feeling incredibly sensitive, the only strangeness she felt was an urge to stretch and a bit of difort as a result of the subtle changes in the structure of her bones and muscles. ording to Vahn, most of the sensations would fade away after a day or two, but the sensitivity could persist for up to two weeks depending on her exertions. It was actually better if she moved around and stretched often over the next two weeks so that her muscles didnt tense up in a strange manner because she was unwilling to use them. Vahn gave Eina the clothing that had been prepared for her before they sat down with Riveria and all started eating a meal. It had been slightly under twenty-three hours since the procedure began, and none of them had eaten during that entire time. During the meal, Riveria had asked about the specifics and if there had been anyplications during the procedure. Vahn exined the subtleties of what he had done, including the fact that he had sessfully merged the mana within Einas body, revitalized her egg cells, and removed any signs of disease or illness that had started to take root in her body as a result of her being a Half-Elf. Because of the abnormality in their mana, most Half-Elves had medicalplicationster in life, even though the majority could easily live over a hundred years if they lived near the forests. This was one of the reasons why the High Elf elitists forced Half-Elves to serve at the Iron Hills, home of the Dwarves, as it would guarantee that they were short-lived... Eina listened to Vahns exnations while Riveria made addendums to her notes and asked several more questions about each process. Toward the end of their meal, Einas expression had be somewhat pensive and she suddenly said, "Vahn, it may be a lot to ask right now, but Id like you to help my younger sister in the future when she finally gets married or falls in love." Hearing her request, Vahn didnt think about his answer at all and simply nodded his head and said, "Ill take care of it, Eina. Just let me know when she needs my help and Ill do my best." Right now, Einas sister was only fourteen so there were likely many years before it would be a cause for concern. However, bringing it up right after she learned about the changes in her own body was somewhat expected and understandable. After all, it was a very significant thing to be cured of the problems that gued most Half-Elves, especially those rted to infertility. With the topic shifting slightly, Vahn pulled out one of his own private journals and showed it to the two girls as he exined, "Ive been thinking of a device that would help High Elves, Elves, and potentially even Half-Elves conceive in the future. The fundamental issue seems to be rted to theplications with ovtion and ensuring that the egg is properly nourished during pregnancy. Likely as a result of the fact they descended from nt Spirits, Elves are dependant on natural energies, such as wood elemental energy, water elemental energy, nt energy, and, most importantly, life elemental energy..." Riveria nodded her head and added, "Many Elves also have an affinity with Air and Light..." Vahn made a small correction in his notes before exining, "I got the idea from the mana batteries Ive created and figured it would be possible to create a band or belt that would be able to wrap around the abdomen and absorb specific elements from the environment. It would likely require a formation to be inscribed in the body as well, but there is a good chance it would be able to provide a permanant solution without requiring me to perform Nirvana on millions of people. By having the w.o.m.b nourished by the band, you can trigger ovtion with external mana and then the belt would be able to protect the fetus as it develops over time..." Vahn had gotten the idea after sewing formations into fabrics and saw the belly bands that were worn by the pregnant women. It was a minor epiphany and he figured it would be a pretty practical solution since it was possible for skilled enchanters, cksmiths, and even those with the [Mystery] Development Ability to reproduce them. Riveria had a strong foundation in formations, so she knew it was possible to draw in energy from the environment. However, such things typically required a catalyst like a magic core to actually function and it was very difficult to inscribe formations into the body of a person. If it were such a simple thing, mages would likely be covered in runes so that they can replenish their mana reserves and cast even more spells. Though it wasnt unheard of at all, it was very rare due to the difficulties involved. Knowing this didnt actually worry her too much though, because she was confident Vahn would also find a solution for that as well. In just a short six months he had already identified the problem and had made headway on several potential solutions, something that schrs had struggled with for thousands of years previously... Within Vahns notes, there was a diagram of the band Vahn had been thinking of and Riverias mind stalled a bit because she could see that the temtes he used to draw the designs were herself and Lefiya. Even though it wasnt that detailed, Riveria could easily tell that the image was of her and it made her brow twitch slightly. This made it seem like Vahn was nning to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e her in the near future, perhaps as a means of testing if the belt actually worked properly. Though it was subtle, her face began to turn red and she noticed that Vahn had flinched slightly as he gave her a strange look. Because of his ability to see auras, she knew he could sense the change and it made her a little annoyed seeing him turn slightly fl.u.s.tered. Eina had also noticed the image and blushed slightly because it was difficult to imagine someone as noble as Riveria wearing nothing but a small pendant around her belly. Because Vahn had been thinking of stylish designs, Riverias looked like a silver belt that loosely hugged the waist and rested slightly below the navel. There was a diamond-shaped pendant in the center that had a red gemstone encrusted in it. They werent aware of it, but that gemstone was a blood crystal that Vahn had been working on developing. He also knew a catalyst was necessary to help the bands function and he couldnt think of a material better at absorbing mana than his own blood. Unfortunately, all of his attempts to make his blood crystalize while being exposed to the air had failed thus far. To ease the awkward atmosphere that had started to permeate through the room, Vahn tried to continue the conversation without drawing attention to the diagram any longer. Fortunately, both Eina and Riveria also wanted to move on so they continued the conversation along with him, even though it was still a little tense. Riveria, especially, kept looking through Vahns notes on the subjects he was researching before copying a few of them in her own journal. Most of the information in the text he had given her was rted to his studies on High Elves, Elves, and Half-Elves, so it was all very interesting to her, even though his subject for High Elven studies was none other than she herself. This was both helpful and troublesome at the same time because it meant she could easily understand the information, as it pertained to her, but also showed that Vahns knowledge of her body far exceeded her own... After nearly an hour-and-a-half, Vahn was beginning to feel the effects of his fatigue and also noticed that Riveria was quite tired. She had been up watching him the entire time, so it made sense that she required rest and rxation to process everything. Vahn had already answered most of her questions, so there were plenty of things she could ruminate over in private even without his presence. After releasing a short yawn, Vahn smiled apologetically and said, "Even though my energy has almost replenished, my mind and body still need rest so I can function properlyter on. Ill go ahead and take my leave now, and Ill suggest that you also rest when you can, Riveria. Its not good for your body if you strain yourself, and it is much easier to process things when your mind is refreshed." Hearing Vahn mention her body, Riverias brow twitched but she still showed polite smile before grabbing her staff and saying, "Very well, Ill leave you two lovebirds to your own devices. And dont worry, Ill inform everyone outside what has happened so you should be able to rest without worrying." Right now, they were within Vahns private forge, which was connected to his room, so, while Vahn said he was going to take his leave, it was actually Riveria that would need to exit the room. Everyone was probably still in an alert status within the Manor, so it was a good idea to exin things so they could rx. On her way out, Vahn and Eina escorted her to the door before allowing Fenrir, who had been camping outside, toe in. When Fenrir saw Eina, she tilted her head slightly and let her ears flop as she said, "Eina has be more beautiful with Masters help..." Hearing Fenrirspliment, Eina giggled before patting her head and saying, "That is very kind of you to say, Fenrir. Thank you very much~." Fenrir bobbed her head in affirmation before asking, "Will you sleep now, Vahn? Fenrir came tofort you~." Everyone had been talking about how difficult the process of Nirvana was, especially with Tsubaki, Naaza, and Lili there to affirm things. They had even expected that he might pass out right after the procedure, so Fenrir had been waiting to watch over him while he couldnt protect himself. Vahn stroked Fenrirs head alongside Eina and said, "Yes, Eina and I were going to take a long rest." before turning to Eina with a questioning look. She understood what he wanted to ask so she smiled and said, "Fenrir, since you are such a good girl, would you like to stay with us for a while?" Since she and Vahn werent actually going to be doing any a.d.u.l.t things right now, especially given how tired he is and how sensitive her body was, Eina didnt mind having Fenrir sleep with them. After all, Fenrir was actually very cute and her hair was very soft to the touch, assuming you avoided the bristly ends. She also had a very high body temperature so she was veryfortable to hug in the rtively cool atmosphere of Vahns bedroom. Without any hesitation whatsoever, Fenrir nodded her head and raised one of her paws in affirmation before shouting, "Fenrir will stay and protect Vahn and Eina~!" Though she didnt mind simply sleeping with the two, Fenrirs highest priority was actually just watching over her Master when he lost consciousness. After exerting himself greatly, she knew his perception would take a big hit and this would leave him temporarily exposed. She trusted the other girls to protect her Master as well, but not more than she trusted in herself. Besides, she knew that Eina was very close to her Master and there were lots of things she could learn from her... After things were decided, Vahn ended upying face-first on his bed as Eina taught Fenrir all of the massage techniques she had been learning. Fenrir couldnt replicate them, as paws and ws werent the most appropriate tools for the job, but it was still very interesting for the wolf girl since she could see how happy her Master was. Since Fenrir was kind of like his fort or therapypanion, while Eina was one of the girls he was most fortable with, Vahn quickly dozed off with a happy, albeit tired, smile on his face. Eina and Fenrir noticed his sleeping expression and both girls had smiles that were somewhat soft and caring, even though Fenrirs was a little possessive at the same time. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Another butt sculpted by the Godhand,Riverias awareness...,Fenrir will protec the Master (O,...,O)~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 520 - Groove

Chapter 520 - Groove

Though not nearly as much as Tsubakis, Einas change caused a slight stir within the Manor when she finally made her appearance. It was a little strange, because she now appeared more mature yet youthful at the same time, almost like she was something more than she had been previously. The biggest reaction hade from Misha, who had been friends with Eina ever since they attended the School together, and Rose, who had known Eina ever since she first started working at the Guild. Everyone had heard to rumors of Vahns skill, but seeing it affect someone they knew personally was always a big impact. When sheter appeared at dinner, Misha was even interested in going through the procedure herself, willing to pay a hefty sum if necessary, but Vahn declined with a polite smile, much to the pink-haired girls dismay... After his rest period, Vahn started the new week with a hot start by making some major alterations to his schedule. He still watched the morning training sessions and helped in the girls education, but he had also arranged it so that he could go on morning walks with Anubis and Nanu around their rather unique Manor. As it was somewhat popr to design a Familias main residence after the theme they originated from, Anubis had requested the core of her Manor to be like a pyramid. The surrounding corridors were rtively normal, but just seeing a massive white and gold pyramid was quite the sight to behold. Perhaps she had taken their walks into consideration, but Anubis also had a hedge maze and garden in the back where they could have some degree of privacy since she was fond of using a leash. Nanu had known about it and made a simr request, but Vahn wasnt toofortable with the idea of walking a young girl around on a leash and asked her to wait until she was older. During his work block, Vahn had been spending all of his time working on the prototype armor for the girls and, in an effort to spend more time with them, Vahn had been inviting girls directly into his workshop to assist him. With a few exceptions, everyone was okay with helping him and it wasnt rare to see scantily d young women within his workshop as he drew temporary markings on their bodies. Instead of just basing it on his mental imaging, Vahn would have the girls pose so he could better ount for how their bodies contorted and ovepped in certain areas, especially around the h.i.p.s, thighs, arms, and b.r.e.a.s.ts. He wanted to avoid situations where pinching would ur since the whole point of the armor was to be asfortable as possible. As the armor had initially been designed using her as a base, Vahnsmon assistant ended up being Ais, something she seemed especially fond of. Having her within his workshop wearing nothing but a thin pair of panties was a bit of a distraction, but Vahn didnt mind it too much as she wasnt a troublemaker. The more troublesome girls had been Lili, Tiona, Tione, and, perhaps most troublesome of all, Haruhime and the everpresent Shirohime. Shirohime spent most of her time lingering around him, fortunately having enough awareness not to interfere when he was working, while the rest of her time was spent generally being held by Haruhime. When he had been doing Haruhimes measurements, Shirohime had been very boisterous and clingy because she seemed to be the most upset when Haruhime was being pampered without him pampering her at the same time. The most cooperative two ended up being Tina and Shizune, apanied by Mn and Chloe, as Vahn took their measurements and prepared flexible armor that would be able to amodate their future growth. Tina was still a rather bashful girl with strong sensibilities, but she had calmed down a lot and was proactively trying to act more like an a.d.u.l.t nowadays. As for Shizune, she technically was an a.d.u.l.t if solely based on how long she had lived, but had a bit of childishness in her. However, she had also been behaving welltely and hadnt been trying to tease him, especially when Tina and Mn were around. Vahn could see that the bond between the girls had strengthened in the month he had been away, likely because he hadnt been around to trigger her bad behavior. After the first work block in his schedule, Vahn had a few hours during the second block where he was supposed to rx so he had been going to the garden area, predominately with Naaza, Lili, Ryuu, and Fenrir, but sometimes apanied by Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya. They still spent a lot of their free time together and both Tiona and Tione had be especially clingy after the previous event. However, though they stuck to him whenever they had the opportunity, Tione had mellowed out an incredible amount and was a lot less stressed. She smiled more often and seemed to be getting along with Tiona more as well, so Vahn was happy to see the change. The person that enjoyed the time in the garden the most, however, was Terra, the original reason Vahn had decided to spend his afternoons there. He was very interested in her general physiology and the way she could manipte the entirety of the natural energies, with a special influence over Life, Nature, and Earth elemental energies. She was the key to increasing his own understanding in the rtively rare affinities and was also the most importantponent for ensuring his idea about making the fertility band was a sess. Since she was able to absorb energy through her wings and scales, Vahn had originally gotten the idea from her as it was the perfect solution to the problem faced by the Elves. Riveria, Ryuu, Lefiya, and even Eina all seemed to have a natural affinity towards her as well and Vahn had even seen Riveria and Terra having tea with each other. Because Elves were fond of nature, simply being around Terra was very pleasant for them and both Riveria and Ryuu likened her existence to a Tree of Life itself. Terra also got along well with them, though the primary focus she had in life seemed to be Vahn. Because of the treatment that Fenrir enjoyed, Terra had no sense of distance at all when it came to Vahn and was a bit clever by nature. Vahn always had a weakness for more mature girls, so she handled him somewhat easily and got him to pamper her in exchange for assisting him with his experiments. In order to take samples from her, Vahn had to secure them himself while simultaneously assisting with her grooming. She had taken baths with everyone, but it was somewhat difficult for her to clean her wings and the scales around her back on her own. Vahn would end up using a fibrous dry cloth tob through her individual feathers, ounting for a total of 25,018 unique feathers. Each feather had very fine barbs and the vane was almost wless, making them appear to be solid even though they wereprised of several thousand individual barbs. This made her wings waterproof which was the main reason she needed to groom them and, as she had a habit of cing her wings on the grass itself, it was a constant problem. Fortunately, though she was a bit high maintenance, Vahn had learned a great deal from Terra and she had even allowed him to pluck some of her feathers for study. He also took samples of her blood, which was a very valuable material from most dragons, and was allowed to take some of her scales, all of which was done in her dragon form. Vahn discovered that her feathers, as long as there was something to trigger the mechanism, acted like antennae for absorbing and emitting natural energies. If he set them into a formation that would circte and store mana, it was actually rtively simple to .u.mte small amounts of energy over time. The biggest problem with the feathers is that the process was rtively slow and the feathers would wilt away like a dying leaf without proper nourishment themselves. As for Terras blood, it was the best possible ink to use for drawing formations into fabric as it was incredibly conductive and served as a perfect conduit to transmit mana. It also had a unique golden color when it was exposed to light so it was quite nice to look at. However, Vahn didnt n to use it very often because he really didnt like treating his subordinates as resources to exploit. Unlike Fenrir, who would always regenerate perfectly, and Fafnir, whose scales were actually governed by a strangew he didnt quite understand, Terra had to regrow her feathers and scales the old-fashioned way unless Vahn returned her into her magic core state. None of them actually liked being a magic core, describing it as a constrictive and lonely, so Vahn didnt have any intentions of trying to exploit them, even if it would be highly beneficial to do so. For the third block in his day, Vahn would spend it studying and spending time with the girls within the Manor. They had originally been doing lessons in the morning, when everyone was taking breaks from training, but it was decided that everyone that was interested in the subjects would simply attend sses three times a week. Vahn and Riveria were often the people teaching the sses, but there were a few taught by Lefiya, Naaza, Chloe, and even Haruhime, who taught things like etiquette, sewing, and tea ceremony. There were also some private lessons on the days Vahn was doing his research, where Haruhime helped educate some of the more curious girls... The biggest topic that was discussed, at least when Vahn was teaching, were things like cultivating your mentality, believing you can perform specific deeds, and imaging training. Vahn knew that the only thing required for the development of the soul, other than training and putting in effort, was a simple matter of perspectivebined withprehension ofws. Though he couldnt inform everyone of the rare skills they had, Vahn used the examples set by Maemi, Emiru, Haruhime, Lili, Tsubaki, and, surprisingly, Chloe. They all had to go through a shift in their perspective, often rted to powerful emotions or oveing mental burdens, but they each had awakened their rare skills. As an extreme example, Vahn even revealed the existence of his [Petting] Development Ability to show how perspective andprehension could even create entirely new abilities... To check the progress of everyone trying to put his theory to the test, Vahn often checked and updated Status Boards, during which he had been able to see the parameters and abilities of Chloe, Arnya, and Lunoire. Chloe had already awakened her Innate, [Cheshire Cat] but, for reasons unknown, it didnt appear on her Status Board normally so it had gone undetected before Vahn noted it. However, the biggest surprise Vahn had received came in the form of Arnyas parameters and skills, which had exceeded his expectations a great deal... (A/N: Im not going to put the descriptions formon skills/magic/abilities (UwU)~!) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Chloe Lolo LV. 4(+) POW:???? (G219)->(G225) END:???? (G204)->(G207) DEX:???? (C698)->(B706) AGI:???? (B701)->(B711) MAG:???? (F372)->(F376) Skills: [Cheshire Cat:E], [Stealth:A], [Featherfoot:A], [Masking:B], [Backstab:S], [Silent Strike:A] Magic: [Pheles Cruz:B] Development Abilities: [Abnormal Resistance:A], [Mixing:B], [Escape:B] [Masking] Rank: B Use: Temporary masks the scent of the user and makes them untraceable through normal methods. (Active Trigger) [Backstab] Rank: S Use: Attacks dealt from behind have a guaranteed chance to deal a critical strike. (Active Trigger) [Silent Strike] Rank: A Use: Causes attacks to carry no sound during movements. (Active Trigger) [Pheles Cruz] Rank: B Use: Creates mirages of the user that move ording to the users will. Chant: y Around~! [Escape] Rank: B Use: Exponentially increases movement speed while running away from an enemy. The higher the degree of stress, the greater the efficacy of this ability. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Lunoire Faust LV. 4(+) POW:???? (B703)->(B705) END:???? (C678)->(C682) DEX:???? (D511)->(D514) AGI:???? (D523)->(D526) MAG: I0 Skills: [Alks Mara:Innate(sealed)], [Phantom Left:B], [Illusory Right:B], [Knockout Blow:A], [Dragon w:C] Magic: - Development Abilities: [Fist Strike:A], [Crush:C], [Fist Fighter:B] [Phantom Left] Rank: B Use: Issue a strike with the left hand faster than the eye can follow. (Active Trigger) [Illusory Right] Rank: B Use: Distorts space around the right arm to make an unpredictable strike. (Active Trigger) [Knockout Blow] Rank: A Use: Punches have a high chance of ignoring defense. [Dragon w] Rank: C Use: Greatly increases grip strength. (Active Trigger) [Fist Fighter] Rank: B Use: Increases proficiency in all striking techniques using fists. Increases critical hit rate. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Arnya Fromel LV. 4(+) POW:???? (C630)->(C632) END:???? (E419)->(E420) DEX:???? (B835)->(B841) AGI:???? (B809)->(B812) MAG:???? (H116)->(H117) Skills: [Nike:Innate(sealed)], [Disorienting Strike:A], [Axis Thrust:A], [Featherfoot:A], [Meteor Swarm:A], [Draft:A], [Limit Breaker:B], [War Cry:B] Magic: [Spear of Lugh:Innate(sealed)], [Indomitus:H] Development Abilities: [Abnormal Resistance:B], [Spearman:A], [Chain Attack:A] [Disorienting Strike] Rank: A Use: Attack that disorients the opponent and causes confusion. (Active Trigger) [Axis Thrust] Rank: A Use: Thrust dealt from an awkward angle using the h.i.p.s as a pivot to break through an opponents guard. [Meteor Swarm] Rank: A Use: A series of thrusts with a highly prative effect. Each sessive thrust is stronger than the previous and has increased critical strike chance. Continuous thrusts reduce Endurance and rapidly deplete stamina. (Active Trigger) [Draft] Rank: A Use: Increases the bodys ability to take in oxygen. Enhances all parameters with a massive boost to Agility. [Limit Breaker] Rank: B Use: Removes the natural limiter of the body and doubles parameters for a short period of time. Causes severe damage to the muscles, bones, and even organs of the user if overused. [War Cry] Rank: B Use: Issue a loud cry that can reduce the opponents parameters while temporarily increasing the users. [Indomitus] Rank: H Use: Greatly increases all senses at the expense of proper judgment. Chant: Cut Loose, Spirit of the Wild~! [Spearman] Rank: A Use: Greatly increases proficiency and understanding of spear techniques. Improves spatial awareness and bnce. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not only did Arnya have numerous skills, but she had nearly reached mastery with the majority of them while also possessing several means of increasing her parameters. Vahn had already known she could fight on par with Level 5s, even though she was currently Level 4, but he hadnt expected her Status to be quite so...unique. The fact that she had two Innates, including one that was rted to a Goddess of Victory, showed that her potential was much higher than most people. She had been a prodigy ever since she was a child, and it became very apparent to Vahn why this was the case... --- For nearly an entire week, Vahns schedule had continued in this manner and he had felt like things had begun to stabilize. He was expecting to have his prototype finished within the next 5-7 days, and his rtionsh.i.p.s with many of the girls had entered a peaceful and fun period where he got to spend time with them normally instead of intimately. He still spent most evenings with several girls at a time, but it was nice to be able to spend quality time with them away from the bed. Things had developed to the point where he could almost casually cuddle, hold hands, and even simply talk with the girls, sometimes several at once. This often took ce while he was either petting, grooming, or, as it was often called, pampering the girls. If he had to me anyone for this change, it would have been Terra, Fenrir, and Haruhime, all girls who proactively sought his caretaking and grooming. Unfortunately, things couldnt always continue in such a peaceful manner and there were several things that Vahn needed to take care of in preparation for the future and to prevent problems from urring. Loki hadnt been around the Manor almost the entire week and, when she showed up in the afternoon on Monday, she did so with two other Goddesses in tow, Demeter and Eirene. Vahn had been nning on going to inspect his clubhouse and make the rounds to talk with his friends, so he had been caught a little off guard by the sudden appearance, especially since he had expected a forewarning from the girls on thework... Seeing Vahns confusion, Lokiughed in a somewhat mischevious manner and said, "You said to bring them around on a weekday and I already saw there was a gap in your schedule today~. We had been eating lunch at a cafe discussing matters of the Alliance and decided to stop by since you werent busy, shishishishi~." Though he had been somewhat surprised, Vahn wasnt really upset and simply smiled in response to Loki before petting her head and saying in a gentle, "You havent been aroundtely. I was actually nning to stop by if you didnt visit in the next few days..." Loki yfully licked her lips before leaning forward and saying, "You know, Ive been waiting for you to visit me at the Twilight Manor every night...I have a lot of outfits I think youd like..." Vahn was very tempted by the offer but turned his eyes down to the slightly bulging belly of Loki and felt like that was a little dangerous, for a variety of reasons. She seemed to realize his thoughts as her eyes opened slightly as a too-wide grin appeared on her face and she said, "There are few things I havent been able to try in my life...I think it would be fun to y dress up and have pregnant s.e.x...kukukuku~." Vahn felt a tremble down his spine at Lokis words before biting the bullet and saying, "Ill stop by in the future...maybe this weekend..." He figured that it would be better to get it out of the way early before Loki tried convincing him to have s.e.x with her during her third trimester. Just imagining the somewhat thin and petite goddess with an overge belly made him feel strangely nervous... Though they had been whispering, Demeter had known Loki for a very long time and could tell by Vahns reaction that they were flirting with each other. She squinted with her droopy orange eyes before running her fingers through her honey-colored hair and saying, "Ara, ara, I wonder if were disturbing~? Perhaps we shoulde backter~?" As for Eirene, she simply stood in silence with a small smile on her very kind looking face. Her cid blue eyes and light-blue hair gave her an air of infallible elegance and almost ethereal beauty that was somewhat offset by the fact she wore a ceremonial white b.r.e.a.s.tte and carried a sword at her hip affixed to a golden sash. Loki didnt seem to mind Demeters question that much and just waved her hand dismissively and said, "Nah, its fine~. Its better to deal with matters like this sooner rather thanter. Besides, I dont imagine the talks will go on for very long. Lets just enjoy some tea and get to know each other better for a little while~." Vahn also nodded and smiled to the two before bowing politely and saying, "Wee to the Hearth Manor, Demeter, Eirene...it is a pleasure to be able to meet you again. As I had yet to thank you for your assistance and celebrate your joining the Alliance, please allow me to do so now." Demeter cupped her mouth andughed in a strangely sensual manner with watery eyes, even though her aura was stable. She opened her droopy eyes a little and said, "My, youre a very polite boy, Vahn. It was unfortunate that I hadnt been able to speak with you much during the wedding, but Id like to get to know you better in the future. I heard from one of my children that you did a great service for them, so I still owe you a debt of gratitude for that~." Vahn epting the Guilds request and quickly discovering that the culprit was a Griffin had already spread through the City. The fact that he defeated it less than an hour after starting the investigation,bined with the fact that he didnt ept a reward for his aplishment, were popr topics in the pubs these days. Waiting for Demeter to finish, Eirene blinked slowly before returning Vahns bow as a courtesy and saying, "It is an honor to be associated with such a capable young man. I may have to rely on you in the future, so please forgive me for any mild sleights as Im unustomed to dealing with men in the mortal world." Eirene was in no way a promiscuous woman and had very few partners even in Heaven, so she was somewhat deferential to Vahn given his status as a Sage, the heroic feats he often performed, and his various aplishments that set him apart from normal people. He also had a noble character so she had seriously considered the matter before deciding to rely on him. Loki cackled quietly before saying, "Well, its boring to just stand around talking like this, so lets move to the Guest Residence and party~!" Even though it was early in the afternoon, Loki had absolutely no qualms about drinking the alcohol Vahn would undoubtedly provide. Under her insistence, Vahn escorted Loki by holding her arm as Eirene and Demeter followed close behind them. Vahn hadnt missed the inference in Eirenes words, so he assumed Loki had already brought up the matter to them. Considering they had left their escorts outside, it was highly likely both goddesses had already started to prepare themselves for the future. Vahn wasnt too fond of the idea of having children with people he didnt know, but he also understood it was sometimes necessary to make concessions for the benefit of everyone. He wasnt the maniptive type so, even if he wasnt too fond of Freya, he would still eventually give her what she desired simply to avoid discrediting his own integrity. However, even if he did have children with goddesses he didnt love, Vahn would always insist that they are raised in the security of the Hearth Manor. He wanted to be involved in his childrens lives and ensure they reach a.d.u.l.thood safely, which was somewhat easier for the Vanir, as they reached maturity in a short five years... Demeter was a very buxom and mature woman that seemingly had a kind, albeit somewhat airheaded disposition. She also had b.r.e.a.s.ts that rivaled Hestias in size and was a well-known and influential goddess that ran charities and soup kitchens to provide food to the less fortunate. Her Familia contributed to nearly 80% of the produce eaten within the City and she spent nearly 30% of her Familias earning on feeding the poor. As for Eirene, Vahn couldnt help but feel strangely unnerved by her because she was obviously a very kind goddess but seemed to be a bit inflexible at the same time. As a goddess of Peace, Order, and Longevity, she was by nature impartial and fair to everyone. However, this didnt mean she wouldnt enact Justice and Vahn felt like she was a bit zealous as a result of her Divinities. She looked at him with a somewhat reverential gaze and Vahn felt a bit of pressure from her expectations... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Terra is trying to unlock the [Tamer] ability...,Arnya is the MC,Unexpected Visit~?) (A/N: I know some people arent fond of the idea of Vahn having children with goddesses like Freya, Demeter, or Eirene. This is actually not wrong, even though it is a bit of a bias, but know that context is very important for matters like this. Vahn is obviously the type that cares deeply about his children, so it isnt a matter of him simply having children to appease and use people. He is trying to build an organization with the goal of literally changing the foundation and status quo of the entire world. Having strong and reliable allies is invaluable and you have to realize that many goddesses would much rather have a Vanir, once their existence is known, than an ordinary child. It would potentially put tension on the Alliance in the future if the important goddesses in the group wanted such a child and were unable to receive it. Besides,pared to Freya, both Demeter and Eirene are very kind goddesses that would make capable mothers (UwU)~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 521 - Luncheon With Three Goddesses

Chapter 521 - Luncheon With Three Goddesses

Though there were only threerge rooms in the Guest Residence, the interior was furnished with expensive decor that was intended to make the esteemed guests that would visitfortable. Many people would take offense to the fact that they couldnt enter the Hearth Manor itself, so the construction of the Guest Residence had been taken very seriously and Vahn had recently even stocked it with a variety of expensive beverages and pastries that couldnt be found anywhere else in the world. As for the food that would be offered, that was also provided by Vahn but would be taken from his Inventory or purchased through the system shop. The front room was a massive parlor for casual discussions while there was a back room for private dealings. The room on the second floor, however, was one massive room that had been designed with purefort in mind and thevish sofas were so plush you would sink several centimeters into the cushions when you sat down. There was, of course, the secret room down below, which could only be essed from the back room, but it was still waiting for repairs after the climactic battle between the Sage Aldrnari and the Hiryute Sisters... Demeter and Eirene were both friends and important members of the Alliance, so Vahn escorted them to the upper floor where they could rx and discuss mattersfortably. When they arrived, Eirene looked around the room and gave a curt nod without saying anything while Demeterughed gently and said, "My, this room looks like something youd expect from a pce in the Far East~." As Vahn was fond of Far Eastern design, his idea offort reflected his tastes and there were various pieces of artwork that spread around. Vahn gestured to the sofas and had Demeter and Eirene, even though theter wasfortable with standing, sit down so they could talk morefortably. He set out a sample tray of snacks and asked, "What kind of drinks do the two of you prefer?" Demeter giggled and said, "Ill be fine with anything, though Im fond of warm milk with honey~." Eirene squinted her eyes slightly in a thoughtful expression before saying, "I would prefer a hard cider or simply water if it is an inconvenience." Vahn looked through his system shop and asked, "Is there a specific type of cider you like?" Eirene seemed to be a bit confused because the only types of ciders she knew of were apple-based. She had no way of knowing Vahns selection of ciders was functionally infinite, including varieties from records where an apple wasnt quite the same as the apples she knew of. Eirene tilted her head slightly before saying, "I will leave it to you, as I do not wish to be an inconvenience." Loki, however, waved her hand and said, "You dont have to be like that, Eirene. You know full well what kind of pseudo-divinities Vahn has at this point. As long as its something he can think of, he can probably create something entirely brand new. Though, I suppose leaving it to his discretion is actually a good choice~? Kekekeke-" When they had joined the Alliance as official members, Hephaestus, Loki, and Hestia had informed the goddesses about some of Vahns capabilities after having them swear vows. They were a little resistant at first, but seeing that even Freya had been epting of the idea they eventually eded. Vahn had heard the emphasis Loki ced on her words so he understood she was informing him of some matters he may not have been aware of. He nodded his head slightly before picking a random cider from his shop that was worth 10,000OP. It was a bit expensive, but this was a special asion and making a strong impression was always more preferable. After all, Eirene was already their ally but there was a good chance she would bear his child within the next 8-10 months. She seemed like a kind girl, but Vahn still wanted to get to know both her and Demeter better before he went through with his decision. When Vahn pulled arge bottle of cider out of thin air, Eirenes eyes became sharp for a brief moment before a smile appeared on her face and she epted it from his hands. Though it would be polite to pour it for her, Vahn intended it as a gift and it designated them as equals if she were allowed to pour it for herself. Lokiughed in a somewhat scary manner before saying, "Id like at least one cup of wine, Vahn~!" Vahn knew it was possible for gods to filter out alcoholpletely, which would allow them to drink as much as they want, but he still shook his head and said, "Think of our daughter, Loki. Your body may be fine, but we have no way of knowing how it would influence the child in your stomach during your pregnancy..." Lokis smile froze a little before sheughed awkwardly and said, "Fine, fine, Ill just have tea then~." Loki didnt want to mention that she hadnt really cut back on the alcohol too much, though she had made sure that it was properly dealt with by her body instead of letting it be processed naturally through her bloodstream. Gods didnt produce waste at all, and most of the things they didnt allow to happen would be filtered out by their bodies in much the same way as Vahn. If she wanted to, she could drink a kegrger than herself without gaining any weight at all, though there would be a powerful aroma of alcohol in the air as her body filtered it out of her system. After everyone had something to drink, Vahn took a sip of his coffee and savored the aroma for a short while before smiling and saying, "Ill be honest, Im not entirely sure how to start off a conversation when ites to matters like this. I believe you both have already discussed the matter with Loki, Hephaestus, and Hestia, correct?" The one to answer his question was Eirene, who nodded inly before calmly saying, "Yes, as it would be an affront to the girls close to you if we had selfish motives, we have discussed the matter in detail several times. Our meeting with Loki was the third time we have discussed it within thest week." Though Vahn felt slightly relieved, Eirenes words also made him feel more awkward than he had previously since the atmosphere was a little strange now. However, instead of letting it get to him, Vahn took and quiet breath through his nose before putting on an air of decisiveness. He wasnt simply about to discuss a minor subject, but something rted to his future children. His decision could impact his entire family in the future, so he had to treat the matter seriously without footing around the issue. After calming down, Vahn showed a firm expression before saying, "Then you must know that I intend to care for each of my children to the best of my ability. This includes ensuring they grow up in a safe environment without suffering the restrictions of their parents, or their own, Divinities..." Eirene nodded her head and said, "We understand that it is almost guaranteed that our children will be demigods that have a great amount of power. Though I would like my son or daughter to work alongside me to maintain peace and order within the City, I have agreed to raise them within the Hearth Manor. However, when the timees I would ask for my own room since I intend to stay here when Im not on duty." Eirenes demand was something Vahn would have offered even without her mentioning it, so he nodded his head in affirmation before turning his eyes to Demeter. Demeter showed her characteristically gentle smile and said, "I have already raised three children while Ive been in the mortal world, so I have confidence I would be able to raise our child well. Im already acting as the midwife for Loki, but I intended to assist in the Hearth Manor in the future, ufufufu~." Hearing that both goddesses intended to live in the Manor made Vahn feel a great deal of relief since he really didnt want his children to grow up in a situation where there was tension between their parents. Vahn would do his best to be a good father, but he knew he would be out and about quite a lot and the Vanir would all grow very quickly. He also didnt like the idea of separating a child from their mother at all, to the point that he actually had a lot of concerns regarding Freya in the future... Vahn nodded his head and allowed his firm expression to turn gentle as he smiled to the two goddesses and said, "It seems our fates have be connected now...for the next few months, I would like to get to know the two of you better. I think our children would be happier if their parents cared deeply about each other so, while it may be asking for a lot, I would like to develop our rtionship further in theing months." Demeterughed in a pleasant manner while Eirenes expression softened somewhat and she said, "I also believe that it is necessary for a child to have two parents to develop properly. It eases my heart to know you are taking that into consideration, Vahn." For the next two hours, Vahn discussed various things with Demeter and Eirene, including tidbits about their past, the happenings within their Familias, and the hopes they had already ced in their children. Demeter simply wanted their son or daughter to be kind and happy while Eirene harbored a small hope that their child would possess a noble and heroic spirit. She believed that heroes were necessary to inspire other people to greatness and were necessary to maintain order within the world. There was far too much darkness permeating through society and Eirene wanted to do what she could to expose it to the light and bring the corrupt few that propagate the cycle to justice. She had a great appreciation for Vahns feats and paid him quite a few heavypliments that made him feel a bit of pressure as a result. During their entire follow-up discussion, Vahn was also pampering Loki at the same time by allowing her toy across hisp as he fed her snacks and rubbed her belly. She never really cared much for propriety, to begin with, and was obviously trying to incite the other two goddesses to loosen up around Vahn. To break up the conversation whenever things got tense, such as when Eirene was drilling Vahn about his exploits, she would talk about Vahns godhand, his technical prowess, and even his other interesting capabilities. Demeter seemed to ept everything in stride, but Eirene would feel awkward whenever Loki would tease her. Even when Eirene had s.e.x in the past, she didnt experiment at all and had only ever selected men she believed could be heroes in the future. Unfortunately, they often became somewhat corrupted after having obtained her affections and did foolish things that eventually forced her to either turn them away or even imprison them when they tried exploiting their positions. One of the reasons she was innately fond of Vahn was due to the fact that he was actually surrounded by several women, including many goddesses, yet continued walking the correct path while trying to make the world a better ce. Though there was a chance he would also be corrupt, he was at the very least more reliable than the other mortals she had met. Knowing of his prowess made her feel especially embarrassed, however, because she felt like it might be her that became corrupted in the future... As for Demeter, she wasnt nearly as experienced as Loki but she had more than a few partners even aftering to the mortal world. She typically got into rtionsh.i.p.s easily, sometimes with more than one man at a time, but never felt truly invested in them. Her lovers were always kind and understanding and they even got along well together since Demeter treated them fairly and without bias. When she had decided to have Vahns child, they had all willingly taken a step back for her happiness because they understood how important it was for her to have a real child. Though she treated her other children very well, it wasnt much different from how she treated everyone else and it was always a little strange, especially for her daughter, knowing that she had more than one father. Her child with Vahn would be fundamentally different, as it wouldnt be a product of her Divinity, but a natural pregnancy that would be a culmination between her and a single other person. This was something she had never experienced before, so Demeter was very excited for the future and hoped their child would be able to live a happy life filled with love... --- Toward the end of their conversation, Loki seemed to think of something as she asked in an agonized tone, "Vahn, what do I have to do to convince you to get me a dragon...? I wont take away your little Fafnir and Terra, but I want one for myself..." When Loki heard that Terra had a human form, which happened to be a beautiful woman, she automatically assumed she didnt have a chance at getting her hands on her. As for Fafnir, it was far too fond of Vahn and wouldnt betray him even if she tried to wear it down over several years. Her only hope was to get Vahn to take pity on her by trying appeal to his weakness of trying to make his women happy. Though he wouldnt profess to being able to truly read Loki, Vahn could tell that she was ying him a little based on her behavior. She was obviously doing it knowing he knew too, which made him feel a bit exasperated but, regardless of his inhibitions, he couldnt find it in himself to refuse the lovable little goddess with a fat belly. His onlyint was that she brought it up in front of two other goddesses since Eirenes expression had be thoughtful, likely thinking of what it would be like to have a dragon of her own. If he easily agreed to help Loki, she might misunderstand that it was easy for him to obtain them and ask for one of her own in the future... Vahn poked Loki in the cheek as he looked down on her and said, "I can most likely help you obtain a dragon, but it isnt really that easy...Id need a few months to prepare and wed have to find you a suitable dragon to undergo the evolution..." Though he wanted to refute her before bringing up the topicter, Vahn knew Loki would unt her dragon as soon as she obtained one. If he said she couldnt have one in front of Demeter and Eirene and then gave her er, it would cause him to lose a bit of face. He actually suspected this was the reason she brought it up right when they were preparing to bring this discussion to a close. Loki beganughing mischievously in hisp before trying to nip at his finger, which had still been poking her cheek. She then mused, "If possible, Id like a tyrannical looking dragon, like Fafnir, or at least something that flies super quickly~! Ah, you can make it transform into a woman if you want, but you have to be okay if I train her a little, kukukuku~." Vahn furrowed his brows slightly and said, "If its something I help to evolve, it will primarily be loyal to me. Since it will be a sentient creature, I dont want to force it into that kind of lifestyle...youll have to treat them with care or I wont let you look after it..." Loki tilted her head with a somewhat confused expression before sitting up and whispering into his ear, "Cant you find a dragon that isnt sentient and then give it the type of nature that would make it like that type of thing~?" Knowing that Fafnir came from a normal wyvern, yet had such a drastic change in appearance and personality, made Loki believe Vahn had some degree of control over their personalities. She also knew that Fenrir had been a simple kobold before and that her character hadpletely changed once she became humanoid. Judging by Vahns reaction, she knew her deduction had to be correct and, to alleviate his concerns, she said, "Dont worry, I dont want to do anything that might upset you. Ill treat it properly and you can always take it away from me if I fail to do so...besides, wont it be better for Fafnir and Terra to have more of their kind around~?" Vahn released a heavy sigh before pinching the fleshy part of Lokis butt since he knew she was trying to manipte him a little. It was especially effective because her words were very rational and it was actually something he had been considering. So that he could increase his own understanding of his Akashic Tome, Vahn wanted to name a variety of different creatures with emphasis on specific elements and traits. Dragons were some of the strongest creatures in all records, so they were a great choice and it wasnt that difficult to find even a normal Wyvern to potentially form into a mighty True Dragon once it grew up. After thinking it over, Vahn said, "It will take a few months, so think about what kind of dragon youd like to be associated with. Fafnir is Darkness, while Terra is Nature and Earth...this means you can choose Fire, Water, Wind, Light, or any other elemental attribute you can think of..." Loki immediately understood Vahns intentions and quickly said, "I want something that is kind of overbearing, so if it is rted to Fire, Chaos, or Wind, that would be the best. If I had to choose, I guess wind would be ideal since I want something that is super fast~!" Vahn nodded his head but then a thought crossed his mind and he asked, "How about...space?" Lokis eyes widened as an almost evil grin appeared on her face and she said, "Yes, one-hundred-percent yes~!" Space and Time were two of the most powerful forces in the world and Vahn knew it should be possible to name a dragon that possessed one, or even both, of the affinities. Since it would help him increase his own knowledge of the two immensely powerful attributes, Vahn figured it would be a good idea to get an early start on it. He already knew his own future Divinities like rted to space, meaning he should have a natural affinity for it, so having a teacher would be very beneficial. There was also a chance it would be able to learn magic from Eva, assuming the orb didnt awaken beforehand, so Vahn needed to seriously consider the matter. As for if it would be able to take on a human form, Vahn believed it was a good idea but would try to avoid having his own preferences influence the form it took... As he was thinking, Vahn saw Eirenes look so he showed a wry smile and said, "I n to tame a variety of different creatures in the future, so Ill see about finding one with the Light attribute. Instead of a dragon, maybe a Pegasus would be better since I think it would suit your attire..." Vahn really didnt want to be the go-to for everyone obtaining a future mount, but he also knew he would likely be in this record for decades and had plenty of time and reason to do so. As long as they were treated well, and not like actual servants and pets, Vahn didnt think it would be that much of an issue. Besides, it would allow him to have morepanions when he goes to future records since he would be able to store their cores into his inventory and resummon themter, assuming he wasnt caught off guard and killed unexpectedly. Eirene had liked the idea of a dragon, but hearing Vahn mention the winged Pegasus didnt seem like a bad idea either. As he said, it was far more suitable and she would even be able to ride it about the City streets without causing too much of a stir. Having a massive dragon wasnt always suitable as their size could often be a limitation in modern living. Now that she thought about it, there wasnt even any ce to keep a dragon near the barracks so she would have had to leave it at the Hearth Manor when she wanted to walk around normally. With a Pegasus, she could just pull its reins and guide it through the streets with rtive ease. Since she seemed fond of the idea, Vahn promised to take it into consideration but told her it would likely take more than a year before he was able to procure one. Much like the matter of helping goddesses getting pregnant, there were a lot of restrictions on his unique taming method and it typically took more than two months just to use it once. He couldnt give them any of the key details, which they didnt seem to mind at all, but Vahn assured her that he would do his best to tame a Pegasus for her. Fortunately, Demeter didnt seem to care at all, leading Vahn to believe that her nature was very carefree. She didnt seem to mind anything at all, other than trying to make sure people were well-fed and living healthy lifestyles. He suspected she would be another one of the motherly figures in the Manor in the future and would probably help Hestia run the daycare in the northwestern section of the Manor. Given her nature, Vahn felt like the children would be very happy, even if things got a little chaotic with having so many mothers in their lives. Since the books he read said it was important for children to be raised in an environment filled with understanding and consistency, Vahn felt like he would have to be the consistent part of their lives, as he would be the only father for them all... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Awkward Conversation o3o,Loki wants a dragon~!,Mom, Mama, Mommy, Mother, Mum...(UwU);,If Vahns kids didnt grow up so fast, he would be sooooo f.u.c.k.i.e.d xD) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 522 - Clubhouse

Chapter 522 - Clubhouse

After seeing off Loki, Eirene, and Demeter, Vahn sent Fafnir to watch over them from the shadows before making his way to his clubhouse for the first time. It had already beenpleted during the expedition, but Vahn had been so busy at the Manor that he had never made the time to check it out. Since he would be taking Tina and Shizune into the Dungeon in the next few days, he wanted to at least furnish the building before creating keys for everyone that he wanted to invite over. He had already sent out notifications to Finn, Gareth, Raul, Cruz, Welf, and Ouka to hold a small celebration this afternoon so he needed to be there to avoid having them waiting. Fortunately, he had asked them to stop by a littleter, as he had wanted to set up furniture and his private room, so there was still plenty of time to look around before they arrived. Even without using [Shundo], Vahn reached the Clubhouse after walking for around five minutes. Terra had informed him about the formation she had broken so Vahn was trying to bait out the earth mage by pretending to becent. He had casually strolled through the streets with an appearance as though he was very tired, aimlessly looking toward the sky with his hands behind his head. Unfortunately, other than a few curious nces from pedestrians that recognized him, there were no signs of the danger lurking in the shadows. Vahn felt very confident in being able to defeat the mage in their next encounter, regardless of how fast they tried to run away... Vahns Clubhouse was a rtively discreet looking building with a spartan design that was only a single story. However, discerning eyes would see that the high wall and the entire grounds of the building were covered in a dense array of magical formations that would even give trouble to a Level 5 trying to forcibly break into it. Those with perception like Vahn would also note that, though it was only a single story above ground, there were an additional two levels below including a passageway that connected into therge building located next door, which happened to be Hephaestus new workshop front. As a result, the security in the area was very high and Vahn could sense several neutral and amicable gazes on him from the surroundings. Curiously, there was already someone present standing outside of the tall wall carrying arge bottle that was covered with a fine cloth. Welfs perception wascking so Vahn managed to walk all the way up to him before patting him on the shoulder, nearly causing the red-haired youth to drop the bottle. He turned around with an angry expression before smiling when he saw who had ambushed him. Vahn was briefly reminded that he promised to punch Welf the next time he saw him but, seeing his smiling and friendly expression, he decided to let the mattery. After all, he had no reason to envy Welf for his rtionship with four Amazons, especially considering his current situation at the Hearth Manor. He had even parted with three beautiful goddesses earlier, two of which would likely be his future lovers. Thinking this, Vahn felt a strange urge to p himself instead of the cheekily smiling Welf... Welf saw Vahns weird expression but held up the bottle in his arms without asking and said in a cheerful voice, "Hey man, I brought some pretty good stuff imported in from the Far East. I figured it would be a good present for the celebration!" Vahn epted the bottle gratefully and said, "Thanks, Welf, I look forward to sampling it with the others." After stowing it away in his inventory, Vahn pulled out amunication scroll, logbook, and a pouch with several vials of ink for Welfs use, exining, "This will help us keep in touch in the future. The green pen lets youmunicate directly to me while the others connect to other scrolls. If you look on the cover, there is an index in case you forget..." Though it was an imported bottle of sake, Welf had only spent 23,000 Valis to obtain it, which was arge part of his savings right now. Receiving what easily amounted to several million Valis worth of goods from Vahn made Welf sigh deeply, but he still epted them and said, "Thanks, itll be good to talk about some of the things Ive been researching with you. Ive actually been making a fair amount of progress these days, though I feel like Im still scratching away at the surface..." Welfs research was actually simr in nature to what Vahn was working on, though the direction was decidedly different. Though he wasnt sure if it would help, Vahn pulled out a journal and handed it over to Welf, saying, "This has a bunch of notes about magic formations, runes, and even the structure of magic circles. You should be able to make some headway if youbine this with your own research." Welf was well aware of how monstrous Vahn could be since he had once tried to consider himself as his rival. Vahns feats were well doc.u.mented and he had even received the title of Sage from the Elves, being the first human to carry the title. Combined with the fact that he was the youngest [Master Smith] in history, Welf had no illusions about surpassing him. There was a big difference between being ambitious and trying to surmount true genius, especially since he knew Vahn was incredibly hard-working. Since they wereparable in age, it was easy to see the differences between them so Welf couldnt rationalize trying topete against him at all... Opening the journal Vahn had given him, Welf released a sigh before snapping it shut and cing his arm around Vahn and saying, "Thanks, man..." Even the random page he had opened to was very insightful so Welf knew it would be a great boon towards his own research. Since Vahn could casually hand it over, it once against emphasized the vast disparity between them. At least he had the benefit of being one of Vahns friends, especially considering the many benefits he had already received. Though he still needed a bit of work, as the girls werent content with letting him Level-Up easily, he was approaching Level 2 and would likely obtain it within the next 4-5 months. Vahn wasnt toofortable with Welf putting his arm around his shoulder, even if it was a disy of friendship, but he decided not to let it bother him as he walked toward the Clubhouse and said, "This is my first time checking out our Clubhouse, so lets look around for a bit before the others show up." Welf had felt how tense Vahn had been when he touched him, which was a little surprising since Vahn seem unphased by most things. He removed his arm and nodded his head, saying, "I honestly expected this ce to be a bit bigger...well, considering its a Clubhouse created for you, it probably has a few hidden functions, eh? Lets check it out!" Without waiting for Vahn to lead the way, seemingly forgetting he didnt have a key yet, Welf walked face-first into the invisible barrier without any hesitation. Vahn nearly burst outughing at the sight but stifled the urge after seeing Welf holding his nose and showing an embarrassed expression. Vahn pulled out arge ck loop that had several crystalline tabs attached to it. He took off one of the tabs and handed it to Welf who gave him a somewhat resentful look as he snatched it away. Welf had always been a prideful boy, so his embarrassment was rather heavypared to most people. Since he looked up to Vahn quite a bit, it was even worse since it felt like he lost a lot of face... After dripping his blood onto the key, Welf gingerly felt around with his hand to make sure the barrier wasnt preventing his ess anymore. He released a relieved sigh and put the key into his pocket before returning to normal and saying, "Lets check it out!" Vahn nodded his head and followed behind Welf, still stifling the urge tough because there was a dribble of blooding out of Welfs nose, even when he acted normally... The first floor of the Clubhouse was actually a wide-open space that had been fitted like a pub. There was an unstocked bar with several shelves as well as a slightly elevated area at one side of the room that looked like a stage. Vahn could easily imagine having several circr tables within the room filled to the brim with people boisterously drinking and having a good time. He wasnt sure how long it would take, but Vahn felt an urge to extend hiswork to the point where they could fill up the room in its entirety. For now, he just stocked the bar with a variety of different drinks under 100OP since he didnt really want to outshine Welfs gift right now. He knew it was probably very expensive for Welf, so Vahn was trying to be considerate. Other than the [Dwarven Drought], which was set under the bar in a small keg, Vahn chose rtively cheap alcohols from other records to fill out the shelves. Beyond the pub area, Vahn found aplete kitchte that was already stocked with utensils, pots, pans, spices, and other cooking essories. Knowing that Vahn actually liked to cook, Hephaestus had incorporated a kitchen into the Clubhouse so he could experiment with developing new dishes without being badgered by the other girls. There was also a corridor leading to a secret staircase on the opposite side of a wall. You had to walk all the way down the corridor before looping back to be able to see it, making it both easily essible but also secretive. Without his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn wouldnt have found it as quickly as he did. Seeing the hidden staircase, Welf shook his head in an exasperated manner before saying, "As I expected...hahaha, nothing is ever what it seems when youre involved, Vahn!" Without waiting, Welf began to walk forward again before he came to a stop at the top of the stairwell. Reaching out with his hand, Welf made sure there wasnt another barrier barring his entrance before sending a re at Vahn when he heard a muffled snicker... The first subterranean floor of the Clubhouse was a series of rooms that all had formations that allowed a person to register for ess. Vahn realized these were rooms where people could rest after partying and getting drunk, and there were also workbenches and tools that could be essed from a supply closet. The room furthest at the end was muchrger than the rest and Vahn could tell that it had been intended for his use since the symbol of the Alliance, specifically prepared for him, was on the door. It also had much stronger protective measures than the other rooms, including soundproofing and hardened tiles on the floor, reinforced concrete walls, and several venttion shafts. If he wanted to, Vahn could easily turn the room into a forge or atelier for mixing and alchemy. After Welf picked a room for himself, they followed another looping corridor that led to the final staircase. This time, however, Vahn ced his hand on Welfs shoulder as he tried to walk forward. Unlike the second floor, this one did have another barrier so Vahn wanted to avoid seeing Welf embarrass himself once again. The only way to get ess beyond this point was if Vahn personally allowed people to enter, which he would have to be inside to allow. After leaving Welf outside of the barrier, Vahn walked forward and ced his hand against a previously invisible rune. This temporarily disabled the barrier and allowed Welf to walk down the stairs as they inspected the bottom floor. The third floor was one massive room that had several supporting pirs reinforcing the above structures. It waspletely dry without any humidity at all and there were several magic cores that allowed the temperature of the room to be regted within specific areas. Vahn realized this floor was essentially intended to be private storage where he could keep items for use in the clubhouse without having to stock them in his Inventory. He could even see a trapdoor like mechanism that connected to his room above, so it would be useful if he was doing long-term research that he wanted to keep a secret. It wasnt that big of a distraction having the girls enter his workshop, but there were definitely things Vahn wanted to look into that he wasntfortable with the girls finding out about early on. Welf looked around the area a bit before they both made their way back to the top floor to prepare for the celebration. It was a good opportunity, so Vahn decided to actually cook some food while Welf left to take his work kit back to his workshop. He only lived two blocks away, so he would be able to return before the celebration officially started. Carrying around several million valis worth of goods was somewhat ufortable and Welf was afraid he would lose or damage it when he got drunkter... As it was meant to be a celebration, Vahn decided he would make steaks for the meal usingrge cuts from one of the tails he had acquired on the 58th Floor. Dragon parts were worth a great deal of Valis and dragon steaks were considered a rare delicacy that few could enjoy. Even a single cut weighed more than 10kg so there was plenty to go around after he cut it into thin strips. He made sure that the strips were small enough to eat with chopsticks, as he was fond of using them, and only lightly sauteed with butter, chives, garlic, and a pinch of allspice. Because everyone would enjoy eating ording to their own preferences, Vahn set out a massive hot te in the middle of the room where they would be able to cook the meat further. He also set out a variety of pickled fruits and vegetables with some lightly salted almonds. By the time Welf had returned, the top floor had evolved after Vahn decorated a bit and it was now filled with warmth and a rich mouthwatering aroma. He could hear Vahn cooking from the kitchen and felt a little guilty as he eyed the tantalizing meat that was set on tes around a square table. He had no idea what kind of meat it was, but Welf knew it had to be delicious since he couldnt do anything about the waterworks in his own mouth. He hadnt even been that hungry before, but now it felt like he hadnt eaten in months and it was very difficult to stop himself from beginning to eat without permission... Vahn walked out of the kitchen with a wok in hand, stir-frying some green beans with mushrooms, onions, bell peppers, and some diced garlic cloves. Seeing Welfs hungry look, Vahn smiled and said, "Welf, this ce is supposed to be a Clubhouse where we can hang out and do whatever we want. If youre hungry, feel free to eat. If you want to cook, feel free to cook. I dont even mind if you want to set up your own workshop here in the future, just dont make a big mess unless you have the sense to clean up after yourself." Hearing Vahns works, Welfs eyes were set aze as he sat down at the table and grabbed a pair of chopsticks and started eating. From the very first bite, Welfs eyes turned round as saucers as he said, "Wow! This is the best meat Ive ever had! What the hell did you do to make it so damn tasty!?" Vahnughed and said, "Ive still got a ways to go to be a capable chef, but I have the benefit of having some premium ingredients. That there is dragon meat, so make sure you savor it properly. Go ahead and try cooking it against the hot te I set out; Im fond of cooking it all the way through and seasoning it with a bit of that brown sauce. Its made with soy sauce, brown sugar, and a few other extra ingredients. Seriously though, dont make a mess unless you n to clean it up..." As Vahn had been exining things, Welf was eating piece after piece of meat without any regards for table manners at all. Things would likely get even worse when other people showed up and alcohol got involved so Vahn just shook his head before emptying the stir-fry vegetables into a pan to simmer and stay warm. He poured a bit of soy sauce into the pan, added a half cup of water, and then covered it with a lid to let it steam until someone wanted to eat it. Afterward, Vahn prepared several other dishes and only stopped when he detected the arrival of several people outside. Based solely on their auras, Vahn could tell it was Gareth and Finn though, on the periphery of his domain, Vahn could also sense Bete pacing about in an alleyway nearby. Vahn set his pan to simmer before going outside to see Gareth and Finn wearing casual clothing waiting outside the entrance. Gareth stroked his beard while Finn showed an amiable smile and said, "Good afternoon, Vahn, thanks for your invitation today." Garethughed while tapping against the barrier and said, "Let us in, kiddo, Ive been looking forward to this for a while! Grahahaha~!" After giving the two their keys, Vahn looked in the direction of Bete and asked, "Whats going on with Bete?" Gareth shook his head and said, "That boy cant swallow his own pride and simply open up to others. He came all the way here and now it looks like he ns to return..." At the end of his words, Gareth released a long sigh because they had walked for more than an hour to reach here. As for Finn, his smile had be a little awkward until Vahn also shook his head and said, "Go ahead and make your way inside. There is plenty of food that I personally prepared and there is a fully stocked bar if youre thirsty. As I told Welf, though, dont make a mess unless youre going to clean it up. This ce is meant to be used by everyone to rx and hang out, so I dont want to see it ruined haphazardly..." Vahn gave Finn and Gareth their work kits before disappearing from sight with his [Shundo], leaving the two veteran Adventurers smiling at each other before making their way inside. The moment Gareth smelled the aroma in the air, he shouted, "Dragon Steak! Grahahahaha~!" and left Finn behind with an awkward expression on his face... Shortly after he disappeared from the Clubhouse, Vahn reappeared inside the same alleyway where Bete was still pacing about in a frustrated manner. The Werewolf immediately noted Vahns presence and showed an annoyed expression on his face as he asked, "What the f.u.c.k do you want, kid!?" Vahn smiled gently, pissing off Bete even more, but, before he was able to make another snide remark, Vahn had vanished once again. All of Bete instincts triggered and he jumped back nearly 30m beforending in the center of the street. His eyes darted around looking for any indication of Vahn before a sense of dread overwhelmed him and he rolled to the side. Looking back, he saw Vahn standing in the spot he had just evacuated with a in expression on his face. Vahn knew Bete wouldnt be able to move forward unless he taught the angsty Werewolf a lesson that left nothing to question. While doing his best to remain calm, Vahn said in a low tone, "There is no reason for animosity between us, Bete. I would like for us to be friends in the future, as were already allies that have fought on the same battlefield..." Betes face turned sour and he spat, "I dont need-" Before he could finish, Bete felt like an ocean of pressure was squeezing his entire body as Vahn disappeared once again. He felt a hot sensation at the back of his neck that made all the hair on his body stand on end as Vahn said, "The greatest mistake anyone can make is underestimating their opponent based on a false perception of strength and personal bias. Even before we went on the expedition, I would have been your opponent, Bete. Now that Ive be even stronger, there is no contest to be had between us unless I hold back..." The moment he could move his body, Betes instincts to him to kick out but the only thing he felt was empty air before he saw Vahn standing several meters away. Vahn shook his head and said inly, "If you truly had any pride, and not just baseless arrogance, you would have admitted defeat the moment my fingers touched your neck..." Waving his hand, Vahn let his fingers generate a massive amount of heat that even started burning away at his tunic. Though they were twenty meters apart, even Bete could feel the heat and knew Vahn could have ended the fight in an instant if he hadnt stopped his attack. However, this didnt make Bete happy at all since it felt like Vahn was taunting and making fun of him. Seeing Betes reaction, Vahn released a sigh and said, "If you really wish to fight, Bete, we can settle things whenever youre ready. However, will you really be satisfied with that? How with Lena feel when you get injured?" Hearing Vahn mention his lover, Betes expression became fierce and he shouted, "Dont mention Lena you bastard! You think you can actually hurt me!? Without your mes and that bullshit magic, youre just a human child without any-" Instead of maintaining his calm, Vahn red at Bete and snapped, "Bete, what the hell is your problem!? You criticize me for my strength yet, even when I put in the effort to be strong enough to protect the people I care about, you dont change your tone at all!? What exactly do you want me to do topromise with your stupid ass!? Do I really need to beat the arrogance out of you before youll stop barking like a fool!?" Vahn couldnt understand how Bete could be so obstinate about things when there wasnt actually any reason for animosity between them. He was starting to feel like Bete wouldnt take a step back unless Vahn forced him to do so. If that is what it took, Vahn wasnt going to keep ying games with Bete so he allowed his full aura to disperse and converge on the scowling Werewolf. They had already drawn a crowd, but Vahn didnt care at all since Bete had genuinely pissed him off. He couldnt tolerate that he always tried to make concessions andpromises yet it didnt seem to matter to him at all! Betes instincts had exploded at this point and every fiber of his being was telling him there was only a single course of action left to him, running away. He gripped his fists into a ball to stop the shaking and, instead of trying to talk with Vahn, kicked forward with enough force to shatter the cobblestone street below. Spinning around mid-air, Bete tried kicking Vahns head to force him back. As long as he could pressure him, Bete was confident he would be able to get-- Unable toplete the though, Bete found himself smashing into Vahns scaled arm as a wave of green shed,pletely dispersing his blow. Before he could react further, Bete found Vahns vice-like grip around his ankle as the world around him turned into a blur... (A/N: Alternate Title: Secret Clubhose (UwU),Anyone else hungry?,RIP Bete) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 523 - Control

Chapter 523 - Control

The fact that Bete had tried to actually attack him after Vahn had gone out of his way to show the difference between them caused him to lose his cool. He didnt consider himself a bully, but if Bete was going out of his way to continue acting abrasively, even to the point they woulde to actual blows, Vahn wasnt going to keep backpedaling for him. Other than perhaps his Agility, Vahn outssed Bete by a fair amount is almost every other category. It was simply foolish to actually try and start a brawl like this, and it was time for Bete to learn the only way his brain seemed capable of retaining information, the hard way. After grabbing Betes ankle, Vahn used his own spinning momentum against him by pivoting on his feet and spinning Bete in a circle. He yanked Betes leg almost like he was trying to remove dust from a cloth before immediately jerking him back in the opposite direction and mming him into the cobblestone road. When Bete tried to kick off of the ground and recover, a golden light shone from Vahns hand as a link of [Enkidu] coiled around Betes leg like a snake. Vahn jumped back to avoid the approaching kick before once again jerking Bete off the ground and mming him into the hard cobblestone using the chain to control his movements. Being tossed around like a ragdoll made Bete feel like his anger was going to explode yet, no matter how much he tried to remove the chain around his ankle, he was unable to move it at all. He couldnt even put in strength into his leg so he was already down a limb as Vahn used [Shundo] to reposition and jerk him around by his leg over and over. Bete felt like his hip joint was going to give out and, if not for his flexibility and instincts helping him react the motions, his leg might have even been dislocated at this point. Vahn had extended the link of [Enkidu] by 30m at this point but could still muster up enough strength to yank Bete around freely since the loss of one of his legs had been a great handicap. However, he could still see the fighting spirit in Betes eyes and it scorn contained in his expression which made his anger continue to rise. Vahn whipped the chain up and down like a wave to destabilize Betes footing before creating another link of [Enkidu] anchored in the sky more than 100m above the streets. Once it was created, he whipped the chain once again to increase its length even further until he had nearly 120m of chain to work with before jumping up to the anchor and falling to the opposite side, using his weight to pull Bete off the ground and string him up in the air. Bete screamed, "You motherf.u.c.ker! Let me down from here you little shit!" before trying to strike against the chain to get enough leverage to get over the anchor in the sky. Unfortunately, not only did his attack have no effect on the chain, but it was almost like it absorbed the impact of his strikepletely making him unable to push himself over. He tried to bend at his waist to yank on the chain, but the moment his hands grabbed onto it he lost his strength and slipped away, forced to dangle upside down by the hateful boy below. As for Vahn, he had been watching Betes attempts in silence while ignoring the peanut gallery cheering from the side. He was simultaneously sweeping around the area and looking for any signs of the earth mage, as this would be a good opportunity for an ambush. After Bete failed to free himself for the tenth time, Vahn said in a calm voice that was somewhat cold to the onlookers, "I have no animosity toward you, Bete, except for the ones you have created. This will be thest time I show you leniency, so think about the matter seriously. The next time you say something disrespectful to me or my friends, I wont let it slide. Were allies, so its about time you start treating us with the respect we deserve. Youre not doing anyone any favors by acting so abrasively all the time!" In response to Vahns words, Bete scowled before raising his middle finger and saying, "F.u.c.k you, Vahn! Without this stupid chain, I would have kicked your ass!" Vahn released a sigh that dispersed arge cloud of condensation as his body transitioned into his Xunw form. Though it might have been a bit cheaty, Vahn also ingested a small blue gem that could help replenish his source energy before dispersing [Enkidu]. Bete fell from the sky and quickly righted himself beforending on the ground, still pissed off but seemingly unwilling to continue the fight. Vahn, however, just said that he wouldnt let Bete continue to disrespect him so things were far from settled. If Bete thought [Enkidu] was the reason for his victory, he didnt mind correcting the misunderstanding. As he took a step forward, Vahn said, "Well see how many different excuses you give before you finally concede..." Betes eyes opened wide and he prepared to defend himself against Vahns impending strike. He was very annoyed, while simultaneously envious, of the ridiculous speed Vahn could use with [Shundo] since he couldnt track him with his eyes at all. It wasnt until Vahn reappeared that he was able to sense the movement and by then it was already a huge disadvantage to ovee. This time, however, he had another previously unknown factor to contend with as he tried to block the punch to his shoulder. Just as he turned to intercept the attack with his guard, a wave of water mmed into his face and caused him to choke after identally inhaling a bit of it. Though he felt a little bad for the ident, Vahn wasnt going to stop until Bete backed down and admitted defeat. He had started to pull water elemental energy from the atmosphere and there were currently several small orbs orbiting around him as he struck forward with a barrage of strikes. Bete was still fast enough to react to most of his hits, but there was nothing he could do to prevent water from soaking into him at it condensed directly on his body from the atmosphere. Even jumping to create distance wasnt good enough because Vahn could track him through his domain easily. It wasnt like in the past, where faster opponents like Tsubaki could overwhelm his senses a bit, Vahn could clearly read Betes movements and didnt show him any leniency. Bete shook his head to disperse some water that had been building up, but ayer continued to stick to his skin and even started to pool. If he couldnt escape Vahns domain, he would eventually bepletely covered in water and potentially even drown if he stood in one area too long. Other than fire, Bete had never seen Vahn make use of other elements like this and he hadnt mentally prepared himself at all. Though he could disperse the water with his movements, it quickly just came back to him, almost like his body had been maized. As Vahn was using his aura as the center for condensing his water, Bete really had be something of a ma that was solely focused on consolidating water elemental energy from the air. It was simr to how he could infuse fire elemental energy into his enemies, except now he was doing the same thing with water. Though the fight had only been going on for around five minutes, as Vahn wasnt actually trying to kill him, Bete had already started to struggle because thergest volume of water concentrated around his face. It was hard to take in breaths unless he destroyed the persistent liquid and it was obscuring his vision greatly while simultaneously making it harder to move. He wasnt affected too much, but it was also still chilly outside so his damp skin had started to make his fingers go numb. So focused on defense and escaping the water, Bete was entirely unaware that it wasnt just water elements that Vahn was using now. Since Bete was already soaked through, Vahn was slowly beginning to freeze him at the same time... The crowd had been watching the fight with a great deal of excitement, including the guards and patrols that had shown up. As they were all part of the Alliance, they could easily recognize Vahn and the person he was fighting against. They didnt know the whole story, but they were currently in the territory of the Alliance and there was nothing preventing Vahn from fighting within it at all. This was a good opportunity for them to watch a battle between two high-level Adventurers, though it was somewhat hard to tell that was the case with how one-sided things had been. It had to be known that the Level 5 Bete was a First-ss Adventurer while Vahn was only a Second-ss Adventurer at Level 4. However, their fight seemed to state otherwise as every time Bete struck Vahn he didnt show any signs of taking damage while the rest of the fight had him running away. Bete was in a bit of a panic as he spun away and twisted his body to disperse the cloud of water and broke through the encirclement of orbs, shouting, "This water is bullshit! Dont you have any abilities that arent cheap and unfair!?" Vahn moved his right hand in a snaking motion as he slid his foot forward and caused a shift in the water that had pooled at the ground. It normally wouldnt have any effect at all, but Vahn froze the flow at the same time just as Betes feet hadnded on the ground. He slipped onto his butt before trying to right his footing only to slide against the ice before trying to smash it with his fist. Vahn made a w shape with his left hand before sweeping his leg around and twisting his wrist in an upward angle to create a sphere of waterpletely surrounding Betes body. He had stopped his movement to try and shatter the ice only to find that he was submerged in a ball of water more than 9m in diameter. Just as he had done for the sturgeon in the river, Vahn turned the sphere of water into a vortex that spun around Bete as he tried to swim and break free. Though he normally would have been able to reach the edge quickly, Vahn moved the orb with his movements so Bete was swimming in an orb above the streets as he futilely tried to escape. Being in the water, he couldnt get enough momentum to strike against the ground to break free because the vortex wouldnt allow him to get his footing for even a short moment. Bete tried to use his [Hati] to absorb the magic power from the sphere, but he found that he couldnt do anything against it at all. Elemental energy under the influence of source energy wasnt something his weak magic could influence at all, not mentioning the fact that [Hati] was a fire elemental magic while Vahns water elemental control was a natural counter. Though he was able to persist for a while, Bete eventually started to suffocate after nearly fourteen minutes of struggling. He could have easily held his breath for an hour in a normal situation, but being spun around like a minnow caught in a looping current was very taxing and his stamina drained very quickly since the water was actually well below freezing. The only thing that kept it from turning into ice was the fast moving vortex, but this offered no mercy to the entrapped Werewolf who could do nothing but slowly freeze as his air ran out. Vahn could see the state of Betes body very well with his [Eyes of Truth] so he knew what Betes limits were. When his movements began to slow down, Bete finally released the breath he had been containing for so long as Vahn mmed his hand downward and copsed the massive sphere of water. It spread through the street and even reached the crowd on the periphery before it began to turn into a thinyer of ice from the energy contained within. Bete wasying in the center covered in a lightyer of frost as his body shook and he gasped for air. Vahn stepped forward with [Shundo] and appeared right in front of him, looking down from above with a tired expression. Bete looked up into Vahns face and, even though there was no real sign of contempt or mockery, he couldnt help but feel that the young boy was looking down on him. However, Vahn didnt seem to care about the thoughts guing his heart as he reached his hand down and said, "Im tired of fighting against someone that is supposed to be my ally..." As he spoke, Vahn dispersed the cold energy as he used his [Heart of the Eternal me] to spread warmth through the street. From the perspective of the observers, Vahn was extending a hand to Bete to set aside their differences but Bete felt nothing but frustration as he swatted away the offered hand and rose to his feet, body still shivering from the cold. He didnt say anything, realizing that his words had a price now, and just walked away toward the Twilight Manor with his tail drooping pathetically. Vahn shook his head and released a sigh before saying, "I really wish we could be friends...we both have people we care about. We both want to get stronger to protect our loved ones...I dont understand why we cant see eye-to-eye..." Bete paused for a brief moment but didnt say anything in response to Vahns words as he continued along his lonely path. He was very aware of the warmth that continued to persist around him, drying up the water and thawing his cold body, but he didnt thank Vahn for his concerns. However, there was a small amount of respect that had taken root inside his heart that had almost caused Bete to answer Vahns question directly. The truth of the matter is, Bete didnt actually have anything against Vahn either, other than a moderate amount of envy. The reason why he couldnt easily open up to other people is that he hated his own weakness, the failures he had suffered in the past in pursuit of vengeance. If he could have been as strong as Vahn, Bete believed he could have lived a much happier life. His vige wouldnt have been wiped out, he wouldnt have lost his lover and hispanions, and he would have been able to protect all the things he cared about. Unfortunately, his strength was hard-gotten and only after he experienced suffering. Thus, Bete carried with him a powerful resentment, not for other, but for himself and his own failure. The stronger he became, the greater his disdain for himself and the more heshed out at others, seeing their own weakness as a reflection of his past self...he just wanted to be happy, but that was a path that had been lost to him long ago... After rounding a corner, Bete put his hands into his pockets beforeing to a stop when he saw a small bundle of items on the ground in front of him. Contained within a satchel, there were several vials of ink, arge book, and a scroll rolled up in a protected case. Bete stared at the satchel for nearly an entire minute before clicking his tongue and walking past it. However, he only took a few steps before looking back at the satchel and releasing a frustrated sigh. As a First-ss Adventurer, he knew very well how expensive the items in the satchel were and leaving them outside was dumb. Even if he never intended to use them, keeping them wouldnt do him any harm... Vahn sensed that Bete had picked up the satchel and it brought a small smile to his face as he turned away and headed toward the Clubhouse once again. He had seen Betes aura waver greatly toward the end and also saw the deep mncholy contained within his eyes. Surprisingly, ording to the system, Betes affection for him was actually 73, even though the bracket parameter was (Envy). Since 50 was the basis, this showed that Bete wasnt actually that hostile toward him, but merely putting on a strong front because of his trauma. Vahn would still take a stand if Bete tried to cause problems for him, but he couldnt bring himself to hate someone just because they had suffered in the past. It might not be any time soon, but Vahn believed Bete would eventually open up to other people, perhaps after he sealed the deal and got married to Lena. When he came into conflict with the Amazon country in the future, Vahn figured he would be able to make amends with Bete since it would be something that concerned both his and Lenas future happiness... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Peh, Puny Werewolf...,Give that boy a bath~! His attitude stinks!,Betes PTSD runs deep) (A/N: I know my releases today are a bit slow, but there will be two more written after this. Things are a bit difficult IRL atm because there is a cold front and the central heating in my apartment was f**cked up when the power took a hit yesterday. It got down to 53 degrees in my apartment earlier, so I curled up in my nkets after a hot shower and took a nap xD. Im not writing from aptop while bundled up, so Ill try to get out the remaining two in the next few hours o3o~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 524 - Regulations

Chapter 524 - Regtions

When Vahn arrived back at the Clubhouse, he found Gareth and Welf having an eatingpetition while it seemed that Finn had started cooking more food. There were still several kilograms of dragon steak cutlets present, but having other food as an apaniment was always helpful. Vahn was also hungry, so he sat down and grabbed a pair of chopsticks for himself, saying inly, "Bete and I got into a bit of a scuffle outside. He headed toward the Twilight Manor afterward, but he picked up thework supplies on his way..." Gareth took a swig from his mug, which was filled with a strange green liquor, before wiping his beard and saying, "That boy has his fair share of problems, so dont take it too personally, Vahn." Vahn ced a piece of meat on the griddle and let it cook until it was crispy while saying, "Yeah, I can tell Bete isnt a bad guy, but that doesnt mean I can just keep acting passively around him. As long as he continues behaving like that, I dont mind teaching him a lesson until he corrects his attitude. However, I wont hold any grudges against him and Ill try to help him out when I can...as long as he doesnt hurt those close to me." Gareth nodded his head while Welf continued chewing on several strips of meat with a confused expression on his face. Finn came out of the kitchen with a tter full of greens, including the stir fry Vahn had made earlier. It was the type of te that could transfer heat to keep the vegetables warm so Finn sat it on the hot te before sitting down and saying, "This little Clubhouse is rather interesting, Vahn. What kind of things do you n to do here in the future?" Vahn swirled around the contents of his cup as he thought about his answer before saying, "Well, Id like this ce to be a safe haven of sorts for everyone on my privatework, but I understand its somewhat inconvenient for everyone to gather here. Ill probably be conducting some of my private research here in the future, but I wouldnt mind just hanging out, eating good food, drinking strong liquor, and maybe ying card and dice games." Finn nodded his head in understanding before showing a thoughtful expression as he said, "You could perhaps consider staffing this building to maintain it in the future. Though it might be a Clubhouse where people can rx, it wouldnt always be easy to take care of the needs of everyone all on your own..." Gareth seemed to agree with Finn as he also said, "Yeah, though youd have to be a bit selective about who you choose, it would probably be a good idea to get a few women in here to make things more lively. There is a stage, so we can probably get some minstrels or songstresses in here to add to the atmosphere. You can treat it as a private gathering spot for your allies, but having just men all gathered together would get a bit tedious after a while." Vahn thought about it and could easily imagine staff walking around and serving drinks to the people gathered, potentially even bing a source of ie for the future. However, Vahn didnt want topete against the Hostess of Fertility for business, so it would probably be better to simply make everything free and charge something like a membership fee instead. As long as he regted what came in and out, it shouldnt be that much of an expenditure on his part and the amount of OP he earned was more than enough to run a small pub without denting his reserves. After considering the matter seriously, Vahn nodded his head and said, "I think its a good idea, but well have to make a few regtions that will have to be followed. First of all, if were going to hire girls to work here we have to make sure they are treated well and arent taken advantage of. I also want to strictly regte things like rtionsh.i.p.s between the staff and clientele since the people that will enter here would usually be somewhat high profile. A lot of girls would jump at the opportunity of having an out to escape from a rough life, so it would be better to nip it in the bud from the start." Vahn knew that any girls they hired would undoubtedly try to win the heart of any of the guys he invited here as guests, including himself. Though he wanted this to be a ce everyone could rx, he didnt n to turn it into an establishment that offered those kinds of services. Other than Welf, who was a bit off when it came to such subjects, Gareth and Finn though Vahns approach was correct since, as he said previously, many of the people entering here would be the executives of various Familia and people closely associated with the heart of the Alliance. They would need to vet the potential staff properly, likely hiring married women with children or those that have strong sensibilities. Though they would have to take vows and sign a contract, the pay would more than make up for their troubles and it should prevent anything from happening, at least for a time. There was always a chance that a member would fall for one of the staff, which would also be regted, but there would be prohibitions preventing them from pressuring the staff or trying to take advantage of them. While they were talking about various rules and regtions that would potentially suit the Clubhouse, Vahn detected the arrival of another presence outside so he took his leave to meet with Ouka, who showed up wearing his typical Adventurer attire instead of casual clothing. He had his characteristic seriousness, but Vahn could see softness in his expression that hadnt been there previously. After considering the reasons, Vahn smiled and asked, "How have things been going with Chigusa?" Ouka averted his eyes slightly and said, "We have grown closer...I now know what it means to desire strength to protect those close to me. Thank you, Vahn, for knocking some sense into me and helping to open my eyes." Unexpectedly, Ouka bowed at a deep angle and seemed to disy sincere gratitude that made Vahn feel a little awkward for teasing him. After their previous spar, Chigusa had helped to nurse Ouka and tended to his wounds by applying ointment and bandages. When he had awakened, Ouka had felt anguish, anger, and self-ridicule all at the same time until Chigusa had literally pped him back to awareness. Though they had always had a mutual affection for each other, neither had ever broached the topic previously until Chigusa used that opportunity to confess to him. Ouka felt somewhat pathetic beingforted by her at the time, but she had persisted every day while also putting a lot more effort into her training. Because he hadnt been able to train on his own, Ouka had been watching her for several days and, when he asked why she was working so hard, her reason had simply been to protect the person she loved. Ouka felt even more pathetic since he also held deep affections for Chigusa and yet was wallowing in self-pity and ridicule while she did her best to be stronger. Deciding he didnt want to be weaker than the girl he liked, Ouka reaffirmed his resolve to get stronger and eventually mustered up the courage to return Chigusas confession. They hadnt done anything intimate yet, but they had shared affections and had gone on two dates so far. Chigusa had actually tried to take things to the next level, which was a bit unexpected considering her nature, but Ouka had backed down at thest moment. He didnt believe he was mature enough yet and wanted to increase his own strength to obtain Level 3 before they advanced their rtionship... Vahn walked forward and helped Ouka rise, as was the polite thing to do when both epting sincerity and showing that you treated the person as a friend, before inviting Ouka inside. Because the Takemikazuchi Familia had always been somewhat poor, Ouka had never been given the opportunity to eat Dragon Steak so Vahn got to see the strange sight of the ratherrge youth devouring slices of meat, even to the point where he locked chopsticks with Welf when they both grabbed from the same te. This was a distinct differencepared to how he had initially behaved, as he had been somewhat deferential and even bowed to both Finn and Gareth, neither of which showed any real concern for his polite behavior. Gareth had even poured him a mug of alcohol, something that would have never urred in the Far East where the younger generation was supposed to respect and honor their elders. He epted the mug after a bit of hesitation and that had also been around the same time that he started to loosen up. Since Raul and Cruz had actually been busy, everyone that was expected to show up was already present so Vahn went over the details and regtions once again as they all discussed ideas to make the Clubhouse more interesting. Welf hade up with an idea to make a hot tub area, or even create private booths, but Vahn denied theter idea. He didnt think a hot tub was too bad an idea but said that it couldnt be used as an opportunity to try and get closer to the waitresses. Vahn believed they needed strict regtions, as strong Adventurers and influential people could actually act very uninhibitedly when they got drunk. This was one of the faults of being power as, even if you werent a bad person by nature, your own strength could get to your head when you got drunk. By avoiding having something like private booths, after all, this was meant to be a ce where they openly socialized, people would be less inclined to try and get away with taking advantages from the staff. Once again, Welf was the only one that seemed to disagree with the idea, effectively proving Vahns point because the youth was already a little drunk. He already had four Amazons taking care of him, but that didnt mean Welf wasnt interested in other women. Combine beautiful girls with alcohol and a bit of power and authority and the fifteen-year-old youth would probably embarrass himself greatly. Vahn managed to get him to drop the subject when he asked Welf to discuss the matter with Sonia, immediately bringing the boy to silence as a concerned look appeared on his face. If the girls even remotely developed the idea he wasnt satisfied with them, Welf probably wouldnt be able to move his body for a week after they were done with him... By the end of their discussion, which included a fair amount of drinking and enough food to feed a small Familia, it was decided they would hire up to ten staff, build a secondary tform for a hot tub, and add things like darts, cards, pool, and dice to the avable forms of entertainment. They were also going to reach out to an entertainment Familia that specialized in music, dance, performance art, and singing so that they could liven up the atmosphere. Vahn also made it so that every core member would be able to invite up to two people into the Clubhouse as trial members, but they could only stay if enough core members supported them. This would both increase the number of peopleing to the Clubhouse while also regting how many people would end up visiting at the same time. Vahn wanted everyone to be a close-knit group, so allowing people to bring inrge groups of people would cause them to only interact with their pre-existing circle of friends instead of getting to know others. Since he could easily buy most of the stuff from his shop, Vahn stocked the Clubhouse with most of the rmended items, including the hot tub even though the tform for it didnt exist just yet. It was big enough to hold ten peoplefortably and was on the far side away from the kitchen and bar. To prevent people from consolidating trash and bottles around the area, the only way to obtain food and drink from the hot tub was to order it and have it delivered. The only way to get new items was toplete what you already had because Vahn wanted to avoid food waste and having partially empty bottlesying around. After all, everything within the Clubhouse was intended to be free, but that didnt mean he wanted people to waste what they ordered. There were also restrictions on taking things out and it could only be meals you had eaten more than half of while you could .u.mte a tab for drinks that you wanted to take out. Once it reached a certain amount, you would be prevented from taking any further drinks away and, if it was discovered you were selling them on the market, you would earn yourself a permanant ban from the Clubhouse itself. Since Vahn would be offering a variety of rare and exotic foods and drinks, he wanted to avoid the situation where people were trying to use their association with the Clubhouse to turn a profit. Though he wouldnt restrict things like business deals and such, it didnt mean he would personally facilitate the dealings using his own goods. The only exceptions to the rules would be for Vahn himself, as he was the one providing the goods in the first ce. Even Gareth wouldnt be able to take more than he was allowed, not that he seemed intent on causing trouble in the first ce. He knew better than anyone how messed up such an establishment could get if there werent proper regtions because he was born in the Iron Hills to an influential family. Manyrge families had their own breweries, pubs, inns, and private establishments. Unlike Vahns, however, theirs were hotbeds for corruption and many influential families used their business to swindle others and try to .u.mte even greater wealth for themselves. It was all a big cl.u.s.terf.u.c.k of people trying to take advantage of each other while treating other races like patsies and ves. Gareth had hated that kind of environment so, when he was strong enough to pass through the Iron Hills on foot, he left behind his homnd to find a less corrupt environment. Around seven oclock in the evening, Vahn figured it was about time for him to head back so he cleaned up arge amount of the dishes before parting ways with everyone. Since it was an open establishment for all the members, they could stay as long as they wanted and Vahn left the bar open for the time being. Until their hired the staff and had someone to do the inventory properly, there was no sense in following the regtions just yet. Before he left, he gave thework materials for Raul and Cruz to Finn and also included some extra sets if they had any suitable people in mind to be future members on thework. He also gave another set to Ouka so that he could pass it on to Take and gifted him a B-Rank item called [Power Band] that would give him a slight boost to his Power and Endurance. After leaving the Clubhouse, Vahn looked into the dimming night sky before turning his attention to his surroundings and sweeping over them in detail. Not knowing when the enemy would attack was a very annoying experience so Vahn was considering ways to detect them in the future. Since they were able to set up arge formation within the Alliances territory, Vahn didnt see why he couldnt do it himself. He had been able to make things like earthen spikes in the past, so doing a bit of earth maniption shouldnt be too difficult if he practiced and studied with Terra. He already had awork of tunnels being constructed under the Hearth Manor, with corridors connecting to the five surrounding Manors, so Vahn didnt think it would be a bad idea to expand it further in the future. Thinking of underground structures, Vahn began to wonder about the artificialbyrinth once again and wondered if he should pay a visit to Daedelus Street in the near future. He had been wanting to go to Marias Orphanage to check up on things, so that would be a good excuse if he needed one. There was also the matter of walking around near Hephaestuss workshop to see if he could find the street orphans he had previously met as he was quite curious about if they had changed or not. It had been nearly three months since he had seen them so, if they were still working hard to ovee their situation, Vahn didnt mind extending them a helping hand. The Miach, Takemikazuchi, and Anubis Familias could always use new members, even though theter didnt seem intent on obtaining any. Anubis only goal at present was to help raise the hounds to a.d.u.l.thood before finally abolishing her Familia and bing his permanant servant. At this point, all of the boys had found girls they liked while Nanu, the current captain, wanted to join the Hestia Familia at the earliest possible moment. Even Chione and Maat had finally found their own potential mates after realizing they didnt have great prospects trying to follow Vahn. He had been worried about Maat, since she seemed to want to be his servant, but she seemed to havee to her senses on the matter after having a long period of time to consider the matter while also interacting with other people. While Vahn was definitely the best candidate for her mate, she was also quite a bit beneath him and couldnt evenpare to Nanu. As a result of these developments, the Anubis Familia would likely disappear entirely within the next 2-3 years and the Manor would essentially be a private residence that would asionally be used by Anubis. Of course, there was also a chance it would be repurposed by the Freya Familia, which was already being discussed, but that was a matter for the future and not something that needed to be taken into consideration right now. Anubis was allowed to make her own decisions and Vahn had already epted her life-long vow of servitude. She had even been happy after finding out that Vahn would potentially live for thousands of years, so Vahn couldnt really say much to dissuade her from abolishing her Familia since it was what she genuinely wanted to do... Along the way, as he had been walking rather slowly, Vahn quickly browsed through the Status Logbook to see what everyone was up to before pulling out his ownmunication scroll and informing the girls within the Manor that he would be staying out for the evening. Thinking about all the things that Anubis had sacrificed for him made Vahn feel like pampering her for a bit and he had never spent the night within the private room she had constructed for him inside the pyramid. She had shown it to him in the past and it wasvishly designed to even include a throne and several tools that she was interested in using. Vahn knew that Anubis had a preference for being dominated and he wanted to make her happier in the future, even though it would take a bit of practice to warm up to more intense ys. After confirming that the message had gone through, Vahn disappeared from the City streets using [Shundo] and quickly made his way to the Anubis Familia residence, simply called the Southern Manor. Thest time he was there, Vahn had taken an interest in the various unique outfits that she had on disy within the room, including the one he had seen from the past that was rather revealing and had the ribbon tied around her butt. Vahn had always regretting not taking full advantage of the situation at that time but there was nothing like the present to make past regrets fade away... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Club Mason open for business...?,Welf about to get death by Snu Snu...,Its like opening up a present (OoO)) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 525 - Field Trip

Chapter 525 - Field Trip

Vahn returned to the Hearth Manor early the next morning in high spirits, satisfied with his aplishments the previous night. Anubis was always highly receptive to his desires, so Vahn was able to push her a bit harder than the other girls. Since she was an exotic beauty with a long bushy tail, beautiful brown skin, and pointed fluffy ears, it made the experience far more interesting since her stressed appearance was quite beautiful... Reaching the Manor, Vahn made his way to the inner courtyard, which had previously been the backyard, and attended the morning training as usual. He had been watching the progress of Tina and Shizune ever since his return from the Dungeon and they really had put in a lot of effort. Though they hadnt been able to gain exilia yet, both girls had some small growth in their parameters which showed how much they were pushing themselves. When he had checked their statusst, Shizune had even awakened the [Featherfoot] ability. She trained at Chloes protege and had also been putting in a lot of effort in the dance lessons of Haruhime. Because she had been a ve for several years, she was already good at moving her body around to simte a dance so it hade quicker to her than most girls... Today was an important day for both girls because it was time for their graduation from basic training. Hephaestus had already started on the development of their weapons, a process Vahn could do nothing but provide the materials for, and they would be using the next two days to rx before entering the Dungeon for the first time on Thursday. To prepare them for their first battle, Vahn would be taking them to the Western Forest today in order to hunt some weaker monsters, so they were already in very high spirits. Mn and Chloe would being along as well and they would be relying on Terra for transportation, as she had arranged things with Fafnir to alternate between acting as his mount. Fafnir had very obviously been tamed by Terra at this point and it often spent time sunbathing within the garden as they talked with each other. It had even retracted its sharp scales to appear more streamlined, almost as if it were trying to copy Terra a bit. When Vahn had asked why Fafnir was so fond of Terra, it simply responded that she smells very nice and is fun to talk to. However, when Vahn talked to Terra about Fafnir, she said that he was very cute, but a little peculiar and not to worry about Fafnir. Terra was actually far more intelligent than anyone had expected and she spent a lot of time talking with Riveria and Lefiya, making great strides in her studies. It wasnt at the same level as himself, but her memory was amazing and she absorbed new information like a sponge. As for her reasons for doing so, it was very obvious that she wanted to get closer to him in the future by being recognized as mature. The final part of their training required Tina and Shizune to spar against their respective teachers, meaning Tina fought Mn while Shizune did battle with Chloe. They obviously werent expected to win, but they needed to put up a good effort for an entire twenty minutes while evading the periodic counter attacks. To make matters even more difficult, they would have to answer questions about various monsters during the fight and only had thirty seconds time to consider their response. This was meant to develop the habit of thinking duringbat while also moving their body instinctively. There were a lot of stimuli experienced duringbat, especially against multiple enemies, so being able to split your focus was a very important ability to adapt to. If you zoned in on a single enemy, you left yourself exposed to sneak attacks and this was how many new Adventurers died to monsters like Imp Assassins, War Shadows, and basic traps. By the time their test hade to an end, Tina plopped down on the ground covered in sweat while Shizune copsed backward and syed out her arms and legs. Because of Chloes influence, she had been developing some udylike habitstely, much to Mnsment since Shizune had been making a lot of progress recently. Seeing the result, Tsubaki, who had been acting as referee and asking the questions, nodded her head with arge grin and said, "You both worked very hard! Congrattions onpleting your basic training~! As a reward, well give Vahn to give you some special treatment until it is time to go fight your first monsters~!" Though she had nearly nted her face into the ground from exhaustion at this point, Tinas ears and tail twitched when she heard Tsubakis words. There wasnt much strength left in her tiny frame, but she still managed to rise to her feet after a great deal of effort. As for Shizune, she continued gasping for air on the ground but there was an expectant smile on her face. Vahn wasnt sure what Tsubaki had in mind, but he rose to his feet and walked over to hear her say, "They have plenty of cramps and strains in their bodies, so help them out a bit and pamper them properly. Motivation is very important early on since the majority of Adventurers make mistakes in the early levels." Tsubakis request wasnt really difficult so Vahn walked over to Tina and reached out his hand to pet her on the head. However, the moment he touched her head, Tinas legs gave out once again so Vahn had to reach forward and grab her to prevent the fall. She blushed in embarrassment and said, "Sorry, Vahnya..." before her ears twitched in frustration. Vahn chuckled and just lifted her up under his arm before walking over and throwing Shizune over his shoulder. Both girls were exhausted so Vahn was going to let them freshen up by taking a bath. It was almost time for the morning training toe to an end, which meant almost everyone would be taking a bath, so heading over a little early didnt make a big difference. During the bath, Vahn helped wash the girls hair and ears while also taking the opportunity to check their Status Boards once again. Knowing where their official starting point was would be very important since he wanted to doc.u.ment their growth under the influence of his [Mentor] Development Ability as urately as possible. Neither girl really minded having him update their status in the bath because he also washed their backs afterward and it was a pleasant experience. Shizune had a lot more tolerance than Tina, even managing to keep herposure after convincing Vahn to help groom her tail. As for Tina, she flushed a healthy shade of red since it had only been the three of them in the bath at first and she felt a little self-conscious until the other girls started to show up. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Tina Yuel Race: Cat Person LV. 1 POW: I18 END: I22 DEX: I20 AGI: I25 MAG: I0 Skill: [Eclipse: Innate(sealed)] Magic: - Development Skill: - ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Shizune Yuel Race: Kitsune LV. 1 POW: I15 END: I13 DEX: I24 AGI: I33 MAG: I14 Skill: [Tamomo: Innate(sealed)], [Featherfoot:I](new) Magic: [Moons Prayer: Innate(sealed)] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance(sealed)], [Insomnia(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Since he was supposed to be pampering them as a form of motivation, Vahn helped Tina and Shizune pick out their clothing and equipment and dressed them up in preparation for their short field trip. Even though she was a sensible girl, even Tina ended up wanting a thin ck tunic that didntpletely cover her stomach. Though it wasnt on full disy, her navel would peek out a bit if she maderge movements. She also wore a white rounded b.r.e.a.s.tte that had arger te on the front and two smaller tes on the back covering her heart. It hugged her body tightly, but the bands were somewhat stic and it didnt bite into her skin. As for the rest of her ensemble, she wore a pair of ck spats underneath white shorts and had a looped belt with a pouch for storing consumable items. For leg protection, she had a pair of white shin guards overtop a pair of ck socks that came to an end beneath her knees, just enough to prevent the straps from the shin guards from cutting into her. She also had a pair of dark brown boots with patterned soles, which was rtively rare, and wielded a small round buckler and a double-edged sword that had a 50cm de. To ent the look, as she wanted to look cute, Tina wore a big red bow around her neck that gave her a somewhat childish appearance. Shizunes outfit was actually much simpler than Tinas, though it was difficult to tell simply based on appearances. Much like Haruhime and Mikoto, she wore a small purple kimono that was a little too short in Vahns opinion. However, she made sure to wear the same type of ck spats that had be popr amongst the girls recently. The downside is, she wasnt fond of any kind of restrictive clothing so she didnt wear anything else other than the kimono and spats as her basic protection against the elements. Because her b.r.e.a.s.ts hadnt started to develop yet in her current form, she didnt even wear a sarashi to protect her dignity and instead wore tape... Toplete her outfit, she wore thin guards on both her arms and legs with a pair of ck stockings underneath her shin guards. Instead of normal boots, she wore a type called tabi that made her appear simr to a ninja since her weapons of choice was a katana-like dagger called a ninjato and a curved dagger that was the same as the type used by Chloe. She had be skilled at throwing it and there was an oil applied to the de that could paralyze weaker monsters. She wore her dark-brown hair in a high ponytail, to prevent it from interfering with her movement, and had it pinned together with two red chop-stick like needles that also qualified as hidden weapons. By the time the girls were ready, which had taken a while since they tried on several different outfits until Vahn gave them the correctpliment, it was nearly 8 AM and almost time to depart. He hadnt been sure what to say to convince them because they seemed to be basing it off his expression than his actual words. Fortunately, they were aware of the time and were very much looking forward to the small excursion and wanted to depart sooner rather thanter. After helping fix their attire properly, Vahn led the two girls to the front yard where he got to see something he hadnt quite expected. Fafnir wasying on its back as Terra sat on top of it and flickered her wings gentled, almost as if she were showering Fafnir in the aroma. She had a small chisel-like object in her hand and was freeing up the lighter colored scales off Fafnirs stomach. Unlike its ck scales, which it could freely shape, Fafnir had no control over its underside scales and it appeared that Terra was helping groom and clean the dense arrangement of scales. Fafnir c.o.c.ked its head to the side in an obviously pleased manner considering that its tongue was dangling out of the side of its mouth. Seeing Vahns arrival, its tongue darted back into its mouth and it said, ("Vahn, good morning~! Sis was helping clean my scales, ehehehe~") Terra stood up from Fafnirs stomach and gently pped her wings once before jumping over andnding next to Vahn after fluttering about briefly. She had a gentle smile on her face and said, "Unless you return Fafnir to his core, you need to make sure to clean his scales properly. He may not get any infections, but it would cause some minor difort after a while~." Though she had a kind tone, Vahn felt like he was being lectured a bit so he nodded his head with an apologetic expression and said, "Ill make sure to help Fafnir groom every now and then..." Terra giggled at Vahns response and said, "Master is a good boy, very kind, fufufufu~." as she reached out and tried to pat his head. Vahn gave her a curious look that made her eyes squint slightly as she retracted her hand and giggled. Seeing the expressions of the two small girls behind Vahn, Terra gave them a yful look before returning to her grooming of Fafnir. Vahn followed behind shortly after since they still had a few minutes before it was time to leave and the other three girls had yet to arrive. However, though it was still a bit early, the others appeared less than a minuteter and Vahn decided it was better to leave early so they could return before lunch. He promised to help Fafnir clean its scalester before having Terra transform into her dragon form. Terra actually wasnt that fond of having the other girls ride on her, but she didnt offer anyints during the few times it had happened. Vahn wouldnt have even known if she hadnt casually mentioned only wanting to have him ride her when he was wiping down her feathers in the past. The only exceptions seemed to be Fafnir and the Elves, apparently due to the fact that the energy she felt from the other girls made her feel a little ufortable while the Elves had affinities rted to nature. Vahn could understand this somewhat since the color of each girls mana reflected their affinity and none of the non-elf girls had natural elements. Chloe and Naaza even had the rare darkness elemental affinity while the closest person to match Terras preference was Lili, who had an incredibly vibrant earth elemental affinity. Unlike the normal brackish-brown color, hers was closer to a yellow-brown and seemed to have a higher degree of purity than normal. Even so, Terra didnt like Lili that much because she could sense the somewhat selfish nature of the small Pallum and the darkness contained in her heart. As they werent going that far, the flight was only twenty minutesbining the time it took for them to check out at the West Gate. They were only going to be looking for monsters like Goblins and Kobolds, so there was no need to venture that far into the depths of the forest either. Vahn humored the idea of revising his home, as this was a good opportunity, so he passed the idea through the other girls who unanimously agreed. Everyone was very interested in seeing where Vahn had lived prior toing to the City, and he also wanted to share a bit of his life with them. They set his previous cave as their destination and took their first steps into the forest, allowing Tina and Shizune to take the lead... Though monsters werent actually thatmon within the Western Forests, unless you went into specially marked danger zones, Vahn quickly guided the two girls toward their first opponent under the pretense of giving them directions to his cave. Shizune was the first to notice the presence of the goblin, other than Vahn, Tsubaki, Mn, and Chloe, so she gave a signal to Tina and they both crouched down. When they were together, they needed to carefully consider their n of attack since it was actually dangerous for both girls to fight with their current parameters. Shizunes ears twitched about and she said, "There is a Goblin around twenty meters in the two oclock direction...I can hear the movement of another creature, but Im not sure what it is..." Both girls sniffed around in the air and tried to pick up any scents that might be helpful and Vahn could feel his heart itching because they were both very adorable. Because he wanted them to both have a chance to fight, while also showing their ability to n properly, he had led them to an area where there were actually three Goblins present. Even though one of them had a small wooden club as a weapon, Vahn wasnt too concerned about the girls because they were already experienced in fighting humanoids after spending more than a month sparring and training every day. He could also use [Wounds Transfer] and stun the Goblins with his domain if necessary and, though they werent aware of it, both girls had an [Effigy of the Hero] in their packs. At this point, every girl in the Manor had an effigy and Vahn made sure they always carried it on their person, especially when they entered the Dungeon. Shizune nodded her head slightly and said, "I can smell two different scents...they are quite pungent..." Tina, however, shook her head and confidently said, "I kyan smell three, but oneya them is much lighter thyan the rest~nyafuu..." Perhaps due to her nervousness, Tinas verbal tick was in full force and he had to rub his temples to keep his focus as Mn silently giggled from his side. As for Shizune, she trusted in Tinas nose and nodded her head saying, "I will draw their attention and try to kite them around. I want you to wait for them to show up when I cause amotion and then try to nk the furthest one. With their attention split between us, well be able to confuse them and whittle them down..." Tina nodded her head and held her sword and shield tightly as a fiery expression appeared in her eyes. However, it was very clear that she was nervous since the sword was jittering slightly and her tail was standing rigid like a pole. Shizune was much calmer, likely a result of her life experience, which is why she volunteered herself as the bait to draw out the enemies. It was actually Tinas role to take to the frontline, but the differences in their age made Shizune lenient toward the young cat girl. After taking a few deep breaths, she ran forward and jumped over the nearby brush to create a loud sound. Vahn noticed small scratches appear on her exposed thighs and sighed because this was one of the reasons he wanted her to wear proper clothing. Shizune reached up and pulled one of the hairpins from her ponytail and threw it at the closest Goblin, hitting it in the arm and lodging the projectile deep into the emaciated flesh. She then gave a strange cry like, "Shaaaaaaa~!" before jumping from side-to-side, waiting for the goblins to aggro onto her, and then bolting toward a series ofrge trees. Though they hadnt been visible at first, two more goblins emerged from the forest and joined their injuredpanion as they chased after Shizune. Just after the cleared the brush though, Tina kicked off hard from the ground and ran forward with her shield low before smashing it up towards the head of the third goblin. It was knocked off bnce and, just as itnded on its back, Tina stepped forward and stabbed her sword directly into its chest before stepping back and taking a distance. Unfortunately, Tinas attack hadnt done nearly enough damage to a vital point to instantly kill the Goblin so it thrashed about and released a loud feral scream that made the young cat girl tremble with a paleplexion. However, she still held up her sword and shield properly, a clear sign of the effectiveness of her training, and stood her ground. She might not have killed it, but the Goblin wasnt going to be going anywhere as it slowly bled out. Its shrieks also had the effect of causing the other two goblins to panic slightly because they werent nearly as mad as the ones found in the Dungeon, possessing a minuscule amount of intelligence. In the resultant confusion, Shizune had run forward at a very low angle, making use of her diminutive size andbat style, and sliced the backside of the Goblin that had turned to face Tina. It released a loud shriek as well and tried to reach its arms behind its back in an attempt to stop the blood before Shizunes second attack, using the dagger she had obtained from Chloe, stabbed into the heart of the Goblin. It had a hooked curve so, as Shizune dragged it back and kicked away from the Golbin, it tore a huge piece of flesh away and the goblin quickly copsed before turning to dust. This effectively made the fight a two-versus-one, with the only remaining enemy being restricted to a single arm. The final Goblin spun around in a panic and swung its small club at Tina and Shizune as they encircled it. Shizunes eyes darted about before she made eye contact with Tina and nodded slightly before shouting, "Shaaaaa~!" once again and pretending to attack the Goblin. It flinched at the loud noise and turned to attack Shizune as Tina, having understood the signal from earlier, stepped in and stabbed the Goblin through the back. This time, her strike was true and she managed to nick the small monster core near the Goblins heart and it immediately turned to dust. Both girls released a sigh before another shriek was issued by the slowly dying Goblin. As they looked over, however, they saw Vahn standing over it as he stabbed forward with his [001] sword and finished it off. Seeing their confusion, Vahn smiled and said, "Remember that the fight is never over, just that there are moments of peace and quiet between an endless series of battles. Also, though monsters may be considered evil by society, it is always the kinder option to put them out of their misery sooner. No creature deserves to suffer, even those created to wreak havoc and chaos. Remember that this isnt a life they chose for themselves, but a purpose they were assigned by powers higher than themselves. When we kill monsters, their sacrifice it was allows us to grow strong and gain the power to protect the people we love. Giving them a painless death is the simplest courtesy we can afford them..." Tina and Shizune had attentive expressions on their faces and nodded their heads when Vahn had finished his words. They werent the only ones either, as Tsubaki, Mn, Chloe, and Terra all had thoughtful expressions. Terra, especially, understood Vahns words and appreciated the kindness he showed to creatures that simply had no choice in their lives. Without having the fortune to develop her intelligence in her previous life, Terra would have also been a mindless killing machine and this made her feel grateful for every day she lived. She would also kill monsters, if necessary, but never because she enjoyed killing or resented them. Hearing Vahns words made her show an appreciative smile on her face as Vahn heard the notification in his mind that Terras Loyalty had increased 32 points... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Graduation Day o3o~!,Terras Fierce Intelligence,Tiny Kemonomimi Warriors,Sagely Words) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 526 - Roots

Chapter 526 - Roots

Over the course of four hours, Vahn continued giving directions to Tina and Shizune as they made their way cautiously through the forest. Though they had already earned the right to enter the Dungeon, they still treated this short excursion very seriously because it wasnt an exaggeration to say they were in danger of sustaining painful injuries if they gotcent. Tina, especially, had a bit of trouble at first but had started adapting to the stress and fear felt duringbat after several engagements. Vahn couldnt help shake the feeling that she was simply too young to be fighting against monsters, but he wasnt going to challenge her desire to grow stronger. Because monsters were very sparse, they had only encountered a total of thirteen goblins and two kobolds even after journeying forth for four hours. It wasnt that there werent more enemies, but many of them were simply too strong for the girls at present and Vahn wanted them to take it slow. After all, they would be entering the Dungeon proper in a few days and that would be the true test so it wasnt a good idea to strain them too much for now. Fighting Goblins and Kobolds was more than enough for their present level of strength and they would likely be constrained to the upper floors for quite a while, meaning they would be fighting the two types of monsters often. Once they reached the clearing where the creek and rock formations were located, Vahn brought the group to a stop and felt especially reminiscent seeing the surroundings. Terras fragrance followed the entire group and Vahn felt it was very effective during moments like this. He turned to everyone with a gentle smile on his face and said, "This ce was my home until I eventually made my way to Orario more than six months ago...it hasnt really been that long, but it almost feels as though it was a lifetime ago." Tina looked around with wide-eyes at the area and didnt even notice the cave entrance at first because Vahn had blocked it off. She had been curious about Vahns lifestyle before he came to the Hearths Embrace since his behavior at the time had been off. Seeing that there was nothing but nature around them, she understood why he behaved that way and it made her feel a little sad seeing the proof of the tragic past he had experienced. Tsubaki walked over to a tree that Vahn had previously used for target practice as everyone else began looking around the area Vahn once called home. He opened up the entrance to the cave for them before heading inside to the ce that had once given him shelter and also served as the location of one of the most significant moments in his life. It was in this moderately cool cave that Vahn became a man and shared his life with other people for the first time, at least as man and woman. Before then, he had been living primarily to make other people happy without taking into consideration his long term actions. Now, he probably spent too much time thinking about and preparing for the future...realizing how much he had changed made Vahn feel shocked at the influence of time. Shizune looked around at the glowing stones in the cave and inspected the area with intrigue while Tina sniffed around the air, almost as if she were looking for something. Even though he had sealed off the cave, Vahn had made sure to air it out properly at the time because he didnt want to draw the attention of animals to the entrance. Though there was an ambient aroma that was very simr to his own, it had faded greatly with the passage of time and it was likely only someone like Fenrir would be able to smell it. After failing to find what she was looking for, Tina seemed to be a little sad as she said, "This ce doesnt smell like a home at all...Im d you came to the City, Vahn..." Unlike the warmth that could be experienced in a ce where people lived, the cave was cold and distant and it was very obviously a ce unsuitable for living. She didnt know how long Vahn had lived here, but knowing this had been his first home made her feel mncholic. Her own life hadnt been easy, especially for her mother, so she had done her best to mature in order to help out as much as possible. She knew about Vahns past, but it was difficult to believe someone could go through so much suffering without ending up much worse than Vahn had been. Remembering his actions when he first showed up at the end made Tina regret not treating him better at the time, even though she never actually treated him badly at all. In fact, because of her mother, Vahn had be her first crush because he had been very handsome and looked to be just a little older than she was... Terra walked into the cave after a short while and looked around the area much like Shizune and Tina had done before saying, "This concentration of energy within this ce is abnormal...its almost like Master has filled out the surrounding areapletely~." She then moved over to an area before crouching down and sniffing about with a ruminating expression. Though her sense of smell wasnt actually that developed, her ability to sense energy, especially if it was Vahns, was inarguably higher than almost anyone else. Vahn recognized the area she was sniffing and walked over as he exined, "When I first arrived at this area, I nearly died fighting against a Goblin...I had bled in this area and fought hard to survive. Things have changed quite a bit since then..." Though his blood dispersed after being exposed to the air for around a day, it didnt mean the energy contained within the blood ceased to exist. It had permeated through the cave and nourished the energy in the surroundings during this small cavern into an energy-rich hotspot. The amount of blood and sweat that existed in this cave as a result of Vahns training was quite a bit because he hadnt always walked away from fights unscathed. As a result, Terra felt the connection between Vahn and the cave and understood the significance this ce had. She flickered her wings and sent a gentle energy through the cavern and stirred the ambient energy to life at the same time. The floor of the cave immediately became covered in a dense and fragrant coating of moss that spread all the way until reaching the mouth of the cave. Seeing this, the other girls outside made their way into the interior as nt life came into existence at a startling rate, including many rtively rare herbs and flowers. The crystals within the wall and roof shifted from emitting a dull light to shining like the sun itself as the entire cave came to life. Vahn watched the phenomenon with his [Eyes of Truth] active and could see pulses of energy radiating through Terras feet as it activated the dense energy located in the surroundings. He had never realized the effect he had on this ce in the past and now knew that his own blood had many other potential uses... By the time the energy had settled, there was even a small tree growing near the center of the cave, strangely enough where Vahn had spent his first time with Tiona and Ais. He had put in a great deal of effort at the time, so it made sense that a lot of his own energy had dissipated out into the environment at the time. Having a tree mark the location was a little strange, but Vahn didnt mind it too much since the rays of lighting from the now vibrant crystals made the entire cave look like a mystical micro-climate. Tsubaki had even removed one of the crystals from the wall and had been inspecting it with her magic eye before saying, "These glowstones have an incredible amount of pure earth mana contained within them. They arent the highest quality material, but you could probably use them if you wanted to make some durable armor..." Vahn shook his head gently and said, "I think its better to leave this ce untouched as much as possible. Exploiting the ce I called my home just to get a few small benefits doesnt sit well with me. Besides, I can obtain higher quality materials from the Dungeon..." Though she couldnt put the stone back into the wall, Tsubaki tossed it near the base of the tree so that it would nourish it in the future. There was a fair chance the small cherry tree would die out due to ack of real sunlight and nutrients, but it would stillst for several years with the energy from the stones. It may even grow strong enough to break through the roof of the cave in the future, though it wasnt likely. After eating lunch within the fort of the cave, it was time for them to return to the Manor so Terra returned to her dragon form and allowed everyone to ride on her back. Unlike thest time, where he simply covered it with a stone, Vahn spent a bit of time manipting earth elemental energy topletely seal off the cave. Terra then ced her palms against it and vines began to grow from the area as the crawled up the rock and made it appear as though there had never been a cave in the area. On the inside, other than the cherry tree, Vahn had left a small shrine dedicated to his past life and the many important experiences he went through. He also left a small lockbox that contained an emblem and a note to anyone that might one day discover this ce. If they brought the emblem to the Alliance, Vahn would consider their fates somewhat intertwined and give them a favor. The return flight had been rtively quiet and Vahn held both Tina and Shizune in his arms throughout the duration of the hour-long leisurely flight. They had to sit in a line to fit on Terras back, as she wasnt nearly as wide as Fafnir, so Mn held his body while Chloe held her, leaving Tsubaki holding onto Chloe. It was a little awkward, especially considering that Terra wasntfortable with being ridden by them, but the flight was uneventful and she didnt utter anyints. As for the two girls in his arms, they had fallen asleep shortly after the flight began since Vahnsforting embrace,pounded with Terras aroma, caused their previous tensions to fade entirely. Once they reached the Manor, Vahn carried the two sleeping girls to their room and left Mn to help change their clothing. Though it would have been better for them to take a bath, Vahn had removed the sweat, dirt, and any grim from their bodies with his cleaning magic so they just needed to change into sleepwear. He then made the rounds and spent some time with all the girls that were present in the Manor before finding his way to the back garden where Fafnir, Terra, and Riveria were located. He found Terra once again helping clean Fafnirs scales so he took over the task after promising to help groom her feathers when he was done. With her time freed up, Terra sat with Riveria and poured herself a cup of tea as she looked over all the notes atop the table, all concerning her physiology and characteristics. Using Vahns notes as a temte, and conversing with Terra directly, Riveria hadpiled a prehensive ount of Terras information and it was very interesting for the elegant True Dragon. She was quite fond of Riveria, so seeing the High Elfs interest in her made Terra feel amused. However, afterbing through the information to validate it, she noticed there a few details mentioned and said, "The liquid within the wellspring isnt the sap that you have doc.u.mented within your journal. My [Healing Sap] is entirely unrted to your notes about potential applications of the fluid are somewhat wed." Riveria raised her brow slightly and looked over the information within her journal and realized she had rted to the liquid within the wellspring to Terras [Healing Sap] based on its properties. Since she hadpared the data previously, it was strange that she would have made such an oversight but, after looking over her own notes, she realized the issue. There was actually no information provided by Vahn regarding the [Healing Sap] so she had made assumptions based on ack of information. Though he was prone to oversights, this was very uncharacteristic of Vahn since he was typically very thorough when it came to such things. After confirming it for herself, Riveria felt confused by the matter and asked, "Have you never discussed your [Healing Sap] with Vahn? Is there a specific reason why it isnt written within his notes?" Terraughed in a yful manner that perplexed Riveria when she asked, "Would you like me to discuss it with him? Im certain he would be more willing if you express you interest in the matter~." As they had interacted with each other a lot over thest week, Riveria knew Terras nature a bit and realized that there definitely had to be a reason Vahn had never gotten around to it. Much less an oversight on his part, he probably had avoided it based on reasons she wasnt currently aware of... Before Riveria could properly consider the matter, Terra flickered her wings and shot up away from her chair beforending near Vahn. Riveria knew she had triggered andmine of sorts so she rose from the table to correct any misunderstandings that might ur. When she neared, she heard Terra saying, "Master, I have been patiently storing my sap for you...now that Riveria has brought it up, I believe now is the best opportunity to extract it~." Vahn had been using a ratherrge brush to help scrub down Fafnirs scales and had beenpletely caught off guard by Terras words. Seeing Riveria walk over, Vahn asked, "Did you have an interest in Terras sap?" Riveria furrowed her brows slightly and said, "I wont deny that Im interested, but I can tell there is some information that isnt properly beingmunicated here. If it needs to be extracted in an awkward fashion, I wont press the issue an-" Terras wings flickered and made a sound like a breeze passing through the trees as sheughed and said, "It isnt really awkward, at least from my perspective. Master is just a little overly cautious about the matter because of my human form~" Vahn shook his head in a slightly exasperated manner and exined for Riverias benefit, "Terras body doesnt process food and drink the same way as other people. Her basic physiology is closer to a nt and her body filters nutrients before storing in a nd around the base of her tail, where a normal persons anus would be." She had already known about Terras physiology, which allowed her to understand Vahns words, but Riveria had been caught off guard by the rest of his exnation. Even if she wasnt really a person, Terra shared many characteristics of a woman and imagining her excreting the life-giving fluid from her butt was rather disconcerting. She understood why Vahn would have avoided researching the subject since he often tried to at least try to act with propriety. Given Terras personality, she would have likely brought it up at some point and, given her general intelligence, it was very obvious she was using the current developments as an opportunity. Terra tilted her head and said, "But I read a lot of books and the anus is supposed to be the opening at the end of the alimentary canal through which solid waste matter leaves the body. My body doesnt produce solid waste at all and I dont even have the same organs that would process such waste in the same manner. I have neither an intestinal tract, nor a liver, so it would be more urate to call it nectary or a sap-producing-organ than an anus~." Hearing her words, both Riveria and Vahn felt a bit of a headacheing to them because, as she had exined, there were some distinct differences. The problem remained, however, that she still had a human-form so Vahn said, "If youre that intent on producing it, you should be able to do it yourself or, if you are adamant about having it extracted, you should turn into your dragon form.." Before Vahn had finished his words, Terra startedughing as a vibrant green light appeared and she turned into her dragon form. Vahn sighed because he thought she was just insisting that he should help her with the process but Terra suddenly asked, "Can you see the difference between my dragon and human forms, Master~?" As she spoke, Terra slowly rotated her body and waggled her tail from side to side as she leaned forward. Vahn was very confused at first until Riveriamented, "She doesnt have the s.e.x.u.a.l characteristics associated with female dragons..." Hearing her words, Vahn stared at the bare area that Terra was disying and understood the situation. She was essentially showing off that she couldnt produce it in her dragon form at all. Vahn activated his [Eyes of Truth] and scanned over Terras body and noticed that the important part he was looking for didnt exist at all. There were already many unknowns about how her body was actually able to transform, but it apparently also included the disappearance of entire organs during the transition. When she returned back to her human form, Vahn saw that the dder-like organ came back into existence and waspletely filled with an emerald-green fluid. Before she could try to convince him to help her, Vahn held up his hand and asked, "Tell me honestly, Terra, can you remove your sap on your own?" Terra smiled and nodded her head before saying, "Yes, that is correct, Master, but Ill refuse to do so unless you order me to. Unless it is necessary, I would rather not have produced it at all and, if you wish to make use of it for your research, I would want you to extract it yourself. It may be a little selfish of me, but I believe its within my right to request as it is also somewhat selfish to ask for my materials without harvesting them yourself." Vahn realized now why Terra had always gotten him to take the materials personally in the past...it was all so that she could make her current argument and remove any grounds he had to argue against her. Her intelligence was very high, but Vahn hadnt expected she had been scheming for an entire week. He was impressed by her foresight because he now found himself in a very difficult situation where it would be wrong to insist she produces it for him. Terra knew well that he didnt want to exploit them and she was now making use of that information to test his own convictions regarding the matter. Vahn released a sigh and looked into Terras gentle expression and saw the expectation contained within her eyes. Because he couldnt stand not knowing the true reason, Vahn asked, "Why are you going to such lengths, Terra? Help me understand why you machinated this type of situation..." Though he already knew most of the reason, Vahn still wanted to hear Terras exnation and, seeing how unphased she was by the question, she had already prepared her answer. Her smile turned softer than it had been previously as she exined, "Though it may not have been my ce at first, I can see that Master treats us all as hispanions in a very serious manner. You want us to have individual wants and desires instead of being bound by your words and orders...this is how I express my desire, Master. You can consider it a result of my pride as a dragon that had been blessed with the opportunity to meet you. Now that I have the option, I cant be content with simply staying in the background and only being of use on asion...I want to be needed by Master in a way I can feel with my own body...Unless you change how you treat us, your subordinates, I cant help but want to reduce the distance between us even more~." Terra had been content with simply being Vahns servant in exchange for being able to see the surface, but the efforts he had put in to try and make her happy were deeply rooted in her heart. He tried to make sure she had everything she wanted and asked for very little, even going out of his way to help her get close to others so that she had morepanions. However, seeing his rtionship with Fenrir and how he spent his time with the other girls made her somewhat envious of them. Since he was a very structured person that tried to keep his promises, she had been going through all the steps required by him to get closer to him. She had also used his treatment of others, especially his pampering of Fenrir, as an excuse to receive pampering of her own in the form of grooming. As he had inferred, this was all so that she could convince him to do even more things with her in the future all because, when she first became a human, she had seen the way he looked at her. It wasnt the look of a kind boy observing a monster, it was the look of a young man admiring the appearance of a beautiful woman. She wanted him to always have that same intrigue in his eyes when they were together, instead of the pretense he adopted... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Culvation Cave?,Cherry Tree...,Terras Desires) (A/N: I know people may be concerned with thete chapters, so let me exin what happened. Verizon was trying to charge me an additional $85.02 simply due to a clerical error and the fact that they had failed to transfer my phone service. Because I had used .083MB of a 500MB n, they tried to shoe-horn me into paying for the service even though the only app I had run was the Verizon app itself. I was on the phone with them from 7:06 AM until 11:18 AM and needed a bit of time to cool my head. If you were on the Discord, you would have felt my wrath a bit and I even broke my mouse after having been transferred to the eleventh person. By the end, I had talked to a total of seventeen people until the savior, Chris, appeared. He did in fifteen minutes what sixteen people couldnt do in four hours...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 527 - Extraction

Chapter 527 - Extraction

Hearing Terras reason, Vahn felt like he was in a difficult situation but just shook his head and decided it wasnt really worth worrying over. Unless she was left behind when he left for another record, Terra was bound to walk with him for all eternity. He would need to take factors like this into consideration for the future, as he already had more than enough women to worry about but, for now, he simply decided to follow his gut and proceed forward. By taking proactive action, he would be able to exercise more control over these types of situations in the future instead of falling to the momentum of Terra. Vahns expression transitioned from confusion into seriousness as he said in a firm tone, "I will give way on this matter, Terra, but know that Im not fond of being pushed into corners like this. From now on, try to act more naturally instead of scheming to get your way, even if youre using logic to guide your decisions. You still have a lot to learn, including how people interact with each other without trying to manipte them. Be honest and try to open your mind to makepromises or youll eventually cause unnecessary tension." Terra flicked her tail against the ground without her expression changing much as she exined, "I am, after all, a monster...please show me some leniency, Master, as I am doing my best to understand your world better. There are many things I cannot understand yet, but I will never stop trying to improve myself." From Terras perspective, Vahns treatment of her, Fenrir, and Fafnir didnt make sense at all. He was their Master yet allowed them to choose how they wished to live, even if it inconvenienced him. She knew he wanted to treat them like family, but even after watching him interact with the other girls in the Hearth Manor, there were obvious differences in how he treated people. Terra couldnt wrap her head around Vahns thought process and believed that even Vahn himself wasnt sure of his decisions. If he was interested in her body, Terra wished he would be more proactive instead of making her jump through hoops just to earn the right to let him pursue her...? Vahn also couldnt really understand Terra that well because she was much older than both Fafnir and Fenrir, having lived more than thirty years as a monster in her previous life. Fafnir and Fenrir were child-like in their thought processes and were very receptive to change. Terra, however, had certain thoughts deeply rooted in her mind and, though she was proactively learning new information, her increased intelligence was actually a detriment. Because she already had deeply rooted beliefs, she could now rationalize everything and, instead of learning things from scratch, she used it to slightly alter her perceptions so that they made sense. If things were contradictory, she would put in an effort to try and understand the perspective of others, but she often found that the exnations she received were unsatisfactory. After thinking for a while, Vahn nodded his head and said, "I know you are doing your best, Terra, and Ill do my best to help you out however I can. Just try and slow down a bit instead of forcing people into awkward situations like this." Terra held Vahns gaze for several seconds before blinking slowly and nodding as she said, "I understand, Master, please forgive me~." Vahn released a soft sigh before looking to Riveria and asking, "Will you stay here with me, Riveria? I know it will be even more awkward for you, but I can think of it as a more scientific action if there is someone like you with me." Riveria had just been thinking of ways to excuse herself before she heard Vahns words, causing a simr sigh to escape her lips as she said, "Very well, Vahn. However, if you try to do anything strange know that I will smack you with my staff..." Knowing that Riveria was here with him, even though she was obviously against it, Vahns expression turned gentle as he said, "Thank you, Riveria." Hearing Vahn thank her for such an awkward thing made the hand Riveria was using to hold her staff twitch. She had an urge to smack him but held it in and just nodded her head with a serious expression on her face. Vahns smile widened slightly because he had seen the fluctuation in her aura before he turned to Terra and said, "Very well, Terra, you can remove your robe and Ill extract the sap..." Terras smile blossomed as the elegant robe covering her body dissipated in an instant leaving nothing but a pendant around her neck. She then squinted her eyes in a slightly yful manner causing Vahn to sigh and say, "Turn around and lift up your butt...Im not sure what the best method to extract the sap is, but I intend to use a blunt syringe for it." As he spoke, Vahn looked through the shop before he found a syringe that could hold around 500ml of fluid that had a nozzle on the end instead of a needle. Terra saw the tool and her brows lowered very slightly as she turned around and bent over. Most of her weight was actually located around her h.i.p.s and lower body so she could easily bend over with her tail and wings as a counterbnce. Vahn knew that Terra could lift her tail on her own, but she seemed to be waiting for him to take action since, other than her wings fluttering slightly, she didnt do anything else to assist him. He was impressed that she was able to contort her body at such an angle without losing her bnce, but he put that matter to the back of his mind as he kneeled down. Lifting up her tail so it could rest on his shoulder, Vahn saw Terras somewhatrge buttocks and the crevasse between the two cheeks. He could also see her v.a.g.i.n.a clearly from this angle but just shook his head as he used his left hand to pull apart her buttocks and insert the syringe inside the small puckering entrance. Terras wings sounded likes trees being battered by a wind storm as each individual feather shook. Though Vahn couldnt see it, her always smiling expression had turned sour in an instant and she really disliked the feeling of hard stic entering her butt. Once the nozzle was pushing into Terras sap producing organ, she suddenly clenched up and Vahn saw that the stic nozzle had beenpletely crushed as a result. He realized he probably should have used something to lubricate the nozzle so he pulled out a new one and said, "Try and rx your body, Terra. Ill take it slowly so dont clench up...breath in slow and steady breaths..." Loki had once talked to him about trying to do anal and had exined the steps he would need to take if he ever wanted to try it. He applied a warm lubricating jelly to the nozzle before spreading Terras cheeks once again and inserting it much slower than he had previously. The reason he hadnt used the jelly previously was that he didnt want it to mix with the sap and potentially had adverse effects. He realized now that he should have been more considerate of Terra but this situation made it somewhat difficult for him to think clearly. Though it was still unpleasant, Terra felt like it was infinitely better than the hard and frustrating feeling she had felt previously. Still, though she was following Vahns words, her eyes darted about rapidly with her thoughts before she identally clenched again. This time, before Vahn could take out another nozzle, Terra ined, "That feels very unpleasant, Master...please dont put weird things in my body..." When he heard her words, Vahn tilted his head slightly to peek around and see the anguished face of Terra looking back at him. He had used a rtively thin nozzle to make it easier for her, but it seemed to be causing her more difort than he had expected. Vahn thought it over for a moment and asked, "You previously said you can ex...drain it on your own, so can you loosen up your body and let me collect it into a container?" Even as he asked the question, Vahn felt like Terra was already thinking of how to maximize her benefits in this situation. As expected, she eventually said, "I think I can produce a little...but it isnt easy and I could use Masters help. Ive never released any before and I dont have proper control..." Though she was usually very rational in her exnations, it was very obvious that Terra hadnt considered matters this far or she would have never let him use the nozzle from the beginning. Before she could potentially bring it up, Vahn said, "Im not going to put my finger into your butt, Terra..." He could feel her tail twitch at his words and knew he had pre-empted her suggestion sessfully. Activating his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see theplex arrangement of Terras muscles and said, "You wanted me to extract it myself, so leave it to me..." Since he hadnt been thinking about this properly at first, Vahn had overlooked the simple solution as he pulled out a small ss jar and began emitting white light from his left hand. He pressed up against the base of Terras tail, causing her wings to flicker chaotically as a numbing energy slowly spread through the muscles in her buttocks. He then pressed a few pressure points while inserting threads of energy into her body against her expectations. Terra was pping her wings slightly as she said, "Masterrrr, dont do anything strange to my bodyyy~" Unlike the frustrating feeling of the syringe, Terra liked Vahns touch a lot more but it made her feel a little bothered knowing he was doing things at his own pace. She thought there would be more opportunities to guide him as she pleased so it made her heart race at the unexpected sensations in her lower body. From Vahns end, however, things were going a lot smoother now and he ced the lip of the container up against Terras backside as an emerald-green and highly viscous liquid began to drain out of her gently palpitating nectary. Each time it expanded slightly, there would be a thick dribble of the fluid that would be forced out when she contracted once again. Riveria watched everything happening from the side and immediately regretted her decision to stay and support Vahn. Though she wanted to express her solidarity and concern for him, this situation was a little much and it had caused a small blush to mar her generally stoic expression. If not for the fact that she could sense the massive amount of natural energying from the sap, which had drawn her interest, Riveria would have walked away and waited for Vahn to finish the extraction on his own. However, she wasnt willing to go back on her word and she could see that Vahn himself was treating the matter seriously... After nearly three minutes of what Vahn believed to be the most awkward moment of his life, he had drained nearly 700ml of sap from Terras body because she had been saving it up all week. At this point, there was more than just saping from her lower body and Vahns brain had been buzzing as a tingling sensation appeared on his forehead and at both of his temples. Though the musk of most women was quite pleasant, the aroma emitted by Terra was unlike anything he had ever experienced, almost like thousands of different flowers mixed together. Even though it was strange, Vahn also felt like it had a sugary undertone and it had forced him to hold his breath for the surprisingly long three minutes. At this point, Terras wings were fluttering slightly as they gingerly tapped against the ground while she pitifully bit her bottom lip hard enough to draw a crimson line of blood. She had four sharp fangs in her mouth, two on top and two on the bottom, and had been forced to bit her own lip to cope with the feelings from her lower body. She had never actually experienced anything like s.e.x.u.a.l excitement and it was made her feel intoxicated and frustrated at the same time. When Vahn pulled his painfully hot hat away from her butt, she couldnt help but gasp out as the feeling slowly began returning to her buttocks. Vahn hadnt forced her entire body rx, just a few select muscles, so she had been able to stand easily throughout the procedure. This actually made her feel worse, however, because it was like an itch in her body that she couldnt scratch since her body wouldnt respond properly. Vahn capped off the container, as he wasnt sure it would react if exposed to the air for too long, and handed it the slightly frowning Riveria who, as she sped the container, realized it was very warm to the touch. Terras body temperature was very highpared to normal, so the fluid that had been inside of her carried that same heat. Combined with the immense amount of energy she could feel within the container, Riveria felt very awkward holding onto it because she was both apprehensive and intrigued at the same time. She walked over and set it down on the table and opened up her journal to make notes,pletely ignoring what Vahn was going to do from now on. Seeing Riverias reaction, Vahn realized he would have to make it up to herter for the grievance she had suffered as a result of his request. For now, however, he looked to Terra and said, "Terra, please wear your clothing properly..." before walking over to the patiently waiting Fafnir with arge brush in hand. Fafnir had been watching the events y out with curiosity and hadnt wanted to interrupt the proceedings at all. It was surprising to see its Sis handled so easily by their Master because Fafnir had started to feel like she was very smart, beautiful, and almost perfect. With its Master getting the advantage, Fafnir raised its head proudly and felt a little bit of its own pride return knowing that its Master, which had just defeated its Sis, was going to pamper it. When she had heard his words, Terras wings drooped sadly as she watched his departure with eyes filled to the brim with frustration, desire, and a great deal of confusion. She took several deep breaths and willed her robe into existence before stretching out her wings to ease some of the difort in her body. Seeing Riveria sitting at the side, Terra c.o.c.ked her head slightly before her smile returned and she made her way over. Riveria looked up from her journal and, seeing Terras expression and behavior, showed a firm expression as she said, "You know well the differences between men and women, Terra, and there is nothing I can do to help you win Vahns affection. I would encourage you to do as he said previously and take things slowly unless you n on stirring up trouble..." Terras eyes widened slightly as she sat down in the chair, doing her best to ignore the aching in her body, and said, "It really isnt in my nature to stir up trouble, Riveria...I just want to be closer to Master, so Im sorry if I upset you with my behavior. I know he is important to you as well, but please remember that I simply cannot live without him..." Though she could pull energy from the sun, sky, and even earth, this wouldnt be enough to sustain her for a long period of time and it wasnt an exaggeration to say she would die if Vahn abandoned her. Riveria also knew she relied on Vahn to replenish her energy reserves so she nodded her head and said, "Though your body ages, I imagine it will be a very slow process over the course of several thousand years, at the very least. There are many girls within the Manor that have yet to consummate their rtionship with Vahn, so the best method at your disposal would be to learn all that you can while waiting for the others..." Hearing Riverias words, Terra felt that it was indeed the best solution but, after experiencing the sensations in her own body, she couldnt help but want to be closer with Vahn even sooner. His energy was incrediblyfortable for her, far more than even the natural energies of the environment itself. Just like the Elven girls, who processed natural energy and absorbed parts of it into their bodies, Terra felt like Vahns energy was addictive after experiencing its flow in such a manner. She wanted to feel it even more but also knew that, as Riveria was implying, she would instigate conflict unnecessarily if she tried to press the situation. There was also the matter of Fenrir, someone she didnt have any confidence in confronting, so Terra felt at a loss... Seeing Terras appearance, Riveria sighed and said, "You are a very intelligent woman...but intelligence isnt enough if you want to be happy. Remember what you originally wanted when you sought the surface instead of focusing on the things you currently have. Just like nature itself, you should do your best to find a bnce in life so that you dont be obsessed with wants and desires. If nothing else, I can promise that you will never be happy if you scheme to get what you want...and it will make Vahn sad to see you walk down such a path. You may very well be smarter than him, but remember where your intelligence came from...and watch what he does with your own eyes. Vahn, though a bit simple at times, has capabilities far beyond our understanding...things we cant exin no matter how much logic, reasoning, andmon-sense we try and apply..." Terra looked over at Vahn and considered all of Riverias words very seriously, recalling that she had indeed received everything that she currently had from Vahn. His intelligence and understanding of things was a bitcking, but he was also far more adaptive than she was and proactively sought greater understanding for himself. He also studied many things and could perform feats she couldntprehend at all...making her intelligence seem almost tiny inparison to his existence. If he wanted to, Terra knew Vahn could create a genius that made her look like a child that had never received an education at all...this realization made her terrified because it almost invalidated everything that she currently was. However, it also brought her a strange sense offort knowing that Vahn cared for her even though she was receable. Yes, unlike Vahn, who was instrumental in all of their lives, she could easily be reced with something that far outstripped her current capabilities. Even so, Vahn wanted her to live a happy life while she schemed against him...the person that she should be putting in all of her efforts to make happy... A warm feeling spread through Terras chest that made her feel something that she had never experience before. It was like a painful longing, but also brought her a great deal offort knowing it existed. She felt like it was important to nurture this unknown feeling and that the only way to do so was to increase her understanding, not just of herself and Vahn, but everything around her. To show her worth, so that she became something irreceable within Vahns heart, Terra wanted to .u.mte as much information as possible and study everything that could prove beneficial to him. Seeing Riveria sitting across from her, Terra knew the route she would have to take so she smiled and said, "Riveria, please teach me more...I want to understand...everything." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Natures Syrupy Goodness?,Godhand Vs. True Dragon,Terra is already irreceable, kappa) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 528 - Weapons

Chapter 528 - Weapons

After helping Fafnir clean all its scales, which had taken far longer than Vahn had originally expected as there were months of buildup around them, he spent the rest of the evening ying around with Tina and Shizune, who had awoken after taking a nap for a few hours. So that they would be able to rest properly at bedtime, Vahn had gone out back with them, apanied by Fenrir, Aki, Mn, and Hestia. Vahn set out a thick nket for the girls to sit in before pulling out a frisbee from his inventory and throwing it for the two young girls to catch. Even though their parameters had yet to develop, they had the natural agility of a Cat Person and Kitsune so they were easily able to catch it, even when he threw it at tricky angles. Fenrir had initially wanted to participate but, other than trying to p the frisbee with her paws, she wasnt able to catch it easily and had given up trying to catch them normally after damaging three of them. Though she had great control over her ws nowadays, she still couldnt retract thempletely and, unless Vahn threw the frisbee at near-supersonic speeds it wasnt that fun for her. Unfortunately, high speeds meant she couldnt exercise her precise control so she instead ended up batting it with her tail in a surprisingly deft manner. She usually didnt use her tail that much, not that she couldnt, so it was an unexpected development that Vahn found was rather adorable. After a short bath, followed by a long dinner, Vahn retired to his bedroom apanied by the umonbination of Tiona, Tione, and Tsubaki. Ais had stayed with Lefiya for the evening since she felt bad about leaving her alone, and Tsubaki had felt like spending time with Vahn, even without him making the offer. Since the twins didnt mind, Vahn had no problem with it at all and her presence actually made Tiona and Tione more docile than normal. Everyone was always more reserved around the pregnant women so, having the mature Tsubaki along had mellowed out the two girls because they didnt want to identally cause a problem. From Vahns perspective, he simply thought it was interesting having three brown-skinned beauties in the same room and did his best to properly tend to each of them... Vahn awoke the next morning hugging Tsubaki from behind with his right hand resting on her belly as he aimlessly stroked it with his palm. After they had s.e.x for around two hours, Tiona and Tione ended up leaving the room to go wash off before heading to their own bedroom to sleep. They realized they couldnt pete with one of the girls that were already pregnant so they eventually conceded defeat and allowed Vahn to spend some time alone with Tsubaki. Both girls had already taken medicine to prevent their own pregnancies after theirst battle, but it was very obvious they wanted to have children of their own with the absentminded nces they often gave Tsubakis pregnant belly. This world was one where you never knew when yourst day would be, especially in a precarious situation like what they found themselves in. As an Exploration-Type Familia that also purported itself as a Righteous Familia at the same time, it meant they were constantly putting their lives on the line to probe deeper in the Dungeon. They also had several enemies that would take advantage of any weaknesses they showed, though most of that was dealt with by the presence of the Alliance. Few people actually wanted to openly oppose the powerhouse the Alliance had be and there were far more individuals that sought benefits, either through direct coboration or roundabout collusion. Tsubaki didnt mind being tended to by Vahn, but she eventually stirred as she turned over her body and said, "We cant stay in bed forever..." before leaning forward and stealing a kiss. The moment he tried to invade her mouth with his tongue, she pushed against his chest and gave him a teasing look before shifting her way out of bed. One of the awkward things about having arge bed was that you had to climb out of it. Vahn had a habit of watching the girls crawl away before leaving the bed himself, but it didnt seem like Tsubaki was willing to y along this morning. With a sad sigh, Vahn rolled onto his heels before vanishing from the bed using [Shundo] andnding on his feet. He knew it was also time to start the day or they would bete for the morning training and the presentation of Tinas and Shizunes weapons. Hephaestus had worked with Hestia to treat the metal for a total of three days before spending nearly twenty hours forging each weapon. He had been able to view and doc.u.ment the process, but Vahn wasnt nearly at the level required to be of assistance and even Hestia simply provided her blood and prayed to the treated metal. The most he could do was provide wless materials for Hephaestus to make use of, which she had been very grateful for since the quality was much higher than what could be found in the mortal world. The final result of theirbined efforts had been two rtively in weapons that actually werent that strong, at least for now. Unlike other weapons, which were somewhat inert andcked an aura, it was almost like the two growth weapons were alive and Vahn knew they possessed a great deal of potential. They even had the ability to slowly regenerate over time while the materials were able to absorb mana into the molecr structure of the base materials to enhance their parameters further. Though they didnt actually have Status Boards, they were weapons that possessed a Falna and would be able to be stronger alongside their users, this time being bound to Tina and Shizune, though not to the extent that it was fused with their soul. Anyone with the Hestia Familia crest would be able to use the weapons, but only the two girls would be able to make them grow stronger as part of their own blood had gone into the production process. Tinas sword ended up being a pure-white shortsword with a golden band running along its length. The basic structure of the de was almost pure Adamantine while the core had been aplex triple-helixical structureprised of Orichalc.u.m, Holydite, and, topliment Tinas elemental affinity, Ice Dragons Horn. Instead of a basic water elemental affinity, Tinas mana had an icy blue sheen to it so it was apparent her affinity was rted to ice, even though her current Magic parameter was non-existent. She would easily be able to develop it in the future, however, since there woulde a time when she had the benefit of a me seed to aide her growth. Vahn had also given her a small bracelet, which he referred to as a [Mana Band], that would slowly absorb the mana within her body to stir it awake. It was a rtively weak magic item, but it would still help her develop her own mana naturally to the point where she could make use of it. Shizunes dagger, almost as if in contrast to Tinas sword, was pure ck in structure except that it also had a golden band adorning it. The de itself was made out of Mithril since Shizunes affinity for magic would require her to have a stronger catalyst. As for the core, it wasprised almost entirely out of a rare material called Lavacite, which was a stone that could be harvested from the galldder of a Smander, which was a giant dragon-like lizard that lived in volcanoes. Shizunes elemental affinity was predominately fire, but there was a bit of earth mixed in which is what caused Hephaestus to choose Lavacite, as it was a good catalyst for both. This meant that the edge of her dagger would heat up to incredible temperatures during use, requiring her to routinely soak it in the blood of a fire dragon to nourish the energy inside until her own mana was sufficient. Though it wasnt that umon to see some people watching the morning training, today everyone that generally resided in the Manor was present for the presentation of the girls weapons. Even Shizune, who was typically unfazed by being the center of attention, was very nervous and fidgeting during their light workout. They were supposed to be rxing for the next two days, but morning exercise was good for the body and it was important to not ck off. When it finally came time to present the weapons, which would be lifelongpanions of the two girls, everyone stood in arge circle with smiles on their faces as Hestia opened the cloths and presented the two arms. Tina reached out with shaky hands and nearly dropped the sword at first, unprepared for the unexpected weight. As it was made of Adamantine, it was much heavier than a normal sword but she would one day find that the weight wasfortable in her hands. Taking into consideration the growth of the girls, their weapons ounted for their future development. Both of Tinas parents were somewhat tall for Cat People, so she was expected to be near Mn in height in the future. Once she managed to adjust to the weight, Tina clutched it tightly with dazzling eyes as she said, "T-Thank nyou, Hestinyaa-samnyaaaaaa~!" Toward the end of her words, Tina became fl.u.s.tered by her own speech pattern and blushed deeply as she shouted her gratitude. Hestia showed a gentle smile as she reached out and stroked Tinas heard, saying in a soothing tone, "Continue to work hard, Tina, so that all of your dreams cane true. Remember that this sword can only show its true power if you put in the effort to grow alongside it. Treat it like an important ally and it will never betray you...just like your family will always be at your side, ensuring you grow healthily and live a happy life." When speaking of family, Hestia was talking about everyone with the Hestia Familia, or more specifically everyone within the Hearth Manor. Tina bobbed her head like a chicken as she clutched the sword in her hands even tighter as she cast a nce at Vahn. As for Shizune, though she was also very nervous, she managed to receive her weapon without almost dropping it and inspected the beautiful ck de before smiling and saying, "Thank you, Hestia-sama, and everyone else. Im not even sure how I would have lived if not for the kindness I have received from everyone..." Shizune had originally been nning to return to the Far East and hopefully be the concubine or mistress of someone so that she could start her own family. Now, however, she had a Step-Mother that cared for her, a prospective lover that showed her kindness, and several friends andpanions that treated her like she mattered. Shizune had spent many years subjected to the whims and needs of other people, but now she lived freely and was near the center of one of the most powerful and influential groups in the entire world. Instead of wasting her life away hoping for a better life, she was now living a life straight out of a fairy tale. Much like Tina, Shizune cast a somewhat fervent nce at Vahn but also had enough wherewithal to smile to Mn, Lunoire, Tsubaki, and many other girls...girls that she once considered far above her, to the point where they werent evenparable, that now treated her like apanion and cared for her. She knew it was the favor of Vahn that gave her this life so she wanted to do her best at living the new life he had graced her with... When the two girls received their weapons, everyone pped happily before moving forward and congratting them. Mn hugged the two girls with tears in her eyes, happy they were growing up while simultaneously feeling sad at the same time. Vahn, having felt the gazes of the two girls and seeing their auras, had also joined in on the celebrations before lifting them both and carrying them inside once everyone was ready to eat breakfast. They were both small and light, even with the added weight of Tinas weapon, so he could easily carry them like children one on each arm. At least for the time being, Vahn treated them simr to how he would treat his daughters because, though it hadnt happened too often, they still called him Papa on asion. Vahns sides were awarded to the two girls during breakfast and they had turned the event into a long celebration that nearly reached the normal time for lunch. Hephaestus had exined, for the benefit of the girls and everyone present, how the weapons functioned and the requirements for strengthening them. Only through actualbat could the weapons grow stronger, and they would never outgrow the capabilities of the users. If they treated them seriously, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that their growth weapons could exceed the standard of most Masterpieces, even those normally forged by Hephaestus. This made the sword in Tinas hands feel especially heavy while everyone else at the table marveled at the fortune of the two girls. The only people that seemed immune to the existence of the growth weapons were Ais, Tiona, Lefiya, Haruhime, Mikoto, and Naaza... Seeing the reactions of everyone present, especially the listful nce he earned from Tione, Vahn decided he would need to resolve the matter of the girls weapons in the future. Even Ais and Tionas weapons werent quite at the level he would like for future battles, so there was a lot of room for improvement. As they wouldnt be facing any enemies that necessitated S-Rank weapons, Vahn didnt have to forge them too quickly, but he still needed to start preparing their temtes. He nned to give the girls named weapons in the future, using the [Keeper of the Akashic Tome], so proper research on the materials, construction, and the records he intended to use were necessary. Until then, he would equip them with items obtained through the gacha since they were oftentimes better than the basic equipment he could forge. They also had all kinds of effects that increased his knowledge of forging so there were almost no downsides other than the potential OP requirements. However, even Maemi and Emiru had earned him enough OP to pay for their [Saints Halberd]s so he didnt really cause of concern... Figuring it was better to start sooner rather thanter, especially since the celebration seemed to be stretching into lunch, Vahn brought up the topic and took suggestions from everyone. Hephaestus and Tsubaki also gave their input, which often allowed the girls to make more informed decisions about their future weapons, so things had gone smoother than Vahn had initially expected. Tione wanted a pair of swords, but she was alsofortable with using a spear and chakrams. Mn and Aki didnt have many requirements at all, other than their swords should be bnced and between 50-60cm in length. Ryuu was fond of her swordstaff, but it was only a B-Rank item so Vahn convinced her to regard the matter seriously and drew up a temte for a brand new swordstaff, this one carved from the branch of a world tree. Vahn found the incredibly rare material in his shop avable for 200,000OP per branch and could use it to make powerful magical weapons in the future... Chloes weapons were both B-Rank daggers, but the poisons she made use of could even reach A-Rank at times, making them very lethal weapons. She had been using them for many years so Vahn agreed to re-forge them to have the same shape and weight so that she could continue using what she wasfortable with. Arnyas spear was actually an S-Rank weapon that Vahn couldnt even identify through his Inventory, so she refused using another weapon for the time being. Her weapon was actually the legacy of her ns school of spearmanship and she couldnt allow herself to use another weapon until she had passed it on to the next generation... Lunoires gauntlets were only B-Rank, but she was very proficient in fighting with a weapon and settled for something simr to the [Ass Grip]s worn by Lili. As for Lili, she was fine with using her A-Rank naginata for the time being since she already had a pair of powerful equipment forged by Vahn. The same could be said for Naaza, Ais, Tiona, Haruhime, Mikoto, Lefiya, Emiru, and Meami, but Vahn still got their input on other supplemental equipment while promising to reforge things like Tionas [Dance of the Amazon] to be even stronger. This ounted for nearly everyone and Vahn had been preparing to wrap things up when, against his expectations, Preasia actually asked if she could have something forged as well. Preasia was a nonbatant, but she knew that reaching Level 2 was necessary if she wanted to one day get the [Mixing] Development Ability. She also didnt want to be one of the only girls that didnt receive something forged by Vahn and, after a fair amount of discussion amongst everyone present, settled on the idea of using a shield and spear as her primary weapons. Vahn even humored the idea of her using only a shield, as she actually had very powerful legs suited for charging things, but figured she wouldnt befortable fighting up close. A spear would allow her to stay back a fair distance while a shield would allow her to deflect attacks since she seemed like the type to flinch when in duress. It was also highly likely her Innate was rted to defense, so Vahn was interested to see if it would ever awaken in the future. However, before they allowed her to enter the Dungeon, Preasia needed to start training alongside the other girls and she would have to earn the shield Vahn would forge for her... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Birth Of Ultimate Frisbee...,Tiny Tina and her Heavy Sword,Preasias Ramming Speed...?) (A/N: Ill apologize now since this will be thest chapter for today as Im very tired after the fiasco this morning. This is still around 9-10k words collectively, but Ill try to make up for it in the next two days with around 17k words per day. Good night (UwU)~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 529 - Habit

Chapter 529 - Habit

After the long celebration, which hadsted from around 7:40 AM until nearly 1 PM, Vahn decided to spend the rest of the afternoon with Hephaestus and Hestia, as they had both worked very hard on the growth weapons for Tina and Shizune. Though the only assistance Hestia offered was her blood and prayers, she had spent nearly sixteen hours a day applying her blessing to the material to ensure it would be able to carry a falna properly. Since she wasnt the type that usually focused intently on such things, she had been very exhausted over thest few days and Vahn felt like pampering her a bit. Of course, the person to work the hardest had been Hephaestus, so Vahn took the two girls into his beauty salon next to the onsen area to help them rx. Vahn had set up two tables, including one with an indentation that would allot Hephaestus tofortablyy on her stomach, even with her pregnant belly. His proficiency with [Hands of Nirvana] had developed to a point of mastery, so Vahn could easily regte how intense the experience was for the two girls. For Hestia, he gave her the standard massage and quickly turned her body into putty beneath his hands whereas, for Hephaestus, he did something rtively more tame. He mainly focused on her shoulders and lower back, easing any muscle tensions she might have and alleviating the strains her pregnancy had been putting on her. Though she was a goddess, and would recover very rapidly from most things, her pregnancy seemed to override that recovery a bit as arge amount of her energy went into protecting and nourishing the children in her belly. At this point, Vahn had developed a theory regarding why Loki seemed to be progressing in her pregnancy at a faster rate and it was rted to the differences in their Divinities and the number of children. So that theirpulsion doesnt cause them a heavy mental burden, gods have to use their Divinity and release divine power to appease their urges. When they were pregnant, however, this seemed to lessen because arge amount of their divine power was diverted to nourish the child in their bellies. Vahn presumed this was the reason why the children possessed the Divinities of their mothers, as they had been nourished by them during their development... Unfortunately, this meant that Hephaestus, who had to proactively practice her Divinity while nourishing two children, was actually slowing down their development. As for Loki, her Divinity was one that shaped her personality but it primarily manifested in the influences she had over other people. This meant she didnt actually use a lot of her power at all and had inadvertently sped up the development of her single child as a result. It was very likely that, instead of a nine-month pregnancy, Lokis would be closer to seven whereas Hephaestus might be extended until around ten-to-eleven months. Vahn had already mentioned his hypothesis to the two, to which Loki said she would somehow hold on until Hephaestus gave birth. If she actually managed to pull it off, this meant the child in her belly would have been nourished and developed even further by her Divinity, likely making it even stronger, but also endangering Loki. Vahn was confident, however, that he would be able to prevent any harm froming to her as he suspected something simr had happened in the Divination. If necessary, Vahn could even forcibly restrain her Divinity and make her body undergo Nirvana, effectively removing the child from her belly without her even having to give birth directly. Though, given Lokis nature, she probably wouldnt allow such a thing since it was a very important event to her... For nearly four hours, all the way until it was time for dinner, Vahn put Hestia and Hephaestus through several treatments that made the two already wless goddesses even more perfect. Hestias pearl-white and fairplexion had adopted a ruddy glow and she had a satisfied expression that also made her look profoundly sleepy. Her hair had been let down earlier, as Vahn had carefullybed through it after massaging her scalp, so it loosely dr.a.p.ed all the way past her plush little buttocks. As for Hephaestus, she had a beautiful smile on her face and Vahn could feel her love radiating from her body as her aura had taken on a deep and passionate red shortly after their session had started. Though he wanted them both to rx, Vahn invited the two lovable goddesses to stay with him during the evening, not necessary to have s.e.x, but just to spend it together. He could already see Hestias fatigue, so it wouldnt be good to continue pushing her body further, even if she was a goddess. In regards to Hephaestus, Vahn actually just wanted to experience her embrace during the night while he tried to assist in the nourishment of their children. His source energy was much weaker than the divine power of the gods, but that didnt mean its quality was lower, just that he couldnt make proper use of it with the restrictions of his soul. Even if it was only by a small amount, Vahn was confident Hephaestus body could be nourished by his source energy which would then feed into the children in her belly... During dinner, Vahn noticed that Mn, Tina, and Shizune were all absent, to which it was exined that the small girls had been a little over-eager in trying to familiarize themselves with their new weapons. Even though they worked very hard, they were still only around 10-11 years old so it wasnt surprising they would tucker themselves out when their bodies were in high tension. This would change when their parameters further developed but, at least for right now, they were both young girls that needed plenty of rest to grow properly. Thus, since Hestia and Hephaestus wanted to give an opportunity to other girls for the time being, Vahn ended up sitting with Syr and Arnya while Shirohimezed about atop his head. Shirohime had surprisingly calmed down a lot over the course of the week and she spent arge part of her time talking with Haruhime instead of bothering him. Because he had been in his workshop forrge stints of time, during which she wasnt allowed to interfere, she hadzed about at the side for a while until eventually going off to see what other people were up to. Unable to sense her presence, Shirohime was able to roam around and spy on any part of the Manor because she could even walk through the barrierden walls without issue. As a result, she had developed a habit of sneaking around and watching others before sharing the information with Haruhime. This led Haruhime to inform him about the matter but, seeing as how Shirohime wasnt actually stalking anyone, just roaming around out of curiosity, he didnt treat the matter too seriously. He did, however, inform the girls on thework since it wouldnt be fair to them otherwise. Of course, though she had mellowed out a lot, it didnt mean Shiro wasnt clingy whenever he wasnt busy. During most of their meals, or when the group was just talking outside, she would linger around his head and neck until he eventually put her in hisp and stroked her. She actually preferred being hugged, much like he had done in the past, but it was somewhat awkward for Vahn to have others see him holding an invisible object and stroking it against his chest when he was talking with them. Even though they knew Shirohime was there, the only girls that had seen her were Terra, Fenrir, and Haruhime, leaving Vahn and Fafnir as the only others. Even Hephaestus, with her gods eye, and Tsubaki, with her magic eye, werepletely unable to sense her at all. If not for the fact they had an intrinsic trust of Vahn, and that Shirohime could actually show them her presence, they might not have believed him... As a promise, as Shirohime had been behaving more, Vahn allowed her to sit atop his head, hug his neck, and sit in hisp when he was enjoying meals. After he was full, he would pet her fur and massage her ears to reward her for being a good girl, to which she would reluctantly allow. The only danger spots were that she didnt like having her belly touched andpletely denied Vahn the right to touch near the base of her nine tails. She really behaved like a spoiled princess at times, but Vahn found her appearance and behavior to be somewhat cute and allowed her to get away with it as long as she didnt act out. After dinner, Vahn returned Shirohime to Haruhime and stroked both girls heads before retiring to his room with Hephaestus and Hestia in tow. Though they shared a bit of intimacy, primarily cuddling together n.a.k.e.d and caressing each other, they didnt end up having s.e.x and Vahn spent several long minutes before he fell asleep stroking Hephaestus belly as he infused his source energy into her body like a warm radiating heat. He could feel the heartbeats of his daughters through his palm and urged them to be born faster, though not too fast that it would harm their development. Vahn didnt really know how to be a good father, though he had been studying up on it, the only thing he knew was that his heart was filled to the brim with love for the unborn girls and he hoped that would be enough... Early the next morning, Vahn performed his daily ritual of checking on Evas orb before returning it to his inventory after seeing there had been no changes. He didnt feel sad seeing this, as he expected she would appear shortly after Hephaestus gave birth, so he took a few deep breaths of the fragrance radiating from Hestia and Hephaestus before gently maneuvering to extricate himself from the two goddesses. They generally didnt wake up early enough to watch the morning training and it wasnt an exaggeration to say they were fatigued after the hard work throughout the week. Vahn stroked their faces and made sure the nkets were covering them properly before making his way down to wash up at the onsen. During the training, Vahn saw that everyone was in high spirits, as usual, but there was now the somewhat peculiar sight of Preasia being mentored by Tsubaki. Other than her Endurance and marginally high Power, Preasias stats were marginally lower than even Tinas and Shizunes. Since she was eighteen, more than seven years older than even Tina, this showed how little she had exercised throughout her life. She had been somewhat sickly as a child and then had the traumatic experience of bing a ve and being terribly mistreated. At this point, Vahn knew that Shiva, the Dark Elf he had liberated, was undoubtedly the one that had killed all those cruel men. As a result, even though the men she had killed were viins, there was an 8,000,000 Valis bounty on her head that Vahn had already been working to resolve. After watching the training for around an hour, during which he made several notes on the girls progress andbat styles for future reference, Vahn decided to stop by and drop some snacks off for the girls at the Guild. He also wanted to eat breakfast with Eina and help replenish her stamina because she had worked the night shiftst night and was probably tired. As expected, though she had a gentle smile on her fact, Vahn could see the light discoloration under her eyes that belied her fatigue. Vahn returned her smile and said, "Even when tired, you really are a very beautiful woman, Eina~." Eina yfully puffed her cheeks and said, "Moooou~, if you took pity on me you wouldnt be teasing me so early in the morning, Vahn..." before releasing a cheerful giggle. Vahn walked over and scanned the area, prompting Eina to say, "The way our shifts ovep means there is always a two-hour gap where just a single person is on duty. We really are a bit understaffed, not that the workload requires us to work that hard~." Vahn nodded his head and reached out to Eina, immediately caused her face to take on a rosy hue as he expertly ced his hands around her h.i.p.s and snuck in a kiss. Eina fl.u.s.tered for a brief moment before sighing through her nose and reciprocating his affectionate embrace for a short while... After recharging his Eina-energy, Vahn released the loveable Half-Elf and stroked her blushing cheek with the back of his fingers as he said, "Eina, I love you..." The ruddy color of her cheeks grew deeper as she turned her eyes up at him bashfully and said, "I love you too, Vahn..." before giving him another short peck to punctuate her words. They then spent around twenty minutes just talking with each other while eating a light breakfast, as Eina intended to go to sleep in around three hours. Eina surprisingly talked a lot about Rose, Misha, and Mona, all girls that Vahn didnt interact with too much. Misha would show up at, at least, one of the meals throughout the day but Rose and Mona typically resided in the small staff dorms on the second floor. ording to Eina, Rose was very obviously avoiding interacting with him while Monas situation was already something Vahn was aware of. He had heard about her arrangement with Hephaestus and Loki and how she intended to retire in a few years to open a bakery. She had initially wanted to show her gratitude by working for free, as she felt highly indebted to Vahn for everything he had done, but Hephaestus insisted that she enter into a contract and eptpensation. Because she would literally be looking after the first generation of Vanir as their wetnurse, she was in a very critical position and should bepensated properly. Loki was of a simr mind and even offered to have a small Manor constructed for her after the fact as gratitude. Though she epted the contract, Mona refused other assistance and simply wanted to move on with her life and try to live as a normal woman. She was already nearly twenty years old and had spent several years as a ve, during which she had been forced to partake in many shameless ys. She appreciated everything Vahn had done, even to the point where she harbored hopes that they would be together at one point, but quickly realized he wasnt what she was looking for. Mona simply wanted a normal rtionship and the opportunity to build a family for herself without having to worry about things like politics and the matters of the Alliance. As a result, she would eventually leave for Mn, the port City near Orario, before settling down and trying to start a family of her own. She would undoubtedly receive the protection of the Alliance, as there was always a chance people would target her, but it would be from the shadows so that she could find the normalcy she had craved for so many years... After parting with Eina, around the same time that Misha came wandering into the Guild branch yawning, Vahn made his way over toplete his morning walk with Anubis and Nanu. They were already waiting near the entrance of the Southern Manor and Vahn could see the ck loop in Anubiss hands. He epted the rtively short leash from her and heavily stroked both girls head and ears before leading the way to the maze area where they would walk around for around half an hour before drinking tea near the center of the maze. Though it was somewhat embarrassing, there was a statue of himself located at the center but, after his experience with Eva in the orb, he didnt mind it that much. He was well aware of the devotion both girls showed him and he wasnt going to force them to hide it just because he was somewhat embarrassed. Besides, it was much better than the n.a.k.e.d and heroic statues that Eva had made as this one had Vahn wearing a loose robe in the style of the Southern Sands and made him look like a kind and noble leader. Vahn ended their walk after giving Nanu a belly-rub for a few minutes and fluffing up Anubiss tail and ears for her. He used a wire-brush with small beads on the end tob through the thick hair of her tail as shey across his stomach and allowed him to fiddle with her tail and stroke her exposed lower back. Nanu had left very quickly after her belly-rub, very obviously triggered by his actions, and Vahn could feel her presence running around at high speeds as she tried to calm her body by sweating it out. He knew she would have such a response, as it wasnt the first time, but Vahn still epted the offer to rub her muscr little belly since she already epted the consequences before asking for his affections... After fluffing up her tail, Anubis raised her body while using Vahns as a support before casually straddling his h.i.p.s with an enamored look on her face as she said, "Master...when will you stay the night with me again...? I know it hasnt been that long, but my body aches for your rough touch..." This was also amon urrence after their walks, so Vahn wasnt caught off guard by Anubiss actions at all. He grabbed her butt firmly with his hands, causing her body to tremble, before pulling her firmly against him. Because of his training, Vahn allowed his body to react naturally as Anubis grinded against the bulge of his trousers. Though she had a sash around her waist, it was somewhat loose and could easily ride up her h.i.p.s, allowed the thin fabric of her panties to be on disy as she rubbed against him in an eager manner. Anubis released a whimper and said, "Anubis has been a bad girl...Master should punish Anubis properly..." As usual, Anubis changed her speech pattern when she was appealing to him so Vahn reached up and pulled her head to the side slightly as he began to y bite around her corbone and neck. Anubis released heavy breathing through her nose and tried to move around, finding herself unable to do so because of Vahns forceful hold on her head. Though she writhed about as if she were trying to escape, Anubis offered noints and Vahn could feel her aura expanding in an almost blood-red color as a result of her passion. She liked being forced since she had a highly submissive nature and Vahn was very aware of it. He never pushed her too hard, as it was somewhat outside hisfort zone, but he still pandered to her a bit on asions like this. Several small incenses appeared around the area along with an altar of sorts at the base of the statue. Vahn stood up and carried Anubiss body toward the altar before setting her down near it and saying, "Bend over..." as he pressed against her back to guide the action. Vahn didnt often reward her like this, but Anubis had realized from his earlier biting that he was in the mood. Without any real hesitation, though she put on a facade of fear and reluctance, Anubis bent over the altar as Vahn ran his hot hands up the back of her thighs. Her tail beat furiously, causing Vahn to grasp it firmly with his left hand as he said, "Look up at the statue you shamelessly erected...I want you to think about what you have done while I punish you..." At this point, Anubiss panties had already been liberated from her body and, because she had failed to raise her head properly, Vahn leaned over and arched her body so she could stare up at the statue. The sun had just risen a few hours ago, so the light it cast against the statue made it have a subtly different aura than normal. Though it typically looked like a kind and wise version of himself, the shadows cast by the sun gave it a moderately darker look than normal. Anubis craned her head and stared at the statue she had begged Hephaestus to helpmission as a throbbing heat invaded her body. She opened her mouth widely and released a passionate m.o.a.n as she clung to Vahns arm supporting her chin and forcing her to look up at an awkward angle. Vahn felt like he would never get used to having s.e.x with Anubis because her body behaved in apletely uncharacteristic waypared to other girls. It was incredibly stimting, but it made him a little ufortable knowing that it was undoubtedly a little painful for her. Chienthropes didnt require their partner to move during s.e.x, as their v.a.g.i.n.a mped down and stimted the ns on its own, so moving around would cause them great difort. However, with Anubiss nature, she could only experience proper release if things were somewhat forceful and she derived a great deal of pleasure from pain. Vahn was somewhat afraid to probe her limits, but he had already adapted to having s.e.x with her normally... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Peculiar Pregnancies,Monas Desire,Pampering Anubim...meanwhile, Nanu runningps (UwU)) (A/N: This chapter was originally 4,100+ words but an error ured that crashed the inkstone client. I couldnt remember exactly how things had developed so I decided to just wrap it up here o3o...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 530 - Arrival

Chapter 530 - Arrival

After pampering Anubis for around half an hour, Vahn freshened up before leaving the Southern Manor and preparing to return. He hade across the sweat-covered Nanu on his way and healed her body for a short while, encouraging her to continue working hard. Nanu sat on the ground and let her tail beat from side-to-side as she enjoyed his caress and the healing energy spreading through her body. Hearing Vahns words, she looked up into his face with clear resolution visible in her eyes as she said, "Yes, Master, I will work hard every day to prove my worth as your mate!" Nanu felt a lot of pressure from the other girls because she knew there wasnt any way she couldpete with the majority of them. She had decided to simply be satisfied with being his apprentice and receiving his affections while doing her best not to let down his expectations... Vahn massaged Nanus ears while stroking the side of her face, saying, "Nanu, the only thing I want for you is that youre happy. Work hard, but never push yourself to the point where youre straining your body too much. Remember, it isnt your worth that concerns me, but your stability and happiness...try to enjoy yourself more and try to make friends with the other girls, okay?" Nanu had her eyes partially closed as she enjoyed the heavy petting andzily nodded her head in response to Vahns words. Because of the position she had found herself in, she was the member of the pack that had adapted the least to society. Nanu always worked her in her training and spentrge amounts of time improving her forging capabilities. Even though he often stressed that she should rx more, it didnt have much effect because of her pride as his mate... Leaving the Southern Manor, Vahn walked the rtively short distance to the Hearth Manor and was surprised to find that there was arge procession outside the gate. Judging by therge tree emblem on the carriage, Vahn immediately understood what was going on and released a long sigh before hardening his resolve. He opened up his logbook and saw the messages present, including several from Riveria exining the situation further. The procession obviously belonged to the envoy from the Elven Kingdom and there were a total of forty armed guards with matching uniforms, each wielding long and ornate spears that also acted as staves. Within the carriage, Vahn could sense three marginally stronger presences and peered through the protective barriers to observe the interior. Though he had plenty of women around him, Vahn felt a cold sensation spread through his mind because he could see a handsome High Elf with green hair and an arrogant face molesting two other Elven women. They were obviously used to his touch, as both girls hadcent and dull expressions as the put on a pretense to satiate the mans ego. Knowing this man was the arranged fiance of Riveria pissed Vahn off a great deal. He knew the two women were likely highly capable mages that had likely been forced to serve as the mans escort. Much like Ryuu, they were probably girls that had been scouted and taken from their homes simply to serve the noble High Elf. Vahn could see that the man was likely around the same age as Riveria, as a persons aura mellowed out as they aged, making him around 95-100 years old while the two girls looked less than twenty, which was very young for Elves that were still within the forest. This meant he had secured them early and had been cultivating them over the years as servants, even though it was very clear they were ves... Instead of confronting them right now, Vahn used [Shundo] to enter the Manors grounds without drawing the attention of the guards. Riveria had wanted to meet him directly before discussing the matter so Vahn headed toward her study, where she was currently massaging her left temple, clearly annoyed by the situation. Sensing Vahns arrival, she turned toward him and released a sigh after seeing his expression. In a somewhat dull tone, she asked, "You already saw him, didnt you?" Vahn nodded his head and said, "He is outside the gate blocking the entire street with his escort...while ying with two Elven women in thefort of his carriage..." Riveria showed a mixture of disdain and disgust on her face because she knew her fiances character well. Just as Vahn had spected, Riveria also believed the two were being forced to serve him in order to protect their families. Depending on the situation, they may have even been given up as servants in exchange for benefits since he was a cruel, callous, and corrupt man. After snorting through her nose, Riveria said, "In order to get the jump on us, Alosrin, my fiance, brought the smallest escort that would allow them to enter the City freely. Without dealing with the Guild, they came directly here to try and force me into a difficult situation...I already messaged Loki-sama, but can you send Fafnir to go retrieve her?" Vahn sent a mentalmand to Fafnir as he walked over and, against her expectations, hugged Riveria tightly as he said, "That man is a fool that will be dealt with ordingly. Ill let you guide the discussion, but if he thinks Ill tolerate sleights against myself and the others, I wont tolerate it for too long. Just like how I dealt with Bete, I dont mind teaching him a lesson that he wont be able to forget..." Though he had previously promised to do his best to exercise restraint, Vahn felt like Alosrin would definitely say something to set him off. Riveria released a sigh after hearing his words, but there wasnt anything she could think to say to convince Vahn otherwise. Even if he didnt take action, it was likely she would do so herself depending on how things yed out. Alosrin was a capable Mage, but he was only on the higher end of Level 4, far weaker than she was at present. He also engaged in debauchery and licentious acts so his actual capabilities were far lower and, if not for various elixirs and ceremonies, he wouldnt even be as strong as he was. After considering the matter, Riveria was surprised to find she had turned Vahns embrace and pulled away from him after this realization and said, "If you want to take action, you would need to challenge him to a formal duel unless you n on starting a conflict with the Elven Kingdom. With his personality, defeating him in a duel would cause him to try and conceal the matter to protect his dignity. It might give us a bit more breathing room for future negotiations..." Riveria could already imagine Alosrin trying to goad Vahn on using the title of Sage as leverage against him. Though he already possessed the title, Alosrin was here to confirm it which meant he also had the power to contest it if he wanted. Given his past behavior, it was almost guaranteed he would try to pressure Vahn and this would probably be the point of contention that brought them to blows. Vahn nodded his head and said, "Lets discuss our course of action with everyone else so that there isnt any trouble. Ill have Eina and Lefiya stay back so they dont draw his ire and attention...hmm, and I think having Terra apany us in her dragon form would be ideal. Though, we might be able to incite him to act like a fool if she is in her humanoid form..." Given Vahns understanding of Alosrin, he could imagine the egotistical High Elf taking a liking to Terra instantly, potentially even trying to push his luck at the same time. There wasnt a chance that Terra would fall for his plot and her intelligence and aura would be beneficial for controlling the situation, especially if Loki, Hephaestus, and Hestia were all present. Thinking to this point, however, Vahn felt a little awkward about having two pregnant goddesses attend the negotiations... Riveria was also considering the best course of action to take and, other than showing some of their research notes, getting an advantage against Alosrin by tilting him wouldnt necessarily be a bad idea. The more off-kilter they could make him, the more beneficial the negotiations would be since there was a high chance he would keep the matters hidden if he was embarrassed enough. However, Riveria could imagine things taking a strange turn so she said, "If you show off Terra, Alosrin will likely try to force you into a bet during the duel. Ill deal with the aftermath personally, but I think you should use it as an opportunity to liberate those two girls...when he returns to the Kingdom, he will likely even fabricate an excuse like leaving them as a point of contact and well have more leverage for future actions..." Vahn wasnt fond of the idea of gambling with hispanions, but he also knew Riverias n wasnt that bad. They could exploit the arrogant nature of Alosrin to secure advantages for the future and there would be no greater embarrassment for him than to lose his prized possessions. When they went to the Elven Kingdom in the future, Vahn could even elevate the two girls to the status of dignitaries and give them a chance to embarrass him further. It was a bit vindictive, but Vahn felt like it was what many would refer to as just desserts for the arrogant prince. Considering there was no chance of his defeat, Vahn nodded his head but said, "I will leave the decision to Terra, but well go that route if things develop that way." Riveria knew Vahn was making concessions for her, so she smiled lightly and said, "Thank you, Vahn..." and pressed her palm gingerly against his chest. Vahns serious expression softened a bit and he said, "Were already inextricably linked, Riveria, so you dont have to thank me for such things. Try to rely on me a bit more...itll make me happy, you know?" Though she resisted slightly, Riveria didnt stop Vahn from leaning forward and pressing his forehead to hers as he whispered his words. A light blush appeared on her face and she wanted toment about Vahns reliability but kept it to herself as she lowered her head and muttered, "Lets do our best..." --- Unaware of the plot that had been hatched against him, Alosrin was sitting in his carriage aggressively groping a petite Elven woman with honey-colored hair and light blue eyes. He had her sitting on his knee, as her diminutive 145cm height made her appear much smaller against his 183cmnky frame. She had somewhatrge b.r.e.a.s.ts for an Elf, especially one that was only 21 years old, which had been the original reason she had been scouted. She had a dull look in her eyes and an almost sickly pale hue to her ruddy skin. The constant harassment of Alosrin had caused her body to react against her will, which had dulled her mind over the years as she passively made mechanical m.o.a.ns to satiate his sadistic ego. The other woman looked far more mature than the petite girl and, as Vahn had noticed earlier, she was somewhat simr to Riveria with her emerald green hair and stoic expression. Unlike Riveria, however, she also had somewhatrge b.r.e.a.s.ts for an Elf and, instead of jade-green eyes, she had watery blue eyes with an intelligent glint to them. Unlike the petite Elf, she didnt show much reaction at all even while Alosrin was using her back as a footstool to degrade her. Ever since she had lost her purity to him, she had stopped caring about many things and became very cold and distant. If not for the fact that he threatened to make her little sister his ything in the future, she would have tried to kill him ormit suicide to restore her honor. Alosrin had been moving his feet about on the mature Elfs back as he rocked her back and forth in a bored manner. He squeezed the petite Elfs b.r.e.a.s.t hard enough to make her body tremble as she grit her teeth to resist the pain. Seeing her reaction, Alosrin smiled and said, "Youre a good kid, Sierra, unlike this ungrateful bitch..." Already expecting what was toe, the mature Elf tensed up her body as Alosrin kicked her hard in the ribs and sent her colliding against the metal lockbox on the other side of the carriage. Though she grunted in pain, she showed no other signs of emotion as she asked, "Is something the matter, my Master?" A cruel and sadistic look appeared on Alosrins face as he looked out the one-way window at the Hearth Manor beyond and said, "Im just looking forward to seeing my fiancee once again...it really has been a long time. I wonder how long she is nning to make me wait here..." Alosrins face became darker as he continued to speak because he felt like their failure to greet him even after waiting for nearly half an hour was uneptable. He showed up early so they wouldnt have time to prepare for his arrival, but he hadnt expected they would have the audacity to make him wait. If not for Riveria being present in the City, Alosrin wouldnt have evene to this backward and despotic ce full of inferior creatures. Unable to contain his frustrations, Alosrin forcibly moved Sierra to hisp, causing the young Elfs eyes to moisten as her body trembled slightly. She raised her h.i.p.s as Alosrin grabbed her neck from behind and said, "Pram, give me a foot rub...if they dont show up within the next half an hour, you should prepare yourself as well..." As he spoke, Alosrin pulled back against Sierra and squeezed her body tightly as she m.o.a.ned and said, "Ah, its so big...its tearing my insides..." in a very mechanical manner. Alosrin forced all of the girls he was with topliment his size while they were servicing him since he was somewhat self-conscious about the truth of the matter... During his first time, which had been when he forced himself upon his own handmaiden and caretaker, she had plimented him heavily about his size. Thinking himself to be a paragon amongst men, Alosrin heavily bragged to his friends until one day, when they were all going to enjoy a hot springs, he saw that, amongst all seven of hispanions, he was far smaller than everyone else. That day, he had returned to his residence and beaten his former favorite handmaiden before throwing her into the dungeons. Sheter ended up disappearing, likely helped by some of the other staff, but that had been the catalyst for his sadistic nature. He had been heavily spoiled his entire life as a noble High Elf, but it wasnt until he shamed that he truly became a despot. Now, Alosrin forced the girls to pay heavypliments to him and, if they failed to appease his ego he would educate them to do better... Because of his behavior, which was even frowned upon by other arrogant High Elves, Alosrin had few friends and even his parents had grown frustrated with him. He had beenzy in his studies so they had to spend a fortune just to make sure he wasparable to his peers and, as a result of his general ipetence, they had to assign him a position while most of the work was done by his aides, almost all beautiful girls he had collected. His father, Alfred, disdained his own son but still refused to let him be shamed in polite society. Instead of trying to address the problem, he let it persist and even covered for his son on several asions, especially when his sadistic nature got out of hand. If not for his friendship with Riverias father, Alfred feard that his son would never find a suitable match for his own status. Fortunately, Riveria was going through a rebellious phase, so Alfred had managed to convince her father to betroth her to Alosrin. However, soon after she found out about the marriage arrangement, Riveria had left the forest and eventually ended up joining the Loki Familia. After her betrayal, Alosrins sadistic tendencies had developed even further and he often spent his days thinking about how he would train Riveria to his liking. Strong and intelligent women were his favorite and, though many people expected they were never get married, Alosrin considered it a decided matter that was simply dyed. She would one day be his and he had been practicing with girls that were simr to her so that he would be properly prepared for their inevitable wedding. His record for breaking a high-born woman was 41 days, dyed somewhat by the interference of other people, especially his father. Since they were of lower households, Alosrin didnt mind spoiling a few other noble girls, which had caused a lot of problems for their family...after all, Riverias status was even higher than his and he wanted to make sure he had some experience so that she would quickly understand her ce... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nanu wants belly rubs (UwU)...,Vahn learns how to scheme,Golden Spoon Laced With Poison~) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 531 - Guests at the Gates

Chapter 531 - ''Guests'' at the Gates

Vahn and Riveria spent a few minutes exining the situation to the rest of the girls within the Manor, even though many of them already had an idea of what was going on. It was decided that the meeting would be attended by Vahn, Riveria, Hestia, and Terra while Loki, Hephaestus, and the rest of the girls, would avoid making an appearance. The strongest person in the Elven Kingdoms procession was a Level 5, but he likely wouldnt take any action and was just the Commander of the escort. As for the rest of the soldiers, they were all around Level 2 with only a single Level 3 present as the Commanders Lieutenant. Alosrin was Level 4, but his parameter development would be substandard at best. As for his two consorts, they were around mid-Level 3 but would likely not be a problem. Loki had initially wanted to spook the procession by arriving on the back of Fafnir with a bit of re, but hearing the n of Vahn and Riveria made her snicker and change her mind. If they scared away Alosrin before goading him a bit, the negotiations would break down and he might return to the Kingdom to issue a formalint and strip Vahns title from him. By letting him act arrogantly for a little while, they would be able to lure him into a trap and then, if he was unwilling to back down, that is when Fafnir and Terra would make their appearances. Terra knew she was essentially the bait, but she didnt seem to mind it at all since Alosrin threatened the things she wanted to protect. Riveria, though maybe not her friend, was one of her closestpanions and confidants, so Terra didnt have a favorable impression Alosrin at all. As they were preparing for the confrontation, Loki had brought the group to a stop and said, "Vahn shouldnt be the one to greet the procession at the gate. Have Emiru and Maemi inform them that you are waiting at the Guest Residence and make theme to you. Hell probably try to do something like making you wait even longer, but that doesnt really matter in the end. Also, just in case he tries to do anything cheeky, Eirene has already been informed of the situation and has several guards in the area while a pre-emptive report has been made to the Guild..." There was another important matter, but Loki decided to keep it under wraps for now since it likely wouldnt be relevant. Vahn considered Lokis words for a moment but was somewhat hesitant to expose Maemi and Emiru, two Level 2s, to an entire procession of guards that were stronger than them. However, it was also a method to lower their guards since they would suspect the strength of the twins reflected the standing of the Hestia Familia, at least a little bit. They could also fuse together if things escted and theirbined parameters would even allow them to hold out against the Commander for a short while. After looking over at the girls, they showed small smiles and said, "Please, allow us to help, Vahn-sama~" Seeing they were willing, Vahn nodded his head but warned, "If they give you any trouble, or try to harass you, dont be afraid to simply leave them standing at the gate. I dont really care about the title of Sage at all if the Elven Kingdom doesnt have the sense to send someonepetent to represent them." Though Vahn knew that not everyone within the Elven Kingdom was as bad as Alosrin, the information he had acquired from Ryuus [Hearts Desire] and his discussions with Riveria led him to believe it wasnt a pleasant ce. There were also several historical records of their mistreatment of other races and it was a fact that, other than the Dwarves, the High Elves held almost every other race in contempt. They had no alliances, condemned the very existence of Orario, and proactively killed hunters on the fringes of the Western Forest, even though it wasnt truly their territory. Ironically, even though they seemed to scorn other races, there were arge number of ves traded in the underground societies in the Elven Kingdom and they even bartered Half-Elves as indentured servants to the Iron Hills. Refusal to submit was the same as epting death, so arge number of Half-Elves, at least those living outside of Orario, existed within the Iron Hills and served within the bars, inns, and brothels, of the Dwarves... Instead of walking out through the front door, Vahn followed the underground passage that connected to the Guest Residence alongside Riveria, Terra, and Hestia. As the Goddess of the Hestia Familia, she obviously had to be present for important discussions, while Terra was meant to trigger Alosrins demise by simply being a beautiful and exotic woman. She had a natural affinity with the Elves that went both ways, so Alosrin would likely have no resistance against her at all. Just sensing her aura would probably make him want to possess her for himself, and this was without knowing what kind of entity she was. He would likely assume she was a spirit, though Vahn had no intention of hiding her status as a tamed monster that he had helped evolve. If this information was actually revealed, Alosrin would probably want her even more because a spirit-like sentient monster was something incredibly rare and inordinately valuable. Once they reached the Guest Residence, Vahn let Hestia take the center seat on the sofa while he sat to her left with Riveria taking the seat to her right. Terra stood behind everyone, a little bit away from Vahn, and there was another sofa opposite of them separated by an ornate wooden table that had been exquisitely carved by a [Master Artisan]. Vahn set out two pots of tea, one for their use and one for Alosrins, a subtle p in the face by forcing the arrogant man to serve himself or ignore the tea outright. Though he wasnt exactly impatient, especially since he was surrounded by three beautiful woman, Vahn still peeked outside to try and discern what was going on. Unfortunately, his domain couldnt reach the gate from the Guest Residence so he was in the dark until things started to develop. Without any other options, Vahn pulled out hismunication scroll and the entire group paid attention to see if there was any new information... --- Though they already wore maid outfits most of the time, Emiru and Maemi had returned to their rooms to wear proper attire since they would be greeting guests. They reluctantly removed their victory underwear and neatly folded it at the side before changing into what could easily be considered a battle-maid outfit. There was a non-negligible chance that a fight would erupt and they wanted to be properly prepared for such an urrence. Imagining the disgusting High Elf getting a peek up their skirts made both girls gag, which was the reason why they took off their favorite underwear. They were so put off by the thought of him seeing them in cute or s.e.xy clothing that they chose to wear dark pantyhose overtop rtively in underwear. As for the rest of their outfit, they wore a ck and white maid attire that also had ayer of protective leathers underneath it. They also wore corsets that had thin metal ting before tying their hair up in short ponytails. The dresses they wore had long multiyered sleeves so both girls were able to wear armguards underneath while, in lieu of shin guards, they had on a pair of ck boots that covered more than three-quarters of their calves and had metal ting in the toe section. Ever since they had seen the designs Vahn had drawn for their Valkyrie outfits, both girls had put together an ensemble that would help them practice for when they eventually got to wear the armor Vahn made for them. Once they were finished preparing, both girls grabbed their [Saints Halberd]s and prepared to escort their guests to the Guest Residence where their Master was waiting. Since the guards of the procession carried their spears openly and haughtily, the twins didnt see any reason not to carry their own weapons... Loki had been waiting for them when they exited and it sent a shiver down their backs when they saw the goddess smile and appraise them. Before they could inquire, Loki had already answered, "Its good that the two of you prepared properly. Heed my advice...if things get dangerous, dont be afraid to take a stand and make a scene. It would give us a lot of leverage in the future if we could me them for causing trouble first...also, make sure you have your [Effigy of the Hero] on hand, though it shouldnt be necessary. We have allies watching the proceedings, so dont think youll be stuck fighting alone if things do escte~." Though they werent participating, everybatant within the Manor was ready to move on a moments notice, each member being more than a match for Alosrins escort. Ais alone could probably tear through the majority of the escort in an instant and shouldnt have much trouble against the Commander either. Though they were somewhat fearful of Loki, Maemi and Emiru nodded their heads and said, "Yes, Loki-sama..." in concert before heading towards the front door of the Manor. They understood her words well and were even prepared to put their lives on the line if necessary. After all, once they had obtained their weapons, both girls had made their resolution to serve as Vahns knights and maids regardless of the struggles they would face. He was always showing his care and concern for them, so being able to help him like this made both girls feel excited...because they knew Vahn would reward them plentily if they did well. After leaving the Manor, they walked down the long passage leading to the entrance and immediately alerted the guards that had been watching the front door. There was an incredibly handsome young man standing at the very front and he had golden hair and pale pink eyes as he stood tall and proud. However, Emiru and Maemi couldnt help butment to each other, through their shared connection, that he wasnt nearly as handsome as their Master. He also radiated an aura of arrogance and confidence that gave them a bitter taste in the back of their throats that almost caused them to gag. Though he was simrly attired like the rest of the escort, his armor was marginally more adorned with golden vines that had small leaves growing on them. Unlike the other members of the troupe, he carried arge green banner with a golden tree sewn into it while a thin ceremonial sword was situated at his waist. The twins could feel a powerful aura radiating from the man, but it wasnt muchpared to the auras they had been exposed to over thest few months. He seemed very impressed by his own strength, but Emiru and Maemi understood he was like a frog in a well seeing how haughtily he presented himself without knowing anything about the situation. The Level of everyone within the Alliance was doc.u.mented so, if they had enough sense to do a bit of research, they wouldnt have tried to force the situation like this at all. It was like trying to break a rock with an egg...even if you have forty eggs, it doesnt mean youll be able to crush the rock, especially when that rock was part of the mountain that was the Alliance... With their most business-like smiles, Maemi and Emiru approached the gate with their backs straight and showed no signs of deference to the smiling Commander. Though his brows furrowed slightly, he kept his bearing and said, "We are the escort of the Royal Envoy, Alosrin Els Lainu-sama. Inform your Master of our arrival and have him make haste to greet us properly. We have been kept waiting for far longer than is eptable." Though he spoke softly, the Commanders words were very abrasive and they had a biting undertone to them. At 180cm, he towered over the 148cm Maemi and Emiru yet, as if he werent satisfied with looking down on them normally, he raised his chin slightly and turned his eyes down at them. Completely unphased by the mans behavior, the girls continued to smile and, without bowing or offering any form of greeting, said, "Our Master is waiting for the Envoy within the Guest Residence. If the Envoy is ready to meet him, we will happily serve as his escort." As they spoke, a small slot opened at the side of the carriage so the Commander withheld his rebuke as he gave a scornful look at the two girls and listened close to the window. Though they strained their ears, Maemi and Emiru couldnt hear what was said but it seemed to please the Commander who looked at them with an amused expression on his face. When the window cked to a close, he walked forward and gestured at Emiru, saying, "You can run off and fetch your Master. As for you, the Envoy-sama has decided to give you his favor and liberate you from your services. If you perform well, he will also extend his kindness to your sister..." Mirroring each others movements, Maemi and Emiru turned to each other and tilted their heads to the side in confusion. Their smiling expression hadnt broken in the slightest, but there was incredulity in their eyes as they had a mental conversation with each other. They had never seen someone behave so arrogantly before, even amongst the clients that had taken an interest in them when they had be ves. Even when the Commander grew impatient and tried to call out to them, they continued talking amongst themselves before turning back and saying, "Our Master will be waiting when the Envoy has finished his preparations. Please knock on the barrier when you havee to a decision~." The Commander disyed a sour look and asked, "Do you feign to speak on behalf of your Master? Has he so little sense that he would shun greeting an Envoy from the Elven Kingdom?" This time, only Maemi turned back as her smile turned into one of scorn and she said, "There is a clear difference in status between our Master and the Envoy, though it isnt quite as you seem to believe~" Without sparring the man another nce, Maemi squinted her eyes happily and turned away to rejoin Emiru in their departure. Moments after she turned, a striking sound collided against the barrier as the Commander shouted, "You cur! The Elven Kingdom will not stand for this insult!" Seeing that the twins paid him no heed, the Commander struck at the barrier once again, this time managing to pierce through it slightly with his de. He wanted to teach the two servant-girls a lesson before demanding reparations from their Masterter. At no point did it cross his mind that the two girls were closepanions of Vahn and not truly servants, as they looked like nothing more than the staff that tended to the various ptial residences of the High Elves. Just as he was about to strike the barrier again, however, the door to the carriage opened as Alosrin stepped out. He buttoned up his tunic as Sierra and Pram stepped out behind him, the prior on shaky legs and with a paleplexion. Before the twins could get too far, Alosrin spoke out in a firm tone, "Halt your steps, servant girls. You stand before Alosrin Els Lainu, noble High Elf of the Lainu Duke Household. Unless you n to bring war raining down on your Masters head, you will show the proper courtesies someone of my peerage is afforded. Now, I have decided that you are not worth liberating as Ive no patience for house-training animals. I will give you an opportunity to change my mind. however, if you do as youre told and run along to grab your Master. Ill allow you to choose between yourselves which of you will express your sincerity. Fear not, as Im a magnanimous and benevolent noble so you will be shown leniency if you work hard." Though they had stopped to hear what Alosrin had to say, Maemi and Emiru once again looked into each others eyes as they tilted their heads even further to the side. They realized now that simply having a handsome Master would not have made them truly happy as ves. Before now, they didnt truly understand how arrogant people could be and their gratitude towards Vahn had increased a great deal. Aftering to a decision, they looked toward the confidently smiling Alosrin and said, "If you are prepared, we can escort you to our Master, but well have to decline your other offers. Unfortunately, our standards for who we serve are beyond your capabilities, Mr. Envoy-Sama~." Alosrin frowned deeply and muttered, "This is why Beast Humans are nothing more than animals ying at being people. Instead of showing gratitude for the kindness offered to them, they are too stupid to even recognize opportunity when its presented right in front of their muzzles. So be it, tell your Master I will not forget this sleight and that his title of Sage is officially revoked. If he would like to change my mind, well all get to find out how much value you hold to him...puhahahahaha~!" After his biting words fell, Alosrin noticed that Maemi and Emiru didnt show any reaction at all so he shook his head and muttered, "Stupid animals..." and gestured to the Commander to prepare for their departure. However, instead of giving the order to depart, Alosrin waiting inside the carriage with his chin supported by his arm and observed the Manor. He expected Vahn toe running out shortly after the girls went inside but grew agitated after several minutes passed in silence. Though he had the right to strip Vahns qualifications as a Sage, his father would berrate him endlessly if he did it without verifying the ims Riveria had made. If Vahn truly found a solution to the Elves infertility issue, he would be theughing stock of his people if he tried to im Vahn wasnt qualified to be a Sage. Worst-case scenario, he might even be tried for treason for making an enemy out of someone that could be instrumental to the development of the Elven Kingdom in the future. Most importantly, however, was the fact that Alosrin had only epted this mission because he wanted to bring Riveria back to the Elven Kingdom. He knew she had to be within the Manor but, unless he could get to her, there was no way he would be able to pressure her to return with him. He had already waited for several years to get his hands on her and, now that he was so close, Alosrin felt very agitated to be leaving so simply. Even in the Elven Kingdom, Riverias reputation was well-known and, even though many High Elves had purported her as a traitor, that opinion had faded as her feats continued to increase. She was now mentioned in passing by several people as the goal other Elves should aspire towards, as her worldly knowledge and magical capabilities made her one of the most prolific Mages in the entire world. After the amount of effort his father had put in to arrange his marriage to such a woman, there is no way Alosrin could return to the Kingdom without meeting her at least one time. All of their current heirs wereckl.u.s.ter and had been slowly draining the familys resources to sustain their status. If they couldnt get some fresh blood, they may lose their status as a Duke Family within the next fifty years. There was simply too much on the line and Alosrin wasnt willing to give up his own lifestyle so easily. He had even formted a n to verify Vahns im to have solved the Elven infertility issue by testing it on Riveria herself. Though they hadnt officially undergone the ceremony, Alosrin had managed to get his hands on their marriage agreement and could use it as a pretense to force her on the matter. One of the reasons why her reputation was so good amongst the High Elves is because of the amount of information she had sent back to benefit their people. It was well-known that Riveria had an inordinate sense of responsibility towards their people and Alosrin intended to make use of it for his own benefits... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Battle Meidos,Maemiru is not impressed,Powerful Delusions) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 532 - Performance

Chapter 532 - Performance

For nearly an hour, Alosrin sat in his carriage ruminating over matters before turning his attention to Pram and saying, "You, you like to pride yourself on your intelligence, what do you make of this situations?" Other than her physical simrities to Riveria, the thing that had initially drawn Alosrin to Pram was that she had started to be well-known amongst the plebian society. He had intended to recruit her regardless but, after seeing her hair and disposition, Alosrin had be deeply interested in her because he had a unique preference for dealing with strong and intelligent women. Knowing she was working so hard to protect her family always brought a smile to his face whenever he made her do degrading acts. Unfortunately for her, her little sister had the same hair color and Alosrin didnt n to let her remain outside his grasp unless he could get his hands on Riveria within the next few years. Hearing Alosrin addressing her, Pram showed an expression of distaste and apathy before saying, "The Elven Kingdom has no real power or influence within Orario, thus there is no reason for them to express any concerns over the actions you would take against them. Even if they offend you greatly, the Elven Kingdom will not march on the City and there is no way the City Officials would hand over Vahn Mason. The title of Sage was requested and bestowed to him by Riveria, not something he had tried to obtain for himself. It is very likely he doesnt hold the title in high regards, so there is little chance they willpromise after you offended his servants. Judging by how they were dressed, and the quality of their arms, they were obviously highly regarded by Vahn Mason and it is likely youve offended him by-" Before she could finish her words, Alosrin backhanded Pram and scowled at her. She always knew how to rile him up but this was one of the reasons he enjoyed tormenting her so much. Her contempt and disdain made his desire to bend her to his will even stronger and it was always funny seeing how she would shame herself just to protect others... Pram wiped the blood away from her nose and returned to her normal cold expression as she sat silently on the floor of the carriage. She considered Alosrin to be an idiot for behaving like they were in the heart of the Elven Kingdom without taking into ount their actual position. Like most High Elves, this was one of the first times he had actually left the forts of the forest so his deeply rooted bias and egotistic nature was out in full force. If he encountered a Beast Human within the forest, they would likely bow low to him in order to avoid a harsh punishment. Here, however, Beast Humans had the same status as every other race, something that seemed to be beyond his rationale entirely. Alosrin continued to stare out the window with clear frustration written on his face as he waited an additional ten minutes. After hearing Prams words, Alosrin believed that Vahn didnt actually care about the Sage title at all and, considering that Riveria hadnt shown up to greet him, he felt enraged and embarrassed. Even if she disdained him, they were still betrothed to each other and their engagement had already gone on for far too long. As the Elven society was highly patriarchal, he felt incredibly offended by the fact that she had failed in her obligations to him. Thinking that she was looking down on him, Alosrin mmed his hand against the carriage door and knocked it up with a start. With a cold expression on his face, Alosrin flicked his sleeves before standing tall with them behind his back and nodding to his Fathers loyal retainer, Ken. The Commander, Ken, nodded his head before mming his gloved fist against the barrier as if he were knocking. Much like Alosrin, he couldnt believe they had been mistreated to such an extent and he wanted to take the matter directly to the Master of the two arrogant servant girls. However, shortly after he knocked against the barrier, two familiar figures appeared and Ken felt his rage begin to boil up inside of him as they casually walked over. Maemi and Emiru had been waiting inside the foyer discussing matters with Loki as shemunicated through several different scrolls all at the same time. Many of the other girls were loitering around the area as well, including Ais who was polishing her [Gram] with acent expression on her face. They had all heard the report given by Maemi and Emiru, so the majority of the girls present were already in an alert status and prepared to mobilize at a moments notice. Their enemies were primarily Magic-Knights, which meant a fast response was necessary if they wanted to avoid arge amount of coteral damage. Though the barrier could hold up for a while, a continuous barrage of magic would break through, potentially endangering the weaker residents of the Manor. Once they reached the gate, showing absolutely no regard to the ire contained in the expressions of the guards, the twins asked in a polite tone, "Do you wish to meet with our Master~?" Instead of addressing Alosrin as an Envoy, they simply referred to him as you when asking the question. Alosrin took a deep breath through his nose and exhaled before showing a kind smile and saying, "I have journeyed for nearly forty days to reach this point, so I would at least like to meet with the purported Sage before I return. Never say I am not magnanimous, as I will overlook your indiscretions this time in lieu ofpleting my duty. Take me to your Master, though I will ask that my attendants and the Command of my guard apany me." Maemi and Emiru looked to each other and tilted their heads, causing the vein in Alosrins temple to throb, before they nodded and said, "Very well, you may bring up to four people with you." Emiru pulled out a tab and tapped it four times before storing it away. The barrier of the gate fluctuated slightly, allowed Alosrin, Ken, Sierra, and Pram to enter. There was no need to bring a fourth person, and the Lieutenant was necessary to keep order within the unit while they awaited the return of Alosrin. However, when they entered through the barrier, Ken began to unsheathed his sword as Maemi and Emiru immediately jumped back and brandished their halberds. Just as he was about to step forward, Alosrin held up his hand and showed a friendly smile as he said, "Ken, that is unnecessary. We cant let simple servant girls bother us, after all, its not their fault their intelligence iscking. Now, little kittens, why dont you lead me to your esteemed Master~?" In one smooth motion, Maemi and Emiru restored their stance before gesturing toward the residence at the eastern side of the Manor. Knowing they werent going to be entering the Hearth Manor itself, Alosrin furrowed his brows before returning to his smiling expression and saying, "Lead the way..." Though they did, in fact, begin leading the way, the twins did something strange that baffled the gathered Elves. With absolute confidence in her movements, Emiru kept her face towards them as she backstepped in pace with Maemi. They werent foolish enough to trust their backs to people that just tried to attack them so Maemi watched the front while Emiru watched their back. Sharing their sight had been something they worked on a lot over thest month so they could do things that would seem impossible to most people. Alosrins interest in the two girls increased marginally but he decided they werent worth his efforts unless Vahn was the typical weak-minded human. If he saw weakness in the boy, Alosrin would pressure him to the point that the only promise Vahn could make would be to gift the two girls to him aspensation. Even if he didnt care about the title of Sage, he had to consider the power Alosrin had with the backing of the Elven Kingdom. Unless Riveria had betrayed him and provided Vahn with information about their home, he should be able to fool the simple-minded human boy. One of the pieces of information he had stated that Vahn was only 15, young even by human standards, so Alosrin didnt take him seriously at all. Once they reached the small residence, Alosrin noticed that the actual construction of the building was very high-quality and he humored the idea that it was a special building that consolidated the wealth of the Hestia Familia as a pretense. He even imagined the interior of therger Manor beingpletely barren since the outer appearance, thoughrge, wasnt as impressive as the smaller building. Snorting through his nose, Alosrin stepped through the double-doors that had been opened by the twins and walking into the vish interior of the Guest Residence. He remarked in his mind that Vahn must have been a boy that yed at being powerful by hiding behind a pretense. It was more likely that Riveria herself had found the solution to the Elven infertility issue and just wanted to promote someone else to avoid having to return to the Elven Kingdom temporarily... The moment Alosrin entered therger room, he looked around the area and immediately locked his on Riveria as a possessive glint passed through them. However, his eyes were drawn away from her shortly thereafter when he saw the other green-haired beauty nearby. For a brief moment, Alosrin felt at a loss because the feeling he got from the beautiful woman was unlike anything he had ever experienced. As if he had no control over his own body, Alosrin inhaled the flowery fragrance permeating through the room and briefly reminisced his first time with his handmaiden. She had been his first love and had treated him well ever since he was a young boy. If she hadnt betrayed him, Alosrin felt like he could have been happy with her at his side... Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Alosrin gave another nce at the strange woman and saw the pointed green ears, the scales on her hands and feet, and therge pair of wings behind her back. There was a powerful aura of nature elements radiating from her body and Alosrin felt like she were a spirit that had decided to show favor to the Hestia Familia. Though she was arguably more beautiful than even Riveria, Alosrin pulled his eyes away from her and looked toward the other two people present. He could see a woman that radiated a divine aura, obviously a goddess, while a young boy that he couldnt really feel any power from at all sat at her side. Seeing the child that should be the Sage, Vahn Mason, Alosrin snorted once again because of Riverias obvious plot to avoid returning to the forest for a few more years. As they had never met, Alosrin had no way of knowing that Vahn had actually altered his form to appear much younger than he actually was. Instead of the 173cm he had been walking around withtely, Vahn was now only 150cm tall and was only slightly taller than the 140cm Hestia. He also made his skin look somewhat palepared to the healthy tan he usually had and he was wearing simple clothing with an innocent smile on his face as he said, "Emiru, Maemi, thank you for bringing our guest to meet me. I was beginning to think we would be waiting all afternoon, hahahaha~" Vahn intentionally worded things to make it sound like Alosrin had been inconveniencing them instead of the other way around. This also had a double meaning of sorts, because it allowed Alosrin to try and take the high ground to remark on the matter... Taking the bait, Alosrin smiled in an arrogant manner as he said, "Well, there were other matters that required my attention so I couldnt arrive sooner. Had youe to greet us properly, we could have dealt with matters directly. Youll have to forgive me for making you wait, Vahn Mason, as it was not my intention to do so...Ah, where are my manners..." Alosrin showed an impable bow and said, "Greetings, as Im certain Riveria has informed you, my name is Alosrin Els Lainu, Envoy of the Elven Kingdom and first-born son of Alfred Els Lainu, Duke of the West..." Seeing Alosrins disy of etiquette, Vahn honestly apuded the act and said, "You have impressive manners, Envoy Alosrin~! Im afraid my own may backcking, so please show me some leniency..." Vahn jumped up from the sofa and returned a sloppy bow of his own as he said, "Greetings, my name is Vahn Mason, Sage Aldrnari and Captain of the Hestia Familia~!" Vahn had arge smile on his face as he gestured between Hestia and Terra, saying, "This is my goddess, Hestia-sama, and my tamed monster, Terra. Youve already met the twins, Maemi and Emiru, and this is my close friend and colleague, Riveria~!" Hestia flinched slightly when Vahn addressed her with sama, but she still managed to keep her expression from breaking down as she sipped at her tea and said, "Wee to the Hestia Familias Guest Residence." Alosrin watched Vahns attempt at etiquette and scoffed internally as he absentmindedly listened to the introductions. Hearing Vahn introducing the spirit behind him as his tamed monster caused Alosrins brows to raise but he kept his words for the time being since it was rude to interrupt a goddess. The Elves had an intrinsic respect for Gods and Spirits, so he wouldnt interrupt her unless they hade to loggerheads with each other. Since it seemed that the only person of concern at this small meeting would be Riveria herself, Alosrin began to wonder how best to take advantage of this situation... A few seconds after Hestias words finished, silence took over the room that caused Alosrin to frown slightly as he asked, "Riveria, you cant show simple courtesies to your husband? I came all this way to meet you, surely you can greet me properly..." Hearing Alosrin address her, Riveria looked over with a in expression on her face and said, "You can here to validate Vahns title as Sage, that is it. I have no interest in pandering to a fool that wasted everyones time by ying around in his carriage with young girls..." Though she didnt truly disdain Sierra and Pram, Riveria turned cold eyes to the two girls that made the smaller Elf tremble. As for Sierra, however, her eyes widened slightly because she had quickly recognized what was going on. She didnt know how things would y out, but it was obvious that they were ying Alosrin for the fool he is. Having already expected Riverias cold behavior, Alosrin didnt show any concern for her words as he walked over and sat down on the opposite sofa. He noticed everything within the room was very expensive, especially the table and ceramic tea set that was set out. It irked him that there was a second pot of tea on his side, but he simply looked to Pram and said, "Pram..." beforeing to a stop and eyeing the two girls nking the doors. A somewhat sadistic smile appeared on his face as he turned to Vahn and said, "Your servants are rather eye-catching, but their education is severelycking. The managed to offend my entire entourage with their actions, so you should discipline them properly, Vahn Mason." Vahn showed a confused expression as if he didnt understand what Alosrin was saying at all. He looked toward Maemi and Emiru to see their small smiles before shaking his head and saying, "That doesnt sound like Maemi and Emirus at all, so Im afraid I cant believe your words so easily Envoy Alosrin. If they truly did offend you, Ill apologize as their behalf but I must also correct a misconception you seem to have made. Though they have willingly taken to the role of maids, neither girl is a servant and they are actually important members of my family. If they offended you, I must infer that they had reason to act in that manner, so please forgive their indiscretion as I believe it is a difference in culture that had caused the misunderstanding~." Alosrins smile had grown marginally when he heard that Vahn would apologize on their behalf, but his words got stuck in his throat when Vahn exined his misconception. If they werent actually servants, there wasnt really any way he could get the girls to serve him without pressing the situation and forcing Vahn into a corner. However, Alosrin could tell from Vahns disposition and how he structured his words he wasnt the simple boy he had thought him to be. It was obvious he had a modic.u.m of intelligence, which made sense if Riveria was trying to pull one over on the Elven Kingdom. If she wanted Vahn to be her patsy and represent her, he would obviously need some degree of intelligence of the facade would be seen through too easily... Deciding the let the matter with the offending twins slide for the time being, Alosrin adopted a more natural smile and said, "As youre aware, I came here to confirm whether or not you are deserving of the title of Sage. Though my fiancees opinion is highly regarded in Elven society, and it is within her right to confer the title, it must be officiated by the Elven Kingdom to be a permanant title. If I find the reality of your aplishments unequal to the ims made, Ill have no choice but to strip it from you. However, as you seem to be an intelligent young boy, there is always hope you will be able to earn it in the future. I have been tasked to evaluate your character and, if it is noble and in line with the Elven Kingdoms interests, we have decided to allow your presence within the Elven Kingdom as the first human within nearly a thousand years." In an annoyingly simr manner as the two girls, Vahn c.o.c.ked his head to the side with a nk expression before saying, "I have no intention of ever leaving Orario, at least not for any long period of time. This ce is my home, and I will continue striving towards a future that benefits everyone, not just the Elves." Alosrin wasnt too surprised by Vahns words because he believed Riveria had primed him to stay such things. Seeing how she was remaining silent while focusing most of her attention on Vahn made Alosrin absolutely sure he was just a puppet of Riverias. She might treat him as her genuine protege and student, but Vahn seemed like nothing but a righteous idiot spewing titudes. What was the point of seeking benefits for everyone when the onlypetent races in the world were the Elves and the Dwarves? Without exining why, Alosrin shook his head and looked at Vahn with pity contained within his gaze. Seeing the way Alosrin looked at him, Vahn couldnt help butment internally, ("Sis, this person is so far gone that he actually takes pity on me for trying to help everyone...?") Though he didnt actually expect an answer, a surprisingly angry voice sounded in his head, saying, (*He is a fool that had never grown beyond his family and the authority he borrowed from others. Please, if you do end up dueling this idiot, give him a punch in his smug face for me. I cant stand the way he looks at you...*) Vahns eyes opened partially in shock, causing Alosrin to think that he had felt rightfully embarrassed after realizing the folly of his words. Deciding that Vahn wasnt really worth talking to, Alosrin decided to guide the conversation forward as he sipped at his own tea and asked, "What evidence do you have to prove your ims? Other than the fertility issue with the Elves, Ive heard the rumors that you even found a solution that allowed goddesses to get pregnant? Id like to see with my own eyes proof of your ims before we move forward with other discussions. Surely, you have prepared something verifiable and havent made baseless ims just to garner fame for yourself~?" Though he was speaking to Vahn, Alosrin had his eyes fixed on Riveria as a slight sneer appeared on his face. Instead of Riveria answering, however, it was Vahn who pulled out arge stack of doc.u.ments that detailed many aspects of his research into High Elves and Elven physiology. Alosrin squinted his eyes because he realized the doc.u.ments had appeared out of thin air, meaning Vahn likely had ess to the rare storage magic that was coveted by many. He started to realize there was more to the boy than meets the eye and understood why Riveria had taken him under her wing. Seeing the doc.u.ments, however, Alosrin squinted his eyes as he tried to pick one up from the table. Before he was able to do so, the doc.u.ments disappeared once again, confirming that Vahn indeed had storage magic. The confusing thing was that he was able to use it without chanting at all... Vahn looked confusedly between Alosrin and Riveria, causing Alosrin to also look toward her as she calmly exined, "Without a proper exchange of benefits, there is no reason for Vahn to turn over his research to the Elven Kingdom. I have also taken a vow not to speak about the information either, so my own notes are safely kept away from prying eyes..." Alosrin felt his temples twitch as a serious expression appeared on his face and he said, "This ispletely uneptable, Riveria! We have already allowed you to confer to him the title of Sage, something a human has never been allowed to possess. What otherpensation are you trying to-" A thought suddenly passed through Alosrins mind and his expression became cold as he asked, "Are you trying to avoid marrying me by holding the solution to our peoples greatest problem as ransom? I never thought you were such a crass and shameless woman..." After Alosrins words fell, there was silence within the room as everyone showed serious expressions on their faces. The only exception was Riveria, who remained entirely unfl.u.s.tered as she said, "Our people tout themselves as the most intelligent and capable of the races, but we can degrade ourselves to the point where we want to steal the research of a young human boy? It isnt my information to hold hostage, Ill even swear a vow upon it if it pleases yo-" Before Riveria could finish, Vahns expression made a transition from being calm and amicable into one of absolute seriousness with a hint of scorn as he said, "Riveria, you dont have to make concessions with this man. If he wishes to throw around usations, allow him to do so at his leisure...hmph!" Hearing Vhans outburst, Alosrin looked at him with an expression of disgust before an iparably sour look appeared on his face when Riveria responded in an almost submissive manner, "Yes, I will take your words to heart...Master." It felt like all the nerves in his body had been exposed to the air as a seething rage built up in his heart. He hadnt expected Riveria to put on an act to this extent and, even though he knew she was trying to goad him on, Alosrin could feel nothing but hatred and contempt for this frail and weak human boy. Even if he was intelligent and had rare magic, having the audacity to allow himself to be addressed as Master by Riveria, even if it was just an act, was the most reprehensible thing Alosrin could imagine. Humans were simply a baseline race without any exceptional features other than the fact they reproduced like animals. High Elves were several orders of magnitude superior to them so Alosrin couldnt tolerate this affront to their people... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Alosrins Depravity,Act I : The Setup,The Undying Rage of the Ignorant) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 533 - Confrontation

Chapter 533 - Confrontation

Through gritted teeth, Alosrin looked to Riveria and asked, "What is this farce, Riveria...?" Instead of answering his question, however, Riveria just maintained an unperturbed expression and remained silent. Earning greater ire from Alosrin, the person to answer was Vahn, saying inly, "Riveria had agreed to be my apprentice in the past, officially epting me as her Master so that we can proceed in our research together." At this point, both Alosrin and Ken both had dark expressions on their faces until Alosrins suddenly changed into a grin and he said, "I see what game youre trying to y, I see, I see...hahahaha~!" As if he had experienced a great epiphany, Alosrin looked to Riveria with a reproachful gaze and said, "To think you would go to such great lengths to avoid your responsibilities. Everyone back homeuds you as some great Mage, the pride of the High Elves, but youre really just a coward that couldnt ept their status. You would shame our entire race by pretending to apprentice yourself to a human child? What a farce..." Contrary to his expectations, Vahn didnt seem perturbed by his words at all, even though there was a fierce look persisting in his eyes. At this point, Alosrin had already fallen into their entrapment and there were only a few steps before he wouldpletely fall as a result of his own hubris. Vahn had been keeping his domain at bay, but now he slowly started increasing the pressure in the room as he coldly stated, "How peculiar...to have reached your age without ever having developed the insight to see through to the truth of a matter. Do you truly believe Riveria is putting on a show of being my apprentice? That must mean you intend to discredit my aplishments as well...curious that you woulde all this was on the pretense of validating my aplishments just to steal the results of my research. And you believe Im supposed to be grateful to receive such a title? Well, I was when Riveria gave it to me, but I have no interest in ying games with the Elven Kingdom. You may return to your King and exin to him why you have failed your entire species by offending the Sage Aldrnari..." Alosrin had wanted to rebuke Vahn for speaking out of turn, but he felt a strong pressure around his body every time he tried to open his mouth. He was confused since, even though he knew the pressure wasing from the boy in front of him, he couldnt sense anything at all. Vahn had previously identified how Riveria was able to sense his domain, primarily being that she could see the change in the elemental energies under his control. However, if he simply decided not to control the elemental energies at all, Vahn found that he couldpletely conceal his domain from others. Alosrin was likely misconstruing the feeling as animosity, which could also take on a tangible form when it is concentrated enough. Typically, such an urrence only took ce when there was a powerful grudge between warriors, but Alosrin had no understanding of Vahns true capabilities. When he had finished speaking, Vahn eased up the pressure and allowed Alosrin to gnash his teeth and say, "Your title of Sage has been invalidated! Ill make sure the entire continent knows youre just ying at-" Vahn turned to Hestia and smiled before saying, "It looks like this buffoon has forgotten his manners, Hestia-sama. Please return to the Manor so you dont have to waste your time listening to his baseless drivel..." As he helped Hestia stand, Vahn sent a contemptuous look at Alosrin and said, "Ill continue to call myself as Sage Aldrnari, as Ive grown rather fond of the title. Feel free to do as you please, as the truth of the matter wille to the light regardless of your efforts. Truth is a curious thing, you see, as it resonates deeply with people and can easily tear through lies and deceit when it is known~" Vahn used a lecturing tone like he was speaking to a child and gestured to Maemi and Emiru to escort Hestia. Alosrin was in a rage but his thoughts were racing as he tried to make sense of the situation that was unfolding before him. He knew this was Riverias plot, but he couldnt think of a manner to regain control of the situation. Though he wanted to teach Vahn a lesson, Riveria was inarguably stronger than both he and Ken. They may be able to get an advantage in a two-versus-one, but it was rumored that Vahn was a Level 4 as well and there was no way of knowing what he kept in his storage magic dimension. Space magic was a tricky element and there was no telling what other skills Vahn had at his disposal. His only chance would be to try and remove Vahn from the equation and... As if another epiphany had hit him, Alosrin watched as the two hateful beasts began escorting the goddess. They passed by the monster standing in the back and exchanged smiles with each other before walking toward a door at the back of the room. With a sly expression and mocking smile on his face, Alosrin said, "Ill give you a chance to prove yourself, even without allowing me to see your research. You im that the truth wille out naturally, but I cam here to verify the ims directly. To manage such feats at a young age shows you are quite prodigious..." For a brief moment, Alosrins expression turned sour before transitioning back as he continued, "You even managed to make one of the most prolific Mages on the continent your disciple. I wonder if someone of your caliber would do me the honor of a demonstration~?" Vahn arched his brow with a confused expression and asked, "What kind of demonstration? Why should I have any interest in your proposals after the disrespectful behavior you have shown. Riverias status is much higher than yours, yet she refers to me as Master...what worth do you have for me to demonstrate my skills for you?" Hearing Vahn mention how Riveria addresses him, Alosrin felt like his blood pressure had skyrocketed. It took several long seconds for him to calm down and say, "I wouldnt think someone with the title of Sage would be so inflexible...though, perhaps it is not Riveria who is the coward, but the fool she calls her Ma...Master." Alosrin put a lot of inflection on the word as if it were a curse that would cause Vahns skin to peel. As if he were very upset by Alosrins words, Vahn frowned deeply and said, "You never mentioned what kind of demonstration you wanted to see. Speak, fool, Im not afraid to show you how vast the world ispared to the small world that has warped your mind to such an extent!" Alosrin felt like every word Vahn spoke was the greatest insult he had ever suffered in his entire 99 years of life. He originally just wanted to shame Vahn and bring this farce to an end, but now he nned to cripple the boy for his endless slights against his betters. Thinking of Vahns pathetic figure helped Alosrin calm down a lot as he said, "Its simple, well have a short duel using magic to see who the more capable Mage is." Vahn gave Alosrin an incredulous look and asked, "You really want to duel me...you? Perhaps you should rethink this, or maybe get your little friend there to fight in your stead. Dont get me wrong, Im not saying you cant use magic at all, but you dont really strike me as a petent Mage..." For several seconds, Alosrins mind hadpletely short-circuited at Vahns words and he felt like he had transcended all other emotions and be the embodiment of icy rage. Rather than simply cripple him, Alosrin became resolved to kill Vahn if he was presented with the opportunity. Since he hadnt made the method public, it would also allow him to expose Vahn for the fraud he was after the cure for his people died with him. If Riveria truly knew the method, she would undoubtedly expose it herself one day, vow or not, so it was the best possible solution for the current situation. Believing Vahn to be an overconfident child, Alosrins smile turned especially cruel because he had seen the worry in the eyes of Vahns monster. He had never seen such a beautiful and exotic humanoid monster before and the aura she radiated reminded him of the Sacred Trees back in the forest. Alosrin even spected she was the real solution to the Elven Fertility issue so, if he were able to take her back to the Kingdom, he would beuded as a hero. He might even get enough supporting to be the next Elven King if he yed his cards right. Riveria would then be forced to be his Queen, no, his concubine. She had tested his patience far too much at this point and the only oue for her would be beneath his feet, firmly situated where she belongs... After considering the matter, Alosrin said, "Your confidence is unbing...but I will allow you to pretend as much as you want...unless, of course, youre willing to make things more interesting by epting a wager?" As if he couldnt wait to start, Vahn impatiently asked, "What kind of wager!? Money!? Materials!? Ill show you that Im not some child you can insult as you please!" Vahn felt very awkward putting on this kind of act, but it was made a lot easier by the genuine rage he felt for this idiot in front of him. If not for the fact they were trying to leverage the situation in their favor, Vahn would have already beaten this fool to a pulp and sent him running back to the Elven Kingdom cradling his broken magic staff. Alosrins face became serious as a cold glint passed through his eyes, saying, "I would have wagered my two servants against yours, but it seems you treat animals as your family. Instead, I will wager one of my servants against your little pet..." Seeing him look in her direction, Terra showed her characteristic smile and said, "I am not some pet that can be battered so cheaply. Do you really think an Elven servant-girl, barely scraping at the bottom of Level 3, is equal in Value to a True Dragon near the peak of Level 4? My Master is correct, you are quite the hack~." Terra hadnt spoken throughout the entire conversation so her words were a surprise to Alosrin who had trouble speaking for a moment. He hadnt know which Level she was at, only that she had a very powerful aura. Hearing her im to be a True Dragon at Level 4, Alosrin felt like he had just hit the jackpot since her elemental affinity was rted to nature. If they cultivated her properly, she would be a veritable mine of rare materials that could make him one of the wealthiest High Elves in the entire Kingdom. With a grim expression and a celebratory look in his eyes, Alosrin nodded his head and said, "It seems the terms are indeed unfair...however, other than some paltry ornaments, I have only brought the two servants with me. Fortunately, unlike those undisciplined brats, my servants have been properly trained and would even fetch a high price in the market. I believe two Level 3 pure-blooded Elves are more than a fair exchange for a single monster...unless you are some kind of monster sympathizer and believe the lives of Elves to be beneath such creatures?" As if he had been highly offended by Alosrins words, Vahn gnashed his teeth and let his anger radiate from his body as he said, "Fine! I ept! Lets get this over with...!" Though he was pleased that Alosrin had fallen for their baitpletely, Vahn couldnt tolerate the way he kept berating the people he cared about. If he hadnt given the conditions soon, Vahn felt like he was about to send the arrogant High Elf flying, repercussions be damned. If this event had taken ce simrly in the Divination, Vahn could understand why he had been unable topromise with the Elven Kingdom until things had gotten out of hand. Knowing they gave rise to fools like this confounded him greatly and he wanted to smack the man that had raised such an ipetent and abrasive son. Alosrin smiled as if he had already won the duel and said in a snide tone, "Lets make a vow so that, not saying youre dishonorable and untrustworthy, you are unable to go back on your promise." Vahn waved his hand dismissively and said in a mocking tone, "Id rather not, as youll probably whine and say I cheated you when you want to renege on your own word. I can barely believe someone like you can use magic at all, so I wont treat this matter too seriously. Come, lets get this over with..." Hearing Vahn treating him like an ipetent fool, Alosrin realized his earlier illusion of transcending anger was just him reaching the base of a tall mountain. A strange urge tough welled up inside of Alosrin and his pupils shrank into small beads as he looked at Vahn as if he were the corpse of his most hated enemy. He was so angry that his voice broke slightly as he said, "I swear on my pride as a High Elf, a descendant of Nord, and my honor as the son of Duke Alfred Els Lainu, I will not renege on my promise to the pretender, Vahn Mason!" Without waiting for Vahn to make a vow of his own, Alosrin flicked his mantle and turned on his heels as he walked outside. As if he were challenging Vahns earlier eagerness, his movements were swift and decisive as he clutched his own staff to the point his knuckles had turned white. Ken red at Vahn with an expression filled with disdain as he said, "Pathetic human fool...you dont even have enough sense to realize you dug your own grave. Come, its time to experience humiliation beyond your imagination..." Though he knew Alosrin wasnt the most capable Mage amongst High Elves, he was still one of the supreme beings and Ken knew how many resources his Master, Alfred, had invested on him. He also had ritual magic and a powerful magical staff at his disposal so Ken believed that there was no way that Alosrin would lose. If Vahn tried to y a trick, he intended to cut him down himself and, if necessary, sacrifice his life as a criminal and traitor if it meant protecting his Masters progeny. After leaving biting words, Ken made his way toward the door after urging Sierra and Pram to move by kicking the smaller Elf with his hard metal sabatons. Vahns mind turned cold after he witnessed this yet, instead ofshing out, he became very calm as he walked forward with both hands behind his back. He actually agreed with one thing that Ken had said, the fact that he would be witnessing humiliation...except that it wasnt beyond his imagination and that the target was very different than the arrogant Elf intended. He sent a look to Riveria and saw her encouraging nod before walking toward where, not his opponent, but the fool who believed himself a worthy enemy... Alosrin had already opened up a fair distance in preparation for the duel and Vahn squinted his eyes slightly after realizing that the idiot wanted to fight in the front courtyard. It didnt really make much of a difference, but damaging an area that could be seen from passersby was probably another method the arrogant High Elf had thought to embarrass him. Fortunately, Vahn didnt n to allow things to get to the point where damage was done to the Manor and its surroundings. Without any hesitation, almost as if he were showing up to teach a ss, Vahn walked with his arms behind his back and stopped around 100m away from Alosrins position. They hadnt designated a referee for their duel so it was left to both Riveria and Ken to observe from the sidelines at opposite ends of the battlefield. The moment they were in position, Alosrin shouted, "Lets see the strength of a Sage pretender!" as he produced a small green wand and waved it toward Vahn. Vahn furrowed his brows slightly before waving his hand and cutting through the invisible de of wind that hade directly toward his neck. Alosrin had already started chanting after sending the surprise attack, likely meant to buy time or get a lucky hit, but Vahn didnt mind as his aquamarine green eyes turned a pale blue with his activation of [Eyes of Truth]. Riveria had already informed Vahn about all of Alosrins magic so he was able to tell that the High Elf was using a spell called [Ignis Infernus], a fire elemental magic that could createrge fireballs that homed in on their target. Vahn analyzed the spell structure before using his domain to erase two of the defined verses as he waited for the chant toplete. The fact that Alosrin decided to use long-chat magic in a fight against someone known for their speed made Vahn question if the man had any knowledge of him at all. It seemed like he had been more focused on Riveria than his actual duty, or there was no way he would have tried such an attack from the beginning of the fight... Seeing that Vahn was waiting for his attack, Alosrin felt a great deal of scorn well up inside him because he hated being looked down on more than anything. Vahn was acting like he was high and mighty,pletely unphased by the swarm of mana being converged in front of him. Alosrin wanted to wipe the calm from his smug little face so he focused his mind to ensure that his chant was a sess. He had expected Vahn to charge him at first, as it was difficult to believe a human waspetent in magic, so he set up various mines on the ground after quickly leaving the building earlier. Now it was beginning to look like he had wasted his efforts since he had managed toplete his chant, ensuring Vahns defeat... Five massive fireballs appeared around Alosrins body as a cruel smile appeared on his face and he shouted, "Ignis Infernus~!" at the top of his lungs. However, even after several seconds passed, the five fireballs just wiggled around in the air as they slowly drifted away. Vahn had removed the part of the magic circle that controlled the movement vector of the fireballs and also erased the homingponent. Though he was able toplete the spell, the only thing Alosrin had managed to do was create five fireballs around his body that were slowly baking him. Vahn raised his brow in confusion and asked, "I waited for your attack just to see you whiff your own spell? Is it supposed to be some kind of defensive magic?" As they were never meant to exist for long, the fireballs eventually started to disperse because the final alteration Vahn had made was to their explosive property. Instead of explode, he changed it to slowly dissipate to ensure there wouldnt be any damage to the grounds. Alosrin had an incredulous expression on his face as he watched the fireballs he had painstakingly conjured dissipate into hot air. Vahns words dealt a blow directly to his mind while his own failure caused a bit of fear to rise up inside of him. He had wanted to kill Vahn in a single strike so he had pumped arge quantity of mana into the spell after investing another portion on the mines within the ground. Without Vahn taking a single step, or firing off a single spell, he had already used up more than 40% of his reserves... Vahn shook his head with disappointment written on his face as he said, "This is why I told you not to overestimate your own capabilities. Without a calm head and, at the very least, a marginal amount ofpetence, you shouldnt be trying to be a Mage. Its obvious you havent trained much at all...what a waste of, what, ny years?" Alosrin took several deep breaths and began chanting, "Spirit of Fire, Lord of Purgatory, Relea-" before Vahnpletely disappeared without showing any signs of movement. Though he had expected it somewhat, Alosrins eyes widened greatly after realizing Vahn had teleportation magic. It seemed that his mastery of space magic was enough to qualify him as a capable mage...but Alosrin knew it would take a tremendous amount of mana if he wanted to keep using it. If he used [Shundo] to its limits, it did take a fair amount of mana but it was less than 1/1100th of Vahns mana pool. For a short distance of 100m, it took next to nothing at all and, by the time he had reappeared in front of Alosrin, his mana had already started to recover as his pores absorbed the elemental energy from the air. This time, Alosrin jumped back quickly as an invisible figure parted from the robe of his body and tried to strike at Vahn. Just as he had done before, Vahn swiped his hand to disperse the defensive cyclone that had emerged from the robe. He didnt give chase and instead reached out his hand and cautioned, "Wait, watch where youre stepping!" as Alosrin stepped on one of his own mines, which Vahn had repositioned around him previously. Alosrins eyes widened greatly as he tucked his body and rolled to the side in an effort to evade his own trap. He had set them all over the battlefield, but he didnt recall setting one in the direction he had jumped to. Though he couldnt figure out how they were doing it, Alosrin realized Vahn or Riveria must have been doing something to interrupt his magic. He had never heard of being able to move someone elses magic mines before, but Alosrin refused to believe he had made a mistake. From the side, however, Ken had been watching the duel with an incredulous expression on his face as he muttered, "Was the Young-Master truly this ipetent...? Avish lifestyle has spoiled him andpletely crippled hisbat senses..." Realizing there was a real chance that Alosrin would lose, Ken looked toward Sierra and Pram only to see the supposed True Dragon standing near them. Knowing she was Level 4 didnt ease his mind any, as he likely wouldnt be able to strike down the two girls before Riveria and the True Dragon interfered. His only chance was to look for an opening when Vahn dropped his guard and try to surprise attack him. Though his speed couldnt rival Vahns teleportation, Ken was confident he could get the jump on the young boy when his mana was exhausted. The only thing he could do for now was to tighten his grip on the hilt of his sword and wait for the opportunity to present itself... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sage, huh? I think Ill keep it~,Just ording to keikaku...,The Honor of the Elves) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 534 - Reality

Chapter 534 - Reality

Although Alosrin had triggered one of his own mines identally, the robes he had were incredibly resistant to magic and he also possessed various treasures that would protect his life if it were endangered. Vahn could see the small formations and barriers covering his body, which was the main reason he wasnt concerned with the safety of the arrogant High Elf. Even if he did injure himself seriously, it would get out that the spell to injure him was one of his own makings and he would earn the ire of his peers. Given his personality, Alosrin wouldnt mention it to anyone but Vahn wasnt quite satisfied with that. Much like Alosrins hatred of him had escted, Vahns own for the smug fool had increased greatly. Shaking his head in admonition, Vahn stated icily, "Not only do youck control over your own magic, but you forget where you set your own traps? Is this some kind of joke to you...?" Alosrins pupils contracted and he shouted, "You and that bitch are ying foul! There is no way my magic would misfire like this!" Vahn c.o.c.ked his head to the side as if he had just heard the dumbest thing in the world, turning to face Ken and asking, "Is he being serious right now? What kind of game are the two of you ying, trying to set me up by injuring yourselves?" Kens focus had been a bit split by Vahns gaze had inadvertently caused his body to tremble for reasons he couldnt quite specte. The only thing he knew was that his hatred for the small human child had increased greatly, even though he somewhat agreed that Alosrin was ipetent. He had seen Alosrin setting up some of his traps earlier but hadnt been able to see where he ced all of them. Ken assumed that Alosrins temper was clouding his judgment and interfered with his control over his own magic. This was one of the reasons Mages fought at the backline because even simple distractions could cause a chant to go awry. When they returned to the forest, Ken intended to inform his Master about Alosrins pathetic performance so the boy could undergo basic training all over again... While Vahn was distracted looking at Ken, Alosrin pulled out the small green wand again and waved it twice in Vahns direction. This time, Vahn simply sidestepped the invisible des and began walking toward Alosrin with a face filled with contempt, saying, "You assume every action of your opponent is an opening without taking into consideration their capabilities at all. Not only are you unable to form a spell properly, but you rely on cheap tricks and magical treasures to y at being a Mage..." Every step Vahn took increased his momentum and pressure greatly, without any change in his speed at all. Alosrin felt this pressured and opened up the distance once again before pulling out a small blue orb and injecting his mana into it. Vahn was somewhat curious about the orb since it seemed like a very valuable object so he allowed Alosrin toplete his preparations. He could sense a vast amount of water elemental energy contained within it so Vahn didnt have any fear of what it might be. Though he may not have water immunity, his resistance to the element was incredibly high in his base form, while it was almost perfect in his Xunw form. Thus, after Alosrin injected nearly 20% of his total mana into the small blue orb, he threw it forward and it exploded into a mass of water that swirled around like a vortex. Curiously, it had glowing azure eyes affixed to the area that should be its head while two watery arms protruded from its side. Vahn recognized the creature to be an artificial Water Elemental, and couldnt help but shake his head at Alosrins misfortune. Alosrin must have .u.mted a great deal of negative karma to havee face-to-face with someone like Vahn... Alosrinughed like a madman as he pulled out a shining white vial of liquid and ingested it, greatly increasing his natural mana regeneration while bolstering his actual mana pool by around 20%. It was an Elixir formed from the sap of the sacred tree, one of his life-saving tools when he was in great danger, but Alosrin had used it in a duel that wasnt even supposed to be a fight to the death. With his Water Elemental as protection, he should be able to chant his spells more easily and put pressure on Vahn. However, just as he brandished his staff and began his chant, something mind-numbing happened right in front of his eyes. Seeing the Water Elemental begin to absorb elemental energy from the atmosphere to channel its own magic, Vahn transformed into his Xunw form in an instant, converging his domain on the creatureprised of pure energy. He traced his hands in a circr arc before making a pulling motion as he traced his foot back in a smooth motion and swiped his hands down. The entire Water Elemental shifted forward before the blue orb within its body was yanked free, causing the creature to copse into elemental partictes that slowly evaporated and returned to the air. Vahn bent over and picked up the blue orb and inspected it with interest, saying, "The more reliant you are on such treasures, the less capable you will be when facing real threats. Thus far, youve only shown me your wealth and how grossly ipetent you are...see, this is why I said you shouldnt treat this duel seriously..." Alosrins mind hadpletely nked at this point because he had no idea how Vahn had been able to defeat his Water Elemental so easily. The only thing he felt was a strange tugging in his body, almost like his stomach had sunken downwards, as his connection with his guardian had been severed. He hadnt even been able to process Vahns wordspletely, as the only thing passing through his mind as he returned to awareness was, ("This boy is dangerous..."). Though it was a difficult, almost ridiculous, thing to consider, Alosrin started to understand why Riveria might call someone like Vahn their Master. He wasnt a normal human boy at all, but a monster, no, a demon in the guise of a human child! Vahn continued to stare at the dazed Alosrin before tilting his head and asking, "Are you going to surrender, or do I have to give you a proper education? Well..." For a moment, Vahn was going to say that he had no intention of drawing things to a close so early, but Alosrin had been stirred awake by his words and cast short chant magic that shot a spear of fire toward him. This time, Vahn didnt dodge at all and just began to yawn like he was very tired of this entire situation... With its supersonic speeds, the spear crashed into him and made a conal explosion as Alosrins expression turned into a cruel smile. He hadnt expected Vahn to take the hit directly and there were no fluctuations of mana at all, which meant that the boy didnt even use a barrier to intercept it. However, just as he was about to goad Riveria for her foolishness, his mind buzzed once again as Vahn casually walked out of the quickly dispersing cloud of mes. He saw the boy look around with an annoyed expression on his face before asking, "Who is going to pay for the repairs to my courtyard?" For the first time in his life, Alosrin felt a powerful urge to vomit blood as a result of the iprehensible rage and frustration he felt. Vahn shook his head, clearly disappointed by Alosrins performance, before saying in a firm tone, "I gave you the opportunity to avoid this duel from the beginning, tried to give you some breathing room so you didnt embarrass yourself, and even allowed you to surrender before I have even started my attacks. That is three mark against you and the end of where my patienceys. From here on, Ill be showing you what real magic is, so make sure to pay close attention. Its never toote in life to actually learn something..." Hearing Vahns words, Alosrin realized that, even though he had used several treasures and had cast multiple spells, Vahn hadnt actually attacked him just yet. The rage in his mind melted as a feeling of dread began to permeate through his body as he watched the young boy before him begin to spread his arms... Since the purpose of this y was to save the two Elven girls while simultaneously embarrassing and causing fear within Alosrin, Vahn decided to make things rather showy. He let his domain explode from his body like a tidal wave as he infused [Enkidu] into it, not to actually use the chains just yet, but to create the illusion of a divine aura. Even gods misconstrued his domain as a pseudo-divine power so there was no way Alosrin would be able to see through it at all. As expected, the moment they felt the divinity in his domain, Alosrin, Ken, and even the two Elven girls all showed expression of shock and, in the case of Alosrin, terror. Vahn uttered in a lecturing tone before Alosrin could form any words or try to surrender, "For a Mage, the most important thing is to have a proper understanding of the situations you find yourself in, ceaselessly pursuing your studies further. Because they often have low physical parameters, you need to prepare yourself for all kinds of opponents so that you arent caught off guard and killed before you can even cast a spell. Though you used your mines as a fail-safe, you couldnt even keep track of them because your own mental state had clouded your mind...now, I will show you true magic that circ.u.mvents your shallow understanding..." As he was speaking, orbs of fire and a ring of water had started to spin behind Vahns body, creating the illusion that he had mastery over both elements. Alosrin felt like his mind had been pressed under arge b of lead as he quickly understood why he was unable to damage Vahn with his fire spear. He wasnt sure how, but Vahn was able to use the elemental control of the Spirits...and he even emitted the aura of a god. The young human had the capabilities of the two entities most revered and respected by the Elves for millennia and he thought he could actually oppose that kind of power? Cast a nce over at Riveria, he could see the genuine respect and appreciation in her eyes and realized he had made a grave error. However, even knowing this, his hatred for Vahn only increased as his envy grew to match it... Vahn had condensed arge amount of elemental energy into the spheres and circle behind him, but this was merely a disy to awe the onlookers and not his true attack. His arms, which had been spread wide in a casual manner were brought to his sides without any haste at all. Alosrin seemed to havepletely forgotten they were in a duel and was just ring at him with eyes filled with hatred. As for Ken, Vahn was very aware of the hostility radiating from the man as his aura waspletely filled with ck and the fiery red of hatred. He wasnt really worried about the man, even though he was Level 5, because Vahn could sense from the size and instability of his aura that Kens parameters werent that developed. Without ess to something like the Dungeon, even the Elves with high levels werent actually that strong and it was likely he increased his strength every time he met the basic requirements to do so. Reaching out his hand, Vahn muttered, "Unbreakable Chains, Divine Spear ~Enkidu!" as nine glowing ripples appeared in the void behind him. He didnt need a chant for [Enkidu], of course, but Vahn wanted to make them think he was using short-chant magic instead of a soulbound item. Even without contacting someone, the resplendent golden radiance of [Enkidu] was enough to even cause gods to feel pressure, much less an ipetent, arrogant, and egotistical High Elf. The moment the nine ripples emerged behind Vahns back, Alosrins eyes opened wide and he crushed a teardrop shaped pendant and made a blue barrier covered in runes emerge to protect his body. Vahn shook his head gently before waving his hand forward and sending [Enkidu] flying several times the speed of sound toward Alosrins barrier... Alosrin had previously felt like Vahn was a demon but, after having felt his aura and witnessing his magical prowess, he understood the truth of the matter. Vahn was very obviously a demigod that possessed a great deal of power. He even suspected that the only reason Vahn looked so young was that he aged very slowly. Instead of fifteen, Alosrin felt like Vahn was more likely several decades old, perhaps even older than he himself. He felt like he had been yed the fool by Riveria and Vahn yet, remembering Vahns earlier words and the purported feats attributed to him, Alosrin also felt like he had made a gross oversight. Had he researched the matters just a bit, it was likely he would have been able to obtain information about Vahns capabilities and prepared himself more adequately. Now, seeing the nine divine spears pointing at him, Alosrin reluctantly used his most important treasure, the ne his handmaiden had gifted him when he became an a.d.u.l.t...the same ne that had caused him to fall madly in love with the woman, even to the point that he had to make her his own... The nine spearheads of [Enkidu] mmed into the barrier soundlessly and sent small ripples across its surface that confused everyone present except for Vahn and Riveria. He just kept his hand raised in azy manner and had a small smile on his face, almost as if he had frozen in time. As for Alosrin, he had regretted using hisst treasure to create a barrier when the magic used by Vahn turned out to be very weak. However, this thought faded very quickly when he noticed the chains were still present and that the barrier around him had started to create even more ripples. The dread that had previously vanished returned in full force as he realized that Vahn was likely just toying with him. Alosrin suspected the chains could have broken through the barrier easily but Vahn just wanted to give him false hope to create a gap in his mentality. After a few seconds passed, the tension in the air had reached a palpable level before the nine spearheads prated through the barrier without even destroying it. They traced trajectories around Alosrins body as they mmed heavily into the ground below while the barrier slowly broke down like a thin ss bubble. Ken shouted out, "Young Master!" as he charged toward the site and tried to cut the chains with his sword. However, other than causing the skin between his thumbs and forefingers to tear open, he couldnt even budge the chains at all. Seeing that Alosrin wasnt moving, Ken turned his gaze to Vahn and shouted, "You murderous bastard! Do you really think the Elven Kingdom will stand idly by as you ruthlessly y its envoys!? Ill take your head for this!" Ken charged toward Vahn with the greatest momentum he could manage, ducking around the chains that surrounded Vahns body. However, he saw a sh of gold as the chains dispersed, temporarily blinding his eyes before a massive impact passed through his chest. Before he realized what had happened, he could feel his body tumbling over several times before he crashed into a hard object. Ken released a painful grunt as a mouthful of blood escaped his mouth. Opening his eyes, he found himself copsed against the wall of thepound more than 200m away from where Vahn was located while the boy himself was in a low punching motion. There was even a small amount of steam righting from his knuckles and Ken felt incredulous after realizing that the thing that hit him was a simple punch by the young human, no, the young demigod... Vahn shook his hand in an exaggerated manner and said, "I didnt kill that fool, after all, Ive never been the type to bully the weak. As I said, I was simply giving a demonstration of real magic, so why did you step in and interfere with the duel? Is your arrogance so great that you would even besmirch your own honor by throwing out false usations while attempting to assassinate the representative of the Alliance? Are you trying to dere war on behalf of your Kingdom? Do you have that authority?" Ken wanted to rebut Vahns words but there was a fist-print on his b.r.e.a.s.tte that was pressing into his diaphragm. He could hardly breathe, much less speak at the moment. However, there was one person that was perfectly capable of forming words as a trembling, "I...surrender..." sounded out over the silence of the battlefield. Though he had small cuts on his body, Alosrin was rtively unharmed, at least physically. He felt that Vahn had shown him leniency by redirecting the spears away from his body at thest moment. When his body was entangled with the golden chains, Alosrin had feltpletely helpless and had fallen into a dazed state filled with dread. After the chains dispersed, he copsed to the ground powerlessly and it wasnt until he got a taste of dirt that he awakened back to his senses. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw his powerful bodyguard get sent flying by Vahn in a single punch and any hope he had about changing the situationpletely vanished. Fearing that Vahn might lose his patience even further, Alosrin surrendered directly to avoid having to face against the monstrous demigod a second time... Vahn showed a small frown and said, "Ive only attacked you once while you had attacked me six times in total. There are still many lessons youve yet to learn, so why should I allow you to surrender so easily?" Just imagining having to suffer another five attacks from Vahn made Alosrins body tremble like he had a basin of frigid water poured over him. He remembered all the opportunities Vahn had given him to take a step back while he had constantly berated and insulted the powerful demigod. Had he been in Vahns position, Alosrin would have killed anyone who had slighted him so grievously...realizing this, Alosrin felt like his world was falling apart until a gentle voice sounded out, even though it wasced with a cold undertone, "Master, I think you have taught him as much as his small mind canprehend right now. I imagine hell be ruminating over this lesson for many years toe, so why not show your magnanimity by showing him some leniency. After all, it is beneath you to continue trying to educate someone that is unwilling to learn..." Hearing Riverias words, Vahn showed a startled expression full of realization as he embarrassedly stroked the back of his head and said, "Ahaha, I guess youre right, Riveria. Im d I have such a capable apprentice to keep me on the right track. Sometimes I forget that not everyone is worth teaching..." At this point, Alosrin just wanted to extricate himself from this situation as quickly as possible so he bowed his head low and said, "Yes, this one is unworthy of your esteemed selfs guidance...please forgive my hubris and any offenses I may have caused you!" However, instead of the reprieve he had expected, Alosrin felt dread as Vahn said, "Even if Im not going to teach you, I still have an urge to beat you into a pulp for all the bullshit you spouted earlier. I can tell that youre an arrogant person and have likely enjoyed decades of indulgence at the expense of others...if you dont receive a bit of discipline now, Im afraid youll just run back to the Elven Kingdom and ruin the lives of other people..." Vahn walked toward Alosrin, causing the 99-year-old High Elf to crawl backward before he rolled around and tried to run away. However, he hadnt gotten three steps when Vahn appeared right in front of him and kicked his forearm in a swift motion, snapping the bones contained within into small fragments. As he tried to scream out, an impact struck his diaphragm and Alosrin felt his copsing world spin as he flew through the sky and collided with the ground. The pain from his arm increased greatly, but he couldnt scream due to theck of air in his lungs. Instead, he convulsed as his body desperately tried to suck in air. As he had said, Vahn knew that any lesson he taught Alosrin wouldntst unless it severely traumatized him. He knew that even if the High Elf showed him proper courtesy and spoke deferentially toward him, the moment he returned to the Elven Kingdom his old habits would return. Vahn couldnt even imagine the number of lives Alosrin had ruined for his own selfish indulgence and it made him upset that he couldnt actually kill the man outright. The only thing he could do for the time being was to make Alosrins body remember the beating he had taken here so that he was always reminded of what would happen when Vahn got his hands on him a second time... After walking over, Vahn pulled out a [Heal] staff and treated the wounds on Alosrins body because his earlier kick hadpletely ruptured the arrogant High Elfs diaphragm. Once his breathing was restored, Alosrin looked up with fearful eyes and said, "T-thank yo-" before Vahn kicked him in the face this time. Appearing next to his body with [Shundo], Vahn stared down at him and said, "I have shown great tolerance today by not killing you, Alosrin...return to your home and remember what you have learned today. You can be sure that I will have correspondence with the Elven Kingdom in the future so, if I find out you have tried to nder the reputation of myself and my apprentices, or put your hands on another person, I will give you a fate far worse than death." Alosrin bobbed his head like a chicken as the blood flowing from his nose pooled in his hands. He already knew that Vahns ims about having fixed the infertility issue were probably true and that his offenses against the boy had earned him a great deal of ire. Instead of getting the solution and returning it to the Kingdom, he had offended their greatest benefactor with his arrogant behavior. Even without Vahns reminder, Alosrin knew he would likely be punished severely upon his return unless he coulde up with a good excuse to cover his mistakes. Much less tarnish the reputation of Vahn, Alosrin intended to inte his aplishments greatly if necessary...at least for the time being. Though he was incredibly fearful of Vahn, Alosrin knew Vahn didnt have an informationwork within the Elven Kingdom so he would be hard-pressed to find him guilty of any wrong-doings. He would probably have toy low for a while, but there was no way he was willing to give up his lifestyle so easily. By the time Vahn visited the Kingdom and submitted the information, Ken was confident he would be able to entrap both him and Riveria. He may not have learned much from Vahn, but his words about making proper preparations resonated heavily within his mind and Alosrin nned to make as many preparations as possible before then... Vahn could see the deeply rooted fear in Kens eyes, but the flickering ck mes in his aura was all the proof he needed to know the man hadnt truly repented. After releasing a sigh, Vahn brought his hands together as if he was praying, confusing Alosrin and the onlookers greatly. He didnt know why, but Alosrin felt a powerful dread spread through his body that turned into absolute terror when Vahn opened his eyes and had a gentle and apologetic look on his face. Alosrin realized that Vahn had somehow seen through to his true intentions and had decided to pass judgment on him. Raising his hands, Alosrin shouted out, "No, please, dont!" as Vahn reached out his hand with unstoppable momentum. Even though he hated Alosrin quite a bit, Vahn had shown him leniency time and again and, seeing that the man was unwilling to repent, he had no choice but to take action. Vahn prayed that the man one day corrected his mindset, but for the time being he was deserving of punishment. Though he couldnt kill him, nor could he stop Alosrin from bringing harm to others, there were a few things he could strip away from him. Vahn ced his palm on Alosrins head before ripping the green wand from his fingers as he tried to get in another sneak attack. Vahn wanted to avoid generating a massive amount of negative karma for using a healing skill like [Hands of Nirvana] to do harm so he instead focused his mind and spread his aura directly through Alosrins body with [Yggdrasils Blessing]. Targetting the area of Alosrins brain that helped him processplex equations and spell formations, Vahn infused fire elemental directly into the small lobe and damaged it. There werent any nerves in the area, so Alosrin didnt feel anything at all, just a powerful sense of dread. From this point on, unless he disciplined himself and studied rigorously, he would never be able to case magic normally. Finishing with his first punishment, Vahn pushed Alosrin to the ground and kicked his body over before pressing his thumb around the base of his spine. He didnt use [Hands of Nirvana] but instead applied direct pressure to the nerve center that would allow Alosrin to feel s.e.x.u.a.l stimtion and get erections. Without the aide of a skill, Vahn had to be a bit forceful so Alosrin cried out in pain as he writhed about on the ground. He had no idea what Vahn was doing, but the pain was more than enough to cause him great duress. When he felt the pressure finally release, there was now an ache in his lower body that terrified him as Vahn said, "Consider what Ive done to you a powerful curse that will give you the chance to live a better life. If you work hard in the future, I will reverse the effects and allow you to return to normal...now get out of here before I decide you arent worthy of a second chance..." Alosrin bobbed his head and tried to rise to his feet and walk away, but he could hardly put any strength into his legs. Using his staff as a walking stick, he slowly ambled towards the gate where not a single one of his escorts could be seen. While he was confused, a figure mmed into the ground next to him and Alosrin looked down to see the battered body of Ken breathing heavily. Vahn had stripped him of his crushed b.r.e.a.s.tte, allowing the man to breathe, but he had several broken bones and could barely rise to his feet. Remarkably, he hardened his expression and actually reached out to support Alosrin, which Vahn found strangely admirable for someone with such a terrible character. It seemed that, though he had a heavy bias and elitist mentality, he was still a loyal knight that cared for the wellness of his young master. As they approached the gate, Ken muttered in a low voice, "We wont let this matter slide so easily, Young Master. Once your father hears of what happen-" Before he could continue speaking, Alosrin shook his head rapidly and spat through pained words, "We cant do anything to endanger fathers position any longer...this matter needs to be kept a closely guarded secret. I dont want anyone speaking of it at all!" Though he had no intentions of obeying Alosrins orders, Ken nodded his head with a serious expression as they crossed over the threshold of the gate. The fact nobody hade to retrieve them pissed him off greatly and Ken wondered what the hell everyone was doing while the person they were escorting was getting thrashed... Just as Ken was about to shout out for assistance, he felt Alosrins weight increase greatly as the man lost all the feeling in his legs. Ken was confused before looking in the same direction as Alosrin, also causing his legs to feel like jelly. All of their men had been tied up and forced to kneel on the street as several gods and goddesses stood around the gate in a massive concave formation. Though this was enough to inspire a feeling of dread in the 135-year-old Commander, it was the appearance of the creature above everyone that caused his legs to nearly give out. Hovering in the air generating an oppressive aura that threatened to devour thempletely, there was arge evil looking dragon looking down upon them with scorn. Before he could process what was happening, a loud thud sounded from behind as both he and Alosrin looked back to see a second dragon peering down on them from above the gate. Based on the aura, they knew it was the same monster that had imed itself to be a True Dragon earlier and they nowpletely believed her words. However, even though their brains had slowly started to catch up with their shock, they hadnt had nearly enough time to process what was happening as three goddesses with pregnant bellies walked toward them. Seeing this, Alosrin knew Vahns ims were the truth and that he had erred greatly... Heading the group was Loki while Freya, the goddess responsible for having the soldier kneel, was standing to her left. On her right was the fiery-eyed Hephaestus and they all looked at Alosrin and Ken with eyes filled with scorn. Lokis eyes opened like a snake eyeing its prey as she said, "The next time youe into the territory of the Alliance and try to pull some shit like this, expect that you will be staying here indefinitely. Know that by offending Vahn, you have touched the reverse scale of almost every goddess both in the mortal world and Heaven..." Loki then pulled out a sealed parchment and handed it over to the trembling Alosrin and said, "You are an Envoy of the Elven Kingdom, so pass on this parchment to your King. If you try to open it before then, that will be the same as dering War against the Alliance...this is yourst and only warning..." As every word spoken by Loki reverberated through his ears, it was the earlier words of Vahn that echoed in his mind. He didnt realize how grossly unprepared he was to try and antagonize Vahn based on his sense of superiority. Vahn was just a human boy, nothing more than a puppet, within his mind...but now it was very obvious that the rumors of the boys aplishments werent exaggerated. If he hade into this situation and behaved appropriately, things never would have gotten to this point and he might even be returning to his homnd as a hero. Now, however, he had lost two of his favorite servants, offended a powerful demigod, and earned the ire of almost every goddess...other than nodding his head and safely keeping away the parchment, Alosrin couldnt form any thoughts at all and just climbed into his carriage in a daze... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Act II : Introduction to Real Magic,Face pping? More like Face-Kicking~!,You dun f.u.c.k.i.e.d up now!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 535 - Aftermath

Chapter 535 - Aftermath

Though they had intended to stay in the City for several days, the delegation from the Elven Kingdom, including its Envoy, quickly left on their return trip to the forest. Each member had a solemn expression on their face filled with a mixture of fear and, in some instances, reverence. The Freya Familia had been the one to subjugate their entire troupe and they had done so back liberating every member of their weapons. When some people tried to fight back with magic, the only thing they received for their troubles were broken limbs and puncture wounds. They had beenpletely toyed with by people they considered beneath them before Freya, who had won over the hearts of many with a single nce, forced them to kneel as they waited for Alosrins return. After reaching the borders of the Western Forest, the t from the side of the carriage opened up and Ken approached it to hear Alosrins words. Nodding his head, he sent a signal to the small convoy and said, "The Envoy wishes to speak!" in a firm tone. However, there was a small trembling undertone that had been noted by several people as the carriage was brought to a halt and everyone waited for Alosrins words. After a few minutes, the door to the carriage opened and Alosrin appeared with a ghastly expression on his face. He looked around at everyone that was gathered andmented that is father had sent him an escort full of men... For nearly a minute, Alosrin looked around at everyones expressions before saying in a solemn tone, "Everyone here will take a vow to keep what has happened here a secret...Ken and I will exin the situation to my father and turn the parchment over to him. If you refuse to take the vow, you will forfeit your life here..." No matter what, Alosrin couldnt allow the truth to spread around before he could put his own spin on things. Though the men gathered here were all trustworthy soldiers, there was no way to guarantee they would keep their mouths quiet after getting drunk. After suffering such humiliation, they would obviously have some resentments they needed to release on other people and Alosrin didnt want rumors spreading amongst p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es and servants. Several guards hesitated but none of them refused to take the vow as they all valued their lives more than they valued the information. They also didnt want their shame to be known so it was better that everyone keep the matter a closely guarded secret. Thus, before they continued their journey, everyone had to queue up and make their vow right in front of Alosrin and Ken before they stood off to the side and waited. When they were finished, Alosrin nodded his head before looking back towards Orario with a grim expression on his face. The only two he had no control over right now were the servants he had lost in the wager. He could try to im they were traitors that had been swayed by theforts of the City, but that would only hold up so long as Vahn never came to the Elven Kingdom... Thinking of Sierra, the girl he had painstakingly trained over thest three years, and Pram, the woman he had forced to be his advisor, Alosrin felt incredibly frustrated. They werent his only two servants, but Vahns cautionary words before their parting now weighed heavily on Alosrins heart. He didnt know what Vahn had done to his body but, considering the apologetic look of pity he had shown beforehand, Alosrin couldnt help but feel like the curse was something that would make his life hell. There was a real chance, given the influence of Vahn and the strength of the Alliance, he would be a scapegoat in the future if he didnt change his ways. For nearly eighty years, Alosrin had valued his own life over everything else and he didnt want to relinquish it so easily. He could need to have his body inspected when they reached the Kingdom to find out what Vahns curse had done to him. If possible, he would get it removed entirely but, if it turned out to be something that couldnt be remedied by their ancient medicines, Alosrin would have to seriously consider changing the way he lived... Once he thought till this point, Alosrin struck against the side of his carriage in a rage and felt a powerful urge to cry as a result of his anger and frustration. He didnt even have a womans body to seekfort in so the only thing he could do was sit in silence. The return trip would take nearly a month, if not longer, so it was going to be a hellish journey. If not for the lingering threat of Vahns words, he would have even redirected the convoy to a nearby vige and poached a female to keep himpany. He had a feeling if he did this, however, the curse within his body would take effect and he would suffer for it. Given the way Vahn acted, Alosrin could tell he was the type that thought ahead on things and there was no way the curse was a small matter. Thus, unable to vent his frustrations the normal way, Alosrin opened up the secure lockbox in his cabin and pulled out a grimoire that had an ancient aura and began reading it seriously for the first time in his life. --- After sending off Alosrin with a bit of re, Vahn had invited the leaders of the Alliance into the Guest Residence to hold a small gathering while the members of their Familia either returned to their own Manors or waited in the area for their gods return. Loki was in very high spirits and was running around with a bottle of sparkling wine, without alcohol, as she made a bit of a scene. The way everything had yed out was very entertaining to her and she thought the plot of Riveria and Vahn had been quite ingenious. They had managed to make a fool out of the Envoy from the Elven Forest, secure his title as Sage, and send the entire delegation fleeing from the City. The best part of it all was that they were able to get away with it without any real repercussions since Alosrin was surely the type to keep such matters under wraps. Vahn found himself acting as Lokis chair while she wriggled about, obviously trying to tease him, as she narrated the events to everyone present. Hephaestus sat next to him while Hestia had returned to take the seat to his left. As for the others there were present, there was Freya, Anubis, Eirene, Takemikazuchi, and Miach. Demeters Familia didnt really have muchbat potential, even though they had the greatest amount of members, so she hadnt shown up for the event. As for the others that were in attendance, they were the stars of the show, which included Riveria, Emiru, Maemi, Terra, and the two Elven girls that were discussing matters with Riveria at the side. While he listened to Loki babble on, Vahn watched Take and Miach very casually try and flirt with the twins as they had awkward expressions on their faces and tried to maintain their polite demeanors. It wasnt that the two gods were trying to woo the girls, they were just natural yboys that paid heavilypliments to girls and often said things that were very pleasing to the ears. However, though this made a good impression on most girls, Maemi and Emiru had made great strides in their devotion towards Vahn and they were even somewhat offended that a man other than Vahn, even if it was a god, was trying to speak with them. When the two girls looked in his direction, Vahn smiled to them and their expressions immediately brightened up as a response. Seeing this, Take and Miach felt somewhat awkward because they were the only two girls that were easy to talk to since everyone else present was a goddess that had an interest in Vahn. Noticing the awkwardness in the air, Vahn held Lokis stomach to stop her from wiggling around and asked, "What was in that parchment you handed to Alosrin?" while doing his best to avoid making eye contact with Freya. She had been watching him intently from the beginning and Vahn wasnt that good at dealing with her. He had thanked her for her cooperation earlier, but the looks he had gotten from the rest of her Familia, with the exception of Ottar, had been quite harsh. Loki leaned against Vahns chest, as he had returned to his normal state at this point, and said, "It was a message for their King, or perhaps it would be more urate to call it a threat? Even if you have no intention of causing trouble at the Elven Kingdom, they need to understand the situation and what is at stake if they try pulling something like this again. The City already makes a lot of concessions to allow them to exercise some autonomy within the walls, but they pushed things too far this time around. Instead of following the normal protocols, they walked into the heart of the Alliance itself and tried to stir up trouble? Ridiculous...if they do something like this in the future, we decided that it would be better to dere War on the Elven Kingdom and revoke the privileges of Elven Merchant Caravans..." Though the High Elves purported themselves as the most superior of all species, the truth of the matter was that they were highly reliant on external resources and technological advancements to progress. Their only allies were the Dwarves, but the actual number of exchanges between the two powerful nations were few and far between. The Dwarves treated every race, including Elves and other Dwarves, as nothing more than business partners that could be used for further gains. They were a highly industrious and militaristic people, so they actually didnt get along that well with the Elven Kingdom at all. If not for the benefits offered, such as lumber, rare minerals, agricultural goods, and ves, the Dwarves wouldnt have any ties with the Elves at all. Because it wasnt umon for Elves to live around two-hundred years old, with some High Elves living nearly three times as long, their cultural development was very slow. There were periods of several centuries where they didnt even allow their members to leave the forest at all and it was only after some exiles, that still cared about their home forests, returned with outside technology and knowledge that this policy was changed. However, for long-lived species like the Elves, change came about very slowly and their policies were still incredibly backward as a result of the Elders of their race propagating their beliefs and imposing them on the younger generations. This was the reason why people like Riveria were genuinely concerned for the future of the Elves, because they were advancing far slower than the other races and would eventually face extinction if they didnt change. In the past, many other races feared the Elves because of the mystical nature, powerful magic, and the secrecy they had maintained for centuries. In recent decades, however, this fear had started to fade greatly as the average strength of people around the continent slowly increased and the number of Elves that could be found also rose. Instead of fear, or even reverence, people began to hold the Elves in contempt for their arrogance and behavior, earning an ever-increasing number of enemies for themselves. There was even the incident in recent years when the Rakia Kingdom had tried to cut a line through the Western Forest, without any consideration for the Elven Kingdom at all, and even managed to destroy the Forest of Spirits, killing millions. The Elven Kingdom had fought off the invaders with their powerful magic, effectively halting the invasion of Rakias forces into the continent, but that was the end of the matter. Because of their small poption, at leastpared to the other races, the Elves couldnt really maintain a ground army to retaliate against the Rakia Kingdom, or any other nation for that matter. They were forced into a defensive posture to protect their forests while talking down to every other race as if they were the most superior species on the continent. Thus, even if they wanted to fight against the Alliance, the best they could do would be to talk a big game while sitting snugly in their little tree houses thousands of kilometers away. However, any sensible person would realize how detrimental it was to have a closed-borders policy with a slowly expanding poption and stagnant cultural development. If they continued offending other nations, especially Orario, which was ironically their life-line for various products, they would eventually stagnatepletely until they started to slowly decay. Their average strength would slowly decline while every other country around them got progressively stronger. When they inevitably expand and try to take resources from the Western Forests, the Elves would have no choice but to fight back and, more than likely, face destruction as a result of their own hubris. If not for the efforts of people like Riveria, who were proactively trying to change this self-destructive path, they likely wouldnt exist in the same manner for another hundred years... --- While the lively conversation between Vahn and the gods of the Alliance was going on, Riveria was at the side speaking with Sierra and Pram. Both Elves had heard stories of Riveria and they were surprised to have the opportunity, not just to meet her, but essentially be saved by her and Vahns actions. Pram was very worried about her sister, but Riveria had several allies back at the Elven Forest that would take care of them. For the time being, as Vahn had refused to allow them to actually be servants, both girls would apprentice at the Guild Branch to assist Eina, Rose, Misha, and Mona. Though they hadnt expressed any interest in him right now, Riveria also exined Vahns situation and told both girls not to try and get close to him as it would unnecessarilyplicate matters. Pram was able to understand this easily, as she was a rtively intelligent girl, while Sierra had no interest in men at all right now. She was still young, so she would likely recover with time, but she had suffered the cruelty of Alosrin for more than three years. Unlike how it was outside the forest, where sensible Elves tried to follow the cultures and traditions of the race they were trying to learn from, an Elf wasnt considered an a.d.u.l.t until they were twenty. Sierra had been recruited by Alosrin when she was 19 so she had been more than a little traumatized by the experience. Unlike Pram, she didnt have a family she was trying to protect but had instead been exchanged by her parents to gain benefits... As the conversation continued to progress, Pram eventually asked, "Riveria-sama, what exactly is Vahn? This is my first time away from the forest, so I dont have a proper grasp of things just yet. What is the purpose of the Alliance, and what are you trying to aplish here?" Riveria had a in expression on her face before looking over at the smiling Vahn for several long seconds as she thought about her answer. After ruminating for a bit, Riveria turned back to Pram and Sierra, saying, "Vahn is a demigod that has a much higher blood-purity than any other demigod within history. I cant give you the specifics, but know that his capabilities far outstrip almost any other entity within the world. Youll notice it yourselves over the next few months, but Vahn defiedmon sense and is trying to change the world for the better...I have decided to devote myself to assist and learn from him, so please avoid doing anything toplicate matters." Pram squinted her eyes slightly before asking, "Riveria-sama, did you fall in love with a human boy? Even if he is a demi-god, you surely cant be nning to be his wife, right? Look at how many women he has around him...even if theyre goddesses, youre a High Elf..." As the spoke, Prams words be progressively quieter because she could see the deep mncholy and fatigue in Riverias expression. After taking a deep breath and exhaling, Riveria said, "See, that is one of the misconceptions that will lead our people to destruction. Being a High Elf, while it does provide some benefits, it isnt anything that special. The more important thing is to develop your individual capabilities to the furthest extent possible and work together to ovee difficulties...besides, Vahn is much more than a simple human. Youre a smart woman, Pram, so watch closely before you say such things...or else youll end up sounding like that fool, Alosrin..." Even though she wasnt nearly as far gone as people like Alosrin and Ken, Pram was still a pure-blooded Elf that had grown up within the forest. To her, most High Elves were deserving of her respect and there were only a few bad seeds like Alosrin that made the lives of other people miserable. It wasnt nearly as developed as many, but Pram also considered Elves as a superior speciespared to other races. If they wanted to, they could be nearly as strong and fast as every other race, but they also had the benefit of powerful magic and a developed intellect. Though there were exceptions, such as Vahn, most of the people from other races were grossly unqualified to bepared to Elves. However, Pram believed that Riverias words were true and she couldnt stomach beingpared to a fool like Alosrin. Believing that the truth woulde out in time, just as she had heard Vahn say, Pram nodded and said, "I will do my best, Riveria-sama...please take care of the matter regarding my sister, Plum..." Riveria nodded her head and said, "Within the next few years, we will likely go to the Elven Kingdom to reach apromise with the Elven King. When that timees, you can retrieve your sister or return to the forest and try to rebuild your lives. Know that Orario will provide you with great opportunities to grow stronger and live a happy life, however. If you arent satisfied working at the Guild, you can leave whenever youd like and try joining a Familia of your choosing. I would suggest picking one within the Alliance, but the decision is up to the two of you. Vahn will not keep you here, and the only person that can be responsible for your happiness from here onwards is the two of you..." Even Pram was only in her thirties, so there was plenty of time for the two girls to experience the outside world before making a decision whether or not to return to the forest. Sierra could easily spend the next seventy years wandering around and it would only be a short part of her life. They already had the benefit of being capable Level 3 Mages, so they wouldnt have any trouble finding a Familia that would be willing to take them in. Riveria had even considered having them join the Mage squad in the Loki Familia, but she knew how understaffed the Guild branch near the Manor was. Eina was Ainas important daughter and Riveria wanted to make her life easier so she could spend more time with Vahn... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Shame, Fear, Curse,Wiggle Wiggle,Riverias Preemptive Measures) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 536 - Necessary Measures

Chapter 536 - Necessary Measures

As the celebratory atmosphere began to fade away, a serious discussion had started after Riveria took Pram and Sierra to meet with Eina and get them settled at the Guild branch building. The second floor had a total of eight rooms, with the only people currently living there being Mona, Misha, and Rose. They were going to apprentice under Rose alongside Mona until they had enough understanding of the City to make their own decisions. As for the topic of the discussion that was taking ce, it was the direction they wanted the Alliance to go in the future. Thus far, other than forming the Alliance, they hadnt made any big movements so it was a good opportunity to discuss various matters while they were all gathered together. Though Loki guided the discussion, many of the topics were actually brought up and run by Vahn to get his opinion on things. Even more so than the gods themselves, Vahn had the most important role in the Alliance because he was the primary reason they hade together in the first ce. It helped that the top three Familias in the City supported his ideas directly, but there hadnt been any real opposition from the other gods either. With the opportunity presented, Vahn talked about the research he had been working on while also discussing the significance of getting a proper foothold in the Dungeon. Looking around at those gathered, Vahn exined, "Ive mentioned this before, but it is of paramount importance that the Alliance starts treating exploration into the Dungeon seriously. If we have a united front, we will be able topletely change the power-bnce within the City and slowly turn the Dungeon into the heart of our power..." Takemikazuchi had a serious expression on his face as he crossed his arms and seriously considered things before saying, "But wont this cause conflict between the Alliance and the other Familia? Will the Guild really cooperate with us, or will they use us of trying to seize power away from them?" Vahn looked to Loki, who nodded with a smile and said, "Things are never quite that simple, Takemikazuchi, especially when you consider things as part of the grand scheme of all things. It is an irrefutable truth that it is necessary to probe into the depths of the Dungeon because it is where the three major threats to the surface had emerged from in the past. The Guild has done well in providing structure and regtions for Adventurers and many Familia, but it isnt nearly proactive enough and it is easy to see that things will only be more problematic if not addressed sooner, rather thanter..." Piggybacking off Lokis words, Vahn said, "Loki is right...we have an obligation, as one of the strongest forces in the entire City, to do our best to create a better future for everyone. Im not saying we need to make sacrifices for the benefit of others, but we need to consolidate our power and seize authority if we want to change regtions and enact new policies. The Guild might interfere if we take things too far, or try to rule over the City, but they wont stop us from doing our best to strengthen the Alliance if were not going against their interests. Ouranos also wants the Dungeon to be conquered in the future but, as more time passes, it bes progressively more difficult to aplish. If we dont start taking action now, it may be toote to do so in the future..." She had been very silent for a while, but Freya took the opportunity to speak out in a casual manner that had undertones of sensuality, "I suspect that the children sired by Vahn will be the heroes of the future, especially those born to the goddesses. We should be taking action now to create a foundation for their actions so that things dont be chaotic...after all, there will be no end to the number of enemies we face if we continue to act passively. If Vahn thinks the best route forward is to change the policies within the City, while also trying to get a foothold in the Dungeon, the Freya Familia will support his decision~." Vahn was somewhat surprised by Freyas words, but he still nodded his head and said, "Thanks, Freya..." which caused the beautiful goddess tough in an elegant manner with slightly glossy eyes. It wasnt unexpected that she would support him, but saying it in front of the other gods and goddesses with somewhat different than making deals behind the scenes. With her taking the lead, Hephaestus and Loki also offered their support while Eirene said she would help out, but was unwilling to send her Familia into the Dungeon en masse. As for the Anubis, Takemikazuchi, and Miach Familias, they simply didnt have enough strength to provide much in the way of support. However, this didnt stop them from saying they would do whatever it takes as long as the Alliance kept its goals aligned with the interest of the masses. To ay any concerns they might have, Vahn began exining his idea of creating a Supply Depot on the 39th Floor, where Adventurers would be able to replenish their dwindling stocks and venture deeper into the Dungeon, while building a small City on the 50th Floor. Within the City, which would be closer to a fortress, Vahn nned to build an Academy and all kinds of shops that would be able to support Adventurers that ventured into the Deep Floors. Over time, this would also allow the average strength of people to increase and they could incentivize people by selling specialized goods that could only be obtained there. With the Alliance running the City, they could also strictly regte Adventurers that made it that far as they expanded the City over years. As for the name of the City, Vahn said it would be called Haven and, since every god and goddess present was vow-bound to protect the information, revealed to them the existence of his [Seed of the Tree of Life]. With it, they wouldnt have any problems growing food in the deeper floors and, even if they ended up having a small City of a hundred thousand people, they would have more than enough space as the 50th Floor was around 300km in diameter. Since the actual numbers would be far fewer, especially for the first couple of years, they had plenty of time to build infrastructure and prepare for those that would migrate towards the lower floors in the future. Since Vahn was the key to making the n work, it was decided that he would be the one to lead the next expedition, but he decided it would be best to leave therger details to the Loki Familia for the time being. It was a bit shameless, but Vahn wanted to let them make the preparations and then he was going to take charge of the actual mission once it started. He was essentially going to have the expedition itself act as his escort to help him reach the 39th Floor easily so they could start building the supply depot. They would be taking a lot of personnel that were capable builders and then, once everything was finished, several members would be left behind and they would slowly start to consolidate supplies and materials there in the future. For the Supply Depot itself, though it would be shared territory of the Alliance, the Loki Familia would be left in charge of it while the Hephaestus and Freya Familias helped bolster the numbers and provide workers. By payingrge stipends and bonuses to the people that would take up residence there in the future, there were be more than a few people willing to spend months, or even years, within the 39th Floor. As long as they werent constantly barraged by enemies, it wouldnt be too difficult to defend the Supply Depot as long as there were a few elites present. The biggest threat, which was also discussed, was the existence of their enemies that had yet to take action. Vahn had obviously discussed the matters of the Divination with Hephaestus, Loki, Hestia, and Anubis, so they exined some of the deductions they had made for the benefit of the other gods present. It was essentially assumed that their enemies couldnt take action for around two years so they had a decently sized window to at least work on the Supply Depot. With Vahns storage magic being described as capable of holding an entire warehouse of items, the number of supplies they could transport was massive. If necessary, they would even be able to take the majority of the building materials down in a single trip and, if escorted by a group of elites, moving between the 18th and the 39th Floor would only take around 2-3 days. Though it wasnt safe to allow him to do so, Vahn even spected he could make the trip within a day since he had a skill like [Shundo] that greatly increased his mobility. He could also sense the emergence of things like Monster Parties and carry Fafnir and Fenrir on his person for emergency situations... By the end of their conversation, it was decided that the next Expedition would ce around a month after the Denatus, shortly under two months from the present. They had also discussed matters like the aliases they were going to push for the girls, especially the somewhat unfortunate Lili. After that, the subject of which goddesses they would help i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e was mentioned since the line was rather long. They wereing up on the weekend, so Vahn agreed to devote around an hour of time each day to help a goddess get pregnant, with the requirement they already have a partner. Though they were certain exceptions, Vahn wasnt trying to have a lot of Vanir children as their elerated growth and the potential issues with their Divinities would have to be taken into consideration. Right now, other than the goddesses he was involved with, the only true exception was Freya, though her behavior had undergone a shift as ofte. She had initially refused to join the Alliance but, after Vahn helped her get pregnant and allowed her to view his soul, she hadpletely changed her tune. Shortly after he had ventured into the Dungeon with the Loki Familia, she had approached Hephaestus, Loki, and Hestia to negotiate with them before joining the Alliance as a core member. Though she certainly wanted to get her hands on Vahn, Freya knew that Vahns growth would actually be limited by her interference instead of being promoted. Her Divinitypelled her to test great warriors so that they could be stronger, but she couldnt even see the extent of Vahns potential at all. So that she wouldnt be left behind when he approaches the peak of power, Freya had decided to take a step back and support him indirectly instead. The Freya Familia had quickly tracked down the secret base of the Thanatos Familia and had killed a total of five of their Elites, including Valletta Grede, whose head had been imed by Allen Fromel. Afterward, Freya had personally bid farewell to Thanatos before sending him on a return trip to Heaven with a stern warning not to interfere with her happiness in the future. Thanatos wasnt really the type that cared about such things, to begin with so, after having Freya stab him in the heart, he simply yawned as his body turned into particles and returned to Heaven. He actually didnt care what his children did and had just been working with Evilus because his Divinity rted to Death and the people that were drawn to him were murderers and sociopaths. It was the head of Valletta Grede, which had been preserved for posterity, that cemented Freyas eptance into the Alliance because Hephaestus, Loki, and Hestia were very aware of the significance of her early death. With Vallettas death, Chloe wouldnt die in a simr matter as in the Divination which meant that the future was changed on a fundamental level. Just knowing about the future had inextricably altered the course of history, but changing the significant events, especially the tragic ones, brought about much greater changes. Now the initial event that had set Vahn down that lonely path no longer existed, at least not in the same form... After the discussion had ended, Vahn had Fafnir escort Loki back to the Twilight Manor while the other gods and goddesses returned to their various residences. Most of their Manors we only a few City blocks away while Freya had actually secured arge region to the South and had been slowly transitioning her forces into the area. They still needed to maintain a force at the South Gate, as it was part of an agreement they had with the Guild, but the majority of her Elites were being moved closer to the Hearth Manor. Even Freya, who typically resided at the top floor of Babel, would be spending arge portion of her time within her newly constructed Manor. She had initially wanted to move into the Hearth Manor in the future, but she was outright denied the opportunity because she would undoubtedly be a negative influence on the current residents and the future children that would reside there... Vahn was surprisingly tired when everything was said and done and he eventually just copsed against arge sofa within the first-floor study while using Hestiasp as a pillow. She gently stroked his head and had a beautiful smile on her face as she muttered, "There are so many new an exciting things taking ce so quickly, Vahn...the mortal world is much more interesting than Heaven, fufufu~" Vahnughed along with her before lifting his left arm and stroking her cheek as he said, "Im d you came down to the mortal world, Hestia...if it werent for you and all the other girls, I dont think any of this would be possible..." Hestia ced her hand overtop Vahns as her sapphire-like blue eyes glimmered resplendently and she said, "Vahn, I think you would have been okay even without us...Im just d I had the opportunity to experience all of these things with you. Im certain everyone else feels the same..." Vahn squinted his eyes and his expression turned softer as he replied, "It is the support of everyone that allows me to continue walking forward s-" Before he could finish his words, a pleasant and plush sensation pressed against his abdomen as Tsubaki sat down on top of him. She reclined against the sofa and spread her arms along the backside as she exasperatedly said, "Vahn, you really do talk too much at times...pay attention to your surroundings me, ahahahaha~." Even though he had been aware of the other people present in the room, Vahn hadnt expected the sudden reaction from Tsubaki at all. Yes, he had seen her approaching, but her sudden action of sitting on him was very unexpected. Looking around, he saw the somewhat envious looks on the eyes of several girls as they had been watching him and Hestia flirt with each other. After the discussion had ended, Vahn returned to the Hearth Manor with Hephaestus, Hestia, and Terra before exining the situation to everyone, including the decisions that were made. Afterward, he had felt a bit fatigued and decided to use Hestiasp as a pillow without thinking about the consequences. It just looked so tantalizingly soft and he hadnt been able to resist at the time... Vahn released a weird mixture between augh and a sigh as he sat up, allowing Tsubaki to slide from his chest to hisp. He had never actually had her sit in hisp before, and it was a little strange since she was somewhat tallpared to other girls. However, before she could escape, Vahn shifted while cing his hands around her waist and holding her belly. Without minding the fact that she was slightly flushed as a result, Vahn addressed everyone in the room, saying, "Ill be taking Tina and Shizune in the Dungeon on Thursday and Friday, but it will only be for the first half of the day. Since Ill be working toplete the prototype armor next week, Ill try to free up my afternoons over the next few days. Anyone that is interested cane into my salon and Ill be giving beauty treatments and massages~." His words seemed to resonate within the room as another discussion began about what kind of services he would be providing. The entire time this was going on, Vahn cradled Tsubakis belly while hugging her from behind, even when she had pinched his thigh hard enough to make him lose feeling in the tender skin. Afterward, as the conversation had gotten somewhat heated and exciting, they continued talking about various matters during dinner. It was also during this time that Vahn noticed the looks Maemi and Emiru kept sending his way and he realized they probably wanted a reward for their earlier efforts. They had actually exposed themselves to danger on his behalf while also sessfully goading Alosrin and Ken by following Lokis guidance. Vahn feltpelled to reward them properly, but he wasnt exactly sure what the best method would be... By the time dinner hade to an end, there was around an hour before Vahn usually went to bed and this was typically when he would findpanions to take with him. He was actually feeling kind of tired, at least mentally, so Vahn wasnt too sure about doing anything too intense since he wanted to rx. As he hadnt been able toe up with a proper reward for the two girls, even though he suspected simply pampering them would be enough, Vahn decided to do something neither of them had expected in order to set a precedent for the future. After thinking about it several times, Vahn eventually approached the two girls and said, "If youre willing to behave yourselves properly, Ill allow you to sleep in my bedroom tonight..." Maemi and Emiru both opened their eyes wide at Vahns words and couldnt form any of their own for several seconds before they bent forward and said, "Well behave~!" in concert with each other. Both of their long tails had shot up high and drew a gentle S-shape and they each had glittering eyes full of eagerness. As for their auras, they had transitioned from a sunny yellow and mild pink into an almost sickly pink with passionate reds intermixed along the edges. Vahn plopped his palms on the two girls heads and said, "No victory underwear, and no trying anything strange. Tonight, just let me pamper the two of you a bit and well cuddle up and enjoy a peaceful night together." Though it might be a little unfair to them, Vahn didnt want to break his promise from the past and he wanted the girls to wait until they were Level 3 before he did anything too intimate with them. He knew they had somewhat deviant tendencies and were somewhat delusional in their thought process, so creating clear boundaries was very important. He could easily imagine them bing somewhat like Anubis or Loki in the future since he had seen their ys when he viewed their [Hearts Desire]s in the past. Vahn wanted them to at least have a basic amount of restraint because he felt that things would take a strange, potentially even dangerous, turn when they had greater mastery over their Innate. Maemiru, their fused form, could even pose a threat to him when they reached around Level 3. The fact that they could essentially double their parameters, at least for a little while, was a powerful trump card... Since he wasnt nning on doing anything too serious, Vahn had considered if he should invite someone like Fenrir or Lili to stay with him as well, as they would be able to restrain the two girls quite a bit. In the end, however, he decided to simply give the girls the benefit of the doubt and, after waiting for them to change into their nightgown, took the girls by hand into his room. It was a little awkward walking through the corridor holding their hands, but Vahn didnt think much of it since he was supposed to be pampering them a bit. When they finally entered the room, Maemi and Emiru became very tense and actually started breathing somewhat heavily in concert with each other. They had often dreamed about sleeping in the same bed with Vahn and they could smell his scent all over the room while the aroma rising from the bed was almost intoxicating to them. Without even waiting for Vahns invitation, Maemi and Emiru climbed into the bed with lithe movements as their ratherrge tails swayed about happily. Compared to other Beast Humans, Snow Leopard People had long tails that were covered with a thick arrangement of hair. They were incredibly soft to the touch and looked simr to a Cat Persons tail, just several times thicker. This allowed the two girls to have very good bnce, almost to the extent of Terra, as they could use their h.i.p.s and waist as a pivot to performplex movements. Other than Vahn himself, and perhaps Lili as ofte, they also had the most flexible bodies of all the girls within the Manor, almost to a scary extent. They could easily press their rtively small chests to the ground and flip their legs over their body before bringing their pert butts to rest atop their heads. Vahn had even seen Maemi nearly twist her entire torso around 180 degrees during one of her attacks... Vahn really did find both girls to be very beautiful, especially considering the fact they were twins with uncharacteristic features. The fact they mirrored each others movements so well was very eye catching and it was very intriguing to consider what kind of experiences he could enjoy with them in the future. Right now, they were around 158cm in height with rtively small chests, only marginallyrger than the somewhat non-existent b.r.e.a.s.ts of Tiona, while their butts were somewhat pert and toned, amon feature of most girls amongst the various Beast Human species. Their most striking feature, however, was their silvery hair that marginally reflected the light and their lc eyes that made all their expressions seem soft and yful. Knowing Vahn had been watching them, Maemi and Emiru had waggled their butts slowly from side to side as the crawled into bed. They were very excited, even more so than most people since they could share each others emotions, but they kept their rationality. Even now, they were municating with each other to try and make the most of the situation. Though they probably couldnt get Vhan to have s.e.x with them, it was easily possible they could get him to do other things with them. Just thinking of the possibilities gave both girls slightly flushed expressions as their heart rate and breathing matched the others perfectly. Reaching the head of the bed, Maemi and Emiru turned back to look at Vahn as they reclined against the bed and asked, "Are youing to bed, Master~?" Right now, they were wearing matching light blue pajamas, but the material was made out of silk and it outlined their figures perfectly. Vahn had told them not to wear their victory panties so, following his orders, they had elected not to wear any underwear at all. Because of their excitement, there were small bumps on the font of their silky pajama tops and they had set their arms to rest on their sides to make sure Vahn could see them. Vahn nked for a brief moment as his aquamarine eyes shed blue and he confirmed the current status of the two mischevious girls. He realized the loophole in his own words and simplyughed while shaking his head as he crawled into the bed alongside them. It really didnt matter to him that much, even if the girls had decided to sleeppletely n.a.k.e.d, as he had already decided he wouldnt be having s.e.x with them tonight. Their actions did make him want to tease them a bit, however, and Vahn suspected this was the intention all along. Thus, to make good on his promise and meet their expectations, Vahn stopped right as he was about to reach them and said, "How about the two of youy on your backs...Ill pamper you plentily tonight~" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Freya Wants Dat Boi,Tsubakis Plump Rump,Mischevious Kittens~?) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 537 - Pampering

Chapter 537 - Pampering

When they heard Vahns words, Maemi and Emiru started taking deeper breaths through their noses before releasing hot breaths as they rolled onto their backs. As Vahn had expected, it was morefortable for them when their tails rested between their thighs and he thought the girls were very cute. Unlike the others, their tails were actually slightly longer than their legs were and the bushy tips wiggled about yfully around the girls feet. Vahn extended his hand out to Emiru and ced his palm against her belly, feeling the increased temperature of her body through the soft fabric of her silky pajamas. However, though he had touched Emiru, both girls twitched simultaneously and even moved up their right legs slightly in response to his touch. One of the things Vahn found the most interesting between the twins was their bond and he really did want to understand it in greater detail. The fact they could almost perfectly share their senses, even if they were far away from each other, was a strange phenomenon that he figured would be the key to instantaneousmunication if he could crack it. For now, however, he just wanted to see how they reacted under various stimulus while doing his best to pamper the two of them properly. As he already had his left hand on Emirus stomach, gently tracing it across the silken fabric, Vahn moved his right hand to the partially revealed corbone of Maemi and slowly traced his finger along it as a white light discharged from its tip. Maemis lips were twitching as if she didnt know what kind of expression to make as simr sounds tickled Vahns ears from both sides as they mewled, "Maaauuuuuu~" and began to move to evade his finger. Vahn could tell that, though he was teasing them a bit, the excitement of both girls was increasing rapidly, just like when he was with Anubis. As they had fantasies about being maids and servants even when they were young girls, it showed that they were somewhat submissive by nature and enjoyed being teased. Vahn couldnt quite understand the mentality himself, but he didnt mind pandering to a few of their fantasies. To guide the y along, Vahn looked over to Emiru and asked, "Emiru, can I touch you directly~?" Her only response to his words was, "Maaaster~" as she hiked up the edge of her blouse a little bit higher than Vahn required. He could see small protrusions cresting toward the sky as a result of her excitement but didnt mind them as he traced his index finger down the line of her abdomen. Both girls bodies immediately disyed goosebumps on their skin as a result of his touch as they rubbed their thighs together. Even without transforming into his Bih form, Vahn could smell a warm smelling musk radiating from the girls bodies. He had noticed this in the past, but the fragrance they emitted was somewhat more pungent than normal and had a warm and robust smell that was hard to describe. Though it was a strong aroma, Vahn didnt find it unpleasant at all, just a little distracting since it made him feel light headed. Topensate, as he wasnt trying to use [Will of the Emperor] to dull the experience, Vahn breathed through his mouth and ced his palm against Emirus abdomen. Not forgetting Maemi, Vahn traced his hand down her body beforeing to a stop near her lower abdomen, dangerously close to the origin of the aroma. Maemis eyes shot open and her pupils contracted as she stared at Vahns hand like a wanderer that had just seen an oasis after being lost in the desert for weeks. Eventually, she turned her eyes to match his because Vahn had stopped moving entirely as he watched her with a small smile. Very slowly, almost imperceptibly, Vahn moved his hand with incredible precision and started to move under the fabric of Maemis blouse while warm energy began to radiate from his left hand into Emirus abdomen. Vahn had activated his [Eyes of Truth], trying to discern anything he could catch notice of and was surprised to that, though her skin didnt indent like Emirus, the muscles and nerves around her abdomen triggered at the same time as her twin sisters. At this point, his hand had crept into her blouse but, instead of going up, Vahn slowly rotated his hand and traced his fingers under the band of Maemis pajama bottoms. Though it was already unbearable for them, Vahns fingers began to emit white light as he slowly stroked his hand from side-to-side. Something very interesting started to happen at this point because, simr to Cat People, Snow Leopards shared many traits including the almost instinctual desire not to stay on their backs. Vahn knew the girls were pushing themselves a bit at his request, but their knees slowly began to bend as their feet were pulled closer to their butts. The most surprising thing, however, was that their tails had started to curl toward their bellies and it almost looked like they were trying to do an abdominal crunch as their bodies began to arch forward. Vahn suspected they might even attack his arms if he kept going, but he thought it was too interesting to simply stop without finding out... A few secondster, Vahn smiled widely because both girls flinched and grasped his hands urgently and pinned them as they scrunched up their bodies to prevent his attack. Because of how flexible they were, the girls could contort their upper bodies to the point where they could nearly press their chests to their pelvis which meant they scrunched up into a very small form when they had grasped his hands. As if they werent satisfied with just using their arms, they even squeezed their knees around his forearms to stop him from moving as Maemi even tried to bite him. Vahn figured he had gone a little too far and slipped his hands out of their grasp as they eyed him like predators that had just spotted their prey. Vahnughed yfully and said, "Sorry, sorry, I got a little carried away~." as he held up his hands in a surrender posture. Maemi and Emiru remained silent for a little while before looking towards each other, clearly having a private conversation amongst themselves. Vahn watched this interaction with interest before interrupting them by saying, "How about youy on your stomaches this time...?" The two looked back at him and c.o.c.ked their heads at inverse angles before saying, "Master, do you like teasing us?" For a very brief moment, Vahn considered their question before saying, "I feel like the two of you want me to tease you...though, perhaps I do have the habit of teasing girls..." Vahn recalled all the times he interacted with girls in the past, especially those with Elven blood, and it seemed to be the case that he liked to get a rise out of them. In response to his words, the two looked at each other once again as thoughtful expressions appeared on their faces. Truth be told, they werent actually that fond of being teased as it made them feel very frustrated knowing that things wouldnt develop any further for the time being. Though Vahn wasnt wrong in assuming they were somewhat submissive, it was more like they enjoyed ying the role of submissive girls while their actual nature was more proactive. This was why, when they became Maemiru, their disposition became very obvious because their enhances senses and emotions couldnt be contained as easily. Thinking that Vahn was misunderstanding an important part of their character, the girls nodded their head before turning toward him and crawling forward. Vahns brows twitched slightly until Maemi said, "Master, we dont mind if you tease us..." as Emiru continued, "But we also want to service you at the same time..." Then, after cing their hands against his chest and shoulders, both girls said, "If its just being teasing, it makes us feel very frustrated...we want to be closer to Master, not yed with by him..." Their words finished, Emiru and Maemi leaned forward and kissed Vahns cheeks simultaneously as they began to trace their hands around his body this time. They envisioned life with a Master that told them what to do so they could service him with their hearts and bodies, not just receive his affections one-sidedly. That type of y made them feel iplete because they wanted to go further but knew they werent allowed to go further... Though he didnt fully understand the context of their words, Vahn could tell the twins werent as simple as he previously believed. He thought he would be able to make them happy by teasing them and stroking their bodies, but apparently, that was only part of the equation. If they didnt have a way to release the tensions of their bodies, it would slowly be diforting instead of pleasant and Vahn realized he had erred slightly. He had some expectations but, in order to prevent further mistakes, Vahn murmured, "Okay...then tell me what you want me to do..." Hearing Vahns words, both girls ears flickered simultaneously as a period of silence fell over the room. As if they hade to a decision, the twins nodded at each other before saying, "Master, can you hold us from behind for now...?" Vahn wasnt entirely sure what they meant, but they pressed their palms against his chest and he allowed them to guide him back until hey against the thickyer of pillows. As if demonstrating what they meant, Maemi and Emiruid against him with their backs before saying, "Master...your hands..." and reaching out for his free hands. Then, outside of his expectations, the two brought his hands up to their mouths and began sucking on his fingertips. After a few seconds, the girls released his fingers with a hot sigh and said, "Master said we cant have s.e.x...thats fine with us...but we want to have an experience we can always remember with Master. Please indulge us, just this once...then you can tease us as much as you want..." It was somewhat strange hearing two girls panting in sequence with each other, even having the same breaks in their sentences. However, it was important to not keep them waiting on such things so Vahn considered their words before saying, "As long as you dont go overboard, Ill indulge you this time..." He wasnt quite sure what they were up to, but he knew it was somewhat s.e.x.u.a.l in nature even if it didnt involve actual intercourse. As if demonstrating what they wanted, Emiru and Maemi licked his fingers one by one as they said, "We want Master to hold us...well take care of the rest..." Vahns heart began to beat a little quicker as he nodded his head silently and moved his fingers around gently in the girls mouths. Remembering the incident with Ais in the past, he even infused a little bit of energy into his fingertips, which caused the girls to extend there somewhat dry tongues and wrap them around his finger creating a small suction cup as they gentle nibbled his fingers. What followed was somewhat along the lines of what Vahn had expected and it was quite a stimting sight even though he couldnt see everything clearly from this position. Though they didnt like to be on their backs,ying against Vahn brought them somefort and the distraction of his fingers made them very excited, especially with the tingling sensation spreading through their mouth. Reaching their hands into their pajama bottoms, the twins partially lowered their pants and arched their knees as they began working tofort themselves and, as a result of their connection, each other. They had actually grown very ustomed to this in thest month and, though they hadnt told Vahn about it, it was one of the ways they had increased their synchronicity. The fact that they were able to experience each others pleasure had brought the girls much closer together and they knew exactly how to make themselves feel the best... This actually wasnt the first time Vahn had watched girls masturbate, as he had been educated on it in the past. Knowing how they pleasured themselves made Vahns ability to bring the girls pleasure even greater. Since he was naturally inquisitive and prone to bouts of intrigue, Vahn had studied it a fair bit in the past, specifically with Loki, Hestia, and the equally curious, Ais. However, this was his first time having a girl, much less two,ying against his body as they forted themselves. Being unable to see what they were up to sparked his intrigue and the pungent aroma wafting through the air invaded his nose while the mewls of the girls tickled his ears. Though he could have stopped it, Vahn allowed his body to react naturally and it caused their movements to slow to a crawl for a brief moment as they watched therge tent rise near his lower body. Vahn turned the girls heads toward him, fingers still in their mouths, and kissed their foreheads, saying, "Sorry, but I dont want to go back on my word if I can avoid it...please be patient and continue to work hard. I believe in both of you..." Both girls nodded their heads slowly before turning back, gazes firmly nted on the rather oversized tent that had been pitched. As if drawn to it, they lowered the leg closest to Vahns member and angled their bodies slightly as their practiced finger movements became something more intense than they had been previously. Vahn knew they imagination was probably running wild, but the most peculiar thing was that their aura, which had been twining around him, had now shifted toward his lower body and, though he couldnt actually feel anything from the aura, Vahn felt the illusion of a passionate heat spread through his trousers. A few minutes after they had started, somewhat fewer than Vahn had expected, the girls kicked against the bed and arched their back as their h.i.p.s convulsed slightly. Though it wasnt enough to break the skin, they also bit down on his fingers a little and Vahn remarked that he would have to be careful when he kissed them in the future. Though they werent too developed, Maemi and Emiru had six small canine teeth in their mouth, four on top, two on the bottom, and their incisors were somewhat sharp. Fortunately, though their orgasm was somewhat intense as a result of their shared feelings, it subsided quickly and the girlsid limp against his body. Vahn removed his fingers but they continued to move their tongues for a few more seconds before closing their mouths. After taking several deep breaths, the girls turned sideways and pressed themselves against him to the point where Vahn could feel the heat from their lower body near his h.i.p.s. They then brought up their slightly moist fingers and asked, "Has Master ever tasted a girl before~?" Vahn realized what they were intending so he smiled slightly before opening his mouth, causing them to give him a fiery look. At the same time as they reached up to let him sample their vor, Vahn reached his hands down to their sides and hugged them close to his body. The first thing he noticed was that the two girls had a somewhat bitter taste mixed with a subtle salty aftertaste. However, after getting used to the vor, it actually started to taste somewhat sweet...? Vahn was a little distracted at first because it was truly a very peculiar vor, somewhat different than he had expected from the two girls. Every woman had their own vor, some better than others, but Vahn hadnt found one he wasnt fond of. The only ones that truly stood out were Hestias and Syrs, but Vahn was also fond of Ryuus while having great expectations for Terra. They all had somewhat syrupy and sweet tasting nectar, especially Syr, but Vahn didnt mind the more robust taste of some of the more mature girls and the peculiar taste of the various different Beast Humans. It could be a result of their various pheromones, but there was always an exciting feeling stirred up inside of him whenever he was with one of them... Before he had realized it, Vahn was cupping the butts of the two girls and pulling them up close to his body so that they couldfortably rest in the nook of his neck. They had given him permission to tease them, but Vahn wasnt going to go out of his way to torment them if they didnt actually enjoy it. It seems like they are more the type to enjoy reciprocative action so, until he was willing to cross the line with them, such actions would only stress them out. He knew there was one way to bring themfort, however, so Vahn embraced them tightly before leaning over and giving Emiru a kiss on the lips. She eagerly entwined her somewhat dry tongue with his and Vahn enjoyed the somewhat ticklish texture for a few seconds before turning to Maemi and doing the same. If they enjoyed being touched while also doing affectionate and intimate acts, Vahn knew a safe action to take and had decided upon kissing. At the same time, he began to move his hands up and down their sides in an alternating manner since it theoretically allowed him to stimte four points at once. Whenever he moved his hand down Maemis side, Emiru felt it, while the inverse was true as he moved his hand up Emirus body. Vahn could feel their hard little protrusions poking his chest through their think pajamas as he alternated between kissing the girls as they rubbed their lower bodies against the sides of his waist. He could feel a hot and damp softness spreading through the fabrics but didnt pay it any mind at all while pressing around at various pressure points on their backs and sides to give them greater pleasure... (A/N: Alternate Titles: [Teasing:C],Licky Licky,Chuu Chuu~,Vahn might not grind often, but the girls sure do~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 538 - Partial Completion

Chapter 538 - Partial Completion

By the time morning hade, Vahn had learned a number of things about the twins, including several parallels they shared with Cat People like Chloe, Arnya, Aki, and Mn. Vahn wasnt sure if it was just their instinct, but the girls were fond of licking as a form of affection and Vahn ended up having the sides of his scalp and ears licked by their somewhat dry tongues. He hade to enjoy this type of grooming behavior from the others, so having two more people on the roster was a satisfying discovery to make. One thing they differentiated greatly on, however, was the fact that their cooperation with each other was impable and it was a rather interesting experience for Vahn having them mirror each others movements near perfectly... As usual, Vahn awoke and checked Evas orb to see if there were any changes before heading down to take a bath with the twins. Along the way he came across a sleepy Lunoire, so he gave her some head pats and had her join them to warm up her body for theing day. She had actually been training much harder than he expected and there were severalrge pirs that had been punched into oblivion by her within the past week. ording to her, though she wanted to live an easy and free life, she didnt want to take advantage of everyone elses efforts and had decided to be stronger. Vahn had learned about this when he had invited the girls from the Hostess of Fertility to his room for an event and she had confided the information to him as they snuggled up together. After helping wash the three girls bodies, they all went outside for their morning training while Vahn sat at the side meditating and observing everyones progress. He knew it was important to train his body so that he didnt get rusty, but hisbat style and capabilities were so drastically different than everyone elses that, other than sparring, it was more productive for him to expand his mind and rx his body. With the amount of practice he had put into it, Vahn could enter a meditative state almost instantly now just by focusing on the imperceptible sounds of the [Mantra of Eternity]. If hepletely deactivated his [Will of the Emperor], he could even replenish his source energy in around seventy minutes, which was rather monstrous considering the amount he had at his disposal now. With the morning traininging to a conclusion, Vahn went to visit the Southern Manor for a little while to enjoy his walk with Anubis and Nanu. He usually spent about a half-hour with them, which was the case today as well, before making his way back, scouting the perimeter of the Manor along the way. Then, after determining there was nothing abnormal, Vahn headed to his workshop and immediately set to work on the prototype armor for the girls. So far, he had almostpletely set up the arrangement of scales on the secondyer and there were only a few minor adjustments that needed to be made before he covered it with the third, and final,yer. As was rathermon these days, Ais showed up in his workshop with Lefiya and the two sat over at a table Vahn had already prepared in the event of their arrival. Since the armor he was currently working on used Aiss body as the temte, she had been hanging around his workshop since they were currently on vacation without entering the Dungeon. Just like his own, that would end by tomorrow, but it was never a bad thing to be spending time together, even if it was just silently chatting and drinking tea. Ais and Lefiya had grown a lot closer recently and the former smiled much more often than she did in the past after finally realizing how much Lefiya idolized her. Previously, she had simply been concerned about Lefiya because the bashful Elf had often fl.u.s.tered about as a result of her delusions. Now, however, Lefiya had been able to exin things clearly as a result of the confidence she had obtained from Vahn, so Ais treated her as a very close confidant andpanion. Ais was very clearly not into lesbianism that much, but she was a very curious girl and there was a hint of bis.e.x.u.a.l tendencies within her. Because most of her experiences had been with other girls, especially the rather yful Tiona, Ais didnt mind ying around a bit and she was very observant of how other people reacted, much like Vahn. Without minding them too much, Vahn continued using a thin needle-like de to carve the connecting formation into the underside of the armor. He would then infuse hair-thin wires of Orichalc.u.m, treated in a chemical solution to give them increased flexibility, into the channels he had carved before sewing over them with threads that had been made from the sinews of a wyvern. This was to prevent the Orichalc.u.m wires from identally slipping out and breaking when the girls were moving about normally. As this was just a prototype, Vahn didnt expect that it wouldst for too long, especially given Aiss track record of exposing herself to danger, but it should greatly increase her ability to take hits for a while. Aiss offensive strength was monstrous to the extent that she could almost defeat any monster, even a Floor Boss, with a single well-timed strike. Her Lil Rifalga, when she was pushing her [Ariel] to the limits, could give her such speed that even Vahn was unable to even see the motion. The only thing he could see at first was two versions of Ais before a massive tempest tore through whatever had been unfortunate enough to earn her ire. It wasnt a technique she could use that often, as it put a severe amount of strain on her body, but it was something that even Vahn couldnt imagine actually evading, much less blocking. She was only Level 5 but Vahn knew that, if they were actually enemies and she used [Ariel] against him, he would likely end up losing as his body got shred into small pieces by her tempest-like attacks. Though he knew she could go even faster, Vahn had seen Ais managed feats of closing 300m in around .02s which gave her an instantaneous eleration of 15,000m/s or 54,000km/h. Even using his [Shundo], it took him longer than .02s to link the two points, as it required him to map out and have an understanding of the space between points A and B, Vahn wouldnt even know he was dead before his soul was sent flying from his body. Fortunately, even against people she disliked, Ais didnt use her [Ariel] against people because she wasnt fond of killing. Though she might severely wound people, even to the point of dismembering them, she never dealt killing blows and typically used a much weaker version of her skill whenever she was in a pinch. After nearly three hours of iying Orichalc.u.m and sewing over it, Vahn had finished with the rtively simple top and needed to move onto the marginally more difficult pair of bottoms. He wanted to ensure that the armor was veryfortable, so there were several things he needed to consider, even down to the sewing pattern and the generalyout of the fabrics that would be hugging the girls delicates. As there wasnt enough time right now, however, Vahn instead looked to Ais and Lefiya, asking the former, "Ais, can you try this on for me? Other than the outeryer, everything else is finished." Ais had been watching Vahn working hard with a small smile on her face, periodically answering Lefiya questions and making small talk, so she had long prepared herself for his request. She saw when he had been inspecting to rtively thin twoyered armor for any mistakes and expected that he hadpleted it. After nodding her head, she peeled off the thin white blouse she was wearing and moved to remove her light yellow bra before smiling at Vahn and asking in a quiet tone, "Will you help me...?" With deft fingers, almost to the point where Ais could hardly perceive the action, Vahn undid the sp of her bra, causing her to giggle slightly as she held her arms parallel to the ground. Realizing what she wanted, Vahn stretched out his hands and grabbed the sides of her bra, peeling it from her arms and releasing the pale little mounds from their bindings. The armor prototype was actually designed to be worn without underwear, as most girls didnt wear bras in the Dungeon anyways. Vahn had specifically put in an stic band while the seams of the armor itself were meant to contour to Aiss body and support her developing b.r.e.a.s.ts. Because of the sticity of the Cadmus Skin, it would be able tost for quite a while, even though her body was still going through its growth phase. It would undoubtedly feel a little tight against the body, but it should be a feeling offort after the girls adapted to the sensation. Depending on the effect of the name, it may even feel like theyre wearing a secondyer of their own skin... Ais wore the stretchy fabric over the top of her head in a practiced manner, as it wasnt her first time putting on the top. However, there was now the addition of the Orichalc.u.m wires and the small bumps that would be present from his sewing. Vahn had done his best to make them as thin as possible, but there was still a chance it would cause some difort because of how the armor hugged her body. He even suspected that, when she took it off in the future, he would be able to see the sewn pattern on her body from where the lines pressed against her fair skin. Fortunately, Ais didnt show any sign of difort at all and even smiled as she said, "It feels veryfortable. Its light and easy to move in..." As she spoke, Ais stretched her body like she was doing calisthenics but Vahn noticed something peculiar in her motions and asked, "Is the neck area ufortable?" He had tried to make it less constrictive than the rest of the top, but there was a thinyer of fabric around the neck and Ais kept turning her head about as if it was ufortable. However, she shook her head and said, "It is just a bit strange, but not really ufortable. I will get used to it quickly..." As Ais often wore clothing that had a cor hugging the neck, Vahn had taken that into consideration for her armor but he could tell she didnt like it that much in this instance. Ais could also tell that he had seen through her lie as her mouth became tiny in a small pouting expression and she said, "It is a little tight..." Vahn reached out his hand and stroked the top of Aiss head, saying, "Please tell me whenever youre ufortable Ais, as I want to make sure the armor is something that suits you as perfectly as possible. If it causes you difort, it might cause problems from long-term use, so be honest with me, okay~?" Ais nodded her head and slightly squinted her eyes, enjoying the warm energy flowing from Vahns palm. It wasnt just the Beast Humans that were susceptible to his [Petting] ability as almost every girl, including the tyrannical Tsubaki, were quite fond of his touch. After helping Ais peel off the top, Vahn joined the two girls for a light lunch while he removed the threads he had sewn into neckponent of her armor. It wasnt the threads themselves that were ufortable, but he Orichalc.u.m wires beneath them because they werent actually that flexible at all. Vahn figured he would have to increase the defense of the neck by using the tertiaryyer of armor instead but still experimented with recing the Orichalc.u.m wiring by iying the channels with a thin line of Terras golden blood. It also had the property of being a mana conduit so it should be a good substitute. Vahn was just worried that it would eventually wear out over time through exposure and absorbing the sweat from Aiss body. Because his hands were busy, Vahn got to experience a rather interesting event as both Lefiya and Ais fed him small bites of food. Lefiya still had her gluttonous trait, but she bashfully focused on feeing him small bites instead of nibbling on the food herself. Mimicking the behavior of others, she would hold up the fork and say, "V-Vahn...a-aaahnn~" Her order only gave herplete confidence in her actions when they were alone so, even though she wasfortable around Ais, Lefiya was still embarrassed. The fact she was being more proactive showed that she was making progress, though the ruddy blush on her face might im otherwise. To ease her burdens a bit, Vahn quickly bit the food before smiling and saying, "Thank you, Lefiya..." Around forty minutes after the second block of his schedule had begun, Vahn finished his alterations and once again helped Ais remove her bra so she could wear the top. This time, there didnt seem to be any issues at all and Ais even said, "It feels a little airy around my neck? Very pleasant..." Because Terras blood had an affinity with natural elements, it slowly absorbed them from the air and this was what caused Ais to feel morefortable. With his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see that the energy was slowing flowing into the rest of thework and this was an important discovery since it meant he could create the core of formations using Terras blood and then use other materials for the rest. Though Orichalum had the highest adaptability with earth elemental energy, it was almost neutralpared to most materials. This meant is was a good catalyst for all kinds of magic, which was the primary reason it was used in so many magic weapons, armor, and tools. As expected, Ais began to pat around the armor in a curious manner as she said, "It feels like there is a cooling sensation spreading around my body...?" Vahn smiled and exined the situation, though the only person that was truly interested in it was Lefiya. She always carried around a cute little book bag these days and had several journals and writing utensils for the sole purpose of writing down Vahns words. There was also amunication scroll contained within, making her one of the few girls that proactively carried theirs around. Most people left theirs in their rooms, but there were a few girls that used thework more often than others and could be seen writing into their scrolls on asion. Chief among them was Hestia, as Vahn hardly ever saw her away from her scroll unless she was trying to get spoiled by him. Though he was tempted to start preparing to design the tertiaryyer, Vahn decided he had stayed in the workshop long enough and wanted to go to the garden and discuss things with Riveria and Terra, which had be a bit of a habit in his schedule. Since they were already together, Vahn asked, "Im going to head to the garden to talk about our research with Riveria, would the two of you like toe along?" Ais tilted her head slightly as if she were in deep thought before shaking her head and saying, "No...if we stick around you all day, it will make it difficult for other girls to spend time with you. Lefiya and I will go y with Tiona and Fenrir..." Nodding her head as if she had made a wise decision, Ais showed a small smile before walking forward and sneaking a kiss from Vahn... After parting with the two adorable girls, Vahn made his way toward the garden while considering the words Ais had said. He had also noticed that the groups of girls that came to him were smaller than normal and wondered if they had worked out some kind of system in private. He knew they had a meeting during the day he performed Nirvana on Eina, so that was likely when they had discussed the matter. Previously, girls would slowly congregate around him throughout the day and Vahn could agree that it made it somewhat difficult to pay attention to everyone. At least he would have some time with them individually in theing afternoons since he had nned to open his salon to them. Once he reached the garden, Vahn found that Riveria, Terra, Syr, and Ryuu were all sitting around the ornate ss table he had set out previously. They seemed to be enjoying tea and talking with Terra, who immediately noticed his arrival before the other girls. Her connection with him had been increasing rapidly these days and, though it was a far cry from where Fenrir was, she had started to be able to feel his presence. Imagining that she would one day be able to know his thoughts and feelings was actually a bit concerning since Vahn knew she was a little too clever at times. Fortunately, she seemed to be influenced by Riveria and Syrtely, thetter of which had recently broken through Terras defenses. Terras wings rustled happily as she said, "Wee, Master~" which also helped alert the other girls to his presence. As the illusory forest formation hid presences well, even Riveria hadnt noticed him yet and turned her head with a somewhat nk expression on her face. Vahn lifted his hand in greetings and said, "Good afternoon, everyone. Sorry that Im a bitte, I got wrapped up in my work." Since he had beening to the garden during almost all of his breaks, Vahn felt the need to exin histe arrival. Riveria didnt have too much of a reaction, though Vahn noticed her aura mellowed out a bit with warm colors, while Ryuu and Syr showed happy smiles at his arrival. With her typical elegant smile, Syr said, "I was wondering if I would have the opportunity to enjoy tea with you today, Vahn. When you didnt show up, it made my heart feel a little lonely~." Though she was teasing him, Vahn could detect a bit of truth in her words as this was the first time she hade to the garden during the times he usually showed up. She was one of the girls he spent the most time with, at night, but one of the least he interacted with throughout the day. Vahn felt a little guilty about this, but it was primarily because he was always somewhat busy while Syr herself was often moving about the Manor and talking to everyone in private to ensure everything was going smoothly. Thinking this was a good opportunity, Vahn smiled and said, "I usually eat lunch with Terra and Riveria while we discuss our research together. Since the moreplicated stuff is often brought up in private, you shoulde by more often. Im certain Terra would enjoy the fellowship of the other girls, as I imagine it can be a bit lonely in the garden at times...?" He wasnt really fooling either girl, as both Terra and Syr were rather intelligent, but they yed along with his words as Terra showed a listful mncholy and said, "Indeed...other than Riveria, Ryuu, and Lefiya, I dont have too manypanions...though, the person Id most like to spend time with is Master~." Syr covered her mouth and giggled elegantly at Terras words before saying, "Very well, Ill stop by more often in the future. After all, Im also quite interested in getting to know Terra better and it would be a good opportunity to spend time with a certain someone~." Vahn felt like Syr and Terra would make a dangerous duo in the future but justughed his worries away as he walked over and joined the girls for tea. He eventually ended up helping Terra groom her wings again, but the time before that had been spent sitting with Ryuu and Syr while he primarily discussed matters with Riveria. As it was still fresh on everyones minds, as it had just happened the day prior, the topic of discussion was the matters regarding the Elven Kingdom. Coincidentally, many of the brightest minds within the Manor were currently gathered, including the most pertinent party to everything, Riveria. This allowed them to discuss some general arrangements for the future, including what actions they would take depending on the Elven Kingdoms response to Lokis parchment. After helpingb through Terras feathers, with assistance from Ryuu, one of the few girls Terra was fortable with, another line of discussion had been brought up, this time by Syr. She had almost memorized every detail of the Divination so, now that the important parties were gathered, she tilted her head to the side in held her index finger to her chin as she casually asked, "Riveria, shouldnt you and Vahn get together in the near future? If we take into consideration the age of your son, he would be born within the next ten-to-twelve months, right?" Riveria had been sipping at her tea, causing Vahn to expect that she would spit it out as he also felt incredibly startled by Syrs words. However, Riveria kept her calm on the surface as her aura chaotically flickered until she set her cup down on the table with slightly more force than usual. Even without Syrs reminder, Riveria had actually been thinking about it a lottely but had never mustered up the resolve necessary to move forward on the matter. After their initial expression of intent, she had actually been avoiding any intimacy with Vahn, including most simple signs of affection. If he didnt take small advantages from her, they might not even have any such interactions at all. Now that the matter with Alosrin was temporarily settled, likely buying them several years of time, Riveria had actually spent the previous night ruminating over this matter in detail. She had even discussed it with Loki, Hephaestus, and Eina, which she now believed had either informed Syr directly or had caused her to infer something through their actions... After sitting for nearly two minutes inplete silence, Riveria opened her eyes with a look of resolve contained deep within, at least until she turned her gaze to Vahn. Uncharacteristically, Riverias face showed a noticeable blush and any words she seemed to find had been lost as she hung her head slightly. She simply couldnt find the courage to make such bold promations at all and wondered exactly how things had developed in the Divination to allow her to take these difficult steps forward... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Pat the kitty,Aiss bad poker face,Syrs Machinations : Riverias Dignity) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 539 - Garden Party

Chapter 539 - Garden Party

Syr was observing Riverias reaction with an almost humorous expression as the edges of her lips curled up slightly at the ends. She had a mild propensity to tease others so getting a rise out of Riveria made her heart flutter a bit since the elegant High Elf was typically veryposed. This was, however, something that was important to bring up and it was especially so as the event with Alosrin was fresh on everyones mind. Syr had been watching Vahns progress with the other girls and he knew things between him and Riveria would stall if there wasnt an inciting incident. Though it was possible Vahn would do something himself, Syr heard about the ns for the uing expedition and the other things Vahn was working on. If they didnt get closer in the near future, Syr could imagine the matter could end up falling to the wayside for several months, most likely around the time Lefiya reached maturity... Eina had also been somewhat worried about the rtionship between Vahn and Riveria while even Ryuu had some small concerns. The fact that Riveria was a High Elf was a bit of a sensitive subject for all the girls with Elven heritage because, even if they didnt grow up in the forest, there was an almost instinctual reverence for those that were closer to their origins. Riveria was also Ainas, Einas mother, best friend and they had been together for more than fifty years. Eina herself had often received kindness from Riveria when she was growing up, something that would have earned her the ire of other Elves and High-Elves. As a result, Eina had a lot of respect for Riveria and had actually been more concerned about Riverias marriage with Vahn than her own. Because of her status as a High Elf, it would cause a major stir if Riveria didnt get married before she lost her purity, but that was also something that was ambiguous right now. Because they were so focused on bringing about change in the future, holding onto such traditions may not necessarily be the best idea since it made High Elves seem as if they were some kind of superior entity. While they certainly were special, if viewed through a certain lens, they couldnt be considered truly superior beings because they didnt actually have many aplishments throughout history. Other than turtling up within the Western Forest and building a Kingdom, there are no historical feats associated with High Elves at all. Even the thing they were most proud of, their magic, wasnt actually something they should take pride in because it was oftentimes much weaker than the magic spells obtained from the Falna. Because of this, though there werent many, the High Elves had swallowed their pride in the past and invited a few gods into their mix just to stay relevant in the world. This was one of the reasons their reputation had taken a major hit in recent centuries because gods were very social by nature and rumors spread around rather quickly in Heaven... After a few minutes, Riveria recovered a bit and raised her head to look around at everyone present, each patiently waiting for her words. The moment she saw Vahn, however, Riveria felt a bit of frustration and even showed an angry expression as she said, "Vahn, sit down." He had previously been grooming Terra, so Vahn was almost hiding behind her wings right now after the rtively awkward conversation had been started by Syr. She wasnt the type to make such faux pas, so Vahn knew there was an underlying scheme taking ce here. After the event with Alosrin, Vahn had been thinking about how to get closer with Riveria in the future but it looked like his passive actions werent eptable in the mind of Syr. Instead of letting it bother him, however, Vahn took a deep breath to rx before showing as confident a smile as he could manage and sat down, not across from, but next to Riveria. Her expression didnt change, but Vahn could feel the tension radiating from her body as her aura flickered about chaotically along the edges. Riveria eventually released a sigh and said in a in tone, "We have already...confessed...our feelings for each other, so you shouldnt be too surprised that things will have to...develop further in the future. Im not good at things like this..." Riverias struggles increased the more she tried to speak since it was difficult for her to rationalize such things. Vahn smiledfortingly before reaching out and grasping Riverias hand with his own, saying, "Riveria, you dont have to overthink it to such an extent...sometimes emotions are difficult to rationalize and the only thing you can do is simply experience them. I know roughly what you want to say, so Ill be the one to make the promise here ande up with a solution...how about this, once Iplete the procedure for fixing the Elven fertility issue, then well consider moving forward from there. Until then, Ill let you think of how you want things to progress, including if youre willing to marry me...just know that, I think it would be a blessing to marry a beautiful and capable woman like you. As I said in the past, I will do my best learn the best way to show my love for you...even if it takes a bit of time." Presently, Vahn had more respect and intrigue for Riveria than actual love, a trait she shared toward him as well. They were closer to colleagues than romantically interested in each other, but Riveria also considered Vahn the closest malepanion she had and, after thinking about it for a fair amount of time, she couldnt actually think of anyone else she would rather spend her remaining centuries with. Living with Vahn and continuing her research, bing the Headmaster of the school they would build, forging a better path for her people amongst the other races of the world, these were things she could only do because of him. Even if it was just out of obligation, Riveria felt like she needed to be with Vahn, and it was this understanding that made her realize that this need was something that went beyond her rationalization of things... Hearing Vahns words, Riveria knew he truly was promising with her because, if she let down her defenses a bit and opened up to him, she was certain he would be able to breach through and deeply root himself into her heart before she even realized what happened. However, she had a fear that this would be the case and this was one of the reasons why she didnt want him to use her [Hearts Desire]. She didnt like the feeling of being exposed and couldnt imagine opening herself up to himpletely before they were able to make their shared ambitions a reality. Riveria didnt want to truly betray her people by wasting several years of her life in the pursuit of love. Ever since she had been betrothed to Alosrin in the past, she had created powerful mental blocks in her mind because she believed she would one day have to marry that idiot out of obligation...yet another thing Vahn had freed her from... Looking into Vahns gentle aquamarine eyes caused Riveria to feel like there was a small gap in her heart that he was trying to squeeze into. She released a small sigh before nodding her head and saying, "Very well, Vahn, well go along with that then. Ill handle all the important preparations from my end while you work on your research. However, I dont want you ignoring your other projects just to...prioritize..." Riveria found herself at a loss for words because she couldnt vocalize words like having Vahn prioritize trying to get closer to her. It felt like she was inadvertently inciting him to put in the effort, even though her words were contrary to that suggestion. Seeing the resolute look in his eyes actually scared her a bit and she felt pressured to make her own preparations even sooner or she might get caught unprepared by the stupidly capable boy... As she had expected, Vahns mind was racing and he was trying to visualize the most efficient way toplete his current projects withoutpromising their quality. He was currently working on the prototype armor for the girls while also trying to develop a method to preserve his blood in crystal form while having it exposed to the air. All of his attempts thus far had ended in failure, so Vahns next n was to instead to core out a gemstone and fill it with his blood, essentially turning it into a blood-gem. This would keep it from being exposed to the air, while potentially enabling it to preserve itself properly since the container would also be magically conducive. Vahn knew such gems wouldnt be permanant solutions, as bits of his energy would likely disperse over time, but it was still a step in the right direction. After hepleted those two projects, Vahn expected that it wouldnt actually take that long toplete the band since he had already happened upon several things that would make it easier. Just earlier, Vahn discovered that he could use Terras blood to passively absorb natural energy and feed it into arger formation. He could also do something simr with the stems of her feathers, which could strengthen the core parts of the formation. The only thing he would need to do is find a way to catalyze that process so that the intake was much higher, something he believed he could use his own blood as a medium for. After that, the only thing he needed to figure out was a method to make the body of the person absorb the mana as there were actually very few people that could absorb it naturally. One of the things that set High Elves apart was that they could absorb the energies of nature better than Elves and Half-Elves. Their close proximity to the Sacred Trees meant their fertility was marginally higher as well, though not nearly to the point where it was eptable. It wasnt umon for a couple to spend more than a decade simply trying to conceive a single child, which meant it was very difficult for them to increase their poption reliably. There was also the fact that, after giving birth once, it was almost impossible for a High Elf female to have a second child because their own bodies vital energy would be drained as a result of the first pregnancy. The biggest factor behind why the Elven Kingdom was Patriarchal in nature was simply because the men often lived much longer than the women. Vahn wanted to find a solution to all of these problems, but he wouldnt actively implement them at the Elven Kingdom until they fixed some of their policies and proactively worked alongside the other races instead of propagating their negative ideology. He would rather ept the refugees from the Elven Kingdom that wanted to escape such bigotry than empower fools that invested more time in simply living than making progress. If necessary, Vahn would build his own Elven Kingdom on the 50th Floor since there would be a sacred tree there to nourish them over time. Many Elves, other than those that tended to the trees, werent even allowed to be near the Sacred Trees, so it would be inarguably better for them to reside there than stay in a ce where the faced having their lives ruined by rampant and egotistical High Elves. After organizing his thoughts, which had actually only taken several seconds, Vahn smiled to Riveria and said, "I wontpromise my work ethic, Riveria, but you can be sure Ill work even harder in the future. Just thinking about the day we can together makes my blood boil a little...hahaha~." Seeing that Riverias face had started to turn ruddy, Vahn couldnt help butugh as he held her slightly trembling hand with his own. He didnt know what was going through her mind, but a blushing Elf, especially a High Elf, was something that tickled his fancy a great deal. There were very few situations where he could actually get away with embarrassing her, so Vahn wanted to enjoy this rare opportunity... Hearing Vahns words made Riveria feel like the small gap in her heart was widened marginally, but seeing himugh in amus.e.m.e.nt made her blood pressure rise a bit. Though it made her face flush a little more, it wasnt simply due to her embarrassment this time as she gripped her staff with her right hand. She saw Vahns expression freeze as he tried to pull his hand away, only to find that her grip had turned into a vice. This made her embarrassment fade a little, causing a cold smile to appear on her face as she said, "I believe I promised to allow you to get closer to my staff thest time we were alone...I wouldnt want to be called a liar~." Though she didnt strike forward with too much strength, Riveria smacked the top of Vahns head with her [Magna Alfs] hard enough to make an audible thud. Vahn hadnt made any attempt to defend himself, knowing that it would only stir up Riveria even more, so his vision ckened for a moment when she struck him. The top of his head began to radiate with a painful pulse as he rubbed the bump with both hands, saying, "This is domestic violence...how can you bully your future hus-" Though he knew it would rile her up, Vahn couldnt help but use this rare opportunity to tease Riveria a bit because he knew she wouldnt back down after making her earlier decision. This time, instead of eating the staff, Vahn jumped back with [Shundo] because the second strike looked a little too painful to bear. Riverias face had an incredibly rare pouting expression as her mouth shrunk into a small frown and there was a healthy blush on her face. She breathed heavily through her nose and looked like she was contemting sting Vahn with her magic. However, Syrsughter and subsequent words caused her mind to nk when she said, "I hear its good for married couples to argue every now and then~. Its good to see that your rtionship has already developed to such an extent, fufufu~" Vahn used the opportunity when Riveria was stunned to take on a serious expression and say, "Sorry, Riveria...I know you dont like being teased, so Ill behave from now on. I have preparations to make for tomorrow, so Ill excuse myself for the time being. Ah, and this is for everyone, dont forget that Ill be doing salon treatments tomorrow when I return from the Dungeon. Make sure to stop by as Ill be taking requests on a firste first served basis~!" Terras wings flicked about as she asked, "Master, does that mean I cane as well~? Ive never experienced Masters salon treament...it seems very interesting~?" Vahn smiled and said, "As I said, itll be based on a firste, first served basis. If you want to participate, Terra, I wont deny you the opportunity. Now, I really should get going..." At the end of his words, Vahn disappeared from sight with [Shundo] because he had seen Riveria wasing back to her senses. Her aura still contained a fair amount of anger and indignation, so he wanted to let her cool down a bit. Though he didnt mind letting people vent on him, Vahn wasnt too fond of violence and he didnt want it to be a habit of being hit in front of the other girls. He didnt care much for hierarchies, but Vahn knew he needed to consider his image properly if he wanted to keep the bnce within the Manor in the future... Seeing that Vahn had run away, Riveria furrowed her brows slightly before releasing a heavy sigh and sitting in her chair once again. She looked to the smiling Syr and said, "You can be rather devious at times, Syr..." As if shepletely agreed with Riverias words, Syr nodded her head in affirmation and said, "It is my duty to ensure that everything progresses smoothly and there are no underlying issues left to fester within the group. Im certain that you also understand how important it is to resolve such things expediently, Riveria." Riveria sat in silence for a short while before nodding her head and looking toward Ryuu and Terra, saying, "Please dont think lesser of me for my earlier disy. As I said, Im not good at things like this..." Ryuu had been almost statuesque since earlier and had been standing with Terra at the side during the earlier confrontation. She was surprised to see a High Elf like Riveria brought to the point of blushing by Vahn, but not so much so that she couldnt believe it had happened. There was a mirror in Vahns room and Ryuu had seen her own facial expressions on asion when they were together. Since she considered herself tock expression, almost to the point where she was considered cold by others, Ryuu knew how easily Vahn could break down the walls of a girls heart. There was also the fact that Syr usually incited her on and Ryuu now understood why Syr had asked her toe to drink tea with Riveria today. She had inadvertently be a witness for the events and one of the anchors keeping Riveria fromshing outpletely or trying to sweep aside the matter. Terra didnt really mind Riverias behavior at all because she was very aware of the tensions between Riveria and her Master. She didnt really understand why Riveria yed around and wasnt honest with her emotions when it was very clear that she treated Vahn as if he were very important. Even during the event yesterday, Riveria showed absolutely no inhibitions when she was calling her Master as Master, even seeming to enjoy the rise she got out of that disgusting idiot who foolishly tried to contend against her Master. However, Terra didnt want to stress the issue since it really wasnt that important to her so, just as Riveria was doing, she yed the same game and simply smiled as she said, "I believe you are a capable and knowledgable woman, Riveria, so I wouldnt think lesser of you over something like this. In fact, it makes me a feel a little closer to you knowing you have such bouts of passion~." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Countdown Begins...,Blushing Beauties o3o~!,Terras Disposition : Learning to y human?) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 540 - Examine

Chapter 540 - Examine

Leaving the garden, Vahn decided to do a quick stopover to see how Mikoto was doing since she was usually training around this time. Surprisingly, Vahn found the clearing empty for once so he pulled out his Status Log to see what everyone else was up to. Most of the girls were free, which made sense considering everyone was taking a short vacation. Starting tomorrow, most of them would start venturing into the Dungeon again so they were all leisurely spending theirst day. Vahn considered spending time with Mn and the youth troupe, but they would be spending a fair amount of time together as he helped Tina grow stronger in the Dungeon. Eventually, he decided to just bezy for once, even though he also wanted to get a jump start on his projects. Though they would likely let him get away with it for a while, Hephaestus, Eina, and many of the other girls would probably lecture him if he overworks and holes himself up in his workshop. There really was no rush, so Vahn turned his attention away from the logbook and slowly made his way through the forest after sending a signal to Fenrir. He was curious if she would be able to find him within the illusory forest or if she would get lost in the attempt. Only a few people actually knew the correct path to take, and Fenrir was definitely not one of them, at least for the time being. A few minutester, Vahn could hear the sound of movement in the surroundings and activated his [Eyes of Truth] to see Fenrir confusedly looking around the area and sniffing the air. She even crouched low to the ground and sniffed around, most probably trying to pick up on his trail. Though the illusory forest formation disrupted the senses a bit, each of Fenrirs were far higher than normal and she seemed to actually be able to detect him. Right now, they were only about 70m away from each other and, though her path was crooked and she sometimes even doubled back, she was slowly but surely getting closer to him. Vahn watched Fenrirs actions with a yful smile while stroking his chin in contemtion, wandering how he could help aid her growth in the future. She was already increasing her strength at a steady pace, but there were a lot of gaps in herbat style as a result of the fact she fought without any real equipment. Though her [Severing ws] helped out a lot, there was a chance she would struggle against elemental and immaterial enemies, such as Spectres and things like Sand Golems. Whenever he nned to explore around in the future, he would undoubtedly have to take Fenrir along with him so Vahn needed to think of a method to increase her capabilities. She would even travel at his side in other records, which was getting harder to grasp as time passed, so there was no reason not to invest heavily into her growth... After a few more minutes passed, Fenrir was actually only around 10m away from him, clearly visible for Vahn, but he was entirely invisible from her perspective. Vahn wondered why she didnt try using her [Huntress] ability to track him down quickly, which immediately caused Fenrirs hair to raise as her eyes began glowing scarlet. This brought a smile to Vahns face because it showed that she was highly attentive to the link they shared and, even without giving her orders, she seemed to be able to understand his thoughts somewhat. He wondered if the link would one day develop to the point where they could share senses, much like the bond shared between Emiru and Maemi. With her [Huntress] active, Fenrirs speed increased greatly and she followed far fewer dead ends until she was within 5m of his position, causing her head to snap toward him. Arge smile appeared on her face as she trotted over with arms spread, shouting, "Master, Fenrir found you~!" Vahn smiled and stroked her head and ears a bit heavily as she clung to his body and rubbed her head against his chest. To help her out, Vahn had transformed into his Vanargandr form, intending for it to also serve as a form of reward for her. He knew she was very fond of the form because, as she had admitted, it made her feel like they were even closer together. Fenrir was somewhat lonely being the only one of her kind and Vahn had even considered naming apanion for her, to which she had very enthusiastically refused, almost as if her life depended on it. After she had finished rubbing her face against him satisfactorily, Fenrir lifted her head and tilted it to the side, asking, "Master, why did you call Fenrir~?" Vahn smiled and said, "Well, I was thinking about rxing and ying around and thought it would be good to spend time with you. I was also curious if you would be able to find me within the forest, so good job, Fenrir." In response to his words, Fenrir scrunched up her nose a bit and said, "It was very frustrating, almost like Masters scent kept moving around. Fenrir thought Master was trying to trick her..." Vahnughed and scratched the scruff at the side of Fenrirs head as he said, "I try to avoid tricking Fenrir since I dont want to upset you. Youre so innocent, so it would be cruel if I yed tricks on you." Fenrir squinted her eyes a bit, clearly pleased by the affectionate petting as she mumbled, "Master has to be the best to Fenrir...kukuku~" Then, a mischevious glint appeared in Fenrirs eyes as a strange smile appeared on her lips. Vahn felt his instincts trigger slightly and his hands slowed down a bit as Fenrir covered his paws with her own with a predatory gaze as she looked up at him. Before she could say anything potentially dangerous, Vahn beat her to the punch and said, "As a reward for finding me so quickly, I will give you a short kiss, okay?" There was a brief pause, almost as if Fenrir was considering the offer but she eventually shook her head and said, "Fenrir knows, there are things she can do without having s.e.x with Master~." The entire time Fenrir was speaking, she was rocking her head from side-to-side, allowing her ears to flop about in a yful manner. Vahn shook his head in response to her words, however, saying, "Even if its not s.e.x, I cant do a.d.u.l.t things with you yet, Fenrir. You still have to mature a bit mentally before we do things like that. I dont want to see you fighting with the other girls for my attention or because youre jealous of them." Fenrir had a somewhat nk expression on her face, but the glow in her eyes increased marginally before she said, "Fenrir wont be a bad girl...Fenrir just wants Master to touch her body and pet her lots and lots. Master pet Fenrir lots when we went on the huntst time...Fenrir wants Master to pet more than just her head..." Vahn recalled the time he was hunting with Fenrir and Lili, including the sessions where he pet the two girls bodies while they were rxing. He realized now that he had probably gone a little overboard, but this was a result of his increased tensions, weakened inhibitions, and the incitement of both Fenrir and Lili in unison with each other...if he tried to say something like that wasnt allowed, Vahn would have to admit he had done something wrong in the past. Thus, after releasing a sigh, Vahn looked around while Fenrir began to get excited after realizing she had won against her Master for once. She had started to realize that she could use her Masters own thoughts and actions against him because it was bing increasingly apparent to her that his behavior was somewhat inconsistent. He changed the way he acted depending on the people he was with so Fenrir believed she could get closer to him even faster if she used the other girls properly... After thinking about it, as he looked for a good ce to sit, Vahn turned to Fenrir and said in a firm tone, "Okay, Fenrir, I will pet you as a reward but you cant use this as a reason to get me to do other things in the future..." Though he couldnt tell exactly what she was up to, Vahn could see the mischevious glint in Fenrirs eyes because she was also bad at hiding her thoughts through her expressions. She had never gotten used to controlling her face, so it was always very clear when she was happy, sad, and angry. When she was trying to be clever, she had a bad habit of showing a somewhat crooked smile and the edges of her irises would glow just a little bit. Fenrir tilted her head in an innocent manner that reminded him a lot of Tiona, which meant she had probably mimicked the behavior from her. She had been spending a lot of time with the Amazon sisters while sneakily wandering around the behavior at other times. Vahn had even seen her spying on Syr before, which also alerted her that she had been caught because she acted very awkwardly after the fact. Vahn pinched her nose before deciding to simply sit against a tree and rx since he didnt really want to put out a cushion or anything. Fenrirs ws might not hurt him, but that didnt mean she was so kind to furniture and, even though she had made great strides in self-control, she would still leave marks on sheets and tear up sofas on ident. There were no fallen trees within his artificially created forest, while their sizes were very simr to each other, so Vahn just sat against the closest one and patted hisp. Fenrir, however, smiled in a mischevious manner before crouching down in front of him and cing her paws against his legs before leaning forward and rubbing her face against his chest in an affectionate manner. Vahn was a little confused but couldnt deny that he was somewhat curious about what she was trying to do so he reached out and began stroking around the back of her hair. He could see Fenrir tail waggling awkwardly and suddenly realized who she was trying to emte as the image of Nanu and Anubis came to his mind. After a few seconds, Fenrir looked up and said in a somewhat lecturing tone, "Master, dont just touch Fenrirs hair~!" Hearing her words, Vahn figured out what Fenrir was up to by hiding the front side of her body from him. She obviously wanted him to touch around her back, or more than likely, her somewhat small butt. The wagging of her tail was probably an effort to try and tempt him into doing it without her urging him onwards. Vahn was often surprised by how clever Fenrir was at times and decided to see what else she would try to get away with before he had to remind her not to be a bad girl. Reaching his hands under her arms, which made her tuck in her body a bit as if she was trying to avoid letting him touch the front of her body, Vahn stroked Fenrirs sides instead. She realized what he was trying to do and raised herself up again and continued rubbing against his chest while pulling closer to his body. Vahn could see where this was starting to go and stroked around her sides and lower back with his [Hands of Nirvana] active. Though it wasnt the instant regeneration of Eva, Fenrirs body was naturally resistant to such stimulus, but her mind and body eagerly sought it anyway. Since Vahn could even defeat Eva, her meager tolerance wasnt too difficult for him to ovee and Fenrirs movements became a bitbored as a result. As if she were getting tired of holding up her upper body, Fenrir breathed heavily through her nose before crawling up all the way and pulling her legs forward to straddle hisp. Vahn had already expected this to happen and didnt stop her from hugging around his body tightly, something she had likely copied from Lili or Hestia, as they both had the ko hug tendency as a result of their diminutive sizes. Vahn continued to stroke around her lower back and was surprised by how thin she waspared to some of the other girls, something that would never change unless he found a way to help her evolve further. He stroked around the small tuft of fur that led into her tail and Fenrir did something he hadnt quite expect, as he never made any efforts to touch around the area previously. The moment his fingers pressed around the slightly boney area, Fenrir raised her h.i.p.s and tucked her head into his chest before letting them drop naturally. She didnt even seem to notice it herself so Vahn stroked up and down on the area again, which caused her h.i.p.s to raise as her tail stood a bit straighter. This was something he hadnt experienced from Fenrir before, even though he had often brushed her hair and helped wash her during their baths. It was a very interesting thing, especially since she didnt really seem to be too aware of it as she was engrossed in rubbing up against him, so Vahn gently pressed into the area a few times, causing Fenrirs h.i.p.s to rise more and more until she eventually realized what was going on. At this point, Fenrir was actually almost standing while still bent over and hugging around his body, so she was very confused by the situation. Vahnughed a bit and exined, "I think I found one of Fenrirs sensitive spots..." as he gently pressed into the area again. Fenrirs legs straightened out and her bushy tail stood straight up as a confused expression appeared on her face. She looked back and wiggled her butt a little to make her rigid tail wobble and Vahn felt a bit of pressure rise in his nose at her adorable behavior. After a few seconds passed, the tension in her tail and legs started to reduce so Fenrir sat back down and asked, "Did Master do something strange to Fenrirs body?" More than confusion, there seemed to be a bit of excitement in Fenrirs body as she asked the question. Vahn shook his head and said, "No, it seems to be a natural part of your physiology as a Vanargandr..." As he spoke, Vahn began to realize why she was getting excited and his fears became a reality soon after as she hugged his body tightly and pawed around his lower back. Eventually, one of her ws found purchase and Vahn felt an electrical jolt pass through his spine that caused his legs, which had previously been crossed, to shoot out and be rigid. It wasnt really a pleasant sensation, but almost like apulsive reaction and it was a very perturbing thing to experience... Fenrirughed and said in a cheerful tone, "Master is the same as Fenrir~!" as she dug her w into the area and made Vahns tail turnpletely rigid, He actually felt his legs were bing strangely numb so he lifted up Fenrir by her armpits so she couldnt reach the area anymore. She noticed his expression and her eyes widened before she averted them and said, "Fenrir is sorry..." Vahnughed and brought her back to hisp and stroked the back of her head, saying, "Its fine, you just got a little excited. Even I thought it was very interesting, so I cant me you for thinking the same." Fenrir had a cheerful expression on her face and rested her head against his chest as she enjoyed thefort of his caress. Vahn wondered what else he had simply never discovered about Fenrir and he was very tempted to closely examine her body to learn more. He had already touched every part when he helped her wash, but he had never closely inspected her body or examined her racial traits that closely. Though he had the option of discovering it by using his own body as a reference, there was no guarantee the traits between a male and female Vanargander were the same. Besides, Fenrir wanted to y around and this was a good opportunity to examine her as it would also reduce the tensions a bit since he could treat it as a part of his research. As if she had understood what he was thinking, Fenrir tilted her body in a yful manner and asked, "Master wants to see Fenrirs body~? Fenrir wants Master to touch her all over, kukuku~" After wrapping her legs around his waist, Fenrir leaned her body back at a somewhat awkward angle, at least for most people, and moved her ws around her abdomen and asked with a strange inflection in her voice, "Touch~?" Vahn reached out his own fingers, though it would be more urate to say ws, and traced the paw-pad of his fingers around her simultaneously soft, yet taut, skin. Because she was very thin, without any real sign of fat or developed muscles on her body, Fenrirs body was a bit different than others girl Vahns had touched. Vahn activated his [Eyes of Truth] and pressed into the areas of interest, primarily the unique nerve cl.u.s.ters on Fenrirs body that others didnt have. He could see through her body and saw a somewhat bright bundle of nerves around the base of her tail that threaded out and flowed up her spinal column. Vahn said, "Im going to touch around your tail again, lean forward..." Fenrir followed his words happily and simply used it as an opportunity to hug him again. Vahn pressed into the little bundle of nerve and saw them brighten up slightly as a pulse traveled to her body before reversing down and spreading through her legs. It happened in an instant, but Vahn was able to understand what was happening because of the variations in the intensity of the light he could see. Fenrirs h.i.p.s raised slightly but Vahn didnt keep pressing into it so she sat back down after a few seconds. As if she already anticipated his next words, Fenrir locked her legs around his waist again and leaned back, this time until she wasying against his legs. He could see the line of her ribcage very visibly when sheid down like this and it made her somewhat diminutive chest look even smaller. Vahn ignored that and traced his fingers around the other nerve cl.u.s.ters of her body and, after inspected where they linked together, pressed into them with his w, almost like it was an acupuncture needle. He didnt actually break the skin, but it was a far more precise pressure than if he used his paw pads. There were two small nodes around the connection tendons between Fenrirs pelvis and her abdominal column. Pressing into them caused her abdomen to flex a bit and Vahn could see a hint of thepact muscles under her skin. It wasnt nearly the same reaction as the cl.u.s.ter around her tail, but it was still pretty interesting to see. However, as he was inspecting her insides Vahn noticed a few other incongruities in her body that he hadnt actually paid attention to in the past. Though she didnt actually need to use them, as no food got beyond her stomach, Fenrir had all the expected organs except that their orientation was a bit offpared to normal. It was most likely just a part of her general physiology, so Vahn didnt really mind it that much. The thing that most caught his eye was the fact that peritoneum, the tissue that held the organs of a persons body together, were like an interwoven mesh on Fenrirs body that was several times denser than normal. It was almost like, knowing that her body didnt actually need to make use of the organs normally, it had evolved to make her body naturally shock absorbent instead. The curious thing was, this also applied to her nerves and, though she had many of the expected nodes, they were in different locations than normal while some were far thinner than normal. Vahn suspected that Fenrir didnt even experience things like pain, pleasure, and sensitivity like other people. To test this, he moved his ws around the line of her abdomen and watched her reaction closely. When he only put on a minimal amount of pressure, it was almost like Fenrirs body didnt react at all, even though Vahn could see that her brain glowed whenever she was being touched. The actual nerves werent stimted in the normal way, however, until Vahn greatly increased the pressure in his finger and was almost scraping it along her. Vahn realized now why Fenrir was fond of heavy petting, because she was trying to feel the touch more. Fortunately, he could get around this restriction with his [Hands of Nirvana] and [Petting] as the waves of energy that radiated from his body could stimte the surrounding nerves even if they were a bit deeper than normal. Other than her general attachment to him, this was probably why Fenrir didnt like others petting her too much. It wasnt that she just disliked them, but that she didnt really feel anything when they pet her... For around two hours, Vahn examined Fenrirs body from head to toe, paw-to-paw, and everything in between. He discovered that her paw pads, much like his own, were extremely sensitive to temperatures and they were almost like exposed nerve endings. When pressed roughly, it would cause her ws, which were already somewhat long when they were retracted, to emergepletely until they were nearly 5cm in length, nearly the full extent of the small finger-like appendages on her paws. As for therger pad on the inside of her paw, Fenrir actually seemed to be somewhat ticklish there and it didnt seem to have any other function other than being incredibly soft and sensitive. The next point of interest was Fenrirs ratherrge ears, which Vahn had always been somewhat curious about since they were a bit heavy even on his own head. The actual thickness of the ears was incredibly thin and there were a fair number of nerve endings stretching through them. As for the connecting point to her head, Fenrirs ear canals were high atop her head instead of being at the side, and her skull was slightly oval in shape as a result. This was the case for most Beast Humans, as only a few species actually had ears on the side of their heads. It was a constant effort to avoid getting things like water into their ears and, those that hadrge ears like Fenrir, usually had an increase in the density of their interior fur. Fenrirs normal fur was midnight blue, but she had three locations on her body where the hair was white with a slightly pink hue. These locations were the end of her tail, the tuft at the base of her tail, and the interior of her ears. Unlike the midnight blue fur, the white hairs were actually like sensory receptors and they were incredibly sensitive to things like sound, vibrations, and temperature variations. This was one of the reasons why Fenrirs hearing was so excellent because the thick assortment of white hairs in her ears were almost like extensions of her eardrums themselves. The number of nerves around the white hairs was muchrger than almost anywhere else on her body, and she was constantly receiving external stimulus through them. Thisst discovery Vahn made was rted to Fenrirs ability to open her mouth a bit too wide. Other than her bones being somewhat flexible, at leastpared to a normal persons, her jaw was actually able to unhinge and the muscles were able to stretch around 50% more than expectations. As for how her teeth and ws seemed to grow at times, Fenrirs mana circuits createdrge channels through them which, when filled with mana, caused them to increase in length. It was a little scary to see her activate it through her [Huntress], but it was good to know what caused it to happen since Vahn could theoretically replicate such a function in the future. He thought it would be interesting to make something like a dagger that could turn into a sword. Even better, he might even be able to make a malleable weapon that could take on any form and this could potentially lead to great strides in developing armor that could reform and repair itself over time... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir cares not for your petty illusions~! Fenrir WILL find the Master!,Clever Girl,Vahn gets carried away easily...just imagine him handling Fenrir for two hours. RIP) Link for those curious about her feelings on the matter: /gallery/1z8wp6t /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 541 - Late Night : Early Morning

Chapter 541 - Late Night : Early Morning

On their way out of the forested area, Vahn carried the bubbly Fenrir on his back as her tail tangled around in an obvious effort to interlink with his. She was in a very good mood after receiving his attention for more than two hours and it had triggered her clingy personality, at least until they reached the edge of the forest. The moment she heard the sound of others, Fenrirs ears perked up and she obediently climbed from Vahns back before running off to do something else. Vahn watched her trot away with a smile before pulling out a journal and doc.u.menting everything that he had learned for future reference. Though his memory was great, it didnt mean his thought processes always aligned to match what he wanted to think about. It was like have a massive collection of books that youve read previously. Yes, you might remember the contents of each, but picking up the book itself would remind you of its contents. Memories werent just internal, but took cues from sights, sounds, smells, and the sensation of touch whenbined with powerful emotions. Even Sis was prone to making small oversights, though this was actually a result of the fact she was often analyzing things for Vahn and couldnt split her focus on arge number of tasks at once. With nothing better to do, Vahn entered the Manor and wandered around until he came across two presences in a study in the East Wing of the original Manor. He was actually a little riled up from interacting with Fenrir for so long so Vahn decided to head over without checking who the auras belonged to. Curiously, it ended up being someone he didnt expect alongside someone he didnt minding across in his current state. Leaning against each other, almost as if they had been friends for a very long time, were Haruhime and Preasia as they both read a book together. His presence had instantly been noted by the two girls, but the first to react to his presence was Shirohime who had somehow found her way to the top of his head without his notice. Vahn reached up and grabbed Shirohime, who was sniffing around hisrge ears since he hadnt made an effort to return to his human form yet. She writhed about in his paws,ining, "Ah, dont poke us with your ws!" even though he made sure to hold her with the fleshy paw pads on his hands. Haruhime had approached in a surprisingly elegant yet deceptively fast motion as she received Shriohime from his hands, saying, "It seems like little Shiro doesnt like your Vanargandr form, fufufu~." Vahn nodded his head, closed his eyes to focus, and activated his [Thria*Mimos] in an effort to match Haruhimes racial traits and energy flow. He couldnt immediately be a Renard, especially one with multiple tails, but he could still look like one rtively quickly. Haruhime watched his transformation with interest before remarking, "You make a very handsome Renard, but I still think the original Vahn is the best~." Then, as if remembering where they were located, a slight blush started to appear on Haruhimes cheeks as she asked, "What brings you to this area of the Manor, Vahn~?" She wasnt the only one that was starting to get antsy either, as Preasia, who technically wasnt supposed to be in this area, had started to fidget about as she stared at Vahn with an unwavering gaze. Vahn took their reactions into ount as he smiled and said, "Well, Fenrir managed to rile me up a bit and I was thinking of either releasing my tensions or finding a ce to rx. I detected your auras when I was wandering about and decided to see what was going on..." The more he said, the faster Haruhimes body transformed and her eyelids became covered in the red makeup-like blush as her eyes turned a pale gold in color. She knew what Vahn was trying to say and somewhat regretted the fact she had decided to lounge around with Preasia. They had previously joked about Vahning when they were present, never expecting that it would turn into a reality. Haruhime and Preasia both knew that thetter wasnt supposed to be in this section of the East Wing, as the implications should Vahn arrive were very obvious. Had she been alone, lounging about and enjoying a book, Haruhime would have been able to enjoy some quality time with Vahn... Vahn noticed the fluctuations in her aura and stretched out his hand, plopping it onto her head and gently stroking her silky blond hair. In a soft tone, Vahn said, "You should stay with me tonight, Haruhime. Though, I had been nning to invite some other girls..." Haruhimes smile bloomed and she nodded her head, saying, "I dont mind, fufufu~." As she had actually helped educate some of the girls, Haruhime was rtively close with everyone and didnt have any real inhibitions about group y at all. However, their rtively quiet conversation had been noted by Preasia who showed a somewhat downtrodden expression knowing that her luck hadnt been favorable this time around. Seeing Preasia reaction, Vahn shook his head with a small smile and said, "Dont worry, Preasia, Im not going to just leave and make you feel sad. Why dont we all read and spend some time together before dinner? Well probably have to take a bath if we do anything too serious though..." Vahn couldnt meet Preasias expectations this time, but that didnt mean he couldnt change her expectations a bit and still satisfy her. Knowing she was getting along with Haruhime was a good thing, as Vahn often worried if she was making connections and bonds with the other girls. He knew she got along well with Fenrir, Tsubaki, Hestia, Mn, Tina, Shizune, and, to a lesser extent, Naaza and Lili, but Vahn wanted her to open up to everyone with time. Vahn ended up spending the rest of his afternoon cuddling up with Preasia, who he had allowed to sit on hisp, and Haruhime, who had been more than fine with simply leaning against him from the side. She actually had her focus on the evening activities at this point, so she didnt mind Preasia getting a bit of Vahns attention for the time being. As for Shirohime, she rested atop Vahns head and yed around with his fox-like ears in a clearly pleased mood. Though it was a bit of a distraction, she stuck her snout into the white tufts of fur within and sniffed around for a bit before nibbling yfully around the base. Vahn felt like she was subtly telling him useful information because her antics were actually very pleasant and Vahn felt an urge to justy back and let her y with his ears for hours. He could potentially use this against Haruhime and Shizune in the future, or potentially even Shirohime herself... The rest of the evening went rtively uneventfully if the night time battle wasnt taken into consideration. Since it was somewhat odd for girls from the different generations to seek Vahns affection at the same time, he ended up having a bout against Haruhime, Ais, Tiona, Tione, and, though she had never participated with this specific group before, Syr. Vahn knew she had helped him out with Riveria and wanted to show her some of his appreciation for what she had done. She had picked up on this fact before he had even asked the question as well, potentially even nning for things to develop this way. With Syrs participation, and the inclusion of Haruhime amongst the group, things had gotten a bit intense and, even though the bed he purchased was of incredible quality, they actually ended up breaking it when Tiona had gotten a bit out of hand. It was actually somewhat mendable that the bed hadsted for as long as it did, considering the climactic battles between mortals and gods that often took ce upon it. However, there was something interesting about continuing even after the bed had been broken because it felt like a bit of an aplishment. Tiona had even startedughing pleasantly as she attempted to crush his h.i.p.s after the fact with her efforts. Tiona and Tione had calmed down a lot ever since he defeated them, but it didnt mean they were able to properly control their strength at all. In fact, every time he was with the two girls was like apetition which, unsurprisingly, was often won by the patiently skulking Ais. This time, however, the penultimate victor had been the tireless Syr who, even though she was the weakest girl present, had a pseudo-divinity rted to s.e.x that seemed to give her energy instead of expending it. She ended uppeting with Ais quite a bit as she stirred up the beautiful golden-haired girlspetitive spirit. As they had done previously, Tiona and Tione actually ended up retreating to go sleep with Lefiya, leaving only Ais and Haruhime to contend against the indomitable Syr. It was nearly 4 AM before Vahn was the one to throw in the towel, not because he couldnt continue, but because he was supposed to be going into the Dungeon with Tina and Mn this morning. Ais still had apetitive inferno zing in her golden eyes as she looked into Syrs endlessly deep light-grey eyes. Both girls werepletely covered in sweat but Syr had still secured the greatest number of victories because she could always match Vahns pace while Ais was somewhat a victim to her bodys reactions. Competing against a demigoddess that had a s.e.x divinity was very ambitious and Vahn suspected that this wouldnt be the end of their rivalry. As for Haruhime, she ended up passing out when things had escted to the point that Vahn was the one proactively trying to bring an end to things with his [Hands of Nirvana]. Shirohime had also been present, but she eventually ended up bursting into a cloud of particles around the same time Haruhime passed out. It had been a very strange experience having the little white fox climbing around on his body when he had been with the girls, as she often tried to pete in her own way when he wasnt directly tending to Haruhime. This was essentially Haruhimes subconscious desire to be spoiledbined with the clingy split personality she had cultivated when she was a young girl, just as she had started to give up on life. Vahn didnt mind Shirohimes actions too much, especially considering it was very fun to tease her because she had very human reactions even though she looked like a fox... Finally extricating himself from the two budding rivals, Vahn went and took a long bath while focusing his mind with the [Mantra of Eternity]. Other girls had shown up while he was there but, after they noticed his calm and focused state, they decided against bothering him. Even Lili, who was usually very proactive and lingered around Vahn in the bath had enough sense to just sit off to the side with Naaza. The two had essentially be best friends after their association and cooperation with each other back at Tsubakis Manor. Because Lili had no friends, while Naazas had actually shunned her a bit after the incident, they had learned to rely on each other and had worked together to seek Vahns affections. Vahn even suspected that the reason Naaza hadnt been more proactive in approaching him, even though it was very clear she sometimes experienced a heat-like state, was that she was waiting for Lili... Once he had awoken from his meditation, Vahn climbed out of the bath and noticed that he was somewhat pruned before a quick stretch, and the infusion of some energy into his pores, fixed this minor issue. He then equipped his clothes and headed to the backyard, where many of the girls had already started their morning training. Because the vacation was officially over, the training would only be for the standard hour before everyone started splitting off into groups. Vahn wanted to talk to those that would be venturing into the Dungeon again so he could remind them about the potential dangers and make sure they were adequately prepared. Just as before, everyone had certain limitations for entering into the Dungeon based on the minimum strength of the members. They also needed to have an escort of at least one Level 5 and and two Level 4s within the party. Thus far, the strongest enemy they had observed from Enyos forces was around Level 5 and, as long as they werent lured into a trap, Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Arnya would be able to contend against most opponents, even if they were slightly stronger. With the support of a party, it was almost a guaranteed victory, especially if ounting for the existence of the [Effigy of the Hero]. Though it was a bit of a limiter for their growth, knowing they had a powerful fallback that could double their parameters for a few minutes meant the girls could cut loose and fight their enemies head-on. Even if they took a potentially fatal blow, the three minutes that followed would be the nightmare of almost any opponent. Just imagining an Ais, who was already a serious threat to his own life, having more than 34,000 parameters sent a shiver down Vahns back. The same could be said for a Tiona who, after her skills and abilities were triggered, would be able to reach a truly monstrous 15,576 Power for that three-minute interval. As parameter growth wasnt linear, but exponential, Vahn imagined she would even be able to punch through entire Dungeon Floors at that point. If she managed to trigger her [Crush] Development Ability and her [Crushing Blow] on the [Dance of the Amazon], Vahn imagined her enemy literally turning into partictes in the aftermath... As this would be her first time entering the Dungeon, Tina actually wasnt participating proactively in the morning training and was just at the side stretching and talking with her mother. Vahn saw them and used [Shundo] to startle the small cat girl before as she stuttered, "V-Vahnyaa~!" in a tone several octaves higher than normal. Mnughed with slightly squinted eyes as she said, "Tina had beenining about her body being very tense due to nervousness. She had even stayed awake verytest night...Im a little worried...ufufufu~." Hearing her mothers betrayal, Tina blushed and tried to find an excuse but Vahn knelt down in front of her and asked, "Do you want me to help bolster your stamina and ease your tensions?" This time, Tina blushed for entirely different reasons as her eyes opened slightly wider and she bobbed her head. Vahn smiled and reached out both of his hands, setting one atop Tinas head while taking the index and middle finger of his right hand and cing it overtop her blouse, right around her navel. There was a small gap of skin that he could of essed, but Vahn wanted to treat Tina as her age suggested, like a child. He knew she would be a bit overly conscious of all of his actions, but he adopted the mentality of a practiced physician when he was touching her body. As she had started to tremble a bit, Vahn said in a gentle tone, "Tina, take deeeeeep breaths, hold them in for a few seconds, then breath out at a slightly faster rate...keep doing this ten times in a row, okay?" Instead of forming actual words, Tina mewled a Mnyaaauuu~ as she released her first breath and started to take deep breaths from then onwards. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the warm and calming sensationing from her head and the very ticklish sensation radiating through her tummy. Her tail flickered about happily as Vahn turned to look at the smiling face of Mn who was doing her best to notugh at her daughters adorable antics. Unlike Tina, who was wearing simr attire as before, Mn was wearing more armor than Vahn had expected. It was the same style as Tinas, meaning it was predominately white, but, unlike Tina, Mn wore a thinly ted skirt, arm guards, leg guards, and ted sabatons on her feet. Thergest piece of armor Tina wore was her white b.r.e.a.s.tte, but hers just cover her chest and back whilst Mns was a full b.r.e.a.s.tte that even had small pauldrons adorned with feathers. The biggest difference, however, was that Mns weapon was both thinner and longer than Tinas and her shield was a kite shieldpared to the round buckler of her daughter. Understanding Vahns curiosity, Mn exined, "I had talked with Hephaestus-sama, and Tsubaki, about upgrading to a more permanant armor set so that I can better protect my daughter and proactively increase my strength again. My lighter equipment had been because I was trying to get back into the swing of things, but I actually used to wear heavier armor because my role in the party had been as a Defensive Vanguard. As for my daughter, she has adapted my fighting style a bit but has also benefited from training with the other girls. Id say she is more a reactive fighter that leans towards the offensive than a Defensive Vanguard as I had been. Besides, I believe it is correct that she be more agile since the benefits she enjoys within the Hestia Familia will allow her to grow along the route she chooses to follow~." Vahn smiled appreciatively at everything Mn had said while Tina, who had finished her breathing exercise and recovered her stamina, opened her eyes and said, "Even if I wanted to protect everyone, I nyow that the person that I nyeed to worry about the most is mnyself. Everyone is already so strong, so I will do mnay best to grow as strong as possible while also developing my own style~nya!" Vahn listened to Tinas tiny outburst and just absentmindedly stroked her head as he mentally remarked that she could be very adorable at times. After this passed, however, Vahn smiled and nodded his head, saying, "Very good, Tina. With that kind of motivation, you can be very powerful in the future. One day, even vaulting a hundred meters in the air would be a simple feat for you~." Though there was already a me burning in her eyes, Tinas golden eyes glowed with excitement after imagining what it would be like to leap over tall buildings in a single bound. Out of excitement, Tina fidgeted about and asked, "Vahnya, how high can nyou jump~nya!?" Vahn opened his eyes slightly and looked toward the sky as he thought about his answer, not quite sure of how he would fair normally. He expected he could easily clear 100m, but it would probably be at the expense of the ground. Even so, Vahn wanted to properly motivate Tina so he rubbed her head and said, "How about we find out?" and then picked her up in a princess carry as she flushed in excitement and embarrassment. Giving Mn a yful wink, Vahn walked over to a stable area of the yard and bent down slightly, transforming into his Xunw form in the process. This was a maneuver he had only done once in the past, but Vahn was going to greatly increase his momentum by redirecting the residual forces of his movement through his legs and into the ground. He was essentially transferring the shockwave that would be absorbed by his body, as a result of kicking off from the ground and using it to elerate him higher with nearly twice the amount of force as his initial action would have allowed. He held Tina tightly and said, "Brace yourself, Tina, but make sure to keep your eyes open. And dont worry, I wont let any harme to you at all." Tina bobbed her head like a small chick and tightly clung to his body. Vahns actions had drawn the eyes of almost everyone that was in the training field, as they knew he was probably doing something entric and trying to show off. After a few seconds or preparation, Vahn kicked off against the ground with as much force as he could generate through his legs, causing the ground beneath him to copse nearly a full meter as a radial shockwave passed into the ground for almost ten meters away from him. As for Vahn himself, and thepletely stunned Tina, they had shot off into the sky in an instant beforeing to a stop around 270m above the ground. Just as he was reaching the peak of his arc, Vahn materialized a length of [Enkidu] and used it as a foothold toe to a stop at the apex of his jump. He felt a bit of cold sweat on the back of his neck because he knew he had caused a bit of strain on the formation protecting the tunnels beneath the Manor. His jump had generated a bit more force than he expected since he hadnt replicated this feat in almost an entire Level. Doing his best to y it off, Vahn smiled at Tina and said, "Well, I made it to around 270m, not too bad, right~?" Tina, however, didnt actually seem that impressed by his feat and furrowed her brows slightly as she lectured, "Vahn! You cant just go around damaging the property like this! Nyuuuu~!" She had managed to say the first part of her words without letting her verbal tick show, but the groan of frustration at the end had been her limit. Tina knew she was the reason for Vahn showing off, so she was also to me for not considering his propensity to do rtively dumb things on asion. She had originally imagined him leaping up casually and carrying her through the sky like a princess, not create a huge hole in the ground! The smile on Vahns face froze and he turned his face towards the rising sun to experience the cold breeze that was still flowing through the air. Things really were beautiful at this height and theing of spring made the entire world appear as though things were beginning toe to live. Trees had started to regain their green vitality as flower buds started to, ever so slightly, bloom with a variety of colors. It was like the world had started to wake up from a long period of stagnation and was beginning to show the signs of change. Vahn felt like now was a good opportunity to bring about great change in his own life as well, so he promised to be more thoughtful in the future as the cold morning air touched his fiery hot cheeks... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Preasia,Birth of a Fierce Rivalry!?,The Sunrise is so Beautiful...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 542 - Tiny Tina

Chapter 542 - Tiny Tina

After returning to the ground, Vahn asked Terra for her assistance in leveling out the area while doing his best to ignore the mild teasing looks of some of the girls. They werent making fun of him, but Vahn realized they had understood he was trying to show off and had spectacrly failed. The worst part of the situation was that Tine, a girl that idolized him a bit, had given him a harsh reprimand in front of everyone and it made Vahn feel very guilty and apologetic. However, it wasnt all bad, as now Tinas nervousness and tensions had almostpletely faded away... Once the ground was repaired, Vahn felt more at ease and he hurried over to the mother-daughter pair that was waiting for him. Tina still had a look of me in her eyes, but there was also a bit of humor and a slight smile on her face as the realization she was about to enter the Dungeon set it. Though Vahn could be a goofball, sometimes prone to making mistakes, he was still just a young boy not much older than she was. However, he was far more reliable than someone his age typically should be and she felt more excited than worried about what would happen when they went into the Dungeon. As they were preparing to leave, Vahn had adopted a thoughtful expression upon his face for a brief moment for saying, "I have an interesting idea...hmmm~." Mn and Tina looked at him with curious eyes as a slight glint passed through Tinas as she questioned whether or not Vahn was going to do something strange so soon after his previous blunder. However, her heart fluttered a bit after realizing what he was up to and a slightly flushed expression appeared on her face as she lowered her head. Though he didnt change his hair to a chestnut brown, as he had used Chloe as a temte, Vahns human ears vanished in a magical light as a thickyer of hair grew in their ce. Atop his head, there was a pair of ck cat ears and a tail had poked out from his backside, something he had grown rather ustomed to at this point. Vahn smiled toward the gentle-faced Mn before petting the top of Tinas head and saying, "Lets go, Tina, Mn..." Tina peered up into his face with slightly watery eyes and said in a hesitant voice, "Papa..." before hugging him around the waist. It wasnt the first time she had said the word, as she sometimes let it slip when they were spending time together, but it still made Vahns heart feel warm. He stroked the top of her head for a short while before they all made their way, hand-in-hand, towards the Dungeon. Tina stood between the two of them with a mixture of happiness and mild conflict, choosing instead to enjoy the moment than actually worry about the perception of others. It didnt matter what other people thought at all, and Tina didnt want to let the opinions of others interfere with her happiness... Once the trio reached the 1st Floor, Vahn gave his Mentors Mark to the two girls, even though Mn likely wouldnt have too many opportunities to benefit from it. Tina seemed especially fond of the cartoon-like character and poked at it with her finger until they finally reached the first long corridor, known as the Beginning Road. Vahn brought the group to a stop and said, "From here onwards, you will set the pace, Tina, while your mother and I will support you from behind. Make sure to use your head and consider the situation properly. Though you may sustain mild injuries, know that such pain can further your growth and I will always be here to restore you to the same adorable state you currently have." Vahn stroked the young cat girls head as he spoke and a resolute look appeared in her eyes as she equipped her shield and pulled out her growth weapon, which was humorously named [Little Fang]. Though she likely wouldnt be fighting much, Mn also held her sword and shield at the ready, obviously intent not to let anything happen to her daughter. As for Vahn, he scanned around the area with his [Eyes of Truth], not too concerned with the monsters, but what may be hiding beyond the walls. His current domain reached out to 523m, so he could even see down to the Floor below them, meaning that Vahn was very difficult to catch by surprise. He knew that thergest chance of something happening would be between the 18th and 30th Floors, but the fact he was with Tina and Mn made him very cautious regarding surprise attacks. Even on their way over to the Dungeon, Vahn had kept his wits about him as he searched for the presence of the earth mage he knew had to be around... It took them a while to get away from therger volume of Adventurers that were wandering about, as the early floors could get a bit crowded early in the mornings, but they eventually found an area where others werent present. The Mentors Marks hadnt activated, meaning there was someone within 2km of them, but that was to be expected this early in the Dungeon. Vahn suspected that it still had some effect, as the awareness of the mark might incite the growth of the recipient somewhat, so he still intended topare the datater on. As Tina was still very young, tracking her growth was arguably more important than normal and Vahn actually didnt want her increasing her strength too quickly just yet. The Falna provided by the gods actually had an anti-aging effect of sorts, which is why most people never left their Familia even after they retired, and the efficacy of the effect was based on your Level. If Tina did get to around Level 3-4 within the next year, she might end up looking like a girl in her early teens even when she was transitioning into her twenties. With nourishment from his source energy and his [Hands of Nirvana], Vahn was very worried that her growth would be greatly stunted just because she wanted to get stronger, faster. Tinas ears began to twitch about and she crouched down slightly, a habit she had picked up in her training as lowering your body made you a smaller target and allowed you to analyze the situation while being in an alert status. Her tiny nose twitched about slightly as her nostrils red open and closed, smelling for the presence of the enemy she had detected. As their ears were often more reliable than their noses, at first, many Beast Humans relied on hearing the presence of enemies before using their enhanced sense of smell to identify what they hade across. On average, even a Goblin would have around 3-4x Tinas current parameters, so caution was advised and she needed to pick fights with fewer enemies so she didnt get overwhelmed. After a short while, Tina muttered, "Goblins...but I cant tell how many...nyaa..." before looking back to see Vahn raising two fingers. Tinas face hardened but she didnt back down as pushing yourself beyond your limits was the best way to get stronger. Though shecked in parameters, at least for now, her training gave her the edge over the rtively mindless monsters and her equipment actually weighed things in her favor greatly, assuming she didnt make any mistakes. Her shield, b.r.e.a.s.tte, and shin guards were all made of Adamantine and had the Durandal and Shock Absorption properties while her weapon, [Little Fang], was also made of Adamantine, and aposite of other materials, which gave it the Durandal, Piercing, Impable Edge, and Growth abilities. It could deal more than enough damage to overwhelm the defenses of the Goblins so she just needed to fight smartly and stay on the move to avoid getting surrounded... Tina slowly edged along the walls of the corridor before peaking into the door leading toward one of the various rooms of the 1st Floor. She could see two Goblins ambling about without any awareness of their surroundings, but they were on the far side of the 30m wide room and she would have to expose herself first if she wanted to fight them. After thinking for a short while, she picked up a stone and tossed it against the wall, alerting the two Goblins as they went to investigate the source of the sound. As there were several rocks present within the room, Tina stayed low to the ground and used them as cover as she positioned herself in waiting. Vahn watched all of this with intrigue because Tinas caution and rational mindset were rathermendable. There was also something interesting about watching a young girl, inarguably still a child, skulking about as she snuck up on monsters with a minuscule killing intent radiating from her body. After finding nothing amiss, the Goblins split up and began looking around the area in a somewhatcent manner as Tina pressed herself against a rock and slowed her breathing to a crawl. She waited very patiently with her body tense like a spring until one of the Goblins approached her hiding spot. Without any discernable hesitation, likely as a result of her fights within the forest, Tina pounced forth and smashed her buckler into the face of the Goblin while piercing her sword into its chest, clearly aiming for the monster core contained within. Though she seemed to be caught slightly off guard by the urrence, Vahn watched the de of her shortsword pierce into the Goblins chest without any noticeable resistance, as was to be expected from a weapon forged by Hephaestus and possessing the Piercing attribute. Other than the smashing down of her shield bash, the Goblin didnt even get to utter its characteristic guttural cry as it dispersed into a puff of purple dust. Tina quickly overcame her momentary shock and held her buckler up as she charged toward the second Goblin, which had turned to match her charge with a loud war cry of , Giiigiiigiiiiiiii~!. As if she were trying topete with it, Tina released a loud, Nnyyaaaaaaa~! as she unhesitantly charged shield-first toward the Goblin. However, she wasnt actually foolish enough to develop the habit of always using her shield to hit monsters, many of which would be muchrger than her, so she instead slid her left foot forward when they were about to collide and brought her body low to the ground as she smashed the shield into the Goblins knee beforepleting the movement by sliding forward with her sword thrusting upward into its body. Vahn had a pleased smile on his face and made eye contact with Mn, who looked very proud of her daughters achievement. However, though he was smiling, Vahn wasmenting in the back of his mind because he still remembered his first fight with a goblin. His opponent had been a surface monster, meaning it was much weaker than the Dungeon version, and his parameters had been much higher than Tinas currently were. Yes, he didnt have the benefit of training like she did, but Vahn realized now that his own fear and inhibitions had severely restricted his ability to make proper use of his parameters. It made him feel a little ashamed to see a girl of eleven years old aplish what the fourteen-year-old nearly died trying to attempt... Tina came over to them after collecting the two monster cores and it was very obvious that things hadnt exactly been that easy on her. Though she had a smile on her face, herplexion was somewhat pale and her body was trembling from the increase in adrenaline and the fear she had faced while charging toward the monsters. Vahn showed a gentle smile andforted her by stroking her head and infusing calming energy into her body as he said, "You did very well, Tina. It may be hard to believe, but you even did better than when I first fought against monsters in the past, hahaha~." Tina was breathing a little heavily, but her face beamed at Vahns praise as she enjoyed the warm energy spreading through her body from her head. Mn also reached out and pinched the tip of Tinas ear, causing it to flicker about as the mature cat girlughed and said, "Tina, you are doing exceptionally well for someone just starting out. However, you must never let it get to your head because not everyone has the benefits of powerful equipment, okay? If you see people in need, especially those around your age or younger than you are, do your best to look after them. Also, never let anyone eye your equipment in detail as there are numerous people that would try to take advantage of, and even rob you." Tina nodded her head seriously because she knew that, once her parameters had normalized and her strength reached an adequate level, she would be venturing into the Dungeon with people other than Vahn. Though it was unlikely they would end up in a situation where they teamed up with others, it wasntpletely outside the realm of possibilities. Many people, especially those older and higher leveled than she was, would be very envious of her equipment and there was no telling what cruel things they might do in an effort to obtain it from her. After the kidnapping incident, she had developed a powerful mistrust of most people and, even when she was a waitress at the Hostess of Fertility, never got too close to them. After helping Tina replenish her rtively low stamina pool, the trio continued further into the Dungeon so she could continue building more experience while increasing her parameters. Vahn would be checking their Status Board before and after they enter the Dungeon, or whenever they managed to aplish a small feat. This would allow Tina and, when he entered with her tomorrow, Shizune to familiarize themselves with their own bodies as their parameters increased. Since they were still young, they would only be fighting for about four hours every other day so that they could properly rest, recuperate, and adapt to the changes in their bodies. They didnt have the benefit of the other girls, who had already matured somewhat and had trained under the influence of a me seed, so they had to take it slow and increase their strength the normal way. The next opponent Tina faced was just a single Goblin, but this one had a natural weapon in the form of a thin rock club. She raised her shield once again but, instead of dashing forward, slowly stepped around the body of the Goblin as it noticed her presence and began its mindless charge. It leaped through the air and tried to bash her with its club but Tina took a wider step and let the club graze ineffectively across her buckler. She then stabbed forward in a fast motion beneath the cover of the buckler and pierced the side of the Goblin, not killing it, but grievously wounding it. The type ofbat style her mother employed was a reactive one where she attacked the enemy through the gaps of their own attacks. It was based more on stabbing than shing, which was a habit that Tina had picked up through their training. Without lowering her shield for even a moment, Tina stepped forward while peering over the lip of the shield and once again stabbed the Goblin that tried to stop the flow of blood as it madly tried to sweep at her with its club. Tinas eyes remained focused as she received each blow by angling her shield slightly, allowing the rounded shape of the shield to make the Goblins strikes slide powerlessly away from her body. Whenever this happened, arge gap would appear in the monsters defenses and Tina would stab forward without any discernable hesitation in an effort to pierce the core contained at the center of the chest. Vahn realized her propensity for targetting just the core might be a weakness in the future, but she had plenty of time to correct it with proper guidance. After the fourth blow, which had caused the Goblin a fair amount of grief, Tinas de found purchase and she clipped against the edges of the monster core, dispersing the Goblin into a cloud of dust. She released a heavy sigh before picking up the core and trotting over to them with an awkward smile on her face. Remembering Vahns previous words, Tina showed an apologetic expression and said, "Im sorry, Vahn...I wasnt trying to torment it..." The first blow had been intended to make the Goblin unable to fight properly, but the three follow up strikes made Tina feel a bit guilty because it was almost like she was torturing the creature. Vahn shook his head and sat down against the wall, patting hisp so that Tina would sit with him. He stroked the top of her head and exined in a gentle tone, "The most important thing is that you have a kind heart and that you arent willingly trying to cause pain in others, Tina. You shouldnt feel guilty that you bring idental suffering to creatures that are actively trying to kill you. Instead, just focus on refining your skills further so that you can do better in the future...okay?" Tina nodded her head and rested against Vahns chest as Mn sat down next to them. It was still a bit early, but they hadnt actually eaten breakfast yet since Tina hadnt been hungry as a result of her previous nerves. Thus, they snuggled up next to each other an spent a few minutes enjoying a light breakfast while letting Tinas body replenish its stamina naturally... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Family That ys Together, Stays Together~!,*Stabbing Intensifies*,Proper nutrition is important for a growing girls body) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 543 - Small Steps

Chapter 543 - Small Steps

Though she wasnt having much trouble during the actual fighting, Tinas stamina was greatlycking and she typically had to take a break after every engagement. Vahn didnt really me her for this, as she was still very young and this had been the case even when Haruhime, Maemi, and Emiru started out. Instead, he did his best to praise her for her efforts, especially when she had been able to ovee the odds and defeat a group of four Goblins, though she had gotten a decently sized gash in her leg during the fight. Vahn had quickly transferred it away, but he suspected she would have been able to continue even with the injury as, even though she frowned deeply with slightly moist eyes, Tinas focus didnt break when she received the wound. Mn watched the fight y out from the side with a concerned expression as her sword bobbed impatiently. When she saw Tina take a hit, she nearly jumped forward but was stopped by Vahn who shook his head and said, "Tina is a strong girl, Mn. Look at the resolve in her eyes...she will be okay." Mns concern didnt really fade with his words, but she could also see that Tina hadnt really been slowed down after taking a hit and instead increased her focus. She could also see that, though there was a bit of blood around the area, the wound waspletely gone. After releasing a sigh, Mn nodded her head and waited patiently because she knew Vahn wouldnt let any real harme to Tina... After defeating the four Goblins, Tina copsed to the ground and released a hot breath before gasping for air. Though she had forcefully regted her breathing during the fight, the depletion of her stamina immediately caught up with her after the fight had ended. Vahn appeared next to her in an instant and helped prop her body up so that she could breathe more easily while he helped treat her body. He smiled down at her from above and said, "Well done, Tina...you really do have what it takes to be a strong girl." while infusing energy into her body. Tina showed a cheerful smile, but it was very obvious her mental fatigue was catching up with her. They had already been in the Dungeon for around three hours, during which she had killed a total of 28 Goblins, so Vahn figured it wasnt a bad idea to head back. Once he had made his decision, Vahn looked to Mn and said, "Were gonna head back now. Tina is already pushing herself beyond her limits, so her parameters have probably increased greatly at this point. There is no need to rush things, so lets go rx at home together." Vahn crouched down in front of Tina as he spoke, prompting her to climb on his back happily as leaned her head against his shoulder with a tired expression. Mn saw her daughters look andughed as she reached out and gently stroked Tinas hair, saying, "Well done, Tina. Sleep now...well protect you~." Tinazily nodded her head and mumbled, "Mama...Papa...nyaafuuu..." as her eyelids drooped to a close very quickly. Instead of simply replenishing her stamina earlier, Vahn had actually helped Tinas mind rx so she had gotten sleepy very quickly. He knew it was dangerous to strain your mind too much, especially when you were still rtively weak, so he was going to let her recover naturally this time. While they were on the way back, Mn had a very peaceful expression on her face and a gentle smile as she said, "Vahn...thank you for everything, truly. You take such good care of us...even though we had no real rtion to each other at first. Thank you for-" Before Mn could continue her words, Vahn had turned around suddenly and she had nearly walked face-first into his body. She came to a quick pause as Vahn leaned forward and gave her a quick peck on the lips before smiling and saying, "Mn, never thank me for things I ought to do. You and Tina are my important family. Even if I hadnt gotten wrapped up in my current lifestyle, I know I could have been happy with you and Tina at the Hearths Embrace...you treated me like family long before I opened up to the two of you. However, I wont thank you...not anymore...I would rather live showing you my gratitude instead." Mns tail twitched about agitatedly as she hung her head with a powerful urge to cry welling up inside of her as she leaned against Vahns chest. She also believed that, even though things would have been a bit awkward, they could have been a happy little family together when Vahn matured a bit. However, she didnt regret everything that had happened, even the bad things, as it allowed her to get even closer to Vahn while also providing opportunities for both her and Tina to rise above their previous lifestyle. Just by being associated with Vahn, they had found themselves at the core of the Alliance, one of the more precarious yet secure spots they could ever be in. Even the armor she was wearing would have cost her nearly 800MV, something she could have never even imagined affording in the past...and it was simply given to her so she could protect herself and her daughter. Vahn could see that Mns aura suddenly started to release a wispy red hue as her tensions steadily began to rise. Heughed and kissed the top of her head, saying, "Were still in the Dungeon, Mn. Lets go home..." In response to his words, Mn lifted her head with moist eyes and a slight blush beginning to rise on her cheeks. She had been thinking about all the things she could do to show Vahn her gratitude but, no matter how much she thought about it, Mn knew she would be the one to get the most benefits. Imagining what Vahn could do for her made her body start to heat up and she even felt a bit of me for the boy that was now taller than her, even though she used to feel like he was a small child just a few months prior... It didnt take them too long to exit the 1st Floor, as it wasnt nearly asplex as some of the deeper floors could be, so they began their return journey to the Hearth Manor looking like a typical family of Cat People. Vahn had the sleeping Tina on his back while Mn followed at his side with a beautiful smile and a loving expression visible on her face. They drew a fair amount of attention to themselves, but most people simply smiled thinking that they were a couple that had taken their daughter in the Dungeon for training. Few people could recognize Vahn in his current form, because he had raven ck hair, cat ears, and a tail following about behind him. Instead of aquamarine green eyes, they were closer to a neutral gold in color as he had tried to match the color of Mn and Tina. As they neared the Manor, Vahn kept passing his eyes around the area but most of his focus had been ced on Mn and Tina. If his enemies were paying attention to his movements, they likely knew the strength of everyone in the Manor. Vahn was building a habit that could potentially be exploited by them in the future and had already discussed it with Mn, Chloe, Tina, and Shizune so they wouldnt be caught off guard if they were suddenly attacked. From the moment he had reached the surface, Fafnir had been following them through the shadows and Vahn was expecting that they would be attacked in the next few days once they had created a pattern that could be exploited. From what Vahn could tell, the earth mage was likely someone that had awakened their own Innate and it gave them some mastery over earth elementalws. However, the actual strength of the person didnt seem that high so they were likely an assassin that specialized in observation and setting traps. Since Terra had destroyed theirrge formation, they would probably resort to other means like trying to catch people off guard during their trips to and from the Dungeon. Vahn was certain he was the primary target, so being with a Level 3 and a Level 1 made him a lot softer than normal. There was a chance the mage would try to target the other girls, but their reaction speed was fast enough to respond even if the floor below them suddenly copsed. After around twenty minutes, they uneventfully reached the Manor and made their way into the interior where Hestia was waiting to greet them with a happy smile on her face as she said, "Wee home, Vahn, Mn, and...Tina~? Oh, she fell asleep? How adorable~." Hestia walked over and poked Tinas cheek andughed yfully as Vahn looked around the area before checking the Status Log to see what everyone was up to. So as not to leave the Manor unguarded, Arnya, Lunoire, Chloe, Tsubaki, Aki, and, though they werent truebatants, Shizune and Preasia behind. There were also the guild girls, such as Eina, Rose, Misha, Mona, Sierra, and Pram, while Hephaestus, Hestia, and Syr were the typical stay-at-home group. As for why Arnya and Aki didnt enter the Dungeon, even though they were rather strong, it was due to their pregnancies as Arnya generally had a bad case of morning sickness almost every day. Vahn followed Hestia into the study and sat on the sofa after shifting Tinas body and carrying her with his arms. By focusing on the individualponents, Vahn put her armor into his inventory and shifted it up into her room where the rest of her equipment was located. The only thing he couldnt transfer was her weapon, but it was safely stored in its sheath. He helped Mn do the same and they spent a bit of time talking as Vahn stroked the sleeping Tinas head with small amounts of energy flowing through his palms. She had been napping for around forty minutes by now so it should be okay to slowly wake her up so he could update her Status Board. Hestia looked at the sleeping Tina with a gentle smile on her face before turning to Vahn and Mn, asking, "How did she do?" Vahn made eye contact with Mn, so she smiled and exined, "She ended up defeating twenty-eight Goblins, including four at the same time. Her stamina is still a bitcking, but she has the correct mentality to be a strong Adventurer. With the nurturing of everyone in the Hestia Familia, she may even be at the same Level as me before long, fufufufu~" Though it sounded difficult to believe in normal circ.u.mstances, it wasnt an exaggeration at all saying that Tina could reach Level 3 within a year. Mn had worked hard for more than seven years to reach her Level, but that was with a normal amount of resources and having to manage their expenses properly to obtain any worthwhile earnings. It wasnt like now, where they could almost keep the entirety of their earnings from drop items while only having to relinquish monster cores so that Vahn could use his creation divinity, something that also benefited them greatly. Vahn knew that, even without a me seed, it was actually possible that she would reach Level 3 normally, but he wanted her to take things slowly if possible. As he absentmindedly stroked the sleeping girls hair, Vahn said, "I wish she wouldnt be in such a rush to grow up...but I guess thats a natural part of life." Hestiaughed at Vahns words as her stark blue eyes glimmered slightly before saying, "Vahn, youre the one that has been growing up faster than anyone else. You have changed so much in such a short period of time...now youre even starting to sound like a real Papa, ehehehe~." Mns heart had also melted a bit at Vahns words so she released a sigh and leaned against his shoulder, saying, "I also wish things could stay like this for a while longer...seeing Tina grow up into a youngdy right before my eyes is a little heartbreaking, even though Im very proud of her~." With her wordsing to an end, the three of them just cuddled up with each other for a few minutes in silence as Vahn slowly stirred Tina to awareness. She had always been bad at waking up, so it took a bit longer than he expected, not that he was in a hurry to bring the current situation to an end. Having the mature Mn at his right, the beautiful and infinitely kind Hestia to his left, and the adorable little Tina on hisp, made Vahn feel strangely plete at this moment. Tina eventually stretched out her body a bit, even before opening up her eyes, before peeking through her droopy eyelids and seeing three faces looking down on her. Mn gently reproached her by saying, "If you sleep with your tummy out, youll get a cold~" while poking the exposed navel of her daughter. Tina immediately flinched up in embarrassment and covered her face with both hands as she said, "Moooomnyaaa, dont tease meeeee~!" causing everyone in the room tough. When the atmosphere settled down a short whileter, Vahn said, "Lets take a bath and warm up our bodies a bit while I check Tinas Status Board. Afterward, Ill get a jump start on my salon services~" Hearing Vahns words, the girls got progressively happier and were practically beaming by the time he mentioned opening up his salon. Even Tina was very interested in trying to be more beautiful, as she had previously been a somewhat in girl. Working at the Inn hadnt been a morous job and she didnt really dress up in nice clothes and take care of her appearance that well. Now, however, she talked a lot with girls like Shizune, Haruhime, and Syr so that she could take better care of her appearance for the future. She had also experienced Vahns massage in the past, and thinking she would be able to experience it again made her feel very excited. Hestia ended up joining them in the bath, as was to be expected since she had nothing better to do, so Vahn ended up pampering all three girls a bit since it wasnt that difficult with just the four of them present. Tina was a well-behaved girl, so she washed all the important bits herself while Vahn just took care of her hair, ears, and her back. Hestia was a bit bolder, or perhaps just more spoiled, so Vahn washed everything from the tips of her fingers to her toes, and each part in between with only one obvious exception. Even without her asking, Vahn often treated her like a princess at times because he knew it helped ease her heart and mind and he really thought that the spoiled andzy Hestia was the most natural version of her. Before all this started, however, Vahn had made sure to check Tinas Status Board as it was very important to mark her progress.... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Tina Yuel Race: Cat Person LV. 1 POW: I18->I65 END: I22->I86 DEX: I20->I74 AGI: I25->I80 MAG: I0->I5 Skill: [Eclipse: Innate(sealed)] Magic: - Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Being exposed to poisons/toxins/paralysis/sleep is the only requirement to unlock [Abnormal Resistance]. Goblins ws can cause serious infections and can unlock this skill for consideration. Because it is so easy to unlock, this is why [Abnormal Resistance] is usually the skill most people awaken at Level 2 unless the somehow met the requirements for [Hunter], [Luck], or have studied things like [Mixing], [cksmithing], etc...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tina gets a boo boo,Mutual Affection,Tiny Tinas Triumph) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 544 - Salon (1/2)

Chapter 544 - Salon (1/2)

Tinas growth was very good for only three hours of fighting, but it was primarily due to the fact that she had never really gained exilia before and each fight was a real trial for her. Even so, it was still very impressive and her parameters had effectively tripled, at the very least. Once she hadpletely woken up from her earlier daze, Tina was full of energy and very excited. Though it was only a measly five points, the fact that her Magic parameter had started to increase made her very happy while Vahn also found it rather interesting. This meant that, though it wasnt by much, Tina was being influenced by the Mentors Mark even when it wasnt glowing. After the bath, Vahn headed straight for the salon as it was right next to the onsen area and was only separated by a single wall and a waiting area. There was a very thin barrier at the entrance that prevented the humidity from the onsen from causing condensation to build upon the various sofas that were set out for the girls that wanted to experience his services. Taking the opportunity presented, Hestia followed closely behind wearing nothing but a bath towel as her hair still dripped with water. Tina also sat down in the waiting area, though she had enough sense to dry off properly before taking one of the avable bathrobes. As for Mn, she went into therger Manor to update everyones status for thework and inform the other girls what was going on. Vahn typically only epted between 4-6 slots on the days he did beauty treatments, so there was sometimes a bit of petition for who would be able to get the opportunity. Of course, to keep things orderly, people couldnt sign up multiple times and they had to give other people a chance before submitting their names again. The only exception to this was when Vahn wasnt busy or had specifically wanted to tend to someone. Sometimes he would feel like pampering the girls he was interacting with, and there was nothing anyone could say about it unless they wanted to in to Vahn directly. Once they were in the room, Hestia slipped out of her towel as if it was the natural thing to do and asked, "What kind of things are you going to be practicing today~? Im willing to try anything, as long as you treat my body well, ehehehe~." Hestia was especially bubbly today, so Vahn wondered if there was something good that had happened. Thinking there was no harm in finding out, Vahn asked, "Hestia, why are you in such a good mood today? Not that Imining, as your smiling face makes me want to smile as well." As he spoke, Vahn really did have a smile on his face as Hestias was rather infectious. Hestia climbed up on Vahns massage table and said in a chipper tune, "Im just happy everyone is out and about doing their best~! Thest two weeks were a little tense because everyone was cooped up inside the Manor most of the time. Though it can be a little lonely in the Manor at times, I like it better when everyone is happy and working hard to make their dreamse true!" Hestia knew she was blessed to have the makings of a powerful Familia shortly after she came down from Heaven and entered the Mortal World. She also had a boy she had dedicated her everything to and had even, against the expectations of many, be marginally closer to Loki, her former archrival. Most of her morning, while Vahn was in the Dungeon, had been spent with Tsubaki, Aki, and Arnya, and she had been in high tensions after the girls let her touch their bellies... Vahn smiled as he walked over to Hestia, simultaneously stroking her silky ck hair and removing the water that still clung to it. Her happiness was his happiness as well, so Vahn was in a great mood after seeing the beautiful goddess yfully kicking her legs as she reminisced about something. Once her hair was dry, Vahn said, "There isnt really time for full-body treatment, so Ill give you a special service today that includes a leg and foot massage. You always walk around barefoot, so I often find myself worrying about your feet, hahaha~." Still n.a.k.e.d, Hestia lifted up her right leg in a yful manner and said, "Ill leave it to you, Vahn~." beforeughing as Vahn grabbed her foot and ran his index finger along it. Though it was a bit intense with Hestia beingpletely in the buff, Vahn had hery down on the table as he helped her stretch her legs, which were surprisingly inflexible and loosened up some of her muscles. She had been running and doing basic exercises to increase her stamina, but Hestia still spent a fair amount of time justzing about. He didnt even see her around the Manor that much unless she was talking with Syr, Hephaestus, Eina, or ying with the youth troupe. Other than at meals, bath time, and their asional nightly rendezvous, Hestia was either cooped up in her room or within one of the studies in the East Wing eating snacks. Maemi hadined to him in the past about Hestia turning one of the rooms into a nest of garbage, which he had discovered to be true as there were several wrappers for cookies and other baked goods all over the ce... By massaging her tense muscles, while putting a bit of pressure onto her leg, Vahn helped Hestia raise her leg all the way to her shoulder after a few minutes before switching to the other. She hadined about being less flexible than the other girls, so Vahn was trying to loosen up her joints by exploiting his [Hands of Nirvana]. Hestia would undoubtedly feel very soreter, but she rested plentily and should recover pretty quickly. Afterward, Vahn massaged her thighs and calves, eventually having to promise to spend the night with her after flipping her switch. Lastly, as was his original intent, Vahn massaged Hestias soft feet one at a time and also wriggled around her individual toes to see if he could discover her secret. Though it was nourished by her Divine Soul, Hestias current material body was that of a mortal and Vahn couldnt quite understand how she was able to walk freely, irrespective of temperature and the roughness of the ground, without harming her feet. As there were already people waiting, Vahn only spent thirty minutes massaging Hestias body before she began to materialize her raiment while he leaned over her body and shared a long kiss with her for thest two minutes. Vahn then sent Hestia on her way after giving her butt a very light squeeze, causing her to give him a look of me before leaving the salon obediently. As the goddess of the Familia, and one of the core members surrounding Vahn, she had to set a good example even if she wanted to get even with Vahn for teasing her. She didnt actually mind his touch, but her body wasnt in a stable condition right now and her legs had actually started to ache a bit. After sending Tina in, Hestia made her way straight to her room before pulling out hermunication scroll and crawling snugly into her nkets. She wanted to talk for a bit before going to sleep in preparation for the evening... Tina came into the salon clutching her bathrobe with a fair amount of nervousness because, unlike the past, Mn didnt enter with her and she felt a little giddy being alone with Vahn. Seeing her reaction, Vahn acted as professionally as possible and asked in a calm tone, "What kind of treatment would you like, Tina?" Given the fact she had worn a bathrobe, Vahn already had an idea of what she was thinking about, but there was a fair chance she had changed her mind after sitting outside of a half-hour. However, this didnt seem to be the case as she had started to take slightly deeper breaths as her heart began to race quickly and she untied the bathrobe and said, "I-I, m-massage~nya!?" Vahn wanted to remark that he would be the one doing the massage, but he just nodded his head with a smile and lowered the massage table for her. After realizing what she had said, Tina blushed fiercely before peeling of the pale yellow bathrobe and revealing a light grey sports bra and a pair of cream-colored panties with a bit of a flushed undertone to her slightly fair skin. She climbed up on the massage table with Vahns help and buried her face into the cushioned hole so she wouldnt have to look directly at him. It was very nerve-wracking for her to be alone in the same room as the boy she liked wearing nothing but her underwear and Tina wished she had asked her mother toe with her. She hadplete trust in Vahn, but she couldnt help but feel very self-conscious because there was a slight desire in her heart that something would happen... Vahn had a wry smile and shook his head slightly because he could see Tinas aura ring up wildly, a clear indicator of the frustration she was experiencing. To ease her mind a bit, Vahn said in a calm tone, "Ill help ease any tensions in your body so youll be able to adapt to the increase in your parameters more easily. You can help me out by taking long and deep breaths to calm down your heart rate..." Vahn purchased an incense from the shop that could help rx the body and mind, setting a few of them around the room while Tina focused on breathing. No matter how tense a person felt, if they took several deep breaths in a row it would help them calm down, especially if they wereying down. The way the blood flowed to the head allowed the increased oxygen to literally cool them down a bit while causing a small amount of endorphins to release after around twenty sequential breaths. There was even a technique he had gone through when studying other massage techniques that discussed having a person take one-thousand deep breaths at a specific tempo that would allow the mind to enter a deep meditative state. This would also cause a phenomenon where their entire body vibrated and would allow him to identify any hidden seque that may have escaped his notice previously. Even the [Flying Heavenly Sword Scroll] had various breathing techniques that would help the mind focus after obtaining a state of supreme rxation. By the time he had finished setting up the incense, Tina had already calmed down a lot so Vahn continued speaking softly as he said, "Instead of a normal massage, Im going to focus on specific muscles that are tense. If you have any specific joint pain, let me know and Ill take care of that as well." Instead of answering his question, Tina kept focusing on her breathing because her aura had red up a bit when she heard him speaking to her. Vahn smiled slightly before his eyes turned blue and he inspected her body, not with the intention of being invasive, but to make sure there were no underlying problems that could causerger issues in the future. He noticed that her heart was still beating very quickly, so Vahn ced two fingers on her back and infused a gentle stream of energy into her body to allow her to calm down. With his assistance,bined with her steady breathing rhythm, Tina quickly reached a calm state and was close to falling asleep after around two minutes. Vahn could see the electrical signalsing from her brain had started to slow down, making her enter a state a strange state that he knew could be very dangerous if he was a bad guy. In this type of state, there wererge gaps in the mind that could be exploited if the person was receptive to suggestions. Vahn had researched hypnosis and illusions a bit after falling into Haruhimes several times. He had been very interested in genjutsu from Naruto as well, so Vahn was somewhat interested in the subject and got a bit carried away when he downloaded a few books from the shop. Though he didnt n on doing anything to her, Vahn was somewhat curious about Tinas state and decided to ask her a few questions to see if his deduction was urate. After thinking for a bit, Vahn asked, "Tina, are you happy living here in the Manor?" while gently pressing into some of her pressure points. A few seconds of silence permeated through the air before Tina replied in a sleepy monotone, "Im...very happy...every day is fun...and I have lots of friends..." Vahn smiled because he noticed that Tina didnt prioritize mentioning him in her first couple of answers. This showed she was genuinely enjoying interacting with the other girls and was pleased with her current lifestyle. Out of curiosity, Vahn asked, "Do you have a favorite friend?" while continuing to move his hands in a highly practiced manner. He was surprised with how much tension was in her body, likely a result of her sudden increase in parameters and her first trip into the Dungeon. Tina was quiet for several seconds again, like considering her answer, before saying, "Tiona is very fun to y with...but I think I like Fenrir best...she is a good girl..." Vahn nodded his head and said, "Yes, Fenrir is a very good girl...though she can be a bit mischevious...hahaha." Though he didnt form it as a question, Tina seemed to consider it one as she eventually said, "Fenrir loves Vahn a lot...its a little scary at times...Im envious of her..." Vahn paused for a brief moment before saying in a calm tone, "You dont have to be envious of Fenrir...just do your best to be happy, Tina, thats all that really matters." Tina nodded her head, even though she had her face in the cushioned hole, before saying, "Fenrir gets to spend a lot of time with Vahn...its a little lonely when she is away...because I also want to follow her...and be with Vahn...Shizune is hard to be around at times..." Hearing her words, Vahn was a bit surprised but also started to feel guilty. At this point, it was very obvious Tina was in a deep state of hypnosis because she was starting to confess things deep in her heart even without him asking. To make sure she wouldnt continue down a potentially dangerous route, Vahn ced his index finger around a small nerve cl.u.s.ter near her second lumbar vertebrae and sent a small jolt of stimting energy into it. Tinas nervous system looked like fireworks had suddenly gone off and she uttered a quiet Mnyaa~? as her tail flicked up and down like a whip. Vahn made sure to avoid anything that might stimte her in an inappropriate manner and just triggered one of her bodys automated responses. From her perspective, she would just feel like someone was scratching around her lower back for a little while and it would potentially felt a little ticklish. After her tail stopped flickering, Vahn asked, "Do you feel any tensions in your body, Tina?" This time, she didnt hesitate at all and said, "My leg itches a bit from where the Goblin hit me earlier~nya..." Vahn smiled because it didnt think it was fair for the young cat girl if she suddenly started pouring her heart out to him in a hypnotic state. It might be a useful thing in certain situations, but Vahn didnt want to be invasive without the girls permission. He had already made an exception regarding the [Hearts Desire]s, so he wanted to be honest with them as much as possible. In fact, to make sure she understood what happened, Vahn exined, "Earlier, you entered a bit of a hypnotic state and started answering some of my questions. I got a little worried about you, so I made your tail flicker earlier..." As if it was reacting to his words, Tinas tail flicked again before she said, "Ah...I was wondering what happened suddenly. I felt very calm...what did you ask me?" Vahn didnt consider his words too much and simply said, "I asked if you enjoyed living here and if you had any friends you were fond of." Tina issued a quiet hmmm sound before saying, "I really like living here, and Im good friends with Tiona and Fenrir. I also like Ais, but she is a bit difficult to talk to since she is a bit of an airhead~nyahahaaa..." Vahn nodded his head and said, "Yes, you said something simr previously..." while massaging the area around Tinas thigh where she had previously had the gash. Tina tensed up a bit when he was squeezing around her leg and her tail began toe alive as a result of her increased tensions. Vahn said in a calm tone, "Its okay, Ill be done soon...lets talk so you can calm down a bit, how about that?" Tina lifted her upper body and looked back to watch Vahn pressing in and around the back of her right thigh. She could see he was only using the tips of his fingers instead of massaging with his palms, obviously trying to be considerate of her. After nodding her head, Tina turned away again and said, "You can ask me questions if you want...Ill do my best to be honest~nya..." Tina had been thinking about what it was like to actually be under hypnosis but couldnt really understand it that well. However, she didnt really mind Vahn asking her questions because it did help her keep calm if she could focus on something. Vahn considered his words for a moment before asking, "Tina, did you have a dream before you started living here at the Manor?" It was a bit of a personal question, but Vahn wondered if there was something she had wanted in life before he somewhat invasively stepped in and brought about great change in her destiny. Tina angled her head down a bit, as if she were in deep thought, before saying, "Before all of this happened, I just wanted to grow up faster and help Mom out at the Inn. She worked really hard, and it made me sad knowing she was doing everything for me. I didnt want to be a liability to her...but..." There was about a thirty second period of silence and Vahn could feel Tinas body heating up slightly as her aura increased a bit. After it reached a critical level, Tina said in a voiceden with embarrassment, "My...my dream...nyuuu....my dream was to meet a handsome boy...and get married after falling in love...and then...then I wanted to take care of my mom..." Tina felt like she was confessing to Vahn all over again which, when considering the current situation, was very difficult to do. She frowned as a result of her deep frustrations and prayed that Vahn couldnt smell any strange smellsing from her body. It wasnt actually that easy for Vahn either as, after hearing her confession, he felt a little guilty about their current situation. He didnt really mind it too much, but Vahn knew it was a little strange that both the daughter and her mother had fallen in love with him. He treated Tina almost like a surrogate daughter, and this would make their future interactions a little awkward. Vahn had already noticed that Mn intended to promote her daughter in the future, likely after distancing herself a bit in the future, so Vahn had been thinking about it on asion. Though he wouldnt force her away, especially after she had made her resolve so seriously, Vahn sometimes wished that Tina would find another boy to love... Vahn knew one of his biggest weakness was making concessions when it came to things like love, while his inhibitions regarding things were few and far between. He was trying to fix this about himself, but Vahn couldnt let down girls he had already made promises with. Though he didnt treat his love half-heartedly, Vahn didnt have a strong grasp of it in the past and he knew now that, if he had proper resolutions and self-control a few months ago, he would likely only be involved with a few people. Now, though he had felt very worried about it in the past, the entire Manor had essentially be a ce where he and his lovers resided. He hadnt thought it would be a big problem in the past, a sign of hisck of foresight, but now he worried about it because he knew things would get even more chaotic when he had children. Now, just to make sure he could spend time with the girls and still focus on the things he was interested in, Vahn sometimes considered trying to save up for techniques that would allow him to make copies of himself. He couldnt use a technique like the [Shadow Clone Jutsu], as he already knew its weaknesses and limitations very well after discussing the matter with Sis in the past. However, there were a few types of illusions he could work on and he also did a bit of research into the orb from Evas world. Vahn couldnt afford the actual scrolls to learn the techniques just yet, as they all cost several tens-of-millions at the very least, but he figured Eva would be able to teach him some of the basics. After all, she was a memory fragment of the Eva that created the orb itself, even if she was a duplicate created by The Path. If Vahn could make memory fragments of himself to give to the girls, he imagined he could keep them rtively content during the times where he couldnt spend too much time with them. There was also the option of creating a physical version of the orb, instead of one that only transported the spiritual body, where they would be able to spend several days worth of time over the course of a single day. Even if they only used it during the evening hours, Vahn could spend days of time with the girls before returning to the outside world... "Mnyaaaa~!" Hearing the sudden outburst, Vahn snapped out of his momentary reverie and noticed that he had started to mold Tinas small back under his palms and was radiating energy a little too intensely into her body. She was breathing heavily and Vahn realized, for a very brief moment, he had started to treat her like one of the older girls. He pressed into a few of her pressure points and wiggled his finger around in a circle to help dull the sensations in her body before cing his palm against her lower back and helping her abdominal muscles rx so she became less tense. Tina ended up releasing a strangely satisfied sigh before her body tensed up and she hid her face, even though Vahn couldnt see it at all. Vahn looked around to the side of the table and saw a small drop on the ground below Tina where she had dribbled a bit of slobber. He fought the urge tough that had started to rise up inside of him and gave himself a stern reprimand while shaking his head. Walking over, Vahn picked up Tinas bathrobe because it had been around twenty-six minutes since they started. She seemed to realize things had ended as well since Vahn could feel her eyes following his back. When he turned around with the robe in hands, Tina sat up on the massage table and held her legs closed as she reached out and epted the robe before saying, "Look away..." He wasnt quite sure what she was up to, but Vahn nodded his head and did as she said. Tina stared at Vahns back for a few seconds before looking behind her and seeing a terrifying sight. She used the robe in her hands to dab at the small spot on the massage table a little forcefully. Even though it took a few minutes, she painstakingly continued to wipe away at the spot until it hadpletely disappeared from sight. She then released a relieved sigh and stared at the back of Vahns head with a bit of me in her eyes before wearing the robe. Because she had seen her mother do it in the past, and had caught Shizune doing it on asion, Tina knew what happened when a girl got excited and her body had reacted a bit from Vahns touch. She felt incredibly embarrassed and had rubbed clear through the fabric of the massage table to remove the evidence. From now on, Tina resolved to wear thicker undergarments if she ever nned to show up in Vahns parlor in the future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hestia, Goddess of Hikikomoris,Hypnosis is Dangerous,Vahns absentmindedness) (A/N: I realize this chapter may be a bit awkward for some people, but dont expect it to really be thatmon. And no, what you might be expecting didnt actually happen to Tina, but it very well might have if Vahn had continued. Anyways, this will probably be one of the few times this type of interaction takes ce between Vahn and Tina until she is much older. Its just to show that Vahn still tries to care for the girls in his own way, even if he is an idiot about it at times.) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 545 - Salon (2/2)

Chapter 545 - Salon (2/2)

After hearing Tinas pattering footsteps as she left the salon, Vahn turned his head to watch her retreating figure before looking back to see what she had been up to. He saw that massage table now had a part of the materialpletely rubbed away and he understood what she had done. It was a littlete to apologize for the matter so Vahn decided he would make it up to herter by creating an essory for her. She now had a small amount of mana, so Vahn figured making her a bangle with a small crystal that emits light would be good for her. Shortly after Tina left, Vahn heard a bit of fluttering as Terra poked her head into the Salon with an elegant smile on her face. Vahn could see a yful glint in her eyes and was about to ask before she said, "Mn gave up her turn to tend to her little one...did you do something foolish, Master~?" Vahn winced a little at Terras words and exined, "I got a bit absentminded and my muscle memory took over. It seems Ill need to practice using my [Hands of Nirvana] in a less intense manner in the future..." Terraughed as she ambled forward with lithe and graceful movements, allowing her tail to sway from side-to-side and then asked, "What do I need to do~?" This had been the first time Terra has shown up in Vahns salon and, after seeing Hestias and Tinas behavior upon exiting, she had a bit of expectation. Vahn exhaled a slightly exasperated sigh through his nose because, even without being able to see her aura, her behavior let him know what she was thinking. He exined in a calm tone, "I sometimes help the girls by massaging their bodies or giving them beauty treatments. If youd like, I can help style your hair, give you a pedicure, manicure, and even things like skin treatments and other things you may be interested in." While Vahn spoke, Terra listened patiently before asking, "So I get to choose, is that it~?" when his exnation had ended. Vahn nodded his head but rified, "Yes, but I try to treat this seriously so it shouldnt be anything s.e.x.u.a.l. I dont mind helping you release the tensions of your body, but youll have to be satisfied with my efforts without pressing for more." Terra traced her eyes around the salon during his rification, simultaneously listening to what he was saying while thinking about how best to maximize her benefits. From his exnation, she knew it was possible to receive quite a few benefits as long as she didnt pressure him too much. Considering the fact that he often got carried away, Terra smiled and said, "I would like Master to examine my body in detail and do his best to satisfy me...without doing anything s.e.x.u.a.l of course~." Vahn was somewhat surprised that Terra wasnt trying to insist on anything and had decided to leave it up to him. He suspected she was somewhat uncertain about what kind of services he provided and simply wanted to experience something interesting. As for Terra, she saw the understanding in Vahns eyes and resisted the urge tough by smiling wider and saying, "Please, treat my body carefully, Master..." Vahn nodded his head and confidently dered, "You can leave it to me, Terra. I have a great reputation when ites to things like this, so Im confident youll be satisfied." Looking around, Vahn realized he didnt actually have a table, or any tools for that matter, that would be suitable for Terras use. Her wings wererge, and her tail was moderately thick and jutted out of her backside instead of dangling down at a shallow angle. This meant it was very difficult for her toy on her back unless her legs and h.i.p.s were raised topensate. She would either need toy on her stomach, as was normal for a massage, or he would have to let her sit on a chair. The technical details of giving a massage to a humanoid True Dragon were a little hazy and Vahn began to wonder what the most efficient method to employ would be. He would feel a little sorry for her if she left after getting riled up instead of pacified... Vahn searched through his shop just to see if there were items that seemed suitable for the situation before giving up since he didnt want to eat into Terras time. So that she understood what he was doing, Vahn exined, "Sorry, I cant really think of the best way to proceed since none of my techniques rte to humanoid True Dragons. It might be a bit ufortable at first, but can you tryying on your stomach and, ah, you can take off your robe so I can contact your skin directly..." Vahn set out arge plush massage table that was almost twice as wide as normal. This one was made out of a memory-type material that could contort to the shape of a persons body, so Vahn figured it would be the best temporary solution. Terra had seen what Hestia and Tina were wearing so she wasnt surprised by the fact she had to remove her robe. She had even been waiting for Vahn to mention it so, shortly after his words fell, her robe turned into partictes andpletely vanished. Though it was brief, Terra saw the cursory nce Vahn had given her body. She knew he actually had a near-perfect memory so, though it was brief, he was likely looking over her figure in his mind. It was a little annoying, though Terra wasnt quite sure why, and she wished he dropped his facade soon. Though she still needed to learn many things, it was difficult to cope with knowing her Master likely thought of her as something akin to a potential mate but didnt act on it because of his own self-imposed restrictions. After Terraid down on the table, Vahn noticed that her tail made an arch before curving down and resting against the top of the bed. It was impressive how distinct the line of her back was as it connected to her rather plump rump...deciding not to gawk, Vahn instead walked over, asking, "Is there any difort, tension, or aches within your body?" While he spoke, Vahn scanned Terras body with his [Eyes of Truth] with more focus than he had in the past. After his exploratory interaction with Fenrir, he knew there were likely many things he would have to figure out through trial and error since the physiology of the entities named through his Akashic Tome could have great deviations from the norm. Terra eased up the tension in her wings and the spread out greatly as the drooped off the sides of the table, making it very difficult to move around her sides after the fact. She arched her back to make eye contact with him and said, "I havent had this form long enough to understand it...Ill leave it to Master to find out if there are any issues. Please let me know if you find anything, Master..." Hearing her say things in such a way reminded Vahn that Terra only recently obtained this form, barely two weeks ago...realizing this, Vahn smiled and said, "Okay, then just let me know if anything I do is ufortable." Vahn rubbed his hands together and a powerful white light emerged from his palms to the point where small sparks emerged in the gaps between his fingers. He knew Terras tolerance would be very high given what he could see with his [Eyes of Truth], but Vahn still decided to start from a safe spot. Moving toward where her feet were located, Vahn inspected the scales around her calves before cing his hands against her surprisingly cool skin. He knew her actual body temperature was quite hot, but it seemed to be contained within her body with three distinct epidermalyers, excluding the scales located at some of the ces on her body. As he had seen several times, Terras body was covered in strange runic patterns and Vahn noticed that they would emit a gentle green light wherever his hands passed. With his [Eyes of Truth] active, he could see that her body actually absorbed the energy and spread it through her body even without his urging it to do so. Vahn found this interesting but he didnt really have time to study the phenomenon in detail since that wasnt the purpose of their current interaction. He traced his hands down her calves before lifting her feet until they were above the backs of her knees at a ny-degree angle. He noticed her joints were actually almost perfectly aligned and there was almost no friction at all. Upon closer inspection, there was a very thin cushion of a somewhat gaseous substance that acted as a natural lubricant and seemed to be partiallyprised of source energy. Vahn turned his attention away from her knee joint and noticed that the bottoms of her feet were actually far different than he had expected. Instead of having the thinyer of scales like her calves and the top of her feet, the bottoms were very smooth and there were strange grainy patterns that looked like a fingerprint or the inside of a tree stump. It was very peculiar but, after tracing his index finger along it, Vahn found it was actually softer than even Hestias feet... Terra giggled and said, "Master, my feet are very sensitive~" as she flexed her toes yfully. For Terra, her feet were one of the organs she used to send energy into the ground or absorb it for her own use. In essence, they were simr to her roots and it made her heartbeat quicken a bit having Vahn y around with them using his glowing white palms. She had a strange urge to try and absorb the flow of energy into her body and it made her a little giddy resisting the urge. Vahn set Terras legs back down and move his eyes upward, since the gap between her thighs and the clearly visible mound beneath the deep crevasse of her butt cheeks. Unlike Tina, she didnt seem to be self-conscious of it at all and was freely letting her nectar flow. Vahn was briefly reminded about the sap incident from a few days ago and shook it from his mind as he moved closer to her h.i.p.s so he couldnt stare in between her thighs at such a dangerous angle. He was about to reach out and grasp her tail but Vahns hands stopped short as he asked, "Do you mind if I touch your tail?" The tail of many creatures, especially those with a humanoid shape, was typically an erogenous zone and Terras was inordinately thickpared to other girls. Terra giggled and craned her head back, twisting her body in an almost scary disy of her flexibility as she said, "Master, please do as you wish...remember, I entrusted my body to your care. If it is something unpleasant or especially sensitive I will let you know~." Considering she had done the same for her feet, Vahn nodded his head and lifted Terras tail with his left hand and ran his palm along the underside. Terras body trembled slightly, but she just rxed against the table while resting her head against her arms with a calm expression and a small smile on her face. Vahn could see that her nerves were pulsing as he touched her, but she didnt seem to be too reactive to it. He suspected it was simr to how Fenrirs body reacted when he touched the nerve cl.u.s.ter near her tail... While Vahn was massaging along the length of her tail, Terra was biting the inside of her cheek and staring off at a single point in space while adamantly refusing to show any reaction that would cause Vahn to cease his exploration. As he had suspected, her tail was indeed a sensitive spot for her, especially the underside near the base, and Vahn was rubbing it from base to tip with a heavy caress. She had actually stopped breathing almost entirely and was just expanding and contracting her ribs slightly to simte the appearance of breathing. Even though she knew her Master could see into her body, that didnt mean he was really paying attention to every process. He seemed to be very focused on her tail as he manhandled it and even tested its flexibility by twisting it... Vahn was surprised that Terras tail was actually a bit lighter than he expected but, other than the strange signals it seemed to send through her body, there wasnt anything that special about it. The most interesting aspect was that it was like one gigantic muscle surrounding aplex segmented bone structure with a total of 37 joints. She would likely be able to show the same amount of dexterity with it as Haruhime in the future with a bit of practice since Vahn could see there were thousands of nerve endings within it. It was also strangely flexible but Vahn didnt want to test its limits since it seemed to cause Terra a bit of difort as her brows furrowed slightly. After releasing her tail, Vahn could feel a strange flow of air in the room and focused his eyes further to see that Terra was actually pulling air elemental energy into her body. He blinked and watched the flow of energy but Terra flicked her wings and Vahn flinched at the unexpected movement. The sound of a sigh sounded out and Vahn turned to see Terras smiling face as she exined, "Having my wings hanging off the table like this is a little ufortable..." Vahn nodded his head and showed an apologetic expression as he said, "Sorry, Ill see if I cane up with a better method in the future. I think I can make something like a foldable attachment that you can rest your wings on...?" Seeing that she had sessfully distracted her Master, Terra released a sigh of relief in her mind before rxing against the table and releasing afortable sigh outside, saying, "This is veryfortable...I think a tail massage is one of my favorite things now, fufufu~." Vahn made a mental note of Terrasment before inspecting around the attachment of her wings where there was a dense assortment of muscles. There were several nerves running through this area and the scales were somewhat firmer than the other areas of her body. Inside of her body, Vahn could see the secondary scap, much thinner than those around her shoulders, and the incredibly flexible muscles that stretched along theplex arrangement of bones in her wings. Terras wings had three main transitions in the structure of her bones, very simr to most birds, except that she had a total of seventeen bones in each wingpared to the six-to-eight of many of the birds he had seen. She also had greater control over her feathers than any bird Vahn had ever seen, allowing her to flex and bend the individual feathers to cause the rustling effect that she sometimes did. Each feather had a thin line of nerves that ovepped with the mana circuits contained within and Vahn knew it had to be painful for her when he had plucked some in the past. He was amazed at her self-control and ability to resist pain without showing any signs of difort at all... As he had groomed her wings in the past, Vahn knew there wasnt nearly enough time to focus on them and he could always investigate them in detail the next time he helped her. Instead, Vahn pressed into thergest cl.u.s.ter of nerves around the base of her wings and caused her right wing to snap shut, smacking him and pinning him over her body in the same motion. Because he had caused her wing to contract fully, which had actually been his intent, Terras wing folded inwards and as tucked to her body, this time with Vahn in between. He had misunderstood his own position on the matter and awkwardly extricated himself from the entrapment of her wing with a flushed face as Terraughed, clearly finding the sudden urrence entertaining. When he finally freed himself, something she couldnt help with since her nerves had seized up, Terra said, "Master, if you wanted to ride on my body you should have told me to transform into my dragon form~." Vahns blushed deepened considerably as he rubbed the back of his head, saying, "I didnt ount for the range of your wings since Ive never really stood at this angle before...you have a great deal of power in them...ahahaha..." As if he hadnt greatly embarrassed himself, Vahn moved over to Terras side and lifted up her folded sing and inspected the underside of it. Much like her tail, it was a bit lighter than he expected and he found the connecting area, where the wing attached into her body, to be a curious sight. It was strange to see an extra limb attaching into the body, especially around the middle of someones back, but Vahn could see how all the bones and muscles were arranged. He really wanted to try and make a pair of artificial wings in the future for Maemi and Emiru since their flexibility and natural sense of bnce should allow them to fly around with practice. To avoid another ident, Vahn made Terra tuck in her left wing before he moved to the other side of her body. He understood it had to be ufortable to have your muscles forcibly tensed up, so Vahn made sure to massage around the area and help them slowly ease up naturally. To make sure he didnt get mmed by their opening, he pressed against the fold of her wings with a bit of strength, marveling at how flexible they were. Afterward, Vahn was actually running out of time and realized that a real massage for Terra would take much longer than normal since he didnt have a good understanding of her body. Her wings alone could take up to two hours to groom, and it seemed like a full-body massage would take around the same amount of time. Realizing he wouldnt be able to finish, Vahn exined, "We only have around nine minutes, so let me know if there is something youre interested in and Ill try to take care of it before we run out of time. Next time, Ill try some other stuff...or maybe Ill inspect your body a bit when I help you groom your wings? Im not quite sure, hmmm..." Terras wings flickered a bit at his words before she looked back and said in a yful manner, "If Master will massage around my butt and thighs I would be satisfied. My lower body gets very tense from moving around in this form and it would be nice to release some tension from them~." Since there was a fair amount of truth to this statement, Terra was confident in teasing her Master a bit as he treated most peoples words seriously. As many of his massages actually incorporated the butt and thighs, Vahn knew it was an important area where people could .u.mte a lot of tension. Since the number of muscles in and around Terras lower body actually rivaled the total number of the rest of her muscles, Vahn believed it was even more important for her. He had long noted that her butt was very tonedpared to normal and, instead of the eight-to-twelve muscles of other races, she had a total of twenty in each butt cheek. As for her thighs, Vahn could see that her muscles were strangely banded and there were variousrge groups of muscles with several supporting tendons and ligaments. Though it wasnt as fleshy as Tsubaki and Hephaestus, Terra had inarguably the most toned butt of all the girls and Vahn couldnt deny he was somewhat interested in itsplex structure. After considering it for a brief moment, Vahn reached out his hands and tested the feel, noticing it was far more durable than he expected. It was still strangely soft, but it felt taut to the touch and Vahn could see the muscles move about underneath her skin. After inserting a thread of energy into one of the nerves of therge muscle groups, Terras butt flexed and twitched a bit, allowing Vahn to feel how dense it was to the touchpared to normal. It was very strange that something could be soft and hard at the same time, but Terras body was anomalous in many ways so Vahn wasnt too surprised. He leaned over her body and began to mold her butt gently while positioning his fingers above pressure points and infusing energy into the surrounding muscles to help them rx. Vahn spent about five minutes massaging Terras butt and, by the time he was finished, it was almost like her cheeks had been tenderized a bit because they had softened up greatly. He realized that she must flex her butt a lot when she is moving around, likely because she needed to do so in order to keep her bnce. This meant that he would probably have to help her release the tensions in the area every now and then or her muscles would be rigid over time. Strangely, she didnt really seem to have too great a reaction even though Vahn could see that her nerves were firing like fireworks. Terra had even looked back to watch him out of curiosity and, other than a small smile on her face, she waspletelyposed. Finished with her butt, Vahn smiled and said, "Ill help rx the tension in your thighs now...this can be pretty intense for some people, so let me know if there is any difort." Terras smile widened marginally and she said, "I can feel a bit of strangeness in my body, but it hasnt really been anything intense so far. My s.e.x organ seems to be releasing fluids as a result of your actions though...sorry, I dont really have any control over it. Ive never really had a v.a.g.i.n.a before and I think it may take me a while to get used to it..." Vahns brows raised slightly at Terras words and he felt strange to have her apologize about such a thing...after thinking about it for a while, he realized that he was the one responsible for her embarrassment and it made him feel a little guilty. She didnt actually process foodspletely through her body, so Terra didnt pee or defecate at all. Instead of a colon, she had a sap organ and, though she had the structure of a v.a.g.i.n.a, it was different than normal while her urethra simply didnt exist at all. Even he didnt know what kind of advice to give her about the matter so he just shook his head and said, "You dont have to apologize for something like that. I know all of my evolved subordinates have unique bodies and some peculiarities they have no control over, so I wont me you for such things. Sorry for causing you trouble, Terra..." Hearing Vahn apologize made Terras brain buzz a bit because she felt incredibly happy that her mild scheme had been sessful. She knew that there were indeed several peculiarities between all of them, such as Fafnirs scar and Fenrirs hunger, so Terra thought she could use it as an excuse. It was certainly true she was inexperienced with the organ, but her actual control over her body was rather impable. Even the tension in her butt was something she had done intentionally just to get Vahn to be more forceful in his actions. Terra was actually shocked to the core about how intense his massage was because she was struggling to hide her response. However, as she said, she actually couldnt do anything about the floodgates that he had opened and she didnt want him to suspect anything that might undermine her previous act... Vahn began giving a deep massage around Terras thighs because he had noticed that the tension in her muscles was much greater than he expected. There was an incredibly powerful aroma wafting from her body, almost like he was bathing in an ocean of dew that had been collected from a billion different flowers, but he was using his [Will of the Emperor] to power through it. The difficult part was, even though he avoided getting too close to the source, Vahns hands were actually getting covered in something like condensation and it almost looked like his hands were very sweaty. There wasnt that much time left, but Vahn didnt want to leave any seque in her body and only partially finish his actions so he put in a bit more effort until her thighs and butt were twitching a great deal under his hands. They went a little bit over the thirty minute mark, but Vahn eventually got her thighs topletely rx and Terra seemed to be very satisfied as she released a surprisingly long sigh when he was finished and smiled beautifully as she said, "Thank you, Master~." and tried to step off of the massage table. Vahns eyes were drawn to the massive stain on the table and he had beenpletely caught off guard when Terra copsed to the ground as her legs gave out... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Terra is very clever,Touch the Tail...harder (UwU)~!,Godhand Vs. True Dragon, Victor: Godhand) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 546 - Gift

Chapter 546 - Gift

When Terra sat down normally, it required her to spread out her wings so, as she fell to the ground, her wings automatically shot out and Vahn wasnt able to step forward to grab her. The only thing he got for his trouble was Terras wing clipping into his shin, causing an unexpectedly intense amount of pain to shoot up his leg. Vahn drew in a breath of cold air through his teeth and asked, "Are you okay?" as he resisted the urge to bend down and rub his shin. Terras wings pressed against the ground like she was trying to lift herself up as she showed an apologetic smile and said, "Sorry, Master, I think your massage may have been a little too effective...I cant put any strength into my legs~." Vahn smiled wryly as he walked around Terras wing and helped her try to stand back up. Her body weighed around 170kg, so she was quite a bit heavier than most girls, though she still felt strangely light to Vahn. His strength would allow him to lift several hundred kilograms with rtive ease, so other than a strange incongruity, he didnt have any trouble helping her stand. However, this didnt mean Terra was able to stay standing without support and her legs wobbled greatly as she tried to support herself by clinging to Vahns shoulders. Terra was still n.a.k.e.d, so it was a little risque to have her leaning against him like this. Vahn looked over her body and pressed his fingers into some of the pressure points around her thighs to stir the nerves awake. He realized that, though she didnt have much of a reaction to his earlier touching, her resistance incited him to rx her muscles a little too much. Though it was a bit awkward, this was important information since it would enable him to make proper preparations in the future. Terra seemed apologetic as well, which made Vahn feel guilty since he should have held back and taken her state into consideration beforehand... After releasing a sigh, Vahn looked toward the waiting area and saw that the only two waiting for him were Chloe and Shizune. Vahn frowned slightly because he was worried Shizune would act up if they were alone in the same room during a massage. As for Chloe, he was certain he could pacify her when he returned so Vahn said, "Put on your robe, Terra, Ill carry you to the garden..." Though she had her own room, Terra spent the majority of her time within the garden, even when the mornings got a little cold. Vahn had rarely seen her actually sleep in her bedroom and she seemed a little ufortable in her human form during the few time she rested. He knew that she preferred to sleep in her dragon form because her wings didnt get in the way as much... Terra showed a grateful smile and lifted her body a bit as an elegant robe appeared out of thin air, hugging around her body perfectly. Vahn turned his back to her and allowed Terra to climb onto his back, albeit with a bit of awkwardness that required Vahn to lean forward to pick up her legs. Terra was somewhat tall so her head peeked above his a bit when she was on his back, though this didnt stop her from leaning forward and whispering, "Master is very strong~." into his ear. Her tail also dangled down towards the ground and tapped against the floor as Vahn walked out of the salon under the curious gazes of Chloe and Shizune. Chloe tilted her head to the side and said, "Nya~? Did you get carried away, Vahn~?" with a yful glimmer in her eyes. Vahn released a long sigh and said, "Terras physiology is distinctly different from the norm so I made a few mistakes trying to find the best way to massage her. Ill try to avoid this type of situation in the future...sorry, Chloe, Shizune. If youd like, why note to the garden with me and well have some tea and a light meal?" When she had realized Vahn was likely done with his salon duties, for the time being, Shizunes ears had flopped down a bit in dejection. However, hearing his words, her fluffy fox ears perked back up because she knew this was a good opportunity for her to monopolize Vahn for a little while. Vahn jumped over the back wall of the onsen carrying Terra while Chloe did the same after picking up Shizune. Thetter was still far too weak to jump over the 10m tall wall so she had to rely on Chloes assistance unless she wanted to walk around. Vahn would have carried her himself, but Terras body was a bit awkward to support and her wings even spread slightly during their descent, slowing his fall by a marginal amount. This was a little interesting because Vahn could imagine Terra being able to fly around carrying him, even when she was in her human form. Of course, there were no benefits provided and it was decidedly morefortable for them both when she was in her dragon form. After a few short minutes of walking, the ended up in the secret garden and Vahn helped Terra sitfortably on the ground before setting out a small pic nket for Chloe and Shizune. Terra preferred to be in direct contact with the earth but Vahn didnt want insects and stuff to get into their food so he set out a nket for everyone else. As he somewhat expected to happen, Shizune asked in a slightly sad tone, "Can I sit with you?" Vahn, however, shook his head and patted both his thighs, saying, "I know Chloe likes to be pampered as well, so the two of you can use myp as a pillow and Ill feed you snacks..." Though Vahn still spent a fair amount of time with Chloe, he never really felt like it was enough and he missed the times when he would spoil her for an hour or two at the Hostess of Fertility. She was a very intuitive girl so Chloe immediately realized what he was thinking andughed in a mischevious manner before crawling over and resting her head against hisp. Shizune had a defeated expression for a brief moment but inevitably decided that ap pillow and pampering from Vahn was better than nothing. Sheid her head on hisp as well and her ears touched Chloes, causing both girls ears to flicker about a few times, much to Vahns amus.e.m.e.nt. Shizune seemed a little annoyed at first but, after seeing how quickly Chloe adapted to being pampered by Vahn, she eventually started actingzy and spoiled as well. Terra watched their interaction with slightly squinted eyes but didnt interrupt since she knew her earlier actions had taken their salon time away with Vahn. After experiencing it herself, Terra knew how exciting such moments could be and she knew that, if someone were to take away the time she wanted to spend with Vahn, it would cause her to feel upset. Knowing that selfishness was one of the things that troubled Vahn the most, Terra just made polite conversation with the two girls while slowly recovering the use of her legs... After having a garden party for around two hours, things were brought to a rtively abrupt conclusion when Riveria showed up at the garden, having returned from the Dungeon. She saw Vahn tickling under Chloes chin while feeding a thin cracker to Shizune and nked for a moment before speaking out and exining that almost everyone had returned already. The only exceptions were Ais, Haruhime, and Mikoto, though they werent really worried considering theposition of girls. Mikoto was still a bit weaker than many of the girls, but her strength had been increasing rapidly as she slowly polished her [Flying Heavenly Sword Scroll] techniques. As for Ais and Haruhime, they were somewhat monstrous in their capabilities so there shouldnt be any problems whatsoever. Because he had offered to provide salon services when the girls returned from the Dungeon, essentially an extension of his earlier actions, Vahn returned to the Manor to greet everyone before spending the remaining time before dinner tending to the girls. His long garden party had caused Shizune and Chloe to forfeit their own slots, as being pampered for two hours was also quite nice, so Vahn ended up tending to Fenrir, Lili, Naaza, Lunoire, Tiona, and Tione. Fenrir seemed to be very fond of Vahn exploring her body now and, instead of a normal massage, had somewhat proactively guided his actions and yed around on the table. As for the other girls, they were rtively well-behaved and things had developed normally, excluding the fact that Vahn spent a fair amount of time massaging Tionas and Tiones beautiful brown legs and thighs... Though they were a bitte, barely in time for dinner, Ais, Haruhime, and Mikoto had finally shown back up, exining that they actually encountered a powerful variant Minotaur on the 17th Floor. It had spawned with arge Monster Party and, because Mikoto had wanted to test her capabilities against the horde, Ais and Haruhime watched over her from the side. The fight had gone on for more than an hour, but Mikoto managed toe out ahead without suffering too much damage because herbat style was highly reactive and based on counters. With her A-Rank katana, she didnt have any trouble prating the defenses of the monsters at all, but their numbers had been a little overwhelming. Mikoto had indeed gotten much stronger, but her foundation was a little weak because she had simply increased her Level too early in the past. Fortunately, the techniques she was currently learning would allow her to ovee this disparity and Mikoto would one day be one of the most terrifyingly skilled swordswomen in the entire world. Vahn expected that her natural limit would be around Level 6 or 7, but her strength would likely make her a match for people much stronger than she was. It was hard to imagine how powerful people would be from Levels 8-10, but it was very possible Mikoto would be able to defeat them unless they had the means to mitigate the terrifying Godspeed attacks she would possess... During the evening, Vahn kept his promise and spent the night with the somewhat uniquebination of Hestia, Mn, and Chloe. Things were a bit tense at first, but Mn had a lot of appreciation for what Hestia had done for her and Tina, so she had opened up after Vahn had guided the situation forward. Handling three girls, especially when one of them was Hestia, whocked in the stamina department, was very easy for Vahn and this meant he had a lot of time to cuddle with them after the fact. It was strange to consider, but Vahn found himself bing increasingly fond of just being with the girls instead of having s.e.x all the time. The girls seemed to enjoy it as well, seeing as how they snuggled up close to him and just talked for a while before eventually going to sleep with the warmth of each others bodies bringing themfort. --- Vahn awoke early the next morning and once again checked Evas orb to see that it hadnt shown any other signs of change. He released a slightly mncholic sigh before storing it away and kissing the drowsy Hestia and leaving the room with Mn and Chloe to go take a quick bath before heading to the morning training. Vahn would be heading into the Dungeon with Chloe and Shizune today, while Mn would just be training with her daughter so that she could get used to the sudden increase in her parameters. Tina was also in a bit of a tense state after the massage fiasco that happened previously and, when Vahn finally showed up for the morning training, she gave him a bit of a stink eye from the distance with a light blush on her face. Though he wanted to forge something for herter, Vahn looked through his shop for essories that might be suitable for her before a sudden thought crossed his mind and he looked toward Mn. He had actually promised both girls he would give them ribbons at some point but had never gotten around to it because it was a little awkward at the time. Now wasnt exactly the best opportunity either, but Vahn felt like such things should be taken care of early on and decided to trust his instinct on the matter. He remembered that Tina wanted one that was simr to her mothers so he picked out two matching red ribbons before taking a deep breath and walking over. Tina had been casting nces at Vahn periodically so she had noticed when he was approaching almost immediately. A small frown appeared on her face because she didnt know how to react around Vahn right now and it made her little heart beat faster than a rabbits as he stepped closer toward them. As for Mn, she had a gentle smile on her face and brought their warmup exercises to a close out of curiosity for what Vahn was up to. When he was near enough, Mn asked, "Is there something, Vahn~?" with a fair amount of teasing contained in her voice as she eyed her daughter. Vahn nodded his head and smiled before saying, "I promised to give these to you in the past, but I had never gotten around to it because of the circ.u.mstances. It may be a littlete, but please ept these ribbons..." Not just Tinas, but Mns eyes widened a fair amount as they eyed the ribbons that Vahn had pulled out of thin air. Mn felt a bit of warmth spread through her chest, but there was also a fair amount of anxiety rising up inside of her as she looked toward Tina. Her daughter was beginning to fidget slightly and Mn knew that, though Vahn would still require her to wait until she was older, this almost confirmed that they would eventually be together. She had already epted this, on several asions at this point, but Mn still felt worried for the future since it was a somewhat abnormal situation... After releasing a sigh, Mn recovered a bit faster than Tina and said, "Thank you, Vahn..." as she turned around and perked up her tail a bit. During the day they had be one with each other, Mn had already decided to let the future y out naturally and react to the situation as it transpired. She still had a few years to be with Vahn on her own terms, so worrying about it too much this early on would just stress her out. There were many girls on thework she could seek guidance from, including several wise goddesses, so Mn decided that would be the course of action she took. She simply didnt have it in her to refuse the ribbon from Vahn because it made her feel like a young girl that had just fallen in love once again. Vahn firmly tied the red ribbon around Mns tail while Tina watched from the side with a beet-red face and a deeply frustrated frown. She felt both happy and terrified at the same time, though she wasnt really sure why herself. Tina felt it would have been better if Vahn gave her the ribbon when she wasnt angry with him because his current actions were a little unfair to her. The happiness inside of her heart greatly overwhelmed her other emotions, but the frustration she felt wasnt that far behind it and she had an urge to beat him up for being a bully. However, when Vahn finished tying the ribbon on her mother, Tina agitatedly turned around and perked up her own tail with a greatly frustrated as she refused to smile... It felt a little worrying to have to bend down and tie a ribbon around a young girls tail, especially considering the implications behind his actions. For Cat People, having a ribbon tied to their tail was an act that was generally only appropriate for lovers, or those that shared a promise with each other. By giving Tina a ribbon right now, Vahn was essentially affirming their promise for the future and Tina would probably think about it quite often from now on. Just like when he had gifted ribbons to Chloe and Arnya in the past, Vahn would get affection from both girls even when he wasnt around them because they would often catch sight of the ribbon and be reminded of him. It was a very personal thing to gift a young girl and Vahn could understand Tinas frustrations and her chaotic aura that gravitated toward him like it was trying to burn him. When he finished tying the ribbon around Tinas tail, she looked back at it and flicked her tail a few times with a clearly happy expression on her face before showing a deep frown once again after seeing Vahns face. As if she had no other way to express herself, Tina balled up her fists and beat against Vahns chest for a few seconds with a "Nyuuuuuuuuuuu~!" sound before running off without saying a word. Mnughed with her hand against her cheek before muttering, "Youve really done it now, Vahn...dont worry, Ill go console her. Once she calms down, things will return to normal. Well, as normal as they can be considering the situation...nyafuuu~." Though they had drawn a great deal of attention after Tinas loud outburst, Mn stepped forward and gave Vahn a short embrace and a kiss before following after her daughter. Almost immediately after she left, Chloe had appeared at Vahns side and asked, "You really gave Tina a ribbon so soon~nya? That is a very bold move to make, Vahn~!" Vahn released a small sigh and said, "Though Id like for her to open her heart to someone else, I dont think Tina will give up after having found her resolve. This was one of the things I had been worried about when we discussed the Divination...but, I wont let her down if that is the path she chose. Sorry for being like this, Chloe..." Chloe, by all rights, was one of the girls Vahn had the highest chances of being with before this unique situation had urred. He knew she was okay with how things had turned out, but he still felt a little apologetic at this moment. Chloeughed and squinted her eyes a little as she rubbed around his shoulder, clearly indicating that she had already found her own resolve in the past. Though it didnt hurt at all, Vahn could feel a phantom sensation on his neck where Chloe had bitten him in the past, a permanant reminder of the mutual affections they shared. She also always wore the blue ribbon he had given her in the past, much like Aki and Arnya wore ribbons of their own... After things had calmed down a bit, Vahn talked with Chloe and Shizune about what they would be doing in the Dungeon today before the three of them ate a light breakfast together. After his mild admonishment in the past, Shizune now wore a thin cloth that covered her chest and was bound together by cords that wrapped around her neck and back. This left her back itselfpletely exposed so, after they had eaten, Vahn checked her Status Board so he would have a clear understanding of her progress when they returned. As for Chloe, she watched from the side with an intrigued expression, unable to make any sense of the hieroglyphs that had appeared on Shizunes back... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Shizune Yuel Race: Kitsune LV. 1 POW: I15->I17 END: I13->I14 DEX: I24->I26 AGI: I33->I36 MAG: I14->I15 Skill: [Tamomo: Innate(sealed)], [Featherfoot:I] Magic: [Moons Prayer: Innate(sealed)] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance(sealed)], [Insomnia(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dragon Rider...,Tinas Frustrations,Shizunes Journey Begins...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 547 - Darkness

Chapter 547 - Darkness

Once they had finished their breakfast, Vahn headed toward the Dungeon with Chloe and Shizune, allowing Chloe to cling to his left arm while he held Shizunes hand like a child. She was still rather small, around 121cm, so Vahn escorted her like a littledy as Chloe yfully stuck to his left arm. Much like yesterday, Vahn was walking around in a transformed state but this time he had taken on a form that was easily recognized by many people, his white tiger form. Nobody really knew the name Bih within the City, so the rumors regarding his transformation simply described it as a Beastification, simr to a Weretiger but with white fur. As expected, Vahn drew a lot of attention while a few people were more focused on Chloe and Shizune than Vahn himself. Chloes identity as ck Cat was unknown, but they had to make some concessions with the Guild to register all of the girls with ties to the underworld properly. Though it had faded into obscurity, as it was known to be rted to false allegations, there were still a few people that would try to im the bounty on Ryuus head if they knew who she was. As for Arnya, Lunoire, and Chloe herself, they also had former reputations and had now assumed different identities, though Arnyas spear kind of gave her away for those that knew of her past actions. Even if it became a point of contention in the future, there were few people that would actually try to inte the issue because the power of the Alliance was simply too strong. The Guild had the most power within the City, as they were the organization that managed the Familias, controlled ess to the Dungeon, and had a monopoly on monster core distribution. However, this didnt mean there wasnt a governing body that ruled over Orario and passedws, regted businesses, and managed things like taxation and property rights. There was a Governor, though Vahn had never met him, and several other people with various political positions that tried to wrest power from the Guild every now and then. They were the most likely candidates to stir up trouble, but there were few ways they could pressurerge Familia since public opinion often favored the Familia over politicians that were known to be somewhat corrupt. There wasnt anything like an electoral system within Orario, so most positions were things that had been arbitrarily created when the City first came into being and many were inherited. This made it so that, even though they were technically the people that passedws, the politicians within Orario, including the Governor himself, had very little actual power. Without makingpromises with the Guild, negotiating with therge Familias, and paying concessions to criminal organizations, they had almost no authority. However, this didnt mean they wouldnt just at the opportunity to try and tarnish the reputation of the Hestia Familia if they had the chance, and they were the primary perpetrators behind Vahns own reputation being in the dumps at times... After reaching the 1st Floor, Vahn looked over his shoulder cautiously and scanned the area before leading Chloe and Shizune into the interior of the Floor. Though it had been for a brief moment, Vahn had detected arge amount of hostility directed at him that had even been picked up by Chloe as her smiling face had be somewhat serious, even without her expression changing much. They had already discussed the possibility of their enemies taking action against him as he built up a pattern for them to follow, and it seemed like it would be sooner than expected. Shizune hadnt sensed anything awry, however, and was just looking around the Dungeon with a curious expression on her face as her aura started to flicker somewhat chaotically. She had heard many rumors about the Dungeon and the dangers contained within, but it didnt seem nearly as scary as she expected. Shizune was more excited about the opportunity to grow stronger than she was genuinely worried about dying or suffering grievous injuries. Though she wasntcent at all, as experiencing pain was never pleasant, Shizune was confident that Vahn and Chloe would watch over her. She knew well how expensive her own equipment was so offering anyints seemed petty and inconsiderate considering the difficulties other people would have to face when they first enter the Dungeon. After progressing through the Beginning Road, Vahn brought their progress to a stop and freed himself from Shizunes somewhat mmy and worriedly small hand. She was even smaller than Tina, though her mental and chronological age made her much older, so Vahn couldnt help but worry a bit. Fortunately, he had watched over Liliruca and Tina in the past, so he knew his concerns werent that necessary and that Shizune would be fine if she did her best. Reaching out his hand, he pat the mature little girl on the head and said, "From here onwards, youll be leading the way at your own pace. Make sure to consider your actions seriously and do your best to ovee difficulties without relying on our assistance. I will heal you if you suffer injuries, but dont expect me to step in unless you are in great danger..." Shizune squinted her eyes slightly, enjoying the warmth of Vahns hand, before asking, "How many enemies did Tina manage to kill~?" Though the difference in their age was great, Shizune still considered Tina her older sister and closest rival. They had very simr physical ages, sizes, and starting points. She was confident in being able to outgrow Tina if they trained at the same pace, but Shizune knew that Tina actually trained much harder than she did. Because of the difference in the amount of time they had lived, Shizune had a slightly jaded mentalitypared to the earnest young cat girl and believed that doing things efficiently and thinking ahead was better than working hard and following instincts... Vahn briefly thought about inting the number to urge Shizune to try hard, but he didnt like lying to people just to achieve results. After considering the matter, Vahn said, "She managed to kill twenty-eight Goblins, including a group of four..." Shizune nodded her head, knowing that Vahns words were the truth because she had already heard about it from Tina herself. She was curious if Vahn was going to try and rile her up, but it seemed like he had confidence that she would do her best regardless. This made Shizune feel a little more rxed and she smiled, saying, "Im not sure Id be able to fight four at once, but I think Ill be able to defeat more than twenty-eight before we return. I heard you gave Tina a massage for her efforts, so please take care of me properly if I work hard~." Though it was nice to be pampered by Vahn during their pic, Shizune wanted a more meaningful reward from Vahn. Though he knew she was probably going to be a bit mischevious, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Sure, but youll have to behave properly and Ill also have Mn and Chloe there to apany you. I made a few mistakes yesterday, so having people watch the process will allow me to make more sensible decisions." Shizune looked like her brain had stopped working for a moment while Chloe beganughing cheerfully while holding her stomach. Everyone that interacted with Shizune closely knew that, though she had made great strides in her progress, she still struggled whenever she was around Vahn. Even yesterday, though Shizune might have wanted to be alone with Vahn, Chloe would have never allowed it from the start... --- Shizune had a somewhat dark and serious expression as she took soundless steps toward an unsuspecting Goblin. She had been studying assassination techniques with Chloe and was more fond of the idea that enemies could be killed without exposing oneself to danger. Though she would undoubtedly have to fightrge numbers of enemies at once, one of the reasons she wanted to greatly increase her speed, Shizune still wanted to polish her ability to kill unseen. She already had the [Featherfoot] ability, but she was trying to awaken the [Stealth] skill by silently stalking her enemies. There was also an urge to vent that had appeared in her body from earlier and she felt like the Goblin needed to pay the price for her own frustrations. After approaching within five meters of the Goblin, it began to turn around and inspect the area as Shizune pressed herself low to the ground near a small rock. Though she had skin exposed in some ces, her entire outfit, including her kimono, was a matte ck in color and Shizune was trying to will herself to be invisible. Fortunately, Goblins didnt have the best senses and their ability to see in the dark wasnt that great. After smelling around for a bit, the Goblin started walking off which prompted Shizune to step forward with quick, nearly silent, steps as she stabbed her dagger, [Moonshadow], into its back. Much like Tina, she tried to focus on precise strike but had easily managed to hit the monster core with her sneak attack. The Goblin turned into dust in an instant and Shizune didnt get a speck of blood on her at all, also managing to preserve the majority of her stamina since she fought indirectly. This was already her seventh Goblin but she didnt feel like she had vented nearly enough. After releasing a sigh, she picked up the monster core and carried it over to Vahn in exchange for a few head pats from him. It made her feel a little frustrated knowing how childish her actions seemed, but the warm energying from his hand and the way he stroked her head and ears was strangely addictive. Shizune had vehemently disliked having her ears touched by men in the past, because they were often very aggressive and sometimes teased her cruelly, but Vahn always showed a lot of care in his caress. When he would inevitably pull his hand away, it always made her feel like the moment was very short and her urge to vent on monsters became progressively stronger. Vahn watched Shizune fighting from the side with Chloe, using a thin membrane of air to prevent their voices from traveling. Chloe had been exining the type of training she had been doing with Shizune, including her assassination training. Since he had already noticed how Shizune was drawn to such methods, Vahn wasnt too surprised and, as long as she didnt actually want to be a child assassin, he didnt have any problems with it at all. Chloe had also been worried about Shizunes nature and had said, "I think she wants to track down her previous owners and kill them with her own hands...even though her body has changed, Shizune cant seem to let go of the past so easily. The happier she bes, the more she wants to erase the pastpletely..." Not just Chloe, but even Vahn could understand Shizunes desire for vengeance as he couldnt even imagine being able to easily move on from that kind of treatment. Knowing that the people who caused him harm were still out and about, potentially harming other people, would make him want to seek vengeance as well. If not for the fact he was in apletely different world, Vahn couldnt deny there was a possibility he would have sought vengeance against the scientists and doctors that had experimented on him. It was a way of taking back power from the people that had hurt you and he would have wanted to prove to others that he had more value than something that was decided by others. As someone who was literally exchanged for currency, Shizune most likely felt a simr urge and Vahn couldnt me her for it at all. After thinking over the matter, Vahn asked, "Have you been able to find out who they were?" Chloes expression became serious but she shook her head and exined, "Once she had been purchased and shipped to Orario, the trail had gonepletely cold. Other than the name of the handler she had been purchased from, I havent been able to find out anything. Without tracking him down and tracing the source back from one individual to the next, there isnt any way to find out who Shizune wants to kill unless she tells us. Ive tried talking to her about it, but she has been tight-lipped so far..." The fact that Shizune was keeping the matter under wraps was pretty much a clear indication that she wanted to take care of the problem herself. Though Vahn didnt expect that she would outright leave the Manor in the future, there was a fair chance she would hunt the men down if she got the chance. He would likely travel around himself and, when he went to the Far East, she would undoubtedly want toe along. Vahn worried about Shizune and would want her to avoid that kind of path, but he also didnt really have the right to stop her from doing so. What people decided to do with the power they obtained was entirely up to them, so the most he could do was try to guide her onto a better path. At the very least, he would have to make sure she kept her vengeance tied to the people that had harmed her instead of targetting the innocent. As if she could understand his thoughts, Chloe nodded her head and said, "Dont worry, I think she will mellow out with time and there is little chance she would leave the Hearth Manor any time soon. There are too many things she has attachments to and this ce really has be the closest thing to a home she has ever known. It likely wouldnt even be for several years and, even then, only when things had calmed down or the opportunity presented itself. Other than myself, there are several people looking after her so you just need to keep being the light so she doesnt stray too far away..." Chloe knew that the greatest reason many people had for wandering into the darkness was that they had lost direction in their lives. As long as she had a stable environment, Shizune would likely never actually go through with her ns to seek vengeance at all. She would be too worried about the people she was leaving behind, especially the voices of guidance and reason she hade to rely on. Vahn nodded his head with a serious expression and followed behind Shizune silently, making sure she never left his sight and wandered off on her own... --- Almost as if decreed by fate, Shizune ended uping across a room that had a total of four Gobline present. She had originally intended to avoid the confrontation but, after imagining Tinaing out ahead in such a situation, Shizune found it very difficult to take a step back. She didnt really consider herself to be apetitive person but, imagining a girl that was younger than her possessing more conviction, made Shizune feel anxious and a bit frustrated. After thinking for several minutes, she eventually unsheathed her ck dagger and psyched herself up by saying, ("The only way to experience true growth it to willingly face your limits and ovee them.."). These were words that had been repeated often during their lessons, but Shizune specifically recalled hearing them from a confident Vahn and she had reyed the scene in her mind several times in the past few months. For several long minutes after she decided to fight, Shizune waited in absolute silence with her dagger at the ready. She used the cover of the corridor itself to obscure her body and was paying attention to the paths and actions of the four Goblins that municated to each other with guttural sounds and ticks. They werent actually intelligent, at least not bymon standards, but they had a rudimentary form ofmunication when they werent inbat. Eventually, two of the Goblins seemed to find the room less interesting and started to wander toward one of the connecting corridors in search of prey. Shizune used this as an opportunity to stalk forward because the other two Goblins had been watching the departure, almost like they were seeing off theirpanions. Shizune moved around to the nk of the closest Goblin, well outside of its peripheral vision, before running low inside its blind spot. She didnt have confidence in being able to hit the monster core without immediately alerting the other Goblins so she instead targetted the neck and jumped forward to nearly severe the monsters head from its body as she rolled across the ground and dashed to the next Goblin. It had been alerted to her presence and released a loud cry that caused the two departing Goblins toe running back from the corridor they had entered. Shizune pulled out her second curved dagger, and dual-wielded as she swung forward at a low angle at the Goblins stomach. Mindless as it may be, the Goblin wasnt going to simply take the dagger to its gut without trying to evade so it jumped back and arched its body to avoid the swipe. Unfortunately, Shizune had twisted her body and dragged the curved dagger toward its exposed head in the same motion, cutting through its ocr cavity andpletely blinding the Goblin. The other two ran towards her, but Shizune used the iling Goblin as cover and kept it between her and the two assants. Unable to see, the blinded monster swung out at its surroundings and this made it difficult for the other two to attack since they were programmed not to harm each other. Shizune used the opportunity when one of the Goblins tried to move around itspanion to throw one of her needles into its soft stomach, causing it to release a shrill shriek and mindlessly try to charge at her. This allowed Shizune to fight it in a 1v1 situation by stepping around to its nk away from the final uninjured Goblin. At this point, Shizune was already breathing a little heavily but she kept her focus and sheathed her dagger as she backstepped, reaching into her small pouch immediately afterward. Finding the familia orb she was looking for, Shizune tossed it forward into the screaming face of the Goblin and a small explosion of dust and smoke erupted in its face. It was a simple tool called a [Blinding Ball] that had small partictes that acted as a powerful irritant. On contact, exposed skin would be itchy, eyes would be blinded, and it could even cause weaker monsters to spasm just by breathing it in. After taking a direct hit to the face, the Goblin breathed in arge volume of the small dust-like irritants and wailed loudly as it tried to rub away the partictes from its eyes, only causing further damage. Shizune waited for the dust to settle, as she didnt currently have the [Abnormal Resistance] Development Ability yet, before moving forward and stabbing the Goblin in the center of its chest after unsheathing her [Moonshadow] once again. She knew that the growth of the weapon depended on how she used it, so Shizune made sure to deal the final blows with her growth weapon whenever possible. With the second Goblin dead, the one she had previously blinded continued to thrash about while it looked as though the final uninjured one was considering fleeing. Shizune watched it from the safety provided by the blinded Goblin before moving forward in a swift motion when it had turned its back to her. She had used a few seconds to catch her breath and killed the third Goblin before moving toward the fleeing final Goblin. Realizing it couldnt escape, it tried to turn around toward her and attack, but Shizune jumped forward with the greatest momentum she could manage and tried to keep to the back of the Goblin as it turned. It tried to turn to match her, but Shizune spun around and used their counter-motions to m both of her daggers into the Goblins torso before it was able to actually face her. Though the attack hadnt hit its core, the severe trauma experienced by the Goblin caused its body to turn into dust as the monster core fell to the ground at almost the same time as the exhausted Shizune. Fortunately, instead of the cold and dirty ground, Shizune found her bodynding in a warm embrace that made herugh awkwardly and say, "I have a little more respect for Tina now..." Vahn alsoughed as he cradled her body and pressed his palm directly around her stomach to replenish her energy and help regte herbored breathing. Thus far, Shizune had only killed 19 Goblins and there was still plenty of time left for her to continue onward. However, she surprised him a bit when she grabbed the sleeve of his tunic and said, "Im not in a hurry to get stronger... lets go home, Im tired." --- (A/N: Some people have worried about how weak Tina and Shizune are and how their stamina drains so quickly even against rtively weak monsters. To put it in perspective, an average a.d.u.l.t would normalize their parameters around 100 Power, Endurance, Agility, and Dexterity even without killing a lot of monsters. Since they are still very young, Tina and Shizune are fighting opponents that are marginally stronger than themselves while pushing themselves to their limits with their rtively lower parameters. This means that Tina actually achieved the base parameters of a weak Level 1 A.d.u.l.t after a single day of fighting while Shizune actually has a bit of difficulty as a result of the damage to her soul. It hasnt bee that long since she used the [V.i.r.g.i.ns Promise], after all. After a few weeks in the Dungeon, this type of thing wouldnt happen anymore and they would have superhuman levels of stamina with the increase in their Endurance. If you think moving around inbat isnt that draining, you are in denial xD...Even boxers only have rounds thatst 3 minutes long.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Animosity,The Right to Vengeance...,Lacking Stamina...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 548 - Mischievious

Chapter 548 - Mischievious

Though it was rather early, Vahn wasnt going to push Shizune too hard given that she really had done her best in the earlier fight. Mental fatigue was one of the biggest factors when you were first starting out and there were very few people that would push themselves beyond that point just to get a little stronger. Besides, there wasnt a great difference between 19 and 28 Goblins as far as general exilia gained was concerned. Depending on the mentality of the person, that is what decided how their parameters developed and, if Shizune felt like this was her current limit, that was good enough for real growth to take ce. After helping her body calm down from the effects of her battle, Vahn bent down and allowed Shizune to climb onto his back. She happily did so and Vahn once again realized how small she was as her almost negligible weight pressed against his back. He was a bit worried that her butt would peek out while he was carrying her, since she wore a very short kimono with spats, so Vahn materialized a cloak and had Chloe put it over her. Shizuneughed at Vahns concern and teasingly asked, "Do you not want other boys to stare at my bottom, Vahn~?" Vahn released a small sigh and said, "You can say it that way if youd like, but I might make you walk back if you continue to misbehave." Shizune gave a bit of an awkwardugh and said, "Aya, Ill behave, Ill behave~." as she rested her head on his shoulder. Chloe watched this from the side and held her finger to her chin before saying, "Make sure to hold on properly, and dont actually go to sleep Shizune. We never know when an enemy might attack, so keep your guard up until we reach the Manor properly~nya!" Shizune opened her amethyst-like eyes and looked at Chloe, seeing the seriousness contained behind her rtively yful words. At the same time, she tightened her rtively weak grip around Vahns neck and focused her mind... Even if their enemy didnt attack today, it was a fact that both Chloe and Vahn had sensed a hostile presence on their way to the Dungeon. Though many people gave them strange looks, some containing anger, envy, resentment, and a variety of other negative emotions, there was a big difference between the people that thought about hurting them and the people that wanted to hurt them. Chloes instincts had been honed since she was a child while Vahns were like an instinctual trigger from The Path itself that allowed him to sense danger. He had even been able to detect the Juggernaut in the past, during a time when his domain wasnt thatrge and his perception was rather weak. The fact that they both had sensed something was a testament to the hostility that was directed toward them by their yet unseen pursuer. As they hadnt progressed that far into the Floor, the trio reached the surface in less than ten minutes using Vahns map as a guide. They could have gotten back even faster, but Vahn wasnt in a particr hurry and was sending out indiscernible pulses of energy to try and detect any invisible enemies that may be present. He didnt know if the person following them had been the earth mage, but there were few people that could avoid his detection and it was typically only through the use of powerful obscuring artifacts. The only exception to this had been Ouranos himself, but Vahn felt like this was just a difference in the level of their existence or some other secret that Ouranos had. Without any major incidents, Vahn carried Shizune all the way back to the Manor with Chloe walking cheerfully at his side, almost as if she didnt have her guard up at all. However, other than a random Adventurer nearly bumping into them after exiting an alleyway at a fast speed, there werent any actual threats, or even hostility, detected on the way back. Chloe had sent the rather unfortunate woman careening through the streets after quickly diverting her course, but that was the end of the matter... Once they were inside, Hestia was waiting for them with a big smile on her face as she said, "Wee home, Vahn, Chloe, Shizune~!" in a happy tone. Vahn set down Shizune before walking over and giving Hestia a momentary embrace and a quick kiss before asking, "Anything happen while we were away?" Hestia had a loose expression and a happy smile on her face before she resumed her normal appearance and said, "Nnn, there hasnt really been anything? You werent really gone that long, after all." Though it wasnt really directed at her, Shizunes ears drooped a bit and she said, "Im gonna go find Tina and maybe take a nap..." as she tried to run off with a pitter-patter of footsteps. Vahn quickly reached out and snagged the cor of her kimono and picked her up, as the tension was around the obi wrapped around her body and wouldnt cause her any real difort. Shizune had a startled expression with a mixture of confusion until Vahn exined, "I need to update your Status Board before you run off. You should also take a bath unless you n to go y and exercise when your parameters increase." Realizing she had forgotten about that rather important aspect, Shizune showed an uncharacteristically bashful smile and said, "Sorry, I forgot..." The truth of the matter was, Shizune actually had to use the bathroom quite badly but she was too embarrassed to bring it up right now. After moving to the study, Shizune loosened her obi and lowered the back of her kimono, disying her rtively small back for Vahn to trace a line of blood down. The blood vanished like evaporating liquid as the Hestia Familia crest appeared with a subtle magical light emerging from the hieroglyphics contained within. Hestia herself watched with interest, as she was always amazed to see how Vahn was able to do something that was previously unique to the gods. There were no real differences from her own method, so Hestia was a little confused about how Vahn could discern information her eyes were unable to see... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Shizune Yuel Race: Kitsune LV. 1 POW: I17->I40 END: I14->I36 DEX: I26->I73 AGI: I36->I97 MAG: I15->I26 Skill: [Tamomo: Innate(sealed)], [Featherfoot:I] Magic: [Moons Prayer: Innate(sealed)] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance(sealed)], [Insomnia(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn filled out Shizunes parameters on a piece of paper before handing it over to her and doc.u.menting her growth within a magenta colored notebook. Shizune had a small smile on her face after seeing how much she had grown, but quickly gave the paper to Hestia and ran off wearing nothing but a loose kimono and spats. Vahn was a little confused by her actions until Chloe said, "I think she needed to go to the bathroom; no peeking, Vahn~nya!" Because he was wondering what she was up to, Vahns eyes had turned blue, a sign the girls had recognized to mean he was seeing much more than they would like at times. A small amount of heat reached Vahns cheeks and he showed an apologetic expression, saying, "I think Ill go work in my workshop for a bit. Its still pretty early and I dont want to start salon treatments before the others start returning." Right now, the only people within the Manor were Vahn himself, Hestia, Tsubaki, Chloe, Shizune, Mn, Tina, Aki, Syr, Arnya, and Preasia. Terra was also present, but she was most likely in the garden and well outside of Vahns current detection radius. As for Hephaestus, she seemed to be at her own workshop dealing with her clients and would likely be back before noon. Hestia seemed to have intended to take a bath and rx with Vahn for a bit, but she showed a smile and said, "Okay, Ill let you know if anything happens~!" before giving him a kiss on the cheek and heading back to her own room. She had been able to spend the night with him and also got to receive his massage previously. Though it never really felt like enough, Hestia didnt want to pressure Vahn as she did in the past. Ever since Hephaestus started living in the Manor, she had calmed down a lot because it was easier when there were friends she could vent to. Even Syr was a good listener and Hestia had even had something akin to a slumber party with them both in the past. Chloe didnt seem intent to let Vahn get away so easily, however, as she tilted her head to the side when Hestia left and asked, "Do you mind if Ie with you~nya? Ive never really been inside your workshop and it could be interesting~?" Though she had a veryposed look, Vahn could see the pink and subtle red contained in Chloes aura. He couldnt quite understand what had activated her, but Chloes body seemed to be heating up a bit and she was clearly seeking his attention. Thinking it had been a while since he spent time alone with her, Vahn smiled and said, "Sure, Ill show you around a bit and maybe you can help me...?" --- Though they had originally made their way towards his workshop, Vahn and Chloe had been passing through the corridors of the East Wing when she leaned against him and teasingly said, "Nyahaha, were in the East Wing, does that mean we can y~?" Vahn felt like his heart was being scratched by a cat as he asked in a quiet voice, "I dont mind, Chloe, but are you okay? Whats making you act like this so suddenly?" Seemingly, Chloe found Vahns words very interesting and showed a thoughtful smile on her face before saying, "Well~, were rarely alone like this, and Ive been a little tense since I saw you give ribbons to Mn and Tina. There is also the bloodl.u.s.t we felt earlier, and I was feeling anxious watching Shizune fight~nyahaha." Because she had been in abat-ready state and hadnt been able to cut loose, Chloe was feeling a little bored while the tensions of her body had been steadily increasing. Though she hadnt minded it too much at first, the moment she realized there was an opportunity to have Vahn to herself, Chloe felt like she needed to seize it. Even before she brought it up, her body had already started preparing and she couldnt deny she was feeling very excited. It was a bit strange, even from her own perspective, because she didnt remember being such a needy girl in the past. In fact, she cared more about Vahns mental health than simply being with him at first...it was interesting seeing how hearts and minds could change. Though, if she had to give a real reason after thinking about it seriously, Chloe couldnt deny that the information she received from the Divination was probably the biggest reason for her change in behavior. She didnt want to be the girl that caused Vahn to go down a lonely road and she had been thinking about all kinds of things she wanted to do before she actually died, matters she hadnt considered much in the past... Vahn could tell that Chloe wasnt being entirely truthful with him, but he didnt really care since her desire to be with him was more than enough reason for him to take action. He could tell that her reaction was normal, meaning she wasnt under the influence of an external source, so Vahn pulled her close to him and embraced her tightly, saying, "Your body seems very hot...let me help you cool down a bit, Chloe." As if to emphasize his words, Chloe released a hot breath against his neck before casually licking the spot with her dry tongue. Vahn had grown fond of the sensation as ofte, but he didnt want to stand out in the corridor and stall so he picked up Chloe in a princess carry and moved into one of the nearby rooms where they could enjoy some privacy. Once they reached the rtively empty room, Vahn pulled a bed from his inventory and plopped it down in the center of the room beforeying Chloe against it. She was still wearing her Adventurers attire, but that actually just made things a little more exciting. Vahn was actually very interested in different types of clothes and outfits, something he had discovered when he had gone shopping with the girls, so seeing her in bat attire made his tensions increase a bit. Chloe realized this as well and decided to entice Vahn a bit as she rolled over to her hands and feet, looked over her shoulder with a yful smile, and asked, "What do you think of my outfit, Vahn~nya? Does it suit me?" Because she had to dress distinctly different than her ck Cat alias, Chloe wore a dark-blue sleeveless tunic that proudly disyed her navel and a rtively thin b.r.e.a.s.tte that only covered the front and back side of her heart. Instead of the small white shorts, she used to wear, she now wore a somewhat loose pair of light-grey shorts with visible spats underneath them. She had also traded in her two small brown pouches on the sides of her legs for two tan-colored ones that rested on her backside, simr to Aki. She had on matching tan gloves and boots with a pair of stockings that were the same color of blue as her tunic. Overall, she didnt change her style that much, but the color palette had undergone a swap and she looked more lively than previously. With her butt pointed toward him, Vahn could see the blue ribbon firmly tied around Chloes tail as well as the small gap between her thighs where her secret garden was protected by two rtively thinyers of fabric. He habitually swallowed a bit of saliva as he walked forward and stroked her butt, to which she responded by rolling onto her side andughing mischievously. Vahn could feel his heart itch a little more at her antics but he was effectively triggered when she rxed her body in azy pose and said, "I believe you owe me a massage~." A smile appeared on Vahns face and he nodded his head, saying, "Yes, and much more..." as he reached out and rubbed her belly, causing her tough as she rolled away a second time. Chloe skillfully kicked off her boots and unbuttoned her tunic, showing off her rtively modest b.r.e.a.s.ts that had a skin-colored tape protecting her dignity. She then began peeling away her gloves as Vahn crawled into the bed after her, prompting her to discard the freed articles toward him as if she was fending off an attacker. Vahn reached out very quickly with his hands and grabbed the pouches on her backside before the belt around her waist loosened and, in a single swift motion, Chloe freed herself from the shorts. She also tossed her tunic back into Vahns face, leaving her wearing nothing but an extremely thin pair of spats and dark blue stockings. With her raven ck hair and green eyes, she looked especially tantalizing to Vahn and he wanted to pamper this mischievously little kitten until she mewled loudly in satisfaction... Leaving the st line of defense on her body, Chloeid down against the bed and supported her upper body with one of the pillows as she kicked her feet yfully and waited for Vahn. Knowing what she had in mind, Vahn discarded the majority of his clothes as well before moving over and grabbing Chloes yful feet andying them against the bed. She looked back at him with mock confusion on her face and asked, "Nyaa? What are you nning~?" as Vahn straddled the back of her thighs. Rubbing his hands together, Vahn showed a smile and said, "Though I want to help your body cool down, I figured it would be better to fight fire with fire so youll be more satisfiedter on. Well start with a massage and, when youre nice and warmed up, Ill pamper you as much as you want~." Chloeughed cheerfully as the temperature of her body steadily increased to the point that small drops of sweat began to emerge from her pores. Vahn leaned over her and ced his hands at her sides before slowly tracing them up her body with a bit of pressure. Chloe took in a deep breath and released a sigh at the sudden wave of energy and the heavy petting method of Vahn. Because he had enough Power to move around much heavier objects than the rtively light and lithe Chloe, Vahn was able to lift up her torso with his movements. Chloe arched her back to match his actions until Vahns hands came to a stop around her rtively modest b.r.e.a.s.ts and he gave her sensitive little protrusions a light pinch as a thread of energy tickled the underlying nerves. Though it was only the prelude, Chloe released a stifled nyaaa~ that tickled Vahns ears as he let her bodye to rest against the bed once again. Next, he molded her shoulders and neck with his thumbs and helped ease any tension she felt in her muscles with a deep tissue massage to loosen up her body. He then traced his thumbs along the lines of her scap and pressed into the pressure points around her tr.a.p.ezius muscles and the rhomboid muscles beneath them. Slowly working his way down, Vahn pressed into several points around her spine before drawing his index finger slowly down the line of her back, all the way until he reached her tail. As if she understood what Vahn was thinking, Chloe turned her head to the side and gave him a deeply affectionate look just as Vahn began to fiddle around with her tail. Her body tensed up as a natural response to the action and she tried to curl up her legs while pressing her face into the pillow beneath her. With Vahn sitting on her thighs, she couldnt move too easily but Chloe was strong enough to lift himpletely when Vahn gripped her tail a bit firmly. He had somewhat expected this to happen, as his own weight really wasnt that muchpared to Chloes significant strength, so Vahn ended up behind Chloe as she raised her butt up and pressed her head to the bed. Other than various seated positions, the next favorite position of many of the Cat Girls was being taken from behind. It was also a fact that Vahn found the pert little butt of Chloe being hugged by the ck spats especially tantalizing. With his left hand gently holding Chloes tail, Vahn used his right hand to stroke her butt as he traced his thumb along the somewhat hot and steamy mound near his waist. Other than the spats, Chloe wasnt wearing any actual underwear so Vahn could see a perfect outline of her v.a.g.i.n.a after it had be damp with her own love juices. As he was only wearing a pair of thin underwear himself, Vahn pressed his h.i.p.s to the hot opening and caused Chloes body to tremble slightly. After taking several deep breaths to pose herself, Chloe looked back and had an incredibly seductive look on her face as she said, "Vahn, I want it, nyaaaa~" Vahn felt like Chloe was being far more forward than normal and activated his [Eyes of Truth] out of concern as he slowly probed against her backside while massaging her pert little rump. Chloe gripped the bedspread tightly and wiggled her butt against him at the same time but, no matter how much Vahn looked around, he couldnt see any abnormalities in her body at all. He suspected it could be an aspect of her Innate, [Cheshire], but he had no way of knowing at all since even Chloe had no idea what it did. Deciding there were more important matters to worry about right now, Vahn unequipped his own underpants before grabbing the extremely thin fabric protecting Chloes garden. Without much hesitation, Vahn pulled the fabric apart with his hands and, as a result of the very stretchy nature of the fabric, it snapped and created arge hole in the previously skin-tight garment. Chloes body tensed up in expectation as Vahn ced his scalding hot ns against her steaming hot v.a.g.i.n.a and began rubbing it to stimte her vulva while lubricating his p.e.n.i.s. She had long adapted to his size, but it didnt mean it wouldnt cause her any difort if he suddenly forced himself inside of her. However, with the massive volume of fluid being produced by her steamy insides, Vahn was ready almost immediately and deftly found the correct angle before his long session of spoiling Chloe began... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP dder-chan...,Cat in Heat!?,Nyaa, nyaaan, meow~!?) (A/N: Im about 6k words under quota right now, but I think Ill take a nap before writing the next two chapters before the reset. Have a good day, and thanks for reading <3) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 549 - Lull

Chapter 549 - Lull

After more than an hour-and-a-half, Vahn ended up in a small tub with Chloe as shezily moved around under his guidance and affectionately pressed herself against his body. He was currently trying to wash her body but, even after she had calmed down a bit, Chloe seemed to be in a very affectionate mood today. This often happened after he had s.e.x with a Cat Person, as they would often cuddle up with and lick him after the fact, but it seemed like Chloe was especially active today. Though it was brief, he even managed to get her to purr a bit when he was stroking her belly earlier, something that was difficult to trigger because they had to be in a very absentminded and rxed state. Towards the end, Vahn had discovered why Chloe was acting so uncharacteristically and it made him feel very fond of the lovable and mischevious kitten. Because spring was approaching, causing the days to be longer and warmer, Chloes body was in a standby state that could trigger her to enter heat at a moments notice. There were several factors involved, but it was the presence of other Cat People around her and the tensions she had been feeling in her body throughout the day. Though it had been an unintentional trigger, as far as he could tell, it was the woman nearly bumping into them that eventually set Chloe off. This let Vahn know many things about Chloes health and it showed that she was feeling a bit of anxiety as ofte, to which there could be several causes. Knowing that she had died around this point in the Divination could be the main reason, but environmental factors and her interpersonal rtionsh.i.p.s with other people were likely the main cause. Chloe wasnt the type that formed many bonds with people in the past and, though she was very receptive to people with deeply rooted trauma, this was one of the first times in her life where she proactively endeavored to get along with others. His presence was likely the biggest factor, however, as she was most likely very worried about him and his antics while, though she may not appear that way on the surface, Chloe was feeling a bit of jealousy toward other girls. Thinking this was a good opportunity to discuss the matter, as he had a lot of trust for Chloe and she would likely keep the matter under wraps for a little while, Vahn asked, "Chloe, if I could create memory fragments like Eva, do you think I can help make everyone happy? Or do you think it would be better to create a magical tool that allows me topress time so we can be together more?" Chloe traced her fairly long and dry tongue from the center of Vahns chest all the way up to his neck, causing the light condensation building up on his skin to vanish as her tongue pped it up. She had an amorous smile on her face, but the intelligent light in her eyes showed she was considering her answer seriously. After a brief moment of silence, Chloe tilted her head and said, "I think you should probably talk to the goddesses and Syr about it, Vahn~nya. From what I can deduce, both ideas seem like a double-edged sword and Im worried about the stresses you would face~nyafuu." Chloe started licking around his jaw and behind his ear after shepleted her words, allowing Vahn the time he needed to think about things properly. She could tell that Vahn had probably been thinking about how unfairly allocated his time was because there were simply too many girls. They all worked together and made concessions with each other, but there wasnt much any of them could do about their desire to be with Vahn at times. Because he could see their emotional states, Vahn was very receptive to their needs and this made him feel pressured when it was obvious they were starving for his affection... Vahn knew he would need to bring up the matter eventually, but he had wanted to keep it to himself until Evas orb awakened. The girls likely knew he was feeling a bit pressured by their expectations, as he wasnt that great at keeping things from him, but vocalizing it was another matter entirely. If he brought up his concerns now, Vahn feared the girls might try to give him a little more space and he would feel very guilty. After all, there were times when Vahn wished he could just spend all his time pampering and ying around with the girls instead of focusing on his other worries. They already made so manypromises for him that Vahn felt ashamed that he couldnt make them happy and work on the things he needed to worry about at the same time. After releasing arge sigh, which causes Chloes ears to flicker adorably, Vahn yfully thumbed around her tail and said, "I think I know what I need to do, but Ill talk to Hephaestus, Eina, Loki, and Hestia about itter. There is still a lot of time to consider the matter before I can even worry about it, so there isnt any reason to stress about it right now...haaaa." Chloezily nodded her head and started considering what she could do to ease Vahns body and mind. His biggest problem was that he put in a lot of effort to satisfy the girls but there were simply too many. He was seemingly considering splitting himself a bit, which could be a fairly decent solution, but that could be dangerous for various reasons. If he was linked with the memory fragments, Vahn would feel an even greater amount of mental strain at times while, if he wasnt linked with them, some of the girls may be more attached to the version of Vahn they had than the real thing... The bestpromise would be if Vahn could set limitations on his copies and make them only perform specific tasks such as massages, petting, or simply talking, without allowing the copy, or the girls themselves, to escte things in the rtive privacy of the orb. This would allow them to release some of their own pent up desires without overstressing Vahn throughout the day, freeing up his schedule and only tending to them during the evenings. However, this only worked if Vahn was linked with the fragments as well since his interactions with the girls in the orb would be very important for their bonds to grow stronger. If he wasnt linked with them, Chloe could imagine several girls that might take advantage of Vahns nature to incite his copies to do foolish things... After their bath came to an end, Vahn and Chloe had a light lunch before she decided to head off and track down Shizune. Though it hadnt been to the extent of Tina, Shizune had experienced a great deal of growth for a young girl and needed to move her body and adapt to the change so that she didnt make any mistakes in the future. Her fighting style was rather indirect, so it was unlikely there would be any problems, but it was still better to have an understanding of your capabilities to avoid mishaps. As for Vahn, he decided to strike while the iron was hot and checked his Status Logbook to see what Hephaestus, Eina, Loki, Hestia, and Anubis were up to. It showed that Eina was busy as a result of her work, but all the goddesses were currently free. At this point, Hephaestus was even in the Manor itself so Vahn went to check her workshop only to find that it was empty. Other than the Eternal me dancing about happily, almost like it was greeting him, Vahn didnt see any signs of her at all. Before he left, Vahn decided to pamper one of the most important parts of Hephaestus so he cut open his palm and allowed some of his blood to fall into the exuberant me as it happilypped up the blood in an effort to absorb trace amounts of his source energy. Vahn was curious to see if the Eternal me would evolve even further in the future because he found the vermillion-golden mes to be rather beautiful and dazzling...just like Hephaestus herself. Vahn figured that Hephaestus was either with Hestia, Syr, or talking with Terra, so he returned to the central area and detected tworge presences on the third floor, confirming his earlier suspicion. Making his way up the stairs, Vahn opened the door without knocking because he could feel that both girls knew he wasing to them. His bond with Hestia was simply ridiculous and just thinking he was almost near the Manor was what allowed her to intercept them at the foyer every day. Hephaestuss had been the highest before Hestias overwhelming love, so her bond was also quite powerful. When he was in close proximity to the goddesses, Vahn could sense their thoughts and emotions in a slightly abstract manner that made him feel very close to them. Hephaestus and Hestia had been sitting on thetters bed and Vahn was surprised to find the prolific forging goddess was wearing nothing but a loose white blouse and a pair or ruby-red panties. Hephaestus face blushed slightly and she exined, "I had stayed up all night working on a new design and was going to take a nap with Hestia. You showed up just as we were about toy down..." Hestia also had a somewhat bashful expression, but only after seeing how Hephaestus was reacting. She had originally thought nothing of it but now realized their situation could easily be misunderstood by people if they didnt understand the context. Vahn released a light chuckle and unabashedly climbed into the bed with the two blushing beauties and said, "I wanted to talk with the two of you while also getting the opinions of Loki, Anubis, Eina, and Syr. However, I wouldnt mind taking a nap myself if you dont mind me joining~?" Hephaestusughed while Hestia practically yanked him over and pulled him to the head of the bed. There was no way she would allow Vahn to escape after his words and the idea of simplyzing around with him made her heart burst with happiness. Hephaestus also worked in conjunction with her, so Vahn very quickly found himself enveloped between the two buxom goddesses as a feeling of extremefort settled into his mind. As they prepared to doze off together, Vahn absentmindedly exined what he was concerned about and they both said they would bring it up on thework and discuss itter. Until Vahn had a better understanding of such things, there wasnt any real sense in nning around such things. However, talking about methods to help the girls feel more involved with Vahn was something that they could easily discuss. Just like his little stint with jumping off Fafnir in the past, there were plenty of group activities that didnt involve things like s.e.x or having Vahn pamper them directly. Everyone liked to experience new things, especially if they were very exciting, so there were plenty of alternatives that didnt require Vahn to do anything excessive... --- After a nice three-hour nap, Vahn woke up feeling strangely refreshed, something he often felt when he slept with Hestia. Just like earlier, when he felt that incredible sense offort, Hestia had a natural aura that made him feel almost like he was in a daze. Though his memories were a bit blurry, which was rare considering he had a near-perfect memory, Vahn could still recall the times when he rxed against her thighs and she gently caressed his head. It was likely a property of her Divinity, but Hestia could help him rx to an extent that even Eina couldnt, though it was a bit of an unfairparison considering that Hestia was a first generation goddess while Eina was just a mortal girl. Eina was also very consistentpared to someone like Hestia, who could have huge shifts in her mood depending on the situation and was sometimes very intense. Vahn spent more time pampering her than the other way around, so Eina was still the girl he was mostfortable with since she was not only his wife, but someone that proactively endeavored to care for his physical and mental wellness. Since she was clearly working the afternoon shift, Vahn decided to ask her if she would spend the evening with him so that he could receive a bit of her pampering... As he had promised previously, Vahn ended up opening up his salon after awakening from his nap and spent a rtively uneventful afternoon polishing his massage techniques and gaining a bit of OP with his [Petting] Development Ability. Shizune had shown up, as was to be expected, but she behaved herself since Mn and Tina were both present to observe. She wore the thin, open-back, top that only covered the front side of her diminutive chest and a pair of small ck spats that clearly showed that Mn had forced her to wear panties underneath. Throughout the entire process, Tina had a ruddy flush to her face but she had calmed down a lot since this morning and no longer looked anxious and upset with him. Once he finished his rtively tame massage with Shizune, Vahn moved on to Mn who, under the watchful gaze of her daughters, fought to stifle her rtively silent mewls. Vahn went easy on her, as he didnt want her to lose face in front of her daughters, but neither really seemed to mind that much considering they knew of Mns habits from the past. Shizune was very calm throughout the entire process and even watched from up close, clearly interested in the massage technique itself, while Tina just periodically sent nces at Vahn when she thought he wasnt paying attention. Her tail flicked about in a somewhat rigid state that was a bit of a danger g if she was a bit older, but Vahn yed along and pretended to not notice. After sending off the three girls, the next to show up was Lunoire who had her characteristically gentle smile and almost sleepy looking eyes. She climbed up on the massage table and talked about her day while Vahn gave her a light massage and patiently listened to her words. Lunoire had ventured into the Dungeon with Tiona, Naaza, and Lili today and they had gone all the way down to the 24th Floor, even though it was rtively dangerous to do so considering the existence of enemies within the Dungeon. However, they had worked it out with the other girls beforehand and took the [Rallying Whistle] with them just in case they needed help. Lunoire was beginning to work hard to increase her strength, but she still had the same disposition of simply wanting toze about at times, much like Hestia. She had also opened up a lot to Vahn and was one of the girls that proactively talked about her day and the things she was worried about when they were alone. Many of the other girls had a tendency to bottle up their thoughts, much like himself, so it was sometimes difficult to understand what they were going through. Fortunately, they talked amongst themselves a lot and, the ones that were less vocal, still put their concerns onto thework and received counseling from Hestia and Syr after the fact... Once Lunoire had left, the next girl to enter the salon had been Ryuu, who had a bit of a bashful look to her. Vahn felt the urge to tease her but kept things professional as she sat down in a reclining chair he had within the salon. Ryuu hadnte for a massage and instead, somewhat hesitantly, asked Vahn for a pedicure and a manicure as she rxed against the chair. Vahn happily obliged and dutifully attended to Ryuu, even as her blush grew progressively redder over time. He didnt tease her directly but, by talking to her and keeping her frompletely rxing her mind, Ryuu was overly aware of his actions and felt very embarrassed to have him grabbing her legs and ying around with her toes... After sending off the tomato-colored Ryuu, thest person he tended to for the afternoon ended up being Tsubaki. Vahn felt a little exasperated when she showed up because Tsubaki was always very proactive when it came to things and it was hard to stay calm around her. Fortunately, she had calmed down a bitpared to her past self as a result of her pregnancy. Though she teased him a fair amount, she was quickly tamed after Vahn gave her a deep tissue massage without relying too much on his [Hands of Nirvana]. It wouldnt be nearly as pleasant, even causing her a bit of soreness, but it was the type of ache that was strangely rxing. Vahn also took the time to check the status of her pregnancy, a topic that hade made Tsubaki mellow out greatly. Once his salon treatments were finished, Vahn went to visit Terra inside the garden and spent the remaining time before dinner talking with her, Riveria, and Syr. The atmosphere around Riveria was a bit strange, but Vahn pretended not to notice it too much and just pandered to the mature High Elf for a bit so she wouldnt try to beat him with her staff. She was likely still bothered from the events of the day prior but Vahn wasnt going to shy away so easily so he did his best to stay calm as they talked about some of his research topics. Riveria was interested in the idea of the orbs, though Vahn hadnt gone into any details about why he wanted to make them, while Syr seemed to have inferred something from Vahns behavior and had a small smile on her face. Terra was much the same, but for decidedly different reasons... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Orb, Orb, Orb,Sleepy Boi,Wee to Salon de Vahn) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 550 - Procedure

Chapter 550 - Procedure

After spending a rtively peaceful night with Eina, Vahn got a jump start on the morning and decided to spend some quality time with Aki and Arnya as he waited for Loki to stop by with the first goddess he was supposed to help. Thinking about pregnancies made Vahn want to spend time with his own girls and it made him very pleased that both Arnya and Aki were very healthy while the babies in their bellies seemed full of vitality. He couldnt identify the gender of their children, but being able to hear their faint heartbeats made Vahn feel ted and a bit possessive as he gently stroked the girls bellies. Arnya wasying across hisp with her legs folded as she absentmindedly held her hands over his while Aki just leaned against his shoulder and nuzzled against him. It was moments like this that Vahn wished could go on forever and it made his desire to press time greater. He had thought about it a lot during the evening and had talked to Eina after she heard about the topic from Hephaestus and Hestia. Eina felt that is was best to make apromise between the two, meaning Vahn should use memory fragment orbs while also using a timepression orb. She could understand the potential dangers as well, but it was Einas opinion that having the option was better as it would allow Vahn more time to rx as well. If the orbs were very secure, it was also a ce where the children would be able to y around in rtive safety... He hadnt thought of it before, but Eina also mentioned it would be a good way to move people to and from one point to another without having to have long convoys or prepare arge number of supplies. If he really wanted to travel around with his family, without having to prepare a fleet of dragons and the like, Vahn could potentially have everyone safely ced inside the orb and carry it with him. Though it was unlikely, it was even possible for him to engineer the orb in such a way that it may allow him to take the girls to other records with him in the future. However, after thinking about this, Vahn realized it was a very bad idea because they would essentially be trapped inside the small world he created for them. If something happened that caused the orb to fracture and destabilize, it would result in the deaths of everyone inside because their bodies wouldnt be sustainable in a foreign record. The goddesses, especially, couldnt leave the record at all unless Vahn found a way to strip them of their Divinity without damaging their soul. Since they were a product of their Divinity, this was impossible unless Vahn was well versed with souls and had, at the very least, a Tier 5 soul himself. It was difficult to imagine even being Tier 4, much less Tier 5, so Vahn figured that was a dead end for the time being... Vahns quality time with the two rotund little kittens was brought to an end around 10 AM when Loki arrived outside the Manor apanied by a homely looking goddess with curly orange hair and x colored eyes and a very nervous looking man with light brown hair, brown eyes, and a healthy body. After reluctantly parting with Arnya and Aki, Vahn made his way out to meet them as they briefly introduced themselves and made their way to the Guest Residence. The goddess was known as Holda, possessing Divinities rted to Agriculture, Sewing, and Weaving, while the man was her rather fortunate lover, Chris Hend. Vahn was very interested in Holdas skills regarding sewing and weaving but decided against asking about it since it would make the situation even more awkward. Once they reached the Guest Residence, Vahn sat with Loki on one sofa while Holda and Chris sat on the opposite side. Holda had a gentle smile on her face and said, "Sage Aldrnari, thank you for giving my Chris and I the opportunity to conceive a child. It is truly a blessing I had never thought to experience in all my many years..." Though it was generally a breach of etiquette to do so, Holda bowed as an expression of her gratitude while Chris became increasingly nervous by what was about to happen. However, when he spoke, Chriss voice was a deep baritone and there was an underlying confidence contained within as he said, "This is a kindness that will never be forgotten for as long as I draw breath. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be with the goddess I love as true a true man and woman. We..." There was a deep love in Chris eyes as he looked at Holda, an expression she shared as shepleted his sentence, "We decided to get married after this...I know it may inconvenience you but, if you arent busy at the time, please feel free to attend the ceremony." Vahn was about to agree without putting much thought into it, but Loki spoke out first, saying, "There are a lot of circ.u.mstances that need to be taken in consideration from the perspective of the Alliance, so well have to look into the matter before making any promises. However, even if Vahn himself cant show up, expect that a representative of the Alliance will be in attendance~." Holda smiled in understanding at Lokis words and said, "Yes, I believe that is for the best." As the matter had been a closely guarded secret, Holda and Chris werent entirely aware of what they needed to do for the ritual. Because she couldnt afford to pay the fees and offer up the requisite materials, Holda had agreed that her Familia would contribute fabrics to the Alliance over the course of the next ten years. It wouldnt hurt their business with their other client, as they werent being asked to make clothing, so Holda had agreed to it without much thought. Her Divinity allowed her to weave arge amount of cloth in a very short period of time and it was exactly the type of material Vahn had been looking for to make some of his clothing designs. Loki was very aware of this and picked out a goddess that already had a long rtionship and could produce high-quality fabrics. Though she knew Vahn had a bit of a preference for various types of clothing, Loki herself was fond of such ys and wanted to enable Vahn so she could benefit herself. Loki exined the somewhat embarrassing process to the anxious couple and Holda was a bit embarrassed to know she would have Vahn touching her after she made love with Chris. He also didnt seem too fond of the idea, but Loki showed off her own crest and imed that Vahn would be very professional about the matter, even allowing Chris to be near throughout the entirety of the procedure. Though Chris still had a few inhibitions, there was no way Holda intended to leave without getting a baby in her belly. She was one of the younger goddesses, only around 290 million years old, but her desire for a real family was as prevalent as many of the first generation goddesses. Because he truly loved her, Chris had absolutely no way to resist the pleading look from Holda and this set the mood for a passionate session between the two lovebirds in the safety of the underground chamber. Vahn sat on the first floor with Lokiying across hisp using his arm as a headrest as she remarked, "Its a bit awkward waiting for a couple to do the deed while we just sit here, isnt it~?" He had just been thinking the same thing, so Vahn smiled and lifted Lokis chin before giving her a quick peck on the lips. To prevent her from misunderstanding, not that she was prone to such things, Vahn said, "I think its interesting to see the love others share...but it makes me feel a littlepetitive and I want to pamper the girls around me a bit topensate~." Loki opened her eyes slightly and asked, "Oh~? And how exactly do you want to pamper this little goddess you so shamelessly knocked up~?" Vahn showed a teasing smile and said, "I have a great idea...how about you sit on myp properly for a moment?" Interested to see what Vahn had in mind, Loki sat up with his assistance and rested her back against Vahn with a bit of curiosity rising up in her. However, instead of doing something more exciting, Vahn just reached his arms around her in a loose embrace and rested his left hand around her belly, stroking it in a small circle. Loki released a sigh, not out of disappointment, but as a result of the strangely contented feeling she had being held by Vahn. Vahn nuzzled his face into Lokis neck and said, "Loki, thank you for always working so hard to make sure things are going smoothly. Now isnt the best time to show my gratitude, but Id like you to free up some time this evening and Ill pay you a visit at the Twilight Manor..." Loki had been feeling very rxed in Vahns arms until she heard his words, causing her emotions to begin bubbling up with her excitement. She began tough in a yfully mischievous manner and said, "Ill free up the whole day if you like~." Vahnughed and kissed the back of her head without responding directly to her words... A few minutes passed in silence when Loki suddenly said, "You know, it might be more fun if you bring along some of the other girls...I have plenty of clothing that would suit them~." Vahn wasnt quite sure what Loki was thinking until she exined, "Even though I have a bit of confidence, I know I wouldnt be able to take care of you entirely on my own. If possible, you should try and convince Ais and maybe Anubis toe along with you...or maybe there is someone else youd like to dress up? Me, personally, I had a bit of an interest in Ais in the past so I think seeing her trying on clothes would be interesting~." Vahn c.o.c.ked his head to the side in thought before shaking his head and saying, "I dont think it would be good to ask Ais...she would probably say yes, but she has you listed as one of the girls she doesnt want to have that type of encounter with." Loki already knew about this but she still released a intive sigh and had a bereaved expression on her face. Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind when she was thinking about the girls she was fond of in the past so she smiled and said, "You should bring Aki over to the Manor then...she would probably be a bit embarrassed, but I think it would be good for her to talk with her oldrades. If you want, we can make it a small event with all the pregnant girls...kekeke, I can just imagine Hephaestus wearing a maid outfit...It makes me giddy just thinking about it!" Vahn had been considering Lokis words when the image of a bashful Hephaestus wearing a maid outfit appeared in his mind and caused his mental processes toe to a stop before he muttered, "That could be interesting..." A peal of mischeviousughter escaped Lokis lips before it turned into a loud cackling that continued until Vahn licked the back of her ear, saying, "Dont tease the other girls too much, Loki. I dont want too many strange rumors to start circting so Ill just stop by with Aki and Arnya since Tsubaki and Hephaestus are simply too well known throughout the City..." Loki had a small smile on her face as she considered Vahns words and said, "Three girls is probably a good number, and its good that youre considering the reputation and status of everyone. Aki really should deal with Raul so it doesnt stress her out anymore and I think Arnya would be well suited to get out of the Manor more. You know, her brother has been causing a bit or problems within the Freya Familia after he found out she was pregnant..." Vahns brows raised slightly at Lokis words, prompting her to exin, "He is a bit of an idiot with a sharp tongue, but Allen Fromel still worries about Arnya, hisst surviving family. He previously made an arrangement with Freya to protect her so he freaked out a bit when he found out she was pregnant and, not with just any man, but the man he hates more than anyone else, fufufu~." Without waiting for Vahn to ask any questions, Lokis smile turned slightly cold and she said, "Many of the Elite members of the Freya Familia have a powerful envy towards you, some even outright hating you...they are afraid you will take away their goddess from them, even though she was never theirs to being with. When Freya chose Ottar as the father of her child, their resentment shifted to him, but you should expect it will be focused on you when they find out that Freya has no interest in having any of their children." Though it was a difficult situation, Vahn could understand why they would be angry with him, even though he thought their mentality was kind of foolish. Even if Freya tried to pacify them, not that she had any obligation to, that would require her to spend nearly twenty years being pregnant just so her current children wouldnt resent others. This obviously wasnt eptable, especially by Freya herself, so Vahn expected things would be a bit tense within her Familia in the future. Ottar seemed like a stable and reliable guy, while Freya herself was somewhat terrifying, so it shouldnt really be an issue. The biggest problem was the more independent members, especially Arnyas brother, Allen. He was probably the reason Arnya had been afraid to get close to men in the first ce because, even though he had abandoned her, he was still very overprotective of his little sister... After around a half hour had passed, the mechanism for the elevator activated so Vahn and Loki left the fort of the sofa and went to intercept Chris. He had a flushed face and an awkward expression as he wiped away his sweat and said, "Were ready...please treat my goddess well, Vahn.." With a serious expression on his face, Vahn pat Chris on the shoulder and said, "Leave it to me, Chris. I wont do anything strange and youll be leaving this ce as an expecting father. Its a bit early, but congrattions on both your wedding and the birth of your child." Though he already knew what Vahn was saying was true, Chris had a dazed and slightly silly expression on his face as he processed the very pleasant and exciting words. Vahn had a confident smile on his face as they took the short elevator trip down to the underground chamber but it quickly froze up when he saw the rather beautiful Holda supported near the edge of the bed he had set out for them wearing nothing but pale purple lingerie. She had just finished making love with Chris so herplexion was slightly flushed with a thinyer of sweat covering her body. Vahn felt like, even though she wasnt pregnant yet, she was already glowing with the signs of a woman deeply enamored with the man she loved. He activated his [Will of the Emperor] to avoid any stray thought and immediately experienced a cooling sensation that made him feel calm, confident, and focused. Holda blushed a bit deeper when Loki and Vahn showed up, but she did her best to stay calm even though the atmosphere was very tense. She had no idea what to say in this type of situation as even 290 million years hadnt prepared her for something like being strung up by golden chains in front of onlookers. Loki apparently wanted to break the tense atmosphere a bit so she smacked Chris hard on the back and said, "Gofort your little wife, fool. Holda, just rx your body without thinking about it too much. Vahn might have to touch your body, but youll get over it soon enough and have a bun in the oven to celebrate with your little husbandter on. Now, hurry up and get this over with~!" With Lokis insistence, Holda did her best to rx as she held hands with Chris. Vahn walked over and maintained a calm and professional demeanor as he casually grabbed Holdas h.i.p.s and activated his [Eyes of Truth]. Chris frowned when he saw this because it was like watching another man firmly eye the delicates of his soon-to-be wife. However, he didnt want to upset Holda so he focused on her face and did his best tofort her as Vahn moved her body from side-to-side before tracing his index finger around her lower back. Seeing another man carve a crest into Holdas body made Chris feel a strange sense of defeat but he knew it was necessary to give Holda the happiness she had sought for a greater amount of time than he could even imagine. After a few minutes, Vahn finished the procedure and ced his index finger in the center of the crest he had carved to conceal it. He heard Chris release a slightly relieved sigh when it vanished and this made Vahn feel especially awkward since the mark really wasnt necessary. However, being able to track the goddesses that had undergone the procedure was a very helpful thing to do and Vahn needed to remain consistent so that their little scheme wasnt exposed. Thus, after casting onest nce of the rtively plump rear of Holda, Vahn looked to Chris and said, "Its done, congrattions." as he released his hands from the mans lover. Chris had a somewhat serious look on his face but it was quickly reced by relief and excitement as the chains supporting Holda eased up and disappeared. Vahn handed them another set of towels and a change of clothing before saying, "Well be waiting on the first floor if you want to ask any other follow-up questions..." So as not to unnerve the couple any longer, Vahn had already turned away after handing them the set of towels. He didnt get that far, however, before Holda called out, "Wait, Vahn Mason..." and brought him to a stop. Vahn turned around slowly to see what she was up to only to witness green and white petals forming around Holdas body as she wore her raiment. Holdas raiment looked like a delicate multiyered dress that reached all the way to the floor and had a very natural and homely feel to it. Loki showed a somewhat envious look, as her own raiment was somewhat awkward to wear, and clicked her tongue. Holdaughed at Lokis expression and affectionately stroked Chriss face before she walked forward and stopped right in front of Vahn. With an incredibly serious expression, somewhat offset by her gentle smile, Holda said, "Truly, I can never thank you enough for what you have done for us this day..." With her words finished, Holda reached forward and embraced Vahn very tightly, causing him to freeze up and immediately look to Chris who, surprisingly, didnt seem upset or surprised. After a few seconds, Holda pat his back a few times before releasing him and saying, "If you need the assistance of the Holda Familia, please let me know and Ill see to it personally." Vahn could tell that Holda was just expressing her good will because, after touching her earlier, he could see that her affection for him was only 57(Trust). Her aura was also very stable, so he smiled and said, "Yes, though I cant offer the support of the entire Alliance, please let me know if there are any issues during your pregnancy. Im a capable physician and Ill do my best to ensure that the child is healthy..." Holda smiled vibrantly and rubbed her own belly before Chris stunned Vahn by asking, "Will we be doing the delivery here?" Before Vahn could get a chance to process what Chris just asked, Holda nodded her head and said, "Yes, I believe Vahn is the best suited to the task since his skills are likely far greater than anyone elses...isnt that right, Loki?" Loki was giggling at Vahns reaction but she nodded her head at Holdas question and said, "Yes, since we have some concerns about the first generation of children that will be born to goddesses you cane to the Hearth Manor when the timees for the delivery. We dont talk about it too much, but Vahn is known throughout the upper echelons of the Alliance as the Godhand because of his medical skills. Well also have capable midwives present and you can be absolutely certain things will go smoothly if you choose to rely on us~!" This was already something that had been arranged previously, as they knew Vahn would offer to help out of concern regardless, but Loki still found his reaction priceless. Chris supported Holdas shoulder and had a very loving expression in his eyes as he stroked her belly. It quickly changed to gratitude when he looked at Vahn, even though there was a part of him that had an urge to pick a fight with the boy. However, resisting the urge, Chris said, "Well rely on you when the timees..." before guiding Holda away without wasting too much time. Vahn had expected to sit on the first floor and talk for a bit, but he could somewhat understand why Chris would want to quickly extricate himself from this rather awkward situation. Loki and Holdaughed in their characteristic ways as they also understood what Chris must be thinking... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fat Cats,I swear, Im a professional~! -gawks at the butt and saves to memory bank-,Run, Chris, Run~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 551 - Picnic

Chapter 551 - Pic

After leaving the Guest Residence, Vahn saw off Holda, Chris, and, though he had expected her to stay for a bit, Loki. Since she had brought the two over, Loki had an obligation to see them off, though Vahn believed it was to talk with Holda about other dealings while warning Chris of potential threats. She promised that she would be waiting for him during the afternoon and told him he could bring over anyone that wasfortable with the idea. Though she had originally suggested the pregnant girls, Loki didnt really mind who Vahn decided to bring as long as she got to have a bit of fun herself. It had been a little while since she yed with Aki, so Loki was looking forward to theing evening. Vahn suddenly found himself with nothing to do so he decided to just go y with in the backyard with the girls and set up arge pic for anyone that was interested. He sent a message through thework by informing Syr about his ns, including the fact he was going to visit the Twilight Manor in the evening. Afterward, he talked to Arnya and Aki to see if they were interested in going with him, exining they would probably end up doing a small dress-up y and having a bit of fun before bed. Aki seemed a little nervous about attending, though not because she had any real inhibitions about the event. As for Arnya, she didnt minding along but cautioned Vahn to think about the baby, almost as if she expected things to get out of hand. After talking to the two pregnant cat girls, Vahn went ahead and looked for Ais, who was surprisingly in Riverias Library with Lefiya reading books. When he showed up, Aiss eyes widened a bit and she sheepishly tried to hide the book she was reading while Lefiya showed a fierce blush and averted her eyes. Vahn raised his brow and asked, "Should Ie backter?" as he fought the urge to peek at the concealed book. With his recall, however, Vahn could read the title of the book from his memory and saw that it was rted to child rearing. He squinted his eyes slightly because he knew that Ais wasnt pregnant, though she seemed to be contemting it a bit. As casually as possible, Ais slid the book behind her and sat on it before shaking her head and saying, "You can stay..." Vahn had such a powerful urge tough that he had to use his [Will of the Emperor] just to keep a straight face. After thinking about what he wanted to say, he smiled and said, "Loki wanted me to see if any girls wanted to y dress-up over at the Twilight Manor tonight. I told her not to expect you toe since I know you dont really like the way she behaves at times..." Before Ais could say something with her resolute expression, Vahn raised his hand and said, "Ais, I know you would want to go if I asked, but Im telling you that I already told Loki not to pressure you like that. If youre just interested in trying on clothes and stuff, we can always y our own gameter..." Ais showed a slightly relieved expression before smiling and holding up her fingers as she counted, "Tiona, Tione, Syr, and...Ryuu?" For a brief moment, Ais cast a nce at Lefiya before shaking her head slightly and putting Ryuus name in the roster. He realized what she implied by the names and said, "Sure, Ill leave it to you to manage." before sending her a wink. A small me ignited in Ais eyes and Vahn wondered what she had in mind now that he gave her free reign to choose. Knowing her, it would be very interesting for him so Vahn didnt have anyints and just exined that he would be outside ying games and enjoying a pic for a while. Both Lefiya and Ais said they woulde to the pic but Vahn realized they werent intending to leave with him as Ais still wanted to dispose of the evidence. Vahn pretended to bepletely unaware and said, "Ill see to two of you in a bit." as he turned and walked out the door. A few seconds after he left the room, Vahn could sense Ais moving around as Lefiyas aura burned with a pale purple and a deep pink as a result of her embarrassment intermixing with her happy feelings. She and Ais spent a lot of time together recently and Lefiya had started to mellow out a bit at times, though she still had her moments like now. They had probably been talking about children together and, being part of the equation, Vahn had turned what had likely been a fun atmosphere into a chaotic one... For the rest of the early afternoon, Vahn yed fetch, frisbee, tag, and hide-and-seek with the girls, including many that werent part of the youth troupe. The standard participants were Fenrir, Tina, and Shizune, but Naaza had joined in when he was ying fetch and frisbee, inciting Lili and Haruhime to y as well. For the hide-and-seek portion, Vahn decided to make things interesting by using the illusory forest as their yground and set up several prizes within the forest that each had his scent. The most popr reward the girls wanted was things from him, so Vahn let the girls fill out slips of paper before wrapping them in a cloth infused with a bit of his scent. Since he didnt want to just wipe up his sweat with a rag, Vahn cheated by transforming into a Chienthrope and rubbing his tail with the cloth, as his tail was infused heavily with his aroma. The ultimate prize was being able to enjoy a private date within the forest as Vahn, so almost all the Beast Human girls immediately put in their lots to participate. To make it fair, Vahn would bepletely hiding his own aroma and would be meditating under a tree to hide his presence as well. This encouraged the other girls to participate so, other than Hephaestus, Hestia, Syr, Tsubaki, Riveria, Mn, Lunoire, Terra and Fenrir, everyone else decided to y along. As for thetter, she was disqualified because she had a distinct advantage over everyone else and Vahn had no way of actually avoiding Fenrirs detection if she really wanted to find him. Vahn promised to make it up to herter, so she ended up staying behind and talking with Terra, Riveria, and Syr, much to Vahns concern... --- Though the forest wasnt really that big, the illusory formation made it feel like it was muchrger because you could easily lose your way if you didnt know the trick to it. Even then, knowing the correct route only took you to two specific spots, so it wouldnt be an advantage for anyone that knew how the formation was set up either. Thus, Vahn sat peacefully with his back to a tree and absentmindedly paid attention to the final girl that hadnt participated, Mikoto. Even though it was a Saturday, while everyone else was having fun, she was hard at work training in the clearing as she ceaselessly endeavored to master the [Flying Heavenly Sword Scroll]. It actually made Vahn feel a little frustrated since she was tantly ignoring his advice to rest properly because he couldnt even recall a day when she took a genuine break. Vahn felt like Mikotos resolve was verymendable, but her inflexible nature was also one of her greatest weaknesses. She was also the girl he spent some of the least amount of time with, even though they had a promise to be with each other. He knew it was his responsibility to be the one that pushed things forward but, seeing how focused she was on her own path, Vahn felt like it would almost be wrong to disturb her. It was a fact that he was a little preupied with other girls as well, so she only crossed his mind when he had time to think or during moments like this when he was spying on her from a distance... A loud rustling sound tickled his ears so Vahn turned his head to see that Haruhime was around 30m away from him and sniffing around the area. Shirohime was there with her as well, drooping down from the top of Haruhimes head, as they both tried to detect his presence. The little fox had almost been disqualified as well, but Vahn decided to let her participate as long as she stayed with Haruhime and didnt wander off. They still seemed to have a little bit of an advantage, however, so Vahnpletely dissipated his aura and stopped spying on Mikoto. Though it was very subtle, his [Eyes of Truth] could be traced by those that were sensitive to his energy. By cutting it offpletely, and focusing on the [Mantra of Eternity], the two foxy girlspletely lost his trail causing the small Shirohime to pout and shout outints. As his mind wandering through nothingness, Vahn was still vaguely aware of all the auras around him because it was a sense that was derived from The Path itself and couldnt be turned off. He could ignore the auras around him, but there was a part of his split consciousness that always kept track of them. Many of the girls had actually made their way to his side of the forest already, the only exceptions being Ais and Tione, who had both been wandering around in circles close to the entrance. Ais had found her way to the garden and the clearing where Mikoto was several times, which was an impressive feat considering she didnt know the correct path, but she didnt wander around enough to ever get near him. As for Tione, she apparently had a terrible sense of direction while her sister, Tiona, was equally as bad yet always seemed to get to where she needed to be through instinct. The closest girls to him, however, were the Haruhime/Shirohime duo, the team of Maemi and Emiru, and, the somewhat cheatsy Liliruca. Though she couldnt transform into a true Vanargandr, Lili had used her [Cinder*E] to emte Fenrir and had benefitted greatly from the enhanced sense of smell, hearing, and her actual bond with him. For the same reasons as Fenrir had been disqualified, Lili was exploiting them a bit, albeit several orders of magnitude from Fenrirs actual capabilities. Perhaps luck wasnt on her side, though, as Lili had passed within 9m of his position as she sniffed around the area and simply kept walking away with her ears flopping about. Vahn could sense that she had found some of the other prizes, but she didnt seem fated to find him even after employing her contentious methods. Fortunately, even after he almost gave himself away byughing at her adorable little antics, Lili didnt manage to discern his actual position and her ears perked up in the wrong direction since the sound could carry randomly in the forest. After nearly an hour, which had been set as the deadline for the event, Vahn had still gone undiscovered by the girls even though they had tightened the around him greatly at this point. They often bumped into each other now and Vahn was genuinely impressed with the sensory abilities of the girls that allowed them to hone in on his position even when he shouldnt have a presence. This was primarily because of the bond he shared with those whose [Hearts Desire] he had seen, as they had a slight instinct that could lead them to him if their parameter was high enough. The two with the biggest disadvantage were Tina and Shizune, but they had yed it smart and had been slowly following the trails of the other girls to zero in on his spot while trying to get lucky. During thest five minutes, Vahn began to breathe gently through his nose and slowly expand his aura to let it disperse through the forest. Almost immediately, several of the girls became alert and it seemed like the three to pick up on his trail the fastest were Chloe, Haruhime, and Lili, coincidentally three of the girls with the highest Love parameter for him. Unfortunately for them, the closest girls to his position were the members of the youth troupe, as Vahn had given them a bit of an advantage, and Preasia. This didnt seem to help them though, as a surprise factor appeared like a literal gust of wind as Ryuu charged through the forest and arrived at the opposite side of the tree where Vahn was located. She had a bit of an embarrassed expression for running over so quickly, but Ryuu peeked around the side of the tree with a small smile and said, "Found you, Vahn..." Though their noses werent that great, Elves had an affinity with nature so both Ryuu and Lefiya had gotten close to his position several times. Vahn had topletely be one with the environment when Lefiya was near, as her connection as his subordinate was quite strong, but the final victor seemed to be Ryuu who had the fastest base run speed and had quickly detected his aura through the flow of air through the forest. As one of the people toy down the formation, she wasnt led nearly as astraypared to the others, finding Vahn mere seconds after he released his aura. Vahn craned his head up at Ryuu and smiled, saying, "I look forward to our date, Ryuu..." in a soft tone. Ryuu felt her heartbeat quicken a bit as the small blush on her face became more prevalent when the other girls showed up shortly thereafter. Seeing Ryuu, many of those to arrive early had looks of defeat but everyone seemed to enjoy the small game regardless. As a constion prize, Vahn gave out slips to the 2nd and 3rd ce winners that would give them a two-hour and one-hour long Salon visit when they were ready. Tina very nervously epted the 2nd ce prize with a deep blush on her face while Preasia imed the 3rd ce slip for herself. They could be exchanged and given away, assuming anyone was willing, so Vahn decided to let Tina sort out her emotions on the matter and figured he could just get Mn to attend so she wouldnt have a heart attack... As for the other prizes, Vahn redeemed many of them right then and there since the forest was rather scenic and quite the beautiful ce for affectionate exchanges. Many of them were simple things like embraces, having Vahn whisper sweet nothings in their ears, and a bit of preferential petting. As for the wins, they included things like kisses, more intimate embraces, and heavy petting. Shizune had managed to get one of the kiss slips, but Vahn broke her little heart when he raised her bangs and gave her a kiss on the forehead instead of the lips. The only other problematic victor had been Lili, as she was still technically underage even though her birthday was getting increasingly close. She actually wasnt that much younger than Vahn, which meant it wasnt a big deal for him, but this caused slight stirs in the hearts of girls like Lefiya, who had managed to get a heavy petting slip and didnt know what to do with it. Realizing that some of the wins couldnt easily be used without the situation bing a bit awkward, Vahn said, "We should head back and eat lunch. Im certain the others are still waiting for us...besides, there is no expiry on the slips and you can always use themter or exchange them with others for minor benefits." Vahn had said this because he saw how much Lefiya was struggling with the small slip, almost to the point that she had forcefully given it to Ais. However, Ais simply refused to take it and obediently redeemed her singr prize which was having Vahn gently caress her face while staring into her eyes for ten seconds... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Loki is always so busy...,Beast Girls Encirclement,Ryuu fast a fuk boiiii~,RIP Lefiya /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 552 - Legacy

Chapter 552 - Legacy

The outdoor pic continued until a little after 2 PM when Vahn figured it was about time to call things to an end. It was still early in the day, but the weather had be a little overcast and, though it was the beginning of Spring, it looked like a mild chill was settling in the air. It was somewhat ominous and, knowing he was going to be visiting the Twilight Manor a bitter, Vahn had a thoughtful expression on his face as he considered what might happen. Deciding it was better to head out a bit early, especially considering that both Arnya and Aki were pregnant, Vahn made a few ns with the other girls before flying over with Terra, as she had received the right to carry him within the City limits unless it was an emergency. Vahn suspected that Terra was nning to tempt him into allowing her to stay during the evenings but things would get out of hand quickly if he gave in. His worries seemed to be a bit misced, however, as she dropped them off after making a little bit of a scene before nuzzling up against him and flying away. Arge wind carrying Terras fragrance spread around the area and many members of the Loki Familia had distant looks in their eyes as they watched the elegant True Dragon fly away. Vahn realized that Terra didnt really want to be around a lot of strangers, especially Adventurers, so she had obediently returned to the Manor after he helped top off her energy previously. Since he had the right to enter and move about the Twilight Manor freely, nobody even came to greet Vahn and they simply let him go about his business. Aki, however, drew a lot of attention but she seemed to have prepared herself and had a polite smile on her face as she greeted her formerpanions. For many of them, this was their first time seeing her in several months and it was very obvious that she was pregnant. Though they had heard the rumors, there were a fair number of people that hadnt quite believed them since they always pegged her and Raul as a couple. Arnya didnt seem too bothered by the attention and just kept tracing her head around like it was on a swivel as she looked around. The Twilight Manor was one of thergest in the entire City, capable of housing several thousand people withrge courtyards and several scenic views. Unlike the Hearth Manor, it had a somewhat ancient feel to it since Loki had used the foundation of the Hera Familia residence to build her home. It was a little awe-inspiring for first-time visitors and was intended to make the Loki Familia look even more impressive to outsiders. This was one of the ways they recruited new members, other than proactively scouting the people that Loki took an interest in. Once they made their way into the open reception area, Aki had a slightly mncholic look in her eyes and said, "Vahn, Im going to go talk with some of my formerpanions..." Vahn nodded his head and stroked the side of Akis face before cing his forehead against hers,pletely disregarding the various onlookers. Aki took in a deep breath and gave Vahn a short kiss before nuzzling against his face affectionately for a few seconds and walking away. Vahn watched her departure in silence, knowing she was going to go and bid farewell and officially set her past to rest. They would likely talk for a while, potentially even sharing a short embrace, but Vahn wasnt going to pry into the matter because he trusted Aki. A in-looking youth came up to Vahn with a hesitant look on his face as he said, "Umm, excuse me, Vahn...Loki-sama wanted me to tell you to look around the Manor for a bit since she was still making preparations." There were still several people within the Loki Familia that had never met Vahn, but his legend had been spreading rapidly and it looked like he had picked up a fan in the guise of a young boy. Vahn smiled and ruffled the youths hair, saying, "Thanks for the message...?" Realizing that Vahn was asking for his name, the boys pale green eyes lit up and he said, "Alfonse! My name is Alfonse!" Vahns smile widened a bit and a yful glint appeared in his eyes before he pulled out his [001] and handed over to the boy. He could tell the boy was likely a Supporter, assuming he was even old enough to venture into the Dungeon, and there was a sword at his hip. Alfonse took the sword with shaky hands before Vahn handed over a sheath which he had purchased from the shop and helped the boy properly keep the sword so he didnt end up hurting himself. Vahn had a good impression of the kid so he said, "Make sure you work hard, Alfonse, but never overestimate yourself. Remember that real strength is something you use to protect yourself and others, so find allies you can trust and do your best to protect them well." Alfonse nodded his head and hugged the rtively in sword tightly before Vahn sent him off with a smile. He wasnt sure if Loki noticed it, but Alfonses mana was a light gold with a radiant core, meaning he had an almost pure light elemental mana. Vahn felt the boy had a bit of a heroic glint and was interested to see what kind of path he would walk in the future. Arnya issued a slight Nyahahaughter under her breath before giving Vahn a yful look and saying, "Make sure you save some of the good stuff for our children~nyafufu." Vahnughed along with her before offering his arm so they could tour around the Twilight Manor. Arnya didnt have the same ess rights as he did so she would trigger rms if she wasnt escorted closely. As it was a rtively rare urrence, though she had already spent part of her morning with Vahn, Arnya quickly locked arms with him and allowed him to lead the way. She was a little short, only 150cm, so she looked like a homely little wife walking alongside the rtively tall and stoic Vahn. However, any veteran Adventurer wouldnt be fooled by her appearance so simply as there was a slightly dangerous and wild feeling emanating from her body to deter wandering eyes. Vahn had heard from Finn that he had unrestricted ess to every part of the Twilight Manor, but it was still a little strange being able to walk through doors and enter unknown courtyards without any of the barriers being triggered at all. He had thought it was a bit of a joke in the past, but it genuinely seemed like Loki had converted her Manor into an area where he could freely wander if he chose. Noticing his peculiar expression, Arnya asked, "Why are you being a weirdo, Vahn~?" Giving her a curious nce and seeing the yful glint in her eyes, Vahn smiled and exined, "Well, when Finn told me about how Loki gave me full ess to the Manor, he even made a drunken remark about me being able to go into the womens bath. I was thinking that it was a bit excessive, but also a little exciting to consider at the same time." Arnyas brows raised slightly and she looked up with a thoughtful expression before saying, "That really does seem like something Loki would do. I wonder if that is something her Divinitypelled her to do, you know, just to rile you up a bit~nya?" Vahn experienced a momentary pause before he realized that may very well have been the case, even if Loki herself hadnt intended it that way. Though he took it into consideration when they interacted with each other, Vahn had overlooked the secondary influences a gods Divinity might have over them for situations like this. However, he also felt like Loki would have done this for a reason as things were rarely that straightforward with her. As if she had been seriously considering the matter, Arnya asked in a bit of azy tone, "Well, are we going to go take a bath in a foreign Manor~nya? I might snitch on you to the others unless you seal my lips~nyaahaha!" Vahn shook his head with a bit of a tired expression and said, "If it was a few months ago, I might not even think about it too much. Now, however, Id rather return home and just take a bath with everyone else instead of worrying about other girls. Ill admit, it would be interesting, but there are things Im far more interested in these days~" Toward the end of his words, Vahn gently blew into Arnyas ear and caused it to flicker as she gave him a slightly amorous look. Unlike Chloe, Arnya was unaffected by the change in seasons because she already had a baby in her belly. This didnt mean she was entirely immune to Vahns charm, however, as it was a little exciting to flirt in a ce where strangers might see them. She was actually a bit of a prankster when she was younger, so Arnya liked to cause a scene and act mischievously even when she was a kid. Though the incident in the past had changed her greatly, she became a little reliant on that kind of personality and had even taken it to the extremes when she was trying to escape her past. Now, however, Arnya felt like it was very easy to open up her heart because it seemed Vahns had an infinite amount of room to contain her entirety... After wandering around for a bit, and asking passersby for any interesting ces to visit, Vahn and Arnya ended up in a giant hall that was actually the remnants of the Hera Familia. As they had reigned for a long period of time, in close coordination with the Zeus Familia, the hall had a very ancient feel to it and there were many statues standing along the sides. These were all the greatest heroes of the Hera Familia and many of its former Captains. At the far end of the hall, there was a massive figure that towered over the others and, after inspecting the namete, it was a heroic man named Jason. ording to the small que nearby, which spoke of his many achievements, he was a monstrous Level 8 and possessed a rare skill that caught Vahns eye. As he had been fond of the original Manga, Vahn knew a fair amount regarding the original cast, especially Bell Cranel himself. Seeing that Jason had the rare skill [Argonaut] was a testament to how powerful the man must have been. He was so well-known for it, at least at the time, that his alias itself was Argonaut and he had served as the Captain of the Hera Familia for a total of twenty-three years before falling in the fight against the Leviathan, saving many of hisrades and ensuring the beast finally fell. Even Loki didnt have the gall to destroy the statue of a man that had sacrificed his life toplete one of the Three Great Quests, thus resulting in the entire hall being spared. Arnya leaned against him from the side and muttered, "Its hard to believe there was such a thing as a Level 8 within the City at some point. I always felt like the King was a monster that stood at the apex of power, yet he is only Level 7 with a few achievements under his belt..." Even Vahn could hardly fathom how strong a Level 8 must have been, nor how monstrous the creature that killed him had to be. However, he didnt feel like it was a wall that couldnt be ovee, especially since he had been able to reach Level 9 within the Divination, standing much closer to the actual peak of power than either the Argonaut or the King. As if she could empathize with what Vahn was thinking, Arnya nodded her head and rubbed against his shoulder, saying, "I want to get a lot stronger, Vahn...because I want our children to work hard with the two of us as inspiration. The Divination made it seem like we didnt have that many kids...so I feel like I need to punish you for breaking your promise~nyahaha." It wasnt actually that long ago that Vahn promised to give Arnya as many children as she wanted in order to make a big family, so it was still fresh in her mind. In the Divination, likely due to Vahns change in mentality, he seemed to allow everyone to have just one child and it made her a little sad knowing that their promise had likely been discarded by him in pursuit of vengeance. Vahnughed without inhibitions and pulled Arnya close to him as hisughter echoed through the wide hall. As there was nobody else around, Vahn traced his fingers around her rtively short tail and looked into her eyes as he said, "Arnya, Ill give you enough children to make an entire school of spearmanship if itll make you happy. Just make sure you dont get bullied by them if you act like an airhead during their training~." Arnya widened her eyes and gave an innocent look that was very reminiscent of how she behaved in the past. She wiggled around in his arms in an overly fl.u.s.tered manner and allowed a flush to cover her face as she said, "Vahnya, dont bully me, or Ill beat you up~nya! Nyuuu, youll make me regret giving my heart to a yboy~." Being called a yboy, even in jest, made Vahn feel slightly guilty because he had often been thinking about how to make the girls happier. Before he could really think about it, however, ARnya reached up and pinched both of his cheeks and pulled them apart with an annoyed look on her face. She pulled his cheeks up to force him into a smile before saying, "Nyahaha, much better~nya!" and tiptoeing to kiss him after releasing his cheeks and framing his face. He really was surrounded by kind and capable girls that were always looking out for his well-being, so Vahn believed it was only right he did the same. Once Evas orb awakened, he would study magic seriously until he had mastered everything Eva had time to teach him. Even if it took a massive amount of resources, Vahn would find a solution to his current problem, not on his own, but by making a coordinated effort with the many reliable women in his life... Thinking Loki had enough time to prepare, Vahn asked around a bit for the location of her quarters. They ended up having to pass through a long corridor that was exposed to the outside on a high bridge-like structure that leads to Lokis private residence. The only people that could pass beyond this point were a few executives, but Vahn was able to pass freely and could feel the cool afternoon breezeing in through the window-less archways. He noticed that there was quite the view of Orario from this height, as the Twilight Manor was built at a higher elevation than many surrounding districts. It allowed Loki to overlook the entire northern section of the City, almost like a ruler from on high. Being that he had experienced sitting atop the massive Babel Tower in the past, Vahn didnt think the view was too impressive, though it was admittedly breathtaking. Much like the rest of the Manor, Vahn was able to ess Lokis room freely and walked through the dense defensive array before knocking on her door. He could already sense two people inside, as he and Arnya had walked around for around an hour-and-forty minutes, so Aki had likely finished her business. Vahn could see that her aura was a bit mellow, with very wispy undertones of a deep blue color, so he promised himself that he would pamper her a lotter. Vahn felt the thin membrane covering Lokis door dissipate as her voice sounded out, "Who is it~?" in a mischevious tone. Feeling a bit mischevious himself, Vahn did his best to emte Finns voice and said, "Loki-sama, Vahn has left the Twilight Manor. He wanted me to pass on a message to you..." Clearly unimpressed by his imitation, Loki beganughing boisterously before shouting, "Get in here you two. Even if you changed your voice better, I can still see your smug little face smiling on the other side of the door you idiot~." One of the formations Loki had set around her private tower allowed the walls themselves to be transparent because she liked to look out of the City at times. It also unnerved some of the people she had been with previously because it felt like they were making love under the stars,pletely exposed for all to see. It was even better when people would walk around on the outside to pass messages to her because sounds traveled into the room without traveling back out. Only the person with the formation key would be able to transmit their voice through the formation, meaning Loki could tease people as much as she wants while having a conversation with someone on the other side of the door. Vahn had a bit of an awkward smile on his face as he looked to the cheekily smiling Arnya and asked, "Shall we?" before guiding her into their of the mischevious trickster goddess. As if she werepletely unfazed by the terrifying presenceing from the interior of the room, Arnya had a casual smile on her face and enjoyed the warmth radiating from Vahns body and allowed him to guide her in... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Raul-san,Heroes of the Past,Into the belly of the beast~?) (A/N: There will be six chapters released tomorrow with a fair amount of fluff and a bit of action for those that have been anticipating certain events o3o~! Look forward...to the future~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 553 - Early Evening Excitement

Chapter 553 - Early Evening Excitement

Vahn had some expectations for what might happen this evening but he still couldnt stop his mind from stallingpletely when he saw what was going on in the room. Loki was wearing a very loose baby-blue corset with dark-blue frills and some of the smallest panties he had ever seen. Around her waist, she had on a dark blue garter belt and a semi-transparent pair of flesh-tone stockings. This was more than enough to interrupt Vahns mental faculties, but it was the fact that she was helping Aki wear a simr outfit and they were only halfway finished with the process. She was bent over slightly as Loki loosely tightened the bands around her shoulders while leaving the strings around her stomach untouched. The fact that their b.r.e.a.s.ts were exposed was the icing on the cake and Vahn felt his eyes drawn to the somewhat perky and modest b.r.e.a.s.ts of Aki... Though he originally thought this would be interesting, seeing two of his lovers wearing tantalizing lingerie with slightly protruding bellies was a bit scary for Vahn. He quickly realized his own imagination hadnt really prepared him for what he had just gotten himself into and he was grateful he didnt try to get Hephaestus and Tsubaki involved in this. The good thing was that, as soon as he showed up in the room, Akis aura stabilized greatly and she seemed genuinely happy for his arrival. Her smiling expression was like a gentle breeze that carried away Vahns inhibitions so he smiled and said, "This is quite the sight...you both look beautiful." Aki looked like she wanted to say something, but Loki tightened the top of her corset at the same time as she leaned over Akis shoulder and yfully rubbed the cat girls belly and said, "Today is an important lesson for everyone here, especially you, Vahn. You seem to like designing clothes, so you should study what kind of outfits and fabrics you think are suitable for everyone. We made a deal with Holda to get you some high-quality fabrics woven by a goddess, so youll have plenty to make use of in the future." Aki writhed about under Lokis hands and said, "Loki-sama, nyuuu~." when the mischevious goddess began nibbling on her perky cat ears. Arnya issued somewhat sheepish-soundingughter but still dragged Vahn over to the wardrobe and said, "Help me pick something, Vahn-nya~!" It wasnt the first time she had been around Loki, nor would it be the first time she potentially gets teased by the goddess, so Arnya wasnt too surprised. When she originally agreed to apany Vahn, she had already prepared herself a bit but, much like Vahn had been, it was a little strange to see Akis state just after they entered the room. Since it was just the three of them, however, Arnya was confident things wouldnt get too out of hand and she would still be able to win out against the other two if she was proactive... Vahn quickly discovered a light-green corset near the very front of the wardrobe and realized that Loki had probably set it there with the intention of Arnya wearing it. She also seemed to realize this in an instant and gave a light nyahahaughter as she grabbed it and started undressing at the side. Vahns eyes were drawn to her in the process, but Arnya shot him a yful nce and said, "Nyou should focus on picking outfits, Vahn~nya." Arnya had only worn a simple tan tunic and a pair of brown shorts for the trip since she didnt want to wear anything too restrictive. She already knew what they were going to be doing, so wearing clothing that was easy to remove was a necessity. Following Arnyas words, Vahn looked around at the other two and said, "I think it would be harder finding clothing that doesnt suit everyone than it would be to find things that match your appeal. Hmmm..." Vahn kind of wanted to try on a bunch of outfits, but he knew this wasnt a simple game of dress-up they would be ying. He didnt want to inconvenience them too much, and also needed to avoid restrictive clothing so it wouldnt put pressure on their bellies. Fortunately, Loki was paying attention to everything he was doing and quickly understood the crux of the problem. She realized that Vahn was a bit nk when it came to actual preferences and he simply liked to experience new things, assuming it didnt go against the restrictions he had ced on him. He was a curious boy and, considering they were all moderately attractive, most likely just thought any new clothes they wore were interesting. If she had wanted him to pick out clothing, she should have turned it into a non-s.e.x.u.a.l event instead since now he would be very indecisive with the inclusion of more people. Making a mental note to consider Vahn character better in the future, Loki smiled and said, "Well, maid outfits are very popr for Beast Humans and I dont mind wearing one...kukuku, there are few people that could im they got a goddess to wear a maid outfit. Maybe Ill even call you Master~?" Vahn had just picked up a strangely designed top that looked like transparent fishting when his hands came to a stop at Lokis words. He looked over saw her biting her top lip a little with arge seductive grin on her face as she loosely held Akis body from behind. Unable to resist the urge, Vahn swallowed a bit of saliva to lubricate his dried throat and said, "Yes, I...think that might be interesting...?" as he thumbed through the clothing and found frilly maid outfits for the girls to try on. Arnya had yet topletely wear the corset she was trying on so, seeing that the maid outfit had one of its own, she discarded the green piece of fabric and snatched the dress from Vahn. Loki alsoughed mischievously and loosened the cord on Akis corset and said, "Looks like our Master wants us to get into our uniforms, little Aki~." Because she had been teased by Loki a bit, Akis face was slightly flushed and she moved away from Loki as if she was escaping and climbed off of the ratherrge bed. She also took one of the outfits from Vahn, who had been somewhat distracted by the strange design, and began to get changed. As for Loki, sheid back on the bed for a little while as if she was in deep thought before rolling out of the bed around a minuteter. When he had grabbed the first maid outfit, Vahn realized it definitely wasnt normal at all. He had already thumbed through several items in the wardrobe and realized they were all s.e.x.u.a.lized versions of regr clothing. Even what looked like a simple thin tunic had fabric cut out around the area where a girls n.i.p.p.l.es would have been while there were several garments on the floor that looked very simr to the victory underwear he had gifted the twins. As for the maid outfit, it was very short and would be a strongpetitor for how short Hestias raiment dress is. It barely extended down the thighs at all and, even though she had tried to pull it down a bit, Vahn could see the bottom of Arnyas rtively plump butt sticking out. To add to the appeal of the maid outfit, the entire dress was all in one piece but Vahns eyes had quickly seen through the mechanism behind the various ribbons ced around it. The stretch white fabric that would conform to the girls b.r.e.a.s.ts had a ck ribbon in the center that, if pulled loose, would cause a thin string holding the white fabric to the dress topletelye free. As for the ck skirt and white apron, there was a thin band underneath the apron itself that would loosen up and allow the ck skirt to be removedpletely. Vahn couldnt help but find the design interesting because he had put a moderately moreplex, yet very simr, function into the wedding dresses he had made... Loki grabbed thest maid outfit he had been holding, almost immediately after he had finished discovering its secrets and said, "You should look through the other clothing a bit when you get the chance, kukuku~." Then, as if she had seen something interesting, Loki picked up a belt attachment that looked a lot like a Cat Persons tail and a hairband with cat ears. Vahn realized what she was thinking and Loki stuck out her tongue and said, "Not everyone can transform, nyaa~." She then proceeded to change next to Arnya and Aki, who had already finished wearing the tops and were helping each other loosely tighten the corset part of their dresses. Since they already had on stockings and garter belts, they already looked ready and Vahn found their current appearance very appealing. The outfits were designed to be somewhat skimpy from the outset so, while it fit the rather petite Loki and Aki rtively easily, Arnya was obviously a little too big in some ces to wear the outfit properly. Though she still had the lithe body of a Cat Person, Arnya had strangelyrge b.r.e.a.s.ts and plump buttpared to the typically smaller and toned butts of other Cat People. Since the outfits hadnt been designed for their use, her short tail also jutted out from the skirt and raised it up, giving Vahn a clear view of pale-yellow silk panties she was wearing underneath. Arnya had tried to pull down the skirt a bit but, because she was pregnant and the corset was tighter around her ribs than her stomach, it instead rode even higher up her body instead. This made it so that, when she moved around a bit, even the front side of her panties would be visible and it had caused a healthy blush to appear on Arnyas face as she was very aware of Vahns look of intrigue and the appreciative smile he had on his face. Vahn didnt look at her like a typical pervert but seemed to be genuinely interested in the outfit while drawing some small humor from her predicament... Because she was a bit of an exceptionpared to the thin Aki and Loki, Vahn had been paying close attention to Arnya. This didnt mean he wasnt watching the other two, however, as he found their appearance in the maid outfits was also quite appealing. Aki looked strangely suited for the dress as a result of her ck hair and onyx-colored eyes. She always wore ck and white outfits in the past, so Vahn felt like the maid outfit matched her usual appeal greatly. As for Loki, she didnt seem too suited for a maid outfit but Vahn thought the gap between her current appearance and how she normally presented herself was rather interesting. She usually seemed a little intimidating at times but now she looked a little yful and even borderline subservient. Loki even had on a very calm and rxed smile, aspared to her somewhat devious grin, so it felt like her entire disposition had undergone a great change... Once they had finished changing, including Loki wearing cat ears and a tail that matched her hair color, Loki stood and inspected Arnya and Aki with slightly parted eyes and said, "I think we might need to have an outfit tailored for Arnya in the future, kukuku~." Arnya was in the most promising situation at the moment and was standing like a servant girl with her hand crossed over herp just to prevent her panties from showing. As for Aki, only a small part of her butt showed from the side but, if she turned aroundpletely, her raised tail almost made it look like a window that showed off her pure white panties. Lokis tail made a simr S-shape but it was worn on the outside of the dress and allowed her skirt to fall properly. At this point, Vahn had gone through a few of the fabrics in the wardrobe before sitting on a giant wooden chest and watching the girls change. He couldnt split his focus between going through the clothing and observing their beautiful figures so Vahn simply gave up trying. Like Loki had expected, he was more interested in the three girls than the clothing because he couldnt think about what they should all wear at the same times. There were certainly things he thought were suitable, but he didnt want to incite any petition or draw clear differences between the girls when they were all together. Loki realized that Vahns inhibitions when he was with multiple girls were a lot more restrictive, not that this was inherently a bad thing, so she changed up her approach a bit as well. A n quickly formed in Lokis mind before she tapped the two cat girls shoulders and caused them to huddle up. Loki made sure that Arnyas and Akis backs were facing toward Vahn, immediately drawing his eyes to their exposed panties, as she whispered her n to the two girls. From Vahns perspective, he could see the auras of Arnya and Aki re up a bit as their tails flickered about yfully and caused his heart to itch. Without realizing it himself, Vahn licked his lips instinctually as he resisted the urge to walk forward and interrupt their conversation. The only thing that stopped him from doing so, other than general rationale, was the fact that he was somewhat interested in what Loki was scheming. After their discussion came to an end, Loki nodded her head along with the other two girls before turning to face Vahn and assuming a very servant-like stance with her back straight and a very polite smile on her face. As an experienced waitress, Arnya adapted a simr stance, albeit with a somewhat yful smile on her face, while Aki looked like a very capable secretary based on her disposition. If not for the fact they were wearing skimpy maid outfits, they would have looked like very capable staff and this seemed to be the intent as Loki asked in a polite tone, "Master, have you eaten this evening?" It felt almost wrong to hear Loki calling him Master, but Vahn decided to y along and shook his head, saying, "I had a pic at the Hearth Manor earlier, but I havent eaten dinner yet." Lokis smile widened marginally and she said, "Very well, then. Though it is presumptuous of this one to ask, can you please set out a table and some dishes of your choosing? Allow us to service you tonight until you arepletely satisfied~." Loki decided to borrow a page from Eina and, instead of riling up Vahn and receiving his service, she had talked with Arnya and Aki about pampering him a bit. They all knew how hard he worked at times, so pampering him and allowing him to rx would keep him motivated. It was very obvious things werent panning out as originally intended, so changing it up while they were already wearing maid outfits wasnt a bad course of action. Vahn realized what Loki was thinking, though he wasnt quite sure what all she had nned, so he immediately felt the tension release from his shoulders. He hadnt realized how much pressure he had been feeling until he rxed his body and it was a little surprising. As she suggested, he set out a small cafe-style round table and picked out a few dishes he thought were delicious. However, he also added something for the girls as well because he knew that Arnya, and most likely Aki, had yet to eat. As if to emphasize this fact, shortly after the fragrant aroma spread throughout the room, a very light whine issues from Arnyas stomach that made her eyes open wide as a slight blush appeared on her face. Instead of a setting out a chair suitable for a single person, Vahn set out a small sofa with a rounded back that was still intended for one person but easily had enough space for two if they squeezed together. Seizing the initiative, Lokiughed slightly and said, "It seems one of our kittens has a bit of a rumble in her tummy. Master, take care of your naughty little maid while Aki and I serve you the rest of your meal~." As he had often eaten like this with Chloe in the past, Vahn sat down in the rounded sofa and pat the top of hisp and said, "Arnya,ey down in myp...Ill spoil you in exchange for some small benefits..." Arnya moved over to the sofa and somewhat awkwardly climbed onto Vahnsp before he helped by lifting her up from the back of her knees and letting hery down properly. Because her skirt was already very short, Arnyas pantied became clearly visible and she seemed a bit fl.u.s.tered by the awkward position. Unlike Chloe, she didnt really have the propensity to desire spoiling and most Cat People didnt like being on their backs normally. When Vahn began gently stroking her belly, however, Arnya actually started to calm down greatly because the warm energy from his palm was veryfortable. He often stroked her pregnant belly these days and it was one of the things she had grown especially fond of... Vahn picked out small pieces of food that Aki had taken the initiative to cut apart while Loki moved around to his back and began rubbing his shoulders. He simultaneously fed Arnya, stroked her belly with his left hand, and ate the food offered to him by Aki with a Nyaaaaahn~ sound. This was distinctly different than his initial expectations of the evening, but Vahn felt like this type of service could be very addictive. He got to simultaneously rx while enjoying the somewhat tantalizing sight of three beautiful girls and spoiling the mother of one of his children all at the same time. It was a little awkward having his lovers serve him, but a little part of his ego found this strangely eptable and even Lokis massage, though unskilled by his own standards, was very pleasant... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns spiritual awakening,Hungry kitten...,Vahn likes being spoiled) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 554 - Dessert

Chapter 554 - Dessert

After a few minutes had passed, Vahn managed a mild aplishment and had arge grin on his face as he tickled the underside of Arnyas chin. He could feel the vibrations of herrynx as she purred in satisfaction and it was so adorable that even Loki and Aki had stalled slightly. Arnya peeled open her eyes and saw the three people staring at her and immediately stopped purring as a deep beet-red blush appeared on her face. It was veryfortable to be spoiled by Vahn like this, so much so that she intended toin to Chloe about keeping it to herself, and she had been slowly lulled into a daze without realizing it. Since purring was something that happened subconsciously, though there were some girls that had practiced it, Arnya hadnt even been aware of what had happened before she saw the teasing look from Loki and the surprise on Akis face. Vahns smile widened a bit and he said, "Arnya, you are a very adorable little kitten, arent you~?" as he caressed the side of her face. Though she felt a bit of reluctance, Arnya curled up her body and extricated herself from Vahnsp, saying to Aki, "Its your turn nyeow..." She had already eaten her fill with Vahns assistance and had even been content enough that she entered a daze under Vahns warm hands and his skillful caress. It was a bit frustrating, but it also made Arnya feel strangely closer to the boy since he had actually been able to catch her in such a peculiar state. She couldnt even remember thest time she had actually purred, though it had certainly taken ce several years in the past... Aki nodded her head but, before she was able to sit down, Loki said, "Vahn, why dont you turn into a Cat Person as well? I want to y with your ears, ah, I meant Master~! Please let this little goddess y with your ears~." Vahn raised his brows slightly before closing his eyes and using [Thria*Mimos] in conjunction with his image transformation to turn from a Human into a Cat Person. His muscles felt like they became a little morepact and a pair of dark brown cat ears appeared from the top of his head. There was a bit of difort from his lower back, so Vahn changed into a pair of pants that had a hole for his tail in an instant. Though it was very brief, the girls had seen a sh of skin from Vahn before it immediately vanished and he was once again wearing pants. Loki, instead of simply touching his ears, leaned forward and nibbled on the pointed tip which caused Vahns ear to flicker as a tingling sensation spread through his head. Though he often teased the various Cat People around him, Vahn had never had his own ears teased and he now realized how it must feel for the girls whenever he yed with them. It was a very pleasant feeling and it actually made his tail twitch slightly as his tensions slowly began to build. Lokiughed at his reaction before looking at Aki and saying, "Are you going to keep our Master waiting, Aki~?" Though they both loved the Human version of Vahn, both Arnya and Aki had slightly glittering eyes seeing him in his Cat Person form. Most people had an inclination towards their own race, so seeing the boy the loved as a member of their own race usually excited the girls. Aki, hearing Lokis words, blinked with a start before blushing slightly and crawling onto Vahnsp. Arnya took over her position and began arranging the dishes while Vahn started picking at food and bringing it to her mouth. She had neverid in hisp like this, much less while he was spoiling her, so Aki felt very nervous that she would end up in the same state as Arnya had been in. When he began rubbing her belly, she immediately realized why Arnya had her momentarypse and began to blush deeply when Vahn said, "Nyaaahn~.", clearly emting her earlier actions. After having sessfully made Arnya purr, Vahn was very determined to get Aki to do the same so he very gently traced his hand around her belly and released an almost indiscernible flow of energy into her body while using his [Petting] Development Ability. He had been able to increase it to C-Rank during his previous salon sessions so it was even more effective than it had been in the past. Lokis antics were a bit of a distraction, but Vahn felt it was very pleasant and didnt mind it too much as it actually incited him to put in a bit more effort. However, when she whispered near his ears in a hot voice, "Finish dinner quickly and well move on to dessert~." his hands had slowed down... Though she put up a fair amount of resistance, thebination of spoiling, having a full belly, and rxing against Vahn was enough to eventually cause Aki to be absentminded. She resisted the urge in an effort to preserve her dignity, but Vahns right hand found its way to the side of her head and he began to gentle scratch around the scruff of her neck in a very pleasant manner. Before she realized it, Aki could feel a pleasant vibration resonating through her body that immediately caused her to blush deeply as a pouting expression appeared on her face. The main reason she had awakened was because Arnya startedughing, which made her feel even more embarrassed. Loki remarked, "Wow, even Ive never been able to get Aki to purr..." in a voice that made it sound like she was very impressed. Aki covered her face with both hands out of shame and curled her body towards Vahn, adamantly refusing to look at anyone else until she calmed down. She was typically a very reserved andposed girl, so being forced into this situation was a bit much for her. Even all her prior ys with Loki werent nearly as embarrassing as being made to purr under the caress of the boy she had fallen in love with. She didnt mind purring for hours if they were alone, but having Loki and Arnya in the same room made the situation almost unbearable. After snickering for a short while, Loki fluffed up Vahns ears with her hands while asking, "Master, can you give me a pastry bag with some vani creme, a bowl of strawberries, and some chocte sauce~? Ah, and maybe some red wine~!?" She had managed to keep her voice calm at first, but Loki had an interesting idea at the end and riled herself up by resisting the urge tough. Vahn gave her a curious expression before closing his eyes, something she had noticed he often did before creating items. Momentster, a full bag of creme had appeared with a ss bowl of chilled strawberries and a warm ceramic container filled with liquid chocte. As she had requested, there was also a dark green bottle with an almost blood-red wine contained within. Loki felt a little giddy before leaning over Vahns body and pinching the exposed butt cheek of Aki to put an end to her little bout of embarrassment. Akis body flinched and she looked up with a beet-red face to see Lokis smiling expression looking down on her as she asked, "How long are you going to y around, Aki~?" A small frown appeared on Akis face as she said, "Loki-sama, dont bully me...nyuuuuu~!" While Aki had been ining, Loki reached down and pulled at the end of her ribbon, causing Aki to turn her butt away to avoid having it removed. Other than the person that tied it on, most Cat People would vehemently resist having the ribbon removed by anyone other than themselves. Even though Loki had trained her a bit in the past, Akis loyalty had been leaning further to Vahns side as her pregnancy continued. Vahn gave Loki a warning nce and stroked Akis head, saying, "Its okay, Aki, I wont let Loki bully you so easily. Take as much time as you need to calm down, Ill be patient..." Aki felt herself calm down a lot with Vahns words, but it also made her feel a little shocked and guilty at the same time because she knew Loki well. She was obviously stalling things a bit with her actions and was surprised by her own behavior since she never acted like this in the past. There was something about being spoiled by Vahn that made her not want to easily part away from him. Remembering the hesitant look on Arnyas face previously, Aki started to understand the emotions contained within that slight pause. After collecting herself, Aki sat up and smiled at Vahn before looking to Loki and saying, "Im sorry, Loki-sama, I dont know what came over me..." Loki waved her hand dismissively and said, "That isnt something you need to worry about, Aki. I just want to keep things exciting for our Master and its a little difficult if youre pinning him down in the sofa the entire time." Aki nodded her head in understanding and rose from the sofa as Loki began ushering both her and Arnya over to the bed. She picked up the pastry bag before her eyes opened slightly and she asked, "Master, can you make another pastry bag~?" Vahnplied and pulled out another pastry bag, causing Lokis smile to turn a bit mischievous as she said, "Go ahead and pick that one up yourself and Ill teach you something very interesting~." Even without her actually exining what was going on, Vahn already had some expectations so he picked up the pastry bag and helped Loki move the table closer to therge bed. Arnya and Aki were sitting at its edge, thetter of which already understanding what they were going to do. Arnya seemed to be a little confused, but there was the light of curiosity in her eyes as she smiled and c.o.c.ked her head to the side. Once everything was in position, Loki said, "Im certain youve already noticed the unique qualities of these dresses. From here onwards, Ill teach you had to properly prepare a rare delicacy using Aki as my assistant. Ill leave Arnya to you, so follow along closely, okay~?" Vahn nodded his head and held his pastry bag like it was a precious treasure sword that he was able to take into a fierce battle. Loki gave him a small thumbs up before turning to the two cat girls and saying, "Okay, you little kittens,y on your backs and make sure to follow my words properly. Dont worry, you wont have to do anything too strange~." Aki already had a slight flush on her face mixed with a bit of resignation as sheid against the bed and rxed her body, taking the initiative to part her legs slightly. Arnya watched her and seemed to have a small epiphany as sheid back and emted Akis actions. She had previously thought Vahn was going to be feeding her creme and strawberries, but Arnya now realized she was the one being served as dessert... Loki set her own pastry bag against the bed and said, "First, we have to make sure the dish is properly prepared or it will make a mess. Well start by removing the excess cloth so we have a better foundation to work with~." As she spoke, Loki skillfully moved her hands and loosened the ck bow at the center of Akis chest and pulled the white fabric free, revealing her pert b.r.e.a.s.ts that already had small protrusions standing proudly at their peaks. Vahn did the same to Arnya, revealing a muchrger volume of b.r.e.a.s.ts contained behind the thin fabric. Though it was only for a brief moment, Loki gave the healthy mounds an envious look before moving her hands to Akis waist and lifting up the band to reveal the ribbon keeping the skirt in ce. Vahn followed along and pulled the ribbon free before removing the sp that kept the skirt together and pulling it from Arnyas body. Her pale-yellow panties becamepletely visible as the frilly white apron rested against her slightly plump belly. Arnyas breathing became more audible as time passed and she watched all of Vahns actions with intrigue and a fair amount of excitement. Though she was incredibly embarrassed, she felt blessed to be tended to by Vahn instead of having Loki y around with her body. She didnt really understand how Aki was able to deal with it so easily but that was simply, not understanding it was simply the result of experience. Loki had already had something like this in mind previously, so she had already prepped Aki by having her wear panties that tied together at the sides. She pulled the string free and teasingly said, "It might be a bit difficult to remove some of the obstructing clothing, so feel free to cut it away. Dont worry, we have plenty of extra pairs that can be usedter on~." Vahn nodded his head and pulled out a pair of scissors, taking the time to warm them with his hands before cing them against Arnyas thighs and moving them to snip away at the thin band of fabric. Arnyas blush deepened because she didnt really like being on her back and having a pair of scissors snip apart her panties was a little frustrating. Vahn sent her an apologetic look and dispersed calming energy through his domain that was instantly noticed by all three girls present. Loki snickered and said, "How thoughtful...but the frustration and excitement are supposed to be part of the fun~." Vahn nodded his head as if he agreed with her but said, "I also think this is pretty exciting, but I dont want to cause unnecessary stress just to appease my own curiosity and intrigue. Arnya and Aki are already doing their best to tolerate what is going on, so helping out is the least I can do..." Seeing that both girls calmed down a lot with the presence of his aura and hisforting words, Vahn believed he had done the right thing. Loki simply looked at him with curiosity without offering a rebuttal and just continuing the lesson as if it was natural. She picked up her pastry bad and said, "Now that we have a good base to work with, we can start dressing the desert to make it more appetizing. Well start with the softer and easier to work with areas before moving on to the more delicate parts..." Loki bent forward and demonstrated what she had in mind for Vahns benefit. Staring a little away from Akis n.i.p.p.l.es, she began putting down the creme in a surprisingly deft manner and traced it around in a circle to bring it to a swirl that stopped in the center of Akis n.i.p.p.l.e. Vahn mirrored her actions on Arnya with inarguably more skill than Loki, even though he had never done it before. The skills of a [Master Smith] and Vahns inordinately high Dexterity werent to be overlooked, after all. Seeing Vahns sess, Loki nodded her head and said, "Once we get down the icing, its time to adorn the dessert to make it more appealing. You can choose whatever kind of toppings you prefer, but I often find strawberries and cherries work the best~." Loki grabbed two ice-cold strawberries from the bowl and picked off the green leaves before cing them directly in the center of the creme swirl. Akis body trembled slightly at the cold sensation that touched her n.i.p.p.l.es but did her best to avoid moving so as not to make a mess on the bed. Loki nodded her head and said, "Its best to remain as stationary as possible so there arent any mistakes~." Loki had an urge to tease the stoic Aki, but resisted it since she was currently trying to make things interesting for Vahn. Vahn copied Lokis actions but, seeing that Aki had felt a bit of difort from the cold strawberry, Vahn dipped the top of his strawberry in the warm chocte before setting them into ce. The red tips were still exposed, but it was better to warm up the body than it was to cool it down suddenly. Arnya released a hot sigh while Loki gave Vahn a very tant thumbs up and said, "Very smart, good job~!" Afterward, Loki rolled up the apron on Akis stomach and said, "Now well move on to the more delicate areas before presenting the dessert for consumption~." As Akis belly was also starting to protrude and well, Loki was very careful and just made a small heart shape around her navel before taking a strawberry, warming it up with her hands, and then cing the tip into her belly button. Loki watched Vahn emte her actions with a smile before saying, "The next part is the most important because it isnt umon for the cream to wash away if you dy for too long. After you dress it, that is usually the best time to start eating the dessert so please prepare yourself properly, Master~." Then, after having a thought cross her mind, Loki sent a questioning look to Aki who showed a somewhat conflicted expression before nodding her head. Depending on how things yed out, Loki might have to sample Akis dish before Vahn just to avoid having a lot of cleanup afterward. It wouldnt be the first time, but Aki had started to develop a few inhibitions toward such actions unless they were already having s.e.x. This was essentially just a very extended forey, and it was always morefortable to be tended to by Vahn instead of someone else... Vahn followed Lokis actions at almost the exact same pace as she demonstrated them, understanding the implications behind her words perfectly. Arnya was already producing a bit of love nectar from his earlier actions and he could see a fair amount draining from Aki as well. He spread Arnyas legs slightly and created a unique little design while doing his best to avoid the actual opening of her v.a.g.i.n.a. Vahn found the act to be very interesting and he could easily imagine dressing up a girl like this for hours if they were alone. This time, however, Vahn wrapped up after making a few dots above Arnyas pubic hair that led towards her navel. Loki nodded her head and said, "Bon appetite~!" in a yful tone as she watched Vahn begin to devour Arnya... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Purring Intensifies*,Vahn bes a patisserie,Om nom nom...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 555 - Thirst

Chapter 555 - Thirst

Though she had several inhibitions about it at the start, Arnyas body heated up very quickly when Vahn began licking the cream off of her thighs. Her breathing had already started to be a bitbored from earlier, but how her body temperature was steadily rising and she understood why Loki had cautioned Vahn at the start. She also understood why, though it didnt make too much sense at the time, Loki had made Vahn turn into a Cat Person. His tongue was a bit abrasive and dry, causing a ticklish feeling against her skin, but it also allowed him to cleanlyp up the cream without issue. Humans typically produced a fair amount of saliva when they were getting excited, so it would have potentially caused him to make a mess instead of the clean job he was currently doing. Vahn could feel Arnyas body tremble slightly every time he dragged his rough tongue across her skin. He hadnt really considered it in the past, but Vahn realized he could potentially make use of the racial traits of other species to make things more interesting for the girls. Just like he enjoyed the many variations in their bodies, he had the option of spicing things up with them, though he would make sure they were okay with it beforehand. The only thing that came into question was, if he identally got a girl pregnant as a different race, what would happen to the children? It was nearly impossible for two different races to have children, but Vahn suspected his capabilities were a little abnormal and he could probably manage it. After all, he didnt actually have the same kind of gic sequence making up his body as those born in the record and was simply emting it using his source energy as a proxy. Given how simr some of his children from the Divination had been to their mothers, Vahn suspected that his own kids were actually closer to their mothers than they were to him, at least gically. One thing he also noticed, just as he waspping up around the inside of Arnyas thigh, was that his tongue was marginally longer than it had been in his human form. Vahn actually thought this was very interesting and traced his longer tongue slowly along the crease between Arnyas thigh and her v.a.g.i.n.a, causing her body to shake as a fragrant aroma wafted from her steamy entrance. His sense of smell was much stronger right now, so Vahn could feel his own tensions increasing rapidly and he was very tempted to just bury his face into the aromatic organ almost like he could get drunk off of it. Understanding Aki was waiting for him, however, Vahn sped up his actions while also willing his tongue to be a little longer at the same time. He wanted to try something outter and it would take a bit of time for his body to adapt to changes... With a concerted effort, Vahn managed to lick Arnyapletely clean, even though there was a bit of a sloppy mess that had appeared as a result. That had nothing to do with the cream, however, so Vahn warmed up her thighs with his hands before saying, "Delicious..." and sending her a yful wink. Arnya was breathing heavily through her nose and turned her head to the side in embarrassment when Vahn looked down on her from above. When his warmth left her thighs, Arnya peeked through her fingers and saw him move on to Aki, causing a hot sigh to escape her body as she tried to calm down her rapidly beating heart. Loki issued a peal of mischeviousughter and said, "It looks like Ill have to go hungry tonight~." as Vahn pulled apart Akis thighs with his hands. Her words tickled his ears and Vahn realized that Loki hadnt actually taken the chance to eat when he was spoiling the two girls earlier. Before he could think about it too much though, Loki pushed against the back of his head and said, "Dont worry, I already have an idea in mind to make sure I get my fill~." Vahn nodded his head and made eye contact with the blushing Aki before he said, "Very appetizing..." and bent down to enjoy his second serving for the evening. The cream on Aki had started to slowly slide down her hot body, but Vahn had made it in time to ensure that it didnt reach the nkets below. With his marginally longer tongue, Vahn beganpping up the drooping cream as Akis lower jaw quivered and she released quite mewls that actually sounded far more pleasing to Vahns ears than normal. He wondered if it was another trait of being a cat person himself but focused on licking Aki clean instead of worrying about such things...at least for the time being. Loki, however, was paying very close attention to Vahns actions and knew she had awakened something inside of him that could prove interesting in the future. Though she left Vahn to make the decisions, Loki had been talking with the senior members of the group about helping Vahn open up a bit more during s.e.x so he could get more enjoyment out of it. He put in a lot of effort in tending to the girls, regardless of how much he was outnumbered, and they realized this might cause him to slowly lose interest in s.e.x over time. It was certainly mendable to work hard to please your partner, but it was inarguably unhealthy to always be working so hard almost every night. It wasnt an exaggeration to say Vahn was having s.e.x anywhere between 50-80 times a week, which was a very abnormal amount that could be mentally taxing on anyone. He may not have realized it himself, but most of the girls that were closest to him had noticed that Vahn had been leaning more towards spending casual time with everyone and was more prone to cuddling than doing s.e.x.u.a.l acts. He also took off a bit of time, which was somewhat abnormal for him, and had been rxing more often. This was very good, as it allowed him to spend time with the girls without stressing himself too much, but it was also a red g that Eina had brought to their attention. The fact that he was now proactively talking to them about solutions that could make them happy without requiring his constant efforts was the biggest sign of his fatigue, however. They all understood why he would slowly start to wear down, especially considering that it hadnt been that long since he became s.e.x.u.a.lly active, so it was their intent to try and open him up to new things and stir his curiosity a bit while pampering him more, instead of always being the ones to be pampered. Though it had been a little difficult for her, this was the reason why Loki hadnt been spending that much time around the Manortely. She didnt want to stress Vahn out since he often worked very hard to satisfy herpared to some of the others, resulting in this small y being put together. Loki had also been assigned the task of identifying Vahns tendencies so she could discuss them with the pertinent people, specifically Hephaestus, Syr, and Anubis, all so that Vahn could have an outlet for his curiosity. She wasnt the only one that had been given a task, either, as Tsubaki, Mn, Lunoire, and even Naaza had been scouted tofort Vahn by trying to spend more time with him. Their trump card, however, had been the very serious discussion that had with Fenrir so that she could help Vahn rx more. They knew about the little antics she had been pulling because the little wolf girl went out of her way to brag to some of the other girls. She represented a very important position in Vahns life, so Hephaestus, Eina, Hestia, and Mn, the four girls Fenrir listened to seriously, all talked to her about her behavior and forced her to reflect on it a bit. As she already knew that her Master relied on her when he was stressed out, Fenrir took the words of the four girls very seriously and even ended up punishing herself by sitting in the corner and carving a ratherrge hole in the floor by tracing her w in a circle. She had seen Mn force Tina to stand in the corner once, so it was the only punishment she knew about other than simply being separated from her Master... Vahn finished up cleaning the cream around Akiss pelvis and thighs before smacking his mouth and feeling a bit antsy. Before he stood back up and away from her body, Vahn sniffed around her steamy entrance before taking his inordinately long tongue and tracing it through her hot folds once in a painfully slow manner. Akis hands tightly grasped the nkets of the bed and her body trembled greatly as she stifled a high pitched Nyaaaaaa~!? at the unexpected stimtion. Though it was certainly a product of his imagination, Vahn felt a wave of Akis fragrance wash over him and he noticed that her love juices were slightly sweeter than normal, perhaps as a result of the cream. Arnya craned her head to see Akis reaction and felt like she had missed out on something, though she hadnt seen what Vahn had done. The ck-haired cat girl was arching her back slightly, in an obvious effort to resist dislodging the cream from her body, and was gnashing her teeth with slightly zed eyes. Arnya wondered if Akis sensitivity was just higher than hers, or perhaps she had been putting in an effort to enjoy the moment instead of resisting it? It was hard to tell as, other than the time she had spent with Vahn, Arnya wasnt actually that experienced. She liked to treat it like a smallpetition between them and did her best to hold out as long as possible while Aki simply epted what was happening and did her best to savor the moment. Vahn found Akis adorable reaction to be very satisfying because his experiment had proven sessful. With his somewhat rough tongue being able to reach a bit deeper, Vahn traced it all the way from her v.a.g.i.n.a.l entrance and pped up the love juices lubricating the folds of Akisbia and even flicked her slightly exposed weak spot with the tip of his tongue. Her reaction to a single lick riled him up a bit, as he always found the mewling cries of Cat People to be very pleasant to the ears, but Loki interrupted his train of thoughts when she said, "You seem very thirsty...perhaps youd like to quench your throat?" Hearing her words, Vahn looked over and felt his thoughts slow to a crawl as he saw that Loki had already removed her panties at some point and had sat against the sofa he left out. The most shocking thing, however, was the fact that she held her thighs closely together and had filled the gap created by the curve of her pelvis and thighs to the brim with a crystal clear richly colored red wine. It was a very tantalizing sight and, even though he actually hadnt felt that thirst before, Vahn suddenly found his throat was somewhat parched. He gave another nce at the two lovable cat girls and said, "Ill be back shortly..." and licked up the heart-shaped cream around their navels before making his way over to Loki. Loki had a yful smile on her face and said, "It makes my legs cramp up trying to keep my thighs pressed together so tightly~." Vahn knew he would probably stain the sofa a bit but it didnt really matter that much so he knelt down and leaned over Lokis thigh beforepping up the shallow pool of wine. He discovered another new thing about Cat People since it seemed like he could drink the wine more easily with his rough and flexible tongue. As he grew shallower and shallower, Vahn lowered his head closer to Loki and began flicking his tongue against her pubic mound as she took in slightly deeper breaths before releasing a satisfying and hot breath while stroking the back of his head. As he continued top up the remnant of the wine, in an earnest effort to prevent it from sliding through her thighs and staining the couch, Loki slowly began to open her thighs and let his invasive tongue continue its efforts. Vahn had already gotten the majority of the red wine beforehand and she wanted to feel how much his skills had improved since thest time he devoured her. Feeling his rough-tongued begin to press around her vulva, effectively dragging it along with his movements, Loki released a much hotter sigh and stroked his cat ears with her hands. One of the reasons she had been very fond of Aki in the past was because of the rough tongue she possessed but it was infinitely better to have Vahn doing the deed. Loki quickly realized his tongue was much longer than she expected and he even pulled up her h.i.p.s to get a better angle as he probed her depths in a very pleasant yet frustrating manner... Vahn releasing the heavily breathing Loki a few minutester as the volume of fluiding from her v.a.g.i.n.a steadily increased. She gave him a very passionate look and amusedly said, "That was...very good...haa...hahaha..." Vahn released a light chuckle of his own before picking up Lokis body in a princess carry andying her on the bed with the other two girls. He saw the cream still covering their b.r.e.a.s.ts and put his leg on the bed as a support as he leaned over Arnyas body and began to roughly lick around her a.r.e.o.l.a and clean up the cream after cing the chocte covered strawberry in her mouth. It didnt take much effort to devour the entire swirl, so Vahn sucked against the perky little bud with a bit of force and rolled his tongue around it before releasing it with a pop. Arnya had been hugging the back of his head but released him obediently so he could finish eating Aki. She lifted her body, which had be hotter than normal even without entering a heated state, and watched him lick up Akis b.r.e.a.s.ts. Like her, Aki loosely clung to Vahns head as hepped up the cream around her b.r.e.a.s.ts but, unlike her, she didnt make any attempts at stifling her voice at all and seemed to be really getting into things. A somewhat yful smile bloomed on Arnyas face but she just stroked her own taut belly without acting on her instincts. She could see Loki watching Vahn intently from the side, causing the mischevious goddess to cast her a curious nce for a brief moment before turning her attention back to Vahn. Just as before, it didnt take Vahn too long to clean up the two exposed b.r.e.a.s.ts of Aki so he put in a bit of extra effort and scr.a.p.ed her rigid little protrusion with his rough tongue. Each of her quiet cries egged him onward, but Vahn pulled away shortly after since he knew Loki probably had more in mind for the evening. As expected, shortly after he lifted his body and looked over, Loki nodded her head and said, "Okay, now that our Master has eaten, well be treating ourselves while servicing him properly. That is unless Master would like even more dessert~?" Loki removed the bow that kept her own b.r.e.a.s.t-cloth in ce, revealing the somewhat diminutive b.r.e.a.s.ts that she oftenmented about. Vahn smiled and said, "I think Id like to sample my cute little goddess a bit before we move on..." Lokis own heart fluttered a bit at Vahns words, even though she expected he would probably treat her well regardless of her owncking assets. He never once shied away from ying with her b.r.e.a.s.ts when the had s.e.x, so her own confidence regarding their size had increased marginally. She had been a little annoyed that they hadnt grown at all during her pregnancy, but seeing the hungry look in Vahns eyes appeased her ego and brought a smile to her face. Sheid down and prepared herself but, against her expectations, Vahn picked up the small ceramic pot full of warm liquid chocte and leaned over her. Her thoughts raced rapidly and she realized Vahn was pushing her a bit because he knew she was very receptive to his interests. Without offering any words ofint, Loki puffed out her own chest and smiled as she watched Vahn drizzle the rather hot chocte against her chest. Vahn knew the onsen they used could easily reach up to 40 degrees, so he wasnt that concerned that the 38-degree liquid chocte would burn Lokis skin. He actually suspected she would like it if it were a bit hotter, but he didnt want to go to such extremes and just wanted to y around a bit. Under the curious gazes of Aki and Arnya, who seemed to find Lokis suffering interesting, Vahn traced around swirls of chocte across Lokis chest before setting the container to the side. He then lifted up her back with his right hand and held her waist with his left as he traced his rather long tongue across her small, but still incredibly soft, b.r.e.a.s.ts. Vahn knew she stressed over them unnecessarily, so he made sure she knew how fond he was of the tiny mounds by putting a bit more effort into teasing her than normal. After around five minutes, Vahn began tracing his hand around Lokis abdomen and she quickly pped it away beforeughing as she said, "Now, now, that is something well be giving to Masterter. Remember, were going to pamper you tonight, so lets put an end to this little warm-up, shall we~?" Vahn had felt the tensions of everyone in the room rising so he wanted to take the initiative to push things to the next level by starting with Loki. She seemed intent to go with her initial suggestion, however, so Vahn nodded and brought her to a seated position since he had been holding her at an awkward angle previously. Loki stroked around her somewhat red chest, as Vahns rough tongue and tickled her raw for almost five straight minutes. She felt like her n.i.p.p.l.es would be extra sensitive tomorrow but it also felt very satisfying knowing how much effort he had put into his actions. Loki gestured to Arnya and Aki and said, "Master,y down at the head of the bed...Arnya, Aki, lets help our Master getfortable and pamper him plentily. You can always get him to spoil youter, so make sure you focus on his needs tonight, okay~?" The two nodded their heads in understanding and crawled after Vahn before gingerly peeling away his clothing. They knew he could simply keep the items away in his inventory, but it was more interesting to do things the normal way instead of treating it as if they were in a rush. Since they had taken the initiative away from him this time, both Arnya and Aki felt a warm feeling in their chest and genuinely wanted to help him rx and enjoy the moment. They knew well how much effort he put into their own satisfaction so it made them feel happy being able to return the favor, even though they would likely still walk away very satisfied themselves... While Vahn was being undressed by the two cat girls, Loki set out some incense that she had borrowed from Vahn previously, the same kind that was used to help people rx. She also ced oil into an incensemp nearby that had a mild aphrodisiac effect that was more effective on men than women. Even though Vahn had an incredible resistance to such things, Loki believed it would at least rile him up a bit while allowing his mind to rx with the assistance of the other incense. Tonight was all about making him truly enjoy the moment instead of endeavoring to make them happy. When Loki was finished, she crawled toward him from the foot of the bed using very slow movements while keeping eye contact with him. She reached out to his legs and crawled up his body, saying, "Rx your body and mind, Vahn...we will do our best to make you happy, so entrust your body to us and well take good care of it until you fall asleep..." Vahn knew that Loki was actually trying to put him under a light hypnosis because he could recognize the incense she was using and had recently experienced their effects. However, instead of resisting it outright, Vahn decided to do as he had with Hephaestus during their wedding night. He told Sis to pull him back if things got bad before nodding his head with a smile as Loki grabbed his erect members and ced the ns against her hot mouth... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Licky Licky,Vahn Appreciates All B.r.e.a.s.ts,Love, Trust, Rxation...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 556 - Reflection : Guidance

Chapter 556 - Reflection : Guidance

By the time Vahn came back to awareness, he found himself awakening from sleep with a very pleasant numbness permeating through his whole body. Hezily looked to his right and saw Arnyas rather innocent looking sleeping face as she dribbled a bit of drool against his shoulder. To his left, he could see the back of Aki, as the pregnant girls often slept on their left sides as it was supposed to be better for the baby. She was curled up and using his arm as a pillow while, sitting over at the sofa he sat out earlier, Loki could be seen writing away on amunication scroll with a dimmp at her side. Vahn was interested in what she was doing so early in the morning, as it was nearing 4 AM, but rested his head against the plush pillows so he could recall what happened the previous evening. Even though he had willingly fallen into a hypnotic state, Vahn could recall the memories clearly even though there was a strange that blurred his vision. Soon after they had started, Loki ended up exining the situation to Arnya and Aki since Arnya had be alert not long after. She exined the concerns they had regarding Vahn and also took into ount that Vahn would likely recall everything that was happening even though he was in a dazed state. To prevent him from knowing the full details, Loki had the two girls read from a journal as she personally tended to him. A few minutes after they read through the notes, Arnya and Aki decided to relent and help Vahn rx properly and began doing things like stroking his hair and massaging his body with their caress. Because of his receptive state, Vahn followed Lokis words closely and confessed some of his thoughts to her while Arnya and Aki listened closely to each word. It was a bit embarrassing, but he admitted to feeling inadequate to the girls and also admitted to feeling worried that they would eventually end up leaving him if he failed to make them happy. Though he tended to avoid that line of thinking, Vahn knew he really was worried about losing the girls just because he ended up letting them down. By creating the memory orbs and the temporal distortion orb, he was hoping to fill in the gaps a bit but also confessed that it wouldnt be a real solution. Though he could spend more time with the girls in the orb, it would also increase his burden at the same time because he would constantly be trying to tend to everyone as equally as possible. The simple fact of the matter was, Vahn didnt truly love all the girls at the same level and, except for the girls he had already i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed and the ones that had helped shape his life, he was just doing his best to learn how best to love everyone else... Vahn really did want to make everyone happy because, before he had the opportunity to experience the bliss of his current life, he had suffered for a very long period of time. He didnt think himself unworthy of love, affection, and general happiness, but it couldnt be denied they were foreign concepts before he actually opened up to others. Without the ability to see auras, even though it was a bit of a crutch, he likely would have kept his heart closed for a very long period of time. Depending on how things yed out, especially considering some of the events he had experienced, he may have never actually opened up to anyone. Even Chloe, one of the girls that had saved him from his personal darkness, may not have been able to touch his heart if he couldnt see the amiable feelings she directed toward him. Just like he had experienced in the Divination, things could have been drastically different if just a few things had been changed. He most likely would have still tried to save Lili and, unable to understand her psychological state, he probably would have walked down a moderately darker path at her side. He wouldnt have been able to truly understand what Hephaestus had felt for him and, each of his interactions with the girls likely would have gone in a drastically different manner. Even Syr, someone that had very quickly fallen in love with him might have only taken a slight interest in his capabilities without ever moving forward, at least not for a very long time. Without her inciting the other girls to action, Vahn very well may have never gotten with Ryuu, while Lunoire and Arnya were almost impossible to approach without being slowly warmed up to the idea... Realizing his happiness had been the product of a series of coincidences,bined with the guiding function of The Path, Vahn released a long sigh that caused Loki to turn her head. She stood up, wearing a thin transparent nightgown and had a very gentle look in her eyes as she said, "Youve done well, Vahn...leave the rest to us. We wont let you carry these burdens on your own...just believe in the love we have for you. Even if it takes you a bit longer to return their feelings, everyone is much stronger than you think...they wont leave you over something so small. Most of the girls had gone their entire lives without having s.e.x, so dont think theyll fall out of love with you just because you dont pamper them all the time...hell, even we goddesses could easily hold out for years if necessary...you are that important to us." Though she hadnt realized it previously, Loki now understood that Vahns presence in her heart had grown beyond her own understanding of the situation. Seeing him in a dazed state while he confessed his suffering to her hade made something deep inside of her wake up and she felt genuine distress knowing he had been trying so hard. After reflecting on it, Loki felt like this was her maternal instinct, something she had only briefly felt whenever she was defending the children of her Familia and, even more recently, something that had stirred inside her when she rubbed her pregnant belly. Last night, Loki realized that Vahn was still a child, albeit a very abnormal and hard-working one, and her heart had softened up a bit when he broke down his thoughts and admitted the secrets he had been keeping, likely even from himself. Loki knew that Vahn had the makings of an Emperor, including the ability to bring about great change with a resolute state of mind, but this wasnt the same Vahn that she had actually fallen for. When he had wrapped her up in [Enkidu], Loki felt real emotions for the first time and it was Vahns gentle actions and his overwhelming love andpassion that had conquered her. Though she feltpelled to help him rise to the apex of the world, this wasnt something that he truly needed the help of others to aplish. Instead of pushing him forward, it is their duty to reign him in, protect him, and provide him theforts he never experienced. She had beenmunicating with Hephaestus for hours at this point trying toe up with methods to help Vahn be happier. Unfortunately, the best method they came up with would be to have Vahn experience being a child by promoting his rtionship with something like a surrogate mother. This was something Hephaestus had already done when she introduced Tsubaki into his life, but Vahn had simply grown beyond theforts she offered to him. They also couldnt forcibly pamper him, because that would just cause him to feel even more burdened since he had the type of mentality that needed to reciprocate feelings. The problem was, Vahn couldnt be happy normally, as he intrinsically treated it like something that needed to be exchanged or shared between people. His mind desperately sought peace and structure, but he was also insatiably curious and highlymitted to the things he was interested in. As he hadnt experienced many things, Vahn was eager to experience all kinds of new stimulus because, as they could see now, he was afraid that he wouldnt have the opportunity to experience it in the future. He still hadnt adapted to a normal lifestyle and it became very apparent that Einas concerns for Vahn were well-founded. She had, before anyone else truly understood it, seen through Vahns facade and saw the broken boy contained at his core, the one that desperately sought love and affection but didnt actually know how to ept it... Vahn considered Lokis words very seriously as he reflected over his memories of the previous night, glossing over the period of time when Loki had been teaching Arnya and Aki how to better please him. He knew what Loki was trying to say, but he couldnt easily back down since this is what he decided for himself. Though he has had to make some concessions, even to the point that he put restrictions on himself, this was the happiness Vahn had found for himself. It hasnt always been easy, but Vahn willingly walked this path and was willing to bear the burdens even if it caused him to experience greater hardship in the future. Looking to Loki, Vahn said in a quiet yet firm tone, "I cant stop doing my best, Loki..." However, somewhat against his expectations, Loki gave him a very serious look as her eyes opened to reveal a great deal of concern contained within their red depth. After several seconds of silence passed, Vahn averted his eyes from her gaze and she said, "You will continue to do your best...but well be taking action so that we can do better by you as well...from now on, until we believe you have stabilized properly, you can only sleep with one woman per night. You dont have to treat s.e.x as something so important to the happiness of every girl that you have to n around them so seriously. Even if its only once or twice a month, most girls would be satisfied if they got to spend that entire time alone with you..." Loki released a long sigh because she knew her own disposition was more on the needy side of things and that it would be a bit difficult for her. However, she could always confide in the other girls close to Vahn and wasnt above bringingfort to her own body. After collecting her thoughts, she continued, "You can n events with the girls and put together small get-togethers, but from now on you need to rest properly during the evenings. If necessary, the more mature members in the Hearth Manor will educate the younger girls so you dont feel so much pressure by trying to please everyone...if things continue at this rate, youll eventually start to dislike s.e.x and will simply be doing it out of obligation. Remember the painful feeling you had when you talked about how sad and grateful Hephaestus had been during the Divination...? Dont be that person, Vahn...let us be as good to you as you have been to us, okay?" Vahn knew Lokis words cut to the core of the matter, but he still had a bit of difficulty backing down on the issue until she mentioned how he treated Hephaestus in the Divination. Having her thank him for such a small matter had shaken him to the core at the time and Vahn realized, even if he tried his best to avoid having things progress to that extent, there was a chance he would treat s.e.x as aborious task than an emotional connection he experienced with the girls. After all, he only really cared about s.e.x at first because it made him feel closer with the girls...that had slowly been changing over time and he now simply wanted to satisfy them without caring much for his own thoughts and needs at all. This was why, when he was alone with Eina or one of the more mature girls, Vahn often just confided and cuddled with them instead...without realizing it, he had slowly been breaking further. As he was lost in the realization of what had been happening, Aki stirred from his side while Arnya hugged his body from the right. Though it was a bit awkward to have his head pulled so low, Arnya hugged him close to her veryfortable b.r.e.a.s.ts and stroked his head, saying, "You have worked very hard, Vahn..." Though he couldnt see her right now, Loki added, "Once a month, well be doing a short therapy session where Eina, Hephaestus, Syr, Tsubaki, and myself will all try to find out how your mental state is progressing. When were confident you have recovered properly, well let you continue ying around. Until then, however, you need to keep things tame and simply enjoy thepany of the girls you are with. Dont worry, Anubis might be a bit of a masochist but she is also good at pampering people...if the Hearth Manor is putting so much pressure on you, feel free to go stay at the Southern Manor for a few days or rest at your Clubhouse. Well let you know if anything serious happens..." Though it felt like his heart was twisting in pain, Vahn also felt a great deal of warmthing from the embrace of Aki and Arnya and it helped him stay calm. For things to havee to this point, Vahn felt like he had failed the girls but he could also feel their love enveloping him, proving that his fears werent founded in hard truth. As he had been reading a bunch of books on therapy and child psychology in preparation for his own kids, Vahn knew Lokis words tore through the mental barriers he had set up on his own. Her actions were something he could understand well because, if he analyzed himself as a damaged child, it was easy to see where many of his problemsy... After releasing a hot sigh into Arnyas cleavage, enough to cause her aura to flicker and expand slightly, Vahn raised his head and looked into Lokis concern-filled eyes and nodded. Though he felt very guilty about everything that was happening, the only way to move on was to ept the feelings in his heart and take small steps forward to fix them. He needed to use this time to build his own confidence, get truly close to the girls and promote normal rtionsh.i.p.s, and also proactively work on the things he wanted to research. Since he was supposed to be trying to help Tina and Shizune get stronger, while also preparing for the awakening of Evas orb and the birth of his children, Vahn really should use this time in a more focused manner instead of just having s.e.x all the time. Loki nodded her head and pulled out a piece of paper she had been working on the check the details once again before saying, "You can still have your little dress-up event with Ais and the other girls, but you should do it in your workshop and try to keep it from devolving into a s.e.x.u.a.lpetition. Well draw up a schedule and everyone that is currently on your Status Log, with the exceptions of Riveria, Liliruca, Naaza, and Lefiya. After some consideration, we allowed Emiru, Maemi, and Preasia to add themselves to the list..." Vahns brows raised at this and he gave Loki a curious look so she exined, "Maemi and Emiru have a service mentality and are the type of girls that will do their best to make you happy without too much concern for themselves. As for Preasia...she is a bit on the broken side as well and it will likely do you both some good if you spend some time with her. You need a girl that is on the weaker side that has deep emotions for you so that you can have a moment to reset..." Seeing that Vahn was still a little confused, Loki opened her eyes slightly and said, "Those restrictions you ced werent a bad idea at the time, but theyre slowly putting even more pressure on you. Im certain youve noticed it yourself, but youve probably been thinking of how you can get with those three but refused to take a step forward because of your previous promise, right?" Vahn hung his head slightly in shame at Lokis words because it showed that she hadpletely seen through him on the matter. She released a small sigh in response and said, "Vahn, the type of mentality where you treat such things as if theyre matters to be taken care of is very dangerous. If you wanted to be with the girls, that should have been the only reason you need since they also wanted to be with you. Girls are very receptive to things like that, so you can expect they have been feeling a lot of pressure ever since your mentality shifted. That kind of pressure will potentially cause them to make mistakes and itll also make you feel the need to look after them because of your own sense of obligation regarding the matter..." After making a small note, Loki looked up and said, "Youre no longer in a situation where you need to keep pushing the girls forward and motivating them in such ways. It may have been fine at first, but things have changed a lot since then, especially after the matter regarding the Divination. Stop acting in such a restrained manner and try to rx more often, just like you did yesterday with the pic and ying around. You may be an a.d.u.l.t, Vahn, but you are still a child in both heart and mind...dont let your capabilities get to your head and dont be afraid to seek out girls if you want to be pampered. Just like otherse to you when they want to spend time together, you should be going to them more often and simply enjoy the moments you share without worrying too much about what you need to be doing." Vahn nodded his head slowly in affirmation but the image of Fenrir and Terra crossed his mind and he couldnt help but feel great inhibitions toward them both. As if she had read his mind, Loki tilted her head to the side and said, "Dont worry, Terra has already made a resolution of her own and shouldnt do anything that would cause you too much stress. As for Fenrir, we already talked to her previously and she has reflected on her actions greatly. Things might change after the first batch of children are born, or after that little orb of yours wakes up, but you shouldnt have to worry about them too much. The only thing Fenrir really wants from you Vahn, is to be together with you and protect you. Petting, Bathing, Cuddling, and even S.e.x, these are all things she has learned to appeal to you so you can spend more time together. Even if you just sat and brushed her hair like in the past, she would likely be content unless you ignore her for other girls...as for Terra, she has a scary amount of intellect, but she is also somewhat gullible and prone to misunderstandings. She already has a support group around her, so just grooming and petting her should be enough since she also seems to simply want to be together with you..." It was rather long-winded, but Vahn listened to Lokis words very closely and found that they made a lot of sense when he considered his interactions with the two. Fenrir had always watched how he interacted with other girls and she started emting their behaviors just so she could be closer to him. As for Terra, she was still rtively new to living on the surface and spent most of her time in rtive solitude as she sunbathed inside the garden. Ever since she hatched from her chrysalis, she had always been trying to be around him and had picked up books and other studies simply because it was necessary for her to spend more time with him. Vahn realized he had been somewhat cruel to the two girls by putting such restrictions on them, especially with how innocent they both are... Loki finished writing another line on hermunication scroll and sat down in the sofa before pouring herself a ss of wine. She brought it to her lips and inhaled the aroma before setting it back on the table without actually drinking it. Even if he didnt intend to do it, Loki had felt Vahns gaze and noticed the subtle change in his expression as she was about to drink the alcohol. Though it wouldnt actually endanger the baby, Loki didnt want Vahn to stress over the matter so she decided to simply set it to the side. Afterward, she looked over and said, "Today, you shouldnt have s.e.x with anyone and just enjoy your time with the girls. You can stay here and rest as long as you want, but Ill have to leave to take care of some matters in a bit. Go spend some time with Hephaestus and Tsubaki, or maybe you should just cuddle up with Fenrir or Preasia. Thetter would probably appreciate it quite a bit...yaaaaaah~." Toward the end of her words, Loki released a yawn because she didnt get that much sleepst night. Vahn made eye contact with Arnya and Aki before extricating himself from the bed and walking over, saying, "Thank you for everything, Loki..." and giving her a pat on the head to infuse energy into her body... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I feel so numb...,Hardworking Trickser~?,Vahn is a big baby...) (A/N: Probably just one more after this because all of todays chapters have been kind of long. Ill be hitting around 16-17k words after the next one is done, assuming its the same length. If my coffee vibests long enough, Ill try to pump out number six after taking a short rest and maybe grabbing some food.) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 557 - Doing what one wants...

Chapter 557 - Doing what one wants...

Vahn ended up leaving the Twilight Manor alongside Arnya and Aki after preparing breakfast for the three girls. As cooking was something he liked to do recreationally, Loki didnt have much to say about it other than thepliments she had for the food itself. He was in no way a qualified chef, but Vahns attention to detail and his knowledge of recipes allowed him to make most dishes to a reasonable degree. Many of the foods he cooked used recipes from different records, so they had always been popr which made Vahn feel happy. He liked seeing the girls eating the food he cooked, just as the girls that cooked for him loved watching him eat. Deciding to enjoy the cool morning air together, Vahn walked hand-in-hand with both girls as they slowly made their way towards the Hearth Manor. It would easily take them more than two hours to travel there on foot, but the journey was peaceful and pleasant so there was no need to hurry. As he had decided to make the trip in his Cat Person form, as it made him feel closer to the two girls, he got to experience the rather interesting event of walking with their tails intertwined. Arnyas tail was a bit short, because she had apparently had the end cut off when she was younger, but it was more than enough given how close together they were. Even when people gave them strange looks, as it was rather umon to see someone escorting two pregnant girls through the City, they just returned polite smiles or outright ignored them. By the time they reached the Manor, the sun had already peeked up over the surrounding hills and had begun to cast its gentle rays upon thend. As if the cold front from the previous day had been an illusion, there was a warmth in the air and, as Vahns sense of smell was very strong right now, he could smell the fragrance of the grass and trees as they emanated subtle ripples of natural energy. Once they reached the front gate, Arnya slowed her steps and Vahn felt a little at a loss when her tail separated from his. She gave him a gentle smile and said, "You should go spend some time with the others, unless you really want to spend time with me~? I dont mind, but Im certain there are other things you could be doing right nyow." Aki used this as an opportunity to separate her own tail from Vahn, albeit with a little bit of difficulty as they had coiled around each other. Vahns control over his tail was subpar at best, so she giggled as she peeled his tail away from hers. Vahn smiled and took onest deep breath of the morning air as his body visibly began to change into his human form. After undergoing a shift in his mentality, Vahn realized Humans were as much an animal as any other race and had been able to use [Thria*Mimos] to elerate his transformations. Instead of spending almost an hour to make the change, Vahn could manage it within five minutes, though drastic changes would take a much longer period of time. When he opened his eyes, Vahn said, "Before we part, I would like to embrace you both and give you a kiss..." Aki and Arnya made brief eye contact with each other before simultaneously walking forward and giving Vahn a hug. He was a little surprised, but loosely held their waists and gave them both a fairly long, yet admittedly tame, kiss on the lips. Before they went on their way, Arnya ced her palm over Vahns heart and looked into his eyes with a soft expression as she said, "Vahn, you really are one of the strongest people Ive met in my life. However...it is never the role of one person to bear the burdens of another. Just like when we first promised ourselves to each other, lets do our best to share the burdens...together." Vahn nodded and gave Arnyas face one final caress before seeing her off as she followed behind Aki and retreated toward the Manor. Vahn felt a little awkward because, unless he went a different direction it would almost be like he was following. Of course, with his [Shundo] it wasnt difficult to avoid such awkwardness so he vanished from the front courtyard and walked back out into the street to think about his next course of action. His mind was in a peculiar state right now, but Vahn also felt a sense of liberation knowing that things would stabilize a little. He was looking forward to spending time with the girls individually because there were many he had actually never been alone with. They way they acted in a group was always distinctly different than if they were alone, so Vahn was looking forward to the quality time they would share in the future. Before that, however, Vahn had decided to put another matter to rest because one of the biggest points behind his frustration were the enemies lurking in the darkness. Walking down the street with his hands in pocket, Vahn aimlessly watched the random passersby as he sent a signal to Terra, Fafnir, and Fenrir. As he hadnt been that far away, Vahn could hear the sound of footsteps less than a minuteter as Fenrir came trotting out of the front gate wearing her adorable little maid outfit and carrying an unpeeled banana between her two paws as she made her way over to him. Vahn c.o.c.ked his head to the side and asked, "Why do you have a banana, Fenrir?" As if he just asked her the most difficult to answer question in the entire world, Fenrirs eyes turned round as saucers and she stared at the banana in her paws with abject terror in her expression. Vahn arched his brow in confusion before a fluttering silhouette dropped down shortly thereafter, belonging to the naturally beautiful Terra who smiled elegantly and said, "Good morning, Master~." She flicked her wings to before tucking them up behind her and walking forward to receive head pats from Vahn. He absentmindedly reached out his hand to stroke Terras head as he once again asked, "Fenrir, why do you have a banana?" Fenrirs terrified expression slowly turned a little darker as clear frustration built up on her face and she furrowed her brows deeply. Her scarlet eyes began to glow and, for the first time in his life, Vahn saw Fenrirs face show a very light blush as she said, "Gnuuu, Fenrir was practicing..." It took a while for the gears in his head to begin spinning fast enough to understand what Fenrir must have been practicing. As if to demonstrate, Fenrir opened her mouth and tried to take the banana into her cheek but, while she had some small sess, the part nearest to her teeth began to dissolve away which made her expression turn sour as she chomped the entire banana down in one rge bite. Vahn released a sigh and just plopped his hand down on her head, saying, "Fenrir, keep working hard, but dont push yourself to do strange things. If youre lonely, just let me know and we can spend time together. Just like in the past, you can alwayse and watch me in my workshop if you want..." Fenrir squinted her eyes and enjoyed Vahns caress as random passersby looked at their interaction with a bit of incredulity in their gazes. Some of the men had seen Fenrirs actions with the banana and had sly grins on their faces at first until immediately bing pale after seeing the final state of the banana,plete annihtion. There was even one rather unfortunate middle-aged man that looked like he had dislocated his hip and was using a nearby wall as support as he held his thighs together... Vahn looked around and inspected the nearby shadows before asking, "Where is Fafnir?" since he figured Terra would probably have the answer. Terra nodded her head and exined, "Fafnir was ying with Tina in the inner courtyard and I told them I would find out the situation since you could always call him over very quickly." Hearing her exnation, Vahn nodded his head since Fafnir was just a failsafe for what he intended to do. Fafnir could cross the entire City in less than a minute if it was going full speed, with a simr rate of speed if it took the shadows as a medium, so there was no real need to pull it away from Tina if they were having fun. After considering the matter, Vahn pulled his hands away from Terra and Fenrir so they could focus properly and exined, "Terra, Fenrir, I want to see if we can find any traces of the earth mage that has been annoying metely. Well go inspect the tunnels where I encountered themst to see if Fenrir can pick up the scent. Since your mastery over the earth should be far greater than theirs, I will always rely on you to counter them if they try to trigger a trap. They seem to have some basic control over earth elemental energy and had even been able to escape through the earth previously..." Terras eyes squinted slightly and her tail flicked against the ground with a surprising amount of force that cracked one of the cobblestones. Vahn was somewhat confused by her action until she exined, "That little ant actually tried to burrow into one of the side tunnels while you were awayst night. I tried to capture them, but they were outside of my domain and I dont have that much power when I leave my territory..."Terra was very annoyed by the pest that had been antagonizing her Master and she was looking forward to helping squash it if necessary. Vahn was surprised to learn there had been an attempt to infiltrate the Manorst night and asked, "Who else knows about this, Terra?" She blinked her eyes in confusion before saying, "Everyone~? I told Hephaestus, Hestia, Riveria, and Syr, and I believe they told everyone else." Vahn released a sigh and realized that it must have been kept from him since it would have made the earlier exnations more difficult. After all, it didnt make a big difference when he learned about the attempted infiltration since there wasnt much he could do about it without picking up the trail directly. Just knowing that the earth mage had tried something was a good sign though. as it showed that they were still actively trying to interfere with the Hestia Familia and hadnt left the City, at least before this morning. It also showed they were paying attention to his movements and may even be watching him now, though hopefully not to the extent they were able to hear his rather quiet conversation with the two girls. After thinking about it for a moment, Vahn realized there was a sharper mind present so he asked, "Terra, what do you think we should do to try an capture this person? Id like to interrogate them to find out where the came from but, if they turn out to be too much trouble, we can kill them if necessary." Terras wings twitched open a bit before she caressed her left arm with her right hand and said, "Sorry, Master, but I would like to avoid being involved in any killing. If they attack the Manor, I think I could do it, but I dont want to hunt them down. If its just finding them, however, I believe I could follow their scent just as well as Fenrir if I trace the ambient earth elemental energies they left behind." Terra was still a pacifist, both by nature and by virtue of her own Development Ability, so she wasntfortable with the idea of tracking someone down just to kill them. Capturing wouldnt be a problem but, unless she had to protect her Master, she wouldnt kill anyone. Even if the earth mage was a pest that she wanted to squash, that enmity was restricted to wanting to protect her home and didnt carry over when they were outside her territory. However, she could strangely imagine killing them if they affronted her Master, which made her feel a little strange and scared about the changes in her own mentality. Vahn blew these away, however, when he reached out his hand and gently stroked her head, saying, "I wont allow you to be a killer, Terra. I also dont appreciate unnecessary killings, so Ill try to capture them and reach apromise if possible..." Vahn didnt even like the thought of Fenrir killing an actual person, even going so far as to ce severe restrictions on her in the past. If he could avoid having them take the life of another, that would be the most ideal situation as they were both rtively pure beings. Fenrir might be a little fluffy murder machine, but that was something he wanted her to direct towards monsters and not people. She had made great strides in her mental growth and Vahn wanted to protect her paws from bing tainted with the blood of viins if at all possible. As for Terra, he had originally promised her a life where she wouldnt have to fight and he wasnt going to push her forward out of his own selfishness. Aftering up with a n of action, Vahn took Fenrir and Terra down into the underground passage that had been restored after its previous copse. As thework of tunnels was more problematic to remove than it was to make use of, the Alliance had been sending patrols through it and actually used it to cut across some other properties as a short cut of sorts. Vahn activated his [Eyes of Truth] and sent pulses of energy through the tunnels as Terra ced her bare hands against the wall and touched around various spots with the tips of her wings. She also stepped forward in a strange manner and Vahn could feel her energy dispersing into the floor, walls, and ceiling before it retracted back into her body. As for Fenrir, she was smelling around the tunnel with her [Huntress] active and was determined to hunt down the earth mage to make her Master happy. For more than two hours, they continued progressing through the tunnels, even crossing paths with a three-person patrol group that was very surprised to see Vahn. Even though he wasnt in charge of them, the three men gave him a respectful salute so Vahn exchanged a few pleasantries with them before moving on. They were some of the lower rung troops in the Eirene Familia, so they had a lot of respect for Vahns aplishments. Eirene often showed up during their mass dinners and recounted Vahns tales as a form of inspiration and she wasnt shy when it came toying on the praises regarding his character and aplishments. Vahn felt a little embarrassed to hear about this from the three guards and told them to give Eirene his regards if they came across her before he did. Once the small patrol had left, in much higher spirits than they had been in initially, Terramented, "Master, I believe I should be able to trace the earth mages mana now. We just need to find a fresher trail and they wouldnt be able to escape my senses~." Fenrirsrge fluffy ears perked up at Terras words and she seemed somewhat upset because she hadnt found any scents that would be helpful. There were many different aromas in the tunnels, but Fenrir wasnt confident any of them belonged to the earth mage because they smelled very normal. Since she didnt have a base scent to work with, as the original site hadnt offered them any leads, she was at a significant disadvantagepared to Terra. Vahn ruffled Fenrirs head and said, "Dont be jealous of your own little sister, Fenrir." before turning to Terra and asking, "What would be the best method to find their trail? Do you have anything in mind?" Having Vahn defer to her about her opinion made Terra feel very fluttery and she couldnt stop her own wings from wiggling in satisfaction as she smiled and said, "Even when I fly above the City, I can still sense the flow of mana through the earth. If there are anyrge fluctuations or concentrated areas where the mana density is higher, we could check there and potentially find the trail. I believe we can even pinpoint their location over time if Big Sis discovers any scents that match the ones she already picked up in the tunnels~" Hearing Terras words, Fenrirs ears twitched and a crude smile appeared on her face as a result of the fact she was in her [Huntress] form. She had actually gotten much better at smiling recently, but her [Huntress] made her look far wilder since her teeth became very sharp, her hairs raised like the hackles of an animal, and the ws on her paws became much longer. Vahn shook his head slightly with a smile because this was another incident of Terra showing how well she could handle other people, especially her own siblings. Unfortunately, he had no idea that Terra also yed him quite hard on asion, though she had suffered for it a few times as a result of underestimating him. After leaving the tunnels, Terra turned into her dragon form, effectively spooking surrounding Adventurers before they realized what was going on. She was sometimes seen flying around the sky above the Alliance so Terra was one of Vahns known tamed monsters. Few people had seen her human form, however, even though the rumors about its existence had already spread through the City. Fenrir had be a bit of a mascot for the Hestia Familia after many of the older men talked about how adorable she was when they had gone out drinking. Many of the older generation said Fenrir reminded them a lot of their adorable granddaughters and it was amazing how Vahn was able to help monsters evolve into a human form. The Ganesha Familia had heard the rumors as well so Ganesha had actually been negotiating with the leaders of the Alliance to get Vahn to put on another exhibition in the future. Though it irked her to no end, he had even tried to use Shakti as a bargaining chip at times, saying that she really needs to find a man and settle down if she didnt want to end up as an old maid... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A fertile flower on each arm~?,RIP Earth Mage-san,Stay strong Shakti...) (A/N: Okay, this puts me at about 8.2 chapters worth of content, so Ill call it a day here so Ill see you, beautiful people, tomorrow <3) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 558 - Tracking

Chapter 558 - Tracking

Vahn was slowly flying around above the City atop Terras back with Fenrir sitting snuggly in hisp with her ears angled back so they wouldnt flop around in the wind. They had already been flying around for more than two hours at this point, but Vahn enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere as he loosely held Fenrir with one of his palms against Terras back to make sure she had enough energy. With everything that had happened the previous night, extending a bit into this morning, Vahn had felt very reflective and he wanted to start enjoying things as Loki had said. Since both Fenrir and Terra simply liked to be around him, Vahn wanted to bring them some smallforts when they were together... Unfortunately, peaceful times never seemed tost long enough and Terra eventually started to circle around slowly within an area before spreading her wings wide anding to a stop mid-air. Her feathers gently rustled with the wind and they remained nearly stationary in the air as she said, "Master, I believe we can find the trail here..." Vahn activated his [Eyes of Truth] and looked beyond Terras body to see where they were currently located and it seemed to be a simple market and grocer where people could buy agricultural goods and othermon items. There were numerous people that were looking toward them, many even pointing as it was still rather umon to see a dragon in the airspace above the City, especially outside of the Alliances territory. After thinking for a short while, Vahn ran his palm along Terras grassy back and said, "Letsnd...it doesnt matter to me if it causes a bit of trouble. If the earth mage is in the area and tries to escape with their magic, well be able to track them more easily." The rustling in Terras wings became a bit louder as their elevation began to drop at a rtively slow and steady pace. She was giving the people below enough time to clear out but, though arge circle had opened inside the small market, there was still arge crowd. Unlike the intimidating Fafnir, Terra was very elegant and beautiful even in her dragon form so many people were curious about her since she didnt seem hostile. Once theynded, Terra returned to her humanoid form in a blinding green light and caused an evenrger stir when, instead of an elegant and beautiful dragon, an exotic woman with simr qualities took its ce. Vahn extended his domain as a pulse and gave the crowd a bit of a start but didnt put any pressure to intimidate them. He wanted people to have a better impression of him, though not to the extent they simply swarmed him whenever he was out and about. His own calming aura,bined with the actual calming aura of Terra, permeated through the area and gave people a warm and reminiscent feeling even though Vahn was very clearly cautioning them to stay away. Though she was still in her cute little maid outfit, Fenrir crouched down and began to smell around in the area, fortunately remembering that she shouldnt keep her butt up in the air since she was in public. As for Terra, she was sending pulses through the ground as her eyes wandered about until she found what she was looking for and said, "Master, its over there~." The trail that Terra had discovered was near a small shop that sold potatoes, cornmeal, and other rtively cheap winter vegetables and goods. Vahn approached the vendor, a homely woman who looked to be in herte fifties, and said, "Good morning, maam, have you seen any strange characters around this areately?" The old woman raised her brow in a curious manner and smiled in a kindly, yet teasing, manner as she asked, "You mean, other than yourself and your little entourage?" Vahn turned to look at Terra, wearing an elegant robe, that made her look like a Noble, and the adorable little Fenrir that was sniffing around the produce while making sure not to touch anything. They were indeed a little strangepared to the norm, himself included, so Vahn chuckled and said, "Sorry to both you like this, but yes, someone other than us." The womans smile widened marginally and she exined, "Well, I dont get too many customersd, other than a few of the desperate sorts. As for any strange ones, there has been a rather stressed-looking fellowin abouttely who always seemed a bit worse-for-wear. The poor dear looks like the world ase crashin down on his head so I gave him a few of my spare stock to give him a bit a hope that thingsll get better." As if the womans words were a trigger, Fenrirs hair stood on end and became marginally more pointy as her eyes began to glow with a fierce scarlet light. The woman shuddered as Vahn blocked Fenrirs line-of-sight so she wouldnt feel as intimidated. With an apologetic expression, Vahn exined, "Im Vahn Mason, Sage Aldrnari and Captain of the Hestia Familia. These are two of my tamed monsters, so please dont hold it against Fenrir. Were currently trying to track someone down, so youve been a great help to us. Its not much, but please ept this aspensation for your troubles and as gratitude for the information you provided." Vahn handed the woman a small pouch that contained ten tinum coins worth a total of 10,000 Valis each. When she saw the amount, the woman seemed to have forgotten her fear entirely and showed a smile as she said, "Youre very wee, Mr. Mason. Ive heard many stories of your kindness and benevolence, but I never expected to be on the receiving end one day. I hope you find what youre lookin for..." After leaving behind the stall, which the woman immediately began closing up, Vahn led Terra and Fenrir a bit away from the crowd and asked, "Did you lock on to the scent, Fenrir?" She was already flexing her ws as if she was ready to pounce so the answer was very obvious. When she heard him ask, Fenrir nodded her head with a fierce glint in her eyes and said, "Fenrir smells the dirty mage! Fenrir wont let them get away, no matter what!" Once something had been identified by Fenrir, it didnt even matter if they tried to hide behind formations of buried themselves deep into the earth, she would eventually be able to track them down because her [Huntress] would be increasingly more effective the more she wanted to find them. Terra had her characteristic smile on her face, but she didnt seem content simply standing idle so she said, "When the mage left the stall, they used their earth magic to tunnel into the ground nearby and there are still traces of their mana disturbing the natural elemental energies. I believe they are hiding underground, Master, so we may have to set a trap unless you want to try and capture them another way?" Vahns eyes squinted at Terras words and asked, "Can you sense where they might have gone based on the flow of mana? I cant imagine they are deeper than five-hundred meters so I should be able to find them unless there is something obscuring my detection..." Hearing Vahns words, Terras wings flickered and the released a somewhat mockingughter as she said, "I doubt that little rat could burrow that deep without putting themselves at great risk. Ill follow the trail and inspect the ground while Big Sis can try to pick up the trail on the surface. Master, I know your eyes and domain can prate through solid structures, but dont force yourself too hard. When I find their burrow, Ill let you know where its at~." Vahn hadnt discussed it too much, but it was a fact that his domain and [Eyes of Truth] werent perfect. The deeper he looked into an object and the more he focused his vision to see specific things, the greater the consumption of mental energies. As for his domain, it could subtly be interfered with by any physical object, especially those withrge amounts of mana, but it was typically not that great an issue since his source energy would simply push beyond it if he pushes his [Will of the Emperor] to the limits. After considering the matter for a short moment, Vahn nodded his head with a smile and said, "Lets go for a walk. Its quite nice outside and its a good chance to get the two of you a bit of public exposure." Hearing the phrase walk, Fenrir got a bit excited because walking with her Master was usually a very fun thing for her. Seeing the change in her expression, Vahn smiled and ruffled Fenrirs fur before turning his back to her so she could climb on. This wasnt the first time he had given her a piggyback ride in her maid outfit so, at some point in the past, Fenrir had started to wear white satin knickers that Mn called pumpkin pants. This allowed her dress to ride up a bit without exposing her butt for the world to see, something Fenrir had be sensitive about over time. Terra titled her head slightly and watched this interaction between Vahn and Fenrir with a strangely distant look in her eyes that Vahn hadnt missed. He sent her a wink, causing the intelligent beauty to raise her brows slightly before he said, "When we get back to the Manor, Ill help you groom your wings and you can tell me about everything youve been learning recently." Though her expression didnt change much, Terras wings wiggled about happily and she said, "That sounds wonderful, Master~." as a strangely fierce look appeared in her eyes. She hadnt been too motivated about finding the mage before, but now Terra looked like the mage owed her a great debt, which she now wanted to collect... Since Terras ability to sense the mages mana was suited for the task of tracking down the mage a little better than Fenrirs nose, Vahn walked alongside her while Fenrir took the opportunity to y around with Vahns ears, as he had turned into a Vanargandr to pacify her. She seemed especially fond of therge midnight blue ears on his head and, though she tried to y it cool as if it hadnt happened, there was one point where Fenrir licked his right ear out of curiosity. As long as she didnt try putting it in her mouth, Vahn didnt mind her antics too much and just made conversation with Terra as they slowly made their way through the alleyways. Because she was sending pulses into the ground, Terra would stop every few meters to make sure she was going the right direction and they eventually found their way into the outskirts of Daedelus Street after almost three hours of leisurely strolling through the City. It bothered Vahn a bit that they were near Daedelus Street, but he assumed it wasnt for the reasons he was concerned about. Syr still came into this area on asion to visit Marias Orphanage, but she always used the secret passageways and usually had the escort of Ryuu and Fafnir. If it turned out the mage was targetting her or, even worse, eyeing the children of the orphanage to get leverage against her, Vahn would bring down his wrath upon their head without any mercy... The poption density of Daedelus Street was very high and there were numerous despotic individuals, scoundrels, and others that were involved in criminal activities. Though the vast majority were rtively peaceful, as they had fled to Daedelus Street for various reasons, there was no end to the number of people that would congregate together to take advantage of such people. As they stood out a great deal, several of such individuals had eyed up their three-person group as potential marks only to find themselves wavering at thest moment when Vahn turned his attention to them. He hadnt seen a single person above Level 2, so they were a bunch of rabble in the grand scheme of things. They couldnt even sense the vast disparity in power between themselves and their targets so Vahn gave them a light punishment depending on the color of their aura. For those with ck auras, Vahn converged his aura on them in an instant to cause them to experience something akin to a mental copse. They would eventually recover, but not without the help of other people. To have an aura that dark, they must have been intending to cause serious harm or had potentially even done things like murder. Vahn knew it wasnt exactly his ce to judge people, unless he caught them in the act or had solid proof of their wrongdoings, so he simply punished them for the slight against him. However, they got off very easypared to the people that had dark auras intermixed with greens, pungent yellows, and sickly pinks. Every time Vahn saw someone with such a disgusting aura, he knew they were people that had likely ruined many lives andmitted horrible acts to the living. Seeing the way they eyed up Fenrir and Terra from a distance made him sick to his stomach while both girls had cold and fierce looks on their faces. Such people were often things like rapists, ve traders, or deviants, so Vahn showed them absolutely no mercy at all and used [Enkidu] to pierce them directly through their hearts. It was much easier for Vahn to forgive someone that had cruelly murdered another person than it was for him to show leniency towards those who brought great burdens to the living. The denial of freedom, be it physically, mentally, or even emotionally, were things he couldnt tolerate and he wouldnt hesitate to pass his own form of judgment on them for even considering such acts in regards to hispanions. After making their way deep into thebyrinthine structure of Daedelus Street, Terra came to a stop and showed a somewhat cold expression as she said, "Master, it should be below..." Vahn had already sensed the presence of many people under the streets, but this was normal as the artificialbyrinth also existed beneath Daedelus Street. He nned to explore it when he learned Magia Erebea, but it seemed he might have an earlier opportunity of the earth mage was hiding in the area. It made sense they would pick such a ce as their base of operations as the sheerplexity of the corridors below gave them a distinct advantage. Using his domain, Vahn tried to identify any energy signature that could belong to the earth mage based on the color of their mana and the size of their aura. He knew the mage was only around Level 2 or 3, and there was a good chance they would have a pure earth elemental affinity. Vahn suspected there was little chance they would always be using the item that conceal their presence and, after dismissing several hundred other signatures, Vahn found one in a room that was isted from the others. His [Eyes of Truth] activated at the same time as his domain became entirely indiscernible from the surrounding environment. Without creating any fluctuations that might be detected, Vahn peered into the room and saw a scene of devastation, almost like the room had undergone a fierce battle. Vahn furrowed his brows because he could see a thin man sitting on the edge of an earthen bed holding his head, clearly frustrated as they were currently crying. If not for the dark aura and the deep seething red permeating through it, Vahn would have felt pity for them. For now, the only thing he felt was a bit of intrigue and an urge to thrash the fellow that had caused him so much stress over thest few months. It was clear they were likely hired to kill him but, depending on how things yed out, several other people would have gotten involved. Vahn had no doubt the man would have tried to target those close to him if they had given him the opportunity so he couldnt really feel much empathy for the crying man. Though she had likely already locked on to the area herself, Vahn exined, "He is around 73m below us in an isted room away from the other underground corridors..." Terra nodded her head and muttered, "I cant extend my domain here without dispelling the one at the Manor, but I can prevent them from trying to escape through the earth. Even the sun rose from the West, I still wouldnt believe they have greater control over the elements of nature than I do~." Vahn gave her a curious look that caused Terra tough in a yful manner as she spread her wing tips to the ground and sent pulses of energy through the earth. Vahn could sense the rtively stagnant energy within the various underground corridors be alert as they awaited Terras orders. It was extremely difficult to interfere with the control of another person, which is why Vahns own abilities shocked Riveria greatly, so there was little chance the earth mage would be able to wrest control away from Terra. The fact that she used source energy also gave her an edge that couldnt be ovee unless the earth mage really did rely on a powerful Innate ability for their mastery over the earth. However, even if that were the case, Vahn wasnt too worried because he had his own means to prevent the earth mage from escaping... Pale golden energy began to spread through his domain, a phenomenon he couldnt prevent from urring whenever he used [Enkidu], and Vahn used all nine chains to assault the distraught earth mage who had absolutely no time to prepare himself. Before they could even rise from the bed, Vahn had coiled their body up with [Enkidu] before releasing a long sigh of relief. With Terras superior capabilities, the earth mage was much easier to deal with when he proactively hunted them down rather than waiting for them to take action. Given that there was a massive difference in their capabilities, there wasnt even a fight to be had and the poor fool couldnt even move an inch under the immovable bindings. Shaking his head, Vahn scanned around the area to make sure he hadnt overlooked anything before turning to Terra and saying, "Lets go find out who sent this assassin to target us. I already have a good idea of who it was, but it wouldnt hurt to verify things directly." Terras smile had brightened greatly when she sensed what had urred below the ground. Her Master had very easily captured the annoying list pest that tried to sneak into her territory, without having to go to any extremes that caused them to have to fight. If things could be settled peacefully, Terra believed that was for the best...unfortunately, Vahn wasnt thinking the same thing and he believed with was simply the opening act for what would likely be a war between himself and the Rakia Kingdom... (A/N: Alternate Titles: They call him Moneybags Mason,RIP Predator-sans,Insurmountable Gap in Power) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 559 - Resentment

Chapter 559 - Resentment

After passing through a number of underground corridors, which were just smaller parts of arger underground city, Vahn was near the closest wall separating him from the earth mage. Along the way, they had spooked numerous people by their unexpected appearance but many of them simply ran away without sticking around to see how things would y out. Much like the streets above, thework of tunnels directly beneath Daedelus Street was home to tens-of-thousands of impoverished residents that had sought sce and security in the dark after failing to live a normal life on the surface. There were evenrge groups of children that were covered in muck and grime, many of which Vahn realized were Pallums and Beast Humans. It made him sad seeing the almost feral children with slightly glowing eyes as they were more adapted to the darkness than the light... Vahn knew he couldnt bring about the change he wanted to see in the City by just helping everyone he came across, but he still set out bags of fresh vegetables in the areas where they were hiding before moving on. He had heard from Hestia that the ruler of Daedelus Street was a goddess by the name of Penia and he made ns to discuss the state of themunity in the future. She was apparently a goddess of Poverty, People, and Penance, and had been ruling over Daedalus Street for nearly six-hundred years as a safe haven to the beaten and downtrodden. Though there were still criminals that parasitized upon the people in the area, she was the main reason organized crime had been almostpletely weeded out from Daedelus Street. Her influence was so great that, even though her Familia was still merely I-Rank, she had a seat at the table with Ouranos amongst the other top 10 influential gods, apparently only showing up when there was trouble in Daedelus Street. Terra reached out to the wall that obstructed them and ced her palm against it as a pulse of energy flowed into the earthen wall. Almost immediately thereafter, an opening appeared as the earthpressed and solidified, forming a corridor that extended the 13m between them and the earth mages secret chamber. They could hear screaming from the other side that immediately turned to silence after the earth settled. Vahns face hardened and he led the way with the scarlet-eyed Fenrir and the azure-eyed Terra following closely behind him. Fenrir looked like she was ready to pounce at a moments notice, but Terras expression was calm and cool, even though Vahn could sense the fluctuations in her source energy. The moment they stepped into the chamber, a shrill and icy voice seethed the words, "Vahn Mason!" through clenched teeth. Vahn looked over to see the gaunt face of the earth mage and said, "That is correct...but the question is, who are you?" Vahn waved his hands and rearranged the chains so that the mage was held upright instead of being pinned down to the ground as he had been previously. He looked to be in his mid-twenties, though the stress lines and gaunt face made him appear much older, with pale brown hair and dull-looking yellow eyes. There were dark rings around his eye-sockets, appearing as though he hadnt been sleeping well for a very long time, and he had even started to bald at the temples with a few scabs and abrasions visible around his face and hands. Instead of answering, the earth mage beganughing madly with his head turned toward the ceiling at the trap formation that had long been broken by Vahn. There were tears streaming down his face as he mumbled, "This is it...Ive failed...Im sorry..." toward the void, likely wishing his words could travel the distance to whomever they had been intended. The chill in Vahns mind didnt fade, but he felt like the man was very pitiful with his current appearance and words. However, he simply shook his head and said, "You have people you care about...that means you arent aplete monster. However, the fact you do monstrous things is inexcusable regardless of the reason behind your actions. Unless you can honestly say you wouldnt fault the people that target your loved ones, you have no im to my empathy at all..." Vahns words grabbed the attention of the man who looked at him with a fierce resentment and a deep hatred as he said, "I did what I had to in order to survive! You dont know anything at all; youre just a spoiled little brat that grows up surrounded by endlessforts, indulging in pleasures and enjoying the results of other peoples hard work!" Before they couldsh out at the man, Vahn held up his hand to stop Terra and Fenrir as he walked forward and said, "Its really interesting, you im I know nothing about you, but in the same breath make usations against me? What do you know about me, other than what other people have fed you? Other than recognizing me as a target, have you truly made an attempt to understand the life Ive lived? Do you think you are the only one that has suffered in the world? That gives you the right to kill whomever you please, just to make money?" As Vahn spoke, he converged his aura on the man with enough intensity that the mages hair was pressed down by the force and the only thing keeping him upright were the glowing chains of [Enkidu]. Vahn shook his head and released the pressure, saying, "You know absolutely nothing about me other than what you have gleaned through your own bias and hatred. I will give you a chance toe clean...give me your name, the name of your client, the organization you work for, and a good reason why I shouldnt kill you. If you can answer these questions, I will release you on the condition you take a vow to never return to Orario for the purpose ofpleting a mission." The man had a fierce scowl on his face, but he couldnt hide the wavering in his eyes as a small ember of hope appeared deep within their depths. There were few people that wanted to die and, even if he didnt understand Vahns life, he knew of the many rumors and aplishments credited to the seemingly young man. He had a foolishly righteous disposition and there was a fair chance he would be given leniency if he could convince him. However, the mage could feel an incredible pressureing from Vahns blue eyes and it felt like all of his secrets werepletely exposed. If he tried to lie, his instincts were screaming he would likely end up dying here and there would be no hope remaining for him... After several minutes of silence, with Vahn staring down at the man who was obviously lost in his own thought, the mage looked up and said, "You should know that I cant speak about my client, nor the organization I work for. There are vows I have been forced to take that prevent me from disclosing such things...." Seeing Vahns eyes squint in annoyance, the man gnashed his teeth in frustration before saying, "M-my name is Ash...code-name Entomber...I hail from the Rakia Kingdom and I have a lover and a son of four-years..." Then, as if realizing something, Ashs face became very dark and he looked at Vahn with the ckest aura he had ever seen, "Know the names of the people that will die because of you, Vahn Mason...Ash, Liris, and Alexander!" As if he had gone mad, Ash futilely tried to pull against [Enkidu] in an effort to lurch forward and attack Vahn. Vahn released a small sigh and shook his head before saying, "Bullshit...yourepletely out of your mind if you think you can pin such things on me. How can I be responsible for the lives of people Ive never met, just because I didnt let someone kill me? Absolutely ridiculous..." Walking forward, Vahn stood over Ash with a cold look and forced him to kneel on the ground before saying, "Your circ.u.mstances may have forced you into this kind of life, but the only one that can be held responsible for how things turned out is you yourself...even though you walked such a path, one covered in the blood of your enemies, likely even several innocents, you have the audacity to put the me on someone else? Are you an idiot?" Ash wanted to spit, snarl, and scream usations at Vahn but he couldnt move a single muscle in his body, not even being allowed to take a breath as he was forced to listen to his hated enemys words. The pressure had increased to the point that the only thing he could hear was his heartbeats throbbing in his ears as his brain buzzed with a hatred deeper than the depths of the Dungeon. Regardless of what Vahn said, Ash only saw the boy before him as the murderer of his lover and son, instead of the boy that he had once eagerly epted amission to murder for benefits. When he returned home, Ash had nned to only take a few more jobs to save up some money to be a Tier 3 citizen. He wanted to buy citizenship for his family so that his son would have a better life than his own, something that was being taken away from him by Vahn. Feeling the hatred radiating off of Ash, Vahn felt an incredible sense of exasperation and incredulity at the unjustbel that had been pinned on him. He had absolutely nothing to do with Ash and his family before the assassin had forced his way into the lives of everyone at the Hearth Manor. This interaction reminded him a lot of his negotiation with Alosrin and it was very annoying to have someone so deeply rooted in their own bias they couldnt see through to the truth of the matter. Though his Liris and Alexander may end up dying, it was a result of the life Ash had lived and had nothing to do with him at all. He couldnt be med for what was happening more than six-thousand kilometers away in a country he had never even been to...simply ridiculous. Vahn stared down at Ash before easing up the pressure he had been exerting, just enough so the gaunt man can breathe. Turning to Terra, who had a somewhat sad smile on her face, Vahn asked, "What do you think I should do, Terra? This man mes me for the future deaths of people Ive never even associated with. Other than my death, I dont even think he had considered any alternatives to saving his family at all..." Terra was also very annoyed by Ashs usations because they were so illogical that it was like he was saying their Master was at fault for the actions of every other person that barged into his life, including all their family members and friends? This made absolutely no sense to her at all and she saw the kneeling man as something less than a sentient and intelligent creature... After thinking about her Masters questions, Terra looked to him and said, "Thoughpromises can be reached between creatures in order to share burdens and happiness, it is solely the responsibility of the people living to walk the path they have selected for themselves. Even if he was forced into this kind of life, he could have simply killed himself if he truly disliked it. Instead, I imagine he had killed many people for personal gain, all so that he could secure happiness for other people without having to pay a price? This makes no sense to me, thus I conclude he should have prepared himself for this oue before he ever epted such a mission. As for what to do about this fool...he is like a weed, so simply killing him wont solve the problem. Unless it is rooted out entirely, it will continue to grow and parasitize the happiness of everyone living in the Manor..." Vahn nodded his head slowly and looked back to Ash with an unnervingly calm look on his face as he asked, "What do you think I should do with you, Ash? You have already med me for the deaths of your family, so should I send you ahead to receive them?" Though he wanted to reach somepromise with Ash, Vahn could see the madness contained within the mans expression and knew he wasnt truly a good person. He had likely used his Innate ability to build a career for himself as a mage assassin, taking the lives of any potential enemies of the Empire and Rakia Kingdom. It seemed like their doctrine was deeply embedded in the mans mind and he simply couldnt realize the error of his ways as a result of his clouded mindset and the ego he had developed over many years. Ashs expression had grown even darker and he had been putting so much effort into trying to move that [Enkidu] had started to tear into the skin and muscle along his arms. He wanted nothing more than to bury himself and Vahn, praying that the Kingdom would learn of his sacrifice and reward his family instead of killing them for his failure. Unfortunately, he couldnt use his power at all and it had been causing what little restraint remained in his mind to break down. His vision had already turned dark at the edges and there was a metallic taste in his mouth as he red up into the face of the boy he hated more than anything else in the entire world. Vahn saw Ashs reaction and it made him feel very cold inside because he had never experienced such resentment that had been forced on him one-sidedly. Though his aura wasnt thatrge, it had turned into wispy ck tendrils that seemed to be following Ashs intent as they tried to squeeze around his neck. Vahn couldnt actually feel anything from the ck aura, but just knowing how much resentment Ash had for him made Vahn feel very sick. Since it didnt seem like Ash was willing to answer his questions at all, likely already having given up on lifepletely. Vahn reached out his hand and ced it against the mans head. Ash jerked his neck and tried to bite at his hand, but there was no way a Level 2 mage bound by [Enkidu] had enough physical strength to resist Vahns actions. The only thing he got for his trouble was an extra strain in his neck as his face turned red for the exertion. Though he knew the man didnt deserve it, Vahn felt pity for the tragic life he had lived as a result of the path he had decided for himself. After pressing his palm against Ashs head, Vahn began channeling a warm and calming energy into the mans mind to help him rx and slowly lull him into a deep sleep. Ash tried to resist against the energy but, as his mind became increasingly calm, the only resistance he put up were the tears that began to fall from his eyes. He seemed to realize what was going to happen and knew that Vahn, the man he hated more than anything, had given him some small mercy by making things painless for him. Though it was only for a brief moment, Ash felt like he could have gotten along well with the boy if the circ.u.mstances had been a little different... Vahn looked down into the pale yellow eyes of Ash and said, "I have no control over what goes on in the Rakia Kingdom, but I will one day bring change to that country in the hopes that such misfortune never befalls anyone else. You have faced a grave injustice in your life, but its a fact you became a patsy that benefitted from taking the lives of others. If I have the opportunity to save them, I will see that your wife and son are able to live a free and happy life. However, their fate has been forced to a head based on the decisions you have made, something you must ept this before you die. I will not bear your resentment, as your path reached this point without any action on my part..." Even though he felt a great deal of indignation, Ash found himself simply unable to get mad as his mind started to be very cloudy. He hadnt been sleeping well in more than a month at this point and now it was like all his fatigue hadpounded and was about to im him. In his entire twenty-six years of existence, he had never felt as tired and calm as he did right now. The image of his lover appeared in his mind alongside a small boy that looked up to him as if he were a great hero. It broke his heart knowing they would suffer, not because of Vahn, but because he hadnt been truthful to them and had endangered their lives by association with him. He knew better than anyone that it was his fault they would likely die, but he couldnt help but resent Vahn because the young boy had been able to live such a happy life, blessed to be associated with amazing people with great authority...it was unfair... After several minutes, Ash had a nk expression in his eyes as he mumbled, "Please...destroy...that hellhole..." with tears streaming down his gaunt face. With those final few words, Ashs eyelids began to droop low until they came to aplete close. Even with the warm andforting energying from Vahns hand, Ash didnt show a smile on his face and his expression was a deeply set frown of indignation. Vahn released a sigh before letting Ashe to rest face down on the ground of his secret chamber. He then removed the dirty brown robe covering his body and dragged his finger along Ashs spine to see if he had belonged to a Familia. As soon as his blood began to evaporate, the image of a lions head, a spear, and an ax appeared on his back showing that he indeed belonged to the Ares Familia and was likely one of their dark operatives that performed espionage, assassination, or simply caused general upheaval in countries they wanted to conquer in the future. Since there were few organizations that were allowed to exist without the influence of the Ares Familia, this meant his client was likely one of the executives of the Familia itself. The curious thing that Vahn noticed about Ashs Status Board, however, was the fact he actually had more than one Innate and, though he was Human, he was also much more... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Ash Race: Human, Demigod(sealed) LV. 2 POW: H118->H119 END: F335->F338 DEX: G241->G242 AGI: D583->D590 MAG: B739->B751 Skill: [Blessing of Ares:Innate(sealed)], [Gnome:Innate(D)], [Rock Skin:C] Magic: [Quagmire:E] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:C] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Subterranean City,Cycle of Hatred,Legacy of Ares...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 560 - Life Goes On...

Chapter 560 - Life Goes On...

Vahn couldnt be entirely sure it was the case, but seeing Ashs Demigod race and the fact he had the [Blessing of Ares] made it seem like he was one of Ares children. He wasnt sure if Ash, or Ares for that matter, was even aware of this since his pursuit had been as an assassin instead of an actual warrior. There were many things Vahn didnt know about Demigods just yet and he wasnt sure exactly how Divinity manifested itself in people. One thing he knew was that the children sired by gods only had a small chance of being an actual Demigod and, judging by the (sealed) state of Ashs bloodline, it seemed he had gotten the short straw. He had originally intended to execute Ash after investigating his Status Board, but now Vahn had a few inhibitions about it since he could potentially be used as leverage against the Rakia Kingdom. However, after considering the information he already had regarding Ares and the cruelty of the Empire, Vahn simply shook his head and ced his hand against Ashs back. After exhaling a deep breath, Vahn said, "I pray that your next life will be a happy one...please do not walk down such a dark path..." However, even after staying in the same position for several minutes, Vahn couldnt bring himself to go through with it... Though he had killed people in the past, there had never been a moment when he took the life of someone while they were defenseless like this. Even though they were enemies, Ash had never actually brought harm to him...though he had certainly tried. If Vahn had been weaker, he would have died in the tunnels after first pursuing Ash, likely even taking Arnya and Chloe along with him. Thinking this, Vahn hardened his expression and said, "Im sorry..." as he sent a shockwave into Ashs chest and copsed the assassins heart. Other than a muted thump, there was nothing to mark Ashes passing because Vahn had already numbed his sensespletely, resulting in a painless death in the mans sleep. Vahn released a long sigh and felt strangely cold until a surprisingly warm presence embraced him from behind andpletely enveloped him along with a sh of vibrant green. Terra leaned her weight against him and hugged around his chest as she wrapped her wings around his body as if trying to protect him from the coldness of the world. Soon after that, Fenrir wiggled her way into the canopy and cupped his face as she asked in a very worried tone, "Master, why are you sad? Be happy, be happy...the bad man is gone..." Fenrir had wanted to kill Ash so badly, not just because of her own hatred but because of the negative emotions she felt from her Master. She couldnt understand why he was so upset at having won but she could tell he was hurting inside because her own heart throbbed painfully in her chest. Terra continued to hold Vahns body and said, "Fenrir...our Master doesnt like killing people. He kills if it is necessary, but that doesnt mean he cant empathize with his enemies. Though that man over there was a bad man, he still had people he cared about and even had children. It is a very sad thing to lose someone you care about, and sometimes good and bad dont make dealing with that loss any easier. Master is worried about the woman and child left behind, because he can imagine what it is like to lose the people he cares about...can you imagine how you would feel if we lost Master?" Fenrir had a difficult expression on her face at first but it quickly changed into a look of panic and frustration as she shouted, "Fenrir will never lose Master! Master will never abandon Fenrir..." This time, Vahn answered by hugging the anxious Fenrir strongly as he stroked the back of her head and said, "Shhh, there is no need to be upset...Terra was just giving you an example...but you can understand what she meant, right? Just imagine that this feeling is the same thing that his wife and son will feel...it is a very sad thing, isnt it?" Fenrirs body trembled slightly, though Vahn couldnt tell if it was out of sadness or frustration because she had buried her face into his chest. After a few seconds, however, she nodded her head and said, "Fenrirs heart hurts...please dont leave Fenrir. She will be a good girl, always...gnuuuu..." Though he still felt a bit at a loss as to what he should do about the Rakia Kingdom right now, Vahns priorities immediately shifted closer to home and his focus turned to Fenrir and Terra, the only two things that mattered here, at this moment. Vahn pulled Fenrir away from his chest so he could see her face, surprised to find her eyes were watering slightly, and said in a firm voice, "Long after the stars in the sky burn out, I will still be with you, Fenrir...the same goes for you, Terra...we may be apart at times, but I will never abandon anyone that has chosen to follow at my side. After I gave you your names, you both became important parts of my family...please dont leave me, even if there are times when I do strange things or break down..." Terras wings pulled tightly around them as her arms squeezed Vahns body, clearly showing her answer with her actions since she couldnt seem to find the words. As for Fenrir, she nuzzled up against his chest and squeezed him with a surprising amount of strength. It was almost like she was trying to fuse with his body and it made Vahn feel veryfortable to have the warmth of the two girls here in this dark room... After cremating Ashs body, Vahn put the remains into a jar that he intended to take back to the Rakia Kingdom and scatter one day. If possible, hed like to hand the vase over to Ashs family, but Vahn imagined he wouldnt be well liked by the two people even if they didnt end up as victims of this event. A part of him wanted to rush over to the Kingdom and attempt to save them, but that type of mentality was a never-ending loop that would require him to take responsibility for everyone. Just as Ash had made decisions about his life, Liris had done the same and Vahn had no idea what kind of person she had been to fall in love with a career killer. Their son, Alexander, would likely experience the most hardship from this event but there were countless such children in Rakia that Vahn hadnt even thought about before now... Looking around at the devastated chamber, Vahn looked over the various doc.u.ments Ash had kept out and found a few potentially useful diagrams. The most interesting thing was arge formation that could cover several City blocks, like the same as the one destroyed by Terra. It took an incredible amount of resources to set up, however, so Ash must have used the majority of his funds just attempting to create it. Vahn felt a bit of pity knowing that the mans hard work had been undone on a whim by Terra, but he couldnt help but feel grateful to her at the same time. Deciding it was best to act on his thoughts, Vahn reached out and pat the happy dragons head for a few minutes and expressed his gratitude. Once he had looked over everything, Vahn gave the room onest nce before he said, "Bury this ce, Terra..." and made his way out of the corridor. He was feeling a little mncholic and wanted to help someone so Vahn scanned around the various underground corridors and dropped off food and supplies in the areas where people congregated. The previously busy tunnels were nowpletely quiet as he walked through them, but Vahn could still sense the various people watching their progress through the maze-like structure of the Daedelus Street underground. After a few minutes, they reached the surface and exited out from an abandoned looking building. Vahn looked over his shoulder and saw a few faces peeking at him through the darkness, many belonging to children that had been interested in him ever since he gave them food. Because it wasnt that umon for some children to get snatched up and whisked away to be ves, they all stayed very far away even after receiving various goods from him. Shaking his head with a slightly mncholic expression, Vahn showed a small smile and set out some additional offerings in the building before turning away and deciding it was almost time to head home. Before that, however, Vahn decided to stop over at Marias Orphanage since he was already in the area. He hadnt visited since thest time he apanied Syr, so Vahn was interested in how the children were doing. His mood made him feel a desire to be charitable and seeing the lively orphans would ease his heart a little. So as not to draw attention to themselves, Vahn had Terra return to the Manor and entrusted her to exin the situation to Hestia and the others. She was somewhat reluctant to leave him behind, but eventually relented after he rubbed her ears with his thumbs and promised to return home shortly. Her ears were somewhat abnormal and werepletely covered in emerald-colored green scales. However, instead of being very hard and resistant to stimulus, they were actually full of nerves that connected to each individual scale and this made it one of Terras big weak spots. Vahn was starting to enjoy seeing her wings flutter about when she was happy and was looking forward to pampering her properly in the future. After sending Terra off, which caused a bit of a stir in the rtively empty streets, Vahn picked up Fenrir in a princess carry and vanished from the streets with [Shundo]. He didnt mind Terra meeting the children at Marias Orphanage, as she would likely be very popr with them, but Vahn didnt want to draw unnecessary attention and cause trouble for Maria. Syr often visited the ce wearing a cloak that concealed her head and face so Vahn gave Fenrir a mantle before they approached it from the front. He made sure there werent any eyes snooping around beforehand so there shouldnt be any trouble, at least nothing beyond Marias capacity to handle. Around the front of the Orphanage, there were a few children lingering about that instantly noticed his arrival with curious expressions on their faces before one of them recognized who he was. Without any hesitation, the children ran over and began crowding around him while Fenrir stayed close to his back and tried to avoid them. Though they were all smaller than she was, Fenrir had never really been good at dealing with strangers and, even though she didnt feel threatened, she didnt like to be surrounded. Vahn held out his hands to calm the children down and said, "Lets go inside where we can talk and y in peace. As for this adorable little one, she is Fenrir, my very importantpanion. Be nice to her and dont try to horsey since her paws can be very dangerous..." As if to emphasize his words, Fenrir held up her paws and showed off her ws which, instead of scaring away the children, made them show starry-eyed expressions of awe. At this age, especially when they were in this kind of environment, the kids didnt have a lot ofmon fears and, considering that Fenrir wasnt hostile towards them, she was more interesting than dangerous. Vahn allowed Fenrir to climb up onto his back to avoid the small children as she cutely tucked her tail in to avoid having anyone pull on it. Vahn then led the way into the Orphanage though some of the children got ahead of him to go tell the others and inform Maria. Not long after he entered the abandoned church, which hadnt changed much since hisst visit, a bolt of red came flying at him from over one of the pews. Fenrir gave the young Rye a stink eye but didnt react since she could tell he posed no actual danger at all. As for Vahn, he stepped back and turned his body to the side as he caught the young boy up in one arm as Fenrir clung tightly to his body like a little monkey. Rye wormed about in his arms and said, "Unhand me, you viin~! Arrrgh!" Vahn felt Ryes forward behavior was very entertaining so he asked, "And what makes me a viin this time, Rye?" In response, Rye tried to reach out and grab at Fenrir but Vahn flipped him over and disoriented the young boy before setting him down on the floor with dizzied eyes. Vahn ced his palm on Ryes head and said, "Dont tease Fenrir since she isnt good at such things. You wouldnt want people youve never met to grab you or your friends suddenly, right?" Rye furrowed his brows slightly before nodding his head and saying, "Im sorry, Fenrir...but you, Vahn! I cant forgive you so easily after what you did! Aaaah, just thinking about it makes my blood boil!" Before Vahn could ask what he meant once again, Marias stern voiced sounded out as she said, "Rye, you know well enough that Vahn didnt actually betray our Syr at all. She is happy within the Hearth Manor, and Vahn is a capable young man that works hard to take care of everyone around him. I imagine he is here today to make a donation and spend time with everyone here, isnt that right Mr. Mason~?" Though he realized she had entrapped him a bit with her words, Vahn didnt mind since it was actually his intent to make a donation of food and toys for the orphans. With a smile on his face, Vahn nodded and said, "Yes, I figured it had been a while since I stopped by and I happened to be in the area. If there is anything troubling you, or any of the children here, Ill be more than happy to help out." Maria covered her mouth and let out a peal of yfulughter that wasnt suitable for her age as she said, "My, its good to have a strong and reliable man around the Orphanage on asion. If youre not too busy, there are a few handyman tasks you can take care of before you go." Considering that he was a [Master Smith], with very high parameters, Vahn wouldnt have any trouble with such tasks so he said, "Sure, Maria, Ill just y with the kids for a bit first." Maria nodded her head with a pleased look on her face as Vahn once again found himself surrounded by more than twenty children. He noticed there were some faces missing since hisst visit while new ones had popped up. However, one thing that hadnt changed was the stand-out trio of Rye, Fina, and Roux and they were something like the heart of the entire Orphanage. Rye couldnt get adopted easily because he was somewhat rambunctious while Fina was like the big sister of everyone and didnt want to get adopted. As for Roux, she was very quiet and docile as she hung around Rye and Fina while trying not to draw too much attention to herself. She was still pretending to be a boy, which made Vahn feel a little sad for her, but he couldnt easily help her move forward unless she was willing to take the steps on her own. Vahn had been very tempted to adopt her himself, or at least find her a home in one of the other Familia if that wasnt possible, but she was very attached to the other children and would likely refuse even if he offered... Vahn had frowned deeply, interrupting the conversation he was having with the other children so Fina asked, "Vahn, Vahn, is everything okay?" while lightly pping his face. She had imed hisp as her territory after he sat down so Vahn had been pampering the young Chienthrope girl as he listened to the worries, concerns,ints, and desires of the various children. With her small ps breaking him from his reverie, Vahn almost instinctively hugged her butpromised by just patting her head and saying, "I was thinking about how I could help everyone at the Orphanage even if I couldnt adopt them. What would you all think about attending a school that I n to open in the future...?" Rye immediately shouted out, "No way, school is for saps that want to work for the Guild or be public servants! I want to be an Adventurer in the future, so I cant waste time sitting in a ssroom!" He didnt admit it, but Rye actually thought going to school would be pretty fun. However, unless they had a schrship by agreeing to work for the guild or bing workers, it would be very expensive. There was also the fact that he was feeling a little riled up seeing Fina snuggled up in Vahnsp since he felt like Vahn would end up corrupting her like he did Syr. She was usually a very lively a boisterous girl, but Fina turnedpletely docile under Vahns hand and had a silly look on her face with squinted eyes that bothered him. Vahn nodded his head and looked around to the other children, each ranging between the ages of 4 and 9, before saying, "The school I want to open has no requirements for after you graduate, meaning you can do whatever you want with your life as long as you work hard and try your best to be a good person. There arent any fees that you would have to pay, as I would be waving them for children thate from difficult situations. It wouldnt be a real home, but it would be a ce you can stay until you reach fourteen...since it is affiliated with the Alliance, you can even join one of the rted Familia after youplete your training, as we intend to teach everything from basic swordsmanship to magic..." Rye looked like he wanted to say something, but the person to respond first happened to be Roux as she asked, "Can I...learn how to use magic...?" in a quiet voice that caused everyone in the room to turn silent. She didnt often speak out, so even the children had learned to be silent to hear what she was saying since Maria had taught them to be considerate of others. Though many people would have shaken their head in response to Rouxs question, Vahn confidently nodded and said, "Yes, I have absolute confidence in being able to teach anyone how to use magic. I even work alongside Riveria, the Nine Hells, the High Elf touted as one of the greatest Mages in the entire continent of Eden." Hearing Riverias name, Rouxs eyes opened wide because she actually looked up to the famous High Elf quite a bit. Riveria was an inspiration to many people because she was a High Elf that went against general conventions and had created a great deal of fame for herself. Instead of shunning Half-Elves, she was known to treat them with kindness and proactively reproached Elves that acted arrogantly within the City. If she would be the one to teach them magic, Roux believed that even a useless Half-Elf like her might be able to have some value to her life, other than mary gain for cruel and despicable people. With an umon face of resolution for the typically silent Half-Elf, Roux furrowed her brows with a serious look and said, "I want to go to school...!" As if she had set off a chain reaction, Fina leaned against Vahns chest and said, "I want to go to school too~! Ah, but I dont want to leave the Orphanage, gnuuu, hard decisions~!" Immediately after Finas words fell, the other children seemed to get excited about it with the exception of Rye and a young purple-haired girl who didnt seem to understand what was happening at all. She just looked around with her big gem-like eyes and stared at everyone with a clearly confused expression on her face as she yanked on a young boys tunic and asked, "Wats is skoohl?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ashs ashes...feel very heavy,Eternal Comfort,The Prolific Godhand...) (A/N: For my lovely patrons, I posted a teaser of my original novel on ******* if you wanted to check it out :). Let me know what you think <3) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 561 - Lecture

Chapter 561 - Lecture

Vahn spent a bit of time exining the concept of school to everyone present, eventually even winning Rye over to his side after exining the martial arts aspects and how useful information about monster ecology was to be a sessful Adventurer. Though the red-haired boy was a little rambunctious, he wasnt an idiot and knew it was better to get a strong start than it was to simply try and wing it. Many Adventurers that started out fresh, without any help, received a small stipend from the Guild, including a pouch for items, a dagger to aide them inbat, and a single smoke ball so they could escape from danger. This was a far crypared to what they would receive by working their way up through the school, as Vahn guaranteed they would be able to earn equipment based on their performance without having to pay a single Valis. After humoring the children for more than two hours, including snack and story time, it was starting to gette in the day so Vahn did a few tasks for Maria as they talked about the school he wanted to create. She didnt mind Vahns idea much, as it would help the children be better people by giving them the opportunity to work hard for their future, but she didnt want him to do it half-heartedly. Opening a dorm for the kids wasnt the same as adopting them, but he would still be responsible for their well-being and,cking a parental figure in their lives, many of the children would look up to him and the teachers as if they would their actual parents. It wasnt that dissimr from how other Familia, and many countries, indoctrinated the youth to sculpt them into useful tools for the future. Because the children would be reliant on the structure that they found in their lives, many of them would shape their lives around the structure further into the future much like how those that attended the Guild sponsored School did. Vahn understood what Maria was trying to say since he had been considering such matters for a long time in preparation for opening up their school one day. He knew he would be subtly manipting the children but it was better to set them on a path where they worked hard to decide their own futures than it was to simply do nothing. If he wanted to bring about real change in the future, Vahn needed a generation to set the example and it couldnt be his own children since many would see them as special and privileged. Since he didnt truly n to take advantage of the kids that attended his school, Vahn believed things would go well because the teachers he ns to have watching over them were all trustworthy and kindhearted. After considering the matter for a short while, Vahn turned to Maria and asked in a calm tone, "Ms. Maria, would you like to be the caretaker of the dormitory? It would be hard work, but I believe you are well suited for the position and would be able to help out greatly." Maria shook her head without considering the offer and said, "No, Vahn, my ce is here at the Orphanage...even if you start up that school of yours, there is no way you would be able to take in all the children within the City. As long as there are those that need a ce to call home, my Orphanage will remain here to help them..." Vahn nodded his head and had a thoughtful expression on his face for a while before pulling out a set ofmunication scrolls for Maria. Seeing what Vahn pulled out, Maria beganughing as she shook her head and said, "That darling Syr already gave me a scroll a long time ago. Dont worry, if there is ever any trouble at the Orphanage, such as a shortage of supplies, I will certainly reach out for assistance. I dont do this for my pride, so Ill not let the children suffer just because Im unwilling to ask for charitable donations." Vahn smiled before keeping away the materials and set out a few bags of fresh produce and a pile of new nkets that would be useful if any new children showed up at the Orphanage. Marina squinted her eyes with a gentle smile on her face and said, "You are a kind boy, Vahn...the children are fortunate someone as magnanimous as you came to this City. Keep doing your best as Im quite interested to see the future you want to create...fufufu~." Vahn fixed up a few holes in the ceiling that had simply been covered up previously to keep out the cold before preparing for his return to the Manor. He expected there would be a lecture waiting for him upon his return but this actually made him feel warm inside just thinking about the concern others had for him. On his way out, Vahn picked up Fenrir, who had been sitting and talking with Roux and Fina, before preparing to depart. He didnt get too far, however, before Fina shot up and said, "Ah, wait, Vahn~! Dont leave so quickly~!" Roux also stood up with Fina and trailed behind her as the young Chienthrope girl ran up and grabbed around his waist and nuzzled against him in a somewhat affectionate manner. Fina continued her yful actions for a few seconds before showing a frowning face as she said, "Pet me you dummy~!" Vahns mind nked for a moment as he reached out and began stroking pale cream-colored hair of Fina as her short curved tail beat back and forth happily. Unlike most of the Chienthrope girls he had seen, Finas tail was somewhat short and drew an upward crescent that was actually quite fluffy. As for her ears, they were pointed like a Cat Persons but drooped slightly at the tips. Vahn realized that he probably shouldnt pet her seriously like he did the other girls or she would likely be somewhat attached to him with time. He was already several concerns regarding girls like Nanu, Tina, and Shizune, so he wanted to avoid having small children falling in love with him unless they simply saw him as a guardian or mentor. From the side, Vahn could see Rye give him a big-eyed look with a small frown on his face so Vahn chuckled slightly and said, "Fina, I have to return to my home. Look after everyone else and Ill try to get the school prepared as soon as possible. Be a good girl and take care of your friends properly, okay?" Fina nodded her head with squinted eyes as she loosely held Vahns wrist with her hands as if she didnt want to pull away from his hand. Vahn realized he needed to get a better understanding of the influence of his [Hands of Nirvana] with his [Petting] Development Ability unless he wanted a pack of Beast Humans following him around in the future. After finally extricating himself from the clingy little Chienthrope, Vahn carried Fenrir and they quickly made their way towards the Hearth Manor without dallying further. Fenrir didnt seem to mind the children too much, but she was in a much better mood after leaving. Perhaps it was because he had her look after Preasia in the past, or perhaps due to the influence of Tina and Mn, but Fenrir expressed a bit of concern for the damaged children at the Orphanage. Though she didnt open up at first, Fenrir quickly realized the children were something that needed protecting and she gravitated toward the traumatized Roux out of concern. Vahn was very proud she had this kind of nature because he was worried she would always be distant when it came to dealing with strangers. It seemed like that was an unnecessary concern, however, since her instincts allowed her to sense if someone had any ill will while also letting her have some insights into people that were hurting. There were exceptions to this, of course, as Fenrir didnt seem too fond of little Fina because she didnt want even more people around Vahn that ate up his time. She could also probably sense his inhibitions towards the small Chienthrope girl and, though she didnt show any open hostility towards he, Vahn hadnt missed the glimmer in her scarlet eyes when she stared at Finas back. It was this same nce that caused Fina to tremble slightly as she looked around in confusion and released Vahns hand. Like most Beast Humans, she had a bit of a natural instinct towards danger and also possessed an Innate fear of more dangerous creatures. Fenrir could even unnerve Vahn, gods, and True Dragons, so a Chienthrope child wasnt beyond her scope of intimidation. Vahn carried Fenrir the full way to the Manor on his back before they jumped over the gate and slowly approached the front door. He could sense the movement of several people inside in response to his arrival and released a small sigh in preparation before stepping into the foyer. Almost immediately after he crossed over the threshold of the door, Hestia appeared with an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face as she said, "Vahn, everyone is waiting for you in the study. Dinner will be ready shortly, so dont tarry..." Nodding his head, Vahn set Fenrir down and said, "Run along and get ready for dinner..." before following behind Hestia and towards the gathered goddesses nearby. Within the study, Vahn could see Hephaestus and Loki sitting next to each other with Syr and Eina present on the opposite sofa. Riveria was also present, but she stood at the side with her staff and had a stoic appearance. The only person that seemed to not care about the atmosphere too much was Tsubaki, who was sitting in a smaller chair with her legs crossed on the cushion as she absentmindedly stroked her belly with a smile on her face. When they all saw Vahn enter the room, Loki beat everyone to the punch and released a loud and exasperated sigh as she asked, "How is it that, just after I lecture you about rxing more, your immediate response is to go off and fight unknown enemies within the City and even make promises to the children at Marias Orphanage to open up a school? Can you exin this to me, Vaaaaaaahn~!?" Vahn remained standing, somewhat surprised that Hestia remained by his side, as he nodded his head and said, "The only way I could really rx is if I eliminated the main worry that had been bothering me since before I went on the expedition. I want to treat your words seriously, but that also means I need to resolve other matters in order to do so. We now have a better understanding of the situation and, as far as the children in the Orphanage are concerned, that is...something I had to do for myself as a penance of sorts. I wont ept responsibility for the assassins family, but I will continue to do my best to help the people around me. The school needed to be opened in the future, so telling them they will be allowed to attend will give them a small amount of hope that makes their daily lives easier. Even if I have to fund it myself, I want to start construction on the school and the dormitory in preparation for the future. After all...our own children, and the young kids within the Alliance Familias, benefit greatly from itspletion." It was a bit of a cheap shot, but Vahn dragged his future children into the mix knowing that it would give him the edge in any potential arguments. They could always raise their children in the safety and security of the Manor, but this wouldnt allow them to be plete people that functioned properly in society. Even if it is only for a rtively short period of time, they need to interact with people from various age groups to shape the people they will be in the future. Vahn was especially concerned about the Vanir, because they would grow up exceptionally quickly and only had a small window of opportunity to interact with other children. Loki had opened her eyes slightly during Vahns exnation, clearly seeing through his thoughts before she sat back down next to the smiling Hephaestus and said, "We have alreadye to a decision to dere the Rakia Kingdom as the enemy of the Alliance. An announcement wont be made, but the leadership within the Alliance is aware of their assassination attempt and we will begin to make preparations for an all-out war if necessary. I expect youll eventually take action to open dialogue with them in the future but focus on other things for now. Dont go starting wars just as your children are about to be born, Vahn..." Vahn nodded his head and said, "I want to wait until Evas orb awakens before I start taking action against the other countries. I may even put things off for the next 2-3 years since the more pertinent matter that needs to be dealt with are our enemies within the Dungeon. There wont be many specialists like the earth mage that can infiltrate the territory of the Alliance so easily, so Im not worried that they will be an issue in the interim. If necessary, Ill take Fafnir into their territory and give them a warning by destroying some of their outposts near the border. This would give many refugees the ability to escape the Kingdoms territory and it would force them to invest time and resources into securing their borders once again." After Vahns words fell, the entire room was silent for several seconds until Syr and Loki both beganughing in their own characteristic manners. Syr quickly stopped herughter when she got some looks from the other girls, but Loki continued to cackle without concern before she said, "That is actually a very good idea, Vahn~! I almost didnt think you had it in you...kukuku~." Hephaestus sent Loki a sideline nce and remarked, "Hmph...Ive always believed Vahn is a very intelligent boy. After all, some of the innovations he has made in thest few months would have taken decades, or even centuries, for other people to think of..." Tsubaki nodded her head from the side but continued to a avoid the conversation since it didnt really concern her that much. Eina was much the same, though she had a bit of a sad expression in her eyes when she thought about Vahn potentially going to war against other nations. Riveria used the opportunity to speak out as she said in an especially serious tone, "If you n to do something like that, you should dy it until the delegation returns to the Elven Kingdom. They will likely be machinating things behind the scenes in preparation for future events so it would be a good time to take action. The Rakia Kingdom and the Elven Kingdom have been at war for many years at this point, so it will be an effective strategy that forces both sides to take a step back. Itll give us a bit of leverage against the Elven Kingdom as potential allies, and itll put pressure on the Rakia Kingdom to fortify their borders and increase security. It would likely give us far more than a simple 2-3 years to make preparations of our own..." Before anyone could respond to Riverias words, Eina stood up from the sofa with a slightly mncholic smile and said, "I believe this conversation is going beyond my boundaries a bit. Ill always support Vahns decisions, but I dont think it would be good for me to be part of a war council while Im still working for the Guild." Loki waved her hand dismissively and sent a nce at Riveria before saying, "Eh, it isnt anything so serious, Eina. Well put that conversation aside for now so please stay since your insights into Vahn are likely deeper than anyone elses, even our little Syr here~." Syrs eyes squinted slightly when she heard Lokis words, but her smile didnt show any signs of change while even her aura was rtively calm. She focused more on what Vahn wanted to do more than his inner turmoils because that had been a job delegated to Eina in the past. Even if he walked down the rather lonely road of an Emperor, she would continue supporting his decisions so it was the responsibility of the other women to reign him in. She had therge responsibility of reigning in almost everyone else, so it was a simple matter of assigning the proper personnel in her mind. Besides, she didnt think Vahn was so weak that he needed someone like her to manipte his heart and mind in order to make him happy. Eina sat back down after Lokis insistence and the conversation really did take a shift as they began discussing the matters that had been brought up the previous night, and this morning. They also refined the schedule a bit so that Vahn spent the weekend nights with Eina and Hephaestus while the other girls had a month-long rotation. At the end of every month, Vahn would have a counseling session with Eina, Syr, Loki, Hephaestus, and Hestia so that they could have a better understanding of his mental state and how to better his life. If necessary, based on the discretion of Eina, this could be done almost every weekend if she believed it would help him. This would continue until Vahns mind stabilized more and the orb containing Eva once again reawakened. Things would have to be shuffled around a bit when the children were being born, but that was something everyone understood intrinsically... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Godhand receives a new follower?,Sometimes a disy of power helps,Einas Responsibilities Are Heavy) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 562 - Moving Forward

Chapter 562 - Moving Forward

Though they werent simply going to drop their guards now that the earth mage had been taken care of, everyone had be a lot less tense knowing he was no longer a threat. There had been a slight stir as a result of the scheduling changes, but there wasnt really any resistance since one of the topics they had discussed during the previous Vahnatus was about overtaxing Vahn all the time. They also thought the idea of having time alone with him was very nice and knew that, even if they didnt go out of their way to pester him, Vahn would likelye to them on his own ord. If he was taking proactive actions, he wouldnt get nearly as stressed out as if the girls showed up and interrupted his natural momentum. It made Vahn feel more than a little guilty, but he also knew it was for the best to slow down and rx instead of constantly pushing himself, and the girls, forward... There were several girls that were more than a little happy about the changes that urred, chiefly Maemi, Emiru, Preasia, and, to a lesser extent, Lili, Naaza, and Lefiya. The former group was excited to be able to get closer to Vahn without the pressure and anxiety involved with waiting around and suffering. As for thetter batch, though Lili was a bit of an exception, they simply looked forward to being able to spend more time with Vahn since he wouldnt constantly be flirting with other girls. It was a little awkward for Naaza to show affection around other people, even though she didnt particrly have any problems with anyone, so she spent a lot of time with Lili or in her own atelier working on her [Mixing]. As for Lefiya, she was still easily fl.u.s.tered and figured she would be able to rx more around Vahn if he wasnt always actively considering how to best satisfy everyone all the time... The person that was taking things the hardest amongst the residents of the Manor was, surprisingly, Mikoto. She did consider herself to be one of Vahns future lovers but she had never had an easy way to actually get closer to him. During the moments when she meditated, she often wondered if he had been observing her training in secret and it made her try her best in the hopes of meeting his expectations. Though she wouldnt admit it, her conversations with Haruhime and the other girls had caused her to think inappropriate thoughts about him on asion and she often wondered when he would push things to the next level. When the opportunity to put her name on the schedule appeared, Mikoto nearly caved in and added her own name to the list before backing out at thest moment. Almost immediately afterward, she had made her way back into the forest to work up a sweat in order to release the tensions in her body in a vain attempt to calm her heart and rx her mind. As for Vahn, the source of the drastic changes that often took ce in the Manor, he spent the immediate days thereafter apanying Tina, Mn, Shizune, and Chloe into the Dungeon. They would always stay for around 3-4 hours before returning to the Manor for lunch and it had be amon sight within the City to see Terra or Fafnir flying around, especially above the territory of the Alliance. The two hard-working girls had been making steady progress and Tina had even been able to reach the 3rd Floor on her own efforts. Her first fight against a Kobold had been a little scary, as they were very fierce and quick, but she managed to take them down even though her clothes got stained with a fair amount of blood. As for Shizune, she made an earnest effort to improve and hadnt experienced any major difficulties even when fighting new monsters. Her progress wasnt as fast as Tinas, as her Endurance parameter was developing somewhat slowly, but it was more than what most people her physical age would be able to aplish. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Tina Yuel Race: Cat Person LV. 1 POW: I65->H128 END: I86->H157 DEX: I74->H135 AGI: I80->H140 MAG: I5->I11 Skill: [Eclipse: Innate(sealed)], [Shield Bash:I](new) Magic: - Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Shizune Yuel Race: Kitsune LV. 1 POW: I40->I79 END: I36->I68 DEX: I73->H126 AGI: I97->H142 MAG: I26->I47 Skill: [Tamomo: Innate(sealed)], [Featherfoot:I] Magic: [Moons Prayer: Innate(sealed)] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance(sealed)], [Insomnia(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Both girls were making steady progress and Shizune had actually started to calm down a bit more now that she had a way to vent some of her stress against monsters. She likely wouldnt be a battle maniac like Tiona, Tione, and Ais, but she certainly had a disposition that treatedbat as if it were normal. It may have been a result of her trials throughout life, but Shizunes expectations were a little skewed and she adapted quickly to new situations. Tina struggled a little against new enemies, but she worked incredibly hard and it warmed both Vahns and Mns hearts to see the tiny cat girl fighting against monsters that were almost the same size as her with a fierce resolution burning in her golden irises. While Shizune rxed a bit after releasing some of her pent up tension, Tina was actually the opposite and had the disposition of seeking Vahns affection whenever she overcame strife. She was a lot like a child that wanted the praise of her parents, so Vahn appeased her as best he could while listening to her talk about the things she wanted to improve upon in the future. They would often take breaks when Tina finished difficult fights and would sit together as a small little family while Tina droned on and on while rxing in Vahnsp as both he and Mn stroked her head and pampered her. She seemed to really enjoy the time spent in the Dungeon and her eagerness to be even stronger had been ignited as a result of the positive reinforcement she received and the existence of powerful girls all around her... When he wasnt in the Dungeon with the girls, Vahn was either in his workshop or wandering around to see what the others were up to. He had finallypleted the formationyer for the bottoms of the prototype armor, which he had gotten Ais to try on, so the only thing that remained was finishing the tertiaryyer before field testing it. Because it was meant to be worn at almost all times, Vahn had cut away arge section in the center of the bottoms, effectively making them crotchless as Loki so readily pointed out. He then made a third piece of stic cloth that almost seamlessly covered the area and wrapped around to the sides before connecting together on loop. He had gotten the idea from the side-tie panties that Loki and Aki had worn previously and this would allow the girls to quickly remove the central cloth in the event of an emergency without having topletely remove the armor. It also had the benefit of being a bit tantalizing since Vahn often felt a strange urge to try and pull away at the looped sp at times... Since the prototype would likely only be used by Ais until she had tested it out thoroughly, Vahn made sure it was designed ording to the specifications she was most concerned with. She was still in the phase where she wore a bit more armor than her future self, so Ais wanted the chest and back to have the thickest armor. Vahn ended up making the outsideyer out of Cadmus Skin and used a fourthyer to reinforce the areas that Ais wanted to protect while also making it look more aesthetically pleasing. The armor was designed to befortable and could even be worn without other clothing for when they were sleeping or rxing. To make sure it didnt look like actual underwear, Vahn embellished the design and made it look more like a thin leather armor of very high quality. When everything was done, Ais had an almost stark white bodysuit that covered her neck, torso, pelvis, thighs, and part of her upper arms. It looked a bit alienpared to the armor worn by other Adventurers, but that was because it was intended to be worn underneath other clothing and was only a part of her full ensemble. He had offered to color part of it but, other than a bit of blue that Ais wanted out of personal preference, she liked the white color quite a bit. She said it was veryfortable to wear and almost walked out of the workshop with nothing but the prototype in order to show it off to the others. Vahn managed to stop her, though he expected she would still show it offter on, as he still needed to finish the prototype by naming it. Hearing that the armor wasnt yetplete, Ais tilted her head to the side and asked, "Does naming the armor make it stronger?" Vahn nodded his head and exined, "Even a normal [cksmith] can pull out a few of the attributes of the materials they work with, but [Master Smith]s can make items with powerful skills and abilities simply by having the intent to do so during their work. I also have a bit of a unique ability to infuse strength into objects by naming them, so the armor isnt finished until Ie up with a name for it." Ais tilted her head adorably to the other side and asked, "Have you picked a name?" Vahn experienced a light mental pause because of Ais adorable actions and her rather frank question. He already understood he was somewhat bad at naming things but he had plenty of time to think about the prototype armor before he actuallypleted it. Though he intended to make stronger versions in the future, Vahn had decided to name the armor [Aegis Top Mk 1] and [Aegis Bottoms Mk 1]. One of the greatest defensive treasures in the Danmachi record was the Aegis Shield that was a divine artifact that Hera often bestowed to the Captain of her Familia in the past. It had the ability to withstand almost any physical blow and even protected its wielder from mental attacks and magic. Vahn felt that naming the armor worn by the girls as one of the most powerful defensive artifacts in the record would give them greater protection. After collecting himself, Vahn smiled and gently rubbed Ais silky golden hair as he exined, "Im going to name the line of armor Aegis Mk 1 since there will be other versions of it in the future. When I make other pieces of equipment for you in the future, Ill ask for your opinion on the names and well go over a few legends to pick out the most suitable one for you, okay?" Even though she was a Human, albeit with a Spirit bloodline mixed in, Ais didnt really have any immunity to his [Petting] and actually greatly enjoyed the warm energy from his [Hands of Nirvana] even before he awakened the Development Ability. She closed her eyes and uttered a simple Nn in response and didnt offer any form of rebuttal about Vahns somewhatckl.u.s.ter naming sense. When it came time to actually name the armor, Vahn ended up getting a fair amount of OP as a reward but the most interesting thing was the final stats of the armor itself. He hadnt made Ais remove it before naming it because he believed it would make the armor more suitable for her, leading to a bit of a major discovery as a result. Not only did the armor be slightly sleeker than it had been initially, essentially conforming perfectly to the shape of Aiss body, but there were a few unexpected attributes that had been awakened along with the physical changes the armor had undergone... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Aegis Top Mk 1] Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 1 P.Def: 410 M.Def: 800 Abilities: Aegis Set Effect(A), Weatherproof(A), Unblemished(C), Stamina Boost(B), Auto-Regen(D) A prototype armor created by a skilled [Master Smith] that sought new and innovative ways to protect the people he cared about. Uses high-quality materials from multiple records while borrowing the record of Aegis to imbue the armor with greater defensive might. Nullifies a portion of the damage received by all physical and magical attacks with a small chance ofpletely mitigating it. Effects are amplified when paired with other items containing the Aegis Set Effect. Soulbound:(Ais Wallenstein) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Aegis Bottoms Mk 1] Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 2 P.Def: 640 M.Def: 490 Abilities: Aegis Set Effect(A), Weatherproof(A), Insted(A), Unblemished(C), Shaping(C) A prototype armor created by a peculiar [Master Smith] that took into consideration the needs of the wearer. His obsession with theplex structure of this garment gives it greater gluteal support than normal undergarments and helps keep the shape of the muscles with the passage of time. Uses high-quality materials from multiple records while borrowing the record of Aegis to imbue the armor with greater defensive might. Nullifies a portion of the damage received by all physical and magical attacks with a small chance ofpletely mitigating it. Effects are amplified when paired with other items containing the Aegis Set Effect. Soulbound:(Ais Wallenstein) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahns brain buzzed at the description of the [Aegis Bottoms Mk 1], but he did his best to ignore it and just epted that he probably cared a little more than he realized about the girls butts. He hoped that Hephaestus and Tsubaki wouldnt be able to see through it and simply asked, "How does it feel, did you notice any changes?" Ais nodded her head and had a very curious expression on her face as she touched various parts of the armor beforementing, "It almost feels like Im not wearing anything...but it is veryfortable and warm at the same time? Very strange...but I like it. Thank you, Vahn..." Vahn smiled and said, "You are very wee Ais..." but there was another matter on his mind and a bit of excitement in his voice when he asked, "Can you try imagining removing the armor using your mind?" Since most Soulbound items could actually be stored within the Soul itself, Vahn was very hopeful that Ais would be able to materialize the armor. However, this didnt seem to be the case as Ais shook her head and had a confused expression on her face as she said, "I dont think I can do it...?" Vahn released a slight sigh but he wasnt too surprised as, other than [Enkidu], there was always a catalyst for other items that had that effect. Though the basic structure was memorized by the Soul, almost every item he had seen that could be materialize had something like a gemstone, or another storage medium to act as a catalyst. Vahn expected he might be able to use his blood gems, or other magical storage mediums, as a solution for future armor designs. After making a few notes in his research logs on the Aegis Series, Vahn turned to Ais and said, "If it isnt too much trouble, I would like you to wear the armor as much as possible and inform me about its functionality. Its actually as strong as some metallic armors with its multiyered structure and it shouldnt get dirty even if you sweat or get blood on it. However, make sure to wash it properly or bring it to me for maintenance if it starts to be ufortable..." Ais was currently off to the side stretching her body and familiarizing herself with the armor and simply gave an Nn as confirmation to Vahns words. After finishing her small routine, she looked over with a small smile and asked, "Are you...hungry?" Vahn smiled and cast a nce over at the small bento box that Ais had brought with her when she came into the workshop earlier. Other than studying about how to be a good mother, Ais had also been considering how to be a proper housewife and had taken up cooking under the guidance of Mn and Lunoire with Lefiya as her assistant. She was very good at cutting vegetables and filleting fish, but Ais didnt seem to have much patience or focus regarding the actual cooking part. She had made a bit of progress, but her meals were still at a very basic level so far and often including simple rice balls, sashimi, and sds. Even this was very satisfying for Vahn, however, because he loved to eat the cooking that the girls had put in painstaking efforts to make solely for his enjoyment. As had often been the case recently, considering Ais was in her experimental cooking phase, Vahn joined her on the sofa and epted the food she offered to him. Though he pandered to her a bit by embellishing his reactions, Ais was very happy to see how much Vahn enjoyed the food she had prepared. She had tasted it herself and knew it wasnt very goodpared to the things he made, but it still made her heart feel warm and fluttery seeing his pleased reaction to every bite. Times like this were very pleasant and Ais was beginning to think it would be better if things continued like this in the future. Ever since she had learned that the One-Eyed ck Dragon in the Dungeon wasnt the real thing, her resolve to y it had been slowly fading and she just wanted to keep the happiness she had found for herself at Vahns side. They would eventually confront the monster in the future, alongside other enemies, but that was only a small part of the life they could build together...and she wanted to try harder to make sure the happy times continued for as long as possible. (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Mikoto-chan,Youth Troupe Working Hard,He finished the armor!?,Ais Bridal Training...!? Or maybe she just wants to be a Mommy (UwU)~?) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 563 - Business As Usual?

Chapter 563 - Business As Usual?

Havingpleted Ais armor, Vahn could no move on to the next subject of his research while Ais was busily field-testing the armor to test its functionality. Unfortunately, he had taken the better part of the week toplete the task which meant he had transitioned into the weekend where he wasnt supposed to be doing work in his workshop. He had been spending time with the girls, especially in the afternoons and evenings, but making himself open on the weekends was good for everyone, Vahn included. It was also the time when the girls took a break from the Dungeon, so it was the best opportunity for things like pics, salon time, dates, or simply ying around. Vahn had a forest excursion nned during thete morning and early afternoon, while his evening would be spent doing salon treatments with some of the girls that he didnt get to treat often. Preasia would be using her hour-long massage tab, while the interesting inclusion of Misha had been allowed by Eina. She had been pestering Eina about the changes in her body ever since she underwent Nirvana and got to know of Vahns beauty treatments and massage techniques. Since she was considered safe as a result of her disposition, she had been given the chance to partake of the salon treatments. Unlike everyone else, however, she had to pay a pretty hefty fee of 20,000 Valis, making her one of the first paid clients Vahn ever had to treat. Before all of that started, however, there was business that had to be taken care of so Vahn was currently waiting at the Guest Residence for Lokis Arrival. Things had gotten a bit awkward with Chris and Holda previously so it was agreed that Loki would bring them directly to the Guest Residence instead of having Vahn meet them at the gate. She had unrestricted ess to the Manor, with the exception of the workshop area and a few other key locations, so Loki could bring in guests much like he had been able to escort Arnya. Today he would be helping a goddess named Minerva, who possessed the Divinities of War, Wisdom, and Mercantilism. He had missed their previously scheduled meetingst week, so Vahn felt a little guilty and calmed his mind to behave as professionally as possible. With the extra time to prepare, Loki had given him a doc.u.ment rted to Minerva, including her picture and a small section outlining her personality and the reasons why she had been approved by the Alliance. With the incident involving Alosrin, Loki expected there would be conflicts in the future and they would benefit from having a good rtionship with goddesses that had Divinities simr to Minerva. Vahn felt that it was a bit exploitative in a sense, but it wasnt incorrect to say that the goddesses that came to them were receiving great benefits without too great a cost to themselves. Minerva wasnt being forced to join the Alliance, it was just noted that she could be a source of wise counsel during trying times as her specific focus had always been on strategy, tactical negotiations, and trade agreements. She was currently the leader of a C-Rank Familia, but this was primarily due to her focus on trading and business than actually sending her members into the Dungeon. Instead of an Expedition type Familia, they were officially ssified as a Merchant Familia that also eptedmissions for things like escorting merchant caravans. A few short minutes after they were expected to arrive, Vahn heard the door of the Guest Residence open but he had long sensed their arrival through his domain. He came to his feet to greet his guests and only sent a cursory nce at Minerva before sighing in his mind and sending a smile to her fortunatepanion. His name was Praxis and he was the current Captain of the Minerva Familia at Level 4. He stood around 183cm tall and had a very sturdy build and a somewhat sly looking face with a gaze that looked like he could see through people. His skin was somewhat tanned as a result of exposure and he had short ck hair and pale-brown eyes that glimmered with an intelligent light. As for Minerva, she was somewhat short at 158cm and had hazelnut brown hair and reddish-brown eyes. She wore her hair up in two loose twin-tails and showed off a fair amount of skin, much like many goddesses seemed inclined to do. Her top looked closer to a sports bra than an actual piece of clothing and there was a bluish-grey mantle around her neck like a scarf. Her midriff waspletely exposed, showing off her lithe and fit body, while her waist had a sash much like what Tiona and Tione wore, except that it was ck with bluish-grey ents. Her wrists and ankles were adorned with golden bands conformed like cloth but had a metallic l.u.s.ter to them while a golden band held up her parted bangs. As for what Vahn had confirmed with his earlier gaze, she had moderately developed b.r.e.a.s.ts and Vahn could tell from the curve leading into her h.i.p.s that she likely had a toned and fleshy butt as well. Though it had been incredibly brief, Vahn noticed that Praxis eyes became marginally more serious after his nce while Minerva simply showed arge grin on her face. As people that made their living as merchants, they were very perceptive and could read other merchants rtively easily, meaning a naive boy like Vahn was well within their capacity to see throughpletely. Minerva squeezed her b.r.e.a.s.ts together with her arms and turned to Loki, asking, "This is the boy you fell in love with, Loki? He seems to prefer girls with a bigger bust~?" Minerva had a yful tone to her voice but it still made Lokis brow twitch as she slightly parted her eyes and gave Minerva a nce that immediately caused the goddesses smile to freeze up. Vahn released a loud sigh and said, "Forgive me, as I still havent matured to the point where I can simply ignore a beautiful woman that enters my sight. However, you should avoid trying topare yourself to the women Im in love with as youll find Im quite fond of pandering to them, even if it is at the expense of my rtionsh.i.p.s with outsiders." Loki cackled a bit as she walked over and leaned against Vahns body while Minerva watched Vahn with a look of intrigue in her eyes. Like all gods, she was very interested in the boy that was changing history and she could see from how he treated Loki that it wouldnt be a good idea to tease her too much. Praxis also understood this and decided to use the opportunity to smooth things over as he said in a surprisingly amicable tone, "Were grateful to the Alliance for providing us with such an opportunity. Though I cant im Minervas love for myself, I am honored to have been the one selected to sire her child." Toward the end of his words, Praxis bowed at a low angle because he heard from Loki that Vahn was fond of the etiquette of the Far East. It wasnt just Vahn who had received a bit of a briefing before this meeting began, which was the main reason neither he nor Minerva had minded Vahns evaluating gaze. Vahn returned Praxis bow and invited the couple to sit down as they made the pertinent agreements and discussed the procedure. Minerva didnt seem to mind being exposed at all while Praxis expression seemed infallible like it had been carved from stone. Even his aura remained very stable and Vahn was very impressed with the mans emotional control and mental stability. It was very obvious there wasnt a lot of love between him and Minerva, almost like they were partners more than lovers, but Minvera would make a good mother even if she raised her child on her own. As a goddess of Wisdom, she would raise her son or daughter to be a very capable person that would likely be the future Captain of her Familia. Once their discussion hade to an end, they went to the room where Vahn bound Minerva up in [Enkidu] before leaving the two behind to take care of the deed. She seemed very interested in the chains but didnt ask for the details as it was one of the things she was unable to discuss. [Enkidu] was the most closely guarded secret of the Alliance and the vows that goddesses were made to take forced them to protect any information rted to it for a period of no less than 1,000 years unless Vahn himself revoked the oath. As for Praxis, his vow bound him until death which meant that he would be keeping the secret all the way to his grave, something he was already very familiar with as the Captain of a Merchant Familia. Surprisingly, Vahn only had around eight minutes to pamper Loki before Praxis came back up the elevator with a very business-like appearance and said, "It is done, please see that the procedure is carried out without error. Minerva-sama has desired children of her own for many years and had even adopted several, myself included. Please grant her wish, Sage Aldrnari." Though he was a bit perplexed about the swiftness of the event, Vahn let the matter slide and showed a serious expression on his face as he said, "I guarantee there wont be any issues whatsoever. Though Imcking in maturity, I will notpromise when ites to things like this." Praxis had a small light of admiration in his eyes before nodding his head and leading the way to the elevator. Minerva was strung up with a somewhat bored look on her face when Vahn first entered the room but it quickly turned into a teasing smile as she said, "Dont get too carried away when youre ying around with my body, Vahn Mason. I dont mind if you admire my figure, or even if you touch my body, but if you cross the line even Loki wont be able to protect you from my grasp, fufufu~." Vahn stalled near the elevator and just stared at Minerva, who currently had her butt sticking out without the sash protecting her rather plump butt. He wasnt sure how to react to her words until Loki went up and said, "Youre rather bold, arent you Minerva~?" as she loudly smacked the wless white butt cheek of Minerva. Unable to move around much under the binding of [Enkidu], as Vahn had left them somewhat loose so as not to cause difort, Minerva just wiggled her butt and said, "Ah, Loki, I was just ying around! If you think Ill let you spank my butt withoutpensation, youve got another thinging you sneaky little trickster~!" Vahn watched their interaction with a nk expression as Praxis released an almost inaudible sigh from the side and exined, "This was one of the reasons why I wanted you to carry out the procedure quickly. Minerva-sama and Loki have had...conflicts in the past since their Divinities are in opposition to each other. It would be best to bring this matter to an end as quickly as possible before they start doing foolish things..." Vahn suddenly understood the situation and walked over as he sent Loki, who had been teasing the defenseless Minerva, a look that made her startle slightly as she pulled her hands away. As much as she might try to resist it, Loki couldnt always resist herpulsions and she was prone to stirring up trouble with gods that were rted to Order, Peace, and Wisdom. Vahn had never seen it, but she was very fond of teasing the very serious Eirene and was one of the primary reasons Eirene always talked about him when she was with her Familia. With Lokis harassment, the rtively taciturn and serious Eirene couldnt easily get Vahn out of her thoughts and they had been having tea and corresponding with each other ever since she joined the Alliance. After standing behind Minerva, Vahn resisted the urge to grab her butt and just ced his hands around her h.i.p.s as he began the delicate process of transnting the egg and ensuring it was properly fertilized so that it would be protected by her Divinityter on. Before his [Eyes of Truth] prated through her body, however, Vahn remarked in his mind that Minervas underwear was far tamer than he expected from the goddess. They were a simple white and were big enough to almost qualify as a small pair of shorts than actual panties. There werent any embellishments like frills or ribbons, almost like she was showing through her selection of clothing that she had no other intentions and was simply here toplete a transaction. Vahnpleted the important part of the procedure after a few short minutes before he began carving the crest into Minervas lower back. Throughout the entire process, she just rxed her body against [Enkidu] and the entire room had be silent as a result. When he finished with the crest, however, Minerva opened her eyes suddenly and said, "You dont have to conceal it, as Im not ashamed to bear the crest of the Sage Aldrnari on my body. Until my body begins showing the physical signs of pregnancy, Id like people to be able to see it so you can skip that part." Though he was a bit surprised, Vahn nodded his head and just loosened up [Enkidu] slowly so Minerva could recover and stand on her feet. Minerva really was a beautiful goddess with a great figure, which was easy to see as she was wearing nothing but simple white underwear. She hadnt even removed her mantle or the thin ck top she had on her upper body when she and Praxis had s.e.x, not that it had done much to conceal her strangely petite yet very mature body. Vahn could understand Lokis reasons for not getting along that great with Minerva as one of the main reason she had been a nemesis to Hestia was rted to her envy regarding Hestias diminutive size in rtion to herrge b.r.e.a.s.ts. When this thought crossed his mind, Minerva tilted her head and asked, "Youre thinking about another girl when youre admiring my body? Is it Loki~? Oh, and someone else?" Loki stepped in at this point and stood between Vahn and Minerva as she said, "Minerva, you should know better than anyone that information and ess are two valuablemodities. Unless you have other business to discuss, you shouldnt tarry around here for too long." Minerva scrunched up her nose at Lokis remark before picking up her waist cloth and wrapping it around her h.i.p.s in a very casual manner as shemented, "It was the fortune of the Alliance that they got their hands on the Sage Aldrnari before anyone else...hahaha~." Loki seemed like she wanted to say something, but Vahn lightly squeezed her shoulder and said, "You are mistaken, Minerva..." Hearing Vahns rebuttal, Minerva turned to give him a curious gaze before an elegant smile appeared on her face and she said, "Yes, that indeed seems to be the case...make sure you treasure your time properly, Vahn Mason. Dont let other people take advantage of your kindness...ufufufu~." Minerva could tell what Vahn wanted to say even without him verbalizing it at all. Deep within his aquamarine eyes, she could see the gratitude and devotion he had toward the girls around him. She didnt really know about his past, but it must have been very difficult given his peculiar behavior. Hephaestus, Loki, Hestia, and Anubis, must have found him when he was hurting greatly and worked hard to help him be the person he is today. She could see that Vahn considered himself to be the fortunate one and it would be a very dangerous thing if she wanted to tease Loki about the matter. After fixing her clothing, Minerva gave Vahn another look and said, "Depending on how the future ys out, I wouldnt mind enjoying yourpany on asion, Vahn Mason. I imagine you will have a very long life and I would cherish the opportunity to be a part of it, at least once or twice." Minerva sent him a yful wink before locking arms with Praxis and saying, "Ufufu, looks like youll get to brag to the others for a while after this, ne, Praxis~?" As if he was very used to dealing with Minerva, Praxis nodded his head with a stoic expression on his face and said, "Indeed...I imagine the others will never let me hear the end of this once we return. I suppose Ill have to treat them all to a few rounds to pacify them every now and then..." Though she was in no way a promiscuous woman, Minerva had five people that shemonly associated with and they had long-term rtionsh.i.p.s with the shortest spanning eight years. This meant there was a bit of internalpetition to see who would get the right to sire her child, with Praxis gaining the ultimate victory. He was the Captain of her Familia for a reason and had managed to earn more than 30% of thebined profits of the other four on his own, even with some restrictions ced on his means. Her interest in Vahn was a bit unique, as there was no way a goddess that had lived for such a long period of time could easily overlook such an anomaly once it had presented itself... Hearing their discussion, Vahn had a thought cross his mind and he pulled out what looked like a bottle of wine but it was wrapped in bamboo ts. He had been thinking about alcohols that would be suitable for the Clubhouse and came across this rtively delicious wine called [Emperors Lifeblood]. It cost a total of 14,000OP for a single bottle but it could be diluted at a ratio of 1:100 with water and still have a strong vor and effective alcohol content. Vahn offered the bottle to Praxis, including a note on how to consume it, saying, "Take this, Im certain yourpanions will enjoy it greatly." Praxis gave Vahn an appraising look and there was a small glint in Minervas eyes as they glowed with a strange light while she looked at the bottle he had presented. Praxis waited for Minervas valuation of the bottle and was surprised when she had a rather fervent look mixed with a bit of confusion as she asked, "Where did you obtain this bottle? Other than understanding it is ridiculously valuable, I cant determine anything else about its origins at all." Vahn smiled and exined, "It is something I personally created and have decided to gift you as a form of congrattions." Minerva nodded her head in understanding but she didnt miss the subtle undertones in Vahns voice and knew he wanted them to sample the wine before potentially making an agreement with them in the future for distributions rights. Without considering the matter in great detail, Minerva smiled and took the bottle of wine from Praxis as if it was a great treasure and said, "Thank you...Vahn Mason...I look forward to our future interactions~." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Busy, Busy, Busy,Fickle Goddess? : Business Mentality,Chaos and Trickery vs. Order and Wisdom,The Spirit Of Cooperation) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 564 - Intimacy

Chapter 564 - Intimacy

After seeing off Minerva and Praxis, Vahn spent about forty minutes with Loki because he had free time and he felt like he didnt get to see her that often. After the previous meeting almost a week prior, Loki had been taking care of business all over the City so Vahn had asked Fafnir to look after her on asion. She typically had the escort of someone like Finn, Gareth, or Bete, along with a few other members of her Familia, but Vahn wanted to keep her safe. As Vahn had been spending a lot of time with individual girls, he strangely found himself thinking about Loki more often since he had more time to think. His interactions with the girls during the evening had be a lot tamer and Vahn felt like he had grown much closer to them during those intimate moments. He had already expected it to be the case, but the girls behaved very differently when they were alone with himpared to when they were together. It was far more emotional and there was less of a rush to get things done, especially from Vahns perspective. Throughout the week, Vahn had spent time with Mn, Haruhime, Hestia, Lunoire, and had even spent his first period of time alone with Arnya. Vahn had never realized that she was actually a little possessive because he had always been with her when other girls were involved. She typically peted with him to make thingsst a bit longer, but this was just her way of monopolizing him for a marginally longer period of time. When they were alone, however, she became a lot more affectionate and was easily one of the loudest girls he associated with... Loki reached up and poked his cheek with her index finger as she yfully asked, "Who are you thinking about~?" Vahn had been hugging her from behind and caressing her belly for a while and had gotten lost in his thoughts. He found he had be somewhat more reflective with his free time so he showed an apologetic smile and exined, "I was actually thinking about a lot of different things...including a certain mischevious goddess. This week has been a big shift for me and I was thinking if there was something I could do to express my gratitude..." Loki had started caressing his face as she sighed and said, "You shouldnt always be thinking about what you can do to thank people around you, Vahn...youre already doing your best, that is enough. Just think about being a good father to our daughter and try to make sure things dont get out of control in your daily life..." Hearing that Vahn was once again thinking about how to express his gratitude once again, Loki released a long sigh and slouched against his body, holding his hands with her own. It was difficult for her to understand how someone can be so selfless at times that, just being happy made him think he needed to do something. Vahn didnt seem to be capable of epting that he was allowed to be happy without having to earn it and it was starting to make Loki feel a bit depressed at times. She had been thinking that their daughter might have a simr disposition to herself and was worried the two wouldnt get along. Unlike her, their daughter wouldnt have had millions of years to adapt to various different people and Loki was worried she might oppose Vahn at some point... Vahn could sense the fluctuations in Lokis aura and saw the subtle negativity that had spread throughout the generally chaotic flow. He squinted his eyes thinking about what was concerning her before deciding to ask, "Is there something wrong, Loki? Please tell me..." Loki craned her head and had a much softer expression than normal as she said, "Im worried that your children will think they need to earn their happiness from watching how you act...kids can be very impressionable, Vahn, so please try to be a more stable existence for them. I dont expect you can change so quickly, especially after having such a messed up past...but I want you to be someone our daughter can look up to and respect..." Realizing what she was saying, Loki was somewhat surprised because she feltpelled to be honest instead of trying to skirt around the issue. This had been happening more often recently and it was both scary and exciting since change was something she craved more than anything else. She hated the monotony of life in Heaven and had fled to the mortal world to experience new stimulus. However, the one thing she could never change was herself and this meant her nature caused Loki a great deal of frustration. For the first time in millions of years, this seemed to be changing and it made Loki want to protect the thing that had introduced such variety to her life. She began to feel that Vahn, and the baby in her belly, were actually more important to her than the pathetic life she had preserved for so long... Seeing the strange fluctuations in Lokis aura, Vahn tilted her head up and gave her a kiss on the lips while infusing a gentle stream of energy into her stomach to help her rx. She beganughing in response to his concern and yfully nibbled on his lip when he pulled back his head. Her eyes were slightly parted and Vahn could feel a gentleness contained within her ruby-like pupils that made him feel a strange pang in his heart. He didnt understand why, but her gaze reminded him a lot of that single memory of his mother and the infinite love she had for him before their parting. It made his body tremble, but it was a very pleasant feeling that made the anguish he felt tolerable... --- After sending Loki off at the gate, Vahn watched her departing figure alongside the always sour-looking Bete. He sent a signal to Fafnir asking him to protect her before turning away and heading toward the Manor to get some coffee to calm his mind. His date with Ryuu was supposed to be taking ce pretty soon so Vahn felt the need to refresh himself before meeting up with her. He found Syr sitting in the study wearing a simple dark blue cored dress that had a white apron-like attachment, very simr to the clothes she often wore at the Hostess of Fertility. She was uncharacteristically barefoot and Vahn could see she had taken her brown boots off and set them at the side of the sofa before curling her feet up on the cushions. Seeing Vahns arrival, Syr showed an elegant smile and said, "Good morning, Vahn. Did things go well at the Guest Residence~?" Vahn nodded his head as he walked over and sat down next to Syr on the sofa and set out some coffee for himself. One of the things that had changed in thest week is that Vahn didnt try so hard to think about his actions and simply acted how he felt. Since she was the only one here, Vahn felt like being close to Syr and she seemed pleased by the opportunity as she shifted on the sofa and leaned against him with a peal of bell-likeughter escaping from her impably beautiful lips. Vahn had a thought as he looked at Syrs almost wless appearance and asked, "Ive never really spoiled you in the past, have I?" Syr showed a moment of confusion in her eyes, even though her expression didnt really change. She wanted to say that Vahn had spoiled her plentily when they were together but realized he was talking about something slightly different than the thoughts that crossed her mind. Realizing this, Syr blushed because she felt like her mind had be a bit dirty as ofte and her heart fluttered when Vahn pat against his thighs and said, "How about youy down and Ill pamper you, though not for too long. Ill be going on a date with Ryuu in a bit..." Syrs eyes glittered slightly and, even though it made her feel strangely giddy,id down across Vahnsp and looked up into his face. It made her feel weird to be looking up at Vahn like this because it was typically her that gave ap pillow to him. However, she couldnt deny that the change was nice because Vahns body was always very warm and he looked handsome even from this angle. As he had noticed the change in her aura and the subtle fluctuations in her expression, Vahn smiled and began gently caressing Syrs head with his left hand while resting his right palm against her abdomen. She wasnt pregnant, but Vahn had built a strange habit of caressing the girls stomachestely as they all seemed to enjoy it. As was often the case, Syr rested her hands atop his much like the other girls and closed her eyes to enjoy thefortable stream of energy entering through her head and abdomen. Vahn activated his [Eyes of Truth] briefly to make sure there were no abnormalities in her body and watched as his own energy slowly coursed along her own mana circuits. One of the benefits of inserting his energy through their navel was that it was very close to the source of their mana and he could nourish their bodies with his source energy. He wasnt sure about the long-term effects, but it would undoubtedly be beneficial for them. Syr was a demigoddess, meaning her aura and the flow of energy in her body was much purer than normal, but there were still noticeable changes in her mana circuits as they reacted to the presence of his foreign energy in a strangely hospitable manner... Reminded of Ash momentarily, Vahn blinked and asked, "Syr, have you ever considered joining the Hestia Familia...?" Hearing his voice, Syr opened her eyes slightly and there was a glimmer of light that passed across her pale grey pupils. Vahn naturally resisted the spontaneous charming effect she emitted as she said, "I have indeed considered it...but Ive never been fond of fighting and I feel a strange incongruity whenever I think about bringing it up. Its like a part of me refuses to be bound in such a way...Im not quite sure myself. If you think its for the best, Ill go ahead and undergo the ceremony though. I know it would help track me down in an emergency situation, but I rarely leave the Manor and Im not sure it is entirely necessary..." Vahn squinted his eyes slightly which caused Syr tough as she asked, "Youre interested in knowing if its because of my origins, arent you? I heard about Ash and that you were able to see he had the blessing of Ares...if I have something simr, I feel like it would be both a good and a bad thing to know. Strangely, I feel that my past should be left behind because Im far more interested in the present and our shared future. Knowing who my father is likely wouldnt make me happy and it would just add another burden to you..." Syr knew that, even though she didnt really care for the god that allowed her to be an orphan, she would still resent them greatly. If given the chance, she might even machinate to have them returned to Heaven just to feel some amount of vindication for the life she had been forced to live before meeting Vahn... Realizing what Syr must be thinking, Vahn released a small sigh and said, "Sorry, I should be more considerate of others instead of allowing my own curiosity to guide my decisions. You have already been doing a lot for everyone, and Im especially grateful for all you have done to make sure things are running smoothly within that Manor. Dont worry about joining the Familia, as youre already an important member of my family even without that..." Vahn leaned down slightly while lifting up Syrs head so that he could kiss her to ay any concerns she might have. However, after pulling away from her lips Vahn realized something and smiled before saying, "If you think it would be beneficial for emergencies, I could always carve my own crest on your body..." Syrsplexion turned slightly ruddy after hearing his words and she even showed a slightly pouting expression before saying, "That sounds very embarrassing..." Though she said it was embarrassing, which she genuinely believed, Syr was also feeling a great deal of excitement at the idea of having a mark on her body personally put there by Vahn. She felt like it would be a good luck charm that would increase her own chances of getting pregnant in the future. After making the decision to let nature take its course, Syr had constantly been wondering when she might get pregnant and was a little worried about it after her time with Vahn was cut down with the schedule changes. She wasnt in a particr hurry, but she also didnt want to be one of thest girls in the bunch to have a child as the thought was somewhat frustrating to think about. Vahn nodded his head but showed a somewhat sly smile because he could feel the changes in Syrs aura and it was very apparent she wasnt against the idea. He gripped her hand firmly with his own and said, "Ill be doing salon treatments this evening...stop by and Ill give you the crest and pamper you for a bit." Syrsplexion became beet red and she bit her lower lip for several seconds before nodding her head and saying, "Yes, Ill make sure to be there..." Though she didnt have any inhibitions about it, Syr felt like Vahn bringing it up in a situation where she wasying against hisp was a little unfair. She could tell he wasnt doing it on purpose, but it felt like he was bullying her by putting her in such a promising position. The fact that he continued to insert energy into her belly made Syr feel especially giddy and she just wanted to run off and hide away for a few minutes. Thinking this, her eyes opened wide before she released a sigh of relief and said, "You should be heading off to meet Ryuu soon. Its rude to keep ady waiting." With Syrs reminder, Vahn showed a wry smile and gave her another quick peck on the lips before helping her right herself on the sofa. Syr used her hands to smoothen out the wrinkles in her dress before patting her chest and returning to her characteristically kind expression. She sent him a smile and said, "Run along, Vahn. Ill see you this evening...fufufu~." Vahn shook his head with a smile and sent her a yful wink as he headed toward the door and made his way to the rendezvous to meet up with Ryuu. Given her personality, she had probably already shown up even though it was nearly a half hour until they were supposed to begin. He also believed in showing up early but knew it would just create a strange phenomenon where they showed up progressively earlier just to beat the other person to the location... As expected, Vahn found Ryuu wearing a pale vani colored sweater with green shoulder straps revealed around the wide brim of her cor. She had on a soft purple pleated skirt, which was very umon for her, and pure white stockings covering her fair white legs. Instead of green boots, she wore a pair of neat red designer half-boots that came up slightly past her ankles. The most notable change in her casual attire was the fact that Ryuu had actually curled the ends of her hair a bit more than normal and there were two very small pigtails on her head. Her hair wasnt that long, as she kept it very short so it didnt interfere with her movements, so it was somewhat strange to see such a childish hairstyle on the cool and taciturn girl. Seeing Vahns surprised expression, Ryuu hung her head slightly with a blush touching her cheeks and asked, "Does it look...strange...?" Vahn immediately shook his head as arge smile appeared on his face and he said, "Ryuu, you look amazing. Casual clothes suit you well...I was honestly just surprised by all the changes and couldnt process them fast enough topliment you properly, hahaha~." Ryuusplexion became somewhat rosy as a small smile appeared on her face as a result of Vahns words. She had talked with several of the other girls about how to properly dress for a date and it took her a lot of effort to finally pick out these clothes. Since she didnt usually wear cute outfits, Ryuu had been somewhat worried Vahn, especially after Syr pinned her hair up with small ribbon-like sps... Vahn extended his arm to Ryuu and she gingerly linked her arm with his and leaned against his shoulder as naturally as possible. It was very strange that she felt more bashful at a moment like this than when they were together at night, but Ryuu couldnt stop her heart rate from increasing. She had apanied Vahn on outings with other girls in the past, but this would be their first date, even though it was in a region they had been alone together previously. In fact, the first time this forest had been created she and Vahn had already shared a rather intimate moment with each other. Thinking this made Ryuus blush deepen further as she hung her head and allowed Vahn to escort her into the illusory forest ahead... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Maternal Instincts,Syrs Convictions,Elves are quick to recognize lewdness (UwU)) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 565 - Signs of Spring

Chapter 565 - Signs of Spring

Though things had been tense for a short while, it wasnt long before Ryuu had managed to calm down as they slowly made their way through the small forested area in the center of the Hearth Manor. Just as he had realized in the past, Vahn felt very rxed around Ryuu because she was one of the few girls that had never ced too many expectations on his shoulders. Other than the times when they had shared a few passionate moments, the rest of the time he was with Ryuu was very peaceful and he was very grateful for her presence in his life. In the hopes that she would feel a simrfort from him, Vahn dispersed a gentle stream of energy into his domain and tried to emte the feeling of nature and the warmth of spring. Even without his attempts to please her, Ryuu was enjoying their quiet walk a great deal and already felt veryfortable at his side. She was aware of the energy permeating through the air and it brought a small smile to her face knowing Vahn was trying to make her happy. She cast him a nce with her sky blue eyes before resting her head against his shoulder as shemented, "This is very pleasant..." Vahn kissed the top her head and noticed her hair had a smell reminiscent of the warm rays of the sun, almost like she was blooming alongside the buds marking the beginning of Spring. Though it was very subtle, Ryuus ears waggled slightly when he kissed her head and Vahn had to bite his lips to prevent himself from teasing her. He greatly enjoyed the affectionate nature of Beast Human girls, but there was just something about teasing the elegant, cool, and taciturn Elves that tickled Vahns fancy. However, he didnt really want to spoil the mood and wanted Ryuu to enjoy the date as she pleased without him forcing her into anything. Things were already very pleasant and Vahn didnt mind if things continued like this for the entire date. After a few minutes of aimless wandering, simply enjoying each otherspany, Vahn and Ryuu found themselves at the clearing where Mikoto usually trained. Perhaps she had taken their date into consideration and avoided the area today since Vahn couldnt see any signs that she had been here recently. As for Ryuu, she showed a slight blush on her face when they stepped into the clearing because her mind had wandered to their previous moment together in the clearing. She also remembered how quickly she had run to Vahn during their small game of hide-and-seek, a memory that made her feel especially embarrassed because Syr, Chloe, and Arnya teased her about it quite a bit. Vahn set out a nket on the grass and pulled out a pic basket he had prepared previously, full of food he knew Ryuu was fond of. Though she still ate meat, Ryuu was fond of vegetables, fruits, and small snacks like nuts and berries. He had lightly salted some almonds with crystalized honey that gave them a salty and sweet taste that was very popr amongst the Elven girls. There were also chilled apple slices, lightly seasoned rice, and small bite-sized fruits like strawberries and ckberries. Vahn made sure to pick foods that could easily be fed to people since he had intended to pamper Ryuu using the rather rare opportunity they had. Before he was able to take the initiative, Vahn quickly lost the opportunity when Ryuu sat with her legs underneath her and pat her thighs, saying, "Rx your head here, Vahn..." She had seen the items in the pic basket and quickly understood what Vahn likely intended. Just imaginingzilyying against hisp and having him feed her almost caused Ryuus brain to short circuit and she adamantly refused to let things go in that direction. Since she wouldnt easily be able to refuse his offer, Ryuu seized the initiative while Vahn was setting things up. She wouldnt truly be able to rx if he was pampering her and Ryuu didnt want things to escte so early just because her tensions reached a critical level. Never one to pass up an opportunity to experience ap pillow, Vahnid his head against Ryuu thighs afterying down in front of her. He would normallyy from the side, but it seemed more interesting to stare up at her from a different angle since he had the opportunity. Seeing her blushing face from below was a very satisfying experience and Vahn also noticed that her modest b.r.e.a.s.ts were somewhat concealed by the thin sweater she was wearing. He wondered if she had worn something like that intentionally for reasons like this or if it was just something she considered to be cute. If thetter was the case, this would mean that Ryuus sense of what it meant to be cute was somewhat childish and Vahn found this strangelyforting. Ryuu began picking things out of the pic basket and feeding them to the zy Vahn who had quickly rxed his body afterying against her thighs. Seeing his calm expression helped her rx greatly and she preferred seeing Vahn like this even more than when they were together at night. She had never been good around other people and it was always somewhat difficult when they had s.e.x with other people around. Without Syr, and other people she trusted, Ryuu wouldnt be able to go through with it and was one of the people truly grateful for the change in scheduling. Though she would like to experience exciting events again in the future, it was preferable to her that things were slow and rxed like this. After all, they put their lives on the line in the Dungeon and there were enemies all around them...rxing when they had the opportunity was for the best. Staring down at Vahns face from above, Ryuu ced a chilled ckberry against his lips and saw him open his mouth, taking both the ckberry and the tips of her fingers inside. A bit of warmth touched her cheeks when she took a strawberry from the basket and ced it in her own mouth, noticing it was strangely sweeter than expected. Turning her eyes back to Vahns rxed expression, Ryuu found herself entering a momentary daze as she once again realized he was very handsome. He still had the looks of a young boy that was just transitioning into manhood, but his features were wless and, even though his skin was a healthy tan, it waspletely unblemished almost like a god. She knew he could even be beautiful by turning into an Elf or a High Elf and this thought made a small pressure expand in the bridge of her nose... Vahn noticed the strange fluctuation in Ryuus aura and opened his eyes just as a single drop of blood fell andnded against his forehead. Ryuus face turned crimson red as she reached her hand up to make sure there wasnt any more blooding out at Vahn beganughing heartily even as he sat up to help make sure she was okay. He didnt know what she had been thinking about but seeing this type of reaction from Ryuu made Vahn feel strangely pleased with himself. Even when she gave him a bit of a fierce look, Vahn couldnt stop himself from showing arge grin until he eventually ended up embracing her from behind when she tried to bashfully avoid his gaze. After tumbling around for a bit, Ryuu ended up calming down as Vahns warm embrace and the soothing energy from his hands helped ease her tensions. She was sweating a bit from moving around and the cool morning air against her thighs was especially noticeable right now. Ryuu very rarely ever wore skirts and she was somewhat regretting it now that she could feel a breeze against the rtively thin pair of panties she was wearing. This made the warmthing from Vahn feel even more pleasant, however, so Ryuu eventually just rxed and let the tensions drain from her body. Vahn kissed her neck, making her heart begin to race, but Ryuu didnt mind it too much as anticipation began to sprout within its depths. He could sense that Ryuu was getting in the mood, but Vahn didnt want to put Ryuu in a disheveled state when she put in so much effort to dress up cutely for him. Instead, he just nibbled at her ear for a bit before tucking his head into her neck and simply holding her from behind as if they were going to sleep. Ryuus heart was beating like a spooked rabbit, but Vahn just held her tightly for several minutes until she eventually calmed down. Her breathing, which had started to elerate as a result of his teasing, turned into a gentle flow that escaped through her nose almost soundlessly. After a while, Ryuu eventually ended up asking, "Vahn...would you be happy if I also got pregnant...?" Vahn inhaled a bit of Ryuus scent when he inhaled and said, "Ryuu, Im already very happy with how things are going...but I would undoubtedly be even happier if you had my child. Just make sure youre ready before taking that step...I dont want you to push yourself just to appeal to me." Ryuu parted her eyes and stared off into space with a thoughtful glint in her eyes as she said, "I have been thinking about it ever since the discussion about the Divination...I dont want to die without having the opportunity to leave behind a part of myself in this world...something that will represent the love we have shared with each other..." Ryuu still struggled with knowing her death had been at the early age of twenty years old. She had always expected to have plenty of time to have children, but that didnt seem to be something that could be guaranteed... Hearing Ryuus words, Vahn was also pulled back to the Divination and the feelings that had threatened to tear him apart knowing what had transpired. He also felt a bit of pressure to make the girls from the Divination happier, now that he had the chance, so the thought of starting a family with Ryuu wasnt something he was against. In fact, just imagining a smaller version of Ryuu running around in girly clothes made Vahn enter a small daze as he said, "I think our children will be adorable..." Ryuuughed at Vahns remark and shifted around in his arms until her body was turned to his and they could see each others expressions. Ryuu couldnt sense auras as he could, but she still felt the love Vahn had for her and it made her feel very safe and secure. However, there was onest thing she had been worried about so Ryuu said, "Im not sure how things work with your transformation ability...but...Id like...to be i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed by an Elf...or maybe a High Elf...Im sorry, Vahn...I-" Before Ryuu could continue apologizing, Vahn sealed her ruby-red lips that had be much darker than normal as a result of the fierce blush she had on her face. He also wasnt quite sure what would happen if he i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed a girl as a different race, though he assumed it wouldnt really be an issue at all. Vahn knew he was patible with almost any race and it shouldnt actually create a hybrid, but something akin to a stronger version of his partners race. However, if Ryuu felt morefortable thinking their child would benefit from him being in the form of a High Elf, he would give her that smallfort. Using [Thria*Mimos] in conjunction with his imaging ability, Vahns hair grew marginally longer as the dark brown color faded until it became a golden color. He was emting Ryuus energy flow to supplement his transformation but his focus had been on bing a High Elf. A cold sensation reached the tips of his ears before a heat flowed through them as their length increased greatly. His healthy brown skin became a pearl-white with a healthy glow to it as Vahns facial features softened greatly. He knew he would probably look very feminine but it didnt really matter that much since his basic appearance shouldnt change too much based on the image he was holding. As for Ryuu, her body had started to tremble slightly as she observed the changes, clearly not expecting that he would act on her words almost immediately after she brought up the subject... Vahn released softughter as he stroked Ryuus cheek and said, "I imagine our children will be even more adorable if Im in this form...what do you think~?" Ryuu titled her head to the side to avoid his gaze before bringing her hand up to her face once again as a thin line of blood escaped her left nostril. Furrowing his brows slightly, Vahn infused healing energy through his palms to help Ryuu calm down because the blood was clearly rushing to her head faster than she could deal with it. Though it was very adorable, Vahn couldnt help but feel a little concerned since Ryuu typically didnt behave like this. She was probably very tense from her change in attire, having her hair styled, and being alone with him in the middle of a scenic illusory forest. Ryuu buried her face into Vahns chest to hide her expression as she did her best to calm down in his embrace. She realized now that her words were taken very seriously by Vahn and she probably should have chosen a more opportune moment to bring it up. The very thing she had worried about ended up happening and her tensions had reached a critical level causing her a great deal of embarrassment. She had only mentioned it to Syr, but her nose had been bleeding periodically whenever she got too excited. Ryuu had wanted to avoid exposing this small secret so early because it was a very embarrassing thing that she didnt have much control over. To make sure there werent any issues, Vahn had been staring into Ryuu with his [Eyes of Truth] active and was inspecting the area around her nose to see if there were any problems with the blood vessels in the area. He could see that some of them had expanded slightly, but that could just be a result of her increased blood flow through the area and was actuallymon when there wererge temperature changes between the seasons. Though it wouldnt really be a problem if left untreated, Vahn stroked the back of Ryuus head and said, "Ryuu, look up at me for a moment..." She was a bit hesitant at first, but Ryuu eventually looked up at Vahn with slightly moist eyes that clearly showed that the vibrant pinks and passionate reds in her aura werent imaginary. Vahn reached out and pinched Ryuus nose, something she didnt seem to expect as she pulled her head back slightly, and used [Hands of Nirvana] to repair the slightly damaged blood vessels and reduce their swelling. Ryuu seemed to realize what he was doing and, even though it felt like there was a strange sinking feeling in her nose, she allowed Vahn to treat her. The pressure that had been building up in the bridge of her nose faded away almost entirely so Ryuu released a sigh of relief before burying her face back into Vahns chest and saying, "Thank you...Im ready now..." Almost as if her aura had been incited by her words, a hazy redpletely filled Vahns vision and there was a strange scent of fruit and honey apanying it. He deeply inhaled the fragrance without inhibitions as he stroked Ryuus back in a small circle and said, "Ill never be able to thank you enough, Ryuu...but I still feel like I need to express it...so thank you...I love you." Ryuus ears waggled a bit and she peeked up at Vahn with her watery sky blue eyes before gripping his tunic tightly and saying, "I love you too, Vahn...more than I ever thought possible..." If someone would have told her six months ago that she would beying with a boy in the middle of a clearing, Ryuu would have looked at them as if they were mad. Now, however, Ryuu felt like any other oue than what she was currently experiencing was...uneptable. Without waiting for him to initiate things, Ryuu pulled herself closer to his face and began kissing Vahn with more passion than any of their previous exchanges. She may not have realized it herself, but this was also the first time Ryuu proactively initiated a kiss like this with Vahn and it was the first real step they both took towards their shared future...and the culmination of their happiness. With practiced movements, Vahn caressed Ryuus body as they eagerly began undressing each other. When Ryuu pulled her vani-colored sweater free from her body, Vahn saw the thin green halter top she had been wearing and quickly reached for the strings to free it from her body. Ryuu grabbed his hands and pulled them down, however, saying, "Leave it...I know you like it more when girls wear a bit of clothing...since you changed for me, I want to do something for you as well..." Vahn felt his heart itch when he heard Ryuus words, causing his own tensions to rapidly begin increasing as he rolled over and pinned Ryuu against the colorful pic nket. Seeing the lightyer of sweat against her fair, yet slightly ruddy,plexion made his heart begin beating marginally faster than normal. The green halter top made her seem even more beautiful and tantalizing than normal because Vahn could see two concealed buds poking against the fabric almost as if they refused to go unnoticed. Knowing that she was very sensitive in her b.r.e.a.s.ts, Vahn began massaging Ryuus left b.r.e.a.s.t with his right hand while his left quickly removed Ryuus pure-white silk panties and discarded them into his inventory. He left the thin belt around her waist and the purple pleated skirt in ce as he began kissing around her neck and cor bone. Ryuu was always somewhat hesitant at this point but this time Vahn found that she didnt put any strength into keeping legs closed at all. This caused the tensions that had been rising up inside of his body to break free like a flood gate as an endless tide of warmth and love flowed from his heart, directed toward the blushing Elf that looked at him with a passionate and inviting light deep in her sky blue eyes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Calm before the storm...,Doki Doki Ryuu-chan,I wonder if Vahn packed Lemons in the pic basket...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 566 - Lack of Awareness

Chapter 566 - Lack of Awareness

After more than an hour, Vahn and Ryuu ended upying down on the slightly damp pic nket as they both looked towards the crystal clear sky. Their hands were interlocked as theyy next to each other and enjoyed the peaceful reverie after their passionate engagement with each other. Throughout the entire seventy minute period, Vahn only ended up ejacting a single time and had treated Ryuu more gently than he ever had in the past. There was no rush at all and they simply lost themselves in each other in a slow love-making session that made the bashful Elf turn beet red. Ryuu wasnt as sensitive in her v.a.g.i.n.a as normal girls but, after he had released arge volume of life-giving essence into her sacred temple she had clung to his body for more than seven minutes straight as her body trembled from the reverberations of her climax. Vahn had done his best to infuse as much of his mana as he thought she could handle when he probed her depths in an attempt to guarantee pregnancy. Through that long seven minutes, Ryuus body had absorbed as much of his source energy as it could contain and she was forced to ovte as a result. This was further proof that the infertility issues of Elves were rted to the amount of nourishment they could receive in their w.o.m.bs and Ryuus glowed like a rainbow with the swirling source energy that nourished her body and almost made her go crazy. Ryuu couldnt actually absorb the source energy itself, but her body was siphoning parts of it and converting it into an ocean of natural energy that would normally never exist during such situations. As a result, unless Ryuu decided to take a pillter, Vahn spected there was around a 98% chance she would remain pregnant. He had already seen the small egg eject from her ovaries and dive into the swirling mass of source energy and vital essence to be further nourished. As long as it ended up sticking properly within her uterus, everything would be fine and there would be a tiny Elven child running around within the next 8-14 months. The pregnancies of Elves and High Elves couldst for much longer periods of time depending on how close they were to a source of natural energy like one of the Sacred Trees. The longer the pregnancy went on, the moreplications that would typically arise but Vahn didnt think it would be an issue at all. Even if Ryuu just spent time within Terras garden every day she would probably deliver her child on time. Vahn even suspected he would be able to elerate her pregnancy if he helped nourish her body with source energy every day. One of the mistakes the Elves had been making for millennia was the fact that, after an Elf got pregnant, they would focus on taking care of the female and would cease having s.e.x entirely. This actuallyplicated matters further and forced the females Elves to have to nourish the baby with their own vital energy to ensure it would develop safely. He could either infuse his energy directly into her body, or they could have s.e.x periodically and Ryuu should bepletely fine without burdening her vitality at all. This was all spection, however, so Vahn would need to closely observe her throughout the pregnancy to make sure things were going smoothly... From his side, Ryuu suddenly muttered in a very quiet tone that almost sounded like she was speaking to herself, "Im a little scared...it feels like Im in a dream..." Vahn squeezed Ryuus hand in response before turning to his side and cuddling up against her in a warm embrace, saying, "It certainly feels like a dream for me as well...but I hope this is real since I would feel embarrassed the next time I see you if I had a dream like this...hahaha." Ryuu had been in a bit of a daze as she enjoyed Vahns warmth but, realizing what he was saying, the redness that had yet to fade from her face returned with a vengeance. Ryuu couldnt stop herself from curling up into a small ball as Vahn hugged her tightly from behind and continued by saying, "I love you, Ryuu...lets make a happy family together." Though she was still incredibly embarrassed, Ryuu nodded her heard and muttered an Nn as she squeezed Vahns arms tightly. --- In total, Vahns date with Ryuu had gone on for a little over four hours before they eventually decided it was best to return to the Manor. During those four hours, excluding the seventy minutes they had taken to n for their future, they spent their time simply cuddling up together under the warm rays of the sun. Though they talked about a few things, the majority of the time was spent in silence as both Ryuu and Vahn had gotten wrapped up in the peaceful atmosphere and just wanted to enjoy it. She wouldnt know for certain for around two weeks, but Ryuu was already acting like she was pregnant and Vahn humored her by gently stroking her exposed stomach while infusing a gentle stream of energy into her body. After they reached the Manor, Vahn and Ryuu shared a very long embrace with each other that ended up catching the attention of Naaza, who had been nning on picking up some herbs from the garden. She opened up the back door and had a wide-eyed expression on her face before trying to retreat back inside as Vahnughed and Ryuu blushed. Naazas presence brought his moment with Ryuu to temporary end as she escaped into the Manor, likely to go talk with Syr or Riveria. As for Naaza, she had a slight blush on her face now, almost as if Ryuus had been infectious and she had ended up catching it. With a slightly apologetic expression, Naaza muttered, "Im sorry, Vahn...I didnt mean to interrupt..." Vahn shook his head and just stepped forward before embracing Naaza tightly and stroking the back of her hair. Before she could collect her thoughtspletely, Vahn whispered into her droopy dog-like ears, "Naaza, I know youre being patient for Lilis sake...but Id like to spend some more time with you. Since you didnt put your name on the schedule, Ille by your atelier and take a look at your research. There are a few things Id like you to take a look at as well, so please make some time for me..." She didnt answer for a long time, but Vahn could see Naazas bushy tail waggle back and forth happily before she eventually nodded her head and said, "Id like that, Vahn..." However, before he could steal a kiss from her, Naaza came to her senses and managed to free herself from his embrace as she ran off towards the forest with hurried steps. For a few seconds, Vahn just watched her departing figure in confusion before squinting his eyes and transforming into his Bih form. He immediately noticed that his body was drenched with Ryuus scent and he had probably disturbed Naaza a bit by hugging her so closely. She was definitely in the category of girls that wasnt that open to showing affection in public so Vahn gave himself a mild reprimand before making his way towards the onsen. He was going to be opening up his salon in a little more than an hour so it wouldnt be a bad idea to wash up normally before getting ready. Since the girls that would being for his services would likely clean their bodies beforehand, Vahn expected he might even get to spend some time with them beforehand. Though he didnt check who they belonged to, Vahn could detect several presences within the bath including an aura fluctuation he didnt recognize. However, the rules of the Manor had already been exined to the Guild girls so their use of the onsen was entirely voluntary. There was no need for him to show unnecessary courtesy within his own home, especially when they were briefed on the situation beforehand. Syr had talked to him after the incident with Rose and gave him a small lecture on how he needed to act as the man of the house and avoid making concessions for people borrowing their amenities. Upon entering the bath, Vahn saw a sh of pink and saw Misha crowding around Eina with a teasing smile on her face as she held a sponge in her hands. As he had expected, Preasia was already present as well but she was far away from the chaos alongside Fenrir and Tina. Vahn was surprised to see them together before he remembered that Tina also had an hour-long massage prize to redeem. He wasnt sure if she intended to use it now or if she had just decided to tag along with Fenrir and Preasia to take an early bath before dinner. Fenrir had noticed her Masters presence before anyone else in the onsen and had stood up from the water with a ssh as she waved her paws excitedly, shouting, "Master,e take a bath with us! Fenrir will wash your body~!" Her outburst caused Misha to be alert as the awkward smile on Einas face rxed with a sigh of relief. She wasnt that good at dealing with Misha and being in the bath together like this was always a little awkward since she had a tendency to get handsy. With Vahns presence, however, Misha had frozen like a Needle Rabbit that identally wandered into their of a Wyvern. Vahn showed a casual smile, but the only thing Misha managed to do in response was to sink into the water and blow bubbles as she hid her figure from his gaze. Einaughed at the behavior of her best friend and colleague before saying, "Who was the one to say they didnt mind even if Vahn saw their n.a.k.e.d body? I wonder if youll be able to go through with the massage at this rate...ehehehe~." Misha seemed to have been awakened by Einas words as she stopped trying to conceal her bodypletely and sshed water in Einas direction, saying, "Eina, dont say things that can be easily misunderstood! Geez, you senseless woman~!" Misha began tough in a somewhat bashful manner and Vahn was very aware she was doing her best to keep her back facing him. Even if she had a disposition towards women, there were few girls that were simply okay with being ogled by men they werent involved with. Vahn sent a small wave towards the smiling Eina and entered the water before gravitating towards Fenrir, Tina, and Preasia. He transformed into his Vanargandr form so Fenrir could actually wash his body and then sunk into the water to make it easier for her. Tina had averted her eyes as he walked over, which was her normal reaction, but Preasia had watched him like she was recording each of his movements with her eyes. Vahn felt like he would need to confront her about her tendency to stare at him in the future but had been putting it off since none of the other girls seemed toin about it. He knew from Lokis guidance that Preasia was also a little broken and needed his care and concern if she was going to stabilize in the future. During the massage sessionter, Vahn intended to fort her a bit more than usual to see if it helped ease the burdens in her heart. Fenrir was happily humming away as she scrubbed Vahns thick midnight-blue fur with awkward movements. This wasnt the first time he had been washed by her so Vahn had previously given Fenrir a type of sponge with an stic strap that could be stretched around her paws to make it easier for her to wash him. She had been very fond of the items and, almost every day since then, Fenrir had taken the right to wash his body as her own. Her reason was that he always washed her and now wanted to return the favor since he was the only person she could wash without endangering. Though she loved to be pampered, Fenrir wanted to return some of the treatment she often received. Vahn hadnt thought much about it previously but Syr had made ament about how Fenrir had learned that type of behavior from watching him... Tina seemed to collect herself after a few minutes had passed and moved a bit closer to Vahn as she asked, "Vahnya, will you help wash me~?" Vahn nodded his head without thinking about it too much since he had washed Tina several times in the past without incident. This time, however, Vahn helped up his paws and smiled as he exined, "It might be a little difficult like this though, so youll have to be patient for now. If you dont want to wait, you can get Preasia to wash you." Tina saw the ws on Vahns paws and nked momentarily before giving a brief nce at Preasia and making her decision. Turning back to Vahn, Tina nodded her head and said, "I will...help Fenrir wash you...nyan?" It wouldnt be the first time Tina washed his body, but Vahn noticed the subtle change in her behavior andpared it to how she had been acting throughout the week. They had been spending a lot of time together and it was obvious she had been opening up to him more and more. Her affection was permanently affixed at 99 right now, but her hidden parameters had probably been increasing a fair amount. Vahn tried expressing familial love for her, but her disposition had undergone a change ever since the day he gifted her the ribbon. Since it was made out of a material that was almostpletely hydrophobic, Tina was even wearing her ribbon during the bath and Vahn could see her tail twitching around in the water with the vibrant red refracting under the somewhat hazy surface. Before Vahn could answer her himself, Fenrir had started washing the side of his head and said, "Tina can wash Masters shoulders and back. Fenrir will take care of the front to avoid trouble, nyufufu~" Though she may not have intended to do it purposefully, Fenrir had emted Mns voice when she was speaking to Tina and even copied one of the characteristicughs of a Cat Person. Tina startled slightly before a deep blush appeared on her face and she made her way around Vahns back. She hadnt had any intentions at all, but Fenrirs words made her realize it might have seemed like she was trying to wash Vahns front since Fenrir was already scrubbing his head and back. Though she did her best to avoid staring, Tinas heart began beating rapidly as an image she knew she shouldnt recall came to the forefront of her mind. Vahn released a sigh and closed his eyes while trying to block out Tinas chaotic aura from his mind as Fenrir began ardently scrubbing away at his chest with her oval-shaped paw sponges. She very unashamedly stayed close to his body and bounced up and down happily as a result of her exertions. However, even if his eyes had been open, Vahn wouldnt have seen too tantalizing a sight since Fenrir was an ally to Tiona and Loki. As for Tina, she awkwardly moved her hands around Vahns back causing him to quickly realize she had forgotten a sponge. After pulling one out of thin air, Vahn passed it over to the bashful girl who released a slight mewling sound of embarrassment... Tina had been a bit distracted by Vahns broad back and had hesitantly pressed her palm against it as she moved around the soapy suds sticking to his lean and muscr figure. When Vahn suddenly handed her a sponge, she felt like her heart had crept up into her throat and her stomach trembled like there were thousands of butterflies flying around inside. She plopped down into the hot water to cool off her head but encountered something neither she nor Vahn had expected. Because he was in his Vanargandr form, Vahn had a long bushy tail that was resting beneath the murky surface of the water. Tina had made sure to avoid stepping on it previously but, after her embarrassment overloaded her mental circuits, she sat down in the water and straddled against his tail with a plop. Vahn hadnt expected the sudden contact and it caused his tail to twitch once outside his control as Tina jumped up from the water with a Nyaaaayaaaaaaaaaaaaaahn~!?" sound and took off sprinting toward the changing room without even grabbing a towel to cover her n.a.k.e.d body. The atmosphere in the onsen became very awkward as silence overtook everyone that remained behind. Misha had a bit of incredulous look on her face and even Eina showed aplicated expression as she was able to piece together what had happened. She had been watching Vahn ever since he entered the bath and saw Tina plop down in the water suddenly before jumping nearly two meters in the air and running off. Though it was only for a brief moment, she saw the tip of Vahns tail poke up out of the water and the shocked expression on his face as he watched Tinas escape. It very clearly wasnt his fault but Eina intended to talk to Mn about her daughters behavior since she was at a precarious age right now... Fenrir had been surprised by Tinas outburst and hadpletely stopped her hand movements before grabbing her Masters shoulders and pulling herself up to see over him. She saw his tail swirl about in the water and the conflicted expression on his face before a strangely exasperated look appeared on her face and she shook her head. Seeing her strange reaction, Vahn turned his head up at Fenrir as she said, "Master needs to learn to control his tail properly. Very naughty." Completely outside his expectations, Fenrir plopped her paws atop his head and said, "Dont worry, Master can be naughty all he wants to other girls, just not Tina. Be patient, okay~?" For the first time in his life, at least as far as he could recall, Vahn felt an indescribable sense of shame and just hung his head as Fenrir happily resumed washing his body. Though it was the result of a misunderstanding, Fenrirs words felt especially heavy and made Vahn unable to respond for a while until Eina appeared next to him and said, "Fenrir, Vahn didnt mean to do anything...it was an ident, so dont be so hard on him, okay?" Fenrirs ears flopped as she tilted her head to the side and said, "Fenrir isnt wrong...Master just needs to control his tail and idents wont happen. Master can feel everything around him so he could have avoided the situation if he was prepared. Even Fenrir doesnt let people sit on her tail...Master is just inexperienced~?" Eina was at a loss for how to respond to Fenrirs words because it was the longest stream of sentences she had ever heard from the typically curt wolf-girl. Vahn, however,pletely understood what Fenrir was trying to say and he couldnt help but agree. Because he was so ustomed to being human, Vahn didnt really practice making proper use of the traits he obtained when transforming. He could still remember using his tail in Bih form to fight against enemies, but he had stopped trying to adopt that kind of fighting style once he awakened Xunw. With [Shundo], Vahns mobility was already very high so he had stopped relying on his Bih form inbat, even though it used to be his preferred fighting style. Since it was an ability derived from an Innate, it was undoubtedly much stronger than magic he obtained after a few days of practice...he just stopped trying to get used to it and it was even more practical to be a Vanargandr that used Xunw instead... After thinking this far, Vahn raised his head and showed a mixture of an apologetic expression and a resolute look as he said, "I need to start training properly..." He hadnt been putting much effort into his morning training and often spent the entire time meditating until the girls were ready to head off to the Dungeon. It seemed he needed to familiarize himself with his own forms more, or perhaps needed to spend more time in a transformed state so he had better awareness. Vahn already had near-perfect control over his own body, including sensations like touch, so it was nearly impossible to actually catch him off guard in a normal situation. This meant he could have easily avoided the mishap with Tina but, after thinking this far, Vahn began to wonder why such mishaps always seemed to ur around Tina... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Seven Minutes In Heaven,Happy Pupper,Tinas Bad Luck...?) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 567 - Into The Deep End

Chapter 567 - Into The Deep End

After the small fiasco in the bath, Vahn finished washing up his body before retreating into his salon with Fenrir following close behind. He had a bit of time before people were supposed to show up so, even though she was one of the reasons why he took critical damage, Vahn rxed against a sofa with Fenrir snuggled up on his chest. Vahn felt like she was bing increasingly clever as time passed and wondered who she was spending time with to develop such habits. However, she was very cute with her sleeping face so Vahn just released a quiet sigh and let his mind wander until Misha knocked. She was scheduled for her massage at 4 PM and it was currently around 3:20 PM, so there was enough time to get in a short nap before she was supposed to arrive... Around 3:50 PM, Vahn sensed several presences arriving in the waiting area outside his salon and could recognize them to be Eina, Misha, and Preasia. Dinner was supposed to be around 6 PM so the only people he was scheduled to massage were Misha and Preasia. Eina had probably apanied the former to either make sure nothing happened or simply to ay any concerns Misha may have. Fenrir was already awake as soon as he began investigating the presences so she hopped off his chest and stretched her body before saying, "Fenrir will go watch everyone cook~!" and dashing out of the salon. Soon after Fenrir left, Misha came through the thin curtains leading into the salon and peeked her head in curiously before making eye contact with Vahn. Since she was a paying customer, Vahn kept a calm expression on his face using [Will of the Emperor] and asked in a polite tone, "Is Eina not going to apany you?" Mishaughed before walking through the curtain and saying, "She told me it would take away from the experience if other people watched. Apparently, youre supposed to be pretty skilled with your hands~?" Misha always had a curious nature and this wouldnt be the first time it had gotten her into a bit of trouble. She was a bit on the ditzy side and was ident prone, which had been one of the reasons she had been allowed toe to the Hearth Manor by the Guild. Vahn nodded his head with a confident expression and said, "There are differences in the treatment for everyone thates into the salon, but I can guarantee my skills are without equal. Even gods haveplimented my ability, so I have a fair amount of confidence." Misha issued an awkwardughter and said, "Scary, scary..." as she peeled away her bathrobe and revealed a matching yellow bra and panty. She had been told the massage was better without having clothes in the way but wearing lingerie was around the limit when she was alone with a boy. Misha had a fair amount of trust for Vahn, as she had seen his interactions with the other girls over thest two months, but that didnt mean shepletely trusted him. If not for Einas drastic change and her insistence that Vahn wouldnt do anything inappropriate, Misha wouldnt have been able toe into the salon like this. Though he had an instinctive urge topliment Mishas figure, Vahn simply nodded his head and gestured toward the massage table as he asked, "What kind of treatments would you like today, Misha? Know that some of theplex procedures take more than thirty minutes, so let me know if you have any quick questions before we get started." Seeing how calm Vahn was, Misha arched her brows in curiosity and had been tempted to ask if he didnt find her attractive. She wasnt really interested in him but the fact he didnt show any appreciation for her figure when she was wearing nothing but undergarments hurt her pride a little. Deciding he was simply acting professionally, Misha walked over to the strangely designed table before realizing she was supposed toy on top of it with her back facing upward. As she contemted the strange design of the table, Misha felt a little hesitant to entrust her backside to Vahn so easily. She didnt really understand how serious Vahns massages could get but she had been cautioned by Eina several times that things could get very intense. Though she had prepared herself a little, Misha was still worried about what might happen so she asked, "I heard your massage can enhance and prolong beauty? Im still a young and beautiful young woman, so what other benefits can you provide other than that~? Also, how much would it cost to get transformed like what happened to Eina?" Vahn held his hand to his chin in a thoughtful manner before saying, "Depending on the intensity of the massage, I can probably prolong someones beauty almost indefinitely as they age. I actually have to be careful not to push the other girls too hard since they are still developing. It also has the benefit of easing the tensions in your body, removing knots that might ur from stress, and loosing up your joints so you dont have any lingering aches or pains. As for the procedure Eina underwent, that is a closely guarded secret of the Alliance and isnt something that can be obtained with money...sorry." Misha stared at Vahn with saucer-like eyes and he could see a great amount of incredulity contained within her pink irises. He knew it was difficult to believe but his description was honestly what could be expected if he pushed his [Hands of Nirvana] to the limit. When he remembered how youthful Haruhime appeared during the Divination, Vahn was certain there were many long-term benefits to the massage that he hadnt been able to understand yet. For those that had undergone Nirvana, such as Tsubaki and Eina, Vahn was even confident in halting the signs of aging until they were near the end of their lifespans. His source energy could nourish their bodies a lot more than the other girls and it was very likely they would live two, or even three, times longer than normal. For Tsubaki, this meant she could very well live upwards of five-hundred years... After a few seconds of silence, Misha saw that Vahns expression didnt change and it was very obvious he wasnt trying to fool her. If what he described was true, much less 20,000 Valis, his massages could cost more than a million Valis and there would still be a line of Adventurers signing up to receive his godhand. Deciding to forgo caution, Misha made the mistake of nodding her head confidently and saying, "Okay, I want to see the limits of your massage technique. If Im not satisfied with the result, Ill bug Eina until she gives me a refund~." Though she was just teasing him, Misha underestimated how serious Vahn could get and, as he was using [Will of the Emperor] to maintain his expression, she didnt notice the subtle change in his disposition. Vahn nodded his head and gestured to the table once again, this time causing Misha to climb onto it and rest her somewhat modest b.r.e.a.s.ts into the indentation toward the end. She immediately noticed the table was far morefortable than she had expected and, as she rested her face into the circr opening, Misha felt very rxed even though her body was tense. Vahn watched her actions and, after she was nice andfortable, said, "Many of the pressure points Ill be targetting are on your back, so Im going to unfasten your bra. Also, Ill need your permission to touch your butt unless you would like me to avoid sensitive areas." Misha surprisinglyughed when she heard his words and remarked, "I heard you were into butts, ehehehe. Sure, as long as you dont do anything strange Ill trust you this time. Ill tattle on you if you get fresh though, so be careful with those hands Mr. Mason~." Though he was a bit caught off guard by Mishas words, Vahn quickly recovered and said, "I wont do anything untoward...Ms. Flott..." Vahn cast a nce over at Mishas butt as he spoke and saw it was somewhat small, though the shape wasnt that bad. She was only 150cm tall and had a very thin figure without any discernable fat on her body, including her butt. Her muscles were also a bit unbnced so it was easy for Vahn to see that she didnt exercise properly and most likelyzed about when she was off duty. If she decided to make this a recurring appointment, Vahn would draw up a nutritional n for her and list out some easy exercises that would help restore the bnce to her body. Before he began, Vahn exined, "The others should have warned you, but you need to be aware that your body wont respond to you properly until Im finished with the massage. You may not have much trust for me, Ms. Flott, but please believe in Eina and know that I will not do anything to bring harm to you." Misha removed her face from the circr opening and gave Vahn an appraising look before saying, "Youre a very serious boy, arent you?" and then returning her face back into the hole. After a short period of silence, Misha said, "Eina wouldnt fall in love with a boy unless they were trustworthy. Besides, Ive been warned plenty of times so stop dallying...I spent a good portion of my paycheck to get this massage, so you better not have started the time yet~!" With Mishas consent, Vahn rubbed his hands together and began infusing calming energy into his domain so she wouldnt panic after losing functionality of her limbs. Even Mama Mia had panicked a bit when he gave her a massage in the past so a normal girl like Misha would probably have an adverse reaction even though she was putting on a strong front. It would fade away very quickly, but it always made Vahn feel a little worried whenever he started massaging a new girl. Misha didnt seem to notice the subtle change in the atmosphere and Vahn was amazed by how quickly she rxed her body given the situation. Shaking his head with a wry smile on his face, Vahn said, "Im beginning..." and began pressing into the pressure points around Mishas neck and shoulders. He had learned from experience that it was always better to start from the neck since it would dull the connection with the rest of the body and make them feel less scared. In the past, he used to start around the lower back and it was always terrifying to suddenly lose functionality of your legs when the rest of your body was still active. By starting from the neck, Vahn could move to the other parts of the body and help them rx much faster. Surprisingly, Misha didnt seem to mind the sudden change in her body and, other than her aura fluctuating a bit she remained very calm. Vahn felt like he may have underestimated Mishas mental fortitude a bit...either that, or she wascking a bit of awareness and a sense of danger. It was nice to know she was showing her trust for him, but it was still very strange to see such a reaction for a first time client. Without minding it too much, Vahn began working his way down Mishas somewhat boney back and infused energy into her pressure points to rx the surrounding muscle groups. She really was very thin, not much different from Fenrir if not for the variations in their bust size. However, Vahn noticed that Misha had the characteristic softness of a young woman regardless of how thin she was and it was a very curious matter. Since she had given him permission, Vahn also pressed into the pressure points around Mishas butt and noticed her aura fluctuated quite a bit before turning somewhat chaotic when he moved to her thighs. Vahn expected this would happen but continued his efforts regardless and moved further down Mishas legs as her aura slowly stabilized. The yellow-orange and purple colors began to fade away in her aura and were slowly reced by a gentle yellow glow and a subtle pink as the tensions in Mishas body slowly released. Vahn was surprised to discover that Misha actually wasnt a v.i.r.g.i.n, even though he knew she was supposedly more into girls than boys. He wondered if she had experimented at some point in the past but put the matter to the back of his mind as he watched the pink aura slowly increase in intensity. Because she wasnt a maiden, at least as far as Vahns understanding was concerned, this meant that Mishas massage was going to be far more intense than Vahn had intended. However, Misha said she wanted to experience the full extent of his massage technique and Vahn knew it was actually much better for the girl to experience release during the massage as it greatly enhanced the effects. He may end up having to apologize to herter, but Vahn began to massage around Mishas lower back and traced his hands up her sides very slowly as he infused energy into her body and began to link together the various nerve centers with his source energy. Mishas somewhat pale skin began to turn ruddy as small droplets of sweat began to appear on her skin. The most noticeable change, however, was the subtle vibrations that had started reverberating throughout her body. They were only four minutes into the massage at this point and Vahn knew things were going to get increasingly harder for Misha as he progressed further. Deciding not to cut corners, Vahn tried not to mind the vibrations too much and just focused on the task at hand as Mishas body quickly turned to putty under his movements. She was already soft before, but Vahn felt like he could sink his palms into her back a little and it was like there was a thinyer of unbelievable softness covering her whole body. This was something he experienced with all the girls, goddesses included, so Vahn wasnt distracted by the strange sensation and just transitioned to Mishas thighs to continue his progress. Even with their functionality almost entirely removed, Mishas legs trembled a great deal when Vahn massaged her thighs but he didnt stop for a single moment as he pressed his thumbs deep into her muscle tissue and massaged the areas until they became soft to the touch. He was very aware of the womanly fragranceing from her body but maintained a focused expression with the assistance of his [Will of the Emperor] as he escaped the humid area and moved further down her legs until he reached her toes. Pressing into the pressure points at the bottoms of her feet, Mishas body turned somewhat rigid and pulsed slightly every time Vahn rotated his finger against the three delicate nerve centers. Once he was finished, Vahn moved on to her other foot and watched curiously as Mishas body almost imperceptibly leaned toward the stimulus instead of away from it. With her feet finished, Vahn moved back up Mishas legs before pausing slightly and pressing into the pressure points around her butt while trying to avoid direct contact with it. It would be far more effective to massage the area, but Vahn didnt want to be used of taking advantage of her even though she had already passed out. Afterward, he lifted up her h.i.p.s slightly and pressed into the pressure points at the connecting point between the Gluteus Medius and Iliopsoas so that she would be able to walk properly when she woke up. After letting her h.i.p.s rest against the massage table again, Vahn refreshed some of the points on her back before working his way up Mishas shoulders and continuing down her arms and fingers. He was moving a little fast, but Vahn had already mastered this type of massage and could perform the entire thing in around twenty-seven minutes. After around twenty-five minutes, Vahn began the final massage and pressed into the muscles around Mishas neck before gently massaging her scalp while inserting a gentle stream of energy to help her wake back up. It wasnt his first time having someone pass out during his massage so Vahn was ustomed to helping the girls return to their senses without scaring them. It could be very terrifying to suddenly wake up to the echoes of pleasure wracking your body and still be unable to move. He had already partially restored the functionality of her limbs and was now restoring the connection while helping promote proper blood flow to her brain. This would make her feel very rxed and, once she managed to recover, Misha would probably be very focused and alert for the rest of the day. She would probably have a bit of trouble sleeping tonight, but that was amon side effect that Vahn had learned about from the girls... Almost precisely around the twenty-seven-minute mark, the trembling in Mishas body became somewhat more pronounced and she sucked in air like her body was very cold even though it was actually the opposite. With the ability to speak restored, Misha muttered, "T-T-That w-was a l-l-little more i-i-intense than I ex-expected...ha....haaaa...nn..." Misha realized now that she had severely underestimated Vahns massage and should have paid more attention to the several dozen warnings she had received. It was a little scary, but Misha felt like she would never be able to attain such a degree of pleasure for the rest of her life and it made her feel strangely lonely. Anything she had experienced before this massage seemed amateurish and she was certain her efforts wouldnt bring her close to the same degree of pleasure Vahn had given her body. Contrary to Vahns expectations, Misha was still technically a v.i.r.g.i.n since she had never had s.e.x with a man before. Her only experiences had been with other girls, as she had yed around a bit during her School days in the girls dormitory, and the reason for her damaged h.y.m.e.n was just a matter of her curiosity getting the better of her. She had purchased a womens s.e.x toy that was a bit bigger than she should have and ended up breaking her own h.y.m.e.n and experiencing a bit of trauma as a result. After that, she felt like being with men would just bring her pain so Mishas disposition shifted from curiosity in the opposite s.e.x to experimentation with the same s.e.x. When she saw Vahns member in the bath, Misha felt like her decision in the past had been the correct one because she couldnt imagine anything other than paining from such a monstrous entity... Misha took several long andbored breaths and just enjoyed the numb sensation in her body as Vahn restoredplete functionality to her limbs. She didnt even care when he poked around her butt with his surprisingly hot and firm fingers and, though she was aware of the dangerous state of her body, Misha felt strangely secure since Vahn didnt even do anything when she passed out. The only thing going through her mind right now was what she would do for the future since there was no way she could ept this was thest time. Even though there was a small basin below her filled with a thinyer of her own saliva, Misha didnt mind it too much and it actually made her feel a little excited imagining what Vahn might do with it when she left the salon... After the thirty minutes had transpired, Vahn gently ran his finger from the line of Mishas panties to the base of Mishas neck to make sure all of her nerves were firing properly. As was the case with the other girls, Mishas back arched slightly as a result of the stimulus. She seemed to have forgotten her bra strap had been undone earlier and continued to hold up her body with a somewhat nk expression on her face before sitting upright a few momentster. Vahn politely turned his head and calmly stated, "Misha, your bra..." to remind her of the matter. However, other than looking down at her exposed little buns, Misha didnt take any action to wear her bra and just asked, "Do you...do frontside massages...?" Vahn continued to stare off into the void as he nodded his head and said, "Yes, Im skilled at all kinds of massages, both backside and frontside..." It was an awkward admission, but Vahn felt he should take pride in his aplishments with [Hands of Nirvana] since he had already pushed the skill to mastery and continued to make strides towards greater heights. Misha released a somewhat hot sigh before trying to scoot off the massage table and stand on her feet. Her whole body felt very pleasant and light and, even though functionality had already been restored to them, Mishas legs felt very wobbly and she nearly fell over before Vahn caught her with a bathrobe that had magically appeared in his hands. He made sure to avoid any delicate spots and just let Misha lean into the thick robe while using his body as a support. Mishaughed awkwardly and epted the robe as she began to right herself while wearing it in as natural a manner as she could manage. It made her feel strangely vexed to see Vahn putting in so much effort to avoid looking at her body, even though she understood he was just trying to be polite. After releasing another sigh, Misha surprised Vahn a bit by pping both of her cheeks as if she was trying to wake herself up from a daze. She gave him a thoughtful look before sticking out her tongue yfully and saying, "Thanks for the massage, Vahn. You can be sure I wont be asking for a refund...hahaha..." Misha began to walk out of the salon before Vahn called out, "Misha, wait!" and made her heart tremble a bit as she looked back to see what he wanted to say. She didnt understand it well herself, but Misha felt a bit of expectation when Vahn called out to her until she saw him pointing at the yellow braw that was resting in the small indentation where her b.r.e.a.s.ts had been. A fierce blush touched her already ruddy cheeks as she moved over quickly and snatched up the bra before fleeing from the salon. Vahn watched her retreating figure and saw the fluctuations in her aura before releasing a long sigh and remarking, "Why does it always seem like the girls are running away from my salon whenever I finish recently...?" Vahn tilted his head to the side and held his hand to his chin as he contemted if it was rted to the [Petting] Development Ability. However, soon after he brought his hands near his face Vahn smelled a very womanly fragrance and instinctually sniffed his hand before startling slightly and pulling out a towel to wipe his hands clean before Preasia showed up... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Challenging the Godhand...?,RIP Misha-chan...,Breaking Down Barriers,Fragrant Aroma...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 568 - Comfort

Chapter 568 - Comfort

Shortly after Misha fled from the salon, Vahn heard rustling at the entrance that signaled Preasias arrival. He had already sensed her waiting outside and just continued cleaning up the salon after looking over and saying, "Everything will be prepared shortly. Did you think about what kind of treatment youd like?" Vahn could see that Preasia was wearing a short bathrobe and understood her intentions but still gave her the option to choose. Without answering his question, Preasia asked, "Are you...okay with someone like me...?" Vahn squinted his eyes as he evaporated up the thinyer of saliva Misha left behind before looking over at Preasia with slight confusion apparent on his face. Preasia lowered her head slightly and said, "You know...my name is on the schedule...I was worried..." Vahn understood what she was trying to get at now so he simply smiled and showed a gentle expression as he said, "Preasia, it was actually wrong of me to have forced you to wait like this. Youve already been working very hard, so I owe you a bit of an apology for making you have these kinds of concerns. Youre a cute girl and, while I worry about you a bit, I have absolutely no problems being involved with someone like you." Vahn noticed that the minor instabilities in Preasias aura stabilized as a small smile appeared on her face and she pulled open her robe. Though he had already expected it, Preasia allowed her robe to drop to the ground as she revealed herpletely n.a.k.e.d figure before him. Much like he had in the past, Vahn swallowed a bit of saliva that made Preasias smile widen slightly. She had been watching his expression closely to gauge his reaction and was very pleased to see such a response from him. As for Vahn, he passed his eyes over her body once again andmented, "Youve been taking care of yourself..." because she looked a lot healthier than she did in the past. Like Misha, she was a petite girl at 150cm tall but, unlike the tomboyish pink-haired girl, Preasia had moderatelyrge b.r.e.a.s.ts for her size that were on the verge from transitioning from a B-Cup into a low C-Cup. She was much paler than most of the other girls, though a healthyplexion had started to color her skin in recent months, and her tinum blond hair and light grey eyes made her appear very gentle and soft. As if to emphasize her softness, Preasias hair was very shaggy and curled in various different directions while a small shaggy tail also dangled down above her somewhat plump rump. She had been very thin in the past but had started to fill out a bit and it was most noticeable in how her thighs seemed to swell up slightly, a racial trait shared by all Sheep People. Of course, they didnt cause her body to look unbnced and the only thing that stood out, other than the small mat of shaggy fur around her secret garden, were therge off-grey curved horns on her head. Vahn often pet her head and had probed around her horns to discover they were very hard yet strangely warm to the touch. Though she couldnt feel much through them, there was a vein like protrusion on the underside of the curve that would cause her to her lips to be pursed in frustration. Preasia watched Vahns eyes attentively and hugged her body in an insecure manner as she asked, "Is it strange...? I try to groom it...but it grows back quickly..." She had heard him mention he didnt mind her pubic hair in the past, but Preasia couldnt help butpare herself to the other girls around Vahn. Most of them were neatly groomed orpletely shaven, especially the younger girls that surrounded him. The only exceptions to this were Tsubaki, Mn, and Mikoto, though Preasia hadnt overlooked thattters had be much neater recently. It bothered her a little to be so different than everyone else, though it also secretly made her feel special... Vahn raised his brows slightly and continued to show a casual smile as he said, "It suits you well...its almost like your entire body is very fluffy and it would be a little strange if you were clean-shaven considering youre a Sheep Person and have already reached maturity. Besides, it shows that youre very healthy by how well you maintain it." When she had firste to the Manor, Preasia had been shaven and her genitals had been mutted somewhat by the despicable person that purchased her previously. Vahn knew she actually grew it out as a manifestation of her insecurities but he could see she had been keeping it neatly trimmed, even though it was still somewhat thick. Compared to the other girls, with perhaps the exceptions of Fenrir, Preasias hair was at least twice as thick as everyone elses, including on her head. It was also very soft and fluffy, something Vahn had been made increasingly aware of with the passage of time. Seemingly satisfied with Vahns response, Preasia walked over and propped herself up on the massage table Vahn had set out. He typically used a different table for each person, so this one was brand new as Preasia had never been a beneficiary of his massage after her initial treatment. Vahn was always worried about how she would react to it and she also didnt want to pester him and had avoideding by except to have her hair cut and styled once before. After she hopped up on the table, Preasia wiggled around so she could sitfortably and made no effort to protect her decency as she watched Vahn finish cleaning up. So as to remind her of why she was here, Vahn once again asked, "Have you thought about what kind of massage you want? We have plenty of time, so I would suggest something mild like a three-phase massage star-" Before he could continue exining, Preasia bit her bottom lip and said, "I dont want a normal massage...I just want you to pet me...and...and to let me watch your hands..." Preasia knew of the efficacy of Vahns massage and, though it seemed very exciting to experience, she would rather just share something more intimate with him instead of simply receiving his care. Though she didnt know it, this was one of the reasons why she had been cleared to be around Vahn because, though she was very reliant on him, Preasia wanted to share experiences instead of just expectingforts to be given to her. Vahn experienced a momentarypse in his train of thoughts as he considered Preasias words and thought about them seriously. He could understand why she didnt simply want to entrust her body to him in such a manner and could also see how it would be more ther.a.p.eutic for her to be involved in the process. Had she asked in the past, he would have refused her without overthinking things too much but now things had changed and Vahn felt like he should allow her a bit of special treatment this time around. It would be nice to have some intimacy with her before they eventually had s.e.x in the next few weeks so, after setting aside the few inhibitions he had about it, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Sure, Preasia, that sounds like a nice idea..." Preasia harbored some hope but she hadnt quite expected Vahn to agree so, while her brain slowly processed the information it had just received, a light trembling began to rise up in her body. By the time her mental processes had restarted, she felt very giddy and, though it was very slight, her shaggy tail wiggled slightly in excitement. Vahn smiled at her reaction and asked, "Do you want to use the massage table, or should I set out a sofa?" Preasias eyes opened slightly and they darted around in their sockets before she muttered in a very low voice, "Can we...use a bed?" She felt like she was pushing her luck a little bit, but Preasia felt like now was the best time to push forward since she had never felt luckier in her entire life. Since he had already decided to pamper her a bit, Vahn didnt think about it too much but still issued a smallpromise, saying, "We can use a futon so its easier to move around...is that okay with you?" Most of the beds Vahn used were very soft and it was even difficult for people with good bnce to easily maneuver. Preasia was a rtively normal girl and, even if she left everything to him, it would be much easier on them both if they were on a rtively firm futon instead of a plush mattress. As for how Preasia felt about the situation, she didnt seem to mind at all and just nodded her head quickly as she squeezed her somewhat tiny fists into triumphant balls. Vahn cleared up arge floor area for use before setting out an equallyrge futon that could easily fit four peoplefortably. Something about having arge bed always made Vahn feel very happy so, even when he used disposable cushions and futons, he never settled for smaller alternatives. He hadnt been wearing shoes in the salon from the start, so Vahn stepped onto the moderately firm futon that was still soft enough to befortable. It was actually much higher quality than some of the beds in the Danmachi record, so it was more than suitable for their purposes. Looking over, Vahn saw that Preasia hadnt moved from the massage table just yet and just watched him with her unwavering light grey eyes. After considering what she might be waiting for, Vahn smiled before walking over and picking Preasia up in a princess carry and moving her from the table to the futon. Her left horn rubbed against his chest in the process but he fortunately managed to avoid the tip as he set her down. Vahn felt that, even though she was simr in size to Misha and Arnya, Preasia was much smaller than other girls and she felt very fragile and soft to the touch. Thinking that it would be best for her to guide his actions, Vahn asked, "What do you want me to do, Preasia...?" She had beenying down previously but lifted up her body in response to Vahns words and tried to control her breathing before saying, "I just...want you to touch me...and Ill tell you if its scary..." It was hard for her to rationalize it, but Preasia felt like she needed to experience someone exploring her body without bringing her any harm. She wanted to be able to trust Vahnpletely and let him do whatever he wanted, knowing that he would always listen to her if she experienced difort or got scared. This knowledge gave her confidence and, after watching Vahn for a very long period of time, she believed he wouldnt let her down. His hands had always brought herfort and took away the pain...she believed that he may even be able to take away the bad memories if she opened herself to himpletely. Vahn smiled before crossing his legs and removing his tunic before patting hisp and saying, "Sit with your back to me...just like normal." The only piece of clothing he removed was his tunic, but it made Preasias aura fluctuate with a mixture of light purples, muted pinks, and a tinge of passionate reds. She nodded her head before gingerly climbing into Vahnsp, very aware that this situation was anything but normalpared to the past. She normally wore thicker clothing because it made her feel safe and warm but now she waspletely n.a.k.e.d and had exposed herself as the vulnerable and damaged girl she truly was. However, when she rested her bare back against Vahns wide and warm chest, Preasia felt very secure and started to calm down as a very different excitement rose up inside of her. After waiting for around a minute for Preasias aura to stabilize, Vahn used both hands and began using his [Hands of Nirvana] in conjunction with [Petting] as he fluffed Preasia shaggy hair. Her aura fluctuated again, but this time there was significantly less purple and Vahn could feel her heartbeat through her back as she leaned against him. She hadrge and droopy fur-covered ears on the side of her head, just like a real sheep, and Vahn began stroking his fingers around her scruff as she writhed about slightly under his movements. He was usually tamer when petting her but knew she wanted to experience something more stimting so he was stroking her simr to how he would Fenrir. She didnt seem to mind it at all and proactively leaned into his hands instead of trying to resist them as quiet and remarkably adorable sounds issued from her throat as her rate of breathing continued to increase. Vahn kept using his left hand to stroke around the base of Preasias left horn before bringing his right hand around to her front and stroking around her cheek before moving around her chin and neck. Preasia trembled slightly when she felt Vahns hand against her neck but, instead of a suffocating and painful sensation, the only thing she felt was warmth and a strange vibration from his palm that made her feel increasingly more excited. When he brought his hand up around her chin once again, Preasia opened her mouth before gingerly touching her tongue against his finger. Vahn was a bit surprised at first before bringing up his finger near her lips as Preasia puckered up slightly before letting his finger slip into her mouth. Preasias greatest trauma was rted to having things in her mouth but she still wanted to feel Vahns finger against her tongue as sucked on it slightly with each breath she took. It still had the same warm feeling as normal and it was very pleasant as she wrapped her tongue around it and felt the subtle vibration that seemed to spread from her tongue and down her throat. When he finally pulled his finger free, Preasia experienced a brief mncholic feeling before the hot and tingling sensation began to make its way down her neck. Looking down, Preasia could see Vahn caressing around her corbone with the back of his hand. She could see the gentle light flowing from his fingers and saw thin strands separate from his fingers as diffuse into her body. Preasia wished she could bottle up the pleasant feelinging from the thin strands of light and carry it with her always... For the better part of twenty minutes, Vahn just continued stroking and petting around Preasias head, horns, ears, and neck. He could feel her tensions increasing even though her aura had stabilized greatly with the passage of time. Just as she had been attentively watching his actions, Vahn had been watching her reactions to make sure she wasfortable and unafraid. Before he would move on, Vahn would wait for Preasia to rx both her body and mind so she wouldnt be pressured and feel anxious. To help ease her mind, even though it caused her tensions to increase a bit, Vahn had also lightly smelled around Preasia hair and gave her a fewpliments about how nice she smelled and how fluffy her hair was. As he stroked the thin line under her horn with his fingertip, Preasias lower jaw trembled and she made cute sounds of frustration before shivering when he said, "Your horns are also adorable..." One of the things she had always been self-conscious about was the existence of her horns so, hearing Vahnpliment them while affectionately stroking them had dealt critical damage to Preasia. She was actually very sensitive in the area he was stroking so, once his words had broken through her defenses she released a w of warm moisture from her lower body that made her feel very anxious. Vahn didnt seem to mind it, however, even though she knew he would be able to feel the moisture through his trousers. Knowing that he was letting her fluids soak through him made Preasias heart begin racing and her body began shaking slightly until Vahns warm embrace hugged her from behind. Vahn could see that Preasia actually had a bit of fear and inhibitions rted to her own pleasure and, even though her Love parameter had shot up a few points, a sickly purple spread through the pinks and reds when her body began trembling. Wrapping his arms around her, Vahn converged his domain and began infusing [Hands of Nirvana] all around them to help Preasia calm down as he said, "Its okay, Preasia...rx...you are safe...there is no need to feel afraid." Though she continued to take deep breaths and trembled slightly, Vahn could feel her aura begin to stabilize once again as her Love parameter bumped up another few points. They ended up staying like this for nearly ten minutes before shepletely calmed down and he loosened up his embrace. Before he could move his hands to start caressing her head again, Preasia seemed to have something different in mind as she loosely grabbed his wrist and brought his hands against her body. She covered the back of his hand with her marginally smaller hand before slowly bringing it up to her pale white b.r.e.a.s.t with its very faintly colored pink protrusions standing at the ready. Though she shook slightly, bringing his hand to her b.r.e.a.s.t on her own helped Preasia stay calm before she used her free hand to guide Vahns left hand to her stomach. She actually felt like she had started to get fat recently and hoped he wouldnt mind even if she became a little bby... Contrary to Preasias perception of herself, Vahn felt that her stomach was very soft and, even though it folded slightly when she was arched forward, this was very natural and she was actually on the thinner side with her underdeveloped muscles and the malnutrition she suffered living in a rural vige for more than eighteen years. In fact, Vahn felt like every part of Preasia was much softer than normal and she could almost bepared to the almost indescribably soft Hestia. He always felt weird whenparing girls to goddesses, but it also felt strangely like he wasplimenting them at the same time so he couldnt help but do it on asion. Though she had moved his hand to her b.r.e.a.s.t, Vahn didnt move around and grope her freely because he could still feel the inhibitions she had. He just let strands of gentle energy spread from his palm and flow into her body while he gently moved his left hand, which was on her abdomen, up and down. Preasia leaned forward slightly to watch his hands and eventually began stroking the back of his right hand, almost as if she was encouraging him to move. Vahn leaned forward and kissed the back of her head before he began gently massaging her left b.r.e.a.s.t with his right hand. Her breathing started to increase once again, but she managed to stay rtively calm and was only reacting to the buildup of pleasure instead of fear. Things continued like this for several minutes until Preasia was forced to exhale from her mouth as her breathing had bebored, not out of fatigue, but as a result of the tensions in her body reaching a critical level. She didnt m.o.a.n, nor did she cry out, but she made small sounds like squeaks as she fought to resist against the pleasure. Vahn had felt like moving to her other b.r.e.a.s.t at one point, but Preasia had been pressing his hand with her own and didnt seem intent on letting him move away at present. She continued to lean forward further as time progressed and was almostpletely scrunched up at this point. Vahn could feel the bone of her tail wiggle about against his lower body but he resisted the urge to let his own body react since he didnt want to spook her. Right now, her tail was curled up and pressing into her soft butt and Vahn could even see it poking out between her thighs as it curled up slightly. As the tensions in her body continued to rise, Preasia began absentmindedly moving Vahns left hand further down and he had already reached the boundaries between soft flesh and plush fur. She didnt seem to realize it herself, but Vahn was very aware of it since the thick tinum blond fur was very moist and he had even caused a mist to rise up when he stroked against the direction it naturally grew. Though it was very fluffy, it was strangely resistant and always conformed back in the natural direction as if it was trying to conceal whaty beneath. The closer she pushed his hand toward the secret garden beyond, the more effort Vahn put into his embrace while trying to make Preasia feel safe. After nearly fifty-two minutes, Preasias body began to tremble greatly as she felt a hot sensation touch against a very sensitive area of her body. Vahn may have thought she was unaware of her actions, but Preasia had been watching Vahns hand slowly make its way further down. She had been the one guiding the action, but it still made her feel a tremendous amount of trepidation every time she edged it another millimeter closer. When he had reached her hair, Preasia had stopped for a while to gauge his reaction. She noticed that Vahn didnt seem to mind it at all and even saw the moment when he had moved his fingers counter against the direction of her fur. It made her feel very embarrassed to see the slight mist but it also calmed her down greatly. When his pinky finger touched against the top of her v.a.g.i.n.a, she felt strangely terrified but it passed quickly when Vahn nestled against her neck and hugged her tightly. For a few more minutes, until there were less than two minutes remaining before they were supposed to stop, Vahn and Preasia sat in silence with nothing but her loud breathing sounding out in the room. As he had a clock inside his salon, Preasia was very aware of the passage of time and was sad to see how little remained before she mustered up what remained of her courage and pushed Vahns hand further down before pulling hers away. Guiding the action was very different than letting Vahn move on his own and she wanted to see how he would treat her body in the final few minutes. For a few seconds, Vahn fingers hardly moved as if they were adapting to the new situation. Then, though it made her body tremble for various reasons, he began tracing his fingers up and down with very ginger motions while he gently pinched her n.i.p.p.l.e and moved his thumb and index finger around her a.r.e.o.l.a. Preasia felt the trembling in her body increase greatly and she tucked her head down and closed her eyes as a jolt of pleasure passed through her body like a wave. Vahn didnt insert his finger into her vulva, but the warm energy flowing from his fingers was enough to push her already tense state over the edge. With his warm embrace holding her tightly, Preasia allowed her body to climax as small drops of tears fell like pearls from her moist light-grey eyes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Le Petit Mouton~!,So gad damn fluffy,Hold me closely...please,Release From Burdens) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 569 - Meaningful Moments

Chapter 569 - Meaningful Moments

Though it forced their time to stretch beyond the original hour, Vahn continued to hold Preasia until she was able to calm down because he knew it was always very important tofort girls during such moments. He had felt the changes in her aura and it was now clinging to him a bit more than it had in the past. The biggest change, however, though Vahn wasnt sure if Preasia noticed it herself, was that a subtle light could be seen emanating from her body. Vahn could only see it when his [Eyes of Truth] were active, so it was likely a phenomenon rted to her Innate, though it was unlikely she had awakened it just then. It wasnt that important to consider right now, especially since she was still trembling in his arms, but Vahn made a mental note to reflect on this incidentter as it was further evidence that Innates awakening was rted to a persons emotional state and the changes in their mentality... Preasia could feel her body trembling and found sce in Vahns warm embrace that seemed to envelop her entire body. Though she often felt gratitude and feelings of desire and intrigue, this was one of the first times in recent memory where Preasia felt happy. She enjoyed the times she spent with Vahn in the past, but there was always an underlying frustration welling up inside of her with deep feelings of insecurity. He always treated her kindly, but Preasia couldnt help but feel he was just acting out of obligation and didnt actually have any interest in her. She wasnt the most beautiful girl, nor was she the most intelligent...in fact, Preasia felt like she was one of the only people in the Manor that simply took advantage of the situation since everyone else worked so hard to get stronger. All of that was in the past now, however, or at least Preasia wanted to believe that things would only get better from this point onwards. Even though she was weak, mostly kept to herself, and often stared at Vahn even when she knew she shouldnt, Preasia could feel the affection he had for her and had spent thest few minutes feeling his powerful heartbeat against her back. Though he remained calm andposed on the surface, she could feel the changes in his excitement and the only look she ever saw in his eyes was intrigue, appreciation, and, she would like to believe, a little bit of love. He was obviously very concerned for her, but Preasia knew there was a lot more behind his actions than simple concern and it made her feel warm and fuzzy on the inside... At this point, it had been nearly ten minutes since the session was supposed toe to an end but the two just sat quietly until Preasia began lifting her body. Vahn stopped hugging her so tightly and allowed her to sit up straight since she had managed to recover almostpletely at this point. However, there was a subtle change in her aura when she began to move and, instead of getting off of him immediately, Preasia turned her body around and with a hesitant and apologetic look asked, "I know Ive taken up too much time...but...can you give me a kiss...before...we part..." Hearing her own words, Preasia realized she would be leaving the salon soon and it made her feel very sad inside knowing this moment woulde to an end. Vahn was very aware that Syr was waiting patiently outside while the time till dinner continually shrink until there was only around twenty minutes left. However, without considering too much, Vahn hugged Preasias waist with his left arm and lifted her body a little with his right as he kissed her pouty little lips. He had seen her aura shrink noticeably when she was speaking and felt the sadnessing from her body so he didnt want to send her off in such a state. Vahn noticed that Preasias tongue was a little slimier than he had expected but, though there was a subtle bitter taste, it was still very pleasant to kiss her. She also seemed to be very happy and pressed herself close against him as a warm and damp cloth-like feeling tickled against his abdomen. Though he knew it would be pressing his luck a bit, Vahn stroked around Preasias lower back, primarily around her droopy and shaggy tail, before moving down to her rump with a gentle caress. Preasias body trembled slightly but she didnt pull away until Vahns warm hand suddenly vanished from her backside. She could see the confusion and intrigue on his face so Preasia tried to crane her head to see if something strange had happened. Unfortunately, she wasnt very flexible at all due to herck of physical activity and had to reach back with her hand to investigate. The moment she came into contact with her butt, however, Preasia felt very worried until Vahn said, "Dont worry, Preasia, it should be rted to a rare skill on the verge of awakening and you shouldnt fear it. I think it makes you look cute..." Preasia felt happy at Vahns words, but she couldnt prevent herself from feeling very anxious as she stood up and asked, "Do you...?" before seeing a mirror at the side and moving over to check what had happened to her body. Vahn followed her with his eyes and habitually stroked his chin only to get sted by a rather robust aroma and having to pull his hand away to clean it once again. As for Preasia, she was staring at her body with a somewhat vexed expression on her face while touching around various areas. It was very subtle right now, but there was short fur that had started to grow in areas around her body and it had the same tinum blond color as the rest of her hair. Vahn could see her concern and tried to cheer her up by saying, "Its likely rted to a defensive ability that will protect you from harm..." Preasia looked back at him, clearly very concerned with the changes happening to her body. Though she tried not to think about it that much, she still had nightmares about being treated like an animal. If she suddenly started growing fur on her body, Preasia feared she might actually be an animalpletely in the future. Seeing the dark strands in her aura, Vahn sighed through his nose but kept a smile as he walked over and said, "If you do end up growing fur all of your body, Ill help you groom it periodically...your body is already very soft and fluffy...I think it would be very pleasant." For a brief moment, Preasia imagined herself being brushed all over her body by Vahn and she suddenly felt much less afraid. Instead, her ruddy face began to flush deeply and, though it was almost imperceptible, Vahn could see that other areas of her body began to show small patches of fur begin to grow. It was very short and had a light coloration, but the density of the roots showed that if she actually grew fur it would probably be around the same thickness as Fenrirs. Curiously, she only seemed to be sprouting it on her arms, legs, and around the bottom of her butt where Vahn had felt it previously. He wasnt sure if the image was correct, but Vahn could somewhat imagine how Preasia might look in the future while also picturing the image of him brushing through the dense tinum blond fur... Preasia saw Vahns thoughtful look and the small curve at the sides of his smile and most of the remaining fear inside of her vanished. She was still very worried about how her body might change, but it didnt really matter that much as long as Vahn still cared about her. She decided to let the fur grow for the time being so she could talk to him about the changes and see how he reacts as time goes on. If he was interested in it, Preasia didnt mind letting her whole body be covered in fur so she could spend more time with Vahn in the future. Noticing her aura re up with gentle yellows and a healthy pink coloration, Vahn smiled and handed over a bathrobe that was the same color as Preasias hair. She epted it after staring at the color for a while and then wore it over her body before asking, "How do I look...?" Vahns smile widened and he softly said, "You look very...fluffy." Though it was very embarrassing to hear such a pliment, Preasia felt like Vahn often told her how soft and fluffy she was in the past. If he wanted her to be fluffy, Preasia decided that is what she would be so that she could be unique amongst the other girls. With a resolute look in her light-grey eyes, Preasia stared at Vahn was an unwavering gaze and said, "If my body changes...I will show it to you...so you can...research it..." Vahns expression softened and he shook his head in response before saying, "Im interested in the changes to your body, but I wont treat you like a subject of my research. Lets just spend time together normally and Ill make annotations and deductions through personal observation and experience instead of treating you as a convenience." Preasia wanted to say that she didnt mind it as long as Vahn was interested in her body...she imagined what it would be like around on a table as Vahn studied her and it actually made her feel giddy and excited. However, spending time with Vahn like now would also be very nice and it actually seemed more pleasantpared to how excited she felt about the prospect of being his subject matter. After considering it, Preasia nodded her head with a small smile and said, "I should go now...its almost time for dinner..." Vahn affirmed her words with a nod and exined, "Ill be staying behind to talk with Syr a bit before heading over. Go ahead and wash up, well be along shortly." Hearing that she was preventing Syr from meeting with Vahn, Preasia felt a tremble run down her back before she nodded and exited the salon much faster than she originally intended. Syr could be very scary at times, even though she was generally very kind, and Preasia didnt want to cross the girl that had so much influence within the Manor. She was also one of the people Preasia had sought counsel from in the past and it was very worrying knowing that she had inconvenienced one of the people that helped her. When she saw the kind smile on the beautiful girls face, Preasia froze up a bit before lowering her head and saying, "Sorry...Syr..." Syr saw Preasias behavior and knew something serious must have happened since she seemed a lot calmer and less dreary. Shaking her head, Syrs smile turned even gentler as she said, "Vahn must have needed the extra time to make sure you were able to recover properly. I wont me you, Preasia, so please raise your head. Just...remember this moment whenever you feel sad in the future, okay? Not just Vahn, but all of us are here to support you..." Preasia lifted her head and saw the gentle look on Syrs face and it almost made her want to cry. Nodding her head with moist eyes, Preasia muttered, "Thank you..." as she clutched the soft bathrobe and made her way out of the waiting area. Syr watched her departing figure with a small light of intrigue in her eyes before making her way into the salon where Vahn was waiting with an apologetic expression. Syrughed in a somewhat teasing manner and said, "Preasia seems a lot happier now, Vahn. I wonder what kind of massage she received to have such a reaction~?" Vahn rubbed his neck to remove some of the imaginary tension in the area as he said, "She wanted me to pet her instead of a normal massage...I thought it would be good for her recovery..." Syr walked forward with her hands behind her back and leaned forward to stare up into Vahns face with a yful smile on hers. She knew he had been in the mood for petting today since he had even gotten her toy across hisp earlier. Given what urred during his date with Ryuu, Syr knew Vahn was in a vulnerable state where he was probably trying to make everyone he came across happy. If there were more time, she wouldnt mind partaking of his kindness for a short while but tonight was part of his recovery period and he would be sleeping with Eina. Deciding it was best not to tarry, as it was very close to dinner, Syr stood up and turned around, asking, "Can you help me remove my dress~?" Vahn helped Syr undo the concealed zipper on the back of her dress before loosening up the fabric around her h.i.p.s so she could slide out of it. She was wearing frilly white lingeries that greatly ented her almost wless features and Vahn felt a little distracted before Syr asked, "Where did you want to put the crest~?" Vahn considered her question for a moment before rifying, "I dont have to carve the same makers mark as the crest. If you want, I can make a smaller one like a cute animal or-" Syr had ced her index finger on her chin in a thoughtful manner before asking, "What if I asked you to write your name...fufufu~." Since the makers mark was already very possessive, Syr wanted to tease Vahn a bit and hadnt expected him to short circuit as a response to her words. It had just been a teasing thought at first but, when Syr imagined Vahns name on her body, she felt incredibly embarrassed and turned beet red in an instant, saying, "I was just kidding, Vahn...mouu~." Vahn nodded his head in a mechanical fashion before saying, "Ill just...put the normal crest..." while still imagining his name across Syrs abdomen or backside. Syr pouted a little after seeing Vahn was still thinking about such an embarrassing thing before saying, "Its almost time for dinner..." with a very bashful expression on her face. Vahn smiled and stepped forward, tracing his hand from Syrs ribs to her h.i.p.s as he kneeled down in front of her. He knew she wanted to treat the mark as a charm for pregnancy, so Vahn began tracing his index finger around under her navel as he drew a very small crest. Syr felt her body get covered in goosebumps under Vahns caress as a slightly giddy feeling welled up inside her as she watched him carve the crest. It was much smaller than she expected, which made her feel both happy and sad at the same time, but it wouldnt really matter since it was going to be concealed most of the time. She intended to make Vahn activate it whenever they were alone together but, for the time being, it would be one of the few secrets they shared between them. Syr wanted to share more things with Vahn and, now that Ryuu was probably going to be pregnant, her own desire for a child had increased greatly. It felt like a race had been started amongst the girls in the Manor and Syr didnt want to be the one bringing up thest ce... After quickly finishing the short ceremony, Vahn made the crest turn invisible and watched as it faded into Syrs skin. For a short while thereafter, Vahn traced his finger around the area lovingly until Syr framed his face with her hands and reminded, "Vahn, we need to get ready for dinner..." Nodding his head, Vahn stood up and helped Syr wear her dress again and sent her off ahead of him so he could clean up his salon. He rolled up the futon and put it away in a nearby supply closest before noticing he was still wearing the same trousers from earlier. Seeing therge wet stain, Vahn felt very embarrassed because it almost looked like he had peed himself. Syr hadnt said anything about it the entire time she was in the salon and Vahn now felt like an idiot after he acted so casually and tried to get away with teasing her a bit. After releasing a long sigh, Vahn removed his trousers and balled them up before throwing them to the side. He had almost been tempted to small the stained area but managed to resist the urge and just wiped down his n.a.k.e.d body with a towel before wearing a fresh change of clothing. Today felt like a very long day to Vahn and he was looking forward to the opportunity of rxing with Eina during the evening. He dealt with Minerva and Praxis during the morning, spent a bit of time with Loki, pampered Syr, went on a date and i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed Ryuu, caused a fiasco with Tina, and then massaged Mishas body before having an emotional moment with Preasia. It was days like this that made Vahn realize how important the decision by the girls had been during the previous discussion. He really did need to rx more instead ofpressing so many significant events into a single days time... Shaking his head, Vahn looked around his salon onest time before stretching his body and making his way toward the dining room. Though it was undoubtedly a little stressful, days like this were also very fulfilling and Vahn felt alive knowing he had been involved with so many interesting and significant events. He would do his best to rx a bit more, but that didnt mean he was going to avoid situations where he could spend meaningful moments with the girls. He would likely spend a fair amount of time tomorrow with Naaza before seriously focusing on his research toplete the blood gems he had been working on. After that, Vahn would be preparing things for his eventual union with Riveria and just imagining being involved with the beautiful and intelligent High Elf made him feel excited... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Preasias Uncharacteristic Fluffiness,Syrs Gentle Smile,Riveria Senses A Disturbance In The Mana...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 570 - Research : Leisure

Chapter 570 - Research : Leisure

After spending a peaceful night with Eina, Vahn awoke feeling refreshed andzily snuggled up with his beautiful young bride who was still drifting within the realm of dreams. When he hugged her closely, Vahn noticed Einas smile and it made him feel very warm inside. They were now proactively trying to conceive but, much like Syr, Eina wanted it to happen naturally since she wasnt in a particr hurry to have children. Now that her body had undergone Nirvana, Eina always felt like she was full of energy and it was much easier to move her body around than in the past. She hadnt even thought it was difficult before, but there was a very clear difference she had exined to Vahn how she felt closer to the mana in the environment after her change. Vahn could also see that Einas internal mana had be very stable and she was full of vitality, almost to the same extent as an Elf but with a few subtle differences. Though she may not have noticed it herself, Vahn had already taken note of the fact that Einas ears were marginally longer and more pointy than in the past. He liked the gentle curve of her slightly rounded Half-Elf ears, but being able to nibble on the little tips was very satisfying since Eina was prone to blushing when teased. Thinking this far, Vahn realized that Lefiya and Ryuu were in that category as well, even though theter had only started showing such signs recently. He wondered if it had something to do with their environmental conditions, or if it was simply exposure to him that eventually wore them down... Pulling out Evas orb, Vahn noticed there werent any new changes so he stowed it away and gently moved Einas body so she could rx against the bed. She seemed to stir when he was bundling her up in the covers but, after peeking through her slightly parted eyshes, Eina closed her eyes again and quickly fell asleep. Her duties had gotten a bit easier with Sierra and Pram working at the Guild branch, but she still worked very hard to make sure things were running smoothly. Eina had always been the serious type and was verymitted when it came to teaching people how to do things properly. Sierra and Pram were both Elves that grew up in the Elven Kingdom so they had a bit of a bias against her at first, something which had quickly dissipated with Riverias words and Einas efforts. Both Elves had a great deal of respect for both Riveria and Vahn so, knowing that the former was Vahns apprentice while Eina was, to their surprise, Vahns wife, made them temper any negative thoughts they might have had. After all, Vahn was their liberator while Riveria was their acting benefactor. If they couldnt show respect to the people that had saved their lives, Pram at least felt like she was underserving to take pride in herself as an Elf. Riveria had already pulled strings to have her little sister, alongside one of her good friends, be given the right to travel outside of the forest. She didnt have any attachments to the rest of her family, so being able to protect the people she cared about gave Pram a life-debt to Riveria that she could never repay... Vahn spent the morning in a leisurely manner by heading over to the Souther Manor to spend some time with Anubis and Nanu. He also checked up on the progress of the other hounds and noticed that Rasui had be much stronger and could almost fight Nanu to a draw if she didnt get too serious. Of course, with Vahn watching, Nanu got very serious and it wasnt long before Rasui ended up pinned to the ground with his arm leveraged against him. Instead of being upset, however, Rasui had a look of respect and admiration on his face whenever he thanked Nanu for her lessons. Even Maat, who was in an active rtionship with Rasui now, didnt seem to take any offense to her future mate getting beaten up by Nanu at all. After leaving behind Anubis and Nanu, Vahn kept his promise and headed toward Naazas Atelier, located in the West Wing near the Medical Ward that didnt often see use. He sensed three different presences inside and wasnt surprised to find that both Lili and Preasia were present since the three often spent time together. Not only was she a physical powerhouse, but Lili was also a very studious girl even before Vahn had met her. In order to survive for nearly an entire decade in a horrible environment, Lili had relied on her intelligence and ability to gather information to get by. She had an almost encyclopedic knowledge of monsters in the dungeon and even carried around small books detailing the rise and fall of various different items. As for Preasia, she wanted to learn the [Mixing] Development Ability in the future and was working hard to learn from both Chloe and Naaza. As they had already heard from Naaza that Vahn would being into the Atelier today, neither girl was surprised but they still had very pleased expressions on their faces. Lili practically vaulted the entire distance to Vahn in a single leap so he caught her out of the air while Preasia simply stared at him with her characteristic gaze. The biggest difference was that she had a light blush on her face now and, when she thought he wasnt looking, gently nibbled on her lower lip. Naaza seemed at a loss for how the other two girls were acting but she couldnt hide her weakly wagging tail from view nor the small smile on her face as she said, "Wee to my workshop, Vahn..." Apparently having her fill of his scent, for the time being, Lili eventually released her vice-like grip and dropped from his body and asked, "I heard from Naaza you were doing research that she was able to help with? Is there something I can do as well...?" Lili had always been a bit of a clingy girl, but there was a subtle change in her disposition ever since the hunt with Fenrir in the past. She was now clingy for a slightly different reason and had calmed down a lotpared to how she had behaved in the past. The constant support of girls like Mn, Tsubaki, Chloe, Hestia, and Lunoire had been whittling away at her mental defenses and she was bing happier at a noticeable rate. Vahn picked Lili up and carried her over to where Naaza was working before sitting her down on the table as the small Pallum blushed slightly after having been unexpectedly handled by Vahn. Pinching her nose, Vahn smiled before pulling out his own research notes and a few different containers filled with his blood, exining for the benefit of the three girls, "Ive been trying to use this blood as a catalyst to contain mana. It has the properties of being a powerful conduit as well, but it cant be exposed to the air for very long before it breaks down into partictes...here, these are some of the methods Ive been working on." Vahn showed off the diagrams to the three girls, including Preasia who wasnt really at the level where she would be able to provide assistance. Naaza was very interested in the doc.u.ments and gleaned over them before asking, "What kind of blood is this? You only have it listed as sample...ah, is it a secret?" Vahn nodded his head and exined, "Its something only Im able to get ess to as a result of my pseudo-divinities. It doesnt exist anywhere else in the world, so Ive been having to research it from scratch. Hephaestus and Tsubaki have helped out a bit since it has very useful properties for forging, but I expect it would also be very useful for other things once I have a better understanding of it." Naaza nodded her head, not that surprised by the fact Vahn was able to have ess to something like these blood samples. After all, he was able to materializeplex objects, equipment, and even rare materials out of thin air. Most of the seeds she had nted in her garden were obtained from him, including many that were incredibly difficult to acquire. Lili had also been looking through one of Vahns journals and noticed it detailed the essories he had sessfully crafted for everyone that used magic. Even she had a small anklet Vahn had forged for her in the past and now knew what gave it the property of storing mana. The fact that a hair-thin band of crystallized blood was able to store arge portion of her reserves made Lili realize that the gems Vahn was trying to make would be at the level of a national treasure. What she couldnt really understand was why he was trying to make them into gems instead of simply creating channels in equipment to store the blood... After considering the matter for several minutes, Lili eventually showed a small frown and asked, "Vahn, is there even a need to make a gem that can be exposed to the air like what you describe in your notes? Why not just create sealed containers and fill them with the blood, or carve channels into equipment directly? Are you just trying...ah, I get it~!" Lili realized that Vahn was probably trying to make them essories that looked nice and were more functional. She still thought it was more practical to forge equipment, but there were few girls that would refuse beautiful jewelry and essories. They were easy to wear in casual clothing, meaning she could always be better prepared even when they go on dates and stuff... Vahn wasnt quite sure what Lili had understood but he nodded his head and exined, "I actually came up with the idea of hollowing out other gemstones to fill them with the blood before embedding them into nes. Ive been trying toe up with a way to create items that function the same as your [Nezha Ladys Togi] so everyone wont have to worry about their equipment getting damaged." Lilis eyes opened wide like she just had an epiphany and realized why Vahn would need to make such high-quality gems. She was very fond of the top Vahn had given to her and often wore it along with other pieces of clothing she had picked out to enhance the look. If she could have even more items like that, it would be very convenient for when she uses her [Cinder*E]... For the better part of three hours, Vahn sat around with Naaza, Lili, and Preasia as they talked about potential solutions and other practical uses for the blood other than simply putting it away inside gemstones and equipment. Naaza asked for the right to study it to see if it had any practical uses in [Mixing], which Vahn agreed with as long as she never tried to test the efficacy of her potions on other people without first consulting him. As it was an important secret, she also couldnt consult Miach, or anyone else outside of Hephaestus, Tsubaki, Chloe, Lili, Preasia, and himself. To make sure there wouldnt be any idents, Vahn would also be spending time working in her Atelier alongside her as hepleted his own research. He also agreed to help Preasia memorize all the medical texts she had been studying and help watch over her progress in [Mixing] when Chloe and Naaza were busy. Naaza was happy for the opportunity to spend more time with Vahn because it would likely take several weeks, or potentially even months, before they made any real headway on the subject. Imagining spending several hours a day with Vahn made her tail wag about even though her softly smiling expression didnt change much. She was the type that didnt show too many emotions on her face, but it was very easy to see when she was happy since she always looked very gentle with her eyes drooping slightly at the sides. As for Lili and Preasia, they already spent a decent amount of time inside the Atelier so they were also very pleased by the sudden development since it would allow them to get closer with Vahn. Lili may have been progressing a lot from Vahns perspective, but she herself knew it was very difficult for her at times. One of the reasons she kept busy was so that she wouldnt give in to her urge to follow Vahn around, as bing an inconvenience to him was her greatest fear. She had long epted what she was getting herself into by wanting to be together with him, but it didnt make it much easier to simply watch him getting along with other girls. Lili wanted him to pamper her more often and even tried transforming into things that might interest him just to get him to pet her. She had made big improvements, mainly by bing friends and talking with the other girls, but her desire to be with him hadnt faded at all. Every evening, just before she turned out the lights and went to bed, she would faithfully cross off another day on her calendar as she counted down to her birthday... Since he was supposed to be rxing and doing as he pleased, Vahn didnt mind pampering the girls a little since Naaza usually kept to herself while Lili and Preasia were simply too adorable to overlook. It took a bit of coaxing, but Vahn ended up getting Naaza to let him pet her after spoiling Lili in hisp for a few minutes. Though she would normally avoid showing affection in front of others, Naaza had always made an exception around Lili. As for Preasia, they had grown a lot closer over thest few months and Naaza felt like she wouldnt try to embarrass or tease her if she did something silly. Thus, Naaza and Preasia ended up on his nks while Lili firmly rooted herself to hisp. Perhaps she felt the need topete against Naaza and Preasia, but Lili ended up transforming into her pseudo-Bih form because she knew Vahn thought it was very cute. Though he would have normally gone off to see what other girls were up to, as it was bad to spend too much time in one ce, Vahn gave into his urges a bit and decided to spend the rest of the afternoon with the three adorable girls. Lili was being a little mischevious after being riled up, but she was very cute in her Bih form and it actually matched very well with her [Nezha Ladys Togi] after she changed into it. Her exposed navel and thepact muscles of her body gave her a unique charm while Naazas gentle bashfulness was very refreshing. Preasia didnt really talk much, but Vahn could tell she was enjoying their time together based on her close proximity and the stability of her aura. Naaza ended up using his thighs as ap pillow at one point andzily said, "We didnt aplish very much today...hafuuu..." Vahnughed and continued to scratch her floppy little Chientrhope ears as he said, "Its good to rx more on the weekends. Besides, I feel like I never get to spend that much time with you so this is a rare chance that I want to take advantage of..." Naaza had her feet up on the sofa with her knees bent, scrunching up her body in embarrassment at Vahns words. It was very embarrassing, but Naaza couldnt muster up the resolve to extricate herself from Vahns very pleasant hands. Vahn smiled at Naazas reaction while also stroking the scruff around the side of Lilis hair as she leaned against his body from the left with her eyes partially closed. As for Preasia, she took up the somewhat strange position of hugging him from behind and resting her forehead against him since turning her head to the side would poke him with her horns. They had been rotating around at uneven intervals as Vahn took turns petting them while they made small talk about what other things they had been working on. While stroking Naazas ears, Vahn learned that she could nearly make Mid-Grade Potions with perfect uracy while her progress into Low-Grade Elixirs and High-Grade Potions had reached around 15%. This more than qualified her as a capable Apothecary, which was the official job title of those that created and sold potions and medicine, but Naaza was still unsatisfied. She wanted to learn the [Alchemy] Development Ability in the future so Vahn promised to help her while organizing a few books in his mind. He had all kinds of texts on chemistry, medicines, and even basic alchemy, but this was all information from other records and he would have to figure out what applied to this world before he set her on a tangential path... When he had been rubbing Lilis belly, which always made Vahn feel awkward at first because of how small she was, Vahn learned that she had been training with Tiona and Lunoire more often while trying to learn suitable closebat techniques. With her [As] awakening, Lilis Power had be monstrous and she could almost emte the same feats as someone like Tiona, assuming thetter didnt go all out with her skills and abilities. The major downside to this was that it actually drained Lilis stamina and mana very quickly if she exerted herself a lot. As a result, she continued to polish her mobility and omnidirectional fighting style so she could create better opportunities to use her powerful physical strength. Lastly, while he was fluffing Preasias very soft fur, Vahn heard about her various different studies, including basic biology, first aid treatment, and mixing medicines. She was still an amateur in each category, but Preasia had been working hard with Lili acting as her personal tutor. Chloe and Naaza also looked over her [Mixing] studies, but she was having a bit of trouble because she apparently wasnt able to focus her mind easily. She often entered a daze at times and, though she didnt say why, he understood it was likely rted to her trauma and the insecurities she had developed as a result. He promised to help her study a bit over the next few weeks and, when she had met the qualifications for obtaining the [Mixing] Development Ability, he would personally take her into the Dungeon to reach Level 2. One other thing he noticed, which Preasia seemed to be trying to keep a secret by wearing a sweater and pajama-like pants, was that the fur on her arms and legs had be a little thicker and there was a very dense, but also short,yer of fur that had reached down to her wrists. Vahn was certain this was a result of her [Golden Fleece] Innate, but he wasnt sure how it would look when it fully manifested. Right now, it simply made Preasia look more adorable and the shorts furs were actually very soft to the touch meaning she would probably be even softer in the future. He alreadypared her to Hestia, but this could change in the future depending on how things progressed. Right now, Hestia was in the lead by a fair amount because she was almost inexplicably soft, but Preasia might be a strong contender if she fully awakened her Innate and developed it... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dont bite the hand that feeds,Look at her, Nanus the Alpha now,Getting to know the girls better through skinship~) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 571 - Bloody Research...?

Chapter 571 - Bloody Research...?

Starting the following day, other than the mornings which he spent training Tina and Shizune in the Dungeon, Vahn threw himself fully into his research. His blood was something that followed him between every record so there was no harm in researching it to unlock the many secrets Vahn suspected it contained. Even Sis didnt know what the (sealed) part in his race meant and Vahn was beginning to believe it was rted to the fact his body wasprised of source energy now. He could freely change his first race, which is how he appeared to others, but the secondary (sealed) never changed. His first experiment was the one he believed had the highest chance of sess so Vahn forged a variety of amulets, medallions, and even a few items like chokers, tiaras, and a belt buckle. They each had slots where he could seat gemstonester so Vahn began coring out a variety of different precious stones. As they were the most readily avable, and the most cost-effective for OP conversion, Vahn acquired a diamond, ruby, emerald, sapphire, amethyst, peridot, and topaz. As for the rarer materials, Vahn picked out a high-grade monster core, a Fire Wyverns magic core, and a very rare gem called a Vouivres Tear. He knew it was an item that only dropped from the rare female dragonoids called Vouivre, one of which Vahn expected he would have a rtionship with in the future given that one of his daughters had simr features. Holding up the beautiful red gemstone, Vahn could feel powerful energy emanating from it and, when he activated his [Eyes of Truth], it was very obviously not a normal gem. It had hair-thin lines permeating throughout the interior and Vahn very quickly realized he wouldnt be able to core it out for his purposes. It would be an incredible waste to destroy theplex internal structure so he safely kept it in his inventory for the time being. If possible, he would like to make it into a pendant in the future, or perhaps used it as a charm for when he meets a Xenos. The Fire Wyverns magic core was very simr, having aplex internal structure, but Vahn felt less awed by it considering he had looted a few during his short stint on the 58th Floor. If necessary, he could always obtain several more when he next delves into the Deep Floors. It probably wouldnt be any time soon, as he needed to make preparations for the Supply Depot on the 39th Floor, but it wouldnt be that far away either. However, Vahn decided to set it aside for now since he wanted to experiment with lower quality materials first. Right now, he was just inspecting them to test their viability before starting the process. High-Grade monster cores had arge number of impurities contained within them and, even though the energy they could contain was very high, the actual durability of the gem left something to be desired. It was a little strange that the vital point of many powerful monsters was a simple monster core that could easily be damaged by a low-grade dagger if struck directly. Vahn was, however, able to glean a few insights from the monster cores internal structure since the way it was inteyered was simr to how Hephaestus forged some of her metals. He was far from the point where he could shape the basic structure of metal with his energy, but having a few points of reference would always be helpful. The normal gems were a bit of a disappointment because Vahn realized the only difference between them were a few impurities that were intermixed with the molecr structure. Diamonds were very hard, but they seemed to bleed energy instead of containing it properly. As for rubies, they had a strange affinity with fire that Vahn couldnt quite understand, but they also failed to properly store energy. It was a simr case for all the other gemstones, with the only exception being that they had slightly different affinities. Sapphires were a good catalyst for water and ice while emeralds had a slight affinity with the elements of wind and thunder. Topaz was a strong catalyst for natural energy and earth elemental energy with amethyst and peridot having affinities with darkness and light respectively. With his other options sorted through, Vahn showed aplex expression before removing one of the Treasure Magic Stones from his inventory. It was the same as the ones affixed to Riverias staff and they were one of the most highly sought after gems for creating magical staves. Vahn inspected the transparent blue crystal with his [Eyes of Truth] and noticed that they actually had naturally urring magic circles invisiblyyered within the interior. This was a major discovery because Vahn hadnt even considered trying to create a formation within a crystal previously. His eyes glowed brightly, and not just because he still had his [Eyes of Truth] active. After copying the strange magic circles into a journal, Vahn thenpared it to other Treasure Magic Stones, noting that they were very simr in structure with only a few slight variations. Vahn could read what the magic circles were supposed to do and easily understood why they were such prized items by mages. The basic structure greatly enhanced the power of magic spells while the rest of the formation essentially helped trante chants into the proper structure for creating a magic circle. This meant that any staff or wand using a Treasure Magic Stone also enhanced the casters ability to control their magic while reducing the chance of failure. Vahn had eventually shared this discovery with Riveria who had been very interested because it had never been truly understood why Treasure Magic Stones were such valuable gems. It was very strange that they grew on trees that could only be found within the Dungeon and, even goddesses like Hephaestus with her godly eyes couldnt see the invisible magic formations contained within. Even without being able to peer through the secret, Hephaestus was still able to determine how the gem worked simply based on instinct, however, so it had never been a pertinent issue the few times she created staves. Deciding it would be a waste to use the Treasure Magic Stones, Vahn ended up back with the original useless gems like diamonds. Now that he had the idea of creating formations within the gemstones, Vahn theorized he could convert the useless gems into very powerful magical catalysts by altering their internal structure with his Oblivion skill. It was a bit of a tangent that wouldnt allow him to make progress on the Blood Gems, but Vahn simply had to test his theory before moving on. It took a bit of painstaking effort, to the point he spent nearly an entire weekend in his workshop, but he managed to finish creating an incredibly small formation out of pure Orichalc.u.m within arge diamond. He was forced to rest by the girls after it was finished, but Vahn was able to confirm that the diamond could now contain a fair amount of mana even without him using his blood. With this new discovery, Vahn had Fenrir and Terra help him out a bit by allowing him to inspect their pendants closely with his [Eyes of Truth]. The [Nezha Ladys Togi] took the form of an amulet with a seal carved into it, but Vahn was able to see it had a far moreplex internal structure than he had imagined. As for therge ruby-like gemstone on Terras pendant, it had a magic circle unlike anything Vahn had ever seen and, instead of inteyered circles and runes, it was very rigid and angr instead. From this observation, Vahn realized there were numerous intricacies rted to the internal structure of gemstones that he had never taken into consideration previously. One of these intricacies, which Vahn considered was very important, was the fact that there was a formation of pure source energy within Fenriss and Terras pendants but, when he checked Lilis, it was the same color as her pure-earth elemental energy... This realization allowed Vahn to understand that soulbound items, at least those that could be stored away in gemstones, needed a supporting structure in the gemstone itself. Though the equipment was linked with the soul, it wasnt stored within it like Vahns [Enkidu]. Thetter was a Tier 5 piece of equipment, so Vahn suspected he would find instances that contradicted his current findings depending on the records he visited. For everything Tier 4 and lower, however, Vahn was confident he had started on the path towards making his own gems that could be soulbound to store equipment in the future... Vahn had continued this research for more than two weeks and was no closer to finding a gemstone that could properly store his blood since it couldnt contain his source energy for long periods of time. He had even tried purchasing another [Nezha Ladys Togi] from the shop to steal the gem from the pendant but, the moment he managed to free it, the entire thing crumbled into dust as the internal structure immediately copsed. During moments like that, Vahn would take a break and foundfort in helping Naaza with her [Mixing] research while watching over Preasias studies. Other than Preasia, who stayed behind in the Manor and sometimes lingered around his workshop, Naaza, Lili, and Chloe often ventured into the Dungeon in the mornings and would stay inside until the early afternoon. This meant Vahn only spent a few hours inside the Atelier each day and had split the rest of his time between interacting with the other girls in the Manor and focusing on his own research. As for Naazas, Vahn had been surprised with how much progress she had made since they first met and it was very obvious she worked hard. He still couldnt mix anything on his own, as his source energy was simply too powerful for the materials to contain, but he was able to help modify Naazas notes to eliminate some of the problems he found. Naaza was often very impressed by his insight, but Vahn knew that it was primarily a result of having a near-perfect memory with The Path while Sis was the one that made many of the actual insights. She could cross-reference the information in his mind and Vahn had even given her the right to purchase items she thought were beneficial as long as it didnt cost too much OP. As a result, Sis had slowly beenpiling a vast amount of knowledge and information rted to the Danmachi record within his mind and had eliminated many of the problems simply byparing notes. Vahn couldnt really talk about Sis, as she was an integral part of The Path and his secrets, so he apologized to her whenever Naaza praised his work. Though it wasnt arge amount in the grand scheme of things, Naaza had been able to push her efficacy rate to around 19% for Low-Grade Elixers and managed to reach as much as 30% for High-Grade Potions. She even mustered up a bit of courage to try and make a Low-Grade Mana Potion, but was unable to have a single sess unless Vahn was there to assist her. It made her feel a bit of pressure since she truly believed Vahn was the more capable person when it came to [Mixing], but Naaza neverined. Whenever she did well, Vahn would always praise her and, though it was very embarrassing, she enjoyed his words and the petting that typically followed them... --- Vahn found himself sitting with Fenrir in hisp at the dinner table while Hestia, Hephaestus, Loki, and Anubis were discussing the matters regarding the uing Denatus. They would be leaving tomorrow and were currently getting everyones input regarding the alias ideas they were intended to go with. Vahn had already heard many of the suggestions previously, but this was the first time most of the girls were hearing the names that had been decided for them. Fenrir waspletely fine with Vanargand, since it was almost the same as her race, Vanargandr. She simply chewed away at the link of [Enkidu] Vahn had let out for her and watched the scene y out at the table with unblinking eyes with a glint of humor contained within. Though it wasnt guaranteed, there was a high chance the aliases would be approved since the support for the Alliance had greatly increased since the previous Denatus. When it became public knowledge how quickly the members within the Hestia Familia had increased in Level, it would also give them a lot of leverage to pick and choose aliases as it was very evident each person had worked hard. Lilis Super Supporter was either going to end up as As or, if that was too contentious within the godlymunity, One Punch Pallum. It was a bit of a silly name, but it was also somewhat fierce while getting the point across that Lili wasnt to be taken lightly. Vahn had wanted to make ament that it may be misconstrued as her being defeated in one punch, but Lili seemed to like it and he didnt want to hurt her feelings... Lefiyas current alias was Thousand Elf, as a result of her [Elf Ring] ability, but it would likely be changed to reflect her new fighting style and her magical prowess. Loki proposed the idea of calling Lefiya Blooming Beauty, since she currently used a staff that looked like a blooming tulip, but Tiona chimed in and said it should be closer to something like Elven Bombardment since Lefiya literally spammedser-light magic spells. However, Lefiya surprised everyone when she gave her own opinion on the matter and wanted to be called the Sages Apprentice since she wanted to be officially recognized as Vahns apprentice. This caused a bit of tension with Lili and Haruhime, but it didntst long when it was mentioned that they already had aliases selected. Haruhime would likely be a very popr topic over the next few weeks, perhaps even longer, because it was essentially going to be revealed that she went from Level 1 to Level 3 between the time period of two sequential Denatus. Since her rare skill was called Inari, they would be pushing to get her that alias but, considering it may be denied when ounting for the existence of the real Inari, it would instead be Flower Dancer or Elegant Death depending on the reception of the godlymunity. Haruhime currently still used the [Sakura Blossom] as her primary weapon and she had drawn a lot of attention during the few instances she actually disyed her ability to other people... As for the other aliases there were being thrown around, it was decided that Mikotos would be either Flying Heavenly Sword or Godspeed Swordswoman since her capabilities had greatly increased since the previous Denatus. For both Tsubaki and Ais topliment her growth, it wasnt an exaggeration to say there was more than enough justification for such titles. Since the type of swordsmanship she used was actually called the Flying Heavenly Sword Technique, it would be a good way to spread awareness of the legacy and begin building up her reputation... Maemi and Emiru would be getting their first alias this time around and were adamant about getting Gemini as their shared alias while they didnt care much about their personal aliases. It wasnt that umon for small units, especially siblings, to have a shared alias so it would be easy to approve. Even Tiona and Tione were known as the Hiryute Sisters, even though their personal aliases were Amazoness and Jormungand respectively. As for the girls that originated from the Hostess of Fertility, they were going to be Cheshire Cat, Hidden Spear, and Smiling Brawler. Chloe didnt mind Cheshire Cat at all and actually thought it suited her well while Arnya was simply happy to not have her old alias any longer. As for Lunoire, she didnt really mind too much since she never had an official alias and her bounty hunter nickname had been ck Fist, which had been kind of annoying... Thest person to be discussed, other than Vahn, who would obviously be called as Sage Aldrnari still, was Terra. One of the points they intended to press was the idea that some monsters should be recognized as sentient creatures of the surface. It was generally believed that monsters didnt possess a soul, which was true in the vast majority of cases, but there were a few obvious exceptions and it wasnt right to treat such entities in the same vein as monsters. Fenrir was well-known to be one of Vahns tamed monsters, but it had never been announced that she actually had a Falna, something that should have been impossible. Both she and Terra would be advocated for during the Denatus because Vahn truly wanted to change the perception of people in order to enable the Xenos to live amongst the surface-dwellers in the future... As for the alias that had been decided for Terra, they were simply going to push for True Dragon or Nature Dragon, as they were the most suitable considering the circ.u.mstances. Terra herself didnt seem to care too much, though she did mention a name that showed her rtionship with Vahn would be preferable. She didnt vocalize it, but the alias Vanargand that Fenrir would be receiving sounded very nice to her since it was very simr to their Masters name. Being called True Dragon or Nature Dragon didnt seem that bad though, so she didnt harp over the matter too much. How other people referred to her wasnt important at all and she only cared about studying and spending time with her Master. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tears of Blood...,Diamonds Are For-Fodder,Name Calling) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 572 - Relaxation, Fate, and...Luck?

Chapter 572 - Rxation, Fate, and...Luck?

Vahn awoke to find himself nestled against Hephaestus chest and spent several long minutes enjoying the heat of her embrace. She had the highest body temperature of all the other girls and Vahn often found himself falling asleep in her arms whenever they finished making love. It was like being stuck in an incubator for the soul and Vahn could feel warmth flowing through his heart while the cool air of the manor was kept at bay by theirbined body temperatures. Hugging her tightly in return, Vahn stirred Hephaestus awake by nuzzling further into her cleavage until she eventually said, "Mouu...Vahn, you shouldnt be so eager so early in the morning..." As if she didnt consider her own words, Hephaestus lifted up Vahns face and began kissing him, causing the temperature in the room to increase by several degrees before they finally separated their lips. For a few minutes thereafter, Vahn and Hephaestus snuggled up and discussed what Vahn would be up to for the three days of the Denatus. Other than continuing his research, Vahn didnt really have any other ns though that would likely change depending on the decisions of others. He had been using up a bit of his time to maintainmunications with his own privatework and it was likely they would do a small get-together since most people didnt enter the Dungeon when their gods were away at the Denatus. There was always a chance that a major event could transpire that would require a Familia to mobilize its forces on a moments notice. While he was exining his thoughts, Hephaestus justid in silence while fiddling with Vahns somewhat thick dark-brown hair. Vahn himself was currentlyying closer to her belly than he was toward her head and it made Hephaestus feel a bit absentminded watching him affectionally stroke her pregnant stomach. They had already discussed naming their daughters Ina and Vana, just as they had been named in the Divination, so Vahn would often speak to them in an encouraging manner. ording to him, children were receptive to positive and negative emotions even in the w.o.m.b so he often spent his rxation time coaxing his future children while pampering their mothers. It was still a bit early to consider the direction of their daughters future, but Hephaestus couldnt help but think about it on asion since she just crested the halfway point of a normal pregnancy. After ruminating over it quietly for a while, she ended up interrupting Vahns train of thought by asking, "Vahn, do you think our daughters will be cksmiths just like me? I remember you saying they obtain the Divinities of their parents...so that means they should obtain something from you, right?" Though he became silent for a short while, Vahn continued to stroke Hephaestus belly in a circle before saying, "I think there is a good chance your Divinities may be split between them because of the influence of the eternal me...I dont think theyll obtain anything from me, other than a mutation in their soul that gives them greater potential..." Hephaestus had Divinities rted to Fire, Forging, and Craftsmanship, making her not only the greatest cksmith amongst the gods, but also one of the greatest Artificers and Architects. She didnt have a Divinity rted to Architecture like Hestia, but Hephaestus could design entire buildings withplex mechanisms, hidden passageways, and other incredible features. Vahn suspected that one of their daughters would inherit her Divinity rted to Fire while the other would likely obtain Forging or Craftsmanship. Though it was subtle, at least for the time being, Vahn could already see a small glowing me in the heart of one of their daughters and believed his intuition was correct. After exining his posttion to Hephaestus, she had a thoughtful expression on her face for a while before saying, "I think our daughter with the eternal me should be Ina, since I want her to be pure and passionate like a me...Vana already means creation in the ancientnguage, so that is probably why we named our daughter as Vana within the Divination...hmmm..." Vahn nodded his head gently and said, "I believe they will both be incredible girls, just like their mother..." Hephaestusughed softly for several seconds before she added, "Their father is also quite incredible...ufufufu~." --- A few hourster, after enjoying a long breakfast where they discussed the Denatus once again, Vahn saw off Hephaestus, Hestia, Loki, and Anubis at the front courtyard, having Fafnir escort them to Babel Tower so they could arrive with a bit of ir. His conversation during the morning with Hephaestus had triggered Vahn to have a very pleasant and thoughtful mood so he began thinking about the future instead of immediately going back to his research. Since they would be taking the next few days off while waiting for the Denatus toe to an end, Vahn had a good opportunity to just rx with the girls for a bit. He had used up his previous weekend bypletely immersing himself in his work so it wasnt a bad idea to take a short break. Deciding it would be fun to spend a bit of time with the mothers of his future children, Vahn made his way through the East Wing and passed by his own workshop on the way to meet up with Tsubaki. She was almost at the point where she would be taking a break from cksmithing so she didnt endanger their child so Vahn could usually find her drawing up drafts and preparing materials for future projects instead of actually forging. As expected, he found her sitting at a long wooden table that was covered in various diagrams but, instead of drawing up new designs, she was actually just reading through one of themunication logbooks before noticing his presence. Snapping the book shut, Tsubaki smiled and asked, "What brings you to my workshop so early in the morning, Vahn?" Without any hesitation, Vahn had already been walking over to Tsubakis side to help her stand up as he exined, "I was in the mood to spend time with all the pregnant women and thought visiting you first would be a good idea..." Tsubaki began tough in a teasing manner, but she couldnt hide the mellow pinks and the warm yellows in her aura that showed she was pleased by his words. After he led her over to the sofa and helped her sit down, Tsubaki asked, "Are you going to talk to our daughter again~?" Vahn nodded with a soft expression on his face as he stroked her belly and said, "Our little Sakuya..." Tsubaki took a deep breath when she heard Vahn call their daughter by name before giving up her act and just leaning against his shoulder. It wasnt the first time he had referred to their daughter as Sakuya and it always made Tsubaki feel a little mncholic, even though there was a great deal of warmth that spread from her heart. After spending several minutes in silence, Tsubaki ced her hand overtop Vahns and muttered, "When our daughter is born...there is a ce I want you to visit with me, okay?" Vahn squinted his eyes slightly because he understood that Tsubaki likely wanted to visit the graves of her mother and former lover. Thinking it would be a good form of closure for her, Vahn nodded his head and said, "I understand..." in what he hoped would be aforting tone... After a little more than an hour, Tsubaki ended up kicking Vahn out of her workshop because she was beginning to get a little sleepy just snuggling up with him for so long. She knew he cheated a bit by using his [Hands of Nirvana] with his domain and it always made her feel veryfortable. However, this also made her feel a little embarrassed at times because she would remember that Vahn is just a fifteen-year-old boy. She almost felt like a cradle robber at times and couldnt tolerate very long periods of silence alone with him since she would often think about matters that should just be left to rest. Just imagining the look her mother and Jonas would give her made Tsubaki feel a little anxious... Continuing onward, Vahn made his way toward theundry room of the first floor since he could sense his next target was there. Entering into the rather humid room, Vahn looked around and saw Mn, Maemi, Emiru, and, his current target, Aki, all busily working away to clean the mountain of clothes left behind by the other residents of the Manor. Vahn had madeundry a lot easier by giving them a specialized detergent obtained from the shop, but it still took a bit of effort since there were more than twenty people living within the Manor, the majority of which were Adventurers that often got very dirty. Feeling a bit guilty, Vahn changed up his ns a bit and walked over to help out since his cleaning magic was very helpful for getting out most stains. He once tried to use his water elemental control to create a vortex to expedite the process a bit, but he was lectured after the fact because such methods would damage the fabrics, especially for undergarments. As every girl present was either a Cat Person, or the derivative of Cat People, Snow Leopards, they had all noticed his presence the moment he entered even though the smell of detergent was quite pungent. Maemi and Emiru became on alert with small frowning faces as they said, "Master, you shouldnt be in here..." in concert with each other. For reasons he would never understand, Maemi and Emiru took pride in doing things like chores and cleaning and, since they recognized him as their Master, they didnt like to see him cleaning unless it was a mess he had made. Vahn gave them a wry smile and exined, "I wanted to steal away Aki for a bit, so Ill help out for a short while to make up for her absence..." A strange phenomenon happened that made Vahn want to smile since he watched as all four girls tails flickered at the same time. Before Maemi and Emiru could refute his words, Mnughed and said, "Just let Vahn do as he pleases...are you two going to tell your Master what he can and cant do~?" The twins heads snapped towards Mn with wide-eyed expressions as they said, "We would never do such a thing!" Vahn thought their reactions were adorable, but he also almostmented that they often told him not to do certain things. As for Aki, her tail was curled up in an S-shape as she asked in a polite tone, "Did you need me for something specific, Vahn, or did you just want to spend time together~?" Once again, with the exclusion of Aki herself, the tails of each girl flickered and Vahn felt like he had wandered into a strange dimension where everything was intent on making his heart explode with how adorable they were behaving. Without glossing over his words, Vahn nodded his head and exined, "I just felt like spending time with you for a little while..." This time, Akis tail flicked several times as a smile bloomed on her face and she said, "Give me a hand with this load ofundry and then well go off~nyufufu." Vahn had already started walking over under the watchful eyes of Maemi and Emiru, who he sent a small wink to that made the two girls blush slightly. Maemi and Emiru had been looking forward to the day they were scheduled to sleep in the same room as Vahn, which was only three days away at this point. Though it wasnt a guarantee, there was a fair chance they would have the opportunity to give their v.i.r.g.i.nities to him and it had been on their mind a lottely. Seeing him wink reminded them of theing day so they turned away and began scrubbing away at theundry to calm down. They had been a little bit envious of the fact that Aki was going to get to spend time with Vahn, but that had long faded as pink thoughts began to fill their minds. Vahn noticed the change in the twins auras and was a bit at a loss before standing near Aki and grabbing the first bit ofundry nearby. A glint passed through his eyes as he noticed the garment he had grabbed was a small pair of simple panties. Aki looked over before snatching them away and saying, "You can leave the undergarments to me, Vahn..." Vahn mechanically nodded his head and started paying attention to what he was doing so as not to embarrass himself further. However, he couldnt stop his mind from wandering as he imagined who the owner of the garments was. With their size, it was either Lili, Shizune, or, as often seemed to be the case these days, Tina... During their recent stints into the Dungeon, Vahn had updated Tinas Status Board and found a new change that he hadnt quite expected to see. His memories of the original manga came to mind as images of Bell always identally stumbling into areas where he could view girls n.a.k.e.d. He also seemed to be able to get away with bumping into them at times and had even managed to get Ryuus affection by grabbing her hand when she and Syr were returning from shopping. Some people might never wander into an area where girls were bathing even once, yet Bell had managed to walk in on girls several times, including those that had very developed senses...all because of his inordinately high luck... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Tina Yuel Race: Cat Person LV. 1 POW: H128->F319 END: H157->F380 DEX: H135->F323 AGI: H140->F340 MAG: I11->I70 Skill: [Eclipse: Innate(sealed)], [Shield Bash:I->H], [Counter:I](new) Magic: - Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:(sealed)], [Luck:(sealed)](new) [Shield Bash] Rank: H Use: Attacks with shields have a chance to stun enemies based. (Active Trigger) [Counter] Rank: I Use: Enhances the efficacy of attacks immediately after receiving a blow. (Active Trigger) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was a little difficult toprehend, but Vahn suspected that everything that had been happening around Tinately was rted to her sealed [Luck] Development Ability. Currently, there were absolutely no records for such a Development Ability, even amongst the extensive doc.u.ments kept by the Guild for nearly a thousand years. The biggest reason for this, as spected by Vahn and Sis, was because it could only be obtained between Levels 1 and 2, and only if the person had several fortunate encounters that defiedmon reasoning. Though it seemed to be more of a misfortune than anything, Tina often found herself in situations where she would have idents, almost all rted to Vahn. Though it was a bit of an extreme example, it could have started from the very first time they met and he walked into the Hearths Embrace Inn. Tina had been one of the first people he ever truly encountered while being the absolute first Beast Human he met and interacted with. He had been a little weird at the time, but she was still able to make an impression on him with her adorable behavior. After that, there were several instances where they were able to be somewhat closer, many of which were the result of happenstance... Considerably more extreme was the matter rted to the kidnapping since, even though she had suffered severe trauma, Tina herself hade out rtively unscathed and was even able to break free from her fate as a simple Inn Matrons Daughter. Vahn became the hero she needed during her crisis, one which would have imed the lives of almost anyone else, and was able to get closer to the girls at the Hostess of Fertility while even obtaining a True Dragon as her little brother and guardian. After that, several other small incidents took ce until she eventually found herself living with the Hearth Manor itself, getting even closer to Vahn because of other random happenings, such as when he was testing his [Thria*Mimos] and transformed into a Cat Person. The absolutely most extreme example was the fact that Vahn was able to experience the Divination, effectively changing Tinas fate once again and enabling her to step onto a path where she was almost guaranteed to end up with him. In the Divination, things had obviously not worked out well for her and now things had changedpletely, enabling her to get stronger while also being protected by pretty much everyone else in the residence, Vahn included. After that, several smaller incidents had been taking ce that had been very taxing for the young cat girl. She got Vahn to pamper her a bit when they started venturing into the Dungeon...there was the incident where he got absentminded during his massage...the fact she had won coveted prizes during the hide and seek game...and how she had identally plopped down on his tail in the bath... More recently, there had even been instances where she slipped, only to have Vahn catch her before she actually fell down. During one such instance, she had tried to catch herself at thest moment only to catch him off guard when she turned her body, resulting in Vahn grabbing her minuscule b.r.e.a.s.ts that had just started to bud. Each time something like this would happen, Tina would blush deeply or end up running away, further emphasizing to Vahn that she was somewhat like Bell, as the young protagonist often behaved very strangely to avoid embarrassing situations. Now, there was another incident Vahn could rte to Tinas luck since, even though there were dozens of different garments he could have grabbed, he just happened to grab a pair of her panties... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Pet the belly...,Tina is the MC,Vahn can even see molecules, but he cant avoid grabbing a pair of pantsu...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 573 - Two Tails, Six Pointy Ears

Chapter 573 - Two Tails, Six Pointy Ears

After spending a bit of time washingundry, Vahn and Aki ended up leaving behind the room, but not before Vahn aired it out with his domain so it would be easier on the other girls noses. As for Aki, she held onto his arm with a pleasant and gentle smile on her face as he led her toward a study where they could get some fresh air and rx. Though her physical appearance hadnt changed that much, Akis disposition had undergone great changes since she first arrived at the Hearth Manor. She wasnt actively going into the Dungeon anymore so, instead of the Adventurer attire she used to wear, Aki now wore a simple ck dress with a white smock loosely hanging around her shoulders. The maternity band he had given her couldnt be seen, but Vahn knew she was wearing it under her clothes along with a pair of dark grey, almost ck, spats-like shorts. Since she didnt leave much recently, Aki always walked around in white socks while keeping a pair offortable boots at both the front and back entrance of the Manor. She also didnt put that much effort into keeping her medium-length hair neat and proper, instead, allowing it to curve slightly at the ends as it slowly increased in length. Overall, she looked far more motherly than the mature young beauty she had been previously...less like a secretary and more like an expectant mother that was enjoying life. This change had been even more apparent after her parting with Raul and, though he wasnt aware of it himself, her decision to love Vahn better after hearing him confess his troubles during the hypnosis. Once they reached their destination, Vahn picked at single-person chair instead of arger sofa because he wanted Aki to sit in hisp so he could hold her from behind. She understood his intentions andughed in a gentle manner, saying, "You must be in a good mood today~nya?" Vahn was always far more affectionate when he was happy because he wanted to share his happiness with others. They had all been receiving lessons for thest three weeks about what to pay attention to when they were around Vahn, as it took the effort of almost everyone to make sure he didnt push himself too hard. Her role was one of the more important ones since it was very apparent that mothers had a very special meaning to Vahn. They all pampered him more than the other girls and spoiled him a bit by allowing him to be clingy at times. When Aki gingerly sat down on hisp, Vahn noticed that her butt had be a little softer while the rest of her body had put on a bit of weight as a result of her pregnancy. Even her b.r.e.a.s.ts, which were somewhat modest previously, had started to swell up a bit and she oftenined about how tender they had be at times. Reaching his hands around her waist, Vahn ced both palms on her belly as she rxed her body against his. He was tempted to nibble on her ear, as it was right in front of his mouth, but instead just kissed the back of her head and muttered, "I love you, Aki..." Both of her ears flickered before she turned her head up at him with a gentle smile and said, "I know, Vahn...that is why I love you so much as well...nyufufu~." They didnt really have much to talk about so Vahn just spent the remaining time until lunch simply cradling Akis body in his arms. Though she had originally sat on hisp, Aki eventually pulled her legs up into the chair andid back using Vahns arm as a support as she curled up into a morefortable position. This allowed them to see each other better and always made Vahn feel happy because he liked having the adorable Cat Girls curl up in hisp since it felt like he could spoil and pamper them more easily. He even fed her a few of the foods she was craving since he could purchase pretty much anything she could think of through the system shop... Around lunchtime, Aki knew it was about time to bring things to an end so she sat up in Vahnsp, this time facing toward him, and hugged around his neck before kissing him deeply for a few minutes. Vahn ced his hands around her lower back and yfully thumbed the ribbon around her tail without doing anything too intense to trigger her. He had also been doing his best to try and act affectionally without trying to rile up the girls just because he wanted to see how they reacted. Vahn knew it made things difficult for them if he yed around too much and there was no way he could tease one of the pregnant girls without feeling very guilty about it. After their embrace came to an end, Vahn helped Aki stand since he was always worried that big movements would potentially harm their child. This didnt seem to be a big concern for many women in the record, but Vahn had read too many books about the potential dangers and was a bit paranoid about it. He didnt want to be the reason for a mishap and often scanned the bellies of the girls with his eyes to make sure there werent any problems. Thus far, everything had been going well and the only real concerns he had were rted to the Vanir that had yet to be born. Vahn didnt only check up on his women but had also met with Freya and Holda to make sure their pregnancies were progressing without issue. He was able to see that their pregnancies were actually rtively normalpared to those of Hephaestus and Loki, meaning they would give birth after nine months without any great variations. Freya seemed to have calmed down a lot after getting pregnant, but her presence still unnerved him a bit since he always got a dangerous feeling from her. As for Holda, Vahn got along with her and Chris very well, even extending an offer to Chris to visit his Clubhouse when he was free... Though the observation of other goddesses, Vahn knew the Vanir were truly unique existences and there was no way of knowing exactly how they would develop with time. He even spected that, by putting an inhibitor on them when they were young, the Vanir may age at a rtively normal rate, or even slower than normal. Since he didnt n on experimenting on his children, Vahn would likely never find out but he was still considering potential solutions for existences such as Leh. It would also allow him to get some insight into how Divinity could be developed over time since he already knew from the Divination that it was possible for their pseudo-divinities to mature into actual Divinities if they put in the effort to grow... Since he hadnt actually been that hungry, Vahn went to find the next girl he wanted to spend time with, assuming they could always eat together if the opportunity presented itself. Given the trend set by his next target, Vahn assumed she would actually be very hungry and he could probably catch her on her way to raid the pantry. As expected, which brought a big grin to his face, Vahn found a sleepy-looking Arnya walking through the Manor with a sickly expression on her face. On her days off, Arnya usually slept in because she still got a bad case of morning sicknesspared to all the other girls. Vahn knew it was a result of her diet and the increased hormonal levels in her body, but Arnya was adamant about eating very specific foods, iming that it would make their child healthier when it was born. Sensing his presence, Arnyas eyes widened before her expression turned from sickly into a more normal appearance with a sheepish grin. Vahn smiled and said, "Its toote, Ive already seen you, Arnya." In response, Arnya showed a somewhat bashful expression and allowed Vahn to pick her up and carry her off. This wasnt the first time he had intercepted her so she already knew better than to try and make an excuse. Much like Aki, Arnya had also changed how she saw Vahn after watching his confession nearly a month ago. She always believed he was a very powerful and mentally strong boy, but it turned out to be that he was actually struggling quite a bit just to make all of them happy. Since she was in one of the important positions around Vahn, Arnya decided to let her guard down around him and allowed him to take care of her while she did her best to ensure he was also happy... Vahn had Arnyay down using hisp as a pillow and pulled out a tray of grilled fish, a milk-like beverage that was high in protein, and several apricots, each food items he knew Arnya would want to eat. She tried to ensure a good bnce of vitamins but focused on foods that were high in Protein and Calcium. He picked up one of the strips of grilled fish with a handkerchief and handed it to Arnya so she could eat it herself while he peeled the apricots and removed their seeds. Arnya had a light blush on her face and epted the fish, saying, "Thank you, Vahnyaaa~." Vahn smiled and stroked Arnyas soft brown hair while gently poking at the thin white hairs inside her ears. He knew she was appealing to his sensibilities by acting cutely, but he wasnt going to stop her since it really did have an impact on his heart and mind. After petting her for a short while, Vahn handed her another fish before starting to peel the apricots for her consumption. While he was skillfully removing the skin, Vahn looked down at Arnyas belly and remarked, "Even though its been more than three months, you hardly look pregnantpared to the other girls..." Many of the girls were only a few weeks apart in their pregnancies, but Arnya only had a small bump in her stomach and Vahn could almost see the lines of her abs if she flexed her body. When she heard his words, Arnyas blush deepened a bit and she nibbled on the fish in her hands before saying, "I think its because of my metabolism and the foods I eat...there shouldnt be any problems with the baby though...nyan~." There could be very big differences between women during their pregnancies and Vahn had the unique opportunity to see several women pregnant all at the same time. He knew Arnya was correct since he had often checked up on their child to make sure it was developing properly. Right now, there was an incredibly small cat person curled up in the fetal position within her tummy that always made Vahn feel a strange urge to cry whenever heid eyes on it. He tried not to peek directly too often, but Vahn couldnt help himself when he was feeling worried. Because of this, he knew that Arnyas first child would also be a girl and she seemed to be full of vitality even though she hadnt developed that much just yet. When he had revealed this to Arnya in the past, she hade up with the name Alice, which Vahn agreed with almost immediately... Once he finished peeling the apricot, Vahn cut it in half and removed therge seed before taking half of it and holding it in front of Arnyas lips. She stared at it for a brief moment before going, "Nyaaahn~" and chomping down on it, getting a bit of saliva on his fingers in the process. Vahn smiled and waited for her to finish eating the first half before giving her the second piece and watching as she bashfully chewed it under his gaze. He knew she got a little embarrassed at moments like this, but it was moments like this that made Vahn feel much closer to Arnya. Though she never really verbalized it directly, Arnya felt much the same way and preferred her private time with Vahn a lot more than the events they had in the past. After more than an hour, Arnya had almost be beet red because Vahn had helped lift her body slightly before feeding her the milky protein supplement. She felt very fl.u.s.tered drinking the thick and creamy liquid and it didnt help at all seeing the gentle and smiling expression Vahn had on his face as he slowly tilted the cold ss bottle. It was infinitely more intimate and awkward to help someone drink than it was to simply feed them because there was no easy way to put an end to the moment. There was always a chance he would pull away too early, causing a bit of a mishap, or she would be unable to drink it fast enough and end up spilling the liquid around her lips. When Arnya finished drinking the entire bottle in one go, Vahn smiled and set the bottle off to the side before bending down and licking up the excess creme that was at the side of her mouth and upper lip. He knew not to push her too far, but Arnyas bashful appearance was very satisfying and Vahn knew she was just embarrassed and not really excited. With his ability to read auras, and his understanding of their bodies, Vahn knew when to reign himself in. It was harder when he was in a group, but during times like this, it was a lot easier to control himself, especially with the pregnant girls. Arnya released a heavy sigh through her nose and said, "Okay, Im full nyeow..." and lifted her head while Vahn supported her shoulders. She had alreadypletely recovered from her morning sickness with Vahns help and the meal made her want to move her body around a bit. Vahn helped to massage her shoulders and loosen up her joints by stretching before she left to go track down Syr. He watched her go with a thoughtful expression and was both happy and sad that she was such a strong and independent woman. She let him spoil her, but Vahn knew that Arnya wasnt really the type that needed to be pampered to be happy. Most of her time was spent watching over Maemi and Emiru train or preparing all kinds of items for the birth of her own child. Knowing it was a girl actually motivated Arnya a great deal because she genuinely wanted to revive her spearmanship school using her children as the first students. She wouldnt force them into it but, much like she had been given free rein when she was younger, but Arnya nned to push them if they wanted to be stronger. Having a daughter meant that she would be able to inspire any other daughters she had while giving any sons motivation to exceed their elder sister. Vahn could already imagine a tiny version of Arnya dancing around in the back yard with a spear and it made him feel very warm inside since he imagined she would also be quite rambunctious... With Hephaestus and Loki at the Denatus, thest girl on Vahns visitation list ended up being Ryuu. Though it hadnt been a guarantee, his fateful rendezvous with Ryuu had indeed resulted in her getting pregnant and it was a pretty significant event for Riveria, Lefiya, Sierra, Pram, and even Eina. Previously, Vahns conjecture had been spection, even though it was supported by a lot of evidence, so having an example to show how the infertility issue could be resolved was very important. This meant that they had indeed discovered the root of the problem and it would be much easier to find solutions, even if Vahn himself didnt continue to take action. However, there was still a few points of contention that needed to be addressed and Riveria knew that her involvement would be necessary to ascertain the truth of the matter. As she spent the majority of her time there, Vahn found Ryuu in the garden with Terra and Riveria as they all sat around and enjoyed their own light lunch. Ryuu had also changed how she dressed, even though she hadnt shown any physical signs of her pregnancy just yet, and was now wearing a loose white sundress that made Vahns mind stall for a moment when he first saw her. She seemed even more vibrant and beautiful than the stoic elf from the past because she had a more youthful appearance now and could almost always be found with a smile on her face. Pregnancy for an Elf had always been a very big issue in the past so they had a culture that cherished the new life greatly, meaning that Ryuu had mellowed out a bit and was far more kind to everyone around her. Terra had noticed his arrival before the others but had kept quiet, simply watching his arrival and allowing Riveria and Ryuu to take the initiative. Even though she couldnt be certain, Terra knew that her Master hadnte here for her and she had been trying to act less selfishly so as not to offend the other girls. Even more than Riveria and Ryuu, Terra had a great appreciation for life and she had been around Ryuu ever since the Elven woman got pregnant. This allowed her to view the changes in Ryuus disposition over time and also enabled her to understand and empathize with others a little better. Previously, she had seen the other pregnant women but hadnt been around to observe the changes with her own eyes. Given that she didnt really interact with them, unless they came to the garden, this meant that Terra previouslycked that empathy and simply treated it as natural instead of recognizing the significance behind the pregnancies... Since they were both high leveled Adventurers, Ryuu and Riveria had quickly noticed the change in Terras demeanor and expression. Turning their heads, they saw Vahns arrival, causing Ryuus smile to be softer as her eyes squinted affectionately. As for Riveria, she had a slightly moreplex expression in her eyes but still managed an almost indiscernible smile at the edges of her somewhat pale pink lips. Vahn raised his hand in greeting and said, "Good afternoon...I wanted to spend a bit of time with Ryuu, but I dont mind joining you for tea if you were already having a discussion..." Though his words could be misconstrued as a bit presumptuous, none of the girls seemed to mind them at all as Riveria said, "We werent talking about anything important..." Terra released a peal of elegantughter as her wings rustled slightly and she said, "My, my, and I was led to believe that-." Before Terra could finish her words, Riveria shot her a sidewards nce with a warning look in her eyes that was easily understood by the intelligent True Dragon. She had just wanted to tease Riveria a little so Terra just yfully put her hands over her lips andughed instead of finishing her words. As for Ryuu, she ced her cup of tea on the table and stood up from her chair as she asked, "Did you have something specific in mind, Vahn?" Vahn smiled to match Ryuus before nodding his head and saying, "Just the usual..." which caused Ryuus sky-blue eyes to glimmer slightly. Ever since she got pregnant, Vahn had been making sure Ryuus pregnancy progressed smoothly and had been helping nourish her body. Though the most effective way would have been to have s.e.x, Vahn couldnt help but feel it was strange to nourish his developing child through such a method and had instead opted for simply infusing his energy into her stomach with [Yddrasils Blessing] and [Hands of Nirvana]. It was almost like the skill [Yggdrasils Blessing] had been tailor-made for such purposes as he could easily produce the type of energy needed by Ryuus body even without relying on his [Hands of Nirvana] that much. Since the Tree of Life had an ancestor named Yggdrasil, Vahn felt like it may have been fate for him to have obtained such a useful skill the moment he entered the record... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Akis Motherly Evolution,Arnyas yfulness,Nourishment) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 574 - Small Steps

Chapter 574 - Small Steps

While Vahn was busy spending time with the expectant mothers at the Hearth Manor, two others were busy winning current and future battles. As was to be expected, the Alliance was the popr topic amongst the godly assembly and, now that the number of pregnant goddesses had increased from two to five, many gods felt pressured. This was especially true for the various gods that had either butted heads with the members of the Alliance, and those that had former rtionsh.i.p.s with the goddesses imed by Vahn. Many of them were quite egotistical as a result of their various Divinities and the long lives they had lived, so it was very difficult for them to ept the existence of someone like Vahn, the natural enemy of the status quo. Unfortunately for them, they had absolutely no grounds to stand on since one of the principles vows they made before descending was to not try and oppress mortals, nor restrict the natural progress of civilization. They were allowed to have their Familias, even taking advantage of mortals for their own gains, but they couldnt easily interfere with things like politics and other mortal affairs. Regardless of how they felt about him, Vahn was still a mortal who was born in ordance with the natural order of the world itself. Trying to oppose change could lead to stagnation and it was one of the things heavily frowned upon, especially by the senior gods that had lived much longer lives. With Ouranos making way for Vahn, even to the extent of making small concessions for the Alliance in ordance with their contributions to the City, many gods that didnt necessarily run things in an above-board manner were beginning to sweat. Fortunately, they were actually somewhat few in numberpared to the gods and goddesses that supported the Alliance. This meant that order hadnt actually been disrupted much at all, as the only ones that were worried about the Alliance gaining more power were those that had the propensity to seize it for themselves. As the goddess of the Sage Aldrnari, Hestia enjoyed a great deal of poprity that made the diminutive goddess bubbly with excitement. She loved being the center of attention of such affairs and, as most of the troublesome gods knew better than to try and antagonize the Alliance directly, she spent the entire banquet surrounded by goddesses that wanted to get closer to her and, by association, Vahn himself. Fortunately, as she could be a bit airheaded at times, Hestia had actually been given the eleventh seat at Ouranos table and was protected by the existence of Loki, Hephaestus, Freya, Demeter, and Eirene. During the social part of the banquet, Hermes had pestered Hestia a bit, asking several questions about Vahn, the Hearth Manor, and any other juicy tidbits of information he could glean. Hestia was very tight-lipped about most things, but she couldnt help but brag about how quickly the children in her family were growing. It was no secret that Vahns own growth was ridiculous, but he wasnt unique in that aspect as everyone that proactively fought alongside him had grown at a much faster rate than normal. Hermes had been swirling around the contents of his chalice as he mused, "Truly, Im quite envious of how strong your children are bing, Hestia. Perhaps youd like to share a few words of advice for how I can bolster the growth of my own kiddos?" Before Hestia could proudly give some advice, Loki had interrupted by asking, "Oh, how can Hestia give you advice when youre so secretive about the growth of your children, Hermes~?" It was a well-known fact, at least amongst the influential gods and goddesses, that the members of the Hermes Familia were one of the few exceptions allowed by the Guild when it came to reporting Levels. Since they often took care of secret missions for various gods, including Ouranos himself, the strength of the Hermes Familia was unknown and, though their Captain was only Level 4, it was obvious to many people that Asfi was not the ace of the Familia. Hermes parted his eyes slightly, much like Loki herself, before saying in a bemused tone, "Well, Ive never been the type to be overly concerned with the path my children wish to follow. Id much rather they live free and unfettered, unbound by general rules and regtions~." This time, Freya intruded into the conversation byughing elegantly and saying, "Indeed, it is certainly better when children are allowed to grow freely. Seeing them reach for greater heights is one of the greatest pleasures we gods can enjoy...fufufu~." Hearing Freya say such things left a bit of a bitter taste in the mouths of many gods, as her form of freedom and pleasure were very different from the norm. Hephaestus released a sigh before taking a sip of the gr.a.p.e juice in her wine ss and saying, "The members of the Hestia Familia are capable of such growth because they are passionate and work hard to obtain their goals. Its as simple as that, Hermes..." Though she had already grown ustomed to the games yed by the gods, Hephaestus wasnt fond of Hermes trying to glean information from Hestia rted to Vahn, or any of the girls surrounding him. He had already be a member of the Alliance, but Hermes hadnt actually done anything to contribute to its sess. Other than the members of his Familia sometimes snooping around, he hadnt even contributed to the defense of the Alliance territory, often iming that he didnt know where his children were or couldnt make them work if they didnt want to. Realizing thebined front of the goddesses were a bit of a tough nut to crack, Hermes showed a smile and changed the topic, saying, "I see your pregnancies have been going well. I was quite surprised when I heard that you got pregnant with the child of the King, Freya...I would have thought..." Though he was tempted to mess with her a bit, Hermes allowed his words to trail when he saw the cold look in Freyas eyes. She had never really been the type to allow people to slight her and it wouldnt do him any good to make an enemy out of her, even if they were both members of the Alliance. It was very obvious that Freya wasnt satisfied with her current pregnancy, even though she had the same elegant disposition, as usual, so Hermes could tell she had to settle on the issue. Ouranos could see the tensions building at the table and said, "Youre all gods, so dont squabble amongst yourselves on petty issues...hmm..." As he looked at the table of the most influential gods and goddesses within the City, Ouranos noted that far more than half of them were now members of the Alliance. He expected things would likely be somewhat troublesome in the future since he had already received reports about the matter regarding the Elven Kingdom and Vahns intrusion into the Daedelus Street Undercity. Times were beginning to change and Vahn was the catalyst for it all, something Ouranos found both interesting and mildly concerning. Fortunately, he could tell that Vahn was a righteous and heroic boy by nature, so things should progress in a positive direction even if left alone... --- Without any major events taking ce, the first day of the Denatus had ended. As it was the time typically used for gods to socialize and catch up with each other after short periods of separation, there was little to discuss and most simply mingled with each other to discuss potential benefits. Thus, other than a few dys when they transitioned from the floor segment into the banquet, everything else had gone smoothly. More than seventy percent of the godlymunity within the City directly supported the existence of the Alliance, which was to be expected since around 61% of those gathered were goddesses. As for the rest, the majority were those that kept to themselves and focused on the internal matters of their own Familia and simply couldnt be bothered to get involved with such affairs. The smallest group,prised of a total of thirteen gods and a single goddess, were somewhat hostile toward the Alliance but kept to themselves as a matter of self-preservation. Ilmarinen, the Eternal Hammer that had previously associated with Hephaestus had been forced back to Heaven after the event because he couldnt tolerate the idea of shouldering such a massive debt. His example was still fresh in their minds, as the passage of three months was essentially a blink for many gods, so they kept to themselves. Even Apollo, who had been one of their strongest allies, had beenying low since thest Denatus and hadnt even bothered to show up this time around... As the second day began, things had gotten far tenser than during the previous banquet since they had moved on to the open-floor segment of the Denatus. The Alliance put on a united front from the outset and immediately took the opportunity to step forward and make their case to the godly assembly, with Ouranos presiding over as Moderator. Though she was arguably in the most important position, Hestia ended up taking standing at the side of Hephaestus as Loki stood forward as the representative of the Alliance, saying, "There are several matters that need to be addressed before we move on to more pleasant topics of discussion..." The entire room became quiet since it was quite the sight when seven of the top ten gods were gathered together alongside five less-influential, but moderately well-known gods. Loki herself was known to be somewhat hard to deal with by almost every god present, so seeing her speak with Hephaestus and Freya at her sides brought a solemn silence over the crowd. As if she was enjoying every moment of it, Loki had a cruel and maniacal smile on her face as she continued, saying, "The most important thing we wish to discuss is the existence of several entities within the Alliance that need to be taken into consideration and assigned an elevated status..." Loki looked around at the room before turning her head and making eye contact with Ouranos, saying, "As many of the more powerful Familias know, there are creatures known as Xenos that are either intelligent monsters...or those that have taken on humanoid appearances..." The Xenos were actually a closely guarded secret by the Guild, but it was still well-known amongst the exploration type Familias that such creatures existed. Ouranos worked alongside them to give them some form of protection, but he still allowed the hunt and capture of Xenos without taking action since it would jeopardize the authority of the Guild and call into question his position as a neutral mediator. Loki bringing this up could be a major problem, but the brunt of the trouble would be faced by the Alliance itself, something Ouranos was secretly grateful for even though his expression didnt change in the slightest. Small whispers could be heard amongst the congregation until Loki said, "As most of you know, there are actually three Xenos within the Alliance itself, all considered tamed monsters of Vahn Mason, known publically as the Sage Aldrnari. What I propose is that all Xenos, especially those that have integrated into Familias, be treated with the same rights as all surface dwellers. It has never been our ce to judge those that live on the surface, and we shouldnt force entities that have obtained consciousness to live the life of monsters and refugees within the darkness of the Dungeon!" This time, there was more than whispers amongst the godlymunity as one god stood up to ask, "Your propose to allow monsters to live on the surface, in our Cities and homes? Surely you jest, Loki..." Loki stared directly at the rather handsome god, named Neit, and asked, "Why would you suggest such a thing, Neit~?" As the god of a C-Rank exploration Familia, with Divinities rted to War, Justice, and Passion, Neit had always urged his children to never show mercy to monsters. He didnt get along well with tamer Familias, such as the Ganesha Familia, and was an advocate of clearing the surface of all evil creatures. He actually supported the Alliance on most things, as he had a lot of respect for both the Loki and Freya Familias, but he couldnt stay quiet when one of the leaders of such a Familia was saying such ridiculous things. Without wavering under her gaze, Neit said, "Monsters are evil, soulless, creatures that prey upon the races that live on the surface. If we start allowing them to roam about freely, who is going to take responsibility when they begin iming more victims!? How many people are you willing to sacrifice just because of a boy and his pets!?" Loki beganughing almost immediately after Neit finished speaking, making the god blush slightly in embarrassment before he asked, "Whats so funny, Loki!?" Just as before, Loki had another sudden change, this time ceasing herughter as she put on a serious look and asked, "Tell me, Neit, has a surface dweller ever killed another surface dweller?" Neit experienced a momentary pause in his mental processes before saying, "Of course there has been...peo-" Before he could try to exin, Loki interrupted him and asked, "Then what is the difference between introducing intelligent monsters into the mix? Throughout History, there are literally countless instances of the races of the surface killing each other, killing themselves, and even going to war over simple differences in opinion. You im monsters, even sentient ones, would be a problem because they might go around killing people, but why arent you up in arms trying to change policies to prevent criminals, drug traffickers, and ve traders?" Loki didnt mean to make a patsy out of Neit, especially since he wasnt really a bad god that got on her nerves, but someone had to be made an example of in order to get her point across. Before the stunned god could think of a response to her words, Loki looked around and said, "I have seen and interacted with the entities known as Fafnir, Fenrir, and Terra, the three Xenos that live alongside the residents of the Hearth Manor. They are not the monsters some would im them to be, often showingpassion, understanding, and even wisdom...traits some people never possess..." For several seconds, Loki allowed her words to linger in the air before introducing a bit of chaos into the godly congregation by saying, "Also, your im about monsters being soulless...that is correct. However, if the Xenos are really the soulless creatures many peoplebel them as, then why are some of them able to obtain the blessing of a god?" This time, there was a great deal of noise within therge hall and it seemed that even the supporters of the Alliance couldnt quite believe what Loki was trying to say. It wasnt until Ouranos rumbled, "Silence!" in a thundering voice that order was restored. If she hadnt seen it with her own eyes, Loki wouldnt have believed her own words so she wasnt surprised by their reaction at all. Once silence was restored, Loki exined, "I cannot say for certain that all Xenos possess a soul, but it is irrefutable that the three residing in the Hearth Manor do. Not only do Fenrir and Terra possess functional Status Boards, but theyre even able to gain exilia from killing monsters, just like any other race found on the surface world. Also, it has been verified by several gods and goddesses that all three of them do indeed possess a soul..." With Freya and Anubis standing near her, it was difficult to refute Lokis words because it wasnt really something that could be hidden. Any god within the assembly, assuming they had a Divinity rted to Life or Death, would be able to determine the veracity of Lokis im with their own eyes. Deciding to use the momentary lull to make a point, Ouranos stepped in and said in a deep voice that resonated throughout the entire hall, "I have also verified the matter myself, confirming that the entities known as Fafnir and Fenrir do indeed possess souls. Also, as Loki pointed out, it is not umon for those that live on the surface to fight and squabble amongst themselves. Though their form may be different, it is inarguable that any creature that possesses a soul has the right to live and decide its own fate without the interference of the gods unless they expressly choose to follow us. I would move to recognize those Xenos that abide by thews and regtions of the surface world as citizens..." Unlike when Loki spoke, there were no gods bold enough to speak out against Ouranos, especially when he made a point that drove at the heart of the matter. When they came down to the mortal world, they had to take several vows so as not to restrict the growth of mortals. Though there would always be those that flock to them in order to gain greater power, allowing the gods themselves to take advantage of them and gain benefits, they werent allowed to force people into their Familias. There were obvious loopholes to this, which had been exploited for thest 998 years, but that was still something that the mortals themselves allowed as it was always their choice to resist. Loki was trying hard not tough after she heard Ouranos decree, but she eventually managed to collect herself and say, "The Xenos species is something that naturally urs in ordance with fate and it is our duty to promote their growth as sentient creatures. The gods have always watched over the mortal world since its inception and we have seen many naturally urring miracles that we hade to ept with the passage of time. Other than the first men to walk this world, all the other races were the impossible product of the union between man and spirits, something the gods themselves had determined to be impossible. Now that the Xenos are emerging into the world, they should be treated in the same manner and given the rights to spread and procreate like every other species...it is their right as sentient creatures and not something we have any reason to deny them." Recognizing it was her turn, Hestia stepped forward at this point as her small stature and infinitely kind expression seemed to spread throughout the entire hall. Other than Ouranos, she was the most senior god present and her aura was vast and gentle, making every other god within the congregation turn silent as they waited for her to speak. Her crystal-clear blue eyes appeared deeper than the ocean, glimmering with a gentle light as Hestia said, "We all came down to the mortal world seeking change, enjoyment, freedom, and happiness. How can we be worthy of such things when we would deny them to the creatures naturally born into this world? Fenrir is an adorable and innocent little Xenos with a big belly, but an even bigger heart. Fafnir might look scary, but he is very kind and has a childish wonder that can rarely be found even amongst the other sentient races. As for Terra, I believe she is a truly unique entity with remarkable intelligence and a great love for nature...none of these three should be treated as monsters...they are all children, born into this world naturally without having chosen the fate that was assigned them. We should allow them to live it as they please, supporting them along their way to keep them on a brighter path...not push them away and trap them in the darkness. Much like we escaped the confines of Heaven, we should allow them the freedom they long for..." Much like how Vahn often felt during her lectures, all the gods present remained silent and seemed to fall into a bit of a daze hearing Hestias words. Even when she had finished, nobody spoke for several seconds until one childish looking goddess, named Bastet, stood up and said in an excited manner, "Ipletely agree! It is our duty as gods to guide the children of the surface world toward the future, not keep them buried is such a dreary ce like the Dungeon~!" Though she was one of the newer goddesses toe to Orario, after having been invited by Anubis, Bastet loved the City and how vibrant the culture waspared to those found in the Southern Sands. Having even more variety seemed like a very interesting thing and she felt very excited by the prospect of being involved with such a drastic change in the City. With one goddess taking the first step, many other goddesses began showing their support since they were already on the side of the Alliance in the first ce. As the number of those in agreement increased, other gods began jumping on the bandwagon until nearly the entirety of the godly congregation was in support of the idea. They couldnt actually change thews, as that was a matter regted by the mortal politicians, but they could still easily propagate the idea that it was eptable, at least within Orario, for the Xenos to walk on the surface. It would certainly take time for real change toe about, as there would always be resistance amongst the general popce regarding something like monsters roaming on the surface, but these were the important first steps that could change the fate of hundreds, or even thousands, of sentient creatures... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hermes Intrigue,Loki is the MC,A Wild Loki Used Common Sense...Its SUPER effective!?,Hestia Says Some Stuff) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 575 - For The Future

Chapter 575 - For The Future

At the same time that Hestia was giving her speech on the right of all sentient creatures to live under the light of the sun, Vahn wasbing through Terras wing with the essence liquid that he had researched with Riveria in the past. Her feathers were very hydrophobic by nature, so Vahn created a gentle stream by manipting the essence to flow in the same direction as her feathers. This was much morefortable than using a brush, and also saved Vahn a lot of time since it took several hours to go through each of her feathers individually. Though Terra was somewhat sad to have less time being tended to by Vahn, she wasnt the type to argue against logic and oppose efficiency. Currently, the elegant True Dragon was sitting n.a.k.e.d against the edge of the wellspring, which had changed greatly since she first created it. Instead of roots that coiled around each other in a cylindrical fashion, it now took on the form of a small pond since Terra needed to increase the size of the wellspring in order to sustain the expansion of her domain. The roots of the Treasure Tree still existed, but they were now like a roost that she reclined her body against while she had used her ability to manipte the earth to create a water-tight bed for the pond itself. With her new roost, and the increased size of the pool, Terra could nowypletely rxed within the wellspring, wings spread, absorbing the rays of the sun. Though she initially maintained a sense of propriety out of consideration for her Master, Terra had already gotten Riveria, Ryuu, Lefiya, Syr, Chloe, and Naaza, the girls thatmonly visited her garden, to ept that she was morefortable nude. She still wore clothes when she was outside of the wellspring, but it was easy to justify removing them when she was nourishing the essence and expanding the size of her domain. Vahn had been surprised when he first saw Riveria sitting at the side of the wellspring with her feet submerged while Terra was leaning against her sun perchfortably. Since Riveria didnt seem to mind it, Vahn hadnt even mentioned the matter and simply epted the change as the new norm. As a result, he now used the essence within the wellspring itself to help Terra groom her wings since it was more efficient and also made her feathers sparkle with vitality. Once he was finished cleaning each of her wings, Vahn noticed the yful look in Terras eyes and released a sigh before pulling out a container that contained an emerald-green liquid. Even Ryuu, who was wearing a bathing suit and rxing at the side of the pond, didnt flinch at all when Vahn got Terra to lift her tail and began extracting her sap. He typically helped her expel it 2-3 times a week since it caused her difort keeping it inside. Though she could release it herself, Terra said she would rather deal with the difort and avoid eating rather than do so. As she didnt actually require food for sustenance, Terra could avoid producing sap by reducing the amount of food she ate, meaning she would cease eating entirely when she was full. Terra twisted her body at a somewhat awkward angle, as her segmented bones gave her incredible flexibility, and watched as he extracted her sap. Vahn was already used to her somewhat amorous look and no longer felt any pressure from it as he finished filling up the container and storing it back into his inventory. When he was done, Vahn smiled and said, "Thank you, Terra..." and ran his hands along her tail, something she had admitted to being very fond of. She hadmendable tolerance, but Terra wasnt able to fool Vahn for long after the first time he gave her a massage. He could be dense at times, but once he knew what to look for it was easy to see that she was enjoying the process and simply putting on a strong front to get more enjoyment out of it. Releasing a hot sigh, Terra rxed against her roost and said, "Master is too kind, but you are very wee...ufufufu~." as the tips of her wings submerged into the essence below. She didnt push herself like when she first created the wellspring and instead absorbed energy from the air before diffusing it through her feet, wings, and tail, into the essence below. Her emerald-green feathers would lose a bit of their sheen and be the color of healthy leaves, but this still allowed her to maintain a good bnce that slowly expanded her territory. Presently, she was able to increase it a few meters per day and had been able to reach 173m after several weeks of effort. Finished with grooming Terra, Vahn waded through the waist-high pool and moved over to Ryuu before taking a seat next to her. Other than himself, Terra only allowed those with natural elemental affinity to make use of the wellspring because she didnt want to contaminate it with impurities. This meant that the only people that could sit within it were Riveria, Ryuu, Lefiya, Fenrir, and Lili, thetter of which didnt reallye to the garden that much since she couldnt deal with Terra that easily. Since it was her territory, Vahn didnt have much to say about Terras decision because he knew it was very important to her in order to ensure her territory expanded properly. Ryuu linked her hand with his and said in a soft tone, "This ce is like a paradise for Elves...I wish everyone could experience this kind of bliss..." Terra didnt show any signs that she had been listening, but her tail twitched in the water and sent a few ripples out as she said, "I wont just let anyonee into my territory just because it is beneficial for them, Ryuu..." Ryuus gentle smile turned a little awkward after she heard Terras remark. As for Vahn, he had a thoughtful expression and said, "It is up to everyone to find their own happiness...but we can do our best to make sure it is easier for them to do so. The policies within the Elven Kingdom will need reforming, but we need to focus on the City and strengthening the Alliance first. If we spread ourselves thin while trying to make everyone else happy, the burdens we experience will increase greatly...potentially even breaking us..." As someone who endeavored to make everyone around him happy, Vahns words were verypelling and Ryuu realized there was a fair amount of truth contained within them. She knew it was important to take things slowly if they wanted to bring about real change while avoiding war and conflict, at least for the time being. Riveria had also stressed the importance of keeping Vahns research tightly under wraps until they could start changing the Elven Kingdom from the younger generation upwards. If necessary, they would even build a new sanctuary for the Elven people instead of trying to change the hearts and minds of elderly men lost within their own egos and cultural ideologies. Even if they only had a few dozen Elves to work with, it would take them less than a hundred years to exceed the poption of the Elven Kingdom if they were proactive and made use of the items Vahn would be creating. Since he also had a [Seed of the Tree of Life], and several branches to make it even more powerful, Ryuu knew the fate of the Elves nowy in Vahns hands. Rushing things, especially for a people that aged very slowly, was generally a bad idea so it made sense to think about long-term solutions instead of trying to force change. Without overthinking it too much, Ryuu just rested her head against Vahns shoulder and closed her eyes with her palm resting against her abdomen where her own futurey... --- After more than three weeks of arduous travel, the convoy escorting Alosrin reached the borders of the Elven Kingdom. Though he had tried to act in moderation at first, Alosrin eventually broke down and sent a few of his men to capture poachers that were illegally hunting within the Western Forests. Though most Hunters were men, there were a few capable women amongst their numbers while several women simply ventured into the forest to pick fruits, berries, and nuts. It wasnt long before his guards captured a female poacher and brought her back to the carriage to be interrogated and punished. Alosrin had given the woman, a twenty-seven-year-old Human, an ultimatum. She could either apologize for her actions by servicing him or face justice by offering her life as penance for her crimes. Though she knew her actions werent a crime, the woman knew better than to try and argue with normal Elves, much less a High Elf noble. epting her misfortune, she ended up giving into Alosrins ultimatum in the hopes of securing her life. She had a fair amount of resentment for his actions, but he was at least handsome enough that it was tolerable to service him. Most of the men in the vige were rather in so she could at least experience what it was like toy with a High Elf before she was likely put to death. If the opportunity presented itself, she might even be able to take the sc.u.mbag along with her by taking advantage of him when he was weak. Unfortunately for her, Alosrin was ustomed to dealing with difficult women so he had gagged and bound her arms before groping her body and tearing apart her clothing. He had already gone nearly two weeks without sampling a woman and he was very eager to satiate his urges, even if the woman wasnt to his standards. However, even when he had torn the womans linen trousers free from her body, Alosrin found that his own wasnt reacting at all. He noticed the mocking gaze in the Huntress eyes and struck her across the face before eating a crystal clear pill and forcing one into her mouth. The pill was a verymon aphrodisiac that was produced by a goddess with a Divinity rted to s.e.x, something he had often used on Pram when she was being difficult. However, even when his body began burning up, the only thing Alosrin felt was an incredible frustration as his rather diminutive p.e.n.i.sy dormant and cold to the touch. He hadnt had any trouble with its other functions so Alosrin didnt understand what was happening until Vahns look of pity appeared within his mind. A shiver ran up his back as the fear he had felt then resurfaced, now greater than it had been at the time. The hungry look in the eyes of the Huntress, even with her bloody nose, now made him feel like a small mouse under the predatory gaze of a cat. Fearing that something even worse would happen if he tried even stronger medicine, Alosrin ejected the half-n.a.k.e.d woman from his carriage and urged the convoy to move forward. Ken had asked what Alosrin wanted to be done with the poacher, causing him tosh out, screaming, "Leave her be! We must return to the Elven Kingdom as soon as possible!" He feared that the curse he was under could somehow keep track of when he did evil deeds. Without consulting their Elder Shamans, or one of the Priestesses of the Sacred Trees, Alosrin didnt want to take any chances at all. He needed to purge this curse as soon as possible or he feared his mind would be lost... From that time, all the way up until they reached the borders of the Elven Kingdom itself, Alosrin never came out of his carriage at all, taking all of his meals inside and having his waste disposed of by Ken himself. There was a chamberpot within the carriage, in the event he was trapped inside for a short period of time, so there was no need for him to exit in order to relieve himself. As for his reasons behind the istion, it was because Alosrin had be very paranoid, ming the curse for everything he was experiencing. He had tried to fort himself after getting rid of the Huntress, but nothing he did was able to get a rise out of his dormantpanion. To deal with the tensions of his body, as a result of ingesting an aphrodisiac, Alosrin had tried to use an elementary healing spell but found himselfpletely incapable of finishing the chant. Since he didnt have any normal healing magic, he had to use the version that had been created by the High Elves, which could be used without a Falna. However, the seven verse chant had almost no effect at all, leaving his mana sputtering about before dissipating into the air. No matter how many times he tried, even reading directly from the book itself, Alosrin couldnt form the magicpletely, each failure increasing the terror he felt. As a High Elf, his ability to use magic was part of his identity so, if it became known he was unable to even use elementary chants, Alosrin would be aughing stock. In the best case scenario, he would be exiled but, even if that were to happen, he would likely die soon thereafter when the operatives of the Elven King hunted him down. His exile would just be used as an example for others and there was no chance he would be allowed to live since the chance of him procreating couldnt be allowed. Even Elves could be put to death for having children outside of the forest, as the Elven Kingdom was very strict about protecting their blood purity, so a High Elf wouldnt even be given a chance. Other than Riveria herself, no other High Elf had ever been allowed to wander freely for such a long period of time. The only reason for this was, even when the Elven King had dispatched operatives to recover her, Riveria had been able to deal with them all... Even after entering the territory of the Elven Kingdom, Alosrin stayed inside his carriage all the way until he reached the massive ivory castle at the center of the Kingdom. Though he wanted nothing more than to return to his Fathers territory, Alosrin had a duty to report to the Elven King first, especially since he was carrying the parchment given to him by Loki. His father would likely be in attendance during his audience with the King and, if he was fortunate, they would be able to deal with this situation and spin it to their advantage. He wouldnt allow the information to spread through the words of himself and his own people, but he was vow-bound to report to the King as there was no way an Envoy would be allowed to depart without taking stringent vows. Ken dismissed the majority of their convoy and allowed them to take their leave before allowing the castle guards to inspect the carriage. Alosrin finally came out from his istion and Nen had to take a step back in shock after seeing the state of his young master. Alosrin had always been lean, as wasmon amongst High Elves, but he now looked especially gaunt with a pathetic look. His previously fairplexion now looked pale and the sockets around his eyes had sunken in slightly with a greyish-blue hue to them, obviously implying he hadnt slept much, if at all. Even the guards were shocked and, if not for the special crest that only the Imperial Envoy could carry, they wouldnt have believed this sickly looking man was the High Elf Alosrin... After passing the inspection, as they hadnt even purchased any goods during their short stint within the City, Alosrin made his way into the waiting area as his arrival was passed up the chain ofmand. It took nearly three hours, as personnel would have to be shuffled around while the King made preparations for the audience, but Alosrin finally entered the ornate throne room that looked to be made of ivory and crystal, before bowing low to the King, almost falling over in the process. Alfred, Alosrins father, had been standing with the other Dukes at the side before eximing, "Alosrin, my son, what happened to you!?" Though he was in the presence of the King, Alfred couldnt believe the state his own progeny was in. Before he could exin the situation to his father, Alosrin was brought to silence by a gesture from the Elven King, Larfal Ljos Alf, Riverias Father. He was a tall High Elf, at 190cm, with the characteristic Jade eyes of the Alf n, long jade hair that was tied together in aplex braid, and an ornate golden circlet around his head that had seven branches. Though he was more than two hundred years old, with very subtle wrinkles on his face, Larfal was still a very handsome man with a fierce look inside his eyes that also shone with an equally fierce intellect. After bringing the room to silence, Larfal asked, "Where is Our daughter?" in a heavy tone. Alosrin hung his head low, afraid to even make eye contact with the man who was both his King and his Father-In-Law. Fortunately, he didnt have to answer as Larfal simply released a long sigh before saying, "That girl is too proud...worry not, Alosrin, We will noty me on your for failing to bring her back. She will return when her duty to her people deems it necessary..." Though he once protested Riverias decision to leave the forest, Larfal had long since forgiven her and even supported her after a few years had passed. She had simply aplished too much for their people tobel her as an exile and he had often thought of breaking off her engagement with Alosrin just to coax her back to the Kingdom. After fiddling with his massive ornate staff with a reminiscent look on his face, Larfal turned his attention back to Alosrin and said, "Make your report, Alosrin. We can see that your journey hasnt been without tribtions. Once you are finished here, We will give you leave for the next six months to recuperate..." Though he would have typically been very grateful for the Kings words, Alosrins expression didnt improve much and it was very obvious his mental stability was in a questionable state. However, he couldnt refuse the Kings order so Alosrin bowed his head and began his report, embellishing things to make it appear as though the fault didnty entirely on his shoulders. Though he couldnt keep information from the King, Alosrin could still spin it slightly so that it wouldnt be apparent he had erred greatly. Instead of saying that Vahn was keeping the information hostage, Alosrin reported that the Sage had indeed found the reason for their low birth rates and had already started developing a solution to their problem. This was good news that excited everyone present but, judging by Alosrins appearance, they knew things werent so simple. Alosrin continued by exining how prodigious Vahn was, iming him to be a prospective [Arch Mage] of such capabilities that even Riveria had started to apprentice under him. This news was actually very terrifying to those gathered, including Larfal himself as he was very aware of his own daughters capabilities. For her to ept Vahn as her Master, he must have been a terrifyingly powerful Mage, which made sense considering she bestowed upon him the title of Sage... Thus far, Alosrins report wasnt anything bad, so people were confused by his sorry state until he began to exin more about Vahn. ording to him, Vahn was a powerful demigod and, even though he was only a young boy of fifteen years old, his power was enough to exceed almost any other Mages. His mastery over space magic was truly terrifying, allowing him to teleport around freely while his magic itself was so powerful it could shatter powerful barriers as if they were frail ss. As for why he was in such a sorry state, it was because he had mistakenly challenged Vahn to a duel after underestimating his capabilities. He exined that he initially believed Vahn was just a puppet of Riverias and thought he could get through to the truth of the matter by exposing him during a duel. At this point, the pressure within the throne room had increased greatly and Larfal observed Alosrin with cold eyes, thinking to himself how he could have been foolish enough to allow the despotic youth to act as his Envoy. Sending a nce to Alfred, his friend showed a very apologetic expression before turning to gaze at his son with a deep mncholy, veiling the unbridled fury deep within his heart. It wasnt that he was simply angry with his son, but the fact that his son had lost a duel and likely embarrassed himself in front of his fiancee. If he didnt manage to convince the Kingter, they marriage might be annulled and he would lose all face as a Duke. Their family was already on the decline, with each potential heir more useless than thest. Alosrins report wasnt quite finished so he wrapped things up by saying that Vahn and Riveria were temporarily keeping the information a secret as they researched solutions to the problem. They didnt want to spread false hope by making the issue public knowledge and would be visiting the Elven Kingdom in the future to negotiate terms. Since Riveria had taken Vahn as her Master, requiring her to takes vows to protect the secrets he bestowed upon her, only he could disclose the information. This meant that they would likely have to make concessions to the boy in the future if they wanted to obtain the information regarding his research. Hearing this, Larfels expression had turned solemn, ming Alosrin for the oue even though he had reported that Vahn made the decision to withhold the information long before their duel. Larfel knew the matter was likely moreplex than Alosrin was letting on since it was very apparent the boy was embellishing facts a bit. Waving his hand, Larfel dismissed everyone except Alfred, Alosrin, and his personal bodyguard, the Sage Windsor Dal Alfan. Once everyone had cleared out, Larfels expression turned even more serious as he asked, "Did you offend the Sage Aldrnari to such an extent that he is now hostile to the Elven Kingdom?" Alosrin quickly shook his head and tried to exin before his father, Alfred, backhanded him hard enough to loosen up a few of his teeth. Everyone could tell Alosrin was about to lie directly to the Kings face and Alfred wouldnt allow such an affront to happen right in front of him. Immediately after he knocked his own son to the ground, Alfred bowed at a very low angle and said, "Please, Your Majesty, forgive this ones foolish son! I will make sure he faces a harsh punishment for his indiscretions!" Alosrin held his cheek with resentment clear on his face before pulling out the parchment from his chest, drawing the eyes of the King and his guard. Windsor could tell that the parchment wasnt an ordinary item and he doubted he would be able to break the seals on it to discover its secrets. Larfel looked to the parchment and asked, "What is this?" as he tried to understand the situation better. Alosrin gnashed his teeth, causing his gums to bleed slightly as he said, "Riveria and the Sage Aldrnari are not hostile against the Kingdom, but the Alliance backing him had taken offense after misunderstanding the situation...one of the goddesses had given me this parchment, binding me to hand it over to your esteemed self..." At this point, Alosrin knew he couldnt easily talk his way out of the situation because his father would try to sweep aside the matter to save face. Alfred wanted to prevent the parchment from reaching the King but knew it was impossible to stop since he couldnt think of a justifiable reason other than potential dangers. With Windsor present, any such ims would be treated as a fools words since both he and the King were both powerful Mages with much higher perception than him. When Larfel grabbed the parchment, some of the seals protecting it shattered in an instant, proving that it had been intended for his eyes only. Releasing a heavy sigh, Larfel opened the parchment and began reading. It wasnt that bad at first, but each line after a certain point carried words heavier than the weight of thousands of lives. When he hadpletely read the parchment, Larfels expression had be very solemn and he couldnt help but rub his temples in frustration before saying, "Sending you as Our Envoy was Our greatest failure as both King, and a father..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sun Bathing Beauty,Slumbering Worm,You dun f.u.c.k.i.e.d up now, boi...!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 576 - Breakthrough

Chapter 576 - Breakthrough

Determined to make some headway on his research, Vahn had cooped himself up inside his workshop with only Fenrir to keep himpany. As he had suggested to her in the past, Fenrir often spent her days zing around and watching him do his research. Right now, she wasying down on a sofa upside down, allowing her head to dangle from the cushions as she watched him work. Vahn imagined she would get bored after a while, but Fenrir was very persistent and surprisingly well-behaved. She didnt utter a single sound when he was working, even if the other girls came into the workshop out of curiosity. Thus far, Vahn hadnt been able toe up with a practical storage solution for his blood because even high-quality metals would slowly let the energies contained within the blood dissipate over time. The batteries he had made for Haruhime were still functional, but it was very obvious they couldnt contain as much mana as in the past. It had been around three months since he created them, meaning that Orichalc.u.m could only store the crystalized version of his blood for around 6-8 months before it would need to be reced. As for things like gemstones, even if he made a formation to contain the energy, they would onlyst few a few short days before the crystallized blood would be inert. Riveria had received a missive the previous day from one of her contacts in the Elven Kingdom. It was nearly impossible to send information over incredibly long distances, but Riveria had a very beautiful falcon called a Silvercrown Falcon. Its feathers were a beautiful shade of grey with subtle browns and, as the name would suggest, it had several silvery feathers around its head that made it appear to be wearing a crown. It was easily capable of flying upwards of 900km/h with its affinity with the wind so Riveria had received a letter from her contact, who had been taking care of the falcon for her in preparation for when Lokis parchment would arrive. Vahn hadnt been able to read the parchment himself, but he knew some of the information contained within since Loki had informed him about it afterward. The first part of the parchment was an official greeting from the gods of the Alliance to the Elven Kingdom, essentially reciprocating the Elves greeting to the Alliance by contacting Vahn. Immediately after that, however, the subject immediately changed to a string of threats and warnings directed at the Elven Kingdom regarding their egotistical nature, backward cultural ideologies, and their audacity for attempting to scam him. To wrap things up, Loki had left a few personal notes to the Elven King himself, who Vahn learned was Riverias father, Larfel. Though it was certainly an embellishment of the truth, at least for the time being, Loki had essentially informed Larfel that Riveria and Vahn were already in a rtionship and that she had taken the initiative to break the previous engagement as Riverias goddess. She called into question his credibility as both a King and a Father by having the gall to attempt marrying off his daughter to such an unsuitable man such as Alosrin. Since Riveria was also her child, Loki took the initiative to undo his mistake to save him some face. So as not to mislead Larfel in misconstruing her words, Lokis final statement was a warning to the Elven Kingdom regarding their status within the world. As they were very reliant on the imports from other countries, Loki threatened to that the Alliance would not hesitate to go to war in order to protect Vahn, as he was far more important to the goddesses of the world than he was to the Elves. Though Larfel hated Gods, at least those that came down to the mortal world, it was a fact that many High Elves had a great deal of respect for most gods, as they were the ones to create the spirits that became the ancestors of all Elves. She threatened Divine Intervention in the affair if it got out of hand, signing the doc.u.ment with the names of more than twenty gods that were either currently part of the Alliance, or its backers. Even if he had ten times the pride and arrogance he was known for, Larfel knew the state of his country better than anyone. They currently had to allocate arge number of their forces on the western border to prevent the burning of their forests and the invasion of the Rakia Kingdom. They were already unable to even issue a real counterattack against their hated enemy, so there was no way they could divert forces to fight against a single powerful Familia, much less the entire Alliance. Diplomacy was the only option left to him, as there was no way he would be able to retain his position as King if he made an enemy out of the boy that had discovered the reason behind their infertility and had been researching solutions alongside his daughter. Though he couldnt easily ept their rtionship, there was simply nothing he could do about it, especially with Vahns purported capabilities and mastery over space magic. This wasnt even taking into consideration the existence of the several True Dragon around Vahn, essentially turning him into a powerhouse threat all his own. Within the missive Riveria had received, it also included a private note from Larfel himself, as he was very aware of his own daughterswork of contacts. He had urged her to rethink her actions and avoid embarrassing their people by being involved in such a fiasco that would shame their ancestors. Even if he could appreciate Vahns power, Larfel couldnt simply allow his daughter to marry a human boy, even if he was a demigod. It also asked her to open dialogue between the Alliance and the Elven Kingdom by acting as a mediator, simultaneously encouraging her to return home in the near future. She hadnt needed to share this information with Vahn, but Riveria was aware of Lokis scheme and had already resolved herself to the future path she had chosen for herself. Though he wasnt allowed to read the letter itself, Riveria summarized things for him and encouraged him toplete his research soon before the matter was exposed. ording to the original timeline of the Divination, it should have been around this time when Riveria originally got pregnant so Vahn was feeling a bit of pressure to make a breakthrough, pouring over several doc.u.ments and testing a variety of different materials... Vahn was currently holding a blood red gemstone in his hands that had been made of a cored out diamond-like gem called an Alexandrite Star, which he had obtained from the system shop for 10,000OP. It had originally looked like a rainbow with the internal light refracting within theplex internal structure of the sublimely clear gemstone. Vahn had stumbled across it after purchasing several books about magic catalysts from the system shop. In its original state, it was purportedly even capable of storing part of the soul so Vahn had hoped it would be able to contain his blood for an extended period of time. There were a total of fourteen formations that had been created out of pure Orichalc.u.m suspended by the crystallized blood that Vahn had inserted into the gemstone. Four of the magic circles were for controlling the input and output of energy within the gem itself while the other ten existed solely to contain the energy within the gemstone itself. Not satisfied with relying on internal formations, Vahn was currently carving specialized runes into the faceted surface and then filling in the gaps with Terras blood, as it was one of the best and most practical catalysts he had been able to obtain thus far. This resulted in a blood-red gemstone that had a transparent surface covered with golden runes that shined vibrantly as a result of the source energy resonating between Terras blood and Vahns. As he wasnt yet that proficient at cutting gemstones, Vahn wasnt entirely satisfied with the final appearance but was still hopeful things would work out. It was currentlyte in the evening and he had skipped both lunch and dinner as a result of the focus he had ced on the gemstone. He was supposed to be staying with Tsubaki tonight, so Vahn believed she would be understanding of the situation as a fellow [Master Smith]. She was also in the period where she was somewhat ufortable with having s.e.x, out of concern for their unborn daughter, so they would have simply ended up cuddling together and talking anyway. After thinking for several minutes, Vahn saw Fenrir dangling her paws off the edge of the sofa and her ears immediately perked up under his gaze as she turned her scarlet eyes toward him. Vahn smiled and fiddled around with the gemstone in his hand, deciding to name it Scarlet Star, since its blood red coloration was actually quite beautiful and was somewhat reminiscent of Fenrirs eyes with how it glowed with a magical light. As for the Star, that was in appreciation of the original materials and he thought it was very suitable with how the golden runes glimmered vibrantly. //Obtained 8,713 OP For Creating [Scarlet Star]// //[Lapidary] Development Ability Created. Current Rank: D// (A/N: I can change [Lapidary] to [Gemcutter] if people dont like it.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Scarlet Star] Rank: B Capacity: 2512/2512 Decay Rate: 10 max capacity every 30 days. Use: Allows for the storage, transmission, and absorption of various energies. Base recovery rate dependant on the avability of energy in the surroundings. When used as a catalyst, enhances the efficacy of original skill, ability, magic, formation by a factor of 119%. Decay rate increases if used over-capacity. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn was pleasantly surprised by the system notifications because he was able to recoup a bit of his OP expenditure as a result of naming the gemstone. This meant he would potentially be able to make more [Scarlet Star]s in the future, consuming only around 1,300OP during the production process. However, the existence of a new Development Ability and the actual description of the [Scarlet Star] itself made Vahn excited. Previously, he had no way of discovering the secrets behindplex gems because they wouldnt have a descriptor. Now, The Path seemed to have rewarded his hard work and created a skill that would allow him to glean more information from his creations. Though he was interested in doing a bit of research to test the [Scarlet Star], Vahn stowed it away in his Inventory for now. He was in a great mood, but it was already gettingte and he didnt want to get another lecture so soon after thest one. Instead, he used [Thria*Mimos] and, with arge grin on his face, gestured to Fenrir. She had been in an awkward position at first, but Fenrir quickly righted herself and leaped toward him happily nuzzling against his chest as Vahn gave her a bit of heavy petting. Though she hadnt really contributed to thepletion of the [Scarlet Star], Vahn still felt like he owed the petite Vanargandr girl a bit of gratitude for the inspiration she had provided to him... After spending around twenty minutes with Fenrir, Vahn sent her off to bed since he was going to be staying with Tsubaki and, though she probably wouldnt mind Fenriring along, Vahn wanted to pamper the beautiful brown-skinned beauty a bit. Fenrir had improved a lot, but she couldnt hide the envy and jealousy in her eyes as they would literally glow whenever she was feelingplex emotions and stress. In the low light of a bedroom, it was especially obvious and Vahn didnt want to stress her out while he was in such a great mood. Splitting his affection was never an easy thing to do, which is why he spent the twenty minutes with her as both a reward and an apology. Tsubaki was already in his bedroom andying in the bed when Vahn opened his door and entered inside. She was wearing a loose ck yukata and Vahn got a glimpse of her glossy cleavage when she lifted her body to match his gaze. After releasing a loud yawn, Tsubaki smiled and asked, "Did you manage to have a breakthrough? You seem to be in a very good mood now, Vahn~." Vahn nodded his head and changed into his sleepwear before entering in the bed alongside Tsubaki, pulling her into his embrace soon after. He ran his fingers through her silky ck hair and pulled her face closer to his, answering her question with his actions instead of wasting time trying to exin. Tsubaki oftenmented that he talked too much, so Vahn tried to be a little more proactive whenever he was with her. When they separated, Tsubaki released a huskyugh and said, "Congrattions..." before hugging him tightly and stroking the back of his head. She had a tendency to bury his face into her chest, even before they were in a rtionship, so Vahn had grown ustomed to thefortable softness and the warmthing from her body. Vahn allowed her to hold him for several minutes, enjoying her gentle caress and the pleasant aroma wafting from her body until she finally released him. With a beautiful smile on her face, Tsubaki pinched his cheek softly and said, "Tell me all about it tomorrow..." before turning over on her side so Vahn could hug her from behind. He often slept on the right side of the pregnant women so that they couldfortablyy on their left. Hugging them from behind always made Vahns protective instincts trigger and he felt like he was shielding Tsubakis body from harm with his own... --- After separating from her Master, Fenrir made her way through the dark corridors of the Manor as she approached her destination in a pleased mood. She didnt know why, but Fenrir could tell that her Master was very happy, thus making her feel very happy at the same time. It was alreadyte, so Fenrir couldnt go y with the others right now and instead went to Preasias room before opening up the door and making her way inside. Though she had her own room, Fenrir had never slept in it because she didnt feelfortable sleeping on her own. She didnt actually require sleep but had grown ustomed to it since it was very boring to be awake when everyone else was sleeping. Preasia lifted her body to see who was entering her room sote, unsurprised to find that the perpetrator was Fenrir. She showed a small smile after seeing how happy Fenrir looked, asking, "Did something good happen with Vahn?" Unlike when she was around Vahn, Preasia had managed to recover her ability to speak properly around others. Vahn was aware of this, as he had heard from the others, but Preasia simply couldnt stay rxed around him. It wasnt that she was afraid, but she felt very bashful every time she was in the same room with Vahn thus causing her to consider each word seriously before she said anything. Fenrir bobbed her head happily and said, "Master gave Fenrir lots of petting. Nice and heavy, just as Fenrir likes it~." Preasia showed aplicated expression on her face and released a sigh, saying, "Im a bit envious that Fenrir is able to spend so much time with Vahntely. Maybe I should start camping out in his workshop more..." Fenrir shook her head and climbed into the bed with Preasia, exining, "Preasia will bother Master because of her aura...be a good girl, okay?" It was well-known that Vahn could passively detect auras, which allowed him to understand a persons mood and, to a lesser extent, understand their thoughts and intentions. Preasia knew what Fenrir was trying to say, so she began to blush deeply... Sniffing the air, Fenrir squinted her eyes and said, "Preasia is a naughty girl...Fenrir can smell it, the heavy smelling from Preasias body..." As if to emphasize her words, Fenrir had poked her nose forward toward Preasia and caused the Sheep Girl to back up against the headboard of her bed in a panic. Fenrirs eye glimmered slightly when she saw Preasias legs and said, "Preasia is bing more like Fenrir every day...are you trying to take Fenrirs ce~?" Preasia quickly shook her head and hid her legs with the nkets, covering her lower bodypletely to protect it from Fenrirs eyes. Ever since the day she received Vahns care, short hairs had been growing over her entire body, almostpletely covering her arms and legs with a dense tinum blond fur. Fenrir c.o.c.ked her head to the side with a yful look on her face as she said, "Fenrir knows that Preasia is a good girl, kukuku~." From her perspective, Preasia growing fur was just a way of copying her but, as she often copied other people, Fenrir couldnt fault her for it. As long as she didnt try to usurp her position, Fenrir didnt mind even if Preasias entire body became covered in fur. She had just wanted to y a trick on Preasia since it made her feel a strange urge to tease people that thought they could take her ce by copying her features. After all, even if Preasia became one of her Masters women, that still wouldnt put at the same level as an eternalpanion. Preasia would one day die of natural causes while Fenrir would continue to live forever, always at her Masters side... Preasia rxed a bit when she heard Fenrirs words, releasing a heavy sigh of relief before putting on a pouting expression and saying, "Fenrir shouldnt tease me so much...didnt your Master ask you to protect and take care of me...?" Fenrirs expression became somewhat serious as she nodded her head and said, "Yes, Fenrir will protect Preasia because she is very weak and fragile. Preasia is also Fenrirs best friend, so she will protect you even if you stay weak forever, okay~?" Hearing Fenrirs words, Preasia gave an awkward smile because Fenrirs friendship was a bit of a heavy burden at times. She was actually very fond of Fenrir since she had been with her during the time when she most neededpanionship. However, as Fenrir matured, it became somewhat difficult to deal with her because she sometimes said biting words without any intent of causing offense. As if she had just remembered something, Fenrirs expression became yful once again as she asked, "Preasia is going to be with Master soon, right, right~?" Preasias face became beet red in an instant since the reason she was still awake right now was that she hadnt been able to sleep at all. Her mind waspletely filled with thoughts of her impending night with Vahn, now only a few days away. Fenrir beganughing at Preasia reaction and smelled the air once again, causing the beet red blush on Preasias face to be crimson. She knew what Fenrir was smelling and it made Preasia squeeze her thighs together tightly in a vain attempt to hide the aroma. As her nose was also somewhat sensitive, she could smell her own arousal as well, causing the atmosphere in the room to be tense and exceptionally awkward. Fenrir began to snicker yfully and said, "Fenrir wont bully you, Preasia..." before snuggling up next to her and squeezing her body tightly. Preasia calmed down and released another sigh, happy things didnt develop in the way she had been expecting. As Fenrirs curiosity increased, Preasia had eventually broken down after her constant insistence and had started teaching Fenrir many things. Since she had an insatiable curiosity, much like Vahn himself, Fenrir liked to try and get a rise out of Preasia, sometimes even leading to very embarrassing situations... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Diplomacy...?,Vahn Creates A Soulgem,Fenrir is a good girl (UwU)~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 577 - Celebratory Mood

Chapter 577 - Celebratory Mood

Vahn awoke early the next morning, feeling refreshed as he enjoyed the flowery scenting from Tsubakis hair. As someone who prided themselves as a warrior, Tsubaki woke up almost instantly, gently elbowing Vahns ribs to get him to stop ying around. Vahn coughed at the sudden impact beforeughing it away and saying, "Your hair smells very nice...did you change shampoo?" Tsubaki sat up in the bed and gave Vahn a coy look before saying, "Its the same shampoo as always, Vahn, and Im certain youre very aware of it." Vahn nodded his head with an understanding look on his face before he decided to tease Tsubaki by adding, "Ah, then I guess the nice scent is your own? Mmm..." Tsubaki reached forward in a blur and grabbed Vahns head before tightly squeezing his face into her chest, saying, "Enjoy the smell to your content, Vahn~!" She had timed it just as he was about to inhale, so Vahn gagged a bit and was unable to breathe with Tsubaki squeezing his face into herrge and plump b.r.e.a.s.ts. He was tempted to try and escape by using some underhanded means, but knew it would just rile her up a bit and he didnt want her to stress her body too much since she was pregnant. For a few minutes, Vahn just obediently allowed Tsubaki to smother him until her embrace became progressively gentle and she began stroking the back of his head... Once she had freed him, Vahn exined to Tsubaki the breakthrough he had made in his research and also told her about the existence of the [Lapidary] Development Ability. As she had been very interested, Tsubaki asked to see the [Scarlet Star] and had inspected it with her magic eye for several minutes as she admired theplex internal structure and the awe-inspiring energy radiating from its depths. Unlike the Treasure Magic Stones, which had invisible formations, Vahns were made of golden Orichalc.u.m and they were easily seen with the use of her magic eye. Tsubaki paid him a few heavypliments that made Vahn feel a little giddy and warm inside... As the Denatus had officiallye to an end the previous evening, Hephaestus, Loki, Hestia, and Anubis had all shown up by the time breakfast started. Hestia had immediately jumped to him the moment he met them in the foyer, happily exining how victorious they had been before Lokiter rified her meaning. Once they were all seated at the dining table, Vahn saved time by serving some premade dishes he had within his Inventory so that they could start the discussion with everyone present. With Hestia sitting in hisp, Loki seated on his left, and Hephaestus sitting close on his right, Vahn listened to the exnation while feeding the zy Hestia small bits of food. Loki had given Hestia an incredulous look since she had actually intended to steal the spot for herself but had been beaten to the punch by her former rival. Deciding not to let it bother her, Loki addressed everyone at the table, saying, "Though it will take time to sway public opinion and bring about real change, we were able to sway the godlymunity in our favor. Fenrir, Fafnir, and Terra are now officially recognized as Xenos that, from the perspective of the gods, deserve the same rights as all surface dwellers. This means they are also subject tows, but that shouldnt really be an issue since things are always a bit grey when ites to Familias. Ouranos seemed to be fond of the Xenos, so the Guild likely wont be an issue even if something does happen..." This was very good news since it was Vahns intent to work alongside the Xenos in the future so that it would be much easier to traverse the Dungeon. He had even nned to allow them to take up residence at Haven in the future since it would likely take several years for public opinion to change in their favor. Many people could hardly tolerate the existence of tamed monsters, so it wasnt easy to get the Xenos recognized publically as sentient creatures that had the same rights as everyone else. Vahn was hoping that the Xenos truly did possess souls, allowing them to receive the Falna of a god, as that would make future proceedings much easier. After letting the information settle into everyones minds, Loki continued the conversation, saying, "Though we didnt go into too many details, we also discussed therger ns of the Alliance, being that we intend to get a foothold in the Dungeon to allow for further exploration. We brought it up so as to avoid the problems that had previously arisen when Rivira had been established in the past. Creating settlements and fortifications within the Dungeon, especially in rtion torge and influential Familia, makes a lot of people nervous so we made it public knowledge amongst the godlymunity so word will begin to spread. Well have to maintain a clean face for a while, but most people should support the idea when they understand the benefits provided...Well leave the final decision to you, Vahn, so make sure to consider proper incentives to increase support for the idea." The gods of the Alliance were already running a campaign of their own, especially with the assistance of Minerva and Eirene, so Vahn just needed toe up with a way to make people want to reach the 39th and 50th Floors. Understanding this, Vahn had already made ns previously and it was his intention to provide various goods and services that could only be obtained in the deeper floors. Minerva would spread around some of the items he produced, such as the [Emperors Blood], and im that it was made from ingredients that could only be found in the Deeper Floors. As it was difficult to ship items to and from the Dungeon, the only way to obtain it was through her Familia, or by going down to the 39th Floor themselves. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that a single bottle could sell for millions of Valis on the surface, so there would undoubtedly be people bold enough to make the trip if it was sold cheaply in the Deeper Floors. The final part of Lokis exnation was the thing most of the girls present actually cared about and it was mostly good news for many of them. Lili was no longer the Super Supporter, but she hadnt been able to obtain As or One Punch Pallum either. It was instead decided she would be called the Tiny Titan since the godlymunity thought it was very interesting for such a small Pallum to have such strength. As for Mikoto, it was decided that Godspeed was simply too powerful an alias for her aplishments, much like Flying Heavenly Sword. Instead, she was given the alias Prodigious Swordmaiden as pensation until she was able to make a name for herself. When she heard this, Mikoto had a very resolute expression on her face and tightly gripped the hilt of her katana. Maemi and Emiru had been lucky, as they were easily given the shared alias Gemini Twins after it was reported they had a rare skill that allowed them to perfectly synchronize with each other. Since they were twins, many gods were somewhat interested in them and had supported the name as a result. As for Lefiya, she was denied the alias Sages Apprentice since there was more than one Sage within the world and it could be a source of contention in the future. Instead, she was given the alias White Lily since it was well-known that she often carried around a staff that looked like a giant lily. Since the name White Lily Lefiya rolled off the tongue, Loki hadnt opposed it since she thought it was suitable, at least for the time being. Fenrir was able to get the alias Vanargand very easily, though getting her recognized as an Adventurer had been a bit of an issue at first. As for Terra, she became the Elegant Green Dragon since many found it difficult to believe she was an actual True Dragon. If that were the case, she would be in the same league as the One-Eyed ck Dragon, something many gods were simply unwilling to believe. Neither Terra nor Fenrir seemed to care about their own aliases that much and took the news in stride without much of a change in their expressions... Chloe ended up bing the Cheshire Cat, as the gods didnt see any reason why it should be kept from her, while Arnya became the Resurgent Spear since many gods still remembered her former alias and capabilities. They wanted to encourage her to work hard to achieve her former glory so they had given her an alias that reflected that intent. As for Lunoire, she became the Smiling Punisher because many gods had patronized the Hostess of Fertility in the past and had seen her beating up unruly customers. Other than their individual aliases, they were also given a shared alias as a result of their rtionship with Vahn. It was somewhat derogatory and teasing by nature, but their shared alias became Vahns Bouquet since they were all plucked flowers that many had sought only to lose the opportunity when they were all taken by Vahn. Though it was obviously meant as a bit of an insult, none of the girls seemed to care and Chloe justughed mischievously after she heard the words from Lokis mouth. When Loki returned a smile of her own and asked, "What is so funny, Chloe~?", Chloe had responded in a yful tone, saying, "I wonder if the Hearth Manor will get an alias in the future, perhaps something like Vahns Flower Garden-nya~?" Because Vahn had essentially plucked almost every girl in the Manor, with more nned in the future, it wasnt an incorrect phrase to use, even if it was a little biting for Vahn himself... Thest two people to be assigned an alias had been Haruhime and Naaza, who had be big talking points during the Denatus. Haruhimes attainments were incredible, officially earning her the recognition of the entire godlymunity by being able to go from a fresh Level 1 to marginally powerful Level 3 within the period of a month. As for Naaza, her prowess with the bow and the unique quality of her weapon had been circting through the City ever since the expedition returned. After a bit of discussion, it had been decided that Haruhime would be known as the Illusory Sakura while Naaza had sessfully earned the alias Yi after learning of the name of her bow and the technique she used. Once everyone learned of their new aliases, the conversation shifted into a celebratory atmosphere since Vahn felt like there were many things worth celebrating. He also brought up his breakthrough and the creation of a new Development Ability before producing the [Scarlet Star] for everyone to pass around. Riveria had been very interested in it at first but, soon after it started to be passed around, she hung her head slightly and Vahn had been able to detect the subtle change in her aura. He did his best to act casually and just sent her a small smile without saying anything, knowing what was going through her mind. Loki, however, didnt seem to be willing to let the mattery as she palmed the [Scarlet Star] yfully and said, "I didnt think you would make a breakthrough right after Riveria told you about the missive from the Elven King. Are you feeling a little anxious, Vahn~?" Though she was speaking to Vahn, Loki was smiling mischievously at Riveria, causing the typically taciturn High Elf to simply close her eyes and ignore Lokis gaze. With Vahn making a breakthrough in his own research, she would likely have to start working alongside him in his workshop during the development of the band he was going to be making. She would know exactly when it was nearingpletion and just imagining such a situation made Riveria feel nervous, requiring her to sp her hands tightly so others couldnt see they were shaking slightly. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Submerged in a fragrant brown valley,Tiny Titan Represent!,Doki Doki Riveria...sama!?) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 578 - Seat of Power

Chapter 578 - Seat of Power

The celebration continued for a few hours, connecting into lunch so the group moved into the back yard to enjoy the nice weather. Loki eventually managed to get Vahns seat as her own with the excuse that she wanted to talk to him about the Elven Kingdom and the Rakia Kingdom. During their private meetings, it was decided that Loki would take charge of the situation since she had the closest rtionship with Freya and Minerva while also having thergest social sphere amongst the other goddesses within the Alliance. Hephaestus was never very social in the past and that hadnt changed even after her eye had been healed by Vahn. As for Hestia and Anubis, the former hadnt enjoyed a great reputation in Heaven while thetter simply had no interest in pandering to other gods after taking Vahn as her Master. Loki and Vahn were currently sitting against the side of Fafnir, using its wings as protection from the sun, while watching over the game that was being yed nearby. Vahn had previously researched a bunch of fun activities everyone could y and introduced the concept of Volleyball since he thought watching the girls y a game in their swimsuits would be very interesting. Loki seemed to be in agreement as well since her eyes were parted and she had a lecherous look, almost like a middle-aged man. Vahn felt it was a little awkward hugging a goddess who was steaming from her nostrils while looking at scantily d girls, but that was simply Loki. He had started to learn that love was a prettyplex emotion and that, sometimes you simply had to take the bad parts of a person along with the good. To remind her what they were supposed to be talking about, Vahn nuzzled against Lokis head and asked, "Didnt you want to talk about the Rakia and Elven Kingdoms, Loki? If you keep staring at the girls when were together, I might get a little jealous..." To emphasize his point, Vahn nibbled on Lokis right ear and traced his finger around the area where her belly button was located. Loki c.o.c.ked her head to the side with a mischevious look on her face and said, "I should be the one that is jealous, after all, all of those girls are your little flower garden~." Vahn flinched slightly at Lokis words before smiling and saying, "One of my flowers seems to have a few thorns..." Though she had been tempted to refute Vahns words, iming that she was far from being a flower that he was capable of plucking, Loki remembered their first time together with [Enkidu] and swallowed her words. Vahn noticed the change in her aura and held her closely, asking, "Is something wrong, Loki? I wasnt trying to upset you..." Loki shook her head with enough force to intentionally smack Vahns face with her ponytail a few times as she asked, "What do you know about Riveria, Vahn? Has she told you anything?" Vahn turned silent and contemted his words for a bit before adopting the same serious mood as Loki, responding, "I now know that she is the daughter of the Elven King...and that she had a previous engagement with another High Elf, Alosrin. As for Riveria herself, I know she is a kind and intelligent woman, even though she can be a bit cold at times when she is embarrassed. She is very considerate of others and has a strong sense of duty, which I guess makes sense considering she was one of the potential heirs to the throne. Like me, she wants to see a world where every race can co-exist alongside each other, fearing that her people will stagnate and bring about their destruction if changes arent made soon." Loki widened her eyes slightly before nodding her head and saying, "That is a pretty decent summary...Im honestly a bit surprised. I hadnt expected Riveria to reveal so much to you...I wonder if she was trying to keep it a secret...?" Even now, Riveria was Lokis point of contact within the Hearth Manor and she often made reports to her about what was going on. However, one of the things she rarely ever mentioned were the things going on between her and Vahn. Though she knew there was certainly something, even to the point that they had made promises to each other, Loki was still surprised to learn how open Riveria had been to Vahn. Presently, Riveria was watching the games from the side, sitting next to Terra, Ryuu, Syr, and Eina. Loki stared at her thoughtfully before saying, "You should know about the elitism of the High Elves and the values they propagate. However, things are never that straightforward and there are power struggles in every society, especially in those that have multiple Dukes and session lines. Larfal hates the gods because he, along with the elder faction, mes our presence for corrupting the world and leading to the stagnation of their culture. He has always taken the stance that Orario should be destroyed, iming it is something akin to a melting pot of inferior beings that is being spoiled by the existence of the gods. Of course, the truth of the matter is they simply desire control over the Dungeon and its resources for themselves...kukuku." Vahn had already been thinking about the various countries surrounding Orario and knew that the Elven Kingdom wasnt unique in their beliefs at all. Telskyura, the country of the Amazons, also wants to destroy Orario for the same reasons, while the Dwarves from the Iron Hills simply treat the existence of the City as a convenient ce to obtain ves and sell their merchandise. As for the Beast Human tribes, they usually kept to themselves but had formed arge alliance to protect each other whilst the Pallums were the universal ve race that didnt even have a country of their own. Orario was a ce of hope for many people, regardless of age, s.e.x, or race, but it was also the only ess point to the Dungeon and its resources. Either for political reasons, cultural reasons, or economic reasons, every other country on the Continent eyed Orario as a prize to be won. Loki had paused for a while, knowing that Vahn was likely ruminating over his own thoughts, before saying, "As I said, things are never straightforward...one of the things you probably didnt know is that the only thing keeping Riveria from iming the throne is the fact that she is female. Though she was the most capable heir, she had been forced into a situation where she eventually left the City and joined my Familia in order to escape the power struggle of the various Duke families. Alfred Els Lainu, the father of that idiot Alosrin, had been the heir to the second most powerful family within the Elven Kingdom, the Lainu Duke Family, and enjoyed a close rtionship with the current King, Larfal, ever since they were young. Because Larfals unwillingness to remarry after the death of Riverias mother, he was forced into a situation where he needed to find a husband of suitable status for her to marry..." Vahn released a heavy sigh as he listened to Lokis words, looking toward the sky and wondering what kind of foolishness allowed such policies to evere into existence. Originally, all of the High Elves were females, which meant there were several Elven Queens long before any Elven King cames into existence. However, nearly a thousand years ago, the Elven Queen, Celdia, had fought alongside Albert Waldenstein, Ais father, and presumably lost her life soon thereafter. Previously, the High Elves werent such an abrasive species that spread the idea of racial superiority and they simply protected the various forests that used to dot the Continent. After the first Elven King came into power, this had changed drastically and their society had be patriarchal in nature, stating that the decline of the Elves had been rted to their interactions with other species and the diminishing purity of their blood. In the past, the person to be the Elven Queen had been elected that position as a result of their efforts and magical power, but now the position of King was fought over by seven different families that all undermined each other to gain greater benefits for their individual families. They treated their own people, the Elves, as conveniences and had forced a system that painted the High Elves as some superior race while the other Elves served them loyally and did their bidding... The fact that Riveria, who likely would have made an exceptional Queen, had been denied the right simply because she was a woman made absolutely no sense to Vahn. What kind of cowards would those in power have to be to use gender as the justification for why someone wasnt qualified for a position? Why was it that, for several thousand years, the Elves had thrived as a species when rallied behind their Queen? How could they not see that their policies for thest 998 years were the exact reason for their stagnation? Vahn felt that he would never understand what was going through the minds of such people, seeing them as greedy fools who l.u.s.ted for power instead of showing the capacity to lead and guide their people to a better future. Loki hummed in intrigue when she saw the solemn look in Vahns eyes, feeling that the shadow of his Emperor self was showing on his face. To make sure he understood the situationpletely, Loki continued, saying, "By entering into a rtionship with Riveria, you have essentially taken away one of the chess pieces that had been part of the political game within the Elven Kingdom. Without an heir, the King will eventually be forced into a difficult situation where he would need to select his sessor from amongst the other noble households. They will likely fight and squabble, trying to promote their own progeny as a contender for the title...buuuut, that will not be an easy thing for them to do, fufufu~." Reaching up, Loki stroked Vahns face with a mischevious look and exined, "Riveria is simply too popr within the Elven Kingdom after all of her aplishments. As long as she exists, the people wouldnt easily ept someone taking the throne unless they were married to her. Alosrin likely lost his engagement to Riveria after this fiasco, so she will be the focus of every faction within the Elven Kingdom. However, they wont be able to take action as long as you, and the Alliance, exist as her backer. Once it bes known that Riveria is pregnant, however, things will definitelye to a head and it could result in a War..." Though she didnt say it, Loki could see them forcing Riveria to have a miscarriage and then trying to cover up the situationpletely. If they couldnt force her to take a vow, they would likely try to put her to death and im it was the result of the other races that betrayed her. She would be a martyr to continue propagating their foolish ideals all because a bunch of old and egotistical men were afraid to lose the power and status they desperately clung to. If it werent for the existence of the Sage Council and the High Priestess of the Sacred Trees, the Elven Kingdom likely would have copsed long ago. Vahn stared at Riveria from a distance, apparently with enough intent to draw her attention as she looked over and made eye contact with him. Though she couldnt be certain, Riveria had a good idea what Vahn and Loki were talking about and feltpelled to support Vahn by nodding her head. Vahns eyes opened wider when he saw this and a confident smile appeared on his face as he said, "I believe it will be possible to avoid war if we win over therger Elvenmunities. Also, the Elven Kingdom simply doesnt have the forces necessary tounch an attack against us so they will likely fight amongst themselves for several years before we are forced to take action. Riverias father is still rtively young, so they couldnt force him to abdicate the throne so quickly unless he maderge policy changes..." Loki nodded her head and said, "Yes, that is true, but you may be underestimating how desperate old men who cling to power can be. They will likely try to spin things to their advantage, even iming Riveria to be a traitor by trying to pin various crimes on her in order to sway public opinion. It wouldnt be that effective at first, but people will believe anything if they hear it regurgitated endlessly...you will need to take action sooner, rather thanter, if you want to avoid things getting out of control." However, contrary to her expectations, Vahn shook his head and said, "If the Elves within the Kingdom believe the words of such fools, walking the path towards their own destruction, that is the fate they decided for themselves...if necessary, I will create an entirely new Elven Kingdom to give sanctuary to those that can see through the lies and seek a better life for themselves. Though I wouldnt make the argument they are superior because of it, many Elves are very intelligent and they have an intrinsic love for nature...I believe that more of them will pursue the path of peace rather than wage war because of propoganda...it is our duty to simply oust the hate and fight fundamentalism with the truth. We can bring about change by impacting the future generations, allowing the hatred and egotism of the past to fade into irrelevance." Loki looked at Vahn like he was an idiot before her shoulders began to tremble and a loud cackle sounded for her throat, causing several people to look over out of curiosity. She knew Vahn was something of an idealist, but she didnt think he woulde up with a solution like ousting hatred and simply letting it die of old age. It wasnt actually an exaggeration to say they could slowly build a foothold in the Dungeon, maintain a defensive embargo against the Elven Kingdom, and just ept the refugees that would eventuallye streaming out. It would likely take decades, but more and more Elves would seek to escape the rotting core of the Elven Kingdom in order to make better lives for themselves once they know of the lives their fellows were leading. Because it was very unlikely for the High Elves that had seized power to take a step back, they would crack down on those that remained behind, forcing them into more difficult positions simply as a result of their inability to give up the frivolous paradise they had created for themselves. It was either that, or they would eventually get pushed back by the Rakia Kingdom until they eventually had topromise and seek an Alliance with the other races, likely makingrge concessions simply to survive. No matter what, the current Elven Kingdom couldnt persist for long from the very moment Vahn decided to better the lives of Elves that left that rotting Kingdom behind. Though things would likely not go as smoothly as Vahn expected, Loki was interested to see how he would handle things as they continued to develop. She, along with the rest of the Alliance, would do their best to support him. Depending on how things yed out, especially if they took a defensive stance instead of acting as the aggressors, the Guild would likely back them as well. With public opinion constantly changing to show further support for the Alliance, their momentum would continue to increase until the point where the City itself supported Vahns decisions. Though he may not rise to the position of an Emperor, it wasnt hard to imagine that the position of Leader of the Alliance would give him even more authority. Orario was the strongest nation within the Continent, and it had been for nearly a thousand years. Though he may not rule over it directly, Vahn would undoubtedly be pulling the strings from behind... Remembering that their daughter had actually be the Governor of Orario in the Divination, Lokis eyes gleamed with various schemes. She was starting to understand what her original self had likely been thinking around this same time...it was very likely that a conversation like this had yed out at some point and, after hearing what Vahn wanted to aplish, she probably became determined to raise their daughter to be a capable politician. If Vahn was the head of the Alliance, while their children were the ones regting thews and tariffs within the City, they would have absolute power when it came to making decisions about how to interact with other countries. It would certainly take many years, but Loki was beginning to see several paths forward, each more interesting than the next... After she managed to calm down, Vahn and Loki discussed the matter regarding Rakia, which was a little lessplicated than the Elven Kingdom. The Rakia Kingdom was established as the Empires arm into the Continent of Eden. The Empire itself was located on a Continent to the far west, taking nearly two years across the dangerous Poseidon Sea to reach. When it had been discovered by the mortals of the Continent of Eden, they had named it the New World and expected to find apletely unexplorednd, rich in resources and new discoveries. Instead, they found that more than 70% of the continent had belonged to a massive Empire who, after finding out about the existence of a magical continent across the ocean, immediately set out to conquer it for themselves. Though there was little known about the Empire itself, at least amongst mortals, almost everyone on the continent knew of the Ares Familia and the Rakia Kingdom. They were considered thergest Familia in the entire world, having more than 100,000 members, and the Rakia Kingdom was notorious for its terrible living conditions and its hierarchal society. However, they actually werent considered a major threat by most countries since they had a severeck of resources and typically destroyed thends they conquered, making them infertile and inhospitable to life as a result of killing the spirits in the area. Right now, the Rakia Kingdom posed almost no threat to them since there were thousands of kilometers of forest separating the Rakia Kingdom and Orario. Even if they could march troops this far, they wouldnt be able to maintain a supply line and it would open them up to attacks from both the Iron Hills and the Elven Kingdom. They were essentially stuck turtling up on the western coasts of the continent while periodically trying to probe into other areas by constructing sh.i.p.s to get around therge mountains and cliffs of the continent. All Vahn had to do, at least for the time being, is harass them a bit so thatrger amounts of refugees could escape. Since the Rakia Kingdom relied on forced conscription to maintain their numbers, there was no end to the number of people trying to escape and find better lives for themselves. They prevented this by maintaining powerful borders and harshly punishing those that tried to escape, typically forcing them to their deaths or having them be criminal ves that worked in the mines. This type of mentality was obviously unsustainable so, harassing them over a long period of time would eventually wear them down to the point where they had to try a suicide invasion or cease hostilities. If Vahn continued to pressure them, which wasnt that difficult with Fafnir as his mount, he could eventually force them into negotiations and force them to change their policies or flee the continent. In order to make sure their options were limited, Vahn decided he would wait for a while, so that information could travel, before charging over with Fafnir and destroying the outposts along their borders. Many of the people that manned such outposts were members of the Ares Familia itself, and most of them were zealots that had killed dozens, if not hundreds, of people. Vahn would give them a chance to evacuate at first, but it would be up to them to take his words seriously before the attack. Afterward, Vahn would hit their supply lines directly by targetting their shippingnes and destroying their drydocks. This would likely lead to greater famine within the Kingdom, but that was something Vahn couldnt avoid given the nature and policies of the Ares Familia. Regardless of what actions he took, unless he could destroy the leadership of Rakia Kingdom directly, their citizens would continue to suffer since the society itself was created to weed out the weak while promoting the strong... (A/N: Alternate Titles: This is my seat...kukuku~,Politics (=,...,=);,DRAGOOOOON!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 579 - Tea

Chapter 579 - Tea

Once his conversation with Loki hade to an end, Vahn spent a bit of time watching the girls y Volleyball with Fenrir sitting in hisp since she was unable to y without damaging the ball. They had several restrictions in ce to keep things fair, but the teams had been broken down to have Ais, Tione, Lefiya, and Emiru on one side with Tiona, Lunoire, Chloe, and Maemi on the other. The match was surprisingly very close, but Tiona ended up getting a power spike on her own sister, causing Tione to break the rules by using her power and destroying the ball when her [Berserk] triggered. Vahn wanted to bring a bit of happiness to the world by introducing various sports and games that could be yed by people, with rules restricting their levels to even the ying field. The Path had an infinite number of books rted to various different sports, so once things began to calm down within the world, Vahn figured it would be a good way to develop culture. If people focused less on surviving and obtaining wealth, Vahn expected society would stabilize, even if people were split by their preferences for specific sports. He intended to introduce the concepts when they opened up the school, hoping that the games would spread amongst the children and disseminate throughout the City naturally. There was also the option of showing exhibition matches in the future where they could y an advanced version of the sports in front of arge crowd. Vahn didnt believe bat was the only form of entertainment people could enjoy, as all the girls in the Manor seemed fond of the different games he hade up with. It was a bit shameless, but Vahn expected they could poprize the idea if they made leagues and had thepetitors wear uniforms that showed off their figures a bit. Adventurers already wore somewhat revealing clothing, especially the women, so Vahn expected it would be very popr if he could get attractive girls to participate in the event to draw a crowd. He had a few inhibitions about letting other men see the girls in the Manor, but they didnt really dress in a reserved manner and he honestly couldnt me others for wanting to look... After the game had finished, the celebratory atmosphere slowly began to fade because they had already been ying around for nearly six hours. Since everyone was likely relying on him to bring things to an end, Vahn ended up giving a small speech to motivate the girls to continue working hard before releasing them all. They would begin going into the Dungeon again starting tomorrow, so he encouraged them to get a bit of a rest and perform maintenance on their equipment. Tsubaki handled most of the general maintenance for the girls, but Vahn also contributed when it came to the equipment he had purchased through the shop. Since they had several things to discuss, Vahn invited Riveria to his workshop, to which she somewhat hesitantly agreed. Once they entered inside, Vahn set out a chair and circr table for her to sit at since she typically sat on harder chairs instead of rxing on sofas. After he helped her sit down, doing his best to act as gentlemanly as possible, Vahn set out some tea before sitting opposite of Riveria. For several minutes they simply sat in silence and enjoyed the fragrant tea before Vahn took the initiative and said, "Starting tomorrow, I would like your assistance in creating the band for absorbing natural energy and creating the formation to help the body absorb it..." Riveria had a in expression on her face, but Vahn could see her aura fluctuating slightly before she released a small sigh and said, "I understand...it seems things are progressing a bit faster than I expected. How soon do you think you will be able to finish everything...?" Vahn produced all of the notes he had been keeping in regards to the topic, many of which Riveria had already read previously. He had already gleaned insight into the solution while he was researching the preservation of his own blood for use in creating catalysts. With Terras feathers and blood, Vahn could easily make equipment that could passively absorb natural elemental energy from the air. By having an amulet, or a medallion, infused with a disc of his crystallized blood, it would be able to storerge amounts of natural energy for use. However, with very few exceptions, most people couldnt absorb this energy fast enough to receive any major benefits. Those with high attainments in [Spirit Healing] were a little better at it, but they simply absorbed the energy into their core and couldnt channel it into the w.o.m.b, as would be necessary to increase fertility and nourish the developing fetus. Riveria looked through Vahns notes, finding an almost perfect diagram of her own body that had a ratherplex formation tattoed on her abdomen. She already knew that Vahn couldnt perform Nirvana on everyone that would need the procedure so they had toe up with a more practical solution. It wasnt actually a new concept, tattooing runes into the body to allow for use of specialized magic, but Vahns formation was far moreplex and worked in concert with the belt he wanted to make. He had originally gotten the idea from Riveria herself but had refined it greatly after studying theplex formation on Tsubakis abdomen. Hers literally created a barrier to protect the fetus and Vahn wanted to develop something simr so that there would be less chance of miscarriages. Unfortunately, perhaps by virtue of somew he had yet to understand, the core of the formation created a heart shape and was very embarrassing to see at first nce. When Riveria saw this, she released a long sigh but epted that it was necessary if she wanted to prove that the solution they had found could benefit other Elves. If things worked out, High Elves, Elves, and potentially even Half-Elves, would be able to get pregnant far more easily than in the past, even if they were far away from their home forests. This would allow the Elves to take up residence within Cities, ins, even mountains, as natural energy could be found all over the world. With formations set up to increase the concentration of energy within the environment, they could also minimize the chance of female Elves dying after childbirth since the fetus wouldnt parasitize the energy of their mothers to sustain themselves. After reviewing the information for around forty minutes, Riveria turned her jade eyes to Vahn and asked, "How confident are you in this method?" Vahn had been waiting patiently for Riveria to review everything, understanding she needed to rationalize things in ordance with her own sense of duty and the pride that was rooted deep inside of her nature. When she asked her question, Vahn showed a confident smile and gave her the same number that Sis had helped him calcted, "Im around 98.24% certain this will be a permanant solution that will benefit Elves and High Elves. Things are a little moreplicated for Half-Elves, but my research into the various Half-Races will likely take much longer as its more a physical problem than something solved by magic..." Riveria raised her brows when she heard Vahns estimate, asking, "How did youe up with that number?" The fact he had even given numbers within two decimal points made Riveria somewhat skeptical, even though she could tell he was being honest. Vahn nodded his head, already expecting her question, and said, "It should actually be 100% but, after taking into consideration various environmental factors, the way energy flowed through the bodies of both Elves and High Elves, and ounting for natural deviation and damage to the belt, I came to around 98.24%." Hearing his exnation, Riveria raised her thumb to her chin and tilted her head in thought, realizing Vahn was essentially saying the procedure itself was a perfect solution and the reduced sess rate was rted to external variables. Knowing this made Riveria felt like a heavy weight had been lifted from her shoulders, but it also increased her own anxiety because she still felt like she wasnt ready to take her rtionship with Vahn to the next level. However, she couldnt easily go back on her word since it was actually her actions that led to this situation and she had been the one to initiallypromise with Vahn. He had been working hard to meet her expectations, performing feats that schrs hadnt gleaned any insight into for thousands of years... After closing her eyes for several seconds, Riveria found her resolve and looked toward Vahn with a somewhat serious expression as she said, "Vahn, I want you to know that I intend to have our child sit upon the throne in the future...since my child would have been the heir-apparent in the future, I want to do my duty and raise our child to be a capable leader, regardless of if they are a boy, or a girl." The best case scenario in Riverias mind was to fix the policies of the Elven Kingdom without leading to itsplete destruction. Their people had made the Western Forests their home for millennia and it would be a great travesty if they forsook their Ancestral Lands, where many of their ancestors had been returned to the soil to nourish the future generations. Vahn had already expected something like this to happen from the very moment he learned that Riveria was actually the daughter of the Elven King. He had previously wondered how his son had be Elven King in the Divination, but it made a lot of sense since Riveria was already the only child of the current King. Her husband would have likely been made the future King, making any children she bore as the heir that would have united two different noble bloodlines. Though he didnt know it just yet, this had been the original intent of Alfred when he pressured the King into epting the marriage proposal betrothing Riveria to Alosrin. Seeing that his own progeny were somewhat incapable, Alfred was worried that the next generation would have been even weaker so he wanted to strengthen their bloodline by intermixing with the Royal Family, essentially assimting the two Families over time to obtain greater power and authority. Without overthinking things too much, Vahn nodded his head and said, "I dont mind, Riveria...if that is your wish, I will do my best to support you. However, I dont want our child to simply be a means to an end...we still need to show them all the love they deserve or else they would never be a qualified leader. Without empathy, love, and happiness deeply rooted inside their heart, they would struggle to show it for others and they would simply be a figurehead to promote the growth of the Elven people..." Vahn felt that one of the greatest ws of the Elves was that they didnt show their emotions, meaning their bonds with each other were typically very shallow. There were obvious exceptions, but they were mostly Elves that had left the forest and opened their hearts by exposing themselves to a variety of different peoples and cultures... Riveria showed a gentle smile when she heard Vahns words because she also wished their child would grow up in a loving household. She had struggled a great deal living in the Pnce and knew how difficult it could be to treat rtionsh.i.p.s like an obligation. Her father had always been busy managing the affairs of the Kingdom, so Riveria had found her calling in reading books and training to be a capable mage and the future leader of their people. When she found out that she had been disqualified from the position based on her gender, Riveria had been shocked because there were tens of Elven Queens within their history, far more than the three Kings that had existed. It was at that moment that Riveria truly understood that her people were walking a road towards their inevitable destruction as a result of policies that only created enemies for themselves while destabilizing their own internal structure simply to maintain some asinine status quo that had been established between the various households. She realized that, even though she was the most suitable person for the position, literally spending decades of her life preparing to take up the mantle, she had been relegated to simple breeding stock by people far less qualified than she was. Though she had epted it would be necessary for her people in the future, Riveria had been putting it off for more than fifty years at this point since she wanted to find a better solution... Vahn was an existence she had never expected toe across and he had very quickly changed, not only her life, but the lives of everyone around him. His capabilities were simply ridiculous and he had introduced so many revolutionary concepts that Riveria struggled to even keep up with him. She knew that her rtionship with him could be seen as taking advantage of him, but Riveria believed in the foolish little boy that showed care and concern for her. Though she wasnt good at dealing with her emotions, Riveria believed she could be happy if they worked together to create a better future for everyone. He was the hope she had found, allowing her to escape the fate that had been forced upon her as the daughter of royalty. For nearly a minute, Vahn just watched Riverias smiling face and enjoyed the subtle changes in her expression and aura. She really was a very beautiful woman, having some of the most refined features of any moral girl he had ever seen. When she smiled, Riveria became even more beautiful and the only person that couldpete with her was the inordinately beautiful Syr. Considering that thetter was a demigoddess, it was almost unfair topare them since Riverias beauty felt far more natural. Syr was almost scary at times and it felt like her beauty could pull you in, threatening to consume you if you werent prepared. Riverias was like the warm rays of the sun thatfort to anyone that was able to experience its radiance... Since he was bad at hiding his thoughts, Riveria saw the silly look on Vahns face and frowned slightly before averting her eyes from him. She could see his expression turn even softer from the corner of her eye, making her feel a little frustrated because of how unfair it was for him to be able to read auras. After calming her mind, Riveria turned to Vahn, answering his earlier words, "Though I want our child to be a capable leader, I will never allow them to grow up without knowing the love of both parents...make sure you look after them properly as well...Vahn." Talking about their child made Riveria feel very awkward because they hadnt yet made it, a moment she would be excited about if not for the overwhelming sense of shame she experienced just imagining the scene. Though it was as thin as a hair, Vahn could see the small strand of passionate red in Riverias aura, causing his own heart to begin racing. He was looking forward to his union with Riveria, but it almost seemed impossible to imagine what they would do when the moment finally came. From experience, Vahn knew he would have to take the initiative and Riveria would probably be unable to face him for a while after the fact. Even if he didnt do it intentionally, Vahn knew that Riveria would be very fl.u.s.tered during the event and would probablysh out at him for bullying and teasing herter on. Sensing the change in Vahns expression, Riveria furrowed her brows slightly and returned to their original topic so as to ease the awkward atmosphere. She saw the diagram of her own body and felt her heart palpitate slightly before asking, "This formation...how soon do you intend to inscribe it?" Hearing her words, Vahn was somewhat surprised by Riverias question since he would expect her to try and put it off as long as possible. Realizing that she probably wanted to get closer to him before they became an official couple, Vahn smiled and said, "I can inscribe it whenever youre ready, Riveria. It will take around three hours toplete, so let me know when you have time and well take care of it as soon as possible. It will greatly reduce the time taken for the development of the belt, so I would like to inscribe it before we begin the production process..." Riverias face flushed slightly and Vahn could see that she was actually holding her breath to stifle the sigh she almost instinctually released. After a few long seconds of silence, Riveria said in a somewhat low voice, "Tomorrow afternoon then..." before rising from the table and exiting the room without another word. Vahn watched her retreating figure with his eyes and, even though the curve of her body couldnt be seen clearly through her rtively thick robes, Vahns eyes were trained to be able to discern such things. She was on the thin and lithe side, but Vahn thought Riverias figure suited her very well and was looking forward to tomorrow. However, there was another important event he had to prepare for and he shouldnt ck on his preparations. After waiting patiently for several weeks, Maemi and Emiru would be sleeping in his room tonight and Vahn knew he owed it to the twins to treat them well. He had unfairly forced them into a situation where they needed to expose themselves to danger just so they could earn the right to be with him. Vahn realized that the person he should have put restrictions on in the past was himself, as it was somewhat cruel to force young girls to fight for the right to love. They were very strong and resolute women, so Vahn should have reciprocated their feelings much earlier instead of forcing them to wait. Since there were a few hours until dinner, Vahn decided to spend a bit of time making matching essories for the two as an apology for his previous actions. He knew a bit about their culture so Vahn decided to create pendants for them since their tribes had a tradition of the men giving red beryl pendants during the night they lost their v.i.r.g.i.nities. It wasnt absolutely guaranteed that they would be having s.e.x tonight, but Vahn put the odds to be higher than the sess rate of the procedure he had developed for the Elves. The only thing that would prevent things from progressing to that point was if he made the decision not to, which had had no intention of doing... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Long Periods of Silence,Larfal wont be getting any father of the year rewards,Vahn intending to expand his bouquet...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 580 - Devotion

Chapter 580 - Devotion

Using his new [Lapidary] Development Ability to his advantage, Vahn spent close to two hours cutting and polishing red beryls for the twins before affixing them to nes. So that they had some functional qualities, he left a small Orichalc.u.m sphere inside the center of the beryls and filled the core with a drop of his own crystallized blood. The final product looked a little bit like a bloody teardrop since the beryl was supposed to hang freely and Vahn didnt want the girls to get scratched by any faceted edges. When he was finished, Vahn named the pendants [Beryl Teardrop]s since he couldnte up with a better name within a short period of time... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Beryl Teardrop] Rank: C Slots: 0 P.Def: 0 M.Def: 170 Abilities: Light Emission(C), Magic Vessel(C) A simple pendant forged by a [Master Smith] using umon techniques. Though small, it can shine like the light of hope during times of duress. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though they didnt look like great treasures, Vahn found the simple design to be very beautiful as he always preferred simplicity that beliedplexity. When he had more time, Vahn intended to forge pendants that were more suitable to the two inordinately loyal girls. They may not act like it all the time, but Maemi and Emiru were somewhat simr to Mikoto in the fact they wanted to be his weapons and guardians. Even without his assistance, they were quickly reaching near the peak of Level 2 and werent far from obtaining Level 3 through their own efforts. Though they previously teamed up with Arnya, they typically ventured into the Dungeon with Lunoire and had be a terror for monsters between the 1st and 23rd Floors. Since there was still a bit of time before dinner, Vahn decided to do what he considered the most sensible thing and avoided his first instinct of going to help out in the kitchen. The twins had been very cautious of him all day and Vahn didnt want to set them off or cause any idents to happen. Instead, he headed up to the third-floor balcony and just rxed until it was nearly time for dinner. He spent his time looking out at the surrounding buildings and observing the Manors belonging to the other gods of the Alliance in the distance. Though they were separated by residential districts and various shops, each Manor was rtivelyrge and they werent difficult to see from a high vantage. Most notable was Anubis, as it had the closest proximity and was a giant pyramid structure that stood out from the surrounding buildings... Thinking of Anubis, Vahn felt like he needed to treat her better when she officially moved into the Manor in the future. She seemed intent to serve him for the rest of his life, which likely would continue indefinitely into the future, so Vahn wanted to make her happy. Like Fenrir, Fafnir, and Terra, she was a very loyal and faithful subordinate that would potentially be at his side for all eternity. Unless he could break her free from the constraints of her Divinity, she would likely feel pelled to serve him for a period of time Vahn couldnt really imagine. Fortunately, by the time he returned to the Danmachi record in the far future, Vahn would be near the peak of Tier 6, or potentially even at the starting point of Tier 7, enabling him to easily break such vows and free the gods from the burden of their Divinity. Though it might take him thousands of years to return, Vahn knew that he would be able to remove the shackles from the gods in a period likely less than one-hundred years, at least from their perspective since he intended to freeze the world with a dimensional anchor. As he was often in a position to think about the future, especially after experiencing the Divination, Vahn had already considered what he would be doing when he traveled to other records in the future. He had originally wanted to visit a variety of different worlds that he found interesting, but those seemingly interesting worlds had lost a bit of their vibrancy at this point. Now, he loved the life he was currently living and he wanted to do his best for all the women who had shown him so much love and affection. He would now focus on worlds that could help him increase his strength, preferably those that he could also bring about great change and save those he felt obligated to save, such as Eva. Vahn thought about Eva a lot whenever he was alone since she was the person that had experienced the most simr suffering as his own. She had been exploited by people, forced away from her home, and grew up without the love of others simply because someone had found her interesting. Since her world was Tier 5, Vahn could be much stronger if he reached the pinnacle of that world. However, before he went there, Vahn needed to increase his strength in another record so he would be able to contest against the Mage of the Beginning shortly after entering the world. Unless Eva herself wanted him to go to a timeline when she had already suffered from the curse, Vahn wanted to prevent the event in its entirety. Though he may lose the love of the original Eva, as she would just be the young daughter of a noble, Vahn didnt want to be selfish simply because he fell in love with her future selfs memory fragment... It was difficult to imagine how his mindset would change, but Vahn expected he would mature a lot over the years and this would greatly affect how he treated other records. Instead of simply allowing himself to be dragged along by the plot of a record, Vahn expected he would be the type to take decisive action to bring about change in the worlds. Since the records he visited would likely be linked with him through The Path, Vahn wanted to make sure the worlds he visited were better for his presence rather than having them be worse. He would strive to break apart the corrupt structure of various governments, likely overthrow kings, or potentially topple entire Empires. As long as he could restore hope to themon people of the world, Vahn didnt mind suffering against the influence of Karma on their behalf. Since it was nearing time for dinner, Vahn ran his fingers through his hair and enjoyed the breeze onest time before heading inside to join the others. Thinking about matters of the far future helped him calm his mind greatly and he now felt more confident about the actions he was taking right now. Tonight was yet another step forward on the path he had decided for himself and Vahn didnt want to stumble so soon after he found his resolve to oppose the flow of fate and bear the burdens of the world itself. Fortunately, even if he stumbled a bit, Vahn was surrounded by capable women who would always help him find his footing once again... --- Dinner was a rtively lively affair but there werent any significant events other than Tionas endless endeavor to find Lefiyas limits when it came to her Gourmand curse. Lefiya had long grown ustomed to Tionas behavior at this point and happily ate almost anything that was offered to her, especially if it came from Ais. Though it wasnt often, Lefiya sometimes came to his workshop and talked about her thoughts and actions. She had be somewhat chatty when they were alone together and even sat right next to him when they were talking. Vahn sometimes teased her, though it wasnt because he wanted to bully her since Lefiya herself had asked him to do so on asion so she could get used to it. His most effective method was to mention the heavy petting slip she had been holding onto, generally causing her to immediately turn beet red for several minutes... After dinner came to an end, Vahn immediately headed toward his room since he knew the twins would need to make preparations of their own beforeing to him. They had been eyeing him throughout the meal and everyone present at the dinner table had been very aware of it. Many of the more mature girls gave them teasing looks that caused the two typically stable girls to be somewhat bashful and avoid conversing with others. Fortunately, everyone avoided talking about it directly because they understood it was a moment that needed to be shared between Vahn and the two girls, not something they should get involved with by teasing them. Of course, tomorrow would be fair game and it was highly likely that everyone other than Preasia would be bullying them all day. For nearly an hour, much longer than he actually expected to be waiting, Vahn sat inside his room and contemted the best method to tend to the two girls. He knew from the evening they had shared the same bed that the girls didnt have the same disposition as Anubis, which had been a bit of a surprise. They were the type that didnt mind being teased but wanted to reciprocate with actions of their own instead of suffering one-sidedly. The best thing he could do for them would be to take the initiative and pretend to be a bit selfish to satiate their service mentality. If he sought them somewhat selfishly, Vahn knew the girls would be very happy and would walk away from the evening with a powerful memory to fuel their somewhat overactive imaginations... By the time their presences had appeared outside his door, Vahn had already mentally prepared himself and assumed the air of a Master with an immoral rtionship with his own maids. As he expected, the twins showed up in full maid attire and, soon after entering the room, bowed low in a very practiced manner as they said, "Master, please forgive us for ourte arrival. We got a bit carried away in cleaning our bodies..." Though they had apologetic expressions, Vahns eyes were fixed to the fluffy long tails of the girls that tantalizingly swayed in an almost perfect mirror of each other. Their synchronicity through their [Gemini] had been getting increasingly refined and their coordinated actions always made Vahn feel very intrigued by the two lovable Snow Leopard girls. Vahn was sitting on his bed with his legs crossed, leaning against his own palm while looking at the two girls with deep intrigue etched into his face. It wasnt difficult to pretend that he was interested in them because the truth of the matter was that he was already very interested in them. They were very unique and Vahn was incredibly curious about them, both as individuals and twins that shared an incredible bond through their Innate. With a slightly infatuated look on his face and a glint in his eyes, Vahn dismissively waved his hand and said, "I know the two of you were simply doing your best to properly prepare yourselves beforeing here. Dont mind it too much, as Im grateful for your efforts..." Maemi and Emiru raised their heads and had matching smiles on their faces as their tails ovepped and curled behind their backs before making a heart shape, something they had practiced several times to appeal to him. Vahn squinted his eyes and said, "You two are so unbelievably adorable...tell me honestly, what is it that you desire? If its within my power, I will grant your wishes..." Though he had expected them to y along, Maemi and Emiru surprised him by looking toward each other with thoughtful expressions for several long seconds. Vahn felt a little left out and could feel a strange pressure spreading through the room suddenly. When their conversation came to an end, Vahn saw Emirus eyes change into an icy blue color before she burst into simrly colored particles andpletely vanished. Maemiru smiled with a strangely predatory look in her eyes and a muchrger aura than the two individual ones that had been present when they were split. Currently, in their fused state, Maemiru had a total of 14,608 parameters and they had the equivalent strength of a Level 5 based on parameters alone. They werent nearly as strong as Vahn himself, but he could still feel the pressure radiating from their body and the underlying sense of danger they represented. Fortunately, their devotion toward him was even stronger when they fused and, though she gave him a somewhat predatory look, Vahn felt very at ease and wasnt worried they would try anything funny. Though he had some idea of what they were thinking, Vahn received the answer from the girls mouth before he even asked the question. Maemiru began walking toward the bed with very slow steps as they exined in a sultry and seductive tone, "We decided that our first time with Master would be together...even if our senses are linked, it would be very lonely to lose our v.i.r.g.i.nities at different times. It feels more meaningful like this and we believe Master can help us maintain the form even if we exert ourselves~." By the time their words had finished, Maemiru had reached the edge of the bed and began crawling toward Vahn with a hungry look in their eyes. Vahn expected something like this to happen at some point but he was somewhat surprised things were going to start with them fused together. Thinking about it, Vahn could understand their thought process and understood it would actually strengthen their bond greatly if they lost their v.i.r.g.i.nities together instead of separately. If they didnt break the link, their h.y.m.e.ns would have still been broken at the same time, but Vahn would have only been making love to one of them. This was a better method since it was a simr oue but they could now experience it together instead. With a smile on his face, Vahn didnt shy away under the girls gaze and casually said, "If that is your desire, I wont back down...it is a little unfortunate though..." Hearing the first part of his words, Maemirus eyes shone with an expectant light before confusion appeared on their face immediately thereafter. Vahn dashed away their confusion in an instant when he produced the two [Beryl Teardrop]s, causing Maemirus expression to freeze as she processed what her eyes were seeing. Almost as ifpelled by an irresistible force, their body shone with a magical light before Emiru plopped into existence next to Maemis body. Vahns smile widened greatly and he exined, "I want to respect your heritage, even if you left it behind when you came to the City. Though they arent the highest quality items Ive forged, they are the first nes I formed using my new Development Ability. Please, ept this gift as a disy of the affection I feel for the two of you..." Maemi and Emiru stared at the pendants in Vahns hands with somewhat teary-eyed expressions as the mewled, "Master..." in an almost sobbing tone. Before Vahn was able to lean forward and ce the pendants around their necks, the twins moved forward at the same time and hugged his body as he fell backward on the bed. They rubbed their cheeks against his in an osciting manner and Vahn could feel their auras wrapping around him as the passionate red took on a vibrant and happy yellow. Though it was a bit of an unexpected development, Vahn didnt mind taking things slow so he hugged the girls around their waists andforted them for a while until they were able to calm themselves... After around twenty minutes, Maemi and Emiru had managed to collect themselves and looked much happier than they had been previously. They had been very tense when they first entered the room and decided to act boldly in order to ease their tensions. Now, after feeling the care and affection Vahn had for them, they had calmed down a great deal and were affectionately staring at the pendants Vahn had ced around their necks. In their tribe, this would have essentially made them married, even though their culture didnt actually have traditional marriages that were validated by governing bodies. Vahn sat in front of the two bubbly girls and watched them affectionately until they finally turned their attention back to him. He smiled in response and said, "Dont apologize...Im happy that youre so pleased with my gift. Thanks for epting it, Maemi, Emiru..." The twins had forgotten their self-imposed status for a moment and were about to apologize for making Vahn wait for them yet again. However, he had easily seen through them and kept the momentum in his favor, effectively silencing the two girls as they struggled to think of how they should be acting. Vhan saw they slightly chaotic auras and reached out his hands, stroking the two girls heads as he softly said, "There is no need to push yourselves to behave in a certain way...we can worry about thatter. For now, just be happy since your smiling faces are very beautiful." Maemi and Emiru showedplicated expressions on their faces and Vahn could see their auras transition from yellow, through pink, and clear into the color of a passionate red in several short seconds. They sent each other a look before saying, "Master, we want to be with you even more now...please dont force us to wait even longer..." Considering that they could actually just rx after the fact, Vahn didnt have any intention of making them wait so he nodded his head and said, "Sure, but Id like it if the two of you put on a bit of a show before fusing together. I feel like seeing two naughty maids doing a striptease would satisfy my sensibilities a great deal..." Vahn had immediately transitioned back into the act he had decided up at first and it seemed very effective as both girls eyes shone with a fervent light. They quickly opened up a bit of a distance from him and remained kneeling on the bed as they stared into each others eyes for several seconds. Vahn had learned that this was not only a form ofmunication between them but also allowed them to synchronize their thoughts better. The reason why they often looked toward each other was essentially so they could n their future actions by ovepping their wills. Thus, after around twenty seconds of silence, they both turned toward him with seductive smiles as they began to strip away each individual piece of their maid outfits... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lapidary Represent!,Forward Thinking,Gemini In Action) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 581 - Master

Chapter 581 - Master

Seeing Emiru and Maemi almost perfectly mirror each others movements as they stripped away their clothing made Vahns brain buzz in excitement. He made no effort to conceal his intrigue either, so both girls were putting more effort into their actions as they turned their backs to him and unfastened the bodices of their dresses, allowing the loosened fabric to fall from their shoulders, revealing their fair-skinned backs to Vahn. The fabric caught against their tails and remained on their h.i.p.s as they loved of their shoulders and smiled in a seductive manner before wiggling their butts free from the clothing along with their inordinately long and fluffy tails. Vahn habitually licked his lips before sucking in his bottom lip and biting it with his teeth as his heart began to itch in anticipation. As he had expected Maemi and Emiru were wearing their victory underwear, so Vahn got a clear view of their unblemished mounds when they poked their butts out, clearly intending for him to see. Along with the somewhat dangerous underwear, the twins were wearing a thin strapless bra that was covered in frills to match the color and design of their panties. As was the case with most Beast Humans with a feline heritage, the twins were very lithe and had thin and fit figures. Their b.r.e.a.s.ts were rather small, only around an AA-Cup from Vahns previous measurements, but the curve of their bodies leading into their pert buttocks was very beautiful. They were somewhat pear-shaped with their marginally wider h.i.p.s and Vahn always marveled at how wonderful the butts of girls with tails could be. Because they had moreplex muscles around the area, the shape was often very appealing and seeing two identical posteriors made Vahn feel a pressure in the bridge of his nose. With their dresses removed, the only clothing left on their bodies were their cute and ornate looking bras, their incredibly dangerous and revealing panties, and the garter belt/stockingbination that greatly enhanced the bnce of the seductive outfit. A yful look appeared in the eyes of the girls at this point as they turned toward each other and pressed their bodies together in a manner reminiscent of the first time they had appealed to him. Instead of trying to earn his pity, however, the twins had amorous looks on their faces as they looked directly at him for several seconds. Vahn watched as they hugged each others bodies and traced their hands along each other before slowly drawing their faces together... Vahns eyes widened slightly and he couldnt stop himself from swallowing as he watched the distance between their lips reach a near-zero distance. However, just before they made contact with each other, Emirus body vanished in particles of light leaving the giggling and seductive Maemiru behind, saying, "Did Master want to watch two sisters making out with each other? How naughty~." Vahns mental faculties came to a slow crawl that matched Maemirus approach as she traced her hands around his shoulders and whispered, "Well show you plenty of interesting thingster..." before licking his cheek in a single slowpping motion. Since he knew they would want to take care of it themselves, Vahn had left his clothing on but was now regretting his earlier decision. Though it was very obvious they were pushing themselves a bit, as maintaining their fused state was very taxing, Vahn appreciated their efforts and was feeling a bit eager himself. However, he did his best to remain calm and just loosely held Maemirus waist as they slowly peeled away his clothing while periodically licking his body. Vahn was making sure they had enough energy to sustain the form since it would likely break much faster when they began exerting themselves. They couldst nearly fifty minutes if they werepletely rxed, but had never managed more than four minutes during actualbat. S.e.x wasnt as intense asbat, normally, but it would definitely put a burden on their body since they were still a v.i.r.g.i.n. After removing his tunic, Maemiru paused for a while before nuzzling into his neck and deeply inhaling Vahns scent. He didnt mind it at all, as it wasnt umon for the Beast Girls to get drunk off of his scent when they were excited. Though they werent exactly the same as Cat People, Maemirus Snow Leopard heritage was a derivative species so their bodies experience heat in a simr fashion. When they were excited, especially during their first time, the girls would be very affectionate and often rubbed their faces and bodies against their lovers for a long period of time before they actually had s.e.x. Strangely, this would be followed by a short period of avoidance after the fact, though Vahn didnt think that would be the case given the twins natures. Once they had gotten their fill, Maemiru pulled her face away from his neck with a hazy expression in their eyes as they said, "Master...smells nice...mauuufuuu..." Hearing their sensual verbal tick. Vahns own breathing began to increase as Maemiru pulled her body away slightly and began unfastening his trousers. They had previously been moving their h.i.p.s against his bulged and his dark-grey pants already had a stain on them that caused Maemiru to blush slightly as she pulled down his zipper and saw the thin fabric of his briefs. For several long seconds, they stopped and just stared at his tent before making Vahns heart race when they leaned forward and began affectionately stroking their face against his lower body. Doing his best to maintain his rationale, Vahn disyed his own affection by stroking their hair and ears without reprimanding them for losing themselves in the moment. Vahn had long grown fond of how affectionate his various kittens could be and it made him feel a greater attachment to them when he saw them behaving like this. Maemirus emotions were always at a hyper-elevated statepared to Maemi and Emiru and their sense of smell was also greatly increased. At this point, it seemed like they hadpletely forgotten their y and were drowning in the moment as a result of the sensory overload they were experiencing. Even their aura, instead of clinging to him, writhed across his body as if it was stroking against him in the same way as Maemiru herself. After several minutes of this rather peculiar experience, Maemiru began to make low and drawn out mau sounds and Vahn could tell they hadpletely lost themselves and couldnt move forward on their own anymore. Vahn put a bit of strength in his palm movements and pulled the drunken looking Maemiru away from his waist. Instead of showing any signs of dissatisfaction, Maemiru eagerly pressed against his palm and rubbed her own face and head against his hands. Vahn eventually held her head with both hands, causing Maemiru to released a muffled mauuu~ as her body wriggled around. Pulling her face toward his, Vahn leaned forward and kissed Maemiru on the lips to guide her further up his body. They eagerly returned his kiss as Vahn slowly pulled his head back, causing the girls to chase after his mouth and crawl up his body. At this point, more than forty minutes had passed and they hadnt even progressed to the climactic moment for the fused girls. Vahn was very interested in their current behavior and was tempted to spoil them a bit but wanted to move things along since there was plenty of time for such thingster. He was greatly enjoying this moment, but Vahns own tensions had already been drawn taut and he was feeling a bit impatient and eager in his heart. One of the things that had changed in his rtionsh.i.p.s with the girls was the fact that he had been learning to enjoy s.e.x both physically and emotionally. He had his own urges to needed to be sated and the girls actions and behaviors had riled him up a great deal at this point... For several minutes, Vahn continued to tangle tongues with Maemiru as he infused her body with energy to keep her form stable. There was a very real chance that something could go horribly wrong and, if their body split while he was inside them, he would probably suffer a very grievous and traumatic injury. Though he would undoubtedly recover, Vahn wanted to avoid that somewhat nightmarish scenario so he remained patient until they werepletely stable. Like Cat People, they preferred the seated position for their first time and Maemiru had already been eagerly grinding against his h.i.p.s with her tail affectionately coiling around his waist pulling them closer together. Vahn separated from Maemiru, watching as they absentmindedly stuck out their tongue as if they were looking for his own before their eyes snapped back to awareness and they tried closing the distance on their own. Instead of kissing them again, Vahn hugged Maemirus body close to his own and allowed them to adapt to the change as she began licking around his neck and shoulder. The moment he began moving their waist, Maemirus body began to react and they became easy to move just by guiding their lower back with his palm. Since they had failed to finish undressing him, Vahn unequipped his own clothing, causing his hot ns to shoot up toward their steamy mound and cause their body tense up. Fortunately, their evolution deviated away from biting so Maemiru just tucked her head tight against his body and squeezed him with their long tail. Vahn reached his hand between their thighs and positioned himself properly, probing into their hot vulva with his ns before finding the entrance of their v.a.g.i.n.a. Maemiru immediately coiled up their body even more but Vahn noticed that their lower body remainedpletely rxed as an instinctual protective measure to make it less painful for them. He had noticed this phenomenon in the past, but the slow buildup with Maemiru and the potential dangers entry posed made Vahn very aware of everything that was happening. After firmly pressing himself against the entrance, allowing his ns to prate into their v.a.g.i.n.a slightly. Vahn moved his hand to Maemirus backside and began infusing energy into her nerves and muscles to ease any pain they might feel while enhancing their pleasure receptors. With a slow and firm pressure, Vahn began forcing Maemirus h.i.p.s down, gently rocking them from side-to-side so that he could probe even deeper into their tight and hot depths. Since she was in heat, Maemirus body temperature had skyrocketed and her v.a.g.i.n.a had fallen slightly to meet his ns earlier than he expected. Barely after he was halfway inside her body, Vahn felt the back of Maemirus v.a.g.i.n.a but noticed that it was strangely stic, something that usually only happened after their body had adapted to entry. Maemiru hadnt even flinched when he broke their h.y.m.e.n, but they began to release a low and groaning m.o.a.n when he pressed his hot ns against their cervix and began pushing against it. They began to breathe very rapidly and Vahn could feel their heartbeat elerating quickly through their rather small b.r.e.a.s.ts. Even now, Maemiru was still wearing their bra but Vahn could still feel the softness underneath the smooth fabric and the two firm beads scratching against his chest. Vahn did his best tofort Maemiru as her body slowly adapted to his entry and she sunk lower against his h.i.p.s by wiggling her own lower body, simr to how Aki and Chloe had done in the past. By the time the resistance of their v.a.g.i.n.a had increased to an insurmountable extent, Vahn was around 70% inside Maemiru, which wasnt bad for their first time considering their petite and lithe figure. Once things had reached this point, Vahn could feel the heat in their body increasing even more as their cervix massaged against his ns as it if was trying to suck the fluids from his tip. Vahn knew it was very difficult for those with a feline heritage until he ejacted into them for the first time so he began to rock Maemirus h.i.p.s when she had gotten ustomed to his entry. Maemiru seemed to have a very high pain tolerance, or perhaps she was still drunk from her earlier actions, since she began to mau in an adorable fashion that made Vahns brain buzz. Equally as adorable was how Maemiru used their tail as an extra limb and she would pull her own body against his every time she lowered her h.i.p.s slightly. He wasnt doing any major pistoning, as he didnt want to cause her any difort, and just continued to poke against her cervix which followed his movements in a strangely eager fashion. Even when he moved out of her v.a.g.i.n.a slightly, her cervix would descend as if it refused to separate from his ns and it made Vahn smile as he affectionately stroked Maemirus head. They seemed to havepletely forgotten about kissing him and was just clinging to his shoulders while taking rapid breaths and mau-ing in a quiet and sensual manner. Vahn felt that moments like this were very precious and he greatly enjoyed the slower s.e.x he had with individual girlspared to the events he had with entire groups. Maemiru felt so small and adorable in his arms and each of their reactions was fresh and exciting, making him feel a greater affection for them. Being able to hug them like this while stroking their body and gently moving their h.i.p.s was a very fulfilling experience and Vahn felt especially fond of them at this moment, greatly desiring to prolong things if not for the fact they needed him to finish sooner. Fortunately, his tensions had already been very high from the start and Vahn made absolutely no attempt to dy things, allowing Maemiru to feel relief after a short eight minutes. Feeling the hot substance enter their body, Maemirus dazed expression turned into an almost agonized look as they tilted their head back and squinted their eyes slightly, letting two beads of tears drop down their rosy cheeks. They werent feeling any pain, their eyes had just been very watery from their overwhelming emotions and the sudden gentle climax that ran through their body was unlike anything they had felt before. It was very satisfying and made them feelplete and full as their body trembled and they relied on Vahns embrace to keep from falling backward. Vahn had a gentle smile on his face and affectionately stroked their body while feeding energy into their abdomen to keep them from spontaneously splitting apart. He had no idea what would happen if they were i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed while fused together, but Vahn wasnt going to escape at thest moment and did his best to remain calm and collected even during his own ejaction. At nearly the same time, Vahn and Maemiru both released sighs after her body had settled down and she limplyy against his body while he embraced her tightly. Since she was in heat, Maemiru was definitely ovting and there was a high chance they would get pregnant unless they took preventative measures. Vahn knew they didnt actually intend to have babies so soon, as they wanted to increase their strength a lot more before then, but he was still curious about how Maemi and Emiru would be affected by Maemirus pregnancy. He wondered if the egg would be split, effectively leading to a miscarriage, or if their body would produce two eggs at a time, allowing them to both get pregnant together. There were many unknowns so Vahn felt it was better if they got pregnant the normal way instead of while being fused together. After several minutes, where Maemiru justy in a contented daze, they suddenly raised up their body and Vahn could feel their aura shrinking rapidly as it became cid and gentle. This was the moment when they would typically show disinterest since they were sessfully i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed but Maemiru had returned to her senses at this point and didnt try to escape. Instead, they showed a gentle and loving smile on their face as they simply muttered, "Master..." Though they had often referred to him as Master, this moment was distinctly different from previous instances because there was an incredible sincerity to their words and an annoying notification from the system. //Unique Entity [Maemiru] Wishes To Be Your Subordinate: (Y/N?)// Given the fact that the notification urred, Vahn knew it was their actual desire to be his subordinate so Vahn didnt try to talk them out of it. He had learned from his interactions with Lefiya that it had actually made her feel a little less confident when he had warned her so many times in the past. Since it wouldnt appear unless it was their actual desire, Vahn epted without overthinking the situation and just caressed Maemirus face, saying, "From now on, we will always be together...thank you for choosing me as your Master, Maemiru..." Maemirus eyes glowed with a fervent light and Vahn heard a shocking number of pings within the system as their Loyalty parameter showed a shocking value of 24,226. The individual Love parameters of Maemi and Emiru had only been around 4,000 each, so it was somewhat unexpected to see the five-digit number. Maemiru lifted their hands up and framed Vahns face before showing a deeply affectionate smile that strangely radiated a sense of loyalty as they said, "We will be the strongest weapon and the most durable shield if it means our Master can be happy...no matter how far you go, we will always follow close behind to protect your back...this is our eternal oath...the truest expression of our love..." With their words finished, Maemiru brought their lips close to Vahns and gave him a very tame kiss that felt far more passionate than anything they had done earlier. Though it was somewhat different than the normal oath, Maemiru had essentially just made an Eternal Vow with Vahn and sealed the contract with a kiss. An invisible and awe-inspiring force spread through the room and Vahn could feel his connection with Maemiru be as solid as the chains of his [Enkidu]... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tantalizing Twins,Adorable Kitten,Love, Devotion, Reverence...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 582 - Sages Reflection

Chapter 582 - Sage''s Reflection

After their vow had been pleted, Maemiru eventually ended up splitting back into Maemi and Emiru, fortunately allowing Vahn ample time to remove himself beforehand. Now that they had lost their v.i.r.g.i.nities, the girls wanted to properly service Vahn because they had felt a little guilty for their earlier behavior. Neither girl seemed to be embarrassed by how they behaved, they just wanted Vahn to feel good since he had treated them so gently. They coordinated their efforts and both took a turn to have slow and rxed s.e.x with him while the other hugged his body from behind as they sandwiched his body, affectionately caressing his muscles and licking around his head and neck. Vahn felt very pampered by the two girls and greatly enjoyed their time together, showing them his gratitude after the fact with a bit of heavy petting. They didnt purr in the same way as the various Cat People within the Manor, but they emitted a strange nasally grunting sound, especially when he stroked around their abdomens and the sides of their head. It was a little bit of an awkward noise, but Vahn felt that it just added to their charm, especially because they would be very embarrassed after uttering the sound. The most interesting thing was how they could coil their tails around him with a surprising amount of strength, which was strangelyforting with how soft their tails were. By the end of the evening, Vahn ended up with a sister on each arm as they worked together to lick around the sides of his head, a grooming behaviormon in those descended from felines. They also had dry tongues and it was veryfortable as long as they didnt focus on one area for too long. Since they could perfectly mirror each other, Vahn just had to rx his body and he got to experience their unique method of spoiling him. Though they sniffed around his body in a somewhat embarrassing manner, Vahn had long grown ustomed to such behaviors and just loosely held their waists while they explored his body with an insatiable curiosity... After the twins had fallen asleep, Vahn reflected over the events of the evening and check his system once again to confirm what he had seen earlier. When Maemiru split back into the two girls, her namepletely vanished from his Unit Management tab while Maemis and Emirus names reappeared in his Affection list. Their Love for him had increased a fair amount, but it wasnt the drastic loyalty they showed when they were fused together. As it was the product of an Innate, Vahn didnt really understand how things worked but it seemed as though The Path treated Maemiru as a unique entity while the twins were individually considered as normal. This meant that he couldnt give them orders while they were split, not that it really made that big of a difference since they would generally do what he asked of them. Vahn sometimes found himself wondering about his Unit Management function and his ability to make other entities into his subordinates. It was inarguably a very powerful function of The Path and, if he used it to his advantage, Vahn could imagine slowly taking over an entire record if he subordinated enough creatures, especially if they were entities he could name through the Akashic Tome. Because it worked by pelling them based on their own thoughts and instincts, it was almost like a subtle form of mental maniption, bordering on full-blown mind control if their Loyalty was high enough. Though he had never acted on it, Vahn couldnt deny he was tempted at times to see how effective it could be. One of the things he had considered was trying to give Fenrir an order to be a great schr to see if it would change her mentality over time. He also considered impossible orders to see if he could help promote the growth of Innates and even awaken new skills. Vahn suspected if he gave Lefiya an order to try and awaken the [Featherfoot] skill, she would be able to get insight into it much faster because of the change in her mentality. To a greater extent, Vahn had wanted to try and order Fafnir to learn how to transform into a human by learning from Terra, ordering her to do her best to teach him the method. Though they would certainly try to do these things even if he asked them normally, Vahn felt like they would be able to achieve it much faster if their loyalty is high since it seemed to change their thoughts to reflect his intentions... Another thing Vahn had discovered was the passive effect of having someone as his subordinate, which he had been researching through his interactions with all of his subordinates. Even without sending them orders, those with high Loyalty were able to understand his thoughts and were attuned to his emotional state. Much like how Hephaestus could sense the changes in his heart, they were able to sense when he was happy, sad, or angry, often sharing these emotions themselves. Terra didnt get angry easily, but she had shown clear perturbation during the confrontations against Alosrin and Ash. For those like Fenrir and Anubis, they were even susceptible to his senses, often hearing phantom sounds, instinctively looking towards the things he had detected, and even feeling sensations if he thought about touching them. Vahn had discovered this when he was ying around with Fenrir and he had been able to pet her without actually touching her body. Her Loyalty was a monstrous 143,293 at this point and Vahn could increase it simply by focusing on her with enough intent. Even if he was far away from her, Vahn could imagine them being together with his imaginary self petting her and Fenrir would feel it. He sometimes did this whenever he saw she was bored and she would begin toze around happily as she daydreamed along with his mental image. Though he hadnt tried it with the other girls yet, Vahn was sometimes tempted to tease Anubis, Terra, and even Lefiya to see how they would react... As this thought passed through his mind, Vahn could sense Anubis stir awake even though they were separated by several kilometers. He smiled and apologized for waking her and could sense warmth emitted from her before she returned to her slumber. This once again showed just how attuned they were to each other, though it still paled inparison to his current bond with Hestia. She had a simr adaptation period as Hephaestus since every time he was with another girl or got riled up, she had felt the sensations with her own body. Though she already spent a lot of time in her room, she had almost locked herself up inside of it for the better part of three weeks so as to avoid suddenly being brought to climax in the middle of a conversation. Even if he was with another girl, Hestia could feel his actions almost as if he were touching her body and she had been both enjoying and menting their bond for a while. When she came to his mind, Vahn could see Hestiaying in her bed with a red face as she looked upward and gave him a gentle smile. Vahn imagined caressing her face and saw Hestia scrunch up happily as if he was actually stroking her. Her 540 Million Love wasnt for show and Vahn almost felt inseparable from her regardless of what else he was focused on. She didnt take advantage of their bond at all, fortunately, and had be much more content and docile after it was established. She had previously been somewhat clingy and liked to behave in a spoiled manner but now Hestia was almost always being spoiled by him whenever he was with another girl. He could also sense her presence when he was hard at work sometimes and it allowed him to work harder and maintain focus feeling her gentle and encouraging aura around him. As he had started to feel very tired at this point, Vahn allowed his mind to wander and slowly fell into the embrace of darkness. He only dreamed when it was important, so Vahn typically had peaceful nights and would quickly awaken to find himself at the dawn of a new day,pletely refreshed from the previous days exertions. This time, however, just as he was able to fade into the darkness, Vahn identally humored the thought of getting closer to all of his subordinates, causing the image of a bashful Elf to appear within his mind just as darkness fell upon him... --- Lefiyas eyes snapped open and she looked toward the ceiling, almost as if she could see through the barrier between her room and Vahns. She resided in the room right below his alongside Tiona, Tione, and Ais, so Lefiya was always in close proximity to Vahn. Though she wasnt remotely close to the same level as girls like Anubis, Fenrir, and even Terra, Lefiya could still feel her connection to Vahn after learning how to focus on it. After having him give her several different kinds of orders, Lefiya had grown ustomed to recognizing his presence within her heart and mind, something that got progressively stronger the more she desired to know his thoughts. Though she would normally be enjoying the warmth of Tiona and Ais right now, Lefiya continued to stare up at the roof in confusion because she didnt understand what the signal she had received meant. It was very abstract, almost like Vahn hadnt intentionally given her an order and simply allowed it to slip subconsciously. She might have put it to the back of her mind in normal circ.u.mstances, but Lefiya felt like it was strangely important to determine what he wanted. If it was something he desired in his subconscious mind, Lefiya felt like it could bring them even closer together if she could figure it out and make his desire a reality... Afterying in silence for nearly half an hour, Lefiya felt a bit at a loss because she couldnt think of anything even if she tried focusing on their bond with all her might. The only thing she managed was to sense sadness and mncholy from Vahn, which made her heart twinge in pain as her mind retreated from their bond. She felt he must be having a very sad dream and it made her feel sad even whenever she tried toprehend what he was going through. Tonight was the night he had been with Emiru and Maemi, so Lefiya expected he would be happy instead of feeling sadness, mncholy, and even fear. It was like he was having a nightmare and it made her have a strange urge to go up to his room and try tofort him. Since she knew the twins were with him, Lefiya remained in her bed but continued to stare up at the ceiling for a very long time thereafter, trying to will Vahn to feel happy through their shared connection. As she was unable to understand what he had wanted from her, Lefiya resolved herself to try and understand Vahn better in the future. If she got closer to him, Lefiya believed she could support him when he was sad and help drive away the negative emotions that burdened his heart. Vahn often talked about their shared happiness, so Lefiya wanted to do her best to share some of the happiness she felt being with the people she cared about. If Vahn could feel the same feelings she felt, Lefiya believed he wouldnt be so sad and only have good dreams... --- Vahn awoke early the next morning and felt very refreshed, enjoying the lukewarm body heat of the two girls that were snuggled up in his embrace. They had very cute sleeping expressions and Vahn felt a little guilty about having to awaken them for an early bath so they wouldnt bete for morning training. It was also necessary for them to take a contraceptive within the next few hours or their chances of being pregnant would go up a great deal. He didnt mind if they actually got pregnant, as it seemed to be the trend right now, but Vahn knew they wanted to increase their strength in preparation for the future. After Maemiru made her oathst night, Vahn suspected the twins desire to get stronger would be even stronger now. After enjoying their warmth for a while longer Vahn gently shook the girls shoulders to stir them awake, feeling his brain buzz a bit when they both slowly opened their eyes and mirrored each others yawn before stretching their bodies in an alluring disy of flexibility. When they had finished stretching, Maemi and Emiru turned to him before closing the distance and kissing both of his cheeks, saying, "Good morning, Master~." in a very sensual tone of voice. Vahn smiled and stroked the two girls hair, saying in a gentle tone, "I feel like you have be even more beautiful now...thank you, Maemi, Emiru, for allowing me to experience something so fulfilling..." Maemi and Emiru turned to look at each other for a few seconds before issuing a peal of yfulughter from their lips as they stroked their stomachs and said, "We should be thanking Master for filling us up sopletely...maufuu~" Toward the end of their words, the twins leaned forward and hugged him once again and rubbed their faces against his in a very affectionate manner until Vahn eventually ushered them towards the bath. However, things took a strange turn when Vahn entered thending on the second floor and saw Lefiya dragging a very sleepy looking Ais, both still in their pajamas. When she turned and saw Vahn standing with Maemi and Emiru, Lefiyas eyes opened slightly before she said, "Good morning, Vahn..." Though she had already noticed him, Ais smiled after hearing Lefiyas words and repeated, "Good morning...Vahn..." in a soft and sleepy tone. Vahn was surprised to see the two girls up at this time since they would typically be heading outside in around an hour. Feeling a strange incongruity at the situation, Vahn looked toward Lefiya and asked, "Lefiya, why are you up so early?" With a strangely resolute look in her eyes, Lefiya pursed her lips slightly before saying, "We dont get to spend that much time together, so I wanted to try and..." She had started off strong, but Lefiya started to blush fiercely at her own words since Maemi and Emiru were present. Vahn squinted his eyes slightly and noticed that Lefiyas aura was gravitating towards him much more than normal, though still decidedly less than the sleepy Ais standing right next to her. Just as he was about to ask why she was acting like this, Lefiya beat him to the punch and exined, "When you were asleepst night, I felt that you were having a bad dream and wanted to try and make you happy...Im sorry if I inconvenienced you, Vahn." With her words finished, Lefiya bowed apologetically and Vahn immediately felt very guilty for calling her motives into question. He wasnt sure what she meant by him having a bad dream, as he couldnt remember anything at all, but it was very obvious she was concerned about him. So as not to belittle her concerns, Vahn smiled as he walked forward and ced his palm atop Lefiyas head, saying in a gentle tone, "Thank you for caring about me so much, Lefiya...I am very grateful such a cute Elf is worrying about my well being." Though she was still blushing, Lefiyasplexion actually normalized a fair amount as she squinted her eyes slightly and enjoyed the feeling of the warm energy flowing through her head. Ais watched this urring from the side and had a look like a starved child that just saw sweets on disy in a candy shop. Vahn resisted the urge tough and simply stroked both girls heads for a short while before all five of them went to the bath together... Though it wasnt the first time she had made the offer, Vahn was a little surprised with how insistent Lefiya was when she wanted to wash his back. Maemi and Emiru were still in a very affectionate mood and had taken up the task of washing his body before Lefiya very uncharacteristically offered her assistance. Since Ais was present, Vahn immediately noticed that this was very abnormal because Lefiya was typically more aware of her presence than his own. Checking his system, Vahns eyes widened a great deal when he noticed Lefiyas Loyalty had somehow increased from 439 to 1,223 over the course of a short few hours. Lefiyas initial Loyalty value had been somewhat high at 91, but it typically only increased a few points per day, never nearly 800 in a single evening. Vahn wondered what had changed for such a drastic increase to have urred, asking, ("Sis, what kind of dream did I havest night?") Though he was a bit distracted by Lefiyas awkward hand movements, Vahn ignored it for the time being and decided to ask his always reliable Big Sis for guidance on the matter. Almost immediately after he asked, she responded by exining, (*I cant know for certain, but it should have been a nightmare rted to your previous life. Your [Will of the Emperor] protects your mind from things that could destabilize your mentality and it inhibits the part of your brain that allows you to have bad dreams...*) Sis wasnt entirely sure how it worked herself, as Innates were beyond her own understanding and she could only infer what was happening by analyzing the chemical signals from Vahns brain. Vahns mind nked for a short while, causing Sis to answer the question he wanted to ask, (*Yes, youve been having nightmares almost every night since you arrived in this world. It usually doesntst very long, but you have intermittent impulses of negativity when you are asleep...*) With Siss exnation, Vahn understood why Lefiya might have had such a massive increase if she had somehow managed to tap into his negative emotions. She was probably very worried about him and this made Vahn feel both warm and extremely apologetic at the same time. However, long before he even finished thinking about if he should apologize or not, Vahn felt a very soft sensation press against his back as Lefiya hugged him with her n.a.k.e.d body and said, "Master, dont be sad..." in a very quiet and soothing voice. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sage Mode After S.e.x,The Power of Lefiyas Delusions,Night Terrors and a Maidens Embrace...) (A/N: For those that are a bit confused, please remember that Lefiya has always been a girl that has very powerful delusions. She essentially got the signal from Vahn and allowed her own thoughts to run rampant until she had convinced herself to act in ordance with his subconscious desire. It wasnt that Vahn had inadvertently brainwashed her, he just triggered her own over-active imagination to run rampant until it was blown greatly out of proportion.) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 583 - Transition

Chapter 583 - Transition

Lefiyas sudden actions had not only surprised Vahn, but she earned a few strange looks from the nearby Emiru and Maemi as well. As for Ais, she tilted her head slightly in curiosity before disying a slight smile and continuing to wash her body. Since Lefiya often hovered around her, Ais had already noticed the abnormalities in her Elvenpanion but she didnt mind the change at all, seeing it as something that was bound to happen eventually. She and Lefiya had often talked about Vahn when they were reading together and Ais knew how fond of Vahn Lefiya had be recently. For a few seconds, Vahn became distracted by the unexpected sensation against his back before turning his head in a mechanical fashion. Lefiya had been fine when she wasforting him but, the moment Vahn looked back at her, the young Elfs face became beet red in an instant as she finally seemed to realize what she was doing. However, instead of trying pull away in a bashful manner, Lefiya just lowered her head slightly and muttered, "I want you to be happy...Van..." as her ears drooped before waggling up and down. Seeing this, Vahn smiled and said in a low voice of his own, "Thank you, Lefiya." before turning away so she could calm down. Though she likely hadnt intended it, Lefiya released a hot sigh of relief against Vahns back when he turned away, still pressing her own body against his for several seconds after the fact. Vahn just closed his eyes and focused his mind on other things, including the Dungeon and his future arrangement with Riveria. Today he would be watching over Shizune and they were going to be taking her down to the 5th Floor for the first time since she had be very adept at killing Goblins and Kobolds. This would take up the majority of his morning, potentially stretching a bit into the afternoon, and then he would be meeting up with Riveria to tattoo the formation onto her stomach. Today would be a busy day full of interesting developments, so Vahn wasnt going to let Lefiyas unexpectedly affectionate disy knock him off kilter. Sensing that Vahn had calmed down greatly, Lefiya released his body and was happy that she had been able to helpfort him. However, the gaze of the twins was very heavy so she eventually retreated toward Ais for the remainder of the bath. Even so, she would periodically cast her gaze to Vahn just to check up on him and there were also moments when Lefiya would close her eyes as if she was trying to sense something. Ais watched her actions with interest and was curious about what she was trying to do, saying in a quiet whisper, "Lefiya had be bolder..." Hearing this, Lefiya became very red and looked to Ais with a pitiful expression, exining, "Im just worried about Vahn...please dont misunderstand, Ais, I..." Though she intended to say something to refute Ais words, Lefiya remembered her earlier actions and couldnt find the words to excuse herself... After the bath hade to an end, Vahn headed to the backyard while the girls returned to their own rooms to prepare their clothing and equipment. HIs ability to equip clothing always saved him a great deal of time, earning him envious looks for the girls on asion. This only encouraged Vahn to try harder in his own research since he figured it would be far more convenient for everyone when he managed to crack the method of storing items in gemstones. He could clearly remember the basic structure of Hephaestus dress from the Divination, including the fact that she had used emeralds to store the rather beautiful ptial outfit. Since her ne had more than one emerald, Vahn even suspected it was possible to store multiple items in a single piece of equipment, though the method for doing so eluded him for the time being. Though he had arrived a bit earlier than normal, someone else had beaten him outside and Vahn could see Mikoto doing her morning stretches. She sent him a nce when he arrived, nodding in a polite manner before returning to her own training. Vahn showed a wry smile and just transformed into his Bih form and began stretching his own limbs. During the morning training block, Vahn had been doing his best to familiarise himself with his [Rakshasa Body], often spending the first half of the day in one of the forms he had awakened permanently. He finally realized what the runic marking on his Bih form allowed him to do, surprised to find that it allowed him to manipte wind elemental energy. Vahn hadnt realized it in the past, as he had be somewhat more reliant on his Xunw form after awakening it, but his Bih form had actually be much stronger than in the past. Not only were his senses more enhanced than they had been, but he could sense the flow of the wind almost instinctively while also being able topress it into various different shapes. Just like when he manipted water, Vahn had to will the movement of the energy through movements but he had thus far been able to make small tornadoes and vortexes of air. He had also tried to create a wind de, as he thought it was a cool idea and had seen simr attacks in a variety of Manga, but he simply couldnt make air condensed enough to cut through objects. Things within the record of Danmachi could be very hard and his wind seemed better suited to destabilizing and moving things than it was at cutting things. However, this didnt mean it wasnt very powerful in abat scenario as Vahn had been able to fuse his [Heart of the Eternal me] with his wind elemental control, creating vortexes of mes and superheating his mes much faster than normal with the introduction of a higher concentration of wind energy. It was to the point that, if he pushed it to the extremes, Vahn could be a Bih that waspletely shrouded in mes and his attacks could send out waves of fire with every attack. Since he had been fond of Fairy Tail in the past, Vahn felt like he could fight a lot like Natsu and it was a very fun and freeing way of fighting, even though it was somewhat unfriendly to any allies that might be around him. The other girls began arriving for their morning training, causing Tiona and Tione to make their way over to him since they had typically been his sparring partners in the past. After their battle, both girls knew better than to underestimate Vahn and he often fought the two of them together since Tione couldnt keep up with him easily anymore. As for Tiona, her instincts were very surprising and Vahn had trouble evening to a draw against her if she was fighting seriously. He had been able to glean a bit of understanding about her inactive Innates through their fights and it was very terrifying to realize what she may one day be capable of. He wasnt sure if it was her [Titan Virga] or her [Magic Devouring King], but Tiona seemed to get stronger the longer a fight went on. Not only did her parameters increase, but she seemed to be able to absorb the elemental energy from both his attacks and the environment itself, giving her greater stamina and enhancing her perception greatly. Vahn spected it was both abilities working in conjunction since he was almost certain her ability to absorb elemental energy was rted to her [Magic Devouring King]. It was very strange that, even though her body seemed to have no flow at all, Tiona could still use magic weapons and absorb elemental energy to enhance her attacks. There was something going on with her body that he couldnt understand at all, making Vahn feel both excited and worried at the same time since herbat capabilities were already somewhat scary. Fortunately, they didnt go all out during their morning spars so Vahn just got to y around a bit as he worked up a sweat with the two lively Amazon sisters. They fought without the use of weapons and just practiced their close-quartersbat since Vahn had be somewhat over-reliant on [Shundo] in the past and wanted to make sure hisbat instincts hadnt waned. It was interesting to see how the girls grew to match his fighting style and it was like they were all polishing each other, with Tiona typically bing the most vibrant since Vahn couldnt beat her at all without using underhanded methods... Once the morning training hade to an end, everyone began to break off into their various groups after eating a hearty breakfast. Vahn paired up with Chloe and Shizune but also had little Shirohime with him since she didnt invalidate the Mentors Mark and could inform him if Haruhime was in danger. Since he could also send energy through Shirohime to Haruhime, there were almost no negative benefits at all after Shirohime had mellowed out a bit. She was arguably even more clingy now but typically remained silent much like how Fenrir had behaved in the past. Most of the time, Shirohime just coiled up around his neck and slept with her eyes closed, but she was also very fond of sleeping inside of his tunic as well. Though it was more of an illusion, Vahn could sometimes feel her wet nose against his body and felt her tiny breaths tickling against the moistened area. After receiving Shirohime from Haruhime, Vahn ced her on his head and endured her wriggling as he updated Shizunes Status Board. With the change in the atmosphere of the Manor, Shizune had calmed down a fair amount as well, knowing better than to try tempting and teasing him as she had done in the past. Though her aura often showed very dangerous colors, Shizune seemed to be practicing patience since Vahn already spoiled her a bit whenever she worked hard. Thus, she very obediently lowered her kimono to reveal her small back and just hummed a tune as Vahn traced a line of blood down her fair a youthful skin. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Shizune Yuel Race: Kitsune LV. 1 POW: I79->G247 END: I68->G219 DEX: H126->F315 AGI: H142->F370 MAG: I47->H108 Skill: [Tamomo: Innate(sealed)], [Featherfoot:I->H], [Stealth:I](new) Magic: [Moons Prayer: Innate(sealed)] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance(sealed)], [Insomnia(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shizune had been making steady progress in her assassination techniques and could generally take out small groups of monsters before they even knew what had happened. Instead of just using her dagger, Shizune fought with a variety of different weapons, including throwing knives, senbon, and consumables like smoke balls, sh bombs, and paralysis powder. She also had poisons that had been mixed by Chloe, typically using it to coat her curved dagger to give her an edge against difficult foes. It had a strong paralytic effect on weaker monsters and could numb the reaction time of stronger monsters, not the Shizune had actually fought any just yet. As for the biggest change in her generalbat system, Shizune now wore a cloak that hadrge holes for her ears to poke through. This allowed her to finally awaken her [Stealth] because Vahn had purchased one that enhanced stealth capabilities from his shop and gifted it to her. (A/N: Btw, Senbon are a type of needle used by ninjas.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Shadowstalkers Cloak] Rank: B P.Def: 110 M.Def: 380 Abilities: Shadowstep(C), Stealth Enhancement(C), Sound Dampening(C) A cloak once used by a feared assassin in a foreign record. Allows the wearer to blend into the shadows as if they were one and the same. Provides a moderate enhancement to speed when moving under the cover of darkness. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once she had her status updated, Shizune fixed her pitch ck kimono before tightening the muted purple obi around her waist. When she was decent, Shizune turned around and looked at her own parameters with a light frown because she had been falling progressively further behind Tina as ofte. Vahn smiled before reaching out his hand and gently stroking her head, saying, "Youre doing very well, Shizune. Remember, your path may align with Tinas, but it isnt the same...keep doing your best to refine thebat style yourefortable with and youll one day be much stronger." Chloe also nodded her head from the side and said, "Thats right, Shizune~! You have to remember that those who walk amongst the darkness are typically weaker than those that are drawn to the light. We get the advantage using subterfuge and sneak attacks, so keep refining your skills further unless you want to deviate. Im sure Vahn would help you, even if you did stray a bit, nyahaha~." This wasnt the first time Chloe had reminded Shizune that she always had the opportunity to walk a more straightforward path in life. However, she knew that there were people that couldnt easily be exposed by the light and wanted to be an assassin, just like Chloe. After returning the paper to Vahn, Shizunes amethyst-like eyes had a glimmer to them as she said, "This is the path Ive chosen for myself...please watch over me, Vahn, Chloe..." Vahn had been stroking her head the entire time but had turned to Chloe since she seemed to want some head pats as well. Hearing Shizunes words, Vahn smiled slightly before nodding his head, saying, "I will watch over you for as long as youre willing to let me do so..." After talking for a short while thereafter, Vahn ended up letting Shizune ride his shoulders as they made their way toward the Dungeon. Since she was typically well-behaved, Vahn had started treating her like a child again and she had simply learned to ept it. Even though she had the mind of a mature woman, it was hard to experience the joys of being a child and she wouldnt be able to do things like this when she got bigger. As for Shirohime, she had retreated into Vahns tunic and it made him look a bit lumpy, drawing some curious gazes from random passersby. He didnt mind them at all and just passively scanned the surroundings with Chloe for any signs of danger... Once they reached the Dungeon, the trio took the stairs down to the 5th Floor because they had passed through it previously to save time in the future. Shizune was made to take the lead after being cautioned about the various dangers that would be present. Since she was walking the path of a stealth assassin, Shizune couldnt easily fight againstrge groups of enemies just yet and had to be smart in how she fought. Since Killer Ants began to appear on this Floor, she would have to be even more cautious and Vahn was interested to see how she would progress. Fortunately, her weapons would be able to easily prate the hard carapace of the monsters so she shouldnt have too many issues. Shizune had been preparing for this trip for thest three days and had already steeled herself for the dangers she could face. Killer Ants were known as the Rookie Killers, even overwhelming entire parties of weaker Adventurers. Since she was more of a support specialist instead of a vanguard fighter, she was at a very big disadvantage if she got their pheromones on her weapons or armor. To counter this, she had coated her de with oil that could counteract the scent to an extent and had one of the masking towels that Vahn had provided upon her request. If possible, Shizune wanted to avoid fighting the Killer Ants directly so she was also carrying a high-quality crossbow with her that she had obtained from Tsubaki. All of Shizunes preparations were made by herself, even though she was very reliant on the wealth of the people surrounding her, so it was very clear to Vahn that Shizune was much like the former Lili and was prone to nning for everything. Though their expenses had been very great, especially during the migration phase of the Alliances establishment, their actual wealth had been steadily increasing. Vahns personal assets ounted for 2,317,804,020 Valis and had very rarely ever gone down. If anyone were to tell him he would be a billionaire after being in the City for less than a year, Vahn would have looked at them like they were mad. Now, however, Vahn felt like Valis was almost useless and typically just used his to give some of the girls an allowance. Since 20,000 Valis was the basic earning for a normal adventurer party, Vahn allowed Shizune and Tina to have an allowance of 200,000 Valis per week so they could buy their own things. As for the other girls, most of them had their own earnings and Vahn just bought them gifts on asion. After all, even the low earners like Maemi and Emiru were easily able to earn around 70,000 Valis a day just by exchanging their magic cores to him to feed his OP reserves. None of the girls had any money problems at all, while the Alliance itself was easily the wealthiest organization in the entire City, even exceeding the Guild by a fair amount. Fortunately, this didnt cause any major issues since the Alliance didntpete with the Guild and the majority of the Alliance still exchanges materials, magic cores, and other resources with the Guild to maintain a proper bnce. Even Vahn eptedmissions from Eina and turned over arge number of materials for exchange. Though they kept the majority of the monster cores they earned, this was only for those within the Hearth Manor and not the entire Alliance, meaning they were easily able to cover up the filtering of magic cores into Vahn as simple upkeep costs. The Alliance currently had more than 160,000 personnel, though the vast majority were farmhands and City guards, so the resources of 20-30 people werent missed at all... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lefiya is growing up...,Shirohime Sneakily Sniffing Stomachs (OwO),Imagine if the entire Alliance filtered their magic cores into Vahn o_o...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 584 - Technical Prowess

Chapter 584 - Technical Prowess

---Shizune PoV at start o3o-- After progressing into the 5th Floor for a few minutes, Shizune came across the first group of monsters, a total of seven Killer Ants. Seeing their numbers, Shizune furrowed her tiny brows in contemtion before sinking low to the ground and concealing her figure. Killer Ants didnt rely on the sight as much as other monsters and instead relied on pheromone trails and sensing things with their antennae. As long as she didnt draw their attention, the Killer Ants were essentially blind to her presences. She used her [Stealth] and observed the Killer Ants for several minutes, getting a feel for their movement patterns and how they interacted with the environment around them. Though she had studied about them in books, there was a big difference between reading about a monster and seeing them for the first time. Shizune didnt want to make any mistakes so she didnt mind observing them for several minutes while formting a n to eliminate them all without exposing herself to any real danger. An assassin wasnt someone that fought head-on unless they had no other choice, so Shizune was waiting for the most opportune moment to deliver a decisive strike that would incapacitate thergest number of enemies... Shizune watched as the ants felt around their environment before a slightlyrger Killer Ant entered the room from one of the small tunnels in the walls. It was more engorged than the other ants and they immediately grouped up around it as therger ant began feeding the others through a process called trophaxis. It regurgitated a strangely scentless liquid and the other Killer Ants would bring their mandibles close to each other to transfer the food directly. Shizune watched this y out with a straight face before reaching into the pouches at her back and pulling out what looked like a paper-wrapped sphere. With her other hand, Shizune grabbed an off-colored brown dagger before tossing the small sphere toward the gathering of Killer Ants. When the sphere impacted the ground, a small rune activated on its surface before an explosion of grey partictes expanded outward in a small cloud of around 3m. It didnt epass the entire group of Killer Ants, but it was more than enough for Shizunes purposes as she threw the brown dagger, not toward the Killer Ants themselves, but at the ground around their feet. The dagger was a specialized projectile weapon made almost entirely out of carved flint with abrasive edges that could easily make sparks. As for the paper-sphere Shizune tossed out earlier, it was full of a chemical powder produced by the Dwarves and was used to make explosives for mining purposes. Chloe had shown her how topress it into a sphere and it was useful as both a smoke grenade or, in this case, the catalyst for an explosion. As the flint dagger slid against the ground, it created arge spark that immediately caused the 3m cloud of powder to ignite, creating arge explosion and a sh of light. At the same time, Shizune had dashed forward and used the cover of a boulder to shield herself from the shockwave. After the pulse of energy passed over her, Shizune leaped over the rock and targetted the closest Killer Ant, stabbing at the back of its head at the area where its brain was located. The magic core of a Killer Ant was very small and it was much easier to hit the brain stem than it was to nick the core itself. Though they could even survive being decapitated for a short period of time, a direct hit to the brain typically did enough damage to kill even tenacious monsters. After stabbing the Killer Ant, Shizune jumped to the side and brandished her dagger to dislodge any fluids that were clinging to the de. Then, without any significant dy, she sprinted at the next Killer Ant and tried to stab it in the same spot. The explosion had managed to kill three of the monsters and it had disoriented the other five while also causing numerous injuries to their bodies. However, Killer Ants didnt have a veryplex nervous system and they didnt experience pain the same way as most monsters. Though they were seriously injured, they still tried to attack Shizune after realizing they were under attack. To avoid getting swarmed by the monsters, Shizune evaded the sharp mandibles of a Killer Ant and simply turned around to run away. Shizunes parameters were still very low and her defensive equipment wasnt that suitable for fighting monsters with pincers and sharp mandibles. She could deflect des with her arm-guards, but there wasnt much she could do against the serrated jaws of the ants that were easilyrge enough to grab around her thin waist. Though it was a little frustrating, Shizune didnt waste any time trying to be bold and immediately ran towards Vahn and Chloe. However, she didnt forget the proper steps she was supposed to take when fleeing and dropped two small smoke bombs behind her to obscure the senses of the Killer Ants further. The eyesight of a Killer Ant wasnt that great, to begin with, so there was no way they could detect her within the dense cloud of smoke. Since she had been careful not to get any of the pheromones on her weapons and armor, Shizune was easily able to escape. However, this didnt stop more Killer Ants from beginning to swam the area since one of the defensive mechanisms of the ants themselves was to send out a cloud of pheromones when they were stressed out. They also had a very shrill cry that could sound for several hundred meters with ease, calling theirpanions toe to their aid. Vahn received the heavily breathing Shizune with his arm and used his free hand to erect a barrier in the corridor that the Killer Ants had no hope of prating. Though he could easily deal with the horde, Vahn wanted to let their numbers build up a bit before he scorched them. Killer Ants were a bad matchup for the current Shizune because she wasnt fast enough to outmaneuver them with her 370 Agility. Even Vahn had need nearly a thousand just to be able to cope with their numbers in the past, and that was with the enhancement of his Bih form. While waiting for their numbers to build up, Vahn stroked the back of the heavily breathing Kitsune girl to help her calm down. Though she hadnt fought for very long at all, explosions were very taxing on a persons mental state and Shizune had gone toward the explosion before immediately engaging the ants. When things didnt quite go as she expected, she made the correct decision to run away but the physical and mental exertion had been great during that short period of time. After all, she only had 219 Endurance and her stamina was somewhatcking. Even during training, she could typically only fight for around ten minutes if she was conserving her energy. She could manage up to half an hour if she pushed herself to the limit, but this would typically cause her to pass out and it wasnt healthy for a growing girl to strain their body so much. Chloe watched Shizune for a little while and waited for her breathing to calm down a bit before saying, "Watching your enemy is a smart decision, especially if its something youve never encountered before. As for your use of the powder ball and the flint dagger, that was a good decision for most enemies. However, such attacks arent that useful against insectoid enemies with hard carapaces and dense fluid-like bodies. Most shockwaves can be absorbed by them pretty easily and it wont be nearly as effective as it would be on other monsters..." Since Chloe was Shizunes mentor, she spoke to her very seriously when giving evaluations of the young foxs performance. Shizune had turned her purple eyes to match Chloes green eyes, listening attentively to each of her words while Vahn replenished her energy. This wasnt the first mistake she had made and Shizune knew she needed to rely on the wisdom and experience of others if she wanted to continue improving. She wasnt an instinct based fighter and focused more on the technical aspects and preparation phases ofbat. Besides, she had a lot of trust in Vahn and it was veryfortable to be held in his arms while she was getting a lecture... Chloe went on to exin how Shizune could have handled the situation better, primarily encouraging her to set up multipleyers of traps to cover potential paths of retreat and kiting the monsters around while controlling the terrain to her advantage. Though there wasnt much she could do to prevent the Killer Ants from calling support when they were together, she could have whittled down their numbers a bit without exposing her presence at all. However, these were all things that should only be considered if killing a small group was her only goal. Since she was simply too weak to make use of other methods currently, Chloe just gave a brief summary before they turned to watch the show Vahn was about to put on. At this point, more than one-hundred Killer Ants had filled up the room and were trying to knock against Vahns barrier to get at the fleshy intruders beyond. Others had tried to attack from different locations but Vahn had been passively killing those that tried by infusing fire elemental energy into their bodies and burning them to death. Though he did his best not to try and act cool anymore, Vahn still showed a calm expression to Shizune and exined, "There is nothing wrong with the fighting style youre trying to adapt, Shizune...but you must keep in mind that there are no limits in the world that cant be ovee. If you want, you can even be the type of person that can kill an entire room full of enemies with a wave of your hand..." As his words fell, Vahn created a ball of fire on the other side of the barrier and began turning the entire room into a massive furnace by condensing wind elemental energy to fuel the fire. Shizune watched with unblinking eyes as Vahn slowly waved his hand across and scorched the entire horde of Killer Ants without any serious effort on his part. She couldnt help but swallow a bit of saliva to lubricate her dried throat, shocked and awed by the sight she was seeing before her. Since she had seen magic being used by other people, Shizune knew that Vahns words were true and that she could one day perform simr feats if she decided to be a Mage. Though she didnt have the talent for it, Vahns support would allow her to reach the peak of any path as long as she put in the effort... Vahn could sense a subtle change in the aura of Shizune, immediately activating his [Eyes of Truth] to see if he could discern what was happening. He knew from experience that his [Mentor] Development Ability actually made those listening to his words more attentive to everything he said. He wanted to nurture Shizune and Tina to the point where they could naturally awaken their Innates since children were highly impressionable. Though Shizune was mentally an a.d.u.l.t, she was treated as the daughter of Mn, the sister of Tina, and he also went out of his way to spoil her a bit and treat her like a child. This made her more receptive and impressionable than normal because her trust for him had already increased greatly. He wasnt quite sure what was happening, which was a good thing since it often implied something rted to an Innate, but Vahn saw Shizunes mana-flow change slightly as a result of her change. She already had a rtively rare darkness elemental affinity, but now there were strands of a hazy purple and a light icy blue that intermixed with her mana. The most curious thing was that they still constituted a single stream and Vahn watched as what he believed to be ice elemental energy shift into darkness energy before once again transitioning into the hazy purple he couldnt identify at all. It wasnt impossible to convert pure mana into almost any element, but transitioning a specific type into another type was almost impossible unless they branched from the same w. Water could be ice, but it was almost impossible to make water into fire unless you had mastery over a higherw... Since it was unlikely her Innate had awoken just yet, Vahn kept this information to himself for the time being and just intended to encourage Shizune a bit more in the future. She seemed to be influenced by his disy of power along with his words, so Vahn figured he could show her a few awe-inspiring sights to trigger her awakening. It had been a while since he went freefalling and she would probably be inspired by the view of the from above. Everyone that he had taken into the upper atmosphere with Fafnir had undergone a change in perspective and Vahn believed it would be even more effective on the younger girls. Once the room had been cleared, Vahn created a circr vortex of wind within the room with his left hand before infusing water elemental energy into the vortex to cool things down and air out the smell of burned corpses. Vahn gently ruffled Shizunes head, even though she was wearing her cloak, and said, "That should have been all the Killer Ants around for a few hundred meters. Everything else should be either Frog Shooters, War Shadows, and potentially something like Needle Rabbits, though they would be umon on this Floor. Well follow behind, so do your best, Shizune." Shizune nodded her head,pletely unaware of the subtle changes in her body and just focused on the warm energy in Vahns palm and his encouraging words. When he pulled his hand away, her eyes became more focused and she started making her way deeper into the Floor. As long as she could avoid getting surrounded by the ants, Shizune was confident she could kill most of them with her crossbow from a distance. If she pulled them to a chokepoint, she could probably eliminate a simrly sized group and just whittle down their reinforcements while moving to other areas of the Dungeon. As long as they couldnt get a trace on her location, she could avoid the horde and continue forward without making the same mistake again. Fortunately, as Vahn had spected, the next encounter was an entirely new enemy and Shizune wasnt forced to put her theory to the test so soon. This time, her target was a group of three Frog Shooters, enemies that werent that difficult to deal with as long as you could evade their tongues. They could spit them out at a very fast speed, but the trajectory was easy to read if you were paying attention to the angle of their head. Since they only had onerge eye, the Frog Shooters would focus on a specific point and shoot out their tongues at the same direction their eye was facing. They didnt have a lot of mobility with their neck so this often meant their head faced the same direction and you could even bait their tongues out and severe them if you were properly prepared. After watching the group for a few minutes, Shizune pulled out a small brackish-green ball and activated the rune on it before throwing it high up into the air. The Frog Shooters had keen dynamic vision and immediately turned their threerge eyes toward the object flying through the air. Before they understood what was happening, a blinding sh of light burst forth from the small ball andpletely robbed the monsters of their vision. Shizune had already started moving forward at this point, using her small crossbow to pepper the Frog Shoots with bolts, aiming for their eyes and throats. Unable to see where their attacker was, the monsters entered a panicked frenzy and even shot their tongues at each other after sensing movement. Shizune observed their movements closely and, when one of the Frog Shooters shot out its tongue toward its ally, she stepped in agile footwork and sliced across the back of its head with her dagger, several the connection of its brain to the rest of its body. She wanted to use the monsters as cover so hadnt immediately killed it, allowing the counterattack of the other Frog Shooter to m into the one she just paralyzed. Using the frogs body as leverage, Shizune flipped over the other two as the first one was knocked away. She couldnt jump too high just yet, but her bnce had increased greatly with the advancement of her [Featherfoot] skill. Shizune managed tond atop the Frog Shooter that just attacked itspanion and buried her dagger into its eyes before twisting and pulling it out in a practiced motion. This time, the Frog Shooter died almost immediately so Shizune fell toward the ground and kicked away to get her distance, turning to nce at thest Frog Shooter to see where its head was angled. Fortunately, it didnt seem to have been able to track her position just yet and instead looked toward where the paralyzed Frog Shooter was twitching around. Without any inhibitions, it shot its tongue blindly at the iling frog and created arge puncture wound in its body. Finding purchase, the Frog Shooter continued to shoot out its tongue several more times, allowing Shizune ample opportunity to get right behind it and pierce it in the back of the head... Once all the enemies were dead, Shizune looked around before dashing to cover and observing her surroundings. One of the drills that Chloe had been teaching her was to never remain exposed, even if you think youve already defeated your enemy. The greatest threat to an assassins life wascency and things werent over until you had eliminated the target and escaped sessfully. There was almost no such thing as a famous assassin since, the more well-known you were, the less sessful you had been in your job. Your name should be a rumor and all of your sess should be spective, spoken in hushed tones amongst your enemies and employers. Chloe herself had made the mistake of letting herself becent in the past, taking a job to hunt down Ryuu only to find that she had been lured into a trap by their shared enemies... After waiting for around two minutes, Shizune came out of hiding and picked up the spoils of her battle before running over and handing them to Vahn. She could havee out even earlier but had used the time to recover her breathing and calm down from the adrenaline rush ofbat. Vahn epted the three monster cores and the small piece of frog hide that had dropped before wiping away his hands and petting Shizune on the head, saying, "Well done, Shizune. I dont think there were any problems in how you handled the situation..." As he spoke, Vahn phrased his words like a question and looked to Chloe for her input. She nodded her head in agreement but a mischevious look appeared in her eyes and she asked in a yful tone, "What happens when you run out of consumable items~nya?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Killer Ants Are Annoying,BURN~!,There is always room for improvement) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 585 - Changes in the Norm

Chapter 585 - Changes in the ''Norm''

For around six hours, Shizune progressed further into the 5th Floor under the direct tutge of Chloe while Vahn watched over them from the back. Until Shizune was able to fight the enemies on her own, Chloe had been helping her out a bit while demonstrating different ways to dispatch opponents. One of the problems that Shizune had was that she focused too much on the preparation beforebat, which wasnt a bad thing in normal situations. If she were just fighting a few enemies on a mission, the items she had in her pouch would be more than enough to get her through. This didnt trante well into the Dungeon, however, and she was limited in the number of tools she could bring with her, assuming Vahn wasnt replenishing her supplies. Chloe was trying to teach Shizune that her tools should be used when her abilities arent enough to easily deal with the situation. If she was too reliant on them from the beginning, her own strength would never develop to the point it needed to be at in order to fight stronger enemies. Like Vahn, Chloe had also noticed the subtle change in Shizunes mentality so she wanted her to build her confidence and only use her tools situationally instead of proactively. Right now, Vahn always escorted both her and Tina into the Dungeon, but this couldnt continue indefinitely as he needed to help the others and would be delving deep into the Dungeon in the future. This meant Shizune wouldnt have a way to restock and, unless she never nned to go further into the Dungeon, her own strength would have to be increased or she would fall further behind Tina. Vahn actually intended to have Tina and Shizune team up so they could grow alongside each other, but he had been putting it off because there wasnt anyone else around their Level to make an actual team. Preasia might be a suitable member, but Vahn had doubts about her ability to actually venture into the Dungeon and knew she didnt have the right mentality to fight monsters. He had even considered scouting Rye, Fina, and potentially even Roux, as they were simr in age to both Tina and Shizune. Tina was nearly twelve years old right now, with Shizune having the physical body of a girl around ten. Rye and Fina were both nine years old right now, but Roux was only around eight, meaning she was the biggest concern. However, if she became a pure Mage, she wouldnt really have to fight in the frontlines and could use the equipment he made for her to protect herself. The problem with this n was that Vahn wouldnt really allow them to enter the Dungeon so soon and would require them to attend the School for a while before they began venturing into the Upper Floors. This meant Shizune and Tina didnt really have anyone near their age to help them venture deeper into the Dungeon, not that this was a bad thing as Vahn wanted them to take it slow to begin with. He was just thinking of solutions to help the girls get stronger because they were already working very hard and he felt a little guilty slowing their potential progress. Without me seeds, their growth was already normal but was still much faster than the average Rookie Adventurer. At their current pace, both girls would reach Level 2 in a few months, which was still much faster than the majority of Adventurers starting out... Seeing Shizune urately shoot a Purple Moth out of the air with a crossbow bolt, Vahn raised his brow because it was an impressive feat for someone that didnt practice archery. Judging by how happy she was, Vahn realized it was a bit of a fluke but still praised her by saying, "Nice shot~!" in an encouraging voice. Shizunes ears twitched and she looked over with a smile on her face before Chloe snuck up right behind her like a predator and snatched her up, tickling Shizunes body while saying, "Nyahahaha, you dropped your guard again~nya!" Shizune had flinched when she was first grabbed but Chloe had deftly knocked the dagger out of her hands before she could spin back. One of the things they had been training was her muscle memory to respond to attacks from behind, so Chloe had already been prepared to avoid an ident before she snuck up on her. Vahn smiled as he watched Shizune il around in Chloes hands,ughing like a bell that was being fiercely shaken about. Shirohime wriggled around in his tunic before peeking her head out through his cor and observing the scene with her pale golden eyes. Vahn scratched the bottom of her throat, causing the little white fox to tilt her head back with squinted eyes, clearly pleased by the contact. Since she hade out on her own, Vahn asked, "How is Haruhime?" without minding the curious gazes of Chloe and Shizune. Everyone knew of the existence of Shirohime at this point and were used to Vahn talking to himself. Shirohime rubbed the back of her head against his chest and enjoying his petting as she muttered, "Haru is fine...she is currently on the 22nd Floor with the golden one and the orange one~." Ever since they had first been introduced to each other, Haruhime and Ais had gotten along very well with each other since thetter was very interesting in Haruhimes unique style and rapid growth. As for the orange one, Shiro was obviously referring to Lefiya, who usually acted as a backline and Supporter for Ais. She usually carried the drops items for the other girls since herbat style didnt currently emphasize speed, something Vahn wanted to change when he taught her real magic in the future. Thinking of Haruhime and Lefiya, Vahn ced his palm against the scruff of Shirohimes chest, making the little fox tremble a bit as he injected his source energy into her body. Since their bodies were linked together even more so than Maemi and Emiru, anything Shirohime felt was immediately sent to Haruhime. This worked for energy transference as well, so Vahn could judge Haruhimes state based on how Shirohime was behaving. Since the little white fox was acting a little tired, Vahn helped replenish their energy with his [Yggdrasils Blessing] and [Hands of Nirvana]. Haruhime had grown ustomed to the sudden contact and Vahn knew that she would probably be happy to get the sudden influx of source energy. As for Lefiya, Vahn just sent her some encouraging thoughts since he was confident the huge boost to her Loyalty made her more receptive to his intent. Shirohime began licking his wrist in a gentle and affectionate manner, causing Vahn to stroke between her ears and say, "Behave, Shiro..." If she got too riled up, that would mean Haruhime also got riled up and Vahn didnt want any idents to happen. Though Haruhimes strength was derived from her emotions, specifically directed toward Vahn himself, a little bit of contact was very motivating for her. If it got too intense, however, Haruhime might push herself to her limits out of excitement. This had actually happened in the past, causing Shirohime to freak out a great deal until Vahn calmed her down by flooding her with his source energy. When he had seen the small red stain on her fur, Vahn had also been rather worried, finding outter that Haruhime had been clipped by the natural weapon of a merman. The cut hadnt been deep, but Haruhimes illusory aura typically made her impossible to hit, meaning she had erred as a result of her excitement. Vahn had apologized for his actions, though Haruhime didnt seem to me him for it and simply said she would be even stronger in response... Vahn let go of Shirohime after a few seconds, causing her to yawn before diving back down into his tunic once again. He knew she was enjoying his smell, but such a small motivation was all it took to make Haruhime a monstrous force in normal circ.u.mstances. With the little fox dealt with, Vahn smiled to Chloe and Shizune, saying, "Lets go home..." while extending his hands to the two girls. They had already eaten a light lunch, but it would be better to get something up on the surface since Vahn knew Shizune probably had to go to the bathroom based on how she fidgetted around. She was bad at relieving herself in the Dungeon, even though Chloe seemed to manage it with ease and had tried to get her to rx more. On the way towards the surface, Vahn had carried Shizune as her reward, secretly pressing into one of her pressure points and inserting a threat of energy to make sure she didnt identally pee on him. In total, they had spent a little more than six hours in the Dungeon, one of the longer stints for Shizune given hercking stamina andbat style. Tina had beensting for around six hours on average, evensting as long as ten before Vahn urged her back to the surface. Each time they would return, Vahn carried them back because he knew their legs were probably sore from running around for so long. Tina usually fell asleep very quickly, since he usually gave her a princess carry, while Shizune seemed to like high ces and usually asked to ride his shoulders. Since he was in his Bih form often, Vahn had once smelled a powerful aroma of urine once and had been somewhat cautious about the matter ever since... Once they reached the surface, Vahn sent for Fafnir since Terra was actually somewhat bad with both Chloe and Shizune. Their affinities shed a bit and it always made Terra feel very ufortable when she was giving them a ride, something Vahn was very aware of. As for Fafnir, it was attuned to the darkness and didnt really seem to mind the aura of anyone, since the only shing elements for darkness were light and purification. If it was exposed to either element, Fafnir could actually tolerate it quite easily and it just restricted its abilities a little. The only bane of Fafnir was barrier magic, though only if it covered the scar on its chest. Fortunately, most magic wouldnt get beyond its nullification sphere and the only true danger was if its allies tried to put a barrier over its torso for some reason. Vahn had long ago discovered that Fafnir had absolutely no immunity to close-range magic spells, meaning if you could get within the sphere around its body it was very vulnerable. As it wasmon for Fafnir to appear in the area, the Guild had actually designated an area in Babel za and asked Vahn to make use of it to avoid problems arising. Vahn respected the rtively simple request but made sure to check the area to make sure there werent any traps that had beenin. He wasnt too fond of the idea of creating a habit for people to exploit but his own confidence had been steadily increasing as ofte since his domain was currently at 598m. Unless they had a way topletely conceal their presence, Vahn was confident in being able to detect any enemy within his domain. Most Mages couldnt cast magic beyond 500m and, even if they could, Fafnirs anti-magic aura wouldpletely invalidate the attempt. Fafnir popped up out of the ground, causing curious passersby to look over and open up a bit of distance when they realized what they had seen. Most Adventurers that frequented the area were already adapted to Fafnirs existence, but it was still very spooky to see a dragon appear out of the shadows for normal people. Taking this into consideration, the Guild had actually posted signs around the area cautioning people that it was anding zone of the Alliance and there would be dragons in the area. Vahn walked forward and rubbed Fafnirs snout as the girls climbed onto its back using the steps it had made for Shizune. Fafnir had slimmed down its body a great deal after interacting with Terra and looked decidedly less evil now, assuming you didnt stare at its vicious and icy gaze. Vahn, however, found Fafnir very cute and muttered in aforting voice, "Fafnir is a good dragon~" while scratching the base of its neck with his [Petting] skill working in overdrive. Fafnir c.o.c.ked its head to the side and mewled, ("Gnuuu, feels pleasant~!") as a throaty rumble resonated from its throat and caused people to open a greater distance from their position. After constant use, Vahns [Petting] had reached B-Rank at this point and he was now aware of a peculiar energy that flowed from his hands that had nothing to do with his source energy at all. It was a little strange to consider, but Vahn referred to it as pettingws since it was something that seemed to transcend everything else he knew about mana and energy. When they felt this petting energy enter their bodies, even Fafnir would find the sensation very pleasant and Vahn often used it to make the Beast Girls released their characteristic sounds of contentedness. It was his desire to make Arnya purr more than had pushed the skill to the next level and awakened Vahns awareness of the strange energy. Ever since then, his hands had truly be godly since he was even able to make Fafnir purr, even though it didnt actually have nerves attached to the surface of its scales. Once he had topped off Fafnirs energy, Vahn released a heavy sigh before ingesting a mana potion and jumping atop Fafnirs back. Even though his own reserves had greatly increased, Vahn still had less source energy than the amount that constituted both Fafnirs and Terras bodies. Fortunately, he had never been forced to return them into their core state recently and hadnt had to reform them from scratch, saving him a rather strenuous effort and what would typically amount to several tens-of-thousands of OP... Less than thirty secondster, the trio arrived overtop the Hearth Manor and Fafnir mmed into the ground without stopping the majority of its momentum. Though this would have made a crater in the ground in the past, Fafnir had gotten the idea from Terra to use its ability to dive into the shadows to cushion itsnding. This had saved the various craftsmen that performed maintenance on the Manor a lot of efforts because Fafnir generally did a bit of damage even when it walked around normally. Now, however, Fafnirs feet were often enshrouded in shadows and it created arge pool of shadows when it took a nap. This consumed more of its energy, but it hadnt damaged the Manor ever since then, at least not directly. As usual, Hestia greeted them at the foyer before Shizune dashed off to the bathroom to relieve herself. When he helped her get off Fafnirs back, Vahn inserted a small thread of energy into the pressure point he had numbed earlier, allowing it to slowly return to its normal function. This made Shizune need to pee very badly and he didnt do anything to stop her while Hestia and Chloeughed at her actions. Shizune almost always did the same thing every time they returned to the Manor, so neither girl was surprised as they all made their way towards the onsen. It had be a habit for everyone in the Manor to bathe whenever they returned home while Hestia typically used it as an opportunity to spend time with him before returning to her own room. Vahn helped wash Hestias body while Chloe very affectionally washed down his body, which had returned to a normal state at this point. He knew most of the girls actually liked when he was more handsome than muscr, so Vahn had toned down his physique a great deal, making him look far more youthful than he had in the previous months. The desire to be more mature and powerful had slowly shaped his body to be somewhat tyrannical and he looked closer to twenty than his actual age of fifteen. Now, however, Vahn looked like a handsome youth with healthy brown skin and a very lithe and nimble figure, something Chloe was especially fond of. She liked to yfully stroke his butt on asion, but Vahn didnt mind it that much since she typically restrained herself very well. Shizune eventually showed up in the onsen a few minutester and trotted over, causing Hestia tozily say, "Dont run, Shizune..." since Vahn had been [Petting] her while washing down her body. Following Hestias words, Shizune began walking over before dipping her small and delicate feet into the water. Without any inhibitions at all, she made her way over towards them while Vahn minded his eyes and made sure not to gawk at her youthful body. One of the habits he had developed when bathing with the youth troupe was to simply let his eyes wander on the other girls bodies or simply close his eyes. Shizune still had a bad habit of trying to draw his gaze, so Vahn had learned to interact with her using his spatial awareness instead of his sight. Yes, he could still perfectly outline her body using this method, but at least he wasnt staring at her... Knowing better than to try anything, Shizune lowered her body into the water and turned her back, saying, "Excuse me..." in a low voice. Vahn looked over at her small back and pricked the tip of his index finger before drawing a line down her back. Hestia looked over out of interest when her own crest appeared and tried to glean more information than she could see with her eyes. One of the reasons she often intercepted Vahn when he returned was out of curiosity since most of the girls didnt actuallye to her to get their Status Boards updated. She didnt really mind, as it required her to do less work, but still wanted to see how the children of her Familia were progressing. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Shizune Yuel Race: Kitsune LV. 1 POW: G247->G253 END: G219->G222 DEX: F315->F324 AGI: F370->F388 MAG: H108->F303 Skill: [Tamomo: Innate(sealed)], [Featherfoot:H], [Stealth:I] Magic: [Moons Prayer: Innate(sealed)] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance(sealed)], [Insomnia(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Master and Student,*Petting Intensifies*,That Magic stat though...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 586 - Sensibilities

Chapter 586 - Sensibilities

Shizune was very surprised to see how much her Magic parameter had grown since she didnt actually use any abilities that should help develop the parameter. Vahn used the opportunity while she was distracted to rinse off his body before exining, "A lot of the time, parameters can be influenced by other factors, not just the exillia you gain. If there is strong enough inspiration or emotional development, your parameters can have massive leaps..." This was something Vahn had often talked about during their lessons so Shizune understood what he was trying to say. She tried to think about what could have triggered the shift and immediately recalled the image of Vahn mowing down more than a hundred monsters with the wave of a hand... Though he wasnt looking at her, Vahn sensed the subtle change in Shizune once again and nodded his head, "As long as you possess the willpower to obtain what you desire, there are no restrictions on your growth. It depends on your effort and how much you believe your actions have a purpose..." Simply training often didnt lead to real growth, as many people that trained desperately actually had little confidence in themselves. The reason why many people were considered prodigies is simply a result of a difference in perspective. By believing their actions brought about real change, the record itself would respond to their desire and allow them to grow much stronger. Though they couldnt influence change as much as Vahn could, as a result of The Path, there were several instances of the girls getting huge boosts in their strength after undergoing a shift in their mentality. Checking the system time, Vahn figured that many of the girls should be returning home soon so he decided to get out of the bath and make his final preparations to receive Riveria. They hadnt specified where the procedure would take ce so Vahn needed to track down Riveria so it wouldnt be as awkward for her. Though she was a very dutiful woman, Vahn could imagine her struggling to actually show up unless he made things very clear and set a specific time. Since she hadnt gone into the Dungeon today, Vahn knew she was probably at the Secret Garden with Terra. Thinking till here, Vahn turned to Hestia and Chloe, exining, "I have some things to take care of this afternoon, so Ill be leaving first." As they had already learned about the matter through thework, neither girl was surprised by his words, leaving Shizune as the only one out of the loop. Presently, she was lost in her own thoughts and hadnt heard Vahns words, allowing him to escape before she understood the situation. She followed his back with her amethyst-like eyes and, though he couldnt see it while looking away from her, Vahn was aware of a mild fluctuation in her aura. Deciding to let her mentality develop on its own, he pretended he hadnt noticed anything and casually exited the onsen area as clothes materialized around his body... As expected, Vahn found Riveria soaking her bare feet within the wellspring while Terra was, as usual, sunbathing with her n.a.k.e.d back exposed to the air. Though she detected his presence, Terra justzily moved the tips of her wings through the water and turned her headzily in his direction. She knew he was here to retrieve Riveria and likely wouldnt be spoiling her any even if she tried to incite him. Terra knew Vahn was pretty easy to handle at times, but this didnt apply at all when he already had ns or had decided to focus on his work. She had tried visiting his workshop once and he only spared her a nce and a smile before returning to work. Though his serious expression was very interesting to see, Terra didnt like staying inside and even preferredying in the rain over being within the Manor itself. Since Terra didnt move much while she was sunbathing, Riveria turned her head in the same direction before taking a deep breath when she saw Vahns arrival. She had spent the entire day preparing her mind for what they were going to do but it hadnt helped much. Even soaking her feet in the wellspring, something that usually made her feel very peaceful and calm, had a greatly diminished effectpared to normal. Riveria didnt mind Vahn seeing her body n.a.k.e.d, as they often bathed together, but it was an entirely different matter to have him touching her, especially around her stomach. However, she had no intentions of avoiding the situation and resolved herself to try and get used to the intimacy they would likely share in the future. Walking over with a smile, Vahn helped Riveria stand up and helped support her arm and shoulder, even though she could easily stand on her own. She gave him a in look and didnt decline his assistance even though part of her wanted to reprimand him. As he was very receptive to the changes in her aura, Vahn gave a wry smile and exined, "I remembered that we never specified when we would be conducting the procedure and thought you might be here...sorry for making you wait, Riveria." Though he didnt mean anything else by it, Riverias mouth became small and she had a light look of me in her eyes as an almost imperceptible blush touched her cheeks. The way he worded it made it sound like she had been waiting for him, which wasnt inherently wrong if she actually considered it... Releasing a sigh, Riveria separated from Vahns hands and turned her back, asking, "Have you alreadypleted the preparations...?" as she walked over to the table. Vahn set out some fresh tea for her and tossed the cold tea into his Inventory before saying, "I have all the materials and Ive memorized the process from start to finish. Whenever youre ready, we can-" Riveria turned her head toward Vahn and caused him to swallow his words when he saw the light blush on her face be increasingly red. He wasnt trying to tease her so her reaction was somewhat unexpected, causing Vahns heart rate to elerate quickly as the words got stuck in his throat. Riveria frowned deeply when she saw Vahns expression because it only made her feel even more nervous than she had been previously. One of the things she hated the most about Vahn is how easy his face was to read, as he was always way too open about his thoughts and emotions, causing Riveria to get fl.u.s.tered far more easily than shed like. Yes, they may have promised themselves to each other, but she didnt think that was a justification for how uncouth his actions were. The worst part of it all was how his look actually made her feel a little happy and proud, not because she was a High Elf, but because his affections were the only ones she had ever allowed to reach her heart. Nothing in her 97 years of life had prepared her for how to deal with her actual emotions, so Vahns actions were very vexing for Riveria... Seeing her reaction, Vahn became much calmer and decided he needed to be more decisive since Riveria would probably react to it better than if he was roundabout. Thinking about his words, Vahn asked in a very calm tone, "Riveria, do you love me...?" This time, Vahn got to see a reaction that normally would have made his brain buzz and force him to enter a daze. This time, however, he used [Will of the Emperor] to keep his calm even though Riverias blushing face made him feel like immortalizing this image in a painting. Other than her eyes opening slightly, her expression hadnt changed much except for the almost crimson blush that was threatening to expand into her ears. For several seconds, Riveria didnt say anything at all until she finally averted her eyes and said, "The way I feel about you is something I dont understand myself, Vahn, but I believe it is very close to love..." As she had seen other women in love, especially by observing the girls within the Manor, Riveria was certain she felt something for Vahn. He had freed her from her somewhat tragic future and was now working hard to help create a better future for her entire people, something that she was infinitely grateful for. Vahn smiled when he heard Riverias response and simply said, "Though it might not mean muching from someone like me, know that I care for you deeply, Riveria...it may not be to the extent of some girls, but I do love you. You are very intelligent and have been a great mentor andpanion to me..." Riveria took a deep breath through her nose and Vahn could see that she was holding her breath while listening to him. She was likely wanting to ask why he was saying all of this now, so Vahn exined, "In the future, we may have much time to spend together like this...I will likely be progressively busier as time passes and I would like for us to use these rare moments together to be closer. I dont want our child to grow up seeing their parents acting distantly around each other...I will do my best not to tease you excessively, but I wish you would open your heart to me, Riveria..." Since Riveria was a very rational woman, Vahn figured being direct and exining what he was thinking would be the best method to get through to her. Though she seemed to be struggling with his words, Vahn could see a sunny yellow and a wispy pink flowing through her aura that meant she was seriously considering the matter. He had essentially used her own words against her, saying they should be loving so that their children grew up having empathy,passion, and love. With an excuse, Vahn was confident Riveria would slowly open up to him as a matter of principle...it was a bit of a shameless tactic, but Vahn knew Riveria was a very dutiful woman and would do her best if she had the right reason. Though Vahns intelligence might becking at times, he had be very perceptive to the thoughts and actions of others, especially the women around him. As he had anticipated, Riveria was currently mulling over his words and progressively opening up to the idea. She knew his words were true and that, regardless of how much she tried to resist her own emotions, Vahn would eventually break down her walls. Putting it off didnt benefit anyone and only made it more difficult for her to interact with him because of her own thoughts. Riveria already worried that she was taking advantage of Vahn and sometimes got lost in her own guilty thoughts when she was going over the research journals he had given her. Vahn had actually given her many things...a brighter future for herself, a path for her people, magical knowledge, insights into her own research, and various kinds of other support, both emotional and physical. She, however, had given him next to nothing and only burdened the rtively young boy with, not just her problems, but the problems of her entire Kingdom. The one thing she had given him, other than a bit of advice, was a promise to be with him so that he wouldnt have to bear her burdens on his own. However, even after making such a promise, Riveria hadnt actually opened her heart to him and, being the somewhat sensible boy he was at times, Vahn hadnt actually pushed her to ept him and often behaved solely out of consideration for her mentality... Putting everything into perspective, Riveria was shocked to realize that she had actually been one-sidedly gaining advantages from Vahn while he constantly exercised patience on her behalf. Because of her own inhibitions, Vahn had been giving to her constantly while she just sat in the garden he made...talking to the True Dragon he had created...drinking the expensive and delicious tea he had given her...reading the books and notes that he had taken...all because she couldnt tolerate the idea of exposing her heart so easily. Even goddesses had given themselves to Vahn, yet her own pride and sensibilities made her act like she was special and unique when the only thing she had been was present in a very convenient situation for herself... Vahn shook his head at this point and said in a gentle and guiding tone, "Riveria, you are an incredibly intelligent woman...but let me give you a bit of advice that one of my greatest mentors had given me in the past...Ive found that it has made life a lot easier at times, hahaha~." Riveria raised her somewhat pale face and it was very clear she was confused, both by Vahns words and her own thoughts. Vahn smiled before standing with his arms akimbo, just like Tsubaki always did when she was lecturing and teasing others, "You think too much...loosen up and be more decisive. Why have regrets about the actions youve taken when you can simply make better decisions in the future?" Hearing Vahns words, Riverias mind actually nked and she gave him an incredulous look as if she had just heard the most ridiculous thing in the world. She could actually imagine Tsubaki saying something like that to Vahn, as even Riveria believed he overthought things at times. Most of the things he said, at least when he was trying to motivate people, sounded like the foolish words of an idealist, or a boy trying to act the role of someone with great insight. The difficult thing toprehend was that Vahn obviously said his silly words very seriously, almost like he was giving a speech without actually thinking about the context of his words. This time, however, his words were very easy to understand and Riveria felt like there was more truth in the simple statement than anything they had previously discussed. Seeing Riverias expression soften and the color return to her face, Vahn showed a gentle smile and, even though every instinct in his body told him not to, pushed his luck and said, "I promise that I wont do anything strange to you during the procedure...even though Ill admit, it is very tempting to see how you would react..." Though he had already prepared himself for one of Riverias outbursts, the only thing she did was look at him with a slightlyplicated expression on her face, almost as if she was in seriously thinking about his words. Vahn couldnt stop himself from swallowing his saliva, this time causing Riverias blush to slowly creep up on her cheeks like watching wine spread through a satin cloth. At this point, the atmosphere had be strangely tense and it wasnt until an unexpected element was introduced that the tensions broke. Terra had been watching the scene y out with interest but grew increasingly frustrated the more she saw Riveria hesitating. She couldntprehend why Riveria, who often talked about Vahns research and the future he would create, was hesitating when it was very clear she wanted to move their rtionship forward as well. As one of the few people that couldnt easily get close to Vahn, Terra was very annoyed by the proceedings because she would have immediately taken the leap if she had been in the same situation. When Riveria looked over, Terra squinted her eyes slightly beforeying her head back down on her roost, as if she had lost interest in the farce that was taking ce. Riveria felt awkward for a very different reason now because she had actually forgotten about Terras presence when she had been talking with Vahn. This time, her blush crept into her ears and she didnt miss the fact that the corner of Vahns mouth raised slightly the moment the heat touched her ears. After taking a quick breath and huffing it out, Riveria mustered up her resolve and raised her head proudly, saying, "You are the man that is going to be my husband...the father of my children...and the Master I have recognized as a result of your incredible capabilities...if that is your wish, I will abide by your desires and do my best to...satisfy you as both your wife and disciple..." He had already been a little overwhelmed by Riverias blushing face but her words hadpletely pushed him over the edge. Vahn originally expected that Riveria would make some mild concessions but now it was sounding like she was allowing him to do whatever he wanted... Deciding he would rather discover the limits of her words instead of asking her to rify them, Vahn pushed his [Will of the Emperor] a bit so he could keep his focus and said, "Very well, Riveria. Though we arent married yet, from this point on you are my fiancee...since we dont have a sacred tree to pledge our vows to, I will leave the decision to you for how you want to proceed. If youd like me to decide, however, I already have something in mind I believe is suitable..." At this point, Riverias blush had reached the tips of her very long and pointy ears and there was a pouting expression on her face as she asked, "What did you have in mind...Vahn?" Realizing she was essentially asking how hed like to marry her, Riveria could feel her heart beating in her throat and swallowed hard as if she could force it back down into her chest. Vahn pointed toward the sky, causing Riveria to look up habitually only to see nothing but clear blue skies overhead. To answer her question before she even answered it, Vahn smiled and said, "We should get married in a private ceremony high above the rest of the world...what were trying to do is reshape the destiny of the entire continent, so I believe it is very suitable...what do you think, my fiancee~?" With her permission, Vahn couldnt help but tease Riveria a bit because he wanted her to slowly get used to it. He had no intentions of riling her up, but simple words like these shouldnt be something that sets her off in the future... Remembering the overview of the world from high in the sky, Riverias mind entered a bit of a daze because it really had been a beautiful and awe-inspiring sight. If she took Vahns words into consideration, it really did seem like a suitable ce to make vows that could quite literally impact the future of the entire continent below. However, when she remembered her other memories rted to that past even, Riverias blush reached a critical level because she recalled her embarrassing freefall and her hour-long embrace with Vahn. Since the atmosphere had been very cold, even with her barrier, Riveria could distinctly recall his warmth and the massive aura he had spread out to protect her from the wind. Seeing Riverias aura turn a very hot pink in color, Vahn thought she found the idea very interesting and released a sigh of relief before nodding his head and saying, "That settles it then...when youre prepared, we will ascend to the skies above this world and pledge ourselves to each other. If youre worried about your image, we can have just the gods and goddess of the Alliance to stand witness. I believe Eina, Ryuu, and Lefiya would like toe along though...and maybe those two from the Guild...Sierra and Pram...?" Riveria came back to her senses halfway through Vahns words and realized he had already decided they would be getting married in the near future. Her heart was beating powerfully in her chest and Riveria felt like her vision was beginning to get hazy... Vahns eyes widened and he stepped forward with [Shundo], catching Riverias body as her legs buckled. He had never expected her to nearly faint all of a sudden since she typically had strong willpower and should have been able to resist the urge just by stimting her mana a bit. She didnt seem to be thinking straight and Vahn immediately felt regret for teasing her too hard, cing his hand on her forehead to help calm her mind. Riverias eyes slowly opened a few secondster and she just stared nkly at his face as the warm and calming energy passed through her mind. Riveria normally had Vahn channel mana into her back and had never allowed him to pet her like he did the other girls. Unexpectedly, Riveria found his touch neither repulsive or taxing to her sensibilities...no, the only thing she could feel was a gentle warmth and a very pleasant and calming sensation as the threads of Vahns [Petting] Development Ability spread through her body. Completely contrary to her usual character, Riveria squinted her eyes slightly and Vahns brain began to buzz when he saw the contented smile on her face. Though it wasnt the first time he marveled at his own ability, Vahn felt awed by how effective his [Petting] was for it to even affect someone like Riveria... .... .... . //[Petting] Development Ability Increased To Rank A// (A/N: Alternate Titles: Shizunes Thoughtful Gaze,High Elf Princess Vs. The Hero,Irresistible Godhand) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 587 - Willingness

Chapter 587 - Willingness

For nearly a minute, Vahn absentmindedly stared at Riveria and continued stroking her head, shocked by the continued development of his [Petting] ability and the reaction of the mature High Elf. At this point, Riveria hadpletely closed her eyes and seemed to be greatly enjoying his caress, contrary to any expectations he had at the very beginning. Though part of him advised caution, Vahn felt an inclination to see exactly what he could get away with before Riveria came back to her senses. She was very obviously in a somewhat absentminded state and Vahn felt somewhat emboldened by her uncharacteristic behavior. Knowing better than to push her too far, Vahn did a rtively simple action and moved his hand from Riverias forehead and caressed the side of her cheek in a very affectionate manner. Riveria also seemed to have noticed the abnormality in the situation and immediately opened her eyes to stare at Vahn with a shocked expression on her face. Vahn did his best to put on the most gentle expression he could as he asked, "Are you okay...Riveria?" while cradling the left side of her face with his right hand. Riveria furrowed her brows slightly and Vahn could see a blush creeping up her neck at a visible rate as she said, "Im fine..." Vahns smile became more genuine as he released a relieved sigh and said, "Thats good..." while allowing his middle finger to touch against the base of Riverias ear, immediately causing it to turn scarlet. Riveria frowned deeply at this but Vahn could see her jaw quivering slightly at the sudden contact, as allowing someone to touch your ears was an incredibly intimate action. However, the fact Riveria didnt say anything to stop him made Vahn feel warmth flow out of from his chest as he muttered, "Youre very beautiful..." before putting on a hopeful expression and asking, "May I...give you a kiss...?" Though it wouldnt be the first time they kissed, Vahn was currently supporting Riverias body and it was decidedly more awkward than their previous interactions. Riveria thought she had found her resolve but now realized she was grossly unprepared for sharing intimate moments with Vahn. However, the more she felt inclined to resist, the most Riveria berated herself because she really didnt want to keep taking advantage of Vahn. Though almost every fiber of her being wanted to refuse, Riveria clenched her teeth to stop their chattering and nodded her head with a serious expression on her face. Vahn smiled happily, making Riveria feel even more fl.u.s.tered, and stroked the side of her face gently before leaning in to give her a very tame kiss. The only thing that made it dangerous was the length, as Vahn took advantage of the opportunity to press his lips against Riverias until she made the decision to pull away. Strangely, she seemed almost unwilling to back down first so they ended up in an awkward moment where Riverias face be increasingly red as she held her breath. Vahn continued stroking the side of her head, not shying away from tracing his finger near the base of her ear until she eventually released a heavy sigh through her nose and turned her face to the side in embarrassment and frustration. Using the momentary lull, Vahn figured Riveria would need a bit of coaxing to justify her own thoughts and actions so he gently muttered, "Riveria, dont worry...Ill never force you into anything youre against and we only have to act intimately in private. Even if its only periodically, I think I would be very happy seeing your blushing face when were together..." Though he mentioned being in private, Vahn was very aware of the heavy gaze of Terra who was rxing against her roost. She was being very quiet, blending in with the environment itself, but Vahn could feel a bit of resentment wafting from her, not directed at him, but Riveria. Riveria didnt seem to sense this at all, however, and seemed to be seriously considering his words once again. He felt it was somewhat cute how she put so much effort into rationalizing things but didnt want her to push herself too hard again, taking the initiative to say, "Emotions are something you feel, Riveria...dont overthink them..." as he sealed her lips again. This time, Riveria didnt have the opportunity to close her mouth and Vahn managed to probe into her lips with his tongue before immediately removing it when her teeth snapped closed. Riveria panicked a little at the unexpected kiss but Vahn didnt immediately pull away and insteadpressed his domain while infusing abination of calming and stimting energy into it. It was a bit shameless, but Vahn had learned from Loki, Syr, and even Eina that he shouldnt shy away from making use of his capabilities, as long as he didnt push it too far. As long as he wasnt reliant on his abilities to make the girls happy, it wasnt really an issue that required him to put restrictions on himself. As a response to the contrasting aura that enveloped her body, Riveria released a sigh through her nose before turning her head away and muttering in a low voice, "Stop...I dont want to keep doing this..." Contrary to her expectations, Vahn immediately nodded his head and dissipated his aura, helping Riveria stand while saying, "Sorry, I got a little carried away." in an apologetic tone. Though she knew he was a sensible boy, Riveria hadnt actually expected Vahn to back down so easily when he was acting so aggressively. She was momentarily at a loss and just looked at him nkly as a strange feeling of emptiness rose up inside of her. Seeing his apologetic look made Riveria feel both guilty and anxious because she had been the one that originally given him permission to kiss her. Vahn simply smiled in response to her vexation, reaching out his hand to stroke the side of her face again, saying, "Dont overthink it, Riveria. If youre feeling any inhibitions about something, please tell me...I dont want to drive you away by pushing you into something you arent prepared for. For now, we should just take care of the procedure before Terra ends up losing her temper." Riveria had started to feel even more guilty as she listened to Vahns words but was startled at the reminder of Terras presence. Her eyes widened and she looked toward the sunbathing True Dragon, seeing the gentle smile on her face as uncharacteristically cold. Though she was much stronger than Terra, Riveria felt a little intimidated by her look and turned away, nodding to Vahn as she said, "Yes...lets go to the...salon?" Realizing her suggestion, Riveria felt a bit of panic and was very aware of how quickly her heart was beating. She felt like it was getting progressively harder to cope with all the emotions that were going to war inside of her body. The only thing keeping her moving forward was her feelings of guilt, the strong sense of duty she had, and the wavering trust she felt toward Vahn... Vahn nodded at Riverias suggestion and did his best to remain calm as he turned to Terra and showed an apologetic expression on his face as he said, "Sorry, Terra...Ill make it up to youter." In response to his words, Terras wings slowly traced a smooth curve through the water as her tail sn.a.k.e.d from side to side, a sign she was looking forward to how he would apologize. Vahn gave an awkward smile before looking toward Riveria and suggesting, "Shall we go...?" while extending his hand to her. Riveria stared at his outstretched hand for several seconds, willing herself to eventually reach out and grab it with her own before saying, "Yes..." in a quiet tone. Surprisingly, Riveria allowed Vahn to escort her all the way to the edge of the illusory forest before she eventually pulled her hand free from his. Though he gave her a questioning look and a slight smile, Vahn didnt ask and simply continued to lead the way until she reached his salon. They had passed by a few people along the way, causing Riverias aura to fluctuate slightly, but she maintained a stoic expression and simply nodded in greeting. As for Vahn, he shared a few words with the girls but didnt tarry for long since he knew Riveria probably wanted to get things taken care of as soon as possible. Once they reached the salon proper, Vahn could sense Riveria rx greatly and she released an audible sigh to emphasize the tensions she had been experiencing. He had realized this a while back, but Riveria sighed more than anyone else he had ever met,pletely unaware that the reason for this was almost exclusively because of him. Before he could try to break the ice, Riveria had surprisingly seized the initiative by saying, "I was serious about my earlier words, Vahn...since Im going to be your wife, I will do my best to tolerate and abide by your wishes. Just...dont embarrass me in front of other people...I need to be strong so that people treat me seriously..." She had never talked about it to anyone else before, but Riveria had often worn far more girly and elegant clothing in the past. After learning that she lost her birthright as a result of being a woman, Riveria had changed her disposition and started wearing more reserved and manly clothing. She had even artificially deepened her voice to make it sound more husky, all so that she wouldnt be treated like some kind of delicate flower by the other nobles. For nearly fifty years, Riveria had treated most of her interactions with people like a confrontation and had never really made an attempt to open her heart to others, even her closepanions like Aina. This was the primary reason she hadnt wanted Vahn to see her [Hearts Desire] in the past because she didnt want him to pry into her past and see how much she had changed...she didnt want his pity. Though he treated her as an equal, Riveria often found herself feeling somewhat cking inparison to Vahn, oftentimes one-sidedly benefitting from him and only offering small bits of advice in exchange. If he pitied her, Riveria was certain she wouldnt be able to actually stay around him since she needed his respect if they were going to be together and raise their child. Since her own understanding of love was shallow, Riveria prioritized respect, dignity, and even pride more than her own emotions... Vahn observed her in silence for a few seconds before softening his expression and saying, "Riveria, Im actually a pretty selfish person..." Hearing his words, Riveria was confused and gave him a questioning look since she couldnt understand why he was saying such a thing. Though he was a bit foolish at times, Vahn was undoubtedly one of the most selfless people she had ever met. Even if she asked everyone else in the Manor what they thought about Vahn, Riveria couldnt imagine a single one of them, even the goddesses, iming that he was selfish. Vahn, however, showed his characteristic honest expression and exined, "I wouldnt have surrounded myself with so many capable and beautiful women if I was content..." Even if the others felt like they were the selfish ones in his rtionsh.i.p.s, Vahn felt like he had needed almost all the girls and had slowly started to feel like he couldnt easily separate with any of them. So she could understand what he was trying to say better, Vahn continued, saying, "I will probably try to get a rise out of you at times...because, though I love the cool beauty you portray yourself as, I also love the bashful you just as much...I want to see every single expression you can make, as long as its one of happiness or contentedness. Since its important to you to maintain your image, I will keep all of your happy expressions to myself...at least until our child is born. Please, rest assured, I will never take action that would embarrass you in front of others..." Vahn didnt know what the future would hold but he was confident he could abide by his promise, determined to even make a vow if Riveria wasnt convinced. Riveria had already seen the conviction in his eyes, however, and she felt the emphasis he ced on each of his words as he stated them very clearly and in a firm tone. Though they were very embarrassing to hear, Riveria also felt forted knowing that Vahn was so considerate of her. She knew better than anyone about her own insecurities, so it gave her peace of mind knowing that he would respect her image, at least when they were in front of others. It might be a littlete to consider the matter, especially after their little disy in front of Terra, but Riveria didnt mind it too much since she was also at fault. Thus, with her resolve solidified and her heart at greater ease than before, Riveria brought her left hand to the golden sp around her mantle and unfastened it, allowing the tan fabric to drop to the ground... Though she was still almost fully clothed, Vahn gulped audibly when he saw Riveria discard her mantle and reveal the somewhat masculine military style robe underneath. She may have tried to appear manly, but Riveria was a breathtaking beauty and there was absolutely nothing she could do to truly convince someone she wasnt a woman. Even with her serious expression, Vahn found her to be very adorable since she was fighting very hard to keep the blush from spreading through her cheeks. Since she hadnt actually prepared for the procedure properly, Riveria knew that the only thing under her robes, other than the ck undershirt she had worn after the incident, was a mismatched bra and panty. Thinking of Vahns reaction, Riverias face became very hot but she continued willing herself forward even though Vahns gaze was very heavy... Vahn watched as Riveria unfastened the sps of her belt before using her somewhat shaky fingers to unbutton her robe. Though her blush had already reached the tips of her inordinately long ears, Riveria didnt seem content with the aplishment and Vahn was actually worried she would have a nosebleed like Ryuu pretty soon. Deciding it was best not to pressure her too much, Vahn averted his eyes and started preparing the materials for the procedure, feeling Riverias aura calm down a lot the moment he turned away. He even heard her release another sigh but noticed there was a bit of exasperation mixed in alongside the relief. Riveria had felt both grateful for Vahns consideration but regretted that she was so weak that she required the kindness of a young boy just to cope...even if that young boy was her future husband. For theing procedure, Vahn had prepared apound ink that was mixed with powdered Orichalc.u.m, Terras blood, and a small amount of [Cadmus Spring Water] and [Mega Elixir] as the carrier to prevent infection. Though lower-quality materials could be substituted, Vahn wasnt going to cut corners when it came to one of the women that would be his future wives and the mother of children. Even if thebined materials cost several tens-of-millions of Valis, it was literally a small price to pay from Vahns perspective. For the needle, as he would actually be tattooing the formation into Riverias skin, Vahn used a very thin scale that he had obtained from Fafnir as its tip was only three molecules thick, making it one of the sharpest objects in the record, though it was also somewhat fragile at the same time. The best part was that Fafnirs scales were inherently sterile and it wouldnt absorb any of the magical or medicinal properties of the ingredients at all. As he could almost perfectly simte the procedure in his mind, Vahn was confident it would take slightly under three hours toplete, though that was assuming Riveria didnt move at all. He expected she would probably struggle a bit at first until he helped her rx and eased her into the procedure. With his new [Petting: A], Vahn was very confident he could help her calm down, even if it would also be a bit embarrassing for her when she recalled the eventter on. He could already force Arnya, Chloe, Aki, and Mn to purr and had already seen that his technique was effective on Riveria earlier. Now that it was even stronger, Vahn expected he could get her to rx pretty easily and hoped she wouldnt be too resistant since he didnt want to bete for dinner and cause her greater embarrassment... Though it had taken a much longer amount of time than expected, the sound of clothing being moved around eventually came to a stop and there was silence in the salon for a short while afterward. Vahn could sense Riveria perfectly, even without looking at her, and knew she was staring at him with a great deal of hesitation. Deciding to be more forward with her, Vahn turned around with a smile on his face and gave Riverias body a casual and appreciative nce, saying, "You really are an ethereal beauty..." Vahn had been somewhat surprised to see that Riveria was wearing a beige colored panty and a light-green bra, Vahn didnt think it was strange at all and simply admired her beauty. As for Riveria, she hadnt expected Vahn to suddenly turn around and froze up under his gaze before feeling a strange sense of relief when he didnt give her a weird look and instead showed clear admiration on his face. It might seem a little shallow, but Riveria felt a bit of pride and rxed a great deal even though she still had many inhibitions about the situation. Trying to act as professionally as possible, Vahn smiled and gestured to his massage table, saying, "We dont want to bete for dinner and you will probably want to take a bath afterward. Lets go ahead and get started..." Riverias face became somewhat serious at this point because she also realized how awkward it would be if they showed up to dinnerte. Even taking a bath was going to be very difficult in the future because everyone would be able to see therge tattoo that would be covering her abdomen and lower body in the future. Riveria had previously decided that it should be considered a mark of pride and had already resolved herself to put on a strong front around the others but knew it wouldnt be easy. Though there were some High Elves that carved special formations into their body to make use of their unique magic, Riveria would be the first of the Alf lineage to ever willingly allow her body to be blemished. However, she didnt want people to see it that way and wanted it to be a mark that inspired hope in her people in the future. She had even considered wearing clothing that disyed the mark in the future, though hadnt made an actual decision to show it off quite yet... Taking a deep breath, Riveria walked over to Vahns massage table and climbed onto its plush surface, feeling her butt sink into the pliable material below. It was veryfortable, but Riveria felt incredibly awkward as shey back against it and looked toward the gentle lighting above. She had previously allowed Vahn to touch her back, but this was decidedly different as Riveria would be able to see all of his actions clearly. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts, which she had always been self-conscious of, were clearly disyed before him with only a thin fabric separating them. As for her lower body, Riveria was doing her best not to think about it at all and just prayed that she wouldnt do anything to embarrass herself during the procedure. Part of the tattoo required Vahn to work around the very delicate area and Riveria was very worried, for a variety of reasons... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Momentum Is Key,Terras Presence...,A Beautiful Unblemished Canvas...) (A/N: With the severe temperature shifts in my area, I ended up bing sick so only expect 2-3 chapters for the next day or two. Ill try to do a mass release when I recover, or put out more chapters next week to make up for the loss. Stay strong and stay healthy everyone~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 588 - Formation

Chapter 588 - Formation

Vahn could see how nervous Riveria was but knew that simply trying to console her would only make things more difficult for her. Instead, he put on his professional demeanor and began exining the process so that she would have something else to focus on instead of worrying about the state of her body. Grabbing some incense, Vahn exined, "Im going to light some incense to help your mind and body rx. It may be a little ufortable, but this process will go much faster if you rx your body instead of tensing it up. Dont worry, though I may have to touch you, it will only be to ease your pain or to inscribe the formation on your stomach. You may feel a bit of tenderness in the area after the fact, but that is natural since you will be absorbing energy through your abdomen even without the belt..." Riveria was already aware of the process because she had read over the details several times since yesterday afternoon. Hearing Vahn exining the procedure, and seeing how casually he was acting, helped her calm down and she did her best to rx. She knew well what kind of incense he was using but trusted that, even if she entered an absentminded state, Vahn wouldnt take advantage of her. Besides, her [Abnormal Resistance] and willpower should allow her to easily resist the effects unless she willingly allowed herself to fall into a defenseless state. Since she was already very tense, Riveria believed things wouldnt progress that far unless Vahn did something strange during the procedure. Even without her saying anything, Vahn understood some of Riverias concerns and said, "Even if you doze off, I wont ask you any personal questions and will just exin the details while focusing on the inscribing process. Since Ill be using a very sharp tool against your skin, you may feel a bit of pain so try not to flinch and move around..." As her pain tolerance was actually very high, Riveria was confident she would be able to remain stationary even if it was far more painful than she expected it to be. Since she really didnt feel like talking right now, Riveria just nodded her head and closed her eyes in order to rx. Even though she was curious about the process, Riveria didnt want to watch since she felt it would be easier if she didnt see Vahns face while he was intently focused on her body. While he was making his final preparations, Vahn cast nces at Riverias body and realized things were probably not going to progress as smoothly as hed like. The best method would have been to have Riveria recline on a specialized table and have her rx her legs in an open position. He knew all Elves were very flexible, as it was one of their racial traits, so she could probably split her legs easily and allow him to get much closer to her lower abdomen. Performing the method from the side like this meant it was far more likely to make a mistake but it wasnt easy to ask Riveria to simply spread her legs so its more convenient for him. Fortunately, the table he was currently using could be lowered and he would easily be able to lean over her body and his high Dexterity and intense focus gave him an edge. To ensure there wouldnt be any problems, however, Vahn said, "So that the formation is as urate as possible, Im going to create a temte on your body as a guide. Try to use this time to adapt to the sensations and rx as much as you can..." Riveria simply nodded her head in return and Vahn could tell she was trying to regte her breathing and rx as much as possible. Since she didnt seem willing to answer him, or even look toward him, Vahn turned his attention to Riverias very thin and soft looking abdomen and resolved himself to make no mistakes on her wless skin. Pulling out a very thin needle, Vahn sanitized it with his [Heart of the Eternal me] before dipping it into the solution of Cadmus Spring Water to cool it down. Lowering down the table slowly with a small lever near the bottom, Vahn leaned over Riverias body and used his left hand to stabilize her abdomen before tracing a very thin dashed-line of normal ink across her skin. Riveria surprisingly didnt flinch at all when he touched her so Vahn kept his focus and quickly moved his hands around, positioning her with the tips of his fingers so he didnt smudge any of the lines. He had never actually drawn on a persons body like this, so Vahn was a little slow at first until he adapted to how her skin deformed slightly under the pressure of his fingers and the tip of the needle. Nearly a half hourter, Riverias entire lower abdomen had thin beads of blood in some areas and it had be a bit tender to the touch as Vahn had nearly inscribed the full outline of the formation in painstaking detail. Since he had his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn was easily able to see the underlying organs and had perfectly aligned the formation with the various meridians that acted as the points of a persons body that allowed them to absorb and emit mana. Though there were twelverger meridians that regted everything, there were more than three hundred smaller ones that were near perfect mirrors of each other that helped regte the bnce and flow of mana within the body. These meridians were already linked together in a veryplexwork, but Vahn was going to directly link them together on the surface while connecting them to Riveras core, where the vast majority of her mana was stored. His hope was that, not only would he be able to nourish the child she would bear, but the excess natural energy would nourish her mana and enable her strength to passively increase as a result... After finishing the majority of the temte, Vahn stared at the very delicate area of Riveria obstructed by the beige panties she was wearing. He didnt actually have to tattoo on her v.a.g.i.n.a itself, but the most integral part of the formation, its very core, needed to be oveid with Riverias uterus and tied together with her ovaries. Though he had altered the original design to make it look more organic and aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, the core invariably ended up in the shape of a heart and it would be very embarrassing to be seen. Knowing it was necessary, Vahn took a slow, silent, and deep breath to calm himself before saying, "Riveria, Im going to lower your panties a bit..." Riveria had calmed down a great deal over thest thirty minutes, but she still tensed up greatly when she heard Vahns words. She knew part of the formation was located very close to her delicates and it was one of the things she had been most worried about. Without refusing him, however, Riveria just nodded her head and balled up her fists a bit in preparation for what was toe. Vahn had already been very gentle with her, as the energy from his fingertips was very calming and easily overwhelmed the mild difort from the needle. The area he was about to be working on, however, was several times more sensitive and Riveria was worried her body would react in an embarrassing way even if there was a bit of pain involved. Focusing on the fact that Vahn was her fiance, Riveria steeled herself and took a few controlled breaths as Vahn rolled down the upper part of the fabric... Knowing she likely wouldnt want to expose herself during the procedure, Vahn only moved the thin fabric as much as was necessary before cing his hand near Riverias pelvis bone to stabilize her. He did this to make sure she didnt move while he was drawing the temte and to ease any difort by channeling calming and rxing energy into her body. Healing her at this point would actually make things more difficultter on, so she had to tolerate the tender feeling for a while without having any real relief since Vahn needed to confirm everything was functioning properly during every step. Vahn drew a small rune directly above the center of Riverias uterus in the same shape as the one located on Tsubakis. Though it couldnt actually be read by anyone else in the record, Vahn knew it was the seal for fertility and it had a lot of power when inscribed at the core of a formation. Using the rune as the center, Vahn created an intricate heart shape that looked like twining branches and then created a pathway that followed along Riverias fallopian tubes before branching out even further like blooming buds in aplex curved formation. Since she was a High Elf, Vahn had designed the entire formation to look like a tree, with small leaves, flowers, and fruits located at all the important spots. Since it was a formation meant to absorb natural energy, having imagery of nature actually made it even stronger so it was the obvious route to take. Since it was such an important part of the process, Vahn spent nearly twenty minutes inscribing the core even though it was only around 20% of the total structure of the formation. He had long noticed the flowery and sweet aroma wafting from Riverias body but did his best topletely ignore it as he said, "Ive finished the temte and I dont see any problems..." while asking Sis to help confirm. She also gave him the go-ahead while Riveria remained absolutely silent with her forearms covering her eyes and a ruddyplexion spreading all the way down to the base of her neck. Vahn knew she was in an excited state right now and probably didnt want to talk or let him see her face until she calmed down. To make matters worse, though it was actually his intention to make things easier for her, Vahn decided to start by inscribing the core of the formation before working his way up her body. She was already in an excited state, so Vahn wanted to get the delicate parts taken care of so she could spend the rest of the time rxing. So she wasnt surprised by his decision, Vahn exined, "Im going to fill out the core of the formation first and then expand outwards from there. It will help keep things symmetrical since I can work from the center of the body and work my way up..." Riveria didnt give him any verbal or physical response at all but Vahn was very aware of the chaotic state of her aura, including the three wispy tendrils that were following around his hands with their muted red coloration. It was very fortunate that Riveria was still a v.i.r.g.i.n or this process would have been far more difficult for her, not that Vahn felt inclined to mention this as he grabbed Fafnirs scale and dipped it into the inkwell. Vahn knew this part was going to be very painful for Riveria so he exined in a calm and guiding tone, "Riveria, you have to remember to remain still even if it feels very painful. The process will conclude much faster if there arent any disruptions..." Though she didnt respond at first, Riveria eventually nodded her head slightly and Vahn could see that her aura stabilized a bit in response. He gave her a few more seconds to steel herself before bringing the golden ink to the center of the formation and began rhythmically tapping the area with enough force to prate the skin and diffuse the ink into the tender dermis tissue located underneath the thin and sensitive epidermalyer. Riverias aura began to tremble chaotically but Vahn was impressed that she didnt show any physical response other than a very slight tensing of the muscles every time he tapped, which was perfectly natural. Though the fragrant aroma had increased greatly by the time he was finished, Vahn hadpleted filling out the core after around forty minutes, bringing the total time to slightly over an hour and a half. His three-hour approximation seemed like a bit of a pipe dream at this point because his simtion hadnt ounted for how the ink to diffuse properly. It was very fortunate he had made a temte because it kept the ink from spreading into other areas of the skin, which could have destabilized the structure. It was very important that everything flowed in the correct direction or it would be like trying to make water go two ways in a river. There was a central flow that linked Riverias mana core to the core of the formation while the rest branched out from the core and fed into therger formation. This meant that the core fueled the entire formation while the natural flow of mana in Riverias body fed into the core after absorbing the energy from the belt he was going to make. It was very important that everything was perfectly bnced or there could be unexpected problems in the future. With the most important part taken care of, Vahn released a heavy sigh while closely observing his handiwork,pletely forgetting that he was only a few centimeters away from a very delicate area of Riveria. He noticed her aura tremble slightly and realized his mistake but, instead of apologizing and making things awkward, simply said, "Ive finished the core and verified there arent any issues. You should be able to rx your body soon...sorry for taking so long, Riveria. Youve been putting in a lot of effort and I appreciate how easy youve made the procedure thus far..." There were a few seconds of silence, during which Vahn had wiped the sweat from his brow and prepared for the next phase, before Riveria surprised him by saying, "I can tell...that youre doing your best...as well..." Vahn hadnt expected Riveria to say anything at all because her body was in such a tense state that there were small beads of sweat building up on her skin. He actually had to cool her down a bit by reducing the air temperature around her abdomen with his aura just to keep the temte from getting washed away. She was still sweating, but it dried out very quickly since he also reduced the air pressure greatly until it was nearly a vacuum. He couldnt make it a perfect void, as his control wasnt even remotely close to that point, but it helped quite a bit. Though he knows she couldnt see him, Vahn still showed a very affectionate smile on his face because he knew Riveria was trying to encourage him after understanding he made a mistake previously. Knowing she wasnt actually trying to start a conversation, however, Vahn simply returned to his work very dutifully, this time cing his palm slightly below Riverias diaphragm to help her calm down faster. He had alreadypleted the most important part of the formation so everything else was just connecting her meridians together and making it look aesthetically pleasing. Since the ink was closer to an off-white that trended towards pale gold, Vahn felt it actually enhanced the beauty of her naturalplexion a great deal. He believed that, once the tender red skin returned to normal, Riverias abdomen would actually look rather appealing and he thought it was very suitable for her since it actually caused the eyes to wander from her face to her navel and caused an instinctive intrigue to rise up inside of him. The only exception to this was a secret he even kept from Riveria since he actually infused a very small amount of his own blood into the small buds linking together her meridians. He knew from when he healed Hephaestus eye that his blood had greater purification properties than previously anticipated so he was using it to cleanse Riverias meridians. Since Terras blood wasprised of source energy, it also had a synergistic effect with his own blood, causing Vahn to believe it would make the formation even more powerful... As expected, Riveria had started to calm down a lot when he stopped working around her delicates and Vahn could see the blush slowly retreat from her face, even though she still kept it covered for a while longer. It wasnt until he was nearly finished that Riveria finally revealed her face once again, taking a peek at Vahns progress with her own glossy jade-green eyes. When she saw theplex formation on her own body, Riveria felt both nervous and excited at the same time. Seeing something on paper was very different than seeing it in real life and Riveria could appreciate Vahns efforts since she knew few people would be able to create something soplex without issue on their very first attempt. It would likely take many months of practice for other Elves to be able to proficiently carve such a formation, but knowing it existed would inspire many to master the practice so that future generations didnt experience the trials of their ancestors. Since she was paying attention now, Vahn began narrating what he was doing while exining the function of each individual bud, emphasizing the importance and order of the small pinkish flowers. Riveria knew Vahn had done something to the spots, as it didnt make sense for every other part to be the same pale-golden color, but she didnt ask since she believed he did it for her benefit. Vahn had many secrets that he couldnt easily share with others and Riveria knew it was important to allow him to keep such things close to his chest. If she forced him to reveal everything, he very well might, but that would be the same as putting him below her, when the truth was the opposite, at least in her opinion. If they were of simr age, Riveria felt like she would have no choice but to be deferential to Vahn, simply as a result of his incredible capabilities. As she had also grown up in a society dominated by men, there was a small part of her that still felt lesser at times, which is why she worked so hard to prove herself as a capable person. Vahn had always shown great consideration for her and, even when she felt like her contributions were minimal at best, his gratitude always made her feel pride and...just a little, it also made her feel happy. Sensing the subtle change in Riverias aura, Vahn just blinked in confusion and continued focusing on his task. He didnt know why she was suddenly happy as she watched his actions but believed it was more relief than anything else. He was nearly finished with the process and there were only a few minutes left before she would be free from the long session that was already more than twenty minutes over the expected time. The final part was more of a beautification process than anything else, but it also served to stabilize the formation by linking together small channels. Vahn hoped this would ensure that everything was bnced at all times and, even if there were small changes in the structure as a result of natural aging, it should help cover for any gaps created as well. Seeing how focused and hard-working Vahn was, Riveria felt a little silly for being so worried earlier, even though she believed he wouldnt do anything. Her lower body was very tender right now, to an extent that was almost unimaginable for her. Though he wasntpletely finished, Riveria had felt a tingling sensation in her lower body ever since hepleted the core. Unlike most Elves, Riveria had obtained [Spirit Healing: A] as a result of her prodigious abilities as a Mage so she was already much better at absorbing mana than most people. Now, she could feel several times of natural mana flowing into her lower body and it was a very incongruous feeling that she didnt quite know how to deal with. Fortunately, it didnt make her feel excited and actually helped her rx a bit after Vahn stopped fiddling around in the area... At nearly three and a half hours, Vahn finallypleted the tip of a small golden leaf, which marked thest detail of the formations inscription process. He once again released a heavy sigh of relief, this time making sure to turn away from Riverias body out of consideration for her. Riveria noticed this action andughed, one of the few times Vahn had ever heard herugh in the entire time they had known each other. He gave her a curious look and, instead of the somewhat husky voice she usually used when speaking, Riveria said in a very gentle tone, "Youve worked hard, Vahn...thank you. I truly mean it...from the bottom of my heart..." Though she couldnt get rid of the speech patternpletely, Vahn felt the gentleness and sincerity in Riverias tone, making his own heart melt as a natural smile appeared on his face. Unable to pass up the unique opportunity, Vahn couldnt help but casually remark, "There shouldnt be any danger of the ink fading away, as I made sure it hadpletely settled while I was working, but you need to make sure to keep it exposed to the air for the next couple of days. If possible, get permission from Terra to rx in the wellspring since the natural energy within the pool should speed up the recovery process and strengthen the formation. You may feel a little bit of difort, but it will be good for your body if you release your tensions every now and then..." Though everything he said was true, and he would have had to mention it eventually, Vahns timing had caught Riveria off guard and she blushed deeply in response to his words. If she truly did rx in the wellspring for a long period of time, Riveria knew what Vahn meant by the difort he mentioned. She also knew it was necessary to expose the mark for the first few days and that she would have to apply a solution to make sure her skin didnt swell or get infected. However, having them pointed out during such a heartfelt moment was very embarrassing and Riveria knew Vahn had done it intentionally just to get a rise out of her. Giving Vahn a profound look of me, Riveria took several deep breaths before saying, "I need a swimsuit..." in her traditionally husky and monotone voice. Vahn was caught off guard by her words, making Riveria feel a little bit of vindication until he suddenly had a yful glint in his eyes. She immediately regretted trying to get even with him on his own ying field and her mindpletely nked when Vahn pulled out a leaf-green bikini top a bottom, saying, "These are waterproof and wont get in the way of the formation on your lower body...you need to make sure it is properly exposed to the air or it could fester. If you have any problems, please consult me immediately since we cant risk damaging such a delicate part of the formation..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Delicate Procedure,If I cant see him, he cant see me...,Godhand, Silver Tongue...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 589 - Suitable Attire

Chapter 589 - Suitable Attire

With Vahns reminder, Riveria suddenly realized she had overlooked a very important factor and turned her eyes toward her robe and pants that were neatly folded away at the side. Vahn also followed her gaze out of curiosity and immediately understood her plight, throwing away the small green bikini into his inventory so as not to upset her. Riveria really did need to make sure to air out her tattoo properly so that there wouldnt be any issues, but this also meant she didnt really have any proper clothes to wear for such a purpose. Even her pants, they were the type that sat high on the waist and would easily cover more than 3/4 the tattoo... Riveria realized how revealing the clothing she would need to wear would be and became somewhat pale because the core of the formation was located at a very delicate spot. There were few clothing articles, except for some skin-tight garments, that could cover such an area without potentially leading to an ident if she moved around quickly. The only practical clothing seemed to be small underwear or the almost nonexistent swimsuit Vahn had produced earlier, something Riveria couldnt see herself wearing in front of other people. Vahn was thinking a bit more clearly than Riveria at this point and quickly exined, "If you wear a loose dress and avoid going fighting for a few days, that should be enough time for the formation to set properly. You should consider wearing waterproof undergarments underneath it, as soaking in the wellspring when everyone else is away will speed up the process greatly..." Though it would be better to expose it to the sun, it wasnt really that important and Riveria just needed to avoid damaging the area by covering it with tight clothing. Since she would have to remove the dress to soak her body, that would be a good opportunity to get some sun exposure and would likely help nourish the formation very quickly, especially if Terra assisted her. Realizing Vahns words were a reasonable solution, Riveria released a sigh of relief before asking, "Can you create a dress for me...and Ill need a swimsuit, as I dont currently own any..." Since he wanted to make sure she had something practical for potential emergencies, Vahn relied on his gacha system once again and input the variables elegant, loose-fitting, and gown. Gowns were typically the more formal version of dresses, so Vahn believed it would be more suitable for a mature and intelligent beauty like Riveria. One of the dresses he had gotten in the past would have made Hestia blush with how revealing it was, so Vahn wanted to avoid that situation. Seeing two green orbs pop out from the gacha, Vahn had a big smile on his face that startled Riveria slightly since his reaction was a little strange to her. Vahn exined after releasing a low chuckle, "Sorry, the process of creation isnt as simple as you expect and it is based a lot on imaging and other variables that are somewhat difficult to exin. I was thinking of an elegant, loose-fitting, gown for you to wear and wanted to make sure it was something practical in the event of an emergency. Seeing no falsity in Vahns words, even though there was a strange incongruity to them, Riveria nodded her head until Vahn pulled out a beautiful blue gown and a strange golden belt. She couldnt understand why, but Riverias eyes were drawn to the belt and there was a strange longing sensation in her heart that made it hard to look away... Vahn felt like he had been very lucky on this gacha pull, especially when he had seen the vibrant blue gown that had appeared from the first green orb. It was at the A-Rank as far as parameters were concerned and was called [Luck Be a Lady] within the system interface. It looked very much like a gown that would be worn at a ball, having a doubleyers dress with severalyers of frills near the base. Around the waist, there was an ornate golden belt and sash while the top section of the gown was very loose, exposing the back and having a very deep v-shape with a sp that looked like it would sit underneath the cleavage. Riveria definitely couldnt fill-out the dress properly, but Vahn felt like the deep v was very suitable for her since her fairplexion was very pleasant to the eyes. Toplete the outfit, which surprised Vahn a little, it had some kind of ornate light-blue shawl that also had golden motifs and was quite beautiful to observe... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Luck Be a Lady] Rank: A (Magic) P.Def: 777 M.Def: 777 Abilities: Lady Lucks Smile(A), Fortunes Favor, Agility Enhancement(C), Abnormal Status Immunity(C) An elegant dress which had been worn by a fearless skyfaring knight who became notorious in various casinos and establishments with her near-perfect win rate. Some specte that the dealers had simply been drawn to the exposed areas of her body, but the truth of the matter was that the woman was simply inordinately blessed by the favor of both Luck and Fortune. Wearing this dress is said to give the bearer a portion of the skyfarers luck while also increasing the opportunities to experience great fortune in their lives. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Though he was very fond of the first gown, especially after seeing its abilities and description, Vahn turned his attention to the second orb and found a gown that he was almost certain Riveria would choose. It was a gentle green in color with golden ents that looked like it had been tailor-made for an Elven beauty. There was a goldenurel belt around the waist with a deep split near the h.i.p.s, showing a white gown beneath the green and enting the overall appeal. While it was strapless, meaning it would have to hug Riverias chest for support, it had arge green hooded mantle that Riveria would be able to wear to protect her shoulders. Vahn was a little sad because he felt like the first dress was simply too good to pass up even if the aesthetics didnt match perfectly... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Elven Queens Gown] Rank: A (Magic) P.Def: 10 M.Def: 1500 Abilities: Elven Queens Aura(A), Forestwalk(B), Magical Amplification(B) A gown created for the Queen of the Elves by the King of Spirits in a foreign record. As the first generation Queen, this dress was imbued with powerful enchantments that would give her freedom to move through any forested terrain unrestricted while also bolstering the strength of her people. It is said that the Queen, wearing this dress, had led her people to expand their home forests until they had reached all coasts of their native continent. Restrictions: Elves of Royal Blood, Soulbound(unbound) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn had originally thought it was a waste to set aside the [Luck Be a Lady] at first, but his mind had changed very quickly after reading the actual description of the [Elven Queens Gown]. It was almost perfect for the current situation since the thin and loose fabric wouldnt be too restrictive, allowing Riverias tattoo to set properly. Since it also had the very useful Soulbound property, Vahn knew it was far more suitable for Riveria than the elegant blue dress in his right arm She would be able to wear and remove it very quickly, meaning she could soak her body whenever she chose and then wear the gown momentster if it was necessary. Riveria had noticed the various changes in Vahns expression but her eyes were still drawn to the dress in his left arm, almost like it was calling to her. She had never felt this kind of feeling before and didnt understand until Vahn sighed and exined, "Thisurel belt will allow you to materialize a gown at will, much like how Terra is able to call out her robe in an instant. Its called the [Elven Queens Gown], and I believe it is the most suitable gown for the current situation...it allows you to strengthen other Elves that are loyal to you and has a strange ability called Forestwalk that Ive never seen before. Youll have to test it out in the illusory forest out back if you want to discover its secrets..." Hearing Vahns exnation, Riveria understood why she felt the longing sensation now because she knew some of the objects created by Vahn were very unique. Even goddesses like Hephaestus couldnt see through all of their properties and the only person that knew about how the items were named and created was Vahn himself. If the gown was truly called [Elven Queens Gown], Riveria felt as if that is exactly what it was, making her feel a bit of excitement and nervousness at the same time. As if he had understood her inner turmoil, Vahn smiled and said, "Riveria, our child will be the heir to the throne, so it wouldnt be wrong to consider yourself a Queen-Mother at the very least..." Though he said it in a somewhat yful manner, there was a very serious look in Vahns eyes as he passed over theurel to Riveria, who seemed to have forgotten she was just standing there in a bra and panty. Riveria epted theurel belt before asking hesitantly, "What about the other gown...I feel like you were very fond of it...?" Vahn had already stowed it away inside his inventory at this point but still exined, "Its called [Luck Be a Lady] and has the ability to enhance the luck and fortune of the wearer, two unique properties I became very interested in since I hadnt expected them to appear. Dont worry, I believe that belt is far more suitable and it was just my personal interest in the [Luck Be a Lady] that you picked up on..." Though it wasnt entirely true, Vahn was being honest since it was the abilities and description that originally caught his eye. Knowing such properties existed expanded his own knowledge of forging even further, meaning he could theoretically replicate the gowns functions in the future. Deciding not to press Vahn for more information, as she had once again be aware of her nearly-n.a.k.e.d state, Riveria affixed theurel belt to her waist, surprised at how perfectly it fit her. Before she was able to inquire about it, however, Riveria felt strange energy spread through her body followed by an instinctual understanding of how to use the item. It almost felt like she had just taken a vow, making theurel belt link itself together with her soul. Unlike a vow, however, Riveria felt veryfortable with the energy of the belt and closed her eyes as wisps of green appeared around her body as the loose gown flowed down in an instant. Vahns smile increased a great deal and he couldnt stop himself from saying, "You look incredible..." while putting up a standing mirror for Riverias use. She had been very surprised by the fact the gown included gloves, boots, and even arge hooded mantle, but the appearance of the gown was what caught her attention. Riveria felt like it was a dress that had been made solely for her own use as the colors matched well with her hair and eyes. Even the bust area, which would have been herrgest concern previously, made Riverias mouth curl up at the ends because it pushed up her b.r.e.a.s.ts snugly and made them lookrger. It was very embarrassing to have part of her cleavage exposed, but having cleavage at all made Riveria feel strangely happy. In the past, she had wrapped them tightly to appear more masculine, but she hade to regret itter in life after seeing how other females emphasized the significance of b.r.e.a.s.t size... Watching Riveria admire herself in the mirror made Vahn feel very happy but he knew they needed to leave soon since there were less than ten minutes left before the official start of dinner. Breaking her from the reverie Riveria found herself in, Vahn said in a calm tone, "You will be able to store the gown within theurel belt so it should make it much easier to soak your body in the wellspring. We need to head off to dinner soon so you should at least wipe down your body before we go..." When she had turned to look at him, Vahn handed Riveria the rather small swimsuit bottoms but made sure the top was normal. To prevent her from getting fl.u.s.tered, he had given her a pareo to cover her butt and legs if she wanted to use it. Riveria could feel her heartbeat increasing whenever she absentmindedly epted the swimsuit from Vahn. She was in a very delicate state of mind right now because she was conscious of almost everything Vahn said and did. Though she hadnt cared about him seeing her body, or even touching her a bit in the past, the context behind the actions had changed greatly and Riveria was very fl.u.s.tered thinking about how she needed to behave. After mulling over her thoughts very quickly, Riveria took a deep breath and removed the gown, marveling at how the only thing she felt was a gentle breeze before the severalyers of fabric simply ceased to exist. She saw Vahns eyes widen slightly as his pupils dted in admiration, making her feel even more fl.u.s.tered but also proud at the same time. During the brief moment when she had been thinking over the matter, Riveria decided she needed to let Vahn have a few liberties on asion since he did so much for her. They were already engaged and it was important they shared a few affectionate, or even intimate, moments if they wanted to bring their hearts closer together. Though she was afraid of what love might do to her, Riveria knew it was very important to let it happen and decided to take Vahns advice and simply go with the flow. She knew he was a sensible boy and he had already promised not to do things that would embarrass her around other people...after having entrusting her body to him during the inscription process, Riveria felt a great deal of trust for Vahn. Having found her resolve, Riveria turned her jade eyes and looked into Vahns deep aquamarine ones before saying, "Help me wipe down my body...please...?" Deciding it would be better to ask instead of telling him what to do, Riveria had changed her words and put a bit of an awkward inflection at the end. Vahn immediately took a deep breath and the smile on his face increased before it softened greatly upon his exhale and he said, "It would be my honor to tend to my Wifes body..." while pulling out a towel and a small basin of warm water. Riveria bobbed her head and instinctively took a step back before quickly stripping away her bra and panties. They were made of very stic fabric and her bra itself didnt even have a sp on the back since Riveria wasnt fond of how the straps bit into her shoulders and left red marks. Vahn hadnt expected Riveria to suddenly strip down but he didnt allow the sudden change to deter him and simply dipped the towel into a bucket and set about his duty. Riveria was obviously pushing herself a bit and Vahn wanted her to be able to trust he would always be attentive to her state of mind and the situations they were in. If he could make herfortable at times like this, she would open herself up more to him when they had more time in the future. Right now, they needed to head to the dining room so they wouldnt be tardy, meaning he didnt really have time to tease her...even if he wanted to. Since he had washed the bodies of girls hundreds of times at this point, Vahn very skillfully handled Riverias body and she began to calm down after realizing he wasnt doing anything strange. He had even tried to hand her a second towel so she could take care of the delicate areas herself, something Riveria had thought to decline before eventually epting it with a bit of shame and guilt. She wasnt quite ready for that level of intimacy, at least right now, so her rationale caused her to ept the towel even though she felt like she needed to let Vahn take care of her. He didnt seem to mind it at all, however, making Riveria feel both relieved and strangely mncholic at the same time... In the past, Riverias aura was usually much more stable than most girls so Vahn was surprised to see all the subtle changes in it over thest few hours. It was very obvious to him that she was trying to force herself to open up more, something he was very grateful for even though he would probably have to be the one to push things forward. Even if she became marginally more receptive, that was a huge step forward for Riveria since she didnt really allow him to gain any advantages in the past except in specific circ.u.mstances. The only times they had affectionate moments were when they made their original promise and during the incident with Alosrin in the past. This showed that Riveria was more conscious of how she should act around him, though that seemed to be changing every so slightly as her heart opened up to him. After having wiped down Riverias entire body, including her long and thin legs, her delicate feet and toes, and even the tips of her fingers, Vahn had just about finished up. Riveria had dabbed around the areas of her chest, abdomen, and genitals, surprisingly leaving her butt for Vahn to care for, though he didnt exploit the opportunity. The one thing he did take advantage of, which had made Riveria turn scarlet, was using a thin and delicate cloth to wipe at Riverias long High Elf ears. It was arguably more intimate than even touching her b.r.e.a.s.ts, but Riveria allowed him to do so even if it made her suffer a little. To wrap things up, Vahn tilted Riverias flushed face toward him when she was a bit absentminded and reminded, "Riveria, I love you..." as he sealed her lips with his own. Since she had let him touch her ears, which was something only eptable between lovers, Riveria had no grounds to refuse his kiss and just shivered slightly before he released her a few secondster with a loving smile on his face... Instead of wearing a normal panty and bra, Riveria epted the green bikini bottoms from Vahn and wore them, even though it was very embarrassing when she saw her appearance in the mirror. He had given her a pareo, which she had originally appreciated before realizing she couldnt really carry around with her at all times and likely would never be able to make use of it unless she did so. The pareo wouldnt be able to fit under her gown without causing difort so Riveria simply set it to the side before wearing the form-fitting top that covered a bit more skin than she expected. She had anticipated that Vahn might give her something simr to the bottoms so Riveria released a small sigh of relief after realizing this wasnt the case. As for Vahn, he noticed Riverias reaction and felt like he had missed a great opportunity since it seemed like Riveria would have been fine with the original top... After wearing the swimsuit and looking over her body onest time, Riveria focused her intent on the goldenurel belt and felt the breeze-like feeling cover her body as the [Elven Queens Gown] came into existence. She was very fond of the dress and spent almost the entire duration remaining simply staring at herself before realizing something very important. Vahn would have obviously used up a lot of his stored energy reserves to create such a high-quality gown for her and she hadnt thanked him for it at all. Riveria was beginning to realize her feelings towards Vahn almost always made her feel a little guilty because it was still as if he was doing everything for them. After releasing a sad sigh, Riveria turned to Vahn and saw his confused and concerned look before he returned a gentle smile to her. This made Riverias heart ache a little so she walked toward him, even though every step felt somewhat heavier than the previous. Vahn had seen Riverias mncholy and was a little worried about her at first but that had quickly vanished when she began walking toward him. He noticed that her aura was bing increasingly chaotic but there was a fair amount of pink dancing around with the sunny yellows and muted purples. The pink seemed to be winning the war of colors and Riveria eventually stepped right up to him before cing her right hand against his chest and her left hand against his cheek with slightly shaky fingers. Vahn felt a powerful anticipation well up inside of him as his smile progressively grew in size while Riverias face became increasingly red. She looked up at him with her jade-green eyes and said, "Thank you for the dress, Vahn...I...I...l l-love you too..." before quickly stealing a kiss from him by pressing her lips against his in a very awkward manner. Riveria felt very embarrassed by how awkward she had made things since her own teeth felt a bit sore from the impact and she turned away before walking hastily toward the door. Just as she was about to cross over the threshold, Riveria turned back with a red face and said, "We need to exin our marriage at dinner..." before turning away and fleeing the salon. Vahn was a bit stunned, not because of Riverias words, but because he had sent another girl running away from his salon... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Oversights,Two Epic Gowns,Doki Doki Riveria-chan) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 590 - Announcement

Chapter 590 - Announcement

During dinner, there were obvious tensions in the air because Riveria had shown up in apletely different outfit than normal, with she and Vahn being thest to arrive at the table. All of the girls on thework knew what had urred but it was very obvious something more had happened since Riveria spent the majority of the meal just nkly staring at her food and picking at it. She would asionally nce at Vahn until he eventually exined the situation to put Riverias mind at ease. He had expected her to bring it up at some point but it was apparent she had left the matter almost entirely to him, not that he had an aversion to it from the outset. Once everyone had eaten the majority of their meal, Vahn smiled and ced down his chopsticks with a bit of a nk to get their attention. As calmly as he could manage, Vahn exined, "There are a few things that everyone needs to be aware of that will likely take ce in the near future. Most of you may be unaware, but Riveria is the daughter of the Elven King and, because of our rtionship developing further, we have decided to get married before matters be moreplicated..." Other than the goddesses and those of Elven heritage, everyone else had beenpletely in the dark about Riverias status and the atmosphere became full of excitement and intrigue, contrary to Riverias expectations. Before Vahn had exined things further, Eina, who had been sitting to his left, brought her hands together happily and said, "Congrattions, Riveria~!" Ryuu and Lefiya also piggybacked Einas words, causing everyone else to congratte her as well, even though some of them had eager looks of their own when thinking of marriage. Vahn had tried to be considerate to the girls and left the decision up to them if they wanted to get married, but they would still have toe up with a justifiable reason to adopt the status in public since it would make them an evenrger target. In lieu of actual marriage, Vahn had gone over the various courting ceremonies and appealed to the girls as best he could, such as how he recently gave Emiru and Maemi their red beryl nes. Marriage wasnt actually that important on the continent, with the vast majority of people simply saying they were married without any ceremony or officiation at all. The exceptions were when nobles, famous merchants, or influential people got married, as it was important for the status of those involved to be recognized publically. Riveria was slightly taken aback by everyones reactions and felt a bit of warmth inside her chest after hearing their congrattions. As if broken from a spell of silence, Riveria smiled slightly and looked to Eina, saying, "I owe you an apology, Eina, as your life may beplicated until we resolve the matters with the Elven Kingdom..." Because Eina was a Half-Elf, she was already severely disliked by the majority of Elves and High Elves that grew up in the Western Forests. Most of them didnt even know of her existence but, once the matter of Riverias and Vahns marriage became known, they would very quickly learn that he was also married to a Half-Elf. Not only that, but she was Vahns first wife, giving her a fundamentally higher status than one of their revered High Elves. Eina simply smiled and said, "Riveria, Im willing to face whatever life throws at us since I believe we can ovee anything if we all work together. Everyone here is one big family, and I believe Vahn has the capacity to make all of us happy if we work together to support him..." As the head wife representing the mortals within the residence, Eina took the opportunity to say a few words to encourage unity within the group. They were already working well together when it came to taking care of Vahns mental wellness, so Eina believed that a proper bnce could be maintained, at least in the interim. At this point, Vahn decided he needed to speak up to rify some things so he raised his hand to draw everyones attention and said, "We will be sending a missive to exin the situation to the Elven King, but the actual marriage will be a rtively private matter. Id rather allow the information to diffuse naturally so it is more hearsay than anything, at least for the time being. I will leave Riveria to decide how she wants to publicize things since there are various matters that need to be taken care of before the information is disseminated to the public..." Larfal would probably freak out when he learns that his daughter was not only married but pregnant as well. However, he would keep the information to himself for the time being and try to resolve the situation privately instead of letting it be known to the public and causing internal strife within the Kingdom. Riveria nodded her head with a solemn expression before she said in her somewhat husky and cold tone, "It shames me to have to involve everyone in my personal matters, especially with how they rte to the Elven Kingdom. I will do my best to-" Before Riveria could finish, Vahn held up his hand to bring her to a stop and released a heavy sigh before asking, "Is anyone here bothered by the situation...please be honest, as it is perfectly naturally to have inhibitions about politics and strife between our factions..." After Vahns words fell, everyone looked in curiosity to see if there was anyone else at the table that was worried. There wasnt a single person amongst those gathered that seemed to even rationalize that it was a problem worth worrying about at all. Riveria watched this somewhat unique situation y out with confusion at first before understanding what Vahn was trying to help her understand as silence continued to dominate the atmosphere. Vahn smiled at everyone and felt very proud to be associated with so many capable and understanding women. The vast majority of those gathered here had been working hard to ovee their pasts and create better futures for themselves. Through thework, and interacting with each other on a daily basis, many of the girls had be very close and could at least understand the situation without letting it bother them. They had already unified for amon goal, which was the happiness of everyone gathered, so it didnt really matter what difficulties they may have to face. Ever since the discussion regarding the Divination had urred, everyone had been thinking about the long term instead of just focusing on the present, causing even girls like Ais and Tiona to seriously consider matters. Hestia was also very proud of everyone because they were her children and she had the fortune of being their goddess, even if they were only connected to her through Vahn at first. One of the reasons gods loved mortals was because they were able to create powerful bonds over a short period of time and, even though their individual existences were often insignificant, their ability to work alongside each other towards amon goal was very inspiring. If they came across a situation that couldnt be ovee with just a single person, they would band together and could even create miracles, something the gods themselves envied a great deal as their power was fixed from the moment of their creation. Only by descending to the mortal world and cing heavy restrictions on themselves could they even get close to experiencing what it was like to be mortal, though many were never able to since their Divinities shaped their actions... After letting the silence continue for a while longer, everyone at the table started to realize Vahns intent as well and started to giving knowing smiles to each other. Vahn looked at Riveria and saw her aura wavering about with happy colors even though she had aplex expression on her face. She was used to people acting as individuals and didnt really know what it was like to have a family as, even in the Loki Familia, she had been at an elevated status and never opened herself up to other people. Now, however, Riveria realized she had already been integrated into the group even though she usually kept to herself and spent time in the Library or at Terras Garden. She started to realize that, not just toward Vahn, but Riveria owed everyone present a debt of gratitude that she could only repay by opening her heart to them. At this point, Tsubaki was leaning against the table and remarked, "Riveria, you shouldnt overthink things so much~" in a yful tone. Riverias eyes widened and a small blush touched her cheeks because the remembered her earlier interactions with Vahn and how he kept repeating Tsubakis words. Her reaction was noticed by everyone at the table, causing shock and smiles to appear on the faces of those gathered. Tsubaki herself beganughing boisterously while Riveria furrowed her brows in a pout and red at Vahn with a look of me in her jade-green eyes. Vahn hadnt actually done anything to cause her any embarrassment, just as he had promised, but Riveria still felt like he was the cause of the current situation. Vahn felt a little awkward under Riverias gaze and coughed to gathered everyones attention before saying, "The wedding will likely take ce next weekend and it will only include Hephaestus, Eina, Hestia, Loki, Anubis, Ryuu, Lefiya, and, if you choose to bring her along, Aina. We dont have enough room for everyone to safely attend the wedding but there will be a small celebration at the Manor when we return, so dont be bothered by the situation." Since the list was somewhat short, many of the girls had mncholic looks on their faces until Vahn rified there would be a celebration after the fact. As for Riveria, she was hanging her head with an exasperated expression at this point and seemed to have given up after hearing Vahns words. The wedding would be taking ce far sooner than she expected but, after realizing it wouldnt take Vahn much time to create the belt, it made sense that they would be married sooner rather thanter. They still needed to create their child and she couldnt actually be with him until they had officially tied the knot, as it would cause a lot of problemster on. Realizing that her chastity just received an expiration date of eight days, Riveria felt giddy and sick at the same time as her face alternated between being pale and having a deep blush. Fortunately, Vahn had waited until dinner was almostpleted to bring up the topic so she could excuse herself with Ryuu, Eina, Syr, and Lefiya following after her... Riverias exit brought the dinner to an official end, even though some people still had food on their tes. Vahn helped clean up every and disposed of the scraps by feeding them into his system, surprisingly gaining a single OP back from the materials used. He had actually been tempted to have the wedding on theing weekend but knew it would have been better to give Riveria time to process everything. She would probably want to contact her father and sort out some other matters beforehand and this would also give Eina time to talk with Aina. After everything had been cleaned up, Vahn retired to his room with Mn, as it was her night on the schedule. This ended up being a very ideal situation for Vahn since he enjoyed spending time with her as her affectionate behavior was always very appealing. His previous night with the twins had been very exhrating, but there were several other things going on that he needed to consider at the same time. WIth Mn, however, Vahn could simply enjoy the moment while experiencing Mns love for him in a very affectionate manner. She was usually a very mature woman on the surface, but Vahn knew that she had a switch inside of her that made Mn show an eagerness to please while also proactively seeking pleasure for herself. The best part was that, unlike how many of the other Cat People behaved, Mn was very quick to purr under his hands and Vahn greatly enjoyed spoiling her after they finished having s.e.x... Once they had finished, Mn was breathing heavily against his bare chest and purring very loudly without a care in the world before muttering, "Your hansss...Vahnyaa...they feel sofortable..." Vahn continued to just slowly stroke around Mns abdomen in response while using the fingers of his right hand to stroke and massage around her neck and chin. Usually, Mn would just end up licking his body like all the other girls in the past but, with his [Petting] having been upgraded to A she seemed to havepletely forgotten about giving and was just allowing Vahn to do whatever he wanted to her body. Though he enjoyed beingforted by the girls, situations like this were preferable to Vahn because, even though it made him feel slightly possessive, it allowed him to express the love he had for them without making things s.e.x.u.a.l. Eventually, Mn actually ended up falling asleep even though there was still a gentle purr emitting from her throat. This was what Vahn had been aiming for and he was very happy since the only other cat girl to fall asleep in his arms like this had been Chloe, who was already somewhat zy when he spoiled her. Since Mn was the give-and-take type, Vahn was happy that he had been able to give more than she could take without simply exhausting her body. Cat People only purred when the were veryfortable, as it required their body to rx almostpletely around people they cared about deeply. Though some girls practiced purring to make their partners happy, Vahn knew it was an honest response from the girls around him and it made him feel a great sense of aplishment and an overwhelming affection for the girls... --- Vahn awoke the next morning and noticed that Mn was already awake, resting her head against his shoulder and letting the tip of her tail gently tap against the bed in a very contented manner. They would be going into the Dungeon this morning alongside Tina and Mn had woken up a little early while thinking about her daughter. The fort she had feltst night was something almost foreign to her since it was very different than when Vahn gave a massage. She didnt know it, but Vahn hadnt actually made use of his [Hands of Nirvana] at all since he had been curious about the changes in his [Petting] Development ability. This meant that, instead of stimting nerves and manipting bodily processes, Vahn had simply pet her into acent state that was unlike anything she had ever experienced. Mn now felt much closer to Vahn than before, even though it was far tamer than many of their previous experiences. She didnt know it, but her Love parameter had gone up nearly three-hundred points in a single evening and her sense of closeness was an actual phenomenon and not simply a feeling. The only thing Mn knew is that she wanted her daughter to experience that samefort and, though she still had many inhibitions about the future, Mn now felt like it was a lot easier to ept now. No matter how she searched, it was unlikely they would ever find a boy like Vahn that could bring them so muchfort and Mn felt it would be unfair for either of them if they couldnt experience such a peculiar state of bliss... Unaware of the thoughts going through Mns mind, which Vahn slowly brought his hand to her chin, alerting her to the fact he was now awake, Without any resistance at all, Mn kissed Vahn and felt that same feeling offort spread through her body when he gently embraced her back. When he pulled away, Vahn looked into Mns hazy golden eyes and whispered, "Good morning, Mn, you look very beautiful today..." before kissing her on the forehead. Mn felt like she wouldnt mind simply sleeping in all day as long as Vahn was holding her but, as she had already been thinking about her daughter, kept her sensibilities and said, "We need to hurry up and take a bath..." with a small smile on her face. While they were getting dressed, Vahn could feel a special instinct he had been polishingtely and remarked, "I feel like Tina is going to have another incident soon..." Not only was Tina herself aware of her unawakened [Luck] Development Ability, but Vahn had talked about it with Mn while exining his conjecture to her and the gathered goddesses at the time. Tina wasnt privy to the specifics, as it would probably alter her behavior a bit, but Vahn had needed to seek guidance from the others so that some misunderstandings didnt get blown out of proportion. Because of this, Mns expression became somewhat serious and she simply released a sigh, saying, "She knows we were togetherst night so it will probably be in full effect...dont worry, Ill try to protect you from her if I can..." The way [Luck] manifested was very difficult to actually understand and there was no way of knowing to what extent Tina would be able to benefit from its existence. Essentially, the more bothered by specific things she became, the greater the chance such events would happen because she actually wanted them to happen deep in her subconscious mind. This was why, even though Bell had been a pretty honest and innocent boy, he often found himself inpromising situations with women. Zeus had embedded the idea inside of his mind that he needed to be a hero and that it was the mark of a hero to be involved with beautiful women, especially if they were a damsel in distress. Since Bell had been drawn to various girls, he often found himself identallying across them in very convenient manners that helped develop the plot further. Since Tina had be very conscious of Vahns existence after he gave her the ribbon, her [Luck] was acting up and putting her in precarious situations, almost always rted to him. Even if he tried to stay cautious around her, something would inevitably transpire that would either make him distracted or, if she couldnt get to him directly, Tina herself would end up in a strange situation. One example was how, when Tina had been relieving herself behind a boulder, she managed to slip on nothing at all and fell out into the open with her butt facing toward the sky. Vahn had looked over out of concern and saw her pale white derriere in full view before averting his eyes and seeing Mns exasperated expression... As they headed toward the onsen, Vahn could sense an approaching presence and immediately understood it was Tina based on the color of her mana. Vahn looked to Mn and said, "She ising..." in a low tone, causing Mn to enter into the corridor before Tina could do something like sleepily falling down the stairs and into Vahns embrace. As expected, Mn saw her daughter wearing a pair of pale blue pajamas that were in a very promising state with one of her shoulders exposed. Tina wiped her sleepy eyes with her long sleeves and said, "Good morning Momnyaa~." before getting snatched up by Mn before she could walk forward and trip. Vahn had been waiting at thending of the stairs with his eyes closed and allowed Mn to intercept Tina as it was the best method they hade up with to prevent her [Luck] from acting up. To avoid an event from taking ce in the bath, Vahn decided to simply wipe down his body and clean himself with his cleaning magic before heading out to the back yard to do a bit of early morning training. Mn could easily take care of her daughter without his assistance so he just needed to watch over both of them until his instincts informed him it was safe. Strangely, though he felt no danger directed at him, Vahns instincts were still firing and he wondered if her [Luck] had manifested in a different manner than usual. Though he was somewhat curious, Vahn felt like this curiosity might have been instigated by Tinas [Luck] and decided not to investigate... Unaware of the precautions being taken against her, Tina allowed her mom to help her get dressed as her sleepiness slowly faded from her body. She had never been a morning person but had felt like waking up early, even though she didnt really understand why. Coming across her mom, Tina had felt like Vahn had been in the area but his scent had been masked by the smell wafting from Mns body. She smelled a lot like Vahn right now and Tina didnt resist being ushered away at the time because it was a veryfortable aroma and she was used to her mom helping her get ready in the mornings. As for Mn, she felt a little awkward when her daughter hugged her waist and smell her belly because she knew that Vahns scent was still heavy on her. She hoped that her forgetting to wipe herself down after they had s.e.x was how Tinas [Luck] had manifested today, as it would mean the danger had passed for the time being... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Unity, Bnce, Affection,*Purring Intensifies*,Tiny Tinas Terror) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 591 - Limits

Chapter 591 - Limits

As was often the case, Vahn ended up sparring against Tiona and Tione using his Bih form to give him a bit of an edge, though still not enough to guarantee victory. He was very familiar with how Tione fought, at least until she entered a [Berserk] state, so the only danger was typically Tiona. However, their coordination had been greatly increased and it had gotten to the point where Tione yed more of a support role and exploited the opening created by her younger twin. Vahn didnt mind this much at all, though, as it was very fun fighting against the two girls as they were very lively and seemed to greatly enjoy fighting. Tina and Mn had shown up shortly after the training began and Vahn was aware of the mother-daughter duo since their gazes were almost immediately drawn to him when they came outside. This was very normal for most of the girls but today was a little special since his instincts were still acting up in response to Tinas unique Development Ability. Because of this, Vahn lost a bit of his focus against the two girls and ended up taking Tionas beautiful little foot straight to the side of his face, sending him skidding across the ground for nearly four meters before he bounced back to his feet. Tiona kept her leg raised with a yful look on her face, dangling her foot teasingly towards Vahn has he wiped a trace of blood from his lips. Deciding there was no practical way to counter Tinas influence, other thanpletely avoiding her, Vahn set the matter to the back of his mind and kicked off towards Tiona to punish her for teasing him. This resulting in a few internecine struggles where Vahn would try to grab Tionas foot, only for Tione toe in and interfere before he could gain any significant advantage. Though they had originally been sparring, it was more like a game of tag by the end as Tiona ran around the training field avoiding Vahn while Tione ran interference from the side. Vahn also beganughing towards the end and eventually managed to catch Tiona and tumble along the ground with her for a bit, causing her to steal a kiss from him and say, "You got me, ehehehe~" in a cheerful tune. Though it was very tempting to continue, Vahn just smiled before helping Tiona to her feet and saying, "After I finish my current project, Ill be designing Aegis armor for the two of you so make sure to visit my workshop periodically..." Ais had already been stress testing her armor quite a bit and even wore it as casual attire around the Manor these days. Though she wore a small skirt around her waist, she didnt seem to be bothered by the almost skin-tight fabric of the top and just wore a small coat over her upper body when she went out into the City. Vahn had modified it to look like outerwear, as he expected many of the girls would just wear it in lieu of other clothing, so it wasnt really an issue. If anything, it made Vahn want to design it to appear even more aesthetically pleasing to the eye, as he wanted to help enhances the girls beauty even further... Hearing they were finally getting outfits of their own, Tione and Tiona immediately became excited, especially the elder of the two sisters. She was still waiting for Vahn to forge her a weapon to use but having armor like Ais was arguably even better. Since Ais was constantly showing off her own armor, Tione had been a little irked and was somewhat envious of how useful the armor seemed to be. ording to Ais, it perfectly fit her body to an extent that it almost felt like a secondyer of skin, providingfort in both hot and cold environments. It also let blood slide off of it without staining the fabric at all and had very high defensive capabilities, even though it looked rather delicate at a nce. After separating from the two bubbly girls, Vahn went over to where Tina and Mn had been doing their own training, this time with Arnya watching from the side since Maemi and Emiru had already left to start preparing breakfast. Vahn always found Tina to be especially adorable when she was seriously fighting against other people because her serious expression and small size created an interesting gap in his expectations. She still couldnt get any advantage against Mn, as a result of the massive difference in their parameters, but her growth had been very inspiring so far. At her current pace, she was even growing faster than Ais was, at least when she first started training with the Loki Familia. Knowing this made Tina work even harder but also altered her personality slightly as she became more free-spirited and prone toughter when out ofbat... Making use of her small frame, Tina ducked under Mns practice sword and struck up at her mothers wrist with her round buckler. Mn had turned her hand sideways to avoid letting Tina hit directly against her joint before twisted her torso and intercepting Tinas lunging strike with the edge of her kite shield. This caused Tinas momentum to carry forward and she tried to find her footing to twist her body around, somehow getting her legs tangled up in the process and stumbling forward. Vahn had just walked over and started paying attention to the fight so he was a little caught off guard by the sudden ident. Since such events werent that umon around Tina, even though she wasnt normally clumsy, Vahn knew what was happening. In the past, Vahn would have tried to grab her so she didnt fall forward but he had learned his lesson so, instead of grabbing her with his hands, Vahn created a malleable barrier in the shape of a sphere that Tina fell into before bouncing away with a boin sound. Even though her momentum shouldnt have carried her back quickly, Tina somehow managed to trip once again, this time with her mother stepping in to catch her with an exasperated expression on her face. As for Tina, she had a very embarrassed look and was blushing fiercely before burying her face into Mns stomach to avoid Vahns gaze. Even with another ident urring, Vahn could still feel his instincts firing at full cylinders and he wondered if Tinas [Luck] was getting stronger the more they tried to offset its influence. It could also be rted to her embarrassment, or potentially even the thoughts that were running through her mind. So that she didnt be another delusional girl, Vahn figured it would be best to ask Tsubaki or Mikoto to teach her meditation so Tina could calm her mind. She was bing a very high-tension girl these days and Vahn was worried, not just for Tinas safety, but his own. There were still more than two years before she was considered an a.d.u.l.t in ordance withmonw so Vahn wanted to avoid any particrly dangerous situations... After training came to an end, everyone had already started splitting off into various different teams before grabbing breakfast and heading off toward the Dungeon. Vahn had stayed back with Mn and Tina for a bit so she could calm down before they also headed out. Because of past incidents, Tina made sure to use the bathroom before leaving and also had Mn check the straps of her equipment to make sure they werent loose. They didnt really need to update her Status Board right now, as Vahn had previously checked it on Monday, but there was a chance she could have awakened new skills or abilities and it would be useful to know beforehand. Thus, after they had finished eating breakfast, and before they set out, Tina had exposed her back with a flushed face and let Vahn update her Status Board. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Tina Yuel Race: Cat Person LV. 1 POW: F319->F320 END: F380->F383 DEX: F323->F324 AGI: F340->F341 MAG: I70->I72 Skill: [Eclipse: Innate(sealed)], [Shield Bash:H], [Counter:I] Magic: - Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:(sealed)], [Luck:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As wasmon, Tina walked between Mn and Vahn, holding both of their hands with a smile on her face as they walked toward the Dungeon. Vahn and Mn also shared a few looks between them and enjoyed the cool morning air as if they were a family of three simply going on an early morning stroll. If not for the fact that Tina and Mn had shields and swords strapped to their backs, it would have been nearly impossible to see them as anything other than a happy family. As for Vahn, the majority of his equipment was stowed away in his inventory and he looked like a ssic brawler with his arm guards and loose-fitting clothing. Since he was in his Bih form, he cut a fierce and handsome figure that drew the eyes of many people as they moved along. His Bih form was one of his most recognizable forms so many people recognized them and were sensible enough to stay away since it was also well-known that Vahn was very protective of the girls he was with, having broken quite a number of fingers and arms over thest few weeks... Once they reached the Dungeon, the trio went down to the 5th Floor, which was actually visited by Tina in the past. The main reason Shizune had wanted to go into the 5th Floor the previous day was that Tina had already moved into it herself. It was good they were peting against each other since a healthy rivalry could make them both grow faster. Though Vahn found it funny that Shizune, the mature woman in the body of a young girl, waspeting against an actual child, he never said anything about it and even encouraged the behavior. Releasing her hand, Vahn tapped Tinas back gently and said, "Just like before, well follow closely..." Tina nodded her head and said, "Leave it to me, Vahnya~!" before checking her equipment once again to confirm everything was in order. She herself had also realized there was an abnormal number of idents urringtely, even though she was awakening a rare Development Ability called [Luck]. Since she didnt want to make a mistake in front of Vahn, Tina was trying her best to make sure all of her equipment was in proper order before another ident happened. Every time she embarrassed herself in front of Vahn, it felt like she was suffering long term damage that mad her heart more fragile than before...she really didnt want Vahn to see her as a clumsy child. After checking everything, Tina gave a firm nod and began venturing into the Dungeon with a practiced caution while her steps themselves were very confident. She had previously managed to fight off eight Killer Ants by herself and wanted to go for nine, no, ten, before Vahn had to step in to save her. One of the things she was never embarrassed about was Vahning in to save her from harm when she overextends a bit because it was very pleasant to be rescued by the boy she liked. Recognizing she needed to focus, Tina shook the idle thoughts from her head and sniffed around in the air as she walked forward at a steady pace. A few minutes after entering the 5th Floor, Tinas ears twitched and she turned her golden eyes toward one of the adjacent corridors, reflecting a subtle glow as a result of her night vision capabilities. She couldnt tell their numbers just yet, but Tina was confident it was between five and ten Killer Ants, the exact numbers she wanted to face. Unlike Shizune, Tina didnt really make use of rangedbat at all since she wanted to be a true vanguard that was skilled in both offense and defense. Increasing her pace a bit, Tina held up her shield in a ready stance before breaking into the room and darting her eyes around to identify theposition of the enemies. Also unlike Shizune, Tina was trying to get used to identifying enemies on the move because she knew there wouldnt always be time to evaluate the situation from the outset... The room was around 40m in diameter and there were a total of six Killer Ants present, a number that Tina was confident she could deal with easily if not for the War Shadow lurking about nearby. A War Shadow was almost beyond her capabilities so Tina unhesitantly turned around and ran back into the corridor she just came from. She wasnt fleeing outright and just wanted to draw the monsters into terrain where she had a better advantage since she didnt want to get surrounded. As she anticipated, the War Shadow moved much faster than the Killer Ants and chased after her into the corridor. As she didnt want to be the type that shied away from strong enemies, Tina turned back when she was confident they had created enough distance from the trailing Killer Ants. Without any consideration for if it had been lured into a trap, the War Shadow moved forward with a speed far exceeding Tinas and used its wispy ck ws to try and rake them across her small body. Tina used her buckler to intercept the War Shadows attack, bending at the knees as a result of the Power difference before fearlessly cutting toward the monsters wrist at almost the exact same time. This was her [Counter] in full effect and Tina managed to slice off the hand of the War Shadow, forcing it to reel back as a result of the unexpected pain. Though her knees and shoulder felt a bit stiff, Tina stepped forward and kept her body low so she could absorb the impact of the muchrger monsters attacks if necessary. The War Shadow seemed more cautious now and swiped at Tina while moving towards the Killer Ants behind. Since it had much higher agility than Tina herself, the War Shadow could easily stay out of her rather short range as it slowly opened up the distance between them even while moving backward. Tina realized she wouldnt be able to end things easily at this rate and decided it would be better to open up a distance again. If the War Shadow gave up the chase, she would at least be able to lead the Killer Ants to a more suitable location. However, the moment she turned around, the War Shadow stepped forward as Tina had expected, causing her to twist her waist as quickly as possible. Instead of trying to receive the blow with her shield, Tina stepped toward the War Shadows body and mmed her buckler into its torso with her [Shield Bash] while cutting up toward its arm. Unprepared for Tinas very nimble maneuver, the War Shadow had been stunned by her [Shield Bash] and ended up losing its arm in the process. Before it could regret trying to chase after her, Tina had already coiled back her sword before piercing it up into the eye of the War Shadow, causing it to turn into dust as she dashed through the particles and headed toward the approaching Killer Ants without worrying about the loot items just yet. Her adrenaline was already pushing her body to the limits but Tina hade to enjoy this kind of feeling in the past, causing a smile to appear on her face as she sought to exceed her limits even further. Vahn and Mn were watching Tina from a bit of a distance away, both smiling in appreciation at the determination of the young cat girl. She wasnt hot-headed like Tiona, Tione, and Ais, but it was clear that Tina was drawn tobat and had the potential to be a powerful Adventurer even if she hadnt been nurtured by the Hestia Familia. Since Mn had actually been a capable Adventurer in her own right, it made sense that her daughter shared a bit of her talent. With the support provided by Vahn, Tinas future was functionally limitless now and this made Mn believe her previous actions had been correct. As for Vahn, he just thought it was very inspiring to watch someone so small fearlessly charging into enemies with a fearless smile on their face... Because of the increased range of her [Little Fang],pared to Shizunes [Moonshadow, Tina was able to urately pierce through the heads of Killer Ants without having to expose herself. Though she couldnt easily hit the magic core, dealing catastrophic damage to the brain was easily enough and often safer than trying to destroy a 2cm long core at the center of its thorax. Tina was the type to move around without fearing the attacks of the enemies, often using her shield to redirect and intercept the mandibles of the Killer Ants when they tried to attack her. Her range was still a small issue, as her arms were rather short, but Tina had already gotten used to the monsters attack patterns and managed to kill all six Killer Ants in under three minutes. Though she was breathing very heavily, with ears twitching about in response to the clicking and ttering of approaching Killer Ants, Tina showed no signs of backing down. Most young girls would have been fearful of giant bugs with razor-sharp mandibles but Tinas eyes reflected a fearless light as she held her sword and shield at the ready. She had already ingested a potion to help her stamina replenish and was doing her best to regte every breath in an attempt to conserve as much energy as possible. When the first Killer Ant showed up, however, Tinas body was like a coiled spring that had been released as sheunched herself towards it. Without any hesitation, Tina drove her sword into the front of its head before immediately jumping away to prepare for the next enemy to appear... It was tense moments like this that always made Mn very worried but Vahn generallyforted her by cing his hand on her shoulder and stepping forward, ready to move at the first sign of danger. Mn knew Tina wasnt in any real danger, but there were few mothers that could stand idly by as their children were swarmed by monsters with a calm expression on their faces. Vahn was decidedly calmer but there was an incredible amount of focus in his eyes as they reflected an intimidating light. He was using his domain to stall the movements of some of the monsters to createrger gaps between their charges. Tina was pushing herself to the limit, much like how Haruhime, Maemi, and Emiru had during the same situation in the past. Vahn wanted her to feel a greater sense of aplishment so he was dying monsters to give her a chance to recover her stance and prepare her next attack. After cutting down the seventeenth Killer Ant, Tinas smile hadpletely faded to be reced by a very serious and intense look. Her body was covered in hemolymph, the blood-like substance that came from insect monsters, and she was taking verybored breaths. The sword in her hand was already heavy because of itsposition of Adamantine increasing its weight, but Tina felt like it was especially heavy at this moment. She couldnt even hold it out straight anymore and had to angle it up and hold it close to her body while using her shield to deflect yet another Killer Ants strike. Her arm ached and it felt like all of the muscles in her body were beginning to seize up as they refused to listen to hermands. However, Tina didnt back down and, even though her sword was heavy in her hand, lunged forward and buried it into the side of the monsters head after deflecting its attack to the side. Satisfied with her eighteenth kill, Tina simply smiled as she watched the pincers of the next Killer Ant close in on her. She had done her best and knew that Vahn would reward her greatly after he inevitably stepped in to save her. Though she knew it wasnt good to be overly reliant on him, Tina had absolute trust in Vahn when he was around. As expected, before the sharp mandibles managed to close in around on her, the Killer Antpletely froze before all of the surrounding monsters turned statuesque. Tina released the tensions of her body at this moment and felt the familiar warmth embrace her before she copsed against the ground. Though she knew it might make him look at her strangely, Tina began tough in an awkward manner betweenbored breaths while hugging his arm and rubbing her cheek against it. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tionas Foot Fetish...?,Triumphant Tina,This is mine~nya!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 592 - Time, Place, Occasion

Chapter 592 - Time, ce, asion

Vahn was used to Tina being somewhat affectionate after a hard fight so he didnt mind her much and just picked up her sword and carried her over to where Mn was waiting. All of the surviving Killer Ants just stood stock still as they watched this happen and it wasnt until Vahn reached the corridor that their movement returned. Completely incapable of understanding what had happened, the monsters began to charge towards the fleshy trio until a wave of fire appeared out of thin air and began to torch their bodies until they eventually turned to purple dust and vanished from the world. Without paying too much attention to the ants, Vahn set Tina down next to her mother and used his free hand to remove all the grime from her body. It was always a very interesting sight to see partictes of blood, organs, and small pieces of monsters just float away from someones body as it collected into a sphere near Vahns palm. His cleaning had developed much further than in the past because Vahns image of the ability had be solidified at this point. Instead of having to identify each individual mana signature, he simply had to want to clean their bodies and the small magic circle in his palm took care of the rest. He wasnt sure why it didnt show up as a Magic within the system, but it didnt really matter since many of the spells he copied didnt show up either. Tina watched as all the guck left her body and wished she would be able to use such Magic in the future. Of course, she didnt want to learn it any time soon since the tingling feeling she felt on her skin was very pleasant and it felt even better knowing that Vahn was the one doing it. He was probably unaware of it, but Vahns cleaning magic went all the way to the skin of the girls he used it on since it always pulled away sweat and cleansed the pores. It was a very refreshing and pleasant feelings since it was like having all your pores opened up in a sauna as a cool breeze passed over the body. Tinas tail curled up happily in response to the pleasant stimtion until she saw the teasing look from her mother and began to blush with a pouting expression on her face. Vahn just had a small smile on his face because he found Tina was always adorable when she behaved like this, as it made her appear more like the child she was instead of the a.d.u.l.t she wished to be. Just like Fenrir, he wished she wouldnt be in such a hurry to grow up since it was very important to enjoy your childhood, at least in his opinion. Vahn understood he was a bit of a hypocrite at times because he often overlooked what was best for himself when he was focused on other things, typically requiring other people to point it out for him. This didnt really change his feelings on the subject, however, and Vahn just wanted what was best for them before things naturally became more plicated in the future... Once her front waspletely clean, Vahn ced his hand on Tinas stomach and lifted her up so she could stand on her own two feet with Mns support. She had a habit of pushing herself to the limits so Vahn and Mn were very used to helping her recover after the fact. While Mn supported her body, Vahn helped replenish Tinas stamina while also treating any injuries she might have sustained, especially things like muscle cramps and tears. He also used his left hand and cast his cleaning magic on her back to remove the majority of the grime located on her backside as well. Tinas tail flickered about and she released an almost inaudible mewling sound, especially when Vahn moved his hand toward her lower body. Vahn knew to be careful around the area and didnt tarry too long before moving down Tinas legs and finishing the process. Mn shook her head with a wry smile on her face and just stroked her daughters head after thetter buried her face into her abdomen again to hide the blush on her cheeks. As for Vahn, he ced his palm against the te on Tinas back and used his [Petting] to help her calm down. Even through the durable Adamantine ting, Vahns [Petting] was still effective and it made Tina slowly began to rx and loosen up her body. Mn watched this take ce with a mild amount of shock because she remembered her experience the previous night and the whimsy andfort she felt this morning. It was very obvious that Vahn had be increasingly skilled with his hands and Mn could feel an eagerness welling up inside her own body as she watched Vahn move his hands against the back ting of Tinas b.r.e.a.s.tte while still being able to influence her daughters body beneath the ting... At this point, Tinas tail had drooped and she waspletely absentminded as the very pleasant andforting feeling came through her back. She had been shocked at first and tried to focus on the sensation but it wasnt long before shefort overwhelmed her and she simply wanted to experience it without thinking. While hugging her mothers waist as if it was a buoy within the sea, Tina began to take in throaty breaths before it eventually turned into a mild purring sound that made both Vahn and Mn nearly burst intoughter. Mn just stroked Tinas head and said, "Im a little envious..." in a yful tone that caused Tinas ears to twitch as she snapped back to awareness. Vahn pulled his hand away from Tinas back and had a huge grin on his face as he looked into Tinas golden eyes and said, "Youre very adorable when you purr, Tina~." Though she knew what happened, hearing Vahn say it made Tina feel like her heart was going to burst out of her chest and she squeezed Mns waist tightly in response with releasing an aggrieved sound. Purring was a very embarrassing thing to do in front of other people and, even though Vahn was the boy she liked, Tina didnt expect to purr without realizing what happened. Most Cat People stopped purring soon after they were weaned off their mothers milk and it was the knowledge that purring was something that babies did that made it so embarrassing for many girls. Since Tina was always trying to appear more mature, she felt especially embarrassed by the fact and hugged Mns waist for nearly three minutes as a result. Mn just stroked her daughters head with an affectionate smile on her face while Vahn remained silent with a glimmer of shock in his eyes as he stared at the invisible system notification in front of him... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Tina Yuel Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Unable To Complete Quest: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS] As Result of Special Conflict// //Tina Yuel Love Parameter Temporarily Sealed. Secret Parameter Infatuation Unlocked// //Tina Yuel Current Infatuation: 417// //Optional Quest Triggered// [Quest: Bridging the Generations] Rank: A Objective: Obtain Lovers Promises From Two Girls In The Same Generational Line: (1/2) Rewards: 300,000 OP, 2x[One of Heart, Mind, and Body] Failure Condition(s): Death, Deaths of Objective Targets Penalty: .u.mted Karma of Objective Targets, Deviants Mark Of Scorn ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn felt his brain buzz as he read the system notification and decided to not worry about it for the time being since Tina was simply too young to get her to make a Lovers Promise. Though the rewards were very tempting, Vahn didnt really care about 300,000OP that much since his current reserves were at 4,914,001 and constantly increasing. Even with his expenses for forging, Vahn earned OP forpleting his projects and typically could earn more OP than he spends if he put in a serious effort. WIth [Petting], Vahn could get a few thousand OP every day just by spending time with the girls, even gaining nearly thirty points just from stroking Tinas back and making her purr. Unfortunately for Vahn, fate didnt seem to be on his side in this case and, just as he was trying to set the matter aside in his own mind, his instincts triggered and his mind was effectively blown when he heard a system notification in his mind. While she had been hugging her mother, Tina had been brooding over the matter of Vahn forcing her to purr and decided that he needed to take responsibility. She had previously decided they would get married in the future, but now Tina was adamant about it and wouldnt let Vahn weasel his way out of things. Knowing that her mother still had inhibitions about the future, Tina resolved herself to break down her mothers resistance to the idea because she wanted them to all be together forever. No matter what it took, Tina promised herself that they would all three love each other and create a real family together... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Optional Quest Completed// [Quest: Bridging the Generations// Rank: A Completion Grade: SSS (0M0D0H01M16S Completion Time) Rewards: 300,000 OP, 2x[One of Heart, Mind, and Body] Grade Rewards: 100,000OP, 1x[Oyakodon Cook Book] [One of Heart, Mind, and Body] Rank: Unique Use: Allows one person to experience the feelings, thoughts, and sensations of Mn Yuel. Duration: 8H Restriction: Tina Yuel [One of Heart, Mind, and Body] Rank: Unique Use: Allows one person to experience the feelings, thoughts, and sensations of Tina Yuel. Duration: 8H Restriction: Mn Yuel [Oyakodon Cook Book] Rank: Unique Use: Teaches the user how to create a variety of delicious dishes using a special set of ingredients. Restriction: This is not an actual Cook Book. Use with caution as the information cannot be forgotten after the fact. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mn noticed Vahns strange behavior and tilted her head, asking, "Vahn, is something the matter?" which caused Tina to look over her shoulder out of curiosity. Though her face still had a ruddy blush clear for the world to see, there was a resolute look in her eyes that made Vahn release a deep sigh and shake his head, saying, "No, I just felt like my bond with both of you grew much stronger all of a sudden..." It was well known amongst the girls on thework that Vahns bonds could actually cause his body to naturally produce items. Though Tina didnt understand what he was saying at first, Mn knew what he was getting at and felt both curious and bothered at the same time. Her feelings for Vahn hadnt really changed much at the present so it must have been her daughter that triggered his ability to activate. Vahn looked at the two [One of Heart, Mind, and Body] within his inventory and saw they took on the form of opaque ss orbs. No matter how he thought about it, Vahn didnt think it was a good idea to give either girl the orb even though it was obviously meant for their use. Tina would likely use it in a way he shuddered just thinking about while Mn would likely save it for an emergency situation. Vahn figured he could exin it away as an emergency use item, but there was no way of knowing what would happen if Tinas [Luck] acted up. He expected this entire situation was something machinated by her unawakened Development Ability and it was somewhat terrifying to be influenced by its effects, even though he wasnt even from this record initially. At this point, almost as if she was acting on the cue of fate, Tina seemed toe to a realization and excitedly asked, "Y-you created an item from m-my love~nya!?" She was often envious of the girls that had enough love for Vahn that it took on a physical and tangible form. Tina had often wondered how much she needed to like Vahn for her own item to be created and was excited at the prospect of finding out what their bond had produced. As for Vahn, both he and Mn hadplex expressions on their faces with thetter eventually grabbing her daughters shoulders and saying, "Its fine, Vahn...you can tell us what it is..." Mn felt like a lot of things wereing to a head at this point and it was like the past few weeks had been leading up to this moment. Vahns instincts triggering and the whimsy she felt seemed to be indicators of this urrence and Mn decided not to oppose it since she wanted her daughter to be happy. For the first time in a while, Vahn felt a cold sweat on his back because he hadnt expected Mn to be so receptive to the existence of items created from the love he shared with her daughter. He knew she had epted that Tina and him would probably end up together in the future, but it felt somewhat awkward to be put on the spot. However, Vahn had long ago decided to be more decisive when it came to his rtionsh.i.p.s so he nodded his head with an awkward smile and pulled out the two orbs. Mn and Tina looked at the mysterious orbs with curiosity in their golden eyes until Vahn exined in an honest and tired tone, "These orbs can only be used by the two of you...and it allows you to share each others thoughts, feelings, and emotions for eight hours..." Hearing the exnation of the items, Mn became a little pale and the orb in her palm suddenly felt heavy as she looked to the one her daughter was holding. Tina didnt seem to understand the implications behind the item at first but her face became beet red a momentter when a certain thought crossed her mind. Her eyes immediately snapped to Vahn and her own mother as she hid the orb behind her back and stepped away from them instinctually. Mn squinted her eyes slightly and said, "Tina, unless its an emergency I dont want you to use that item...from now on, you need to show me you still have it at the start of every morning..." Such an item in the hands of her daughter, especially given how she had been behaving recently, was far too dangerous and Mn didnt want Tina to be a deviant and precocious girl as a result of her curiosity. Tina swallowed hard and said, "Yes, Momnyaa..." while stowing the orb safely away in her pouch as if it was a precious treasure. She had previously thought about possible uses for such a strange item and let her thoughts wander to the time her mother spent with Vahn. Realizing what it meant to experience everything another person was going through, Tina knew the item was very dangerous because she was tempted to make use of it the next time they spent the night together. Now, however, Tina knew her thoughts had been seen through and a great deal of guilt welled up from her heart under her mothers reproachful gaze and firm tone. To diffuse the somewhat tense atmosphere, Vahn plopped his hand on Mns head and calmly said, "Tina is a very smart and sensible girl, Mn. You dont have to worry about her doing anything strange..." Mn felt like she needed to be firm on the subject since she was very worried about her daughter but, from the moment Vahns hand contacted her ears, she found herself less worried about it almost instantly. Her firm expression slowly started to loosen up before she escaped Vahn hand and said, "Mou...if Tina ends up getting any strange ideas, youll be the one to suffer for it Vahn..." Realizing there wasnt really anything she could do about it if Tina used the orb, Mn gave up worrying about it and looked toward Tina, saying, "You only have one orb...dont waste it..." while cing her own into the pouch at her waist. Though not direct permission, Tina realized that her mother had decided to leave it up to her when and how she wished to use the orb. This made Tina feel a little giddy and it was obvious to both Vahn and Mn that she was probably going to do something troublesome in the future. Vahns instincts had fortunately died down at this point, even though there was a subtle cautionary buzz in his mind that seemed to persist. He couldnt me Tina for being curious and knew that it wouldnt be a real problem unless he allowed it to be one. Since he was the target of her affection, Vahn just had to be firm with her and it wasnt like she would be able to get away with doing anything too forward with both him and Mn guarding against her... --- With a newfound motivation, Tina had continued trekking into the Dungeon and was eager to return to the surface so she could think about the best use for the orb. Now wasnt the time to be distracted so Tina focused her mind on the task at hand, managing to efficiently kill dozens of monsters by the time they eventually decided to return to the surface. During the breaks they had, she allowed herself to be spoiled by Vahn and used those moments to consider the best course of action. She didnt really know what it meant to share all of the senses of another person and wanted to consult Maemi and Emiru about it when they got back. Thus, with Vahn carrying her like a princess, Tina snuggled up in his embrace with a happy smile and thought about the future. She didnt think about it much in the past, but now Tina truly believed she was very lucky... Once they reached the Manor, after being picked up by Terra since she didnt mind Tina and Mn, Hestia greeted them as usual before they all made their way to the onsen to clean their bodies. Vahn took the time to update Tinas Status Board, which was observed by Hestia and Mn, and was surprised by what he saw. He gleaned over the information several times until Tina grew curious and turned around with a questioning look on her face. Vahn smiled and said, "Youve grown much stronger and-" Tina had originally been squatting down in the water and, when she turned to find out why Vahn was quiet, she actually managed to step on the end of her own tail for the first time in her life. Unable to resist the shocking pain that shot up her back, Tina jumped forward and tackled the surprised Vahn who also stepped on a small slip of soap that had been sneakily hiding under the water. Vahn fell back into the hot water as Tina slid down his body after colliding with it, ending up with a very soft and tender sensation pressing against his lower body. Vahns eyes opened wide, allowing them to fill with the hot and opaque water of the onsen as hemented the existence of Tinas [Luck]. Even though she was Level 1, with his own parameters nearly equal to a Level 6, Vahn still ended up getting pushed down by a girl half his size, allowing her budding b.r.e.a.s.ts to press against a dangerous spot while her lips had briefly contacted around his belly button... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Tina Yuel Race: Cat Person LV. 1 POW: F320->F335 END: F383->E401 DEX: F324->F336 AGI: F341->F368 MAG: I72->I99 Skill: [Eclipse: Innate(sealed)], [Shield Bash:H->G], [Counter:I] Magic: - Development Skill: [Luck:B], [Abnormal Resistance:(sealed)] [Luck] Rank: Variable (B) Use: Increases the luck of the user, allowing them to experience greater fortune based on their perception. Has a moderate influence on fate and chance happenings based on the mental state of the user, meaning the skill can develop or regress based on reliance. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: It basically means that, if Tina tried to exploit her luck, it would actually reduce until eventually ceasing to exist entirely. If she just behaved normally, it would continue to develop further, potentially reaching even greater heights~! RIP Vahn...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wash the kitty...,Precociousness: Struggles of Parenting,RIP Vahn) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 593 - Curse : Blessing

Chapter 593 - Curse : Blessing

Mn and Hestia had watched Tina cause another ident and gave each other incredulous looks before pulling Tina off of Vahn since she didnt seem capable of doing it herself at present. Tina had been so focused on the paining from her tail that she didnt even realize the situation she ended up in before two pairs of arms lifted her up. Opening her eyes in confusion, Tina looked in front of her and saw Vahnying back with his legs slightly parted and his sleeping dragon clearly visible through the slightly opaque water. Realizing what had happened, Tina blushed fiercely and pulled her up her legs, allowing Mn to hold up her body as Tina tried to shrink into the smallest shape possible. From Vahns perspective, however, he saw Tina coiling up with her thin chestnut brown hair the only thing protecting her dignity from being visible. Turning his head to the side, Vahn exined, "Tinas [Luck] Development Ability has awakened on its own and its already at the B-Rank..." so that Hestia and Mn would understand the situation. Both girls eyes opened wide because most skills were only at I-Rank when they were first unlocked, with a few exceptions for those that study cksmithing and mixing before awakening the actual Development Ability for them. However, even they would usually be around G-Rank with only a few exceptional cksmiths being marginally higher. It was already incredibly rare to awaken Development Abilities without leveling up so the fact that Tinas was already at B-Rank was a very significant revtion. Shaking his head, Vahn rified, "[Luck] seems to be unique in that it can degrade depending on various factors, unlike how other Development Abilities function. As for its effects, they are hard to quantify since it is rted to luck, fate, and other somewhat abstract concepts..." Even though there were gods and goddesses with Divinities rted to luck, it was one of the more abstract Divinities and there were examples of gods with luck Divinities experiencing great misfortunes. Fortune was a very fickle thing as well, meaning you could experience great windfalls in one moment only to lose it all in the next. The important thing was to not try and exploit luck if you wanted it to favor your, as intentionally trying to manipte fate without putting in a real effort often resulted in tragedy. With Vahns exnation, Hestia and Mn could understand why Tinas [Luck] was already so high, even though she had just awakened it. Vahn had continued to avert his eyes until this point and said, "Mn, turn your daughter around or put her down..." since Mn was still holding her up as if she were presenting her to him. Realizing what Vahn had said, Mns eyes opened and she immediately turned around with a blush touching her cheeks when she thought about the angle Vahn was at while she was holding up Tinas body. This was probably another proponent of Tinas [Luck] and it seemed to be very dangerous since it caused other people to behave strangely without them even noticing it... After things settled down, Vahn had everyone get dressed so they could talk morefortably and exined several things Tina needed to keep in mind if she wanted to develop her [Luck] further. As long as she didnt try to exploit it, or be reliant on its existence, good things were bound to happen so she just needed to keep working hard without thinking about the ability at all. Knowing about it made it much harder to raise, but Tina was already a hardworking and sensible girl so Vahn was confident she would be able to even master it one day. It already had a noticeable influence on her life, and the lives of those around her, so Vahn was very interested to see how it would develop in the future. He just needed to keep his guard up until she reached a.d.u.l.thood and things should be fine... Tina listened patient to Vahns exnation from a safe distance with her mother holding her from behind as if anchoring her to the spot. She realized that many of the idents that had been happening recently were events that had been set in motion as a result of her [Luck]. Though they were all very embarrassing events, Tina knew they could easily be considered great fortunes if she changed her perspective a bit. It was a fact that she often thought about things after the fact and was grateful they had happened, even if it caused her to feel giddy and embarrassed. Now that she knew the only thing she needed to do to experience more exciting events was work hard, Tina was shivering slightly in anticipation. --- Deciding he needed to rx a bit, Vahn went to his workshop and took a nap instead of eating lunch with the others. However, shortly after heid down against the sofa, Vahn sensed the arrival of a presenceing from the opposite end of his workshop. Sitting up, Vahn smiled as Hephaestus walked out of the secret passageway and looked toward him with her gentle and loving expression on her face. Before he could ask why she hade to his workshop, Hephaestus started walking over and said, "I got a message on thework saying you were probably troubled so I came tofort you..." Vahn felt a great deal of warmth from Hephaestus presence, especially when she sat down on the sofa next to him. Pulling out some extra pillows to support her back, Vahn propped Hephaestus up and then happily used herp as a pillow while stroking her belly. She was already twenty-one weeks pregnant at this point and, even though her stomach was very smooth, it had a beautiful rotund curve and felt hot to the touch. Since she was pregnant with twins, Hephaestus belly had swelled up a bit more than normal and Vahn could sense a powerful vitalitying from his daughters as both of their hearts beat with rhythmic thumps. As if she knew he was there, Ina moved around in Hephaestus stomach and kicked against it allowing Vahn to see the strange sight of her belly visibly moving. Seeing this movement made Vahns heart tremble at the realization that his children were getting progressively closer to being born, making him a father in the truest sense of the word. Hephaestus could feel his anxiety and the great love he had within his heart, causing her own to melt as she lovingly stroked Vahns hair with her hand. Being pregnant had actually been more difficult than she expected but Hephaestus started to feel that the pains associated were a blessing. She had already discussed this with both Loki and Freya, but being pregnant seemed to repress their Divinities a bit and she had felt lesspelled to forge recently. Since she had been worried about injuring her daughters, Hephaestus was very grateful for this as it meant she wouldnt have to suffer from herpulsions even if she took a break from forging... For the better part of two hours, Vahn stroked Hephaestus belly and channeled a very gentle flow of source energy into her w.o.m.b, allowing their daughters to absorb it into their bodies. Though it wasnt as concentrated as Terra, Fafnir, and Fenrir, Vahn could sense subtle fluctuations of source energying from his children and knew the nourishment they received from his own energy would benefit them in the future. He didnt give them much, as he didnt want to influence their growth even further, but it was just enough to help them develop on time so that Loki wasnt forced to wait for Hephaestus to give birth even longer. Hephaestus already knew what he was doing, as they had talked about it previously, so she just enjoyed his caress while returning one of her own as they both had happy smiles on their faces... Eventually, Vahn sensed another presenceing towards them and softly uttered, "I can sense Riveria, she must being to help with the development of the belt..." Hephaestus nodded her head but didnt seem to be in a hurry as she continued to stroke his hair. Though she was okay with how things were developing, Hephaestus felt a great deal of ire towards the Elven Kingdom after the Alosrin fiasco and didnt appreciate how they treated both Vahn and the Alliance. She knew the union between Riveria and Vahn was going to happen for a very long time, as Loki had confided in her about Riverias past from the outset. There was no way Vahn wouldnt eventually get involved with her since he was the type that threw himself into the troubles of other people in an effort to resolve them. It was one of the things she loved the most about him as the happiness she now had existed solely as a result of his nature. Vahn was also in no hurry to part from Hephaestus but he knew things would be a little awkward if he ignored the presence of Riveria. She would probably show up and then excuse herself if they were stillzing about when she entered the workshop. Hephaestus began tough around the same time he was thinking this and said, "There were a few smaller projects I was wrapping up, so Ill see youter, Vahn..." Hephaestus began leaning forward so Vahn lifted up his body to ept her kiss so that she wouldnt have to bend down and put pressure on her stomach. It was rtively tame but both of them could feel the love they had for each other, something that persisted long after they parted...something that Vahn believed would persist for all of eternity if he had anything to say about it. Riveria showed up shortly after Hephaestus had left but spent several minutes just standing outside his workshop, clearly hesitant abouting inside. Vahn just shook his head and released a small sigh because it was situations like this that usually made Riveria feel embarrassed, even though he didnt do anything to trigger it. She would eventually remember that he could sense her presence and, because she had been standing outside for a while, she would inevitably get fl.u.s.tered before giving him a look of me if he tried to tease her about it. As expected, Riverias aura eventually red up with a variety of different colors before she eventually calmed down and entered his workshop. Vahn had already moved over to his table and started working while he waited for her to enter, already working on the basic temte and pretending to have been so focused on his work that he didnt notice her. Turning his head to face her, Vahns eyes opened slightly wider and he said, "Wee to my workshop, Riveria." with a smile on his face. Riveria seemed to be relieved at first before she furrowed her brows slightly and asked, "How long have you known I was standing outside...?" Knowing that he wouldnt really be able to lie to her, Vahn gave a wry smile and said, "For around ten minutes..." while turning back to his work as if it didnt really bother him. Realizing that Vahn was once again trying to cover for her, Riveria felt a bit ashamed and any me she felt toward him had dissipated at the same moment as he showed her a wry and apologetic look. She was the one that waited outside like an idiot for so long and he had tried to be considerate of her, only for she herself to break the convenient illusion he had created for her. Riveria was realizing more and more how Vahn catered to her needs and it made her feel very guilty as she walked over to his side. Though she felt very anxious about it, Riveria stood very close to Vahn and said, "Thank you for your consideration, Vahn..." before kissing him on the cheek very briefly. Surprised by Riverias unexpectedly forward behavior, Vahn gave her a questioning look but didnt hide the pleasantly surprised smile on his face. Riveria flushed a little and averted her eyes, holding her arm in a somewhat insecure manner as she said, "Were going to be married soon, so a little intimacy is fine...after all, were the only ones here right now..." Though it almost sounded like an invitation, Vahn knew that Riveria had just chosen her words poorly and just gave her a grateful look before drawing her attention to the diagram before she realized the w in her word choice. He already had all the materials present and he would actually be able to finish it in a single afternoon if he worked hard, which was a given considering the importance of the item he was making. Since Riveria probably didnt understand how long the process would take, Vahn decided to exin the process so she could prepare herself mentally. In a firm and steady tone, which Vahn often used when acting professionally, he said, "The prototype is meant to be fully functional from the outset, but there may be some changes required depending on howfortable it is to wear for extended periods. Based on my observations of Ryuu, I can tell it isnt necessary to wear the belt at all points during pregnancy, but it would be beneficial to wear it for a few hours a day to prevent having the vital energy of the mothers be drained by the developing fetus. Ive already prepared all the materials and itll only take around two hours to assemble, so please let me know if there are any issues and Ill take care of them as I work..." Hearing Vahns exnation, Riveria became somewhat pale for a brief moment before returning to normal, without even a blush on her face. She knew they were doing something very serious right now and she was trying to treat it from the perspective of a schr. Nodding her head, Riveria said, "I understand, Vahn, Ill let you know howfortable it is to wear. To make sure there arent any issues, I may wear it during my entire pregnancy and we can alter the design based on how functional it is..." At this point, though she willed herself to remain calm, Riveria fl.u.s.tered slightly since she was talking about her own pregnancy, something that would be a reality within a weeks time. Pretending to not notice her ring pink, yellow, and purple aura, Vahn nodded his head and said, "The most important part will be the buckle as it needs to almost perfectly ovey with the navel. As you can see, I decided to go with a maternity band like what the other girls wear, as it seems like the most practical basis to work from for long-term use. Though there are alternatives to consider for mass production, Ill be using Terras feathers, blood, and a few other precious materials for the prototype...I want to make sure everything works perfectly so there arent any problems during your pregnancy." Vahn had a very serious look on his face as he said this, making it difficult for Riveria to feel anything but positive emotions for the earnest boy standing before her. Vahn had purchased a much higher quality maternity band through the system shop since there were some that even reached more than a billion OP, which wasnt that surprising considering how important children were. If it was in a higher tier world, Vahn could easily imagine powerful gods creating a variety of items to protect their wives and ensure there arent any issues during pregnancy. Not every record had the same restrictions as the those within Danmachi and Vahn knew it wasnt that abnormal for gods to have children. The one he actually purchased only cost 70,000OP and seemed to be made of a synthetic material he had never seen before, even though it was still simply called [Maternity Band]. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Maternity Band] Rank: B (Magic) P.Def: 0 M.Def: 0 Abilities: Maternal Guardian(B), Shaping(B), Insted(B) A specialized maternity band that was created to guarantee no harm would befall the child during pregnancy. During pregnancy, the defensive capabilities of the mother increase greatly and the band bes indestructible as long as there is enough energy to sustain the barrier. Take caution, as this band will sap the energy of the mother, including vital energy, if they truly desire to protect their child. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The [Maternity Band] alone was already an incredible item, causing Vahn to purchase one for each of the pregnant women as a gift. As for Riverias he had to modify it a bit but hoped to keep the majority of the effects in the final product. One of his abilities as a [Master Smith] allowed him to reforge and modify existing items so, as long as he didntpromise the important structures within the band itself, there shouldnt be any problems. After giving her the pareo to wrap around her waist, Vahn had Riveria remove her gown to reveal apletely different set of swimwear than the set he had given her previously. He realized she must have gone and purchased some new clothing while everyone else was in the Dungeon, which made sense considering she would probably be too embarrassed to ask him for a bunch of clothes. To make sure it wasfortable, Vahn had Riveria try on the [Maternity Band] to get her opinion before he started modifying it. She was doing her best to treat the matter seriously and gave her honest opinion about the band, iming it was very warm andfortably tight without being restrictive. Since her abdomen was still tender, these rtively simple words were actually very high praise for the [Maternity Band] itself. Though most of the difort from the formation had faded after she soaked in Terras wellspring, the tenderness would continue for days as her body adapted to the focused absorption of natural energy. When the band was finished, this process would elerate even further and Vahn also spected that Riveria would enter an active state once the gathered energy reached a critical level. Based on her capacity, it would take around two weeks for things to get to that point but Vahn wouldnt know for certain until the band was actually finished and functional... Since he didnt want topromise the structure of the original band that much, Vahn turned it inside out and carved aplex formation on the inside of the fabric using Terras blood. This would allow the energy to gather and be channeled toward the core, which was a medallion that Vahn had made out of organic materials, almost all gathered from Terras body. The base wasprised of one of her scales, from when she was in dragon form, and he had taken some of her smaller and more delicate feathers before soaking them in a solution to allow the rachis, the stems of the feather, to be malleable. He shaped them into a three-pointed loop before cutting two feathers in half and creating a circle and embedding them into Terras scale, which had been carved to fit the feathers perfectly. To prevent them from falling outter, Vahn applied a very thinyer of glue that he had made from a coagted form of Terras blood mixed with bonemeal harvested from other dragons. By the time he was finished, slightly more than two hours had passed and Vahn ended up with a neutral-green [Maternity Band] that was adorned with aplex arrangement of emerald green feathers and golden leaves that he had decided to add to enhance the aesthetic appeal. Riveria was very suited to the color gold, especially with herurel belt that was still seated firmly around her thin waist. She may have forgotten about it while watching him, but Vahn had been very aware of the fact that Riveria had spent the entire two hours just watching him intently while wearing nothing but a bikini with a pareo. The top she had chosen for herself was actually somewhat more revealing than the one he had given her and Vahn noticed it also pushed up her b.r.e.a.s.ts a bit. He would never really understand why girls, especially those with an almost unbelievable beauty, worried about their secondary s.e.x traits so much... Once he was finished, Vahn checked it work again to make sure there werent any problems in the basic structure that had appeared while he was working on other parts. Confirming that everything was in ce, Vahn gave the band back to Riveria and had her wear it once again. This time, she was far more careful than previously so Vahn had to help her wear it as Riveria was too afraid to damage the very important piece of equipment. Terras feather actually took Adamantine clippers just to snip, so Vahn wasnt really worried they would break at all, not that such things could easily alleviate Riverias worries given the significance of the band. With it firmly hugging her stomach, Riveria nodded and said, "It is still veryfortable...I can feel a strange energy gathering around it, though the connection is unstable." Vahn smiled and exined, "Since it isntplete, the effects would be a littleckl.u.s.ter. We just need toe up with a name and the formation will activate in full...be prepared, though, as the sudden influx of natural energy might be a little stimting if youre caught off guard." Riveria clenched her teeth in response to his words and her fair white face was once again touched with a small amount of ruddy red. As for Vahn, he was trying to consider what name to use and once again realized that his naming sense was more than a little terrible. Riveria noticed his plight and asked in a curious tone, "Can you not think of a name...?" Seeing Vahn thinking so hard over something small reminded Riveria that he was still a young boy, causing a small smile to appear on her face. With an awkward smile of his own, Vahn scratched the back of his head and said, "Its different than when I research names for my subordinates...Im not really that good ating up with things on the fly. Sorry, Riveria..." Hearing his exnation, Riveria released a small sigh without losing her smile and said, "How about we call it Sage Aldrnaris Blessing in honor of its creator. After all, if not for your efforts, this problem may have followed the Elves all the way till our destruction..." Realizing this, Riveria hardened her heart even more and determined that she needed to do her best to return to Vahn just a portion of what she had received from him. She had to stop letting her own inhibitions get in the way or she wouldnt have the face to hold her head up high in the future. Since he couldnte up with anything better at the moment, Vahn decided that the band would be called [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing], even though it was a bit awkward. He understood why she would want to name it such a thing, as it would allow them to propagate the idea that it was his innovation far into the future. Every time an Elf made use of the band, they would be reminded of him and Vahn suspected his own karma would increase as a result. He was effectively changing the destiny of an entire species so it wouldnt be a surprise to Vahn if, by the time he was moving on to a new record, he .u.mted several million karma points, most of which he wanted to be positive. Though he couldnt use it much right now, Vahn knew he would be able to find plenty of uses for it in the future as it was one of the most important resources avable to him in higher tiered records, at least ording to Sis... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing] Rank: A P.Def: 0 M.Def: 0 Abilities: Sage Aldrnaris Blessing(A), Maternal Guardian(A), Shaping(B), Insted(B) A specialized maternity band reforged by a skilled [Master Smith] that was determined to lead an entire species towards a brighter future. Carries the will of the creator and enhanced the parameters of the original band a great deal, guaranteeing the safety of the child by absorbing natural energy from the environment itself to provide protection. The creators desire that the band never be misused means that the women wearing it must be willing or it will instead prevent pregnancy. Restriction: Entities of Elven Descent Only ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tiny Tinas Terrifying Traits,Bashful Elven Beauty...,Making Sure All The Lady Elves Are Thinking Of Him~!) (A/N: Some of you may be a little worried about me, but know that Im getting better and should be back in top condition after a bit more rest. I was thinking of finishing out this week with slow releases to speed up my recovery, so please bear with me. Next week, Ill be trying for around 120k words, so look forward to a lot of developments (UwU)~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 594 - Clubhouse

Chapter 594 - Clubhouse

Almost immediately after the maternity band received its name, there was a subtle magical light that shone within the workshop before the formation activatedpletely. Riveria had prepared herself for the influx of energy but she, from the moment the energy began to condense into her body, she realized her preparations werent enough. There was an increasing ache that had started to expand in her lower body alongside a heat that made her heart begin racing. She did her best to remain calm by drawing in slow and steady breaths but Riveria noticed none of her efforts seemed to extinguish the me rising up in her body. The heating from her body had gotten intense so quickly that Riveria couldnt stop herself from pulling at the edge of the band so that it was no longer in contact with her skin, releasing a sigh of relief when the hot sensation diminished slightly. Vahn had been watching this y out since the beginning and quickly made a note in his journal before saying, "Because of your affinity with natural energy, you seem to be absorbing it at a much faster rate than normal. Your body should adapt after a few days once it reaches an equilibrium..." Standing before Riveria, Vahn gently pulled her hand away so she would let the bande to rest against her abdomen again. Resisting it was fine, but her body wouldnt adapt properly if she simply avoided wearing it. One of the things they had already talked about testing was if the band could potentially treat the infertility issue after the body adapted to the absorption of natural energy so Riveria needed to do her best in this instance. With his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn knew what Riveria was going through and it wasnt nearly as bad as her response indicated. She was simply unustomed to the new stimulus, much like he had been when he assumed the form of Tiona in the past. Since she had spent so many years ignoring the needs of her body, both physically and emotionally, it just felt more intense than it actually was. Riveria took in a sharp breath when the band came back into contact with her skin and things got even worse when Vahn helped fix it into ce. He gave her a wry smile and said, "You just need to calm down, Riveria...here, rx..." before reaching out his hand and patting her on the head. Though the energy flowing from Vahns hand was warm it made Riverias mind feel cool and the gentle stream slowly spread through the rest of her body. She released a relieved sigh and, though it was somewhat embarrassing to have Vahn petting her head, Riveria felt that it was more of a relief than anything. Even her embarrassment seemed to be kept at bay by the energying from his palm so she just closed her eyes and focused on breathing. Once Riveria had rxedpletely, Vahn said in a low tone, "Since the formation on your stomach still needs to air out properly, you shouldnt wear the band for too long just yet. It should only take another 2-3 days before you can begin wearing it full-time, so make sure you prepare yourself properly. People are far more adaptive than you might expect so dont panic the next time and things should be okay..." Riveria opened her jade-green eyes and looked directly at Vahn with a slightlyplex expression before saying, "I may need your help when the timees..." Vahn simply smiled in return and said, "You can rely on me, Riveria~." while continuing to stroke the head and hair of the beautiful and intelligent High Elf... --- After giving Riveria an ornate wooden case to store the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing], she ended up removing it before wearing her gown and leaving the workshop. Vahn still had a bit of time left in the day and started preparing a temte for Tiona and Tione, as they would be helping him work on their armor sets starting next week. He then drew up a diagram for some of the girls weapons, this time starting with Tiones new swords. They were going to be holing up inside the Dungeon pretty soon in order to set up the Supply Depot and he wanted to increase the base capabilities of their strongest members. Because he was going to be very busy, Vahn was actually leaving most of the girls of the Hestia Familia behind, only taking Haruhime and Fenrir along with him. He simply wouldnt have time to look after the others and, though their strength had increased to the point where they wouldnt really be in the way, Vahn didnt want to have to worry about them while he was focusing on other things. There was also a good chance their enemies would be baited by him if he didnt have so many people around him and it would be much easier for him to escape a crisis alone than with a group of people. After drawing up two curved swords, Vahn wondered what else he should work on and almost immediately thought of Lefiya. She actually had the weakest defensive capabilities of everyone in the group and, though it likely wouldnt be an issue, Vahn was still somewhat worried about her. Her recent concerns for him made Vahn also feel a desire to protect her as he always wanted to look after those that cared for him. Since she was also his subordinate, Vahn knew he needed to be more considerate of her and should focus his efforts on making her stronger instead of increasing the strength of already capable warriors. For now, he just drew up a quick temte of Lefiyas body and began designing the basic framework of her future Aegis and robes. She already had a name like White Lily after her performance in the Dungeon so Vahn decided to use whites and pinks for her new dress, as it wasnt a big difference from her current attire... By the time Vahn was finished, it was nearing dinner time so he went into the dining room where several of the girls were already waiting. Misha, who had been avoiding eating with the group ever since the massage incident, was also present so Vahn greeted her even though it made her tense up a bit. When Tiona, Ais, Lefiya, and Tione showed up a littleter, Vahn told them about his intentions to start preparing their armor and that he would be forging Tione a new set of swords as well. Hearing this instantly increased the tensions in the room and a happy atmosphere started to spread as they talked about the different types of clothing theyd like. Though Vahns sides were usually taken up by the more senior members of the group, the early arrival of the girls and the resultant conversation resulted in Ais and Tiona sitting at his nks. Tiona had teased Lefiya about sitting in Vahnsp but the bashful Elf hadpletely refused with a red face, even though Vahn felt like she actually wanted to. Soon after, everyone else began to show up and Vahns seat was finally taken by Hestia, who didnt seem to mind Fenrirs scarlet eyes as much as in the past. Riveria actually ended up skipping dinnerpletely which resulted in Ryuu eventually leaving to go check up on her, as many of the Elven girls were actually very worried about her recently. Once dinner came to an end, Vahn retired to his room with Aki apanying him, as it was her night to sleep in his room. The schedule had been set up in a way that Vahns weeks usually started off with more exciting and new events while things got progressively calmer as the week progressed. He spent the weekends with Hephaestus and Eina, but his Fridays typically included Hestia or one of the pregnant women. Next week would be much the same, with his first experience with Preasia being on Monday with the sessive days being Tiona, Tione, Ais, and then Arnya. As for the weekend, things would be a little out of order since he would be getting married to Riveria, but such exceptions could easily be worked around with proper nning... As usual, Vahn spent some time pampering Aki without them actually having s.e.x since she was also nearing the halfway point of her pregnancy. Instead, they just cuddled up together and Vahn was easily able to make the unabashed Aki purr for him, something she didnt mind doing at all. She was one of the more receptive girls around Vahn and almost always acted in a way to encourage him instead of trying to limit his actions. However, she was also a very sensible woman and would guide Vahn if he was doing things incorrectly. There was also the very simple fact that Aki liked to be pampered a bit, which seemed to be a trait of almost all Cat People, so she simply didnt want to resist his veryfortable [Petting]. --- With the weekend officially starting, Vahn was supposed to be resting as well so he ended up leaving the Hearth Manor early in the morning and headed toward his Clubhouse. Once thework learned about his desire to hire people to work in the Clubhouse, Loki had decided to employ the Terpsichore Familia and allowed them to set up residence in the area in exchange for the protection of the Alliance. Terpsichore was a goddess with Divinities rted to Music, Dance, and Wisdom, being one of the few goddesses that sometimes gave lectures in the arts at the Guild sponsored School. She was also going to be teaching at Vahns future School, as the arts were very important for the development of culture, so having her children work at the Clubhouse wasnt a difficult arrangement. When he reached the perimeter of the Clubhouse, Vahn waved at the two stalwart looking guards, named Edgar and Johnathan, before making his way inside. They were both Level 3 Guards Captains from the Eirene Familia and they typically posted up near the Clubhouse while providing protection and maintaining order in the surroundings. There were other security forces at work in the territories of the Alliance, but having a front was also important to dissuade low-tier brigands and thieves. Almost immediately after entering the Clubhouse, Vahn was greeted by a petite young woman with purple hair wearing a very neat waitress outfit. Seeing who had arrived, the girls eyes widened slightly and she bowed, saying, "Wee, Master Vahn, will you be dining with us today or did you have other business?" Vahn gave a polite dismissive gesture and said, "I just came to check on the supplies, but I wouldnt mind sticking around to enjoy some music. Please have Celia brew up some coffee for me, Alicia." The young woman, Alicia, bowed politely before quickly making her way to carry out Vahns orders. Other than Sebas, the bartender and manager of the staff, all the other employees were young women around 16-22 years of age. Presently, there were only three waitresses walking around but Vahn knew there were also four people in the kitchen, three girls on the stage, and another two girls that tended to any guests that visited the hot tub section. In total, there were typically around twenty staff the rotated within the Clubhouse, including Terpsichore herself as she was the goddess of the Familia. Vahn had been fortunate enough to attend one of her performances and it was very inspiring. Unlike most goddesses, Terpsichore had strangely in looks even with her unblemished skin. Her hair was a gentle silvery-grey that fell into curls at the end of a long ponytail and her eyes were strangely dull, almost as if she were blind. When she yed her music, however, this changedpletely and her expression would evolve to match the mood of the song. The same happened when she danced, making her look very beautiful and lively, or aged and elegant...it was a very unique scene to witness. Vahn sat down at a table that was solely reserved for himself and looked around the Clubhouse for a bit, surprised to find that Welf was actually missing. Most of the times Vahn visited recently, Welf was usually drinking away and watching the stage performances so, seeing his absence, Vahn expected he was getting another lecture from the Amazon girls in his workshop. With a wry smile on his face, Vahn turned his attention to the stage where a red-haired woman with elegant and mature curves was currently ying arge harp. Vahn knew her name was Selena and the two girls behind her were named Marin and Reba, and they were both ying flutes to apany the mesmerizing sounds of the harp. As they had also noticed his presence, the girls were putting in a bit more effort than normal and Vahn felt like the music was being yed specifically for his benefit, something that brought him a strange sense offort... Sebas sat down next to him, as he was one of the few that had permission to do so, and passed over the list of supplies that had been consumed, including by whom as he was also in charge of the tabs. Vahn noticed that Gareth was still holding his position as the person with the highest tab and smiled as he asked, "Have there been any new members arrivingtely?" Sebas was a very gentlemanly-looking middle-aged man with stylish white hair and silver eyes. Hearing Vahns usual question, Sebas nodded his head politely and said, "This week, we have two new members attending, bringing the total count to twenty-nine people. They were both brought by Masters Finn and Gareth and had been given temporary membersh.i.p.s until their vetting ispleted." Vahn had been perusing the list and saw the names Morgan and Touma listed, likely friends of Finn and Gareth, if not outright members of the Loki Familia. Vahn nodded his head and returned the doc.u.ments to Sebas, saying, "The supplies have already been arranged so please have someone run inventory on themter. Since things have been going so well, please inform everyone that Ill be increasing their base sry by ten percent for theing weeks." Many businesses only paid their employees once a month, typically towards the very end, but Vahn had adopted the policy of paying them weekly. This made him very popr amongst the members of the Terpsichore Familia since they sometimes struggled to find work as their members were almost exclusively musicians, dangers, and singers. It was very rare to have a long-term contract like what they had arranged with the Alliance and this was the main reason the girls started working harder the moment he showed up. Sebas took the doc.u.ments and neatly arranged them before saying, "Thank you, Master Vahn, Im certain everyone will be pleased. If you need me for anything, please have one of the girls inform me and I will immediatelye over." Vahn smiled and nodded his head, allowing Sebas to return to the bar and direct a small Pallum girl to go check the inventory. Since Pallums didnt have any weakness when it came to performance arts, there were quite a few that joined entertainment Familia to avoid having to be ves or risk their lives in the Dungeon. Within the staff working at the Clubhouse, there were actually three Pallums and Lili had been very annoyed when she learned about it previously. Celia, Alicias sister, brought over the coffee Vahn had requested and sat it down at the table before politely standing at the side with her tray over herp. Vahn thanked her for the coffee and sipped at the rich and fragrant contents of his cup with a peaceful expression on his face. There were many rules that regted the actions of both the clients and the staff of the Clubhouse. Physical contact was almostpletely uneptable and the staff wasnt allowed to ept invitations to sit at the tables with the guests, even if incentives were offered by drunkards. In exchange, the base pay of the girls was much higher than the earnings of an entire rookie team of Adventurers. After setting his cup down, Vahn smiled to Celia and said, "Thank you, Celia, it is delicious, as always." Celia took in a somewhat deep breath when she saw Vahns smile before bowing politely and saying, "It is Master Vahn that provides us with such high-quality coffee beans, but Im happy to have been of assistance." Whenever Vahn showed up, he would typically ask for very specific things and there were girls that had been tasked with bing adept at preparing them. Celia and a Pallum girl named Melliana were the two that typically made coffee for him and they took turns around the times Vahn typically showed up. Vahn continued to watch Selenas performance, holding the red-haired human girls blue-eyed gaze as her pupils glimmered slightly in the low light. She was very obviously trying to appeal to him but Vahn didnt mind it much as there was another very important rule in ce. The girls had all taken vows to avoid entering rtionsh.i.p.s with anyone that entered the Clubhouse unless they were willing to leave the Terpsichore Familia and quit as an employee. Vahn was a very coveted catch for almost any woman that wanted to enjoy what some referred to as the high life and he was very ustomed to their silent appeals and the kind words they gave him. He would typically give them a tip for the increased quality of their performance but he had adamantly avoided epting any of their invitations. Bagging Vahn was the same as winning at life, and many of the women here wouldnt mind be a private performer for him, even if it just meant they got fancy clothes and expensive jewelry on asion... After finishing with his coffee, Celia immediately stepped forward and bowed politely before carrying away to be washed. With her departure, Alicia showed walked over with a tray of entrees whilst another girl, a Hume Bunny named KiLani carried a bottle of sparkling white wine, which was part of the basic rotation since the more expensive options needed to be asked for directly. Celia bowed after cing down the tray and took her ce at the side while KiLani ced down a wide-rimmed wine ss but just stood at the side with a smile until Vahn said, "Just a little bit today, KiLani..." With an elegant smile on her face, KiLani bent forward and invaded Vahns space a little as she filled up the cup. She had medium-length brown hair that was neatly arranged in a somewhat boyish hairstyle. Though this would have caught the notice of most people, it was the 19cm long bunny earsing out of her head that often drew Vahns eye, something she had noticed in the past and proactively unted. Her main instrument was a violin and she had a habit of dancing around during her performances with her long legs fully disyed with her puff-like tail trailing around behind her pert butt. Vahn didnt really mind the constant attempts from the girls to appeal to him, as it made him feel somewhat important, so he just allowed them to do as they pleased as long as they followed the rules. He never took any actions toward them and, though he said a few kind words, never proactively flirted with them since he didnt like teasing girls he wasnt involved with. His actions of the past were something he still reflected on even now so there was no way he would just get involved with other girls haphazardly, even if he was somewhat interested in the various different species... After filling his cup, KiLani smiled before cradling the wine bottle and standing off to the side with Alicia. Typically, Vahn would be attended to whenever he showed up in the Clubhouse and the girls would wait for him to dismiss them or wait until he had finished off the dishes they provided. This allowed them to be around him more and also increased the chances they would all get a tip so they typically worked together on a rotation. Vahn very rarely gave individualized tips so there wasnt really any petition, at least not on the surface. Selenas performance eventually came to an end and she gave Vahn a somewhat amorous smile before the girls helped her move the harp off of the stage and ce it in the back. Even though she might want to, Selena knew they werent allowed to simply go and talk casually with Vahn, as it was somewhat awkward to stay standing while he was sitting down. Any attempts to be more proactive could potentially get them fired so she could only retreat after seeing his polite smile and general disinterest, even if there was a glimmer in his eyes. Recing Selena was a young weretiger girl with atypically grey hairpared to the orange-brown of most of their species. She was wearing a rtively revealing outfit, as she was a dancer, and Vahn smiled when she locked her eyes on him and began her dance. He wasnt actually the only person in the Clubhouse right now, as there were three other people in attendance, but none of them had the courage toe speak with him and there was no way they wouldin even if the entire staff paid attention to Vahn. They actually worked hard to even earn the right toe into the Clubhouse and they didnt want to lose their membership by inadvertently making a bad impression on Vahn... Vahn knew the Weretiger girl was named Renka and she was actually one of the more interesting girls within the Terpsichore Familia as it was somewhat umon for Weretigers to not be warriors. She had a very fit and lean body, with beautifully toned muscles and well-shaped b.r.e.a.s.ts with a somewhat fleshy and muscr butt. What Vahn found the most interesting was the fact she was actually almost Level 4 in strength, even though she was in an entertainment Familia. This was due to the fact that she had previously been a very capable Adventurer in the past but had lost a few too manypanions before being scouted by Terpsichore when she was in a depressed state. Renka now made a living by trying to make other people happy and, because she hadnt learned how to y an instrument in the past, did so by dancing. Vahn knew he was weak against girls with a tragic past, so he was somewhat drawn to Renkas performance and she seemed to be aware of this since she typically showed up on stage soon after his arrival. After watching Renkas tantalizing and lively dance for around half an hour, Vahn finished up his ss of wine and stood up from his chair, causing Alicia and KiLani to step forward and begin cleaning up. Vahn sent Renka a parting look, earning a smile from her in return, before waving his hand and tossing a small bag to Sebas that contained a bonus card for each of the girls, including those that werent actually working presently. Sebas caught it in a casual manner before cing it under the bar and continuing to wipe away at the sses. It was very normal for Vahn to leave a big tip for the girls if he was in a good mood so Sebas was no longer surprised by the act. As for the girls, they all had happy smiles and victoriously pumped their fists while teasing each other and talking about their performances... (A/N: Alternate Titles: So hot (UwU)...,Schedules are Important~!,Little Slice of Heaven) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 595 - Stirrings

Chapter 595 - Stirrings

After leaving the Clubhouse, Vahn looked into his Inventory to check what everyone else was up to, both within his ownwork and the girls. Since it was the weekend, everyone was currently avable and he had an opportunity to go on dates and stuff if he wanted. However, as she hadnt been around the Manor recently, Vahn decided to go visit Loki at the Twilight Manor. Even though she had a residence being built to the north of the Hearth Manor, Loki had yet to move into it and spent the majority of her time either at the Twilight Manor or meeting other gods. Though Hephaestus was still the official representative of the Alliance, Loki was the one managing the majority of the negotiations and agreements. She still conferred with the other senior goddesses, but they had more or less given her free reign at this point. Instead of calling Fafnir or Terra to give him a ride, Vahn decided to venture through the City on foot since he didnt walk through the City much after the girls moved into the Manor. Most of his time was spent either at the Manor itself or venturing into the Dungeon. He hadnt actually gone on too many dates recently, as most of the girls simply preferred to lounge about in the forest or areas in the East Wing. They enjoyed spending time with him in private over going out to see things within the City, so Vahn hadnt really felt the need to explore areas outside of the Alliances territory. With his pace, Vahn crossed the 140km distance to the Twilight Manor in just under twenty minutes and greeted the gate guards before walking straight inside. At this point, as a result of his own actions and Lokis guidance, Vahn had the highest status within the Loki Familia excluding Loki herself. Even Finn couldnt really tell him what to do, even though Vahn didnt really have any authority over their members either. Many of the girls actually treated him pretty well since they had been teased by Loki when she informed them he had ess to their showers and baths if he wanted. Though he would never use it, this knowledge made some of the bolder girls act more openly around Vahn because it was very obvious to most people that he was actually very approachable as long as you didnt overstep your bounds. After exchanging greetings with several people, Vahn found his way into the rtively empty section of the Twilight Manor and eventually reached Lokis private residence. Since he could sense her inside, Vahn pushed against the door and entered without knocking, as she already knew he was there even before he arrived. Loki was currently sleeping on the bed in a very convincing manner, if not for the fact that her somewhat fat belly was exposed. Vahn knew she would never go to sleep without properly covering her stomach and she probably just wanted to tempt him a bit. ying along with her scheme, Vahn removed his shoes before climbing into the bed and pulling out a cover to put over her stomach before rubbing it with his palm. Lokiughed in a mischevious manner before parting her eyes slightly before saying, "Youre always so gentle~." and rolling over to face him. Vahn had positioned himself on her left side so she could befortable and pulled Lokis head to rest against his as he asked, "How have you been, Loki? Is everything going fine with your body...is there anything I can help with?" While he was speaking, Vahn was inspecting Lokis body with his [Eyes of Truth] to make sure there werent any problems. Compared to the 21 weeks pregnant Hephaestus, Loki looked closer to 30 weeks and the baby had already matured a great deal. At this rate, her actual pregnancy looked like it would have only taken around 6-7 months instead of the 9 that Hephaestus was trending towards. As if she could read his mind, Loki ced her hand atop his and said, "Dont worry, she wont being out until I let her...kukuku~." Vahn knew it wasnt really fair for Loki to have to push herself so hard for someone else but he also felt like Hephaestus should be the first person to give birth to his child. She was inarguably the woman he loved the most and Vahn wanted to be able to give her something special that was uniquely her own. Fortunately, he could help elerate the process a bit so Hephaestus would most likely give birth around 8 months, making Lokis burden a little bit lighter. Vahn continued to absentmindedly stroke Lokis stomach and asked, "Are you busy today...?" before looking towards her slightly parted red eyes. Lokis smile widened and she said, "Nope~." even though the truth of the matter was quite the opposite. Since she needed to take a break herself soon, there were various matters Loki was trying to resolve in preparation for some of the Alliances future actions. She had been smoothing things over with some of the stronger Familias, even those outside of the Alliance, to get them to support and make use of the Supply Depot Vahn was going to make. There was also the matter of procuringnd rights and negotiating with the various political groups to make sure they couldnt really interfere with the Alliance in the future. She was also trying to get a better foothold in their social circles since their daughter would be able to take control more easily if there was a gap to exploit... Even though he knew Loki was probably lying to him, as her silence toward the end usually showed that she was either thinking about something or gauging another persons reaction. Pulling her head down a little, Vahn kissed Lokis forehead and said, "Then allow me to keep youpany for a bit...", ying along with the act since Loki was doing her best for them. Loki began tough and brought her hand up to his face and said, "Kiss me, Vahn..." with a very loving look in her glimmering red eyes. Without dying, Vahn did exactly as Loki had said, sealing the mischevious and loveable goddesses lips as they shared a very long and passionate embrace. --- Vahn stayed with Loki until Finn had shown up outside her door, reminding her of a meeting she had previously scheduled. Loki sat up from the bed with Vahns assistance and he gave her the new [Maternity Band], which was far morefortable than the previous one. He then walked with her all the way to the gate,pletely ignoring Finns awkward smile when they first appeared from her room. Since Loki looked somewhat abnormal being pregnant, as her body didnt show the secondary signs of pregnancy like normal girls, Vahn felt like she was struggling a bit just getting around. Even with the support of the [Maternity Band], he couldnt help but feel a little guilty but his concerns were ayed a bit when arge carriage arrived for her. Vahn had almost expected her to be walking to her next destination and was thinking of apanying her the whole way until she shooed him away. Since he had a habit of forcing a situation based on his own understanding of a situation, Loki knew Vahn wasnt really qualified for politics and didnt want him to even establish connections with some of the corrupt households that ruled the City. Thinking that Loki simply wanted him to rest properly on his days off, Vahn decided to head back to the Hearth Manor but still asked Fafnir to look after her from the shadows. Vahn often had Fafnir watch over Loki recently so it didnt mind at all, happily answer the call and skulking through her shadow to protect her from harm. Its personality hadnt changed much, but Fafnir was more jubnt than it had been in the past since it now had many things to do and got to spend time with Vahn when he groomed it periodically. It also talked with Terra a lot and had been getting along well with everyone after learning how to wade through the shadows to avoid damaging the property. This also allowed it to protect its weak spot a bit, though its speed when doing so was much slower than when it was flying or moving through the shadowspletely submerged. --- For the rest of the day, and the subsequent Sunday, Vahn decided to just spend time with the girls at the Manor and ended up having anotherrge pic while they discussed other possible renovations to the Manor. At this point, the underground structure around the Hearth Manor itself hadpletely finished and now they were just branching it out to the other Manors of the Alliance to make sure everyone could move about undetected if necessary. Since it seemed like an interesting idea, Vahn agreed when Hestia asked if they could install arge underground pool as it would be useful for rearing fish and some aquatic species of nts and herbs. Vahn was very fond of unique things like that and asked that it still be useable by people since having a subterranean pool to swim in would be pretty cool, especially if there were even more secret passages to explore... During the weekend, Vahn also spent a bit more time with Riveria, Ryuu, Lefiya, Syr, and Eina, as they often visited Terras Garden. He had first shown up just to check on Riverias state but ended up staying around for a few hours to help groom Terra as an apology for ignoring her presence the previous few days. Ryuu and Lefiya had shown up to check up on Riveria as well, as they were very worried about her state as a result of Riveria being a High Elf they both respected. As for Syr and Eina, the former showed up since she enjoyed spending her idle time in the garden while Eina had conveyed the fact that her mother, Aina, would like to attend the wedding. Aina had followed Riveria all the way from the Elven Kingdom so there was no way Vahn would have refused, even extending the offer himself when they first discussed the matter. While all of this was happening, Riveria was somewhat distraught but maintained a cool expression most of the time. Even when she soaked in the wellspring wearing nothing but her swimsuit, she had a cid expression on her face and simply made small talk with Ryuu about what kind of future theyd like to see for their people. That seemed to be a big trend these days, at least within the Hearth Manor, as everyone was often talking about the future and various other interesting topics. Vahn heard from Hestia that this was very normal when there were children about to be born as it made people start thinking ahead more, especially if they wanted some of their own. Since one of Hestias primary Divinities was Family, Vahn trusted that her words were the truth as he himself was constantly worrying about the future for simr reasons... One interesting change that had urred, at least around the girls within the garden, was the fact that Lefiya seemed a lot less shy than before. She was proactively sticking near Vahn and, when he had been grooming Terra on her roost, Lefiya had even worn a swimsuit and asked Terra if she could help out. Vahn found Lefiyas pink swimsuit very charming because, even though it was a bit childish, it suited her thin figure and created a bit of a contrast with Riverias green bikini and Ryuus white one-piece swimsuit that made it look like she was going to race someone. It seemed like it was going to be amon trend amongst the Elven girls to soak within the wellspring, though Terra didnt seem to mind it much as their presence actually strengthened her dominion as having entities with nature affinities around was very beneficial. Another change in Lefiya, which had been the most noticeable, was the fact that she had seemingly be a bit of a chatterbox and was constantly asking Vahn questions about how he was feeling, what he was thinking, and anything she was confused about in her own research. Vahn found that the more personable Lefiya was very refreshing and answered all of her questions honestly, even though some of them were somewhat personal, especially when it got down to things like his favorite color, the type of food he liked to eat, and other seemingly innocuous questions. When he asked why she was suddenly so curious, Lefiya had sheepishly exined, "I just want to get to know you better...after all, were going to be together for the rest of our lives, right...?" Unable to refute her words, Vahn simply pat Lefiya on the head and felt a great deal of warmth to see her lively and cheerful smile... During Sunday evening, before Vahn had retired to bed with Eina, he ended up having a small discussion with Preasia, who was preparing herself for the night to follow. She seemed to be thinking about the future as well and wanted to learn magic in the future alongside mixing. Instead of general magic, however, Preasia just wanted to learn how to heal people since her dream was to be a doctor. Eventually, if he was willing to teach her, Preasia wanted to learn Vahns techniques because she wanted to be able to help people, just like he had helped her. She didnt want to continue being someone that was simply cared for by other people and instead wanted to pursue a path where she could be the one taking care of others, specifically so Vahn wouldnt have to do everything on his own. Since Preasia already had a very docile and quiet demeanor, Vahn could easily imagine her as an adorable little Doctor and didnt mind her wanting to apprentice with him at all. She had already changed a great deal over thest few days and, though she hid it around other people, Vahn found that Preasias current appearance simply made her cuter. There was now an incredibly softyer of fur covering her shoulders, arms, back, and legs, leaving her face, chest, abdomen, palms, and feet, as the only exposed parts of her skin now. Though she seemed to be somewhat self-conscious about it, Vahn ayed her concerns a great deal by simply petting her without the use of his [Hands of Nirvana] until she had calmed down. Her entire body was no very pettable and, though it wasnt the softness of her skin like Hestia, Preasia was now a strong contender for the softest girl within the Manor. While he was petting her, Preasia was wearing nothing but a cream-colored bra and panties as shey across hisp with a pillow supporting her upper body. This had originally started when Vahn wanted to check her Status Board, confirming that it still showed up and that her Innate hadnt yet awoken, but turned into a small session of [Petting] to help her rx. Since he had a bit of time before he was supposed to be going to bed, Vahn spent it aying her concerns and promising that he would prove to her that he found her current appearance charming the following evening. Vahn really didnt want her to stop developing her Innate further since it actually made her look almost ridiculously adorable, even if it was a bit strange at the same time. At this point, she was more fur-covered than Fenrir, so many people would likely misconstrue her as a Xenos if she walked around in the streets without clothing covering her body. She previously just wore a thick wool sweater and a pair of small shorts, but now Preasia almost always had on a pair of pajamas that were a littlerger than suitable since she wanted to cover her hands and legs as well. He was hoping that she would actually learn to control it in the future, or at least opened up enough that she didnt mind being seen by the other girls. Right now, she actually took her baths in private and typically only had Fenrir apany her since she was feeling a little self-conscious about it. Hearing Vahns promises, Preasia had simply nodded her head while hugging the pillow supporting her upper body. Vahns [Petting] was very effective, even more so when he was actively trying tofort people, so Preasia simply didnt have it in her to refute his words. She felt progressively more worried as the fur on her body increased in volume but, at moments like this, she found herself not caring at all because it seemed that Vahn liked her soft fur. Even she knew that it was very soft, often tracing her hands across her own arms and legs, so Preasia was happy Vahn was fond of the fur even if it made her feel worried... When they finally parted, Vahn went off to his own room to meet up with Eina while Preasia returned to the somewhat small room she shared with Fenrir. Even though they werent officially roommates, they often slept together and she had actually be Fenrirs defacto hug pillowtely. When she first came to the Manor, Fenrir had often hugged her body andforted her so Preasia actually didnt mind it much at all since Fenrirs fur was very warm. Though she was sometimes worried about Fenrirs ws, especially after learning about their properties, there had never been any issues till now since Fenrir alway slinked her paws together when she hugged her body from behind. Fenrir sat up the moment Preasia entered the room and patted her paws on the soft bed, saying, "Preasia,e sleep. Tomorrow wille faster if you sleep early~!" Though she was a bit envious of the fact that Preasia was going to be with her Master tomorrow, Fenrir wanted to cheer on her friend since they were actually very close. There was also another reason why she wanted Preasia to hurry, though she would never tell her directly, which was the fact that her Masters scent was currently covering the Sheep Girls body and she was very very soft. Without questioning Fenrirs motives at all, Preasia nodded her head and crawled into the bed with Fenrir, quickly being snuggled by the Wolf Girl as she nuzzled into her back. Preasia felt veryfortable being held like this and curled up her legs slightly with Fenrirs sticking close. When Preasia finally fell asleep, Fenrirs eyes parted slightly and her silent breaths became marginally louder as she nuzzled into the thin fur on Preasias neck and enjoyed the scent of her Master that had settled into the fur. For several hours, as she didnt actually require sleep, Fenrirs breathing could be heard spreading through the low light of the small room...where a Wolf Girl could be seen hugging a Sheep Girl with a pleasant smile on her face... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lokis Schemes,So fluffy (UwU)~!,*Breathing Intensifies*...Smells like mutton or Master?) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 596 - Elemental Control

Chapter 596 - Elemental Control

As was often the case, Vahn awoke just before 5 AM feeling refreshed andfortable, hugging the beautiful Einas waist gingerly so as not to wake her up. After enjoying her warmth for a while, Vahn pulled out Evas orb to check its status but, unlike the past few months, Vahn noticed a slight abnormality within the orb that made his heart shudder. It didnt seem to bepletely active, but Vahn could sense the stirring of an incredibly powerful energy within the orb while small blue arcs coiled within its interior. Without any hesitation, Vahn tried to sink his consciousness into the orb and felt the darkness creeping in his vision before a voice sounded in his mind, this one decidedly different from Sis, "Stay out you idiot, the space isnt stable yet!" Vahn stopped trying to enter the orb, but he kept his intent probing around since he wanted to hear Evas voice a little more. Though he wasnt sure she could hear him, Vahn spoke out within his mind in a soft tone, "Eva...I miss you..." Silence persisted for several seconds until a very quiet, almost sobbing tone sounded out within his mind at the same time as his intent was forced away, "I miss you too, you idiot..." When he was forced away, Vahn saw the mostplex magical formation he had ever seen covering the outer shell of the orb. Even activating his [Eyes of Truth] didnt allow him to see through its entire sequence, but he was able to glean a great deal of information that should prove useful in the future, even though his heart ached a little. Eina seemed to have sensed his abnormal state as she began to move around in his embrace before turning her body towards him. Seeing those same gentle, emerald-green eyes, Vahn felt his mncholy ease a bit as he bent forward and kissed her forehead, saying, "Dont worry, I just heard from Eva and felt a little sad that we cant meet just yet. Ill feel better after moving my body a bit..." Though she was a little surprised that Vahn mentioned Eva, Eina decided not to ask about it since it obviously made him a little sad thinking about her. Instead, she just hugged his body and pressed her ear to his chest, listening to his heart while saying a few encouraging words... After leaving Eina, so that she could rest a little more before her own shift started, Vahn went down to the training grounds and began warming up his body while calming his mind. It was very obvious that Eva was making some kind of preparations for his return and it seemed that the day he would be able to enter the orb was approaching quickly. He didnt know what changes she was making, nor the costs that would be involved, but he believed she was doing her best for them. Though he wanted to learn many things from her in the future, Vahn also knew he needed to treat the damaged little vampire well since she really did deserve it. Without something like [Will of the Emperor], Vahn knew that immortality was a very dangerous thing for mortals, especially if it was forced upon them like in Evas case. Since he also had the potential to help others be immortal in the future, Vahn had been thinking about it quite a bit and knew some of the negatives associated with it, nning for how he would deal with them when the time came. He couldnt truly make someone unkible, but giving them eternal life shouldnt be too difficult with a bit of effort. However, this was an important matter he kept close to his chest for the time being, as he didnt want to change how the girls lived by giving them false-promises of eternal life. There was also the matter regarding his children, and their future progeny, as he couldnt simply make everyone born from his lineage immortal. One solution Vahn had been thinking about whating up with a way for people to pursue the path of immortality on their own, something that should be possible in any world with variable Tiers. Though there may be Laws governing the existence of Tier 4 entities within the world, Vahn knew that several factors could change the fundamental structure of the world, just like during the battle between the Primordial Gods and the Elder Gods of Destruction and Chaos. With his children, the Vanir, being born into the world it would effectively remove the cap on the worlds Tier, allowing greater control over the Laws for anyone thatprehended them. If a system existed to promote the growth of people through physical, mental, and spiritual development, Vahn knew anyone would be able to reach immortality through their own efforts. At the very least, people could live for hundreds, even thousands, of years... While he was lost in his own thoughts, performing something simr to Tai Chi, the other girls started to show up for their morning training as well. Tiona and Tione made a beeline towards him but, seeing that he was lost in his thoughts, decided to leave Vahn alone as they watched Ais and Haruhime spar. Vahn was aware of their presence and smiled gently in response to their thoughtful actions before continuing his routine at a slow and fluid pace. The reason he had taken up Tai Chi was that it helped him attune himself with the world itself, giving him greater control over the elements even without using his [Rakshasa Body] or [Will of the Emperor]. Thus, as the routine progressed further, wisps of watery mist began to follow his movements as a gentle breeze flowed around his torso and coiled around his arms. Vahn knew his control while using his Innates would undoubtedly always be higher, but he wanted to get to the point where his basic understanding of elemental control was good enough to teach to others... Everyone had a variety of different elemental affinities within their body, many working in conjunction with each other while there were a few, such as in the case of Eina, that shed. If they had a proper understanding of the elements that flowed within their body, Vahn was confident anyone would be able to achieve elemental maniption. The only true requirements were an external sense that was attuned to the elemental energies within the environment and the bnce between a persons mental and emotional state. If you could empathize with the element you were trying to control, it was much easier to make use of the energy and push it further. Fire elements were fueled by passionate emotions, such as love,passion, fervor, and even anger. Though it was capable of causing devastating damage, you had to make sure you didnt allow yourself to be swallowed up by it as one of the basic ws of fire was that it could use anything as fuel, even the person trying to wield it. For those that pursued the path of mes, they needed to have a strong conviction and an understanding that mes were not simply meant to cause harm, but also provided warmth, light, and hope. Though it could be used to take lives, it was also one of the fundamental elements of creation itself and it was inarguably more worthwhile to create than it was to destroy. Water elements used more muted emotions, such as reverie, rxation, mncholy, and sadness...it was an element that could nourish life, but also sink it to the depth of a bottomless abyss, crushing its user just the same as its enemies with the pressures involved. To make proper use of water, you had to be fluid in both mind and body, allowing negative energies to flow through you without letting them linger. Practitioners that mastered the water element would typically be infallible by nature, with calm minds like cidkes, allowing ripples to pass over its surface but preventing anything from causing any significant turbulence. Earth elements were almost all about stability and patience, somewhat rigid in their structure but allowing for powerful offensive and defensive feats. To manipte the earth, you needed an earnest personality that emphasized patience, control, and steadfastness. Though the earth allowed all creatures to tread across it, the power contained beneath their feet could topple entire civilizations when urged to actions. Earthquakes were a terrifying natural disaster while mudslides andndfalls could devastate entire armies, making them entirely incapable of resistance. To make proper use of the earth, you needed both determination and endlesspassion, understanding the significance of each action you took and the consequences therein. Thest of the basic elements, Wind, was simultaneously the easiest and most difficult to control of them all. Like fire, you could use passionate emotions to generate gales, but theck of control meant you were also subject to your own attacks. When used with a calm and cid mentality, such as when using water, the air would flow freely and you could use to gentle currents to destabilize and support others, letting the wind crash against objects by using their own momentum against them. Lastly, it was also capable of great devastation and synergized well with the earth, allowing typhoons and tornadoes to devastate anything within its area of influence, but only if you had the stability of mind and perseverance to make such a phenomenon a reality... Vahn found himself having a preference for wind over all the other elements, even though fire was typically his most used inbat as a result of his perfect affinity with it. The only emotional fuel needed to control the wind was having a sense for freedom or eagerness, meaning that any free spirited person with an affinity for the wind would be able to use it. However, this had some major downside since, if you allowed yourself to bepletely like the wind, you would lose yourself and any focus introduced into your life could consume you... Ais was a good example of this, as she had a perfect wind elemental affinity and was able to use the Spirit Magic [Ariel] to great effect. However, because she had been using the skill in the pursuit of power, Ais had given up developing her mental state to maintain a proper bnce, resulting in her personality being somewhat lopsided, though she was improving in leaps and bounds. Instead of just focusing on destroying everything with her wind, Ais needed to understand the other, more gentle and free aspects of her elemental control...if she aplished this, even without [Ariel], Ais would be able to use her wind freely. As if she had sensed he was thinking about her, Ais broke away from Haruhimes attack and looked towards Vahn, tilting her head to the side in confusion as the other girls present turned to see what she was looking at. Vahn simply smiled in return before twisting his body in a fluid motion and allowing his arms to trace a gentle arc before thrusting them forward as wind elemental energy tailed the motion and sent a breeze at the girls. Ais hair blew along with the gentle breeze he had created, causing her to bring up her hand and remove a few lingering strands as a small smile appeared on her face. Even Vahn didnt know what he was trying to convey to her, but he felt like she understood what he was trying to say as her smile seemed to convey understanding and gratitude. Though he was interested to know what she had gleaned from his rtively random action, Vahn wasnt finished with his own routine so he quickly transitioned from using wind into shifting his weight and stepping into the ground firmly. The area beneath his feet solidified allowing his next step to segment a piece of the earth andunch it up into the air at the same time as he struck forward with his palm, sending the piece careening towards one of the nearby target dummies. It wasnt that powerful of an attack, smashing almost harmlessly against the target, but it was a step in the right direction. Without tarrying on the results, Vahn twisted his body around, as he had learned spirals, twisting, and arcs were all ws that could be used to generate more power in movements. With his hands trailing in a smooth arc, Vahn inverted his palms before whipping them across the air as if he was igniting a match. His fingers trailed sparks across the void as mesbusted in the space beneath his palm before he shot it up in a pir of condensed mes. Just like he did with the earth, Vahn struck the bottom of thepressed mes with his second hand, causing the me pir to be several timesrger in an explosion of me elemental energy. His ability to manipte fire was simply much stronger than his other elements right now, though this didnt discourage Vahn at all. Since he could achieve such feats even in his normal state, Vahn knew his control over the other three basic elements could reach the same level with practice... To wrap up his routine, Vahn began tracing his feet forward in a curving pattern of footwork, almost like a river coiling through the mountains. His hands also sn.a.k.e.d forward as he traced them in gentle arcs that constantly converged together, building up a greater volume of water around his body that was pulled directly from the atmosphere without using any of his own energy. Once he had built up enough, Vahn shot the water forward in an arc before snapping his wrist back and causing the water to perform a simr action, allowing a loud snap like a whip to sound out. Vahn smiled and, in the same pulling motion that was initiated by his whip-like movement, converged the water elemental energy bypressing it rapidly. By the time it coiled back towards him, Vahn had a spear of ice nearly three meters long that he caught with his left hand. Unfortunately, it quickly broke when he tried to throw it since his mastery of higher tier elements was severelycking at this point. Instead of getting fl.u.s.tered, as he had in the past, Vahn stepped forward in a pushing motion with both palms out before pulling them back towards him, almost like he had created a wave in a small basin before allowing it to crash against the side and return. With this motion, the piece of the ice spear immediately melted back down before pooling back in Vahns hands as he created a small vortex before hardening it into a beautiful sphere of ice once again. As before, his control slipped away instantly and the orb came to rest on his palm instead of defying gravity like when he manipted the other elements. Vahn just smiled in response before closing his eyes and concentrating his intent on the sphere in his hands. Though it was still ice, the inside of the sphere began to slowly shift around like a vortex as Vahn tried to manipte the solid-form of ice in a controlled environment instead of trying to move it outside... This wasnt the first time he did this and it wasnt any easier than thest time he had tried, making Vahn both happy and exasperated at the same time. It was actually a lot like water, on a fundamental level, but the ice elemental energies were several orders of magnitude more difficult to control. He couldnt even shape it at 1% the same speed as when he controlled water, so Vahn knew his understanding of the ice element was severelycking, even though he didnt understand how it wascking. Unlike most people, Vahn could see the structure of mana itself and this should, theoretically, give him an even greater understanding of it. Reality seemed to differ, however, and, though he could exert some small influence over the ice, it wasnt of practical use just yet. He was better suited to simply freezing things than he was to manipting the ice directly...though that wouldnt be enough to make him give up. Eva had a perfect affinity with darkness and ice, so Vahn believed he could learn a few things from her in the future. After all, though he never really called her it, Eva was indeed his Master when it came to learning how to use real Magic... With his routineing to an end, Vahn smiled, took a very deep breath, and then let it out as he tried to rx his mindpletely. The sphere in his hands was around 15cm across and Vahn wanted to wrap things up by trying out one of his more difficult to use skills. With his [Eyes of Truth] activating, Vahn manipted the ice to create a focal point in the center before activating his rarely used Oblivion skill. This time, he wanted to see if he could use the skill to create pure elemental energy without interfering with the basic structure of the ice elemental energy in his hands. Under his intense focus, a small ck sphere expanded from the center of the ball of ice before the entire thing exploded at the same instant that he reced the core with fire elemental energy. Though the resultant explosion was very loud, the ice crashed harmlessly against his body in small fragments before a molten ball of pure fire elemental energy, around 4cm across, crashed into the ground and began sinking into it. Generally speaking, elemental energy wasnt really that concentrated and there was a great amount of distance between the individual partictes of mana. The orb he had created, however, waspletely filled with fire elemental energy and there was zero distance between the mana as it continued to bore into the ground seemingly without any intent to burn out. Vahn tried to manipte the small ball of fire elemental energy but found that, without having any space between the mana particles, he couldnt actually exercise any control over it at all. It wasnt until he activated his [Will of the Emperor] that he managed to pull it out of the ground, but not before it had sunk almost twelve meters into the soil. Fortunately, though they looked over after the explosion, everyone just assumed Vahn had created it intentionally as his expression had solidified as a result of his intense focus. This allowed him to avoid embarrassment even though he could sense that Terra was a little upset since the me sphere had destroyed part of her dominion... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Baka! Baka! Baka!,Avatar Vahn,Hot Potato) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 597 - Purity

Chapter 597 - Purity

Vahn let the small ball of me energy hover just above his hands and realized there wasnt actually any heat radiating from its surface, as would be emitted by a normal me. When he held it in his palms, however, Vahn noticed that the surface itself was easily several thousand degrees and, if not for his immunity to fire, he likely would have burned himself severely, if not making a hole clear through his hand. Many potential applications of the orb came to mind but, with his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn could see that the me elemental energy was slowly returning to the void over time without anything to keep it stabilized. It slowly started to expand after a few minutes had passed and Vahn realized it was trying to disperse as heat began to radiate from it once it reached around 10cm in size from its original 4cm. This idental discovery showed that it was possible for pure elemental energy to exist, at least temporarily, in a stable form that wasnt bound by conventionalws. me energy typically radiated a great deal of heat yet, when it was pure me elemental energy, it was almost perfectly contained. Vahn suspected it was the introduction of other elemental energies, such as when the ball came into contact with the ground, or even his own hands, that began to destabilize it. Instead of being bound solely by me elementalws, it was nowing under the influence of various otherws and needed to obtain a state of equilibrium by expanding and absorbing other elemental energies. Given enough time, it would simply disperse back into the void, likely by exploding or expanding to a point where its density made it able to slip back into the imperceptible gaps of the void itself. Not knowing how big the resultant explosion might be, Vahn controlled the expanding ball of me elemental energy and shot high up into the sky at several times the speed of sound. If not for the fact it took nearly half his energy reserves to make the 4cm ball, Vahn spected it would be a powerful means of attack since it should be able to burn through almost anything. Now, he just waited to see what would happen to the ball once it left his control so he shot it out of his domain and allowed it to continue upwards until, nearly a minuteter, a bright light exploded in the sky thousands of meters above the City. It was almost like the twinkle of a star except that it was currently early in the morning and the sun had already started to rise in the east. Vahn felt a powerful ripple crash into his domain as the temperature of the air for several kilometers was increased by a few degrees in an instant. As it was early in the morning, the air temperature was very cool and there was even a lightyer of fog in many areas of the City. Now, at least in the airspace above the Alliance, most of the fog dissipatedpletely and there was a slightly turbulent airflow as the cooler air surged to rece the small pocket of warm air, pushing it up higher into the atmosphere to dissipate harmlessly. Vahn watched this entire phenomenon happen from start to finish, even drawing the attention of almost everyone that was sensitive to mana within several kilometers. Lefiya chose this moment toe over as she asked in a low voice, "Master...what kind of Magic spell was that...?" Since she was confident nobody could hear her question, Lefiya had defaulted to calling Vahn Master, something he knew wasmon for those that subordinated themselves to him. Shaking his head, Vahn smiled and exined, "That was closer to pure elemental control than actual Magic. I created a sphere of pure me elemental energy, around 4cm in diameter, and it expanded to several meters before releasing its energy into the environment... its not at a level where I can control it freely, though, so dont ask me to teach you how to do it just yet." Lefiya nodded her head and looked toward the sky where the light had been previously. Most people couldnt sense it, but Elves would be able to feel that the mana had be very turbulent and it was actually quite beautiful to observe, almost like a rainbow expanding from a singr point that still glowed with an intense radiance... Vahn was also able to see it and he felt like it was simr to watching a star explode, something he had previously experienced when he had the dream of eternity. The small ball of pure me elemental energy was actually very simr to a star as well, though the bnce of mana was one-sidedly in favor of me elemental energy instead of being aposite of other forces. If he could achieve the correct bnce between the other elements, or perhaps glean an understanding of higher elementalws, Vahn could potentially create small stars in the palms of his hands. He decided to study a few of the physics texts that existed within the systemter to see if he could get a better understanding of the energies involved. --- After their morning training came to an end, Vahn paired up with Chloe and Shizune to eat breakfast while making their preparations to enter the Dungeon. Shizune, though sensitive to the flow of mana like the Elves, had seen the phenomenon created by Vahn and her eyes had been drawn to it with clear intrigue on her face. Chloe had sparred with her at first but, seeing the inspired look in Shizunes eyes, didnt punish her for thepse in concentration. Vahn had previously told her about the changes happening in Shizunes body so Chloe understood it was important to allow her to have insights during moments of inspiration. She was also interested in rare skills, so there was no way she would stand in the way of her own disciple when it came to awakening such an ability. When Vahn had updated her Status Board, he noticed there had been an increase in her Magic parameter once again, though not as drastic as the previous instance. Her Innate was very obviously rted to Magic and Vahn was interested to see if it was her [Tamamo] or her [Moons Prayer] that was spurring the growth of her Magic parameter. All of the information he had obtained about Tamamo was that she was a fox goddess, though not from the record of Danmachi, and that she had been a courtesan spirit of several Emperors, Kings, Generals, and Officials. It was a bit saddening to know that one of Shizunes Innates might have some connection to being a courtesan goddess, as this meant her fate as a ve may have been brought about as a result of her Innates existence. One of the things Vahn had deduced from his research into Innates is that people often found themselves in situations where they could awaken if there was a powerful stimulus. This meant girls like Lili, with an Innate that allowed her to bear immense burdens, experienced tragedies that caused them to carry heavy physical and emotional burdens. In Shizunes case, she was almost fated to always be a courtesan or a concubine the majority of information Vahn obtained about Tamamo seemed to indicate such a fate. Most of the stories ended with Tamamo herself being betrayed as a result of severe misunderstandings, forever in the pursuit of a love that could never be as many of the men she favoredcked an understanding of her existence. They feared the power she had at her disposal and tried to seize it for themselves or, if they were unable to, kill her to prevent her power from maturing to its full extent... As for her [Moons Prayer], Vahn had absolutely no idea how it would be awakened and there were few insights he had gained even after scouring a few hundred texts. There was a lot of symbolism rted to the moon, some even rted to Tamamo herself, but that was pure spection at this point and Vahn would have to pay close attention to Shizune if he wanted to truly understand the activation requirements. Without a me seed, he wasnt sure if her affection for him had any influence on the development of her Innates at all, but that just made it all the more important to find out how Shizunes awakened since it would help him understand how others might develop their Innates in the future. Presently, both of her Innates were still (sealed), but Vahn expected one of them to make an appearance in the near future if Shizunes mentality underwent a strong enough stimulus. To allow Shizunes Magic to develop further, or at least allow her to be familiar with the flow of mana in her own body, Vahn gave her a bangle that allowed quick-casting of a simple Fireball. It was much weaker than even Bells [Fire Bolt], but it was enough to give her an edge against some enemies by surprising them. She was already the type that put a lot of thought intobat and having a backup attack that could be used from a medium range was a huge boon for her. Since it was also magic, Shizune had been very excited and Vahn had to replenish her mana quite a few times by the time they returned home. When he checked her Status Board in the bath, Shizunes Magic parameter had grown even further, although it had slowed down to a rtively normal pace at this point. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Shizune Yuel Race: Kitsune LV. 1 POW: G253->G297 END: G222->G243 DEX: F324->F360 AGI: F388->E415 MAG: F303->E418 Skill: [Tamomo: Innate(sealed)], [Featherfoot:H], [Stealth:I->H] Magic: [Moons Prayer: Innate(sealed)] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance(sealed)], [Insomnia(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To reward Shizunes hard work, Vahn gave her head, ears, and tail a good grooming, but only after the bath hade to an end since he wasnt trying to stir her up. She was in the category of girls that were very weak to his [Petting] Development Ability, so she was much easier to keep under controlpared to the past. All he had to do to make most of the Beast Girls calm down was pet them for a few minutes and they would turnpletely docile, oftentimes even dozing off after a bit. Vahn was very fond of [Petting] since it was much tamer than [Hands of Nirvana] and it also allowed him to get a better understanding of the peculiar pettingws and its unique energy. He figured that, if he could learn how to create the energy and infuse it into his domain, Vahn would be able to pet everyone around him simultaneously... Once her impably soft tail had turned a glossy sheen, Vahn tickled the bottom of Shizunes feet to wake her up, causing the young girl to startle in surprise as she pulled her foot away in a panic. Vahnughed and said, "You are bing much stronger, Shizune, keep up the good work." while stroking her head and the inside of her fluffy ears. Shizunes face showed a great deal offort, causing her eyes to squint happily as she said, "Yes, I will keep getting strongerrr..." Her words trailed off at the end as she nearly fell asleep even though she was sitting upright. After her head bobbed, Shizunes eyes widened slightly and she lifted it back up before almost immediately letting it bob again. Vahn had arge grin on his face and decided to stop teasing her, pulling his hand away and saying, "Make sure you rest properly, as it is just as important as pushing yourself during training." Shizune nodded her head and rubbed her eyes, even though she really hadnt been that sleepy previously. Vahns hand was just toofortable and, though her mind was that of an a.d.u.l.t, her body was still a childs, meaning her stamina was stillcking and she had bouts of tiredness after exertion. Vahn sent her off to her room before making his way over to check on Riveria, Terra, and any of the other girls that might be in the garden. He expected that Riveria would want to inquire about the re he created earlier and Vahn was also curious about her own understanding of the phenomenon. He expected that Riveria would be one of his more capable students, at least in the beginning, so her ability to understand elemental control would be the key to helping the other girls understand it. Unsurprisingly, Vahn found Terra leaning against her roost and sunbathing while Riveria was also soaking at the side of the wellspring, allowing her body to recline against the smooth earthen surface along the edges. Activating his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see natural energy gently flowing into her exposed abdomen, which hadpletely healed at this point. Her fair white skin now had an intricate flowery formation on her abdomen and Vahn felt that it enhanced Riverias almost ethereal beauty. It was much like how the green runes on Terras body enhanced her exotic qualities, though Vahn felt like it would be difficult to convince Riveria to do something simr on her own arms, legs, and back... Terra had noticed his arrival almost immediately and had a rare frown on her face as she fluttered her wings and said, "Master, please dont go around destroying parts of my territory without warning me..." Since fire elemental energy was very effective on many of the natural elements, the amount of damage done to Terras formation was much greater than the actual size of the hole. The fire elemental energy had dispersed into parts of her dominion and it took a great deal of energy just to remove the ambient energy to repair it. Knowing this, Vahn had an apologetic smile as he walked into the wellspring and made his way toward Terra. Riveria had been somewhat startled by Vahns sudden arrival but quickly tried to rx after seeing that he was dealing with Terra. She had been present when Terra was repairing the formation earlier and knew that she had been uncharacteristically upset about the damage that was done. Since there wasnt much she could contribute to the conversation, Riveria did her best to remain calm and just rxed her body into the water once again. It was extremelyfortable to feel the cool wellspring water against her skin and she was very aware of the influx of natural energy being absorbed through the formation. However, now that Vahn had arrived, Riveria could feel a bit of heat rising up in her body and it made her heart begin to beat a little faster... Though he was interested in the reaction from Riveria, Vahn knew he needed to deal with Terra first or she would probably be upset with him and poutter on. She didnt show it much through her actions, but Terra was a little prone to jealousy and Vahn had been slowly learning how to see the signs through her bodynguage. The fact that she spoke out to him the moment he arrived showed that she was very distraught about his earlier actions and, if he didnt make it up to her now, she would probably brood over it when she was aler. At this point, she no longer slept in her room at all and, even when it rained and stormed outside, she still spent more time in the garden than in the Manor. Vahn didnt like the thought of her feeling mncholic while dragging the tips of her wings through the water so he wanted to apologize through his actions while also replenishing her diminishing reserves of source energy. Once he reached her side, Vahn unhesitantly ced his left hand near Terras lower back, just above her tail, as he said in an apologetic tone, "Im sorry, Terra...I had been trying something new and was unable to control it properly. Next time I try something like that, Ill make sure you know about it beforehand." Terra had already rxed her body against her roost again, seemingly ignoring his words but doing nothing to stop his actions. Vahn knew she was just taking advantage of the situation to get pampered by him but that had been his intention from the start. Instead of trying to continue the conversation, Vahn pulled out the thin fibrous brush and began the painstaking process of grooming Terras wings without using the essence to speed things up. Realizing this, Terras feather fluttered in a way that told Vahn she was very happy... More than two hourster, Vahn finished grooming Terras wings, even having her turn over her body halfway through so he could get both sides. Terra spent most of her time n.a.k.e.d, to the point that everyone that visited her garden waspletely immune to the sight. As for Vahn, he appreciated her beauty greatly and knew she would be happier if he let his eyes wander around a bit. She really was unique in many aspects and Vahn found his interest in her only increased with time, wondering when things would develop to the point where he was able to share more intimate moments with her. There was actually nothing standing in the way, if he wanted to push things forward, but Vahn felt that Terra simply wasnt ready for that type of rtionship just yet. She was still stabilizing, much like how Fenrir had taken several months to adapt, and Vahn felt that it would be better to allow her to get closer to other people before taking things further. He also knew that Fenrir would probably be very upset if she lost to Terra in that regard, and he didnt want there to be a conflict between them. Though Terra was good at handling other people, even getting a few advantages against Syr and Riveria, she couldnt really deal with Fenrir very well since many of her actions were irrational and based on instinct. Since Fenrir would get hostile if Terra tried to talk around her, they didnt spend much time together and Fenrir had only rarelye to the Garden, even though Fafnir was often around when it wanted to soak up some sun itself. After he had finishedbing through all of her feathers, Vahn rubbed Terras very firm stomach for a bit and said, "Dont be angry with me anymore, okay...?" in a soothing voice. Terras eyes opened in response to his words before her characteristically gentle smile appeared on her face and she said, "I cant stay angry at you, Master~." in a yful tone. Vahn knew she hadnt truly been angry with him, just upset by his actions and the unexpected consequences. From the moment he apologized to her directly, Terra had already forgiven him, something they were both aware of. Him helping her groom was just to thank her for all the efforts she put into repairing the damage and allowed him to replenish her energy while his own naturally recovered. If he tried to restore all of Terras energy at once, Vahn would bepletely drained so he used the grooming as a way to make the process more natural while also apologizing to Terra. Terras wings now felt very refreshed and there was a subtle tingling going through her body, which she was very fond of and only happened whenever her Master treated her. She had a high affinity with natural elemental energy, but her Masters source energy was several orders of magnitude more pleasant. Every time he topped her off, Terra felt like she could sleep for days with the pleasant energy radiating through her body and making her feel happy. However, she just sat up and turned around so she could rx against her roost again before diffusing some of the energy he had given her into the formation below. She was determined to make her territory expand to the periphery of the Alliances Territory in the future and using her Masters energy was the best way to increase it quickly. It also elerated the time until she would next experience his care so, while keeping it subtle so as not to draw too much attention to her actions, Terra allowed the tingling sensation to slowly fade as the warm rays of the sun bore down on her leafy-green feathers... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dont eat this (UwU);...,Shizunes Growth,Terra is so spoiled~!) (A/N: Brief reminder that Shizunes affinities are Fire/Darkness which is why Vahn gave her a bangle that lets her use fire. Chloes affinities are Ice/Darkness, just like Evas, which is why they are both avoided by Terra. Natural Elemental Energies are elements such as Life, Wind, Water, Earth, Light, Vitality, Wood, Etc... things that are typically destroyed by fire/ice/darkness (UwU).) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 598 - Intrigue : Comfort

Chapter 598 - Intrigue : Comfort

By the time he had finished grooming Terra, Riveria had already left the wellspring and was currently sitting at the small cafe-style table at the side with Ryuu, who had also shown up after returning from the Dungeon. She was still early in her pregnancy and had continued apanying Fenrir into the Dungeon, though that would change rtively soon. Since Terra seemed content staying on her roost, Vahn left the wellspring and joined the two stoic Elven women and pulled out some snacks before refreshing the tea. Ryuu smiled at him and said, "Thank you, Vahn..." while Riveria nodded her head and added, "Yes, the tea you make is always delicious." Vahn knew Riveria was still in an awkward state right now so he didnt want to rile her up by saying anything that would embarrass her, especially in front of Ryuu. Sitting down, Vahn poured himself a cup of tea and inhaled the fragrance before saying, "This garden may be one of my favorite ces. The atmosphere is calm and full of natural energy...maybe I should capture some small animals to popte the forest so we can enjoy the sounds of nature as well." Ryuu tilted her head slightly as if she were thinking about the matter very seriously, before smiling and saying, "If they are small, like rabbits, squirrels, and birds, it shouldnt be difficult to alter the formation so it doesnt affect them..." Though it would potentially create gaps to be exploited by people with some more unique abilities, it wouldnt make that big a difference if the formation was slightly weaker. The only people they were trying to prevent from entering the forest were the normal workers that were allowed on the property. For anyone else, the defensive barrier around the Manor itself would detect them long before the illusory formation became useful. If they actually managed to sneak in, there was no way they could avoid Terras detection, which had spreadrgely through the entire forest at this point. Her dominion was the result of an Innate ability and it was nearly impossible for them to avoid her detection unless they could fly and avoid the ground entirely. In that case, Fafnir would probably sense them as its perception was quite high and it could even see small animals from several kilometers away in vivid detail. For the remainder of the afternoon, Vahn talked with Ryuu and Riveria about possible animals they could introduce to the forest, deciding that squirrels, rabbits, and even small deer would be a good option. There was a type of deer that was a popr pet amongst some of the nobledies, which was known as a Pygmy Deer since it was typically several times smaller than theirrger kin. On average, they were only around 70cm tall and, though they were very agile, they were normal animals that didnt have the capacity to Level up. Because they had very fine hides, they were hunted to near extinction by poachers so Vahn thought it would be good to have a small herd of them take up residence within the forest. The natural energy provided by Terra made it very easy to grow fruits and berries within the forest and it would be a good idea to nt some small species of shrubs and bushes to make things more scenic. They also discussed Vahns experiment this morning, which he exined to them in great detail while Riveria took notes. Ryuus elemental affinities were Wind/Water, which was very normal for most Elves, but she was still very interested in what Vahn was saying since he also mentioned manipting other elements, including her own. As for Riveria, she was truly prodigious and, unlike the vast majority of people that had around 1-3 elemental affinities, her mana was like a small rainbow that had several. From a nce, Vahn could see Fire/Water/Earth/Wind/Wood/Life/Light and even Destruction, which was like a chaotic red that intertwined with the other elements. Alf, her ancestor, was one of the few nature Spirits that was able to use Destruction magic, and many of those in her bloodline possessed the trait. It was for this reason that the Alf Royal Family had been the most influential n as their capabilities were simply far higher than almost everyone elses. Unfortunately, though Riveria had many affinities, none of them were pure and this meant her capabilities with each element were somewhatckl.u.s.ter and would eventually reach a bottleneck. Her mana, though it came from the same source, was like several conflicting threads of energy and, though they existed in a natural equilibrium, it would always be a restriction on her growth unless she could fuse them together. Vahn knew he could use his source energy to facilitate this fusion, but she would have to undergo Nirvana in the process, which they had already discussed in the past. Because the basic nature of her mana would change, this had a fair chance of making Riveria temporarily unable to use her magic, as she would have to learn how to control it from scratch, so she had decided to put it off until things with the Elven Kingdom were taken care of. Though he had said she would be able to circ.u.mvent that and simply use equipment that helped her cast magic, such as Lefiyas [Mikis Tulip], Riveria declined the offer, at least until Vahn received training from Eva. She didnt mind learning Magic from scratch if it was a higher form of magic, so those were the two situations that would have to pass for her to undergo Nirvana... After a peaceful afternoon with the two beautiful Elven girls, Vahn led the way as they all headed toward the dining room for dinner. Terra came along as well, properly wearing her robe as she walked behind the rest of the group. Being followed by two noble looking women wearing elegant dresses and gowns made Vahn feel a strange sense of pride. Even Ryuu, though she had a slightly more boyish look, was incredibly beautiful and had a gentle aura like the sunshine. Her hair had almostpletely turned golden at this point, as she had stopped dying it, so she looked more vibrant as the days passed. During dinner, everyone was very lively and discussed what they had been up to in the Dungeon while Preasia just stared at him from across the table. Tonight was an important event for her and she didnt even touch her food throughout the entire meal. Vahn felt a little awkward under her unwavering gaze but he was interested in hearing about the girls days presently. One of the things he had learned was to always listen when the girls were speaking as simply showing an interest in what they were doing was enough to earn him a few happy smiles from them. It helped that he was genuinely interested in what they were up to, as his infatuation with everyone had increased even though the pacing of his rtionsh.i.p.s had slowed down. As everyone was aware of Preasias behavior, dinner hadnt gone on for too long since things grew progressively more awkward the longer she watched Vahn. Even Tiona, who was typically easygoing and unphased by most things, had a bit of an awkward smile on her face since she was sitting close to Vahn and could see the pale grey eyes peering over. When dinner finally came to an end, Preasia somewhat awkwardly moved off to the side and watched Vahn while her aura continued to re up like a bonfire that was filled with vibrant pink mes. Though he would typically help clean up, Vahn was urged away by Mn, Emiru, and Maemi since everyone would be able to rx once he and Preasia left. Even Fenrir was behaving uncharacteristically well and was apparently going to be sleeping with Tina since her hug pillow was going to be used by her Master tonight. Reaching Preasias side, Vahn smiled and stroked her fluffy hair, saying, "Sorry for keeping you waiting, Preasia..." in a quiet tone. Preasia simply shook her head in response and, with glittering grey eyes, said, "I feel very happy right now, so please dont apologize..." before hugging tightly around his waist. Since Vahn was currently 175cm tall, Preasias 150cm height meant she only came up to his chest and her small arms wrapped around his lower ribs with a very strong force, even though she was actually very weak. With a smile on his face Vahn didnt mind the gazes of the other girls, most of which had politely turned away or simply left to go about their own business, and picked up Preasia in a princess carry. She tucked her head toward him so her horns wouldnt poke him and tightly gripped his tunic while her body trembled slightly. After leaving the area, Vahn started to move towards his room but Preasia suddenly shook her head and said, "No, we should go to my room..." Though he was surprised, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Sure..." and carried her toward the small room she typically shared with Fenrir. Vahn somewhat understood her reasons for wanting to use her own room and, even though it was a little embarrassing, didnt mind it much. He could imagine her snuggling up in the bed when he was away and enjoying the ambient scent after the fact, something that Fenrir would also partake of as well. Though her nose wasnt as strong as some of the other Beast Tribes, it was still much stronger than humans and Vahn knew Preasia was very fond of his scent. Once they reached the room, Vahn looked around and noticed there wasnt much present besides a small bed, a dresser, and arge secretary full of clothing. One thing he did notice, however, was the existence of a small plush toy that looked a lot like him. When she saw where he was looking, Preasia tightened her grip and said, "Mn helped me make it...Im sorry..." Vahn just smiled in response and carried Preasia over to the bed beforeying her down and grabbing the doll. He noticed that some of the fabrics used in its construction were pulled from his old clothes that he hadnt ounted for after throwing them into theundry. As he also had a small plush of Ais, Fenrir, and even Eina, Vahn didnt really mind other people having something simr. Ais, after giving him a small doll of herself, had spread around the idea so there were a few failed creations made by some of the girls. Mn had previously helped Fenrir make a version of herself so he could always carry her with him, so it made sense that she would have helped Preasia as well. He expected that many of the girls probably had something simr, which was a strangelyforting feeling even if it made him a little nervous at the same time. Preasia was watching Vahns actions and saw that he didnt seem to mind the doll at all, even smiling a bit before he turned to her and said, "I can help sew up some of the loose seams if you want. Since Ive been making a lot of clothing, Im pretty confident in my skills and can probably make a higher quality doll if it helps you sleep at night..." Though it was very embarrassing to hear such words, Preasia quickly nodded her head and said, "Yes...please...I would like that...!" with her small fists balled up. When she lifted her hands, her sleeves slid down her arms slightly and Vahn could see her tinum blonde fur poking out which made his smile widen a bit. Realizing where he was looking, Preasia blushed slightly and asked, "Do you...really not mind...? Isnt it...strange?" Vahn tilted his head to the side and got an idea so, using his experience in his Bih and Vanargandr forms, activated his [Thria*Mimos] to grow ayer of thin white fur around his body. There were thin strands of ck creating a tiger-like pattern, but Vahn was much more fur-covered than normal as he asked yfully, "Do you think I look strange...?" with his upper body exposed. Since he knew Preasias body wasnt covered in the front, Vahn let his chest and abdominal muscles remain bare but his arms, shoulders, and back werepletely covered in fur. He immediately noticed he was much warmer than normal, but ignored it almostpletely as he gauged Preasias reaction. She currently had a flushed face and was breathing a little harder as she shook her head quickly and said, "No, you look...very handsome...but...ummm...I like the real you...even more..." Preasia was somewhat worried that her first time with Vahn would be while he was in a different form so she feltpelled to correct her words so he would return to normal. With a smile on his face, Vahn returned to his normal self but didnt equip his tunic and allowed his tanned skin to remain bare as he said, "Your fur is very soft, Preasia, and I think it suits you very well. Even if other people think its strange, I feel like its something uniquely you, so Im very fond of it. However, if youre worried about it I wouldnt me you for trying to return to a more normal appearance..." Preasia had been watching him very intently, almost as if she were trying to peer through the truth of the matter with her unwavering gaze. Even if she wanted to see he was fooling her, the only thing Preasia could discern from Vahns expression was intrigue, concern, and, she would like to believe, a bit of love. Sensing no dishonesty in his words, as he truly believed the thinyer of fur suited her, Preasia shook her head slightly and said, "No...I want to stay like this..." in a low but determined tone of voice. Though it was only very marginally, Vahn saw the tinum blonde coloration be slightly more vibrant as the color deepened and became more golden. His interest was piqued, something that wasnt missed by Preasia making her feel happy that there was something about her that Vahn was interested in. She had originally told herself she didnt mind beingpletely covered in fur if Vahn like it and now was resolved to let it grow since he would probably help her trim and groom it if she asked. Just thinking aboutying in hisp as he sheered her fur made Preasias heart tremble a bit as a slight moisture spread in her lower body along with a powerful heat. Vahn was very aware of Preasias current state so his expression turned gentle and he asked, "How would you like to proceed, Preasia...? Do you want me to guide you along, or did you want to go at your own pace so its not as scary?" Since Preasia had a powerful phobia rted to s.e.x.u.a.l acts, Vahn wanted her to know she had the option of leading things if she wanted. The heat in her body turned into a gentle warmth when she heard Vahns words before Preasia eventually nodded, after several long seconds of silence, and said, "I want to...please, leave it to me...at least for now..." Though she didnt mind leaving things to Vahn, Preasia was still a little scared since it was still her first time and her body was still somewhat resistant to the idea, even if it appeared to be eager to begin. Since he didnt mind being responsive during s.e.x, Vahn nodded his head with a gentle smile and said, "Then, you just have to tell me what you want me to do. Unless you let me take action, Ill just listen to you...okay?" Preasia began to breathe a little fast as she imagined telling Vahn what to do since the first thing that came to her mind was having him service her like a princess. She knew it was a little silly, but Preasia just wanted to be pampered by him and was curious to see what he would do if she gave him strange orders. With a giddy feeling welling up inside of her, Preasia turned her grey eyes to meet Vahns and said, "Undress me...slowly..." With a gentle expression on his face, Vahn nodded his head before moving in a strangely fluid yet slow motion as he reached his hands out to Preasia. Her breathing increased slightly but she didnt say anything as she just watched him undo the buttons of her yellow, star-covered, pajamas. Her chest was stillpletely bereft of fur so, as Vahn undid the top three buttons, Preasia fair white chest showed through and he noticed she wasnt wearing a bra tonight. Her B-Cup b.r.e.a.s.ts were still hidden behind the fabric, at least for the time being, but Vahn noticed her small pale protrutions had already solidified. Knowing she would appreciate it more if he let his thoughts and feelings show properly, Vahn didnt hide his intrigue and interest in her body. Preasia noticed all of the subtle changes in Vahns expression and, even though he hadnt undone all her buttons, she mumbled, "You can touch them..." in a low voice. Vahns brows raised slightly and, instead of moving to the next button, he slipped his hand into the gap of her pajamas and held her inexplicably soft b.r.e.a.s.t in his hand. Though there was a hard spot at the apex of the b.r.e.a.s.t, every other part of Preasia seemed to be softer than normal, evenpared to his memories of her body in the past. So she knew what he was thinking, Vahn muttered, "Your body seems to be changing slightly, other than just the fur...everything is so soft and supple..." Preasia trembled a little under his touch but smiled in response to his words and let him fondle her b.r.e.a.s.ts for a bit since it was veryfortable. Vahn was currently just using his [Petting], without using his [Hands of Nirvana] at all, so Preasia was only feelingfort from his touch even though it was a stimting experience. Using her own fingers, Preasia undid the remaining buttons of her pajamas and pulled the fabric apart to reveal both her stomach and b.r.e.a.s.ts for Vahn as she said, "You can do more...if you want..." Though he wasnt entirely sure what she meant, Vahn squinted his eyes before moving his left hand to Preasias back, feeling the soft fur under his palm before moving his right hand to her left b.r.e.a.s.t. Lifting the tantalizingly soft mound in his hand, Vahn brought his face to Preasia chest and sampled her n.i.p.p.l.e with his tongue. She trembled a great deal before hugging his head with a loose embrace without stopping his actions at all. With her consent, Vahn brought his lips and created a gentle suction while rolling her n.i.p.p.l.e with his tongue, using his left hand to stroke her back at the same time. Preasia gave out very quiet and stifled m.o.a.ns that tickled his ears before she eventually said, "The...the other one too...hafuuu..." Having Vahn tease just one of her n.i.p.p.l.es had be strangely frustrating as more time passed and Preasia wanted him to pamper her whole body, not just one part. When he immediately tucked in his head and began sucking on her right b.r.e.a.s.t, she released a hot sigh and stroked the back of his head. It made her feel very safe to have Vahn listening to her words because it was almost like she was in control of the situation, even though he was much stronger and bigger than she was. She had been tempted to ask Vahn to shrink down his body a bit but decided against it since she liked being cradled in his big arms. Instead of fear, she had started to associate every part of Vahn as something that brought her safety and security... Since she had been leaning progressively further back, Vahn let Preasia rest against the bed and continued to split his focus between her b.r.e.a.s.ts while stroking her abdomen with his right hand. This continued for several minutes until Preasias body trembled slightly and Vahn could sense her aura fluctuating as a result of the gentle climax she experienced. To guide her along, Vahn made his actions tamer and just rested his hand on her abdomen, sensing the changes in her body through his hyper-developed perception. Even without looking, Vahn could detect almost every basic change in her body just by being in contact with her. After calming down, Preasia basked in the gentle afterglow of her own orgasm before feeling Vahns warm palm against her abdomen. She had hugged his head a little tighter at first but he had stopped his tongue, causing Preasia to realize he was waiting for her next words before continuing. Since she had been very vulnerable previously, Preasia felt a great deal of warmth spread through her chest seeing how patient Vahn was. He wasnt anything like the greedy and possessive men that she had feared in the past and instead always showered her inpassion, affection, and even love. Though they couldnt be together all the time, the moments where they were alone like this made Preasia feel like she was in a dream that she never wanted to wake from. Deciding to treat it like an actual dream, Preasia grabbed the sides of Vahns face with her hands, now sporting a lightyer of fur on their backs, and said, "Finish undressing me...please..." Vahn had almost expected Preasia to ask for a kiss when she cradled his face but, hearing her words, realized she was beginning to get a little impatient. It wasnt that she was disatisfied with his treatment, but her resolve seemed to have be solidified and she obviously wanted to move forward. Knowing that it was important to not tarry regarding such things, Vahn smiled before pulling away naturally and stroking the sides of Preasias waist. Preasias fur actually encroached a little on her front side, making it frame her cute abdomen with pale golden fur, which was still more tinum blond than actual gold. Vahn enjoyed the feeling of the fur against his fingers but kept his main focus on the task that had been assigned to him. Tracing his fingers under the stic band of Preasias pajamas, Vahn noticed she wasnt wearing panties either but decided to not mind it as he slowly pulled her pajama bottoms down. There was a robust smell that came from her body, but it also smelled strangely sweet as Vahns eyes were momentarily drawn to her groin. The tinum blond fur was a bit thicker in the area and even the inside of her thighs had a very thinyer now. Vahn was very curious about its feel but knew he would find outter so ignored it for now as he pulled her pajama bottoms free of her legs. Seeing that the fur covered her entire legs, Vahn had a small smile on his face that was noticed by Preasia as one appeared on hers as well. She noticed that, every time Vahn discovered how much the fur had grown he always seemed pleased by it. Even if he was trying to fool her by pretending, Preasia knew he couldnt keep it up at all moments and she had never seen a single sign of inhibitions on his face when looking at her strange body. This always made her feel very happy and it had been an especially impactful moment when she saw the intrigue in his eyes as he looked at her lower body... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tea Time with Two Elven Beauties,*Staring Intensifies*,Soft and Fluffy Preasia) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 599 - Preasia Plana

Chapter 599 - Preasia na

After helping Preasia peel off her top, the only thing left on her body was a pair of thick wool socks, as she had a habit of walking around the Manor without shoes. Tsubakis influence had made this a habit for everyone, iming it made cleaning much easier as it made it less likely to trail dirt through the house. Even Vahn walked around barefoot most of the time, but he could easily just equip shoes in an instant while everyone else had pairs kept at the front and back entrances of the Manor. Though he was tempted to leave them on, Vahn ended up peeling off Preasias socks as well, supporting her fur-covered legs with his hands as he slowly pulled them free, revealing her cute little feet that were almostpletely bereft of hair. Preasia wiggled her toes around and Vahn was almost tempted to tickle her feet before letting them rest against the bed. Since she usually slept alone, or with Fenrir, Preasias bed was much smaller than what he was used to. However, this made him feel strangely close to her since there was less room to maneuver. Until she was ready to move on, Vahn just admired her body and observed the locations that hair had grown while being curious about why it didnt grow in other spots. This was actually simr to something he had noticed with Terra as well since her scales didnt cover her chest, b.r.e.a.s.ts, abdomen, or groin. Though Preasia had fur on her groin, that wasnt really unnatural since she was nearly neen years old and most Sheep Girls would grow a thick mat of hair in that area. As she had been watching him intently, Preasia saw the subtle changes in Vahns expression, including his curiosity and intrigue. She wondered what he was thinking about while watching her so intently since it was very obvious he wasnt thinking of doing naughty things just yet. Though it was a strange thought, Preasia kind of wanted to justy there and see how long Vahn would simply watch her without doing anything. She wanted to know the limits of his patience, even though it also seemed wrong to make him wait just because she was a little worried. Deciding that she didnt want things to be awkward between them, Preasia brought her hands to her abdomen and angled her head down as she said, "You can touch me...wherever you want...I trust you..." Hearing her words, Vahn tilted his head slightly and asked, "Preasia, do you want me to pamper you~?" in a somewhat teasing voice. Preasia flushed slightly and took several deep breaths through her nose before nodding and saying, "Yes...I like it...when you pamper me...but I also...I want to see what you will do...if I let you do whatever you want..." WIth her words as a guide, Vahn knew that Preasia wanted him to guide her a bit by showing her what he was most interested in. If he focused on her lower body, he was certain they would quickly move into having s.e.x. However, Vahn had something slightly different in mind and knew it would probably be better for Preasia if he took things a little slower. After thinking for a bit, Vahn said, "I want to touch your back...but I think it would be better if you sit in myp so you can see my face...?" Knowing that Preasia actually liked sitting in hisp a great deal, Vahn offered her a safe path but she surprised him by rolling over instead. Her head was still turned to the side as he peeked at him, not missing the moment when he swallowed saliva at the sight of her butt. There was something strange about seeing her butt, which had be increasingly plump with her thighs, covered in a lightyer of very soft fur. Since she had a droopy tail that came down to the upper part of her thighs,pletely covering the cleft between her butt, Vahn felt a strange feeling in his heart as he reached out and stroked it affectionately. Preasias fur was the same as the color of her tail and it made strangely appealing when viewed from behind. As for the softness, it was very difficult to describe but Vahn likened it to passing his hand through smooth satin sheets that were slightly thicker than normal. She was still pretty thin, but Preasia had put on a healthy amount of weight after having several nutritious foods introduced into her diet. Since she originally came from a smaller vige, her growth had been somewhat stunted as a result of malnutrition, something that was slowly being corrected with time. This gave Preasia a somewhat plump butt that matched her inordinately thick and soft thighs... Feeling Vahn grope around her butt, Preasia felt her heart flutter because she could tell he was very fond of itpared to when he was groping her chest. She, like most of the girls on thework, knew that Vahn had an appreciation for butts. Along with the basic training she had been doing in the morning, Preasia spent a lot of time doing exercises like squats and stretching so that her butt would be fuller for Vahns caress. Seeing how much he was enjoying it, Preasia felt like her efforts had born fruit and she bit her top lip while enjoying the sensation of his hot hands against her rump. Vahn saw Preasias tail wiggling a little and pinched the end with his fingers, making Preasia wiggle her butt slightly in response. This was a little unexpected and Vahns brain buzzed a little as he watched her butt shake from side-to-side as he continued to hold her tail. He wondered if the muscles in her lower body were linked with her tail and, by holding it with his hands, if it caused her butt to move without her even noticing it. Since Preasia had the same observant look on her face, Vahn suspected this to be the case and was very interested to see what else he could discover. Since it wouldnt be a good idea to just focus on her butt, Vahn spooked Preasia a bit by straddling her thighs and tracing his palms on her sides. So she would rx, Vahn softly said, "Its okay, I just wanted to help your body rx a bit before we do anything else..." He wasnt using [Hands of Nirvana], but Vahn was still hitting all her important pressure points while using his [Petting] to full effect. One of the things he has learned from constant use is, especially on Beast Girls, his [Petting] was incredibly effective and could calm them down a great deal. Preasia had never experienced the full effect of Vahns [Petting], at least after it reached A-Rank because he usually went easy on her in the past. This time, however, Vahn wanted to see if he could get Preasia to rxpletely without taking away any of her bodys functions. Shortly after he started, Preasia released a very long sigh as a smile appeared on her face and she squinted her eyes, clearly pleased by the [Petting] even though it had just started. Vahns own smile increased in size and he wondered if Sheep People had a characteristic sound they made when they were fortable as well. Checking Preasias Love parameters, which was currently at 942, Vahn wondered if he could increase it to 1,000 if he put in enough effort... With a goal set, Vahn began to stroke around Preasias back, pressing into her fur-covered flesh with a firm yet gentle strength that caused her skin to deform slightly under his hands. He was skilled at regr massages as well, so Vahn wanted to make her veryfortable so she would be able to rxpletely and open herself up to him. Interestingly, Vahn found that petting Preasia was actually veryfortable for himself as well, causing a calm to settle in his mind as he passed his fingers through her incredibly soft fur. It was currently about 20mm long, being almost uniform all over her body, but it was indescribably soft and made Vahn simply want to snuggle up with her and go to sleep... Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Vahn squinted his eyes slightly and activated his [Eyes of Truth], seeing that her fur actually glistened slightly when his eyes were active. Vahn felt like her Innate had probably awakened at this point but was a little confused as he hadnt expected it to have such an effect. He thought that the [Golden Fleece] would be a defensive Innate, but now it seemed to have some kind of effect on the minds of others. Vahn, even though he could stay awake for days at a time, suddenly felt a little sleepy while he was petting Preasias fur. When he moved his fingers through it, the glimmering increased and became vibrant like gold reflecting sunbeams. The light caused his mind to daze slightly and Vahn nearly fell over onto Preasias body before activating his [Will of the Emperor] to clear his head. Preasia didnt seem to notice it at all and just had a happy and loose smile on her face as she enjoyed his petting without regard for anything else. Vahn realized that this wasnt the first time he had seen an Innate awaken when he was about to have s.e.x with a girl and it made him feel a little distracted since he was curious about its actual effects. By resisting them with [Will of the Emperor], he had no way of testing the efficacy of her skill and she didnt seem to be aware of it. If he tried to talk about it right now, it would ruin the mood a little so Vahn decided to leave it forter as he used his thumbs to roll Preasias shoulders and help her loosen up. She released a hafuu sound like a sigh of relief and Vahn felt that must be her characteristic sound given thex expression she had on her face. Though she didnt mewl or purr like a Cat Person, Vahn didnt mind that Preasia sighed with a pleasant intonation to her voice because it was strangely tantalizing. With his eyes focused on her face, Vahn felt that the influence of her fur was less effective so he eased off his [Will of the Emperor] and adapted to the calming sensationing from his palms. By stimting the flow of his own energy, Vahn found he could resist the effect almost entirely so it was likely based on both contact and visual stimulus. The light he had seen was probably a unique energy he didnt understand and seemed to possess the ability to calm or outright put things to sleep. It was a pity that Preasia wasnt abatant since the ability to put things to sleep was a very powerful control ability... After having stroked her lower back, shoulders, and neck, Vahn moved up to Preasias head, her droopy ears, and the area around her horns. He had to ride up her body a bit in the process, but Preasia didnt even seem to notice as she simply enjoyed the long petting session. Vahn could feel her tail wiggling against his lower body and it was a little distracting since he had been training his body to react to the girls. Knowing things would being to a head pretty soon, he repressed it for the time being and just massaged Preasias scalp with his fingertips whilezily released her hafuu sounds and quiet m.o.a.ns from her pale peach-colored lips. With his massagepleted, Vahn moved to Preasias side, letting her tail wiggle freely while heid next to her, looking into her hazy grey eyes before stroking the side of her face. She had a somewhat silly smile on her face so Vahn said, "Youre even more beautiful when you smile, Preasia...Im d I was able to make you sofortable. Please smile more in the future..." Though she had still been in a bit of a daze, Preasia currently felt very close to Vahn and snuggled up close to him when she heard his words. Vahn had managed to get her Love parameter above 1,000, as he had been very determined to do so, and it was currently at 1,003. Preasia nuzzled against his chest for a short while, pressing her somewhat cold nose against his skin and smelling his body while Vahn gently caressed her back. Her aura was currently a very sunny yellow but it was bing progressively pink as threads of red started to appear. He could sense that Preasia was psyching herself up for what was toe but the most important thing was that, even though he checked several times, Vahn didnt see any signs of purple anymore. It seemed that his [Petting] had been very affective and Preasia had, at least for the time being, almostpletely set aside any fear and inhibitions she had about what was toe. She may not have been aware of it herself, but Preasia was rubbing her thighs together as she pressed her h.i.p.s toward him and, even though he was still wearing his trousers, Vahn could feel the heat radiating from her body. By the time her aura had be predominately pink, there was arge volume of red as well, causing Preasia to open her somewhat watery eyes and release a hot sigh against his chest as she said, "Lay on your back..." without any hesitation in her words. Vahn rubbed the side of her face as lovingly as he could before following her words and rolling onto his back. Preasia took several deep breaths after she lifted up her body, simply staring down at his face in a slight daze before tracing her eyes down his body and resting them on the tent he had set up in the far south, and where dragons were said to appear. (A/N: Im sorry about this line, I just thought it was funny.) The worst moments of her life had been rted to such an appendage but Preasia found herself feeling more expectation than anything else. She had already seen Vahn n.a.k.e.d hundreds of times and had dreamed about this situation even more. Since she decided to treat this as one of her dreams, even though she knew it was reality, Preasia set her inhibitions to the side and traced her left palm around Vahns lower abdomen, startled at how hot his body was to the touch. She wanted nothing more than to experience that heat against her own body so she looked into Vahns face and said, "Please take them off..." She wasnt the type of girl that really cared about stripping away clothing and would be happier just to be closer to Vahn even sooner. Following Preasias words, Vahn unequipped his trousers before stowing his briefs away into his inventory. Preasias eyes glimmered slightly when she saw his grey briefs before taking a sharp breath when she saw his erect member standing proudly, almost like an insurmountable spear trying topete against the Tower of Babel. She had never actually seen himpletely erect before so Preasias mind became nk for several seconds before she reached out her hands and gingerly touched it, uttering, "Its very hot..." under her breath. Before tonight, she had talked a lot with other girls and, even though it was a little embarrassing, she had already prepared herself by applying lotion to help dte the interior of her v.a.g.i.n.a. She believed she was ready, but Preasia couldnt help but feel intimidated as she sat next to Vahn andpared his size to her own body. Since she mistakenly measured from the top of her legs, Preasia felt like he was going to poke her in the diaphragm even though he wouldnt even reach her belly button even if she somehow managed to take the entire thing. Though he would never admit it to her, Vahn had actually shrunken himself down for her benefit and was currently only around 20cm even when standing tall... After sitting in silence for nearly two minutes, absentmindedly tracing her hand up and down Vahns p.e.n.i.s, Preasia looked to him and asked, "Do you want me...to use my mouth...?" Most of her trauma was rted to using her mouth and Preasia felt like she might be able to ovee it a bit if Vahn treated her well and allowed her to take the lead. Vahn, however, shook his head gently and said, "Preasia, you dont have to worry about doing anything like that until youre morefortable with it. To me, having s.e.x is an emotional connection and something I want both of us to enjoy...this is your first time, so Id rather worry about you than have you thinking about how to satisfy me. Trust me, Im more than happy just being here with you..." Preasia felt her chest trembling slightly as she listened to Vahns words and she took a deep stuttering breath to resist the urge to cry. She knew that things didnt have to be so rushed between them and there would be plenty of time to do other things together in the future. For now, it was important that they were together even though Preasia had simply wanted to show her gratitude to Vahn after experiencing his massage. Realizing she could simply do it after the fact, Preasia set the matter to the back of her mind and just calmed her heart by pressing her hand to her chest and taking several deep breaths. She could actually smell Vahns aroma and it helped her calm down faster, even though it also made her body ache a little. Once she had readied herself, Preasia nodded toward nobody in particr before straddling Vahns thighs, staring at his erect member with a resolute look in her eyes. As for Vahn, his eyes opened slightly wider since he noticed that Preasias thighs were very soft and incredibly pleasant to the touch. Even straddling him, Vahn felt a strange sense offort and there was much less frictionpared to when he was with other girls. Even if the fur got a bit damp, it didnt lose its softness and Vahn felt like Preasia could easily slide across his bodyfortably if they were to take a bath together. Deciding that they would take a private bath together in the future, Vahn smiled and stretched out one of his hands so Preasia could hold it. Grabbing Vahns outstretched hand like it was a lifeline, Preasia calmed down a little before using her free hand to press against Vahns abdomen and pull her own body forward. She felt the hot shaft of his p.e.n.i.s rest in between her own damp folds and it was very pleasant, enough to send shivers up her spine as she moved her h.i.p.s forward even further. By the time she was situatedpletely against his h.i.p.s, Preasia was a bit distracted by the heat and felt decidedly less worried about the fur on her body as she focused on the startling red tip that looked almost like it was in pain. She felt a little guilty and lifted her own h.i.p.s a surprisingly scary amount before guiding the ns to her own entrance. Even before finding the right spot, Preasia felt like she could almost be satisfied just having the hot tip moving through her folds, especially when she pressed it near the top... Vahns lower jaw quivered a bit because, even though she hadnt actually put it in yet, Vahn realized that Preasias vulva was very hot and pulsed with a strange rhythm, almost like it was a living creature. His expectations increased greatly but Vahn forced himself to remain patient as Preasia found the right spot on her own and trembled a great deal with her peachy lips slightly parted. Vahn extended his other hand to her, which Preasia quickly grabbed before locking her fingers with his. His ns were already being massaged by the entrance of her v.a.g.i.n.a so Vahn held his breath when Preasia began to slowly lower her h.i.p.s while wiggling about in a very small circle. Though she was a v.i.r.g.i.n, Vahn noticed that the expected tightness never came and instead it was like her v.a.g.i.n.a coiled in a strange manner with a bumpy interior wall that wriggled about in a very stimting manner. Preasias h.i.p.s stopped after lowering herself a few centimeters as the ns reached her surprisingly deep and flexible h.y.m.e.n. It was a very strange sensation because, instead of tearing through it, the flexible band of skin was squeezing against his p.e.n.i.s when Preasia managed to bypass it. If not for the thickness of his shaft, Vahn suspected it wouldnt have torn at all since Preasias v.a.g.i.n.a seemed uncharacteristically flexible. He realized she must have taken a lot of medicine in preparation since even she seemed a little surprised by how far she was able to get. When the membrane eventually snapped, however, Preasia body trembled and a pained expression appeared on her face as a few tears built up in her eyes. Vahn wanted to use his hands to heal her but Preasia was tightly gripping both of his hands with her own as she started to wiggle her waist again. Perhaps because of the medicine, though most likely a result of his reduced size, Preasia actually managed to bring her h.i.p.s to Vahns before she released a pent up sigh and slouched her body forward. Vahn was currently being attacked by her writhing v.a.g.i.n.a but he maintained a concerned expression on his face as he said in a gentle tone, "Youre amazing, Preasia..." It was a big aplishment for many of the girls when they were first able to ept himpletely. Since Preasia had managed it on her first time, even though she had used a fair amount of medicine beforehand, she felt like her self worth had increased a fair amount as she leaned forward and pressed her body to Vahns. Betweenbored breaths, she said, "Dont move yet...let me rest..." and just enjoyed his body heat while listening to his heart. Vahn swallowed when he heard Preasias words because he was tempted to remark that he didnt need to move if things continued at this rate. There were three different points inside Preasias v.a.g.i.n.a that kept wriggling around and constricting his p.e.n.i.s even when she was resting. He could feel her heart beating through the points and it was almost like he was being attacked by her v.a.g.i.n.a even when they were stationary. Vahn could onlypare this feeling to the times when he was with Anubis, Tiona, Tione, and Syr, and it was a very stimting experience. He hadnt realized how dangerous Preasias body was and wondered if this was a racial trait of Sheep Girls or if it was something unique to her... After resting for a few minutes, during which time Vahn stroked Preasias back and helped her calm down, Preasia pushed against his body and lifted herself up. She noticed Vahns jaw trembled slightly when she moved and it made her feel very happy because she knew he was feeling good with her body. Since she had been listening to his heartbeat for a while, Preasia knew Vahn was very excited and it made her feel greatly relieved since she had been worried he wouldnt be satisfied with her. She knew he slept with a lot of girls and was worried how she wouldpare to so many other beauties, especially since she was much weaker than normal. Judging from Vahns reaction, Preasia felt like she might be better than some of the other girls but stopped herself from asking so as not to sound shallow. Leaning back her head for a bit, Preasia simply enjoyed the feeling of the hot object that felt like it was lifting up her stomach and filling herpletely. She never knew s.e.x was something that could feel so pleasant and this simple realization made all of her other inhibitions fade away entirely. Vahn had already healed any of the damage his intruding member had caused while he wasforting her earlier so the only thing Preasia currently felt was a strange sense of pleteness. She almost didnt even want to move but knew it would be necessary for Vahn to feel good as well, even though the truth of the matter was quite the opposite. Reaching out her hands, Preasia said, "I want to hold hands..." with an incredibly enamored expression and glossy grey eyes... Vahn smiled and grabbed both of Preasias hands while gnashing his mrs in preparation for what was toe. Sheep People were obviously a race that didnt need to move during s.e.x so Vahn was a little worried about how stimting things would be if she actually moved. He could imagine the three points clinging firmly to him while her uterus trailed after the tip of his p.e.n.i.s, eagerly preparing to receive his life-giving fluids. As expected, the moment Preasia steadied her h.i.p.s, she raised her butt slightly and took a deep gasping breath with a pleasant sounding voice escaping her lips. Vahn uncharacteristically felt the urge to follow her motions with his own h.i.p.s since the stimtion he received was simply ridiculous. He had been training to enjoy s.e.x more so his own resistances had decreased a great amount as a result of the slow s.e.x he had been havingtely. Preasias mouth remained open and her body trembled like she was stuck in a snowstorm as a mild orgasm wracked through her body after the simple movement. She absentmindedly lowered her h.i.p.s to rx and exhaled a hot and passionate sigh before slouching over again when she reached Vahns h.i.p.s. Moving was more stimting than she expected and Preasia didnt have any confidence to keep going on her own. Her mind began to race and a giddy feeling welled up in her stomach, almost like it wasing from the hot object that was probing her depths and filling her uppletely. After licking her lips and swallowing her saliva to lubricate her parched throat, Preasia looked toward Vahn and cradled his face before saying, "Please move..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fluffy Butt, Soft Butt, Wiggle Wiggle,[Petting] Intensifies~!,Racial Traits Can Be Scary...?) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 600 - [Spoilers : Title At End]

Chapter 600 - [Spoilers : Title At End]

When Preasia grabbed his face again, Vahn had expected she wanted a kiss but was once again surprised when he heard her words. He wasnt in the best state to move either but, now that she had left matters to him, Vahn knew he couldnt let her down. Unless he could bring her to a true climax, this probably wouldnt end and they would both continue this rtively awkward yet exhrating s.e.x.u.a.l experience. It was very obvious that shecked the stamina to go on for a long period of time, somewhat simr to Hestia, so Vahn reached down and pulled her knees up so more of her weight was on his h.i.p.s. Preasia released a hot sigh and put her forehead against his chest as Vahn grabbed her furry and soft buttocks with his hands. Since his fingers wanted to slide along her fur, Vahn gripped her firmly and caused Preasia to release a throaty m.o.a.n as she squeezed her thighs closer and hugged his waist. Vahn felt like he was going to continuously remark about how soft Preasias body was every time he was with her but now wasnt the time for that as he lifted her butt slightly before dropping it at the same time as he lifted his waist. Preasia pressed her tongue to the top of her mouth and released a loud m.o.a.n through her nose that tickled Vahns ears as he repeated his motion in a steady rhythm so she could adapt. Once she got used to it, Preasia began timing her breathing as she loosely held his shoulders and uttered a repetitive hafuu sound as a result of his slow piston. Her shaggy and soft hair rubbed against his chin and even tickled his nose a bit when he looked down at her. There was a subtle sweetnessing from her hair and a slight citrusy smell from the shampoo that caused Vahn to inhale deeply while nestling his face into it. Preasia didnt seem to mind at all and was just trembling as she entrusted her weight to him, considerably exhausted even though they hadnt been going at it that long. Her prior preparations, the tensions that had built up in her body, and Vahns very extended forey and massage, all sapped away at her energy and she now felt very tired as waves of pleasure wracked her body. She actually wanted to plead to Vahn to stop moving so her body could rest but his thick aroma and the beating of his heart kept her from bringing the moment to an end. Preasia knew Vahn needed to release himself or he wouldnt be truly satisfied, regardless of how much he tried tofort her with his words. Unfortunately for them both, Vahn had been resisting the urge to ejacte for a long time because he thought Preasia wanted to extend the moment further. Her v.a.g.i.n.a was almost as scary as Syrs and, if not for the fact she was significantly less proactive, Vahn felt like Preasia might even be able to get the edge against him. Thus, as a result of their failure tomunicate properly with each other, Vahn resisted the urge to finish as he slowly pistoned Preasias body, supporting her with just his left hand while hugging her body with his right arm. She was in a strange state where, even though she was obviously very tired, Preasia was raising her h.i.p.s, making Vahn believe she wanted to experiencerger movements. The fact of the matter was that Preasia was trying to escape the pleasure that was bing a little overwhelming, but she was unable to convey this to Vahn as she focused on getting drunk off his scent. After twenty minutes, which resulted in Vahn gasping a bit from the exertion and stimulus, he pulled her h.i.p.s close to his and squeezed her butt firmly as he released arge amount of s.e.m.e.n into Preasia v.a.g.i.n.a. She had already experienced several orgasms, but Preasias body trembled greatly when the hot fluids stained her insides. As Sheep People were a race that had a mating phase, and it was currently the beginning of Spring, Preasias body was more than ready to get pregnant even though she wasnt currently ovting. Her uterus expanded and contracted eagerly as if it was trying to soak up the s.e.m.e.n and Preasia felt a powerful wave threatening to overwhelm her. As if it had been building off the previous waves, Preasia felt it wash over her bodypletely before crashing into her brain and disrupting her thoughts. The only thing she felt was warmth epassing her as an endless white space pervaded her thoughts... Uncharacteristically, Vahn released a heavy sigh of relief and just stroked Preasias furry back tofort her trembling body that was currently wracked in an intense orgasm. She was strangely adorable when she trembled, but Vahn would never tell her that since it might remind her of dangerous thoughts. If the man that had held her captive previously was still alive, Vahn felt like he would have strung him up and beaten him for his past foolishness. Preasia was a gentle girl with a sheepish and docile personality that deserved to be protected, not tormented. Even without her fur, she was a unique beauty and Vahn couldnt understand what would possess someone to do something so cruel to such a fragile girl. If not for the experiences he suffered in his previous life, Vahn wouldnt be able to rationalize it at all... Feeling that her trembling had stopped, Vahn hugged Preasias body and pulled up her butt so his p.e.n.i.s could flop out of her naturally. Though arge volume of fluids escaped and dripped down onto his waist, Vahn didnt mind it at all and just tilted Preasias dazed face towards him and kissed her on the lips. She seemed confused for a brief moment before eagerly reciprocating his kiss and pulling herself closer to his head. Vahn didnt know it, but she was trying to escape away from the heat near her butt since s.e.x had been far more overwhelming than she expected. While she had been lost in a daze previously, Preasia resolved herself to increase her stamina and be stronger so she would be able to keep up with Vahn in the future. Vahn traced his fingers through Preasias hair and brought his right hand to rest around the base of her horn, which was a strangely stable handle even though he didnt grab it directly. Preasias lips were somewhat small but Vahn noticed her tongue was longer than expected as she was more proactive than in the past. Since she was on top of him, Preasia let her tongue enter his mouth and entwine with his own as her somewhat sweet saliva flowed into his throat. After swallowing, Preasia pulled back a little and took a few breaths before trying to kiss him again, something Vahn found especially adorable as he absentmindedly stroked her butt with his left hand while trailing his right palm across her ribs, at the border of where her fur and bare skin made a transition. Since Vahns hands were very hot, Preasia felt like they were spreading heat through her own body even though he wasnt using [Hands of Nirvana]. With a strangely sad look on her face, Preasia asked, "Did you...want to go again...?" This time, even though they werentmunicating properly, Vahn realized Preasia wasnt really into it right now so he shook his head and said, "No, I actually just thought your fur was very soft and got a little carried away with my [Petting]. Ill stop if you want to just cuddle a bit..." Hearing Vahns words, Preasia released a small sigh of relief before smiling and said, "Im tired...so if its just petting, thats fine..." before kissing him again. Keeping in mind that she must be exhausted, Vahn used [Hands of Nirvana] to ease the strain on her body while pushing his [Petting] to the limit since he knew it would help her calm down. Previously, Vahn had been tame in how he was touching her so, now that he was putting an effort into it Preasia quickly switched off. He had been stimting her a bit previously, but now Vahn waspletely focused on just bringing herfort and showing his affection for her. Though her weight hadnt increased at all, Preasias body rxed and she pressed herself against Vahnpletely as the tensions released from her body. Even her tongue became a bitzy so Vahn just yfully sucked on it until Preasia eventually stopped her movements and had sleepy eyes. At around the same time, Vahn felt like he was beginning to get sleepy as well and realized that Preasias mental state likely influenced how her [Golden Fleece] worked. It seemed that, whenever she was feelingfortable and tired, it also made him feel the same way, perhaps through a subconscious emission of emotions? Deciding to learn more about itter, Vahn activated his [Will of the Emperor] and resisted the sleepy urge before rolling to the side so Preasia wasying next to him. Strangely, as if she was greatly ustomed to the action, Preasia turned over to the side and left her back to him before curling up her legs slightly. Realizing that things had probablye to an end, Vahn just smiled and snuggled up to Preasia, stillpletely n.a.k.e.d, and hugged her body in a loose embrace. With her back to him, Vahn could feel her fur against his chest and was very tempted to hug her tightly since it was veryfortable. Even his p.e.n.i.s, which was nuzzled near her tail and butt, was pressing against her incredibly soft and furry butt in a strangelyforting manner. When he let his [Will of the Emperor] fade, Vahn felt sleepy very quickly but allowed it to overtake him this time as he sniffed the strangely fragrant aroma from Preasias fluffy hair... Not long after Vahn had fallen asleep, Preasia slightly dazed eyes regained their focus because she had yet to fall asleep. Without Vahn petting her, Preasia slowly came to her senses and just felt his warmth enveloping her as he embraced her from behind. Though it was a simple thing, Preasia felt a great deal offort from his embrace and couldnt stop herself from releasing silent tears as she trembled slightly in his arms. However, her movements stirred up a part of Vahns body and, as he had been training to react, she could feel a very hot objecte to life around her butt. Preasias trembling stopped and she felt the hot ns pressing against the back of her thighs before parting them slightly, allowing it to peek through the front of her thighs. Preasia stared down at the swollen ns with a dazed expression and felt a strange sense offort as well as a fair amount of guilt. She wasnt sure if Vahn was just reacting to her because he liked her body or if it was because he wasntpletely satisfied from earlier. Preasia knew he could handle multiple girls and potentially go for hours without rest, so she assumed it was thetter even though she wanted it to be the former. If she wasnt so exhausted, Preasia wouldnt have minded if they continued but she didnt have the capabilities to keep up with the tireless Vahn. She was actually surprised by the fact he had fallen asleep and was just sniffing away at her hair, something that made her heart tickle since she felt like he enjoyed her scent, much like she loved his... After staring at it for a while, Preasia closed her thighs and saw Vahns p.e.n.i.s twitch as the hot shaft wiggled between her plump and soft flesh. She giggled before reaching down and touching the hot ns out of curiosity, wondering how Vahn could continue sleeping even with his partnerpletely awake. Strangely, Preasia felt like she wanted to fort the swollen member so she pulled it up towards her stomach and squeezed her thighs together to nestle it between her still-wet folds. The heat seemed to spread through her own body, causing Preasia to release a sigh even though it was still outside of her body. Deciding that it was the price for her inability to keep up with him, Preasia kept it snuggly between her thighs before curling up in Vahns arms and doing her best to go to sleep. She wondered if it would still be awake by the time she woke up in the morning, deciding that she would put in double the efforts towards her training if that was the case... --- During his sleep, Vahn actually had a dream that was significantly different from any of the others he had experienced. Instead of some major event happening, such as interacting with one of the Sacred Beasts, Vahn was simply in an endless expanse of flowers with a beautiful and vibrant sun shining down gentle rays onto his tanned skin. There was a cool breeze flowing through the air and, though there were clouds in the sky, they were a billowy white and had a very calming atmosphere. Vahn had no idea what kind of dream this was but he knew it was incrediblyfortable and he felt an urge to justy down in the fragrant grass and go to sleep, which was strange since he knew this was a dream. After what seemed like an hour, Vahn felt a pulse pass through the dreamscape and, instead of an endless field of flowers, Vahn felt a hazy atmosphere spread that made his mind buzz as heat spread through his body. With his brows raised, Vahn looked toward the clouds in the sky and felt like they reflected a subtle pink hue before he realized he was nowpletely n.a.k.e.d. Vahn inspected his body in interest, not missing that his own partner was in a battle ready stance. Strangely, he found that he couldnt really speak even though his thoughts had a bit of rity as a result of his [Will of the Emperor] still being active even when he dreamed. An indeterminate amount of time passed, during which Vahn simply decided toy back against the incredibly soft and indiscernible ground. There was no longer a field of flowers, but Vahn felt an inexplicable softness against his back and just enjoyed the sensation until another ripple passed through the dreamscape. Opening his eyes, Vahn felt a strange presence nearby and lifted his body to see a very dazed and sleepy looking Preasia standing a short distance away from him, alsopletely n.a.k.e.d. However, unlike her real self, this Preasia had slightly dense fur covering her body and it had a golden l.u.s.ter that was visible even though his [Eyes of Truth] werent active. Vahn realized that Preasias Innate must be rted to sleep, or even dreams, as he couldnt understand why he would suddenly start dreaming about her in such a state. Preasias cloudy grey eyes slowly gained rity and she flushed deeply when seeing Vahns n.a.k.e.d body sitting against the ground. He might not be aware of it, but Preasia had a strange thought and the moment she realized what was happening she saw that Vahn was sitting on a giant version of her own body, specifically atop her butt. He didnt seem to realize that he was sitting on her backside and Preasia wasnt really sure why she knew this information either. It was like her consciousness was linked to the massive version even though she was clearly standing on the giant hill that was her own buttocks. After calming down a bit, Preasia realized she must be dreaming and it was just more lucid than she was used to. She often dreamed about Vahn, sometimes doing very intimate things, so his presence wasnt that abnormal. Pinching her arm, Preasia felt that there was no pain even though there was a vague sensation of touch. More than a little lucid, Preasia felt like she waspletely awake in this dream and began to grow excited at the prospects of what she would be able to do. Reaching out her hand, Preasia covered the sun before closing her hand and bringing darkness to the world. Pulling her hand close, Preasia opened it to reveal an incredible vibrant marble-like sun in her palms that she yfully rolled around before throwing it back up into the sky. Seeing the silly look on Vahns face, Preasia smiled and tried speaking only to find that her words couldnt escape her mouth. The dream version of Vahn seemed to try and respond to her but there was no sound at all, making Preasia somewhat sad since she wanted to be able to talk with Vahn more openly if possible. Deciding that she should just enjoy the dream while itsted, Preasia threw such thoughts to the back of her mind and smiled. Since she was in a dream, she didnt have to hold back at all and wanted to get a bit of revenge against Vahns stamina. She might have been unable to hold up against him alone, but Preasia felt like she had an absolute advantage since this was her own dream. Vahns eyes widened greatly when several dozens Preasias appeared around him, allpletely n.a.k.e.d and smiling toward him with a teasing look. Even the ground beneath him moved a bit and Vahn noticed the grass was the same glistening gold as the fur on the girls bodies. cing his hand against the surface, he felt a gentle heat like he was touching against someones body and realized that the grassy in he had been resting on was also Preasia. His mind raced to try and understand the situation but, before he realized what happened, Vahn found himself in a massive bed with one of the Preasias sucking on his p.e.n.i.s with a powerful suction that made his body tense up. There were two more Preasias snuggling up at his sides but, perhaps to avoid poking him, their horns were smaller and more rounded than normal. They took turns trying to kiss him before a powerful sense of release spread through his body before being absorbed by the Preasia at his waist. It was such an abnormal sensation and Vahn could only describe it as absolute pleasure. Though sound didnt seem to pass through the space, Vahns gaps echoed around and caused the space to pulse as a peal of gentleughter issued from the more than twenty Preasia around the bed. At the same time, Vahn felt like his body was split apart and he was suddenly looking up from multiple perspectives as different versions of Preasia rode his h.i.p.s like a champion as a mindnumbing pleasure wracked his body. He understood that his dream had likely be intertwined with Preasias at this point and she didnt seem to realize it. Vahn knew that incredible lengths of time could pass within the dreamscape without notice and it had actually been several hours since Preasias assault began. Without [Will of the Emperor] supporting him, Vahn felt like he would have been drowned in the pleasure Preasia was forcing on him through her actions. At this point, he was having s.e.x with more than a hundred Preasias all at once and it felt like his vision had be a kaleidoscope as he was linked to each version of himself. Eventually, Vahn felt a strange urge to just let things happen but a part of him adamantly resisted it as a cool feeling spread through his mind. Once it filled his body, the cooling sensation seemed to spread beyond as a pulse passed through the dreamscape and shattered the other versions of himselfpletely. As if she hadnt realized it, thest remaining Preasia continued to skillfully move on his h.i.p.s, even though Vahn felt like it was strangely unskilled at the same time. It was like she was pelling him to think her movements were skilled, or perhaps trying to convince herself this was the case. As if she suddenly sensed the changes, Preasia opened her grey eyes and looked around to find that she was riding on Vahn as the floated through infinite ck space. Though there was an incredible warmthing from his body, Preasia could feel and endless coldness all around them and it caused her to stick closer to him forfort. Instead of seeking pleasure, Preasia just wanted to be warm and she felt a great sense of security when the dream Vahn hugged her tightly. From Vahns perspective, he felt the pleasure fade away in an instant and it was almost like Preasia became very fragile in an instant. It seemed that the dreamscape was heavily influenced by a persons perception and Preasia would need to train her skill further if she wanted to avoid having nightmares in the future... For what felt like days, Vahn held Preasia in an absentminded state without realizing she had actually turned into a much smaller version of herself and that they were bothpletely clothed. It was very hard to keep your focus within the dreamscape so Vahn hadnt realized the changes until they had existed for a very long period of time. When he noticed the smaller version of Preasia, she seemed to sense him as well before raising her head to match his gaze. In an instant, Preasia had returned to her a.d.u.l.t form and was kissing his lips. Vahn hugged her tightly in response as the endless ck space was slowly reced by an endless field of flowers once again... --- Feeling movement behind her, Preasia opened her sleepy grey eyes and immediately looked down to see Vahns hot rodpletely active even though several hours had passed. There was even a bit of sticky fluid that had stained her thighs and she felt very apologetic since her own body was also releasing arge volume of warm fluid. Deciding she needed to train more, Preasia curled up and noticed that Vahn was stroking her stomach as if he wasnt bothered by the fact at all. In a gentle tone, Vahn asked, "Preasia, what did you dream about...?" Confused by the sudden question, Preasia thought about her dream and, though the images were broken and hard to recall, she knew the majority of her dream had been dominated by thoughts of having s.e.x with Vahn. Sensing the change in her aura, Vahn understood her answer even without her having to vocalize it. With a small smile on his face, Vahn stroked the side of Preasias hair and said, "I believe your rare ability awakened during the evening...you either pulled me into your dream or managed to make your way into mine..." Hearing Vahns words, Preasias eyes opened wide and her face turned crimson since she could remember being very proactive during the dream. Some of the things she did to Vahn were things she didnt even have the courage to do in the real world so it would be very embarrassing if he actually experienced them personally. Since Preasia didnt seem to be willing to say anything right now, Vahn began [Petting] her body tofort her as he narrated the contents of the dream as he remembered them. Preasias body started trembling as she listened to his words but it quickly calmed down when the influence of his [Petting] settled in her body. She noticed that Vahn didnt seem to be worried at all, even when he was talking about the intense orgy she had constructed in her dreamscape. He just continued tofort her and say encouraging words so, even though she was very embarrassed, Preasia calmed down and listened closely as he exined methods she could use to control her abilities in the future. With practice, he promised she would be able to avoid having bad dreamspletely and might even be able to train her skills within the dreamscape...as for Preasia herself, she started to absentmindedly imagine what kinds of things she could do with Vahn if they could share the same dreams... Title: Dreaming of Counting Sheep (A/N: Alternate Titles: Soft and Supple Thighs (UwU),Preasia goes on the attack~!,Endless possibilities...) (A/N: This brings todays word count to around 21k, so I hope you enjoyed the developments that took ce (UwU)~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 601 - Happy Days

Chapter 601 - Happy Days

After talking to Preasia about potential ways to develop her rare skill, Vahn gave her a sleep journal and asked that she record what she learns and begins doc.u.menting her dreams. Since Klyscha, the Goddess that hadpleted changed his destiny, had a power that stemmed from Dreams, Vahn believed Preasias Innate was actually much stronger than normal. He couldnt really stay with her every night just because he wanted to study it, however, as he was already researching many different things while working on armor and weapon sets for the uing Expedition. Preasia understood this as well but asked, somewhat embarrassingly, if she was allowed to dream about him if the ability activated again. Since she didnt want to keep anything from him, as it might be very important information depending on the developments, Preasia simply asked permission outright. As he couldnt see any reason to restrict her dreams in such a way, Vahn easily gave her permission but asked that she always check with the people inside her dreams to find out if she identally pulled in someone else before doing anything intense. Without his [Will of the Emperor], Vahn felt like he might have lost himself, at least temporarily. Their discussion had gone on for a bit longer than expected, as matters regarding a persons Innate typically needed to be addressed early on, so Vahn ended upter than usual for the morning training. He took a short bath in one of the private rooms, confirming that Preasias fur was just as soft wet as it was when dry, before sending her back to bed since she was obviously very fatigued. When he showed up for the actual training, Vahn just watched from the side since Tiona was actually having a spar with Ais while Haruhime, Tione, and Lefiya observed. Vahn was impressed by the fact that, even without [Ariel], Ais was able to outpace the battle maniac Tiona until eventually getting the upper hand... Once the training hade to an end, Vahn ate breakfast with Mn and Tina, taking note that the young cat girl actually stuck to him even more now. Since other girls often sat in hisp, including Hestia, Loki, Tiona, Lili, Fenrir, and even Preasia, Vahn didnt have much to say when Tina imed hisp as her spot. To prevent her tail from twitching about, she had tucked it under her but Vahn could see it flickering about between her legs and felt it would have been better if she just acted normally. As for Mn, she didnt seem to mind it that much and Vahn wouldter find out that she had a long heart-to-heart discussion with Tina about the future, though that wouldnt be until muchter. When they went into the Dungeon, Tinas growth seemed to have been ignited after the awakening of her [Luck] Development Ability, even though it shouldnt have anything to do withbat. Vahn felt like she was bing simr to a shonen protagonist with how her personality had undergone subtle changes, making her a bit excitable and incredibly hard-working. Though she did silly things, Vahn attributed this to the same thing as he had seen in the Manga he read in his previous life, where all the main characters seemed to have inordinately high luck but were often very dense as a result. Tina had previously been a very sensible girl, but now she was sometimes silly and, even though she was a Cat Person, acted clumsily at times. This changed entirely when she was in actualbat, however, as she would often have a very serious expression on her resolute little face. She always seemed to be trying to outperform her past self and, even though her parameters hadnt changed much since theirst stint into the Dungeon, she managed to kill a wave of thirty-four Killer Ants in a row, nearly double her previous eighteen. Afterward, she was all smiles before turning extremely docile when being treated by Vahn to help her recover. Vahn was a little worried at times since, now that he could see her secret parameter, Infatuation, he was more aware of how her feelings were developing. Currently, though it had started at 192, her Infatuation had increased to 403 and it had only been around 4 days since she obtained it. Like most secret parameters, Vahn was aware of various thresholds rted to the growth and there were usually big changes in how people behaved around 100, 500, 1000, 5000, 10,000, etc. It always went up in incremental factors of five and two, though he wasnt really sure why this was the case. With Tina approaching one of the first minor thresholds, Vahn was hoping she wouldnt undergo a drastic change since she was already in both her physical and mental development stages. There were more than two years before she was considered an a.d.u.l.t, so Vahn wanted her to slow down and find other things to focus on since people really only had one chance at childhood, regardless of their physical age such as in Shizunes case. Regardless, it was good that she was very motivated and was making rapid growthpared to the past so Vahn couldnt really reprimand her on it and simply gave her advice, hoping she would take it to heart... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Tina Yuel Race: Cat Person LV. 1 POW: F335->E411 END: F383->E486 DEX: F324->F378 AGI: F341->E429 MAG: I72->H133 Skill: [Eclipse: Innate(sealed)], [Shield Bash:G], [Counter:I->H] Magic: - Development Skill: [Luck:B], [Abnormal Resistance:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn spent a bit of time with the girls after they returned, since Tina was in very high tensions after her explosive growth, before heading off to his workshop and preparing his materials. He already collected numerous scales from Fafnir and was currently filling in the artificial mana circuits while waiting for Tiona, Tione, Lefiya and, though she hadnt been one of the girls he asked, Ais to show up. They were almost an inseparable group, so Vahn expected she would apany them just to watch and potentially try to help out, even though she didnt really have the correct kind of focus to be a good assistant. Though she had incredible perception, very highbat awareness, and strong intuition, Ais was a bit airheaded the rest of the time and often struggled toprehend basic things unless it was exined very carefully to her. Since she was intrinsically curious by nature, Vahn didnt know how she had developed such a peculiar personality and med her upbringing and single-minded pursuit of strength since, much like he had seen in Tina recently, Ais had been one of the protagonists of the series. A littleter than he expected, nearing 2:40 PM, the girls came into the workshop in high spirits and Vahn turned to them with a smile, saying, "Thanks foring by...did anything interesting happen in the Dungeon today?" As expected, Tiona, Ais, Lefiya, and Tione all showed up but they were also apanied by Haruhime and Shirohime. Since Haruhime almost always went into the Dungeon with Ais, it made sense for them to be together so Vahn wasnt really caught off guard by her presence. Extending his arm so Shirohime could climb up his body, Vahn listened the girls talk about their day while measuring and sizing up Tiona, Tione, and, though she was a little embarrassed about it, Lefiya. Lefiya was the only one that had to remove her clothing for the process, but Tiona and Tione removed all their clothing until they were just wearing their small bottoms and thin tops so she wouldnt be alone. Vahn noticed that Lefiyas body hadnt changed much at all except for a very small increase in her bust size, which was rare since many Elves had somewhat modest b.r.e.a.s.ts. She was actually on track to haverge b.r.e.a.s.ts in the future and Vahn could see her settling around a low C-Cup once she had grown up. Right now, she was only 13 years old and, even though she would be recognized as an a.d.u.l.t in a few months, would continue growing well into her twenties before reaching full maturity. Even Ryuu was still in her growth phase, and she was currently neen, so Vahn knew Lefiya still had a lot of potential. As for Tione, Vahn found it strange to consider but it seemed that her b.r.e.a.s.ts had actually stopped growing almost entirely even though she was a very small B-Cup... Amazons were somewhat uniquepared to other races, excluding the fact they were considered a.d.u.l.ts just by reaching Level 2, irrespective of age. Their physical features often changed depending on their self-perception and the environment they grew up in, which was strange considering some of the information Vahn had read regarding DNA. She and Tiona were actually identical twins, even though they had actually diverged as a result of their different masters and the training they underwent. Tiona had been trained by Argana, who also had somewhat modest b.r.e.a.s.ts, and didnt seem to develop much at all, even though she really wanted to. As for Tione, she had been taught by Bache, who had veryrge b.r.e.a.s.ts, and her perception of what was normal actually changed the shape of her body when she fell in love with Finn. The reason behind this was that Tione believed Finn liked more mature girls, as he often talked about her still being a child regardless of how strong she was, so Tiones body had started to develop to match. As for Tiona, she never really fell in love until she met Vahn and, even though she mented having small b.r.e.a.s.ts, didnt actually care about them that much. She knew they got in the way when fighting and always had a very free-spirited and simple personality, even when she was struggling during their childhood. Unlike her elder sister, she simply went with the flow of things and did her best with the hand fate dealt her, constantly seeking to improve her strength without forcing herself to change... Now that Tione had fallen in love with him, her hormones had bnced out a bit and she actually seemed to be stabilizing in a strange direction. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts hadnt shrunk, but they seemed to stop growing entirely since she no longer cared about them bing bigger just to appeal to others. Vahn wasnt the type of boy that paid attention to such things, so she just focused on her other unique traits, such as being a twin, having very beautiful legs, and a toned and fleshy butt that ented her thin and lean waist. Vahn was very aware that the suppleness of both girls legs, thighs, and butts, had increased greatly since he first interacted with them, something they enjoyed teasing him about. As there hadnt been that much time before they needed to prepare for dinner, Vahn only took the girls measurements and cut the Cadmus Skin while making small talk with the girls. Tiona and Tione wanted much smaller outfits than would typically constitute good underarmor, but Vahn hadnt really been surprised by this since most Amazons traditionally wore little clothing. One of the things he was genuinely worried about was visiting their country in the future and just seeing a bunch of scantily d women running around in clothing that would put underwear to shame with how revealing it was. Fortunately, Lefiya was far more sensible and actually wanted something simr to Ais, though Vahn showed her some of the modifications he had in mind. Since she was a Mage, and would likely continue down that line indefinitely, Vahn wanted her armor the be able to enhance her physical traits using mana, at least until he was able to learn how to do it from Eva and teach it to her. He also had a robe design in mind, though it was currently somewhat spartan as it was in the prototype phase and would need some alterations before bing truly suitable for her. Lefiya seemingly didnt mind any of the ideas he had, oftenplimenting him on the basic aesthetic and only asking for simple things like making it cute and stylish since she wanted to wear it around as casual wear. After confirming Lefiyas final design, Vahn spent the remaining time just chatting and drawing sketches since he really didnt need to get input for Tiona and Tione about their final outfits. They would literally just be wearing the very small tops and bottoms they wanted him to design, without any actual armor overtop it. Since it didnt really match his intent that much, Vahn decided to modify their designs a bit and was going to include bracelets, anklets, and even a thick pareo for both girls since they already wore them. Tione always had on a pair of red stockings with a double sp garter belt so Vahn figured he could actually make armor that served the same purpose. His main goal was to create items that simply enhanced their basic parameters or promoted their natural regeneration, as both girls actually relied on taking damage during serious fights... While all of this discussion was happening, Vahn hadnt forgotten about Haruhime but he had somethingpletely different in mind for her that they had already discussed previously. She liked wearing elegant clothing, even opting to continue wearing a kimono and very neatly arranged equipment that ented her beauty greatly. Wearing things under a kimono, other than for basic decency, actually felt very awkward for the girls that hailed from the Far East, as even Mikoto wore a very risque set of undergarments. She had a malleable fabric that hugged her groin and covered on a small part of her butt, held to her body by nothing by adhesive tape that made Vahn very nervous the first time he saw it. Instead of a bra, she wore a sarashi to prevent her b.r.e.a.s.ts from moving around inbat and actually wore somewhat thin clothing, though it wasnt obvious at a nce. For Haruhimes future outfit, Vahn wanted to make her a very elegant kimono simr to the one she had been wearing within the Divination. He remembered that one was almost like a ptial kimono but he could tell it was easy to move in and wouldnt be a detriment to Haruhime since herbat style was very unique. While other people might move around a lot, even jumping off walls and performing acrobatic feats, Haruhimes movements were very refined and were closer to a dance than anything else. Her footwork was incredible and she could even read the tempo of multiple monsters simultaneously, allowing her to easily avoid most dangers before defeating them with smooth and fluid swordy. Though she had originally started wearing a short kimono to match Mikotos guidance, Haruhime didnt actually need it and Vahn wanted to help plete the image she wanted to show him... Her final outfit would be an elegant red kimono that would go all the way down to her ankles, though Vahn nned to make it from stic fabric so she could still move around with big movements if necessary. This would also include giving it long sleeves, which would allow him to sew all kinds of unique formations into the fabric and further enhance its capabilities. Haruhime used a great deal of mana in her fighting style, so Vahn wanted to make something that allowed her to more efficiently channel it, or enhances its effects. Since she would be one of his primary disciples in the future, Vahn believed this alone would be enough to make her a powerhouse since anything that replenished her mana would aid her when using real magic. Vahn could see Haruhime one day dancing through the battlefield,pletely untouchable as waves of sakura petals followed her movements and devastated her enemies...if she worked hard, she could even use his [Shundo], turning her into an unstoppable force when used in conjunction with her Innate. With all of his basic designs confirmed, Vahn apanied the girls when they all moved to the dining room and enjoyed a lively meal with everyone that resided in the Manor. Eina was present so Vahn had her sit next to him while his seat was taken by Lili this evening as Hestia sat on his right, followed by Hephaestus. Vahn was very ustomed to being one of the designated seats at the table, so he just fed Lili a few bits of food and allowed her to act a little spoiled as a result of her small size. She had been very well behaved recently, training hard and helping Naaza with her research, so Vahn didnt mind pampering her a bit before dinner came to ate end and he retired to his room, another happy day brought to a conclusion... --- Preasia was very excited for theing night because, during her previous nap, she confirmed that her rare skill did allow her to have some freedom within her dreams. It had been much shorter than the previous excitement she experienced with Vahn, but Preasia found that she had been able to do all kinds of interesting things like flying around, shifting stars around in the night sky, and even walking under the sea without needing the breath. Most importantly, however, was the fact that she could be apanied by a dream version of Vahn at all times, even having him dress up in some of the outfits she thought were cute. Unfortunately, the Vahn she created for herself was somewhat boringpared to the real thing and Preasia realized it was almost lonely to interact with him since there hecked the warmth andfort provided by the real Vahn. She hadnt been so bold as the previous night, at least for the time being, but Preasia had the dream Vahn pet and pamper her a bit, noticing it felt strangely empty even though it was still a little exciting since his chest was exposed. After noticing that something was missing, Preasia just had him apany her since she was actually fond of watching him even if they couldnt interact with each other in more interesting ways. While thinking about what she wanted to dream about, something Preasia found very interesting on its own, Fenrir ended up entering the room with a happy smile on her face. Preasia was somewhat confused at first until Fenrir crawled into the bed and began sniffing around with an almost drunken expression on her face. Realizing what she was doing, Preasias face turned a deep crimson because she recalled doing the exact same thing when she first returned to her room. Vahn sweat had soaked into the bed from their union the previous night and, even though the nkets were a little messy, Preasia hadnt changed them and simply scrubbed up the parts that bothered her. Fenrirs tail plopped up and down a few times as she exhaled and said, "Smells like Master..." in a husky tone with glittering scarlet eyes. Preasia had made Fenrir her aplice in the past, so she quickly calmed down after her initial embarrassment and nodded her head, saying, "Yes, I thought keeping the current sheets would be morefortable for both of us..." Fenrir had a happy smile on her face as sheughed in a cheeky manner and said, "Preasia is a good girl, very smart~!" Since she enjoyed her Masters smell more than almost anything else, other than being with her Master, Fenrir was very pleased by the result. It wasnt even .000000000001% as good as being with her actual Master, but it was infinitely better than not having his scent to bring herfort. Preasia was happy to see that Fenrir was in such high spirits and the two quickly snuggled up, with Fenrir hugging her body as usual, before falling asleep. Unlike the past, however, Fenrir didnt wake up when Preasia fell into unconsciousness and continued to release an adorable snoring sound that would have caused Vahn to resist a nosebleed. If he knew what was actually going on, he would have had a very different reaction, however, as both Preasia and Fenrir began to release a thick aroma of pheromones shortly after they fell asleep. Though it was very subtle, Preasias tinum blond fur had started to glow with a golden light and Fenrirs thighs began to rub together in frustration as her breathing began to elerate... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tina wants to be the Pirate King~!,Fashion Designer Vahn~!,Oh f.u.c.k...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 602 - Innocence Lost

Chapter 602 - Innocence Lost

Vahn awoke very early in the morning with a start,pletely unaware of what urred to make his instincts trigger that danger was approaching. Closing his eyes, Vahn focused his mind and interfaced with the formation of the Manor, finding no ripples whatsoever as he asked, ("Sis, what happened?") Since she was always awake, Sis should have known what caused his body to react unless she had been focused on other tasks. As expected, an elegant and soft voice sounded out in his mind as Sis exined, (*Check the system log, Vahn, Fenrirs Loyalty had been making massive jumps for thest few hours...*). Following Siss advice, Vahn looked at the system log and felt a chill settle in his mind when he saw that Fenrirs Loyalty had somehow increased more than a hundred thousand points over thest six hours, with a massive increase of 17,089 in one batch very recently. She was currently at 419,712 and Vahn felt a shudder pass through his body when he remembered Preasias Innate and the potential implications if she managed to pull Fenrir inside her dreamscape. Fenrir was always a free and unbounded spirit so she would definitely enjoy a ce like the dreamscape, especially if Preasia allowed her free reign to do whatever she wanted. He wasnt sure what Preasia was capable of when she was dreaming normally, but the massive increase in Fenrirs Loyalty gave him some ideas. Deciding it wasnt necessarily a bad thing, as Fenrir being more Loyal wasnt actually bad, Vahn released a heavy sigh before snuggling back up with Syr and trying to calm his mind. He had a lot of hope for Preasias Innate, as it might give him some insight into controlling his own dreams, so letting her learn how to control it while interacting with others wasnt a bad thing. Fenrir might actually be able to relieve some of her stress and he imagined it would bring the two much closer together, potentially allowing Fenrir to actually open her heart to someone other than himself. Vahn just needed to make sure she didnt develop any strange behaviors in the interim and things should be fine... After taking a short nap, Vahn awoke and checked Evas orb, confirming that the barrier was preventing his entry. Stowing it away safely in his inventory, Vahn gave the fatigued Syr a morning kiss before stroking her head a bit and heading off to prepare for his morning training. Though she was tireless during s.e.x, Syrs fatigue caught up to her after the fact and Vahn always found her sleeping face very cute. Though she was far tamer than in the past, they still had some of the more dangerous s.e.x Vahn ever experienced, as it almost felt like she would devour him if he lost focus. Evenpared to Preasia, who Vahn thought was amazing at the time, Syr was in a league of her own and only the goddesses had any chance of matching her capabilities. Vahn hadnt even made it to the onsen before he could sense a fluctuation in his subconsciousness before a ping alerted him to a quickly approaching presence. With his head turned, Vahn saw an incredibly vivacious Fenrir bolting towards him before leaping into his embrace. Even though he wasnt in his Vanargandr form, Fenrir nuzzled up against him and nearly knocked him over as a result of how fervent her actions were. Vahn just stroked her head and used his [Petting] on her as he awaited the arrival of the second presence that was trailing behind, admittedly much slower than Fenrir. After around a minute, Preasia came running into the corridor withbored breathing as she showed an apologetic expression and said, "Vahn, Im sorry..." Before he even had time to listen to her exnation, Fenrirsrge ears became alert and she shook her head quickly and said, "No, Preasia is a good girl, the best~! Ehehehe, Master, dont bully Preasia~!" She hadnt even finished her sentence before Fenrir began to nuzzle against him, almost like she was trying to bore through his clothing and fuse together with him. Vahns thoughts ran rampant in his mind as he tried to think of a way to deescte the situation a bit and said, "Dont worry about it, Preasia. Rare skills can be very hard to control when you first awaken them, so a few idents should be expected...just continue to work hard and Ill deal with Fenrir in my own way." Preasia still had an apologetic expression on her face but she also nodded her head with a resolute glimmer in her grey eyes. Since Preasia didnt want to use therger onsen, Vahn apanied her and Fenrir to one of the smaller private baths and was able to infer some of what they had dreamed about just based ontters actions. When he had undressed, Fenrir had an excited look in her eyespared to the past and it felt like her eyes were glued to his lower body as she said, "Master should be like Fenrir...Fenrir will wash Masters body...scrubby scrub...ehehehe" It might have been convincing if not for the fact that Fenrir was flexing her ws in an eager manner without making eye contact with him at all. Preasia had a deep blush on her face but managed to undress and get into the bath alongside Vahn and the rambunctious wolf girl. Vahn managed to get Fenrir to calm down surprisingly quickly simply by reminding her to be a good girl, even though it made her eyes glow marginally brighter. Vahn learned from Preasia that she had identally pulled Fenrir into her dream, though felt like it was more likely that Fenrir had been the one to identally enter. Just like he had entered Preasias dreamscape by being in contact with her, it made sense that Fenrir was able to do the same, perhaps because of their simr energy signatures. He didnt me Preasia at all for what happened, something that greatly relieved her, and simply listened to her recounting of the various events that had transpired after the fact. Because of the peculiarities of the dreamscape, the passage of time was very strange and it was actually very difficult to recall all of the events since there would often be gaps in awareness while your mind was resting. When Preasia first entered her dreamscape, everything was fine and she actually spent several hours simply ying around and creating statues, which she embarrassingly admitted were of Vahn. Shortly thereafter, Fenrir entered the dreamscape and Preasia originally thought she just imagined Fenrir on her own, as they were actually rather close. However, recalling what happened previously, Preasia did her best to try andmunicate with Fenrir to discern if she was real or just a figment of her imagination. Since she couldnt remove her, like she did with some of the Vahns she created, Preasia assumed it was the actual Fenrir even though they couldnt talk. The reason for this was because Fenrir behaved like a kid in a candy store, that had just discovered a treasure trove of goodies ripe for the picking. Preasia had several different Vahns apanying her at the time, using them as references for the statues she was making, so Fenrir was very excited to see so many of her Masters. Even though she could tell it wasnt really her Master, Fenrir felt a strange connection to them and, after focusing on them for a while, they began to change form until there was a veritable pack of Masters that were like her. When this happened, Preasia had been very shocked and found that her own willpower was somewhatckingpared to Fenrirs as the dreamscape quickly began to change in strange ways. She could still create new things, but Fenrir had already taken the momentum and ended up being spoiled rotten by a total of five Vahns that looked simr to her. Though she tried to reason with Fenrir and get her under control, Fenrir was too happy to have so many Vahns around her and became very excited as things progressed further. She quickly discovered that her Master listened to whatever she wanted and, even though she knew it might be bad, Fenrir wanted to do many things with her Master. Things started off rtively tame, with a vast foresting into extistance where Fenrir hunted alongside the pack of Vahns with a fervent and almost crazed expression as they ripped throughrge numbers of monsters. When her Masters came and presented the spoils to her, Fenrir felt like Queen and wanted the Masters to serve her well since they were already listening to her orders. Things quickly got out of control after that point because Fenrir had them try to massage her body but, finding that it wasnt as good as the real thing, she instead had them do other stuff. Seizing the opportunity, Fenrir explored the bodies of her Masters and inspected them in great detail without minding Preasias attempts to stop her. Since she couldnt do anything to the Preasia inside the dreamscape, Fenrir felt like she was special and just waved her over, eventually getting the bashful sheep to listen as they began exploring Vahn together. They continued this for what felt like days until Preasia eventually cracked under Fenrirs curiosity and showed her some of the things they could do within the dreamscape. Fenrir had been very surprised by what she had seen, causing the dreamscape to undergo massive changes before it became an infinite bed that stretched out into eternity. Since Preasia already had her own Master, Fenrir created one for herself that was in the same Vanargandr form. At first, she just did things like y around with him but her curiosity eventually got the better of her and she tried other stuff. Fenrir had hesitantly tried to bite her Master, though only on his pinky, and was excited to learn that she couldnt eat him within the dreamscape. Unlike Vahns [Will of the Emperor], which always seemed to be with him even with the system couldnt be essed, Fenrirs Innates had no effect when she was inside Preasias dreamscape. For the first time, Fenrir got to share an a.d.u.l.t kiss with her Master and things quickly escted from there as she used her mouth and tongue in all kinds of different ways, urging Preasia to teach her. Preasia had already broken down after Fenrir had constantly been badgering her and, though it wasnt as good as the real thing, it was still very exciting to having s.e.x with the dream version of Vahn. It couldnt satisfy her, but there was an aching and pleasant feeling in her lower body even though she knew it would be bad to show Fenrir such things. As expected, Fenrir copied her actions perfectly and ended up bing one with her Master, something that made her feel incredibly anxious and happy at the same time... When Preasia had exined to this point, Fenrir was blowing bubbles at the side before saying, "Master, Fenrir will be a good girl...dont be mad..." She could sense her Masters distressed state and knew she had probably done something wrong which, after thinking about it in detail, made a lot of sense. Fenrir had defied his orders and taken advantage of her Master, even though it wasnt really him and just a copy. She felt a strange sense of guilt when she heard Preasia talking about the events and almost wanted to ask her friend to be quiet since she didnt want her Master to know how bad she had been. Vahn simply sighed through his nose in response and stroked Fenrirs hair, saying, "Youre a growing girl, Fenrir, so its understandable you have thoughts like that on asion. As long as you dont take it too far, the two of you can do whatever you want in the dreamscape...just make sure you dont develop any strange habits, and also keep in mind that the dream isnt the same as reality..." Fenrir was someone that would apany him to future records, potentially standing at his side for thousands of years, if not forever. Vahn really couldnt be mad at her since he knew she actually held herself back a great deal just because he asked her to. Even though he had far fewer inhibitions when he interacted with the girls, Vahn couldnt fully open himself up to Fenrir because of how innocent she was... Hearing Vahns words, Preasia released a sigh of relief because she could tell he wasnt actually upset by what happened, even showing a bit of humor before his tired look appeared the end. Since she was always with Fenrir, Preasia knew that Vahn didnt want her to grow up quickly. Though she had tried to keep this in mind at first, Fenrirs constant pestering had long since worn down her ability to resist her requests and she had already taught Fenrir many things, even helping her practice for the future. Preasia understood the desire to be with Vahn so she couldnt just ignore her best friend when they had the opportunity to experience such a unique situation together... Vahn spent a bit of time [Petting] the two, helping to wash their bodies while telling them they needed to practice controlling the dreamscape instead of getting caught up in the momentum of things. Fenrir was just happy that her Master wasnt mad at her and happily wiggled about while he was washing her, something she hadnt really done in the past. Though they hadnt actually done anything together, Fenrir was more aware of a.d.u.l.t rtions now and her body was acting as one would be expected from a mature girl. Her breathing became somewhat heavier, but Fenrir behaved and just coped with the rising heat in her body since she knew it was bad to act out, at least for now. Helping Fenrir get dressed allowed Vahn to experience exactly how much she had changed and he was very aware of the fragrant aroma wafting from her body when he helped pull her panties up. He had helped her get dressed hundreds of times by now, but this was the first time Fenrir had a slightly flushed expression and enjoyed the contact. Even small touches seemed to make her giddy and she acted like she was suddenly very ticklish, shying away from his hand one moment before clinging to him in the next. Though it was very adorable, Vahn realized that the innocent Fenrir from the past no longer existed and he would have to take that into consideration in the future. Reaching out his hand, Vahn stroked her fluffy ears and said, "Dont be in such a rush...remember, well be together forever..." The rest of the day, including the time he spent training in the morning and venturing into the Dungeon with Shizune, was a bit of a blur for Vahn because he had been lost in thought about Preasias dreamscape and Fenrirs changes. He still interacted with everyone, including Chloe and Shizune, but they realized he wasnt quite feeling the Dungeon and ended up returning pretty early. Vahn came back to awareness when they were eating lunch and decided to make it up to the two understanding girls by pampering them until the others started to return. Hestia was also in attendance and, since it had been very early in the day, he ended up giving them all hour-long massages or [Petting] session. It was much easier to deal with Shizune using [Petting], so Vahn just helped groom her fluffy tail and gave her some heavy head pats until she was satisfied. Since they were eager to help Vahn work on their outfits, Tiona, Tione, Ais, Lefiya, and Haruhime all returned pretty early, only going down to the 22nd Floor for a while before returning. He had already cut out all the hide to make the firstyer so Vahn sewed it together and beganying down the framework for the formation by sewing patterns into the hide. Once he was finished, Vahn had them try on the outfits, which looked like white swimsuits for Tiona and Tione, while Lefiyas actually looked strangely dangerous even though it covered a lot of skin. Lefiya was a very thin and petite girl so having what essentially looked like a white bodysuit with her flushed face gave Vahn a powerful urge to tease her, which he was able to resist. Lefiya, however, seemed to know what he was thinking and actually made a remark about how the Cadmus Hide felt against her chest, even though it caused her face to turn crimson when Tiona and Tione teased her. Her words had incited Tiona to grope Lefiya from behind, something the bashful Elf had no power to resist as she watched Vahn to see how he would respond. Vahn was confused by her actions but still took a deep breath through his nose and smiled, showing that he found her reaction to be refreshing and adorable, which was exactly what went through his mind... For the next couple of days, Vahns schedule became somewhat thin and he eased off going into the Dungeon and instead taught Tina and Shizune at the Manor since their growth had actually been faster than he wanted. Since Shizune was close to awakening her Innate, Vahn thought he could inspire the girls by showing them some unique magics, ying games with them, and simply spending time together while talking about various tales. Many of the other girls came to attend, including Hestia, Syr, Preasia, and the host of pregnant women who found it interesting that Vahn was doing story time and ying with the youth troupe. They always had gentle smiles on their faces when watching him interact with the younger girls, at least when Tinas [Luck] wasnt acting up, and thought he was practicing to be a good Father. In the early afternoon, Vahn spent time with the women that were at the Manor or talking with Riveria within the Garden. The closer their wedding came, the more nervous Riveria became and she was easily fl.u.s.tered by simple words by the time Friday afternoon had approached. She had already sent the missive to the Elven Kingdom, receiving a ton of responses from her father to rethink her decisions. Herst missive, other than refusing her fathers advice, actually boldly imed that she had fallen in love with Vahn and that they would be bringing their child to visit at the same time as they decided to share their findings with the Elven Kingdom. This was essentially her saying, "If you want the solution to the Elven fertility issue, youll have to take a step back and respect my wishes." Vahn had no idea what she had told her father but he found Riverias reactions very refreshing because she actually let him get away with a lot more, even proactively holding his hand at times when they were alone. Since he didnt want to spook her right before the wedding, Vahn didnt really push her too much and just alluded to how fun their wedding night would be whenever Riveria was lost in thought. She would always turn deep red and Vahn would tease her even more, iming she had a very active imagination as a result of her intelligence. He often tried to disguise his teasing behindpliments that pandered to Riverias ego, so she always had aplex expression on her face and tolerated his teasing, promising to get even with him once they were on more equal footing. She didnt know when it would happen, potentially even decades in the future, but Riveria was determined to repay part of the debt she owed Vahn so they could truly be equals... (A/N: Alternate Titles: It was at this moment, Preasia knew...,Fenrirs Posse of Masters, Onwards to Victory~!,Riveria bes a little bolder (UwU)~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 603 - Minor Incident

Chapter 603 - Minor Incident

Vahns Saturday started with a minor incident urring as, even though he had decided to take the day off to have a pic and discuss the wedding the following day, others seemed to have something different in mind. Though they werent able to reach Orario from the Elven Kingdom in such a small amount of time, it wasnt as if the Elves had no influence in the City. Though Larfal had tried to keep the matter under wraps, he still had to talk to the leader of the Sage Council and the High Priestess as they had almost as much authority as him. They also tried to keep the matter under wraps but there was no end to the informationworks of people in a Kingdom with so much internal strife. It wasnt known amongst the moners, meaning most Elves didnt know about Riverias wedding, but the majority of the nobility were aware of it and had started moving their own pieces. Around noon on Saturday, several Elves began showing up outside the Hearth Manor, all trying to request audiences with Riveria herself. Since they actually had no grounds to make such requests, Vahn kept Riveria from meeting them and decided to just let them camp outside pointlessly. If they actually tried to do anything, the guards would be called and Vahn himself could always deal with it. Trying to spread the information and cause a scene wouldnt actually have much of an influence on Riverias reputation since the truth would alwayse forth in the future. The Alliance was inarguably the strongest force in the entire Continent at this point, so it didnt really matter if the pawns of a few fools took action. To intimidate them a bit, however, Vahn had Fafnir make an appearance and it was able to scatter the vast majority of them. While he was sitting with Hestia and Syr, theter suddenly remarked, "It may be a good idea to send people to go and pick up Aina, Thomas, and Risna. If they are willing to badger Riveria, they must know about those that associate with her." Vahn had been manipting a sphere of water while having Fenrir chase after it in the distance and she managed to catch it when he heard Syrs words. Fenrir smiled triumphantly and ran over since Vahn had promised to reward her if she was sessful. Vahn noticed Syrs yful look and began rubbing Fenrirs ears with his thumbs as he thought about the matter and realized Syr was right. Since it would be better to take care of the matter sooner, rather thanter, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Ill go over with Fenrir and Terra then, since I dont want to cause a scene and they will probably try to say something stupid if Eina is with me. Im not on the mood to really punish idiots on my day off..." Vahn knew that the majority of those that came to badger them were loyalists to the Elven Kingdom so they likely had arrogance and contempt towards Half-Elves. There was a non-negligible chance they may even try to capture Einas family if Vahn simply ignored the matter, but it shouldnt get to that point unless there was someone in the Elven Kingdom trying to cause a war... As she always carried her scroll with her, Hestia pulled it out and sent a message to Eina while Syr went off to her room the personally inform her, as she was probably sleeping right now. To make up for the time she would miss during the celebration, Eina had worked a double-shift and was currently taking a short nap, asking to be awakened at 2 PM if she didnt wake on her own. She would probably want to be up to receive her family so Syr was already moving since it wasnt really that far away. As for Vahn, he helped Fenrir remove her maid outfit and strip out of her pumpkin knickers so that only herbat attire was showing beneath it. There was also a rustling sound that came from the direction of the forest as Terra could be seen making her way over, understanding Vahns intent even before he called her. Their actions had drawn the attention of everyone else so Vahn quickly exined the situation and told them he would be back soon, declining their offer to help since he didnt n to start any major conflicts. He had almost no fear at all when it came to fighting Mages and there was little chance they had a physicalbatant that would be able to defeat Fenrir, much less himself. With Terras calming aura and the pleasant feelings she inspired in others, especially Elves, Vahn was hoping to avoid conflict entirely. Thus, after making some short preparations, Terra turned into her dragon form and Vahn carried Fenri onto her back as they flew towards the direction of Ainas residence. Vahn had never actually visited Einas parents personally but he knew the location of their residence after getting the address and cross-referencing it on his own map. His mini-map and mapping functions allowed him to update information like store names, addresses, and other points of interest, also giving him the ability to auto-navigate to ces within the map even if he didnt recall the directions himself. With Terras speed, even though she was much slower than Fafnir, they reached Ainas house in around twenty minutes since they lived in the north-western section of the City. As expected, there were a few Elves lingering around Ainas residence but they hadnt actually caused any trouble just yet. The residence itself was actually abined storefront and house, with Aina selling flowers and exotic nts for a living while Thomas, Einas father, worked as a low-level City official. As for Risna, she hadnt really decided what she wanted to do with her life and was supposedly a prettyzy girl, which was rare since most Half-Elves had a little more awareness. The main reason Vahn never visited Aina and Thomas personally was that he had actually been avoiding Einas little sister. ording to Eina, she had actually pestered her a bit about Vahn in the past and even tried to see if she could live at the Hearth Manor since she could probably continue her zy lifestyle if she could share him. Eina actually cared about her sister a great deal, being one of the actual reasons she had been so spoiled while they were growing up. So that she wasnt pressured by other people for being a Half-Elf, Eina had done her best to pamper her little sister and she even wanted Vahn to help the young Half-Elf undergo Nirvana in the future. Vahn promised he wouldnt fall to Risnas schemes, as Eina really made a lot of sacrifices for him and he didnt want to put her in such an awkward position. As for why he needed to make such a promise, Eina admitted that Risna actually put a lot of effort into her appearance and was supposed to be a beautiful young girl that aspired to be a great author, something that wasnt thatmon in this world since printing technology wascking. Terra wasnt the most discreet mount, being more than 15m long, so the gathered Elves had quickly noticed Vahns arrival, many of them calling out to him demanding his attention. Vahn gave them a in look before fixing his eyes on someone he actually recognized but had never talked to in the past. It was the same Elven male that was being escorted by two women when he exited the Dungeon in the past, the foolish man that tried to flirt with his girls right in front of his face. Vahns gaze became cold in an instant, but the man didnt seem to care at all as he said, "The so-called Sage makes an appearance! Lis-" Before the man could finish, Fenrirs eyes locked on him and were glowing with a scarlet light that caused him to react as if he had just swallowed a fly. Vahn shook his head and said in a in tone, "If you cause trouble here, dont expect youll be able to walk away from it unscathed. You should know from the rumors that Ive never been the type to just idly allow people to say foolish things at my expense..." Without holding back any of his energy, Vahn allowed his domain to slowly contract as the pressure slowly built up to a point where some of the weaker Elves struggled to even breathe. Since he wasnt actually manipting the mana in the air, they couldnt sense his domain at all and just felt it as if the pressure came directly from him. Vahn continued to watch them with cold eyes with Terra and Fenrir standing behind him, theter of the two ring with her eyes that could even unnerve gods. Though he hadnt put any pressure on the shop behind him, his arrival had been noted by Aina who came out with a smiling expression on her face. She put her palm against her cheek in mock exasperation as she said, "Really, I wish you all wouldnt block my store like this...ufufufu~" Since they hadnt taken any action yet, likely waiting for the response from the group that went to the Manor, the only thing they had done thus far was block people from entering. Now that Vahn had arrived, they realized things werent going well for them and decided to pull back for the time being. Vahn shook his head before turning to Aina and saying, "Ivee to pick all of you up...if necessary, you can stay at the Hearth Manor for a bit until things calm down." Aina had a somewhat sad look on her face, which made Vahn feel very guilty since she had a very simr appearance to Eina, albeit with green hair instead of brown. She knew that her shop would probably be destroyed if they left it unattended but it wasnt worth fighting over since family was far more important. Even before Vahn showed up, Aina knew he was on the way because she had already received a message through thework. As Vahn also understood what she might be thinking, he gave an apologetic smile and said, "Eina will probably be having children in the next year or two, so its not a bad thing if you live closer to us..." Hearing this, Ainas cloudy expression immediately cleared up as sheughed in an elegant manner and said, "Work hard, Vahn, I want to see my cute grandchildren~." before walking back into the store. Vahn followed after her while Fenrir guarded the storefront and Terra flittered up to the roof to watch the surroundings. The exterior of the shop was already very beautiful, as there were more than seventy different types of flowers set out to absorb sunlight, but the interior was like stepping into another world. Aina had been a pce chambein and gardener before she apanied Riveria on her journey. She had a real knack for cultivating nts and flowers, earning her a marginallyfortable lifestyle even though simr shops struggled to get by. Vahn felt that she would probably enjoy the garden at the Manor and would probably get along well with Terra once they talked a bit... Aina looked around and grabbed a few important things before Vahn realized what she was doing and said, "Ah, if youre worried about luggage and stuff, I can put them away using my storage magic..." Hearing his words, Aina beamed because she had actually forgotten about such convenient magic, as it was very rare even in the Elven Kingdom. She had Vahn store as much as he could, surprised when the entire interior of her shop became bare a few minutester, before heading into the back of the shop to get her other luggage and tell Risna to hurry up. Thomas was still at work, marginally upset by the situation since he wasnt fond of the idea of Elves suddenly pressuring them even though they had no right to do so. Since he was an official with the City, Thomas was currently filing an officialint and was ready to turn it into a fiasco when the Elves inevitably destroyed his home. Shortly after Aina went into the back, another presence hurriedly made its way toward him so Vahn released a small sigh and steeled his mind. As if the rumors of her being a veryzy girl were grossly exaggerated, a petite young Half-Elf burst through the door with an excited smile on her face. She had somewhat muted green hair that had obviously been hastily fixed, likely in preparation for their meeting. It was somewhat short and tied in a messy ponytail that made her look very youthful and vibrant with her smiling expression and emerald green eyes. Unlike Eina and Aina, who both had gentle dispositions, Risna looked more bubbly and lively even though Vahn could see the tell-tale signs of her zy lifestyle. Risnas eyes widened a great deal when she saw Vahn, eyeing him from bottom to top before nodding her head firmly and saying, "It seems my big sis lucked out this time around, ne~?" Vahn gave a polite smile in return and exined, "Your sister has been a great blessing in my life, so it would be more urate to say I was incredibly fortunate to have met her." Hearing his words, Risna pped happily and said, "Nice, well said, youre quite the smooth talker, Vahn~!" Then, as if fishing forpliments herself, Risna did a ditsy pirouette before smiling with a yful look in her eyes as she asked, "So, do I match the image you had of me in your mind~?" Vahn tilted his head and thought about his response, causing Risna to give him a curious look as she waited for his response. When she heard that Vahn wasing over, she tried to pick out cute clothing and was currently wearing a beige colored top, pink skirt, white stockings, and brown shoes. Since she had been upte, she applied a lightyer of makeup and tried to brush her hair before giving up and tying it up into a ponytail, hoping he wouldnt think badly of her. Eventually, Vahn shook his head and said, "Eina said you were a very cute girl, which I can agree with, but my image of you had been a little different. You seem more lively than I expected..." Realizing that Eina must have betrayed her by saying some bad things about her, Risna pouted and said, "Im not really thatzy, you know? I just like to read books and write my own, is that such a bad thing!?" Vahn shook his head before honestly stating, "Honestly, I think aspiring to be an Author is verymendable, especially considering the state of the world right now. If you rely on others to make your dream a reality, however, it could be a problem in the long run..." He knew from Eina that Risna didnt leave the house much and only rarely helped around at the flower shop, meaning she spent most of her time leeching off Aina. Since she just turned fourteen a few months ago, it wasnt that bad a thing from his perspective, if not for the fact most people her age had already been working for several years... Hearing the first part of Vahns words, Risna was pleasantly surprised because many people made fun of her for trying to be an Author, saying things like books were pointless. However, thetter part of his words dealt critical damage to her because she also felt somewhat guilty about being overly reliant on her mother, especially since she had no ns of ever moving out. When she learned her sister was getting married to a rich yboy, she even thought it would be a good idea to try to leech off of him for a bit, even if they never had a rtionship. Now that she saw him, however, Risna realized Vahn was a ridiculously handsome boy and she was somewhat jealous that her sister had managed to snatch him up so quickly. Before the atmosphere got awkward, Vahn reminded, "Well be heading to the Manor pretty soon so please pack up as much luggage as you n to take. You may not being back, so grab everything that is important to you..." Risna had been staring at his face with aplicated expression on her own before her aura began to flicker a bit and gravitate towards him. Vahn had promised, not just Eina, but himself to not allow girls to get close to him so easily, just because he could see their interest in him. He couldnt even bnce his current lifestyle properly so dealing with the little sister of his wife wasnt even a consideration of his right now. Risna was momentarily confused by Vahns words, asking, "Were noting back...?" as she thought about all the things in her room she wanted to bring. There were far too many things strewn about that were important to her, even though she didnt use most of them, and Risna knew there was no way to take everything in one trip. Vahn saw the conflict in her eyes and said, "I have a prettyrge storage capacity so if you can bundle things up Ill be able to carry most of your stuff." Risnas eyes glimmered happily and she reached out to pull him towards her room so he could help her pack. Vahn, however, stepped back slightly and Risna felt very embarrassed with a deep flush on her face after his evasive actions. She looked at him with an almost pained look but Vahn knew she actually had a habit of pouting for attention and wasnt fl.u.s.tered by her reaction. After a few seconds, Risna released a sigh and muttered, "Come help me grab my stuff; I dont want to have to carry everything out here..." Her previously lively expression had softened greatly and she looked like a very sleepy and disinterested person, even though her beauty still showed through. Vahn gave a wry smile and followed her along, knowing that most of her earlier behavior had been an act in an attempt to appeal to him. He really didnt mind helping support her in her career path, even if she might be a leech in the future. Since she was Einas little sister, Vahn would do his best to help her but he had no intentions of having any kind of rtionship with her at all, even if he found her to be a very beautiful girl. While he followed her along, Aina poked her head out of her own room and said, "Ah, Vahn, can you help me move some stuff as well? Ill try to pack everything into the center of the room, but there is quite a bit with both mine and Thomas things." Vahn nodded his head and said, "Sure, as long as you can pack it all close together I should be able to store it pretty easily. Individual items can be an issue though, so try to fit as much as you can into cases and tie down the rest..." Aina nodded her head with a happy smile and continued packing her things as Vahn followed Risna to her room. It was the furthest point at the very back of the house and they had to go around a corner to reach it. When they got to her door, however, Risna stopped and seemed to be considering something before she turned around with a blush and said, "Its a little messy..." Vahn raised his brows and said, "Its okay, I wont judge how you choose to live your life, Risna. If necessary, I can help clean up a bit while you pack everything together." Risna released a slight sigh and held the doorknob for several seconds before opening it up and heading inside. Vahn saw the interior and was startled by interior since it was a lot like Hestias room when she had cooped herself up inside for a few weeks. There were mountains of books all over the ce and several empty cups and dishes strewn about a desk. It was very obvious that Aina probably brought meals to Risnas room and she spent the majority of her time cooped up inside the rtively small space. Vahn could smell a very flowery aroma which he knew was the fragrance given off by most Elves... Risna watched his expression with a great deal of embarrassment as she tried to exin, "I...I get really caught up in my work...Im really not that messy..." She also wanted to say she just didnt like to clean, but that was the same as saying she was messy. Realizing she probably needed to change her living habits, Risna looked around with a distraught expression on her face while thinking where to start. Suddenly, she saw a mountain very near Vahn and, when he saw her looking, he also turned to stare at it before swallowing awkwardly. Risna felt her face burning as she ran over and pushed against Vahn, saying, "Get out, Ill tell you when Im ready!" Without resisting, Vahn allowed himself to be forced out of her room before the door mmed shut behind him. The mountain he had seen was actually a pile ofundry and, because she actually didnt go out much, consisted almost exclusively of underwear. Remembering some of the designs present, Vahn smiled and remarked, ("She is still pretty childish in that regard...") before making his way to Ainas room. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Pestering,Ainas Flowershop,Gen 1 NEET) (A/N: I know I said Ainas hair was blond in the past, but the wiki had been updated to state it was greenter on so Ive retconned it to match canon material o3o~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 604 - Moving

Chapter 604 - Moving

Vahn helped Aina pack up, mainly focusing on Thomas stuff so as to avoid any awkward situations with his mother-inw. Even though she was 97 years old, just like Riveria, Aina was an incredible beauty and he couldnt help butpliment Thomas for being able to get such a woman to be his wife. Since he was a normal human, he would continue to age normally and he was already in his forties, making him somewhat middle-aged. The fact that Aina decided to be with him, even knowing she would outlive him by well over a hundred years, really showed that he had to be a capable and kind man. Though it was a bit rude, Vahn wondered how they would be able to keep their rtionship when he reached his sixties since Aina wouldnt have changed at all while Thomas would have be an elderly man... Deciding not to really worry about the love lives of other people, Vahn simply resolved to make sure he gave them some grandchildren pretty soon so Thomas would be able to see them grow up. If necessary, he could at least help Thomas maintain his youthful appearance until he died naturally, as it was really the least he could do for his father-inw. The decision would ultimately be his and, even though it was awkward to imagine performing Nirvana on a man, Vahn wouldnt let it bother him. He often called himself a professional, as he had been seriously studying what it takes to be a good physician, so it wouldnt make sense if he couldnt treat men as well. Since he was able to store entire wardrobes, it took a lot less time than Aina expected to actually pack everything up. For the majority of the extra items, she just stacked them on the bed and Vahn stored them all into his inventory at the same time. By the time Risna came searching for him, the room was almost entirely bare and she had a very surprised expression as her motherughed happily. Instead of entering the room with them, Vahn waited outside while Risna and Aina cleaned up her room and moved everything together. Since Aina knew how his storage magic worked now, it didnt take much time before they had Vahne in and throw everything into his inventory. Risnas eyes glittered when she saw this and she tried to get close to Vahn again, unsessfully, as she said, "We should go shopping sometime..." Vahn gave her a curious look before asking, "Do you actually have money to spend on shopping...?" Once again, Risna looked like she took a critical impact and blushed deeply with her head lowered, pressing her fingers together without actually saying anything in response. Ainaughed at her daughters behavior and teased, "Vahn, do I have to worry about you taking my other daughter away from me~?" Vahn furrowed his brows slightly in response because he didnt expect Aina to be the one to say something like that, even if she was just teasing him a bit. Looking into her emerald green eyes, Vahn could see a subtly serious light inside of them that made him feel a little nervous. After thinking over why Aina might say something like that, Vahn realized she probably just wanted both of her daughters to be happy, even if the situation was a little awkward. She had already betrayed her people when she left the Elven Kingdom with Riveria, even more so when she married a human, so Aina wasnt really bothered by the opinions of other people. Vahn, however, couldnt take a soft stance on the matter because he was worried about Eina and the other girls more than potential girls. Firming his expression, Vahn said in a calm and firm tone, "Eina means a lot to me, so much so that Ill be willing to help take care of her entire family if necessary. However, there are many girls that rely on me and Im not trying to make their lives even moreplicated by bing involved with more women right now...Im sorry, but I would have to decline your advances, even if you really did fall in love with me Risna." Ainas expression didnt change at all, almost like it was impossible to actually phase her, whilst Risnaa actually went through a variety of different emotions. She showed envy when he talked about how important Eina is to him, happiness when he talked about taking care of them, and then a mixture of jealousy and sadness when he talked about being involved with so many girls and refusing her. He was a very handsome boy and Risna couldnt really imagine a better candidate to get married to in the future, even if he was the husband of her sister. She knew about his Nirvana already, but that just made her more interested in him and she thought other boys would simply be boring to get involved with. Knowing she was being shut down from the beginning made her feel like she had been wronged, even though there was truly no bond between them other than the fact she was Einas sister... Gauging the girls reactions, Vahn turned to Risna and said, "The world is a veryrge ce, Risna, you can do better by yourself and your sister by expanding your horizons a bit. If you just want to be an Author, I can help sponsor you and even get your books printed for everyone to read...you dont have to worry about money, but please dont make things difficult for the others..." Vahn was very bad at dealing with girls when they were actually sad and he felt somewhat guilty when Risna had a wronged expression on her face. He simply couldnt back down on this though, unless a lot of things changed and she somehow got the approval of the other girls within the Manor. Vahn knew there was actually a chance of it happening, but he wasnt going to be the one to move forward on the matter and was already considering using the private baths in the future. Vahn suspected that Risna would probably try to use the onsen with everyone else and Vahn didnt want things to be awkward by forcing her to be the only person to use a private bath. Hed rather bathe privately with some of the girls, which would also be a good opportunity to strengthen his bonds with them, rather than let it be an issue. As for Aina, they were actually going to be using the Guest Residence for the interim until the situation became clear. Hestia wouldnt allow Thomas to live within the Manor because he was both a City official and a man, which was against the rules she had established. Thomas would probably feel pretty awkward to be around so many young women for a long period of time as well so Vahn had already decided they would stay in the Guest Residence. After packing up a few more things, Vahn escorted the two outside where Fenrir was currently radiating a very intimidating aura that even caused Aina to inhale sharply. Risna nearly fell down when she felt the pressure but Vahn caused a soft bubble-like barrier to appear behind her as support. She was surprised by the sudden appearance of something touching her from behind but calmed down after she made sense of the situation. A small pout appeared on her face because she knew Vahn probably could have caught her but was avoiding her. As for Fenrir, she stopped releasing her aura when the door opened and adopted a very innocent smile as she said, "Fenrir scared away all the dumb people~!" Vahn stroked Fenrirs ears as Terra flittered down from the roof andnded in front of them, surprising Risna again as she muttered, "How beautiful..." in a quiet tone. Terra turned her gaze to Risna in the process and smiled happily before waving as Vahn introduced them, "This adorable little one is Fenrir, a unique Vanargandr. As for the beautiful one, she is Terra, a True Dragon with a perfect affinity for natural elemental energy..." Aina approached Terra without any noticeable inhibitions and closed her eyes slightly, saying, "You have a very calming aura, Terra...Im Aina, Einas mother, it is very nice to meet you." Like most Elves, Aina felt a strange attraction to Terra, almost like she was near one of the sacred trees back in the Elven Kingdom. Risna fl.u.s.tered a little at this point and said, "I-Im Risna, Einas s-sister!" in a surprisingly bashful manner. She realized her mutterings had been heard by everyone present and was very embarrassed by her slip of the tongue. Terra simplyughed in an elegant manner in response and said, "Im Terra, one of my Masters mounts and guardian of the Hearth Manor~." Vahn released a slight sigh while Risnas face turned beet red when she heard Terra say something like being Vahns mount. However, when Terra spontaneously transformed into her dragon form, Risna was able to understand the matter better and was actually very excited when it came to flying through the sky. Though she would have given them a ride anyways, Terra didnt have any problems with Aina and Risna sitting on her back because they both had fortable presences. Ainas elemental affinities were wind, water, and light while Risna actually had a pure wood elemental affinity, which was even rare amongst the Elves. Since she was a Half-Elf, Risna couldnt really make use of her rare affinity, but Vahn could help her ovee that restriction if she one day wanted to be a Mage or a Botanist. Unfortunately, she seemed to be very focused on her writing and Vahn realized that most of the books he had stowed away were actually things written by her and not ones she had purchased elsewhere. Risna was only fourteen years old but had already written more than forty books, almost all rted to fiction and romance. The most surprising thing was the fact that they were all several hundred pages long and Vahn noticed her handwriting was very neat and tidy since he had been able to scan them once they entered his inventory. It was probably rude to have peeked at the contents of her books but Vahn actually couldnt disable the identificationponent of his system and the information was automatically stored in his brain. He even had the information from Ainas, Risnas, and even Thomas personal journals within his mind though he hadnt peeked at them set them aside in the deep recesses of his mind. When they reached the Hearth Manor, Risna eximed, "This is where sis lives...? That is totally unfair!" in a hushed tone. Unfortunately for her, perhaps because she didnt socialize with people often, Risnas hushed tone was actually very loud and everyone could hear her clearly. She showed a pouting expression and averted her eyes while Aina chuckled and stroked her daughters hair, which had be even messier with the wind. When theynded, Vahn stroked Terras nuzzle and passed his hands along her long and slender neck before she flew off and returned to the garden, still in her dragon form. Vahn smiled and watched her departure before saying, "Eina ising, along with several others..." as he turned to the two girls. Risna had a confused expression on her face and was surprised when the door suddenly opened and showed her sister with aplex expression and an awkward smile on her face. Hestia, Hephaestus, Syr, Riveria, and Aki showed up behind her as well. Though she had been eyeing her sister at first, Risna showed a startled look when she saw Riveria and moved closer to her mom, almost like she wanted to hide behind her. Unlike the 160cm tall Eina, and the 171cm tall Aina, Risna was only around 152cm and still in her growth phase with hard to define features since the clothing she wore was somewhat baggy and childish, matching the cute appeal she was going for. The groups converged together and Riveria showed an apologetic look but, before she could say anything, Aina happily brought her hands together and said, "Riveria, congrattions on your engagement! I cant wait to attend the wedding...is that the dress youre going to wear? Its so beautiful and elegant..." Riveria was currently wearing her [Elven Queens Gown] and it had a very regal and noble look, enhancing her immacte features even further, almost as if she were the true Elven Queen already. Hearing Ainas words, Riveria swallowed her own and remained silent for a few seconds before smiling and saying, "Thank you, Aina...it means a lot to me that youll be attending the wedding." Aina had always been closer to an actual sister to her than a chambein, which wasnt wrong since they actually came from simr ancestry. The only thing that kept Aina from being an Alf, and a High-Elf at that, was one generational split and the fact she was from a branch family that had thining blood. Ainas older brother, though they shared different mothers, had actually been born a High-Elf while she had been forced to be a servant as a result of her Elven status... Though they had met several times, Aina introduced Risna once again but the young Half-Elf just hung her head and refused to say anything. Since she had been trying to appeal to Vahn, even though she knew Riveria was going to marry him, Risna felt very intimidated and couldnt make eye contact with her right now. Eina tried to smooth things over a bit by introducing everyone else, but Risna just hid behind Ainas back and seemingly became a very shy girl all of a sudden. As if she was trying to exin her daughters actions, Aina ced her hand on her cheek with a gentle smile and said, "Sorry, Risnas always been a very shy girl...she isnt very sociable, but she is a kind girl and could use a few friends." Vahn wasnt yet aware of it, but one of the reasons Risna became a shut-in was a result of the fact she had been bullied a bit when she was very young. Eina had experienced much the same but, taking pity on her little sister, hardened her own heart and tried to be more mature while protecting Risna to the point where she became somewhat spoiled. Aina and Thomas also contributed to this a great deal because, even though they knew it was bing a problem, they allowed her to hole herself up in the room and be enamored with fiction and solitude. Hestia seemed to have taken pity on Risna as well, saying in a kind tone, "Risna, all of the people that live within the Hearth Manor are kind children. If you open your heart to them, everyone will be your friend, Im certain of it!" Hearing the unknown voice, Risna peeked out and saw Hestia, realizing instantly she was a goddess. However, her eyes snapped to Hephaestus and saw her big belly as shock settled into her heart while recalling the rumors rted to Vahn. Coming back to her senses, Risna nodded her head but continued to use her mothers body as a shield. As if she had inherited the trait from her mother, Eina also put her hand to her cheek and gave her little sister a worried look while sighing. --- Vahn helped Aina get situated in the Guest Residence, allowing her to use the privacy of the second floor for as long as they wanted. She would be staying there with Thomas but was allowed into the Hearth Manor whenever she wanted, since she would probably want to interact with Riveria and Eina. As for Risna, she chose to stay in the West Wing where Riveria resided and quickly became fond of the Library once she learned of its existence. Vahn helped her unload everything into her room before Aina, Eina, and even Syr began helping her set everything up while also sorting through her stuff. Most of her luggage was just things that had been piled up together so it was still a mess even when Vahn pulled it back out. He also gave her a few bookshelves, arge writing desk, and a few helpful tools that would assist her in her writing. Risna was very surprised by how much stuff Vahn kept in his storage, especially since many of the things he gave her seemed solely for her own use. Since she didnt know about his secrets just yet, she misunderstood this to mean that Vahn had already nned for them to move in at some point and he made preparations for it. Though he didnt seem to be willing to give her a chance, Risna was happy that he was so thoughtful and considerate. Since she had met several girls at this point, Risna understood why he wasnt trying to get involved with anyone else because even she was surprised by how many girls seemed to like him. She had previously thought he was involved with her sister, Riveria, and a few goddesses, but now realized that almost every girl she had seen was in some kind of rtionship with him. So far, she had met thirteen different people and had received an exnation of the rules from Syr, a scary woman who also seemed to be in love with Vahn... After hearing some more of the details, even receiving amunication scroll of her own, Risna realized there were more than twenty girls staying within the Hearth Manor and they seemingly all had some kind of rtionship with Vahn. Though this was a very startling fact, it also gave her a strange sense of hope since she discovered there were two sets of sisters amongst the numbers. At the very least, Vahn seemed like a very considerate boy that would help support her regardless of their rtionship. She had ess to a lot of books and Vahn had given her a ton of materials that she could use for writing, so Risna was very happy at how things had developed. --- Once Risna and Aina had settled in, Vahn sat with Hestia, Hephaestus, and Syr in private as he exined some of the changes he as going to make in his living habits. For the time being, he was going to take baths in private because he didnt want to force Risna to be alone all the time. It was a good way to avoid idents with Tina as well, so Vahn figured it would be a good temporary solution. He didnt expect that Risna would stay within the Manor for too long, though her actions seemed to contradict this, so he wanted the girls to help her open up to other people more. Unfortunately, none of them really seemed to agree with his understanding of things as even Hestia exined, "Vahn, its almost impossible for a girl to stay here for a long period of time without eventually getting wrapped up with you..." Syrughed in response to Hestias words and said, "Hestia is right...even Eina probably realizes it herself and is simply spoiling her little sister by allowing her to stay here. I think she wants to help her be happy since it seems like her sister would have trouble actually finding a man unless she was forced into it. Most guys wouldnt really want a wife that just stays cooped up in their room all day and it would probably put a strain on most of her other rtionsh.i.p.s with people...how troubling~." Piggybacking Syrs words, Hephaestus nodded and said, "She seems like the type of girl that only really cares about the things she is interested in...I doubt she could live a normal lifestyle. Unless Aina kicked her out of the house, she probably would have stayed there almost indefinitely. She doesnt seem like the type to really consider her future..." Vahn was a bit taken aback by their words but, when he thought about it very seriously, it really did seem like they saw through to the truth of the matter. Even Eina and Aina seemed to be aware of this, with thetter joking about Vahn taking her youngest daughter as well. There was also the fact that Syr was able to see through a persons true nature very quickly and she was already giving him words of caution. Releasing a sigh, Vahn asked, "Then what should I do? She is a cute girl, but I cant just keep getting involved with everyone I meet. Even if Eina expects something might happen in the future, I dont think she would really be okay with it either...and I dont want to keep burdening everyone else in the Manor." At this point, Hestia spoke out a few surprising words as she said, "Vahn, I dont think anyone here expects that you can even have normal rtionsh.i.p.s anymore. Its almost to the point where, even though we know you arent actually a promiscuous boy by nature, it wouldnt be surprising if you had random flings on asion. However, if you really want to avoid having anything happen between you and Risna, the only choice would be to put restrictions on her and potentially have her move into the Guest Residence or start apprenticing at the Guild. Im certain she would want to stay here at the Manor, given the option, but that almost exclusively ends in one way..." Syr continued where Hestia left off, saying, "The more she opens up to others, the less likely she would actually want to leave the Manor. After enough time passes, this ce would be her home and it is almost guaranteed you would eventually feel sorry for her and move your rtionship forward. You almost have too much empathy andpassion, making you very free in your love and causing you to have multiple rtionsh.i.p.s, even with women you dont initially love." Syr actually knew she was in that category of girls and she was actually very grateful that Vahn was such an open person when it came to love. As if they were working in perfect concert, Hephaestus was stroking her stomach while adding, "You can work over the matter with Eina, but itll ultimately be a decision you have to make Vahn. Try talking to Risna as well...open her up to the idea of moving into a private residence of her own and then try introducing people to her in the future. She seems to enjoy a solitary lifestyle so she should be fine living on her own after adapting. When she matures a bit, she would probably try to find a partner of her own to ease the loneliness in her heart...that is when Aina and Eina can help her find love without having to burden you directly." Vahn realized they were actually giving him a variety of different options while taking into consideration his personality and habits. He felt a little guilty because it almost felt wrong to pawn someone off on somebody else. For almost his entire second life, Vahn had been ustomed to epting people, without pushing them away. When he thought about it, it was very easy to see that Risna would probably have a rtionship with him if he allowed her to stay here long term. If she was here long enough, Vahn would undoubtedly feel guilty for ostracizing her and that would be all it took for things to develop further. Realizing this, Vahn released a sigh and said, "Im sorry. Ill talk to Eina and try to resolve this without it bing an issue..." All three girls gave him gentle looks with a bit of concern in their eyes before Hestias deep blue eyes sparkled slightly and a beautiful smile appeared on her face. With a gentle and guiding tone, Hestia said, "Vahn, I dont think anyone in the entire Manor would me you for the type of person you are. In fact, we all fell in love with you because of the endlesspassion and understanding you show for others...you are the lynchpin that keeps us all together, the heart of our family. Risna seems like a good girl and Im certain everyone would get along with her, regardless of the decision you make. She actually seems a lot like me so I believe we can be good friends~." When Hestia saw the piles of items belonging to Risna, it was almost like she found a kindred spirit and she actually liked having more people to talk to on thework. Hearing Hestias words, Vahn felt a little calmer so he smiled in response and said, "For now, just treat her as an important guest. Ill still be using the private bath since Preasia is still a little self-conscious about the changes in her body. The final decision will be left to Eina and Ill let her deal with things going forward since Im really fickle when ites to making such decisions. Ill continue to push for helping her establish herself as an Author and set up a small bookstore for her within the Alliance territory...it shouldnt take too long, so I think things wont be too difficult to deal with." Though they smiled in response, everyone knew it was the help Vahn provided that would actually make it more difficult for Risna to give up on him. With the current state of the world, there were few people, especially young girls that are typically ostracized by society, that wouldnt be fond of their benefactor. If Risna got used to the idea that she could rely on Vahn, she would want to rely on him even more and, given Vahns nature, he would probably help her out regardless of his feelings. If Aina and Eina didnt oppose the idea, which was unlikely to happen after enough time passed, there was almost only one way things could end. Vahns good intentions and kind nature actually made him a bit dense when it came to things like this but, even if he was an idiot, he was still the boy they all loved... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Anti-Social,Exasperation,Vahn is an idiot) (A/N: I know some people may be annoyed when ites to developments like this, but dont assume she is actually guaranteed to end up with Vahn. The things I write are taking the context into consideration and dont necessarily reflect how the plot will actually develop, as there are numerous things can happen. Risna is still very young so a lot can change by the time she actually wanted to move forward in her rtionship. It would actually need something like a catalyst since its unlikely an introverted girl like her would push forward on her own (UwU). I could exin better why you shouldnt consider her a candidate, but that would reveal too much about the direction the story will go. Just know that nothing is certain until the events actually happen >:D) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 605 - Happiness : Bonds

Chapter 605 - Happiness : Bonds

It was already gettingte in the afternoon and Vahn found Eina was actually at Terras Garden alongside Riveria, Aina, and Ryuu. Since he had also wanted to talk to Aina about the matter of her daughter as well, it was a good opportunity. However, having such a discussion right in front of Riveria, the day before their wedding, was a bit awkward and Vahn was somewhat hesitant before eventually deciding to move forward. He couldnt take a passive approach to such things and Riveria was going to be at the heart of matters soon, especially considering her status and rtionship with Aina. When he arrived, all four girls were soaking their legs in the wellspring and Vahn was actually a little surprised that Aina didnt seem to mind that Terra was n.a.k.e.d. She always had a gentle smile on her face with slightly droopy eyes, almost like nothing could actually phase her. Since he had approached from a spot where they could see him, all four girls noticed his presence and Vahns mind stalled a bit when they all smiled at the same time. Even Terra had turned her head towards him and Vahn felt like he had just wandered into an Elven paradise, or at least a strangend full of pointy-eared girls... Aina was surprisingly the first to respond as sheughed like a bell and said, "Im surprised there is a ce like this within the Hearth Manor...its very peaceful and helps calm the heart." Eina looked at her mother and released a small sigh, saying, "I told you he would probablye here soon." Vahn rubbed the back of his head when he heard Eina and said, "Yeah, I needed to talk to the two of you about Risna..." As he spoke, Vahn looked at Riveria, Ryuu, and then Terra as he considered asking Eina and Aina to apany him into the forest where they could have some privacy. Before he asked, however, Eina moved her feet gingerly through the water and said, "Vahn...I want my sister to be happy, but Im very conflicted because of how peculiar this situation is..." Riveria spoke up at this point and exined in a surprisingly calm tone, "Risna is still young, but her perception of the world has been shaped by her existence as a Half-Elf in a society that isnt that understanding of her existence. It isnt the fault of her family for trying to look after her, but it wont be easy for her to adapt to normal society unless she is broken out of her shell. Unless you intend to take care of her indefinitely, you shouldnt lead her on and give her false hope, Vahn..." Since he didnt expect such words, Vahn was somewhat confused since he didnt think he was doing anything to lead her on. As if to answer his confusion, Ainaughed once again and said, "Its because you are a very handsome and capable boy near her age...its hard to consider your options when the best option is already right in front of you. There is also the fact that you have a cure for the infertility issue when both Eina and Risna had previously resolved themselves to never have children...Im very thankful that you have changed that reality, Vahn, truly...I felt like a failure as a mother knowing my own daughters would grow up without knowing how wonderful it is being mothers themselves..." Aina had originally raised Eina to be a strong girl, knowing she would probably live a difficult life. When Risna was born, however, she felt very guilty and saw the efforts Eina put in to help her little sister, resulting in her spoiling her a great deal as well. She previously believed that they would just look after the flower shop together when Thomas died, as it was actually very possible she would outlive both of her daughters under normal circ.u.mstances. Aina believed she would eventually end up alone, but she felt it was a justifiable punishment for burdening her children with such a cursed existence. Vahn, however, hadpletely changed that and brought her a hope that hadnt existed previously...she truly was grateful to him, especially since he was even able to help Riveria and was likely going to save their entire race. At this point, Ryuu had excused herself since she knew it wasnt her ce to be involved in such a discussion while Terra didnt really feel bothered by it at all. As for Vahn, he felt very awkward to be thanked so suddenly and just walked over to sit down next to Eina. Seeing this, Aina actually got up from her own spot and said, "You should sit between your wives~" in a quiet and yful tone. Even when she was talking about something so serious previously, Ainas expression remained soft and gentle, causing Vahn to feel like he couldnt really go against her as he sat down between Eina and Riveria. The moment he did so, Eina leaned into his shoulder and muttered, "We were talking about it before you showed up..." Though he had already expected it, Vahn sighed when he heard Einas words and just rubbed her shoulder in an effort tofort her. She was a good sister and a very gentle woman, just like her mother, so Eina actually found it more difficult to deny Risna than to ept her. The only thing stopping her was the fact that Eina didnt want to be someone that burdened Vahn and this was definitely unfair to him, regardless of how he actually felt about it. He shouldnt have to be put into a situation like this where he had to make such difficult decisions that contradicted his base character. But, at the same time, Eina also wanted her sister to be happy and she believed that Vahn really was the best option at the moment. Nirvana alone was a life-changing thing and Risna probably wouldnt be able to get over it and simply look for another boy, especially since she never really cared about matters of love in the real world. Her passion had always been fictional romance and, once it reached a certain level, she started writing about it instead, showing no interest in real men until hearing about her marriage with Vahn. Ever since then, Risna had pestered her a great deal about Vahn and, being unable to say any bad things about him, it was almost like she had been advertising her husband to a girl that only knew men from the pages of a book. Like their mother, Eina had also taken pity on Risna and allowed her to get caught up in her own fictional world, doing very little to actually prepare her for real society. She always expected that Risna would end up staying home and helping out around the house, eventually meeting a boy after reaching herte twenties or early thirties. If she didnt find someone she liked, Risna would probably just stay with their mom and help maintain the shop for the rest of her life and simply continue writing books, blissful in her own unique way. Eina herself was aware of the differences in their race, so she knew their mother would have outlived them in normal circ.u.mstances, meaning Aina could have looked after Risna to prevent her from actually being lonely...at least, this was the likely scenario before Vahn came into their lives. She hadnt even considered it a possibility in the past, but after learning about the Divination and undergoing Nirvana, Eina figured things would eventually lead down this road at some point and had simply hoped to avoid it for a longer period of time. After all, she was very concerned about Vahns mentality and wanted him to live a more normal life, not continue introducing new factors into it for him to deal with... After collecting her thoughts, Eina continued by asking, "Vahn, do you think my sister is cute...?" Vahn furrowed his brows in response but Eina had already lifted her head to stare at him, clearly to see if he was being truthful or not. Turning his head up, Vahn started at the blue sky overhead for a few seconds before saying, "There are many beautiful women in the world, but I cant be involved with all of them...yes, your sister is cute, but I dont want to make things awkward for you, Eina. Its fine that you care about her, but you shouldnt make so many sacrifices for the happiness of others. Everything youve done for me is something beyond what I can ever repay, so I should at least have the resolve to make sure you can live with peace of mind..." Einas eyes opened a little wider before she showed a happy smile on her face and hugged Vahns arm, locking her hand with his in the process. With her eyes closed, Eina leaned against his shoulder while Vahn tightened his grip on her hand, resolving himself to do what was necessary to make Eina happy. Before he could actually think of what the best course of action was, however, Eina suddenly said, "I think we should let Risna stay here...I dont want her to be lonely and I think it would be better for her if she could interact with everyone else. And, before you say Im making sacrifices, Im really not...this is actually me being selfish since I want my little sister to be just as happy as I am." Though she still felt very awkward about the situation, hearing Vahns earnest words and knowing the limits he was willing to go for her made Eina feel very warm inside. Even if they went fast, Eina was confident it would be a few years at the earliest before anything actually happened between Vahn and Risna. Her sister wasnt the proactive type and she wouldnt be able to move out of consideration for the other girls in the Manor, especially Riveria, herself, and the various goddesses. Depending on how things progressed, she may even flee the Manor after a bit of time passes since she wouldnt want to upset any of the other girls she opens up to. Vahn furrowed his brows slightly and felt conflicted but it seemed like he hadpletely lost the momentum because Riveria said, "If youre worried about me, you really shouldnt be Vahn. You can call it my pride, but Im not the type that likes to owe great debts to people. Even if she would never ept it, I owe an endless debt of gratitude toward Aina and I would never stand in the way of her childrens happiness. Im also even more indebted to you, something Im sure youve taken into consideration at times and would also never expect me to repay. However, I will always endeavor to do so in the hopes of standing at your side with my head held up high..." Riveria was a very prideful woman and never expected herself to actually be in a situation where she was involved with a man that also had other lovers. However, that had changed drastically when she met and interacted with Vahn and she didnt really have much against the idea, even feeling guilty at times because she felt like she was taking him away from other girls. Her matters, especially regarding the Elven Kingdom and her Races issues, were things that shouldnt have to be entrusted to any singr person. Vahn, however, had taken the burden upon himself while at the same time whittling down her defenses and finding his way into her heart. Riveria had never truly considered matters of love before interacting with him and, now that she had let him into her heart, she really couldnt imagine being with anyone else, at least not if she wanted to be happy... With thebined attacks of his two wives, Vahn felt like it was very difficult to actually say anything about the matter since all of his actual inhibitions were the concerns he had for the other girls. People may call him fickle in love, something he was very aware of himself, but Vahn actually wanted to show his love to others. If Risna actually approached him in the future, he knew things would eventually progress to that point because he wanted to show people the same love he received from them. With Eina, Riveria, and even Aina seemingly supporting that development, Vahn found himself at a loss for words. He held hand with Eina and Riveria in silence for a very long period of time, staring aimlessly toward Terra and watching her tail snake through the water... After collecting himself, Vahn grabbed their hands more firmly and said, "I will not actively pursue Risna...but if things develop to that point, I will do my best to make her happy..." It felt strange to talk about such things when the most important part of the equation, Risna herself, was currently absent. There was actually no guarantee she would even want to be involved with him in the future, though all the signs pointed towards such a development happening. She had already tried to appeal to him several times since their first meeting but that could just be her childishness and curiosity getting the better of her. For some girls, it was safe to try and tease men they didnt actually think they had a chance with and Risna seemed like that type of girl from what he could see. The only contrasting point was that she was very introverted by nature but had tried behaving in a forward manner when they first met... At this point, Eina sighed and released a, "Mouuu~" sound of exasperation before saying, "Vahn, Ill never forgive you if my sister gets pregnant before me..." It was obviously a joke, but Eina was actually very serious about it at the same time. It had always been an important part of her character to be the big sister and she even made a request that Vahn didnt make her look younger than Risna previously. She couldnt tolerate the idea of her little sister suddenly getting pregnant before her and wondered if she needed to try harder in the future. Vahn felt a cold sweat when he heard Einas words and reminded her, "I can help you get pregnant whenever you want, Eina, you just have to let me know..." Eina flushed a deep crimson when she received Vahns reminder because, if not for her wanting things to happen naturally, she would probably already be pregnant. Even Riveria flushed slightly since she knew tomorrow would probably be the day she herself became a prospective mother. As for Aina, she began tough in an elegant manner after seeing Einas and Riverias expressions, musing at how forward Vahns words were. She actually didnt know about Vahns ability to guarantee pregnancy and thought he was just talking about being more proactive in the bedroom. Somehow, the image of her little sis, Riveria, showing a bashful expression in the bed made Aina feel a very strong desire tough. --- Vahn spent the remainder of the afternoon talking with the three girls, even having Terra join them at one point as they all sipped on tea and ate a few snacks. Though it might be unfair to Risna, it was decided that she would be kept in the dark about the decision that had been made because everyone wanted her to get close to the others first. To avoid any potential conflicts from urring, though it was rather unlikely given the current climate within the Manor, it was important that Risna be part of the group first. She would have to take the same vows as everyone else and, even if she wasnt interested in training, would need to help around the house and stuff at the very least. Even Preasia did things like cooking and cleaning while even opting to have one of the smaller rooms in the Manor since she didnt want to take advantage of the kindness she received. Unless Risna could be cured of her bad habits, it was too dangerous for her to actually be in amitted rtionship. Since she would probably undergo many changes by interacting with the other girls, it was important she didnt have the pressure of a potential rtionship on her mind as it would dictate how she acts around the others. Leaving it as a spective matter might pressure her in a different way, but it also gave her the opportunity to open herself up and try to get closer to people other than Aina and Eina. Since she actually had good synergy with Hestia and Haruhime, it wouldnt be a bad idea to entrust her to them, especially thetter since Haruhime was very interested in books as well. That would also allow her to talk with people like Hephaestus while interacting with girls like Mikoto, Naaza, Lili, Preasia, and potentially even the group of Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya. Since Tiona was fond of stories, she actually joined the youth troupe when Vahn was reading to them. Lefiya was actually slightly younger than Risna and could probably be a good friend to her if they got along well, which didnt seem like a big barrier since Lefiya was actually a very considerate girl... After discussing it for a bit, Vahn started to realize that the Manor was actually a very safe ce for people that were either damaged or hadnt adapted to society. There were many people that were very caring and almost everyone gathered was very considerate of everyone else. Just being around would slowly reshape how people saw the world, often allowing them to be much stronger people as a result. It was a little strange to consider, as he was at the heart of everything, but Vahn felt like what they had created together was a very beautiful thing. He just needed to find out a way to spread his time better so that he could show each girl the affection the deserved while also looking over his future children. Preasias Innate may provide some insight into that, but there was also a good chance he could learn how to make dimensional and memory orbs from Eva. Regardless of which route he ended up taking, the most important thing was that he treated the matter seriously and continued doing his best. Even if things didnt always work out, Vahn felt like the powerful bonds everyone had been building were strong enough to keep things from falling apart. Since he was the heart, Vahn just needed to make sure he didnt let them down by making a decision that would drag them all onto a path that was filled with regret and loneliness...such as the one he experienced in the Divination. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Pointy-Eared Paradise,TFW the mom is trying to pawn their children off on you...,Dont f.u.c.k it up, Vahn-boi (UwU)~!) (A/N: Once again, let me reiterate that this doesnt guarantee anything will happen, its just a setup in ordance with the context of the story. Btw, I almost cant wait to escape the Danmachi record after this so I can avoid doing harem stuff for the most part xD. It is almost painful at this point!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 606 - Disturbance

Chapter 606 - Disturbance

Vahn spent the evening with Hephaestus since Eina actually decided to spend a bit of time with her family at the Guest Residence, even dragging her sister out of her room to apany her. Hephaestus was well into her pregnancy so they didnt do anything other than cuddling, not that Vahnined at all since Hephaestus helped him rx a great deal just by hugging him. Though he didnt really have a preference for bust size, Vahn felt that it was veryfortable to be hugged by a mature woman with big b.r.e.a.s.ts since it helped calm his mind. Since Hephaestus also seemed quite fond of the action, it was doubly effective and Vahn quickly ended up falling asleep with her stroking his head very lovingly... Good things are typically short-lived, however, and it didnt seem like the flies lingering around the Manor had any intention on letting him rest. Around midnight, Vahn felt a ping pass through the defensive formation protecting the Manor. It was triggered by Terra but Vahn knew she wouldnt activate it unless she wanted to call his attention to something. Waking with a start, Vahn equipped his armor and exined, "Ill be back shortly, you dont have to bother yourself with this matter." before giving Hephaestus a quick kiss and heading outside. A rumbling sound emitted from the northern side of the Manor and Vahn felt vibrations through the ground, using [Shundo] to close the distance in a hurry. What he saw when crossing over the top of the Manor made Vahn release a sigh before he leaped down to the ground without hurrying along any longer. Terra was currently in her dragon form and there were several Elves wearing dark clothingying all over the ground. Through his link, Vahn could sense Fafnir as well but it seemed to be using the shadows to seal off any possible path of retreat. At this point, only a single Elf remained conscious and she was pressed to the ground under Terras w. Vahn was somewhat surprised to see a woman but it wasnt as if the policies of the Elves only influenced men. Terra turned to him as he approached and said, "Master, this one should be the leader of this little night party~." Though she was a pacifist by nature, Terra was incredibly territorial and the fact they had tried to invade the Manor earned the Elves her ire. She hadnt killed any of them personally, but she made sure to punish any of them that tried to cast magic within her dominion. Since Elves primarily used nature-based magic, they couldnt even form spellspletely unless she allowed them to. The exception were those few who had powerful wind magic, but they were the first to fall when Fafnir appeared andpletely dominated them. Vahn looked around and saw a big crater that made him grimace and swear to ask forpensation from the Elven Kingdom in the future. Walking forward, Vahn saw the Elven woman who looked like she was a few breaths short of death as Terra continued to press her into the ground with enough force to almost bury her. Waving his hand, Terra moved her foot away before Vahn grabbed the back of the womans hood and lifted her up as if she was a stray cat, asking, "Tell me, what allows you toe into my home uninvited in the middle of the night? Is this the Elven Kingdoms way of dering war on the Alliance?" The Elven woman had honey-blond hair and purple eyes, somewhat unique considering she was a full-blooded Elf. She had a fierce look on her face until Vahn mentioned the prospect of war in such a casual manner. Seeing the green dragon standing at the side, she didnt think they would fare well in a war against such creatures. Their nine members had beenpletely decimated almost immediately after the fight began, barely managing to cast a single spell even with theirbined efforts. However, she refused to show weakness in front of a human boy, especially one that was holding one of their nobles hostage, even more so since the one being held captive was Riveria, the daughter of the King... With a serious look on her face, she said in a cold tone, "Go ahead and kill me, human, but know we will never let you get away with this. Our ancestral spirits will curse you and your entire lineage until there is nothing left! Despicable...fiend!" Vahn arched his brow and asked, "Im despicable for wanting to protect my home from intruders? Interesting theory...so, are you going to tell me why you came here?" Given how the woman was reacting, Vahn felt like things werent quite clear and he was interested to see what excuse she might have at the ready. Unfortunately, she didnt seem to be willing to talk and just maintained a resolute look in her eyes as she gnashed her teeth. Vahn continued to hold her by her cloak and contemted what he was going to do, audibly hmming as if he didnt really care about her re at all. He passed his perception over all the unconscious members of the group and saw that, other than some very serious injuries, none of them were dead yet. Since none of them actually had ck auras, Vahn knew they werent truly bad people and were probably being misled somehow. He already decided earlier that he didnt feel like killing people on his day off so he just dropped the woman unceremoniously and let her fall to the ground. Her impression of him really didnt matter and he saw no need to treat her kindly, especially since she cursed his entire lineage with her baseless threats. While he was collecting all the bodies, the woman actually tried to cast a spell at his back but Vahn theatrically snapped his fingers and her magic circlepletely shattered, causing her to cough up blood in response. Terra held her w up and asked, "Do you want me to break even more of your bones~?" in an eerily gentle tone. This time, the Elven woman just gnashed her teeth andy powerlessly against the ground as shemented her failure. Several of her ribs were broken and, if not for the fact she was nearly Level 4 in strength, she might have been squashed by Terra previously. Of course, Terra had held back her strength as she had no actual desire to kill anything unless it was a real threat. After gathering up all the bodies, Vahn pulled out an ornate staff that immediately caused the woman to close her eyes tightly when a massive magic circle appeared under his feet. She thought Vahn had gathered them up to simply get rid of them all at once but, instead of pain and agony, she felt a gentle and invigorating warmth. The pain in her ribs began to fade away and she was able to breathe normally after a short few seconds had passed. Opening her eyes, she saw all of herpanions were being healed at a visible rate and looked to Vahn with confusion. The magic circle faded away shortly thereafter and Vahn tossed the staff back into his Inventory with a wave of his hand. Seeing the confusion on the womans face, Vahn tilted his head and asked, "What, are you really disappointed I didnt kill you?" At this point, the other Elves began to wake up as well, all showing cautious looks with clear disbelief written on their faces. Fafnir and Terra were both around but they all knew the most dangerous entity was the boy standing right in front of them with an evil smile on his face hidden behind a mask of gentleness. Vahn saw their reactions and released a sigh before asking, "Are you really not going to tell me your reason for trespassing my Manor? Well, I can pretty much guess some of the reasons so it doesnt really matter...well, Ill be taking you to the guards now, so exin it to them if you feel like it." Since none of them seemed evil, Vahn assumed they had probably been led astray somehow and it seemed to be the case given how they were all pretty young, probably between 30-50 years old. The strongest among them was only Level 3 and she didnt really seem to have the awareness of an Adventurer, meaning she probably spent the majority of her childhood in the Elven Kingdom. As for the rest, they were all Level 2 but that was the norm for those that left the Kingdom and Vahn could tell by the density of their mana they didnt maximize their potential before Leveling up. Because none of them answered, even after he waited for a few long seconds, Vahn waved his hand and summoned [Enkidu]. The group panicked and tried to react to the sudden attack, but Vahn just converged his domain on them and, from their perspective at least, it was like having gravity multiple several times and they couldnt rise. A few secondster, they were all wrapped up in a shining golden ball that Vahn unceremoniously picked up. He would have gotten Fafnir or Terra to try and move it, but he knew from experience they would lose their strength in the attempt. Heaving them over his shoulder, Vahn ignored them trying to writhe about and let their curses wash over him like a light drizzle that couldnt even harm the earthworms below. Using [Shundo], which was quite the experience for the Elves who thought he could teleport, Vahn quickly reached the gate and threw the golden ball into the street where guards were already waiting. Vahn exined, "These people invaded the territory of the Hestia Familia and have kept their identities and purpose a secret. Ill leave them to the Eirene Familia to investigate, but will be expecting a report so we can follow-up on the matter in the future." The man Vahn was speaking to was named Gilbert, one of the Level 3 Guard Captains that typically patrolled around the Hearth Manor during the evenings. He quickly had his men bind up the Elves before gagging their mouths with a rope covered in runes, effectively sealing away their ability to chant. Though most of the people within the Eirene Familia could be trusted, Vahn gestured before the guards dragged them away and brought the group to a stop. Gilbert looked over, asking, "Was there another matter, Sage Aldrnari-sama?" in an almost reverential tone. Most of the senior members of the Eirene Familia had a great deal of respect for Vahn since Eirene often serenaded them with tales of his heroic deeds. When he saw Vahn carrying a bundle of people on his shoulder as if they were a sack of potatoes, Gilbert had nearly burst outughing at the sight and was very impressed by how casual he acted when dealing with criminals. Vahn locked eyes with three different people in the bundle of Elves, including the purple-eyed woman that was likely the leader of the group. He smiled to Gilbert and said, "These people may have been misled and entered the territory of the Hestia Familia without knowing the severity of their offense. Make sure they arent mistreated and have Eirene and Loki deal with them personally if necessary...I dont want to learn they were mistreatedter on, okay?" Gilbert immediately gave a loud salute by nging his gauntleted fist against his b.r.e.a.s.tte and saying, "You can leave it to me! On my pride as a Guard Captain of the Eirene Familia, I, Gilbert Motier, will swear to see these Elves are treated fairly and in a just manner!" Though he knew Gilbert was amendable man, Vahn was surprised by his earnest behavior and smiled happily when he saw the magical light of a vow emerge and pass into Gilberts chest. Pulling a ck tab from his Inventory, Vahn tossed it over and said, "Feel free to stop by the Clubhouse in the future, Captain Gilbert." As he hadnt expected such a reward, Gilberts face beamed and he hastily pocketed the ck slip before urging his men to escort the Elves to the closest outpost, which was only a few blocks away. His colleagues looked at him with envious eyes because the Clubhouse was actually growing very famous recently and many people wanted membership. Since the slip would allow him to invite up to two people, assuming they were vetted by the other members, many people started considering how best to butter up to Gilbert in the future... Vahn watched the guards march away before deciding to check the perimeter of the Manor to make sure there werent any other ces that had been broken through. He could tell they actually used a very rare talisman that allowed them to pass through most barriers undetected and there was a non-zero chance others may do the same. It was a little annoying so Vahn figured he should help Terra expand her dominion further in the future since they couldnt really fool her senses unless they couldpletely avoid the ground. Since flight magic would immediately trigger Fafnirs notice, the Manor would bepletely protected at all times as long as it and Terra were present. At least he could guess at the identity of the backers of the group since a single talisman cost as much as ten-million Valis, something most people couldnt afford one of, much less nine. After checking the entire perimeter, Vahn went to Terras Garden for a bit to thank her for her efforts and spend a little time with her. She slept outside far more than she slept inside and Vahn couldnt really say anything about it since she was simply morefortable at the heart of her Dominion than anywhere else. He had even offered to help build arge greenhouse in the area and allow her to use a normal bed, but Terra preferred her roost since beds actually werent thatfortable to her in her humanoid form. She couldnt easilyy on her back with both her wings and tail in the way and it was actually more than a little ufortable toy t on her stomach. She preferred to rest at an incline with her legs and wings soaking in the wellspring so Vahn respected her decision. Though he had already given the clear signal through thework, considering that many of the girls had probably woken up after the ping, Vahn hurried back to Hephaestus side after a while and climbed back into bed. He had wasted an hour outside at this point and was somewhat eager to return to her warmth, as it was easily one of the mostfortable feelings since their bodies had very highpatibility. She was the only goddess he had been able topletely fuse with in the past, as a result of his [Heart of the Eternal me] and the perfect fire elemental affinity it afforded him. Her body could actually increase to several hundred degrees when she was very excited, something that incited Vahn to do the same and it was always a very exciting experience even though they had only done it twice. This time, though, Vahn had no intention of doing something so exciting and was just happy to feel the warmth from Hephaestus stomach as she held his head close and hugged him in her warm embrace. The only person that gave him morefort was Hestia, but that was a result of her honestly ridiculous Love parameter and the influence of her Divinity. Vahn had learned at this point that, if it came to Family, Hestia had a lot of power and could say some verypelling things that always reached the hearts of those that were listening. This was why, when they had first met, Vahn would fall into a daze when sheforted him and it was almost hypnotic how pleasant and gentle her words were. Even now, just by thinking about her, Vahn could feel an all-epassing love suddenly wrap around him and it was almost like Hestia was cradling him alongside Hephaestus... --- There was no real need to wake up early, but Vahn still awoke just before 5 AM and checked the status of Evas orb before stroking Hephaestus hair, saying, "Im going to check to make sure nothing else tried to slip in while we were sleeping. Go ahead and rest longer since the wedding wont be for a few hours..." Finished with his words, Vahn leaned over and kissed Hephaestus on the forehead before heading down to do exactly what he said. He wasnt surprised at all to be intercepted by Riveria along the way and exined the situation to her, including the details and descriptions of all the Elves that invaded. Riveria didnt seem to know any of them, as it was somewhat difficult to actually tell Elves apart since many had simr traits if they were from the same n. For example, if Vahn told her it was a beautiful Elven woman with blond hair and blue eyes", Riveria would be able to imagine more than a hundred different possibilities, just from memory alone. Since it wasnt that important to worry about them right now, they just spent some time inspecting the formation together while making small talk. Riveria had actually calmed down a lotpared to how she had been acting throughout the week so Vahn was happy. She had probably talked with Aina a bit more and, as they were both very close to each other, Riveria likely came to some important decisions and found the resolve she was looking for. This afternoon would be a key moment in Riverias life so it was better she was ready beforehand, which seemed to be the case based on the stability of her aura and her behavior. Vahn was greatly looking forward to their wedding as well and was uncharacteristically more fl.u.s.tered by the idea than Riveria...at least for the time being. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Terra has a crush for Vahn~,Gilbert unlocks [Luck],Riverias Calm Disposition...?) (A/N: Were Rank 9~! Those are rookie numbers (>,...,<)~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 607 - Ascent

Chapter 607 - Ascent

Back in the Manor, everyone was preparing for theing celebration even though it would essentially just be them all sitting outside and having a pic. This would be a very low-key wedding, considering Riveria was an actual Princess, but they could always have arger one once the Elven Kingdom takes a step back on the issue. They would likely want to celebrate the union between Vahn and Riveria in the future, especially once a few matters came to light and were poprized. Though he couldnt transform into a Progenitor just yet, Vahn could still turn into a High Elf with incredible blood purity. Once this was known, after some other matters were dealt with, there would be no justification for why Riveria couldnt be with him, regardless of how they tried to spin things. In preparation for the wedding, even though Vahn would be the one escorting them into the upper atmosphere, Riveria was whisked away by Aina, Eina, Ryuu, Lefiya, and Loki. Vahn was certain Riveria was just going to wear the [Elven Queens Gown], but they may have something different in mind so he was a little excited. As for what he would be doing before they departed, Vahn was sitting at the very top of the Manor with Fenrir happily sticking to his back. Ever since the previous incident, she had actually calmed down a lot and acted far less promiscuous, reverting back into her adorable an innocent self. Since she was very receptive to the changes in his mentality, Fenrir knew she had done something bad previously and was now on her best behavior so Vahn would be happy. Preasia actually reported to him about her dreams and, other than the very first night, Fenrir mostly spent her time just ying within the dreamscape. She did things like frisbee, hunting, killing monsters, ying tag, etc. Since she also didnt really like the fake version of him too much, Fenrir didnt do much to stay in contact with his dream self and was simply happy to around something like looked like him. Vahn promised they would go hunting for real in the future so Fenrir was practicing hard while releasing some stress in the dreamscape. As for Preasia, she also had a great deal of fun because she could change her body and do all kinds of interesting things. She had even been able to let Fenrir run around in her palm before, something Fenrir was very spooked by since it would admittedly be very perturbing seeing a mountain-sized Preasia... Looking over, Vahn saw a few Elves skulking about around the premises but they were quickly forced away by the patrolling guards, which had increased in number since the upper echelons were aware of the wedding taking ce. Vahn released a heavy sigh and wondered how so many Elves could be mustered to pester them in such a short period of time but, after thinking about it in detail he could understand it a bit. Because of the negative rtions between the Elven Kingdom and almost every other country, even those they sent out to experience different cultures only had a few options open. Unless they joined merchant caravans, the only practical choice would be to visit Orario since there was a wealth of culture, information, and resources. They could also train up their people by sending them into the Dungeon while also infiltrating various Familia by inserting their people into it. Vahn realized that the other countries outside of Orario probably did the exact same thing, though typically without any real harm being done. Many people, once they got away from their homnds for a long enough period of time, usually mellowed out a bit since it was easy to see that Orario was a much better ce to live than many of their home countries. Unfortunately, many of them still returned home after a while because of familial rtionsh.i.p.s and othermitments they were pelled to stick to. Most of the permanant residents were those that either migrated to the City or fled to it as a refugee after escaping some tragic circ.u.mstances... Stroking the top of Fenrirs head, as she had moved to hisp after a while, Vahn said, "Fenrir, lets do our best to make this City a ce where everyone can live a free and happy life...dont you think that would be nice?" Fenrir tilted her head up and had a thoughtful expression on her face, pulling her lip with one of her ws before saying, "Everything is better when people are happy...Fenrir knows. Fenrir will do her best to help Master beat up all the bullies~!" Though she hadnt truly opened up to anyone, except perhaps Preasia, Fenrir knew everything was better if people were happy. They treated each other nicely, worked together, and helped each other out when things got hard. She didnt understand why people even bothered stirring up trouble because it only made things harder for everyone else. She believed that, if everyone just listened to her Master and tried to be good, everything would work out... Unaware of what she was thinking, Vahn rested his chin on Fenrirs head and scratched around the base of her ears while she happily kicked her feet about without losing her bnce. She really was very ther.a.p.eutic to him when she was behaving and Vahn wished she would stay like this almost indefinitely, even though he knew things would have to change in the future. Though she hadnt told him directly, he learned from Syr, who heard from Mn, that Fenrir wanted to stay inside Evas orb in the future so she could grow up. Vahn suspected she would be much stronger and would probably mature a fair amount if they were actually separated for an entire three years...with Evas icy disposition, Fenrir would likely mellow out a great deal while also fostering her desire to be with him even more. By the time they reunited, Vahn expected she would have changed entirely...but he wasnt going to stop her if that was the path she chose for herself. Vahn knew he spoiled Fenrir a bit, almost since the moment she came into existence after her transformation, but that was also his decision to make. He wanted to take responsibility for the hard life he had forced on her by giving her something like [Insatiable Hunger] that could negatively influence her mind and cause her stress. Everyone else contributed to her being a little spoiled, just like how Eina, Aina, and Thomas had contributed to Risna turning into a shut-in. Since he couldnt tolerate the idea of imprisoning her within her orb, Vahn had to help Fenrir establish a baseline while giving her some coping methods to deal with stress, something she had managed with great effort. If Fenrir hadnt done her very best, Vahn wouldnt have spoiled her nearly as much and now it had be a habit he simply refused to give up. He still remembered what she was like beforehand and knew the current Fenrir was far more well-behaved than her prior self, urging him to continue treating her fairly so as not to undermine her efforts to grow. At the very least, she prioritized being a good girl, oftenpletely changing how she wanted to behave by using that as a metric. She also restricted some of the more problematic girls within the group from losing control and now everyone got along in a carefully maintained bnce. Since she had been so instrumental to the sess of everything, while also helping bnce his mental state when he was stressed out, Vahn simply couldnt stop spoiling her...even if she was a little bad at times. Since she could sense what her Master was thinking, Fenrir was in a very good mood and knew her behavior over thest week had made him happy. Though she liked doing a.d.u.l.t things with the dream Master, it really wasnt that fun when she really thought about it. Just sitting in hisp felt more real than anything she did in the dreamscape and feeling his touch made her happy. She knew they would be able to have all kinds of fun once she matured, so Fenrir decided to just practice hard so she could make him even happier in the future. Though she wouldnt be able to use her mouth, Fenrir was confident she would be able to use other parts of her body to make her Master smile and praise her... After 11 AM rolled around, Vahn sensed a pulse from Mikoto that informed him everything was ready and Fenrir immediately jumped up without being prompted. She wouldnt be going to the wedding this time around so she decided to just go y for a bit until her Master returned. Vahn watched her leap down from the top of the Manor andnd nimbly on the ground below, a distance of more than 15m. With a smile on his face, he disappeared from the spot using [Shundo] and made his way to the rendezvous point after a second short jump. As expected, Riveria was still wearing the [Elven Queens Gown] but she had be inarguably more beautiful over a very short period of time. Vahn was a little stunned when he first saw her because, even though she stood amongst a group of goddesses, Riveria was like the centerpiece of them all. Her hair had been braided in a veryplex fashion and she actually had a goldenurel crown that was twined together with some kind of bone that looked like ivory. She had a veil covering the lower half of her face and it was encrusted with gems that ented her eyes and gave her a mysterious and elegant appeal. Most notably, however, was the fact Riveria was done up with a lightyer of makeup that made her fair skin look entirely unblemished, not that she had any spots beforehand. Riveria did her best to keep eye contact with him at first but eventually averted her eyes as Loki beganughing and saying, "I always wondered what kind of person would be able to im this ice queens heart. Who would have thought it was the same boy that even I fell in love with~." Hearing her words, Hestia showed a small pouting expression and said, "Loki, most of us here are in love with Vahn, but that isnt important right now. Today is Riverias day so dont say thoughtless things~!" Loki wanted to remark that Hestia added on to what she said but decided against it when she saw Vahns gaze was having trouble pulling itself free from Riveria. Hestia was right about one thing, being that today was Riverias day and it wouldnt really be fair for her, especially as Riverias goddess, to make things difficult for her. Vahn had walked over at this point and had a gentle expression on his face as he said, "You look beautiful..." He wanted topliment the other girls as well, but Vahn also keyed in on Hestias words and saw that even Loki had taken a step back on the matter. For the time being, Vahns focus should be Riveria alone and it was already difficult for her to be doing things in such a peculiar fashion. Normally, an Elven Royal Wedding would be a massive affair and not something so rushed. However, all of that ir wouldnt really be able to touch upon the unique wedding they were about to have and Riveria herself was very aware of that fact. Still, she had made a lot of concessions and Vahn wanted this day to be memorable for her so that she never looked back on this moment with regrets. Extending his hand, Vahn waited for Riveria to eventually grab it before leading her up on Fafnirs back using the stairs it had created for them. Fafnir was currently halfway in the ground and had shaped its scales to have a step-like pattern so it was very easy to walk up even though Riveria was wearing a long gown. Hestia, Loki, Aina, Ryuu, and Lefiya came up after them while Hephaestus and Eina actually chose to stay behind since it would potentially detract from the experience for Riveria to have his other wives present. It was also a fact that Fafnirs back, though ratherrge, couldnt really hold too many people without things bing cramped. This was why Vahn had originally only allowed six people toe freefalling with him in the past, as it was simply the right amount given the space avable. Vahn helped Riveria sit down, even though she could have easily done so herself, before taking the seat immediately to her right. Loki and Hestia sat close behind them and held the handles Fafnir had produced while Aina, Ryuu, and Lefiya took up the rear, with Lefiya in the center of them so she wouldnt fall off. Ryuu had already experienced going up into the atmosphere previously while Aina had actually ridden wyverns in the past and had some expectations. As for Lefiya, she was a little fretful since she was scared of heights, at least for the time being, while Hestia and Loki were goddesses that were more interested in experiencing something new than anything else. Thus, with everyone taking their seats, Fafnir began its ascent towards the chaotic membrane that separated the Mortal World and the Heavens... It was a very quiet and solemn flight at first but Loki seemed to get a little bored after a while and began making small talk with Lefiya, Aina, and Ryuu, not even bothering to hold the handle anymore. There was a powerful wind barrier around Fafnir and its ascent was very stable, almost invalidating the need for the handle entirely. Once she realized that, Lokis excitement dwindled a bit and she figured teasing Lefiya a bit would be a more interesting way to pass the time. As a goddess, she had seen the entire Mortal World from Heaven, observing it for hundreds of millions of years before her descent, so Loki wasnt that interested in the sights. It was difficult to be awed by overlooking the Continent when you once overlooked the entire world, including the other two Continents. Hestia was much the same, but she kept silent and just rxed since the flow of mana in the upper atmosphere was actually veryfortable. This influenced Riveria, Aina, Ryuu, and Lefiya as well, allowing thetter to calm down a great deal even though their height continued to increase. Ryuu exined to Lefiya that, as long as she had more than 1800 total Endurance, there was no danger even if she fell for thousands of meters. It was a little difficult to believe at first, but Ryuu exined their free fall event in the past, reminding the young Elf about an actual event that took ce. The only thing she needed to do wasnd properly and she wouldnt have any problems at all,pletely excluding the fact she could also cast barrier magic or slow her descent with wind magic. Since Lefiya was a very sensible and studious girl, she was quickly able to see the truth of the matter and calmed down very quickly. It helped that Aina exined falling from a wyvern in the past after getting into an aerial fight and, even though she fell from a few hundred meters, she only got a few scr.a.p.es and bruises without any major injuries. Ryuu also went into a bit of detail about the exnation Vahn had given previously, discussing things like terminal velocity and the like so Lefiya had an even better understanding of the event. Even as a Mage, Lefiyas Agility was actually over 2500 so she knew her dash speed actually exceeded the falling speed of terminal velocity described by Ryuu. It was difficult to believe such a concept existed but, once it was exined clearly, Lefiya began to question why nobody else had ever discovered it in the past... Loki had been listening in on the conversation as well and exined, "There are only a few gods that have ever had the Gravity Divinity so it has always been a pretty mysterious concept. Most of them exin it away as the attraction between two different objects based on various factors, such as mass, mana density, and even their parameters. As for all that wind resistance and stuff, that is just basicmon sense and its the fault of mortals for simply overlooking what happens right before their eyes. If you want to correct such misunderstandings, focus on educating people properly when that School is established. I imagine, as one of Vahns apprentices, youll end up working there as something like an instructor or professor, right~?" Hearing Lokis words, Lefiya was genuinely shocked because she never actually thought about bing something like a teacher. Given her status, it actually made a lot of sense she would end up working at the School at some point, especially if Vahn needed her help. Lefiya knew that Riveria would also be there and, even if she hadnt been pulled in initially, she would likely be an example for the new magic system Vahn was going to be teaching. Realizing this, Riveria felt a fiery resolution burning in her chest and promised herself to work hard when the time came. So as not to shame her Master, Lefiya would be a great Mage that could inspire the younger generation to greatness! Loki gave Lefiya a strange look because she could easily see that Lefiyas resolve had been ignited by her teasing words. Though Lefiya hadnt told her about it, Loki already knew she had somehow be Vahns subordinate and their rtionship had changed in a strange manner. Loki was actually quite envious of the bonds Vahn could create with other people because she had also learned of the influence of orders after discussing it with Anubis, Riveria, Hestia, and Hephaestus. Riveria, especially, had been doc.u.menting the changes in Lefiya and it was truly remarkable to see the progress she had made over thest two months. Previously, Lefiya had been a very bashful and polite girl that was prone to delusions and failed to interact with the vast majority of people in a normal manner. Now, Lefiya had changed a great deal and could even talk casually with most of the residents of the Manor while disying levels of confidence she had never disyed previously. She couldnt even cast spells without people protecting her but, ording to recent observations, Lefiya was actually moving around a lot duringbat and barraging enemies at a middle range instead of hiding behind other people. If she had such an ability, Loki felt like she could have built the most powerful and loyal Familia in the entire world, easily conquering the Dungeon after a few decades of preparation... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir is a good girl (UwU),Time to get high,Lokis L.u.s.t For Power) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 608 - Unity : Matrimony

Chapter 608 - Unity : Matrimony

As the oxygen levels continually decreased, the outside temperature lowered alongside it until it was cold enough to begin freezing the tips of Fafnirs wings. It didnt really mind much at all and, even without the protective wind barrier shielding the group, they wouldnt have had any trouble resisting the cold and drawing what little oxygen they could from the air. Even Lefiya and Aina wouldnt have any trouble in the low-oxygen environment because they could easily hold their breath for several minutes and supplemented theck of oxygen with mana. This was one of the key differences about people within the record of Danmachi, aspared to lower tiered worlds, as they were far more resilient with the existence of mana. As for Hestia and Loki, they didnt show any signs of difort at all, even though they were both Level 1 ording tomon knowledge. Their Divine Souls not only nourished their body and granted them immortality, but they didnt need to do things like eat, sleep, or even breathe if they didnt feel like it. Even if they were standing in the chaotic void of space, they wouldnt actually have any problems whatsoever, though there were some instances where Vahn had seen contradictions to this truth. There had been instances of Hestias stomach rumbling out of hunger and Loki had often shown shortness of breath whenever they were together. They would also have their heart rates increase during excitement, and could get fatigued by exerting themselves, even though they were theoretically tireless. It wasrgely based on their own perception of things and depended on what they wanted to feel after taking into consideration the influence of their Divinity. An example would be, if a god didnt want to feel pain, there was nothing anyone could do to make them feel it. All of the contradictions he had seen were their methods of emting mortals and Vahn wasnt entirely sure how it worked currently as he was only a Tier 3 entity... Eventually, Fafnirs ascent came to a halt and the scales on its back began to shift at the sides until it created a rtively t tform so everyone would standfortably. Vahn smiled because he didnt even give Fafnir such an order, meaning it was thinking for itself and making decisions based on its own understanding of things. Much like Fenrir, it had also been maturing and Vahn spent more time with itpared to the past, though it was typically just flying around and grooming its scales. Rising to his feet, Vahn helped Riveria stand while Hestia and Aina actually stepped forward to help Loki. Since she looked scarily pregnantpared to the other girls, Vahn had a tendency to be very concerned about her and would have helped her stand up if the others hadnt stepped in. She smiled at in him in return but seemed to hold back in the end since her expression changed subtly and she said, "Okay, lets go ahead and carry out the ceremony. Since youre both from different Familias, Hestia and I will both preside over the ceremony while the others can stand as witnesses to the event. Also, though the sights are quite beautiful, we shouldnt take too long since it can be dangerous for mortals to be exposed to chaos for long periods of time..." Though there were stars and other celestial bodies in the sky, the Danmachi record was actually a nar world and didnt have a normal universal structure. Most of the stars were just the constructs of variousws and, even if you traveled through space for thousands of lightyears you would never get any closer to them whatsoever. Instead of emptiness, space was filled with chaotic energies that would slowly drain the normal mana from your body, corrupting it until you eventually were overwhelmed by the energy and destroyed. There were also some of the rare elemental energies present, such as space, time, destruction, and gravity, causing space itself to be unstable when you got further away from the. Vahn escorted Riveria to the edge of the tform where they could overlook the world below together, once again seeing how small the continent waspared to the vastness of the world itself. Another massive difference between the Danmachi record was the fact that, as a nar world, the itself wasnt a sphere at all and instead existed as arge, seemingly t structure. Other than the gods, nobody knew exactly how vast the Mortal World was and, other than the existence of the two other Continents, there were many unknowns that Vahn one day wanted to uncover. For now, however, he needed to focus on what was most important, which was his every increasing family and the beautiful woman standing to his left. Lefiya, Aina, and Ryuu had all looked over the edge as well, with Lefiya and Aina both beingpletely awed by what they saw below. Just like Ryuu and Riveria had done in the past, Aina turned her eyes to the once-vast forests to the west and saw that it was such a small cepared to her impression of it. Thousands of kilometers of forest now seemed small enough to simply cover it with the palm of a persons hand while the Continent itself wasnt actually that muchrger. Looking in the horizon, they could see that the world seemingly went on forever and it made everything else seem so small. Overhead, there was an endlessly vast space filled with chaotic and terrifying energies and it almost made the struggles of life in the Mortal World seem foolish... Feeling the changes in everyones auras, Vahn feltpelled to say something so let his voice resonate through space as he said, "Though we all currently live within the City, this entire ce is our home...something we share with everyone else...amon heritage of sorts. There are few people that get to see the world from this height and even fewer that would truly understand the significance behind how small everything truly is. All of the petty squabbles and conflicts that had been perpetuated by ignorance and intolerance, they are things we should aspire to abolish in their entirety. We have a very rare opportunity to help make the world a better ce, not just for ourselves and our families, but everyone else that will one day walk upon this beautiful ne of existence...I know it is a lot to ask, but Ill need everyones help if, like me, you want to see such a world..." Vahn actually didnt know the best way to guide the world forward, but he believed they would be able to figure it out as long as they continued to work together. Looking around, he saw that, even though his words were somewhat foolish, nobody was giving him strange looks at all. Lefiya and Ryuu seemed to be inspired by what he said while Aina continued to show her characteristically gentle smile. Riveria had a solemn look that reflected the vibrant blue world below and Vahn could feel the resolution contained within those jade-green eyes. As for Loki and Hestia, the former had a somewhat devious smile on her face while Hestia had a proud look as she stared directly at him with her unwavering blue eyes. Seeing their reactions, Vahn felt powerful emotions rising up in his chest, including pride, love, and a great deal of hope for the future. Grabbing Riverias hand tightly, Vahn matched gazes with her and said, "Riveria, I know for certain that fate exists within this world and I feel incredibly fortunate to have had the opportunity to meet such an amazing woman. Your dream for a better future for your people may have brought you to this point, but please trust that I will show you towards a brighter future for everyone. Together...we can change the world...I truly believe this!" Vahn knew that his presence alone had already altered the fate of the record itself so changing the world was something he did intrinsically as part of his existence. He wanted to be more proactive in the actions he took because this world was now his home, the ce where his loved ones resided and where his children would one day walk. It was his responsibility, as both a man and a father, to make the world a safer and more understanding ce so that everyone could live happy lives...just like the life he had been living recently. Though it felt like they were skipping the ceremony and moving straight to their vows, Riveria felt greatly inspired by Vahns words. Even though they sounded somewhat childish and idealistic, she believed that Vahn was truly someone that could make such a dream into reality. He had already, in an incredibly short period of time, found solutions to issues that had gued entire species for thousands of years. Given even more time, Riveria believed he could reshape the entire world and be a beacon of hope for the future. Knowing what happened in the Divination, she knew his potential was truly limitless and, now that she had walked along this path with him, knew that her own influence over the world would increase exponentially. With a rare smile on her face, represented by her eyes squinting happily above her veil, Riveria held Vahns gaze and said, "I want to see it, Vahn...the world we can make together. From now, until I return to the soil, I will stand at your side regardless of the path you take. Even if things be difficult, I will always believe you are walking towards a better future for everyone...I will support you to the fullest of my abilities and never neglect my duties as your wife, apprentice, and friend..." Vahn was somewhat taken aback by Riverias words and the uncharacteristically loving look she had in her eyes but he also felt a great deal of excitement that showed on his face in the form of a massive grin. No matter what he did, unless he tried to change her mind over the course of many years, there was little he could do to change Riverias personality and sense of duty. Hearing her say such words, that somewhat contrasted her character and the intentions she had shown, Vahn felt like Riveria had ced her hope in him now. instead of walking a path where she made sacrifices for her people, Riveria had entrusted the fates of her people, and herself, entirely to Vahn, believing he would one day seed where she would have almost certainly failed. It was a very heavy burden, as it carried the weight of an entire species, but Vahn felt incredibly refreshed since Riverias smile almost made it seem like a simple matter byparison. If she could smile like that more often, Vahn felt like he could overturn entire mountains without any realints... At this point, Vahn and Riveria were just staring into each others eyes like they were lost in the stream of eternity together. Everyone initially watched them with smiling expressions on their faces, as the words they spoke to each other was very powerful and emotional. However, feelings of awkwardness began to spread after a few minutes because silence had begun to permeate through the atmosphere. Loki eventually coughed loudly to get Vahns and Riverias attention, causing them both to blush slightly as they held hands and turned to face her and Hestia. Loki had a cheeky smile on her face and a teasing glint in her eyes but she held her tongue as Hestia said, "Okay, it feels like we did things a little out of order...but Ill go ahead and sanctify your marriage now. I guess it really doesnt matter that much since there isnt a big crowd anyways~?" Hestia felt like things had taken a strange turn but it was also strangely inspiring to see how passionate Vahn and Riveria were about changing the world together. Hestia felt very proud of Vahn since he was truly her favorite child and the man she recognized as her soul mate. She felt like she was observing history y out right in front of her eyes and it made her feel especially blessed to have been able to bear witness to so many unique events revolving around him. Waving her hand, an ancient golden pot hearth appeared out of thin air and a golden me began to burn in its center when Hestia dropped her blood-ichor into it. Though it felt a little awkward to have skipped the beginning of the ceremony, Vahn epted the golden needed given to him by Loki and, after taking Riverias soft hand into his own, pricked her index finger. Without any hesitation, almost as if she had set it aside prior to their ascent, Riveria ced her hand over the hearth and allowed the blood to drip into the me. Vahn quickly repeated the process and small partictes of gold rose from the me, after their blood intermixed together, and entered into their bodies. As he was familiar with this process, Vahn looked to Riveria and said, "I, Vahn Mason, hereby swear a vow to uphold my responsibilities as a Husband to Riveria Ljos Alf..." Riveria, without missing a beat, smiled once again and said, "I, Riveria Ljos Alf, hereby swear a vow to uphold my responsibilities as a Wife to Vahn Mason..." The golden me within the hearth red up once again and several more wisps of gold flowed into their bodies, giving Vahn and Riveria a sense of belonging to each other as the mes slowly died down. Hestia smiled and repeated the same words she had used just a few months prior, "Henceforth, may your paths never diverge and may you always find happiness andfort with each other regardless of the passage of time...By my status as a Goddess, I, Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth..." Taking her cue without a hitch, Loki chimed in, "And I, Loki, Goddess of Mischeif~!" before they both smiled and said, "We hereby dere Vahn Mason and Riveria Ljos Alf as Husband and Wife. You may kiss the bride~!" Vahn reached his hands to the sides of Riverias veil and unfastened the gem-like sps near her ears, revealing the blushing beauty beneath and her smiling face. Since Riveria didnt smile often, Vahn felt like he had taken critical damage and was genuinely stunned by her beauty for several seconds. Riverias blush deepened greatly and, outside of everyones expectations, lifted her hands and framed Vahns face before kissing him on the lips in a surprisingly passionate manner. It was rtively tame by the standards of most, but seeing Riveria be so forward made people feel like something was off about the situation. Even Loki, who was typically immune to such things, opened her eyes in surprise before swallowing a bit of saliva. Lefiya was standing off at the side making a wawawawa sound next to the wide-eyed Ryuu while Aina, standing next to them, was the only one that simply smiled happily with a gentle expression on her face. When Riveria separated their lips, Vahn looked into her ruddy face with a pleasantly surprised look on his own, apanied by a silly smile. Riveria furrowed her brows slightly in frustration and muttered, "Im your Wife now...I have to do at least this much or I wouldnt be able to hold my head up in public..." Vahn almost burst outughing because he was already in a very good mood but managed to keep it suppressed as he pulled Riverias waist closer to him and said, "Then I have to do my duty as well..." Though she looked like she was about to burst, Riveria just shuddered slightly without trying to escape Vahns grasp as he kissed her in a far more passionate manner than what she had initially managed. Everyone on Fafnirs back began to p when they saw this since it was far less surprising to see Vahn kissing Riveria than the other way around. Loki started cackling happily until Aina cautioned her to be considerate about the baby, while Hestia held both of her hands together like she was praying for their happiness. As a goddess of Family, Hestia could actually bless the union between people and she truly wanted Vahn and Riveria to be happy, knowing their happiness would also spread to everyone else in the process. Unlike her past self, that had wanted to keep monopolize Vahn, Hestia now believed this was the correct path since it was truly wonderful to see so much happiness shared between people, much like a real family. With children on the way, she continued to grow progressively more excited and was greatly looking forward to the future... Though he could feel Hestias presence enveloping him, Vahn just shared his happiness with her while keeping his focus on Riveria. This was one of the rare moments when he could embarrass her in public and each of her expressions were very precious. The fact that she continued to smile even with a flushed face made Vahns brain buzz, especially since he was holding her thin and incredibly soft waist with his left hand. He knew better than to truly tease her, but it didnt mean he couldnt share a bit of affection with her since everyone present was someone she trusted. Riveria seemed to be willing to allow this and just showed a bashful look instead of reprimanding him for pushing things too far... With the wedding officiallying to an end, Fafnir began its descent while Loki put forth the idea of simply jumping down and enjoying the fall. Since not everyone would be guaranteed to make it out unscathed, Vahn shook his head and said they could do that another time. Right now, he was just sitting next to Riveria, holding her waist instead of her hand, and he didnt really feel the need to do any thrillseeking. There was also the fact that they had ascended right above the City and Vahn didnt want to deal with the hassle of potentially having some of them crash into buildings. Winds could easily affect a persons course during free fall and they had actually been separated by several hundred meters previously, meaning there was no easy way to guarantee theirnding point unless they had magic like Ais [Ariel]. Vahn had thought about making flight suits so the girls would have more control, but he hadnt gotten around to it yet since there had been several more pressing matters to attend to. Now, he needed to tend to Riveria for a while and also n for the uing expedition. His children would also be born in a few months and Vahn wanted to make sure to have most of the basic problems resolved before focusing almost entirely on his family. When Evas orbpletely awakened, he would also be studying magic and then simply consolidating strength until the events of the original timeline began. Though he had changed many things, there were undoubtedly some events that would happen as a result of their enemies taking action and Vahn wanted to be absolutely prepared for when the time came. He suspected he could simply leave things to Bell to manage, as the boys fate was incredibly strong, but that wasnt really a risk he was willing to take. Bell may have been the main character in the original series, but this was now Vahns life and he couldnt y second fiddle just hoping things would turn out well... Leaning against his shoulder slightly, Riveria asked, "What are you thinking about...?" in a curious tone. She had seen Vahns smiling expression and the resolute look in his eyes and wondered what was going through his mind to inspire such a reaction. Vahn blinked, mildly surprised by Riverias question, before looking into her jade-green eyes and smiling as he said, "I was thinking that I needed to work hard to be a good father..." As he spoke, Vahn tightened his grip on Riverias waist and a blush began to creep up on her face as she hung her head a little. It was still pretty early in the day and the celebration actually wouldntst that long before Vahn whisked her away. She felt very nervous about what was toe but oddly found Vahns embraceforting, even though his teasing look annoyed her a great deal... As she couldnt help but overhear what Vahn said, Loki chimed in all of a sudden and said, "Pretty soon youre going to have a crash course on being a father since the Vanir will probably be a handful. Our daughter will undoubtedly be a demigoddess of mischief, so, good luck, Papa~" Almost every time Vahn heard the word Papa, he felt like his mind had taken a critical impact and this time was no exception. Seeing his reaction, Loki began tough even more and greatly looked forward to how Vahn would actually manage to wrangle in his children. The Vanir matured over the course of a very short five years, meaning he probably wouldnt have the freedom to move around easily by the time they were born. Being gone just a few months was the equivalent of being gone for years in the case of the Vanir and Loki expected they would be very impressionable as a result of their pseudo-divinities... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Small World : Big Dreams,Going against conventions,Vahn Mason, Father of the Vanir) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 609 - Riveria Ljos Alf (1/?)

Chapter 609 - Riveria Ljos Alf (1/?)

After returning to the Hearth Manor, everyone began celebrating the marriage between Vahn and Riveria, causing a lively atmosphere to spread around. So that things were more scenic, they had decided to have a pic in the clearing Vahn created in the illusory forest and it really was quite the beautiful sight. Though it wasnt as awe-inspiring as the view of the continent from above, Vahn found the image of his family together and celebrating to be truly inspiring. It was each of the people gathered together right now that spurred him onwards and gave him the strength to even face concepts like eternity without fear. He may one day be forced to separate from them, but Vahn was absolutely confident they would be together again... Seeing aside such matters, Vahn decided to just enjoy the moment so he sat next to Riveria in a loose circle with everyone else as they all passed around food and enjoyed each otherspany. Riveria was quiet and reserved for therger part of the meal but Vahn knew it was important to her to act in such a manner in front of everyone else. Her quiet and stoic look had been one of the things he had been drawn to in the past so, seeing her maintaining a simr disposition but with a small smile on her face, Vahn was very pleased. The fact that she leaned into him and often held his hand was also strangely fulfilling and he wondered what else would change now that they were married... As the celebration wasnt intended tost for too long, Vahn and Riveria ended up splitting from the group around 2 PM and made their way silently through the forest. Generally, when a female High Elf had their first time, there was arge ceremony that took ce to greatly increase the chance of pregnancy. There was an altar deep within the heart of the Sacred Tree and it would be sealed off for the wedded couple before they would both ingest a small portion of the Sacred Trees Sap. Since the tree actually absorbed sunlight, the interior was lit up brightly and it was customary for their first time to be blessed by the light of the sun. As a High Elf Princess, Riveria wanted to at least emte her traditions a little and Vahn knew it would be more fortable if they were in a ce full of natural energy. After a few minutes, they ended up at Terras garden and saw the pristine emerald green wellspring situation at the center, radiating a massive amount of vital energy. Terra had allowed her garden to be used in exchange for having Vahns bed to herself for the evening, even though she typically didnt like sleeping on beds. Vahn knew she was probably going to be enjoying his scent throughout the night, but that really didnt bother him much anymore. Once they were done here, Vahn would return to Riverias room and stay there for the night and he was already looking forward to the peace and quiet they would experience together. Before that, however, things would take a decidedly different path and Riveria was already nearly crimson as he guided her forward. Vahn extended his hand slightly and brought out a circr ornate bed that looked as though the base had been carved from wood. The bedding itself was a pristine white while the pillows were cream colored with an embroidered pattern of green leaves covering them. It wasnt an altar at the center of a Sacred Tree, but it would undoubtedly be far morefortable for both of them. Riveria took a deep breath through her nose and released a sigh when she saw the bed appear, saying, "I know what Im supposed to do...but Imcking in experience, especiallypared to you. Ill trust you, Vahn, so please dont make me do anything strange..." Most female High Elves actuallymented s.e.x a great deal because it often marked the end of their life and, even though she knew this wasnt the case for her, Riveria was still a little worried. After all, she had spent nearly fifty years dying the event before things reached this point... Hearing her words, Vahn paused for a short while but continued to smile before stroking the side of her face with the back of his hand, moving the strands of loose hair over her inordinately long ears. In a gentle and calming tone, Vahn said, "Riveria, I will never make you do anything that would tarnish your dignity and pride. Since you trust me, I will show you that Im worthy of such trust and treat you as gently as you deserve..." There were many girls Vahn could go to if he wanted to do something more intense so he had no intention of forcing Riveria into a difficult position just because they were now married. He was also very confident he could get a rise out of her just by treating her delicately, so Vahn didnt really feel the need to push her too hard. Riveria nodded her head and, though she tried to stop it, released a sigh as she turned her eyes toward the wellspring. She had a mature and calm expression, even though her face had a mild blush, apanied by a small smile and a resolute look in her eyes. With Vahns promise, Riveria knew things wouldnt get too intense and this allowed her a bit of freedom to take actions she thought suitable. It was a little embarrassing to think about, but she wanted to be the one to be more proactive once their rtionship advanced further. For now, however, she entrusted her body to Vahn and leaned into him slightly before looking up into his face. She was tall at 170cm, but Vahn stood slightly taller at 175cm, something that was hard to consider since she used to look down at him only recently... Vahn reached his hand up to Riverias chin and gave her a gentle peck on the lips, taking advantage of the fact she had already turned her head up at him. Riveria didnt make any effort to resist him at all so Vahn continued sealing her lips for nearly twenty seconds before moving away. She had a slightly dazed look before blinking and showing a small smile in response to affectionate action, causing Vahns heart to throb as a result of how cute she was. Even if she may be pushing herself a bit, Vahn found the changes in Riverias behavior to be very refreshing and it made him want to try even harder to make her smile more. Leading her to the bed, Vahn helped Riveriay down before taking several deep breaths to calm himself after seeing her appearance. Though she hadnt changed much, seeing Riveriaying on her back with a blush on her face caused an eagerness to rise up in Vahns chest as he pulled out the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing]. Riveria had entrusted it to him previously and, after today, she would be wearing it for the next nine months. Her current gown covered her stomach, but they had already prepared a two-piece robe for her to wear after the fact. It was far more revealing than most Elven clothing, but this would likely be the norm for mature Elven women in the future since the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing] would be a very important item to be worn by prospective mothers. Riveria saw the green band in Vahns hands and swallowed before a subtle magical light shone and her gownpletely vanished. The only thing remaining on her body was pale-green underwear and the crown she had on her head, which Vahn felt suited her a great deal. Unfortunately, it would get in the way of her trying to wear the band since it was something they had to squeeze into by holding up their arms. Vahn thought about designing a version that could be strapped around the body, but such designspromised the formation he hade up with and wouldnt guarantee thing remained in ce as well as apletely stic band. After helping Riveria squeeze into the band, an interesting experience all its own, Vahn looked at her with a very loving expression that made her feel a little panicky. This ended in one way, with her getting pregnant, and Riveria was feeling very nervous all of a sudden since there was arge influx of natural energy spreading through her lower abdomen. The red hue on her face was no longer just a result of her embarrassment and, even though they hadnt done anything yet, she started to take audible breaths that were slightly heated. In the past, she couldnt even wear the band for more than a few hours before having to take it off and now Riveria knew she would be wearing it for around nine months straight... Vahn reached out his hand and stroked around Riverias belly, causing her to twitch and release a hot sigh that made him arch his brows slightly. Riveria frowned for a brief moment before her expression returned to normal after she once again reminded herself she was Vahns wife. Vahn smiled after seeing her resolution and whispered, "The more natural energy your body absorbs, the higher the chance youll get pregnant and the more pleasant everything will feel...remember, Riveria, the only people here are the two of us. Even if I dont push you to do embarrassing things, Id like it if you show me your honest reactions..." As he spoke, Vahn inserted a small amount of his source energy directly into the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing], allowing it to convert into a steady stream of natural energy that caused a wave of heat to flow through Riverias body. Riveria had been about to answer Vahns words but instead released a very hot and heavy sigh, causing an even deeper blush to appear on her face. Vahn guided her body back so that she wasying down on the bed once again and whispered, "You will only ever have to show this kind of reaction to me, Riveria...and it would make me feel very happy if you opened yourself up to me, at least when were together like this. I promise Ill do my best to make you happy as well..." This time, Vahn closed his eyes after his words fell and a magical light shone over his skin. His tanned skin became a fair white while his dark brown hair turned into a jade-green, much like Riverias. His toned and fit body became somewhat slender but the most notable change was the fact that his ears, which had been curved like a humans, were now long and angr, exactly like a High Elfs. Seeing Vahns transformation, Riveria held her breathpletely and felt her mind go nk for a moment even though she knew he was going to turn into a High Elf already. He was already very handsome when he was a human, almost strangely so, but Vahns High Elf form made her heart beat madly in her chest because he was inarguably the most handsome man she had ever seen. Most races, though they could appreciate the beauty of other species, typically had a preference for their own and it was a big impact on some girls to see Vahn transform into their same race. For Riveria, it was even more effective because of the significance Vahns transformation represented to her, their future children, and the entire Elven race... Vahn ran his fingers through his own hair, marveling at his silky it had be since he used Riverias energy flow as a temte. He could sense the change in her aura, including the passionate red tendrils that flicked against his skin bashfully, and it made him happy that she was so happy. For Vahn, his true form had been a sickly boy without arms and legs so he didnt really feel any aversion to the other forms he took, regardless of race. They were all him, and that was the only thing that mattered besides the girls being happy. Just as they changed for him, by working out or making personal sacrifices, Vahn didnt mind bing the man of their dreams, especially since that man was still him. He also liked to experience how they felt the world since his senses would change to match theirs in the process, so this was a win-win for both parties as he sat next to Riveria and stroked her belly with a smile. Riveria felt another flood of energy pass through her body and she knew Vahn was definitely elerating the absorption process. She needed to absorb enough energy to start the ovtion process and knew Vahn was also trying to warm her up so she wouldnt be hurt when they started having s.e.x. However, though she could rationalize what was happening, Riveria quickly felt like she was losing herself and gripped the sheets tightly as her nails dug into the plush mattress. Even though Vahn wasnt doing much to stimte her directly, the natural energy in her body was very intense and Riveria felt a mixture of shame, panic, and an indescribable pleasure, unlike anything she had ever experienced. Vahn marveled at how Riveria had been able to keep herposure at first but, perhaps because she wanted to show him an honest reaction, she eventually gripped the sheets and pushed her feet against the bed after around two minutes. This caused Vahns eyes to open slightly as Riveria looked toward the blue sky overhead with a pained expression and a great deal of confusion. Vahn was very surprised by her innocent reaction because she was typically a very mature and stoic woman but, after recalling how Ryuu and Eina reacted, he felt like this was actually an Elven racial trait. She wasnt actually a lewd woman, but Riveria seemed to be very sensitive and Vahn wondered if, like Ryuu and Eina, her b.r.e.a.s.ts were also one of her sweet spots... Without any hesitation, Vahn ran his right hand along Riverias side before moving it to her back when she arched slightly. In a single swift motion, Vahn unfastened the sp of her bra and saw the pushed up pair of b.r.e.a.s.ts rx and lose their volume. He smiled while Riveria herself showed aplicated look on her face and averted her eyes away in shame. She wore padded push-up bras to make her b.r.e.a.s.ts lookrger since the [Elven Queens Gown] showed off more cleavage than she was used to. Now, the illusion had been broken and, even though Vahn didnt seem to mind it at all, Riveria was still a little embarrassed about the size of her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Vahn stored the bra into his Inventory while Riveria was distracted and saw her pale white b.r.e.a.s.ts and the cherry-red buds that stood atop what Vahn felt like were perfectly sized mounds. She actually wasnt as small as her reaction would dictate and was a healthy B-Cup, even if it was on the lower end of the spectrum. In Vahns opinion, they were the perfect size for holding and, given the softness he knew Riverias body possessed, he was actually very interested in her b.r.e.a.s.ts. His experience with Eina and Ryuu gave him a bit of expectation so, while she was still a bit distracted, Vahn leaned over her chest and unceremoniously began nibbling on her n.i.p.p.l.e. Riveria felt like a jolt of electricity ran through her body and she pulled away from Vahn instinctually, nearly falling off of the bed before Vahn used [Shundo] to appear behind her, catching her in the process. Riveria was breathing very quickly and had a startled expression on her face, almost trying to escape Vahns hands once again before she realized what she was doing. Suddenly, she felt ashamed of her actions once again and became ruby red as she lowered her head and said, "Sorry...that was...unexpected..." Vahn maintained a calm smile on his face but his stomach felt especially giddy right now and he felt like Riverias reactions were going to awaken something inside of him. She was simply too adorable and this was how she was acting before they even moved on to the main event... Since he was already behind her, Vahn reached around and hugged Riverias body firmly in his embrace, whispering, "I said I wanted to see your honest reactions...so dont apologize. You can tell, right? Im very happy right now..." Riveria had seen Vahns previous expression, which was why she hung her head in shame, so she knew he was actually somewhat excited even though she herself felt embarrassed. Before she could overthink it, however, Riveria released a soft, yet high pitched, m.o.a.n when Vahn suddenly began nibbling on her ear. He also used his hot tongue to race along the back and Riveria felt like her face was burning up greatly while he continued to hold her firmly, almost as if he was preventing her escape. Vahn could sense the tensions in Riveras body increasing along with her trembling as he continued to ce his left hand over the scale around her abdomen and infuse even more energy into it. Around the same time she released another sigh, Vahn whispered, "Riveria, I love you...", causing her body to tremble even more. Before she could respond, Vahn brought his right hand to her left b.r.e.a.s.t and gently cupped it in his hand as he said, "Your b.r.e.a.s.ts are honestly the perfect size already...but theyll be even bigger during your pregnancy...have more confidence in yourself, as our child will look to both of us when developing their own confidence..." Vahn continued to nibble around Riverias ears, something that was especially sensual an intimate for all Elves. Hearing his words, Riveria released another sigh, something she seemed very prone to do, but felt a lot better all of a sudden. It wasnt just that he said her b.r.e.a.s.ts were already perfect, but the fact he reminded her of the changes her body would experience during pregnancy. She had seen both of Ainas pregnancies and, even after her children were weaned, her b.r.e.a.s.ts had stayed marginallyrger than when they were at the Elven Kingdom. This made Riveria even more hopeful for the future, even though it was a bit of a silly concern whenpared against all the other things rted to her pregnancy. Vahn moved down to Riverias neck, smelling her somewhat grassy yet sweet smelling hair along the way, and began kissing her shoulder while lightly pinching her n.i.p.p.l.e with his fingers. Riverias body trembled greatly once again and Vahn could sense the nerves exploding like fireworks every time he stimted her, even without using his [Hands of Nirvana]. This was the third instance where he had seen a woman of Elven heritage show special sensitivity through their b.r.e.a.s.ts so he was almost certain it had to be a racial trait. Vahn thought that this was perhaps the reason many of them were self-conscious about their bust sizes, not that it truly mattered. Riveria had already experienced three light climaxes under Vahns care but he knew things would need to escte further if he wanted to prepare her properly. His eyes had been glowing a magical blue color for a while now and he could see that her body was rapidly processing the natural energy and filtering out the rest. This was an important discovery since it seemed like insemination was necessary to actually jumpstart the process and force ovtion, meaning the formation and band would be supporting the process and not triggering it. Long term effects could always be studiedter but Vahn was at least able to discern that her body wouldnt ovte just by external stimtion... Moving his head back up to the side of her face, Vahn also raised his hand to stroke Riverias chin as he calmly said, "This next part will be a little intense, Riveria...prepare yourself..." Almost immediately after he spoke, Riveras body trembled again and Vahn could feel small reverberations pass through her body as she experienced a fourth small orgasm. Because she was an intelligent woman, Riveria had a somewhat overactive imagination at times and it seemed like the anticipation had caused her body to react a little. Vahn smiled while Riveria closed her eyes in preparation and embarrassment as Vahn moved his hand slowly down Riverias abdomen. Tracing his fingers along the band of her pale green panties, Vahn could feel the lukewarm heating from Riverias body as she trembled greatly under the light contact. Instead of storing away her panties into his Inventory, Vahn decided to leave them in ce for the time being and slowly probed into the silky fabric while letting his palme to rest against her lower abdomen, just above her groin. Compared to her own body heat, Riveria noticed that Vahns was much hotter and it was almost like the heat from his palm was spreading through her body the moment he touched her. She was very sensitive to energy and knew he wasnt doing anything strange but it didnt really help her deal with the situation any, especially when he slowly traced his fingers towards a dangerous area... Vahn knew he was teasing her a bit at the moment so, without taking things too far he traced his fingers over the very smooth crease of Riverias v.a.g.i.n.a and noticed she was already quite wet. However, this wasnt enough and Vahn had already told her to prepare herself so, after gently probing the interior with his fingers, Vahn trailed them up to the top of her v.a.g.i.n.a until he found a slightly hard but pliable protrusion that had been trying its best to remain hidden. In a low and calming voice, Vahn whispered, "Take a deep breath..." and waited for Riverias trembling to steady while she followed his words. The moment she did so, Vahn inserted the most minuscule thread of energy directly into Riverias c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s while holding her body in a firm embrace as she released a very nasally m.o.a.n before eventually oveing the limits of her ability to contain it and crying out in a sensual and surprisingly high pitched voice... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Terra Invades Vahns Bed,Hope for the Future,Riveria is rather sensitive (UwU)~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 610 - Riveria Ljos Alf (2/?)

Chapter 610 - Riveria Ljos Alf (2/?)

Hearing Riverias voice, Vahns brain began to buzz and his expressionpletely froze on his face as he continued to hold her body. Riveria usually masked her voice and made it sound more husky and masculine as part of the facade she tried to maintain. Her actual voice, however, was soft and elegant and she had been unable to keep up herself from crying out in her real voice as a result of experiencing her first major orgasm. She seemed to realize this as well and actually tried to cover her mouth with her hands in an attempt to stifle her cries, exhaling through her nose while resisting the electrical surge going through her body. Vahns hand became increasingly wet with Riverias love juices and he noticed they were strangely viscous and would probably make for great lubricant for what was toe. Pulling his hand free from her panties, Vahn spread his fingers apart and created a thread between his thumb and index finger, something Riveria noticed through her fluttering eyshes. She trembled in embarrassment but Vahn just continued to hold her body while saying a few soothing words until she was able to calm down. He then helped hery back against the bed, saying, "I think your real voice is very attractive...it actually made my mind go nk for a moment when I heard you cry out." Vahn had a loving smile on his face that made Riveria feel like he was being very unfair to her by saying things like that in this situation. Riverias thoughts had been racing ever since Vahn started toy her down and, hearing his words, she bit her bottom lip almost painfully before saying, "Ill try to talk more normally in the future..." The fact that she used her real voice to say those words made Vahn smile radiantly and Riveria had to squint her eyes and look away out of embarrassment. Vahn currently looked like a very young High Elven boy and Riveria felt like she was being bullied a bit just because of how handsome he was. She typically didnt care about looks that much, but Vahn was now her husband and the person she had decided to dedicate herself to. Having her partner be a handsome young boy made her very nervous because it almost felt wrong to be on the receiving end... Noticing Riveria was getting a little distracted again, Vahns smile softened and he traced his left hand across the right side of her body, causing her to tremble slightly in response. Undaunted, Vahn caressed the side of her h.i.p.s, gently touching her soft butt with his fingertips, before moving down to her fair white thighs that were, like most girls of Elven heritage, somewhat thin but still very soft to the touch. Her skin actually glistened under the sunlight and the very lightyer of sweat made her look very appealing, almost as if she was a fruit ripe for picking. Bringing his hand around her knee, Vahn pulled up the back of it gently and asked, "Are you ready, Riveria, or did you want me to help you prepare a bit more...?" Riveria furrowed her brows slightly because, no matter how she answered, it was almost like she would be asking for it. She actually expected Vahn to be a bit more aggressive than this but, after remembering his earlier promise to be gentle, Riveria understood she should have probably just asked him to act normally. Thinking of the best way to save her some embarrassment, Riveria said, "Were husband and wife now, so Im already prepared for whatever is going to happen...Ill leave the rest to you..." As if she couldnt tolerate looking directly at him, Riveria turned her head to the side, almost like she was pouting. Vahn felt her actions were very adorable and was tempted to tease her a bit but knew it was probably not the right time. Vahn parted Riverias legs, which had been squeezed together almost instinctually, and moved his body between her while she watched him from the corner of her eyes, trembling all the while. Seeing the sight of her slightly parted legs, Vahn gulped and once again marveled at Riverias natural beauty that was leagues above most normal girls. It could be a result of her High Elven heritage, or perhaps because she was a Princess, but she had a strangely noble aura even when she was blushing and on her back. Vahn felt a strange desire to conquer her but threw it to the back of his mind for the time being and just moved his hands under Riverias legs, reaching around to the sides of her panties. Grabbing the stic band of the silky fabric, Vahn pulled it along Riverias long legs, raising them up in the process since her legs needed toe together unless he wanted to store them in his Inventory. Vahn knew the buildup was very important, especially for a womans first time, so he didnt just magically throw them aside since it would unnecessarily shock her mind. When her legs came back down, Riveria had closed them once again and it took marginally more effort to part her knees than it had previously. At this point, Riverias trembling had actually stopped but Vahn could still see her jaw quivering slightly as she turned her eyes away when he looked over. She actually adopted a posture of holding her hands together between her b.r.e.a.s.ts, almost like she was either praying or trying to conceal her b.r.e.a.s.ts as she waited for what was going to happen. Vahn knew she wouldnt be able to keep that up for long so he just admired her predominately n.a.k.e.d figure for a moment, saying, "You truly are an incredible beauty, my darling little wife..." Hearing the way Vahn addressed her, Riveria looked at him from the corner of her eyes before taking a deep breath and turning to face him directly. As if answering his future question, Riveria nodded her head and said, "Im ready...my...husband..." while taking the initiative to open her legs, just a little. Riveria was currentlypletely shaven and Vahn found that she had a neat little line that was tightly closed to the point that the love juices emerging from her actually beaded out like tears. In her entire life, Riveria hadnt so much as touched herself down there except when bathing. Compared to most girls, she was actually grossly unprepared, even considering those much younger than her. Vahn had already taken her physical constitution into ount and, though he hadnt changed the overall length too much, he had reduced the girth of his p.e.n.i.s out of consideration for Riveria. Since he had been with her for a while, Vahn knew she hadnt taken any medicine to prepare herself and he didnt want to make things painful. Moving closer to her body, Vahn parted her legs until they were resting against the bed, causing Riveria to flush deeply as she watched each of his actions closely. Vahn pressed a few key pressure points around her bod before cing his palm at the core of her formation, right above where her uterus was located. Riveria was already breathing deeply at this point but she didnt say anything to stop his actions and just balled her hands up tightly in preparation. Confident things wouldnt be too painful for her at this point, Vahn grabbed his p.e.n.i.s and ced it at Riverias slit, rubbing it up and down to lubricate it while making sure to put a bit of pressure to stimte her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s. Riverias legs tried to close but they obviously couldnt move through Vahns body and barely interfered with his shallow movements at all. Vahns eyes darted around in thought for a moment before he leaned over Riveria and said, "Im going to kiss you...hug my body with your arms and, if you can manage itter, use your legs as well..." After a bit of study, Vahn knew all kinds of positions and wanted to lead Riveria into one called a mating presster on which was supposedly a way to increase the chance of fertilization. Though she had the basic knowledge about reproduction, Riveria actually had no real knowledge or experience to draw from and simply followed Vahns words, loosely hugging his body as he brought himself closer to her and began kissing her. At first, it was just a normal kiss but his constant attempts to probe her mouth with his tongue eventually caused her to open her mouth and things became much more passionate. All the while, Vahn continued to rub his ridiculously hot member against her lower body and Riveria felt a strange urge, almost like she wanted to cry or hit Vahn as a giddy feeling welled up inside of her lower body. Instead, she just hugged him harder as it became increasingly harder to breathe under the assault of his tongue... Vahn had noticed this in the past, but all the bodily fluids of Elves seemed to be especially sweet and the fragrancesing from their bodies was always flowery or emted other natural smells. Perhaps as a result of her High Elven heritage, but this was seemed to be even more prominent in Riveria, causing Vahn to almost want to suck the saliva from her lips while they were kissing. He could tell she was starting to get into things as well since she had stopped thinking so much and was just allowing her body to respond while they were kissing. The biggest indicator for this was the fact that Vahn found the viscous walls of Riverias v.a.g.i.n.a had softened up a great deal as their lukewarm heat became a veryfortable and pleasant warmth. Using his right hand, Vahn probed near the base of Riverias v.a.g.i.n.a until he found an indentation and, after confirming the slight expansion around his ns, Vahn knew it was the entrance to her v.a.g.i.n.a. To make sure, he dragged his ns through the walls over her vulva before flicking the sensitive nerve cl.u.s.ter at the very top. Riverias h.i.p.s twitched when he did this so Vahn traced back down, barely noticing the slightly firm area where her urethra was located, before settling against the entrance once again. Riverias movements stopped almost entirely at this point and she stopped kissing him passionately as her teeth snapped shut in preparation. So as not to waste her efforts, Vahn pushed forward as the small entrance slowly expanded to the size of his ns... As a Level 6, Riveria was already very resistant to pain and wouldnt have had any trouble even without Vahns preparations. Because he had put in so much effort, however, Riveria noticed there was almost no pain at all and, other than a strange pressure and a giddy feeling in her stomach there was only a sense that her body was being gently pried open. After the head waspletely inside, Riveria released a sigh because she felt like the worst part of things was over. When Vahn began pressing his h.i.p.s further, Riveria realized this wasnt the case at all so she followed Vahns earlier words and just hugged him tightly in response. She wasnt sure if he meant to do it now, but Riveria also tried to wrap her legs around his because she thought he was relying on her to guide him in... Vahn was surprised by Riverias sudden eagerness and thought she wanted to hurry things along so she could adapt more quickly. Taking her feelings into consideration, Vahn moved forward a little faster and quickly passed through a seemingly fragile membrane beforeing to a stop much sooner than he expected. Riveria groaned and continued clinging to his body for a while before squeezing her legs in a testing manner. Noticing it wasnt nearly as painful as she expected, Riveria released a very relieved sigh and rxed her body against the back. She had actually hugged Vahn hard enough to lift her body from the bed and he had to stabilize them both with his left hand so as not to lose the angle. Riveria looked up into Vahns jade-green eyes, as he wasnt currently using his [Eyes of Truth], and took several deep breaths before smiling and saying, "That wasnt so bad..." Vahn showed arge grin in response and exhaled through his nose to stifle augh. He had previously been focusing on the pulsation from her v.a.g.i.n.a which, just like Ryuu, matched her heart rate and made Vahn feel even closer to her. As she was a v.i.r.g.i.n, Riveria was incredibly tight but Vahn had loosened the muscles around the area beforehand so it wasnt that difficult to get through. The more surprising thing was that Riverias v.a.g.i.n.a was very shallow and Vahn hadnt even gotten halfway inside of her before reaching a dead end... As if she had also noticed the awkward position of Vahns h.i.p.s, Riveria loosened her legs and looked to the side to see how they were connected. Seeing Vahn so far away from her made Riveria gulp audibly before blushing when she realized what she had just done. She already feltpletely full and, even though it wasnt painful, Riveria didnt feel that it was that pleasurable either. Simr to Ryuu, Riveria was far more sensitive in her b.r.e.a.s.ts and ears than her actual v.a.g.i.n.a, with the number of nerves in the area being far fewer than most races. Vahn actually felt like this was one of the reasons why Elven Fertility was an issue because they didnt seem to enjoy intrav.a.g.i.n.a.l s.e.x very much. Fortunately, he wasntcking in experience and startled Riveria by suddenly pinching her n.i.p.p.l.e. Riveria felt like she had been shocked suddenly so she looked at Vahn with a look of me only to see him showing a very soft and affectionate smile. Unable to hold his gaze, Riveria turned her head and just trembled when he began tracing his finger around her a.r.e.o.l.a. Before she could actually adapt, Vahn leaned forward and, instead of trying to kiss Riveria, began nibbling the top side of her right ear. Riveria turned her head as if she were trying to escape but Vahn let a thread of energy flow from his fingers into her n.i.p.p.l.e, causing Riveria to shock him this time around. He almost refused to believe it, but Riveria had squeaked just like Ryuu had in the past... When he lifted his head to look at her, Riveria was wide-eyed and covering her mouth with both hands as a crimson blush spread through her cheeks, several shades brighter than it was previously. Unable to keep it to himself, Vahn said in a very serious tone, "Riveria...that was unbelievably cute...I want to hear it again..." He wasnt really trying to tease her, but Vahn felt like he needed to hear her squeak like that again or his time in this record wouldnt be near as fulfilling. Riveria shook her head from side-to-side very quickly and continued to cover her mouth as if she adamantly refused to let him hear it again. Vahn released a sad sigh and muttered, "Its fine...I just hope youll open up to me a bit more in the future. Having a beautiful and intelligent wife that also has a cute side to her...sounds very nice..." Without waiting for her response, Vahn leaned down and began nibbling and sucking on Riverias ear again while she tightly closed her eyes to resist the pleasure that made her feel very anxious, almost like she was going to lose herself. Even when she tried to channel her mana to calm her mind, Riveria found that she would quickly lose her focus the moment one of the shocks came from Vahns fingers. With her hands covering her mouth, she couldnt put up any resistance at all against his hands and this was before he even started moving his h.i.p.s. Almost as if he had received a divine cue, Vahn pressed a bit of his weight into Riveria to test the flexibility of her cervix and see if he could push it up at all. Like most girls, Riverias uterus was at a different angle than her v.a.g.i.n.a itself and the cervix actually had a bit of flexibility where the ns could slip behind it in some cases. This could be very stimting for some girls, as there were nerves that connected to the colon nearby, but it also increased the risk of infection if targetted exclusively. Vahn tried to poke against the entrance of the cervix and push against it because he knew the interior of the v.a.g.i.n.a could expand up to 200% for some women, given him more than enough room to get inside if she were aroused enough. He didnt want to force her, as Vahn never wanted to cause any of the girls around him a s.e.x.u.a.l trauma, but it was somewhat difficult for him to stay outside more than halfway... So as not to cause Riveria any difort, Vahn turned off his [Hands of Nirvana] and began using his [Petting] to full effect to help her rx while also stimting her erogenous zones. She would periodically tense up her body, obviously trying to resist producing any embarrassing sounds, but Vahn believed he could get her to drop her guard eventually. Moving his mouth to the very tip of her ear, the most sensitive spot, Vahn began sucking on it while rolling it with his tongue, causing Riveria to show a great deal of panic on her face. She wasnt getting enough oxygen through just her nose and she kept holding her breath to try and stifle her own m.o.a.ns and the small squeak Vahn wanted to hear. Though she had already expected it, Riveria was surprised by how proficient Vahn was because he was targetting three different spots with varying amounts of pleasure and it felt like she was going to lose her mind out of frustration sooner orter. Her first time was supposed to be something a little painful and rtively quick, not some slow an agonizing stimulus that made her feelpletely overwhelmed. Though it was very pleasurable, Riveria was scared she would get washed away by it and there had been a very dangerous feeling welling up in the back of her mind for a while now... Vahn was very sensitive to all the changes in Riverias body and the minute fluctuations of her aura, knowing exactly when to target one area over the others. He even made sure to switch sides while curiously trying to find any weak spots by probing her depths, thus far not having any real sess. Fortunately, the tips of her ears were incredibly sensitive and Riveria didnt seem like she would be able to hold out much longer as the palpitations in her v.a.g.i.n.a had be intermixed with powerful vibrations that continued to build. It was very stimting for him, so Vahn expected it was even more so for Riveria as small beads of tears came out of the corners of her eyes. He knew she was holding herself back a lot at this point but it was very important that she learn to rx more when they are together since it will make things far lessplicated in the future... Sensing she was near the peak, Vahn tilted his body a bit and allowed some of his weight to rest on Riverias body as he supported himself with his elbow. He began to kiss the backside of her hands, almost as if he would be able to eventually pry through them, using his free hand and cing it over the surprisingly hot scale near Riverias navel. He had already let his own tensions build to a critical level so Vahn was fully prepared, which was somewhat bad news for Riveria, as he introduced a steady flow of energy into the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing] while simultaneously releasing his source energy-rich s.e.m.e.n into the back of her v.a.g.i.n.a. This also coincided with Riverias own climax so her eyes shot open as she released a loud, "Iyyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahn!?" at the top of her lungs. Vahn felt his ears ringing as Riveria took rapid breaths while writhing about underneath him, almost as if she wanted to escape, all the while saying, "Its too much...the mana...its filling me uppletely!" Unable to actually muster any strength, Riveriaid against the bed in the throes of an incredibly powerful orgasm, unlike anything she had even though possible. She didnt enter a nk state like other girls, much like how Ryuu also kept her senses, so Riveria was forced to deal with the powerful climax while being fully aware of everything that was happening. It felt like she couldnt even sense her own mana anymore, almost likes Vahns waspletely invading her even though her senses told her it was only in her lower body. It was a very terrifying experience because Riveria felt like she would never be able to leave him if things were always like this...not that she ever intended to... While Riveria was twitching about as a result of her nerves firing off like fireworks int he night sky, Vahn reached down and hugged her tightly, saying, "Wrap your legs around me and try to calm down..." Though she was somewhat hesitant, Riveria still listened to Vahns words and was surprised to find that it actually felt much more tolerable to cling to him than simplyy down and let the scary sensations wrack her body. Realizing this, Riveria hugged him tightly and felt veryfortable when Vahn also cradled her in his incredibly warm embrace. It felt like she was in a furnace, but the heat from his body made it easier to bear the chaotic energy that was slowly beginning to stabilize around her w.o.m.b and navel... For a few minutes, Vahn just held Riveria tightly while she clung to his body as if he were the only anchor point in a vast ocean. He had actually lifted up her butt a bit by cing his knees to support her thighs and was around 60% inside of her as her v.a.g.i.n.a continued to pulse and throb like a chaotic heartbeat. The interior writhed about in an incredibly stimting way but Vahn just focused his mind while observing the changes in Riverias body, confirming the formation was working as expected and that she was undoubtedly going to get pregnant. From the very moment he ejacted inside of her, it was like something had been triggered in her body, causing Riverias w.o.m.b to begin absorbing the energy from his s.e.m.e.n. This worked in conjunction with the formation carved into her body and created a loop where the excess energy was fed into the mana core around her navel before returning to the source once again. Her ovaries actually gave a surprising response because Vahn sensed they had produced more than one egg, something he hadnt expected at all. It was a little strange but Vahn knew it would be very bad for Riveria if she had to bear multiple children at once so he had to sadly get rid of the extra eggs. She still had several hundred thousand eggs safely stowed away in her ovaries so it wouldnt make a big difference. However, Vahn still felt a little unnerved when he did this but knew it was necessary, not just for the safety of Riveria, but for their children as well... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Soft And Elegant,Om nom nom,Ovaries be like: Now is the time, charge~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 611 - Strength

Chapter 611 - Strength

While Vahn had been observing her body, making sure there were no problems, Riveria had calmed down a great deal but continued holding onto him for a while longer. He really was very warm and, even though he was much younger than her, Riveria felt a strange sense of security being held like this. She could tell he was very serious about things as well and, when she focused her mind, Riveria sensed his intent moving around in her body as he helped calm her down using his strangelyfortable hands. His [Petting] ability wasnt a secret to her but she didnt think it would be so helpful in times like this...it made it surprisingly difficult to want to separate from him. After releasing a hot sigh, Riveria loosened her grip on Vahn and allowed her legs to drop to the bed after she stopped squeezing Vahns h.i.p.s. She realized how embarrassing her actions had been in retrospect but couldnt really muster up enough desire to care right now as a strange calm settled in her body. Even though the massive wave of energy had passed, Rivera felt a pleasant tingling sensation in her lower body and, when she closed her eyes, she sensed a powerful vitality looping between her navel and an area she assumed was her w.o.m.b. Shecked Vahns ability to look within a persons body but had long since learned to detect the flow of energy in her own... Vahn moved back a little because Riverias butt was still on his thighs and she couldnt actually rest against the bed properly after dropping her legs. He also loosened up his grip and was surprised when Riveria didnt actually let him go at first, even though he could tell she was fatigued. Looking into her face, she had partly closed eyes that snapped to awareness the moment he made eye contact with her. With a bit of an awkward smile on her face, Riveria asked in a quiet and sheepish manner, "Will it always be like this...?" She wasnt putting any effort into sound masculine so Riveria currently sounded like a young woman with a bell-like voice that rung in Vahns ears. Realizing what she was asking, Vahn smiled and honestly answered, "It will get both easier while also increasing in intensity a bit. Things are somewhat difficult the first time around but, just like when you first got the formation tattooed on your stomach, your body will adapt..." Riverias eyes closed as if she was in silent contemtion and Vahn could feel both anticipation and fear from the mixture of chaotic yellows and strands of purple in her aura. Eventually, the strands slowly dissipated though so Vahn felt very relieved when Riveria opened her eyes and said, "Very well...I will do my best...darling..." Vahns smile widened greatly and he brought his face very close to Riverias, gingerly cing his forehead against hers, almost as if they were about to kiss. However, the contact she anticipated didnte and Vahn instead squinted his eyes slightly and said, "It isnt absolutely guaranteed, but congrattions on getting pregnant...my adorable little wife~." Riverias eyes widened when she heard Vahns words but this was also the same time he started kissing her, forcing her to swallow the words she wanted to say as his tongue invaded her mouth. Even though she knew this was the inevitable oue, it still made her muddle-headed to hear Vahn say she was most likely pregnant. His kiss just added to the chaos in her mind so Riveria found it very hard to think and just focused on the fluttery feelings in her heart while returning Vahns kiss in her own awkward way... After a few minutes of tumbling around, Vahn eventually let up on Riveria and they ended up cuddling, still n.a.k.e.d, looking towards the clear blue sky overhead. It was still early in the afternoon so they were in no rush to return just yet as the entire afternoon and evening had been set aside solely for their honeymoon. Riveria was leaning somewhat awkwardly against Vahns shoulder as he held her around the waist in a somewhat possessive manner that strangely made her feel safe. He had already exined to her his observations during their union and she had felt a little sad when he talked about the eggs he had to remove, even though she knew it was necessary. In the entire history of the Elven Kingdom, there had never been a single instance of more than one child being born and it was simply too dangerous to risk the chance of something happening. When Vahn described there were five different eggs, Riveria actually felt a little more relieved and that was also when he held her closely. She spent a little time listening to his heartbeat before turning to the sky where he had been staring, watching the billowy white clouds slowly make their way overhead. Vahn had been waiting for Riverias aura to stabilize for a while before asking, "How is your body feeling, Riveria...?" Riveria had been somewhat absentmindedly tapping against Vahns chest and was a little surprised by his sudden question, closing her eyes in serious consideration before saying, "I can feel a constant loop of natural energy within my body and it seems to be sustained by the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing]. I think your hypothesis about being able to nourish the fetus directly with the band is urate since I dont feel any interference with the flow of mana in my body..." One of the biggest issues with High Elves getting pregnant was the fact that, a few weeks into the pregnancy, they wouldnt even be able to cast magic without great difficulty. Using it put the baby at risk and there are several instances of women having miscarriages during times of war, sometimes losing their own lives in the process as a result of overtaxing their vital energies. Pulling Riveria a little closer, even though she furrowed her brows slightly in response, Vahn gave her a quick kiss and smiled, saying, "That is great to hear...please take care of your body and, if there are any issues at all,e to me immediately. From now on, you have to act out of consideration for the child in your belly and avoid taking risks..." Riveria wasnt fond of Vahn suddenly forcing her to move but his kiss made her frustrations lesson greatly while his follow-up words made herpletely forgive him. She felt a lingering warmth in her chest now and, every time he said something out of concern for her, Riveria felt the warmth re up a bit and it made it hard to mind his uncouth actions. Instead of responding to Vahns words, Riveria justid back against his chest and closed her eyes, listening to his powerful and steady heartbeat. Vahn watched her actions with interest before just kissing the top of her head and spreading warm and calming energy through his domain to make her morefortable. He didnt mind spending the whole afternoon justying with her like this, especially considering she was still n.a.k.e.d and had one of her legs interlocked with his. Having a capable and intelligent woman like Riveria acting so reliant on him made Vahn feel an incredible sense of self-worth, especially considering they were now married and she was very likely carrying his child. There was no reason the loop would stay active if that wasnt the case so Vahn felt the odds were very close to 100%, even if it was a few decimals off... After nearly two hours, as Riveria had actually dozed off, she opened her jade-green eyes and stared off into space for a while before staring down at her left leg. She could feel the heating from Vahns lower body and, now that she looked down, Riveria also saw his p.e.n.i.s at rest against her thigh. The moment she became aware of it, Riveria felt a heat spread in her lower body while her ears became hot momentster. She released a hot sigh and felt ashamed of her own bodys reaction since it seemed like she had suddenly be a loose woman after a single s.e.x.u.a.l encounter. Since Vahn was probably paying attention to her aura, Riveria knew he was aware of her reaction too and this made her even more embarrassed. As she suspected, Vahn was indeed aware of Riverias sudden change and he honestly couldnt me her since she hadnt yet adapted to the excess natural energy in her body. Even if he wasnt around, she would probably be heated after a while and needed to release some of the pent up energy or the frustration would just continue to build. She would eventually adapt, but that could take anywhere between ten and twenty-three days but Vahns estimates. Considering that she probably didnt want to have s.e.x again, Vahn just kissed the top of Riverias head and said, "Shhh, just listen to my heartbeat and rx..." in a calming tone. Hearing Vahns words, Riveria closed her eyes and continued to listen to his heartbeat, trembling a little when she felt his hand begin to move around. Soon after, however, Riveria felt like the heat in her body began to slowly vanish as it was reced by a veryfortable feeling. Vahn was using his [Petting] to help her rx while also redirecting the flow of mana in Riverias body so that some of the excess natural energy could escape through her pores. He didnt want her to feel ashamed of how her body was reacting and also wanted to give her time to sort through her emotions before they did anything else. Riveria would undoubtedly be more intimate with him in the future and there was no need to rush things along just because she had urges beyond her control. The calmer Riveria felt, the more mncholic she felt because, once again, she knew that Vahn had helped her in a very selfless manner. She was always relying on him and, even though she had resolved several times to do better by him, Riveria found that shecked the ability to follow through. It made her feel a little pathetic, especially considering the vast difference in their ages, and Riveriamented her own weakness. The fact that Vahn brought her so muchfort actually made her feel a little bit of anguish in her heart and, even though she tried to stop them, Riveria released a few tears to stain Vahns fair white chest. He had even transformed into an entirely different race, just for her...something she couldnt even hope to do if he had needed her to do the same... Vahn reached his fingers to Riverias face and gently wiped away her tears, saying, "Riveria, it is my pride to have you rely on me...you are a strong girl, never forget that. Dont be weak just for my sake..." Riveria, however, shook her head and said, "Vahn...Ive always been a weak woman...even when I tried my best, it wasnt enough...I-" Vahn ced his index finger against Riverias lips, silencing her words as he said, "Remember the vow we made while overlooking the continent just a few hours ago...Riveria, you are a strong person. You may not always have been, but you certainly are now...that is why I respect and admire you so much. Without your help, I wouldnt have been able to get to the point Im at now since I would havecked the confidence to continue forward. You inspired me to continue working hard and always showed a sincere interest in everything I was working on, even when I did inarguably silly things...thank you, Riveria." At the end of his words, Vahn showed the most sincere smile he could manage before leaning forward and kissing Riverias lips once again. She still had watery eyes, the sign of the conflicting emotions she was currently feeling, but made no effort to extricate herself. Instead, Riveria brought her left hand to Vahns face and reciprocated his kiss, eventually turning her body toy against his as the intertwined for several minutes. When the passionate embrace came to an end, Riveria was breathing a little heavily and had a ruddy blush on her face as she looked into Vahns eyes and said, "Youre a good man, Vahn...I want to be a good wife..." Without any further exnation, Riveria brought her leg across Vahns body and straddled his h.i.p.s, sticking close to him as he brought his frustratingly hot member against her embarrassingly soppy entrance. Even though she still had to leave it to him to do most of the work, Riveria did her best to try to make Vahn happy, finding sce in his smile andfort in his warm embrace. By the time they parted, the sun had already started to fall from the sky and Riveria felt like she had fought against several waves of monsters, both exhausted and proud of her achievement... --- Riveria had ended up passing out whileying against him, so Vahn wiped down her n.a.k.e.d body and before wrapping her in a loose nket and carrying her all the way back to the Manor. He had been a little surprised by her eagerness but didnt do anything to stop her since he could tell it was very important to her. Besides, they were married now and Vahn knew that was a very important step for them if they wanted to share more intimate moments in the future. If Rivera continued to have inhibitions now, it would likely be even worse as her pregnancy developed and Vahn didnt want her to feel s.e.x was an obligation in the end. Just as he had been taught to enjoy s.e.x over time, without indulging in it, Vahn wanted Riveria to be able to enjoy it and rx more. She really did work hard, especially when it came to her research, so it was good for her to have an outlet for her stress. Since she had been bottling up so many negative emotions for decades, it could actually be a very healthy form of therapy if she received proper guidance. Fortunately, there were many girls without the Manor she could rely on, especially since Aina would be around for a few days, potentially even weeks. Besides, its not that they actually had to have s.e.x, as there were several other forms of intimacy they could share that were arguably even better for her... Vahn imagined giving Riveria sensual massages, taking private baths together, or even sneaking away to the hidden area in the Library and just cuddling up while talking about their research. She might conceal it with great effort, but Vahn had seen her cute side and wanted to at least help her reach the point where she could show it off to him. In fact, if it became something unique they shared between themselves, Vahn felt like it would be even better. That singr squeak had be a strange goal that firmly rooted itself in his heart and he was now absolutely determined to hear it again. The fact she hadnt issued one,ter on, showed that it was likely something that only happened when she was receiving affection so he would probably have to tease her a bit to coax one out... So that she wouldnt be embarrassedter, Vahn made sure to avoid any routes where they might encounter the other girls. Since the Manor now looped around like a massive square, Vahn entered in through the unupied area to the West and followed the empty corridors leading to Riverias room. He did sense that Risna was out and about, almost like she was looking to trigger an event, but Vahn easily managed to evade her and slip into Riverias room. Afterying her down on the bed, Vahn set up a sound-proof barrier while looking around her room for a bit, not that he invaded her privacy by going through her stuff. Making sure the door was locked firmly behind him, Vahn set up a simple candle that smelled like apple pie before climbing into the bed with Riveria and snuggling up with her. She seemed to be drawn to his warmth as well and, even though she was still asleep, loosely gripped his body in return. Vahn then spent about twenty minutes just stroking her silky hair with his fingers, making use of his [Petting] ability to the fullest, hoping that she was having a pleasant dream. Given that she had a soft smile on her face, Vahn believed this was the case and gave her onest kiss on the forehead before drifting off to bed himself... --- Though it wasnt her first night within the Manor, Risna was currently lost and aimlessly made her way through the dark corridors of the West Wing. He wouldnt really be able to draw theparison himself, but it was very simr to walking through a school during the evening since the West Wing had actually been designed for schooling the future children within the Manor. Risna had wandered into it while looking for a nearby bathroom and, after barely managing to find one, ended up getting lost on the return trip. This happened when she ended up going further into the West Wing, instead of doubling back the way she came, finding a false panel that led into a secret chamber. Since her spirit as an Author had been ignited, she foolishly entered the path and quickly got lost after turning through a few tricky passages. Though it was fun at first, she regretted her actions soon after because the lighting in the Manor quickly turned dark after the sun fell. Even calling out didnt do any good because there wasnt anyone on this side of the Manor other than Riveria and herself, the former currently on her honeymoon with Vahn. Thinking of Vahn, Risna felt very conflicted because he seemed like a heroic boy straight out of a fairy tale and was a very suitable candidate for the leading role in one of her books. Most of the books she read were romance novels in fantastical settings and she could easily self insert herself into the role of the heroine with the handsome Vahn as her hero. She even began to hope that he woulde to rescue her from this current plight, sweeping her away in his arms and carrying her to safety in his warm embrace. Unfortunately, reality wasnt as fantastical as her novels and, even though she strangely felt he was near at one point, Vahn never showed up for her... Tired of wandering around aimlessly, Risna sat down on one of the few pieces of furniture she had found and curled up into a ball, feeling fortunate that the air within the Manor was warm since she didnt have a nket. However, soon after theid down, Risna heard the sounds of footsteps nearby and was both excited and scared at the same time. She hoped this wasnt one of those haunted Manors from some of the scary stories she read in the past and that the footsteps might actually belong to Vahn or, at the very least, her sistering to look for her. Peeking over the edge of the sofa, Risna watched the door and listened as the footsteps got progressively closer. Eventually, they came to a stop right outside the door and there was silence for several seconds before the doorknob rattled about loudly without actually turning. Risna swallowed, fearful that the Manor was actually haunted and feeling slightly resentful that nobody had told her. When a scratching sound issued soon after, she felt even more terrified and cowered on the sofa, curling up into a small ball with her eyes closed. Momentster, the scratching sound vanished and the creaking sound of the door being opened resonated loudly in her eyes, causing Risna to cover them in denial of reality... Several seconds passed after that and, though she expected the worst, nothing happened and Risna slowly found the courage to open her eyes to investigate. The moment she did so, however, she saw two glowing red eyes staring directly at her only a few inches away from her face. Though she had just gone to the bathroom a few hours prior, Risna felt a steady and warm stream flow from her lower body as she trembled under the bloody gaze of the shadowy figure. However, the figure just tilted its head to the side in confusion before sniffing the air and asking, "Why are you peeing? Did Fenrir scare you~?" Hearing the voice, Risna finally looked directly at the figure and her eyes quickly adapted to the low light of the room and she saw that it was the same girl that had followed Vahn to her house previously. Her cheeks immediately became hot and she stammered, "I-I got lost on the way to find the bathroom and then y-you showed! Ah, please dont tell anyone~! Nnnnuuuu..." Fenrir flopped her head from side to side, both confused and intrigued by Risnas reaction. She never had to use the bathroom herself but knew it was very important for other girls, often guarding them when they were in the Dungeon. Since it was called an emergency, Fenrir believed that Risna wasnt at fault and she didnt want to bully the small girl, especially since she was the little sister of her Masters important person. Thumping her chest, Fenrir said proudly, "Fenrir will protect your secret!" before standing up and saying, "Lets go, Fenrir will take you back to your room. Ah, unless you still need to use the bathroom? Fenrir knows the way~!" Risna didnt really know how to deal with this strange girl in front of her but decided she was a good person since it seemed she was willing to keep her secret. Shaking her head, she muttered, "I dont need to use the bathroom anymore...please just help me find my room..." Fenrir nodded her head and said, "Follow Fenrir~!" before marching away with almostical steps. Risna did follow her, but only with her eyes at first before Fenrir turned back with a questioning look that urged her forward. Along the way, Risna hung her head and futilely tried to hide therge stain on her light pink pajamas. Though she didnt n to pee herself in the future, she promised to wear darker clothes in the future so it wouldnt be so obvious at a nce. After a while, she suddenly realized something, however, and the matter of her own disgrace moved to the back of her mind as she asked, "Fenrir, how did you find me...?" Risna knew that Fenrir actually stayed very far away from her room and she couldnt understand why the strange girl woulde looking for her, even finding her with seemingly no difficulty. Fenrir, hearing her question, turned to her and said, "Ah, Master sent Fenrir to look for you since he thought you might have been lost~!" Risnas feet slowed to a crawl when she heard Fenrirs words and she recalled the feeling she had earlier when she thought Vahn was nearby. It seemed like he actually had passed but, instead ofing to save her, he had sent someone else to escort her instead. It made her feel a little sad and resentful, especially since she had gotten her hopes up about being whisked away by her prince charming. Fenrir, sensing her change, looked back with a curious expression on her face and said, "Master cant always look after everyone, especially when he is taking care of someone else. We have to all work together to make the world a happy ce so dont be selfish, okay~?" Hearing Fenrirs words, Risna felt very startled and remembered that Vahn was actually still on his honeymoon with Riveria. Her expecting him to suddenlye to her, even whisking her away, was indeed a very selfish and baseless thought on her part. She actually didnt have any involvement with him whatsoever and he had already done plenty of things to help her out, even giving her a tone of books and materials. Though he didnt save her himself, he sent someone after her, clearly concerned for her well being even if he couldnt show it personally. Realizing this, Risna didnt feel as bitter and instead felt kind of guilty as she nodded her head and said, "Im sorry...I didnt mean to..." Fenrir showed a somewhat scary smile and Risna noticed she actually had a few sharp teethpared to other people as she said, "Risna is a good girl. If you keep being good, Master will definitely reward you lots and lots~!" in a happy tone... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Riveria is a strong woman,RIP Sofa-san...,Fenrir catch g for Master~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 612 - Turmoil

Chapter 612 - Turmoil

Because of how early she had gone to sleep the previous day, Riveria awoke in the twilight hours of the morning, long before Vahn would generally awaken. He only allowed himself to befortable around the girls so, unless something unexpected happened, he would continue to sleep regardless of what they might do. In this instance, Riveria just watched his sleeping face after being slightly startled when she first opened her eyes. Vahn was still in his High Elf form so she had panicked a little at first but, after remembering everything that happened, she calmed down and just tucked her head into his chest. She didnt focus on his scent like the Beast Human girls, but Riveria did notice he had a strangely warm aroma that smelled subtly like flowers... After her initial embarrassment the previous day, Riveria did her best to try and open herself up to Vahn, finding it surprisingly easy to just go with the flow of things. Thinking about it after the fact was actually harder to cope with than simply going through with it, indicating to Riveria that she really did overthink things a great deal. Aina had often talked to her in the past about things like love, especially when she met Thomas, but Riveria didnt truly understand her words at the time. She couldnt understand how Aina would fall in love with a man that wouldnt even live half as long as she did, watching them age and slowly decay until eventually dying. As for children, that made even less sense to her since it seemed almost tragic to give birth to children that wouldnt be able to continue the cycle further... Staring at Vahns face, Riveria realized none of that mattered at all now and, though she felt a little giddy just thinking about it, love didnt seem as difficult to understand as before. The warmth andfort Vahn brought to her, even when he was simply sleeping next to her, made Riveria feel like she had found something lost long ago, something that the heart needed to be plete and whole. The mostforting thing, however, was the fact that Vahn was bigger than she was, not physically, but emotionally and spiritually. It was like he could epass the entire world with hispassion and love for life, shouldering great burdens and reshaping the fates of entire species, almost as if it didnt take any great effort at all. The only thing she needed to give him in exchange was her love, something that was much easier to do than she initially expected... As she had been staring at his face for a while now, Riveria began to blush slightly as she reached out her finger and poked his cheek, finding it to be a little squishier than expected. This made a small smile appear on her face because it showed that Vahn waspletelyfortable around her, even though it was the first time they slept together. She couldnt open herself up to people nearly as fast as he could but, knowing he already opened his heart to her, Riveria felt it wouldnt be long before she did the same. With that thought in mind, Riveria brought her hand to Vahns chest, once again marveling at how powerful his heartbeat was in conjunction with the almost scalding temperature of his body. It wasnt that it actually burned her, but Riveria felt like the heat flowed directly into her body and made her feel somewhat anxious... Feeling Riveria touching him, and sensing the change in her aura, Vahn opened his eyes slowly and saw her just staring at his chest from just a few inches away. He raised his brows slightly and was tempted to watch her before she suddenly seemed to realize he had awoken. There was a big difference in the flow of mana in a persons body between when they were asleep and when they were at rest, something Riveria could detect. She lifted her head to match his gaze and Vahn could see there was already a slight blush on her face before he smiled and said, "Good morning, Riveria...you look even more beautiful today~." Riveria released a surprisingly hot sigh before resting her head against the bed andzily saying, "You never stop with your words..." She felt like Vahn was alwaysplimenting her beauty, even before they officially entered a rtionship. Though it made her happy, it also felt a little tiring hearing him repeat it so many times since it always twinged at her heart and made her feel a little exasperated. She almost wished he would just be quiet at times since one-sidedly receivingpliments was difficult and, though there were many great things about Vahn, Riveria couldnt really vocalize them without feeling embarrassed. Vahn just smiled in response to Riverias int and said, "I think its important to be honest and forward about things...I dont want to ever cause people to misunderstand what Im thinking, so I try to say it out loud as much as possible. I think, when were alone like this, it would be good if you tried doing the same, Riveria..." As she had a habit of thinking about her responses, Vahn used the small gap to lean down and kiss Riverias forehead again since he couldnt quite reach her mouth. Riverias eyes opened slightly wider before she released another sigh and just tucked her head to his chest, protecting herself from his lips while hiding her face at the same time. Knowing that she would probably take a few days to sort through her thoughts, Vahn didnt continue to pressure Riveria and simply closed his eyes to get a short nap in. It was currently only around 2 AM and there were a few more hours before he needed to be up. As for Riveria, she found it very hard to go back to sleep after feeling a bit of excitement in her body earlier. Being so close to Vahn didnt really help much and, the moment she started to get even a little excited, it was like the formation in her body became even more powerful as heat slowly built up in her lower body. Riveria held her thighs together in a vain attempt at resistance, but it didnt seem to help much until she eventually had to roll over to avoid Vahns smell. It helped a great deal but, even though he was sleeping, Vahn instinctually hugged Riverias body from behind and she suddenly felt a lot hotter than before. It was almost like his body couldpletely envelop hers when he hugged her from behind and, though it made her feel strangely safe, it also put her whole back into contact with Vahns body. Even worse was the fact that he pulled his legs up against hers and Riveria could feel a heat around her butt that made her feel very anxious... By the time Vahn woke up again, he found Riveria breathing somewhat heavily in his arms and was surprised to find that she was covered in sweat. Tilting his head, he could see she had a bit of a pained expression on her face and, activating his [Eyes of Truth], noticed she was having difficulties processing the natural energy in her body. Though he startled her at first, Riveria quickly calmed down when she realized Vahn was awake again and began to help her diffuse the energy in her body. She released a long sigh of relief as the hot sensation in her body slowly dissipated and a refreshing feeling took its ce. It made her feel a little lonely for some reason, but the relief made it easier to tolerate and Vahns heat became much more bearable against her back. After helping Riveria calm down, Vahn continued to use [Petting] on her while exining, "The natural energy that gets looped into your core also intermixes with your own mana. If it bes difficult to bear while Im not around, you should be able to deal with the effects by using up your mana. Since you have healing spells, it should be pretty easy to use up your mana reserves..." Riveria nodded her head at first but then exined, "Yes, but that would also mean the predominant energy in my body would be natural energy...so I would just be tired and frustrated at the same time..." She had already made the same deduction as Vahn in the past when she tried wearing the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing] and knew that, while it helped at first, it didnt actually fix the problem in the end. Vahn was a little surprised by Riverias words but, after thinking about it logically, he could understand the truth of the matter. Her mana helped to dilute the effects a bit so, if she waspletely drained, the natural energy would work to help replenish her mana, yes, but it would also be taxing her body at the same time. Vahn suspected this would help Riveria be stronger but it would also take a while for her to adapt to the changes. Natural energy was very difficult to process and, though she would inevitably get used to it, the adaptation period would be a little difficult. Riveria surprisingly ced her hand over his and said, "Dont worry...I can always meditate to help calm my mind. I know it will get better, so I will tolerate it to the best of my ability. This is important for the safe development of our child...I wont stay a weak woman anymore." She still remembered Vahns words about her already being strong, but Riveria felt like she needed to do more to earn such high praise. Vahn was already doing most of the work himself so learning to deal with the urges of her body was literally the least she could do. After all, the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing] actually nourished her body and protected her vitality while also ensuring their child would develop properly. This was something inconceivable in the past, so Riveria felt it really was a blessing... Hearing the underlying confidence in her words, even though he disliked how she referred to herself as a weak woman, Vahn smiled and kissed the back of Riverias head. She curled up a bit in response but Vahn just embraced her gently from behind for a while before it was nearing time for him to leave. Riveria rarely attended the morning training sessions and today she would be spending most of her time recuperating from the previous day. Loki had stayed overst night and she would probably want to talk with Riveria while Aina, Eina, and, potentially, even Risna woulde to visit with her. Though he wanted to spend a bit more time with her, Vahn knew it was important for Riveria to have the time to think things through since she was that type of woman. Watching his departing figure with her jade green eyes, Riveria immediately sighed when Vahn exited the room. She let the tensions release from her bodypletely and found that the bed suddenly seemed much bigger than in the past. There was still a faint warmth on the bed where Vahn had slept, but Riveria resisted the urge toy in that spot. Instead, she used the time to collect herself before moving away from the bed and pulling out a few parchments to begin writing a missive to her father. Riveria already had a few ideas about the families taking action against them right now and wanted her father to pressure them in order to avoid war. Though it would still be a secret from most people, Riveria exined that her child with Vahn was a pure-blooded High Elf and used Vahns race from the Divination, Progenitus, as the reason for why this was the case. This would allow her fathers mind to be at ease and would potentially even cause him to take a firmer stance against the other families since they would have already secured an heir through their main line. The only reason he had originally betrothed her to Alosrin was because of the pressure from the other families and their adherence to traditions. Though he may hate gods, Riveria knew her father wasnt actually as foolish as the vast majority of High Elves. His greatest w was that he was essentially just a puppet of a corrupt system since the transition for him bing King hadnt been a smooth one. He had been forced to make many concessions in order to regain stability within the Kingdom and her desertion in the past had actually made things even more difficult, at least until she .u.mted some achievements. Right now, his position was barely maintained by the Sage Council and, without a proper heir, he had been forced to arrange her marriage to the then most powerful Duke family in order to appease the traditionalist faction. Riveria hoped that her father was wise enough to understand Vahns significance for their entire race and, even though it would probably cause some internal strife, she hoped he would take a firm stance against the other houses. The Elven Kingdom needed to change if they wanted to avoid future destruction and Riveria hoped it wouldnte to the point they had to create a new Kingdom elsewhere. However, feeling the flow of natural energy around her abdomen, Riveria hardened her heart and resolved that she would do her best if that ended up happening. Even with just a few female Elves, Riveria knew it would be possible to create an entire Kingdom with Vahns help considering how long-lived they would be. Since none of the offspring they produced would have the same issues as the previous generations, they would quickly overtake the numbers in the Elven Kingdom after a few decades passed... Imagining what it would be like to live inside a Pce, surrounded by dozens of her own children, Riveria had a deep flush on her face and had to rest her head against the desk for a few minutes to calm down. It was a peculiar thought, but Riveria did a bit of math in her head and knew she could easily produce around four-hundred children if necessary. She might have to spend the rest of her life pregnant, but it would still be worth it in the end since her people would never die out. Instead, they would actually be much stronger in the future with the introduction of a new Magic system and the support of the Alliance. They could also implement policies to avoid the same situation from urring again by allowing their children to love whomever they wanted as the purity of their offspring wouldnt make much of a difference with Vahns research progressing even further... A loud knock suddenly came from the door, startling Riveria from her thoughts as she looked to the nearby clock and saw it was already around 8 AM. She hadpletely got lost in her own thoughts and realized her heart was beating rapidly in her chest while she had been imagining a paradise for Elves on the 50th Floor of the Dungeon. Looking towards the door, Riveria calmly said, "Come in..." using her masked voice once again. Though she tried to speak normally around Vahn, she couldnt bring herself to drop her facade around other people just yet, especially when she was already in a promised state. When she saw who had arrived, a loud sigh escaped her lips as Lokiughed mischievously and said, "Wow, your face is super red, Riveria. Did Vahn go overboard and break you a little~?" Loki entered the room but she was also apanied by Aina, Hestia, Hephaestus, and Syr. They all had different reactions to Riverias appearance because her face was almost tomato red and she had an uncharacteristically pouting expressionpared to her typically stoic and cool disposition. Aina had the most normal reaction and simply showed a happy smile as she said, "Congrattions, Riveria...Im so happy for you~." The greatest concern Aina had about Riveria in the past was that she would never get to experience love. Since she was such a dutiful woman, it was very likely Riveria would one day return to the Elven Kingdom and have to marry that despotic fool Alosrin. She hated the thought of Riveria spending thest few years of her life being with that idiot just so she could have his child and simply wilt away like a flower after serving its purpose. The main reason why there were no Elven Queens after the first King came into existence was the fact that, as their poption had been declining, the women needed to produce more offspring. However, this often resulted in the inevitable death of the females, allowing a King to eventually came into power while essentially relegating females to the position of breeding stock. After all, they couldnt have a Queen sitting on the throne for hundreds of years without producing an heir while their poption continued to decline. With a King on the throne, they could watch over the child after the mothers death and raise them properly to rule over the next generation. Unfortunately, reality had the exact opposite happen and this was the primary reason behind the cultural stagnation and corruption of the Elven people... Loki saw that Riveria was writing a note on a very official looking piece of paper so she smiled and asked, "Were you sending a message to your father?" Riveria had been matching Ainas smile with a small one of her own before immediately bing more serious when she heard Lokis question. Nodding her head, Riveria exined what she was writing and how she wanted things to progress in the future. By the end of it, however, Loki shook her head and said, "Im sorry, Riveria, but that isnt really eptable..." If the Elves had behaved themselves properly, going Riverias route wouldnt be a bad choice. Now, since they went out of their way to badger the Alliance once again, they needed to show the Elven Kingdom they werent a turtle with a hard shell, but a wasp nest that couldnt be poked without consequences. Hearing Lokis words, Riveria sighed because she already knew things would likelye to this after the infiltration the night before the wedding. As if understanding Riverias thoughts, Loki nodded her head and said, "We already got the report from Eirene about the purpose behind the foolish attempt to sneak into the Manor. There are groups actually propagating the idea youre being held captive by the Alliance and being used as an experimental subject to steal the superior genes of High Elves. Theyre even trying to say some bullshit about how Vahn is holding the information about the cure hostage as a method to ckmail and force you to do his bidding...kukukuku..." Loki had a very evil look in her eyes and, though it was subtle, her divine power was radiating from her body a result of the rage she was feeling. Hephaestus stepped in at this point and said, "Feel free to send a message to your father, but you also need to add a warning that we wont allow them to try and tarnish Vahns reputation to suit their political agenda. From now on, Elven caravans have been stripped of their right to trade with any Familia associated with the Alliance. If they cant control the bogus information they themselves spread, we will be forced to take more drastic actions in the future..." Hephaestus never had a calm disposition when it came to dealing with the people trying to make Vahns life more difficult. He was a kind and honest boy that worked hard to help people so it royally pissed her off when anyone, god or mortal, tried to drag him into their disputes just because it was convenient for them to do so. There were already several good people that did that so she couldnt tolerate any bad people from trying to interfere with his life... As if she didnt want to be left out, or couldnt be left out, Hestia showed an uncharacteristically serious expression and said, "I will not allow anyone to tarnish the reputation of those in my Familia, especially Vahn. This is our home, a ce we have alle together to create and share our happiness with each other. If anyone thinks they can just barge into our home and cause trouble, they will find that Im not so forgiving..." Much like Loki, Hestias aura spread out a bit but, unlike Loki, hers was much stronger and it put pressure on everyone in the room, including Loki and Hephaestus. Hestia was actually pretty passive by nature but, the one thing she could never back down on was protecting her family. Vahn was the boy she had dedicated her everything to her and, in exchange, he had given her a real family and a form of love she had never experienced before. If anyone wanted to take that away from her, Hestia would make them pay a steep price... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is so hot, literally,Hundreds of tiny High-Elven babies...,TFW you poke a hos nest and several enraged goddessese flying out...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 613 - Progress : Triumph : Darkness

Chapter 613 - Progress : Triumph : Darkness

In preparation for the uing Expedition, where they would be establishing a permanant defensive line and Supply Depot on the 39th Floor, Vahn had put his own ventures into the Dungeon on hold. Tina and Shizune were already aware of this so, for the next few months, they would primarily be studying under Riveria and Tsubaki while spending most of their afternoons training with Chloe and Mn. They were both still very young and, now that Tina had once again shown it was possible to awaken even Development Abilities, there was no particr rush for them to increase their strength. Tina wanted to learn [Featherfoot] while pushing her [Counter] and [Shield Bash] to greater heights while Shizune would be learning tracking, enhancing her [Stealth], and [Mixing]. As for what Vahn would be working on, it was the armor sets for Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya, as they would all be going into the Dungeon on the uing Expedition with him. Because of how little cloth was used for Tionas and Tiones outfits, Vahn wouldnt have to spend that much time on them and was confident it would only take about a week per outfits. Lefiyas was decidedly moreplex, but Vahn believed he would be able to at least finish her prototype if he pushed himself. They were supposed to be heading down in around five weeks, but it wouldnt be too difficult to push things back a few days if necessary. There was also the option ofpleting the outfit in the Dungeon itself, but Vahn didnt really want to deal with any potential emergencies when he was focused on his work. Since the girls went into the Dungeon after their morning training, Vahn used simplified mannequins that still matched their basic proportions, though with decidedly less detail than the past. Most of the time would be spent forming the circuits in the scales, so he really didnt have to worry about fitting them right now. Remembering how the armor had adapted to Ais body in the past, Vahn also felt less inclined to make the measurements exact and focused primarily on the strength of each individual rune and the solidity of the underlying formation. It was actually pretty interesting work because it felt like he was making a scale brassiere for Tione and a durable b.r.e.a.s.t band for Tiona. Their basic designs matched their current clothing pretty closely, so it almost felt like he was making very powerful underwear instead of armor... Around the time he was taking his lunch break, a white figure walked through the wall before leaping up to his head and saying, "Vahn, give us energy..." in a tired voice. Though she knew better than to bother him during work, Shirohime usually stayed nearby and would show up whenever he took breaks. Grabbing her from his head, Vahn cradled Shirohime in his left arm and pressed his palm to her chest, asking, "What are the girls up to right now?" Shirohime had her eyes squinted and muttered, "My counterpart is fighting a Goliath...a lot of the other girls are there as well." Because they had pushed the Expedition back, the Goliath had actually spawned around this time and had yet to be cleared by anyone else over thest four days. Vahn already knew they were heading down to fight it but it seemed like Haruhime was taking a go at soloing it given how Shirohime was acting. She would twitch around every now and then, almost like she was exerting herself, so Vahn increased the flow of energy into her body to support Haruhime on the other side. Shirohime began to writhe about, saying, "Ah, we feel very pleasant..." in an excited voice before licking around Vahns wrist in an affectionate manner. Haruhime got much stronger when she was a little excited and Vahn expected she would be able to defeat the Goliath much easier with a bit of assistance... As he expected, Haruhime did indeed get an edge against the Goliath almost immediately after she felt the energy entering through her chest. Her face became slightly flushed and the marking around her eyes became a deeper shade of red as she side-stepped the Goliaths attack before running up its arm in the next instant. She actually could have defeated the Goliath much easier but, instead of using her powerful magic and relying on her [Sakura Blossom], Haruhime had wanted to fight it directly. Though others might not take it as seriously, Haruhime believed almost every word Vahn spoke as if it was a sacred doctrine. He constantly emphasized the importance of individual strength and not being overly reliant on equipment so Haruhime had been improving her own skills in recent weeks. It was fortunate that she had mentors like Tiona, Tione, Tsubaki, and Lunoire to learn from because her hand-to-handbat techniques had already reached a very surprising level of fluency. With her ability to read the tempo of her enemies, Haruhime could exploit their movements better than most people, allowing her to take advantage of the gaps in their attacks to counter with her own. She wascking in strength, but Haruhime had already learned how to use the mana stored in her bracelets to simte shockwaves when she touched objects. Using this technique, she jumped forward and ced her palm against the Goliaths head, sending a pulse of energy into its brain as she flipped over its body in the same motion. Though it was a little jarred, the attack didnt damage the Goliath that much and it immediately tried to sweep behind itself to intercept Haruhimes fall. Having already anticipated this, however, Haruhime coiled up her body and evaded the powerful fist by using the barriers generated by her bracelets to roll over it. The Goliath released a loud roar and tried to strike at her with its massive fist, enraged at missing its attack for the umpteenth time. This time, Haruhime couldnt really evade the attack as easily but didnt have to as a small figure bulldozed into the Goliaths gut with enough force topletely knock it off its feet. There was a very small hole on the front of its abdomen that quivered slightly before arge explosion of flesh and organs emerged from its back. On the other side, having just struck the Goliath with all her might, stood Lili with an incredibly excited look on her face. Haruhime quickly dashed by her, pursuing the Goliath as she said, "Thanks for the assistance, Lili~." before continuing the fight. Lili originally didnt like Haruhime that much but they had gotten much closer over thest few months because it was actually very easy to talk with her. While thetter had been the primarybatant against the Goliath, she and Mikoto had been supporting her during sticky situations. Lefiya was standing off to the side with her [Heal] staff at the ready, as she always carried it for emergency situations, while Ais, Tiona, and Tione protected her. Thest person present was Naaza, but she wasnt helping out since her [Yis Bow] would actually make pretty short work of a monster like the Goliath. Targetting its joints and head wouldpletely lock down its mobility since, though it was incredibly strong, it didnt have enough strength to resist the gravitational singrity created by the arrows impact. With Vahns energy pushing her forward, and the support of many trustworthy allies, Haruhimes excitement continued to build until she eventually managed to destroy both of the Goliaths eyes. Unfortunately, she didnt actually have enough Power to kill it with her bare hands but it was still a great aplishment being able to get an advantage against something sorge just using her physical capabilities. Satisfied with her progress, Haruhime smoothly dodged the blind attack of the Goliath before jumping away and tagging Lilis hand, saying, "Good luck~." in an almost sensual voice because of the heat in her body. Lili gave her a strange look with a tinge of envy before kicking against the ground hard enough to cause the durable bedrock to crack. Lilis leap had sent her forward nearly ten meters in an instant before she kicked off the ground andunched high into the sky, releasing a loud "Iyaaaaaaaaaaaa!" as she smashed both of her tiny fists into the Goliaths head. As if a meteor had crashed into it, an indentation appeared in the Goliaths skull and its head was actually pushed into its chest cavity under the might of Lilis blow. Vahn had roughly calcted her Power output in the past and, with thebination of her [As] and [As Grips], Lilis raw Power could exceed 6,300 at the cost of arge portion of her stamina. The best part of this was that most of the force she generated was based onws and it had almost no influence on Lilis body, allowing her to essentially be stationary after smashing down the Goliaths head instead of being shot away with an equal amount of force. Even with its head destroyed, the Goliaths vitality wasnt a joke and it continued to try and attack mindlessly while arge volume of steam emerged from the gaping hole around its neck. It was slowly regenerating from the damage it had suffered but Lili wasnt going to simply wait around for it to happen. When shended back on the ground, she hopped around like a jumping bean on a skillet and sequentially smashed both of the Goliaths knees, forcing it to to the ground. Getting around behind it, she then jumped off with as much force as her small legs could manage before dropkicking the Goliath in its spine, aiming for the core in its chest. Once again, her attack caused a very small indentation where both of her feet contacted, making a small V-shaped set of footprints before the Goliaths chest exploded on the other side of its body. Falling forward, the Goliath tried to support itself before instinctually crossing its arms to protect the core in its chest. Lili, seeing this behavior, immediately jumped onto its back and started mming her fists over and over, causing the ground beneath the Goliath to actually fracture a bit from the force. Though it tried to resist, Lilis attacks kept it forced down until her fists eventually reached the magic core below. They were very susceptible to being pierced, but monster cores actually had almost perfect shock resistance unless it was applied internally. This was how the Goliath always survived against Vahn in the past, even though his attacks would make a huge hole all the way through its body. Lilis attacks were much the same but, when she finally managed a direct blow on the core that was several times the size of her body, it immediately shattered along with the Goliaths body. A huge explosion of purple dust surged out from where the Goliath had previously been located before Lili dropped down into a pile of magic cores, several times more than they would actually be able to carry. The others had alreadye forward at this point so Tiona leaped forward and picked up Lili like a ragdoll, hugging her body tightly as she said, "Well done, Lili, that was amazing~!" Tiona was the type that got excited when unexpected situations urred and it was very peculiar to see a 110cm tall Pallum overpower a 1400cm tall Goliath with brute strength. Even though Lili was covered in an incredible amount of blood, Tiona didnt care at all and rubbed her cheek against Lilis while happilyughing. Lili had a mix between a smile and a grimace as she pushed against Tiona, saying, "Unhand me, Tiona! Only Vahn is allowed to touch me like this~!" Tiona, seemingly unperturbed by Lilis words, just hugged her from behind and said, "Aww, dont be like that, were all friends, right~?" with a happy smile on her face. Lili actually had to work pretty hard to control her strength at times so she couldnt easily escape from Tionas grasp without potentially causing harm. This,bined with the fact that she was kind of happy to be considered as a friend, caused Lili to eventually give up with a loud sigh that made Tionaugh even louder... Naaza and Lefiya had moved over to the pile of magic cores and started putting them away into theirrge backpacks, but they didnt have near enough space for the several thousand present. If it had been Lilis old backpack, she likely would have been able to manage, but she hadnt used that thing in months and now barely wore anything at all. Other than the [Nezha Ladys Togi], which didnt cover below her ribs at all, Lili just wore a pair of small red shorts with ck leggings and a set of brown boots, which were now maroon red because of blood. Other than that, she just wore a pouch at her waist, attached to the belt provided by the [Nezha Ladys Togi], and the [As Grips] Vahn had forged for her. She wasnt even carrying her naginata right now because, much like Haruhime, Lili wanted to increase her individual power instead of relying too much on powerful weapons. Haruhime, seeing the conflict on Naazas and Lefiyas faces just smiled and said, "Its fine if we leave some behind and just return to the surface. Little Shiro already told Vahn we defeated the Goliath and Id like to return early to get a reward~." With her reminder, Lilis eyes also glowed expectantly because a Goliath was worth 70,000 points within their reward system. Even if she split it with Haruhime, that would give her 35,000 and bring her total bnce up to more than 300k, more than enough points to exchange for some big prizes. It only took 100,000 points to get an hour-long massage from Vahn, whereas 300,000 could be exchanged for a private bath time of the same length. Though she could already get Vahn to wash her body, things would definitely be a lot more interesting if they were alone together since there would be heavy petting involved... Tiona had still been holding onto Lili body so she noticed very quickly when the small Pallum began to breathe a little heavily with her body temperature increasing. With an understanding look on her face, Tiona nodded her head and said, "Yeah, lets go home. I want to see how much progress Vahn made on my armor set as well~." It was already around the time when they would normally head back anyway so it wouldnt make a big difference if they did so a little sooner. After all, they actually capped out on loot and it wouldnt really be sensible to continue fighting unless they just wanted to have some fun. Monsters this high up were kind of boring to fight so Tione and Ais also agreed to head back without any argument. They carried as many of the magic cores as they could, stuffing several kilograms into the two backpacks worn by Naaza and Lefiya, before heading deeper into the 17th Floor so they could ascend the stairs and return to the surface... On the way back, Mikoto led the way since she was feeling a little antsy after not being able to help finish off the Goliath. Though she had supported Haruhime a bit, the majority of the battle had been fought by her and Lili since using her sword would have defeated the purpose of the fight. Unlike the two girls, who were direct disciples of Vahn, Mikoto walked the path of the sword and couldnt set it aside to make the fight more difficult. She pursued the principles of Godspeed and bringing the fight to an end in the shortest amount of time. Thus, on the way back, Mikoto cut down almost every monster that appeared while Naaza sniped the few that were outside her basic range. The trip through the 17th Floor only took around thirty minutes, but there had been plenty of monsters since their group size was well over the rmended amount of four people. However, even afterpletely bisecting a Lygerfant from head to tail in one clean strike, Mikoko wasnt satisfied with her progress because all of these monsters were far too weak to test her limits. She never considered herself a battle junky in the past but now she craved finding a worthy opponent because one of the principles behind the [Heavenly Flying Sword] was to exceed ones limits through actualbat. The best method would be by fighting other swordsmen, but monsters were a good alternative if she could find something durable enough to truly test her skills... --- Unbeknownst to the girls, a white-haired man was currently watching them progress through the Dungeon with a condescending smile on his face. He had been very tempted to try and fight them several times of the past few weeks but never found an opportune moment to strike. Though he wasnt afraid of fighting them individually, he knew it would be too troublesome to fight them as a group. Unfortunately, they always traveled together and he had never found an opportunity to strike, even when they were fighting against Monster Parties. Damaging the Dungeon and causing a Juggernaut to appear could be a viable option, but there was no guarantee it would actually be able to defeat the girls since their weapons and armor seemed very strong. Even the weakest amongst them used a bow that seemed able to destroy anything the arrows touched...very troublesome. Throwing a peculiar golden magic core into his mouth, the man smiled cruelly before smashing the small crystal ball he had been observing them through. Ein would probably get pissed off at him, but the man was annoyed by the fools constant pestering and trying to pressure him to act. He actually hated the fact that his goddess wanted to capture Vahn alive because it annoyed him greatly that she was so interested in an inferior man. Remembering the taunting letter from before, the mans eyes glinted with a cruel light as he walked through the group of near-death Adventurers that he had been toying with earlier. cing his foot on the head of the groups leader, the man said, "If you want to me anyone, me that stupid brat for your tragic end!" before stomping down and crushing the Adventurers skull. He beganughing like a deranged madman before tormenting the remaining survivors to release some of his pent-up frustration... (A/N: Alternate Titles: S-Rank Battle Bikini ( ? ?? ?),Lili likes domination...,Angry Boi Reeeeeee) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 614 - Scheme

Chapter 614 - Scheme

Larfal Ljos Alf, King of the Elves, was currently standing in front of a beautiful altar made of pristine white Holicite, the same material used to forge Riverias staff. By volume, the altar would sell for several billion Valis but, regardless of the financial situation of the Elven Kingdom, nobody would ever think to actually sell. As for the reason, it was because the altar was actually where Riverias mother had been enshrined, sealed away by powerful magic that was intended to preserve her body for thousands of years. Though their time together had been short, Larfal had truly loved his wife, Risteria, and had treasured the time they spent together. Tracing his hand along the altar, Larfal muttered in a pained voice, "Risteria, my love...what am I to do...please, help me avert this crisis and show me the way..." Risteria had always been a guiding light to Larfal when they were together, making him feel as though she should have been the one to lead their people instead of him. He hated that they had been forced to produce an heir so early because his time as King would have been much easier with someone so reliable at his side. The maddening thing was that the reason they were forced was solely because the other houses feared Risterias influence and wanted to destabilize his authority, which they had sessfully managed. Risteria had originally belonged to the faction of the High Priestess so the noble families had feared the High Priestess was trying to use her to slowly wrest power away from them. Much like the tradition of Kings, the High Priestess only came into existence when thest Elven Queen, Celdia, disappeared after the battle with the One-Eyed ck Dragon. They were the faction that wanted to preserve the old traditions of the Elves and had directly opposed Celdias husband, the first Elven King, by seizing three of the sacred trees and taking in many of the female High Elves and the members of branch families into their fold. This enraged the nobles of the time but they simply had no way to oppose the High Priestess, who was the strongest High Elf in existence after Celdia vanished. Larfal and Risteria had fallen in love with each other when they were both young, around theirte fifties, and he had often sought her counsel when the internal strife between the noble families became too much to bear. He had previously wanted to explore the world, much like his daughter, but never had the opportunity because he was being groomed as the sessor to the throne. Unable to find any real enjoyment in life, Larfal had be very fond of his time with Risteria and, even though there was great opposition at the time, took her as his wife when he rose to power. The transition had been wrought with difficulties, but her counsel made things much easier and his position as King became secure after a few years... Unfortunately, the stability within the Pce also gave time for the other noble families to consolidate their power and, with the backing of the Sage Council, they pressured Risteria into producing an heir to secure the future of the throne. Having a king without an heir was indeed very dangerous because, if something happened to the King, it would potentially cause a civil war amongst the noble houses as they fought over the throne. Eventually, Risteria s.u.mbed to their pressure, not because it was taxing on her, but because things had been made difficult for him. After a bit of effort, they finally managed to conceive a child and were both very happy and hopeful for the future. However, much like other High Elves in her position, Risteria also suffered the loss of her vitality and, no matter how many special elixirs he tried to procure for her, it was simply never enough. As a result, the child that was born was much stronger than normal but, to Larfalsment at the time, it was unfortunately a girl. This meant he still didnt have a true heir to the throne and, a few weeks after she gave birth, Risteria s.u.mbed to her weakness and passed away. At the same time, many of the families that had been biding their time moved forward to pressure him on various policies to obtain more power for themselves. If not for the interference of the Sage Council, and his allies in the Lainu family, things would have gone even worse... Releasing a heavy sigh, Larfal thought about how that alliance eventually came back to bite him because it had cost him his daughter. She had been an incredibly intelligent girl in her youth and, even though he didnt give her the love she deserved, Riveria always did her best...just like her mother. Telling her she wasnt qualified to be his heir had been one of the most difficult decisions he ever made because he knew Alosrin, his friends son, was grossly ipetent. If not for the fact he wanted to keep the throne out of the hands of the more troublesome families, Larfal would have never agreed to their engagement. Now, he regretted that he ever considered it at all because it had caused his daughter to flee the Kingdom, causing chaos for several years until she eventually redeemed herself via her contributions... Previously, the Elven Kingdom struggled to secure trade agreements with Orario because they had been in conflict with the provincial government for hundreds of years. Riveria, by using her connections in the Loki Familia, had smoothed over many things for them while also contributing the results of her research for further study by their schrs. She was one of the most prodigious Mages to have ever existed so her insights into the truth behind Magic were truly inspired. Her research had alreadypletely reshaped how the next generation was taught and also paved the way for a few gods taking up residence within the Elven Kingdom, even though most of them were with the Sage Council faction... Larfal looked forward to the day when Riveria would return to the Kingdom because he believed her achievements would give him enough momentum to help install her as Queen. Alosrin would likely still be King, but Larfal believed she would be able to manage him easily and slowly change the fate of their entire Kingdom through her hard work and brilliant mind. Since she was the daughter of Risteria, the High Priestess would have supported her and Larfal believed the union between the Alf and Lainu households would have been enough to ensure a bright future for their people. Now, however, that seemed to have all flown out the window after a rapid series of developments he still couldnt quite wrap his head around. Riveria bing Vahns apprentice wasnt too difficult to believe, especially if he was as capable a Mage as reported, but the fact she had decided to marry him was a true betrayal of their people. Since he refused to take a second wife, he now had lost his heir and, because Alosrin had been crippled, the tensions between the Alf and Lainu families were at an all-time high. If not for the fact the Lainu family was in dire financial straits, they likely would have had a falling out with each other because Alfred med Vahn for his sons affliction. Even though Alfred was the one that pleaded for his son to have the position as Royal Envoy, he now med Larfal for sending his son into a trap. Alfred believed that, because Larfal didnt want his daughter to marry Alosrin, he had conspired with her to entrap his son. He even believed the whole Sage fiasco was a plot to lure Alosrin over since it was impossible for a human, even a demi-god, toe up with a solution to the fertility issue of the Elves. The fact they were withholding the solution was all the proof he needed to stir up some of the other noble families. His true reasons behind this was his hope they would invest their resources in either trying to kill Vahn, or capture Riveria, but that didnt stop him from spouting drivel about how Larfal was scheming to give the throne to his daughter and allowing the High Priestess faction to seize power. Because of Alfreds actions, which had mostly been carried out in private meetings, Larfal was facing even greater pressure than ever before. If not for some aid provided by the High Priestess, which made Alfreds argument even stronger, and the support of three of the seven Sages, Larfal wouldnt be able to keep order. There had already been two attempts to outright poison him at this point and he had lost nearly 2kg of weight in the past few weeks. The only thing that kept him going was the time he spent within this private sanctuary with his wife, hoping that their daughter woulde to her senses. He had already broken the engagement between her and Alosrin and now just wished she would return so that he could gain the support of their people to bring stability back to the Kingdom... A fluttering sound of feathers suddenly reached Larfals ears and he turned his head to see arge white dove fly down with a parchment in its talons. Given the golden leaves adorning the parchment, Larfal knew it was from his daughter and felt a little bit of hope rekindle in his heart. He knew it was probably bad news, especially since that seemed to be the only new he got recently, but still hoped she came to her senses in the end and was nning to return. The fact this news reached him while he was in the sanctuary made Larfal believe that there was, at the very least, a small chance his hopes would be a reality. Receiving the parchment, Larfal stroked the doves head with his fingers before giving it a small shelled nut and sending it off. After waiting for several minutes, Larfal released a sigh and unfurled the parchment to see what his daughter wanted to tell him this time around. By the time he got to the fourth line, Larfals hands were already shaking and he had to steady himself by using the Holycite altar as support. The first few lines were Riveria apologizing about the turmoil that had been caused in the Elven Kingdom but she immediately followed it up by dering, not only that she had married Vahn, but she now carried his child. Larfal felt like his soul had already left his body but there was still a great deal of information in the parchment and, even though he felt dread in his heart, continued reading in the hopes he had made a mistake... *Dear Father, I hope this missive finds you in good health. Know that I feel a great deal of remorse about the current state of affairs in the Elven Kingdom and pray that you are able to resolve them sessfully. Know that I will never cease in my pursuit of creating a better future for our people, regardless of how difficult the challenge may be. To that end, I must inform you that I have wed the Sage Aldrnari, Vahn Mason, and now carry his child with the intent to bring it to term. I imagine this may be a difficult thing to hear during these trying times but, as I have received permission to expose this information, I must inform you things are not as they appear. Vahn is not simply a Demigod, he is a unique race known as a Progenitor, the same as our first Ancestors that originally created the High Elves in the ancient past. Our child will be the truest High Elf on the Continent, so please do not assume I have erred in my decision. Also, so that there are no misunderstandings, know that I truly love Vahn and this marriage was proposed by me, knowing that it would inconvenience him greatly by involving him with the issues of our people. As I have said previously, Vahn has already discovered the problem that has been guing our people since the very first High Elves stepped foot in the forests. Not only that, but he has already developed a solution which has been proven effective by virtue of my own pregnancy. With his help, our people will no longer have issues bing pregnant, nor will they hadplications during their pregnancy that will result in death. The solution he hase up with guarantees both the mother and child will retain their vitality without having to consumerge amounts of resources. As King, you should understand the significance of this fact and the implications it has for all of our people.* Larfal felt like he was trying to ride on the back of an untamed wyvern with how chaotic his emotions were right now. His dread had quickly turned to disbelief when he read that Vahn was a Progenitor but that was nothingpared to what he experienced when he read about the fact they had developed a solution for the infertility issue. Though it made him upset knowing that Riveria had been the person to test it, thus be pregnant in the process, it also made him feel an unbelievable sense of relief knowing there was a confirmed solution to their greatest issue. If Vahn truly was a Progenitor, that would also be very good news because it meant Riverias children would be of a higher quality bloodline than their own diminishing heritage. Since she would potentially even be able to give birth several times, it was almost guaranteed she would produce a capable heir to the throne in the future, his grandson... Though he had mixed feelings about his daughter bearing the child of a man he had never met, Larfal felt strangely happy knowing he had a grandchild on the way. If there truly were no issues in the solution they had discovered, it meant he may have several grandchildren on the way, something that was hard to even imagine given the history of their people. He now really wanted to meet the boy that had apparently done so much for their people, even though they were purportedly only around fifteen years old. It was almost impossible to believe there was someone so capable in the world but, given the fact Vahn was a Progenitor, Larfal found it somewhat easier to rationalize. Progenitors were what history referred to as Primordial Man, and they are the root bloodline of every race in the entire world, being the only race that was capable of mating with Spirits in Ancient times. If Riverias words were true, this meant that Vahn actually had the potential of impregnating some of their Guardians and ensuring their Kingdom could prosper even more in the future. Since he was also at the heart of the Alliance, winning Vahn over would greatly increase their ability to trade with the City while also allowing them to potentially create an Embassy. If they could get tariff exemptions and slowly integrate with the political circles of Orario, using the Alliance as a springboard, they may even be able to slowly seize power for themselves in the distant future... Imagining the possibilities, Larfal suddenly had a smile on his face because he believed his daughter had already thought about all of this. She may im to love him, which very well may be the truth, but Larfal now felt his daughter hade to love him as a means of securing what she believed to be the best path forward for their people. He couldnt imagine Vahn developing the thought of researching the problem of their peoples fertility, much lessing up with a solution, unless Riveria had been at his side spurring him on. Larfal could imagine Vahn was a brilliant boy, probably far beyond his capacity to even understand, but not beyond his daughters. She must have seen the signs of his intelligence early on and help nurture him into what he was today, falling in love with him in the process after seeing his true potential shine through. It now actually seemed believable that they had lured Alosrin into a trap, especially considering the oue. Realizing this, Larfal had a smile on his face because he felt that his daughter had worked much harder than he expected, likely nning these events over the course of several years, all so that she could secure their familys position. If Vahn was truly a Progenitor and a Demigod, Riverias children would be abination of High Elf, God, and Progenitor, three powerful bloodlines thatplimented each other greatly. Larfal believed her son would be a capable sessor to the throne, especially since they would have the benefit of two brilliant parents. This would ensure that the Alf family not only continued to rule the Elven Kingdom but also guaranteed their bloodline would be the strongest of all. If they took advantage of the situation, they may even be able to force the other families to cede power just so they could preserve themselves, essentially bringing the entire Kingdom under a singr rule... Imagining such an ideal future, Larfal fought the urge tough because he now realized his daughter was truly a genius. She probably orchestrated all of these events to weaken the other families by using herself as bait, hoping they would invest as many forces and resources as possible while the Alf family remained neutral. It would be difficult for him to deal with all the turmoil generated by her actions but, even if he ended up dying through some plot, Larfal believed his daughter would still take power back into her own hands in the future when her son matured. With the support of the High Priestess and the Alliance, Larfal believed the Elven Kingdom was on the road to prosperity and had arge grin on his face as he turned his attention back to the letter... The rest of the parchment mentioned the reaction of the various gods in the Alliance and how they would be treating the Elven Kingdom in the future. It seemed they were very upset by the forces that tried to interfere with the wedding, especially those that acted on behalf of the Silvas family and tried to invade the Manor. Reading this, Larfal smiled even wider because, even though it was terrible news, he now believed it was all part of his daughters n to ensure the prosperity of their n and the Elven people. Yes, being unable to trade with Orario would be a massive blow to their economy, but it would take greater unrest for her to be able to institute her child as the true heir to the throne. Even if he died, there would be a power void that the other families would fight over and it would cause the High Priestess faction to hole up inside their own territory as a result. Presently, there were only three High Elf females that were capable of giving birth to an heir for the future King. Riveria had removed herself from the equation and the other two were already betrothed, meaning there were only two potential families that could rise to power. The other families would never ept this at all and would likely try to reach out to the High Priestess faction in the hopes of finding candidates. Unfortunately, the incident with Risteria had already caused a great deal of tension and there was absolutely no way they would provide breeding stock to the corrupt noble families. Since they also had the greatest concentration of power, any attempt to seize women from their faction would inevitably result in the destruction of whichever house made the attempt. In the end, the Elven Kingdom would be thrown into chaos and the Sage Council would likely rise to maintain order...making it the perfect political climate for Riveria to appear with a capable heir that also had an even higher quality bloodline than before. If the Alf family managed to tide over the chaos, they could thene to her support alongside the High Priestess faction and instate her son as the true King of the Elves. With the cure to the Elven fertility issue, Riveria would also have the support of the people and they would be able to unify the entire Kingdom under the banner of Alf. Realizing this, Larfal couldnt stop himself fromughing and, even though his Kingdom would likely face dire straights in the future, potentially even resulting in his death, the Alf family would inevitably obtain the final victory. Knowing this made all of the burdens on his shoulders suddenly feel much lighter as he lovingly stroked his wifes altar and said, "Our daughter truly has done us proud, Risteria...hahahahaha~!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bunch of old men afraid of a v.a.g.i.n.a,Riveria is sneaky...?,Is it just me, or are Elves predisposed to having powerful delusions?) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 615 - Developments

Chapter 615 - Developments

Over the course of a three week period, things had slowed down a great deal in Vahns life, allowing him ample time to work on his projects. As expected, Tionas outfit was finished in a very short period of time since it only consisted of two rtively small articles of clothing. The band that stretched around her chest was barely wider than his palm and, based on his memories from the Manga, she likely wouldnt really need any adjustments in the future. As for her bottoms, they barely covered more area than a pair of panties so Vahn had only needed three days toplete both pieces. Since he hadnt colored them yet, Tiona ended up running around in what looked like aplex set of white underwear, a stark contrast to her healthy brown skin that Vahn found very appealing. Since she always wore a pareo, Vahn also made her a brand new one that was far more resistant and durable. She had a tendency to lose them at times but promised to take better care of this one since it would easily be worth almost 300 million Valis based on materials alone. Toplete the outfit, Vahn made her a set of Adamantine armguards with the Durandal attribute and several ringlets and anklets, each with parameter enhancing properties. She still had a grand total of 0 Magic, but was able to make use of Magic items nheless. Vahn believed the essories would work on her and potentially help awaken Tionas Innates if she learned how to guide the mysterious energy properly. By the time Vahn finished Tionas outfit, she looked like an exotic dancer wearing an almost pristine white outfit with very intricate design. He would have to dye and color the outfit to her preferencester, but that didnt stop Tiona from happily wearing it around the Manor for the time being. She even went into the Dungeon the same day he hadpleted it, dragging Ais and Lefiya along with her in the process. By the time she returned, there was a fair amount of blood covering her body but the stark white cloth, possessing the Unblemished attribute kept it from getting dirty. When he asked how she got so bloody, Tiona confessed to having forgotten her weapon so she ended up beating all of the monsters they encountered with her bare hands and feet... Compared to Tionas outfit, Tiones took a total of seven days toplete because Vahn still wasnt that good at creating stockings just yet. Tione wore a rtively small top as well, at least as far as the fabric was concerned, but it was still moreplicated than the simple cloth band worn by Tiona. Her bottoms were almost identical though, with the only big difference being the fact that Tione wore a pair of stockings with a modified garter belt. Vahn wanted to make the Aegis armor match their basic attire so his design included her stockings as well, essentially guaranteeing her legs would bepletely protected. By the time Vahn was done, Tione had stark white stockings going from the center of her thighs all the way to her feet,ing to an end by attaching to a ring around her middle toe. To apany the outfit, she also had a pareo simr in style to Tionas, but about 1/3rd the length. Hers only wrapped around her h.i.p.s and the upper part of her thighs, apparently to cover her butt while still allowing freedom of movement for her legs. Neither she nor Tiona actually cared about the pareo itself but they wore them after the incident when they entered their first vige. People didnt treat children walking around in what equated to underwear very seriously and they werent fond of the looks they drew from some men. Much like Tiona, Vahn gave Tione several bangles, anklets, and a brand new sp locket where she typically kept her [Effigy of the Hero]. Underneath it, though he wasnt sure how she managed to obtain it, there was a picture of his face with a gentle smile. Vahn had been a little embarrassed when he first saw it, something Tione took advantage of by teasing him for a while after the fact. Vahn ended up punishing her a by dying the first part of her outfit bright pink, causing Tione to eventually perform what he could only call a perfect dogeza. She had apparently learned it from Tsubaki after calling her old in the past and being forced to hold the position for several hours as an apology. As he had been working on them all at the same time, though his focus typically leaned towards one piece of fabric at a time, Vahn had already made decent progress on Lefiyas outfit as well. She actually asked for some alterations to be made to the outfit before he had finished applying all the scales, wanting the entire midriff region to be removed. After learning about the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing] in detail, Lefiya was already taking into ount the fact she would likely wear one in the future. Since she didnt want Vahn to have to make an entirely new set of armor for her, Lefiya asked for arge part of the fabric to be removed. By the time the base was done, Lefiya had a white top that covered her ribs, chest, part of her neck, and the upper part of her arms. For her bottoms, she had what equated to shorts which, just like the top, had been cropped a bit and hung a little low on her waist. Since he was a little worried that she would be showing off a little too much skin without her robe on, Vahn also made a third piece of fabric and designed it like a corset that could be worn above, or below, the rest of her outfit. To make it match her cute appeal, Vahn also sewed on severalyers of frills because he didnt want Lefiya to ever have an excuse to wear her Aegis in public. Unlike the rest of the girls, Vahn designed hers to look closer to underwear so she didnt follow in the footsteps of Tiona, Tione, and Ais, who had a tendency to wear their Aegis around even when walking through the City. When it came time for her actual robe, Vahn wanted to push Lefiyas alias, White Lily, to the extreme and modified his original design a bit to match. He made sure to get Lefiyas consent before beginning but she had been strangely supportive of almost everything he didtely. Even though he had started taking private baths, she actually tagged along once with Ais and they shared a very small tub together. She also would show up at random times when he was lounging about, often just to make small talk and ask how he was doing. The fact that she would always be alone, instead of being apanied by Ais, made Vahn realize her Loyalty had slowly changed her priorities. When he had checked her Loyalty at the time, Lefiya had increased to 3,947, more than two-thousand points higher than just a few weeks prior... By the time Vahnpleted Lefiyas robe, just around the end of the third week, her Loyalty had shot up to a somewhat scary 9,314 because she had been very motivated after Tiona and Tione stoppeding to the workshop. A lot of the time after that had just been her, Vahn, and Ais, sometimes apanied by Haruhime or Lili. When it was just the three of them, Lefiya was almost bubbly in the way she acted and seemed far less inclined to blush unless she was teased directly. She even sat around in just her Aegis set, casually drinking tea with Ais as if it were perfectly natural, showing just how fortable Lefiya had gotten in his presence. Lefiyas final robe was actually far moreplex than Vahn originally intended because he had gotten a little motivated with how excited she was to assist him. The basic structure ended up being a five-petal robe that covered a twoyer skirt. Lefiyas old outfit was open at the front, so Vahn made sure the petals had a gap in the front where the skirt was visible and allowed her legs to kick forward freely without getting tangled in the petals. The robe went all the way up to her chest and, as she had requested, hugged around her chest without having any shoulder straps, much like Akis. The reason for this was because Lefiyas Aegis already covered her chest, neck, shoulders, and upper arms, so there wasnt a need for a secondyer. She would also be wearing a mantle around her shoulders anyway, so it didnt actually make her like risque at all and instead enhanced her appeal while still being modest. Completing the outfit, Lefiya wore the [Aegis Corset Mk 1] overtop it since she already had a habit of doing the same in her previous robes. Since she wasnt the type ofbatant to move around a lot duringbat, Vahn decided to add a few extra defensive measures in the end so he also designed some light ting that would sit around her waist and protect her body. She didnt want any around her chest though, so Vahn instead made her an intricate bow that was inteced with several small gemstones that wereworked to create a defensive formation. It wouldnt protect her from behind, but it would be able to stop almost any attack from the front if she had the requisite amount of mana. Vahn ended up naming the unique essory [Barrier Ribbon], once again showing hisckl.u.s.ter naming ability off to the fullest extent. When Lefiya wore herpleted robes, which had been ented with various shades of pink, she looked like a pure Elven maiden in the truest sense. Since her outfit was designed to look like a lily, it was very flowery and ented her golden-yellow hair and dark blue eyes greatly. So that it would be a focal point, Vahn had also made her ribbon match her eye color while the gemstones on her wristlets and anklets were the same. To apany her outfit, she also wore pure white stockings and dark pink shoes, so she really did look like a blooming young woman. If he didnt know her robes were actually pushing towards the S-Rank, as he had used several rare materials in their construction, Vahn would have thought she was just an innocent and harmless maiden...that could fire giant whiteser beams out of a cute flower-shaped staff. Dancing around happily in her new robe, Lefiya had a cheerful smile on her face and an excited blush on her cheeks. All of the usual girls had shown up to see her try it on so Ais, Tiona, Tione, Haruhime, Shirohime, Lili, and even Fenrir had shown up. They allplimented her outfit while also pestering Vahn to make them some interesting clothes in the future, especially Ais, Lili, and Fenrir. Though she loved her Aegis, Ais wanted a cute outfit like Lefiyas as well while Lili just wanted a pair of bottoms to apany her top, causing Fenrir to ask for the same. Vahn didnt really have a problem with this but told them they would have to wait until he finished Haruhimes outfit before working on them, which they happily agreed to. While he had been pulling out some paper to draw up some sketches for their outfits, Lefiya had surprised everyone but walking over with a lovely smile on her face as she said, "Thank you, Master...I love it..." and kissed him on the cheek. Though they had actually kissed on the lips in the past, this was the first time Lefiya proactively kissed him and it caused her face to turn beet red in an instant. Since the majority of her outfit was pink, it actually made her even more appealing so Vahn couldnt help but smile and say, "Im d, Lefiya, it looks great on you...very cute~" in a teasing voice. This caused Lefiya to blush even deeper but it also made her smile muchrger as sheughed happily until Tiona and Tione snatched her up to tease her further. Vahn watched them torment her at the side while sitting down at his workstation and drawing up the designs for Ais armor and a matching Aegis and shorts for Lili and Fenrir. By now, Fenrir had given Lili permission to copy her so she didnt mind having simr outfits. This meant the only differences in their equipment was the fact that Lili wore gauntlets, stockings, and shoes, while Fenrir ended up asking for a ribbon to tie around her tail, apparently jealous of the various Cat Girls, even though that wasnt the reason she gave. She wanted one like Lefiyas that would protect her butt so Vahn agreed with a wry smile on his face since he thought it would be cute... These three weeks hadnt just been Vahn forging armor for the girls, as there were also a few other developments that took ce around the Manor itself. He ended up helping two more goddesses getting pregnant, including Epona and another goddess named Juno. Epona was a long-time friend of Hephaestus, acting as her midwife and often seen around the Manor, while Juno was a goddess of Marriage, Fertility, and Wealth. The fact that she was actually smaller than Hestia had spooked Vahn a bit because he had never seen such a youthful looking goddess before. She was barelyrger than a Pallum and it was a little unnerving to help her get pregnant since herpanion had actually been taller than Vahn... The main reason Loki had scouted the two was that Epona was already in close proximity to the core of the Alliance through her association with Hephaestus. She had actually moved into a section of the West Wing after the fact, standing by to assist Hephaestus whenever she was ready. As for Juno, she was apparently only two generations apart from Hestia in terms of seniority and had been one of the premiere goddesses of pregnancy and childbirth for more than four-hundred-million years. She was literally the most qualified person to assist during the childbirth and had birthed more than three-hundred children herself over the course of a five-hundred-year period. Since she truly wanted a child born, not from her Divinity, but by the love she shared between one of herpanions, Juno had approached Loki and readily agreed to several restrictive vows. Vahn also learned from Loki, Hephaestus, Hestia, and Riveria, the situation that was taking ce in regards to the Elven Kingdom. He had felt a little worried that they were going to be putting so much pressure on the Kingdom since Vahn knew many of its citizens were innocent. It didnt sit well with him knowing that so many people would suffer from the abolishment of trade but Loki exined to him that the Elves would simply go to the Dwarves or try to purchase from the ins instead. The Wester Forests were also very rich in resources and the Elves had always been adept at agriculture, meaning they wouldnt be in danger of starving or anything like that. The people that would be hit the hardest were actually the wealthy elites, specifically the High Elf nobles, because they were the main group importing goods in the first ce. Though the Western Forests were rich in food and natural resources, they had lost the ability to obtain rare materials after arge part of the Spirit Forest had been burned down by the Rakia Kingdom. This meant they needed to purchase materials from outside to create some of the rare and powerful Elixirs they used to nourish their bodies and produce powerful Mages. Though there were a few gods present in the Elven Kingdom, they didnt really have a way to increase their parameters very easily because they had already eliminated the vast majority of strong monsters a long time ago. This was one of the reasons they had to send people outside of the forest to gain experience, as there simply wasnt enough internal resources to cultivate strong people. The High Elves focused most of their resources on their own progeny, even using the Elves as servants to cultivate the rare materials found in their Sacred Trees. Their current goal was to cause instability and infighting amongst the upper echelons of the Elven Kingdom while also whittling away at their stockpiled wealth and reserves. Even if there were feuds and internal strife, it wouldnt affect the Elven poption atrge because the Sage Council and High Priestess would intervene if any individual family tried to rally the people. Though there was a possibility of war being dered, in a vain attempt to unite the Elven people and maintain stability, they couldnt actually leave the forest toe and attack the City. Because of the previous incident, including Ainas house being destroyed, the City had cracked down on Elves entering the City and required them to take vows if they wanted to stay long term. Since Thomas was an official, they couldnt simply stand by and watch foreigners do whatever they wanted without regard for the consequences. Presently, the Guild had also sent out public notices stating that Elves who didnt belong to Familia could be fined additional fees if they were found guilty ofmitting crimes, especially if it could be misconstrued as espionage or subterfuge with the intent to undermine the order within the City. This caused any of the Elves that had been lingering around the Manor topletely vanish and many people, especially those that didnt belong to Familias, were currentlyying low. Right now, the Alliance was partnered up with both the Guild and the noble families of Orario to impose sanctions on the Elven Kingdom while also blockading areas on the eastern and southern borders of the Western Forest. The only ces they were allowed to trade freely would be the Iron Hills to the north or pursue peace with the Rakia Kingdom and open up trade in the West. The second option wasnt even up for consideration and the Dwarves would obviously take advantage of their so-called allies to obtain greater wealth for themselves. This meant the only real option for the Elves was to agree to the sanctions and suffer greater taxation on goods both imported and exported to and from the Kingdom. To get the politicians on their side, Loki had negotiated to give 60% of the profits obtained from the sanctions directly to the nobles of Orario while the Alliance itself would only take 10%, even though they were the ones maintaining the blockade. This was to prevent them from trying to paint the Alliance as the viins in the situation since it would be very clear for anyone to see that the people benefiting the most were the nobles. If things didnt go well, the Alliance could actually take a step back and allow the nobles to take the heat from the Elven Kingdom if there was any actual bacsh. This would give them leverage toe to the aid of the City during an actual war and allow them to always maintain a position on the moral high ground. Vahn struggled to agree with everything like was saying, but heter met with Freya, Minerva, and Eirene to hear their take, each showing they were in line with Lokis thinking. Minerva herself would actually be taking caravans to the borders of the Western Forest to trade materials at the edge of the forest since it was a great opportunity to make some extra money. As for Freya, she actually wanted to send some of her forces directly into the Elven Kingdom and it took Vahn convincing her he didnt want to see such bloodshed for her to step down. The fact she did so readily, and with a smile on her face, made Vahn feel a little awkward because he wasnt sure if she was just being obedient or teasing him... Thest important development to take ce of the three week period was the evolution of Tina within the Manor. She managed to awaken the [Featherfoot] skill after a great deal of practice, but this also involved several idents happening whenever Vahn was around. It seemed like his attempts to avoid triggering her [Luck] just made it more likely for bigger events to happen and there was seemingly no way to prevent them. The most extreme example of this was when Tina had sleepwalked all the way to his room on the same night that Lunoire had forgotten to lock the door after returning from the bathroom. Tina waltzed straight into the room and crawled into his bed while both he and Lunoire simply slept through it since she didnt emit any intent at all. Vahn awoke to find Tina cuddled up in his chest wearing nothing but a small nightgown while both he and Lunoire were stillpletely n.a.k.e.d. As if it had been decreed by fate, even though Tina wasnt a morning person at all, she woke up almost immediately after before releasing a shrill nyaaa and fleeing from the room... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Aegis Bra and Panty Mk 1,White Lily Lefiya,Goddess of Mischeif, The Real Mastermind~?,Tina OP ( ? ?? ?)) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 616 - Preparations

Chapter 616 - Preparations

With a week left before they were supposed to go on the Expedition, Vahn had everyone take a break from the Dungeon so they could rx. The next Expedition could potentially go on for upwards of two months, as they would be constructing a permanant defensive line and establishing the infrastructure for the Supply Depot. Vahn would be leaving behind a rallying whistle with Hestia and Loki in the event that either of them went intobor while he was away. With the [Heros Reprieve], he could instantly return to the surface and be at their side so there wasnt any chance he might miss the birth of his children. At this point, Hephaestus hadpletely stopped working in her forge and was usually with Epona and Hestia while Syr typically served them. Though nobody forced her into it, Syr had taken up the role of Head Maid at some point before Vahn had even realized it. Her reasoning seemed to be that, while things were stable at the Manor, she needed to have another job so she wasnt just simply lounging about all day. Since Emiru and Maemi still ventured into the Dungeon, she usually cleaned around the house and had already memorized all the secret passageways, even those underground. The most unexpected thing of all was that she often had Tina, Mn, Shizune, and Chloe helping out so Vahn got to see them all in the standard maid outfits that were worn by Emiru and Maemi. Shizune and Chloe, both having dark hair, actually looked surprisingly suitable to the role while Tina simply looked adorable. As for Mn, she had been a proprietress for many years at an Inn so she was what Vahn could describe as a natural when it came to being a maid... To prepare for the long expedition, Vahn had a few things to take care of on the surface so he went to the Clubhouse early in the morning to fill their stocks. This time around, he was greeted by Rune, a small Pallum girl with light pink hair and wine-red eyes. She was very startled when he showed up and fl.u.s.tered about as she said, "W-Wee, M-m-master Vahn!" Vahn just politely smiled at the 108cm tall girl and said, "Good morning, Rune. Its pretty early, so Ill take some cider and some baked goods. Please tell Sebas Ive matters to discuss..." Rune bowed at a steep angle, nearly losing her bnce in the process, before embarrassedly running off to carry out Vahns orders. Within the Terpsichore Familia, she was a musician that yed the lyre and typically had a very upbeat personality when performing. With Rune running off, Vahn was immediately approached by a red-haired youth with a cheeky grin on his face and a glimmering light in his grey-blue eyes. Vahn smiled and raised his hand to stop Welf from trying to put his arm across his shoulders, causing Welf to instead awkwardly rub the back of his head and said, "Hey man, havent seen you around in a while." Guiding Welf toward his private table, Vahn exined, "Yeah, Ive been busy creating a prototype armor for the girlstely. Ive finished four sets so far and, though theyre not quite masterpieces, they are very close. How has your research been going?" Welf immediately released a deep sigh when hearing Vahn ask about his research, shaking his head in exasperation as he said, "I was able to make a lot of progress with your notes, but my current skills just arent up to snuff to make any real progress just yet. Right now, Im focusing on self-study and refining my skills to be a better [cksmith]. Chasing after things that are beyond my level will just cause me to slip up, so Ive decided to do it step by step..." At this point, Welf had already been Level 2 for a while and had ess to the [cksmith] Development Ability nearly two years before he would have originally obtained it. He was already off to a strong start so Vahn just pulled out a few cksmithing texts and handed them over, saying, "These are some foreign techniques that may help push your skills to the next level." Seeing the books Vahn set on the table, Welf had a somewhat conflicted look in his eyes but still epted them, saying, "Thanks, Vahn. One day, Ill be skilled enough that I dont have to rely on your assistance so much. Until then, know that Im really grateful...haaaaaa..." Welf released a sigh at the end of his words and scratched his unkempt red hair in a small fit of frustration. He had already learned that relying on others, while also working hard to improve yourself, wasnt a sign of weakness. Without the girls, he would probably still be stuck at Level 1 and wouldnt be able to obtain nearly as many resources. His skills had already increased greatly and he had be much stronger, making it even easier to manage his workflow. Still, he was just a fifteen-year-old boy and, as a result of his prideful nature, it was somewhat difficult to ept assistance all the time. Vahn could guess what Welf was thinking but knew he needed to sort through things like that on his own, choosing to keep silent because Welf was certainly maturingpared to the past. Soon, Sebas came over and Welf immediately excused himself since he had actually already been drinking with the two people he had invited into the Clubhouse. Rather than being the loner he had been in the Manga, Welf had opened up a lot, especially after meeting Sonia, Maia, Vesta, and Kris. He now understood the importance ofrades and had made a few friends with other junior cksmiths of the Hephaestus Familia. Welf was the only person in their small group with the [cksmith] Development Ability right now so they all looked up to him, at least when Vahn wasnt around. Being the youngest [Master Smith] in history made Vahn somewhat famous amongst aspiring cksmiths after all. Sebas sat down with his doc.u.ments and had a somewhat stern expression on his face as he said, "Apologies, Master Vahn, but Rune broke the cider bottle when she was preparing the drink. Since she had a bit of a panic attack, I sent her to rest for a bit..." Rune was typically a very hard worker but, like most of the girls in the Clubhouse, she tried a little too hard whenever Vahn was around. Vahn just smiled in response and said, "Its fine, Sebas. I can understand why thing could be difficult when Im around, hahahaha." Though he didnt consider himself too prideful, Vahn always felt like his status was elevated a bit whenever he was at the Clubhouse. Everyone called him Master as if it was perfectly natural while Terpsichore herself typically treated him in a somewhat deferential manner. True to his professional and gentlemanly nature, Sebas expression softened a bit after he heard Vahns words and he patiently waited for Vahn to continue the conversation. Feeling a little embarrassed, Vahn tapped the table before grabbing the doc.u.ments and asking, "Have any new members joined since myst visit?" Sebas shook his head and said, "There was a new official member, Master Gilbert, and his two rmended members, Stale and Merkovah. Since Master Gilbert possessed the obsidian tab, he was given full membership from the outset while the other two are still pending review through the vetting process." The only person that could give out the obsidian tab was Vahn so anyone that possessed one would immediately be a full member. Remembering how hard Gilbert had worked after taking away the Elves, Vahn smiled in satisfaction and said, "Gilbert is a good man, but hispanions may be troublesome. Make sure they dont get carried away...hmmm..." Vahn knew there were some guards within the Eirene Familia that could get a little carried away as a result of their righteous disposition. It typically never became a problem, as Eirene was very strict in her management of the Familia, but Vahn knew there were always a few bad apples in anyrge group. Vahn had previously heard from Eirene that she had been forced to expel members in the past for epting things like bribes and providing benefits to criminal Familias around the red light district. ording to Eirene, the existence of alcohol, drugs, gambling, pleasure, and power could even lead good men down dark paths if they were exposed to it for too long. This was one of the reasons she admired Vahn so much because, even though he was at the center of power, he never deviated from the righteous path... Sebas nodded his head and made a small note in a pocket journal using an ornate pen that Vahn had given to him in the past. Vahn was also making a few modifications to the doc.u.ments Sebas had given him, exining, "Im going to double the stock of supplies, but you may need to allocate them carefully since Ill be gone for up to two months this time around." Vahn knew it probably wouldnt be an issue, as many of the members of the Clubhouse would actually be going on the Expedition with him. He just didnt want the Clubhouse to have a reputation of running low on goods, especially since it was treated as a very high-end establishment. Thus far, there had been more than twenty officials trying to buy membership, sometimes even pressuring existing members for their rmendations. With the vetting process, none of them had been sessful and they had actually removed membership from one person who sold his rmendations for 10,000,000 Valis. It might seem like a lot, but some of the items that could be taken out from the Clubhouse could exceed that if sold so Sebas had immediately kicked him out for taking advantage of his membership. Losing membership also cklisted you indefinitely, with only Vahn himself being able to override the decision, though only once. Sebas also knew that, other than a few people from the Eirene and Hephaestus Familias, most of the senior members of the Clubhouse would also be gone. He understood Vahns intentions well, however, and would do his best to ensure there werent any issues. Though he only started working here a few months ago, managing the Clubhouse had be his pride and he took his job very seriously. His sry was actually a monstrous 700,000 Valis a week, excluding tips, so Sebas wouldnt allow any mishaps to happen under his management. He also had a great deal of respect for the system Vahn had created because many people in his position would use their power and authority to take advantage of people. Vahn, instead, supported young women in an environment where the could promote themselves without actually having to sell benefits just to survive. This had given Sebas enough confidence to have his own granddaughter work at the Clubhouse, happy she would never have to experience the tragedy her mother went through. After arranging all the doc.u.ments, Sebas bowed politely to Vahn and said, "If youll excuse me, Master Vahn." before returning to the bar and sending KiLani, the brown-haired Hume Bunny, to check the inventory. Vahn never made any mistakes when it came to resupplying, but they always did a secondary check to confirm everything was ounted for. The system they had in ce didnt allow for many exploitable gaps so Vahn was always very satisfied when he saw how hard everyone was working. There was just something about cute women, working earnestly with smiles on their faces, that made Vahn both happy and proud. Soon after Sebas had left, a rather in looking woman with a massive aura walked over, carrying a bottle of pale golden cider as she asked, "May I join you, Vahn~?" Rising from his own chair, Vahn pulled out the one next to him, causing the woman to giggle before sitting down and saying, "My, thank you very much~." This woman was none other than Terpsichore herself and, though she looked somewhat in at a nce, her disposition, expression, and appeal, could all change in an instant. At times, she was a vibrant and youthful woman while, at others, she could look like a lovelorn widow with a distant and mncholic look in her eyes. She was very peculiar and Vahn found her presence to be somewhat refreshing since, though she acted a lot, her emotions always showed on the surface since she truly invested herself into the character she was portraying. Terpsichore filled Vahns ss before pouring one for herself, provided by Vahn since she had originally only brought one for him. Vahn took his seat and said, "I never expected you to join me during a meal like this, Terpsichore." This time, Terpsichore looked simr to a pure maiden as her dull eyes glittered with an innocent light as she said, "I saw how fl.u.s.tered Rune was when she made a mistake and thought it would be better if I helped fix any negative impression you may have had. How is it, do you feel happy now that Im here~?" Terpsichore twirled a strand of her silvery grey hair with her finger in mock bashfulness as she peered up at Vahn with glittering soft-purple eyes. Vahn gave a polite smile in response and said, "I know everyone here works very hard, especially when Im around. Im not going to me Rune for making a single mistake, so please tell her not to be bothered by it when you see herter..." As he was speaking, Renka came onto the stage wearing her moderately skimpy dancers outfit and smiled immediately after locking eyes with him. Her icy blue eyes reflected a yful light as she began dancing with the apaniment of upbeat music that could cause the listener to feel a bit of excitement. Terpsichore chimed in from the side and said, "Renka seems uncharacteristically fond of you...ufufu~." Instead of a youthful and innocent look, Terpsichore now had a somewhat sensual and older sister type appearance with a teasing tone in her voice. Her pale purple eyes were now a deep purple that almost felt like they could absorb the viewer into their depths. Vahn knew she was just ying around so he smiled and said, "She is a rather beautiful girl, so it makes me happy to get just a little of her attention. If I werent already so taken by the women at the Manor, Im not sure I could restrain myself from approaching her." Vahn sent a wink at Terpsichore, causing the mature goddess to beginughing in an elegant manner before her appearance became in, almostpletely neutral. Her deep purple eyes were now a mute grey in color as she said, "You are a good man, Vahn Mason. I can never fully express my gratitude for this paradise youve made...it isnt easy to pursue the path of an entertainer, so Im happy all of my children have such a safe environment to grow up in..." In Familias that focused on entertainment, the majority of their members were women and, even though they often started with lofty aspirations, this would fade with time. Many girls would eventually be targetted by their clients and, in order to earn enough money to support their lifestyles, several would end up selling favors to various men. Before the red light district had been established, p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es were actually called songstresses because many singers, dancers, and even musicians, ended up selling their bodies after a few years of struggling to get by. Most people in the present didnt spend a lot of money on entertainment, at least not in regards to the arts, so it was very difficult for many entertainment Familias to be sessful. Before the Terpsichore Familia started working at the Clubhouse, Vahn had heard about some of their struggles from Loki and took pity on them. He allowed all of the girls to work within the Clubhouse, offering them great benefits, not in exchange for their bodies, but so they would be able to pursue their interests without having to makepromises. Many women simply wanted to save up money when they were younger so they didnt have to worry so much when they had children. Since there werent too many people that wanted to be Adventurers, as it was very dangerous and taxing on both the mind and body, many young women ended up willingly working in the red light district for a few years just to save up. It was almost impossible to open a business normally so, if you werent in a Familia, there were few other options if you wanted to save up arge amount of money in a short period of time... When he heard Terpsichores words, Vahn had a somewhat sad smile on his face as he said, "I just want people to be happy...nobody should have to sell themselves just to get by... its ridiculous. If they can be happy being performers, I think they should have an environment that promotes that. After all, seeing the emotions they put into their songs, music, and dances makes me feel inspired to work hard as well..." Terpsichore nodded her head and showed a happy smile as she said, "Yes, the arts have always been intended to inspire the people to better themselves. It breaks my heart when performers are profaned and exploited just because of their beauty...society can be very cruel at times. Im d there are at least a few people like you in this world, Vahn Mason..." Terpsichores eyes had be blue like sapphires and she gave off the impression of a young woman on the cusp of a.d.u.l.thood, full of hope and aspirations for the future. At this point, Renkas first dance hade to an end and her fit body was covered in a lightyer of sweat as a result of her exertion. However, she didnt seem tired at all and instead showed an eager and happy smile on her face as she began her second dance. Many of her dances emphasized her h.i.p.s and made use of her long tiger-like tail, so it was quite the tantalizing sight since she had a powerful and athletic body. Vahn had a calm smile on his face and simply appreciated the sight while enjoying his cider with the apaniment of Terpsichore. His food had arrived at one point, freshly baked apple pie, so Vahn was in a great mood and felt a strong urge to help even more people find happiness in the future. --- As if she was intent on dancing the entire time he was present, Renka worked hard for nearly an entire hour before Selena came out and ushered her off the stage at the end of her twentieth dance. At this point, her skin was practically glistening and her dancers garb had started to soak through a bit with her sweat, causing Welfs group to be absolutely silent as they were enamored by the sight. It was expressly forbidden to do things like catcalling and heckling, so they could only sit close to the table and enjoy the show in silence. Vahn did much the same but also made a bit of small talk with Terpsichore, essentially agreeing to build a theatreplex in the school so the student would have a stage to perform on. When she was leaving the stage, Renka cast a few nces over at Vahn and he could feel her mncholy from the changes in her aura. He felt a little guilty about it, but Vahn actually used the girls at the Clubhouse to temper himself so he had more resistance against girls. They had all taken vows to not be forward in their approaches so, other than appealing to him through her performance, Renka couldnt actually try to flirt with and pander to Vahn. It was very obvious she liked him, but that wasnt really a unique thing since most of the girls were fond of him. He was incredibly rich, powerful, handsome, kind, and, most importantly, supported their lifestyles and appreciated their art. With the current social climate, it would be very strange for young women to not like him, something Vahn himself was very aware of. Terpsichore watched Renkas departure alongside Vahn and, once she had disappeared into the back room, said, "You know, Renka approached me about leaving the Familia recently..." Vahn arched his brows when he heard this, turning to Terpsichore as she exined, "Her tribe has always cultivated warriors so she isnt really suited to being a real performer. This job has given her a lot of time to rx and calm her mind so she isnt as depressed and eager as in the past. Knowing how much effort you put in to make the City a better ce, she feels inspired by you and wants to help out by joining the Hestia Familia. I think, even if she couldnt be your woman, she would be happy as a warrior underneath your banner..." Hearing Terpsichores words, Vahn was at a bit of a loss since he actually recognized Renkas potential as a warrior as well. He actually thought it was a bit of a shame that someone so capable was just a dancer since she was almost Level 4 even though she was only neen years old. Though she wasnt as prodigious as some of the other girls in the Manor, Vahn knew Renka didnt have nearly as many resources to promote her growth and got to where she was as a result of her individual efforts. With proper guidance, she could easily be even stronger, likely reaching the peak of Level 6 or 7 in the future. After thinking it over, Vahn squinted and said, "There are too many things going on with the Alliance right now, so it wouldnt be a good idea for her to join the Hestia Familia. If she just wanted to help out, she could always join one of the other Familia in the Alliance and that would give her the opportunity to grow further..." Even as he spoke, Vahn understood that Renka specifically wanted to work under him and would likely not even consider joining a different Familia. Thinking this far, Vahn felt a little awkward because he simultaneously wanted to help Renka but knew things were never simple when it involved him. If she began living at the Manor, just as the goddesses had lectured him, she would almost certainly get involved with him at one point. Even now, Vahn was very interested in her so it probably wouldnt even take that long if she was proactive... Releasing a sigh, Vahn said, "For the time being, I think she should stay here and think about her decision. There is no rush and she is still young..." Terpsichore beganughing at this point and her eyes had turned peach-colored as she said, "I think she will be happy to know you are so fl.u.s.tered thinking about her joining your Familia. Dont worry, she also wanted toplete her current vow and will stay with my Familia until next June at the earliest~." With few exceptions, most gods actually required their children to take vows after joining their Familias. This prevented people from joining and leaving at their convenience, benefitting from the resources of the Familia without making any real contributions. It was already very difficult to keep members in entertainment Familias, so they typically had two-year contracts just so the troupe wouldnt diminish entirely. It was currently around the end of February, so that meant there were a good sixteen months before he actually had to worry about Renka. A lot could change in that period of time so Vahn felt relieved knowing he wouldnt have to make a decision on the matter so soon. That was also around the same time that Bell should be showing up in the City so Vahn suspected he wouldnt be that troubled even if she did end up joining the Hestia Familia. He would undoubtedly be very busy, especially when Enyos forces began moving, and there would also be several children running around by then. Vahn believed he would be more stable when his kids were around so it should prevent him from being involved with other women, excluding the ones already in the Manor... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Rune-chan,Dance Dance Renka Revolution,Vahn, g Emperor) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 617 - Cold Wipe

Chapter 617 - Cold Wipe

After leaving the Clubhouse, Vahn made a quick stopover to spend some time with Anubis and Nanu, thetter of which seemed to be going through a growth spurt. She was now 141cm tall and showed signs of her secondary s.e.x characteristics developing, causing Vahn to urge her to start wearing a proper bra. Since she liked to cling to him when they spent time together, it was a little distracting when she got excited so he helped her pick out some suitable underwear. Now, she was showing more awarenesspared to the past and was working much harder, nearing the peak of Level 3 through her own efforts. Once his y time with Nanu had ended, Vahn had Anubisying across hisp for a while as he used his [Petting] skill to pamper her for a bit. She spent most of her time these days just managing the Southern Manor, waiting for the hounds to mature so she could move into the Hearth Manor permanently. Vahn felt a little guilty that she often spent her days cooped up in the Manor alone, but she was a very dutiful goddess and didnt seem to mind it at all. He still pampered her quite a bit whenever he visited though, generally taking long walks with her and giving her a bit of heavy petting. While he was fluffing her long and bushy tail, Anubis would bring her feet up in a happy mood, arching her back a little when Vahnbed his finger through the dense fur and touched the sensitive tail beneath. He also helped support her body but holding her chin, even though it would have been awkward for most other women. Anubis preferred to be handled a bit and Vahn could tell she was always happier when he took a few liberties with her. During the times she stayed over at the Manor, Vahn always yed with her a bit to appease her, not because he was pushing himself, but because he enjoyed how responsive she was to things... Turning her face towards his, Vahn leaned down and kissed Anubis as her moonlight eyes glimmered with a hazy glow. When they parted, he said, "Ill be going away for around two months during the Expedition..." Anubis didnt seem to be affected by his words much and just smiled, saying, "I know, Master. I will wait patiently for your return..." with her tail wagging affectionately. Vahn smiled in return and began stroking the side of her head a bit roughly, saying, "Good girl..." and kissing her a little more passionately before. Though she had to hold an awkward angle to kiss him, Anubis did so happily with her tail turning into a turbine as the long kiss continued... After leaving the Southern Manor, Vahn felt a little aimless and was tempted to just wander around, deciding instead to just return to the Hearth Manor. There were times when he wanted to pamper the girls even more, especially when it came to the case of Anubis, so leaving her behind was always a little difficult. Just like Loki, Vahn felt like he didnt get to spend enough time with her and he had already been feeling a little conflicted after the matter regarding Renka. Instead of letting himself get swept up by it, Vahn just returned to the Manor where he knew other girls were always waiting for him. It was also a ce where he could work on his research, or potentially make more pieces of equipment, so it beat wandering around and brooding. Most likely as a result of sensing his state of mind, Fenrir ended up meeting him at the door so Vahn immediately felt better. Stroking her head, Vahn said, "Lets go to the workshop and Ill start designing your shorts." Since Fenrir was going to be apanying him into the Dungeon, Vahn didnt think it would be a bad idea to go ahead and move forward on his next project. Fenrir, however, shook her head and said, "Master,e y. Fenrir doesnt care about shorts right now~." Before he even responded, Fenrir began pushing against Vahns back so he began tough before allowing her to lead the way. Fenrir had been in the back yard ying a strange game with Tiona, Tione, and Ais. Lefiya was also present and seemed a little fidgety before running over the moment Vahn appeared, asking, "How are you feeling, Vahn?" in a concerned tone. Vahn habitually stroked her head and said, "I spent a bit of time with Anubis and felt a little sad to separate from her. Dont worry, Im already in a much better mood since there are so many cute girls worrying about me~." Lefiya had a light blush on her face and squinted her eyes, clearly pleased by the head-petting as she said, "That is wonderful..." Vahn ended up joining as a spectator for the time being as he learned the rules of their game and watched Tiona and Fenrir y. Because she was literally able to eat anything, Tiona had been lobbing various objects while Fenrir was moving to catch them with her mouth. It was strangely adorable to see her running around and jumping through the air, especially since she was still in her maid outfit. Though her sharp teeth were a little perturbing, Vahn had long grown appreciative of her unique traits and thought everything about Fenrir was cute, as long as she didnt try biting him. Turning his head, Vahn saw the second gluttonous member of their group who was currently munching away on animal-shaped crackers while sitting next to him. They were close enough that Lefiyas thigh touched against his, even though everyone else was sitting around normally. She earned a few teasing remarks from Tione but seemed topletely ignore them, a far cry from her behavior in the past. Ais was also eating a few snacks because it was around the time when they would normally eat lunch anyways, causing Vahn to just set out a few items like rice balls, fruits, and some kebabs for everyone to eat. Since watching wasnt as interesting as participating, Vahn ended up ying the game as well, altering a few rules so everyone could be more involved. It became a small game of keep away with Fenrir in the center trying to intercept the objects the threw between each other. They werent going all out, as it would be a little unfair and potentially injure Fenrir, but it was still very fun. Though he would have assumed Fenrir would get frustrated about being unable to catch things, she instead got more motivated and Vahn could tell her movements were bing more refined through practice. This was just another example of how even ying could be turned into training because Fenrir was able to train her kic vision and response time by trying to read the trajectory of the objects and timing her own movements to intercept them cleanly. After they had yed around for around twenty minutes, Fenrir had begun to sweat a bit since she was wearing a somewhat stuffy ck maid outfit and it was pretty warm outside. He let her sit in hisp after the fact and dabbed her face with a wet rag that he cooled using ice elemental energy. Because she was interested in it, Vahn also used the cold rag on Ais, inspiring the other girls to want to experience it as well. Since he didnt really have any ns, Vahn decided to move to the salon and just asked them to alle with him. There was a sauna attached that they had never really made use of and Vahn felt like it would be a good opportunity to do so now. The rules of the sauna was that you could be n.a.k.e.d, but you had to have a towel with you at all times since the wood could reach temperatures of 50-55 degrees Celsius. This wasnt enough to really get through the Endurance of most of the girls, but it would prevent them from getting small burns from extended exposure. Thus, after they all stripped out of their Aegis outfits, Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya all wore white bathrobes and carried towels into the sauna while Vahn helped Fenrir get out of her maid outfit. She was actually one of the exceptions to the rule, as she wouldnt really get burned even if she sat on a much hotter surface, so Fenrir happily ran into the sauna with her arms spread wide in excitement,pletely n.a.k.e.d. When he followed behind, Vahn felt the incredible humidity in the room hit him like a wave the moment he crossed through the thin membrane. The sauna was designed like arge rectangle and there were four stoves in the corners containing smooth grey stones. Pressing a small mechanism would cause water to pour into the stoves, releasing arge amount of steam that made the room foggy and incredibly humid. Vahn originally got the idea of the sauna when he heard about the Divine Bathhouse that could be used by the gods, which also had several saunas and hot tubs avable. It was supposed to be good for opening the pores and helping to exfoliate the skin, causing a great deal offort and allowing people to feel greatly refreshed afterward. Unsurprisingly, Tiona, Ais, and Tione had already removed their bathrobes and were currently sitting n.a.k.e.d on the wooden bench as they enjoyed thefortable heat. Tione noticed his gaze and showed a somewhat seductive smile as she said, "You should have asked us toe by sooner...this ce is veryfortable and it gives you an excuse to see us n.a.k.e.d~." Tionaid down against the bench and said, "Fuaaaah~, this ce is sofortable. What else can we do in here, or is it just used for sitting and rxing?" Fenrir had been standing at the corner of the room, inspecting the stones and poking the mechanism to make more steam for a while now. Her pale white butt was sticking straight out but, after hearing Tionas words, she turned around and asked, "Can we y in here, Master~?" Vahn smiled at Fenrir before looking to Ais and saying, "How about you help me demonstrate Ais?" Hearing his question, Ais golden eyes shone with an expectant light but she shook her head and leaned back against the wall, ignoring the heat, as she said, "You should use Lefiya or Fenrir since they were worried about you..." Lefiya had still been wearing her bathrobe this whole time, which caused the heat to be a little unbearable for her even though it had only been a few short minutes. Hearing Ais words made her feel a little fl.u.s.tered but she still matched Vahns gaze and said, "I dont mind..." in a quiet voice. Lefiya had actually been one of the only girls to never really show up for his massages in the past so it was a little surprising to hear her agree so readily. Since he wasnt going to be doing anything s.e.x.u.a.l, Vahn didnt mind her helping out so he nodded before pulling out a table and saying, "Go ahead and rx on this table. Its better if you face upward, but you cany on your stomach if youre nervous." At the same time, Vahn set out a table for everyone since it actually didnt take much involvement on his part to do what he had in mind. Lefiya stood up from the bench and removed her bathrobe, revealing her thin and n.a.k.e.d body beneath, which seemed to be perpetually stuck in the transition between being a young girl and a young woman. Everyone watched as Lefiya climbed onto the table,ying face-up with her nervousness apparent for all to see. She wanted to be more bold in the future and decided it would be better toy facing upward since she would be able to see what Vahn was doing. Fortunately, things got a little easier to deal with when Vahn pulled out a thin white towel and covered her lower body with it in a casual manner. He smiled to her before turning to everyone else and saying, "Since everyone was interested in getting a cold wipe, I thought using the sauna would be better as it would enhance the experience a great deal. By letting the pores open, you will begin to sweat a bit and its a great way to exfoliate your skin. With a cold wipe, you can force the pores to close rapidly and force out any dirt or bacteria that might have gotten into your skin over time. Its also veryfortable and should be quite refreshing after its repeated a few times..." When his basic exnation was done, Vahn pulled out a wet rag and infused ice elemental energy into it before dabbing at Lefiyas forehead. Her golden-yellow hair was already a bit sticky from her sweat and was clinging to her scalp and brow as a result of the humidity. The moment the cold rag touched her skin, Lefiya released a pleasant sigh that also made her blush a little deeper than before. Vahn continued to dab around, touching her cheeks and the area around her ears, asking, "How does it feel..?" in a calm and professional tone. Lefiyas dark blue eyes were a bit hazy and she responded, "It feels very refreshing..." in a very quiet voice. After wiping away the firstyer of sweat from her face, Vahn folded up the rag and ced it on her forehead to keep her from getting a fever as he pulled out a second rag. This one was muchrger than the previous one and, after infusing some ice elemental energy into it, began dabbing around Lefiyas corbone and shoulders before moving down to her budding b.r.e.a.s.ts, which were fair to the point that Vahn could see small veins present underneath her skin. Vahn didnt pay too much attention to them, as Lefiya, though only a year younger than him, wasnt yet an a.d.u.l.t. He always felt guilty if he focused too much on the bodies of young girls and just went through the motions as deftly as possible without letting his eyes wander too much. Lefiya had tensed up a bit when the cold rag first touched her chest because it really was a very startling experience to go from hot to cold in an instant. After she adapted, however, Lefiya felt it was actually veryfortable and there was a strange urge in her body that wanted Vahn to continue touching her. Unfortunately, Vahn ended up covering her b.r.e.a.s.ts with a loose rag after wiping them down before using the third rag on her arms and abdomen. He continued to work all around her body, excluding her lower abdomen, inner thighs, and groin, covering each part with a cool and damp rag when he was done. As he had described, it felt very refreshing to feel the extremes of hot and cold intermixing together since several parts of her were still exposed to the hot and humid sauna. When he was finished applying all the rags, Vahn turned to the others and said, "You can go ahead and pick a table and Ill treat you all at the same time. There isnt really a rush, so you cany on your back and then swap to your stomach for a second passter. Just make sure youre rxing and not causing any disturbances as this is more of a professional service than something intended to be intimate." As they all knew the rules of Vahns salon, none of the girls had really intended to make a scene in the first ce, especially since they saw how serious Vahn had been with Lefiya. The entire process only took about five minutes from start to finish, but he had been both meticulous and professional at the same time, not stalling on any point in an attempt to get a rise out of her. While the others were getting on their own tables, all in excited and expectant moods, Vahn began moving the rags of Lefiyas body, exposing her cool skin to the hot air once again. She released a rxed sigh that caused Vahn to smile before saying, "Turn over onto your stomach. Ill wipe down your back this time..." Lefiya blushed even more than when she had exposed her front because she was actually a little self-conscious about her butt. Like most Elves, she was a very thin girl and, even though she had tried to exercise a bit, her butt was still small andcked the fullness of a mature woman. Seeing that Vahn showed no signs of being disappointed, Lefiya felt a little relieved but also somewhat sad since he also didnt seem to care at the same time. Other than Lefiya, who was currently on her stomach, all of the other girls opted to get their fronts done first since they already had some expectations about it. Like Lefiya, Vahn covered their h.i.p.s with a white rag, not only for their benefit but to keep himself from being distracted. He then began treating them all with a cold wipe while also infusing his [Heart of the Eternal me] into his domain to regte the temperature a bit. Using his [Hands of Nirvana], Vahn also infused calming energy into the air and focused entirely on helping the girls just rx. He did everything in passes, starting by wiping down their faces before moving onto the next step and alternating between their bodies. When he got to her b.r.e.a.s.ts, TIona giggled a great deal when Vahn was wiping her down since she was actually quite ticklish. Though she could be very forward when she was excited, Tiona was generally very innocent in her behavior at other times. Since this wasnt mean to be an intimate moment, she was behaving naturally and this caused her tough happily, saying, "Its cold and ticklish at the same time. Ahahaha~!" Fortunately, she managed to calm down a bit when Vahn covered her chest with the rag and moved on to Tione. She had a much more reserved reaction that Tiona but Vahn also noticed her n.i.p.p.l.es had bepletely rigid even before he began wiping her down. Unlike Tiona, who could be very easygoing at times, Tione was the type that could get a little carried away at times because of her pent up emotions... Ais was very well behaved throughout the entire procedure and just watched Vahn with intrigued eyes every time he wiped a different part of her body. As for Fenrir, she seemed to have taken a note out of TIonas book and alsoughed in a simr manner while writhing about under his hands. Lefiya, being the only girl on her stomach, just closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment since it really was very rxing and it felt like her skin was breathing. The only time she really reacted was when Vahn wiped around her butt without actually touching the soft white cheeks. He had covered her backside just the same as her front because, as she was a very thin girl, Lefiya had a bit of a gap between her thighs that made her delicates visible even when she wasying on her stomach. After a little more than an hour had passed, Vahn did a cold wipe on the fronts and backs of the girls, making them all have loose and happy expressions by the time he was done. Thebination of heat and humidity, contrasted by the cool and refreshing sensation of the rags really was veryfortable for all of them. When he was finished, everyone justzed around for a bit and talked about the uing Expedition without any regards for decency, at least in the cast of Tiona, Tione, and Fenrir. Lefiya hadnt gone back to wearing her bathrobe, but she sat with her thighs together and her back straight while Ais strangely had great posture at all times, almost like she was a doll that had been designed with perfection in mind. Fenrir was the worst of all though, as she had no sense of distance with Vahn and ended up sitting on his knee to get some head pats for herself... Vahn spent the rest of the day just rxing around the Manor, deciding to make the rounds and check up on all the pregnant women when he parted with the sauna group. Riveria was confirmed to be pregnant, even though it took around eleven days for her body to show the first signs. She had shown up for breakfast and, after taking a few bites from her food, ended up nearly throwing up before Ryuu helped support her to the bathroom. Morning sickness was a verymon thing among the pregnant women, with the exception of the goddesses, so they all looked out for each other. Vahn often wanted to help them out but was generally prevented from doing so as it was a natural thing that most of the girls were strangely adamant about dealing with on their own. At this point, Riveria was a little more than three weeks into her pregnancy but hadnt really shown any changes in her figure. There was a little tenderness in her b.r.e.a.s.ts, which she hadined about during one of the nights they were together, but that was about it. As for Ryuu, she now had a very small bulge in her stomach that she could often be seen caressing with a lovely smile on her face within Terras Garden. She and Riveria were often together these days with Aina, Eina, Lefiya, and Ais often appearing at their sides as support. Riveria had actually been Ais surrogate mother when she first joined the Loki Familia so she had been spending a lot of time with Riveria after thetter got pregnant. After Riveria and Ryuu, Vahn spent the greatest amount of time with the more pregnant girls who were now well into theter stages of their pregnancies. Even Arnya, who didnt really seem like she would ever show significant signs of pregnancy, started to have a moderate bulge in her belly. The biggest change, however, had been that her b.r.e.a.s.ts and butt had grown even fuller at this point while she became very docile and affectionate whenever they were together. Aki was much the same, but her belly was muchrger than Arnyas even though they were both only carrying a single child. In that same category, though decidedly different than them both, Tsubaki had also progressed much further into her pregnancy and was now around 23 weeks along. Her belly made a gentle curve, but it was also hemispherical at this point and she had also stopped working actively in her forge. Much like Loki, who almost looked scarily pregnant at this point, she had decided to take a break and prepare for childbirth instead of potentially endangering their daughter by being obstinate. As for Hephaestus, her pregnancy had been elerated a bit and she was now around 9-10 weeks away from giving birth if left alone. Both Hephaestus and Loki now had big and full bellies that were a little unbnced because the rest of their body didnt change to show the signs of pregnancy at all. Hephaestus even worse loose-fit trousers that ented her butt while wearing a stretchy top on her upper body with the [Fertility Band] worn over the top. As for Loki, she actually started wearing a simple dress that went all the way down to the ankles and had strangely started acting in a somewhat reserved manner while walking around with an escort at all times. She would soon be staying at the Hearth Manor in preparation for the birth and Vahn kind of wanted her to stick around, if possible... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Happy Pupper,Hot and Cold, Rxation,Dangerously Pregnant) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 618 - Motivation

Chapter 618 - Motivation

Vahn awoke early in the morning and peeled Hestia from his body, having slept with her the previous night. She had a habit of using him as a bed, something Vahn enjoyed greatly because she still had an inexplicably soft body. Though Preasias fur was a strong contender, Vahn would describe her softness closer to being smooth, whereas Hestia was more of a pliant or malleable softness. Whenever Vahn touched her, it was almost like there was a super softyer of flesh covering her entire body, which deformed slightly under his palms. The most notably soft parts were Hestias b.r.e.a.s.ts and butt, something Vahn felt very drawn to at times since Hestia usually slept on top of his body, pressing her b.r.e.a.s.ts into his chest. Hestia didnt wake up when he moved her and instead remained sprawled out in a very udylike manner with a loose smile on her face. She seemed to be having a naughty dream because her aura was intermixed with pinks and reds while her face was somewhat flushed. Focusing his mind, Vahn could actually connect with Hestia, feeling the excitement in her body almost as if they were one and the same. Shaking his head to clear the thoughts from his mind, Vahn covered Hestias body after giving her arge plush pillow for her to cling to. He had specially designed it to have a liquid core that was heated by receable magic cores, allowing Hestia to always have a warm object to hug since she got very clingy in bed. Almost as if she had been drawn to it like a ma, Hestia clung to therge body pillow and began rubbing her cheek against it, mumbling, "Vahn...youre so bad...ehehehe~" Hearing her words, Vahn didnt know whether he shouldugh or cry since Hestia had been the one to take the leadst night. She wanted to ride on top of him to see how her stamina had improved, holding his hands as support while rocking her h.i.p.s in different directions. Compared to the past, she didst much longer than normal but inevitably needed Vahns assistance to finish the ride. Seeing her b.r.e.a.s.ts bounce had been quite the sight but it was always a little hard to focus since, even though she had s.e.x dozens of times at this point, Hestias v.a.g.i.n.a was still like a highly stimting vice that threatened to devour him if he lost focus... Moving to the side of the bed, Vahn pulled out Evas orb to check if there had been any changes, nearly dropping it when he saw that theplex magic circle had almostpletely vanished. He had been checking it twice a day, around 5 AM and 5 PM, just to make sure he didnt miss the timing of its activation by too long. At this point, Vahn was certain Eva wasnt simply sleeping inside the orb so he was pretty worried about her, hoping she wasnt feeling too lonely inside that endless ck and white space. Seeing the progress of the orb, he felt very excited because it was looking as though it would be active before the Expedition even started, or at the very least during it. Vahns intuition had told him it would be after his children were born, but that didnt seem to be the case, a fact he was actually grateful for. Learning Magia Erebea would give him functional immortality within the Danmachi record and, unless he managed to get sealed or suffer immense damage to his soul, there would be almost no enemies that could stop him. Though he might not be able to defeat them at first, Vahn would be able to oust them and eventually get the advantage since they simply wouldnt be able to kill him. Though some Innates might prove dangerous, it was still an ability from a Tier 5 record, which made Eva one of the strongest Mages in her original record. Stowing the orb back into his Inventory, Vahn found himself to be in a great mood and immediately set off for his workshop. Though some of the girls would likely be doing morning training, everyone had been given the week off so he didnt have to make an appearance himself. Instead, he sent a note to Lili and asked her to stop by with Fenrirter on so he could start working on their bottoms. He already knew their sizes, but they would be upset if he didnt involve them in the process since it was one of the popr things to do these days. Lili had made major improvements in her behavior, but she still had small bouts of jealousy and sometimes acted a little petty when offended. Fortunately, this passed rather quickly and she had grown mature enough to seek out people and apologize after the fact. Vahn had actually been surprised by her a few days ago when she suddenly came to him with Syr and Aki, holding a voucher for a private bath time. Because she wasnt an a.d.u.l.t yet, Lili had topromise and have a chaperone which, in that instance, ended up being Mn. It ended up being a scenario where he took on the form of a Cat Person, alongside Lili, and they all spent a little over an hour together experiencing a little skinship. Vahn pampered Lili, washing her body, scrubbing her hair, meticulously cleaning her ears, and also using a fine brush on her tail. A Cat Persons tail was very sensitive, but Vahn knew it was a reward and let her get away with misbehaving a bit until she released an adorable mewl that made Mn burst outughing... Remembering the incident, Vahn had a smile on his face because he really was proud of how much progress Lili had made in thest 2-3 months. Previously, she still had a fair bit of baggage to work through but, after awakening her Innate, she had undergone a major transformation. Not only was she far more powerful, but this also made her more confident and allowed her to get much closer to the other powerhouses in the group. She often trained with Tiona, Tione, and Lunoire, harnessing herbat skills by fighting against people that were far more advanced than her. Tiona, especially, was a monster that had be Lilis goal to surpass in the future, as they were both omnidirectional physical fighters. When he reached his workshop, Vahn pulled out a few materials he had already set aside previously and immediately organized them next to his forge. This forge had been modified to contain his eternal me after Hephaestus moved in, so Vahn summoned the wispy gold-crimson me and tossed it into the forge as it danced around excitedly. Vahns connection with the tiny me had be much stronger than in the past and they now had an almost instinctive understanding of what each other wanted. It wasnt nearly at the level of Hephaestus and her Eternal me, as they were one and the same, but it was still a vast improvement. Vahn tossed some of the treated Adamantine into the forge and began refining it using the eternal me. He was making good on his promise to develop weapons for Tione and wanted to forge everything from scratch since he knew focusing on each individual step was necessary if he wanted to make it at the peak of A-Rank, or even S-Rank. Using materials he purchased from the shop, as perfect ingots were essible, didnt necessarily mean the final product would be better since mentality and intent were very important. If you didnt prepare the materials yourself, you were already cutting corners from the very beginning and, though he wasnt sure how it knew, the [Master Smith] ability was less effective as a result. Fortunately, he could purchased unrefined ore and process them into ingots himself, typically averaging around 93-95% sess rate on most advanced materials. Though he detected the arrival of three presences, Vahn continued focusing on the metal and slowly beat it into the shape of an ingot. He had gotten much better at shaping metal and, in less than twenty minutes, hadpletely formed the incredibly durable ingot before heating it up once again to remove any blemishes. After wiping away any excess g, using his hand since he waspletely resistant to heat, Vahn set it into a chemical quench that would make it be more durable after soaking for a few days. That was already the fourth ingot he had made, often using some of his spare time for the preparation, so he was getting close to finalizing his preparations to make Tiones twin swords. As they were intended to be semi-permanant, Vahn wanted to make them as close to S-Rank as possible since she really had waited for a long time at this point. Turning his head, Vahn wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled, saying, "Good morning, Lili, Fenrir, Preasia..." They were a bit earlier than he expected but Lili had probably gotten a little excited when she read his message, likely going to fetch Fenrir almost immediately afterward. Since Fenrir usually stayed with Preasia, especially after thetter awakened her Innate, it wasnt unexpected that they would bothe by. Lili had an excited smile on her face as she said, "Good morning, Vahn, I got your message and came over as soon as I could. Should I strip down now, or was there something else you needed help with first?" As she had been around during the forging of Tionas, Tiones, and Lefiyas sets, Lili knew they would sometimes just sit around in their underwear. Spending the day in Vahns workshop eating snacks, assisting with his work, and getting some attention from him was like a dreame true for Lili. Fenrir seemed to be excited as well but, instead of just standing around and talking, she ran over and hugged Vahns waist, wagging her tail as she said, "Good morning, Master~." She rubbed her head affectionately against his chest, causing Lili to dull a little after realizing she had lost a good opportunity for herself after seeing Vahn pet Fenrirs head. As for Preasia, she smiled in a manner that nobody would have expected her to pull off a few months ago. Instead of her somewhat dreary and quiet demeanor, she could now pull off a radiant smile and had even stopped hiding her fur away a few days ago. With slightly sleepy light-grey eyes, Preasia looked at Vahn and said, "Good morning, Vahn...I had a good dreamst night." Vahn felt a little awkward hearing those words but just smiled and said, "Tell me all about itter. Im curious to know how far youve developed your rare skill...controlling dreams is a very unique ability." Preasia nodded her head happily and moved over to the side sofa where there was also a wooden table and materials to make tea. Vahn waved his hand and set out some breakfast foods, causing Preasia to giggle slightly as she sat down and began eating. Right now, she was wearing a pair of small shorts and a somewhat form-fitting sweater that was simr in color to her actual fur. At this point, other than her chest, abdomen, palms, and feet, Preasias body was covered in a thinyer of silky tinum blond fur that glistened a subtle gold color when exposed to light. Preasia actually let other people touch her fur now, at least when the asked, as she quickly realized that people were more intrigued by her fur than off-put by it. Most of the girls in the Manor were very understanding and she even became somewhat popr among girls like Tiona, Ais, Fenrir, and even Tsubaki. Vahn wasnt the only one that found her fur to be ridiculously soft and smooth, meaning Preasia had essentially be a popr hug-pillow amongst to more straightforward and bold girls. She had been a little worried at first but, after walking around with normal clothes for a day, Preasia realized she never had any reason to worry at all. Everyone had already epted her as part of the family and, instead of ostracizing people for being unique, they were incredibly supportive. Vahn watched her happily eating away at a citrus parfait before turning to Lili and answering, "If youre going to strip down, make sure youre wearing spats. You can keep your top on but, if you dont want to wear it, make sure you at least have a sports bra or a top to cover your b.r.e.a.s.ts. The bottoms Im making for you will be able to rece your spats in the future, but they will already be made of a stretchy material so you can still wear other clothing under it for the time being." Though she had improved a lot, Vahn knew it was still important to make things clear with Lili so she didnt try to exploit any loopholes in his words. She wasnt nearly at the same level as Terra, but Lili was a very intelligent girl who often tried to use logic and reasoning to talk around a situation. Lili had a wry smile on her face and removed the thin white tunic she had been wearing, revealing a grey sports bra underneath. She had actually been nning to do some morning exercises so her training outfit was already under her clothes. After some quick movements, she was standing in a pair of form-fitting spats and neatly folded her clothes up and set them off to the side before joining Preasia for breakfast. Vahn wasnt really surprised that she was already prepared and just helped Fenrir strip out of her nightgown before giving her a band, simr to Tionas, to wear around her b.r.e.a.s.ts while she just wore her normal bottoms for the time being. He was already immune to seeing their petite bodies wearing thing clothing and joined them at the table for breakfast once Fenrir was ready. After sitting down, Lili was already prepared this time as she politely asked, "Vahn, may I sit in yourp, please~?" Fenrir had already been eyeing the coveted spot and showed a startled expression when she heard Lili ask before she had been able to im it for herself. Even before Vahn answered, Fenrir had a defeated expression with herrge fluffy ears drooping as she sat next to Preasia and began cuddling her without warning. Vahn watched all this y out as Lili hopped up into hisp and grabbed a gr.a.p.e, saying, "Say aaaaaaahn~." with a happy smile on her face. She had sat on his knee and was sitting sideways, as they were currently on the sofa and sitting directly on hisp would have gotten in the way. Vahn gave her a wry smile and epted her offering before patting her head, which had sprouted a pair of Chienthrope ears at some point, saying, "Thank you, Lili..." Vahn knew that there was a bit of petition amongst the smaller girls and that they had already sorted out their own rules. Since he thought it was just a way they expressed their friendship and strengthened their bonds, Vahn allowed them to y around a bit. Fenrir typically won most of the time, but Lili, Tina, Shizune, Preasia, and even Hestia often peted in the little game to im Vahnsp. The only person that had a 100% win rate was Loki, who always ended up iming the spot for herself whenever she was around, with nobody even stepping up to contend against her. Vahn wasnt the only one that was worried whenever he saw Loki as many of the girls in the Manor actually hovered around her out of concern because of how big her belly had gotten. For about half an hour, Vahn just ate breakfast with the girls, surprised by the fact that Lili eventually gave up her spot to Fenrir afterpleting her recharging. This was yet another sign that she had matured a lot since the old Lili would have clung to him for as long as possible, sometimes to the point that it made the atmosphere turn awkward. Seeing small changes like this made Vahn want to treat her better, something she had noticed herself and used as motivation to change even more. Her birthday was around five months away at this point and Lili didnt want to continue being a burden to Vahn since she really did love him, almost to the point it was painful at times. Though nobody was thinking about it right now, Lilis birthday wasnt the only oneing up as Lefiyas was only neen days after Lilis. They would both be reaching a.d.u.l.thood around the same time and it was something Vahn had been worried about at times, though many of those concerns had faded at this point. He still worried about Lilis size, but that was something he could work around and there wasnt any need to treat her differently just because of her racial traits. She had actually been putting a lot of effort into trying to grow more, even changing her diet to include nutritional supplements in the hopes of earning a few more centimeters. Vahn knew this well because he had actually given her the list of ingredients, though he told her it wouldnt make a big difference since her growth phase had already ended... Lili actually wasnt that small, as far as Pallums are concerned, but her growth had been stunted a bit as a result of her severelycking nutritional intake when she was younger. She sometimes had to go several days without any food at all, so some parts of her body were a little underdeveloped when Vahn first met her. Now, she had fleshed out a great deal and had visible muscles when she exerted herself, which was strangely cute and terrifying at the same time. She was still soft and flexible, as those were the traits she focused on the most during training, but the amount of power in her small body could even make veteran Adventurers sweat when they saw her in action... After breakfast, Vahn went through the process of measuring Fenrirs and Lilis bottoms in detail, including measuring the distance between the base of their tails and the start of the cleft in their butt cheeks. Lili often transformed into races with a tail, so Vahn obviously had to make sure her permanant bottoms ounted for that fact and wouldnt pinch or ride against it. It could be very ufortable to have something scr.a.p.e against your tail, something Vahn himself was very familiar with from when he first transformed into his Bih form. Since being a Vanargandr would give her the thickest tail, Vahn had Lili transform so he had two adorable wolf girls standing around him while a sheep girl watched from the side,ying on the sofa. To make it more fun for them, Vahn also transformed and itpleted the scene of a single sheep being surrounded by wolves when it finally came time for lunch a few hourster. The fact that Preasia ended up sitting in hisp, while Lili and Fenrir stared at her with hungry eyes would have unnerved any random passersby that witnessed the scene without understanding the context... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I miss Eva (TT^TT),Therapy Works,Passerby be like (?,...,?) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 619 - Reality

Chapter 619 - Reality

As she would be apanying him into the Dungeon, Vahn spent the better part of three days working on a set of shorts for Fenrir. They were closer to designer hotpants because neither Fenrir nor Lili wanted much fabric covering their thighs at all. This meant their design was closer to the bottoms worn by Ryuu in the past, before her pregnancy. The only real difference was that it had an stic belt-strap loop that fixed firmly around her h.i.p.s, leaving a hole for her tail that also allowed her to move about freely. Because of theirbat style, Vahn had to make sure the shorts were very form fitting while also ensuring they were stic or it would chafe when they began sweating. The final result had the somewhat embarrassing shaping attribute, which seemed to gue all the lower body armor that Vahn created. This made Fenrir, who typically didnt have a very fleshy butt, almost look like she had a small and perky bubble butt. When Lili saw this, she got very excited and was greatly looking forward to herpleted pair. As for Fenrir, she seemed very happy with her newfound assets and could be found checking herself out in the mirror as she patted her own butt with a silly smile on her face. She made sure not to use her ws, as that could still damage the fabric, and just used her fleshy paw pads, enjoying the feel and sponginess of her own perky bottom. Fortunately, though his main focus had been onpleting Fenrirs [Aegis Shorts Mk 1], he also found time to forge Tiones new swords. Preparing the materials was actually the most time-consuming part and the actual forge process only took around seven hours. He modeled them after a type of weapon known as a kopis, as he figured Tione could benefit from the extended range after adapting to the length of [Gale] and [Tempest]. She originally used a weapon known a kukri, which was like an inward curving machete, so Vahn picked a weapon that was a good bnce between a shortsword and a kukri, thus deciding upon the kopis. He used a tripleyer structure, emphasizing the ability of the kopis to cleave and hack enemies,prised of a spine made of Adamantine, a core made of Orichalc.u.m, and the de encasing out of Adamantine. Orichalc.u.m was much softer and would act as a catalyst to allow mana to flow through the de, this time with a focus on enhancing Tiones power instead of any other kind of magical effect. Vahn also wanted to make sure it had the Durandal attribute, which is why more than 70% of the entire weapon was made out of Adamantine. The handle was wrapped in Cadmus hide, matching the pristine white de since it was also pure white in coloration. Many of the materials Vahn used were predominately white in their base states, but that also allowed him to color and treat themter. When Vahn finished with the pair of kopis, which were nearly identical in weight with only a 350 microgram difference. Vahn could guarantee an almost machine level of precision by using his Oblivion skill to shave off excess materials and have Sis urately weight the materials before he moved on. The difference came from the Cadmus hide since, though he tried to keep it as urate as possible, there were very small imperfections in the hide even when he purchased it through the system shop. A 350 microgram difference wasnt even noticeable at all but Vahn was a little annoyed since he had wanted them to be true twin des, instead of simply simr. Tione, seemed very satisfied with them, however, so Vahn got over it very quickly and named the des [Twin Dragon Fang]s since they had been treated by soaking the des in Frost Dragon blood to give them an icy blue sheen. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Twin Dragon Fang] Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 0 P.Atk: 640+60 M.Atk: 220 Abilities: Durandal(A), Armor Break(B), Frost Dragons Venom(D) The elder of two twin kopis, capable of striking through the defense of enemies and cause a debilitating status affliction as a result of bathing in the blood of a Frost Dragon. The higher the defense of an enemy, the stronger this de bes, almost as if offended by the fact anything could resist its edge. Restriction: Amazons Only [Twin Dragon Fang] Rank: A (Magic) Slots: 0 P.Atk: 610+60 M.Atk: 330 Abilities: Durandal(A), Armor Break(C), Frost Dragons Venom(C) The younger of two twin kopis, capable of striking through the defense of enemies and cause a debilitating status affliction as a result of bathing in the blood of a Frost Dragon. Though not as capable when ites to cleaving through armor, the amount of blood absorbed by this de is much higher than its elder sister. Restriction: Amazons Only ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When he saw the parameters of the two kopis, Vahn was pleasantly surprised because having more than six-hundred physical attack in what was essentially a short sword was fantastic. However, when he read the Abilities and saw the differences in the parameters between each weapon, he was a little dejected. Though the weight difference was almost negligible, Vahn could now see he had made mistakes in how the metals were treated, not ounting for the peculiarity like one metals ability to absorb more blood than anothers. At least they were simr enough for there not to be any great differences in their performance, though the 110 extra magic attack on the younger kopis made it arguably the more superior de. Since Tione had a bit of aplex against her younger twin, Vahn decided to keep this a secret and simply refer to them as normal sister swords... Tione noticed, from the moment Vahn named the des in her hands, they felt far morefortable than before. It was almost like they were made specifically for her, feeling far more familiar than weapons she had used for much longer periods of time. With a smile on her face, she waved them around in a yful manner and said, "Vahn, these weapons are amazing. Should I consider this your dowry~?" Hearing her words, Vahn snapped out of his train of thought and smiled before teasingly saying, "If I can get an exotic beauty as my bride for the price of two swords, I dont think thats a bad deal." As he spoke, Vahn stepped towards Tione and got within a few inches of her face, causing her to step back in a panic. Realizing she had just retreated, Tiones brow twitched and she embedded both swords into the table so that she could deal with Vahn. However, the moment she jammed them into the table, Tione was surprised when both des passed through the hardwood as if she was cutting through soft tofu. She had be momentarily distracted by this and, as she had turned away from Vahn to set aside the swords, he managed to step in behind her and grab her waist. Tione startled slightly before biting her bottom lip when Vahn sent a stimting stream of energy through her navel while biting her earlobe. Bring up his left hand, Vahn caressed the locket around Tiones chest and whispered, "Once I deal with Hippolyta and Kali, Ill make both you and Tiona my brides..." Tiones body was already beginning to burn up under Vahns touch, but it was like a fire had been lit in her heart when she heard his words. Unfortunately for her, Tiona had also been present so sheughed happily and said, "Im really looking forward to it, ehehehe~." With Tionas words sounding out, Vahn let go of Tione, causing her to give her little sister an aggrieved look with a fair amount of me in her eyes. Tiona,pletely unfazed by this, just hugged Preasia from behind and snuggled her shaggy hair while the petite sheep person just epted her fate. Vahn chuckled at Tiones reaction and said, "We dont really have that much time to y around right now since we need to be getting ready for dinner. The expedition is only three days away so make sure to familiarize yourself with those kopis before we leave. They are a lot stronger than your previous weapons, almost to a scary amount, so youll need to adjust your strength a bit to avoid idents..." Looking at his destroyed table, Vahn had a wry smile on his face that made Tione show a rare blush as she averted her eyes and mumbled, "Sorry about that..." Ever since she had been conquered by Vahn, Tione had be progressively more obedient and well-behaved, a sign that she was maturing and learning to control the urges in her body. Tilting his head to the side in thought, Vahn walked forward and leaned next to the rapidly breathing Tiones ear and said, "Since were setting up a permanant residence on the 39th Floor, well have plenty of time to spend together so look forward to it..." Though he had been putting it off during their previous trips, Vahn felt like this Expedition was a good opportunity to actually try having s.e.x in the Dungeon. Building a house for himself and the girls on the rtive safety of the 39th floor and then breaking it in seemed like a pretty exciting idea. He expected they would get bored being cooped up in the Dungeon for so long, meaning they were bound to want to relieve a bit of stress after enough time passed. Tiones breathing became a little hot and she was very tempted to reach out and take Vahn since he was so close. Though she was learning to manage her urges better, it wasnt easy when he was obviously teasing her in such close proximity. It was during moments like this when she regretted being weaker than him because, even if she wanted to take him, Vahn would end up getting an advantage before the end. Though that could be exciting in its own way, Tione knew Vahn wouldnt have s.e.x with her right now so she would just end up embarrassing herself unnecessarily. Biting her lip, she muttered, "You cant go back on your word...I always wanted to do it in the Dungeon..." Vahn arched his brow and sneakily kissed Tiones forehead before stepping away, winking as he said, "Its a promise." Tione balled her hands into fists before picking up her kopis and leaving the workshop, making a beeline towards the training grounds to let off some steam before she lost her mind. Vahn watched her departing figure, waiting for her to get a fair distance before turning to Tiona and saying, "Go look after your big sis for me, Tiona. Make sure she doesnt break anything that cant be repaired easily..." Hearing Vahns words, Tionaughed as if she had just heard the most amusing thing in the world before releasing Preasia and running off after her sister. This left just Vahn and Preasia in his workshop, with thetter releasing a pent up sigh before asking, "Vahn, will you help pacify my uneasy heart...?" Though she didnt mind being hugged and having the other girls touch her fur, Preasia still preferred when Vahn was the one doing it. She only allowed the other girls to do so because it was a little pleasant and also allowed her to get closer to them, making friends with those she had trouble connecting with in the past. However, nothing couldpare to thefort Vahns hands brought her, which was a sentiment shared by every Beast Human that had ever experienced his [Petting]. Everything else was like a shadow of real petting, grasping at glory they could never obtain since they would always be overshadowed by Vahns prowess. Checking the time through the system, Vahn tilted his head slightly in thought before saying, "I need to clean up before dinner anyway, so lets take a bath together. You can tell me about your dreams and the progress youve made in controlling your ability while I groom your fur." Vahn whisked out a very fine brush that made Preasia droopy tail wiggle slightly in anticipation. One of the best things about having a fur-covered body was that Vahn often helped groom her at the same time as he used his [Petting] skill. It was unbelievablyfortable, pleasant, and moderately stimting at the same time. After the first time he helped her groom, Preasia had dreamed about it for five days straight and it was one of the things she most looked forward to. Vahn saw the explosion of her aura and smiled before leading the way as Preasia trotted behind him happily, snatching his hand after catching up to him. She unashamedly hugged his arm in an affectionate manner with a happy smile on her face and a glimmer in her light-grey eyes. Vahn, feeling the soft fur of her arms and the plush feeling of her b.r.e.a.s.ts, felt a bit of pressure in the bridge of his nose as he continued forward with a bit of anticipation in his own heart. Preasia wasnt the only one that enjoyed their grooming sessions as Vahn felt like stroking her fur was one of the mostforting things he had ever experienced as well. He knew he had a bit of a petting habit even before awakening the Development Ability and it always helped his mind calm down whenever he stroked one of the girls. Preasia was easily the most strokable girl now, so Vahn had grown very fond of her in a rtively short period of time... As it was nearly 5 PM, Vahn habitually pulled out Evas orb to see if there were any changes and saw that there were now just two interconnected magic circles remaining. Realizing the time of his reunion with Eva was even closer, Vahn felt ecstatic so he tossed the orb back into his Inventory before picking up a slightly startled Preasia. With a massive grin on his face, Vahn embraced Preasia tightly and nuzzled against her head as he said, "Im in a very good mood, Preasia...I want to share it with someone..." With his intent known, Vahn turned his head to the side and kissed Preasias lips as he continued to navigate towards the bath. Even when he was distracted, Vahn could still walk through the Manor since he didnt just rely on his eyes to move around. His domain allowed him to map almost every point in space when it was active, so Vahn could even walk through a crowded street with his eyes closed if he wanted. By the time they reached the bath, Preasias body temperature had increased a bit and she suddenly felt it was way too hot to be wearing a sweater. Fortunately, Vahn quickly relieved her of it, revealing some of the only exposed skin on her entire body, currently glistening with a small amount of sweat. Vahn traced his hand up her side, touching her bra with his index finger as he stored it into his Inventory, leaving Preasia wearing nothing but a pair of small shorts and what he could infer were pink panties since he could see the edge peeking up through the small gap between her shorts and her abdomen. Bringing his hand down, causing Preasia to tremble a bit in the process, Vahn traced his fingers along Preasias rump, sliding effortlessly into her panties because of how smooth her fur was. Preasia moved closer to Vahn instinctually and pressed her chest against his body as he traced his other hand down her back and stroked her other butt cheek with his palm. Releasing a hot sigh against Vahns chest, Preasia then kissed his pectoral muscle before muttering, "Please dont tease me too much..." Hearing her words, Vahn squinted his eyes slightly before pulling down his hands and kneeling down, allowing Preasia to pull her legs free of her bereft panties and shorts. He then guided her to the bath, which was rapidly heating up as a result of Vahn infusing me elemental energy into it, before stepping in and pulling her into his embrace. Though he had originally said there wasnt time to Tione, Vahn felt a little different about the matter since it was just him and Preasia. She didnt have the greatest stamina so it wouldnt take too long to satisfy her, giving him ample time to take a bath during and after the fact. Tilting Preasia chin upwards, Vahn kissed her lips as she moved into a position where she was straddling his h.i.p.s. Preasia already knew what Vahn had in mind since she could always feel her power be stronger whenever he was excited. At times, it was almost like her dreams had seeped into reality and it felt like she knew what was going to happen. She had a small vision where she and Vahn were having s.e.x in the bath and now it seemed to have be a reality, making her heart beat with anticipation and excitement... Unaware of what Preasia was thinking, Vahn stroked her back again, using both [Hands of Nirvana] and [Petting] to increase her excitement while simultaneously helping her rx. Preasia lowered her h.i.p.s and, though it was a bit difficult since the hot water washed away her love juices, she slowly managed to seat herself against Vahn by wiggling her h.i.p.s around for a few minutes. Vahn already knew the mechanics of having s.e.x in water made it somewhat difficult but he also knew it was possible if the girl was aroused enough. They just had to go a little slow that water didnt identally slip into her v.a.g.i.n.a, even though the odds werent that high since Vahn had a tendency to fill the girls uppletely. Preasia began to takebored breaths as she moved her h.i.p.s around in shallow movements while Vahn kissed around her neck and corbone, simultaneously beginning to brush her fur with the fine-bristle brush. The stimtion was a bit intense for her, but Preasia tolerated it even though her lower jaw quivered and she wanted to cry out at the top of her voice. Unfortunately, Vahn had a bit of expectations every time he was with Preasia so he tilted his head down and pushed up her b.r.e.a.s.t with his right hand before sucking on her peach-colored bud. Preasia took a sharp breath and released a sensual hafuu while leaning her body back to let Vahn have easier ess to her b.r.e.a.s.ts. She supported herself by cing her hands on Vahns knees, grateful that her fur didnt extend to her palms so she wouldnt slip away... Vahn continued to pamper Preasia earnestly before his eyes snapped open and his movements came to a stop. Preasia was a bit confused because she had been nearing the peak and it was a little frustrating for him to suddenly stop. She saw he had a serious expression though and immediately calmed down since he must have had a good reason. Hugging his body with a loose embrace, Preasia asked in a somewhat hot voice, "What is it, Vahn...?" Without answering directly, Vahn extended his hand and created a golden magic circle that caused several bands of runes to wrap around doorknob a few meters away. He then converged his domain and created a soundproof barrier as he exined, "Tina seems to havee looking for me, and my instincts triggered as a precaution..." Everyone in the Manor knew of Tinas [Luck] at this point and Preasia immediately became a little pale when she heard Vahns words. There were still an ache in her body, but she didnt want to be involved in one of Tinas idents, especially in such apromising position. Vahn, however, pulled her body closer to his suddenly before slipping his right hand between her thighs and saying, "Dont worry, Im not going to leave you on the edge like that. Regardless of how powerful her [Luck] may be, there is no way Tina would be able to get through my barrier...at least not any time soon." Before he had even finished speaking, Vahn inserted a thread of energy into his own p.e.n.i.s before cing his thumb around the sensitive little nerve cl.u.s.ter at the top of Preasias v.a.g.i.n.a. Realizing what was going to happen, Preasia felt a strange sense of relief and hugged Vahns body tightly before twisting her h.i.p.s and sinking as low as she could on Vahns p.e.n.i.s before a massive wave of electricity passed through her body. She headbutted against Vahns chest and released a haggard "Ha--ah-ah-ah-aaaaah----fuuuu---uuuuuuuuuuuu~" as an almost indescribable pleasure wracked her body. Vahn hugged Preasia firmly in response and enjoyed the three constrictive points in her writhing and highly stimting v.a.g.i.n.a, seemingly trying to milk the vital fluid from his p.e.n.i.s. There was a pleasant shiver running up his own spine but he remained rtively calm as he gently stroked Preasias back to help her calm down... Vahn helped Preasia quickly wash her body after she returned to her senses and was preparing to get out of the tub when he turned his head and became statuesque when he saw something impossible right in front of him. Though the bindings were still on the doorknob, Tina was now standing right next to the bath,pletely n.a.k.e.d and covering her crotch with her small hands. She had a very flushed face and became very spooked when Vahn made eye contact with her, showing a confused and startled expression as she crouched down and covered her body. The same moment she did so, Tina actually shrunk down until she was only around 10cm tall, yet didnt seem to have noticed it herself. Seeing this, Vahn understood what was going on and immediately activated his [Will of the Emperor] as the space around him copsed into nothingness. The next moment, Vahn was in the bath with Preasia against and she was still twitching in the echoes of her powerful orgasm. He noticed there was a golden sheen to her fur and turned his perception to the small figure with a chaotic aura that was in the nearby corridor. Tina had fallen to the ground and had an almost sickly pink aura intermixed with purples and murky yellows, clearly confused about what just happened. Realizing she was in the hallway now, Tina looked around in a jittery manner before running off without continuing her search... Though he had often underestimated the influence of Tinas [Luck], Vahn now realized, once again, that he had grossly underestimated it. He didnt even know when it happened, but he had somehow slipped into Preasias dream and, perhaps as a result of her powerful emotions, her Innate had influenced her surroundings and actually pulled Tina in as well. Since time and space worked in very finicky ways inside the dreamscape, Tina had been able topletely bypass the dream version of his barrier simply because she was looking for him. This brought her right to his side and allowed her to have a front-row seat to Preasias orgasm and the subsequent aftercare. Because his ability to detect people was nonexistent in the dreamscape, Vahn had been entirely unaware of her presence... Releasing an exasperated sigh, Vahn hugged Preasias body and helped her calm down as a strange sense of deja-vu enveloped him. Her Innate was more powerful than he expected but, even though that was the case, Vahn still felt like Tinas [Luck] was the superior ability. He was tempted to update her Status Board just to see if it had increased in rank, because it was very obviously working overtime for the small cat girl... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Teasing Tione,Pampering Preasia,There is no Escape) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 620 - Stirring

Chapter 620 - Stirring

With less than three days remaining until the start of what could be a very long Expedition, Vahn began spending the majority of his time mingling with the girls within the Manor. They were going to be apart for a while and Vahn wanted tofort them as much as he could while also discussing what actions would be taken while he was away. Construction on the School had already started at this point and it would be continuing for the next 3-5 months. Since the Alliance controlled all the territory in the Section 4 District of Orario, even including the entertainment district after Freya seized power in the area. This gave them a territory nearly 3,800km2 with several residential districts that were slowly being converted intorge plots ofnd to construct Manors for the Alliance Familias and the School. There was even a smaller Coliseum being built in the area, but this would be forbat training for the students and holding smaller tournaments for the public to witness. Vahn had been a little surprised by how muchnd the Alliance possessed, especially after learning Freya conquered the entire entertainment district, eliminating several of the gangs in the area. Unfortunately, before he could even pitch the idea, Loki exined that such a district was necessary for people in the current social climate. It was a ce where Adventurers could go to release tensions and also served as a ce where people could elevate their social status without putting their lives at risk in the Dungeon. Since many politicians and businessmen also frequented the area, it was also a ce where secret dealings could be held and served as the backbone for the ck markets. It was also impossible to get rid of the entertainment district since it was where most of the people in the entire City went to release stress, meaning they would cause a great deal of tension by even trying to regte it harshly. To pacify Vahn, Loki told him how Freya had essentially negotiated with all of the Familias in the area, as most of the sessful brothels and businesses were governed by gods of beauty, s.e.x, passion, pleasure, entertainment, etc. She got the majority of them to sign contracts enforcing better regtions and living standards for their employees and had each of them assigned territory that they would be responsible for managing. Though it was impossible to prevent crime from urring, they needed to have more serious consequences in ce to deter people from repeating their actions. As for things like very, the ck market, and even gambling circuits, they couldnt be abolished in the current climate since very wasnt illegal, the ck market was necessary for getting some important foreign imports, and gambling was too profitable and enjoyed by far too many people. Though it seemed to be a cruel institution, legal very was actually necessary in the current political climate since the vast majority of ves were either criminals or people that willingly became ves, such as Emiru and Maemi. Since there wasnt a functional judicial system in ce, there wasnt enough funding for infrastructure like prisons and such. Even the few that existed were typically very cruel ces as corruption caused things like torture, ****, and trafficking to be very prevalent. Systems had existed in the past, but they were exploited by the people that passed thews, often using them as justification to eliminate their enemies and simply do whatever they wanted. Since ves were arge part of the poption on the continent, it was determined that the criminal very system would be instituted instead. Depending on the severity of their crimes, people would be bound to different types of contracts that also determined what kind of owner could purchase them. As for other types of ves, that was sometimes the only way people from the various beast tribes could escape poverty and things like famine. Many people sold themselves into very in the hopes of a better life, often dictating the terms of their contract in exchange for higher purchasing prices. This allowed them to hope for a better future while also helping their viges, tribes, or families survive through trying times. The biggest justification behind it was the fact that the ve trade was simply too profitable and Orario was actually the safest ce for ves since there were systems in ce to protect them. Without exception, every other country and culture on the entire Continent had a very system that was far worse than the one that existed in Orario, meaning it was the desired ce for many people. ve traders often brought their stock to the City to sell since they could also charge a premium for exotic ves that they picked up when making the rounds to various tribes. If Orario ouwed very, it would simply result in the merchants trading elsewhere, often causing the ve to end up in far worse conditions. Vahn still wasnt that happy about the situation since he believed it was a very tragic thing for such a practice to be the norm. However, unless he could change the values of the entire Continent, there was no way to get around it without causing even greater suffering. Loki told him that, when people were unable to go into very as a means of escaping poverty, they often were either killed or starved to death. If a tribe was struggling to get by, they would have to do things like killing the elderly or abandoning their children to starve in the woods, which could be a far worse fate in some cases since there were many cautionary tales of young girls being captured by Goblins. The main reason behind that was due to the fact that, without a Falna or the opportunity to increase their strength, women were often more expendable during times of crisis. With few exceptions, the males were often physically stronger and this meant they were necessary for hunting, farming, and hardbor. As a result, most viges prioritized strong and capable men and invested most of their resources into nourishing them for future use, whereas young girls were either sold as ves, abandoned, or outright killed. This only happened when the viges were facing a crisis, fortunately, so you could often tell if a tribe was flourishing based on the number of females around. Orario was an exception to this rule, however, because the various agricultural Familias had taken control of the entire ins region to the southwest. Since they were able to sell their produce directly to Orario, things like famine almost never urred and, though the poption was regted a bit, there were far fewer tragic events taking ce. Many of the people convicted of lesser crimes were often sent to the ins to be farmers, generally settling in the area because of the peaceful living conditions and how epting themunities often were. As for why most people didnt simply migrate to the ins, it was because the area was strictly managed and viges were required to conduct censuses and report their numbers to the City. For a ce out in the countryside, that was also thergest food-producing region in the area, the poption needed to be regted or it would simply explode over time. This would mean more resources would be required to maintain the increasing numbers, further increasing the workforce and potentially increasing the amount of food produced. However, the production could barely keep up with the growth of a poption that was unregted, something that had been doc.u.mented throughout history. Since they exported the majority of the food, through a surprisinglyplex system that ensured prices were kept at a stable level, the poption had to be regted and people need to get permission for every child they had. In the past, before these regtions were in ce, farmers simply had as many children as possible since it allowed them to have an easier time managing the fields. However, this caused a lot of conflicts over time since some families became far more powerful than others, often stealing farnd or entering feuds with each other. In other cases, the numbers in the viges continued to increase to the point where it was very difficult to allocatend, requiring them to expand further and establish smaller settlements andmunities. This would eventually lead to further conflict andpetition, causing prices to fluctuate greatly as viges fought against each other for contracts. In the most extreme cases, it wasnt that umon for hostile farmers to burn the fields of theirpetitors during the harvest season... Now, after the gods descended to the world, things had be incredibly regted and most of the farmers lived rtively peaceful lives. When the poption increased too much, they would send their children out into the world as explorers, hunters, or Adventurers. If the poption got too low, Orario would send some of the more tame criminal ves to help fill out the ranks, typicallyprising of women since they were often in short supply at times. For 997 years, this system had worked almost wlessly since it was all regted by gods and goddesses that typically worked together to ensure everyone was well-fed and happy. It was nearly impossible for any private farms to exist at this point unless it was on privately managednd, often far away from the ins since the entire region was already the property of various Familias. After being convinced by Loki, Vahn epted there wasnt much he could do other than improve the living conditions of people in general, specifically through education and mentorship. By providing opportunities to young people, allowing them to be stable and functional a.d.u.l.ts, the status quo would slowly change over time as the authority of the Alliance increased. They wouldnt be able to implement fast changes, as that would lead to potential bacsh and destabilize a system that had been maintained for nearly a thousand years. It would be better to target the countries outside the City first since things were decidedly more chaotic and dysfunctional there. Using Riverias old idea, Vahn intended for the Alliance to generally vet and ept refugees from other races and slowly increase the quality of life for those in the younger generation. They shouldnt really allow a.d.u.l.ts to get involved as, after reaching a certain age, most people had already solidified their understanding of the world, even if it was wrong. This meant they were far more prone to bing corrupt and trying to seize power in a selfish manner to promote their own quality of life over others. Children were far easier to work with, especially if they were refugees or ves from the countryside that had an earnest desire for a better life. Giving them a structured environment to grow, treating them as if they belonged to something greater than themselves, these were the paths to true reform as they would easily exceed the capabilities of other people. As long as their morals were strong, it wouldnt be that difficult to bring about drastic change after a few decades had passed. Those that graduate from the school would likely go on to have their own children, raising them in a better environment and wanting them to receive the same type of education, thus perpetuating the cycle further... Vahns idea for the school system, after talking it over with various goddesses and Riveria, was to teach Physical Combat, Magical Studies, Monster Ecology, History, Medicine, Arts, and Business. When they built the Academy in Haven, they would teach a more advanced version of those sses for anyone that was able to earn a schrship orplete the test to reach the 50th Floor. One of the most important things they would be working on is developing the idea that, while people were unique and had special traits, everyone had nearly limitless potential. Though you could use your racial traits to give you an advantage in some aspects, it didnt mean you couldnt be surpassed by those that worked hard. Merit, aplishments, and personal des were more important than factors of birth, as nobody was entitled to anything simply as a result of the race and position they were born to. Demigods could be considered a bit of an exception to this, especially in the case of the Vanir, but Vahn intended to teach them in a simr manner in the hopes they wouldnt give in to corruption and misuse their power. He would treat his children well, yes, but he would never allow them to act like they had a special birthright that made them better than others. Their capabilities may be higher, but they werent born into the world having achieved anything and were thus required to prove themselves before obtaining any position of power or authority. This wouldnt work in most cases, but Vahns situation was a bit unique since there was a very real possibility he would live forever in this world. Even if he didnt manage to get the anchor before he had to leave, he was involved with many goddesses that would likely carry on his legacy when he was gone. Since he would undoubtedly return, Vahn was trying to n around eternity instead of simply a few generations and the transfer of power. He thought it was a little ridiculous that power could be inherited, sometimes by people that were grossly unsuited for the position. The devotion to ns seemed ridiculous to him, especially in the event where they used it as a justification to do terrible things. It almost always ended up with people bing morally corrupt while most good people rarely cared about such things, freely loving people regardless of their race, ethnicity, or affiliation. Vahn had already prepared himself for the inevitable situation where he would likely have to watch some of his descendants grow old and die while others obtained immortality through their own means. It was a very sad thing, but death was also a natural part of life that needed to be epted in every instance where the person didnt ovee it themselves. His presence in the record already paved the path for others to obtain immortality, something he may help guide them along but never giving to them. If Vahn made every one of his descendants immortal, they would also want their descendants to be immortal, perpetuating an endless cycle where his lineage would eventually overrun the entire world. This went against the natural cycle, especially in instances where those that obtained immorality did immoral and intrinsically evil deeds at the expense of others. Though it would be difficult, Vahn knew it was his duty to be as impartial as possible on matters or else he would end up as a hypocrite and likely fall to corruption himself with time. He didnt want to be some kind of evil god that ruled over the entire multiverse while molding it to his preference. One day, Vahn truly wanted to reunite with his mother and he believed she would be very sad if she learned that was the type of life he lived. Fortunately, he had capable guides like Sis with him and could rely on thepanionship of his subordinates when he visited other records in the future. Vahn never wanted to lose himself and be like the Emperor in the Divination, as the image of Hephaestus thanking him often haunted his thoughts... --- As usual, Vahn woke up slightly before 5 AM, this time with thebination of Mn, Chloe, Emiru, and Maemi in his bed. Since he was going to be away for a long period of time, the schedule had been disregarded for the past few days so Vahn could spend some quality time with all the girls. As for the reason behind the currentbination...well, Vahn was somewhat fond of being tended to by Cat People, even though Maemi and Emiru were Snow Leopards. His [Petting] was especially effective against them and it was always strangely calming to be licked and cuddled by affectionate cat girls... Pulling out Evas orb, Vahns smile widened greatly because, instead of a magical formation blocking his perception from entering, the orb was now pitch ck with a stable blue glow in the center. Today was the day he was supposed to be leaving for the Expedition but, fate seemed to have aligned with his hopes since Evas orb was no in an active state once again. Vahns excitement was so great that it had alerted the sleeping kittens who awoke to find him holding the orb in his hands with arge smile on his face. Chloe tilted her head to the side and asked, "Its awake nyow~?" with a bit of intrigue and curiosity visible on her face. Nodding, Vahn exined, "Yes, Im almost certain the orb is active again...it seems my trip into the Dungeon will be far longer than I expected. However, my strength will explode and there will be almost nothing that could threaten me or my family in the future..." Hearing his words, Maemi and Emiru were also very excited whereas Chloe seemed to be a little thoughtful. She knew that Vahn would be experiencing up to seven days for every one day that passed, meaning it would more than a full year before he returned, at least from his perspective. He had already changed a great deal over a rtively short period of time so she was a little worried about his mental health. Snaking her way out of the bed with very lithe movements, Chloe said, "I think it would be a good idea to talk about this and potentially dy the Expedition for a bit." Though Maemi and Emiru didnt seem to understand Chloes concern, Mn nodded firmly and pressed her hand to Vahns chest, feeling his increased heart rate as she said, "The orb is a very powerful tool, but it can cause you to lose your sense of connection with the real world. Please dont change too much, Vahn...we need you..." Vahn was a little surprised by the behavior of Chloe and Mn, but he could also understand their concerns after he remembered his past actions. It actually had be someone difficult to keep track of things in the real world because the majority of his time was spent in the orb. He didnt feel that his bonds with the girls had weakened much, but his mind had be very reliant on the orb to deal with all the rapid changes to his life at the time. Since things would be rtively stagnant in the Dungeon, they were probably worried that his bonds would slowly fade away with time... Realizing their concerns, Vahn showed a soft and loving smile as he calmly stated, "Even if I had to bear the burden of eternity in istion, I would never forget the bonds I have forged with everyone. They are what gives me the strength to continue moving forward...each of you is an intrinsic part of what makes me who I am. Besides, if I get strong quickly, I could probably even make a trip to the surface in less than a day just toe and visit everyone..." At this point, Vahn felt like he had truly fallen in love with most of the girls, even if it wasnt at the same level for everyone. It was to the point that the goddesses believed he actually may have a Divinity rted to Love since he was sopassionate and empathetic towards others. This was one of the reasons they didnt proactively try to interfere with any new rtionsh.i.p.s he had, essentially feeling it was natural given the nature of Vahns existence... Chloe gave a somewhat mischevious smile but the light of love was burning strongly in her eyes as she buttoned up her tunic and said, "I believe in you, Vahn. Well still need to talk about it at breakfast though, as its a very important topic that needs to be discussed with everyone. There are some things well need to take care of on our end to make sure your transition is smooth when you finally do return to the surface, after all." She didnt say it, but Chloe felt it was very fortunate that Vahns return would be around the same time as the birth of his children. Such a significant event would essentially strengthen his bonds with everyone since he would probably want to share his love and happiness. Realizing this, she was actually a little troubled that she hadnt taken the opportunity to get pregnant herself, especially now she wasnt really that active and just trained Shizune... Vahn also knew it was very important to talk about the orb with everyone, even though they had already discussed it in length several times. Speaking about something that might happen wasnt as important as addressing something as it was happening. It was actually a little inconvenient that the orb was awakening right now, as he wouldnt be able to talk about his progress as easily with people like Riveria, Loki, Hephaestus, and Eina. The only people that were apanying him into the Dungeon were Tiona, Ais, Tione, Lefiya, Haruhime, and Fenrir. Though Lefiya and Haruhime would probably be very helpful, both being prodigious and talented mages, Vahn wouldnt really have anyone to seek advice from. He was almost tempted to ask Terra toe along with him, but that would be a terrible idea since she was the guardian of the Manor along with Fafnir. Realizing all the plications that would arise now that the orb was awakened, Vahn understood why Chloe would say its very important to address the issues right now. However, it was also necessary to establish a baseline for the discussion so Vahn held the orb in his hand and said, "Before we head down, I want to enter the orb and talk with Eva as well. If necessary, I can limit the amount of time I spend in the orb so it is less impactful on my mind...though that will probably not happen..." Thinking till this point, Vahn actually changed his mind because he remembered a promise he had made previously. After remembering this, Vahn shook his head and said, "Actually, lets get everyone together and talk about it right now. I also need to take Fafnir, Fenrir, and Terra into the orb with me since I promised them I would..." Fafnir was actually very fond of Eva and had been wanting to meet her again for a while now, especially since it wanted to get even stronger. Terra was interested in Eva for the same reasons and was also curious about the garden Vahn had created within the orb. As for Fenrir...she wanted to use the orb as an opportunity to mature and would probably spend a good 4-8 years within the orb. Knowing this made Vahn a little worried because he could imagine Fenrir being especially clingy every time he returned to the orb, much like how Eva had been in the past. Hopefully, she would also mellow out a bit and actually mature, though that was also a thought that made Vahn a little sad at the same time... Mn saw the look on his face and ran her fingers through his hair, softly saying, "Dont worry, Vahn...everything will be fine." Hearing her words, Vahn nodded his head and decided to believe that the future would also be a better ce. Fenrir would inevitably mature with time and it really wasnt fair for him to force her to remain childish and innocent. Since she would be at his side, potentially for all eternity, Vahn wanted her to be a stable and reliable existence. Besides, he didnt think her base nature would change that much and she would probably at least act in a simr manner. She had always been very impressionable and observant, copying the actions and behaviors of other people. Being exposed to Terra and Eva for a four year period would probably change her a great deal...hopefully for the better. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Culture, Politics, and Educational Reform,Vahn casually making Eva wait...,Beliving in a better tomorrow...!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 621 - Matters of Importance

Chapter 621 - Matters of Importance

Because Vahn, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, Haruhime, and Fenrir were all going to be leaving for the Expedition today. everyone was already awake and had been nning to eat breakfast together. Even Loki, after having sorted out everything at the Twilight Manor, hade over during the evening and was preparing to stay at the Hearth Manor until she went intobor. Vahn very briefly exined the situation regarding the orb and it immediately caused a shift in the atmosphere. Eva was a very abstract thing for most of them and, though they understood the importance of the orb, many of the girls had inhibitions about Vahn using it for long periods of time. After crunching the numbers in her head, Loki furrowed her brows and said, "If you use the orb every day, that means youll have experienced nearly 420 days by the time youe back to the surface..." Though she didnt mention it, Loki also thought about the possibility of Fafnir staying inside of the orb for that entire time, essentially increasing its age to nearly 500 years. True Dragons were biologically immortal, so it would be ridiculously strong if it was training with Eva that entire time. If not for the fact Fafnir would be left on the surface, Loki would have been tempted to convince Vahn to let it grow further so it could be the trump card of the Alliance... Hearing that Vahn would essentially be gone for more than a year, everyone became a little tenser until he calmly stated, "Please, everyone, dont worry about it too much. Ill have Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, Haruhime, and Fenrir to apany me in the Dungeon. Since Ill just be focusing on my training, something I would have had to do in the real world regardless, there isnt any danger of me losing myself. I can also help the other girls train and this will reduce the burden of my [Prometheus] skill, allowing me to produce more me seeds. It will also give me more time to spend with everyone when we return to the surface, as I wont have to focus so much on training and producing items in reality anymore..." Vahn was essentially recounting things that most of the girls knew already, reminding them of all the benefits while trying to ay their concerns. No matter what, Vahn would have ended up using the orb anyways and this would actually allow the girls to have a bit more peace of mind. If he had been using it around them, it could have potentially had a few negative consequences since they would be experiencing the changes to Vahn in real time. Having a bit of a shock when he returned was a little easier to deal with, especially since the focus would be on the children being born. Things were bound to change greatly during that period of time and it would make it much easier to cope with any changes that urred in Vahn as well. Eina was sitting quietly next to Vahn and, after collecting her thoughts, raised her head and said, "I think Vahn needs an emotional anchor to apany him in the Dungeon. Ais, Tiona, and Tione arent suited to the role and Im afraid Lefiya and Fenrir would get wrapped up in the momentum of things..." Eina was always the most concerned about Vahns mentality and, though he would probably be fine, she was still worried he wouldnt be able to keep the bnce between the orb and reality unless someone was here to anchor him. All of the most suitable people for the role were currently pregnant though, which likely wasnt that much of a coincidence. The only viable candidate remaining would be... Seeing Eina looking over at her, Chloe squinted her eyes slightly, smiling as she said, "I really shouldnt go into the Dungeon since I have to guide Shizunes training and Ive been helping the girls with their [Mixing]..." Chloe also wanted to go but she was afraid her presence would actually be a bit of a burden to Vahn, especially since he would be overly conscious of her. She also wasnt suited to fighting in the Dungeon and there were several things she had alreadymitted herself to. Vahn wouldnt want her to leave Shizune hanging and she was also helping Lili, Naaza, and Preasia at the same time. With Chloe out, the only other candidate would have been Mn but she also needed to look after Tina and was actually a little too reliant on Vahn, making her unsuited to the role. Suddenly, as if she wanted topletely shatter the tense atmosphere, Tsubaki beganughing before pointing to Mikoto and saying, "You go, Mikoto. Youre a sensible and dutiful girl and it would be good for you to spend more time with Vahn. Your training has been stagnating a bit and I can see that youve been wanting to test out your skills on stronger opponents. Look after Vahn for us, okay?" Mikoto had been sitting silently at the side, feeling somewhat conflicted since she didnt want to be left behind for some of the same reasons that Tsubaki pointed out. Haruhime was also her friend and the person she most wanted to protect, especially after failing to protect her in their youth. Hearing Tsubaki address her, Mikoto showed a serious expression and said, "Yes, I will go..." As she spoke, Mikoto tightly gripped her katana to stop the shaking of her hand. She was a little nervous about being given such an important role but was also excited to have an opportunity to polish her skills while also protecting her Lord... Loki nodded her head, agreeing with Tsubakis decision but adding, "Everyone else needs to pay close attention to Vahn as well, especially you three...dont get carried away just because you have a bunch of free time in the Dungeon." Even without them talking about it, Loki already expected them to y around a bit when they reached the 39th Floor. It could actually be a very healthy thing for Vahn, but only if they didnt take it too far and turn it into a burden. If he got in a mindset of using the orb as a means of coping again, it would undo all the efforts they made to make him a more stable existence. There was also a chance he might let his own power go to his head so Loki looked to Vahn and said, "Remember, we werent even able to conquer the Dungeon in the Divination so dont let your power dictate your actions. Protect everyone and dont do anything dangerous to expose yourself...well be waiting for your return on the surface, Vahn." As she had been sitting in hisp, Vahn could feel Loki trembling a bit and, though it might have been an act, he believed she was very concerned about him. Gently embracing her, Vahn kissed the top of her head and said, "Dont worry, Loki, I didnt intend to do anything drastic until certain events got triggered. Remember, Im still waiting for that boy named Bell Cranel, as his fate seems tied to the sess of the future Expeditions. Keep an eye out for him while Im away since there is no way of knowing how events might have changed with our actions..." Bell wasnt supposed to show up for another 15-16 months, but Vahn knew that could have easily changed if Zeus learned about what was going on in the City. Many of the significant events Bell would have experienced had already been altered by Vahns actions so there really was no way of knowing how things would develop. To ease the tensions of the group, Vahn looked around with a gentle smile and supreme confidence in his gaze as he said, "Even if I was trapped an unable to return for thousands of years, I would never forget the bonds I share with everyone here. They are what give me the strength to continue forward so please believe in me...I will always return, no matter what it takes." Hestias crystalline blues eyes had a glimmering sheen when she heard Vahns words but it was Tsubaki who once again changed the tense atmosphere as she said, "Vahn, dont say something so ominous, jeez! Even if you didnt want toe back, we would just track you down ourselves. Not to mention, Hephaestus has that handy little ring of hers and could probably pull you back from the bottom of the Dungeon if she had to...hahahaha~." Hephaestus traced her finger of the [Promise] Vahn had given her, showing a loving smile as she said, "Yes, I have already dedicated everything to Vahn...I wont back down easily if something tries to take the happiness Ive...no, the happiness weve found together." Though she spoke them softly, Hephaestus words resonated with everyone present, especially Vahn. He felt a great deal of warmth flow through his chest and once again promise that, no matter what the future held for him, he would always return to this world. Hephaestus and Hestia had truly dedicated their everything to him, including their eternities. Loki also worked tirelessly to ensure they all had a stronger foundation for the future and there were simply too many people he cared about to leave this world behind... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Optional Quest Triggered// [Quest: I Shall Return] Rank: SSS Objective: Complete [Quest: Origin of Heroes](0/9). Establish Eternal Bonds with gods that possess Divinities rted to Time, Space, Bonds, or Fate (1/3). Rewards: Reduction of requirements for [Quest: I Shall Seal The Heavens]. 10x Reduction in necessary Origin Points. Failure Condition(s): Death, Exiting the Record Before Completion Penalty: Danmachi Record inessible until Tier 8, 10,000 karma based on conditions (11/12) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn had been stunned by the sudden notification of a Quest but he was ecstatic when he actually read the objectives and rewards. Though it would difficult toplete, it wasnt impossible and would inevitably save him 90,000,000,000OP if he managed toplete it. It was very difficult to keep his calm after reading this and it was noticed by almost everyone present, as they had all been paying attention to him. Loki had even opened her eyes partly and was looking at him as if she were trying to discern what he was thinking. Everyone present were people Vahn trustedpletely, not simply because they had made vows to protect the information but because he cared about them all deeply. However, this wasnt a matter that could be discussed openly so he looked around and said, "Im sorry, everyone, but I need to talk with Hephaestus, Hestia, Loki, and Anubis...It wont take long, so please feel free to start breakfast and rx. This conversation has been pretty tense but I can assure you things will go smoothly in the future." Because he had been so excited, Vahn spoke a little quicker and higher than normal, causing everyone to actually rx a great deal because they could tell something good had happened. Vahn moved to the study with the goddesses, escorting Hephaestus and Loki to the sofa before he sat down next to Anubis and Hestia, exining, "This is a very important conversation and I need all of you to trust that Im telling you the truth, even though I cant exin how I know these things. Its something I myself dont understand, after all..." Telling them about his Quests was the same as revealing the existence of The Path, meaning it could lead to all of their deaths if it was divulged. Since he truly didnt understand everything about The Path, Vahn wasnt lying when he spoke so all of the goddesses nodded their heads and listened with serious expressions on their faces. Taking a deep breath, Vahn tried to calm his rapidly beating heart before saying, "Ive already promised you all that I will stay at your sides forever. That isnt an exaggeration at all and know that Im already walking down a path that grants me immortality, just like I had been able to ascend to godhood in the Divination. When my training with Eva isplete, that will also grant me a form of immortality...no matter what it takes, I wont let you have to suffer through eternity on your own." All of his efforts to calm down werepletely wasted because Vahn felt his own words were a bit overwhelming, almost like he needed to scream them with how emotional he felt. Hestia and Hephaestus had gentle and loving expressions on their faces while Anubis had an anticipatory smile on her elegant face. She had seen Vahns potential in the past and swore to follow him for the rest of his life, not minding at all if that happened to continue indefinitely. As for Loki, she had already been preparing for the fact Vahn would be living forever and wasnt surprised at all. She was determined to stand at his side because she believed he would lead the world down a more interesting path while also helping to remove the restrictions of Divinity. He was also the father of her child and, though she had been promiscuous in love in the past, other people didnt seem worthy to her anymore. Even if she may y around, it would only be with the people around Vahn and that was more than enough to keep her satisfied. Vahn was holding hands with Hestia and Anubis at this point, feeling their love and affection for him as he took several deep breaths to calm down. Using his [Will of the Emperor], Vahn slowly steadied himself before saying, "I dont understand how it was triggered, but I was able to discern some important information about the future that will help guarantee that, even if something goes wrong, I will always be able to return to everyones sides." Seeing that they all had looks of curiosity, intrigue, and anticipation, Vahn smiled and continued, saying, "Please dont ask me how I know this for certain, but one of the pre-requisites is that I have at least nine children with goddesses...Im not certain if that means different goddesses, but Ill be able to confirm it when the twins are born." Though they had expected Vahn to say something surprising, this was a little different than any of their expectations and it caused Loki to immediately burst intoughter. Hephaestus had a thoughtful expression on her face and, before the conversation continued further, said, "I had three children in the Divination, so Im prepared to get pregnant again if you need my help, Vahn..." Even if she had to give Vahn twenty children, Hephaestus didnt mind since that wasnt actually that many if it was stretched out over a period of eternity. Hearing Hephaestus words, Loki stoppedughing and began counting on her fingers as she said, "Hephaestus has two in the oven...Im cooking one...and youll probably have to deal with Freya, Eirene, and Demeter in the future since thats already nned out...Im guessing Hestia and Anubis will probably want to pop out one of their own, so we really just need one more if the only requirement is nine. If it means you need nine different goddesses, well, that wouldnt actually be that difficult if were being honest..." Loki had a feeling that, given how things typically transpired around Vahn, it probably required him to knock up nine different goddesses. A few candidates immediately crossed her mind, including two very useful allies that could really use a bedding... Vahn drew in a sharp breath when he heard Loki pointing things out in such a manner but he knew she wasnt actually wrong in doing so. For some reason, he didnt imagine that Anubis and Hestia would bear his children, at least not any time soon, so he would likely have to be involved with a few different goddesses in the future. With that in mind, Vahn continued his train of thought and exined, "That isnt the only requirement though, as Ill also need to have Eternal Vows with three different gods, specifically those with Divinities rted to Time, Space, Bonds, or Fate. Im pretty sure I already met the requirements for one of them..." As Vahn spoke, he turned to Hestia, causing her to smile as her beautiful blue eyes shimmered like gemstones. Loki brought her fist to her palm in an Aha gesture before saying, "Bonds can mean things like Family, so I guess that makes a lot of sense. The question is, do the gods you need a promise from have to be ones that youre in love with...?" Even as she asked the question, Loki couldnt imagine many male gods making an Eternal Vow to Vahn, meaning she needed to find goddesses that had those attributes. Any goddess would be interested in Vahn, especially once the first Vanir is born, so it shouldnt be too difficult to find any. She already knew a good candidate but would probably have to deal with her so-called sisters if she wanted to get her allegiance... Though Loki didnt seem to think it would be that much of an issue, Hephaestus had aplex expression on her face because she knew that many of the suitable goddesses were somewhat difficult to deal with. It would be next to impossible to find one with a Divinity rted to Space and, those with Divinities rted to Fate and Time were usually entric, at best. Like Loki, she also thought of a certain trio and felt a bit of a shudder run down her back before dismissing them from her mind and wondering who would be a better alternative. After a few short minutes, as all the goddesses were thinking about candidates, Vahn began to get a little nervous because it felt like they were essentially trying to pick wives for him. He figured he could make some kind of pact with Ouranos for the Space requirement and it shouldnt be that hard toe to an agreement with someone else. There really wasnt any great need to rush things, now that Vahn had some time to think about it, as acquiring ten-trillion OP wasnt something that could be done in a short period of time anyways. Suddenly, Hestia furrowed her brows a bit and asked, "Cant we ask Freya and Anubis to make Eternal Vows? Freya should have a lesser Divinity of Fate rted to irvoyance, as well as Death. Anubis should be in the same category and she has already promised to serve Vahn before..." At this point, Anubis moonlight eyes glowed slightly and she said, "Though I would like to make an Eternal Vow, doing so would invalidate the fidelity of my previous vow, something I cannot vite. I may end up serving my Master for all eternity, but I cannot make a secondary vow to overwrite my previous one..." It was a little contrary, but Anubis couldnt take a step back on the issue since she was actually bound by an unbreakable vow that made it impossible for her to renege on promises she already made. Since Anubis was out, that meant they still need a third person, even if Freya was willing to make an eternal vow. However, though she didnt vocalize it out of concern for Vahn, Loki didnt think it was a good idea to address Freya on such a matter so soon. After all, she also didnt want to deal with an existence even simr to Leh, especially since she would probably inherit Vahns pseudo-Divinity rted to Space. This would make her a potential candidate for making the vow but would also cause Vahn a great deal of stress at the same time. Unlike Vahn, who thought it would be easy to strike a deal with Ouranos, all the goddesses knew it wouldnt be that simple as Space gods were notoriously difficult to work with... Seeing how serious everyone was about the situation, Vahn raised his hand slightly and said, "I only wanted to inform all of you about the situation so you wouldnt be caught off guard in the future. It wouldnt reallye into y for several years so there isnt any need to rush things at all. We have plenty of time to consider the future and should focus on more pressing matters in the present..." Vahn was happy they were already thinking so hard about helping him live forever but knew it really wasnt the time to be sitting around brooding over the matter while everyone else was waiting for them. Hephaestus nodded her head in agreement and said, "Vahn is right. Now that he has told us about it, we have plenty of time to discuss things while he is in the Dungeon. There is also no real rush to find candidates since he will be able to obtain a form of immortality after training with Eva...for now, lets worry about our own children and resolving some of the issues already guing the Alliance. Besides, I have a feeling Vahn will likely end up finding the solution on his own...ufufufu~." Just as he had identally connected all of them, Hephaestus was strangely confident Vahn would end up resolving things without their help. Since it would probably be better to let things happen naturally, they should just prepare for a few other goddesses joining the core of their group in the future. Loki felt that Hephaestus words struck the truth of the matter but still wanted to seek out some candidates on her own. After all, finding suitable members to add to their inner circle was extremely important since they were literally talking about eternity. If Vahn lived forever, that meant there would be several goddesses at his side that would be bound to him for all eternity. Picking the correct candidates was incredibly important to avoid conflict in the future. Though there wouldnt be any issues for a few hundred years, who knew what would happen after a few million passed? They needed someone with the proper mentality, preferably from the first or second generation of gods and goddesses. This was the reason Loki was considering goddesses like Artemis or Athena as, much like Hestia, they would probably bepletely dedicated to Vahn if he got their v.i.r.g.i.nities... Deciding to discuss the matterter, the five returned to where everyone else was already eating breakfast. They didnt need to be leaving until around 6:50 Am, so there was still plenty of time to just rx and make casual conversation. However, a few minutes after he sat down, Loki suddenly said, "You once said that, when your training with Eva finished, the orb would end up being destroyed. Since you want Terra and Fafnir to train with her for a bit, doesnt that mean we need to push the Expedition back for at least a day? Well, not that its a bad idea to take Fafnir and Terra with you, though I imagine it would be difficult for them to spend a few hundred years in the orb...?" Vahn nearly dropped his chopsticks when he heard Lokis words, once again realizing that the passage of time in the orb could be very drastic. Taking Terra actually wasnt that bad of an idea, especially since she was already mature and wouldnt age at all. As for Fafnir, Vahn knew it wanted to meet Eva again but there was no way he could leave it inside for hundreds of years. It was arguably the strongest protector of the Manor and was a very important bodyguard for the girls that had greater perception than even Terra. As if she had realized he was thinking about her, Terra suddenly said, "I think I should go with Master since I wouldnt be able to expand my territory while he is gone anyways. My energy consumption is a bit high so I would onlyst a few days before having to hibernate anyways~." Rubbing his temples, Vahn suddenly realized he had made a few oversights and was definitely not ready for the orb to have awakened at such a timing. Since he couldnt guarantee the orb would evenst for two months, he would need to take Terra with him, especially since her words regarding her energy consumption were true. The longest period she had gone without being recharged was five days, and that was only because Vahn asked her to try to conserve her energy. By the time the period had ended, Terra was resting limply against her perch in an almost unresponsive state, much like Fafnir had been in when Vahn left it inside the orb for a few years. However, he realized she would have the same problem if he left her in the space as four years would pass between recharges. Releasing a sigh, Vahn looked around and said, "Ill take Fenrir and Terra into the orb to see if Eva has any solutions to help them preserve their energy for long periods of time..." Hearing that she would be going into the orb, Fenrirs ears perked up and she became a little giddy. Though she would have to be separated from her Master for a long time, Fenrir knew it was important if she wanted to be mature. Eva was scary, but she was also her Masters Master and Fenrir believed she could tolerate being bullied a little bit if it was for her Master. As for Terra, she had a thoughtful expression on her face and was very interested to meet the woman that left such a strong impact on her Master... Vahn brought out the orb before extending his hand out towards Fenrir and Terra, causing them to be a little rigid before their bodies broke down into rainbow-colored dust in an instant. The only thing left behind was Fenrirs [Aegis Shorts Mk 1], a pair of Vahn-print panties, and the pouch she always wore to carry her brush and trophies. For many, this was the first time they had actually seen the core forms of Fenrir and Terra, reminding them that the two were indeed monsters. Fenrirs crystal was a resplendent midnight blue with a crimson me burning around its center. As for Terras, it was emerald green with vibrant golden starlight in the center intermixed with strange of blue. Taking the two cores into his Inventory, Vahn felt a strange sense of loneliness well up inside his heart and promised the two that they wouldnt be sealed away for long. As if they could hear him, the sense of loneliness faded away, causing Vahn to smile as he looked around and said, "Well, Ill be back in a few seconds...even though my spiritual body will be away for three days." Vahn was reminding everyone of what he would be experiencing, putting things into perspective so they would understand. Seeing that they were all prepared, Vahn nodded his head and held the orb between his palms as he infused his intent into it... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Emotional Anchor, Mikoto-chan,Ideal Candidates...,Eva is tired of waiting (O,...,O)~!) (A/N: Some people may consider it a bit of a hole/convenience, wondering why Vahn doesnt just dy the Expedition to make better use of the orb. You have to remember that things were already pushed back by almost a month and, presently, the entire Expedition party is already waiting for his arrival at the Babel za. Vahn doesnt like inconveniencing people and he is actually the leader this time around, meaning it wouldnt reflect well on him if he suddenly dyed the departure. Imagine showing up with wagons, supplies, etc just for your boss to suddenly tell you to take it back and then prepare it all again at ater date...Vahn doesnt want to be a cunt (UwU)~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 622 - Evas Orb (1/3)

Chapter 622 - Eva''s Orb (1/3)

Vahn felt his consciousness fade into darkness before a familiar pulling sensation was felt in his stomach, causing him to be both excited and disoriented at the same time. Since he had been sitting down in the real world, Vahn appeared within the orb sitting down in the bed where he had parted with Eva long ago. He knew it had been much longer from her perspective so Vahn was prepared for things to get a little out of hand now that he had returned. Thus, when he felt an overwhelming force grab his head and shoulder, Vahn wasnt really that surprised and instead found the painful incision in his shoulder strangely pleasant as a reminiscent feeling passed through his mind. He hadnt even had time to open his eyes before Eva had already pinned him and began sucking his blood like she waspletely determined to drain him dry. Vahn just hugged her body tightly in response, feeling her small body trembling in his arms as warm tears fell from her perpetually youthful face and stained the pillows below. Feeling rather emotional himself, Vahn got a sour feeling in his nose as a bit of moisture began to build up in his eyes, saying, "Im sorry for making you wait...I missed you, Eva..." in a choked voice. This made Eva tremble even more but, instead of saying anything, Vahn felt like his blood began draining even faster... As usual, the process made his body heat up greatly but, unlike the past, Vahn really didnt do anything to resist the building emotions and just enjoyed his contact with Eva. He noticed she was back to wearing ck clothes but it was hard to know if this was because of her emotional state or just because she felt like wearing them. Since the only thing she was wearing was a set of ck lingerie and a ck negligee, it was a little difficult to determine and Vahn felt like he would need to pacify herter. He didnt know how long she had been awake within the orb but it must have been several years, if not much longer judging by how much his surroundings had changed. When he originally left the orb, Vahn was in a small castle built by Eva and they had arge bed within a chamber much smaller than where he was currently located. Though he was a little interested in the changes that had urred, Vahn didnt really care about them much right now since Eva was his primary concern. Given how eager she was in draining his blood, Vahn expected it would take a while and felt like it was a good opportunity to pamper her. Since he didnt want to spoil their reunion with [Hands of Nirvana], Vahn used his [Petting] and began stroking Evas soft back through the negligee. He also brought his left hand to the small of her back and gently caressed the area, keeping in mind he shouldnt push her too much before understanding her mental state. Eva tensed up a bit at the long-forgotten contact that she had dreamed about many times when her mind had been sealed away. More than a thousand years had passed since thest time she saw Vahn and it was very difficult to keep such memories alive, causing Eva to be a little entric in her behavior. Fortunately, most of that time had been her hibernating to allow the space the opportunity to stabilize or she would have probably lost her mind. Feeling the incredibleforting from Vahns touch, Eva began to sob because, though it was different than the intense contact of the past, it felt like he was caressing her heart and easing a bit of the loneliness she had felt... Vahn noticed Eva began crying even harder but it didnt seem that she was too upset, encouraging him to redouble his efforts as he began saying soothing words to calm her heart. She was obviously pained by their long separation, to an extent he probably couldnt even understand. Though she was the most powerful entity he had ever met, she suddenly seemed to fragile and Vahn felt she had actually shrunkpared to the past, primarily because his own size had increased. She was only 130cm tall while his height had increased to 175cm, taller than all the girls he associated with since he liked to give them a sense of security when he held them. He was hoping Eva felt the same way and, noticing that her trembling had slowly faded away, Vahn believed this was the case... After about half an hour, Eva hadpletely replenished her internal mana reserves, once again marveling at how dense the energy in Vahns blood was. However, she didnt immediately separate from him and just began licking the area where she had bit him, noticing there were several other bite marks in the area. She realized he must have been very busy with the girls in the real world, making her both annoyed and relieved at the same time. The original reason she sealed away the space was that it was very obvious that Vahn was being burdened by the time he spent in the orb. She wanted him to have time to stabilize while also fixing the orb that had taken a severe amount of damage from both Vahn and Fenrir when they used [Chainbreaker] in the past. Feeling Eva lick his neck, Vahn felt she was beginning to return to normal and felt greatly relieved, bringing his hand up to the back of Evas head and stroking her silky blond hair. At this point, Eva realized Vahn wasnt using the same technique as in the past and was vaguely aware of a formless andfortable energy pervading through her body. It was very peculiar because, even though she was a Shinso Vampire, the energy wasnt immediately filtered by her bodys natural regeneration. Thefort persisted for a long period of time after he moved his hands away, making her feelckadaisical and a little tired. After a few more minutes, Eva pushed against Vahns chest and released afortable sigh as she sat on his stomach and looked down at this gently smiling expression. She had actually wanted to punish him a bit for keeping her waiting for so long but, after being held by him for nearly an hour, Eva didnt really feel like it anymore. He had already apologized to her and Eva could tell he was very sincere about it, sensing his emotional turmoil when she was sucking his blood. She was very aware of the state of the person she was draining and could tell that Vahn really had missed her, causing any of the pent up frustration she had felt to fade away...at least a little. With a pouting expression on her face, Eva muttered, "You shouldnt leave me waiting so long in the future...Ill forgive you, but only this once. If you do it again, expect a severe punishment..." As she spoke, Eva used the nail of her index finger and traced it over Vahns chest, noticing his body had developed further since thest time he visited. He was much taller and had a slim and fit body that made her own ache a great deal just looking at him. It was very frustrating knowing that they couldnt really do anything because of the nature of her existence... Vahn noticed the change in Eva and was honestly surprised she wasnt more upset by the fact he had kept her waiting, especially considering they had been apart for a very long time. He realized the relief she had felt at their reunion had probably overwritten her other thoughts, at least for the time being. As long as he treated her well, she probably wouldnt fall into a negative mentality and punish him as she had in the past. With a smile on his face, Vahn reached out his index finger and ced it against Evas lips, saying, "You are more beautiful when you smile..." He knew he was pressing his luck, but Vahn was confident Eva was holding back and just needed an excuse to release some of her tensions. Opening her mouth, revealing two tiny fangs, Eva chomped down on Vahns index finger with enough force to break the skin. It was painful, but Vahn didnt really mind it much at all as Eva began sucking on his finger with a glint in her blue eyes. This was essentially her way of epting his challenge so Vahn smiled through the pain and moved his left hand to her pert little buttocks, giving it a very light pinch before grabbing it a little firmly, knowing Eva liked when he was more forward than submissive. Though she was the type to ease people, sometimes excessively, Eva also allowed herself to be on the receiving end and had often ined about him not being manly enough at times. Eva grabbed his wrist and licked up the blood from his finger before saying, "You learned a new technique...it feels veryfortable, but it isnt as exciting as your old one. Im curious to hear about what youve been doing back in the real world but that can wait forter...I wonder if you can help this old woman release some of her frustrations, my foolish little disciple...?" At this point, Eva realized what kind of game Vahn was ying, causing her to feel expectant as a giddy feeling spread through her stomach. She didnt consider herself a perverse girl, not really, but being with Vahn like this made it very difficult to just behave normally. He really had grown up a lot since thest time they were together and Eva was interested to see what he had learned while he was away... Since he hadnt resisted the buildup of heat in his body from when Eva sucked his blood, Vahn felt like there was fire flowing through his veins when he saw the sensual look in Evas eyes. Though she had the body of a young girl, Vahn and Eva had been very intimate in the past and he had long gotten over any inhibitions he had about her appearance. Especially with entities like Juno and Kali, or the entire Pallum people, Vahn realized appearances werent nearly as important as actual age and mental development. Thus, without holding back at all, Vahn brought his hands to Evas butt, firmly grabbing the pert little cheeks as he massaged them with his [Hands of Nirvana]. Eva began tough in a very sensual manner as a small blush touched her cheeks,menting, "Ah, this is a very familiar feeling...haaaaa..." Though it faded very quickly if he stopped, Vahns [Hands of Nirvana] were very stimting when he was serious about it, causing Eva to feel like her butt was on fire as waves of pleasure shot up her body. When Vahn pressed the tips of his fingers into the pressure points around her lower back, Evas back straightened and she squinted her eyes as a girlish m.o.a.n escaped her lips. With a petitive glint in her eyes, Eva looked down at Vahn and was very tempted to y with him a bit... Vahn noticed that Eva was getting into the mood but, before she attacked him, Vahn interrupted her momentum by saying, "You know, I actually thought about how we can be more intimate with each other without having s.e.x...do you want to try?" Because he had been looking forward to his reunion with Eva, Vahn had done a bit of self-study about methods he could employ to bring her real satisfaction. He knew she was actually suffering when they were together since her body felt all the urges but she was simply unable to act on them. Having s.e.x would cause the space to destabilize further and potentially cause it to outright copse, meaning Vahn wouldnt be able to train or make use of the orb anymore. Hearing Vahns words, Evas excitement increased a fair amount because she remembered how he would always do interesting things when they were together in the past. Even his [Hands of Nirvana] was a truly amazing thing since it could even overpower her instantaneous regeneration. Since he seemed very serious about it, Eva felt like the heat in her own body had increased greatly as she smiled and said, "Show me..." in a seductive tone. Without dy, Vahn thumbed Evas panties with his thumbs and snapped the stic band, causing her to frown a bit before she just allowed her clothes to dissipate entirely. All of Evas clothing, besides the ones he had given her, had been created by her magic and could be materialized and discarded at will. Vahn smiled when he saw Evas n.a.k.e.d body, not hiding his infatuation at all as his own clothing disappeared, leaving them both n.a.k.e.d in the massive bed. Eva began breathing a little faster as the blush on her face grew deeper, a result of the rising tensions of her body after feeling Vahns hot flesh against her own. It felt like it had been a very long time since they were together like this and Eva barely resisted just ravishing him outright. Vahn ced his hands near her h.i.p.s and pressed his thumbs at two different points, one near the base of her abdomen and the other very close to the top of her hairless and somewhat dangerous looking v.a.g.i.n.a. Though she was very thin, it was still a little puffy and made Vahn feel like a bit of a deviant for a brief moment before throwing the matter to the back of his mind. Evas anticipation continued to build and she was very curious about what Vahn was going to do, not minding the fact that her own fluids had started to drip out onto his abdomen. However, when he began moving her lower body towards his h.i.p.s, Eva felt a bit of panic as a very hot object pressed near her butt. With a confident look on his face, Vahn exined, "There is a way to have s.e.x called intercrural, where you used the thighs and mons pubis to simte real s.e.x. I modified it using my [Hands of Nirvana] and, well, youll understand in a moment..." Vahn pushed Evas butt back and let her moist lower body slide over his p.e.n.i.s, feeling the somewhat small vulva parting around his shaft as a surprising volume of fluids drained from her body. All of Evas bodily fluids immediately regenerated so she could produce a functionally infinite amount of love nectar when she was excited, often leaving massive stains on the bed whenever they were together in the past... As she already knew of intercrural s.e.x, Eva felt a bit of relief since she had been worried an ident may ur that would potentially endanger them both. She was pelled to teach Vahn the Magia Erebea and it would be disastrous for them both if he lost the opportunity in a moment of passion. Feeling his scalding hot member rub against her lower body, Eva frowned slightly with watery eyes while biting her bottom lip. It was very pleasurable, yes, but also made her feel a little frustrated at the same time since the stimtion wouldnt really build up properly as a result of her regeneration. Vahn, however, had prepared for this as he said, "Let me know if it bes difficult for you..." in a low voice. Vahn had ced his thumbs around the location of Evas cervix and her presently shy c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s, allowing his energy to diffuse through her muscles and nerves without causing any kind of stimtion at all, at least for now. When his preparations werepleted, Vahn said in a somewhat sly tone, "You can move your h.i.p.s now...I think youll be surprised~." Eva furrowed her brows slightly when she heard Vahns words but she still used his abdomen as support before rocking her h.i.p.s forward. The moment she did so, however, Eva felt an invasive feeling in her lower body that made her cry out in surprise with a sensual intonation to her voice. Vahn had caused the muscles in Evas v.a.g.i.n.a to expand and dte in timing with her movements, simultaneously stimting all the nerves in the area, including the nerve stem of her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s without touching it directly. Eva had never felt anything like this before, causing her eyes to be somewhat watery as her breathing became heavy. She looked down at Vahn and saw his cheeky expression, feeling slightly aggrieved as she bit her lower lip. Vahn felt the pressure in the bridge of his nose increase because of how adorable Eva was when she was pouting like this. With a smile on his face, Vahn exined, "Its a bit awkward to admit, but Im pretty confident when ites to taking care of my women...we may not be able to have s.e.x, Eva, but that doesnt mean I cant help you feel what its like. This way, you dont have to experience any pain either..." Though she felt happy about Vahns concern, Eva was still having a bit of trouble with the current situation because it felt like her body was full, something she had never expected in her wildest dreams... Seeing that she would probably struggle to move on her own, Vahn gently moved Evas h.i.p.s back while reversing the flow and making the interior of her v.a.g.i.n.a contract. She released an almost whimpering m.o.a.n that tickled his ears as she leaned forward slightly, using his body as a support. In asforting a voice as he could manage, Vahn said, "Leave it to me, Eva...Ill make sure you get to experience everything as close as possible to the real thing..." Vahn knew that Eva actually worried about her figure a great deal and, treating her well in her original form was very important for her mental state. It was her greatest trauma and Vahn wanted her to be able to ovee it, at least when they were together like this... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gimme dat blood (>,...,<)~!,There is always a way...( ? ?? ?),Vahn is very experienced...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 623 - Evas Orb (2/3)

Chapter 623 - Eva''s Orb (2/3)

After more than an hour, Eva was sitting in Vahnsp with her back to him, holding his member with her own hands and grinding against it slowly. She had already climaxed several times at this point and it had given her greater relief than she had expected, causing Eva to be a little needy under Vahns care. Since she had waited for him for more than a thousand years, Vahn didnt mind at all and simply did his best tofort her until she was satisfied. Fortunately, she was actually very mature and calmed down a bit when Vahn himself ejacted, sending a stream of vital fluid shooting nearly three meters and staining the bed. When she saw this, Eva had a mildly incredulous expression on her face before smiling and leaning against Vahn with her full weight, saying, "One day, I want us to be able to have normal s.e.x..." Eva knew her real self would likely be attached to Vahn, especially if they were able to fuse together in the future. She was looking forward to the day Vahn could truly take her as his woman, allowing them to walk on the shores of eternity together. Though her immortality had been a curse, Eva felt somewhat grateful at times like this as, without living such a long life, she would never have been able to meet him... Vahn let his own body rx after seeing that Eva calmed down, pulling his hands up and embracing her loosely around the abdomen, kissing the top of her head at the same time. Eva tilted her head up and stayed quiet for several long seconds before saying, "Vahn...I love you..." with a blush appearing on her face. Smiling, Vahn leaned around and tilted her chin up before saying, "Eva, I love you too...that is why I will never give up on making you happy. Thank you for being so patient with me..." At the end of his words, Vahn gave a rtively tame kiss to the small vampire but it didnt do anything to diminish the emotions contained within. Sometimes, keeping things simple made the words more impactful since it wouldnt be overwritten by more passionate action. Since they had worked up a bit of a sweat, Vahn carried the n.a.k.e.d Eva into a side chamber where an ornate tub was located, made for use by a single person but easily amodating both of their bodies. Eva typically liked to be close with Vahn, at least when he wasnt working, so all of their baths were in the rtively small tub, meaning she typically sat in hisp orid against his back. Their baths usuallysted for well over an hour because Evas hair took a very long time to wash. It was long enough to reach the back of her knees and, though it was generally very silky, it would be a bit messy after they tumbled around for a bit. While using a white jadeb on her long golden locks, Vahn also exined what he had been up to in the real world. Eva didnt really like when he talked about other girls but she had been very curious and asked for all of the details regardless. She believed that she would have to get along well with the women in the future so, though they had never met, Eva was trying to ept them being with Vahn. She was already impressed by girls like Hephaestus, Hestia, and Eina, but was also fond of the goddess named Loki, as Vahn had talked about her a fair amount. Since she was involved with many of the major events in Vahns life, he actually mentioned her quite a bit and always had a fondness that showed through in his words and actions. When he was finishing up his recounting of events, Eva tilted her head to the side and said, "So, youre going to be going into the Dungeon to build a base to allow for further exploration...mmm. Honestly, it irks me a little, knowing that youre leaving behind all those pregnant girls in the Manor just to go off and do other things...but Im guessing you have all worked it out in your own way. That Alliance sounds pretty interesting...hmmm. Well, at least youll have plenty of time to train with me instead of getting distracted likest time." Vahn had also exined his intent to open up a school so Eva was already thinking of how to properly teach him the basics so he could pass them on to others. He might not realize it himself, but Eva could see that Vahn was definitely not normal in regards to his talent and affinity for magic. She could tell he had a special constitution that likely gave him the rtively rare Omni-Elemental Affinity. Since his energy seemed pure, without any alignment at all, Eva believed he would be able to learn any kind of magic. However, the way he used it often defiedmon sense a bit so she knew he wouldnt really be able to teach others too easily. She had originally just nned to teach him some of the more advanced spells and then give him the trial scroll for Magia Erebea when he had better control. After collecting her thoughts, Eva ced her hands around Vahns chest and tapped her fingers against him in a yful manner as she said, "Youll have topensate me properly if you want me to teach you how to use magic from scratch. My duty was only ever to test people to see if they could learn Magia Erebea, not teach people the basics...since its a special service, Ill be expecting a few liberties in exchange for my cooperation. Also, since youll be learning magic from me, youll have to call me Master and listen to all of my orders when were training..." Eva leaned in close to Vahn as she was speaking and licked his chin in a seductive manner when she was finished. Since Eva really was his Master, at least in regards to Magic, Vahn didnt really have too many inhibitions about referring to her in such a way. The only thing that bothered him was the fact that it would be difficult to discern when their training ended and when their fun began. Since Eva would probably get a little carried away during training, Vahn was a little worried about having to refer to her as Master in the bedroom. Deciding he would simply deal with it when the time came, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Thank you...Ill be in your care, Master Eva..." Vahn noticed that Eva actually flinched a little when he called her Master but she didnt really have time to think about it since he stole her lips once again, this time starting a very passionate kiss as punishment... After their bath finally came to an end, Eva showed Vahn around the redesigned castle and he was able to confirm that she had indeed been active while the orb was sealed away. When he asked about it, Eva exined, "I had to wake up every few years to make sure the repairs were running smoothly. I also used that time to make some changes to the castle and maintain the garden...youd be surprised how disorderly things can be if they arent tended to properly..." When she said this, Eva gave Vahn a look of me and pouted for a few seconds before returning to normal. She sometimes felt like Vahn was a bully because he would tease her instead of treating her with the respect she deserved as his Master... Eva led the way to the garden and Vahn immediately understood what she had meant since some of the trees were more than 30m tall at this point and there were evenrge decayed treesying in some ces, looking more like an ancient forest than a garden. Seeing his confusion, Eva exined, "I altered a bit of the ws in this ce and used the materials you provided as a temte to allow the orb to experience changes...here, Ill show you..." Eva grabbed Vahns hand and began to fly towards the sky, pulling him along with her so he could see the castle from above. Vahn was surprised by what he saw when they got a few hundred meters above the castle because he could actually see the horizon now, instead of an endless white void. Though the sky overhead was still pitch ck, the white floor had actually been converted to nd at this point and it seemed to stretch around for a few hundred kilometers instead of infinitely. Below them, there was now a forest that had actually grown far beyond the castle walls and it looked like the orb had be a small ind floating in an endless ck void. His workshop had actually beenpletely reimed by the forest, even though he could tell that Eva had salvaged most of his materials and safely stowed them away. Since several decades would pass during her sleep, there wasnt much she could do to prevent the workshop from getting destroyed by the natural passage of time. Once they reached around 300m, Eva began exining, "Originally, this space wasprised mostly of Ice, Light, Darkness, and Space elemental energies. The reason you can generally use any type of magic is that you exist as a spiritual body within this space and arent really using magic...well, that is how it is supposed to be. Youre very abnormal in that regard because, even though youre a spirit right now, your mana is very dense and is functionally simr to real mana. Since youre also able to bring physical objects into this space, your energy has influenced the space and I was able to make some modifications to allow for natural energy to permeate through the orb..." Many of the things regarding Vahn were borderline impossible, but Eva had already grownrgely immune to such things and simply epted it as being a part of him. Vahn was looking around at the various forms of nt life below and found it far more appealing than the infinite white space from before. If there were animals within the forest, it would have been even better, as it was somewhat eerie to see a forestpletely devoid of animal life. Unfortunately, he couldnt really bring animals into the orb andcked the ability to purchase them through the system. Thinking till here, Vahn remembered an important matter so he said, "Ah, there is something else I wanted to run by you. Im certain you remember Fenrir..." Hearing Vahn mention the troublesome Kobold-turned-Wolfgirl, Eva felt like she wasnt going to like what he wanted to talk about. Seeing her reaction, Vahn chuckled before saying, "She has actually be a very well-behaved girl these days. I think the two of you could get along much better than when she was still a Kobold. Also, there is another person Ive brought along with me that I think youll be able to get along with even better..." Since Eva actually liked gardening and stuff, Vahn imagined Terras presence in the orb would be very wee. Terra was also very intelligent and had a gentle disposition that got along well with most people. There could be a bit of tension between her and Eva at first, considering that Evas affinities were Ice and Darkness, but Vahn believed they could get along after spending time together. Afternding, Vahn pulled out the magic cores containing Fenrir and Terra, deciding to call out Fenrir first since she wasnt fond of staying inside the core for very long. Focusing his mind, Vahn infused his energy directly into Fenrirs magic core and, after consuming about 40% of his source energy reserves, the core formed into rainbow-colored dust before a n.a.k.e.d Fenrir appeared before them. Eva raised her brows and asked, "You let her run around n.a.k.e.d now~?" in an amused tone, knowing that she probably just couldnt keep clothes inside the core. Since it seemed like Vahn wanted her to train Fenrir, Eva figured she would teach her how to create clothing with magic in the future to avoid situations like this... Hearing Evas words, Fenrir furrowed her brows and materialized her [Nezha Ladys Togi] before asking, "Master, give Fenrir her shorts..." She wasnt really the type to feel shame in the past, but Fenrir had been learning about things like dignity and maintaining a sense of propriety. Though she could tell Eva was just teasing her Master, Fenrir was still a little upset since it felt like she had embarrassed him. Instead ofshing out, however, Fenrir bottled it up because she knew it was necessary to exercise better control if she wanted to mature properly. Eva was going to be teaching her and Fenrir knew it was important to behave and listen to the people that taught you things or they might stop teaching you... Vahn pulled out Fenrirs panties and shorts, causing Evas eyes to widen because she saw the Vahn-print on the panties as he was helping Fenrir wear them. Her face immediately flushed bright pink and she averted her eyes from the scene, feeling confused, confounded, and fl.u.s.tered at the same time. She didnt think Vahn was the type to make girls wear a cartoon version of his face on their panties and it had likely been Fenrir that asked for them. Still, seeing the boy she liked on the panties of another girl was very vexing, especially since part of her was strangely envious of the fact she didnt have a pair. Fortunately, she could make clothing of her own...thinking till here, Eva clutched her head and had a silly smile on her face as she struggled with her own thoughts. Though he noticed Evas behavior, Vahn really didnt know what to say to her without potentially triggering her in the process. Since she was very cute, Vahn just decided to ignore it and began infusing his energy into Terras core while also pulling out a [Turbo Ether] and several weaker potions. Fenrir only took 40% of his reserves, but Terra was closer to 230% as a result of herrge size and massive mana pool, the result of her being a True Dragon. This time, instead of a n.a.k.e.d woman appearing, the dust formed into a massive cloud before a beautiful and elegant green dragon appeared. Eva noticed the new arrival and immediately smiled as she said, "Nice, you got a new dragon. This one seems a lot more mature than thest one...and her affinities are nature...?" Though it was a little difficult to sense, as Terra wasprised of source energy, Eva could see that energy in Terras body contained a very pure and natural feeling. Since her affinities were Ice and Darkness, Eva felt a little unnerved by Terras existence but wasnt really that bothered by it as Terra was much weaker than she was. There was also a very calming auraing from her body and, after smelling the fragrance in the air, Eva was able to rx as memories of her first time meeting Vahn emerged in her mind... Terra looked around the space after Vahn summoned her, curious about the nature of this strange world she found herself in. The link she had to the didnt exist here and it made her feel a little insecure and lonely but, as there was a surprising amount of natural energy in the environment, Terra was able to calm down after looking around. Turning her head toward the entity she believed to be Eva, Terra squinted her eyes slightly because the small figure wasnt quite what she expected. Her Master often spoke of Eva as being some incredible Mage but, from what Terra could see, she looked more like a little girl than anything. As if she had sensed Terras thoughts, Evas eyes became sharp and an incredible amount of mana radiated from her body in an instant, putting pressure on everyone present, even Vahn. With a scary look in her eyes, Eva asked, "Were you just thinking something very rude, little dragon~?" Eva had seen the somewhat condescending look in the eyes of the dragon, even though the aura she emitted was gentle. Since many good entities often had that kind of attitude, Eva wasnt really that surprised and just wanted to remind the dragon that they werent on the same level at all. As a result, Terra was actually pressed to the ground and felt like all of her bones were creaking as a cold sensation began to pass through her body... Vahn frowned slightly and raised his arm to obstruct Evas view of Terra, causing her to startle slightly before she blushed and said, "Sorry, I get carried away when ites to supposedly good existences..." When she had been on the run in the past, the majority of the people that hunted her were those that imed themselves to be good and righteous. Since one of the very first hunters that came after her actually tried to seal and **** her, even though he belonged to the Church, Eva was easy to trigger when good things looked down on her. Even if Terra didnt mean any harm, Eva couldnt let herself suffer undeserved grievances and would rather go on the offensive from the outset. Terra realized she had inadvertently offended Eva and had severely underestimated the danger posed by the small girl. Her Master was already an entitypletely beyond her and, as he often talked about how incredible Eva was, Terra realized she should have treated his words seriously. Transforming into her human form, Terra showed an apologetic smile and bowed slightly as she said, "Forgive me, Eva, I didnt mean to offend you. I was simply curious about the woman my Master spoke so highly of...I was surprised to see you were such a beautiful young woman..." Eva was surprised when Terra transformed into a human but practically spat when she heard Terras words, saying, "Thats a nice spin you put on it...youre a thousand years too young to try and fool me, little dragon." Hearing Evas words, Terra realized she probably wouldnt be able to get any advantages against Eva without understanding her better. From the earlier outburst, Terra understood she wasnt even close to being a match for Eva since, even now, it was like there was ice in her joints that made her body ache a little. Fortunately, her Master had helped her and stopped Evas attack before there was any real harm done... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn, the Marksman...?,The Abnormality of Vahn Mason,Square up thot (o,...,o)~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 624 - Evas Orb (3/3)

Chapter 624 - Eva''s Orb (3/3)

Vahn spent a bit of time calming everyone down, eventually pacifying Eva by setting out a table and purchasing her a cheesecake from the shop. She had a bit of a weakness for sweets and patiently listened to Vahn as he exined the situation. Meanwhile, Fenrir had been looking around the once-familia area while Terra stood quietly at the side, listening to the conversation and observing Eva. She was intending to stay here for a while to increase her own strength so Terra wanted to understand her as soon as possible. Fortunately, she seemed to be another girl that was infatuated with her Master so they at least had amon ground to stand on... Holding the small golden fork in her mouth, Eva released a contemtive hmmm before saying, "So, youre essentially pawning them off on me for a few years...? Well, it gets pretty boring around here when Im waiting for you toe back so, even though its troublesome, Ill do it..." Eva didnt really mind teaching them a bit since it would also allow her to convey her knowledge through them in the even that an incident urred that would prevent her from having enough time to teach Vahn. Fenrir would be a little troublesome but Eva could tell that Terra seemed to be an intelligent woman with a strong affinity for magic. Though she had been far away, Fenrirs ears twitched when she heard Evas words, immediately running over to the table as she said, "Fenrir wants to be a mature girl that can take care of her Master. Please teach me lots, Eva~!" Surprised by Fenrirs fervor, Eva oriented her body away from the rambunctious wolf girl and said, "If youre going to learn from me, youll have to call me Master as well. That goes for both of you...since your Master calls me Master, you can call me Great Master Evangeline..." Eva knew that Terra and Fenrir werent normal girls and wanted to establish her authority early on to avoid any problems. The moment they heard Evas words, both Terra and Fenrir showedplicated expressions, with theter outright frowning with a great deal of frustration showing on her face. This caused Eva to frown as well until Vahn suddenly said, "Terra, Fenrir, when youre learning things from Eva you should call her as Master, as the magic she will be teaching you is incredibly powerful and versatile. It is unlike anything that exists in our world and it would be rude to look down on her when she is already making an exception to teach you..." Eva smiled when she heard Vahns words, humming happily as she sipped on her tea. However, she nearly spat it out when he continued, saying, "However, when youre not learning magic, you should do your best to get along with her as friends and family. Since Eva will be one of ourpanions in the future, everyone should do their best to get along...you should call her Eva and y around together so you dont get bored." Before Eva could rebuke him, Vahn reached out and grabbed her hand, showing a gentle expression on his face as he said, "Eva, you will be happier if you open your heart to other people. Terra and Fenrir are both ageless entities, so they will live forever, just like us...please try to get along with each other, okay?" Vahn knew it wasnt easy for Eva to stay inside the orb for several years just so she could spend three days with him. When he left Fafnir in the orb, he noticed she had been a lot happier and believed Terra and Fenrir would be good friends to her after they got to know each other better. Hearing that Terra and Fenrir were both immortals, Eva was a little surprised before keying in on a significantly more important piece of information, the fact Vahn said he was also immortal. She had actually been hesitant to teach him Magia Erebea, as it would cause him to bear the same curse as her. Now, however, it seemed like her worries were unnecessary and she couldnt help but ask, "How are you able to change if youre immortal...?" in a confused tone. She knew Vahn had an affinity with transformation magic but had no idea about his ability to change race and appearance at will. Vahn understood why Eva would ask such a question since most immortals didnt age and, though they could sometimes change their appearance with magic, it wasnt to the same extent as Vahns ability to change. He went on to exin how he had been able to read the flows of various different races, emting them with an ability that he had always had ess to, which was the ability to change his form based on his perception. Eva listened on in shock, feeling a fair amount of envy at how fortunate Vahn was for having such an ability. She could use magic to make herself appear more mature but it wouldnt change the physical age and appearance of her real body... Since he could see she was a bit shaken, Vahn squeezed Evas hand and said, "Eva, you should be able to tell if Im being truthful...listen closely to my next words, okay?" Turning her blue eyes to Vahn, Eva felt very anxious as she waited for his next words, trembling as he said, "I cant do anything right now, but I will be able to help your body mature in the future. When I meet your real self, I am confident Ill even be able to remove your cursepletely, allowing your time to move forward once again. Youll have to spend a few years with your Magia Erebea seal, but your actual magic power wont be restricted..." Vahn went on to exin how he would be able to use his blood, in conjunction with a few other techniques, to purify Evas bloodpletely. He could remove the contamination in her blood that made her a Shinso Vampire before sealing away the energy of Magia Erebea using powerful sealing magic or his [Enkidu]. This would allow Eva to age and, once she reached a growth she wasfortable with, the seal could be removed, once again making her an immortal. Unlike the corrupt version of Magica Erebea, however, Eva would have a refined version that would give her greater magical potential, perhaps to the point of being able to get her revenge against the Mage of the Beginning. As he said, Eva could easily discern if Vahn was telling the truth since, other than looking at his face, she also had ess to magic that allowed her to discern the truth. She had been saved by such magic several times in the past and almost always had it active, afraid of being lied to and being tricked. Hearing the process he described, Eva believed it would work, especially when Vahn exined how he used a simr technique to heal the curse on Hephaestus eye. Her own curse was nowhere near as powerful as the one that tainted Hephaestus since it was just the corruption of her cells with the Magia Erbea. If Vahn could truly purify her blood, Eva would be able to be a normal girl again... A thought suddenly passed through her mind and a bright pink blush appeared on Evas face as she tightly gripped the hem of her dress. With the ability to reach physical maturity, Eva realized she would also be able to one day get pregnant, just like the other girls Vahn was talking about earlier. Though there was nothing stopping her from finding a different boy and living a simple life, Eva knew she wouldnt be able to separate from Vahn unless something drastic happened. Her existence was almost defined by him at this point since he had pervaded her thoughts for over a thousand years, much longer than she had previously lived. When she fused with her original, Eva imagined she would feel the exact same way since the loneliness would be fresh on her mind and she would certainly fall in love with Vahn... Unaware of what Eva was thinking, Vahn just smiled and stroked her long blond hair, causing her to startle a bit before biting her bottom lips and hanging her head. He could tell she was actually happy about his revtion and was probably starting to think about the future. With that in mind, Vahn whispered, "Eva, when we find your original self...lets get married, okay?" When they had talked in the past, Eva confessed that one of her dreams had been to be a beautiful bride one day, something he thought about often after the fact. This time, when she heard his words, Eva peeked up at him with a very pitiable expression on her face, emphasized by herrge teary eyes... Without caring about Terra and Fenrir, Eva tackled Vahn with a momentum that caused him to slide a few meters across the ground. She began sobbing loudly as she said, "Yes, Ill marry you, you stupid idiiiooooooooooot-!" Vahn hugged her tightly in response, stroking her back in an attempt tofort her, even though he could tell she wasnt actually sad. Eva had spent a very long period of time alone and, unlike a god, she had been greatly burdened by her immortality. Her happiness had been robbed from her by the selfishness of the Mage of the Beginning and, for more than six hundred years, Eva had been on the run while trying to increase her strength. She wasnt afraid of dying, as she couldnt actually find a method to end her own life, but feared being captured and exploited by other people. Just like Vahn, she hated being used by people in a selfish manner and never wanted to be in a situation where she didnt have enough power to protect herself. Terra watched the interaction between Eva and her Master, feeling an aching in her own heart that was hard to describe. She could tell that Eva was burdened greatly by the experiences of her past and relied on her Master to cope with the loneliness in her heart. Now that they would be spending a lot of time together, Terra felt like she could help heal Evas heart if she tried hard to reach her. She pitied the youthful-looking vampire greatly, understanding that she had been forced to ept this kind of life without any opportunity to escape. She didnt know how long Eva had been trapped with this kind of existence but Terra felt like it had been a very long time given the peculiarities of Evas behavior... Fenrir was also observing from the side but for entirely different reasons than Terra, primarily trying to learn from Eva. She knew that her Master considered Eva mature, even though Vahn felt like she was simr to Tina and Shizune. Since Eva was very clingy, which Fenrir thought was bad, she couldnt quite understand why her Master was more lenient to Eva. Believing it was something she would be able to learn from Evater, Fenrir hardened her conviction and promised to do her best to mature so that she could spend more time with her Master. Being able to cuddle and act selfishly without being bad seemed like a very exciting thing. Fenrir looked forward to the day where she would be able to tackle her Master and get him to pamper her whenever she wanted... Eva continued crying for around twenty minutes before collecting herself, feeling very embarrassed when she remembered Fenrir and Terra were nearby. She told them to call her Master previously but had now shown them a very unseemly appearance. It was hard to get your students to show you the proper respect if you acted childishly and Eva was very self-conscious about appearing like a child. Especially aftershing out at Terra earlier for looking down on her...Eva now felt very embarrassed about her behavior and wondered if she should apologize. Looking over at the gently smiling Terra, Eva furrowed her brows and decided not to since there was just something about the elegant and mature woman that bothered her... After they sat back down, Vahn and Eva began discussing what they would be doing for their training. One of the problems that needed to be addressed outright was the fact that Terra and Fenrir needed fuel to keep themselves going or they wouldnt really benefit from being in the orb at all. Terra could absorb the natural energy from the environment, but that would also slowly kill the nt life in the area since it all came from thend. There wasnt anything like a sun inside the orb so she wouldnt absorb energy that way, meaning she needed an external source to make use of. Fortunately, Fenrir, Terra, and Fafnir could all use items purchased from the system shop so Vahn would be able to leave her items to help replenish her energy, even though it wouldnt be near as efficient as when he did it himself. Fenrir was much easier to upkeep since she would be able to replenish her reserves just by eating food, though the efficiency was a bit terrible. As long as she didnt get too frustrating, triggering her [Insatiable Hunger], it wouldnt be too difficult to feed her by growing food for her. Terra was nning to help Eva organize things a bit and could also greatly elerate the growth of nt life, essentially producing an endless supply of food for Fenrir as long as she had enough energy. The biggest problem was that Fenrir was very likely going to get frustrated and require a greater intake of food to subsist. Topensate for her emotional burden, as Fenrir was very prone to separation anxiety, Vahn ended up purchasing an item through the shop called [Dakimakura]. It was like arge body pillow that had the ability to copy an image that Vahn had in mind when he purchased it. Since it was for Fenrir, Vahn imagined himself in his Vanargandr form before pulling out the 175cm long pillow, somewhat surprised by the fact it was the same height as him. However, this didnt matter after a greater surprise appeared and he was tempted to burn the [Dakimakura] into ashes... He had just imagined himself as normal but, instead of a version of him just smiling in a calming manner, the [Dakimakura] image was...significantly more graphic. The front image made it look like he wasying on a bed with his shirt removed, showing his glistening tanned skin while he wed at the bed with his paws, looking forward with piercing red eyes and a predatory expression on his face. The backside was actually himying on his stomach, this timepletely n.a.k.e.d with only his tail protecting his dignity as he looked back at the viewer with a teasing look... Fenrir immediately snatched the [Dakimakura] and took off running into the forest because she really wanted it and saw that her Master wanted to throw it away. Fenrir believed he wouldnt take it away if she wanted to protect it so she grabbed it and ran off so it would be safe. Vahn just watched her go with dead-fish eyes that reflected no light, onlying back to awareness when Terra beganughing. Looking over, she was covering her mouth slightly as a peal of bell-likeughter escaped her lips, looking decidedly elegant until she asked, "My, can I have one of those wonderful items, Master~?" It wouldnt have been that bad if not for the fact that Eva was ring at him with a flushed face and a strangely hesitant look in her eyes... Though it was a bit difficult to bear, Vahn ended up making a [Dakimakura] for both Terra and Eva, even giving them some extras in the event that the others got damaged. He couldnt actually transform into Terras race, so Vahn just gave her a normal version of himself that was wearing what looked like womens swimsuit bottoms with how little it covered. Terra showed a rare blush when she received it, saying, "I will treasure this always, my Master..." As for the one he gave Eva, she also wanted a normal one which ended up showed a version of Vahn,pletely n.a.k.e.d, covering his crotch with a heart-shaped piece of Chocte that said eat me on it. She had a very red face but epted the [Dakimakura] nheless, turning crimson when she saw Vahns exposed butt on the backside... For the rest of the time he was in the orb, Vahn discussed the training with Eva periodically but spent the majority of his time either lounging about or spending time with the three girls. Terra and Eva seemed to havee to some kind ofpromise at some point, often showing a strange smile towards each other and talking about various subjects they had both studied. As for Fenrir, she spent a great deal of time just watching everyone and getting her fill of Vahnobtainium since she knew they would be apart for a long time. When it was time for bed, Terra ended up sleeping outside after making a new roost for herself while Fenrir crawled into bed with Vahn and Eva, much to thetters annoyance. Fortunately, Fenrir was surprisinglyfortable to hug and, after Vahn got Eva to cuddle up with her, she wasnt nearly as annoyed by the situation. However, they were both happier snuggling up with Vahn so he ended up sleeping with the two petite girls curled up in his arms, feeling a strange urge to protect them emerge from deep within his chest... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Evas sweet tooth,Doki Doki Eva-Obaachan,Dangerous [Dakimakura]) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 625 - Parting : Departure

Chapter 625 - Parting : Departure

In the time before he was ejected from the orb, Vahn sat around in the scenic clearing that Terra had made over the course of three days. Eva was sitting at his side, holding his arm as she leaned against his shoulder with her eyes closed, enjoying the gentle breeze that was flowing through the air as a result of Vahns domain. Fenrir was sitting on his other side, hugging his arm tightly and rubbing her cheek against him, showing an unwillingness to separate even though this was a decision she made herself. As for Terra, she watched the three of them wither her sky-blue eyes glistening, tapping her tail against the ground in a steady rhythm that showed she wasnt looking forward to theing separation either... To ay their worries, Vahn smiled and calmly stated, "The two of you can be much stronger if you listen to Eva and follow her teachings seriously. When I reach the 39th Floor, if you dont want to stay inside the orb, you cane out and just watch the construction of the Depot and rx...you dont have to stay in here the entire time, after all." Each twelve-hour period in the real world corresponded to a four year period within the orb, meaning 480 years would have passed within the orb by the time Vahn returned to the surface. He couldnt even imagine how much Fenrir or Terra would change in that period of time and wanted them to know they didnt have to stay inside, even though he kind of wanted apanion for Eva. Vahn intended to capture another Wyvern, or some other kind of flying monster, when he went into the Dungeon this time around. The cooldown for his [Keeper of the Akashic] tome was almost up and he had promised Loki previously that he would capture one for her. Though it was a little cruel, Vahn also intended to bring it into the orb so that it would be able to apany Eva in the event that Fenrir and Terra wanted to leave. He wouldnt have too many attachments to it, at least not at first, and Vahn was confident it would be able to cope better than Fenrir and Terra, as they were already somewhat attached to him... Terra squinted her eyes slightly when she heard Vahns words, smiling as she said, "Since Im a True Dragon, my strength primarily increases with my age and wisdom, thus I intend to stay inside the orb for as long as possible. Fear not, Master, as I will not lose myself to loneliness as long as you treat me wellter on...I wontpete with Evangeline for your affections within the orb, but Id like to receive your attention when we return to the Manor..." Much like Fenrir, Terra realized she could also mature by associating with Eva, especially since she seemed like an intelligent and sensible girl. There was also a library with tens-of-thousands of books present, many rted to various fields of research. She hadnt mentioned it yet, but Terra also considered learning a craft, such as [cksmithing], so she would be able to assist her Master in the future... As if incited by Terras words, Fenrir showed a very sad expression as she tightly gripped his arm and said, "Master, Fenrir will do her best to mature...but, Fenrir will also try to stay innocent so Master can be happy. But...Fenrir likes Master the most, so please treat Fenrir even better in the future..." For one of the first times in her life, Fenrirs eyes were bing moist because she didnt really know how to cope with what she was feeling at all. Her scarlet eyes were glowing like fireballs and there was a feeling of emptiness inside of her, both in her heart and her stomach. Now that the time for their separation was nearing, Fenrir was starting to feel like she didnt want to grow up since being away from her Master was a very painful feeling... Vahns own heart began to ache when he saw Fenrir behaving like this, bringing his head down to nuzzle against hers since she wouldnt free his arm right now. Unless she said she wanted to leave, Vahn wanted to respect Fenrirs conviction and encourage her to work hard. Resting his forehead against hers, Vahn said, "Fenrir, Im already so proud of you...stay strong and do your best...it may be difficult, but youll be much stronger as a result of the choice youre making right now. When youe out of the orb, I promise to treat you better..." At the end of his words, Vahn kissed Fenrirs forehead, praying that she wouldnt lose her innocence in the pursuit of strength and maturity. He probably wouldnt be able to refuse her in the future, which was a little sad to think about, but it wasnt wrong of her to want to mature so they could be together... Realizing he had put very heavy restrictions on her as a result of his own inhibitions, Vahn felt very apologetic to Fenrir, primarily because she was like this because of the name he gave her. She didnt seem to be bothered by it, but Vahn felt he could have given her a name that allowed her to live a less stressful life. If she had been more physically mature when he made her, Vahn knew he probably wouldnt have kept her at arms length for so long. Thus, he promised to treat her well in the future, much like he intended to treat Eva and Lili better...though theter would have to wait for a while longer. With less than a minute remaining, Vahn shared a group hug with Eva, Fenrir, and Terra, thetter of which embraced the entire group with herfortable wings. Though it was a little uncharacteristic, Vahn decided to also kiss all three of them before he left, hoping that it would help in some way so that the next four years werent as difficult. He started with Fenrir, giving her a rtively tame kiss since he wasnt in the mood to lose his tongue right now. Afterward, Vahn gave Terra a kiss, something she was very happy about if her flittering wings were any indicator. Lastly, Vahn shared a passionate kiss with Eva, twining his tongue with hers until the very moment his body dissipated into dust and vanished from the orb... All three girls watched Vahn disappear into partictes until nothing remained to mark his existence, other than a moist and warm feeling on each of their lips. Eva released a sigh before turning her head to Terra and Fenrir, understanding it was actually much harder to be separated from people if you had never experienced long periods of loneliness. She had more than two thousand years to adapt at this point but Terra and Fenrir were still youngpared to her, especially thetter. So that time would pass more quickly, Eva wanted to teach them seriously so that they could surprise Vahnter on... Fenrir squatted down on the ground after a few seconds of silence, drawing circles in the dirt with her ws as she immediately began to regret her decision. It was toote now, however, so Fenrir hardened her heart and swore that she would do her best so her Master would praise her. Seeing this, Eva squinted her eyes slightly before turning to Terra and saying, "From now on, our training will begin in earnest. Since you seem to be moderately intelligent, Ill be relying on you to help out Fenrir when Im resting since I dont really have the patience to exin things over and over. Unlike the two of you, I dont have an easy way to replenish my energy unless you n to offer up your blood...since I need to maintain this space, Ill have to take long periods of rest while you work on the lessons Ive already taught." Hearing Evas words, Terra nodded her head and did her best to maintain her smile, even though she was also feeling very lonely now that her Master had left. At least she had a good opportunity to increase her strength while also getting closer to Fenrir and Eva. Terra believed Fenrir would eventually open her heart to her after enough time passed, hopefully, sooner, rather thanter, so they could potentially confide in each other. She had seriously been considering the matter of eternity as well so Terra had already firmed herself and was prepared to work hard, even if she had to stay in the orb for the entire 480 years. At the very least, she wanted to be stronger than Fafnir since being weaker than another Dragon made her feel perturbed, though she wasnt entirely sure of the reason why... Without much dy, Eva had Terra and Fenrir follow her into the Library so that they could begin their studies on magical theory andnguage. Vahn couldnt easily afford the books from her world so he had never given Eva any of the ones he found within the shop. Unaware of this, Eva just took the initiative to inscribe the texts from scratch while having Terra and Fenrir study Latin and the origin of magic. Though a specifguage wasnt necessary to cast magic, it helped when you were building your foundation and made it easier to form an image in the future. Fortunately, both girls could already read, with Terra being rather exceptional and quick on the uptake. Though she struggled with it, Fenrir also worked very hard so Eva believed they would be passable mages if she trained them seriously over the next four years... --- When Vahn opened his eyes back in the real world, everyone was still looking toward him as only a few seconds had passed over the course of the three days he was in the orb. It took a short moment for him to gather his thoughts before exining, "Terra and Fenrir will be staying in the orb for the time being...when they return, they may be different, even a bit distant, so please treat them well when the timees." Though Fenrir would probably rejoin him by the end of the day, Terra would probably stay inside the orb for a very long stint of time since she was mentally and emotionally strong. When he had talked to her about it, she had said a few hundred years wasnt a long period of time in the grand scheme of eternity. If she could increase her strength in a safe and structured environment like the orb, instead of having to fight and take lives in the real world, it was far more preferable for her. For many people, this was their first time seeing Vahn go into the orb and it was very difficult to imagine the few short seconds had actually been three days for him. Some people found it difficult to remember what they were doing earlier in the day so, Vahn being able to instantly bounce back was almost unbelievable. Eina, who had been sitting next to him, had grabbed his head when he was talking about the three days he had been in the orb, understanding he was worried about the two girls. Loki, who was sitting in hisp, had a very different reaction though, as she was looking forward to seeing how powerful a True Dragon would be after being trained by a Mage that was purportedly stronger than gods... After discussing the three-day period, Vahn had calmed his mind a bit, saying, "This is going to be a major transition for our family, so lets all do our best to not slip just as things are beginning to pick up. After I learn Magia Erebea, there will be few enemies that can threaten our family, especially with Terra and Fenrir increasing their strength..." Though they were simple words, Vahn felt his confidence increasing greatly as a small smile appeared on his face. Looking around at everyone gathered together, each person an important part of his family, Vahn started to feel very motivated, saying, "Lets go to the Dungeon; we dont want to keep everyone waiting and there is much to do in preparation for the future!" Vahn had raised his fists in excitement, an expectant glow in his that seemed to be infectious since many of the girls had a simr glow in theirs. Tiona and Tione immediately gave a Raaaaaah~! warcry while Ais pumped her fists in imitation of Vahn, showing a very serious expression on her face the apany the glimmer in her eyes. Lefiya had a muted response but a resolute fire had also been ignited in her since she knew Vahn would be teaching her magic soon. She wouldnt have the benefit of Terra and Fenrir, but Lefiya believed she would be able to catch up if she worked hard. As for Haruhime and Mikoto, the former had an elegant smile on her face while thetter gripped her katana with an expectant glint in her eyes... After they gathered all of their equipment, most of which was stored in Vahns Inventory, they mounted Fafnir and flew to the rendezvous point at Babel za. Vahn apologized to Fafnir for not being able to take it into the orb, as it would be required to stay and protect the Manor. Surprisingly, Fafnir hadnt been saddened by the news at all and simply said, ("Its okay, Eva will be with us forever in the future~.") in its characteristic childish tone. With Fenrir maturing, Fafnir would truly be the little brother of the two, not that it seemed to be in any hurry to grow up. It was already happy just being able to fly around whenever it wanted while being able to spend time with everyone at the Manor, sometimes giving Tina a ride when she wanted to y. As they werent in a hurry, the flight to Babel Tower took around five minutes before theynded in the designated area, where the Expedition was already formed up and ready to depart. Vahn jumped down to the ground with Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, Haruhime, and Mikoto in tow, each eager to enter the Dungeon. Finn, Gareth, and Bete were already gathered with the first twoing to greet Vahn while Bete skulked off towards where a petite Amazoness was waving. He was actually one of the people that volunteered to man the Supply Depot for six months so Lena wasing along, apanying a small squad of Amazons that were being headed by Aisha. It was a little difficult for Vahn to ept, but many of the girls were acting as relief in the Dungeon since it would be taxing for those stationed there if they didnt have a way to vent. Aisha wasnt part of it, however, as she imed to be faithful to Vahn ever since he had liberated them in the past. Finn had an amiable smile on his face as he said, "Wee, Vahn, youre just in time. Everything is ready so were ready to leave when you give themand." Vahn was assigned as the leader of the Expedition this time around, even though Finn would still be the one in charge during most situations. The difference in their experience was vast and Vahn had been the one to assign him to the position, only keeping the role that had been assigned to him since Loki wanted to promote him more to increase his authority. Thus, with a confident smile on his face, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Very well, Ill trust that things are in order since you have amendable track record, Finn." Hearing Vahns words, Finn justughed and said, "Well, its a lot easier this time around since youre carrying the majority of the supplies using your storage magic. When Loki-sama told me that you could fit several warehouses of materials in your storage, I was up all night staring at the stars, ahahaha." This time around, instead of carrying a massive amount of supplies on the wagons, they were mostly empty except for spare weapons, armor, and basic tools and supplies. They also had arger number of people this time around, consisting of 638 people, the vast majority consisting of craftsman andborers that had epted very hefty payments to venture into the 39th Floor to build a Settlement. Though it was a Supply Depot, it would undoubtedly be a ry point for Adventurers in the future so building the necessary infrastructure early on would make it easier to manage thingster. Before Finn could give the order to mobilize, Gareth began stroking his beard as he asked, "Where is the littless, Fenrir? I find it difficult to believe she isnting along with us..." Vahn took a deep breath and released a small sigh before exining, "She is within her magic core right now and will be rejoining us once she recuperates a bit." As Gareth had seen Vahn summon Fafnir in the past, he didnt have any trouble believing that Fenrir could also return to a core form, likely sitting in Vahns storage. Without any further questions, he moved to the lead with Finn as Vahn and the rest followed behind. Everyone got into their ces in the formation, Lefiya recing Riveria as the primary Mage in the group while Haruhime acted in support of her. Mikoto joined up with the second team, under themand of Raul, while Vahn actually had the somewhat enviable role of sitting on a carriage. Not only was he the leader of the Expedition, but Vahn was also their supplies, meaning he needed to be protected by the bulk of the Expedition while he provided support with his archery, magic, and support skills. Many of the people present had joined the previous expedition so they didnt have anyints at all, knowing Vahn would probably be their ace during emergency situations. He had already been monstrously strong as a Level 3 so, now that he had reached Level 4, few people underestimated his power. Shortly after he sat down, a very young boy approached Vahn, catching him off guard when he realized who it was. With raised brows, Vahn asked, "Alfonse? What are you doing here?" The young boy was the same Supporter he had met when visiting the Twilight Manor in the past. The [001] he had given to him in the past was strapped to his back along with a backpack, signifying his role as a Supporter instead of abatant. The fact that Vahn remembered his name made Alfonse smile to much that it distorted his rtively in and youthful face a bit. In a somewhat high-pitched tone, as a result of his voice cracking, Alfonse said, "Ye-ES, Im Alfonse! Thank you for remembering someone like me, Vahn-sama! I heard you were leading the Expedition and got permission toe along to gain experience!" Vahn always had a good impression of this boy since his pure light elemental affinity was very rare and he seemed to be a good kid. Stroking his chin, Vahn felt like he had a bit of fate with this kid so he pulled a small bangle out of his Inventory and handed it over, saying, "This is a special item called a [Healing Bangle]. You may not be aware of it, but you have a very high affinity with light magic and healing, Alfonse. This will let you use a very elementary version of healing magic, though make sure you dont use it too much until your Magic increases, okay?" Alfonse practically turned into a statue when Vahn handed him yet another free item. The effect was also something really amazing so Alfonse didnt even know how to respond as all the thoughts vanished from his mind. Seeing his reaction, Vahn smiled and said, "Go rejoin your squad and stay alert so you dont miss any orders..." As he spoke, Finn had actually given the order for everyone to begin moving forward so Alfonse awakened from his reverie with a start. Bowing several times, Alfonse held the bangle in his hands like it was a great treasure as he said, "Thank you very much, Vahn-sama!" before running off to rejoin his squad. Vahn noticed the majority of them were young children, around the ages of 10-13 years old, and Alfonse actually seemed to be the leader of their group. Though he had a rtively in face, Vahn didnt think it was a coincidence that, of the seven members in their group, five were girls while the only other guy seemed to be Alfonses rival. Though he wasnt really old himself, Vahn couldnt help but smile andment, "Its good to be young..." under his breath. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir will train the hardest of all~!,Fafnir is surprisingly mature for its age...,Alfonse, Hero in Training~?) (A/N: Since some people may be curious... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Healing Bangle] Rank: C (Magic) Slots: 0 P.Def: 18 M.Def: 40 Abilities: Lesser Elemental Healing(C), Magic Enhancer(H) A simple bangle generally worn by Acolytes in a foreign record. Though anyone can use the bangle, it has the greatest effect when used by those with Light, Water, and Holy elemental affinities. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 626 - Request

Chapter 626 - Request

With the monstrous size of their Expedition party, the progress into the Dungeon was rtively slow since they had to clear through every Floor. Many of the people that specialized in carpentry, construction, and other trades, had never cleared to the 18th Floor and they couldnt simply be left behind. They were relying on the Loki Familia for protection and had epted thismission with the guarantee that their protection would be the highest priority. This was also another one of Lokis plots, as she wanted to increase the number of normal citizens that had ventured deeper into the Dungeon. When they returned to the Surface, they would be able to spread information among their colleagues that could be very beneficial for the Alliance. Not only would their reputation increase, especially if they could avoid casualties and encountering any dangerous situations, but it would also make people less fearful of the Dungeon. Many people, even Adventurers, simply gave up progressing into the Dungeon after earning a stable ie. Since the goal of the Alliance was to one day conquer the Dungeon entirely, setting up settlements along the way, they needed to greatly increase the number of people venturing further in. At the very least, they could increase the confidence tradesmen had in the Familias of the Alliance, potentially allowing them to create merchant caravans that ventured deeper into the Dungeon to obtain goods. They would be making several rare items avable within the Dungeon, adamantly refusing to transport them on behalf of other businesses unless stringent contracts were signed beforehand. Though it took a bit longer than expected, the Expedition managed to reach the 18th Floor, Rivira, after around ten hours, setting up camp near ake to the west of the settlement. This time around, the number of people that wanted to make arrangements with the Loki Familia had increased exponentially because the current mission had been highly publicized throughout the City. There were so many people in Rivira right now that several encampments could be seen all throughout the forest, each belonging to Familias that either wanted to profit from the Loki Familia or simply touch base with some of the more famous Adventurers. As the Leader of the Expedition, Vahn actually had to meet with some of their representatives while Finn, fortunately, dealt with all the extramissions. Vahn was currently sitting with Haruhime and Mikoto at his sides while someone he hadnt expected to see hade to meet him. It was an intelligent looking woman with short aqua-blue hair, neatly arranged to frame her face with a strip of white in her bangs. She had cyan-blue eyes and was bespectacled, making her appear to be a calm and intelligent young woman. This was their first time meeting, but Vahn had recognized her unique look immediately, understanding this was none other than Asfi Al Andromeda, the Perseus and Captain of the Hermes Familia. At the same time Vahn was evaluating her, Asfi was doing the same thing and she realized now why Hermes was always teasing her. Vahn was a very handsome boy and he radiated an air of mystery and danger at the same time. He was much like a cid estuary that had powerful currents deep beneath the calm surface, threatening to swallow up anyone that carelessly treaded into his life. As a member of royalty, Asfi had been trained to discern the qualities of people from a young age so that she could select capable vassals. Though part of her whimsically thought about scouting Vahn, Asfi felt like she would quickly get wrapped up in his affairs instead. There was also the fact that he was the true heart of the Alliance, causing Hermes to ask her to build an amicable rtionship with him, if possible. Not letting her emotions show on her face at all, Asfi maintained a calm and cool demeanor as she said, "Vahn Mason, Sage Aldrnari, Captain of the Hestia Familia, thank you for agreeing to meet with me on such short notice. Im certain youre curious as to why Ive approached you like this, thus I will get straight to the point so as to ay any concerns you may have. Simply put, Ie carrying a message for you and have also been tasked to request, not the Expedition, but you personally to attend a matter. Though I would like to convey the details, I must ask that you agree to keep the information we discuss a secret amongst your people..." Asfi had also evaluated Mikoto and Haruhime, feeling a strange pressure for the young Renard girl while Mikoto gave her a simr feeling to Vahn. Compared to a deep river, however, Mikoto was more like a sheathed de that was waiting to be drawn at a moments notice... Vahn brought his fingers to his chin, contemting what possible reasons behind Hermes decision to send Asfi here. Her presence meant the Hermes Familia, perhaps even Hermes himself, was likely present in Rivira. Unlike most gods, Hermes could freely enter the Dungeon because his Divinity allowed him to pass through without being restricted by barriers and such, goingpletely undetected by the Dungeons defenses. Even in the Manga, he always seemed to be nearby, constantly pushing Bell further along his path to bing a hero. Vahn wondered if the seemingly casual god had taken a simr interest in him, though it was more than likely rted to a task assigned by the Guild. Deciding to test the waters a bit, Vahn asked, "Is it rted to the Xenos...? Ah, dont worry, I can guarantee everyone here will keep the matter a closely guarded secret. Im certain your god, Hermes, would attest to the fact that the people close to me can be trusted, especially in situations like this." Though her expression hadnt changed in the slightest, Vahn noticed Asfis aura re up and was pleased to have guessed, at least one of the reasons, for her being here. There had been a bit of turmoil in the City over thest few weeks and the Xenos were often talked about, generally in a negative light. Asfi felt like her valuation of Vahn hadnt been high enough, as he seemed to be more intelligent than his honest face showed. Recalling the fact that he was given the title of Sage and had also be the youngest [Master Smith] in history, Asfi decided she needed to treat Vahn in a more respectful and cautious manner. Without any great dy, Asfi nodded her head slightly and said, "It is indeed as youve guessed, Vahn..." Though she was going to address him by his full title and name, Asfi noticed the subtle change in Vahns expression and realized he wasnt the type that liked to be talked up to. This was going to be a little more difficult than she expected... Collecting herself in an instant, Asfi continued, "I have a parchment to pass to you, for your eyes only. As for the sender, even I am unaware as the parchment was given to me anonymously, including a sizeable payment and a simple exnation of the request. Please be cautious, as the parchment will likely burn as you read it..." Asfir passed over a very official looking scroll that was sealed with a red wax seal, showing a red, white, and ck circle orbiting around what looked like a stone. Vahn couldnt discern anything from the mark though, given the fact the parchment was given to her anonymously and they still epted the mission, Vahn suspected the person to make the request was Fels, Ouranos subordinate. Opening the scroll, Vahn felt a fluctuation of magical energy that seemed to be able to track where his eyes passed, meaning he only had one chance to read the message. Activating his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn quickly scanned the contents, confirming there was nothing strange attached to it before reading the message itself... *Sage Aldrnari, Be cautious of enemies within. -F Vahn was surprised by the very curt message and felt that the expensive parchment used to carry it had been a gross waste of materials. However, he was able to obtain a great amount of information just by the -F signature at the end, almost confirming it was indeed Fels. Since it wasing from him, that meant Ouranos had likely discerned something and was cautioning him to pay attention, either to the enemies within the Dungeon, or potential enemies within the Expedition itself. This was the main reason he had most of the girls stay behind at the Manor this time around, as Vahn had already anticipated something might happen. The fact that the orb awakened at such a time was almost like the manifestation of karmas will, meaning he would likely face a trial in the near future. The parchment burned into ashes, surprising Asfi a bit since Vahn didnt release it, even when the mes touched his fingers. Almost as if he was exploiting the gap in her thoughts, Vahn immediately asked, "Well, what request did you want to make, Asfi? If possible, Id like to know who is making the request or it will make the rewards negotiations more difficult. The Hestia Familia isnt in the business of working with anonymous clients, as we act very above-board because of our intent to remain a righteous Familia." Asfi nearly answered immediately, managing to collect herself just as the words reached her lips. She could tell Vahn was the type to try and control the momentum of a conversation, though he didnt seem to be aware of it himself. This was likely the result of some training he had received, with Loki being the first person that came to mind when she thought about it. So as not to cause any misunderstandings, Asfi blinked consciously before answering, "The requestes on behalf of the god of my Familia, Hermes-sama. If possible, we ask that you take one of our members down to the 39th Floor, personally guaranteeing their protection and allowing them to map the area. As for why the Hermes Familia didnt officially join the Expedition...it is because many of her members operate in secrecy and we try to conceal as much information as possible about our numbers and Levels. The person youll be escorting wont be fighting unless there is an emergency situation that youre unable to deal with on your own..." Vahn tilted his head slightly and thought about the request, wondering if there was actually any reason to ept it. The Hermes Familia was part of the Alliance so Vahn could simply give them a far more detailed map of the area if they requested it. This meant the person he would be escorting may have a secondary objective, perhaps sending a message or carrying an important object. Other than that, the only thing Vahn could think of was that Hermes was just trying to get someone close to him so they could spy on him and the others. Squinting his eyes, Vahn asked, "Is the person Im supposed to be escorting a cute girl...?" Though it was a seemingly harmless question, perhaps misleading some to simply think Vahn was a bit of a pervert, Asfi felt a bit shaken since she could tell he had guessed part of Hermes objective. She had actually been nning to introduce several of their members to Vahn, allowing him to pick from amongst their group since it didnt matter who apanied him. Seeing the subtle changes in his expression, Asfir could even tell Vahn was able to see through her slight perturbation and she suddenly felt like she had already walked a little too deep without realizing it. Stifling the desire to release a sigh, Asfi nodded politely and said, "Forgive me for being roundabout, but the member that was originally going to apany you was me...I would not be so boastful as to call myself a cute girl, so please excuse me from having toment on that." Hermes had advised her that, if Vahn was able to see through their n from the beginning, Asfi should conceal the fact that their people were in the area and apany Vahn herself. Though she had some inhibitions about it, feeling as though Hermes had set her up somehow, Asfi realized the other girls wouldnt be able to deal with Vahn, nor would they be able to carry out their secondary objective. She could easily excuse herself frombat since, though she was recorded as a Level 4 with the Guild, she was far more famous as a craftsman and nobody would expect her to take to the frontlines. Vahn was surprised by how adaptive Asfi was, feeling very impressed by the stability of her character and the perceptiveness of her mind. Since he was sitting cross-legged, Vahn put his knee on his elbow and propped up his head, appearing to be thinking about it while maintaining eye contact with Asfi. He hadnt realized it himself, but Loki had indeed been grooming him to make better use of his perception and better control conversations. She was afraid he would end up being fooled by someone, specifically other gods, so Loki had been priming him during their conversations. Because of this, Vahn was able to see through and infer many things by the very subtle changes in Asfis expression, bodynguage, and aura. His [Eyes of Truth] had been active since earlier so he could even see her arteries pulsing and the flow of air in and out of her nose... Asfi felt like she couldnt keep any secrets in front of Vahn, almost like his stark blue eyes could pierce straight through her. She had a strong desire to cover her chest, causing her fingers to twitch a little as Vahn continued to stare directly at her. He wasnt actually using his ability to see through objects right now, but Asfi didnt even know he had that capability or she very well might have tried protecting her dignity. Fortunately, she didnt have to withstand his intense gaze for much longer as the Renard to his right, who she knew as the legendary Sanjouno Haruhime, began tough in a very elegant manner. Asfi felt like she was standing amongst her peers in the royal court when she saw Haruhimes behavior, deciding she needed to investigate the girl further after returning to the surface. Vahn turned to Haruhime when he heard herughing, curious about what she found so interesting about the current situation. Haruhimes pale golden eyes glimmered with a magical light as she said, "I think you should ept to escort her, Vahn...she seems like a very interesting girl and I think we can be good friends in the future~." Much like Asfi, Haruhime had realized that thetter was definitely either a noble, or some other high-born woman. It was very obvious she had been trained in court etiquette and the way she carried herself, with her straight back and slightly raised chin, showed that she was ustomed to authority, both given and earned. Though it wasnt impossible she had learned it from other sources, Asfis behavior was too perfect and Haruhime believed she would be a powerful ally in the future... Squinting his eyes, Vahn smiled slightly since he could tell Haruhime was being a bit yful and was likely teasing Asfi a bit. Since thetter was probably around twenty years old, Vahn found it kind of funny to see a fourteen-year-old girl teasing a mature beauty with a cool disposition. Without pressuring Asfi any longer, Vahn turned his now-green eyes to her and said, "Well, I never really had any intention of refusing since the Hermes Familia was one of the first to join the Alliance. We havent had the ability to coborate much in the past so this is a good opportunity to better our understanding of each other, smoothening future cooperation between our Familias." Though he couldnt be absolutely certain, Vahn felt like these events had been orchestrated by Hermes, someone Loki had cautioned him about several times in the past. It would be problematic if Vahn couldnt ept escorting the Captain of an Allied Familia, especially since it wasnt a difficult task given the face the escort took ce during the Expedition. He was positive Asfi had another reason for venturing into the Lower Floors as well, something Vahn was interested in as it likely rted to the Xenos. It was a good opportunity to touch base with them, potentially paving the way for easier ess to the Dungeon if they could make use of the hidden passages only Xenos could find. Before Asfi had any chance to breathe, however, Vahn asked, "And, may I ask what the reward is? I dont mind escorting a beauty, but I have a feeling you arent part of the payment. Or, perhaps you are...?" Asfi realized that Vahn was teasing her at this point and she felt like she had suddenlye across another Hermes-like person since she could tell he was both serious and yful at the same time. She was indeed part of the reward, though not in the sense that Vahns words might imply if someone heard him without understanding the context. Asfi realized his perception was far higher than even Hermes realized, as Vahn had even been able to glean insight into the reward before the negotiations even began. Struggling to maintain her calm disposition, Asfi closed her eyes and stated in a cool monotone, "The Hermes Familia isnt in the best financial situation right now so I had agreed to assist in the production of a unique Magic item fitting the specifications you designate. As you are a [Master Smith], you likely have many rare materials that would be useful in making unique items that only someone with the [Mystery] Development Ability would be able to produce. In addition, we will also provide thirty of each, Burst Oil, Thunder Oil, and Healing Grenades, valued at 14,900,000 Valis." As Vahn would be providing the materials for the Magic Item, they obviously couldnt make that the only reward as they would be theughing stock of the City if someone heard such ridiculous terms. Because he had ess to any item through the system shop, Vahn would have been perfectly fine with just having Asfir create a Magic Item for him. He figured he could learn the [Mystery] Development Ability through observing her and, after checking the price of the three items she mentioned in the shop, Vahn saw he would save nearly 200,000 OP by epting them. Without considering it in great detail, Vahn smiled and said, "Very well, I, Vahn Mason, will ept the request of the Hermes Familia to escort Asfi...Andromeda to the 39th Floor, protecting her safety until the Expeditions return..." As he spoke, there were two realizations that took ce, though for very different reasons. Asfi heard the pause in Vahns words and, though some might misconstrue it to mean he had simply forgotten her name, Asfi knew he had stopped himself from saying something else. She hadnt told him her middle name but, though she wasnt sure how he had figured it out, Vahn seemed to be aware of her origins. As for Vahn, he realized that he may not be able to actually keep his word to Asfi since he may have to return via [Heroes Reprieve], meaning she would be left behind when he teleported out... Vahn furrowed his brows and decided to put his faith in Eva, as she would most certainly teach him Magia Erebea before he had to return to the surface. He also had the option of carrying Asfi to the surface when the rallying whistle was blown, confident he could reach the exit in less than a day if he pushed himself. With the training he would undergo in the orb, Vahn didnt think it would be difficult at all, especially if he managed to contact the Xenos through Asfi. Resolving himself, Vahn looked to Asfi and said, "As you know, Im currently expecting my children to be born within the next two months, meaning I may have to leave for the surface at a moments notice. In the event I am called back, we will have to break through to the surface in a single push...I can guarantee your safety, but you may have to suffer a few grievances in the process..." Asfi inhaled slightly more than normal, having many questions pass through her mind that she was certain she couldnt ask outright. One of the reasons Hermes wanted someone to get close to Vahn was because he had many secrets and a variety of unknown capabilities. Asfi could infer, through his words, that Vahn had a means ofmunicating with the surface. He also seemed to have a method to make a three day trip within a single day, likely even just a few hours, which was both terrifying and exciting to think about. However, the grievances he mentioned unnerved her a little bit, even though she nodded her head and said, "I understand...childbirth is very important and you should be at the sides of the mothers instead of holed up inside the Dungeon. If ites to that, I will tolerate mild grievances without ming you..." The truth of the matter was, Asfi also had a few means to pass through the Dungeon very quickly and, if things got bad, she could help guide Vahn out instead of following normal routes. Their Familia worked with some of the Xenos Refugees on asion so Asfi knew a few key passages that would allow them to skip a few floors. She also had her [Tria], a pair of winged sandals that allowed her to fly, so they could outright skip the Great Falls area on the return trip. Vahn seemed to be an ally of the Xenos so it wouldnt be a bad thing to allow him to interact with them in the future. Vahn smiled, somewhat apologetically because he imagined using [Shundo] to run through the Dungeon, carrying Asfi in a princess carry for several hours. He thought she was an interesting woman but was currently in a phase where he wasnt really trying to start any new rtionsh.i.p.s. Since she seemed like an intelligent woman, Vahn figured they could be friends since she was loyal to the Hermes Familia and would likely return to her own country in the future. He could use this as an opportunity to potentially meet the Xenos while also being able to witness the [Mystery] Development Ability in action, two very beneficial things. Thus, without beating around the bush any further, Vahn matched gazes with Asfi and said, "I look forward to our cooperation, Asfi. Hopefully, the Hestia and Hermes Familias can get along well in the future..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Unexpected Guest,Battle of Perception, Vahns Momentum,RIP Asfi-chan...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 627 - Ice Palace

Chapter 627 - Ice Pce

After sending Asfi off with Haruhime and Mikoto, Vahn dealt with a few other representatives of various Familias and groups, refusing most of the personal requests made. Most of them simply wanted to get extra benefits while trying to make a connection with the Hestia Familia, something Vahn had no intention of allowing. If they wanted to work with the Alliance, it would have been better to simply join beforehand, benefitting in the long term through cooperation. The fact that they specifically tried to make a connection with the Hestia Familia showed they were less interested in cooperation and were trying to take shortcuts to gain benefits. By the time 5 PM wasing around, Vahn moved from the Command Tent and headed one tent over, where the Hesta Familia Tent was located. It wasnt really that urate a description, as four members of the Loki Familia were also using it, but it was better than the name some had given it. Because Vahn shared the tent with only women, some people in the Expedition called it the Heaven Tent or Harem Tent, some in jest while others in jealousy. Vahn had be somewhat notorious in the City, not because he had done anything bad, but due to the fact he was the only male member in a Familiaprised almost entirely of women. There were even some that had started calling him the Flower Collector since there was such variety within the girls surrounding him... Vahn ignored the majority of thesements since it didnt really matter too much how other people saw him, so long as they didnt actually try anything. Most people had enough sense to not even try and approach the girls around Vahn, as another one of the rumors surrounding him was that he could be very overprotective. Since the only people heshed out at were despicable people, often devoid of normal sensibilities, Vahn didnt really consider himself overprotective. From his perspective, it was normal to get annoyed when arrogant or abrasive men tried to approach the girls, seeing them more like a trophy than anything else. Those that werescivious by nature were generally bad people and were more prone to causing harm than offering anything constructive through association... After entering the tent, Vahn saw Haruhime sitting with Asfi, both drinking tea in a very practiced manner that betrayed their origins to those perceptive to such things. Seeing his entrance, Haruhime smiled and said, "Wee back, Vahn. Thank you for your hard work~." Vahn gestured to prevent Haruhime from rising, asking, "Where are the other girls?" out of curiosity. Haruhime blinked in a strangely slow manner before answering, "Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya had all gone to Rivira to see if there was anything interesting in the stalls. As for Mikoto, I imagine she will be back soon..." Understanding the implication behind Haruhimes words, Vahn smiled wryly before nodding to Asfir and making his way into the area where they would have been sleeping. He would probably have to change their arrangements out of consideration for Asfi, but it likely wouldnt make much of a difference. This tent had enough space for twenty people to restfortably and Vahn could always attach an extra roomter on. By the time they reached the 39th Floor, it wouldnt really matter much since he would create a makeshift residence for them with earth magic, potentially relying on Terra when the time came. Though she would probably spend the majority of the time in the orb, Vahn didnt think she would be against staying outside for a few hours every couple of years... Though it would only cause him to be unconscious for a few seconds, Vahn made sure to use the orb in a secure location where Asfi couldnt see him. She may have been sent to spy on them, simultaneously trying to get closer to the core members of the Alliance, but Vahn didnt expect she would try to impose on them much. It seemed like she and Haruhime were having some kind of confrontation at the moment and Vahn decided to trust in her judgment. Thus, after rxing in a seated position for a few minutes, Vahn pulled out Evas orb and inserted his intent inside, preparing himself for the potential changes that had urred with Fenrir and Terra... The moment he entered the orb, Vahn was reminded why he generallyid down before entering the past since Eva immediately pinned him from his seated position and forced him back on the bed. She had a yful and borderline seductive smile on her face as she licked her lips and said, "Its good that youre on time, Vahn. I had a lot of time to think about punishments for you over thest few years...such a shame~." At the end of her words, Eva chomped down on his neck and began draining his blood, a ritual he was very ustomed to. As he hugged her body, Vahn closed his eyes and noticed that she was draining a fair amount this time around, likely as a result of consuming her mana while training the girls... Almost as soon as he started thinking about Terra and Fenrir, Eva bit him a little harder than normal before separating from his neck and saying, "Dont think about other girls when Im sucking your blood..." Vahn wasnt sure how Eva had been able to glean what he was thinking but he just smiled and said, "Sorry, Eva..." as he stroked the back of her hair. Eva released a small hmph sound and carefully bit the same spot where she had previously bitten him. She couldnt really read his mind, but Eva could tell if Vahn was thinking about other things since the flow of energy in his body would change. Since he passively resisted her influence when his mind wandered, Eva knew he wasnt thinking about her, even though they were together like this. It made her a little frustrated since she had spent thest few weeks looking forward to their reunion and Vahn didnt seem to mind that much. She knew it hadnt been very long for him since their separation, but it was hard to consider things rationally when she was feeling emotional... For nearly two hours, Vahn pampered Eva and tumbled around with her in the nkets as a means of apologizing for his inconsiderate actions. He could understand why she was upset with him so Vahn wanted to make it up to her by focusing entirely on the adorable little vampire. Compared to hisst visit, she was back to wearing white clothing again so Vahn believed she was actually in a better mood than before. Though this made him curious about what changes had urred, Vahn wasnt in too much of a hurry, even if he was worried about Fenrir... While they were taking a bath, Eva eventually released a sigh and said, "You dont have to worry so much about those two...well, at least the big one. Jeez, this is why I didnt really want those girls to stay inside here from the beginning. I already get so little time with you and now your focus is all over the ce, even when Im n.a.k.e.d right in front of you~!" Eva had a frustrated face with a healthy blush as she leaned against the side of the tub before climbing out of it. After walking a few steps with her long blond hair dangling behind her, it suddenly self-dried before Eva was wearing a soft blue gothic dress. Looking back, she had an expression of me on her face as she said, "Come along my foolish little disciple..." Vahn felt apologetic to Eva but he couldnt deny he was really worried, especially concerning Fenrir and her mental state. Ever since he entered the orb, Vahn had a strange feeling in his heart that was difficult to describe, almost like he craved something. The reason why it was so strange was because Vahn knew the feeling wasnt his own and, though he couldnt trace back the source, he was almost certain it belonged to Fenrir. Eva also didnt really seem to me him too much for his concern, causing Vahn to feel a little nervous since she was typically more forward than this. When they reached the courtyard of the castle, Vahn noticed that the amount of vegetation had actually greatly increasedpared to his previous visit. Most notably, however, was the fact it looked very organized and almost pristine in its arrangement, almost as though he had wandered into a paradise of sorts. As if to exin away his curiosity, Eva looked around and said, "Terra has a very high affinity with nature and has helped convert the area around the castle into a massive garden. How peculiar..." Eva brought her fingers to her chin in thought, curious as to where Terra had gone since she had been here earlier. Remembering why she was currently showing Vahn around, Eva realized why Terra had probably hidden herself so she grabbed Vahns hand and said, "Lets go..." in a somewhat dull tone. Seeing Evas behavior, Vahn felt even more nervous and it didnt take long for this emotion to reach a peak since, after Eva brought him into the sky, Vahn saw that arge area of the orbs ind had been converted into pure ice. Once again, Eva seemed to realize what he was thinking as she said, "That little wolf of yours has a natural affinity with Water, Ice, and Devouringws...she really has been a troublesome disciple." Though Eva seemed to beining about Fenrir, Vahn could tell from her soft expression they had grown somewhat close over thest four years. Eva liked to put on a cold and resistant front but she was actually a kind-hearted girl that cared about the people she was close to, seemingly more than she cared about herself. After a very short flight, as Eva could even outpace Fafnir is she was serious, theynded in front of what looked like a poorly designed ice pce. It had a wild feeling to it, almost like it was a mixture between a man-made structure and the wrath of nature itself. There were ice spires and twistedndscapes all over the ce, ented by what Vahn could tell were supposed to be statues of him. It was honestly a little creepy, but Vahn was more concerned about the inhabitant of the pce than the decor. With his domain, Vahn identified a very small signature within the heart of the pce and quickly made his way forward using [Shundo]. Since the internal structure wasnt thatplex, Vahn quickly found his way into arge central area where he could see the figure of Fenrirying on arge bed that had been frozen over. She was clutching a very worn-down version of the [Dakimakura] and didnt seem to be moving at all. Vahn could tell she was alive and quickly made his way to her side using [Shundo], picking her seemingly fragile body up and embracing her tightly as he replenished her nearly depleted energy. Fenrirs eyes fluttered and her startlingly vibrant scarlet eyes opened slightly as she mumbled, "Master...Fenrir has been waiting for you..." in a husky and tired voice. Vahn had already identified that Fenrir wasnt injured so he felt a great sense of relief as a warmth flowed from his chest, answering, "Fenrir is a good girl..." as he stroked her hair. The craving in his heartpleted faded away in an instant as Fenrir closed her eyes and showed a happy smile on her face before nuzzling into his chest. From the side, Eva exined, "As her magic power increased, Fenrirs consumption of food reached an unsustainable level. She spent less and less time near the castle, constructing this ce as a means of coping with her hunger until asking me to seal her power until your return. Though she could have returned to her core, she wanted to be here when you returned..." Eva felt a little awkward about being here during this reunion because she knew how difficult things had been for Fenrir, and even Terra. Hearing Evas exnation, Vahn showed a smile that was full of pride and appreciation for the little Vanargandr in his arms. He could also tell that her power had increased greatly since, even after giving her more than half of his energy, Fenrir seemed like a bottomless pit right now. He was tempted to check her Status Board right now but knew it wouldnt actually reflect her growth since the Magic parameter wasnt a perfect indicator of how much mana/magic power a person had. A thousand Magic for an Elf could be significantly more than a thousand Magic for a Human. This was due to the fact that the parameters gained from a Falna didnt always reflect the base parameters of a person properly, which was why Vahn once had the misunderstanding that it didnt matter how much he trained his body in the past. He previously believed that the only important thing was the parameters themselves but, after seeing several signs this wasnt necessarily the case, Vahn believed there was more to it that he needed to research in the future... Fortunately, Vahn didnt have to replenish all of Fenrirs energy for her to regain her ability to move around, allowing her to hug him tightly as she rubbed against his chest. The glow in her eyes had faded a great deal and they now appeared somewhat hazy as a result of the moisture covering them. Fenrir sniffled in a manner that made Vahns heart ache as she said, "Fenrir missed Master so much...I dont want to stay here anymore, its too lonely. Im sorry, Eva, but I want to stay with Master from now on..." Over thest four years, Fenrir had grown closer to Eva and, even though she was still scary, Fenrir knew she was a good girl. As for Eva, she had slightly furrowed brows since she was a little bothered by the act that Fenrir was putting on. Though Fenrir had some difficultiesmunicating clearly at first, Eva had put in a great deal of effort to fix her bad habits. Fenrir could now speak, read, and write in three differentnguages and they had often conversed together to practice speaking properly. Since Fenrir was able to mimic people very easily, she had been able to fix most of her problems within the first year, meaning she spent thest three years conversing rtively normally. Eva could tell that she was pandering to Vahn a bit, either trying to earn his pity or...thinking till this point, Eva realized that Fenrir may actually be trying to make Vahn feel relieved by pretending not to have changed much... Releasing a sigh, Eva shook her head and said, "Im going to go find Terra so make sure to head back to the castle after youre done ying around. Youre the one that was supposed to learn magic in this orb, Vahn, so make sure you take my lessons seriouslyter on." With her words finished, Eva teleported directly to Terras location without bothering to point out Fenrirs little act. Everyone had their own ways of coping with things and Eva wasnt going to get in the way of their little reunion, especially since it was a little annoying to be the third wheel in such situations. She found Terra sitting at a wooden table, sipping on an emerald green tea with a soft smile on her face and a knowing look in her eyes... The moment Eva left, Fenrirs tail began to wag from side-to-side in a natural and steady manner as she looked up and said, "Fenrir has be much stronger, Master...but, Fenrir isnt sure if she has be mature enough...?" Since she hadnt wiped her eyes earlier, there was a fair amount of moisture in Fenrirs eyes as she looked up with a puppy-like expression. Vahn felt like his heartstrings were being plucked at as he looked at her pitiable expression and stroked her head, saying, "Im sure Fenrir has be much more mature than before..." As the words left his lips. Vahn felt a little unnerved because things would probably progress in a direction he wasnt sure he was ready for. Fenrir turned her head down and just nuzzled against Vahns chest as a glimmer passed through her scarlet red eyes. She could tell that her Master still wasnt ready, even though she knew her own maturity had already passed muster. If she didnt behave childishly, Fenrir knew she would finally be able to be one with her Master, something she had been dreaming off for thest few years. However, her maturity also gave her perspective and Fenrir was able to understand better the reasons why he had been dying things. He was very reliant on her for his mental stability, almost like one of the anchors that Eina had talked about in the past. If she pushed things forward before he was ready, Fenrir felt like she would be taking advantage of her Master and introducing more chaos in his life... After collecting her thoughts, Fenrir hugged her Master tightly and said, "Fenrir thinks it will take a little longer until she maturespletely. When we return to the Manor, Fenrir will talk with the other mature girls and try her best to learn more...Eva is a good teacher, but Fenrir can tell she isnt good at being mature yet..." Though a shiver ran down her back when she badmouthed Eva, Fenrir apologized to her second Master in her heart. She knew how to read people better now and, after watching Eva for nearly four years, Fenrir knew she was a damaged girl, just like her Master was a damaged boy. They both neededpanionship and understanding to function properly or they would potentially be corrupted by the loneliness. Now that her understanding of loneliness had also increased, Fenrir felt empathy towards both Eva, and her Master... Completely unaware of what Fenrir was thinking, as she was one of the few people whose aura he couldnt see, Vahn used his [Petting] as he gently stroked her back, saying, "Im so proud of you, Fenrir...youve really grown up a lot. In the future, I think youll be able to grow even more, but...Im d you havent changed too much, even if its a bit selfish of me to say..." Vahn knew that Fenrir had probably worked very hard while she was in the orb, especially since Eva gave her some indirectpliments. He was certain things would eventually progress to the point where they ended up together in the future but, for the time being, Vahn felt very relieved that she hadnt immediately wanted to advance things. Fenrir could sense the reliefing from her Master so she just closed her eyes and enjoyed his [Petting] in silence, promising to protect him well with all of her heart. She had worked very hard to increase her strength and even believed she would be able to defeat her Master if they fought, not that she would ever do such a thing. The reason she had worked so hard to be strong was so that she could protect her Master from others, both physically and emotionally. She was now one of the strongest people around him, something that gave Fenrir peace of mind since it had been very frustrating to be surrounded by so many strong people. Now she had the opportunity to stay at his side, protecting both his body and his mind from harm... Opening her eyes slightly, Fenrir suddenly turned her head up to look at Vahn and decided she deserved a bit of a reward for her dedication, saying, "Master...Fenrir has thought about it a lot and wants you to know that she loves you...for now, please just give me a kiss...okay?" Since she already decided not to pressure her Master too much, Fenrir at least wanted something small to tide her over. After all, she waited for him for a whole four years...thats longer than the other girls even knew him, something Fenrir felt gave her the right to ask for a small reward. Fortunately, her Master seemed to agree as he smiled before leaning down and giving her a kiss on the lips, causing Fenrirs heart to flutter as she wrapped her arms around his neck and enjoyed being selfish for a little while longer... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Envious Eyes,Eva, the eternal Tsundere,Fenrir is a good girl...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 628 - Strength

Chapter 628 - Strength

Since it had been a long time since he had spoiled her, Vahn used Fenrirs brush andbed through all of her fur while she behaved far more docilely than he expected. Though she didnt seem to have changed that much, it was obvious she had actually mellowed out a fair amount. The fact that she had been able to cope with her hunger towards the end of her training showed her self-control had greatly increased. She just sat still with a pleasant expression on her face as she enjoyed being pampered, casually holding up her paws when Vahn was brushing the fur around her forearms. When he moved onto her legs, sheid down in the bed and held up her legs, one at a time, doing much the same. When he was brushing through the fur around her legs, Vahn decided to ask about something that had been on his mind for a while. He already had some expectation, but Vahn still asked, "Fenrir, where did you get these clothes from?" Before he exited the orb thest time, Vahn left a few dresses behind for Fenrir but none of them matched her current outfit at all. She was wearing a simr gothic outfit to Eva except, instead of looking like a dolls clothing, it was more styled to match a maid outfit. Fenrirzily opened her eyes before sitting up with a start and shouting, "Ah, Fenrir learned from Eva how to make clothes with magic power~!" Though she had beenzing about while he was pampering her, Fenrir suddenly got very excited when she was talking about magic. Standing up on the bed, Fenrir stepped back and spun around yfully as her ck maid outfit turned into a white sundress that had blue ribbons at the sides. Vahn opened his eyes wider at this, smiling from ear to ear as he said, "Fenrir is amazing...Im d you were able to learn that kind of magic." Fenrir nodded her head, happy to receive praise but still held up one of her ws, simr to how Tina used to lecture him in the past, saying, "Yes, but Master still needs to make Fenrir clothes! The stuff Master makes is way better since these clothes are very fragile..." As if to demonstrate, Fenrir pulled at her dress and it ripped apart like paper machete before turning into blue particles of mana. Fortunately, Fenrir had been wearing a pure white bra under her dress, even though she didnt really have much to conceal. Vahn also noticed she was still wearing her [Aegis Shorts Mk 1], even though they seemed to be a bit worn down at this point. He would have to perform a bit of maintenance on them, even though it was obvious at a nce that someone had actually repaired them previously. As if to answer his question, Fenrir followed his eyes and said, "Eva and Terra had been practicing many things, including sewing...?" Fenrir seemed to be confused at her own words before saying, "Master should ask Terra and Evater...Fenrir cant remember what they were working on. Fenrir tried helping a long time ago, but..." Fenrir held up both of her paws, disying her somewhat small fingers and the unstoppably sharp ws on the ends. Vahn smiled at Fenrirs adorable disy before patting hisp, causing Fenrir to immediately disappear before popping back up in hisp in a smooth motion. For a brief moment, Vahns instincts had triggered but he didnt move and simply began brushing Fenrirs hair as he asked, "I see you learned how to use [Shundo]. You should let me take a look at your Status Boardter to see how far youve grown..." Fenrir nodded her head slightly before saying, "Okay, Master, but Im not sure the skills and magic will show up properly. Eva said the magic system of the gods is wed and conflicts with the development of individual magic power..." Fenrir trailed off at the end of her words, temporarily forgetting her act because she had been too ustomed to talking with Eva and Terra. Though he was a little surprised by Fenrirs words, Vahn misconstrued it as her having worked hard to memorize things from her training. It was very obvious that Fenrir had be much stronger and, unless she had taken her training seriously and listened to Eva, her increase wouldnt have been so drastic. Even after replenishing his own reserves twice, Vahn hadnt been able topletely replenish Fenrirs internal energy, which was a little terrifying to consider. The flow of mana in her body didnt seem to have changed at a nce but, when inspecting it with his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see that it had greatly increased in density. It wasnt as drastic as someone like Eva, but Fenrirs mana seemed to have a depth to it and, though it was still source energy, there was now an icy blue hue to it. For around half an hour, Vahn just spent time grooming Fenrir and talking about her training, curious about what kinds of things she had learned. Fenrir surprised him a bit by exining that the majority of their training was actually just studying and meditating, only fighting when they were putting the things they learned to the test. Afterward, Vahn was very curious so he had Fenrir expose her back so he could check her Status Board, updating it at the same time. He expected she had be much stronger, even without having been able to kill any monsters. Just as Fafnir had increased several levels in the past, Vahn expected that Fenrir would have gotten much stronger after spending four years inside the orb... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: [Fenrir] Level:4(+) POW: 2154+(I0)->D549 END: 2114+(I0)->A803 DEX: 2808+(I0)->SSS1712 AGI: 2865+(I0)->SSS1247 MAG: 1107+(I0)->SSS2984 Skills: [Insatiable Hunger:Innate(-)], [Lunar Cry:A->S], [Freezing Roar:A->S], [Chainbreaker:C], [Devour:SS], [Huntress:SS], [Endeavor:B->S], [Severing ws:B->S], [Chant Shortening:H](new), [Activation Key:D](new) Magic: [Cantus Bex:A](new) [Shundo:A](new), [Koku Shundo:B](new), [Facies Pallium:G](new), [Sagitta Magica:C](new), [Crystallitatio Tell.u.s.tris:B](new), [Reflexio:C](new), [Hroovitnir:D](new), Development Abilities: [Chain Attack:C->A], [Mimickry:I->B], [Mage:A](new), [Spirit Healing:B], [Fist Fighter:(sealed)], [Acrobatics:(sealed)] [Chant Shortening](A/N: This is the advanced version of Concurrent Chanting. RIP Riveria and Ryuu.) Rank: H Use: Allows the user to create magical phenomenon even withoutpleting a chant. Mana loss dependant on the length of the chant skipped. [Activation Key] Rank: D Use: Enhances the power of Magic by using a ritualized magic chant. Active Trigger: Master, give me strength! [Cantus Bex] Rank: A Use: Chantless magic that enhances all physical parameters, senses, and reflexes based on the amount of mana consumed. Provides an anti-physical shield based on elemental affinity. Chant: (-) [Koku Shundo] Rank: B Use: Advanced version of Shundo that uses the void to create a foothold for further movement. [Facies Pallium] Rank: G Use: Chantless magic that allows the user to generate clothing from mana. Chant: (-) [Sagitta Magica] Rank: C Use: Creates elemental magic arrows that can home in on targets. Chant: Gather, (-) spirits of (-), (-) my enemy. Magic Arrows, Series of (-). [Crystallitatio Tell.u.s.tris] Rank: B Use: Converts moisture in the atmosphere into jagged pirs of ice, freezing opponents caught in the area of effect. Chant: Come spirits of ice! Tundra and cier, Spread Forth into the Air, in the Realm of White Night! Frozen Earth! [Reflexio] Rank: B Use: Creates a shield of ice that can potentially reflect magic. Chant: Reflexio~! [Hroovitnir] Rank: D Use: Converge water and ice elements onto a target, dealing explosive damage and freezing the area. Casting this spell causes all parameters to decrease for a short period of time. Chant: Come to me, spirits, heed Fenrirs call! Drown, Freeze, I dont care! Go go go~! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn was awed by the change in Fenrirs status because he knew that, though her Magic parameter had actually exploded, it didnt actually reflect her magic powerpletely. The fact she was able to increase her parameters so much, even without having any monsters to fight, was the result of her being a monster that had been named by the Akashic Tome. It was almost pointless to even look at her parameters now because, even though her Power and Endurance seemed to have fallen off a bit, Vahn knew Fenrir could now enhance her body with mana directly. She would probably even be able to defeat Ais at this point, assuming thetter didnt use her [Avenger] and [Ariel] in an attempt to genuinely try and kill Fenrir... Fenrirs tail was tapping against the bed, seemingly unfazed even though she was actually giddy inside because she could sense how impressed her Master was. She had an urge to brag but bottled it up inside her heart, happy that her Master was happy and not really caring about anything else. When she heard him take a deep breath and say, "Fenrir, youre incredible...", Fenrir had to flex her ws just to cope with the excitement in her body. Her Masters praise was the thing she loved the most in the entire world, other than his pampering, petting, smell, presence, and other misceneous things. Unable to bottle up everything, Fenrirughed in a cheeky manner and said, "Fenrir worked hard~." --- After spending a bit more time with Fenrir, Vahn let her ride on his shoulders as they went to look for Eva and Terra. Vahn was now very interested in Terras growth, unable to evenprehend how strong she might be if she truly stayed within the orb for nearly five-hundred years. Because they were reborn through his Innate, Terra, Fenrir, and Fafnir all had nearly limitless potential, even without the blessing of a Falna. Fenrir could be stronger by consuming things whereas Terras and Fafnirs strength was dependent, primarily, on their age and internal energy. Fafnir had reached Level 5 after staying in the orb for a rtively short period of time, simply aging to reach such a degree of power. Now, Fenrir had also reached Level 5, so Vahn was curious to what extent Terra would reach after her training waspleted... It didnt take long for Vahn to track down Eva and Terra since he was able to sense the mana in the atmosphere converging towards one point of the forest, approximately where his workshop had been located. When he reached the area, Vahn saw a very aesthetically pleasing arrangement of nts and also noticed that his workshop had been entirely reconstructed out of natural materials. Terra and Eva were currently sitting at a circr wooden table, seemingly focused on ying a game of chess, even though Vahn knew they both detected his arrival long before he reached the clearing. With a smile on his face, Vahn made his way over while Fenrir did a roll off of his shoulders beforending on her feet, simultaneously changing into a cute ck dress. Neither Terra nor Eva turned to look at Vahn and Fenrir, continuing their game as Eva moved her bishop to take one of Terras pawns. Terra furrowed her brows and looked around at the board before releasing a sigh, saying, "I wish you wouldnt try to show off at my expense, Eva..." Eva showed a very slight blush before turning to Vahn and asking, "Why does it always feel like Im waiting for you...?" In response to this, Terra beganughing as she also turned her eyes toward Vahn, showing a very soft and strangely reminiscent look as she said, "Master..." in a gentle tone. She and Eva had been passing the time by ying chess, something she had only been able to win around 15% of the time, generally when Eva went easy on her... Vahn pulled two chairs out of his Inventory but Eva hopped up out of her own and said, "Sit." while looking directly at him with a pouting expression on her face. Scratching his cheek, Vahn sat down as instructed so that Eva could hop up into hisp. He was very used to his seat being taken by the more petite girls so he wasnt really that bothered by the fact, especially since Eva was incredibly light and very soft. Terra, however, let her wings droop a bit before she leaned forward on the table, emphasizing her cleavage as she said, "Master, please help me groom my wingster...Ive also been working quite hard thesest few years..." As she spoke, a very flowery aroma emerged from Terra that smelled like an entire field of flowers blooming simultaneously. Eva waved her hand andpletely dispersed the aroma as she said, "You two will have plenty of time with Vahn when the orb breaks down in the future. Who knows how long Ill be sealed away while you get to take as many liberties as you want? If you want to spend time with him, get out of my orb and save me the pain of having you waste my time!" Though her words were somewhat harsh, Terra didnt seem offended and just smiled in response with her eyes squinting, as if she found Evas words very amusing. Eva furrowed her brows at this and just turned her head to the side in a hmph as she leaned against Vahns chest. Terras tail tapped against the ground while Fenrir sat down in the chair to her right, sending a warning look towards Terra that made her brows raise slightly. Several thoughts raced through her mind before she recalled Evas behavior when she first teleported nearby. With a glimmering light in her sky-blue eyes, Terra smiled and said, "Its good to see you, Fenrir. Im happy Master was able to help you get out of bed, ufufufu~." Fenrir tilted her head to the side, allowing both of herrge fluffy ears to flop as she said, "Fenrir was waiting for Master, not sleeping...?" Terra had an aha moment inside her head and she immediately realized the y that was going on,ughing at how earnest Fenrir was to continue her role. Fenrir was a little annoyed with Terras behavior but couldnt do anything about it since fighting against Terra was troublesome and very frustrating. If it was a fight to the death, Fenrir was confident she could win but, since they were both Masters important people, Fenrir couldnt kill Terra. Deciding not to make a scene, Fenrir just turned to her Master and asked, "Master, chew toy?" with an expectant look on her face. Vahn raised his hand in response and produced a link of [Enkidu], which Fenrir happily grabbed and tried to bite through with all her might. Seeing her behavior, Vahn smiled and said, "One day, Im sure youll be able to even eat my [Enkidu], though that may take a while, hahahaha~." Eva watched Fenrir chewing on the chains that could even put her in a sticky situation, feeling strangely unnerved that such a terrifying object had been reduced to a chew toy. Averting her eyes from the rather peculiar sight, Eva grabbed Vahns hands, which were loosely hugging her stomach, and muttered, "You need to start training pretty soon, Vahn. Though I like having the opportunity to spend time with you, the orb was never meant to be active for such long periods of time. As it stands, I can probably only keep this orb active for another two weeks in the real world...thats assuming the stability of the orb isntpromised. Fortunately, Ive been able to teach Terra most of the basics and you can take all the books and magic forms I created back to the real world if things go awry..." Vahn trembled a little when he heard Evas words, feeling that their parting was going to be much sooner than he expected. However, he was able to rationalize that Evas words were the truth since he also couldnt imagine the space within the orb having been made tost for more than two thousand years. It was originally a consumable item that was meant to be used by Evas memory fragment to test people before teaching them Magia Erebea. Vahn had, forck of a better term, perverted the intended use of the orb because of the existence of The Path. His blood also helped Eva sustain the space within the orb for a much longer period of time than should have been possible, though not enough to extend it indefinitely. Since the strain on his spirit wouldnt allow him to stay for more than three days in the orb, Vahn couldnt help Eva upkeep the space and he expected the two-weeks estimation was based on Terra helping her... Hugging Evas waist firmly, Vahn rested his chin against the top of her head and said, "Ill do my best to get stronger, Eva...then, one day in the future, well all fight together to teach that bastard not to mess with the lives of others..." Evas face bloomed into a smile when she heard Vahns words, findingfort in his embrace while making eye contact with Fenrir and Terra. Originally, she didnt think Vahn would actually be able to pose a threat to the Mage of the Beginning. Now, after training the two monsters he had named, Eva believed they would be able to create a miracle and do what should have been impossible. At the very least, Eva trusted that Vahn would be able to save her original self and they would be able to fight against the terrifying foe together... For the next three hours, Vahn just sat in the clearing that Terra had made as they all enjoyed a long pic while talking about Terras and Fenrirs training. ording to Eva, Fenrir was currently the stronger of the two but Terra had a much greater amount of magic power. As for why Terra was weaker, it was rted to her being a pacifist and having elemental affinities that suffered when matched up against Fenrirs. Terra was an entity that represented the earth and the culmination of all the positive natural energies, such as wind, water, light, vitality, life, earth, wood, etc. Her primary affinities, at least when using magic, were Earth, Light, and Wood magic, meaning she was incredibly good at defensive spells, support spells, and healing. Since Fenrirs Ice magic was a powerful counter to natural magics, while also being almost solely focused on offense, they had more draws than anything else. The biggest difference between them was also how much each girl had learned, with Terra often being the one to mentor Fenrir while Eva was sleeping. Terra was now proficient in seventeennguages, though they all sounded the same when she spoke to Vahn, and had helped transcribe dozens of texts on Evas teachings. Since she managed to do most of this from memory, Terra had been able to learn an incredible amount of pure magic theory from Eva, all so that she would be able to assist Vahn in the future. Because of this, she had awakened a truly shocking number of Skills, Magic, and Development Abilitiespared to her past self. However, the most shocking thing was the small number next to the hieroglyphs that disyed her Level... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Terra Evergreen Race: True Dragon LV. 4->7(+) POW: D511 END: A908 DEX: SSS1311 AGI: E445 MAG: SSS3090 Skill: [Avatar of the Earth:B], [Guardian of Nature:C], [Healing Sap:C->B], [Aroma Therapy:B->S], [Chant Shortening:C](new), [Activation Key:A](new), [True Dragons Roar:C](new) Magic: [Cantus Bex:B](new), [Reflexio:S](new), [Evocatio:A], [Shundo:D](new), [Koku Shundo:H](new), [Void Transference:B](new), [Sagitta Magica:S](new), [Pno Petrs:S](new), [Kakon Omma Petrses:C](new), [Circulus Pilorum Nigrorum:F](new), [Ho Monolithos Kin Tou Haidou:H](new) Development Skill: [Pacifism:C->B], [Arch Mage:H](new), [Spirit Healing:A](new), [Summoner:D](new) [Chant Shortening] Rank: C Use: Allows the user to create magical phenomenon even withoutpleting a chant. Mana loss dependant on the length of the chant skipped. [Activation Key] Rank: A Use: Enhances the power of Magic by using a ritualized magic chant. Active Trigger: Ara, Ara, Ara~? [True Dragons Roar] Rank: C Use: Release a thundering roar that can stun weaker enemies. Active Trigger [Evocatio] Rank: A Use: Summon Spirits to aid the caster in battle. Parameters of the Spirits are dependant on the amount of mana infused into the spell. Chant: I summon the Spirits of (-). [Void Transference] Rank: B Use: Chantless magic that creates an anchor between two points and transfers between them without requiring movement. Distance and weight affect the mana cost greatly. Chant: (-) [Pno Petrs] Rank: S Use: Magic that creates an explosive cloud that petrifies anything thates into contact with it. Chant: Basilisk, Lizard with Eight Legs and Evil Eyes! Breathe out the time-stealing poison! Breath of Stone! [Kakon Omma Petrses] Rank: C Use: Magic that creates a prative beam of light that can petrify anything thates into contact with it. Chant: Basilisk, Lizard with Eight Legs and Evil Eyes! Light ced into My Hand, Shoot Forth the Evil Look! Evil Eye of Petrification! [Circulus Pilorum Nigrorum] Rank: E Use: Summons a swarm of petrification stakes andunches them outwards. Chant: Ring of ck Stakes Piercing All Creation, Impale Those That Tread Upon the Earth! [Ho Monolithos Kin Tou Haidou] Rank: H Use: Summons stone pirs and rains them down on a targetted location. Chant: Oh, Temple of the sleeping dead beneath the earth, Appear from below us! Pirs of Hades! [Arch Mage] Rank: H Use: Greatly improves the power, effect, and range of all magic. Forms magic circles beneath the caster that can protect from magic. [Summoner] Rank: D Use: Allows the user tomune with the spirits and enhances the efficacy of summoning magic. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Vahn was never able to see Terras parameters change, so he has no idea what her hidden board looks like at all. This means he cant see her parameter total at all (UwU)~! Also, though some interesting things happened in this chapter, know that I hate it a great deal <3. Infodump chapters are always very painful and this one took me over five hours toplete, more than twice the length of a normal chapter of simr word count.) (A/N: I wrote the first Authors Note when I hit the 5th ylist so this second one came muchter. I just got a phone call from my dad telling me that my mother has passed away. I will try to get out some chapterster, but I need to clear my head for a bit. Dont worry, Im not dropping the novel at all and you should still expect at least one chapter a day...really, Im not even sure what to think right now. Sorry...) (A/N: No alternate titles, I dont really remember what is in the chapter this time around.) Chapter 629 - Overwhelming

Chapter 629 - Overwhelming

Though he knew it had been nearly four years since they began training with Eva, Vahn was still gobsmacked to see how much Terra and Fenrir had grown. The fact that Terra was already Level 7, with the ability to immediately reach Level 8, made Vahn feel a great deal of excitement. He knew that the magic system from Evas world was actually a higher tier system than even the Falna within the record of Danmachi. By pursuing the path of magic to the extremes, mortals could even transcend gods and obtain their own form of immortality, though the few that reached that extreme could be counted on one hand. There were actually a surprising number of immortals in Evas record, but most of them were made immortal, meaning they didnt ovee the limits of mortality through the growth of their magic power. While Vahn was momentarily lost in thought, he was also helping Terra groom her feathers while Eva sat at the table, enjoying a strawberry shortcake while sipping on coffee that had a ridiculous amount of sugar inside. Fenrir just curled up into a ball nearby, deciding to take a nap since her Master would probably be busy with Terra and Eva. She had already decided to return to the real world since she wanted to protect her Master and spend more time with him. The four years had taught her what real loneliness was and Fenrir didnt think she could bear it for long, giving her a fair amount of respect for Eva, and the various goddesses in the real world. He hadnt yet finished helping Terra groom when Eva tapped against her pristine white ceramic coffee cup with a silver spoon, causing a very high pitched sound to resonate through the area. Eva knew that Terra could easily clean her own wings so she had been growing a little impatient after the first hour had passed. Her time with Vahn was extremely limited at this point and most of that would be spent teaching him magic, meaning there simply wasnt time to y around with other women. She had be friendly with Terra and Fenrir, but they had the option of leaving the orb whenever they wanted to spend time with Vahn, a luxury she didnt share. The feathers on Terras wings began to rustle like the sound of wind passing through trees as a fragrant aroma spread through the air. At the same time, misty-green mana spread from Terras feathers and they began to shimmer before regaining their vitality,pletely clean. The main reason for the long grooming session had actually been because Vahn was helping replenish her energy reserves. Eva had easily seen through the fact that Terra was now full, so she didnt want to keep sitting around watching them be affectionate with each other when there were more pressing matters. As Terra had a good understanding of Evas character now, she simply squinted her eyes with a smile before covering her mouth andughing amusedly at Evas behavior. Eva furrowed her brows slightly and had a light blush on her face as she rose from her chair and said, "Before I begin teaching you, I need to know exactly how youpare to those two. I may not have the time to teach you everything so we may need topress your training and focus on the development of your current skills first. Terra can fill in the gaps when you return to the real world, though Ill still do my best to help educate you while youre inside this space." Eva knew Vahn should be rtively easy to teach because, as was demonstrated earlier, he could speak everynguage that Terra demonstrated fluently. Vahn didnt seem to be aware of it himself, at least until it was pointed out, but he had the ability to interpret anynguage at an almost instinctual level. Eva had long suspected his existence was abnormal since he was able to use the types of Ancient Magics that were only essible to gods. His naming ability alone was one of the most powerful forms of contract magic in existence so she wasnt too surprised by the fact he could interpret anynguage. It was almost like he was the culmination of many rare and forgotten magics, many of which had faded into obscurity and only existed in myths. As there was an incredibly rare magic that allowed knowledge and information to be stored within the blood, Vahns most unique feature, Eva suspected he had a great deal of knowledge even he was unaware of, all locked away within that tantalizingly sweet and energy-rich liquid... Under Evas insistence, Vahn ended up in a massive clearing as he faced down both Terra and Fenrir, with thetter standing much closer while Terra stood in the back. Though they were both much stronger than him, at least at a basic level, Eva felt that Vahn actually had a fair chance at victory since he had even been able to pressure her in the past. If he went all out, Eva believed he would be able to suppress both of them, much like he had been able to take down Fafnir, even though he had been much weaker at the time. Thus, after making sure everyone had a [Effigy of the Hero] on their person, Vahn ended up being pitted against the two to see if it was even necessary to teach him the basics. Fenrir was currently wearing her [Nezha Ladys Togi] and her [Aegis Shorts Mk 1] as she squatted down on all fours, ready to begin the fight as soon as Eva gave the notice. Though she would never harm her Master, Fenrir wanted to show how much she had grown so that he would trust her more in the future. She also believed he was unbeatable so, even if she went all out, Fenrir knew her Master would win if he wanted to. Any victory she gained would likely be as a result of him going easy on them, as her Master was actually very soft-hearted, even to his enemies. Fenrir had a much better understanding of how he thought now and she knew that, though he wasnt weak, his mentality will cause him to experience greater struggles in life. This was why she wanted to help bear that burden by, if necessary, bing a weapon to strike down his enemies so his concerns would be directed towards her, and not enemies that were undeserving of his notice... Unaware of what was going though Fenrirs mind, Vahn had brought his focus to the absolute limit as a subtle golden energy spread through his domain. He knew it was possible for him to lose the moment he dropped his guard and he didnt want to embarrass himself in front of the three girls. Fenrir and Terra had a lot of faith in him and Vahn never wanted to let them down and damage the image they had in their hearts. They had already worked hard for on his behalf, but Vahn felt pelled to inspire them to continue working hard in the future by showing them greater heights than they knew. Just like when Fenrir was first born, Vahn intended to make things a little shy so that she would look at him with reverence instead of concern... Eva raised her hand before saying in a cold monotone, "Begin...". Fenrirs hackles stood on end as a blue aura emerged from her body, startling Vahn a bit because it was almost like she was a character from Dragon Ball. Power radiated from her body as shepletely vanished from his sight, causing Vahns eyes to widen as he also vanished. Momentster, Fenrir reappeared before disappearing against, this time at the area where Vahn had exited his [Shundo]. A massive wave a stark blue energy converged towards Vahn as Fenrir spun around and tried to overwhelm him with raw magical power. Vahn channeled his [Heart of the Eternal] me while stepping back as fast as he could, not even having enough time to activate his [Shundo]. The blue magical energy mmed into the area Vahn had been standing before exploded into a massive pir of ice more than 15m tall. Even dodging it, Vahn felt a chill in his arms and was aware that Fenrir had locked on to him after getting close. Several after-images appeared as Fenrir climbed higher into the air, using the void itself to gain ground as she shouted, "Master, give me strength! Come spirits of ice! Tundra and cier, Spread Forth into the Air, in the Realm of White Night! Frozen Earth!" Vahn had already started taking evasive measures but Fenrirs mastery of [Shundo] was much higher than his, not to mention she also greatly exceeded him in raw agility. Vahn felt like his entire body was beingpressed by a heavy pressure as the temperature in the air decreased at a terrifying rate. With his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn saw all the ice elemental energy in the air fuse together with an overwhelming amount of magical power as the world around him was almost instantaneously turned into a frozen tundra. Massive pirs of ice erupted from the ground as Vahn used [Shundo] to the limits of his ability as he tried to evade therge area attack. The amount of fire elemental energy in his body had already caused his body to glow like hot metal but Fenrirs ice quenched his body and caused him a great deal of pain whenever he was struck. A few secondster, the attackpleted and Vahn exhaled arge sigh before immediately trying to erect a barrier as the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Fenrir had used the pirs she created as a foothold for her [Shundo] to get in a surprise attack the moment Vahn dropped his guard, smashing the makeshift barrier and shattering it like ss as her tiny paw pads mmed into his body. Eva had primarily trained her in hand-to-handbat, as her affinity with magic was actually pretty terrible, so Fenrir was apetent martial artist with a lot of battle experience. She had wanted to be proficient in defeating enemies without maiming them terribly, so she practiced using palm attacks, amplifying them with her magic power topletely overwhelm anything unfortunate enough to feel the soft fleshy pads against their skin. Vahn felt like he had been hit by a mountain as his body wasunched back with a terrifying momentum, mming through several pirs of ice before he stood back up, this time in his Xunw form. He couldnt outpace Fenrirs speed so Vahn decided to focus on defense while trying to counterattack her overwhelming offensive might. At the same time, Vahn had an excited smile on his face because battles like this were few and far between and, though it caused him a bit of embarrassment at times, Vahn had be something of a battle junkie after fighting so much. Having an opponent like Fenrir made his blood literally boil as a subtle light shone in his jade-green eyes. (A/N: Vahns normal aquamarine green eyes have a subtle blue coloration. In Xunw form, they turn jade-green and glimmer with a magic light, even when his [Eyes of Truth] are active.) As Fenrirunched herself towards Vahn, stepping off the air at several tricky angles that were nearly impossible to follow, arge mass of magical energy coated her entire body. The aura around her had be several timesrger than before as she undauntedly spun through the air and smashed toward Vahn with a pir of ice condensed of pure magic power. Vahns scaled glowed green as he struck toward the pir, rotating his h.i.p.s while twisting his fist like a corkscrew. The pir immediately shattered into pieces that exploded outwards in a cloud of icy partictes that turned into small beads of water momentster. As if she had expected him to defend against the attack, Fenrir stepped forward at the same time and tried to strike at Vahns chest with her paws again. Vahn tried to trace his left hand in a circr motion to sweep aside Fenrirs paw but the momentum of her attack made his efforts for naught. It was almost like he was trying to redirect a meteor, meaning Fenrirs paws carried forward in an unstoppable manner as she gently pressed her paw pads against him. Vahn coughed up a mouthful of blood as his body seized up, almost like time had frozen, before he wasunched back once again. His ck scales glowed with a green light as the snake tattoo on his body began to shimmer with a resplendent gold color. Vahn managed to right himself, wiping the blood from his mouth before getting into a horse stance and shouting at the top of his lungs. With his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn had been analyzing Fenrirs magic the entire time they were fighting so he had been able to understand some of the basic principles behind her spells. As if it was copying the color of his domain, Vahns body began to emit a resplendent golden vapor that was simr to the blue aura surrounding Fenrir, though much smaller. Eva watched this from the side, squinting her eyes as she muttered, "Truly abnormal...he is learning Fenrirs magic just by watching her..." She had already expected this would be the case since Vahn had even been able to draw some of her moreplex magic circles just by seeing them. Though there were some errors in the construction, Eva knew it was just a result of hisck of understanding in theplexities of thews than anything else. Seeing him learning magic throughbat, Eva began to change her ns about how she was going to teach him... When Fenrir stepped into his range this time, Vahn lowered his h.i.p.s and tried exchanging blows with her directly. Fenrirs eyes glinted with a predatory light as she rapidly twisted her body and tried to smack him with her tail, which Vahn managed to evade as he sent a kick towards her nk. Long before it struck her, Fenrirs bodypletely vanished from sight as a terrifying presence came from the right side of his body. Vahn leaned into the force and tried to sweep it aside with a backhand strike, mustering the greatest strength he could manage. Fenrirs left foot-paw came into contact with Vahns strike and the two auras intermixed, almost like they were trying to devour each other. Vahn felt the bones in his arm creak as a dull ache spread through his body, unable topletely resist Fenrirs magical power as it wreaked havoc inside of him. Fenrir actually used the internecine strike to kick off the air and flip over Vahns hand, striking forward with a sphere of pure-blue elemental energy that was a mix between water and ice. Vahn shielded his face with his left hand and converged his aura to try and buy time to evade Fenrirs attack. Unfortunately, Fenrirs force was simply overwhelming and, even though his body continually heated up to thousands of degrees, Vahn felt like cold water had been poured on his body. The sphere mmed into him and exploded,pletely enveloping his upper body in a terrifyingly cold block of ice. Even using Xunw to try and divert the energy hadpletely no effect because Fenrirs control over her own magical energy was far higher than what Vahn could manipte. Though it felt like ice had even invaded his mind, the chill from [Will of the Emperor] was even colder as Vahn resisted the urge to fall into unconsciousness, moving away from Fenrir using [Shundo], carrying the block of ice along with him. Fenrir was immediately on his trail but Vahn sent four links of [Enkidu] to intercept her which the other five created a defensive formation to buy some time. Much slower than hed like, the ice around his body began to melt as Fenrirs body twisted and contorted as she easily evaded the four chains. She even kicked against one, stunning Vahn when he saw it deform slightly as she used it as a foothold. He quickly used the other five chains to stop her momentum but Fenrirs scarlet eyes darted around rapidly, seeing through the chains movements before she used [Koku Shundo] to escape into the sky. Vahn watched her ascent and knew he was probably going to lose this fight unless he did something drastic. Fenrir was stronger, faster, and now even had more experience inbat than he did, likely fighting against the monstrously powerful Eva several times over the course of the four years she spent in the orb. Unfortunately, he didnt really have time to think about anything as Fenrir shouted words that made him feel very embarrassed, given the circ.u.mstances, "Master, give me strength! Gather, twenty-nine spirits of Ice, freeze my enemy. Magic Arrows, Series cius!" Though Fenrir didnt actually need toplete the chant, doing so made the magic even stronger and Eva had taught them to always try to do full-chants if given the opportunity. A ring of spectral, icy blue, orbs formed behind Fenrirs body before they shot forward likesers, the majority curving around [Enkidu] as they made a beeline towards Vahn. He had quickly tried to evade with [Shundo], but the beams followed after him and exploded around his body before he could make a second step. Vahn thought that moving towards them, slipping under their trajectory so they wouldnt be able to curve fast enough to home in on him, would have been the answer. Unfortunately, the beams seemed to reflect off an invisible surface and they drew very sharp angles to continue their pursuit, catching Vahn off guard as he was once against frozen in a block of ice. Vahn felt like his entire body was gone, reced by a numb chill that permeated through his entire body, stopped only by the eternal me in his chest and the even colder flow from his [Will of the Emperor]. Fenrirnded atop one of the icy pirs she had created, crouching down as she watched her Master with glowing scarlet eyes. Though he hadnt been able to put up much of a fight, Fenrir didnt believe he would be defeated so easily. She had seen him do many incredible feats in the past and knew this wouldnt be the limit of his abilities at all. Almost as if to answer her expectations, a pulse of energy spread from her Masters body,pletely shattering the ice around him as he turned towards her with a smile on his face, saying, "Fenrir, youve gotten strong..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: TsunTsun,Vahn, the Anamoly,Overwhelming Power, Fenrir Goes On The Offensive!) (A/N: I went back and edited chapter 630 since I had forgotten to update Terras Status after getting the bad news. As for why her Level increased so much (without having someone update it), that is because her base level reached that point with the increase of magic power in her body. Fenrir actually has more potential than Terra, but she wouldnt be able to greatly increase her Level without eating A LOT of very powerful monsters, rare items, etc.) (A/N: Update about the status of myself and the novel. I cant say Im okay, and Im not sure when I will be able to recoverpletely. As promised, I will still continue posting at least one chapter a day but there are a lot of things going on right now so please forgive me if the releases are inconsistent for a few days. I know that many of you dont really want to think about bad things happening in the lives of others, so I apologize for getting you involved with my troubles. Thank you for being patient with me and Im truly grateful for all the support people have shown in thements section. Though it isnt my ce to say things like this, please treasure the people you love since life isnt always going to give you the time you expect. My Mom was only 46 years old when she passed...life can be very unforgiving, but that doesnt mean we cant be good to each other. Reach out and tell the people you care about that you love them, because you may not always have that chance...) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 630 - Collision : Awakening

Chapter 630 - Collision : Awakening

Vahn was truly awed by how strong Fenrir had be, especially considering she was still only Level 5. With few exceptions, there wouldnt be anyone able to defeat her within the Danmachi record and, if not for the fact that they werent fighting to the death, Vahn would have already lost three times at this point. She hadnt used her ws, teeth, or skills like [Severing ws] throughout the entire fight, each something that would simply overwhelm his current defensive capabilities. There was also the fact she had her [Hroovitnir], which Vahn could see was a self-created ultimate ability that she was holding onto. He suspected that, if she used it from the beginning, the fight would have immediately ended... However, Vahn wasnt going to back down and, now that things had reached this point, his own blood was burning with more than just excitement. Because of the amount of damage he had taken, Vahns scales had small cracks located all over, each allowing wisps of crimson mes to break through the skin. The ice around him hadnt melted, but instead instantly evaporated in an ever-expanding circle as his jade-green eyes transitioned into a vermillion color. His previously ck pupils now emitted a golden light which, when observed closely, looked like the cores of stars. The previously golden aura around his body turned a vermillion-gold as Vahn kicked against the ground,unching himself towards Fenrir with enough momentum to create three conal shockwaves, shattering the molten ground below in the process. Fenrirs hair was standing on end as she immediately fled towards the sky, showing an excited smile on her face as she evaded her Masters attack. All of her senses were screaming for her to stay away from him and she had been taught to always trust her instincts. Where she had previously stood, her Master simply passed through the icy pir as if it had been an illusion, dissipating the magic power within the ice in an instant. The battlefield she had created to give her an advantage was slowly breaking down as the world around them began to burn everywhere her Master moved. Twisting her body in the air, Fenri brought her paws together like she was praying, shouting, "Master, give me strength! Come to me, spirits, heed Fenrirs call! Drown, Freeze, I dont care! Go go go~!" Vahn had smashed into the ground nearly 200m away from where heunched himself, sinking into the molten earth that was created when he came into contact with it. Strangely, he felt like a fish in the water and could move through the liquid stone as if it was his natural environment. When he came to the surface of the small pool he had created, however, Vahns eyes widened greatly because the entire sky had be a frigid blue in the time he had been submerged. Fenrir was standing in the air with her paws spread wide, a vibrant blue emanating from her body that spread out for more than a kilometer. A massive blue magic circle came into existence behind her body, showing the visage of a wolf with chains and spears emerging from its periphery... At the same time as Fenrir brought her paws forward, Vahn raised both hands and created a pir of fire more than 8m in diameter that shot towards Fenrir with seemingly unstoppable momentum. Fenrir didnt back down at all as the vibrant blue within the air copsed towards Vahn and the me pir in an instant, causing a massive explosion of steam that caused Vahn to smash further into the ground, even though the me pir itself wasnt stopped. The magma around his body actually began to freeze over as a secondary explosion urred, this time tearing Vahns body apart and burying him deep into the ground below... On the surface, Fenrir saw the me pir continuing towards her, bringing her paws together as several magic circles formed in the air, shouting, "Reflexio~! Reflexio~! Reflexio~! Reflexio~!" over and over again. Each magic circle created an icy blue barrier that fought against the seemingly unstoppable pir of me until it smashed into Fenrirs body, which she resisted by curling up into a small shape and crossing her arms. The thick blue aura protected her body and caused an explosion to ur at the very moment the pir came into contact with her, fortunately knocking her out of the trajectory of the mes. It was very painful, but Fenrir avoided any major injuries except for the fact her fur was brackish and burnt all over her body... Though he had been severely injured, Vahns regeneration with his vermillion bird form was incredibly fast, causing his missing left arm to reform after only a few seconds. The terrain around him began to rapidly heat up, dispersing the incredible volume of ice elemental energy that was still trying to copse in on him. He didnt know it, but there was a pir of ice above the ground that was 30m wide and more than 100m tall, shaped like an explosion that had been frozen in time. With the intense heat from his body, however, the pir began to crack as a vermillion light emerged from the bottom. By the time he came into contact with the pir itself, it exploded outwards as a result of the drastic change in temperature. Vahn had never felt so tired in his entire life and he didnt even know how he was able to pull himself out of the crater his battle with Fenrir had caused. More than a pool, the molten terrain now formed ake with him at the center. Fenrir was currently very far away, opening up a great distance between him since her instincts had been firing danger signals. Though not nearly as fast as Vahn, Fenrir had steaming from her body as her fur regrew and became a pristine midnight blue once again. She had a giant grin on her face, disying the numerous sharp fangs that had grown as a result of her excitement. The fact her Master had been able to stand up after her ultimate attack made Fenrir giddy and she knew this wasnt even the limit of his strength! The wispy, fire-like, feathers on Vahns body began to dissipate as a strange energy he had never felt before began to lift his body towards the sky. Because of his fatigue, Vahn didnt even know how he was able to move around at all, almost like his body was automatically acting in self-preservation. He couldnt even sense his own source energy directly, almost like he was surrounded by a hazy barrier that prevented his perception frommunicating with it. If not for the fact the familiar chill was ever-present in his mind, Vahn would have thought he was dreaming. Curling up into the fetal position, while floating high in the sky, Vahn felt a throbbing sensation around his heart as the eternal me in his chest shrunk into a ball, almost like it was trying to protect itself... Suddenly, Eva appeared behind Vahn and chopped the back of his neck, robbing him of his consciousness as he fell towards the ground below. She looked at her hand, which had be numb even though she protected it with her magic power, muttering, "How much power is sleeping inside of that body of yours..." Whatever Vahn was about to do, Eva knew it would have been more than the space would be able to handle, meaning the orb would have likely been destroyed. Since he didnt seem to be in control, Eva knew he wouldnt be able to seal her away and would potentially even lose everything within the orb in the process. Her body trembled as she imagined what would have happened if she allowed the fight to continue, feeling a sour sensation in the bridge of her nose as moisture began spreading through her eyes... Just as Vahn was able to m into the ground below, Eva appeared beneath him and caught his limp body, muttering, "Stupid...idiot...you promised..." After realizing what had nearly happened, Eva felt both scared and angry at the same time, wanting to punish Vahn but simultaneously just wanting to hug him tightly so he didnt just disappear on her. Terra and Fenrir approached at this point, seeing Eva cradling Vahns body with tears in her eyes, understanding things had taken a bad turn. Fenrirs ears flopped down pitifully as she said, "Im sorry, Eva...", even though she wasnt entirely sure what happened. As for Terra, her smile had faded and she simply looked at her sleeping Master in awe... As a True Dragon, Terra was attuned to the energy the produced, feeling a kinship with other dragons while simultaneously wanting to pete with them. When Vahn curled up into a ball, Terra felt like her blood had beenpletely suppressed and it was almost like she was observing the birth of a far more powerful Dragon than herself. Her heart had trembled greatly and, though she already loved her Master, Terra felt pelled to give her everything to Vahn at that moment. There was even a pressure in her lower body, apanied by an aching feeling that made her tightly clench her fists to stop their trembling. For a brief moment, she had even considered attacking Eva for having the audacity to strike her Master... --- Vahn felt himself floating in an endless ck void, a feeling he had be very familiar with over thest year since it seemed to happen rather often. As usual, he spread out his domain and felt four presences surrounding his body, opening his eyes to see Bih, Xunw, the Vermillion Bird, and the Azure Dragon. This time, Vahn was face-to-face with the Vermillion bird and he felt incredibly close to itpared to the previous times he had entered this space. Even the Azure Dragon had a glistening and expectant look in its eyes, almost as if it was looking forward to something. Vahn just smiled as he casually reached out and stroked the massive birds head, allowing it to nestle against him in an affectionate manner. Before his battle with Fenrir, Vahns awakening of his Vermillion Bird form had been at 86% so it was very obvious he had reached the requirements to finally ess the form through giving it a name. This made him very happy because, even using that form for a very short period of time, there was almost nothing that could fight him. Thus, while stroking the surprisingly smooth feathers of the Vermillion Bird, Vahn opened his mouth as a single powerful word resonated through space, "Zhqu..." The moment the word left his lips, the Vermillion Bird, now Zhqu, began to produce arge amount of mes as it raised its head and released a cry that sounded like nature itself... As if incited by its cry, Bih and Xunw both released their own roars while the Azure Dragon watched from the side, eyes glimmering with apetitive light as it released a roar that seemed like it could even shatter the space around them. Vahn felt the four energies from the sacred beasts resonate through his body and, though he wasnt sure why, feltpelled to turn his head towards the ck void above and release a silent roar thatpletely silenced all four of them. Before he could make sense of what was happening, Vahn opened his eyes and sat up, sweat covering his body as he looked around at his surroundings. The moment Vahn turned his head towards the presence at his right, a pale blur passed through the periphery of his vision before a loud smack sounded in the room. His cheek felt very hot and, though it was somewhat painful, Vahn was more concerned about the teary-eyed vampire to worry about the fact she just pped him. He didnt understand what was happening but knew he had likely made a mistake, bringing Eva into his embrace, saying, "Eva, Im sorry..." while stroking her long blond hair. Eva buried her head into his chest and began weakly pounding against his chest with her fists as she said, "You almost threw everything away! You stupid jerk...!" Vahn tried to make sense of what Eva meant, doing his best to recall the events before he passed out. All he knew was that there was a powerful force emerging from his body and, given Evas reaction, Vahn suspected it was probably enough topletely destabilize the orb. If he hadpleted that transformation, everything they had nned would have copsed. He wouldnt have been able to learn the Magic Erebea and, worst of all, Vahn wouldnt have been able to seal Eva away in his soul. Because he wouldnt have been able to maintain that form for even an instant, Vahn would have simply destroyed the space without aplishing anything except breaking his promise with Eva... Hugging Evas trembling body as tightly as he could, Vahn also began to cry as he muttered, "Eva, Im so sorry...Ill never lose control like that again...please dont cry..." Vahn couldnt even imagine how he would have been able to cope with the loss of Eva, someone he owed an endless debt of gratitude towards. If not for the orb, he never would have been able to keep his promise with Hephaestus so quickly, nor would he have been able to learn [Shundo], create Fenrir, or having her train them in magic. Eva was the key to his happiness and Vahn wanted to repay his debts to her in the future, regardless of how difficult the fight against the Mage of the Beginning would be. For the better part of an hour, Vahn did his best to console Eva until she had managed to calm down enough to exin what had happened. ording to her, though his power hadnt increased a lot, the energying from his body had a very strong influence of space. If he hadpleted the transformation, the copse of the orb would have been elerated greatly, potentially even breaking down the instant he transformed. Eva had stepped in to stop him the moment she realized what was happening, fortunately preventing the worst from happening. Now, more than ever before, Eva wanted Vahn to take his training seriously because there was no way of knowing what other incidents might ur to threaten the space. She was even tempted to give him the Magia Erebia scroll directly, exining all the benefits and potential detriments of learning it. If he managed to pass the trial, which was very likely given the constitution of his body, Vahns magic power would undergo a fundamental change and he would be able to absorb foreign magical power into his body, fueling his Magia Erebea further. Since he had an omni-elemental affinity, Vahn would be able to push the skill to an extreme that even Eva wouldnt have been able to manage since her own elemental affinities were restricted. The biggest detriment was the fact that the skill eroded a persons mind and, if theycked the willpower, it would eventually turn them into a mindless monster that wrought destruction on everything around them. Since it also granted immortality, Vahn would potentially be an unstoppable force that eventually destroyed the entire world. Fortunately, with his [Will of the Emperor], Vahn wasnt worried about such an urrence since his will wasnt so easily swayed. He also suspected the detriments of Magia Erebea wouldnt affect him at all because his blood would undoubtedly filter out the corruptive energypletely, meaning the version of the skill he learned would be perfect. Eva also agreed with this but still cautioned him about the trial itself, exining, "When you activate the scroll, youll have to face the darkness within your heart. I cant tell you what the conditions for sess are, as youll never be able to understand the skill without facing it on your own. If you cant seed before your body breaks down and turns into a monster, youll end up dying and having your soul torn apart in the process..." When Vahn learned that the matter was rted to his soul, he actually startedughing until Eva smacked him on the head a few times with a flushed expression, shouting, "Im being serious here, Vahn!" This time, Eva didnt hold back her strength and Vahn was certain he would have had a concussion if he wasnt a spiritual body. Rubbing the top of his head, Vahn exined, "I cant really exin the reason, just know that my soul wont be torn apart even if I fail the trial. If you had the ability to see souls, you would understand that the structure of mine is a little unique...so, I guess there really isnt any danger to me learning the scroll at all?" Eva just stared at Vahn with an incredulous expression because she could see that he was telling the truth, meaning all of her worries were wasted. She suddenly felt very aggrieved as a pouty expression appeared on her face,plete with teary-eyes and a mild blush. As ifpelled by a force beyond her understanding, Eva began to weakly beat Vahn as she loosed all her pent up frustrations on him. Vahn shielded his head and bore the brunt of her assault until she eventually just pinned him down, tearing at his tunic as she said, "Its time for your punishment!" with a fl.u.s.tered expression on her face. Immediately thereafter, Eva began to diffuse an almost intolerably stimting energy into Vahns body as she punished him for making her worry so much, seemingly unnecessarily... --- Fenrir and Terra were sitting in the castles courtyard meditating, both bing alert when they heard their Master cry out. Fenrirs ears became erect as she turned her head towards the castle, scarlet eyes glowing before she began pouting. Terras pointed ears also wiggled up and down as she listened to the cries of her Master, likely being punished by Eva. Seeing Fenrirs reaction, Terra began tough, drawing the attention of the scarlet-eyed wolf as she said, "Im certain you can get Master to treat you like an a.d.u.l.t if you stopped pretending, Fenrir~." Fenrir snorted through her nose, averting her eyes from Terra as she muttered, "Im not like you, you lewd dragon...Ill protect Master, both body and mind, even if it gets difficult at times..." Hearing Fenrir call her a lewd dragon, Terra furrowed her brows slightly but didnt say anything since she knew the reason behind Fenrirs words. After getting close with Eva, Terra had eventually convinced Eva to allow her ess to the secret area in the castle. She had also managed to get Fenrir toe along as Eva embarrassedly introduced them to her art gallery. They were already ustomed to all the n.a.k.e.d portraits and statues of Vahn, but the art within the secret gallery was far more intense. Eva had been wanting to be together with Vahn for well over 1500 years at this point so many of her desires had been given form through her paintings and statues... This wouldnt have been too bad, as it was quite exciting to behold, but Eva had also been researching automatons, marites, and control magic. She had created an exact replica of Vahn, down to the fine details, and it was paired together with an exact replica of herself. Eva had trouble imagining things properly within her own mind, so she created two dolls that were able to serve as inspiration. She had been very embarrassed to reveal her secret to Terra and Fenrir but, after seeing they were both excited by the existence of the Vahn-doll, she opened up to them a lot more and began disclosing her various fantasies. At the time, though she was just trying to tease Eva, Terra asked if she could borrow the Vahn doll for practice, causing both Eva and Fenrir to blush deeply. Ever since then, whenever Fenrir was upset with Terra, she would always call her a lewd dragon and had never entered the secret gallery again...at least not when Eva and Terra were around... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrirs Dominance,Awaken, Vermillion me Chicken,Lewd Dragon...) (A/N: To all the people showing their support in thements section, I am truly grateful. Things are very tense in my own family so itsforting to see that the fanbase is so encouraging. Some of you seem to be worried that Im still writing, but know that this is somewhat ther.a.p.eutic for me and allows my mind to focus on happier thoughts for a brief moment. I feel like, if I only focus on sad thing, it would be much harder to cope. As stated, I will keep publishing at least one chapter since that is a promise I made long ago, one that Im not willing to break presently. Truly, thank you for the support, as some of you have gone much further than is necessary to help me out during these trying times, especially T. Hughes, G. Bishop, and P. Wallbom. I cant really express my gratitude fully for everything you have done, but I would ask that you all add me on the Discord so we can at least talk about the future direction of the novel together...anyways, take care, everyone. And, once again, thank you...this is all so much easier with support, even from people Ive never met.) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 631 - Magic

Chapter 631 - Magic

After Eva was satisfied with Vahns punishment, she finally relented and allowed him a momentary reprieve since they needed to focus on his training. She decided to teach him the basic theory and then move on to practical training since he would be able to fill in the nks by studying with Terrater. Eva had long noticed that Vahn had the uncanny ability to copy the magic of other people so she spected he would learn much faster through using the spells than simply studying. Remembering when she had taught him [Shundo] in the past, Eva believed it was the best way to approach the subject after giving him a basic foundation. Vahn was currently sitting at a wooden desk, littered with a stack of books and several parchments that Eva and Terra had written in the past. He stored most of them into his inventory, recording all the information inside, and then patiently listened to Evas exnations. She was currently wearing a costume that made her appear like a teacher, including a ck blouse, short ck skirt, and a whiteb coat that had bothered him for a brief moment. Toplement the outfit, Eva also wore a pair of ck-rimmed sses and was currently in her mature form, seemingly finding it suitable for teaching. In her hands, she held a long pointer and stood before a ckboard as she began what would be one of the most important lessons in his life... Seeing that Vahn was paying close attention, Eva nodded before cking her pointer against the ckboard and exining, "Magic, though it may appear fantastical at first nce, it is more closely rted to science than what stories might describe. In order to create the phenomenon known as magic, you must first have an understanding of the concepts, orws, that youre trying to manipte. This includes understanding the basic properties of the elements, how they are structured, and how they influence each other. Generally, having knowledge of the subject, understanding the structure of the spell, and forming an incantation, are the only necessaryponents for magic. Thus, it is actually possible for normal people to cast magic if they express enough determination, thus increasing the basic amount of magic power within their bodies through continued use..." Eva cked against a second diagram, this one showing a rudimentary human body with several different symbols inside of it, "Magic power, or mana, is the energy used to influence thews of the world and shape them into the form we refer to as magic. Generally, a persons mana is dependant on their birth, though anyone can be powerful if they are dedicated and have a proper understanding of the magic they are trying to use. Using magic can increase the amount of mana you have at your disposal, though overusing it can sometimes lead to various negative effects and can even result in theplete loss of magic power if exploited too much. The best time to develop mana is around puberty, as the body is in its developmental phase and can better adapt to the increased amounts of energy, often granting a longer lifespan..." When she mentioned this, Eva released a sigh but didnt go into the reasons behind her reaction and simply continued, saying, "Once a person reaches physical maturity, their amount of mana will begin to teau and it bes increasingly difficult to gain more magic power without the use of various elixirs and magic potions. This is typically when people begin using catalysts to enhance their power, such as staves, rituals, and even sacrifices. However, this has several negatives since overreliance on such things can lead to stagnation and make further growth almost impossible. Its better to focus on increasing your understanding of the concepts that make the magic function, increasing your efficacy and control. Though it is rare, there have been cases of people using tactical ss magic with the same amount of mana as some would use to cast elementary magic spells...its just a matter of understanding thews properly and exercising greater control over the elemental energies in the environment to enhance your spells power." Taking a deep breath, Eva now began to point towards each of the symbols on the body, exining, "In general, a person typically has between 2-3 elemental affinities within their body, though they typically lean towards one of them, often neglecting the others. The basic elements are Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, and Darkness. In rare instances, a person can be born with what is often referred to as an advanced elemental affinity, though such cases are around one in ten-thousand. An example of the advanced elements includes Ice, Lightning, Space, Time, Illusion, Sand, Shadow, Spirit, and Holy. Typically, a person is more attuned to casting spells of their elemental affinity, though it doesnt mean you are limited to spells of your element. For example, if you had a fire elemental affinity, fire spells may only cost half the mana as usual while water spells would typically cost twice as much..." Looking at Vahn, Eva showed a smile before saying, "There are also three exceptionally rare types of individuals, including one legendary level existence. These include people that have Neutral, Omni-Elemental, and Anti-Magic affinities. Those with Neutral affinities have no great strengths, but they also suffer no loss in the efficacy of magic, making them very versatile from a young age, often be great magester in life. As for those with an Omni-Elemental affinity, they are much the same but strangely have almost the opposite happen...though they are able to use any kind of magic, the efficacy is somewhat skewed because there is also no natural limiter in ce to prevent excess mana consumption. Those with Anti-Magic affinities are in an even worse situation, however, as they generally cant use anything other than enhancement spells. However, they are often immune to most ranged magic, making many Anti-Magic specialists pick up the role of a Knight instead of a Mage..." When she got to this point, Eva paused for a bit, allowing her mind to wander as she said, "As for the so-called legendary existences, they are people that dont seem to have any elemental affinity at all, yet are able to use unique magics such as Taming, Summoning, Sealing, and even advanced forms of Psychic abilities. Most of these people dont even need to use magic spells to make use of their abilities, making them closer to an innate ability given to them at birth than actual magic. Though schrs have studied why these anomalies take ce, they have yet to truly unlock the principle behind such existences. Fortunately, these studies have also advanced our understanding of magic in general, leading to many sub-fields of magic that make use of the aforementioned skills..." As if to demonstrate, Eva lifted her index finger and twirled it around, causing several of the books in the room to dance around in the air. Most of the advanced magics required the user to have some basic psychokic abilities, thus Eva was easily able to control multiple objects using just her mind. Seeing Vahns innocent look, filled with intrigue and awe, Eva smiled and said, "I once encountered a so-called demon hunter that specialized in psychokinesis, unable to make use of any other form of magic. However, they were able to control more than a thousand wooden swords that had been inscribed with runes..." Eva released a sigh when she remembered the battle that had only ended when she managed to pierce the rather honest looking youth through the heart. Flicking her wrist, Eva stacked the books neatly on the table before saying, "When discussing how to form magic, there are several things to consider but the most important thing is that you have an understanding of the phenomenon youre trying to create. Other than that, we have what is referred to as a Rite, which are the methods and procedures required to sessfully aplish magic. These include the Spells themselves, which can be broken down into named, unnamed, and ritual spells. Names spells are often what is referred to as fixed magic, meaning youre working from a predesignated image, chant, and structure. This type of magic is generally very powerful, as the variables defining the spell have been developed over a very long period of time, but they generallyck versatility. When first learning magic, this is what most apprentice mages would learn but it could easily be a crutch that prevents further growth if youre over-reliant on them..." Tapping her chin, Eva tilted her head in a somewhat adorable manner as she said, "Most of the magic used by Fenrir falls into the category of named spells, as her talent towards magic is somewhatcking. However, she makes up for it with an incredible talent for physical enhancement, though Im certain you already noticed that yourself, ufufufu~." Eva recalled Vahn getting tossed around like a ragdoll and couldnt help but release a peal of yfulughter at her young lovers expense. Vahn scratched the back of his head andmented, "Yeah, she really sent me flying a few times...if she used her ws, I probably would have been a goner from the very beginning." Eva nodded her head, grateful that Vahn wasnt the arrogant type that tried to make excuses as it would make him much easier to teach. Since many of their lessons would be practical, he would probably be on the receiving end of a beating quite a lot in the near future. Smiling, this time without exining why, Eva continued her exnation, "Unnamed spells are, as you might guess, spells that have no name, thus having no fixed image, chant, or structure. Most unnamed spells are simply a Mage making use of words to create a phenomenon, oftentimes impromptu and entirely reliant on their mental image. This is the type of magic that Terra specializes in, and the type Ive seen you make use of in the past..." Thinking about the best way to demonstrate an unnamed spell, Eva had an entertaining thought as she pointed towards Vahn and said, "Spirits of the wind, leave this boy bereft of clothing~." As her words finished, Vahn felt a tugging sensation as all of his clothes exploded from his body as if they had been made of worn cloth. He ended up sittingpletely n.a.k.e.d as Evaughed in a somewhat seductive manner, exining, "As long as you have a basic understanding of magic, form your intent into the proper grammatical structure, and visualize the phenomenon you want to produce, you can literally make any kind of magic. For most Mages, the majority of the magic they use in their daily lives is unnamed magic. If you polish such skills to the extreme, they be named magic, however, such as Fenrirs [Hroovitnir]." Vahn picked a new pair of clothes and changed into them, also understanding Evas clothing magic was likely an unnamed spell that had been converted into a named spell. However, he was currently feeling that Eva had been getting a little carried away and wanted to see if he could make use of his own unnamed magic. With a smile on his face, Vahn pointed to Eva and caused her to tense up as he said, "Let this cheeky vampire experience a just retribution~." As he spoke, Vahn tried imagining Evas clothes bursting apart in a simr manner but she immediately held up her hand and formed aplex magic circle before his spell took effect. However, they were both surprised when Evas clothes burst apart regardless as formless energy passed straight through her barrier... Not only did Evas clothes burst apart, turning into partictes of mana, but her forms itself also shed with a magical light as she stood therepletely n.a.k.e.d and in her original form. Her face alternated between being flushed and pale before she red her hand, creating a new outfit for herself before holding her fingers to her chin, contemting what just happened. After more than a minute, she turned her deep blue eyes back to Vahn and said, "I believe, just like your ability to name things, you are also able to use mand magic. Its the only thing that should have allowed you to break through my counterspell...you didnt simply manipte the elemental energies in the air, but the structure of spells currently active on my body. Its almost like using a very powerful version of [Dispel Magic]..." After thinking about it, Eva focused her mind and adopted a series expression as an icy blue aura shrouded her body, indicative of her activating an advanced form of [Cantus Bex], known as [Vis Maxima]. Vahn could feel an incredible pressure weighing on his body as Eva turned her cold eyes towards him and said, "Break my magic..." in a very serious tone. Vahn fought the pressure he was feeling by channeling his [Will of the Emperor], pushing back against Evas aura as he said, "Let this magic spell break apart into nothingness..." At the same time, Vahn imagined the aura around Evas body dispersing, once against sending formless energy toward her body. Eva focused her eyes and felt the wave pass straight through her defenses, almost causing her magic power to destabilize even though her own control far exceeded Vahns. Fortunately, she was able to resist it by keeping her calm and regting the flow of mana once again, nheless impressed by Vahns ridiculous capabilities. With an appraising gaze, Eva asked, "Do you have experience using this type of magic...?" The only way she could imagine Vahn being able to disperse another persons magic so easily was if he had practiced it several times in the past. If he was truly able to do it instinctually, he really would be the monster between them... Vahn had noticed Evas aura fluctuate and was surprised she actually managed to resist it, almost being caught off guard by her question. When he thought about the answer, Vahn tilted his head slightly before nodding as he said, "Back in the real world, Ive been practicing breaking down and manipting the structure of other peoples magic. Since Im able to understand thenguage inherent in magic circles, Ive even been able to change the form and function of some of the spells Ive seen..." Hearing Vahns words, Eva was both shocked and relieved. Since he imed to have been practicing it, Eva imagined Vahn had put a great deal of effort into it as he had the type of personality to focus on things he was practicing. However, hearing that he was able to restructure another persons magic circle was somewhat terrifying since it was one of the most potentially devastating abilities a Mage could have... Dispersing her aura, Eva released a sigh and said, "Id like to inquire more about that in the future, but we simply dont have the time. When you meet my real self, however, Ill be expecting you to demonstrate that ability to the fullest...hmmm." Eva wondered if, one day in the far future, their roles as Master and Student would be reversed. Strangely, she didnt really find the idea of learning magic from Vahn to be that bad so Eva just smiled before continuing her earlier exnation, "Well, you seem to have a knack for unnamed magic, so well move on to thest type of Spell, known as Ritual Spells. Most ritual spells fall into the category of advanced and great magic, as they typically requirerge formations that consist of several people. You have to take into consideration everything, including the structure of thend, the alignment of thes, even the location of leylines and the affinities of the people carrying out the ritual. Generally, such spells are used to create powerful defensive formations since it is very difficult to use them offensively as most cities and towns would have means to counter such attempts..." Seeing that Vahn was back to behaving, Eva nodded her head before gesticting with her hands and striking a pose, saying, "One of the most importantponents to sessfully casting magic is what is referred to as a decisive pose. You should have seen Fenrir casting her spells previously, typically forming a pose and guiding the magic with gestures. That is simply one part of it, however, as a Decisive Pose typically consists of Signs, Gestures, and Steps. Some of the most basic magic from the ancient past had been inspired by dance and this tradition has carried forward into the present. By moving your body in a specific manner, it helps you form the image of the spell, sometimes even allowing you to skip the chant by making familiar gestures in ordance with muscle memory..." To demonstrate, Eva raised her hand with a cold look in her eyes, this time causing a dozen spears of ice to form around her body that caused the entire rooms temperature to drop several degrees. With a wave of her hand, all of the spearspletely vanished as she said, "Ive used my magic spells tens-of-thousands of times, which is why I can skip the chants for most of them. However, doing so often makes the spells much weaker and you should always take the opportunity to chant if it is provided..." When she was finished speaking, Eva opened her hand and caused severalyers of magic circles to appear in the air, magnifying their size so Vahn could see better. After Vahns eyes finished moving around the magic circle and turned back to her, Eva exined, "Thest part of a spell can be considered one of the most important parts, which is what Mages refer to as forming a Ward. Though thousands of years of study, Mages were able to learn that geometric symbols were able to influence thews of the world when enough understanding of thews had been reached. These basic geometric sequences were the first Wards, which wereter enhanced to form Magic Arrays and Magic Circles. A Magic Arrayes to form by mathematically creating a shape where the set distance in every direction is equal. This bnce, when formed perfectly, creates a powerful ward against evil and is the core for most formation and barriers. As for Magic Circles, they are much the same but are more focused on containing rather than repelling. As youve noticed, most Magic Circles are often bnced in a very specific sequence that allows the structure of the spell to form its shape. The purpose of a Magic Circle is often to contain the elemental energies that are absorbed from the atmosphere and prevent them from dispersing, meaning proper understanding of Magic Circles is the key to casting powerful magic without wasting your internal mana..." As Eva spoke, her Magic Circle did something almost iprehensible by normal standards as the internal structure was being modified in real time. Originally, there was a tripleyer magic circle with three points thatprised the structure. It quickly transitioned into a Magic Circle with four points as Eva exined, "The number of points in a magic circle generally required the internal logic and understanding of the governingws to be far moreplex in order to maintain the bnce. For someone to be recognized as an apprentice mage, they need to be able to form a magic circle with three points, or cores. Intermediate magics typically have four points, with more advanced spells having five. As for the limit, there is none as far as ritual magic is concerned, though most individual magic would cap out at nine points. Anything above that gets into the realm of the gods and very few people ever reach that point..." Understanding the question on Vahns mind, Eva raised her chin slightly and puffed out her rather diminutive chest as she said, "Im able to create magic circles with twelve points using short chants and have been able to reach fifteen points with full chants~." Though she didnt understand the metric Vahn used, being an existence at the peak of Tier 5 easily put Eva above the realm of the Divine. Vahn was still very impressed, giving an almost reverential look to Eva that made the petite girl puff out her nonexistent assets even further. She seemed to havepletely forgotten that Vahn broke her transformation and was proudly unting something that didnt exist. Vahn, however, just smiled appreciatively before saying in an honest tone, "Youre amazing, Eva..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Eva-senseis Guidance,Oh, oh, its magic, you know?,Eva OP) (A/N: Once again, thank you all for the support you have shown for me and my family. Id also like to extend a special thanks to C. Crabtree for going far beyond the normal scope and showing a level of support that honestly brought me to silence for several minutes. Truly, thank you, all of you. Ill start trying to pick up the release rate at the beginning of the next week, but I dont imagine it will be back to normal for a few weeks. Stay safe everyone, and take care of yourselves just as youve all been encouraging me to do the same. Just as Vahn mentions in the story, were all stronger together and difficult situations are much easier to cope with when you have the moral and emotional support of others <3) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 632 - Unexpected

Chapter 632 - Unexpected

After going over the basics of the magic system from Evas world, Vahn spent the remainder of his time practicing the formation of wards. With his ability to interpret anynguage, Vahn already had a ridiculous advantage over most people so they moved on to the moreplex structure of wards, even though he could form most of them from memory. The problem with doing so, however, was the fact that the caster needed a proper understanding of the ward they were forming or it wouldnt activate properly. Vahn learned this the hard way when Eva had him try to replicate one of her more powerful darkness-based magics, effectively causing a massive bacsh that charred nearly 20% of his body. After that, Eva had him always use [Cantus Bex] to shield his body so that he wouldnt injure himself. The biggest problem with Vahn trying to learn magic was, as Eva expected, the fact that he had an omni-elemental affinity. His source energy was simply too pure for using normal magic so he had to form extra magic circles just to stabilize the structure of his spells. Because of this, by the time he was being forced to leave on the third day, Vahn could barely create a basic ward thatprised of a square surrounded by a circle. However, it wasnt all bad since the spells Vahn cast with his source magic were far more powerful than normal, even though the efficiency was terrible. There was also the fact that, though he struggled to cast magic outward, Vahn had no such difficulty when it came to reinforcement magic at all. Since the source energy was contained in his body, it didnt leak out like when he used external spells, meaning Vahns enhancement was far more powerful than normal. With a golden aura surrounding his body, Vahn mmed his fist into a giant pir of ice that had been formed by Eva. Using just his raw power, the 40m thick pir of enhanced ice shattered into pieces before the top toppled over like a tower copsing. Eva observed his training very closely from the side, as she couldnt risk having Vahn lose control again, nodding her head as she said, "Very impressive, Vahn...your [Cantus Bex] is almost perfect, even rivaling the basic levels of my [Vis Maxima]. You may want to consider just bing a Magic-Knight instead of a normal Mage. Given your talent for reinforcement magic, you may even be able to learn the ancient magic [Fines Excedunt]..." Presently, though it cost a great deal of source energy to sustain, Vahn could temporarily boost his physical parameters, not by a percentage, but by several times. With his current physical limitations, Vahn was able to reach a multiplier of nearly 14x for a duration of around three minutes. He also quickly learned that his Endurance would marginally increase as a result of the strain on his body along with his [Rakshasa Body]. If he pushed himself even further beyond, Vahn could even muster up enough power to reach 20x for a single strike, effectively giving him what Sis approximated to be 13,149 Power. This was a value that easily transcended the logic of the Danmachi record so, though he had only been training for three days, Vahn already began to feel invincible. The primary reason for this was because it also pushed his Endurance to nearly 14k while also giving him an aura that protected against both physical and magical attacks... Feeling therge blocks of ice crash down, shattering harmlessly against his body even though some pieces weighted several tones, Vahn released a sigh. Turning to Eva, Vahn smiled and asked, "With my current power, how would Ipare to other Mages...Master?" Eva tilted her head for a brief moment before forming arge ward on the ground that made an ice pir more than 100m wide appear. Walking over the side, even without using any reinforcement magic, Eva struck the pir with her palms and caused the entire thing to smash in a simr manner to Vahn. With a serious expression on her face, Eva turned to him and said, "There are probably less than ten people that could threaten me...all considered SSS-Rank Mages. At your current potential, I would put you at the high B-Rank, though your physical power could even allow you to defeat an S-Rank Mage if you got a direct hit." In Evas world, it wasnt umon for powerful mages to have the ability to fly, teleport around, or even shift between dimensions. Vahn was very strong, but many of the Knights that protected powerful Mages would be able to defeat him. Though his magic was very unique, his efficiency was some of the worst she had ever seen and he would likely lose in a war of attrition. Going at his maximum potential, Vahn could onlyst for around five minutes of sustainedbat while some Knights, or even Mages, could fight for days. She knew he would grow quickly though, so Eva smiled when she saw how serious he became and said, "Once you learn my [Magia Erebea], youll automatically be considered an S-Rank threat even without any other magic...keep your head up high, my foolish disciple~." At the end of her words, Eva teleported next to Vahn and framed his face with her hands before stealing his lips. It was just about time for them to separate and she needed to rechargepletely before then. Thus, for a period of nearly two hours, Eva got her fill of Vahn before sending him away with a longing gaze. Around the same time, footsteps could be heard nearby as a somewhat mncholic looking Terra approached, watching the partictes of her Master disappearing. Eva released a very loud sigh before turning around and showing aplex expression as she muttered, "Thank you for staying with me Terra..." Fenrir had already been returned to her core so she could return to the real world with Vahn but Terra had inevitably decided to stay. She really hadnt gotten to spend too much time with her Master over the course of the three days, something that pained her heart. Hearing Evas words, however, Terra smiled as she continued to watch the spot where her Master disappeared, saying, "I want to be strong enough that nothing can harm my Master...also, I dont want to leave you in here by yourself, Eva. Call it pride, but if youre able to wait for my Master so faithfully, I want to at least be able to match such determination...ufufufu~." Terra had already started thinking about eternity so she wasnt too concerned over a few hundred years. If she could be strong enough to protect her Master, Terra would tolerate the loneliness with a smile... Eva showed a grateful smile to Terra, knowing that she was making a very big sacrifice just to protect Vahn and the people he cared about. She had actually gotten very close with the True Dragon over the previous four years and was genuinely impressed with the mental fortitude of her first real friend. However, just as she was about to ask Terra to y chess, the exotic beauty suddenly grimaced as she held her abdomen, showing clear difort on her face. Evas eyes widened and she teleported next to Terra, asking concernedly, "Terra, whats wrong!?" Terra was beginning to sweat now and there was a flushed expression on her face as she said, "I...Im not sure...ever since Master..." Unable to continue her words, Terras legs buckled and she fell to the ground in a plop as her wings spread wide. Eva was panicking because she had no idea what was going on, magical light shining from her eyes as she tried discerning the cause. Since Terra was holding her lower abdomen, Eva inspected the area while cing her hand on Terras stomach and saying, "Let the grace of Jupiter be the cure for your sake. Cure!" Though she could only use elementary healing magic, as a result of his unique disposition, Eva still wanted to try and help. While Eva was trying to heal her, Terra felt incredulous at the sensations in her body since there was a very strong pressure in her lower body. Ever since she saw her Master almost transform into a dragon, Terra had been trying to keep to herself. She had felt the pressure previously, apanied by her heightened emotions, but thought it would pass with time. Now, however, Terra realized the pressure was increasing and she felt very frustrated as a sinking feeling spread through her body. Though Evas magic eased some of her pain, Terra felt like it wasnt actually doing anything to treat the cause, which she herself was clueless about. Suddenly, Terra felt her body trembling greatly as the intense pressure continued to sink, causing her to lean forward and rely on Evas small figure for support. Eva still had no idea what was happening and she began to feel very worried for her friend, cursing, "Stupid girl...why didnt you say something sooner...Vahn could have helped..." Though she was trying to fight it, Eva began to tear up as she put even more magic power into her healing, enough that it began to burn away at her own skin. She felt like Vahn would have been able to find a solution with his unique eyes andmented the fact that the chaotic energy in Terras body prevented her from seeing through to the source of the problem. Terras eyes became round like saucers and she began breathing very rapidly until she was unable to resist the urges in her body, releasing a loud, "Nnnuuuuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhn~!?" that stunned both herself and Eva. At the same time, the pressure that had been sinking in her body seemed to reach a point where it could no longer be contained, causing Terra to feel like her stomach had dropped before the pressure suddenly vanished. She felt a great sense of relief, releasing a hot sigh against Eva whileying limply against the much smaller girl. Eva continued to just stand there with a nk expression, tears streaming down her face before she turned her eyes to something she hadnt expected to see at all... Though Terra hadnt seemed to notice it yet, Eva was very aware of the existence of the object that dropped away from Terra as it rolled across the ground for a short distance. Eva had followed it with her eyes and saw an emerald-green egg that was covered in very small scales. It was around 10cm in diameter and around 14cm in length, scarilyrge when Eva considered where it might havee from. Even with Terra leaning her surprisingly heavy body against her, releasing hot and almost sensual breaths, Eva just stared at the egg. This continued for around five minutes until Terra seemed to collect herself a bit as she attempted to stand. Patting her chest, Terra continued to breathe heavily as she gave an apologetic look to Eva and said, "Im sorry, Eva, Im not sure what came over me..." Seeing that Eva had her eyes fixed on something, Terra also turned her head before her eyes widened to an almostical extent. Less than a meter away from her, Terra could see an egg that had simrly green scales like the ones covering her tail. It didnt take her any time at all to realize where the egg must havee from as Terra was aware of arge volume of fluids that had stained her thighs. The pressure she had been feeling, Terra now realized it had been a result of her body producing...an egg. Since Eva seemed to be broken, Terra moved over to the egg, picking it up to inspect it more closely, feeling a heating from it and smelling a pungent fragrance of flowers. Strangely, she felt very annoyed at the egg in her hands, almost like she waspelled to smash it out of frustration. The longer she held it, the more powerful this urge became as her brows furrowed far greater than normal, alerting Eva to the abnormality in her reaction. With a hesitant tone, Eva asked, "Terra...you can make...e-eggs?" Hearing Evas question, Terras frown deepened even more as she said, "Ive never produced an egg before..." The urge to break the egg had reached a point beyond Terras tolerance but, before she was able to smash it, Eva had moved forward in a blur before snatching it out of her hands, screaming, "W-what are you doing!?" For the first time in her life, Terra felt an urge to attack Eva but kept her calm as she took several deep breaths, staring with her sky blue eyes into Evas deep blue eyes. After calming herself down a little, Terra exined in a firm tone, "Something...like an instinct...it tells me I need to break that egg. I feel a powerful sense of frustration and dissatisfaction...Eva...please, let me break it." Hearing Terras words, Evas eyes widened and she cradled the egg protectively as she asked, "You want...to kill it?" When she heard Evas words, Terra felt something simr to anguish as she spat, "It isnt alive!" She didnt know why, but Terra had never felt so upset in her entire life and it bothered her seeing Eva trying to protect the egg. Seeing that Eva wasnt backing down, Terra continued to take deep breaths as her thoughts raced through her mind. Trying to maintain her rationale, Terra clenched her teeth before saying, "Eva...I can understand why you might want to protect that egg...but it isnt alive...I dont know why, but I can tell. It feels like...Ive failed...knowing that egg exists feels makes me feel such a powerful sense of shame...please, destroy it." Eva was taken aback by Terras words but she could tell her friend was trying to reason with her, making Eva believe there was more to the situation. There was also the fact that the egg belonged to Terra, something Eva was very aware of after witnessing its production. Trying to make sense of the situation, Eva started to better understand what Terra might be implying as she thought of various animals that produced eggs. It was very likely that the egg in her hands had never been fertilized, meaning it wasnt actually alive as she previously believed. If it was genuinely causing Terra duress, Eva didnt want to cause her friend any pain... After thinking about it, Eva asked, "Can I try to store it away using space magic...? Vahn may want to...study itter..." Even as the words left her lips, Eva felt very ufortable and almost felt it was outright better to destroy the egg. However, she knew that dragon eggs were incredibly valuable materials back in her world and, if not for the fact it belonged to Terra, Eva wouldnt have had any qualms about keeping it. Since it did belong to Terra, however, Eva felt very ufortable and regretted the words she had just uttered. When Terra nodded her head, Eva felt even worse but still stowed the egg away to see if it would relieve her friends suffering. Seeing the egg disappear, Terra felt even more frustrated and her wings began to bristle like leaves caught in a storm. Eva noticed this as well so she immediately pulled the egg back out before smashing it against the ground without a second thought. If it was truly an infertile egg, Eva didnt want to sacrifice her rtionship with Terra over something so inconsequential. Almost immediately after it shattered, it was like all the tension in Terras body drained out of her as she released a powerful sigh of relief. Plopping to the ground once again, Terra smiled and said, "Thank you, Eva...I dont understand it myself, but I feel very relieved to see it destroyed..." Eva nodded her head as she eyed the contents of the smashed egg, confirming the existence of a golden colored liquid that contained an amazing amount of vitality, but distinctlycked life. If it had been a fertile egg, there would have been an obvious centa and Eva would have been able to sense the budding life inside. Confirming she didnt kill one of her friends children, Eva also felt very relieved and wanted to plop down on the ground alongside Terra. She could see that Terra had a very thoughtful expression on her face as she stared at the egg, causing Eva to feel a little pained, asking, "Did you...want it to be fertilized...?" Understanding Evas question, Terra smiled as she averted her eyes away from the destroyed egg, nodding her head as she said, "Yes...I think my body has changed greatly after my Master gave me a name. It may have been that my reproductive functions had yet to awaken since there wasnt a suitable male to fertilize my egg. Seeing my Master nearly transform into a Dragon, one of a higher tier than myself, my body seems to have awakened. I think, because my Master left, my body began to reject the egg since it would have been impossible to fertilize...it was like all of my instincts were screaming to destroy it from the very moment Iid eyes on it." Eva blushed deeply when she heard Terras words, eliciting a burst of yfulughter from the True Dragon as she rose to her feet and asked, "Care you y chess...?" Even though the egg was still nearby, Terra didnt feel anything towards it other than a very slight amount of frustration, not for the egg itself, but that she hadnt been able to have it fertilized. It was a strange feeling since Terra had never experienced anything remotely simr, even though she pined for her Master in the past. However, by the time she moved to the clearing with Eva, Terras smiled had deepened as she looked towards the sky and began to wonder when, not if, she would be able to get her Master to fertilize her egg... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tier 5 Magic System, OP,*Plop*,Lewd Dragon Empress) (A/N: This chapter is a littlete, but know that things will be picking up starting tomorrow. Not going to lie, but my brother actually ended up getting into a car wreck so I had to spend the day at the hospital with him. Yesterday, I got together with my siblings and ended up drinking with my brother. He didnt drive drunk, but tried to leave early in the morning while nursing a hangover and ended up getting t-boned, with the other driver being responsible. He got a few burns and suffered a concussion, but he is mostly okay, just very shaken considering everything that has been happening. My schedule is cleared up though, so Ill be trying to release the normal amount of chapters starting tomorrow. I actually want to start building up the momentum of the story since this was one of the arcs I was looking forward to the most and its starting to bother me with how slow things have been.) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 633 - Magical

Chapter 633 - Magical

Awakening in the real world, Vahn rubbed the back of his neck and began stretching before taking Fenrirs core out of his Inventory. As it stood, Vahns source energy reserves were around a quarter of Fenrirs, meaning it took nearly ten minutes to summon her since he had to replenish his own reserves several times. Fortunately, Vahn knew that he would be able to train using the magic system from Evas world and it theoretically had the ability to increase his own reserves beyond his actual parameters. Since they were two different systems, Vahn now had two ways to increase his power and was curious if this would apply to his otherpanions... Fenrir popped into existence and began shaking her body from head to toe, almost like she was trying to dislodge non-existent water. Stretching her back with her butt up in the air, Vahn tilted his head andughed, saying, "Wee back to the real world, Fenrir. Do you feel any different?" After wiggling her butt from side-to-side, Fenrir opened her eyes and materialized some clothing before sitting down with her legs crossed, simr to how Tiona always sits. Flopping her ears about, Fenrir mused, "Fenrir feels that the density of the mana in this world is strange...it is very plentiful, but hard tomunicate with...nnnnggh~!" At the end of her words, Fenrir formed a sphere of water and ice elemental energy in between her paws, causing the temperature in the tent to rapidly drop. Vahn activated his [Eyes of Truth] and immediately understood what Fenrir was getting at. Though the mana was simr, it wasnt the same as the type that existed within Evas orb. Fenrir was still able to manipte it, but there was a drop-off in the efficiency that would probably take a bit of time to adapt to. However, the fact that she was able to make use of Evas magic system within the Danmachi record gave Vahn a great deal of hope. It could be because she was alsoprised of source energy, but the fact Fenrir was able to pull elemental energy from the void made Vahn believe it shouldnt be an issue. After dispersing her own mana sphere, Fenrir gave Vahn a sidewards nce that caught his attention as he smiled, reaching out his hand to stroke Fenrirs head. He hadnt been able to discern how much she had really matured, but Vahn quickly realized that Fenrir had be far more clever and reserved. Since he didnt really have that much time to reward her within the orb, Vahn wanted to pamper Fenrir for a bit now that they had returned. She seemed very happy for the opportunity and leaned into his body with her paws facing toward herself while nuzzling against his chest. After a few minutes, Fenrir murmured, "Master smells very nice...Fenrir missed Master so very much...nuuuu..." --- A few hours after his return to reality, Vahn was sitting in the Command Tent with a moderately annoyed expression on his face as listened to Finns report. The expedition had epted numerous secondarymissions so Finn was recounting all the details to Vahn. Though it had only been a day, Vahn was quickly beginning to realize why the girls had so many concerns about him using the orb since some things, especially concerning the Command of the Expedition, now seemed tedious and droll. He would almost rather spend time with the girls in his own tent but simply took a deep breath after Finn was done, smiling as he said, "Thank you for the report, Finn. Sorry for seeming so out of it...Fenrir has recovered and I was spending a bit of time with her before this." Finn chuckled in response, waving his hand in a dismissive manner as he said, "Its perfectly understandable, Vahn. I understand that all of this is very new for you so, as long as youre doing your best, that is all I can ask for. Thank you for your time and patience." As it seemed he was about to leave, Vahn gestured for Finn to stop as he exined, "I also epted amission to guard Asfi, the Captain of the Hermes Familia. She wont be part of our activebat forces unless there is an emergency and will be under the protection of the Hestia Familia until our return." Hearing Vahns words, Finn raised his brow and seemed to get lost in thought for a brief moment before asking, "Are there any concerns about her motives...?" Vahn simply smiled before shaking his head and exining, "Ive already seen through most of the Hermes Familias motives and teased Asfi about it a bit. Dont worry, her presence shouldnt endanger the Expedition and it is unlikely her secondary objectives with interfere with things. We also dont have to divert any forces for her protection whatsoever since...well, youll seeter on, hahahaha~." For a brief moment, Vahn imagined Fenrir just dominating all of the monsters they came across. She would truly be a legend once they returned to the surface, almost to the point that Vahn briefly contemted having Fenrir restrain herself for the duration of the Expedition. Seeing how confident Vahn was, Finn smiled politely before bowing and saying, "Then, if youll excuse me, Vahn, Ill be on my way. Have a pleasant evening..." This time, Vahn didnt stop Finn from leaving but he still had a smile on his face as he shook his head. Vahn had understood Finn was teasing him a bit when he mentioned having a pleasant evening. Since Finn had actually brought a group of three Pallum girls along with him, all around Level 2, Vahn had been tempted to tease him as well. However, knowing they were probably girls Finn was grooming to be his future brides, Vahn felt a little awkward about it. Though he had made the suggestion in the past, it felt more than a little strange seeing Finn was acting on his advice...but, if the girls were following this path on their own, Vahn didnt really have the right to interfere. After returning to his own tent, Vahn found Fenrir sitting with Haruhime, surprisingly wearing a ck kimono of her own. Fenrir immediately transitioned into clothing that was easier to move in as she trotted over and hugged Vahns waist, saying, "Wee back, Master~." Haruhimeughed, using her sleeve to cover her mouth as she said, "Indeed, wee back, Vahn." Then, as if to answer Vahns unasked question, Haruhime exined, "Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya have yet to return, but I imagine it will be soon." Since she knew Vahn could sense Asfi and Mikoto, Haruhime didnt bother exining their status. Mikoto was currently sleeping in the shared room while Asfi had already retired to her personal quarters, currently using a skill that allowed her to eavesdrop their conversation. Haruhime walked over and passed a slip of paper to Vahn as she stood on her toes and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Vahn began [Petting] in response before walking the two girls over to the cushions and pampering them while they waited for the others to return. He found the fact that Asfis aura became slightly pink after she heard Fenrirs and Haruhimes cries to be very humorous. Haruhime seemed to be aware of it as well so she didnt hold back much until Asfi stopped using her skill outright, curling up as her aura slowly began to stabilize. Around this time, Vahn inspected the slip of paper Haruhime had given him, seeing that it contained Haruhimes spections about Asfis presence. Though he already suspected it, Asfi was undoubtedly a nt within the group and Haruhime spected she was a sacrificial pawn by Hermes to get closer to the Hestia Familia. Even if Asfi joined their group and took vows to protect the information she obtained, she was likely still bound to be loyal to Hermes for a few years, potentially even longer depending on the terms of the vow. Vahn decided he would look into Asfis origins when they returned to the surface as there had to be a greater reason behind the fact that she was so loyal to Hermes. Asfi was currently around twenty years old, very young for how prolific she was with her [Mystery] Development Ability, and had already been the Captain of the Hermes Familia for three years. Unless she had been scouted to be his Captain, this meant Asfi had been associating with the somewhat troublesome god ever since she was just a young girl. Given the fact that Asfi was likely a princess, as Haruhime imed she was too high born to simply be a noble, Vahn believed there was far more to her story than had been revealed. It wouldnt make sense why the princess of a country hade to Orario and joined a Familia like the Hermes Familia unless there was a greater reason behind it. The fact that she had been used by Hermes just to get closer to him was a major red g in Vahns mind and he felt a great deal of concern for the taciturn young woman... After around an hour had passed, Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya returned to the tent in high spirits, which became even higher when they saw Fenrir again. Tiona ran over and glomped Fenrir yfully as she said, "Wee back, Fenrir~!" in a cheerful tune. She knew Fenrir had actually been gone for over four years so Tiona wanted her to feel very wee. The other girls made their way over as well, spending a bit of time interacting with Vahn while talking about their small excursion. Asfi and Mikoto also came out of their rooms and joined the conversation, though only after Vahn exined Asfis presence. He didnt want to put her on the spot too much, so Vahn didnt really point out the fact she was a spy, trusting that Haruhime was capable of managing things. Eventually, it started gettingte so the girls wanted to take a bath before heading off to bed in preparation for theing day. Asfis eyes widened marginally when she saw a series ofrge basins appear out of thin air but she didnt make anyments about it. Vahn turned to her with a smile and asked, "Did you want me to put a basin in your room? I know hygiene can be very important for girls and I would feel bad if you only got to clean your body with a towel for the entire Expedition..." One of the things that had made Vahn so popr during the previous Expedition was the fact that he simply providedmodities that were generally unavable during most Expeditions. Asfi seemed to consider her response but didnt have time to think about it much before Haruhime and Tiona nked her, thetter saying, "Aww,e take a bath with us Asfi~! Were going to be together for the next two months, so lets get along well, ehehehe~!" Haruhime also yfully grasped Asfis arm, causing the cool beauty to fl.u.s.ter a bit as a light blush covered her face. Seeing her eyes cast several nces his way, Vahn smiled and just grabbed Fenrirs outstretched paw as they made their way outside. He could tell that Haruhime was already dealing with Asfi and Vahn wanted her to open up since he may have to eventually tend to the matters of her Kingdom in the future. Vahn even suspected that Asfi may not necessarily be a piece being used and considered the possibility that she was allowing things to progress this way to get stronger allies for her homnd, simr to how Riveria started out. There were too many unknowns so Vahn would leave her to the other girls, not really concerned they would share information since they were under vows... Vahn hadnt gotten too far before Mikoto and Lefiya came following after them, causing Vahn to smile as they made their way into the forest to take a bath in the smallke nearby. Mikoto was already doing her duty and had shown concern for Vahns mentality by asking about the developments in the orb. The fact that she had a ruddy blush on her face in the process brought a smile to his face because it was very obvious she wasnt thatfortable with making conversation while they were bathing. As for Lefiya, she happily washed his back while Vahn tended to Fenrir, who happily sshed around in the water, enjoying the opportunity to be pampered once again... Once the recounting hade to end, Vahn had already moved on to helping the bashful Lefiya wash her hair as she asked, "So, will I be able to learn the same kind of magic as Fenrir and Terra? It seems hard to believe...but..." Lefiya watched Fenrir ying around with a mass of mana, performing a training exercise that Eva had her practice in the past. It was more important for a Mage to be able to manipte the elemental energies in the air than their own internal mana so Fenrir was constantly practicing in order to be even stronger. Seeing Fenrir do something that was considered almost impossible made Lefiya feel awed and excited about the future. Vahn just chuckled in response to her question before manipting a small flow of water with his hands to remove the suds from her hair, saying, "It may be easier for entities like Fenrir, Terra, and Fafnir, but Im one-hundred percent sure you will be able to use the same magic system. Ill go into more details about itter, especially when we return to the surface, but you can actually advance both magic systems simultaneously if you want. Evas magic system actually allows a person to greatly increase their mana without having to develop their Magic parameter, though the influence is still very obvious. Fenrir and Terra both managed to get more than 3,000 Magic before leveling up, and that was without gaining any exillia at all..." Hearing Vahns words, Lefiya and Mikoto showed an incredible degree of shock, neither being able to form words for several long seconds. Vahnughed at their reaction before matching gazes with the onyx-eyed Mikoto, causing her to blush in the process. With a confident smile on his face, Vahn exined, "The magic system used by Eva actually allows for several types of existences, categorized as Mages, Knights, and Magic-Knights. Even for you, Mikoto, youll be able to learn Evas magic system to be far stronger than you are at present..." Hearing Vahns words, Mikotos blush faded and she showed an earnest expression on her face as she smiled and said, "Thank you for your consideration, Master...I will do my best to meet your expectations." Though some might believe Vahn was simply trying to be nice, Mikoto ced a lot of faith in his words and knew he would be able to help increase her strength if she worked hard. With techniques like [Shundo], [Cantus Bex], and [Augendae Celeritas], Mikoto would easily be able to be an unrivaled swordswoman. Given the fact that her Innate likely rted to gravity magic, Vahn felt she could actually exceed the vast majority of Mages in the Danmachi record, creating a modified version of the [Heavenly Flying Sword] technique for future generations. Since she was the only one pursuing the path of pure swordsmanship, Vahn believed she would be creating a legend that wouldst for generations once her strength reached near the peak. He even exined this to her while so she would be inspired to focus on her meditation and learning basic reinforcement magic in the future. During their conversation, Vahn also asked Fenrir to demonstrate some of her reinforcement and movement spells for the two girls so she ended up bouncing around in the air for a few minutes before doing a cannonball into theke. By the end of the demonstration, Lefiya and Mikoto both had anticipatory looks on their faces, though their reasons were slightly different. Lefiya was excited about the prospect of increasing her mana beyond the restrictions of her parameters while Mikoto simply wanted to be able to move around with Fenrirs speed. She could barely even seen Fenrir move, even though thetter was just ying around, so Mikoto knew learning such a technique would push her skills to the next level. Unable to wait, she even implored Vahn to start teaching her then and there, apparently forgetting the fact she was n.a.k.e.d until she caught Vahns gaze wandering to her chest... Vahn managed to escape the situation a bitter after promising to teach them both once he had a better understanding of the magic himself. He did, however, teach them some of the meditation exercises mentioned by Eva and gave them both a small practice wand. With a rxed expression, Vahn watched the two girls y around with the wands, exining, "The key to being able to use magic in the newer system is having a proper understanding of the phenomenon youre trying to produce. Youll also need to have a strong understanding of the power of words so youll have to study several differentnguages if you want to make any real advancements." Vahn then handed both girls small study texts that had differentnguages on each page. The left included thenguage of this world, as transcribed by Terra, while the right included anguage called Latin. To Vahn, they both looked the exact same and even he didnt understand how his brain interpreted the information in such a way... At this point, Fenrir peaked into the books held by the two girls and said, "Fenrir knows~! If you need help, Fenrir will teach you, Lefiya, Mikoto." Vahns eyes opened marginally at Fenrirs words while the other two girls were shocked by the offer. With a happy smile on her face, Lefiya said, "Thank you, Fenrir, I would greatly appreciate it." As for Mikoto, she bowed politely and said, "I would greatly appreciate your help..." Fenrir just waved her paw in a dismissive manner and showed a natural smile as she said, "Fenrir will help everyone be strong so that Master doesnt have to experience sad things. Work hard so we can all be happy together, okay~?" This time, Vahn was genuinely shocked but it waspletely overwhelmed by how proud he was of Fenrir. Picking her up from behind, Vahn hugged her tightly and said, "Fenrir, Im so proud of you~!" as the small wolf girlughed yfully. When they returned to the tent, Vahn gathered together all the girls and went over the same things he had discussed with Mikoto, Lefiya, and Fenrir. He put up a ward to prevent Asfi from spying on them, which seemed to surprise the girl when she tried to probe the barrier with strange magic and failed. Vahn smiled when this happened but continued exining without giving any indicator to the other girls about Asfis attempt. She may be involved with them in the future, but Vahn wasnt actually pursuing her as a potential romantic interest since he believed they were better suited as friends than lovers. If her feelings changed naturally, Vahn might consider it, but there were far too many other concerns on his te, chief among them being the growth of the girls since they were all in their development stages. They needed to begin learning Evas magic system very soon or they wouldnt be able to increase their internal mana enough to reach the pinnacles of the world. As for Asfi, she was already twenty and was considered to be past her prime if going by Evas logic. Vahn suspected he could help her be stronger, as this was likely the reason why she was in Orario, to begin with, but he wouldnt cultivate her like the other girls just yet. At the end of the conversation, everyone seemed to be in high spirits until Tiona, who was sitting with her legs crossed, holding her ankles, asked, "Can someone like me really use magic, though? Im not really the smartest girl and Im not sure studyingnguages would really help me out too much, ehehehe..." Though she had attended some of Riverias lessons, even going so far as to seek guidance from Lefiya, Tiona still had a whopping 0 Magic parameter. She was very self-conscious about the fact and was surprised when she saw Vahn facepalm hard enough to create a small shockwave. She tilted her head with an Eh? as Vahn rubbed his forehead and said, "Tiona, Im an idiot...but yes, youll easily be able to learn magic. Ill exin in greater detail in the future, but Im positive youll be just fine. In fact, I have a method to allow you to use magic and potentially increase your parameter in the future..." Tionas eyes went wide and she immediately clung to Vahn, asking, "Eh, is that really true!?", while shaking his body a bit forcefully. Vahn eventually managed to clear his head a bit when Ais and Tione pulled Tiona away from him, nodding his head as he said, "Yes, I obtained an item in the past that I intended to let you try out. Your body has a unique constitution, but you should still be able to use magic if you use this..." Vahn pulled out the [Mirakurun Magic Wand] that had been sitting in his Inventory collecting dust for several months. He had studied it a bit in the past but otherwisepletely forgot about it after getting caught up in his other research. As for Tiona, she immediately snatched the rather adorable looking wand and immediately paused after grabbing it, eyes wide in confusion before she said, "Yes...?", likely in response to a question that was asked in her mind. The moment Tiona agreed to the contract, a vibrant light exploded from her body as a bubble expanded through the area, causing time toe to a crawl. For everyone except Vahn, they just saw a bright magical light while he was able to discern exactly what was happening. The clothes on Tionas body broke apart, much to Vahns frustration since she had been wearing her Aegis clothing, and several bands of light began to coil around her. She didnt seem to be aware of it herself, but Tiona began striking several poses as the bands conformed to the shape of her body, producing several pieces of clothing that were far beyond the general aesthetic of this world. They were incredibly cute and covered in frills, causing a bit of a gap since Tionas healthy brown skin was a stark contrast to the vibrant and bubbly color palette of the dress... As the transformation came to an end, the magical light wrapped around Tionas forearms, legs, and head, forming solid white sleeves and dark green stockings while her previously ck hair became mint green. Almost like she waspelled to do so, Tiona grabbed the wand that was spinning through the air as the time dtion came to an end, striking a cute pose while shooting a peace sign near her winking eye. At this point, Vahn noticed that her brown eyes were now azure blue and there were golden stars recing her pupils as she said, "Magical Girl, Mirakurun here to vanquish evil-doers~! Teehee~!" For several long seconds, everyone just stared in awe at Tiona until Fenrir began to make an uooooooooh sound while pping her paws together, clearly impressed by the transformation. As for Tiona herself, she seemed to be awakened by the noise and began inspecting her body excitedly as Tione jumped up and shouted, "What the f.u.c.k!?" at the top of her voice... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir is a good girl (UwU),Everyone can be magical~!,Teehee~!) (A/N: This is the first of, potentially, three chapters for today. Ill gradually start increasing the number of releases and hope to be back to form by the end of the week. You should expect around 60-80k words this week before Im back to around 100k in the following weeks. Ill keep you posted if there are any changes.) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 634 - Entrapment

Chapter 634 - Entrapment

Tiona was currently standing at the center of everyone, wearing a sleeveless white top that hugged her figure, almost as if proving she didnt have any b.r.e.a.s.ts. It had a cor the came partially up her neck and was split at the bottom like four flower petals with ck ents along the edges. She also had a pair of loose sleeves that started around her biceps and reached all the way to her wrists, where the essories that used to be there hadpletely vanished. Slightly darker than her mint colored hair, Tiona had a teal skirt that matched the color of the bow at her chest and the two small ribbons tying up the two cute pigtails in her hair. On her legs, she had dark green stockings that flowed directly into her boots, much like how Ais and Mikotos used to... When Tione jumped up and shouted, everyone in the room was startled by the outburst until Tiona just looked at her sister and said, "Ehehehe, Tiona had be a magical girl, Tione~!" As if to demonstrate, Tiona swung the small star-shaped wand in her hand and sent out sparkling magical energy that was shaped like glitter, stars, and even hearts. One of them flew at Tione, popping as it came into contact with her face, startling the elder of the two Amazon sisters in the process. Tiona saw this and began tough happily before eyeing Vahn with her star-shaped pupils and saying, "Vahn, my hero~!" as she leaped towards him. Vahn was very surprised by the transformation but he put it to the back of his mind and just epted Tionas embrace since she seemed very happy. He did, however, ask, "Do you know how to transform back...?" after a few minutes had passed. Tiona nodded her head before backing away and holding the wand between her hands, causing her clothing to explode into light green smoke as her previous equipment thankfully came back into existence. Vahn released a relieved sigh before smiling as he said, "That wand is now bound to you and should enable you to use all kinds of magic, though it wouldnt necessarily follow conventional magic systems. Youll have to figure out how to use it yourself, but Im certain youll be able to do it, Tiona." Tiona beganughing happily as she brandished the wand and said, "It was actually super easy to use magic when I was transformed, almost like my brain was telling me how to do it. I still want to learn properly though, so please teach me~!" Vahn agreed to her request and they all began to talk about their studies while Vahn began transcribing books for the girls. Strangely, though he couldnt see the difference betweennguages, Vahn could write in Latin just fine. The only thing he needed to do was know it existed and analyze the structure for a bit before he couldpletely replicate thenguage. It also helped that he had a temte to work from with the texts provided by Eva and Terra. Since it had started to gette, Vahn had the girls go to sleep since they needed to prepare for the Expedition setting out early tomorrow morning. They were all very excited to be learning magic, especially after seeing Tiona suddenly transform, so Vahn had needed to force them to sleep by dispersing calming energy into his domain. He still ended up being hugged by Tiona and Tione while Fenrir imed the spot on his stomach for herself. As for himself, Vahn stayed awake for a while longer since he wasnt even remotely tired. He had rested a bit in the orb and that had only been a few hours prior, not mentioning the fact he didnt require much sleep from the start. Thus, while waiting for sleep to im him, Vahn let his mind wander and just enjoyed the warmth of the girls as he wondered what kind of schemes their enemies would enact in the future. Though he still had a long way to go, Vahn felt like he would even be able to defeat Ottar if he could catch the powerful demigod off guard. In raw parameters, Vahn was confident in exceeding Ottarpletely so the biggest variable would be generalbat experience and the strength of the mans Innates. As a demigod, Vahn was certain Ottar had, at the very least, three different Innates. Bing the King would have been impossible otherwise and he wouldnt have had such a great impact on the original plot unless he had a powerful destiny. He likely had the blessing of his parent god, Innates rted to Power and Endurance, and most likely enhanced perception... Vahn wondered if he could convince Freya to allow him and Ottar to spar in the future but knew it would probably trigger the goddess to approach him more earnestly if he defeated her prized champion. He would have to settle for fighting against his ownpanions while periodically having the opportunity to defeat whatever enemies had the gall to actually try and fight them. Other than subterfuge and scheming against them, Vahn couldnt imagine anyone actually being able to threaten his family in the future. If he could adapt Evas teachingpletely, Vahn was confident that even Preasia could be a powerhouse without ever entering the Dungeon. What they were doing waspletely reshaping the bnce of power in the world, skewing it greatly in their favor until the generations that graduate from the School slowly spread the knowledge in the future... Though he hadnt disbelieved it, Vahn nowpletely understood why Riveria believed he would bring about a magical revolution in the future. It wouldnt spread too quickly, as the children would need to take small vows before taking more advanced magical sses, but the future would be full of capable Mages, Knight, and Magic-Knights. Once the children grew up, they would start their own families while some of the more capable amongst them may even start entire ns, developingpletely unique magic that were passed through the ages. Much like the history of Magic in Evas world, Vahn was confident things would take a simr path in the future as even the gods would likely take to Evas Magic system once the restrictions of the worlds tier had been removed... To prevent things from bing chaotic, Vahn knew he would have to stand at the peak as a deterrent to those that would try to exploit the new magic system for their own benefit. It was likely around this time that he originally set about bing the Emperor since Vahn could now understand the decision better. Regardless of the path he chose to walk, Vahn would have to help stabilize the other countries or the concepts he spread would eventually be used to bring great harm. The best approach was simply to educate the youth while acting as an insurmountable power that proactively negotiated with the other countries. He could focus his power base within Orario and just wait for things to slowly stabilize or Vahn could take a more proactive approach and seize power from those that have been keeping it for themselves at the expense of others... Realizing he was on a simr path as his Emperor self, Vahn produced a wry smile and knew he would have to rely on the others if he didnt want to be lonely again. There was also the fact that he wanted to conquer the Dungeon itself so Vahn knew he would have to restrict his growth to Tier 3, at least until he was ready to move on to the next world. Vahn suspected that he had been unable to obtain the [I Shall Return] quest in the Divination timeline because of the shift in his focus. The moment he was unable to progress further into the Dungeon, Vahn likely lost his method to obtain arge amount of OP and likely required the assistance of the Alliance just to support his reserves. This time around, Vahn was confident he could gain more OP by setting up an exchange in the Haven where Adventurers would be able to trade in materials for raremodities that were rtively cheap within the system shop. It shouldnt be difficult to earnrge profits without generating any negative karma as long as he didnt take things too far and develop a greedy mentality. If he kept his focus on stockpiling his reserves for the express purpose ofpleting his quest and protecting the world, Vahn was confident he would actually generate positive karma instead of negative karma... --- Unsure of when he fell asleep the previous night, Vahn pulled out Evas orb and quickly entered it before any of the other girls awoke. He was aware that Fenrir stirred awake at the same time as him, but she was behaving and remained silent. Vahn smiled as the darkness encroached on his vision once again before the familiar tugging sensation appeared and he was suddenly in Evas orb. It felt like he wasnt away for very long and Vahn knew this incongruity would only increase over the next few weeks as he continued learning magic from Eva. It was probably a good thing that he would only be able to use the orb for two weeks since it would be progressively more difficult to focus on things in the real world as his studied progressed further... As usual, Eva pinned him down and began licking his exposed shoulder before biting into it, heat radiating from her currently a.d.u.l.t form that was straddling his h.i.p.s. She was 170cm tall in her a.d.u.l.t form and appeared to be in herte twenties, seemingly very mature as herrge b.r.e.a.s.ts pressed into his chest. Vahn felt like she was trying to appeal to him so he reached out his hands and grabbed her plump butt, not surprised by the fact that she was n.a.k.e.d at all. However, Vahns mind had calmed down a bit at this point and he was aware of the second presence in the room that was near his legs, almost as if she was waiting for something. Vahn had been about to remove his pants to y with Eva for a bit but now felt like he had almost walked into a trap orchestrated by the two girls. He wasnt sure what had changed in thest four years but it was almost certain they had be much closer. Deciding to y along, Vahn went with his instincts and drew a sharp breath when his erect member was suddenly enveloped in warmth suddenly, all the way to the base. Eva beganughing at this point, almost like she had seeded in a prank as she licked his neck and said, "Even though youre on time, weve still been waiting patiently for you, Vahn. Youll have to make it up to us unless you want to be punished again, ufufufu~." Eva began kissing his lips this time, apparently not in a hurry to replenish her mana reserves while Terra earnestly sucked on his member down below. Every time Terra pulled her head away, Vahn felt like she was trying to rip his lower body off with how powerful the suction was, causing Eva tough every time he drew a sharp breath. Terras wings also began to rustle audibly, clearly enjoying his response as she redoubled her efforts, rolling his ns with her long and hot tongue before kissing the top and bringing her head down again, craning her head at a somewhat awkward angle to take in the full length into her throat. Vahn knew he was being yed with by the two girls, who had likely orchestrated their joint attack previously, but he didnt mind it too much. If things got out of hand, Vahn knew he could at least defeat Terra easily before getting even with Evater on... Eva moved her h.i.p.s up a little, arching her body as she kissed his lips and asked, "Vahn, do you have any qualms about having s.e.x with Terra?" Vahnn was momentarily stunned by Evas words, blinking several times before shaking his head and saying, "No, she is a beautiful woman who works very hard for my benefit, sometimes tooooo...hard..." Terra had created a powerful suction, seemingly pleased by Vahns praise, so his words broke towards the end. As for Eva, she justughed and began kissing around his cheek and ear as she murmured, "In the future, Ill be expecting you to make up for everything that I cant have right now...but for now, enjoy thefort of these two big sisters for a bit~." Almost as soon as her words finished, Vahn felt like his p.e.n.i.s had entered a furnace as he saw Terra lower her h.i.p.s while looking down over Evas back, blue eyes glimmering with passion as she released a steamy sigh. There was no immediate tightness to Terras v.a.g.i.n.a and it was instead veryfortable, almost like a glove if not for the fact that it was incredibly hot inside. She wasnt at the same level as Hephaestus, but Vahn felt like Terras insides where nearly 150 degrees and it had surprised him at first. However, it was when Terra tightened up her abdominal muscles that Vahn was truly caught by surprise as he had to grit his teeth to resist being crushed by the sudden pressure. Terra was closely watching his expression and eased up on the pressure a bit until Vahn rxed, causing her tough yfully as she began to rock her h.i.p.s forward with shallow movements, a fierce blush rising to her cheeks as her breathing began to elerate. Eva grabbed the sides of Vahns head, forcing him to look at her as she said, "Dont forget about me...or I wont allow this type of thing to happen anymore." Eva had a slight pout on her face because she didnt like being ignored when they had previously been kissing and showing affection to each other. Vahn leaned up and sealed her lips with his own while moving his hands to her h.i.p.s and cing his thumbs at two points that made her body tremble. At the same time, almost as if they had rehearsed it, Terra pulled Evas h.i.p.s down and began rocking the seemingly mature vampires body, matching her movements to those of her own h.i.p.s. Vahn keyed in on this fact almost instantly and began stimting Eva at the same time, not really surprised when her form broke down a few minutester and he suddenly had her petite body panting against his chest... Terra did her best to avoidughing and just showed a vibrant smile that caused her eyes to squint as she gestured to her Master to pay more attention to Eva. Though they originally were attacking him, things quickly developed to the point where Terra and Vahn were tending to Eva as she fought against the pleasure in her own body. She would likely never grow ustomed to such sensations since her body typically prevented pleasure from building in normal circ.u.mstances. With Vahns constant efforts, however, Eva pooled arge volume of fluids near his lower body that intermixed with Terras as their y continued for nearly two hours. By the end, Eva had bitten several parts of his body to cope with the sensations wracking her own while Terra had also released a few throaty orgasms, especially when Vahn ejacted inside of her... Eva was currently sitting in Vahnsp, hugging him while she drained his blood and Terra exined what had happened over thest four years. Since it was a matter that would need to be brought to light sooner orter, Terra started off by exining, "Master, there is something you need to know..." Presently, she was sitting on Evas bed without making any effort to conceal herself, even wiping up some of the fluids escaping from her body with a yful glint in her eyes as she licked her fingers clean. Even so, Terra continued exining, "When you left previously, my body actually released an egg...and it has continued producing one every month since then..." Vahn was surprised by Terras words, especially when she ced her hands affectionately against her abdomen, causing Vahn to immediately activate his [Eyes of Truth]. He had already known the construction of her v.a.g.i.n.a and w.o.m.b was unique, but Vahn never expected to see what was presently growing inside Terras body. There was a vibrant, emerald-green, egg that waspletely covered in scales inside her w.o.m.b. The s.e.m.e.n that he had ejacted inside of her body was undergoing a simr process to when he had s.e.x with Elves, being that Terras w.o.m.b was absorbing it as it channeled the energy into her egg. Vahn began to sweat at first but took several deep breaths to calm down before smiling, saying, "That is a little sneaky...but Im not upset. Thank you, Terra..." Though he wasnt sure why Vahn feltpelled to thank Terra because he couldnt help but feel she was doing this for them. She probably wanted to produce offspring between them and raise them within the orb, increasing their forces while nurturing their child. Vahn wasnt sure what kind of child would be born but, considering it was currently in an egg, it would likely be a baby True Dragon. The next time he visited the orb, he might have a small dragnoid flittering about, something he found somewhat exciting since Terra would likely teach it how to transform and could probably teach Fafnirter on. Terra smiled lovingly when she heard her Masters words, happy he wasnt upset by the fact that she sneakily entrapped him. She had previously discussed this with Eva and had actually been very worried he would resent her, at least for a short while. However, producing infertile eggs had been whittling away at her mentality and Terra felt like she needed to produce a fertile egg or she might lose her mind. She had been preparing to exin this to her Master after the fact but now it suddenly didnt seem as necessary so she just smiled and said, "Master, I love you...Ive wanted to tell you that for so long, but now I cant keep it bottled up anymore...ufufufu~." Vahn felt a familiar warmth spread through his chest, simr to the feeling he would get whenever the other girls would say the same words. Thus, while hugging Evas body tightly, Vahn smiled and said, "I love you too, Terra...you and Eva both. Ill also love our child to the best of my ability..." Vahn realized that this meant Terra would be the first person to actually give birth to his child but it didnt really matter too much as the deed was already done. Hephaestus would still be the first person to give birth to his child as part of the Danmachi record and it was unlikely that Terra would make a scene. He didnt even know how things would develop anymore so Vahn just decided not to mind it and simply do his best for all the girls around him, including the small one in his arms and the beautiful big one affectionately stroking her abdomen... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gap-moe,Some paths, though different, run parallel to others,Ha, Gotem!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 635 - Contract

Chapter 635 - Contract

After Eva had finished replenishing her energy, Vahn also helped Terra recover while they talked about the egg in greater detail. Eva was a little embarrassed and had even tried to apologize at first but Vahn just waved away her concerns since he would have given in if Terra asked him regardless. Now that he had more time to think about it, Vahn had noticed a few peculiarities in the egg, including the fact that there were small runes on each scale. Presently, the golden runes only covered part of the egg so Vahn was certain she would need more energy. He deduced that it was already fertilized but would likely benefit from a greater concentration of energy so he tried channeling his source energy into it with [Hands of Nirvana] and [Yggdrasils Blessing]. Surprisingly, his source energy couldnt prate through the scales surrounding the egg and it instead caused the runes to glow a bit brighter as they resisted the infusion. Vahn suspected he could overpower the barrier but decided against it since it since he didnt really want to experiment using his own child. For some reason, it seemed like the egg only epted the energy that had been converted by Terras w.o.m.b after it absorbed his s.e.m.e.n. It probably had something to do withws he had yet to understand so Vahn just decided to help nourish the egg while Terra carried it in her w.o.m.b. Fortunately, if it was necessary, Vahn was confident he could help her indefinitely but had instead realized he could infuse more energy into his s.e.m.e.n instead, causing Terra to pass out as a result butpleting the runes on the egg after an hour-long session of love-making. Walking out from Terras nest, Vahn wiped the sweat from his brow as the blushing Eva refused to make eye contact with him, instead, nursing the tea that had long cooled. She had concealed her presence, but Vahn knew that Eva had been watching them the entire time based on her behavior. Vahn just walked over and picked her body up unceremoniously before sitting her in hisp, causing her to fl.u.s.ter a bit but offering no realints as she turned her body and straddled his h.i.p.s. With a serious expression on her face, somewhat diminished by her blush, Eva said, " Its good that you were decisive on this matter, Vahn. I was worried that Terra might break if she kept producing those infertile eggs..." Though it wasnt too bad at first, Terra had gotten to the point where it would take nearly an entire day for her to calm down after she produced an egg. She would even smash things after teleporting far away from their base, something Eva had witnessed by observing her through the void. When the time for Vahns arrival wasing around, she had been the one to approach Terra and convince her to sleep with Vahn since Eva had been very worried for her. They had grown very close over thest eight years and Terra was almost like a big sister to her now, even though she was still respectful when they were researching and practicing magic together. Terras presence alone brought her a lot offort and Eva hated seeing her crying and thrashing about in frustration all alone... Vahn held Eva close and ran his fingers through her long blond hair, so long that it actually went beyond the seat of the chair when they were sitting down. With a calm smile on his face, Vahn said, "I may not be the most capable father, but I believe all the women around me would make great mothers. I will always do my best to support them so, if Terra wanted a child, I dont have any problems with that whatsoever. You too, Eva, one day...after we get married..." Without waiting for her response, Vahn gave Eva a very light peck on the lips until the small vampire reciprocated his actions far more passionately. After separating, Eva looked very lovingly into Vahns eyes and seemed to recall something as she ced her finger against his lips and said, "There is another kind of magic we havent discussed yet. I already told Terra about it but she said it should be a secret magic that I only shared with you and refused to learn itpletely...you see, not only are there different ssifications for Mages, but there is also a structure that has existed for around a thousand years. Not everyone has the opportunity to learn magic at a young age, whilst others simply dont have the mental capacity to understand moreplex magic. To make up for this, Ancient Mages created a form of magic referred to as [Pactio] or contract magic. This allows what we call a Magister Magi to transfer and share magic power with other people, referred to as Minister Magi..." Seeing Vahns surprise, Eva yfully traced her finger around his bottom lip before saying, "That isnt the only thing, either, as the [Pactio] actually grants all kinds of abilities to the Minister Magi. It allows them to increase their physical capabilities faster, grants them a magical barrier against physical attacks, and also bestows upon them a unique artifact that reflects their personality and capabilities. Ive learned a lot about the reality youe from, Vahn, so I believe this magic is the best suited to your situation. You can use it to enhance the capabilities of all your little girls..." At this point, Eva lifted her body to match gazes with Vahn before gently kissing his lips a few times. Once she was satisfied, Eva pulled away but continued to hold his face as she squinted her eyes and said, "The most useful function, which Im sure youll appreciate the most, is the fact that you can not only telepathicallymunicate with anyone youve performed a [Pactio] with, but you can even summon the girls to you through the link you establish. They cant teleport you to them, unless of course their artifact allows such things, but it will allow you to move around more freely without having to constantly have them follow along...ufufufu~." Eva also knew about the Dungeon in Vahns world, to a great amount of detail, and she expected he would be better suited to the [Pactio] than any other magic she could teach him. Vahn was, admittedly, very ecstatic when he heard Evas words and,bined with the fact she was currently teasing him, he felt triggered to take action so he quickly snatched up the yful vampire and vanished towards their castle. Evasughter rang like a bell that caused Terra, who was still currently unconscious, to beginughing as she muttered, "Eva...enjoy...ufufufu..." Afterward, Terra curled up into a fetal position using her own flexible wings to coil around her body, almost as if she were creating a coon to protect the presence in her abdomen. Though it wasnt nearly as strong as the connection she felt to her Master, Terra felt a powerful urge to protect the vibrant bundle of life... For the remainder of the three day period, Eva trained Vahn in the practical use of magic since he was able to form most spell circles and wards from memory. The only thing he really needed was a proper understanding of the phenomenon he created while improving his ability to cast spells quickly. Though he was able to download the information from books, this didnt mean Vahn knew what was inside and it didnt mean he had an intuitive understanding of the contents. He still needed to read andprehend things, study, and practice if he wanted to be a capable Mage, especially since he also needed to filter his own energy through several magic circles just to use magic. During their downtime, Eva had Vahn spoil her a bit while also teaching him how to form the ward to create a pactio, as it had to be drawn on the ground using specialized chalk to function. It was veryplex, but Vahn was easily able to replicate it since his Dexterity was inordinately high and his memory was nearly perfect. The important part was to simply practice creating the circle over and over since it required the entire thing to be structured within a period of fifteen seconds if he wanted to form a permanant pactio. Eva had taught him in greater detail about the aspects rted to a pactio, including the fact there were several different kinds and that there were actually restrictions in ce to prevent exploitation. Though a [Pactio] was neutral magic, it was also heavily regted by the ws of the world since it could bestow great power at almost no cost. Even Preasia could be very powerful just by having a [Pactio] with a powerful Mage, especially someone like Vahn who made use of source energy to fuel the bond. An example of one major restriction was the fact that age was actually taken into consideration and could negatively impact the Magister Magi if they tried to force someone into a [Pactio]. If the person was too young, the type of [Pactio] that would be formed was known as a Probationary Pactio and it put heavy restrictions on the caster depending on the circ.u.mstances. This ounted for things like the emotional bond between the two involved during the [Pactio] as well as the difference in their ages respective to variables such as race, mental development, and even emotional stability. Typically, for a [Pactio] to be permanant, without any major restrictions, the people had to genuinely care about each other, not be rted by blood, and, ideally, simr in age. Though there were exceptions, such as when two immortals formed a [Pactio], any Magister trying to form a [Pactio] with someone much younger with them would usually have restrictions ced on their actual soul. Such things included making it functionally impossible to make a move on the other person unless they wished to experience a tremendous bacsh. Though there were ways around this, trying to exploit it typically caused more harm than good so even evil Mages followed the rules. After all, tempting troubled children was simply too easy in some circ.u.mstances so the ws governing the [Pactio] protected them while punishing anyone that tried to exploit those younger than them... Inversely, however, there werent any major restrictions for younger people trying to form [Pactio]s with older people, specifically with the younger person being the Magister. Since it was only possible for the stronger of the two to initiate the [Pactio], this meant that a talented and young Magister could easily enter contracts with people much older than themselves, without any negative consequences for themselves or the Ministra. It was a bit of a loophole, but Mages that developed enough magical power to perform [Pactio]s with entities much older than them were typically very mature and thus the ws were far more lenient. After drawing the ward for what felt like the ten-thousandth time, Vahn asked, "Eva, Im guessing its impossible for you to form a [Pactio] with me...?" Eva had been dangling her feet at the side while she watched Vahn draw the ward, immediately answering, "Indeed, as Im just a memory fragment and [Pactio]s link together two souls. You could ask Terra, but I think she would outright refuse and instead insist that you be stronger so she can be your Ministra...ufufufu~." If she could, Eva would willingly enter a [Pactio] to protect Vahn, even though part of her also wished he could be stronger and allow her to follow him instead. Unfortunately, as she oftenmented, she wasnt real and there were several restrictions in ce that she already struggled to work around. Vahn nodded his head in understanding before bursting outughing a few secondster, drawing a curious gaze from Eva until he exined, "I imagine Fenrir would want to enter a [Pactio] as the Magister and then we could both call each other Master..." Realizing what Vahn was saying, Eva also released a peal of bell-likeughter as she covered her mouth and said, "Indeed, it certainly seems like something that girl would do. She is simultaneously the most devoted to you but also of the mind that she wants to protect and care for you, even if she had to do so herself." Vahn had arge grin on his face for a moment until he realized something that could prove very useful in the future. As she was paying close attention to him, Eva tilted her head slightly and asked, "I recognize that look...what are you thinking right now, Vahn~?" Turning his eyes to Eva, Vahn exined, "I was wondering if it would actually be possible to form a [Pactio] with one of the goddesses. Their souls are far more powerful than normal and I imagine their Divine energy would have a simr effect as-" Eva began shaking her head before Vahn even finished, saying, "Remember, there are restrictions in the [Pactio] that make it far more difficult for such instances to ur. Even making a [Pactio] with my real self would require you to be very strong and our ages are far closer than the difference between you and one of your goddesses. Didnt you say that the youngest one was around 390 million years old?" Realizing Evas words were true, Vahn released a small sigh but still intended to try it in the future since there was no way of knowing how such things worked in different records. Depending on the circ.u.mstances, [Pactio] itself may not even function since the ws are fundamentally different. Fortunately, he would be able to emte [Pactio] and get around such restrictions, but this wouldnt apply to the goddesses. It was likely that the only people able to use [Pactio] in the future would be himself, his subordinates, and his descendants. This was yet another thing that would set them apart from the rest of the world but Vahn didnt mind since they were already destroying the established bnce and increasing the future tier of the world itself. It was just another reason why he needed to be stronger and impose proper regtions to prevent things from getting out of hand, at least for a while... After hisst training session came to an end, Vahn went to check up on Terra with Eva following close behind. Terra had been hibernating ever since the runes had appeared on her egg, slowly pulling the natural elemental energy from the environment into her body. She wasnt in any danger at all and would likely wake up in a few months ording to observational estimates. Since she didnt have to eat, Terra wasnt in any danger of starving and was simply defending the egg in her w.o.m.b while nourishing it further. Vahn spected he could help speed up the process by setting out a variety of energy-rich materials but Eva had done one better by saying she would set up a giant spell formation to allow Terra to pull energy in from greater distances. She had plenty of time for such things so Vahn just left her with the requested materials before spending the rest of his time in the orb tending to the lovable little vampire princess. --- Waking up in the real world, Vahn took a bit of time to collect himself as Fenrir looked up at him with concern in her scarlet eyes. He simply smiled in return, freeing his arm from Tione to stroke her head while inspecting the changes in his own Status. Though he had no current way to measure his magical power, which was fundamentally different than his Magic parameter, Vahn knew it existed and Sis told him there were functions in the system that should allow him to disy it in the future. Even so, Vahn could tell that he was undergoing rapid changes and, though he had only been in the orb three times so far, he was quickly breaking free from the restrictions of the Falna and bing much stronger... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 15 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level: 4(+) -Power: 2746+(I28)->(G228) -Endurance: 3325+(I69)->(E407) -Dexterity: 2746+(I31)->(F355) -Agility: 2859+(I19)->(G212) -Magic: 6297+(G275)->(SSS1492) Total:17,974+(422)->(2694) Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) [Karma]: 9,561->13,418 [OP]: 5,628,058->14,007,815 [Valis]: 643,884,901->3,901,832,592 Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:E], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth: B],[Bow Mastery:S], [Stealth:A], [Chainbreaker:S], [Heart of the Eternal me:SS], [Prometheus:A], [Call of the Reaper:A],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Featherfoot:A], [Hands of Nirvana:S], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:A], [Friend of Spirits:A] Magic: [Thria*Mimos:B], [Shundo:B], [Cantus Bex:B](new), [Mellodia Bex:H], [Sagitta Magica:H](new), [Pactio:G](new) Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:S], [Well of Spirit:I->D], [Swordsman:A], [Master Smith:H], [Mixing:C], [Mentor:A], [Petting:A], [Mage:C->B] [Mellodia Bex] Rank: H Use: Advanced form of [Cantus Bex] that greatly enhances Agility and perception. Chant: (-) [Pactio] Rank: G (Realm) Use: Allows the user to establish a contract, bing a Magister, with a second party, bing a Ministra, sharing energy to enhance the Ministras parameters. This spell binds the second party to the first andpels them to protect the contractor, even at the cost of their own life. Chant: (-) Secondary Chant(activate): Activate the contract (-)! Attendant of (-), (-)! Tertiary Chant(summon): I summon forth, attendant(s) of (-), (-) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn already knew that he had sessfully learned [Pactio], as he had learned it immediately after forming the ward the first time, but it still brought a smile to his face seeing it. He had been worried about helping the girls grow stronger without having ess to me seeds and this was the ideal solution. Though he needed to improve his use of the skill further, to avoid forming mistake pactios, Vahn knew it wouldnt be long before each of the girls were able to be his Ministra. ording to Eva, this would actually increase his own magic power further since the girls would be siphoning his energy when they used their artifacts and fought for him. Though this would burden most Mages, Vahn shouldnt have too many problems since he had an Innate like [Will of the Emperor] to help him cope with any potential mental strain. With arge smile on his face, Vahn leaned forward and surprised Fenrir by giving her a short kiss that he himself hadnt really nned. Feeling her fidget around, Vahn stifled a chuckle before pulling away and saying, "Lets go, its time for us to get ready. Ill be relying on you to protect as many people as possible, Fenrir...prove to everyone that youre not simply a monster, but an incredible girl that can protect her friends..." Fenrirs tail began to flop around while the other girls began to stir awake very quickly, as it was nearly time for them to depart anyway. With arge grin on her face, Fenrir began to nuzzle against her Masters chest as she muttered, "Fenrir is the strongest now, so Fenrir will protect everyone..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Protec le Eggu,Move over [Promethus]~!,Fenrir is the strongest (O,...,O)~!) (A/N: Okay, Im actually very tired by the end of this since I didnt get much sleep yesterday. Ill be pushing for four chapters tomorrow so look forward to it (UwU)~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 636 - Display

Chapter 636 - Disy

As the leader of the Expedition, Vahn had to help make sure everything was running smoothly so he left the tent with Fenrir and watched over the mobilization process alongside Finn and Gareth. They exchanged a few pleasantries before Finn began to exin any details that might have changed. During this time, Vahn was inspecting the convoy and scanning over everything with his [Eyes of Truth] since his intuition told him things wouldnt be so simple after Fels warning. Catching sight of a few people with greyish, even ck, auras, Vahn turned to Finn and asked, who are they? Finn followed Vahns line of sight and saw the people he had pointed out, responding, "They are part of the construction team, I believe...?" Even as he spoke, Finn had already realized there might be something wrong because Vahn had a serious and contemtive expression. Presently, Vahn was considering if they should leave them behind or if he simply needed to pay attention to them during the Expedition. The strongest amongst them was only Level 2 and they didnt pose a threat to almost anyone in the Expedition other than some of the other workers. They were most likely associated with a gang or a criminal Familia and simply wanted to get a foothold in the settlement that was being built. Vahn decided to put them to work since he didnt have proof they had done anything wrong, meaning it may negatively impact the morale of the entire Expedition if he acted now. It wouldnt be that difficult to keep each of them within his domain, as he was near the center of the convoy and could envelop the majority of the wagons. If they tried anything, which Vahn couldnt imagine would be possible, he could easily deal with them using [Sagitta Magica]. There was also the simple fact that they were weaker than any otherbatant and would quickly earn the ire of anyone they tried to sabotage, likely losing their lives in the process. Turning to Finn, Vahn exined, "Those people, they dont seem to be the most reputable bunch. For now, Ill allow them to apany the Expedition so we dontpromise the morale of everyone else. Be warned though, as I may have to deal with them if they try anything funny. Also, well need to inspect the construction sites properly in the future to make sure criminals dont end up creating any sort ofwork in what is supposed to a defensive militaryplex..." Finn now had a very serious expression on his face while Gareth stroked his beard, eyeing all of the people Vahn had indicated previously. Since the Supply Depot was going to be managed by the Loki Familia, with the Alliances support, it would negatively reflect upon them if criminals ended up taking residence right under their noses. Much like Haven, they were intending to make a few rare materials essible only at the Supply Depot in order to encourage people to venture further into the Dungeon. Smugglers and ck Market dealers would undoubtedly want to get their hands on such items, regardless of how dangerous the journey might be. As long as they stuck to therger Expedition parties that moved between the 18th and 39th Floor, they could travel in rtive safety and make a veritable fortune off the materials they obtained. This would only encourage other people to do the same and could potentiallypromise the defenses of the Supply Depot if they were sneakily trying to build tunnels within the fortification to smuggle the goods outside. With entities like the red-headed woman walking around, tunnel systems could be a problem very quickly. After talking with Finn and Gareth for a short while longer, Finn went off to prepare for the departure while Vahn used [Shundo] to appear where thest tent was, belonging to the Hestia Familia. Haruhime and Mikoto were currently standing with Asfi while the rest of the girls had already taking up their positions in the convoy. Though it earned him a slightly startled look from Asfi, Vahn ced the entire tent into his Inventory as he said, "Sorry for the wait, Asfi. From this point on, you shouldnt wander too far away from me without informing me. I can always have one of the others apany you if its an emergency situation..." Vahn sent the cool beauty a wink that caused Haruhime tough while Asfi herself furrowed her brows slightly, having adapted to the constant teasing by Hermes in the past and understanding Vahn was just joking around. Still, she turned her head slightly and muttered, "How uncouth..." in a voice she knew he could hear. Vahn gave a wry smile before turning to Haruhime and Mikoto, saying, "Haruhime, youll be near the vanguard units this time around to support them, but Ill be within [Shundo] distance if youre in trouble." Patting Fenrirs head and stroking her fluffy ears, Vahn felt very rxed as he said, "Fenrir will protect you in my stead, though you always need to remain on alert since she will probably be helping everyone else as well. Youre already pretty strong but idents can happen...so please, take care of yourself and stay close to Lefiya." Haruhime showed a beautiful and confident smile in response, saying, "This is a good opportunity to show that Im not simply something to be protected, but someone that has grown strong for the sake of following the same path as the man I love~." Haruhimes words earned her a look from both Asfi and Mikoto, with thetter blushing slightly before turning away, hands tightly gripping her katana. Fenrir just began tough in a yful manned before thumping her chest and saying, "Haruhime is a good girl, but Fenrir is the strongest of all~!" This time, Haruhimes eyes snapped to Fenrir and seemed to be evaluating the small Vanargandr with a curious glint in her eyes. Fenrir felt her hair raise a bit because she realized her y may have been seen through after she called Haruhime by name instead of Harume. Because it had been years since shest interacted with the somewhat annoying Renard, Fenrir hadpletely forgotten how to behave around her since most of her thoughts revolved around her Master. None-the-wiser, Vahn ruffled Fenrirs hair and said, "Okay, we should get in our spots so the Expeditionary party isnt just waiting on us. Asfi, youll be riding on the same cart with me so expect a few curious looks and some rumors to begin flying aroundter." Even without exining things in detail, Vahn knew Asfi understood what he was saying and it was very likely she had already taken such matters into consideration. Vahn was famous for how many girls were around him so there was no way people wouldnt begin to associate her with him after he starts protecting her. She also slept in the so-called Harem Tent so there were bound to be misunderstandings, which was likely part of Hermes n from the beginning. Thus, after earning a small nod from Asfi, Vahn went to his cart and sat down with Fenrir while Asfi sat to his right, with an appropriate amount of distance between them. As expected, Asfi immediately earned the attention of arge number of people because she was one of three people sitting on a cart while everyone else was walking. Since she was already famous, it didnt take long for people to identify her and rumors had started flying even before the convoy began its march into the Dungeons depths. For the most part, Asfi tolerated it well and simply kept her eyes closed while sitting with a straightened back, seemingly unconcerned with what others were saying. If not for the fact that her aura was burning like a wispy me, showing that she felt very nervous and embarrassed, even Vahn would be fooled by her near-perfect disy of etiquette. Soon after the convoy entered the 19th Floor, Vahn began infusing two types of energy into his domain, one intended to revitalize the body while the other was supposed to help people remain calm and focused. He had already used this same technique on the first 17 Floors so everyone was in high spirits when they felt the energy entering the bodies once again, even earning him a small hurrah from some of the closer groups. Asfi opened her eyes to look around at the atmosphere, even tracing her hands through it as if it was something tangible she could touch. Vahn could see there was a small magical glimmer from her sses and wondered if they also helped her see and analyze mana since that was typically only something those of Elven descendant were privy to. It was around this time that thebat began in earnest so Vahn decided not to bother Asfi by observing her so closely and instead turned his attention to the rest of the Expedition. Presently, the 2nd Party,manded by Raul, was heading the vanguard so Vahn could see Mikoto putting on a disy of her swordsmanship for one of the first times. She didnt break away from her spot in the formation, though her skill was based almost entirely on speed, but instead used her footwork to avoid monsters by a hairs breadth before cutting through them with such swiftness the path of her de couldnt even be seen, by most people. This earned her some awed looks from Cruz and Alicia, the Weretiger and Elf that were in the 2nd Party, while Raul seemed outright gobsmacked. As Asfi was also watching the fight, shemented, "It seems everyone in the Hestia Familia isnt simple..." Vahn beganughing, surprising Asfi a little because he wasnt acting like the boy that could see through anything the previous night. He seemed almost ckadaisical now, almost as if he was expecting something to happen but wasnt perturbed by it in the slightest. Catching her look, Vahn sent Asfi another wink before scratching the base of Fenrirs ears and saying, "Go show our new friend how amazing you are, and everyone else for that matter~." Fenrir had leaned into him while getting her ears stroked, rubbing her face against his side before nodding with an Nn sound and disappearing from sight. Asfis eyes widened the moment Fenrir disappeared because that was a technique Vahn was bing famous for, which hadnt existed previously. If he was teaching it to other people, and they were actually able to learn it, the Hestia Familia would quickly be an almost unstoppable force. When she heard a loud explosion, causing her head to snap towards the source, Asfi couldnt help but swallow dryly when she saw an entire section of the Dungeon had be frozen and she couldnt even see any sign of Fenrir at all. A second, and third, explosion sounded on the opposite side of the convoy and the entire surrounding area was quickly bing a frozen wastnd as Fenrirs body blurred beyond the perception of almost everyone present. Finn had been paying close attention to the vanguard and he almost gave the orders to form the defensive line when he heard the first explosion. Once he realized what was happening, however, Finn was just as awed as everyone else as he and Gareth watched Fenrirpletely annihte her enemies effortlessly. It was very obvious she was showing off, but the sheer power of her attacks and the almost impossible speed she was disying caused the entire convoy to slow to a crawl. After a few seconds, not minutes, the only ce with monsters still alive was near the front of the convoy. Fenrir had also sealed off the other pathways in the Dungeon with massive blocks of ice so there was no chance of monster reinforcement unless they spawned from the walls, which would easily be dealt with unless it was a Monster Party... Though the entire Expedition was surprised by Fenrirs disy, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Haruhime, Lefiya, and Mikoto all watched with excited expressions on their faces. They had just been talking about learning magic the previous night and now they got a disy of real magic for the first time, which even the physicalbatants on their team were supposedly capable of using. Vahn had already told each of them their elemental affinities and they knew, as long as they trained hard, it wouldnt be impossible to put on a simr performance as Fenrir. The fact that she was hard to keep track of, even for Ais, Tiona, and Tione, made them giddy with expectation, especially Tiona, who had jumped up to the top of a cart and began cheering for Fenrir. While everyone was marveling at Fenrirs performance, Vahn sent a yful look at Asfi since she had been unable to prevent her mouth from gaping slightly. She immediately returned to her stoic appearance but there was an almost terrified glimmer in her eye as she asked, "How did she be strong so quickly? What kind of...magic...is that?" Hearing Asfis question, Vahn chuckled before smiling wider and asking, "Arent those observations you should be making? It wouldnt be any fun if I gave you all the answers, right?" Seeing that Asfi was somewhat taken aback by his words, Vahn rxed a little before saying, "I will tell you one thing, though...this is only the beginning." Towards the end of his words, Vahn took on a very resolute expression that made Asfi swallow dryly once again... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ck Auras In The Mix,Fenrir is Stronk (O,...,O)~!,Deep Impression) (A/N: I wonder if this chapter will feel very short for some people since Ive been typically writing 3-4k words xD. To put things in perspective, this is how long chapters are supposed to be (UwU)~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 637 - Subtle

Chapter 637 - Subtle

Fenrir had only taken around forty seconds to kill several hundred monsters before blinking to Vahns side,nding in hisp with a happy smile on her face. Vahn immediately began ying with her ears as he said, "Great job, Fenrir...I really am so proud of you..." before giving her a kiss on the forehead. Fenrir, understanding what was about to happen, then hopped out of Vahnsp and gave a cheeky smile to Asfi before fixing her attention to her Master. Asfi stared nkly for a few seconds before doing much the same, which seemed to be the trend since the vast majority of the Expedition was looking towards them right now. It was very quiet amongst the members of the convoy and it only seemed to be getting quieter as the surrounding temperature continued to drop as a result of Fenrirs attacks. Vahn stood up with a smile on his face and changed the density of his aura to allow sound to transmit further as he said, "Sorry for any inconveniences mypanion has caused, Finn...allow me to clean up." Though Fenrir wasnt in the wrong, especially since she was following his orders, Vahn needed to y his own part so he apologized to the Commander and waited for Finn to nod before taking action himself. At this point, all the enemies were dead and there were severalrge areas that had beenpletely frozen over as a result of Fenrirs disy. In front of everyones eyes, Vahn did something he had wanted to do for a very very long time and slowly began to float, stunning the crowd below as he levitated into the air. One of the unnamed magic he had put the most effort into was learning how to levitate using psychokinesis because Vahn truly wanted to be able to fly through the sky on his own. By changing the flow of air around his body, he would even be able to move at very high speeds and, once he learned [Koku Shundo], Vahn would be able to dominate the skies if he wanted to. Unfortunately, the ceiling was only around 40m high in this section of the Dungeon and it was almost entirelyprised of wood, meaning it was very dangerous to show off his Zhqu form, at least for now. Instead, he did something that truly awed everyone and had even stunned Eva the first time he pulled it off... Since ritual spells and wards were the most powerful, meaning those that were formed as permanant constructs instead of simple magic circles, Vahn came up with the idea of creating a semi-permanant ward using his own elemental maniption. With his ability to form nearly perfect images within his mind, Vahn pulled the reference for one of the wards he had created, causing a ming magic circle to appear behind him, condensed of pure me elemental energy. To everyone else, he looked like a stoic young man with a calm expression who floated about 20m above the convoy with an 8m magic circle hovering behind his body... Vahn smiled as nine small magic circles bordered the perimeter of his ward and began revolving around it at a slow speed, each one forming the ward for [Sagitta Magica], an elementary level spell that allowed people to create homing bolts of elemental energy. Since Vahn was using his own eternal me as his foundation, the nine circles produced bolts of fire that began raining down on the frozen areas of the Dungeon without actually contacting anything. Instead, the beams swirled around and began melting all of the ice before doubling back towards Vahn, feeding into the magic circle behind his body, making the next volley even more powerful. The best part of all of this was, other than the source energy used to guide the magic and maintain his flight, the entire spell cost him next to nothing since it was almost entirelyprised of external elemental energy. Everyone watched Vahns performance,pletely in awe without being able to mutter a single word. The only exceptions to this were those that prided themselves on their magic and the few girls that lived within the Hearth Manor. Those in the Mage squad had almost reverential looks on their faces because Vahns magic was something they each aspired towards. As for the girls from the Hearth Manor, they were looking forward to being able to learn such magic for themselves, with the two most exuberant girls being Tiona and Lefiya. While everyone else was staring, almost ck-jawed in their appearance, Tiona was literally vaulting around and cheering, shouting, "Thats so cool, Vahn! Teach me how to flyter~! Ahahahahahaha!" Seemingly requiring no effort to sustain his disy, Vahn turned his attention away from his own magic and smiled to Tiona as he said, "If Im not wrong, you should be able to fly if you use that wand I gave you. There was an aura around your body that was simr to Terras when she uses flight magic..." Hearing Vahns words, Tionas eyes began burning with an excited light, though Vahn suspected it might just be the reflection of his magic circle. She pulled out the wand and surprised everyone when the magical light shone so suddenly in their midst. Once again, the bubble that distorted time emerged from Tionas body and she began the process of transforming for Vahns eyes only. When the magic light faded, Tiona once again struck a pose while standing atop the cart and shouted, "Magical girl, Tiona-chan has appeared~!" He wasnt sure why her address had changed from Mirakurun, but Vahn didnt really care since he preferred Tionas real name. There was also the fact that she looked very cute in her current form, as mint-green hair strangelyplimented brown skin when the rest of her outfit was very vibrant. He didnt get too much time to admire her, however, when Tiona vaulted towards him happily and tackled him in the sky at a velocity easily exceeding the speed of sound if the shockwave was any indicator. Presently, there were two tiny angel-like wings around Tionas lower back, notprised of feathers but more of a bubbly magical energy. They even looked almost cartoonish in design, though it didnt seem to interfere with their ability to allow Tiona flight. She wasughing happily before stealing Vahns lips without any care about the shocked crowd below. Suddenly, Tione jumped up on a cart of her own and shouted, "Hey, that isnt fair at all!" with a huge angry tick mark near her temples where the vein was bulging angrily. When Tiona finally released him, Vahn just chuckled and said, "Dont worry, Ill help you learn to fly once we reach the 39th Floor, Tione." Most people present felt something in their stomach sink when they heard how casually Vahn mentioned teaching such an incredible magic like flight... Tione pumped her fist triumphantly and said, "Yosh, dont forget! And Tiona, get down here you gori girl! Youre ruining Vahns moment to show off!" Vahn nearly fell out of the sky when he heard Tiones words but had fortunately been supported by Tiona since she was still clinging to him. He gave her a wry smile as sheughed in a cheeky manner and let him regain his footing before flying off. She didnt, however, return to the ground and instead began flying around in circles above the convoy, clearly pleased by the ability to fly. As for Vahn, he was just shocked by how quickly Tiona adapted to it since she almost seemed like a natural at manipting mana, even though she had gone her entire life without it. Yes, she was able to naturally make use of Magic items in a simr manner, but Vahn hadnt expected it to apply toplex magic like flight. Even he could barely levitate, and that was after practicing it for several hours within the orb... Tionasughter caused the somewhat tense atmosphere to quickly mellow out as Finn shook his head in an exasperated manner before giving the order to move out once again. He had also realized Vahn was trying to show off and didnt mind letting him do so since they were still in the rtively safe 19th Floor. Seeing the young boy get embarrassed by Tiona made him want tough but he managed to hold it in until one of the girls next to him, a young Pallum by the name of Milli asked, "Finn-sama...is that really the Sage Aldrnari? I didnt expect him to be so...youthful?" One of the reasons Finn had recruited Milli was because she was very mature for her age and was very receptive to his teachings. Seeing the incredulous look on her face, Finn couldnt help butugh as he mimicked Vahns action of petting a girls head and said, "He is rather young, after all~." After clearing out all the ice, Vahn descended next to Asfi and began pampering Fenrir a bit while the intelligent young woman just eyed him like he was an iprehensible existence. Like most of the stronger people present, Asfi understood Vahn was showing off but she could tell there was far more to the disy than what was gleaned from the surface. Though it could be her pride talking, Asfi felt like Vahn was trying to tease her because of his words before taking action, even having Fenrir set the stage for him. It was almost like he was saying, We are all strong, and will continue to get stronger. Choose carefully which side you want to stand on..." Asfi knew Vahn was very protective of all the girls within the Hearth Manor and it felt like he was warning her to properly consider her actions. He didnt seem to mind the fact she was spying on them, but Asfi could tell he would probably take immediate action if she actually endangered the people he cared about. Though the Hermes Familia wasnt at odds with the Hestia Familia, and likely never would be, it wasnt unheard of for their Familia to take advantage of their connections, sometimes causing conflict since they pandered to both sides. They followed a principle of neutrality so she had been very surprised when Hermes originally agreed to join the Alliance, as it would make some of their missions be contentious by association with the Alliance... Seeing that Vahns eyes had taken on that eerie blue color once again, Asfi found herself shuddering slightly as she muttered, "Believe me, Vahn...I-" Before Asfi was able to finish her words, Fenrir snapped towards her, causing the words on her lips to be swallowed into the pit of her stomach as Fenrir said, "Fenrir advises you to choose your words carefully and only make promises youre willing to swear by. If you say such words and betray themter, that will not end well for you..." As she spoke, Fenrirs eyes glowed with a dreadful red light that made Asfi avert her own and remain quiet. She was beginning to think this mission had been a mistake and wanted to beat Hermes for even having her approach such a difficult target. Vahn hugged Fenrir tightly to his chest, pulling her eyes away from Asfi as he said, "Asfi, Im certain you have your reasons for each action you take and I can tell you are a good person. If you need my help in the future, simply ask and I will do my best since we are already allies. However, dont expect me to make concessions and allow my loved ones to be exposed to danger just to suit the needs of others. If your god intends to exploit my Familia in the future, please advise him to reconsider as Ill not hesitate to force apromise if necessary..." Vahn had no semnce of a threat in his voice at all and it made Asfi feel even more unnerved because of how casual he was speaking. It felt like he was saying something that was mon sense, even though it could potentially lead to the abolishment of an entire Familia in the future... While still looking towards the front, Asfi slowly nodded her head and said, "I will tell him..." in a quiet monotone. She was beginning to understand what kind of person Vahn was and knew he wasnt really a danger unless the people he cared about were provoked. Because of his own strength, he probably wouldnt care at all if you tried to do anything to him but, from the moment you began to maneuver and exploit the people he cared about, you likely signed your own death warrant. This meant he could be a very powerful ally, especially if you could earn his friendship, but also implied that he was impossible to exploit since he didnt seem to be the type to let such mattersy. Remembering that he said she could ask him for help, Asfi calmed down but kept silent, simply observing things without trying to seem invasive... Though the 2nd Party was still leading the vanguard, Tiona was also raining down magic from above so the progress of the Expedition was going smoothly. They werent escorting a bunch of heavy carts this time around so they were able to reach the Great Falls on the 25th Floor after just six hours of travel. This was usually one of the most difficult parts of the entire journey but Vahns detection, Fenrirs ice magic, and the rtively small amount of cargo made the trip go quickly. Fenrir shared Vahns perception through their bond but it didnt actually matter that much since she simply froze over everyke they came across. What would have taken Riveria arge amount of mana to pull off, Fenrir was able to do just by being near the water. Since many in the Expedition had seen Riveria perform simr feats, as they were also in the same Familia, they understood well that Fenrir was actually much stronger than the woman they believed to be the most prodigious Mage in the City... The Main Party, led by Finn, actually didnt have much to do since Tiona and Lefiya were destroying all the aerial enemies while everything in the water was frozen solid by Fenrir. It was almost scary how fast they were progressing and Finn felt like there was a deep chill in his body, not brought about by Fenrirs ice magic. The strength of the Hestia Familia was quickly beginning to open up a gap with every other Familia and Finn didnt have the confidence to be able to defeat Fenrir anymore. Though he could track her movements somewhat, she was far more agile than he had any confidence to cope with and he already knew her ws could even cut through Adamantine as if it were paper. It had only been a few months since thest time he saw her so the drastic increase in her strength was absolutely terrifying since she would likely grow even stronger in the future... Looking around, Finn saw that Ais, Tione, Lefiya, Haruhime, and Mikoto didnt seem surprised, or even awed, by how strong Fenrir had be. This made Finn feel somewhat numb and he recalled Vahn promising to teach Tione how to flyter, meaning they would likely be much stronger as well. His position as Captain suddenly felt far less secure and he somewhatmented the fact he had ever butted heads with Vahn in the past. Given how things were developing, the strength of the Hestia Familia would quickly exceed that of the Loki Familia and they would lose their Rank 1 spot very quickly. Though his own members would certainly be stronger, it wouldnt be a secret where they obtained such capabilities and Vahn would quickly be the focal point, not just of the City, but for the entire world when they saw what he can do... Watching Fenrir turn into a midnight blue blur and smash into a Crystal Turtle, causing its shell to copse and instantly killing the monster, Finn suddenly felt his throat be very dry. He recalled that Vahn actually intended to open up a school in the future and, even though it didnt seem like such a big deal in the past, Finn realized that he probably intended to teach some of what he knew to the children there. His dull eyes began to glimmer until the vitality deep within hadpletely returned, causing him to look towards his three Pallumpanions with his characteristically amicable smile. All three girls flushed and began to fidget when he smiled towards them, making Finn feel especially pleased as a thought crossed his mind. Finn remembered that Vahn was the one talking about nurturing the future and encouraging him to groom suitable women instead of trying to steal them from others. Though he didnt put too much extra thought into it at the time, Finn was starting to believe that Vahn knew he would fail in his own ambitions and had guided him onto a subtly different path that actually had a much greater result. He had always been focused on producing an heir for the Pallum people and now it seemed like an especially prudent time to do so since he could likely have them educated at the school Vahn was building. Combined with his own training, Finn believed his children would certainly rise to the challenge and potentially even exceed his own capabilities, not in theirter years, but in their formative ones...just imagining his children being stronger than him in their early teens made Finn nearly burst outughing. (A/N: Alternate Titles: I believe I can fly~!,Vahn fails to show off again xD,Finn Begins Thinking About The Future) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 638 - Catalyst

Chapter 638 - Catalyst

Though it wasnt impossible to reach the 30th Floor within a single day, starting from the 18th, it was unheard of for an entire Expedition to make the treck in eleven hours. With their reduced burden, Fenrir clearing most hazards, and Vahn stimting everyone so they wouldnt get tired, the Expedition had easily set an almost unbreakable record. There was also the fact that Vahn adamantly refused to miss the timing for using the orb but also had a few misgivings about nking for a few seconds in reality. When people could move at several times the speed of sound in bursts, Vahn knew that a small gap could lead to devastating consequences, even with Fenrir protecting him. Fortunately, Finn seemed to be in high spirits and quickly lead everyone in the establishment of their encampment while Vahn sat high atop a stone with Fenrir, Haruhime, Mikoto, and Asfi sitting around him. Ensuring that everything was going well beforehand, Vahn closed his eyes casually while the girls protected his body and submerged his mind into the orb. He had been looking forward to the possibility of meeting his own child so hadnt even been a single secondte in his timing. With a fair amount of giddiness in his stomach, Vahn embraced the darkness and the familiar tugging sensation before finding himself sitting on a bed a momentter. From the moment his awareness had returned, Vahn could hear yfulughtering from Eva as she said, "Ufufufu, I told you he would be on time. I think this is the most exact timing he has ever had before...Im rather jealous." Immediately after, a second source ofughter reached his ears as Terra mused, "Ara ara, Eva, Im certain you can get my Master to pamper you plentily if youre feeling lonely~." Eva giggled this time and was already in Vahnsp as she matched his gaze and said, "Yes, I believe youre right~." before yfully licking his bottom lip... Nearly two hourster, Vahn was covered in a lightyer of sweat as he held the n.a.k.e.d Eva in hisp and they started the discussion that had previously been on his mind. Terra was also n.a.k.e.d, after having participated in their reunion, andid across the bed with a healthy blush on her face as she exined, "After hibernating for 120 days, I ended upying a fertilized egg...thank you, Master..." Though she had thanked him several times in the past, Vahn felt a great deal of emotions behind Terras words so he firmly nodded his head and said, "Please, it was my honor, Terra..." This caused the tip of Terras tail to begin tapping against the best as lovingly looked at her Master and lover with a depth of emotions she hadnt thought possible in the past. Rising up so she could sit properly, Terra moved a length of her vibrant green hair behind her pointy ears as she said, "Well, to answer the question Im certain you have, the egg has yet to hatch. Eva and I spected it would take around 600 days before it was ready, but it also requires a catalyst to awaken it. Dont worry, there are no dangers at all in leaving the egg unhatched and it can theoreticallyst for thousands of years without any issue..." Terra turned her eyes toward Eva as she spoke, who then continued, "Indeed, it isnt unheard of for the eggs of a True Dragon toy dormant for millennia and we already know what kind of catalysts are required, if that was your next question." Eva beganughing when she saw Vahns mouth open for a moment, only to close in the next when she correctly guessed his question. Eva flicked her hand and pulled out texts since she knew Vahn could analyze things put into his own spatial dimension. Vahn epted the doc.u.ment as Eva exined, "Though it would have been possible to awaken the egg within the orb, we were worried you may not be able to take it out with you since you cant easily store organic objects. Terra spected that, though it would likely have a core near its heart, it may not be a traditional core. There was also the possibility you would have inhibitions about subordinating your own child and would miss arge part of its formative years..." At this point, Terra also added, "Indeed...though I also wanted to take the girls at the Manor into consideration. Its been...a long time since Ive seen then...but I know they are very important to you and it wouldnt be fair if I stole the spot away from the people closest to your heart." Vahn felt his heart twinge a bit at Terras words, but she just began tough before licking her index finger in a yful manner and saying, "Dont worry, Master, Im already very happy you were willing to bless me with a child in the first ce. Knowing that you were looking forward to meeting them also made me very happy...though, I wont stop you from making it up to meter if youre feeling guilty~." At the end of her words, Terra licked her lips with a hungry look in her eyes that made Evament, "You really are a Lewd Dragon..." Terra froze momentarily before they both beganughing at the same time, seemingly sharing an inside joke between each other. Seeing how close the two had be, Vahn released a small sigh before smiling as he said, "Im d you two have be so close. Every time I leave, I always feel very guilty and I can never truly express my gratitude to either of you..." Vahn hugged Evas small body and kissed the top of her head, wanting her to know how much he appreciated all the sacrifices she had made for him. Truly, she had no obligation to have done any of this and had even gone far beyond the original purpose she had been given when created. Eva simply responded by tilting her head up with a loving smile on her face before giving him another kiss, which quickly turned into a continuation of their reunion a few minutester... This his three-day stint within the orb, Vahn continued studying magic with Eva but not before he actually got to see the egg that contained his child. When he firstid eyes on it, Vahn had beenpletely stunned until Terra exined that the egg actually grew in size after she hadid it. It was currently more than 30cm in diameter and 40cm in length so Vahn had shuddered to imagine how Terra had been able to force out such a thing. After that small concern was dealt with, however, Vahn ended up cradling the strangely inert egg in his hands as Eva continued to exin what he needed to consider before helping it hatch. True Dragons, especially those that had assumed a gender, had the intrinsic ability to breed with any living organism. The genes were typically stronger in the males, but it wasnt that umon for a female True Dragon to breed with powerful mates in order to produce strong offspring. Like some of the other more primordial species, they had very powerful instincts when it came to breeding and this was the reason why Terra had suffered so much after her instincts were triggered. For females, this involved giving birth to powerful children and protecting them until the time of their birth, typically with the purpose of exceeding the strength of their mate. As for the males, they would usually create a nest and actually stockpiled eggs over a long period of time until they were nearing their old age, which could take tens of thousands of years, on the low end. They would then allow their brood to be born and fight amongst themselves until only a single one remained, which would be the sessor Dragon King or Queen. Terra was a unique entity so, while she felt the urge to breed after Vahn nearly turned into the Azure Dragon, she had no desire to see their child grow beyond and usurp him. The fact that Vahn was immortal seemed to have an effect on this instinct and she actually stopped producing eggs entirely, at least for the time being. The more important factor to consider, for the moment, was how the eggs themselves functioned and what it took to awaken them. As was mentioned previously, the internal gestation period was around 120 days whereas the external maturation took a minimum of 600. Once the egg reached this size, a catalyst was necessary to awaken the power within the egg and this would determine what kind of affinity the True Dragon would have. When the egg was first produced, it was a melding of the energies between the two parents and actually had nothing to do with biology, at least in a conventional sense. This meant that the offspring between Terra and Vahn had no blood rtion to them whatsoever, not that Vahn really cared for such things as he still intended to treat it as his child. Instincts, though powerful, werent something that couldnt be ovee and Vahn was confident their child would grow up to be a unique existence that wasnt bound by such things. Thus, after discussing things between the three of them, it was decided that Eva would use a magic known as [ciem Aeterna Positumque Loculum], meaning Eternal Ice Coffin, to seal the egg so Vahn could safely put it into his Inventory. [ciem Aeterna Positumque Loculum] was an ultimate magic that was an amalgamation of Space, Time, and Ice elemental energies. When Eva cast it, she actually had to suck Vahns blood for nearly two hours since the number of cores she had formed reached 15, which was her absolute peak. This caused a small prism to enshroud the orb, reflecting a beautiful rainbow light andpletely sealing the egg away, isting it from both time and space. Though it was also an Ice magic, there was far more to Ice Laws than what Vahn currently understood and it didnt even feel cold to the touch. After confirming it was now possible to store it away in his Inventory, Eva and Terra were both very happy and made ament about, instead of it just being a child between Terra and Vahn, it was now something shared between the three of them. The reason why Eva had used such a powerful magic was because this would guarantee that the resultant True Dragon would have affinities rted to Space, Time, and Ice. Terra didnt really mind what affinities it had and strangely didnt feel much attachment towards the egg until she noticed Vahn cared about it. Afterward, she had cradled it lovingly and had even mumbled words to it when Vahn was training with Eva. This warmed Vahns heart and he hoped she would be a good mother since she was already an incredible woman with a gentle disposition and an awe-inspiring intellect. Though it wouldnt have the benefit of training with Eva, Vahn believed their child would still be very powerful under the guidance of Terra, who had already said she had no intentions of sharing her skills under normal circ.u.mstances... Though Evas magic was serving as the basic catalyst, the final phase to guarantee their child had the greatest possible potential included Vahn spilling his own blood over the egg. This would be what eventually awakens it in the future and was also the ceremony the previous generations Dragon King would use when they only had a sole heir. To ensure that the brood would be powerful from birth, the aged male would strike its own heart and allow the True Dragons Blood Essence topletely cover the egg, allowing it to at least have the same potential as the father. Since Vahns blood was already enigmatic to the point that it bothered Eva a bit, they believed it would be very beneficial, which Vahn agreed to without argument. When their child was born, it would have elemental affinities bestowed to it by a peak Tier 5 being while also bathing Vahns own unique blood. This would make it a very dangerous entity if it went down a dark path, but Vahn couldnt help but believe the child shared between the three of them would be a kind and gentle soul. Eva, though she was a bit icy at times, was actually a very gentle girl who had been warped by her loneliness and the persecution she had faced. Vahn was much the same, though his own tragic origins were somewhat different than hers and could hardly bepared if set side-by-side. As for Terra, she was a pacifist by nature and had a calming aura that could sooth the hearts and souls of others. Vahn refused to believe the child between the three of them would truly be dangerous, at least in the sense that it would outright attack others... Other than dealing with the egg, Vahn continued his practice with [Pactio], getting to the point where he could form the circle within eight seconds, pushing his mastery to B-Rank. Eva informed him that he could get it down to three seconds with practice but advised against creating it any faster since it could potentially destabilize the structure if it didnt have enough time to process its own form. This would likely push the magic to S-Rank, which was the peak of most things within the world he was using it in, though SS-Rank wasnt that difficult to achieve as breaking through the limit wasnt impossible if you were determined. Vahns [Pactio] practice was only conducted during their breaks, however, so the vast majority of his time was spent forming other wards, practicing his flight magic, and trying to learn [Koku Shundo]. He could actually emte it well enough but had yet to form it into a skill just yet since his ability to establish the two points wasnt up to snuff. Eva wanted him to increase his [Shundo] to A-Rank, so she had him dodge around using nothing but [Shundo] while barraging him with [Sagitta Magica] bolts. Vahns own limit was nine at a time but Eva didnt actually seem to have one, nor did she even bother chanting, as hundreds chased after him. Eva hadpletely forbidden him from using his [Rakshasa Body] within the orb during training and she awarded his assent by making sure her own attacks were gentle. Though he would constantly get hit by the supersonic beams of magic, they strangely felt like light pushes that only left a bit of icy condensation instead of massive impacts. With his [Heart of the Eternal me], he was easily able to resist the cold but Eva would always punish him after the fact for each bolt that hit him. He didnt miss the fact that she would always increase the uracy of her attacks towards the end of their training session but didnt have the courage to tease her for it when she was already in the mood to punish him. By the end of the third day, as he satzily stroking Terras and Evas n.a.k.e.d bodies, Vahn checked his own growth and was happy to see that he had [Koku Shundo:I] within his Status Board. It was just barely passable, which Eva had pointed out to him already, but was still enough to allow him topletely change hisbat style. As there were still 23 more instances, at the very least, for him to enter the orb, Vahn knew he would be much stronger. Feeling that his body was beginning to tug, Vahn shared a passionate kiss with the two girls before saying, "I will return as soon as I can. I love both of you..." as his body slowly turned to dust. As his own thoughts began to fade away, Vahn showed a small smile because his own status wasnt the only thing he had observed over thest few minutes... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Terra Evergreen Race: True Dragon LV. 10(-) POW: A806 END: SSS1905 DEX: SSS3117 AGI: C618 MAG: SSS(-) Skill: [Avatar of the Earth:B], [Guardian of Nature:C], [Healing Sap:B->A], [Aroma Therapy:S], [Chant Shortening:C->B], [Activation Key:A-S], [True Dragons Roar:C], [Natures Touch:B](new) Magic: [Cantus Bex:B->A], [Reflexio:S], [Evocatio:A], [Shundo:D], [Koku Shundo:H], [Void Transference:B->S], [Sagitta Magica:S->SS], [Pno Petrs:S], [Kakon Omma Petrses:C->A], [Circulus Pilorum Nigrorum:F->C], [Ho Monolithos Kin Tou Haidou:H->E], [Columnae Caeli:H](new) Development Skill: [Pacifism:B], [Arch Mage:H->G], [Well of Spirit:H](new), [Summoner:D->B] [Natures Touch] Rank: B Use: Causes natural energy to gather on the point of contact, greatly elerating nt growth in the area. Active Trigger. [Columnae Caeli] Rank: H (Forbidden) Use: Creates an isted space using space and earth elemental energy, forcibly elerating time within the targeted area. Chant: Gaze into Eternity. See the Passage of History before thine eyes. Let nature reim all things in its motherly embrace. Pir of Eternity, Gaeas Grace, Heavens Pir~! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Title: Do Not F.u.c.k With Mother Nature) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 639 - [Pactio]

Chapter 639 - [Pactio]

Opening his eyes in the real world, Vahn took a few moments to collect himself as he watched the Expedition continue to set up their encampment. Every time he exited the orb, it always took a short while for him adapt and recall everything that had been going on before he left. Once he managed to rx, made easier by the presence of Fenrir sitting in hisp, Vahn turned to the rest of the girls and said, "Ill set out our tent and everyone can take a bath. I imagine the others on the Expedition would want to do the same, so Im going to set up a few temporary bathing areas before going to the Command Tent. Well probably be heading out in around 10 hours, so make sure you get proper rest..." Since she was his charge, Vahn had Asfi apany him on his rounds while Fenrir protected her when he entered the Command Tent. Though she might be able to bring up the fact he was supposed to be the one protecting her, Asfi currentlycked the courage to make such ims. Fenrir had already proven she was monstrously powerful and had very high perception. Standing outside the tent with the small Vanargandr as a bodyguard put her in one of the safest spots since she was also within the range of Vahns domain. There was also the simple fact that the slightly glowing eyes of the girl were very unnerving so Asfi just sat in the small chair provided by Vahn,pletely silent while Fenrir dangled her legs in her own chair... Soon after he entered the tent, Finn greeted Vahn and made ament about how envious he was regarding Vahns ability to set up his tent in an instant. Though Finn didnt have to put his tent up himself, it made him feel a little guilty having other people do it for him. He never felt this way in the past, but Vahns influence was hard to avoid if you associated with him for a long period of time. Finn had always been a very dutiful man, and it was hard to stand at the side of someone as selfless and uncontained as Vahn. Fortunately for the Pallum, he had already made the decision to simply stand aside and go with the flow instead of trying to pointlessly resist it. After discussing a few things, chiefly the ridiculous pace they were setting, Vahn left the Command Tent and watched over the patrols that had been established before retiring for the night. Fenrir may be tireless, but Vahn expected Asfi was probably eager to get some sleep after such a stressful day. Every time Fenrir hade back to the cart to get her energy replenished, Asfi would be statuesque and it was very obvious she couldnt tolerate Fenrirs animosity easily. Vahn wanted to give her a chance to rx, maybe talk with Haruhime and the other girls, before she went to sleep in preparation for theing day. Out of consideration, Vahn had set up an ornate divider in the center of the tent that separated the area where the bath was. He parted ways with Asfi, who gave a polite bow, before heading into the sleeping area where Tiona was already out like a log. She had been very excited to cast magic of her own, especially since it allowed her to fly, and had taxed her own mind a great deal. Though she wasnt suffering from Mana Exhaustion or Mind Down, she had burned through a great deal of stamina and mental energy over the 11 hours of travel. Almost as soon as he sat down on the massive futon, Ais and Lefiya appeared with their hair still wet and towels covering their bodies. It was obvious they had chosen to cut their bath short when he arrived so Vahn smiled and said, "Good work today, Ais, Lefiya." Ais showed a small smile while Lefiya practically beamed before the moved to the side and began changing into their sleepwear, making no effort to conceal themselves from his view. Vahn rested his head against his palm and just appreciated the sight for a while, using his other hand to caress around Fenrirs chin, cheek, and neck. She was currentlyying across hisp with her eyes squinting, clearly enjoying the opportunity to get pampered. Once they had changed into their sleepwear, Ais in her Aegis and Lefiya in a frilly vani nightgown, the two girls sat at his sides, leaning into his shoulders. Lefiya was the first to speak as she asked, "Has everything been going well inside the orb? I think everyone can tell that Fenrirs power has increased greatly, almost unbelievably so...it makes me giddy with excitement..." Vahn could feel Lefiyas body trembling slightly even though her aura was rtively stable, evidence that she was indeed excited about the prospect of growing stronger. Though he would have to properly train herter, Vahn knew there were more than a few ways to give her a quick increase in power so he smiled and said, "Things have been going great, honestly. Terra actually reached Level 10 and there is now a strange artifacting going on with her parameters, almost like she is breaking the limits of the Falna..." Ais became very alert when she heard his words, sitting up straight and looking into Vahns eyes with an indescribably eager look. Since they werent currently having s.e.x, Vahn correctly assumed she was very interested in how Terra had be so strong. Ais only ever gave him that look whenever she wanted to try something interesting in the bed so Vahn could feel a gentle heat rising in his body as he exined, "Dont worry, Ais; Ill help everyone grow much stronger and I already have a way of doing so." Vahn sent a wink towards the over-eager girl, causing her to flush slightly as she nodded with an Nn sound. Once she calmed down a bit, Vahn exined the other matters of the orb, causing Fenrir to fidget a bit when he mentioned the egg produced by Terra. Though she said it very quietly, everyone present heard her call Terra a sneaky lewd dragon, causing Lefiya to giggle in amus.e.m.e.nt. Once everyone else had returned to the sleeping chamber, leaving Asfi to her own devices in her private room, Vahn also exined the [Pactio]. He discussed the benefits, the intended purpose behind the [Pactio], and how it made the bonds between them even stronger. Vahn already spected that their [Prometheus Blessing] would benefit even more from the [Pactio], as both were based on the strength of their bonds. When they heard that most people that obtained Permanant Pactios were typically lovers and married couples, Mikoto hung her head with a blush while Tiona bolted up from unconsciousness and began to cling to Vahn,ughing cheerfully in the process. Haruhime, always one of the more level-headed girls, as a result of her attempts to retain an elegant demeanor, had a small smile on her face as she asked, "Is there not a limit to the number of [Pactio]s you can give out, Vahn?" Shaking his head, Vahn exined, "No, and itll actually help me increase my own energy reserves as long as I dont force the [Pactio] on anyone. There are a few mental burdens involved, especially if you overuse the energy I provide, but I have skills that can protect my mind from such things. Also, my natural regeneration is much higher than all of you and it should never be an issue unless everyone was fighting at the same time,pletely reliant on the energy I provide. As youre all already exceptional girls, the [Pactio] will be more of an enhancement and growth modifier than anything else. Also, as Ive exined, the benefits far outweigh any potential downsides and we may even be able to use it to enter and exit the Dungeon freely in the future..." Vahn had already exined the summon function of the cards and how he would be able to send them his energy over great distances. Just the fact that they would be able to telepathicallymunicate made it an incredible magic, though Vahn also spected the Dungeon might interfere with such functions. He was hoping, however, that the [Pactio] would be able to get around such limitations since it was magic from a Tier 5 world, even though he hadnt quite pushed it beyond the limits of the Danmachi record yet. After a lively discussion, followed by a very tense game of pulling strings, Mikoto became the fateful first to sit before Vahn and receive a [Pactio]. She had a rare blush on her face and sat ramrod straight in a perfect seiza that would have earned praise from Takemikazuchi, had he been here to see it. Vahn put on a gentle expression and asked, "Mikoto, are you sure about this? You know, Ive never tried to force you into anything before...honestly, I worry about you..." Since he didnt really spend much time with Mikoto, Vahn was constantly worried about the progress of their rtionship, as it almost felt like she was avoiding him at times. Mikotos bearing broke a little when she heard Vahns words, suddenly feeling very guilty because she had, in fact, been trying to avoid him recently. Though he didnt point it out, Mikoto felt like Vahn was hurt by herck of presence since she had been so focused on her training and trying not to bother him. The simple truth of the matter is, she wanted Vahn toe find her and had even tried talking things over with Haruhime and Syr to orchestrate such an encounter. Both girls refused because they wanted her to be more honest with herself instead of relying on such a roundabout way to approach Vahn. Syr even told her that, as a result of her character and mentality, she would only feel greater guilt and apprehension if she waited for Vahn, the man that was supposed to be her Master, Lord, and Lover... Gritting her teeth with a bit of frustration, Mikoto turned her onyx ck eyes to match Vahns concerned gaze and said, "I know, Vahn...youve always looked out for me and have been very respectful, even though I havent done anything to earn it..." Mikoto took a deep breath to calm herself, gaining some peace of mind when she saw the encouraging looks on everyones faces, especially that of her best friend. Doing her best to smile, Mikoto said, "Honestly, Im grateful for the opportunity to be the first person to receive a [Pactio]. I may not be good at all this...emotional stuff...but, I know what my heart wants, and my mind is in agreement. Just...umm...p-p-please be..." Mikotos face had be as red as a tomato at this point and she lowered her head, pressing her index fingers together in bashful manner, unable to continue further. Though she couldnt form the words, Vahn understood what Mikoto was trying to say and realized she needed him to be more proactive in approaching her. She had always been a very principled and disciplined woman so it would be very difficult for her to open up unless he slowly broke down her walls on his own. Thus, after hastily drawing the [Pactio] magic circle, Vahn tilted Mikotos ruddy face up and whispered, "Mikoto, be mine, now and forever..." In response, Mikoto bit her lip in clear frustration before nodding her head in a resolute manner. Vahns smile widened greatly as he leaned in and kissed Mikotos cherry blossom lips, causing her body to shake as a result but making no effort to pull away. The vibrant magic circle created a veritable pir of light around them that was fortunately contained by the tent, a phenomenon Vahn didnt quite understand with how much energy was being emitted by the circle. It was almost like there was a tempest within the small tent but it seemingly only affected the girls hair and clothing while everything else remained perfectly unaffected. Though he wasnt looking at it, Vahn could sense Lefiya bashfully trying to keep her nightgown down while Tiona simplyughed uninhibitedly. When the light faded, the magic circle hadpletely vanished before a card emerged from Mikotos chest, showing a strangely high-resolution image of her wearing a very unique outfit. Instead of traditional clothes worn by those from the Far East, the version of Mikoto in the card looked like she was wearing a long grey trenchcoat that had fur around the cor, sleeves, and hem. There was a small choker around her neck and she wore a simple ck t-shirt with small white shorts underneath. The most noticeable thing, however, was the fact that she was holding what looked like the handle of a katana,pletely bereft of a de. At the bottom of the card were the words Yamato Mikoto and The Unseen de. Tiona tried to snatch the card out of the air but her hands went straight through it, causing Vahn to snap back to reality as heughed, saying, "The only person that can touch the Master card is the Magister Magi." Vahn then ced his index finger against the front of the card and made a slightly faded version that he handed to a stunned Mikoto, exining, "This is your card, Mikoto. To summon your artifact, you have to say Adeat while imagining if you want to fully equip everything on the card, or just specific parts of it. Also, how are you feeling...?" Even without activating the contract to give her a boost, Mikoto should have already been feeling the passive effects from the moment the card was created. Mikoto swallowed hard when she saw her picture on the card before answering, "I feel very light. Its almost like my body is weightless but there is also a great deal of power inside of me..." Vahn smiled happily before asking, ("Can you hear my voice?") while holding her card against his forehead. Mikoto startled a bit before trying to do the same but Vahn exined, ("You just have to focus on trying to convey your intent to me, Mikoto. Only I need to activate the card to establish the connection.") This time, Vahn heard Mikotos hesitant voice inside his head saying, ("This is amazing. I feel...") Unable toplete her words, Mikoto averted her eyes with a blush on her face, causing Tiona to shout out, "Hey, hey, its not fair if the two of you start flirting while were all waiting for our own [Pactio]s~!" Tionas words caused Mikoto to hang her head while Tione smacked the top of her sisters head for being impatient. Vahn produced a wry smile before turning back to Mikoto and saying, "Try saying the chant, Adeat! while focusing on the image in the card." Mikoto calmed down a bit and held up the card to look at the image, frowning slightly before saying, "Adeat!" The instant she did so, it was like her clothes burst apart and she appeared n.a.k.e.d with all the features of her body shrouded by light. Less than a secondter, Mikoto was wearing the same outfit as on the card, panicking for a moment before realizing her weapon was fortunately spared, though there was also a secondary one present now. Mikoto waved around the deless katana in her hands with a curious expression on her face as Vahn exined, "Your artifact is called the Unseen de, so be careful with it, Mikoto. Im not sure if its invisible, but that is a very powerful weapon and you shouldnt y around with it..." Seeing Mikoto casually wave around what might be a super deadly weapon made Vahn sweat a little, though Mikotos embarrassed reaction as she pointed the sword away from everyone helped him rx. She then spent a short while familiarizing herself with the sword before realizing she could actually sense the length of the de and even modify it ording to her preferences. It also seemed to be incredibly sharp though shemented that it felt like there was something flowing out through her palms whenever she cut something. Vahn exined this was mana and that the weapon itself likely used it to enhance her attacks, meaning the sharpness and durability of the artifact was almost entirely dependant on her magic power. Overall, Mikoto was very excited to have such a unique katana and she was also surprised to find that, though she previously expected the clothes to be ufortable, they were anything but. It almost felt like a secondyer of skin and, though she would have to get used to having a coat that went to the middle of her thighs, it wouldnt take much effort. Having an invisible sword for her techniques would make it impossible for anyone to adapt to her during a duel so Mikoto was excited for the future, something shared but all the other girls in the room who took the opportunity to get their own [Pactio]s formed before bed. Once again, everyone pulled strings before lining up in order, starting with Tione, Lefiya, Haruhime, Ais, and, much to her chagrin, finishing off with Tiona. Tiones card showed her wearing an exotic outfit that looked like something a dancer would wear, meaning it was very revealing. As for the artifact itself, it was called Saltatione Solis, taking the form of a ringed chakram that could be thrown like a boomerang. The most impressive feat was the fact that it increased in speed as it flew, which was a little strange and would require testing in a more open environmentter. Lefiyas [Pactio] was, unsurprisingly, very tame and made her look like a cute little fairy, including two small butterfly wings on the back of her pink dress. The most notable feature was the fact that caused her hairstyle to change into twin tails, simr to Hestia, with butterfly shaped pins holding them up. As for her artifact, it was called Ros Sanitatem, taking on the form of a ss pitcher that seemingly produced an infinite amount of liquid that could heal wounds. The efficacy of the liquid depended on the amount of magical power Lefiya used and it was quickly discovered that it couldnt be stored within vials as it simply vanished after a few minutes. Haruhimes [Pactio] was easily the most peculiar as it showed a picture of her wearing very long court robes that extended to the ground and red out behind her. It was very obviously not suited for mobility but made Haruhime appear like an Empress since there was also an ornate hood framing her elegant face. The robes were predominately white, ented by reds that formed crescent shapes around the hem and sleeves. Instead of a normal obi, Haruhime had arge red rope around her waist that created tworge loops behind her back. As for her artifact, it was the robe itself and was called Luna Dea. It was a powerful defensive artifact that a barrier of moonlight that seemed almost impossible to break, stop both physical and magical attacks for an apparently small mana cost from Haruhime. Ais [Pactio] was easily the least impressive, at least visually, as it took on the form of a simple white dress that came down to the middle of her thighs. Instead of panties, there were small white form-fitting shorts that seemed to be made out of a very stic material, even though it perfectly protected Ais dignity. Like the other outfits, Ais reminded Vahn of the raiments worn by the gods and wondered if there was some kind of rtion between the two. To test this, he cut a small part of Ais dress and watched as itpletely regenerated a few secondster. This wasnt as interesting as her artifact though, which took on the form of wings of light, Lux Alis, allowing her to be the second girl in the group to attain flight. She could already emte it with [Ariel], to an extent, but this allowed her to maintain stable flight without much effort at all. It was also far more visually appealing because the wings were formed of radiant white light that branched out beautifully behind her back. Wrapping up the [Pactio]s, Tiona ended up having an outfit that made everything flinch when they first saw the image. Though Tiones had been revealing, Tionas was even worse as it took on the form of a white tiger fur band that tied around her chest, furry panties, and a loincloth, all made of simr fur cloth. It made her look like very wild and even caused her hair to gain frosted white tips as it grew slightly longer. As for the artifact itself, it was called Regina Animalium, meaning Queen of Beasts. It took on the form of a pale yellow tattoo on her back and two small, whisker-like marks on her cheeks. The most startling change, however, was the fact that her previously round pupils had now turned into slits that gave her a predatory look. When asked about how the artifact worked, as only Tiona herself would be able to answer, she exined that it seemed to make her stronger as she took more damage. This meant it worked in conjunction with her other skills and would probably turn her into an unstoppable force on the battlefield. When she used her wand to transform, just to see if she could, everyone quickly realized Tiona would be a truly terrifyingbatant in the future. Though the outfit was still cute, it took on a more feral design now and even gave Tiona a white tiger hair band and a too-small tail sticking out of the back of her dress, making a somewhat crooked shape between the two small angel wings. The fact that it changed shape based on Tionas feelings, which Vahn learned after it formed into a heart shape, was very adorable... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Watchdog Fenrir is on the Case~! Jiiiiiiiii~,Mikoto is a Maiden at Heart (UwU),Magical Beast Queen Transformation!?) (A/N: I actually didnt have time to write today but felt guilty when I was writing yet another apology chapter. My brother is getting out of the hospital and I was going to go hang out with him for a bit. Ill try to post another chapterter this afternoon, but I wouldnt spam F5. Tomorrow will have a few additional chapters to make up for the loss and Ill be shooting for 20k words, so around 6 chapters. Dont get your hopes up though, as I dont have as much control over my time right now as Id like. Hopefully, everything should be back to normal in the next few days since its really bothering me how slow the story is progressing...well, take care of yourselves, everyone. I hope you have a pleasant day and enjoyed this chapter, which was around 3,697 words this time around. rification: Ive been spending a lot of time with my brother and sister these days but they are both returning to their own homes soon and I should have more time to write.) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 640 - Tough Love

Chapter 640 - Tough Love

Before everyone went to sleep, Vahn went into greater detail about the [Pactio], ssifying the armor as a raiment for the time being. As they had already noticed, activating their cards greatly increased the physical parameters of the girls, though the full extent was currently unknown. The most important thing was that, though it wasnt as reliable as their aegis armor they usually wore, the raiment provided them a great deal of protection against physical attacks and even enhanced their natural regeneration, meaning they would automatically recover from minor wounds. When the contract was activated, they were borderline immune to damage as long as Vahn had enough energy to provide for them. They would need to study the efficacy and conversion ratioster, but it was a major boon knowing they had a form of temporary invulnerability during emergency situations. Since Vahn could also summon them to his side, it meant most of the girls wouldnt be endangered ever again because they could telepathicallymunicate with him to escape. There was a good chance the Dungeon would interfere with this transference, but that was something that could be tested at ater date. Just knowing it worked, with a remarkably small cost, already fundamentally changed the way they could fight and reposition. If Vahn could learn how to teleport around like Eva and Terra, he could move great distances and then just call the girls to his side in an instant... Though everyone wanted to give their new cards a try, Vahn brought a stop to that and told them to keep it a secret for the time being unless they were in a dangerous situation. They could pass it off as an item like Tionas wand, but Vahn wanted them to keep their true capabilities a secret since it was always better to have an element of surprise when facing enemies. He did, however, have each of them promise to use the card if they had even an inkling that the fight would be dangerous. Vahn never wanted toe across a situation where one of them sustained grievous injuries just because they were trying to respect his decision to keep secrets. He also briefed them about all of the people with less than clean auras within the Expedition so they wouldnt do something silly like falling for some scheme. If there was ever any doubt, they could now justmunicate telepathically with Vahn for an update on the situation and should never trust the words of those they arent close to. Vahn knew he was being a little over-protective of the girls but he was also on the precipice of bing unstoppable within the record of Danmachi. Though there would certainly be things that could defeat him, Vahn would be unkible by most means and could always gain an advantage in the end. He wanted to help the girls get to a point where he wouldnt have to worry about them in this life while also preparing them for the evolution of the record in the future. There would undoubtedly be forces in the world that would rise up against them, especially when the record became a higher tier, and Vahn wanted to avoid tragedy this time around. He harbored no illusions that he could protect everyone, knowing full well he would have to ept losses over the course of eternity, but Vahn wanted to do his best to try...after all, they were the first family he truly knew and Vahn cared deeply for each and every one of them. After everyone calmed down, the rest of the evening was rtively peaceful,ing to an end with Fenrir snuggling up with him while Ais and Lefiya took the spots at his sides. Lefiya had be a lot more bold these days and didnt seem to mind using his shoulder a pillow now, even though she had to deal with teasing from Tione and Tiona. Thetter of the two twins ended up snuggling up to Lefiyas back and using her as a hug pillow while Tione, Mikoto, and Haruhime allid in a line at the nks. Tione tried to get away with hugging Ais but was denied by the taciturn girl because it was too stuffy and Tione had bad sleeping habits. This caused a fair amount of giggling to ur, causing Tione to flush a great deal as she slept with her back to Ais instead... --- As usual, Vahn entered the orb at the proper time and spent a few hours celebrating his reunion with Terra and Eva before he moved on to his training once again. Eva was drilling him very hard, forcing him to fight against her while she would generally barrage him with spells. She knew it was more important for Vahn to learn how to fight against powerful Mages since he would always have time to work on the theory part of thingster. Though the dangers of [Magia Erebea] would likely be circ.u.mvented by the nature of his existence, she didnt want him to be a pushover since it would embarrass them both. Terra usually watched at the side while Vahn and Eva were fighting, painting or reading books depending on her mood. Associating with Eva for several years gave her many of the same hobbies and she had already be a very powerful Mage in her own right. Though not nearly as strong as Eva, who had the ssification of an SSS-Rank Cmity, Terra was now at the S-Rank, which is what Vahn would be at once he learned [Magia Erebea]. Her Status Board now showed more errors than actual stats and, though her Level hadnt increased over 10, it was very obvious she was breaking the limits of the Falna. The biggest change, however, was the fact that her Soul Tier had increased from 2 and reached the same Tier as Vahn himself, making her a Lord Soul. Eva watched as Vahn dodged another barrage of ice spears before disappearing from sight and intercepting his vector. She had been teaching him how to use [Koku Shundo] more skillfully and had been punishing him for how long it took to create his anchor points. Once again, shended right where he exited his technique before smacking him with enough force to send Vahn crashing into the ground. Since his body was wrapped in a golden aura, as a result of using [Molodia Bex], Vahn didnt take much damage at all, even though the crater he created was nearly 20m in diameter. Standing up, Vahn rolled his shoulder, wincing with a smile on his face before using [Koku Shundo] to evade Evas tireless assault. Because of the way Vahn fought, Eva had been drilling him on speed and perception, making sure he would never be caught unawares by attacks. He had a big advantage over other people with his domain so she wanted to make sure he was using it properly instead of letting it go to waste. Currently, he used it more for detection than anything else, which made Eva a little annoyed since it meant he was more reactive than proactive. A true Mage, at least in her opinion, was something that could remain rtively untouchable and simply outmaneuvered their opponents, overwhelming them with unstoppable magical might. Vahn wasnt a true Mage, as he was closer to a Magic-Knight, but Eva still wanted him to be a passable Mage by the standards of those at the peak. After all, though she had taught Terra and Fenrir, Vahn was her first disciple and she couldnt tolerate him being looked down on by others... For nearly seven hours straight, Vahn continued dodging most of Evas attacks and was starting to get the hang of what Eva seamless transitioning into and out of each [Koku Shundo]. He had a habit of thinking about where he wanted to move instead of knowing where he wanted to move, meaning his time between movements caused small gaps. Since the technique also made an anchor where he intended to move, skilled Mages could sense the subtle fluctuations and intercept him if they were fast enough. This was why Eva wanted him to be able to make seamless transitions to where he wanted to move so he wouldnt end up getting caught in traps. Though it was very painful to get knocked around by her, Vahn knew it was necessary since it made him far more battle-hardened while incentivizing him to improve faster. Seeing Vahns [Koku Shundo] improve so rapidly made Eva smile because she knew he really did have a lot of talent for physical enhancement and movement skills. It took most Mages several months to even get to the point where they can use [Melodia Bex], yet Vahn had been able to do it after a few days. Now, he could already sustain the aura for nearly ten minutes and had reached a stable 18x increase in most of his physical parameters while his agility was around 24x. Since she knew Terra was already reaching the pinnacle of existences in the world Vahn came from, Eva had a good idea of where he needed to be to be unstoppable. [Magia Erebea] would already put him near the peak, but Eva knew things were never that clear cut and there were plenty of ways a capable Mage could work around immortality... Just as Vahns [Melodia Bex] was about to end, Eva smiled slightly before creating a massive spear out of lightning. It was nearly 30m long andprised almost entirely of lightning elemental energy, throwing it towards Vahn at 107,925,284km/h, around 1/10th the speed of light. This wasnt the first time Eva had tossed one of her spears at him so Vahn did his best to try and evade it, erecting a wall of earth in front of him to obscure her vision before trying to use [Shundo] to move at the same moment her body twitched. Unfortunately, as had been the case every other time, Vahn felt a powerful impact against his body as all of his muscles and nerves clenched up. Electricity danced around his skin, frying parts of his body before he fell to the ground, smoke emerging from some of the cracks before they were reced with a vermillion light a few secondster. Evanded next to the charred body of Vahn, watching how rapidly he healed with the passive influence of his Zhqu form. Though she forbade Vahn from using the forms actively, there wasnt too much he could do to stop their passive activation. Since she knew very well how much his body could take, Eva made sure never to push him to the limits and only dealt enough damage to cause his Zhqu form to begin activating. As it had a ridiculous consumption rate of magic power, Eva knew it wouldnt be that dangerous since his body didnt have enough energy toplete the transformation. This meant he would get the enhanced regeneration to recover his wounds without actually turning into what she called a fiery chicken boy... Terra appeared next to them shortly after, leaning down to lift up her Masters body as she, for what felt like the tenth time, fed him a potion concocted using her Nectar. She quickly learned that her talent in forging wascking so instead decided to learn chemistry and alchemy with Eva, converting her Masters former workshop into her own personalb. As Vahn ingested the contents of the bottle, steam began appearing from his wounds as the vermillion light faded away and was instead reced with the sight of mending flesh. Terras potions, when inspected, had the ability to heal most wounds while replenishing 30% of a persons vital energies. They couldnt be consumed too often, by most people, but had a simr effect to a Master-Grade Elixir, meaning each of the small green bottles she carried could be worth up to 10,000,000 Valis each. Combined with her using healing magic, Vahn was up and ready to continue training after just a few short minutes. Of course, it took significantly longer for his mental energies and source energy to replenish so he usually spent that time letting Eva suck his blood while meditating. This was how he spent the majority of his time within the orb since, even though it would be nice to just seekfort in each other, there simply wasnt enough time to do so. Other than when he first entered, and exited the orb, Vahn didnt get to spend too much quality time with Eva or Terra. He did his best to make it up to them during the moments they were together, but it never felt like enough since he knew they would be waiting another four years for his return... These thoughts were going through Vahns mind as hey with the n.a.k.e.d Eva against his body, causing her to pinch him and say, "Vahn, stop worrying so much...just make sure you treat the real me properly and stop worrying about the present so much. Focus on training and bing stronger so that you can use the trial scroll and learn [Magia Erebea]. That is the best thing you can do right now..." As Eva finished her words, she sealed Vahns lips with her own, yfully moving her leg to intertwine with his. They had just finished a rather intimate session but there were still a few more minutes until he had to leave the orb. Not wanting to waste it by watching him brood, Eva took the initiative this time around while Terraid limply at the side, watching with an amused glint in her sky-blue eyes... --- Upon returning to the real world, Vahn felt his body warm up as he was momentarily caught in the aftereffects of Evas yful nature. Feeling the warm bodies of the girls around him, Vahn slowly calmed down before everyone started getting ready for the next leg of the Expedition. He had somewhat selfishly dyed things so that he wouldnt miss the timing of the orb, but most of those on the Expedition didnt really mind since it was always preferred to have more time to rest. The fact that Vahn provided high-quality food, ess to baths, and even some wine with a low alcoholic content made the majority of people praise him, offering noints whatsoever. Though some of the more veteran members teased the younger members for being zy, they generally did so with a smile before joining the rtively festive atmosphere and sharing their stories and cautionary tales. As they were readying everything, Asfi came out of her own room with a peculiar expression before sitting down and enjoying a very quick breakfast. She noticed that all the food was already cooked, even though nobody had cooked that morning, and knew there was far more to Vahns storage magic than had been revealed. Asfi was also aware they had stayed up veryte the previous night and had sensedrge magical fluctuations and mild tremors before her perception waspletely cut off from the room. Seeing all the other girls in high spirits made her curious about what had happened but there never seemed to be a good opportunity to breach the conversations of everyone else. Vahn, noticing Asfis difort, just offered a wry smile since there wasnt much he could do to help her fit in while she was still spying on them. Though the girls made conversation with her, it was almost like they were teasing her instead of actually trying to get along. Vahn wondered if Haruhime had said anything to them but Asfi herself didnt seem to be bothered by anyone, with the exception of Fenrir. Though Fenrir wouldnt actually do anything to her, Vahn had to admit that Asfi wasnt wrong to fear the small Vanargandr since, with Terra in the orb, she was probably the most dangerous person to make an enemy out of. Sensing the arrival of Finn, Vahn jumped up and smiled to the girls before saying, "Go ahead and wrap up breakfast so I can put the tent into storage. You dont have to clean up just yet if you want to leave everything out for snackster. Asfi, Fenrir, pleasee outside as soon as youre ready." Asfi gave him a sidelong nce before nodding her head in a curt manner and rising to her feet, quickly falling into pace with Fenrir following close behind her. She was already used to Fenrir watching her and did her best to ignore the glowing scarlet eyes that followed her with an unwavering gaze. Finn smiled the moment the three stepped out of the tent, saying, "Good morning, Vahn, Asfi, Fenrir. Its good to see youre all in high spirits so early." Vahn smiled and asked, "How soon until everyone is ready to move?" while Asfi just nodded politely towards Finn. Fenrir didnt return the greeting and instead just flopped her head from side-to-side, almost as if she was bored but rarely removing her eyes from Asfi. Finn saw this and felt a little awkward but kept it to himself as he said, "Everything should be ready within the next ten minutes so well probably start moving within fifteen. Did you want to do any extra checks...? Also, we never really got the chance to talk about it previously, but is there anything I need to consider for pacing purposes?" Understanding that Finn was asking if Fenrir was going to be clearing out the majority of monsters again, Vahn just smiled and said, "Fenrir will protect the convoy today so the others have a chance to gain some experience. Ill provide support, healing, and utility while she uses ranged attacks to target any problematic enemies. I know Ais, Tiona, and Tione probably want to move their bodies and gain some exillia as well..." Remembering the scene of Tiona flying around and raining down magic on enemies the previous day, Vahn couldnt help but smile as he considered purchasing a wand for each of the girls. Though Vahn thought it would make them look cute, he also knew it wasnt really appropriate and he didnt want any strange rumors to begin spreading... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Secret Trump Cards,Master Eva-chan,RIP Magical Girl Squadron) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 641 - Rumination

Chapter 641 - Rumination

Passing through the Dead Floors between the 30th and 36th only took the Expedition around seven hours, setting yet another record that would be hard to follow for most groups. As he had intended, Ais, Tiona, and Tione had an opportunity to put their skills on disy while Lefiya and Haruhime continued to barrage enemies with their ranged magic. They didnt have the benefit of Vahn replenishing their reserves indefinitely, but it didnt stop the girls from spamming their abilities since they wanted to increase their [Spirit Healing] Development Ability further. Though they could be much stronger when learning Evas magic system, Vahn already told them that increasing their base parameters would still be highly beneficial. Though Terra already exceeded Level 10, she actually wasnt as strong as she could have been if her Soul Tier had been higher. There was also a severe loss in potential parameter gain between levels and it wouldnt be impossible for other people to eventually grow much stronger than she was. An example would be Vahn himself, who would have around 65,000 parameters at Level 10 while Terra hovered around 42-45,000. This meant that, at the same Level, Vahn would have more parameters to work with when using enhancement magic and his spells would be inarguably stronger. Of course, his magic power itself would probably be significantly weaker than Terras for a long while because of her heritage as a True Dragon. He would inevitably be much stronger, as his existence itself didnt have limitations, but it wasnt too surprising that she would outgrow him with an extra century in her favor... Shortly after entering the 37th floor, the beginning of the White Pce, Vahn watched as Ais flittered about and tore through entire waves of enemies. Vahn had already given them permission to use their artifacts, as long as they didnt use their outfits themselves, so Ais had taken to the skies alongside Tiona. With her [Ariel], Ais was a truly terrifyingbatant in the sky and cut through the hordes like a beautiful doll-shaped blender. As for Tiona, she had already learned to conserve some of her own mana, Vahn wasnt really sure what she used to maintain her transformation, and had ended up smashing down with her [Dance of the Amazon] instead. She was already very skilled at twirling around and now didnt have to rely on leaping to generate momentum, instead, using her ability to fly to the fullest effect to enhance her mobility. Asfi had been silent throughout the journey but couldnt help drawing in a sharp breath when she saw Ais y a Variant Barbarian, more than 5m tall, with a single swipe of her sword. Vahn looked over at her with a yful smile on her face, asking, "Theyre pretty amazing, arent they~?" Hearing Vahns words, Asfi nodded with a serious expression on her face before hesitating for several seconds. Seemingly unable to resist the temptation, Asfi asked, "Is this because of their own efforts or the items youve forged for them? Ive never heard of a wand that can let someone transformpletely, even allowing someone famous for their inability to use magic the freedom to fly around and cast spells..." Vahn smiled while fluffing up Fenrirs ears with his fingers, contemting his words for a while before saying, "Well, Ive always done my best to try and make their dreamse true. Tiona always wanted to be able to use magic and desired to be treated like a princess. It took a bit of effort, and a great deal of luck, but I managed to procure an item that would allow her to do the former while thetter resulted in my pampering her on asion. Its the same for all the other girls, and Ill never stop trying my best to make sure they are happy...isnt that right, Fenrir~?" Fenrirzily nodded her head, dangling her feet off the edge of Vahns knees while leaning against his chest, seemingly unaffected by the fighting going on around them. Asfi furrowed her brows slightly at Vahns response and wondered if there was even a purpose for him agreeing to have her create a Magic Item for him. Though she might be able to make something simr to Ais, Asfi knew she wouldnt be able to make something like the wand used by Tiona, regardless of how much effort she put into it. All of her masterpieces seemed like baublespared to some of the things Vahn seemingly made just to make the girls around him happy. It was very vexing and Asfi felt like she was losing confidence in her abilities. Compared to someone like Vahn, it was almost like she was just ying around... Sensing the change in Asfis aura, Vahn gave her a curious look that caused her to avert her eyes with a slight frown on her face. Vahns raised one of his brows in response, asking, "Are you trying topare yourself to me...?" Though she didnt show any external response, Asfis aura red up even more, causing Vahn to feel a little awkward. This was something he never really understood since he felt it was inspiring to see people with greater capabilities, as it meant there was more to learn. He didnt understand why people like Welf, Bete, and now Asfi, felt the need topare themselves to him. After all, they were more than capable of being happy in their own lives, making use of their own capabilities to be sessful. Vahn needed to be as strong as he was since there were many things he wanted to protect, including the happiness of those around him. Asfi likely had things she wanted to protect as well and Vahn was certain she had been doing her best, just as he had. Rather than feel insecure about her own capabilities, she should instead aspire towards greater heights instead. Thus, with a serious expression on his face, Vahn said, "Asfi, people are as capable as they choose to be in order to protect the things they care about. You didnt be the Captain of the Hermes Familia on ident, nor did you be one of the most well-known Artificers in the entire City by chance. Comparing yourself to me, when weve both done our best for our own lives, does a disservice to us both...dont sell yourself short or youll have insulted everyone that ever looked up to you..." Asfi slowly turned her head to match Vahns gaze, seeing the seriousness in his expression and the conviction in his eyes. She knew he was right, as she had gotten to this point in her life based on the efforts she had put in. There were thousands of people that looked up to her and it wasnt an exaggeration to say she was a household name in a City that housed millions of people. Beforeparing herself to Vahn, all of her aplishments were things that others had aspired towards and never been able to achieve. If she saw those people resent and feel bad about themselves simply because theypared themselves to her, Asfi might even look down on them for discrediting her own efforts... Realizing the truth to Vahns words, Asfi frowned slightly before closing her eyes for several long seconds of silence. Once she collected herself, she matched Vahns gaze once again and said, "Forgive me...I see I have erred in my ways and have insulted a great many people as a result of my behavior. I will endeavor to be better...thank you for your guidance, Vahn." Vahn chuckled in response to her words before saying, "Whenever you see someone that is further along in something you want to study, you should see that as a point to ovee, not a height you can never reach. That is one of the secrets behind all of our strengths..." Vahn smiled down at Fenrir, resting his head against hers as he exined, "You see, instead of getting wrapped up in the idea that we cant be better, everyone at the Hearth Manor is constantly trying to improve. Many of my aplishments were dependant on the assistance of other people and I wouldnt even be the person I am today without the help and guidance of others. Im sure, with your status, you understand the importance of having capable people to feed off of each other to develop their capabilities further. Well, we do much the same and that is the reason why the girls are bing stronger so quickly...we share each others burdens and never stop doing our best, not for ourselves, but for everyones shared happiness." Asfi was slightly taken aback by Vahns words but she couldnt help but consider them very seriously, especially after witnessing the strength of the girls around him. As he said, Asfi knew how important it was to have capable people managing the affairs of the Kingdom. She also needed reliable vassals to maintain order and deter the corrupt nobles and merchants that constantly threatened the stability of the Kingdom for their own greed. The main reason she had evene to Orario, other than to increase her own strength, was to scout capable people and establish awork with various Familia. She wouldnt have joined someone like Hermes if not for the fact it allowed her to protect her identity and have greater freedom to move about and make her own ns... The one thing she couldnt really understand, though she could rationalize it somewhat, was how the people in the Hearth Manor were able to grow so quickly. Yes, Vahn might be exining it to her right now, but Asfi knew there was far more to the situation than he was making apparent. She could tell he was being sincere in his words but also understood he seemed tock mon sense, even though he was very perceptive. Others may have helped him reach this point, but the fact he got to it so quickly shows that his capabilities were monstrous from the start. The fact that he was beginning to drag other people along with his momentum, all for the sake of shared happiness, was bothmendable and terrifying at the same time. Given their rate of growth, Asfi could see the residents of the Hearth Familia bing inordinately more powerful than everyone else...meaning they wouldnt have anyone that could challenge their power... Recalling the words Hermes shared with her before epting this mission, Asfi felt like she had fallen into a trap of sorts and swore to punish her god once she returned. It was very obvious that she had been sacrificed, though not in the sense that Vahn may believe. Though she was loyal to the Hermes Familia right now, Asfi needed to return to her homnd in the future to prevent causing problems within the royal court. Associating with Vahn had the chance of guaranteeing she could meet her objectives since the power and authority of the Alliance would certainly expand beyond the City in the future. Just by bing friends with the boy, Asfi knew he would aid her if she requested it of him but it was a very difficult matter for her pride to tolerate such one-sided support. However, there didnt really seem to be anything she could give him since he was already surrounded by so many capable people. Though Hermes seemed to intend for her to be involved with Vahn, Asfi didnt feel like that would be fair to either of them, especially considering the number of girls in his life. If it was just a fling, in exchange for assistance and mutual benefits, Asfi wouldnt mind making such a sacrifice. The problem was, she could tell Vahn wasnt the type to trade benefits and his existence was simply too big for her to escape if she actually tried. It was impossible to use him in a conventional setting because the women around him simply wouldnt allow it...meaning she would be trapped from the very moment she let the boy touch her heart. Unaware of what Asfi was thinking, Vahn just c.o.c.ked his head to the side for a few moments before turning away and allowing her to think. She seemed impressed when he was speaking but quickly became very serious and ruminating a few secondster. He decided to just ignore her for the time being since he still wanted to investigate her originster on. She was probably thinking of sacrificing herself in some manner so Vahn figured he could just find out the situation of her homnd and resolve a few things before she did something foolish. Though she might try toe to him after the fact, it wouldnt be that easy since he would already be wrapped up in the matters of his own family. Vahn didnt really mind being friends with Asfi, considering he had few females he could consider friends, so he didnt mind helping her out. He just didnt want another girling to him out of obligation since it was always a difficult thing to rationalize and care about. Though he had read a fair number of books on the subjects, Vahn didnt understand how Kingdoms and Empires could get so bad in almost every conceivable instance. The Aristocratic society seemed especially foolish and it didnt make any sense why ipetents constantly found themselves in power. Vahn didnt mind that Kingdoms and such existed, but it was silly to consider that people were special by virtue of their birth and coulde into power they didnt earn for themselves...he just couldnt understand it as it seemed ridiculously selfish and egotistical... Seeing that the convoy had approached a Coliseum, Vahn gave Fenrir a tight hug before saying, "Tell Finn I want to give you the chance to solo the Coliseum. You can take the others with you, but I want to have a better gauge for your power and itll save the Expedition a lot of time." Fenrir showed a confident grin before nodding her head and saying, "Fenrir is the strongest~!" Like a sh of blue lightning, Fenrir charged forward and conveyed his message to Main Party, causing Finn to look back with a questioning look on his face. Vahn gave him an affirmative gesture that made the Pallum show a wry smile before eventually allowing Fenrir to proceed with Ais and Tiona in tow. As if she found her words, Asfu suddenly asked, "Exactly how strong is Fenrir...?" Realizing she may have said something invasive, Asfi furrowed her brows slightly before giving Vahn a curious nce as he simplyughed it off. When he was apparently content withughing at her, Vahn showed a smile and exined, "Lets just say that Ottar can only enjoy his Title for as long as Fenrir is content being the Vanargandr~." Asfis eyes widened slightly but she became outright numb when Vahn continued, saying, "However, another one of mypanions is much stronger than Fenrir already. The others will probably outgrow her in the next two years, at least if Fenrir stopped training...and Im guessing youd want to know my own strength as well? Lets see, Im currently a little weaker than Fenrir and would probably lose to Ais if she fought me seriously...but, that wont be the case for much longer~." Vahn sent a yful wink toward Asfi because it was fun seeing her fl.u.s.ter when he said increasingly unbelievable things. Seeing that Asfi was having trouble believing him, Vahn leaned back with his arms behind his head, eyes closed as he said, "Asfi, even if you have trouble believing it, that is the truth of the matter. I wont stop until each of the people I want to protect be untouchable by the normal standards of the world. Though I want to protect them personally, I cant always be at their sides when they need me and will ensure they break the limits that people are currently bound by. Then, together, we will help change this world for the betterment of everyone...not through conflict, though some wont be avoidable, but through dialogue, education, and cooperation..." As the Alliances attempt to create a School was already circting through the City, it wasnt a secret that needed to be kept close to the chest. Asfi swallowed as she heard Vahns words, feeling that there was an irrefutable truth behind each of them even though it was very difficult to believe. However, it was more difficult to believe that there would have ever been such a thing as a 14-year-old [Master Smith]. It was also an observed fact that each of the people that joined the Hestia Familia have set records that were impossible to obtain without a ridiculous amount of resources. Though they had the support of several S-Rank Familias, the girls would have still had to put in an inhuman amount of efforts to reach their current Levels in such a short period of time. However, it wasnt as if the resources had been saved specifically for their use so this couldnt be the reason behind their growth, meaning it was, in fact, Vahns influence that allowed them to be strong. If he could extend that influence to arge number of people, it wasnt hard to imagine that the Alliance, especially the Hestia Familia, would be able to bring about great changes in the world... Asfi found herself at a point where she may have to make a very important decision for the future since, should she miss such an opportunity, not just herself, but her entire Kingdom may be swept aside in the wake of Vahns revolution. This was likely why Hermes wanted to try to get closer to him as well, as it would be progressively more difficult to reach the core of the Alliance as time passed. It was already very difficult to get near Vahn since Loki, Freya, and Hephaestus coborated to protect him from the influence of external forces. They also didnt bat an eye at creating a blockage against a powerful nation, forcing economic sanctions and manipting the upper echelons of the City to support their decisions. This meant they didnt care about foreign dignitaries and royalty at all, at least if they represented factions that were in opposition to Vahn... Though there had been several loud explosions going on, silence had returned to the Dungeon after a surprisingly short period of time had passed. Asfi was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of cheering as Fenrir, Tiona, and Ais returned to the convoy, informing everyone that it was safe to move forward. It generally took around 15-20 minutes to clear a Coliseum, if the party doing so was very powerful, but it hadnt even been 4 minutes since the trio entered. Asfi felt a chill pass over her body before the cart made its way through the Coliseum, which had be an icy tundra from floor to ceiling, thousands of monsters frozen to death without ever having been able to fight back... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Parameters Arent Completely Useless,The Struggles of Being a Princess When Sitting Next to the Hero,Time is Running Out (o,...,o)~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 642 - Shock and Awe

Chapter 642 - Shock and Awe

Though there were several Coliseums barring their passage, the Expedition continued forward setting an increasingly greater precedent for others to follow. She didnt clear all of them, but Fenrir took out over half of the Coliseums entirely on her own, saving several hours of travel. Vahn was determined to reach the 39th Floor before it was time to re-enter Evas orb so he let her cut loose in order to increase her reputation and awe the Expedition itself. Arge number of the Adventurers present remembered Fenrir from the previous Expedition so her performance had a greater impact since the difference between then and now was very drastic. By the time they returned to the surface, Fenrir and, by proxy, the rest of the Hestia Familia, would be the stuff of legends. After reaching near the center of the 37th Floor, which was the Throne Room where Udaeus would reside, Vahn stepped forward while the Expedition began setting up the defensive line. Approaching Finn, with Fenrir and Asfi at his sides, Vahn had a smile on his face that made the Pallum shake his head in exasperation as he asked, "Are you wanting to fight the Udaeus alone?" Vahn chuckled before saying, "Actually, I feel it would be a waste of time setting up the defensive line so I was going to suggest we continue the march. If you recall thest fight, I can stop the Udaeus from using its massive AoE attack and Im fully confident Fenrir and Ais can eliminate it shortly after the engagement begins. If necessary, Ill provide support and shield the convoy." Vahn could see the edge of Finns smile twitching a bit but the veteran Pallum still followed Vahns suggestion, surprising everyone when he gave the order to march forward. As for Vahn himself, he kept Asfi at his side as they entered the Throne Room with Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, and Haruhime. Mikoto would have probably apanied them but she was currently with the rear guard, following Rauls orders for the time being. It wouldnt really make a big difference, however, as Vahn didnt expect the fight to take long at all. Previously, they managed to defeat Udaeus in a few minutes and they had all be much stronger since then. Ais tightly gripped her [Gram] before asking, "Can I...fight it alone?" in a quiet voice. Vahn was a little surprised but quickly shook his head, making Ais show a pouting expression for a brief moment. Reaching out his hand, Vahn stroked her glossy golden hair before kissing Ais forehead, saying, "Dont worry, Ais, youll have plenty of chances to fight itter on. Remember, itll respawn before were supposed to be returning to the surface and I dont mind if you want to fight it on your own next time. Since we already have everyone following behind, it isnt a good time to try and solo the monster because its attacks might stray and cause unnecessary injuries." Though she still wanted to be able to fight against the Monster Rex on her own, Ais nodded her head before sneaking a kiss from Vahn. By the time she separated, her pouting expression had turned into a small smile as she said, "Okay, next time then...Im looking forward to it." Ais held up her gloved fist with a fiery resolve burning in her eyes as she visualized the future fight she would have. Her behavior caused Tiona and Tione tough at her, causing Ais to blush slightly while maintaining her resolute look. After that, Vahn exined the strategy they would employ while the rest of the convoy slowly ambled into the Throne Room. The reason he had wanted them to be present, which most of the senior members immediately realized, was simply to show off the might of the Hestia Familia once again. This was meant to be both a deterrent and a challenge to those that might be plotting against them. Most of their enemies would back down once their current capabilities were known while the truly dangerous ones would feelpelled to take action sooner. Since Vahns own strength was rapidly increasing, while Fenrir and the girls themselves hadnt actually shown off the extent of their might, it would allow them to deal with most threats by causing their enemies to overextend based on faulty information. By the time the rear guard had made its way into the Throne Room,plete with Mikoto, Vahn smiled before gesturing towards Udaeus location. Everyone in the convoy was very tense and had more than a few inhibitions about the current situation. The senior members, with the exception of Bete, werent worried at all though and simply held their weapons loosely while watching the fight. It started by Ais flying forward with her Wings of Light in conjunction with [Ariel]. She created arge vortex of wind before striking towards the ground where Udaeus was hiding, causing it to explode with a shrill cry as it tried to use its massive skeletal ws to swipe at her. Though she might have trouble dodging from the air in the past, Ais now easily flittered about as she evaded its swipes before opening up a distance. As soon as Ais was out of range, a vibrant blue light appeared 50m above Udaeus as Fenrirs small figure blinked into existence, shouting, "Master, give me strength! Come spirits of ice! Tundra and cier, Spread Forth into the Air, in the Realm of White Night! Frozen Earth!" Though her chant had taken a while, Udaeus had been more focused on retaliating against Ais and trying to summon its spikes. Thus, perhaps overconfident about its famous magic resistance, Udaeus allowed Fenrir to finish her chant as a massive wave of magical energy converged on its body. The ck skeletal frame of Udaeus became covered in ice before a pir more than 50m in diameter and 70m in height came into existence,pletely freezing it. There were numerous murmurs amongst the members of the convoy, including several exmations of disbelief. As for Vahn, he had a small smile on his face as he saw the glowing eyes of Udaeus burning with rage. Unfortunately, though its strength was phenomenal, it couldnt easily break Fenrirs ice, which was bing increasingly more vibrant as she channeled her mana into it. Several smaller ice pirs slowly started growing around the first one and Vahn could see the glowing red eyes of the Monster Rex begin to waver as its magic resistance was overwhelmed by the chill. Even Vahn had been overwhelmed by Fenrirs magic when his constitution was a natural counter to her attacks. Udaeus was virtually powerless and, though it could resist normal magic attacks, it couldnt do anything in the face of Fenrirs might. As the ember eyes of Udaeus slowly burned out, Vahn called Fenrir back before looking toward Ais, who was already channeling a tempest of air elemental energy around her [Gram]. The moment Fenrir used [Koku Shundo] to clear the area, Ais moved forward at nearly seven times the speed of sound, shattering clear through the pir erected by Fenrir as the tempestuous des of wind tore through Udaeus frame, destroying its magic core in the process. Ais had moved so quickly that she went clear through the pir and mmed into the wall behind, causing spiderweb cracks to spread out for several hundred meters before she, unharmed, jumped out of the hole she created. Though Fenrirs disy was overwhelming, inspiring many to believe there was no way to resist her might, Ais attack caused many people to feel one single though in regards to her power, simply that it was unstoppable. There was nothing anyone could think of that would be able to stop her de and it brought a quiet over the entire group, broken only by the congrattions of Vahns group. Many people eyed Fenrir and Ais, both very young and youthful looking girls, with abject terror and shock on their faces, including some of her own allies. Though the strong gave her looks of respect, the weaker members of the Expedition were outright terrified of the two... Vahn exchanged a few words with Finn before heading back to his cart, causing several people to give him or, more specifically, Fenrir a very wide birth. Asfi had be a little pale as she followed along, absentmindedly epting Vahns hand when he pulled her up into the cart. Shortly after, Finn gave the order to continue the march since Vahn had already looted all the drop items from Udaeus, leaving nothing but icy devastation behind to prove it existed in the first ce. Perhaps more terrifying, however, was the still-copsing wall where Ais had struck previously... --- Without any major ir, the expedition reached the 39th Floor around 3:40 PM, giving Vahn plenty of time before he needed to attend to return to the orb. Since they were going to be setting up a permanant settlement this time around, the expedition moved towards therge t teau at the center of the Floor and immediately set up a perimeter. Construction efforts wouldnt officially start until tomorrow, but that didnt mean they could ck off on the defense. Though some people madements about it being pointless, especially with people like Ais and Fenrir around, Finn kept order and had everyone get to work. To ease tensions, Vahn took severalrge stone bs and cut them into shape, creating a semi-permanant bath for each gender. Instead of creating a normal formation to heat the water, Vahn drew a magical ward at the bottom of the stone basin that served the same purpose. Though formations were very effective, Vahn knew it was far more practical to draw wards and create ritual magic circles instead. They used significantly fewer materials and, as long as you understood the form properly, they could be set up a lot faster than standard formations. Instead of spending twenty minutes fortifying things, Vahn finished the entire ward in less than three minutes, only because it was his first time drawing it. After that was finished, Vahn set up some tents to cover the area, ensuring they were well ventted, before erecting stone walls in the periphery and drawing wards that barred entry to anyone that wasnt the appropriate gender. By the time he finished both baths, it was around 4:30 so Vahn started unloading the extra supplies at the center of the camp while everyone else was setting up their tents. He had already erected the Hestia Familia tent nearby and was just depositing things that would be used for the meal preparation. There were already several chefs standing by, each giving up a gratified cheer when Vahn gave them a variety of fresh and high-quality ingredients to make use of. Tonight was going to be a small celebration to congratte everyone for making it to the 39th Floor in record time, avoiding casualties along the way. People were undoubtedly a little tense after watching Fenrir tear through the Floors, but that would pass once the mood livened up a bit and they had good food in their bellies. After a few weeks, Fenrirs disy wouldnt be as impactful and would instead be something talked about with excitement and appreciation. Once they saw how cute she behaved normally, Vahn was certain they would open up to her, just like the members of the previous Expedition had. Since Fenrir was far more stable than the past, there shouldnt be any problems unless someone directly antagonizes her, which wasnt very likely. Worst case scenario, at least Vahn hoped, she would probably just knock them out with her martial arts and break a few bones... Vahn left Finn in charge of things before heading into the Hestia Familia tent, giving Asfi leave to rest in her room or wander about the encampment. He warned her not to wander off without informing him, however, as their agreement didnt cover her proactively trying to circ.u.mvent his protection. If she wandered off and got attacked by monsters, that was entirely on her and couldnt be held against him since it would be a fate she brought upon herself. Vahn could easily track her if she tried to leave, and would likely do so, but he didnt want Asfi to have the mentality that she was allowed to do whatever she wanted. He didnt even mind her spying on them that much, as she couldnt get any important information, but that didnt mean he intended to be her patsy and allow himself to be used. Asfi gave a firm nod in response before retiring to her room, likely to take a nap before dinner. She hadnt had to fight during the journey to the 39th Floor, but it had been very taxing her mind being next to Fenrir. There was also the fact that she had a lot to think about at the moment and it was difficult to be around Vahn since he seemed to react to the subtle changes in her mentality. Vahns words, though naive and idealistic, were very heavy and impactful since his capabilities meant that they werent simple titudes. It was obvious that Vahn was very serious when he spoke and it was apparent she would have to make a decision by the end of the Expedition, lest the wave that was Vahn Mason swept by and left her in its wake... Before entering the orb, Vahn sat around with Haruhime, Mikoto, and Fenrir as they talked about their uing training. They were going to be on the 39th Floor for two months and it would be a good opportunity to begin their magical training since it was better to start sooner. Vahn gave them several additionalnguage textbooks so they could study up and, in a strange twist of fate, Fenrir became the person tutoring them. She had been illiterate only a few months prior but could now read, write, and speak, four differentnguages. Haruhime and Mikoto knew how to speak and write in two, which surprised Vahn a bit until he remembered they both hailed from the Far East. There was no universalnguage within the Danmachi record and it wasnt umon for different races to havepletely uniquenguages and dialects. Vahn had overlooked this entirely at first because his brain, likely as a quirk of The Path, automatically tranted everything into a format the could understand. The fact he conversed with them in their ownnguages,pletely unaware he was doing it, had been eye-opening, to say the least. Thus, while Fenrir taught them Latin, Germanic, and English, they were also going to teach her Yanese while refining her Koine, which was apparently thenguage used in Orario. While the girls were having a small study session, Vahn watched them with a smile while palming Evas orb in his hand. The moment the light changed, Vahn sunk his intent into the orb to once again continue his training with Eva. Of course, before they got started, he had to pamper a needy Vampire princess and a progressively more seductive True Dragon... --- Much like the previous sessions, Vahn spent the majority of his time sparring with Eva, which meant he was usually her punching bag or desperately evading her attacks. His [Koku Shundo] was currently sitting at D-Rank and Eva wanted him to get it to B-Rank before the moved onto the next part of their training, which would be working on his internal control. He already had great control over his source energy, but Vahn needed to be able to supplement his capabilities with external mana since it was very apparent he wouldnt be able to convert his source energy into a usable form to cast magic. The efficacy was simply terrible and Eva rmended he conserve his own energy for reinforcement while making use of his domain to absorb external mana and temporary channel it through his body. This would also allow him to have greater mastery of his [Magia Erebea] while simultaneously making it easier to master other types of control magic in the future. Of course, all of that was assuming he could get his [Koku Shundo] to B-Rank before Eva turned him into a perpetual popsicle. Her attacks became increasingly more fierce and it felt like he was never really adapting since he always seemed to be on the receiving end of a pummeling. Eva had even created an ice wall to split the entire space in two, one side vibrant and lush under the influence of Terra, while the other was a frozen wastnd. On thest day, Eva even required him to meditatepletely n.a.k.e.d in the -90-degree weather, without using his [Heart of the Eternal me]. The only thing he was allowed to do was cover his body with a very thinyer of [Cantus Bex], which wasnt really enough to resist the cold. The reason for this was because Eva was worried about his ability to continue fighting for long periods of time since his mana would be used up after just a few short minutes. He needed greater control and obtaining such mastery under harsh conditions was amon practice in her world. There were several phases to the training, starting by having a person traverse through a tundra wearing nothing but light clothing, surviving only on what they obtained during the journey. The second phase was to meditate at the top of a mountain, where the oxygen was thin and blizzards weremon. As for thest phase, it took a drastic turn and required the person to meditate within the mouth of a volcano, finished only when the student managed to submerge themselves within the magma up to their neck for twenty-four hours... Unsurprisingly, Vahn wasnt able toplete Evas trial at first and identally cheated when his body adapted to the temperatures without protecting himself with mana. Since his form could change to whatever he wanted, Vahn had naturally adapted to the cold since it had been very ufortable. This earned him Evas temporary ire and a bit of punishment before she left his tired and drained body out in the cold again. She lectured that it wasnt wrong to rely on the capabilities of his body to ovee difficult situations, but being overreliant on shortcuts would only harm him in the long run. Thus, with a few frozen lines of blood draining from small puncture wounds all over his body, Vahn sat and meditated within the cold until his time in the orb hade to an end... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Entertaining the Peanut Gallery,The Path is a Cheat,Ice Empress Evangeline) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 643 - Development

Chapter 643 - Development

With the arrival of the Expedition on the 39th Floor, the construction of the Supply Depot could begin in earnest. Much like he had previously, Vahn assisted in the procural of building materials for the construction teams while also setting uprge amounts of supplies for their use. When everyone saw how much materials he had been carrying in his storage, people were utterly gobsmacked because Vahns presence alone almost invalidated the need for normal Expeditions. While other people had to establishrge convoys, escorting materials on carts and wagons, Vahn could simply carry it all himself. Previously, some three-hundred-plus workers wondered how well things would go as they had expected to harvest materials from the Dungeon, not have them all outright provided by Vahn himself. While everyone was getting the gear and supplies allocated to the proper areas, Vahn was sitting in the Command Tent with Finn, Gareth, Bete, Lefiya, and the representative of the artisans, a half-dwarf woman by the name of Quinn. She had wild purple hair, showing she didnt care much for her appearance, and pink colored eyes that looked soft and disinterested in most things. Unsurprisingly, she had a very full and angr build, showing she had been in her line of business for many years, which wasnt hard to imagine as she was in her early forties. As for why she seemed so disinterested in everything, it was apparently because she didnt really care much about anything other than building things. Though he couldnt be certain, Vahn suspected she might even be a demigoddess since her aura wasrger than normal even though she was purportedly only Level 3. Quinn was looking over the blueprints for the fortification Vahn had in mind, which he had worked out with Hestia and Hephaestus previously. After looking it over for several minutes, an almost fervent glimmer appeared in the stout womans pink eyes as she asked, "Who came up with this design? Ive never seen such a unique bnce between form and function before...was it a goddess? Ah, I believe your goddess has a Divinity rted to Architecture...yes, I see. Fufufu, this project just got a lot more interesting..." It was a little off-putting seeing how quickly Quinn had shifted from azy and disinterested appearance into a woman that could wait to get to work. She continued to scan over the blueprints with glimmering eyes as a smile continued to expand on her face. Finnughed at this disy while Gareth stroked his beard with a small smile on his face, clearly impressed by the womans fervor. As for Vahn, he had a wry smile on his face because he had originally thought Quinn was asking him questions when she was apparently having a conversation with herself. After collecting his thoughts, Vahn exined, "There are some things that will be changed, but Ill make sure to inform you and your team beforehand. Instead of using traditional formations, Ill be using a secret technique that will provide greater defensive capabilities to the fortress. As for everything else, Ill leave it to your discretion but know that Ill be inspecting everything in great detail. I dont want to find out about anything like secret tunnels being constructed outside the original ns and nobody has the authorization to build secondary buildings within 1,000m of the settlement when it isplete." The current n was to construct the Supply Depot like a Fortress City, meaning there would be arge external wall with a heavily fortified structure at the core of the CIty. Though they will also be building things like Inns, Shops, Grocers, Entertainment Facilities, and even a Guild Office, nobody would be allowed to take up residence within the Supply Depot. Even the members of the Alliance could only stay within the area for upwards of two years before they would be forced to retire their post for a simr amount of time. This was to prevent corruption from taking root since everything would be managed and ounted for, including routine inspections by the Alliance itself. Though it couldnt bepletely rooted out, especially after several years time passed, Vahn was determined to make sure those in charge of management had strong moral characters and clear auras. The Supply Depot would be managed by the Loki Familia, but Vahn had already gotten permission from Loki to be a Special Administrator that could overturn decisions and rece people he found undeserving of the position. Since the Supply Depot would be an important waypoint for exploration deeper into the Dungeon, Vahn didnt want it to be a haven for criminals and information brokers like on the 18th Floor, Rivira After the ns were finished being discussed, Vahn moved to the first perimeter where the fortress itself would be constructed, assisting the construction teams by cutting blocks of stone for their use. They had a five-stage n for the construction, starting from the inner walls of the fortress, the fortress itself, the external walls of the settlement, the formation creation, and then the buildings that would serve predesignated purposes. Everything was set up so that there would be plenty of space to move about while the buildings themselves were intended to be highly durable while also being somewhat spartan in design. This meant they could be repaired very quickly and made it much harder to disguise criminal activity since the space between buildings was muchrger than normal. In total, the construction process was expected to take slightly more than six months but the fortress itself should bepleted within two. During this time, the Loki Familia would be in charge of the defense while the builders, artisans, and general construction crews would be working tirelessly in shifts. Since it would be very stressful otherwise, one of the biggest priorities was setting up arge mess hall and recreation center that would be soundproofed to external sounds. Providing good food, mildly alcoholic drinks, gambling, and rxation were very important for the mental wellness of everyone. Of course, there were strict rules and regtions that everyone would have to follow at the same time, with some of the punishments being rather harsh. As stress continued to build, it was very likely that people would look to each other forfort and even Vahn nned to spend some quality time with the girls. To prevent things from getting out of control, people were restricted in the amount of alcohol they could consume, easily justified as simple rationing. Finn also gave a speech that, while it was perfectly fine to have rtionsh.i.p.s with people, everyone was required to always be at their post at the assigned times. He also, with a very serious and cold gaze, exined that crimes like s.e.x.u.a.l harassment and **** wouldnt be tolerated, promising a swift end for anyone foundmitting such atrocities. The Amazoness team, headed by Aisha, had already volunteered to help some of the men vent. Apanying them were a few other girls that had been scouted for the exact same purpose, recruited from the Red Light District and promised guaranteed sries and additional benefits such as protection from predators. Though Vahn wasnt entirely in agreement with such practices, he understood it was nature at work and it would be even more problematic if there werent willing participants that were already designated for stress relief. Since it was a much better life than being a simple p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e, Vahn let it slide after briefly interviewing all the volunteers and learning of their reasons for volunteering. He also had a long conversation with Aisha,forting the mature woman and apologizing for having never been in a position to reciprocate her feelings. Aisha didnt seem to mind it much, as it hadnt even been that long since they first met, iming she didnt mind waiting for a few years if necessary. As for her mitment to be with him, it was, as she imed, because other men didnt trigger her instincts anymore. After being bound and dominated in the past, Aisha had be frigid in regards to other men, finding them to be unappealing and severelycking. She was also very busy taking care of the other Amazons in her charge and wanted to ensure they were able to find their own happiness so it actually wasnt convenient for her to get involved with him either. As she had also seen through Vahns guilt on the matter, she teased him a great deal and had him make it up to her simply by having him spend the night, not having s.e.x, but just holding her... While the construction efforts were continuing in force, Vahn was also spending a great deal of time within the orb, continuing his harsh training with Eva. She imed that the only way to promote fast growth was to constantly push the body to its limits as it required a shift in a persons mentality to be truly strong. Thus, regardless of how painful and tiring the training got, Vahn neverined and always did his best to meet his Masters expectations. It helped that Fenrir and Terra also told him about their own experiences during Evas training so he knew he wasnt getting special treatment. The simple truth of the matter was, much like in the record of Danmachi itself, people needed to push themselves beyond their preconceived limits to be stronger. It was much like how the characters in the novels he read had to ovee seemingly insurmountable odds before they finally obtained victory. The only requirement to be truly powerful was to have a never-give-up mentality and an earnest desire to grow stronger, supplemented by talent andprehension of certainws and principles. Vahn didnt truly consider himself a protagonist, but it was an irrefutable fact that his presence within the record had arge impact on the fate of everyone around him. With a limitless potential for growth, as a result of his own mentality and The Path, Vahn was geared to be one of the strongest forces in the world, assuming he wanted to. This meant that, as long as he truly desired to be stronger and continued pursuing greater heights, Vahn would never reach the end of his path. The only restrictions were the bonds he created and the limitations of his own mentality, things Vahn knew held him back but also gave him greater purpose. Seeing the Divination had allowed him to put many things in perspective and Vahn determined it wasnt worth bing the strongest if he had to give up the things that made him happy. Momentarily distracted, Vahn ended up taking a big hit from Eva thatpletely tore of his arm after it had been impacted by one of her spears of lightning. He was already ustomed to the asional loss of a limb but felt like he would never be able to adapt to having electricity surge through his body as it causes his muscles to seize. Evanded next to him, showing a cold expression that couldnt hide the worry in her eyes as she asked, "Why are you letting your mind wander, Vahn? We dont have much time left and you arent nearly at the level Id like..." At this point, there was only two more sessions until Eva would be unable to keep the orb stable. Since using the trial scroll for [Magia Erebea] took a bit of time as well, there wasnt much left for Vahns training. Vahn winced as he slowly regenerated his arm, ingesting a [Senzu Bean] to speed up the process as the flesh mended back together. Producing a wry smile, Vahn said, "I dont think Ill be able to get to that point any time soon since my own energy cant be converted so easily...sorry, Eva..." Eva didnt know about source energy, but she knew Vahns mana was far more pure than normal, to the point that her body couldnt even process it all when she was sucking his blood. Thus, she wasnt really that surprised by his words since they had already talked about it in great detail in the past. It was fortunate he had a talent for drawing wards and using reinforcement spells, but very frustrating to see that his use of external magic power was severelycking. Though Vahn had been able to manipte the mana in the air to supplement his own magic power, it was simply too slow since his body interfered with the process instead of allowing it to flow freely. The biggest problem with this was the simple fact that Vahn didnt have enough internal magic power to sustain continuedbat, at least not at the level Eva knew he would have to face in the future. Vahns power was incredible, to an extent that he could even threaten an S-Ranked Mage when going at full strength, but his sustainability was some of the worst she had ever seen. At best, Vahn could only keep up his [Vis Maxima] for around fourteen minutes beforepletely burning out. Fortunately, his regeneration was abnormally high and he had all kind of Elixirs to supplement his reserves, but external help was never favored by Eva. The type of magic that she taught, which made her one of the strongest in the entire world, was entirely dependant on a persons individual capabilities and didnt make use of things like magic wands or staves. Since Vahn was her first disciple, Eva was a little upset that he was incapable of reaching the point she would like, knowing full well it wasnt really his fault. Releasing a sigh, Eva turned around and sat in Vahnsp, resting her head against his chest while enjoying his warmth, even though they were surrounded by a world of ice. She tilted her head up to match his gaze,ining, "You have such a ridiculous amount of power in your body, especially your blood, but youre unable to make use of it. I have several times Terras magic power, but I can replenish my own reserves after draining your blood for less than an hour...how is it that you cant seem to make use of that same energy in your spells? Its so vexing!" It really didnt make much sense from Evas perspective, so much so that she and Terra had spent nearly fifty years researching it without discovering its secrets. Vahns blood was just as anomalous as the boy himself and it bothered Eva a great deal knowing there were so many unknowns about the boy she had fallen in love with... Vahn held Eva tightly, understanding she wasnt really upset at him and was just worried about the enemies he would face in the future. She had already suspected they came from different worlds, a very long time ago, but didnt know they came from different records. Since there were a few people that were even stronger than she was, Eva was worried he would face an enemy she couldnt prepare him for. Though [Magia Erebea] would put him at the pinnacle of power, Immortality wasnt actually that difficult to ovee if the other party was strong enough. She had already had him study about a variety of monsters that were specifically engineered to eat immortals, some forcibly digesting them over several thousand years. It was also possible to be sealed away, though Vahn expected he would be an exception to that since his [Chainbreaker] would eventually allow him to escape. Also, unlike other Immortals, Vahns soul couldnt be bound by the record and he could even eject from the world if things got too difficult. Ever since he reached Tier 2, a long time ago, Vahn had the Records option in his system be essible again. At any point, he could pick another world and move on without any restrictions whatsoever. The only reason he didnt do so was that the record was no longer static after he entered it, meaning time would continue to move forward at the same pace, irrespective of the records he went to. Vahn would never abandon all of the people that he hade to love so he had never considered using the Records function ever since it had be avable in the past... While Vahn and Eva were snuggling up in the frozen tundra, Terra was sitting in her Atelier, running a few tests on Vahns blood, primarily focused on using it as a catalyst for Alchemy. One of the things they had discovered was that his blood could be introduced into other magically activepounds to further enhance them, though the dtion required varied greatly. It was to the point where they were using parts-per-million for Vahns blood and other catalysts, such as her own blood and nectar. The main reason Vahn had never had any sess in [Mixing] was that using a single drop of blood was several million times more than he should have been using. Terra now had the [Alchemy] Development Ability after studying with Eva for so long and had awakened it after sessfully making an Elixir with Vahns blood in the past. She now performed all kinds of experiments, discovering very quickly that Vahns blood was a perfect binding agent between other materials. It was even possible to forcibly mix to materials with conflicting elemental properties by using his blood as an intermediary, allowing for one of her greatest masterpieces, the [Frost-Fire Explosive sk]. It had the ability to create arge explosion that both froze everything it came into contact with while simultaneously burning the target like a powerful caustic solution as the concentrated fire elemental energy broke down whatever it touched. The most important discovery was that most of the potions made using Vahns blood as an ingredient were inordinately more powerful than normal, even bringing her own [Emerald Elixir] to the point where they couldpletely regenerate missing limbs. As for why this mattered, it was because the potions could be used by other people, unlike the items Vahn created using his abilities. Terra had even gotten to the point where she emted the mechanism behind chemical grenades so she could feed the [Emerald Elixir] into a canister to give it an area of effect, though the potency would be reduced... Terra was watching as yet another one of her experiments was sessful, showing acent smile even though her eyes were glimmering with intrigue. She had just managed to produce ink that used a mixture of her Masters blood and her own, making it far more powerful than normal. It made Terra very happy knowing that her Masters blood was so much more potent than her own, especially since she had be far more powerful than he was, at least for the moment. She had long since outgrown the Falna, even losing her Familia Emblem as it evaporated from her body several years ago. Now, she carried her Masters crest on her back instead of Hestias, which was preferable since it always bothered her having the mark of someone else marring her skin. Taking the ink she had just produced, Terra separated it into several different types of storage mediums to allow them to sit over the next few years. Eva had taught her a great deal about Science so Terra always conducted a variety of tests, thankful for the time she had in the orb since it would have been very inconvenient to do so in the real world. Though the first few decades had been very difficult, Terra had adapted to the long periods of separation and had continued developing herpanionship with Eva further. They had even started sleeping together, though not in a s.e.x.u.a.l manner, as it was easier to cope with the loneliness by confiding in one another. Of course, that didnt mean there wasnt any intimacy between them, as Terra had be very fond of Eva and enjoyed spending time with her. Sometimes, while they were watching a y between the dolls Eva had made, Terra and she would make out and touch each others bodies. Eva felt a little guilty that she was going to impose on her real self in the future with memories that didnt match her disposition but, considering the number of women around Vahn, she got over it after a few awkward sessions. After all, she would undoubtedly have to share the man she loved with numerous other girls and it would be troublesome not having assistance from people she could trust... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Quinn, the construction otaku,Complications, Expectations, Comfort,Terra, True Dragon Alchemist) (A/N: Some people seem to have some confusion about why Vahn sucks at using external magic. The simple fact of the matter is, Vahns source energy may be capable of creating any kind of energy, but that doesnt mean Vahn knows how to facilitate that conversion. You might think he would be able to intuit it after a bit of practice, but remember that source energy exceeds Tier 9, meaning there is no way a Tier 3 existence like Vahn would be able to make proper use of it. Even Tier 9 entities would hardly be able to glean any insights into the bloods true capabilities so cut the boy a little ck xD. Of course, this is also the main reason why Vahn gets inordinately more powerful in higher Tiered worlds, as his capabilities and understanding of the energies in his body continues to expand (UwU).) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 644 - Precipice

Chapter 644 - Precipice

When Vahn returned to the real world once again, he opened his eyes to see Fenrir and Mikoto patiently waiting for him. Fenrir was always at his side to wee his return while Mikoto would periodically check on him to make sure everything was okay, Seeing his eyes open, she tilted her head slightly in concern and asked, "How are you feeling...?" Ever since hisst confession, iming that she would always be his, Mikoto had put in a little more effort just being near him. She still trained, which was something all of the girls had been working on, but also spent time expressing her interest in their blossoming rtionship. Vahn smiled in response to Mikoto, stroking Fenrirs head and ears as he said, "Ill be learning Magia Erebea the next time I go inside since Eva is a little worried about waiting till thest minute. She wants to be able to have enough time guarantee the sealing process is smooth..." Hearing his words, Mikotos expression showed more concern, reaching out to squeeze his hand with her own. Vahn traced her hand with his thumb, thinking about the fact he would be separating with Eva for several years this time around. However, she had spent more than a thousand waiting on him and he was determined to do his best for her in the future. After taking a few breaths to calm his mind, Vahn shared a hug with Fenrir and Mikoto before they made their way out into the encampment. Instead of a tent, they were currently in a small building Vahn had made for their use. It provided much greater protection and privacy than a normal tent and made it more difficult for Asfi, who spent a fair amount of her time with Haruhime, to escape and wander off on her own. She had done so on a few nights but had never gone too far away from their sleeping quarters, generally hesitating for several minutes before inevitably returning. Vahn had already identified her secondary mission objective, which seemed to be delivering a message, likely to the Xenos. He hadnt expected them to be this far down at all, but Asfi showed signs of having some means of contacting them, or someone... Seeing the rtively quiet and cool beauty once again enjoying tea with Haruhime and Lefiya, Vahn smiled and asked, "Are you going to stay here, Asfi, or did you n to apany me for the rest of the evening?" Generally, Asfi followed him around whenever he was working, observing his use of unnamed spells and asking several questions, some of which he humored her by answering. The rest of the time, like now, she stayed inside the smallpound andmunicated with the other girls, though Haruhime seemed to be the most essible. Asfi had been swirly a sugar cube in her tea, so she tapped her silver spoon against the side of the ornate little cup before saying, "I was having a pleasant conversation with Haruhime and Lefiya. For the time being, Ill stay here under their care..." Haruhime began tough into her sleeve, apparently finding Asfis words humorous if her squinted eyes were any indication. As for Lefiya, she produced a somewhat wry smile as she said, ("Asfi was asking about why you always seemed to be different around 5 AM and 5 PM every day. It seems that, even without watching it herself, she has been keeping track of your schedule and habits.") Vahn nodded his head nomittally, waving at the three girls before leaving thepound with Fenrir and Mikoto. One of the biggest changes in the groups dynamic was the fact that the girls could now ping him with a mental signal, allowing telepathicmunication between them. The girls would ry any touchy questions Asfi might ask, allowing Vahn to know what she was up to at all times. It was a little unfair for the hardworking little spy, but that was a path she had chosen for herself and, besides, Vahn liked being able to talk with the girls. They had already determined there were a few things that interfered with the ability, chief amongst them being that the Dungeon did, in fact, interfere with the active abilities of the [Pactio]. The more walls that separated them, or the greater number of Floors, the more energy it took to establishmunication and summon them to his side. The limit, thus far, seemed to be around six Floors distance, around 3-4km depending on the construction andposition of the floors themselves. Vahn suspected it was the natural sealing effects of the Dungeon at work and had already asked Eva about potential solutions to get around it in the future. Her idea was to set up teleportation wards in the Dungeon to act as ry points, though discovering how many Floors such wards could prate would require study and research. Once they were outside thepound, Vahn headed to the second Floor of themand center to get an overview of the tireless construction efforts taking ce. Thus far, there had been no major snags and it bothered him knowing that nothing had happened. Part of his instincts told him that something should have happened before he was able to learn [Magia Erebea], but even the shadier individuals inside the Expedition hadnt tried anything. Quinn, and the Foremen(s) she had put in charge, had been very strict in their observation of the crews in their charge. Vahn had also inspected everyones progress, scanning the areas with his [Eyes of Truth] to make sure people werent trying to create secret passages andpartments. To Vahns surprise, he hadnt found a single one and a few of the shadier auras had started to mellow out a bit, almost as if they were pacified by the good food, friendly environment, and the rtivelyx work schedule. So that people wouldnt overwork themselves too much, everyone had twenty-four-hour break for every two work days they put in. This was extremelyxpared to the conditions they were used to so everyone had been in high spirits, with the mess hall often having a celebratory and lively atmosphere during meal times. Of course, as not everyone would want to eat at the designated times, Vahn had the mess hall open 24/7 so people could drop by to grab a snack at any point they were feeling hungry. It was very important to him that the workers were content with the conditions provided since their satisfaction would be instrumental in procuring workers for future projects. The Supply Depot, which was being affectionately referred to as Lil Geirr, was an important first step to inspire peoples interest in the Haven that would be built on the 50th Floor. It was a much smaller project, as Haven itself would potentially rival the size of Orario in the future, so it was instrumental in ensuring things went smoothly. If they had difficulties on the rtively tame 39th Floor, people wouldnt have any confidence in breaching down towards the 50th, even on a convoy. Vahn wanted to change the mentality of contractors and merchants so they were more willing to make the treck in the future. He even nned to create scrolls that would allow for the storage of items, which would only be essible in Haven. Since procuring such a scroll required the person to visit in person, signing a blood contract to have ess to the storage scroll, Vahn was confident that several merchants would make the trip. Mikoto, standing at his side, looked out over all the people busy at work, smiling as she said, "It really is amazing, seeing how people can work together towards a goal many could have considered impossible. Im d to be able to stand witness to such progress..." Vahn blinked, slightly surprised by Mikotos words as he turned to match the onyx-eyed gazes of the young swordswoman. She was still just fourteen years old, so hearing her say something bordering on the profound was a little amusing. With a smile on his face, Vahn nodded slightly before saying, "I believe things will get even better as long as we dont exploit the power and opportunity we are given. As long as we endeavor to weed out corruption at the core of our group, we should always be in a position to guide people towards a better future." Since Vahn was determined to make each of the girls strong enough to be unmatched in the rest of the world, it wasnt an exaggeration to say they would be in an unrivaled position of power. If he followed a route simr to the one he walked as an Emperor, they could easily conquer the entire world and force change. Vahn, however, wanted to avoid such drastic intervention and instead focus on the younger generation of children, only changing policies when they became problematic or were clearly biased for personal gains. Vahn didnt n on crushing noble families outright, as some of them had created legacies that havested for centuries and they had worked hard to secure their power and authority. The exceptions would be those that had be despotic with time, forcing policies that helped them increase their wealth and authority at the expense of others. As long as such people existed in positions of power, Vahn knew corruption would continue to pervade through society and it would onlyplicate future matters by showing them leniency... Seeing that Mikoto had an almost prideful and reverential look on her face, Vahn felt like teasing the stoic sword maiden so he said, "Make sure you work hard, Mikoto...after all, Ive put a lot of trust in you. I look forward to the day when youre able to stand at the peak of swordsmanship and hope youll be able to pass it on to our child in the future..." Mikoto had puffed her chest out in pride at the first part of his words, but she turned crimson after hearing thetter half. They hadnt really done much to progress their rtionship further, but Vahn liked to tease her every now and then since her reactions were always very fresh. Seeing her blushing face, Vahn stifled a chuckle before giving the bashful girl a cheeky peck on the lips, breaking her free from the stunned state she had been in. Mikoto lowered her face with an even deeper blush touching her cheeks, pushing her fingers together in embarrassment as she said, "I wish you wouldnt tease me so much..." in a pout. This time, Vahn couldnt help butugh, earning a mild re from Mikoto in the process as she thumbed her katana. Seeing this, Vahn stoppedughing but continued to chuckle for a short while before saying, "Youre a very beautiful young woman, Mikoto. Since you dont smile enough, I have to settle for having you blush on asion just to appease my own heart a bit. I dont mean to tease you that much, its just that Id like you to open up a bit more..." Though she smiled far more often than in the past, Mikoto usually has a serious expression on her face, marring her beauty a little because it made her seem cold, even though her personality was actually very earnest and considerate. This wasnt the first time Vahn had mentioned wanting her to smile more so Mikoto wasnt too surprised as she took a deep breath and released a sigh. She always found herself wanting to be stalwart and dignified whenever she was around Vahn, after all, he was her Lord and Master. Though they were also Lovers, they had never really done anything bold so it was difficult to act in ordance with his expectations. She had gotten better about it, making an effort to improve her rtionsh.i.p.s with the other girls, but it was hard to do so around Vahn himself. He was like a mountain that she couldnt see the top of, causing Mikoto to feel a few inhibitions even though she knew he was a very kind and open person. Fenrir suddenly released a loud yawn as she leaned against the short wall on the edge of the roof, scarlet eyeszily observing the people working below. One thing her time in the orb hadnt really allowed her to understand was why some girls, even though they liked her Master, seemed hesitant about being with him. She wished they wouldnt make things so unnecessarilyplicated since it only made things more difficult for everyone... Mikoto and Vahn, seeing Fenrirs disy of boredom, felt a little awkward since she typically was very quiet most of the time. Vahn walked over and leaned against the same wall, asking, "Are you bored, Fenrir? Did you want to go on a walk around the area?" Knowing they wouldnt be able to wander too far without going to pick up Asfi, Fenrir shook her head and just leaned against her Masters side, muttering, "Fenrir is just a little tired and needs to recharge a bit..." Vahn smiled, hopping up on the wall before patting hisp so Fenrir could sit down. She happily epted the offer and enjoyed the warm and tingling sensation of her Masters source energy entering her body along with the pleasant sensation of his [Petting]. Suddenly feeling a little out of ce, Mikoto became a bit sheepish and couldnt help but feel that the gaze Fenrir had given her contained a message. Though she couldnt be certain, it was almost like she was telling her to be more decisive since there were always other girls trying to get closer to Vahn. Mikoto suddenly thought of all the girls that had been trying to interact with Vahn whenever they ate at the mess hall, though her biggest focus was on the newest addition to their group, Asfi. Though everyone knew she was simply trying to collect information, it was true that she had been showing greater interest in Vahn, even though she seemed hesitant about it. Realizing this, Mikoto frowned slightly since it was hard to ept that she might lose out to other girls, even though she had already been around Vahn for almost a year... Just as she was mustering up the courage to go sit next to Vahn, Mikoto felt her instincts trigger as she put her hand to the handle of her katana as a figure rapidly approached them. Seeing what it was, Mikoto released a sigh before standing at the side as Tiona came barreling towards Vahn, tackling him off the roof and hugging both him and Fenrir as sheughed happily. She had be very fond of flying around and spent a great deal of time in her transformed state. Though she hadnt developed her Magic parameter, even though she was clearly using Magic, Tiona didnt seem to care at all since she had already obtained one of her dreams. Mikoto wished she could be as carefree and easygoing as Tiona, especially seeing how Vahn was smiling as he embraced the yful girl. Even Fenrir, who had frowned for a short moment after the interruption, didnt seem to mind Tionas presence after a few seconds. Mikoto, remembering howzy and exasperated Fenrir seemed earlier, felt like the message she had gleaned wasnt just a figment of her imagination. It was actually very easy to spend time with Vahn, as he was very reciprocative of when it came to showing affection. Mikoto knew that the only thing standing in her way of spending more time with him was her own actions. It wasnt really aplicated matter at all, just something she arbitrarily made more difficult because of her own pride and dignity as a swordswoman... Vahnnded back on the roof with Fenrir and Tiona, taking a seat with the two girls as Tiona talked about thrashing some variant monsters on the 40th Floor. Mikoto felt a little left out at first but, before the conversation even got underwaypletely, Vahn turned to her with a gentle smile on his face as he gestured for her to join them. For a brief moment, Mikoto felt a twinge in her chest as a bit of warmth spread through her body, smiling as she walked over to join herpanions. She noticed that, from the very moment she smiled, Vahns own expression seemed to light up in response, making the warmth in her chestpound quite a bit... --- Though there was more than an hour before he had to enter the orb again, Vahn was already awake, stroking Fenrirs hair silently as the time continued to count down towards his temporary separation with Eva. He would be using the [Magia Erebea] scroll when he entered this time, essentially bing one of the strongest powers in the world literally overnight. Thus far, nothing had happened that that would have disrupted his ns so Vahn was feeling strangely mncholic as the time continued to count down towards his inevitable rise to power. By the time he returned, there would be few things that could stand in his way and he even humored the idea of going straight to the Deep Floors of the Dungeon to fight against Enyos forces directly. This was, of course, a very terrible idea, but Vahn couldnt help but want to put his power to the test when he returns. Fortunately, his children would be born pretty soon so he wouldnt find waiting for Bells arrival to be that difficult a matter. There were several ongoing projects that he was pushing forward, including the construction of the Supply Depot and the establishment of the School. This would keep him busy for a time while he trained the girls in the basics of increasing their magic power. Hopefully, by the time Enyos plot was put into motion, even Tina and Shizune would be capable fighters that couldnt be easily endangered, especially with Terra guarding the Manor. Vahn was curious about how Bell would be able to maintain relevance and wondered if the heroic youth would be able to be powerful even without guidance. Since he had promised Eva to only teach people the basics, the exception being those that he was in a rtionship with, Vahn wouldnt be able to turn Bell into a powerhouse just by teaching him magic. This meant Bell would have to grow on his own, though Vahn would certainly make sure he had a bit of training and was provided with suitable equipment. Bells fate was probably the most powerful in the entire record so it was very likely he would be able to drive things forward even without help, though other people would get wrapped up in his affairs by proxy. Vahn even suspected Bell would make use of him at some point, just by virtue of the boys powerful [Luck] and the influence of his record defining fate. It wasnt difficult to imagine Bell somehow stumbling into significant events that would help him grow stronger, potentially even involving apletely new cast of people since the fates of those he would have interacted with had already been changed... Imagining the various troubles Bell might cause, Vahn felt like his mncholy faded away a bit since he really wanted to try and be friends with the heroic youth. Though he wouldnt make concessions just to allow Bell to continue in his role as the main character, Vahn didnt mind helping him out and letting Bell walk his own path. Of course, the moment that path involved or endangered the people around him, Vahn would step in to resolve the matter outright. It was very likely that Bells fate would require him to do so as the record would likely always give the boy an out, even if it was by relying on the power and influence of others. As a central figure within the record now, Vahn felt like his own fate was intertwined with the youth and was curious about how that would manifest in the future... As the time continued to count down, Vahn let his mind wander to the various Adventures he might have and found it was far more entertaining than thinking about the troubles he had to face in rtion to other countries. He began to consider using [Magia Erebea] to resolve a few of those problems so he could familiarize himself with the form instead of relying on Fafnir as a deterrent. Making himself the target was preferable to using his subordinates and it would give him a lot more negotiation power if he took direct action to resolve things. Depending on how powerful [Magia Erebea] made him, Vahn felt like it wouldnt necessarily be a bad thing to charge into Ares court and outright duel the purportedly muscle-brained god to remove him from power, or at least force some concessions... Deciding it would be best to consult Loki and Minerva before taking such actions, Vahn set the matter aside for the moment and observed the orb in his palm. Fenrir had turned her head up to watch him, muttering, "Good luck, Master..." in a quiet voice. Thus, with a smile on his face, Vahn kissed her forehead before saying, "From now on, there wont be anything standing in the way of our happiness..." With those words said, the girls around him began to stir awake as Vahn once again submerged his mind into Evas orb...for thest time... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Unexpected Calm...,Mikotos Pride : Internal Conflict,A few seconds away from bing unstoppable...) (A/N: Honestly, I can empathize with Vahn a bit when ites to being mncholic about [Magia Erebea]. There is simply no threat after that since he can eventually win any fight by attrition. The only danger that would remain rtes to fate, the strengths of the girls around him, and the schemes machinated by their enemies. Terra would be able to stop 99.9% of such threats just by virtue of her existence so, as long as the girls dont do anything out of character, its almost like there are no real threats left after he uses the orb this time. Dont worry though, as things are never quite that simple in stories like this (UwU)~!) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 645 - Trial

Chapter 645 - Trial

This time, unlike all the previous times in recent memory, Eva didnt immediately pin him down to celebrate their reunion. When Vahn opened his eyes, he saw Eva and Terra waiting with serious expressions on their faces as Eva exined, "Vahn, its time...the stability of the orb is already starting to deteriorate and I want to make sure you have enough time to undergo the trial before things break downpletely. Make sure to collect all the physical materials you intend to take back with you or they will get destroyed once the space copses..." Though she wanted to spend more time with Vahn, Eva knew the orb was never intended tost this long and it was getting far too dangerous trying to maintain it any longer. Before something unexpected happened, she wanted to ensure Vahn was able to learn the [Magia Erebea]. Though it was a bit sad that they would be parting for a while, Eva was also somewhat looking forward to it since the next time she woke up, she could be with Vahn indefinitely... Vahn nodded his head but still blinked forward with [Shundo], taking Eva into his arms and hugging the girl tightly in as loving an embrace as he could manage. Feeling her tremble slightly, Vahn said, "Eva, thank you for everything youve done for us...I promise I wont make you wait too long." Eva wrapped her small arms around Vahns waist, pressing her head into his chest as she mumbled, "Vahn...I thought I might end up alone for all eternity, so I dont mind waiting for a short while...just promise me that well get to spend some quality time together in the future, just the two of us." Since Eva could make isted dimensions where time was distorted greatly, she wanted to at least have a few years alone with Vahn before she got wrapped up in his other affairs. As they had discussed, in great detail, how to make spatial artifacts and isted dimensions, Vahn understood what Eva had in mind. He didnt tell her that they would likely be able to spend a few years together when he visits her world in the future and just made what he believed to be an easy promise. A few years in the stream of eternity wasnt a long period of time, especially if they were in an isted dimension, so Vahn didnt mind pampering the lovable vampire a bit. He expected she would want to have the opportunity to mature and break away from the passage of time in her own world, potentially even starting a family and living a normal and peaceful lifestyle for a while. Vahn hadnt had enough time to learn how to make various different orbs from Eva, but Terra had studied them in detail since she also had an affinity with space magic after taking an interest in it. Her [Void Transference] had reached the pinnacle and she could teleport vast distances in an instant. Much like Eva, she could also create pockets of folded space within the void to conceal her presence and hibernate away from the influence of the rest of the world for periods of time. Though they couldnt create one within the orb itself, as spatialws restricted pounded time and space even further, she would be able to create them after returning to the real world. This was one of the things Vahn had the most interest in, as it would allow the girls to train their own magic much faster, give them more time to spend together, and even exploit certain things like growing herbs and such... All of that would have to wait forter, however, as there were far more important things on his te as he apanied Eva in silence for twenty minutes as they overlooked the small world that hade into existence. Previously, the space within the orb had been an endless white ne with pure darkness above, creating a very eerie and lonely atmosphere. Now, there was a ratherrge castle that was at the center of a world that had been split between a verdant forest and an icy tundra. Overhead, there was a rainbow-like light that Eva said was simr to a geomaic phenomenon that could be observed in her world. Instead of an endless ck sky, there were small lights that looked like stars, a product of the tweaks Eva had made to the orb to make it more visually appealing. Eva had been sitting in hisp, hugging his body closely for a while before releasing a sigh and saying, "Okay, its about time for us to start. We need to make sure there is plenty of time for you to undergo the trial and seal my memory fragment away before the space breaks down. Vahn, youre going to have to face the darkness in your heart so make sure you are prepared. I cant tell you what youll see, just know that Im...were here waiting for you to return. Dont let the darkness consume you..." Though Vahn had already told her things would be okay, Eva couldnt help but worry since the [Magia Erebea] could corrupt and kill most people that try to learn it. Even though Vahn was an exception to the rule, that was simply something they had postted and there was never a guarantee things would work out the way they expected. Before she gave him the scroll, Eva once again exined all potential negatives of learning [Magia Erebea], including the fact that it could corrupt the soul if the user harbors any negative emotions. The reason why Eva had be so cold and detached in the past was a natural response to resisting what she called the Encroachment of Erebea. In order to prevent losing your mind, you had to embrace the darkness willingly and always keep your sense of self, essentially putting your pride and personal identity over your emotions and feelings. Of course, you wouldnt have any real problems if you didnt use the [Magia Erebea], but overusing it would increase the rate of corruption, eventually causing a persons soul to be the embodiment of darkness and destruction. Vahn had a small smile on his face as he listened to Evas lecture for what felt like the twentieth time. He knew his soul wasnt something that the [Magia Erebea] would truly be able to influence and there was no way it would be able to overwhelm his [Will of the Emperor] either. Though there was some danger, that was only if Vahn willingly allowed himself to fall into the darkness, which was something he would never allow. He had already seen what kind of person he became after being unable to ept loss so Vahn had absolute confidence he would be able to rise above it this time around. Seeing that Vahn wasnt worried at all, Eva furrowed her brows a little before releasing another sigh as she pulled out an ancient looking scroll bound by a red wax seal. She hesitated for a short moment before eventually handing over the scroll, saying in a serious tone, "Vahn, I believe in you..." before backing away and standing next to Terra. There was a good chance Vahn would go berserk during the trial and, even though he wouldnt be able to really threaten her, there was a chance he might be able to injure Terra. The absolute worst case scenario was him using his golden chains or that [Chainbreaker] ability to destabilize the space, but that was unlikely to happen since using such skills required intent from the user to function. If Vahn lost his mind, he would more than likely just attack them with pure magic power and physical attacks instead of using moreplex skills and abilities... Vahn marveled at how such a in looking scroll could contain so much power, tracing his finger along Evas name, which ran the length of the scroll. Then, without any hesitation whatsoever, Vahn broke the wax seal and opened the scroll, causing it to immediately break free from his hands as a second Eva came into existence. Unlike his Eva, who was currently wearing a cute blue dress, this Eva was wearing the same ck gothic clothing that Eva used to wear. It was almost sad to see but Vahn didnt have time to think about it as she turned her icy gaze to him and asked, "What is darkness?" At the very next instant, Vahn felt himself sinking into an endless ck abyss as the question echoed in his mind... Not knowing how much time passed, Vahn felt an aching feeling in his body apanied by an overwhelming sense of powerlessness. It wasnt until a bright light shone on his face that Vahn finally opened his eyes, momentarily blinded by unnervingly familiar circr lights. For a brief moment, Vahn tried to move his arms to block the light but found only a phantom sensation in their ce and an ache he hadnt experienced in a very long time. His body began to tremble instinctively as a sucking sensation appeared near his hip and he craned his head to see a pale and emaciated body, his body, affixed to various machines and tubes. Once again, Vahn found himself without limbs, strapped to a table without any means of escape as the band around his neck slowly loosened. Since sedatives didnt really work on him, Vahn was always forced into unconsciousness by having his oxygen restricted during intense operations. Even though most people would have gotten severe brain damage from being oxygen deprived for so long, Vahns own blood prevented his cells from breaking down so the scientists had quickly gotten over any concerns they had about his safety as it becamemon practice to deprive his brain of oxygen to force him to pass out... Though part of him was screaming that this wasnt real, there was arger part of Vahns mind that was telling him that everything he had experienced before had been a dream. There was an almost overwhelming sense of depression that was attacking his mind,pounded by the words that sounded out from his right, "Oh? Wee back, Vahn. Tell me, did you have any dreams this time?" Vahn looked over to see the false smile on Dr. Keenlys face as she held her clipboard, prepared to take notes as she continued her psychoanalysis of him. Contrary to her expectations, however, Vahn just began tough as he rested his head against the table and rxed. Dr. Keenly raised her brows, staring over the rim of her sses as she said, "Vahn, I expect you to answer my questions clearly. You wont be able to enjoy those Manga of yours if you dont behave..." This was amon threat that Dr. Keenly used to use against him, but Vahn didnt mind it at all since, while everything around him was very familiar, the chill within his mind as a result of his [Will of the Emperor] allowed him to know this wasnt real. Eva had cautioned him that he would see what he believed to be darkness so it wasnt surprising to find himself in a powerless situation, surrounded by the people that he believed to be the true embodiment of darkness, or evil. All of the things he was currently feeling, though they seemed very real, had no actual effect on his body and mind unless he allowed them to. Even death wouldnt be permanant so Vahn felt no need to humor the illusory Psychologist who seemed to be increasingly annoyed with his behavior. Tapping her pen against her clipboard for a few seconds, Dr. Keenly wrote down a few notes as she mused, "Very well, Vahn. I had actually managed to find a movie rted to that Naruto that youre so fond of. If you had been more cooperative, I had intended to let you watch itter...its a shame, really." As she spoke, Dr. Keenly watched for any changes in Vahns behavior, looking for any sign that he was remorseful since it gave her more leverage in their future discussions. It was her job to give him a basic education and keep him happy so it was always better to give him small rewards when he rebounded. He had juste out of a very serious surgery, so Dr. Keenly just assumed he was in one of his down periods and would bounce back when he realized what was at stake. Vahn found it somewhat amusing that part of his mind was panicking in response to Dr. Keenlys words. It was almost like he wanted to shout out and ede to her, begging to be allowed to watch that movie since he rarely got to see videos of the characters he liked. He was actually somewhat tempted to see if this Phantasmagoria could recreate the entire movie, even though it was supposed to be a world created for his suffering. If he gave in, Vahn expected Dr. Keenly would leverage having him agree to some other horrible experiment that would likely cause him immense pain before he was allowed to actually view it. Seeing Vahn smiling as he reclined against the table, Dr. Keenly felt very unnerved because he had never acted like this in the past. It seemed like he was strangely content, almost like he didnt care about anything that was going on around him, even the things that previously interested him. She suspected he was going through a unique phase of depression and made a few notes as she asked, "How are you feeling right now, Vahn? You dont have to describe it in great detail, just a few words will suffice...did the surgery cause you any pain or difort?" Hearing her questions, Vahn just chuckled in response, saying, "Dont worry, Dr. Keenly, Im perfectly fine. Though this ce probably haunts my dreams till this day, Ive already put this world behind me entirely. The only connection I have to this ce is my mother, so feel free to do whatever you want to try and sway me. I wonder what its like to experience my darkness while knowing it has no effect on me..." As he spoke, Vahn moved his phantom limbs, curious about the sensations present even though he was currently a quadruple amputee. The pain wasnt actually as bad as he remembered, a shadow of some of the things he had experienced after transmigrating... Dr. Keenly frowned in response to Vahns words, making several notes on her clipboard before circling the word depression a few times. Deciding he probably needed to be shaken to bring him back to reality, Dr. Keenly asked, "Professor Keith wanted to try a new experimental procedure and he would like your cooperation. He wants to see how your blood reacts to chemotherapy so we can get a better understanding of how cells fight off the effects. It will help many cancer patients that dont have the opportunity to ess your blood directly so I would appreciate it if you consider his request..." Vahn just listened to the phantom doctors words in silence, doing his best to contemte what darkness meant and trying to embrace it. He knew fighting it wasnt the correct answer so decided to just go with the flow and try his best to understand everything that was happening. He had a very different perspectivepared to the past and might even be able to glean a few insights into his own blood by the tests they try to perform on him. Though they were arrogant, cruel, and indescribably foolish, they were still scientists and doctors that had been researching his body for years. Even if there was only a small chance they might make a discovery, Vahn gave them the benefit of the doubt and just epted his current situation as he focused his mind and meditated. Seeing Vahn giving her the silent treatment, Dr. Keenly frowned before saying, "I will take your silence as consent on this matter since your rxed state makes it appear as if you dont mind..." Vahn just smiled slightly in response this time, causing Dr. Keenlys frown to deepen further as she gestured to the observation room where a fat, bearded, Doctor was waiting with his team. His jowls shook as the man startedughing in excitement before leading his team to the operation room. Momentster, a few attendings came into Vahns room and moved him to a gurney before wheeling him away for another round of experiments. All the while this was happening, Vahn justid back,pletely rxed as a small and unnerving smile remained on his face... For what felt like several years, Vahn passively allowed the scientists to conduct their experiments on him, aware of everything that was happening but expressing no real interest in what they were doing. He got to see all the familiar faces of the people he hated in the past, faces still fresh within his mind but decidedly insignificant after the other things he had experienced. Since he had met actual gods and goddesses, it felt like all of these people, proud scientists and considered themselves at the top of their fields, were just children ying around. Every time one of their hypothesis failed, Vahn just shook his head, pitying them for their severeck of understanding. Eventually, it got to the point where Vahn existed as nothing more than a torso and a head, floating in a vat of green liquid with a breathing apparatus feeding directly into his lungs. He didnt really know how many experiments had been performed on him and it didnt really seem to matter since he had gleaned more insights into his blood in a single afternoon back in his workshop than this team of scientists had in years of concerted efforts. It was almost pitiable that they had willingly be something so terrible and objectively evil without ever having anything to show for it whatsoever. Other than mizing his blood for their own personal gain, they werent able to do anything of note and instead be progressively bolder in their experiments since he never showed any care or concern for what they were doing. Dr. Keenly had long since disappeared from the staff and he never got to see that movie, the one thing he sort of regretted. Toward the end of everything, the phantom of Eva appeared in front of his stasis tank as she once again asked, "What is darkness...?" in an icy tone. Vahn, though seemingly unable to speak through his apparatus, lifted his head and smiled. As if the apparatus did absolutely nothing to prevent his words for resounding through the illusory world, Vahn said, "Darkness...is irrelevant. Though it exists as a concept that is clearly defined byws, it has no influence on the world unless people willingly give in to it. epting the darkness means epting reality, moving on without giving in to the negative emotions thate as a result of misguided individuals in their own pursuit of truth.." Vahn raised his phantom arm, shattering the stasis capsule around him as various rms went off around in theb. The phantom Eva just stood there and watched as he atrophied body walked forward on legs that didnt exist as hands that had long been discarded pulled away at the mask affixed to his face. Seeing this, the phantom Eva smiled before making a sword of pure darkness in her hand, saying, "If you think darkness is something so inconsequential, then youll surely be able to take this de." Though he didnt have any teeth, Vahn smiled in response to Evas taunt and just walked towards her without making any efforts to resist whatsoever. The phantom Eva showed a cruel smile as she lunged forward and stabbed him through the heart, causing an intense amount of pain to seize his body. Vahn, however, just continued forward and wrapped his non-existent arms around the phantom Eva, saying, "The darkness is just a part of everything else...Ill ept it all, even the burdens in your heart." In response to his words, the magical energy in the phantom Evas hand became more powerful as it ripped apart what little remained of his physical form. Vahn, however, continued to hold her tightly even as she struggled to try and free herself, shouting, "You fool! Youll never understand true darkness! Even if you say you can ept it, youre just denying its existence as something inconsequential! Youll never be able to use my [Magia Erebea] like this!" Vahn chuckled, marring the phantom Evas beautiful face with his blood as he spoke through gargled words, "It is no longer just your [Magia Erebea], Eva...it is a burden well share together." As he spoke, aplex ward appeared around Vahns back that looked like a six-pointed star with an eye at the center, surrounded by aplex magical form that absorbed the de in the phantom Evas hand. Her eyes widened in response as she said, "Impossible...you shouldnt be able to absorb energy from other people. [Magia Erebea] is a magic that uses your own offensive magic power as a catalyst, fusing it with your soul to grant you immense power...you cant take the energy from other people like this..." The phantom Eva had an incredulous expression on her face, feeling terrified by the anomalous existence that was holding her firmly in his embrace. Worst of all was the fact that, though she wanted to break free from his non-existent arms, a part of her pelled her to stay. There was a warmthing from his body that was difficult to resist, almost like a hearth in the middle of winter. Even as his skin darkened into an onyx-ck color, with light purple tattoos covering his entire body, the phantom Eva felt very secure in his embrace and eventually gave up resisting entirely. She didnt understand what was happening at all since, unlike the memory fragment Vahn had interacted with previously, this phantom Eva knew nothing about him other than what she had seen in his memories of the Phantasmagoria... Vahn had no regrown all of his limbs as the phenomenal magic power of the phantom Evas attack resonated with his body. He felt more powerful than ever before but it didnt really matter at the moment since he had a disconste little vampire in his embrace. Tilting up her pouting face, affixed with an incredulous expression and a look of me, Vahn smiled and said, "One day, I will prove to you that Im capable of bearing the burden that weighs you down, Eva. I promise you will be free from this curse that has gued you for so long..." Though she was about to refute him, the phantom Evas eyes widened like saucers as Vahn leaned down and sealed her lips. It was very frustrating for her since, even though she was clearly much stronger than he was, it didnt seem to matter as her body rapidly melted in his warm embrace... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Impending Separation,Phantasmogoria,Phantom Eva never stood a chance (UwU)) (A/N: Some people may be a little confused about how easily Vahn was able to ept everything that was happening. This is about 95% the influence of [Will of the Emperor], which was active the entire time the Phantasmogoria was taking ce. Remember that it forces him to be very rational and he also had the [Mantra of Eternity] to focus on instead of bothering over the pain caused by the illusion itself.) /user?u=14397149 paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 646 - Acceptance

Chapter 646 - eptance

Vahn continued to hold the phantom Eva until the Phantasmagoriapletely faded away, leaving him standing in the midst of a destroyedndscape with Terra and Eva observing him. They both had happy smiled on their faces as Eva blinked next to him, lifting his arms to observe the patterns that had appeared. Vahn saw a purple tattoo-like design had appeared on his arms, creating aplex pattern that seemed to be embedded in his very existence. Evas smile grew even bigger as she said, "This is the sign that you have been able to learn my [Magia Erebea] sessfully. Congrattions, Vahn..." Though she was congratted him, Evas eyes began to tear up so, much like he had her phantom, Vahn embraced his Eva andforted her for a few minutes. It was a very strange feeling, but Vahn felt as light as a feather now, almost like he had lost a heavy burden after experiencing the Phantasmagoria. Though it might have been a byproduct of learning [Magia Erebea], Vahn felt that it was his decision to embrace reality and move on that was the cause. Previously, his past had haunted him and seemed like such a significant moment in his life...now, it seemed almost pointless to have put so much value in those events. Though they had led him to this moment, Vahn knew that their significance depending entirely on how much value he ced in the memories. He didnt throw them away, but the Phantasmagoria allowed him to ept the reality and continue forward, removing their value without repressing the memory. After Eva calmed down, she wiped the tears from her eyes before looking up and saying, "We dont have much time, Vahn. You were inside for more than fifty hours and, as you can see, you were a bit busy during that time..." Vahn looked around, noticing the sheer amount of devastation that surrounded him. Much like they had expected, he lost his mind in the real world and wrought a great deal of destruction as a result. Since binding him down was too dangerous, as it might cause him to activate his [Chainbreaker], Terra and Eva just defended against his attacks and let him vent. After all, this space would be destroyed soon and it would speed up the process of his Phantasmagoria if he wasnt prevented from using his power. Vahn felt a little guilty about the destruction, holding Eva tight enough to lift her feet off the ground as he said, "Next time, lets build a paradise all our own..." Afterward, Vahn spent a fair amount of time apologizing to the two girls for his behavior before Eva once again reminded him about theck of time. Since he didnt want to force them to wait an additional four years just to be separated immediately after their reunion, Vahn had to get over his own inhibitions and go through with the process. Now that he had learned [Magia Erebea], Eva herself had begun to destabilize and there was no guarantee she wouldst for another four years before she broke down and dissipated. Thus, with a heavy heart, Vahn followed his instincts and used [Enkidu] to create a sphere around Evas body. He knew it was going to put a heavy burden on his soul, but Vahn still used the sealing effect of [Enkidu], targetting Evas memory fragment and pulling it into his soul, a surprisingly painful process. Though she wasnt real, she was still the memory fragment of a Tier 5 entity and Vahn was currently just Tier 3. If Eva had resisted at all, Vahn felt like he would have taken a great deal of damage to his soul in the process of trying to seal her away. Terra stepped forward, catching her Master as he fell forward, breathing heavily as he clutched at his chest with a pained expression on his face. Fortunately, his expression also carried a smile as he leaned into her chest and muttered, "It was sessful..." As if it had been listening in, the space around them began to fracture at the same time, quickly destabilizing without Evas existence to maintain its structure. Though he had been focused on the small girl curled up into a fetal position within his soul, Vahn snapped back to reality and said, "We need to go, Terra.", earning a nod before she broke down, leaving behind a resplendent emerald-green crystal filled with a rainbow light in the center. Vahn grabbed Terras core, stowing it away safely within his Inventory as he took onest look at the world around him, watching as the unstable space wrought even greater destruction on a ce that had been instrumental in his own development. Though it would take some time, Vahn swore he would make a paradise much like this in the future, staying with Eva for a long time to make up for the many years she had patiently waited for him. She had only been a memory fragment, but Vahn felt she had be something more as time passed, perhaps as a result of drawing his blood so often. Unfortunately, it would have to wait until he reached Evas record before he was able to verify his conjecture... Releasing a long and heavy sigh, Vahn stopped resisting against the tugging force and his body quickly began to turn into dust. He was suddenly seized by a powerful mncholy, but Vahn bore it much like the weight of his own past, epting it was part of life and keeping it close, nurturing the smaller feelings of warmth contained within the emotion. There was nothing that could be done to deal with sadness, as it was a very important part of life that needed to be experienced. However, behind those painful emotions, there was the love he felt for Eva which, when focused on, seemed to overwhelm the sadness in an instant, causing a small smile to appear on Vahns face as he disappeared from the orb for thest time... Opening his eyes back in the real world, Vahn found several pairs of eyes looking at him in concern, the closest belonging to his ever-faithfulpanion, Fenrir. Vahn sat up, letting the tears from his eyes flow freely as he smiled to the girls, exining, "Dont worry, Im okay now. I learned something very important this time around..." cing his hand over his chest, Vahn focused his mind and saw the curled up Eva, resting peacefully at the center of his soul with her long blond hair floating about in slow motion, creating a mesmerizing sight as if she was floating in water. Knowing that his own soul was one of the safest ces in all records, Vahn felt a great deal of relief seeing her sleeping securely within. Vahn spent the better part of an hour exining the details of what he had experienced, including some parts about the Phantasmagoria that earned him a few consoling tears from the girls. This ended up causing Vahn tofort them for a few minutes, assuring them that everything was okay and that he had learned to live with his past instead of trying to escape it. It had been an important part of his life and, though it seemed inconsequential now, it was the memories of such tragedy that gave him the motivation and dedication to helping others avoid such travesties. He didnt have to live, defined by those memories, but by the decisions he wished to make from this point forward... The fastest to bounce back after their conversation ended up being Tiona, who curiously asked, "So, now that you learned that [Magia Erebea] thing, arent you like super strong now~?" This question caused the eyes of several girls to glimmer, including Fenrir who had been sitting in hisp, freely allowing her Master to hold her and findfort. Vahn smiled in response, nodding his head as he exined, "Though it certainly makes me much stronger, the more importantponent is that Im now functionally immortal...here, dont panic and just watch." To demonstrated his meaning, Vahn pulled out a sword and, in front of the shocked eyes of the girls, cut off his own arm. However, before the limb could even fall to the ground, it was almost like time had reversed and it snapped back into position without a single sign of injury remaining. For several seconds, there was absolute silence in the room until Tione remarked, "Well, that is a very convenient ability..." Her remark caused even more silence until Vahn beganughing, easing the tensions of the room as the others joined in momentster. He then exined both the benefits and the negatives for them so that girls like Ais wouldnt pester him about trying to learn the ability for themselves. This was also the moment he began talking about other forms of immortality, testing the waters to see which girls might be interested in developing their soul to the point where aging and death became optional. Other than Mikoto, all the other girls actually didnt seem to mind the idea of living forever, though Tiona and Tione hadined that it would make fighting less interesting. Vahn exined that being immortal didnt mean they absolutely couldnt be killed, just that it was far more difficult. As for Haruhime and, surprisingly, Lefiya, they simply wanted to stay at his side for as long as possible. Vahn felt a little strange seeing the two pairs of fervent eyes looking toward him, but he still returned a happy smile in response. As for Ais, she didnt really seem to mind trying to be immortal since it would only be as a result of her own efforts, something that made her eyes glow with a fiery light. She was the type that always pursued greater heights in her own power, though the reason behind her actions had been subtly changing over time. Having the option of attaining immortality just by bing stronger seemed to make Ais feel somewhatpetitive as she muttered, "I will be the first to reach immortality..." while eying the other girls. Unfortunately, she rested her eyes on Fenrir for a brief moment, causing the small Vanargandr to raise her head in a haughty manner, reminiscent of Eva, as she said, "Hmmm? But Fenrir is already immortal though~?" Ais eyes widened and it looked like she had suffered a bit of a mental impact until Vahn rified that all of his named subordinates were functionally immortal unless they were killed. This made Ais release a small sigh of relief as she eyed the other girls, this time passing over Fenrir without making eye contact. Tiona and Tione seemed to get fired up at this while Mikoto just hung her head in silent contemtion for a while... Mikoto never thought about living forever and she actually considered aging to be a noble thing, as it made room for the generations to follow. Being able to be immortal through her own efforts, however, seemed like something she should pursue as it would otherwise tarnish her own resolve. Knowing there was a higher realm to obtain, but never even trying to reach it, made Mikoto feel like she would have failed in her pursuit toward reaching the peak. She felt very conflicted but rxed a bit when Vahn exined that it would take years to even get close to that point, meaning she had plenty of time to think over the matter. In fact, she had her entire life to think about it, along with other things, so there was no need to feel pressured by the prospects of immortality at all. Realizing this, Mikoto calmed down a great deal, releasing a relieved sigh as she found herself toying with the idea of spending several thousand years at Vahns side... Since they had been inside their room for much longer than normal, Vahn eventually ushered everyone out to go eat breakfast. He had also exined briefly about Terra and that he would be attempting to summon her after they got some food in their stomachs. Though Vahn didnt really benefit from eating anymore, as [Magia Erebea] essentially created a base copy of physical state, Vahn still had the habit of eating so he joined them. Asfi had already been sitting out on her own, giving them a curious look when they finally came out of the room. Seeing Asfi, Vahn felt like teasing her a bit so he sat across from the cool beauty while Haruhime and Tiona sat at her nks. Once everyone had sat down and started eating, Vahn casually said, "I didnt mention this earlier, but Terra actually managed to break through the peak of Level 10. Make sure you dont get on her bad side in the future or she might send you flying before you realize what happened..." Vahn had been tempted to keep Terras existence a secret, as she would be a powerful trump card for the Hestia Familia in the future. However, it seemed better to use her as a deterrent and Vahn wanted to see if Asfi would actually keep the information a secret instead of spreading it. He suspected the Hermes would probably take several steps back in any ns he might have had when he learned of Terras existence. As expected, Asfis reaction had been priceless, as she nearly spat out the tea she had been sipping on, entering a coughing fit as Haruhime rubbed circles on her back. Vahn smiled, showing a bit of an apologetic expression in his eyes as he exined, "Ill be calling her out after breakfast for anyone that wants to see her newfound strength. Ais, you can even try using your [Ariel] if she is feeling up to the challenge. Since Terra is a True Dragon, she could be an important sparring partner for you in the future...just make sure she is consenting and you both have your emergency item with you." The mes in Ais eyes were burning even brighter at this point since fighting Terra would give her a better idea of how she would fare against the One-Eyed ck Dragon in the future. After getting all the tea out of her esophagus, Asfi collected herself and gave Vahn a serious look as she asked, "Did Terra really reach Level 10...?" The information they had collected on Vahns dragons put Fafnir at an assumed Level 7 while Terra had been a verified Level 4. It hadnt been that long since her existence was made known at the Denatus so, unless the gods of the Alliance had lied about her Level, this meant Terra had grown exponentially in thest few months. There had never been a single Level 10 reported in all of Orarios history, so it was difficult to even imagine how strong such an entity would be. Vahn just smiled in response, stating inly, "I wont go into too many details, but Terra had been undergoing special training for a while. She is easily the strongest existence within the Alliance, potentially even the entire continent. Dont worry though, Asfi, as she is gentle by nature and wont go out of her way to attack other people...as long as they dont invade her territory and try to harm the people under her protection." At the end of his words, Vahn sent Asfi a wink before returning to his own breakfast. She sat there for several minutes, seemingly having lost her appetite as she sat in silence unless answering one of Haruhimes questions... Once breakfast hade to an end, Vahn exited the encampment alongside Fenrir, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, Mikoto, and Asfi. He let Finn know that there might be a bit of amotion and that it wouldnt be something the Expedition party needed concern themselves with. Summoning an existence like Terra while inside the Dungeon was theoretically very dangerous since there was no way of knowing how the Dungeon would respond. Since they were in one of the safe zones, Vahn suspected it wouldnt be that much of a problem and, even if the Dungeon tried to get rid of her, it wasnt likely to be sessful. In a defensive fight, Terra was probably unbeatable, even more so once she returned to her own dominion, so Vahn wasnt really that worried. Besides, it would be a good opportunity for him to try out his [Magia Erebea] inbat so he kind of wanted something to happen... It took nearly two hours, surprising Vahn and everyone else present, but he eventually managed to summon Terra. This gave her aparable magic power bordering on 2300% of Vahns own reserves, meaning she was more than a little stronger than everyone else. She may very well be the strongest entity within the mortal world at this point, though there were certainly some enemies that would be able to threaten her deeper in the Dungeon. After all, though Terra didnt seem to exist within the Divination, Vahn had been able to learn [Magia Erbea]. He would have definitely taught the other girls magic, especially after having lost some of them, yet they had never been able to breach the 73rd Floor. When Terra took form, it caused arge distortion in the ambient elemental energies in the air, almost like the non-natural energies were being pushed away while all the natural elemental energies converged towards her. Vahn even felt his own body being pushed away, even though his [Magia Erebea] didnt have the power to corrupt his soul. Since his cells were saturated with the energy contained within the spell, however, it did give her some influence over him with her presence, at least before she stabilized. As for everyone else present, they were forced to their knees, with the exception of Fenrir... Terraughed, covering her mouth as she said, "Ara, my apologies...its been so long since Ive seen everyone so I didnt expect my aura to be so...impactful~." Once her form had stabilized, Terra reigned in her aura since it had actually caused Mikoto, who had an affinity with darkness and gravity, to begin suffocating. The two that had it the easiest was Ais and Lefiya, but even they were shaking a little from Terras sheer presence. As for Asfi, she had turned into a statue and just nkly stared at Terra, seemingly unable to process what she was witnessing. Though Terras aura was very gentle, it was alsopletely overwhelming to experience, almost like she was being buried in warm andfortable nkets...to the point it was suffocating her slightly. Vahn turned to Ais, who had regained the ability to stand, asking, "So, did you want to try and fight her, Ais?" Terras eyes squinted when she heard her Masters words, turning them towards Ais, who currently had a fiery look in her eyes, even though she was clearly hesitating. Tilting her head slightly, Terra asked, "Are you sure youre ready...?" Ais, surprisingly, shook her head immediately after Terras question, saying, "No...but, one day..." There was an air of confidence radiating off her body and it was almost as though her words were an absolute truth that couldnt be refuted. Even Terra raised her brows, surprised by the fervor in Ais words before releasing a peal of amusedughter... (A/N: For the curious.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 15 Race: Human, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level: 4->5 -Power: 2746+(G228)->(E447)->(I0) -Endurance: 3325+(E407)->(SSS1211)->(I0) -Dexterity: 2746+(F355)->(SS1093)->(I0) -Agility: 2859+(G212)->(B702)->(I0) -Magic: 6297+(SSS1492)->(SSS2994)->(I0) Total:17,974+(2694)->(6447) Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) [Karma]: 13,418->13,692 [OP]: 14,007,815->15,318,499 [Valis]: 3,901,832,592 Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:D], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth: B],[Bow Mastery:S], [Stealth:A], [Chainbreaker:S], [Heart of the Eternal me:SS], [Prometheus:A], [Call of the Reaper:A],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Featherfoot:A->S], [Hands of Nirvana:S], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:A], [Friend of Spirits:A] Magic: [Thria*Mimos:B->A], [Shundo:B->S], [Koku Shundo:D](new), [Cantus Bex:B->S], [Mellodia Bex:H->B], [Vis Maxima:E] (new), [Sagitta Magica:H->B], [Pactio:G->A], [Magia Erebea:SS](new) Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:S], [Well of Spirit:D->C], [Swordsman:A], [Master Smith:H], [Mixing:C], [Mentor:A], [Grooming:I](new), [Arch Mage:I](new) [Magia Erebea] Rank: SS (Forbidden) Use: Allows the user to absorb offensive magic spells into their body, greatly enhancing their capabilities depending on the spell absorbed. Grants Immortality(Realm) to the user and allows for instantaneous regeneration unless hit by counter-elemental magic. Chant(user spell): (-), Fixate. Seize. Load Magic, Armament! Secondary Chant(enemy spell): Will of an Emperor. Endless Empathy. No Mercy. [Grooming] Rank:I Use: Allows the user to enhance the capabilities of the target depending on the amount of grooming applied. [Arch Mage] Rank: I Use: Greatly improves the power, effect, and range of all magic. Forms magic circles beneath the caster that can protect from magic. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Part of Life,Immortality isnt for Casuals,Ara ara~? Ufufufu~.) /user?u=14397149 ( seems to be trying to censor p.atreon links now -_-...) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 647 - Capabilities

Chapter 647 - Capabilities

As it had been very draining to summon Terra, Vahn decided it wasnt a bad idea to take a break and just talk with everyone. There were several things he was curious about, starting off by asking, "Terra, can you use your [Void Transference] ability while youre inside the Dungeon?" Since even [Pactio] allowed him to call the girls within a few Floor distance, Vahn believed someone as strong as Terra should be able to teleport about freely. Unfortunately, things werent quite that simple as Terra closed her eyes for a few moments before saying, "There is a lot of interference in the spatial fabric, though not enough to prevent me from returning to the Manor. I can use my dominion as a receiver to guide me there, but I wouldnt be able to return so easily...hmmm." After mulling over her thoughts for a few moments, Terra eventually opened her eyes and said, "I should be able to move between Floors rtively easily, but I would have to stop on each Floor for a few seconds before moving on...also..." Terra looked towards the ground, magical light shining in her sky blue pupils as she said, "The interference bes far more powerful when I try to probe deeper into the Dungeon. I believe the sealing effect of the Dungeon bes more concentrated the deeper you go, so Im not sure my [Void Transference] would allow me to easily move into the Deeper Floors..." While Terra was speaking, Asfi had be borderline catatonic as her stoic expression had be frozen on her face. She didnt know what [Void Transference] was, but it obviously meant that Vahn had a way to move between the Floors of the Dungeon without having to clear them. Not only was the Xenos in front of her powerful beyondprehension, but she seemed to have magic that allowed her to teleport about freely. If this became known, it would cause a stir on the surface world and there would be no end to the number of people that would want to learn and study such magic. Unfortunately for them, there was no way they could pressure the Alliance, especially with an entity at Level 10 protecting it... Vahn was very aware of the chaotic fluctuations of Asfis aura and it brought a very slight smile to his face as he wondered what action she would take when they returned to the surface. He was essentially relying on her to spread the word about Terras power but there was also a fair chance she might keep it a secret, potentially only sharing it with Hermes and the other executives of his Familia. It ultimately didnt matter that much though, as Vahn intended to put on an exhibition in the future in the form of an open invitation to anyone that wanted to challenge him. He needed a better understanding of his own power and it wouldnt hurt to increase his reputation by fighting against the other powerhouses within the City. Currently, Vahns reputation had already reached far beyond the boundaries of Orario, but most of the things he was known for rted to his lesser feats. Vahn wasnt feared for his power just yet, as some people feared Ottar. To deter people from having any thoughts of confronting him, Vahn toyed with the idea of making his power known publically since his own growth would likely outscale any ns his enemies mighte up with. This would also make it easier to negotiate with other powers in the future since he wouldnt simply be the Sage Aldrnari, but also the strongest singr entity, excluding Terra, of course. Stroking his chin, Vahn smiled before asking, "Terra, are you going to stay here with us, or do you n to return to the Manor?" Vahn suspected that Terra wouldnt like staying in the Dungeon and probably wanted to return so she could continue expanding her dominion further. Now that she had increased her power, she would be able to increase it at a much faster ratepared to the past. It was even possible she could begin exercising influence over the Dungeon in the future once her Innate allowed her dominion to reach the Upper Floors. Terra just beganughing in response, surprising everyone as she tapped her tail against the ground, giving Vahn an amused look before saying, "I will return to the Manor and protect everyone, my Master. However, I would like to take my egg with me so I can brag to the other girls...ufufufufu~." Vahn felt his cheeks get a little hot when Terra reminded him about the egg, which was currently sitting safely in his Inventory. There was no danger of it hatching right now and, even if Terra tried to break it, her strongest attack wouldnt even scratch the crystalline surface of the ice. Thus, feeling a little awkward under the gaze of the other girls, Vahn pulled out the emerald-green egg and handed it over to Terra, watching as she nuzzled against it affectionately. Tione, never the one for subtlety, asked, "Did you and Terra make a baby...? And its its in an egg...?" As for Tiona, she looked at Terra with a somewhat envious look on her face, puffing out her cheeks for a few seconds before Ais poked it and caused her to exhale andugh it away. Vahn, so as not to give Terra the opportunity to say anything misleading, exined the details to everyone present after creating a soundproof ward. Though he didnt mind Asfi hearing some things, the details regarding Terras egg were an important secret and she couldnt be allowed to know about Evas orb either, even if it no longer existed. Terra sat cradling the egg while Vahn exined the details, giving a few teasing remarks on asion just to keep things interesting. When everything had been revealed, she enjoyed the somewhat envious looks of the other girls, especially the scarlet-eyed one from Fenrir. As far as she was aware, Fenrir wouldnt really be able to produce a child in the future so Terra hadnt felt the need to dy her own happiness further. There was also the fact that she would have probably lost her mind if she didnt get an egg fertilized, which was likely the only reason Fenrir kept silent about the matter. In truth, Fenrir wasnt really that upset with her since she had actually grown close to Terra over the four years they spent in the orb together. The reason behind her envious gaze was due to the fact that, like Fafnir, Fenrir feltpetitive towards her siblings that had been named by Vahn. Being surpassed by Terra, in more ways than one, made Fenrir feel a little annoyed as she leaned into her Masters chest and pouted for a while. Vahn, noticing Fenrir was feeling envious, beganbing his fingers through her hair, quickly easing the tensions as he happily exined, "Also, my [Petting] has reached the Master tier, bing a new skill called [Grooming]. Now, not only should it feel very pleasant to receive my pampering, but it will also temporarily increase your parameters for a short while afterward~." Remembering that Lefiya had yet to use her heavy petting coupon, Vahn sent her a yful wink before being forced to let all of the girls present experience his enhanced capabilities. As for Asfi, she just sat outside the small barrier, staring nkly at the events that were transpiring before her eyes. She had been very interested in what Vahn was discussing but none of her attempts to probe the barrier had any effect whatsoever. Now that they seemed to have moved beyond the serious conversation and starting putting on an intimate disy, Asfi felt like her senses were being dulled as she averted her eyes and released an audible sigh. Since it had already been a few hours after Terras summoning, Vahn felt like the expected event wasnt going to happen. After everyone finished their lunch, everyone gathered together and watched Terra cradle the egg in her arms as she channeled a great deal of mana. Lefiya and Asfi werepletely awed by the sheer volume of mana under Terrasmand, which created a massive pir of green light before she suddenly vanished, causing the elemental energies in the air to spread outward like a tidal wave as a result. Fortunately, it wasnt anything serious and even Mikoto was just pushed back a step by the wave before everything returned to normal. Shaking his head in exasperation, Vahn smiled to everyone before halting his gaze on a befuddled Asfi and asking, "Impressed~?" in a teasing tone. Asfi swallowed hard in response, nodding her head without saying anything as she continued to stare at the spot where Terra had vanished. Even though things had seemingly returned to normal, she could see a tear within the void itself that indicated that Terra had indeed teleported to the surface. The amount of mana she had called upon to cast the spell, which was also chantless, was beyondprehension. If Asfi hadnt witnessed it personally, she wouldnt have been able to believe such a feat was even possible. Since she had seen prodigious Mages like Riveria at work, Asfi knew what a powerful Mage was capable of. Terra, however, made such Mages look insignificant byparison and, judging by Vahns behavior, Asfi knew that Terra was likely not even the most dangerous aspect of the Alliance, which seemed to be the sheer growth of those that followed under Vahn... After waiting for a few minutes, Vahn led everyone back to the encampment before stopping by and exining some of the details to Finn. When Terra had appeared, she actually caused several of the workers to copse with her aura and most of the Mages within the Expedition group had also passed out. Vahn agreed to issue a formal apology during dinner and added a few stronger wines to the menu to make up for any inconveniences he caused. Hearing the rumors that began to circte, however, Vahn couldnt help but smile since it was a good thing to have people specting without knowing exactly what happened. Presently, the most popr rumor was that Vahn released the full might of his own aura, earning him some reverential, albeit somewhat fearful, gazes from everyone that he came across. The most interesting thing was that most of the people with darker auras, now had greyed out greatly with a bit of purple mixed in. Vahn smiled towards them in passing, causing them to tremble before giving him a wide birth or taking an alternate route to their destination. It was starting to seem like he wouldnt even have to show off in the Coliseum to get people to fear him, though the type of fear he was looking for was, admittedly, somewhat different. Vahn didnt want people to fear him because of the unknown, but because his power was very clearly above others. He wanted respect and reverence, not fear and apprehension because they didnt know what he was capable of. Since he wasnt a bad person, at least by his own definition, Vahn believed people would begin to look up to him once his power was better understood, aspiring to be more like him as a result... --- For the next few days, things had been progressing smoothly since Vahn was able to better focus on the real world now that he didnt spend the majority of his time in the orb. He began helping the girls train in earnest since the majority of the supplies had already been allocated to the building teams. Vahn just had to show up at thepleted sites andy down wards, which didnt take that long since he had be very skilled at constructing them. This gave him arge amount of free time, which was generally spent within the privacy of his own room as he studied and taught the girls. On asion, however, Vahn would go out and spar with Ais, Tiona, Tione, and even, Mikoto. They all wanted to test their capabilities against Vahn, especially since he had reached Level 5. Since Vahn also wanted to know his own limits, he readily epted their offer and allowed Fenrir to watch over Asfi from a safe distance as she observed the battles from the side in silence. Because he wanted her to get used to the idea of using her [Ariel] against dangerous opponents, Vahn had Ais go all out against him from the very beginning. There was no threat she would be able to kill him on ident, so she eventually agreed as a tempestuous aura surrounded her body and sword. Wings of light appeared at her back, without the pristine white dress, as Aisunched forward and stabbed toward Vahn. Since she was still much faster than his base state, Vahn ended up beingpletely run through by Ais as the girls watched his body break apart with morbid looks on their faces. Vahn, however, tolerated the pain and reformed his body within two seconds, striking towards thecent and worried Ais with the palm of his hand. She blocked the attack with the t of her de but was still pushed back several meters as a vibrant golden aura surrounded Vahns body. With [Vis Maxima], Vahn could now increase his physical parameters by 2.5x, though his body would constantly be breaking down as a result of the strain on his body. He also couldnt maintain it for very long with his owncking reserves, but it was still very useful for sudden strikes, as could be seen by the fact that Ais took several seconds to stabilize herself after being pushed back. Tiona felt the urge to shout out and cheer for Vahn, but she was still feeling uneasy after watching his body get twisted apart by Ais [Ariel] previously. Though she knew he would be okay, watching the person you love getting shredded into bits wasnt an easy thing, proven by how Tione had actually bent over and regurgitated the contents of her breakfast after witnessing it. From the distance, Asfi had bepletely pale while Fenrir just kicked her legs yfully and continued to watch the fight. If not for the fact that her ws hadpletely shredded the rocks beneath her paws, she would have seemed almost disinterested by the fact her Master had essentially been obliterated. Ais finally managed to stabilize herself, lifting her body from the floor as she overlooked Vahn from above, [Ariel] in full effect as it coiled around her body. Vahn smiled, lowering his body as he shouted, "Ais, you should never stand still when you fight against a Magic Knight...!" The moment his words ended, Vahn vanished from sight as Ais immediately dodged to the right and evaded his strike. With [Koku Shundo] and the ability to levitate his body, Vahn was capable of fighting on the ground and in the air without any major distinction between the two. Ais, seeing this, felt a cold sweat on her back as she flitted around in a zig-zag pattern, evading the supersonic blows from Vahn. For a very long time, Vahn felt like he would never be able to defeat Ais in a fight so it was very exhrating being able to pressure her like this. Since she also seemed to be getting in the groove of things, they both had smiles on their faces as the winds around Ais body increased in pressure. Instead of evading outright, Ais side-stepped through the air before using her [Ariel] to propel herself forward in the next instant, stabbing forth where she knew Vahn would appear. As expected, Vahn popped up but just smiled in response to Ais attack as he reached out and brought his fist to meet the tip of her de. A shockwave emerged from the point of contact as Ais was blown back after having her attack negated by Vahns Xunw form. However, it wasntpletely stopped since he could only redirect shockwaves, not elemental energy. Vahns arm was torn apart by [Ariel] as it continued forward, creating a void where his shoulder used to be. In the next instant, Ais was already striking forward a second time, causing him to have to evade unless he wanted to ept the de and lose another arm. Unfortunately, he wasnt fast enough and, by the time he reached the end of his [Koku Shundo], Vahn had a second hole where his left leg used to be. Though he regenerated almost instantly, Vahn felt the hair on the back of his neck raise since Ais had almost obliterated his manhood with her strike. Yes, it would grow back, almost instantly, but part of that thought didnt sit well with Vahn at all... After she identified where his exit point was, Ais confirmed that Vahn had regenerated again as sheunched forward with even greater velocity, shouting, "Lil Ragna~!" at the top of her voice. Vahn only managed to widen his eyes before his sensespletely vanished for a brief moment as Aispletely annihted his body. Her attacks seemed to be able topletely ignore defense and the tempestuous winds resulting from her ultimate attack hadpletely enveloped his figure, breaking it down into small partictes as everyone watched with mortified expressions on their faces. Fortunately, the seemingly non-existent Vahn reappeared a few secondster,pletely bereft of clothing but otherwise perfectly fine. Vahn equipped some pants as he smiled to Ais, remarking, "Ais, youre amazing, seriously...if not for my [Magia Erebea], this wouldnt even be much of a fight." Ais had been pale for the few seconds it took him to regenerate but smiled when she heard his praise, blushing slightly as she said, "Im d you were able to get that kind of skill, Vahn...it makes me happy knowing you will be safe, even if I cant be there to protect you at times. Also..." Ais brandished her [Gram], assuming a battle stance once again as she said, "Being able to go all-out is very refreshing...thank you." Vahn smiled in response, but surprised Ais by saying, "I guess I should go all-out as well..." Though his use of external magic was somewhat terrible, it didnt mean Vahn wasnt able to use it at all. Bringing his hands together in a prayer, causing Ais to try and strike forward to interrupt him, Vahn vanished from sight with [Koku Shundo], evading Ais attacks as he chanted, "Come from the void, oh thunder, cut down my enemy! Axe of God! Fixate. Seize. Load magic, Armament!" Vahn felt his source energypletely tank when he formed the axe of lightning in his hands, but it was immediately reced by an incredible feeling of power when he absorbed it with [Magia Erebea]. When Ais de nearly reached him, Vahn smiled in response before casually side-stepping the supersonic strike. The des of wind surrounding her body caused his own to ripple, but the lightning that nowprised his form simply reverted back in the next instant. Ais was surprised by how quick Vahn was while everyone else was simply gobsmacked by the changes in his appearance. His healthy tanned skin had now be a dark ck while his eyes glowed with a vibrant light, almost like lightning itself. Covering his torso, which was still visible since he hadnt worn a recement shirt, there were intricate white tattoos that radiated powerful energy. Most notably, however, was the lightning aura surrounding his body and the fact that his hair had be spikey and rigid, emanating strings of electricity as he moved around. It was hard to believe this was the same boy they knew and loved since his aura had almost be tyrannical in an instant. If not for the rtively gentle look on his face, somewhat offset by his confident smile, it would have been difficult to believe this lightning avatar was Vahn. Though she was shocked for a moment, Ais quickly gathered her senses and swept her de towards Vahn, causing arge volume of wind elemental energy to cut towards him. Vahn, however, just moved slightly before reappearing next to her, much faster than her own perception could react to. By the time she pulled her de back to counter, Vahn had reached forward, poking Ais in the shoulder as a line of lightning trailed from his index finger. She felt her body seize up and barely resisted dropping [Gram], moving backwards through sheer force of will, even though her body wasnt responding properly. Vahn had been cut apart by Ais wind barrier when he got closer to her, but his regeneration in this form was even faster than before while his sense of pain seemed to have faded from existence. In fact, it felt like all of his cells were supercharged and it was very pleasant to be in this form, even though it wouldnt be able tost long. That, of course, was somewhat rtive since he could now move at the speed of lightning while his perception had been increased to a ridiculous level. He couldnt actually keep up with his own movements, but it wasnt that difficult to outmaneuver Ais since she didnt yet have any countermeasures to such abilities. Vahn couldnt help but smile before blinking out of existence, not with [Koku Shundo], but his own natural speed. Ais clutched her arm, still numbed from where Vahn poked her pressure point, muttering a small, "I surrender...", moments before Vahn touched her back. He knew she could have continued fighting but didnt me her for wanting to take a break since it wasnt that easy to maintain her flight with the ambient electrical energy flowing through her body. Vahn broke his own transformation, feeling incredibly winded as a result, before stepping forward and hugging Ais. She had already dispelled her own [Ariel] so there was no danger of being ripped to shreds this time around. The moment he contacted her body, the ambient energy traveled into his before breaking down almost instantly. Vahn could tell Ais had taken more damage than he expected so he began healing her body as they descended toward the others... Feeling the warm energy flowing through her body, Ais released a sigh of relief before smiling as she said, "Youve gotten much stronger, Vahn...but, Ill catch up one day. I promise..." At the end of her words, Ais took the initiative to kiss Vahns lips, nearly causing them to fall from the sky as a result of her passion being loosed on the unsuspecting Vahn. His reserves had almost been depleted in their entirety so he had been focusing his mind on healing Ais before she suddenly began kissing her. His muscle memory caused him to reciprocate her kiss and his focus was quickly broken at the same moment Ais invasive tongue entered his mouth... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Egg Envy?,Terra is a BAMF now,Magia Erebea, Truly Tyrannical) (A/N: Though Vahns base parameters are actually much higher than Ais, her feats have shown that she is much faster than he should be in his base form. Remember that a persons Innates, Skills, and Magic can all have massive impacts on theirbat potential. Ais [Ariel] is one of the most powerful skills in the entire record and, because it is spirit magic, it is actually more effective against Vahn. Though his Magia Erebea is a purified version of the ability, it still makes the cells themselves somewhat unstable and easier to influence by other magic. As for why he didnt absorb her [Ariel] into his [Magia Erbea], you have to remember that he isnt really trying to kill Ais. Without proper control, he would shred her apart in much the same way as she shredded him. Also, seems to be trying to censor P.atreon, so Ill modify the link to have a . in it...) /user?u=14397149 Remove the first period, or look up Eins Left Foot~! paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 648 - Awakening

Chapter 648 - Awakening

(A/N: First off, sorry for not exining my absence for yesterday. Read the note after the chapter for more information...) After his spar with Ais, Vahn spent a little over an hour recovering, making conversation with the girls and turning away anyone that came to investigate the earlier fight. Turning into lightning, forck of a better descriptive, was very shy after all. Ais attacks could also be seen from tens of kilometers away so it wasnt too surprising that people thought something bigger was afoot. Finn came charging over with Gareth, Bete, and a half-dozen other Level 4 Adventurers that were ready to provide support for Ais. When he saw everyone just sitting around having a pic, Vahn could have sworn he saw the Pallum tilt several degrees as he processed what must have happened. Once he had fully recovered, Vahn spent the better part of an hour fighting against Tiona and Tione, who had be much stronger but were now almost entirely incapable of getting an advantage. Vahn could fight defensively, especially with his Xunw form, but was no longer required to protect himself out of necessity. Now, he could be far bolder in his attacks, which seemed to be well-received by Tiona as her own talent continued to make itself known. Though Tione was taken out of the fight early on, eleven minutes and thirty-seven seconds, ording to Sis, Tiona hadsted for just under fifty-three. During this time, Vahn gained further insight into Tionas Innates as his strikes against her seemed to be mitigated greatly, even more so than in the past. It was most notable when Vahn managed to use his arm to redirect Tionas kick, breaking it in several parts but still serving its purpose. This opened up Tionas abdomen, which Vahn palmed with a fair amount of power only for the majority of it to simply be consumed by her body. He knew she had an Innate called [Magic Devouring King], and it seemed to be stirring awake throughbat. Her body seemed to be capable of absorbing the energy used to amplify any attack that wasnt purely physical, causing her to have terrifying bursts of strength while bolstering her stamina further. The only reason he managed to win was that Tiona tried to pin him, as strikes were useless, but Vahn was able to overpower her by sacrificing the limb she tried to leverage against him... Tiona wasying in a crater, courtesy of Vahns counterattack,ughing boisterously even though she waspletely exhausted. Vahn looked down at her with a smile before stepping into the crater and helping her up,menting, "Youre really something, Tio-" Before Vahn was able to finish, Tiona used his outstretched hand and yanked him forward, wrapping her legs around his body with a heated expression on her face. Fortunately, she released him a few minutester, seemingly reigning in her own instincts a bit, likely out of consideration for the spectators standing at the edge of the crater. By the time she let him go, Vahns hair was a mess and there was a visible dampness around his lips, which were swollen for a few seconds before returning to normal. Seeing the gazes of the other girls, Vahnughed while helping Tiona to her feet, whispering, "We shouldnt do too much while Asfis around. When we return to the surface though, Ill take you on a date outside the City..." Vahn gave the ruddy-faced Tiona a quick kiss, this time opting for her forehead since he didnt want to trigger her while she was cooling down. By this point, the others had closed the distance with Tione remarking, "How is it that youre able to keep up with Vahn so easily, Tiona? You shouldnt be this strong..." Tionaughed, somewhat awkwardlypared to the past while stroking her hair, saying, "It justs feels like Im full of energy every time I fight against Vahn. Even when my muscles are tired and sore, my body just keeps going for some reason...?" Vahn nodded his head, contemting a response before saying, "Im pretty sure I know the reason, but well discuss it in privateter on. Sorry, Asfi...Im sure you understand." Asfi had calmed downpared to how pale she was after watching his fight with Ais but her aura was still fluctuating a great deal. They didnt give her any exnation at all, but Vahn didnt mind letting her see his immorality at y, especially since it created more questions than answers. One of the things he had learned from Loki was that you could easily mislead people by showing them your capabilities in a casual setting. Most people didnt reveal their trump cards so, if you showed a power beyond theirprehension, they would assume there was something even more terrifying beyond that. Though that might not apply to all situations, Vahns existence itself was anomalous so there were far more benefits than detriments, especially when interacting with supposed allies. Asfi nodded her head, showing no change in expression as she said, "I understand, Vahn. It isnt appropriate to pry into another Adventurers affairs..." Though she said the words inly, Vahn didnt miss the flickering in Asfis aura. She had been having misgivings about spying on them ever since the Expedition started and moments like this made things especially difficult for her. Just as he expected, Asfi was wondering just what the members of the Hestia Familia were capable of since Vahn himself was beyondprehension. Asfi even suspected she had been ced under some form of powerful illusion, as it didnt make any sense at all to see someone obliterated just for them to reform momentster. If this was reality, Asfi didnt know what to make of what she saw, other than the fact that Vahn seemed unkible... Since he didnt want to turn the 39th Floor into a tundra, Vahn led the girls back to the encampment without dueling Fenrir. Her magic wouldnt have much of an affect on him anymore, especially if he turned his body into ice or darkness, so there wasnt much of a fight to be had. Unsurprisingly, her ability to devour was still a perfect counter to his existence itself, something he had been able to verify after somewhat awkwardly having her eat one of his hairs. Vahns body was currently fixed, unless he willingly altered it, so he would revert back to his base state every time he took damage. This included the individual hairs on his body, so Vahn figured it would be a proper test of Fenrirs capabilities. When Fenrir ingested the hair, Vahn noticed that it didnt grow back on his body, confirming that parts that were broken down and assimted couldnt be regenerated. Fortunately, he was an exception to this rule since he could alter his self-image to change his body, including the form and function of his limbs. Of course, regenerating a limb that Fenrir devoured would take several hours and Vahn wasnt fond of the idea of walking around with one arm. It was still very important information that would prove instrumental to the future, as Vahn was able to confirm that Innates could get around his abilities. As they werent bound by thews of the record they were found in, Innates were exceptionally unique, sometimes having no clear counters at all. The only weakness of an Innate seemed to be the understanding the user had of its capabilities. There were a few exceptions, such as Maemis and Emirus [Gemini], but Vahn suspected that might be a misconception and it wouldnt be a bad idea to study their ability further. With that mentality, Vahn also checked up on the Status Boards of the girls that evening to see if they had undergone any changes. He wasnt surprised at all to see his suspicions had proven correct, but still celebrated the fact with everyone after revealing the truth of the matter... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Tiona Hiryute LV. 5 POW: 3577+(F317)->(D540) END: 3439+(G221)->(E477) DEX: 3161+(H184)->(E413) AGI: 3199+(H191)->(E420) MAG: 0+(I0) Skills: [Titan Virga:Innate(sealed), [Magic Devouring King:I](new), [Berserk:B], [Intense Heat:B], [Regina Animalium:I](new) Magic: - Development Abilities: [Fist Strike:A], [Diving:B], [Abnormal Resistance:C], [Crush:B], [Magic Resistance:(sealed)] [Regina Animalium] Rank: I Use: Be the embodiment of the Queen of Beasts. Greatly increases physical parameters based on the amount of damage taken. Gradually increases regenerative capabilities depending on the length of activation. Voice Trigger: Adeat! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Ais Wallenstein LV. 5(+) POW: 2241+(E403)->(D596) END: 2182+(F384)->(D572) DEX: 3293+(D543)->(C688) AGI: 3266+(D529)->(C679) MAG: 3600+(D571)->(B821) Skills:[Sylph Queen:Innate(sealed)], [Progenitor of Wind:H](new), [Avenger:A], [Lux Alis:D](new) Magic: [Void Sword:Innate(sealed)], [Ariel:B->A] Development Abilities: [Child of Destiny:Innate(sealed)], [Hunter:B], [Abnormal Resistance:C], [Swordsman:A], [Spirit Healing:A], [Magic Resistance:(sealed)] [Lux Alis] Rank: D Use: Creates a raiment that negates friction due to wind resistance while also allowing the user to fly on wings of light. Greatly enhances wind and light elemental abilities. Voice Trigger: Adeat! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Tione Hiryute LV. 5 POW: 3273+(G268)->(D503) END: 3069+(G250)->(E486) DEX: 3130+(H187)->(E429) AGI: 3128+(H192)->(E443) MAG: 788+(H103)->(H195) Skills: [Titan Bruna:Innate(sealed)], [Wrath:Innate(sealed)], [Berserk: A], [Backdraft:B], [Saltatione Solis:F](new) Magic: [List Iorum:E->D] Development Abilities: [Fist Strike:B], [Diving:A], [Abnormal Resistance:B], [Healing Power:D], [Magic Resistance:(sealed)] [Saltatione Solis] Rank: F Use: Allows the user to redirect light around their body, obscuring the vision of enemies. The Sun Wheel enables the user to attack from a range, bing progressively faster and hotter depending on the distance from the user. The Sun Wheel always returns to the users hand and cannot damage their body. Voice Trigger: Adeat! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Lefiya Viridis Race: Elf LV. 4 POW: 421+(G298)->(I0)->(H119) END: 692+(A933)->(I0)->(F301) DEX: 1281+(A811)->(I0)->(F316) AGI: 1459+(S912)->(I0)->(G282) MAG: 1998+(SSS1893)->(I0)->(D515) Skills: [Fairy Cannon:A], [Concurrent Chanting:E], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Ros Sanitatem:I](new) Magic: [Rattatoskr:Innate:(sealed)], [Arcs Ray:C], [Fuside Farica:C], [Elf Ring:C->B] Development Abilities: [Daughter of Wishe:I], [Mage:B], [Abnormal resistance:F], [Spirit Healing:I->E] [Ros Sanitatem] Rank: I Use: Absorbs natural elemental energy through the raiment, allowing the user to greatly increase their own mana regeneration. Allows for the creation of sacred water, which can regenerate any non-fatal injuries. Voice Trigger: Adeat! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Sanjouno Haruhime Race: Renard LV. 3(+) POW: 440+(B801)->(I0)->(D573) END: 648+(B828)->(I0)->(D530) DEX: 698+(S911)->(I0)->(C638) AGI: 1053+(S949)->(I0)->(C656) MAG: 1548+(SSS1266)->(I0)->(B741) Skill: [Inari:E->D], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Heroic Strike:C], [Featherfoot:S], [Luna Dea:I](new) Magic: [Uchide no Kozuchi:B], [Kokonoe:B], [Icicle Edge:A] Development Skill: [Moon Priestess:Innate(sealed)], [Spirit Healing:A], [Hunter:E->D], [Mage:I->E], [Swordsman:(sealed)], [Abnormal Status Resistance:(sealed)] [Luna Dea] Rank:I Use: Allows the user to create a barrier that protects against both physical and magical attacks. Greatly reduces mobility but drastically increases the output of spells and abilities. Each moon emblem can store a single spell, allowing the user to dy casting forter use. Voice Trigger: Adeat! --------------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Changed Mikotos Pactio from The Unseen de to Vide Mundi since it sounds better. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Yamato Mikoto Race: Human LV. 3 POW: 634+(C651)->(I0)->(H133) END: 628+(C623)->(I0)->(H128) DEX: 740+(SSS1218)->(I0)->(D567) AGI: 722+(SS1015)->(I0)->(D582) MAG: 531+(S945)->(I0)->(F373) Skill: [Yatanokurogarasu:B], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Battjutsu:F->D], [Vide Mundi:H](new) Magic: [Futsunomitama:B], [Apocalypse: Innate(sealed)] Development Skill: [Abnormal Resistance:C], [Acrobatics:I->G](new), [Swordsman:(sealed)] [Vide Mundi] Rank: H Use: Allows the user to create a shadow doppelganger that echoes all attacks. Gives ess to the Unseen de, which can change size, shape, and sharpness depending on the concentration of magic power. Injuries sustained by the user are absorbed by the doppelganger with substantial mana drain. Voice Trigger: Adeat! -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The fact that Ais and Tiona had awakened their Innates put Vahn in a good mood, deciding to cut loose a bit and provide alcohol to celebrate. Tiona was in equally high spirits, happy to have her own unique ability to make use of to further increase her strength. As for Ais, she had a small smile on her face and was looking forward to testing her [Progenitor of the Wind]. She hadnt noticed it previously, but she could now create small vortexes of wind at the tips of her fingers and could feel the flow of the air around her, even through walls. ording to her, it made her body feel airy, almost like the wind was blowing through her body itself. Tiona said she didnt feel any different at all so Vahn exined how he thought her ability worked, making her giddy with excitement as she attempted to drag him out for another fight. Given the fact that she was already a bit tipsy, Vahn had to pacify her for a bit, promising to fight her as much as she wanted in the future. Afterward, things be very lively since everyone was in a good mood, enjoying the festive atmosphere and talking about the future. Even Lefiya, who typically avoided alcohol, especially since she was still young, ended up drinking a few sses. Her face was so red by the end of the evening that Vahn ended up having to use his [Hands of Nirvana] to help her calm down so she could get some sleep. Since Tiona and Tione were rather fond of teasing her, they got a little carried away once there was alcohol in their systems. It got even worse when Ais, who strangely turned robotic, ended up giving into Tionas taunting and kissed Lefiya on the lips, pushing the small Elf to the ground while the twins egged her own. Vahn had to knock the heads of the two girls before saving Lefiya from the overly-affectionate Ais, who then turned her attention to him for his troubles... All the while their party was going on, Fenrir was sitting with Mikoto and Haruhime, enjoying a rather tame and quiet drinking session. Mikotos face was also red, but she remained stoic while making small talk about the use of their artifacts. As for Haruhime, she seemed to handle her liquor well but had glossy eyes and a small smile on her face as she listened to Mikoto drone on. Fenrir couldnt get drunk at all, so she just made a fewments while answering some of the questions Haruhime and Mikoto had about magic. Unlike Vahn, they had quickly keyed in on the fact that Fenrir had changed quite a lot in the time she had been in the orb. Though Fenrir spent most of her time around Vahn and Asfi, she had also been talking with Haruhime a lot over thest few weeks. Taking a fewrge gulps of a massive bottle of sake, Fenrir watched the chaotic scene of Ais trying to strip her Masters clothing away. She furrowed her brows slightly and contemted reigning in the girls but, understanding that this was a small celebration, decided against it. Haruhimeughed into her sleeve when she saw Fenrirs pouting expression, earning the attention of the small Vanargandr as she said, "You know, you can always join in and y as well, Fenrir~." Fenrir nodded her head, seemingly aware of the fact but saying, "I know, but I dont want to burden my Master. A lot of things have changed in a very short period of time and it is better for him to enjoy these peaceful moments while theyst..." Haruhime raised her brows slightly, giving Fenrir a quizzical look until thetter exined, "I can feel it, what Master is feeling. The more our power grows, the less dangerous our current enemies be. However, that doesnt mean there arent more dangerous enemies lurking in the shadows. My Master can feel the encroaching darkness and, though he doesnt show any signs of caution right now, I can sense that he is concerned. The main reason he sent Terra back so early was that he is afraid something would happen on the surface while were down here..." Fenrir nursed the bottle of sake in her paws, showing a ruminating gaze that reflected a cold light. She hated the fact that something always happened to deny her Master the happiness he sought. If she could, Fenrir would take out all of his enemies herself so he never had to worry about anything ever again... Mikoto and Haruhime became silent for a while after hearing Fenrirs words, contemting the best course of action avable to them. Haruhime was of the same mind as Fenrir and, though her eyes were somewhat glossed over, there was a chilly light in her pale gold pupils. Mikoto simply yed with the guard of her katana, squinting slightly as she looked over at Vahn, currently being pulled between Tiona and Tione while Ais pped her hands with an amazed expression on her face. She knew he worked hard, almost to an impossible extent, and it was certainly unfair that events transpired to distract him from living a peaceful lifestyle. Mikoto had seen the times when Vahn sat in silence, looking towards a future she couldnt evenprehend, and it made her want to stand at his side and ease his burdens...at least a little. The party ended up going on until nearly midnight before Vahn decided to help the girls calm down, putting them to sleep with happy smiles on their faces. Lefiya had long since passed out, so the only people left when everything was said and done were the three girls that had avoided the conflict. Vahn went over to join them, allowing Fenrir to move over and sit in hisp, pulling up her legs as she balled herself up into the smallest shape she could manage. With a smile on his face, Vahn began stroking her head and ears, asking, "So, what have the three of you been talking about?" Though he didnt hear their conversation, Vahn noticed the subtle changes in the girls auras, understanding they had likely been discussing something serious. Haruhime titled her headzily to the side, allowing herrge fox-like ears to dangle as she mused, "We were discussing how best to make you happy, Vahn~." Hearing this, Vahn raised his brow slightly, remarking, "Im very happy right now...though I would probably be happier once we return to the surface." Vahn realized, as he was speaking, that he wasnt the happiest he could be right now. After all, there were several pregnant women on the cusp of giving birth to his children on the surface. Instead of being at their side, he was down in the Dungeon helping to construct a fortress while they dealt with the matters of the Alliance... Haruhime released a bell-like chuckle, squinting her eyes yfully since she could tell that Vahn felt slightly conflicted. Vahn gave her a wry smile in response, hugging Fenrirs thin frame while contemting the choices he had made in life. He didnt get much time to reflect though, as Haruhime moved to his side and leaned against his shoulder, gingerly embracing his arm in the process. With a clearly enamored look on her face, Haruhime said, "We will do our best to make things easier for you in the future, Vahn...please dont be afraid to rely on us from time-to-time..." At the end of her words, Haruhime slowly licked her lips, causing Vahns heart to flutter before he eventually leaned in and gave the beautiful Renard a kiss. When Vahn separated from Haruhime, the look in her eyes became even deeper and it felt like she was trying to pull him in with her gaze alone. Surprisingly, however, Haruhime averted her eyes and looked toward Mikoto, saying, "Mikoto, make sure to take care of Vahn properly tonight...we dont want him to feel lonely when he is surrounded by people that love him~." Seeing Mikoto nod her head, cheeks slightly flushed but with a resolute look on her face, Vahn couldnt help but raise his brows in confusion. Haruhimeughed once again, remarking, "Mikoto has the biggest b.r.e.a.s.ts of everyone here, so she canfort you better than the other girls, especially since Tione seems to be upied at the moment..." Presently, Tione was using Lefiya has a hug pillow, causing the small Elf to show a small frown on her face even though she was unconscious. When he heard Haruhimes words, Vahn felt a little conflicted for a moment before shaking his head slightly and just epting Mikotos offer. She had opened her arms slightly while Fenrir had, at some point, evacuated hisp as she sat at the side. Vahn moved next to Mikoto, allowing the blushing Eastern beauty to pull him close, cradling his head near her budding b.r.e.a.s.ts, which were currently unbound and separated by her rtively thin Kimono. She began stroking his hair in a cating manner but Vahn was aware of how quickly her heart was beating as a result of her rather bold actions. He reached his arms around her waist, startling her a little before she took things a step further and pulled him down to the futon, holding him all the while. Vahn noticed the presence of Haruhime and Fenrir at his sides a momentter, feeling thefort they provided him while Mikoto continued to soothe his tired mind... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Natural Prodigy,[Pactio] OP,Fenrirs Wisdom : Comfort) (A/N: Yesterday, I had to go to an interview for an uing job Ill be epting this summer, which Ill go into greater detail after the dates are confirmed. It ate up a few hours of my time and then I went out with friends to celebrate my promotion, as it were. Also, Ill be away for a week starting on Friday but will continue to post, at the minimum, 1 chapter a day. I also intend to start posting an update schedule so everyone can get a better understanding of when chapters will be live. Ill do my best to make sure it is urate on a bi-weekly basis, potentially even covering the entire month. Typically, Ill try to space chapters out every two hours, with 4-5 releases per day depending on chapter length. This should make it pretty easy for anyone that likes refreshing to try and get first posts and the like (UwU).) /user?u=14397149 Remove the first period, or look up Eins Left Foot~! paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 649 - Machinations

Chapter 649 - Machinations

Time passed in a sh and, before Vahn realized it, nearly six weeks hade and gone as he split his time between setting up wards, inspecting the constructions sites, and helping the girls train. Asfi had eventually made her move, a few days after his all-out spar against Ais, using a strange magic item that allowed her to be invisible and hide her presence. Vahn had noticed her absence from the moment she vanished, sending out pulses of energy to test his techniques tracking capabilities. He was pleased to note that it did indeed allow him to detect invisible enemies, something that had worried him in the past since he never had the opportunity to verify it. Vahn followed Asfis trail, tracking her to an area where two people had been waiting for her arrival. He didnt know who they were but Vahn knew they werent Xenos based on the structure of their mana. Therger of the two was a Chienthrope with dark brown hair and pale red eyes, garbed in the attire of a scout with various pouches and concealed weapons. Hispanion was a small Pallum woman with somewhat unkempt brown hair, highlighted with reds and yellows. She also looked like the typical scout type but was, surprisingly, much stronger than her male counterpart based on the flow of mana in her body and the size of her aura. Vahn guessed she was around Level 4 while the man was likely around Intermediate Level 3. Asfi handed over a few scrolls, likely containing the information she had obtained over thest six weeks, though Vahn wasnt entirely sure why it was necessary to exchange the information now. It would have made more sense for them to turn it over when they reached the surface, so Vahn suspected there was more to the situation than was apparent. Since none of them had dark auras, Vahn decided not to pry too much but still tracked the two after they epted the scrolls from Asfi. He wanted to know how they were able to reach the 39th Floor so easily, as their Levels wouldnt have allowed them to pass through the White Pce on their own. The duo eventually reached one of the entrances to the 40th Floor, surprising Vahn a bit since he had expected them to go up instead of deeper into the Dungeon. Vahn had been tempted to follow them but decided against it since his priority was to protect the girls, not follow people randomly through the Dungeon. He didnt fear being trapped, and was very curious how they were able to move through the Dungeon, but Vahn wouldntpromise the safety of the others just to sate his curiosity. Though there wasnt much that could endanger them, Vahns instincts had been telling him something was going to happen soon. He didnt want to be away from the people he wanted to protect, especially while they were deep in the Dungeon where conceivably anything could happen. After making his way back to the encampment, Vahn noted that Asfi had returned to her own room before returning to his. Fenrir and Haruhime had been waiting for his return so Vahn ayed the twos concerns, promising to exin the details in the morning. Though there was still work ongoing outside therge fortress that hade into existence, it was currently around 1:40 AM so Vahn didnt want to cause a disturbance. There was also the fact that he didnt really know what Asfi had put in the scrolls so there wasnt much to talk about at present... --- Early the next morning, Vahn had breakfast with the girls and detailed his nightly excursion for them, exining, "Its probably not a big deal, but keep your wits about you for the next few days. Ill probably get called to the surface any day now and it will potentially be dangerous on the return trip. Though I can probably clear through the Floors pretty quickly now, it would still take me a few hours to reach you during an emergency." One of Vahns biggest concerns was having to return to the surface, leaving behind Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, Haruhime, and Mikoto. Though he could leave his [Heros Reprieve]s with Lefiya and Haruhime, Vahn didnt like the idea of leaving them behind since they were high-priority targets for attack. Tiona was munching on a piece of toast, staring directly at Vahn with her glistening brown eyes as if she hadnt reallyprehended why he was so concerned. Even before they got involved with Vahn, there hadnt been too many threats to them. Now that they were even stronger, Tiona felt a little bothered by the fact that Vahn acted like they were delicate flowers. Though she enjoyed being pampered, Tiona felt like they would need to change his perspective and confront him about it in the future. Of course, now wasnt really the time for that and she couldnt really me him for being worried since there was a lot going on right now. Unaware of what was going through Tionas mind, Vahn continued to talk about various precautions until Asfi finally appeared out of her own room. She usually ate breakfast with everyone but had slept in a little since she had gone to sleep veryte the previous night. When everyone turned to look at her, Asfi paused for a few seconds before releasing a sigh and sitting next to Haruhime. She already suspected that Vahn would have been aware of her absence and started to wonder how much he had been able to glean from her actions. Though it wasnt too likely, Asfi even considered that Vahn might be aware of everything so she decided to clear things up by exining, "My mission ovepped with some of the other ongoing jobs taken by the Hermes Familia. I handed over a brief report of my observations, including an updated map of Lil Geirr and the surrounding area..." Asfis words brought a temporary silence to the group as Vahn raised his brow, giving Asfi a curious look before asking, "So, those two were yourpanions from the same Familia? How are they able to reach the 39th Floor on their own...and what business did they have deeper in the Dungeon?" Hearing his questions, Asfi released a restrained sigh, fighting the urge to rub her temples since it was very apparent Vahn was indeed aware of everything that happened. She even suspected he knew how they had gotten down to the 39th Floor and was just testing to see if she would be forthright on the matter. Shaking her head slightly, Asfi said, "I apologize, Vahn, but I cant reveal such secrets as they rte to the very survival of mypanions. Just know there are various secrets regarding the Dungeon that most people arent privy to, many of which have been discovered and doc.u.mented by the Hermes Familia. We operate with the consent of the Guild and have been granted special autonomy in exchange for keeping certain matters confidential." This was already revealing more than necessary so Asfi believed Vahn would be understanding on the matter. Tione, however, didnt seem to fond of her words as she asked, "What the hell are you going on about? Youre spying on us openly and now want to make excuses for your actions? Huh!?" Tione had broken the cup she was holding, causing tea to spill onto the table as she red directly at Asfi, who maintained a cool and calm demeanor the entire time. Vahn, seeing conflict about to break out, gestured towards Tione, saying, "Its fine, Tione. I epted the mission knowing the purpose behind it so dont be too harsh on Asfi. Besides, the information she has obtained really doesnt impact us too much, especially since most of it will be useless after a few months pass." Vahn sent a yful look to Asfi, noticing her aura trembled slightly in response to his words. Tione continued to re at her for a few seconds but eventually sat down properly, but not beforementing, "Che, if you think youll be able to hide behind Vahn and do whatever you want, dont be surprised if I end up relocating a few of your bones..." Asfi raised her brow slightly, unsure of what to say in response so she just remained quiet, especially after noticing Fenrirs prating gaze. She actually wasnt that afraid of Tione, and the other girls didnt really pose much of a threat since they werent that hot-headed. The only exceptions, people that Asfi was truly afraid of, were Fenrir and that True Dragon of Vahns, Terra. Asfi felt that, if she actually tried to take any action to endanger Vahn, they would step in and strike her down mercilessly. On the other side of that matter, the other girls were even more difficult to endanger since Vahn himself would step in, raining down a furious vengeance that Asfi wasnt sure any force in the world could weather. Breakfast continued with an awkward atmosphere until it was time for Vahn to make his rounds and inspect the construction efforts. He had Fenrir and Asfi apany him while the rest of the girls went about their own business, which usually meant they were studying to learn magic. Lefiya already had some marginal sess with basic spells, so she was the tutor for the rest of the group when Vahn and Fenrir werent around to exin things. The first time she had been able to cast a basic light spell, Lefiyas face had beamed like a blooming flower that made Vahn want to smile just thinking about it. She really was very talented, especially considering that she was already deeply rooted in the magic system of Danmachi. Vahn suspected that Lefiya would be one of the more capable Mages in their party in the future, potentially reaching the S-Rank alongside Terra. As it had already been six weeks, the fortress itself had almost beenpleted in its entirety with most of the remaining work being geared towards reinforcing the existing structure. Vahn had already set up arge grouping of control wards the enhance the formation they had been set out. Though wards were typically more versatile than formations, thetter had the effect of allowing those that held the mand keys to sense intruders and determine the positions of everyone inside the formation. This made it very useful for basic security purposes while Vahn used the wards to serve both offensive and defensive purposes. As long as someone was registered to the ward, they could trigger the spells contained within and it was even possible to activate a powerful barrier that couldst for up to three days in emergencies. Vahn met Quinn on his rounds, noticing the stout woman had arge grin on her face as her workers carved an ornate stone mural on one of the interior walls. Since the Lil Geirr was going to be managed by the Loki Familia, Vahn had incorporated some of the aesthetics of the Twilight Manor to make it feel more homely for those that would be stationed here. There was even a statue of Loki herself in the main hall, standing in a somewhat domineering manner with several faceless Adventurers grouped around her. Though it was clearly designed after people like Finn, Gareth, Riveria, Bete, Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya, the faces had been left nk to emphasize the fact that many Adventurers followed Lokis leadership. She didnt discriminate against the races and actually made an effort to try and recruit at least one of every race that she took an interest in... During their rounds, Vahn greeted all the works, each returning a friendly greeting and a few kind words to Fenrir and Asfi in passing. Vahn usually walked around 2-3 times a day and had been on friendly terms with most of the members of the Expedition, many of which actually felt like this job was more of a vacation than the trying experience they had expected. There was always good food to eat, apanied by delicious alcohol, and their work schedules were prettyx. When they were bored, they even had the option of gambling or visiting the relief quarters that had been set up on the western side of the encampment. Overall, it was one of the easiest jobs many of them had ever been assigned to, even though it was somewhat gloomy to be in the Dungeon for so long. The main reason why the 39th Floor was only meant to be a Supply Depot was due to the fact that the area was full of brackish white stone, with very little vegetationpared to the 18th and 50th Floors. There were still trees and other forms of vegetation, but it was somewhat gloomy and gave off a haunted vibe. Most of the workers didnt venture far from the encampment at all, leaving only the members of the Loki Familia, and a few other Adventurers, to probe into the surrounding Floors. After all, this was also a good opportunity to get some training in since the number of monsters on the 38th, 41st, and 42nd Floors were quite profitable to hunt. For those looking for a challenge, they could even backtrack through the 38th Floor and clear out some of the Coliseums, something that Ais, Tiona, and Tione were quite fond of... Towards the end of his rounds, Vahn stood atop one of the towers that had been erected on the third outer perimeter. In total, the territory of Lil Geirr was around 3km in diameter since it was never intended to be home to arge number of people. One of the important tasks had been the creation of a border wall that had a total of twelve guard towers, each mounted with powerful ballistas that could even prate the hide of a dragon. The wall itself was constructed to be a perfect circle, possessing three defensiveyers with a corridor running through its length. This was intended so that the defensive soldiers manning the perimeter would be able to move about without being noticed by external observation. There were numerous wards that, when active, caused the external walls to be transparent, allowing those inside to see outward while their observers were none the wiser. Vahn greeted the three-man ballista crew before looking out into the eerily quiet terrain of the 39th Floor, a silence only broken by the sound of hammers and construction behind him. Fenrir and Asfi stood at his nks, observing the area beneath the slope of the teau as if trying to understand what Vahn was looking for. Since even he didnt know, they just continued to observe in silence until Vahn decided it was time to head back. He gave the crew a few encouraging words before jumping down for the 20m tall tower,nding safely on the ground below as Fenrir and Asfi jumped after him. The fact that nothing had happened was beginning to bother him greatly since he was admittedly very content right now, especially after learning [Magia Erebea]. From experience, Vahn knew this was the exact moment when karma would put him through a trial, this time with Vahn wanting it to happen before the birth of his children. If his enemies, whoever they may be at this time, decided to use the moment of the delivery to cause problems, Vahn swore to make them pay dearly. He tried to be understanding, even when it came to his enemies, but Vahn wouldnt forgive people that tried to exploit such an important and emotional event to their advantage. There were just some things that he couldnt stand for, the matter of his children being at the very top of the list. If they had the audacity to try something during the deliveries, Vahn wouldnt show any leniency this time around... Though he might not have realized it himself, Vahn was radiating a very oppressive aura right now, causing Fenrirs hackles to stand on end while Asfi began turning somewhat pale. She didnt really know what was going through Vahns mind, but Asfi knew it wouldnt end well for the person that had earned his ire. Fortunately, it didnt seem like his anger was aimed towards her, at least for the time being. She hoped that Hermes didnt do anything stupid while she was away and prayed for the safety of herrades that were performing their own tasks. As for Fenrir, she just flexed her paws, causing her ws to extend and retract several times as she readied herself for anying conflicts. --- After parting with Asfi, the Chienthrope male, by the name of Reid, and the Pallum female, named Tallow, continued into the 40th Floor until they reached what appeared to be a dead end. After knocking around one a few points, the walls of the Dungeon started to crack with a rainbow-colored light that slowly faded away to reveal a passage that hadnt existed there previously. The main reason Vahn wasnt able to find such passages when he was exploring was due to the fact that they simply didnt exist under normal circ.u.mstances. Many of the corridors he thought were just parts of the Dungeon he hadnt found an ess point to were actually the safety corridors used by the Xenos. After corresponding with them for so long, the Hermes Familia had been given ess to some of the Xenos passageways so they could easily move through the Dungeon. Reid was palming one of the scrolls Asfi had passed over to them, tossing it up and down as hezily remarked, "Do you think Asfis report is legit? It sounds like that Mason kid is a real monster..." Tallow scoffed, sending Reid a re as she remarked, "The Captain wouldnt lie about such things so it must be true. You would do well to hold your tongue, Reid, unless youre curious about the taste of my daggers..." Tallow had never really gotten along well with Reid, as he was both arrogant while also having azy personality. He had gotten them into trouble several times and, if not for the fact he had an ability to smell monsters several kilometers away, she wouldnt bother partnering with him. Hearing Tallows remark, Reid grimaced slightly but remained quiet since he really didnt want to antagonize the crazy Pallum woman. Thest time he pissed her off, she actuallyced his drink with a scentless paralytic before dumping him n.a.k.e.d in an area of the Entertainment district where men were known to seek thepany of other men. Fortunately, he had been picked up by one of theirpanions and had avoided the tragic fate of having his chrysanthemum plucked. Ever since then, he tried to avoid earning the ire of Tallow since, though he talked a big game, it was a fact that she was more than a little faster than he was. Since her small frame made her hard to target, it was simply too troublesome to even try fighting her to establish his superiority using the difference in their Power... The two continued onward in silence, Tallows eyes glowing with a magical light as she looked around the area. Though Reid had a hypersensitive nose, Tallow had enhanced eyesight that became even stronger when there was less light. She could see the hairs on a fly from 300m away and her kic vision was more developed than most, even those much faster than she was. It was for this reason that she often paired up with Reid, as theirbined senses made them excellent scouts that had a track record of more than seventy sessful missions over thest three years. She could even sense when Asfi was approaching, though only because thetters movements made small marks on the grass and slightly disturbed the air flow. After traveling for nearly an hour, they knocked on another wall to reveal a second secret passage, this one actually connecting to a corridor leading to the stairs of the 38th Floor. They had to follow a steep incline to reach it, but it was much better than having to traverse a monster-infested Floor where they could potentially be ambushed by hordes of enemies. Unfortunately, it didnt seem like fate favored them this time around since Reid suddenly reached forward, picking up Tallow as he dove to the side. She felt a powerful impact pass through his body and into hers as they both crashed into a wall. Before Tallow could make sense of what happened, she felt a hot and sticky fluid soaking her back as the dull voice of a female said, "Interesting...I didnt think he would try to protect you at thest minute. I guess you werent really at odds with each other...well, not that it matters." Tallow turned around, pulling Reids body as she tried to open up a distance, moving away from the source of the voice. She could see arge amount of blood staining Reids back so Tallow pulled out an Elixir and emptied the contents against his body as she took a look at their attacker. Tallows eyes widened and she felt like her knees had turned to jelly when she locked eyes with the red-haired woman. She had eyes like a snake, vibrant green with vertical slits that looked at her like a predator eyeing its prey. Revis looked at the Pallum girl that was doing her best to try and flee, only to fall over when they actually made eye contact with each other. A slight look of contempt appeared on Revis face before she averted her eyes away, looking at the scroll that had been dropped by the Chienthrope man. She bent down, taking the scroll into her possession before looking towards the duo, more specifically the Pallum. Revis put the scroll into a pouch at her waist before leaping forward, causing the Dungeon Floor to fracture with the strength she put into her feet. After overtaking the Pallum girl, who tried to stab forward with a pair of daggers, Revis chopped at the girls wrist, breaking one while she used her other hand to catch the second. Tallow began to panic, kicking forward with all her might as des appeared from the tips of her boots. Revis side-stepped the attack before reaching forward, grabbing Tallows neck with enough force topletely seal off the flow of oxygen. With a cold and detached voice, Revis asked, "I will give you a chance at life. You will tell me everything you know about Vahn Mason and turn over all of your magical items and weapons to me. Since you know of these passages, I assume youll be able to reach the surface even without equipment..." At the end of her words, Revis dropped Tallow, allowing the Pallum girl to fall to the ground, coughing violently with a hand-shaped bruise on her neck. Fearing for her life, Tallow lowered her head powerlessly and began detailing everything they had learned about Vahn from Asfis report and the rumors on the surface. Truthfully, Tallow hated being in this kind of position since she wasnt the disloyal type that would betray an ally, even if she had never worked alongside Hestia Familia. However, seeing the unconscious body of Reid, who was fortunately still breathing, Tallow swallowed her pride and regurgitated everything she knew. Even if the odds of their survival were slim, she needed to do her best to protect herpanion and try to buy them a chance at life. By the time she was done, Revis had a thoughtful look on her face, stroking her chin for a few moments before smiling as she said, "Very well. I can tell youre being honest so I will keep my word...now strip, everything." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Asfi Makes Her Move,Karmas Influence,Predator) /user?u=14397149 Remove the first period, or look up Eins Left Foot~! paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 650 - Fate

Chapter 650 - Fate

Every day that passed made Vahn feel more antsy, something that had been noted by Finn as they were sitting in the Central Command Room discussing hising departure. Finn was more than a little aware of Vahns concerns since one of the expecting was the goddess of his own Familia. He listened to Vahns n of action, showing a serious and contemtive expression on his face as he said, "So, youre going to head towards the surface with just you, Asfi, and Fenrir? While I can agree that Fenrir is more than strong enough to deal with most threats, its too dangerous to make such a trip with just three people. You may be very strong Vahn, but surely your stamina cant hold out for such an extended period of time..." In response to Finns words, Vahn maintained his calm and exined, "Actually, Im more than capable of such a feat, Finn. And Im not just saying this to alleviate your concerns...hmm, I cant really exin the reason, just know that there wont be any problems. Im more concerned with how things will go while Im away...I never intended to stay down here for a long period of time, but leaving behind the girls makes me nervous." Finn frowned at Vahns words but Gareth, who had been sitting at the side, justughed out loud, remarking, "Dont you worry about thosesses, Vahn. Theyre strong in their own right and the Loki Familia isnt so soft that it needs the concern of a single boy..." Though he spoke in a serious tone, Vahn could see an almost amused look in Gareths eyes as he stroked his beard. Vahn released a sigh, recalling the conversation he had with the girls just two days ago. Though not a direct confrontation, Tiona had brought up how odd he had been behavingtely, telling him to have more confidence in their strength. Before he had reached the same Level as them, gaining the [Magia Erebea] in the process, Vahn had shown a lot more confidence in them. Now, however, he was acting like they were weak and, as an Amazoness, it made her a little ufortable. Tione shared the sentiment and, while Ais didnt seem too bothered by it, she still sided with the girls and asked that he believe in their strength, just like they believed in his. Raising his head, Vahn met the eyes of Gareth and Finn, showing a wry smile as he said, "When the timees, Ill leave them in your care. When do you n to make the return trip?" Finn showed an amicable smile before pulling out a doc.u.ment from his desk, which had been provided by Vahn, stating, "Well, well be heading up to cycle out some personnel in 41 days, but the Expedition itself will be continuing for six months before we escort the workers back to the surface. Several people have already agreed to a two-year contract, but well need to get some fresh people on site to prevent any issues. Before you leave, please help shore up the defenses and do a second pass of the surrounding area. Your cartographic skills are exemry, and it would be very helpful if we had updated maps before you return to the surface." Gareth gave Finn a curious expression before answering the question Vahn had actually asked, "When we cycle out personnel, well be on the surface for about five days before making the second trip. Dont worry, as the girls will probably return on their own once they help escort everyone down. If youre not busy at the time, it would probably go much faster if you helped out. Itll be up to you what you choose to do though." Since it was obvious Vahn just wanted to know when the girls would return to the surface, Gareth rified matters. It actually wasnt a simple thing, manning a fortress within the 39th Floor, because there were only a few Elite members in each Familia. Though it would be taxing on the girls, they were necessary for making sure everyone was protected, meaning they needed to apany the Expeditionary party, especially when traveling between certain Floors. Vahn grimaced slightly, scratching the back of his head as he thought about possible solutions to make travel in and out of the Dungeon easier. It would take some time, but it was possible to try and set up a teleportation ward that could be connected to the surface. However, that would invalidate the challenge of having people venture into the deeper Floors on their own, as many would simply bypass it. There was also the chance that the Dungeon itself would react negatively to having a teleportation ward inside of itself and, though he had an affinity with Space magic, Vahn wasnt actually that confident in circ.u.mventing the Dungeons sealing effect. There was a chance people wouldnt reach their destination properly, potentially even ending up in walls or lost within the void itself... After thinking for a few minutes, Vahn nodded his head and firmly stated, "Ill have to make sure everything is taken care of on the surface, but Ill probably join the Expedition just to make things run smoothly. Itll save everyone a lot of time and Im more suited to transporting supplies than entrusting it to a convoy. Youll still need toe up with a method of delving into the Dungeon that isnt so reliant on the girls though, as it isnt fair for them to have to spend several months just protecting people. The Alliance is full of powerful individuals and we should be doing joint-operations in the future..." Finn nodded his head, already having considered the matter in great detail, exining, "Indeed. It is as you say. However...before things have be stable, there is always the chance thatpeting Familias will send their own Expeditions down. Were expecting there to be a few points of troublesome matters to deal with over the next year or so, especially since this entire operation is something new. Though they arent likely to do anything too drastic, its very likely to be a talking point in the future...well, it wont really matter that much since the Loki Familia alone is more than most people can deal with. Once the Alliance and Guild start stationing their forces here, most people should take a step back to avoid the potential bacsh." Seeing Vahns annoyed look, Finn waved away the matter since it was something he would have to deal with as the Captain of the Loki Familia. Though Vahn was very helpful at times, it wasnt an exaggeration to say he was a little brash, often times not understanding theplexities of some issues... Vahn spent another half hour talking with Finn and Gareth, discussing things like supplies and the allocation of forces. Finn had alreadypiled a very detailed list of what they would need tost upwards of two years, which was all ounted for in Vahns storage before the Expedition began. In truth, he was simply purchasing the items from the shop since his own Inventory was more than half filled with various items, primarily ingredients, medicine, and clothing. Finn had obviously tried to sneak in a few things, likely to test a theory of sorts, but Vahn corrected everything before putting it all away in therge storehouse, the most heavily protected area of the entire fortress. Finns expression hadnt broken for a moment when Vahn pointed out the discrepancies but Vahn had noticed his aura flicker slightly as his thumb twitched. After leaving the storehouse, Vahn made his rounds with Fenrir and Asfi, deciding to map the area now instead of putting it off forter. Hephaestus was due any day and there was a chance he would get the call at any moment, potentially even during his scouting of the 39th Floor. Thus, Vahn led the girls to make arge perimeter, mapping out every part of the teau and inspecting the wards he had left on the outskirts. If monsters entered the territory, other than Xenos, the area would light up vibrantly, alerting those manning the outpost. It was an idea Lefiya hade up with when they were discussing the usefulness of wardspared to formations. Though it wasnt effective to the point of being able to alert someone of the exact location of someone else, just having an early warning system was very useful. Fenrir was riding on his shoulders along the way, yfully pawing his head while Asfi walked slightly behind them. She had been even more reserved after the admission during breakfast a few days prior, often keeping to her own room except during meal times. Even when they were walking around like this, she seemed somewhat distracted and Vahn noticed her aura would be stagnant at times. Though he wanted to console her, as part of his nature seemed to be wired towards consoling women, Vahn knew she needed to sort things out for herself. Asfi was obviously a very intelligent and moderately courageous woman, so Vahn expected she would be fine after enough time had passed. If there were truly any problems that she couldnt deal with, Vahn knew she wasnt the prideful type that avoided asking for help so she would certainly... Just as Vahn was having that thought, Asfis feet came to a stop, causing him to nearly release an exasperated sigh as Fenrir hopped off his shoulders. Asfi remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "I have a Magic Item that allows me to contact my allies...it doesnt allow for sending messages, but it does send pings to let us know everything is okay..." Vahn turned to match Asfis eyes, seeing the cyan blue contained within wavering slightly as she said, "Mypanions were supposed to pass off my message in the Upper Floors...but the things Ive been receiving show they have stopped..." Unfortunately, the magic item she made didnt actually show if a person was dead or alive, just an approximate location that updated every few hours. Asfi noticed that their position hadnt changed at all, even after several days had passed, so she began to fear the worst. Vahn could see that Asfi was putting up a strong front and she didnt seem like the type to try and actually entrap people. This was likely an event that had transpired as a result of his karma so it was better to take care of it as soon as possible unless it became a bigger issueter. The problem was, much like his refusal to follow the duo previously, Vahn didnt want to leave the girls behind. Though he did respect their strength, Vahn couldnt help but worry about them during times like this. However, he wouldnt easily forgive himself for potentially abandoning people that didnt actually seem to be bad, given the state of their auras. The Pallum girls had been a soft yellow, intermixed with a bit of blue, while the Chienthropes had been a mellow orange color with a touch of yellow on the edges. This showed, at the very least, they werent the type to bring harm to others... After thinking it over for a short while, Vahn released a sigh and said, "Ill help you track them down, but we need to inform the others first. I cant simply disappear on them and I have a feeling Ill probably be called to the surface soon..." Vahn looked towards the ceiling, staring at the vibrant crystals above that shone like the sun. He suddenly missed the surface a lot more since it felt like things were much simpler than being cooped up in the Dungeon like this. Asfi bowed low in response to Vahns words, saying, "Thank you, Vahn...I am indebted to you." Vahn just shook his head, gesturing for Asfi to follow as they made their way back up the teau. He was starting to feel like debts were horribly inconvenient since it made him feel like he was only helping people for his own benefits. Though it was certainly true, at least on a basic level, Vahn didnt think of it that way so it bothered him hearing yet another person beholden to him. It would be so much easier if people just asked for help and just passed on their gratitude to less-fortunate people that would benefit much more than someone like him... As expected, all of the girls wanted to apany him so Vahn spent the better part of an hour exining why that wasnt a good idea. He couldnt simply take away the strongest force of the Expedition and potentially take them into a trap, which his instincts told him this was. There was also a chance that their enemies would use his absence to stage an assault on the encampment itself, so Vahn asked them to protect everyone in his stead. If it got to the point where he needed their assistance, Vahn promised he would call them to his side with [Pactio]. He could also update them on the situation using telepathy so it was better he travel with just Fenrir and Asfi. Before they allowed him to leave, Vahn had to share an embrace with each girl, generallysting a few minutes. Even Mikoto, who was more reserved than most girls, gave him a very brief kiss and wished him luck, promising to be ready the moment he needed her assistance. Vahn gave the earnest swordswoman a smile, stroking her glossy ck hair affectionately before finally making his way out. He gestured to Fenrir and Asfi, saying to thetter, "Lead the way..." before they all took off towards the east, heading to the same entrance that the two, who Asfi identified as Reid and Tallow, used. Since there werent many other foreign scents in the area, Fenrir easily locked onto the trail, taking the lead while Vahn and Asfi followed close behind her... The 40th Floor was popted with simr monsters to those found within the White Pce, chiefly Loup Garou, Skull Sheep, Obsidian Soldiers, and Peluda. Typically, they would pose a threat to parties since Loup Garous were very fast while Peluda were capable of attack from a distance with powerful poisonous quills. Against Vahn and Fenrir, however, they were hardly able to react before Vahn either ripped them to shreds or Fenrir hadpletely frozen them over. Both had [Shundo] at S-Rank, so it wasnt difficult to close the distance to monsters before they even realized they were under attack. Asfis cloak apparently made it almost impossible for monsters to detect her without looking directly at her, so she just followed behind as they cleared the way. After twenty minutes, the trio ended up at a dead end, causing Vahn to give Asfi a curious look before she stepped forward and pressed several non-descript locations on the wall. Vahn immediately activated his [Eyes of Truth], seeing a corridore into existence that connected to the one adjacent to them. He couldnt help but rub his temples a bit, understanding that he had made a few oversights in the past. Looking towards Asfi, Vahn asked, "How did you know where the secret passages are located?" Asfi looked like she was about to answer but instead widened her eyes asrge cracks appeared in the wall next to them. Arge creature, reminiscent of a Minotaur, broke through the wall and released a loud roar. Unlike its lesser counterparts, this one was more than 5m tall, covering in metallic blue fur with onyx-ck horns and rippling muscles. Vahn turned to look at the intruding variant, which was currently calling reinforcements as its voice cracked the walls, ceiling, and floor of the Dungeon. He had already detected the approaching Monster Party so, unlike Asfi, Vahn remained calm as he asked, "Fenrir, can you lend me some of your magic for a bit?" Since it was more efficient to borrow Fenrirs magic before helping replenish her source energy, Vahn saved himself the effort. Fenrir nodded, putting her paws together before spreading them wide as she said, "Master, give me strength! Come to me, spirits, heed Fenrirs call! Drown, Freeze, I dont care! Go go go~!" Instead of turning to direct her magic at the enemies, which likely would have killed them all, Fenrirpressed it toward her Master who extended his hand, shouting, "Sta. Complexio. Supplementum Pro Armationem!" Since Fenrir was freely offering her magic, it was even easier to seize than Evas sword of darkness from the Phantasmagoria. In less than two seconds, the massive amount of magic power that Fenrir had summoned vanished, leaving Vahn standing with negative light shining from his body. Instead of lightning, his body radiated terrifyingly cold energy that caused wispy tendrils of ice elemental energy to coil around him. There were even crystalline ice spikes sticking out of parts of his body, jutting from his back and shoulders. As the creature, which Asfi had identified as the terrifying variant known as a Baphomet, began its charge, Vahn stepped forward with [Shundo]. His hands moved around, tracing slow arcs through the air that the monsters couldnt seem to react to. Even without touching them directly, the monsters surrounding Vahns body began to rapidly freeze, turning into icy statues as Vahns palms struck the Baphomet. The area his hand contacted turned stark white, dissolving away as an icy shockwave spread through its body and emerged from its back. Apanying this shockwave was a massive ice pir that flowered our, freezing everything behind the Baphomet andpletely sealing off the corridor. Vahn pulled his hands away, marveling at the 5m tall statue of ice before turning to Asfi and asking, "So, how are you able to identify where the secret passages are?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns Brashness,Karma Rears Its Ugly Head,*Casually One-Shots Level 5 Variant*) /user?u=14397149 Remove the first period, or look up Eins Left Foot~! paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 651 - Tracking

Chapter 651 - Tracking

Fenrir continued to lead the way, making quick progress through the rtive safety of the secret passage while Asfi exined, "Though the Dungeon changes itsyout on asion, there are some areas that clearly retain their basic structure. If you take measurements in the area, youll find that the flow of mana within the walls of that area is more stagnant than the rest of the Dungeon. If you can identify the location of such ces, they usually lead to secret areas and passageways..." Asfi was currently answering Vahns questions to the best of her ability, as long as it didnt pertain to the secrets of the Hermes Familia itself. Though the information regarding the passages was an important secret, it wasnt something unique to the Hermes Familia itself and they wouldnt have even learned about it unless the Xenos told them. Since the Hestia Familia actively advocated for the rights of the Xenos, Asfi didnt think Vahn would be the type to spread word regarding the secret passageways... Vahn continued to listen to Asfis exnation while observing the area with his eyes of truth, doing his best to check for any signs of an ambush while also taking note of the flow of mana within the walls. Since the Dungeon was a living construct, it had arge volume of rainbow-like mana flowing through its walls, simr to blood in people. As Asfi mentioned, there were indeed some areas where this flow seemed to pool and stagnate, but Vahn had seen this more as a sign that a Monster Party was nearby so he had avoided such areas. Generally, whenever a monster was about to spawn, there would be an increase in the mana at the point of emergence, creating a very simr effect... After continuing forward for nearly half an hour, slowed by Vahns careful observation of the surroundings, the group came across a second area where the mana stagnated slightly. Understanding this was the entrance to a secret passage, Vahn tapped the wall in the same pattern as Asfi, observing the effect of his contact. Each tap made ripples within the mana which, when ovepped, triggered a chain reaction that connected it to another area of the Dungeon. Vahn found this very interesting, especially since the Dungeon changed its shape rather quickly while beingprised of a hard white bedrock. Once the corridor hadpletely opened, Fenrir frowned and said, "Blood..." in a low voice. Even so, she continued forward undaunted as a subtle blue aura began to rise from her body that provided extra illumination to the low light of the corridor. When Asfi heard Fenrirs words, she couldnt help but frown with a moderate amount of concern showing on her face. Vahn, noticing the chaotic fluctuation of her aura gave her a sidelong nce, calmly stating, "Rx, Asfi...the smell of blood isnt the same as the smell of death..." Though they werent the mostforting words, it was certainly the truth and Fenrir wouldnt have made such a mistake with how sensitive her nose was. Asfi seemed to rx, even if just a little, nodding her head as she said, "We should hurry..." while falling into step with Fenrir. Vahn watched for a short while before following behind, making sure the inspect their surroundings along the way. In this corridor, there werent any connecting paths and it seemed to continue at a steep incline that led to another corridor. There was almost no way to stage an ambush in an area like this, at least not in a conventional method. Other than the fact that the roof was a little high, around 20m, the corridor itself was just a singr path. Vahn suspected that their attacker must have struck from above but it still called into question how they were able to know which path Asfispanions would take. ording to her, they used a variety of different paths to avoid creating identifiable patterns so this was either an example of Enyos forces having the ability to track people or a credit to the misfortune of Reid and Tallow... Shaking his head in mild exasperation, Vahn mused about the machinations of fate and the influence of karma as they reached the area where the attack had taken ce. Though there werent any signs of fighting, there was still a thick aroma of blood in the area that Vahn could pick up in his Bih form. Fenrir stopped at a particr area, pawing the ground with her eyes closed as she said, "Fenrir smells blood, Elixir, three big scents, and several smaller scents..." As her nose twitched about, Fenrir eventually scrunched up her face as she said, "One of the big scents disappears here but the other two continue forward..." Asfi nodded her head, noting that the signaling from their magic items wasnting from this location. If the scent vanished, as Fenrir described it, Asfi hoped it meant the enemy had been killed and absorbed by the Dungeon. Herpanions may have fled after the fact before holing up in an area to recover their wounds. Unfortunately, Vahn stepped forward next to Fenrir, squinting his eyes as he said, "After the bigger scent vanished, the other scents broke up while the other two continued onwards. They must have been robbed of their equipment since using an item to mask their scent trail would have hidden everything, not just their clothing..." Hearing this, Asfi felt a little faint as her thoughts raced to process the information Vahn just revealed. Vahn stood up, noticing Asfis plight and feeling sorry for the young woman, deciding to take charge of the situation since things would be troublesome otherwise. Taking a deep breath to maintain his own calm, Vahn stated, "We can still follow the scent trail of the two, though it doesnt seem like they were injured too severely since thergest aroma of blood is in this area. Its already been more than three days since then so its very likely they have either escaped towards the surface or taken refuge in a safe area. Our other option is to find where their tracking beacons are, though that may require us to walk into a trap set by our enemies..." Though it would be somewhat inconvenient to follow the trail upwards, it didnt make a big difference since Vahn expected to be called to the surface at any moment. There was a chance the two may have sought shelter with the Xenos as well, which would actually be a boon in his favor since one of his personal interests was brokering an agreement with the unique entities. Asfi seemed to realize this as well but remained conflicted, ultimately turned toward him and saying, "We should try to recover the beacons and find out where the scrolls are. Though the odds are slim, it would be beneficial to recover them to prevent future troubles..." Nodding his head, Vahn made a somewhat wry smile as he said, "That is one of the downsides to spying on people and trying to move information secretly. Now that it has fallen into enemy hands, the Hermes Familia has essentiallypromised the integrity of Lil Geirr. I find it difficult to believe the Alliance, particrly Loki, will be pleased to find out the information about her fortress is now known to our enemies..." Vahns own expression became firm as he spoke, realizing how inconvenient things had be because of Hermes machinations. Since the members of his Familia seem like good people, simply following orders, Vahn knew it fell on the whimsical gods shoulders for orchestrating things in this fashion. Asfis expression didnt change much, but her aura began to flicker almost pitifully when she realized the implication behind Vahns words. It was very possible that, unless they agreed to very heavy reparations, the Hermes Familia would be removed from the Alliance in the future. Gods could hold vendettas for millennia as well, meaning they would lose their ce in what is inarguably the most powerful and influential organization in the Continent. Given the growth rate of everyone in the Hearth Manor, it was guaranteed the Alliance wouldnt simply increase in power, but expand their authority as well. Regardless of how things yed out, it wasnt looking good for her Familia unless they managed to somehow recover the scrolls, hoping that the enemy hadnt already made copies... Seeing Asfis state, Vahn shook his head slightly before turning to Fenrir and saying, "Fenrir, well follow the trail of the two for the time being. Asfi, let me know if we start moving away from the beacons and well try and recover them, if at all possible. Theyout of the Dungeon is veryplex, so I dont have much hope wed be able to find a direct path to them unless you have a magic item that allows you to make and track them...?" Asfi shook her head very slowly, releasing a small sigh before saying, "Im more worried about the status of mypanions right now, as its unlikely their attackers were dumb enough not to separate the scrolls from the other equipment. The Hermes Familia will do its best to make up for this grievous mistake in the future..." Vahn could tell that Asfi was trying to smooth things over a bit but he wasnt going to advocate in her favor once they actually returned to the surface. Though he would make sure the individual members werent punished too harshly, Vahn had no reason to prevent Loki fromshing out at Hermes. Hopefully, for them at least, she would be in a somewhat forgiving mood after giving birth to their daughter, though Vahn doubted it. If anything, Loki would probably be even angrier once she found out how severely Hermes hadpromised the safety of the children in her Familia while simultaneously undermining the efforts of the Alliance itself. --- For the better part of nine hours, Fenrir followed the scents of the two, getting progressively closer towards the surface while following winding secret paths all throughout the Dungeon. They confirmed a long time ago that the beacons were definitely holding position deeper in the Dungeon so it was very likely that they had either been discarded or stashed away. Since the scent of the attacker had somehow vanished, it would be impossible to follow a path leading to the beacons so they instead continued upwards until reaching the 34th Floor. It was a little strange moving through the Dungeon without encountering any enemies, but it made sense why the duo would take such a roundabout path since it was very likely they had been robbed of their equipment. Asfi started to be more hesitant as they continued forward, drawing Vahns attention as he asked, "Is there something we need to be aware of, Asfi? If you think this is the time to keep secrets, while were on a rescue mission to save yourpanions, I would be very disappointed..." Hearing Vahns words, Asfi frowned slightly before a look of deep contemtion appeared on her face. The group slowly came to a halt until Asfi eventually turned her eyes up and said, "Ive been in this area before...Reid and Tallow wouldnt havee this way if they were trying to make their way to safety in the shortest amount of time. Unless...ahh..." Suddenly realizing what must be going on, Asfi rxed a little as she said, "They must have been looking for food and water before making their way further up. There is a small orchard with ake nearby, but its typically off limits..." They hadnt really talked about the Xenos yet, but Vahn understood what Asfi was trying to say almost immediately. He already knew the Hermes Familia was involved with the Xenos and it was likely they had several agreements between each other to maintain cooperation. After all,promising potential food sources, which could be very sparse within the Dungeon, would be a very quick way to break down peaceful rtions. The Xenos would undoubtedlyy me on the people they trusted if anything were to happen so they either made the areas off-limits or strictly guarded them. It was likely that Reid and Tallow had entered the area, not only to get food and water, but to draw the attention of the Xenos and potentially gain their assistance... Fenrir continued to lead the way, following a few twists and turns until they finally reached a muchrger room that actually had small crystals growing from the ceiling, just like a safety area. These crystals emted sunlight so there was a healthy amount of vegetation in the area with a few sparsely popted fruit trees and berry bushes. As Asfi had stated, there was also a smallke, though Vahn would have called it a pond, at the very center of the room. It was a rather scenic location, drastically different from other areas of the Dungeon and very reminiscent of the area where he had first met Terra, back when she was still a Green Dragon. Since the room was small than the reach of his domain, which now sat at 621m, Vahn quickly noticed two life signs within his perception, including one that was on the verge of failing. In an instant, Vahn became much more serious as he said, "We need to move, quickly!" as he picked up the startled Asfi. Using [Shundo[, Vahn moved to the area of the clearing in an instant with Fenrir easily keeping pace with them. Vahn eyes snapped to the location of the two, hidden in an area where there was plenty of natural concealment. One of the auras became very chaotic for a brief moment before practically exploding with vibrant colors, likely after seeing Asfi. Tallow leaped out of the cover of the brush, almostpletely n.a.k.e.d except for the variousrge leaves that had been woven together as make-shift clothing. Though she struck Vahn as the confident and willful type, Tallow currently had puffy red eyes with deep ck circles around, tell-tale signs that she had been crying a lot recently. She ran over to Asfi, who reached down to hug the small Pallum girl who barely made out the words, "Reid...he is dying...Asfi, please, hurry!" Vahn had already arrived next to the man while their little reunion was going on, finding himying on his side in what was known as a recovery position with arge, festering, wound on his back. It was obvious that Tallow tried to provide herbal treatment and first aid, but his injury was simply too severe to be treated by basic means. Asfi arrived momentster, holding several Elixirs in her hands before bing pale when she noticed the state of Reids back. Elixirs could heal most wounds, even those caused by acidic burns and decaying magic, but there wasnt much they could gangrenous tissue that had started to rot naturally. Even so, she tried to uncork the Elixirs with shaking hands until Vahn shook his head, nearly causing Tallow to have a breakdown until he said, "Dont worry, I can help him..." Not only did he have [Hands of Nirvana] at the level of Mastery, but Vahn could make use of healing magic to regenerate damaged tissue without wasting Elixirs. Vahn ced his hand near Reids heart, infusing a warm and soothing energy into the mans chest to help stabilize him before using his right hand to begin removing some of the decayed flesh. It smelled terrible, causing Fenrir to actually cover her mouth and nose, but Vahn ignored it. Asfi consoled Tallow at the side, calming the small Pallum as they both watched him work. Though she might have stopped anyone else that tried to operate on herpanion, Tallow knew Vahns reputation as a miracle doctor and Asfi had quickly reminded her of that fact. Judging by how skilled and practiced his movements were, it was easy to see he knew what he was doing, even though it was very disconcerting to watch the actual procedure. After removing the decayed flesh, leaving a gaping hole in Reids back that was full of puss and blood, Vahn cast [Cura] on the wound while simultaneously bolstering the natural recovery of Reids body with his [Hands of Nirvana]. The missing flesh began to grow back at a visible rate, almost as if time itself was reversing and the damage was being undone. After a few minutes had passed, there was arge and tender area that quickly started to scab over, leaving a huge blotch on Reids back before it eventually fell off a few secondster, revealing an area that was much paler than the rest of his tanned body, but otherwisepletely recovered. Vahn wiped the sweat from his brow before taking out one of his own Elixirs and pouring it down Reids throat. Though he healed most of the internal injuries, an Elixir could serve as a powerful stimnt and food supplement. He likely hadnt eaten anything over the course of thest three days and had been fighting a fever before Vahn helped cool his body. Unfortunately, that fever had done a number on the man and, though Vahn was able to undo most of the damage, it was more than a little likely he would have trouble with his memories in the future. Releasing a sigh of relief, Vahn turned to Tallow and Asfi, frowning for a brief moment before pulling out one of his spare tunics for the girl to wear. Seeing a 114cm tall crying girl covered in leaves was a little disconcerting and one of his tunics would functionally serve as a dress for her. For a brief moment, the girl seemed to be confused before absentmindedly epting the tunic and muttering a quiet, "Thank you..." before retreating into an area of cover to change. Vahn pulled a few extra garments, handing them over to Asfi as he answered the question likely on her mind, "Hell be fine, though his memory will probably be shot for a while. He shouldnt have trouble forming new memories, but he may have trouble recalling some events of the past. Make sure he has plenty of time to recover and hell be back to normal in a few months..." Asfi took a deep breath before bowing low, much lower than someone of her status should have, saying, "Thank you, Vahn...you have done a gre-" Before she could continue, Vahn tapped her shoulder, saying, "Asfi, take those clothes and look after Tallow. Gratitude is important, but there is a time and a ce for everything. If you really feel thankful, then make better decisions and take care of yourpanions. Help other people, do good deeds, or simply keep your gratitude close to heart while thinking of methods to repay the kindness of others. Words can be impactful, but they are meaningless in certain situations...actions are far more important." Vahn was of the mind that helping people was something that should be expected, not something that people should be surprised to receive. It was somewhat annoying seeing people thanking him so much when it would be better for everyone involved if they just remembered their gratitude. He would never understand how some people just expressed their gratitude with words, seemingly putting the matter behind them after the fact unless it was beneficial for themter on. Many of his problems actually stemmed from epting gratitude directly, causing him to get wrapped up in the lives of other people to the point that he was now surrounded by women. Though he didnt regret it for even one instant, Vahn knew he had erred more than a little in his past actions... Asfi hadnt quite expected Vahns words and nearly tripped when he gently urged her towards the direction Tallow had gone to change. She gave him aplex look but couldnt muster up any words to say after seeing his simultaneously calm and firm expression. Then, even more unexpectedly, Vahn simply turned his attention away from her and started looking over Reids body once again. Asfi felt very awkward because she didnt really understand Vahns character at all...he was just so differentpared to anyone else, both in her home Kingdom and Orario. Deciding it was best to simply do as he said, Asfi turned away and headed towards Tallow before noticing what she was carrying. It seemed like a pair of ck spats and form-fitting stic bra that was suitable for Pallums. There was even a pair of light pink panties that were of very high quality, radiating a small amount of mana... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Hermes-san,Get your shitty Elixirs out of here (UwU)...!,Pay it Forward, Asfi-baka!) (A/N: For those confused about Vahns thought process regarding gratitude. Its pretty simple, really, and can be summarized like this. You see, even if people are really thankful for something, it often bes the case that they use that gratitude as a means of approaching people that they typically have no real reason of associating with. It isnt that umon for people that receive assistance to take advantage of the person that helped them, often even expecting help just because they received help in the past. This is even more prevalent in situations where the person that gave aid was someone of a more prominent position or possessing of great wealth. You can see this happening with most of the girls at the Clubhouse, who see Vahns support as a means to get close to him and receive greater benefits in the future...) /user?u=14397149 Remove the first period, or look up Eins Left Foot~! paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 652 - Questions

Chapter 652 - Questions

Vahn continued to inspect Reid, contemting waking the man up since it was unlikely for the situation to have been resolved so easily. There was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind telling him things were only going to escte. Not only did they need to make some changes to the structure of Lil Geirr, but Vahn needed toe up with some extra defensive measures before his return to the surface. Now that Enyos forces had a basicyout of thepound, it wasnt impossible for them toe up with measures of their own to breach the defenses. If he were them, Vahn would use the moment when the Expedition was rotating personnel to strike... Realizing just how messed up this situation had be due to Hermes meddling, Vahn released a long sigh because he was also to me. He knew Asfi would be spying on them but allowed it to happen because Vahn originally thought she wouldnt be passing it over until they returned to the surface. Though Hermes was certainly the type to make use of any information he had gained, it was unlikely he would share therger details since it would cause too many unnecessary troubles. By letting Loki know what was going on, they would have probablye to apromise of sorts that would have benefitted the entire Alliance. Now, because he allowed Reid and Tallow to take the scrolls without an escort, things had be very...troublesome. Enyos forces, as they were the most likely culprits, now had the scrolls and any other information that may have been provided to them by Reid and Tallow. For them to escape with their lives like this, Vahn knew they had to have made some form of agreement. He needed to get a better understanding of the situation, return and inform Finn of what was going on, and then- Mid-thought, Vahn sensed a presence break into the area of his domain at nearly 1700m/s, giving him, surprisingly, plenty of time to react as he leaped towards the burred figure to intercept. For a brief moment, it was almost as though time had stopped as Vahn made eye contact with the red-haired woman who had been aiming towards where Asfi and Tallow were located. She was wearing lightly-colored, highly worn, light armor that was a mix between tans and whites. ck gloves and boots lined her arms and legs, extending all the way to her elbows and knees. The most eye-catching thing, of course, was therge two-handed sword that she began swinging towards him... Vahn immediately transitioned into his Xunw form, receiving the blow with his forearm while striking forward with his right palm, aiming toward her gut. Though it felt like his bones creaked under the pressure of the de, Vahn bore the brunt while the red-haired woman was sent flying back more than ten meters before immediately flipping back to her feet. For several seconds, they just stared at each other in abat stance while Fenrir crouched nearby, prepared to either attack or defend at a moments notice. The woman continued to hold her sword up, maintaining eye contact with her eerie green eyes that had snake-like slits in ce of normal pupils. She had a cold and emotionless expression on her face and her aura was surprisingly mellow blue, intermixed with a murky grey and orange. Vahn was somewhat bothered by the peculiar structure of her aura but that wasnt important right now as he asked, "So, did you already turn the scrolls over to your Master? What is your purpose in creating problems for myself and the Alliance? Are you my enemy...?" The woman furrowed her brows slightly, continuing to hold her sword up as she said, "Youre very strong, Vahn Mason, but youre not in a position to be questioning me. What I did with the scrolls is my business...as for why Im here, its to capture you and, if they get in my way, kill those that try to get in my way." Vahn nodded his head, slowly blinking his eyes as he said, "Very well then...?" Understanding his question, the woman smirked as she said, "Revis..." while holding her sword in a two-handed stance. Seeing this, Vahn shook his head slightly before activating his [Vis Maxima] and saying, "Revis, I can tell youre around Level 5...not that it would have helped if you were even stronger..." The moment Vahns words fell, he moved forward while Revis jumped back as quickly as she could, swinging her sword across to intercept Vahns much faster momentum. Vahn didnt even make an effort to block the sword, which caused Revis to hesitate somewhat as she tried to turn her de and smack him with the t of the sword. With [Vis Maxima] active, Vahn had a powerful anti-physical barrier around his body so Revis sword struck almost powerlessly against his aura since she had reduced her Power output at thest moment. As for Vahn, he continued to strike forward at a speed much faster than Revis should have been able to react. The fact that she twisted her body slightly showed that her instincts must have been very developed, not that it allowed her to actually evade his attack. Vahn simply changed the vector of his attack slightly, releasing an open-palmed strike against Revis diaphragm. A slow-motion shockwave resonated through her body before her Endurance could no longer divert the force, causing her skin to indent as it ruptured slightly while her body was knocked back with enough force to shatter several trees before she crashed into the ground and continued rolling for several meters. Vahn appeared next to the downed Revis, using his hand to ept the tip of her de as she tried to impale him, allowing it to pass through his palm as he diverted the course. At the same time, Vahn reached down and grabbed her wrist, tightening his grip on her surprisingly durable bones. In an instant, he pressed into a pressure point in her wrist, causing her grip on the sword to loosen as he flung it to the side, twisting his h.i.p.s in the process and mming Revis body into the nearby Dungeon wall. Spiderweb fractures appeared as Revis tried to recover but Vahn had already stepped forward with [Shundo] and struck her in the abdomen once again. The fractures increased, spreading out for nearly 30m at parts of the Dungeon ceiling began to copse from the force. Noticing how little damage he had actually done, Vahn looked into Revis eyes and said, "Youre very durable..." Revis response was to spit out a mouthful of blood, aiming for his eyes as she tried to lurch forward and grab his throat with both hands, even though her right was still numb and seemingly powerless. Unfortunately for her, the blood collided with his aura and just dissipated as Vahn reached up and grabbed both of her wrists this time, diverting her momentum downward as he brought up his knee, impacting her chin and causing her head to tilt back almost to the point that her body had contorted into a circle. This was enough topletely rattle her brain, causing Revis to pass out instantly as she copsed towards the ground, held up only by Vahn holding her wrists. Vahn was honestly amazed because, even after striking her body and kneeing her in the jaw, most of her muscles hadnt torn and there were only a few hairline fractures in her bones. She was far more durable than a normal person, perhaps as a result of an inordinately high Endurance parameter, some unknown racial trait, or even a defensive Innate. It was also very obvious that her Power was abnormal as, even though his strength had been bolstered by nearly 20x, she could almost directly contest against him. Fenrir appeared at his side in an instant, looking down at Revis figure with contempt as she asked, "Master, what are you going to do with this girl? She smells of blood and death..." Vahn nodded, understanding that Revis had likely killed several people, perhaps even in the hundreds. However, the fact that her aura wasntpletely corrupt bothered Vahn a little so he wanted to extract information from her and try to recover the scrolls. Someone else seemed to have a very different opinion, however, as Tallow ran forward with a pristine white dagger as she screamed, tears in her eyes as she tried to stab Revis. Vahn reached out, grabbing the de directly as it tore through his palm, sending the distraught Pallum a firm look as he said, "I understand you have been wronged grievously, but her life isnt yours to im..." Tallow had already changed into his tunic, which gave her the appearance of a child wearing their fathers clothing. It was several sizes toorge and even fell off her shoulder slightly as a result of her exertions. She gave him an almost pleading look, mixed with an indignant re as she muttered, "This bitch...this...thing..." before falling to her knees when she saw the blood staining the pristine white de. Asfi stepped forward, supporting Tallows body as the Pallum passed out from the mental strain she had experienced. It was very obvious that she had probably been awake for thest three days, tirelessly working to save herpanion who had been on the brink of death. Revis was the source of her suffering so it made sense why she would want vengeance. When people suffered greatly, they often sought to cause harm in order to regain the power that had been deprived from them by the original perpetrator. For a Pallum, who had likely experienced a very difficult life, Tallow was even more impacted and had suffered a small mental breakdown after being denied the opportunity at vengeance... Vahn felt pity for Tallow, as it was never easy seeing what looked like a small girl suffer to such an extent. One of his goals within the record of Danmachi was to change the perception of Pallums in the world, breaking down the institutions that caused so much suffering for the rather diminutive people. Though very certainly had a ce in the current societal structure, the way Pallums were enved was very obviously wrong. ording to what he had learned from Finn, there was even such a thing as a Pallum Farm where they were selectively bred for specific purposes, none escaping the fate of very. Criminal ves were one thing, but Vahn couldnt tolerate a societal structure that bred people to be ves out of convenience... Using [Enkidu], Vahn bound up Revis nice and tight, marveling how quickly her body started to regenerate, even though it seemed to consume her power. She was bing progressively weaker as the energy in her body slowly repaired the damaged tissues. By the time ten minutes had passed, she hadpletely recovered and was currently pretending to be unconscious while trying to loosen the immovable chains on her body. Vahn was sitting on the ground in front of her, watching her actions with a in expression on his face until she finally seemed to realize it was impossible to escape. Revis released an exasperated sigh, opening her eerie green eyes with a bored expression on her face as she said, "You should just kill me and be done with it. Even if you want to pry information out of me, I cant disclose anything as my soul is bound by an unbreakable vow. Dont think you can just take me as a prisoner either, as Ill die if you take me out of the Dungeon..." Vahn raised his brow slightly, remarking, "It seems like there is plenty of information you can provide for me, Revis..." Hearing his words, Revis almost scowled as she said, "Damnit...if I get out of this Im going to wring that piece of shits neck..." Vahn was surprised by the fact that Revis was so talkative about things, even though she seemed like the hard-headed and resilient type. She must not be very satisfied with her current life to be acting in such a manner, not that it was really that important right now. With a serious expression on his face, Vahn asked, "Did you already turn over the scrolls to your allies, or did you stow them away? You said you were supposed to capture me, but why? Also, what exactly are you since you dont seem to be a Xenos, nor one of the races found on the surface...? Are you a race that is born in the Dungeon, or were you created by something else? Also, that liquid...do you know how its made?" Revis had a bored expression on her face up until Vahn mentioned the essence that he had stolen from her in the past. Her expression immediately turned into a scowl as she said, "You have a lot of gall, kid, stealing my bath water. Seriously, you have no idea how f.u.c.k.i.n.g inconvenient it is...!" Though Vahn used it as a catalyst for various things, Revis had used the essence as a means of soothing her bodys aches and allowing her chaotic energy to stabilize. Now that he had taken it from her, she was required to ingest arge number of monster cores and her body was constantly aching as a result of the conflicting energies contained within the cores. Vahn produced a wry smile, feeling somewhat apologetic as he said, "Sorry about that. There was a lot going on at that time and you were an unknown element that seemed to be a lurking threat. Given how things turned out, it doesnt seem like my decision was incorrect...after all, it is very clear that you are on the side of my enemies. Now, answer my earlier questions since there is no real benefit in being obstinant. There isnt going to be anyoneing to save you and, even if they tried, do you think they would have any sess?" Revis gnashed her teeth for a few seconds before her expression broke, quickly transitioning back into a bored look with a slight grimace on her face. For several long seconds, Revis remained silent like she was going to continue being obstinant on the matter. Just as his patience was beginning to wear thin, however, she looked back up and said, "I dont remember your questions. All I know is that my Master wants to capture you, not the reason why. As for what I am, you can just call me a Creature, since thats how that asshole refers to us. I cant tell you any of the specifics other than the fact that I used to be human, not that I can remember much from my previous life...also, that water was something given to me in order to cope with the unique qualities of my body. I dont know how its made, so youd have to ask the asshole where it came from..." Vahn was surprised that Revis was actually answering his questions since she hadnt even tried topromise with him for the terms of her release. His surprise was answered shortly after, however, when Revis said, "Now, unless you have any more stupid questions, lets get this over with. Maybe this time Ill stay dead instead of having to put up with all this stupid shit..." These words brought Vahns attention back to the fact she imed to have been a Human, turned into a Creature, apparently against her will. She didnt seem to enjoy her life so there was likely a means by which Enyo was able to exercise control over the people she resurrected as Creatures. Mulling over his thoughts for a while, Vahn asked, "What can you tell me about Creatures in general? Why cant you leave the Dungeon if you used to be human? Also, how many people are in your group and what is the purpose behind your actions? Most importantly, you never answered my question about the scrolls..." Revis scoffed, doing her best tozilyy to the side but finding the chains binding her bodypletely prevented the action. With an annoyed look on her face, she said, "This is bing troublesome. If youre not going to kill me, just loosen up these damn chains and let me go." Revis appeared to put in one final effort to break the chains before giving a frustrated re in his direction, clearly annoyed by how things were going. Vahn turned his attention to Fenrir for a brief moment, earning a small nod from her before smiling at Revis, saying, "Answer my question about the scrolls and I will loosen the chains. Even so, Im not going to just let you walk away so easily and I expect you to answer my other questions when I free you. I need more information and, considering everything youve done, its the least you can do to start making amends. Since it seems like youre being forced to do things against your will, I may even be able to help you..." Revis gave Vahn a look, almost as if she just heard the dumbest thing in the entire world. Deciding it as best to at least get these chains off of her, however, Revis eventually nodded her head and said, "I stashed them away without showing them to anyone else. Now get these f.u.c.k.i.n.g chains off of me..." For several seconds, Vahn just stared into Revis eyes before eventually loosening up [Enkidu] without dissipating the chains themselves. They dr.a.p.ed off of Revis body, causing her to shrug them off until they were situated around her. She rolled her shoulders and began stretching her body, causing loud cracking sounds from her joints. When she was done, Revis sat down with her legs crossed, straining the too-small white fabric that covered the rather thin ck panties hugging her waist. Revis noticed his gaze, muttering, "F.u.c.k.i.n.g pervert..." under her breath while making no attempt to actually sit in a more appropriate fashion. Vahn c.o.c.ked a single brow, asking, "You really think Im the pervert when youre wearing revealing clothes and proactively sitting in a way that draws attention to the area? Your panties are essentially just a string, which is highly abnormal, so it is even more likely to draw attention..." Revis furrowed her brows, saying inly, "You try getting clothes when you cant even leave the Dungeon. Other than looting the bodies of dead Adventurers, Im stuck with what I got, okay? As for how I sit, that shouldnt matter at all unless youre the type that cant control their own f.u.c.k.i.n.g eyes." Hearing Revis reproachful words, Vahn released a sigh while rubbing his temples and saying, "Now, answer my questions, including why you targetted the Hermes Familia..." As he was speaking, Revis lurched forward slightly since he had seemingly lowered his guard. At a much faster rate than she was moving, however, Fenrir moved forward and sunk her ws into Revis shoulders while forcing the red-haired Creature into the ground. Revis cursed, "F.u.c.k.i.n.g, f.u.c.k! That hurts!" while trying to dislodge Fenrir. Unfortunately, the only thing she got for her troubles were some rather seriouscerations and arge amount of ice elemental energy infused into her body. Vahn gestured to Fenrir, causing her to move away from Revis with her blood-stained paws, ring at the shivering and severely injured woman on the ground. Since Fenrirs attacks also used source energy as a basis, even though it wasnt nearly as pure since she also used elemental energy from the atmosphere, it made Revis regeneration much slower. For several long minutes, she justy on the ground as the wound on her back and shoulders slowly closed up. Vahn noticed her aura drop to the levels where she was a strong Level 4, much lower than her Level 5 aura from earlier. He suspected she was simr to Fenrir in that she needed to consumerge amounts of energy to bolster her internal reserves... Revis slowly raised her body, sending a re towards Fenrir who returned it with her own scarlet-eyed scowl. Vahn tilted his head slightly, remarking, "Even if Fenrir didnt step in, you didnt honestly expect to get an advantage against me, right? I can tell that youre getting progressively weaker the more damage you take, so what makes you think you could win now when you werent able to win previously? Just answer my questions, Revis...Im starting to get tired of this." Revis red at Vahn now, practically spitting the words, "This is so f.u.c.k.i.n.g annoying...dammit!" Vahn just continued to stare silently at Revis, waiting for her to make a decision until she finally sat back down, spreading her legs even further this time. At this point, it was obvious she had done it to try and distract him earlier and it made Vahn more than a little annoyed that she was trying the same thing. He released a small sigh, maintaining eye contact with Revis as she clicked her tongue and asked, "Fine, what did you ask again?" Vahn resisted the urge to face-palm, repeating, "I asked about what Creatures are, how many there are, why you cant leave the Dungeon, what the purpose of your group is, and why you targetted the Hermes Familia. Answer these questions and then well move on to something else..." Revis squinted her eyes, casting another nce at Fenrir for a brief moment before saying, "Creatures are people that have been infused with a monster core in the verge of death. Dont ask me how the f.u.c.k they manage to pull it off. I dont talk with most of the other members, but there are a few of them, including that useless prick..." Revis scowled at this point, almost like she wanted to say something but decided against it before continuing, "Creatures are tied to the Dungeon itself, even more than monsters, so we cant survive for long if we leave. As for the purpose of our group, how the f.u.c.k would I know what that crazy bitch is thinking? Im just a tool that does what its told, even if its bothersome and a waste of f.u.c.k.i.n.g time..." At this point, Revis looked over toward Asfi, who was sitting at the side of the sleeping Tallow and Reid, both having beenid atop cushions that Vahn had provided. Revis furrowed her brows slightly, saying, "I didnt target those weaklings...until I heard that mutt mention your name and talk about some report. Since he was ying around with a scroll in his hands, I figured that was probably the report in question so I decided to take a look at it for myself. Because that brat was so cooperative, I decided to let them go with a light punishment since brats shouldnt be ying around in the Dungeon. The only reason Im even here right now is that I was told you were tracking them down and decided to finally haul your ass away...didnt really work out in my favor, as you can see..." Vahn released a sigh, looking over to the frowning Asfi as he said, "So, they essentially got attacked because Reid couldnt keep his mouth shut...this is so dumb." He knew it was the machinations of fate at work, but Vahn couldnt help but feel this entire situation was just...profoundly stupid. If not for the fact that Reid and Tallow seemed like decent people, they likely would have been killed outright. Since fate wasnt something that simply punished people indiscriminately, at least if it was part ofrger events, they had only survived by happenstance and the fact that he was strong enough to ovee the situation. Vahn couldnt help but feel like it really was...just stupid. Turning his attention back to Revis, Vahn noticed that her aura didnt reflect evil intentions, meaning she was just following orders. If he could see her soul, it would probably be covered in all kinds of vows and restrictions, likely forced on her during the time she was converted into a Creature. In many ways, she was just another victim of this stupid situation and may have been a good and righteous person when she was still human. The fact that she spared people since it wasnt necessary to kill them showed that she wasnt beyond repentance... Shaking his head, Vahn asked inly, "So, why did you force them to strip down...if you were letting them go, you could have at least let Tallow heal her allys wounds..." Revis furrowed her brows with a scowl on her face, saying, "Those brats treat the Dungeon like a ce where they can just walk aroundckadaisically while other people have to struggle every day just to survive. I wanted them to have to struggle a bit on their own so they wouldnt treat this ce like a yground where they can just walk around without a care in the world...also, that stupid brat only had one Elixir on her, damn idiot..." Vahn gave Revis an incredulous look, causing her to re back at him and shout, "What the f.u.c.k are you looking at!? Is there something else you want to ask because Im seriously starting to get pissed off!" For a very brief moment, Vahn felt like Revis ovepped with his image of Eva, someone thatshed out at other people because they couldnt deal with their own thoughts and emotions. Revis was clearly not an evil person, at least in the sense that she took pleasure in her acts of cruelty. Instead, it was like most of her emotions were restrained, potentially even against her will, while her memories were also suppressed...even still, she didnt lose herselfpletely and showed a small amount of remorse for her actions, though her words contradicted that fact... Staring down at the ring woman, Vahn frowned slightly before asking in a low tone, "Do you want me to free you...?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sheer Difference in Capabilities,Negotiations,Tsundere...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 653 - Endless Frustrations

Chapter 653 - Endless Frustrations

Revis stared nkly at Vahn for several seconds as her frown continued to be progressively deeper. Through clenched teeth, she asked, "What do you mean save...? What makes you think I need your f.u.c.k.i.n.g help, you brat...?" Though her words were harsh, Vahn didnt miss the subtle change in Revis eyes, filled with a great deal of indignation and, as brief as it may have been, a modic.u.m of hope. Realizing that she may not even be able to seek help, Vahn decided to take matters into his own hand, rising to his feet as Revis leaped back in an instant. Her eyes darted around, but Fenrir had already appeared a few meters behind her, clearing showing escape wasnt an option. Clicking her tongue, Revis asked, "What else did you want to ask? Or are you telling me youre going to kill me after all this bullshit?" Vahn didnt directly answer Revis question because he was too busy trying toprehend the structure of her body, chiefly how the monster core in her chest sustained her. Revis body, though human at one point, was no anything but. The structure of her muscles, the density of her bones, even theyout of her nerves, were allpletely different from a humans. It wasnt that they were in the wrong ces, but more so that there was an extrayer that seemed to have grown from the core in her chest. Just as a monsters body was formed by a magic core, it seemed Enyo hade up with a method to ce a magic core in a persons body, causing an integration between the persons cells and those of a monster. If he removed the core, Vahn had no doubt that all the extra bits would be removed, leaving behind Revis original form. The amount of damage she would sustain would be catastrophic, however, resulting in her immediate death since the core even influenced her brain and heart directly... Since letting her go meant she would continue to be a pawn of Enyo, likely targeting them in the future or even killing other people, Vahn decided to gamble. Revis seemed to have detected this change as she immediately tried to flee while releasing a strange frequency that made Fenrirs ears twitch as a grimace appeared on her face. Vahn squinted his eyes slightly, sending her a mentalmand to standby before immediately appearing in Revis path of retreat. She scowled, shouting, "That technique isplete bullshit!" while trying to grab at his neck once again. Now that she was only around the peak of Level 4, she was much slower than earlier so Vahn grabbed her wrists once again. Revis brought both of her feet up, trying to kick into his chest and break free but Vahn just transformed into Xunw form, negating the impact as [Enkidu] burst into existence, coiling around Revis body. She shouted, "You mother f.u.c.k.i.n.g piece of shit! These damn chains again!? F.u.c.k.i.n.g perverted BDSM shitbag!" Vahns brow twitched, feeling a strong urge to gag Revis so he pulled out a muzzle-type gag and put it on her, earning an icy green re from her in the process. This left her stuck in the air, bound by [Enkidu],pletely immobile with a gag in her mouth. Vahn released a sigh, looking toward Asfi for a brief moment before gesturing towards Fenrir. Even before he asked, Fenrir said, "Fenrir could hear it, like a voice in her head trying to tell her what to do. If Master didnt stop Fenrir, she would have killed this stupid woman..." The reason Vahn had ordered Fenrir to stop was that he had seen the very real intent to kill in her eyes. Now that he knew the reason, Vahn gave Revis a curious look, asking, "You have the ability tomunicate with and control those that descend from monsters? Or does it work on Xenos and people as well?" Revis couldnt exactly answer, but Vahn could tell from the look in her eyes that it probably wasnt strong enough to influence creatures with higher degrees of intelligence. He suspected it was the result of an Innate, but that would have to be verified at ater date, assuming everything went well. Collecting his thoughts, Vahn stared directly into Revis eyes and asked a very important question, "Your group obviously has some way of tracking and observing people within the Dungeon. Tell me, can they see us in this room or are safe areas an exception...?" Though her re persisted, Vahn saw a confused light in Revis eyes, as if saying she wasnt sure about the answer. Vahn suspected there were a number of Creatures serving Enyo, but there should be someone else procuring information for her. The fact that Revis had attacked Reid and Tallow showed that their ability to gather information wasnt as extensive as it seemed, even though they certainly had the means to locate people... Turning to Asfi, Vahn said, "Im going to erect a soundproof barrier and wall. Do not try to probe into it..." Though he didnt find them solely ountable, Vahns patience regarding this situation was wearing a little thin and he no longer wanted to show off his feats at present. Asfi immediately nodded her head but, before she could say anything to vocalize her assent, Vahn had already created the barrier while Fenrir created a wall of ice surrounding them. For a few seconds after that, Asfi stood on the spot with her lips slightly parted before closing them, hanging her head, and contemting how to rectify their many mistakes... Once they had a bit of privacy, Vahn walked forward, closely inspecting Revis as she tried to jerk her head and break his nose. Vahn just swayed to the side, avoiding the abrupt attempt at a sneak attack while observing the structure of Reviss body. After identifying how the nerves were connecting, Vahn reached out, causing Revis to try and thrash as he pressed into a few points around the nape of her neck, infusing energy to paralyze her nervous system. A few seconds after he started, Revis head hung loosely and she quickly lost control over her body, widening her eyes in shock and unbridled fury. Vahn kept his calm, exining, "Im going to try and help you, even if you dont want me to. Since you were forced into this life, Ill give you a chance to change your fate and try to be a better person. What you do after this is entirely up to you, but if you end up harming people again I will be forced to take action to put you down..." Revis couldnt exactly nod so she just grunted, exhaling angrily through her nose since there wasnt any other action she could take. Vahn loosened up the chains of [Enkidu], slowly lowering Revis body to the ground before rolling her over so she was facing upwards. There was a tan cloth that wrapped around her chest, supported by four stic bands attached to a circr loop. Vahn grabbed the bands from around her neck, pulling them over her head so that he could pull down the cloth covering her chest. Revis cold eyes filled to the brim with hatred as her aura red up with fiery reds and a small amount of purple. Ignoring her fury, Vahn stared at the area between her two pale white b.r.e.a.s.ts, eyeing the monster core that was only a few centimeters away from her heart. Revis may have thought he was ogling her while she was in a defenseless state, but Vahn was actually trying to make sense of how the magic core altered her body. He didnt want to remove it too soon since the trauma her body would experience may very well overwhelm his ability to heal. It was possible to potentially drain the core of its energy, but Vahn didnt know what kinds of negative influences that might have on her. Slowly, Revis aura began to mellow out as she realized Vahn wasnt actually doing anything to her after several minutes had passed. He had a very serious look of contemtion on his face and she could see his eyes were glimmering with a blue light. She had thought he was about to shame her but that didnt seem to be his intent, at least not for the moment. Deciding it was too troublesome to worry about him, Revis closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep. Today had been a very stressful day and, if she got out of this alive, she swore to wring Olivias neck and bash Eins face in. If thetter hadnt continued pestering her to try and capture Vahn, she wouldnt have ended up in this situation at all... Suddenly, a loud smacking sound reached Revis ears, causing her to open up and stare at Vahn in confusion. He had smacked himself hard enough to leave a small red mark on his forehead, though it faded away almost instantly. Noticing she was looking at him, Vahn produced a wry smile before pulling out a small figurine that looked vaguely humanoid. Vahn typically couldnt gift away items to people he didnt have a positive rtionship with, but Sis had just told him he could use the [Effigy of the Hero] on Revis since she was essentially forced to have a negative view of him beyond her own control. The fact that her Affection was actually 39, only a few points shy of the base 50, meant that she didnt view him in that much of a negative light, even under the influence of Enyos restrictions. Revis default nature must have been a rtively amicable person for part of her character to shine through like this so Vahn hoped things worked out the way he expected... Vahn ced the [Effigy of the Hero] in one of the pouches at Revis h.i.p.s, exining, "This may be very painful...but its the best method I cane up with at the moment. If it works, I dont expect your gratitude, or anything else for that matter, just dont go around leisurely killing people. Also, you should avoid entering into conflict with Enyos forces, though I wouldnt mind if you wanted to guide me to them. There are several people I feel obliged to punish for causing all of these problems..." Revis eyes opened wide when she heard Vahn mention Enyo, as she hadnt mentioned the name of her Master even once since their meeting. This meant he knew more about them than they initially expected, something that made Revis want tough out loud since Ein always yed at being clever and in control. Seeing Revis strange state, Vahn just shook his head before dulling the pain receptors around Revis chest. She flinched slightly at the contact of his fingers, furrowing her brows once again before abject terror appeared on her face as Vahn lifted his hand like he was about to pierce her chest. For a brief moment, Revis felt betrayed since everything Vahn had been doing made it appear as though he was going to spare her. Knowing he had tormented her to such an extent on false promises made any marginally positive feeling she had for the boy fade in its entirety. Everything she had heard about him made it appear as though he was a good-natured kid that yed at being a hero. Now, however, she knew he was just another pie- Vahn reached into Revis chest, piercing through her sternum before yanking out the peculiar golden magic core, instantly causing Revis body to seize up. However, at the same time as the monster bits in her body were breaking down, the damage he had done was quickly recovering as a small figure blipped into existence, burning with a vibrant blue me. Vahn recognized the effigy, giving it a slight nod as he observed the changes in Revis body. He had spected that Revis had never actually died but more so had been infused with the strange magic core on the verge of death. The magic core had changed the gic structure of her body slightly, but it was still an abnormal element, almost like a negative status. Vahn believed that, by removing the magic core and forcing her to the verge of death, the [Effigy of the Hero] would activate, expelling the monster elements and regenerating her human tissue. After all, without a core to sustain it, the monster genes simply turned into purple dust that was now being expelled from Revis body... After a surprisingly short three seconds, Revissplexion had be slightly less pale but she had already passed out, likely a result of the damage done to her mind. Though he couldnt see any abnormalities left, it was still a very powerful trauma when her body was forcibly expelling the foreign elements. It was like she had experienced forced evolution over a ridiculously short period of three seconds, not exactly something the mind and body could process. She would also be unresponsive for the next few hours so Vahn couldnt really determine the amount of damage that had been done. One thing he knew for sure, however, was that the malignant energy attached to her mana had vanished. She now had a crystal clear blue mana with a core of pure white, showing that she had an affinity for water and light, two elements you typically wouldnt find in evil people. Lifting Reviss eyelids, Vahn inspected her eyes and noticed they had be a neutral green color with pupils that were slightly oval-shaped. It seemed like there were some aftereffects of her prolonged stint as a Creature, which could be expected. Vahn had already confirmed that, though not nearly as strong as before, her bones retained some of their durability and there hadnt been a drastic change in the size of her aura. She seemed to normalize around Intermediate Level 4 so Vahn suspected this was around her base strength before she had be a Creature. There were still many things he didnt understand about their physiology, but hopeful Revis would be more willing tomunicate without having all of that negative energy influencing her. Fenrir was observing closely from the side, suddenly finding the woman on the ground to less unpleasant but still very bothersome. The scent of death had faded away, reced by a smell reminiscent of the sun. Of course, there was also an odor of blood from her earlier attacks, which Fenrir suddenly felt a little guilty about as she asked, "Is she going to be okay...?" Vahn looked over, smiling as he pulled the small Vanargandr into his arms and began stroking her ears. After thinking about it for a short while, Vahn said, "Her physical body is fine, but I have no way of knowing how much damage had been done to her mind. She knows she had a previous life but couldnt seem to recall it, likely the result of some kind of inhibitor introduced to her brain. Now that the influence of the magic core has been removed, most of the damage has been reversed but that doesnt mean she will remember everything...she is likely going to have a difficult life moving forward..." Vahn spected that the original changes brought about by Revis mutation into a Creature had affected the areas of her brain responsible for long-term memory. Though the [Effigy of the Hero] had healed the damage, memories were a fickle thing and, much like Reid, she may never recover the majority of them. He hoped she would at least be able to recall the details regarding Enyo and the other Creatures, as that would even the ying field a bit in their future battles. There was even a chance that she could lead him directly to the mastermind behind all of this, potentially enabling him to resolve this matter at the roots. Unfortunately, given how things generally worked in these types of situations, Vahn suspected that wouldnt be the case... Releasing a sigh, Vahn hugged Fenrir a little closer and rested his chin atop her head, musing, "It seems were in for never-ending troubles, Fenrir...Im d youll be there with me or Im not sure I wouldnt break at some point." Fenrir was currently holding her knees, sitting snuggly in her Mastersp as she heard his words. Lifting her head, Fenrir put on a very serious look as she said, "Even if things get very difficult, I will always stay at your side and protect you...Master." Vahn felt a warmth spread through his heart as he leaned down, kissing Fenrir on her forehead before saying, "Thank you, Fenrir...you really are the best." Hearing this, Fenrir giggled before nodding her head in a very matter-of-fact manner, saying, "Of course, of course~! Ehehehehe~." Vahn waited until the stasis period of the effigy was nearly up before having Fenrir, who he had been testing his [Grooming] on, disperse her ice. Asfi had been watching over Reid and Tallow, both still unconscious, but she immediately noticed the change and rose to her feet. Vahn removed his soundproof barrier and gestured for her toe closer, exining, "She is no longer Creature, but Im not sure how her mind and personality will reflect the change. Since some of your members were a victim of this situation, Ill allow you to hear what she has to say. However, youll need to reign in those two when they finally wake up since the situation isnt as simple as getting revenge for grievances suffered in the past..." Asfi frowned slightly, looking down at the woman who didnt have a single sign of injury anywhere on her body. Vahn had also taken the time to fix her clothing, so Asfi didnt understand what had changed in the few hours that had passed. However, the one thing she knew was that it was almost impossible to force Vahn on matters he had already decided. They had already caused a lot of problems that would need to be addressed in the future so Asfi just nodded her head and said, "Very well. Thank you for letting me listen in. It will make it much easier to pacify those two when they finally wake up..." Vahn returned a curt nod before cing his palm on Revis head, moving aside her somewhat long red bangs in the process. He noticed there was actually arge scar near her scalp, audibly sighing as he inserted threads of energy to stimte her awake. After a few seconds had passed, Revis eyes shot open and she tried to lift her body before wincing in pain as a result of the throbbing sensation in her head. Tightly closing her eyes, she asked, "What happened...?" Slightly parting her eyes, Revis looked around the area, inspecting Asfi, Vahn, and Fenrir in turn before closing her eyes again and asked, "Where is this ce? Who are you people?" Hearing Revis questions, Vahn released a very exasperated sigh as he muttered, "Karma and fate are the biggest bitches..." under his breath. Though he had essentially gone against fate, allowing Revis to be human, mostly, it seemed like she had lost her memory almost entirely in the process. Gathering his thoughts, Vahn calmed down and said in an authoritative but cating tone, "I will answer all of your questions, but you will need to calm down and answer mine as well. Also, I need you to remain still or you will just cause the headache to be even worse. Im a practiced healer so I can help ease your pain once you calm down..." Revis parted one of her eyes, giving Vahn a curious nce before saying, "Its not wrong for kids to y doctor, but you shouldnt oversell yourself...damn, this headache..." Though she had given him a somewhat snide remark, Revis stillid against the ground and tried to calm down, just as Vahn suggested. For several seconds, the only sound was Revis taking several deep breaths before opening her eyes and asking, "Well, you going to heal me, Doc?" Vahn gave a curt nod, extending his hand out to her forehead once again, this time releasing a calming energy to help ease the mental strain she was experiencing. Revis released a relieved sigh, muttering, "Well, Ill be damned..." At this time, Vahn began to exin in a very slow and patient manner, "This is an area on the 34th Floor of the Dungeon, and my name is Vahn Mason, the Sage Aldrnari and Captain of the Hestia Familia. Now, I want you to tell me everything you remember, starting with your name, upation, and the date..." Revis opened her eyes partially, letting them remain half-lidded as a contemtive look appeared on her face. After nearly a minute had passed, instead of answering his questions, she asked, "What kind of dungeon is filled with trees and crystals...?" Vahn squinted his eyes, realizing this was going to be more troublesome than he expected but patiently saying, "Please, answer the questions instead of deflecting...we can talk about other thingster. For now, just start with the basics..." Revis gave him a somewhat wry look before averting her eyes and saying, "I dont remember anything. I dont know my name, upation, and I sure as hell dont know the date. Now, answer me this, Doc, how the hell did I end up in some kind of greenhouse dungeon with some kids standing over my body? Why the hell does everything hurt so much?" Once again, Revis tried to move but immediately winced before obedientlyying back down when Vahn gave her a slight re. After rubbing his temples for a bit, Vahn took a deep breath and answered, "You seem to have amnesia, though Im not sure to what extent. As for why youre down here, that is a difficult matter to exin but the short of things is that you were being controlled by someone. I cant say how many, but youve killed quite a few people before failing to try and capture me. Since you didnt seem innately evil, I decided to spare you and try to heal your body while removing the influence of the person controlling you. As hard as it is to believe, youll find my words are the truth and there may be a number of people that try to attack and harm you for the actions you took in the past..." Revis expression didnt change too much throughout Vahns entire exnation. She just continued to stare at him with her green eyes while her aura began to fluctuate and droop down sadly. By the time he was finished, she turned her eyes towards the crystals overhead, which were beginning to turn dark at this point, before muttering, "Well, this sucks..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Obstinance,Sis saves the day,RIP Revis...?) /user?u=14397149 Remove the first period, or look up Eins Left Foot~! paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 654 - Clarification

Chapter 654 - rification

Vahn had never dealt with someone that had amnesia before, but he imagined it wouldnt be an easy thing for most people to simply ept. The fact that Revis seemed to believe him outright was somewhat strange but Vahn could tell she wasnt trying to trick him, as the original Revis didnt really seem capable of such a high level of acting. This showed that her base personality was good at determining fact from fiction or, at the very least, she had a knack for people and seemed like a very straightforward person based on her speech patterns... Revis took a few deep breaths, an effort to calm herself, before asking, "So, anything else you can tell me about this situation, Doc? How long was I under control and what should I be doing from now on? Cant say Im looking forward to a life of being hated for actions I had no control over..." Vahn furrowed his brows in response, feelingplex emotions as he exined, "Sorry, but I dont know how long you were being controlled. I dont even know your name before you became a pawn of their scheme so wed have to find someone that knew you from before, though that could be dangerous since someone might try to exploit you. As for what youll do from this point on, my only hope was that you would try to be a better person this time around. Though some people will undoubtedly me you for the past, you shouldnt feel obligated to pacify them since, as you said, you had no control over it. If you one day remember what you did, and feel the need to pay reparations of sorts, that it something youll have to decide for yourself..." As he was speaking, Vahn felt conflicted about how things had turned out since it would be very difficult for Revis going forward. He wanted to help her, but one of the things he needed to identify was if the vows that bound her in the past were still in effect. Vahn knew a lot about the different vows, so Enyo wouldnt have been able to force Revis to take anything binding since people couldnt be manipted to make vows against their will. If Revis was being controlled or influenced by the magic core, she would have only been able to make lesser vows. In most cases, it was impossible to use hypnosis or mind-control to force someone to take a vow, as the world itself would oppose and even punish you. Vahn needed to Anubis to inspect her soul to determine what, if any, vows she was still bound to. After collecting his thoughts, Vahn exined, "This world has what is known as vows, which can be imprinted on the soul and bind people to take certain actions. Part of what kept you in their control were the vows you had taken and, though youve been liberated from their influence, there is a chance you are still bound by the vows you agreed to. I can have a goddess inspect your soul and, if it turns out you are still subject to any binding vows, we can help relocate you to give you a chance at living a new life without people seeking revenge. Fortunately, the group that you were bound to seem to be stuck within the confines of the Dungeon, so exiting should allow you to avoid being subject to their influence entirely..." Though vows could be very powerful bindings, they didnt force you to act a certain way unless you wanted to avoid the repercussions of the vow. Revis wouldnt bepelled to do anything and, if she was a strong enough person, the worst case scenario is that she would have to deal with the bacsh. She might lose her power, or even obtain a curse, but those were both things Vahn could treat symptomatically. Enyo wouldnt have been able to force her to take a vow that would result in her death, as those required a person to be sound mind and fully aware of the consequences, without secondary influences and maniption. If the person wasnt determined to take the vow on their terms, the world would punish the person trying to force the vow onto them. Revis continued to stare nkly up at the crystals on the ceiling, whose light was progressively fading away, silently listening to Vahns words. When there were a few seconds of silence, she grunted in an effort to sit up straight before saying, "Thanks for all the details, Doc, even if some of them are less than pleasant to hear. Well, what about you, Blue? You this kids assistant or something?" Revis started to take in her surroundings while she was speaking, giving Fenrir a curious look while focusing on therge fluffy ears that were in an alert state. She was just about to ask Vahn to exin what Fenrir was but Asfi broke her train of thought by answering, "My name is Asfi Andromeda, the Perseus, and Captain of the Hermes Familia..." Asfi typically didnt show much expression on her face, but she currently had a troubled look on her face as she said, "I asked Vahn to help save mypanions, who you had attacked several days prior. Since he not only saved them but also helped to save you, I will not pursue the matter out of respect for him...however, you should be aware of the fact that those two will likely harbor a deep hatred for you. Though you may have been forced to take action, which you are no longer aware of, many people will find that difficult to cope with since the trauma they experienced isnt likely to be dismissed so easily..." Hearing Asfis words, Revis frowned slightly as she looked toward where Reid and Tallow were sleeping. When she saw Tallows figure, Revis brows furrowed even deeper as she asked, "Youre saying I attacked a kid...and...?" Revis saw the dog ears on Reids head and began to feel more than a little frustrated until Vahn noticed her plight and exined, "This world is filled with a variety of races, including Humans, Elves, Dark Elves, Dwarves, Amazons, Pallums, and the various Beast People tribes. Though she may look young, that girl is a Pallum so that is her a.d.u.l.t form...as for the man, he is a Chiethrope, likely from one of the western subspecies. Also, Im a Human, like Asfi, while this adorable little creature in my arms is Fenrir, a Vanargandr." Revis gave Vahn an inquisitive look, understanding he was speaking the truth but still having more than a few doubts about the situation. She could vaguely recall some of the words he used but everything was still a blur so it made it hard to recall images of the races he had listed. Fortunately, the headache had faded a little with Vahns earlier treatment so it wasnt painful just trying to think anymore. Even so, Revis rubbed her temples before looking at Asfi and saying, "For what its worth, Blue, Im sorry for what happened. I dont really know what kind of person I am now, but I can say that Im not fond of the idea of hurting people. It might not mean much, but I am sorry...man, this sucks..." Asfi still had a slightly conflicted look but seemed to havee to a decision as she released a small sigh and said, "As I said, I will not pursue the matter...I understand your intent to apologize, and I ept it. However, please understand it may not be so simple for others and it may be difficult for them to understand this situation. After all, amnesia is rather umon and many people may feel indignation once they learn about your current state..." Revis nodded her head, showing a mildly frustrated expression on her face as she said, "Yeah, Ill try to make it up to them in the future, though I apparently need to do a bit of soul searching before then. Im not gonna ept having judgments passed on me for actions Im unaware of so until I have a better understanding of the situation, Im gonna have to ask you to keep those two in check..." Revis ruffled her own hair, clearly annoyed by the situation since it was very frustrating not being able to recall any details. She didnt even understand why she had any memories at all, or how she was even able to speak since some of the words didnt even make sense. Part of her knew what they meant but, whenever she tried to focus on any details in specific, it was like her mind was shrouded by a dense fog. She even suspected that Vahn and Asfi were actually trying to manipte her but it didnt seem to be the case based on their bodynguage and their words. Though Revis didnt understand why she knew this, part of her seemed to simply know what he was telling her was the truth. Vahn felt bad for Revis, but this oue will still slightly better than having her run around killing people at the behest of others. It might take a while, but she would eventually stabilize and hopefully be able to live a better life in the future. The biggest concern right now was trying to recover the scrolls, but there was nearly no way to track them down. Though Asfi could guide them towards the approximate location, it could take several days since Revis seemed to have a method of masking her scent since she had managed to get the drop on Reid and Tallow. There was also the fact that her scent had vanished after the fact, so Vahn could deduce it was an active ability. This meant it would be next to impossible to track down the scrolls before the beacon faded... Releasing a sigh, Vahn turned to Asfi and said, "We need to return to Lil Geirr and inform Finn about what has happened. Anything you doc.u.mented in the scroll in regards to the fortress and its surroundings needs to be made known so modifications can be made. This time around, I trust that you wont be privy to the exact changes since this fiasco has already caused more trouble the necessary. Make sure those two are aware of the reason why they were attacked in the first ce, as they share the me in this matter..." Vahn released another sigh, because it was partially his fault as well, though the main fault undoubtedlyy with Hermes. Asfi nodded her head, showing a serious expression on her face as she bowed slightly and said, "I know you have no reason to trust us, Vahn, but-" Vahn held up his hand, shaking his head as he said, "Rx, Asfi...you should at the very least be aware of my character by now. Hermes will have to deal with Loki and the other gods of the Alliance, who I will trust to resolve this situation. Im not going toy the me on all of you one-sidedly, as I could have prevented things from progressing to this point if I had taken a hard stance on the issue. Just do better in the future, as words mean very little in situations like this." Though she seemed like she wanted to say something, Asfi just nodded her head and remained silent while Revis just looked at them with a questioning gaze before asking, "Whats the deal with you two...? Lovers quarrel?" Vahn shook his head, feeling slightly exasperated as he looked at Revis and said, "This situation is veryplicated, as youll find out as things progress. Anyways, I need to know what you want to be called, as I imagine the name you were given by the people controlling you wouldnt exactly be pleasant to carry around. Since you need time to adapt to the major shift in your life, it wouldnt be a bad idea to assume a new identity and change your appearance a bit in the future." Revis alternated her gaze between Vahn and Asfi, adopting a curious expression before answering, "Well, having a name would make things a lot easier...hmmm, not that I can really think of a good one. All of your names seem a little weird, so maybe my naming sense is shot to hell...?" At this point, Revis went to bite her nail but realized she was wearing gloves, prompting her to give her body a once-over and noticing the rather strange clothing she was wearing. Frowning slightly, Revis turned to Vahn and said, "How about this, Doc, you give me some clothes and Ill let you pick a name for me. I look like a harlot dressed like this..." As the word left her mouth, Revis c.o.c.ked her head to the side, wondering exactly what a harlot was... Vahn stared at Revis nkly for a few moments before pulling out an overcoat that she could wear, which was quickly snatched up as Revis rose to her feet, asking, "So, whatll it be, Doc...? Dont pick anything too strange though, and make sure to exin the meaning. I dont want any names I dont understand..." Though he hadnt even sweat during their fight earlier, Vahn now felt his palms be a little mmy since he had learned from experience that his naming sense was rather terrible. Being put on the spot like this made him feel strangely nervous, which Revis seemed to find amusing based on the cheeky grin that had appeared on her face. Fortunately, Sis pitched in a few ideas at this time, which Vahn began to regurgitate, "There is Rufina, meaning red-haired, or Vermi, short for vermillion since your hair closely matches it...?" Revis lifted her brows, asking in a husky monotone, "So, you want to name me after the color of my hair? Not the most creative thing, Doc..." Vahn gave a wry smile, scratching the back of his hair as he said, "Well, I dont really know anything about you and I wouldnt want to burden you with a name others might insult you for. Im not really that great ating up with names..." Revis tapped her chin a few times, showing a small smile on her face as she muttered, "Rufina...Vermi...hmm..." As ifing up with a simple solution, Revis eyes widened slightly as she asked, "How about Rufina Vermillion then? You and Blue both had two names, so Ill take two as well. Simple, right?" Rufina had a vibrant smile on her face, distinctly different from her cold appearance from earlier when she behaved more like a machine than a person. She still had slightly angr eyes, that made her look perpetually annoyed, but that didnt do much to detract from her smile. Vahns eyes widened more than a little while even Asfi released a sigh, muttering something under her breath that only Fenrir likely picked up. Since she seemed satisfied with it, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Very well, youll be Rufina Vermillion from now on. Its nice to meet you, Rufina..." Vahn noticed that Revis, now Rufinas, name had changed in his interface when she epted the name. Previously, it had been showing as ?????, which was why he hadnt been referring to her as Revis when speaking. Her Affection itself was now at 54(Curious), with her Intrigue at 28(Cautious), so it was a step in the right direction. As for her aura, it was almost entirely a light purple but there was a small amount of yellow mixed in. Since she had amnesia, it made since she was full of fear and inhibitions but Vahn was expecting she would get better with time. Suddenly, a loud and monstrous growl sounded out, bringing pause to everyone that was sitting in the clearing. Rufinas eyes widened into saucers as herplexion be somewhat rosy. She brought her gloved hand to her face, awkwardly scratching her cheek as she asked, "So, got any food, Doc? Feels like I havent eaten anything in days..." Vahn stared nkly at Rufina for several seconds before bursting intoughter, earning a re from the mature looking woman who balled her hands into fists and shouted, "Dontugh at me you brat!" At the same time as she decided to shout, Rufinas stomach once again began to growl in a very audible manner, causing her to rub her stomach in frustration, cursing under her breath. Vahn felt like the mood had be far more amicable at this point so he smiled and said, "It has been a few hours since lunch so now would be a good time to eat. We can also use the time to rest until Reid and Tallow wake up..." As he was speaking, Vahn whisked out a nket for them to sit on and began setting out fully cooked dishes, causing Rufina to tilt progressively further to the side. Vahn, noticing her expression, exined, "There is a lot that youll have to get up to speed on, Rufina, but just enjoy the food for the time being. Well be returning to the surface pretty soon and Ill do my best to help you get situated so things arent too difficult for you. For now, lets just eat, you too, Asfi..." Asfi nodded politely before moving over and grabbing some food for herself. Fenrir also started eating and, though he didnt really require sustenance anymore, Vahn enjoyed the taste of food so he grabbed some fried chicken and began to gorge himself. Rufina continued to stare nkly for a few seconds beforeing to her senses and plopping down on the opposite side of the nket. She grabbed from the same te as Vahn, picking up the rather fragrant fried chicken and sampling it, eyes immediately widening as she brought her hand to her cheek and said, "Its so good~!" Without any inhibitions, she began devouring everything in sight as Vahn just shook his head with a wry smile on his face, enjoying his own food while contemting the future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Complex Situation,Rufina Vermillion,Conquer the Stomach, Conquer the Heart~!?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 655 - Awkwardness

Chapter 655 - Awkwardness

Rufina ended up eating several times more than normal, causing Vahn to give her a once-over just to see where she put it all. He noticed that her metabolic processes were several times more efficient than normal and her body seemed to store the excess energy in her muscles. It wasnt nearly at the level of someone like Fenrir, who converted food into marginal amounts of source energy, but it was still an interesting discovery. Vahn spected it was another one of the side-effects of her transition from a Creature back into a Human. He wasnt really sure what race she was right now, but that could be looked into at ater date when the opportunity presented itself. After they finished dinner, Rufina ended up wanting to wash her body in the small pond, but Vahn set out a tub for her instead,plete with a privacy screen and a change of clothing. Her old clothes seemed to be a hodge-podge of several different outfits that hadnt really been cleaned much for several months. Though the smell of death no longer lingered around her, there was a heavy aroma of blood so Vahn could understand why she wanted to clean herself. He also set up a medium-sized tent for Asfi, Reid, and Tallow to use. Since they would likely be very hungry when they woke up, Vahn gave her a chest that had thermal retention properties to keep the food warm and on standby. It was mostly lighter foods like porridge and soup, but he also included some vorful meat and a potent citrus solution that was very high in Vitamin-C. Going a few days without food wasnt a problem for most experienced Adventurers, but it was another case entirely if you had to spend several days essentially walking around n.a.k.e.d. It was typically very cool in the Dungeon, and sleeping on the Floor was an easy way to get sick. Tallow had created a bed using leaves and dried grass, but it didnt really do much to keep a chill from taking hold in both of their bodies. Vahn had already healed their bodies, but it would take a bit of time for their minds to recover. Good food, thick nkets, clean clothing, and the rtive safety of a tent would go a long way towards their recovery. It also prevented them from catching sight of Rufina the moment they woke up, giving Asfi ample opportunity to exin the situation and keep them fromshing out at the amnesiac. If they could understand she was just another victim, that would smoothen things out a great deal... Vahn sat around an open fire, stoking the logs inside with Fenrir sitting in hisp, already having dozed off. It was already dark, the only lighting from the twinkling of the crystals overhead, when Rufina came over and sat down. She was now wearing a maroon-red blouse with a thin white b.r.e.a.s.tte and an off-white skirt that came down to the middle of her thighs. Included in her ensemble was the brown overcoat he had lent to her previously, a set of arm and leg warmers, andstly a pair of brown boots that went halfway up her calf. Since she was still a risk factor, Rufina carried now weapons on her body whatsoever and didnt seem to mind it much. For several minutes, she just sat there in silence a little bit away from them until she eventually said, "Listen...I wanted to thank you. Im not really sure how much truth there is to what youve told me, but I feel like youre a good kid..." Rufina released a sigh at this point before ruffling her own hair in frustration, clearly finding the words difficult to vocalize. Vahn shook his head slightly before showing a calm and empathetic smile, saying, "I ept your apology, Rufina, but its not really your fault. Were all responsible for our own actions, not the ones we are forced to make beyond our control. Just do your best to live a good life from this point onward and I will ensure you have the opportunity to do so..." Rufina gave Vahn an appraising look, one brow raised as she asked, "How old are you, kid? I remember you mouthing off a few titles and iming to be a Captain before...you some kind of official in the military? A medic, maybe?" Vahnzily stroked Fenrirs hair, as she had woken up the moment Rufina approached, answering, "One of the races I forgot to mention earlier are gods, the being that created this world long ago. There are some that have descended to the mortal world and they have created organizations known as Familia, essentially treating the members as their children and giving them a blessing to increase their growth. Im the Captain of the Hestia Familia, led by a goddess of the same name..." Though she couldnt ce the memory, Rufina frowned contemtively with a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. After a few seconds, she grimaced slightly and said, "I think I may have been part of a Familia before...something tells me...ngggh-" Rufina began rubbing her temples, trying to ease the sudden headache that had started to spread through her mind. When a warm energy surrounded her body, helping ease the tension, Rufina opened her eyes and gave Vahn a curious look. She saw the gentle white light flowing from his hand and said, "Youre really something, Doc. So, why was I after you, or is that something I shouldnt be asking?" Vahn shook his head, sighing slightly as he said, "I imagine the people you were working with want to make use of my power for their own purposes. Something youll learn soon is that Im...a little abnormalpared to most people. On the surface, Im part of the Alliance, which is probably the most powerful force on the Continent...and, lets just say Im very near the top, even though Im not exactly in charge." Rufinas eyes widened slightly before a cheeky grin appeared on her face and she said, "Ooooh, seems like youre quite the big shot then? Well, that makes me a lot less worried about how things will go when we get back to the surface..." Rufina had been more than a little worried about how things would turn out since, without any memories to go on, she didnt even know what to do in the future. She didnt really want to burden Vahn, as he was just a kid and had already helped her out a lot, but it was starting to seem like things might work out now. If the Alliance was as powerful as he said, Rufina expected it had a lot of power, resources, and, most importantly, information. Without any other goals to work towards, she decided to try and find out about her past. Rufina figured that it would make her future decisions much easier if she at least had a basic understanding of what kind of person she had been before being mind-controlled... Understanding Rufinas concerns, Vahn nodded, saying, "My situation is a bitplicated, but Ill still do my best to help you out. I know many people that would be able to assist you, but only after we talk to Anubis and have her inspect your soul. She is another one of the goddesses in the Alliance and will be able to identify if there are any vows embedded in your soul. If were lucky, she may even be able to identify the terms of the vow, or at least point us towards someone that can provide answers. I imagine a god with a Divinity rted to Law, Order, or Oaths would be able to help out..." Eirene crossed Vahns mind for a brief moment, but Vahn didnt think she would be able to help out based on their past interactions. Rufina showed a thankful smile but kept her attention focused on the fire in front of her as she mulled over all the new information. She imagined gods werent so easily approached, especially if they were the creators of the world, but Vahn didnt seem to have any trouble in that regard. He seemed very casual about things so it wasnt difficult to imagine that his ims of being abnormal were true. Given the fact that he seemed to be much younger than her, Rufina imagined he was some prodigious kid from a wealthy family that had gained a bit of fame as a prodigy. The fact that he could pull nice clothing and food out of thin air seemed to emphasize this, not that it really mattered. After collecting her thoughts, Rufina yawned very loudly while stretching her body, causing her joints to pop in the process as she said, "Well, I guess Ill be taking a nap. Seems like there is a lot for me the learn once we reach the surface..." Vahn had already set up a tent for her personal use earlier, so Rufina made her way inside and found arge number of covers and pillows present. Shaking her head with a wry smile on her face, Rufina removed the overcoat Vahn had given her before stripping away the b.r.e.a.s.tte and falling into the nkets without bothering to remove the rest of her clothing. Part of her was saying that undressing while in the Dungeon was dangerous so she trusted her instincts... Vahn had watched her departure with a thoughtful gaze, turning away only after she had finally entered into her own tent. It was going to be very difficult for her to adapt to life after losing her memory, but Vahn felt it was a small blessing since she wouldnt be burdened by all the lives she had taken as Revis. It also couldnt have been very pleasant living in the Dungeon for such a long period of time, especially without ess to clothing and supplies, so it might be better that she forgets such things. Hopefully, they would be able to find out a little about her past and potentially even reunite her with any family she has on the surface. Rufina seemed to have a response when he mentioned Familias, so it was possible that her god or goddess was still within the City. Level 4s were almost all doc.u.mented by the Guild and Vahn knew they kept reports on missing persons, meaning it shouldnt be too difficult to find her true identity. Red hair and green eyes were a rather strikingbination and there couldnt be too many people that fit the description... --- Vahn stayed awake throughout the night, denying Asfis offer to trade ces since he didnt really require sleep, even more so than in the past. He just spent the time cuddling with Fenrir, brushing her hair, tail, and sharing the asional kiss when she snuck one from him. This made the night pass rtively quickly as an orange light slowly started to emanate from the crystals overhead. Vahn decided to use the opportunity to prepare breakfast the old fashioned way so he began cooking while Fenrir used magic to wash up and clean her armor before changing into a midnight blue sundress with small white ribbons attached to it. The smell of freshly cooked bacon, sizzling on the pan Vahn was using, began to waft through their make-shift camp. Soon after he started cooking, Rufina came out of her tent with somewhat disheveled clothing as she released an uninhibited yawn before asking, "Is there anything you cant do, kiddo? Smells delicious...whats cooking?" Vahn kept his focus on the bacon, flipping it over with a flick of his wrist as he said, "Bacon, eggs, and maybe some hotcakes. There is also rice porridge or biscuits and gravy if you want something lighter but rich in vor..." Vahn pulled a table out of his inventory, popting it with tes and snacks as Rufina just stared nkly... Shortly after Rufina sat down, the p of the second tent was opened as a seemingly calm Asfi, a somewhat pale Reid, and a ring Tallow came out. Asfi sat to the left of Rufina, having the other two sit on the opposite side of the table as she exined, "I discussed the details of what had happened. It will take time to ept, but both of mypanions have consented to drop the matter entirely..." Rufina had a in look on her face as she nodded her head, casting a few nces at Reid and Tallow, thetter of which didnt seem as agreeable as Asfi imed. Vahn walked over at this point, setting out tes as he said, "Tallow, Reid, you need to understand that Rufina is another victim of circ.u.mstance. Im not going to tell you to get along, but dont harbor a misguided hatred that serves no purpose. Here, eat some breakfast and try to rx, itll make things a lot easier. Youre both still weak from malnourishment and need to focus on your recovery, not stirring up unnecessary trouble." Tallow didnt seem content, but she kept her words bottled up as Reid scratched his head and said, "Yeah, I didnt really know what was going on after I cked out. All I know is that you saved me, Vahn, so Im not gonna cause any trouble. Thanks for that, by the way..." Though it felt like he was saying it a lot these days, Vahn smiled politely and said, "If you want to show your gratitude, just be good to other people and try to live a better life. Besides, though Im d I was able to save you in time, you really should be thanking Tallow. If not for her efforts in trying to stabilize you, even I wouldnt have been able to do anything to help." Reid nodded, showing a serious expression on his face as he looked to Tallow and said, "Yeah...thanks, Tallow. I owe you pretty big for this one." Though she had been ring previously, Tallows expression becameplex after suddenly being thanked by one of the people she used to butt heads with in the past. Tallow released a small sigh, softening her expression a bit as she said, "Youre wee, Reid...Im d you didnt die, even if youre an idiot..." Instead of showing any sign of being offended, Reid justughed as his paleplexion started taking on a more healthy color. Vahn smiled, sending a nod towards Asfi before saying, "Okay, we need to make our way back to Lil Geirr as soon as possible so make sure you get your fill. I know the two of you probably want to get out of the Dungeon, but youll have to be patient since the circ.u.mstances areplicated." Asfi, piggybacking off Vahns words, nodded her head as she said, "Vahn is correct. The Hermes Familia needs to do everything in our power to make amends for our actions. Though the two of you had be victims in this scenario, the responsibility stillys with us for how things have turned out. Things will be even moreplicated if we try to shirk our responsibilities so we will return to Lil Geirr and exin the situation to Finn before resuming our own duties..." Reid and Tallow both sighed before nodding their heads and saying, "Yes, Captain..." in tired voiced. Rufina ate her breakfast in silence, taking note of the interactions between Vahn, Asfi, Tallo, and Reid. It didnt really feel like a good time for her to pitch in, especially since Tallow kept sending her looks of me that made Rufina feel more than a little awkward. It was difficult facing people you had wronged, especially when you had no memory of the events that had deeply impacted the other person. There was a fair amount of guilt guing her heart, but Rufina decided to follow Vahns advice and simply try and live a better life instead of harping over things she had no control over. It might have been dodging responsibility a bit, but there wasnt much else she could do until her memories returned. Though some people might disagree with her, Rufina felt it was unfair to be judged for actions she had no control over, regardless of how bad they might have been... After breakfast came to an end, Vahn stowed away all of the tents and utensils he had left out, cleaning up the area while Tallow and Reid changed into the equipment he had lent them. He had several B-Rank items in his inventory to lend out for situations like this, so they would at least be able to defend themselves in an emergency. Asfi had promised that the Hermes Familia would foot the bill so Vahn didnt really mind if they wanted to keep them for future use. He gave Tallow a pair of daggers, which she affixed to the belt at her waist, crossing them at her back. As for Reid, Vahn gave him a pair of gauntlets and leg guards since he seemed to be the type to fight with his fists and feet. He also outfitted them with some basic armor before they finally began their return trip to the 39th Floor. Along the way, as they were in the rtive safety of the secret passages, Asfi requested that Vahn keep the passages themselves a secret. He had never really intended to make them known, as that would endanger the Xenos if the hunters knew of how to track them down, so Vahn readily agreed. Spreading knowledge about the secret passages didnt serve much benefit from the perspective of Adventurers needing to increase their strength. If the passages be known, most people would be very reliant on them and it was easy to imagine merchants and criminals making use of them for their own ends. Besides, these passages, and the secret rooms the connected to, were the lifeline of the Xenos who had made their home in the Dungeon. Vahn wasnt going topromise their livelihoods, nor was he going to allow anyone else to do the same... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Birth of Another Glutton,Keeping The me,Guardian of the Xenos) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 656 - Expedient

Chapter 656 - Expedient

The return trip to the 39th Floor was rtively uneventful, considering that the majority of the trip made use of the secret passages that allowed the group to travel withouting across any enemies. Fenrir had picked up a few scents along the way, which Vahn contemted having her follow in the future in order to find the Xenos, but that would have to wait untilter. During the few times when they did fight, chiefly on the 40th Floor, Fenrir took the lead and made short work of the majority of enemies, causing no small amount of shock for Reid, Tallow, and Rufina. Though Fenrirs power had been doc.u.mented by Asfi, it was another thing entirely when you saw it for yourself. Since it was spected that Vahn was even stronger, the two kept a bit of a distance so as not to inadvertently offend him. They were very aware of their mistake and didnt want to make an even worse impression after the fiasco regarding the scrolls. After ascending the stairs to the 39th Floor, the tensions became a little more rxed as the group made their way towards Lil Geirr. They used the front entrance leading up to the teau since Reid, Tallow, and Rufina had yet to be cleared for entry. Afterward, they immediately went towards the rather imposing fortress at the center of the teau where Finn was already waiting with a tired look on his face. Vahn, confused, asked, "Did something else happen while I was away? I didnt get any messages..." Finns response was to release a sigh, before bringing his hands together on his desk and saying, "Sorry about that, Vahn. Im dealing with some personal matters, nothing of great importance..." Deciding to ask about itter, Vahn nodded and set the matter aside as he exined, "The rescue mission was a sess, but there are otherplications that have arisen." Finn adopted a very professional look, gesturing for Vahn to continue as he pulled out a quill and dipped it into an ink well. Vahn waited for him to prepare before saying, "It is safe to assume the scrolls I mentioned previously will fall into the hands of our enemies. Well need to alter the construction ns a bit and establish some extra defensive measures. Also, the odds of an attack taking ce during the first personnel swap are very high, so it will be necessary to leave behind a force to defend Lil Geirr..." Finn released a small sigh, making a few notes before saying, "Vahn, I know youll be returning to the surface soon. Ill be entrusting you with a missive requesting backup from the Alliance. It should be possible to have reinforcements escort the second group and then pick up those that wish to return. This will allow us to avoid the situation of being understaffed and increase the number of people rotating out of Lil Geirr in the future...now, is there anything else?" Finn eyed Rufina at this point, furrowing his brows slightly since, even though she had washed her body off, there was still an air of danger surrounding her. Vahn turned to look at Rufina as well, giving her a curt nod before exining, "Ill file an official reportter, but this is Rufina Vermillion, someone who has fallen under the protection of the Hestia Familia. I saved her from the control of our enemies and she is currently suffering from amnesia. Ill include the details in my report, but most of it will be covered by Asfi, Reid, and Tallow. Know that my official stance is that she cant be held ountable for the actions she was forced to take against her will, regardless of what maye to light in the future." Using Vahns words as her cue, Asfi stepped forward and exined, "The Hermes Familia will be taking responsibility for the loss of the scrolls and the dissemination of information to enemy forces. I understand that there will be a great deal of tension between the Hermes Familia and the rest of the Alliance in the future, but know that it was never our intent topromise the integrity of Lil Geirr. Though it will undoubtedly sound like an excuse, our purpose had been to establish roots within the forces stationed at the fortress so that our missions could be carried out in secrecy. The information was never meant to get out, and we will do our best to make amends in the future..." Finn had a stern expression on his face as he eyed Asfi, showing no signs that he expressed any understanding of their plight. He knew things werent as simple as she was stating and it was more than likely that the Hermes Familia hadpiled information on key figures within the Alliance, specifically the Executives of the Loki and Hestia Familias. Even if such information hadnt been gathered with malicious intent, that didnt mean much when it suddenly fell into the hands of their enemies. Now, it was almost the same as if they had betrayed the Alliance and Finn didnt intend to let the mattery once they finally returned. After all, this mistake would cost them several hundred million Valis, which the Hermes Familia likely wouldnt be able to repay any time soon. Vahn held up his hand, having Asfi stand back as he turned to Finn and said, "For the time being, though they have been registered as guests, I suggest Reid and Tallow will be under watch until we return to the surface. Asfi and Rufina will be in my care until then, as Im still contracted to protect Asfi while Rufina needs to be monitored in the event her memory is stirred. She may be able to provide a lot of information that would prove beneficial to the Alliance so I suspect our enemies may move to either recover or eliminate her. The safest ce for her would be under the watch of the Hestia Familia..." Waiting for Vahn to finish, Finn took a few moments to contemte matters before eventually conceding to the proposed terms. He still needed statements from everyone present, excluding Rufina, but Finn allowed them to get situated before regrouping after lunch. Finn assigned Cruz to watch over Reid while Tallow was entrusted to Alicia, bunking up together in one of the small personnel quarters. Vahn took Asfi and Rufina back to the area where the Hestia Familia was staying, apanied by Fenrir who had changed into a gothic maid outfit at some point. Haruhime and Mikoto were both present when they arrived, so Vahn did quick introductions and exined the situation. Rufina would be staying in the room next to Asfi during the evenings and had been put on a sort of house arrest to remain in the confines of the Hestia Familia quarters. Vahn didnt mind showing her around, but she was still a security risk for the time being and there was no way of know how she would react if her memory was stirred. Thus, at least for the time being, she needed to remain inside so Vahn asked Haruhime and Mikoto to help exin any questions she might have. As Rufina was getting settled in, Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya all returned, apparently having gone to the 38th Floor to get some exercise in. Rufina came out of her room while Vahn was exining the situation, giving everyone present a strange look before asking, "I may be imagining this, but arent there like a lot of girls around you, kid?" Vahn paused for a brief moment before deciding the rifying things, exining, "As I said previously, my situation is a little abnormal...Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Haruhime are all my lovers. Fenrir is my trustedpanion and Lefiya is my adorable apprentice, at least for the time being. On the surface, I have several wives and many other lovers, some of which will be giving birth soon. The main reason Ill be returning to the surface is to make sure Im there when my children are born..." Rufina looked like she was starting to get light head, bringing her hand up to rub her temples as she said, "Jeez, you really dont hold back, do ya? Well, whatever, not that its any of my business. Though, at least now I have a better understanding of why you decided to help me." Rufina released a sigh, looking around at all the young girls present before shaking her head and returning to her own room. She suddenly felt very tired and it didnt look like she would be able to rx with all the curious eyes focused on her. Once Rufina had left, Tione seemed to have picked up on something so she asked, "Vahn, you dont like her, do you...?" Vahn immediately shook his head, feeling a small headache of his own as he said, "You should know me better than that, Tione. I helped her because she was a victim of circ.u.mstances outside of her control. There was also a chance she would have been able to provide beneficial information to us, though that didnt really pan out as I had wanted. Honestly, Id be happy if she was able to reunite with her formerpanions and live a normal life..." At this point, Ais pitched in her own opinion, though it wasnt really clear, "She is very strong...I can tell, even if she doesnt seem aware of it." Tiona nodded, yfully clinging to Ais as she said, "Yeah, she has a really wild vibe to her, even though her temperament seems a little on the easy-going side~." Hearing Tiona refer to someone else easy-going made Vahn smile while Tione snorted as she gave her little sister an incredulous look. Tiona, seemingly unaffected by the gaze, justughed it away without any care or concern. Vahn went on to exin the details regarding Rufina, including the strength she previously wielded and her unique ability tomunicate with people from monster descent. She likely had a lot of affinity as a Tamer so Vahn was nning to leave her with the Ganesha Familia once she was cleared of suspicion. Vahn was very fond of Ganeshas character and Shakti seemed like a kind and trustworthy woman who would look after Rufina properly. Regardless of what happened, however, Vahn didnt intend to let Rufina stay at the Hearth Manor. Though he took pity on her, and she was actually quite beautiful, he really wanted to avoid arbitrarily increasing the number of women living there... The rest of the day passed without any major events taking ce, which was rather fortunate considering everything that had happened. Vahn filled out a report and submitted it to Finn, helped alter the ns for the peripheral buildings with Quinn, and spent a bit of time with the girls. He had decided to head back even earlier since there were a few things he needed to take care of before he was forced to return to the surface. Vahn promised Loki he would capture and tame either a wyvern or a dragon, and he wanted to keep his word. It would also give him a chance to potentially test Rufinas taming ability, though that was only if there was time for it. Early the next morning, Vahn got up and had a long and lively breakfast with all the girls as they talked about what they wanted to do after returning. Though they needed to escort the Expeditions, Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya all wanted to take a long break from the Dungeon and take magic lessons. Terra said she wouldnt really be teaching anyone, but she didnt mind giving bits of advice while most of her knowledge was intended for Vahn. He would be the metric by which other capable Mages would be measured in the future while Terra and Fenrir primarily took a back seat and focused on their own training. Thus, Vahn would be the main person training everyone, which had been the n before Fenrir and Terra surpassed him, primarily as a result of the much longer period of time they had spent with Eva. Vahn had also nned to take a long break, raising his children while trying to resolve some issues both inside and outside of Orario. Though he was tempted to push forward on his own in an effort to circ.u.mvent future problems, Vahn didnt want his entire life to be defined by trying to constantly outmaneuver his foes to avoid conflict. This would leave him almost no time for his family, all the women he loved, and his future children. He would need to find a good bnce but the best method was simply to increase his own power, consolidate strength around the Hearth Manor, and just take decisive action as their enemies appeared. There was a chance that people would scheme against them, but there was almost nothing they could actually do to threaten the Hearth Manor itself as long as Terra was around. The strongest person in the City, Ottar, who could potentially even rival thousands of people, wouldnt even be able to scratch Terra within her own territory. She was simply beyond almost every other entity in the world at present, with the exception of the gods themselves. Anyone that was brazen enough to actually try and fight against her would likely meet a very swift end, bing a statue to adorn her garden... Though Vahn nned to teach everyone the basics, most of the more advanced lessons would be focused on Lili, Haruhime, Lefiya, and, from a moderately different perspective, Riveria. They were all his official disciples so Vahn would train them personally while Riveria would likely be an expert on theory since she was already beyond the age where she could have obtained arge amount of magic power. As for girls like Mikoto, Vahn would be teaching her a unique form of magic focused on enhancement so she can push her swordsmanship to the extremes. There werews that governed the efficacy of swords, and Vahn believed Mikoto had the right mentality to reach the extremes... Everyone else would be taught the basics, pursuing their own path of Magic with Vahn, Terra, and Fenrir providing guidance on asion. Magic was something intended to be free and unbound, even though it relied heavily on a persons understanding and knowledge. It wasnt difficult to createpletely new magics, which was why the mostmon type of magic was unnamed. As long as you had a proper understanding of it, and could form an image based on that understanding, it was possible to make any kind of magic. If you polished it enough, it would be named magic that could be passed on a legacy to other people. Vahn intended, as they were literally starting a magic revolution, for everyone toe up with their own style. The spells that created now would be the stuff of legend in the future, with the generations thate after them constantly aspiring to build upon the foundation they would establish. This would start from the moment Vahn introduced the concept of magic fundamentals inside of his School and it would be more refined once people reached the point of attending the Academy in Haven. One day, perhaps in as little as ten years from now, the magic system they introduce will be the foundation for change in the entire world. Vahn would show everyone that anyone could learn how to use magic, barring they didnt have a special constitution, and the only thing that truly mattered was knowledge, understanding, and wisdom... After breakfast hade to an end, Vahn let Finn know that he was nning to return early so that they could better prepare for any problems that may arise. Finn didnt disagree since it was always better to resolve such things as expediently as possible. Being able to receive reinforcements a few days earlier would obviously be preferred over having to wait and risk something going wrong. It also allowed him to avoid people watching over Reid and Tallow, so Finn readily agreed and wished Vahn well in his journey towards the surface. As he had already exined it to all the girls, spending a fair amount of time with them before parting, Vahn had all the people apanying him gather at the gate. Those gathered included Fenrir, Haruhime, Mikoto, Asfi, Reid, Tallow, and Rufina. Vahn had been stressing about having to leave behind Haruhime previously but, now that he had time to journey back to the surface before the expected due dates, Vahn decided to bring her and Mikoto along. After all, they would be able to make pretty quick progress by skipping by some of the more troublesome Floors by making use of the secret passages. With Vahn replenishing the stamina of the group along the way, they managed to reach the 18th Floor, Rivira, after just eleven hours of travel. ording to Asfi, Reid, and Tallow, it typically took them around two days to make the same trip, though they were never in a great hurry and usually exercised caution over bravado. Along the way, the only Floors they fought on were the 40th, the 30th, and the Floors of the Great Fall as the only safe passage was behind the waterfall itself, which is where Iguazu typically made their nest. It was safer to stick to the side passages and use magic items to avoid drawing the aggro of monsters instead of trying to circ.u.mvent them entirely. As for how they were able to do so, it had been a magic item that Asfi had designed, taking on the form of a cloak that could almostpletely conceal the wearers presence from all by sight. Many of the scouts within the Hermes Familia were equipped with them and, in the event even more stealth was needed, Asfi even had a magic item that could literally make a person invisible without consuming their own mana. Though it was a closely veiled secret of hers, she knew Vahn had already seen it and it was already toote to try to keep it hidden at this point. Vahn knew Asfi was making an attempt to smoothen over tensions between them by showing a bit more transparency than in the past so he readily epted the chance to inspect the item, called [Hades Head], himself. It was very interesting to see magic items that could even trick his own basic detection abilities and Vahn was excited at the prospect of learning [Mystery] in the future. Being able to equip the girls with essories that would allow them to be invisible seemed like it would be an immense benefit, especially those like Shizune and Chloe... After reaching Rivira, that was technically the end of Vahns contract with Asfi. Since he didnt really want them present when he was trying to tame a Wyvernter, Vahn decided to part ways with the Hermes Familia trio, letting them go to reunite with their other members, many of which were present at a hidden base they had established within the settlement at the base of the tree. Before they left, Asfi, Reid, and Tallow all expressed their gratitude, with Reid himself bowing very low while swearing to repay the life-debt he owed Vahn in the future. Vahn tried to deflect and have him focus more on Tallow, the person that had actually saved his life, but Reid was pretty insistent, saying, "I will repay both of you separately..." Finally free of the three, after promising to meet up and discuss the terms of their reparations at ater date, Vahn took Fenrir, Haruhime, Mikoto, and Rufina into the upper floors as they began their search for a wyvern. Along the way, Rufina had made severalments about the structure of the Dungeon itself, finding the variableyout very interesting as she watched people fight from a safe distance. Though she was strong in her own right, Rufina had no memory of ever having fought before so it would probably take her a bit of time to refamiliarize herself with the concepts once she had been situatedter on. It took nearly seven hours, but Fenrir finally managed to track down a Wyvern by following the unique scent. The encounter took ce on the 15th Floor and actually triggered a Monster Party to take ce, which had been easily dealt with by Mikoto and Haruhime while Vahn focused on subordinating the Wyvern. It was slightly over 5m long, covered in pink scales with tworge and muscr wings that it used to try and attack him. Vahn manhandled it and deflected all of its attacks until it hadpletely exhausted itself after trying to attack with a lukewarm me breath. It seemed to be satisfied with itself for hitting Vahn with the attack, at least until Vahn flicked its snout and dazed it with a calm expression on his face. Though it tried its best, the Wyvern eventually realized there was no hope and even made an attempt to flee once all the other monsters had been killed. Vahn grabbed its tail and kept it from running away until it eventually fell to the ground, breathing heavily from the exertion. Once it was tired, Vahn walked around, cing his palm on the Wyverns head and saying, "Rx, Im not going to harm you...in fact, Im going to give you the chance to be much stronger. If youre willing to be my subordinate, I can allow you to obtain a great strength while also allowing you to escape the confines of the Dungeon. The only thing I ask for in exchange is that you protect a certain someone, a goddess by the name of Loki..." It didnt really have the intelligence to understand what Vahn was saying, but the Wyvern seemed to realize there wasnt anything it could do about the current situation. There was a powerful force weighing down on its body that became progressively harder to bear as time passed. The only thing it knew was that Vahn was far beyond its power and, though it didnt understand the offer Vahn was making, greatly desired power of its own. It believed that, by following the person in front of it, perhaps it would one day be strong enough to dominate others, instead of being dominated... //[Nameless] Wishes to Be Your Subordinate: (Y/N)// (A/N: Alternate Titles: Finns Endless Troubles,No Rufina-chan in the Manor!?,Just ording to Keikaku...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 657 - Surface

Chapter 657 - Surface

Vahn spent a few minutes stroking the [Nameless] Wyvern before turning it into a magic core and safely storing it away inside his Inventory. He had already decided on a name for it in the past but intended to put it off until discussing it with Loki. Riveria also wanted to be able to witness one of the evolutions brought about by his naming ability, and Vahn wanted to avoid upsetting her by breaking his promise a second time. Besides, the names he picked were usually suspect and it probably wasnt a good idea to try and give the Wyvern three different names. Part of his instincts advised him against it so Vahn needed to think about it seriously if he intended to tempt fate... After stowing it away, Vahn looked around at the girls, smiling slightly when he saw the shocked expression on Rufinas face. She reacted to everything as if it was the first time she had ever seen it but generally kept quiet about it unless you spoke directly to her. Vahn wondered if, from her perspective, she tried to exin away the things he was doing as normal because of how casual he was about it. That was an entertaining thought, but Vahn put it to the back of his mind for the time being as he said, "Okay, lets return to the surface now. Im looking forward to getting some fresh air after nearly 45 days inside the Dungeon..." Everyone nodded in agreement so they all began making their way towards the stairs, once again beginning their journey towards home... It didnt take long to find the stairs, so they were able to reach the surface after a short twenty minutes before stepping out onto the 1st floor of Babel Tower. Rufinas eyes were darting around, taking in all the new sights as she watched Adventurers of all shapes and sizese and go. Though she had spoken under her breath, almost everyone in the group heard her say, "Guess there really are a bunch of different kinds of people...hmmm..." She hadnt exactly thought Vahn was lying to her, especially after seeing some of the people at Lil Geirr, but it was much easier to confirm things when you had arger pool of people to observe. Rufina lifted her head, looking upwards at the high ceiling as she asked, "This is the surface? It looks like it keeps going up..." Haruhime, who was standing close by responded, saying, "Ah, this is known as the Tower of Babel, an Ancient Tower constructed by the gods and ced within the Mortal World nearly a thousand years ago. Once we get outside, youll understand better, Rufina." With a thoughtful look on her face, Rufina nodded before the entire group made their way outside the tower, stepping into Babel za and the City proper. Rufina immediately looked up, trying to take in the impossibly high tower and realizing it seemed to go on forever from this perspective. While Rufina was distracted by all the new sights and sounds, a sh of light appeared as Terra blinked into existence, likely making use of her [Void Transference] the moment they arrived. Vahn smiled, giving her a short embrace, asking, "Did youe to pick us up, Terra? How is the egg doing? Is everyone at the Manor okay?" Terra chuckled, giving Vahn a quick peck on the lips before saying, "Well, I was curious about why you showed up on the surface so suddenly. Your early return is sure to make everyone back at the Manor pleasantly surprised. As for the egg, Ive kept it within the hollow of my nest where its awaiting the day its father decides to wake it up. Also, the others are fine, though I think Loki and Hephaestus might burst any day now...ufufu~." The group was walking and talking at the same time, making their way to the area that had been designated as anding zone by the Guild. Vahn gave it a cursory nce to make sure they werent being spied on as Terra assumed her dragon form, startling numerous people, including one bodacious redhead who nearly fell onto her rump. Fortunately, Rufina managed to avoid embarrassing herselfpletely and the only injury she suffered was a slightly reddened face as she epted Haruhimes and Mikotos assistance in climbing Terras back. Though she could have simply jumped up, Rufinacked fine motor control over her muscles and didnt know the extent of her own power just yet. It didnt take long for them to reach the Manor, but everyone enjoyed the flight since the view from above was actually quite breathtaking. Orario was a beautiful City with arge variety of different types of architecture to take in. Each Familia residence could be seen in the distance, often decorated withrge statues, ornate buildings, or carefully maintained grounds that were very appealing to look at. As they drew deeper into the territory of the Alliance, where numerous powerful Familias had taken up residence, these sights became progressively moremon. Vahn took note of the changes since hisst flight over the City before having Terrand outside the Hearth Manor since Rufina would be repelled by the barrier. Though they drew a lot of attention, most people went about their own business after seeing who was riding atop the green dragon. Some waved in greeting, but nobody came forward since it had essentially been established that the area around the front gate was off limits unless you had official business. The Hestia Familia was truly treated as the heart of the Alliance now since Loki, Hephaestus, Hestia, Epona, and Juno all took up residence there. Five Goddesses in one ce was previously unheard of, as it would have caused conflict in their Familias since there were numerous people that typically pined over them. This was avoided almost entirely at the Hearth Manor, however, as the only male that lived within the building was Vahn himself... Vahn quickly registered Rufina for temporary ess to the Manor grounds while people already began to congregate around the front door, causing Rufina toment, "Holy crap, kid, how many girls are you actually involved with? I get that youre some big shot, but show some moderation..." Vahn had just finished the procedure to register Rufina and he nearly fell down at her unexpected verbal jab. She had a tendency to be very straight forward at times and, though he was getting used to it, Rufina still managed to say some pretty impactful words. The group that had gathered consisted of Hestia, Loki, Juno, Syr, Emiru, and Maemi, likely having been together when Hestia sensed his arrival at the gate. Vahn ignored the usatory look Rufina was giving him as Loki walked forward with the support of Emiru and Maemi. She was wearing an ankle-length red dress that appeared to be made of very soft but heat retaining materials. The most obvious thing, however, was the almost toorge bulge at her belly that offset her petite frame by a scary amount. Vahn hadnt wasted any time stepping forward to offer assistance, earning a cheeky, "Ah? So you remember who is responsible for my current state~? Well, at least you showed up earlier than expected, so Ill forgive you this time~." Loki lifted her chin, prompting Vahn to lean in and allow her to kiss him since he didnt want her trying to stand on her toes or exert herself. He understood why Terra had made ament about them bursting previously since Loki looked like a strained water balloon that would pop with a light touch. After ending his embrace with Loki, Vahn made the rounds and gave everyone abination hug and kiss, with the exception of Juno, before exining the current situation. Everyone had already noticed the presence of the new woman from the moment they arrived but they hadnt expected her to be an amnesiac with such a colorful past. Syr had already sent a message to Anubis through thework while the group made their way inside so that Loki and Juno could sit down. Thetter was also pregnant so Vahn felt ufortable seeing them walking around, even though Juno herself seemed very ustomed to the state of her own body. She had tried to tease him about getting a hug and kiss of her own, but Hestia had bonked her on the head for her troubles. Vahn ended up sitting on a sofa with Emiru and Maemi at his nks while Hestia sat in hisp,menting that it would make the conversation go easier if Loki sat across from Vahn this time. Though the red-haired goddess gave Hestia a slightly annoyed look, she didnt say anything since she knew Hestia had been feeling very lonely and concerned over thest couple of days. She was also the first to remark that Vahn was returning, even before Shirohime informed Terra, who then told Riveria and Ryuu. The bond between Hestia and Vahn was recognized as being the most potent so Loki didnt mind if she stole her seat on asion... While they waited for Anubis arrival, Vahn exined some of the events that had taken ce during the Expedition, causing a variety of different reactions among the girls. When Loki heard about how badly the Hermes Familia had f.u.c.k.i.e.d up, her eyes had turned into those of a predator that was about to pounce on its prey. She had a smile on her face that could turn water into ice as she said, "Very good, Hermes, very good...kukukuku..." Only she knew what was going through her mind but Vahn gestured to calm her down, saying, "Loki, well deal with those matters at ater date. For now, just focus on whats really important...also, I did manage to capture a Wyvern for you, but I think it would be better to wait until a more opportune time before naming it." Lokis smile became more natural when she saw Vahn pointing to her stomach but she practically beamed when hearing that he actually caught her a Wyvern. She knew his naming ability could turn that Wyvern into a Dragon so she was very excited until Juno reproached her, saying, "Dont get too excited or youll stress your body. It would be silly if you went intobor after putting it off for so long..." On that note, Vahn decided to ask, "So, how has everyone been while we were away? How are Hephaestus and the others...?" Vahn was surprised the rest of the girls in the Manor hadnt shown up at this point but he suspected Syr had said something about meeting upter since there was a discussion going on right now. Hestia, enjoying Vahns embrace with a contented smile on her face, said, "There were a few hups, but everyone has been fine. Other than feeling a little lonely, we all managed pretty well and have been spending most of the afternoons just talking about the children. Hephaestus should be sleeping in your room right now. Tsubaki has been spending a lot of time watching over Tinas and Shizunes training, and they should all be together right now...and, lets see..." While Hestia was exining things, Vahn had already identified the location of everyone in his domain, noting that most of them had already gathered together in the dining room. The one thing he had picked up on was the fact the Hestia said there had been some hups, causing Loki to give him a small nod that essentially said, Ill exinter. Vahn furrowed his brows slightly but kept the smile on his face as he listened to Hestia mention how each individual person was doing. He was very surprised when she made a very casual remark that caused his mental faculties toe to aplete stop, "Oh, and Eina started having morning sickness a few weeks ago...I wasnt supposed to tell you that." Loki facepalmed hard, giving Hestia a re before eventually just sighing as she said, "Well, there goes the surprise. Seriously, Hestia..." Hestia became somewhat pale, hanging her head as she said, "I-I-I got caught up in exining things...Im sorry, Vahnnnn~!" Vahn absentmindedly hugged Hestia a little tighter, processing her earlier words as a smile appeared on his face. When he heard Hestia suddenly apologize, he justughed it away and said, "Its fine, Hestia, I would have asked about Eina if you hadnt brought her up and I doubt everyones reactions would have been able to keep it a secret." Since he had the ability to see auras, Vahn would have noticed if everyone was trying to keep something from him. Hestia smiled in response to Vahns words, sighing in relief that he wasnt actually angry that the surprise had been spoiled. She intended to apologize to Einater, but the kind Half-Elf probably wouldnt really me her for the slip-up...probably... --- Anubis finally arrived, apanied by a very high-tension Nanu who seemed to be devastated when she saw Vahnsp had been taken. Fortunately for her, Vahn had Hestia stand for a moment so he could greet the two, sharing a long embrace and a somewhat heated kiss with Anubis while Nanu had to settle with something moderately tamer. This seemed to be enough, however, as her bushy dark-brown tail beat furiously like from side-to-side after Vahn gave her a quick peck and some heavy ear petting. His [Grooming] made his petting even more effective, so Nanu had turned to mush very quickly with a silly smile on her face. After things had settled down a bit, Anubis eyed Rufina with her moonlight eyes and asked, "Is this the one you wanted me to take a look at, Master...?" Though Rufina was the only person that fit the setting, Vahn still nodded his head and exined, "Indeed. She had been put under the control of our enemies, though Im not sure for how long. After our battle, I got a little bit of information from her and discovered she was just another victim in the grand scheme of things. I managed to help her regain her humanity, but I needed to know if there were any vows embedded in her soul that would make her a potential threat..." There were few things more dangerous than having an amnesiac around that might suddenly wake up with thoughts of killing everything around her just because of a vow. Though it was unlikely, Vahn still needed to be sure since it was impossible to risk the safety of others if he knew Rufina, formerly Revis, was still dangerous. There hadnt been any signs of bacsh thus far, but making assumptions that could endanger others wasnt something Vahn was willing to do in this case. Anubis continued to stare towards Rufinas chest, causing the woman to feel moderately ufortable with a strong urge to cover her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Seeing this, Anubis cracked a small smile before turning to Vahn and saying, "There are indeed some vows imnted in her soul, but I dont believe they are anything dangerous. The color shows pale gold, so the vows themselves had to have been made willingly and had to be recognized by the world as just or honorable. Its more than likely that they were vows she had taken before falling under control, so it would ultimately depend on the type of person she had been in the past..." Vahn nodded his head with a small smile on his face because he had keyed in on the fact that Anubis said they were vows made to be just and honorable. The fragmentary chains that represented vows took on different colors depending not only on the type of vow but the terms of the vow itself. An example would be someone taking a binding vow to kill another person, which would have made the fragments look dark purple, or even ck. For Rufina to have pale-gold for her vows, it had to be something along the lines of a vow to protect, or even save other people. At the very least, she must have ced a lot of significance on the vow itself or it would have been a more neutral color like white. Rufina seemed visibly relieved by the revtion, cracking a smile as she asked, "Well, thats one less thing to worry about...now, what am I supposed to do from now on?" Given the number of girls around Vahn, Rufina was somewhat worried that he would try to collect her as well. She didnt have a bad impression of the boy but couldnt really understand why so many girls were drawn to him, especially since there seemed to be goddesses in the mix. Though she wouldnt really mind if things turned out that way, primarily as a result of not really knowing what other choices she had, Rufina kind of wanted to live her own life... Hearing Rufinas question, Vahn turned to Loki and said, "I was actually thinking of having her join the Ganesha Familia and apprentice with Shakti. She seems to have a rare skill that allows her tomunicate with monsters so I think she would be a powerful tamer. However..." Vahn turned to Rufina now, gauging her reaction as he said, "If you dont want to get involved with the Dungeon anymore, I wouldnt really me you. For the time being, I think it would be a good idea for you to just study and refamiliarize yourself with the world. Well do an investigation on your background to see if we can find any family or friends that may have been looking for you. Once we learn any concrete details, well let you know..." Rufina released an audible sigh of relief, causing Vahn to feel a little awkward as she gave him a sheepish grin and said, "I was worried you were going...well, that isnt really important. But yeah, Im pretty sure I can trust you and, if you think those people would be able to help me, I dont mind staying with them. As for the Dungeon, I dont really have any negative memories about it but I can tell that strength is pretty important in this world since there are monsters running around. If I can at least be strong enough to protect myself, that would be enough for now..." Loki had been watching Rufina closely, squinting her eyes with a mischevious glint as various thoughts ran through her mind. The ability tomunicate with monsters was exceptionally rare and would have been a great boon if they were able to control and guide her properly. However, having her go to the Ganesha Familia also wasnt a bad idea since it would further strengthen their ties. Ganesha himself had been trying to pawn off Shakti to them for a while and Loki had been considering having Vahn pacify the boisterous god by spending more time with his all-too-serious Captain. This could be an opportunity to smoothen things over and potentially take out two birds with one stone... Unaware of Lokis schemes, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Well send a message to the Ganesha Familia and get their consent before flying over and getting you settled in. However, even if youre staying away from the Hearth Manor, dont be afraid toe to us if you ever need any help Rufina. If your memories awaken and youre able to remember anything about the time you spent in the Dungeon, please let us know immediately. It might be a little unfair to Ganesha, but I would ask that you keep it a secret from him and the Familia until were able to deal with things on our end. The Alliance is the primary force opposing those that have made the Dungeon as their den and it is much easier to control the flow of information and make ns if the information is kept under wraps..." Rufina listened patiently for Vahn to finish before immediately saying, "Yeah, youve helped me out a lot already. If I remember anything, youll be the first to know, kiddo. Ill stop by periodically to see if there are any updates on the investigation and stuff..." It felt a little awkward knowing that she was suddenly about to be meeting an entirely new group of people but Rufina felt like she could trust Vahns judgment. Someone that could gather so many people around him had to be highly capable and trustworthy, assuming they werent ridiculously maniptive. Since her instincts said he was the former, Rufina decided to join the Ganesha Familia and see how things would develop... (A/N: Alternate Titles: (OoO) <--Rufina @ everything,Scarily Pregnant : Hestias Blunder,RIP Ganesha-sama...) (A/N: There might be some dys in todays chapters, but there should be two more on the way.) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 658 - Getting Situated

Chapter 658 - Getting Situated

It didnt take long for the response to reach them, stating the Ganesha Familias eptance of Rufina as their responsibility. The moment he learned that Rufina was a Level 4 with an affinity for taming, Ganesha had been prepared to run the distance all the way from the Eastern side of the City toe and pick her up. It took thebined efforts of Shakti and several other Executives to catch him, tying him to a chair with several lumps on his head as they patiently awaited the arrival of their new member. As she didnt really have any personal belongings to prepare, Rufina was ready to go soon after the return message arrived. Since Terra had insisted, Vahn rode on her back with Rufina and Fenrir in tow, thetter of which was happily sitting in hisp. Rufina often cast nces toward Fenrir, curious about her rtionship with Vahn since they seemed almost inseparable. She always seemed to be at his side, rarely speaking unless it was to Vahn himself. Even with herck of memories, Rufina could tell that Fenrir wasnt really normal as, though there were several species that seemed to have furry ears and a tail, she was the only one that had paws for hands and feet... After a rtively short flight, Terranded on the left side of the Ganesha Familia residence, a massive bust of Ganesha himself appropriately known as I am Ganesha. Though it reeked of vanity, Ganesha himself was one of the most amiable and approachable gods in the entire City. There was a seemingly never-ended banquet going on that epted almost anyone as long as they hadnt been cklisted for causing a scene. People could just walk in off the street, enjoy the lively and festive atmosphere that seemed to permeate from the massive bust. The food and drink may not have been the highest quality, but it tasted good when you were in thepany of friends and like-minded individuals. Terras presence caused a bit of a stir but, as they had been expecting the arrival, members of the Ganesha Familia quickly ran forward to receive them. Shakti was amongst their numbers, giving an appraising look at Terra before turning her attention to Rufina. Her first impression was, like many of the other Executives present, that Rufina was definitely a natural. Even without testing her abilities, she had a pure aura with a wild feeling that carefree and wild feelinging off of her. Generally, those suited to be [Tamer]s had a simr aura so Shakti believed Rufina would make a fine addition to their numbers. It also helped that she was supposedly around Level 4 in strength, meaning she would be within the top five of the Familia based on strength alone... Rufina was evaluating everyone that was looking at her, feeling much the same as them since her instincts told her these were good people. Though some of them were staring at her with annoying gazes, Rufina didnt me them much since she was apparently supposed to be a beautiful woman. She didnt really have any interest in the majority of them, but the azure-haired woman caught her eye. Rufina, noticing the appreciative smile on Shaktis face, returned one of her own with a polite nod that seemed appropriate for the asion. It was very obvious she was the person in charge since the rest of the members seemed to orbit around her instead of trying to stand out on their own. Vahn epted Shaktis offer for a handshake, saying, "Sorry for any inconveniences this may cause you and the rest of the Ganesha Familia, Shakti. This just seemed like the best ce for Rufina to have a chance at rebuilding her life..." Shakti gave a curt nod, feeling the strength in Vahns grip as she raised one of her brows, saying, "Youve gotten much stronger...and dont worry about Rufina, well take care of her. It should be the Ganesha Familia thanking you for bringing us a talented new member. Ill personally see to it that she is treated well and let you know if anything happens that you need to be aware of." Shakti had already been informed of Rufinas condition, much like the rest of the Executives, so it had been decided that she would be Shaktis protege while limating to life on the surface. Amnesia was a very tricky thing to deal with and it would greatly tarnish the reputation of the Ganesha Familia if Rufina ended up getting manipted and harmed in the process of her recovery. Until she was fit to take care of herself, Rufina would be shadowing Shakti to learn as much about the City and the profession of Taming as possible. Having Shakis guarantee, Vahn smiled widely and said, "Thank you, Shaki. I look forward to the cooperation between our two Familias in the future. Is Ganesha present? There were a few things I had in mind for public events that I think he would find interesting." Hearing Vahn mention Ganesha, Shaki released a loud sigh while the other members of the Ganesha Familia began tough. Vahn raised his brow in curiosity as Shaki shook her head and said, "Follow me. Ill take you to him. Loki-sama actually asked that you be present for Rufinas induction ceremony so you can talk about it during that time." Since Vahn needed to check and see if there were any abnormalities with Rufinas status board, it was already decided that he would be there when she received the Falna. The only people that would be privy to her details would be Ganesha, Shakti, and the core members of the Alliance that needed to be kept in the loop. Rufinas flow was slightly different than a humans, so there was a very high probability that she was actually more of a Human-Creature hybrid, or at the very least a modified/mutated human. This could have several different implications and Vahn was inarguably the most qualified physician to deal with any problems that may arise. Terra assumed her human form, drawing a lot of attention to herself as she asked, "Master, do you want me to stay back or did you n on returning on your own?" Vahn tilted his head, thinking about things for a moment before saying, "Ille back on my own since Im not sure how long this will take. Dont worry, Im certain everything will be over with before dinner. Tell the others Im looking forward to the celebration..." Vahn sent Terra a wink, earning a light chuckle from the humanoid True Dragon as she stepped into the void in a sh of light. Everyone just stared nkly at the spot she had been standing previously while Vahn gestured to Shakti, "Lets go. I dont want to keep everyone waiting for too long..." Broken from her stupor, Shakti gave Vahn a curious nce before nodding her head, indicating for them to follow as she said, "I imagine there are plenty of things you have to tend to now that youve returned. Rumors have it that Hephaestus-sama and Loki-sama are due any day now...?" Vahn smiled widely, nodding his head as he said, "Yes, Im really looking forward to it. Just thinking about bing a father makes me feel both giddy and proud at the same time..." Several people present slightly exasperated looks, some tinged with a bit of envy but not enough to take note of. The vast majority of men would jump at the opportunity to win over any of the girls that had been drawn to Vahn so it wasnt umon for a touch of green to stain the auras of the people he interacted with. After walking for a few minutes, during which time most of the Executive members broke off to handle their own affairs, Vahn entered a room with Shakti and Rufina. When he saw Ganesha tied up to a chair with a sad look on his masked face, Vahn nearly burst outughing but instead just raised his hand and said, "Yo, Ganesha, long time no see~." Ganesha, as if his earlier mncholy had been an illusion, jumped up with the chair still attached to him and said, "Ah, Vahn Mason, its good to see you! Youll have to forgive me for noting to greet you myself, gaaaaaaaaaahahahahaha~!" Shakti undid the bindings holding the chair to Ganesha, shaking her head in exasperation all the while. When he was finally free, Ganesha struck a pose as if to show off his muscles, shouting, "Yosh! What a liberating experience, gaaahahahahaha~!" Then, as if on a tempo only he understood, Ganesha took on a serious look as he approached Vahn, grasping hands and asking inly, "So, when are you going to ept my Shakti as one of your girls? Im afraid she might never find a-" Before Ganesha was able to finish, Shakti knocked him on the back of his head hard enough to send him crashing into the ground. Vahn felt like he could see an illusory tick mark on Shaktis head as her fist shook with a bit of steaming off of it. Vahn scratched the back of his head, giving the blushing Shakti a wry smile that made her avert her eyes as she said, "Dont take this fools words seriously, Vahn..." As if he had never been punched, Ganesha bolted up in an instant and reproached Shakti by saying, "Hey now, thats no way to talk about your god, Shakti! Im just worried about you, after all, youre already thirty-" This time, Shaki didnt seem to hold back as she pped Ganesha hard enough to make him spin around several times while drawing a perfect arc through the air. The blush on her face turnedpletely crimson as she said, "I told you not to talk about my age so casually! Arent elephants supposed to have good memories!?" At this point, Rufina was standing very close to Vahn, poking his side as she asked, "Is this really the best ce for me? Im starting to reconsider my options..." Vahn had been nkly staring at the proceedings but Rufinas question had been thest straw as he had to cover his mouth to avoidughing. Shakti, as if reminded of his presence, turned toward him with a re on her face that made Vahn immediately put on a poker face and say, "Youre still a very beautiful and youthful woman, Shakti. Im certain youll-" Noticing the re on Shaktis face turning icy, Vahn swallowed his words and just averted his eyes away withoutpleting his thought. Realizing he was dropping the matter, Shaki gave a curt nod before digging Ganesha out of the wall he had been embedded into... Rufina ended up having to expose her back, something which she wasnt too fond of but epted as necessary since the blessing seemed very useful. She didnt know why, but part of her had an aversion towards men and the only exception to this seemed to be Vahn himself. Unsure of if it had anything to do with her past, Rufina kept the matter to herself for the time being and just did her best to not mind the rather rough finger tracing an emblem on her back. Ganesha was very practiced in the procedure, having cycled through thousands of members in his time in the mortal world, so the entire thing only took twenty minutes. Vahn, with permission from Rufina, then checked her Status Board while Ganesha and Shaki watched on in interest. They had heard he had the ability to read the ancientnguage of the gods even better than most of the gods themselves. Seeing it in person was very interesting and, though he typically was very whimsical, even Ganesha took on a very serious appearance as he watched Vahn cycle through the information on Rufinas back. He could see the information shuffle around in a manner beyond hisprehension so it wasnt difficult to believe the im now that he had verified it with his own eyes. Though the Ganesha Familia had already joined the Alliance, on the grounds of mutual cooperation during the bi-annual events, it was only now that he truly believed his decision to be the correct one... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Rufina Vermillion Race: Human, Creature(partially-awakened) LV. 4 POW: (C616) END: (S946) DEX: (D563) AGI: (C602) MAG: (H117) Skills: [Voice of the World: H](Innate), [Indominus:D](Innate), [Piercing Thrust:S], [Command Howl:B], [Rallying Spirit:B], [Crushing Strike:C], [Nature Armament:D] Magic: [me Enchant:B] Development Abilities: [Master Hunter:H], [Abnorma Status Resistance:A], [Swordsman:A], [Tamer:C], [Acrobatics:(sealed), [Tracking:(sealed), [Fist Strike:(sealed)] [Piercing Thrust] Rank: S Use: Allows the user to ignore arge portion of the targets defenses. Passive Trigger [Command Howl] Rank: B Use: Allows the users voice to be heard by allies even during chaotic moments. Greatly increases the distance the users voice travels. Active Trigger [Rallying Spirit] Rank: B Use: When fighting in a group, enhances the parameters of everyone allied to the user for a short period of time. Active Trigger [Crushing Strike] Rank: C Use: Overhead strikes with greatswords have a greater chance of dealing critical hits. Passive Trigger [Nature Armament] Rank: D Use: Allows the user to create nature weapons by consuming arge amount of mana. Capabilities of the weapon depending on the emotional state of the user and the amount of mana consumed. Active Trigger [me Enchant] Rank: B Use: Coats weapons and armor with me elemental energies, greatly enhancing damage potential and causing burn status effect on enemies. Chant: Burn, Consume, Turn To Ashes! me Enchant~! [Master Hunter] Rank: H Use: Greatly enhances abilities against monsters the user has fought and gained exilia from. The greater the number of enemies the user has in, the more fearful monsters of that type be. [Tamer] Rank: C Use: Increases the odds of sessfully taming monsters and other creatures of low intelligence. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When Vahn saw that Rufina had two Innates, both already awakened, he experienced a long pause in his train of thoughts before saying, "You have two rare skills and, judging from the names, I believe one allows you tomunicate with monsters while the other makes you a lot more durable than normal. Your Endurance is much higher than all of your other parameters as well and it seems youre quite capable with a sword..." Since he was her god now, Vahn handed over Rufinas Status Sheet for him to read, not really understanding Ganeshas take on things since it was hard to read his expression through the elephant mask covering his face. Rufina had the copy Vahn had given her, reading through all of her information with raised brows like she was looking at something pertaining to someone other than herself. She didnt really know if Level 4 was impressive but, based on the reactions of Vahn and Shakti, Rufina felt a small amount of pride well up inside of her chest as a small smile appeared on her face. Though she didnt care that much, it was far more preferable to already have a strong body than having to start from scratch. The rare skills Vahn mentioned seemed very useful, especially the one that made her body tougher than normal since getting injured wasnt a pleasant thought. Shakti also perused Rufinas information, already nning how she would help train her in the future, though only if the person in question had any interest in it. As an amnesiac, it was more important that she adapt to normal life since training was something that could be der, especially with such a strong base. Just knowing she had a rare skill associated with taming, including the [Tamer] Development Ability, gave Rufina an advantage over most people. Even she didnt have a rare skill rted to taming so it might even be possible to groom Rufina as her sessor. That might give her an opportunity to actually pursue a love life since she wouldnt have to constantly attend to Ganesha anymore... After a few minutes had passed, Ganesha seemed to break from his reverie as he shouted, "Graaaahahahahaha, it seems we really benefitted this time around! Wee to my Familia, Rufina, its a pleasure to have you! As youre undoubtedly aware..." Ganesha jumped back, striking a mboyant pose as he shouted, "I AM GANESHA~!" For several seconds after that, there was absolute silence until Rufina awkwardly said, "Ah, thanks for having me...?" As if given permission to move, Ganesha stood with arms akimbo and beganughing boisterously as he said, "Such a well-mannered girl. Maybe youll be teaching my Shakti a thing or two about being a good woman! Gaaaahahahahahahaha~!" The illusory tick mark appeared on Shaktis head again as she looked toward Ganesha with eyes that could freeze over a volcano. It didnt do anything to quell Ganeshasughter, however, as he continued to release an aura of Im oblivious to everything, after all, I AM GANESHA!. Deciding to spare Ganesha, at least for the time being, Shakti took a deep breath and said, "For the time being, youll share one of the Executive suites with me. If you need clothing and other essential items, we can go shopping for themter. Ill help you get ustomed to how to behave in public and show you some of the more interesting shops I frequent." At this point, Vahn palmed his hand with a fist before pulling out several tinum cards, handing them over to a stunned Shakti as he said, "Since Rufina was a responsibility that I bestowed upon you, Ill cover her basic living expenses until she is capable of sustaining herself. This should be enough for a few months but you can always send me a message through thework if more is required..." Shakti nkly stared at the cards, totaling more than 3,000,000V in value as she contemted Vahns words. Part of her wanted to retort that 3MV was more than enough for several years, much less a few months...it was this moment that made Shakti realize that Vahns sensibilities were more than a little different from normal people. It was good that Rufina ended up under her charge or she might have been led astray by the mentally skewed youth... Unaware of Shaktis thoughts, Vahn gave her aura a curious look before shaking his head slightly and deciding not to inquire. They then spent a few minutes arranging Rufinas affairs and getting her situated in her new room, which Vahn was allowed ess to. It was much smaller than some of the rooms at the Manor but it was easily enough for two people to live in. Shakti was the Captain of the Ganesha Familia but she stayed in the same Executive quarters as everyone else, even though Ganesha had prepared arger room for her use. She had a frugal nature and preferred practicality over extravagance, however, so it had gone unused after the previous Captain stepped down. It was a secret to everyone that the main reason she avoided it was the fact that there were several portraits of Ganesha inside and even the bathroom faucet was a miniature golden Ganesha head with the watering from the elephant trunk of his mask... (A/N: Alternate Titles: GAAAAANEEEEEESHAAAAAA!,Rufinas OP Status,Poor Shakti...) (A/N: One more chapteringter, though it will probably be a few hours (*o*)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 659 - Home

Chapter 659 - Home

After getting Rufina situated, Vahn parted ways with the group and reunited with Fenrir, who had been patiently waiting outside keeping guard. She immediately jumped up the moment he came out of the room, trotting over to Vahn who began stroking her head as he said, "Okay, looks like everything here has been taken care of, at least for the time being. Lets enjoy some fresh air and make our way back to the Manor..." Fenrir had her eyes squinted, enjoying her Masters caress as she nodded with an Nn sound. Vahn noticed she had been very quiet for thest few days and began wondering what was on her mind. Knowing she would tell him if something was actually bothering her, Vahn picked Fenrir up and let her ride piggyback as they made their way out into the fading light of thete afternoon... Though it wasnt really that fast, Vahn could maintain a slow and steady flight through the sky bybining his ability to levitate with some basic air maniption. He could keep the wind at bay with his own domain while beating away the cold air with his [Heart of the Eternal me]. Fenrir was actually more fond of the cold but she enjoyed the warmth of her Masters body and aura, something she had professed to him. Ever since she came back from the orb, she had been a little more clingy than normal while simultaneously being a lot more reserved. She rarely had any outbursts and spent more time observing what was going on around her than doing anything in particr. Whilezily making their way through the sky, Vahn asked, "So, anything you want to do now that were back on the surface, Fenrir? Youve already gotten very strong so it might be a good idea to take a break and enjoy surface life for a while..." Fenrir had been nuzzled into his cor, quietly sniffing his hair but she still answered, saying, "Fenrir will keep training to be even stronger. Eva said there is no limit to growth and assuming you are the strongest leads to stagnation. Until there are no more threats, Fenrir will keep getting stronger and stronger. Master should focus on his children for now...Fenrir will wait..." Vahn slowed down until they hade to a stop, hovering a few hundred meters above the City below. He realized that Fenrir seemed to be trying to spend as much time with him as possible since he will be very busy after the children are born, especially the Vanir. There were several other things he needed deal with so he wouldnt have nearly as much time to spend with her in the future. Vahn hadnt thought about it previously but Fenrir seemed to have picked up on that fact through her observation. She was surprisingly considerate, but Vahn felt a little lonely thinking they couldnt be together as much... After thinking it over for a bit, Vahn raised his head and said, "Fenrir, its okay to be a little selfish at times, even after the children are born. If you ever feel lonely, I can always make time for you...after all, youre one of my most importantpanions and I cant really imagine life without you anymore. Perhaps that is my own selfishness...but Im pretty reliant on you, now that I think about it." Fenrir released a rare chuckle, tightening her grip around his neck as she said, "Fenrir likes when Master relies on her...it makes Fenrir feel full inside..." At the end of her words, Fenrir lightly licked his shoulder, causing Vahn to make a small smile before continuing towards the Hearth Manor... It took close to half an hour, as they were going at a pretty leisurely pace, but Vahnnded atop the Hearth Manor with more than enough time before dinner. He could sense that everyone had already gathered, even Terra and Risna. Thomas and Aina had already moved into a small live-in shop next to the Hostess of Fertility, but Risna had ended up staying at the Manor even after her parents moved out. Vahn hadnt really seen her much since she initially moved in but her aura was the only one that was seemingly out of ce. Vahn was a little surprised by the number of goddesses present, who took up nearly half therge table they used for dining. There was Hephaestus, Loki, Hestia, Anubis, Epona, and Juno, all sitting in the area surrounding where he would be sitting for the meal. The only break in their ranks was Eina, who was going to be sitting to his left while Hephaestus sat on his right. Eina must have been waiting to break the news to him personally, even though she knew he was already aware. Even at a distance, Vahn could sense the budding life form inside her belly and it made him smile widely as he set Fenrir down and said, "Lets go, everyone is waiting for us..." Arriving in the dining room immediately caused a shift in the tensions as the mood immediately be joyous. Tina and Lili, unable to resist the urge, tackled Vahn almost instantly, the former sending a chill down his spine as she tripped on Lili and almost facented into his lower body. Vahn scooped her up in his arms with a cold sweat running down his back as Tina sheepishlyughed. Vahn carried the two girls forward, noticing that Tina had grown a little more while he was away while Lili hadnt changed much at all. She felt a little heavier, likely a result of her increased muscle density, but Vahn didnt think she would be happy if hemented on it... Vahn spent the better part of ten minutes just greeting everyone, sharing hugs, kisses, and a few affectionate words. It started off with the youth troupe, consisting of Tina, Lili, and Shizune before moving on to Mn, who greeting him with a gentle smile, and Chloe, y biting his ear and saying a few words that made his heart itch. Arnya, looked decidedly plumper than in the past, followed soon after while supporting her round stomach with an affectionate look on her face. Aki was close behind, in much the same state as Arnya, but with her hair down in loose curlspared to the straight hair she had in the past. She was looking very motherly whereas Arnya looked like she might bounce back the moment she gave birth... Lunoires hair had increased in length slightly but she had put it up in a loose ponytail and was wearing afortable green dress. She rested her head in the nook of his neck, embracing him tightly as she said, "Wee home, Vahn..." in a low voice. Ryuu was right behind Lunoire, wearing loose creme-colored clothing that had green and pink flower motifs sewn into it. She was looking far more radiant than in the past and had a slight bulge in her stomach with a loving smile on her face. Syr, as if toplete the set, came after Lunoire, initiating a rather bold kiss that caused the auras of several girls to re up. When she pulled away, there was a light blush on her face as she began tough in a mischevious manner. Vahn shook his head with a wry smile on his face, following Syrs retreat with his eyes before turning to Preasia, who had a very startling appearance. She was wearing a sweater-dress that matched the color of her hair while every visible part of her skin, excluding her face, hands, and feet, were covered in a tinum blond fur with a slightly golden hue to it. It was much denser than in the past and had caught Vahn off guard for a moment before he smiled and gave her a tight hug, marveling at her softness as she giggled in his arms and kissed his cheek. She had apparently fully embraced her transformation and seemedfortable with the changes her body had experienced... After Preasia trotted off to share a hug with Fenrir, Risna surprisingly stepped forward with a bashful expression on her face as she extended her hand, saying, "W-wee b-back, Vahn..." Vahn smiled, ruffling her instead of shaking her hand, causing her to blush and bite her bottom lip before retreating away with a hmph sound. Naaza was right behind her, already showing a light blush on her face as her tail wagged back and forth slowly. Vahn smiled, pulling the reserved Chienthrope girl into his embrace and gently stroking her long brown hair. Naazas tail waggled a bit more forcibly as she smiled and said, "Wee home..." while absentmindedly sniffing his neck. Right after Naaza stepped off to the side, Vahns eyes widened because a glowing Tsubaki appeared in front of him, wearing a ck colored yukata with red ents very loosely around her body. Her hair was pinned up with two red needles with golden tassels hanging off the end and she had the most motherly look Vahn had ever seen on a woman up until now. Around the same time that his eyes wandered to her rather round belly, Tsubaki stepped forward and pulled him into her embrace, nestling him tightly against her plump b.r.e.a.s.ts as she said, "You did well toe back, Vahn. Wee home..." Tsubaki kissed the top of his head, cradling him for several long seconds while rocking from side-to-side very gently. Vahn was in a daze by the time Tsubaki released him, feeling slightly drunk off her scent before immediately calming down when Riveria walked up. She wasnt very far into her pregnancy but Vahn could see a slight bulge on her belly that was adorned with the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing]. There was a blush touching her cheeks as Riveria hesitantly hugged him, trembling for a few seconds before finally calming down. She took a deep breath, releasing a hot sigh against his neck as she muttered, "We have a lot to talk aboutter...fuuu..." Vahn nodded his head, understanding there must be a lot on Riverias mind after Terra returned a few weeks ago. There was also the data about the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing], which seemed to still be affecting her body and causing her difort... Before he was able to let his mind wander, Emiru and Maemi both stepped forward, kissing each of his cheeks while pressing their soft bodies against his. Vahn grabbed both of their waists, pulling them close to him with enough force to pick the girls up off the ground. They giggled in response, nuzzling against his neck and cor as if trying to mark their scent on him. When he let them go, Vahn was a little surprised with Haruhime walked up,ughing in an elegant manner before giving him a gentle embrace. Shirohime was on top of her head and took the opportunity to lean forward, affectionately licking Vahns face as she muttered, "You cant neglect uster..." in a tiny voice. Vahnughed at Shiros antics before casting a curious nce at Mikoto, who immediately averted her eyes with a blush. She wasnt really good at showing public disys of affection and wasnt as shameless as Haruhime to jump on the bandwagon with everyone else. This left a window for Hestia to step forward, leaping into Vahns arms with enough force to make him step back to support her. She unashamedly initiated a kiss that was considerately more passionate than Syrs yful gesture earlier. By the time Hestia let him go, Vahns mouth was practically covered in saliva as Hestiaughed with a vibrant smile on her face and said, "Wee home~." Anubis stepped forward, giggling as she used a handkerchief to wipe away the excess saliva before giving Vahn a kiss of her own, decidedly more tame than Hestias but still full of emotion. Like Naaza, her tail was waggling from side-to-side and she made no attempts to hide the fact that she was taking in his scent. When Anubis parted from him, she whispered, "Im looking forward to resuming our walks, Master...I know Nanu is looking forward to it as well." Giving him onest kiss, Anubis slowly turned away, allowing her bushy tail to brush up against him as shenguidly walked away with a willowy swaying of the waist. With Anubis departure, that left Loki and Hephaestus, nking a blushing Eina who had a lovely smile on her face. She walked forward,ughing slightly as she said, "Well, it was supposed to be a surprise for you but it looked like I was the one to get a small surprise..." Eina sent a yful look to Hestia, causing the diminutive goddess tough in an awkward manner with a deep blush on her face. When everyone startedughing at her, Hestia released a gnuuuuu sound with moisture building up in her eyes as she bit her bottom lip. Even Vahn produced a small smile but directed his gaze towards Eina as he pulled her into a gentle embrace, stroking her back as he said, "Eina, thank you..." in a voice filled with deep emotions. Eina brought her hand up, caressing the side of Vahns face with tears beginning to build up in her own eyes. Her smile continued to grow until she nearlyughed out, barely stifling it as she said, "You silly boy...Im supposed to be the one thanking you..." Following her words, Eina gave Vahn a rare kiss without minding the fact they were surrounded by people, including her own younger sister. She was full of hard to describe emotions and didnt know whether tough or cry so she settled for a mix between the two as pearl-like tears fell from the corners of her eyes. Eina truly felt blessed with her current lifestyle because children had been a hope she could hardly imagine in the past, at least having any of her own... Risna watched as her big sister was embraced by Vahn, feeling somewhat bitter in her heart at their intimate disy. She had been very excited for her sister after it became known she was pregnant but, seeing her like this with Vahn, made Risna feel lonely. Outside of her books, she had never really cared about matters of love but there was just something about watching her own kin experience happiness that made her feel like she had been missing out on something. Just a bit, Risna wished she could be the one being embraced by Vahns powerful arms, enjoying the warmthing from his body and the scent wafting from his chest, which seemed to be popr with many of the other girls... When he finally parted with Eina, several minutes had passed and it wasnt until Juno, who was watching everything happen, made ament about young love. Eina had a blush on her face, giggling as she moved a few strands of hair behind her pointed ears and gave Vahn onest look before standing to the side. Hephaestus followed soon after, looking like she was due to give birth any day if her appearance was any indicator. Vahn affectionately rubbed her stomach, surprised to feel a kick against his palm soon after. Hephaestusughed, giving him a quick peck on the lips as she lovingly mused, "It seems our daughters are lively and eager to meet you...Vahn, thank you foring back early. I didnt realize how much it bothered me that you werent here until I heard you returned..." Hephaestus continued to give him more kisses in between her words as her aura started to cling to him, almost possessively. Loki, perhaps growing impatient, pinched Hephaestus butt and said, "Dont get too carried away. This has already been going on for nearly half an hour and my legs are starting to hurt~." Hephaestus sent Loki a look filled with me beforeughing it away andmenting, "Loki has missed you too~." With one final kiss, Hephaestus took a deep breath and sighed before standing off to the side. Loki followed her with eyes slightly parted before walking up to Vahn and burying her face into his chest, almost like she was headbutting him. Vahn loosely embraced her body as Loki murmured, "Its good that youre here, Vahn...it makes me feel very relieved knowing youre here instead of wandering around in the Dungeon..." Vahn slowly nodded his head, stroking Lokis back as he said, "This is where I need to be...I wouldnt trade these moments for anything..." Loki smiled, tracing her hands around his sides in a yful manner before biting his bottom lip with a sensual smile that didnt suit a pregnant woman. When she saw his reaction, Lokiughed mischievously before whispering, "There is a lot to talk about but lets enjoy the rest of the evening..." Loki then moved away, epting Junos assistance as she took her spot on the thick cushion next to where Eina had been sitting. The only person he hadnt hugged, with the exceptions of Juno and Epona, was Terra, who stayed seated and just smiled marginally wider when Vahn looked over at her. With the reunion greetings taken care of, Vahn took his ce between Eina and Hephaestus as the celebratory banquet began. For what felt like the first time in months, Vahnsp remained free throughout the course of the meal and he spent the majority of his time just asking what everyone had been up to while helping Hephaestus and Eina with everything. The two girlsughed at his concern but still epted it nheless, earning a few yful gripes andints from Loki. Fenrir seemed to be catching up with Preasia, hugging the sheep girl from behind while thetter blushed and ate her meal mostly in silence. Lili and Naaza made conversation with Riveria and Terra while Chloe teased Shizune with a pair of chopsticks, snatching the food from the smaller girls pair, calling it training. Overall, it was a very lively meal and, though he had heard it from most of the girls already, Vahn couldnt help butment, ("Im home...") in the back of his mind... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir is a good girl (TT,...,TT),Reunion, Embrace, Affection,Home is where the heart is...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 660 - Hiccups

Chapter 660 - Hups

The partyst for several hours, reaching deep into the night without bothering anyone present whatsoever. It wasnt until Juno started urging the pregnant women to head off to bed that things started to settle down. As a goddess that had a Divinity rted to pregnancy itself, she was the defacto expert and had been managing the batch of expectant beauties for thest few weeks. Vahn helped escort the girls to their rooms, sharing his own bed with both Hephaestus and Eina that night. The mood had been very pleasant during dinner and Vahn already felt very satisfied so he spent the remainder of the evening just sharing affectionate words his two first wives while stroking their pregnant bellies... When Vahn awoke early the next morning, the pleasant feelings hadnt faded at all so he spent nearly two hours just watching the sleeping faces of Hephaestus and Eina until thetter eventually woke up. Eina, seeing Vahn staring at her, giggled softly before saying, "Good morning, Vahn..." in a soft, still tired, voice. Vahn reached out his hand, stroking her face with an affectionate look in his eyes as he mused, "Good morning, beautiful~." in a yful tone. Eina covered his hand with hers smiling more vibrantly at thepliment as Hephaestus stirred awake as a result of the noise. Vahn matched her red-crimson gaze, leaning down to share a kiss beforementing, "Waking up with two beauties by my side...Im very fortunate." Thisment earned him augh from Hephaestus, who reached up to pinch his nose as she yfully said, "For a boy that could wake up surrounded by ten beauties, that is a bit of an understatement." Vahnughed as if all the inhibitions he had in life had dispersed into the void. Even without Hephaestus saying it, Vahn knew he had been incredibly fortunate in this life, even more so whenpared to his previous one. It was this reason that made him work so hard for everyones sake, and also why he promised in his heart to return to this world no matter how long it took. Though he had been born on Earth, Danmachi was his first home, filled to the brim with people that cared for and loved him. Now, he just needed to make it a better ce for everyone else to live, so that his children wouldnt grow up in a world filled with hate and impending danger... Vahn escorted Eina downstairs, greeting Emiru and Maemi, both carrying a bed trays full of food to both Hephaestus and Loki. They spent a lot of time resting these days so took most of their meals in their own quarters or, in Hephaestus case, his. Loki was residing in the West Wing, near where Risna and Riveria stayed, while Juno and Epona had taken up residence near the medical ward. They had already prepared everything for theing births and were now just standing by for the inevitable moment toe. Hephaestus was supposed to be staying on the first floor, as going up and down three flights of stairs while pregnant was ill-advised, but had ignored the rmendation on the grounds of it being good exercise. The only people that had shown up for breakfast by the time he had arrived were Preasia and Fenrir, both having happy smiles on their faces that be decidedly more vibrant when he came into the room. Eina, seeing the two girls reactions, released a peal of bell-likeughter before sitting down on the cushion next to Vahns seat. Both girls came around to their side of the table, Fenrir surprisingly letting Preasia sit in Vahnsp as they all enjoyed a peaceful breakfast together. Vahn, after once again remarking at Preasias softness, began asking about what she had been up to while he was away. She admitted to spending the majority of her waking time studying with Naaza, Lili, and Chloe, while the rest of her time had been invested almost solely on the development of her rare skill. It wasnt umon for her to sleep for up to fourteen hours a day, which she fit into a carefully nned schedule, and she often invited the other girls to take naps with her. At this point, she had gotten very good at controlling things within the dreamscape and could pull in anyone within a 10m radius as long as they didnt resist it. As for the uses of the Dreamscape, it had been doc.u.mented by Riveria to greatly increase mana regeneration while even elerating natural healing. Of course, there were other uses for it, but most of those hadnt been researched in detail since it was only applicable to enemies. Preasia could create a nightmare of sorts, trapping the person in her dreamscape and causing them a great deal of mental anguish. As someone who had been nearly overwhelmed by her in the past, Vahn was very aware of the dangers presented by the skill. If Preasia actually managed to pull in an enemy, she would probably break them unless they had some means of protecting their mind... While they were eating, most of the other residents of the Manor began showing up, either returning from their morning training or simply waking up naturally. As for those that actually went out to train, even though they had celebratedte into the evening, they were Haruhime, Mikoto, Lili, Mn, Chloe, Shizune, and Tina. Unless they had a proper excuse, the girls practiced almost every morning, with Shizune and Tina being required by their respective mentors. They were in their growth phase and had just started out as Adventurers a few months ago, making it exceptionally important that they dont ck off. Tinamented this fact, as she wasnt a morning person, but got into the swing of things the moment she began wearing her equipment. When the youth troupe arrived, Tina immediately became somewhat high tension as she asked, "Ah, Vahnya! Will you take us into the Dungeon soon~nya!?" Mn began tough at her daughters antics, stroking the small cat girls hair as she said, "Now, Tina, you know Vahn just got back. Give him some time to rx..." Tinas ears became t against her head, causing Vahn to issue a small smile before he said, "I actually wanted to help the two of you jumpstart your magic training instead of focusing on the Dungeon. Both you and Shizune are at the correct age to build your foundation and Ill begin training you in a method that will make you be much stronger than if you simply entered the Dungeon." Tinas ears immediately perked back up while Shizunes amethyst eyes focused on him with unveiled intrigue contained within. Most of the girls had, in fact, focused their attention on him so Vahn exined, "Im sure youve all seen, or at least heard about, how strong Terra has be...well, Im not quite at her level, but Ive managed to memorize all of the texts that Eva created and can transcribe them for everyone. It will take a lot of studying, but I can help you build a foundation that will allow you to create your own magic. Anything you can think of, as long as you understand the principles behind it, is possible. You can even get to the point where flying through the sky or teleporting great distances would be second nature..." Vahn had never seen a tail be ramrod straight, but Tina managed to pull it off as she leaned against the table with an expectant gaze. Mn pulled her back, reprimanding her to sit still with a slightly incredulous look on her face. Tina hadnt had any major incidents while Vahn was away and had calmed down a great deal. Now that he was back, however, it seemed like a switch had been flipped in her daughter that made her act peculiar, to say the least. Tinas behavior earned her a small amount ofughter from those gathered at the table, causing a rosy pink tinge to touch her cheeks as she lowered her head in embarrassment. Though he would undoubtedly have to exin it in much greater detail,ter on, Vahn started talking about his own experiences with Magic. Even Risna, after deciding to take up permanant residence within the Manor, had taken vows of secrecy. This meant the only people Vahn needed to worry about were if Misha, Rose, Mona, Senna, or Pram. Since they usually ate breakfast in the small kitchte in their own residence, with the exception of Misha, Vahn could speak freely for the time being. As for Misha herself, she had been working the shift between 8 pm to 4 am and was likely to sleep until the early afternoon. Chloe listened very closely to the exnation, waiting for an appropriate timing before asking, "So, its impossible for people to be powerful Mages unless they start their training early~?" Vahn, understanding Chloes concerns, smiled as he shook his head and exined, "Actually, anyone can be a powerful Mage as long as their understanding of the phenomenon theyre trying to make is sound. The majority of spells rely on using external mana and shaping it using your willpower, not your internal mana reserves. Having arge internal reserve just makes it easier to fill in the gaps for spells you dont yet haveplete mastery over. Also, though it varies depending on the race, the development period for mana is around ages 8-25. As long as your body has reached full maturity, you can still increase your internal mana reserves through constant practice. Also, there are ways to supplement for theck of your own reserves, such as the mana batteries Ive been developing..." Hearing that they could also increase their own power, most of the older girls present released sighs of relief. As for Mn, she never cared that much about power and, as long as her daughter could be strong enough to avoid danger, that was enough for her. Vahn, however, didnt seem to give her an easy out as he then began exining the [Pactio] system. When they heard he had contract magic that could greatly increase their own potential, that actually worked in conjunction with the Falna, everyone experienced various levels of shock and excitement. Even Preasia, who had beenmenting entering the Dungeon, began to writhe around in hisp as a result of how giddy she felt about the prospect of bing strong without having to fight terrifying monsters... Vahn had Haruhime and Mikoto demonstrate their own [Pactio]s for the girls after his exnation had finished, stunning the breakfast goers when they saw the transformation of the two. Even those without high perception could tell that Haruhime and Mikoto became much stronger the moment they activated their cards, even though it only required them to say a single word. When Vahn demonstrated the activeponent of the [Pactio], causing the two girls to be covering in a pale golden aura, Tinas eyes were practically shining along with them. Haruhimeughed in an elegant manner, ented by the fact she currently looked like an Empress, while Mikoto stood stoic with the smallest sign of a smile reaching the edge of her lips. Tina, having apparently missed part of the exnation earlier, was very eager to form a [Pactio], even though her small face flushed at the thought of sharing a kiss with Vahn. When he reminded her that the [Pactio] was only permanant if she was recognized as an a.d.u.l.t, she dropped to her butt with a look of disbelief that could cause cracks in the heart of a war-hardened veteran. Vahn assuaged her heartache by exining, "Dont worry, Tina, as you can always form a [Pactio]ter. Its actually better that you dont be ustomed to relying on it so early since it might interfere with your own development. Focus on studying and polishing your own skills further so that your future [Pactio] will be even stronger. After all, the artifact you obtain is based on your personality and capabilities. Youre still young, so there is plenty of time for you to develop before you need to worry about creating a permanant contract..." Vahn hadnt exined about temporary contracts since he didnt really see the purpose in propagating the existence of magic that could make minors more powerful. Though it was unlikely for most people to be able to learn [Pactio], without being able to circ.u.mvent the worldsws to an extent, Vahn didnt want to seed the idea in their minds. He intended to let the majority of people believe that [Pactio] was just the result of aplex magic item, which wouldnt be difficult to spin since he could purchase all kinds of items from the system that seemed to appear out of nowhere. Just having Tiona demonstrate her use of the [Mirukurun Magic Wand] would be enough to convince the masses that such items existed. Though Tina was momentarily deterred, along with a dejected Lili, there was one person who seemed curious about something and asked, "Can I get a [Pactio] now? Though Ill still study Magic with everyone else, Im more interested in getting ustomed to using whatever tools are avable to me. I dont want to have to change my entire fighting styleter on just because I got a new transformation..." The source of the voice was none other than Shizune, perhaps the singr exception to the age requirement. As Eva imed it was possible for her to perform [Pactio]s in her real body, even though she was stuck at a physical age that should have made it impractical, it was highly likely that Shizune was qualified to enter a permanant [Pactio]. After all, though she had the body of a young girl, she was actually still seventeen years old,ing upon her 18th birthday in less than a month... Vahn was also somewhat curious, but he wasnt trying to start up a queue of kissing everyone when they were still in the process of eating breakfast. He intended to enter a [Pactio] with every girl present at some point, including Eina, but that could wait untilter. Though, after thinking about it for a short while, this didnt seem like the best idea. If something happened that could have been ovee if they had ess to [Pactio], Vahn wouldnt easily be able to forgive himself. There was also the simple fact that having ess to telepathy was a major boon for keeping in contact. It might not prate through the Dungeon that much, but it still allowed him to react to the situation if there were an emergency on the surface... After sorting his thoughts, Vahn changed his tune and said, "Okay, well do it like this then. Ill enter a [Pactio] with everyone that meets the requirements so that you have plenty of time to familiarize yourselves with their use. Also, Ill be giving you a journal, so please doc.u.ment everything that you discover about your artifact and raiment so Riveria and I canpile everything. Understanding how some artifacts works can lead to major discoveries and the creation of newer spells that emte the effects, after all..." Vahn was, admittedly, very curious about some of the artifacts that came into existence, especially Lefiyas and Ais. Having an artifact that can produce healing water or creating wings that allowed a person to freely fly around with a negligible cost was simply incredible... It was decided that Vahn would clear out space in his salon to perform all the [Pactio]s this afternoon. Everyone needed to be informed of the details and he still needed to discuss several things with Riveria and Loki before starting a long kissing and study session with the girls. The main reason, however, was just to give everyone a bit of privacy since some of the transformations could be rather embarrassing. Some of the girls may even want to keep their artifacts a secret, which was understandable since the form each artifact took was a reflection of their character. Though everyone in the Manor was typically very understanding, it didnt mean the girls wanted to disclose everything to each other. Breakfast ended on a lively note, with everyone in high spirits as they talked about what they imagined their own artifacts to be. Vahn parted ways with the girls, heading off to where Lokis room was since he wanted to learn exactly what hups had urred while he was gone. Given how everyone was behaving, it didnt seem to be anything too bad and was likely just something that needed to be dealt with before it became a problem. Vahn imagined it rted to the Elven Kingdom, as Riverias behavior seemed to suggest that was the case. Now that he had [Magia Erebea], Vahn wasnt even afraid of walking directly into the pce without an escort, as there wasnt much anyone could do to stop him right now. The only thing that kept him from doing so was Evas constant reminders not to assume he was unstoppable as there were always ways around any form of immortality. There was also the fact that he simply didnt want to leave the Manor right now, as Hephaestus and Loki were due any day... Knocking on the door to Lokis room, Vahn waited for permission to enter before making his way into the room where, unsurprisingly, Juno and Riveria were also present. This almost immediately confirmed his suspicions as Lokiughed mischievously and said, "I actually didnt think you would take so long toe by. Its good that youre remaining focused instead of getting caught up in the tempo of the others~." Vahn rubbed his head as he walked over to the side of the bed, exining, "Actually, we were talking about everyones magic training and the existence of contract magic called [Pactio]. Ill go into more details about itter, so for now, lets just discuss the important matters that you alluded to previously..." Vahn had seen the glimmer in Riverias eyes when he mentioned magic, giving her a small smile before sitting down on the bed. Loki grunted as she moved over to his side, causing Vahn to sweat a bit while Juno reprimanded her with a helpless look adorning her youthful face. Loki waved her away with a Bah! before snuggly sitting in Vahnsp with a contented sigh escaping her lips. She began tough in a kukuku-like manner before saying, "Every time I sit on yourp, it feels like Im the Queen of the world~." As she had referred to hisp as the seat of power previously, Vahn wasnt that surprised by Lokis words and just kissed the top of her head in response while cradling her stomach with his palms. Lokiughed a bit more before saying, "Well, as you undoubtedly expected, there have been a few issues that have popped up from the side of the Elven Kingdom. The blockade has been going as nned, though there are intermittent attacks on asion and arge flux of smuggled goods than we anticipated. One of the more troubling things is the fact that vers have been going through the routes to the north, exchanging goods for Half-Elves and some of the lower born Elven households. Its really been pretty chaotic..." As Loki exined, Riveria gripped her hands with a frustrated expression on her face. She never expected that the response from some of the noble families would be to literally sell some of their own people. It was like all their talk of pride and Elven supremacy had no substance at all... Vahn gave Riveria a look filled with concern as a cool sensation started to spread through his mind as a result of his own anger. Loki, leaning into his chest and watching the changes in his expression, continued by exining, "We tried to reach an agreement with the Dwarven outposts south of the Iron Hills, but their terms were simply ridiculous so we had to turn them down. Since there was a chance that the Elves being sold into very were intended to be seeded into Orario as spies, we managed to convince the Nobles within the City to bar entrance to any vers found smuggling Elves in their stock. However, there has still been an increase in the number of Elves within the City, likely using back channels and secret passages to bypass the gates..." Hearing all of this made Vahn feel a powerful headacheing on that was only kept at by his [Will of the Emperor] and the concern he felt for Riveria. He could hardly believe a culture could degrade to the point where it justified selling its own people rather thanpromise on an issue that could actually benefit everyone. It seemed that the Elven Kingdom had be rotten at its core and this was likely a way for the High Elves to try and shift the me on them somehow, likely by iming they are being forced to trade away their people for the goods that are needed. This would prevent the Elves from ming the High Elves for their struggles while directing the hatred of their people towards Orario. Though not everyone would believe that, especially those impacted by the malignant practices of some of the High Elven families, they only needed a bit of momentum to make the Elven loyalist deal with most internal issues for them... Riveria, gripping her fists until the point where her fingers were solid white, stated in a cold tone, "My father isnt the type of man that should have let things get to this point. Its almost like he is trying to lead the Kingdom to a copse. He isnt listening to any of my advice and even the High Priestess seems to be in favor of these self-destructive actions. Everyone is just using this as an opportunity to increase the strength of their own faction while our people are the ones suffering!" There were tears of indignation in Riverias eyes, filled with the resentment of someone that had dedicated their everything to trying to create a better life for her people... Loki nodded, slightly parting her eyes to look at Riveria with the same concern found in Vahns before saying in a in voice, "Its likely that your father is actually trying to destroy the noble factions entirely. The Sage Council is taking a hard stance on the matter and holding all of their elites in reserve while many people that want to escape the troubles guing the rest of society have sought shelter in the High Priestess faction. Though internal strife will be the inevitable result, the people that end up on the losing end with undoubtedly be the Elven supremacist faction and the High Elven households. Its even possible that he is clearing away thepetition so that your own child can step in and reunite everyer on..." Hearing Lokis words, Riverias eyes opened wide in realization, causing her mouth to open and close slightly like a fish out of water. Now that she thought about it, that seemed to be the exact reasoning given how events were transpiring. The only problem with this was the fact that arge portion of her people were being sacrificed for that purpose. War was something Riveria considered to be inevitable, but she didnt want to see the situation devolve to the point where her people started killing themselves only for her to step in and reap all the benefits. However, the more she thought about it, the more this seemed like the best oue. Realizing this made Riveria feel very bitter and, for one of the first times since she discovered that she was unsuited to rule, Riveria hated being born as a High Elf... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn Mason, Luck Incarnate,The Power of Love...?,Elven Kingdom be Trippin...) (A/N: This may be the only chapter for today since Im going to stay with my family this afternoon so they can take me to the airport in the morning. Ill take myptop with me and try to write another chapter or two, but there is no guarantee. Ill be in Arizona from the 8th to the 15th for work but I will still be releasing at least one chapter per day. This is also the time when Ill be opening up some discussion about the direction of the novel for the future and plotting things out for the next few worlds. Though I cant exin how it will happen yet, as that would be a spoiler, Vahn will be going to Nasuverse next. Negimaverse will be the third world but, unless people actually want to see a negimaverse fanfiction, Vahn wont spend more than 200 chapters in each world. If you have any good ideas for worlds that can be visited, go ahead and put them in thements section. Upvotements you agree with and Ill be making a list of the most popr results so people can vote on themter (UwU)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 661 - Acceptance

Chapter 661 - eptance

Vahn had known that there would be consequences faced by the Elven Kingdom for their policies, but seeing how it affected Riveria made him feel a bit of anguish in his heart. He had even been willing to let the entire Kingdom copse while offering refuge to Elves that wanted to escape, building a second Kingdom for them away from the stagnant culture that currently defined their people. Riveria hadmitted to the same thing, but it didnt seem like she was taking it well knowing that her people were suffering. This made it a lot harder for Vahn to simply allow the Elves to bring about their own destruction, bringing a frown to his face as he thought about possible solutions. Loki, having observed Vahns reactions, inly stated, "Vahn, unless you want to be a tyrant that forces other countries to bow to your whims, you cant take any direct action. This could be a way for the Nobles to try and draw Riveria out and forcepromise in their favor. At this point, there is no way they arent aware that she is pregnant as rumors have even circted through the City. If you go to the Elven Kingdom without the resolve to kill the people that are the source of the problems, you will just be taken advantage of and seen as weak. Even if you do kill them, however, any good reputation you had will be thrown out the window and, even with the support of hundreds of gods, you will still be seen as an arrogant tyrant to uses his power to oppress people that oppose him..." Though she had been speaking to Vahn, Lokis words were for the benefit of Riveria as well, who quickly returned to a stoic appearance as she looked to Vahn and said, "This is the path my people have decided for themselves, even if they didnt know the consequences of their actions. The faith they have put in the Nobles families over thest thousand years will be their inevitable undoing. I can only pray that more people seek shelter with the High Priestess Faction to avoid the conflict..." It was very difficult to look at the situation objectively, but Riveria knew this was still a route that would allow a greater number of her people to survivepared to waging an actual war. There was also the fact that, by selling actual Elves into very, something that was exceptionally rare, it would be much harder for any surviving elitist to im they are a superior race. When the people you put your faith in start trading you as amodity, just like the races you talked down on, it bes much harder to keep your head raised and speak of pride. This would be a wake-up call that would resonate with the future generations of Elves, perpetually reminding them of the price their hubris had wrought upon them. Thinking till this point, Riveria hardened her heart and said, "We should establish openmunication with the High Priestess Faction and ask if they are in need of any assistance. The Sage Council and some of the Nobles families may ally together to try and force the High Priestess into apromise. Though theirbined power shouldnt exceed that of the High Priestess Faction, there is no way of knowing how things will develop when the Nobles be desperate..." Vahn slowly nodded his head, observing all the changes in Riveria before slowly saying, "Well form a secret alliance with the High Priestess Faction ande to their aid if anything unexpected urs. If necessary, I can personally transport goods with my storage magic and, depending on how trustworthy they seem, create a teleportation ward that will allow them to move outside of the forest without drawing the attention of the other two factions. Ill set it up as an emergency measure so it will only be active for a short period of time, enough for an evacuation if they are forced to flee..." Loki, Riveria, and Juno were all surprised by Vahns words as they had never heard anything about a teleportation ward. Teleportation magic was exceptionally rare, but Vahn was talking about it as if it wasnt really that difficult to set up at all. Riveria had a better understanding of things, as she spent a lot of time talking with Terra, but Loki and Juno were clueless on the matter. Vahn, seeing their reactions, gave a wry smile and said, "I already told you in the past, but the magic system Eva taught me is unlike anything that exists in this world at present. Though I cant go into the exact details, it will be apparent with the passage of time just how different it is. There are several secrets that will only be passed down to a select few individuals, so I cant exin the details just yet..." Seeing the reactions of the three girls, Lokis showing intrigue, Junos showing confusion, and Riverias showing borderline mncholy, Vahn rified, "Riveria, youre one of the people I will be imparting all the secrets to as I believe you are the best suited for integrating the two magic systems. You may not be able to increase the internal reserves of your mana to the same extent as some of the younger girls, but I believe you will be one of the most powerful and influential Mages in the world. Youll understand once our lessons officially begin, but please keep in mind that most of what I impart to you will be a secret..." Riveria had a small smile on her face, nodding with a contented expression as she said, "Very well. As long as our child is able to learn the same magic, that will be enough for me. For everything else, I will do as you say and only confer the knowledge to those that are deemed worthy of it..." Vahn didnt immediately agree with Riveria, saying in a in tone, "Our child should have the same basic foundational training as everyone else so they can develop their own unique spells. The more advanced knowledge must be earned, regardless of heritage, rtions, and rapport. If we start giving our children privileges they havent earned, there is an increased chance they be spoiled or walk down a darker path." Loki beganughing, tracing her fingers around the back of Vahns hand as she said, "Look at you, Vahn, already thinking such mature thoughts. I wonder how well that impartial nature of yours will hold up when you actually interact with your kids...kukukuku~." Even if their basic education was simr to what others would receive, Loki didnt believe for a single moment Vahn wouldnt be partial to his own children. He wasnt the type to stand at the side if someone needed his help, especially if the person asking ended up being his own children. Even if it wasnt in the form of passing on secrets to them, at least early on, he would still give them all kinds of resources, powerful protective equipment, and a safe environment where they would be nurtured to be exceptional. Riveria was having simr thoughts to Loki, but still gave Vahn a gentle smile since his words were actually verymendable for a boy his age. Though hecked wisdom and a noble bearing, Vahn was undoubtedly someone suited to lead, not directly, but by influencing those that were capable of making his ideals a reality. He had a natural charisma and a highly empathetic nature that allowed him to get close to people very quickly. This,bined with the fact that he had a great deal of power at his disposal, gave him a great deal of influence over the direction of the world, even if he didnt personally take action. Since Riveria knew he would take action, if necessary, that just made him even more qualified, at least in her opinion... Vahn felt a little awkward but just shouldered the momentary difort, allowing it topletely fade away when he felt a slight movement in Lokis stomach. With a smile on his face, he said, "I want to focus on being a good father to our children and consolidating the power of the Alliance for the time being. The School should be operational pretty soon, if Im not mistaken, and we can slowly change the perception of people by influencing the younger generations. When it bes known that almost anyone is capable of learning magic, I believe things will slowly change for the better. We dont do anything too shy, at least until the Academy at Haven is founded, but it should create a fair number of ripples that will one day have far-reaching effects..." As he was speaking, Vahn thought of the troubles with Rakia Kingdom and one of the ns he hade up with in the past. The smile on his face faded before he said, "Ill take Fafnir with me and raid some of the border outposts of the Rakia Kingdom. This will cause an influx in the number of refugees fleeing from their borders and divert some of the Elven Kingdoms attention to the western front. There is a chance it will also cause some of the Elven Nobles to rethink their actions once they see how much damage we can do in a short period of time..." Loki gave a yful snort before musing, "Make sure you discuss things with Minerva and Eirene before you do anything. You also need to make some time to help two more goddesses with their pregnancies as there were a fewints about letting you go on the Expedition. Other than that, feel free to do whatever you want, so long as youre here when the timees. Im not sure I can keep this brat holed up for much longer before she starts trying to force her way out~." As if in response to Lokis words, her belly deformed slightly, causing her tough while Juno gave her a concerned frown. It was very obvious that Loki was already ready to give birth but she was adamant about waiting for Hephaestus to go intobor first. Juno had stressed the dangers involved with dyingbor but Loki ignored herpletely, causing the petite goddess several headaches... Though he didnt know Juno well, Vahn could see the concern in her eyes and, as she was a principle goddess of pregnancy, Vahn assumed it was dangerous if Loki kept going for much longer. Since Hephaestus was due any day now, it was possible for them to inducebor without any realplications. Thus, after resolving himself for the trials toe, Vahn hugged Loki with a gentle embrace and said, "Ill talk to Hephaestus and well inducebor tomorrow so there are fewer chances of anyplications urring. Ive already inspected everyones body carefully and both twins are more than ready toe out by now..." Even as Vahn spoke, he trembled slightly until Loki grabbed his hands with her own, opening her eyes in a natural manner with a subtle softness to her red irises. She could see that he wasnt just saying something to try andfort her so, instead of rebuffing him, Loki smiled and said, "Guess Ill need to mentally prepare myself tonight...tomorrow will be interesting, ufufufu~." It was a strange transition from their earlier discussion, but Loki understood that Vahn wanted to make sure things were stable within the Manor before he started taking actions outside. She was also looking forward to finally seeing what their union had produced with her own eyes, as it sometimes felt like she was in a very extended dream with how unreal the situation seemed... Juno released a sigh of relief, saying, "Its good that you spoke up, boya. This idiot should have given birth weeks ago and, if the children develop as fast as Ive been told, it isnt safe to dy the pregnancy, even if its just a few more days. I heard youre skilled enough to even bring someone back from the verge of death so I have to ask, are you going to be the one handling the delivery? If not, I still think you should be there to observe since you should be capable of dealing with anyplications." Vahn couldnt help but swallow, suddenly finding his throat very dry but still saying, "I know how things are supposed to go, but I dont have absolute confidence without experiencing an actual delivery. I think Ill just observe and try to learn as much as I can in preparation for the future..." Juno and Loki both began tough while Riveriasplexion alternated between a fierce blush and a sickly paleness. She never even thought about the possibility of Vahn being the one to deliver their child but, given his capabilities, it made a lot of sense for him to conduct the procedure. There was even a chance, though it was scary to even think about, that Vahn could make the infamously painful experience painless... --- It didnt take long for news to spread throughout the entire Manor, even reaching Hephaestus long before Vahn himself showed up in the room. She immediately agreed to it after Vahn informed her that the twins were both fully developed and ready to be birthed. Since Lokis plight was one of her chief concerns these days, Hephaestus was relieved to know they would both be eased of their burdens. Her pregnancy had been strangely pleasant and rxing, but thest few weeks had made her feel very giddy and insecure. From the moment Vahn went into the Dungeon, Hephaestus couldnt help but worry that something would go wrong and it wasnt until his return that she finally managed to calm down. Though she knew he had concerns about it, Hephaestus actually wanted Vahn to be the one to deliver the twins since she felt it would make their bond stronger. Juno could advise him from the side and, though he seemed very nervous about it, Hephaestus had confidence that he would perform splendidly. She had seen the amount of focus he could put into something and, though it was awkward to imagine the young boy she had fallen in love with watching herdy bits distort during birth, Hephaestus didnt think he would mind too much. There was also the fact that she didnt want Juno to deliver the twins only for Vahn to move on and deliver Lokis daughter. This could lead to a very strange possibility of her being the only one to give birth without Vahn performing the delivery, something that bothered Hephaestus a fair amount... Vahn was more than a little reluctant about it at first but, after Hephaestus expressed how much confidence she ced in him, Vahn eventually caved in and promised to do his best. This earned him a profoundly beautiful smile from Hephaestus, who pulled him into her embrace and peppered him with kisses. Vahn returned her affections with a happy smile of his own before spending the better part of four hours justying together with the lovable goddess who put all of her faith in him. Though he wasnt focusing on the change, Vahns hands slowly ceased their shaking until they were as steady as the unbreakable bond he shared with the woman in his arms... After moving Hephaestus to a room on the first floor, so she could rest and prepare herself for theing day, Vahn made his way to the dining room with a strange calm settling over his body. It almost felt like he was a passenger in his own mind but the world around him had be far more clear than in the past. There was a rxed smile on his face as a feminine voice sounded out in his mind, (*Youll do fine, Vahn. The girls have every reason to trust you, after all, youre an incredible boy that has never truly let them down. As long as you remain calm and confident, there is nothing you cant do...*). The smile on Vahns face increased in size as a gentle warmth flowed through his chest, nodding calmly in response to Siss words. As it wasnt time for any meals, the dining room was entirely vacant when Vahn first entered, though Emiru and Maemi were quick to take note of his arrival. They came out to inquire if he wanted to take ate lunch but Vahn just shook his head, gesturing for the two girls to sit with him. With a little more eagerness than he expected, both girls immediately came to his side and sat down, leaning against both of his shoulders with happy smiles on their faces. Vahn released a light chuckle, exining the evolution of his [Petting] into the Development Ability [Grooming] while affectionately stroking their head, hair, ears, and chins. Though such actions would have caused them to squint with a contented smile in the past, now the girls almost became zy in his arms and just let him lead their bodies however he wanted, unashamedly releasing their own unique form of purring... After a few minutes, Vahn had the two girls heads resting in hisp as they snoozed with blissful expressions on their faces. This made the warmth in Vahns heart increase because they truly had adorable sleeping faces, ented further by the fact they were wearing their maid uniforms. He actually had the urge to tease them a bit but held it in since he was already trying to focus his mind for tomorrow. Since he didnt really need to sleep, Vahn imagined he would be meditating to the [Mantra of Eternity] instead. His ns to give all the girls their [Pactio] this afternoon had been changed, set aside until next Monday when their magic lessons officially began. Though he had already detected her approach, Vahn smiled when Fenrir began trotting into the dining room, showing a moderate amount of concern in her deep crimson eyes. Vahns ns once again changed and he asked in a quiet tone, so as not to disturb the sleeping twins, "Fenrir, do you want to sleep in my room tonight? Ive already calmed my nerves, but-" Before he was able to finish, Fenrir nodded her head with a small smile and said, "Fenrir will take care of Master..." Without any further exnation, Fenrir left the room with a confused Vahn who raised his brows slightly in curiosity. He realized she must have something in mind and wondered exactly what it might be... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Inner Turmoil,[Grooming] with Godhand,Fenrir is very clever (OwO)...) (A/N: Ill be flying out to Arizona in a few hours for my job. Wish me luck getting through the TSA and having good ne buddies (UwU)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 662 - Dream

Chapter 662 - Dream

Vahn spent the rest of the afternoon just pampering the twins, chuckling at their sad expressions when it was time to make dinner. Even though they had seemingly fallen asleep, it was apparently a very pleasant sleep that made them feel refreshed when they woke up. He had been able to see the invisible tendrils of pettingws still coursing through their bodies after the fact, a sign their parameters and stamina had been temporarily enhanced by the long exposure. Since he had the opportunity, Vahn helped prepare dinner alongside the girls, being joined by Mn, Tina, and Syr when preparations began. They made small talk with each other, enjoying the pleasant mood in the rtivelyrge kitchen that was full of fragrant and mouth-watering aromas. Cooking was one of Vahns favorite hobbies ever since he came to this world because it didnt require that much effort but could still put a big smile on peoples faces. He still remembered the very first time he had real food at the Hostess of Fertility, earning a heartwarming smile from Syr when she asked what he was thinking about. Dinner was strangely tense because everyone was thinking about tomorrow, knowing that it would be a day filled with nervousness, excitement, and eventual celebration. Everyone was looking forward to having children in the house, especially Hestia, Tsubaki, and Lunoire. As a goddess with a Divinity rted to Family, Hestia was bubbly with an expectant grin covering her face all throughout dinner. Tsubaki had strong maternal instincts because she had always been looking after kids, excited at the prospect of watching over the kin of her future daughter. As for Lunoire, she felt that the only thingcking in the Manor was the presence of children and believed it would make everyone feel even more like family than before. When everyone was almost finished cleaning the table, Fenrir came over with an innocent smile on her face, apanied by Eina and Preasia. Seeing the two she had brought along, Vahn had an idea of what she had in mind so he gave a wry smile, stroking herrge fluffy ears as he asked, "Are we all going to sleep together tonight?" Eina, looking even more beautiful than she had the previous day, gave a small smile in return and said, "Fenrir asked if we could help you rx through the night so you wouldnt be so nervous tomorrow. Preasias dreamscape will give you plenty of time to think and I believe it would be fun~." Vahn was somewhat surprised, giving Eina a curious look until she exined, "Since Preasia has been trying to master her abilities, she asked for help from everyone in the Manor. Ive been able to visit the dreamscape twice now, both times equally as interesting." Preasia gave a small nod, thinking about adding on some words of her own but ultimately deciding to keep it to herself. She wasnt sure if talking about the fact that some of the girls used the dreamscape to just rx with a self-created version of Vahn was beneficial for the current mood... Once the dining room had been cleaned up, the small group made their way to Vahns room, causing Preasia to take give his bed a strangely reminiscent look. Hephaestus, Hestia, and Loki had been monopolizing Vahns bed while he was away so she hadnt been able to sleep in his bed for thest few weeks. One of the only downsides to her dreamscape was the fact that smells and sounds didnt work very well. Even touch didnt have any real feel to it unless you were touching the other people within the dreamscape. While Eina and Preasia prepared for bed, Vahn snuggled up with Fenrir while observing them from the bed. Eina changed into a pair of light blue silk pajamas that were bothfortable to wear while being soft to the touch of anyone fortunate enough to cuddle with her. As for Preasia, she surprised Vahn by wearing what looked like small creme-colored silk shorts and a loose silk top that didnt even cover her navel. Vahn could see clearly just how much the fur on her body had developed, now even having a very lightyer on her abdomen that would be indiscernible for her fair skin from a distance. The ces that previously already had fur had be denser and there was already a slightly magical light shining when Vahn gave her a nce with his [Eyes of Truth] active. Fenrir had also been watching them, muttering in a voice, "Preasia is very soft...Fenrir wishes her fur could be that soft..." Though it wasnt unpleasant to the touch, Fenrirs fur was a little bristly and could even be moderately sharp when she was in high tensions. It didnt bother Vahn that much, but Fenrir had a habit ofparing the softness of her fur to the other girls, with Haruhime being at the top of her list. Though thetter wasnt nearly as soft as Preasia, it was the fact that Haruhimes tail was much softer than Fenrirs that made them rivals in the past. Vahn, fluffing up the adorably floppy ears of Fenrir, mused, "I think Fenrir is fine as she is, but you can also look into developing a spell to make your fur softer in the future...?" Fenrir nodded, enjoying the pleasant sensation from her ears as she said, "Fenrir has been trying to make a spell to make her hands and feet like everyone else so she can interact with people normally..." As if to demonstrate, Fenrir held up her paws and Vahn could see the visually shrink to assume a more human-like appearance. The peculiar thing about it, which Fenrir was likely still working on, was the fact that the hands looked tapered and much smaller than normal. It was a very strange sight, causing Fenrir to frown slightly before reverting back to her original paws. Before he couldfort her, Fenrir said, "Fenrirs ability to transform is limited for now but, one day, Fenrir will be able to change her form just like Master..." Fenrir had spent several months within the orb trying to improve her ability to change form but would always end up reverting back to her default appearance without a constant supply of magical power. It was the same thing that made her regenerate from any kind of wound and one of the few detriments to being an ageless creature. This didnt really bother her too much, however, as being able to spend an eternity with her Master was the greatest blessing she could imagine... Eina and Preasia both climbed into bed a little whileter, Fenrir surprisingly giving up her spot so that Preasia could climb onto his body. She had a light blush on her face as she straddled his waist but didnt do anything too sensual as Eina hugged his body from the side while Fenrir snuggled up against him on his right. Though her ability worked by proximity, the sensations shared between people were far more effective if you were closer together. If they were all in contact with Vahn, being able to smell his aroma while they slept, they would even be able to feel his body heat and enjoy his smell while inside the dreamscape. Preasia looked down at Vahns face for a few seconds, absentmindedly nibbling on her own lip before saying, "E-excuse me..." as sheid against his body. Because of her horns, she had to rest her forehead against his chest but Preasia didnt mind it much, instead, stealing a few whiffs of Vahns aroma as the glimmering gold light on her fur became more vibrant. As if no time had passed, all four of them ended up within the dreamscape momentster,ying on a duplicate of Vahns bed while floating around in an endless blue sky. There were fluffy white clouds billowing around them with a vibrant sun casting gentle rays of light through the small breaks of pristine white. Strangely, though it was as bright as day, there were numerous stars present, each glimmering with a variety of different-colored lights... For what felt like several minutes, everyone just limated to the changes in the dreamscape, a process that Preasia called synchronization. One of the things she had learned was that, while she could forcibly control what happened in the dreamscape, it was better for everyone if they all agreed on the same experiences. Establishing a proper baseline and clearly defining rules made it much easier to bring about changes within the dreamscape that would easily be remembered when they returned to the real world. If you just let the dreamscape itself take over, things would be very strange in a decidedly short period of time. This would make it much more difficult to remember what happened since the mind couldnt keep up with the peculiarities that urred, many defying logic or simply being too overwhelming for the mind toprehend. After they had all synchronized together, Preasia sat up, staring down at Vahns face with a somewhat mischevious smile on her face. Sounds were something she hadnt quite figured out yet so, other than a few phantom echoes, it was nearly impossible tomunicate unless you wrote it out. Preasia drew her finger through the air, saying, Wee to thend of dreams~ in wispy golden words. Then, tapping on her own horns, they vanished in small particles of light as a giggle echoes through the space, causing small fluctuations to ur. If she had the opportunity, Preasia wanted to y with Vahn but knew this wasnt really the time for doing so. Vahn sat up, giving a smile to the surprisingly yful Preasia while passing a cursory nce over Fenrir and Eina. He noticed that Fenrir had be almostpletely human in an instant, having a slightly more mature body with normal hands and feet. The white tufts inside her floppy ears were more pronounced and her tail looked much longer and softer than normal. As for Eina, her ears were slightly longer and there was a mesmerizing glow in her emerald green eyes. Perhaps she had been thinking about it a lottely, but she looked even more pregnant than normal, having a small curve in her abdomen. As if she understood what he was thinking, Eina smiled before writing out, It isnt just the four of us sharing this dream... After writing it out, Eina stroked her own belly, causing Vahns mind to buzz as he curiously observed her actions. If the brain had developed enough, it made sense that the children inside the girls bellies would indeed be dreaming alongside them, something that was strange to consider since it was far outside the norm. Fortunately, the only thing they really knew was being inside their mothers bellies and couldnt really interfere with the dreams since their perception was highly limited. Vahn ced his hand against Einas abdomen, imagining himself sending waves offorting energy into her body to ensure that their developing child was having a pleasant dream. Echoes ofughter appeared in the space, simultaneously feeling close at times while infinitely far away at others. Eina reached out, running her fingers through his hair with a loving expression on her face until a small blush appeared on her cheeks after seeing the looks on Preasias and Fenrirs faces. Vahn gave a soundless chuckle, causing small changes in the dreamscape until they were all sitting atop a verdant hill, surrounded by trees and flowers. Preasia looked around with a curious expression on her face before plucking one of the nearby flowers, finding that there was both a strong sensation of touch and a flowery aroma reaching her nose. Since she spent a lot of time researching her own abilities, Preasia was very intrigued by these changes and wondered if she could convince Vahn to take a nap with her in the afternoons. Though it was difficult to remember, Preasia knew there was something unique about Vahns presence within the Dreamscape and this had confirmed her spections. Though Preasia was the first to notice the changes, Eina and Fenrir figured it out rather quickly as well. As for Vahn, this was only the third time he was in the dreamscape so it was still a very fresh experience for him. There were numerous things he wanted to try out but decided to instead just share the experience with the girls. His thoughts began to race, bringing about great changes to the dreamscape while Eina, Preasia, and Fenrir simply observed alongside him. They all had faces of wonder as Vahn started plucking stars out of the sky, turning them into small creatures like rabbits, puppies, and kittens before releasing them into the verdant flower fields below. After what felt like several hours, though it was hard to tell unless you were focusing on it, the dreamscape hadpletely changed into a wondend where wispy elemental sprites danced around in the air while several dozen different types of animals grazed around them. Vahn ended up sitting in a clearing with the girls, holding each of them with a version of himself in their own private realms. It was a little strange having his perception split into three, but Vahn already felt like there were two of him when he was in the real world. Just adding on one extra perspective wasnt that difficult to deal with and it allowed him to share a unique experience with each of the girls. Most of his time with Preasia, they were just floating around while she nestled into his chest, rubbing her hornless head against him with a happy expression on her face. Fenrir spent a lot of time petting and ying with the various small creatures that Vahn had created, feeling a bit of kinship towards them but spending the majority of her time getting pampered by her Master. Much like him, she made copies of herself in various shapes and sizes, including a child-like version of herself she enjoyed watching her Master cradle in his arms. She knew it was almost impossible to actually have a child of her own while having an ageless and unchanging body, so it was nice to be able to y house with her Master... Vahns time with Eina was decided more rxing than his experience with the other two girls. He used Einasp as a pillow as she slowly ran her fingers through his hair, performing actions like cleaning his ears or humming. The sound didnt carry properly, but Vahn could still feel a great deal offorting from her presence. He didnt have many preferences, but Vahn always found that green eyes made it easier for him to rx. Chloe was the first green-eyed girl he associated with and, if not for her care, he wouldnt have been set on this path. She had served to anchor him to this world, allowing him to feel like he belonged in it for the first time. As for Eina, she had seen through his facade and be one of the key people that allowed for him to share his happiness with so many others. If not for her and Hephaestus, the Hearth Manor likely wouldnt have been a thing since Hestia never would havee down for him... There were so many things Vahn was grateful for, with each of the women in his life taking up a special significance within his mind. Knowing that he would be a father tomorrow, Vahn found himself reflecting on everything that had happened int he past. Though it hadnt always been easy, he had been incredibly fortunate to have experienced so many different forms of happiness. He was already one of the strongest people in the record and had enough power to start bringing about real change in the world. Considering that he had only been in the world for less than a year and a half, his progress had been exceptionally quick. There were still a lot of things he needed to worry about, especially outside of the City, but Vahn felt that it was a good opportunity to slow down a bit. He wanted to be a good father while focusing on increasing his own understanding of magic, elevating himself and the girls to the point where no enemies could harm them... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir is very clever...,Sheepish Sheep Person,Comfort) (A/N: Keep in mind that, though Ill be releasing a chapter every day, Im not sure what times they wille out. Ill try to make sure they are out by the daily reset, but its difficult to n since there are a lot of things happening with work. Even when I was writing this, two of my co-workers were distracting me during breakfast xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 663 - Birth

Chapter 663 - Birth

For what felt like both a surprisingly short period of time and an inextricably long period of time, Vahn sat within the dreamscape with the three girls. The majority of his concerns hadpletely dissipated at the same time as the dreamscape slowly began to dissolve, all four of them standing at the edge of a massive cliff that looked towards a rainbow-colored sun. There was a school of crystalline fish swimming through the air, refracting the light to cause vibrant colors to rain down on the infinite ins below. It was quite beautiful, even if a little surreal... Vahn slowly opened his eyes in the real world while Eina, Fenrir, and Preasia all did the same, thetter of which released a long yawn with a still-sleepy look on her face. Seeing her cute appearance, Vahn smiled, pulling her head closer without minding that her horns poked him a little bit. Her breath was ticklish against his chest and, by the time they finally separated, Vahn felt a little hesitant to part from their collective body heats. Knowing he could be with them whenever he wanted, however, brought a smile to Vahns face he shared kisses with all three girls before saying, "Thank you...I think Im ready now..." Unsurprisingly, everyone had woken up early this morning and they werent even the first ones to show up in the dining room for breakfast. There was a great deal of tension in the air but, after everyone saw how calm and rxed Vahn was, things began to calm down a great deal. He spent the morning talking about his ns with everyone while somewhat absentmindedly scanning over Hephaestus and Loki near the medical ward. Hephaestus was already awake and had moved to the area where the delivery was supposed to take ce,ying on the designated bed while talking with Hestia and Epona. When he turned his intent towards them, Vahn could feel his bond with both goddesses enter an active state as their auras red up slightly. Though he couldnt see them, Vahn could even feel Hestia turn her head towards him with the same gentle smile she always showed him... Syr, having taken the rare opportunity when his side had been avable,fortingly stroked his hand towards the end of breakfast, disying a vibrant smile as she said, "Vahn, we all believe in you. Go and make us all proud..." Then with a slightly mischevious look in her eyes, she leaned forward and muttered a singr word that made his spine tremble, "Papa~." Vahn gave her a slight look of me, causing Syr tough while the mood surrounding everyone became even more pleasant. Tsubaki, who was sitting on his right, patted him on the shoulder a bit roughly and said, "Be proud, Vahn. After this, youll be a father~!" The other girls all started giving him encouraging remarks after hearing Syrs and Tsubakisments, with the pregnant women being the first to jump on the bandwagon. Last night, they had all gotten together to talk about each of their feelings about Vahn delivering their children and, other than a strange sense of incongruity, everyone was fond of the idea. After all, with his assistance, the dangers of childbirth were almostpletely mitigated, much better odds than the 30% mortality rate of the past. Without an experienced midwife and a fair amount of luck, death during pregnancy was, sadly, far toomon in this world. They all believed that, just like he had been revolutionizing everything else, Vahn would also find a way to make deliveries far safer than in the past...(A/N: This mortality rate is based on the birth rates on the Continent, not just Orario. Because of the avability of resources, the mortality rates within the City are much lower than the other countries and surrounding viges.) Seeing the trust everyone had in him, Vahn couldnt help but feel marginally more confident in himself as the warmth that had persisted since the previous day became more apparent in his chest. He had already realized this was the secondary effect of [Will of the Emperor], even though the eternal me, which was dancing around joyously, would have appeared to be the culprit had he not experienced a simr heat in the past. Vahn didnt know exactly how the warmth affected him, but his intuition told him that his confidence, along with all of his parameters, had increased greatlypared to the past. It was like the cold in his mind helped him focus and process information while the heat radiating from his heart filled him with confidence and power... Amidst the sounds of encouragement, Vahn made his way towards the Medical Ward with Preasia, Naaza, and Lili in tow. They all had an interest in practicing medicine while Preasia actually wanted to be a skilled physician in the future. Since they had received permission from Hephaestus and Loki previously, Vahn didnt have any problems with them assisting him while Epona and Juno would be advising from the side. Though Epona was more than qualified to deliver the children, she willingly took a step back in favor of Juno, inarguably the more experienced of the two since thetter actually had a Divinity rted to pregnancy. In the sixty-odd years Juno had been in the mortal world, she had delivered several thousand children without fail. When he entered the room where Hephaestus was waiting, Vahn felt like a wave of emotions had impacted him as Hephaestus looked towards him with the most emotional and loving smile he had ever seen. Her aura had practically filled the entire room up but was now gravitating towards him, almost as if it were trying to embrace him. Vahn smiled, walking forward to squeeze both Hephaestus and Hestias hands, sharing a kiss with the two goddesses before saying, "Im ready, Hephaestus..." He already knew she was more than prepared so it felt more important to ease any concerns she might have had by showing how confident he was regarding theing trial. Hephaestus could practically feel the confidence radiating off of Vahns body, surprising herself by the amount of relief she felt in his smile. Returning one of her own, even more vibrantly than when she first saw him enter, Hephaestus yfully said, "Im a little jealous that youll get to see our daughters before me~." Though he knew she was just ying around, Vahn couldnt help but fl.u.s.ter a little, earningughter from Hephaestus, Hestia, Epona, and Juno. The other girls were all too nervous to even make a single sound and couldnt help but give each other nces of confusion after witnessing how casual Vahn and the goddesses were acting... After everyone took their positions, with Epona and Juno standing at his nks, thetter asked, "Its a littlete to be asking this, but what do you know about delivering children, boya? It can be a lot moreplicated for twins so I cant help but ask..." Everyones ears perked up when Juno asked the question, even Hestias, who was currently squeezing Hephaestus hand at the side as a form of moral support. As for Vahn, when he heard the question, he gave a curt nod before exining, "There can be up to five stages in the delivery process, though typical births are often characterized by three. The first stage involves the transmission of hormones that trigger the dtion of the cervix. Once it reaches between ten and twelve centimeters, the second stage begins, which requires that the mother focuses their breathing to maximize the efficacy of their contractions. Its important to make sure that the orientation of the fetus is correct and to be prepared for the emergence of the crown and the safe removal of the fetus. For deliveries with multiple children, its important to ensure that the umbilical cord doesnt get wrapped around the second fetus as it could result in strangtion of the child and death by shock and internal bleeding for the mother. The second stage ends with the cutting of the umbilical cords and ensuring that the baby is able to take its first breaths before passing them off to the mother if they have enough strength to hold them. As for thest stage, it is characterized by the ejection of the centa and the echo phase where the mothers body stops producing the chemicals that assist in childbirth and slowly reverts back to normal. Though it isnt considered part of the childbirth itself, there are two more stages after the delivery, which involves observing both the mother and her children for anyplications that may have resulted during, and after, the delivery..." Though it was a very long exnation, Vahn stated everything confidently without showing any signs of disconcertment or hesitation. Not only Juno and Epona, but every girl had a surprised expression on their face when they heard Vahn detail everything that could be expected. Since the Danmachi record didnt really have much in the way of medical texts, many of the things Vahn exined away were very surprising, to say the least. As for the goddess who asked the question, Juno, she just began tough with a beaming smile on her face as she said, "Very well put, boya~! I was actually a little worried about having to exin everything to you as things progressed, but it seems like you have a strangely detailed understanding of the process..." With a look of absolute confidence on his face, Vahn gave a firm nod and said, "This involves the birth of my children and the protection of the women I love. I wontpromise when ites to learning about everything I need to know in order to make sure they are both safe..." Thisment earned him another round ofughter from Juno while Epona gave him a look of mild admiration. As for the other girls in the room, goddesses included, they all looked towards Vahn with warm and loving expressions on their faces, especially Hephaestus. It felt like all her worries had been washed away by his words and, even if there were someplications, she was certain Vahn would be able to deal with them... Vahn spent a few minutes propping up Hephaestus legs while making sure she was asfortable as possible before the induction process began. When she waspletely situated, Vahn, under the watchful eyes and guidance of Juno, began stimting the flow of hormones within Hephaestus body. It took a little more than half an hour, but her breathing started to be a little heavier as light contractions started to resonate through her body. As awkward as it might have been, Juno had him inspect the interior of Hephaestus v.a.g.i.n.a, opening it enough that the dtion of the cervix could be observed directly. Vahn, however, didnt show any change in his expression at all as he had already entered a state of absolute focus with his [Eyes of Truth] observing every change taking ce within Hephaestus body. His main focus was on his daughters, however, who had fortunately bothpleted their orientation and seemed to be simply waiting for the opportunity to emerge and greet the world... One thing Vahn noticed, which wasnt doc.u.mented in any of the texts he had memorized, was the fact that his daughters were still being guided and directed by Hephaestus own Divinity. There was an energy wrapping around their bodies, almost guiding the process along and taking care of many of the potential problems they might have had to deal with. It was beginning to seem that, much like every other aspect of a goddess, even their deliveries were perfect. However, he didnt drop his guard and continued doing his duty throughout the first phase, encouraging Hephaestus to rx her body as much as possible so she would have plenty of energy during the steadily approaching second phase... Under constant guidance and stimtion, Hephaestus entered the second stage ofbor after a little more than an hour. The contractions of her body had started to be far more apparent, causing the red-haired goddess no small amount of difort as her unblemished skin began to produce small beads of sweat. Epona guided her along in various breathing exercises, which became progressively more oriented towards pushing as the second stage progresses. Hestia had an awkward smile on her face as she bore the brunt of Hephaestus difort by tolerating the paining from her own hand. Hephaestus had been squeezing her hand so tightly that Hestia almost wanted to cry out but instead kept an encouraging smile on her face while channeling a small amount of her Divine Power to ease the pain... Though Vahn wanted tofort Hephaestus, he was more focused on his own duties at the moment and she had already refused his assistance in alleviating the pain. She wanted to experience every part of childbirth, regardless of how difficult it was, nor how much pain she would have to bear. Even Juno gave him a light reprimand for even offering, as it was very important for a mother to bear the pain of childbirth as it strengthened the bond between the mother and child exponentially. It wasnt meant to be easy to introduce a new life into the world and, unless there wereplications, such forms of intervention were frowned upon. Since she could see that there were no issues whatsoever, Juno just encouraged him to stay focused as the first head began to crown at Hephaestus cervix... Vahn was already aware of which of his two daughters was about to be born, and it brought the smallest of smiles to the corners of his mouth knowing that Vana was in such a hurry toe into the world. Even now, Vahn could see the semnce of the eternal me that had nourished her body, radiating the purest fire-elemental energy he had ever seen. Deep within the core of her mana flow, there was also an almost imperceptible rainbow-hue that bordered on pure white, showing she had also inherited his source energy. He suspected she would have a very fiery personality and it didnt seem like she was willing to let Ina steal the spotlight from her... Since Hephaestus Divinity seemed to be proactively guiding the process forward, it didnt take long for Hephaestus to make one final push before feeling a powerful sense of relief as Vahn received Vana into his arms. Though he felt strangely overwhelmed, Vahns body moved with an almost practiced precision as he tied off the umbilical cord and snipped it before fixing it firmly near the bed so it didnt identally slip back inside with Hephaestus contractions. Infusing a small amount of energy into Vanas body, she jolted into awareness and began to cry out at the top of her lungs, causing a strange warmth to spread throughout the room as tears fell from Hephaestus eyes. Though he felt incredibly hesitant about parting with her so soon, Vahn passed over Vana to Juno, who quickly washed the small infants body with hot water, earning a few loud screams from Vana in the process. Juno had an affectionate and yful smile on her face,menting, "Ive never seen a child radiating so much vitality. She is unbelievably healthy...!" As she had performed this process thousands of times, Juno could tell with a single nce how healthy the child was. It was almost unbelievable just how much energy Vana had after just being born. However, though she also wanted to spend a bit more time with the small bundle of energy, Juno carried Vana to Hephaestus side, saying, "Here you go, Hephaestus, your first daughter. Dont hold her for too long though, as there is still another little one showing a surprising amount of patience..." Hephaestus epted the bundled Vana, automatically knowing which of the two twins she was holding in her arms. She had ruddy and healthy skin with ayer of thin red hair already cresting her head. Most notably, however, was the fact that her eyes parted slightly, even though it was far too early for a normal child to do so, and Hephaestus could see that her irises were almost pure gold with a slight ring of crimson near the pupils. They glowed like actual mes and Hephaestus could feel a powerful energy radiating from the body of her first born child. With a loving smile on her face, which actually made Vahn feel strangely jealous, Hephaestus kissed Vanas head and said, "My Vana...my little me..." Vana had stopped crying almost immediately after Hephaestus had held her, eyeing her mother with a curious glint in her fire-like eyes. Though she likely had no idea what was going on, it was very obvious to the many observers that there was a kindling of intelligence in the small bundle held by Hephaestus. It seemed that the first born of the Vanir had set an unexpected precedent, showing that they may all have a startling level of intelligence from the moment they are born. As they would be aging to a.d.u.l.thood over the course of five years, it made sense that they would also have a bit of a head-startpared to normal children... Hephaestus, feeling the contractions of her body steadily increasing, passed Vana over to Epona, who quickly carried the baby over to Mona, who was waiting in the next room where several cribs had already been arranged. Hephaestus didnt have the ability to produce her own milk so it fell to Mona, who was acting as the wet nurse for Hephaestus and Loki, to tend to the childrens needs. She was already aware of the fact that she may have to feed them a great deal more than normal children, as their development would be much faster, but didnt mind it at all. In fact, when she first saw Vana being carried over to her, Mona felt a giddiness and warmth that she hadnt quite expected. As for Vana herself, she seemed somewhat confused at first but quickly understood what was going on when Monas teet was brought near her mouth. With a surprising voracity, Vana began to suckle on the exposed teat without inhibitions as both Mona and Epona smiled at the small bundle of joy taking in her first meal... Back in the delivery room, Vahn hadpletely regained his focus as Hephaestus went through the effort of urging her second child into the world. Ina seemed less inclined toe out, at leastpared to her older sister, but eventually greeted the world after a fair amount of reluctance. This time, before Vahn even cut the cord, Ina parted one of her eyes, almost as if she were giving him a look of me with her pale-blue irises. Vahn felt strangely guilty as he snipped the umbilical cord and began channeling a small strand of energy into Inas body. Surprisingly, other than a small cough and a slightughter-like cry, Ina didnt make any more noise. She seemed to find the thread of energy he inserted into her body very pleasant, showing a small smile on her face that seemed to light up the entire room for everyone that witnessed it. Unlike Vana, Inas mana was a pristine white with small threads of vermillion coiling around the wispy rainbow tendrils at her core. As if a testament to her name, which meant Pure, she had an incredibly pure light elemental affinity with concentrated strands of fire elemental energy that coiled around the source energy core thatprised up the flow within her body. He didnt have any way to sense the differences in Divinity, but she had very likely obtained a pseudo-divinity rted to crafting, forging, or, as his intuition told him, creation itself... Juno took over Ina from Vahns arms, earning a small frown from the girl that made the experienced goddess brows raise. She had a humorous expression on her face as she washed away all the grim from the newborn infant andmented, "This one is just as healthy as thest but seems less energetic..." Inas one eye closed, almost as if she was ignoring Junos words, causing the goddess tough as she said, "She seems very intelligent, even more so than thest girl~." Without dying things, Juno carried Ina over to the exhausted Hephaestus, confirming that thetter had enough strength to hold her daughter before passing her over. Ina, as if sensing she had changed hands, opened her eye once again to stare up at the new face that had appeared in her vision. A small smile appeared on the corner of her lips before she closed her eye once again, earning a great deal ofughter from Juno and a small amount of exasperation from Hephaestus. Juno poked the cheek of Ina, earning a small grimace from the girl as she said, "This one seems to be more attached to the father than the mother, how mischevious~." Vahn felt strangely proud at Junosment until Hephaestus gave him a mock re before she turned to Ina, kissing the girls forehead as she said, "My Ina...so radiant..." As if on cue, Epona came back into the ward with Vana in tow, already having eaten her fill and currently napping with a contented expression on her face. She carried the sleeping bundle over to Hephaestus, allowing her to hold both of her daughters with a happy smile on her teary-eyed face. It was obvious at a nce that, though they were twins, Ina and Vana werent identical as they both possessed very different eye colors and slightly different hair colors. Vanas hair was a vibrant red, just like Hephaestus, with fiery eyes that glimmered with an energetic light. As for Ina, she was slightly more fair-skinned than her elder sister, possessing pale blue eyes that gleamed with intelligence and a small tuft of blonde hair that was closer to white than true blonde. However, when Hephaestus was holding them both, it was almost as if a master painter had just finished adding the final touches to their greatest masterpiece. It was a scene that almost felt like it needed to be immortalized as a historic moment in the world, causing Vahn to save the image in his mind so he could one day make it a reality. The only thing that seemed to be missing from the painting was his own presence, something Juno seemed to realize as well since she prodded him in the side and said, "Ill take care of the rest, boya. Go and spend some time with your wife and children..." Thus, with a radiant smile expanding on his own face, Vahn hopped up and came to Hephaestus side, stroking the tired goddess face as they both stared lovingly into each others eyes. At the same time, as if they sensed what was going on, Ina cracked one of her eyes while Vana stirred to awareness, opening both fiery eyes to witness the scene between her parents. Vahn and Hephaestus looked towards their daughters, smiles adorning both their faces as a great deal of emotions were shared between them... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Quest: Origin of Heroes] Rank: SS-SSS Completion Grade: SS Objective: I.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Hephaestus (2). Ensure a safe delivery (2) Rewards: 2,000,000 OP, 1x [Guardian:(Ina Mason)], 1x [Guardian:(Vana Mason)], 2x [Heroic Tale] Grade Rewards: 5,000,000 OP, 1x [Soul Hammer], 1x[Genesis me] [Guardian:(Ina Mason)] Rank: Unique Use: Summons a spiritual guardian that bonds with the users soul and protects them from danger. Restriction: Ina Mason [Guardian:(Vana Mason)] Rank: Unique Use: Summons a spiritual guardian that bonds with the users soul and protects them from danger. Restriction: Vana Mason [Heroic Tale] Rank: Unique Use: A journal which, when bound to a user, records all the details of their life and aplishments. Feats recognized by the record award the user with various rewards, including unique items, skills, and abilities. Restriction: Progeny of Vahn Mason [Soul Hammer] Rank: Unique Use: A hammer that can be nourished by the soul of the user, allowing it to be increasingly more powerful with time. Size and shape can be altered with mastery. Restriction: Ina Mason [Genesis me] Rank: Unique Use: A me that can be nourished by the soul of the user, allowing it to be increasingly more powerful with time. Allows the user to create and control mes at will. Restriction: Vana Mason ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn felt his brain buzz when the system tantly interrupted the emotional moment he was sharing with his family, especially his two new daughters. Unfortunately, it didnt seem like the system was going to give him a moment to reflect on how overbearing it could be at times since two more notifications popped up right after he nced over the wall of text that obscured his vision. At the same time, two brilliant lights shed within the room as what appeared to be winged kitten and a tiny red dragon came into existence, each staring toward one of the two girls in the surprised Hephaestus arms... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //[Guardian:(Ina Mason)] Automatically Triggered. Generating Guardian Beast// //Celestial White Tiger (Nameless) has been summoned// //[Guardian:(Vana Mason)] Automatically Triggered. Generating Guardian Beast// //True me Dragon (Nameless) has been summoned// ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Confidence,Knowledge, Will of the Emperor,The Path cares not for your mortal sensibilities~!) (A/N: Though it can seem abrasive, it is actually smarter for Vahn to have used the guardian items from the very moment he obtained them, as they literally protect his children and need to mature along with them. Since he tends to make oversights about such things, The Path stepped in to make sure the correct decision was made xD. Now, Vahn would have to either n around the disturbance or take care of it before he lets himself be sentimental. Think of it like how Minato had been surprised by Obito when Naruto was born. That momentary gap can is just the moment fate is looking for in order to f.u.c.k you over xD.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 664 - Patience

Chapter 664 - Patience

Everyone in the ward looked at the two creatures with a great deal of surprise on their faces, at least until Vahn sighed and exined, "These are guardians, entities that will protect our daughters and grow alongside them. There are also some other items that can only be used by them, though I didnt want to pull them out just yet. Seems like my subconscious desire to ensure they were safe caused the summoning to trigger without my prompting..." Vahn had a slightly wry smile on his face at first but, after analyzing the benefits of the guardians being born now, he understood it was probably for the best. Hephaestus was still a little confused but still gave her husband a teasing look while mentally confirming that his powers were getting closer to those of the gods. They already knew he had pseudo-divinities rted to creation and life so it wasnt that strange to see the guardians pop out of thin air. There was also the fact that, from the moment they popped up, her daughters seemed to be much happier by their presence. Hephaestus smiled, looking toward the small winged-cat and red-dragon brood before. They hesitantly approached, showing curious expressions on their faces as they inspected their would-be masters... The entire room watched as Ina and Vana both reached out, touching the head and snout of the two creatures before a magical light shone. Just as quickly as they had appeared, the two guardians had now vanished while two small crest-like designs appeared on the girls hands. Vahn was watching the entire process with his [Eyes of Truth] active, taking note of how an invisible protective membrane actually covered his daughters while a spiritual intent seemed to search around their bodies, strengthening parts where the flow of mana was slightly out of tune. Though it felt a little awkward, Vahn pulled out the two [Heroic Tale]s and exined, "The guardians will protect them while these books will help them be stronger while recording all of their feats and achievements. When they are a little older, I also have unique items that will bind to their souls, giving Ina the ability to create a powerful hammer while Vana will be able to disy mastery over fire..." Hephaestus nodded her head somewhat slowly, showing how tired she was as she said, "It feels strange knowing that our children will grow up so much faster than normal...but, at least now, I can be relieved knowing they have a father that is already thinking about their future in such a serious manner..." Vahn had a light blush on his face, earning him a few chuckles from the other girls while Ina peered at him through her slightly parted eye. When things began to calm down, Juno patted his shoulder and reminded, "Loki is still waiting for us, so lets make our way over there pretty soon. Little Ina still needs to get her first meal and Hephaestus needs to get some rest. Since she is a goddess, rest will make her body heal very quickly an there shouldnt be any problems like in mortal women. She will just return to the state her body was in before the pregnancy..." As she spoke, Juno looked around to see if she could tease anyone, sending yful smiles towards Lili, Preasia, and Naaza. After hearing Juno, Hephaestus nodded her head with a bit of hesitation on her face as she passed over her daughters to Epona and Hestia. However, when Vana simply went straight back to sleep, Hephaestus gave a small chuckle before releasing the tensions in her own body. Childbirth had been a lot more difficult than she expected, seeding a deeper appreciation for mortal women in the recesses of her mind. She gave Vahn onest look, smiling through half-lidded eyes as she said, "I owe Loki a great deal for having made her wait this long. Go, Vahn, take care of that mischevious woman for me...I hope our daughters get along well..." By the time she had finished her words, Hephaestus had given in to the desire for sleep and quickly fell into the embrace of unconsciousness. She began dreaming of spending time with her daughters, showing a loving smile on her face as the image of two girls ying in the forest surfaced in her mind... Vahn gingerly stroked the side of Hephaestus face, not minding the sweat on her brow at all as he marveled at how beautiful she looked at this moment. Leaving her side right now was very difficult but, understanding that he had a job to do, Vahn leaned down and lightly kissed her forehead before nodding to the other girls present. Juno gave a curt nod in response, gesturing towards the door as they all made their way to the next room over. Lili, Naaza, and Preasia were all a little pale from having witnessed the delivery but their auras were still stable and they seemed determined to continue. Vahn gave them all aforting pat, hoping to encourage them to stay strong before stepping into the room where Loki had been napping. As soon as he entered the room, Lokis eyes parted slightly before the yfully mused, "Oh, and I was beginning to think I had been forgotten...well, lets go ahead and get this show on the road. I dont want our daughter to me me for having her wait any longer. If she turns out to be a troublemaker, youll have to be the one to step in and pacify her, Vahn..." Though the words sounded a little harsh, Loki had a gentle look in her deep red eyes and a small smile on her face when she saw Vahns apologetic expression. With how quickly the Vanir grew, and how busy Vahn would often be, she knew he wouldnt be able to make that much time for his children. The only thing she really hoped for was that his daughter got along well with the lovable little idiot she fell in love with... While they began preparations, Loki asked a lot of questions about how things had gone with Hephaestus. She clearly understood the process but, knowing it had gone well was a veryforting thought, especially when she heard about the guardian and unique items that hade into existence. Knowing that one of Hephaestus children beat her to the punch in obtaining a dragon was a little bothersome, but Loki decided not to mind it since she knew Vahn had her Wyverns magic core safely tucked away in his storage dimension. Now, her primary concern, other than delivering her daughter, was the form her guardian would take. Loki spected the guardian represented some of the personality traits the children would have as they rapidly developed into a.d.u.l.thood. Hestia showed up when everything was about to begin, locking eyes with Loki for a few seconds before they both showed small smiles. They had been at odds with each other for millions of years before being forced to cooperate after meeting Vahn. Now, it almost seemed like their bickering in the past had been pointless, even though Loki was still more than a little bothered by the differences in their bust size. Since Vahn had always cared for her properly, however, Loki found herself starting to care less about such things. It also helped that Hestia, who used to constantly bring it up during their arguments, no longer pestered her about having a t chest... Once everything was ready, Vahn got Lokis permission before he began inducing herbor, activating his [Eyes of Truth] to make sure there werent any issues. Contrary to expectations, their daughter hadnt developed too much more than Ina and Vana. It seemed that the same Divinity that protected them during pregnancy also slowed down the process of their development a great deal once they had fully matured. Vahn suspected there were somews at work that he didnt understand but that could always be researchedter. For now, he just helped Loki stay calm while Hestia, simr to what she had done with Hephaestus, held Lokis hand from the side. By the time they had entered the second phase, Lokis contractions began with a surprising intensity that caused a deep frown on her face as she murmured, "Uku...Ill remember this pain and pay you back for it in the future..." Though she had a pained expression on her face, Loki still gave a slightly yful look that also came off as seeming very serious at the same time. She began to tense up a great deal every time one of her contractions hit, causing Juno to grimace as she whispered, "This is going to be a painful one...make sure youre ready for any tears and ruptures that may ur, boya..." Though Lokis child wasnt that muchrger than normal, it was the fact that Loki herself had a petite and thin body, not suited for rearing children, that was the problem. Vahn maintained absolute focus, letting thin tendrils of energy spread through his fingers and repair any area that started to be damaged through Lokis exertions. Though she would eventually healpletely, any internal bleeding could cause increased pressure within the w.o.m.b andplicate the birth itself. Until he punctured the amniotic sack and his daughter began to crown, it was better to address the issues immediately. It would dy the process a bit, causing Loki more pain, but she was a strong woman who Vahn believed could bear- "Uuuuuuuuuu, you did this to me, Vahn! I just want to kick you so badly right now!" Vahn was slightly stunned but didnt break his focus as Juno rebuked, "Oh, you can just shut your little trap, Loki. This is the pain of motherhood so suck it up and remember the experience. Youll look back on today with nostalgia and wouldnt want to remember attacking the boy working his butt off to make things easier for you!" Loki gave Juno a momentary re, immediately remembering that Juno was actually a great deal smaller than she was. There was a reproachful look in the petite goddess eyes that made Loki swallow her next words and just grit her teeth instead. This was a lot more painful than she expected but, just like Hephaestus had done, Loki denied any form of pain relief that Vahn would have provided... It took nearly five and a half hours, but Loki eventually managed to push out the ruddy little bundle into the real world, releasing a profound sigh of relief after the final push. For a moment, the only thing on her mind was falling asleep but, the moment she heard her daughter cry out, Loki suddenly felt revitalized enough to lift her head and say, "Give me my baby...I want to see her..." Vahn had just passed his daughter over to Juno, showing a fair amount of exhaustion on his own face as he looked over to Loki and smiled, saying, "Just one moment, Loki. After she is cleaned, youll be able to hold her as much as you want...she is beautiful, by the way...just like her mother..." Though she should have been called, Disa, Loki had decided to change the name of their daughter and had yet to reveal what she had chosen. As for her appearance, she was much like what Vahn had described, a very small version of Loki herself. Even though she was still an infant, his daughter had slightly angr eyes just like her mother. He never really understood how Loki could walk around with her eyes closed most of the time and wondered how their daughter would manage if she had the same habit. Imagining this had brought a small smile to Vahns face as he looked over the slightly mischevious face of his third-born daughter and marveled at her ruby-colored hair that was slightly darker than Lokis... It didnt take long for Juno to finish washing her off before immediately handing her over to Loki. When she saw her daughter, Loki felt a strange urge to cry and held it in by taking a very deep breath. Even without all the pain she had experienced as evidence, Loki could see at a nce that the little ruddy bundle in her hands was her own flesh and blood. It really was like a miniature version of herself, which made Loki feel strangely nervous since she didnt want her own daughter to suffer the same way she had. There was a very strong desire in her heart to protect this mischevious little bundle, keeping her safe from everything that might try to cause her harm. With a loving smile on her face, something that was very rare under normal circ.u.mstances, Loki kissed her daughters head and said, "From now on, you will be my Erika..." Then, in a quiet voice, intended only for her daughter, Loki whispered, "I hope that you will be a kind and wise ruler that will help your father..." Unlike Ina and Vana, Erika didnt seem capable of opening her eyes just yet but there was a small Nn produced from her, surprising everyone while Lokiughed with a kukuku. Though it wasnt guaranteed that Erika had responded in affirmation of Lokis words, there was a fair chance this was the case since all the Vanir seemed to have remarkable intelligence. Vahn had already arrived at Lokis side, marveling at the mother-daughter pair as he inspected Erikas body with his [Eyes of Truth]. The flow of mana in her body was slightly chaotic in structure, though the flow itself was very stable. There were intermixed reds, purples, and golds, coiling around a rainbow-hued core that created a helical structure with a strange green Vahn had never seen before. It was hard to know what affinity Erika actually had so he would have to observe her closely to make sure she wasnt a danger to herself and others. After all, unknown elements could be very dangerous since there were few ways of knowing how the ws influenced them... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Quest: Origin of Heroes] Rank: SS-SSS Completion Grade: SS Objective: I.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Loki (1). Ensure a safe delivery (1) Rewards: 1,000,000 OP, 1x [Guardian:(Erika Mason)], 1x [Heroic Tale] Grade Rewards: 2,500,000 OP, 1x [Amorphous Guise] [Guardian:(Erika Mason)] Rank: Unique Use: Summons a spiritual guardian that bonds with the users soul and protects them from danger. Restriction: Erika Mason [Amorphous Guise] Rank: Unique Use: A mask that can be nourished by the soul of the user, allowing it to be increasingly more powerful with the passage of time. Allows the user to emte the capabilities of an individual, even providing insight into their recent thoughts and memories. Restriction: Erika Mason ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn was stunned by the description of the [Amorphous Guise], feeling somewhat hesitant about actually giving it to Erika before tossing that thought to the back of his mind. It was an item that The Path had deemed fit for her use and Vahn wasnt going to treat his daughter any differently than he would any of his other children. Even if she ended up constantly scheming like Loki, Vahn would care for and love her all the same. He believed that, by showing her the love she deserved, Erika would never walk down a path where she used and exploited other people with ill intent... Before the system took matters into its own hands, Vahn said, "Im going to summon a guardian to protect our Erika. It will grow alongside her, keeping her safe from harm and providingpanionship for the rest of her life..." Loki nodded her head, lightly pinching her daughters nose before turning her attention to Vahn. She was more than a little curious about the form her daughters guardian would take, as it would give her a better idea about how to educate and groom her. When Vahn pulled out a small red orb and tossed it into the air, Loki traced the arc with her eyes as a magical light emerged from the orb and formed...a small brown-skinned baby. Somehow, Juno had moved to instinctually catch the tumbling infant, surprised by the fact that it had nearly no weight at all as she cradled it in her arms. When she red toward Vahn, he felt a shudder along his spine as he exined, "It seems her guardian has taken the form of something called a Doppelganger. Though I cant be certain, I believe it should be able to transform into any shape once it bes more powerful..." If Juno hadnt already moved, Vahn would have blinked around to the side of the bed to catch the infant Doppelganger in her stead. He was certain it wouldnt have actually been harmed if it fell, but seeing a baby tumble was more terrifying than facing a Vgang Dragons maw head on... Since she had seen the earlier interaction between a newborn and its guardian, Juno carried the infant Doppelganger to Lokis side, causing the small creature to open its eyes and stare towards Erika. It had ck sclera with pale golden pupils and a small tuft of white hair growing from its head. Though it likely didnt have a true form, the Doppelganger currently looked female and it took the initiative to reach out and touch Erikas face since thetter didnt seem to care about what was going on around her. Like the previous two guardians, the Doppelganger vanished into thin air as a small crest appeared on Erikas hand. Lokis mind had already started racing from the very moment she heard Vahn mention the Doppelgangers supposed abilities. Being able to transform into anything was a very useful ability and would give their daughter an edge in almost any path she ended up walking. Though she didnt know exactly how strong a guardian could be, Loki spected their potential was very high if it was something Vahn had created to protect his children. Even if Erika herself never trained, Loki believed the Doppelganger could be very strong and she could already feel the protective membrane that had appeared around Erikas body. Though it bothered her that everything seemed to be going ording to fate, Loki believed that her daughter would be able to ovee such things with the proper mentality and the support from what Loki believed would be a doting father... Much like Hephaestus, Loki was utterly exhausted by the time everything was said and done, willingly entrusting Erika to Hestias care as thetter carried her off to be nursed. When they had disappeared through the door, Loki felt a small amount of terror well up in her heart but dismissed it since there was no way anything would actually happen that endangered her child. It was just a little scary being separated from her daughter so soon, something that was more impactful since Loki could feel the bond she shared with her fire-born. Even when Hestia had walked two rooms over, Loki was aware of Erikas presence and could even feel her daughters mood, which seemed to be tired and hungry at the moment. Vahn reached out to stroke Lokis hair, breaking her from the reverie she had found herself in as she yfully asked, "Did you wash your hands yet? I imagine they arent exactly the cleanest things after everything that has happened...kukuku~." A light blush touched Vahns cheeks as he replied, "I had covered them with a lightyer of energy to keep them sterile and I already cleaned them with a spell..." Lokis grin grew progressivelyrger the more Vahn tried to exin things so he simply gave up and just stroked her hair without minding the yful glint in her eyes. She didnt make any attempts to avoid his hand so it was clear that Loki had just wanted to tease him a bit, even going to far as to sample his palm with her tongue when it got close. However, after she had calmed down a bit, the fatigue began to settle into her body and she released a tired sigh and said, "Im going to take a nap...go look after our daughters, Vahn..." All of the girls hade together during one of their Vahnatus meetings, agreeing that everyone would be responsible for raising everyones children. If possible, it was the hope of the girls in the Manor that all of the children truly acted like siblings as they grew up. Loki, though certainly showing some preferences towards the daughter she had birthed, would treat all of the children in the Manor as if they were her own. By giving them strong familial ties, it was hoped that all the children would look out for each other and have a strong sense of belonging in the future... Vahn continued to stroke Lokis hair for a bit, even after she had fallen asleep, before turning to Lili, Naaza, and Preasia. They looked very tired, almost like they had been the ones on the table, so Vahn gave them a small smile and said, "You all held up very well. Make sure to eat a good meal and take a long rest after this. I will stay in the maternity ward and watch over my daughters for a bit before I head off to sleep a littleter..." Taking his words as a cue, Juno wiped off her own hands with a clean towel and gestured to the three girls, saying, "Lets go to the dining room. There are a few things I want to cover with the three of you to wrap up this event. If youre going to act as a midwife in the future, there are a lot of things youll need to know..." Without anyints, Lili, Naaza, and Preasia all nodded their heads, practically fleeing from the ward as they followed behind Juno... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lokis Patience...,Birth of a Great Ruler...!?,Familial Bonds : Unity) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 665 - Overwhelming

Chapter 665 - Overwhelming

Vahn spent a fair amount of time watching over Loki as she slept before walking next door to check up on Hephaestus. As Juno had exined, their bodies were quickly recovering and Vahn could see an incredible amount of energy circting through their mana circuits, restoring them to a pristine condition. Strange as it may seem, there was a good chance both goddesses would return to their natural appearance seemingly overnight. Since Vahn was someone that could even change the number of eyes growing on his head and the number of limbs protruding from his torso, he wasnt that surprised, however. After all, they were goddesses and he was better suited to simply watching over them instead of trying to understand and exin the peculiarities of their existences. Since it didnt look like either of them would be waking up any time soon, Vahn migrated to the maternity ward where Juno, Epona, and Mona were all gathered. He had made sure his daughters were in their beds before entering since it seemed almost fated that he walked in on Mona while she was b.r.e.a.s.tfeeding. Vahn knew she had a trauma rted to exposing her b.r.e.a.s.ts to men and, since she had made the decision to separate from the Manor in the future, he wanted to respect her decision. The fact that she was the wetnurse for his children gave Vahn a positive opinion of her and he believed that Ina, Vana, and Erika would all have a bit of an attachment to her in the future. All three girls turned to him when he entered, earning Vahn small smiles from Epona and Mona while Juno stepped forward with a vibrant and guiding look on her face. She reached out, patting Vahn on the shoulder as she said, "Today couldnt have been easy for you, boy. You performed exceptionally well in a circ.u.mstance most people cant even imagine finding themselves in. Well done, Vahn, I really mean it..." Under the heavypliments of Juno, Vahn felt a little anxious but still managed a gratified smile on his face as he politely said, "Thank you, Juno. Your guidance was a great help..." Juno waved her hand dismissively before gently pulling him towards the three cradles that had been set up side-by-side. She brought him next to Vana, touching the side of the cradle as she said, "All of your children are so adorable...honestly, Im a little envious. Though I love my kids, they usually look like potatoes whenever they firste out..." If not for the fact that he was leaning over to look at Vanas face, Vahn felt like he would have fallen over when he heard Junos words. Truthfully, other than the memory of his own newborn body, Vahn didnt really know what newborns were supposed to look like. With Junos words, however, he did recall that his appearance had been somewhat lumpypared to the three beautiful angelsying in the cradles... Seeing Vahns reaction, Junoughed before pulling him over to Inas cradle, seemingly alerting her since one of her eyes opened. Ina seemed to have very high perception and, the moment she smiled toward him, Vahn felt like his heart was going to twist and jump out of his chest. Juno giggled, letting go of his arm as she reached into the cradle and lifted Inas body, rocking her for a short moment before passing her over to Vahn. It wasnt the first time he had held her, but Vahn felt awed when Juno handed Ina to him. Before he even realized it, there were tears beginning to stream from his eyes as he mumbled, "My Ina...you..." Unable to actually find the words to express how he was feeling, Vahn just kissed his daughters head, earning a small giggling sound from the girl as her second eye opened. For the first time, Ina showed that she actually had heterochromatic eyes, one being a pale blue while the other was light gold. There was a small band around her pupil, resonating with a subtle magical light that gave Vahn the impression she could see through anything. He was only momentarily surprised, however, and put the matter to the back of his mind for the time being as he just enjoyed the time he had with his daughter. They would grow up much faster than normal children so Vahn wanted to cherish the moments like this, when there was nothing else in the world that mattered more than the child in his arms... Juno may have been the closest, but all three girls were watching Vahn interact with Ina, showing kind smiles on their faces at seeing the bond between the father-daughter pair. It was obvious to anyone looking that Ina seemed especially attached to Vahn, even going so far as to reach out and try to touch his face with her small hands. She giggled like a pristine bell and the smile on her face seemed to light up the room, creating an illusion as if all the colors of the world were enriched by her presence. Mona was already very fond of her as,pared to Vana and Erika, Ina was very tame during feeding times and didnt even require burping. Vana made her heart feel very warm, but her voracious appetite was a little disconcerting while Erika simply made Mona feel nervous... Though he would have liked to carry Ina around forever, Vahn knew she needed to rest properly, especially since her growth would be even faster than a normal infant. However, when he tried toy her in the cradle, Ina looked at him like he had wronged her, showing small glistening tears in the corner of her eyes. Vahns mind nked, earning augh from Juno as she said, "Just hold her for a while until she falls asleep. The other two are already napping and you can just watch over them for the moment..." Nodding his head, Vahn carried Ina in his embrace, gently rocking her under Junos guidance as she happily began to doze off. While cradling Ina, Vahn stood over Erikas crib, noticing that her presence was distinctly different from his other daughters. It was likely a difference in their pseudo-divinities, or perhaps an incongruity caused by Erikas unique affinities, but Vahn didnt really care. He now understood why Loki, Riveria, and Juno hadnt taken him seriously when he talked about trying to raise his children without overly pampering them. Unless it was something that endangered themselves or others, Vahn couldnt see how he would ever be able to deny these three beautiful girls anything the world has to offer. He would need to make sure they didnt be spoiled, but Vahn knew he would pamper them a great deal in the future... Though she didnt open her eyes, Erika slightly turned her head toward him, causing Vahns [Eyes of Truth] to activate on instinct. He noticed she was actually awake but was either incapable of opening her eyes, or simply didnt need to. With his eyes active, Vahn could see Erikas energy feeding into her ocr nerves as the mana from her circuits pooled around her eyes. She seemed to be looking directly at him, causing Vahn to smile as he lightly whispered, "My little Erika..." It looked like she tried to tilt her head slightly but, finding she was unable to move, lifted up her tiny hands instead. Juno, realizing Erika was awake, picked her up before passing her over to Vahn, allowing him to carry both girls, one bundle of beauty in each arm. Just like when he first held Ina, Vahn felt a little overwhelmed when Erika was passed over to him. Holding them like this made Vahn realize what it meant to be a father, supporting his children and bringing them as muchfort as he could spare. Though he was already very strong, Vahn wanted to be even stronger in the future, ensuring they never had to experience any suffering brought upon them by his enemies. Knowing that there were people in the world that would actually move to try and rob the happiness of such beautiful existences made Vahns mind turn cold while a flood of heat emerged from an area around his heart before both energies intermixed with each other... Juno reached her hand out, shakily cing it on his shoulder as she mumbled, "Vahn...calm down..." Broken from his reverie by Junos hesitant words, Vahn looked around to see that both she and Epona had very pale faces. As for Mona, she had fortunately been sitting down and managed to support herself with the arm of the sofa. Vahn hadnt realized it but, the moment he began thinking about the possibility of someone stealing his children, he began to emit an incredibly overbearing aura. It didnt seem like his daughters were aware of it, however, causing Vahn to be somewhat confused as he apologetically inclined his head to Juno, Epona, and Mona, saying, "Sorry...I just imagined someone taking my daughters away from me...and..." Shaking her head, Juno showed a very warm smile and said, "They are lucky to have a caring father like you, Vahn. However, you need to always act as if you are an unshakable force when you are with them. The more consistent and reliable your behavior is, the more grounded and functional your children will be in the future. Now that you are a father, you need to act as such, always taking into consideration how your children will interpret your actions...after all, they will look towards you for guidance in their own lives..." As a goddess who had seen thousands of children born and raised within the mortal world, Juno had a great understanding of what it took to be a good parent. She could tell that, though Vahn would struggle a bitter on, he would make a good father to the Vanir for the interim... Vahn smiled toward Juno but still gave a slight bow to Epona and Mona, earning a dismissive gesture from the former while Mona seemed to have be a little tense. Even so, she managed a smile on her face and Vahn could see her aura slowly stabilizing. She was just a little spooked after feeling his aura in close proximity, fortunately, spared from any direct pressure since Vahn instinctually considered her an ally. Had she been an actual enemy, someone as weak as Mona likely would have suffered a mental copse instead of experiencing a bout of lightheadedness... Taking note of Monas aura, Vahn blinked in confusion as his senses danced around within his domain, sensing the presence of everyone around him and their current feelings. However, there were five presences within his domain whose aura he couldnt sense, drawing Vahns attention to the two girls in his arm and Vana, still sleeping in her crib. He hadnt noticed it earlier, but Vahn was aware that he couldnt actually sense the aura of his daughters and had only been detecting the flow of their energy instead. It was probably for the best that he couldnt read his children, but Vahn still felt a little strange as he opened up his system interface and checked through the Affection listings... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Ina Mason][Affection:91(Favorite Person)][Intrigue:53(Curious)] [Erika Mason][Affection:54(Familial Bond)][Intrigue:88(Very Curious)] [Vana Mason][Affection:58(Neutral)][Intrigue:51(Confused)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When he read through their values, Vahn felt strangely guilty but still smiled when he saw that Ina already treated him as her favorite person. As expected, Erika was the type that was intrigued by her surroundings, likely credited to her seemingly advanced intelligence. As for Vana, it made Vahn a little sad that she was neutral towards him, but the confused descriptive for her Intrigue made him feel a little better. Though she was still very intelligent, she acted the most like an actual newborn, including how she had cried out very loudly and engorged herself during meals. Her confusion about the world made a lot of sense so Vahn knew he could improve her opinion about him with time... After a little more than an hour, Ina and Erika had both fallen back asleep, theter still showing fluctuations in her internal energy, especially around her brain. Juno and Epona helped himy the girls back in their cribs while Vahn sat down on one of the avable sofas, feeling surprisingly drained. His stamina may be infinite, but his mental energy wasnt quite at that level just yet. If not for the support of his [Will of the Emperor], Vahn imagined he would have copsed the moment Vana crowned earlier. The number of nerves he had suppressed to keep his focus had taxed his mind a great deal and, now that all of his daughters were sleeping, Vahn felt very tired. Epona and Mona moved to the connecting room, where thetter would be staying while the girls were still reliant on her milk, while Juno moved to the same sofa as Vahn. Though she had the appearance of a young girl, appearing closer in size to someone like Ais than a mature woman, Juno still patted her thighs and said, "Sleep." Vahn, however, shook his head and politely declined her offer since he didnt really have that kind of bond with the diminutive goddess. This earned him a frown from her, causing Juno to furrow her brows and scrunch up her nose as she snorted. Hopping off the sofa, she patted off her light dress and said, "Fine. Ill go get one of the other girls toe watch over you then. I imagine youll be staying here, even if people advise you to go get some food and rest properly...?" Vahn nodded, noting that he actually hadnt even though about leaving the maternity ward any time soon. Unless there was an emergency, or Hephaestus and Loki woke up, he intended to stay and watch over his daughters. Even with the protection of their guardians, Vahn feltpelled to protect them himself, unable to tolerate the idea of letting anything happen to them. As brief as it had been, Vahn was affected by the thought of his enemies conspiring to take one of his children away, much like he had been robbed from his mother in the past. Though he had epted everything that happened as part of life, Vahn wouldnt tolerate allowing such a thing to happen to his own progeny...no matter what it took. Juno gave a wry smile but didnt seem to me Vahn for his behavior as she muttered, "Doting fathers can be so troublesome..." She then exited the room, making a beeline towards where most of the girls had been gathered. Everyone was curious about how things had gone so they were all sitting in the dining room with Lili and Naaza. Preasia had originally been there but, as a result of her training, went off to bed shortly thereafter. She would likely be dreaming about the procedure and had decided to retire early so as to avoid having other people invade her dreams, chiefly Fenrir... A few minutes after Juno had left, Tsubaki showed up within the maternity ward, sending Vahn a soft and loving expression before curiously inspecting the contents of each crib. The moment sheid eyes on the girls, Tsubaki had an almost silly smile on her face and fought against the desire to pick up and cuddle each girl. Vahn, leaning against the arm of the sofa, bit his lip to prevent his own chuckles from leaking out as Tsubaki finished her inspection and walked over to him. Much like Juno, she patted her thighs with her left hand but, unlike the small goddess, pulled Vahns head down with her right. She didnt really leave any room for discussion and just forced him to rx a bit while stroking his thick brown hair with her hands. While ying with a lock of Vahns hair, Tsubaki quietly whispered, "I heard you worked very hard today, Vahn...good job. All of your daughters are like little gemstones that had been cut by a master artisan...like little bundles of perfection~." Vahnzily nodded his head, enjoying Tsubakis caress with half-lidded eyes as he looked towards the cribs where Vana, Ina, and Erika were sleeping. Even now, he couldnt bring himself to look away from them and hoped they were all having pleasant dreams while they were sleeping. Tsubaki didnt really mind Vahns behavior, instead, finding it slightly amusing since it was obvious he had already fallen hard for his role as a father. Her only hope was that he showed a simr level of concern for their daughter when she was born. Since the Vanir would be the equivalent of eight-to-ten months old by then, Vahn would probably have to watch over them closely while his rxation time would probably be used to watch over his normal children. Fortunately, things would eventually turn in favor of his other children in the future since he would have to invest a lot more time and energy over a longer period just taking care of them. The Vanir would mature very quickly, meaning they required a lot of care early on but would be self-sufficient in as little as two-to-three years. This left plenty of time for Vahn to spend with his other children, enabling their physical and emotional growth to progress at aparably casual pace... Tsubaki knew that, given Vahns personality, he would love and care for all of his children to the best of his ability, just like he tried to look after all the women he was involved with. His only limitation was the fact that he was a single person, which is the main reason all the girls had already banded together to create a stronger sense of unity within the Manor. They knew he would be busy ensuring they were protected from harm, dealing with issues both within the City and the countries beyond its borders. Thus, it fell to the girls within the Manor to look after the children and ensure they were receiving a proper education and advancing on a more correct path. Like Vahn, they didnt intend to force the children into anything directly, leaving it to them to make decisions about their own lives as they matured towards a.d.u.l.thood. However, this didnt mean they wouldnt encourage them towards specific disciplines. As in most families, the stronger the bond was between parent and child, the more likely the child was to take up the mantle of whatever craft or discipline their parents pursued. Tsubaki wanted their daughter to be a capable warrior so that she could protect, not only herself, but all of her siblings and the people she woulde to care about... With these thoughts in mind, Tsubaki continued to gently stroke Vahns hair, smiling down at his sleeping with a loving look profoundly reflected in her gaze. It was both exciting and scary to think that this singr boy, peacefully lying in herp, had the potential of shaping all of their lives. As long as he was a good person, Tsubaki believed all of their children would aspire towards the example he had set. Since everyone in the Manor supported him, the children would likelye to support him as a result of their interactions with everyone else. Though there would certainly be some that were more rebellious than others, Vahn wasnt really someone that people could hate so easily...especially if they are his family... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tiny Weight, Heavy Burden,All over the world, the enemies of Vahn simultaneously felt a chill run down their backs...,Living by Example) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 666 - Ripples

Chapter 666 - Ripples

Things became rtively peaceful for a short while after Vahn hadid his head down to rest but, as it was like to do, the peace didntst for very long. A few hours after she had gone to sleep, Vana woke up with a loud cry that seemed to be able to pass through the soundproofing of the room with ease, causing Vahn to bolt up from Tsubakisp in less time than it takes an electron to circ.u.mnavigate a nucleus. If not for Tsubakiughing out from behind him, Vahn would have entered a high alert state but instead calm down enough to hear her say, "Dont worry, Vahn, she is probably just hungry. It isnt umon for newborns to eat every 2-3 hours between their naps~." The tension released from Vahns body, visibly causing his shoulders to sag as he reached down and gingerly picked up Vanas body. Mona would likely be showing up within a few minutes so, for the time being, Vahn just rested her against his chest and gently traced circles along Vanas back. She was still hungry but, after feeling the calming energy entering her body, Vana stopped crying and made adorable baby sounds that tickled Vahns ears. Tsubaki had walked over to his side, peering into the other cradles to see if Ina and Erika had been awoken by Vanas cries. Surprisingly, they didnt seem bothered by the fact, even though it was obvious that both of them had been alerted by the outburst. Since they were already awake, Tsubaki picked up Inas body, showing an almost silly smile on her face as she cooed, "My goodness, youre such a cute little baby~." Unlike Hephaestus and Loki, who didnt produce milk during their pregnancies, Tsubaki suffered no such limitation. As if it was the natural thing to do, she pulled aside the loose fabric of her kimono and held Ina against her exposed teat, letting the little one feed off her milk with a contented smile on her face. Though Mona might be their hired wetnurse, it didnt mean the other mothers couldnt help her out and spend time with the other children. After all, it actually made them more capable of producing milk in the long term and helped to relieve any difort and sensitivity in their b.r.e.a.s.ts. Vahn looked at Tsubaki, showing an affectionate smile that caused Tsubaki to poke her tongue out at him before she turned away and gently rocked Inas body. Not long after that, Mona showed up, pausing for a brief moment when she saw Tsubaki before taking Vana from Vahns hands. He gave her a polite nod and a small smile in response, deciding it was best he take a momentary leave to avoid making things awkward. When he left the room, Vahn felt a small amount of mncholy but continued forward, checking on Hephaestus and Loki before deciding to take a bath and head to bed. As much as he would like to just watch over the children all day, Vahn had other responsibilities and it would make the girls uneasy if he spent all his time cooped up within the maternity ward... At this point, it was alreadyte in the day so Vahn was the only person using therge open onsen, a rare urrence given the sheer number of people living in the Manor. He enjoyed the hot water against his skin, floating around aimlessly for a few minutes before deciding to head to bed. Tomorrow would be a busy day and Vahn wanted to rest his mind before it was time to take action. There was a fair chance that, even though he would be performing a show of force, his enemies could misunderstand things and use it as an excuse to try and attack him. The fact that he intended to give them time to evacuate the border fortresses before he destroyed them might cause them to believe hecked the resolve to take lives. This wasnt true, as he would likely end up killing a fair number of people, but the Rakia Kingdom wasnt exactly known for their brilliant leadership and tactical nning... Unsurprisingly, Eina had been waiting in his room, alreadyying in the bed before she rose up to smile at him upon his entrance. The girls were a little worried he was going to push himself too hard so Eina had been elected tofort him for the evening. Vahn felt a little a guilty, as he hadnt really spent much time with the other girls since his return, but still climbed into the bed with his lovable wife and enjoyed the rest of the evening at her side. Though she wasnt that far along in her own pregnancy, Vahn feltfortable hugging her gently from behind as he stroked her slightly protruding belly. She carried yet another one of his reasons for bing stronger and facing his enemies head-on and Vahn didnt want to let her down... --- Though it hadnt been publically circted that Hephaestus and Loki had both given birth, there were still murmurs around the City since the defenses of the Manor had suddenly shot up. It was already known that Vahn had returned, especially with some of the rumors being spread through Hermeswork, so many informed individuals assumed he had actually returned because the event had already happened. Some of the gods and goddesses within the City were already nning to request audiences with Hephaestus, Loki, or Hestia in order to learn the truth of the matter while other forces, chiefly those bothered by the power and influence consolidated within the Manor, began putting their own ns in motion. With Freya proactively eliminating anyone that openly machinated against the Alliance, many of the dissidents had decided toy low and only discuss their ns during secret meetings or with the use of rtively raremunication scrolls. There were several Familias, chiefly serving as personal harems to many gods, that felt threatened by the Alliance. After seeing the extents they Alliance had gone to in order to deal with the Elven Kingdom, those forces had all banded together to avoid being picked off individually. Though theirbined strength could barely oppose a single S-Rank Familia, it didnt mean they werent able to plot behind the scenes in order to weaken the influence of the Alliance... Freya had spooked him in the past but, after failing to take up residence in any of the respectable countries surrounding Orario, Apollo had eventually returned to the City. He lived far less extravagantly than before, deciding to instead reside in one of the smaller districts near Daedalus Street. With his charisma and influence, he had slowly united many of the smaller dissident forces within the City, creating an Alliance of their own with the purpose of undermining the power of the Alliance. Their main target wasnt the Alliance itself, but the various merchants and nobles that held power within the City. By bribing the right people, the True God Alliance, as they had decided to call themselves, had been causing various problems for the Alliance itself. Though Freya and Loki had control over the northern and southern gates, there were plenty of ways to get illegal goods, chiefly Elven ves and other contraband materials, into the City. As a result, Apollos own Familia had increased from a small eleven official members to a startling eighty-three, mainlyprised of Half-Elves and a few pure-blooded Elves. Since the Elven Kingdom didnt export those that had a lot of power, many were only around Level 1 or 2 but, with enough guidance, they could still be powerful assets under the influence of the Falna. Apollo, along with the various gods of the True God Alliance, had been sending his children into the Dungeon to be stronger. They had a long term n of producing arge number of elites to contend against the forces of the Alliance, not directly, but by arson, assassination, and attacking trade routes for the weaker merchant Familias... Having made the decision toy low on the surface, Apollo had instead cleared out many of the underground chambers near his residence, linking them together to make a small subterranean pce. Though the surface building looked like a downtrodden Manor, in desperate need of repair, the underground area was adorned with gold and ivory and Apollo himself was currently sitting on his throne, showing a cruel smile on his face as he tightly gripped the hair of the girl servicing him. They were very useful for his ns, but Apollo was also quite fond of how appealing Elven men and women could be, already expanding his own personal harem to include many of his favorite ves. Arge set of stone doors opened at the entrance of his chamber, making the arrival of a rather beautiful young man very apparent. He appeared to be around twenty years old, having silky ck hair tied up into a ponytail. Though human, his looks could easily rival that of some of the most handsome Elves and he was adorned with ck militaristic garb that still showed his lean and fit figure. Apollo smiled, not minding the intrusion as he pushed the Elven woman to the side, rising to his feet with arms spread as he said, "Ah, Hyakinthos, all the worldly treasures within my throne room pale before your beauty. Tell me, my child, what news do you bring me this evening? Or, did you perhaps wish to spend some time with me...it has been a while~." Without waiting for a response, Apollo had already neared Hyakinthos side, caressing the beautiful young mans face before sealing his lips. There was a fervent and almost passionate look in Hyakinthos eyes as he reciprocated his gods affections, entering into a long kiss before remember his purpose. With a fair amount of reluctance, he turned his head to the side, eliciting a small bout ofughter from Apollo as he mused, "How unfortunate...well, there is always a ce for you at my side...after all, the nights can be oh so lonely~." Hyakinthos nodded his head, taking a moment to fix his clothing before saying, "I am always willing to serve, Apollo-sama..." Apollo smiled, happy at the words produced by his trusted Captain, turning to the groveling Elven woman and saying, "See, wench, this is how you should behave. Hyakinthos isnt even my ve and still shows me the proper respect...tsk..." The Elven woman, named Elize, bowed her head low to hide the indignant look on her face as she said, "Yes, Apollo-sama...My apologies, Apollo-sama..." Shaking his head, clearly annoyed by her presence, Apollo waved his hand and said, "Begone...Ive grown tired of you. Go to the training cell and reflect on your actions." Hearing Apollos words, the Elven woman visible trembled, tears staining her face as she fought to stifle her cries. She knew there was no point in trying to convince him to show mercy and, as hesitant as she was to go to that nightmarish ce again, she slowly moved her feet forward,pelled to obey by the ve cor around her neck... Once they were alone, Apollo sat back on his throne, making no effort to conceal his dignity as he asked, "Well then, my faithful Hyakinthos, what brings you into my throne room this evening?" Bowing in a deferential and respectful manner, Hyakinthos said, "Apollo-sama, Cassandra had another vision, this time more clearly than the others..." Apollo frowned, tempted to dismiss the matter if not for the fact that one of Cassandras visions had actually born fruit. When they were looking for a ce to settle outside of the City, she had seen a vision of half of their Familia being taken out by a rock slide. He had dismissed her at the time but, fortunately, Hyakinthos had been on the alert as a precaution, allowing them to narrowly evade the fate that would have befallen them. Giving Hyakinthos a gesture, urging him to continue, the beautiful man said, "In her most recent vision, the Apollo Familia had beenpletely wiped out by a man with onyx-ck skin, covered in glowing golden tattoos..." Apollo inadvertently swallowed, gripping the arms of his throne as he asked, "Are there any more details to the vision, such as a time frame or what triggers the event? Who is the man from the vision...is it...?" Hyakinthos nodded with a solemn look on his face, saying, "Though it is obviously somewhat different than our reports, it is undoubtedly Vahn Mason within the vision. He must have developed some kind of new ability that greatly enhances his power...as for what triggered the event, Cassandra was unable to determine because everything had happened in what she described as an instant..." Before Hyakinthos gave his report, Apollo had been nning to hold a meeting to try and get Loki and Hephaestus to show off their children during the next Denatus. He believed that the spawn between Vahn and a goddess was unnatural, going against the order of the world and a clear afront to all gods within Heaven. By exposing them for the abominable monsters they were, Apollo hoped to turn the tides against the Alliance and allow them to publically shame Vahn Mason. Now, however, Apollo felt like this action would have been the catalyst leading to their destruction. Hyakinthos might not have said it directly, but it was easy to see from the boysplexion that he had likely been forced back to Heaven as well... After taking several deep breaths to calm his nerves, Apollo stated, "Hear me, Hyakinthos...we will continue increasing the strength of our forces until we have a strong enough team to pick off the individual members of the Hestia Familia. Dont let anyone antagonize Vahn Mason directly and make sure all the ves have a self-immtion talisman carved into their bodies. I dont want any of their corpses giving away our presence until were prepared to strike..." Though he looked down on Vahn, Apollo wasnt foolish enough to try and fight against him directly, at least for the time being. Until they had more information about that onyx ck form, he wouldnt send his forces against the Hestia Familia, instead, targetting the weaker Familias within the Alliance... Hyakinthos bowed low, holding his position for several seconds as he said, "Yes, Apollo-sama. I will make your will known and carry it out without question..." After he was finished speaking, Hyakinthos raised his head and nned to immediately execute his new orders. However, he didnt make it too far before Apollo called out, "Halt, Hyakinthos...I require your services. This news, as shameful as it may be, has affected my heart. Please, help put it at ease..." Apollo gave Hyakthinos an appraising look, earning a small blush from his Captains face as thetter said, "Yes, Apollo-sama!" in a slightly excited voice. Without any hesitation at all, Hyakinthos approached the throne where Apollo was sitting, loosening the cor of his military-style coat and kneeling down... --- Thousands of kilometers away from Orario, in a massive forest beneath the canopy of a giant tree, more than ten kilometers tall, there was several women gathered around a reflecting pool. Each of them had an almost ethereal beauty to them, having wless faces, unblemishedplexions, eyes deeper than the ocean, and a pair of long pointed ears adorning their heads. Though their beauty was enough to topple kingdoms, their disposition seemed entirely removed from the rest of the world, almost as if they were unaffected by anything else happening outside of the Sanctum they currently stood in. Amongst them, there were three unique beauties, all adorned in ceremonial robes and holding ornate wooden staves that contained so much power they caused the mana around them to fluctuate and distort. These three women, with the exception of the one at the very center, were the elders of the High Priestess faction. As for the girl in the center, who was somewhat short for a High Elf, standing only 158cm tall, she was the current High Priestess, having been groomed by the woman to her right, the former High Priestess, Irisalia Els Lainu. Though never holding the title of High Priestess herself, the woman on the left, named Deina Els Lainu, was the half-sister to Irisalia and one of the most powerful Mages in the previous generation. With the exception of the current High Priestess, the youngest woman present, each High Elves, was nearly 150 years old. Though they werent all as prodigious as Riveria, their average strength was also Level 6, with Irisalia and Deina both currently standing at the peak of Level 7. As for their rather diminutive High Priestess, she was currently only Level 5 but, considering that she was only 38 years old, this was rather amazing for a High Elf that had never left the forest. The reason for her bing the High Priestess so early, even though Irisalia was only 371 years old, was because the young High Elf possessed various unique abilities, including one rted to Divination. Having an almost unmatched intelligence,bined with the power of foresight, her guidance allowed the High Priestess Faction to avoid many potential dangers as she had even predicted the current inner turmoil of the Kingdom itself. Other than Riveria, she was the hope for the future of the Elven Kingdom, being kept as a closely guarded secret from the rest of the world, especially the Nobles and members of the Sage Council. In fact, other than Irisalia and Deina, none of the other Priestesses even knew the girls name, simply referring to her as Venerable High Priestess within the Inner Sanctum. Irisialia and Deina did much the same but, when they were counseling the girl in private, they still referred to her by her true name, Sylfia Dal Alfan, direct descendant in the line of Wishe... The group, consisting of thirteen Priestesses, two Elders, and the High Priestess herself, had been observing the changes within the reflecting pool they had gathered around. Sylfias ability allowed her to reflect her vision onto the surface of the water so it wasnt umon for them to gather like this. Typically, the rity of the vision determined how urate things were and allowed them to understand how difficult it would be to change troublesome situations in their favor. Unfortunately, there were some things that werent so easily changed, such as in the case where the vision was almost perfectly clear... Currently, the entire chamber had be absolutely silent as Sylfia stared down at the looping projection with her pupils dted and a paleplexion on her face. Within the image of the reflecting pool, everyone could see what looked like a demon, covered in onyx-ck skin with glowing white hair and strange runes covering its body. Chaotic energy danced around the figure, shrouded in darkness and lightning elemental energy as the forest burned behind it. The most terrifying thing was the demons eyes, reflecting a mystical light that seemed as if could peer through all things, currently locked on Syflia with its prating gaze. As for why the room had be silent, it was due to the fact that the image had a crystal clear quality, almost as if it was part of reality itself... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vana is very energetic (UwU),The Return of Apollo...,RIP Sylfia-chan...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 667 - Intermission : Orbs

Chapter 667 - Intermission : Orbs

Over the course of the next few days, Vahn had the opportunity to experience that raising children wasnt exactly easy. Because of the elerated growth rates of the Vanir, they needed to eat every two hours, typically like clockwork. Vana ate a fair amount more than both Ina and Erika, but she also showed the highest amount of energypared to the other two. Also, since they were constantly eating, this meant the girls were also constantly producing small amounts of waste to apany their meal n. Vahn had been asked to help out, so as to familiarize himself with the process, meaning he had changed nearly thirty diapers over the course of a few short days. This didnt mean Vahn wasnt happy, however, as every moment he spent with his daughters felt like a true blessing. Just being in the same room as them made him feel like his body had endless energy and he often had to be forced away by the teasing of Loki, Hephaestus, Juno, Epona, and Tsubaki. Mona never said too much but showed a tired smile on her face most of the time since she had constantly been tending to the girls both day and night. It was fortunate that Juno and Epona actually produced milk, allowing them to relieve her so she could actually get adequate sleep, while the other expectant mothers also helped out a bit. When he wasnt spending time with his newborn daughters, Vahn had been guiding all the younger girls in their magical training and nning his next course of action with Minerva and Fortuna. They had counseled him about the best course of action to take in regards to his interactions with the Rakia and Elven Kingdoms. As it stood, almost anything he did against the Rakia Kingdom would be used as a justification for them to rally forces and try a more meaningful attack. This was an opportunity to get them to overextend but relied on Vahn being willing to fight against an army and potentially im many lives. The problem with this was the fact that many of the people fighting on the frontlines were being forced into service, making them rtively innocent in the grand scheme of things... Under the guidance of the two goddesses, Vahn eventually settled on a median between two extremes, allowing the Rakia Kingdom to move their forces the vast distance between the Kingdom and the City while eliminating their supply lines and damaging the terrain. If they didnt have enough resources to continue the campaign, they would inevitably be forced to retreat under the constant harassment of various smaller mercenary troupes and the scouts from the Elven Forest. There was a chance they could detour to the south, trying to sweep through the ins area where the food was produced, but this would guarantee their Kingdom was wiped off the map. It had been hundreds of years since anyone even tried to cause harm to the food production region of the Continent, as doing so would earn you the ire of every single country while simultaneously be cutting off your own potential resources. As foolish as Ares might be, he knew better than to draw the attention of all the forces on the Continent simultaneously... As for the Elven Kingdom, they were much trickier to deal with than the Rakia Kingdom since most of their issues were internal. Vahn didnt have the power and authority to force change within the Kingdom without acting like a tyrant, meaning the only usible course of action was to continue pressuring them until the Elven Kingdom either attacked or gave up. There was a very high chance they would tear themselves apart from the inside, but the ones most damaged by this course of action would be the so-called Nobles. The Sage Council had been consolidating their forces around the western front while keeping their Elites in reserve. As for those that had already aligned with the High Priestess faction, which included the majority of the most powerful High Elves and influential Elven families, they were just tiding over until things came to a head. With Riveria as a mediator, they had reached out to the High Priestess Faction, offering aid and the creation of an emergency teleportation formation to allow them to escape during an emergency. Strangely, though they had been fairly amicable in the past, the High Priestess Faction seemed intent to continue forward without their assistance. Riveria had been confused and frustrated when she learned how obstinant the faction had suddenly be,ining to Vahn almost every time he had gone to check up on her. Before this sudden change, Riveria had a very good rtionship with many of the senior members of the High Priestess Faction, so it was upsetting for her to suddenly get the cold shoulder. Unable to do much about the situation in the Elven Kingdom, other than help refugees that were trying to flee the internal struggles, Vahn had no choice but to wait and see how things developed. He decided that, even if the High Priestess Faction didnt directly ask for help, he would still go to their aid if news of an emergency situation reached them from the borders of the Western Forests. With Fafnir, he could close the distance between Orario and the Elven Kingdom in less than an hour, though Terra would potentially be able to get him there in an instant... Terra, after returning from the Dungeon, had spent the majority of her time expanding her dominion to epass the entirety of the Manor. She had also modified the structure of her formation, enhancing several parts of it with wards that she had learned through studying with Eva. Everything above ground had now be an invible space for her since one of the first things she had implemented was a massive assortment of wards that enhanced the defensive barrier around the Manor. Now, unless someone was near Level 7, or had a special Innate that allowed them to prate such barriers, there was almost no chance of the Manor suffering a direct attack. Even the underground, especially the underground, had beenpletely barred off for anyone that Terra herself didnt allow free passage... One of the bigger changes with Terra was the fact that she was very open about the changes in their rtionship while simultaneously being very secretive about what she had learned from Eva. Other than Vahn, Fenrir, and Fafnir, Terra kept her knowledge a secret and only gave advice when some of the girls came to her in order to ask questions. The rest of her time was spent resting on her perch, sunbathing and absorbingrge amounts of energy,pletely in the buff. She kept the egg at her side, nestled against the base of her perch as it reflected the sunlight off its emerald green scales. Vahn had offered to awaken it, as he was the only one with the key to breaking through Evas spell, but Terra refused on the grounds that he was already distracted with other things. Unlike the Vanir, there wouldnt be any elerated growth for his child with Terra, meaning it could actually take dozens, if not hundreds, of years for it to reach maturity. Though Terra and Fafnir had been something of an exception, this was only because their bodies had been adapting to the changes brought about by their evolution. Terra herself hadnt changed at all, even after nearly 150 years, while Fafnirs size was still growing, even though it had functionally eternal life. Thus, Terra had decided to wait until she had finished creating a sub-space orb with enough of a time dtion effect to teach and raise their child to the point it could, at the very least, defend itself. Though her affinity with Space wasnt nearly as good as Evas, or even Vahns, Terra had a lot of knowledge in regards to the subjects and had been entrusted with the secret of imbuingws into a medium to create a sub-space. To change thews and make them apply to a physical body was very taxing, requiring arge amount of magical power and incredibly rare resources provided by the system shop, but Terra could still pull it off. Her restriction was modifying the passage of time to equate to seven days for every one day that passed, but it was still adequate. Fortunately, she could make use of Vahns peculiarities to create Spirit-Time Orbs, which was the same as Evas original orb. Spirit-Time Orbs required the Mage to create a faux-persona, referred to as a memory fragment, that regted thews within the space with a much greater degree of influencepared to a Sub-Space Orb. Since thetter applied to the physical body, there were much greater restrictions on the userpared to the rather lenient restrictions in a Spirit-Time Orb. Terra could influence the time dtion to reach ten hours for every minute that passed, allowing the user to stay inside for up to 100 hours every day. With Vahn being able to actually bring physical objects into a Spirit-Time Orb, he could break many of the limitations that applied to them, something Terra found fascinating and intended to take full advantage of... After a fair amount of discussion, as Vahn found himselfcking the time he wanted to spend with all the girls, it was decided that they would create several different kinds of orbs, as Vahn was learning from Terra how to actually form them. Terra would create two primary orbs, one Sub-Space, and one Spirit-Time, with the goal of allowing the girls the opportunity to train their physical bodies while she would make personal use of the Spirit-Time orb for her own research and raising her child. As for Vahn, he would be creating several different types of Spirit-Time orbs for a variety of purposes, many geared towards teaching specific skills. There would also be three reward orbs, which had been put forth as a rmendation by Loki and approved by the girls in the Manor. These orbs would have three different programs, with varying intensities that would allow the girls to exchange their .u.mted points for private recreational time with Vahns memory fragment. It wouldnt affect their physical bodies, but their spirit would actually be tempered through the interactions, even if they ultimately decided to do something a bit risque with the Tier 3 memory fragment. Since Vahn could also download the memories from the orbs, he would be able to know what was going on inside, though it was suggested that he didnt pry into things unless someone was acting strangely... So that nobody got in the habit of trying to overuse the orbs, it was decided that they would have ess restrictions of one-week ced on them, meaning they could only be used up to four times a month at most. Vahn would also be spending a fair amount of time apanying the girls physical bodies within the Sub-Space Orb, as he would also be conducting his own training and research. After all, if he had an extra 100 hours each day, not only for his own research but to spend with the girls, that was a boon he had no intention of missing out on. As for the what kind of restrictions would be ced on the orbs use, Loki had actually concluded that only 25% of the time in the orb, essentially around one day, should be used for work. If anything, Vahn already spent too much time on his projects and tending to the various obligations he had fallen into, thus making the orb the perfect solution to give him time to rx. If he entered with all the girls, he wouldnt have the same issue as with Evas orb since he would always be able to seek out other people if he was feeling lonely. This also allowed them to monitor him without bing overly reliant on using the Spirit-Time Orbs for their interactions with Vahn... Unable to refute Lokis ims, though there would certainly be exceptions made depending on what was happening outside the orb, Vahn epted the terms. It would take several weeks to create a single orb, so they had plenty of time to think about what changes to maketer on. However, just knowing they would have a ce where they could essentially spend three extra days with Vah, almost everyone in the Manor was very excited. The only exceptions, though they didnt really mind it, were the goddesses. Because of how the orbs functioned, they wouldnt actually be able to enter the orbs since their actual bodies and souls were still in Heaven. If they could detach their spirit to enter the Spirit-Time Orb, it was very likely their body would dissipate and they would be returned to Heaven. As for the Sub-Space Orb, it didnt have nearly as much risk but none of them were willing to find out the truth of the matter since they had no desire to be barred from the mortal world for a few decades. Topensate for the goddesses inability to enter the orbs, most of the time Vahn spent in reality, especially during the evenings, would be spent with them. This also extended to all the pregnant women as well, as one of the first things that had been decided during the discussion was to never use the orbs to elerate a pregnancy. Though the variable pregnancies of goddesses could be exined away as a result of the peculiarities of the Vanir and the influence of Divinity, it would be very obvious something was going on if mortals began having children much faster than normal. The orbs, though some may be used for special sses in the School, would be one of the most closely guarded secrets of the Alliance. The orbs were far too easily exploitable so it wasnt a good idea to ever circte them amongst mortals. One of the examples Loki had given, which caused a shudder to pass through almost the entire room, was vers using the orbs to breed stock. Another one had been people using orbs with more lenient restrictions, as it was possible to make a sub-space that functioned at a 1:1 ratio without any limitations, to store people they had kidnapped. If you could keep thousands of people within the space of a single drawer, there were no ends to the means by which it could be misused. Fortunately, there was a restriction that Sub-Space Orbs required being anchored to the world itself, often making use of leylines andrger formations to supplement their energy requirements. Moving an orb would destabilize the space, destroying any structures that had been built inside while forcibly ejecting any people, assuming that function had been programmed into it. If it hadnt been, anyone inside would cease to exist when the space copsed, making it an easy way to hide evidence of wrongdoing... When they were talking about the restrictions, Vahn couldnt help but think about the Heavenly City from the Divination, wondering if it was possible to anchor an orb to such a colossal structure. After all,s were often just objects floating through space, meaning the only real restriction was the amount of energy feeding into, and stabilizing, the orbs. He intended to try and create modified orbs in the future but, for the time being, decided to agree to all the rules and restrictions that had been put forth by the collective group. They would talk about it again when the rest of the girls returned from the Expedition, as it was unfair to make decisions without their input, but they werent likely to oppose the decisions that were made... The only real points of contention hade from the presence of Lili, Tina, and Shizune, as Hestia had proposed making the Sub-Space Orbs off-limits to anyone that had yet to reach a.d.u.l.thood. Mortals already had rtively short lives and she didnt think it was healthy for children to essentially shorten their lifespans by potentially spending 80% of their life within a Sub-Space Orb. After all, just using it for a year would make Tinas age chronologically closer to seventeen years old. As an extreme case, this would mean the Vanir could actually reach physical maturity in less than a year... Ultimately, it was decided that Lili would be able to make free use of the orb, as she was almost an a.d.u.l.t and had already lived a very trying life, while restrictions would be ced on Tina and Shizune. Theter would have far more freedom in the orbs use, as she was already mentally an a.d.u.l.t, while Tina would only be allowed to ess the orb once a week, at least for the time being. To pacify her, Vahn promised he would spend a lot of his time in the real world ying with and teaching her, at least when he wasnt looking after his own daughters and spending time with the various expectant mothers. He also promised that, by the time the orbs were functional, he would give her a me seed so she could potentially keep up with Shizunes elerated growth by increasing her parameters much faster than the small Kitsune. Shizune had initially been happy to have rtively free ess to the orb but, after hearing all the concessions Vahn made for Tina, she began to feel like she had missed out on a golden opportunity. Vahn would obviously be spending the majority of his time with the other girls in the orb so, unless she managed to convince Tina to let her y with them, she wouldnt have that much time with him herself. Fortunately, while Tina was denied ess to them, Shizune had been given leniency to use the Tier 1 and Tier 2 Spirit-Time Orbs. This meant, as long as she saved up enough points, she would be able to get some benefits from the memory fragments of Vahn. Though she wouldnt be able to do anything a.d.u.l.t, for the time being, it was better than nothing... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Endless Poop : Infinite Diapers,Haaaaaaax,Tina, lucky or unlucky? Only time will tell (OwO)~!) (A/N: The previous chapter was technically the end of Volume 14, so the next 2-3 chapters will be intermission chapters exining and wrapping up some loose ends. Pactio chapter should be next and, as I felt it would be kind of funny, I decided to do a perspective chapter of some of the side characters on Friday. There were actually a number of people that had different reactions to Vahns aura when he thought about protecting his daughter, some which would be interesting to read. Saturday will be the start of Volume 15 and, by the start of the new week, Ill be back to around 100-120k words per week (UwU)~!) Chapter 668 - Intermission : Pactio (1/2)

Chapter 668 - Intermission : Pactio (1/2)

Though he had put it off for a few days, primarily as a result of his daughters being born, Vahn eventually made due on his promise to give the girls their [Pactio]s. As awkward as it may have been, the entire thing turned into a rtively big event where they all got together in the clearing, located within the illusory forest. Other than the participants themselves, there were several goddesses present since many of them were curious about such a unique form of contract magic, as it seemed to make use ofws they were entirely unaware of. For entities that had existed for hundreds of millions of years, they werent the type of people to simply miss out on something new and exciting. Loki, carrying a closed-eyes Erika in her arms, had already returned to her natural appearance and had a look of intrigue on her face. Even till this day, Erika had never once opened her eyes so Loki had eventually opened the slit-like lids to see what color they were. Unlike her own, Erika seemed to inherit Vahns eye color, making them a pristine aquamarine. This had made Loki strangely happy and she had been teasing him about it ever since, often saying things like, "She has your nose..." or "She has your eyes...". The most notable change, however, was the fact that Loki seemed to have calmed down a fair amount and currently had a much more stable aura than in the past. It may be a temporary change, but she said her own Divinity seemed to have weakened in influence for the time being, though the presence and power of the Divinity was still there. As for his other two daughters, Vana and Ina, the former always seemed full of energy, even making an effort to look around while producing adorable baby sounds that always made everyone present smile. Ina, unlike her elder twin, was rtively quiet and seemed far less interested in the world and instead seemed fond of a few select individuals. She allowed people to hold her, but would often make a small frown unless it was Hephaestus, Juno, Mona, and, somewhat strangely, Haruhime. It had be apparent that his children, including their guardians, could see and interact with Shirohime. Ina seemed fond of the small fox and its counterpart, though not nearly so much as she was of her favorite person, Vahn himself. If he was present in the room, Ina would make small pouting sounds and wriggle about in the arms of whoever was holding her until they eventually passed her over to Vahn. She always saved her biggest and brightest smiles for him, earning a few exasperated looks from Hephaestus. Even Vahn was surprised that, after just a few days of being born, his second daughters Affinity had actually reached 99 points, still listing him as her (Favorite Person). He was somewhat curious if there would be any kind of quest update when she hit 100 but didnt really mind it too much since it wouldnt really change how he felt about any of his daughters. To Vahn, they were all perfect little angels that he needed to protect, regardless of what life, fate, or karma, might throw his way... After passing the sleeping Ina back to Hephaestus, leaving her to hold both of their daughters in her arms, Vahn finished creating therge magic ward for [Pactio] in just three seconds. All the girls were already waiting at the side, having decided their order by drawing lots. Though they had initially thought about making the ceremony a private affair, the various discussions that had been going on within the Manor ended up changing things to make it more of an event instead. It all started when Loki and Hephaestus both mentioned they were interested in observing, leading Hestia and Anubis wanting to do the same. Thus, Naaza, Chloe, Aki, Lunoire, Mn, Lili, Ryuu, Syr, Tsubaki, Riveria, Preasia, Emiru, Maemi, Arnya, Eina, and, after a bit of cross-talk, Shizune were all waiting patiently at the side. As for everyone else, including Haruhime, Mikoto, Fenrir, Terra, and, after hearing about the event from her sister, Risna, they were all observing the proceedings from the side with a very low-energy Tina, who had suffered a critical hit at being the only one left out. Being the first up, Naaza had a light blush on her face and nervously yed with a few strands of her hair as she walked into the circle where Vahn was waiting with a smile. Though they had kissed plentily in the past, this was the first time she would be doing so in front of an audience of more than twenty people. Naaza was more than a little nervous but, after Vahn reached out at patted her head, most of her nerves strangely faded away. With the evolution of his [Petting], Vahn had be especially effective against all the Beast-Human girls. If not for the fact that he spent the majority of his time hovering around the maternity ward, it may have even ranked up with how fond he was of using the unique Development Ability... After she had calmed down a fair amount, Vahn shared a rtively tame kiss with Naaza as the ward activated, shrouding both their bodies in light before her [Pactio] card came into existence, named Spiritus Pharmacop. It floated around a bit before disappearing into her chest, causing Naazas clothing to burst as her unique raiment reced it. Vahn was a little surprised with her outfit, and it made him feel a little dull in a part of his mind since she looked a lot like one of the researchers from his previous life. Naazas raiment took on the form of a white blouse, a straight ck skirt that nearly reached her knees, a whiteb coat, a pair of brown loafers, and square-rimmed sses. Even her hairstyle had changed, pulled up into an ornate bun on the back of her head that was held together by two pen-like objects. Of course, the most notable thing for everyone else present, was the fact that Naaza had arge bandolier-like pouch that was full of a variety of vials containing strange liquids. What asked about them, Naaza exined that she could apparently convert her magical energy to create a variety of differentpounds that could temporarily boost an allys parameters or debuff an enemys. It was a surprisingly powerful support [Pactio] since it didnt seem to take much of Naazas magic power to actually fill one of the vials... As there wasnt much time to investigate each individual [Pactio] in detail, Naaza gave Vahn a contented hug before stepping off to the side, making way for the smiling Chloe to walk into the circle. She had a very intrigued look in her eyes as she yfully said, "Nyahaha, I wonder what kind of outfit Ill get~nya?" Then, without waiting for the ward to activate, Chloe gave Vahn a quick kiss beforeughing as she stepped away. Vahn gave her a wry smile, deciding he needed to pamper her a bitter since she seemed to be wanting his attention. For now, however, he did his duty by drawing the [Pactio] circle once again. When he was done, they shared a second kiss, considerably less tame than Naazas as her card, Umbra Princeps, came into existence. Chloes Umbra Princeps took on the form of a misty-ck substance, very simr to what was produced by Fafnir when it was using [Shadow Walk]. Her outfit itself couldnt be seen since the shadowy mist covered every part of her body, even extending to her pointed ears and covering her beautiful green eyes. It wasnt until Chloe reached up, pulling down a part around her face, that they were able to see her form again. The Ministra Magi had an intuitive understanding of their own [Pactio] so Chloe exined that her raiment and artifact seemed to be one object, much like Haruhimes. When asked about the effects, Chloeughed in a mischevious manner before diving into Vahns shadow. He found his muscles tense up, making it very difficult to move as his own shadow began coiling around his legs and slowly pulling him into the pool below until Chloe eventually popped back out, freeing him from what she called Shadow Possession. Her actual ability allowed her to move through shadows, much like Fafnir, but also allowed her to manipte her own shadow, and the shadow of others. As a quick demonstration, she formed the shadowy substance around her body into a variety of different shapes, many of which looked like ded weapons... After Chloe was satisfied with her mischief, she made way for Aki, sending the pregnant Cat Person a yfulugh while apologizing for the wait. Aki didnt seem to mind, holding her pregnant belly as she walked into the ward, which Vahn had already re-established. They spent a few seconds just hugging each other before Aki herself initiated the kiss, enjoying the warm light flowing around her body as her card, Reciproca Imperium, popped into existence. Since she didnt want to try using it while she was pregnant, Aki just epted the copy of her card from Vahn while he looked over the image shown on the front. It showed Aki, in her normal state, wearing a ck battledress with several arrow-like motifs covering it. Her artifact, which she was still able to summon safely, took on the form of two gloves which allowed her to reverse the force of anything she touched. It was an incredibly powerful offensive and defensive artifact if used by a skilled weilder and Aki seemed happy to have obtained such versatile ability. Once Aki had joined the crowd of observers, Lunoire entered into the ward, showing her characteristic gentle smile with a hint of expectation in her eyes. All of the girls had been interested in what form their own [Pactio]s would take so, after seeing what Naaza, Chloe, and Aki had gotten, Lunoire was very excited and quickly initiated a kiss with Vahn. When the card came out, she almost ended the kiss early in an attempt to grab it but instead found her focus wavering as she fell deeper into the kiss. Lunoire hadnt realized how much she missed contact with Vahn and suddenly found it harder to part from him than she had expected. It wasnt until Vahn slowly pulled away from her, showing a gentle and understanding smile on his face that Lunoire returned to her senses... Lunoires [Pactio], Mons Taurus, took on a form nobody had expected, almost causing Lunoire to regret obtaining it before the knowledge of her artifact and its uses embedded themselves into her mind. She was currently wearing what looked like a one-piece pajama-like outfit that was simr in appearance to a golden cow. There were even small horns and droopy ears connected to the hood section of the one-piece outfit. Though it was adorable, it didnt exactly inspire confidence in the user, nor did it have any intimidation factor towards enemies. However, when Lunoire imed she could make the outfit harder than Adamantine and that it multiplied her strength in increments of ten, the more experienced Adventurers all swallowed nervously. Each multiplier took a progressively greater amount of magic power, something Lunoire was currentlycking, but it was an utterly terrifying offensive ability... Mn was next to receive her [Pactio], showing a great deal of excitement on her face as she grabbed Vahns cheeks and gave him a very passionate and loving kiss. At this point, everyone was getting progressively more excited and, much like Lunoire, Mn had missed Vahn a great deal over thest few weeks. It wasnt until she could practically feel the awkwardness of the atmosphere on her skin that Mn finally pulled away, showing a blush on her mature face as she sent an apologetic look to everyone giving her wry smiles. Fortunately, tensions eased when Mn used her [Pactio], taking on the appearance of a female diator wearing a mix of ck and white leathers with pristine metallic ting covering her vitals. When Mn pulled out her artifact, which took on the form of a massive circr shield, Vahn flipped the card in his hand, reading Provocator Scutum on the front. Mn went on to exin the use of her [Pactio], which seemed to enhance her defenses greatly while allowing her to forcefully pull attacks towards her shield. Anything contacting the mirror-like surface seemed to bepletely absorbed, allowing Mn to store the energy of the attack in the 39 small runes circling the shield. At any point, she could release the stored energy in the form of a powerful counterattack that would send out a wave of neutral energy in a directed shockwave towards her enemies. Though it seemed like a decided broken ability, Mn said she could only activate the defensive aspects of the shield every three seconds and there was a cooldown depending on the strength of the counter... Lili was up next, entering the ward before Mn had even stepped out of it. Things had been going very well for hertely so Lili almost always had a smile on her face, a far cry from her past self who always had a fake smile or spent her time brooding. Not only had her strength been increasing in strides, but now she would be able to functionally shorten the amount of time she would have to wait before finally entering a permanant rtionship with Vahn. Now, she would even be able to explosively increase her own strength once again and would even be learning magic from Vahn...Lili was so happy that it felt like all the pain and suffering she experienced in her past had been worth it... Vahn had to kneel down to kiss Lili, somewhat that always made him feel a little awkward about, but she didnt seem bothered by the fact and practically leaped into his arms. Since it seemed to be the trend, Lili gave an almost greedy kiss thatsted much longer than the duration of the [Pactio] ceremony itself. Though she didntpletely get her fill of Vahnobtainium, Lili eventually pulled away and snatched up her card, immediately activating the transformation without even checking the name. When the light faded away, Lilis smile became even bigger as she pumped her fist victoriously and gave Vahn an excited hug. Lilis [Pactio], Simia Regina, took on a form simr to her previous Adventurers outfit. She had a tight top that didnt extend past her ribs, made up of a strange tanned cloth that extended down her arms, much like the [Nezha Ladys Toga] she often used. As for the bottoms, she had tight ck spats with a pair of shorts made of the same tanned material as her top. The edges of her shorts, cor, and sleeves, were all covered in white fur and there was a small monkey-like tail poking out of her backside. It didnt serve any purpose, other than aesthetics, so Lili got rid of it before growing a real tail in its ce, making her entire appearance look adorable. The reason why she had been so happy, other than the information that entered her head, was because Lili knew Vahn would like the outfit since he seemed to have a weakness for cute things... When Lili had finally calmed down a bit, she pulled out her artifact and exined the details of her [Pactio] to everyone present. Her outfit didnt provide any defensive capabilities, other than the basic ones provided by the [Pactio] itself, but allowed her to have enhanced senses in natural environments with greatly increased agility. Lili had already been very flexible, but she now felt like her body would be able to contort even easier, without feeling some of the difort she would have to deal with when doing some of her more daring maneuvers. As for her artifact, it took on the form of a crimson red staff with golden bands attached to it. It had the quality of being indestructible and being able to change both its size and weight at her whim. Lili demonstrated it by cing one end in the ground and causing the staff to extend nearly 20m in an instant, vaulting her into the sky as she performed a few flips beforending on her feet with a smile. After receiving Vahns praise, Lili eventually moved to join the rest of the girls at the side, not bothering to return to her normal form just yet. Ryuu moved to rece her, breaking the trend of sharing a passionate kiss with Vahn and instead settling on something far tamer. Though she was more expressive than in the past, Ryuu still wasnt fond of public disys of affection. She had opened up to most of the girls in the Manor but didnt want to do anything shameless unless they were alone...or at least in a small group. Ryuus [Pactio], Meteoron Imber, took on the form of a dark-blue cowl that glimmered with small star-like lights. The rest of her outfit looked rtively casual but gave the feeling of a hunter even to the untrained observer. She had a sleeveless ck tunic with glistening white buttons around the cor, a pair of pristine white shorts, dark-blue stockings with a simr starry pattern as her cowl, and small white boots that matched the color of her shorts and the vambraces on her arms. As for her artifact, Ryuu strangely ended up with a bow that seemed to be made of an inordinately beautiful crystal. Though they didnt match any of the constetions he had seen, there were several linked star-like lights within the interior of the bow, giving Ryuu a very ethereal look when everything was taken into consideration... When asked about her artifact, Ryuu exined that it functioned as both a bow and a magical staff since it was able to enhance other spells and magic. As for the activeponent of the artifact, Ryuu was able to channel a strange form of energy Vahn had never seen before, forming it into an arrow that made the hair stand up on the back of his neck. It was a very pure and pristine energy that seemed like it could pierce through anything, making his [Magia Erebea] infused cells writhe about somewhat ufortably. ording to Sis, though she didnt really know why she could tell what kind of energy it was, it wasprised of Star Energy, making use of one of the higher-tieredws of the world. It had a powerful suppressive effect on anythingprised of negative energy and, even though Vahns [Magia Erebea] was a purified form, he still felt itchy just being in the presence of the indescribably beautiful arrow... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Poor Hephaestus, relegated to Inas Second Favorite Person...,You get a kiss, you get a kiss, EVERYONE gets a kiss~!...except for Tina (UwU)...,Everything Has a Weakness) (A/N: I didnt expect the [Pactio] chapters to take so long so I had to split it into two parts, at the very least. Though Ill probably be very tired when work ends today, as I have to stay a littlete, Ill try to get out part two this evening. If not, Ill post two or more tomorrow before increasing the release rate to the normal amount starting at the weekly reset. Thanks for being patient with me during this week, but know it puts me in a much better financial situation for continued writing in the future :P) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 669 - Intermission : Pactio (2/2)

Chapter 669 - Intermission : Pactio (2/2)

After Ryuu put her artifact away, moving to the side to stand with the rest of the observers, Syr was the next to step into the ward. She had a look of intrigue reflected in her light grey eyes, giggling a little as she said, "This should be interesting~." Vahn returned a smile, gingerly reaching forward to stroke her cheek before sealing her lips for a few seconds. Syrs lips always tasted strangely sweet and, even though there was a subtle attempt by her pseudo-divinity to charm him, Vahn found it more amusing than scary these days. When they parted, he grabbed the floating card and made a copy for Syr before checking the cover and watching her transformation. Syrs [Pactio], Pupa Domina, took on the form of a light grey gothic-style dress with light blue ribbons adorning various parts of the ensemble. The most notable thing, however, was the fact that she had a rather strange looking featureless doll with small button eyes. When she learned its effect, Syr gave a rare wry smile as she somewhat hesitantly exined, "My artifact seems to be a little unique...it allows me to create puppets of other people and link them with the original..." To demonstrate her ability, Syr asked for a hair from Vahn, sticking it into the dolls head and surprising everyone when it suddenly took on a form reminiscent of their favorite green-eyed boy. Then, surprising them even further, Syr moved one of the arms of the doll and watched as Vahn repeated the action. This allowed them to understand the terror associated with Syrs artifact, especially when she picked up the doll with two hands and caused Vahn to lift off the ground... Though they didnt truly fear her, some of the girls took a step back when Syr came to join them. Control-type abilities were always a little awkward to deal with, even if you knew your ally would never use them against you. For people like Loki, however, she didnt seem to mind, nor was she even surprised that Syr ended up with such an interesting artifact. Though it was generally very subtle, Syr was constantly getting into the heads of the girls in the Manor so that she could better regte and bnce everyones lives. She never really misused her abilities but, regardless of how anyone looked at it, Syr had a very maniptive personality and her current artifact reflected that almost perfectly. Fortunately, Tsubaki was the next to receive her [Pactio] so she cleared up the atmosphere very quickly by excitedly squeezing Vahns head between her b.r.e.a.s.ts before kissing him. Syr sent her a somewhat grateful look while many of the smaller b.r.e.a.s.ted women had dead-fish eyes on their faces as they saw Vahn struggle for air within Tsubakis massive mounds. As for the form her [Pactio] and artifact took, the card showed Tsubaki wearing brilliant red armor that was very reminiscent of the Far East. It wasprised of several tes and made her look very much like a General with the ratherrge helmet, adorned with a golden crescent crest, that apanied it. Strangely, the card once again showed her wearing an eye-patch while a massive cleaver-like katana was hefted on her shoulder... Though she couldnt transform into her raiment, Tsubaki still read the name of her [Pactio], Caelesti Generalis, before pulling out the massive katana-like artifact. It really did look like a cleaver, having a de nearly 20cm from spine to cutting edge. The length was nearly 200cm, making it one of thergest swords many of them had ever seen. This would have been intimidating on its own but, ording to Tsubaki, it had the ability to almostpletely ignore defense and she was able to wave it around almost as if it were a feather in her hands. Tsubaki seemed very content with the de, hefting it on her shoulder once again before giving Vahn a second kiss, saying, "Thanks, Vahn, its awesome..." when she pulled away to join the others. Vahn was slightly dazed after watching the pregnant Tsubaki wave around a giant cleaver-like katana so it was very fortunate that Riveria hade forward next. She had been one of the few against the idea of making the ceremony public but, after seeing everyone elses [Pactio], Riveria had warmed up to the idea a little. Still, when it came time to actually share a kiss, it was very brief and still caused Riverias face to flush a great deal since her body had been acting up after Vahns return. When she heard a few chuckles from the rest of the girls, Riverias face became somewhat solemn as she pulled out her artifact... At a nce, it looked like arge grimoire with a bronze cover adorned with variousplex runes. Though she couldnt understand theplexity of the runes just yet, Riveria knew what the artifact was called, along with the name of her [Pactio], Discipulus Aeternitatis. Her card showed her wearing a green gown, fitting with long sleeves and arge leaf-green sash with golden embroidery on it. As for the use of her artifact, it could apparently be used to scan any object, item, or monster using an eye-shaped aperture on the front. The book would then record the details of whatever Riveria scanned, embedding them within the page and allowing her to even track the price changes of objects within the market. It didnt have much in the way ofbat capabilities, at least for the time being, but Riveria was still very satisfied with it. The fact that it could identify and analyze almost anything was a tremendously useful ability, after all. When Riveria joined the rest of the onlookers, Loki had immediatelye to her side, whispering into her ear in a voice that others werent intended to hear. Other than a small nod from Riveria, nothing else was shared, though Vahn already had a reasonable idea what Loki was thinking. It would be possible topletely control the market if Riverias artifact were used properly so she likely wanted to coordinate with Fortuna to increase the wealth of the Alliance even more. Though their earnings were already incredible, the upkeep for the Alliance wasnt cheap and, after purchasing up most of the territory around them, they were more than a little in the red in some areas. The blockade of the Elven Kingdom hadnt helped their finances any either so Riverias artifact was, in fact, a tremendous boon for the Alliance. Shortly after Riveria stood off to the side, Preasia hade forward, unabashedly wearing small silken shorts and a loose top. If she werent covered in fur, the outfit would have bordered on the inappropriate, at least making it unsuitable to be worn around town. Since everyone in the Manor was used to the presence of girls like Tiona and Tione, however, they didnt really mind Preasias appearance at all. Vahn even found her very cute, as her tinum blond fur glimmered under the sunlight and gave her a peculiar appeal that couldnt be matched by the other girls. When she approached, Preasia wrapped her arms around him tightly, enjoying a long embrace thatst until the light of the [Pactio] faded away. Preasias [Pactio], Oves Ordinem, took on the form of pale-yellow sleeveless frock that hung off Preasias shoulders and extended to her knees. There was arge cross-shaped pattern on both sides and she had a pair of ribbons neatly tied at the top of her horns. As for her artifact, it took on a strange form that nobody had expected, especially Vahn. They might not have realized what it emted, but Vahn immediately recognized Preasias artifact to be simr to a gun. The only difference, other than it being white in coloration and somewhat simplistic in design, was the fact it had a cartoon-ish sheeps head at the end of the barrel. ording to Preasia, she could shoot at projectiles that, when striking the enemy, could lull them into a deep slumber. The effect and duration depending on the amount of magical powerful put into the projectiles, however, so it wasnt currently that useful on anything over Level 2. Vahn felt slightly numbed as he watched Preasia happily shooting around golden bullets of light that struck against trees and stones around the area. He was just hoping that her artifact didnt inspire other people to try and create guns of their own, as the introduction of such weaponry seemed counterintuitive. This world had people that could destroy entire buildings with a single blow, or wipe outrge battalions of soldiers with a single spell... The only thing guns would do would be to give criminals an easier alternative to dealing with their enemies while encouraging normal people to simply give up training themselves. If they could deal with most situations by simply pulling a trigger, many people would give up trying to increase their Level, potentially leading to the destruction of the world if there werent people to prevent it. After all, no matter how strong you made a bullet, it wouldnt be strong, or versatile, enough to take down something like a Dragon... After Preasia joined therge crowd of observers, Emiru and Maemi walked into the ward next, both holding each others hands with expectant smiles on their faces. It was actually possible for normal twins to enter into a [Pactio] at the same time so, with the unique bond between Maemi and Emiru, there shouldnt be any issues whatsoever. Vahn caressed both girls heads for a short while, rolling their circr cat-like ears between his thumb and index finger before giving them both a short kiss, starting from Maemi and ending with Emiru. When they parted, the girls both gave him a kiss on the cheeks before giggling as they epted their [Pactio] cards, this time showing two people on each card. Emirus [Pactio] took on the form of a ck gothic-maid outfit while Maemis was almost pristine white in color. The fact that they both got maid outfits earned a few chuckles from the spectators while the girls in question both had happy smiles on their faces. As expected, their [Pactio]s shared the same name, Binarii Angelus, and their artifacts were simr to Ais. Emiru was able to create a pair of white angel wings that protruded from her lower back while Maemis were a glossy ck. Forming the [Pactio] gave them the pre-requisite knowledge to make use of the wings but they would still need to train a bit to use them inbat. Terra, finding the fact that both girls had simr wings to herself, decided to help teach them since they were two of her Masters most loyal servants. With the twins taken care of, this left only Arnya, Eina, and Shizune as recipient awaiting their own [Pactio]s. As if she couldnt wait to get her own, Arnya hade forward, supporting her belly with one hand with arge smile on her face. Many of the problems she had expected, primarily from her brother, simply never came to pass. As her own delivery date approached, Arnya became progressively more excited and was looking forward to raising her daughter to be a powerful warrior. The world Vahn would create would be full of powerful beings and Arnya, other than increasing her own strength, wanted to make sure her daughter was able to be strong enough to live as freely as she chose. After sharing a rather passionate kiss, Arnya took her copy of the card and inspected the surface, noticing the name Magister Armis at the bottom. As for the image on the card, it showed her striking a heroic pose with a rather awe-inspiring spear in hand. This caused Arnya to frown slightly before the knowledge in her mind finished informing her of the actual artifacts use. If it had been another spear, Arnya wouldnt have been able to use it until she passed on the legacy of her school. However, with how her artifact actually functioned, Arnya was very excited as two small bangles appeared on her wrists. Without exining their use, Arna waved her hands around and created a scene that caused many people to feel cold sweat on their brows. Much like how Vahns use of [Enkidu] created golden ripples in the air, Arnyas artifact made small wards that had obscured centers caused by the twisting of space. From these spatial anomalies, several different types of spears came protruding out, containing a surprising amount of energy as they resonated with an expectant intent. These wards followed Arnya around until she waved her hand again, sending the spears forward at several times the speed of sound as they smashed into some of the stones at the far end of the clearing. Vahn had instantly erected a barrier since the spears actually made him slightly nervous. This ended up being the correct decision since, after they struck the target, the spears exploded with their contained energy and sent stones, grass, and other forms of debris flying through the air. Even Arnya was surprised by the power of her own artifact and remained stunned for several seconds before giving a sheepish grin and apologizing to everyone present. However, it was the fact that she took such actions while she was pregnant that earned her a long lecture from the other girls. Arnya obediently listened to their words with rapt attention, seriously reflecting on her own actions while wondering if her habit of acting foolishly for so many years had affected her mind. She could have simply formed a single spear but, excited by the information that had appeared in her mind, called out a total of thirteen. Since each strike was the equivalent of one of her own serious blows, the amount of damage done had been done to the clearing was rather extreme. Fortunately, Terra was able to repair things with rtive ease, even fixing the damaged trees and stones that had been destroyed by the attack. Once the cleanup was taken care of, Eina was the next up to form a [Pactio] with Vahn. Even though she wasnt abatant, the [Pactio] would help guarantee she was safe and also allowed her to contact Vahn through telepathy during emergencies. There were truly no downsides of note so Eina had agreed to undergo the ceremony without needed much convincing. When they actually kissed, things were kept rtively tame but everyone watching was able to feel the emotions shared between the two. Ever since Eina had gotten pregnant, she had fallen deeply in love with Vahn, at leastpared to the past. Initially, she just wanted to protect and care for him but, now that she was an expectant mother, Eina found herself simply wanting to be with him. She foundfort in his presence and, knowing he was also veryfortable with her, Eina was very content with her current lifestyle. Einas [Pactio], Cygnus Cantic.u.m, took on the form of a blue minstrels outfit adorned with golden threads. She also had a pair of ornate white gloves with stockings covering her long legs, visible through the slit at the side of her long dress. As for her artifact, it took on the form of a small golden lyre and had the peculiar effect of making her songs carry over great distances without being obscured by other sounds. She also gained knowledge of several short bads that worked as ritual spells, each giving different buffs to her allies while restricting the capabilities of her enemies. As a nonbatant, it wasnt the most useful artifact but, since she was actually very fond of singing in the past, Eina was happy to receive it. Vahn hadnt even known Eina could y the lyre, nor did he know she enjoyed singing, so it made him both happy and sad to learn about them so suddenly. He realized that he still didnt know much about the women he loved, even his own wives. Fortunately, he would have plenty of time to spend with them from now on since he could use the orbs for training and production in the future. Vahn swore to himself to learn more about the girls, including their likes, dislikes, hopes, and dreams. If possible, he wanted to know everything they were willing to share with him since he truly cared about them more than anything else in the entire world... Eina, understanding Vahns expression, simply smiled in response before giving him a short kiss on the cheek and saying, "Ill sing for youter, okay~?" Vahn nodded his head, smiling as he ran his fingers through Einas hair and stared into her emerald green eyes. He could see the love and care contained within and, knowing she didnt me him for his negligence, Vahn felt extremely blessed and promised to do better in the future. After all, what was the point of bing strong enough to protect the people he cared about if he didnt actually show any interest in their lives? This realization made Vahn slightly annoyed that the world was in such a state that he couldnt freely enjoy his time with the people he cared about, further hardening his resolve to change things for the better... With Einapleting her own [Pactio], thest person up was Shizune herself, something of a test to see how the rules of the [Pactio] affected people with unique circ.u.mstances. Regardless of how they treated her, Shizune was still an a.d.u.l.t, even though her body had been restored to a pristine state as a result of ingesting the [V.i.r.g.i.ns Promise]. Thews of the world might have led to a small bacsh, or a Temporary Contract if she were truly as young as she seemed but, from Vahns own understanding of variousws, he was confident things would go well. As for Shizune herself, she was just excited to get the opportunity to increase her own strength by sharing a kiss with Vahn. Though she didnt say it, and knew it likely wouldnt work against him, Shizune thought she might be able to use this as justification to get more benefits in the future. After all, if even the world treated her as an a.d.u.l.t, why should Vahn continue treating her like a child? (A/N: RIP Shizune, she is so far gone...) Though Shizune would have liked for it tost longer, Vahn only gave her a short kiss before pulling away with a smile. She furrowed her brows for a short moment before releasing a frustrated sigh when Vahn reached out and began to pet her head. It was annoying that his actions made her feel at ease, even though her heart wanted a little bit more from the boy she had started to care about very deeply. Though she had stabilized a great deal, the knowledge of her past was still fresh in Shizunes mind and she wanted to use that same knowledge to get closer to Vahn. Part of her felt it was necessary in order to make sure he didnt abandon her, putting her in a simr state as Lili had been in the past. These thoughts would fade with time, but Shizune wasnt so sure she wanted to forget them since she wanted Vahn to be satisfied with her... Shizunes [Pactio], Umbra Exhibitionem, ended up being one of the most peculiar amongst the various assortment of raiments and artifacts. It gave her what looked like a ninja outfit, including a mesh undersuit, long-sleeved ck tunic, ck trousers, and specialized tabi on her feet. Both wrists and ankles were bound with a strange cloth that looked almost metallic in structure but seemed to absorb the light and didnt produce any sounds. Completing the outfit, Shizune had a red obi around her waist that had various animal patterns along the edges. This strange obi ended up being the actual form of her artifact and, when she exined its uses, even Vahn was awestruck... ording to Shizune, though she couldnt demonstrate it just yet, she was able to kill almost anything, including animals, monsters, or even people, absorbing part of their essence to create Shadow Summons. Though they had some basic autonomy, Shizune could purportedly share senses with her summons, giving her exceptionalbat potential and information gathering capabilities. If she could have a small army of insects or rodents to investigate areas that were too dangerous to venture into on her own, she could safely gather information without exposing herself. The most terrifying thing, however, which many people already realized, was that Shizune may one day even be able to have an army of Level 5-6 monsters at her beck and call. Depending on how powerful monsters got in the deeper floors, she may even have a few level 7s to add into the mix... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Syr, Voodoo Mistress,Vahn wants to be a better beau,Holy snazzballs Batman, thats OPAF boi~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 670 - Intermission : Legend

Chapter 670 - Intermission : Legend

While many within the Manor were celebrating, there were a number of people located all throughout the world that had various premonitions. Those that lived within the darkness of society, having honed their instincts over a long period of time, all felt a shiver run down their back. Even some of therger gangs, in the middle of massive operations, recalled all their people and took up a defensive formation until they could find out the cause behind the strange phenomenon they had all experienced. Unfortunately for them, unless they had some means of Divination or Prophecy, they were unable to get any details since the matter had beenpletely concealed. Of course, not every reaction was in the negative, and there were a fair number of people that felt excited about the changes introduced into the world. High atop a mountain, much higher than any mortal was capable of climbing, there was a massive City constructed of various temples. Just looking at the architecture atop the mountain would have given any observer a sense of awe and wonder, regardless of if they were young or old. People would have an instinctual desire to take in the sights but, after looking for a short while, would inevitably bow their heads in shame before turning away. There was an aura about the ce that made any onlookers, though there had only been a few throughout the millennia, feel insignificant and inferior... Though the City seemed like it could house millions of people, the actual number of permanant residents only totaled twenty-three. There were numerous servants that quietly moved about the area giving the City an almost abandoned feeling, if not for the aura radiating from every structure. It was simply that there were few people worthy enough to inhabit the ancientplex. Even though it was thousands of years old, each building looked as new and pristine as the day they had been constructed, protected by powerful magic formations long lost to time. Not even a single mote of dust could be seen anywhere and, though many of the passages hadnt seen a single soul for thousands of years, there were no signs of insect life or rodents that had taken up residence within the seemingly abandoned rooms. Within the very center of the City, there was a massive building, more than 5km in diameter that was shaped simrly to a Coliseum. The true function of the building was to serve as a training center for prospective heroes, the only people allowed to reside within the sanctified halls atop this sacred mountain. Unfortunately, even after millennia, the world had never known many true heroes, leaving the facilitiesrgely unused throughout the years. However, today was a bit of an exception since, when Vahn released his aura to the extreme, all of the residents had felt it. Thus, as if they had previously agreed to it, everyone located within the City had gathered within therge Coliseum-like structure, many meeting for the first time in years. At the forefront of the group were three people, two men, and a single woman, each striking a heroic figure that would cause monsters to tremble in fear, irrespective of their Levels. The man in the center was especially terrifying, causing anyone that matched the seemingly perfect mans gaze to cease breathing. People would have an instinctual understanding that, if they somehow offended the man before them, they would likely never see the dawn of a new day. He had bronzed skin with muscles sculpted like an artisans greatest masterpiece. There wasnt a single part of his body that had any blemishes, almost as if he were a god given human form. His hair was a fiery red which, when hit by the sun, showed a golden halo like a lions mane. The most striking thing, however, were the mans eyes. They were a pristine blue that made the sky behind him seem dim byparison but, they also had a rather peculiar quality, having two concentric golden rings dancing around a pitch ck pupil that looked like it could contain an entire universe... Even amongst the twenty people gathered together at present, none of them had the courage to make eye contact with the man since, as remote a possibility as it may seem, there was a chance he would take it as a challenge. In truth, there used to be twenty-four people residing within these hallowed halls but, after one of the residents decided to vie for the top spot, their number was reduced to twenty-three over a forty-second period. Given the fact that the challenger was a great hero, possessing a seemingly unrivaled speed, this rtively short fight had left a deep impression on the spectators. It only took a single blow from the man with reddish-gold hair to end the fight, onlysting as long as it did because the challenger had avoided a direct engagement. In truth, he was a great deal faster than the man considered the strongest in the world but, speed couldnt ovee the massive difference in experience, battle sense, and unstoppable might. Thest thing the heroic man thought before the mountain-like fist smashed into his body was, "In all of history, there shall never be a hero greater than Heracles..." After that, the only thing that remained was a red mist where the mans body had been. If not for the formations protecting the structure of the buildings, they likely would have copsed from the resulting shockwave that had echoed like a bomb throughout the entire City... The man, standing at the center of the three, was none other than Heracles himself, now aged at 949 years old but still looking as if he were in histe twenties. Standing at his right and left were his half-siblings, each considered the greatest Heroes in their respective fields. His half-brother, Theseus, a man with striking blue hair and cid green eyes, had led the humans to victory in the war against the Goliaths several centuries prior. Much like Heracles himself, Theseus had a seemingly wless body but, unlike the man considered the strongest in the world, there was a small scar above Theseus left eye. As for how he obtained the wound, with his nigh-indestructible body, it was when Heracles had gotten drunk more than five hundred years ago, striking his brother during what was supposed to be a yful brawl. Theseus has been put into aa for three months, saved only by the intervention of his half-sister, Helen. Indeed, thest of the three was known as Helen, considered the most beautiful woman in the entire world, even when hundreds of beautiful goddesses roamed thend. Though significantly weaker than most of the other heroes gathered, she was one of the greatest Mages in History, possessing several unique Magics that had never been seen before, or after, her rise to power. Most notably, however, were her support magic and healing, giving normal warriors the ability to fight on par with opponents several Levels higher than them. To this day, though she was nearing eight hundred years old, Helen had been a v.i.r.g.i.n maiden since her two brothers, both having fallen in love with her centuries ago, prevented anyone from courting her. They were also the reason, though she wasnt stronger than some of the other heroes, for how she could maintain her position as the third-ranked Hero. Helen had pure white hair that extended all the way to her ankles, seemingly being swept up by a wind that only affected her body. It was like a gentle breeze followed her wherever she went and, even if she were to stand within a typhoon, other winds would simply move around her. Perhaps as a result of her unworldly beauty, but even nature itself seemed afraid to mar her perfect looks. As for the rest of her appearance, though her hair was quite striking, she had slightly pointed ears, much like a Half-Elf, and an immactely sculpted face. Though nearly eight hundred years old, she looked like a young woman, not more than twenty-five years in age. She had a wlessplexion that would even earn the envy of several goddesses and there was always a small smile affixed to her face, regardless of any emotions she may have felt. It was almost like she was an existencepletely detached from the world itself, even unnerving her much stronger half-brothers enough to never make a move on her. Much like her brother, Heracles, Helen had a very unique set of eyes that were affixed under her neatly arranged white brows. They were a pale red, almost pink, and there were small azure runes that constantly danced around within her pupils. Though almost imperceptible to most people, those that had the courage to look into the infinitely deep pupils would find themselves lost within their own thoughts, unable to awaken unless Helen herself took pity upon them. Unfortunately, this almost always resulted in the death of said person since her brothers were very overprotective of her. Though she had never fancied a man throughout her years, neither Heracles nor Theseus could tolerate the idea of other men l.u.s.ting after their half-sister... After having gathered in silence for more than an hour, Heracles gave a throaty hmph that made the air tremble slightly before he said, "It looks like those three arent going to show up..." Of the twenty-three residents of the City, only three were absent and, to Heracles ire, they were the three most pertinent to this situation. Each possessed some degree of irvoyance while the most important person, a woman by the name of Jeanne, had a rare skill that allowed her to hear the voice of the world. If anyone could determine the cause of the abnormality they had all felt, it was her. Hearing her half-brothers words, Helen slowly closed her eyes as an invisible aura spread from her body, quickly expanding to epass the entire City. After a few seconds had passed, without any change in her expression, she uttered in a melodic tone, "Delphia and Pythia have both been knocked unconscious and it seems like Jeanne has be catatonic..." Though her words were inordinately beautiful, capturing the attention of everyone present, the meaning behind them caused a feeling of dread to seize all by Heracles and Theseus. As for Helen herself, she didnt seem fazed by anything happening within the world and just continued showing the same expression throughout. Theseus waved his hand, silencing everyone else as he said, "We can deduce from this course of events that, whatever had created that feeling, must be very powerful. It doesnt seem like the person that emitted it is evil at heart, so its likely the birth of another Hero. We should send out the Valkyries to find them before they can be exploited by the other powers within the world..." Heracles nodded, turning his gaze towards the void as if he could already see Vahn in the distance, saying, "If left unchecked, there is a chance this new Hero could be a threat to the world itself. I havent felt this kind of sensation since my sh against Gilgamesh in the past..." When they heard Heracles words, both Theseus and Helen showed different reactions. Theseus, considered one of the most courageous Heroes in history, began to sweat slightly while Helen, who rarely ever showed a change in expression, had a slight twitch at the corner of her lips. Heracles saw this reaction and showed a concerned expression on his face as he softly said, "Dont worry, Helen, I will not allow the same thing to happen twice..." Though she was one of the most beautiful and powerful women in the entire world, it didnt mean Helen had never suffered some of the grievances faced by women in this world. When she was still growing in strength, there was another Heroic force within the world that could almost rival Heracles. His name was Gilgamesh and it had been his mission to be the King of Heroes. Being the most beautiful woman in the world, Gilgamesh sought her out as, not his wife, but his concubine. From the arrogant mans perspective, no woman deserved to be of equal status as him so he never intended to take a wife. Fortunately, Heracles and Theseus had banded together to defeat Gilgamesh when he tried to capture her, preventing his ns from evering to fruition. However, though they defeated him, they were actually unable to kill the man, forcing him to flee to the west where he became the founding Emperor of the, now nefarious, Empire. Its true name was the Golden Empire, as the Imperial City was almost entirelyprised of gold and had been constructed to match their current residence, named by the Gods as the City of Heroes... After sending off one of the weaker Heroes among them to fetch the bodies of the other three, all of the gathered Heroes began talking about their next course of action. They had all taken vows that, unless the world itself was in danger, they wouldnt interfere with the politics and power struggles of the rest of the world. Each of them had enough power to seize control of the entire Continent but, as they were all trying to obtain godhood, this would damage their chances of reaching that pinnacle state. In all of history, a mortal had never been able to reach the peak of their power and, as Demigods, they all wanted to be the first to ovee the limits of mortality. This was especially true for Heracles, who was getting progressively older and would likely die of old age within the next five hundred years or so. As a demigod born between a god and a human, he had one of the highest potentials but one of the shortest lifespans. His half-brother Theseus would likely live for more than two thousand years, easily, while his half-sister, Helen, would probably outlive them all. She was born from the union between a god and a High-Elf, giving her an expected lifespan that ranged between five and ten thousand years... It didnt take long for the man they had sent to return, carrying the bodies of three women using a unique skill that allowed them to move objects with their mind. They were each beautiful women in their own rights, but Jeanne, the ashen-haired beauty wearing valiant looking armor, was one of the few that could even approach Helen in appearance. If not for the feelings he held towards his own half-sister, Heracles would have made her his wife in the past. Fortunately for Jeanne, she was also very powerful and had a rare skill that made her nearly impervious to damage. Other than a few Heroes, who had powerful skills and weapons, there was almost nothing within the mortal world that could harm a single hair on her head. Helen quickly healed all three of their bodies, focusing most of her efforts on Jeanne since she was the most important of the three. As the Rank 5 Hero, it was only appropriate that she had preferential treatment over the Rank 18 and 22 Heroes. There was also the fact that Helen had always been fond of Jeanne, finding her one of the few people she could actually open up to and empathize with. They were both inordinately beautiful and, as a result of their unique qualities, had been sought after by cruel and sometimes vicious individuals. Jeanne had actually been treated as a Saintess in the past but, after saving her country from an invasion of monsters, earned the attention of her Lord. After refusing to be his mistress, he sentenced her to death and, being the loyal retainer she was, Jeanne epted the punishment. It was fortunate that she had a rare skill that prevented harm from befalling her or Jeanne would have died, burned at the stake by the people she had dedicated her life to protect. Because of her valor and willingness to sacrifice herself for the benefit of others, Jeanne awakened yet another skill and drew their attention as a result. They had quickly moved to secure her, saving her from a fate that would have likely been worse than death and, by agreeing to spare the country that wanted to kill her, Jeanne had joined their cause in protecting the mortal world. As a result of the Lords foolishness, he earned the ire of his own people and, a few decades after Jeanne had left the country, it no longer existed. The Lord had died, stabbed by his own retainers and crucified above a burning City... With Helens treatment, Jeanne awoke after a few short minutes, nursing a powerful headache with a wavering light in her eyes. Seeing where she was, surrounded by herpanions, Jeanne released a sigh of relief and nearly made eye contact with Heracles. Fortunately, Helen blocked her view with the sleeve of her dress, earning an appreciative look from Jeanne as Heracles clicked his tongue. It had been a long time since he had a challenge and, other than the Heroes gathered within the City, there werent any real opponents for him any longer. With her nigh-indestructible body and peerless swordsmanship, Heracles felt that Jeanne would at least be able tost for a few minutes, allowing his strength to take a small step closer to the apex of the world... After collecting her thoughts, Jeanne stood up, refusing the assistance of Theseus with a polite smile before saying, "After I felt the pulse of karmic energy, I tried to hear the voice of the world in order to determine their location..." At this point, Jeanne became somewhat pale, only regaining herplexion when Helen ced her glossy white hand near her shoulder. Jeanne smiled towards her friend while tensing up her body when she felt the gazes of Heracles and Theseus upon her. Doing her best not to mind the heavy stares, Jeanne clenched her teeth for a few seconds before saying, "From what I was able to learn, they should reside within Orario. However, the voice of the world is obscured by a powerful entity that is much stronger than the force we felt earlier. When I tried to probe further, the world trembled in fear, causing a powerful bacsh that caused my spirit to nearly copse. Im not sure what is there, but it is far stronger than anything this world has ever known..." At this point, Heracles had a massive grin on his face and nearly leaped out of the City to go face whatever terrifying foe Jeanne had detected. Unfortunately, just as he tensed his legs to jump, three powerful auras descended upon the field and, though only briefly, Heracles legs buckled under the pressure. The atmosphere became very solemn in an instant as all the gathered heroes turned towards the viewing tform above. Though they were allowed free reign within the City, there was only one ce none of them could ever venture. Located on the viewing stand, which had previously been empty, now stood three gods, all releasing their Divinity to the extreme to prevent any form of discourse as the leader of the group said, "Stand down, Heracles...now is not the time to rush into battle...Unless, of course, you n to destroy Orario in your conflict?" Heracles, feeling a powerful sense of indignation, continued to stand while everyone, with the exception of Helen, was forced to kneel. Through clenched teeth, he said, "Father...I will not destroy the City so readily. I intended to force them away from therger poption zones and fight them within the mountains to the north. Im sure the Frost Giants could use a culling..." Hearing this, the elderly looking god, who also seemed strangely youthful,ughed loudly before saying, "Unfortunately, the creature you wish to fight wouldnt be moved so easily. They seem to have a rare skill rted to territory and, thus far, have extended their reach nearly 10km. The moment you step into their territory, your own power would be reduced and it would be almost impossible to fight them without destroying the City around you..." Hearing his Fathers words, Heracles shoulders slumped slightly since he knew such enemies were very troublesome. As the Rank 1 Hero, he obviously couldnt sacrifice millions of lives just to sate his desire for an interesting fight. Thus, though he still wanted to fight against the supposedly powerful enemy, Heracles made a very rare choice, deciding to take a step back and find out more about the situation first. Seeing this, the elderly god smiled widely, giving his son an appreciative look without fearing the piercing eyes that would be a death sentence for most mortals. From the side, an onyx-haired god with spiky hair and an eye patch covering his right eye suddenly grunted, earning the elderly gods attention and breaking the smile on his face. With a solemn look, the god nodded before turning his attention to his otherpanion, a beautiful goddess with auburn hair and golden eyes that seemed to contain peerless wisdom. She gave him a curt nod before stepping forward, smiling to the gathered Heroes below but keeping most of her attention on Helen as she said, "Greetings, Heroes...it has been a long time since ourst gathering. It puts my heart at ease to see you all in good health." With the exception of Heracles and Helen, all those gathered below bowed slightly while Helen herself whispered, "Mother..." in a quiet voice. Of course, the goddess wasnt her real mother but, when Helen was still a young girl, she had been adopted by the intelligent looking goddess and raised as her daughter. As for the identity of the auburn-haired goddess, she was none other than Hera, leader of the Hera Familia andpanion to Zeus, the white-haired god standing in the center. Their thirdpanion, nearly rivaling Zeus in power, was Odin, premiere god of the North-Western Pantheon and leader of the strongest military might within the Continent, the Valkyries. Though they only numbered three-hundred and were relegated to the position of servants within the City of Heroes, each Valkyrie was the equivalent of a Level 5 in power, with their leaders reaching Levels 6 and 7. The most unique aspect of the Valkyries is the fact that they are a race entirelyprised of Demigoddesses, sired by Odin himself and having an average life span of three-thousand years... After looking over everyone, Heras expression became somewhat solemn as she said, "Legend has a new mission and Im confident you will all meet our expectations. The world now stands upon the brink of a new age, with the presence you all sensed at the center of everything. Even that monstrous woman is one of hispanions and there is a fair chance they will bring about a great revolution to this world. For the time being, we will be on standby to observe their actions but, in the event that he bes drunk on his power, you will all have to band together to wipe out this new faction..." Hearing this, Theseus frowned slightly because Hera wasnt the type to mull over her words and make mistaken ims. If she said they would have to band together to defeat this man, that is exactly what she meant. Other than his elder brother, Theseus couldnt imagine any force in the world that would require all of their efforts to ovee. As if to exin Heras words, and answer the questions on everyones minds, Odin stepped forward and mmed the end of his spear, Gungnir, against the viewing tform. Silence spread through the area as he looked around with his perpetual re and said, "We have already Divined fate several times, using the most powerful artifacts within Heaven to see the future...however, no matter what we did, there was no timeline where we could urately determine what actions this boy, Vahn Mason, would take. Every Divination ispletely different, sometimes showing him bring about salvation to the world, other times showing him destroying everything...nothing is concrete and thus we have graded him as an SSS-Ranked threat..." Hearing Odins words, everyone except Heracles took on a solemn expression, with Helen showing a rare frown, an event that could be counted upon a persons fingers with how umon it was. This riled up Heracles even more and, if not for his dedication to the role of a Hero, he would have charged into the mortal world and fought a climactic fight against Vahn right this instant. Unfortunately, Zeus put a stop to this inkling notion as he said, "Vahn Mason will likely be a great Hero that will serve this world for the better. I believe that he will one day join our cause, serving as a powerful ally in the protection of this world..." As he was speaking, Zeus was also giving a warning look to his son, reminding him not to be brash and cause problems for their organization, adequately named Legend. Heracles hated being looked down upon like this but still nodded his head while gripping his fists tightly enough to distort space around them. Though they would never say it to his face, Heracles knew he had a reputation as a Hero-Killer and was the primary reason why their group was so small. Having his Father shaming him like this, Heracles felt dissatisfied but kept up appearances and did his duty as the representative of their faction. In truth, he just wanted to be able to fight strong enemies and, with the exception of his feelings towards his half-sister, not much else mattered to the worlds strongest man. The only thing that kept him in check was the fact that his half-sister would likely be heartbroken if he did something like destroying a City and, though it wasnt too likely, there was a chance that his Father would strike him down as a result of his selfishness... For nearly an entire day, Hera detailed their ns in regards to Vahn and his organization, called the Alliance. They would continue to observe, for the time being, in an effort to understand Vahns character and his intent towards the world. If he was truly the Hero that the rumors imed, they would scout him into their group after allowing him to bring about the revolution he desired. However, if he turned out to be a threat to the world, they would strike at him with the full might of their faction, regardless of the consequences. Zeus and Hera had alreadymunicated their intent with Ouranos and, though he had a grimace on his aged face, the elderly sky god had given his consent. After all, if Vahn truly endangered the world, Ouranos felt it was fate that the boy is stopped by a group of Heroes. After the meeting ended, everyone split off into smaller groups, many to go train in their own private Manors while only Helen and Jeanne stayed behind. During the few times they met, Helen and Jeanne always ate a meal with Hera before the goddess returned to her own duties, scouring the world for would-be heroes and training them to reach their full potential. This time, however, Zeus had decided to join them, earning an awkward look from Jeanne while Helen remained stoic with a small smile on her face. Zeus, though in an eternal rtionship with Hera, had tried to court both of them in the past, even though Helen was his biological daughter. His fervor towards creating heroes was unmatched amongst the gods and he believed Helen, having so many rare abilities, would have made a suitable choice for mothering other heroes. If not for the intervention of Hera, and the threat of undermining everything they had worked for, Zeus very likely would have gotten into her bedchambers, regardless of Helens will. Hera was also annoyed that Zeus had interfered with the rare moment she had to spend with her adopted daughter. Unfortunately, though he would give her face at times, Zeus often ignored her dissatisfaction and often did whatever he pleased. This time, he was talking about some child he had picked up in the south, apparently one of his own descendants that had a mutated soul, unlike anything he had ever heard of. Though Hera was also interested in the boy, even putting forth the idea of grooming him within her own Familia, Zeus had shot her down, saying, "This boy is something truly special. Nobody should be directly interfering with his decisions...I want to see how far he can grow on his own. There is a powerful flow of fate around his body and, if my spections are correct, he may even be able to forge a path towards godhood..." Hera wasnt entirely convinced, since Zeus had said the same thing about both Heracles and Gilgamesh, thetter of which became thergest thorn in their side. However, her intrigue towards the boy had been kindled so she asked, "And, who exactly is this boy you seem so fond of...?" At this point, both Helen and Jeanne had already joined them and were listening closely to the words shared between the two powerful gods. Zeus smiled widely as a reminiscent look appeared in his eyes, each reflecting the image of a young boy with white hair and red eyes. Unexpectedly, he gave what could be considered a knowing look to Helen and Jeanne as he said, "His name is Bell Cranel, inheritor of Albert Waldstein and the closest mortal to bing a god..." (A/N: My flight got grounded and then canceled yesterday, leaving me jumping through hoops to get a new flight and secure a ce to sleep for the night. Ill be releasing 4-5 chapters today, depending on length, and intend to do the same tomorrow. However, Ill probably miss the daily reset since Im supposed to bending near 2 AM and will likely be sleeping through it. Still, expect a few chapterster in the afternoon, once I wake up (UwU)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: City of Heroes,Legendary Congregation,Bell is Still Alive? I thought Goblin-sama killed him...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 671 - Parental Instincts

Chapter 671 - Parental Instincts

Nearly three weeks had passed since the birth of his daughters, the majority of which had been spent helping the girls train while tending to his own duties. However, if you were to ask anyone in the Manor what Vahn had been focused on, it was none other than his children. If he wasnt busy with other things, Vahn could be found lingering around the maternity ward or following Loki and Hephaestus around like a lost puppy. Presently, however, Vahn was flying through the sky holding Ina as a small kitten-like white tiger ambled through the air and chased after them. Ina, though only three weeks old, had the appearance of baby nearing four months of age. Most surprisingly, however, was the fact that she could already form rudimentary words, with the first, second, and third words all being some form of Papa, Daddy, and Father... Unsurprisingly, Ina reached 100 Affection naturally and, to his relief, Vahn hadnt actually received any benefits or quests from the achievement. Instead, Ina obtained the hidden parameter (Familial Love), which now hovered around a value of 300. Though he didnt think about it much, there was a small part of his mind that feared one of his children would fall in love with him, much like Leh had within the Divination. Fortunately, he hadnt learned of any problems, other than Leh, so Vahn assumed it had never been a concern until thetter had been born. Suddenly, after Vahn dodged the small winged-tiger for the umpteenth time, earning a peal of bell-likeughter from Ina, he heard a voice of indignation from below. Hephaestus had been holding Vana, ying around with the energetic toddler who already had a head of short red hair. She had been perfectly content ying with her mother but, after casting a few nces at Ina ying around above, Vana began to cry in a loud voice. Hephaestus had a wry smile on her face, giving her eldest daughter a hug as Vahn blinked next to them, holding Ina in his right arm while carrying the tiger cub in his left hand. After setting the cub next to the sleeping red dragon on the edge of the pic nket, Vahn kneeled down and stroked Vanas cheek with the back of his hand, asking, "Did you want to y with Papa~?" in a soothing voice. Ina, however, answered for Vana, saying, "No!" while squeezing his neck as if refusing to give up her spot. This wasnt the first time Ina had acted somewhat selfishly but, after a bit of coaxing, she agreed to let Vana y with them. The final straw had been when Vahn had Ina stare at her big sister, seeing the teary-eyed girl with snot dripping from her nose. Though she showed a tiny frown, Ina relented and, under the guidance of Hephaestus, apologized to her big sister for being selfish. Vana, happy to get her way, pped her hands together before raising them up so Vahn could carry her properly. She hadnt been able to speak just yet, only making baby sounds, but Vana still managed an "Ooooowaaaaah~" when they started to fly around in the sky. The small tiger and dragon both became alert the moment Vahn took to the sky, giving chase with worried expressions on their faces as they struggled to keep up. This earnedughter from the two girls while Vahn gave the two guardians an apologetic smile as he dodged around them. He knew this was good training for them and, since his daughters seemed to enjoy the game, Vahn continued ying with the two guardians until they got tired. By the time hended, both girls hadughed to the point of exhaustion and were now sleeping peacefully in his arms. The tiger and dragonnded on his shoulders, giving noises ofint as they plopped down into the two girls bodies and became crests once again. Vahn smiled, internally promising to make it up to the two guardians in the future once the girls had matured and given them names. He then passed Vana over to Hephaestus since Ina, even while sleeping, clung to his tunic with her tiny hands as if she were unwilling to part with him. If not for the need to feed, bathe, and be changed, Ina probably would have continued to cling to him the entire day. As they walked to the maternity ward to let the girls rest, two small figures came barreling around the corner, one chasing after the other before crashing into the back of the leading figure when she suddenly stopped. This was none other than Erika, looking like she was nearly nine months old and already running around the Manor like it was her own territory. However, whenever she came across Vahn, Erika always became somewhat shy and reserved. She hung her head, showing an embarrassed expression on her face as she said, "Good morning, Papa, Mama..." Though Hephaestus wasnt her mother, Erika still referred to her as Mama, while Loki was called Mother. It was actually Erika who spoke her first words, nearly a week ago, as she had the fastest growth amongst the Vanir. Vahn smiled as he knelt down, stroking Erikas hair as she made a small pouting expression before easing up into a small smile. She was a very brilliant and already had an air of pride around her that extended towards almost everyone, with the only exceptions being Loki, Hephaestus, Eina, Mona, Syr, and Vahn himself. It made her upset knowing that Vahn could manage her so easily, even though she was inarguably at a point in her life where it was perfectly normal to be doted on by her father. The most difficult part, which she hadined to her Mother about, was the fact that it made her very happy to be pampered by her, even though she wanted to be a strong and independent girl... While he was stroking Erikas hair, the small brown figure that had crashed into her back stood up, rubbing her forehead with a teary-eyed expression as she tried to stifle the urge to cry. With a sobbing tone, the Doppelganger repeated Erikas words, muttering "Good morning, Papa, Mama..." At this point, the Doppelgangers white hair extended all the way to the floor and she was able to freely change its shape and rigidity to protect Erika. Since thetter had an adventurous spirit and was constantly roaming around the Manor, the Doppelganger, named Doppel by the young Erika, constantly had to protect her charge from harm. Vahn smiled, stroking Doppels head for a few seconds, giving Erika an opportunity to retreat away as she said, "Papa, please me...I want to read." Though she had picked up speaking at a ridiculous rate, primarily as a result of sticking around Loki, Juno, and Syr, Erika still struggled with reading. Strangely, she couldnt find it in her to ask her own Mother for assistance so, without any better alternatives, Erika wanted her Papa to teach her how to read. She believed this was the best course of action and would also allow her to surprise her Mother, who always seemed to be testing her in some way. Unwilling to deny his daughters request, Vahn nodded his head with a smile, saying, "Very well, Ill read you some stories tonight and start teaching you how to read and write tomorrow." Erika gave a curt nod, something unexpected for someone so young, before showing a small smile as she grabbed Doppels hand and ran off. The pitter-patter of their small feet made Vahns smile widen and he nearly burst outughing when he saw the light blush on Erikas face when she turned the corner. It was actually very refreshing not being able to see the auras of his own children and it made Vahn feel grateful for every day he spent with the lovable little angels. When they reached the maternity ward, Mona was resting on the sofa with an open book resting on her stomach. She had been upte the previous night and, since Vahn had taken the girls out to y, Mona decided to take a short nap. Hephaestus giggled lightly, causing Monas droopy cow-like ears to twitch as she startled awake. With a fl.u.s.tered and terrified expression, Mona fixed the wrinkles in her dress as she stood up and bowed, saying, "My apologies, Hephaestus-sama, Vahn-sama, I didnt mean to-" Before she was able to finish, Vahn gestured for her to stop, showing a calm expression as he said, "Mona, you are almost like family to us at this point, so stop with the formalities. If youre tired, please rest more and let us know if we can help. Im sure Tsubaki and Aki would help out more if you need it..." Mona gave a slow nod in response but didnt say anything as she walked over to Hephaestus and asked, "Have they eaten since this morning?" Hephaestus shook her head, handing Vana over to Mona as she said, "No, but it looks like the period between their bouts of hunger is beginning to open up. I think Vana may need a bit more time, but Ina may start weening in the next month or so..." It was very strange to talk about newborns weening within two months of being born but, by the time designated by Hephaestus, Ina and Vana would be the equivalent of a year old by then. It made Hephaestus somewhat sad knowing her daughters were growing up so fast but, seeing them happy and healthy was all that really mattered to her. As if she realized what was happening, Vana woke up in Monas arms and began to show a frustrated face that was on the verge of crying. Vahn had already turned his head, even though Mona eventually told him not to mind the matter so much a couple of days ago. She unhesitantly pulled the cloth around her chest, revealing one of her massive mammary nds and feeding the voracious Vana before thetter started crying. She consumed far more milk than both Erika and Inabined, but Mona didnt mind it since it made her feel closer to the small bundle of energy. Though she had intended topletely cut ties with the Manor in the future, Mona had been finding the idea almost unthinkable in recent days. Even though they werent her children, Mona felt close to all three girls and a strong desire to protect them had already deeply rooted itself in her heart. After Vana had gotten her fill, Mona burped the young girl and began rocking her body back to sleep, a pattern that had repeated more than a dozen times per day over thest few weeks. Unfortunately, as she went to put Vana in the crib, a pungent aroma spread through the room as Vana woke back up and began crying like she had been wronged by the world. Mona just smiled in response, stroking the young girls red hair to calm her before quickly changing the soiled diaper. While this was going on, Vahn stood at the side and rocked Inas body, smiling at his daughters attempt to pretend she was still asleep. Ina knew that, once she was found out, her separation with her Papa woulde and she would once again have to be away from him for a few hours... Unfortunately for her, as a young infant, Ina couldnt deny her own urges easily and the desire for sustenance had almost exceeded her desire to stay with her Papa. Knowing he would be worried for her, Ina eventually opened one of her eyes, pretending like she had just woken up before smiling towards her Papa. Vahn yed along, touching noses with Ina as he said, "Hello there, sleepy head. Its about time for your lunch and then youll have to take a nap, okay? Dont worry, Ill be hereter to y with you again before bed~." Ina had a slight moisture in her eyes but still nodded her head, muttering, "Okay, Papa..." in an almost sobbing tone. Vahn felt his heart twist in his chest but, following the advice of Loki, Hephaestus, Juno, and even Hestia, he kept hisposure and justforted his daughter before passing her over to Mona. Until she had fallen asleep in her crib, Vahn stayed within the room, spreading a calming energy through his domain to make them feel asfortable as possible. When they were bothpletely asleep, Vahn let Mona get some rest as he apanied Hephaestus to find a recement for the tired Cow Person. Fortunately, Aki, Arnya, and Tsubaki had already moved to the West Wing in preparation for their own deliveries, as they only a few short weeks away from the event. Arnya, though starting withrger b.r.e.a.s.ts than normal, didnt actually produce that much milk during her pregnancy, so it fell upon Aki and Tsubaki to help out, assuming Epona wasnt around. Fortunately, Tsubaki immediately agreed and, as if she didnt have a pregnant belly to worry about, quickly alighted from the room as she made her way to the maternity ward. She loved watching the sleeping faces of the girls and it made her progressively more excited for the birth of her own child. Since she just had to rest on the sofa and tend to the girls needs, Tsubaki didnt mind helping out whenever she was avable. Since she understood Vahn would probably want to spend time with Aki and Arnya, now that he was in the area, Hephaestus give him a kiss on the cheek and a firm embrace before saying, "Okay, Im going to go prepare a few things in my workshop. Ina and Vana will probably want to start working on their own projects in the future so I need to make sure everything is prepared so they dont injure themselves." Vahn nodded his head, understanding Hephaestus concerns since they had talked about it in great detail. Though she spent most of her waking moments with him, Ina had a propensity to disassemble anything she could get her hands on while Vana could already make tiny mes appear on her fingertips. She learned it after watching the me dragon pup release a small spout of me towards Vahn, frustrated by his actions when they first began ying. After seeing Hephaestus off, Vahn entered the room where Arnya resided, not surprised by the presence of Lunoire and Chloe, as he had already detected them long ago. Arnya had a happy smile on her face as sheid in the bed while Lunoire and Chloe both turned to him with small lights of expectation in their eyes. They had both been thinking about having children of their own and, after seeing how incredible Vahns current children were, this desire had only grown stronger. A lot of things had changed over thest few weeks, after all, including the fact that their own power and increased exponentially. Though they wouldnt be able to reach the same peaks as some of the younger girls, the women from the Hostess of Fertility were all rather exceptional and had been able to start developing their own magic power under Vahns guidance. Without minding the presence of the other two, Chloe adopted a mischevious smile on her face before vanishing from sight. Vahn shook his head in mock exasperation as his own body tensed up as a result of Chloetching onto his shadow. She then appeared at his back, hugging him from behind as she yfully licked his ear and asked, "I wonder if Ill be fortunate enough to get a baby of my ownya~?" Chloe had been toying with the idea of avoiding contraception over thest few months but, knowing about the new magic system Vahn was introducing, and the amount of power and influence the Alliance would have in the future, Chloe had made her resolution. She wanted her children to be able to see the world as it changed so they would have a greater appreciation for the lives they were blessed with... Though it was difficult to move, Vahn made it look easy as he turned around and snatched up the giggling Chloe in his arms, y biting the tip of her pointy ear as she mewled in his grasp. If she wanted a child, he didnt mind giving her one but knew she would be happier if it happened naturally. Fortunately, he had returned to his nightly habits and it would be a simple thing to invite her to stay in his room for the evening. Given the look that Lunoire was giving him, Vahn decided to extend the invitation to both of them, earning a blush from Lunoire as she nodded her head in agreement. She wasnt really ovting right now but didnt want to miss the opportunity to spend time with Vahn, especially since he was the one offering. After spending the rest of the day circting around and visiting most of the girls, Vahn spent some more time with his daughters, this time reading them stories before helping Erika write the alphabet on a piece of paper. When they were getting tired, he took them to the bath with Loki and Hephaestus, spending some quality time with the two as they watched their daughters y around in the shallow pool of water. Loki was already busy with other affairs but now resided within the Hearth Manor permanently after moving some of her forces into the estate she had constructed to the north. It would be her official home in the future but, for the time being, Loki knew it was important to spend time with both her daughter and, perhaps more importantly, Vahn. Her maternal instincts were in full force these days and she had been proactively arranging to have any potential enemies eliminated before they could even think about causing harm to the Alliance or, more specifically, her family... (A/N: Alternate Titles: No bulli Guardian-chans (TT_TT),Erikas Growth : Tsundere Syndrome?,Mama Bear is on the Prowl) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 672 - Date!? : Return

Chapter 672 - Date!? : Return

It was early in the morning, during the period of time when Vahn had been helping guide the girls in their studies when Vahn got a telepathic message. There was a small ping within his mind before Lefiyas voice sounded like a whisper in his ears, ("Hello, Master, can you hear me?") Vahn had paused in the middle of his sentence, earning curious looks from the girls as he smiled and exined, "Lefiya is sending me a telepathic message. Give me a moment..." After that, Vahn rxed his mind and said, ("Yes, I can hear you, Lefiya. Are you almost at the surface?") Since the Dungeon blocked messages under normal circ.u.mstances, they must have already been within the Upper Floors of the Dungeon. There was a short dy before a small ping sounded once again, followed by Lefiya saying, ("Ah, Im d I was able to reach you~! Yes, were on the eighteenth Floor right now and I was curious if my messages would be able to go through so many Floors. It looks like the weakened density of mana makes the transmission carry further in the Upper Floors aspared to those deeper within the Dungeon.") As this was already their expectation, Vahn wasnt too surprised by the information and simply asked, ("How is everyone? Were there any emergency situations that urred after I left?") Once again, there was a small pause, causing Vahn to wonder if there was some kind ofg or interference with their messages. When Lefiya finally responded, he could sense a bit of tension in her words while a fair amount of pride was also present in her tone, ("Yes, there was a small attack by some strange green caterpirs that were able to spew acid. Fortunately, Ais and I were able to eliminate arge portion of them while the acid attacks werent able to break through the defensive wards we had established. By the time reinforcements showed up, we had already beaten back the enemies and were able to set up a defensive perimeter around the entrances to the Floor while Finn arranged a patrol using the newly acquired reinforcements~!") One of the things Vahn had done upon his return was to request the reinforcements he had promised to Finn, though Lok had managed most of the details. She had even arranged a few concessions from Hermes, forcing the god to disclose a great deal of information about the Xenos in exchange for identally leaking information about the Alliance to their enemies. Asfi, Tallow, and Reid were also being held personally responsible for the failure and were required to pay apensation of 100,000,000V each over the course of the next ten years, with Asfi having the inclusion of forging three magic items at Vahns request. Asfi wouldnt be allowed to disclose any of the information she obtained during the production process, nor would she be able to share the details of the items he would have her produce. Though it was obvious that Hermes didnt mind such an oue, even showing signs that he somewhat anticipated things to happen this way, it was still very beneficial to the Alliance. There was also the fact that Vahn also took responsibility for his own failure, showing leniency towards them since the original terms were 500,000,000V and 10 magic items. Tallow and Reid had suffered a pretty severe trauma and he had also been able to save Rufina, effectively eliminating a powerful enemy while increasing the strength of their own forces... Knowing that the girls had worked hard in his absence, Vahn smiled toward the void, not missing the small reaction from his bond with Lefiya that showed she was happy. Her Affection actually shot up ten points when he said, ("You did great, Lefiya. A lot has been going on at the Manor these days but Ill make sure to reward you properly when you return.") Vahn could practically feel Lefiyas giddiness when she hesitantly responded, ("Ano...Master...I think I want to try and use my Heavy Petting coupon when I return. Please treat me kindly...!") Though he was momentarily dazed, Vahn nodded his head towards the void, sending Lefiya his affirmation before exining to the spectators what was going on. Initially, Vahn was supposed to apany the reinforcements into the Dungeon but, after learning about the birth of the Vanir through Hephaestus and Loki, Freya had taken the initiative to mobilize her own elites. With Ottar at the lead, followed by the Gulliver Brothers, the Freya Familia led arge Expedition,prised of ny of her own forces with more than three hundred people from the Loki and Hephaestus Familias as support. In total, with the number of artisans set to apany them, the Expedition had more than six-hundred people. The only downside was that they had to quickly make their way to the 39th Floor on limited supplies, choosing to forego carrying a lot of equipment since the stocks within the Lil Geirr were plenty to cover them. With the loss of only seven people, mainly as a result of traps within the Dungeon, the Freya Familia had sessfully reached the 39th Floor, providing defense for the Supply Depot while Gareth led the return Expedition towards the surface. Unsurprisingly, with Ais, Tiona, Tione, and Lefiya at the vanguard, they were able to reach the 18th Floor without a single loss, though there were a number of casualties and small injuries. It was very possible for them to reach the Upper Floors without a single casualty but, as they were short on supplies, the speed they had traveled was faster than rmended. Perhaps as a result of having Vahns support, but many of the people on the Expedition had a slightly skewed sense for the pace they should be traveling at. It was fortunate that the girls were now much stronger than in the past, or their haste may have caused a lot more problems than it had. Since it wouldnt take long for them to reach the surface, Vahn decided to go wait for the girls at Babel za. It was a good opportunity so Vahn took along Tina and Mn to do a bit of shopping, as he had promised the young Cat Person a date in the past. Tina was very excited to go exploring around Babel Tower with Vahn, as she had never had the opportunity to venture into the higher floors in the past. Though most people could enter the first few levels, you were barred entry to the higher floors unless you belonged to a reputable Familia, had high personal strength, or were escorted by someone with the clearance to do so. After waiting for Tina to change, which took a bit longer than expected since she somehow forgot her skirt the first time she came out, the three made their way into the City. Vahn had a basic grasp of telekinesis so he was able to lift both girls into the sky, giving them a beautiful view of the City from above while Tina embarrassedly held the front and back of her skirt, fearful that people below would see her Vahn-print panties. Mn shook her head but didnt show any other changes, clearly used to her daughters behavior now that a few months had passed. Fortunately, nothing major had happened and, as a result of Vahn always tending to his daughters, they had avoided any significantly awkward situations. Though it was considered rude to do so, Vahnnded on the tenth floor of Babel, helping Tina and Mnnd on their feet before escorting them into the Tower proper. Generally, nobody was allowed to enter the upper floors without passing through the security checkpoints at the elevators. Vahn, however, was a bit of a unique existence within the City and could take small liberties like this since he already inconvenienced himself a great deal out of respect for the Guild. In exchange, they tolerated minor grievances and, unless he caused a major scene, most of the security detail wouldpletely ignore his actions. As it was her first time in the markets located on the upper floors, Tina was full of energy and kept running between the various stalls and shops with glittering eyes. Vahn, holding onto Mns hand, followed behind her and, if it was an item that might be useful, purchased anything Tina took an interest in. Knowing that Vahn could easily make better items, she avoided most of the various weapons and armors on disy. Instead, Tina focused on various interesting toys, essories, and a few books that seemed interesting. Vahn was a billionaire so spending a few tens-of-thousands of Valis on the various small items wasnt much. However, when Tina stumbled upon a stall with an old man selling small books, Vahn was utterly shocked when one of the items she picked up happened to be a grimoire. The old man only had one good eye but, seeing Tina take an interest in the grimoire, both of his stark blue orbs focused on her before turning towards Vahn with a smile. With a wry grin on his face, Vahn asked, "How much?" in a calm voice. When the man held up two fingers, Vahn didnt bother assuming he meant 2,000V and instead pulled out two purple cards, each representing a value of 1MV. The man gave an appreciative nod, saying, "Youre a goodd. Generally, people that .u.mte a lot of wealth tend to be greedy. It makes this old man feel gratified knowing you arent such a character..." Without any great ir, the man wrapped up the grimoire for Tina, not even bothering to exin the contents. Though he was using some kind of artifact to hide it, Vahn could tell that this man was a god that was doing his best to conceal his presence. Since there were numerous enigmatic gods, and Vahn didnt detect any form of negative energying from the Grimoire, he simply gave a polite bow to the disguised god before leading the mother-daughter pair away. The man, understanding that Vahn had seen through his guise, produced a wry grin before hisplexion softened, revealing a handsome face with onyx ck hair and an eye patch covering his right eye. Then, as if he waspletely invisible to the crowd, he began walking through the streets while people absentmindedly walked around him, unaware they stood in the presence of one of the most powerful gods within the mortal world, Odin. Vahn didnt know the gods identity so he temporarily confiscated the Grimoire so that his Inventory could analyze it. He also intended for Riveria to scan it with her artifact, curious to know if it was able to analyze unique grade objects. They had already tried to do so with the [Seed of the Tree of Life], but it hadnt been able to get any information other than a picture. The rest of the page was full of question marks, showing that Riverias capabilities werent at the level where she could identify such high-grade items just yet. After running around for the better part of an hour, Vahn sensed a fluctuation in his bond with the other girls, hearing several pings in his ears simultaneously. Tuning in to one of them, Vahn heard Tionas happy voice shouting, ("Ya-ho~! Were on the surface, Vahn~! Come pick us up, hurry, hurry, hurry~!") Vahn smiled, informing Tina that it was time to meet up with the others, nearly allowing her to ride on his shoulders before Mn reminded him that she was wearing a skirt. Tina seemed to have suffered a mental impact because she had been excited to be able to ride on Vahns shoulders. She regretted wearing a cute skirt for her date with Vahn and had a strong desire to pout until Vahn began rubbing her head with his [Grooming] in full effect... It didnt take long for them to rendezvous with the other girls, already waiting for them a bit away from the Expedition. Unlike previous Expeditions, they werent carrying back a lot of supplies and there was no need to report back to the Guild with their findings. However, this didnt do anything to the festive atmosphere and, even though they had already been dismissed by Gareth, several people were lingering about as they formed smaller groups, each heading to various bars to celebrate their return to the surface. Even Gareth, after grouping up with some of the other members of the Clubhouse, had already gotten into a carriage with a solemn look on his face as he prepared to sample any of the new alcohols that might be avable. Vahn caught the Tiona-shaped projectile in his arms, returning her embrace without minding the crowd that was eyeing them in the distance. It didnt take long for the other girls to approach either, drawing even more attention to their small group as many envious eyes settled upon Vahns figure. Though it would have bothered him in the past, Vahn was almost entirely unaffected these days, deciding he needed to have greaterposure to set a good example for his daughters. The girls seemed to notice his change as well, prompting Tiona to give him a somewhat sloppy kiss that nearly caused him to trip over Tina, who had been standing slightly behind him. This caused her to fall back, dodging the attempts of Vahn and Mn in catching her so she couldnd on her butt, pristine white panties on full disy with a cartoonish Vahn smiling back at him... After their short reunion, Vahn sent for Terra since he was unable to fly so many people under his own efforts. Unlike before, where she would have flown over to them, Terra appeared at his side in an instant, showing a gentle smile on her face as she said, "Wee back to the surface..." before turning to her Master and saying, "Master, I havee to pick you up~." She had a somewhat teasing tone in her voice since, just the other day, she hadmented about being able to ride her whenever he wanted. Since she had been n.a.k.e.d at the time, tracing her beautiful green feathers through the wellspring, the image and words were still fresh in Vahns mind. Though his expression didnt change much, there was a light blush on his cheeks that earned him a peal ofughter from Terra as she changed into her dragon form. Terra could have teleported them all back, as the distance wasnt that great, but enjoyed serving as Vahns mount, earning the right from Fafnir, who had now recognized her as its temporary superior. Fafnir, though somewhat childish, was still very intelligent and it knew that Terra had made arge sacrifice in order to protect their Master. Since she was now more than 150 years old, Fafnir gave her the responsibility of protecting their Master and instead focused on its own training. In exchange, Terra had been teaching it personally, starting from the basics since Eva had only taught it a few select abilities as a result of its unique capabilities. Right now, Fafnir wanted to learn transformation magic, learning it alongside Fenrir, who wanted to get to the point that her ws wouldnt cut through anything she touched. After a rtively short flight, made longer by Terrazily flying around the territory so the girls could take in all the changes, the groupnded in therge training area in the back yard. Everyone was already waiting for their return, including the rarely seen Risna and the somewhat sleepy Eina. She had taken the morning shift and had only been sleeping for a few hours, deciding to forgo sleep in order to celebrate the girls return since she could always ask for Vahn to help replenish her stamina before work. It wasnt that umon for the girls working in the Guild branch to sometimes ask for his assistance, as he would stop by asionally to check the updated quests to see if there was anything important going on. Though the atmosphere was already very festive, it became even more so when the girls dismounted and saw Loki, Hephaestus, and Hestia all carrying a baby in their hands. Tionas eyes shimmered like stars as she jumped over, nearly shouting her words before she noticed that two of the younglings were sleeping. Catching the warning look in Lokis eyes, Tionaughed quietly while rubbing the back of her head, saying, "Sorry, they are just super cute..." As if on some practice cue, almost everyone present nodded at the same time, even Tione and Ais. Lefiya, one of the few exceptions, had a very red face on her head as the aura from her body wavered, almost like steam. She suddenly got caught in a loop, imagining what it would be like to have a cute daughter of her own before remembering what was necessary to obtain one... Ina, being the only one awake right now, extended both of her small arms towards Vahn, not minding the other two sleeping children as she shouted, "Papa!" with a teary-eyed expression. Not only Vahn, but everyone present felt their hearts melt as he practically blinked forward, epting Ina from Hestias arms while Hephaestus continued holding Vana. Having yed all morning, and eaten her fill, Vana was in a deep slumber. However, the outburst from Ina had caused a small head to peak up out of Vanas body, looking around at the new faces with a small amount of apprehension before retreating back to the interior of its host. With the annoying male around, it knew that its host wouldnt be in danger so it decided to sleep in preparation for the next time they would y. If possible, it really wanted to burn the annoying male, at least once... Unaware he was being plotted against by the tiny dragon, Vahn went inside with everyone as they began to celebrate the safe return of the Expedition. Lefiya and Tione took it upon themselves to exin the details since Tiona struggled to form cohesive sentences when she was excited. As for Ais, she had her eyes glued to Ina the entire time, sometimes matching gazes with the small child who shied away by hiding her face in Vahns chest. Though it wasnt the first child she had ever seen, Ais felt that Vahns daughters were exceptionally cute. Part of her wanted to just reach out and poke the chubby cheeks of the adorable little girl but, after seeing the inhibitions on Inas face, Ais held herself back. Instead, much like how Chloe and Lunoire had, Ais began wondering if she should try to have a child of her own in the near future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Leniency,Tinas [Luck] is Still Going Strong,Simply Irresistible (UwU)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 673 - Stirring

Chapter 673 - Stirring

With the return of the girls, there was a massive transition within the City itself since news of the Expeditions sess, and the construction of Lil Geirr, had started spreading through the City. Also, though it had been kept under wraps previously, it eventually got out that Loki and Hephaestus had given birth, earning a great deal of intrigue from the godlymunity, causing a disgruntled Vahn to put on a pretense of amicability as he met with more than a hundred gods over the course of a single week. Fortunately, most of them were able to realize they were bothering him and simply excused themselves after sharing pleasantries. Some, however, werent as tactful and there was even one god, who had been ejected from the premises, after trying to arrange a marriage between one of his children and one of Vahns daughters. Though such arrangements werent that umon in the world, the fact that the gods son was already twenty-eight years old gave Vahn a powerful urge to force the god back to Heaven. Fortunately, Hestia and Loki had both been present at the time, releasing their Divinities and swearing to dere War upon his Familia if he ever had the audacity to make such an offer again. That night, Vahn spent several hours sitting atop the Manor with only Fenrir to keep himpany, sitting in hisp quietly as he contemted the future. Vahn had already talked it over with all the current goddesses he associated with, at least if there was a chance they would one day bear his children. They were in agreement that, even though the Vanir reached maturity at a very young age, the same restrictions that applied to other races would be imposed on them. Until they reached fourteen years of age, chronologically, they would have to continue their studies and avoid rtionsh.i.p.s, except in the case where there was an obvious, and mutual, connection. To Vahn, it was far too soon to discuss matters of marriage and, though it wasmon in this world, he was more than a little offended at the prospect that people thought he would make such decisions on his daughters behalf. Even thinking about it made him feel as though he had betrayed their trust, even though he never had any intention of making such arrangements. He simply couldnt understand how any Father, or parent for that matter, would treat their own flesh and blood as something to be exchanged for benefits... As dawn crept into the world, Vahn saw some of the girls exiting the Manor, keeping up their morning training without cking off. Tina, surprisingly, was one of the first toe out, wearing some casual training attire while Mn followed behind her. Vahn perked up a bit when he saw Tina ovey her hands together, pointing towards one of therge metal bs he had put in the yard for testing spells. They had the ability to absorb magic and, after arranging things with Terra, even supplemented the massive formation in the ground using the ambient energy. After a long chant, more than eight verses long, a white prism emerged from Tinas palms before creating a beam of light nearly a meter wide, striking the ck metallic pir for eight seconds. Completely spent of her mana, Tina plopped onto the ground, drawing several deep breaths before climbing to her feet. One of the best methods to train your magic power, other than studying, was to use spells and then train while your body was recovering. During the formative years of a persons life, their cells were far more adaptive, allowing ambient mana to reside within the interior of each cell while strengthening the magic circuits. Though Tina hadnt been able to use magic previously, the Grimoire that had been given to her ended up containing a powerful magic spell, called [Light of Purification]. It was a powerful light-based magic and, amazingly, gave Tina a slight light affinity when she absorbed the energy contained within the grimoire. Knowing that a grimoire could change the elemental structure of a persons mana, Vahn had asked Loki to secure as many as possible. It would take time, but Vahn wanted to make sure each girl could adapt several elements, covering any weaknesses they might have. Because of how the magic system was structured, people would take increased damage when facing spells that countered their own affinity. Though it might not have a great effect, Vahn wanted to cover everyones weaknesses to the best of his ability, not minding the cost of grimoires in the slightest. Vahn spent the rest of the morning watching the girls train, taking special notice of the interaction between Chloe and Shizune, both working hard to master their shadow-rted abilities. Shizune now had three Goblins at hermand and a single Kobold, each possessing around half the strength of their constituent parts. Shizune could fuse simr shadows together, further bolstering the strength of her Shadow Summons, but currently had them split apart since Chloe was actually a natural counter to her. Unless she focused her senses adequately, Shizune couldnt even damage Chloe with her shadows since thetter could simply move through the summons as if they were illusions. It was their hope, which had been going well thus far, that they would both increase their proficiency while training to ovee the weaknesses of their [Pactio]s. Of course, though he wasnt paying special attention to her, Tiona had one of the most impressive transformations. She was currently fighting against Ais, Tione, Naaza, and Lili, all at the same time. Unless she suffered an instantaneous fatal blow, Tiona could rapidly regenerate almost any injury, often adapting to be immune to whatever damaged her. When Lili had smashed into Tionas arms with her staff, fracturing thetters bones, Tionas skin took on a bronze coloration and, though it wasnt obvious from the outside, her bones had be much harder, with severalyers of protection surrounding the precious marrow that powered her regeneration further. Each girl was going all out in their training, though they werent proactively trying to kill each other since wasting a [Effigy of the Hero] was a rather big deal. Though several months had passed, seeing Vahn get his head blown off had left a deep impression on everyones minds and they treated the small humanoid figures with a deep reverence. Life was, after all, a very precious thing and nobody wanted to be responsible for the death of a close ally. Thus, though Ais would sometimes bury her sword within Tionas flesh, she never aimed for a vital point and only used her [Ariel] very sparingly, primarily for quick movement since Tionas speed rapidly increased during the fight. By the end of training, the only two left standing were Ais and Tiona, thetter now having small scales covering most of her body with her hair now extending to the middle of her back. Since her hair was somewhat unkempt, with a metallic sheen to it, Tiona looked a bit feral and, given the fact that the tattoos on her body glimmered with a golden light, she cast an awe-inspiring sight for those fortunate enough to behold her form. As for Ais, most of her training gear had been damaged at this point, even showing off her left b.r.e.a.s.t where a small trickle of blood could be seen. Fortunately, the only male presence in the Manor was Vahn, thus Ais didnt mind being seen as she continued to brandish her sword in preparation for Tionas attack. Much like Fenrir, Tionas hair stood up like the haunches of a crazed animal as she leaped toward Ais with enough force to crack the ground, which was very impressive considering that Terra had reinforced it greatly. Fortunately, the formation now how a self-repairing function and, even though there had been several craters created during the fight, everything returned to normal after a few minutes. Terra had picked this up after inspecting the structure of the Dungeon, as part of it was now epassed in her territory. Thus, as impressive a feat as Tionas strength was, the cracks she made were gone a few secondster, much like the small craters that resulted from her final skirmish with Ais. After being charged by Tiona, Ais took to the sky, spinning her body as a de of wind wasunched from her sword. Tiona, unable to fly without the assistance of her wand, jumped to meet Ais in the air, crossing her arms to defend against the de of wind. Even through her defenses, the de cut into her flesh, fortunately dissipating once it hit her reinforced bones. However, the chaotic wind energy began to wreak havoc in her body as a result, something Tionapletely ignored as she flipped through the air and kicked against the side of Ais sword. Much like Tione had in the past, Tionas ability triggered without warning, making her strike several times stronger as Ais arm buckled under the tremendous might of Tionas kick, fracturing the bone in several ces as she was sent careening towards the ground below. Fortunately, as she had be very ustomed to flight, Ais managed to right herself as shended on the ground, creating arge crater as both of her legsined against the strain of her fall. Even so, Ais stood up, using her Wings of Light as support while a tempest of wind energy surrounded her body. Tiona gave a wry smile as she made herself into the smallest shape she could manage, knowing that Ais counterattack would likely be very fierce. As capable as she might be, Tiona was unable to dodge while in the air. She had forgone the use of her wand during the spar, as the purpose of their battle was to familiarize themselves with their [Pactio] forms, not rely on external transformations. Not giving Tiona the chance tond, as this would spell her loss, Ais created arge tornado of wind elemental energy before lunging towards the still airborne Amazoness. Though she had resisted the des of wind cutting through her body, rapidly healing the wounds while absorbing the ambient energy contained in Ais attack, Tionas defense wasnt high enough to counter Ais final attack. Knowing she would be ovee, Tiona aimed for an internecine oue instead, twisted her body in the air to avoid taking a critical hit from Ais as she bured her fist into the young swordswomans shoulder. Tiona ended up having her sidepletely gouged, sending arge volume of blood from her wound while Ais shoulder had been almostpletely turned to dust. They both fell towards the ground, having lost consciousness as a result of their final strikes. Vahn, havingpletely recovered from his earlier mood, moved to catch both of their figures as Lefiya came forward, holding her pitcher with both hands as a worried look appeared on her face. Fortunately, though the wounds were rather serious, Tiona was already regenerating even before Vahn caught her while Ais, having channeled arge amount of wind elemental energy in her body, had cushioned the shockwave from Tionas strike. They were truly geniuses when it came tobat, especially Ais, as she was able to emte enhancement magic using her [Ariel] without having actually learned how to use the proper spell. If she had trained under Eva, Vahn was certain that Ais would have been able to learn [Magia Erebea] since she was already able to infuse her cells with mana, even if it was limited to wind energy. Tiona woke up a few minutester, breathing sharply when she sat up since her wound hadntpletely healed just yet. As for Ais, she had passed out more from mental exhaustion than ack of stamina, thus she was still sleeping with her wounds alreadypletely healed by Lefiya. Unless the person was already dead, her artifact could heal any wound without a single sign that an injury had even existed. Unfortunately, this only applied to physical wounds and there was still a bit of instability in Ais mana circuits until Vahn had repaired them. Knowing she still had room to improve, Lefiya wanted to learn how to use [Hands of Nirvana] in the future, bing one of the few practitioners of the rare ability. Thus far, the only people learning it were Eina, Preasia, and Naaza, thetter of which had only recently started learning the skill since she had an affinity for healing magic. Since she didnt remember how the fight had ended, Tiona had a defeated expression on her face as she plopped down on the ground, sprawling out her arms and legs as she said, "Graaaah, I want to be even stronger~! Vaaaaahn, teach me a cool skill!" As if realizing the key to her growth was in a Vahn-shaped package, Tiona rolled to her feet andunched herself at Vahn, clinging to him as if her momentarymentation had never existed. Vahn, already drawing the attention of everyone with his presence, released a small sigh before smiling as he said, "Sure." He then went on to demonstrate [Shundo] for everyone, giving a detailed exnation about each aspect of the spell before watching their own attempts. Tiona already had some sess with the skill in the past but, after having Vahn fix all her mistakes, she began to get the hang of it after a few hours. Though their training had originallye to an end at the normal time, Vahns instruction had caused everyone to stick around and work on the skill. Emiru, Maemi, and Mn, who had gone inside to prepare breakfast, brought outrge baskets full of food, apanied by the rest of the girls, including the small figures of Ina, Vana, and Erika. It hadnt been nned, but things progressed to the point where everyone was simply enjoying their time together, training and talking about various things in a good mood. Ina threw a small wrench into things when she woke up, immediately snapping her eyes towards Vahns figure the moment she came into awareness. As for Vana and Erika, the former seemed excited by the presence of so many people and happily enjoyed the attention of everyone during the impromptu outdoor gathering. Erika, being the most mature of the three, even though she was technically the youngest, sat at the outskirts with Syr, watching the ongoing training with slightly parted eyes. She couldnt follow the movements of everyone but, seeing them pop in and out of existence made her aquamarine eyes glimmer with intrigue. Even Doppel, who didnt seem capable of speech, watched everything happening with unblinking eyes as she cemented the image of such powerful existences in her mind... (A/N: Doppel can only repeat words that Erika uses. She/It doesnt have the mental faculties to process the meaning behind her words just yet.) Though he continued to coach everyone, Vahn began ying around with Ina and, after realizing what was going on, Vana. She wasnt nearly as attached to him as Ina was but, whenever Vahn was ying with thetter, Vana always wanted his attention as well. Being the doting father he was, Vahn couldnt deny his daughters pouting expression so he ended up flying around in the sky with theughing twins while their guardians chased after him with teary eyes. If they could speak, Vahn had no doubt they would have been cursing him for bullying them all the time. As for why he knew they werent actually forming words, it was because he could understand anynguage, even those used by the monsters within the Dungeon. Erika, seeing her Papa flying through the sky, almost wanted to join in but, after noticing the looks she was receiving from everyone else, lowered her head with a small blush on her face. Loki, seeing her daughters reaction,ughed in a mischevious manner, hugging her from behind as Erika tried to free herself. As if she was unaware of her daughters difort, Loki rubbed her cheek against Erika in an affectionate manner, musing, "You know, you have to be more honest with yourself, Erika. Your Papa is a smart man, but he isnt that good at reading people that keep their thoughts to themselves. There will be even more children for him to tend to in the future, so make sure you enjoy the opportunities you have while they are avable..." Loki always spoke to her daughter without a filter, never treating her like a child since she knew it would adversely affect her rapid mental development. Though she had a slight resentment towards her Mother, who never seemed to respect her personal space, Erika always listened closely to all of her words. Reflecting upon them, Erika realized there was a great deal of truth to the matter since she had already been informed that, in as little as five years, she would have reached physical maturity and would likely cease growing for hundreds of years thereafter. Though there were many concepts she didnt understand yet, Erika knew that time was a very valuable thing and, while she had a great deal to work with, there were severe limitations on the actions she could take now. Deciding she didnt want to grow apart from her Papa, as he was like a beacon of light in her life with the steadfastness of a mountain, Erikas eyes wavered before she called out in a small voice, "P-Papa..." In the blink of an eye, even though he had been several tens of meters overhead, Vahn appeared at Erikas side, showing a gentle smile as he asked, "Did you call for me, Erika~?" Though she felt very embarrassed, Erika nodded her head and said, "I want to y with Papa..." in a shy tone of voice. When everyone around her showed kind looks, Erika felt her cheeks heat up and wanted to hide her face. This caused Doppel to panic for a brief moment before a shell of hair wrapped around her body, creating a cocoon to protect her from the view of everyone except Vahn. Vahn found his daughters actions to be very adorable so he hugged Ina and Vana close for a few seconds, coaxing the girls into letting him spend some time with Erika. Ina was very reluctant to part but, understanding that Vana would want to copy her, decided to relinquish her Papa for a few minutes. She gave herself the excuse that she was hungry and, after her Papa had passed her over, Ina hid her face against her Mamas chest and muttered, "Mama, hungry..." in an almost sobbing tone. Hephaestus felt her heart melt, understanding that her daughter had made a very mature decision for someone as young as she was. She hugged her daughter in a warm embrace, saying in a soothing tone, "Im so proud of you, Ina...you are such a good girl." Inas only response was to sniffle a little, causing Vana to show a concerned face and begin crying a little until Hephaestus carried both girls into the Manor for feeding... As reluctant as he was to see them go, Vahn didnt make any attempts to stop their departure, following their retreat with his gaze until they disappeared inside the Manor. Like Hephaestus, he was very proud of Ina, as such decisions werent something you would expect from someone that was less than a month old. When he picked up Erika, she had a strangely solemn look on her face as she said, "Im sorry..." in a quiet voice. Vahn felt like his heart was going to break when he heard the uncharacteristically apologetic tone Erika used. He held her close, patting her back as he slowly rose into the air as Doppel clung to his leg. Vahn gave a smile towards the small humanoid creature, not minding the constrictive force of its hair as he ascended high above the Manor. Erika, feeling the warmth of her Papa and theforting energy in her back, eventually calmed down enough to open her eyes. She was very surprised to be so high up but, knowing she was safely in her Papas arms, got over her momentary fear and released some of the tension in her tiny grip. Vahn, understanding that Erika was a very intelligent girl, softly said, "Erika, you are an incredible young girl. It makes me so proud to have you as my daughter..." Though he tried to keep a stoic appearance in front of his daughter, Vahn couldnt fight the moisture building in his eyes, something that caused Erikas to open wide. Seeing her reaction, Vahnughed, hugging her close as he said, "I love you, Erika. Please, if you ever feel lonely, I will always try to make time for you. It doesnt matter how old you get, after all, Im your Papa..." (A/N: BTW, my personal rating for the strength of [Pactio]s puts Tiona at first ce, Ryuu at second ce, and Shizune at third ce. However, the [Pactio] with the most functionality is Riverias while my favorite of them all is Mikotos (UwU)~! Oh, this is also thest chapter for today since the first one was like 5k words, while they were all more than a little over 2k words each xD.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: [Pactio] Training : Tionas Dominance,There is Always Room for Growth,Dont grow up too fast, Erika-chan (TT_TT)) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 674 - Flow

Chapter 674 - Flow

After the birth of his daughters, time seemed to move much faster than normal, something which Vahn was both grateful for andmented greatly. He spent the majority of his time helping the girls master their [Pactio]s, as forging equipment for them wasnt nearly as important as the development of their new skills and abilities. The rest of his time was spent between his duties for the Alliance, educating the girls so they would be able to use the new magic system, and, perhaps most importantly, spending time with his children. Ina and Vana now looked to be closer to a year old, with thetter being much more lively and energetic than her younger twin. It was more than a little likely it was a result of their differing dietary habits, but Vana was already a few centimeters taller than Ina and seemed to contain nearly limitless energy, at least until naptime. Ina, unlike her sister, spent the majority of her time, especially after learning to walk on her own, following Vahn around, though he would usually carry her. She looked like a doll that had been sculpted from divine-grade materials, with her light blonde hair now extending past her shoulders with slight curls at the end. Most striking, however, were her pale blue eyes, which had be more pronounced with time and always seemed to glimmer with intrigue, especially when she watched Vahn work and train. Of course, this wasnt all she spent her time on, as her tendency to take things apart had developed further, causing Hephaestus to begin teaching her a few things for around two hours a day. As expected, she had a natural talent for crafting things and already had a very surprising amount of dexterity for someone that was around 12-14 months old, physically. She could already make small trinkets that didnt require any forging and, after seeing that Erika could already read, had taken up a few simple books of her own. One of the important discoveries that had been made recently was, after Erika appeared to be around a year old, it was decided that they would receive their Falna. It wasnt that umon for children to receive their Falna shortly after birth, especially if they were born into a Familia. Though it wouldnt make a drastic difference in their parameters, it would help them be marginally stronger as they trained. Unfortunately, the moment Loki tried to conduct the ceremony on Erika, the hieroglyphs began to fade away, almost as if the existence of the Vanir couldnt be bound by the influence of the Falna. Current spection was, as they were already very close to being gods, who were unable to receive Falna from other gods, the blessing simply had no effect on them. This didnt mean they wouldnt be able to increase their strength, just that there would be no shortcuts in their path towards the peak. By virtue of their existence, a god already had very high potential and, though they didnt have actual Levels, they could still be graded by the power systems used in the world. Ultimately, it depended on their efforts with how strong they became but, the most concerning matter, was whether or not the Vanir would be able to increase their strength in the Dungeon. There was a very high chance that the Dungeon may recognize their presence itself as a major threat, especially with the mixture of source energy and pseudo-divine energy. Vahn was already slightly worried that his presence was increasing the strength of monsters in the Deeper Floors and it now seemed as if he would have to take into consideration the influence of his own children... Fortunately, they had made several other discoveries over thest few weeks, including the fact that the guardians possessed by the Vanir could increase their strength very quickly. Though they were very small at first, Inas tiger cub was nowrger than most dogs while Vanas dragon pup was around the size of a pony. The only exception amongst the three was Erikas doppelganger, which seemed to be roughly the same dimensions as Erika herself, though their features were distinctly different. Most importantly, however, was that the strength of their guardians directly influence the power of the girls, especially when they were fused together. They provided arge amount of energy to the girls, allowing Vana to already createrge fireballs, much to thementation of Emiru and Maemi, who often had to clean up the mess after Vana identally burned something. Vana was still very smart for her age but, unlike Ina and the startlingly intelligent Erika, she was very emotional and prone to outbursts. She never sought out attention proactively but, the moment you stopped paying attention to her, Vana would be teary-eyed and do something to draw your attention back to her. This was mainly aimed towards her younger twin though, when asked how she felt about Ina, Vana simply said she loved her sister but didnt want to lose against her. What she didnt want to lose at, Vana herself didnt know, it just made her feel sad if she didnt get to y around when Ina was ying. For someone like Vana, who was constantly full of energy and getting into trouble, it broke Vahns heart to see her sad so he always relented and tried to y with both of them whenever possible. Erika wasnt nearly as clingy as Ina and Vana but she had gotten into the habit of asking Vahn to help her study and to teach her new things. She also seemed to enjoy sitting in hisp and reading books, assuming there was nobody else around. For some reason, Erika seemed especially aware of how other people looked at her and, though she only looked like a 15-17 month old child, she didnt like being treated as such. The only exceptions were when she was with her Papa, who always made her feel safe and, no matter what she did, seemed to ept to her. Unlike her Mother, and some of the other girls and goddesses, her Papa didnt seem to have any expectations towards her other than the desire that she is happy. This made Erika feel veryfortable around him, though she had slowly started to open up to others, bing good friends with Vana after thetter could walk around and form simple sentences. She didnt much like Ina, however, as her presence made it difficult to have any time to spend with her Papa... Of course, Vahn wasnt only splitting his time between Ina, Vana, and Erika, as, at this point, Aki and Arnya had both given birth to two healthy young girls with Tsubaki expecting any day. Both Aki and Arnya, taking notes out of Lokis book, ended up naming their daughters differently than their first choices, Aki deciding upon Anise while Arnya chose Meinya. When Vahn helped them deliver the children, he once against got to experience the overwhelming sight of new life being born into the world. Though they werent visually as stunning as the Vanir at birth, Vahn felt like his daughters, especially with their stubby tails and droopy ears, were exceptionally adorable. Anise had been born with a tuft of ck hair, having simrly ck eyes and a small pointed nub at her lower back. As for Meinya, she unexpectedly had a mix between brown and white hair with simr rings on her tail aspared to her mother. Ina seemed a little saddened by the birth of new children within the Manor but, after being talked to by Vahn and Hephaestus for a bit, she decided to be a good big sister. As for Vana and Erika, the former was very interested in her new sisters, spending time watching them in the cribs and saying a few quiet words when nobody was looking. Erika seemed the least affected but, from Vahns perspective, she had undergone the biggest change since the presence of Anise and Meinya seemed to be the catalyst for her wanting to spend more time with him and uncharacteristically acting her age... Much like his other daughters, Anise and Meinya came into the world with guardians of their own but, to Vahn confusion,cked the inclusion of what he was referring to as a soul-grade artifact. Also, likely as result of the difference in their inherent soul tier, Anise and Meinya were considerably weaker than the Vanir at birth while their guardians, while still being strong, had markedly less potential than the primordial grade creatures assigned to the Vanir. Anise ended up getting what looked like a grey wolf pup, called a Steel-backed Wolf while Meinya obtained a brown bear cub with tufts of red fur, descending from the Mountain Tyrant Bear species. Each was very powerful in their own right but the auras they emitted were significantly weaker than the Celestial Winged Tiger, True me Dragon, and even Erikas Doppelganger... Even so, it didnt matter to Vahn at all how much potential the girls might have at birth since, if they worked hard, it wouldnt be impossible for them to even exceed the Vanir in power. They still had strands of source energy coiling around in their bodies and, with capable mothers like Aki and Arnya,bined with the resources of teaching methods avable to them, both could be very powerful. Most importantly, Vahn learned that all of his daughters could make use of the consumable items within his shop now, as their body could actually adapt and process the energy contained within the items. This meant he could help them train and refine their bodies through the system shop, even if the efficacy was limited by the development of their source energy. --- Vahn was currently walking alongside Arnya, carrying Meinya in his hands as they leisurely strolled through the illusory forest, which was now muchrger than in the past. Though she wasnt gifted with an affinity for space magic, Terra had set up arge ward to epass the forest, causing the interior to increase exponentially in size while it seemedpletely unchanged from the outside. Other than passing through a viscous membrane, which only a select few like Vahn, Riveria, Ryuu, and Lefiya could sense, you would enter into the now massive forest. Terra also arranged it so there were some scenic paths to travel that could be safely walked, including one that led directly to the clearing in the center, now more than 1km in diameter. When they reached the center, Vahn saw the familiar figure of Mikoto, training hard while Haruhime sat at the side with a small pic basket. Mikoto, sensing his arrival, momentarily stopped her training, nearly bowing out of habit before seeing Vahns slight frown and deciding against it. By the time Vahn neared her, Haruhime had also walked over as Vahn said, "Im going to be making a supply run down to the 39th Floor this Friday. I wanted you two to apany me this time around, though I dont expect anything will happen." One of Vahns duties had been making sure the supplies of Lil Geirr never ran out. This would be his second trip down after his previous return, making the round trip in as little as sixteen hours. Mikoto gripped her katana tightly, showing a small smile as she nodded her head and said, "Thank you for this opportunity, Master." Knowing that Vahn was giving her a chance to test her skills, Mikoto was determined to show him her growth. These past few months, much like several of the other girls, she had also been contemting her own future. She wasnt ready to have a child just yet, as it would interfere with the development of her magical power and bring a temporary halt to her training. Her hope was to wait until she was around 18-20 years old, when her magical power began to stabilize, before finallymitting to the deed. However, she also understood that there were no guarantees in life and, though just a little, she began to open up and try to spend more time with Vahn when the opportunity presented itself. Haruhime was also very happy to apany Vahn, especially if the giddy Shirohime was any indicator. The little fox had been enjoying her time around the Manor more and more these days, especially since the number of people she could interact with had increased. Though she was fairly jealous of the fact that her counterpart wasnt able to get Vahns attention as much as in the past, Shirohime simply couldnt dislike the children. She often spent time ying with Ina and Vana, though Erika was her favorite since Vana would sometimes pull her hair and Ina would outright ignore her when Vahn was around... After Shirohime crawled up to his shoulder, looking down at Meinya with glimmering gold eyes, Vahn smiled and exined, "Our goal this time around, other than resupplying Lil Geirr, is to capture and subjugate another rare monster. Mikoko, Ill be relying on your scouting abilities to track down the unique energy signatures of any variant species and I want you both to practice using your [Pactio] in a livebat scenario. Fenrir will be apanying us, but it will just be the four of us going down this time around." Haruhime showed an elegant smile as a thoughtful look appeared in her eyes. She didnt say what was on her mind but, judging by the fluctuations in her aura, Vahn expected Haruhime wanted to use the opportunity to spend some more time with him. As he already expected something like this to happen, Vahn had actually cleared up three days of his schedule since he wanted to try to capture a Unicorn or one of the variant species with a strong elemental affinity. Lokis Wyvern ended up bing arge ck dragon named Khaos, as it was one of the few names Vahn could find that rted to both space and time that also suited a dragon. Its form was only 11m at present, making it much smaller than Fafnir and Terra, but the energy contained within its body was rather terrifying, It was presently only Level 3, but Vahn could tell it would be much stronger once it trained. The presence of Khaos seemed to motivate Fafnir quite a bit as well, now spending most of its free time pestering Terra to help it train. Terras response was to throw Fafnirs spirit into one of the test orbs she had been working on, having her memory fragment deal with her troublesome younger brother since she would much rather just soak up some sunlight. Terra had already finished the basic structure for a few of the orbs they were going to make use of but, as she was still trying to refine thews contained within the orbs, they have yet to be used by anyone in the Manor. Fafnir became her willing test subject and, as it was able to increase its strength a fair amount, didnt seem to mind bing her guinea pig. Dragons, especially True Dragons, ced and instinctual emphasis on strength-based hierarchies. Since Terra was currently much stronger than it was, Fafnir had essentially be Terrasckey, only ignoring her orders if it conflicted with one that Vahn had issued. Vahn had even found it, though it was entirely unnecessary, protecting Terras egg when she had flown off to strengthen a section of her dominion. Seeing the slimmed down version of Fafnir, as it was getting progressively better at transformation magic, coiled around Terras egg in a protective pose made Vahn shake his head with a wry smile... --- After parting with Haruhime and Mikoto, now carrying Shirohime on his head, Vahn made his way back to the Manor. Along the way, he passed by the sleeping figure of Khaos, covered with red and ck scales with four ck horns framing its head like a crown, covered in small purple veins that radiated a frightening magic power. It opened its eyes as he passed, sending an icy but reverential voice into Vahns head as it said, ("Good morning, Master. Mistress Loki had something to discuss with you...") before putting its head down. Khaos had a significantly easier time maintaining its formpared to all of Vahns other subordinates as it could fly into space and absorb the chaotic energies present to sustain itself. However, it still spent a fair amount of time justzing about and, if it was certain it could get away with it,ining about Loki. Arnyaughed at Khaosszy behavior, nudging Vahns arm to get him to continue forward since thetter had stopped moving. Before they reached the Manor, Arnya took Meinya from his hands, giving him a quick peck on the lips and saying, "Go see what Loki wants. Ill be in the maternity ward if you still want to spend time with Meinya." Then, without waiting for Vahns response, Arnya happily made her way inside ahead of him, tail swaying about in a yful manner. She had been in very high spirits ever since her daughter was born, spending most of her waking moments apanying Meinya and tending to her every need. Unlike the Vanir, Meinya was fed exclusively by Arnya and, though she sometimes relied on others to help babysit, Arnya was the primary caretaker of her daughter. She only really took breaks for morning training and sleeping, often times only really getting a few hours in every night and, much like Mona had in the past, taking small cat-naps during the day. Vahn already had an idea of what Loki wanted to talk about as, very recently, the Dwarves of the Iron Hills had started to try and counterpressure Orario after getting annoyed with the constant requests for aid from the Elven Kingdom. Though they had no intention of actually fighting on the Elves behalf, the Dwarves didnt mind trying to take advantage of the situation for their own benefits. They were actually trying to y both sides at present, greatly increasing the price of goods they were bringing into the City while also allowing smugglers to make use of their routes into the Western Forest in exchange for a toll fee. In exchange, the Elven Kingdom had sent several lesser ns of Elves to reside within the Iron Hills, totaling nearly 1,300 people, to act as breeding stock for some of therger vers ns. The ve trade was one of the most sessful business enterprises at present and, being notoriously greedy and focused on wealth, the Dwarves were the most sessful vers on the continent. Generally, the only way they could get Elven ves were if they were either sick, criminal exiles, or males. Having fresh stock was a major boon so, though they werent putting that much effort into it, the Dwarves had finally decided to help out the Elves... (A/N: Im feeling a bit out of it from traveling so Im not entirely sure how many chapters I will release today. At the bare minimum, there will be three and, if Im feeling better after writing those, Ill put out 1-2 more, aiming for 15k words today. Tomorrows releases should happen at the normal time, so you can expect them toe out ten minutes before the reset and every two hours after that.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Slow down (TT_TT),Loki, Goddess of Tricksters, Master of Khaos,Shameless Dwarves (o,...,o)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 675 - Countermeasures

Chapter 675 - Countermeasures

Vahn found Loki within the Western Wing, making use of Riverias Library as she watched over her daughters studies while drinking tea with Juno and Syr. When he entered the room, Erika, who had been buried in a book that nearly as big as she was, raised her head with a start. Loki giggled at her daughters reaction, rising to her feet to approach Vahn and give him a quick hug and kiss before saying, "Youre a bit earlier than I expected. Come, join us for tea and well talk. Afterward, you can spend some time with Erika. Im sure she would like that~." There was a teasing tone to Lokis voice that made Erika lower her head with a light blush on her cheeks. Doppel, who had been eating small crackers at the side, opened her eyes widely before shielding Erika while ring at Loki. In response, Loki justughed even more while pulling Vahn over to the table, having him sit down before iming hisp as her own. Though he didnt mind Loki sitting in hisp, Vahn had be somewhat resistant to it over thest few months since it conflicted with his idea of how he should act as a Father. Tending to his women was very important, something Vahn took very seriously, but it became increasingly more awkward to act affectionate like this. He didnt want his children to develop strange sensibilities by watching how he acted since Vahn himself knew he was more than a little abnormal. Since he had discussed this with Loki in the past, he knew she was probably doing it to show Erika something, likely some lesson she had decided upon. Still, it made Vahn furrow his brows slightly as he hugged Lokis waist and whispered, "Dont tease our daughter too much..." in a quiet voice. Loki simply nodded in response, leaning into his back with her body weight as she said, "This incident with the Dwarves, I think you shouldnt get involved with it for the time being. The Alliance cant afford to split its forces so much and were already taking care of four, no, five major challenges. The blockade of the Western Forests takes up a lot of our resources and were simultaneouslying up with countermeasures for Rakia Kingdom, Telkyura, and Enyo, all while trying to get a foothold within the Dungeon itself. Were moving too quickly Vahn and, though you might not see it with your own eyes, it is very taxing on the other members of the Alliance who have to man the frontlines..." Vahn nodded his head, showing a solemn and understanding expression on his face since he had heard much the same from Minerva and Eirene. Though the costs for all of their actions hadnt be a problem, for the time being, the mental and physical strain on the people involved with the tasks had been increasing. People simply didnt like to spend long periods of time away from the safety andfort of their home, manning a defensive line for several months without much else to do. Most Adventurers took to the role because they wanted to increase their own strength, earning a personal fortune so they could live as they please in theirter years. Being forced to maintain the blockade, though very rewarding financially, made them very antsy as they grew progressively more bored. After all, there wasnt much glory to be found, nor were there opportunities to increase their strength, they just sat their most of the day, rotating duties and relief time. It didnt help that most of them were aware of Vahns situation, feeling no small amount of envy knowing he was essentially zing about in a flower garden full of beautiful women while they maintained an entire defensive line just because the Elves had offended him in the past. It wasnt that much of a problem just yet, as some of the people manning the blockade had apanied Vahn on the Expeditions, but the small murmurs shared between people were beginning to gain momentum as the support for the blockade wanned. After thinking over the matter for a few moments, during which time Loki, Juno, and Syr had all remained quiet, Vahn said, "Its about time I make a show of force to intimidate Rakia Kingdom. Even if it draws more attention to us, it will also show the forces maneuvering against us that were not just going to stand around and wait for them to take action. Ill take Fafnir and Khaos with me to destroy some of the fortresses on Rakia Kingdoms borders. Though I wont attack them, Ill also pass on the outskirts of the border between the Western Kingdom and Iron Hills. An example of Fafnirs speed,bined with the information they receive about its destructive capabilities, should make the Dwarves think twice about antagonizing us. As for the overpriced goods they are trying to market, you should talk to Fortuna and get a list of all the goods being imported into the City. The Hestia Familia will sell them at the original value in exchange for materials instead of Valis." Lokis smile widened slightly as she made momentary eye contact with Syr and saw the same glint in the young demigoddess eyes. They had already spected what decision Vahn would make and felt very gratified that his n coincided with their expectations. In truth, by making use of Riverias artifact, Loki had alreadypiled a list of all the necessary goods since she knew Vahn would be able to create them as long as he had enough materials to convert into energy. Though monster cores would have been he most efficient exchange rate, this would have conflicted with the monopoly the Guild had on the exchange of cores so Loki had already informed Fortuna to prepare materials like drop items and ore. Fortuna was very interested to know how the Hestia Familia woulde up with so many exchange items but, knowing that everyone had their secrets, made no effort to pry into the matters. Instead, she was focused almost entirely on the immense profits she would be able to obtain while also using the opportunity to lessen the influence of the troublesome Dwarven caravans. The fact that the Dwarves had the audacity to try and profit off this situation irked her to no end so, if possible, Fortuna intended topletely cripple their business within Orario. This would force them to have to exchange the goods at the original amount but, as they had already lost the trust of their original clients, the actual profits the caravans would obtain would be negligible, at best. After all, trust was the most importantmodity in business and, merchants that took advantage of such trust were destined to fade into obscurity. After discussing things for around half an hour, the girls decided to leave the Library so that Vahn could spend some time with Erika. Though she had been quiet during the discussion, it was very obvious that Erika had been listening in since she hadnt turned a single page in her book. Clever as she might be, there were still a few things she would need to pick up if she wanted to be able to sessfully fool other people. Vahn sat down next to her, patting hisp as Erika hesitantly climbed over. She was really very tiny, only around 69cm tall, and weighing a measly 9kg. For Erika, Vahn felt like a giant and she always felt very safe whenever they were together, even if it was a little embarrassing to admit. Once she had snuggled up into hisp, Erika hesitated for a short while before asking, "Papa, are you going to fight...?" Vahn stroked his daughters head, thinking about his answer before deciding to be honest as he exined, "Erika, this world, though containing many interesting and beautiful things, isnt a kind ce. There are a number of people that, if given the opportunity, would exploit others for their own benefits. Power, wealth, authority, and sometimes just as a result of their own greed and selfishness...for these things, people do terrible deeds to others. I want to make this world a safer ce for all of you so that, when youre finally ready to venture out into the world on your own, it will not be the dangerous world of the past..." Erika nodded her head, holding up her tiny palms as if there were something only she could see contained within them. After several seconds of silence, she ced her small hands atop therge and firm hands of her Papa, squeezing them with her minuscule strength as she said, "Papa, when I be a big girl, I will help you make this world a better ce. I think thats what Mother wants me as well...Im not sure how I can help, but I will do my best..." Vahn smiled at Erikas words, but he also felt somewhat pained in his heart since he didnt really want any of his children to get wrapped up with some of the shadier sides of society. However, knowing that it was her choice what path she wanted to take, Vahn simply hugged Erika in response and said, "I believe you can do anything you set your mind to, Erika...just dont grow up too quickly. After all, youre still my little girl..." Vahn gave Erika a kiss atop her head, earning a small Nn from Erika as she bashfully lowered her face. Doppel, who had been clinging to his arm to make sure he didnt try to run away with its host, tilted its head to the side out of curiosity. It was beginning to develop to the point where it was capable of understanding speech and, after spending its entire life with Erika, Doppel had be a very curious creature. Whenever Vahn would y with Erika, it would emte herughter while it clung to his arm or leg, often using its hair to constrict him with a force reminiscent of steel wires. Though she couldntplete a perfect transformation just yet, Doppel could also alter its shape a bit, mostly copying Erika herself even though theter would get very fl.u.s.tered as a result. After all, Doppel, though appearing simr to a female in its base state, had no actual s.e.x.u.a.l characteristics and was closer to a doll in form. However, when it changed, this was no longer the case and, as it didnt wear clothing, this would result in Erika reprimanding it with a flushed face since it was very embarrassing to have a n.a.k.e.d version of herself running around the hallways... Vahn spent the better part of three hours helping Erika study, answering any question she posed as honestly as possible. He had already taken a personal vow to never lie to his children, even if it might be necessary to protect them. Vahn figured that, if such a situation were to ever ur, he simply needed to try harder to resolve the problem without keeping the matter secret from them. After all, Vahn wanted them to always be able to trust him, regardless of how old they became. If he lied to them about simple things, their faith in him would never be quiteplete since a part of them would always wonder what else he would lie to them about. Though this led to some awkwardness on asion, Vahn just considered these things all an experience of parenting and epted it in stride. As a result, Ina and Erika often confided in him everything while Vana practically spoke without a filter... Though he had already detected her approach, cautioning Erika about her arrival, Vana came barging into the room atop her True me Dragon, which she had named Vulcan after learning it was his previous alias. Vana had a triumphant look on her face as she smiled with her small baby teeth on full disy and said, "Papa, I made a big explosion! Shishishishi~" Hopping off Vulcans back, who was ring towards Vahn, Vana trotted over with a pitter patter, seemingly just noticing Erika as she smiled vibrantly and said, "Ah, Erika, were you ying with Papa?" Then, seeing the books in front of them, Vana furrowed her brows slightly and said, "Booooo, reading is boring! Papa, Erika, lets go y~!" Erika had been enjoying her alone time with her Papa and felt a little annoyed that Vana had disturbed them. She picked up her book, barely managing to get her arms around it as she trotted out of the room without a slight moisture in her eyes. Doppel chased after, nearly tripping over her long hair in the process before using it like stilts and propelling herself forward. Though it looked like hair, the long white fibers on Doppels head were closer to tendrils, containing nerves and small muscles that allowed her to shape and control them. Since it now extended longer than she was tall, Doppel was a bit clumsy at times but it always brought a smile to everyones face whenever they say her adorable antics, often apanied by Erikas blushing face. Vana had a slightly dumbfounded look on her face before her nose and chin began to wrinkle and tears began to build up in her eyes. With an indignant look, entuated by a small dribble of snoting out of her left nostril, Vana turned to her Papa and asked, "Papa, did Vana do a bad thing? Does Erika hate me?" Though she had picked up speechter than her other siblings, Vana was still a very smart girl and was constantly talking to everyone in the Manor after learning how. Vahn, taking a critical hit from Vanas teary-eyed look, brought her into a hug and stroked Vanas back as he said, "No, no, of course not, Vana...Erika, you know she likes to read. Also, I think she was just a little upset that you barged into the room so suddenly. If you apologizeter, Im sure she will forgive you..." Though there was still a fair amount of tears and snot on her face, Vana pulled away and nodded her head, forming a goofy smile as ran towards the door, seemingly forgetting about asking her Papa to y. The only thing going through Vanas mind right now was tracking down her little sis so they could make up, after all, she had to be a responsible big sister that looked after her younger siblings. After jumping on Vulcans back, Vana pointed forward like a battlefieldmander and shouted, "Go, Vulcan, lets find Erika and y~!" Vulcan gave Vahn oncest re, sending a small tuft of me from its nose before releasing an adorable roar and chasing after Erika. With its sense of smell, it would easily be able to track her down, just like it had helped its host find the annoying male earlier. Vahn suddenly found himself alone in the Library, a wry smile on his face since Vulcan had called him a smelly male before it ran out. None of the guardians actually had a gender but it wasnt inurate to say they were all female since they shared their existence with their hosts. It was a little strange to him that Vulcan was able to learn at a much faster rate than Vana herself but, fortunately, it seemed to share its knowledge with her and had helped her keep pace with Ina and Erika, at least a little. Vahn just wished she would stop burning things on ident since it made it very difficult for him to justify giving her the [Genesis me] in the future. If she already had such a high degree of control over fire, Vahn feared what Vana might do if she suddenly had even more powerful mes at her disposal. She wasnt a bad girl, not in the slightest, Vana was just a bit hotheaded and emotional at times... Since there were still a few hours left in the day, and it wouldnt take that long for the round trip, Vahn decided to venture to the border of Rakia Kingdom and give his warning to the outposts. He would give them until Monday to clear out before he flew through and destroyed all the border outposts between Rakia Kingdom and the Western Forests. If they didnt treat his warnings seriously, Vahn had already firmed his resolve to ept the burden of the lives he would have to take. He had no ill will towards any of the people manning the post, as he had never met them, but Vahn also knew they were generally the zealots within the Kingdom. Even though he hadnt seen it personally, Vahn knew of the horror stories about how some of the border guards acted, often killing anyone that tried to cross the border in cruel and vicious ways. After informing the girls about his ns, Vahn went into the courtyard where both Fafnir and Khaos were already waiting for him. Terra had also shown up but, after her return from the orb, she had almost no desire to leave the Manor again. She wouldnt actively participate in missions that involved iming the lives of others but still showed her support by wishing her Master well in his travels. Vahn gave her a firm hug, ending it with a rather long kiss that earned him a huff from Khaos while Fafnir just tilted its head to the side in confusion. It had seen Vahn interact with all the girls, even Terra, but was confused as to why Khaos acted in such a manner around their Master. If not for the fact that Terra was the current Alpha, Fafnir would have smacked Khaos with its tail for being rude. This sentiment seemed to be shared by Terra herself, whose eyes snapped open as she sent a warning look towards Khaos that made it tremble slightly. Khaos, unlike his other subordinates, was far more independent than normal because Vahn wanted it to be more loyal towards Loki than it was towards him. Of course, with the influence of the Loyalty parameter, Khaos was still loyal to Vahn but it just expressed it in a different manner than Fafnir, Fenrir, and Terra. The fact that it was the weakest of his subordinates was a big hit to its pride so, unable to actually do anything to change its status just yet, Khaos was sometimes abrasive with its words and actions. It did, however, do its best to avoid offending Terra since her status was much higher than it, with only their Master preventing her from striking Khaos down for its indiscretion... Vahn, sensing the tensions between them, pressed his index and middle finger at the small of Terras back, just above her tail. He wiggled them back and forth, massaging the muscles in the area as Terra lowered her head and calmed down, focusing more on his actions than Khaos offense. When she had calmed down enough, though she was excited in other ways, Vahn smiled and said, "Its been a while since I stayed at the wellspring. Ille visit tonight if youre free..." Terras wings began to wiggle slightly, betraying her stoic and intelligent look as she nodded her head with an Nn before flittering away towards her garden. After watching her fly away, Vahn turned to Fafnir and Khaos before walking over and stroking both of her snouts and exining, "Were going to put on a bit of a show. Try to avoid killing anyone for the time being, but dont be afraid to show off your power. This will be your debut, Khaos, so follow Fafnirs lead this time around." Khaos released a throaty grumble while Fafnir bumped into its side before shouting, ("Yay, I get to spend time with Master~! This time, Ill show everyone how cool I am!") Fafnir then proceeded to turn from its slim form into its angr and spikey appearance, creating a tyrannical sight as it spread out its wings with an almost cruel look in its magical blue eyes. Khaos, though feeling slightly repressed by Fafnirs aura, also raised its head proudly and released its aura, causing strange red and ck fluctuations to appear in space. Vahn mounted Fafnir when they were both ready, causing it to wiggle happily while Khaos stared towards his back with its stark golden eyes piercing his back. Since he understood a little of what Khaos might be thinking, Vahn smiled slightly and said, "If you want, we can go fly around and explore the north for a bit when there is time..." Khaos, though it couldnt actually form any facial expressions, seemed to frown slightly as it turned its head to the side and said, ("I dont need your pity, Master...") Though Vahn would never understand it, each of the dragons he had named all had a strange pride about wanting to be his mount. Because he was their Master, Vahn was the highest existence within their hierarchy and, ording to Terra, it was a great honor to carry him around on their backs. Since he had named Khaos and gifted him to Loki, it wasnt too surprised that Khaos felt like its own existence was delegated to the role of a pet instead of a truepanion. Vahn felt a little guilty and decided to make it up to the tsundere dragon in the future, after all, it was still his subordinate and, just like he had in the past, Vahn promised to treat his subordinates as family... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Seat of Power,Erika (>////<)~!,Khaos, Tsundere Dragon of the Trickster Goddess) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 676 - Warning

Chapter 676 - Warning

Though Fafnir would have been able to reach the borders of Rakia Kingdom in less than two hours, it had to slow its pace so that Khaos could keep up. When Vahn had named Fafnir, he had wanted a mount that would let him move about quickly while also possessing tyrannical might. As a result, Fafnir was much faster than its kin and was perfectly at home in both the sky, and the shadows. As for Khaos, its maximum speed was around 2,900km/h but it could shrink space in front of itself to create a distortion effect that allowed it to cover great distances, assuming it was in the line of sight. The downside to this ability was that it used arge amount of magic power and, unless Khaos was flying about on the edge of space, it couldnt sustain continued use of the ability without Vahns assistance. Fortunately, much like Terra, it had a form of teleportation that allowed it to create waypoints, currently limited to two. By marking a location, Khaos could return to that point regardless of distance, assuming there wasnt anything to interfere with it. This ability was granted to it by one of its Innates, called [Wayfinder], one of the two it possessed, the other being [Link Gate], which is what allowed Khas to shrink space. Once it mastered the abilities, Vahn imagined Khaos would be able to cover vast distances without expending too much energy, even one day possessing the capability to transfer between worlds. This, of course, relied on the fact that there were other worlds liked with Danmachi in the future as the current nature of the record made such things impossible. After around four hours, most of which had been spent crossing a vast sea of trees, Vahn saw what appeared to be a wastnd on the end of arge clearing where the stumps of once majestic trees now stood charred and barren. For several kilometers, there was nothing but devastation whilst arge fortress loomed on the horizon, appearing cold and imposing against the backdrop of the fading light. Vahn, seeing the devastation wrought by Rakia Kingdoms invasion into the Western Forests, couldnt help but furrow his brows as a sad sigh escaped his lips. It all seemed so senseless, causing such tragedies for baseless ideals that served little purpose other than advocating further violence. This wasnt conquest, no, this was irrefutably nothing more than a cruel act forced upon others as a result of misguided practices designed to perpetuate an endless cycle of conflict... As they neared the fortress, in what seemed like the blink of an eye, severalrge metallic projectiles flew towards them, shot fromrge arbalests affixed to the frame of the fortress. Fafnir released a powerful roar, causing fractures in the void as the projectiles mmed into the resultant shockwave before crumpling up and falling powerlessly to the ground. This, however, didnt stop the men manning the fortress from continuing their attack. There were several hundred men present, all wearing ck armor with red markings on them as they moved about to prepare their defenses. Many took up bows, firing a variety of different kinds of arrows towards them while several teams manned the twenty arbalests and tried to repel the two dragons above. Vahn watched how the men of the fortress reacted, understanding they were all highly trained even though the strongest person he could sense was only Level 3. Even after a few minutes had passed, not a single mage had shown up to attack them and, other than one many using a magic spear that could shoot lightning, all of their other attacks were entirely reliant on the equipment and weapons they had avable. Vahn found it more than a little ridiculous that they propagated the idea of individual power and progress yet, instead of empowering their people to have such individual might, most of them were almost remarkably average. They all had the same type of gear, neatly shaved heads, and showed a high degree of organized training...however, there was no ingenuity and, other than a few stronger individuals, there were almost no unique qualities amongst the gathered men... Deciding he had seen enough, Vahn leaped off of Fafnirs back as the two dragons flew out of the range of any wayward projectiles. This time around, they hadnte to destroy outright so Vahn still needed to pass his warning to the fortress Commander before returning home. Thus, like a meteor falling from the heavens, Vahn smashed into the top of the fortress feet first, causing fractures along the hard stone surface as the roof copsed. Many of the nearby soldiers tried to attack him but Vahn repelled them all by expanding his domain and causing them to copse powerlessly as a result. The only person that was still standing was the Level 3 in front of him, showing a solemn look on his face as he hissed the words, "Vahn Mason..." Since he was a very high priority target for the Rakia Kingdom, Vahn wasnt surprised that someone in a position of power would recognize him. However, without much of a change in his expression, Vahn continued to stare at the middle-aged soldier while his intent swept around the fortifications and scanned the interior. He found more than a few reasons to simply destroy everything around him, especially after seeing some of the young men and women that had been brutalized and kept in the dungeons. After taking a deep breath to calm himself, made easier by the cold energy flowing through his mind, Vahn gripped the Commanders neck and raised him up high, floating off the ground slightly since the man was nearly 220cm tall. Seeing the man they all looked up to and feared, essentially being manhandled by a child, all of the surrounding soldiers had terrified and confused looks on their faces. Many of them had no idea who Vahn was and they had never seen someone that could break into a fortress and capture a Commander-ss soldier in less than a minute. As for Vahn, he didnt pay much attention to them and just looked into the dark ck eyes of the man whose throat he was considering crushing. There wasnt a single light in the mans eyes, almost like he hadpletely given up on the future as nothing but cruelty and coldness radiated deep within his ck pupils. As ifpeting against them, his aura was also almost pitch ck, only broken up by a few tendrils or purple and fiery red as a result of the mans fear and hatred. Vahn had originally intended to simply send a message but, after seeing how they treated other people and noticing that almost every person within the fortress had a dark aura, he changed his mind. Without wasting his words on the battle-hardened Commander, Vahn focused his intent on the mans mind and used an unnamed spell topletely wipe the mans mind by forcing all the synapses in his brain to fire simultaneously, almost like they were being short-circuited. He wouldnt so much as remember how to walk and control his bowel movements unless someone taught him how to do so. Vahn then tossed the man to the side, noticing this his karma actually went up a few points even though his action almost felt objectively cruel. Perhaps it was this realization, as he had indeed spared the man, that allowed for him to stay on a righteous path... Shaking his head to clear the thoughts, as karma wasnt something so easily understood, Vahn turned to one of the nearby Level 2s and said, "In three days, I will destroy all of the fortresses along the eastern border. The next time Rakia Kingdom tries to interfere with the affairs of the Alliance, expect that I will not extend to you the kindness of such a warning again." Without waiting for the mans response, Vahn erected a powerful barrier around the Lieutenants body while bringing both of his palms together in prayer. He contemted saving the prisoners contained within the Dungeon but, seeing as how many of them had been cruelly tortured and damaged, he knew their lives would be very difficult in the future. Though it wasnt impossible to set them on a path where they may one day find happiness, Vahn couldnt put himself in such a position, nor did he have a way to allocate time and resources to caring for crippled refuges. Thus, though it pained him to do so, Vahn prayed that they would reincarnate and live better lives in the future,pletely ignoring the screamsing from around him as he looked towards the massive beam of magical energy that was raining down from above. Without making any attempts to protect himself, Vahn apologized to the people who had been forced to experience such suffering, choosing to feel the pain of his own body being torn apart as some small form ofpensation for their loss... By the time the smoke cleared, the only thing remaining where the once imposing fortress once stood was a n.a.k.e.d Vahn, tears staining his ashen face before he wiped them away and looked at the Lieutenant, still protected within the barrier he had formed. The man seemed to be around twenty years old, having the same military-style haircut as the other soldiers of the fortress and simrly cold eyes. Now, however, there was a wavering light contained deep within as a seed of fear was buried deep within his heart and mind. To the Lieutenant, Vahn was an absolute monster, even more so than the two dragons flying above, including the one who just managed to destroy their fortress that had been entirely constructed of materials designed to resist magic attacks. Vahn dispelled his barrier while wearing a new set of clothes, allowing the Lieutenant to fall into the 40m deep crater that Fafnir had created. It wasnt nearly high enough to do any real damage but, as the man was almost catatonic due to fear, he ended up spraining his ankle in the fall. Vahn blinked next to him, seemingly appearing out of thin air with his mastered [Shundo] as he kicked the man lightly across the face. The Lieutenant made no efforts to defend himself from Vahns attacks, instead opting to crush the small capsule on his mouth andmit suicide. To his surprise, however, the capsule that had been buried in his mr waspletely gone now with only a small hole where it used to be... With his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn had easily seen through the mans intentions and used his Oblivion when the man was catatonic topletely destroy the small capsule. Now that the man had actually tried to kill himself, Vahn stepped forward and lifted the Lieutenant, preventing him from taking any action bypletely paralyzing the mans body under the pressure of his domain. Using his index finger, Vahn ced it against the mans forehead, sending a thread of energy into his brain to stimte the self-preservation function while inhibiting his fear and panic responses. After a few seconds, the Lieutenant calmed down a bit and seemed to be looking for a means of escape as he asked, "W-w-what d-do you w-w-w-want from m-m-me?" Releasing the man, Vahn let him fall to the ground again as he exined in a cold and tired voice, "Go, tell your people that this is the only warning I will give them. Three days from now, all of your border outposts will suffer the same fate. If anyone is foolish enough to stay inside when I next arrive, you can only me yourselves for the oue..." As he was speaking, Vahn looked around the area, somewhat thankful that there wasnt a single sign of life in the massive crater that was nearly 40m deep and more than 300m wide. Fafnir had held back quite a bit, but it was still a monstrous amount of damage for a spell that had only been charged for around a minute. Without confirming if the man understood his message, Vahn flew up to join Fafnir and Khaos, deciding to head back home using thetters [Wayfinder]. Along the way, as the transfer took a short period of time, Vahn contemted if he had made the correct decision. In a way, he had given the prisoners, and even the cruel soldiers, a mercy since Fafnirs attack had imed their lives without any time for them to experience pain. Still, there were more than a hundred prisoners held captive within the cells, all people that had likely tried to flee the country in pursuit of a better life. He had, in a way, robbed them of that chance and decided for them what their final oue had been, even though their situation had nothing to do with him and was a direct result of Rakia Kingdoms corruption... By the time he reached the area above the Manor, Vahn had decided that, regardless of what efforts he made, it was impossible to save everyone. He wasnt an omniscient god that could hear the prayers of people all around the world, answering their cries for help and providing them peace and security during trying times. The only thing he could do was make the best possible decisions for the moment, saving those around him and giving mercy to those he had failed to reach in time. This life was just one life amongst the nearly infinite number they would live in the future so, as sad and painful as it made him feel, Vahn believed he did the right thing in allowing them to escape the pain and suffering they had experienced... When theynded in the courtyard, Vahn wasnt surprised to see that Loki, Hephaestus, Hestia, Anubis, and Eina had all gathered together, clearing waiting for his arrival. They knew that, depending on what Vahn saw, he would likely have to do something he would inevitably regret. However, these experiences were necessary for Vahns emotional and mental development since the path he had decided to walk would be filled with trials and burdens that most could never understand. Seeing the look of eptance on his face, Loki and Hephaestus let out a relieved sigh as thetter turned to Hestia and Eina, saying, "Take care of him..." before going off to pacify Ina. Anubis followed behind her, giving her Master onestforting look with a gentle and supportive smile on her face. Loki also intended to excuse herself but couldnt help but say a few words before she left, approaching close to Vahn and saying, "War is one of the greatest tragedies of the world, something that ims countless lives but is sometimes necessary for change...I wont ask you to tell me what you experienced, Vahn, just know that we all believe you did the right thing. Also..." At this point, Loki hugged him tightly, feeling her own body tremble slightly when she felt Vahn shaking a little. In a firm tone, while also doing her best tofort him, Loki said, "Remember why you decided to walk this path in the first ce...dont let our daughters see you like this and never give up on the dream you have of a better future..." The fact that her words sounded somewhat maniptive, even though she was trying tofort him, made Lokiment her own existence slightly. These feelings became even more prominent when, likely after seeing the fluctuations in her aura, Vahn wrapped his arms tightly around her waist in an effort tofort her. Releasing a long sigh, Loki kissed Vahns neck and gave him onest tight hug before pulling away and saying, "Ill watch over Erika if you need time to rx. Go spend some time with Terra and the other girls for a bit..." On her way out, Loki gave a small nod to Hestia and Eina, entrusting Vahn to the two girls since she herself wasnt capable of bringing him thefort he would need during times like this. Hestia and Eina approached soon after, the former hugging Vahn tightly while Eina gave a concerned smile and said, "Wee home, Vahn. Come, lets go take a bath and you can tell us if there is anything on your mind..." Vahn nodded his head, surprising Hestia a bit when he picked her up and carried her towards one of the smaller private baths. After hearing what Loki said, Vahn decided to spend some time with Eina and Hestia before going to rx in Terras Gardenter on. Hopefully, spending time with the three gentle girls would allow him to calm downpletely, at least enough that his daughters wouldnt be able to see how much he had been affected by his mission. After pouring his heart out to Eina and Hestia, both holding him close and trying to bring him somefort, Vahn began to realize he wasnt suited to these types of things. He wasnt good at taking decisive action and he hated having to take anyones lives, even if it was for the right reasons. However, he couldnt even imagine forcing such things on other people so, as easy as it might be to rely on the girls to help him out, Vahn decided he would resolve as many issues as he could on his own. Truthfully, he felt very guilty about having Fafnir destroy the fortress and take so many lives since, up until this point in time, Vahn had never allowed any of his subordinates to kill. It almost felt like he had failed Fafnir, forcing the rtively innocent dragon to do something he himself had been unable to do... Vahn exined what he was thinking to Hestia and Eina, earning concerned looks from both girls as Hestia bit her lip before exining, "Vahn...I dont know how else to say this, but...its good that it hurts. The fact that you are so pained by your actions shows that you are still a good person, especially since you feel so much guilt after having Fafnir destroy the outpost. However, you shouldnt beat yourself up over things like this since you really are doing your best...we all see the efforts you put into making this world a better ce for everyone, even though it isnt your responsibility to do so. Please, trust in yourself, trust in us, and trust in the future well all create together. Im certain Fafnir would be more worried about how sad you are about its actions than it was about following your orders..." Like Hestia had said, she really wasnt that good at exining things but Vahn still felt a little better after hearing her words. Regardless of what actions he took, Vahn knew he would have to fight against all kinds of beings as he reached greater peaks and traveled through multiple records. Things wouldnt always y out as they had in this record and, since he one day nned to link Danmachi with higher Tiered worlds, he may one day have to fight on the frontlines of wars that spanned entire cosmos. He couldnt afford to get wrapped up in his own negative thoughts, especially since, as Hestia said, he was doing his best to make the world a better ce for everyone. The actions he took today wouldnt have been necessary if the world wasnt so messed up and, in order to ensure other people wouldnt have to make the same decisions as he did, Vahn once again resolved himself to bring about asting, and positive, change... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Khaos has fast travel!?,No n Survives First Contact,Bnce : For a Better Future...) (A/N: Last chapter for today (3/3) since Im very tired. Ill be going to sleep early and try to make up for theck of content when I wake up tomorrow~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 677 - Leisurely Excursion

Chapter 677 - Leisurely Excursion

Vahn awoke the next day, body almost entirely submerged in the warm essence of the wellspring with a n.a.k.e.d Terra clinging to his body. Her long green hair, slightly damp as a result of the previous nights exertions, curled around at the ends, sticking to her skin as the runes shimmered lightly on her body. When she detected his awakening, Terra also opened her sky-blue eyes and gave a beautiful smile before pulling herself further up Vahns chest and kissing his lips. Her wings, which had previously been floating in the essence, pulled up as if she were trying to embrace his body as she entrusted her weight to him for a few minutes longer... The sun had yet to rise but most of the people within the Manor were already up and ready to go about their day, full of smiles and excitement as they worked towards mastering their [Pactio]s and learning new skills. Knowing how much effort they put into growing stronger always made Vahn feel a sense of pride and, after the things he had experienced the previous day, Vahn felt gratified seeing their smiles. If possible, he would bear any form of burden in their stead, all to ensure their smiles never faded away with the passage of time. As impossible as it may seem, Vahn wished it to be so and, having some idea about how The Path worked, Vahn believed he could increase the number of smiles shown by people all throughout the world. After watching the training for the better part of an hour, Vahn enjoyed a hearty breakfast with some of the other earlier risers within the Manor before stopping by the maternity ward to check up on Anise and Meinya. Seeing Arnya sleeping on the sofa, letting the tiny Meinya sleep on her stomach, brought a soft smile to Vahns face. Since Arnya hadnt been at the morning training, he figured she had stopped by to feed her daughter and ended up falling asleep in the process. Vahn helped fix her clothing but Arnya didnt stir awake until he picked Meinya from her body. Seeing that it was Vahn, she gave a smile of her own before falling asleep with a quiet nyuhuhu when he stroked her head. Vahn gave his daughters a quick kiss on their foreheads, made sure they were properly beneath their nkets, and then exited the room as quietly as he was able. Ina, Vana, and Erika had all moved to different rooms at this point, with Erika moving next door to Einas sister, Risna, while Ina and Vana shared a room next to where Hephaestus had been staying. Even though they were only around a year in age, physically, their mental development was closer to a child around 3-4 years old so it wasnt too surprising that they had been moved from the maternity ward. Mona had been sad to see them go and was continuing to stay in the Manor until the end of her contract, acting as a Nanny for the girls and helping out with some of the chores around the house. Haruhime, Mikoto, and Fenrir were all waiting for him by the time he exited into the courtyard, all garbed in their equipment and ready to venture into the Dungeon. Fenrir came to his side the moment he arrived, giving him a sudden tight hug as she nuzzled against his chest for a short while. Vahn stroked her hair, understanding she had been very worried about him the previous day since his mood had been in the dumps. Even Lefiya hade by to check up on him during the evening, fortunately before his bout with Terra had begun since things had gotten a little intense. It was actually the first time he had been alone with Terra in such a way and it seemed to have triggered something in Terra that made her decidedly more proactive than normal... Mikoto gave a polite bow while Haruhime smiled, saying, "Were all ready to go, Master." in a soft tone of voice. Vahn turned her smile before patting Mikotos shoulder in passing as he said, "Lets go. The Dungeon, our allies, and our futurepanion awaits..." Haruhime giggled, happily falling into step at Vahns side as she linked her arm with his. It was somewhat rare to walk to the Dungeon like this so she intended to take advantage of the moment and have Vahn escort her. As for Fenrir and Mikoto, thetter stayed a few paces behind, allowing her eyes to dart around at passersby while Fenrirzily floated through the air as she practiced her own levitation ability. She drew a lot of attention but, seeing that Vahn was present, there were few people that would directly approach since it was well-known that, while he was a very amiable young man, Vahn didnt take kindly to being stopped on the street and asked questions, especially in regards to the girls around him. Of course, there were a few exceptions so, when a group of children ran up to Vahn he slowed down a bit and returned a smile to the seven-child group as he asked, "Ah, Thoma, how have you all been?" This was one of the many groups of orphans he had helped out in the past, now wearing finer clothes than in the past, even though there were still a few patches here and there. Thoma, a green haired boy with hazel eyes, smiled vibrantly with a missing tooth as he said, "We have been helping around at some of the stalls in the marketce in exchange for food. You were right, Vahn, people really do treat us better if we work hard!" Vahnughed, ruffling the boys head as he passed over a small bound package to the small purple haired girl standing close to Thoma. She was named, if memory served, Pelt, a young Pallum girl that ended up getting taken into Thomas group when they saved her from some bullies. After giving them the bundle of smoked meats, which he knew they had been after from the start, Vahn waved goodbye and watched them disappear into the various alleyways,ughing with wide smiles on their faces as they looked for a safe ce to share the food. Vahn always made sure the care packages he shared with the various street orphans was full of highly nutritious items, this time giving them some thin strands of dragon meat that had been preserved with sea salt that was harvested from the depths of the Poseidon Sea. There was a small amount of mana contained in each piece of meat, which would help fight off sickness and give them slightly increased stamina, something that would benefit them greatly in their daily lives. --- It didnt take long for the group of four to breach through the first eighteen floors of the Dungeon, making a short stopover in Rivira to see if there were any simple quests posted. Vahn picked up a few slips for gathering quests before they made their way deeper into the Dungeon, drawing a fair amount of attention to themselves along the way. After all, Fenrir, Haruhime, and Mikoto, all had a unique beauty and appeal to them, making anyone who sees them have a desire to interact with them. Of course, there were few people that would try these days, especially after the reputation of the girls themselves had increased. Haruhime was considered something of a rising star within the City and Fenrir, identified as one of the Xenos, was entirely off-limits unless you had a death wish. Rumors of her capabilities during the previous Expedition had long since circted through the City and there were few people that wanted to offend someone that could purportedly freeze a thousand monsters with a wave of her paw. As for Mikoto, she rarely spoke to anyone that tried to talk to her and was considered something of a cold beauty who only had an interest in the sword. She obtained a few fans, especially some swordsman that respected her dedication, but Mikoto didnt pay any mind to them at all since she was already taken. As they probed deeper into the Dungeon, Mikoto had taken up her spot as the vanguard and was cutting down any enemy that tried to approach them. Her [Pactio] was a great enhancement to her swordy, especially with how every strike left behind an illusory shadow that repeated her actions. Even if you evaded the first blow, it was almost impossible to exploit any of Mikotos openings unless you could deal with her shadow as well. Since her strikes were faster than the eye could follow, even appearing as a blur to Vahn, it was very difficult to deal with her strikes directly. When a Mad Beetle, known for their durable carapace, charged at Mikoto, she cut through its body with such speed that it almost looked like she used [Shundo]. In one moment, she had been in front of the monster yet, seemingly without the passage of time, Mikoto was on the other side of it with her sword sheathed once again. The Mad Beetle, seemingly unaware it had already been killed, tried to turn its body and attack her again, surprised when the upper half of its body slid smoothly off the lower half as it turned to purple dust momentster. When he saw this, Vahn smiled widely and praised Mikoto, making her slightly fl.u.s.tered as he stroked her silky ck hair and said, "You have gotten a lot stronger, Mikoto. At your current level of skill, I think you could even fight against some Level 6 opponents." Mikoto gave a curt nod, pulling away from his hand with a light blush on her face before she smacked both of her cheeks to get back in the groove for the next fight. Vahn gave a wry smile when he saw her actions, earning him a peal of elegantughter from Haruhime before she poked her tongue out at him and pouted, "I guess I have to work harder so Master will praise me~." As she was currently in her Empress-like attire, Haruhime waved one of her long sleeves, causing two of the crescent-moon crests to light up momentarily as a volley of ice spikes shots forth and pierced a group of enemies. Haruhime, though still possessing [Icicle Edge], no longer relied on as her preferred method of attack and had instead adopted a nameless spell with a simr effect. She had a very high affinity with magic and, even before he saved her, had an understanding of three differentnguages. With her dedication to studying, Haruhime had been picking up magic at a much faster pace than many of the other girls, only falling behind Lefiya while being slightly ahead of Lili. Thetter, though not possessing any magic of her own previously, had been learning physical enhancement abilities very quickly. Lili could already make use of the named spell, [Cantus Bex], generating a light aura around her body that enhanced her strength by around 3x. Considering that she had an Innate that gave her monstrous strength, even a small enhancement had very drastic effects on Lilis power output. As she continued to strike down enemies, the crescents on Haruhimes clothes were constantly refilling with magical energy. The unnamed spell she was using didnt even have a chant, as Haruhime was using her [Icicle Edge] as a sort of temte in their casting. This allowed Haruhime to amass the spells in her artifact and, as it had natural amplification abilities, cast rtively powerful ice magic without expending much of her mana. With her tails further enhancing her capabilities, every cast generated a total of three ice spikes per crescent, allowing Haruhime to cast up to twenty-seven in a single instant, as long as she had time to prepare the spells beforehand. The most useful properly of her artifact, however, was the defensive capabilities it afforded her... Trying to nk them from the side, a group of Gun Libell, a type of dragonfly monster,unched a series of projectiles from their abdomen towards Haruhime. Having enhanced senses, Haruhime had easily detected their presence from the incessant buzzinging from their wings. However, she didnt show them any attention, not so much as flinching when the veritable cloud of spikes mmed into her barrier before repelling away in the next moment. Haruhime continued to deal with the enemies on the ground before turning towards the cloud of buzzing insects and sending out a blue wave of pure ice elemental energy, slowing their movements enough that she could urately hit them with her ice spikes. Though her initial affinity had little to do with ice, Haruhime had gained an ice affinity after using the [Icicle Edge] grimoire in the past. Vahn hadnt realized it at the time, as his ability to sense peoples affinities hadnt fully developed, but it was now very apparent since he had doc.u.mented the changes in the other girls after tasking Loki with finding more grimoires. Now, most of the girls had dual, or even triple, affinities as they slowly acquired more grimoires. Vahn had been paying for them out of pocket, but it hadnt really dented his savings much, not that he minded since it made the girls even stronger. Haruhime now had elemental affinities rted to Ice, Illusion, and Light, allplimentary affinities that would enhance each other while covering some of the weaknesses prevalent in their individual kits. While Mikoto and Haruhime were dealing with the enemies, Fenrir was bobbing in the air next to Vahn, releasing a long yawn out of boredom since she could have cleared out most of the enemies in an instant. Haruhime gave a wry smile when she saw Fenrir yawn, continuing her attacks while trying to ignore the slightly teasing look in Fenrirs eyes. In the past, their strength hadnt been that far apart but, after Fenrirs time in the orb, the difference in their strength was like a massive gulf. They were never truly rivals, but Haruhime was feeling a bit of pressure these days as she constantly strove to increase her strength to the next level. After all, she wanted to be one of the people Vahn could rely on the most, a belief that empowered her attacks towards ever greater heights. Vahn could see an illusory tail beginning to segment off of Haruhimes main tail. He gave a wry smile as he cast a nce towards Fenrir, causing the small Vanargandr to turn her eyes up and stare towards nothing in particr. Haruhime might not have realized it, but Vahn knew Fenrir was trying to urge several of the girls to be stronger, even helping them out with a few tidbits of advice on asion. Though she did well to keep it hidden from him, Vahn had slowly realized that the Fenrir of the past no longer existed and she was now far more mature than in the past. The fact that she went out of her way to act simrly to the past always made Vahn feel a little guilty, but also very grateful to her. He still hadnte up with a solution to make things easier for her if they actually started a rtionship and, though she might notin about the pain, Vahn didnt want her his interactions with Fenrir to cause her harm, even temporarily... Once the group reached the Great Fall, Vahn stood at the ledge, looking down towards the massive basin several hundred meters below. After contemting the best course of action, he lifted Haruhime and Mikoto with his telekinesis and jumped down while Fenrir followed behind with her own levitation magic. Though the fall into the water might have been painful, it wasnt a problem at all now that Vahn could levitate himself, and others, through the use of unnamed spells. Haruhime and Mikoto seemed to enjoy passing through the scenic area of the falls under Vahns guidance, preferring it over having to cut there way through thousands of enemies just to breach through the area. As for Fenrir, she sent a few waves of ice elemental energy into the gigantic waterfall, creating huge blocks of ice as she tried to freeze its surface. By the time they reached the bottom, Fenrir hadnt had much sess as she asked, "Where does all this watere from? Fenrir is curious..." Hearing her sudden question, Vahn experienced a momentary pause because he wasnt actually sure. He knew that the giant basin beneath the Great Fall previously connected to Melenke but, after the Leviathan had been in, that connection had been cut off. Vahn had no idea where the water runoff went, nor were had he ever learned where the source of the water originated from. After all, the floors above the 25th-27th Floors wereprised of the Large Tree Labyrinth, while those even further up wereprised entirely of bedrock. Unless there was arge undergroundke feeding into the Dungeon, which didnt seem to coincide with how it was structured, Vahn couldnt really understand what could feed into a waterfall more than 400m wide and 800m tall... Unable toe up with an answer, Vahn shook his head and said, "Im not really sure, Fenrir. When we have time, maybe we can investigate it. After all, if we follow the flow of water to its source, we may find something unique and interesting that has never been seen before." Even if there wasnt some great treasure, at least it would sate their curiosity and answer one of the questions that seemed to have never been posed before. There were so many unknowns about the Dungeon and learning more about its structure was never a bad thing. Fenrir nodded her head, sending onest look at the falls as she sent forth a massive wave of ice elemental energy into it. Though she created a block of ice that caused a section of the falls to freeze temporarily, it quickly broke down under the pressure of the water, segmenting into smaller pieces that floated in the giant basin. Fenrir had a small frown on her face since her instincts told her Eva would have been able to freeze the entire Great Falls. She still had a lot of room for growth so, other than helping out the others, Fenrir also worked hard in her own training. Deciding to enjoy the scenery of the Great Falls for a short while longer, Vahn set out a pic nket and some light dishes so they could eat a small meal before continuing forward. This was one of the areas where monsters didnt venture so it was rtively safe to make camp in this area, assuming the Monster Rex had been taken care of. Though Vahn could sense its presence forming in the depths of the basin, it would likely take a few days before the Amphisbaena actually spawned. If they were lucky, they would be able to catch it on the return trip, though it was unlikely to happen. It was one of the Monster Rexes that weremonly hunted almost immediately after spawning since the Amphisbaenas Dragon Liver was worth a veritable fortune. Securing it could a Familia upwards of 80,000,000V, which was quite a sum when added to the price of the other materials and drop items. With their light luncheonpletely, Vahn stowed away all the leftover and the group continued further into the Dungeon. The 28th-36th Floors didnt spawn too many monsters so they were able to progress through them at a leisurely pace. By the time Vahn stepped onto the 37th Floor again, they had only been in the Dungeon for a total of nine hours, which their arrival on the 39th Floor expected within the next two. This was a little slower than his previous venture, when he came down by himself, but was still a pretty good pace since they hadnt been rushing. He had been giving Haruhime and Mikoto the opportunity to practice their skills in livebat so their progress has been slowed by the constant fighting. Since the 37th Floor was the start of the White Pce, the walls, floor, and ceiling had all taken on a white coloration. This Floor was one of the best ces to test your skills and it was very obvious that Haruhime and Mikoto were aware of it since they both seemed excited. It didnt take them long to reach one of their intended targets, arge Coliseum-like structure where waves of enemies would spawn, only allowing further passage through the Dungeon once the room was cleared. Without any hesitation whatsoever, they continued into the Coliseum while Vahn leaped into the stands with Fenrir to watch the performance. They had already discussed it previously so, unless Haruhime and Mikoto needed help, they would be clearing each Coliseum on their own. The entrances mmed shut as powerful barriers spread throughout theplex stone structure, sealing off the area until every enemy had been in. At the same time, several cracks emerged all around the Coliseum structure as Lizardman Elites and Barbarians emerged. There were even three variants, two taking the form ofrge purple Lizardman Elites while theter was a Green-furred Barbarian that was more than 6m tall. Mikoto activated her artifact and, instead of using the traditional Flying Heavenly Sword Style, wielded both of her katanas in an open stance as she engaged the closest variant species. One of the things she had been working on recently, other than polishing her skills further, was adapting her style to multiple situations. Though ending a fight in a single attack was a very lofty goal, not all enemies were suited to be dealt with in such a manner. Mikoto, through sparring with Haruhime and Ais, had increased the variations in her attacks and adapted both a single-sword style and dual-sword style forbat. Therge green Barbarian swung towards her with a massive ck cleaver, intending to bisect Mikoto with a single strike. Mikoto, without making anyrge movements,pressed her body lower the ground, allowing the de to pass over her head as it slightly distorted her silky ck hair. In the next instant, almost as if she had infused the principles of the Flying Heavenly Sword Style in her normal attacks, Mikoto shot forward like a spring and crossed her des in smooth arcs that seemed impossible to track with the eyes. She ended up on the other side of the Variant Barbarian, passing through its legs during her strike, before sheathing both katana. The monster didnt seem to know what happened and only reacted when a shadowy figure repeated Mikotos strike, creating two more cuts that separated the monsters legs cleanly from its body. As the Variant Barbarian fell forward, howling in pain and anger, Mikoto finished sheathing her des and muttered, "Nitoryu...Whirlpool sh..." under her breath. The instant her katanas sounded out that they were perfectly aligned in their sheaths, a tempestuous swirl of water created a vortex around the fallen monsters body, cutting it into pieces and drowning it until only a cloud of purple dust remained. Mikoto, not showing any concern for its plight, had already continued forward to the next group of enemies, this time using only a single sword that created several arcs of light as she passed through the horde of enemies like a phantom... (A/N: Alternate Titles: All of Vahns Girls are Best Girls,Progress : Power,Mikoto-chan Goes HAM) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 678 - Rumors...

Chapter 678 - Rumors...

Though Mikotos skill wasmendable, Haruhime stood out more so than the silent and stoic swordswoman. While Mikotos attacks were fast, almost impossible to follow, Haruhimes were elegant and gentle, almost like she wasnt enthralled inbat. The monsters tried attacking her but not even the Variant Lizardman Elites could prate through her barrier. As a result, Haruhime moved in an elegant manner as an illusory aura radiated from her body, seemingly causing all of her movements to appear as though she were moving in slow motion. Ice elemental energy spread from her body, causing the monsters surrounding her to be slowed as Haruhime continued to build greater momentum. Though she didnt use it as often these days, Haruhime was still fond of her [Sakura Blossom], now using it to create more than thirty sakura petals, covered in a lightyer of frost that cut through the surrounding enemies. Vahn and Fenrir watched as the two girls rapidly dealt with enemies that would have previously overwhelmed them in the past. Though Haruhime would have likelysted for a very long time, even before obtaining her [Pactio], Mikoto had experienced an explosive increase in strength. Vahn also found her outfit to be kind of cool, even contemting wearing a trenchcoat of his own to emte the style of her clothes. He often wore rtively simple clothing, sometimes even forgoing the use of upper body armor, so Vahn didnt think it would be a bad idea to change his style a bit. The only thing that kept him doing it was the fact that all the girls seemed to like when he was bare-chested, often earning appraising and hungry looks from them that made Vahn feel strangely proud. After a period of about seventeen minutes, Haruhime and Mikoto cleared out all of the enemies. They were both breathing a little heavily but, from Vahns perspective, could have continued fighting for the better part of an hour if necessary. He blinked forward with [Shundo] patting Haruhimes head as he gestured for Mikoto toe forward. She hesitated for a short moment but still walked over, blushing slightly as he reached out to stroke her head. At the same time, Vahn helped replenish their energy while simultaneously enhancing their parameters and helping to calm their minds. This was a verymon sight whenever he was apanying the girls as his [Grooming] was simply too useful not to make use of... Mikoto was still a little embarrassed by the treatment but Haruhime seemed to enjoy it greatly, happily smiling as Vahn rubbed his thumb along the inside of her ear. When he was finished, she seemed sad to part for a brief moment but just smiled before linking together their arms and leaning into his shoulder. Mikoto opened up a small distance, looking around as if an enemy could appear at any moment but still showing a light blush on her face. As for Fenrir, she ended up taking linking together with his other arm, causing Vahn to chuckle slightly as he led the way further into the Dungeon... A little more than two hourster, the group arrived at the entrance to the 39th Floor, being stopped momentarily by the guard post that had been set up in the area. Though anyone was allowed to enter the Floor, they now had to pass through a checkpoint since this area had now almostpletely fallen under the control of the Alliance. Seeing that it was Vahn and hispanions, the guards just made a small note and allowed him to pass without even questioning his purpose for being there. After all, Vahn was the person that personally delivered all the supplies used by Lil Greirr, and that was entirely excluding the fact he was one of, if not the, most influential members of the Alliance itself. After reaching the outskirts of the outpost, Vahn marveled at the changes that hade about over thest two months. Now, there were more than 1500 people residing on the Floor, including some smaller groups that had been allowed to take up temporary residence within the safety of reinforced walls. Nobody was allowed to live within the Alliance-controlled territory, unlike how things were managed on the 18th Floor, but they could still stick around for short periods of time before being sent on their way. This was to prevent people from trying toy roots within the Deeper Floors as it greatly increased the chances of criminal activity and corruption. Passing through therge glowing gates, enhances by glowing silver wards, Vahn made his way directly towards the Central Command area without being stopped by any of the guards. Along the way, he saw the Gulliver Brothers sitting at a table with their helmets off, each looking nearly identical to each other. The only discernable differences were that they had all styled their hair slightly differently and had a variety of scars marring their faces, hands, and, very likely, the rest of their bodies. Though they were very powerful Adventurers now, it hadnt always been easy for them since they were Pallums that had been born into very. Vahn had learned from Freya, during one of their somewhat awkward talks, that she had picked them up after they staged a small movement to free a lot of ves in the past. She had been impressed by their perseverance and teamwork, bringing them into her Familia and grooming them into the powerful Adventurers they were today. Vahn was somewhat interested in getting to know the Gulliver Brothers but, much like all the previous times he had seen them, they all red at him as if he had stolen thest morsel of food on a year-long sea voyage. Like the majority of the Freya Familias Elites, they showed a great deal of distaste towards him and, if not for Freyas orders, Vahn imagined they were far more likely to attack him than help out. Fortunately, their loyalty to Freya was very high and, even though it was a bit awkward to be red at, there hadnt been any major issues. However, there was one person amongst the group of Elites that didnt seem to mind his presence at all... Nearing the room where Finn spent more than half his time, Vahn saw a tall man that appeared to be carved by godly artisans. He had healthy brown skin that, when viewed using Vahns [Eyes of Truth], glimmered with a pale yellow light. Vahn waved, earning a nod and an almost imperceptible smile from the behemoth of a man, recognizable as none other than the King, Ottar. When he approached, Ottar spoke out in a throaty and deep voice, "I didnt have the chance to congratte you thest time we met. Congrattions on bing a father, Vahn Mason." Vahn smiled in return, feeling a sense of pride spread through his chest that made it hard to keep his emotions in check. Extending his fist out towards Ottar, Vahn bumped against the seemingly immovable fist of the King and said, "Your child should be born pretty soon as well. I know things might be a little difficult with Freya, but please take care of your son..." Ottar gave a curt nod, already fully intending to make sure his son became a strong warrior that, if necessary, would one day rece him as the Captain of the Freya Familia. Even if Freya never cared for their child, Ottar still felt proud to have sired a son with the goddess he loved and had dedicated his life to. The fact that she cared more for Vahn, and any future children she would have with him, didnt matter to Ottar at all. To him, Freyas love had always been like the wind, free and unrestrained, so he was actually thankful she had decided to settle down a bit and focus on just one person, even if it wasnt him. As Vahn passed by him to enter into the Central Command Room, Ottar spoke out, saying, "Allen may try something in the next few months. I dont think he would be able to defeat you, but there is a chance he may do something regrettable..." Ottar scanned his eyes over Fenrir, Haruhime and Mikoto as he spoke, making it clear that Allen may not necessarily target Vahn directly. However, as he evaluated the girls before him, Ottar felt a small part of his instincts making his fingers twitch. He could tell they had be much stronger in the very short period of time since hest investigated the Hestia Familia. Vahn had paused for a short moment when he heard Ottars words, giving him a questioning look that caused theter to issue a small nod as he said, "Maybe my advice is unnecessary..." with a small smile on his face. Then, turning his back to reveal the almost ridiculously sculpted back muscles beneath his broad shoulders, Ottar went about his own business without another word. His own duty was nearly finished and he wanted to make sure everything was taken care of by the time he returned to the surface. As Vahn said, his own son would be born within the next few weeks and, to prevent any of the other suitors from trying to harm him, Ottar would protect the child personally. After all, even if she might not care for it much, it was still a child produced by his union with Freya, something he would sacrifice his life for if necessary... Stepping into the CCR, Vahn saw Finn going through a small mountain of paperwork. There were slight bags under the Pallums eyes, a clear indicator he hadnt been getting much sleep. However, since there werent any major issues, from what Vahn could see, it likely wasnt a result of overwork that had been the source of hisck of sleep. Vahn shook his head slightly, earning a sigh from Finn as he set his pen down andined, "I have no idea how youre able to deal with so many women, Vahn. Though they started off sopliant and understanding, my girls have been bing increasingly more headstrong as the days pass. Im not sure my body will be able to keep up with their youthful energy...hahaha..." After taking Vahns advice, Finn had started grooming capable women to bear his future children, finding it more interesting than he expected. With his guidance, their strength had increased in strides and, as all the girls were people he had personally saved, they were all very devoted to him. However, things had changed a bit when they entered an actual rtionship, with all the girls banding together against him on asion. Though they were only around Level 3 in strength, Pallums were always known for their stamina and it had be a problem, especially in the evenings. Finn had always been confident in his own stamina but, with his general workload being quite heavy, he had been slowly losing out to hispanions as the days passed. Vahn waved his hand, sending a small ivory vial onto Finns desk as he exined, "Those pills were created by Naaza and verified by the god Miach. They have the effect of replenishing stamina and increasing the natural recovery rate of mental energy. Using them would allow you to feel as though you got a full nights sleep with as little as three hours. Just make sure you dont be over-reliant on them since, while there are no adverse side-effects, the efficacy of the pills will fade if used too often." Finn gave a vibrant and grateful smile, causing Vahn to feel slightly awkward as the Pallum pocketed the ivory vial full of tiny blue pills as if it was a great treasure. Noticing the awkwardness Vahn was feeling, Finnughed in a somewhat sheepish manner and stroked the back of his head as he asked, "So, what brings you down to Lil Geirr this time around? Supplies? Mission?" As he spoke, Finn started grabbed the list of supplies and passed them over, understanding that it was one of the obvious reasons Vahn would make the trip. Vahn epted them, gleaning over the updated inventory andparing it to the previous list he had seen during hisst visit. Finn hadnt been trying to trick him into producing new items out of nowhere anymore since Vahn generally only reced the issued supply order during his following visit. This time around, he would be filling out the stuff they had requested previously so he just took the current supply request and stowed it into his Inventory. Sis began popting his Inventory will all the items from the previous list as Vahn exined, "You havent seen it yet, but I named a new dragon, called Khaos, and have been letting it escort Loki around. Also, the children are growing up super fast so make sure to visit when you return to the surface or they might even be bigger than you in the blink of an eye..." Vahn sent a slightly yful look towards Finn that made thetter grimace slightly as he pulled out a bottle of hazel-red alcohol and poured them both a cup. Vahn sat down in a wooden chair while Fenrir, Haruhime, and Mikoto all moved to the sofa at the side of the room. After savoring the rich alcoholic beverage, Vahn released a hot sigh and said, "This time around, I n to try and capture a Unicorn, or any interesting Variant species we mighte across. If we cant find anything today, well probably return to the surface tomorrow, however." Finn nodded, sampling his own drink with practiced tolerance before saying, "If youre after a Unicorn, there have actually been signs of one on the 43rd Floor recently. Reports say it is actually a Variant species too so you might be able to hit the veritable jackpot if you take a look. Still, it never ceases to amaze me knowing how easily you can tame monsters and help them be Xenos..." Finn cast a nce at Fenrir as he spoke, turning his eyes away when she squinted towards him. At this point, Finn was almost positive he wouldnt be able to fend off Fenrir if he identally offended her. Her momentary re had caused his instincts to practically explode into alertness, causing him to squeeze his hands together to stay calm. Vahn hadnt missed Finns change since thetters aura had red up and was currently burning like a vibrant me with a few threads of purple inside of it. He issued a wry smile in response, sending a sidelong nce towards Fenrir as he said, "Thanks for the info, Finn, Ill look into it. However, if it had already been seen, I imagine the Unicorn would have moved to a new area by now. Still, its not a chance Ill pass up since it could be fate that-" Vahn paused in mid-sentence, staring at the notification that had popped up within his system with a bit of intrigue and a fair amount of caution. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //Optional Quest Triggered// [Quest: Secret of the Silver Unicorn] Rank: S Objective: Investigate the rumors of the Variant Unicorn seen between the 40th and 43rd Floors (Iplete). Find the Variant Unicorn and discover the secret of its origin, capturing or killing it in the process (0/1). Rewards: Unit Management Function Upgraded (or) 1x [Blood of the Silver Unicorn], 100,000 OP. Failure Condition(s): Death, 48 Hours pass (47H59M49S), Variant Unicorn Flees the Dungeon Penalty: (none) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Finn had been asking him if anything had happened so Vahn just waved dismissively and said, "Sorry, I just had a momentary thought and got a little distracted. Anyways, I n to at least check up on the rumors and see if we can chance upon the Unicorn. Itll be a good opportunity for Mikoto and Haruhime to train as well so we may end up staying down for a day or two." Though he knew Vahn was keeping something from him, Finn just nodded his head without inquiring further. He had already learned his lesson about trying to pry into Vahns affairs and, after witnessing the explosive growth of the girls around him, Finn didnt want to offend Vahn further. It was his hope that, under Vahns guidance, his children would one day be much stronger than he was, taking upon the mantle of Braver for themselves and inspiring the next generation of Pallum to greatness. If possible, Finn wanted the title to expand from a singr individual and be an organization, thus making a group of Braves instead of just one Braver... After leaving Finns office, Vahn passed through the severalyers of security that protected the supplies that were used by Lil Geirr. There were still plenty in stock but Vahn still added all the requested items, shuffling things around a bit to ensure that the older items would be used up first. Before he left, he also checked to make sure none of the wards had beenpromised since hisst visit as it wouldnt be umon for the supplies to be the priority target for anyone trying to undermine the Supply Depot. Fortunately, other than a slightly damaged ward, there were no real signs of sabotage so Vahn just repaired it, passed on a message informing Finn of the abnormality, and then retired to the area that had been set aside for the Hestia Familia. Vahn swept through their quarters for a few minutes, making sure there werent any small formations set up to transmit sound and spy on them. It seemed like Finn had been rtively prudent, however, as there werent any signs that anyone had entered the area since hisst visit. As there was an anti-personnel barrier surrounding the quarters, it wasnt that surprising but Vahn didnt want to underestimate his potential enemies. Once everything was taken care of, he kicked off his boots and sat on one of the plush sofas, snuggling up with Haruhime and Fenrir while Mikoto excused herself into the sleeping quarters. Haruhime giggled when her friend had left, squeezing Vahns arm as she mused, "Even though she had already made her resolution, Mikoto cant be honest with herself. I think she wants to get more powerful before shemits to anything..." Nodding his head, Vahn pulled Haruhime and Fenrir close, embracing them both as he said, "Yes, I know...this is the best time for us all to be increasing our strength and its understandable that someone like Mikoto wouldnt be as open to developing a rtionship just yet. She doesnt seem like the type to be too interested in the rtions between men and women but I know she will eventually want to start a family of her own..." Vahn knew that Mikoto was somewhat afraid of having s.e.x, not simply because she was afraid to get pregnant, but because she wasnt confident in keeping her disciplined nature after experiencing such a thing. Mikoto had a bad habit of letting her thoughts run wild, though not to the extent of Lefiya, so she inadvertently shamed herself into inaction. Vahn had considered giving her a push in the past but, after talking to her about it when they had been alone, he decided to respect her desire to grow stronger. Even if he had to wait until she was nearly twenty to have a child, it really wasnt a bad thing. After all, she was still very young right now and, as he said previously, this was indeed the best time for them to increase their strength... Haruhime nodded her head in understanding as she had also resolved to wait until her own strength had increased before having Vahns child. However, she didnt have the same tolerance as her friend and wouldnt have been able to wait for nearly five years to be with Vahn. Even Fenrir, sitting on Vahns right, didnt seem to truly empathize with Mikoto since she had followed the girls retreat with a subtle annoyance in her scarlet eyes. Were she capable of giving birth to her Masters children, without causing him any excess stress, Fenrir wouldnt keep putting on this act of hers out of consideration for his mental wellness. Unfortunately, her ageless body made it impossible for her to carry a child so, much like her Master had started to do in the past, Fenrir was pursuing her own evolution and this was the only reason she hadnt taken the next step...even if it was really difficult at times... (A/N: rification, even though Ive exined it a few times. Fenrirs body itself is ageless, giving her biological immortality that is entirely separate from the form of immortality granted by Divinity. The goddesses Avatars, the form they take in the human world, are only prevented from aging and dying as a result of their Divinity. Thats why, if it is sealed away, the Avatar can be temporarily mortal and capable of bearing children, nurtured by their Divinity after the fact. However, Fenrir has no such mechanic so, even if Vahn bound her with [Enkidu], it wouldnt allow her to get pregnant. She doesnt even possess the basic functions at present and, as her body would constantly be healing during something like s.e.x, it would be a very painful and bloody affair (.____.)...) (A/N: Alternate Titles:: Vahns body makes all the girls go doki-doki,Finns Nightly Struggle,Fenrir Wants Puppies (O,...,O)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 679 - Encounter?

Chapter 679 - Encounter?

After giving the girls plenty of time to rest, they set out towards the 40th Floor to begin searching for the Unicorn. Since it was just an optional Quest, Vahn wasnt too worried aboutpleting it and, if they were unable to find it after searching around for a few hours, he intended to return to the surface. As interesting as a Variant Unicorn was, the Quest didnt seem to be a matter of great importance and Vahn would rather return home earlier to spend time with his daughters instead of wasting it away chasing after a phantom... The 40th Floor, continuing down to the 43rd Floor, were another one of the dead zones in the Dungeon, meaning there werent many monsters that spawned. Other than the asional monster party, or the roaming variant, there werent too many things to bar the passage of normal parties. As for Vahns, with his domain allowing him to easily sense monsters, Fenrirs nose being able to pick up almost any scent, and Mikotos search magic, they were able to progress forward at a very quick pace. However, this was only until Vahn sensed a very fast moving object in his domain, noting from the Floor they were on, but from the Floor above. Looking up, Vahn calmly pulled Haruhime and Mikoto back as Fenrir leaped towards the roof to intercept the approaching creature. Around the same time as a massive blue-skin snake pierced through the Dungeon ceiling, Fenrir tore through its face with her ws. Without even having time to issue a cry, the notorious creature, known amongst Adventurers as a Lambton, also called a Worm Well, fell to the Dungeon Floor as its body continued to twitch around for a few seconds before dissipating into dust. Vahn shook his head, disappointed in how weak the Lambton had been though, after remembering how strong Fenrir was, he decided to extend a small amount of condolences towards the now deceased monster. Fenrir ran over, carrying arge magic core that was nearly asrge as her torso, happily passing it over to Vahn in exchange for some headpats. There were also a few Drop Items littering the ground but Vahn had already stowed them away in his Inventory, allowing the system to analyze them before breaking the materials down into OP. Vahn had the habit of converting non-essential items into OP these days, only choosing to keep rare materials and herbs that could be used by the others in their [Mixing]. After all, though the conversion wasnt great, Vahn could often earn more OP than he spent on materials if he took the time to forge them into high-quality goods. Thus, he didnt mind purchasing materials directly from the system shop instead of relying on hunting them down in the Dungeon. With the Lambton dead, the group picked up their previous pace as they continued making their way towards the area where the Unicorn was said to have appeared. Though the 44th Floor became covered in a ck bedrock with fiery cracks running through it, the 43rd Floor still had sparse areas of grass and water that could be found periodically throughout its rooms. The Unicorn had initially been seen near a small pond within arge chamber near the entrance of the 44th Floor. It took a bit of searching, but Vahn believed they had found the area since there was a subtle fluctuation in the mana, making it feel refreshing and purepared to the stagnant energy within the Dungeon. Unfortunately, though the trail seemed very strong in the room, Vahn didnt notice it leading through any of the passageways, almost as if it vanished into thin air... Fenrir sniffed around the area while Mikoto and Haruhime also looked around for a bit, each searching for any signs that the Unicorn had been present. As for Vahn, he decided to look in the pond itself, using his domain and [Eyes of Truth] to peer into the pristine blue pool of water. There were numerous crystals inside, causing the water to be illuminated by making it difficult to peer into the deeper regions since everything blurred together. Vahn, however, was able to look into the depths unobstructed, finding a few rare medicinal herbs but no signs of the Variant Unicorn. Haruhime, seemingly remembering something from the past, brought her finger to her chin as she said, "Legends say that Unicorns only appear before pure maidens...Vahn, did you ask Finn about the Adventurers that discovered the Unicorn previously?" Shaking his head, Vahn realized he probably should have followed up on the information a little better, especially since part of the Quest was to investigate the rumors. Since the Adventurers in question had likely been at Lil Geirr, he could have gotten a lot more information if he learned about them. Of course, with Haruhimes reminder, Vahn scanned through the information in his own mind and found out a lot of details regarding Unicorns, including the im that they only appeared before Pure Maidens. After looking through the details a bit, Vahn turned to Mikoto and Fenrir, saying, "There is a chance that the Unicorn has some form of detection that allows it to evade notice. Since there is still the presence of calm energy in this room, it may mean the Unicorn had somehow hidden within the void, or potentially teleported to another part of the Dungeon. We can try leaving the two of you here to draw it out..." Since Mikoto would be able to telepathicallymunicate with them in the event of an emergency, Vahn wasnt too worried that something would happen to them. After all, there were few things that would actually pose a threat to Fenrir and they both had an [Effigy of the Hero] on their bodies. However, shortly after speaking the words, Vahn changed his mind and said, "Actually, if it isnt too much trouble, Id like for you to stay here alone, Mikoto. There shouldnt be any real danger and, if something shows up, I can always summon you through your [Pactio] card." Vahn, though confident nothing would happen, still felt a little worried. If Mikoto was alone, he could easily teleport her through a single Floor, but that would have left Fenrir to fight on her own. She would likely be able to hold out well, but Vahn didnt really want to expose them just toplete a Quest... Fenrir nodded her head, showing a slightly relieved expression on her face since she never liked being too far away from her Master. As for Mikoto, she too nodded, saying, "Leave it to me, Vahn. Im not sure if I qualify as pure, as I have taken lives before, but I am still a maiden..." Mikoto blushed slightly at the end of her words, sending Vahn a nce that caused her ruddyplexion to be more pronounced. Vahn smiled in response, feeling a little awkward but appreciating Mikotos unique reaction and the slightly expectant glint in her eye before she turned away. Then, with Fenrir and Haruhime in tow, they left the area while Mikoto sat atop a smooth white stone and began meditating. Assuming that the Unicorn had some way to know if it had been detected, Vahn made his way through the Dungeon until he was unable to sense Mikotos location within his domain. They then continued walking around, updating his map of the area while waiting for Mikotos telepathic message. If she didnt send them anything within an hour, Vahn nned to double back and discuss their next course of action, which would likely be to return to the surface. Fortunately, around forty minutester, Mikoto voice appeared in his mind along with a gentle ping, ("Vahn, the Unicorn appeared. What should I do?") After collecting his thoughts, Vahn focused his mind and said, ("If possible, try talking to it to see if it is sentient. Unicorns are known for their intelligence and gentle nature so it should listen if you stay calm. If it is receptive to your words, try inquiring about its origins and see if it is willing to apany us to the surface.") Mikoto sent back a quick affirmation but, before he was even able to exin what was going on, Fenrir suddenly squinted her eyes and said, "Master, enemies..." in a cold voice. Vahn had been focusing more on hismunication with Mikoto so he had temporarily lost his focus, now feeling the presence of several people passing through one of the passages they hadnt been through yet. Judging by their auras, they seemed to be a team of Adventurers around Level 3-4 in strength. As for why Fenrir referred to them as enemies, it was because they had a murderous aura around them and, even though their auras werentpletely ck, they didnt seem like good people. Since he didnt know the best path to connect to the adjacent passage, Vahn decided to make one. A golden aura surrounded his body as he pushed forward with raw speed, seemingly blinking the short distance to the wall as he transformed into his Xunw form andpressed the shockwave to create a tunnel. Traditionally, a shockwave would disperse through a medium, much like a wave that spread out evenly. With his ability to control shockwaves, however, Vahn forced the shockwave to continue forward in a 3m radius, carrying the terrifying energy of his blow along with it. Thus, instead of creating a crater that spread out for several meters, Vahn shattered the wall in an almost perfect circle that extended the 13m distance that connected to the next passage. When he appeared inside the same tunnel as the enemies, Vahn was immediately attacked by a bolt of electricity that smashed into his chest and made it feel like a path of destruction had been carved through his body. The bolt exited out through his foot, grounding into the Dungeon floor below while Vahn continued to stand, ignoring the smoke rising from his body as he red towards the five people and said, "I understand why you might attack someone that appeared out of nowhere, but you should still try to get a better understanding of the situation before you actually engage the enemy. Now, Im more than a little annoyed and feel less inclined to talk..." Though he was actually speaking much more than normal, this was a result of his inhibitions about taking lives after wiping out the fortress the previous day. These people also didnt havepletely ck auras so, until he learned about their purpose, Vahn decided not to outright kill them. Uncharacteristically, all five Adventurers present were women, each possessing rather attractive faces and shapely figures. The oldest among them, who happened to be the mage that attacked him, only appeared to be in herte twenties. As for the youngest, though it was hard to tell since she was a Pallum, Vahn guessed she was around eighteen years old. Their partyposition seemed to be two scouts, two vanguard units, and a single Mage, easily identifiable as the leader of the group with how the others looked towards her periodically. Surprised that her attack didnt seem to actually harm Vahn, the Mage swallowed nervously and said, "Sorry about that...my name is Amalia, and this is my party, Rose Quintet." Though she was still nervous, especially after failing her surprise attack, Amalia noticed that the boy before them was very handsome. He also didnt really seem like a bad guy so she decided that it would be better to make use of their appearances to earn some leniency. Though they were all still v.i.r.g.i.ns, as was necessary for their trade, each member of her group was very confident in their physical appearance. Vahn raised his left brow, giving Amalia a curious look as he asked, "Are you Frence Adventurers? Its rare to see a group of four Level 3s and a Level 4 that dont belong to a Familia..." The members of Rose Quintet tensed up when Vahn urately mentioned their Levels before they had even started fighting. Their instincts were telling them that there was no way they would be able to fight against him. Amalia herself, having thrown out therge bolt of thunder magic, began to feel even more nervous as she exined, "We used to belong to a Familia, but our Goddess returned back to Heaven after ruing arge debt. To avoid getting saddled with the debt, we became Frend Adventurers and perform missions to get by..." Even if a god was forced back to Heaven, it didnt mean the Falna they bestowed upon others would fade away. However, most people that had belonged to a Familia, especially if there were already decently Leveled, would have gone to a different Familia. Vahn suspected that the girls may have had something to do with their goddess debt. It was either that or they had a different reason for deciding against joining another Familia, likely rted to the missions they were taking. None of them seemed like bad people yet, seeing their tainted auras, Vahn knew they didnt live as honestly as they could have. After listening to Amalias words, Vahn calmly asked, "Are you here to try and hunt down the Unicorn?" The moment he mentioned the Unicorn, Vahn saw the girls tense up while Amalias fingers produced a small amount of electricity. This caught his attention and, with his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn noticed that Amalia had an off-blue aura that seemed to radiate with electrical energy. She seemed to have a pure lightning affinity, something that was exceptionally rare since it was a rtively high-tier element. However, knowing they hunted Unicorns, Vahn felt a bitterness on the tip of his tongue and said, "This Unicorn is a bit unique, so Ill have to ask you to give up. Im not going to berate you for doing what you have to in order to get by, but hunting gentle creatures isnt any way to make a living..." Shaking his head, Vahn turned away and decided to let the five girls go free. After all, there wasnt really anything wrong with hunting animals and monsters, at least not to the extent that they deserved to die for it. Amalia felt very offended by Vahns words, especially when he turned away from them as if there were nothing more than air. However, her instincts were screaming at her to remain quiet and, after seeing a pair of scarlet eyes peer at them through the hole that Vahn had created, she decided to let the mattery. It was obvious that the man before them was far stronger than they were and, even if a Unicorns horn and blood were worth a great deal of Valis, it wasnt worth their lives trying to obtain. Gesturing to her allies, Amalia said in a quiet and shaky voice, "Lets go back. Well try to find a new mark..." Herpanions all nodded, having the same sense of impending doom as their leader and not wanting to try their luck. They quickly fell into formation and began making their way back, not even sparing a nce towards Vahn after deciding to retreat. Vahn continued to follow them with his intent for a bit, nodding slightly before searching through the system shop and purchasing a Unicorn horn and marrow. Thebined cost was only 17,000OP so Vahn didnt feel it was too much aspensation. He set the items in the girls path, including a note telling them to treat their lifestyle choices with the same severity they ced on their own lives. If they had decided to force the issue, attacking him without regards to the difference in power, they would have all been severely injured, if not killed. The horn and marrow were their rewards for making the correct decision, causing the girls to feel a bit of confusion before they increased the speed of their retreat. Haruhime giggled after seeing Vahn nod slightly, musing, "Youre very soft on women, Vahn. If you didnt have [Magia Erebea], that thunder magic might have crippled and severely injured you. I cant imagine you were the first person they had ever attacked for standing in their way..." Without belonging to an active Familia, the Rose Quintet was able to attack other Adventurers without obtaining a curse. However, they also had the detriment of being unable to update their parameters, meaning they would continue to be stuck at their Level unless they joined another Familia. They had likely been exploiting this loophole since many Adventurers wouldnt expect a sudden attack during normal circ.u.mstances. Releasing a small sigh, Vahn turned to Haruhime and said, "I can tell that those girls arent beyond salvation so I wanted to give them a chance. Dont worry, though, as I intend to follow up on the matter with the Guildter on." It wasnt illegal to hunt Unicorns, but it is very frowned upon since they often help guide lost and injured Adventurers to safety. However, as the materials that could be obtained from a Unicorn were used in powerful salves and Elixirs, even the Guild sometimes put in requests. These were all doc.u.mented though, with all the materials being used as efficiently as possible while an Elf usually performed burial rites out of respect for the fallen Unicorn. If it was known that a Frence group was proactively hunting Unicorns, the Guild would take action and impose heavy fees upon the Rose Quintet if they continued trying. After dealing with the unexpected arrival of the Rose Quintet, Vahn sent a message to Mikoto, asking how things had been going. There was a slight dy, causing Vahn to squint his eyes before Mikotos voice sounded in his head, ("...it seems to be called Fatina. I got permission for you toe by, but only after taking a vow swearing that we would not cause it harm.") Vahn was somewhat surprised to learn that Mikoto had taken such a vow but, after considering the type of person she was, he didnt find it too odd. Nodding his head, Vahn exined the details to Haruhime and Fenrir before they all made there way over to meet what Vahn assumed was a Unicorn Xenos named Fatina... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Lambton-chan...,Survival Instincts,Encounter with a Xenos?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 680 - Vows, Promises, Duty

Chapter 680 - Vows, Promises, Duty

It didnt take long for them to reach the room where Mikoto had been conversing with Fatina. Vahn was somewhat surprised to find that Mikoto was using a brush tob through Fatinas hair as it stood majestically within the peculiar lighting of the cave. As was described by Finn, Fatina was obviously not a normal Unicorn and, instead of the pristine white fur, golden mane, and golden hair, it had a silvery sheen to its coat, pale blue hair, and a crystalline horn affixed to its head. The eyes, which were usually blue, had an amethyst hue to them that radiated with the light of intelligence. Unfortunately, as soon as it turned to look at Vahn, Fatina seemed to huff as a soft male voice resonated through the room, seemingly filled with contempt and frustration as it said, "So, this is the boy you have taken a liking to? Hmph...someone with as gentle a soul as you shouldnt allow yourself to be tainted by this impure child..." Vahn felt his brow twitch slightly while Mikoto fl.u.s.tered a bit, stopping her brushing as she said, "Vahn isnt impure! He puts in more effort than anyone else to make everyone happy. You cant just say such inconsiderate things...!" Vahn, Haruhime, and even Fenrir, were all surprised by Mikotos sudden outburst but Fatina didnt seem to care as it just snorted toward Vahn before looking over the other two girls at his side. Sensing the presence of Vahn within Haruhime, Fatina didnt spare her more than a nce before turning to Fenrir, feeling a shudder run along its body when meeting her cold scarlet eyes. Fatina could strangely feel the presence of Vahning from Fenrir as well yet, unlike Haruhime, she also radiated an aura of purity. Though there was a feeling of danger radiating off of her body, Fatina felt that, amongst the three girls present, Fenrir was the most pure of them all... Since Mikoto had stopped brushing it, Fatina walked over towards Fenrir, doing its best not to mind her cold re as it said, "You, pure one. I will allow you to touch me..." Fenrir just furrowed her brows in response, stepping off to the side and grabbing her Masters arm. Feeling calmed by his presence, Fenrir spoke in an icy tone, saying, "Fenrir doesnt want to touch you, not at all. Also, you shouldnt say bad things about Master or Fenrir will have to punish you..." Holding up her left paw, Fenrir let her ws grow slightly, causing Fatina to feel a great amount of pressure. However, it just snorted before making its way back over to Mikoto, saying, "Continue brushing me or I will leave this area. You..." Fatina looked toward Vahn, obviously intending for theter to introduce himself. Vahn didnt have the best impression of Fatina but, considering the Quest had a few benefits, decided to not mind its rude behavior as he nodded slightly and said, "Greetings, my name is Vahn Mason. Youve already met Mikoto and these two are Haruhime and Fenrir." Fatina blinked in a somewhatzy manner before lightly nodding its head and saying, "Very well, Vahn Mason. I promised this one that I would meet with you for a short while so tell me your reasons for seeking me out." Using his Quest to guide his line of questioning, Vahn smiled and exined, "There are two matters that I wanted to discuss with you. First of all, Im simply interested to know your origin and if you are a Xenos. Secondly, if you are a Xenos that seeks the surface, I wanted to give the opportunity to increase your strength and roam about the surface without people going out of their way to try and kill you." Fatina stared directly toward Vahn as he spoke, finding no dishonesty in the boys words, effectively increasing his opinion of Vahn in the process. Deciding there was no downside to answering the first question, Fatina exined, "I know not what a Xenos is, but my origin is something I can recall. I was once a Unicorn wandering about the Western Forests, tended to by Elven Maidens through the years. However, after taking a meal and retiring to my grotto, I suddenly awoke to find myself in this dismal ce. No matter how much I roam, I cannot seem to venture beyond a certain point, finding myself wandering in circles and evading those that seek out my horn and blood..." From Fatinas exnation, Vahn could determine it was indeed a Xenos, especially since it was currently genderless, even though its voice sounded masculine. Monsters reborn in the Dungeon, including Xenos like Terra, didnt possess the same s.e.x.u.a.l characteristics as their previous existences. Though some of them had humanoid appearances, they werent truly separated from their identities as monsters while still being bound to the Dungeon. Prolonged separation from the energy contained within the Dungeon would eventually cause them to experience weakness and all kinds of other issues, which was the main reason why the Xenos remained within the Dungeon. Other reasons included the fact that they would be killed almost immediately after emerging and, unless they were bound by ve contracts or covered in powerful sealing formations, they could never leave for long periods of time. Deciding to clear up a few things, Vahn exined, "This ce is the Dungeon, located in Orario, the City at the very center of the continent of Eden. If you lived amongst Elves, you likely resided in the Western Forests while you were alive. Im uncertain how you died, but you were reborn into the Dungeon and have now be a Xenos. Im certain youve noticed that your form has changed slightly and, though you likely possessed intelligence as a Unicorn, you are undoubtedly more intelligent now." Fatina blinked slowly once again, seemingly contemting Vahns words before nodding its head and saying, "What you say is true, Vahn Mason. I am much more powerful than I had been previously, though it doesnt please me to know I had died to obtain my current status..." Fatina released another snort but, different from the previous ones, this one sounded almost like a sigh. Since it didnt have any knowledge about the Xenos, Vahn exined, "The Xenos are monsters that have gained sentience, sometimes rivaling, or even exceeding, the various surface races. However, they are also hunted down by some groups since many people still consider them monsters. The Alliance, the organization Im a part of, has been advocating for Xenos to be granted the right to live without persecution. If you believe you can trust me, Id like to help you leave this ce and, if you have nowhere else to go, I can grant you greater strength and a form of eternal life. Though you will be my subordinate, I am willing to take a vow that I will never force you to fight on my behalf, nor will I ever make you do something against your will. However, there is someone I wish for you to act as a mount for, a goddess by the name of Eirene..." Vahn knew Eirene wasnt a v.i.r.g.i.n but, as a goddess, Fatina shouldnt be able to consider her as impure since, by virtue of their existence, gods were unblemished entities that were irrefutably pure, regardless of the characteristics and personalities. Fatina, showing a very human expression of surprise, seemed to consider the offer for a few minutes since it didnt sense any dishonesty in Vahns words. Though it would have outright refused the offer to serve as a mount to almost anyone else, Fatina didnt think a goddess was beneath it. In fact, few Unicorns ever had the opportunity to stand at the side of goddesses since their kind would often be hunted down if they left the safety of the forest. If it could truly be stronger under the protection of Vahn, Fatina didnt think it was a bad idea, especially if it could escape this dismal Dungeon and return to the surface. After several minutes of silence, Fatina looked into Vahns eyes and said, "I do not wish to spend the rest of my days locked up within this Dungeon, awaiting the moment when some wayward Adventurer manages to im my head. If your words are true, show me your conviction and make a vow that you will guarantee my safety in exchange for my trust. However, if the person you introduce me to, goddess or not, isnt to my taste, I ask that you allow me to freely roam the world once again." Vahn, without even considering it in detail nodded his head with a smile, raising his hand and saying, "I swear, by title as the Sage Adrnari and Captain of the Hestia Familia, I, Vahn Mason, will guarantee your protection and, should you one day seek it from me, your freedom. I will not force you into anything against your will, nor will I bind you to service for selfish ends." Seeing the light of a vow emerge and fuse into Vahns chest, Fatina nodded with a contented expression on its face as it said, "Very well, Vahn Mason. From this point onwards, I will follow you in exchange for power and freedom." At the same time as Fatina spoke, Vahn got the notification through his system that his Quest had beenpleted and that Fatina wished to be his subordinate. Vahn was somewhat curious if he would actually be able to name Fatina but, considering it had been reborn through the Dungeon, it shouldnt be an issue. In fact, when he read the notification clearly, Vahn knew it simply referred to itself as Fatina while actually being a [Nameless] entity. Presumably, it had been called Fatina in the past but, after being reborn, this no longer had any relevance. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Quest: Secret of the Silver Unicorn] Rank: S Completion Grade: B Objective: Investigate the rumors of the Variant Unicorn seen between the 40th and 43rd Floors (Iplete). Find the Variant Unicorn and discover the secret of its origin, capturing or killing it in the process (1/1). Rewards: Unit Management Function Upgraded, 100,000 OP. Grade Rewards: 1x[Unicorn Bridle] //[Nameless] Wishes To Be Your Subordinate. (Y/N?)// [Nameless] Age: 63 Days Race: Silver Unicorn Level: 4 Loyalty: 53 Soul Strength: Tier 0 (Mana Construct) Karma: - State: [Active] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn was a little bothered that hispletion grade had been so low but, considering he managed to recruit a Unicorn, especially a Variant species that was also a Xenos, it didnt really matter much. Having an upgrade to his Unit Management Function was already a great reward and, unlike before when he could only summon them from a short range, Vahn could now call his Subordinates to his side in exchange for some OP. Unlike other forms of teleportation, Sis informed him that using the functionality of the system couldnt be interfered with by thews and restrictions of the world. Though it only seemed to apply to the subordinates he had named, as they wereprised of source energy, it was still a very useful upgrade. Now that Fatina had joined them, Vahn smiled and exined, "From now on, were linked together until you decide to separate and go your own way. Ill keep you safely away within my storage dimension for the time being and, once the cooldown on my unique ability is up, I will bestow upon you a name that will grant you unlimited potential and a fair amount of power." Fatina could also sense the bond it now shared with Vahn, suddenly finding him less appalling than before. It gave a light snort and said, "I can sense there is something different about you. This is the first time I have ced my trust in a human...do not let me down..." With its words finished, Fatina slumped forward and dispersed into blue and purple dust that receded into a rtivelyrge and beautiful monster core. After safely keeping Fatinas monster core in his Inventory, Vahn turned to the other three girls before focusing his gaze on Mikoto and smiling. She returned his smile and bowed her head slightly while Haruhime came near her side and whispered, "You did well, Mikoto. You can use this as an opportunity to get closer to Vahn..." Thetter half of her words had been very quiet but, judging by how red Mikotos face became, Vahn had some idea of what she might have said. Chuckling lightly, Vahn gestured to the girls and said, "This didnt take as long as I expected. If we hurry, we can easily return to the surface and then spend tomorrow just rxing. As Haruhime said, you did very well this time, Mikoto. If there is anything youd like, please just let me know and Ill do my best to grant your request." Vahn sent Mikoto a yful wink, nearly bursting intoughter when it looked like Mikoto was going to begin producing steam from her head... Though they made a quick stop at Lil Geirr, informing Finn about the sess of the mission and leaving behind a reward for the people who had originally spotted the Unicorn, the group managed to reach the surface in around fourteen hours. In total, they had spent slightly more than an entire day within the Dungeon but, even considering they had only rested for a few hours, Haruhime and Mikoto were both in high spirits when they reached the surface. When they were in their [Pactio] forms, it was very easy to send them energy since there was already a link established between his own source energy and their transformations. This meant Vahn could passively strengthen the girls and, though he still used his [Grooming] to pamper them a bit, it wasnt entirely necessary. Of course, he would never tell them this since he was personally fond of petting the girls... Terra showed up almost immediately after they exited Babel Tower, disying a lovely smile on her face as she said, "Wee back, Master." Without warning, Terra wrapped her arms and wings around Vahn, surprising him a little bit until she said, "I finished the orb...whenever youre ready, please help me hatch our egg..." Vahn felt a little giddy at Terras words,pletely caught off guard by the sudden revtion as sheughed lightly and kissed his cheek. Gesturing to the other girls to stand close, Terra created a ward on the ground that surprised the onlookers as the entire group disappeared from sight, moved to the Manor through Terras use of [Void Transference]. They ultimately ended up in the training area, Terra giving Vahn a questioning look as she twisted her waist in a somewhat sensual manner while walking towards the illusory forest. Vahn watched her for a few seconds before releasing a small sigh and saying, "Make sure to get some rest. Ill apany Terra for the time being so, if anyone asks, tell them..." Unable toe up with a way to talk around the issue, Vahn just shook his head and honestly stated, "There is a good chance Im going to help her hatch the egg. Im not sure what that will entail so it may take a few hours until I have any free time. Inform everyone what is going on so there arent any disturbances..." Haruhime giggled slightly, sending an amorous look towards Vahn before grabbing Mikotos sleeve and saying, "Come, Mikoto, lets go spread the good news to everyone~." Mikoto fl.u.s.tered a bit, producing an awkward N-nn as Haruhime dragged her away by the sleeve of her kimono. Fenrir continued to watch her Masters back all the way until he vanished into the illusory woods, watching as his figure was obscured by the invisible barrier before hepletely disappeared. She then looked around the area, sensing all the smells from the girls earlier training, which had already ended for the day, before jumping up onto the roof. Knowing that Terra was able to give their Master a child made Fenrir more than a little ufortable, not because she truly wanted a child of her own, but because she had seen how happy her Master was to have children. If she could, Fenrir would give her Master as many babies as it took to keep him happy since, more than anything else in the entire world, Fenrir didnt like seeing her Master sad... With nothing else to do at the moment, Fenrir looked at her paws as a magical light flowed over her fur and caused them topress, elongating her fingers and making them more humanoid. She wiggled them around, testing their dexterity while feeling slightly ufortable at the unfamiliar movements. For the time being, as there were no practical solutions that would allow an Ageless body to bear children, Fenrir decided to focus on the next best thing. She would continue working on her transformation magic until she could safely interact with, not just her Master, but her Masters current children. Fenrir figured that, if she couldnt give her Master children of her own, she could at least protect and take care of what he already had...it was her duty, and Fenrir refused to let her Master down... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fatina is a wee bit cuntish,Terra Makes Her Move (UwU)~!,Fenrir really is the goodest girl...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 681 - Peculiar Existence

Chapter 681 - Peculiar Existence

By the time Vahn reached Terras Garden, she had already disrobed and was sitting on the edge of her perch, holding the emerald green egg which was still protected by the crystalline structure of Evas magic spell. Vahn smiled, unperturbed by Terras natural state as he used [Shunpo] to arrive next to her in an instant, earning a light chuckle from Terra as her tail traced azy arc through the essence below. She traced her fingers over the crystalline seal around the egg, uttering in a somewhat amorous voice full of expectation, "It is truly a strange thing, Master...at first, I didnt feel much for this egg. However, knowing that you care for it, I cant help but find myself strangely attached to the life we created together. Originally, I only wanted to groom it into a suitable sessor, or at least make it useful to you...now, however, I just want it to be happy while still bing strong enough to protect itself and everyone else in our rather peculiar family..." Vahn was somewhat surprised by Terras words, reaching his hand out to trace his fingers through her green hair as he gently muttered, "I always felt you would make a great mother, Terra. You have already done so much for our family, so it makes me feel at ease knowing you have such strong feelings towards everything that has happened. Please, if there is ever anything I can do for you, dont hesitate to tell me..." Terra, though almost always wearing a natural smile, became even more beautiful as an amorous look blossomed on her face. She brought her wings up, bringing them around Vahns body in a somewhat possessive manner as she stated in a hot voice against his neck, "You mustnt say things like that, my Master...I might get a little carried away, you know~?" With her words finished, Terra licked Vahns exposed neck before releasing a hot sigh against his body and pulling away once again. The amorous look on her face hadnt faded away but she still held up the egg, saying, "Take this. I already created a memory fragment to look after our child for the time being, but I want to make a memory imprint of youter on as well. Still, youll have to take the egg inside the Spirit-Time orb or our child wouldnt be able to grow up fast enough to have any relevance within this world. Once it matures enough to be able to protect itself, Ill make sure to release it...though, if you just want to spend time with our child, I dont mind." Since it was possible to download the memories of the fragments left behind, Vahn wouldnt miss out on interacting with their child, even if he wasnt always personally around. As strange as it may seem to raise their child within the Spirit-Time orb, there simply wasnt enough time or resources to do it within the real world. Unlike herself, who had already matured by the time Vahn named her, their child would be a natural birth within the world. As a True Dragon, it would age very slowly and, unlike Fafnir, didnt have the benefit of having its body reshaped by Vahns naming ability. Their child would have a fate and, as a result of being naturally born into the world, had to age at the normal pace of a True Dragon. On the low end, lesser True Dragons had a lifespan of more than six-thousand years so it could take several hundred just for their son or daughter to reach the juvenile phase... Vahn knew it would be mentally taxing to absorb so many memories from his own memory fragment but, considering that it was his own child within the orb, he didnt mind it too much. Unfortunately, his fragment wouldnt be able to develop his skills further but could, at the very least, .u.mte some experience while researching some of the things he had been interested in. Many prolific Mages within Evas world actually used this exploit, though it was somewhat costly to produce each orb, in order to passively increase their understanding of certain spells. However, the mental strain was too much of a burden for most people, making it very impractical unless you had a way to filter out information. Fortunately, Vahn could rely on Sis to handle the information while his [Will of the Emperor] would keep his mind from breaking. Terras memory fragment would also be helping him increase his understanding of magic within the orb so, every time Vahn downloaded the memories, his own efficacy with magic would increase. (A/N: OP AF...) After discussing some of the details with Terra, Vahn found afortable spot within the wellspring, entrusting his body to Terra, even though she had a somewhat mischevious look on her face. As his consciousness faded away, Vahn could feel her warmth against his body and knew he would probably have a surprising sight to behold by the time he returned to reality. After all, the time dtion effect of Terras orb wasnt nearly as developed as Evas, meaning several minutes would have passed by the time he returned to reality. It was a little scary, imagining his body beingpletely unprotected during that timeframe, but Terra shouldnt do anything too bad... Much like the first time he entered Evas orb, Vahn found himself within a pristine ck and white space. However, unlike when he activated the [Magia Erbea] orb, Vahn could feel a magical current running through his own body as a snapshot of his memory was generated. Momentster, a perfect copy of himself appeared directly in front of him, causing a peal ofughter to sound out from his right as an equally n.a.k.e.d Terra appeared from the void. She looked between Vahn and his memory fragment,ughing in a mischevious manner as she asked, "Am I allowed to y with this one while youre away, my Master~?" Hearing Terras words, Vahn experienced his brain stalling for a moment since he hadnt considered the fact that some of the memories he downloaded from the orb might contain several sessions of his s.e.x.u.a.l conquests with Terra... Considering that it might be very difficult for their memory fragments to actually spend what could equate to several hundred years of celibacy, Vahn hesitantly nodded his head and said, "It is a little strange to consider, but I trust the two of you wont take things too far. After all, the purpose of this orb is to take care of our child, not indulge ourselves too much..." As Vahn spoke, his memory fragment opened its eyes, making Vahn feel somewhat strange since their vision was actually momentarily shared. They both held their heads, Vahn shaking his to severe the strange connection as his memory fragment said, "That was very strange..." Nodding his own head, Vahn asked, "So, can youmunicate with our Sis...?" Terras memory fragment raised her brow, wondering what her Master was talking about as his memory fragment shook its head and said, "No, and I cant ess any of the other functions other than viewing our Status. Its very strange..." The memory fragment shuddered slightly, causing Vahn to feel strangely unnerved at the same time since their link was momentarily established once again. It seemed like his interactions with his memory fragments were more powerful than what was reported, not that Vahn was too surprised. Even when he had been in Preasias dreamscape, Vahn remembered experiencing several different perspectives. Though he didnt know the origin, Vahn assumed he had an unawakened Innate that allowed him to somehow split his consciousness. Presently, it was already like he could focus on two different things at a time so Vahn wasnt really that perturbed by the idea that he may one day possess more than one body, though he never intended to use it in order to manage his rtionsh.i.p.s. Using the orbs already made him feel somewhat awkward but, knowing it was closer to a dream than an actual physical rtionship, Vahn allowed it, just like he allowed Preasia to freely make use of her Dreamscape. None of the girls he was involved with were so fragile that they would fall for a fragment of himself, so Vahn wasnt too worried about it. After all, he would be spending a much greater amount of time with them inside the Sub-Space orbs in the future, meaning his memory fragment would essentially just be a means of stress relief to reward the girls for their hard work in a controlled environment where they also had a bit of privacy. This was why it was decided he shouldnt absorb the memories from that fragment, after all, if he suddenly had his brain crammed with a bunch of memories rted to indulging himself with the girls, Vahn might be a little strange in the head... Once he managed to sever the connection with his memory fragment again, Vahn looked his duplicate up and down, saying, "It feels very awkward to say something like this to myself, but please look after Terras memory fragment properly. Ill be entrusting our child to the two of you so please focus more on their happiness than your own research..." The memory fragment nodded his head with a serious look on his face, surprising Vahn slightly since he had never really seen himself from an external perspective. He wondered if this was how the girls saw him, smiling at the thought that his memory fragment seemed kind of cool. Of course, when the memory fragment of Terra began tough at him, both Vahn and his copy had light flushes on their face, taking note of each others response in the process...it was...very strange. To avoid the awkwardness of being around himself, the memory fragment went off to began constructing a small house that the three of them would be residing in. Though the space had initially been ck and white, the endless white ne had started to take on an earthen color as thews Terra had introduced into the orb began to take effect. By the time he needed to leave, Vahn expected this entire world may be a verdant forest under the influence of Terras memory fragment. With his own also supporting her, the stability of the space would be much stronger than normal, though Vahn wasnt sure how things would change from the prolonged exposure of entitiesprised entirely of source energy, even if they werent their real selves. He wouldnt even be surprised if this orb one day be an actual dimension once thews had stabilized enough. Terras fragment continued to watch his actions with unveiled interest, flittering about in difficult to repress excitement as Vahn slowly removed Evas spell. It had been designed so that only Vahn himself could undo the seal, using his blood as a catalyst to melt the seemingly imprable ice. Vahn created several small wards by drawing blood runes along the surface of the crystal, having to prick his finger several times in the process as a result of his regeneration. Even using a special golden nail he had purchased from the system shop, costing him a whopping 1,000,000 OP, only slowed down his regeneration process slightly. It was made of a sacred metal that could even severely wound immortals,pletely stopping their regenerative processes for a short while. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Sacred Duplex Nail] Rank: S (Magic) Use: Restrict the regeneration of immortal beings, both holy and demonic in nature. Wounds caused by these nails be suffused with sacred energy, breaking down the cells of immortal beings and causing a perpetual bleeding effect until removed. A specialized nail used to y immortals, generally used by Demon Hunters to restrict the powers and regeneration of Vampires. Though rare, these nails are sometimes used for crucifixion purposes, having the potential to kill both holy and demonic entities. However, using them as such can cause the user to suffer a very powerful curse. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- It was a little awkward having to spend so much OP on such a small item but, after learning that it was almost impossible to harvest and cultivate his own blood under normal circ.u.mstances, Vahn had toe up with a solution. Awkwardly, he was still looking for a solution to another problem that had started to gue him as ofte. Whenever he had s.e.x with the girls, it was nearly impossible for him to get to the point where he felt the urge to release himself. Even when he forced the reaction, Vahn got to experience the awkwardness of having his s.e.m.e.n simply vanish from inside their bodies as his own vital energy returned to his body. It was a very perplexing issue that needed to be resolved if he wanted to have more children in the future. Fortunately, he had been practicing to seal his own [Magia Erebea] so it shouldnt be a problem once he is able to master the transition... After inscribing all the requisite wards, Vahn released a sigh of relief before infusing his magical power into the crystalline structure protecting the egg. Like normal ice, it slowly began to melt away as the runoff disappeared into the void. The emerald green egg, even before it had beenpletely unsealed, began to glow with amazing vitality. As it stood, even without him doing anything else, the egg would finish hatching since Evas magic had already fulfilled the role of a catalyst. However, Vahn wanted to make sure his child had the greatest potential for growth so, without any hesitation whatsoever, Vahn buried his right hand into this chest. With a tug, that almost made him pass out from the trauma associated with his actions, Vahn pulled out his own heart and allowed his ichor to rain down and cover the egg. Fighting the urge to pass out, Vahn resisted the choking sensation in his throat as he watched the egg rapidly absorb his blood, taking on a golden color with a slight rainbow hue. The memory fragment of Terra watched him from the side, showing a great deal of concern but also smiling lovingly knowing how far Vahn was willing to go for their child. Without the lifeblood of their father, a True Dragon would never reach its full potential so, seeing Vahn so willingly doing what was necessary, Terra felt extremely gratified to have someone like Vahn as her Master. As cracks began to emerge on the egg, Vahn released his own heart and allowed the wound to quickly close up as the vital organ retreated back into his chest. A few secondster, he hadpletely healed once again without so much as a bloodstain present. Other than the blood absorbed by the egg, the rest had returned to Vahns body while his natural regeneration replenished what had been lost. Vahn felt some mental fatigue from the experience butpartmentalized it as he watched with intrigue and excitement as his sixth child was born. He was very curious what form it would take but, even if it ended up being a small dragon pup, Vahn would still care for it dearly... Lights emerged from the various cracks around the egg, causing a powerful aura to spread through space before small fragments of the egg began to copse in on itself. Vahn, with his [Eyes of Truth] active, could see the energy within the egg itself being absorbed by the budding lifeform inside. He couldnt make out its shape just yet, as the egg itself obscured his sight, but Vahn could still feel a powerful connection to his emergent child. There was even a feeling that it was looking back at him, causing Vahn to feel a mixture of pride and anticipation. Unlike the overwhelming emotions he felt during the birth of his daughters, Vahn felt a desire to help his child with Terra be more powerful. However, he realized this wasnt simply his desire, but the entity within the eggs expectation that was being conveyed to him through their bond. The light from within the egg increased in intensity, causing a rainbow hue to spread out overhead before Vahn finally got his first view of the eggs inhabitant. A small green eye briefly passed over one of the holes in the egg, looking directly at him with its dark ck pupil that was shaped like a slit. The egg fragments began to copse even faster as an adorable little head peeked out from the top of the egg, possessing emerald green hair and two tiny ck horns poking out from the top of its head. Vahn smiled widely, staring into the eyes of his newest born child as it stared directly back at him, a light of expectation and wisdom contained within its eyes. Terras fragment watched from the side, internally pitying her real self for missing this moment and only being able to experience by proxyter on. Though that was also her, the memory fragment felt strangely detached from her original self and found the notion somewhat amusing that they were one and the same. She felt fortunate to be able to spend so much alone time with her Master, even if it was only his memory fragment, as none of the other girls would be able to have such an experience. This gave the memory fragment a sense of superiority, even though she knew instinctually that her main body would be getting all the real benefits... When the egg fragments had beenpletely absorbed, Vahn was left holding an adorable baby with emerald green hair, leaf-green eyes, small ck horns, two tiny wings, and a small nub for a tail. Much like Terra, it had a very smallyer of scales around its arms and legs with small runes seemingly engaged into its body, distinctly different from its mother but fundamentally simr. Most notably, however, was the fact that his childcked a belly button while also possessing no s.e.x.u.a.l characteristics to note. True Dragons were born genderless, so Vahn wasnt too surprised, but it was very strange seeing a humanoid entity thatcked any identifying traits that could determine its gender. Vahn, however, just ignored it as he picked up his child and cradled it in his left arm, pinching its nose as he said, "Wee into the world, little fe. Though you may not understand my words just yet, Im your Papa, Vahn..." Surprisingly, the little humanoid True Dragon nodded its head with a smile, shocking Vahn when it said, "Papa~." in an adorable voice. As if to answer Vahns confusion, Terras memory fragmentughed and said, "True Dragons can inherit the memories of their ancestors since, if they were born into the world without knowledge, there is a very high chance they would be killed and used as resources. When I had nurtured the egg in the past, I made sure to convey some of my thoughts and memories into its nascent form~." Vahn nodded his head, memories of his information regarding True Dragons emerging in his mind. Understanding the truth of the matter, Vahn smiled and said, "From this point on, you are the child of myself and your mother, Terra. Your name..." As the infant True Dragon didnt possess a gender, Vahn wasnt exactly sure what to name it. Fortunately, this didnt seem to be the case for his own memory fragment as it had alreadye over and asked, "How about Alex, short for Alexander or Alexandria? When it decides what gender it wants to be in the future, it can take on the name it prefers." Vahn was surprised that his own memory fragment came up with a name faster than he did, though not so much as when Terra nodded her head and said, "Then well name it Alex Evergreen Mason...or perhaps Alex Mason McDowell? Hmmm, no, I think Eva would want her child to have thest name Mason..." Terra truly considered Alex to be the culmination of the bond she shared with her Master and Eva, as it only existed as a result of theirbined interaction and efforts. She wanted her child to have some association with the woman that had be herpanion for more than a century. Vahn, understanding this, nodded his head and said, "Very well...from now on, you shall be Alex Eva Evergreen Mason..." It was a bit of an awkward name but, seeing the smile on Alexs face and the loving expression on Terras memory fragment, Vahn felt it was a good name... (A/N: For rification purposes, True Dragons are always genderless until they reach the end of their juvenile phase. Terra was only female because she identified as female before Vahn had named her. In her dragon form, she actually doesnt possess s.e.x.u.a.l organs but, if she had been in the presence of a mate, it wouldnt have been impossible for her to develop a cloaca. True Dragons are a very convoluted existence that can functionally breed with anything so its very difficult to wrap your head around their physiology xD. Just know that Fafnir identifies as male but is currently genderless, just like Khaos. Terra is only female as a result of her decision before being named, though both Fafnir and Khaos could be either male or female when they finally assume their human forms. Khaos is almost guaranteed to be male, as a result of already being mature, while Fafnir could swing either way at this point in time. As for Alex, it would have a tendency to lean towards being male, as dragons born to be the sessor of their predecessor are almost exclusively male, but that isnt guaranteed. Ill leave it up to thements section to determine the preferred gender, if any (UwU)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Exploit all the things (o,...,o)~!,Holy Crucifixion Batman!,Alexander the Great or Alexandria the Wise...? Alexa, ce Despacito...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 682 - Inheritance : Maturity

Chapter 682 - Inheritance : Maturity

With around one-hundred hours to spend with his new child, Vahn decided to spend some time bonding with Alex, primarily just conversing with it while he flew around in the air. The memory fragments of himself and Terra continued constructing the residence there were going to be living in while thetter would periodicallye over to check on her baby. Though she hadnt initially been too attached to it, Terra was showing a lot of concern for Alex now that it had been born. She considered the fact that she hadnt given it more knowledge during its maturation phase one of her greatest errors. If she had taken her role as its mother seriously, Alex would have possessed much greater knowledge at the time of its birth instead of simply having basic speech functions and survival instincts... Vahn, however, didnt mind it too much since it would have been very strange for his seemingly newborn child to be speaking fluently and already walking around. Just knowing it could understand what he was saying, forming a few words in response, was more than enough for him. The only awkward thing was the fact that Alex kept asking him questions like, "Papa, when will you teach me to be stronger?" and "What is my purpose?" Vahn didnt really have an easy way to answer these questions and simply responded by saying, "I will do my best to help you increase your strength, but Id rather you simply be happy and free. Other than that, my only expectations for you is that youll be a kind person that helps out others, especially if they are family. However, as long as you dont end up on a path that will cause you many regrets, that is enough for me..." Alex was currently wearing some green pajamas Vahn had purchased for them through the system. When it heard his words, Alex lowered its head slightly as if it were in deep thought, causing Vahn to smile and release a small sigh as hezily floated through the air. Currently, Alex was riding on his stomach and didnt seem to mind the fact they were high up in the sky. Though only a few hours old, it was almost fearless and showed umon levels of intelligence that would have been impossible for normal infants. Vahn felt like all of his children were somewhat abnormal but, even if there were some incongruities within his mind, he didnt mind them too much and simply enjoyed spending time with them. Seeminglying to a conclusion, Alex began pping its tiny wings as it attempted to leap off his stomach, startling Vahn as he quickly reached out to grab the falling infant. Alex wiggled about,ughing as if they were very ticklish before saying, "Dont worry, Papa, Ill be fine." Vahn could actually see that Alex was able to manipte wind elemental energy around its wings, much like Terra was able to. She must have given him knowledge on how to fly when it was still in the egg, something Vahn still had a bit of troubleprehending. However, he knew this was the case so, even though he had a few inhibitions, Vahn let Alex fly freely from his arms... Though it stumbled around a bit, Alex didnt fall to the ground as Vahns instincts had informed him would be the case. No, even though it had only been out of its egg for less than two hours, Alex was already capable of flight and, from Vahns observations, seemed to be getting progressively better at it. Then, with a happy smile on its face, Alex turned around and flew back into his embrace, giggling as it said, "Papa, I want to be able to fly very fast one day. If you want me to be free, I want to be able to fly higher, further, and faster than anyone else~." Hearing Alexs words, Vahn realized it was treating his own almost like a doctrine to make its own decisions. As creatures that relied heavily on instinct and power-based hierarchies, Alex ced a heavy emphasis on each word Vahn spoke... Realizing this, Vahn just smiled and lifted Alex high into the air, allowing the tiny True Dragon to fly high up into the sky as itughed in a yful voice. Vahn rose to meet it at the apex of its arc, spinning Alex around while the youngling continued giggling. Vahn was trying to think of the best way to actually raise a True Dragon but decided it was better to just y with Alex for the time being. Even if he visited at the earlier possible moment, more than sixty days would have passed since Terra had adjusted the time-dtion to be less impactful for both of their minds. This meant, after a year passed in the real world, that would have been sixty years for Alex, making them nearly a hundred years old by the time Bell came to the City. Even so, they would likely just be entering their Juvenile state and would be limited in their growth until their mana circuits had fully formed and stabilized. Vahn was beginning to understand that there were innumerableplexities in his raising of Alex, hopefully, something his memory fragment could deal with alongside Terra. Depending on how things progressed, he could also bring in Fafnir to study under Terras memory fragment and potentially be a friend and mentor to Alex. Fafnir really did need an opportunity to increase its strength again and, as Vahn hadnt given it the opportunity to study under Eva, it wouldnt be a bad idea to have Terra watch over it for a bit. She probably wouldnt help Fafnir get too strong, especially if there was any chance Alex and Fafnir would butt heads, but it shouldnt be too difficult to convince Terra to look after its training for a bit... Alex suddenly reached out, poking Vahns cheeks with both hands as it asked, "Papa, what are you thinking about~?" Vahn smiled in response, rubbing his nose against Alexs as he said, "I was worried that you wouldnt have many friends while youre inside this space. There is another dragon outside that is kind of like your big brother, though you may be older than them in the future. Ill talk to your Mama and see if they cane inside and y with you." Alex seemed to be excited at the prospect of having a friend to talk with but Vahn nearly fell from the sky when it said, "Ehehe, I will let it be my friend, but only if it behaves~! Just you watch, Papa, I will be super strong in the future, strong enough to make every other dragon kneel before me!" As it spoke, Alex pped its wings like a hummingbird, eyes glimmering as it imagined standing at the apex of the dragon hierarchy. Vahn allowed an awkwardugh to escape his lips, pinching Alexs nose as he said, "Fafnir is part of our family, so dont bully it too much. We will be together for a very long time and I want everyone to get along as much as possible..." Alex nodded its head, giggling somewhat mischievously as it said, "Dont worry, Papa, ehehehe~." Contrary to its intent, Vahn couldnt help but worry as he sent an apologetic prayer towards Fafnir. Hopefully, Fafnir and Alex would get along but, based on what he knew of their personalities thus far, Vahn didnt expect this would be the case. True Dragons were very prideful and, as the child of the Alpha, Alex was higher in the pecking order than Fafnir was. Vahn needed to make sure his memory fragment watched over their interactions closely and, if possible, he wanted to convince Terra to show Fafnir a bit of leniency... After answering a host of questions, Vahn noticed Alex was beginning to get a little sleepy since its eyelids were drooping slightly. Rubbing his fingers through the short emerald green hair on its head, Vahn smiled and said, "There will be plenty of time for questionster. For now, lets get you to sleep. It is important to get plenty of rest if you want to grow big and strong in the future." Alex nodded its head, releasing a long yawn as it simultaneously said, "Yes, Papaaaaa~" Then, as if it couldnt way any longer, Alex nuzzled into Vahns chest and started making adorable sleeping sounds through its nose. Vahn felt a warmth spread through his chest as he stroked the small back of his youngest child and inserted threads of source energy into the dragon core located near its heart. Alex didnt need really need to eat and could subsist entirely on the energy it absorbed from the environment. However, with theplexity of its affinities, Vahn suspected it wouldnt have an easy time replenishing its reserves if not for the fact that his memory fragment wasprised of source energy. Though it couldnt use any of their Innates, nor ess the system functions of The Path, the memory fragment could still use [Hands of Nirvana] and all of his other skills and abilities. Since Alex could also consume the items obtained through the shop, Vahn also intended to leave arge number of resources for its consumption in order to aid its growth in the future... At this time, the ground had be almost entirely earthen in structure with grass growing over arge area where the two memory fragments had been building their shared residence. Though Vahn had provided a lot of materials, Terra ended up constructing the basic structure of the house by creating the entire thing like a natural wooden structure that she had hollowed out. It was almost like looking at a very fat tree and, since she had elevated the area to make it appear more scenic, Vahn thought it wasnt a bad ce to raise Alex. He imagined that, by the time he visited again in the future, there would be an entire forest in the area with vibrant nt life located all over the ce. All Terra needed were some seeds and, with her mastery of natural energy, it was possible to cultivate all sorts of nts using the Spirit-Time orb as a sort of exploit. When hended outside the house, Vahn saw his memory fragment again and they both shared an awkward exchange with each other as he walked inside. It was very strange to have another version of himself walking around that shared all the same knowledge and memories. Though Vahn was certain he would get used to it, this peculiarity he felt validated his previous decision to not learn how to use shadow clones, or simr skills. It felt very strange to interact with himself and, knowing they had the same mind as he did, Vahn couldnt simply force his clones to do things he himself wasnt willing to do. Part of him was very resistant to the idea as imagining having to take orders from himself left Vahn feeling very awkward and strangely frustrated... Terra was currently reshaping the interior of the stout tree-like house but she immediately stopped what she was doing the moment he entered the room. Seeing the sleeping Alex in her Masters arms, Terra showed a loving smile as she walked over and picked up the small figure, cradling it in her embrace as she quietly asked, "So, how was it? Did the two of you get along~?" Vahn nodded, gently tracing his index finger along Alexs scalp as he said, "Its amazing how smart Alex is for how young they are...though, considering who their mother is, that isnt too surprising." Terra giggled lightly in response to his words, moving closer as she wrapped her wings loosely around his body. Though she was fond of the memory fragment, Terras fragment felt much closer to the real version of her Master, wanting to enjoy his warmth while they both watched over the sleeping face of their child... Over the course of his time within the orb, Vahn spent the majority of it ying with Alex and taking turns with his memory fragment to help build various instations. Though his memory fragment had neverined, Vahn felt strangely guilty that it was silently doing much of the work with a smile on its face. He wondered if this was how the girls felt, watching him work tirelessly without a single word ofint. Vahn decided he needed to treat himself better so, instead of monopolizing Alex to himself, Vahn traded ces with his fragment and did some work of his own while Terra lingered around him. Unfortunately, when he tried to convince her to spend time with the fragment and Alex together, she simply said there was plenty of time for thatter and wanted to spend as much time as she could with the real him. Unable to convince her otherwise, Vahn let Terra do as she pleased since it made the somewhat boring work go by much faster when he had a conversation partner. During thest few hours he had in the orb, Vahn spent them telling stories to Alex as it sat down in the grass with glimmering green eyes. Vahn had a ton of stories stored away in his mind and Alex seemed especially fond of anything rted to heroes and dragons, preferably with the dragoning out ahead. Though it didnt seem inclined towards anything evil, Alex had a strange sense of pride and enjoyed hearing anything about how amazing True Dragons were. In fact, when Vahn gave it a Lexicon on Dragonic Languages and an Encyclopedia of True Dragons: Natures, Physiology, and Ecology, Alex had hardly been able to put them down. Since it had learned how to read and write a variety of differentnguages from Terra, Alex was already happily deciphering the books while making notes in an archaic looking journal that Vahn had purchased for him through the system. It had the properties of being able to store information secretly, only allowing the writer to see the contents while the words would disappear from the pages for any other prying eyes. (A/N: Think Tom Riddles diary from Harry Potter.) Alex seemed to understand that there was a big difference between the memory fragment and the real Vahn, clinging to thetters leg when it was almost time for him to leave. With slightly moist eyes, though not enough to form actual tears, Alex said, "Papa, make sure to visit me often. I will work hard while you are away so pleasee back soon..." Vahn nodded his head, kneeling down to give Alex a firm hug as he said, "Ill do my best to visit as often as I can. However, if you dont like staying within the orb, you just have to tell me and I can take you out whenever you want." Alex giggled yfully, returning Vahns hug as it said, "I know, Papa, but I want to be a lot stronger and this ce is the best way for that. Mama told me that a lot of time passes in herepared to the outside world and I dont want to be weak~!" Vahn smiled, picking Alex up and cradling his child as a feeling of immense pride spread through his chest. It was a very strange feeling but Vahn felt gratified knowing that his child was already so capable and mature. Though it was likely a result of its instincts,bined with the knowledge Terra had bestowed, Alex was already thinking about the best methods to increase its own strength. It showed both a logical and rational mind and, while being very curious, seemed to consider how to form its questions instead of just asking to be appeased. When possible, Alex tried to understand things on its own and, only after hitting a section that it didnt understand, would it ask for assistance. Vahn felt like it would get along well with Erika and intended to see if Loki would allow him to bring her by a few times. After all, Vahn wanted Alex to be able to meet and interact with his siblings without having to wait more than a hundred years. Feeling his body begin to fade away, Vahn gave Alex a kiss on the forehead before passing it over to Terra, smiling towards her before giving a nod towards his memory fragment. When thetter returned his nod with a smile and said, "Dont worry. Ill make sure Alex is taken care of..." Vahn couldnt help but feel a little awkward but still bumped fists with his counterpart as his body broke down into small partictes. Thest thing he saw, other than the smile on his fragments face, was the unwavering gaze from Alex as it followed the remnant particles with itsrge leafy-green eyes, now covered in a light mist... When Vahn returned to the real world, he momentarily felt mncholic until he felt a familiar weight pressed against him and a honey-like vor spreading through his mouth. Snapping back to awareness, Vahn realized Terra wasying against his body, passionately kissing him with her rather long and vorful tongue. Realizing he was awake, Terra pulled away with an amorous smile on her face as she lightly whispered, "Though it isnt unmanly to show weakness and emotion, never me yourself forcking time, Master. You work very hard and our child isnt something so weak that it needs constant attention..." Terra had yet to download the memories from the orb but she had already spected about what might go on after her Master entered. Though he had been getting better, her Master was a very sentimental and emotional boy at times. Seeing how affected he was aftering out of the orb, Terra felt a warmth spread in her heart that made her want to be even closer to her Master than normal. Now that he had returned, she wanted him to return to his normal self again instead of spending time worrying about things he had little influence over. By the time they were finished, several days would have passed within the orb and, even if their child had be very attached to her Master, Terra knew it wouldnt be that affected. Thus, she wanted her Master to also move on and be strong, even though his weakness made her strangely fond of him... It took a little while but, with Terras proactive advances, Vahn eventually got riled up enough to pick her up out of the wellspring, earning a peal of yfulughter from Terra as a result. He carried her over to her perch, now forming a small ind at the center of the wellspring, andid her against it. Terra looked back, licking her lips slightly as her tail swayed slowly from side-to-side, touching against his lower body in the process. Vahn shook his head, allowing a small smile to touch his lips as he leaned over Terras back, kissing her neck as he whispered, "Youve been getting naughtier these days...just make sure not to take things too far." Terra nodded in response, letting the tension in her wings fade away as the drooped down into the water. She actually measured her actions a great deal before she enticed her Master and was very aware of his current limits... Seeing Terra nod while entrusting her body to him, Vahns smile softened as he lifted up her tail and ran his fingers along the sensitive ridge. Unlike in the past, Terra allowed her reactions to show while a sensual m.o.a.n escaped her lips. Vahn watched as her wings trembled slightly as a fragrant moisture began dripping from the steamy cavern located beneath her two fleshy butt cheeks. Vahn enjoyed the flowery and sweet smell that reached his nostrils, taking a deep breath as the smell pervaded throughout the area. With the fresh earthen aroma that naturally wafted from Terras hair, Vahn felt they bnced each other well in a veryplimentary manner. Bringing his hand around to grope Terras b.r.e.a.s.t, Vahn enjoyed the intermixing fragrances as he once again buried himself deep inside her inviting entrance, now seemingly adapted to his size and shape... (A/N: My sleep schedule is more than a little messed up right now. I wrote these two chapters after a nap so I was feeling tired by the time they were finished. This one should being out at 1PM CST, with the third chapter supposed to be releasing around 3PM. I should be awake by then but, if Im not, expect another three chapters when I do finally get up xD. I really need to fix my sleep schedule soon, or maybe find a way to get some of those blue pills Vahn was giving out (TT_TT)...Anyways, this is (2/5) for today. Look forward to it~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fafnir always getting bullied...,Schrly habits at 60 hours old~!?,Fragrant Aroma ( ? ?? ?)) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 683 - Under the Moonlight

Chapter 683 - Under the Moonlight

Vahn spent the better part of the morning within Terras Garden, satiating the carnivorous dragons appetite before leaving herying peacefully against her perch. She had held up for a decent amount of time but, given his endless stamina, Vahn emerged victorious against the powerful True Dragon once again. It helped that his [Grooming] was now D-Rank, making it his highest ranked Development Skill, even surpassing his [Master Smith]. Relying on the threads of pettingws, Vahn could target all of her weak spots, even if she tried to resist the influence of his ability with her own internal energy. By the time he was done, Terra looked like she had been fighting for three days and nights before falling into a peaceful slumber with a content smile on her face... The moment he exited the illusory forest, a small figure appeared in front of him as Fenrir leaped down from the roof and suddenly asked, "Was it a boy or a girl~?" in a curious voice. Vahn blinked, surprised by the question before he smiled and said, "Neither, at least for the time being. I named it Alex Eva Evergreen Mason though, so it could one day be Alexander or Alexandria." Fenrir nodded her head, bringing a rather humanoid finger to her chin as she seemingly processed her thoughts. After a short while, Fenrir said, "Master, please help me be stronger without having to separate from you. Terra is already much stronger than me and I dont want to see her baby outgrowing me too..." For the second time, Vahn blinked in surprise and then realized that, after as little as two months, even though Alex wouldnt have matured, it would actually be older than Fenrir. She was his firstpanion and had suffered in the past because of his negligence, even though he never treated her badly when they were together. Ever since her naming ceremony, Fenrir had constantly been working hard to control herself while simultaneously striving to increase her strength. However, because of the nature of her existence, and her attachment to him, she was slowly falling behind in powerpared to the others. With the four years she spent with Eva, Fenrir was currently the second stronger but, if Vahn allowed Fafnir and Khaos to spend time in the orb, that would no longer remain true... After thinking it through in silence for a short while, Vahn took on a serious look as he reached out and stroked Fenrirs hair, saying, "I will find a way to help you increase your strength, Fenrir, I promise..." Fenrir rubbed her head against his palm in response while bringing her paws up to grab his wrist, much like the first time he had pet her in the past. This made Vahn feel very nostalgic because, just as he had in the past, he was once again promising to help her be stronger. He wondered if she had actually calcted this or if it was just a natural response because, like him, she too was feeling nostalgic. Carrying Fenrir on his back, Vahn wandered into the Manor and wasnt surprised to find that almost everyone had gathered together in the dining room. It was around lunchtime and, though Terra and Alex werent present, there was still a celebratory atmosphere in the room. Fenrir, though enjoying the ride along the way, obediently extricated herself from his back as she scampered over towards Preasia. Vahn followed her for a few moments with his eyes until a ming red-headed figure ran over like it was trying to take out his legs, shouting, "Papa, where is my new brother or sister~!? Show me, show me, show me~!" Vana clung to his leg, sitting down on his foot as sheughed in a slightly mischevious and yful manner. As for Vulcan, which had current shrunk itself down to the size of a puppy, it hovered in the air and just red towards him, like always. Vahn, deciding to let Vana y around, walked over towards the table while she screamed with a kyaaahahaha sound while holding onto his leg. Everyone at the table smiled as they watched the interaction between the father-daughter pair, all except for a slightly pouty Ina. However, when her Papa finally sat at the table next to her, Ina was all smiles when she hopped into hisp with a victorious look on her face, beaming even more when he gently stroked her head. After exining the matter of Alexs existence, which had surprised a fair number of those present with how peculiar it was, Vahn enjoyed the festive atmosphere while ying with his daughters. Ina, Vana, and Erika were all at the stage where they could eat simple foods and Vahn enjoyed spoonfeeding them whenever he had the opportunity. Still, though he was mainly focused on the three, Vahn continued to make conversation with everyone at the table while part of his mind considered the matter of Fenrirs strength. His secondary processing capability was usually used to monitor his domain but, as there was little chance of any enemy being able to threaten them within the Manors bounds, Vahn was currently using it to talk with Sis and think of a solution. Fortunately, Sis was very helpful in situations like this as she surprised him by exining, (*You know, Vahn, the best solution would be to make use of Fenrirs current Innate ability or, though it would be somewhat difficult, helping her increase her Soul Tier further. Im sure youve noticed it but, mastering ones Innates seems to be the key to increasing Soul Tier. Fenrir has always been on the cusp of obtaining Soul Tier 2 so, by helping her breakthrough that bottleneck, she may even evolve further, solving several other issues that have been guing you both.*) If not for the fact he was happily wiping pudding off of Inas nose, Vahn imagined his facial expression would have nked. As Sis said, he had actually made the connection in the past since his own Soul Tier always increased when he had major breakthroughs in his Innates. He also noticed that, while Fenrir and Fafnir were both only Tier 1 Souls at their creation, Khaos and Terra were now both Tier 2, with theter progressively getting closer to Tier 3. Fafnir only had a singr Innate at present, strangely sharing a simr name to the record it had obtained, called [Fafnirs Legacy]. As for Fenrir, she only had her [Insatiable Hunger] and, while it was a rankless Innate, Vahn knew she hadnt been making full use of it. In truth, Fenrir could have used it to be incredibly powerful, growing without any true limitations as long as she ingested energy-rich sources. However, because she had been unstable at the time, it had been necessary to have Fenrir work on controlling her hunger rather than exploiting it. After all, the more her strength increased beyond her control, the hungrier Fenrir would get as a result. This would make her increasingly more frustrated and potentially even cause her tosh out and go berserk. Vahn realized that he needed toe up with a method to help Fenrir increase her power while simultaneously developing her control of said power. Fortunately, as this thought crossed his mind, Siss ever-helpful voice chimed in, saying ("Vahn, why dont you just buy equipment from the shop that can help stabilize the mind and prevent emotions and mental instabilities from clouding ones judgment? You can also make her an essory, much like Hephaestus [Promise] that would be able to nullify and restrict the influence of her Innate, at least to an extent. If you take this route, it is very likely that Fenrir herself would develop an Innate that allows her a greater form of control by the time her Soul Tier increases.*) This time, though he had been doing well to keep his processes separate, Vahn dulled in both his mind and reality. Erika, who had just asked him a question, tilted her head slightly with an embarrassed expression since she didnt understand how her question had caused such a reaction from her Papa. Vahn, noticing his daughters reaction, smiled in response as he said, "Sorry about that, Erika, I just had a sudden realization and a bout of inspiration. To answer your question, yes, I intend to have everyone meet with Alex in the future. I already discussed it with Terra so all you have to do is visit her Garden and she will let you enter inside the orb. However, since you, Ina, and Vana are all very young, you can only stay for a few hours each day." Vahn was somewhat afraid that his childrens mental development would be even faster if they started spending long periods of time within the Spirit-Time orbs. Someone like Erika, who had a powerful thirst for knowledge, would undoubtedly want to make use of such a convenient tool. If she could read and study for an extra one-hundred hours every day, Vahn had no doubt she would do just that. After all, her physical body wouldnt have changed much as only ten minutes would have passed in reality, meaning it was a powerful tool for anyone that had schrly pursuits. Fortunately, Erika was a very well-behaved girl and seemed to realize what he was getting since she nodded obediently and said in a quiet voice, "Dont worry, Papa...I know you dont want us growing up too fast..." For the rest of the afternoon, Vahn spent his time ying with his daughters, helping out with a bit of Naazas research, and thinking of how he would help Fenrir with her breakthrough. Most of the girls, after enjoying the festive lunch, wandered off to the Garden to visit Alex and get their first look at one of Vahns memory fragments. By the time they had returned, there seemed to be a unanimous agreement that there was definitely something strange about interacting with a memory fragment of Vahn. Loki had even gathered many of the senior members of the group together in private, apparently realizing there may be a few issues if they truly intended to make use of Spirit-Time orbs in the future. Ultimately, after a great deal of discussion with Sis and talking it over with Fenrir, Vahn decided that the best method for her to be stronger was to exploit the system. Though he often wasted OP, Vahn still saved up arge amount of it since he wanted to be able to purchase the [Dimensional Anchor: Statis] in the future. However, as Sis had said, there was always a solution through using The Path and, after referencing a few texts he had obtained a long time ago, Vahn came upon the solution of having Fenrir cultivate her spirit, mind, and body. There was already no limitations on her actual Innate so the only thing they needed to worry about was keeping her stable and allowing her to have greater control of her increasing capabilities. Late that night, after spending some quality time with Syr, Lunoire, and Chloe, Vahn went up to the roof where Fenrir had been sitting, staring towards the full moon with glimmering scarlet eyes. Vahn plopped down next to her, somewhat surprised that she didnt try to sit in hisp, instead, asking, "Master...do you not mind if I change...?" Fenrir knew that, if she made use of the methods they had talked about previously, she would be far different than her Masters previous expectations. She didnt mind being an anchor for him, even if it was a role she had to take up for all eternity, so it made her somewhat hesitant about moving forward. Vahn released a sigh, causing a small amount of condensation to spread out through the somewhat chilly atmosphere. Because of Fenrirs current mood, her magical energy had actually dropped the surrounding temperature a fair amount. So she didnt misunderstand his reaction, Vahn pulled her over to his side, hugging her seemingly frail and petite body firmly in his embrace as he said, "I have been thoughtlessly cruel to you, Fenrir...you really are too good for me and have done things on behalf that should have never been required of you. Just like I said in the past, long ago during a simrly cold night, my only hope is that you are able to be happy. This will allow you to pursue the path you seek and, even if I lose you as an anchor, I know you will always be my most loyal and trustedpanion...though, if it is your wish, we can also be much more..." At the end of his words, Vahn leaned down and kissed Fenrirs exposed shoulder, feeling her body tremble slightly within his embrace. Fenrir remained quiet for a very long time, thinking about the future path she wished to take and how it would affect, not just her Masters life, but her own. Ultimately, after remembering the smiles on all the other girls faces, Fenrir found her resolve as she tightly hugged her Masters arms and said, "I want to be stronger...I want to be with Master always...Please, help Fenrir..." During thetter part of her words, Fenrir had turned her head upwards, looking towards him with watery eyes that made Vahns heart twist inside his chest. Vahn knew that, though unintentionally, he had severely wronged Fenrir, even though she had always been working hard on his behalf. In fact, he had a habit of wronging many of his subordinates even though he often told them they were like family to him... Holding Fenrirs body tightly in his embrace, Vahn leaned down and kissed the teary-eyed Vanargandr on the lips, almost getting caught up to the point that he forgot about her [Devour] ability. Fortunately, Fenrir was very aware of her own skills and turned her head away when she felt her Masters tongue try to snake its way between her lips. Still, she felt happy knowing that he had gotten caught up in the moment enough to treat her like a normal girl. Thus, deciding to take advantage of the moment, instead of holding herself back, Fenrir turned around in hisp and pushed her Master down, enjoying a very long session of kissing and mutual petting. Her Master had turned into his Vanargandr form to make matters easier for her, something Fenrir was very thankful for since it was very hard to hold back at the moment... Several hourster, Vahn and Fenrir could see the horizon beginning to light up with the approaching dawn. It was still an hour or two away but it showed very clearly that they had gotten a little carried away in their actions, something that earned him a very rare blush from Fenrir when hemented on it. Fortunately, Vahn hadntpletely lost himself in the moment and had, while his main focus had been on Fenrir herself, his sub-process had been looking over the possible solutions with Sis. The only reason Vahn knew about Cultivation was as a result of the various strengthening items he had purchased in the past while, though only briefly, it had also been mentioned within the [Hands of Nirvana] manual. Vahn knew, from reading various resources after the fact, Cultivation was one of the best methods to increase your internal energy, strengthening the meridians, forming a dantian, and potentially even ascending to godhood through martial practice, meditation, and spiritual enlightenment. Through understanding the variousws of the universe, gleaning insight into the dao of all things, a person could increase their lifespan exponentially while simultaneously experiencing a monstrous growth in their physical and spiritual power. Presently, Vahns understanding of the principles behind Cultivation was very shallow as even cheap cultivation manuals seemed to cost several tens-of-millions of Origin Points. As they were techniques that could allow one to potentially reach godhood, or even exceed it ording to some texts, it wasnt too surprising. Fortunately, much like the [Flying Heavenly Sword Manual], it could technically be read by multiple people, meaning he could potentially allow multiple people to study it in the future. The only real restriction was, each cultivation technique was heavily dependent on the nature and affinity of the user. Also, unless you had a strong soul and a great deal of willpower, some phases of the cultivation process could be lethal to the practitioner. After all, the purpose behind cultivation seemed to be an effort to directly oppose fate, meaning there were several heavenly tribtions the user would have to face depending on their karmic alignment. Though it was possible to get lucky and obtain a cultivation manual through the gacha system, Vahn knew it was very unlikely unless he managed to procure some Premium Gacha Coupons. Thus far, he had only ever managed to .u.mte two of them, one from the Goliath and another as a lucky drop from his and Ais fight against the Balor. Currently, other than as a Grade Reward from quests, Vahns only way to get Premium Gacha Coupons was from ying Monster Rexes, generally without assistance. With his [Magia Erebea], this became far more practical than in the past so it looked like he would need to treat it seriously in the future. If he could .u.mte ten coupons, Vahn would be able to exchange them for a 10+1 pull from the system, with the bonus pull having a much higher rate of being the type of item he was looking for. Just like his own [Mantra of Eternity], which Vahn suspected to be rted to Cultivation, there was a very high chance he could obtain something beneficial for Fenrirs growth. The main reason Vahn decided to use the Premium Gacha was that it wouldnt cost him any Origin Points, meaning he could save tens, or even hundreds, of millions of OP. However, this didnt mean he was unable to help Fenrir almost instantly as, after reading up on various matters rted to Cultivation, Vahn knew where were several support techniques that would be very beneficial to her. These included special meditation methods, spiritual refinement medicines, soul-strengthening pills, and even tertiary support methods like treasures, artifacts, and equipment. Fenrir, in order to increase her affinity with ice elemental energy, had actually slept on a bed of ice when she was in Evas orb. Vahn discovered that such methods were actually verymon in cultivation resources since it allowed a person to increase their understanding of specificws by constantly immersing themselves among their respective elements. Thus, Vahn decided to convert one of the subterranean rooms of the Manor into a Cultivation Cave for Fenrirs use, fitting it with a bed of ice, made of a material called [Pristine Jade Ice]. He also gifted her a meditation technique called [Mind of Still Water, Heart of Eternal Ice], which would supposedly allow Fenrir to have better control over her emotions while also increasing her elemental affinity with Ice... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Pristine Jade Ice Bed] (390,000OP) Rank: A (Earth-Grade Treasure) Use: Allows the body to absorb ice, water, and yin elemental energies, further increasing the users affinity with said elements. For users that do not possess said elements, causes yin-ice toxins to build up in the marrows and restricts the flow of energy through the meridians. An Earth-Grade Treasure used by disciples of a sect that cultivates Ice Elemental techniques. Disciples of the Sect are known for their calm dispositions, ethereal beauty, and cold hearts that be detached from the world. However, rumors also say that anyone able to melt the heart of these disciples would win their favor for all eternity, even bing daopanions on the long road of cultivation. [Mind of Still Water, Heart of Eternal Ice] (250,000OP) Rank: B (Mortal-Grade Meditation Technique) Use: Manual detailing specific breathing techniques that allow the user to have better control over their emotions, making the cultivation of water, ice, and yin elemental techniques easier. However, prolonged use of this meditation technique, without counterbncing it with fire, star, or yang elemental energies can make the user be as cold and detached as the techniques they cultivate. A meditation technique created by a young practitioner in a foreign record, having grown within an area surrounded by water and ice. It is said that she had been inspired by the ever-present chill of her homnd and watching how icebergs were able to slowly carve a path through thend, almost as if they had limitless patience and an infinite amount of time. In the same way that rivers can create canyons, this technique emphasizes patience, perseverance, and, most importantly, attunement with the elementalws of water, ice, and yin energy. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrirs Desires,The Goodest Girl...,Ack! Someone Got Cultivation in my Slice of Life Novel~!)<--(A/N: This was never meant to be a slice of life novel (>,...,<)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 684 - Inherently Without Restrictions

Chapter 684 - Inherently Without Restrictions

It took a bit of effort, and coordination with Terra, but Vahn managed to get a decently sized room set up for Fenrirs cultivation. Because of the conflicts between natural energy, and all the elemental affinities Fenrir made use of, the room she used had to bepletely isted from the rest of Terras dominion. To do so, she made several reinforced earthenyers surrounding the room, each bearing aplex arrangement of wards that would prevent the icy energy from spreading into the surroundings. By the time everything wasplete, Fenrir had a room that was near -200 degrees Celsius, covered in ayer of ice with several valuable herbs and natural resources growing within, each suffusing ice and yin elemental energy through the room. Most notably, however, was therge b of ice that formed the shape of a bed, something Fenrir seemed rather fond of since it was always very calming to be surrounded by your own element. Vahn had to set up several barriers to the entrance of Fenrirs room since it could actually kill anyone that didnt have a high tolerance to cold. Exposure to the extreme ice elemental energy in the room would sap the strength of anyone inside of kill, freezing solid anyone that didnt have some means to resist the icy chill that would seize their body. Fenrir, however, seemedpletely immune to it, much like Vahn who was currentlyying on the [Pristine Jade Ice Bed] with the jubnt little Vanargandr clinging to his body. She continued to draw deep breaths, enjoying her Masters fragrance in this small world where only the two of them existed. After refilling her reserves, Fenrir lifted her body and said, "Thank you, Master...this room feel veryfortable. I will do my best to be even stronger in the future..." Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Fenrir leaned down and started kissing him, something she seemed especially fond of since the previous night. Fenrir hadpletely stopped putting on the act she had adopted ever since her return from the orb. With her Master epting her desire to grow stronger, along with her feelings of wanting to be with him, Fenrir felt like a heavy weight had been removed from her shoulders. She hadnt realized it previously, but there had been a very heavy burden on her heart that had caused her to bottle up some resentment towards the other girls. After all, before spending four years with Terra and Eva, she had never really opened up to thempletely. Though she still cared deeply for her Masters children, Fenrir was much happier being able to improve her strength while having a special ce only she and her Master could visit... Other than the time he spent visiting Alex, conversing with the girls, and ying with his daughters, Vahn spent the rest of the day helping set up Fenrirs room. Once everything waspleted, they snuggled up on the bed and talked about cultivation and various other subjects, at least when Fenrir wasnt releasing her pent up affections on him. Vahn, knowing how much he had restrained her in the past, pampered Fenrir quite a bit throughout the day, though it never went further than heavy petting and kissing. Unlike the past, they actually sat down and talked about the unique structure of her body, discussing possible solutions and steps she could take to ovee her Ageless trait. Like all of his subordinates, they were actually able to live forever but, as a result of some of the unique quirks of the system, they could still age and grow depending on special circ.u.mstances. This would continue until they reached physical maturity or, in the case that age resulted in their power increasing, even extend far into their twilight years. However, unless they were killed outright, none of his subordinates named through the Akashic Tome would die of old age. After all, though they were unique entities, they were still an extension of himself, sharing an unbreakable link with his soul and being entirelyprised of source energy... Fenrir was a unique case among the rest of his subordinates because, much like Eva, Fenrir had a fixed default state that her body always reverted back to. Fafnir, Terra, and Khaos, while having noteworthy regeneration, didnt possess this quality as it was something unique to Fenrirs existence as a Vanargandr. He wasnt sure which record he had drawn her name from, but the original record holder must have had the Ageless trait as well. As a result, Fenrirs body always reverted back to her base form, regardless of the damage she sustained. Unless she was outright killed, Fenrir could regrow lost limbs, regenerate organs, and even grow out her hair to the exact same length as her default state. Even if she shaved her entire head of hair, it wouldnt even take more than two hours for it to reach the middle of her back once again. Unfortunately, there werent any outright ways to change Fenrirs Ageless body into a more normal one, other than increasing the Tier of her soul and fundamentally altering the nature of her existence. The higher someone was in respect to Soul Tier, the greater influence they had over their own destiny, including the form they took and the capabilities they would possess. Innates existed outside the influence ofws so, if Fenrir was able to get an Innate that allowed her to freely alter her form, it would have a higher priority than her Ageless trait. She already nearly mastered her [Mimickry] Development Ability at this point and, though her transformation magic still needed work, Fenrir was quite gifted at it. ording to Eva, it took her nearly ten years to learn how to change the shape of her body with magic, something she had never truly mastered. Fenrir, though only working on it proactively for thest two months, already had a marginal amount of sess with the ability. In the future, she may even be able to assume an a.d.u.l.t form, even without the reliance on an Innate. This, however, wouldnt get around the base issue so she needed to harden her intent and desire an Innate that would give her more control over the changes in her body. Most likely, she would end up first getting an Innate rted to the mind, increasing her control and willpower, so it was probable that the issues with her body wouldnt be addressed until she reached Tier 3. However, with her [Insatiable Hunger] possessing no growth restrictions, Fenrir would be able to reach Tier 3 very quickly, likely in as little as a few months depending on how much effort she puts into her secondary Innate. The development of ones Innates was the key to increasing the Soul Tier, though not the determinant factor. Having a mastered Innate just meant you could reach the limit of your current Soul Tier, meaning a Tier 1 Soul could reach the peak of Tier 1 if they mastered their Innate. To actually advance your soul further, you required a breakthrough in both your understanding ofws and the nature of existence itself. This would prompt the awakening of other Innates, circ.u.mventing thews of the world and allowing you to grow beyond the limitations you were born with. Interestingly, these changes would persist through all your future reincarnations as well, meaning Cultivation was the key to eternal life, regardless of the record you originated from. At the very least, you would make life easier for all your future incarnations since their potential would have been increased through your efforts... Having a better understanding of how Innates function, Vahn realized why his own Soul Tier had increased so quickly, even though it was very difficult to do so for normal people. His [Will of the Emperor] had already reached the peak at the moment of its awakening. This allowed him to have a rational view of the world while increasing his understanding of variousws through observation and interacting directly with the elemental energies within the air. It was also the major shifts in his mentality, supported by [Will of the Emperor], that caused his other Innates to awaken. Vahn knew that his Soul Tier fundamentally had no restrictions, meaning he already had several dormant Innates sleeping inside of him. If he truly managed to awaken each of them, pushing them towards mastery, his path to obtaining higher Tiers would only be restricted by his perseverance and understanding. Vahn was tempted to try cultivation himself but, after forming the thought, Sis informed him it wouldnt be appropriate given his bodies constitution. In truth, though there were skills that allowed him to have an almost perfect control over certain elemental forces, Vahn had no affinity with any element. This made most cultivation techniques, even catered to his body through the path, fundamentally wed. Since he actually had no limitations from the start, normal cultivation would actually create bottlenecks that didnt previously exist. By following a pathid out by other people, his growth would be limited, even if it would also give him an explosive amount of power in the interim. Evas [Magia Erbea] was a good example since, after learning it, Vahn had a lot of restrictions and issues that he has slowly been working to ovee. However, for his current record, the skill gave him too many advantages to simply throw away. Instead, much like he would have to do with any cultivation manuals he purchased, Vahn had to improve upon the skill and ovee the inherent restrictions through breaking down and understanding thews that allowed the skills to function. Fortunately, this didnt apply to existences that he had named through the Akashic record as, even though their body wasprised of source energy, they still possessed elemental affinities. Fenrir had limitless growth with herpletely unrestricted [Insatiable Hunger], which was graded even higher than his [Will of the Emperor]. By cultivating certain techniques, Fenrir could have greater influence over how her base Innate affected her growth. This made it so that she had no real bottlenecks in the future, limited only by her mental development and self-control. After all, even if she stayed Tier 1 forever, Fenrir would be able to have enough power and energy to rival beings that were much stronger than her. If left unrestricted, she could even devour an entire record without ever increasing her Soul Tier at all, including all the powerful entities and gods contained within. Now, by increasing her Soul Tier and working towards controlling her own Innate, Fenrirs future growth was truly unrestricted, even without sacrificing her mind in the process... --- After spending the night with Fenrir, Vahn woke up with afortable chill epassing his entire body. Though he didnt have any water, ice, or yin elemental affinity, Vahn was entirely immune to the yin-ice poison that would have settled in his body by sleeping on the [Pristine Jade Ice Bed]. Instead, the icy chill made him feel very calm and rxed as his body broke down the detrimental effects of the energy and converted it directly into source energy. Fenrir, though covered in a lightyer of frost, also seemed to be veryfortable as her eyelids fluttered open, dispersing the small particles that had attached themselves to her hair and eyshes. With a happy smile on her face, Fenrir wrapped her arms around him suddenly and began rubbing her head against his bare chest,zily muttering, "Master~." Vahn smiled, returning her embrace while enjoying the strange sensation of her ice-cold skin against his bare body. They had both slept n.a.k.e.d the previous night, enjoying the cold energy pervading through their bodies while cuddling up with each other. Fenrir, even though his body was also very cold,mented that she enjoyed the warmth that radiated from his body. When he asked about it, Fenrir exined that it was like his aura was very warm, while his presence and aroma made her feel calm and safe. This was actually a sentiment shared by most of the girls in the Manor, which was why they all felt somewhat strange when they interacted with his memory fragment previously. After Loki, Hephaestus, Eina, Hestia, and Syr had discussed the matter, it was decided that the reward orbs wouldnt be used in the future. If it wasnt the real Vahn, it felt very strange since he acted distinctly different than normal while also feeling different. The only Space-Time orbs that would be used were exclusively restricted to educational purposes and skill development. To make up for this, Terra was now trying her best to make a more powerful Sub-Space orb so that Vahn could spend time with each girl with his real form. Fortunately, it was possible to use multiple orbs to get around the restrictions that might have limited the progress of normal people. If Terra made several orbs, it would be possible to make use of each of them, functionally increasing the time dtion a person experienced, potentially to the point where they could experience an eternity over the course of a single day. This, however, would take a vast amount of resources and a powerful understanding of space-timews, which were currently far beyond the capabilities of Vahn, or anyone else for that matter... Since Vahn had to make good on his promise to Rakia Kingdom today, he couldnt really stay locked up inside Fenrirs room all day. Thus, after hugging her body for the better part of an hour, allowing her to fiddle around with his proud dragon, Vahn and Fenrir got dressed to attend the morning training. When they finally came out of the icy chamber, Vahn felt his skin stinging as his temperature slowly normalized. Fenrir, however, seemed to contain the icy energies in her body as a gentle mist wafted off of her. She always walked around bare-pawed so, every step she took made icy fragments spread around from the point of contact. Vahn found this rather interesting and, after checking over Fenrirs body with his [Eyes of Truth], he could see several icy strands of energy flowing through her body. Very small parts of this energy was being absorbed by her mana circuits, nourishing and strengthening them. However, the vast majority of the energy was slowly dissipating into the atmosphere, forming the mist that gave Fenrir an illusory look. As they walked through the Manor, Fenrir left a small trail of ice that caused her to furrow her brows slightly and, uponing across Emiru and Maemi, she apologized for making a mess. The twins were somewhat surprised by the honest apology they had received, smiling softly in response as they synchronously said, "Dont worry about it, Fenrir. We will take care of it properly~." Unlike everyone else, the twins usually trained in the afternoon since they spent most of the morning cleaning the Manor, serving meals, and doingundry. They genuinely enjoyed working as maids so, though it used to bother him int he past, Vahn hadpletely epted their self-assumed roles. Fortunately, Syr, Mn, Lunoire, and, though he had been surprised the first time he saw her, Risna also helped out. She had something about not wanting to just leech off everyone else in the Manor, feeling self-conscious about watching everyone else work hard all the time... Arriving in the back yard, Vahn saw Tiona in her dual-transformation, making use of both her [Pactio] form and the wand in her possession. She was flying around creating shockwaves while she and Ais fought in the air above the training field. From below, Naaza and Ryuu were shooting arrows towards the two, allowing them to train their awareness while practicing high-speed movements. Ryuu didnt train much these day, but it didnt strain her body too much just using her artifact to fire arrows. Though slightly different in structure, Ryuu now had a crest carved on her abdomen that allowed her to absorb natural energy into her body. It didnt serve the same purpose as Riverias, which was almost necessary for pregnancy, but still allowed her mana to replenish much faster than normal. One of the discussion topics in recent weeks was creating several types of crests that could help increase the acquisition of magic power in all the girls bodies. Since it wasnt that difficult to removeter on in life, it would allow everyone that was currently in their development phase to increase their magic power further. This was especially true for the girls that were currently pregnant since their growth would be limited during the duration of their pregnancy. Now, not just Ryuu, but Eina also had a crest carved on her body. In the future, once the crests were refined to suit each individual elemental affinity, Vahn expected it would be mon to see specific types of crests present on peoples bodies. The trend would start with the girls in the Manor but, depending on how things developed, Vahn didnt mind making it avable to the students that would attend the School. After all, anything that could passively aid a persons growth, especially when they are young, would be very beneficial to securing the future of their graduates. Then, once people learned the purpose of the crests, Vahn expected they would bemonce after a few years. Thus, the crests themselves were actually a disguise for the real formation that was carved underneath, making use of his knowledge of meridians and the existence of the spiritual and magic bodies. Even if people copied the crests, they wouldnt have any true function, making the prestige of the School and its graduates elevated with an air of mystery associated with it... Fenrir stood next to Vahn for a few minutes, watching the skirmish overhead with intrigue before turning towards the forest and saying, "Master, Im going to go talk with Terra. I want to meet Alex and see what your memory fragment is like..." Vahn nodded his head, giving Fenrir onest kiss that earned him the attention of some of the other girls in the field. Fenrir smiled in return before suddenly shaking her body, forcing the cold energy to escape through her pores. Ayer of frost covered the grassy area before Fenrir giggled and ran off towards the forest. Since Terra would haveined if she was leaking energy in the Garden, Fenrir diffused it from her body before deciding to head over. Vahn, also covered in ayer of frost, shook his head with a slight smile on his face. Fenrirsugh had been directed towards him but Vahn didnt mind, simply enjoying the change in her character and how happy she seemed. Shortly after Fenrir had departed, Haruhime made her way over, apanied by Lili, thetter of which was covered in a lightyer of sweat from her morning exertions. Vahn habitually stroked both their heads the moment they entered his range, earning smiles from both girls as Haruhime said, "Fenrir seems a lot happier than before. I was actually starting to worry about her over thest few days. Im d everything turned out well..." Lili, nodding her head, added, "Yes, she seemed to be trying very hard to restrain herself. If things had kept going in that direction, its possible she might have had a mental breakdown at some point." There was a very serious look in Lilis eyes as she looked toward Vahn but, after a few seconds had passed, she smiled and said, "I knew you would take action before then, though~." Haruhimeughed in response to Lilis words, pulling closer to Vahn as she said, "Indeed...after all, our Master is rather Heroic, isnt he, Lili~?" Lilis brows had twitched when she saw Haruhime suddenly get close to Vahn but, after hearing her words, she smiled and, without minding her sweaty body, clung to Vahns other arm and muttered a happy Nn! Vahn just shook his head with a wry smile before asking, "Mind if I join you two for training this morning? I want to warm up my body a bit before I leaveter." Hearing his words, Haruhime and Lili exchanged a knowing look, understanding that Vahn may suffer a mental blow by the time he returned in the afternoon. Lili gave a small nod, seeminglymunicating something between them before she looked up at Vahn and said, "I dont mind if you want to train with us. However, we were talking to Lefiya earlier and she had been looking forward to using her Heavy Petting Couponter on. If youre not busy this afternoon, you should go spend some time with her..." Vahn was very surprised when he heard Lili essentially telling him to spend time with other girls, especially given her character. Though she had improved in leaps and bounds, Lili still had a somewhat jealous personality and it wasnt easy for her to prop up others. Understanding she was acting out of character on his behalf, Vahn started to realize that it wasnt just Fenrir looking out for him. With a smile on his face, Vahn made Lili flush as he bent down and kissed her lightly on the lips and said, "Sure, that sounds like a good idea. After Im done, however, how about we all go y in the woods for a bit? This time, Ill be the Seeker and, if I managed to find you...well...Im sure youll enjoy it~." Lili had started to breathe heavily through her nose, facepletely red as she nodded with a very serious, "Yes, that sounds great! Super great!" escaping her tiny lips. As for Haruhime, her eyes glittered with the light of expectation as she released a peal of elegant bell-likeughter... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns body is a Cultivators wet dream...,Vahns body is Fenrirs wet dream...,RIP Lefiya, gonna get some of that Heavy Petting soon) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 685 - Premonition?

Chapter 685 - Premonition?

After eating breakfast with the girls, Vahn had been preparing for his venture when Eina and Hephaestus showed up. He had just been getting ready to climb on Fafnirs back but, detecting their arrival, jumped down to greet them. Hephaestus, carrying a very tired looking Ina in her arms, walked close and quietly said, "When Ina woke up, she said she wanted to see you all of a sudden. Im d I managed to catch you in time..." The smile on Vahns face softened slightly but he also felt it was a little strange that his daughter would suddenly do such a thing. Yes, she was very clingy to him at times, but Ina had never outright asked someone to deliver her to him before. Vahn epted Ina from Hephaestus, staring into her sleepy blue eyes with a smile on his face as he softly asked, "Ina? Is there something you wanted from Papa?" For several seconds,pletely uncharacteristically, Ina remained absolutely quiet before slowly nodding as she said, "I had a dream...I saw multiple Papas in a ce Ive never been to before. You seemed very sad and I was very scared..." Since Ina had just met his memory fragment only recently, it wouldnt have been abnormal for Vahn to assume she just had a strange dream as a result. However, he could see the same mystical light in her eyes that he had observed in the past and understood things werent so easily exined away... Ina, seemingly finding her words, became teary-eyed as she tightly hugged his neck and said, "Papa...dont cry...Ina is here..." Vahn wasnt sure what Ina had seen in her dream but her reaction made his heart twist around in his chest, breaking the good mood he had developed since the morning training. Unable to do much else, as he didnt want to press Ina to recount something that made her sad, Vahn gently stroked her back and infused calming energy through her body until she fell asleep. Even so, Ina continued to cling to him long after she had fallen unconscious, making Vahn choke up a little when he finally passed her over to Hephaestus. The only thing Hephaestus knew was that Ina kept insisting to meet with her Papa so she was very confused by all of these developments. However, as a goddess, she had some idea about what was going on so, after cing the sleeping her chest, said, "Ina may have some degree of foresight or prophecy. Since she saw multiple versions of you, it seems to be a very powerful ability..." Hephaestus released a sigh as a somewhat mncholic look appeared on her face and she added, "Prophecy is both a gift and a curse, especially when one is still a child...hopefully, this was just a strange dream and nothing more..." However, though the words left her lips, even Hephaestus didnt believe them. She had sensed a strange energy circting around her daughter and noticed the glow in her pale blue eyes when sheid eyes on Vahn earlier. Eina had been watching from the side, showing a great deal of concern on her face before taking a deep breath and returning back to a calm smile. Walking over, she gave Vahn a very firm hug and said in a soothing tone of voice, "Youre always doing the impossible, Vahn...I believe making your daughter smile should be easy. Hurry back...well be waiting for you when you return." Though it looked like she had been forcing herself at first, by the time Eina had finished her words the smile on her face had be natural and beautiful. Vahn had noticed the change, feeling the tension that had gripped his heart slowly fading away as he enjoyed the embrace with Eina and said, "Dont worry too much; Ill be back as soon as I can. When I return, Im certain I can make Ina smile again..." Vahn continued to hold Eina for more than a full minute, only stopping when a gentle morning breeze blew through the area and caused her hair to tickle his face. With a smile on his face, Vahn moved the strands of silky brown hair behind her ears, giving Eina onest kiss before turning to Hephaestus and doing the same. Then, though she was still asleep, Vahn leaned down and gave Ina a kiss on the forehead, smiling when he saw the sad expression slowly melt from her face. This time, Vahn hoped her dreams would be more pleasant than whatever she saw previously... As it took several hours to reach the border between Rakia Kingdom and the Western Forests, Vahn had a lot of time to think about what Ina might have seen. He hoped there had been nothing too graphic and, based on her reaction, that, very fortunately, didnt seem to be the case. She seemed to be upset by the fact that he was upset, meaning he must have done something he regretted. Considering he had just been about to leave for Rakias border, Vahn could assume it was rted to his trip and, knowing some of the lengths Rakia went to at times, he expected they had prepared something for him. Regardless, they wouldnt be able to pose much of an actual threat so Vahn assumed it was some kind of cruel scheme one of their advisors hade up with. If he was careful, Vahn believed he would be able to avoid any real tragedies... By the time he was nearing the borders, Vahn had also decided to send a telepathic message to Terra, informing her that he may summon her to his side in an emergency. One of the things that would be very devasting would be the loss of Fafnir or Khaos so, assuming Rakia might havee up with a method to target them, Vahn wanted to have a failsafe in ce. After all, Terra could easily teleport back to the Manor and, even from a vast distance of several thousand kilometers, she would still be able to sense if someone entered her territory. Terra happily agreed, saying she would always be happy toe to his aid if he were in danger. After all, protecting him was one of the reasons she had given for her own existence and, even if he was unkible, Terra would regret having her Master suffer just because she was unwilling to assist him. Vahn had arrived at the same spot where the first fortress had been located, something surprised by the fact a few tents had been pitched in the area while very obvious construction efforts were taking ce. Right now, there were only materials present, but Vahn could tell they were already beginning to reconstruct the border fortress. Seeing several hundred veborers moving about below, many of which had be terrified upon his arrival, Vahn couldnt help but release a long and tired sigh. He had Fafnir and Khaos fly up to safety, sending them high enough that there were no practical ways to target them, regardless of what Rakia Kingdom might havee up with. Afternding in the central area, sending most of theborers running in terror, Vahn expanded his domain and began scanning over all the tents. Some soldiers came charging out, fear apparent on their faces but nheless charging towards him with spears. Though he could allow them to pierce him, Vahn wasnt really fond of pain so he lowered his bodys center and used his [Xunw Protector]s to deflect every spear thrust, robbing the weapons from the men in the process. There was a vast difference in their parameters so, even if they gripped the spears as if their lives depended on it, Vahn was able to disarm the men and throw their weapons into his Inventory. Though they started off with a fair amount of momentum, even if it had been influenced by their fear, the men quickly lost their bravado after having their weapons seized. Other than a rather quick Level 2 who pulled out a concealed de and tried to lunge towards him, most of the men retreated away, forming a loose encirclement after picking up makeshift weapons. Many took up the same tools that the ves had been holding previously, staring towards Vahn without enough willpower to charge forward a second time. Even if they had been training for several years, nobody wanted to die and, feeling the tyrannical and oppressive aura radiating from Vahn, only the most steadfast among them could even keep their bearing. Vahn had long since finished passing his perception over the area, learning that there were only around one hundred soldiers present. The strongest among them was, once again, Level 3 while the vast majority of people within his domain were simple ves, all around Level 1 in strength, likely without a Falna. Deciding he had imed enough lives previously, Vahn made a new resolution as his eyes turned cold. Looking around at the surrounding men, many having ck and grey auras, even if the purple contained within them was very prominent, Vahn decided to pass judgment on them, even if it was lenient. The number of ves present vastly outnumbered the actualbat personnel and, though he hadnt really been able to save the prisoners from thest time, most of the ves had harder bodies and would be able to seek freedom if given the opportunity. Like an illusion, Vahn vanished from the sight of all the soldiers present, now having gathered nearly half their forces in the encirclement. However, with the strongest person present only being Level 2, they couldnt even see his figure easily as Vahn came out behind the nearest group of soldiers, jamming his index and middle fingers towards their lower backs. The men screamed out in pain, some feeling such excruciating pain that the spat out blood as a result. Vahn was sending threads of energy through his fingertips, causing his source energy to wreak havoc on their mana circuits while severely damaging their spiritual and magic bodies. He didnt want to leave them with any physical disabilities, but Vahn intended to make sure none of these cruel people would be able to find sess in their society that advocated might and power instead of tolerance and peace. Many of the soldiers had been waiting for others to take action but, after Vahn made his move, those nearest him made desperate attempts to fight back while those further away turned around and ran. Vahn even saw one soldier tearing off his armor, picking up a dirty tunic nearby and trying to look like one of the ves who had long fled. Since he had picked up a tool previously, the image wasnt far off from the usual workers, if not for the fact he didnt look malnourished with the glint of a murderer in his eyes. Vahn, having just dealt with another small batch of soldiers, appeared near the man who shouted out, "Please spare me, my Lord. Ahm just a ve, n-" Before the man could finish his words, Vahn jammed his fingers, not at the disguised soldiers core, but directly into his heart. This was one of the few Levels 2 present and, based on how sickeningly ck his aura was, Vahn had no illusions that he would have done many horrible things in his rise to power. With confusion and anguish written across his face, the man choked on arge volume of ck blood as he fell to the ground. Momentster, with a look of absolute disbelief, the once arrogant and proud soldier had breathed hisst. Perhaps as a result of the indignation he felt, the man hadnt even closed his eyes after dying, continuing to stare lifelessly towards the form of Vahn moving about the remaining soldiers like a wolf amongst sheep. Not even those that tried to run away were spared, including the few that tried their luck by pretending to be ves. Truthfully, Vahn wasnt entirely sure if they werent ves but, seeing that many had incredibly dark auras, Vahn damaged their mana circuits all the same. After dealing with the majority of the soldiers, Vahn moved to therge tent where all the remainingbat personnel was located. There were about 50 presences within that one tent, arge ck structure that was several timesrger than all the surrounding tents. Vahn unhesitantly entered inside, setting up a barrier to intercept all the arrows that came flying towards him. Then, seeing that their surprise attack had been fruitless, a surprisingly fat man with bulging muscles held up a young girl while holding a sword against her neck, shouting, "You piece of shit! You dare attack Darius Crowley, Captain of the 37th ck-Iron Brigade!?" The fact he was shouting in amanding tone while holding a hostage made Vahns eyes turn dull as he coldly asked, "What are you trying to aplish by taking a hostage...?" Darius had a fierce look on his face as a cruel smile suffused his lips, saying, "Ive read the reports, brat. You like to y hero, right? Fine then, lets see how selfless our little wannabe can be! Drop down all your weapons and you have my word that I will release all these ho-" Before he could finish, Vahn tilted his head slightly and asked, "Are you an idiot...?" Darius eyes bulged in anger, face turning red as he pulled the sword in his hand closer to the trembling girls neck and screamed, "Are you trying my patience, you cur!?" Vahn cast a very brief nce towards the girl before inly stating, "Even if I try to help people, it doesnt mean I will simply give up my life in exchange, especially if its to allow cruel and viscious people to seed. If every good person just sacrificed themselves every time someone evil took a hostage, this would have been even worse..." Vahn had no idea what went through the heads of bad guys at times, especially in moments like this. What, was he expected to suddenly drive a dagger through his own heart on the promise that someone who has exploited others for a living would stay true to their word? No, Vahn had already seen this situation in the past and, after thinking about it several times, he understood you couldntpromise with people like this. Even if he had to bear the pain of failing to save some people, he wouldnt be able to save anyone if he simply gave up his own life. After all, time didnt stop at moments like this and, even if the young girl died, there would be thousands more that needed saving that he would still be able to help. Though he might make an exception for his old children, Vahn wasnt selfless enough to give his enemies any advantages on behalf of a stranger. Of course, this didnt mean Vahn was just going to let the fat man do whatever he wanted, as there are a functionally infinite number of ways to deal with a mere Level 3. Before the man, or any of his cronies, could react to what was happening, Vahn converged his domain on them. In total, there were only eleven soldiers present and, given how weak their Levels were, Vahn was able to stun them all in an instant. Several small des appeared in his hands the next moment, drawing cold lines through the air as they were buried into the skulls of the ten men, and one woman present. Given how close she was to Darius, Vahn assumed she had been something like a Lieutenant or lover to the man. However, she was also holding a hostage so Vahn hadnt given her any leniency, especially as her aura was cker than almost anyone else present. The nearly forty hostages all had various reactions, some screaming out in terror while others simply fell to the ground. However, there were a few amongst them that realized they had been saved and had proactively started calming down theirpanions. As for the girl that had been held captive by Darius, she fell to her butt in a somewhat catatonic state as a foul smell spread through the tent. Vahns dagger had passed right next to her head since Darius had been using her body as a human shield, effectively causing her to experience the converging of his aura and the terror of having a de flying towards her face. Vahn gave her a slightly apologetic look, tossing over a bundle of clean clothes before walking towards the middle-aged man that was trying to get matters under control. Seeing Vahn approach, the man took a step back as a somewhat fearful look appeared in his eyes as he asked, "My Lord...is there something you need of us? I promise you we can still be of use..." Though there was a fair amount of propaganda in regards to Vahn circting around the Rakia Kingdom, making him about to be some vicious demon, few people actually knew what he looked like. To many of the ves present, though some had already realized the truth of the matter, Vahn was just a young boy with amazing power. However, as one of the people who had recognized Vahn, the man had already uttered a silent prayer hoping that the rumors regarding the seemingly young boy were exaggerated. Vahn paused for a brief moment, feeling somewhat confused before realizing what must be going through, not just the mans, but most of the ves minds. To them, who had lived lives of servitude, he may as well just be their next Master. They lived or died on his whims, even though he didnt actually have any intention of harming them. With a small sigh, Vahn shook his head slightly and said, "Rx, Im not going to harm any of you. I see that you have some influence over the other people present and was going to offer you a bit of advice. I cant personally escort you, but I can give your people supplies and you can try your luck escaping to the south. If you make it to the edge of the ins region, you should be able to seek shelter at some of the smaller viges in the area." Though they likely wouldnt be epted in the viges maintained by the various Agricultural Familia, there were several small viges located in and around the Western Forests that they could take up residence in. Since they were seemingly capable of constructing a fortress, they could even build their own vige after finding a peaceful ce to settle down. Realizing what Vahn was saying, the man had a slight glimmer of hope in his eyes that began to fade away almost as quickly as it appeared. However, it didnt fade away entirely as he said, "My Lord, there be sevral other fortresses asides this one...wed never make it far before one o tha patrols picked up our trail..." Vahn shook his head once again, exining, "I gave the Rakia Kingdom my warning and will be eliminating all the current border fortresses. I doubt theyll have time to send out patrols while theyre busy trying to take care of damage control. Also, you can equip yourselves with the soldiers weapons and armor. With your numbers, a small patrol wouldnt cause too much trouble. Some of you may die, yes, but its better than returning back to the Rakia Kingdom and living the lives of ves, right?" Not just the man, but several nearby people agreed to Vahns words, some even picking up the nearby weapons while others started stripping away the equipment of the now-deceased soldiers. Vahn was a little disturbed by the fact that none of them seemed to be bothered by the presence of corpses but, after considering where they came from, he wasnt too surprised. Death was a verymon thing within the Rakia Kingdom, especially amongst those in the lower rungs of society. Vahn wasnt going to pry into how they had lived, or how they n to live, so he just put the matter to the back of his mind for the time being as he started to arrange some supplies for them. The ves that had fled, fearing to go too far since it would have resulted in their death if they had been captured, slowly gathered together in the encampment. Many of the soldiers he had spared ended up being killed by some of the ves they had wronged in the past, not that it was any of Vahns concern. As long as they didnt try to cruelly torment them, Vahn didnt bother stopping anyone from seeking vengeance, especially in the case where it was a young woman bludgeoning a male soldier to death. Vahn hadnt missed the fact that there would generally be numerous female ves attacking the same men, generally aiming for the face and unmentionables of said individual. To give them a better chance at survival, Vahn purchased some simple weapons and rucksacks from the shop and distributed them to the people that were unarmed. He also weeded out some of the ves that had much darker auras than normal, which had been made easier by the fact that they generally congregated together and were already trying to run things in the newly formed group. Vahn didnt n to let the people simply trade hands to another group that would exploit them so, after identifying the problem individuals, Vahn asked the opinion of the same man he had met previously, who he came to know as Gant, if they were necessary. Vahn wasnt surprised to find out that the men were some of the patsies that pandered to the soldiers for benefits, often causing harm to their fellow ves and acting arrogantly. Thus, without any major ir, Vahn crippled their mana circuits, distributed their equipment to other people, and then left them behind to fend for themselves in the vast wastnd... Once everything had been taken care of, Vahn parted ways with the small caravan that had been established, waving towards the group as he mounted Fafnir and moved on to his next destination. All throughout, as if they couldnt believe what was happening, there had been no cheering from any of the ves. There werent even a lot of people who thanked him, not that Vahn was really bothered by it. They had gone through a lot, experiencing a level of cruelty that most people wouldnt have been able to bear. Vahn only hoped that, one day in the far future, they would be able to find the happiness everyone should be allowed to seek. Perhaps, maybe after settling down in a nice clearing along the borders of the Western Forest, they would find it. After all, life was a precious thing and, as long as you continued living, there was always hope... (A/N: New cover is live o3o~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: No Papa, No Cry (TT_TT)...,Vahn might be a baka, but hes no idiot!,Hope Beyond The Horizon...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 686 - (*Spoilers : Title at End*)

Chapter 686 - (*Spoilers : Title at End*)

After freeing the ves at the encampment, Vahn proceeded to the location of the next fortress, wondering if Inas vision had been rted to his earlier decision. Since it was something he likely would have done regardless, Vahn expected it was rted to something else entirely. When he arrived above the next fortress, noticing it hadnt been abandoned, Vahn released a small sigh and wondered what exactly the Rakia Kingdom might have tried. They had to have something nned so, instead of just having Fafnir outright destroy the fortress, Vahn leaped down to investigate personally. Having detected his arrival, as Fafnir and Khaos stood out quite a bit, the soldiers immediately attacked with incredible intensity. Unlike the small detachment watching over the ves, these men were all battle-hardened warriors that had rotated around various border fortresses over the years. There were a little too many to simply disarm and disable so Vahn struck a pose with his left hand out, almost as if he were grabbing something while saying, "Gather, 9 spirits of ice, cut apart my enemy. Magic Arrows, Series of 9 Ice Arrows. Fixate. Seize. Load magic, Armament!" Nine crystallized ice arrows formed around his body before converging towards Vahns fist, causing his skin to shift into an onyx-ck as icy blue tattoos spread across his body. Vahns hair became a simrly pale blue while growing marginally longer and taking on a spiky appearance. Most notably, at least for the terrified soldiers, was the fact that his eyes were like pristine ice that chilled them to the bone with a single nce... Making use of his ice elementalization [Magia Erebea], Vahn used [Mellodia Bex] to enhance his Agility before running around and striking each soldier he came across. Each hit urately struck the ck metallic b.r.e.a.s.ttes of the soldiers, seemingly doing no damage as an icy white coating spread over the metal and caused them to drop to the ground. Considering they were cold-hearted individuals that had lived by exposing others to their cruelty, Vahn allowed them to experience what it really felt like to have their hearts frozen. He still intended to destroy the fortress but, after Inas behavior this morning, Vahn wanted to gather information before he took decisive action. Without any major ir, Vahn managed to reach the area where the strongest three people in the fortress were located, each Level 3 with arrogant and proud looks on their faces. As he burst into the room, causing ice to spread along the reinforced stone surfaces of the fortress, Vahn looked toward the strongest amongst the three, somewhat surprised to see a woman with long blue hair and matching eyes. She had a cool and intelligent look at first nce but Vahn could see a cold depravity deep within her eyes, perfectly suiting the pitch ck aura shrouding her body. Unlike the rest of the soldiers present, she wasnt wearing the standard military uniform and instead had on a white overcoat with an ornate belt strapped to her waist. Without any discussion, she pulled out one of the small rapier-like swords at her waist and charged forward. In the instant before they collided, Vahn started to realize that this woman likely hadnt been the leader of the fortress and had likely been put here as a measure by Rakia Kingdoms chain ofmand. He didnt know her identity but Vahn noticed abnormal energy radiating from her thin sword as she cut towards his neck without hesitation, seemingly intending to end the fight with the first blow. Using his [Xunw Protector]s, Vahn received the blow before blinking away with [Shundo] almost immediately after the de contacted the ck armguards. Inspecting the part where her sword had contacted, Vahn saw a thin line and deduced that she must have some Innate that allows her attacks to pierce through her targets defense. That must be why she used thin and light swords instead of more practical weapons. The fact that she carried four different rapiers seemed to emphasize this fact... Brandishing two rapiers this time, the woman had an almost sensual smile on her face as she pointed one of her two des towards him and said, "Im impressed you were able to dodge that. Your speed seems to be beyo-" Vahn stepped forward with [Shundo], striking forward with both palms at the same time, even going so far as to use one of them to catch the de she had pointed in his direction. The womans eyes widened as she released her weapon and tried to step back, swiping in a diagonal motion with her second rapier while trying to draw one of her spares. Vahn, however, was quite a bit faster than she was, allowing his left palm to strike at the area above her left b.r.e.a.s.t. She flew back like a cannonball, breaking through the reinforced wall on the other side of the room while Vahn pulled her rapier from his hand and threw it towards one of the other Level 3s present, a petite woman with auburn hair and yellow eyes. Vahn had deduced that the man wearing the military garb was the actual Commander so he decided to deal with the unknown elements first, likely a duo since their outfits were simr. The difference was, the auburn-haired woman had several daggers present all over her body. Her overcoat itself was lined with small throwing knives and, unlike anything he had ever seen before, she had cross-shaped pupils that seemed to contract as the rapier veered towards her body. Unexpectedly, she managed to twist her body in a limber fashion,pletely evading the rapier while simultaneously throwing two daggers towards him. Unfortunately, even though she had gone through the efforts to sneakily toss a third dagger along the same trajectory, Vahn had bypassed thempletely with [Shundo] as he grabbed the womans neck and pinned her against the wall in the next instant. Spiderweb cracks spread out as she desperately resisted the cold energy spreading through her neck while kicking forward, burying two concealed daggers from her boots into Vahns liver and lower abdomen. She seemed to be the type that used lots of sneak attacks in herbat style but, using the immortality Vahn possessed through [Magia Erebea], such attacks were almost meaningless. Other than a fair amount of pain, Vahn wasnt affected at all, much to the girls terror as she began to tear up and w at his arm while simultaneously trying to stab him int he neck with a de concealed in her palm. Before she was able toplete the attack, Vahn converged his domain on the girls mind, causing her to instantly lose consciousness as choking sounds escaped her throat. Without being able to proactively resist the energy spreading through her body, she quickly s.u.mbed to the icy chill of Vahns hand as he dropped her to the ground. There was a palm-shaped icy handprint on the girls neck as a ck bruise slowly spread from the area. If not treated within the next few minutes, she would end up dying as a result of frostbite settling in and making it impossible for her to breathe. Vahn was somewhat curious about the identity of the two girls so he turned to the man, who had hefted a battleax without ever making a move to attack. He had a paleplexion on his face as he said, "Youre a monster..." Vahn couldnt help but raise his left brow in confusion, wondering how a man with such a malicious aura could call someone else a monster. However, instead of inquiring about that, Vahn shook his head slightly and asked, "Tell me, why didnt you retreat after I gave my warning? Who are these two girls?" The man scoffed in return, even though he was still pale and trembling slightly while cradling his battleax as if it were the only thing grounding him to the world. With a sneer on his face, he said, "You think were just gonna abandon our borders because some snot-nosed brat tells us to? Wed rather lose a thousand fortresses than back down to a monster like you!" Seemingly finding strength from his own words, the man charged forward with his battleax high. Vahn, however, just pulled out a spear and stabbed it into the mans gut, pinning him to the ceiling above since the fool actually jumped towards him while they were indoors. The once-arrogant Commander had a look of disbelief on his face as he powerlessly tried to remove the spear that had pierced through his heart. Unfortunately, he would never get the opportunity as the light faded from his eyes and he began to slump downwards momentster. Vahn shook his head, releasing another sigh as he turned to the girl on the ground and contemted if he should spare her for the time being. His question, though internalized, seemed to have triggered some kind of g, however, as the blue-haired woman walked through the hole she had created earlier. There was blood dripping from her lips while only a single one of her rapiers remained intact. Seeing herpanion on the ground, not that Vahn knew what their rtionship was, her eyes turned even colder as she brandished her rapier and asked, "You killed her...?" Vahn blinked slowly, calmly stating, "She is still alive, though I cant say for how much longer. The wound on her neck will take her life if she isnt treated soon." Hearing this, though the cold light in her eyes didnt fade away, the woman seemed to rx slightly. Vahn, using this momentarypse in her mental acuity, asked, "Who are you? What is Rakia Kingdom nning? Tell me and I will treat her..." When she heard his words, the woman seemed to regain her previous intensity but, as if she had remembered theirst collision, hesitated after taking a step forward. For several seconds, she seemed to contemte her action until Vahn squinted his eyes and began to converge his aura onto her body. Feeling the mountain-like pressure weighing down on her, the cold woman stumbled slightly before swallowing hard before saying, "We are members of the Gynaikothoinas, women handpicked and trained by our god to serve the Kingdom..." Much like the Commander, the woman seemed to be inspired by her own words as, instead of continuing, she brandished her rapier and lunged forward. For what felt like the tenth time today, Vahn released a sigh while allowing her rapier to pierce into his extended hand once again. This time, as if she had expected such a thing to happen, the woman pulled out a small pouch and tossed it towards his face. Instead of allowing it to hit him, however, Vahn vanished from her sight as she watched in terror as the bag full of irritant impacted against the far wall. The next moment, all the woman saw was darkness as an icy chill passed through her body. Her only regret in this life, other than not reaching the peak of her strength, was failing to protect her only friend in this cold world... Vahn pulled his hand out of the womans back, allowing her to slump to the ground as the blood staining his hand was frozen solid. It slowly ked away as a result of the golden aura surrounding his body expelled all foreign matter and magic particles. Vahn gave the woman herst rites, putting his palms together in a short prayer before moving over to the unconscious woman on the ground. They both had very dark auras while the stench of death lingered around their body, something Vahn was somewhat perceptive to. Even if they were beautiful girls with seemingly interesting Innates, Vahn wasnt going to show them any leniency. However, this didnt mean he couldnt spare them mercy and make their deaths rtively painless... Unable to obtain any additional information, Vahn inspected the state of the prison with his domain and once again found several ves that had been horribly tortured. Previously, he had taken the lives of such prisoners because there was little chance they would ever have a good life. However, after saving therge group of ves just twenty minutes prior, Vahn decided to at least leave the choice to them. He went on a small rampage, killing any soldier that barred his passage while allowing those that fled quickly to escape. It was necessary for there to be some survivors to spread the information so Vahn allowed a few to escape from Fafnirs [Sagitta Magicka] barrage. Seeing the prisoners in person was much more difficult than just feeling their presence through his domain. Most of the men that were captured trying to cross the border were killed on the spot, meaning all the prisoners were women and children. Vahn didnt even want to imagine exactly what they had suffered through so he just opened all the cells while exining he was saving them. After what they had experienced, most of them had dead eyes that didnt seem to believe his words. However, after he started healing some of their wounds and fixing their broken bones, they started helping each other group up to receive treatment. Vahn nearly broke down into tears when a mother, barely able to walk as a result of the damage to her lower body, brought what looked like a 5-6-year-old girl that had clearly visible signs of s.e.x.u.a.l trauma. Though he didnt make use of it often these days, Vahn activated his [Wounds Transfer] while clenching his teeth to resist the pain. Strangely, it was far more tolerable to suffer a momentary agony than it was to continue seeing someone so small having such terrible wounds. After talking to the mother, Vahn got her permission to remove the memories of the young girl. It wouldnt be easy but, seeing that the mother had the light of hope in her eyes, Vahn believed they could one day find happiness once again... Unlike when he had freed the ves at the previous encampment, many of the prisoners thanked him for his assistance, especially those that had children. They didnt know how he did it, nor did they ask, but they knew Vahn was using some kind of strange technique to help their children. For their wounds, he used powerful healing magic, salves, and other means to help them recover. However, for the children, they ended up beingpletely healed after an instant while the boy that saved them always had a face of anguish. For those that were still very young, much like the girl, the mothers had Vahn erase their memories. It was better to have their childrens mental state regress than have them live a life haunted by the traumas they had experienced. Though he was tempted to escort them to safety, Vahn still had other people to save and, after discussing it with the former prisoners, they were already very happy with the assistance they had already received. Thus, after giving them enough supplies to help them in their journey, Vahn moved them to a safe distance and erected a powerful barrier around them. Momentster, the group of women and children watched as a beam of light rained down from the sky, almost like divine judgment. They felt a flood of emotions as the ce that had be the source of their greatest nightmare waspletely erased from the world. It was at this point that many of them broke down crying, unable to resist the great relief that spread through their body after the realization that their nightmare hade to an end... After seeing them off for a short while, Vahn was once again on Fafnirs back as they made their way to the next fortress, this time a bit slower than before. Vahn was starting to think that the Rakia Kingdom hadnt actuallye up with some clever scheme to deal with him. Instead, it seemed like his nature of helping people would be the source of the sadness Ina had seen. However, Vahn didnt regret it for a moment and, even though it felt like his heart was going to break, Vahn tolerated the pain while recalling the faces of gratitude disyed by the prisoners, especially those with young children. Realizing there were most likely many others like them, all currently waiting for his arrival, Vahn took a deep breath before tapping on Fafnirs back and saying, "Lets speed things up...there are people waiting for us..." Vahn was simultaneously thinking of the prisoners locked away in the various fortresses while the faces of each girl at the Manor revolved through his mind... A trip that was initially only supposed to take a few hours ended up taking Vahn nearly forty, the result of saving every prisoner he came across and gearing them up for their journey to the south. In total, he destroyed 53 fortresses and, on his return trip to the north, passed along the borders of the Iron Hills as he had previously intended. They were in an alert state after receiving information about the attacks on Rakias border but, likely as a result of those same rumors, the Dwarves didnt take any action against him. Vahn just looked down on them from above as they slowly made their way through the area before picking up speed for their return trip, this time with the Hearth Manor as his destination. Vahn didnt care about the details but this day would be marked down in History as the first decisive action taken by the Sage Aldrnari against the forces of evil and oppression in the world. The path taken by the various refugees he had saved would one day be a road that several pilgrims walked, paying homage to those brave few that held on to hope until the very end, finding salvation waiting for them when all else seemed lost. Along the way, there were several grave markers that denoted those that hadnt made it, including some that were much smaller than many could bear. However, at the end of that trail, arge vige could be found and, contrary to the ill-fated origin of the residents, only smiles could be seen upon their faces. At the viges entrance, there was arge wooden sign denoting the name of the vige, supported on each side by two carved statues reminiscent of dragons. At the very center, in bold lettering that seemed to shout out against all the darkness of the world, a single word could be seen, the true embodiment of what Vahns actions returned to the people...HOPE. Title: Hope (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn never lets the bad guys talk...,The Darkness in the World Can be Overwhelming...,But, as long as there is life, there is Hope...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 687 - Balance : Wisdom

Chapter 687 - Bnce : Wisdom

By the time Vahn reached the Hearth Manor, it had been almost two days since he left. A mission that was only supposed tost a single afternoon ended up turning into something much greater as he had simply been unable to abandon people that needed help. In fact, before he had even returned to the City, rumors about his exploits had already started to circte. When people saw Fafnir and Khaos flying over the City, it was almost like every resident of Orario had undergone some unspoken agreement to speak just a little quieter than normal. After all, destroying 53 fortresses was terrifying in its own right, but Vahn had also in nearly twenty thousand soldiers and a total of seventeen of Rakia Kingdoms elite forces. Waiting outside for him, Vahn found Eina, Fenrir, and Hestia, all having just moved from the table they had set up while he was away. Vahn gave them a questioning look as Eina, with a somewhat tired expression on her face, smiled and said, "We wanted to make sure there was someone here when you returned. The others were here initially but Loki had them all rest and go about their days normally..." While she was speaking, several of the people Eina had been talked about showed up from the front entrance. When they saw Vahn, there was a mixture of excitement and relief on everyones faces. Vahn felt his own tensions begin to melt away as Hestia walked over, hugging tightly around his waist and saying, "Wee home, Vahn..." Those three words were always like a magical spell that made Vahn feel very warm inside, causing the smile on his face to grow muchrger as he returned her embrace and whispered, "Im home..." It was still very early in the day so everyone enjoyed a long and lively breakfast, not really talking about what Vahn had done during his journey to the Rakia Kingdom. Rumors had reached them long before everyone else and, after Vahn hadnt shown up the previous day, he had telepathicallymunicated with them the situation. Thus, for the time being, theypletely set the matters aside and simply enjoyed thepany of each other. Even though he hadnt been gone long, Vahn felt like he had returned after a long journey. When he saw his daughters, still sleepy from the previous night, Vahn felt choked up and, even though he promised he wouldnt, Vahn cried while hugging Ina, Vana, and Erika. Nobody asked why he started crying, already understanding he must have seen some very difficult things during the two-day mission. Even his daughters didnt ask why he was sad, though Vana couldnt help but join alongside him. She was the type that fell into the mood of others very quickly, possessing an empathetic and inclusive nature. As for Ina, she had a sad but strangely relieved expression on her face as she returned her Papas embrace and soothingly said, "Its okay, Papa, dont be sad..." Vahn nodded his head, findingfort in his daughters words while consoling Vana. Erika, also contained in his embrace, had a slightly flushed expression but, contrary to the past, made no real efforts to try to get away. She looked very ufortable but continued to return his hug all the way until he had eventually calmed down... The afternoon that day came very slow but, after spending some time with his daughters, Vahn had calmed down a great deal. They had continued to sit and eat together for a long time, making casual and fun conversation until, as a result of still being children, the group of Vanir girls began getting sleepy. Erikasted the longest but, having been sitting with her Papa for such a long period of time, she eventually s.u.mbed. When he helped carry them to their rooms, Vahn also stopped by the maternity ward, spending nearly a half hour just watching of Meinya and Anise as the two adorable kittens slept. They spent a great deal of their time sleeping, a stark contrast to how his other three daughters were up and about after just a few short days. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Vahn stroked the two girls thin hair with his fingers in the most gentle manner he could manage before going to Terras Garden, wanting to see all of his children now that he was back. Terra, against expectations, was fully clothed by the time he arrived, apanied by Fenrir at his side. She gave a smile to him, squinting her eyes slightly as she held up the orb and asked, "Did you want to visit~?" Vahn nodded, walking over with a casual gait before wrapping his arms around Terra and hugging her tightly. She was one of the few girls that hadnt shown up at the long breakfast but Vahn knew she had been waiting for him just like everyone else. Knowing he may call on her at any moment, Terra had been in a battle-ready state for thest two days. It wasnt until she sensed her Masters return that she finally let herself rx, deciding to wait for him in thefort of the Garden since she was certain he would stop by. After spending a few minutes talking, Vahn ended up taking the orb from Terra and sinking his consciousness into it, leaving his body for his two trusted subordinates to watch over. He had no way of knowing, shortly after he sent his intent into the orb, they would have a short staring contest that, surprisingly, was lost by Terra. With a sigh, she averted her eyes and said, "I will protect our Masters home, but there isnt much I can do for his mind. Perhaps it is due to my nature as a True Dragon, but I cant help having some selfish notions towards him. If I could, Id keep him locked away in this Garden, keeping him safe and sound from the rest of this dark world...it just isnt fair that someone so kind has to be exposed to such terrible things..." As one of Vahns loyal subordinates, Terra had felt the emotions he had experienced during his excursion, though not nearly as prominently as Fenrir and Hestia. Most of the girls, especially those with strong bonds connecting them to Vahn, hadnt been able to sleep easily, if at all, during the past two days. Now that he had returned, Terra felt like she had failed him in some way and wished there was more she could have done for him. As for Fenrir, though she one of the strongest bonds with Vahn, she was surprisingly calm about everything. Terra, even though she could understand and rationalize everything going on around her, simply couldnt empathize with people the same way as the petite Vanargandr that seems to devote all of her time and effort towards their Master... Fenrir sat down next to her Masters unconscious body, choosing not to directly respond to Terra until she could organize her own thoughts. Doing her best to control her magical power, Fenrir made the most humanoid hand she could manage, still covered in dense blue fur with ivory white ws at the tips. Using her, what Vahn would have described as ridiculously soft, paw pads, Fenrir moved some of the strands of hair from her Masters sleeping face. She still didnt really know what to say and just trusted her instincts as she quietly stated, "I have seen Master grow from the very beginning...I believed he would be able to help me grow stronger and, even when I deviated from the path and almost gave in to my instincts, he always showed me great tolerance. It is only right that I am there for him when he needs me...even if I cant be at his side during all the moments I wish I could have been there..." Using the paw bad on her thumb, Fenrir traced around the bottom lip of her Master, taking a deep breath and sighing as she said, "In truth, I dont think Master really needs us. Our existence just increases his burdens further and, if we had never imposed upon him, I believe Master would have still been perfectly happy. However, since he seeks happiness through us, we must do our best to meet his expectations. The road he had decided to walk isnt easy but..." Terra smiled vibrantly at this point, folding her wings as she sat down on the other side of her Master and said, "But it is the road that leads to all of our happiness. He might have been happy alone, but the happiness we share with each other is far greater in magnitude...is that what you wanted to say~?" Fenrir showed a natural smile on her face in return, nodding her head in response to Terras words. It may be the result of an Innate that didnt understand, but their Master had a trait that inexplicably drew people towards him. Even in the Divination, when he seemed to have distanced himself from everyone, there were still arge number of people surrounding him. Most of his children showed him a great deal of respect and, even though he may have wronged them, none of the girls had truly left him. This was due to the fact that, even if he kept the entire world at arms length, Vahn would still take action to try and help others, working harder for their happiness instead of worrying about his own. Though they had no way of knowing it, the true reason he had tried to distance himself from all the girls was in the hope that, after enough time passed, they would be able to move on. He didnt want to lose any of the people close to him, but also couldnt stand the idea of controlling their lives as a result of his selfishness. Thus, Vahn decided to live on a lonely throne as he watched over the world from high above...still, even then, Fenrir was always nearby, constantly waiting for the moment he needed her again... --- It had only been two days since hisst visit but, in that small window of time, a little more than four additional months had passed within the orb. Alex was now nearly a year old, even though its body hadnt really grown that much. The infancy of a True Dragon could stretch out for several years so, while Alex was already very strong for its age, nearly the peak of Level 2 without any Falna or enhancements, it still looked like a baby. Vahn didnt really mind though since watching Alex bob about in the with its tiny wings always brought a smile to his face. Alex had previously been sitting atop arge tree, reading a book while looking out over therge expanse of forests that now dotted the interior of the orb. With its attunement to space elemental energies, Alex instantly sensed when its Father, who enjoyed being called Papa, entered the orb. Storing the book into its own pocket dimension, Alex pped its wings and made a beeline towards its Father, wondering if he had brought anything new and exciting this time around. Though Alex really enjoyed the time it spent with the fragments of its Father and Mother, the feeling it got around its real Papa was very pleasant. It was simr to the aura emitted by a True Dragon, something the memory fragment could never emte since it didnt have [Will of the Emperor] or [Rakshasa Body], not that Alex knew this. Seeing Alex flying over to him, Vahn levitated himself, catching the small True Dragon in his arms with an oof escaping his lips. Even though Alex was very small, it had a lot of power at its disposal already. Even its flying speed could reach upwards of 130km/h so, if Vahn didnt defend himself, Alex was like a small cannonball impacting his diaphragm. Fortunately, any difort Vahn felt was momentary as he embraced the wriggling figure of his sixth child, feeling soothed by theughter and giggling as they tried to escape. Eventually, Alex, though choked giggles, shouted, "P-Papa, no more, I give up, Papahahahaha~!" Vahn finally released them, letting Alex flitter about while breathing a little heavily. There was an intelligent and curious light in their eyes but, after making eye contact, Alex seemed somewhat confused as it asked, "Papa, did something happen outside?" Vahn, hearing Alexs question, justughed in response, letting his voice carry through the surrounding space for several seconds before he shook his head and exined, "Something did happen, but it has already been resolved. Even so, it seems like everyone can see through my facial expression regardless of how much I try to hide it. Even my children can read me so easily~." Vahn ruffled Alexs emerald green hair, earning a peal of yfulughter in response as Alex said, "Thats because Papa feels different than normal. Its like how Mama always feels kind of scary while also being gentle at the same time. Papa usually has a very warm and calming feelinging from his body but right now it feels more lukewarm and uncertain." Not quite expecting Alexs exnation, Vahn tilted his head to the side and recalled how the girls had described interacting with his memory fragment in the past. Even Vahn felt somewhat unnerved around himself and it seemed to be a feeling shared by everyone else. This made it a little awkward when he absorbed the memory fragments memories but Vahn didnt mind it too much since it always allowed him to see how Alex was growing up. There was also the benefit that it gave him practice behaving normally around people since his memory fragment didnt have the crutch of View Affection to rely on. The only downside was that, while Alex would go off and explore the woods, Terras memory fragment would sometimes get a little experimental with his counterpart... Shaking those thoughts from his mind, Vahn slowly descended to the ground before letting Alex ride on his shoulder. Whenever Vahn visited, he and Alex spent most of their time together, generally just walking through the woods while talking about various topics. This time around, Alex began asking about History, somewhat surprising Vahn in the process. When asked about why Alex was so interested in it, the response was, "Well, isnt it important to know about the past so that you can better make choices about the future? After all, if you dont know about the mistakes people have made, how can you expect to learn from them? It would be very silly to do something that had already happened, already knowing the consequences but expecting you were an exception to the rule." Vahnughed in a jubnt manner, genuinely impressed by how wise and schrly Alex was, even though they were still very young. As he began to exin what he knew about various events in history, specifically discussing the past of event of the Danmachi record, Vahn was also wondering just how much knowledge Alex would possess by the time they emerged from the orb. While his memory fragment was studying on his behalf, Vahn didnt ce too much importance on the information. This was because he could already store everything he had ever read, essing it whenever he deemed necessary. As for things like forging and the like, Vahn discovered he wouldnt obtain any OP from his memory fragment so, other than working on the basic temte for the Aegis Armor, his memory fragment had been spendings its time very leisurely. After reaching arge clearing, containing a pristine blueke, Alex hopped off of his shoulder and stepped into the water with its bare feet. Vahn unequipped his boots while changing into a pair of swimming trunks in the same instance. Alex looked back, tilting its head slightly before nodding as it surprisingly said, "Papa has a very refined body. I can see why Mama fell in love with you." Vahn blinked in response, walking over until he was standing on thekebed. After thinking for a few seconds, Vahn asked, "Alex, are you lonely here in the orb?" Though everything was very scenic, there werent any animals anywhere in the orb. Even thisrgeke, more than 800m wide, didnt have a single fish inside its depths. Alex immediately shook its head before looking directly up at him, making Vahn feel somewhat awkward since Alex was only 64cm tall. With a calm expression and an almost worldly look in its eyes, Alex smiled and said, "Ive already made my decision, Papa. Mama already told me that I will live for a very long, potentially even forever. The years I spend in here are a great boon, as Im able to study a variety of things and experience a peaceful and safe setting. Also, everyonees to visit me so Im not really lonely, especially with Papas and Mamas memory fragments watching over me. Until I am strong enough to be able to protect everyone, I will continue to stay within this orb to strength my body and mind." Vahn, seeing the resolute look in Alexs eyes, just smiled in response and ruffled the tiny True Dragons hair as he asked, "Want to go for a swim?" Alex nodded, showing arge smile before tossing away it leafy-green tunic and the small brown shorts they had been wearing. Without waiting for Vahn, Alex jumped in the water, diving deep into theke before submerging a few secondster and sending out a spout of water from their mouth. Vahnughed, flexing his legs a bit as he jumped a few meters in the air and shouted, "Cannonbaaaalllll~!" Hisnding caused arge ssh, earningughter from Alex as thetter repeated the action by flying up into the air and, in a much more adorable voice, repeated, "Cannoball~!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Awaiting your return...,What it means to be loyal...,Alex, the Wise) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 688 - Heavy...

Chapter 688 - Heavy...

The hundred hours he spent inside the orb with Alex made Vahn feel like he had beenpletely refreshed. When the time for their parting came, Vahn gave his youngest child arge number of books, not just pertaining to the history of Danmachi, but the history of the world Eva originated from. After all, Eva was considered one of Alexs Mama(s) so Vahn wanted it to know all sorts of things about both worlds. Since there was a great deal of information on scientific developments, modern society, and the histories of both Earth, Mars, and Mundus Magicus, Vahn figured Alex would enjoy them greatly. Alex, of course, had been very excited to receive a veritable library worth of books, safely keeping them away in its pocket dimension before hugging Vahns neck with a surprising amount of strength... After returning to the real world, Vahn found Fenrir patiently sitting at his side while Terra had returned to sunbathing on her perch. Noticing his awakening, Fenrir produced a small smile and repeated the magic words, "Wee home, Master..." in a soft voice. Vahn smiled, lifting his body to aimlessly stare at Terras n.a.k.e.d form for a few seconds before turning to Fenrir and saying, "Im home, Fenrir." She nodded her head in response, rising to her feet in the process and dusting off her skirt as she said, "Ill be in my room for a little while. Dont forget your promise with Lefiya and the others. She had been very worried about you thest few days..." Lefiya, as a result of the order he didnt know he gave her, was always paying attention to the link they shared. Other than Hestia, Fenrir, and Hephaestus, Lefiya had been one of the most affected by his emotional turmoil over thest few days. Vahn had been about to respond to Fenrir but, before he formed the words, she had already disappeared from Terras Garden. Though he couldnt see her figure, Vahn followed the direction Fenrir had moved to with [Shundo], wondering what she was thinking about. As if answering his question, even though she didnt say anything, Terra tapped her tail against the ground. Vahn looked toward her, seeing that she had been peeking towards him with slightly parted eyes. Then, once again without saying anything, Terra just closed her eyes and pretended as if she had fallen asleep. Vahn somewhat understood what both she and Fenrir were trying to tell him so, without waiting around any longer, he used [Shundo] to make his way towards where he expected Lefiya to be... Perhaps they had arranged it previously, or just had a good understanding of his character, but Vahn found Lefiya sitting in the waiting area near his salon, dangling her legs back-and-forth with a ruminating look on her face. She didnt even react to his presence all the way up until he was standing right behind her, onlying to her senses when she detected a sudden shadowy figure. With speed faster than what would be expected from a Mage, Lefiya turned around with a guarded look until she realized exactly who had snuck up on her. With a light blush on her face, she pouted by saying, "Mooooou, Master, you shouldnt sneak up on me like that~." As they were alone, and Lefiyas Loyalty was now sitting at 16,439, she defaulted to her preferred way of addressing him. Vahn smiled in return, sitting down on the expensive marble bench before patting the spot next to him. Lefiya, though still showing a fake pouting expression on her face, walked over and sat next to him, slightly closer than the spot he had actually indicated her to take. She even, unprompted, leaned against his arm and ced her head against his shoulder as the expression on her face slowly softened. Not minding her behavior in the least, Vahn reached his hand around and rested it on Lefiyas waist, causing her face to flush a little redder without refusing the intimate gesture. For several long minutes, the two just sat in silence with each other, enjoying the quiet atmosphere before Lefiya broke the silence as she mumbled, "Ano...I wanted to use my Heavy Petting Coupon. I dont want to keep the others waiting for too long...so...ummm" ording to the n, Lefiya was supposed to send Vahn to the forest clearing after they were finished here. The coupon was good for an hour-long session but, expecting things might take longer, she had been given two hours by the other girls. Lefiya didnt mind just spending the entire time sitting in silence but, the longer they sat together, the more her mind began to wander to less than innocent thoughts. Vahn had an amused expression on his face as he slowly brought his left hand over to lift Lefiyas chin, bringing her crystal clear dark-blue eyes into view. She had a flushed face and, even though they hadnt done anything, Lefiya was breathing a little heavier than normal. In truth, Vahn didnt think someone that had yet to reach a.d.u.l.thood should have been able to make use of the coupon. After all, in their agreed definition of what heavy petting entailed, it evolved somewhat e.r.o.t.i.c contact and, in many cases, direct stimtion of the erogenous zones. Though their age wasnt that different between each other, making it somewhat eptable in the eyes of society, Vahn still felt a little hesitant about things. As if she could read his mind, Lefiyas blush grew steadily darker as she muttered, "Ano...I never really knew my date of birth, only the day I was dropped off at the orphanage. So...umm..." ording to the date of birth doc.u.mented through her stay at the orphanage, Lefiya still had a little under two months before she was supposed to be an a.d.u.l.t. However, considering she may have been a few months old by the time she had been dropped off, Lefiya was trying to make an excuse that she was already an a.d.u.l.t. It was a logical argument, even if it sounded like a very convenient excuse to bring up in the heat of the moment. Judging by the somewhat nk expression Vahn was making, Lefiya felt extremely embarrassed and couldnt help but cover her face as a result. For several seconds, Vahn wasnt quite sure what to say about Lefiyas given reason but, after considering the lengths she had gone through to assure him things were okay, Vahn just shook his head with a small smile as he said, "Then I guess Ill give you an early, or perhaps I should say te, birthday present~? I wonder why my cute little disciple wants...?" Just as Lefiya was thinking of how she wanted to respond, only managing to make a wawawa sound for a while, Vahn began nibbling on her long ear. Lefiya tightly closed her eyes in response while biting her bottom lip, almost as if she were in a lot of pain but betrayed by the fact that her aura was a mixture of pink and red. There was a dark-blue ribbon tied around Lefiyas blouse that kept her cor neatly arranged in a prim and proper manner. Vahn began to pull at the edge of the ribbon as he prepared to ask Lefiya onest time what she wanted. However, before the words left his lips, Lefiya opened her eyes slightly and asked, "Can I tell you want I want as my birthday present...?" Vahn blinked, confused for a brief moment before nodding his head, urging Lefiya to continue. She bit her bottom lip hard enough that Vahn was afraid she would actually draw blood. Just as he was about to help her calm down, Lefiya drew slightly closer to him and hesitantly stated, "I want Master to order me to express how I really feel for the next hour..." Lefiya was worried that, even if she was able to go through with using the coupon, she would just freeze up as things got progressively more intense. Though she might be somewhat delusional at times, she had absolutely no misunderstandings about how things might develop if she continued forward. From this point onward, there would be almost no stepping back since she would never be able to face Vahn again if she panicked and ran away. When she felt an ever so subtle fluctuation in the link between her and Vahn, Lefiya almost released a sigh of relief as a smile appeared on her face. The next moment, Vahn nodded with a firm yet gentle expression on his face as he whispered, "Lefiya...I order you to be honest with me for the next hour. Tell me how you really feel...dont keep anything hidden." For a brief moment, Lefiya felt like her mind was wandering but she hadnt actually been able to form any thoughts. It past in an instant but it was almost like a part of her mind had been unlocked or, perhaps it would have been more urate to say, unburdened. All of her anxiety felt like it had melted away and, while all the feelings of nervousness were still present, Lefiya felt like they were almost illusory now. It was like Vahn, the Master she had dedicated herself to, became the only focus for her mind within the world. Lefiya felt strangely liberated as grabbed the hand her Master was using to tug at her ribbon, helping him to pull it away while staring into his expansive ck pupils that seemed like they could devour herpletely... In a light mutter, while continuing to stare into Vahns eyes, Lefiya said, "I really wouldnt mind if Master ate me..." Vahn felt like a part of his sub-process mind snapped but, fortunately, he was able to keep his sensibilities intact and just smiled in response to Lefiyas words. Tilting her chin up a little higher, Vahn gave Lefiya a very brief kiss on the lips before saying, "That will have to wait until next time. For now...lets take it slow and enjoy the moment..." Lefiya nodded her head but, contrary to her actions, said, "Uuuu, how regrettable...I at least want to experience something to keep me satisfied until then..." Vahn, though not exactly regretting his order to Lefiya, felt like a part of his mental defenses was slowly getting broken down every time she said something outside his expectations. Before Lefiya ended up breaking through his defenses, Vahn guided her into the salon since it would be embarrassing for them both if she suddenly cried out in the waiting room. Once they entered, Vahn nearly tripped when Lefiya looked around with an anticipatory look in her eyes before asking, "Master...can you undress me? I want to experience what its like to have a man take off my clothes while looking at all my secret ces..." Vahn, finding his footing, scratched the back of his head with a wry smile on his face as he said, "Sure, I dont mind." Lefiya brought her hands together and gave a radiant smile that seemed to cause the room to light up slightly as a result. What followed was Vahn removing each piece of clothing covering Lefiyas body, starting with the ribbon he had pulled loose previously. She was wearing casual clothing, consisting of a pale pink blouse that was almost white in color, a dark pink frilled skirt, white stockings, and red shoes. When Vahn pulled the ribbon free, Lefiyas breathing began to grow ragged as she watched each button of her blouse slowly peeled open by Vahns nimble fingers. Beneath to pale pink blouse, Lefiya had on a creme-colored blouse and, the moment Vahn stared at her b.r.e.a.s.ts, she said, "Master...please tell me what you think as well. I really want to know..." Considering that Lefiya had to tell him what she was thinking, Vahn decided it would be somewhat unfair if he remained quiet the entire time. With an appreciative look on his face, Vahn looked at the two small bunnies contained by Lefiyas bra,menting, "Theyre growing well. I think you may even be able to reach a C-Cup in the future, though Im not entirely sure if thats possible for an Elf?" Presently, Lefiyas b.r.e.a.s.ts were just cresting the peak of an A-Cup and transitioning into the territory of a modest B. With how slender her body was, they actually looked muchrger than normal and, given the fairplexion of her skin, her b.r.e.a.s.ts were very appealing to look at. Lefiya released a moderately hot sigh in response to his words, muttering, "I like it when Master praises my body...uuuuuuuuu~" Realizing what she said, Lefiya felt very embarrassed but, as if her entire purpose in life were to be contradictory at this moment, she simultaneously stepped a little closer, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her two small rabbits against his chest. Lefiyas breathing continued to elerate as she said, "Master, I think your order for me to be honest isnt just affecting my words..." As she was speaking, Lefiya brought her lips near Vahns neck and released another hot sigh before trying to nibble on his corbone. Vahn was beginning to consider if he should change the nature of his order but, once again, Lefiya was a step ahead as she said, "No, I like it like this...please dont make me change..." This time it was Vahns turn to swallow since Lefiyas upturned and watery gaze was a very lethal attack when she had her soft b.r.e.a.s.ts pressed against him. Nodding his head, Vahn gently pushed Lefiya away and said, "We should hurry or you wont be able to get the full benefits of your coupon..." Lefiyas smile turned radiant as sheughed, taking on a slightly mischevious look as she slightly opened her half-buttoned blouse. Vahn finished undoing the remaining buttons, allowing the blouse to part at the sides to reveal Lefiyas thin waist and cute navel. Remembering her earlier request, Vahn smiled, tracing his finger near her navel as he said, "You know, Ive always found something appealing about exposed navels. I wonder if youll wear lighter clothing after you get your own crestter on~?" Lefiyas eyes widened slightly, not out of shock, but almost as if she was very excited by the prospect. With a happy smile on her face, Lefiya began to trace her fingers around her own abdomen with a smile, saying, "I was actually a little jealous when I saw Riveria-sama and Ryuu with their crests...since Im Masters, I wanted something to show off to everyone else..." This time, Lefiya didnt bother to rify her own status, outright saying she was his... Doing his best not to let her words shake him, Vahn nodded slightly as he softly whispered, "Having you follow this kind of order...is a very dangerous thing. Im a little worried about the future." Lefiya giggled, grabbed Vahns hand that had still been wandering around her navel. While stepping closer to him again, she moved his hand around to her waist, saying, "There is something Master should know about me...though I believe youve been aware of it for a long time. You see, I often get carried away in my thoughts and, though it is very embarrassing to say...I think Im actually a little bit of a lewd girl..." As if to emphasize the fact, Lefiyas face became beet red as she guided Vahns hand to thetch holding her skirt firmly to her waist. Without any great hesitation, Vahn flicked the small sp, not breaking eye contact from Lefiya as the deep pink skirt fell to the ground. Now, other than an open blouse, creme colored underwear, and white stockings, Lefiya had nothing to protect her dignity. In fact, if anyone were to ask him, Vahn would have said that Lefiya looked more appealing clothed like this than if she werepletely nude. As for her im about being a lewd girl, Vahn was very aware of this fact so he leaned near her ear, whispering, "I know...I think, as long as you dont get carried away...the lewd Lefiya is very cute..." With his words finished, Vahn licked Lefiyas earlobe, earning a small squeak from the bashful Elf as her ears started wagging up and down. Enjoying her adorable reaction, Vahn brought her face down to Lefiyas exposed cor, emting her earlier actions by nibbling on her corbone. Lefiya grabbed his head, almost as if she were clinging to him while stifled sounds of frustration and pleasure escaped her lips. While he was nibbling around her corbone, Vahn let his hands wander around Lefiyas body, stroking her side with his left hand while tracing his fingers around the band of her panties, letting them slide around slightly into the silky fabric without going much further. He was, in fact, teasing Lefiya a bit while simultaneously making use of his [Grooming] skill and, while only the slightest amount, his [Hands of Nirvana]. After a few minutes had passed, marked by Lefiyas body trembling as she leaned into his chest, Vahn decided to advance things a bit. Picking up her very light body, Vahn moved to a nearby sofa, exining, "Im making a bit of an exception by treating you in this manner, but youll still have to wait until your doc.u.mented birthday before we do anything too serious. Dont worry, though, Im going to give you a memory youll never be able to forget..." Lefiya nodded her head, ears now drooping powerless as a wave of pleasure beat around her insides, almost like it was crashing against the shores of her rationality. Vahn sat down on the sofa, allowing Lefiya to sit in hisp with her body facing him, thighs spread as she straddled his h.i.p.s. It was... an almost dangerously e.r.o.t.i.c sight, something that made Vahn doubt if he hadnt already crossed a line and was just putting on a pretense of control. Shaking his head to clear the thought, Vahn let Lefiya rest against his chest while bringing his right hand to various points around her back, infusing various different types of energy into the various pressure points of her body. While this was going on, Vahn gently stroked Lefiyas very soft, albeit somewhat small, butt. She was slowly recovering her faculties to the point where she was able to form words while also managing to loosely wrap her arms around his neck and shoulders. With an almost pained look on her face, Lefiya pitiably said, "I know...I know...but...uuuuuuu, Master, please~." Tempted as he was by her words, Vahn squinted his eyes in response to Lefiyas plea, surprising her somewhat as he softly stated, "Lefiya, that is my decision as your Master. Besides, are you doubting my capabilities...?" As he spoke, Vahn broke Lefiya from her momentary stupor as he brought his thumb near the fabric covering her left n.i.p.p.l.e, inserting a stimting thread of energy that made her clench her teeth in an agonizingly sweet m.o.a.n. When she recovered, Lefiya was breathing even heavier as she said, "Master...Im...sorry...please...dont be mad..." In response, Vahn smiled with a gentle expression while shaking his head, bringing his hand up to move a few strands of Lefiyas golden-yellow hair as he said, "Lefiya, with how adorable you are, Im not sure I can ever be truly mad with you. Just be patient for now, okay?" Lefiya, staring directly into Vahns eyes with her deep blue irises covered in ayer of moisture, nodded her head and said, "Then..." This time, anticipating Lefiyas request, Vahn brought her face closer to his, sealing her lips in what would be a very long and passionate kiss. At the same time, Vahn worked his magic on Lefiyas body, allowing his fingers to dancer around as he poked, prodded, gripped, and rubbed various areas, increasing her sensitivity all the while bringing her sensual cries several octaves higher. By the time their session, whichsted well over an hour, hade to an end, Lefiya no longer had any doubts that her Master could make good on his promises... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Girls Level of Teamwork is Tier 9...,Dangerous Order...,Never Underestimate the Godhand) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 689 - Tea Time

Chapter 689 - Tea Time

A few days after his return from the Rakia Kingdom borders, the specifics of what Vahn had aplished had begun to circte. Initially,mon knowledge was that his actions had been somewhat tyrannical and, by making use of his Dragons, Vahn had indiscriminately imed the lives of thousands of people. While Rakia Kingdom was looked down upon by nearly every country on the continent, it was still somewhat unnerving knowing that a single personmanded enough power to invalidate the defenses of an entire country. This news was especially troubling for the countries that had ongoing enmity with the Alliance, chief among them being the Elven Kingdom and the Dwarves of the Iron Hills. While the former was somewhat relieved that they no longer had to worry about defending the western front, especially while there was so much internal turmoil with the Kingdom, thetter had started to genuinely regret ever allying themselves with the Elves. Because of the Alliance coordinating with many of the powerful merchant Familias, who had all been under pressure by the recent market changes, the Dwarven caravans no longer had an easy way to profit off of their goods. Though many people couldnt help but try to pry into how the Alliance managed toe up with so many rare items and materials for exchange, it was a highly protected secret and it almost felt like the materials were simply appearing out of thin air. The Familia that benefited the most during this time was the Fortuna Familia, as Fortuna herself had be the one responsible for facilitating the exchanges and keeping the market stable. After all, there were several people that tried to take advantage of the seemingly endless avability of rare goods that flowed out of the Alliance at present. With the efforts that were being made, some of the smarter Dwarven merchants began making deals with some of their long-time business partners so they could offload their goods and sell them at the original market value. This didnt go well in most cases, however, as the trust between the Dwarves and the merchants of Orario had already been betrayed. Ultimately, it was only by trying to bribe and appeal to the various Noble families within the City that the Dwarves had any real sess during these chaotic times. When he had learned that the Nobles had, once again, gone against the interests of the Alliance, and the CIty itself, just to make some profit, Vahn was very frustrated... It was simr to how the Nobles simultaneously backed the blockade and supported economic sanctions against the Elven Kingdom. However, at the same time they were making their support known, they were also using their power and influence to circ.u.mvent the policies to reap profits for themselves. It wasnt umon to see Elven ves in the entourage of various affluent and wealthy families, even though the acquisition and distribution of such ves had been heavily restricted. Unfortunately, as they were the ones that voted and put thews into cirction, there were a seemingly endless number of loopholes that they exploited, essentially making all of their ill-gotten ves legal purchases. Vahn did his best to not mind it too much, even though it bothered him a fair amount, choosing instead to focus on his family and the matters of the Alliance. Currently, the Alliance enjoyed a very high degree of favorability with the public since, even though they initially thought his actions to be someone tyrannical, it became known that Vahn had saved a lot of people. With a bit of assistance by some of the more sessful entertainment Familias, it was publicized that Vahn had actually saved thousands of lives, liberating ves and people that had suffered under the tyrannical rule the Rakia Kingdom. Through the careful maniption of information, Vahns actions became heroic in nature once again while also showing that he wouldnt simply stand by and let Rakia Kingdom attack him and his family. After all, while he was supported by the Alliance, his actions against the Rakia Kingdom were made out to be a personal matter, justified by the reasoning that Rakia Kingdom had sent several assassins to kill, not only Vahn, but his children. When it became known he had been forced to take action to protect his family, many people saw Vahn in a very positive light, especially those that had children of their own that they cared deeply for. His reputation became that of a doting father that was willing to go to the extremes to protect his family, even if it meant facing off against an entire army on his own... As for Vahn himself, almost as if giving validity to the ims, he was currently having a tea party with Ina and Erika, thetter of which had been dragged into things at Inas insistence. They were gathered around a table that was suitable for children, Vahn sitting on the floor due to the difference in their size. Most notably, which would have drawn bug-eyed looks from anyone that witnessed the scene, Vahn had sloppily done makeup on his face as he casually sipped his tea. Ina, with her back straight as a board, gingerly lifted up her own teacup to take a very small sip before producing a small smile and returning the ornate cup to its saucer. She was currently wearing a prim little princess dress that had a lot of ribbons and frills. With a too excited smile on her face, Ina put on a pretense of elegance as she said, "Father, pray tell, will you have free time on this eve~?" Vahn raised his head, emting the etiquette of a gentleman as he said, "Indeed, Princess. If it is your request, I will make myself avable to attend you." Erika, seeing the act they were putting on, rolled her eyes as she also took a sip of her own tea. To her left, she saw the small winged tiger cub wearing a pink hat with what Erika believed to be a very confused and regretful look. It also turned its eyes to match her and, for a brief moment, it was almost like the two had established a link of understanding and camaraderie between each other. Ina giggled happily, seemingly forgetting about her little act as she nearly knocked over her teacup while saying, "Thats great! I want you to read me more stories about heroes and princesses~!" Vahn smiled in return, patting his daughters head as he said, "Sure. Tonight Ill read to you a story about a princess who had beautiful blond hair, trapped in a tower guarded by a dragon until her prince came to save her..." With glittering eyes, Ina seemed to be imagining the scene as she dreamily asked, "Papa, do you think a prince will one daye and sweep me off my feet? I know Im not a real Princess, but it seems like such a beautiful dream..." Strangely, as she spoke, Inas eyes began to actually glimmer, this time with a magical light as a dreamy look appeared on her face. This wasnt actually the first time in recent days that Ina had such an episode so Vahn and Erika just waited patiently for her to return to reality. Not knowing how long it would take, Erika decided to make use of the opportunity to ask, "Papa, can I really not use the spirit time orb more? It bothers me a little bit that Alex has so much time to read and research things..." Erika, being the little schr she was, found the existence of the Spirit-Time orbs to be very interesting, much as Vahn had expected. However, just as he had said previously, Vahn shook his head slightly and said, "Erika, I understand you are very passionate about gaining knowledge, but it isnt healthy for you to ce such emphasis on such things while youre still so young. As a Vanir, you already develop much faster than normal and...well, just take it easy every now and then. You know I worry about all of you a great deal..." Hearing her Papas words, Erika blushed slightly and nodded, not really surprised by his refusal since it hadnt been the first time she asked. Even her Mother had disallowed it, something that had surprised Erika at the time. After all, her opinion of her own Mother was that Loki would do whatever it took to gain an advantage in any given situation. Having a method to acquire a vast amount of knowledge over a very short period of time was exactly the type of thing that could havesting benefits if applied correctly. As for why Erika was so interested in such things, it was due to the fact that many of the goddesses she had spoken to all agreed that knowledge is power. Since she currentlycked any true power of her own, Erika wanted to be as knowledgable as possible... Reminding herself why she wanted to be so capable, Erika peeked at the somewhat silly face of her Papa and muttered, "Papa, I dont think makeup suits you...I like your normal face more." Vahn had previously turned his eyes to check on Ina, missing Erikas momentary nce but hearing her words loud and clear. With a wry smile on his face, Vahn pulled out a mirror and noted that, while Ina put an earnest effort into her attempt, she was still a ways away from being able to apply makeup properly. She honestly didnt need any, as all of his daughters were wless in his opinion, but had taken an interest in it after seeing the red markings around Haruhimes eyes. Whisking the mirror away, Vahn chuckled lightly and said, "Well, its not bad for a first attempt. Thanks for thepliment, Erika." Vahn hadnt missed the second half of his daughters words and, even though he knew it would embarrass her a little bit, couldnt help but tease her. Erika hung her head low, hiding the blush on her face as Ina, fortunately, returned to her senses. Puffing up her cheeks, Ina said, "Booooo, boys are stupid!" Vahn was a little surprised by Inas outburst, tilting his head slightly as he asked, "What did you see, Ina?" With the same pouting expression as before, Ina huffed as she exined, "Hmph, those smelly boys arent handsome at all. They just say flowery words and lie all the time. None of them could even look at Papa and Mama in the eyes for more than a few seconds!" At this point, everyone in the Manor knew about Inas power of foresight, which allowed her to see a kaleidoscopic view of events. It wasnt entirely reliable, as fate was constantly changing, but it did allow her to see multiple oues of certain events that may take ce. This time around, it seemed like her interest in being whisked away like a Princess caused her to see a variety of different situations where people were trying to court her. Vahn felt a little bothered that she had such an ability but, rather than trying to prevent her from using it, he just cautioned her from bing reliant on the skill. After all, he wouldnt really be a good Papa if he suddenly put restrictions on one of his daughters natural capabilites, especially as it was something that would give her more power and longevity in the future. With a soft smile on his face, Vahn ruffled Inas light blond hair, saying in a gentle tone, "Well, there is still a very long time before you have to worry about anything like that. Even if you want to stay at the Manor for a hundred years, well always be here to support you." Ina, though smiling happily at first, opened her eyes in confusion at thetter half of her Papas words. With an almost incredulous look on her face, she asked, "Eh? Did you think I was going to leave one day, Papa? There is no way, you know~? Even if I got married one day, Ill never leave Papa!" Vahn, hearing Inas words, felt both dull and warm at the same time, deciding to focus more on the secondary emotion as he beganughing. Ina, thinking he wasughing at her, put on a pouting face and shouted, "Papa! You wont make me go away one day, will you!? If that is the case, Ina will never ever get married...!" Seeing Ina begin to tear up, Vahn immediately stoppedughing as he opened his arms slightly with an apologetic expression on his face. Ina sniffed loudly once before jumping into hisp and hugging him tightly, a very unwilling expression on her face that made his heartbreak. Vahn knew there were still a lot of things he needed to work on in order to be a good father. Because of how smart and capable his daughters were, he sometimes forgot they were only around ten weeks old, chronologically. Saying things that might imply she would one day have to leave the Manor was bound to be upsetting, causing Vahn to regret his choice of words, even though he had intended to be supportive. Vahn continued to soothe Ina, doing his best to console her casting periodic nces towards Erika so she didnt think he was ignoring her. Erika just continued to quietly sip her tea, not minding the somewhat awkward atmosphere since she was used to Ina being a little peculiar at times. In truth, she was a little envious of how straightforward her elder sister could be around their Papa, seemingly without feeling any embarrassment whatsoever. Fortunately, her Papa was always very perceptive so, as this thought crossed her mind, Erika made the smallest smile she could manage when her Papa gestured for her toe over. As it was just the three of them right now, excluding thementing tiger cub, Erika didnt mind getting pampered a bit... Later that afternoon, after the tea time hade to an end, Vahn found himself out in the backyard looking for his more troublesome daughter. It was the consensus of everyone in the Manor that the girls should be allowed to express their independence and curiosity without restriction, assuming it didnt endanger themselves or others. After all, they had a very limited period of time for their childhood and it would be unfair for the Vanir if they had so many restrictions ced on them during their formative years. This, unfortunately, meant that Erika liked to wander about the Manor quite a bit while Vana, ever the little Adventurer, was constantly roaming around and ying in the illusory forest. Vahn had been tasked to go find her since it was nearly time for lunch and Vanas afternoon nap. If she didnt take an early nap, Vana would eventually fall asleep around dinner time, meaning she was up around 2-3 AM unsupervised. During one such instance, Vana had gotten bored since she didnt have anything to do, setting fire to her own tiny bed on ident. Fortunately, Vana herself was fireproof and the incident had been noticed almost instantly. The rooms where the girls stayed were all within the range of his domain so Vahn had snapped into awareness the instant he detected the abnormality. Wandering around in the forest, following the fluctuations of mana in the atmosphere, Vahn eventually came across Vana. With his perception,bined with his [Eyes of Truth], it hadnt really taken that long to discern her location. What surprised Vahn was the fact that Vana was currently feeding one of the small Pygmy Deer that had been released into the forested area. They were naturally very skittish creatures so it was very surprising to see that Vana was able to get one of them to eat out of her palm. She had a very natural smile on her face that made Vahns heart melt as he continued watching the scene for several minutes. After feeding the deer, Vana stroked its head as if it were perfectly natural, something that the Pygmy Deer uncharacteristically allowed. Then, after a few more seconds had passed, Vana looked toward the sky as if she were checking the location of the sun. Vahn thought she had actually figured out how to tell time by the suns position but, though it seemed to be what she was trying to do, he nearly fell over when she nodded confidently and said, "Good, I still have a few hours before Papaes to capture me..." Vahn, finding his footing, looked towards the sky and could easily tell it was around 11:40 AM, meaning Vana was alreadyte to lunch since they normally ate around 11:30. Shaking his head, Vahn waited for the Pygmy Deer to scamper off before appearing silently behind Vana and standing with a cheeky grin on his face. Vana had been watching the deers retreat, smiling all the while until it hadpletely disappeared into the treeline. Nodding her head in satisfaction, she turned around only to find her vision blocked unexpectedly. Realizing it was a person, Vana startled as she shouted, "Ah, Papa!? Nooooooo~!" and began running away. At the same time as she fled, Vulcan popped out of her body, seemingly intending to buy her some time as two tufts of mes came out of its nostrils. Vahnughed, yfully asking the resolute looking dragon, "So, what will you try this time, Vulcan~?" During theirst climactic encounter, Vulcan had actually tried to attack him with a moderately powerful me breath, not directly aimed at him but targetting the surrounding area. Vahn, however, just gave a wry smile at the time, surprising Vulcan by simply walking through the sea of mes as if they didnt exist... This time around, Vulcan just stood its ground, only moving whenever Vahn tried to walk around it to pursue Vana. Since it seemed to know its mes wouldnt have any effect, Vahn assumed Vulcan just wanted to bar his passage with its physical body. Unfortunately for the pony-sized dragon, Vahn wasnt exactly slow enough that it could simply stand between him and his daughter. After giving thetter a proper head start, Vahn smiled at the alert dragon, waving his hand beforepletely disappearing from sight. Vulcans eyes widened in shock, swinging its head from side to side in an attempt to find out where he disappeared to before spewing a pir of mes towards the sky out of frustration. Running through the illusory forest at the highest speed she could manage, Vana zipped around various trees, dove through bushes, and hid behind rocks. She would periodically look back to see if her Papa had caught up to her, giving a mischeviousugh when she saw that the path was clear. There was a very prominent gap in her smilepared to the past, the result of her slipping in the onsen after ignoring several of the girls warnings not to run around. It gave her an even more mischevious appearance than normal and, as her hair was somewhat curly while being short, much like her mothers, Vana had a very tomboyish appearance. This was ented by the fact that she already dressed like she was preparing to be an Adventurer, wearing small brown shorts, a light brown tunic, and a small belt fitted with a pouch and wooden dagger. After waiting for a few seconds, and seeing no signs of her Papas pursuit, Vana beganughing triumphantly as she decided on her next course of action. Unfortunately, just as before, the moment she turned around to find a new spot to hide, a figure entered her sight as she walked straight into her Papas hug. Instead ofmenting the fact she had been caught, Vana beganughing even more as she wriggled around in his arms, saying, "Ahahaha, let me go, let me go, I dont want to go back yet~!" Vahnughed along with Vana before picking her up and cing her around his shoulders, pacifying her a bit since she really liked high ces. Still, after taking a few deep breaths to calm down, Vana asked, "Do we reeeeaaaally have to go back so soon, Papa? I want to y more...!" Vahn nodded his head, saying, "Well, if it were up to me I might let you get away with ying around as much as you want. But, you know how your mother can be...also, its very important for your growth that you eat properly and get a lot of rest. Dont you want to grow up big and strong?" While holding his head with her tiny hands, Vana rocked from side to side as she contemted her answer. It was very dangerous to move around in such a manner but Vana had absolute confidence her Papa wouldnt simply let her fall as his grip around her ankles seemed unbreakable. Deciding that he was right, which often seemed to be the case, Vana released a sigh unbing of her age and said, "Okay, Papa...but next time you have to y with me lots, okay? I made a lot of new friends recently and I want you to meet them all~!" Understanding she was talking about the various animals residing in the illusory forest, Vahn smiled as he said, "Of course." in a calm and happy tone of voice... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Princess Ina, Advisor Erika, Knight Vana?,Gotta be honest with your feelings,The Endless Trials of Vulcan...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 690 - Sub-Space Orb

Chapter 690 - Sub-Space Orb

Under the guidance of Terra, though he had all of the resources Eva had given him at his disposal, Vahn was currently finishing the final touches of arge ritual spell formation. Now that he had gathered enough resources, and had watched Terra create a smaller Sub-Space orb, Vahn was trying his hand at making one of the primary orbs that would be used by everyone in the Manor. In order to make a Sub-Space orb function properly, you needed a decent affinity with both Space and Time while also having an understanding of the world around you. This included knowing the arrangement of the stars, various celestial bodies, theposition of the earth, and the location of leylines and other natural formations. Any mistakes would cause instabilities within the orb which, if set up properly, could be powered almost indefinitely without the need for much maintenance. The core of the ritual formation, which would be the orb itself, was made of a crystallized form of mana almost entirelyprised of Space and Time elemental energies. Depending on the structure of the formation itself, you needed to find a proper bnce between the two energies and, so that it wouldnt be unstable, you also needed to introduce various other regting forces into the orb. Vahn was fortunate that the structure of his elemental energy itself was entirelyprised of source energy, making it incredibly versatile with every other form of elementalws. This made the orbs he created far more stable than anything even Eva would have been able to make, even though his understanding of their structure was far removed from her hundreds of years of study. When the orb itself waspleted, Vahn had managed to give it a time-dtion ratio of 6:1 while also ensuring the space inside was stable enough to allow people to stay as long as they wanted. This was another benefit of his source energy, as there was no strain on the body of whoever entered inside the orbs he created. Generally speaking, the reason why people werent able to stay in any orb for an extended period of time was a result of the subtle differences in thews between the orb and reality. Prolonged exposure would cause the bodys internal energy to destabilize slightly, which is why a cooldown was necessary to counterbnce the effects. However, this didnt apply to the orbs created by Vahn since the source energyprising the orb was perfectly adaptive to every otherw, making it almost a perfect emtion of reality with the only difference being those made intentionally. For his orb, Vahn had used a spatialpression formation in the basic structure of the orb that radiated outwards towards the periphery of the orb. This would, in theory, make the space along the outskirts of the orbs space denser, not necessarily increasing the gravity, but making it more difficult to move and channel your bodys internal energy. Increasing gravity itself was a very terrible idea since, unless your body was adapted and attuned to gravitationalws, the molecules of your body itself would be unstable under the strain of increased gravity. It wasnt a simple matter of resisting and adapting to the change in gravity, as you couldnt really strengthen the structure of each individual cell within your body. After all, no matter how strong your muscles were, if your blood couldnt hold its shape under the gravity, you would die. This was why gravity magic was such a terrifying ability, as it was almost impossible to resist regardless of a creatures size or strength. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Vahn released a satisfied sigh as he asked, "So, is everything else ready?" Terra, standing amongst the group of onlookers, nodded her head with a smile, exining, "Yes, Ive arranged the location of all the necessary materials and changed the flow of the earths mana within my territory so the orb will remain stable unless there is catastrophic damage done to the area around the Manor." Terras Innates allowed her to have almostplete control over the natural energies within her dominion, the exact same kind of energy that was used to stabilize and maintain the orbs. With a contented smile on his face, Vahn said, "Thank you, Terra, youve been a big help. Now we just have to activate the orb and well essentially be able topress six days worth of time for every day in the real world..." It was strange to think about but also somewhat exciting to know they would have a lot more time for things like training, the production of items, and just general recreation. Though the space within the orb was limited, unlike the seemingly infinite Time-Space orbs, it was still a very beneficial training tool. Now, by the time Bell arrived in Orario, the girls would have been training in Evas magic system for more than eight years, assuming they lived exclusively within the orb. This would give them plenty of time to reach a peak that most people in the world couldnt contend with while also having the benefit of counteracting his own thoughtless actions... Now that his time with the girls had approached a year, Vahn was very aware that his influence on them had been more than anticipated. Without exception, everyone that had been the recipient of his [Hands of Nirvana], [Petting], and now [Grooming] had been irreversibly affected by his influence. It was almost like their aging had stopped for the majority of them while people like Mn had actually started to look younger. Vahn had always expected this might be the case but, after noticing that Ais, Tione, Tina, and Shizune almost hadnt changed at all, he had started to worry a little. Girls like Ais and Tione should have developed a lot more in this time frame but, as it stood, neither was near the full potential they had reached in the source material. Even Tione, known for havingrge b.r.e.a.s.ts that she often unted to tease her sister, had rtively modest b.r.e.a.s.ts that had actually shrunk slightly after they entered into a rtionship. Ais still had an almost dangerous appearance and, though she was a very beautiful girl, she still looked much younger than she should at this point in time. Of course, as pointed out previously, the biggest problems were Tina and Shizune, both young girls at an age where their body should be developing quickly. Shizune had originally had a very mature and borderline seductive appearance when he first met her but now, even though more than ten months had passed, she hadnt changed much at all. Tina had grown a few centimeters taller but, considering that both her mother and father had been tall for Cat People, it was very obvious her growth had also been stunted. Shaking his head to clear any negative thoughts, Vahn ced both palms on the orb and slowly began the activation process. The issue of the girls development could be addressed with the orb and it wasnt as if any of them had actuallyined about the retention of their youth. Thus, Vahn began linking together the energies contained within the orb, fusing them to therger ritual formation that Terra had established. Since Terras body shared the same basic energy structure as his, beingprised of source energy, there was a seamless integration between the two energies. After a few minutes had passed, the once cloudy orb had bepletely transparent as a vivid expanse of nothing appeared within. The only thing that existed was a t white ne without any other features at all, something that would need to be addedter once they created a residence within. In total, the creation of the orb had taken him five days, almost making the short few minutes it took to activate it seem anticlimactic. Even so, after being instigated by Haruhime, the girls that had been watching him pped. Vahn felt slightly embarrassed but kept a smile on his face as he asked, "So, shall we go inside?" With most of the girls nodding their heads, Vahn ced his own palm on the orb, vanishing in a sh of light from the perspective of everyone watching. To those that had very good eyesight, they would be able to see an ant-sized version of Vahn now located at the center of the orb. Following after him, most of the girls that had gathered around ced their palms on the orb, the only exceptions being the goddesses. As a special exception, even Ina, Vana, and Erika had been given permission to enter, though only because Vahn would be bringing them back out shortly thereafter. After entering the orb, Vahn felt strangelyfortable, a stark contrast to how he felt whenever he immersed his consciousness into one of the Space-Time orbs. Since this was his physical body, and the surroundings were fundamentallyprised of source energy, Vahn felt like all his senses were sharper while the air contained within the orb was very refreshing, even if it was a bit cool to the touch. The temperature inside was around 20 degrees, a little colder than would befortable for normal people. However, as none of the people that would be entering matched such a ssification, Vahn expected it wouldnt be a problem. If necessary, they could just make sure the residence they built had proper instion and central heating. A little over three minutes passed in silence before the others began to appear around him, each popping up in a sh of light every few seconds. The first to appear was, unsurprisingly, Tiona, while thest group to enter happened to be Eina, holding the hands of Ina and Vana while Erika appeared almost immediately thereafter. Everyone began looking around the vast empty space while Vahn exined, "Staying near the center is the safest ce and, while it may not necessarily be dangerous, wandering outwards would make it feel like a great pressure is pressing down on your body. Ill try to put down some markerster on so, for the time being, try not to wander beyond a 5km radius. When you want to exit, you can either will it with your mind or say this phrase..." Vahn held up a piece of paper that had the word Effugium written on it, meaning escape. They picked a suitable word that would have almost never been used on ident, making it unlikely anyone would mistakenly speak the word. Tiona, however, didnt seem to realize this as she questioningly asked, "Effu-gi-um~?", disappearing in a sh of light almost immediately thereafter. When she returned a few secondster, showing a very subtle blush on her smiling face, everyone burst out intoughter while Vana unhesitantly said, "Tiona is a bit dumb, ahahahaha~." Tiona, hearing Vanas words, put on a show as if she had been betrayed, pitiable saying, "Booo, I thought we were friends, Vana...Im not going to y with you for the rest of the day. Hmph!" Vana began fl.u.s.tering a bit, waving her hands as if she didnt know what to do with them before running over to Tiona and saying, "Tiona, Im sorry! Dont be mad!" Having very simr personalities, Tiona and Vana got along very well with each other. It had actually been Tionas assistance that allowed Vana to get closer to the animals in the forest, something Vahn hadnt actually known she was capable of. Because of her innocent nature and free-spirited personality, Tiona had always been very fond of animals and, though she was never good at things like taming, they were also very fond of her. It was to such an extent that, if she was proactively trying to interact with them, even birds wouldnd on her outstretched fingers. While most of the girls started wandering about the area, even though there wasnt really anything to see or do, Vahn, Terra, and Tsubaki were all going over the ns for the residence they were going to build. Tsubaki was due any day now but, against the advice of Juno, continued to walk around during the day, saying it was more taxing to justy around all day than walking around for a bit. Even so, there was always someone apanying her while Vahn hadpletely cleared his schedule of any distracting events that might interfere with his ability to be nearby. This included interacting with some of the people that had been approaching him, especially the few politicians that had wanted to get to know him on a personal level. A number of Nobles had been trying to get into the Clubhouse ofte, even going so far as to try and contest his im to thend that the Clubhouse was built on. When that failed, some people started showing up trying to discuss various taxes that hadnt been paid, once again including taxes rted to the property as well as the distribution of various luxury goods. This too was met with resistance and, after a few behind-the-scenes negotiations, the nobles had given up...at least for the time being. In the meantime, some of the more affluent families had tried to make a simr Clubhouse for themselves, finding it was almost impossible to manage since they almost exclusively just sought benefits from each other and nobody was willing to provide quality entertainment and goods for free. Vahn spent a few hours going over the designs with Tsubaki while Terra arranged thend and resources he had purchased through the shop. Much like he had done with Eva in the past, they would have to build everything from the ground up as, unlike a Spirit-Time orb, it wasnt as easy to maniptews to emte the creation ofnd and trees. Everything in here was entirely real and, much like it would take a vast amount of energy just to use his Oblivion to make small objects, it would have taken much more to fill out the entire space within the orb. Fortunately, the diameter of the orb was only 10km, meaning it would only take a few hundred-thousand OP, even if they wanted to fill up the entire area with a decentyer of dirt. Speaking of the size of the orb, there was already one group of people that had ignored Vahns advice and wandered beyond the 5km point. Being the type that were undaunted by challenges, Ais, Tiona, and Tione had all ventured off together to explore the further reaches of the orb. They were very curious about the pressure Vahn had mentioned previously and, knowing it would help them increase their strength, they couldnt help but want to check it out. After traveling beyond the 5km point, the girls noticed that there was indeed a very noticeable increase in the pressure on their bodies. Ais made a tiny frown at this point, moving her hands through space as if there was a thick liquid slowing down her movements, even though there was nothing there. As for Tiona and Tione, the former seemed very interested in the abnormal phenomenon while Tione, contrary to expectations, suddenly said, "We shouldnt go much further than this. I can already feel that is more difficult to breathe than normal and we have no idea how quickly this pressure would increase." Tiona, however, justughed away her big sisters concerns and said, "Oh,e on, Tione! I didnt think you would get cold feet so suddenly~." Tione adopted a serious expression on her face, shaking her head in response to Tionas words and saying, "Im not afraid, or anything like that, I just trust Vahn. He wouldnt caution us against it if there wasnt a reason to be concerned." Hearing Tiones exnation, Ais own expression shifted and she suddenly said, "I agree with Tione. Im interested in this orb, but we have plenty of time to exploreter...lets go back and see if Vahn needs any help." Tiona had initially been intending to rile up her sister a bit so they could explore to the edges of the orb together but, after hearing Ais also back out, Tiona just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Fine, fine, lets go back then..." Then, without Ais and Tione expecting it, Tiona kicked off at the ground as she took off running, shouting, "First to reach Vahn gets to spend the first night with him in the orb~!" Tione had a slightly taken aback face but, before she was able to say anything to rebuff her sister, Ais had already taken off like a bolt released from a crossbow. Momentarily stunned, Tione was left behind by the two girls as her own anger began to bubble up inside of her. As if something had snapped, Tione balled up both fists and said, "Graaah, you two sneaky bastards~!" Without dy, she began running after the other two with the greatest speed she could manage. It was unlikely she would pass them in normal circ.u.mstances but, with the amount of rage and indignation she felt at the moment, Tione was hoping it would allow her to at least close the distance. After all, even if she lost out on this race, Tione was certain she could still get some benefits from Vahn. However, realizing her pride was at stake, Tione somehow managed to increase her speed a little more than normal... Vahn had been in the middle ofying down the foundation of the house he was going to build while Tsubaki rested on a sofa he had set out at the side. She wasying down, making the loose kimono she had been wearing these days open up slightly to reveal her beautiful brown skin beneath. Every time Vahn would look over at her, she would grin slightly without making any attempt to hide her figure from his eyes. Vahn released a sigh at her behavior,menting in a tone he knew she would be able to hear, "Im looking forward to our daughter being born. Not only do I get another beautiful baby girl, but Ill also get to spend some more quality time with her mother..." Sending a wink towards Tsubaki, she justughed in response while lyingzily against the sofa. Tsubaki was already used to Vahns attempts to tease her so she justughed it away instead of letting him rile her up. Though she would never admit it, she was also looking forward to sharing a bed with Vahn once again since she could still vividly recall the previous times they were together. Then, thinking she could actually get a small advantage against him, Tsubaki turned her body slightly, nearly letting one of her b.r.e.a.s.ts pop out of her kimono as she said, "After our daughter is born, Ill have you apany me back to my previous workshop. Make sure to make time for it or Ill give you a punishment even your immortal body wont be able to easily recover from~." Vahn, hearing Tsubakis somewhat icy words, couldnt help but swallow hard when he saw her predatory look. He already knew where she wanted to take him and, as he really wanted to apany her there, simply nodded his head in response. Then, at the very next instant, just after he turned his attention back toying the foundation, Vahn felt three presences burst into the periphery of his domain with terrifying momentum. Knowing there werent any enemies capable of breaking into the orb, Vahn didnt panic and just turned towards the direction of the presences as he saw Tiona and Ais neck-in-neck as they charged towards him. Further beyond, looking like a demon that wanted to devour the two young girls flesh, Tione was hot on their tails. Vahn didnt have much time to think about what they were doing, however, as Ais suddenly emitted a magical light that caused two small wings to appear at her lower back. Then, for the first time, Vahn experienced what it was like to have an Ais-shaped projectileunched toward him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ignoble Nobles,So its official...Vahn enters 3 years before the plot starts, around 1.5 years have passed, leaving only 8.5 years left~!,Vahn-Seeking Missiles) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 691 - Within the Orb

Chapter 691 - Within the Orb

Catching Ais out of the air, Tiona suddenly shouted, "Ah, thats not fair, Ais! Nobody said anything about using transforming!" Ais, while hanging around Vahns neck, simply lifted up two fingers in a victorious gesture with a smile on her face. As for Vahn, he held one arm around Ais waist, holding her body as if it were perfectly natural while asking, "What is this about? Did you have some kind ofpetition?" Tiona nodded, pointing to Ais as she said, "Yeah, we were racing to see who got to spend the night with you! But, Ais, she cheated! I want a do-over~!" Ais shook her head in response, hugging Vahn with both arms as she said in a curt and calm tone, "No. You never said the rules and tried to cheat from the start. This is my win..." Hearing Ais exnation, Tiona looked like she had turned into a statue with her finger still pointing towards the golden-haired girl. Realizing she had indeed set the precedent for cheating, Tiona suddenly felt all the tension release in her body as she plopped down powerlessly to the ground. Tione, who had shown up almost immediately after the two, just stood at the side with her arms crossed, clearly dissatisfied with how things had turned out. Vahn just shook his head in response, holding Ais in his embrace as he said, "Dont be too upset. Now that we have the orb, there is plenty of time for us to spend together. After all, we have six days in here every single day that passes in the real world." Jumping up from the ground, Tiona also clung to Vahns body with a happy smile on her face,ughing as she said, "Thats right~! Even if we spend a day training, we still have five more days just to y around!" With the rules that had been established for the orbs use, a proper bnce between work and y was very important. After all, though everything within the orb was real, it wasnt the same as living a normal life in the real world. Cooping yourself up inside the orb all the time, while efficient, could cause you to feel out of touch with the rest of the world. It was originally proposed that the orb should only be used at night, essentially making the eight hours people usually slept equate to 48 hours worth of time. However, as there was currently a lot going on in the real world, these restrictions had yet to be implemented and the only ones that werent allowed to spend all their time in the orbs were the young girls, the children, and anyone that was pregnant. Today was an exception to the rule, but only because everyone was very curious about what it was like inside the orb. Promising to make time for them once everything was finished, Vahn returned to his work while Tiona, Tione, and Ais all sat with Tsubaki and talked amongst themselves. What Vahn was currently working on, other thanying the foundation, was allocating space for various facilities. The girls would spend a lot of time in the orb for training so Vahn needed to make sure they had a ce to rest and rx. There also needed to be living quarters for everyone, including an area where they could enjoy some privacy. More importantly, however, Vahn needed to make sure there was a system in ce so the girls could have a ce to relieve themselves, meaning he needed toy the framework for a water and waste management system. Fortunately, such things were rtively easy to take care of by implementing wards that produced clean water, sanitized an area, and destroyed waste products. By setting the ward in a secure area, simr to a septic tank, Vahn could set it to periodically destroy everything that .u.mted inside. Hopefully, there would never be a time when he had to rece the system as it would be buried within the sturdy foundation he was currentlyying. Everyone that had gone out to explore the orb had eventually ended up congregating around the area where Vahn was working. There wasnt much they could do to help him, as he was using various unnamed spells and abilities like telekinesis to move things, so they just sat at the side while eating snacks. Under the insistence of Erika, they even started discussing magic since all of his daughters had beenpletely enamored by watching him move materials around through the air with slight movements of his hands. However, the biggest catalyst behind their sudden interest in magic was watching Terra literally moving acres of dirt and mulch while floatingzily through the air. If she had been doing such things in the real world, it would have looked like a natural disaster with how terrifying the sight was. Erika, sitting between Eina and Tsubaki, asked, "How can Papa and Terra use such powerful and unique magic? Ive read a lot of books about the subject and it doesnt cover most of the things theyre doing." Thus far, none of the children had started training and, while their education was progressing, it didnt go into great details about magic and trades. Erika had mainly been going through the books in the Library, meaning she didnt have an understanding of the unique system of magic that the girls had actually been developing under Vahns guidance. Tsubaki, ying with some loose strands of Erikas hair, had on a soft smile as she patiently exined, "Before you were born, your Papa learned magic from a powerful mage named Evangeline. Because of her teachings, he is now one of the most powerful people in the entire world. Now, he has been teaching everyone else how to use magic while developing a curriculum that will allow people all around the world to do the same." Erika, who understood that magic wasnt something that anyone could use, at least ording to what she read, asked, "Papas magic can be learned by anyone? Really?" At this point, Tiona burst into the conversation with an excited smile on her face as she said, "Yeah, your Papa is super amazing! My entire life, Ive never been able to use magic at all, even to the point where my Magic Parameter is still listed as 0! But, your Papa wanted my dream of using magic to be a reality so he made me an awesome wand and, even though I didnt think it would be possible, Ive slowly been able to learn some basic spells. Here, watch this~!" Wagging around her index finger in a peculiar pattern, Tiona happily chanted, "Practe Bigi Nar "Burn", "Breeze", "Light"~!" When her words finished, a very tiny me appeared on the tip of Tionas finger. Erika, understanding what it meant to have 0 for a Magic Parameter, was rather impressed by Tionas simple disy. However, there was one person who didnt seem too impressed and actually took Tionas disy as some form of challenge. With a little too much excitement in her voice, Vana suddenly shouted out, "Ah, I can make fire too~!" Then, even though she was sitting in Einasp, Vana spontaneously made a fireball the size of a gr.a.p.efruit that radiated a surprising amount of heat. Unfortunately, as impressive as it was to create fire from nothing, Vana was stillcking in control and the fireball quickly started to destabilize. Several of the girls were about to get rid of the orb but, before they even made a movement to do so, Vahn suddenly appeared out of nowhere, directly grabbing the fireball in his hand and stabilizing it. Vanas eyes widened greatly as he smiled back at her and said, "Vana, Ive told you its not good to y with fire. Not everyone has the same amount of resistance as you so you have to be very careful with it, okay?" Vahn had originally been intending to disperse the ball of fire but, deciding to teach his daughter a lesson about control, began forming it into the shape of a tiny bird. The details werent that clear but everyone could very obviously tell the small flittering figure in Vahns hand was a bird. Vana lookedpletely mesmerized by the small bird, asking in a dream-like tone, "Can I do something like that?" Vahn nodded his head, exining, "Raw firepower can be very useful in some circ.u.mstances, but it is far more important to learn how to control your power. If you master it, you can do all kinds of things that would be considered impossible by normal people. Here, Ill show you one more thing, but youll have to behave if you want me to teach youter on, okay?" Vana nodded her head, practically jumping out of Einasp as she shouted, "Yes, I promise! Teach me some cool magic Papa!" Before he demonstrated his spell, Vahn kneeled to Vanas level, holding out his hand with his pinky finger extended, saying, "This is a pinky promise. Promises made this way should never be broken or it would betray the trust people have in you..." As if the details didnt matter to her, Vana happily linked her pinky together with his, smiling vibrantly in the process. Vahn lightly shook his head before ruffling Vanas hair and saying, "Vana is a good girl. Papa trusts you..." Before he stood up, Vahn kissed Vana on the forehead then, after creating a bit of distance, began casting one of the spells he thought was more interesting, "I summon the Spirits of five Lance-Wielding Smanders~!" The air around Vahn began to waver with the increasing temperature as five mes spontaneously ignited from the void. A few secondster, the mes formed the figures of five vaguely humanoid creatures with me-like wings and fiery red spears in their hands. Vana practically had stars in her eyes as she shouted, "Whoooa, so cooooool~!" Vahn smiled, taking his outstretched hand and surprising her even further as he shouted, "Fixate. Seize. Load magic, Armament!" The five Smander Spirits around his body broke down into fire elemental energy, coiling around Vahns body as it converged into his hand. When his handpletely closed, the spell waspletely absorbed into his body, causing Vahns skin to take on its onyx-ck coloration with red me-like tattoos covering his body. His hair, instead of outright increasing in length, became me-like in structure without losing the semnce of hair. The most striking feature though was how, much like Vanas eyes, Vahns now looked like vibrant mes. Not only Vana, but everyone watching was awed by Vahns current appearance, especially Ryuu, Lefiya and, to a lesser extent, Eina. Though their basic structure was different, Vahn had essentially summoned actual Spirits into the world and, now that he had consumed the spell with his [Magia Erebea], his aura was the same as a Spirit. Even in the record of Danmachi, me elemental spirits were known as Smanders so it had been very surprising to see Vahn suddenly call them into existence. Spirit Magic was one of the rarest forms of magic and very few people ever had the capability of interacting with the spirits directly. Vahn slowly regted his energy until the mes around his body were almostpletely contained within. With a smile on his face, looking somewhat demonic and handsome at the same time, Vahn said, "There are no limits to magic, only limits to our imagination and how we make use of it to generate the phenomenon known as magic. If you study hard and practice your control, you could do all kinds of things, not just create fire." Though it wasnt as impressive as when he was in his Xunw form, Vahn began to make orbs of water form around his body. Generally, it was nearly impossible to use elemental spells that contradicted the affinity of his [Magia Erbea] but this was just pure control and water elemental maniption. While Vana was perpetually starry-eyed, Ina and Erika were also watching their Papa very closely. Ina found her elder twins behavior to be a little silly but, after watching her Papa do so many amazing things back-to-back, she couldnt help but think about learning how to use magic herself. As for Erika, she had a very serious look on her face with her eyes slightly parted, doing her best to memorize everything she was currently witnessing. She was constantly thinking about the future and, after hearing her Papa say the only things necessary were knowledge, control, and imagination, Erika believed she could be a powerful Mage one day... Canceling his transformation, Vahn picked up Vana and carried her back to the others. It was around time for lunch so Vahn figured it was a good time to take a break as he began exining, "Ina, Erika, Vana. I will never decide your path for you so it is up to you what you want to do in the future. However, until you demonstrate you are ready, there are certain restrictions that you have to keep in mind. For now, even if you want to start learning magic early, you need to wait until your body matures first. The most appropriate time would be to start in around a year from now, which would put you at a simr age as other apprentice mages. Keep in mind, however, that your training will be very difficult since the optimal period for your development is much shorter than normal." Vahn already had several methods that he had been preparing if his daughters actually wanted to be stronger in the future, including helping them build a foundation as cultivators. As Vanir, they might be limited in the normal means by which people would gain strength but, at the same time, they also had no upper limit to their potential growth. This didnt mean it would be easy for them but, where other people would have encountered nearly impossible to ovee bottlenecks, their only restriction was the efforts they put into their training. Each girl, hearing their Papas words, had very different reactions while fundamentallying to the same conclusion. Vana, after seeing the other girls training all the time, wanted to be a powerful Adventurer in the future. She also saw how hard her Papa worked and, after learning he was also very strong, wanted to help him out by also bing strong. As for Ina, she didnt care much for personal strength but, after seeing several visions of her Papa fighting against enemies, wanted to be able to protect him. Lastly, possessing a powerful thirst for knowledge and a strong desire to increase her own capabilities, Erika wanted to learn magic as soon as possible. She was very clear of some of the restrictions that had been ced on them and, considering they were apletely new species in the world, Erika didnt disagree with the decisions. However, in order to protect all the things she cared about, and alleviate some of the burdens on her Papas shoulders, Erika was determined to increase her power to the extremes... Over the course of the next few days, Vahn continued to work on building the residence with the help of Terra and, after she had shown up in the orb, Fenrir. Eina had eventually left with his three daughters, taking Tsubaki and the other pregnant women along with them, while the rest of the girls stayed inside. By the end of the third day, Terra hadpletely filled the orb with a 3m thickyer of bedrock, dirt, and subsurface mulch, now covered in a denseyer of grass that had been nourished by her natural energy. Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lili, and Naaza had moved into the first boundaryyer that had been designated by Vahn, training their bodies under the increased pressure caused by thepression of spacews. As for the other girls, they had teamed up with Terra and started arranging things like a herb garden, a swimming area, and arge earthen veranda where they had all been gathering for meals. With his immortal body, which could keep him going without tiring for a single instant, Vahn worked without rest until, at the even of the fifth day, he had finallypleted one key aspect of their home within the orb: several bathrooms and a massive, heated, bathtub. The girls had been leaving the orb for short periods in order to relieve themselves so it was a very wee change when he finally got everything in working order. As for why he worked on the bath first, it was because the girls were already training hard and Vahn wanted them to be able to rx and wash their bodies. It also had the added benefit of allowing him to soak his own body as well, enjoying thepany of the girls in the process. The bath itself was almost entirely constructed of smooth stone with wooden borders creating an interesting contrast between the beautiful brown wood and the dark grey stone. It was made to be around 50cm deep and had perfectly square dimensions with a length and width of 10m. It could easily hold all of them at once and was kept at a temperature of around 42 degrees, ensuring it was hot without being scalding. Because of the difference in temperature between the water and the outside air, it always had a lightyer of misting out of it which, when coiling around the girls bodies, made Vahn almost feel like he had wandered into a dream-like paradise. To that end, Preasia, who hadnt initially entered the orb since she had been sleeping, showed up on the second day. Ever since then, she had been spending the vast majority of her time just sleeping on a sofa until the veranda had beenpleted. Every now and then, some of the girls would go over and stay with her, having something of a slumber party where they all yed together in her Dreamscape. Vahn was somewhat curious about what they were all dreaming about since their smiling faces, which were especially adorable while they were sleeping, had caught his attention. Unfortunately, though she used to tell him everything that went on in her dreams, Preasia simply said, "Its a womans secret..." when he asked about it. With all the other girls seemingly in on some kind of agreement, it became one of the various mysteries surrounding the life and legend of Vahn Mason... The morning of the sixth day, having taken a rest the previous evening, Vahn woke up with Lilis very udylike figure clinging to his body. She still had terrible sleeping posture so Vahn peeled her away before releasing a long yawn, forcibly kept silent so he didnt wake the other girls. They didnt have individual rooms set up just yet so, after saying he was going to bed, Vahn ended up in the veranda with everyone else as they all shared a massive futon. Ais had ended up sleeping on his left side while Lili, seizing the opportunity, had taken his right. His center was left free, which was actually rare during such situations, but Vahn still ended up bing a body pillow for Lili. Much like Hestia, she had a tendency to be very clingy whenever they slept together. After extricating himself from the sleeping girls, alerting several of them without actually stirring them awake, Vahn returned to his construction site and continued working. He was trying to build a residence that couldfortably amodate between twenty and thirty people so it would take several weeks to finish. Fortunately, now that the important parts were taken care of, Vahn just needed to focus on making all the rooms aesthetically pleasing andfortable for everyone that would reside in them. Unfortunately, though he would have earned himself a punch if he ever said such a thing, just as he had started to get into a good groove, a light blinked nearby as Eina walked over with a somewhat panicked expression and said, "Vahn, Tsubakis water just broke...!" (A/N: For rification, thest sentence was saying that Tsubaki would have punched Vahn if she knew he, even for a moment, felt inconvenienced by the fact she was going intobor xD.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ais is Victorious v(^_^),Waterworks are Important,Tsuprise~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 692 - Gratitude : Choices

Chapter 692 - Gratitude : Choices

Making his way out of the orb, Vahn quickly found his way to Tsubakis side. Fortunately, after waking up early in the morning, Tsubaki noticed that the crest on her abdomen had started glowing. Taking this as a sign that her daughter was due, she had already moved to one of the delivery rooms near the maternity ward. By the time Vahn reached her, she was alreadyying down with her legs propped up, waiting for his arrival with a lightyer of sweat present on her healthy brown skin. The moment she saw him, Tsubaki smiled with a very soft and loving look in her eyes, saying, "Vahn...it looks like Sakuya cant wait any longer...hahahaha..." Seeing Tsubaki in high spirits, Vahn rxed a little bit, smiling to her in return as he came to her side and said, "Leave it to me..." After cing a kiss on her brow, Vahn stroked Tsubakis cheek for a brief moment before getting himself ready for the delivery. After washing his hands, he used an unnamed spell to sanitize them before proceeding to position himself near Tsubakis feet. Juno, as had always been the case until this point, was watching at the side. During the long nine-hour delivery, she gave bits and pieces of advice to help guide him along. However, even if she hadnt been there, Juno, along with Epona, believed that Vahn would have handled things just fine. Though it had taken a long time, Tsubakis delivery was one of the smoothest any of them had ever seen, primarily as a result of the fertility crest located on her lower abdomen. Vahn had seen it glowing with a vibrant pink coloration throughout the entire process while a form of energy he didnt fully understand assisted in the delivery process. This was very fortunate since, when he had first inspected Sakuya within Tsubakis w.o.m.b, she was at a slightly odd angle. Under the guidance of the unknown energy, however, Sakuya was repositioned properly and slowly eased out of Tsubakis body without any realplications. Vahn, holding his youngest daughter in his arms, once again felt the same overwhelming sense of happiness that had apanied all the previous births. She was a very healthy young baby with brown skin, much like Tsubakis but slightly fairer inplexion. Though sparse, there were tufts of ck hair growing near the top of her head and, while her skin was a bit wrinkly, Vahn thought she was a very cute baby. Unfortunately, he didnt have too much time to look over her himself as Tsubaki, seeming to have recovered some of her energy, impatiently said, "Give me my baby...I want to see her...Vahn...!" Having just handed Sakuya to Juno, Vahn used abination of his old cleaning magic with his unnamed sanitization magic to remove some of the fluids from his hands. To ease Tsubakis anxiety, he came to her side, holding her hand firmly between his as he softly said, "Shhhh...its going to be fine, Tsubaki. She is perfectly healthy..." As if to emphasize this face, a very loud crying sound began to echo within the delivery room. Hearing this, it was almost like all the tension in Tsubakis body had been released, apanied by a very emotional sigh. Tears had long started building up in her eyes and, by the time Juno brought Sakuya over to her, Tsubaki was almost bawling. She held the small bundle in her arms, not minding in the least that Sakuya was practically screaming her lungs out. Tsubaki, having a great deal of stamina and willpower, didnt end up sleeping for several hours after the birth, even after delivering the centa. Vahn helped ease her burdens while elerating her bodys natural healing processes all while Tsubaki cuddled with her new daughter. During the b.r.e.a.s.tfeeding, which finally calmed the screaming infant down, Tsubaki had been very quiet as tears continued falling from her face. Having given up on having children of her own in the past, Tsubaki felt very emotional now that she was face to face with her own daughter. If she could, Tsubaki would have punched her past self in the face for being foolish enough to have given up on creating something so beautiful... For several hours, Vahn just stayed at Tsubakis side, bringing her as muchfort as he could while observing the mother-daughter pair with the most loving expression he could manage. During this period, they talked a great deal about the past, present, and future, both rted to themselves and the hopes they had for Sakuya herself. Many of the other girls came by to visit, interested to see the new life that had been introduced into the Manor. However, sensing the atmosphere in the delivery room, few people stayed for long and, after seeing the healthy baby in Tsubakis arms, returned to therger group to prepare for theing celebration. Finally feeling the exhaustion catching up to her, Tsubaki handed Sakuya over to Vahn, saying in a quiet voice that almost sounded like a whimper, "Thank you, Vahn...truly. I dont know how else to express what Im feeling right now...just...thank you so much..." Though she had cried a lot earlier, tears started pooling in Tsubakis eyes once again. Vahn, keeping the same soft and loving smile on his face, leaned down and kissed Tsubakis forehead once again before saying, "Silly girl...after giving me a beautiful daughter like this, it should be me thanking you...however, Illpromise and tell you something else instead..." Briefly staring at Sakuya, letting the tension build a little, Vahns face transitioned into an evenrger smile as he said in a firm and decisive manner, "Tsubaki, I love you. From now on, lets do our best to be good parents...together." Tsubaki made a face that bordered on anguish and gratitude, nearly bursting outughing while crying at the same time. The two contrasting sounds mixed together in a manner that made Vahns heart melt and, if not for the fact he was already holding Sakuya, he would have tightly embraced the emotional new mother. Fortunately, Hestia had been silently waiting at the side with Fenrir, both quietly observing everything that had been happening over thest few hours. Understanding Vahns intent, Hestia hade to his side, taking Sakuya safely into her embrace so that Vahn and Tsubaki could share a moment together. Hestia moved to the side,ying Sakuya in the crib while alternating her eyes between the beautiful newborn and the emotional scene taking ce between Vahn and Tsubaki. Unlike in the past, where Hestia had been full of insecurities about her own feelings of love, she now felt truly blessed to have descended from Heaven during this period of time. Even though she didnt have a child of her own, Hestia felt like all the children within the Manor were a part of her family and, witnessing the amount of love shared between everyone, Hestia believed she had found the purpose she had been seeking for a very long period of time. No matter what anyone tried to do, she would protect this ce with all of her power... --- Several hundred kilometers north of Orario, on the outskirts of a small vige called Shalia, an elderly man sat on arge tree stump. After wiping the sweat from his brow, he picked up the rather weathered looking hoe at his side while a young boy with white hair and peculiar red eyes ran over carrying a wooden canteen. With a bright smile on his face, almost as if it was contending against the vibrancy of the sun, the boy shouted, "Grandpa! Here, I brought you some water." Releasing a heartyugh, the elderly man epted the canteen and said, "Thank you, Bell, my boy. Youre always so kind to this old man, hahahaha~." Bell, beaming in response to his Grandpas words, suddenly became very confused with thetter suddenly spat out the water he had been drinking. With a fretful and concerned expression on his face, Bell began patting his Grandpas back as he asked, "Grandpa, whats wrong? Was there a bug in the water!?" The elderly man shook his head, coughing a few time to clear the fluid from his lungs while simultaneously using his divine power to ease the difort. This man was none other than Zeus, currently in the guise of a humble farmer that lived with his grandson, Bell Cranel, on the edge of the vige. They generally kept to themselves and, though Bell was a very personable boy, his shy and skittish nature had ensured he had no real friends. Of course, Zeus had actually made sure to pick a vige that had just recovered from a famine so there werent any children Bells age from the start... After clearing the fluid from his lungs, Zeus smiled towards Bell andughed, saying, "Its nothing, my boy, just got a little water down the wrong pipe. Here, be a goodd and go fetch me some more water, will you?" Bell, still showing concern on his face, epted the canteen and started running towards the river located more than 2km away. Zeus watched him run off with a smile, feeling gratified that his grandson was such a kindhearted boy. However, once Bell had gotten down to the bottom of the nearby hill, the soft expression on Zeus face melted away. Within the crystal clear blue skies, where only a few wispy white clouds had been previously, ck storm clouds began to brew. Turning his back towards the direction Bell had gone, Zeus made his way over to the small single bedroom house that he had shared with Bell over thest few years. There was a small well nearby but, as a result of his training, Bell was required to get all of their water from the river. Zeus made his way over, pulling up the bucket of water to wet his parched throat while looking up at the storm clouds overhead, a fierce glint in his sky-blue eyes that crackled with indiscernible bolts of electricity. After having his fill, he allowed the bucket to fall back into the well, wiping his mouth that now had arge grin as he mumbled, "I wonder which god is taking action to bring about such arge shift in the tides of destiny...well, no matter. As long as the flow of fate around the boy remains unchanged, everything should turn out well..." Sitting down to wait for Bells arrival, Zeus began contemting the best course of action to take since, as ofte, there had been a lot of unexpected changes in the world. Most of these events revolved around the young hero, Vahn Mason, and, trusting in his instincts, Zeus believed this also had something to do with the somewhat troublesome boy. Remembering the report from Odin, Zeus wondered if he should try to approach Vahn in the future to test his character. If he was a perceptive and good-natured as Odin imed, Zeus believed Vahn could be a good mentor to help prop up Bell in the future. It helped that Vahn surrounded himself with numerous women since, even if Bell couldnt meet his expectations, there was a chance his children might inherit his mutation. It was for this reason that he had tried to not only cultivate Bell as a Hero, but also emphasized the importance of saving damsels in distress and building a harem for himself in the future. Of course, as Bell was still young, Zeus had disguised things so that Bell was more focused on making a family than actually gathering girls for the purposes of reproduction... After waiting for several minutes, Zeus could see Bell beginning his return trip, breathing heavily as his rather frail frame carried him forward. The one thing Zeus didnt understand was, even though Bell had such a powerful soul, his body itself wasnt very masculine. He also didnt possess any of the raw talent seen in most heroes and, even when Zeus had lured Bell into a situation where the boys life was endangered by a Goblin, thetter had seized up instead of taking to the fight. Zeus had stepped in to save him at thest moment, fortunately inspiring the boy to begin training in earnest after the fact. Unfortunately, even after nearly two years of guidance, Bell hadnt made much progress and, if not for the fact that the flow of fate around his grandson had actually gotten stronger, Zeus would have believed he made an error in judgment. By now, the clouds overhead had turned into a powerful thunderstorm and heavy raindrops began to fall onto the earth below. Zeus stared up unblinkingly towards the storm and contemted if the action he was thinking about taking was the correct one. Things were changing very quickly within the world right now and it may be prudent to set Bell on his journey sooner, rather thanter. Zeus had wanted to wait until the boy reached a.d.u.l.thood in a little over a year but, considering the tensions between all the countries, it may be difficult for Bell to get a good foothold in the City if he waited too long. Sending him into the thick of things while there was so much political turmoil could end up getting Bell killed or, depending on the circ.u.mstances, have him exploited for someone elses personal gain... Pulling out a strange shimmering piece of parchment, Zeus wrote down a few words before the parchment folded itself into the shape of a bird. Releasing it into the sky, Zeus watched it fly away as he wondered what the answer would be. He was sending a message to Odin, requesting that he get Frigg and those three troublesome girls to divine the future once again. It was unlikely he would get a clear answer, as those bearing a powerful fate seemed to be impossible to predict, but it would at least make his decision easier. Thest time he had divined Bells future, the young boy had be a powerful Hero surrounded by arge entourage of beautiful women. Unless something happened to change Bells own mentality, this was still very likely to be how things turned out. After all, with such a powerful flow of fate surrounding him, Bell would almost undoubtedly reach the goals he had set for himself. Thoughpletely exhausted, Bell managed to reach the porch of their small house, covered in sweat while shivering from the cold rain that hadpletely soaked through his body. This far north, only a few hundred kilometers away from the Northern Tundra, the rain could nearly reach freezing temperatures. There were also several pieces of ice raining from the sky, called hail, many of which had pelted the frail-looking youth during his return trip. Even so, Bell had a smile on his face and showed clear concern in his expression as he handed over the canteen and said, "Here you go, Grandpa...sorry it took so long...haaaaaa..." Zeus simply smiled in return, denying the offered canteen as he said, "Im fine, my boy, please, have some water for yourself. Since its raining, Ill make an exception and let you draw water from the well for your bath." Bell, though it didnt show on his face, had beenmenting the several trips it would have taken to draw water for his bath. With how cold the rain was, it was necessary to warm up his body and, running back and forth to get the water, would have taken him more than an hour. Thus, with a smile that seemed to make the clouds overhead dim slightly, Bell shouted, "Thank you, Grandpa! Youre the best!" Drinking some of the fresh river water, Bell spent a few minutes catching his breath before taking the pail and filling up therge cauldron-like tub in the shed next to their small cottage. Zeus had already moved over, tending to a small fire underneath the cauldron that would warm up the water that had been added. To prevent the user from burning themselves, there was a thick wooden tform on the inside of the cauldron that kept them from touching the scaling hot base. Once he hadpletely filled up the bath, Bell began to take off his water-logged clothing before carefully hanging it up to dry. They lived a very frugal existence so Bell only had a total of four tunics, a single pair of pants, two pairs of shorts, and some very worn-down boxers that he didnt wear often. Zeus watched as the boy carefully arranged his ragged clothing, making sure it would be able to dry properly to be used the next day. However, after seeing Bells frail, almost feminine figure, Zeus couldnt help but let out a small sigh. His grandson was only around 150cm tall at this point and, though he made sure the boy had plenty of protein in his diet, weighted a meager 42kg. With his fairplexion and slender body, the boy looked more like a young girl from behind than anything remotely resembling a man. However, after stripping off his boxers and turning around, Zeus couldnt help but grin andment under his breath, "Thats my grandson..." After leaving Bell behind, even though the boy had offered to let him take a bath first so that he could wash his back, Zeus went out into the now torrential storm. It was almost like a typhoon had unexpected appeared in the area, leaving most of the nearby farmers seeking shelter inside their homes. At this point, Zeus hadpletely changed his appearance from a humble farmer into that of his true form, one of the few gods that possessed a Divinity rted to Thunder, Lightning, and the Sky itself. He was one of the few second generation gods that possessed such powerful Divinities since Ouranos, possessing the primary Divinity of the Sky, was still alive. Waiting in the middle of a field, letting the cold rain beat down against his powerful looking body, Zeus continued to stare towards the sky until three figures appeared from within the clouds. Moving like the lightning shrouding their bodies, they allnded heavily on the ground in front of him, kicking up arge volume of dirt and grass while a loud thunderp sounded throughout the area. Once the shockwave faded away, three beautiful women with off-white hair that had undertones of blue in them stood up. Each held ornate halberds in their hands and wore a dark-blue armor that glimmered with a blue hue, ented by silvers and golds along the edges. Their most notable feature, however, was the dark-grey wings that protruded from their backs, glimmering with a metallic light while small arcs of electricity danced between the feathers. These were none other than the prided Valkyries, considered to be amongst the most powerful races in the mortal world. With a somewhat lecherous grin on his face, Zeusughed and said, "Truly, Odin is blessed to have such fine daughters. What say you, Rta, care to tend to these tired old bones for a change?" The leading woman, whose armor was adorned with gold, snorted through her nose with a look of profound distaste in her expression. Ignoring his invitation, she coldly stated, "Zeus-sama, the Allfather has sent us to inform you about the inquiry you had made. Lady Frigg and Lady Urd had looked into the future of this boy, Bell Cranel..." From within a pouch at her hip, Rta pulled out a sealed scroll and handed it over to Zeus. She and her sisters waited patiently for him to open it up and read the contents, watching with stoic expressions as the powerful gods expression changed several times. Reading the contents of the scroll, Zeus hands trembled slightly since, ording to Friggs and Urds findings, Bell was no longer surrounded by women. Fortunately, he seemed much stronger than previous predictions, making Zeus feel a small amount of relief. While Bell had always been very powerful in the future, it wasnt at the level where he would have ever been a match for monsters like Heracles and Gilgamesh. Fortunately, he seemed to have a way with women, unlike many of the more arrogant and talented Heroes, so there had been many supporters at his side. Zeus even anticipated that Helen and Jeanne would have stood with Bell, making up for what the boycked. Now, however, this didnt seem necessary...at least until he read thest few lines within the message. Urds prediction of Bell showed the boy fighting directly against Theseus, standing within the ruins of the once proud City of Heroes. She predicted, much to Zeus shock, that Bell may one day bring about the destruction of all they had worked tirelessly to obtain. There was even a line where Odin suggested potentially culling the boy to prevent future problems. However, as fate around such individuals as Bell was constantly changing, it was only a suggestion and the final decision would be left to Zeus. When he read this, Zeus eyes had trails of lightning radiating from their center but he still fought to retain his calm. Odin was, after all, a very wise counsel that had shared with him a lot of wisdom over the eons. Zeus had a lot of trust in the god known as the Allfather and, seeing the veryst line in the message, couldnt help but smile slightly as he passed it back over to Rta. Rta, receiving the message back, frowned slightly as she began reading it over with a look of disbelief on her face. In truth, unlike when Zeus was reading it, there were only a few lines visible for her to read over. There was a very powerful enchantment attached to the scroll that protected the important information from prying eyes. Rta, having carries such messages hundreds of times, understood this very well so, seeing there were lines she could read, a small feeling of dread settled inside her heart. When she got to the line that caused Zeus to smile, she couldnt help but sigh out in exasperation before matching thescivious gaze of the elderly god. Her sisters showed very small signs of confusion on their proud and stoic faces but, after reading the letter themselves, released simr sighs. After each understood their duty, the proud Valkyrian women began undoing the sps of their armor while Zeus watched with undisguised anticipation in his eyes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tsubaki really deserves to be a Mother...,Its a Trap!,I think Odin just lost a lot of points with Vahn (o,....,o)) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 693 - Lokis Influence

Chapter 693 - Loki''s Influence

With the birth of Sakuya, there were now only five pregnant women left within the Manor, including Ryuu, Riveria, Juno, Epona, and Eina. It would still be several months until they were due and, as he didnt want to extend the wait by spending on his time in the orb, Vahn only used it sparingly during the evenings. Though he continued on the construction efforts, many of the tasks had been assigned to the other girls since he still spent the majority of his day ying with his children, tending to the newborns, and dealing with the matters of the Alliance. Now slightly more than four months old, Ina and Vana had the appearances of young children around two years old while Erika, maturing the fastest of the three, looked to be around four. She was now much taller than even Vana while her Doppelganger was a simr size and shape. As for the other guardians, Inas Celestial White Tiger, which she had named Kuu, was now the size of a veryrge dog while Vulcan, Vanas True me Dragon, was nearly the size of a cow. Vana could often be found riding around on Vulcans back, now sporting a wooden shortsword instead of the dagger she used to carry. She no longer had a missing tooth and kept her hair cut somewhat short since it would get into her eyes if she let it grow out. Ina, under Hephaestus guidance, had been making steady progress in the various crafts she performed and had even stopped clinging to him all the time, at least when she was busy taking things apart and building new things. Many of the traps and mechanisms in the west wing, after exploring them with Erika, had been disassembled by her at this point. Fortunately, she had gotten to the point where she could put them back together again, even if they sometimes became a little faulty as a result. As for Erika herself, she was now around 87cm tall and weighed close to 17kg, making her a full head taller than the other girls. Her red hair was done up in a ponytail, much like her mothers, but, instead of being small and straight, it burst outward like a star-shaped explosion. Currently, Vahn was standing over Erika as thetter sat in a wooden chair that was still a little too big for her, running her index finger across the page of the book she was reading. Seeing her ponytail, which strangely always red out with five distinct points, Vahn was very tempted to y with it. However, when he had done so in the past, Erika ended up swatting his hand with a flushed expression and ignoring him for the better part of two days. Though he felt it was far too soon, she was at a phase where she was less tolerant of being teased and would even reprimand him at times when they were alone. Erikas finger came to a stop on a word she had never read before, asking, "Papa, what does this word mean?" The book she was reading was written in a veryplexnguage, the fifth one that Erika had recently taken up, but Vahn could easily read it. Peering over her shoulder, he calmly exined, "That word is atom...you can think of it like the building blocks of the molecules doc.u.mented in other texts. It isnt quite urate, but you can consider them the constituent matter produced by pure elemental energy, banded together to create therger molecules that allow the physical and magical phenomenon we see in the world." After listening to her Papas exnation, Erika made a face of deep concentration that gave Vahn a very powerful urge to tease her. Instead of doing so, however, Vahn just released a small sigh that caught her attention. Erika, looking up into his face with her slit-like eyes slightly parted, began to blush slightly as she said, "Papa, you can pet my head...just for a little while..." As if he had received a canteen of fresh water at the end of a long journey through the desert, Vahn smiled radiantly as he began to gently stroke his daughters head. Erika lowered her face, hiding the slightly contended expression she had while continuing her earlier train of thought. It was actually a lot easier to focus when she felt the calming energying from her Papas hand so, as embarrassing as it was, she allowed him to pet her head for a little while... It took a few minutes to gather her thoughts before Erika asked, "So, are atoms a form that the ws of the world take, or are they just the result of the mana itself taking on a physical property?" Vahn, understanding his time hade to an end, removed his hand from her head and exined, "It is difficult to answer that question clearly, as my own understanding of thews is still a little shallow. Im certain their existence is made possible by thews, most likely a derivative of creationws, but I cant be certain. I do know, however, that forming elemental energy into a physical shape isnt the same as creating actual matter. If I made a block of ice using magic, the individual partictes would slowly return to the void. However, if we freeze water into ice, it would just melt back down into waterter on. Though some might be lost, as a result of evaporation, it doesnt actually cease to exist and just changes state into a new form..." With her Papas exnation, Erika made a few notes inside her own personal journal, the one detailing several theories she had been forming over thest few weeks. From the example he had given, she could deduce that there was a fundamental difference between matter created naturally through the bonding of mana particles and those created through the phenomenon of magic. Unless the caster had an understanding of creationws themselves, they couldnt make perpetual constructs out of their magic power, regardless of how much they tried. Even Arnya, who could summon spears and javelins out of thin air, couldnt keep their form for more than a few minutes after they were created. While they appeared simr in structure to actual weapons, they were actually temporary constructs given form by the artifacts she wore at her wrists... In the middle of her scribbling, the clock within the room began to chime with the passing of the hour. Withholding a sigh, Erika snapped her journal shut and said, "Thank you for helping me study again, Papa." As usual, after giving her thanks, Erika confirmed there wasnt anyone spying into the room before extending her arms up. Vahn smiled as he bent down and picked up Erikas light body, giving her a firm hug thatsted for several seconds before saying, "Erika is such a brilliant girl. Helping you study, and seeing how fast youre learning, always make me feel very proud to be your father." Hearing her Papas praise, Erika felt a little giddy but tolerated it until he finally set her back down. She fixed her clothes for a few seconds before grabbing Doppels hand, who had been sitting at the side chewing on her own hair, dragging her away with a slightly flushed face. Watching her exit, Vahn continued to smile for a long time thereafter before taking a seat on the nearby sofa and releasing a small sigh of his own. He really wished his daughters would stop growing up so quickly because it greatly increased the chances they would get wrapped up in various affairs in the future. Just this afternoon, he had to deal with some of the more prodigious Noble families because they had been trying to increase their personal influence through association with the Alliance. Vahn, if he were being honest, had a budding distaste for the various Noble families and their convoluted politics. Though not all of them were corrupt, even the good ones traded favors andpromised their own integrity for benefits. After all, failing to do so would be the same as giving up their power and being taken advantage of by the other families... The reason for the meeting today was to discuss the policies regarding the School they were building, which was almost fully operational and just waiting for the first batch of students. With the only other official School belonging to the Guild, there were various issues with starting a School of their own, especially since it was seen as a power grab by the Alliance. Vahn wasnt the first person to realize that the key to bringing about real change, while also .u.mting power, was through targetting the younger generations. Most organizations couldnt really exploit this to the full extent, as they simply didnt have the resources to groom arge number of children into useful pawns, but that didnt apply to the Alliance at all. Being made up of more than forty Familia at this point, they had a great deal of power, influence, and resources at their disposal. The children that graduated from the School were also very likely to end up as the core of the Alliance in the future, meaning the amount of power they would possess would continue to increase unless it was checked in some manner. Unable to influence the Guilds School much, many of the Noble families were trying to get some influence over the Alliance controlled School. They wanted to organize a special group of Advisors to monitor the activities within the School and make it more suitable for their own children. For a brief moment, there was even a movement among some of the Noble families to try and make the School itself into a specialized institution for Noble children and their vassals only. To the Nobles, this was giving face to the Alliance by allowing them the opportunity to influence their childrens education while also giving them a direct link to the Alliance itself through said children. Simultaneously, this would allow the Noble families to benefit from the resources of the Alliance without paying a single Valis out of pocket since Vahn had already advertised that the School would be free. Unsurprisingly, long before this news actually reached Vahn, it had already been shut down by Loki and the other goddesses making up her core group. Vahn only learned about it because Loki often mentioned what their negotiations entailed, asking his opinion about things and seeing what actions he believed were correct. He knew she was trying to groom him into someone that considered the potential benefits of every situation but, as she never actually tried to force him on any issues, Vahn didnt mind it too much. After all, many of the actions she took were already out of consideration of the choices he would have made himself. This showed that Lokis understanding of him had already reached a very advanced level and, though she would still discuss things with himter on, she was essentially the most influential person in the entire Alliance. Even so, when it came to making the actual decisions, Loki would always arrange a meeting where Vahn would address the matter personally. She did this to show the powers-that-be that, though she may be handling many of the negotiations while being the public face of the Alliance, Vahn was, undoubtedly, the heart of the Alliance and its penultimate decision maker. This had inted his reputation a great deal in high society, including both mortal and godly circles of power and influence. Without doing much himself, Loki had made him out to be an entity that carefully nned and controlled things from behind the scenes while also being willing to take personal and decisive action when necessary. Remembering how some of the Nobles he had met were very deferential towards him, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head with a wry smile on his face. Seating himself upright, he checked the clock onest time before deciding it was about time for him to head over. One of the things Loki had drilled into him was, unless it was someone that was favored by the Alliance, he should always show up after the other party had arrived. This was to show that he had made time for them while also making it known that their presence was somewhat inconvenient. It was amon negotiation strategy that allowed him to control the pace of the conversation since, if they actually tried to foot around the issue, he already had a pretense to bring the discussion to an early close on the grounds of them having wasted his time. By the time he reached the foyer, Fenrir, Emiru, and Maemi were all there waiting for him, thetter two wearing their battle maid attire while Fenrir looked somewhat feral and cold. Her presence was enough to unnerve most people, especially after the rumors circting about the power she had demonstrated during thest Expedition. With numerous powerful and reputable Adventurers talking about how terrifying her power was, it left a deep impression on the minds of themunity. There were even some people that had wanted to have her bound and imprisoned, iming her to be an unhinged monster that endangered the City by being allowed to roam about freely. Vahn reached his hands out, stroking Emirus and Maemis heads as he said, "Thank you for apanying me again, girls." The twins simply smiled in response while rubbing their heads against his palms, clearly enjoying thefortable energy that seemed to constantly radiate from his hands. When he inevitably pulled his hands away, they had somewhat regretful looks on their faces but kept their bearing as he walked over to Fenrir and stroked herrge fluffy ears for a few a short while. This was his way of psyching himself up while also making his guests wait just a little while longer for his arrival. When he got his fill of Fenrirs fluffy ears, Vahn had a casual smile on his face as he said, "Lets get this over with." Nodding, Emiru and Maemi began leading the way while Fenrir fell into step at his side. Though they had been made to wait for nearly a half hour, the representatives of the Noble families had risen to their feet and bowed politely when Vahn finally entered the room. After having been forced to wait several times previously, the actual Masters of the various households stopped showing up personally. Now, they sent their charges into Vahns midst, smartly deciding upon sending their daughters since it was a well-known fact that most men werent wee onto the premises. After the fiasco with Alosrin and the foolish god that tried to arrange a marriage with one of Vahns daughters, even the foolish Nobles knew better than to send their male progenies and sessors. They feared that their sons, still young and drunk on their power, might offend Vahn and earn the ire of the entire Alliance as a result. Giving a curt nod to the three young women that had bowed towards him, Vahn walked around to the opposite sofa and sat next to Loki, gesturing to the three women to also sit down. It was considered rude, especially after having made them wait, to seat yourself before asking the guests to sit first. This was even more so for women as, in high society, men were expected to act very gentlemanly, even though Vahn noted that many of them were entirely the opposite in nature. However, though their auras fluctuated slightly, none of the girls uttered aint and just smiled as they took their seats. For the two girls that had never met Vahn before, it was very fortunate that theirpanion had warned them about her previous experiences with the young powerhouse. Once they had taken their seats, Vahn turned his attention to the purple-haired woman withvender colored eyes, named Allisandra Vale McKeh. She was the second daughter of the McKeh family, one of the Noble families that had funded the creation of Orario nearly a thousand years prior. Unlike her elder sister, who had already been married off to solidify their familys bonds with another Noble house, she was still single and had, very obviously, been trying to earn his favor. As for the other two girls, one having medium length brown hair with hazel-brown eyes, the other having very long pink hair with gem-like baby-blues, Vahn had never met them before. However, with the information provided by Loki, he knew they were Elizabeth Von Astolfo and Agnes Est Valeria respectively. Both were the third daughters of their respective houses and, though not nearly as powerful as the McKeh family, their households were very influential. Seeing each girl had a slight pink to their auras, apanied by a sickly orange, strands of green, and a few undertones of purple, Vahn internally shook his head while externally asking, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Ms. McKeh? I see you are apanied by the third daughters of the Astolfo and Valeria families this time around...how peculiar." Elizabeth and Anges, having never met Vahn previously, couldnt help but tremble slightly as their auras became somewhat chaotic, Allisandra, however, just continued to smile politely as she said, "Please, Vahn, call me Allisandra. This is our third meeting and I would like us to be friends..." Vahn continued to hold eye contact with her, casually rebuffing her by saying, "Ah, but you see, Ms. McKeh, while friends certainly benefit from each other, it isnt through seeking benefits that people be friends..." This time, subtle as it was, Allisandras aura began to waver as the practiced smile on her face became somewhat tense. Even so, she managed to keep her bearing by disguising her difort with a light giggle before saying, "Though Ie at the behest of my family, it isnt as though I do not genuinely wish to be friends with you. However, as youve refused all my invitations to tea, my only opportunity to meet you is under such circ.u.mstances. Please, I ask that you find it in your heart to forgive me..." Allisandra put on a pitiable look, appearing as though she truly regretted not being able to foster a friendship between them. However, being able to see her aura, Vahn was entirely unconvinced by her act and just kept a casual expression on his face. Realizing her appeal wasnt working, Allisandra sighed sadly before saying, "I can see that our presence today had inconvenienced you...I understand you are quite busy these days, especially with the introduction of so many children within the household. Very well, so as not to take up too much of your time, I shall exin our reason for intruding on your time." Vahn gave a curt nod, making the two girls nking Allisandra feel moderately offended since he never gave them an opportunity to introduce themselves. Unfortunately, intruding into the conversation between him and Allisandra would be a grievous affront so, without being able to seek any benefits of their own, the two just sat silently as the discussion progressed. Allisandra, taking a breath to calm herself, smiled in an elegant manner before exining, "It is our understanding that the School you want to open will be operational very soon. In order to foster positive rtions between the Alliance and the various Noble families, we would like to offer our cooperation. If it pleases the Alliance, we are willing to sponsor various facilities within the School, provide reputed schr to teach sses, and offer tax exemptions to make the financial burden of operating such an institution more manageable." Vahn remained stone-faced while Allisandra was speaking, waiting until she waspletely finished before asking, "How generous...however, I cant help but wonder what benefits the Noble families seek by making such an offer?" Believing he was interested in the proposal, Allisandras smile turned more natural as she exined, "As I mentioned, we simply wish to foster a positive rtionship with the Alliance. We understand that, with the capabilities and resources possessed by your faction, any students graduating from your School would be very capable individuals. We ask only that the Alliance does not try to monopolize such talent and, if the Alliance is having trouble staffing and managing the School, we willingly offer our assistance in that regard. There are numerous capable officials among the Noble houses that would be able to manage the finances and logistics of the School, ensuring that it bes a profitable venture in the future~." From what Vahn could gather, reading between the lines of Allisandras offer, the Noble families were afraid that the Alliance would continually consolidate power while slowly siphoning it away from the pre-existing factions. This was essentially their way of trying to keep the bnce of power in check, promising with the Alliance by making concessions in exchange for benefitster down the line. If Vahn actually epted their help, he had no doubt the schrs they sent would be solely focused on stealing the knowledge they were providing while simultaneously fishing for talent. After all, many of the children that would be attending the school could easily be exploited by the various Noble houses, especially if the Nobles began sending their own progeny to attend the School. Since they would have already agreed to cooperation, Vahn wouldnt be able to directly oppose their fishing efforts and the Nobles would slowly consolidate power while trying to earn greater influence over the School itself. This was one of the problems with families that hadsted for hundreds of years; they were willing to wait for decades in order to eventuallye out ahead in an exchange... With a polite smile on his face, Vahn very casually said, "Ill have to refuse." Allisandra, not expecting such a refusal, misunderstood Vahns intentions and thought he just wanted to negotiate. However, before she was able to transition the conversation to that end, Vahn continued by saying, "My entire reason for building this School was to give the youth that had been abandoned by polite society a chance to rise above the fate they had been born to. Im not going to expose them to that kind of world, where monsters disguised as humans prey upon others while treating them as pawns to be used and exploited. If the Noble families wish to send their children into the School one day, they will be subjected to the same living conditions and standards as the other children as, once they arrive at the School, such status is forfeited until their graduation. As for the various benefits you are offering, they ultimately are irrelevant since the Alliance is perfectly capable of managing its affairs without the support of the Nobles. Though I will not oppose cooperation that will benefit both our factions, that doesnt mean I willpromise my own integrity while simultaneously undermining the futures of the various children that will one day pass through the School." Allisandra waspletely stunned by Vahns words, finding it very difficult to say anything since it had been stressed to her time and again to never offend him. The only thing she managed to do was lightly bite her lip as she contemted the best course of action. Leaving this meeting without reaching apromise would potentially threaten her status as the representative chosen to negotiate with Vahn. Since she still had her own ambitions at stake, Allisandra really didnt want to back down without some form of agreement or promise from the Alliance. Unfortunately, having already seized the momentum of the conversation, Vahn had no intention of letting her find her footing as he stated, "Nothing that Im doing right now is beyond the means of the Noble households. If they are truly invested in ensuring the less fortunate are able to seek opportunities for themselves, I have full confidence they would be able to create a School of their own. I actually wouldnt mind cooperating with the School your faction founds by fostering a healthy rivalry between the two student bodies in the future." With his choice of words, it was the same as saying, Use your own resources if you want to cultivate talent and well find out who creates the superior institution. If the Noble factions actually built such a School and tried topete against the Guild and the Alliance, it would be a very big loss of face if they failed to produce any real results. Unfortunately, as they generally treated everything as if it was a means to obtain benefits, any students attending such a School would likely be severely limited in their growth. After all, if they attended the same School as Nobles, anyone that was truly exceptional would have to bow down to the progenies belonging to the Noble households. Such an environment would never allow any true prodigies to rise up since the pride of the noble-born would never allowmoners to excel over them... Allisandra was at a loss for how to respond and, before she was able to recover, Vahn had already stood up. He then proceeded to help Loki, who had a veryrge grin on her face, rise from the sofa. Turning his attention to the three seated girls, Vahn asked in a questioning tone, "Was there another matter you wished to discuss? If not, Ill have to excuse myself as Ive already made arrangements for lunch. My maids will escort you to your carriages and see you off safely..." Sending a small nod to Emiru and Maemi, Vahn escorted Loki out of the room while Fenrir followed behind them. Along the way, she cast her scarlet eyes towards the three high-born girls, sending shivers down their spines that quelled any intentions they had of trying to impose on Vahn any longer... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Erika is a little genius (UwU),I wonder if, without scrolling up, anyone can remember the names of the other two noble girls? RIP bystander1 and bystander2~!,Vahn aint yin no games (o,...,o)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 694 - Qualifications : Compromises

Chapter 694 - Qualifications : Compromises

In the wake of his meeting with the Noble factions, rumors had begun circting through the populous, essentially stating that the Alliance was trying to capture and brainwash children to be future soldiers. While most people didnt buy into this, as a result of all the positive rapport the Alliance had within the City, there were a few that continued spreading the misinformation on behalf of the Nobles. This further cemented Vahns conviction that the Noble families residing in Orario had long served their purpose and, instead of helping the City develop further, were more focused on keeping what little power they already had. While he had no intention of getting rid of them, at least for the time being, Vahn was now determined to slowly take away all of that power from them. He didnt intend to take control and try to force change for his own benefits but merely wanted to remove the illusion that the Nobles were some special breed that was above themon citizenship. After all, without the support of their vassals and servants, many Noble families were almost entirely without any real power. Only by banding together and borrowing power from others were they able to have any influence within the City at all. To prepare for the eventual opening of the School, there were several things on Vahns to-do list, including finding suitable teachers. Thus far, the only people Vahn had confirmed for the School were Terpsichore, who would be teaching dance, music, and theatre, Tsubaki, who would be watching over the physical training of all the students, and Riveria, who would be teaching history, basic magic theory, andnguage studies. She wouldter be the Headmaster of the Academy he would found once Haven was built, meaning Vahn needed to also find a suitable recement. Considering that she was currently pregnant, and there would undoubtedly be people that tried to target her, Vahn had even considered excluding her from the list entirely, at least for the time being. Sitting in the Library, Vahn was tapping his finger against the armrest of a luxurious sofa while absentmindedly observing therge study group gathered around Riveria and Lefiya. Vahn had considered having Lefiya be a teacher but, considering she had no interest in teaching outside of the Manor, decided against it. In this same vein of thinking, he had also thought about asking several of the girls within the Manor to fill temporary positions but, in much the same way as Lefiya, they simply had no interest in it. Syr had offered to teach economics, cooking, and basic writing sses, but Vahn knew she was generally very busy around the Manor. She also spent a lot of time interacting with the girls within the orb so he really didnt want to put even more onto her already expansive workload... Ultimately, Vahn felt it was best if he assumed all of Riverias teaching roles while scouting out potential candidates for other teaching positions. In truth, taking into ount how young some of the students would be, they needed a lot of teachers that simply had the patience to teach arge number of children how to read, write, and perform basic arithmetic. They needed to vet the kids properly for the more advanced sses since teaching unstable children, or those that were influenced by outside sources, how to use magic was ill-advised. Though instructing them in the basics of survival and how to be an Adventurer were easy enough, Vahn didnt want to empower people that would use their power they gained at the School to bring harm to others. For the first batch of children, Vahn didnt really know how things would work out and, considering that there was no standardized education system in ce, intended to batch the students together in sses of 20-30 students each. Progress wouldnt be dependent on age but by the capabilities of the students themselves. When youpleted the curriculum and passed the associated test, you would be able to move on to the more advanced courses at your own pace. Though this would eventually change, it was the only method they could implement right now since there simply werent enough staff for something moreprehensive. After all, each teacher they selected needed to be heavily vetted and observed so as to avoid situations where the teachers yed favorites or manipted the students for their own benefit. Deciding he wasnt making any progress on his own, Vahn stood up from the sofa and smiled at the girls that turned their attention to him before making his way out of the room. As was often the case these days, he then tracked down Loki who was currently sitting within her own room along with Erika, Juno, Syr, and, somewhat surprisingly, Risna. Vahn gave a curt nod to Einas younger sister, doing his best to ignore her fluttery pink aura as he sat next to Erika, urging the girl to sit on hisp but ultimately failing to convince her. Loki, seeing this,ughed in her characteristically cheeky manner before hopping over and seizing the spot for herself, much to the mentation of her daughter and the embarrassment of Risna. Leaning into his chest with her back, Loki looked up and said, "Let me guess...you are either worried about the School or what to do about the Dwarven Caravans?" Seeing the very subtle change in Vahns expression, which he had gotten much better at controlling, Loki smiled and said, "So its the School then, kukukuku~." Vahn released a small sigh, loosely wrapping his hands around Lokis waist since he didnt want to do anything too intimate in front of their daughter. In a light tone, he began detailing all his concerns while Loki, along with the other girls, listened in silence. It wasnt until he had almostpletely finished his exnation that Loki nodded her head and said, "Well, it isnt really that much of a problem unless you really just want to make a bunch of elites..." Seeing the look of confusion in Vahns eyes, Loki smiled and exined, "The School youre creating is supposed to allow for orphans and those from impoverished families the opportunity to rise above their current standing. We built the dorms to amodate nearly five-thousand students and there are spaces for more than three-hundred different sses. Starting off with a small group of children to test the waters isnt a bad idea, but we very obviously need to employ arge number of teaching staff, maintenance workers, and custodial staff. For the sses you had in mind, I think those should be saved for the more advanced students that work their way through the basic curriculum, after all, you cant seriously believe that Tsubaki would be able to teach five-thousand students a day, right?" Vahn, for a brief moment, pictured a scene of Tsubaki standing atop a tform with thousands of young children formed up in a field below her. If they were all disciplined and paying attention, there wouldnt be much of an issue but, considering they were all children, it would very likely be pure chaos. There was also the fact that Tsubaki was very invested in taking care of Sakuya and it would be very unfair to have her focus on such arge number of students. Vahn wanted to make sure everyone had adequate opportunities for improvement and she would very clearly be unable to split her focus evenly between such arge number of children. Hopping out of hisp, Loki walked over to her bedside dresser and opened the top drawer to reveal a stack of thick blue notebooks with the words Teaching Staff written on the top. Vahn released a sigh when she brought over one of them, passing it over for his perusal as she reassumed her position atop hisp. On each page of the three-hundred-page thick notebook, there was the image of a different potential instructor and all of their credentials. Considering there were three different notebooks, Vahn realized Loki had already long been preparing things that he should have seen to personally. Realizing his thoughts, Loki just shrugged as she thumbed through one of the notebooks and exined, "I told you that I would work hard to ensure that the world you wanted to create woulde to fruition. This School of yours is something I know you are very passionate about and, since you obviously cant focus on everything, it isnt a problem for me to help out. Besides, a lot of this information came through the Alliances and Guilds channels. I also pulled a few favors with the Hermes Familia since theyvepiled a prettyprehensive list of thousands of different Adventurers." Ever since the Hermes Familia made their error, Loki had been making sure to reap the maximum amount of benefits from them. Till now, Vahn had yet to have Asfi make any of the promised Magic Items so she had ample time and opportunity to exploit Hermes and his children. Vahn felt very gratified to have someone like Loki on his side and, if not for the presence of Erika and the other girls, he would have expressed his gratitude more openly. For now, he just gave her a light kiss on the lips that caused both Risna and Erika to blush lightly. Thetter, having watched the interaction between her parents, was feeling very confused right now. She had long since realized that her Mother was the type that acted in an attempt to secure the greatest number of benefits. However, whenever she was near her Papa, her Mother actedpletely differently than normal. Though she still schemed to secure her interests, it always manifested in a way that made her Papas life easier, often surprising him by how helpful she was being. Erikas understanding of love and emotional rtionsh.i.p.s was still a littlecking, not that she hadnt studied them, but she was beginning to realize that love could make people act out of character if it meant they could help the person they cared about. As she had been considering what she could do to help her Papa in the future, Erika wondered if following her Mothers example was the best course of action. Though she would never admit it openly, she also wanted to ease her Papas burdens and make his life easier, earning his praise in return. He always treated her very well, regardless of how she might act at times, but Erika wanted to earn his praise more, not just receive it one-sidedly all the time... Unaware of the subtle change in his daughters perspective, Vahn stowed the three notebooks into his inventory as he asked, "So, what were the five of you talking about before I interrupted? Its rare to see Risna out of her room..." Hearing his words, Risna flushed a deep shade of red as she rebutted, "Hey, dont say it like Im some kind of strange room-dwelling monster! Ie out all the time, you know!?" Vahn blinked, somewhat surprised by Risnas outburst until Loki and Syr began tough, thetter musing, "Ara~? Risna,ing out for meals and to use the bathroom dont exactly count, do they~? How many baths have you taken this week, I wonder~?" The red blush on Risnas face became crimson when she heard Syrs words while any she had been about to say got buried deep in her stomach. It was currently Friday and, because she hadnt really done much physical activity, Risna had only bathed twice while spending the majority of her time cooped up in her room. As Syr had mentioned, the only real times she came out were to use the bathroom and pick up some food from the kitchen. She didnt even really join them for the lively meals that weremon-ce within the Manor since it was very troublesome to deal with so many people. It wasnt that she didnt have any friends amongst the girls in the residence, just that she didnt likerge groups since they made her ufortable... Since Risna seemed unable to say anything, Syr chuckled lightly and answered, "Risna stumbled upon Erika when she visited the Library the other day. After they talked for a bit, Risna got an idea for a novel and wanted to talk with Loki about trying to get it officially published. You know that getting anything printed is a very difficult task and, after your promise in the past, Risna was wondering if she could still make use of your words for her benefit~." Now, instead of blushing, Risna had gonepletely pale as she turned her eyes toward Vahn. She felt like Syr, one of the few girls she actually talked to often, had just betrayed herpletely... Vahn, seeing Risnas aura drop to a very pitiable level, just smiled in return as he calmly said, "I make it a habit to try and keep all of my promises, so long as the person I gave my word to hadnt done anything to threaten my family and the people I care about. If you want to start publishing your books, I will keep my word and help you. Im certain we can find you a workshop and set up a printing facility for your personal use..." As he was speaking, Vahn was using his sub-process to look through the system shop and see how much printing presses cost. Restricting his search criteria to things existing within the Danmachi record, he found a few ranging between 30,000-50,000OP in price. Theplexion slowly began to return to Risnas face as a small smile bloomed in its ce. Her impression of Vahn was very high but, as they didnt often interact with each other, she was very worried he had a bad impression of her. Thus far, if not for the fact he was married to her sister, Risna felt like he would have already abandoned her. Seeing his honest expression and his immediate willingness to make good on his promise made the giddy feeling that had been bubbling up in her stomach much more prevalent than in the past. At the same time, Vahn noticed her Affection jump up from 94 before stopping at 99 once again. It wasnt the first time she had actually reached that number but, as a result of them rarely interacting with each other, Risna typically hovered around the mid-nies range, not that this bothered Vahn any. Erika, realizing there was something more to how Risna looked at her Papa, couldnt help but frown slightly. She understood that most of the girls within the Manor, many of which were like surrogate mothers to her, were involved with her Papa. However, certain situations didnt make much sense to her, especially the rtionship between her Papa and the Mother-Daughter pair of Mn and Tina. Risna was also in the category of things she didnt quite understand and, seeing how casual her Mother, Juno, and Syr acted, Erika couldnt help but feel her Papa was somewhat mysterious in how he was able to manage such rtionship as if they were perfectly natural... Since he could always review the doc.u.ments Loki had provided himter, Vahn joined the conversation the girls had been having before he intruded upon them. Risna, not that he was too surprised, refused to set up a workshop away from the Manor. Though she hadnt visited it personally, she knew about the existence of the orb and, considering it a huge boon to have a ce where she had even more time to write, wanted to build her workshop within the orb itself. Since she was already of age, Vahn agreed to her request but only if she started joining everyone for their family meals. He had been somewhat bothered by the fact that many of the mealstely had far fewer people than normal and had been intending to propose that they all started eating outside of the orb. Since it was a good opportunity to get Risna out of her room more often, he brought it up and got the opinions of Loki and Syr, who both agreed that it was a good idea. Though initially reluctant, Risna eventually agreed to the stiption since she was somewhat bothered by the yful glint in Syrs eyes. She felt that, if she didnt agree to Vahns conditions, Syr would say or do something that would embarrass her greatly. This was emphasized by the fact that, shortly after eding, Risna saw Syr give a yful pout like her schemes had been ruined. Now that she had been betrayed once, Risna was in an alert status in regards to the actions and behaviors of the woman she knew to be near the peak of the Manors hierarchy... After the conversation came to an end, Vahn decided to invite the girls toe and have lunch with him so they could discuss matters with the others that would be present. Though the information would spread through thework, it was still better to talk about such matters in person when they had the chance. Thus, while Loki dragged along Risna to the dining room, apanied by the other girls, Vahn went to the Library to let everyone else know what was going on. They had all just started a small snack break of their own so, hearing Vahn mention eating lunch together, everyone began to migrate towards the dining room. Once inside, Vahn made his concerns known and, with the support of Loki, Hephaestus, Hestia, and Eina, it was quickly decided that everyone should begin eating their meals together outside of the orb. With the time-dtion between the orb and the real world, this meant there would be a lot of activity within the dining room and Vahn believed it would make the atmosphere more lively for those that resided within the Manor... (A/N: If a person eats 3 meals per day, this means they would essentially be using the dining room upwards of 15-18 times a day. Emiru and Maemi are going to be kept very busy though, considering they dont actually spend much time in the orb, they probably wouldnt mind much. The spirit of the meido is strong with those two (UwU)~! Besides, the children should have more exposure to all the girls in the Manor or they could get lonely (TT_TT)...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Complications: Foresight of a Goddess,Someone pointed this out on the Discord, but you can essentially imagine Risna like Eromanga-sensei with blonde hair and a loose hairstyle~?,Vahn wants his family to spend time together (UwU)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 695 - Careful Consideration

Chapter 695 - Careful Consideration

With the information provided by Loki, Vahn managed to pick around 108 candidates he thought were suitable for various teaching positions in the School. He intended to personally vet each and every one of them but, considering Loki was the one that provided the information, he believed they had all passed her preliminary testing. The majority of the candidates listed were widows, retired Adventurers, or reputed Schrs in a variety of different studies. Of the 871 candidates provided, a total of 668 had been female while the remaining 203 were happily married, some already having grandchildren of their own that would rival the ages of the students attending the School. Vahn even found a face within the doc.u.ments that he hadnt quite expected to find... Gregory House, former Chief Customs Officer stationed at the North-West Gat of Orario. After the birth of his grandchild, he retired from active duty and now assisted his daughter and son-inw in taking care of his grandson. Due to the fact that his son-inw was only a Level 2, aged at twenty-six, the ie he earned wasnt quite enough to keep the family afloat. Gregory had taken up temp work as a security guard for nearby businesses while his daughter ran aundry service out of their small residence located in the seventh district of Orario. Vahn also noted that, within the notes detailing Gregorys character, it listed him as a kindly middle-aged man who was very empathetic towards orphans. Being someone that had once benefited from this kindness, Vahn had a deep impression of Gregory and intended to hire him as part of the Schools Staff. Curiously, as he was going through the list of candidates, Vahn noticed many members of the Terpsichore Familia listed, including the Tiger Person that had taken an interest in him, Reika. It listed some of her background information, even detailing the trauma she had experienced in the past. However, also within those notes, it included that she had always been very fond of children and would make a suitablebat instructor. She was also a girl that had left an impression on him and, if not for the fact he already had so many women around him, Vahn couldnt deny there might have been something between him and the exotic woman. Her dance had been rather captivating and, as she was always watching him during her performances, Vahn found it hard to pass over her file in favor of others... In total, the staff of the School would be around 300 individuals, with therger portion belonging to contractors and cleaning personnel that would be maintaining the grounds regrly. Vahn intended to use a system where the children cleaned up and maintained the ssrooms but, as they were just a bunch of children, there obviously needed to be professionals the take care of the more important matters. As for the breakdown of actual Instructors, Vahn had decided to put Tsubaki, Terpsichore, Riveria, and, after discussing it with them, Takemikazuchi and Anubis in charge of their own departments. Tsubaki was going to be in charge of the department that taught children how to be proper Adventurers, including the basics of monster ecology, first aid, and general techniques that would greatly increase their chances of surviving in the Dungeon. Though this would also includebat techniques, the actual person in charge of teaching the children how to fight would be Takemikazuchi. He would also be able to help the children learn proper discipline and manners, all while ensuring they were able to developbat styles that suited them. Terpsichore would, very obviously, be in charge of the entertainment department, which would have teachers that taught arts, music, dance, and theatre. Vahn knew that not everyone was suited to fighting for a living and he also found that appreciation of the arts was verycking within general society. As for Riveria, she would be in charge of the magic department though, for the time being, that position would be filled by Vahn personally... Thest department, which was arguably the most important, would be headed by Anubis, at least for the time being. She didnt have much to do around the Southern Manor and, as most of her children were often busy tending to their own matters, Anubis had volunteered to be the Dorm Mother for the student dorms. She would be in charge of all the staff that tended to the dorms, including the various servants that would be taking care of all theundry and cleaning. Her job didnt actually require her to do much but, with her calm and motherly disposition, Vahn believed she was very suited to the position. As Loki had suggested, most of the basic sses would revolve almost exclusively around reading, writing, and arithmetic. Once students had a basic mastery of these foundational skills, they would be able to apply for other courses and, as long as they had taken at least five sses, the rest of the time would be self-study. There was no such thing as failing out of a ss, as the application to move to a higher grade could be submitted at any time. Notpleting a course meant you just stayed in it until you either gave up or moved to another ss. Though there were restrictions that applied, the students would have a lot of freedom in the direction they took their education. Of course, understanding they may not necessarily be able to think about their career path on their own, Vahn had selected a few people as guidance counselors for the students. In order for a student to apply for thebat sses, they needed to have at least 10 credits in other courses while showing they are capable of passing the pre-requisite physical evaluation. For those applying to learn magic, and other advanced sses, they needed at least 24 credits and had to pass various tests proving they were qualified to begin studying such practices. For magic in particr, as Vahn intended to start introducing a basic curriculum using Evas magic system, a student needed to show proficiency in threenguages, have a proper understanding of mathematics, and also take pre-requisite vows to protect the information they acquired. On average, a student would be able to earn around 5-10 credits per year since the basic rotation for courses, meaning the instructor would begin anew, would be every six months. Thus, unless the student was especially gifted, there wouldnt be anyone learning magic within the first two years. Though there would be exceptions, made on a per-person basis, this was the basic idea of what Vahn had in mind for the School. Graduation would be when a student had either obtained 100 credits, though they could obtain more, or reached the age of a.d.u.l.thood, which would be standardized around age fourteen. Since all the students attending the School would be staying in the dorms, they needed to have a system to rotate graduates out to make space for new and prospective applicants... Reading over the details Vahn had listed out, Loki made several changes in the basic structure while also suggesting some other people among the list she had originally provided to Vahn. She wasnt entirely sure what method he had used to select the people he thought were suitable so she filled in the gaps by choosing people she knew would be beneficial to the sess of the School. Once she had finished making her changes, Loki set aside the quill she had been using to write, handing the doc.u.ment back to Vahn as she said, "Check over it one more time before handing it back to meter. Ill start arranging the interviews and have the maintenance staff begin preparations to open the School. If youre going to be heading a department personally, your schedule is going to be even more packed than it already is. We might have to discuss letting the girls use the orb during the evening so you can still spend time with them..." When Loki was speaking of the girls, she was very obviously talking about Ina, Vana, and Erika. As Vanir, they needed to be carefully protected and there was no way they would be able to attend a normal school. With Vahn being away during the day, he would have much less time to spend with them so, even though it would elerate their already rampant growth, it wouldnt make too big of a difference since they already aged very quickly. Vahn, however, shook his head and said, "It will take a long time for any students to actually qualify to learn magic from me. For the [Mixing] and research-based sses, Ill leave those to other teachers to deal with. Though Ill make an appearance to make sure things are running properly, I dont intend to have much direct involvement with the School until things stabilize and are running smoothly." Tapping her chin for a few seconds, Loki eventually nodded her head and said, "Okay, but make sure youre at least keeping an eye out for talented pupils. In order to make sure your time isnt taken up by hundreds of students in the future, youll need to start grooming teachers that will be able to conduct lessons on your behalf..." Vahn smiled in response before whisking out an orb that glowed with a pale blue radiance while a hazy rainbow hue was reflected in its interior. Loki was somewhat confused at first before realizing Vahns intentions and asking, "Youre going to use a Space-Time orb to teach for you? Is that really a good idea?" Vahn, understanding her concern, nodded his head and exined, "Ive worked out the details with Terra and we essentially n to make a room where students can teleport into the Space-Time orb. From their perspective, it will be like they moved to another location that is suitable for them to learn magic safely. The time dtion effect is only set at 1:1 so they will be unable to discern any differences between the orb and reality. Even if they get injured and ejected from the orb, well be able to exin it away as a magical ward that automatically protects their bodies. With this system, the students would never actually be aware of the existence of the orb at all, meaning the secret of their existence will not be revealed." Loki raised her brows as she slightly parted her eyes, surprised by the solution Vahn hade up with to free up his own time. She realized that, if it allowed him to spend more time with his daughters, Vahns ingenuity reached truly monstrous proportions. As this thought crossed her mind, Loki fell into a giggling fit that caused Vahn to momentarily blush before calming himself after a deep breath. In truth, he actually nned to use a variety of orbs within the School, primarily for testing purposes since repairing the premises of the School itself would be very time-consuming. He wanted to make it so that students in theirter years would be able to enter various trial halls to put their skills to the test. It was much easier to regte and influencews within the orb aspared to the real world since his energy was used in their creation. Once his mastery of their creation reached a certain extent, Vahn would even be able to generate entire mountains and a variety of other environments that would help the students prepare for venturing deeper into the Dungeon... Once Loki had stoppedughing, she gave Vahn a curious nce since she had noticed the subtle look in his eye that showed he was up to something. Since he woulde to her before implementing anything dangerous, Loki didnt pry into the matter and trusted that he would consider it properly before implementing anything. Though she had been helping to groom him into a capable leader for the Alliance, Loki knew it was very important to let Vahn have the freedom to make decisions on his own. He was smart enough to always ask for advice when it was something he didnt understandpletely, something she was very fond of, so there was little harm in letting him machinate and mull over his own ns and ideas. Thus, after running her hand around the inside of his thigh, Loki gave Vahn an amorous smile and asked, "So, what are you doing after this...?" Vahn, having made no actual ns for the rest of the morning, swallowed hard when Loki closed the distance until their faces were less than three centimeters apart. His daughters were all currently sleeping, as it was still very early in the morning, so Vahn decided to pamper his mischevious trickster goddess for a short while. Bringing his hands around her body, Vahn firmly gripped Lokis butt, enjoying the pliant cheeks in his palms while she released a hot sigh against his face and started kissing him. Freeing one of his hands, Vahn threw a ward through the air that mmed against the frame of the door, ensuring nobody would be able to enter until he removed it. Lokis room itself was already soundproofed and, as Tina should be outside training, Vahn was confident they had an hour or two to indulge in each other. Loki had been working very hard for their shared happinesstely and Vahn wanted to show his gratitude for everything she had done... Unfortunately for Loki, Vahns gratitude was very difficult to deal with these days as the changes in his body after learning [Magia Erebea] made him peerless in the bedroom. This,bined with the fact that his [Grooming] was very effective against even goddesses, ensured that Loki was practically begging for a reprieve after around forty minutes. Things got so intense that it felt like her consciousness might actually separate from her body, forcing her back to Heaven as Vahns pettingws ravished the inside of her body. To resist the tidal waves breaking against the shores of her sanity, Loki relied on digging her nails into Vahns back while trying to stop his movements by tightly locking her legs around his waist. Unfortunately, as he was on top of her, this hadnt been entirely effective and, for the first time in the hundreds of millions of years she had lived, Loki regretted taking on a s.e.x.u.a.l conquest by herself... Vahn felt extremely apologetic towards Loki when she finally tapped against his shoulder and begged for him to stop. When heid her down on the bed, she had a dazed expression that seemed to be staring off into eternity while arge amount of love nectar had soaked into the sheets below them. He had been carefully paying attention to her state while they were having s.e.x but, considering she generally enjoyed when things were more intense, it was very apparent that he had taken things too far. Fortunately, Lokis eyes regained their rity a few secondster as she turned her gaze towards him and said, "Youve been holding back a lottely...make sure youre releasing your tensions properly so you dont end up hurting any of the other girls." Lokis words were the truth as, even though he was still having s.e.x with the girls on a rather exciting rotation, Vahn had been struggling to reach satisfaction. Though he had reached a point of pseudo-immortality, where his body didnt immediately regenerate, it was still very difficult to reach a point of natural release. Unless he took matters into his own hand, or was sleeping with someone like Syr, Hephaestus, or a mixture of girls, it was very difficult for him to finish. It hadnt been too big of an issue but, as the tensions in his mind and body continued to build, Vahn felt like he needed to cut loosepletely in the near future. This was even more important since, in as little as thirteen days, he was supposed to be having his showdown against Lili and Naaza. Chronologically, Lili had already reached the age of a.d.u.l.thood within the orb but, as agreed upon by everyone during their meeting, time spent in the orb would not be counted towards their actual age. After all, with the influence of his [Hands of Nirvana] and [Grooming], they were already aging much slower than they should be. On average, he may have inadvertently extended their lifespans by several years while simultaneously slowing down their actual physical development. Learning Evas magic system, while also increasing their parameters, further decreased their rate of aging while simultaneously extending their lifespan even further. Thus, even though Lili had been critically impacted by the revtion she hadnt reached a.d.u.l.thood, she continued to train in high spirits while periodically reminding him of how many days remained... After taking a few minutes to help Loki recover, including cleaning her body and making sure she wasfortable, Vahn let her take a nap and left the room. He removed the ward on his way out and decided to go cool his head for a bit, making his way towards Fenrirs room since she was almost always there at this time of day. Ever since she had learned her meditation technique, Fenrir spent arge portion of her time in the room he had created for her. The only times she really came out, other than for meals, was when she felt the need to tend to and apany him. Unlike most of the other girls, Fenrir didnt use the orb that much right now because her techniques relied on focusing on the natural energy within the world. Though the orb emted reality almost perfectly, there was nothing inside to produce natural energy and it felt strangely devoid of what made reality what it was. This was because Vahns understanding of the orbs was still somewhat shallow and, once he mastered their creation, such things wouldnt be an issue any longer. Reaching the barriers outside Fenrirs room, which kept the cold in while keeping people out, Vahn noticed that she had already unlocked the ward to let him enter. Inside, he found Fenrir sitting in a lotus position with both eyes closed, looking remarkably human if not for the fact she still had fur covering her arms and legs. Even therge fluffy ears on her head had be somewhat smaller and more pert, looking closer to Anubis ears than the oversized ones Fenrir was known for. As for the rest of her appearance, Fenrir was still very petite and had a body that didnt have any discernable fat on it at all. There was a lightyer of frost covering her n.a.k.e.d body that made her paleplexion look snowy and inordinately more fair than normal. Vahn smiled when he saw her, making his way over to the ice bed and sitting down across for the hard-working Vanargandr. Opening her eyes slightly, Fenrir returned her Masters smile as her appearance reverted back to its default state. She knew he was very fond of her cute appearance and, though she was working hard to master her transformation, his arrival here meant he probably wanted to calm down by cuddling with her. Knowing that he was so reliant on her always made Fenrir feel a sense of pride that simultaneously caused her heart to flutter about. She knew that, among all the girls surrounding her Master, the only ones he sought when he was troubled were her, Hestia, Eina, and Tsubaki. Thus, spreading her arms wide in an inviting gesture, Fenrir softly muttered, "Master,e...Fenrir will take care of you..." (A/N: Lefiya is also technically of age right now but, for the same reasons as mentioned above, is not considered to be an a.d.u.l.t yet. Orb OP, but shouldnt be exploited too much. It will be exined inter chapters, but they had gotten together and agreed to some changes in their previously established rules. Tina is now allowed to use the orb, as it is very beneficial for her training, but will not be considered an a.d.u.l.t until she reaches maturity ording to the time in the real world. This means she has to choose against increasing her strength in the orb, effectively increasing the amount of time she has to wait before she can solidify her rtionship with Vahn, or staying outside of the orb to train normally while aging at the correct rate. This, however, means she may not actually mature adequately by the time she reaches a.d.u.l.thood, as a result of Vahns efforts, so she needs to carefully bnce between the two xD...[Luck] OP? Also, it came up on the Discord and I wanted to get the opinion of thements section. Originally, the mascot-character was split between being Fenrir, pulled from Granblue Fantasy, or Medusa, also from the same franchise. Medusa has a tsundere-like personality, conflicting with Eva, and a simr skillset to Terra. Thus, when I was deciding between the two, I picked Fenrir since she is far more pettable and it matched Vahns perception of what cute was at the time. If youd like to see a Medusa-chan in the future, let me know in thements section and Ill try to work her into the story. Fair warning though, it probably wont be for a long while xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gregory House Reappears~!,RIP Loki-sama...,Fenrir is here...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 696 - Service

Chapter 696 - Service

The following day, deciding to take Lokis advice, Vahn made his way out of the Manor early in the morning. Most of the girls no longer used the backyard for training any longer so Vahns mornings were generally free now that the orb existed. This had left him ample opportunity to enjoy his morning in other manners, generally by visiting Anubis or stopping by the Clubhouse for a short while. Nanu, much like Tina, also had special permission to use the orb after agreeing that her real age would still be restricted by the date of her birth, not the chronological passage of time. She still spent a fair amount of time outside the orb but, now that many of the Hounds had lives beyond the Anubis Familia, this had been slowly changing. Arriving outside the ornate gate leading towards the massive pyramid-like structure, Vahn found Anubis waiting for him with a calm smile and a slightly expectant look in her moonlight eyes. She had her hands crossed in front of her with what Vahn immediately identified as a leash held in waiting. With a smile on his face, he approached the exotic goddess who often showed an inordinate amount of patience for his sometimes careless decisions. She took a step forward, almost like she had lost her patience, rubbing her silky ck hair against his palm while Vahn used his [Grooming] to y with her ears. With slightly squinted eyes, and a breathtakingly beautiful smile on her face, Anubis brought her body closer to his and said, "Master..." in a hot voice that plucked at his heartstrings. Vahn already knew that she was the only one at the Southern Manor right now so, instead of epting the leash she had in her hands, Vahn traced his hands down the line of Anubis body, tracing her outline as her body trembled lightly under his touch. Even without being in a form with enhanced olfactory senses, Vahn could smell a womanly fragranceing from her body that made his brain buzz with excitement. Then, just as her breathing started to elerate, Vahn made Anubis release a surprised yelp as he suddenly picked her up in a bridal carry. To any observers that might have been watching, of which there were none, Vahn and Anubis would have vanished in thin air as a result of his seamless [Shundo]... Other than noticing the surroundings change, Anubis didnt feel Vahn move at all, almost as if he had truly teleported from the gate to the front door in an instant. She had already received a warning from Loki the previous afternoon so, noticing that her Master was behaving somewhat impatiently, Anubis felt excitement stir up in her heart as she tightly hugged his body. Vahn, after making his way through the entrance of the Southern Manor, carried Anubis into the central chamber she had prepared for him in the past. Just as before, there was arge bed located in the center while, stern about on various shelves and racks, a variety of equipment could be seen. Vahn noticed it was all neatly maintained, almost as if it had been carefully tended to in anticipation of its future use. Still holding on to Anubis body, Vahn passed his gaze over some of the items he had never truly considered using in the past. There had always been a small part of him that had been interested in the various items Anubis had put on disy and, knowing that he owed her a great deal, Vahn swallowed hard before saying, "You have always shown a great deal of patience, Anubis. Even though Im your Master, Ive rarely ever done anything worthy of your service. Today, for these next few hours, I will give you the reward youve craved for thest year..." At this point, Anubis was taking short and quick breaths, clearly excited by the prospect of her Master finally easing the burden in her heart. She loved him deeply but, as a result of her need to serve people, it had been very difficult for him to treat her so well all the time. For a very long time, she had desperately awaited the day he would finally dominate herpletely... cing her left hand against his heart, Anubis looked into her Masters eyes while her moonlight eyes glimmered in anticipation. Her lips, creating a perfect bow on top while being full and glossy on bottom, slightly parted as she eximed, "Master...I want to be treated roughly. Please, I dont mind even if you break me a little...Ill be fine..." Vahn winced slightly, worrying Anubis enough that she bit her lips, almost as if she were anguished by the prospect of him being put off by her words. In the next moment, however, Anubis heart felt like it was going to explode out of her chest when he leaned down and whispered in a firm tone, "Dont worry, Anubis...even if I break you, Ill put you back together properly..." Vahn felt like digging a hole and burying himself inside after uttering such bold words but, seeing how happy Anubis was, he kept a firm and almost predatory look in his face and expression. He could feel her trembling in expectation while the palm she had rested on his chest had started to perspire slightly as a result of nervousness and excitement. Carrying her over to the bed, Vahn dropped her down and said in a cold tone that made his own spine tremble, "Take off all your clothes...no, keep on your bottoms and stockings for now." Anubis lower jaw trembled slightly as she hotly muttered, "Yes, Master..." with an amorous expression on her face. Walking over to the side, Vahn opened arge secretary-like wardrobe that had various outfits inside, much like the one he had gleaned through when he visited the Twilight Manor in the past. Grabbing the first outfit that looked interesting, almost entirely made of leather arranged in aplex structure of belts and straps. Vahn noticed that the material on the inside was very soft to the touch and wouldnt chafe against the skin much, even under rather intense physical activity. Deciding it was a good option for the time being, Vahn tossed the outfit over towards the bed where Anubis had just removed her gown. In the samemanding tone as before, without looking directly at her, Vahn said, "Put that on. If it gets in the way of your bottoms, take them off." Anubis seemed to be very aware of her role in everything that was happening since, as he wasnt looking directly at her, she didnt respond and just carried out his orders. Since he was ignoring her, it would have been inappropriate for her to distract him from his exploration of the wardrobe. Vahn, understanding this, produced a nearly indiscernible wmile while sorting through some of the other essories present. He was surprised to find that Anubis actually had various tail-like essories that were very obviously meant to be inserted in the anus. Since she already had arge and bushy ck tail, Vahn found it somewhat strange that she had such things avable. Understanding it wasnt necessarily for her own use, Vahn set them aside and continued to look for other items of interest. Located in a wooden box at the back of the wardrobe, Vahn found an ornate wooden box which, when opened, revealed several ring-like essories. At first, he didnt understand their use but, after picking one up and checking the description in his inventory, Vahn immediately understood their purpose. For a very brief moment, he couldnt help but furrow his brows slightly as he imagined why Anubis would have various piercings and mps kept within the wardrobe. The one he had picked up had very cleared been called a [N.i.p.p.l.e Ring] and, with how thick the needle of the ring was, Vahn couldnt imagine it being a pleasant experience having them inserted. As for the other rings, they included ear mps and, much to his shock, there were lip, nose, belly-button, and, epitomizing his shock, a single silver mp that was supposed to constrict around the c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s... Though he wasnt looking at her, Vahn noticed Anubis aura practically explode when he had picked up the small wooden box. He understood her tastes were a bit extreme and, even though she would healpletely after a bit of rest, Vahn found it hard to imagine how she had developed such a unique preference. However, since he had never seen her react in such an extreme manner, Vahn put the lid on the wooden container and held it under his arm. This made her aura marginallyrger and it began to gravitate towards him, even though she was several meters away. Vahn could feel the tendrils of her aura start to coil around him, with the greatest concentration lingering around the box under his arm. Since most of the other toys wouldnt have made a big difference, as he was far more capable of causing Anubis pleasure without their use, Vahn ignored them and made his way over to the bed. Anubis hadnt finished changed yet so he scowled towards her and said, "Hurry up...I didnt think you were the type to leave her Master waiting." To emphasize the fact, Vahn pulled out a wooden chair and sat down, cing the wooden box on the armrest before crossing his arms and legs with an impatient look on his face. Anubis began hurrying her actions, stripping off each piece of her clothing while changing into theplicated leather outfit with practiced ease. While watching her, Vahn allowed his eyes to wander around her figure whilezily saying, "Your body really is very beautiful...Honestly, I prefer your pristine state and its exotic look while yourepletely n.a.k.e.d. However, as this is supposed to be a reward for you, I will tolerate a bit of selfishness on your behalf. In exchange, I want to see how far your limits reach..." Opening up the box to his left, Vahn pulled out one of the rings and said, "Instead of forcefully dominating you, even though Im sure you would enjoy it, I want you to work for your reward a bit. In exchange for your service, I will reward you with another one of your precious rings and mps...what say you?" Since he had been addressing her directly, Anubis had kept her eyes unblinkingly focused on her Master, eagerly anticipating what he was going to say. She had been a little dejected when he said he wasnt going to dominate her directly but, after hearing his followup question, all of the instincts she usually worked hard to suppress were starting to break through her defenses. He might not realize it himself, but making her service him in exchange for a reward was still a means of domination. The only difference was, instead of just forcefully conquering her body, such methods would affect her heart and mind instead. She wanted nothing more than to earn the reward he had mentioned and, if not for her need to look him in the eyes while he was speaking, Anubis wouldnt have been able to tear her gaze away from the small silver ring. Vahn suddenly felt like the tiny ring in between his index and middle finger had increased several times in weight. However, without allowing it to show on his face, he just casually stowed the ring back into its container. When Anubis eyes nearly followed the motion, Vahn put on an amused smile before squinting his eyes and asking, "How much longer will you keep me waiting, A-nu-bis~?" She had already worn most of the outfit he had handed her, surprising Vahn by how revealing it was while causing a dangerous feeling to swell up inside his heart. Anubis healthy, olive-brown, skin was almostpletely covered in the glossy ck leather and he couldnt help but look towards the small silver zippers located near her fragrant mound and voluptuous b.r.e.a.s.ts. However, as distracting as the three zippers were, it was the ring she fitted around her tail, forcing it to curve upwards against the force of gravity, that caught his attention the most. He imagined it would be very ufortable but Anubis didnt seem to mind it at all as she very quickly finished her preparations. However, because the majority of her outfit was ck, contrasting the white stockings she was still wearing, Vahn felt the ensemble was a little incongruous so he said, "Lose the stockings..." Almost as if possessed, peeled the stockings off in the blink of an eye before leaning toward him with an expectant look on her face, clearly awaiting his next order. With how Anubis was behaving, Vahn could feel his own tightly regted reins begin to slip slightly as the itchy feeling in his heart continued to expand. The whole reason he hade to Anubis was to cut loose in an environment where the other party was very receptive to, forck of a better word, whims. Anubis, though not physically powerful, had inordinately high endurance and, unless he forcibly dominated her body, her stamina rted to s.e.x.u.a.l deeds was on the upper end of the spectrum. She could evenpete with girls like Tiona and Ais, both seemingly possessing an infinite amount of stamina. However, though Ais was very experimental, she was still severelycking in experience and their time together was more of a mutual exchange or exploration of each others limits and interests. Anubis, even more so than Loki, was a very experienced woman who knew exactly what she needed to do in almost any given situation. The only thing keeping her at bay right now was that exact same experience, cultivated over a period of time longer than he could truly understand. All he needed to do in order to experience everything she had to offer was give her permission, removing the restrictions he had ced on her as a result of his own fear and inhibitions. Thus, though he was still somewhat hesitant, Vahn squinted his eyes slightly as all of his clothes vanished into thin air. The only thing remaining on his body was the paired locket that fit together with Lilis and, though they werent part of his clothing, the various bite marks located on his shoulders. Temporary setting aside his inhibitions, Vahn gestured to Anubis and said, "Come, show me the extent of your capabilities as a servant..." As if receiving a divine decree, Anubis expression became somewhat serious as a strangely reverential look was reflected in her pale eyes. It was almost like a switch had been flipped in her head as she slowly crawled to him, gingerly crawling out of the bed on all fours while maintaining eye contact. As long as he was watching her, Anubis would continue watching him in order to best understand how to serve him properly. Thus, with her tail pointing upwards while wagging against its constraints, Anubis crawled near his feet and, still managing to peek at him from the side of her eyes, began licking his feet. Lifting one of them slightly, and seeing that Vahn didnt stop her, Anubis picked up his foot and began carefully tracing her tongue around his toes, all while observing him with an unwavering and reverential gaze. Each time she took one of his toes into her mouth, the look in her revealed an amorous light that seemed to pierce directly through him, tickling his sensibilities and making the itching feeling in his heartpound several times... After going through both feet, and all ten toes, Anubis finally broke eye contact for a brief moment, just long enough to kiss the tops of his feet after cing them gently back onto the ground. Then, as if she had never looked away, Vahn found the enchanting eyes once again matching his gaze as Anubis slowly crawled up his knees, bringing her face slightly closer to his body while turning her eyes up at him. Vahn couldnt help but swallow hard, earning an excited smile from Anubis that made her breathing begin to quicken. Realizing she was getting off based on his reactions, Vahn rxed slightly as his curiosity to see and experience everything she had to offer began to increase. Letting the smile on his face develop more, resulting in Anubis aura ring up as the eager look she disyed became more profound, Vahn softly said, "Youre the only one I can entrust this matter to...dont let me down, Anubis." Hearing his words, Anubis body trembled slightly as her eyes slowly widened at the realization of what he had just said. The excitement that had already started to overwhelm her mind reached a critical level at this point. All of the carefully regted thoughts and feelings she had hidden behind her mask began to break free from the cage she had constructed. As if there were several different switches inside her body, Vahn watched as Anubis expression shifted from expectation, excitement, and fervent appreciation, to an almost zealous devotion filled with an ardent passion unlike anything he had expected. As if some limiter had been removed, Anubis olive-brown skin took on a red hue around her cheeks that made her body appear as though it were glowing slightly. Her eyes became dangerously amorous as a veiled craze slowly began to break through the elegant facade she worked hard to maintain. As if she couldnt wait any longer, Anubis brought her face low as a husky and hot m.o.a.n escaped her lips, never once breaking eye contact with him as she grabbed his proud dragon in her hand. Much like how she had rubbed her head against his palm earlier, Anubis began to stroke her face against his shaft while deeply inhaling his fragrance through her nose. The blush on her face continued to develop further as a watery haze began to spread over her eyes. As if she couldnt get enough oxygen, Anubis let her mouth remain open while making no effort to prevent the pooling of saliva within her mouth. Once it reached a certain point, dribbling off her full and sensuous lips, Anubis traced her tongue very slowly up his shaft while the amorous light in her eyes increased in intensity. What followed was an experience Vahn would never quite forget, Anubis going all out to satisfy him in exchange for the momentary pleasure brought about by the pain of her piercings... (A/N: There may not be any chapters tomorrow since I n on revamping all the AUX chapters and updating all the descriptions of characters and items. Since people have been requesting it, Ill also be exining some things in an FAQ chapter that will detail some of the concepts in the novel, including things likews, how the records themselves work, and a breakdown of how Vahns existence influences things like fate.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: The actual title may have been the most literal title Ive ever written...,Anubis finally gets her reward...,RIP Vahns innocence, Ch. 6-698...,For those that think Vahn isnt innocent, he is, at the very least, a good boi (UwU)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 697 - Returning Home

Chapter 697 - Returning Home

Though he had only intended to stay for a few hours, Vahn ended up staying at the Southern Manor for the rest of the day. As a result of her Divinity, Anubis seemed to have an almost limitless amount of stamina while she was servicing him, never tiring no matter how long they continued. Since he had allowed her to act without restraint, Anubis had gone much further than Vahn originally expected and, if not for the fact he wasnt sadistic by nature, Vahn was worried she would have awakened something inside of him. Fortunately, though he had given her the reward he promised, adorning Anubis with a full set of her personal essories, Vahn managed to retain his control throughout their eye-opening session together. The next morning, Vahn could feel movement around his h.i.p.s and a very pleasant sensationing from his dragon, standing proud to great the day. Anubis, as if the previous days event had never ended, was bobbing her head slowly around his waist, creating a powerful suction that caused his spine to tremble slightly. After finally releasing all his tensions the previous day, Vahn felt like his own mastery over his pseudo-erebea state had reached an adequate level. Because Anubis had been taking the lead, he was able to focus on the state of his own body and, with her tireless efforts, Vahn had made incredible leaps in his control. Reaching out his hand, Vahn stroked Anubis silky ck hair while releasing a contented sigh and saying, "Anubis, youre really amazing..." The suction around his member increased greatly as Anubis slowly pulled her head away,pletely sealing her lips around his shaft until it made a pop sound when she separated. Wiping her moist lips with her fingers, Anubis released a bell-likeugh with the same amorous light in her eyes from the previous day. Vahns mind stalled for a short moment when he saw the small silver ring in her left nostril and the two clips near the base of her ears. They added a great deal to her s.e.x appeal and, having put in the piercings himself, Vahn couldnt help but feel a simr itch in his heart as the previous day. Swallowing his saliva, Vahn grabbed the bottom of Anubis cor and pulled her head towards him, causing the exotic goddess to quickly crawl up and straddle his h.i.p.s. Vahn saw the rings piercing her n.i.p.p.l.es before she pressed the fleshy mounds against his chest. She was obviously very eager to continue their y from the previous day but Vahn just stroked her butt a bit as he said, "I need to return back to the Hearth Manor early. The girls might not mind too much, but Im worried about my children..." Though he said that, Vahn still tightly gripped the base of Anubis tail and lifted her h.i.p.s slightly before allowing her to sit snuggly against his waist. Her lower jaw trembled as a throaty m.o.a.n escaped her lips but, as a result of his words, the amorous look in Anubis eyes began to fade as rity was restored to their moonlike depths. While moving her h.i.p.s in a very skilled manner, Anubis loosely held onto his body and released a hot sight as she said, "Master, I dont think I can live without you anymore..." Though she had given her devotion to him long ago, Anubis felt like she had given everything else to her Master the previous day. Mind, body, and heart, there wasnt a single part of her existence that wasnt stained by his presence any longer. If he made her, she would continue to stay within the Southern Manor and carry out his will but, afterst night, Anubis knew it would be much harder. When Anubis had spoken, Vahn felt her legs tighten around him as her movements slowed slightly. Even without seeing her aura, he had some understanding of what she might be thinking about so, unable to bear seeing her sad, Vahn hugged her body tightly as he said, "You shoulde and stay at the Manor. The Hounds are almost all a.d.u.l.ts at this point and, unlike in the past, they are capable of functioning in society without any major difficulties. The Familia they have been associating with all have some rtion to the Alliance and we can still help them out if they need assistance..." At this point, only Nanu had really been staying at the Southern Manor and, now that she had taken up residence in the orb, Vahn didnt want Anubis to live in such arge ce on her own. Hearing her Master give his permission, Anubis felt an ache in her lower body while the warmth in her chest spread until it filled her entire existence. His embrace made her feel veryfortable and, though she wished he would hold her tighter, Anubis was too happy to really care. As a result, Vahn could feel the already tight mping in Anubis v.a.g.i.n.a more than double as her movements became nearly impossible. As a Chienthrope, Anubis shouldnt really move when having s.e.x but had long mastered the ability to do so. Now, however, her control seemed to have slipped and it felt like her insides were trying to desperately milk him. It made his own instincts begin to bubble up so Vahn asked in a soft, yet firm, tone, "Anubis...do you want to get pregnant?" In an instant, it felt like her insides became like a vice but, after several long seconds of silence, Anubis eventually shook her head and said, "I may be a little weird, but Ive never really wanted to have children of my own. Though I love children, I feel that having my own would distract me from my purpose in life. The only thing Ive ever wanted was to serve a capable Master that also treats me well...youve already given me so much, Master. I know you would undoubtedly love our child, but I dont want to split my focus between the man I love and the child we would bear together..." In truth, Anubis had thought about it a lot and, while it made her very happy that her Master was willing, she didnt believe she would be able to be a good enough Mother for a Vanir. If he managed to one day find a way to get around the restrictions of Divinity, Anubis would happily bear a child then...until that time, however, Anubis knew it was for the best if she just stayed at her Masters side. Besides, it already made her exceptionally happy to share moments like this with him...for the time being, she didnt need anything else. Vahn knew Anubis was the type to seriously consider matters so he decided to respect her decision, even though he still released his seed deep inside of her. Feeling the hot and energy-rich fluid enter her body, Anubis trembled greatly as her w.o.m.b proactively sucked up the invasive substance. Even if she couldnt get pregnant, Anubis body was still acting based on its instincts and, as a result of her excitement, she was clearly in heat. The only difference is, unlike a normal Chienthrope, her ovaries didnt release an egg, not that this stopped her w.o.m.b from greedilypping up the vital white fluid. With her body currently writhing about in the throes of a powerful climax, Vahn guided Anubis body to the bed and let hery on the stained bedspread,pletely soaked through with theirbined fluids. Seeing the piercings located all around her body, Vahn couldnt help but roll his shoulders as a non-existent tension faded from his muscles. Reaching out his hand, Vahn gingerly grabbed the string-like loop that was tied firmly around Anubis clit and began to loosen it. There had been a tear-shaped crystal attached to the loop that acted as both a weight and an amplifier for physical pleasure. Anubis body twitched as he fiddled around with it but, when he finally got it off, she released a hot and somewhat sad sigh in response. Vahn went on to slowly remove the other piercings and mps, safely stowing them away in the wooden case after sanitizing them. Anubis had recovered her senses by the time he had moved on to the ring in her navel, watching silently as he slowly removed each piercing. If she had to say, Anubis wouldnt have minded keeping them in her body. However, imagining the moment when he pierced her body again, she couldnt help but feel her lower body tense up in anticipation. Vahn noticed this, producing a wry smile to caused Anubis tough lightly as he continued removing the remaining essories. After cleaning up properly and taking a bath, Vahn and Anubis prepared to leave the Southern Manor and return home. Along the way, Anubis followed close behind him but, when they reached the gate, she suddenly stopped. Vahn looked back with a curious expression only to see Anubis fidgetting slightly as she revealed the leash she had been keeping hidden. Vahn felt his brain begin to buzz even before Anubis said, "I know you may be worried about me, and probably dont want to hurt your own image, but I want people to know what I am to you...Just this once, please walk me home. This is one of the things Ive never been able to experience before and I want Master to be my first..." Almost every part of Vahns instincts were telling him it was a bad idea but, seeing the hopeful expression on Anubis face, he eventually released a sigh before saying, "Very well, Anubis...however, when we reach the gates of the Hearth Manor, youll have to take it off. I dont really care about public opinion much but I dont want my daughters to get any strange ideas if they see me walking you around..." As minuscule a chance as it might be, Vahn didnt want to have to exin to his very curious daughters what his rtionship with Anubis was. They would inevitably find out, yes, but Vahn didnt want it to happen any time soon. Anubis nodded her head very energetically while passing over the leash, saying, "Yes, I understand, Master~!" Vahn shook his head slightly, unable to prevent a small smile from reaching his lips as he fixed the leash to the ornate ck cor he had gifted to Anubis in the past. The walk home after that was unlike anything he had ever experienced, though not that different from when he was withrge groups of girls in the past. Every pedestrian that passed them, be they normal citizens, Adventurers, or members of the Alliance, looked towards the umon sight with abject shock on their faces. It was easy to see that Anubis was a goddess, as their style of dress and the natural aura they radiated made it very obvious, so seeing her on a leash made people perform several double-takes. Many people even rubbed their eyes, entirely unable to believe the sight they were witnessing... Instead of shying away from their gazes, Anubis walked with her chin slightly raised, disying an elegant posture with practiced and refined movements. She seemed exceptionally proud and, when anyone gave her strange looks, Anubis just smiled slightly in response. This continued all the way until the reached the gates of the Hearth Manor. Vahn, seeing they had drawn a bit of a crowd, sent a nce towards the onlookers as his domain radiated out from his body. When the invisible wave of pressure descending on their bodies, most of them looked away and began to go about their own business. Though there were still a few watching on in interest, Vahn didnt pay them much mind and just led Anubis through the gate before removing her leash. When he wrapped it up and handed it back to her, Anubis bowed at a very steep angle as she said, "Master, thank you...I know my request was diff-" Before she could finish, Vahn walked forward and raised Anubis head by lifting her chin. She stopped talking entirely as her eyes snapped to match his gaze, already in an alert state as she awaited his order. Vahn smiled, wondering what he was going to do with this over-eager servant of his in the future. For now, he just gave her a small kiss and said, "Dont worry about things like that. Though it cant be too often, I dont mind taking you on more walks around the area in the future. For now, youll have to be content just walking inside of the forest though, okay~?" Anubis nodded her head with a happy smile while her bushy ck tail beat excitedly from side-to-side. Having detected his arrival, Hestia had alreadye to the foyer alongside Fenrir and, as they had been nearby, Syr and Ryuu. When he entered through the front door, Hestia smiled radiantly as she said, "Wee home, Vahn." Her words were repeated by the other girls as Vahn returned a smile of his own and embraced each of them in turn. Syr, being the perceptive woman she was, looked towards Anubis with shimmering eyes as she asked, "Are you going to be staying here in the future, Anubis~?" Her words earned Anubis the attention of everyone as she unhesitantly nodded her head and said, "Yes, from now on, I will stay at my Masters side when Im not attending to my other duties. Please treat me well..." Contrary to her status as a goddess, Anubis bowed to everyone in a subservient manner. Hestia eyed the buxom and mature looking goddess with an appraising gaze before nodding her head and saying, "Its a bitte, but wee home, Anubis. Im actually a little surprised it took so long before you moved in..." Hestia then grabbed Anubis hand and said, "We need to go talk to the others. Syr, please inform everyone within the orb so they arent surprisedter on. I imagine Nanu would probably want to be aware as soon as possible." Syr nodded her head, disying her characteristic smile as she turned to Vahn and asked, "Will you being inside the orb..." Without finishing her question, Syrs smile widened slightly and she just headed towards the room containing the orb. It was very obvious to her that Vahns main priority was likely going to spend time with his daughters before checking up on Alex within the Spirit-Time orb. As she expected, Vahn practically made a beeline towards the West Wing and stopped by the maternity ward, finding both Tsubaki and Arnya sitting together as they b.r.e.a.s.tfed their daughters. They didnt mind his intrusion at all and simply smiled radiantly, practically diffusing a motherly aura from their bodies with a gentle and loving look in their eyes. Tsubaki moved her feet off the sofa to make room for him while Arnya asked, "How did it go, nya~?" Though she could tell Vahn was in a happy and rxed state, Arnya was still curious since he had been gone for nearly an entire day. Before he answered, however, Tsubaki lightly chuckled and said, "What kind of question is that, Arnya? Look at him swaggering about like an idiot, hahaha~." Without minding Tsubakis teasing, Vahn sat down between the two blooming mothers and exined, "I managed to achieve some mastery over my pseudo-erebea state. Also, Anubis will be staying here in the future, at least when she isnt at the School. She is very good with children, so you can ask her for help if there are any matters of concern." Neither girl seemed surprised by his revtion as Tsubaki lifted her feet back up and ced them across Vahnsp. Taking it as a cue, Vahn began gently stroking her legs, causing Tsubaki to put on a rxed andfortable smile. This continued until she felt that Sakuya had finished, causing Tsubaki to somewhat hesitantly hand her over to Vahn as she said, "Help burp your daughter, Papa~." As if under the effects of a magical spell, Vahn perked up and happily epted Sakuya from Tsubaki with arge smile on his face. Sakuya was still very tiny, being only neen days old, but Vahn found her to be incredibly adorable. Holding her very gingerly against his chest, Vahn ced his palm against her back before lightly patting until she released a very small and gurgled burp. This caused her to apparently get upset as she began to whimper but, just as she was on the verge of crying out, Sakuya calmed down under the influence of the calming energy spreading through her body. Tsubakiughed while shaking her head, saying, "That technique is really unfair. I usually have tofort her for a few minutes just to get her to calm down..." Vahn continued to cradle Sakuya in his arms as he said, "I can always teach you. It might take a few years to master but it is the type of skill that has an infinite number of uses. If we have more children in the future, it will be very handy~." Vahn sent a wink towards Tsubaki, earning a rare blush from her as she lightly kicked his thigh with her bare feet. She didnt put any strength into her hits, as Vahn was currently holding Sakuya, but it was clear she didnt appreciate the teasing. Responding to Tsubakis attack, a small light shed on Sakuyas back as a very tiny fox kit fell onto her legs. It didnt even have teeth, nor could it open its eyes, but the small white kit bit at Tsubakis feet as theter froze up. She didnt want to move and kick the tiny fox away and, as its attacks did negative damage, Tsubaki just tolerated it with an apologetic look on her face. Vahn chuckled lightly before holding Sakuya close to his body so he could free up a hand to pick up the very small fox. It fit within the palm of his hand and, after he picked it up, began to make small and agitated squeaks while trying to nibble on his fingers. Vahn just inserted some calming energy into its body before cing it near Sakuyas back, causing it to disperse into mist-like energy before seeping into her pores. Once the young kit was safely back inside Sakuya, Vahn blinked in surprise as he looked around and asked, "Shirohime isnt here?" After Sakuyas guardian came into existence, Shirohime had actually started lingering around Sakuyas crib a lot. She seemed very fond of both Sakuya and the young fox kit, even going out of her way to groom and cuddle up with them on asion. After all, his children and their guardians were capable of seeing Shirohime and, being a fox herself, she felt a kinship towards Sakuyas Three-Tailed Fox. It had small rings at the end of each tail, one representing each of the elements Sakuya herself possessed, Ice, Fire, and Wood. Tsubaki, hearing Vahns question, just looked at him like an idiot as she asked, "How am I supposed to know where it is when I cant see or hear it?" Vahns brow twitched slightly as heughed in an awkward manner, just now remembering that Shirohime was indeed imperceptible to Tsubaki. Hisughter caused her to alsough before she reached out and said, "Now give me my daughter back. I dont want her to be clingy like your other daughters just because you have those strange techniques..." Vahn nodded his head but continued to hold Sakuya as he yfully said, "Ill give her back after you fix your clothing~." Until now, Tsubakis right b.r.e.a.s.t had still been hanging out of her kimono. With his reminder, Tsubaki fixed her clothing before snatching Sakuya away from him and quietly whispering, "There, there, Mama has you now~." Then, casting a sidelong nce at Vahn, Tsubaki mumbled, "I dont mind if you be a Papas girl, but Ill beat him ck and blue if you dont say Mama first..." Though they were just yful words, Vahn couldnt help but tilt slightly while Tsubaki and Arnya bothughed at his reaction. Then, having finished feeding her own daughter, Arnya passed Meinya over to Vahn so he could burp her as well. Much like Tsubaki, she was very attached to her daughter and it made her very happy to spend time like this, especially when Vahn was around to pamper them both... After leaving the maternity ward behind, though not after finding out where Anise was, Vahn headed towards his daughters rooms. Through his domain, he could sense that they were all away but, as expected, he found Erika in the Library while Ina was likely with Hephaestus. Ina spent most of her time, when she wasnt around him, taking things apart and reassembling them in Hephaestus workshop. She wanted to y with him in his workshop but Vahn hadnt been using it muchtely, especially after building a small workshop within the orb. It simply wasnt efficient, not that it really stopped him from spending time making things with her when she asked. He had a soft spot for all of his daughters and, unless he was busy, always made time for them when they wanted to spend time with him. Though she only cast a casual nce towards the door to see who had entered, Erikas eyes widened when she saw it was her Papa. For a brief moment, a happy smile reached her lips that hadnt gone unnoticed by Vahn, even though she quickly adopted a more stoic and casual appearance. Vahn, making no efforts to hide his own smile, walked over as he said, "Good morning, Erika. You know, your Papa is feeling a little empty since he didnt manage to recharge his Erikatanium yesterday..." Hearing his words, Erika began to fidget almost imperceptibly as she shrunk in her chair and slightly averted her eyes. However, when he opened his arms and asked for a hug, as hesitant as she might have been, Erika reluctantly agreed without much actual resistance... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Goddess-Level Service,That fox is adorable...fight me!,Erika acts TsunTsun but is actually DereDere around her Papa (UwU)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 698 - Free-Spirited, Like a Flame

Chapter 698 - Free-Spirited, Like a me

After watching over Erikas studies for a little more than an hour, she eventually chased him out of the room because he had been distracting her. As if he was a dog beaten by its owner, Vahn slowly trudged through the hallways of the Manor. Though he could detect the person he was about to cross paths with, Vahn still felt slightly dejected and didnt both perking up just yet. Of course, by the time he actually saw them, Vahn had put on a calm smile as he said, "Good morning, Mn. What brings you to the West Wing?" Mn was slightly surprised toe across Vahn since it was nearly impossible to detect him by smell after he learned Magia Erebea. After all, he no longer sweats and his body, while still containing his natural aroma, no longer radiated it outwards. Patting her chest to alleviate her surprise, Mn gave him a slight look of me before smiling and saying, "I passed by the dining room and Loki asked me to retrieve Erika for her. Is she inside the Library?" Vahn nodded his head while simultaneously reaching out his hand, stroking Mns ears as the mature beauty flushed slightly. As difficult as it was, she managed to swat his hand away before hurrying down the corridor. Vahn chuckled slightly and continued on his own way, feeling slightly better after teasing Mn a little. He knew well how effective his [Grooming] was on the various Beast Girls and it was always very refreshing to get a rise out of them. Vahn made a brief stop-over at the dining room to find out if there was anything he needed to worry about before inevitably heading out the back and entering the illusory forest. Ina was taking a nap on the sofa in his workshop so Vahn decided to go see what Vana was up to. Thest time he picked her up in the forest, Vana introduced him to a variety of different animals she had befriended. Vahn was curious if she had made even more friends this time around and, after tracking her for a few minutes, found her surrounded by several Pygmy Deer, Forest Hares, and a small blue bird he had never seen before. Vana was currently holding the small bird in her palms, bringing it very close to her face as her fiery eyes glimmered with a happy light. Afraid of scaring off the animals, Vahn spent a few seconds calming his mind and infusing his aura with the surroundings. The same technique that allowed him to hide his presence from others also made him seem at one with nature. When he was done, Vahn walked forward with soundless steps as all the animals ignored his presence, almost like he was just a byproduct of nature itself. He emitted no aura and there wasnt a single thread of hostility radiating from his body that might have alerted them. Animals relied heavily on their instincts so, as he didnt trigger their awareness of danger, the animals didnt react to him at all. Though he was tempted to surprise her, Vahn remained silent and just watched over Vana until she eventually released the small bird back into the air. With a happy smile on her face, she stood up from the ground and dusted off her shorts before turning around. Showing a surprised expression and nearly jumping out of her britches, Vana red towards him for a few seconds before smiling once again as she said, "Papa is always so sneaky~. Did youe to y?" Vana looked towards the sky to see the time, this time positive she still had a few hours left before needing to return. She didnt seem to be suspicious of the fact that the animals didnt run off when he arrived, nor was she surprised when he began petting one of their heads. With a calm and gentle smile on his face, which he knew was effective against Vana, Vahn said, "Since I was away yesterday, I wanted to spend some time with all of you today. If you want to y, Id be happy to..." Vana showed a surprised expression for a moment and nearly asked if he had actually been gone. However, as the words reached her lips, Vana seemed to realize her words were very rude and she felt strangely guilty for not noticing her Papa had been missing. Unaware that he had seen the various changes in her expression, Vana grabbed his hand and began pulling him along as she said, "There is something I want to show you. Come with me, Papa~!" Vana was never the type to stay in a dour mood for very long so, though she showed an apologetic expression for a brief moment, she hadpletely recovered in the next. Vahn smiled at his daughters behavior and just allowed her to drag him along at her own pace. Unless they were ying, she didnt like to be carried around and preferred to move around on her own. This generally caused her to get various cuts and scr.a.p.es but Vana never cried orined about them. In fact, she seemed to think it was cool and was always a little upset whenever her wounds healed after a few hours. All of the Vanir had exceptional regenerative capabilities but Vanas were another levelpared to her sisters. After walking for a few minutes, seemingly unaffected by the illusory formation covering the forest, Vana brought him to a clearing with a few toppled trees that had been covered with vines and flowers. Vahn was somewhat surprised to find fallen trees since this was a very young forest that also benefitted from the nourishment of Terras energy. However, seeing the burn marks and signs of explosive damage present, Vahn knew exactly what had knocked them over. He had a slight urge to give Vana a light reprimand but decided against it, at least until he knew why she brought him here. Letting go of his hand, Vana walked over to the central fallen tree before dropping down to her hands and knees. She wiggled into a small hole as Vahn activated his [Eyes of Truth] to see what she was up to. He was surprised to find out that she had dug a surprisinglyrge crawlspace for herself and wondered if Terra had helped her out. After all, thetter had reinforced the terrain and it would always regenerate after a while. Vahn decided to ask hertter but for the time being just waited until Vana popped her dirt-covered face out with a beaming smile and said, "Papa, Ill let you into my secret base. You have to promise not to tell anyone else about it though~!" Vana had decided to make it up to her Papa by inviting him to her secret base so they could y together. Since it was something special to her, Vana believed it would make her Papa happy to learn about it. When she saw the smile on his face, her own doubled in size as she giggled happily and dropped back into the hole. As for Vahn, he noticed outright that the hole was far too small for him to enter so, after thinking for a short while, decided to adopt a more suitable appearance. This was also a good way to expose Vana to his ability to change form and, given her personality, Vahn believed they would be able to y more often if he could assume a smaller appearance. Focusing his mind, Vahn used an unnamed spell that he had derived from his mental imaging and [Thria*Mimos]. His form quickly shrunk down, along with his clothes, until he had taken on his Pallum appearance. In total, it only took him around twenty seconds toplete the transformation so Vana hadnt noticed just yet. Vahn dropped down into the hole rather quickly, startling her as she suddenly shouted out, "Who are you? Where is my Papa!?" In an instant, Vana pulled out her wooden sword and got into an amateurish stance. Though she was putting on a brave front, Vahn noticed there were tears beginning to build up in her eyes so he quickly waved his hands and said, "Vana, wait, its me! Please dont cry!" Hearing the familiar voice, Vanas tension eased a bit as she curiously asked, "Papa...?" while taking note of his appearance. Now that she got a better look, the young boy in front of her did look a lot like her Papa, including the fact they were wearing the same clothes. Vahn smiled in response, dropping his hands as he exined, "Yes. This is another one of my magic spells. It allows me to change my form into any race I choose, regardless of size and shape." Vahn left out the detail that he could also change genders since it really wasnt that pertinent to the situation. Vanas fiery eyes glimmered in excitement and curiosity as she eximed, "Really!? Thats so cool!" Without much hesitation, Vana came very close to him and began patting around his body out of curiosity. She was currently around 64cm tall, around half his height since he was 120cm in his Pallum form. After confirming he was the real deal, Vana strangely picked up his hand and ce it against her head with an expectant look in her eyes. Realizing what she wanted, Vahn smiled and began to stroke her head as his [Grooming] took effect. Vanaughed, squinting her eyes in the process as she happily mused, "You really are Papa. How amazing~!" For Vahns daughters, none of his actions were really that surprising since, from their perspective, he could literally do anything. As for Vahn, he wanted to always make his daughters happy so, even if it wasnt something he could do, he would eventually learn how to do it. This time, transforming his body seemed to be enough so Vahn began to look around the secret base of Vana as he made an impressed ooooh before saying, "I like your secret base, Vana. It is pretty cool~." Hearing hisment, Vana beganughing giddily before opening her eyes with a start and running off to the side. She reached her tiny hand into a smallpartment before pulling out a poorly carved wooden sword and handing it to him. With a happy smile, Vana raised up her own sword and said, "Papa, lets y knights!" Though it was a bit too soon for her to begin training, it didnt mean Vana couldnt y around. Vahn happily nodded while adopting a loose stance and saying, "Okay, but your Papa is pretty strong. Dont be upset if you lose, okay, Vana?" As if losing wasnt even in her frame of mind, Vana just charged towards him with an eager look on her face and swung her sword towards his. Vahn shook his head slightly and just let her strike his lesser-quality stick to the side. Vana seemed happy to have overpowered him and lowered her guard slightly whileughing. Vahn didnt correct her outright and just lifted his sword again so Vana could bat it to the side a few times. No matter how many times she hit his sword, Vana didnt seem to get tired of it at all. In fact, her excitement seemed to build as herughter turned into her characteristic shishishi. However, Vahn noticed something else that made his eyes take on a magical glow, inspecting the phenomenon before him with keen interest. He had noticed that the interior of her secret base had been coated with a waxen substance that she had probably borrowed from his workshop. It gave fire resistant properties and Vahn had been wondering why Vana had set things up in such a way. Now, seeing wisps of mes begin to rise from her hair, he understood how this section of the forest had been burned. While breathing in a very excited manner, Vana became more aggressive in her strikes until the point that her hair created wisps of me every time she moved. He already knew her me generation ability was tied with her emotional state but, having never seen her fight so earnestly before, Vahn had been unaware of this aspect of his eldest daughter. Still, he didnt panic or show any signs of fear and concern since he knew it could potentially result in a trauma if someones abilities were feared by their parents. Vahn just continued to show a casual smile while ignoring the increasing temperature of the secret base. Much like how his own attacks could be imbued with a burning effect, Vanas strike suddenly made a trail of mes as she shouted, "Ataaa~!" in an exuberant voice. However, when she saw the trail of mes, her excitement was reced with panic as she released her grip on the sword. Vahn quickly reached out, grabbing the ming de while dispersing the lukewarm fire in an instant. Vana was confused at first but, after realizing what happened, releasing a small sigh before saying, "Im sorry, Papa..." After burning a few other things in the past, Vana knew her power needed to be controlled or she would trouble others. Vahn, however, just smiled as he sat down on the ground and patted hisp. Vana felt a little awkward to sit in thep of her shrunken Papa but, after sitting down, stopped caring about it as she patiently listened to his words. Vahn never wanted his children to fear their power and, understanding Vana was already making a lot of effort to control her abilities, he decided to say, "Those mes are very impressive, Vana. Your attacks are also very lively and, while they could use polishing, I think you have a lot of potential. When youre a bit older, Ill help you practice your swordsmanship and teach you a few cool moves that I think youll enjoy..." Vana c.o.c.ked her head to the side, showing confusion on her face as she asked, "Im not in trouble...?" Vahn surprised his daughter byughing lightly and hugging her with a firm embrace, saying, "Silly Vana, Papa thinks you are amazing and I can tell you are working very hard to control your abilities. Though Id like you to be more open about your training, as it can be very dangerous to train alone, Im not going to say you did anything wrong. The most important thing to me is that youre safe and happy..." Vana enjoyed the hug, even though it felt strangepared to what she was used to. Her memory made her Papa out to be like a mountain,pletely covering her whenever he held her. Now, however, he didnt seem much bigger than her and his hands were tiny. At this point, she hadpletely gotten over her momentary mncholy and, though she had listened to his words, already seemed to have forgotten them. The only thing Vana cared about was that her Papa wasnt upset with her and had instead praised her. Thus, with a happy smile on her face, Vana jumped up and gave him a kiss on the cheek before hugging his neck and saying, "I love you, Papa~!" In no real rush, Vahn spent a few hours ying with Vana and teaching her a few methods to help control her mes. Since she was very interested in bing an Adventurer in the future, Vahn also demonstrated a few basic strikes with a sword that she would be able to execute with practice. Also, as she had torched her previous sword, Vahn purchased her a new one from the system that had basic fireproofing capabilities. She was very excited to receive a new weapon and, without any dy, asked him to y Knights again. Thus, until she was tuckered out, Vahn became the practice dummy for his daughter while she practiced the skills he had taught her. Having exhausted her energy, Vana ended up falling asleep on his back as he carried her through the illusory forest. Vahn had already returned to his human form and had a very contented look on his face as he felt the small figure and negligible weight of his daughter against his back. He noticed her body temperature was much hotter than normal, nearly 100 degrees Celcius, but it didnt seem to affect her any. Like him, she had a perfect fire immunity and could channel fire elemental energy through her body without any detrimental effects. The only real downside, as a result of her young age, was that it taxed her stamina a great deal. Not minding the Vanas slobber soaking through his shoulder, Vahn carried Vana through the Manor until he came across Hephaestus. She had been thinking abouting to look for them so smiled radiantly when the two people shared cared about more than anything suddenly showed up. A lightyer of moisture covered Hephaestus eyes when she saw the sleeping figure of her daughter happily drooling on Vahns shoulder. Reaching out, she gently stroked her daughters face while saying, "She looks so happy...Vahn..." Turning her eyes up at him, Hephaestus showed a very loving expression on her face that made Vahns soften a great deal. Walking alongside each other, Vahn exined Vanas ability to Hephaestus in a calm and casual manner while thetter had a somewhat fretful expression on her face. She was somewhat worried that Vana would end up hurting herself but, seeing how calm Vahn was, decided to trust in him. If necessary, she could always ask Terra to look after Vana and, considering how loyal she was to Vahn, Hephaestus believed she would agree. Of course, as Vana was always in her territory, Terra had long since started protecting her Masters daughter without being asked. She found all of Vahns children to be adorable and, even more so than her own child, wanted to keep them safe so that her Master could be at ease. Once they reached Vanas room, which she shared with Ina and Hephaestus, Vahnid her down on the sofa while Hephaestus began stripping away the dirty garments covering her body. Vahn prepared cloth and a warm bucket of water before handing it to Hephaestus so she could wipe down Vanas body before putting her in bed. Thetter would probably nap for a solid two hours and it would be troublesome if she tracked dirt and debris into the ce where they slept. When she was finally cleaned, Vahn handed Hephaestus a pair of light green pajamas that were a perfect fit for Vana. She gave him a strange look after noticing the pajamas had a frog-like design but Vahn just chuckled lightly and scratched his cheek with a wry smile. He couldnt help but want to dress his daughters up in cute clothing and it wasnt his fault Vana was so adorable while she slept... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tou-san no Baka~!,Vana is very excitable,Vahn is so far gone xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 699 - Quality Time

Chapter 699 - Quality Time

After fitting Vana into her pajamas andying her into the bed, Vahn and Hephaestus spent the better part of twenty minutes just watching over her poor sleeping posture, marveling at how absolutely adorable Vana was. Hephaestus also exined a little about what they had discussed in regards to Anubis because, after all, Anubis was slightly abnormal at times. Ultimately, she would be staying in the central area near the first floor, not that far away from where Maemi and Emiru resided. Anubis took her role as a servant very seriously so, now that she had taken up residence within the Manor, she intended to be a maid apprenticing under Syr, Emiru, and Maemi. Just imagining Anubis in a maid outfit brought a small smile to his face, something Hephaestus had noticed before asking in a sensual whisper, "Nnn, do you think a maid outfit would suit me, Vahn~?" As she asked, Vahn created a very vivid image of Hephaestus wearing a maid outfit in his mind and, while it was very appealing, it seemed more s.e.xy than appropriate. Even though his facial expression didnt change, Hephaestus seemed to know what he was thinking as she made a slight pouting face and mumbled, "Looks like Ill need to ask Loki for a favor..." Vahn felt like his skin was turning a little mmy so he pulled her into his embrace and said, "Any outfit you wear would look amazing, Hephaestus..." Seeing Vahn fl.u.s.ter, even though he did his best to control his facial expression, made Hephaestus giggle as she returned his hug and gave him a quick peck on the lips. She wasnt really that upset since, out of curiosity, Hephaestus had tried on a maid outfit previously. Her figure and appearance werent really suitable for frilly and cute clothing but she could pull off the cool and borderline heroic look if she wanted to. It wasnt like she really needs to dress up in order to have fun with Vahn, either, Hephaestus was just slightly curious about trying something fresh. As for why she even considered wearing cute clothing, it was because Vahn had shown a veryrge preference for cute things ever since his daughters were born... Though she enjoyed watching over Vanas sleeping figure, Vahn eventually left the room under Hephaestus insistence. He still needed toplete his rounds and, as a few hours had passed, it was very likely that Ina was already awake. She would either be eating lunch or holing herself up inside his workshop around this time of day. After all, unless she was practicing under Hephaestus guidance, Ina had a tendency to y around with his tools and some of the practice items he had left out for her. Since she liked to take things apart, Vahn left various small objects likeplex clocks, basic machines, and other items that had a lot of small parts. Just like Vana, he wanted his Ina to develop her gift without any real restraint, so long as it didnt endanger her or other people. Since he hadnt detected her in the dining room, Vahn made his way towards his rarely used workshop where he could sense a small figure sitting on the floor. This was undoubtedly Ina so Vahn picked up the pace of his steps to reach the entrance of his workshop a little faster. When he entered through the door and saw his lovable little princess wearing the little blue coveralls he had given her, currently with the top half tied around her waist, Vahn had to pause and record the image in his memory for posterity. She was wearing an off-grey sleeveless top on her upper body and, as a result of working with small parts very often, had a pair of goggles resting on her forehead as she poked her tongue out with a look of fierce concentration. Not wanting to disturb her, Vahn snuck up behind her to see what she was working on, this time noticing she was disassembling one of the practice mechanisms he had given her. Its original purpose was to act as a grappling hook and it seemed like Ina had been interested in the mechanism that shot the grappling line nearly 100m in an instant. It wasnt really that useful in a record like Danmachi, but Vahn didnt regret the minuscule expenditure of OP since Ina seemed intrigued by it. The way she happily took it apart and carefully analyzed each piece brought a smile to his face and it felt like he could spend his entire day just watching her y around without ever getting bored. Eventually, Ina got to a stopping point in her work and, as a result of her intense concentration, tugged at the cor of her shirt to air it out while wiping the sweat from her brow. She released a contented sigh and mumbled, "I wonder what Papa is up to..." as a magical haze spread through her eyes. Almost immediately after, Ina snapped her head around with a happy smile as she shouted, "Papa!", jumping at him the moment she realized he was there. Vahn spun around, swinging the jubnt Ina yfully in his embrace while she giggled and hugged him with all the strength she could manage. After the initial excitement faded, Ina suddenly stoppedughing as a small frown covered her face,ining, "Papa, you didnt y with me at all yesterday...it was very lonely, you know...?" This time, Ina hugged his neck very tightly and her little body trembled slightly as if she was afraid to let him go. Vahn felt his heart melt as he gently stroked her back while taking a seat among the various disassembled contraptions. He waited for Inas trembling to calm down before softly saying, "Papa is sorry for not telling you I would be away. Ill try to do better in the future..." Ina just nodded her head without saying anything for a few minutes as she continued to hold onto his neck. It wasnt until Vahn began inquiring about what she had been working on that she reluctantly parted from him and began casually exining her work. Hearing her dismissively talk about the things she had been so excited about previously, Vahn couldnt help but feel he had wronged the young Vanir. Wondering what he could do to make it up to her, Ina seemed to already have something in mind as she suddenly said, "Papa, I havent had lunch yet and Im feeling very tired...can you feed me...?" As if receiving some form of Divine grace, Vahn produced a gentle smile before picking Ina up in a princess carry and setting her down on the nearby sofa. There was a table adjacent where the girls that watched over his work in the past used to eat their snacks. Vahn set out a variety of sweets that he knew Ina would enjoy before happily tending to his spoiled little princess who, after eating the first bite of strawberry shortcake, seemed to forgive him previous absence entirely. She released a girly squeal while holding her cheek in a happy and excited manner that made his own heart thump twice in his chest. (A/N: Doki Doki~!) Vahn spent the better part of an hour pampering Ina as she slowly became more energetic, happily talking about her work and the ideas she had in mind. She had apparently gotten an idea about making an amalgamation of several items and, after seeing the designs he had made for the Aegis outfits, wanted to make a customized suit of her own. Vahn knew it would probably take her a few years to get to the point where she could produce such aplex creation but, given how invested she was in her crafts, he knew it would one day be possible. When her eyes began to glow slightly and she started smiling radiantly, Vahn figured that Ina was able to see much the same. At this point, they knew that Inas vision was a type of foresight that rted to things she would have seen depending on a variety of circ.u.mstances. She couldnt really see the future of other people but, as long as it is something she would have seen on her own, Ina could peer into her own future and glean some insights into her life and the projects she was working on. This time, she saw herself far more mature than she currently was, wearing an ornate white suit while her Papa smiled at her from the side. She could see the undisguised look of pride and affection in his eyes, something she saw in almost all of her visions when he was included. This was one of the reasons why Ina had been so fond of him since her birth, being that she had peered into her own future and saw how happy she was around the boy that would be her precious Papa... As her power began to deactivate, Ina saw some glimpses of the near future and began tough happily before hopping off the sofa and pulling her Papas hand, saying, "Papa, lets go take a bath~!" Vahn chuckled lightly as he allowed his daughter to tug at his arm for a few moments before rising from the sofa and picking her up. Unlike Vana and Erika, Ina was very fond of being carried and preferred to be held either in one arm, so she could put her arm around his neck, or like a princess. This time, Vahn carried her like a princess so Ina happilyughed while grabbing onto his tunic with her left hand and enjoying the moment. When they reached therge onsen, which was currently empty, Vahn helped wash Inas body before thetter very awkwardly tried to wash his back. She was very small, only 64cm tall, and could barely reach his shoulders with the sponge unless he slumped down for her. Even so, Ina was always happy to spend time together like this and, as it was very rare to have the massive onsen all to themselves, she was happy for the alone time with her Papa. After the bath came to an end, Vahn gave Ina a pure white sundress since she preferred to wear light and cute clothing as her casual wear. Since they would be going outside, he also gave her a circr straw hat to cover her head before lifting her onto his shoulder and heading towards Terras Garden. Thest person on his rotation was going to be Alex, even though they should have objectively been first. However, as Alex was an amazing and mature little youngster, Vahn wasnt too worried they would be upset by his dyed arrival. At this point, Alex was nearly ten years old and, though their appearance hadnt changed much, the level of maturity they showed always made him feel a strong sense of pride. Ina enjoyed the peace and quiet of the illusory woods while hugging her Papas neck with her tiny arms. When they arrived at the Garden, Terra had already worn her gown because she had detected their approach almost as soon as Vahn left the Manor. She was smart enough that, even though she still preferred to be in her natural form, it would be inappropriate to do so around the younglings. Thus, instead of sunbathing in the buff, Terra stood at the side of the wellspring with an elegant smile on her face while holding the small Space-Time orb in her hand. When her Master and Ina approached, she quietly mused, "Good afternoon, Master. I was wondering when you would stop by~." Then, turning her eyes to Ina, Terras smile reached her eyes as she giggled lightly and said, "Ina, you seem to be in high spirits today. Did you really miss your Papa that much~?" Aware that Terra was teasing her, Ina furrowed her brows ever so slightly while tightening the grip she had on her Papas neck. Without any discernable hesitation or embarrassment, she matched Terras gaze and said, "Of course I missed my Papa! He is my favorite person in the entire world and Im his precious little princess, isnt that right, Papa!?" Vahn chuckled lightly before nodding his head and calmly stating, "That is indeed the case. Ina is like the sun in the sky that brings light to the entire world. Your Papa would be very sad if he couldnt see the sun every day~." Vahns words carried a great deal of truth to them since he had actually experienced very long periods of time without being able to see the natural sky and the sun above. Happy with her Papas response, Ina giggled before giving him a kiss on the cheek and turning to Terra with a triumphant look on her face. Terra, however, just giggled in turn while flittering her wings lightly. In truth, she found Ina to be very adorable and, seeing how happy she made her Master, Terra was quite fond of the small Vanir. She guided them to the side, where somefortable seats had been fashioned out ofpletely natural materials. There was a hemispherical chair that was filled with a soft and plush moss-like substance that was cool to the touch and veryfortable to sit on. Because of its peculiar shape, it also provided a small canopy for whoever was sitting inside, allowing them to rx in the artificial shade. Vahn epted the orb from Terra while reminding both her and Ina, "Remember, you can only stay inside for a few hours, Ina. Youll have toe back outside after ying for a bit, okay~?" Ina bobbed her head with a nod while reaching out her tiny hand and cing it on the orb in his palm. Her small body slumped against his while both he and Terraughed at her adorable actions. Alex got along well with almost everyone but he was especially close with Ina and Erika since Inas curiosity and ingenuity was an interesting talking point while Erikas nature was very simr to Alexs. They were both the schrly type so Alex was one of the few friends that Erika had made, even though everyone treated her very well. Since Ina was already inside the orb, Vahn shared a brief kiss with Terra before entrusting her to watch over them while he was in the orb. While he had been sitting down, Vahns secondary process had been absorbing the memories of his fragment within the orb so Vahn had a clear understanding of what had transpired while he was away. He was very grateful for this functionality since his counterpart had been researching a variety of things when he wasnt looking after Alex. Thetter was a very independent existence so, unless Alex asked for help, both his and Terras memory fragments allowed them to do whatever they wanted. Once he got inside the orb, Vahn saw his memory fragment watching over Ina and Alex from the distance, as they had already started ying together long before his arrival. After all, though only twenty seconds had passed in the real world, that equated to twenty minutes within the Spirit-Time orb. Then, as if sensing his arrival, the memory fragment turned towards him with a wry smile while stroking the back of his hair. Vahn, having downloaded the memories of his fragment, understood that he felt somewhat lonely without being able to see his children. However, understanding the nature of its own existence, the memory fragment never tried to get close to the children when they visited. After all, none of the Vanir even seemed to recognize his memory fragment as their Papa, with Ina even shrinking away from him the first time they met. Vahn walked over, patting his memory fragment on the shoulder as he said, "Thank you for everything. Know that I share your memories and the pain contained within and it has helped me mature a great deal. Just remember, if it gets too hard, you can always fuse together with me again and I can create another fragment..." However, as he had expected, the fragment shook his head with a calm smile and said, "No, its fine. I actually realized this would be a good opportunity for your emotional growth as well and, though it has been painful, Im willing to tolerate it for the benefit of our family..." Because they had seen how Emperor Vahn behaved, both Vahn and his memory fragment were afraid he would break in the event that something terrible happened. Thus, using the time dtion of the Spirit-Time orb, they had been adapting to a mentality that was more epting of pain and loss. Since the memory fragment didnt have any Innates to rely on, its thoughts and actions had been very genuine, something Vahn had benefited a great deal from since he had always been reliant on View Affection and his [Will of the Emperor]. Vahn pat the back of his memory fragment a few times before walking off to join Ina and Alex, both having noticed his arrival long ago. The memory fragment watched him go with a small smile on his face before taking a deep breath and heading toward the homely looking cottage where he resided with Terras fragment and Alex. When he reached the entrance of their small abode, Terra had already been waiting for him with a gentle and loving smile on her face. She closed the distance between herself and Vahns memory fragment before casually wrapping her arms and wings around his body. In truth, one of the biggest changes in Vahns life had been his rtionship with Terra as, at this point, he had more than ten years of memories with her. Her memory fragment took very good care of both his own fragment and Alex, something Vahn had appreciated greatly. Vahn knew it wasnt easy for Terra to actually be with someone that didnt feel like him so, in order to make it up to her, he always tried to treat the real Terra well when they were alone together. As for his memory fragment, he was also very affectionate towards Terras fragment and, if not for the fact that he was constantly surrounded by the women he loved, Vahn feared his fragments affections for Terra would have had an even more impactful effect on his mind. Fortunately, this was also a form of training since, at some point in the future, Vahn knew he may have to be away from the girls for hundreds of years before he was able to link the Danmachi record to a higher tiered world... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hephabae is too hot to be a meido (UwU),Ina is slowly disassembling her Papas heart xD...,Maturation through tolerance and patience. Fragment Vahn is the real MVP) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 700 - Identity Crisis?

Chapter 700 - Identity Crisis?

Vahn spent a few hours ying around with Ina and Alex, even though Ina herself wasnt really the type to enjoy physical activity too much. Even so, she enjoyed flying around through the sky with her Papa while Alex flitted about and evading his pursuit. Now that Alex was around ten years old, it had be far more proficient at flying than before so it was a pretty exciting and rtively high-speed game of tag. Vahn could, of course, capture him whenever he wanted but, much like when he was with Vana, Vahn always toned things down a lot to make it more enjoyable for his children. Alex knew this as well but still used it as an opportunity to hone their skills further, especially since Inas presence also brought a smile to the young True Dragons face. Eventually, the time for Inas return came and, though she was more than a little reluctant to leave, Ina obediently listened to her Papa and returned to the real world. After all, it wasnt as though she would have to wait for very long before they could y more. Also, while he was sleeping, she would be able to snuggle up in his arms and enjoy a short nap herself. Even though the Spirit-Time orb didnt really affect her physically, Ina was still very young and the mental strain of ying around for a few hours tuckers her out. Thus, after sharing a hug with Alex and her Papa, Ina broke down into small particles of dust as she vanished from the orbs interior. Alex and Vahn watched the small particles ascend towards the sky until Inas presence hadpletely disappeared from the orb. With her departure, Alex released a small sigh and said, "All of my sisters are so cute. It makes me wonder if I should be a boy so I can protect them..." Vahn turned to Alex, raising one of his brows in curiosity as he asked, "Have you been thinking about your gendertely?" Alex nodded while pping its wings to jump up to his shoulders, resting against the top of its Papas head as it said, "It is very difficult to choose if I want to be a boy or girl, even though I know I can probably change itter if I want to. Papa is surrounded by so many girls already and, though I also want to be pampered, I think I want to be a strong man as well..." Vahn reached up, ruffling Alexs hair while minding the two sharp horns poking out of their head. In a calm and gentle tone, he said, "Whatever you choose, I will always treat you as my precious child. Even if you be a boy, I dont mind pampering you just like your sisters. You dont have to feel that, as a boy, you also need to be manly. Just like your Mama, you can be strong enough to protect people while also being a female. It isnt impossible to find a bnce between the two and, though its a bit early to talk about such things, your gender only loosely affects your rtionship when you finally search for your own partner. Even then, it ultimately isnt that important what the gender of your partner is, however, as the most important thing is that you care for them dearly..." Alex listened very patiently to its father exnation, nodding when Vahn was finally finished speaking. For several minutes, Alex fell into deep thought beforementing, "You are a very open-minded person, Papa, but Im not sure I can ignore my own pride so easily. Whenever I see Fafnir and Khaos improving, I cant help but want topete against them and be the alpha among the True Dragons. However, I also know that role belongs to you and, unless she stopped training, I dont think I could ever surpass Mama without your assistance..." As they were speaking, Alex turned towards tworge mountain-like hills where Fafnir and Khaos could be seen perched. They had both decided to take up residence in the Space-Time orb, for the time being, asionally learning from Terra and periodically ying with Alex. Pulling their eyes away from the two figures, Alex yed with its Papas hair while muttering, "If I be a male, I feel like Papas existence will actually suppress me. However, if I be a female, I dont think I could ever find a better mate than Papa. Since I know you treat me like your blood-kin, that isnt really an option..." In truth, True Dragons had no blood ties to each other and Alex was entirelyprised of the energies that had melded between Vahn and Terra. Even so, though they had no gic rtion, Vahn still treated Alex like they had a biological connection to each other. Alex understood this very well and, after talking to its Mama about it, learned of the existence of Leh. It didnt want to burden its Papa in such a manner but, as it had never kept anything hidden from him, feltpelled to properly discuss it. After all, its Papa had always given it good advice, a fact that was deeply rooted at the core of Alexs existence. Vahn couldnt help but release a sad sigh because he already had memories from his memory fragment discussing the matter with Terra. He knew Alex was likely worried that, if they truly decided to be a female, it would eventually cause tension and discourse within their family structure. After all, it was incredibly difficult for a True Dragon to deny their instincts, even for someone as calm andposed as Terra. She had nearly lost her mind after her body began producing eggs and, if not for him fertilizing one for her, Terra might have broken at some point. However, the real problem was the fact that Alex sought the pinnacle and had an instinctual desire to be the strongest. Knowing it would never be able to truly surpass him made Alex struggle between the choice of its own gender since it couldnt seed in its biological purpose, regardless of the gender it chose. As wasmon between them, Vahn also had a period of long silence where Alex just absentmindedly yed with his hair. Once he managed to sort his thoughts, Vahn reached up and grabbed Alex, bringing the young True Dragon to his front and seating them in hisp. Gently stroking the small pointy ears at the side of Alexs head, Vahn smiled and exined, "The future is full of limitless possibilities, Alex, and, though it may seem impossible to find a solution now, there is always one if you seek it earnestly. There is no rush to choose which gender you want to be and, even if you never make a choice, that is also okay. I will continue to support you, regardless of the path you wish to follow...the only thing I hope for is that youll be happy and always care for your family..." Grabbing the sides of Alexs face, Vahn gave therge-eyed child a simple kiss on the forehead with the most caring and supportive look he could manage. Alex spent a few minutes just snuggling up in its Papasp, allowing the feathers on its tiny wings to rustle happily while its tail tapped against Vahns leg. Though it was somewhat difficult to believe, Alex had confidence that its Papas words were the truth. One of the things it had been taught very early on was that there were no impossibilities so, hearing its Papa say something simr, Alex felt inspired to try harder. After all, as it previous stated, Alex could always change its genderter on if it wasnt satisfied with how things were going. For now, Alex decided to try and catch up to Fafnir and Khaos in strength and, as it was still very young, experiment to see which gender was mostfortable. By setting goals thousands of years in the future, Alex figured there was plenty of time to ruminate over the decision before firming its resolve and deciding what it wanted to stay as. After making up its mind, Alex nodded its head before wiggling out of its Papas arms and standing about a meter away. It was only wearing a green tunic, ck shorts, and tanned britches, each quickly discarded to reveal the genderless temte body beneath. Currently, Alex had a very androgynous and cute appearance but, under Vahns slightly startled gaze, its body quickly began to morph into a more feminine appearance. The emerald green hair around its head grew slightly longer while their facial features softened slightly. Ultimately, there wasnt a major change in Alexs appearance, other than the obvious changes since it had seemingly decided to be a girl, at least for the time being. In a casual manner, Alex smiled slightly while reaching out her hand and saying in a softer voice than before, "Papa, give me some panties. I always wanted to try them on." Vahn returned a smile of his own while handing over a pair of mint-green panties for Alex to fit into. Because of the changes to her body, Alex nearly fell over while trying to get her legs through the stic fabric. She furrowed her brows slightly and said, "The bone structure around my h.i.p.s ispletely different...it feels weird just standing." However, while she was speaking, Alex seemed more curious than actually bothered by the changes. It didnt take long for her to wear the child-like panties and start stretching to see how they felt. Seemingly satisfied, Alex turned towards him and said, "They are actually morefortable than what I was wearing previously. I always noticed that girls clothes were made of more delicate fabrics and it feels nice to be able to wear them like this." Picking up the clothes she had previously discarded, Alex felt the differences between the fabrics before eventually turning back to him and asking, "Papa, can you pick some clothes you think would suit me? I want to go for a cute look for the time being." Vahn found it somewhat amusing that Alex was so casual about the changes to her body but, as requested, picked out a few outfits for Alex to choose from. After trying on a dress, Alex yed with the hem for a bit beforementing, "It feels very breezy, almost like it doesnt really serve any purpose as clothing. My stomach and bottom feelpletely exposed like this...I wonder why girls wear such clothing?" At this point, Alex wasnt really speaking towards her Papa and was just asking questions of herself. She had a habit of talking to herself whenever she was thinking about things, a habit she had picked up while ying around in the surrounding forests. As a result, she often came to conclusions through self-exchanges, much like she had just determined that girls must wear this type of clothing to simply appeal to others. After all, Alex also found Inas appearance very adorable and lively whenever she was running around. Ultimately, as a dress was too advanced for the time being, Alex decided to wear a white blouse with red rings at the edge of the sleeves and hem. To adapt to the breezy feeling, she decided upon a dark-pink frilled skirt. Alex never developed a habit of wearing shoes so she moved around barefoot while testing the feeling of her new clothing. As for Vahn, he watched her with a slight smile on his face before exining, "Being a female, there are numerous things you have to be aware of. It may not be a problem while youre inside the orb, but the way people look at and behave around you will heavily depend on how you present yourself. I wont lie to you, Alex, but there are a lot of perverse and disreputable men in the world that would look at you with selfish and despotic intentions. You are very strong, but your second mother, Eva, always taught me that you can never assume things will always go as you expect. Make sure to ask your Mama about how to properly behave like a girl, okay?" Alex had been pulling the edge of her skirt, trying to cover a little more of her legs before stopping to listen to what her Papa was saying. She knew the differences between males and females, including the purpose for said differences. Since she had also received some of her Mamas memories about Adventurers and other things to be wary of, Alex treated her Papas words very seriously. Just imagining the possibility of falling to someones scheme made her feel very frustrated and she resolved herself to never be a victim to such circ.u.mstances. In order to avoid such an oue, Alex intended to train even harder to be someone strong like her Mama. She had seen thetterpletely dominate Fafnir and Khaos several times in the past and knew that wasnt even the limit of how strong someone could be. To ease some of the very obvious difort Alex was showing, Vahn gave her a pair of spats and exined that many girls wore them to protect their dignity and also deal with the breezy feeling. Alex happily epted them because they were very simr to the shorts she often wore before, even though the fabric was much thinner. One thing that she had already noticed was, even if the materials were the same, girls clothing was much thinner than boys. Though it made the clothing far morefortable to wear, Alex felt like it was somewhat wasteful since it seemed to invalidate the basic purpose of clothing, which was to resist the elements and conceal. She was very aware of the fact that the two tiny rose-buds on her chest made very small bumps on the fabrics surface and it was somewhat annoying. Fortunately, just as he had given her some spats, her Papa also gave her an stic strap that he called a sports bra for her to wear. It was a little restrictive to wear but Alex didnt really mind it too much since it got rid of what had been bothering her. Once Alex wasfortable in her new clothing, Vahn picked out a variety of other outfits she could try onter. Alex threw all of them into her own pocket dimension before seeming to realize something as she said, "Papa, for the time being, please call me Alexa or Alexandria. Alex is fine too, but I want to try and get used to a more feminine name while Im in this form." Vahn nodded his head, stroking Alexs silky emerald green hair as he asked, "So, is this just a temporary thing then, Alexa?" Alexa showed a contemtive look on her face before saying, "Well, I figured I could try it out for a year or two before swapping to a boy and seeing if it is morefortable. I dont really know what Ill decide upon in the future but, if I cant really choose between them, I think I may remain genderless when I go to the real world. Since you said it didnt matter which form I wanted to take, that will let me wear whatever kind of clothes I want without making things too awkward for other people." Vahnughed, impressed by how thoughtful Alexa was, even though she was making decisions that are far beyond what would be expected of someone so young. However, she did indeed possess the natural ability to change her gender so Vahn wanted to encourage her to do as she pleased. Thus, after talking for a few minutes longer, Vahn carried off his daughter and they yed around for nearly the entirety of the remaining time left to them. Alexa emted Ina a bit, meaning Vahn had to carry her around and pamper her, but this didntst long since she had a far more independent nature than Ina possessed. Ultimately, he ended up ying tag with her and ying a variety of other games. When she was tired, he would snuggle up with her, something he always did regardless, and they talked about various subjects Alexa was interested in. She had very recently started her basic magic training and, as a result of her potential being ridiculous, was already near the middle of Level 3 in strength, even without a Falna. Before he left the orb, Vahn took Alexa back to the small cottage where the two memory fragments were surprised to receive their daughter. Vahn didnt miss the small glimmer and the soft smile on his fragments face while Terras seemed to find the unexpected change amusing. She grabbed her daughters hand and pulled her to the side before chuckling towards the two Vahns and saying, "Sorry, but Ill need to borrow Alex for a moment. We need to have some girl talk~." Terra sent a wink towards them before dragging Alexa into a side room before erecting an emerald green barrier that barred passage and blocked sound. Vahn had a wry smile on his face as he followed the two girls with his eyes, only turning away once the barrier had been erected. Then, as if they had some mutual understanding, Vahn matched gazes with his memory fragment as they both smiled and simultaneously said, "She is adorable..." before bursting intoughter and going out onto the terrace to share a few drinks together. Vahn, possessing all the memories of the fragment, felt a very strong kinship with his counterpart and they had been good drinking buddies on the asions where he had some free time in the past. It wasnt often, but being able to share a drink with someone that had the same tolerance as him was a very refreshing and rxing experience. (A/N: Alexs gender will fluctuate a lot in the story and you will usually be able to know what they are based on the given pronouns and the names associated with them. Ultimately, Alex is very likely to end up as a boy but it depends on how the story evolves with time. I just figured that, if it was going to experiment between genders, choose a female form was the obvious choice since, other than Vahn himself, Alex has only ever interacted with females. In her default state, she acts more like a young boy so it was the choice that made the most sense, given the context of the novel. As for why she may ultimately end up as a boy, that is a result of the fact that manymenters seemed to want Vahn to have a son soon. Well, be patient, as such an event may happen sooner than you think (U,...,U)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Living in Vahns shadow isnt easy,Alexas Experimental Nature,Treat yourself like youre your own best friend~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 701 - Happiness

Chapter 701 - Happiness

After parting with his counterpart within the orb, Vahn awoke back in the real world with Ina snuggled up into a small shape against his chest. Terra was standing at the side with a gentle smile on her face as she said, "Wee back, Master~." As if awakened by Terras words, Ina opened up her eyes and stretched her body in azy manner, nearly falling out of the chair if not for Vahn catching her. Realizing what had almost happened, Inaughed in a sheepish manner before hugging her Papa tightly and saying, "Papa is the best~." Vahn just chuckled in response, lifting her body up to carry her as he turned to Terra and said, "Ill stop by a littleter..." Apanying his words, Vahn sent Terra a wink that caused the mature True Dragons eyes to squint happily as an expectant light flickered within their sky-blue depths. Carrying Ina, Vahn proceeded to his next destination, the final leg of his journey since he had failed to meet her earlier. After walking for a few minutes, he eventually came to the clearing where some of the girls woulde to spend time, especially when it was sunny outside. There, sitting at the base of one of the trees, Vahn saw Aki sitting with a cloth bundle slung around her body. She was apanied by Chloe and Shizune, thetter of which was yfully poking at the squishy cheeks of Anise. Vahn could feel the everpresent warmth in his heart expand slightly at the sight while both Chloe and Aki almost immediately noticed his presence. After arriving at their side, Vahn let Ina down so she could properly interact with her younger sister. Like the rest of the Vanir, Ina cared deeply for her younger siblings, even though she didnt always show it through her actions. Shizune moved off to the side to make room so Vahn sat down next to Aki, who immediately proceeded to lean into his shoulder with a soft smile on her face. Ever since giving birth, Aki has be even more motherly than during her pregnancy and, though she had been hesitating about the decision, Vahn knew she was also considering retirement. Her dream had always been to start a family and, now that she had a daughter to look after, Aki wasnt too fond of spending days, or months, away from her Daughter. She never really cared about strength and just wanted to be happy, something she had already obtained at Vahns side. Seeing the lovey-dovey interaction between Aki and Vahn, Chloeughed in a mischevious manner while musing, "Nyahaha, how envious~." Chloe knew that, if she had made her resolve in the past, she very likely could have had her own child by now. However, she didnt regret her decision and, now that she could increase her strength even faster, Chloe wanted to be strong enough to support the family she already had. Everything else could wait untilter, after all, she was wasnt even twenty years old yet. Shizune also felt somewhat envious as she witnessed the sight and a small part of her heart felt like it had be a void, something she believed only Vahn could fill. It was a strange thought to have, but Shizune sometimes felt a bit of regret that her body was in such a state. She had just celebrated her eighteenth birthday a little less than two months ago but her body hadnt changed from the form she returned to after consuming the [V.i.r.g.i.ns Promise]. She knew Vahn was the cause behind her current state and, though she had been given permission to make use of the orb without restriction, it bothered her a little that she was still treated like a child. After hesitating for a few moments, Shizune noticed that Ina had left a rare gap to exploit so she edged closer to Vahn. Seeing him turn his gaze to her, Shizune swallowed and lowered her head before somewhat awkwardly sitting down in hisp. It wasnt the first time she had done so but Shizune felt her actions were a little shameless, considering the circ.u.mstances. Ina noticed this almost immediately and, for a brief moment, her brows furrowed in anger while the magical light in her eyes became more vibrant. Vahn casually stroked Shizunes head, fluffing up her ears with his fingers while saying, "Ina, it isnt polite to re at people like that..." Shizune felt a ticklish feeling in her heart when Vahn reprimanded Ina on her behalf while thetter showed an almost betrayed look on her face. Vahn, noticing Inas reaction, looked directly into her eyes with a calm expression on his face and a questioning look present in his aquamarine eyes. Ina took a breath when he suddenly looked directly at her in such a manner. She suddenly felt very guilty as images of all the times her Papa pampered her reyed themselves in her mind, seemingly without end. In truth, ever since the Vanir were born, Vahn had been spending most of his free time with them. This left some of the girls feeling a little lonely, especially Shizune, Lili, and Tina. Ina had been slowly bing more aware of her own actions ofte and, seeing her Papa petting the happily smiling Shizune, reminded her that the happiness her Papa brings wasnt something the belonged to her... With a pouting expression on her face, Ina began to sniffle a little before averting her eyes and staring at the small form of Anise, held within Akis embrace. Thetter looked at Inas appearance, feeling her heart doing flips in her chest while Vahns was practically being twisted like a wrung cloth. In truth, he found it very difficult to be firm with his children but, not wanting them to be spoiled and inconsiderate of others, he had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill of parenting. Fortunately, he wasnt alone in the matter as Aki suddenly loosened the cloth wrapped around her and asked, "Do you want to try holding her...?" Ina, with tears still threatening to escape her eyes, suddenly uttered a surprised, Eh? after hearing Akis question. Before she knew what was happening, Aki was very gingerly handing Anise over to her while Inapletely froze up, not knowing what to do and being terrified of moving. Aki just chuckled, helping Ina position her small arms while gently saying, "Here...hold her gently...keep your arms under her...make sure you support the head properly..." Ina mechanically followed Akis instructions while everyone silently watched the heartwarming scene. Eventually, Aki confirmed that Ina had a proper hold on her daughter and, though she had a bit of hesitation, smiled encouragingly as she said, "There you go...look, she seems happy to be held by her big sister..." Now that she was holding onto Anise by herself, Ina felt very fl.u.s.tered and it didnt seem like she could divert her attention between dealing with Anise and her own feelings of jealousy. Ultimately, because she is a very kind girl, Ina decided to focus on the infant in her arms. She gently cradled Anise in her arms with an awed look that very quickly transitioned into a smile that seemed to cause the colors in nature to be less vibrant byparison. Everyone continued to watch Ina hold onto Anise in silence, even Shizune, who had started to feel very guilty about fighting for Vahns affection with a four-month-old... As Aki had said, Anise seemed very happy to be held by Ina,ughing happily with an adorable smile on her tiny face. Ina felt very encouraged by this and released a tiny kyaaa sound before saying, "Anise, youre so cute~! Naa, naa, can you try saying Ina~!?" Inas sudden rebound caused Aki and Chloe to chuckle lightly while Vahn released a relieved sigh. Thinking this was an opportune time to be a good father, Vahn smiled as he softly said, "Everyone within the Manor is family, Ina, just like you and Anise. We share our happiness together and, it is the bonds we forge through this happiness, that make us strong. You are a very kind girl and clever girl...I believe you have the ability to make everyone else happy with your smile...please remember that." Ina had be silent as he was speaking but kept most of her focus on Anise, still feeling very aware of the small bundle in her arms. When he was finished, she nodded her head while producing a small smile as she said, "I understand, Papa...I want to be a good big sister that my cute little sisters can look up to." Then, after making sure she was holding onto Anise properly, Ina looked towards him and said, "But, I still care about Papa more...you are my most precious person..." As she was speaking, Ina let her gaze wander to Shizune, adding, "I know Papa wont be taken away by others, but I cant help feeling a little sad at times..." Shizune produced a rare blush, hanging her head in shame under the hard gaze of Ina, someone much younger than her. However, when she felt Vahns palmnd on her head, diffusingforting and warm energy through her body, Shizune perked up a little. She turned her head towards him, somewhat afraid to match Inas gaze while Vahn looked toward his daughter with a gentle and proud look on his face. Ina had every right to be clingy and affectionate, considering her age, but she also possessed a startling degree of maturity and a high degree of understanding. This was one of the reasons why he was always honest and direct with his children, as it made them consider all of his words very carefully. Aki eventually took Anise back from Ina, causing the small Vanir to release a sigh of relief before smiling when her Papa gestured for her toe closer. There was plenty enough space on hisp for the two small girls so Vahn pulled Shizune to his left thigh while Ina sat on his right. However, seemingly unsatisfied with the even split, Ina moved closer to the center of hisp while sending a nce towards Shizune. Thetter justughed in an awkward manner while Vahn produced a wry smile and stroked both of their heads. Ina calmed down very quickly after that, turning her eyes away from Shizune and just enjoying the moment. Aki and Chloe looked at the sight with strangely envious looks, something Vahn noticed was directed towards his hands. With the same wry smile on his face, he sent a wink towards Chloe that caused her to snicker with a yful smile on her face. As for Aki, she just giggled andid her head against his shoulder while absentmindedly staring into her daughters eyes. Aki felt like these moments were far more precious and significant than any of her past experiences and, if it were up to her, these days would continue on forever. She knew this was impossible, especially considering they resided at the core of the Alliance, but she couldnt help but wish it to be so... -------------------------------------------------------------- While Vahn had been busy spending quality time with his family and children, the rest of the world had been moving along at its own pace. The Noble factions, after being rebuffed by the Alliance, had been very offended by Vahns dismissal of their proposal. To them, it was his honor to even be given such an opportunity but, after considering his status and the face he was part of a Familia, there wasnt much they could do. Though they could inconvenience the Alliance, taking things too far could result in a very detrimental bacsh to them. After all, Familia was outside the natural jurisdiction of thews they had established for controlling the populous. Though the Noble families were the founders of the City, it was only because the existence of the Ouranos Familia, whichter became the Guild, that they were able to find their footing around the Dungeons entrance. As a result, the Guild actually had the greatest amount of power and influence in the City, especially since they were the ones that monitored and regted the various Familias residing in Orario. After all, no matter how noble they imed themselves to be, mortals couldnt be directlypared to gods. If they actually tried to passws and restrictions to control and regte gods, their families would have ceased to exist a long time ago as a result of their hubris. Understanding this, the de-facto leader of the Noble Faction, Marcus Vale McKeh, was currently sitting inside avish study with maids standing at all four corners of the room. There was also a very mature looking maid standing to his left while a gentlemanly looking butler stood at his right. Across from him, the reason for his current mood, was his daughter Allisandra bowing her head with an apologetic and fretful look on her face. She felt terribly aggrieved by Vahns treatment towards her and, after reporting her failure during the negotiations, now had to deal with her fathers ire. His countenance was extremely cold right now as he looked down on her with an icy and piercing gaze, asking, "So, how is it that, after assuring me time and again that things will go well, you still return to me without anything to show for it?" With an expression that looked like she had swallowed a bug, Allisandra looked up and tried to exin but, seeing her Fathers icy gaze, she became pale. The words that had made its way to the tip of her tongue retreated into her throat as she swallowed hard and averted her eyes downward once again. Marcus snorted, hardening his expression even more as he said, "I had to trade several favors to secure you this opportunity. Your failure has tarnished our family name and made a mockery of our honor. For the time being, you will be on house arrest until a fitting punishment can be meted against you...begone from my sight." Unable to refute her Fathers words, Allisandra just bowed her head before backing out of the room with a face full of regret. Seeing his daughter go, Marcus couldnt help but sigh while the mature maid next to him began to chuckle lightly. Furrowing his brows, he asked, "Oh? Do you find this situation entertaining, Beatrix?" In response, the mature maid smiled and said, "Forgive me, Master, I couldnt help but find your treatment of Lady Allisandra rather interesting. Its rare to see you act so firmly with her, especially after you doted on her so much in the past~." Hearing his Head Maids words, Marcus snorted once again. He grabbed the wine ss she had previously filled, nearly emptying its contents in one gulp before saying, "If I dont at least put on a show of punishing her, those fools in the other families would never let me hear the end of it. Until this matter passes, make sure she doesnt leave the Manor. Also, if she misbehaves during this period, make sure the only meals she receives are the same served to the staff..." Beatrix smiled and, even though it earned her another re from her Master, she couldnt help but chuckle lightly once again. In response to his re, she just poked her tongue out at him while his Head Butler, Klein, made a coughing sound before asking, "Master, what are your orders in regards to the other families? I dont imagine they will let this matter go so easily..." Hearing this, Marcus scowled before finishing the remainder of his wine and saying, "Those bastards are seeking death. Wed be hard-pressed to put pressure on a single powerful Familia, much less forty. I regret ever throwing my lot in with those fools..." If not for the fact that their family was allied with several of the other Noble houses, Marcus wouldnt want anything to do with them now that the Alliance hade into power. He could tell that there was a great changeing to the City and, if they didntpromise and take a step back, it could very well spell the end of their families. After all, they wouldnt just be dealing with the Alliance itself, but almost all the goddesses and their respective allies. Vahn Mason, that inexplicably existence, was almost an untouchable entity after the revtions of his capabilities. The fact that some of the families were still trying to get influence over the boy, even though they had never managed any sess, baffled Marcus to no end. Everyone thought they could get a piece of the pie that was Vahn Mason, saying things like he was still young and easily exploited if they could get their hands on him. However, with influential and intelligent goddesses like Loki, Hephaestus, and Freya surrounding him, what chance did they truly believe they had? They had no leverage to use against him and, if they tried to force him to yield, history had shown they would likely pay a steep price. Vahn himself could be offended, seemingly without consequence, but targeting the people close to the boy was almost a death sentence. The fact that he was willing to offend the Elven Kingdom, Rakia Kingdom, and the Iron Hills, showed that Vahn wasnt someone to trifle with. Even united, the Noble families wouldnt have been able to contest against a single one of those forces, yet Vahn boldly took a hard stance against all three... While he was thinking about Vahns interactions with the other countries, Marcus suddenly remembered the reports that hade in about the devastation on Rakia Kingdoms borders. Though many people imed that it was just Vahns dragons that did all the work, most of the people in power knew the truth of the matter. Vahn had left numerous survivors amongst the forces manning the fortresses, all of which had attested to the fact that Vahn himself had headed the assault. He was seemingly unstoppable and, no matter how many enemies were thrown at him, Vahn returned from the journey entirely unscathed. It was only after he personally defeated the border forces, and freed all the ves, that his dragon annihted the durable defensive structures. Ever since he had received that report, Marcus had decided it was best not to antagonize Vahn and had tried to shift the momentum within the Noble faction more towards cooperation. If they were able to actually work alongside the Alliance, there were numerous benefits they could obtain. Even now, there was arge number of rare materials and resources that seemed to flow endlessly out of the Alliance. This hadpletely crippled the Dwarven Merchants that had previously tried to stir up trouble. Many Noble families had tried to find out the source of the Alliances reserves but, failing to do so, they instead tried to purchase up the items to profitter. Unfortunately, none of their efforts had proved fruitful as goddesses like Minerva and Fortuna werent so easily exploited... Tapping the armrest of his chair, Marcus released a heavy sigh before saying, "Arrange a meeting with the Deval and Reinhardt families. I feel a storm approaching the City and, if our families are going to weather it, well need to stand together..." At this point, Marcus felt that many of the Noble houses had decayed a great deal. They were too ustomed to the peace brought about after the end of the extinction war against the Goliaths. Ever since then, their families had prospered a lot from the reconstruction efforts and the expansion of various business enterprises. Now, their progeny had bezy and entitled, exploiting their power and authority againstmoners without restraint. There were very few praiseworthy sessors to the households at present, as even his own sons were shameless fools. The only saving grace for Marcus had been his daughter, Allisandra, and his youngest son, Duke. However, Allisandra had been bing progressively more haughty with time and, as a result of his eldests sons tampering, Duke had started to misbehave and cause trouble with the servants. Remembering an incident where his nine-year-old son had tried to get one of the maids to strip down and kneel to him, Marcus couldnt help but shake his head in an exasperated manner... After watching Klein leave to carry out his orders, Marcus turned his attention to Beatrix at his side, frowning when he saw her yful look. Not only was she his Head Maid, but Beatrix was also his personal bodyguard and Guard Captain of his security detail. Though she looked to be in herte twenties, it had been a long time since she had a two-digit age. She had been serving their family since his Grandfathers generation and was one of their most powerful cards. It always troubled him that she never seemed to take him seriously, stating that she could never showplete respect towards someone whose diapers she had to change. Releasing what felt like the hundredth sigh for today, Marcus stated in a solemn tone, "The Alliances School should be opening soon. Theyll need to hire arge staff for such a massive institution. Investigate who the Alliance is trying to recruit and see if we cant buy some of their loyalties..." Though his instincts were telling him to avoid having anything to do with the Alliance at present, Marcus couldnt help but try and seek some benefits from the situation. Even without taking action now, they could always try to pressure some of the Schools employeester on. Depending on the situation, it may be possible to get some of their own personnel into the School and discover some of the secrets the Alliance kept hidden... Beatrixughed in a mischevious manner before saying, "Certainly. Leave it to me, Master~." Then, swaying her h.i.p.s slightly as she walked, Beatrix quickly disappeared from the room. Almost as if an invisible tension had faded from the atmosphere, Marcus slumped slightly in his chair while shaking his head. Sending Beatrix to take care of the matter almost guaranteed it would be dealt with but the cost wasnt always something easy to bear. He just hoped she didnt get too carried away with ying around this time... (A/N: There should be 3-4 chapters today, but the release schedule might be a little janky. I had some stuff to deal withst night so Im running on fumes at the time of writing this xD. Even so, theyll still be released at some point, though it might not be until the afternoon~?) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ina @ Shizune Jiiiiiiiiii-,Kodak Moments,Marcus is surprisingly not a bad guy...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 702 - Interview : Act

Chapter 702 - Interview : Act

As much as he would like to spend all his time with his children, Vahn found his schedule packed to the brim over the next few days. The opening of the School, which was being named the Sage Aldrnari School of Orario, had been scheduled two months from now. It coincided with the traditional end of the harvest season and was also when the Ganesha Familia held the bi-annual Monster Feria. Since people would already be in high spirits, it seemed like an opportune time to announce the Schools grand opening and, as a result of the timing, would ensure that each school session would alwayse to an end during one of Orarios few holidays. Vahn was currently sitting within a small cafe that had been booked for the purposes of interviewing each of the potential employees that would work at the School. It would have been inconvenient to have everyonee to the Manor itself so they had picked a ce near the Schools location since that would be the ultimate destination for any potential staff. An advance notice had been given to everyone that woulde by for an interview so Vahn just had to wait patiently within the room as people came in one after the other. After going through nearly twenty potential staff, Vahn finally came across someone he recognized but hadnt expected to see so soon. It was a middle-aged man with a kindly face filled withugh lines that had been permanently embedded into his expression over the years. Unlike his curt and professional act when dealing with the other candidates, Vahn couldnt help but rise to his feet with an amiable smile as he said, "Mr. House, its good to see you once again. How has your family been?" Gregory House was surprised that Vahn actually stood to greet him since, after their meetings in the past, they hadnt interacted with each other much. Hearing Vahn ask about his family, Gregory couldnt help but smiled as he ined, "That little rascal is a troublesome one. Never seems to sit still for more than a few minutes and always disappears the moment you take yer eyes off em." Though he said the words as if they were a negative thing, there was undisguised happiness on Gregorys face as he talked about his grandson. Vahn gave him a curt nod in response while gesturing for him to sit in the chair opposite him. Unlike the previous interviews, he pulled out a fragrant alcohol and filled a ss for Gregory before pulling out a chair for himself and sitting down. Gregory raised his brow out of confusion but epted the offered drink without minding the difference in their status. When he tasted the contents of the ss, the middle-aged mans face couldnt help but express shock as he took several more sips before releasing a hot sigh. With an appreciative look, he raised the ss towards Vahn and said, "I heard you also have a few kids of yer own running around these days. Hard to believe that the young orphan boy from back then already has a big family of his own...time sure flies." Vahn, sampling the contents of his own cup, nodded his head in response before saying, "Yeah, you wouldnt even believe it, even if I told you...it seems like only yesterday that I came to the City..." As he was speaking, the image of his children passed through his mind and Vahn honestly couldnt believe how much had changed within thest twenty months. He also had several years worth of memories rted to the use of Spirit-Time orbs so, though a seemingly insignificant amount of time had passed, Vahn had experienced a great deal during his stay within the City. Not only did he have seven children, he also had three beautiful and capable wives with a host of other women at his back. Considering that there were several goddesses making up that number, Vahn knew he was truly blessed in how he had lived within this world. Releasing a gruffugh, Gregory had an amused look on his face as he said, "You have a mature look to you now, kid. Bing a father seems to have helped you grow up quite a bit~." Vahn nodded his head in turn, taking another swig of his drink before saying, "This job Im offering, it might be my own bias, but I believe youll be suitable for it. I know you want to take care of your family so Im willing to help move them into one of the residences in the Alliance territory to make yourmute easier." Gregory was surprised by the offer and, seeing how serious Vahn was, knew thetter wasnt just ying around with him. Beforeing to this interview, Gregory had a few inhibitions since it required him to travel nearly an hour by carriage just to reach this cafe. With Vahns offer, however, these worries faded away very quickly and, as the position offered a very nice sry, Gregory couldnt help but agree almost instantly. His impression of Vahn had always been positive and, seeing that the boy hadnt let his status go to his head, Gregory felt like it would be a great benefit to his entire family by throwing their lot in with the Alliance. He was beginning to feel like his good deeds of the past were now starting to pay dividends, making the middle-aged man feel incredibly vindicated. Vahn spent a few minutes talking over the specifics with Gregory before sending the kindly man off to give the good news to his family. In truth, Vahn intended to extend simr offers to everyone that passed the screening process, as the welfare of his employees and their families was very important, but he couldnt help but be upfront with Gregory. This would require him to fill out some paperwork a bit earlier than expected, but it wasnt a big issue in the long run. Vahn believed that kindness, though not ruing a debt, should always be repaid if the opportunity presented itself. There was already so much pain and sadness in the world so Vahn appreciated it when he met people that went out of their way to help others... After his interview with Gregory, Vahn went through another batch of prospective employees, some of which hadnt been in the original list that had beenpiled. Loki had added quite a few people to the roster and, after discussing it, they also decided to allow people that lived in the area to interview. After all, even if they werent qualified to teach any advanced sses, they needed caretakers to look after the children living within the dorms. This resulting in a lot of mothersing in, some even bringing along their young children because they had been unable to find a sitter. Vahn, being a rtively new father, had a bit of weakness towards these mothers and continued doing interviews several hours passed the originally scheduled time. It wasnt until he got a telepathic message from Syr that he finally decided to call it a day. There were still several people waiting patiently for their own but Vahn had already stayed much longer than the time that had been announced. Thus, while some wanted him to stick around and give them a chance to interview, nobody really stopped him, at least at first... Not long after he left the cafe, Vahn was preparing to leap into the sky so that he could use [Koku Shundo] to hurry back to the Manor. However, just as he was about to do so, Vahn stopped in his tracks since he sensed an abnormally strong presence approaching him. The reason why he took notice of it, instead of simply moving on, was that the presence was very obviously trying to keep its power concealed. However, though the aura radiating from their body only appeared to match that of a Level 2, the density of the aura was almost at the level of someone like Finn or Gareth. A few seconds after he had stopped, a mature looking beauty with blue-grey hair and dark blue eyes walked out of an alleyway, leading a small girl by hand. When she noticed him, the woman seemed surprised and worried as she said, "Ah, youre Vahn Mason...did you already stop the interviews for the day...?" Even as she asked the question, the womans expression turned almost mournful as she released a sad sigh and pulled the young girls hand, saying, "Sorry to bother you. Ill try to get here earlier tomorrow..." The entire time the woman was speaking, Vahns expression hadnt changed much and he was curious about what scheme she was concocting. Yes, while her act itself was almost wless, Vahn had easily seen through it because of the nature of the womans aura. Even when she appeared to be saddened by the realization that he was done for the day, her aura hadnt fluctuated at all. He could even tell that, though the young girl didnt seem bothered by the womans guidance, they werent actually mother and daughter. It was possible she was just looking after the young girl for someone else but, given the fact that they had simr hair and eye colors, Vahn assumed the mature woman was currently disguising her true appearance. By the time the woman reached the end of the alleyway, her pace had slowed down marginally and, just as she was preparing to turn the corner, she shot a look back at him. For a brief moment, her aura fluctuated slightly as a glimmer of intrigue crossed through her eyes. Vahn just gave a small smile in response before vanishing from sight, surprising the woman even further as her head inclined to the ce he had leaped to before using [Koku Shundo]. She then pulled the little girl along beforeughing lightly while the small girl began to tremble. Though theugh sounded elegant and would be appreciated by most people, the young girl knew it was very dangerous when the woman escorting her found something amusing. However, she didnt say anything at all and just continued following along since it may not end well for her otherwise... --- Though Vahn had initially moved away at a high speed, leaving the area behind until he was confident the woman wouldnt be able to sense him, he eventually doubled back to trail her. Afterpletely concealing his presence, Vahn changed his face and aura before donning a change of clothes and trying to track the woman. Seemingly unaware she was being followed, the woman continued at a leisurely pace while the young girl next to her struggled to keep up with her pitter-patter of steps. There was a big difference in their gaits and it annoyed Vahn more than a little that the mature woman wasnt showing consideration for the young girl. However, as this frustration surfaced in his mind, the woman turned her head slightly. Vahn continued forward, even after the woman had turned her head to look directly at him. He showed a startled and confused expression on his face while she scrutinized his face and body, now seeming to be in histe twenties and much taller than normal. As if he was fl.u.s.tered by the fact that a beauty was looking at him, Vahn asked, "Excuse me miss...is there something I can help you with...?" Since he had a lot of experience with such situations from the past, Vahn put on a nervous appearance before smiling towards the young girl and waving. She was currently hiding behind the long dress of the mature woman but, seeing his kind gesture, returned a wave as a small smile appeared on her adorable little face. Even though he was confident he couldnt be seen through by her, the woman suddenly said, "That is quite the transformation ability. I had heard the rumors, but seeing it personally...I must say, Im very impressed~." Vahn put on the most confused look he could manage, made easier by the fact that he was genuinely confused about how she could see through him. However, she seemed to misunderstand and believed he was still putting on an act so, after letting go of the young girls hand, the woman stepped forward as a powerful killing intent radiated from her body. If it were in the past, Vahn would have tried to dodge and potentially issue a counterattack. However, believing this was an opportunity to actually fool her, he instead stumbled with a terrified and confused expression on his face. Stopping her knife-hand strike just a centimeter away from his eye, the woman seemed to be genuinely surprised that he hadnt made any efforts to dodge. Her perception was very high and she noticed that his muscles, other than seizing up, made no efforts to evade her attack. It was almost like he wasnt seven aware of it at all and, judging by how his eyes widened after the fact, this seemed to be the case. However, even though the reality seemed to contradict her assumptions, the womans instincts told her this man was the same boy she had met previously. His appearance, smell, and aura had all changed but, trusting her instincts, she still believed this was Vahn. Thus, after pulling her hand away and seeing him sigh in relief, she then stepped forward once again and buried her fingers into his thigh without any hesitation. At this point, Vahn could safely assume this woman was his enemy or, at the very least, someone unhinged enough to attack people based on her assumptions. However, he made no attempt to dodge the attack and, as he was currently in his pseudo-erebea state, allowed her to wound his leg without immediately healing the wound. Instead, he shouted out like a wounded animal while screaming, "What the hell are you doing!? Aaaargh, my leg...!" This time, even though her instincts were still telling her the man before her was undoubtedly Vahn, the woman finally began doubting herself. Vahn was known to be a very powerful Adventurer and, regardless of how skilled an actor they might be, people wouldnt just let unknown enemies injure them. Even now, she could see him trying, and failing, to stymy the flow of blood while a crowd began to gather around them. With a frown marring her previously gentle face, the woman continued watching him for several seconds until it started to be troublesome with how many people were gathering. She could see that he was bing very pale, the result of the heavy loss of blood after she tore his artery, and hadnt made any efforts to heal the wound. It almost seemed like he was a normal man who she had attacked and, if things kept up like this, it wouldnt be long before he bled out and died. The most annoying thing, however, was the fact that she still believed this man was Vahn, even though every one of her senses was telling her otherwise... Suddenly, from high in the sky, beams of radiant light rained down onto the section of the street while a group of guards poured into the area from the surroundings. The woman shielded her eyes from the light with the same hand she had used to pierce Vahns leg. Seeing this, the guards pulled out their weapons and surrounded her while a womanly voice sounded out from the light source above, "You have disturbed the order of the City and attacked another citizen. ce your hands above your head and stand down until we can get to the bottom of this situation. If that man had wronged you in some way, we will deal with that when the timees. You, hurry up and use a potion to stop the bleeding before he passes out. We need his testimony to make a fair judgment." As the voice faded, so too did the light. Without the radiant light shining down on them, everyone could see a majestic winged horse slowly descending from the sky with a rather heroic looking woman riding on its back. Since she was the only person possessing a Pegasi within the City, everyone immediately identified the rider as the goddess, Eirene. She quicklymanded the guards to action while the primary suspect, the mature woman with blood on her hands, continued to look at the man curled up on the ground. Just as some guards moved to restrain her, she grabbed the shivering girl next to her and, against anyones expectations, leaped towards the closest roof with such speed that it almost looked like she teleported. Her next movement carried enough force to shatter the tiles of the roof she hadnded on while Eirene raised her sword and said, "Scoundrel! Dont let her escape!" The surrounding guards released a loud affirmation before giving chase while Eirene herself took to the sky to direct everyone from above. However, before she was able to get far, the man that seemed to have been on deaths door, suddenly stood up and said, "You wont be able to catch up to her, Eirene. She is already far beyond the range any of the guards would be able to pursue her..." While he was speaking, Vahn resumed his normal appearance, stopping the words Eirene had been about to speak in her throat. She paused for several seconds while the majority of her guards disappeared, still giving chase as a result of herst order. Only a crowd of pedestrians remained along the perimeter they had previously established while a few of her guards looked toward Vahn with confusion. Releasing a small sigh, Eirene stroked the blue mane of her Pegasus and urged it back to the ground before she leaped off and asked, "Mind exining to me what just happened, Vahn? I cant say I appreciate you making a scene like this and disturbing the public order..." Though she was giving him a light reprimand, Eirene had a look of concern on her face as she followed up by quietly asking, "Is your leg okay...?" Vahn smiled while gesturing with his hand, causing an invisible barrier to spread around them that prevented sounds from traveling while simultaneously obscuring their figure from onlookers. He then exined, "Sorry for troubling you, Eirene. That woman had some method to conceal her Level and had been lingering around the cafe where I was conducting interviews. I tried to follow her to discover her identity but...well, its as you can see..." Eirene furrowed her brows slightly and was about to inquire further as a haughty voiced sounded out from behind her, "I was wondering why I felt so strange when we were flying through this area. It turns out my Master was the cause..." This voice came from the Pegasi standing nearby, Eirenes mount and none other than the Silver Unicorn, Fatina, now named Fatina Pegasus through the use of his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]. Vahn had found that Fatina was a name of power after researching some texts through the shop but, remembering that he wanted to give Eirene a flying mount, tacked on the name Pegasus to influence the oue. At first, Fatina had been hesitant about following an unknown master but, after meeting Eirene, it willingly became her mount. Unlike his other subordinate, it had no intention of letting Vahn ride it as he was neither a pure, a maiden, or a goddess. Vahn didnt really mind that much and was just happy that the two seemed to get along well with each other, at least much better than Khaos and Loki did. Eirenes nature had even started to rub off on Fatina a bit, though not enough to make them pleasant to talk with unless, of course, you were one of the pure maidens it was fond of. With a somewhat helpless expression on her face, Eirene turned to Fatina and said, "Fatina, you should be more polite towards Vahn. Werent you very happy when he allowed you to evolve into a Pegasi?" Fatina just snorted in response but didnt say anything further that might cause offense. Both Vahn and Eirene just shook their heads slightly before thetter remembered her purpose and asked, "Do you have any leads on what she might have been up to? I can try to investigate..." Vahn raised his hand, causing Eirene to trail her words as he smiled and said, "She seems to be a very cautious and capable individual so I dont think she will be easily traced. I cant even sense any fluctuations left behind by her earlier movements and she probably has means to avoid detection if we ended up pursuing her..." Eirenes expression didnt improve with his words so Vahn increased the strength of his privacy barrier before reaching out and stroking her silky blue hair. This unexpected action caused Eirenes face to blush slightly as she pulled away from his palm and mumbled, "Dont do shameless things in public..." Releasing a small chuckle, Vahn went on to exin, "The next time she shows up, Ill be able to capture her easily. This time around, I gave her the benefit of the doubt since she didnt seem evil. However, the fact she left me to bleed out shows she doesnt have any problem with killing innocents..." Vahn frowned when he thought about the womans reactions while she was watching him bleed to death. He could see the hesitation in her actions but, peering into her eyes, Vahn felt like she was still sure about his identity to the very end. It was very likely she had some form of Innate that allowed her to ascertain his identity, though it could have just been the legendary womens intuition... Knowing Vahn was perfectly capable of making good on his words, Eirene gave a curt nod while staring at the hole in his trousers. All of the blood that had previously stained the ck fabric was nowhere to be seen and, though he had bled out onto the cobblestone pavement earlier, there werent any signs remaining. Vahn, following her eyes, adopted a serious expression on his face that seemed to give Eirene the wrong impression as she waved her hands and said, "I wasnt thinking anything dirty..." Vahn stalled for a moment when he heard her words, giving the stoic goddess a questioning look that caused her to fl.u.s.ter slightly and exin, "I was just worried that you still had an injury..." Vahn chuckled lightly and, though she had avoided him earlier, reached out his hand and habitually stroked Eirenes head. She furrowed her brows slightly and, just as before, moved away from his hand with a small look of me on her flushed face. Vahnsughter increased in volume on the outside but his sub-process mind was still mulling over his earlier realization. Since he had allowed his regeneration to take effect, all of the blood he had lost earlier evaporated or returned to his body. This was an oversight on his part because, like the blood on his trousers, hands, and ground, it meant the blood on the womans hand would have also faded away... (A/N: With how long these chapters have been, there will probably only be one more after this xD. However, as I n to take a nap, I may write two if I feel refreshed enough o3o~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Doting Grandpa vs. Doting Father,And the Oscar goes to...,Eirenes bashful side (UwU)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 703 - Picking Up The Trail?

Chapter 703 - Picking Up The Trail?

Though it actually made his return trip take longer, Eirene ended up escorting Vahn back to the Manor. She had also wanted to discuss things directly with Loki instead of hearing about itter through thework. Vahn didnt mind that much, if not for the fact that Fatina tried to race him back to the Manor. There was a massive difference in their maximum speed so Vahn had easily won the race, at the expense of two points of Fatinas loyalty. When Vahn saw the notification, he nearly fell out of the sky with a moderately incredulous look on his face. Fatina simply snorted in response as theynded on the outskirts of the training area. Vahn and Eirene then proceeded inside while Fatina wandered into the illusory forest to enjoy the scenery and explore a bit. While they were walking along, Vahn gave Eirene a slightly exasperated smile while muttering, "That prideful pegasus is going to give me an aneurysm one of these days..." Eirene giggled in response, squinting her blue eyes in humor as she responded, "He really isnt that bad once you get used to him...at least not as bad as he used to be~." Vahn couldnt help but agree with Eirene since, shortly after Fatina had received its name, the arrogant and proud Unicorn started acting like it was some sacred creature that deserved reverence. Fortunately, as both Terra and Fenrir had been present at the time, Fatina quickly adopted a moderately more civil method of addressing him. As they made their way through the Manor, Eirene continually looked around before eventuallymenting, "It seems less lively around here than in the past. Did everyone go out...or maybe they are all in the dining room?" When she had asked this, they had been very near the dining room so Eirene was sure this wasnt the case. Till now, the only people who knew of the orbs existence were the residents of the Manor itself. Though Eirene would undoubtedly learn of it in the future, as she was intending to one day bear his child, she was currently in the dark about the matter. Vahn wasnt fond of lying so he just smiled before opening the door for her while bowing politely. Eirene gave a small smile in return, muttering, "How polite~" while entering into the dining room and seeing only a few people present. Currently, it was after the normal dining hours so the only attendees for theing discussion were Loki, Hephaestus, Hestia, Anubis, and Syr. Most of the girls were currently within the Sub-Space orb while all of the children had already been put to sleep for the evening. Of course, Vahn didnt miss the fact that Erika was spying on them from one of the crawlspaces so he gave a very subtle wave that caused her body to flinch. After sitting down, Emiru and Maemi poked their heads out of the kitchen before bringing out a tray of snacks and tea while Vahn exined, "Sorry Imte, there was a suspicious woman that was lingering around the cafe when I was leaving." Loki had just been about to ask since she had already gotten word that something was wrong from Hephaestus and Hestia before Syr informed them he wanted to talk while bringing over Eirene. Vahn then went on to exin everything he had seen and experienced while interacting with the strange woman, including how powerful she was, the fact she could hide her strength, and how she was able to intuit he had disguised himself. Loki listened until the end while Hephaestus, Hestia, and Anubis all showed slightly cold looks when Vahn mentioned how she had urately severed an artery in his leg. The fact that he was immortal didnt make them any fonder of the idea that the woman had essentially been willing to watch him bleed out. As for Loki herself, she keyed in on a few of the important details before inevitably saying, "Its difficult to ascertain if she really has an ability to see through disguises, or if her perception is just abnormally high. Youve been making noticeable improvements in your facial expressions and disguising your emotions, but its not as though your act is entirely convincing. She might have memorized the way you moved or taken note of a specific gesture you might be prone to using..." Like Loki had said, it wasnt beyond the realm of possibility that his act had simply been seen through by the woman. After all, she showed genuine confusion and surprise when he hadnt actually defended himself. The reason why he believed this wasnt necessarily the case was due to the fact that, even while she had acted in such a way, the woman still seemed certain. At this point, Vahn knew he had an uncanny ability to read people through their expressions, especially by gazing into their eyes. It was almost like an invisible light would shine when people were feeling or thinking certain things, something he had strangely been attuned to even in his previous life. Hephaestus had a thoughtful look while showing a deep frown on her face. She had been listening very closely to Vahns recounting of events and, as far as she could discern, there were only a few possible candidates behind this plot. She sent a look towards Loki, earning a curt nod from her fellow goddess before saying, "This is likely something that has been machinated by the Noble factions. That woman you described matches some of the information we have about potential dangers that might pop up from their side. Though the records arent clear, there are a few instances from around twenty years ago about some monster from one of the Noble households cleaning up several gangs within the Entertainment District." Eirene seemed to catch on to what Hephaestus was getting to, suddenly asking in an incredulous voice, "You mean that woman was the Smiling Reaper...?" When she saw the serious expressions on Lokis and Hephaestuss face, apanied by the curious look on Vahns, Eirene exined, "She is an urban legend that pops up every decade or so, goes on a rampage, and then disappears once again. Not just a few gangs, she is purportedly responsible for the destruction of several smaller Familia and hundreds of unconfirmed deaths. The most surprising thing is, if you trace back the records kept by the Guild, reports of her exploits date back nearly three-hundred years. She was even rumored to have killed the Vice-Captain of the Hera Familia within their own bedchamber." Adding on to what Eirene was saying, Loki continued, "Most of the rumors say she is the secret trump card of the Noble faction but nobody has ever been able to verify the ims. Because she had never targeted anyrge Familia in the past, and reports of her exploits were unverified, the Smiling Reaper had gonergely unnoticed until now. Its only when she does big feats that the name goes back into cirction for a few months before vanishing once again. Its very likely that she works for one of the top three Noble houses and, given her presumed age, is either a Demigod or an Elf." Vahn immediately shook his head when he heard Lokis words, exining, "If she is a Demigod, it isnt a first-generation offspring. The aura doesnt possess the same quality as other Demigods Ive seen..." Vahn looked towards Syr while also recalling his encounters with Ottar and Ash in the past. Fortunately, he had a way to verify her race pretty easily so, after gesturing for silence and closing his eyes, Vahn began to alter the flow of energy within his body. She had restricted and condensed her aura, but Vahn had still been able to identify the womans elemental affinities and the structure of her mana. By emting it, while keeping his image as a male, Vahn would easily be able to discern her race by checking his status. In just under a minute, Vahn had finished his transformation while everyone present looked towards him with intrigued expressions. For Eirene, this was the first time she had actually watched Vahn transform, just like the eavesdropping Erika. When he had finished the transformation, Vahns skin became fair and his hair had taken on an onyx-ck hue with slightly pointed ears. Most notably, however, was the fact that the sclera of his eyes had turnedpletely ck while his pupils had taken on a pale golden hue. Even before Vahn confirmed it for them, a small figure popped up out of thin air with a curious look on her face as she grabbed and squished his cheeks with her tiny hands. With Doppel revealing herself, Erika came out of the crawlspace with abination of guilt and embarrassment on her face. However, instead of being upset with her, Hephaestus, Anubis, and Hestia just smiled while Loki and Syr chuckled lightly. The only person that seemed confused was Eirene but that didnt matter much since the thing everyone else was curious about was confirmed by Vahn a momentter. He grabbed Doppels tiny hands into his own while she made a happy Aaauu sound when he said, "It seems our opponent this time is a Doppelganger, though only a half-breed. In other words..." Piggybacking off os his words, Loki squinted her eyes and said, "She is a Xenos-Human hybrid..." (A/N: Oh, hi there...) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 15 Race: Half-Doppelganger, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level: 5(+) -Power: 3193+(I0)->(H108) -Endurance: 4536+(I0)->(H177) -Dexterity: 3839+(I0)->(D517) -Agility: 3561+(I0)->(F331) -Magic: 9291+(I0)->(C620) Total:24,421+(1,753) Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) [Karma]: 13,692->13,777 [OP]: 15,318,499->18,005,739 [Valis]: 3,901,832,592->4,882,545,901 Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:D], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth: B],[Bow Mastery:S], [Stealth:A], [Chainbreaker:S], [Heart of the Eternal me:SS], [Prometheus:A], [Call of the Reaper:A],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Featherfoot:S], [Hands of Nirvana:S], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:A], [Friend of Spirits:A], [Void Ward:E](new) Magic: [Thria*Mimos:A], [Shundo:S], [Koku Shundo:D->C], [Cantus Bex:S], [Mellodia Bex:B], [Vis Maxima:E], [Sagitta Magica:B], [Pactio:A->S], [Magia Erebea:SS] Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:S], [Well of Spirit:C], [Swordsman:A], [Master Smith:H], [Mixing:C], [Mentor:A], [Grooming:I->D], [Arch Mage:I] [Void Ward] Rank: E Use: Allows the user to create magic wards and send them across vast distances before activating their effects. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- In actuality, though sentient monsters were all ssified as Xenos, it wasnt the actual name of their race. Instead, it would detail the species of Xenos they were, meaning a Minotaur Xenos would simply bebeled as a Minotaur within the system. Since he had subjugated both Terra and Fatina in the past, both easily ssified as Xenos, Vahn had been able to confirm this through experience. Thus, even though it didnt specifically state she was a Xenos through the system, the woman would still be ssified as one by the worlds standards. Doppel seemed very fond of the fact that he was a Doppelganger now and, until Erika eventually pulled the giggling guardian away, she kept trying to shape and distort his face. Vahn was actually quite curious about what abilities he might possess in this form, especially since they didnt show up through the system, so he tried channeling his source energy through his face and hair. Loki had just been about to speak but, seeing the sudden changes in Vahn, remained silent as she watched his onyx-ck hair grow till the center of his back. It began moving around in an awkward manner like tendrils as Vahn blinked several times, almost as if he was very confused. The moment he started using his energy to try and activate the racial skills he should have, Vahn felt like all of his senses mixed together and it was a veryrge sensory overload. He could see through each fiber of hair while his face and body actually started to melt as a result of his inability to hold his form properly. It wasnt until he activated [Will of the Emperor] and reversed the changes that he was able to regain his senses. His quickly recovered his mental faculties before giving an awkward smile and saying, "I now have a much greater appreciation for how incredible Doppel is..." Vahn sent his nce towards the small Guardian, earning a happy auuwaaau as she squirmed about in Erikas arms. Vahn went on to exin what it was like to try and use his abilities, surprising everyone while both Loki and Erika looked at him with contemtive expressions. In truth, Vahn wasnt exactly sure how to exin what he had experienced because it was like each of his cells became their own entities. It was like he could see, hear, smell, and taste through all of his pores. He had no idea how Doppel, or the Smiling Reaper, were able to keep their wits about them when using their abilities. And, as he had said, this made him feel appreciation and understanding towards Doppel now. Though she could emte speech, it was very obvious she wasnt at the same level of intelligence and awareness as the other guardians. Vahn now knew it wasnt because she was actually simple, but because the amount of information she had to process was ridiculouspared to others. It had to be said that a body wasprised of trillions of cells and, if they actually all became sensory organs, it was enough to overload more other creatures brains... After he had returned to his normal appearance, Vahn sat with a slightly blushing Erika in hisp while Doppel yed around behind his back, pulling at his hair and face with curiosity and confusion. While this was going on, Vahn maintained a calm expression as he exined, "Now we understand why she has been able to evade detection for so long. If she can manipte her shape and form, it would be almost impossible to actually track her down. Fortunately, now that I know how the energy in her body is structure, she wouldnt be able to evade me next time. Still, as she seems to be around Level 6 in strength, we need to make sure nobody is wandering around the City alone. Ill try to scout around some of the Noble residences and see if I can pick up her trail in the next few days." Though the girls spent most of their time in the orb, they still went out to get some fresh air and explore the City on asion. While they had been speaking, Syr was inputting all the important details into thework so the girls would be able to reference itter. When she understood the conversation was beginning toe to an end, she even snapped the notebook shut with a happy smile before alighting from the room. Vahn could detect her going to the room where the orb was kept, likely to exin the situation to the girls directly so as to avoid any idents. With her departure, the tension in the conversation slowly started to rx as Loki smiled in a teasing manner, saying, "That should be enough for the time being. Ill also touch base with some of my contacts and see if they can discover something. For now, what Im most curious about is what my daughter is doing up past her bedtime~?" Erika hung her head while looking up into her Mothers eyes, uncertainty and hesitation shing across her green pupils. However, when her Papa hugged her in his gentle and warm embrace, Erika felt more at ease, exining, "Since Papa had beenteing home, I was worried something might have happened. I saw how Mother was acting and wanted to know what was going on...I thought I might be able to help...just a little..." All the while her daughter had been speaking, Loki watched her very carefully with her slightly parted eyes. It was somewhat strange, seeing the mother-daughter pair with their slit-like eyes having what could be misconstrued as a staring contest if you didnt understand the context. Seemingly satisfied by her daughters answer, Loki nodded her head with a smile and said, "Thats good then. If youre doing it for your Papa, I dont mind if you misbehave and break a few rules~." Loki actually wanted her daughter to be free of restraints and restrictions, at least once the young Vanir reached maturity. Though she sometimes lectured and teased her, she never truly prevented Erika from acting as she pleased. After all, with her daughters intelligence and the potential influence of her pseudo-divinity, Loki didnt want to hurt her development by interfering too much. As long as she didnt veer onto a dark path, Loki was actually happy that her daughter had disobeyed the rules a bit, especially since she did so out of concern for her family. Vahn also felt very warm when he heard Erikas words, even though Doppel was tugging at the loose skin below his right eye and making it awkward to show a normal expression. Since it seemed like a good opportunity, Vahn sent a nce towards Hephaestus, Hestia, and Anubis, almost as if he were seeking their permission. They all gave him gentle smiles in return so Vahn turned to the snickering Loki while hugging Erika as he said, "Its been a little while, so Papa will sleep in Erikas and her Mothers room tonight..." Erikas face became apple-red, especially after seeing the amused looks everyone was giving her, before mumbling, "As long as Papa doesnt try to make me wear those embarrassing clothes..." Loki began cackling without restraint while Hephaestus released a sigh,pletely understanding what Erika meant by embarrassing clothes. Vahn was a very doting father and, because he wanted his already adorable daughters to be even cuter, he always tried to get them to wear cute pajamas. Erika wasnt really a morning person so there was an event a few weeks ago where she had walked through the hallways in a ko outfit, causing the hearts of all the girls in the Manor to melt when they saw her. As for the culprit behind the incident, he was currently making a very dejected and hurt face after taking a critical impact from his daughters words. When she saw this, Erika felt very guilty and, after biting her bottom lip for a few seconds, eventually whispered, "Nnnuuu...fine then, but I wont wear them when I get older...!" Though she had whispered it quietly, everyone present heart Erikas words and sent her amused smiles with gentle expressions. This caused her already apple-red face to turn a deeper shade of crimson as Eirene, who had been standing patiently at the side, murmured, "I want one..." in a voice only she could hear. (A/N: I only took a short nap before pumping out this chapter. This will be thest one for today but I n to wake up early tomorrow and try to pump out around 18-20k words. Look forward to it (UwU)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Smiling Reaper...Ara~?,Doppel is secretly OP O_O!?,Eirene isnt satisfied with an arrogant horse, she wants something far more precious ( ? ?? ?)...)(A/N: Now you know why Doppel doesnt like to wear clothes. Imagine wearing a cloth over your eyes, nose, and mouth o3o~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 704 - Advice

Chapter 704 - Advice

Though he spent thergest portion of his time focusing on his children, Vahn never felt like it was enough. This was emphasized during moments like this, where his adorable little Erika was sleeping on his chest while wearing her equally adorable ko pajamas. Because she was hugging him, Vahn felt like it was a very suitable attire and it always warmed his heart to see her sleeping face. She was always so serious when she was awake so seeing Erikapletely rxed was very refreshing. The fact that she had a small smile on her face and was tightly holding on to him made Vahn wish moments like this couldst forever... Loki, who had been sleeping to his left, squeezed his arm a little tighter while slightly parting her eyes, quietly saying, "You know, if you skip breakfast, you can stay here for a good two hours longer~." Vahn, truthfully, didnt really require food any longer so Lokis words were very tempting to him. However, he had a habit of waking up early and always being avable around this time of day. Sleeping in almost felt wrong, especially since he would have used the time just to watch over the two red-headed beauties sleeping. Loki seemed to understand this as well, snickering quietly before tightly hugging his arm, almost as if she had made the decision for him. Vahn heard the silent *suuu* *suuu* sounds of her sleeping and, based off her aura and the state of her body, he knew she had actually gone back to sleep. With a small smile and a helpless expression on his face, Vahn gave up resisting and just brought up his right hand to gently stroke Erikas back. Though she was still asleep, Erika instinctually hugged him tighter as the smile on her face grew marginally. This made any doubts Vahn had about his decisionpletely fade away since that small smile made everything feel like it was worth it... After spending the morning in a quiet and casual manner, surrounded by the warmth of his family and children, Vahn finally headed towards the cafe. He feltpletely refreshed but also stayed on his guard while Fenrir, wearing a frilly white dress, followed behind him. However, though her dress was cute, it was the much thinneryer of midnight blue fur around her forearms and legs that would catch the attention of those that knew her. Though she still had paw pads at the tips of her fingers, the upper part of her palms, and only her toes and feet, Fenrir was looking decidedly more humanoid than before. She still had the problem of possessing ws, but it wasnt that obviouspared to the past and it was very apparent she was making progress in her transformations. Today, Fenrir was carrying a satchel-like purse along with her and her bushy tail had be marginally shorter, bouncing up and down as she walked along with a happy smile. If not for the fact that her ears would twitch asionally, the casual observer would believe she wasnt in an alert state. The truth of the matter was that Fenrir, much like her Master, had been working hard to control her facial expressions so that she wouldnt give away any obvious signs of her mental state. Fortunately, she had a lot of experience being willful and free-spirited, so it was very easy for her to act in such a manner as she hummed a happy tune at her Masters side. Just as he had done the previous day, Vahn used the room he had booked at the cafe to begin interviewing potential staff for the School. Fenrir sat at the side, changing into a gothic-style outfit as she silently sipped away at her tea while eating snacks. Whenever a new person would show up, she would give them a casual nce while many of the candidates looked at her with confusion and curiosity. Vahn actually found that her presence helped him weed out some candidates since, as a result of being able to read expressions and auras, Vahn could tell if some of the people interviewing had dangerous tendencies. Fenrir, though around seventeen years old, had a petite and adorable appearance, especially when she was wearing clothing to emphasize these traits. Most people would have a positive impression of her at first nce, as she really was quite adorable, but there were a few that had other thoughts. One such example was a man who hade in, not part of the original roster, who gave Fenrir an appraising nce and amiable smile. However, Vahn could see his aura gravitate towards her as it took on a sickly pink hue while a very subtle light shed over his eyes. Before he was even able to sit down, Vahn held up his hand and said, "You can leave." Though it looked like he had wanted to make a case for himself, the man found his words got stuck in his throat when he saw the cold and icy look in Vahns eyes, almost as if he was daring the man to test his patience... When the man retreated, much faster than when he came in, Fenrir snorted through her button-like nose and said, "People that pretend to be good on the surface while hiding their true intentions are despicable..." Vahn nodded in agreement while feeling a strange incongruity in Fenrirs words, as he still wasnt quite adapted to the change in her behavior over thest couple of weeks. Though she still had moments where she acted in a cute manner, it wasnt nearly as prevalent as before. Most of her selfish behaviors from the past had ceased in their entirety and, much like many of the other girls these days, she didnt even sit in hisp unless he offered... It was fortunate that most individuals, with simr tendencies as the man, were people that hadnt been vetted previously, meaning Vahn didnt have to deal with too many of them. After all, though he did make time for anyone that wanted to interview, the priority were those who had been asked toe by. Almost every person on his list, at least after Loki modified it, seemed to be properly suited for employment at the School. It helped that, as the benefits they were offering could make even some moderately sessful Adventurers rethink their career choices, most of the people that showed up were more than happy to begin working at the School. Not only was the pay much more than they expected, it was a stable job that also gave them ties to the Alliance and insurance in the event that anything went wrong. Vahn wanted to make sure all of the workers were satisfied with the benefits they received, as it would help to ensure they treated their work very seriously and looked after the children properly. Doing well would reward them greatly and pave the way towards both financial gain and job security. As for those that failed to meet expectations, there would be personnel evaluations every six months to rece problematic staff. Vahn wanted to make sure there was never any staff that were proactively trying to exploit the children so he would personally be looking for any changes in how the treated and interacted with the students. If he got so much as a whiff of exploitation, or anything even remotely worse, Vahn would rain down very swift and decisive justice on them. This was clearlyid out in their contracts and, if anyone wanted to be a permanant staff in the future, they would have to take very strict vows that would be in effect until their contracts expire... With noon approaching, Vahn got to see one of the people he had been looking forward to interviewing. In truth, she didnt actually have toe by and interview with him directly but, as she wanted to take on a different position than what was previously offered, Renka had taken the initiative to stop by. However, based on the slight glimmer in her tiger-like eyes, Vahn expected she had some selfish motives for stopping by. She approached the table with quick and decisive steps before bowing in a very polite and respectful manner while saying, "I hope my presence isnt an inconvenience for you, Master." Fenrirs ears twitched when she heard Renkas words and she began training her scarlet eyes on the unknown Weretiger woman. Sensing the gaze, as a result of her instincts warning her of impending danger. Renkas tail and ears twitched as she immediately adopted a defensive posture. The tension in the air increased greatly until Vahnughed, gesturing for both girls to calm down. Fenrirs hair slowly lost its edge as she picked up a nearby cracker and crunched it somewhat violently with her sharp canines. Renka continued to remain on guard but, after sensing Vahns eyes upon her, did her best to ignore Fenrir as she sat down in front of him. Still obviously unnerved by Fenrir, Renka awkwardly moved her fingers through her ashen-grey hair as she adopted a practiced smile and said, "I was grateful when Terpsichore-sama informed us that we had the opportunity to work at the School youre opening, especially since the pay and benefits are very enticing. However, I dont think my dance is suitable to teach to children and Im not really proficient with any instruments. If possible, I wanted to try and get a position as abat instructor or join the security detail protecting the School..." Though she didnt say it, Renka actually wanted to pitch the idea about her joining the Hestia Familia as well. However, after getting spooked by Fenrir, Renka had lost her confidence and was afraid she would be shot down the moment she brought it up. Vahn put on a thoughtful expression, stroking his chin slightly as he contemted Renkas words. She was more than qualified for the positions she was volunteering for but Vahn also knew she deserved an opportunity for further growth. He always felt partial to her, as a result of her exotic appearance and tragic background, so Vahn was tempted to help elevate her to a higher position than normal. There was also the fact that, though she seemed to be interested in him, Renka showed a strong sense of propriety and was very respectful during the times they had interacted with each other in the past. After collecting his thoughts, Vahn gave an encouraging smile towards Renka as he said, "Youre very young and have highbat proficiencies, making you very suited to the positions youre applying for. However, it almost feels unfair to have you squander your talents in a position where your future growth would be limited. How about I have you work as the assistant of the Department Head, Tsubaki? She might not be as skilled as a god like Takemikazuchi, but I believe the two of you would get along well. Youll also be charged with teaching the children survival skills and helping watch over their basic training..." Since she had lost herpanions in the past, Vahn felt Renka would be suited to a position where she was directly involved with ensuring that the children were taught how to increase their chances of survival. Though she might suffer an emotional burden when some of her graduates inevitably die, much like how Rose had be somewhat jaded, Vahn believed Renka was a strong enough girl to bear the burden. After all, there would undoubtedly be people that felt gratitude towards her as a result of the teachings she imparted them. Tsubaki would also be able to look after her and, as Sakuya would one day begin her own training, Vahn believed Renka would be a good influence on his daughter. It wasnt exactly what she wanted but Renka was still happy that Vahn showed such consideration towards her. The most important thing to her right now was simply securing a position outside of the Clubhouse while not having to outright abandon the Terpsichore Familia. This would allow her to potentially approach and befriend Vahn in the future and, as she would now be the assistant of one of the girls closest to him, Renka believed fortune may favor her in the future. She didnt particrly have any expectations towards Vahn himself, it was just that she felt he was a suitable Master to dedicate her spear and life to. Her mission in life was to save as many people as she could and, seeing how much change Vahn was bringing to the world, Renka wanted to help him as much as she was able. Even before she agreed, Vahn noticed that Renkas tiny tiger-like ears were wobbling slightly while periodically twitching happily. This made the smile on his face soften slightly before she happily eximed, "Thank you for your consideration, Master! Ill do my best to meet your expecations~!" Vahn released a light chuckle before standing up and shaking Renkas hand, saying, "Wee aboard, Renka. Im certain you will have numerous aplishments to your name in the future. Please take care of the children properly and impart unto them the wisdom and expertise you have .u.mted over the few years you had been active as an Adventurer." Renka nodded her head with a resolute glow in her pale-amethyst eyes. //Renka Silverw: Affection 50+44(Respect), Intrigue 50+29(Curious)// Vahn was surprised by the system notification but it didnt show on his face as he escorted Renka to the door and saw her off. Their handshake had actually been the first contact between them so Vahn was somewhat surprised that Renkas Affection was already at 94. The fact that the bracket parameter was Respect, however, made Vahns impression of her increase even more since she wasnt just another girl that had fallen for him. Though there was an obvious desire belying some of her actions, it didnt seem like Renkas reason was simply her pursuit of him. After seeing off Renka, Vahn returned to his seat as Fenrir murmured in a husky tone, "That girl is a lot like us. She would make a good subordinate for Master..." Vahn experienced a momentary pause in his thought process before giving Fenrir a curious look. As if understanding his question, Fenrir exined, "Master needs more people that will follow his orders and never betray him. Many of the girls in the Manor dont have the right mentality to truly stay at Masters side forever. That girl seems like the type to dedicate themselves to the things they believe in, a lot like Lefiya..." As she was speaking, Fenrir noticed the reaction on her Masters face and decided to add, "She also seems like the type that could be good friends with Master. There are already a lot of girls around Master but only a few of them can be considered friends. Master needs more people he can interact with without dependence on emotions like love and affection..." Vahn had started topse into thoughts about the impending problems he would have to face in the future, especially after a few decades had passed. However, hearing the second half of Fenrirs words, Vahn snapped back to the present and asked, "You think I need more friends...?" Fenrir unhesitantly nodded her head, exining, "Yes. Most of Masters rtionsh.i.p.s are too heavy. There arent enough people in Masters life where you can just cut loose and rx, especially now that you have children to take care of. After all, Master hasnt gone to the Clubhouse other than to drop off supplies and I dont think youve gone to visit that red-headed man in a long time..." Hearing Fenrirs words, Vahn was surprised to realize he hadnt even been thinking about maintaining his friendly rtionsh.i.p.s with other peopletely. He had also stopped making his rounds to the primary Familia making up the Alliance, meaning he hadnt even seen Ouka and Chigusa in nearly six months. As for Welf, it had been a little over four months, as Vahn had simply never made time for the boy that was supposed to be his friend. He had seen him at the Clubhouse on asion but, as Fenrir had said, Vahn left after talking with Sebas and replenishing the supplies. It was because his rxation time had now been almost entirely dedicated to his daughters and, as they were so important to him, Vahn had stopped paying attention to less important things... Thinking until this point, Vahn realized he also hadnt truly followed up on his promise with Rufina and, after dropping her off at the Ganesha Familia, he hadnt even seen her again. Now that he thought about it, Vahn felt like he had just thrown her to the Ganesha Familia and stopped considering her matters seriously, even though he had made a promise to investigate her past. However, other than mentioning it to Loki, he hadnt really done anything to follow-up on the matter at all. Since her current lifestyle was a result of his meddling, Vahn had an obligation towards the girl that he hadnt treated with the seriousness she deserved. Releasing a sigh, Vahn looked to Fenrir and said, "I think I see what you mean. It just feels like there isnt enough time in my life to split between what I need to do, and what I want to do. Even with the orb, which was supposed to give me more time to spend with everyone, Ive been staying in the real world more often since I want to watch over my children. It looks like I need to change my perspective a bit in the future..." Vahn knew friends and colleagues were important if he wanted to achieve true bnce in his life. If all his emotional connections were with his family, lovers, and children, he wouldnt truly be a stable existence. In time, he would probably be even more defensive of them since his overexposure to the people he cared about would make him equally overprotective... Now that he had Fenrirs advice as a guide, Vahn was starting to wonder if it would be better to move the children into the orbs as well, spending most of his time inside so he could bnce his lifestyle more easily. Yes, this would mean they grow up faster, but that wasnt necessarily a bad thing since he would have spent a very simr amount of time with them. After all, there werent any real downsides to them being able to mature faster in preparation for the real world. The only problem is, this would give him even less time within the real world and it would be difficult to bnce his rtionsh.i.p.s with the goddesses who were unable to enter the orbs. He would essentially be creating his own private world to spend time with his family, bing increasingly detached from the troublesome matters he had to deal with in reality... While he was thinking, a knock came at the door that sounded the arrival of the next person seeking an interview. Vahn called for them to enter and began discussing the job specifics with the new arrival while his sub-process mind was discussing the matter with Sis. Her advice was actually something he hadnt quite expected, as it contradicted his past intentions somewhat. In a calm and guiding voice, she exined, (*Using something like shadow clones may not be the solution youre looking for, but there are other techniques at your disposal if youre stuck between the real world and your time in the orb. Though its not as developed as Emiru and Maemi, youve always had a means of linking together with other instances of yourself, even to the point that you were able to bond with your memory fragment when you first met.*) Though he was certain he didnt try to pull up the memories, visions of the time he had spent in Preasias dreamscape and his first interaction with his memory fragment passed through his mind. This was obviously Sis showing him the evidence of her im as she said, (*It might be a serious mental strain, but you can consider trying to make an avatar for yourself and split your body and mind into two. You already have the ability to think simultaneous thoughts and, with the support of your Innates, the mental strain shouldnt be intolerable. The only downside is that you might have trouble doingplex actions while controlling two bodies simultaneously.*) The solution Sis was proposing meant that Vahn wouldnt simply be using a clone to take care of matters he couldnt deal with personally, as both versions of himself would be intrinsically the same person. He would need to control both sets of limbs, think each thought, breath each breath, and make each decision for both of himself. It was almost impossible to imagine theplexity of such a thing but, after experiencing what it was like to be a Doppelganger, Vahn didnt think it was actually that difficult. If he mastered the ability, he would even be able to fight against his opponents with two versions of himself, each equally as strong as the other and having wless teamwork between themselves... While he was thinking about this, Vahn also wrapped up his other interview and shook hands with the person before asking them to send in the next interviewee. The fact he was able to carry on a conversation while seriously thinking about something else showed he already had a basic proficiency in splitting his thoughts. The only thing is, instead of just controlling a single body, he would be piloting two in the future. Even so, he still had some inhibitions about it because it almost felt like he was cheating circ.u.mstances as a result of being incapable of managing things himself. Though they would both be him, Vahn felt like it would actually be harmful since he might never truly be able to focus on two different things at once. Since he would constantly be split, with one of his halves in a world where time moved much faster, Vahn could already anticipate several issues. Ultimately, Vahn decided to bring up the matter with the girls and, even if he never truly intended to rely on the ability, he would at least learn how to use it. After all, if there was ever a moment when he needed to be in two ces at once, it was better to have that ability than regret having passed up on increasing his capabilities. One of the things he had learned from Tsubaki in what now seemed like the distant past was, Its better to have and not need, than need and not have. If you have the ability to increase your knowledge and capabilities, you owe it to yourself and the people you care about to expand upon your existing foundation. Thus, after following Siss advice, Vahn purchased a technique manual from the system shop called [Avatar Creation] for 5,000,000OP... -------------------------------------------------------------- [Avatar Creation] Rank: S (Heaven-Grade Support Technique) Use: Details the requirements to create an Avatar that allows the user to split their soul into two halves so they can control two bodies simultaneously. When either body is destroyed, the remnant half of their soul will always return to the surviving half, thus allowing the user to once again create an Avatar. This technique had been created by a spirit-practitioner who feared the mortality of their body and wanted toe up with a way to live forever. By using precious resources to construct a body with higher potential, they managed to greatly extend their lifespan and slowly climb the ranks within their record. Unfortunately, as a result of a heart demon, developed from experiencing multiple deaths, the creator of this ability never managed to reach the pinnacle of power. Ultimately, this ability became a secondary support technique that was passed down through his descendants who tried to carry on the will of their master and obtain true immortality. -------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrirs Fearsome Gaze,Realization,Cultivation slowly sneaking its way into the Novel (o,...,o)...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 705 - Stake Out

Chapter 705 - Stake Out

Though he hadnt actually expected the Smiling Reaper to show up, Vahn was somewhat disappointed that the day hade to an end uneventfully. At this point, he had screened the majority of potential teachers and staff, filling far more roles than he initially expected. Excluding the Department Heads, Vahn had initially only nned on 108 positions but, after meeting with several interesting people, he had already increased this number to 153. Most of the additional hires were mothers and widowed women that either made a good impression on him or simply needed a little help getting their lives back on track. Vahn figured giving the widowed women a stable ie, while also allowing their children to attend the School, would be very beneficial for everyone involved. After leaving the cafe, Vahn and Fenrir took to the sky and quickly made their way across the City at a very high speed. Their destination was the various Manors and territories managed by the Noble factions. Vahn and Fenrir would just be making a quick pass over the properties to see if he could pick up anything before making their way back to the Hearth Manor. It wasnt very likely that they would find the Smiling Reaper using this method, but there was still a chance. Vahn didnt really want to have to visit the nobles himself to try and track her down so this was the only method avable to him without directly trying to deal with the troublesome group of people. If Lokis intuition was correct, the Smiling Reaper was likely working for one of the top three Noble houses, which made sense as anyone possessing such a powerful subordinate wasnt likely to hold a lesser position. Even if they had a lot of influence, Noble families would be hard-pressed buying the loyalty of any Adventurer over Level 3. It might be possible if their Familia had disbanded, but most people that got above that Level threshold typically retired and continued to help their Familia prosper. After fighting alongside theirpanions for what could potentially be several decades, most people werent willing to be the dogs of the Nobles, as it would generally ruin any reputation they might have had. Though there would certainly be exceptions, it wouldnt be enough to make a difference when the other party had someone above Level 6. With the various schemes and infighting between the Nobles houses, the Smiling Reaper would have undoubtedlye into y at some point. This meant that she was almost exclusively restricted to the more sessful houses since their power and influence would actually be necessary to keep someone as powerful as her a secret. The Nobles had a lot of sway when it came to spreading information and had veryrgeworks to control the various rumors that circted through the City. With enough time, any powerful family would be able to cover up the Smiling Reapers exploits, turning her into the urban legend most believed her to be. As they were the most likely culprits, Vahn and Fenrir first arrived on the periphery of the McKeh family properties. When he saw the massive size of the Manor and the surrounding property, Vahn understood that his own extravagance wasnt nearly as excessive as he had believed. The McKeh family estate had enough space to fit several Hearth Manors on its property and seemed capable of housing several thousand people with room to spare. Knowing that the family itself only consisted of several tens of people, Vahn felt that, other than to disy their status, such a massive estate served no actual purpose. It just made things unnecessarily more difficult to defend and maintain, requiring several hundred staff and maintenance workers just to keep things looking adequately extravagant. Shaking his head, Vahnpressed his domain until there was a denseyer of air that had beenpressed around them. He then created several golden wards in thin air before rooting them along the inner membrane of his domain. After a few seconds had passed, the wards became transparent while the outer membrane of air slowly faded away from the view of any observers. Vahn and Fenrir could easily see outside but, anyone looking at them from outside the bubble he had created would only see empty space. Unless they had a way to probe into the bubble directly, they wouldnt even be able to detect Vahn and Fenrir with high-end detection formations. Once his preparations were finished, Vahn and Fenrir floated over the McKeh Manor as he inspected the insides with his [Eyes of Truth]. Vahns ability to sense affection allowed him to see the auras of people, but it was his [Eyes of Truth] that allowed him to see their physical, mana, and spiritual bodies. If he wanted to find the Smiling Reaper, he needed to see her directly so he could differentiate her aura from other people. Unfortunately, this ability was somewhat invasive and, anyone with adequately enhanced perception would be able to detect his visual probe. Vahn had experienced this with Eva, most of the gods he had met, and Rufina, formerly Revis. He assumed the Smiling Reaper would be yet another such individual and, though he couldnt be certain, this may have been the reason she had known about his disguise. Vahn scanned over every room of the 6 floor Manor, focusing on every sign of life he had detected within his vision. There were a few areas where he couldnt probe, protected by powerful barriers that were of simr quality to the one located in his Guest Residence, but Vahn assumed most of them were just safehouses and vaults. Eventually, after inspecting some of the servants quarters, Vahn started to find rooms that were far morevish than others. His eyes passed over an area where a single presence was located and, after seeing who was inside, he quickly averted his eyes to continue searching. Though he didnt possess the [Luck] Development Ability, Vahn noticed he had a knack for experiencing and seeing things that he shouldnt have. If he had the opportunity, Vahn made a mental note to apologize to Allisandra in the future in some manner... After inadvertently catching sight of the young noblewoman changing, Vahn finally found a room near the very center of the Manor that seemed to be what he was looking for. There were powerful formations to prevent spying but it wasnt nearly as secure as some areas. He had to strain his eyes a bit, but Vahn managed to peer through the barriers as he saw a middle-aged man with dark purple hair and simrlyvender eyes as Allisandra. Though they had never met before, Vahn felt like this man had a true air of nobility surrounding him and he could guess it was either Allisandras father, Marcus Vale McKeh, or one of her uncles. However, given the location of the study, Vahn assumed it was the former since it wouldnt have made much sense for someone other than the owner of the residence to be within the central study. Within the room, Vahn could see four maids present while an elderly butler was attending the man he assumed to be Marcus. As he couldnt hear what they were talking about, Vahn decided to do a little bit of spying since he had the opportunity. Using his domain as a medium, Vahn carefully carved a ward on the underside of the mans chair while creating a duplicate ward next to his own ear. This allowed him to transmit sounds over short distances, depending on the amount of energy used to establish the signal. With the number of barriers surrounding the room, Vahn had to muster up a fair amount of his own energy but assumed it would be worth it... Unfortunately, after spying on the man for nearly an hour, Vahn didnt learn anything about the Smiling Reaper and just heard the man, who he confirmed to be Marcus,ining about his children. Vahn felt a little guilty for spying on the man and eventually broke the connection to go inspect the next estate. It made him ufortable to hear a father talking about his children in such a way since Vahn couldnt imagine ever doing the same. He knew his parenting methods werent exactly normal, but Vahn felt that his interactions with his children were much preferred over the normal methods. He couldnt understand how parents took secondary roles in raising their children and found faults in their actions, even though they didnt do anything to prevent things from getting out of hand. Marcus seemed to have a lot ofints about his children but, as far as Vahn could tell, most of the things he wasining about could have been circ.u.mvented if Marcus took action and properly guided his children... After leaving the territory of the McKeh family, Vahnnded on the roof of a nearby restaurant and decided to take a break while he replenished his energy reserves. Patting hisp, Fenrir happily moved over and sat down as her transformation slowly broke, ensuring she was adequately fluffy for him. Vahn even felt that her hair had be softer than normal so he asked in an amused tone, "Are you trying to make yourself more pettable~?" Fenrirughed lightly while pulling up her legs into hisp and letting her tail poke out through the front. She curled it up toward him and said, "Try touching my tail, Master~." Reaching out his hand, Vahn touched the white tuft at the end of Fenrirs tail, surprised by how soft it had bepared to the past. Fenrir always had somewhat bristly fur and, while it was still pleasant to pet, it sometimes poked you if you went against the natural flow of the fur. Now, however, her hair was almost as soft as Haruhimes though, as soon as he had this thought, Fenrir released a silent Kuu... Vahn chuckled lightly before hugging her body close to his and saying, "I dont mind if you want to have a small rivalry with Haruhime, but never think its important to me topare the two of you. She might have a softer tail, at least for now, but you should know that I spent much more time petting you than brushing through her hair and fur..." Fenrirsrge fluffy ears perked up, amusing Vahn because they framed his face and tickled him a little since he had been leaning down slightly. However, when she suddenly said, "Master should actually spend a little more time with Haruhime. She has been behaving herself ever since the children have been born, but I can tell she has been a little lonely. Im sure everyone would enjoy having some time to be pampered by you, Master..." In the past, her Master had always groomed,bed, and pet everyone whenever he had a chance. Now, however, this habit wasnt nearly as prominent as before and, much like they had stopped fighting over hisp, many of the girls stopped approaching him to proactively receive pampering. Vahn remembered the previous incident with Shizune and how awkward her behavior had been when she climbed into hisp. If the other girls were going through something simr, essentially refusing to fight for his attention now that the children had been born, Vahn might have to be more proactive in his own approach. Just like he needed to maintain his social circles better, Vahn needed to make sure none of the girls were troubling themselves by holding back on his ount. Yes, he loved his daughters very dearly, but Vahn didnt want the other people he loved to make sacrifices for his own happiness. After all, they had all agreed to work together and share each others happiness, not just focus on making him happy from the shadows... It only took him around ten minutes to replenish his reserves, but Vahn spent nearly a half hour just cuddling up with the extra fluffy Fenrir. Since it had been a good opportunity, Vahn brought out her favorite brush andbed through her hair, the fur around her arms and legs, and finishing off by tracing his fingers and brush through her fluffy and soft tail. Since she had been straddling his h.i.p.s for the final segment, staring up into his face with herrge scarlet eyes, Vahn had found the experience both pleasant and stimting. In the end, he gave her a kiss on the lips and, though it was very dangerous, gently probed the inside of her mouth while tracing his tongue across her surprisingly smooth teeth. Fenrir, feeling her Masters tongue sneak its way through her lips, kept her teeth very tightly closed while enjoying the fluttery feeling in her stomach. After their affection session came to an end, Vahn and Fenrir went to investigate the other two priority targets to see if they could find any traces of the Smiling Reaper. Unfortunately, by the time the sun started its downward descent on the horizon, they hadnt found any traces whatsoever. Not wanting to miss dinner time, Vahn eventually gave up for the day and returned to the Hearth Manor. He still needed to talk to the girls about potentially splitting his body into two parts and, as everyone should be gathered for dinner time, it was a good opportunity to bring it up. At the very least, even if he didnt use his Avatar to interact with the girls, he could use it outside the Manor to gather information and potentially act as his proxy at the School. With their mastery over [Koku Shundo], it didnt take long for Vahn and Fenrir to arrive at the Manor and, as he had hoped, most of the girls were outside of the orb and eating dinner. Even before he entered the residence, Vahn had a happy smile on his face since it was always better when everyone was together. As for those that were missing, he assumed they had either needed to rest after training hard or wanted to finish polishing up on something they had been working on. Mikoto had a habit of exhausting herself on asion and, from the moment she moved into the orb, Nanu had been training her fluffy little butt off to be a more capable warrior and cksmith. Even though he wasing in through the back entrance, Hestia had still left the dining room toe and intercept him at the door. Unless she was busy with something, she had always tried to be there every time he returned home, all so that she could greet him and say those magical words that always brought a smile to his face. This time was much the same as Hestia bounded over to him with a lovely smile on her face and gave him a tight hug, pressing her inexplicably soft b.r.e.a.s.ts into his stomach while saying, "Wee home, Vahn~." Vahn stroked her silky ck hair, running his fingers along its length while saying, "Im home..." in a soft tone of voice. Not long after their embrace had started, a pitter-patter of footsteps could be heard from the hallway as Ina came running over with a happy smile on her face. Hestia moved to the side, yet another example showing Vahn that the girls were making way for the children, as Ina jumped forward into his open arms. Much like Hestia, she gave him as firm a hug as she could manage while happily shouting, "Wee home, Papa~! Youre just in time for dinner. Can I sit in yourp tonight?" Vahn stood up, carrying Ina along with him as heughed lightly and said, "Sure, that sounds like it could be fun. However, youll have to eat plenty of vegetables withoutining..." Ina put on an expression as if she had just been informed that the sky was falling but eventually nodded her head and said, "As long as Papa is feeding me, I feel that it will taste better than normal..." This caused Vahn tough even louder while Hestia and Fenrir followed along behind him, both showing small smiles on their faces. Vahn felt they were very understanding and reaffirmed his desire to try and allocate his time better in the future. If necessary, he could just arrange things so that he could spend time with both the girls and his children at the same time. Though it wouldnt be nearly as intimate as it could be, there were far more ways of sharing affection than just simply indulgence... For the rest of the evening, Vahn took turns between feeding Ina and Vana while Erika sat on the opposite side of Loki and sent him periodic nces through her slightly parted eyes. He also discussed his [Avatar Creation] ability, surprising everyone present with how ridiculous such an ability seemed. However, considering who was speaking, it wasnt actually that surprising and he got permission to move forward with his n of creating a second body. Once he was finished, they would then evaluate if it is a viable alternative and, even if he wouldnt be able to perfectly split his focus between them, it could still be very useful. After all, there was a possibility that, if he truly managed to master such an ability, Vahns efficiency would more than double if he worked alongside himself to aplish his goals. Of course, the most important thing was that, if things didnt work out as expected, it was possible to absorb the Avatar back into the body and reunite the two halves of the soul again. The only person who had any inhibitions about it from the very beginning was, surprisingly, Anubis. As a Goddess of Death, she had a very strong affinity towards souls and didnt think it was a good idea to split one into two parts. Since the reason she had been drawn to Vahn in the past was because of his unique soul, she was more than a little worried something would go wrong. However, as Sis had exined that his soul was indestructible and couldnt be influenced by external forces, Vahn assured her it would be okay. Thus, as a result of her fierce loyalty and the assurance he had given her, Anubis eventually took a step back and decided to trust in her Master... Once dinner hade to an end, most of the girls moved back into the orb and, as he had stayed with Loki and Erika the previous night, Vahn was going to spend the night with Hephaestus, Ina, and Vana tonight. One of the things they had discussed was how he should be allocating his time between the real world and the orb in the future and it was ultimately decided he would spend at least two nights in the week sleeping in the real world with the various mother-daughter pairs. The rest of his nights would be spent in the orb and, as far as having the children enter the orbs was concerned, that matter was set aside until his experiments with the Avatar were finished. After they had moved over to Hephaestus room, Vahn helped Ina and Vana wear their pajamas, giving Vana her favorite frog onesie while Ina dressed up like a small vani-colored bunny rabbit. There was even arge tuft of a tail on the backside and, as he felt itpleted the ensemble, Vahn had given her arge carrot-shaped pillow. Unfortunately, she seemed less inclined to care about the carrot-pillow and preferred to snuggle up with him instead. Thus, afterying next to his beautiful wife, Vahn let Ina snuggle up next to him while Vana nestled into Hephaestus embrace. Vahn and Hephaestus were facing each other while the two girls slept between them, able to see the love and affection in each others eyes while embracing their daughters as if shielding them from the rest of the world... (A/N: It had been asked a few times so, if youre curious about the temte for the girls when they grow up, Vana looks a lot like Soleil from Fire Emblem, Ina is simr to Winry from FMA(though only marginally), and Erika is very simr to her mother but wears her hair differently) (A/N: Alternate Titles: How...Uneventful...?,Fenrirs Sagely Advice,Can anyone else imagine Vana still wearing animal jammies when she grows up? I can~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 706 - Fission

Chapter 706 - Fission

After enjoying a peaceful night with Hephaestus and their two daughters, Ina and Vana, Vahn helped the two girls wash up for breakfast before heading into the room containing the Sub-Space orb. Now that he had discussed it with the girls, Vahn wanted to go through the process of creating his Avatar as soon as possible. He had no way of knowing how long it would take to master controlling two bodies so it was better to get started sooner, rather thanter. Since he also wanted to spend some quality time with the girls that had been spending most of their time within the orb, Vahn felt this was a good opportunity. After all, girls like Ais, Tiona, Tione, Haruhime, Mikoto, Preasia, Lili, and Naaza had been making use of the orb almost since it had been created. This meant it had already been more than a month for them inside the orb, even though only a few days had passed in reality. Entering into the orb, Vahn noticed that most of the basic construction had already finished, primarily as a result of Terras efforts, and there was now arge residence with areas for sleeping, rxation, and relief. It was decided that everyone having their own room was somewhat unnecessary, at least for the time being, so there were a fewrge areas with futons where anyone could sleep. There was also a forge set up on the northern periphery of the residence while a mock training ground had been established on the western side. However, because of the unique qualities of the orb, most of the girls had been training in the first region ofpressed space. It helped to temper their bodies and, after training for more than a month, many of the girls had started to adapt to the pressure. It didnt take long for someone to notice his arrival in the orb as Lili happened to be walking out of the bathing area with nothing but a towel wrapped around her shoulders with a pair of light pink panties covering her bottom. Her hair was still damp and, seeing him suddenly show up, Lili was slightly startled before blushing as she reminded, "Fourteen more days..." Both his primary and secondary processes came to a halt momentarily as Vahn produced a somewhat awkward smile, nodding for a brief moment before asking, "Why are you walking around in just your underwear...?" Lili, looking down at her body, didnt seem to mind the fact she wasnt properly dressed and even removed the towel from her shoulders as she exined, "I was fighting against Naaza and ended up getting my clothes super dirty. Since I didnt feel like going outside to grab a change of clothing, I gave them to Naaza to wash since she has been helping do everyonesundry." As Lili was speaking, Vahn briefly eyed her ratherrge b.r.e.a.s.ts before pulling out a set of clothing from his inventory and handing them over to her. Lili hadnt missed his perusing nce so she put her hands behind her body and wiggled her shoulders, causing the two pert mounds to jiggle beforeunching as she epted the clothes with a quick, "Thanks~." Vahn released a small sigh as he watched Lili run back into the changing room to get dressed. Her constant reminders of theing day had caused him to think about the uing event and he had been somewhat too aware of her presence whenever she was around. In truth, though she was very small and petite, Lilis secondary s.e.x.u.a.l characteristics had developed properly. Even as a Pallum, her b.r.e.a.s.ts would be close to arge B-Cup if they were scaled up to one of the races with greater physical stature. Still, Vahn couldnt help but worry about what it would be like when they were actually together. It was somewhat fortunate that Naaza would be there as well, allowing some of the tensions to drain away since he was certain she would support both of them when the time came... Since he was intending to get some work done, Vahn made his way to the workshop where not a sound could be heard until you were within 20m of the entrance. Though the structure itself hadnt been made with soundproofing capabilities, there was a single ward at the center of the building that caused the sound to decay much faster than normal. Vahn could hear the characteristic nging of a hammer striking against metal so he knew that Nanu must have been hard at work. Thus, he wasnt surprised at all when he walked in and saw the olive-skinned Chienthrope wearing a ck sports bra while hammering a piece of metal into shape. She was covered in soot and sweat and, as a result of her focus, didnt sense himing in at all. It was a good opportunity, so Vahn kept his presence hidden and just watched Nanu for a bit to see how much progress she had made. She had apprenticed to both himself and Tsubaki in the past so, even though her skills werent prodigious, Nanu was still a capable smith in her own rights. It would probably take her a few years to reach the level where she could build up a reputation, but that was only if she was left to continue training on her own. Since she was his actual apprentice, Vahn intended to help her out more in the future and, if she was bent on bing one, he would help her reach the level of [Master Smith] in time. After beating on the piece of marred white metal for nearly twenty minutes, Nanu released a tired sigh and wiped her brows. She smeared even more soot onto her face before lifting the ck forging goggled from her eyes and closely inspecting her work. Vahn smiled when he saw her reverse-roon face since the area around her eyes was stillpletely clear of soot. The goggles had protected them so she now had an outline where they had been resting, making the adorable and hardworking Chienthrope girl even more amusing to behold. Finished inspecting her work, Nanu released a small huff of dissatisfaction before putting the metal into a bucket of chemical solution so she could rework itter. The metal she had been working with was Adamantine, something that was a bit beyond her current skills, and there were quite a few impurities remaining in the ingot she had produced. Making a piece of equipment with that ingot would have caused it to be very brittle so she needed to reheat and refine it several more times before moving on to the actual forging process. Unfortunately, from what Vahn could tell, this would leave her with only around 13% of the original metal by the time she was finished... After cleaning up a bit, Nanu turned around to go wash up and finally noticed his presence, producing a very surprised yelp before her tail began beating happily from side to side. Though she was still very dirty, Nanu bolted over as if her previous exhaustion was an illusion and tightly hugged his waist as she eximed, "Master, Im so happy to see you~!" Judging by how her aura had red up like a torch, with her tail practically spinning like a propeller, Vahn had no doubt she was very excited. He began stroking her hair and ears with his hands and said, "Youve been working hard, Nanu. Im proud of you..." Nanu became giddy as a result of the praise but, after a few seconds had passed, seemed to realize he had likely been watching her shameless disy of skill. In an instant, Nanus appearance became dejected as her ears and tail drooped pitifully. She rested her forehead against his diaphragm and muttered, "Thank you for your praise, Master, but I am unworthy of such kind words..." Vahn, however, tilted up her chin to see her wavering rose-colored eyes as he asked, "Is it not the privilege of the Master to give praise as they see fit...? Even if your skills arent the best, just working hard like this shows that you have great promise. It makes me happy to see how dedicated you are to your craft...am I not allowed to be happy?" It was a little unfair to her, but Vahn knew Nanus mentality was still shaped by how she had been raised. Less than a year had passed since change had been introduced into her life and it would likely take a while longer before she behaved normally around everyone else. Hearing her Masters words, Nanu began to fidget as she quickly eximed, "No! Master isnt wrong! Im the one who-" Vahn squinted his eyes slightly, causing Nanu to swallow her excuse and fall silent for several seconds. During this entire exchange, he had continued to stroke her hair and, now that she had fallen silent, Vahn began to y with Nanus fluffy ears as he repeated, "Youve been working hard, Nanu. Im proud of you..." This time, Nanu took a deep breath through her nose before burying her face into his chest once again and muttering, "Thank you, Master..." in a subdued tone. She tightly squeezed him in her embrace and, as he was still petting her, began sniffing his scent as the speed of her tail slowly elerated until it was wagging at amendable 3 WPS. After properly fluffing up Nanu, Vahn used cleaning magic to remove all the grime from both of their bodies, leaving her olive-brown skin shimmering slightly in the low light of the workshop. Nanu was very fascinated by his use of magic but, as a result of her upbringing, struggled in her own magical studies. She had difficulty with mastering a singlenguage, much less several, so it wasnt likely that she would ever be a proficient Mage. This didnt mean she wouldnt be able to use magic at all, but spells that required finesse were beyond her. Vahns cleaning magic fit such a category and, if not for the fact he had been developing it for a long time, it would have never reached its current level of functionality. Nanu eventually asked, "Master, why have youe here today? Did you want to work on something? Can I help?" Eager to assist, Nanu followed him like a duckling with her big eyes glimmering excitedly. Vahnughed, once against ruffling her hair as he said, "You missed itst night, but I talked with everyone about creating a second body for myself. There isnt much youll be able to help with, but you can watch and try to pick up a few things if you want." Nanu seemed awestruck by his words, asking with a moderate amount of disbelief, "Master...is going to forge a body...?" Vahn nodded, causing Nanu to tilt her head further to the side in confusion but, as difficult as it was to believe, her trust in him made Nanu find it strangely usible. Vahn was very amused by his young apprentice, even though she was actually only around a year away from being considered an a.d.u.l.t. Realizing this, Vahn released a small sigh because it meant he had another event to think about around the same time next year. If possible, hed like to put it off a bit but, considering Nanus personality and how she had been shaped by her culture, it wouldnt be easy to get her to take thing slowly. After all, she would have waited more than two years by then, much longer than she would have traditionally waited after bing the mate of an Alpha. Unaware of what was going through her Masters head, Nanu moved off to the side and crawled up to the viewing tform so she had a better vantage. Crowding around someone that was working was considered rude and, being the capable assistant she was in the past, Nanu knew better than invading her Masters space. Thus, she plopped down to rest from her earlier exertions and propped up her head with an excited expression as she watched all of his actions very closely. As for Vahn, he didnt mind her presence, nor her unwavering gaze, as he began to prepare all of the materials necessary for the creation of an Avatar. ording to the procedures listed in the manual, he needed to either create a physical body through a self-cloning process, or substitute his flesh and blood with a variety of rare treasures. However, it wasnt just the physical body that needed to be formed, as he needed to ensure that mana and spirit bodies were already properly constructed. The manual referred to these three things as the Physical Vessel, Spirit Vessel, and Heavenly Vessel. Vahn felt the naming convention was somewhat strange but, ording to what was listed in the manual, what he referred to as the spirit body was actually the construct that allowed the soul to exercise influence over the physical and mana bodies. This was a surprising revtion because, while he had made some assumptions about it in the past, knowing that there was a direct connection between the spirit body and soul gave him various ideas how to strengthen both. After all, the threads he saw that made up the flow of energy in a persons body were aponent of the spirit body. This meant that the white threads he had created in Lefiyas body had actually influenced her soul, at least marginally. If may be possible to help all the girls with weaker Soul Tiers elevate their souls further in the future and, once he increased his understanding of the procedure, he might even help them break through bottlenecks. It would still depend on them to master their Innate abilities, but at least he had a potential solution moving forward... Setting that thought aside, for the time being, Vahn decided on what materials he would use to construct his Physical, Spirit, and Heavenly Vessels. Fortunately, he had a capability most entities, irrespective of records, wouldnt be able to emte. Though he imagined it would look very grotesque from an eternal perspective, Vahn began changing his mental image and altering the flow of energy in his body. Shortly thereafter, his skin had taken on a bronze coloration while his hair had turned almost tinum blond. Most notably was the fact that, much like the time he had adopted a simr form, the sclera of his eyes became ck while his pupils turned pale gold. Vahn had changed his race to an almost pure-blooded Doppelganger by finding a good median between the Smiling Reapers energy signature and that of Erikas Guardian, Doppel. Because thetter was somewhat unique, Vahn couldnt actually perfectly copy her energy signature so this was the closest form he could get to with his current capabilities. However, as the system showed his race as Doppelganger, it was more than enough for what he had in mind. Right before Nanus eyes, Vahn began his grotesque show by changing the shape of his body using abination of his image transformation and the transformation abilities of a Doppelganger. They could actually emte both organic and inorganic objects and, as he could regenerate and shape his flesh at will, Vahns potential as a Doppelganger was pushed to an extreme degree. Nanu watched with an unwavering gaze as herplexion became progressively paler as time went on. She had felt a heat rise in her body when her Master removed his clothes but that had faded very quickly when she saw him climbing out of himself. At first, it was like his face began to melt forward and stretch as his head elongated in a very strange manner. Then, incredulously, her Master sprouted a second head out of the back of his shoulders and proceeded to slowly and horrifyingly extricate himself from his own flesh. It was like watching an insect molt but the original body he was emerging from was also still moving about as they assisted each other in separating. Unable to resist the urge any longer, Nanu began gagging before emptying the contents of her stomach onto the workshops floor. Since he also believed the sight would be very intense, Vahn wasnt surprised when Nanu vomited at the side. He felt very apologetic towards her and wanted tofort her but, considering he hadnt fully separated from his other half, it would have to wait untilter. After all, if he suddenly called out to her while sticking halfway out of his own back, Vahn believed she might pass out or empty the contents of something other than just her stomach. Thus, after mentally promising to pamper herter, Vahn continued the very awkward process of splitting his body into two parts. It felt like he was pulling himself out of an incredibly thick and viscous liquid except, as a result of being a Doppelganger, he could see, hear, and smell from all of his cells. He saw the entire process from every conceivable angle as his two halves fought to split from each other. The most awkward part was when his original body had to sit down so he could wiggle out of its back like removing a very tight pair of trousers... It took nearly twenty minutes, but Vahn finally managed to pull all but his foot out of his counterparts back. He then slowly transformed himself back into a human while keeping his mental image of both bodies as his default state. When he was done, Vahn limited the influence of his [Magia Erebea] before severing his left foot and using a magical ward topletely stop the flow of blood on both bodies. The moment he removed his leg, Vahns connection with his other half was severed and his split senses became a singr set. Vahn stared at the limp body before him and felt a sense of incongruity inside himself before oveing it with the assistance of his [Will of the Emperor]. He then propped up the body onto a nearby worktable while slowly changing his mental image to rece his damaged left leg. If he used his [Magia Erebea] regeneration, Vahn was afraid the Physical Vessel he had gone through such lengths to make would turn into a pool of blood before either returning to his body or dissipating entirely... As he had wanted to avoid having to create a Physical and Spiritual Vessel from scratch, or using rare and valuable materials, Vahn had instead opted to use his own body as a material. After all, his cells were entirelyprised of source energy and, by splitting his body as he had done, he could avoid having to create a fresh set of mana circuits while also establishing a temte for the Heavenly Vessel he was going to make. This was possible since, before he separated from himself, Vahns soul had already been linked to his other half and he simply needed to re-establish the connection to finalize the process. Thus, after setting up two veryplex formations in ordance with the manuals instructions, Vahn sat down in a lotus position and began to meditate. At this point, Nanu had recovered almostpletely and had returned to watching her Master perform a procedure far beyond anything she expected. When he first said he was going to forge a second body, she thought he was going to make it out of metal using some magical method she couldnt evenprehend. Instead, he split his body in a way that she was certain would give her nightmares for a little while. Even so, Nanu resolved herself to see it through to the end because, as strange and unnerving as the sight had been, seeing two n.a.k.e.d versions of her Master wasnt a sight she wanted to tear her eyes away from. It was so exciting that, as the process continued on for a much longer period of time than she had expected, Nanus body began to heat up as an itch she knew was impossible to scratch spread through her body. In total, it took Vahn nearly two hours before his senses suddenly split again and he slowly began to synchronize with his other half. He had submerged his intent into to strange area where his soul always resided and, very carefully, guided it to separate into two parts while ensuring that Evas memory fragment was safely kept within his primary soul. Then, using the formation he had set up previously, Vahn transferred the fragmented soul into his secondary body. Once this process had beenpleted, Vahn was aware of viewing his inner soul from two different perspectives. The moment this awareness hit him, Vahn noticed that the fragmented soul actually began to produce nine additional lengths of [Enkidu] that began to coil around within his soul, much like the phenomenon urring in his primary body. This was a blessing he hadnt expected so Vahn simultaneously smiled with both of his bodies before slowly rising to his feet and lifting himself from the table at the same time. Turning to himself with two different perspectives, Vahn felt a little disoriented but was able to resist the dizzying feeling when his [Will of the Emperor] activated to support him. As the cooling sensation spread through his minds, Vahn found it was much easier to bear the strange sensory splitting so he smiled to himself and said, "This will take a lot of practice..." Because of hisck of control, both of his bodies had spoken at the same time beforeughing together. All the while this was happening, Nanu just continued breathing withbored and hot breaths while rubbing her thighs together. Mumbling in a voice they could both hear, Nanu panted, "Two Masters...haa...haa" Because of the difficulty orienting themselves, Vahns had been unaware of what Nanu had been doing while they were conducting the procedure. Now, seeing the state she was in, they felt their brains begin to buzz because Nanu was leaning forward with a heated expression on her face with her hands pulling tightly at the fabric of her fire-resistant trousers. They could smell a pungent aroma in the air that was a mixture of sweat, pheromones, and more. Raising their hands, Vahns said in their best calming voice, "Calm down, Nanu..." Hearing this, Nanu snapped back to awareness and opened her eyes wide when she realized what was happening. However, because her Masters were both still n.a.k.e.d, Nanus increased awareness coincided with the copse of her defenses. The moment she tried to rise to her feet, she felt a sinking feeling as a wave passed through her body, causing her to fall forward. At the same time, two sets of hands grabbed onto her body and, unable to fight against the rush of blood to her head, Nanus mind faded into darkness. Thest image she had seen, almost as if it had burned itself into her irises, was the image of two n.a.k.e.d Masters showing concern towards her... (A/N: Alternate Titles: With how the chapter progressed, I wonder if anyone remembers Lilis antics...?,Nanu, working hard, even when she thinks nobody is looking (UwU)...,Things just got a whole lot more weird xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 707 - Effort : Resolve

Chapter 707 - Effort : Resolve

Because she had only fainted, it didnt take long for Nanu to wake back up. Fortunately, by that time, Vahn had already identified the cause of her copse and worn clothes on both of his bodies. As a result of having split his soul into two halves, Vahn could ess the system functions of The Path through both his original body and his avatar. He was able to recognize the difference between the two because only his original self had Evas memory fragment sleeping inside of it. Without that, Vahn knew it would be next to impossible to actually keep his sense of identity between his two selves as it was much more difficult than he expected just to stay focused. Currently, the two Vahns stayed very close to each other and were perfectly mirroring each others movements, much like how Emiru and Maemi behaved around each other when they were synchronized. However, this wasnt because Vahn was trying to coordinate with himself but was instead rted to the fact that piloting both of his bodies with different actions was exceedingly difficult. Being close together also made the ovep in his two split visions easier to tolerate and eased some of the confusion he was feeling, even with [Will of the Emperor]s support. Nanu, seeing her two Masters, still felt a little hot and bothered but did her best to calm down as she asked, "Master...?" while looking between them. Both Vahns looked up simultaneously, smiling as they said in a perfectly synchronized manner, "Were both the same person now, just split into two bodies. It is very difficult to control two different forms, so give me a bit of time to collect myself..." Nanu nodded her head and, with nothing else to do at present, grabbed some cleaning supplies to dispose of the mess she had made on the workshop floor. It made her feel very ashamed to see the puddle of vomit and spittle she had regurgitated but, remembering the image that caused her to feel that way, Nanu couldnt help but tremble slightly before hastily cleaning it up. Vahn was currently struggling just to make both of his forms blink at different intervals, finding it very difficult even though it was a rtively simple gesture. It was easier to makerger movements with his arms and legs but, if he wasnt taking simultaneous action, it was almost like there was ag between his thoughts and actions. When he moved just one of his arms, it was very difficult to make his other body take any other action at all. As a result, it was like he took turns moving each body instead of guiding them both simultaneously. While this was going on, Sis was trying to give him encouragement by saying, (*Just as it took time for you to be adept as splitting your thoughts, it will take time for you to learn and control both bodies. Fortunately, you have plenty of means to increase the amount of time avable to you...*) Nodding his heads, Vahn started trying to form a training regimen to help achieve mastery over controlling both bodies and the first thing that came to mind was the Sub-Space and Space-Time orbs. Though thetter might prove difficult to make use of, it shouldnt be too difficult to make use of the Sub-Space orb for practice. With the time-dtion, his thoughts processes would truly be split and, though it wouldnt be easy, Vahn believed he would slowly adapt to moving both versions of himself independently. As long as he didnt give up mastering it, Vahn knew it would one day be possible for him to move seamlessly with his two bodies and potentially be able to train two different skills simultaneously. There were endless possibilities avable to him now, even without considering how much time it might free up, rtive to the past, that is... Using his second body to meditate, Vahn waited for several minutes as his awareness both expanded and contracted in upon itself. His senses around his second body increased exponentially until he felt at one with his surroundings while his other body slowly rose to its feet and tried moving. Vahn hypothesized that it would be easier to move one body while putting the other into a calm and rxed state, something that proved fruitful, even though his movements were awkward. Gesturing to Nanu, who had been observing him from the side, Vahn smiled and said, "Its awkward to say it like this, but can I practice controlling my body by [Grooming] you?" Nanu was curious what her Master would ask her but, hearing his request, she immediately bounded to her feet and eximed, "Yes! Leave it to me, Master!" while quickly moving to his side. Vahn gave a small nod and a grateful smile while reaching his hand out and stroking Nanus head and ears. Even he could tell his technique was awkwardpared to the past so it made him feel a bit of warmth inside since Nanu didnt offer anyints at all. Thus, to practice controlling one body, while the other mediated, Vahn spent the better part of an hour just [Grooming] Nanu. Because of her previous state, Nanus body started to heat up again but, as a matter of pride and her sense of duty, she managed to tolerate it... When he was done [Grooming] Nanu, Vahn pulled his hand away while standing up with his second body, still closing his eyes to avoid the issue of simultaneous and ovepping perspectives. It was fortunate that he had long since learned how to move without relying on his actual vision so Vahn walked outside of the workshop while saying, "Im going to practice a few things. If youre not busy, please apany me for a little while." with his other body. Nanu happily obliged and, as her Master was having difficulties moving around, she did her best to make things easier for him. Vahn released a light chuckle at seeing her concern while simultaneously walking further outside of his own domain range. He was in the process of confirming that his domain could artificially be increased in size by now having two bodies. After leaving the workshop with Nanu, Vahn began walking in the opposite direction of himself until he was outside the range of his own domains. Because he was both versions of himself, Vahn had full awareness of everything in his two domains but was unable to sense the presence of a second domain once they were no longer ovepped. It didnt make a big difference, as his domain had technically doubled in size, but Vahn had somewhat expected he would be able to merge them towards each other. After all, they were the exact same size and structure,prised of entirely the same energy, and fundamentally the exact same ability. Shaking both of his heads, Vahn heard Nanu ask, "Is something wrong, Master?" with a hint of concern in her voice. Vahn casually patted her head, feeling a little annoyed that he moved both of his right hands at the same time. Then, somewhat outside of his expectations, three figures showed up next to his body while he was about to say something to Nanu. Vahn felt very disoriented when he was looking towards Ais, Tiona, and Tione while also trying to form words to speak to Nanu. Simultaneously, the same thought crossed both of his minds as Vahn realized this was going to be much harder than he expected. Seeing Vahn acting almost catatonic, Tiona felt concerned as she waved her hand in front of his face and asked, "Vahn, are you okay...?" Vahn blinked and slowly enunciated each of his words, "Im...okay...just trying...a new technique...follow me...Ill exin..." It was very difficult to speak because Vahn had also been trying tofort Nanu by saying, "Lets regroup...with my other...self..." Nodding her head, Nanu followed along while Ais, Tiona, and Tione followed his other self with curiosity and concern. They had already realized what was going on and, seeing another Vahn approach with Nanu, all three girls became startled that there were actually two of him now. Reuniting with himself, Vahn felt a lot more at ease as he sat down next to himself and synchronously exined, "I managed to split myself into two parts but it isnt easy to control both bodies at the same time. Itll likely take a great deal of practice, so please be patient with me..." Everyone nodded but, as if she couldnt keep her curiosity contained, Tiona then asked, "So, there are both you? There isnt like a real you~?" Vahn shook his heads, curious what Tiona was getting at before she suddenly snickered and said, "That is super cool. Like this, youll be able to be with me and Tione at the same time. Or maybe youll go with Maemi and Emiru first...? No, that is uneptable~! I want to try it first!" Even without saying anything explicitly, everyone knew what Tiona was saying as she snickered with a happy and innocent smile on her face. Vahn got to experience what it was like to have two headaches at once while Ais seemed to fall into deep contemtion. As for Tione, she seemed to find Tionas words very interesting as she added, "Tionas right, Vahn. If youre going to try anything like that, you need to start with us first. We were the first set of twins to get involved with you so its only right that youe to us for practice..." Tione, imagining a foursome between herself, her sister, and both Vahns, couldnt help but show a somewhatscivious smile on her face. Before Ais could finish whatever thought was brewing up inside her head, Vahn raised both his left hands in a halting gesture as he exined, "Something like that is way too advanced for the current me. I can barely move, much less do anything more plicated..." Ais withheld any words she had been about to say but, as if she werepletely unfazed, Tiona smiled as she said, "But youll be able to do it one day. Im sure youll be able to control both bodies with enough practice. After all, you do all kinds of amazing things that other people cant do~! Just remember to think of us when you want to practice, ahahahaha~." Hearing the confidence in Tionas words, ented by her happy smile, Vahn couldnt help but release two sighs as he said, "Fine..." in an exasperated manner. Tiona happilyughed before jumping towards his body, knocking him back while his other body wobbled about. His sense of bnce was shared between both bodies while synchronized so Vahn felt very disoriented. It was like he was falling while also trying to sit stably at the same time, something that was very difficult toprehend and, if not for the fact he was experiencing it, Vahn didnt imagine such contradicting feelings could ovep. Nanu, seeing what was happening, supported her Masters wobbly body while eximing, "Tiona, you cant suddenly move Master like that! Look at what you did to his other self!" Tiona had actually noticed Vahns awkwardness when she clung to him and, hearing Nanus words, understood she had erred. Stroking the back of her head, sheughed in an awkward and apologetic manner before helping Vahn up as she said, "Sorry, Vahn...force of habit..." Vahn nodded his head as his sense of bnce was slowly restored, the incongruity in his mind fading away at the same time. When he collected himself adequately, he smiled towards her and said, "Dont worry about it too much. Adapting to sudden changes should actually help me better control both my bodies at the same time in the future. Once I be proficient enough, I intend to train against myself and, after I gain enough confidence, I intended to fight against you girls as well." Tiona regained her happy smile when she heard Vahns words but, hearing theter half, she became excited once again before eximing, "That sounds super cool! I cant wait to be able to fight against two of you at once...ahh, my blood is boiling~!" Bouncing to her feet, Tiona pumped both her fists in an excited manner while looking between Tione and Ais. The former released a sigh while Ais asked, "Do you want to keep fighting...?" Ais had a bit of hesitation in her voice as she turned her eyes to Vahn with a concerned look in her eyes. Vahn smiled towards her, producing two radiant expressions as he said, "Ill be fine, Ais. Im just going to do onest experiment and try a few basic things to familiarize myself with both bodies. You three have fun and Ill talk to youter, probably around lunchtime." Ais nodded her head with an encouraging expression on her face as she said, "Good luck, Vahn...I believe in you..." Then, though they were all somewhat hesitant, the three girls began walking towards the periphery of the orb to begin another climactic battle. Vahn, feeling motivated by both Tionas and Ais votes of confidence, rose to his feet while simultaneously sitting into a lotus position and calming his mind. Turning to Nanu, he exined, "Im going to send this body back into the real world while my other half stays inside the orb. Im not sure what will happen, so take care of me if something goes wrong." Reaching out his hand, Vahn stroked Nanus head as theter adopted a resolute expression and said, "Leave it to me, Master!" Vahn took several deep breaths while waiting for his other self to enter a deep meditative state. The time dtion between the orb and the real world was only 6:1, but Vahn could hardly even wrap his head around experiencing two different axes of time simultaneously. He was somewhat worried that the mental strain would cause him to copse, which was one of the reasons he had encouraged the other girls to go do their own thing. If they tried too hard to help him, Vahn felt like it would be even harder to try and adapt. Nanu, however, would likely just watch over him, only stepping in to help if he expressly asked for it. As her Alpha, Nanu had an instinctual belief in him that would also inhibit her from taking any excessive actions for fear of making matters worse... After psyching himself up adequately, Vahn willed himself to return to the real world while simultaneously focusing his mind on the indiscernible words of his [Mantra of Eternity]. This turned out to be a major blessing as, the moment he entered the real world, Vahn copsed to the floor face-first while his other half showed no major reaction. However, his [Will of the Emperor] immediately activated his full force as he was slowly waking from his meditative state. Back in the real world, Vahn felt like his brain had turned to ice while the conflicting stimuli of two axes of time felt like it was pulling his mind apart. He was experiencing normal time from both perspectives, but there was also a sense of incongruity of going both fast and slow at the same time. It felt like his brain would have melted if not for his [Will of the Emperor] and having entered a meditative state beforehand. However, instead of immediately returning to the orb, or ejecting from inside of it, Vahn continued toy on the floor as he focused on regting his breathing. Inside the orb, Vahn did his best to stay as calm as possible, slowing his breathing to match his real-world counterpart. Even this was very difficult though, as taking slow breaths in the orb made his stomach feel giddy while his mind tingled with anxiety in the real world. These feelings quickly spread throughout both of his minds but Vahn refused to give up on either end, willing himself to move into a seated position while rxing his mind within the orb. Like his counterpart, Vahn began focusing on the indiscernible words within his mind and tried to enter a meditative state once again, this time in both the real world and the Sub-Space orb... After an hour in the real world, six hours within the orb, Vahn slowly opened his eyes because he felt he had calmed down enough to try moving again. This reminded him of his hubris as, the moment his meditation was broken, Vahn nearly whimpered with how wrong everything felt once again. Unable to continue in this manner any longer, even with the support of his [Will of the Emperor], Vahn looked to Nanu and said, "Thhaaaaaank yyooooooou foooooor waaaattchiiiing oooveeeer meeeeee Naaanuuuu...Immmmm gooooinnng oooooutssssiiide nooo..." Without waiting for Nanus response, Vahn returned to the real world and began gasping for breath alongside himself. Not too surprisingly, Nanu popped out an instantter with a panicked expression when she saw one of her Masters on the ground while the other was copsed against the wall. Having noted her presence, both Vahns said, "Its fine now...I just need to recover for a few seconds. Dont worry..." Lifting his body from the floor, Vahn gestured to Nanu toe sit down. She was somewhat hesitant, clearly concerned by what was going on, but still moved over before sitting in hisp. Vahn released a sigh and began stroking her head and ears, calming both Nanu and himself down at the same time. His petting of the girls had always been a very ther.a.p.eutic action so Vahn started to recover much faster than normal, enough to rise to his feet from leaning against the wall. Nanu looked up at her other Master as he just gave her aforting smile and said, "Its just like trying to master cksmithing...as long we dont give up, it gets easier with time..." Feeling the urge tough when Nanus eyes widened with a reverential look in them, Vahn experienced the peculiar feeling of petting someone while simultaneously wanting to pet someone. As unnecessary as it might have been, Vahn waved to himself and Nanu, nodding in response to himself, before heading out of the room and slowly making his way down the connecting corridor. He had the urge to go and spend time with his daughters but, for the time being, Vahn knew there was a better solution to his current predicament. Just as he foundfort in petting Nanu, Vahn was heading towards where the most ther.a.p.eutic existence he had always relied on was located. Thus, after a short while had passed, Vahn arrived at the barrier leading to Fenrirs room before making his way inside andying down next to the extra fluffy Vanargandr. This time, he got yet another new experience, petting two girls simultaneously from two different locations... (A/N: Oh my god, these chapters have been so difficult to wrap my own head around. Im as confused as Vahn since I was trying to visualize what the f.u.c.k he was going through xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wibbily Wobbly, Timey Wimey Stuff...,Try thinking quickly and slowly at the same time xD. I tried to imagine a fast moving jet and a slow moving snail simultaneously...,Fenrir, Help) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 708 - Perspective

Chapter 708 - Perspective

Since he couldnt lounge about all day, Vahns fluffy time with Fenrir and Nanu eventually had toe to an end. With the apaniment of the two girls, he brought his two halves to the same ce and, before their shocked gazes, fused into a singr entity once again. Vahn had rarely felt as refreshed as the moment he became one person again, even though he could see the two halves of his soul swirling around each other like a taiji symbol. This was one of thergest benefits of being able to create an Avatar, being that the two bodies could be one without anyplications. Momentarily distracted by the floating figure of his second body resting peacefully within his soul, Vahn had missed Fenrirs question so he asked, "Sorry, can you repeat that? Im a little distracted at the moment..." Fenrir blinked, tilting her head to the side with a thoughtful look on her face as she once again asked, "Are you like Emiru and Maemi now?" Understanding her question, Vahn shook his head with a smile and exined, "It isnt quite the same, as I dont really experience an increase in power like they do. Their power is something like the melding of twoplete souls, whereas mine is justbining two halves back together..." As Vahn was speaking, he actually began to wonder if he became any weaker after splitting his soul into two halves. There wasnt any such downsides mentioned in the manual itself and, soon after that thought passed through his mind, Sis exined, (*Your soul itself, as a result of its fusing with The Path, is functionally limitless. If you had a normal soul, there might be some decrease in power between your two bodies but, with The Path as an intermediary, you dont have to worry about that kind of thing. In truth, your soul isnt actually split into two parts. It just appears that was from your perspective since youre still bound by the concepts of Space and Time.*) Vahn blinked in confusion while walking along with Fenrir and Nanu to the dining room to eat a quick breakfast before he left for the days interviews. He didnt quite understand what Sis was trying to exin but, being the infinitely patient and helpful entity she has always been, Sis extrapted, (*It is a little difficult to exin, as I dont really have an easy way toprehend it myself...well, essentially, Space and Time are powerfulws that influence most records but, on a basic level, dont actually exist. It is the mutual consciousness of the entitiesprising a record that allow for things like distance and time to be measured as, without something there to observe them, they fundamentally lose their power and cease to exist. Just remember, before you entered the record, all of the past, present, and future had already happened. Even the record itself, seemingly infinite in size, shape, and time, could be as inconsequentially small as a grain of sand from outside.*) Hearing Sis exnation, Vahn started to realize, very loosely, what she was trying to get at. She was essentially saying that, while very real, everything that happens, in reality, is only able to exist because entities possessing a soul are about to perceive its existence. The soul itself was something that existed outside the records, meaning they were fundamentally beyond the concepts of Space, Time, and all other Laws. It was only by entering a record, passing through severalyers of restrictions, that the souls to be loosely influenced by the Laws. However, this was only because the soul entered into a vessel that only existed in ordance with thews of the record itself. It was these samews that allowed for the creation of things like his Avatar but, from what Sis was saying,, Vahn could now interpret that his soul was actually not affected at all, just his perception of his soul...? Sis began to giggle within his mind beforefortingly saying, (*It isnt something you really have to worry about at this point in time, Vahn. As long as you keep in mind that your soul isnt something so easily impacted by the Laws of the world, thats fine. Have more confidence in the actions you take and endeavor to ovee the restrictions that have been ced on your physical body and your perception of the world...*) With Sis words, Vahn experienced a momentary pause with an equally short epiphany as he started making sense of her words. If he was interpreting her words properly, which she would likely correct him on, Sis was saying that the mental strains he experienced when having his body split into two were something he created for himself. In truth, as his soul wasnt actually split into two, and it exists beyond the concepts of time and space, it wasnt burdened at all by the separation. His limited mental faculties were the real limiter of things, much like how his perception of thews had always influenced his growth and power. If Vahn wanted to continue increasing his Soul Tier, which would be necessary for his linking of the records, he would have to undergo arge shift in his mentality. Hisprehension of the Laws would have to be above even the gods that create entire universes. Yet, at this moment, he was struggling to even control himself, even if it was split into two parts. Realizing his own weakness, Vahn couldnt help but frown as the icy influence of his [Will of the Emperor] kicked in. Though he had already been determined to master the ability, Vahn now felt an urge to master is much faster than before. Previously, Vahn believed that it would be difficult and, as a result of this belief, it would likely remain difficult until he started believing it was easier. Now, however, Vahn refused to let such an ability, which was far beneath the limits of his actual capabilities, slow him down for any great length of time... Always aware of what her Master was thinking, Fenrir turned her gaze towards him and produced a small smile of encouragement. Vahn was momentarily surprised by her action before feeling a warmth spread through his heart and, against the expectations of both girls, reached forward to hug Fenrir spontaneously. Her eyes opened wide because he had given her a bear hug and spun around, all while rubbing his cheek against hers as he said, "Fenrir, youre too good for me sometimes. Ahahahaha~." Fenrir didnt think her small encouragement would have such arge impact on her Master and, for one of the first times in her life, she became fl.u.s.tered and moderately embarrassed. However, she didnt try to break free from his grasp and instead tried to wrap her arms around him with a smile on her face. In actually, she didnt care much for all the restraint that was necessary to adhere to if you wanted to behave and act normally around people. Fenrir would much rather just follow her instincts, much like she had in the past before her time in the orb. Having her Master spontaneously hug her made some of the tension she had been harboring in her heart and mind melt away with the warmth of his body against hers... After setting Fenrir back on the ground, Vahn always ruffled Nanus head and ears as he confidently eximed, "Ive been holding myself back for too long. From now on, Ill do better, not just for myself, but for everyone I care about!" With Sis words as a catalyst, Vahn once again realized that he had been arbitrarily cing a greater number of restrictions on himself ever since he entered the world. While some, such as his rtionsh.i.p.s and bonds, were ones he willingly tolerated, Vahn realized there were several that he didnt need to care about at all. Just as he had slowly stopped caring about how other people saw him, Vahn wanted to stop acting with so many inhibitions since it inevitably just led to more problems, especially with his mental state. If he wanted to be able to master controlling two bodies simultaneously, he needed to stop holding back all the time and just act as he pleased. After all, if he couldnt even do what he wanted with his first body, how could he harbor any hope of controlling two bodies simultaneously? In a way, this would also make it easier for the girls as well since they had also been holding themselves back a lot. If he made himself more open and approachable, like he had been before his daughters were born, Vahn was confident they would be happier and open up more often... It felt like a long time had passed, as a result of his intense thinking, but Vahn arrived at the dining room just a few short minutes after reuniting his two bodies. Many of the girls hade out of the orb to eat breakfast as well so Vahn took the opportunity to address everyone, saying, "I know a lot of things have changed ever since the girls were born, and Im grateful for the patience and tolerance everyone has shown...however, from now on, please dont hold back too much on my ount. Though we obviously need to show restraint around the children, you dont have to hold yourselves back if you want to be around me. Id like for everyone to be more honest and open about their feelings in the future..." Vahn looked around at everyone that was present, making up a little more than half the girls that lived within the Hearth Manor, and smiled. They had all be quiet as he was speaking and, seeing that they were still listening, Vahn added, "Also, let me apologize early on if I identally embarrass you. I dont want to keep holding back my feelings all the time, so I may end up doing something that skirts the borders of yourfort zones. Please be honest with me and Ill always do my best to make you more fortable..." This time, as Vahn looked around at everyone gathered, he had a bit of a teasing look in his eyes. Understanding what he was trying to convey, the girls had a variety of different reactions but, with only a few exceptions, they shared a very simr blush. The only reason Vahn felt free enough to makements like this was that Ina, Vana, and Erika werent present at the table. He would have had to change up his word choice a bit with their presence but, trying to bring about the change he wanted to see, Vahn didnt restrain himself since they were absent. It also helped that Loki and Hephaestus were both missing, as the former would have probably taken advantage of the situation while Ina and Vana would undoubtedly apany thetter... Hestia and Eina had been sitting at Vahns sides and, hearing his announcement, they also had light blushes on their faces as the former said, "Just dont get carried away, Vahn..." As for Eina, she had been about to say something simr so she instead added, "Well, Vahn is a very sensible and considerate boy. I believe he wont do anything too out of line..." There was a yful glimmer in Einas emerald green eyes that made Vahnugh uninhibitedly, surprising everyone in the dining room, especially when he brought his arms around the blushing Half-Elf and Goddess before kissing them on the forehead in turn. Einas blush became rosier than it had been before as she gave him a look of mock reproach that had little effect as a result of her smile. As for Hestia, she was happilyughing in an ehehehe~ manner since the sudden disy of affection had made her very happy. She was always happier when Vahn himself was happy since the bond they shared was a very powerful one. Since his happiness and excitement was radiating off of him like a vibrant sun, Hestia couldnt help but feel the same emotions building up inside of her. Thus, shortly after Vahn had released their shoulders, Hestia took the liberty of sitting in his emptyp. Doing so, she felt Vahn be ever happier and, even though some of the girls gave her envious looks, Hestia didnt mind at all~ With the sudden announcement, the atmosphere around the table became far more lively than before. Many of the girls asked about Vahns ability to make a second body, as they had yet to see it, but Vahn told them to wait untilter before he showed it off. He still needed to leave for the interviews soon and it took time to adapt between having his body split and rbined. Though he wasnt remotely as concerned as he had been previously, Vahn wasnt going to be negligent and cause himself problems when he had other things to tend to. He could train with his two bodies when he returned so, for the time being, he just enjoyed his time with the girls instead of putting on a show. Towards the end of breakfast, Hephaestus showed up with Vana and Ina, thetter of which put on a defeated expression the moment she saw Hestia in Vahnsp. Vahn noticed Hestia tense up a bit so he just hugged her waistfortingly while looking towards the three girls with a smile as he said, "Good morning, Hephaestus, Ina, Vana. Youre all looking exceptionally cute today, especially you two, my darling daughters~." Vahn had a teasing undertone to his words that made Hephaestus poke her tongue out at him with Vana justughed, pleased by her Papas praise. As for Ina, she also smiled but it was very obvious she wasnt nearly as happy as the other two girls. However, it faded away pretty quickly when she remembered the previous incident with Shizune... Seeing Inas expression soften, Vahn looked towards her with an undisguised gentleness in his eyes, something she had noticed as a small blush covered her tender cheeks. This time, Vahnughed in a pleased manner while moving his fingers with practiced dexterity, causing Hestia to alsough as she writhed around on hisp. Unaware of the earlier conversation, Hephaestus and Ina had confused looks on their faces while Vana happily joined the vibrant and lively breakfast. Vahn eventually gave Hestia a reprieve, patting the outside of her right thigh where his daughters couldnt see as he said, "I need to get going pretty soon. Let me give my daughters and wife a goodbye hug and kiss..." After Hestia vacated hisp, wearing a light blush and breathing somewhat heavily from the tickle attack, Vahn rose to his feet and picked up Vana. She had been the closest to the table so he started with her, bringing her body up to his chest in a firm embrace before kissing her on the cheek. Vanaughed in her characteristic shishishi manner before grabbing his face and giving him a kiss on his own cheek before saying, "Papa is different today. I hope youre like this more often~." Vana then gave him a tight hug around the neck as Vahn pat her back a few times, each dispersing a wave offorting energy into the young Vanir. Setting Vana down on the ground, Vahn then turned to Ina with a smile before spreading his arms. Ina, regardless of any thoughts she might have been having previously, immediately ran into his arms as Vahn picked her up in the same manner as Vana. He hugged her tightly while also wiggling his body slightly in the process, making Ina feel both happy and confused at the same time. She could also see the changes in her Papa but it didnt matter much after he gave her a kiss on the cheek and said, "There might be a few changes youll have to adapt to in the near future, but Im confident my brilliant little girl will be able to deal with them." Though still confused, Ina felt happy when she heard her Papas words and, much like Vana, gave him the strongest hug her tiny arms could manage. With a bit more difficult that Vana, Vahn set Ina on the ground and ruffled her silky blond hair before moving over to the smiling Hephaestus and embracing her. She put more strength into her arms than normal and whispered, "You seem happy..." Expanding his awareness to make sure his actions couldnt be seen, Vahn slowly moved his hand down over Hephaestus soft and supple butt as he, in turn, whispered, "I have every reason to be happy...Im not sure why I was so worked up before..." With his words finished, Vahn gave Hephaestus a rtively tame but loving kiss that was somewhat ruined towards the end when he put a bit of strength into the hand he had on her rump. Hephaestus released her contained breath through her nose before pushing gently against his chest with a look of me on her beautiful smiling face. Vahn just chuckled in response, giving her one more quick kiss before turning towards the rest of the girls and saying, "Okay, Ill be backter, everyone. Lets go, Fenrir." Fenrir appeared at his side in an instant as Vahnpleted his wave and exited through the door and made his way towards the Manors entrance. The girls followed his departure with their eyes, remaining absolutely silent until they heard the sound of the door shutting. As if awakened from a spell, Hephaestus turned towards the girls seated at the table and asked, "Can anyone exin to me what exactly happened...?" While speaking, Hephaestus was still a little too aware of the warm feeling that was still radiating through her right butt cheek. Vahn had left an imprint there with his [Hands of Nirvana] and it was still bothering her a little bit. Hestia, being the most senior person present, began tough in a happy and excited manner as she eximed, "Im not entirely sure, but I believe its a good thing~!" As if following some sort of agreed-upon cue, all of the girls present nodded their heads in concert at Hestias words. Seeing this, Hephaestus became even more confused before walking over to the table and taking a seat. When she sat down, the imprint on her rear seemed to radiate through her body, causing Hephaestus to release a somewhat hot sigh that drew the attention of most of the girls. They had all been paying attention to her previously so her action hadnt gone unnoticed. Hephaestus, realizing her slip, showed a light blush on her face as she once against reiterated, "Exin..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: If a universees into existence, but nothing is around to observe it, can we say it exists?,Vahn Levels-Up, Mentally,Godhands Imprint...(o,...,o)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 709 - Interesting Encounter

Chapter 709 - Interesting Encounter

After leaving the Manor, Vahn quickly made his way across the sky with Fenrir following close behind him. Today would be thest day for conducting the preliminary interviews so Vahn was looking forward to wrapping things up so he could begin his training. As for his worries about the Noble faction, and the Smiling Reaper, Vahn suddenly found that they seemed inconsequential in the grand scheme of things. Right now, the girls werent haphazardly moving around and, regardless of how strong the Smiling Reaper was, it would be very difficult for her to target any of the girls directly. The fact she had been scheming around him showed that the Nobles didnt actually want to draw his attention and ire directly, as the potential consequences werent something easily shouldered. Vahn spected that her purpose had been to try and infiltrate the School and, now that she had failed, it was likely they would try to use other means instead. Given the nature of the Nobles, using their wealth and influence as leverage against other people, Vahn expected they would target his employees and their families. To avoid drawing attention, this would likely be through backroom dealings and agreements. It ultimately wouldnt matter that much, as most of the important teachings would be kept a closely guarded secret. Every student would be required to take a vow just to qualify for the ss and all the other sses werent exactly something proprietary to the School he was establishing. If the Nobles decided to copy his example and teach the children simr lessons in a second School, that was their own prerogative. Thus, even if they bought the loyalty of some of his future employees, it wouldnt make a big difference with their system that vetted and evaluated the teachers every six months. If it was seen that the instructors were trying to exploit and scout the students for the Noble houses, they would be fired and reced very expediently. This meant that, in order to be proper agents for the Nobles, the people they hired to steal information would still have to teach and mentor the students properly. When Vahn and Fenrir arrived outside the cafe, there was already a small crowd of people that were grouped around, all waiting for the opportunity to be interviewed. Word had spread about the benefits offered so Vahn wasnt surprised to see nearly a hundred people outside,prised mostly of women and their children. Vahn knew that they were trying to y him a bit, as some of the children didnt even look to be rted to the women, but that was easily dealt with during the interview. He quickly gathered everyone and had them organize into an orderly queue, warning them not to stir up trouble and be patient if they wanted an opportunity to be interviewed. Those on the list he had would be prioritized, but there was plenty of time to go through a few dozen prospective employees from among the general populous. After making his preparations, and enjoying a nice cup of coffee, Vahn began hisst day of interviews on a high note since the person at the front of the line was someone that caught his eye instantly. Thus, when a rather diminutive looking young man walked into the room, possessing peculiar white hair and faded grey eyes, Vahn couldnt help but smile as he said, "I didnt expect a god would lower themselves to interview with a mortal." Though they had never met before, Vahn rose to his feet and gave a slight bow to the youthful god. With an amused expression, the god began to chuckle in a somewhat raspy manner before saying in a strangely mature voice, "There is no need for formalities, young Sage. I havee here at the behest of my sworn-sister, Amaterasu. It seems you have some fate with the Far East and, to ensure there will be no ill-will between our people, I havee to observe and make peace with you." At the end of his words, the youthful look god bowed slightly lower than Vahn himself, a sign of respect that would have made most people feel very awkward. However, having dealt with Takemikazuchi in the past, Vahn was somewhat used to the gods of the Far East being very polite. Even so, Vahn was still surprised to learn that this god had traveled all the way from the Far East at the behest of a goddess he had yet to meet. His knowledge of Amaterasu showed that she was a very influential goddess in the Eastern Pantheon so it meant a great deal for her to send an envoy of sorts such a great distance. For the time being, he decided to get a better understanding of the situation by saying, "I have no enmity towards anyone that hasnt taken unnecessary action against myself and my family. If you only came here at the behest of your sister-goddess, please tell her not to worry. So long as they dont give me a reason, I will never go out of my way to stir up trouble with other people..." To this, the god began tough once again, seemingly finding Vahns words amusing. Walking over to the chair, he sat down and said, "Well, Im afraid some things cannot be avoided so easily. Im aware there are several young women surrounding you that have roots in the Far East. With your nature, Im certain you will one day go to the Far East on their behalf. When that timees, I fear you will not be so tolerant with your words and actions..." Vahn raised his brow, surprised by the yet unnamed gods words. He seemed very sure of the matter and, after considering the pasts of girls like Haruhime and Shizune, Vahn couldnt help but agree that he would likely take action at some point. Haruhime would one day want to visit the grave of her mother and, though Shizune had been less focused on vengeance, that would likely change if she actually found the group responsible for her torment. Vahn also knew that Inari resided in the Far East and, knowing how she had influenced their culture in such a negative way, Vahn would likely have some conflict with her followers. As if seeing through Vahns thoughts, the god smiled with an amused light in his eyes as he said, "It seems you have some awareness, thats very good...I hope you will show that same level of insight when ites to actually making decisions in the moment. Remember, young Sage, the actions you take in an instant have far-reaching consequences. Just as you put in so much effort and nning for the decisions youre making right now, you should also carefully consider your actions during tense and strenuous moments." Hearing this, Vahn took a deep breath and exhaled through his nose before waving in a dismissive gesture that surprised the young god. Vahn was still riding the momentum of his earlier decision not to worry about such things so he said, "Listen...what was your name?" The god, still showing a small amount of surprise on his face inly stated, "Tenjin." Vahn gave a curt nod before continuing, "Okay, Tenjin, Ill be straight with you. This world isnt exactly a pleasant ce and, regardless of how much it might upset those that cling to power, I am determined to change it. Dont worry, force isnt the method I have chosen, as that will only perpetuate a pointless cycle of hatred. The only time I take a hard stance is when people threaten my family, my friends, and those Ive sworn to protect. If there is to be a conflict between myself and the Far East in the future, it will be because someone from your side instigates it. The only other reason would be that things are so horribly corrupt that Im forced to take action as a result of being unable to tolerate selfish people oppressing others for their own gains...if you have a problem with that, then you created a problem with me." At this point, Tenjins brows were raised high with a very surprised expression on his face. Then, against Vahns expectations, he began tough uninhibitedly while striking his knee. It was Vahns turn to be confused until Tenjin said, "Amaterasu was right about you, young Sage. You see, she isnt fond of how things had turned after Inari, Hachiman, and Ryujin descended to the mortal world. When you visit the Far East in the future, you will likely have to contend with those three fools...our only wish is that you show leniency towards the people. After all, it is not exclusively the fault of mortals to have be the pawns of wayward gods and goddesses...the lure of power and influence are powerful tools of control..." Hearing this, Vahn couldnt help but furrow his brows slightly, agreeing with Tenjins words but also finding them somewhat wed. Yes, while gods could certainly give power to people, it was still the decision of those people to ept the power. Though many people may fall into the illusion that they have no choice but to bow to the people with a stronger fist, those at the top typically wielded such power willingly. Many of the ns willingly followed goddesses like Inari and, under her influence, reigned over the people with strict and unfair regtions. It was the same all of the world, just a bunch of people that came into power in the past and now rely on oppression and unjust regtion to keep that power. They feared progress and desperately fought to eliminate anypetition for fear of losing theirfortable and exploitative lifestyles. Now, though he hadnt really been considering dealing with the Far East any time soon, Vahn suddenly felt a sense of righteous indignation towards wed systems that had made victims of girls like Haruhime, Shizune, and Tsubakis mother, Sakuya. However, he felt the same way about many of the systems in other countries, including Orario itself. Unless he went on a tirade and forcefully brought about change, Vahns only option was to continue along his current path. It was difficult knowing that he had the power to bring fast change, but couldnt easily make use of it without feeing into arger problemter on. With the power vacuum caused by his actions, a great many people would die as various groups fought to gain power and influence for themselves. The only real solution was to either put people into power in those regions, much like how he had done in the Divination, or to enable the people from the country itself to seize power. Just as he was doing with the School, Vahn could empower a few honest and capable youths, groom them into strong and righteous leaders, and then allow them to lead their people towards a better future. Such revolutions would undoubtedly be bloody, but there wouldnt be a power vacuum and, at least for a time, things would certainly improve with the introduction of positive leadership. Realizing this, Vahn had an interesting thought so he asked, "Tenjin...you came here from the Far East, correct?" Tenjin nodded his head, a small smile appearing on his face thatmunicated a great deal of information to Vahn. He realized that this god before him, or perhaps Amaterasu herself, had a very simr idea to what had just crossed Vahns mind. To make sure they were on the same page, Vahn asked, "So, you must havee with a trade caravan, or with the escort of a Familia...?" Tenjin, still smiling, shook his head before saying somewhat exasperatedly, "Unfortunately, I had only descended to the mortal world a few months ago. It was only by the grace of my sworn-sister that I was able to make the journey from the Far East to this beautifulnd of Eden. To ensure I would be well protected, she sent several samurai to apany me. However, as the journey would be very long, many of the warriors that came with me brought along their families and would like to settle within the City one day. Currently, weve made camp to the south-east and have started constructing a small vige...haaaa, it isnt easying to an unfamiliarnd, much less make it a home. Im certain some of the children would one day want to return to their home country..." For several seconds, there was silence within the room as Vahn and Tenjin held eye contact with each other. Then, as if on an agreed upon cue, they both startedughing in a free and unrestrained manner. Several secondster, Vahn smiled and said, "It seems your sworn-sister is a very wise goddess. Very well, Tenjin, Ill y my part and help bring peace to the Far East, even if it take a generation or two. Those warriors of yours would likely benefit from employment within the City and I have a few things in mind to make their transition easier. A friend of mine, a god by the name of Takemikazuchi, could use capable warriors within his Familia. They will be able to be Adventurers and take missions in the Dungeon to earn ie. As for their children, I imagine it isnt easy for them to move such a vast distance while being so young. To help them adapt to the various cultures of the Continent, why not have them attend the School? As long as they work hard in their studies, their tuition and board will be taken care of." Tenjins smile was very wide at this point as he stroked a nonexistent beard on his youthful face. He put on a show of seriously considering the offer before finally nodding his head and saying, "I had only intended to offer my services as a teacher at your School but, hearing you make such a kind offer, I cant help but ept it. Your reputation as a benevolent and wise Sage is well-earned, Vahn Mason...you have this gods sincere gratitude." This time, Tenjin bowed low enough that his head nearly struck against the hardwood table in front of him. Vahn rose to his feet, helping Tenjin stand before patting his shoulder and guiding him to the door. Their discussion had gone on much longer than expected and there were still numerous things for both of them to attend to. Vahn gave Tenjin a small slip for identification purposes and sent a telepathic message to Syr while writing the finer details into hiswork logbook. Tenjin would have to discuss the specifics of their arrangement with Loki and Takemikazuchi before anything was set in stone. Still, Vahn didnt think there would be any problems and, judging by the fact that Tenjins Affection was 78(Respect), his impression of the youthful-looking god was quite high. However, this changed slightly when that same god turned to him at the door and said, "My sworn-sister is looking forward to meeting you one day, Vahn Mason. You should know...well, Ill leave that for you to learn on your own~." For the rest of the day, Vahn continued interviewing prospective teachers and staff while thinking about Tenjins words. Amaterasu was one of the three most influential gods in the Eastern Pantheon, with Susanoo and Tsukuyomi her equals. Above her, only the primordial deity, Amenominakanushi, had any greater significance to the devout of the Far East. Vahn was curious about what kind of person she was and, with Tenjins enigmatic words, he was also a little nervous. In the Divination, his counterpart hade into contact with Inari and forced change to take ce. This time, however, things werent likely to develop in a simr manner. Vahn wasnt sure if he met Amaterasu in the Divination, but she would certainly y arger role this time around... By the time he was wrapping up the interviews, Vahn had decided to see if he could get more information about the various gods of the Far East through Lokis connections. Her informationwork extended through both Heaven and the Mortal World. Vahn was confident she would be able to find out more information, including anything rted to Amaterasu and any quirks the goddess might have. Given her power and authority, she had to be a first generation goddess like Hestia so Vahn knew she couldnt be a normal goddess by any means. If she turned out to be another 540 million-year-old v.i.r.g.i.n, Vahn swore in his heart he would try to avoid entering into a rtionship with her. Even now, the legendary mp of Hestia was something that would sneak its way into his thoughts at times... While he was lost in thought, Fenrir poked his cheek with the paw pad of her index finger and said, "Master is thinking about lewd things...we should hurry home." Vahn was certain it hadnt shown on his face but, remembering his connection with Fenrir, he wasnt too surprised she had seen through him. This thought actually caused him to remember another girl he had a very powerful bond with though and, just as that thought crossed his mind, Vahn suddenly found the image of a smiling Hestia pervading his thoughts. The tensions in his body began to increase as a heat bubbled up in his abdomen. Nodding his head towards Fenrir, Vahn smiled and said, "Lets go home..." (A/N: I tried to write the interactions between Vahn and Tenjin in the way you would expect a conversation from a CN to progress. If ites off as them both being unnecessarily mysterious and footing around the actual topic of discussion, you can just consider that a quirk of the unique conversational habits of Far Eastern people. There are many instances where people speak in inferences just to measure if the person theyre talking to is capable of understanding what theyre saying. This is a way to make both parties able to show respect, one by being mysterious, the other by showing that they see through the mystery and arepetent. Its very silly, yes, but I didnt invent the trope xD. Also, there will probably only be three chapters today. Ill be busy this afternoon o3o...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn stops giving a damn,Tenjin is trying too hard to be mysterious,The legendary Vice) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 710 - Lack : Control

Chapter 710 - Lack : Control

With the interviewspleted, Vahn decided the focus on familiarizing himself with controlling two bodies simultaneously. Most of the matters for the Schools opening were being handled by the upper echelons of the Alliance itself and, though there were a few unexpected issues from Tenjins end, it wasnt anything that serious. The rather youthful looking god had brought a total of 38 warriors, all ranging between Levels 2-3, apanied by more than 200 of their family members, including husbands, wives, and children. Among them, nearly one-hundred children ended up being registered for the School, ranging between 6-11 years of age. There were a few younger children, but it wasnt unexpected that they would be staying at home with their parents since they were too young to attend School just yet. In order to train his bodies, Vahn came up with a training regimen that included physical training, mental training, and physical therapy. With his vastly restricted capabilities controlling two bodies, Vahn started his former training anew. He had Tsubaki giving him guidance while sparring with the girls to refamiliarize himself withbat. This resulted in him getting beat up a lot but, having an immortal body, it wasnt that difficult to tolerate. For his mental training, Vahn took up reading with physical books, pairing up with girls like Haruhime, Preasia, and Lili, each rather fond of reading, especially while snuggled up next to him. Vahn would read two different books at a time and, on asion, practiceplex processes likepetitive puzzle solving against the girls. Lili ended up being especially good at this particr activity because he had promised rewards if they managed toplete the puzzles before him. Lastly, the activity Vahn was most fond of with his dual bodies, Vahn did physical therapy and focused on casual interaction with the girls and trying to rx. This often involved having simple conversations, helping the girls style their hair, petting, massages, and, in some instances, a few more intimate behaviors. The vast majority of this block, however, involved Vahn simply ying around with his daughters. Erika was one of his favorite reading buddies while Ina was very fond of having her hair and makeup done by him. As for Vana, she liked ying games in the woods and, on asion, asked him to y knights with her. Vahn always agreed to their requests and, though it was very difficult at first, he had slowly started adapting to two bodies. This didnt mean he had actually mastered the ability, nor had he even be petent, as only eleven days had passed since his training began. Even now, while his bodies were split between ying tag with Vana and massaging Syrs shoulders, Vahn would have momentary pauses and slips in his actions. This could be seen by how, just as he was about to snatch up Vana into his embrace, Vahn was unable to react to her sudden change in direction and, trying to follow her with his eyes, ran face-first into a tree. Vana beganughing in a mischevious manner, wiggling her butt towards him and patting it a few times before running off with a shishishi~. At the same time, Vahn stopped moving his hands on Syrs shoulders so she began to chuckle lightly while asking, "Ara? Did little Vana bully you again, Vahn~?" Vahn struggled to rise to his feet while simultaneously answering, "She is pretty quick on her feet. I think she is getting better at tricking my senses...makes me want to work harder." Both of his bodiesughed out while Vahn once again gave chase to his mischevious daughter while restarting his massage. Doing her own duty, which involved asking him questions as a distraction, Syr asked, "So, have you thought about what youre going to do with Lili and Naaza yet? I believe there is only three days until your rendezvous~?" This time, Vahn tripped over nothing while his other body, the one who Syr had been speaking to, tilted slightly. Recovering rtively quickly, Vahn smiled and said, "As I said in the past, Im not going to fret over things like that. When the timees, I will treat them both properly. Lili and Naaza are both very important to me and, even if I had a few inhibitions about it in the past, Im not going to let such things bother me. Besides, are you really concerned about them during this moment...?" While he was speaking, Vahn leaned over Syr slightly and brought his hands down from her shoulders until he was cupping her bare b.r.e.a.s.ts in his hands. They were currently in his salon and, as many of the girls were want to do, Syr had removed her clothing for the massage. After all, clothes got in the way and they would normally go straight to the bath after leaving... Syr uttered an almost inaudible ufufu~ while leaning back her head to peer up into his face with her glimmering grey eyes. When Vahn lightly pinched her n.i.p.p.l.e between his thumb and index finger, sending threads of stimting energy into her budding b.r.e.a.s.t, Syr yfully bit her lip before saying, "Im fine with it, but you shouldnt get too excited...I cant imagine how you would exin things to Vana if she saw her beloved Papas awakened state~." Vahn also knew Syrs words had some weight to them since his body that was chasing down Vana also started to heat up a little. Thus, after giving her onest feel, Vahn kissed Syrs forehead and pulled his hands away from her fair b.r.e.a.s.ts. With a small pout on her face, Syr resumed a normal sitting position and closed her eyes, saying, "Its a shame that your control over both bodies isnt good enough to deal with both girls at once. Im certain things would have been very interesting...ara~?" As if she had a sudden realization, Syr brought her index finger to her chin in a thoughtful manner before saying, "Actually, you may want to consider using both of your bodies at the same time~?" At this point, Vahn was almost positive that Syr was just saying things to make it very difficult for him to keep his focus. As a result of her question, he had tripped over an exposed root and eaten a face full of dirt while Vanasughter echoed in his ears. Even so, Vahn knew there was more to it than that so he asked, "Do you really think its a good idea? I dont really have the confidence to keep my focus in such a...stimting situation..." To this, Syr began to chuckle lightly before nodding her head and saying, "Indeed, but that may be for the best. Lili and Naaza are both inexperienced girls and they may appreciate it more if you were more awkward as well. Though they may not enjoy it as much, Im confident you would be able to avoid giving them any regrets~." Hearing Syrs exnation, Vahn considered her words and understood there was some truth to the matter. Lili and Naaza obviously knew he wasnt a v.i.r.g.i.n anymore but it could potentially ease any tensions they might feel if he was also in an awkward position. Given their natures, it was almost guaranteed that they would have been trying hard to keep up with him. However, due to the sheer difference in experience, this would have caused them unnecessary strain. If he actually tried to be with them using his two bodies, they wouldnt have to worry about such things at all. In fact, they would probably have to lead him along to make things go smoothly... After considering it, Vahn gave a small nod and said, "Ill talk to them about it and see what they think. Since its their first time, I want them to befortable with the situation instead of just using them as practice." Syr chuckled lightly, this time without saying anything as she loosened up her shoulders and began to get into the massage. Even though it wasnt nearly as skillful and normal, it was still very pleasant to experience Vahns techniques. He wasnt even using his [Hands of Nirvana], but Syr feltfortable and at ease everywhere his hands roamed, even when they wandered into forbidden territory. Finally, after nearly forty minutes of chasing after her, Vahn managed to catch a heavily breathing Vana. She giggled andughed when he picked her up into his arms, writhing about in an attempt to escape before eventually settling down. Vahn sat down beneath the shade of a tree while she fought to regain her breathing, the result of running around andughing much longer than normal. The only reason he managed to even catch her was that her stamina had dwindled to the point where she could no longer evade him easily. Still, the fact she could run around in high spirits for more than half an hour, all while looking barely older than two years in age, showed that her stamina was ridiculously high... While Vana was trying to get her second wind, Vahn was ying with the points of her hair, which had started to break off into distinct sections now. While holding up two of the segments, creating tiny antennae atop Vanas head, Vahn said, "Youre a little firecracker, you know that~?" Vana giggled, bringing up her tiny palms to make a few sparks across her fingers. Vahn had actually put on a fireworks show for the girls in the past so Vana knew what a firecracker was. Other than fire elemental control, Vana also had the ability to create explosions and, very recently, had been picking up on how to make different colored mes. She wanted to be able to make fireworks of her own in the future because, ording to her, she wanted to defeat monsters in a shy and exciting manner. The sparks in Vanas hands started to take on a green and blue hue before she shot them forward and made a tiny explosion in the air. Since she had already been tired from running, Vana began to breathe very loudly through her nose. Even so, she managed to giggle and said, "Papa, I love ying with you like this. Youre so silly~." Now it was Vahns turn tough, all while ying with the make-shift rabbit ears he had made atop Vanas head. Eventually, she shook her hair free of his hands and climbed to her feet before looking back and saying, "You only caught me because I was tiredst time. That means I won, okay?" Vahn nodded his head, climbing to his feet while his massage time with Syr wasing to an end at his second body. He helped her get dressed while looking at Vana and saying, "I caught you a lot of times in the past though, so well make it even and start over. How does that sound?" Vana opened her eyes before scrunching up her face in deep contemtion. Vahn could hear an illusory sound of gears turning in her head before she eventually nodded and said, "Okay! From now on, the real battle begins~!" Vahn chuckled lightly, deciding to see if he could get some extra benefits from the situation by asking, "To make it more interesting, why dont we make a wager? If I win, youll have to spend some time reading with me, okay~?" Vanas expression suddenly became very serious as apetitive light was sparked in her fire-like eyes. Reading was her nemesis so she felt like the stakes were very high as she asked, "And what do I get if I win, Papa...?" Seeing his daughter so riled up because of a book, Vahn couldnt help but smile with both his bodies, earning an inquisitive look from Syr as he said, "How about this then...if its something within my power, and not against the rules, I will grant you a single wish~." There were numerous rules that the Vanir had to follow, mostly for their own safety and the safety of others. This included not doing excessive training on their own, never wandering outside the inner region without an escort, and never using real weapons without close supervision. Escorting Syr to the door, Vahn gave her a quick kiss before sending her on her way, making sure to give her a gentle pinch on her pert butt just as she crossed over the threshold of the door. She released a yelp at the same time as Vana said, "Deal! My first wish is to fly around the City with Papa!" Vana spoke as if she had already won and, without any dy, took off running into the depths of the illusory forest. Both versions of Vahnughed until Syr suddenly took on a predatory look and said, "If you dont manage to convince Lili and Naaza, dont me me for taking the lead with both of your bodies, ufufufu~." Hearing Syrs words, and her scaryughter, both of Vahns bodies froze as a shiver ran up and down his spine a few times. It wasnt until a very pregnant Riveria walked into his salon, giving him an inquisitive look as she asked, "Did you try teasing Syr too much? Well, I hope you got it out of your system and learned your lesson. Dont do anything uncouth with a pregnant woman..." Riveria found it somewhat amusing to see Vahn with a paleplexion on his generally healthy, tanned, face. At this point, she was just over six months pregnant and didnt have the confidence to resist if he got a little handsy with her during the massage. Vahnughed awkwardly while his other self started to chase after Vana, who was currently hiding behind a tree to save her energy. He then started to help Riveria undress because she was wearing a loosely gown instead of her [Elf Queens Gown]. She blushed lightly but didnt resist since this was part of his practice in controlling two bodies. Besides, she found his somewhat awkward movements strangely refreshingpared to the deft and highly-controlled movements he was known for. As for Vahn, he just enjoyed the moment since Riveria had be exceptionally more beautiful in his eyes after she got pregnant. After removing the loose gown from her body, Vahn marveled at the crest he had carved into her abdomen that fateful day. Feeling reminiscent, he traced his finger along theplexwork of runes while simultaneously caressing Riverias pregnant belly. Her blush deepened but Riveria didnt stop his affectionate action, instead, bringing her hand over his and saying, "Its still hard to believe that Im actually pregnant. If someone were to tell me a year ago that Id be giving birth in a few months, I would have smacked them in the head with my [Magna Alfs]...ufufufu." Seeing Riverias gentle smile, and hearing herughter, made Vahn pause his steps and smile with two sets of lips. Unable to contain himself, Vahn brought his hand up and touched Riverias lips with his index finger, startling her a bit as he traced the outline of her smile and said, "Really, youre so beautiful when you smile, Riveria. Every time I see it, I feel truly blessed...almost like Im in a dream." Picking up a small amount of moisture on the end of his finger, Vahn then brought it to his own lips and pressed it to them. Riveria took a deep breath while her face continued to sink into a deeper shade of red. Seeing this, Vahnughed lightly before gently pulling Riverias body, wearing nothing but panties, stockings, and slippers, into his embrace. He knew better than to push her too hard but, as she simply looked too adorable right now, Vahn couldnt help but hold her body and ce a kiss on her immacte and tantalizingly sweet lips... Suddenly, an acorn flew out of the brush at the side, hitting Vahn in the head and knocking his second body out of its daze. Looking over, he saw Vana snickering mischievously as she said, "That is one point for me~! If youre not going to chase me anymore, Papa, that makes it my win!" Without waiting for his response, Vana ducked back behind the brush and took off running, shouting, "Round two, start! Shishishishishi~!" Vahn had briefly thought to mention that Vanas words werent part of the rules they had established but, seeing her so happy and excited, he couldnt help but make a mental note, giving her a single point against him. Besides, if he could get his daughter to actually pick up a book for more than ten minutes, fulfilling her wishes was a small price to pay... Riveria began to pat his shoulder a few times as she struggled to pull her lips free from his. Vahn started running after Vana while pulling away from Riveria with an apologetic smile on his face. She had a look of me in her eyes as she said, "I told you not to get carried away...haaa..." in a shaky voice. Vahn had started to follow his instincts a bit when he was interacting with Vana, meaning his kiss had turned a little more intense than he originally intended. Since there was a flowery smell reaching his nose, Vahn knew he had wronged Riveria so he sincerely said, "Sorry, Riveria. I dont have an excuse other than my ownck of control. Ill try to do better..." Since hisck of control was the exact reason she was here, Riveria just huffed a sigh before walking around him to sit down on the chair. She was more frustrated than angry so, when Vahn moved over to help her sit down, Riveria had already forgiven him. Though she had a small frown on her face, Riveria was stuck thinking about the most recent kiss and just reyed it a few times in her mind while Vahn began massaging her shoulders. The tension in her shoulders and b.r.e.a.s.ts slowly started to ease up and her body started to rx very quickly, amendable feat for the rtivelyckl.u.s.ter technique Vahn was using. Then, cing her hands on her own pregnant belly, Riveria released a contented sigh and said, "I forgive you..." in a quiet voice. (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Reading Intensifies*,Vanas Victory,Riveria is a big softie) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 711 - Progress : Wanderl.u.s.t

Chapter 711 - Progress : Wanderl.u.s.t

Though he spent arge amount of his free time training his mastery over two bodies, equating to nearly thirty-eight days worth of training, there times when Vahn couldnt stay split. This would generally be when he had to deal with the matters of the Alliance, such as when he met with visitors, and when he was doing activities that required intense focus. Chief amongst these activities, as could be expected, was spending intimate moments with the girls, especially during the evening. Others included when he would be working on things within his forge, such as parts for the Aegis armor sets, and essories for his daughters. One of Vanas wishes had been for a magical bracelet, so Vahn made a Mithril loop with Adamantine and Orichalc.u.m coiled around it. Though rtively simple in design, it still ended up being at the upper end of B-Rank and, as he had inserted a hair-like loop of his own blood within the core, it had the properties of storing energy. As for the purpose behind the bracelet, Vahn made it help the user focus and exercise control over fire elemental energy. He wanted Vana to have some support to make it easier for her to master her abilities, almost like training wheels. Vana had been so happy with her gift that she ended up showing it off to everyone in the Manor very proudly, requiring Vahn to have to forge more essories than he had expected. Ina, shocked that she hadnt been able to get an essory of her own, managed to convince Vahn to forge a tiny pendant for her. It was made in a simr design as his Makers Mark, as Ina had be very fond of it after catching glimpses of it on Hephaestus lower back in the bath. Then, to keep things fair, Vahn also put in a fair amount of effort to develop a pair of reading sses for Erika. The intent behind them was to decrease any eye strain she might develop as a result of reading so much but the final project also had the property of basic magnification too, something Erika seemed fond of. When Vahn had finished the first batch of essories, he also began working on a magical wand for Alexa, as thetter had started their magical training in earnest recently. However, when Vana had learned that her wish ended up benefiting others, she had been in a dour mood. This resulted in Vahn having to appease his eldest daughter, excluding Alexa, by carving an ornate wooden sword for her and having her keep it a secret. He made it out of a branch of the sacred tree that he had purchased from the shop, giving her even better control over her fire elemental energy. It was also very durable so Vana had been using it extensively in her own private training, something she never skipped unless there was something more important going on... Smiling at the thought of his daughter working tirelessly to be, not an Adventurer, but a Hero, Vahn felt extremely gratified as a parent. The fact that all of his children looked up to him so much was something that filled Vahn with pride. It made all of his own training much easier because, no matter how difficult things got, just picturing his daughters smiling faces was enough to keep him going. Even in moments such as this, where he had been sent flying nearly thirty meters by Tionas adorable and healthy brown foot, Vahn stood back up with a determined glint in his eye, ented by a small smile on his face. In a manner reminiscent of their first spar, Tiona dangled her foot in front of him with a yful smile and said, "Im starting you think you like being kicked, Vahn~." This caused Vahn tough, earning arger smile from Tiona as he said, "Who knows, maybe your feet left an impression on my heart, and not just my face~?" At the same time he was speaking, Vahn was also sneaking up behind Tiona with his second body. He didnt get far, however, before Tionaughed once again andunched herself at him. This time, she knocked him off bnce and grabbed his left arm with her tyrannical strength before spinning around like a top and throwing him high into the sky. Vahn fought against the disorienting feeling guing both of his bodies while looking up at himself and saying, "Your physical strength is really something..." Tiona was currently using her [Pactio] and, as a result of the physical enhancement it provided, her already monstrous Power was pushed even further. Her throw had sent him nearly 80m into the air, even though he had been fighting to stabilize himself and resist flying too far. Tiona seemed happy for thepliment, beaming as a result before disappearing from sight the momentter. Vahn could sense her movements very easily but, as a result of having two bodies to manage, wasnt able to react in time to avoid Tionas kick. Even so, he managed to wrap his arms around her leg at the same time as his own neck seemed to shatter under the force of her blow. As he was in his awakened Magia Erbea form, Vahn healed almost immediately and, because she had struck him so hard, they both ended up tumbling as he tightly held onto her firm calf and plump thigh. Feeling her bones strain in the wrong direction, Tiona inhaled a sharp breath and muttered an Ataa... as she resisted the pain. Even so, once she managed to get her orientation, Tiona buried her left fist into his face and caused a shockwave to spread through Vahns head and into the ground below. Spiderweb cracks spread out from the point of contact between his skull and the reinforced ground as Tiona leaped away on her good leg. Her right leg seemed twisted slightly out of alignment but, much like how he healed with his Magia Erebea, Tionas muscles seem to deform slightly as her leg righted itself. Now, however, it was almost like she had an extra set of muscles that allowed the bone of her leg to pivot in a way that was impossible for normal people. Tiona gave a test kick, noticing her bnce was a little awkward but that she could put a lot more force into her basic strikes while having a greater range of movement. Laughing at this realization, Tiona said, "Vahn, I love this ability so much. It makes me feel like Im invincible~." Already having recovered himself, Vahn rose to his feet with a smile and said, "It gives you a pretty exotic appearance as well. Having that wild and untamed looks suits you..." Tiona giggled while taking a few slow and yful steps towards him. Releasing a sigh, Vahn got into abat stance and prepared himself for the inevitable beatdown... Instead, what Vahn got was Tiona tackling him to the ground with a momentous hug as she pinned him into the small crater they had formed. Realizing what was going on, Vahn released an awkwardugh and said, "I havent lost just yet..." Tiona, slowly peeling away the cloth that magically hung to her b.r.e.a.s.ts, had already started breathing heavily as she said, "Maybe you can use the moment when I let my guard down to get an advantage...I wonder if I would develop an ability to see out of the back of my head if you tried~?" Without minding the possibility of a sneak attack, Tiona pressed herself to his chest and began passionately kissing him. At the same time, she began to pull at his clothes until Vahn finally gave up and threw them into his inventory... Watching his other body getting ravished by Tiona, Vahn couldnt help but release a small sigh while slowly and awkwardly making his way over to Tione, Ais, and Lili at the side. This hadnt actually been the first time Tiona got triggered during their fights and Vahn knew it was abination of her excitement and hispliments. Tiona got very heated during a normal battle so, fighting against the man she loved would obviously have a greater influence on her body. Since her instincts were even stronger in her [Pactio] form, a few intimate battles were bound to happen sooner orter. Fortunately, she had enough wherewithal to not take it too far so, after a few minutes of making out and wrestling around, she would normally let him go. Seeing the hot and bothered appeared of Tione when he approached, Vahn made an awkwardugh, reminding, "Dont worry, Tione. Once I get better control over both of my bodies, Ill make sure to keep my promise." Tione put on an expectant smile but, instead of saying anything about the promise he had made, pat Lili on the shoulders and said, "You should worry about this one first. She and Naaza have been waiting quite a while~." Lili had been looking towards the crater in the distance with an almost piercing look in her eyes but, after hearing Tiones words, she turned herrger than average eyes up at Vahn and produced a small smile. Smiling, Vahn sat down and patted his thigh, causing Lili to immediately hop into hisp and, without being asked, produce a pair of fluffy hazelnut-colored cat ears. Releasing a small chuckle, , Vahn began to y with Lilis new ears as he said, "Im the most aware of how patient Lili has been. After all, other than Mn and Tina, I have known her the longest out of everyone...isnt that right?" Lili nodded her head and somewhat inappropriately wiggled her butt against hisp as she said, "Yes...it feels like such a long time ago, almost like a dream. But, if this really is a dream, I hope I never wake up...at least not for a few more days." Giving a small nod, Vahn moved his hands to Lilis waist and hugged her tightly as he whispered, "Dont worry, I can assure you that this is reality. Thank you for being so patient with me Lili...Im really proud of how much youve grown since then." Without thinking about it at first, Vahn could feel how firm Lilis abdomen was, even though it was also very soft to the touch. More than just character growth, she had put in an almost ridiculous amount of effort into her physical training and studies. If this was the version of Lili that Bell had met in the original story, the Supporter role might have fallen to the young hero instead of the diminutive, yet inordinately powerful, Pallum in his arms... While Lili was snuggling up in hisp, Ais and Tione sat at his sides, leaning against his shoulders as the four of them enjoyed some skinship together. Vahn couldnt actually do too much more, other than just sit there, as his attention was focused very heavily on what was going on between him and Tiona. She actually got a little too excited and ended up trying to mark him like a Cat Person except, without the same enzymes in her mouth to encourage scarring, the only way she could have ever left a mark on his body is if Vahn made one where her teeth bit into him. Thus, after she was satisfied with the pattern she had formed, Vahn ended up having yet another bite mark on his body. When he saw Tiona lick the blood dribbling from her lips, Vahn had an illusion that she really wanted to eat him up... --- With his daily training in the orbpleted, Vahn returned to the real world and headed toward the Library. He was able to keep track of time easily, regardless of if he was in the orb or not, so he had never beente to any of the scheduled events he had nned. Thus, just as Erika had shown up with a bag full of books in her arms, Vahn had already dragged Vana out of her hiding spot and carried her kicking andughing all the way to the Library. Though she had been able to get a few wins against him, Vahn had also managed to capture her on asion. Thus, as promised, Vana had to spend some time reading within the Library while he also watched over Erikas studies. By the time he reached the Library, his other self and Erika were already hard at work reading arge and ancient looking textbook. Erika looked up and paused for a few moments before lowering her eyes back to the book before her. Vahn noticed the small blush she always had whenever there were two of him around but chose not to tease her for it as he maneuvered Vana from his shoulder and set her on the floor. She had been making a lot of noise on the way over but, after entering the Library, turned quiet with a defeated appearance on her face. One of the rules in the Library was to be quiet, so as not to disturb others and, though Vana was a very rambunctious young girl, she was still really well-behaved. Ruffling her somewhat spikey and wild red hair, Vahn quietly said, "Dont worry, Vana. Well be reading a story about a might hero and her dragonpanion this time around. If you have any trouble with the words, I will help you out..." Vana, hearing her Papas words, opened her eyes wide and loudly whispered, "Is there really a story about a girl hero and a dragon!?" Vahn nodded his head while guiding Vana over towards the sofa. As it was possible to find infinite iterations of a book, with varying plot developments and endings, Vahn found a version of a heroic tale that, instead of a male lead, had a female heroine. This was one of the smaller benefits of the system shop and, for moments like this, Vahn was very grateful for such functionality. Unlike Erika, who preferred to sit in a chair and have him watch over her, Vana unashamedly climbed into hisp and opened up the book while leaning into his chest. Both Vahns noticed Erika look over when this happened so his form closest to her lightly pat her red hair and whispered, "We can move over to the sofa on the far side of the room if you want..." Erika blushed a deeper shade of red but shook her head, murmuring, "No, Im fine, Papa..." However, though she said this, Vahn was very aware that her eyes would dart over to where he and Vana were sitting. He released a small sigh and wondered if there was anything he could do to get Erika to rx more... Though she still struggled quite a bit, Vana enjoyed the fairy tail quite a bit more than normal, especially since the ill.u.s.trations were very vivid. Seeing a powerful and heroic woman riding on the back of a giant dragon made her wiggle around excitedly. Vulcan was alreadyrge enough to ride around but, as she was too young to fly on her own, Vana was still excited at the prospect of one day flying around and saving people from the back of her own dragon. Vahn always encouraged Vana to never give up on her dreams but constantly emphasized the fact that having powerful allies you could trust was equally as important as being strong. He didnt follow his own advice at times, but that didnt mean it wasnt any less true. In response, Vana happily said, "No worries, Papa, one day Ill have a hundred friends and well go all over the world saving people in need~!" Vahn lightly chuckled, lightly tickling Vanas side as he said, "Just remember that your Papa will always be one of your allies. One day, you may be able to travel around freely, but I hope youll never forget that there are people that are willing to help you. No matter how old you get, youll always be my precious little firecracker..." Surprisingly, after giggling for a bit, Vana said in a very self-assured manner, "Papa is already my first friend and ally. When I go on my journey to save the world, Ill obviously take Papa with me~! You can be the super secret awesome hidden mentor that helps all of the younger heroes train to be strong. Shishishishi~." In many heroic stories, the hero always finds some old sage, an elderly wizard, or another retired hero. Vana felt it was perfectly natural to include her Papa, who she already believed to be an amazing hero, into her own party. Imagining traveling around the world with his daughter while she went on her own heroic journey, Vahn couldnt help but smile. He knew it wouldnt be as nice as the image she likely had in her mind but that made it even more important that he was there at her side. If she ended up seeing something that traumatized her, Vahn wanted to be there to help provide her heart and mind the support it would need to ovee the situation. Though the memories of those traumatic events would never fade, Vahn knew it was such moments that defined true Heroes. He believed his daughter was strong enough to ovee anything and, if she wasnt, he would be there to help give her a gentle nudge in the right direction... Thinking it through, Vahn spontaneously hugged Vana very firmly in his embrace as he said, "Your Papa would love to be part of your party one day, Vana. However, youll have to wait until youre fourteen before you try to run off and explore the world...okay?" As it was already a rule she had agreed to, Vana nodded her head with a happy smile on her face. She was very happy that her Papa was willing to travel around the world with her because, if she were being honest, just the thought of going around without him was kind of lonely. At the same time that Vana was thinking this, someone else in the room was having a somewhat simr thought. Erika, having nced over at the happy atmosphere between her Papa and Elder Sis had finally reached a critical level in her tolerance. Gently closing the book she had spread out on the table, Erika held it tightly to her chest and muttered, "Lets move over to the other sofa, Papa..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tionas trying to give Vahn a foot fetish,*Imagines Vahn standing behind Vana, radiating a terrifying aura as his daughter gives a heroic speech...*,Erika is adorable xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 712 - Pamper : Problematic

Chapter 712 - Pamper : Problematic

Around noon the next day, Vahn was sitting atop the Manor as he overlooked the City that spread out before him. At the same time, he was also sitting on the opposite side of the roof and looking at an entirely different part of the City. He had slowly gotten used to the ovepping images in his view by trusting his other senses more than just his eyes. Just relying on his vision made it very difficult to process the ovepping views but, by relying on his ability to sense things through his domain, Vahn had gotten much better at identifying what was real within his vision. When he had first started his training, Vahn would see objects with one of his bodies but, as the visual stimuli were shared between both of his bodies, it was difficult to know exactly which version of himself was looking at the object. It was a very...disorienting experience. Fortunately, the Sub-Space orb had given him more than a month of additional time to practice controlling both of his bodies. It would likely take a much greater period of time for him to master the ability, but it was already going much faster than Vahn initially expected. The reason for this increased speed of mastery was rted to the system shop itself, as Vahn had managed to find numerous items that could help develop his mental and spiritual capabilities further. These included a variety of pills and ointments that could be ingested or applies externally. Much like the [Body Strengthening Liquid] and [Bone Strengthening Pill]s he had taken in the past, they could permanently increase his base parameters and promote his potential further. Vahn now knew that such items were verymon in records that relied on Cultivation as a means to increase their strength. Young children would usually take such medicines and pills when they were very young, strengthening their foundation for martial and spiritual training in the future. Vahn had contemted his children walk the path of Cultivation in the future, as they were able to ingest items from the system shop, but he hadnte to a decision just yet. Ultimately, it would be up to them what path they wished to walk and Vahn didnt want to push them in a direction he thought they should take. Thus, until they came seeking strength from him, Vahn would never force his children on such a difficult path, especially since many of the texts rted to Cultivation talked about heavenly tribtions and the danger of directly going against the flow of fate. If they made any mistakes, or werent prepared for the tribtions, even a god would be struck down and, though it wasnt likely their soul would truly be destroyed, it would undoubtedly damage their ego a great deal. Though items like the [Effigy of the Hero] would protect their physical bodies, it wouldnt do much to prevent damage sustained by the soul. Vahn would never push his children into a path that could endanger them so greatly and, as Cultivation was a foreign concept in this record, it wasnt really necessary to do so. There were plenty of ways they could increase their strength without tempting fate in such an extreme manner. In fact, with the system shop, the number of ways he could help his children increase their strength were functionally infinite. Cultivation wasnt necessarily the strongest means to grow stronger and, given his marginal understanding of the Laws, Vahn knew there were likely several alternative solutions, even within the records that Cultivation was prevalent. Thinking this, Vahn held up his palm and created invisible tendrils of energy that spread from his hand for around 20cm. This was the peculiar form of energy he could generate through his understanding of Petting Laws. It was an example of how anything, even concepts if pursued to the extreme, could even change that nature of how reality works. Vahn could use this strange energy, which not even gods seemed to be able to sense easily, to bring greatfort to people, increase their parameters for a short time, and undeniably increase their affection towards him. Vahn even suspected, if he increased his understanding of Petting Laws to the extreme, he might even be able to tame powerful monsters just by giving them a casual caress... As that thought crossed his mind, another very different one appeared in his other mind as theing battle with Naaza and Lili crept into his thoughts. Vahnughed at himself, causing his voice to carry through the surroundings as he stood up on both rooftops and made he way back inside the Manor. He had already talked to them about the proposition that Syr hade up with and, somewhat against his expectations, both girls agreed to it almost instantly. Vahn could very vividly remember how crimson Naazas face became during that particr conversation. This,bined with her happily wagging tail, gave Vahn the urge to track her down and just pet her until they were bothpletely satisfied. Since he had been trying to follow through with his own intentions, even if they could be a little selfish at times, Vahn made up his mind to track down Naaza. As tomorrow was a very important moment for both girls, she and Lili werent in the Sub-Space orb today. Instead, they were lingering around the Manor and talking to all of the more mature girls, seeking advice for theing days trials. Vahn, sensing Lili in the same room as Syr and Anubis, couldnt help but feel a shiver run up his spine as he continued toward the area where Naaza was, surprisingly, alone. She was in a small room near herb, sitting on a sofa with her aura flickering about with a variety of different colors. It was obvious that she was nervous about tomorrow but, as there were far more positive emotions in her aura, Vahn knew she would be okay. As he approached closer to the room, Vahn didnt miss that Naazas aura began to re up slightly and, though he wasnt looking through the walls, he knew she had sat up and be more alert. Even so, he gently knocked on the door and waited for her permission before entering into the small study where she had been lost in thought. She smiled when he walked into the room but, seeing his other body walk in behind the first, Naazas eyes widened. Her aura instantly exploded and a ruddy blush crept up on her cheeks like red wine spilling out into a fair white satin sheet. Vahn raised his brows, looking at himself while looking back into his own eyes, both bodies and minds showing clear confusion until a thought crossed his mind. Patting his fists into his palms, Vahn remembered that Naaza had a tendency towards delusions at times. She was generally a very calm and stoic girl but, when it came to matters of the heart and more affectionate behaviors, she got fl.u.s.tered very easily. Seeing both of his bodies show up, she must have been thinking something untoward, giving both Vahns a powerful urge to tease her. Making his way over to the sofa, Vahn sat down next to her while also walking off to the side to sit in one of the single-person chairs. He didnt miss the fact that, though she habitually leaned against his shoulder, Naaza also watched his counterpart move off to the side. Catching this, Vahn said, "I was up on the roof thinking and felt the urge to spend some time with you. I hope Im not inconveniencing you, Naaza..." Shaking her head lightly, Naazas tail began to waggle at her back as she smiled and said, "No...I like spending time with you as well, Vahn. It makes me happy knowing you were thinking about me. I was also lost in thought..." Without finishing her words, Naaza averted her eyes to the side and just rested her head against his shoulders instead of continuing. Vahn ced his arm around Naazas body, loosely holding her hip while using his left hand to gently stroke her head. She squinted her eyes, enjoying the contact as her tail began to tap against his back with a bit more force. When Naaza was like this, Vahn almost felt like he was being egged on so, without holding back, he asked, "You know, I had been thinking about trying something..." Naaza blinked in a slow manner while uttering a Hnnnn? while bobbing her head against his palm. Seeing her getting caught up in the moment made Vahns heart melt but, at the same time, there was an itch that began to spread across its surface. Continuing his words, he quietly whispered, "Since we have the opportunity, I wondered if you would like for me to pamper you for a bit..." Naazas tail answered for her as its speed slowly started to elerate while she rubbed her droopy dog-like ears against his palm. Thinking this was the best opportunity he would get, Vahn smiled lightly and added, "Do you not mind...?" This time, he spoke with his other body so Naaza was momentarily confused as she turned her purple eyes over towards him. At the same time, Vahn began to gently rub around her neck and chin, causing Naaza to tilt her head habitually as her eyes started to dart around. She was clearly trying to make sense of what was just asked of her and, judging by the blush spreading on her face, it was apparent she had an idea of what he was proposing. Just as the blush on her face reached a critical level, Naaza muttered a silent, "No..." that sounded more like a squeak than an actual word. Vahn just smiled in return while his nodding with his other body. Closing his eyes, Vahn focused on the connection he had with himself and, as the proximity between them was rather close, fused his two bodies into one. Even if he thought the idea was interesting, Vahn wasnt going to push Naaza into doing something she wasnt mentally prepared for. When she saw his other body vanish, Naaza clearly rxed a great deal as a sigh of relief escaped through her peachy lips. Vahn gently stroked her cheek, turning her face to match his and nting a simple kiss on her forehead as he said, "I would never make you do something you are unwilling to do, Naaza. Im sorry for putting you in such an awkward position..." Following up his words, Vahn firmly embraced Naaza while stroking her long brown hair with his hand. The tension had already drained from her body and, with his additional efforts to calm her down, Naaza practically melted into his embrace as she said, "Its fine...I actually thought about it a bit...maybe...maybe next time..." Vahn moved his hand to her back, rubbing a small circle between her shoulder des as he said, "Whenever youre ready..." Naaza weakly nodded her head as she rxed even more against his chest, taking in shallow breaths of his fragrance that was steadily bing more audible. As a Chienthrope, Naaza had the same draw towards his scent as any race that relied on their olfactory senses. Vahn could still remember her sniffing his dirtyundry in the past, thinking she had been able to avoid his detection. It was a little strange back then but, now that he had experienced so much, Vahn found her actions very adorable. Thus, though his physical appearance didnt change much, Vahn slowly changed his body so that his scent became stronger... Not really understanding the change that was urring, Naaza found herself bing drunk on the scent that sometimes crept its way into her dreams. She would never admit it, and only a few of the other girls knew about it, but she had a pillow that was fitted with one of Vahns tunics. She had snitched it from theundry hamper after passing by several times. Eventually, she gave in and hoped nobody would notice it was missing. However, as she wasnt even the first to do such a thing, the secret eventually got out. Now, she would sometimes wander to Preasias room and nap alongside the fluffy Sheep Person as they both hugged their respective Vahn-shaped pillows. Being able to smell his aroma, while dreaming about the boy that had made his way into her heart, was a very fulfilling way to spend an afternoon... With nothing else nned for the early half of the afternoon, Vahn spent his time pampering Naaza until she ended upying on hisp with her tailzily thumping against the soft cushions of the sofa. She had a silly smile on her face that made Vahn feel very refreshed as he lightly pinched her thin droopy ears and traced the index finger of his left hand along their edges. Naaza wiggled her body in a happy manner while holding her hands toward her chest, balling them up into fists as she enjoyed thefortable and pleasant feeling. Unfortunately, Chienthropes didnt have any characteristic sound they made when they were happy, not that it made Naazas Nnn sounds and quiet m.o.a.ns any less pleasing to the ears. Though he had been tempted to stroke the rest of her body, especially after she had be very receptive to his touch, Vahn kept their moment together rtively tame. Tomorrow would be a big day for Naaza and he didnt want to do anything that would increase her stress levels before the event took ce. Hopefully, she would be able to use the memories of moments like this to keep her calm when the time came. As for Lili, Vahn wasnt actually that worried about her since she had a very strong mentality. It would have been an issue if he had gotten together with her in the past but, after all the physical and emotional growth Lili had experienced, Vahn was confident she would be okay. In fact, he was more worried about himself since Lili was the type that could get carried away if you didnt keep her in check... Just as he was thinking about his adorable little Pallum protege, Vahn heard the sound of a ping ring through his mind as Lilis voice asked, ("Vahn, where are you right now?") Not wanting to lie, Vahn calmly responded, ("I felt like pampering Naaza, so were inside her study. Right now, Im tickling her chin while she is squirming around in a very adorable manner...") For the first time, Vahn felt a ping enter into his mind that was followed by several seconds of silence. It was obvious that Lili had connected to his mind, but it was almost like she couldnt even form any words for a while. When she did manage to say something, however, it was very loud, ("Ah, that isnt fair at all! Naaza, how could you betray me like thisssss...!?") Vahn produced a small smile as he asked, ("Did you need me for something, Lili? And, dont worry, I can pamper you plentyter...") This time, without any dy at all, Lili said, ("Yes, please!") before following it up with the reason behind her initial message, ("Loki wanted to talk to you. She is currently waiting in your private study. It seemed kind of serious...") Hearing Lilis words, Vahn tilted his head slightly as he thought about reasons why Loki would be searching for him. It could be a matter rted to the School, the investigation into Rufinas past, or one of the ongoing conflicts between the Alliance and the various countries. However, in these cases, Loki wouldnt really send such a vague message to be delivered to him. It had to be something troublesome and, the only thing that came to Vahns mind when thinking about such matters were two things... Hoping it wasnt the thing he was most concerned about, Vahn tilted Naazas face towards him and gave her a quick peck on the lips before saying, "I have to go take care of something. Ill see you at dinner, Naaza..." It took her a few seconds to regain her senses, but Naaza eventually nodded her head as she sat back up. There was a somewhat sad look in her eyes but Naaza still managed to produce a smile as she said, "Go. I already took up a lot of your time. Thanks for treating me so well, Vahn..." In total, their little affection session hadsted for nearly two hours, a very long period of timepared to normal. Naaza almost felt like she had entered into Preasias dreamscape and lost track of time because of how pleasant and fluffy she felt before it came to an end. Seeing the mncholic look on Naazas face, Vahns expression softened as he pulled her tightly into his embrace. Tracing his fingers through her silky brown hair, which had be rich and fullpared to the past, Vahn softly whispered, "Youre beautiful when you smile, Naaza...but dont force yourself, okay? It makes me happy to see you happy, just like it breaks my heart to see you saddened, even if just a little...if you want to spend more time with me, you just have to let me know. I do get busy, but that doesnt mean I cant make time for the people I care about...after all..." Pulling away from Naaza slightly, so that she could look up at him, Vahn matched her gaze and finished his previous statement, saying, "I love you..." Once again, Vahn gave Naaza a kiss, this time far more passionate than the rather tame pecks previously prescribed. Leaving behind a much happier Naaza, who actually followed him all the way to the door, Vahn made his way to his private study to find out what Loki wanted to talk about. The only two things that came to mind, each more troublesome than the next, were the Nobles and Freya. The former wasnt too difficult to deal with, but they were incredibly persistent and conniving individuals with too much wealth to throw around. As for thetter, she was inarguably more difficult to deal with. Vahn hadnt seen him yet, but he knew that Freya had already given birth to a son several weeks prior. She was smart enough to not immediatelye seeking a second child, but Vahn suspected Freya had reached the end of her patience and had likely gone to Loki after her tolerance broke down. As it was his own study, Vahn entered inside without knocking and, seeing the serious look on Lokis face, immediately knew he had hit a wall this time around. Loki gave him a small nod, saying, "It seems you already have an idea about what I wanted to talk about. Tell me honestly, Vahn...if youre against this, all of us will support your decision." Vahn shook his head lightly, making his way over to Lokis side to join her on the sofa before exining, "No, this is something Ive put a lot of thought into. Also, I have a theory about how the Vanir develop during the pregnancy and this is likely the best method to confirm my spection. Besides..." Thinking till here, Vahn released a sigh while hugging Lokis petite body firmly as he said, "I cant deny that Im more than a little interested in Freyas body, even if her character is terrible. I also believe that, if my spection proves correct, we can avoid an existence like Leh..." Loki squeezed his hands tightly in support but couldnt help asking, "So, what is this theory that youve formed? You arent the type to simply make unfounded ims when ites to such serious topics..." Vahn, resting his cheek against Lokis ponytail, squeezed her fingers in turn and exined, "The Vanir are like the amalgamation of the unique form of energy in my body and the Divinity contained in the body of a goddess. Not only is their potential much higher than normal, but their personalities and characteristics are all very unique. I believe that that intention of the parents actually had a great deal of influence on the pseudo-divinity inherited by the Vanir, as well as their base personality and character..." Hearing this, Loki was very surprised by the revtion and quickly began wracking her brain to try and make sense of what Vahn had just exined. She had actually noticed that Erika seemed to be almost exactly like what she had wanted her daughter to be like. Not only was she very intelligent, but she was also very willful with a very cute side to her. Most importantly, however, was the fact that all of Erikas capabilities, including those of her Guardian and Artifact, were suited for the role Loki had intended for her. She was also very supportive of Vahn, the thing Loki had most desired at the time, other than the hope that her daughter would actually be free from expectations and able to forge her own path. Yes, it was a bit contradictory, but Erika embodied all these hopes and desires to a T, something Loki felt very grateful for without paying too much attention to why Erika was like that... Realizing the implication behind Vahns words, Loki asked, "So, youre saying that the Vanir are highly impressionable when they are being formed, taking on the characteristics desired by their parents...?" If this was true, it meant the Vanir could truly be very powerful existences in the world, all because their parents wanted them to be. There were undoubtedly variables beyond their control, but the potential implciations were both awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time. After all, if they desired it enough, it might even be able to have the Vanir develop unique traits that could break the bnce of power within the world... Vahn nodded his head, releasing a small sigh through his nose as he exined, "It isnt quite that simple, and Im certain there are things that Ive overlooked, but my spection matches what Ive observed from Inas, Vanas, and Erikas development. Things simply match up too well to be coincidental and, after this matter with Freya is resolved, we will know for certain if my spection is correct. Freya...is very simr to Anubis, at least in regards to how they both changed greatly after observing my soul. I believe I can convince her to harbor a specific intent during the pregnancy and, if I emphasize my own intent, Im almost positive things will develop ording to expectations. This way, I can avoid having a repeat of Leh and our child will be able to live without such a heavy burden..." Loki nodded but also frowned at the same time, saying, "I think you might underestimate Freyas devotion, Vahn. There is a good chance your spection will prove correct, but I fear that her influence still might have adverse effects on the child. With how much discourse there will be in the Freya Familia in the future, it is almost guaranteed to be an issue..." Vahn didnt disagree with Loki, as he had simr thoughts, but confidently stated, "Youre right, but I believe we can help guide them along the correct path. Since the Vanir will grow and develop within the Hearth Manor, Im confident everyone will be a positive influence on their development...after all, Im surrounded by so many amazing women. There is also Ina, Vana, and Erika to look after them and set a good example..." Hearing Vahnsforting words, Loki felt part of her wanting to agree with him. However, a muchrger part of her said things wouldnt go that smoothly, not at all. Thus, while showing her support for Vahns decision, Loki already started to think about countermeasures to prevent the worst-case scenario from urring... --- (A/N: I know a lot of people dislike Freya, myself included, but you have to remember the context of the story. Also, there is no such thing as an irredeemable god and, though Freya had done some terrible things, she cant be judged by the same standards as a human. Also, also, the Vanir born between Vahn and Freya is innocent and, though there may be some issues in their development, these are the things that help Vahn grow and develop as a person. There might not be my love between Vahn and Freya, though Freya might disagree with that, but that doesnt mean he wont care deeply for his children. Anyways, look forward to some father/father bonding between Vahn and Ottar in the future (UwU)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is like Batman, always watching over the City from a high vantage point...,Naazas hesitation : Vahns understanding,The Vanir are Unique in More Ways Than You Might Expect~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PK Chapter 713 - Conviction

Chapter 713 - Conviction

After talking about the nature of the Vanir for a short while, Loki eventually asked, "So, when do you want to take care of this? You still have almost two weeks until you were supposed to be able to perform the ceremony. Also, do you intend to actuallyy with Freya, or are you going to treat it more like a medical procedure...?" There was a very big difference between the two, for a variety of reasons. If Vahn slept with Freya, which is what she would undoubtedly insist on, it meant he would have they with one of the most beautiful and prolific goddesses with a Divinity rxed to s.e.x.u.a.l pleasure. Though it wasnt likely to have much of an effect on him, it would still have some small effect on Vahns mind, at least for a short while after the fact. At the same time, a proper union where both parties indulged in their emotions, was far more natural and it would, in essence, ensure that the child was at least born through a mutual union between man and woman. If Vahn chose the second option, insemination through the introduction of s.e.m.e.n with a tube, it would almost be cruel to the child that is produced. After all, it would still be Vahns child and, given his nature, it would potentially influence him for a much longer period of time than just sleeping with Freya. He would have to bear a strange form of guilt that would be present every time he interacted with the Vanir, potentially influencing them negatively since they were often very perceptive. Vahn knew what Loki was getting at, which was why he previously mentioned he was interested in Freyas body. She really was a beautiful woman and, with the unique qualities of his body, Vahn was confident he would actually be able toe out ahead in the end. Freya would also be taking a vow to now sleep around until their child had fully matured so, knowing himself well, Vahn knew he would have eventually given in to Freyas insistence. Since he had already decided to be more proactive, Vahn chose to trust in his intuition as he said, "Any child I sire, I want them to be produced in the normal way. Though Im sure Freya will be difficult to deal with, Im confident in myself..." Remembering some of her most recent experiences with Vahn, Loki couldnt resist the urge to chuckle lightly as she sent a silent prayer towards her fellow goddess. If Vahn got serious about things, even someone like Freya might not be his match. She might have unlimited stamina during s.e.x, but the influence of Vahns [Hands of Nirvana] and [Grooming] were two things that defied logic at times. Even Syr, possessing a pseudo Divinity rted to s.e.x, couldnt actually keep up with Vahn for very long if he truly got serious. Though she wasnt nearly as powerful as Freya, Vahn would also be able to act with fewer inhibitions with a goddesspared to how he would treat a mortal woman, even if Syr was a demigoddess... Realizing that Vahn might actually win against Freya, Loki couldnt help but feel intrigued by the prospect. In fact, she actually wanted to be there to witness such an achievement personally and, considering the position she was in, Loki knew she had that option. Since there was no way to prevent Freyas charm from activating naturally, regardless of any vow they had her take, Loki could easily justify it by saying she wanted to make sure Vahn wasnt influenced greatly by Freya in a way that could endanger the Alliance. It wouldnt even be the first time she had watched Freya have s.e.x with someone, so there wasnt much wiggle room for the troublesome goddess to refuse. Feeling strangely excited about the prospect, Loki cursed at herself since she could also rationalize that she shouldnt be okay with such things. Though she and Vahn werent married, Loki still considered him her important life partner, so much so that she would rather cut off her left hand than betray the vow she made in the past. Freya wasnt someone she wasfortable with Vahn being with but, remembering she was the one that orchestrated everything, Loki couldnt help but swallow the bitter tasting emotion as she smiled and said, "Ill tell Freya that she is on the schedule. She might start lingering around the Manor in the future, so make sure you are mentally prepared to deal with her..." Vahn nodded his head in understanding while simultaneously thinking about why Lokis aura had fluctuated so greatly for a moment. This line of thought didnt continue for long though, as Loki suddenly said, "To prevent her from trying anything, I intend to observe the event from start to finish. I dont mind if you want to defeat her, but make sure you are decisive about things and consider the consequences properly. A woman like Freya, who had never lost a night battle, might not behave rationally if you manage to subjugate her. She might even be much worse than Anubis..." This time, neither one of Vahns thought processes could fully function as his thoughts wandered to the experience he had shared with Anubis nearly two weeks prior. It was almost impossible to imagine someone being more extreme than Anubis but, considering it was Loki warning him, Vahn believed there was some truth to the matter. After all, Freya was the type of woman that broke people while trying to help them reach their full potential. If she truly suffered a defeat in a category she was peerless at, the impact mightpletely alter her personality and how the acted around him. Just imagining a loyal and devoted Freya that waited upon him made Vahn feel a sinking feeling in his stomach. Yes, she was a very beautiful woman, but the image of a love-crazed Freya was more than a little unnerving... Seeing that he took her warning seriously, Loki nodded her head but added, "Still, it may be for the best. If you dont defeat her decisively, Freya is the type of woman that would eventually fall into her old habits and potentially do something troublesome. Though it isnt guaranteed, as she would be hard pressed to find someone more capable than you, it doesnt mean she wouldnt eventually try to make someone more capable. If you conquer her body, mind, and heart, however, she is far less likely to go to such extremes...however, you wouldnt be able to get away from her too easily if you take that route." Vahn tilted his head back, looking upwards at the roof while his thoughts flowed like a tumultuous river in his mind. Surprisingly, this didntst for too long since Sis suddenly said, (*Vahn, dont forget that there are a functionally infinite number of ways you can deal with such troubles in the future. Once the tier of the record is increased, or when you link it to a higher tiered record, goddesses like Freya wont be nearly as problematic as before. Now only will thews forcing them to follow thepulsions of their Divinity be mitigated, but her power might not even be worth mentioning in the grand scheme of things...*) Hearing Siss words, Vahn knew she was right but, at the same time, he also knew that it likely meant he would be with Freya for a very long period of time. Even if he only spent a few years in this record before moving on, he would inevitably return in the future. His own lifespan stretched into eternity so, unless something changed that forced them apart, Vahn knew he wouldnt really be able to abandon Freya. Realizing this, Vahn cemented his determination and, though it wouldnt be easy, he intended toy the foundation for changing Freya for the better. It might not happen any time soon, but when the restriction on the record was removed, Vahn was certain her personality could be developed in a positive direction. After all, Freya wasnt truly evil and, like other gods, simply gave in to thepulsions of her Divinity. She might have enjoyed it more than some, which could make her seem cruel and heartless, but Freya had also lived for well over four-hundred million years before descending to the mortal world. Compared to what she had given of herself to the record, the impact she had on the mortal world was inconsequential byparison. He actually had the ability to make her treat people better in the future, so Vahn decided he would do just that... Sensing the change in Vahn, Loki tilted her head up to look at him through her slightly parted eyes. She didnt know what decision he had made but, feeling the confidence practically radiating off of him, Loki couldnt help but smile slightly while turning around in hisp. With the same smile on her face, she linked her arms around his neck and mused, "I wonder what youre thinking about~?" Yet, without waiting for an answer, Loki pulled herself up to Vahns face, sealing his lips as her tongue invaded his mouth. She noticed a peculiar vor intermixed with his saliva and, after separating their lips, asked, "You were with another girl before you came to me? My, I didnt mean to interrupt anything...kukuku~." Vahns eyes squinted, gazing into Lokis gem-like red eyes as he traced his hands slowly down her back until reaching the supple and plush butt she so proudly touted in the past. With a glimmer in his own eyes, Vahn smiled and said, "Im troubled by my own poprity, but not to the extent that Im bothered by when my hard-working trickster goddess wants my affection..." Moving his fingers in a practiced manner, Vahn began to massage Lokis butt as thetter released a hot sigh, asking, "What do you mean, my goddess~?" The moment Lokis words ended, Vahn put more pressure into his hands, firmly gripping Lokis butt through the thin fabric of her shorts as he tilted his head and stated, "After everything youve done for me, no, for us...our family...there is no way I would let you get away. Ten, a thousand, or even a million years, the amount of time doesnt matter...you are, always and forever, my Loki..." Strangely, Vahn felt his heart flutter a great deal when he said those words. Even his hands gripping Lokis butt felt itchy and he had a very strong urge to begin massaging them once again. If she wasnt convinced by his words, Vahn was more than willing to show her how serious he was... Loki had also started breathing audibly as her slit-like eyes had opened into a more natural shape, both ruby-like irises fixed to his face. She also felt a unique and inexplicable giddiness spreading through her body, unlike anything she had experienced in the past. Vahns words echoed through her mind and resonated like an absolutely truth that not even her Divinity could resist. There were no schemes cooking up in her head, not plots turning over in the deep recesses of her mind, just those resolute words, almost like a promise that had been carved into her very soul. Tightening her grip around his neck, Loki firmly stated a few words of her own, decisively and resolutely, "Show me..." --- Several hourster, the n.a.k.e.d Loki leaned into Vahns chest, tracing her fingers over the lines of his muscles with a calm and natural expression on her blushing face. Her eyes, instead of forming their characteristic slits, were almostpletely open as a watery haze covered their surface. The ruby-colored irises seemed to glimmer as the low light of the room reflected in their depths. She had actually made ns for the afternoon but, after he began proving his im to her, Loki felt like her arrangements didnt matter at all. It would be troublesome to reschedule thingster, and the other party would likelyin, but Loki didnt care right now. The only thing that seemed to matter was the warmth of the boy she wasying against. Reaching his hand forward, Vahn tilted Lokis head up so he could look directly into her unveiled eyes. He waited for some rity to return to their depths before saying, "You know, you really do have beautiful eyes, Loki. They sparkle like precious gemstones...with such a deep and rich color..." As he spoke, Vahn traced his thumb under Lokis right eye, continuing his movement until his palm came to rest on her cheek. Threads of energy spread from his fingers as Vahn slowly moved his hand passed Lokis ear,bing it through her hair while leaning forward and kissing her once again. Loki had been in a daze when she heard his words, euphoria when she felt his touch, and sublimely contented when he began kissing her again. Firmly grabbing his head in turn, Loki passionately reciprocated his kiss to the best of her ability, almost like she was pelled to do so by emotions she couldnt grasppletely. Like before, the only thing that seemed to matter was this single moment, the man holding her, and the kiss they were sharing. Everything else seemed so insignificant, inconsequential even... It didnt seem like Loki nned to release him any time soon, so Vahn brought his right hand, which had previously been resting on her hip, and slowly traced it up her spine. Loki ceased kissing him almost immediately, eyes wide open as she put on an expression where she didnt know if she should be inhaling or exhaling. When he reached her neck, most of the strength had left her body and her muscles made the decision for her, causing Loki to release a long and hot sigh against Vahns chest. In azy monotone, Loki muttered, "This...I dont know what this is..." while part of her mind slowly started to regain its rity. Tracing his left hand up her abdomen, bringing it to a stop on her right b.r.e.a.s.t, Vahn leaned down and whispered into her ear, "I told you...youre mine, Loki...this is the proof..." Drawing a small circle with his thumb, outlining Lokis n.i.p.p.l.e, the petite goddess began to tremble with a powerful reverberation while clinging onto his body for support. After what they had done earlier, Lokis sensitivity was almost synchronized with his intent. If Vahn wanted her to feel pleasure, her body wouldnt be able to offer any resistance at all. Instead, the feeling would be amplified greatly but, unlike the dazed release she would experience in a normal situation, Loki was hyper-aware of everything that was happening. Much like he had done with Hephaestus, though only twice, Vahn had melded with Loki by intertwining his domain with her aura. For those few hours, it was almost like they had be a single entity except, unlike how he burned like a furnace alongside Hephaestus, his synchronization with Loki had the unique property of reversing the influence of her Divinity. Instead of thinking about schemes and tricks, the only thing going through Lokis mind was a sense of unity and apulsion to simply be. Vahn knew this because, as their bodies and minds had melded together, he felt the same thing as she did. The only reason he was able to recover faster was because of the influence of his [Will of the Emperor], the ever-reliable skill that had always supported him in the past. In a simr method as before, Loki felt Vahns words ying over in her mind and, like a sacred decree carved into stone, they became permanently affixed at the very core of her being. A very affectionate glow spread through her eyes as rubbed her cheek against his chest and mused, "I guess thats that then...looks like Im stuck with you for all eternity...ufufufufu~." Though said in a yful manner, Loki pricked her index finger as a drop of red blood, glowing with a divine light, flowed from the small incision before merging with the powerful energy that had started to invade the room. Several chains, containing powerful bindingws,tched onto Lokis body as the Eternal Vow she swore in her heart took effect...she didnt vocalize it, but Loki swore to the powers beyond Heaven that she would walk at Vahns side throughout all of eternity, so long as he wanted her at his side... Vahn was shocked when he saw the chains emerge so suddenly and, though he was firm in his conviction, he couldnt help but feel he had wronged Loki somehow. It felt like he had manipted her to do something she would have never done under normal circ.u.mstances. However, before he said anything, Loki brought her hands to the sides of his face and resolutely stated, "This is my conviction...Ive imprinted your words on my very soul, Vahn. From now on, unless you set me aside, I am yours...now and forever..." He had said the words in full seriousness previously but, hearing Loki repeat them back to him, Vahn couldnt help but swallow hard while nodding his head. Soon after, the worries he had slowly started to fade away as he continued looking into her resolute eyes and, by the time several long seconds had passed, Vahn felt pride, aplishment, and, more than anything else, love for the goddess who had just made an Eternal Vow on his behalf. It was alreadyte, and others within the residence would undoubtedly wonder what had been going on inside the room, but Vahn felt like it would be impossible to simply leave things on such a note. Thus, though they had already been at it for several hours previously, Vahn and Loki began to consummate their promise to each other...this time with more feelings for each other than either previously thought possible... --- As the aura emitted by the world when an Eternal Vow was made had a very strong impression, every goddess within the Manor, and all the girls who had witnessed Hephaestus vow during the wedding, had been very shocked by the sudden condensation of energy. Hestia, Hephaestus, and Anubis all turned toward the direction of Vahns study as Hestia silently muttered, "That Loki...?" Having known Loki for a very long time, and spending eons as arch-rivals, Hestia couldnt believe that she would actually make an Eternal Vow so suddenly. However, now that it had happened, she began to smile radiantly as a slight aura erupted from her pristine blue irises. Now, three goddesses had made Eternal Vows to Vahn and Hestia began to feel like their family had be much stronger as a result... Anubis, being the only goddess closely associated with Vahn who had yet to make an Eternal Vow, began to seriously consider the matter. Unfortunately, her previous vow conflicted with her ability to do so and, unless she returned to Heaven by means beyond her own, she would never be able to show the same level of dedication as the other goddesses. Realizing this, Anubis brought her hands up like she was about to pray, firmly resolving to serve her Master to the best of her abilities. When she was done, Anubis made her way into the underground section of the Manor and followed the long tunnel connecting to the Manor Loki had constructed to the North. It was rarely used but, after finding out some of its secrets, Anubis had been making preparations of her own. She eventually reached a corridor that seemed to extend deeper into thebyrinthine underground structure. Pressing a panel on the wall, Anubis waited for the mechanism to reveal the secret room beyond, furnished with arge bed and a variety of useful tools... Hephaestus hadnt been that surprised by Loki making an Eternal Vow, as she had actually expected it to happen even earlier. She was, however, curious about the terms of the vow itself and nned to inquire about itter. For now, she gathered up the girls in the Manor and they began to discuss the matter amongst themselves. When some of the girls expressed their own intentions of making an Eternal Vow with Vahn, Hephaestus couldnt help butugh as she lightly reprimanded them. Mortals making an Eternal Vow were arguably more dangerous than gods, as it would follow them through their future incarnations. Vahn had already talked to them about the prospect of immortality so, if the girls wanted to make Eternal Vows, Hephaestusid out the requirement that they would need to reach that stage first... (A/N: For those that have forgotten, Hestia made an Eternal Vow dedicating her everything to Vahn. Hephaestus made an Eternal Vow swearing that Vahn will be thest man she ever loves. Loki made an Eternal Vow swearing she will stand by Vahns side until he no longer wants her there. Heavy stuff, when you consider the youngest among them is around 420kk years old. Godhand is quite fearsome (UwU). Also, next series of chapters is going to be e.r.o.t.i.ca with VahnxLilixNaaza. Since I usually write such content at the beginning of a writing session, Ill be ending my day here early. In exchange, Ill be releasing a few chapters of Fenrirs Journey if you want to check it out (UwU)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Freya...?,Dual Cultivation is Dangerous (o,...,o),Anubis Determination o_o) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PK Chapter 714 - Upon the Precipice

Chapter 714 - Upon the Precipice

Vahn was awoken the next day by a very warm feeling spreading out across how abdomen, reaching the edges of his tunic and trailing down the sides of his body. It was a very peculiar feeling that he had never experienced before and, before he was able to make sense of its origin, a very pungent aroma reached his nostrils. Noticing it was 2:43 AM, Vahn peeled his eyes open, immediately understanding what had happened. He could see the drooling face of Erika hugging his body tightly with a face of pure rxation and release disyed. With a wry smile on his face, Vahn internally retorted, ("I never imagined a time when I would get peed on...she is going to be upset if I dont fix this before she wakes up...") Knowing that it mightpromise his time with Erika in the future, Vahn wanted to hide the evidence of her ident before she realized what happened. Fortunately, both she and Loki were both in a deep slumber, as neither had particrly been morning people. Vahn formed a small transparent ward in the air above Erikas back and, after activating it, the ward began to shimmer slightly as a tingling feeling covered his body. The warmth was slowly peeled away as little droplets of golden liquid formed into a stream that was absorbed by the aerial ward. Vahn was a little surprised by the volume and wondered why Erika would have had so much to drink before bed... The tingling feeling wasnt something unique to Vahn, as Erika also felt the strange sensation and began to wriggle about on his chest. Her tiny brows furrowed and it seemed like she would wake up at any moment, at least until Vahn gently stroked her back and helped her go back to sleep. Thus, without ever being aware of the embarrassing incident, Erika continued to sleep with a happy and contented smile on her face. As for Vahn, he just gently kissed his daughters forehead and began to think about matters of the previous night and theing day. It was still a ways away from Hestia, but Lokis Affection had jumped up to a staggering 849,037, putting her just behind Hephaestus, at 918,443. The numbers themselves were rather far apart,pared to how much Affection he had from some of the mortal girls, but Vahn understood that goddesses werent exactly normal. When Hephaestus and Loki had given birth, their Affection had jumped up several hundred thousand in an instant. Something simr had happened the first time he melded with Hephaestus in the past, so Vahn wasnt that surprised by the change at all. Still, being able to sense the strong bond he now shared with the adorable goddess to his left, Vahn couldnt help but feel he had developed a soft spot for the lovable trickster... A part of Vahn now wanted to dy the matter with Lili and Naaza but, as he was the one to make the promise in the past, Vahn couldnt do that to them. He knew he was just caught up in the moment and, much like other happy events, Vahn didnt really want it to end. If not for the fact Loki had quite a few matters to take care ofter, Vahn would have found it a lot more difficult to make this decision. That was the truth of the matter, so it was perhaps fortunate that Loki had thrown all of her ns aside the previous day as a result of their union. Now, even if Vahn wanted to stay with her longer, his guilt for interfering with her matters forced him to make the correct decision, keeping his promise to two other girls who loved him. It was a strange thought, but Vahn began to consider how many girls he still had to finalize things with before his rtionsh.i.p.s became somewhat normal. Amongst the girls in the Manor, there were Lili and Naaza, who would officially be his lovers after today, Mikoto, who already considered herself to be involved with him, though they had never done the deed, and...Fenrir, Shizune, and Tina? Fenrir was definitely in the running, as Vahn would never be able to abandon his most loyalpanion, but he still had some slight hesitation about Shizune and Tina. The former, because she pined after him while still looking far too young, and thetter because she was Mns daughter, while also being like a surrogate daughter to him... Even so, Vahn didnt intend to back down at all, as he wouldnt be able to betray the girls that had ced their hopes, trust, and love in him. That left only girls like Risna being somewhat troublesome, but Vahn wasnt too worried about her since she had never shown any real signs of infatuation towards him. She was more so the type that just fantasized about things and, even now, her Affection fluctuated between the mid-tote nies. Something might happen between them in the future, but it could be several years down the line...or maybe not, with how she holed herself up inside the Sub-Space orb all the time. As for girls outside of the Manor, Vahn had promises with both Eirene and Demeter, even though he didnt spend too much time with thetter. Freya was an inevitability at this point and, if he actually took into consideration the girls at the Guild branch, there was also Rose. However, after making contact with Rose in the past, Vahn knew she didnt actually harbor any feelings for him. Unless he took a more proactive approach, Rose was more like an associate than a potential love interest. And, though she was very attractive and exotic, Vahn didnt want to just arbitrarily develop rtionsh.i.p.s with every woman he met. In fact, he promised himself that, after leaving this world, he would do his best to avoid developing long term rtionsh.i.p.s with anyone else. Other than a few exceptions, such as Eva, Vahn wanted to avoid getting involved with too many girls, if it could be avoided. After all, that would increase the number of records he would have to linkter on and Vahn didnt think it was practical to put every world he visits into stasis. If he left behind children in a world where time hadnt been frozen, Vahn would be far too stressed out. There was also the fact that, just imagining one day returning to the record of Danmachi with a host of girls, would be very embarrassing. Time wouldnt have passed for anyone remaining inside the record and, as thousands of years might have passed, that could potentially mean dozens, if not hundreds, of girls would follow him back. Thus, Vahn decided to be more decisive and less free in how he loved people... Suddenly, a sleepy and adorable voice tickled his ears as Erika murmured, "Papa..." before giggling in a manner that made Vahns heart do backflips in chest. His children were another one of the reasons he decided not to get involved with too many people in other worlds. After all, if he decided to interact with characters important to the plot, many of them might actually be younger than his own children by then. Vahn didnt care that much about the difference in age, at least when it came to girls like Riveria, Tsubaki, and Mn, but he didnt want to be some cradle-robbing Grandpa. He knew that, with his capabilities, it wasnt actually that difficult to get young women to fall for him, so Vahn simply decided to use his children as a mental seal on his own heart and mind... After spending a few hours enjoying the sight of his daughters sleeping face, it was eventually time to wake her up and prepare for the day. Erika was still very sleepy and, even though she knew it would be another embarrassing memory, she clung to her Papa like the ko she was dressed as while he walked her to the nearby bathroom. He helped her wash her face and, while she was brushing her teeth, brushed and styled her hair. Like Vana, Erikas hair was very strange and it seemed to form into a natural starburst shape at the back of her head. Many goddesses had unique and sometimes impossible hairstyles so Vahn wasnt that surprised. He just helped her tie it up into an adorable star-shaped ponytail at the back of her head before helping her change into casual wear. By the time he had finished helping Erika prepare for the day, she had resumed her bashful appearance with a slight blush as she said, "Thank you, Papa..." She had a habit of overthinking things so Vahn just ruffled her hair while Loki walked into the bathroom wearing nothing but a loose white tunic and panties. She trudged over to the sink, mumbling, "Good morning, you two..." before sshing her face with cold water. Vahn cast a casual nce at Lokis pert rear before averting his eyes away and addressing Erika, "You have to work on waking up in the morning unless you want to be like your Mother~." Erika had been watching her Mothers behavior with a mixture of embarrassment and frustration so, when she heard her Papas words, she turned pale before eximing, "I dont want to be like Mother...!" Loki performed a spit take, giving her daughter a look as if she had just been grievously wronged. Vahnughed, ruffling Erikas hair in the process of saying, "Hey now, your Mother is an incredible woman. She works really hard for everyones happiness..." Loki nodded, giving a satisfied smile at Vahns praise until he continued, saying, "Though, Ill admit, she is a little sloppy at a little too unrestrained at times~." Thisment caused Lokis shoulders to slump with Erika simply nodded her head in agreement, adding, "Mother is a very capable goddess...I want to be like her one day so that I can help Pa...everyone." Though she changed her words, both Loki and Vahn clearly understood what Erika was going to say before she caught herself. Understanding she hadnt sessfully diverted, Erikas face became beet red. She grabbed her bag and shuffled to the door with a quick pitter-patter of footsteps, clearly trying to escape the room and hide her embarrassment. However, when Loki shouted out, "Hey, dont forget to give your Papa a hug and a kiss! He is going to be busy today, so you might not see him until tomorrow~." Erikas hand stopped on the handle of the door. She held it there for a few seconds before lowering her head and running over into the already waiting Vahn. After giving him a firm hug, and hesitantly kissing his cheek, Erika mumbled, "I love you, Papa..." before running off a second time. Vahn had a goofy smile on his face as he muttered in a voice he knew Erika would be able to hear, "I love you too, Erika, my precious and adorable daughter~." The only thing Vahn got in response this time was Erika mming the door as she ran down the corridor. When she rounded the corner, Vahn saw her sloop down to the ground and, though he couldnt see her aura, he knew she was likely very embarrassed. At the same time, Loki released a loud yawn beforementing, "That girl is going to struggle to find a partner in the future. Its probably both of our faults, but she has a big shadow in her heart, shaped like her Papa~." With a small nod, Vahn turned to Loki and walked up behind her before loosely wrapping his arms around her petite body and saying, "I have already thought about their future a lot, especially after learning about Inas ability. However, if it means the boy they choose is a kind and capable man, I dont mind if my daughters have trouble finding a partner." Vahn knew that, because he was so honest and kind with his children, their interactions with all people, especially males, would be slightly skewed. Young girls, especially those close with their fathers, had a tendency topare other men to him. Since many men would look towards them with greed, desire, and intent, all while speaking false words and putting up pretenses, it would be very difficult for the girls to actually find partners. Unless it was a rtively pure, innately kind, or highly capable man, it wasnt likely any of his daughters would settle down early on. Though Vana might be something of an exception to this, Vahn had an inkling that she also ced the least emphasis on such emotions. She seemed like the type that would be both quick to fall in, as well as out, of love. To ensure she wasnt taken advantage of, Vahn didnt mind ying the viin a bit...after all, he wouldnt let his daughters be some prize to be won by men with ill intentions... Seeing the expression on Vahns face through the mirror, Lokiughed mischievously and said, "I feel bad for any boys that actually try to date your children~." Vahn blinked,ing back to his senses as he asked, "Oh, and you would just let some random man try to woo your darling daughter?" This time, Loki beganughing as if she had heard the most hrious joke in the entire world. When she was done, there was a slightly cold light shining in her eyes as she said, "Our daughter isnt the type that would be taken advantage of. If it is someone she chose, I believe they would be qualified to stand at her side...though, if anyone tries to force their way into her life...kukukuku..." Vahn felt a shiver run up his spine but the expression on his face showed him smiling...with a simrly cold light as Lokis shining through his eyes. --- By the end of a lively, albeit somewhat awkward breakfast, Vahn ended up venturing into a room he had only been to a few times in the past. His first impression was that it smelled very pleasant with a mixture of earth, herbs, and intermixing female fragrances. This made sense considering that it was the room shared by Lili and Naaza, both following closely behind him after they managed to extricate themselves from therger group. Without saying any directly, as there were children present, most of the girls during breakfast had given their encouragement to Lili and Naaza. As a result, Lili had already started breathing something heavily by the time they reached the bedroom. She had been looking forward to this moment for a very long time and, now that she stood upon the precipice of making her dream a reality, she could hardly contain herself. Naaza was taking things considerably better than expected, likely as a result of his care the previous day, but her flushed face told the truth of the matter. From the moment she had been saved by Vahn in the past, Naaza had often thought about this day. She had previously wanted to be a capable woman that could stand at Vahns side proudly but, after so many things had happened, Naaza just wanted to be with the boy that had found his way into her heart. Capabilities didnt truly matter when it came to things like love and, waiting as long as she did, Naaza also felt that her heart had be somewhat impatient. The moment she stepped into the room she shared with Lili, Naazas heart began to beat thunderously in her chest. Feeling the giddiness of Lili, and the nervousness of Naaza, Vahn squeezed the hands of both girls and said, "Ive kept the two of you waiting for quite a while...thank you for being patient with me." Lili didnt exactly seem patient, given how it looked like she was about to attack him at any moment, but Naaza produced a small smile in response to his words. She moved her hand up to her hair, moving aside a few silky brown strands as she said, "It feels like my heart is going to break out of my chest...but Im happy to be here. I never felt like I had ever truly thanked you for saving my life, so I intend to show you...my gratitude...now..." While she was speaking, Naaza became progressively redder and her tail had started wagging marginally faster. Vahn loved this trait of Chienthropes, as it made them exceptionally adorable and hard not to love... Lili seemed to have been inspired by Naazas words, so she eximed, "I also wanted to show my gratitude! When you saved my life back then...I..." It had actually been a while since Lili thought about the past and, now that she recalled that incident, some of her fervor faded away. Instead, a gentle smile appeared on her face and her eyes began to water slightly as she said, "Even though it nearly cost you your own, you still saved my life. You got angry on my behalf and protect me, not just from those cruel men, but from my own self-destructive tendencies. Vahn, I will never be able to repay you for everything youve given me...not only did you save my life, but you also saved my heart and mind...now, I have friends I can truly believe in, lots of people I care about, a dream Im striving towards, and a boy that Im in love with..." By the end of her words, Lili was squeezing his arm very tightly while tears trickled down her cheeks. In the past, she had been afraid that Vahn would eventually throw her away unless she could make herself useful. She had even been prepared to serve him with her body, all so that she could experience his kindness and warmth for a while longer before he inevitably left her, just like everyone else. However, Lili knew now that there had never been any chance of that happening from the start. True to the promise he had made to her back then, Vahn had never left her behind and had constantly pushed her forward. She had wanted to follow him, but they ended up in a situation where he supported her from behind, down a path of her own choosing. Now, the path she walked had brought her to the ce she had wanted to be, not because of pity given to her, but because she had never given up and continued striving forward... Naaza began to feel a little out of ce because she hadnt expected Lili to get so emotional so suddenly. When Vahn let go of her hand to hug Lili, Naaza felt strangely lonely until a warmth appeared at her side without her notice. Turning her head, she saw Vahn, the second Vahn, as he also hugged her tightly. It was a little strange, seeing the man she loved possessing two bodies, but Naaza knew they were both him, as hard as it was to wrap her head around. Knowing that he didnt just set her aside to tend to Lili made Naazas momentary loneliness fade away, reced, instead, by a gentle and pleasant warmth that slowly spread through her body... --- (A/N: I know many were expecting a very different chapter, but I got motivated to do something with Erika and Loki after getting bored yesterday xD. Since many people kept asking, I drew a quick sketch-up of Erika. Please be gentle on me, as I dont pretend to be a capable artist (UwU)...well, you can see my attempt at Erika here: /gallery/NbOugfB ) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns Futile Attempt To Restrain The Godhand,Loki gets bullied by a father-daughter duo,Lili hase a long way) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PK Chapter 715 - Liliruca Arde (1/2)

Chapter 715 - Liliruca Arde (1/2)

Vahn couldnt help but feel very odd about trying tofort two girls simultaneously, at least with two different bodies. However, he had wanted to console the crying Lili without making Naaza feel like she was being set aside as an observer. Thus, while gently stroking Lilis back, he was simultaneously hugging Naaza from behind. It was a little awkward, as her tail was wiggling near his h.i.p.s in a dangerous location, but it didnt matter much since things would develop that way regardless. Naaza herself seemed to be very aware of this as well since her aura was slowly transitioning from a sunny yellow with strands of pink, into a more rosy pink that was tinged with a passionate red. Lili was in a very simr state, as she had started to calm down very quickly when he kneeled down to hug her. Even though she was currently in her Pallum state, Lili smelling around the base of his neck and hair while enjoying hisforting embrace. She could see the other Vahn hugging Naaza at the side so Lili decided that she would stop holding back herself. Though they were the same person, the Vahn that was hugging her made Lili feel somewhat possessive and she could feel an aching feeling in her body that had been slumbering for a long time. Now, it hadpletely awoken and the only thing that was preventing her from treating that ache was her own mental state. She just needed to calm down and get into the mood so that the first part of her dream could be a reality... ... ... Though she could feel her body heating up, Lili discovered she didnt have the courage to make that final push, at least not on her own. It was veryfortable to be held by Vahn and, as a result of her earlier reminiscence, Lili felt like she would spoil the mood if she pushed forward selfishly. There were a lot of things she had been looking forward to trying with Vahn, to the point where nary a night passed without her dreaming about it. Now, however, Lili felt a great deal of hesitation because she was worried Vahn would think she was weird for having so much interest in s.e.x, even though they had never even done anything yet... Lili felt like her thoughts had be very tumultuous, mixing together like a chaotic sea that threatened to swallow her up. However, the stable existence that was holding onto her kept her from falling into that deep abyss and, when she heard a peculiar sound reach her ears, Lili regained her senses. Looking over, she saw that Naaza and Vahn had started kissing each other and, even though it wasnt that noticeable at first, Lili could feel her Vahn reacting. Realizing that Naaza had gotten an advantage against her, and that the Vahnforting her was getting a rise out of that, made Lili feel a strange...resentment. Thest vestiges of her hesitation loosed their grasp on her mind as Lili began to nuzzle into Vahns neck, saying, "Today is my birthday...is it okay to be a little selfish...?" Hearing this, Vahn blinked in surprise while trying to ignore the reaction of his other body. After thinking for a brief moment, Vahn smiled and said, "Sure, Lili, today is your special day...as long as it isnt too difficult, Ill grant you any request..." Lili gave him a kiss on the cheek thatsted a few seconds before she happily smiled and addressed his other self and Naaza, "Naaza...I changed my mind. I dont mind if we both have s.e.x with Vahn at the same time, but seeing two versions of Vahn makes me feel a little awkward. I think we should use different rooms, at least for the time being..." While she was speaking, Lili apologized to her best friend within her mind since her words werent entirely true. In actuality, Lili felt like monopolizing Vahn for a bit and was also feeling a littlepetitive towards her friend. She wanted to take Vahn into a private area and see if she could get a bigger rise out of him than Naaza. Knowing her actions would make things difficult for the other Vahn made Lili feel strangely excited. At least for today, she wanted to be able to act as selfishly as she wanted... Naaza, unaware of what was going through Lilis mind, broke free from her kiss with Vahn before nodding after a bit of hesitation. She suddenly felt even more nervous, knowing that she wouldnt have a friend to rely on if she got scared, but decided it was probably for the best. After all, she had never been the kind to enjoy public disys of affection and, though she didnt mind being around Lili, Naaza was afraid she would embarrass herself greatly in the heat of the moment. Because she was a Chienthrope, her s.e.x might be a little awkward and Naaza was afraid her image in the eyes of the other girls would break down if she acted without restraint... Unlike Naaza, Vahn waspletely aware that Lili was up to something but, as he had already given her permission to act selfishly, he decided to go with the flow. It would have been considerably more difficult to be in the same room as himself anyways so Vahn figured it was better this way. This would also be the first time he was with two different girls at once, so it was also a very important practical experiment that he needed to treat seriously. Since he would feel ashamed of himself if he couldnt make both girls happy, Vahn was determined to do his best in both rooms... Staying with Naaza in her room, as she was morefortable there, Vahn also apanied Lili to his room. He then erected barriers and sound-proofing wards for privacy purposes while Naaza began to fidget about and Lili made her way over to his bed. By the time he was finished, Lili then said, "This will be my first time...but I also want it to be a first for you, Vahn. I know youre worried about the differences in our size, but I dont want you to treat me differently than the other girls, at least not in the way you might think..." Hearing this, Vahn was somewhat confused as he turned to Lili, seeing her sitting on the bed while averting her eyes away from his. When she peeked over and saw the confusion on his face, Lili smiled in an unexpectedly mischevious manner as she exined, "Everyone is aware of it, and Im sure youve also realized...but, you have a habit of eyeing girls that have unique and exotic features. Its so obvious that, when I tried seducing you in the past, I used my [Cinder*E] to try and take advantage of your inclination. Since youre also drawn to cute things, I had hoped you would eventually give in if I kept trying...ehehe~." Vahn recalled all the times Lili had transformed in the past, taking on traits of Chienthropes, Cat People, Elves, Weretigers, and even Vanargandrs. Her racial magic, [Cinder*E], was a horrifyingly effective skill against someone like him. Though he had never gone over the line, Vahn knew he had let Lili get away with a lot more than he should have. He also knew that, as she imed, he had a bad habit of being drawn towards unique and particrly exotic women. Every time he saw a girl from a different race, Vahn couldnt help but think about what it would be like to be with them... Seeing the understanding in Vahns eyes, Lili giggled while repositioning her body atop the bed. She turned her rear towards him, revealing the stark white panties she had worn today. Vahns eyes shed towards the rather dangerous looking sight as a magical light shed over Lilis body. He had wondered why she wore a skirt today, as she usually wore shorts, but now it made perfect sense as he watched a ck and white tiger tail pop out of Lilis backside. Her forearms, hands, calves, and feet all became covered in fur while small pink paw pads appeared on her fingers, palms, and the soles of her feet. Lilis previously chestnut-brown hair became white as tiny tiger-ears appeared on her head. Looking back, Lili revealed her stark blue eyes as she grinned with a strangely predatory look and said, "I wanted to be the girl that made you stop looking at other girls...I can be anything you want me to be, Vahn..." And then, in a voice only she could hear, Lili muttered, "...as long as you dont mind my size..." Lili had made a simr offer in the past but, as she was still too young for such things, Vahn had dismissed it as her being mischevious. Now, however, he became somewhat curious about the extent of Lilis transformation abilities. He had already experienced that there were certain unique traits possessed by girls of different races. If Lilis body truly emted the racial traits of whatever she transformed into...she had just be a somewhat dangerous existence to him. As she implied, his curiosity towards other girls could actually be addressed by her if she could emte their characteristics. The only downside was, as Lilis size was still that of a Pallum, it actually made her seem more dangerous when she was transformed. After all, Lili was only 110cm tall and, unless he shrunk down, Vahn was currently 175cm in height...the disparity in their sizes had always made him ufortable... As if she knew what he was thinking about, Lili furrowed her brows and turned around until she was standing her knees. With a very serious expression, that made her actions seem somewhat peculiar, Lili lifted up her skirt to reveal the whitece panties she was wearing. Then, in a firm tone, Lili stated, "Vahn...Im not a child...stop treating me like one just because Im a Pallum. Today, Ill show you exactly how much of an a.d.u.l.t I am. Even if youre more experienced than me, Im confident Ill be able to satisfy you. In fact, I want to be the girl that can satisfy you the most! And its not just because I feel like I owe you anything, its because that is what I want! Having to wait for thest year has given me too much time to think about things and now I want to try them all...!" Vahn watched Lili closely and listened to all of her words, to the point that his body in the other room had experienced a momentary pause. Naaza gave him a curious expression but Vahn just smiled and exined, "Lili just made quite the...confession...sorry about that." Stroking her head and ears, Vahn continued to cuddle up with Naaza while looking to Lili and saying, "I wont lie to you, Lili...Im actually somewhat afraid of you." When she heard this, Lilis eyes widened into saucers and she had a very confused expression on her face until Vahn exined, "You see, even though I tell myself its okay, because you are a Pallum, I cant help but be worried by the differences in our size. If you were able to take on the traits of other races, that actually makes me more terrified, because Im afraid it will skew my preferences a great deal..." Lili opened and closed her mouth a few times while the confident light in her eyes began to waver slightly. With how things were progressing, it was almost like Vahn was telling her that he couldnt be with her. However, this wasnt the case as Vahn followed up his words by saying, "However, none of that really matters anymore. Though Ill likely never get over my inhibitions, Ill bear such things willingly if it means I can make one of the women I care about happy. Even if you didnt want to be someone irreceable to me, I dont think I would be able to let you go in the future...so, sorry if Im also a little selfish at times..." Vahn sent Lili a yful wink, causing her to release a powerful sigh of relief as her body lost strength. Ultimately, Vahn knew Lili wasnt a child and the only thing he needed to do to avoid looking at young girls with intent was to simply not be a sc.u.mbag. He was perfectly fine around girls like Tina, Shizune, and his own daughters, and Vahn was confident this would always be the case. Even Lefiya, though extremely adorable, didnt get the same rise out of him as more mature girls. Vahn wasnt going to hold Lili responsible for his inhibitions about her size and, as she was now an a.d.u.l.t, he would work through them to make sure she was happy. Lili might awaken something inside of him that should probably stay sleeping, but he had been fine even after having a long-term physical rtionship with someone like Eva. There was also Sis, always watching over his every action, and she would undoubtedly correct him if he did anything strange. In response to this thought, Sis voice very firmly stated, (*Youre damn right, Vahn. I wont let you be some s.e.x.u.a.l deviant. I made an exception for Eva, but so help me if you tried something...*) Even though Sis didnt have a real body, Vahn couldnt help but awkwardly swallow while both Lili and Naaza gave him curious looks... Vahn shook his head lightly to ease the awkwardness he was feeling while walking over the bed and crawling in front of Lili. She was no longer holding her skirt up but Vahn still felt she looked absolutely adorable right now with her tiny tiger ears. However, that kind of thing could wait forter so he reached out and began stroking her face and ears while saying, "You should return back to your true form for the time being. I understand you might have a lot of fantasies youd like fulfilled, but that can wait until youre morefortable with the normal methods first..." This time, Lilis face flushed and she began to take audible breaths as a magical light caused her false-Bih features to fade away. Seeing Lili in her natural form, Vahns smile softened and, though she looked like the momentum was beginning to get to her, he leaned down and gave her a kiss on her small and supple lips. Her tiny tongue intertwined with his as he continued to stroke his fingers through her hair and trace his thumbs along her ears. This continued for several minutes until he pulled away, smiling at Lilis red face as the trail of saliva between their lips severed. She swallowed hard and said, "Youve never kissed me like that before...it was...nice..." Though they had kissed several times in the past, Vahn always held back a bit since he didnt want to trigger her too hard. Now, however, the only thing holding him back was the fact he was busy in two different rooms simultaneously. Cradling her face, Vahn noticed that Lilis cheeks were kind of squishy to the touch, causing a smile to spread across his face as he said, "There are two ways we can go about this...you can leave it to me, and Ill try to make things asfortable for you as possible...or you can take the lead and go at your own pace. What will you choose, Lili...?" The whole point of him using two bodies was to make his own actions somewhat awkward and amateurish to give Naaza and Lili a more memorable first time. However, this didnt mean he was really helpless and, if he put in the effort, Vahn would be able to take care of both girls rather easily... Lili paused for several seconds, contemting between the two different choices before a resolute light began to shine in her eyes. After giving a small nod, Lili said, "Lay down...I want to do thing my own way. I dont want you to take my first time...I want to give it to you." Vahn smiled, ruffled Lilis hair, and then moved to the headboard of his bed andid down on his back. Lili seemed to be psyching herself up and, when she was ready, made her way over to him. She unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse and began to crawl up his legs in a slow and seductive manner. Vahn could feel his heart begin to beat quickly as a panic spread through his mind at how dangerous a sight the small girl crawling up his legs presented... Understanding his reaction, Lili felt a little frustrated but also gratified that Vahn didnt actually take any action to stop her. It bothered her that he was still concerned about the size of her body but, at the same time, Lili understood why someone like Vahn would be concerned. Even so, she wasnt going to back down at all, especially since she knew he wasnt going to either. Thus, without any real hesitation, Lili straddled the bump in Vahns trousers. She immediately felt the giddy feeling in her heartpound greatly and couldnt help but bite her top lips as she lightly moved her h.i.p.s before releasing a hot sigh. It felt like nothing stood in her way anymore, a strangely liberating feeling that Lili had never really expected to experience. Licking her lips, Lili looked into Vahns eyes while her passionate red aura crawled over his body, clinging to him in a possessive manner that Vahn had gotten used to with other girls. As if she realized this, Lilis eyes squinted and she moved her h.i.p.s lightly as she asked, "We havent done much yet...but how does it feel...any different from other girls~?" Vahn knew exactly what Lili was talking about and, though he was somewhat hesitant, he nodded his head and exined, "Its...kind of squishy..." Liliughed mischievously with her eyes squinting further as she asked, "How can you be so certain...? You havent touched it directly yet..." Lili reached under her skirt and pulled the two neatly tied ribbons at the side of her panties. She had been wearing rather exotic side-tiece panties that looked even more dangerous with their pristine white coloration. After pulling away the fabric, Lili lowered her h.i.p.s again, releasing a hot sight while spreading the panties she held, saying, "Look what you did to me...Vahn~." At the center of the delicate fabric, there was a very visible wet spot that had covered nearly the entire protective region. Vahn felt an itchy feeling in his heart as Liliughed and said, "I want you to keep these as a memento...I bought them especially for today and it would make me happy knowing you always had them with you~." Lili ced the fabric into his hands with a mischevious light in her eyes, smiling radiantly when she saw the cloth disappear. Then, she once again moved her h.i.p.s gently and asked, "So...can you feel any difference~?" At this point, Vahn realized Lili waspletely triggered and, though it wasnt unexpected, she seemed to have the type of personality that liked to tease people. He didnt mindmunication during s.e.x, as it could make things a lot more interesting, but it was beginning to get a little difficult. In the other room, he had already started having s.e.x with Naaza and he was certain Lili had realized it from his reaction. Still, as he had decided to y along with her, Vahn clenched his teeth lightly before saying, "It is very warm...more than normal..." Lili nodded her head as if she had expected the answer, following up his words by saying, "Yes, Pallums are known to have a higher body heat than most races...people say its because our bodies are so tiny..." Vahn swallowed his saliva again, causing Lili to smile while biting her top lip. The love nectar that had previously been kept at bay by her panties had already soaked into his trousers and Vahn was tempted to throw them into his Inventory. If not for the fact he knew it was better to treat a girls first time in a normal manner, Vahn would have already discarded his clothing long ago. Fortunately, it seemed like Lili was already reaching the limits of her own tolerance as her body began to lightly tremble. A muchrger volume of liquid spread through his crotch as Lili made squeaking m.o.a.ns while supporting herself with her hands against his stomach. Lili had decided to warm up her own body by getting off on Vahns before they began. She knew he was very good at forey but decided to take matters into her own hand since moments like this werent something that came often. However, she made a mistake and a feeling of dread spread through her as she muttered, "No...damnit..." Vahn was curious about what was wrong, tilting his head slightly while asking, "Lili...?" However, instead of getting an answer from her mouth, Vahn discovered the source of her unease the moment he asked the question. For the second time today, for entirely different reasons, Vahn got to experience the peculiar feeling of having a small girl pee on him... (A/N: I know Im not the only one that is a little bothered by Lilis size so, if you want to avoid the next chapter, I would understand. Still, keep in mind that she is, in ordance with the canon material, legally and a.d.u.l.t. Chalk it up to the pitfalls of a fantasy world created with a child-like ve race (x__x)...) A/N: Alternate Titles: *BANG* *BANG* *BANG* FBI! OPEN UP!,Very Dangerous Indeed...,Overconfidence makes oneself ident prone (U___U)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PK Chapter 716 - Liliruca Arde (2/2)

Chapter 716 - Liliruca Arde (2/2)

After her little ident, Lili lost a bit of her momentum and sat at the side with a beet red face while Vahn cleaned up the mess. She had been very nervous during breakfast and drank a lot of water without thinking about it. It hadnt even crossed her mind to go to the bathroom before and, as climaxing sometimes felt like a strong urge to pee, Lili had dropped her guard at thest moment. By the time the dam had been broken, nothing could stop the flooding of the dragon valley. Lili had never been so embarrassed in her entire life and it suddenly became much harder to make eye contact with Vahn. As for Vahn himself, he just had a casual smile on his face with slightly dulled eyes as he mechanically used magic. In the other room, things were getting rather intense with Naaza and it took a great deal of focus to case magic under such circ.u.mstances. It was fortunate that Lili wasnt looking at him or it was very likely she would have noticed the abnormality... After cleaning up everything, Vahn knew he would have to take the initiative for a little while so looked toward Lilis small figure beforeying back down on the now dried bed. Lili looked over, seeing Vahn with his hands behind his head in a rxed manner as he said, "That was an interesting experience, hahahaha~." Lilis blush turned crimson as she eximed, "Vahn! You cantugh at a time like this~! You, you, you, you jerk!" Vahn, with apletely innocent look on his face smiled to Lili and asked, "Are you going to let such a small setback stop you...?" Hearing his words, Lili uttered an Eh? while her mental processes slowly caught up with what was happening. She realized Vahn was just trying to break her free from her embarrassment since it would have made things even more awkward if she was left to brood. Still, seeing him rxing made her want to punish him a bit, even though she knew it was probably a means to bait her into taking action. Pointing towards his face with a look of resentment on hers, Lili eximed, "Take off your pants! Ill teach you tough at me, Vahn!" Vahn raised his brow in a taunting manner and, without changing his pose, instantly removed all of his clothing. Lilis eyes widened and he could see her visibly tilt slightly when his dragon roared towards the heavens, undaunted, untamed, andpletely beyond her capabilities to teach in a practical manner. Even though he had actually made it slightly morepact, as Lili shouldnt know his normal size, it still struck a very imposing figure that made Lilis eyes widen into perfect circles. Still, seeing the taunting look on Vahns face, Lili swallowed hard and, surprisingly, pped both of her cheeks pretty hard to psyche herself up. With two hand prints on her cheeks, Lili scuttled over to Vahns side and, after a bit of hesitation, straddled his thighs. Because of the difference in their hip width, Lili had to spread her legs pretty wide and, having already removed her panties earlier, Vahn could see a glimpse of her forbidden territory through the gap in her skirt. Lili didnt seem to notice this, however, as her eyes werepletely fixed on the majestic dragon before her. It felt like she just had to bend down slightly and she would be able to touch it with her face... Vahn though she was still intimidated and was about to say something before forcibly swallowing his words when Lili suddenly asked, "Is it smaller than normal...?" with a hard tone to her voice. Even without answering, Lili understood the truth of the matter and made a small pout as she moved her h.i.p.s closer to his erect member. She unhesitantly grabbed it with her scarily small hands before straddling her plush and hot mound against the base. Lili began breathing a little heavily from the contact, muttering, "Its hot..." in a quiet voice while cing it against her stomach. When she saw how far up it went, anyints she had about Vahn decreasing his became locked away inside of her heart. She knew it wouldnt actually reach up that far, but Lili felt like Vahn would almost be able to reach her diaphragm if he was in his normal size... Deciding to let the mattery, Lili moved her h.i.p.s further forward until Vahns p.e.n.i.s became pressed to his own stomach. Lili saw it reached all the way to his belly button and felt a tension in her lower body as she imagined just how far it would reach inside of her. Even so, she continued her previous action and dragged her entrance up his length while repeating her earlier inquiries, "So...how does it feel...?" Though she wouldnt be able to keep it up for long, Lili wanted to at least try to follow her previous n to get a rise out of Vahn. Vahns eyes were firmly fixed to where Lili was rubbing herself against him. Her somewhat puffy v.a.g.i.n.a had a mind-numbing softness, a very discernable heat, and was already highly lubricated as a result of her own excitement. Likely as a preparation for today, Lili was alsopletely hairless and it made the sight look even more dangerous as a result. A part of him was very resistant to the idea of actually putting his p.e.n.i.s inside of her but, as she had asked him a question, Vahn answered, "It is very soft...and hot...and a little slimy..." Lili released a smallugh,menting, "Dont say something like slimy...jeez..." Even though sheined, Lili had a smile on her face as she slowly moved her h.i.p.s up and down. She was very aware of theplications of them having s.e.x and had already taken twice the amount of medicine as normal to make sure her body would be able to adapt. This was one of the reasons why she was especially squishy right now, because the pliability of her s.e.x.u.a.l organ had been pushed to an extreme that was very atypical of a v.i.r.g.i.n woman. The most painful part would be having her h.y.m.e.n severed, but Lili was confident she could resist the pain after her strenuous physical training. As before, Lili continued her movements as her body steadily heated up and Vahns p.e.n.i.s waspletely covered in her love nectar. Every time his hot ns rubbed against her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s, Lili released a hot sigh and continued speeding up her movements until a second wave of pleasure passed through her body. It wasnt nearly as powerful as her previous one, as a result of her tensions have eased slightly, but they both noticed an abnormality that made Lili curse. When she climaxed, a very small amount of liquid that was vastly different than her love juice mixed into a c.o.c.ktail of fluids. Vahn had the courtesy to not say anything but Lili felt very frustrated since she realized her body must have an inclination towards squirting. This wasnt the first time she had climaxed before, not even close, but the excitement this time around was making her body react in a very different way than the past... Since Vahn kept quiet about it, Lili gave him a bashful and grateful smile before doing her best to appear as seductive and sensual as possible. Very slowly, Lili began to unbutton her blouse while moving her h.i.p.s back and forward, urging her body to stay warm for what was toe. After peeling away her blouse, the only vestiges of clothing that remained were her whitece bra, matching the panties she had worn previous, and the dark blue skirt she was wearing around her h.i.p.s. Lili kept eye contact with Vahn the entire time, peeling off her skirt before moving her hands up in a flexible disy as she very easily unsped her bra. With the tension released, the bands of the bra slid down her shoulders and released her ratherrge, for her size, puppies. They were a very fair colorpared to her rtively tanned skin and Lili felt slightly embarrassed by how her little beads were standing excitedly. Vahn eyed Lilis b.r.e.a.s.ts and, without asking permission, reaching his hand out to give them a gentle squeeze, sampling their feel with his palm. Lili released a pained m.o.a.n as she said, "Not so rough..." in a small voice. Vahn nodded and, in an even gentler manner, lightly squeezed Lilis soft b.r.e.a.s.t with his fingers. Lili closed her eyes, bit her lip, and just continued to rock her body slightly while enjoying the sensation of Vahn ying with her b.r.e.a.s.ts. She had always been sensitive about them because, while she had been subjected to the cruelty of the Soma Familia, some of the Familia members would makements about them. The men that had nned to sell her as a s.e.x ve had always made snidements about how well she was developing... Shaking those dark thoughts from her mind, Lili opened her eyes to meet the gentle and understanding smile on Vahns face. She gave her own smile in return, saying, "Vahn...I have no way of expressing how thankful I am to you with just my words...so let me do it with my body...I want you to know just how much I love you..." Lili felt a third wave slowly creep up on her and decided she was ready, even if no amount of preparation would truly prepare her for what is toe. Even so, Lili didnt care about that at all and, just as she had adapted in the past, the was another thing she would ovee. The difference is, unlike in the past, where she acted for her survival, she now acted for her own happiness...for the love she had...the love she shared with Vahn... Knowing what wasing, Vahn nearly offered to make things easier for her but, someone as prideful as Lili, wouldnt give in so easily. Even so, he nned to ease her burden after the fact, regardless of how she felt about the situation. Any resentment she had would fade with time, something Vahn was very aware of, so it was fine to shoulder her ire for a short while. In truth, he was terrified of actually having s.e.x with Lili because he didnt want to hurt her. This wasnt enough to make him take a step back, however, so the only thing he could do was deal with the aftermath as best he was able. Fortunately, as intense as it was, things between him and Naaza werent veryplicated and his dual-focus was slowly shifting towards Lili, at least for the time being. Lili lifted her h.i.p.s and, realizing she actually couldnt reach the tip from her knees, repositioned herself so that she was squatting above his h.i.p.s. With how soft the bed was, it was difficult to squat in such a manner but Lilis core muscles and bnce were developed to the extremes. She also had an incredible amount of flexibility and hoped it would help make things easier on her, at least until she had adapted. As for Vahn, he had started breathing very quickly and both of his brains were buzzing as he watched Lili squat above his h.i.p.s. He helped support her with his hands as she maneuvered his ns to her puffy and dangerous-looking entrance. Vahn almost felt like his ns themselves wererger than her vulva and, as he watched them stretch to consume the head of his proud dragon, Vahn felt like time had slowed to a crawl... Things werent much better for Lili and, as she was maneuvering his ns into her own entrance, her body was trembling quite a bit. It almost felt like it was impossible to find the actual entrance to her v.a.g.i.n.a but, after more effort than shed have liked, Lili finally found the spot inside of herself that began to give away. She began taking several deep breaths and was vaguely aware of the warm and calming energying through Vahns palms as she began to lower her h.i.p.s. The amount of effort it took for her to get the entire head inside made a part of her mind begin to panic as it screamed for her to reconsider. Completely ignoring that tiny voice, Lili looked into Vahns eyes with a very serious expression and said, "I love you..." She had noticed that Vahn had actually be a little pale but, when he heard her words, his eyes regained their focus as he confidently replied, "I love you too, Lili..." With his words filling her with confidence, Lili buried that tiny voice away in the back of her mind, took a very deep breath, and began wiggling her h.i.p.s while forcefully lowering her body against his... Vahn felt a tightness that was almostparable to Hestias as Lili practically pried herself open with his member. At the same time, he began to channel a tidal wave of energy through her shoulders as Lilipletely tore through her own h.y.m.e.n and continued going until she reached a dead end. The breath that she held previously seemed to be stuck in her throat as her body began to tremble greatly, even with his energy helping ease her difort. When it finally found its way out of her throat, Lili released a choked "A...aah..." before it continued to increase in volume and became a full-on "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHHHUKKK!" Following that, she began to cry heavy tears as she repeated, "It hurts, it hurts, it hurts..." over and over. Feeling his own body trembling a great deal, Vahns [Eyes of Truth] activated to make sure Lili didnt hurt herself too badly. The difference in their size, even with his reduction and the medicine she had taken, was simply ipatible. He could see several contusions within the interior of her vice-like v.a.g.i.n.a,pletely ignoring the area where her h.y.m.e.n had been. Vahn began repairing the damage and doing his best to ease Lilis pain while supporting her body with his right hand. She tightly held his arm and continued to cry before realizing what was happening. With an aggrieved expression on her face, Lili tried to say, "Noo...no...stop..." between pained breaths. Lili had always expected it to be painful but it was a pain she wanted, almost to the point that she needed to experience it. She had always felt very guilty about the pain Vahn had gone through on her behalf and wanted this to be the moment when she repaid that debt that had carved itself into her heart... Vahn had an idea of what was going through Lilis mind but, even if she felt like he had wronged her, his only response was a loving smile and the words, "I love you..." Lili blinked when she heard this and her frustrated expression softened a bit. Vahn raised his body slowly into a sitting position, hugging Lilis small and seemingly frail body as he repeated, "I love you, Lili...I dont want you to be in pain..." He made sure not to sit up all the way because he didnt want her weight dropping down onto him. At this point, barely 10cm of his length was inside of her and she was adapting to the intrusion very slowly on her own. Any resentment Lili felt had started to melt away faster and faster, every time Vahn repeated those magic words into her ears. Though she was in an awkward position, half-squatting while he hugged her, Lili feltforted by hisrge frame and warm embrace. She wrapped her arms around his body and began to hug him in turn, nuzzling against his bare chest as she fought to control her tears. The pain was quickly subsiding under Vahns efforts, but Lili still felt like crying. Vahn was always looking out for her and, now that they had finally be one, Lili felt like she was sinking to the bottom of an oceanprised entirely of her own emotions. The deeper she sunk into that abyss, the harder Lili cried and it wasnt until nearly twenty minutester that she managed to calm down... While still tightly clinging to his body, Lilu muttered in a quiet voice that was hoarse from her previous wailing, "This didnt go quite as I expected..." Vahn released a very lightugh, stroking Lilis back in a small circle as he mused, "Thats how life is at times...we can make all the ns in the world but, the moment we have to face reality, things can break down in an instant. Ivee to understand that this is one of the things that make life beautiful though...otherwise, moments like this, where I can feel so close to the people I love, wouldnt exist...tell me Lili, can you feel the love I have for you...?" As he spoke, Vahn hugged Lilis head to his chest so she could hear and feel his heart beating. Lili listened to the powerful beating of Vahns heart, which was excitedly throbbing inside of his chest. She also felt the steady flow of energy through her back and, though he likely didnt want her to focus on it, she was very aware of the intruding object that felt like it hadpletely filled her up. The pain was no longer present, now reced by a mild difort, and Lili was feeling a small urge to move around. She noticed that the ache that had followed her for thest year had faded away, almost as if Vahn hadpletely shattered it, and it made her heart feel at ease. Reying his words in her mind, Lili knew that this reality, this moment when she was connected with the man she loved, really was worth all the pain she had experienced previously. Those memories, the people that had hurt her, none of them mattered remotely as much as this one singr instance in her life... Silence reigned in the room for a few minutes with only the sound of Lilis breathing any indicator that time hadnt stopped. Then, as if she couldnt wait any longer, Lili flexed her abdominal muscles and caused Vahn to exhale sharply through his nose. Giggling at his response, Lili raised her tear-stained face to match his gaze and said, "I know you didnt want me to be reliant on you, but Im not sure I can help myself if youre always so reliable..." While she was breathing, Lili had begun to flex her abdominal muscles as tightly as possible while slowly moving her h.i.p.s. She wasnt satisfied with how little progress she had made and, knowing someone like Hestia had managed to take in Vahns full length, Lili set her goal as epting his current length... Lili was a very powerful Adventurer now and almost all of her parameters leaned towards her physical development, especially Power and Endurance. She had trained her body into a powerful weapon and, every time she flexed, Vahn felt like she was trying topress his dragon into a noodle. Fortunately, he had experienced with girls like Hestia so it was more of afortable pressure than something painful. Still remembering her previous words, Vahn leaned down, arching his back more than he would have thought necessary, and began kissing Lilis small and sweet lips. She really was very tiny so, even while sitting in hisp, Vahn had to crane his neck just to be able to kiss her, something that was only possible if she tilted her head back to ept. Though she could continue holding it for a while longer, Lili began to find her current position very ufortable because she had been squatting for nearly a half-hour. The kiss with Vahn required her to lean back awkwardly and it made other movements very difficult. She pushed against his chest to break free from the kiss and said, "Lay down properly...Im fine now...fuuu..." Vahn nodded his head and, though it might not have been appropriate for the situation, habitually rubbed Lilis hair before doing as she suggested. Lili gave an exasperated sigh before moving her feet into a better position and supporting herself with Vahns strong abdominal muscles. She had tried moving earlier, but Lili quickly realized a problem as Vahn simply moved with her. It was like he was wedged into her insides and, unless she pulled out, it didnt seem like they were going to make any progress any time soon. Deciding it was time for drastic measures, Lili moved her h.i.p.s a few times before releasing a helpless sigh and saying, "Im going to use my [Cinder*E]. Ive already given you my v.i.r.g.i.nity and now I want to enjoy having s.e.x with you...my body isnt adapting fast enough and I cant even move with your stupidlyrge meat rod jammed inside of me..." Vahn felt like his brain had dulled when he heard Lilis words but, before he could say anything in response, she had already cast her magic, surprising Vahn by the race she had selected. At the same time, Lili fell like an anchor and released a loud yelp-like m.o.a.n as a result. Instead of her previously tanned skin, Lili now had a healthy brownplexion while her chestnut brown hair had be almost ck in color. Her muscles, which had always been somewhat prominent under her soft and supple skin, now became slightly more firm and glossy. When she opened her eyes, they were also much darker than normal and Lili had a satisfied smile on her face as she moved her h.i.p.s slightly. This small movement caused her to release a very sensual m.o.a.n as she said, "Nnnn...I know this would be the best choice...what is with this body...Nnngh~!" Vahn was still surprised by her transformation and, even without asking, could tell by the way her v.a.g.i.n.a was devouring his p.e.n.i.s that Lili had transformed into an Amazoness... As if to answer his confusion, Lili chuckled lightly and, while continuing to move her h.i.p.s, exined, "I spend a lot of time with Tiona and Tione, so I know the benefits enjoyed by Amazons. This was the trump card I had prepared for today and, since you might have to deal with Kali in the future, I thought this would be good training for you...hafuuu~!" Lili had tightened up her abdominal muscles again, twisting her h.i.p.s around his member as a shudder ran up from his back. At the same time, Vahn tried to make sense of Lilis words and remembered that Kali, the Goddess responsible for Tionas and Tiones tragic pasts, was arguably more petite than Lili. However, he had never really thought about ever being together with her in such a manner... Lili, understanding his confusion but feeling a strange frustration by his distraction, exined, "We know you need to win the affection of Goddesses with Space, Time, and Fate based Divinities. Kali has Death, which is rted to fate, and Time, two things that would be helpful for your future ns. If you can actually conquer her, it will go a long way towards bringing about change in the Amazon country of Telskyura. Other than the Queen of the Amazons, she has the greatest amount of influence and many Amazonesses are very faithful to the belief system she propagates..." Though she was exining things as clearly as she could, Lili felt a strong urge welling up inside of her to try and dominate Vahn... Vahn noticed Lili was putting a lot more strength into her movements than was necessary and, though he had been somewhat distracted by her words, understood what was going on. It was a scary thought but Vahn realized he would have to defeat Lili unless he wanted to be on the losing end of the situation. She was a very strong girl so, if he let her take control of things, it wouldnt end well for him, even with his regeneration ability. However, there was another thought creeping up inside his mind so he asked, "Lili...are you trying to get pregnant...?" When she heard this, Lilis v.a.g.i.n.a tightened like a vice and he could feel her cervix practically kissing his ns while a powerful suction came from her w.o.m.b. Lili showed an expectant smile and peered at him through her one parted eye before saying, "I never did tell you what my dream was...did I~?" From the small figure of Lili, Vahn suddenly felt a great deal of pressure as the smile on her face became muchrger as she eximed, "I dont want to lose to anyone, especially myself...since I had three children in the Divination, I want to have even more this time around...dont worry though, Ill leave it up to fate to decide when I get pregnant..." Though she said that, both Vahn and Lili understood the implication behind her transforming into an Amazoness. If he left her to her own devices, which he couldnt allow, Lili would probably end up forcibly dominating him. However, if he turned around and dominated her instead, he would essentially be bullying a small Amazoness into submission and, as she already recognized him as a suitable partner, the chances of her getting pregnant were almost 100%... Suddenly, Vahn realized Lilis scheme and understood why she had originally asked permission to act selfishly. However, instead of being afraid of the consequences, Vahn smiled as the focus of both his bodies shifted almostpletely to Lili. Before she could take things any further, Vahn rolled forward and reversed positions with Lili, pinning both of her arms to the bed by her wrists. Lili took several deep and excited breaths while wrapping her legs around him like a vice. Biting the bullet, Vahn decided to leave things to fate and, after a much longer session than he had expected, ended up conquering his third Amazon... (A/N: This is technically the end of Vahn and Lilis first time. I tried to avoid writing too many details, as you probably noticed, and instead tried pushing some character and plot development. The next few chapters have Naaza, and Im wondering if I will write them today or tomorrow. If I can finish everything in one chapter, as Naaza has a lot less baggage than Lili, I will post it today. If it takes 2, or more, I will publish them tomorrow. I dont want to leave you all standing on a big cliff xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn Mason for President~!,RIP Lili, literally...,This is literally entrapment (o,...,o)!!!!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PK Chapter 717 - Naaza Erisuis

Chapter 717 - Naaza Erisuis

Nearly an hour before his climactic battle with Lili had begun, Vahn had already settled into Naazas bed with the surprisingly bashful Chienthrope. Naaza had never been the type of girl that openly disyed her affection and it didnt seem like she even knew how to take proactive action. Ever since he had left the room with Lili, Naaza had almost turnedpletely silent. The only reason they ended up at the bed was under Vahns guidance. When they had got there, Naaza just stared nkly at the ce she had been sleeping for more than a year. She didnt actually seem hesitant, but more like her thought process had stalled and she didnt know what to do at all... Out of concern, Vahn had ced his hand gently on Naazas shoulder and helped her sit on the bed while asking, "Are you okay, Naaza...?" When she made contact with the bed, however, Naaza fell down like a marite that had its strings cut. Vahns eyes widened in surprise but he calmed down soon after when Naaza rolled away from him, curled up into a ball, and weakly asked, "Can you just pet me for a little while...?" Most of the intimate moments she had ever shared with Vahn was when Lili was there to egg her own. Now that she was alone with him, Naazas mind hadpletely nked as her heart performed acrobatics in her chest. She just wanted to calm down and, considering howfortable she always felt whenever Vahn pet her, Naaza couldnt help but proposition his services... This was how they ended up on the bed with Naazaying on hisp as he ran his fingers through her hair, rubbed her neck, gently thumbed her droopy ears, and stroked her soft cheeks. Naaza had calmed down a lot and her tail had been wagging happily for a while now, to the point that it was thumping against the bed in a steady rhythm. Vahn found this version of Naaza very adorable but knew things would probably stop here unless he took the initiative to push her forward. Her aura was suffused with a rich pink, tinged with passionate reds, so he knew she was actually expecting it to happen. Thus, after helping her calm down, Vahn let his right hand wander away from her head, tracing it down her side and bringing it to a stop around her hip. Naazas body trembled in response but, other than the speed of her tail increasing, she made no efforts to stop. In fact, she seemed to be trying to pretend that she hadnt noticed his hand at all and just continued toy in hisp with her eyes closed. Vahn had a soft smile on his face and was preparing to do more when Lilis sudden deration reached his other set of ears. Vahn dulled for a moment, enough to make Naaza peek up at him with a curious and confused look in her eyes. Seeing her confusion, Vahn smiled, exining, "Lili just made quite the...confession...sorry about that." Vahn continued to stroke Naazas head and ears with his left hand while casually moving his right hand from Naazas hip and onto her butt. She pulled her knees up in an instant and closed her eyes tightly, no longer concerned about Vahns previous daze as a veryfortable and excited sensation spread from her butt and into the rest of her body. Vahns Petting Laws allowed him to send energy outwards for up to 20cm, even through the air. When he was in contact with a persons body, however, this limit no longer existed, allowing him to stroke Naazas butt while the threads of energy flowed from his palm into the rest of her body. It was a form of energy that had a very calming effect on people in normal circ.u.mstances but Vahn was also feeding threads of stimting energy into Naazas nerves with his [Hands of Nirvana]. Her fidgetting continued to increase in intensity as a Naaza showed a confused expression, mixed with bothfort and pleasure. He thought talking would help distract her so Vahn began to exin, "This is abination of my [Grooming] and [Hands of Nirvana]...even if the precision is a bitcking, it is pretty effective if I put some effort into it..." Vahn lightly squeezed Naazas butt, noticing it was firmer now than it had been in the past. Her physical training, which relied heavily on Agility training, had given her a firm butt and supple thighs that were both incredibly soft to the touch. Even through the loose fabric of her dress, Vahn could feel the softness against his palm and was looking forward to what was toe. Naaza didnt respond to his words, she just continued to resist the dual-sensations spreading through her body, bringing her fists up in something like a defensive posture while tightly closing her eyes. Vahn released a small sigh when he saw this and began to use his [Grooming] to greater effect while ying with Naazas ears. This caused her to release a sigh as some of the tensions in her body began to rx. Then, moving his hand from her butt, Vahn brought it to her abdomen and used his secret techniques against Chienthropes. The reason why Naaza had instinctually moved her knees up earlier was a protective measure against this kind of attack, something deeply rooted in her instincts since it was the weak spot of all Chienthropes. Using the gap in her focus, Vahn brought his palm against Naazas abdomen and began rubbing his hand up and down. This time, her legs kicked out and she naturally rolled onto her back and began to writhe about with a blissful smile on her face. Realizing her defenses had been breached, Naaza, fighting throughfort andughter, pouted, "Rubbing my belly...how...how sneaky..." Vahn smiled in response, moving his hand towards Naazas diaphragm as she took in a deep breath. When he moved back down, her legs twitched a little and she exhaled a contented sigh. With a mischevious twinkle in his eye, Vahn said, "It might be a little cheap, but I wanted to do what I can to help you rx..." Naaza gave him a small smile in return, at least until she heard him mutter, "I wonder how she would react if I used my [Grooming]..." He had used a quiet voice, but Vahn knew she would be able to hear him. Without waiting for her response, he pressed more firmly into her abdomen as threads of Petting Laws spread through her body. Naaza tightly gripped his arm while her teeth chattered at the overwhelming sense of pleasure and difort. However, there was almost no strength in her grip at all so Vahn continued rubbing Naazas belly as she began to gasp in tune with his movements. In less than a minute, she had let go of his arms and syed out in azy and contented manner like someone floating on the surface of a river. Vahn had gotten this same reaction from Anubis and Nanu in the past, so he wasnt too surprised that Naaza had also given in to her instincts. Using the moment when she simply didnt care about anything else, Vahn brought his hand up and nimbly unfastened the buttons of her blouse. In preparation for today, she had worn a button-up blouse instead of the long-sleeved tunic she prefered. However, she strangely worse a long skirt instead of something easier to remove so Vahn felt like it had either slipped her mind, or she wasnt fully prepared for her first time. This thought fell to the back of his mind in the next moment though, as Naazas light-green brassiere came into view. Though she had also seemingly frozen in time, Naazas b.r.e.a.s.ts had developed into a healthy C-Cup, possessing a natural beauty ented by Naazas fair skin. As for why his concerns had faded away, it was because Naazas bra was made of greence with several parts that were transparent. She normally wore rtively in and simple undergarments so it was obvious she had prepared them just for him. He traced his finger around the stic band giving her b.r.e.a.s.ts a shapely and beautiful aesthetic appeal. This movement brought Naaza back to reality and, seeing her two puppies presented to the sky, she froze up and began to blush deeply. Vahn was expecting her to panic but, throwing his expectations out the window, Naaza released a sigh, matching his gaze as she said, "You dont have to do things in such a roundabout manner...Im ready to have s.e.x...if...if youre ready..." Naaza had started to feel guilty about how passive she was being, especially when she realized the efforts Vahn was going to in order to slowly ease her into things. In truth, her body was more than ready to ept Vahn, to the point she had worn a thicker skirtced with a scent masking powder just to hide her embarrassment. Even then, she got some yful and curious looks from girls like Anubis, Nanu, and Fenrir... Now that her initial panic, resulting from her separation with Lili, had faded away, Naaza wanted to at least be an active participant in her first time. Thus, while Vahn was still confused, she lifted her body into a seated position and removed her blousepletely. Vahn had recovered at this point and, seeing how shapely and full Naazas b.r.e.a.s.ts were with her designer brassiere, he said, "That type of undergarment suits you very well, Naaza...it gives you a mature vibe and enhances your natural beauty even further..." Naaza, having just been about to unfasten her bra, smiled at Vahnspliment before hefting up her b.r.e.a.s.ts and saying, "Lili and I had both bought battle underwear for today...though Im guessing youve probably already noticed...ufufufu~." Vahn was happy to see that Naaza was beginning to rx more so he moved to help her remove the brassiere, earning a small blush from her in the process. Her footwork was very developed, and she had incredibly high Dexterity, but Naazas body wasnt nearly as flexible as most of the other girls. Having Vahns help to remove the unfamiliar bra saved her the awkwardness of having to remove it herself. In return, she began to unbutton his ck tunic, turning redder as his wlessly arranged muscles appeared in her eyes and his manly aroma reached her sensitive nostrils. She didnt even notice her puppies had already been released from the kennel until Vahn told her, "Lift your arms for a bit..." Realizing she had been dazed by thebination attack from Vahns appearance and aroma, Naazas face flushed crimson and she raised her arms to let him removed the brassiere from her arms. Soon after, he also helped loosen the band holding up her long skirt, all before she had even finished undoing thest button of his tunic. Naaza felt like it was getting harder to breathe and his scent was intoxicatingly sweet, soaking through her head and filling up her mind as a result. When Vahnsughter reached her ears, Naaza habitually muttered, "Sorry, I..." Vahn, however, just hugged her bare body close to his and said, "Shhh, dont apologize...dont worry, just leave it to me, Naaza..." Naaza felt veryfortable in Vahns warm embrace, but his scent became even stronger when they were in such close proximity to each other. She began to sniff his neck absentmindedly while nodding her head,pletely entrusting things to Vahn. As a result, Vahn unequipped his clothing and let Naaza continue to sniff his aroma while her tail wagged excitedly at her back. Vahn noticed she was wearing greence panties with two side-ties that were biting into the fair white flesh of her h.i.p.s. He mentallymented that he could have made a pair that would have fit morefortably but kept it to himself since Naaza had probably put in a lot of effort picking them out, not for herself, but for him. After letting her aura develop further, taking on a deep red hue, Vahn equipped hisst piece of clothing, the dark purple boxers he had been wearing. He was currently hugging Naaza close to his body so, when his dragon was freed from its restraints, it came into direct contact with her flesh. Naaza, against his expectations, actually brought her hands to his member and began feeling it with her palms while continuing to sniff his neck. She would intermittently lick him, a sign that Naazas limiter was about to be removed. Even more so than Cat People, Chienthropes were very fond of licking when they were excited. Naaza showed more restraint than normal so the fact that she was beginning to slip was a g for Vahn to start. Knowing she would request it anyways, Vahn stroked Naazas hair and said, "Turn around...its time..." Naazas body trembled noticeably when he said this and, though he hadnt looked with his own eyes just yet, Vahn could feel the heat radiating from her lower body. She looked up at him with slightly watery eyes, a flushed expression, and a small smile on her lips. In a soft and loving tone of voice, Naazas said, "I love you, Vahn..." before kissing him on the lips. She then gave him a very firm hug,sting for several seconds longer than she intended when she heard him repeat, "I love you too, Naaza. Thank you for loving me..." After their embrace came to an end, Naaza turned her back to him and, instead of wagging, Vahn noticed her tail was curled up under her butt. He also noticed that Naazas blush began to deepen considerably as she crawled down on all fours and began trembling. There were no negative emotions in her aura so Vahn assumed she was just very excited, something he confirmed momentster when he removed the ties of Naazas panties, freeing them from her pearl-white buttocks. When he moved them to the side, Vahns eyes widened because he saw that arge portion of the greence was dyed a much darker color. It was so soaked through with Naazas love juices that a drop fell from the fabric and onto the bedding below. Turning his surprised eyes to Naazas backside, Vahn lifted her tail and was awed by the sight before him. While Naazas trembling increased greatly, Vahn was too stunned by the visual of Naazas love juices having already stained her thighs as if she had just gotten out of the bath. Though still a v.i.r.g.i.n, her vulva was lightly swollen and had started to separate slightly as her crimson interior palpitated with her heartbeat. Vahn knew Chienthropes also went into heat, amon term for the ovtion cycle of most Beast Humans, and it was very apparent that her body was ready for s.e.x.u.a.l intercourse. As if to emphasize this face, Naazas somewhat raspy voice reached his ears as she said, "Vahn...hurry...." Naazas face was flushed crimson red and there was an urgent intonation to her voice as she gave him a very impatient look. Vahn was stunned by this change in the generally reserved and bashful Naaza until a phrase he had heard from Loki repeated in his ears, "The quiet and bashful ones are actually the ones you have to look out for. They might be calm on the surface but, get them alone in a room, and they can turn into some real freaks, kukuku~." With his rtively recent experience with Lefiya, Vahn now firmly believed in Lokis words so, without any further hesitation, he positioned himself at her sickeningly hot entrance and slowly moved his h.i.p.s forward. Like Lili, as a show of camaraderie, Naaza had also taken two doses of medicine to help ease the burden of her first time. Unlike Lili, however, her body was far more mature and had developed into a very womanly figure. Vahn easily moved into her depths, broke through her rtively thin h.y.m.e.n, and then pushed against her cervix as her body expanded, nearly swallowing his entire length. Then, as he had expected, Naazas v.a.g.i.n.a tightened into an inescapable trap as she released a loud and contented sigh. She didnt show any signs of pain or difort for having just lost her v.i.r.g.i.nity, instead, showing a happy smile as she hugged her pillow. Though there were exceptions, such as the case with Anubis, s.e.x with a Chienthrope was a rtively straightforward affair. Vahn just had to sit there and tolerate the ridiculous amount of pleasure assaulting his p.e.n.i.s as Naazas v.a.g.i.n.a did most of the work. Moving would not only be very difficult for him, but it would actually hurt Naaza. Even so, without moving much at all, Naazas v.a.g.i.n.a massaged his shaft and squeezed in a rhythmic manner while her cervix actually seemed to writhe about against his ns in a very stimting manner. This was actually Vahns first time having normal s.e.x with a Chienthrope and his brows were constantly twitching at the unexpectedly pleasant stimtion... Around this time, Vahn was also just about to take Lilis v.i.r.g.i.nity so he felt his focus shifting to the other room a little as the image of Lili straddling his h.i.p.s ovepped with Naaza happily moving her butt from side-to-side. Her tail was also wagging back-and-forth, brushing against his abdomen while Naaza panted and produced sensual m.o.a.ns that tickled his ears. When Lili lowered herself onto his shift, Vahn felt a shudder run down his body, fortunately, unnoticed by Naaza who seemed to be in her own little world. The stimtion in her v.a.g.i.n.a had actually been increasing, seemingly powered by her heartbeat and unique muscles reserved exclusively for procreation. Vahn knew that the longer he was with Naaza, the more her body would adapt to him and, if the rumors were to be believed, there was no such thing as a man who wasnt satisfied with their Chienthrope lover. Doing his best to ignore what was happening to his other self, which was very difficult since it was literally happening to him, Vahn massaged Naazas butt as her m.o.a.ns became much louder. There was no thrusting, but she would wiggle her h.i.p.s as if she were finding the best angle for both of them, something that helped keep Vahn grounded in this room as he moved along with her efforts. Then, after pushing her butt against him, Naaza lowered her head and the pressure on his p.e.n.i.s almost doubled in an instant. Vahn clenched his teeth as the pressure worked its way from the entrance of Naazas v.a.g.i.n.a until it reached her cervix. Once it tightened around his ns, the pressure eased up greatly for a few seconds before the cycle repeated. Vahn, though having a lot of experience with powerful stimtion, couldnt stop himself from groaning as a result of the ridiculous amount of pressure. He almost began to question why Anubis didnt have s.e.x the normal way but that thought didnt survive the next wave of suctioning from Naazas v.a.g.i.n.a. This was her bodys instincts trying to force him to ejacte as the result of her increased s.e.x.u.a.l excitement. Naazas face currently had a very rosy hue to it and, as she had turned her head to the side, Vahn could see that her eyes were zed slightly as her tongue nearly hung free from her mouth. Every time she would create the pressure, she would tightly close her eyes and mouth, trembling as if she was expecting something. When it didnte, she would release a hot sigh and repeat the process, absolutely determined to get what her body craved. Like Lili, she came into the daypletely epting, even anticipating, that she might walk away from the event with a pregnant belly. Naaza didnt actually like going into the Dungeon that much and, if she didnt have to, she would rather stay at the Manor and continue developing medicines. Taking care of a child wouldnt take away too much of her time and, seeing all of Vahns adorable children, Naaza couldnt help but want one of her own... Unaware that Naaza had actually been involved in the same scheme with Lili, though they had originally nned to get i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed together, Vahn finally reached his limit. He had already suppressed his body into his pseudo-erebea state so he released arge volume of seme into Naazas insides. As if finally getting what it had craved, Naazas v.a.g.i.n.apletely locked down, sealing his p.e.n.i.s in ce as the pressure that had forced him to climax slowly wrung him dry. This time, the pressure around the base of his p.e.n.i.s remained firm while rhythmic waves moved any stray fluid from the v.a.g.i.n.a towards the greedily devouring cervix in Naazas depths. If she didnt take a pill, it was almost guaranteed she would be another expectant mother within the Manor. The stimtion in Naazas v.a.g.i.n.a continued long after he had already been wrung dry. Traditionally, a mate would eventually go soft after spending their essence. Most races werent biologically adapted to someone like Vahn so, as if it didnt know what to do, Naazas v.a.g.i.n.a continued to suck his firm member as they both trembled lightly. Naaza had an especially frustrated expression as anxiety and pleasure fought within her body and mind. The mechanism that made her body seek to be i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed was actually very taxing and it wasnt something she had any real control over. She knew what the problem was but, in her current state, Naaza couldnt even open her mouth as a giddy feeling began to rise up in the back of her brain. Fortunately, she remembered a secondary means ofmunicating with Vahn so, after pinging his mind, she begged, ("Vahn, you have to go soft or pull out. Im going to pass out soon if you dont release me!") Vahn almost wanted to retort that she was the one that needed to release him but he also knew her inexperienced body only knew how to breed, not simply have s.e.x for pleasure. Fortunately, the rhythmic pressure that had been milking him wasnt actually that intense. Vahn rxed his mind, something that was exceeding difficult considering what he was doing in the other room, and slowly allowed his p.e.n.i.s to be soft. Naazas v.a.g.i.n.a seemed to realize what was happening as the intense pressure holding him in ce eased up in an instant. Naaza plopped forward powerlessly and began to takerge gulps of air, having held her breath for nearly five minutes under very intense stress and stimtion. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Vahn looked down at Naazas n.a.k.e.d body and marveled at how beautiful she was. S.e.x with her was also a very unique experience and Vahn knew it would only get better as her body continues to develop. For now, however, he justid down next to her tired body and pulled her into his embrace. They hadnt been able to kiss much earlier and, as he was currently very distracted by what was happening with Lili, Vahn figured now was a good time to catch up on lost time. Naaza was in a very affectionate mood as well so she happily reciprocated, being far more proactive than in the past. In the end, she even took to licking as a form of affection and, surprising Vahn yet another time, wrapped up their long session by showing her gratitude to his p.e.n.i.s. Vahn wasnt sure why such a thing was necessary but he wasnt going to turn down Naazas offer of fetio... (A/N: I managed to just extend the chapter to around 4k words andpressed everything into one. No cliffs today~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Belly rubs are super effective (UwU),OTL...,Cooperative Entrapment!? Naaza has been corrupted by Lili~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 718 - Hopes, Dreams, Future

Chapter 718 - Hopes, Dreams, Future

The evening of the same day, after Vahn had taken care of Lili and Naaza individually, he eventually ended up in their room with both of the girls. Though the mood was still conducive for nightly activities, Naaza was alreadypletely spent and, though Lili seemed to have boundless energy, Vahn couldnt easily focus on a conversation while having s.e.x in another room. Naaza had inquired about how long he would be with Lili, while she and Vahn had been cuddling up after the fact, so Vahn eventually took decisive action to get Lili to calm down. Now, he was snuggling up with both girls in Naazas bed as they talked about the future, their hopes, dreams, and intentions. After hearing what they had to say, Vahn felt like a soft spot had been touched in his heart because there was always something fulfilling about having a woman tell you she wanted your children. He had been a little surprised by Naaza but, after hearing her reasoning, Vahn could understand. She was simr to Aki, being that she didnt actually like the Dungeon, and, after nearing dying in the past, her distaste for the cold and dark ce had increased greatly. She had put in the effort to be strong, and still intended to be even stronger, but no longer wanted to be a mainbatant. Instead, Naaza wanted to focus on bing a great Alchemist while continuing her magical studies. Now that she had her [Pactio], Spiritus Pharmacop, there were a lot of things she wanted to research thatbined the studies of both magic and [Mixing]. Her dream, besides happily raising a family, was to be the greatest Alchemist in the Alliance... Lili was arguably more selfish than Naaza, as her intentions made her want to experiences the best of both worlds. She not only wanted a happy, and apparently veryrge, family, but Lili also wanted to be a mainbatant. Though she wasnt actually that fond of the Dungeon herself, her entire life had revolved around it and, desiring greater strength, Lili knew she would have to probe into its depths. At the same time, as one of his personal Disciples, Lili wanted to be a capable Magic Knight to further enhance her physical capabilities. As for her dream, she had several goals in mind thatbined together to create her ideal picture of happiness. She sought strength, so that she could be relied upon, while simultaneously seeking knowledge so that she could always offer good advice when needed. At the same time, Lili wanted to be a special existence to Vahn, apparently to curb his curiosity towards other races while satiating her own desires. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, Lili wanted to have a big family. She wanted to defeat the version of herself in the Divination but her true intention was to increase the number of Pallums in the world that could experience growing up in a happy and safe environment. Her own parents had mistreated her and, as a result of her past trauma, Lili wanted to have children of her own to break free from the cycle... When they had bothid themselves bare, Vahn spent a fair amount of time thinking about things before eventually saying, "I dont mind if the two of you want to be pregnant, especially since youve already found your resolve to do so. Ill do my best to be a good father and also support both of your dreams, even if I dont always have the time to divert my focus in its fullest capacity." Both Naaza and Lili understood what Vahn was trying to say as, the greater number of children in the house, the less time he could actually spend with everyone. He already had to split his body into two just to keep pace and, it would likely be several years until things began to calm down. Fortunately, even if Vahn couldnt always make time for the children, everyone in the Manor worked together to look after them, just like they all supported each other for their shared happiness. Seeing that the girls were being very understanding, Vahn couldnt help but smile, even though he had to add, "Lili, youre still very young and you have to seriously consider your decisions in the future. Youre at the best age to develop your magic power further and, if my intuition proves correct, there will be a lot of fighting within the next 2-3 years. Bing a mother right now may not be the most opportune time if you want to grow quickly...not that I will stop you. If necessary, I will look for methods to help you increase your strength safely, even while pregnant..." Lili, still n.a.k.e.d as the day she was born, tightly squeezed his arm with a happy smile and said, "Dont worry, Vahn, Ive already thought about it a lot..." As a Pallum, Lilis pregnancy was much shorter than the average and, in as little as six months, there was a high chance she would have given birth. If things worked the same way as they did in the Divination, her first pregnancy would very like be triplets. Lili felt like this would be enough at first and, even if she couldnt go into the Dungeon for the next six months, she had already intended to seriously study magic in that time. If possible, she wanted to get permission to stay within the Sub-Space orb, to give her more time to work with, but Lili didnt mind that much. Vahn spent a lot of time in the real world and it would potentially increase the amount of time she could spend with him if she also stayed outside during her pregnancy. Since Vahn had a tendency to pamper the pregnant girls, Lili was looking forward to it a little...well, a lot... Since Lili seemed sure, Vahn just nodded his head while stroking her arm gently in support of her conviction. She had always been the type to seriously consider things so, having already made the decision, Lili had likely thought about everything in detail. He would just need to make sure she wasnt in danger during her pregnancy but, if his spection proved correct, there shouldnt be any issues. Even though he wasnt a Pallum when they had s.e.x, Vahn was confident that Lilis children would still be pure-blooded Pallums. It might have been a quirk of his body beingprised of source energy, but Vahn didnt seem to have a normal gic structure at all. Instead, his contribution towards the children seemed to purify their racial traits instead. Vahn first noticed this when Aki gave birth to Anise, as their daughter had the appearance of a pure-blooded Cat Person, instead of a Half-Cat Person. As for the differences between them, Half-Cat Persons would generally have smaller tails, or none at all. Their ears would also be smaller and wider than normal with a small chance of them having human ears as well. Anise, however, looked perfectly normal and, though her ears and tail were currently adorable, they were actually more distinguishable than a normal Cat Person child, something which had been pointed out by Aki, Arnya, Chloe, and Mn almost immediately after they saw her. With Anise as the precedent, Vahn got even more support for his suspicions with the birth of Meinya, his daughter with Arnya. Like Anise, Meinya seemed to be a pure-blooded Cat Person, something that Arnya was excited about since she had been secretly worried about birth defects. Many Half-Races had a lot of issues in their youth and there werent many mothers that wouldnt worry about the healthy development of their children. Vahn had also been very happy that both of his daughters were healthy and, as they were both very adorable little kittens, Vahn was looking forward to having them running around the Manor in the future... The final nail in the coffin, almost confirming his suspicions entirely, was when Tsubaki gave birth to their daughter Sakuya. Since Tsubaki was already a Half-Dwarf, she had been very nervous about if their child would be healthy. Vahn wasnt nearly as worried since he had seen their daughter in the Divination, already having be a powerful warrior. As for what was special about her birth, it was the fact that she obviously had inherited the traits of a Half-Dwarf, but her features were more refined than normal. She didnt look entirely Human, nor did she look like a Dwarf and, much like when he had purified Einas blood, Sakuya had enhanced characteristics of both races. She would undoubtedly have arge amount of physical strength in the future while possessing the capabilities of casting magic without any of the difficulties that would have been expected of her heritage. With several precedents having been observed, Vahn was almost certain that his race actually didnt matter whenever he i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed a woman. Instead, his bloodline just seemed to purify and enhance the characteristics of his partners race further. If this was the truth of the matter, it meant that Lilis pregnancy should proceed without any of the dangers typically associated with the union between a Human and a Pallum. This was assuming, of course, that Lili didnt something manage to give birth to a trio of Amazonesses. Fortunately, though her body seemed to emte the characteristics of other races, it didnt change Lilis actual race. Vahn had even confirmed with his own eyes that the flow of energy in her body didnt change much, meaning she was still undoubtedly a Pallum...even if she was very unique... After cuddling and talking for the better part of two hours, the conversation was naturally reaching its conclusion. It was already well after lunch time so Vahn asked, "Are the two of you hungry? We can go get something from the kitchen, or I can just pull some dishes out of my storage dimension." At this point, Naaza made what Vahn felt to be a very adorable yawn before she rested her head against his chest and said, "Im only a little hungry, but Im very tired...I think Ill take a nap and then just eat a bigger dinnerter." Vahn smiled, gave her a kiss on the forehead, and then smiled even wider when he saw her tail begin to wag happily. Unlike Naaza, Lili was still raring to go, almost like she had an unlimited amount of stamina while her body was still in high tensions from earlier. Seeing Naaza giving up so soon, Lilimented internally because she wasnt sure what decision was the best. She wasnt actually that hungry either, but she also didnt want to just take a nap. Deciding to eat in the room had the possibility of Vahn just giving her some food while he snuggled up with Naaza and joined her for a nap. If they left and ate something in the kitchen, however, the chance of things heating up again was somewhat less likely. Since she would also feel a little guilty about leaving Naaza alone in the room, this only gave her the option of joining them for a nap or trying to convince Vahn to split his body again... While Lili was stuck considering her options, Vahn had already noticed the abnormality in her aura and managed to deduce what she must be thinking. He produced a wry smile inside of his mind because it was apparent that Lilis appetite matched that of the other battle-crazed girls. Ais, Tiona, Tione, and, to a lesser extent, Tsubaki all had this trait, not that Vahn really minded it that much. He was just worried about Lilis body, even though he had already healed all of the internal damage she had suffered previously. Still, considering that it was her birthday today, Vahn decided to pamper her a bit more than he normally would have. Thus, while resting his head against the top of the slowly dozing off Naaza, Vahn formed his Avatar next to the bed before silently gesturing to the shocked Lili. Seeing Vahn bring out his second body, Lili couldnt help feeling very happy with how considerate he was towards her. She didnt even have to bring it up herself and Vahn had already figured out what she wanted. Though she knew it was likely that he was giving her special treatment today, Lili didnt mind at all. Instead, she intended to take full advantage of the fact today was birthday and celebrate until the date changed. Thus, only bothering to wrap her body in a nket, Lili happily apanied Vahn back to his bedroom where they ate a delicious lunch. She enjoyed the unique experience of sitting in hisp, stillpletely n.a.k.e.d, as he fed her sweets and fruit by hand. Afterward, in order to thank him for his consideration, Lili used her [Cinder*E] to emte the features of a Werewolf girl. She knew Vahn had an interest in Rose from the Guild branch and decided to sate his curiosity to prevent the alreadyrge number of women around him from increasing... --- Vahn awoke early the next day with two n.a.k.e.d girls sleeping atop his body in entirely separate rooms. Seeing Lili with floppy rabbit ears, Vahn had a soft smile as he lightly ran his fingers through her pale-blue hair. At the same time, he was hugging Naaza from behind, enjoying the scent of her hair and the natural fragrance from her body. He found her mature form, and how natural their interactions had been the previous day, very pleasant. Though he was more than a little intrigued with how unique an existence Lili was, Vahn didnt think he would be able to keep his sensibilities if he only associated with someone like her. By the time the night hade to an end, Lili had emted the characteristics of an Amazoness, Werewolf, Weretiger, Elf, and Hume Bunny. Vahn had been a little overwhelmed by her form as a petite, yet busty, blond-haired Elf girl. However, the biggest impact had been when Lili tried to assume the form of a Vanargandr, which had been the only transformation he refused outright... Sensing his movement, Lili opened her hazy purple eyes and released a silent yawn while stretching her small body. When she was finished, Lili smiled and crawled onto his chest and kissed him on the lips before hugging him tightly and saying, "Yesterday was amazing...I hope I can get this kind of birthday present next year...ehehe~." Lili knew that, under normal circ.u.mstances, she wouldnt be able to get away with nearly as much as she had the previous day. However, now was a good opportunity to at least guarantee that she would have the opportunity in the future. She couldnt behave in a spoiled manner all the time, but that didnt mean she would give up trying to have Vahn spoil her plentily... Vahn embraced Lilis thin body, firmly holding her in his embrace as he reciprocated her kiss before saying, "Sure...Im certain things will be even better for both of us in the future..." This answer seemed to please Lili a great deal, as she tightly squeezed his face against her plush little bunnies with a happy squee. If not for the fact they both had things to take care of this morning, Lili would have tried to press her luck and made full use of her current Hume Bunny traits. Instead, Lili held herself back and, knowing she couldnt act selfishly all the time, decided she would have to tempt Vahn into action without directly asking. When Lili separated him from, Vahn was somewhat surprised until he saw her crawling toward the edge of the bed with her butt waggling towards him. She didnt have the most shapely and mature figure, by a long shot, but Vahn felt his eyes drawn to her pale buttocks and the fluffy pale-blue rabbit tail lightly twitching on her backside. He could tell from her aura, and the way she was acting, that Lili was trying to tempt him with her body. Still, as enticing a sight it was, Vahn cooled down rather quickly since Lilis young body almost forced him to think calmly. In fact, he was more impacted by the sad look she gave him when she made it to the edge of the bed than when she was wagging her butt in an effort to tempt him... With a casual smile on his face, Vahn also hopped out of the bed and began to stroker her rabbit-like ears as he said, "Dont be in such a rush, Lili. From now on, there will be plenty of time for that kind of activity. Now that youre an a.d.u.l.t, I wont ce so many restrictions on you...just dont get carried away." Lili had squinted her eyes happily when he was petting her but, after she heard his words, it was like her happiness multiplied several times as she tightly hugged his waist. Vahn continued to stroke her pale-blue hair with a smile on his face, doing his best to ignore the fact that Lili was pressing her b.r.e.a.s.ts against his lower body. Her height made it so that her face was near his navel and dangerously close to his sleeping dragon, which was currently being tempted by the two sacrificial bunnies... Since there was still a bit of time, Vahn ended up apany Lili into the bath as his second body brought along Naaza a few minutester. Most of the girls used to onsen inside of the orb these days, so they had the massive bath to themselves. Vahn noticed there were some storm clouds forming overhead, meaning there would likely be a heavy downpour today. He wouldnt have cared much in normal circ.u.mstances, as he was actually rather fond of the rain, but these particr clouds made Vahn feel very solemn. His instincts towards danger, which had been slumbering for some time, seemed to have been stirred awake by the rumbling sound of thunder. Feeling a cold drop of water hit her head, Lili looked towards the sky and mused, "Maybe we should go inside...I dont want to get hit by a bolt of lightning in the bath." Hearing this, Naazas face turned slightly pale, something Lili found amusing as she added, "Dont worry, Naaza, I was just joking. With the Babel Tower acting as a massive lightning rod, there has never been an instance of lightning striking anywhere in the City~." This made Naaza feel a little better but, seeing the serious expression on Vahns face, she couldnt help but feel nervous as she asked, "Vahn...? Is something the matter?" This caught Lilis attention as well, as she had been facing away from Vahn while he was previously washing her hair. Vahn had his eyes turned towards the sky, staring unblinkingly at the storm clouds overhead while Lili sat between his legs. Both girls could see there was a cautious glint in his eyes, making the solemn expression of his face even more serious. In an instant, the tension of their bodies increased and both girls entered an alert state as Lili repeated, "Vahn, what is it...?" Shaking his head slightly, Vahn didnt know how to answer either of their inquiries as he slowly rose to his feet, eyes still trained towards the sky. Lili had been in very close proximity to him, so her mind stalled a bit when he stood up and she got a front row seat to his slumbering dragon. He didnt know why, but Vahn felt very unnerved by the storm clouds overhead, even though they wouldnt actually pose a threat to him. To be safe, he firmly said, "Go inside...make sure everyone else is safe..." Without questioning his words, Lili and Naaza quickly extricated themselves from the hot water and ran inside the Manor. Lili even went so far as to change into her [Pactio] raiment the moment she left the water, mentally preparing herself for an attack. Vahn rarely got serious like this, especially after his strength had increased, so Lili wanted to be prepared for the worst. As for Naaza, her raiment didnt provide much in the way of defense and it consumed a lot of her magic power to activate. For the time being, she just quickly changed into her clothes while Lili went to inform everyone of the abnormality. When the two girls left the onsen, Vahn noticed that there was a small fluctuation in his instincts, almost like whatever had caused him to feel endangered had briefly diverted its focus from him. This realization made Vahns mind turn cold as his [Will of the Emperor] activated in full force. That small fluctuation told him everything he needed to know about the situation. Someone had been watching them and, based on how the intent had followed the girls for a brief moment, Vahns impression of whatever entity had the gall to spy on them had hit rock bottom. Not only did they dare to peek in on them in the bath, but they had the audacity to eye up two of the girls he had, very likely, just i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed. Even if they werent pregnant yet, Vahn already had the mentality that they had be far more precious to him than before...just imagining someone having intentions towards them filled him with an icy cold rage... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns existence is very convenient xD...,Lili is trying to get Vahn arrested..., Eye of the Storm...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 719 - Storm Bringer

Chapter 719 - Storm Bringer

While Vahn had been staring towards the sky, Terra had also sensed the abnormality and, as she could sense everyone within her territory, she quickly teleported to her Masters side. Seeing his heroic figure,pletely n.a.k.e.d, Terra took a deep breath through her nose and flittered her wings slightly as she asked, "Master, what is it...?" Not long after herst word fell, Fenrir also popped up, icy energy radiating from her body that started causing the hot water of the onsen to begin freezing over. Vahn stepped up onto the ice without looking towards either of them as he said, "We have a guest that thinks theyre allowed to just peep on people in the bath whenever they want..." Fenrir and Terra both scowled, especially thetter as she had previously been resting n.a.k.e.d on her perch before teleporting to her Masters side. Just imagining someone observing her from afar was very disturbing, even if they likely hadnt been able to see through the illusory forest formation. Still, there was no way of knowing their true capabilities so Terra was very upset, causing a powerful and oppressive aura to spread out from her body. If not for the fact that Vahns aura had already dominated the surrounding elemental energy, Terras aura would have caused the very void to stagnate around them. Since his own magic efficacy left a lot to be desired, Vahn gave a momentary nce towards Terra before saying, "Terra, use that magic spell..." When she heard her Masters words, Terras eyes opened slightly before she nodded with a serious look adorning her face. cing her palms close, without touching each other, a pale grey light began to glow between Terras fingers as she incanted, "Ara, Ara, Ara~? Gaze into Eternity. See the Passage of History before thine eyes. Let nature reim all things in its motherly embrace. Pir of Eternity, Gaeas Grace, Heavens Pir~!" With her chant finished, the pale grey light between Terras palms had formed into a strange four-dimensional cube that she held out towards her Master. Vahn nodded, reaching his hand out to grab towards the cube as he shouted, "Fixate. Seize. Load magic, Armament!" It felt like his arm was going to be torn apart in the process, but Vahn managed topress the cube in Terras hands before it broke down and began to fuse with his body. At the same time, it was like the world around him lost its light as time itself slowed to a crawl. The spell Terra used was called [Columnae Caeli], Forbidden grade magic that could create an isted space where time was forcibly elerated. When absorbed by Vahn, however, it elerated his own time in rtion to the rest of the world, effectively making it as if the rest of the world had slowed down. Currently, this was the strongest from at his disposal and, though it didnt give him the actual speed of his lightning-form [Magia Erebea], his rtive speed was much greater. Thus, fighting the strain ced on his body, Vahn leaped into the sky to confront whoever had the audacity to peek at his girls n.a.k.e.d bodies... From Fenrirs and Terras perspective, Vahn had moved so quickly that it almost seemed like he had teleported. The ice that had formed over the onsenpletely shattered as a shockwave spread out from where Vahn had previously been standing. Even though he had used [Shundo], which wouldnt have generated any momentum, Vahns initial movements had been enough to cause an implosion from his movements tearing through the void. After all, everywhere he had previously been standing, there was pure nothingness for a brief moment before the space around him was moved aside at an almost unfathomable speed. As she wasnt suited to aerialbat, Terra turned to Fenrir and said, "I will protect the Manor. Follow our Master and make sure he is okay..." Though there wouldnt be much Fenrir could do against an enemy that could defeat the current Vahn, neither of them could simply let their Master go into battle alone. Fenrir nodded her head with her scarlet eyes glowing with a fierce light as she leaped towards the sky in pursuit of her Master. Terra watched her figure creating afterimages from her movements before once again casting a spell, this one muchrger than before. Her wings spread wide and began to rustle about as a massive amount of mana swirled around her body like a vortex. When she had generated an adequate amount, Terra raised her palms towards the sky and shouted, "Reflexio, Sacrum Obex~!" The magical energy spread from her body, creating a massive emerald green hemispherical barrier that was covered withplex magical wards. Even if Fafnir charged its [Destruction Ray] for an entire day, it wouldnt even be able to cause ripples on the thin membrane of Terras barrier. Though it looked fragile, almost like ss, it was her absolute defense spell that had even earned Evas praise in the past. This made sense, considering Terra had used nearly 80% of her internal reserves just to muster up enough magic power to cast the spell. Thus, feeling a great deal of exhaustion, Terra kneeled down and began slowly replenishing her energy by absorbing the natural mana through her territory. Though it would drain the vitality of thend, Terra would be able to recover in a very short period of time if her power was required for the battle... Vahn had continued elerating until he broke into the dense c.u.mulonimbus clouds above,pletely ignoring the strangely ionized air and how his hair was sticking up on end. His current form gave him the typical onyx-ck appearance of his normal [Magia Erebea], but his hair, eyes, and the tattoos covering his body, all glowed with a dull grey light. Vahn looked like a person that had been turnedpletely monotone and even his smallest movements caused distortions in the space. When a bolt of lightning arced towards him, Vahn felt a prickling sensation against his skin before it had even emerged from the clouds. Thus, though he was slower than the lightning itself, Vahn managed to evade it with room to spare, even though it arced towards him. The lightning wasnt nearly as annoying as the fact he couldnt find whatever had been observing them, however. Vahn had expanded his domain to 635m and, even after sending pulses of energy to look for invisible enemies, he hadnt been able to find anything. In a cold rage, Vahn spread his palms wide and released a thunderous roar that created a shockwave with enough force topletely disperse the dense ck clouds, creating a spherical void where they had previously existed. Even so, there was no sign of his enemy without the void he had created, causing the cold feeling in Vahns mind to spread further. It felt like the intent he could feel was ridiculing him... As the surrounding clouds slowly converged back towards him, Vahn knew this wasnt a natural phenomenon. It had to have been created by someone but, such a disy of power should be beyond even the most capable mages. It was either the effect of someones Innate, or Vahn had severely underestimated the power possessed by people within the record. He remembered Evas cautionary words, warning him that there was always something stronger. In the endless pursuit of power, there were beings that would tirelessly break through the limits most people thought were impossible to ovee. If he stopped increasing his own strength, he would undoubtedly be surpassed at some point... Vahn detected Fenrir enter into his domain, carrying with her a dense and powerful ice elemental aura that was enough to cause the nearby clouds to crystallize into ice fragments that fell like hail on the world below. When she arrived at his side, Vahn saw her mouth open and close in slow motion as her words sounded like a long and endless droll. He couldnt understand her at all, doing his best to slowly shake his head while conveying his intention through the bond they shared. It felt like it had taken several minutes, but Fenrir eventually nodded in slow motion before blinking away with her [Koku Shundo]. Though it was an instant movement technique, Vahn could feel her energy converging at her anchor point in the sky and it felt like several seconds had passed between the time of her initiating the movement andpleting it. Fighting against the strain of his body, Vahn lifted his arm, resisting the resultant shockwave generated by his movements as he began to converge his vision at the tip of his finger. His [Eyes of Truth] glowed with divine light as a very small particle of pure me elemental energy began to expand from his fingertip. This was the result of him using Oblivion to create an absolutely pure fire elemental orb, the same kind he had created in the past as a trump card for emergency use. He previously had a few sitting in his Inventory, but Vahn had used them as part of his experiments and never created recements. After consuming more than half of his source energy, the orb was around the size of an average crystal ball, having a diameter of 20cm. When it was fully formed, Vahn trusted his instincts and threw the orb towards an empty area of space, the opposite direction of where Fenrir had fled. At first, the orb generated absolutely no heat but, as it got further away from him, an overbearing amount of me elemental energy radiated from the orb as it increased in size. The clouds couldnt hold their form at all and, even though there had previously been nothing in the area where Vahn had targeted, there were now spatial fluctuations present. Vahns eyes turned cold as a golden aura spread through his domain in an instant, instantly locking down the space to prevent abilities like teleportation. As a result, the entity that had tried to flee from the horrifyingly destructive true me orb finally showed itself. For Vahn, the world was still moving in slow motion, enabling him to see the image of a man who appeared both elderly and youthful at the same time. He had silvery grey hair, sky blue eyes, and a strangely muscr body with his muscles visible through the ornate white tunic covering his chest. Even at a nce, Vahn understood the person spying on him had been a god... Clenching his teeth, Vahn redirected the orb towards the sky since it would be problematic if he simply killed a god without at least confirming their identity. Though voyeurism was highly frowned upon, it also wasnt deserving of death and, though Vahns impression of the unknown god had already hit rock bottom, he saw that the god had a warm aura towards him. Thus, Vahn had changed the course of the orb towards the sky, allowing it to explode into the form of a second sun thatpletely annihted the storm clouds that had been brewing previously. The god, who had started to glow with a divine light moments before, showed an expression of relief when the orb changed course. He had been about to use his divine power to resist the destructive orb, as the penalty for being ejected from the mortal world was much lighter than having his painstakingly constructed vessel destroyed. As the second sun caused the surrounding temperature to spike up several tens of degrees, Vahn canceled his [Magia Erebea] transformation, coldly asking, "Who are you? You have the gall to spy on me and my women when were taking a bath? You have the audacity to look towards them with intentions right in front of my face!? If I dont like your answer, dont me me for losing my temper!" Even though he had spared the god, Vahns rage hadnt been quelled at all. It didnt matter that his opponent was a god, in fact, this revtion just made Vahn even angrier since he had long grown tired of the schemes of gods seeking benefits from him and his family. Acting as if Vahns anger was of no concern to him, the unknown god looked towards the second sun burning overhead and said, "That is quite the attack you have there, Vahn Mason...I would say it is almost at the peak of a mortals capabilities." Then, with an intrigued expression and a crooks smile, the god turned toward him, continuing, "You have a great deal of potential, even if your temper could use some correcting. What sa-" Before the god could utter another asinine word, Vahn had blinked next to him with [Koku Shundo], a fierce expression on his face as he coldly repeated, "Who...are...you?" With furrowed brows, the god took a step back on empty space as sparks of electricity danced across his blue irises and the tips of his fingers. With a dark expression, he said, "My name is Zeus, God of Thunder! You would do well to show a sense of propriety, Vahn Mason, lest my own temper reaches its limits!" Unperturbed by Zeus threat, Vahn continued to stare with an icy expression while his sub-process made sense of the revtion he had just received. This was undoubtedly the same Zeus from the original story, the Grandpa and mentor of Bell Cranel. Vahn was wondering why he was here, spying on him and his girls, but it wasnt that important. Regardless of Zeus reasons, even if they hadnt been conducted will ill intent, Vahn would not tolerate ANYONE believing they could casually peruse his girls in the bath without consequence. The fact that Zeus thought he had grounds to remind him of propriety made every nerve in Vahns body go tense. After all, in many of the texts Vahn had read, it was well doc.u.mented that Zeus was a lecherous pervert who generally ignored such things without any regard for morals and, in some extreme cases, even the consent of the other party didnt matter. With the same icy tone as before, Vahn stated, "This is the Mortal World, not your personal yground. I know well the vows you had to take before descending into this world and you have absolutely no right to be here, spying on a mortals affairs withscivious eyes. Even if you came here with good intentions, the fact you chose such a manner,pletely disregarding propriety, automatically puts you into the category of my enemy. Make your purpose known, or leave this ce before I lose my temper even further..." At this point, Zeus face had be fixed with a dour expression of absolute anger, almost as if it had been carved from stone. Space began to tremble as storm clouds once again began to converge around them, made possible by the fact that the true me orb had finally burned out. In a voice that reverberated through space like rumbling thunder, Zeus said, "Such hot-headedness over such a small matter...youck the qualities of a True Hero, Vahn Mason...I am disappointed in you." Vahn felt like his nerves were being pulled taut ever time Zeus spoke his arrogant and foolish titudes. Even now, the elderly god acted like he had the moral high ground, even though he was literally just spying on them in the bath. Still, once his anger reached a critical level, the cold sensation in Vahns body merged together with the hot energy flowing from his heart, intermixing together as a calmness spread through his mind. Turning away from Zeus, Vahn inly stated, "I have never needed your approval. You are no longer wee here, Zeus, Frog-God who knows not the definition of propriety yet is the first to speak of it...the next time you try something like this, be prepared for the consequences..." Without waiting for Zeus asinine response, Vahn blinked towards the ground,pletely having lost interest in arrogant god above. He could tell that Zeus thought very highly of himself and, even if he raged about, it wasnt as if he could actually do anything to them. Powerful as he may be, and Vahn could see that he was very powerful, it didnt mean anything against the might of the Alliance. If hepletely disregarded his status as a god, Vahn knew a few goddesses that would readily remind him of the status quo. Hestia herself, though somewhat weak in the mortal world, wouldpletely wipe the floor with Zeus if he tried anything funny. Even Heaven wouldnt be a safe bastion for him, especially if she was forced to return after having dealt with his stupidy. Thus, though Zeus raged about in the sky for a few minutes, he never actually tried to attack Vahn, Terras barrier, or any of the other territories of the Alliance. Vahn simply scoffed at this,pletely ignoring the childish god throwing a hissy fit in the sky. It was beyond silly, the fact that someone so old acted more spoiled than his 5-month-old daughters. Vahn could tell he was very used to acting without restraint, getting what he wanted without ever caring about the consequences of his actions. This time, however, Vahn had given him several ps in the face before taking the true high road and just ignoring the pompous fool Zeus had made himself out to be... Once he had returned to the Manor, Vahn made his way to where the orb was located, as all the girls had already gathered there under Terras protection. It was the safest ce in the entire Manor and it was much easier to protect one orb than it was to protect several people. Thus, the children had been allowed to enter inside while Hestia, Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, and Terra waited for his arrival. When he entered, Hestia came near him first with an uncharacteristically serious look on her face as she asked, "Was it that brat, Zeus...?" Vahn was surprised by Hestias words but, remembering that she was from the same Pantheon, and in some records, even considered the big sister of Zeus, it made sense that Hestia was aware of him. With a curt nod, Vahn exined, "I tried asking what he wanted, but he just kept spouting bullshit until I stopped caring. All I know is, he had the audacity to spy on Lili, Naaza, and myself while we were bathing. If not for the fact he had his eyes on the two girls, I might not have even noticed his presence..." Even now, thinking that the lecherous god had looked at Lili and Naaza caused Vahn to clench his hands into fists. Hestia had a solemn look on her face as Loki snorted at the side, practically spitting the words, "This is one of the reasons we allowed Evilus to force the Zeus and Hera Familias out of the City in the past. He always just did whatever he wanted, and it was super f.u.c.k.i.n.g annoying. The members of his Familia, before nearly getting wiped out in the fight against the One-Eyed ck Dragon, were also a bunch of hypocritical perverts. They spouted bullshit about being Heroes while trying to have their way with any woman that took their fancy. Even Hera, always acting as if she was wiser than everyone else, just let him do whatever he wanted. Whenever peopleined, they would dere a War Games and just crush any Familia that opposed them...a bunch of tyrannical fools..." Even Hephaestus didnt seem too fond of the fact that Zeus had been the one to cause trouble this time around. She could still vividly remember several members of her Familia suffering the patronage of the Zeus Familia in the past. They very rarely ever paid full price for the items they purchased and, though many reputable cksmiths avoided contracting with them, the Zeus Familia members would just bully their families until they were forced to agree. Even the Guild hadnt been free of problems, as many of the more arrogant members of the Zeus Familia would demand higher payment for the items they exchanged. In some extreme cases, they even reserved high paying quests, forbidding other Familia from epting them unless they intended to go to War with the Zeus and Hera Familias... Anubis was the only goddess present that didnt really have an opinion about Zeus but, seeing everyone elses reactions, especially her Masters, her elegant face had also turned cold. She knew how annoying gods like Zeus could be, as Osiris had many of the same traits. They were arrogant, expected people to defer to them, and acted however they pleased. In extreme cases, while pretending to be righteous, they would tantly act without consideration for morals andws. When such people actually had power and authority, almost everyone elses lives would be miserable as a result... Vahn was surprised how cold the room had be in an instant, to the point that it even made him feel a bit of pressure. The girls anger made his own lessen as a result, causing a small smile to appear on his face as he reached out and began stroking Hestias silky ck hair. In a calm tone of voice, he said, "I cant me you for being upset, but I prefer it when you girls smile. This fiasco with Zeus is something we can deal with when it bes relevant. It didnt seem as if he had any ill intention and, even if he tried something, I believe we can weather it together. After all, something that childish is incapable of aplishing anything on their own..." Even now, Vahn could hear thunder cracking in the sky above, an indicator that Zeus was still throwing a temper tantrum... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gotta go fast,Zeus, Frog-God l.u.s.ting for the flesh of Swans,The heroic nature of the Zeus Familia members revealed!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 720 - Foundation : Plans

Chapter 720 - Foundation : ns

Though there was a torrential downpour outside, the City was abuzz as a result of the phenomenon that had urred earlier in the day. Everyone was wondering what had happened at the Hearth Manor for such a massive barrier to have been erected which, even after several hours had passed, remained. It was barrier magic on a scale that nobody had ever seen before, making many assume it was some kind of new formation, and not actual magic. For those in the know, however, it was clear to see that the elemental energy feeding into the barrier wasnt powered by a formation at all. Many of them spected that Riveria had made some great breakthrough in her magic, with some foolish people even spreading rumors that Vahn had lured Riveria to his side in exchange for such power. However, it wasnt the barrier that had garnered the most attention. No, that honor belonged to the second sun that had illuminated the sky early in the morning. It had only burned for a few minutes, but its heat was enough to increase the entire temperature of the City by a few degrees. The same mages that were awed by the barrier, werepletely gobsmacked by the terrifying might of that magic spell. If something like that had been loosed upon a City, a section spanning several kilometers would be incinerated until nothing remained. As for the City around the impact site, there would be uncontroble sh fires that would likely spread out in a muchrger radius. It was hard to imagine what had created such a phenomenon, or what had required such a terrifying magic spell to be used. For those that remembered the previous re, they began specting that Vahn was experimenting with a new tactical-ss magic that he had just perfected. The fact that it had, even temporarily, changed the very weather above left a deep impact on a lot of people. Since rumors had already started to circte that the Alliance-run School was going to be teaching children magic, many parents were hoping to get their own children enrolled.. As for the boy in question, Vahn was currently sitting on the third-floor balcony with Hestia, Fenrir, and Ina. They were looking towards Terras barrier overhead, which had been left in ce because it would have taken more effort to remove than just letting it expire on its own. Seeing the rain impact it, sending very tiny ripples across the surface, was actually a very beautiful sight to behold. Ina, sitting in hisp, had bright eyes and an awed expression on her face as she mumbled, "Its so pretty." in a soft voice. Vahn couldnt help but agree with her, but his thoughts were preupied with the discussion that took ce earlier. The Zeus Familia had been banished from the City around thirteen years prior and, though he wasnt disallowed from entering its borders, Zeus had been missing ever since then. Him showing up in the skies above the Manor was a very troublesome event, as Loki spected he may be considering aeback. It wasnt likely that he would be able to muster up enough forces from outside of the City, so Loki had guessed Zeus wanted to try and use the Alliance as a tform for his own rise. She believed that Zeus had intended to try and ally with Vahn, using his former fame to try and lure him with his Hero dogma. It was either that, or Zeus had simply been trying to gather information for some greater scheme he had been cooking up. Vahn felt like it was abination of both, considering the amicable aura Zeus had when he first revealed himself. Until he let Zeus know he wasnt buying into his bullshit, the elderly god had an appreciative look on his face. Afterward, however, the stone-cold expression he had possessed showed that this was likely no longer an option. Vahn didnt really care, either way, as the only thing that really mattered was that his family was safe. If Zeus thought he could just do whatever he wanted, just because he was a god, Vahn didnt mind correcting that misconception. He might still care about public opinion a bit, as it made opening things like the School a possibility, but it didnt mean he wouldnt take decisive action if he was pushed into a corner... Noticing that Ina had gone quiet, Vahn looked down and saw her glowing blue eyes gazing up at him with curiosity and intrigue. Vahn smiled lightly at her, earning a radiant smile from his pristine and pure daughter that seemed to wash away any negativity clouding his mind. Apanying her smile, Ina suddenly said, "Papa is very cool..." without exining what she had seen. The glow fade from her eyes and Ina gave him a hug while giggling amusedly at something only she knew about. Vahnughed along with her, out of habit, patting her back as he quietly asked, "What did you see, Ina~?" Turning her face up to stare at him, Ina happily exined, "I saw Papa surrounded by rainbows, standing high in the sky with dazzling lights shining all over. It was even cooler than the green bubble~!" Vahn tried to imagine what Ina had seen in her vision but she didnt really give him too many clues to work with. He knew asking her wouldnt really alleviate this either, as the images Ina saw were like a kaleidoscope. It was hard for her to really understand what she was seeing, so her descriptions were always a little vague. One thing he did know was that the images were specifically things she would have seen herself. This meant, at some point, she had seen him flying in the sky surrounded by rainbows... When it came to rainbows, the only thing that really came to mind was his source energy. Whenever he observed it directly, source energy was like an amalgamation of every color, shining resplendently together in a very dazzling manner. He wondered if, at some point in the future, if he had managed to make a version of his [Magia Erebea] powered by pure source energy. It didnt really seem possible though, considering that it couldnt really exist outside of his body easily without first being converted into other forms of energy. There were no spells that would have a source element, as such a thing was likely beyond any conceivable record...still, it was an interesting idea that Vahn intended to look into. Seeing that the rain probably wasnt going to let up any time soon, even though Zeus had long disappeared from the sky, Vahn decided to head back inside. He carried Ina in her favorite princess carry while Fenrir jumped up to the top of the roof to continue watching over the Manor for the time being. Hestia followed after him, already returning to her gentle and lively disposition instead of the cold and solemn look she had earlier. During their discussion, Hestia had surprisingly pitched the idea of increasing the number of powerful and influential goddesses living within the Manor. Juno and Epona had already moved out at this point, but they werent exactly the type of goddesses Hestia was intending. She wanted to recruit goddesses from the first generation, so that arrogant gods like Zeus didnt even try to target them in the future. Given Vahns poprity with most goddesses, it shouldnt be that difficult to convince a few of them to take up residence within the Manor. This naturally brought up the conversation from the past, when Vahn had talked about needing goddesses with Divinities rted to Time, Space, and Fate. He was a little surprised by the fact that Loki had mentioned Kali as a potential candidate but, remembering Lilis confession the previous night, he knew they must have discussed it through thework, or during one of their Vahnatus events. The reason why Kali was considered a potential candidate was due to the face that Vahn would likely have topromise with her in the future, regardless of how things turned out. Unless he nned to force the Amazons to change their ways, the only practical means of doing so was to either win over the goddesses supporting their culture, or convincing their Queen to implement the change. Unfortunately, thetter was almost impossible since each sessive Queen had been personally trained and groomed by the previous generation. The one absolute policy of the Amazon Queen had always been protecting the culture and traditions that had been passed down for thousands of years. This meant that their culture had almost frozen in time since the first generation Hippolyta. As a result, Amazonesses looked like tribal women who still wore very traditional outfits, almostpletely forgoing other forms of clothing in public. It was a little strange to consider that the skimpy outfits they were when walking around the City were considered proper clothing, when wearing something like a simple tunic in private could be considered inappropriate... Thus, without being able to have much of an impact on the Queen, the only method avable would be changing the minds of the goddesses and their Familias. It wouldnt matter if the Queen decided to take a hard stance on the issue if the belief systems that allowed their country to exist for such a long period of time began to shift. As for how this was possible, it was due to the fact that most gods and goddesses didnt actually care about mortal affairs that much. They were more interested in simply enjoying their lives in the mortal world, meaning they were very prone to being influenced by things that interested them. If this happened, Hippolyta wouldnt really be able to do anything because, if she actually tried to do something like kicking the goddesses out of her country, her people would riot. Without the blessings of their various goddesses, the Amazons would have severed their ability to grow stronger. It would also set a precedent that could never be rectified once the decision was made, meaning the Amazon country would slowly walk towards the path of copse. Thus, though it was a little roundabout, the only methods to bring about change in the Amazon country was to either force change, or win over the goddesses presiding over the Amazonesses faith... Assuming that he somehow did manage to win over Kali, something that made Vahns spine tremble just thinking about, that meant they would only need one more goddess to match his conditions. Ideally, they would be able to find a goddess that had a Divinity rted to Space and, after his meeting with Tenjin previously, that made Amaterasu to most suitable candidate. When he realized this, Vahn felt the machinations of fate in full effect and began to wonder if The Path actually had some influence over them. The fact that two goddesses that he would inevitably have to interact with also happened to possess the Divinities he needed toplete the quest couldnt be a coincidence. Vahns impression of Amaterasu, even though they had yet to meet, was already positive. She seemed to be rather wise and showed great concern for her people, to the point that she was actively trying to bring about change in the Far East. After asking Loki to investigate, Vahn learned that Amaterasu was supposed to have a calm and gentle disposition, possessing a beauty that made the radiance of the sun pale inparison. Strangely, the actual physical characteristics of Amaterasu were rtively unknown, with even gods like her sworn-brother Tenjin having never had the opportunity to see her directly. As a result of this quirk of hers, Amaterasu was one of the Seven Sacred Maidens in the Far East, being one of the few v.i.r.g.i.n goddesses in both Heaven and the Mortal World. Vahn just prayed she wasnt another diminutive goddess but, given the precedence of Hestia and Kali, a part of him had already given up hope that this was the case. At the time, he even toyed around with the idea of convincing Freya to make a vow to him, as her Death Divinity was also rted to Fate. Yet, the moment this thought crossed his mind, something truly shocking happened that made Vahns mind dull for several long seconds... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Optional Quest Updated// [Quest: I Shall Return] Rank: SSS Objective: Complete [Quest: Origin of Heroes](0/9). Establish Eternal Bonds with gods that possess Divinities rted to Time, Space, Bonds, (and) Fate (1/3->4). Current: Hestia Rewards: Reduction of requirements for [Quest: I Shall Seal The Heavens]. 10x Reduction in necessary Origin Points. Failure Condition(s): Death, Exiting the Record Before Completion Penalty: Danmachi Record inessible until Tier 8, 10,000 karma based on conditions (11/12) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- When he saw the quest update, Vahn was absolutely certain that The Path had more sentience than it lets on. The fact that the Objectives had increased and, instead of having to find anybination of goddesses, he had to find each different kind made this very apparent. This meant that, even with Hestia, Kali, and Amaterasu, he still needed to find another goddess rted to Fate. Freya would be able to meet this requirement, which seemed to be why The Path had updated the requirements themselves to match the number of Divinities...it was almost like he was being forced to go with both Kali and Amaterasu... While he had been dealt a critical blow by the system notification, Sis chimed in with a strangely hesitant and apologetic tone as she exined, (*Vahn...Im being told that things will be more beneficial for you this way...also, I dont think Freya matches the requirements. Though she has a Divinity rted to Death, it isnt that strong as even Kalis Death Divinity doesnt quite make the cut. The quest will still recognize it, but I think you should find a God or Goddess with a more powerful Divinity rted to Fate than one that possesses a fragment of Death Divinity...*) Vahn had been brought back to awareness by Sis words and knew that The Path had likely revealed something to her, even if indirectly. In truth, he knew The Path didnt actually possess sentience, but it possessed something very simr, just without a will of its own. Sis was the mediator created by The Path because he wouldnt have been able toprehend its use and how to interpret the information it needed to disclose. As a result, Vahn had always been very reliant on Sis and, hearing her actually speaking hesitantly, made him feel more than a little concerned. Chiming in to ease his worries, Sis soothing voice sounded within his mind, (*Sorry, Vahn, Im not trying to force your hand or mislead you...even I dont know what The Path is trying to tell me. Its just urging me to have you choose gods with more powerful Divinities. My remark about Freya and Kali is just my spection...Im sorry if I made things more confusing for you. Just remember that this is still an Optional Quest, meaning you can abandon it any time before you leave the record if you dont want toplete it.*) More so than he was bothered by the Quests changes, Vahn didnt like Sis apologizing and sounding so sad. He calmed his mind as best he could and said, ("Sis, you dont have to apologize. Ever since I entered this world, youve always looked after me without taking a single break. I know youre trying to be considerate of my feelings...thank you. I will treat your advice very seriously and think about the decision I want to make.") Even before his words had finished, Vahn felt like a part of him that he couldnt quite pinpoint the origin of had be happy. When Sis voice sounded out again, she seemed to have recoveredpletely as she said, (*Thank you for understanding, Vahn. You really have grown so much since our time together in the forest...it makes me feel happy seeing your progress.*) Hearing Sis happy made Vahn feel a lot more confident about the future and he decided to seriously consider his options, separating them between wants and needs. He wanted to be happy, which meant he needed to protect the source of his happiness, his family, friends, andpanions. He also wanted to be able to elevate the Tier of the world so that he could break, or even rewrite, thews that were binding the gods to their Divinity. This meant he needed to either link the record of Danmachi to a higher Tiered record, or elevate the Tier of the record internally by increasing the number of elements that had the potential to grow beyond its restrictions. It was far safer to link the records together, so this meant the best option was toplete his quests so he could purchase the [Dimensional Anchor: Stasis]. This would allow him to travel through other worlds, including Evas, to increase his strength without having to worry about the passage of time in Danmachi. When he finally managed to reach peak Tier 6, or step into the realm of Tier 7, he would then be able to link the Danmachi record to whichever record he was in at the time. He didnt know how this would be done, but Sis had informed him it would be possible through one of The Paths functions when he reached that point. The second option, other than simply being safer, also meant he would be one of the strongest beings in the linked records. Danmachi would still only be a Tier 4 world, but its potential would be increased to Tier 6-7. This would bring about great changes, including the fact that the gods would no longer be restricted in their growth by the Laws of the world. With those restrictions removed, they would even be able to reach higher Tiers in the future while Vahn helped elevate them further. Though they would likely have to contend with whatever forces emerged to bnce the amount of positive Karma in the world, Vahn was confident in being able to ovee it when the time came... Considering all of this, Vahn knew he needed toplete the two Quests, [I Shall Seal the Heavens], and [I Shall Return]. Withoutpleting the second Quest, it would be nearly impossible toplete the first, even if he stayed within the record for more than a hundred years. It simply took too much OP and, even if he stopped spendingpletely, he was still likely never to reach that point. Having the OP requirement reduced to 1/10th made the quest far more practical toplete and, depending on the circ.u.mstances, he would be able to finish in around 15-20 years. This would require him to restrict his own growth and remain as a Tier 3, however, as he would lose ess to the Dungeon once he reached Tier 4. Even his Emperor self had been bound by this restriction, so Vahn didnt doubt it was almost impossible to circ.u.mvent. After all, he was still a far cry from the capabilities possessed by his Emperor self, who had conquered the Continent and even built an entire City in the sky... After thinking this far, Vahn began to organize a n of action within his mind that would increase the chances of sess in the future. He wouldnt make a decision right now but he would still consider how he wanted to deal with Kali, Amaterasu, and whichever goddess of Fate managed to cross his path. If they would be too troublesome to associate with, he would re-evaluate his n and makes changes as needed. As for how he would .u.mte OP, Vahn would continue his ns with the School, take care of his children, help the girls train, and then, once Bell came to the City, switch his focus on Enyo, the Xenos, and the Dungeon itself. He would begin construction of Haven, find a way to link it with the Hearth Manor, likely through the Tree of Life and Terra, and then begin construction of his Academy. Since he would also be exchanging items from the system shop for various materials collected by Adventurers, his OP reserves would naturally expand and, regardless of the amount of effort it took, he would definitely get to the bottom Floor of the Dungeon this time around... (A/N: As Vahn himself has described, I intend to make a shift in the tone of the story around the middle of Volume 16. The Vanir would have grown up a fair amount by then, being around the same age as Bell, and Vahn would also have a lot more freedom in how he deals with other countries. When things begin to wrap up outside of the City, a lot of the plot will focus on events going on in the Dungeon, and...well, I cant get into too many details without spoilers. Just know that, instead of just a few chapters of action here and there, I n to haverger micro arcs connecting into arger overarching story in the future. I know my writing skills arent quite up to snuff and, as this Novel was always about me improving my writing quality, I n to try and flex my finger muscles in future Volumes. (UwU)~! Also, Id love if people were readingmenting/reviewing Fenrirs Journey. It might just be an Omake, but feedback would be appreciated. Go show the Goodest Girl some love and, if you just want to meme it up, add the Goodest Girl tag to the novel for me xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ina might see her future, but a lot of those images focus on her Papa~!,It seems like Hestia is getting serious .__.,Vahn is gued by Loli-ss Goddesses...Please, Amaterasu-sama, be a beautiful Onee-san ( ; _ ; )) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 721 - Brilliance

Chapter 721 - Brilliance

Terras barrier ended upsting nearly twenty hours but the storm raging overhead continued for nearly three days and nights before it finally cleared up. Vahn had been tempted to chase away to clouds but he also understood that his pure me orb had likely been one of the causes for the bad weather. Though it was obvious that Zeus had influenced the event, Vahnsst usage of the orb had caused it to rain for a few hours previously. With the me elemental energy dispersing through the air, causing it to heat up, it created arge draft as the heated air rose further into the atmosphere. When the air cooledter, it would intermix with small dust particles that would be frozen as the temperature continued to drop. Eventually, rain clouds would form and, as the attack Vahn had used was on a somewhat drastic scale, Zeus wasnt solely responsible for the current foul weather guing the City. Of course, this didnt stop Loki from pinning itpletely on him, quickly circting the fact that Zeus had antagonized the Alliance. She even spun things slightly to make it as if he had been peeping in on underaged girls with ill intentions. Those that remembered Zeus from the past,pletely bought these rumors without questioning them in the slightest. Since it was also known that Vahn was very protective of the women around him, especially the younger ones, everyone readily ced the me on Zeus. This didnt just extend to the general populous either, as the matter had been inted within the majority of Familia in the City, as most of them were run by goddesses that favored the Alliance. Many of the goddesses had suffered slights from Zeus in the past, so they were the first to take up the torch to nder his name, not that he didnt deserve it. As for the infamous god in question, Zeus hadnt made an appearance ever since he disappeared from the skies above the City. Even so, Vahn remained on alert until the weather began to return to normal, mid-morning of the fourth day. The long period of cold rain had made the temperature in the City cold and humid but Vahn found it very refreshing as he stood in the sky overlooking the territories of the Alliance. Fenrir, as she was prone to doing, hovered at his side a bit shakily. Her ability to levitate still needed a lot of work, but she managed to stay in the sky by creating footholds with [Koku Shundo], linking both points to the same spot over and over. It made her body flicker strangely, but Vahn thought it was actually an ingenious way to familiarize yourself with the incredibly useful spell. He made a mental note to add it into the advanced training block for the future magic sses that would be held at the Sage Aldrnari School, a name that still made him feel more than a little embarrassment. Still, it was very useful naming the School in such a fashion as it served to increase his own reputation while also serving as a legacy for the Alliance itself. In the far future, when Schrs looked back on these moments, they would be able to track the transition from the old era into the new, marking the establishment of the Sage Aldrnari School as the moment things began to change. Besides, he didnt really use his Sage title for much just yet, something that Riveria would asionallyin to him about. Her pregnancy had progressed into its third trimester and it looked like she had a little over two months left before she was due. Even while pregnant, however, Riveria had constantly been trying to do things to help her people back within the Elven Kingdom. The blockade was still ongoing and the inner turmoil had increased greatly at this point. Since the High Priestess Faction had created some distance with the Alliance, Riveria had been making use of her contacts to help Elves flee the forest. This led to a very small exodus of the Elven people, who had beening into the City with the assistance of the Alliance, even though some of the Nobles tried to use them of the same backdoor methods they themselves used. Unlike the crooked Nobles, however, the Alliance offered protection and work to the Elven refugees without forcing them into very. As long as the Elves made public vows promising they were not agents of the Elven Kingdom, they would be given leeway to take up residence in the Alliance controlled territories. Since there were a lot of vacant residences, this killed two birds with one stone. Not only did the Alliance manage to allocate their properties more effectively, but there were now almost 1,400 Elves that had migrated into the City, the majority of which had now created a smallmunity for themselves. Riveria actually wanted to visit and show her support but Vahn had managed to talk her down until she had delivered their child. Understanding the importance of the budding life within her body, Riveria obediently stayed within the Manor. She spent the majority of her time between sitting in Terras Garden, writing letters to the Elven Kingdom, while the rest of her time was split between sitting in the Library or asionallying to find him. It was during these moments when Riveria showed a side of herself that made Vahn feel much closer to the beautiful High Elf. Though it was only something as simple as ining to him, just knowing she confided in him willingly, all while allowing him to hold her body, made Vahn feel like he was doing his duty as her Husband... --- Around the time the rain had stopped, Vahn had been ying chess with Erika, thetter of which had a very serious expression on her face as a result of intense concentration. Vahn had a gentle smile but, even though he tried to hide it, there was a humorous glint in his eye that made Erika feel frustrated. They had already yed eight rounds in a row and, even though she had done her best, Erika had lost every single one of them. It wasnt that he was actually good at chess, but Vahn had a few books on the subject and knew the best move for almost any given action she took. The thing was, if he didnt actually try to win, Erika would instantly see through it and be even more upset...thus his current winning streak. After staring at the board for nearly twenty minutes straight, Erika clenched her teeth before gently setting the crystal king on its side. She had visualized several hundred different moves in sequence but none of her moves ever resulted in her victory. Vahn began to wave his finger, using telekinesis to move the pieces back into ce while Erika flopped onto her back and released a loud sigh. Vahn chuckled lightly, saying, "Your belly is showing...", causing Erika to blush as she pulled down the hem of her off-ck tunic. Though her clothes were different, Vahn noticed Erika dressed in a simr color scheme as himself, something that always made him happy. Once the pieces were reset, Erika sat back up and began staring at the board again as she asked, "Papa, how is it that you are able to know the counter to all my moves? Is it really possible that you have memorized every move and its counter...?" To this question, Vahn shook his head and honestly answered, "Though there are a fixed number of variables in the pieces themselves, the number of iterations in which they can be moved is functionally without limit. There is no perfect counter to every strategy, but I do know counters to most of the moves you would make. Though you are a very intelligent girl, to the point where youre very likely unmatched in the entire Continent, your mind doesnt have the flexibility of someone more experienced...as for how Im able to win...well, Ive just memorized a lot of books on the subject andpiled them together in my head." As he exined, it wasnt as if he truly knew every possible move and its counter as, ording to one of the books he had read about chess, there were potentially anywhere between 10^80 and 10^82 potentialbinations. Some estimates even put the total number exceeding a googleplex, totaling more than one-hundred zeroes in sequence. In theory, it was possible for Erika toe up with numerous strategies to counter his own moves. However, she would have to stop thinking about the best move in the present, or in the future, and instead, start considering how her moves could influence the opponent so that her seemingly weak moves could circ.u.mvent the logic derived from the games core mechanics. It was a very difficult thing to achieve but Vahn felt that Erika had the potential to pull it off in the future... For several minutes, Erika just sat in front of the board, staring at the pieces on the table as she mulled over her Papas words. She knew he was telling to truth and, knowing there was a quantifiable chance of her victory, Erika was determined to find it. It felt like she would be more plete if she performed the seemingly impossible task before her. If she managed to pull it off, Erika believed that her future would be limitless. It would make other seemingly impossible decisions she had to make much easier to deal with... Finally, after eight minutes had passed, Erika moved her first piece, quietly muttering, "Crystal Pawn, D4..." Vahns eyes nced over the board, somewhat confused at what strategy Erika hade up with to use such a basic opener. Still, deciding to see how things yed out, Vahn grabbed his left center pawn, saying, "Onyx Pawn, E6..." For a very brief moment, Erikas eyes parted and Vahn could see her aquamarine green eyes peer at the pieces. Grabbing her rightmost knight, Erika muttered, "Crystal Knight, F3..." Vahn noticed that Erikas moves werent anything exceptional but, that small peer through her slit-like eyelids brought a smile to his face. She seemed to be cooking up something and he wanted to see how far this brilliant daughter of his could go. Right now, they were ying a round of ten and, if he managed to sweep her, Erika had to wear a brand new pair of pajamas he made for her. Since she didnt seem too keen on the ko pajamas, Vahn found out what Erikas favorite animal was and handcrafted her a very powerful set of tiger pajamas. She imed to like tigers because, not only were they very powerful and territorial, but they could also be very sneaky. When she saw the jammies he had made for her, however, Erika adamantly refused to wear them...thus leading to this situation. Picking up his next piece, Vahn smiled as he said, "Onyx Pawn, F5..." while imagining that adorable image of his daughter wearing the A-Rank pajamas he had made for her. Erika trembled slightly, almost as though a shiver had run up her spine as she grabbed her second knight, saying, "Crystal Knight, C3..." Seeing this move, Vahn blinked and re-evaluated the board before grabbing his own knight, stating, "Onyx Knight, F6..." At this point, he realized there was something different about Erikas way of ying. She was simultaneously more casual, but also decisive in the moves she was making...almost as if she had already mapped out the entire game within her mind. The next series of moves confirmed Vahns suspicions as he carried out each of his moves in sequence, eliminating possibilities while opening up others. Erika had started by moving her bishop into the G5 square, leading him to counter with his bishop at E7. When she used her bishop to take his knight, Vahn realized what had changed almost instantly. It was almost like Erika was proactively sacrificing her pieces, obviously attempting to set up a board state that would be preferable for her strategy. Thus, after her bishop took his F6 knight, Vahn moved to take her bishop, now setting his own on the F6 square. It was at this moment that Erikas eyes closed once again, a small smile appearing on her face as she said, "Crystal Pawn, E4..." before asking, "Papa, how did you and Mother meet~?" Vahn had been considering his next move but, hearing Erikas question, uttered a confused Nn?. Moving his pawn to take her E4 pawn, Vahn said, "That is a peculiar question to ask...are you really that curious, or did you just want to distract me~?" Erika picked up her knight, decisively taking his E4 pawn as she said, "Im curious. I can see that you...love each other...but Im not sure how you fell in love. Mother, she..." Even without finishing her sentence, Vahn knew what Erika was trying to say so he grabbed his pawn and moved it to the B6 position before saying, "Honestly, our first meeting almost made us into enemies..." Erika wasnt surprised at all by her Papas words but, seeing the loving and reminiscent look in his eyes, she felt fluttery in her stomach as she muttered, "Crystal Knight, E5..." Vahn persued the board, still unsure about Erikas strategy. She seemed to be setting up a position to pin in his king with her queen so Vahn did a king-rook swap, cing his king at G8 while his rook fell into a defensive position at F8. Then, considering what he wanted to say, Vahn smiled and exined, "She had made me angry, talking about how people had a certain value and, in order to get what I wanted, I needed to exchange for it...honestly, I was very angry at the time..." Nodding her head, Erika moved her bishop to the D3 square before asking, "Then how did you manage to fall in love? Did you...fall into her scheme?" It wasnt beyond the realm of possibility so Erika began to feel slightly anxious. She was scared to know if the only reason she existed was that her Mother had plotted against her Papa. He was one of the most important people in her life, and Erika didnt want to imagine that he only loved her because he had been tricked into doing so... Moving his own bishop to B7, Vahn smiled as he exined, "I got to see your mother exposed, without any tricks or schemes. Sheid her heart bare in a situation outside of even her own control...it was at that moment we truly began to love each other. Ever since then, even though she still has her quirks, your Mother had always worked hard for our family...she is a good goddess, but an even greater woman...and, even if she might note off as such, she is also an excellent mother." Vahn sent a small wink towards Erika, earning a parted eye from his brilliant daughter who then hung her head as she muttered, "Crystal Queen, H5..." Though she had lowered her head, Vahn noticed the small smile on his daughters lips. She seemed to be relieved by his words and Vahns heart melted seeing her bashful behavior. Even though she had moved her queen into a position to try and pin in his king, Vahn was still very happy at this moment as he chimed, "Onyx Queen, E7~." Erika gave a small nod in response before quietly muttering, "Crystal Queen takes H7 Pawn...Check" Vahn was still in a jovial mood, but he was somewhat confused by Erikas move, essentially giving up her queen in exchange for a pawn. He realized she was up to something but, as any other move would lose him the game, Vahn had no choice but to take her queen with his king, moving it into the H7 position. However, the moment he made this move, patterns shed in Vahns eyes as arge grin appeared on his face. At the same time, Erika also smiled more radiantly than he had ever seen before as she yfully asked, "Checkmate~?" Even though there were still numerous potential moves, Vahn could tell that each sessive move only put his king further into apromising position. By moving her pieces in a strange pattern and maneuvering them as if she were haphazardly sacrificing them, Erika had put him into a position where his optimal moves, which would make it appear as though he was winning, would assuredly lead to his defeat. They were currently on the twelfth move, rtively early in the game, but Vahn could see his demise on the eighteenth... Realizing what had just happened, Vahn beganughing in a loud and unconstrained voice, causing Erika to flinch as she peered through her slightly open eyes at him, clearly confused. She became even more so when, after Vahn hadughed his heart out, he then copsed backward with a mournful expression on his face as he muttered, "I never knew it was possible to feel pride, joy, and sadness, all at the same time...is this what it means to be a parent...?" As he stated, Vahn was very proud that Erika had been able to get the final victory against him. At the same time, he was very happy for her, to the point where he hadnt been able to contain it at all. Still, knowing that he had lost and, as a result, the painstaking hours he had put into her tiger pajamas were a waste, Vahn couldnt help but mourn his defeat. He waspletely unaware of the conflict going on his daughters mind, as she was also feeling a mixture of emotions. The fact that she had won made her feel incredibly vindicated and, hearing her Papa talk about how he hade to love her Mother, only made this happiness more apparent. However, when she saw her Papas mournful expression, Erikas tiny heart twisted in its chest and she began to regret winning all of a sudden. Erika didnt like this feeling and, even though it made her cheeks feel like they were on fire, she mustered up her resolve and asked, "Since I won...does that mean I can ask for a reward...?" Vahn, who had beenying on the ground, rolled up into a seated position and smiled as he said, "Of course. As long as its something within my power, your Papa will grant you a single wish~." Seeing her Papas quick recovery, while still having a visible sadness in his eyes, Erika stalled for a moment before hesitantly asking, "Can...can...*inaudible*..." Vahn craned his head, inclining his ear towards Erika as he said, "I cant really hear you, Erika...please speak up..." With a beet red face, Erikas thoughts raced as she restructured her request and asked, "Can you make a matching set of t-t-tiger pajamas for Doppel? I want to see w-what it looks like if w-we wear the same outfit..." It took Vahn a moment, but he soon realized that, while Erikas request was for Doppel, she also expressed that she was going to wear the tiger pajamas he had made for her. This brought an amused smile to his face and, as Erika looked towards him with confusion, Vahn pulled out two pairs of matching tiger pajamas. Since she and Doppel were almost inseparable, Vahn had, of course, already made a pair for both of them. Seeing the surprised blush on his daughters face made Vahn feel like he had reached the apex of what it meant to be a contented father... --- (A/N: There may be some people that were curious, so this was the game that they had yed: 1. d4 e6 2. Nf3 f5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 Be7 5. Bxf6 Bxf6 6. e4 fxe4 7. Nxe4 b6 8. Ne5 O-O 9. Bd3 Bb7 10. Qh5 Qe7 11. Qxh7+ Kxh7 12. Nxf6+ Kh6 13. Neg4+ Kg5 14. h4+ Kf4 15. g3+ Kf3 16. Be2+ Kg2 17. Rh2+ Kg1 18. O-O-O#. It was a game yed between Edward Lasker and George n Thomas, two great chess yers in their time (UwU)...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nobody is surprised that Zeus is a perverted cuck (UwU),Climactic Battle of Wits!? Will Erika be able to escape her fate...!?,No, no she wont (^o^)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 722 - *Spoilers, Title at End*

Chapter 722 - *Spoilers, Title at End*

Fresh off the embarrassment he had suffered at the behest of Vahn, Zeus slowly made his way through the sky, supported by his Magic Item, [Sky Chariot]. They took on the form pero-like sandals with golden bands that allowed him to move through the sky as fast as he could run on the ground. Though he would have been able to easily fly in Heaven, Zeus had lost that functionality in the mortal world. Unless he activated the fragment of his Divinity, he was limited by the powers he had developed during his stint in the mortal world. If not for this fact, he would have easily just copsed the space around Vahns imposing fire magic. Remembering the heat radiating from that small orb, which exploded to create a second sun in the sky, Zeus couldnt help but smile with excitement. He knew Vahn was strong, but he hadnt expected the boy to be capable of performing such a powerful attack so quickly. Still, the truly impressive thing was the speed at which Vahn had moved. Zeus didnt know what method they used, but he saw that the Dragon Xenos woman, Terra, had used a strange magic on him moments before. After that, Zeus couldnt even trace Vahn at all until he had appeared in the sky, striking a majestic and heroic figure amongst the dense thunderclouds. Even so, Zeus couldnt help but feel that the technique Vahn had used was somehow evil and, as hard as it was to imagine, part of his instincts said it could even surpass the strength of normal Divinity one day. It was because of this that, though Zeus had been disappointed by Vahns arrogance, he didnt harbor any malignant intent towards him. In face, Vahn standing up for his women in such a manner made Zeus feel the boy embodied what it meant to be a true hero. After all, if a man couldnt stand up for his women against the odds, then he wasnt suited to call himself a hero at all. Still, Zeus couldnt easily get the image of that Chienthrope girl out of his mind, realizing it had been a while since he took on a lover with their unique qualities... Landing in the mountains near the small vige where he cared for his grandson, Bell, Zeus walked straight through a wall and disappeared from view. There were hundreds of powerful magic formations in this area of the mountains and, when he wasnt taking care of Bell, this is where Zeus spent most of his time. After all, he couldnt continue the guise of a homely farmer for very long before it became incredibly boring. Here, in this secret retreat Hera had created for him, after a great deal of insistence, Zeus could release the tensions of his body as much as he wanted. After making his way through the ornately decorated halls, Zeus smiled with ascivious grin on his face when he saw his current panion syed out on his circr-shaped bed. Her dark-grey metallic wings covered nearly the entire surface and, even though she had a face full of resentment and indignation, Zeus found her beauty and charm to be quite remarkable. Walking over to her side, earning a re from the tightly bound woman, Zeus humorously intoned, "Rta, still so resistant? Surely it hasnt been all that bad staying here~? If memory serves, Ive tended to you quite a bit...you know, most women would feel gratified being favored by a god..." Clenching her teeth, Rta tried to jerk her wings free from her restraints once again before releasing a sigh. The prideful expression she wore in the past had lessened greatly ever since Zeus had decided to give her his favor. If her sisters were to see her now, Rta wasnt sure she would be able to live with the shame. The only reason she had even tolerated these grievances, in the beginning, was due to the loyalty she had towards the Allfather, Odin. However, after she and her sisters had unwillingly served Zeus, he had decided to keep her as his prize. Unable to refuse, she ended up in this hell hole and, after finally losing her patience with Zeus constant demands, he used a powerful magic item to bind her to his bed. Ever since then, she had been stuck in this ce, only eating and drinking whenever the despotic god remembered to bring sustenance to her. If not for the fact she was a demigod, Rta was certain she would have died during her stint as this arrogant gods pet. Zeus, seeing the look of distaste on her face, released a sigh as he began to peel away her robe, remarking, "Things wouldnt have been so difficult for you if you simply epted my favor obediently. I was led to believe that the Valkyries were prideful women who never reneged their duty. Who would have thought that one of their Captains would have set aside her loyalty so quickly just for her pride..." Hearing this, Rta red towards Zeus and practically spat the words, "I am loyal to the Allfather, not some despotic swine who does whatever he wants without regard for the consequences!" Then, as if not satisfied by her words alone, Rta truly spat towards Zeus but, as she hadnt had anything to drink for nearly three days, only dry spittle flew from her lips. Now wearing nothing but his [Sky Chariot], and a pair of goldenurel brief that reflected the rather intense lighting within his private bedchamber, Zeus began tough uninhibitedly before remarking, "Well, Im actually quite fond of prideful women, Rta. It is because of that nature of yours that I took a fancy to you, after all..." Zeus stroked his beard in a thoughtful manner,pletely ignoring Rtas re and her futile attempts to break free. He had an interesting thought cross his mind so he said, "Well, Im certain you want to leave this ce, correct~?" Hearing Zeus words, Rtas eyes squinted in suspicion as she coldly asked, "What are you ying at, old man...?" Being called old, Zeus brows furrowed slightly as he retorted, "Hmph, Ill show you that this old man can make a proud woman like you beg like amon whore...tch...!" Rta pulled at the magical bindings with all her might but, with all of her powerspletely sealed, they didnt budge a single millimeter beyond the ck Zeus had considerately given her. Zeus enjoyed this reaction of hers but still wanted to y with her more so he said, "Ill give you my promise as a God...if you can satisfy mepletely today, Ill let you leave this ce. In exchange, youll have to find a beautiful Chienthrope woman to serve as your recement. What say you, Rta?" Rta wouldnt believe Zeus under normal circ.u.mstances but, if he was willing to promise on his status as a god, she knew he would make good on his words. The troublesome thing was, he would easily be able to make an excuse that she hadnt been able to satisfy himpletely, or some other tasteless drivel. She was almost certain, given how he acted normally, this was just a means of getting her to willingly service him, meaning he likely intended to make her do a variety of shameful and nerve-wracking ys with him. Her pride would never let her do such things willingly and, if she could get free of these bindings, Rta was contemting taking her own life to deny him the satisfaction of his games. Zeus could see the fire of resentment burning in Rtas eyes and realized she wasnt intending to y along, even though he wasnt actually trying to trick her. Chalking it up to her foolishness as a mortal, Zeus just shook his head and prepared to remove his briefs-shaped magical item before a small rm began sounding throughout the chamber. It was a very annoying sound that caused Zeus face to darken in an instant, small sparks of electricity dancing across his eyes. With a loud huffing sigh, Zeus looked to Rta and said, "Think of my offer seriously. If you havent made a decision by the time I return...dont me me for using your body to ease my frustrations..." Ignoring Rtas re, Zeus ran to a small wardrobe at the side of the chamber and put on a set of clothes that gave him the appearance of a farmer once again. The rm that was sounding was tied to a small formation he had set on Bells body in the past. If the boy was ever in danger, or a heightened state of stress. it would begin to sound with a frequency rted to the level of stress Bell felt. Since it was currently annoyingly loud, Zeus figured the boy was in a lot of trouble and he needed to act quickly. Thus, after wearing his outfit in a sh, Zeus didnt bother to remove his [Sky Charior] as he ran out of the concealed entrance and bolted towards Bells location. As he was quite frustrated right now, storm cloud began to brew in the sky as Zeus raced across the void as quickly as he could, moving several times the speed of sound for a brief moment. He had ced his hopes upon Bells shoulders as Heracles and Gilgamesh hadnt met his expectations at all. Though Vahn also seemed to have a great deal of potential, Zeus still favored the grandson he had raised since the boy was a young child. Though it was unlikely, with how strong Bells fate was, Zeus would never forgive himself if harm befell his grandson before his journey could even begin... Without controlling his momentum, Zeus crashed into the ground and caused small explosions every time his foot struck against the ground. He finally managed to slow himself to a normal pace and ran forward with the speed of an aged man while tracing Bells tracking signal with the ring on his left ring finger. Zeus was confused about what kind of trouble Bell could have gotten in near their own cottage but, with how loud the signal had been, he couldnt leave it to chance. He needed to confirm Bells safety and, if the boy was hurt, treat his wounds and give him a pep talk to make sure he didnt stray from his path. With a great deal of concern in his voice, Zeus called out, "Bell, my boy, are you okay...!?" He had confirmed there werent any enemies nearby, so Zeus was trying to act as if he just noticed an abnormality. When Bell didnt call back, and the ringing in his ears increased greatly, Zeus furrowed his brows and broke through the small door sectioning off their bath from the rest of the cottage. Inside, he saw his grandson balled up in the tub with his back facing the door,pletely avoiding eye contact while he muttered, "Ahhh, please dont look, please dont look...." in a small voice. Zeus felt his body tilt a few degrees off its axis as he looked towards his grandson with a face full of confusion. He tried making sense of the situation and assumed that Bell was trying to conceal an injury or something by hiding within the tub. The boy hadnt even heated up the water and, as they were rather far to the north, he was certain to get sick if he didnt properly warm himself up. Thus, after releasing a small sigh and uttering a small curse under his breath, Zeus kindly spoke out, "Bell, its okay...you dont have to hide away from your Grandpa. Here, let me take a look...I can help you..." Ever so slowly, Bell turned around in the tub with half his face in the cold water, disying a teary-eyed and confused expression. Zeus always had a soft spot for this grandson of his and, though hemented how girly Bell was, it still broke his heart to see him in such a state. In as kind a voice as he could manage, Zeus softly said, "Come now, Bell, my boy... its fine...show your Grandpa whats wrong." This time, Bells teary-eyes began to full on generate tears, almost like the floodgates had been loosened as he cried out, "Grandpaaaaaaa-!" in a strangely high-pitched voice. Zeus was stunned as his grandson jumped out of the bath, revealing his fair skinned boy before running forward and hugging his waist tightly. Bell began to cry as if he had suffered a terrible grievance but, the only thing going through Zeus mind, other than the sound reaching his ears, was the sh of skin he had seen when Bell jumped out of the bath. He was certain his eyes were ying tricks on him but, hearing the high-pitched whineing from Bells cries, Zeus body began to tremble as he ced his handfortingly on Bells soft and tender shoulder... While his mind was racing to try and make sense of the situation, Bell managed to calm down enough to form words, each syble doing a great deal of mental damage as thetter said, "Grandpa, its gone! I dont know what happened, my body, it became strange! Waaaaaaah-!" Zeus swallowed hard as Bell tightly hugged his body, causing a soft feeling to press against his abdomen. With this confirmation,bined with what he had seen and heard, Zeus was now certain his suspicions were correct. Though Bell had always had a frail and feminine appearance, Zeus never expected there would be a day when the grandson he had proudly touted as a budding hero...would be a heroine... Bell continued to cry, hugging his Grandpa tightly as he asked, "Grandpa, what am I going to do!? Please tell me...*sniff*..." Zeus, still feeling his mind dulled by the sudden unexpected situation, habitually pat Bells back while saying, "Dont worry, Bell, its going to be okay...I..." Realizing he didnt actually have any advice to give in this situation, Zeus decided to stall by saying, "Ah, yes, this is perfectly natural...dont worry...there is nothing wrong with your body. Its just that you..." As he was trying to find his words, Zeus realized that, though he had talked to Bell about girls a lot, he never really exined the differences between boys and girls to his young grandson. This could have been dangerous as, if he had sent Bell into the world without the requisite knowledge, the boy might not have even been able to function in the capacity of a man until he was eaten by a carnivorous woman... When this thought crossed his mind, part of Zeus realized that would have still been better than the current situation. He had no experience training female Heroines because Hera would almost always take any capable Demigoddesses to protect them from him. This had always troubled Zeus but he knew her fears werent ungrounded as it was a fact he had taken an interest in his first daughter in the past. He had also been very fond of Helen but, considering himself a strong a virile male, Zeus didnt believe this was wrong. If any man imed they werent interested in Helens beauty, Zeus would have struck them down with a thunderbolt for daring to lie. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, something made more difficult by the sweet aroma wafting from his grands...daughters body, Zeus pulled Bell away and said, "Here, let me get a clear look. Dont worry, Ill exin what is going onter. Your Grandpa knows a few people that...will..." When Zeus pulled Bell away, he found his words trailing off of his tongue as a carnal fire began to ignite in his lower abdomen. Bell always had a unique appearance, with fair skin, white hair, and red eyes, but now it had been elevated to another level. His previously feminine appearance, which would have made anyone mistake him for a girl if he wore cute clothing, was now, very clearly, that of a womans. He, she, was still young, but it was very obvious that Bell would grow into a beauty in the near future... C.o.c.king her head to the side in confusion, Bell couldnt help but feel the instinct to step back as she asked, "Grand...pa...?" in a small voice. She had never seen her trusted Grandpa look like this, almost like there was a hungry and possessive look in his usually calm and caring eyes. Fortunately, he seemed to snap out of it when she showed her fear, regaining the kind look as he said, "Sorry, Bell...I just got a bit distracted. Even your Grandpa is a bit taken aback by this situation..." Turning his head to the side, Zeus tried to remind himself that, though Bell was now his granddaughter, she was also the grandson he had painstakingly raised and cared for. If he had groomed her as a girl for thest few years, it might have been possible to make her into a capable Heroine. Now, however, it was far toote for such things and, if he actually acted on the beastly instincts inside of himself, Zeus knew he would break his precious granddaughter. With the powerful flow of fate around her body, such a tragic experience would undoubtedly turn her into a monster that would endanger the entire world...just imagining such a thing made Zeus unbearably sad. Taking off his tunic, Zeus covered Bells body and said, "Im not sure what happened, but your body has changed from a boys into that of a girls..." Hearing this, Bell released a started Eeeeeeeeh~!?", making her seem even more like the girl she was. Zeus released a sigh, wondering what he was going to do about this granddaughter of his. As a boy, Bell could have gotten away with being airheaded since, with the flow of fate around his body, it would have actually benefited him as a Hero. Now, however, that airheadedness would almost guarantee he became a victim after some disreputable sorts got their eyes on him. Bell could be easily exploited because she had a very trusting nature and, with her exotic and charming appearance, almost like a small white rabbit, Bell would make an undoubtedly popr ve or p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e... Zeus realized he was in over his head and, resisting the urge to stroke his granddaughters head, said, "Bell, Ill be back in a short while. Im going to get someone that will be able to help you...stay here and behave like a good bo...girl..." Bell was still very confused by everything that was happening so she just nodded her head while tightly holding onto the tunic her Grandpa had given her. She watched as his back disappeared out into the rainy weather and began to feel scared and insecure about the future. Bell had no idea what she was going to do as a girl since her dream had always been to be a Hero that had arge family of girls around her...could she still do that, now that she was no longer a boy...? After walking off a fair distance, Zeus pulled out a parchment and wrote a message, this time addressed to Hera. She had always been the brains of their partnership and Zeus believed she would be able toe up with a solution. At the very least, she would be able to prepare for dealing with life as a woman. Though Bell might now be able to be the Hero Zeus had desired, it would be enough as long as she was happy and managed to avoid any great tragedies in life. Even if meant she would have to stay and train with Hera for a few years, it was better than his granddaughter bing the meat ve of some perverted noble, or getting sold to a brothel as an exotic p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e... Thinking of tragic fates, Zeus suddenly began to feel very guilty about what he had done to Rta. Truthfully, she didnt deserve what he had put her through and, in retrospect, Zeus understood he had been out of line with a lot of his behaviors. When Hera came to retrieve Bell, he would go and free the bound Valkyrie and, as long as she didnt intend to kill him, he would try to make it up to her. It would probably cost him an arm, but it would eventually grow back after a few months... While he was lost in thought, Zeus heard the rm ringing in his ears once again, startling him from his reverie as he looked toward the cottage on the far hill. He understood that Bell was likely very confused right now but Zeus didnt think it justified such a drastic reaction. Bells emotional state almost made it seem like he was in mortal peril but, considering the protective formations around the cottage, Zeus knew he would be safe. Bell was probably just freaking out after discovering something about his new body. Realizing this, Zeus shook his head with a sigh and tried to get the image of his granddaughters nude figure out of his mind. He needed to turn her over to Hera soon or, knowing himself, there was a non-negligible chance he would do something regretful... Unfortunately for Zeus, such an opportunity would nevere, regardless of what actions he took as, the moment he had decided that Bell wasnt in any danger, he had sealed the young Heroines fate. As a result of his earlier crashnding, Zeus had caused a crack in the formations protecting the cottage. Since they lived far on the outskirts of the vige, they were very close to a forest that was filled to the brim with weak monsters that were the bane of farmers all over the world. As it would happen, Zeus breaking down the door to the bathroom had left Bellpletely unprotected when a group of three Goblins wandered into the premises. Bell, seeing the three monsters appear, hadpletely frozen up. Without offering any resistance whatsoever, Bell was struck down by the sharpened wooden club of the slightlyrger Goblin, passing into the afterlife momentster as the Goblins feasted heartily on her soft and tender flesh... Title: April Fools Day (A/N: This is a non-canon chapter, if it wasnt very obvious xD. I tried riling people up by showing Zeus being a sc.u.mbag, threw a curve ball at them with some casual genderswap, and then wrapped things up with an ill-fated end to our young Heroines journey~!...please dont kill me xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Its just a prank bro...,Seriously, put down the pitchforks...!,Aaaaaah, Im sorry, dont bully the Author-san please ( ; ^ ; )...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 723 - Filial Piety

Chapter 723 - Filial Piety

After waiting for a few days, it didnt seem like Zeus wasnt going to try anything. His reputation had been torn to shreds by the general popce, not that he had been popr from the start, and Vahns own had increased greatly. It seemed like all the most interesting things to talk about recently revolved around the Alliance, the Supply Depot, Lil Geirr, and the matters of the Hearth manor itself. Many Familia that had been hesitant about throwing their lot in with the Alliance had slowly beening around, especially the smaller production Familias. To fill out the Alliance controlled territory with their own forces, many of the smaller Familia has been shown favorable treatment and, as there was a seemingly endless amount of materials flowing out of the Alliance, it made their professions highly profitable. After all, if you could exchange Drop Items from weak monsters to obtain rare materials that could only be gotten in the lower floors, anyone would be willing. This allowed the weaker Familia, who didnt want to send their children into the Lower Floors, the opportunity to stay afloat within the Alliance-controlled territory. It was well-known that Vahn had an appreciation for both the trades and the arts, as they were required sses in his School, so he was very popr with small Familias that made their livings off creating items and providing logistical support to other Adventurers. Some saw this as a ploy by the Alliance to just garner support in the interim and, once things settled down, the true face of the Alliance would be shown. These rumors were circted almost exclusively by the Noble factions, however, so there werent too many Familia that took them seriously. The general populous might be easily manipted, but even the youngest gods usually had more than a hundred million years to their name. The godlymunity was a rtively close-knit group and they were very aware that the Alliance wasnt simply trying to exploit people for temporary benefits. It was actually theplete opposite, as could be seen by the various long-term projects that had been set in motion by the Alliance. You didnt make things like Schools, build upmunities, support small businesses, and strictly regte the policies of your group if you just had a short-term n. Anyone with a good head on their shoulders could see that, if the Alliance wasnt stopped soon, they would undoubtedly be the decision-makers of the City, in a very short period of time. This was one of the things that terrified the Nobles, especially since the Guild had shown no signs of even trying to oppose the Alliances power grab. And, at the center of everything, the one person that was on everyones mind, Vahn Mason...he was currently having his hair styled by his daughter, the Vanir, Ina. The man everyone saw as the mastermind behind everything, the reputed Sage Aldrnari, had a silly smile on his face while watching his daughter y around with his hair to her satisfaction. This was an image that few could even imagine and, though it was generally well-known that Vahn was a very doting father, people would have been gobsmacked to see the extent he went to in order to make his children happy. After styling part of her Papas hair into a mohawk, with seventeen tiny pigtails located over the rest of his scalp, Ina giggled happily and said, "Papa looks cool like this~." If he had been back in his previous world, and knew what punk was, Vahn would have had the impression he looked like the frontman of an edgy band. Without this knowledge, he just saw his current appearance as one of the various quirks of his adorable young daughter, now wearing her own hair in a unique fashion. Of course, as Vahn had been the one to style it for her, it looked neat and professionally done, at leastpared to the rather interesting style she had concocted for him. Inas hair looked elegant and tidy from the front, with two neat braids tying around to the back of her head. When you looked at her from behind, however, you could see that the hair was arranged in aplex pattern that formed into a braided ponytail that had seven unique segments intertwined together like a mesh weave. It had taken him almost two hours to style her hair until she was satisfied with the final appearance, not that he felt like the time wasnt well spent. Inas smile was so impactful that Vahn actually believed she had an Innate ability to amplify the effect. He wasnt the only one either, as many of the girls actually talked about it on thework as they all tried hard to make Ina smile when they could. While Ina had started to change parts of his hairstyle that she thought werent up to standards, Vahn was also sitting in another room with Syr, Ryuu, Arnya, Lunoire, and Chloe. The entire Hostess of Fertility group was present, excluding the temporary staff like Mn, Tina, and Shizune, and they were talking about refurnishing the Hostess of Fertility, still located opposite the main gate. Mama Mia, no longer having to look over the five girls she had been worried about, ended up retiring from her position as Proprietress and now managed the chain known as the Hostess of Fertility. They now had three locations within the Alliance-controlled territory and one located within Melen, maintaining their affiliation with the Njord Familia. The god, Njord, had been the one to look after Chloe in the past and he had an amicable rtionship with Mama Mia herself. Wrapping up her request, Syr smiled lightly and implored Vahn with a slight plea to her voice, "Ano...would you please consider giving Mama Mia a loan so that she can increase the wages of the pubs employees and refurbish some of the properties...?" At the same time, Ryuu, Arnya, Lunoire, and Chloe all had pleading looks on their faces but, much like Syr herself, Vahn could see the yful glint in their eyes. Though it wasnt quite the case, Mama Mia was essentially his Mother-In-Law, having entrusted to him her five daughters, two of which he had already knocked up. If he didnt help her out on such a simple matter, Vahn would have felt like he had betrayed her somehow. It helped that he was also a billionaire, so Vahn put on a casual smile and said, "Of course. Mama Mia did a lot for me in the past; if I cant do this much, I would have treated her kindness with contempt." Then, making eye contact with Syr, Vahns smile became marginallyrger as he asked, "I trust you already prepared the paperwork~?" Syr stuck her tongue out at him before pulling a small folder out of the book bag she kept her variouswork logbooks andmunication scrolls in. She passed over the folder to Vahn, who readily epted it and began to peruse the contents of the contract. It was arger sum than he expected, but 2MV didnt even put a dent in his personal worth, now exceeding 5BV. Vahn quickly penned his name at the bottom of the doc.u.ment and then, using the seal that Hephaestus had given him, stamped a magical seal to validate the signature was his own. Though it might not look like it, the small seal he used to stamp his signature was an S-Grade magical artifact that Hephaestus had given to him shortly after their wedding night. On the surface, it had his own personal emblem as the representative of the alliance and was surrounded with five petals, each indicating the five original Familia. To give the seal power, it was mixed with, not only his ichor, but that of Hestia, Loki, and Hephaestus. Since it had the effect of serving as a minor vow, it waspletely impossible to replicate and, attempting to do so, could actually cause a bacsh on the culprit. Any doc.u.ment approved by him, as the representative of the Alliance, needed to be stamped by the seal to have any credibility. Syr happily epted the contract from Vahn, smiling lovingly towards him as she said, "Thank you, Vahn~." in a subtly sultry voice. Vahn lightly chuckled in response, looking around at the gathered girls as he said, "Visiting the Hostess of Fertility has always been one the greatest fortunes in my life. This is the least I can do to express my gratitude..." His words earnedughter and smiles from all the girls, especially Chloe and Arnya, both prone to bouts ofughter even in serious situations. Thetter was currently holding the tiny Meinya in her arms, however, so, when she beganughing loudly, the adorable little kitten began to show a face of frustration before crying loudly. Silence immediately descended upon the room as Arnya gently rocked Meinya in her arms, soothingly saying, "Shhhh...its okay...everything is fine...Mama is here..." Seemingly unconvinced by her mothersforting words, Meinya continued to cry, voice filled with a great deal of vitality and an incredibly adorable intonation. To Vahn, Meinyas and Anises cries were almost like music to his ears because they were like high pitched Nyaaaaa- and Miau sounds, causing his stomach to feel fluttery. Of course, he wouldnt just stand there and listen to his daughter crying, regardless of how cute it sounded. Walking to Arnyas side, she gave him a pouting look while maneuvering to shield Meinya from him as she said, "Nyo! Let me do it, nya!" Vahn immediately turned statuesque, earningughter from Syr, Lunoire, and Chloe as thettermented, "Nyahaha, Papa got given the cold shoulder~." Syr, still lightly chuckling, added, "Well, I can understand Arnyas concerns. Its hard to be a good mother when the Papa is so exceptional. At this rate, Vahn will tame all his daughters and make it almost impossible for them to ever leave the Manor...ara, could that have been your scheme~? How sneaky, Vahn..." Though he knew they were just teasing him, Vahn felt like he was taking mental damage with each of theirments. The fact that Arnya had stepped away from him to soothe Meinya had dealt an especially critical blow. However, it was when Lunoire suddenly muttered, "Ill have to take make sure I give birth to a son...how troubling..." that Vahn took the most damage. His reaction earned another round ofughter from the girls but, as a result, Meinya began to cry even louder. Arnya looked towards them with furrowed brows as her tails flitted about in a frustrated manner. Vahn found her appearance to be cute but the cold look in her eyes had silenced the other girls. Using the small gap created, Vahn slightly twitched his index finger and began to infuse a thread of calming energy into his domain. Very sneakily, so as to avoid detection, he sent the thread into the crying Meinyas body while still showing a defeated expression. When Arnya went back to trying to soothe her daughter, Vahn sent gentle pulses of energy through the thread that quickly made the crying infant calm down. This brought a radiant smile to Arnyas face as she looked towards the girls before resting her eyes on Vahn and saying, "See, I can do it too, nyahaha~." Vahn smiled, giving Arnya a small nod as he said, "Of course, after all, youre a fine woman, and an even more capable mother..." Arnyas cheeks flushed slightly and, much like Syr had done previously, she stuck her tongue out before turning away. However, this allowed everyone in the room to see her tail flickering happily though, remembering the previous two incidents, nobodyughed. This didnt stop Chloe from taking advantage of the situation, though, as she came over to Vahns side and clung to his arm while whispering, "Would I make a good mommy too, Vahnyaa~?" Without any hesitation at all, Vahn nodded, wrapping his arm around Chloes waist as he responded, "Almost since the time of our first meeting, I always thought you were an amazing girl, Chloe. Youre already so good with children, so you would make an excellent mother..." Chloes eyes widened marginally as a result of his words and there was a very thinyer of moisture building up on her green irises. Still, she managed to silently inhale a deep breath through her nose before simply resting her head into the nook of his neck and shoulder. Chloe didnt want to develop a habit of crying every time Vahn said something that caused her heart to tremble, so she just decided to show her affection instead... Ryuu, who had been silently sitting on the sofa, noticed the mood was bing a bit pink so she lightly teased, "If youre going to get intimate, go into another room...show some consideration..." Even though she was giving what sounded like a reprimand, Ryuu had a gentle smile on her face, currently framed by a few curls of her golden hair. The light green she used to dye it hadpletely faded by now and, as a result of her pregnancy, Ryuu had developed a softer and more mature look. To hermentation, her b.r.e.a.s.ts hadnt grown that much but the round belly showed that she was very nearly ready to bring a child of her own into the world. Chloeughed silently and gave Vahn a small lick on his chin before breaking away from him and saying, "I actually have something else to take care of right now, so Ill be heading back to the orb. If you want to do somethingter though...nyufufu~" Chloes tail flickered yfully as she grabbed Lunoires hand and dragged her out of the room. They hade into the real world just to show support for Mama Mia so, now that everything was taken care of, they needed to return to the Sub-Space orb. Shizune was at an important stage of their training and she and Lunoire had both been looking after her to give Shizune a more bnced skill set. Her main weakness was her physical body, so Lunoire had been helping train her since the other girls were a bit too intense in their training regimens. Vahn watched the two girls leave and decided he would definitely make an appearance in the orbter. He spent arge portion of his time in the real world, but he had been getting better at splitting his focustely. Though he would have to take breaks periodically, he could even tolerate the mental strain of using one of his bodies inside of the orb while the other remained outside now. Since he had always had a basic affinity with Time and Space, Vahn had been adapting much faster than he initially expected. It would still take time, but the dtion effect within the orb gave him a lot more than he would have otherwise had. If he could get to the point where one of his bodies could always stay inside the orb, he would simultaneously be able to spend a year in the real world while six years passed inside the orb... From the corner of his eye, Vahn suddenly saw Arnya pull down the top of her thin white blouse to begin feeding Meinya. His eyes flickered over towards the exposed b.r.e.a.s.t, a reaction that had been noted by Syr, Ryuu, and, being the target of his gaze, Arnya. She gave a light snort before yfully saying, "This isnt for you, nyahaha~." He had been getting better at controlling his emotionstely, but Vahn still blushed when he heard Arnyas words. In truth, after watching so many girls b.r.e.a.s.tfeeding, Vahn couldnt help but feel slightly curious. However, the first person to tease him about it had been Juno, which had unnerved Vahn to the point where he never sought to sate his curiosity. Scratching the back of his head, Vahn gave a wry smile and said...nothing. He didnt really know what to say in such a situation since he didnt have the habit of lying to the girls. They would easily be able to see through him, unlike the people he would negotiate with on behalf of the Alliance. It was fortunate that Syr deigned to take pity on him at this time, as Vahn was starting to feel strangely guilty about his unnatural curiosity. She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to where Ryuu was seated, allowing him to sit down on the soft sofa next to her. Ryuu didnt move much on her owntely, especially if they were big movements, or she would have gone to Vahns side earlier. After lightly stroking his hair, Syr gave aforting smile and said, "Stay with Ryuu for a bit. Im sure she would enjoy yourpany~." At the same time, Arnya was hanging her head slightly and, after matching gazes with Syr, sighed before following her out of the room. There were certain things that would trigger Vahn these days and, even though she had just been ying around, his reaction showed that he had been overthinking that subjecttely. They all knew he almost couldnt lie to them so, if he was in a situation where he would have to say something very shameful, Vahn would just freeze up. It was another reminder to them that, though Vahn was an incredible father, a capable figurehead for the Alliance, and a powerful warrior...he was still, very recently, just a broken boy. Syr and Arnya left the room behind rather quickly, leaving only Vahn and Ryuu within the silent room that had previously had a lively atmosphere. As he was prone to do, Vahn loosely held Ryuus body and rubbed her belly while she rested against him. Vahn himself knew he had just made things awkward but he actually preferred this situation over developing a habit of lying to the girls. It was one of the quirks he was trying to work through recently but, as he was currently split between two bodies, it was a little hard to deal withplex emotions like this in such a setting. If it had been just him, Vahn would have been able tough it off more easily, instead of letting the thoughts run rampant in his head... Ryuu, who had been rxing against his chest while watching Vahns hands trace around her abdomen, suddenly raised her head. Vahn looked down into her sky-blue eyes and noticed that her face had started to turn progressively redder as she meekly said, "I dont have much...but, at least until our daughter is born, you can...use my milk...?" Hearing Ryuus statement, which sounded like a question, Vahn mechanically nodded his head before looking up at the ceiling. He had a distant look in his eyes as he slowly processed what Ryuu had just said, words he never expected to ever leave her lips. Yes, she had changed a lot over the duration of her pregnancy, but this was an advanced development he had never expected. If it was someone else, he would have just simply epted it as them teasing him but,ing from Ryuu, Vahn knew she was absolutely serious. Thus, though arge part of him was somewhat resistant to the idea, he eventually turned back to match her wavering eyes and said, "Thank you...Ryuu..." Then, in the rtive privacy of the study they shared together, Vahn partook of the opportunity Ryuu had provided him, satiating his curiosity and seeing another side of Ryuu, this one possessing various shades of red... --- Feeling the light p against his face, Vahn blinked, shook his head slightly, and then made eye contact with Ina as she repeated, "Papa?" The event happening in the other room had caused Vahn to stall momentarily and his eyes had zed over slightly, causing Ina to worry as she lightly pat his face with her tiny hands. Vahn smiled, patting his daughters head as he said, "Sorry, Papa was just a bit distracted. You know how I can be when Im using two bodies. Here, let me make it up to you~." Without waiting for her response, Vahn began to lightly tickle Inas sides as she began giggling and trying to escape his clutches. At the side, her Celestial White Tiger, Kuu, lifted its head out of curiosity and, seeing the familiar scene of its host and her Papa ying, it simply set its head back down. It was now the size of an average a.d.u.l.t tiger, but this was still its juvenile phase as it wouldnt reach maturity until Ina was fully grown. Still, much like its host, Kuu had grown a lot both physically and mentally within thest seven months. It knew now that the Papa that its host always yed with wasnt dangerous and, though it would never admit it, far more capable of protecting its host than Kuu itself. Thus, instead of wasting energy by trying to protect its host from her Papa, Kuu just went back to sleep, allowing the rays of the sun shining through the room to warm the ck and white fur of its body... (A/N: This is the real Chapter 725. I hope you enjoyed it more than my little prank xD...please forgive me...(?RQ?)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tanned skin, punk rock hair, good looks...Vahn would be popr in S. Korea,Being a good son-inw...xD,Here I am, a te full of Oreos and an empty ss...) (?RQ?) Chapter 724 - Curiosity

Chapter 724 - Curiosity

Though he had been making great progress in his use of two bodies, there was one activity that required Vahns entire focus, which was visiting his young daughter, Alexa. It wasnt that difficult to set aside time each day to enter inside the orb and see how she was doing, so Vahn always made sure to do so around 10 AM every morning. He tried to keep it consistent so she would always know when he was arriving. This allowed for the memory fragments to go about their own business without interruption as well, something Vahn himself was grateful for since he inherited the memories of the fragment. Things could get awkward if he suddenly showed up and then monopolized Alexas attention when his memory fragment had been ying with her. Since Vahn inherited the awkwardness, and any negative emotions contained within, he had tried to be more considerate towards himself. As for what his memory fragment had been up to, he spent most of his time forging the temte pieces for the Aegis set items, which had now actually started to stockpile since nearly twelve years had passed within the Spirit-Time orb at this point. After materializing, Vahn looked over to see apletely ttened tree stump where Alexa was currently seated. She still had a lot of the same habits from her time as a genderless entity so Vahn smiled lightly and said, "Alexa, sit properly..." Though she was wearing spats, Alexa had been sitting with her legs crossed while wearing a skirt. There werent really many people for her to interact within this space so she had yet to develop the awareness necessary for a youngdy. Of course, if he went by her physical age, it would have actually been somewhat strange for Alexa to have that kind of awareness as a three-year-old toddler. Without showing any appearance of shame or embarrassment, Alexa tucked her knees under herself and sat the way her Mother had taught her. Still, sitting like this on a hardwood surface wasnt that pleasant so she eventually just flicked her wings and jumped off of the stump as she asked, "Will you teach me something new today, Papa?" She hovered in the air around him, slightly below the height of his head so she could look up into his face. Alexa knew this was supposed to be a method to act cutely and, after having seen Ina use the same method in the past, she was confident it would work on her Papa. Vahn felt like Alexa had reached her tiny hand forward and squeezed his heart with her hands since her look had dealt critical damage to his mind. Reaching his hand out, Vahn began patting Alexas head as he said, "Its ultimately up to you, Alexa. I know my fragment has taught you a lot of things, so Im personally fond of just spending time with you. How that time is spent, though, that is for you to decide..." Because Alexa had to spend nearly 56 days apart from him every time they were together, Vahn had always left it up to her to choose what she wanted to do. For these one-hundred hours, he would do his best to make sure she was happy and content. Alexa giggled in a somewhat awkward manner before flittering away from his palm and moving near his shoulder. Vahn habitually raised his arm, letting Alexa sit down while wrapped her left wing around his shoulder for stability. With a happy smile on her face, she said, "Today, I just want to spend time with Papa. Even if its just sleeping under a tree, that is good enough for me..." Vahn smiled enough that his eye squinted slightly. He reached out his thumb and index finger, lightly pinching Alexas button-like nose as he said, "Lets go for a walk and find a good spot to nap then, shall we~?" Vahn walked along for around twenty minutes, following the directions of Alexa until they came to a tree that was around 5m thick. There was a nook in between two of therger roots and Vahn could see that the canopy overhead had been cleared out. Though there wasnt a sun in the sky, there was gentle while light that radiated down from above and illuminated the worlds below. Vahn found the temperate atmosphere of thepletely silent forest to be both eerie and calming at the same time. Of course, with his adorable little dragonling at his side, the eerieness quickly faded away, reced by a content feeling. After sitting in the nook, Vahn noticed a bit of moss on Alexas wings so, before they took their nap, he smiled and said, "Here, let me groom your feathers..." He knew Alexa had probably avoided cleaning them in preparation for his arrival and, as expected, she happily consented to his assistance. Alexa spread her wings, which could now stretch outwards for nearly 140cm, and held onto her knees while resting her chin against them. It wasnt a verydy-like way to sit but, considering that her Papa was behind her, Alexa knew he wouldntment on it. Using a very fineb, Vahn went through each of Alexas feather individually, confirming there were precisely 23,808 feathers present. He noticed the number had increased slightly over the years and it would probably get close to 29,000 when she reached maturity. Unlike her mother, Alexa had beautiful ck feathers instead of the leafy-green ones possessed by Terra. They were also very glossy and had a subtle metallic sheen to them, creating a tinkling sound as he moved theb through. She also had little ck horns growing out of her emerald green hair, now looking like two round nubs, while the scales covering her tail, ears, hands, and feet were a simr glossy ck to her feathers. As if she had read his mind, Alexa fluttered her wings with a satisfied expression on her face before asking, "Papa, will you help clean my scales too?" Holding up her hand, Vahn could see the gentle ck gradient of the paper thin scales on Alexas forearms and the backs of her hands. Like Terra, she had small runic markings all over her body with a small swirl near the palm of her hand. Vahn epted her hand and began looking over the glossy scales, noticing they didnt really require his attention at all. As for the scales on her feet and tail, Vahn didnt want Alexa to develop any habits so he had to reluctantly shake his head, exining, "Youll have to ask your Mother how to take care of sensitive areas on your own. Sorry, Alexa..." Without arguing, Alexa just nodded her head in understanding, blinking her leaf-green eyes that were as cid as ake. Vahn, however, noticed that she distinctly flicked her tail when he refused the request. Currently, Alexas tail couldnt really touch the ground just yet or she would have tapped against it, just like her mother did when she was upset. Vahn realized that Alexa, for better or worse, seemed to be developing a temperament simr to her mother. He wondered if this was because Alexa had be a female, or if it was just a trait all True Dragons had. If he got some alone time with Fafnir and Khaos in the future, Vahn would have to ask them. Before she sat down, Alexa began to wiggle in a strange manner and Vahn could see that her features began to distort slightly. The horns on her head became sharper, instead of rounded, and the emerald green hair around her head began to shrink towards the scalp. When she was done, Alexa surprised Vahn by saying, "There. Now Im no longer a girl, so it should be fine." As if it was a signed and sealed matter, Alexa sat down on the ground in front of Vahn and raised up its tail. It was very clear that Alex was waiting for him to grab its tail and begin grooming it. Vahn had never seen Alex so willful before so he was a little taken aback by the sudden change. After holding its tail up for a few long seconds, Alex looked back and released a small sigh before standing up and saying, "Look. See?" Vahn wanted to facepalm when Alex lifted its skirt and pulled down its spats, revealing that it was, in fact, genderless at the moment. Still, though he avoided facepalming outright, Vahn massaged the bridge of his nose and exined as calmly as he could, "Alex, I understand how sensitive a True Dragons tail can be, especially after dealing with your Mother. Regardless of your gender, it would be inappropriate for me to touch your tail haphazardly. You should understand this...which makes me wonder what youre thinking to make such a request so suddenly...?" Alex took a deep breath and released it, obviously putting an effort into calming themselves before saying, "I saw the memory fragments of Papa and Mama...and I got curious..." Even without Alex detailing anything, Vahn had an idea of what it had seen. He knew personally that he had always sealed off the area whenever he and Terra had s.e.x. However, this was not always the case if it was just something like a massage, or grooming. Alex must have peeked in on one of the massage sessions and, since Terra could be very...sensual, Alexs curiosity must have been triggered. It had always been a very curious child, after all, which is likely why it had snuck a peek in the first ce... Much like Alex, Vahn took a deep breath and exhaled, likely why Alex had the habit in the first ce. Once he collected himself, Vahn gestured for Alex to sit in hisp and began stroking the young dragonlings head as he calmly exined, "Its fine to be curious, Alex, but you have to always consider things from multiple perspectives. If you selfishly try to force people to act in ordance with your will, it is very likely you will put yourself, and others, into tricky situations in the future. As for the thing youre currently curious about...well, I cant really help you with it. In fact, youre far too young to even start experimenting with that kind of thing. Please, talk to your Mother about this kind of thing when youre older...if you stress over it while youre young, it will only increase your frustrations in the future..." Vahn didnt really know how to deal with this kind of situation so, like he always was with his children, he tried to be honest and exin things as clearly as he could. Alex had been paying close attention to each of his words and, though it wasnt entirely convinced, it still nodded its head before leaning into its Papas chest. In truth, Alex knew it probably wouldnt have had any luck and that its expectations for the future would also never be met. At this point, it had experimented with being both a boy and a girl a few times but, after interacting with Fafnir, Khaos, and the memory fragments of its Mother and Papa, Alex knew it would probably want to stay a girl. Everyone treated it better when it was female and, for the few months it had spent as a male, Fafnir and Khaos had been more aggressive towards it. Alex, or Alexa, had almost decided that its future gender would undoubtedly be female, if it even decided on a gender in the first ce. Since it would never be able to fulfill its instincts, Alexa believed it would probably be better to stay genderless. If its Papa couldnt even tolerate small things, Alexa didnt think she would be able to stay happy in the future. Just the thought of other people touching her tail and wings, with perhaps the exception of her younger siblings, didnt sit well with her at all. It was beginning to look like the only way forward for her was to stay genderless while assuming a more feminine appearance. At least, that way, it wouldnt have to contend against Fafnir and Khaos, nor would it have to suffer being a female without a future mate... Even so, Alexa didnt want to make its Papas life more difficult, especially after everything he has done for her. One of the memories deeply rooted into her very existence was her Papa tearing out his own heart, bathing her in his life essence to ensure she would have the greatest potential he could afford her. She had a lot of respect for him and, remembering in his words from the past, Alexa decided to believe that her Papa would find a solution for her problem. After all, he had made Fafnir, Khaos, and her Mother...Alexa believed that her Papa could do anything, even if it took him a while to figure it out. She just needed to be patient... Vahn had noticed that Alex had assumed its female form again but he didntment on it as heid his head back against the tree and let the warm rays of white light whine down on his face. He wanted her to be happy and would need toe up with a solution in the future, just as he would have to do for each of his daughters. The easiest solution was simply to help Alexa be much stronger, just like he was helping Fenrir. If she reached a higher Soul Tier, Alexa would be able to change her fate and, if it was intolerable staying a True Dragon, she could even ovee that. It was also very possible that, once he linked Danmachi to a higher tiered record, Alexa would be able to find a mate the natural way. Vahn assumed this would be how most of his children found their partners in the future, as it didnt seem too likely they would be involved with mortals, or anyone significantly weaker than themselves. He was almost positive that Ina and Erika wouldnt even look for partners any time soon, leaving Vana as the only one among the Vanir that would likey explore her feelings. As for his rtively normal children, they would probably fall in love once they found someone they could put their trust in. Still, even if this was the case, Vahn intended to support them all to the best of his ability. If anyone tried to exploit his daughters... Releasing an adorable yawn, Alexa rubbed her eyes and asked, "Papa...?" in an inquisitive tone. Vahn lightly chuckled before stroking her shoulders in a small circle, saying, "Sorry, I just let my thoughts get carried away. Go back to sleep..." While he had been speaking, Vahn diffused calming energy through Alexas body, bringing a small smile to the girls face as she nuzzled into his chest. Her tiny rounded horns rubbed against him and, instead of feeling hard, Vahn noticed they were surprisingly soft and springy. He had never actually touched Alexas horns in the past and wondered if it was because they were still growing, making them slightly malleable. --- The rest of his time in the orb was decidedly less eventful than the first few hours. Vahn and Alexa just yed together, explored the woods, and talked about a variety of things she was interested in. She also had enough decorum that, whenever they would go swimming or take a bath, Alexa would adopt her genderless form. Vahn wanted toment that she didnt really need to worry about such things, as he didnt really harbor any feelings or thoughts on the matter, but that would have just made it more awkward for her. The fact she was trying to develop a sense of propriety was a good thing, after all, and he didnt want to discourage her. Towards the end of their session together, Vahn carried back the sleepy Alexa in his arms and tucked her into the circr shaped nest she had back at the cottage. He gave her arge magic crystal to hug while she was sleeping before moving to where his and Terras memory fragments were waiting. After exining everything that had happened, his memory fragment had a distant look on his face while Terras had a surprisingly guilty look. She realized that her efforts in raising Alexa would need to be stepped up unless thetter ended up going down a strange route. Though Tera herself didnt actually mind if Alexa pursued Vahn, she understood that Vahn was very ufortable with the idea. This meant she needed to teach Alexa how to behave properly and, when the time came, how to deal with some of the urges she had in a healthy manner... As always, Vahn spent thest hour or so just talking with himself, exining everything that was going on in the real world. It was no longer strange for him to have these introspective conversations with his memory fragment and, after putting in so much effort to control two bodies, Vahn felt like his adaptability had increased greatly. He still had a few ws to work through, and a few quirks to work out, but his progress seemed to be going well. Even his interactions with people had gotten much better, as he was far less reliant on reading their auras and instead looked at their bodynguage. After all, with someone as difficult to read as Terra being his conversation partner for twelve years, he was bound to pick up a few things. Since she was also very clever, almost scarily so, Vahn rarely got thrown off by other people and, unless it was one of the girls living in the Manor, or his own children, everyone else would be hard pressed to break through his mental defenses. Indeed, or at least he would like to think so, Vahn had started to mature... "So, I finished the prototype for that project you wanted me to work on...I have to admit, I think it will be perfect..." Hearing his memory fragments words, Vahn felt his cheeks heat up slightly because he had just been thinking about how much he had matured. When his fragment suddenly mentioned that, however, Vahn knew that there were a few quirks that he had actually developed after bing a father. He liked to y with his children and, because they were already so cute, Vahn tried to make them even cuter. As a result of Alexa tried to adopt that type of nature, Vahn had asked his memory fragment to work on a project he had designed the list time he stopped by. Hearing that it had beenpleted, Vahn couldnt help but feel a little excited, and a little guilty at the same time... Following his fragment into the nearby workshop, Vahn watched as the fragment, wearing arge grin on his face, pulled out the prototype. All of Vahns own feelings of guiltpletely vanished when he saw the finished product, absolutely convinced he had made the right decision. Walking forward, wearing a matching smile as his memory fragment, Vahn picked up the emerald green cloth and marveled at its quality,plimenting himself for a job well done. Then, carrying it along with him, Vahn lightly shook Alexas shoulder to stir her awake before handing her the one-piece garment in his hand, a pair of pajamas with an emerald-green dragon design that even had holes for her horns, wings, and tail... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Memory Fragments Failure,Being a Parent is hard...,Being a doting Papa is easy (UwU)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 725 - Training Never Ceases

Chapter 725 - Training Never Ceases

Apart from spending time with his children, tending to the needs of the girls, and managing the affairs of the Alliance, Vahn also found time to continue his own training. He knew that, while his power was already very near the peak of this world, there were still several ways he could suffer a defeat. If his opponents had an Innate that could counteract the effects of his [Magia Erebea], even his immortality wouldnt necessarily ensure his life. It was very unlikely, but Vahn kept Evas warnings close to his heart, understanding the consequences of his defeat and how it would impact his family, his loved ones, and the Alliance. Sitting within the secondyer of pressure within the Sub-Space orb, Vahn was currently meditating while the condensed spatial acted with both apressive and resistive force. Even breathing was very difficult, not that he needed to, so it was an ideal ce to train your physical capabilities. He was currently trying to increase the amount of source energy at his disposal since, after training with Eva, Vahn knew that the Falna didnt urately reflect a persons power. Most people could fight well above the parameters shown within their status boards and, even as early as the first time he entered the Dungeon, Vahns status never truly reflected his capabilities. Using Terra as a precedent, and relying on the studies his memory fragment had been doing, Vahn was now focused almost entirely on just increasing his Magic Parameter, and his internal reserves of source energy. His natural regeneration was already far above the norm and, as it seemed to be based on a percentage of his actual reserves, Vahn wanted to get to the point where he could maintain his [Magia Erbea] indefinitely. This would, in turn, make maintaining his Rakshasa transformations more effective. Though he hadnt used it much, Vahn had reached the initial mastery of his Zhqu form, which inarguably gave him more power than even his [Magia Erbea]. The problem with his Zhqu form was that it consumed his source energy at an incredibly fast pace. Even after reaching Level 5, and having a total Magic Parameter of 10,453, Vahn could only maintain the form for around eight minutes. During the eight minutes, he would likely be able to defeat almost any enemy, but it would still leave him extremely vulnerable if he overused it. Though there wouldnt be any serious consequences to passing out in the Dungeon, as he could no longer die, Vahn didnt want to have his unconscious body continuously torn apart by monsters. Avoiding Mind Down was something he took very seriously, to the point that most of his equipment had been reced with items that increased his Source, Spirit, and Mental energies. After releasing a stagnant breath, Vahn opened his eyes and faced the patiently waiting Lefiya, quietly sitting within the area of the firstyer of pressure. She gave him a small smile and, without any conversation between them, began bombarding him with her [Mikis Tulip]. A massive sma-like orb of condensed magic power shot out of her staff, elerating towards him at several times the speed of sound. The intensity of the orb was such that, just passing through the air, caused the spatial membrane to fluctuated slightly. Without making any effort to dodge, Vahn held his breath before reaching out both palms as a very thin film of magical power covered his body. This was a new technique Vahn was developing, designed to use the same principles as [Magia Erbea] with physical amplification magic. His problems with fuel efficiency were almost exclusively rted to the external use of his source energy so Vahn was trying to enhance his body while containing the magic power instead of wearing it as an aura. This would tear apart the body of most people but, with his cells adaptability and his nearly instantaneous regeneration, Vahn wasnt exactly normal. Receiving the dense globule of magic power with his hands, Vahn was slowly pushed back as the magical energy conformed around his hands and forearms. Lefiyas magic had a very high prative power while also being malleable at the same time, giving it the ability to damage magically resistant creatures, even without piercing them directly. To counter this effect, Vahn changed the flow of magic power within his domain and slowly nullified the force before it finally fell to the ground, burning arge hole as it sunk into the earthen ne below. Since he wasnt in his fully active state, Vahn inspected the damage done by Lefiyas spell. He had gotten much better at dealing with pain so, although it was very painful and made him feel sick, Vahn evaluated his state as objectively as possible. Most of the flesh had been burned away from the underside of his hands, showing the calcified bones and cauterized flesh around his fingers. There were also several 3rd-degree burns around his forearms as Lefiyas magic power continued to try and wreak havoc within his body. Of course, against his source energy, it was very quickly being forced out and, even without exploiting his [Magia Erebea], Vahns wounds had started to heal at a visible rate. Unfortunately, it wasnt going nearly as fast as was necessary since Lefiya had already shot the second attack towards him. This time, Vahn condensed a thicker membrane around his hands, elerating his regeneration further while once again trying to resist Lefiyas attack. At this point, they had been at this particr training for nearly three hours, only stopping when he needed to replenish his reserves. Lefiya had opposed it at first but it didnt take much to convince her of thingstely. As the day of her own celebration of a.d.u.l.thood was approaching, her mental state had been undergoing a rapid and surprising shift. Momentarily distracted by his thoughts, Vahns defensive membrane became unstable and, instead of forcing it away from him, Lefiyas spell impacted his arms directly and incinerated them. Vahn took in a sharp breath, immediately regretting it as the taste of oxidized air and burnt flesh filled his lungs. It was very painful, almost like his lungs were on fire, so Vahn immediately removed the limiters he had ced on his [Magia Erbea] state. Before Lefiyas magic spell burned out, he had alreadypletely recovered from the damage, even if his mental state was a little worse for wear. Though the link they shared, Lefiya realized something had gone wrong so she didnt immediately attack, instead, asking, "Master, are you okay to continue...?" Vahn held his hand up with a wry smile on his face, answering, "Sorry, but I think that is enough for the time being. This kind of training is difficult while controlling two bodies. Go ahead and spend your mana and well move on to the next phase of your training." Immediately nodding her head in affirmation, Lefiya then pointed her Tulip towards the sky and began to channel nearly her entire internal supply of magic power into a single attack. Even before she fired it, arge amount of wind had started to swirl around by the vast difference in temperaturepared to the surroundings. Once she had loosed the terrifyingly powerful magic attack towards the sky, Lefiya plopped down to the ground in a state of exhaustion. With the increased strain of thepressed space, it was a lot harder for her to get her second wind and, for the time being, she wasnt even able to stay standing on her feet. There was a pounding in her head that made it feel like her skull was going to crack open down the center but, as this wasnt the first time she had experienced this, Leifya just clenched her teeth and tolerated it. Vahn made his way over to Lefiya and, without any hesitation, ced his left hand on her head while putting the palm of his right hand on her abdomen. Lefiya blushed and, though her head was still hurting, she closed her eyes in anticipation with a small smile on her face. She, as one of Vahns apprentices and subordinates, had a very important mission that only she could help him with. Vahn had told her about the change in her mana and, after exining his hypothesis, she had volunteered her body as an experimental subject. Even if it made her into something else entirely, Lefiya got giddy at the idea of Vahn changing the nature of her mana to more closely match his own... With his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn watched as his source energy diffused through Lefiyas body while an almost negligible amount flowed into the white threads in her mana body. After going through this procedure hundreds of times, the white threads had started to glow with a slight rainbow hue, showing that they were undoubtedly his source energy taking root in Lefiyas body. It could be due to her nature as a descendant of Wishe, but Vahn assumed it was actually because Lefiya was his subordinate that her body was slowly adapting to his energy. Source energy was the highest form of energy and, unless it was used to cause harm, it had absolutely no negative effects on a persons body. Instead, it would greatly increase Lefiyas strength and it was one of the reasons where her attacks were so powerful. Vahn also spected that it would greatly increase Lefiyas vitality and, as he had already seen, it had a very impactful influence on her Endurance. If he continued nourishing her body for a long period of time, it was even possible that Lefiyas own natural regeneration would rival his own, assuming he wasnt using his active immortal state. The smile that had been on Lefiyas face grew progressivelyrger as the blush on her face deepened into a rosy hue. Feeling the calming energying through her head, and the exciting energy flowing through her abdomen, Lefiya couldnt help but feel a little giddy. She was greatly looking forward to theing weekend and even momentary contact with Vahn made her body feel like it was going to burn up. It was to the point that, even though it was very embarrassing, Lefiya released a hot sigh while covering his hand with her own. Vahn smiled lightly at Lefiyas reaction, stroking her head to help keep her calm while finishing the procedure. They would continue this several times so it was a bit early for her to already be triggered in such a way. He knew that she was technically an a.d.u.l.t now, as she had spent several months passed her own birthday within the orb, but the agreement the girls had made prior to entering still held. Lefiya would be an a.d.u.l.t by the time of her recorded date of birth in the real world, not a moment sooner. Even though he was somewhat regretful of this fact, as a result of how Lefiyas birthday actually aligned with the time he had to deal with Freya, it wouldplicate things in the future. While he was thinking of these troubling matters, Vahns memories wandered to Ryuu, someone who was fresh on his mind after their recent incident. She would also be giving birth very soon and Vahn was looking forward to how their daughter would turn out. His only hope, at least in regards to the event itself, was that it didnt take ce on the same weekend when he needed to deal with Freya, celebrate with Lefiya, and potentially help another goddess get pregnant. Though he would undoubtedly go to her side the moment she went into delivery, it would be very awkward if such events coincided with each other... Seemingly taking advantage of the fact he was distracted, Lefiya suddenly snuck a kiss from Vahn, causing him to blink in surprise as she sheepishly said, "I think thats enough, Master...youve already filled me uppletely..." Though she hadnt minded at first, Lefiya felt like she was beginning to be inted like a balloon with how much energy Vahn was sending into her body. As an Elf, she was very sensitive to such energies and, much like how Riveria and Ryuu reacted during excitement, Lefiyas body had started to feel very hot and bothered. Vahn pulled away his right hand and showed an apologetic expression without actually saying sorry. Just like he wanted the girls to stop thanking and apologizing to him so often, Vahn was trying to be better about it himself. He knew Lefiya didnt really mind much so it would have just made things awkward if he unnecessarily apologized. Even so, he made it up to her with his actions by gently rubbing her head and returning to her a kiss of his own. Lefiya reached her hands up to hold the side of his head, extending the kiss a little longer than he intended, but it wasnt anything worth worrying over... For the next two hours, Lefiya continued the cycle of using up her magic power before Vahn helped eased her mental strain and replenished her reserves. She was going the route of a true mage, so Lefiya didnt focus on training her body while her mana was low. Though her reserves wouldnt increase as quickly, Lefiyas mana pool was already muchrger than average because of her heritage as an Elf, and a daughter of Wishe. His source energy made her actual magic far more effective, so Lefiya was very quickly turning into an indescribably powerful mage, at leastpared to the standards of the world. It was already to the point that, even though she was only Level 4, Lefiyas raw power output could almost rival Riverias. As the end of their training session approached, so to did the next person he was supposed to train with, Mikoto. Vahns current schedule had him within the real world, spending time with his children, and inside of the Sub-Space orb, training his mind and body while helping the girls in their own training. Though it wasnt concrete, Vahn would spend around six hours training with the girls on a rotation they themselves had decided upon. Of course, things rarely ended up as a one-on-one session, unless his body was split into two. When he was just a single body, Vahn would often fight against the entire group of girls at once, giving them experience fighting against a seemingly unbeatable opponent while he adapted to their variousbat styles. Seeing Mikoto approaching, Lefiya showed a pouting expression before realizing that Vahn was looking towards her with a teasing smile on his face. Her face flushed a shader darker as she said, "Ill see youter, Master...thank you for your care..." Instead of patting her head, Vahn pulled Lefiya into his embrace and held her for a few seconds, patting her back as he whispered, "Dont forget to make your decision in the next couple of days...regardless of what you choose, I will support you." With his words finished, Vahn nted a kiss on Lefiyas lips, marveling at how all Elven women seemed to have very sweet saliva before he pulled away and smiled. Lefiyas ears were waggling up and down happily as she said, "Yes, Ill make sure to consider it properly~!" before hugging her [Mikis Tulip] and running towards where Ais, Tiona, and Tione, visible in the distance. Vahn watched her retreat, knowing what decision she would inevitably make in the future. They had talked about it previously with Riveria, but Vahn had wanted Lefiya to consider using the [Wishes Blessing] since it didnt really matter if the Elven Kingdom would want to target her. After all, things were almost irreconcble between the High Elven Nobles and the Alliance at this point. Lefiyas identity being revealed wouldnt really make much of a difference, especially since she was more than capable of protecting herself, if necessary. Though she had actually been willing to consume the item then and there, Riveria had cautioned her to think about it very seriously and advised her to wait until she was an a.d.u.l.t before acting. Ultimately, it didnt really matter if she remained the same, or if she had her blood purified, so Riveria wanted Lefiya to think about the matter seriously before making a decision. After all, her existence as a Daughter of Wishe, though not necessarily having and significant meaning, would undoubtedly influence her face if she decides to embrace it. The Dal Alfan Family, assuming they tided over until the instability within the Elven Kingdom was resolved, would almost certainly try to get their hands on her. If they were unable to do so, it was likely they would instead try to use her aplishments to inte the reputation of their family in the future, even if Lefiya had no association with them at all. It was one of the unique quirks of Nobles, and it would eventually burden Lefiya unless shepletely severed ties with her heritage. The only way to avoid such a scenario was for the Dal Alfan family to fallpletely, or at least until the point where they were no longer recognized as Nobles. If there were any influential people left among them, who held onto their pride as Nobles, it was almost guaranteed that they would try to trouble Lefiya and try to elevate themselves back into a position of power... Of course, none of their machinations would have any meaning unless Lefiya herself decided to get involved with them. Since she had been abandoned, without even knowing who her parents were, Lefiya didnt have any positive feelings towards the Dal Alfan family. Though she didnt have any negative feelings either, feelingrgely neutral about the matter, she still had no intentions of getting involved with them at all. Her ce, ording to Lefiyas words herself, was standing at his side, aiming towards the pinnacle of magic within the world. Because of this, Vahn believed that Lefiya would use the [Wishes Blessing], as it would increase her potential further, butpletely ignore the matters of the Dal Alfan family. After all, this was her home and, regardless of blood rtions, people who never treated you as family werent entitled to your good will. Lefiya owed them no obligations at all and, unless it was her birth parentsing to exin why she had been abandoned, it was likely she wouldnt even meet with any of their representatives... After watching Lefiyas figure shrink a fair amount, Vahn turned to the patiently waiting Mikoto with a smile on his face. She gave a curt nod in response, causing Vahns brow to raise in a questioning manner that made the steadfast swordswoman begin to fidget. Her habit of showing respect, even during informal affairs, still needed a bit of work. Fortunately, Vahn knew a few ways to get her to open up after training with her over thest few weeks inside the orb. Walking forward with decisive steps, causing Mikoto to tense up and lower her head, Vahn proceeded to hug Mikotos body with a firm embrace. Eventually, almost as if she were ice being thawed, Mikotos tension rxed enough that she ced her forehead against his chest and asked, "Are we not going to train today...?" Because she already trained excessively, Vahn often used their time together just to force her to rx a bit. It was also a good opportunity for them to get closer so, as she had inferred, it was exactly his intent that they would rx this time as well. With a wave of his hand, Vahn pulled an entire cottage out of his Inventory, even though its actual size wasnt thatrge. Mikoto released a small sigh but offered noints as she lightly held onto his arm and allowed him to lead her inside. As he had done several times in the past, Vahn set out all the necessary utensils for a tea ceremony, something Mikoto had requested when he first suggested they just lounge together. She was a very polite girl by nature, so Mikoto had wanted to act like a properdy of the Far East, serving him tea before they begin discussing private affairs. Though he thought it was a little unnecessary, Vahn found Mikotos appearance in a kimono very appealing and it made him feel very refreshed having her wait on him. Of course, this couldnt evenpare to how calm and rxed he would feel when Mikoto eventually sat next to him and, after a great deal of hesitation, rested her head on his shoulder... (A/N: I was going to give everyone a notice that todays chapters would bete, but I felt weird about posting a chapter like that, especially afterst time. So, please be content with this chapter for now and expect that there would be another 2-3 in the afternoon. Also, depending on how things y out, I intend to do a writing challenge within the next few days. I was thinking of waiting until Saturday, so that people would have more free time to read the chapters, so look forward to it. Im going to be trying to beat my personal best from the past and aim for 30k words in a single day. I hope everyone is forgiving for any errors and typos in the chapters at the time, as I wont really be able to proofread them while in mass production mode xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lefiya, sma Cannon, Virdis~!,Nobles are the final evolution of river leeches,Mikotos bridal training xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 726 - Early-Morning Arrival

Chapter 726 - Early-Morning Arrival

Vahn awoke the next morning feeling a new form of contentedness he had never quite experienced before. Instead of just sleeping with thebinations of Erika and Loki, or Hephaestus, Ina, and Vana, Vahn instead stayed with all five of them as the girls themselves decided to have a slumber party. The idea had been proposed by Vana when she saw the awkward atmosphere around Ina and Erika, the former asking him to sleep with them while thetter, as far as Vana could tell, seemed sad. Worried for both her sisters, Vana offered thepromise and managed to convince them both that it would be fun. As a result of Vanas brilliant solution, Vahn ended up ying and chatting for a few hours with all three of his Vanir children and their mothers at the same time. It was a very interesting experience that made him feel as though his soul was being healed by their smiles. Of course, when the girls changed into their pajamas, Vahn realized he had underestimated how happy he could be at the moment. Ina had transitioned to wearing panda pajamas now while Vana now wore bear pajamas that had a goofy face on the hood. Erika, however, dealt the critical blow that brought low the man known as the Sage Aldrnari. Her tiger jammies suited her so perfectly that Vahn feltpelled to look towards the void, almost as if he had could see how beautiful the future would be in the distance... When it was finally time for bed, Vahn ended up hugging all three of his daughters on his chest while Loki and Hephaestus nked them. It was an experience that filled him with so many positive emotions that Vahn felt like he could bear the weight of the world without any difficulty whatsoever. The fact that Doppel was tightly wrapped around his leg, also wearing its own tiger jammies, just made the experience even more fulfilling. It had been attached to him ever since the time he had turned into a Doppelganger himself, likely still believing him to be one and just really good at his current disguise. This embarrassed Erika a great deal as, in an obvious attempt to appeal to him, Doppel would often transform into her while in her clingy state... Though he would have liked to stay in bed forever, reality was never so kind as to afford people long periods of sublime happiness. The girls eventually woke up and, after helping them wash their faces and brush their teeth, everyone moved to the onsen to take a bath. After dropping off their clothes in the changing room, Vahn, Hephaestus, and Loki trailed behind the three young Vanir as they made their way into the onsen proper. Always being full of energy, even after she just woke up, Vana ran forwards with her arms wide before jumping into the hot water, shouting, "Cannonball~!" She had picked up the habit during one of the times they had been ying together with Alexa in the orb. Though many of the girls in the Manor had reprimanded her for running in the bath area, Vana had a bad habit of conveniently forgetting things that kept her from having fun. To make her behave, the girls had tried to get him to be firm with her but, being the doting father he was, Vahn had just said, "Let her be happy and free while she is still young enough to enjoy such things..." This reminder had been the only thing necessary for most of the girls to take a step back, even Hephaestus. After all, the Vanir only had a very short period of time to experience their childhood, making it very difficult for Vahn to ever rationalize being too hard on them when they were just ying around. After sitting in the water with everyone else, Vahn turned his eyes towards the sky, which was nowpletely covered with a powerful barrier. It was enough to make him have a headache, even when looking at it with his [Eyes of Truth], so Vahn was confident that it would prevent anyone from spying on them as easily as Zeus had. In a way, the elderly god was fortunate that it had been Lili and Naaza with him at the time. Had he eyed up his children, even out of curiosity, Vahn didnt think he would have been able to keep his anger in check... "Papa, will you wash my hair...?" While he had been looking towards the barrier, ensuring there were no abnormalities, Ina had waded over to him with a bottle of shampoo that had a very subtle smell ofvender. His nodded his head with a smile and had Ina sit between his legs while simultaneously splitting his body into two, as Erikas sidelong nce hadnt escaped his notice. Moving over to her side, making sure to cover himself with a towel, Vahn sat behind the bashful girl who made no attempt to refuse his assistance. Instead, she just blew bubbles in the hot water while letting him massage her scalp with his fingers in a very practiced manner. Having four hands gave Vahn several advantagespared to the past, especially when it came to pampering and taking care of the people around him. It allowed him to quickly cycle through everyone that wanted to have their hair washed by him, even Hephaestus and Loki. Vana was in a self-reliant phase right now, however, so she had ended uppletely covering herself with suds without any assistance, causing the area of the onsen she was using to look more like a bubble bath. It was a bit wasteful, but Vahn could buy a bottle of the rather expensive shampoo for only 3 OP from the system shop. While the bath was ongoing, Vahn detected a pulse within the formation surrounding the Manor while Loki and Hephaestus also made slight frowns. This indicator meant they had a guest and, as there was nothing scheduled for this early in the morning, it meant they were uninvited. Vahn withheld his sigh, using his water maniption to make a small vortex to help the girls rinse their hair before stepping out of the bath himself, saying, "Ill take care of it. Enjoy the bath and get some breakfast. If its something important, Ill let you know through Syr..." Ina made a slight pout and asked, "Papa, are you going to be busy...?" while her eyes began to glow with a mystical blue light. Vahn now knew that Ina actually used her technique to find out when he would next be free, all so that she could be the first toe to his side when he wasnt busy. He waited for her skill toe to an end, as Ina didnt seem to be able to pay attention to her surroundings while using her foresight. When the light fade, he smiled to her, suppressing the annoyance he felt in his heart while saying, "Dont worry, your Papa always prioritizes you girls whenever he can. Ill probably be joining you for breakfast after I see what our guest needs so early in the morning. If I dont manage to show up, I promise to pamper you a lotter, okay~?" As if she had already seen the event herself, which was almost assuredly true, Ina happily nodded her head with an Nn!. Vahn, however, had noticed the slightly sad look in her eyes, telling him that he likely wouldnt be able to attend breakfast. He sent a look towards Loki, which the goddess easily understood as him telling her that it might be a troublesome matter. Even so, Loki acted as if she hadnt noticed it at all, a perfect mask on her face as she turned to the observant Erika and began ying with thetters squishy cheeks. Erika had obviously been paying close attention to things so, to keep her from prying into such matters so early, Loki began teasing her for the remainder of the bath while thinking about what trouble might have found their way to them this time around. Unfortunately for them, they had decided to bother Vahn when he was happily doting over his daughters. He had made a lot of progress in his interpersonalmunication skills, especially during negotiations. She knew he would be able to deal with most matters himself and, imagining thementation of whoever had decided to bother him during this time, Loki couldnt help but crack a small smile. It didnt take long for Vahn to get outside, even though he wasnt in a particr hurry since their guests seemed to be patiently waiting. Then, just as he was wondering who might havee by so early in the morning, Vahns domain reached beyond the gate and began to give him insight into the matter. He immediately recognized that one of the people was a god but it was the other two presences that made him feel slightly shaken. In an instant, his face hardened slightly and Vahn activated his [Eyes of Truth] to get a look at his three unexpected guests, especially the two ridiculously strong auras surrounding the god. The moment Vahn looked to see the appearance of the three people, he noticed they had also trained their eyes on him, leading to a rather awkward and tense moment where all four of them entered into a staring contest of sorts. Vahn noticed that they were two women and a male, thetter of which had eyes like a dragons, glimmering with an intimidating light. His hair was a strange ck with a blue l.u.s.ter to it, with golden eyes containing slit-like pupils. Based on the fact that the man had a figure that seemed to be cut from marble, a massive sword on his back, and a domineering aura, Vahn knew this man had to possess powerful physical might. Behind the man, whom he seemed to be protected, was a goddess standing around 170cm tall with auburn-red hair and golden eyes that glimmered with the light of intrigue and boundless wisdom. Vahn had met with several gods and goddess with a Divinity rted to Wisdom, so he was almost positive this goddess was among their ranks. What he found strange was the fact she openly wore her godly raiment, giving her the mixed appearance of a warrior and a schr. There were numerous magic items covering her body as well, more than eleven from what he could see at a nce... The third person didnt stand out as much as the tyrannical looking man, but her looks would have easily drawn a crowd if she were to walk openly in public. She seemed simultaneously gentle, with a peaceful and calm expression on her face, while also striking a heroic and insuperable appearance. Vahn couldnt quite put it into words, but it was almost like she was an immovable mountain, even though she was an immacte beauty with ashen-grey hair and pale blue eyes. Though she was somewhat petite, standing at only 154cm tall, Vahns instincts told him that she wouldnt be an easy opponent to deal with at all, especially with what looked like an entire assortment of S-Ranked equipment covering her body. Her armor gave her a valiant appearance and Vahn even detected a budding intelligenceing from the sword sheathed within the kite-shield strapped to her back. While he was appraising them, Vahn knew the three were also doing the same in regards to himself. The goddess had likelye here as a result of her intrigue and it was clearly written on her face that she, at the very least, had some degree of appreciation towards him. Her aura was clear and calm, like the blue sky overhead, without a single fluctuation to be seen. The woman on her right, strangely, had a few strands of purple intermixed with light yellows and an almost indiscernible pink tinging the edges. She seemed to be afraid of something, though Vahn felt that it wasnt directed towards him. As for the man, his aura waspletely unrestrained right now and, though it was only an illusory sense, Vahn perception picked up the visage of a dragon forming behind the man... Though he had stopped momentarily to exchange nces with them, Vahn began to take slow and steady steps forward, each one building up his own momentum. The man apanying the two girls didnt seem hostile to him, so much as eager to challenge, so Vahn didnt show any hostility himself. This didnt mean he was just going to let the man freely loose his aura outside his gate, however, so Vahn continued increasing his momentum until spatial fluctuations began to appear between him and the man. Even though they couldnt see each other directly, the two kept eye contact with each other, with the man himself developing an excited grin on his face, a stark contrast to Vahns firm and steady countenance... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vana is so considerate (UwU),Never mess with a doting fathers happy family time...you dun f.u.c.k.i.e.d up now~!,I wonder who these three could be...(UxU)?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 727 - Will

Chapter 727 - Will

By the time Vahn reached the gate, the air felt as though it had be viscous and difficult to move through. Small pebbles that littered the ground began to rise, as if freed from the restraint of gravity before, momentster, being pulverized into powder. Then, without any hesitation, Vahn stepped through the gate before the three strangers and inly stated, "If youve business with the Alliance, you would have been better served scheduling an appointment. Showing up unannounced doesnt exactly give people the best impression..." While speaking, Vahn had continued to stare towards the tyrannical man, standing nearly 200cm tall, a full head higher than Vahn himself. The goddess, surprisingly, gave a slight bow as she adopted a small smile and calmly stated, "If our arrival has inconvenienced you, we cane backter. Its just that, given our status, it is difficult to stay in the City for a long period of time. Entrusting others to arrange a meeting could lead to furtherplications and, as the intent of our arrival was to clear up a misunderstanding, it felt necessary toe personally and rectify things in an expedient manner." Vahn turned his eyes away from the massive warrior and made eye contact with the goddess while turning her words over in his mind. He had already connected her with Zeus, as thetter had recently offended him greatly, meaning she was likely Hera. Deciding to test the waters, Vahn returned a casual smile to her and said, "Given the timing of your arrival, you must be the goddess, Hera...?" Without offering a verbal answer, Hera just gave a small nod of affirmation before gesturing to her twopanions and exining, "And these two, for the time being, are my bodyguards for this diplomatic mission. Allow me to introduce the Heroes Siegfried, the Dragon Knight of Alistair, and Jeanne, the Saintess of the now defunct Kingdom of Rabnastr." As Hera was speaking, Vahns mind referenced the two names among the history books contained within his mind. Both were names that hadnt appeared within thest 300-500 years. He had already deduced they were demigods, but suddenly having two Heroes from history at his doorstep was a rather...peculiar experience. Even so, Vahn looked to the man, Siegfried, and said, "I never expected the Dragon Knight to show up at my gate...Im rather interested to know what youve been up to for thest 438 years..." Though he said this, Vahn had already reasoned why Siegfried was here. It was obvious that they knew of Terras existence and he was likely meant to try and deal with Terra if things developed into a skirmish. ording to legend, Siegfried had driven out an entire horde of dragons from his homnd after one of them had in his wife and child. His body had bathed in the blood of so many dragons that his skin had be tempered as a result. It was also stated that, the resentment contained by the thousands he had ughtered, cursed his soul and made him into the very thing he hated the most...a dragon. His personal creed in life, though now the reports of his death seemed to have been exaggerated, was to annihte all dragons before offering his own life to the Heavens. It was even stated that he had made an Eternal Vow to hunt down and exterminate every dragon, regardless of how many incarnations it would take... Siegfried had a very serious expression on his face but, against Vahns expectations, began to stroke his neck as if he felt very awkward, all while saying, "Yeah...its kind ofplicated. It would help me a lot if you didnt try to press me about that matter..." Vahn wasnt sure if Siegfried was just trying to get him to drop his guard, as the aura radiating from the man made him seem proud and ferocious. Even his expression was fierce, causing Vahn to feel like his body had begun to tilt slightly before turning his attention to Jeanne and taking a breath to calm himself. She had a very refreshing appearance and helped calm down the incongruous feelings in Vahns mind after seeing Siegfrieds reaction. With a polite smile on his face, Vahn said, "I have read about you, Saintess Jeanne...probably a little too much, hahaha." Without showing any sign of perturbance on her face, Jeanne returned a polite smile and said, "Im honored to know that someone so reputed had taken notice of my tales. I only hope they were not exaggerated too much, as Im afraid your expectations might cause you some degree of disappointment." With Jeannes words, Vahn realized they most likely werent here to cause any trouble, especially considering Heras stated purpose. Still, his smile softened slightly as he said, "Well, its actually my daughter youd have to worry about. She is quite fond of heroic stories with female heroes and, as your legend is one of the few popr tales, Ive had to read it to her several times." Vahn had to admit that his impression of Jeanne didnt actually match his mental image of the rather tragic heroine from the tales. Though she was as beautiful as the legends stated, her presence wasnt properly conveyed through written words and, if not for the fact he didnt truly trust Zeus and Hera, Vahn would have wanted to introduce her to Vana. Jeannes eyes glittered slightly when she heard Vahn mentions his daughter, especially since young girls aspiring to be heroes was a very rare thing on the Continent these days. If she had inspired just one person to be a capable Heroine in the future, Jeanne felt like she would be able to raise her head high for the remainder of her days. Her impression of Vahn himself was that he seemed like a kind and sensible boy and, even though he had appraised her previously, she hadnt sensed any of the possessive intent most men had towards her. With the rumors making him out to be a womanizer, she had expected him to be simr in character to some of the other Heroes she associated with, especially those that had been groomed by Zeus. No sooner had the introductions beenpleted that Hera immediately set about seeing her purpose fulfilled, asking in a curt tone, "Shall we move to somece more private? I would prefer not to cause a scene by having a discussion among the general populous..." Looking around, Hera eyed the small crowd of onlookers that had gathered to see what was going on. Both Hera and Jeanne were very beautiful women, reason enough to draw a crowd, but Siegfrieds umon appearance, and the aura radiating from his body, simply couldnt be ignored. He didnt seem to be able to reign it in at all, drawing the attention of everyone on the street, especially when Vahn himself had shown up to confront them. Vahn had long noticed the gathering crowd so he nodded his head but, instead of inviting them into the Manor, asked, "Is there a ce you had in mind? Forgive me for being rude, but I cant exactly invite your group onto the premises without making a few preparations..." Then, so as not to cause any misunderstandings, Vahn extrapted, stating, "Its not that Im outright treating you as an enemy, but Im not going to expose my family and children to potential danger just out of courtesy. Since youre likely here as a result of Zeus recent actions, Ill have to ask for your understanding on the matter..." Before Hera was able to nod in ascent, Siegfried interrupted the conversation by asking, "So, I heard you had a few dragonsying around here...? Rumors even said they were True Dragons...if possible, Id like to meet them..." Though his words sounded warm, in a peculiar way, Vahn could sense the rising tensions in Siegfrieds body as he brought up the topic that had likely been at the forefront of his mind. Vahn had started to realize his nature at this point and, much like a male True Dragon, Siegfried seemed to have a natural pride that wanted topare himself to others of his kind. If he actually called Fafnir or Khaos out, Vahn had no illusions that there wouldnt be some form of confrontation between them. As for Terra, she probably wouldnt care much for him at all...though the same might not hold true for Siegfried in regards to her. Wanting to confirm his suspicions, Vahn asked, "Are you actually a True Dragon yourself...?" while activating his [Eyes of Truth] once again. Siegfried began to awkwardly stroke his neck, seeming extremely hesitant to talk about the matter but still saying, "Well, you can see it that way...it is a little moreplicated than that, though..." From what Vahn could tell, Siegfried was obviously just a Demigod born from the union of a god and a human. However, his mana and spirit bodies seemed much closer to Terras than that of a normal Demigod. It was likely the result of an Innate or, like the stories imed, Siegfried had been cursed by all the dragons he had killed in the past. As he had been contemting the matter with his sub-process mind, not much time had passed before Vahn shook his head and said, "Ill have to refuse, as I see no reason to introduce you to them. Given the stories associated with your legend, Im not going to put mypanions at risk just to sate your curiosity." Siegfried raised his brows in reaction, asking with abject surprise, "You truly consider those monsters to be yourpanions? Listen kid, even if they are Xenos, you shouldnt get involved with Dragons, especially if they are True Dragons. They arent like us and, no matter how tame they seem, it is only a matter of time before they show their true nature. It isnt really their fault, so dont feel too bad...its just their instincts." Having experienced more than his fair share of troubles when it came to dealing with the instincts of True Dragons, Vahn knew that Siegfrieds advice had a high degree of credibility. Still, his expression hardened as he firmly stated, "Even if youre earnestly offering your advice, youll have to pardon me for not epting it. Call me kid all you want, as I wont pretend to have the experience of someone that has lived for more than five hundred years, but Ill never be the type to just hand over hispanions because some stranger advises me its for the best. If you really want to have a go at mypanions, youll find Im far less tolerant than you might think..." For several long seconds, Vahn and Siegfried continued to hold each others gaze until theter asked in a deep monotone, "Hera-sama...I know it is not the reason we came here, but Id like to make a selfish request this time around...please forgive me." Hearing this, Hera released a sigh before turning an apologetic gaze to Vahn and saying, "Its good that you are so bold for one so young, Vahn Mason. The dedication you show towards protecting yourpanions is trulymendable...but, there are times when such determination will be challenged by those with contradicting convictions. Please do not misunderstand Siegfrieds intent as the will of those around him..." At the same time Hera was speaking, Jeanne also showed an apologetic expression, bowing low with a very tired look in her pale blue eyes. She knew first-hand how willful some of the Heroes could be, as she herself also had a few quirks that she couldnt really ovee. Siegfried truly wasnt a bad person but, when it came to anything rted to Dragons, he could be very obstinant. She just hoped that Vahn didnt take things hard if he ended up losing the fight that was bound to happen. If possible, she hoped he might even win so as to deter Sigmund from trying to pursue a course of action that she could only see as leading to his demise. After all, though the proud Dragon Knight was likely the greatest Dragonyer in History, she couldnt even delude herself into thinking he was strong enough to fight against that terrifying presence she had learned about through the Voice of the World... Seeing that Hera and Jeanne werent going to interfere, Siegfrieds expression continued to be more fierce as he slowly enunciated the words, "Vahn Mason, I challenge you to a duel. Will you ept, or will you stand aside and allow me to serve my purpose?" Without a moments hesitation, and a gaze even more resolute that Siegfrieds, Vahn firmly stated, "I ept." Even if he might expose some of his hidden cards to them, Vahn had already intended to expose some of his capabilities during theing Monster Feria. There was also no way he would be able to win against Siegfried if he held anything back, after all, though he couldnt be entirely sure...Siegfried was most likely a Level 9. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Run away quick, Jeanne! If youy eyes on Vana, you wont be able to escape anymore~!,Siegfrieds Conviction,TFW yourrade challenges the Master of the person you fear as unbeatable...RIP Siegfried-san...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 728 - Clash (1/2)

Chapter 728 - sh (1/2)

The moment Vahn agreed to the duel, it was almost as though all of the space around them had frozen, with only a slight trembling of the earth around them to mark the passage of time. Siegfrieds expression had be very serious, dragon-like eyes narrowed as a result of his heightened tensions. Then, with a strangely appreciative smile on his face, Siegfried inclined his head towards the massive pirs dotting the horizon in the distance, saying, "That shall be our battleground. We shouldnt involve normal people in our affairs..." Without waiting for Vahns response, Siegfried jumped into the air and, in an instant, sprouted two deep blue dragon-like wings and sped off towards the ce he had indicated. Vahn followed Siegfried with his eyes, awed by the mans sheer speed as several loud thunderps spread through the area as a result of him tearing through the wind with a fierce momentum. Even so, Vahn wasnt daunted at all as he turned to Hera and Jeanne, addressing the former as he said, "You should be careful in how you choose to scheme against me, Hera...Though I might not seriously regard my own personal endangerment, it is another matter entirely when ites to the people I care about. If you choose to y this game, be prepared for the consequences of your actions..." Much like Siegfried hadnt waited for him, Vahn didnt wait for Heras response as hepletely vanished from sight. Unlike the proud Dragon Knight, Vahn could also cut through the sky yet, instead of breaking through the wind, his movements were like a phantom, silent, and hard to discern to the n.a.k.e.d eye. Jeanne had beenpletely stunned by this disy while Hera, whom he had advised caution, simply smiled as she looked towards the pirs to the north. Turning to Jeanne, she tapped the rather innocent girls shoulder and asked, "Shall we move to observe? Im curious to know exactly how strong this Vahn Mason is. To make that bolt-brained doofus impressed, he must be rather impressive..." Jeanne nodded but had a face full of uncertainty as she remembered Vahns words. It was clear to her that their actions here hadnt been entirely honest, as Siegfried very rarely left the City of Heroes in thest hundred years. The only exception had been when he tried to intercept the One-Eyed ck Dragon before it fled across the ocean, never to be seen again. For him to have apanied Hera, she must have asked him to do so. This realization gave Jeanne reason to doubt their motives but, being the faithful knight she had always been, she simply nodded before spontaneously sprouting a pair of pristine white wings from beneath her kite shield. As for Hera, much like Zeus, she had a special pair of sandals that assisted her flight, though she couldnt fly nearly as fast as her troublesomepanion. --- Though he had taken a hard stance against Vahn, Siegfrieds impression of the young hero was very positive. When Vahn had stood up to him without backing down, he had to admit, the boy had what it takes to be a true hero. The problem was, the thing Vahn had decided to protect wasnt something he would truly be able to control. There was nothing wrong with believing in the nature of yourpanions, hoping they would never do anything to harm you and your loved ones, but True Dragons simply couldnt be trusted. It was the nature of True Dragons, their biological drive, to seek power and confront creatures that are stronger than them. When they eventually reached the peak of power within their territory, they would proactively begin to eliminate anything that might threaten them in the future. It didnt matter if it were their formerpanions, brood from the same hatching, or their parents. In fact, Dragons, in general, would proactively try to kill their own parents, all so that they would be able to absorb the energy contained within their Dragons Heart. The parents themselves actually encouraged this behavior as any Whelp that was unwilling to contend for the position of Alpha would quickly be eliminated in the resultant struggle. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Siegfried hardened his heart to teach Vahn a lesson and, even if meant bing the boys enemy in the future, relieving him from the burden he had taken upon himself. Better than anyone else in the entire world, Siegfried understood the tragedy that would await Vahn if he continued down his current path. He didnt want to see another young Hero lose their life trying to protect monsters that, on a fundamental level, couldnt truly coexist with other creatures. The only thing they respected was strength and, if Vahns power ever fell below that of his supposedpanions, he and his loved ones would pay the price... After finding an area that would be suitable for theing fight, Siegfriednded and prepared to wait for Vahns arrival. Assuming he had a few minutes to wait, Siegfried sat down beneath a tree and began to focus his mind. Zeus had stated that Vahns power already qualified him for a position in Legend so Siegfried wasnt going to underestimate the boy. Though he didnt intend to go all out, he wanted to avoid a situation where he could avoid serious injury and avoid killing the aspiring hero. After all, he just wanted to teach Vahn a lesson and, if necessary, give him a goal to strive for and ovee... Staring at Siegfried, who had just sat down and closed his eyes, Vahn asked, "Is this your idea of a duel...?" Hearing the unexpected words, Siegfrieds eyes snapped open and his pupils dted into slits that focused directly on Vahns body. Because he hadnt expected Vahn to appear so quickly, Siegfried had momentarily dropped his guard. Shaking his head and cursing, ("My battle instincts have gone soft...") while rising to his feet. He suspected that Vahn had a rare ability rted to speed, then remembering that it was one of the traits that Zeus had praised. Though his body was already tensed to attack, Vahn waited for Siegfried to stand, saying, "In most instances, I would have already attacked you. However, I can tell that you arent an evil person so Id like toe to an agreement with you..." Siegfried dusted off his pants before grabbing his massive blue ymore and saying, "I had a few ideas in mind, myself, but Ill let you go first though since I was the one to initiate the duel request..." Vahn returned a firm nod before saying, "First, youre clearly misunderstanding my rtionship with the True Dragons within the Hearth Manor. I wont say your way of life is wrong, but it is never safe to assume that your experience is the only one that has any credibility. It is the nature of people to make mistakes and, only by oveing our own bias, are we able to move forward without regrets..." Siegfried raised his brow, intrigued by Vahns words but unable to inquire further as the young boy continued, "After I defeat you, youll have to make a vow swearing to never target the Dragons associated with the Alliance, especially those within the Hearth Manor. I wont make you take a vow that prevents you from seeking vengeance against other Dragons, but its simply foolish of you to believe that all Dragons deserve death, just because you yourself hade to that conclusion..." Vahn spoke each word with a firm conviction and, though he wasnt trying to channel it right now, his [Will of the Emperor] had started to activate naturally. Sensing the oppressive aura that started to emanate from Vahns body, Siegfried squinted his eyes with suspicion. He could feel his instincts cautioning him about how dangerous the boy in front of him was, as even his soul trembled slightly under a strange suppressive force. Deciding that Vahn must have had a rare ability that could affect not only the mind and body, but the soul, Siegfried began treating this duel even more seriously. Soul attacks were some of the most difficult to deal with and, though he had never suffered too many setbacks from such attacks, this was the first time he had felt a genuine suppression on his Dragons Soul... Vahn, getting into abat stance, asked, "Well, do you ept? If not, Im afraid this battle can only end in one way..." Even if Siegfried wasnt a bad person, Vahn wouldnt allow someone with such at their disposal, especially if they target his loved ones, to roam freely. It would be the hardest fight of his life, but Vahn would kill Siegfried if it meant protecting Terra, Fafnir, Khaos, and, especially, Alexa...The moment Siegfried expressed his intentions, Vahns parental instincts had been triggered and, if the man wasnt willing topromise, Vahn would not show him any leniency... Getting into a stance of his own, hefting therge blue ymore as if it was a feather, Siegfried said, "I will swear on my pride, Vahn Mason...should you emerge victoriously, I will never interfere with your affairs. However, should I win, I want you to take a step back on this issue...you may not understand it now, but know that Im doing this for everyones best..." If Vahn could truly defeat him, it would have proven that the boy had more than enough strength to control the Dragons beneath him, at least for the time being. He wasnt so obstinate as to insist that something had to be done immediately, or his crusade against the Dragons would have never been put on hold in the first ce. Without any hesitation, Vahn nodded his head and, without any further words between them, dashed forward with [Shundo] into Siegfrieds blindspot. It didnt matter to him what Siegfrieds own terms were since, as long as his body had a single breath within it, Vahn would never give up the fight. He would rather die than stand idly by as the people he cared about faced such a terrifying foe, even if it was likely that Terra would be able to defeat him without any great effort. Thus, resolving himself to do whatever it took to protect his home, his family, and his loved ones, Vahn struck forward with his fist covered in a thin membrane of source energy. For a brief moment, it was like time had stopped and, if not for the fact that his [Eyes of Truth] were already active, Vahn wasnt sure he would be able to track Siegfrieds movement. His fist, which had been aimed for the Demigods left ribs, passed through a phantom image of the massive Dragon Night. Wind beat against his face as a result of the instantaneous movement and, in the very next instant, what seemed to be a mountain-sized fist came hurtling towards his face. The pupils of Vahns eyes shrunk to the size of pinholes and, even though time already seemed to havee to a crawl, the fist in his vision came to a halt. Unaware of the strange phenomenon, Siegfried continued to strike forward with nearly half his full power, intending to knock Vahn out in one blow. However, much like what Vahn had experienced, Siegfrieds hand passed through a semi-solid phantom that had been left behind by Vahns use of [Shundo]. When pushed to the extremes, it was possible to create several illusory bodies to confuse enemies and, with the enhanced perception he had in that singr instant, Vahn had broken through to a level beyond general mastery. For the first time, other than when he had learned [Magia Erebea], Vahn pushed one of his magic spells to the SS-Rank, exceeding the previous limits of the skill. Siegfrieds eyes widened in slow motion before he flexed the muscles in his back, ejecting his wings outward like spears to intercept Vahn, thetter of which had appeared behind him with a fatal glint in his eyes. Thinking the boy would dodge, Siegfried brandished his sword and began the preliminary movements for a sweeping blow with the t of his de. There was nothing in his 528 years of experience that could have prepared him for the fact that Vahn didnt even try to dodge his attack at all. Instead, just as the steely blue wings tore into the young heros flesh, Vahn thrust forward with a de-like hand, preparing to sever Siegfrieds spine... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hans...are we the baddies...?,One persons experience doesnt shape how the rest of the world experiences reality...,Decisive Strikes, Sage Aldrnari vs. Dragon Knight!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 729 - Clash (2/2)

Chapter 729 - sh (2/2)

Just as Siegfried had been surprised by the fact that Vahn hadnt dodged, Vahn was experiencing a simr degree of shock when, instead of twisting and moving away, Siegfried instead leaned into the blow. At the same time, Siegfried began to jerk his wings, which had been buried into Vahns body, open, attempting to strain them inside the body of Vahn so that he wouldnt be able to move. Since he was certain Vahn could have dodged, Siegfried knew that Vahn must have had a way to stave off the seemingly fatal blow, especially since the aura radiating off of Vahns body hadnt diminished at all. Pressing forward with his knife-hand, glowing white hot with the infusion of fire elemental energy, Vahns fingers touched against Siegfrieds back...and broke. As if he had hit an indestructible piece of Adamantine, Vahns hand buckled under the force of Siegfrieds moment as the wings that had pierced through his body, already causing him a great deal of pain, became taught within his flesh. It felt like he was about to be torn apart but, instead of backing away, Vahn infused his source energy into his crushed hand, causing Siegfried to sharply inhale before opening his wingspletely, tearing Vahns body apart in the same movement. Without assuming that Vahn had been defeated, Siegfried opened up a distance of more than 200m in a single movement, observing Vahn while brandishing his sword, eyes staring unblinkingly towards what would have been the corpse of a normal person. As for Vahn himself, he was beginning to realize how difficult it was to fight against someone that had a lot of battle experience, especially if they had fought against others with unique abilities. The words of Eva echoed through his mind as the wounds on his body healed almostpletely in just under two seconds. Just as he had risen to his feet, Vahn wasnt surprised by the fact that Siegfried was already in front of him, golden eyes trained with intense focus as he buried the dark blue ymore deep into Vahns chest. Unable to resist the secondary pulse that spread through his body from the ridiculous force, Vahn coughed up a mouthful of blood onto Siegfrieds face before cing his white-hot hands against the de piercing his body. Having learned his lesson previously, Vahn infused source energy into the mes and attempted to destroy Siegfrieds weapon, even if it was an S-Grade piece of equipment. Things didnt go as nned, however, as the blue de began to change shape, much like Fafnirs scales. In an instant, Vahn felt the des tear through his body, branching through his organs as Siegfried muttered, "That is quite a fearsome ability, kid...I hope it holds up..." Though he normally wouldnt spare his opponents any words during a fight, Siegfried was impressed by the regenerative ability of Vahn. At this point, he was confident that he had identified all of Vahns rare skills, being the strange light in his eyes, the speed at which Vahn could move, and his regeneration. It was well doc.u.mented that people, regardless of how much they trained, could only develop three rare skills. Many battles between people at the peak revolved around identifying your opponents abilities so, now that he had figured out Vahns, Siegfried was confident in his victory. Feeling the des coil around and embed into his flesh, Vahn clenched his teeth to resist the pain while his [Will of the Emperor] went into overdrive. The problem was, even though he wouldnt be defeated by such an attack, Vahn couldnt move anymore. Turning off his [Magia Erebea] would put him in apromising position, with his body being torn apart and only slowly regenerating, but Vahn was struggling toe up with a solution. He didnt want to reveal the existence of [Enkidu] during a fight against a powerful opponent with close ties to gods, nor did he want to use his true trump cards unless he was pushed into a corner... Fortunately, as he resisted the des tearing through his body, Vahn felt a powerful energy begin to stir within him, bringing with it memories that had long been buried in his mind. Thus, though it was very painful to do so, Vahn began tough in an eerie and uninhibited manner, causing Siegfried to lift his body before pinning it into the ground. Then, doing something beyond the pain threshold of anything Vahn had ever experienced, Siegfried twisted his de, and all the branching des attached to it. Vahn felt like his body had been blended in an instant as his head separated from the rest of his body. Siegfried watched as the pieces of Vahn immediately gathered towards him at an incredible speed, moving even faster than he would have been able to manage. He was awed by the existence of an ability that would allow a person to regenerate, even if their body was turned into paste and their head was separated from their body. His assumption was that Vahns head was the key but, as he didnt truly wish to kill Vahn, Siegried had avoided hitting the head. A part of him was also worried that, even if he smashed Vahns head, it wouldnt be effective... Though he couldnt keep up with therger flow of Sage bits, Siegfried grabbed a small part of Vahn as he once again opened up a distance to observe. He could feel the piece wiggling around in his palm, trying to escape his grasp before, to Siegfrieds exasperation, it dissolved beforepletely disappearing. It had been one of Vahns fingers and, seeing that it had regrown on the boy in question, Siegfried knew this was going to be a troublesome fight. He needed to find out the mechanic behind what made Vahns regeneration possible, with his first assumptions being that it relied on the boys internal mana. However, since Vahn had been able to regenerate from having his body annihted, Seigfried knew it was moreplicated than that. Deciding that he needed to test the limits of Vahns regeneration, Siegfried revealed one of his own trump cards. Blue scales began to sprout from his face, neck, and ears as he leaned forward and released a powerful me breath that was reminiscent of a welding torch. The blue me created a conical shape that turned caused all the nearby trees to immediately catch fire as the ground below melted into ss. To his surprise, however, Vahn just jumped towards him with a strange fiery ymore appearing in his right hand. Siegfrieds eyes widened when he saw the de, but not nearly as much as they did when he saw Vahn moved through his mes. It was as if they had no effect on him whatsoever, only burning away theyer of clothes he had been wearing without a single burn anywhere on his body. (A/N: I know some people will recall that Lefiya had managed to burn Vahn with her magic, but you have to remember that was Light-based, not actual Fire.) Swinging his [Laevateinn] forward, Vahn felt a very powerful urge to let Siegfried feel what it was like to have his body cut apart. He didnt consider himself a vengeful person by nature, but Siegfrieds attacks had shaken Vahns heart and mind a little, making him somewhat resentful of the powerful Dragon Knight before him. Unfortunately, Siegfried parried his blow with ease, causing Vahn to feel helpless as the blue ymore bisected his body in two. Before he attached back together, Siegfried grabbed his face and jumped away from the lower half of his body. Vahn felt like he was being pulled like the anchor of a ship before Siegfried tossed him forward like a ragdoll, far away from the other half of his body. After throwing Vahn, Siegfried looked back to watch the n.a.k.e.d lower body begin to evaporate into ck particles. He wanted to see if there was an effective range to Vahns regeneration but, after throwing the boy a few kilometers, it didnt seem to be the case. Releasing a sigh, Siegfried tore away his shirt to reveal that his body muscr body had started to sprout dense blue scales. The longer he fought, the more his body would transform into that of a True Dragon, the result of his own rare skill [Tyrant Dragons Body]. He could also control the transformation himself, which had been what enabled him to produce his wings and block Vahns attempt to attack his spine. Still, with his body nowid bare, there was a small burn mark on his scales that irritated him even now. pping his wings, Siegfried took to the sky to get a better vantage point, only to see several shes of light as arrows flew towards his position. Normally, Siegfried wouldnt have even bothered dodging such attacks but, with his powerful instincts, he immediately knew these werent simple arrows. Swiftly evading each of them, Siegfried then swept back with his sword as a trail of blue mes spread through the sky, burning the dangerous projectile. The moment his mes contact them, however, the arrows seemed to morph into ck spheres that began to twist and distort space around them. Seeing this, Siegfried felt his scalp tingle, as space magic was one of the most difficult to deal with. No matter how tough his body was, there were some magic attacks that simply couldnt be resisted with physical durability alone. Gravity magic was in that category and, even though it was his first time seeing such a phenomenon, Siegfried understood those small orbs used powerful gravity to tear apart the target. Apanying the tingling of his scalp, two sapphire-like horns branched out of Siegfrieds head and he charged toward the now clothed Vahn. Keeping a distance would potentially disadvantage him and, as he had already identified that Vahns strength couldnt match his, Siegried intended to use closebat to suppress the boy. He realized he would need topletely seal Vahns movements if he wanted this fight to end as, even though Vahn had been using his ability for a long time, Siegfried hadnt seen any indicator that it was taxing his energy to do so. In fact, Vahns energy seemed to replenish almost as quickly as it was used up, something that made Siegfried feel like he was trying to fight against the tides of the ocean. No matter how hard he struck them, the water would eventually beat back against him, to the point where the resultant tidal wave would even devastate thend where he had previously stood... cing away his bow, Vahn then brought his palms together, mentally chanting, ("Come from the void, oh thunder, cut down my enemy! Axe of God! Fixate. Seize. Load magic, Armament~!"). Just as Siegfried created a prison of swords to try and capture him, Vahns body became infused with the lightning magic, [Dios Tukos], meaning Lightning Axe. Without the assistance of Fenrir or Terra, this as one of his most powerful [Magia Erebea] forms, which he referred to as Lightning Armament. In the future, he wanted to be able to shift into the form just by calling the spells name, but that would have to wait until he dealt with the foe in front of him. Using [Koku Shundo], without restraining his momentum, Vahn moved through the des, allowing his body to split freely before it converged back together behind Siegfrieds body. Part of the energy had actually arced into the Dragon Knights body, as his metallic scales had acted like a lightning rod, allowing Vahn to stun him long enough to strike the same spot as he had burned earlier. This time, however, Vahn was using his [Vis Maxima] to the fullest, further amplifying his speed to the point that Siegfried couldnt keep up with him. Though it could be seen that Siegfried was able to keep track of his movements, there was a big difference between someone that could move several thousand kilometers per hour, and someone that could move hundreds of thousands of kilometers per hour. Though his body resisted the physical blow almostpletely, Siegfried felt the lightning elemental energy wreak havoc inside of his body. He couldnt make any move to regain his footing and, as a result of Vahns lightning-fast blow, Siegfried smashed into the ground with enough force to cause thend to upheave around him. Stones weighted thousands of tonnes were disced by the force and, instead of making a crater outright, Siegfrieds body was buried nearly 300m into the ground, like a stake that had been driven by a hammer. Vahn had infused his source energy into the blow so, regardless of how resistant Siegfried might have been, there was little he could do about the lightning energy until it dissipated naturally into the earth below. Even so, Vahn didnt believe for a moment that Siegfried would have been defeated so easily. When his blow hadnded, Vahns hand had actually shattered into lightning particles. Not only did his scales seem to increase his defensive might, but they apparently had a repelling effect on attacks as well. Vahns mind started racing for solutions toe out ahead without going all out but, seeing how things were developing, it would turn into a long fight of attrition unless he kicked things up a notch. The only thing that prevented him from doing so was, even though Siegfrieds attacks had seemed ruthless, Vahn knew he had still been holding back. Still, there was a limit to his tolerance and Vahn was beginning to get very frustrated with having his body cut into ribbons... Suddenly, the ground in a 3km radius seemed to sink slightly before huge cracks appeared, originating from the hole where Siegfried had been buried. In the next instant, blue mes erupted from those cracks, causing the ground to sink even further into molten stone, dirt, andposite minerals. Vahn didnt have any time to marvel at this scene, however, as a massive pir of blue mes came straight towards him. Beingpletely resistant to such attacks, Vahn ignored itpletely as his [Eyes of Truth] focused on the figure contained within the mes themselves. Moving forward at nearly 6,000km/h, Siegfried attempted to grab Vahn with his ws, now glimmering with the same sapphire glow as his horns. Instead of a normal human, he now had the appearance of a 280cm tall Dragonic Knight that waspletely covered in blue scales. There were almost no human features remaining, other than the fact that Siegfrieds anatomy more closely resembled a humans than a Dragons. Vahn didnt have time to inspect himpletely, however, as his evasive maneuvers to avoid being grabbed got rewarded by a sweeping blue tail crashing into his body. It felt like he had been hit by an unstoppable force that caused his abdomen to literally disintegrate. Siegfried moved to grab Vahns upper body once again but this time he was more than prepared to react, easily moving to avoid the blow and counterattacking. He had only been hit by Siegfried previously because he had been stationary and observing the phenomenon below. In truth, Vahns reaction timing couldnt actually keep up with his own movements so, with Siegfrieds enhanced speed, the Dragon Knight had managed to catch him off guard. Now, however, Vahn went on the full offensive. Ignoring the fact that each of his blows caused his arms to shatter into oblivion, Vahn continued to strike forward in an effort to wear Sigfried down. Siegfried had also noticed that Vahns speed was impossible to contend with so, instead of defending himself proactively, he tried to use the fact that Vahn was striking him haphazardly to his advantage. Completely forgoing any defensive actions, Siegfried began to rain his own blows forward, each fist carrying enough momentum to turn boulders into powder. Unfortunately, though he managed to disperse Vahn several times, it took less than the blink of an eye for the boy to reform. All the while this was urring, arger amount of lightning energy began to flow into his body, causing smoke to begin rising from cracks in the surface of his body. Though he was slowly getting an advantage, Vahns frustrations had started to peak and, unable to tolerate to internecine blows any further, he transitioned into his Xunw form. Siegfried immediately tried to open distance between them, something he would soon regret since the difference in their speed meant such actions were pointless. Vahns onyx-ck skin grew ck scales that made Siegfried feel as though the boy before him had a simr rare ability as his own. Then, several times faster than he could even blink, Vahn was already burying both of his palms into his lower body. Though such attacks would normally have no effect on him whatsoever, Siegfried paled as he observed Vahn somehow redirect the energy of his natural reflection ability into his own body...along with the terrifying momentum of Vahns actual blow. In an instant, their roles had been reversed and, instead of having his own body ripped asunder, Siegfried was now falling from the sky, both halves of his body tracing separate arcs since Vahns attack had parted the once whole body in twain. As ast desperate blow, though he knew it wouldnt have any effect, Siegfried hurled his sword towards Vahns like a spear. Thest thing he saw before darkness imed his vision was Vahn blinking to the side and catching the hilt of his prized sword with the ease of a cat catching a mouse it had been hunting... (A/N: Let me know if you thought the action was conveyed well. I know I need to improve how I write out fast segments, so feel free to let me know where you thought I could have done better!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Battle of Innates,Siegfrieds Experience Vs. Vahns Immortality,F.u.c.k Force Lightning, Vahns over here using SOURCE Lightning >:D) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 730 - Right

Chapter 730 - Right

Seeing Siegfried fall from the sky, Vahn released a sigh of relief while slowly descending after him. In retrospect, Vahn realized that his attack was a little petty, as it hadnt been necessary to separate Siegfrieds body into two halves. Yet, in much the same way as the Dragon Knight had done, Vahn felt he wouldnt be killed by such a blow. Even now, Vahn could sense a powerful vitalitying from the mans body and, though there was a fair amount of blood, it looked like the wound was trying to close up to preserve his life. After all, even on the low end, Siegfried must have had more than ten-thousand Endurance, with vitality and regeneration to match. Because of their battle, there was now a sink-hole like pit where the forest used to exist and, as nobody had dealt with the fire just yet, the forest in a muchrger area had started to burn with a fierce ze. Vahn wanted to do something about it but, for the time being, he still needed to deal with Siegfried to avoid any future problems. The man seemed trustworthy and, as he had already given his word, Vahn didnt want to breed any resentment amongst Siegfriedsrades by taking his life. Just after hended, however, a rather diminutive figure appeared in front of him in an instant, giving Vahn the feeling as though she was immovable with her kite shield raised. In a firm tone, with a resolute expression on her face, Jeanne angled her sword against the top of her shield and said, "Forgive me, Vahn, but I cannot allow you to take his life. We may have wronged you, but Siegfried isnt a bad person...please, stand down this time...youve already won." At the same time that Jeanne was buying time, Hera had appeared at Siegfrieds side and pulled out an Elixir with a gold hue to it. She began to slowly pour it on his wound and, as if time itself had been reversed, Siegfrieds body began to regrow the missing half. Seeing Hera waste such a powerful potion, Vahn shook his head slightly and said, "You seem to have a powerful Alchemist and Artificer on your side...hmm." Vahn was currently in his lightning armament form so, even though his actions were somewhat casual, Jeanne didnt drop her guard for a moment. Then, staring straight into her pale blue eyes, Vahn said, "I didnt see you step in when Siegfried had literally torn my body into more than a hundred fragments. Is this what you consider justice, Jeanne, bully people with power and, if they somehow manage to survive, you ask them to take the high road and forgive you...?" Even without the ability to see auras, Vahn saw a deeply rooted regret within Jeannes apologetic eyes. The fact that her stance hadnt waved in the slightest, however, told Vahn that she wasnt the type that would let her uncertainty dictate her actions. He was, honestly, a little impressed with her strong sense of duty, even if the people she held loyalty towards seemed to be a group of bullies. In more than one way, she reminded him of Mikoto and, in even more ways, Riveria...her sense of duty seemed to dictate her actions and, even if her heart didnt believe what she was doing to be correct, Jeanne still stood unwaveringly to block his path. Still, though he was impressed, Vahn didnt like the fact that she was trying to make it out that he was in the wrong, even if was because of her loyalty towards Hera. If he had truly wanted to kill Siegfried, he wouldnt have aimed for the stomach and instead targeted the heart or head. There also wouldnt have been any reason to slowly descend from the sky as, in his current form, Vahn could reach nearly 260,000km/h, on the low end. If he didnt try to aim himself, it was possible to reach 357,274km/h, though he would probably destroy his own body upon arrival at his location. Shaking his head, Vahn looked into Jeannes eyes and said, "Using words to make someone else out to be in the wrong doesnt mean it is the truth of the matter...haaaa-" After releasing a sigh, Vahnpletely bypassed Jeannes position and stepped next to Hera and the still unconscious Siegfried. He noticed that in the split second he had passed by her, Jeannes sword had found its way into his thigh, cutting the tendon for a short moment before he regenerated once again. Though awed by her sword skills, Vahn ignored that for the time being as his aura radiated out from his body as he addressed Hera, "Let this be a lesson to you, Hera...the next time you intend to have machinations towards me, or my family, be prepared for the consequences. If not for Siegfrieds character, I would have struck him down permanently..." Hera, already releasing her divine power to counteract the pressure squeezing on her body, gave a wry smile as she said, "It wa-" Before she could evenplete the second word, Vahn had already turned his back and vanished from the surroundings, far outside her perception. Jeanne came to Heras side in the next instance, holding up her shield in a defensive posture while observing the surroundings. Her ability informed her that Vahn was still nearby and, after seeing how easily he passed by her, Jeanne was certain he could exploit any gaps in her awareness. It seemed that, other than the terrifyingly powerful True Dragon guarding the Hearth Manor, Vahn was also in a league of his own. He was still young and inexperienced yet, as a result of his determination and seemingly endless unique abilities, Vahn had managed to defeat an enemy far stronger than himself. The truly horrific thing was that speed of his as, even Heroes who prided themselves on speed, likely wouldnt be a match for Vahn... At this point, Sigfrieds body had resumed its human appearance and, except for a paleplexion, he looked perfectly fine. The potion Hera had used sapped a bit of his vitality, shortening his lifespan, but Siegfried still had a few hundred years of life left in him. For now, he justy on his back,pletely n.a.k.e.d, while Hera contemted what to do about Vahn in the future. When her eyes turned back to Siegfrieds body, she frowned slightly seeing his n.a.k.e.d figure. Earning a confused look from Jeanne, Hera snorted lightly before noticing her young proteges gaze. Regaining her seemingly kind and gentle disposition, Hera smiled to Jeanne and said, "Im afraid Ill have to entrust you with Siegfrieds current situation. Please, run along and purchase some clothes for him, Jeanne. It will make our return trip rather awkward otherwise..." Hearing this, Jeanne looked down at Siegfrieds body and, without a single change in her expression, nodded her head before asking, "Will you be safe here...?" Her duty this time around had been to protect Hera, thus, leaving her here in this massive pit, wasnt exactly the best idea in her opinion. If Vahn had any second thought about the situation, it wasnt impossible for him toe and im the lives of both Hera and Siegfried while she was away... Heraughed in a light tone, calmly stating, "Im sure youve noticed it as well, Jeanne, but that boy seems to look for reasons to spare people. He wonte and pick off someone that cant defend themselves and, though he is understandably upset with me, I trust that he wont act on those impulses. After all, he even returned Siegfrieds weapon to him...not that I can say much about the condition its in..." As she was speaking, Hera inclined her head to the half melted sword that had been embedded into the ground when Vahn blinked forward earlier. He might not have been aware of it himself, but he had allowed the source-infused lightning to destroy the interior elements of the sword and cause it to break down while holding it previously. It was almost as if he had been pelled to destroy the thing that had caused him so much pain and frustration, even though it hadnt been his intention to do so at all. If not for the fact that one of the Heroes of Legend was a capable cksmith, Siegfried would be without his treasured sword in the future. As it was something he had carried for nearly five hundred years, the loss of his sword would have been even more impactful than the loss of his lower body, at least to someone like Siegfried. Without waiting around any longer, Jeanne gave a small nod, returning her kite shield to her back so that she would be able to fly. She hadnt been blessed with the capability of flight herself so Jeanne, like many of the residents of the City of Heroes, needed to rely on her equipment in order to achieve the feat. Hers was a functionality provided by the kite shield she carried with her and, as a quirk of its design, she needed to have it on her back in order to activate it. This was because the person who had designed it had a tendency to make equipment as sets, each piece serving a specific function. The downside was, many of these functions only worked under specific circ.u.mstances, often annoying the users of said items to no end... After watching Jeannes departure, Hera didnt even spare a second nce to Siegfried and instead looked towards the empty bottle in her hands. It wasnt easy to produce such a high-quality Elixir, with both the ingredients and the production process both being very difficult. If not for Paracelsus unrivaled skills as an [Alchemist], in conjunction with his rare skills, they wouldnt even be able to produce such a thing in the mortal world. Having wasted a precious Elixir on a task that shouldnt have been this troublesome left a sour taste in Heras mouth. Then, seeing Siegfrieds n.a.k.e.d body out of the corner of her eye, Heras expression turned into a grimace and she tossed the expensive ss container onto the ground and stormed off to sit in a ce that didnt smell like burning. --- While Jeanne was off running her errand, and Hera was busy throwing a small hissy fit, Vahn was moving through the burning forest at a slow and steady pace. Instead of his lightning armament, Vahn had assumed a new [Magia Erebea], using a water-elemental [Sagitta Magicka] to fuel it. In order to make his work even easier, Vahn transformed into his Xunw form and was currently manipting a dome of water nearly 100m in diameter as he rolled it across the burning forest below. Moving such a mass of water took a fair amount of effort but, as long as he kept his focus, there wasnt any real danger of his control slipping at present. It took a few hours, but Vahn managed to put out the fire, preventing even more devastation to the environment. He realized that his battles against powerful foes always left the surrounding area as a victim, something that made Vahn feel a little regretful since it was unfair to the animals residing within the forest to have their homes robbed from them. There were undoubtedly numerous deaths as well, which made Vahn feel solemn as he brought his hands together and prayed for their safe passage into the next life. Though monsters didnt possess a soul, as they were simply mana constructs, Vahn knew this wasnt the case for normal animals. Even something as small as a termite had the most fragmentary semnce of a soul and, after several incarnations, it might even be a kind saint that brings salvation to a record. Vahns understanding of the soul itself was still very shallow, though it was still much greater than most people, so he couldnt be sure how the mechanics behind reincarnation worked. The one thing he did know was that ignoring the loss of life that had been arbitrarily taken as a result of his fight...was simply heartless... By the time he was finished, Hera, Jeanne, and Siegfried had long left the area, disappearing towards the west without making any attempt to initiate further conversation with him. Vahn had allowed them to go without pestering them, but not without giving himself some form of insurance. When he had struck the spot on Siegfrieds back the second time, Vahn had ced a ward inside of the Dragon Knights body. It was functionally harmless and, as a result of beingprised of a form of energy that Siegfried was fundamentally incapable of sensing, the ward had gone unnoticed. Vahn intended to use to track the location of their base in the future as, even without knowing the details, it was very obvious they were some kind of organization. Them knowing where he lived, without revealing their own location, was something Vahn couldnt tolerate. In order to even the ying field, he wanted to know the location of their base of operations so, the next time they tried anything against him and his family, he would know exactly where to go to seek vengeance. He was tired of old organizations, groups, or individuals, who had been consolidating their power and doing whatever they wanted without regards for the consequences. If he needed to, Vahn would be the consequence of their actions...something few people in this record were capable of bearing... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Jeanne is a tragic existence...,Heras true colors begin to show...?,Lokis training is showing itself ( ? ?? ?)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 731 - Vantage

Chapter 731 - Vantage

The fact that a new ke had appeared to the north of the City had been a big deal, especially with the rumors circting about how it was created. Siegfrieds copse of thend had caused it to merge together with an aqueduct and, after a bit of rainfall that appeared in the skyter that day, it had quickly turned into a smallke with a steep incline leading down to the crystal clear surface of the water below. Those that showed up in the area to investigate were awed by the sheer size of the sinkhole that had been created, as an attack capable of changing thendscape in a 3km radius was beyond theprehension of most people. Knowing that the event was somehow rted to Vahn, who had returned to the City, seemingly unscathed, left a deep impression on their hearts and minds. As for Vahn himself, his only real concern at the time had been returning home to make good on his promise to spend time with Ina, Vana, Erika, Alexa, and his infant children, Meinya, Anise, and Sakuya. Though he did spend a fair amount of time debriefing with Loki, Hephaestus, Hestia, Anubis, Eina, and Syr, that hadnt taken too long. Loki, being the ever-reliable goddess she had proven herself to be, decided to investigate matters through her ownworks but, learning that Vahn had actually managed to ce a tracking ward on Siegfried, she had nearly keeled over inughter. After that, he had been freed to spend time with his children while the Goddesses talked amongst themselves about how to deal with Zeus and Hera. Though Zeus had been very troublesome to deal with, Hera was arguably the worse of the two since she often enabled Zeus antics. Her Familia had its fair share of capable Adventurers, but it almost existed solely to support the Zeus Familia back during their era. Many of her Familia members had actually been capable female Adventurers and Supporters, with only a few Elite men as her Executives, many of which had moved into the Hera Familia from Zeus own. This had been one of the methods they used to empower the mentality of Heroes, as being waited on by the members of the second most powerful Familia was a big ego boost for budding Heroes. As for why Hera supported Zeus antics so willingly, it was because they were one of the few married couples amongst the gods. With Divinities rted to Marriage, Family, and Domesticity, Hera had always supported her husband, regardless of the foolish decisions he made. To counteract hispleteck of regard for consequences, she had put in a serious effort to change her own nature to be calm and calcting. The only time her true nature showed through was during the times Zeus would, inevitably, cheat on her with another woman. It wasnt umon for the women that had been favored by Zeus to simply disappear soon after, with the only exceptions being those that miraculously got pregnant. Even so, the mothers always seemed to die during childbirth, or shortly thereafter... It was surprising to any of the goddesses within the Hearth Manor that Hera was supporting Zeus, as it would have been far more surprising to learn she hadnt been. Even so, the fact that she had shown up with two Heroes that had died long ago raised several gs, especially since Vahn spected that Siegfried had been around Level 9, while Jeanne seemed to be around the peak of Level 8. Currently, other than Vahn and Terra, they didnt have any means to put up meaningful resistance against such powerhouses, especially if there were even more hidden cards held by Zeus and Hera than had been revealed. The fact that Vahn had the insight to mark Siegfried made Loki feel incredibly vindicated for having fallen in love with him... Ultimately, it was decided that arger focus would be ced on the training of everyone within the Manor, though the main focus would be on the core of the group. This consisted of Ais, Tiona, Tione, Haruhime, Lili, Lefiya, Mikoto, and Arnya. Though the other girls would still be very powerful in their own rights, they didnt have the same level of dedication to the pursuit of strength as aforementioned eight. It was likely that girls like Tina and Shizune might actually exceed the growth of the older girls, but that would take a few years at the earliest. With the Sub-Space orb, this time would be greatly reduced, but it might affect them negatively to hole themselves up in the orb all the time. As for everyone else in the Manor, with the obvious exclusion of Vahn, Terra, Fafnir, Khaos, and Fenrir, they would essentially fall into support roles, at least when it came to fighting against such powerful enemies. Emiru and Maemi, though possessing a strong drive to be stronger, werent really frontlinebatants just yet. They also spent the least amount of time within the orb so, unless their service mentality changed, it wasnt that likely for their strength to increase too much in the interim. Then there were the people like Tsubaki, Lunoire, and Mn, each capable warriors that could be stronger, but fundamentallycked the resolve to do so in a meaningful way. Tsubaki was a true warrior at heart but, now that she had a daughter of her own, she ced a much bigger focus on her daughter and preparing for her duties at the School. Though she would still live for a very long time, she already had the mentality of passing on the torch to the next generation. This was somewhat true for Mn as well, who had already retired previously and was now almost fully invested in the growth of her daughter. As for Lunoire, the dream she had held close to her heart for so long had affected her mentality almost irreversibly. Though she was currently working hard to be stronger, the desire to simply have a family of her own, and taking care of the children within the Manor was slowly beginning to drain away her motivation to train. This was a simr mentality to Aki, who had seriously been considering her own retirement and just bing a secretary for Vahn. To a lesser extent, Riveria and Ryuu were also affected by this mentality, though thetter truly intended to work hard to be stronger after the birth of her daughter. Riverias focus, however, was on the matters rted to the Elven Kingdom and, as Vahn had been privy to hearing about quite oftentely, how she nned to try and raise their son. Riveria was too focused on the future and, though her pursuit of knowledge hadnt really diminished, she was more than likely going to end up as just the Department Head of the School before bing the Headmaster of the Academy that would be built in Haven. At the same time, she would be raising their son to potentially be the King of the Elves, though only if it was a path they chose to walk willingly. With how things had devolved, Riveria wasnt even sure making an Elven Kingdom was even a good idea anymore. Instead, she felt it might be better to just have a council of sorts to manage the affairs of their people, this time without allowing people to selfishly consolidate power based solely on blood purity. Wrapping up the group, there were girls like Naaza, Preasia, Eina, Syr, and, to a lesser extent, Risna. Though they might be strong enough to protect themselves, they were considered nonbatants with a more support oriented role. Naaza wanted to be a capable [Alchemist], while Preasias dream, forck of a better descriptive, was to be a physician. She was learning from Vahn personally and had made great strides in her understanding of medicines and herbal remedies by studying with Naaza and Lili. As for Eina, she fell into the category of girls who were more focused on the children than other matters. She would continue her duties as the Guild Liaison, but it would be more of a formality in the future, with most of the matters of the Guild branch being handed over to Rose. Risna, her younger sister, simply wanted to be a prolific novelist in the future and, now that she had the Sub-Space orb to rely on, the efforts she had put into her writing had more than tripled. This left only Syr remaining, amongst the girls currently present in the Manor, and her only desire had been the same as it always had. She wanted to support the man she loved and, in order to make sure things ran smoothly, Syr took her position as the Manager of the Manors affairs very seriously... --- Being the core of everything, Vahns own power was one of the most important factors that would guarantee any problems that appeared in the future could be resolved without any sacrifices. At the same time that his main body had been fighting against Siegfried, his Avatar had been within the orb using their shared connection to supplement Vahns source energy reserves. By making use of the dime dtion effect, and the fact that his reserves could be replenished in around twenty minutes by meditating to the [Mantra of Eternity], Vahns reserves duringbat had been almost limitless. On average, it would have only taken him three minutes and twenty seconds topletely recover his reserves, a factor Vahn had exploited with the abundant overuse of his source energy. Thergest benefit, which Vahn himself hadnt expected, was that he was able to use his perception of his second body to enhance that of his main body. Since he experienced the passage of time in both worlds simultaneously, Vahn had been able to observe the entire fight from the perspective of his Avatar in slow motion. During the first exchange, it felt like he had synchronized both of his minds and had actually been able to elerate his own thinking by a factor of six times. With his already enhanced perception, it was almost like time hadpletelye to a stop during the moments his focus had reached the peak. This was also why, afterrge andplex movements, Vahn had stalled for a short while. His brain could only make sense of so many stimuli at once so, anything tooplex would leave him exposed for a short while thereafter. Siegfried had been able to exploit these gaps with an awe-inspiring degree of ease, something that had deeply impacted both of Vahns minds. It was very fortunate for him that Siegfried had also been very cautious and observant during the fight, as it had made recovering his senses after taking big hits much easier. Had Siegfried gone all out, it would have taken Vahn a much longer period of time to actuallye out ahead in the fight. Now that things had settled down, Vahn was reflecting on the fight itself while teaching Ina how to dance, a request thetter had after his return. She was currently standing on his feet while Vahn walked her through the basics of performing a ballroom waltz. The fact that she was wearing an adorable little princess outfit distracted both of Vahns mind, though not enough that his body within the orb couldnt keep his focus. He had realized through this fight that his power simply wasnt enough for some of the enemies he might face in the future. With how Karma influenced Fate, it was almost guaranteed that troublesome enemies would eventually find their way to him. Thus, while the goddesses were discussing matters on their own, Vahn was also thinking about how to increase his own power. At the bare minimum, he needed topletely master his [Magia Erebea] form, as he had managed to push the skill to SSS-Rank within the Divination. If he could freely make use of his elemental armaments, it would be possible to deal with most situations. However, even more than that, Vahn realized he needed to focus on mastering his own Innate abilities. Had he not caught Siegfried by surprise with his Xunw form, the fight would have gone on for a much greater length of time. Just the fact that it was an Innate made it inarguably more powerful than [Magia Erebea] itself, with the only limit of the ability being Vahns understanding of its true capabilities. It was the same for all of his Innates and, now that it was apparent there were more than a few entities within this record that could threaten him and his family, Vahn wanted to seriously begin working towards mastering these abilities. After all, this mastery would follow him through all future records and, as he been revealed by Sis, mastering them was necessary to increase his Soul Tier. Currently, Vahn had four Innates awakened meaning, if he was able to master them all, his Soul Tier would naturally be at Tier 4. He had already mastered [Will of the Emperor], though he was still discovering its uses as his own perception of the world changed, so his next focus should be on his [Rakshasa Body]. Though his [Eyes of Truth] were very powerful, Vahn felt their utility wouldnt be nearly as useful as thebat prowess provided by his [Rakshasa Body], at least for now. As for his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome], that was a difficult skill to master with his current understanding of things, as the cooldown of the ability made it hard to make use of. Vahn had already learned a fair amount about the ability, but it would generally take around thirty days, on the low end, just to use it once. Fortunately, his naming didnt seem entirely dependent on this cooldown as, without a shadow of a doubt, the effects he was able to imbue into items through his intent were rted to the ability. This meant he needed to create a bunch of items to increase his mastery quickly, something that would slow the development of his personal strength in the interim. Thus, by process of elimination, [Rakshasa Body] needed to be his priority until he was able to at least maintain his Zhqu form without consuming a massive amount of source energy, or burning apart all of his equipment. If possible, Vahn also wanted to be able to awaken his Azure Dragon form, as it seemed very powerful, but he wasnt too sure if it was a good idea within this record. Each of the forms seemed to have an association with an elementalw, and a higher tieredw he didnt fully understand. The capabilities of the Azure Dragon seemed to be tied to Space and Lightning, but there was undoubtedly a greater potential hidden away in the form. With how Eva and Terra had reacted to his change, Vahn was certain this was the case. Still, having it as a trump card would undoubtedly be beneficial if he needed to make use of it. If even the record itself was strained by the influence of that form, it wasnt likely many enemies would be able tost against it... Making his way towards the rest area where the girls usually took their breaks, Vahn found the person he was looking for, currently teasing Lili and ying with thetters exposed stomach. Lili had a red face as she swatted away Tionas hands, eximing, "Stop messing around, Tiona! If you end up harming my babies...Ill...!" Though Lili had been in the middle ofshing out at Tiona, she immediately stopped when she saw his arrival within the rest area. Seemingly without any regard for the fact she was supposed to be pregnant, Lili ran over and leaped into his arms. Because it hadnt been confirmed previously, Lili had still been making use of the Sub-Space orb, at least for the time being. Very soon, she would have to stay in the real world because, as most of the girls were aware at this point, Lili was undoubtedly pregnant. Vahn, of course, had been the first to notice the change but had waited for Lili to make the announcement herself, as it was a very meaningful thing for most women. Even so, now that her state had been confirmed, Vahn stroked her chestnut brown hair and lightly reprimanded, "Youre not supposed to be in here, Lili..." Seemingly disregarding his words, Lili justughed lightly and continued to squeeze him tightly around the waist. She had been in a very bubbly and clingy mood as ofte, not that Vahn could really me her. Naaza was handling things much better, having already started learning from the more experienced women what she needed to prepare for during her pregnancy. Much like Aki, she had already started to transform from a young woman into that of a mother, practically glowing whenever Vahn saw her. The fact that her tail would lightly wag whenever they crossed paths, as if she were very happy to see him, always filled Vahn with a blissful contentedness. Though he wouldnt mind spending time with Lili, Vahn hade here with a different purpose so he gave her a kiss on the forehead and said, "You should return to the Manor and spend more time with Naaza. I have things to take care of right now, but Ille find you after Im finished ying with the younglings..." Lili looked as though she wanted to argue at first but, hearing thetter half of Vahns words, a smile spread across her youthful face as she said, "Ill be waiting~!" and disappeared from the space. Vahn issued a light chuckle before looking toward Tiona, currently sitting amongst Tione, Ais, and Lefiya. Noticing the look in his eyes, Tionas expression turned radiant as she pointed to herself and eximed, "You came here for me~? Ehehehehe~." Even without Vahn exining his purpose, Tiona had bounded up to her feet and immediately transitioned into her [Pactio] form while Tione, Ais, and even Lefiya, gave her slightly envious looks. Vahn sent a wink towards them after being momentarily distracted by Tionas sudden ck of clothing. He would never get used to the fact that her [Pactio] was essentially just two thin pieces of cloth that barely even covered the sensitive bits. Though she pulled it off with her amazingly athletic figure, Vahn felt like he would have to punish any men that observed Tiona while she was in this form... After stretching her body for a bit, Tiona smiled excitedly and said, "Lets do this~!" in a chipper voice. Immediately thereafter, however, her eyes be somewhat fierce and yful as sheunched herself towards him, tackling him away from the building as their spar began. Ais, Tione, and Lefiya followed after them, curious to see how the fight would progress and moderately hopeful they would have their own turn after the fact. At the very least, they would be able to learn the reasons for why Vahn had suddenly shown up to fight Tiona, though seeing him immediately transition into his White Tiger form gave them some insight into the matter. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Beyond the peak, there are always greater heights to reach~!,If only Vahn had an Innate that made him think gud,Baihu vs. Queen of Beasts) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 732 - Time Changes Everything

Chapter 732 - Time Changes Everything

With a shift in his focus, now split between spending time with his children and training seriously within the orb, time began to pass by very quickly, rtively speaking. Vahn found himself using the time he spent with Alexa to reflect upon things since he never seemed to have enough time between the real world and the orb for all the matters concerning him. His training was going very well and, as a result of their involvement with his desire to grow stronger, Vahn had been steadily getting closer with Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, and Haruhime. They all helped out personally in his training and, at the same time, endeavored to increase their strength as well. As for what was at the forefront of Vahns mind, and his chief concern at the moment, it was the fact that he wasing up on the weekend where he would have his first times with, not just Lefiya and Freya, but Eirene as well. Around the time Loki had been screening candidates for undergoing the procedure, Eirene had stepped forward, expressing her desire to have a child more earnestly than in the past. She didnt mind going after Freya, but seeing the Vanir had triggered her, not just because they were all adorable, but because of how unique they were. Eirene had found herself thinking about it a lot so, after learning that Freya was finally scheduled, she decided that her own wait had gone on long enough. This wouldnt have been much of a problem, if not for the fact that Vahn knew it would take more than a little effort to truly deal with Freya. Just imagining Eirene patiently waiting in another room for him to finish made Vahn feel rather awkward, meaning it would have to take ce on different days. Since Ryuu was due any day now, this increased the chances that she would go intobor while he was busy so, after discussing it with her previously, Ryuu had agreed to have herbor induced on Friday, which happened to be the following day. With that significant event creeping up on him, Vahn felt that the current day had been going on for a very long time. Considering that he spent 100 hours in the Space-Time orb, six days within the Sub-Space orb, and the rest of the day within the real world, it was like he had been anticipating tomorrow for nearly two weeks of time... Tapping her tail against him, Alexa asked, "Papa, what are you thinking about~?" in a curious, yetzy, tone. She had been changing drastically since the prior incident which, for Alexa, had now happened nearly a year ago, even though it had only been less than a week in the real world. From observing her, Vahn better understood why the girls had been so worried about him when he used Evas orb in the past. Seeing how quickly Alexa had changed caused a sense of incongruity that was somewhat difficult to deal with, though it was made much easier by the fact that he had inherited the memories from his fragment. Lightly stroking Alexas hair, Vahn answered, "Well, youll have another little sister tomorrow so Im feeling a little anxious..." Once again, Alexas tail tapped against his, causing Vahn to produce a wry smile as he hugged her tightly and said, "Make sure you take care of your siblings properly, okay? Even if you might look younger than them in the future, youre still going to be their big sis..." By the time Alexa was going to be leaving the orb, she would have the appearance of a girl around 10-12 years old, assuming she came out after staying inside for around 100 years. It would take another 200-300 hundred years for her to reach physical maturity and, if she wanted to look like a proper a.d.u.l.t, Alexa would have to tolerate the rtive solitude of the Space-Time orb for more than six hundred years. Though her tail tapped against him a few times, showing her moderate frustration, Alexa eventually nodded her head and said, "Im not sure about my other siblings, but I will make sure to protect Ina, Vana, and Erika...they have been good friends to me and I hope to get closer with them after I leave this ce..." Since it wasnt safe for the infant children to enter into the Space-Time orb, Alexa had never met her other siblings so it was understandable she didnt feel any real affection for them. Still, Vahn wanted Alexa to be the reliable big sister of the group, especially since she would have .u.mted the greatest amount of knowledge and experience amongst them. Suddenly, much to Alexas annoyance, another figure swooped down into the area where she and her Papa were rxing. Even before it said anything, Alexa sat up with a small frown on her face and asked, "What are you doing here, Fafnir!?" She had already been a little upset by the fact that her Papas mind was focused on other thingstely so, having someone else show up to interrupt her time with him caused Alexa to reach the limits of her tolerance. For the first time, Vahn got to see his little Dragon Princess lose her cool, as thettershed out at the other small figure that crouched down and allowed her to hit its head. Approaching from behind, Vahn picked up the huffing Alexa and held her in his arms, patting her back to calm her down as he asked, "What can I do for you today, Fafnir...?" The small figure before him raised its face, showing a teary-eyed expression as it said, "Alexa, you shouldnt be so violent all the time...Master wont pamper you if you be spoiled..." Hearing this, the pupils of Alexas leaf-green eyes became slits as she sent a re towards Fafnir before hanging her head low as she reflected upon its words. As for Vahn, he just continued to lightly pat Alexas back while observing the small figure before him. After spending more than a decade within the orb, both Khaos and Fafnir had been able to master their transformation abilities to the point where they could now assume a human form. Khaos had taken on a form very simr to Vahns own, except he looked slightly older and more stern. The fact that he had crimson hair, amethyst eyes, and an assortment of ck and red scales, also set them apart. Also, must like Terra and Alexa, who they had likely based their forms off of, Khaos and Fafnir also had wings, horns, and tails while in their humanoid forms. Seeing Khaos had actually inspired Vahn to think about his own dragon transformation but, considering how Terra had reacted thest time he almost transformed, Vahn didnt think it was a good idea to just assume that form for fun. Simr to Khaos, while also being decidedly different, Fafnir had also assumed a form that closely resembled Vahns own, except much younger. It was obvious that they had both imprinted on him and, as a result of the recognition they had for him as the Alpha, they strived to emte him. As for Fafnir, it had a very childish mentality in the past and, as a result of being treated like a younger brother for so long, it had taken on an appearance to match. Currently, Fafnir looked even younger than Alexa, possessing onyx-ck hair, stark blue eyes, and sleek ck wings with nubs for its horns and tail. Unlike Terra and Alexa, Fafnir and Khaos both had scaled and angr wings, a stark contrast to the feathery wings of the two female True Dragons. Seeing that Alexa wasnt going to respond, Fanfir released a sigh before turning towards its Master and saying, "Master, I want to return to the real world today. Please take me with you before you leave~!" Though it still wasnt confident that its power was adequate, Fafnir felt that it wouldnt necessarily grow stronger just staying inside this orb all the time. Terra taught it a lot but not nearly as much as it would have liked, not that Fafnir truly med her. Since most of its training would be dependent on the knowledge it required, and Terra wasnt currently sharing much with it, Fafnir wanted to return to the real world so that it could study seriously. It had tried to get Alexa to help it study but, after assuming her female form for a long period of time, she had started to be somewhat violent towards it and Khaos. Vahn nodded his head, reaching his hand out to stroke Fafnirs head as he said, "Sure, just wait for me at the cottage when the timeses. Let Khaos know he cane along as well, since I imagine he has a simr mentality..." Fafnir nodded its head while enjoying thefortable sensationing from its Masters palm. When the warm feeling vanished, it gave onest smile before taking to the skies at supersonic speeds to go retrieve Khaos. Like Master, Fafnir knew that Khaos would likely want to leave this ce as well, its just that thetter would never admit to it. Khaos had a strange form of pride and refused to show any form of weakness, even though he was a big softie with a few insecurities that had rooted themselves inside his heart and mind. Alexa, understanding that Khaos and Fafnir would be leaving the orb, was actually in a much better mood now. In truth, she didnt get along with them that well because, as a result of her immaturity, her instincts made her hate male True Dragons. Because she recognized her Papa as the strongest, Alexa had started to see Khaos and Fafnir as weak and insignificant existences, even though she also tried to rationalize that they were her friends. More importantly, they were close existences to her Papa, making Alexa put in an effort to try and get closer to them, even though it seemed to have the opposite result. Fafnir had even stayed genderless out of consideration for her, though Khaos pride had made it wholeheartedly ept its role as a male. He might not be able to be the Alpha, but Khaos was determined to at least be the strongest beneath Vahn, all so that he could be the most reliable mount for his Master... Seeing Alexas wings flitter happily, Vahn released a light sigh that caused her to tense up when she heard it. With an ashamed expression, Alexa looked up and said, "Im sorry, Papa...I just...cant help it..." Vahn nodded his head, hugging Alexa tightly in a firm embrace as he said, "Just never give up trying, Alexa...that is all I ask. You are a very smart and wise young True Dragon, and Im certain you will possess those same traits when you get older. If it gets difficult, remember that you can always rely on me to help out..." This time, Alexas tail drooped and moved from side-to-sidezily while she returned his embrace with her own small arms. As the encounter with Siegfried was still fresh on his mind, Vahn was very aware that Alexas current behavior was one of the things the Dragon Knight had been concerned about. True Dragons were heavily influenced by their instincts and, as Alexa continued to mature, they were beginning to shape the way she interacted with others. The Vanir seemed to be immune to this, but Alexas feelings towards others had started to be cold and distant. She was still very smart and, as he had often experienced himself, very wise, but Vahn began to realize that theck of life experience was starting to distort Alexas mind. It was to the point that he had considered trying to subordinate her, just so her interactions with the others would continue to regress further... Of course, it was only something he considered very briefly beforepletely setting the thought aside. Alexa, though he knew she mighte to resent him for it with time, was irrefutably his daughter. Vahn wouldnt give up until he had found a solution for her, even if it meant elerating her growth so that she could leave the orb sooner. If she interacted with others more often, Vahn believed that Alexas mind would develop in a healthy manner. It was obvious that she didnt truly feel close to the two memory fragments and, as her only real interactions were with the people that visited her every few months, it was understandable that she would have developed in a strange direction. With Fafnir and Khaos leaving the orb, Vahn believed that Alexa would begin to normalize again, giving him a bit of time toe up with a solution in the future, if necessary. There should be methods to limit the influence of a persons instincts, or at least help them cope and behave normally around others. Though this was wrong, in a way, Vahn would leave the decision to Alexa herself, as her inability to get along with the others would cause problems for her in the future. At the very least, Vahn figured he could make an item that subtly changed how she perceived others, making them less bothersome to be around without directly inhibiting her natural instincts. If she used the item for a long period of time, while interacting alongside the others in the Manor, Vahn was confident Alexa would be able to mature in a manner that she didnt cause unnecessary conflict... Unaware of what her Papa was thinking, Alexa raised her head with a small smile, asking, "Papa, what are you thinking about now~?" Vahn, returning her smile, honestly answered, "I was thinking about your happiness, Alexa. Because it was my fault you are burdened with so many things outside your own control, I will do my best to make sure you can be happy in the future..." Hearing this, Alexa blinked herrge eyes several times, showing curiosity and confusion at the same time. Part of her was saying that she had erred somehow, worrying her Papa unnecessarily, so Alexa nned to reflect on everything that happened once he left. This is what she used to do before Khaos and Fafnir had invaded her space so, now that they were leaving, Alexa felt it would be a good habit to fall back into. She remembered that her Papa seemed happier in the past, before she had assumed this form, and wondered if it wasnt a bad idea to just go back to how things were. That, however, could wait untilter as, for the time being, Alexa just wanted to enjoy the time she had with her Papa before he had to leave once again. Since she could tell he was focused on her right now, she was much happier than she had been a few minutes ago... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Truck-kun reincarnated into Life-sama. Now it cant stop hitting Vahn over and over, like the truck it had been in its previous incarnation (UwU)...,Teenie-Tiny Fafnir, Tsundere Khaos...,Alexa, Spoiled Dragon Princess (o,...,o)~!) (A/N: I miss the wise and calm Alex-san from the past...Also, let me know in thements section if youd rather have more details about Ryuu and her daughter, or if youd like it summarized for other plot developments. Ill be writing them tomorrow since I want to release a bunch of Fenrirs Journey today xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 733 - Legacy

Chapter 733 - Legacy

After what seemed like a very long period of time, the next day finally came. As if to celebrate the event, the sun was casting down gentle rays upon the world as wispy white cloudszily made their way across the sky. Within the Hearth Manor, which was usually quiet and peaceful, there was a lively atmosphere as everyone that usually spent their time in the Sub-Space orb, was currently outside to show their support for Ryuu. Today, a new member would be joining their expansive family and everyone was looking forward to seeing another adorable baby within the maternity ward. Generally, whenever the girls came out of the orb, many of them would stop by just to interact with the children for a bit. Though the unity within the Manor had always been very high, the bonds between everyone had been strengthened by the inclusion of the children. After all, cuteness was such a universally appreciated thing that Vahn wouldnt have been surprised to learn that it was a Law... Of course, while everyone else was waiting for the good news, the two most important actors, Ryuu and Vahn, were within the delivery room with Hestia, Riveria, and Syr observing. Preasia was also present, acting as Vahns assistant, while he walked Ryuu though what would be a very long delivery. It was fortunate that she had the support of both Riveria and Syr, who showed a great deal of concern for the pained Elven beauty. Fortunately, though the delivery took much longer than expected, there were no major issues so, after nearly seventeen hours, the crisp sound of a babys cry could be heard within the room. Ryuu, experiencing a great deal of relief after finally being relieved of the intense pain, had a pale and dazed expression until she heard the sound of her daughters voice. The tired sky-blue yes regained their light in an instant and, though there was a glistening membrane of tears beginning to spread through them, Ryuu had a happy smile on her face. Preasia brought the crying child into its mothers arms, allowing Ryuu to get a look at her daughter for the first time. Much like how Vahn was overwhelmed during the birth of all his children, Ryuu felt it would be impossible to express how she currently felt, other than that she was simply happy and tired, with a bigger focus on the happy feelings welling up inside of her... Vahn, after cleaning off his hands and wiping his brow with a towel, came to Ryuus side, recing Riveria, who now had a moderately paleplexion herself. She was feeling some sympathetic symptoms from saying with Ryuu for so long and needed to sit down on the sofa to rx for a bit. Hestia had already looked over Ryuus daughter and given her blessing, so she went to look after Riveria alongside Preasia, thetter of which performed a basic checkup to make sure Riveria was okay. Though he had already seen her previously, Vahn felt that his new daughter almost looked like a doll that had been carved from jade, possessing a very fairplexion, even though she had just been born. Amazingly, she had a head full of blond downy hair and, when Vahn saw her little pointy ears, it felt like his heart had been scrunched up to the size of a raisin. Still, it was the impact of seeing her being held lovingly by Ryuu that had the great impression on Vahn so, as he had done during all the previous deliveries, Vahn saved the image into his memories. In the future, he wanted to immortalize these scenes in the form of paintings that would adorn his private study in the future... Because she had been feeling very weak, Vahn helped Ryuu replenish her stamina while Preasia had the rtively awkward opportunity to take care of the centa. When everything was taken care of, Ryuu began b.r.e.a.s.tfeeding her daughter with a loving smile on her face, asking, "What do you want to name her, Vahn...?" Though they had discussed it in the past, Vahn and Ryuu had never decided upon a name since she had wanted to wait until the delivery was sessful. Now that her daughter was safely within her embrace, Ryuu felt an ache in her heart not knowing what to call her, thus turning to Vahn for guidance. Vahn fell into a momentary daze when Ryuu asked him to suddenly name their daughter but, after a brief period of consideration, he smiled and asked, "How about...Alise?" The moment he asked this, Ryuus body began to tremble and she couldnt help hanging her head as the tears she had fought hard to resist began flowing freely from her eyes. Alise had been the name of her best friend and, though the woman had been difficult to deal with at times, Ryuu was eternally grateful for everything she had done. If not for the words she had kept close to her heart, it was possible that Ryuu may have never ended up with Vahn in the first ce...realizing this, Ryuu felt an overwhelming sense of loss from remembering her deceasedrades and was no longer able to bottle up the emotions deep within her heart... While the woman he loved was crying, Vahn held her head into his chest while making sure their daughter wasnt affected by Ryuus sobs. Fortunately, the youngling had already fallen into a deep and contented sleep after finishing her first meal. She just slept, blissfully unaware of what was going on around her while her mother cried into her fathers chest. It took a few minutes but, with Vahns presence and the warmth she fell from being in contact with him, Ryuu managed to calm down. She fretfully observed her daughters condition to make sure thetter was okay before turning to Vahn and releasing a deeply emotional sigh. As if the tension had melted from her body, Ryuu put on a radiant smile that made the tear stains on her face seem like the most masterfully done makeup in the entire world. Turning her sky blue eyes to her daughter, Ryuu gently ran her index finger near the blond downy hair and whispered, "Alise..." in a soft and clear tone. As if she knew what had just happened, little Alise showed a tiny smile on her face while continuing her blissful sleep. This caused Ryuu to be a little choked up again so Vahn continued to hold the lovably Elf while gently stroking the back of her hair. When she calmed down again, he gave her a kiss on the forehead and said, "You did well, Ryuu. Thank you for giving me another beautiful daughter..." Thisment caused Ryuu tough lightly as she reclined her head against the thick pillows supporting her, saying, "Youre so silly, Vahn...I should be the one thanking you...for everything..." Seeing that Ryuu was on the verge of falling asleep herself, which made sense considering the endeavor she just went through, Vahn gently caressed her face and said, "Rest now...we have our entire lives to express the gratitude we feel for each other." Ryuu rubbed her face against his palm, disying a gratified and tired smile on her face as she slowly closed her eyes. Even so, her arms continued to support Alise properly as thetter continued her peaceful slumber. Vahn felt guilty about parting them so soon so, for the next hour, he just watched over the mother-daughter pair before taking Alise andying her in the nearby crib. At this point, the only person left inside of the ward was Hestia, as Preasia and Syr had taken Riveria to rest in her room. She was sitting patiently on the sofa, quietly observing everything that had been happening from start to finish. Unless circ.u.mstances forced her elsewhere, Hestia was determined to witness the birth of every child in the Hearth Manor. It often felt like she was witnessing the passage of History itself, marking each significant event as an important moment in the lives of everyone residing in this ce they had made their home. And, at the center of everything, there was this boy, Vahn Mason, the man she had fallen in love with, dedicating everything she ever was, or ever will be, to. Patting her thighs in an inviting gesture, Hestias crystalline blue eyes shimmered like the surface of ake, reflecting the light from the sun and making its depths indiscernible. Vahn always felt like he could just sink into those deep blue eyes, perfectly content in the sublime feeling of rxation they could bring. Thus, epting her invitation, Vahn made his way over to the sofa,ying across its surface while using Hestias inexplicably soft thighs as a pillow. She began to run her fingers through his hair with an expression of unshakeable love and devotion on her face as she said, "You also did very well today, Vahn...now sleep..." As if falling under the influence of a powerful magic spell, Vahn felt his eyelids be heavy in an instant and, even though he didnt require sleep, Vahn epted the peaceful embrace of darkness... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //Optional Quest Completed!// [Quest: A Mans Responsibility, Repeatable] Rank: B-SS Completion Grade: A Objective: I.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Ryuu Lion (1). Ensure a safe delivery; Current Children(1) Rewards: 100,000 OP, 1x [Guardian:(Nameless)] Grade Rewards: 1x[Sacred Tree Sapling] [Sacred Tree Sapling] Rank: Unique Use: A unique tree that creates a spiritual link with the user, growing alongside them. Any injury or illness sustained by the user will drain the vitality of the tree instead. The first time a fatal blow would be suffered, the Sacred Tree would sacrifice itself to protect the user. Soulbound: Alise Mason ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Hearing the sudden notification, Vahns eyes snapped open and he reluctantly parted from Hestias plush thighs, confusing her slightly as she asked, "Is something wrong...?" Vahn gave an awkwardugh and said, "It seems little Alises guardian wants to make an appearance..." Hearing this, Hestia began to chuckle lightly, remembering that a guardian would often show up shortly after the birth. The fact it hadnt appeared yet had caused her topletely forget about it, at least until Vahns exasperatedly mentioned it. Just as Vahn had finished exining things, aplex array emerged in the air and, after a vibrant light filled the room, a small animal came into existence. It was actually much bigger than normal but, after he saw what it was, Vahn understood the reason. There, shakily trying to take its first steps, Vahn observed the appearance of what looked like a newborn fawn. Unlike a normal deer, however, this fawn had a gradient of light green fur with pale yellow dots covering its back. Most notably, it had veryrge and adorable ears and, though it had the basic figure of a fawn, there were two nubs where horns would likely sprout in the future. As for its species, the system notification said it was a Spirit Deer, an incredibly rare animal that could fill an entire forest with lush greenery with just its presence alone. It was said that the life and death of a Spirit Deer were tied to the forest itself and, if one was killed within the grounds it once protected, the vitality of all the nts in the area would greatly diminish. Because of this property, they had been hunted in the past for their liver, which was purportedly one of the ingredients to make an Elixir of Immortality. This was, of course, something that had been fabricated by people in the past, as Vahn had seen a variety of different assumed ingredients listed in medical texts, alongside several other mythical ingredients. From the side, Hestias blue eyes had started to shine as she murmured, "Its so cute...!" while hopping off the sofa. Unfortunately, before she could get close to it, the Spirit Deer seemed to gain its footing as it leaped towards the crib where Elise was sleeping. It turned into green motes of light that infused into the sleeping Elfs body without disturbing thetter at all. Hestia, seeing this, had a defeated expression for a brief moment before coughing to ease her embarrassment. Then, as if nothing happened, she sat back down on the sofa and patted her thighs once again. Vahn fought the urge tough, which was difficult since Hestia had a very light blush on her face while trying to keep up appearances. This time, when darkness began to encroach upon his mind, Vahn was able to ease into it without any disturbances... (A/N: I tried to settle for a happy middle-ground, summarizing things while also detailing the emotions derived from the experience. Also, I know some people mightin that Anise and Alise have very simr names, as can easily be seen, so I may retcon Akis daughters name in the future if it bes confusing. However, as only the Vanir will have any real significance to the story for a while, I may just leave it as it.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Being thin and lithe can make birthing very difficult (O_O)...,Poor Ryuu...she really did live a troubled life...,The Path can be a d.i.c.k xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 734 - Calm

Chapter 734 - Calm

After sleeping for a few short hours, Vahn awoke to find Hestia slumped over his body with her b.r.e.a.s.ts nearly pressed into his face. Moving his head slightly, Vahns nose brushed against the fabric of her dress but, as she had stayed up much longer than she normally did, Hestia stayed sleeping. The fact that she wasnt clinging to him was a bit surprising to Vahn but, considering she had moments where she just wanted tofort him, he couldnt help but smile. Then, after extricating himself from herp, Vahn guided Hestia toy on the sofa before covering her with a thick nket to keep warm. While alternating between watching Hestias and Ryuus sleeping faces, Vahn sensed a very slight fluctuation within his domain. Moving over to Alises crib, he picked up the young Elf and cradled her in his arms, sending strands of calming energy into her body since it seemed like she was going to cry. Vahn didnt want to disturb Hesti and Ryuu, especially considering how exhausted Ryuu must be from the seventeen-hour delivery. Thus, after confirming both girls were sleeping stably, Vahn carried Alise into the maternity ward where he found Tsubaki and Mona conversing while b.r.e.a.s.tfeeding Sakuya and Anise. Though Monas contract had only covered acting as a wet nurse for the Vanir, the terms of her contract had been for a two year period and, as the Vanir had already weaned, she decided to help out with the other children to ease the burden of their mothers. Noticing his presence, Tsubaki smiled and, seeing the bundle in Vahns arms, softly asked, "Ah, did the little one wake up~?" Mona also showed a small smile and, though her chest felt a little fluttery, she didnt make any movement to hide her exposed b.r.e.a.s.t from view. At this point, her mentality had adapted to Vahns presence so she said, "Anise should be done soon...I can take care of her next..." Vahn nodded, carrying Alise over and sitting to the left of Tsubaki, even though there had been space between the two buxom women. He still tried to be considerate of Mona, even if thetter had stopped minding his presence. Tsubaki issued a huskyugh as she mused, "This one has a voracious appetite. She is going to grow up to a be a powerful warrior, I can already tell~." Though Tsubaki already knew that her daughter had be strong in the Divination, seeing her so healthy and full of life made things far more real. Sakuya was steadily increasing in weight and, though it would be a while before she was crawling about, she was constantly moving around and iling her arms and legs in the crib. She was a bit of a crybaby, but Tsubaki didnt mind at all since it made her feel plete being able tofort her daughter... Peering into Sakuyas face, Vahn saw the little brown-skinned girl looking back at him with her startlingly green eyes. They had a lovely almond shape and, though he already knew this was the case, it was easy to see that she would be quite the beauty in the future. Currently, she was putting on a healthy amount of baby fat but, as a result of her dual heritage between Human and Dwarf, Sakuyas strength and vitality set her apart from others, such as Meinya and Anise. The two kittens spent nearly 17 hours a day sleeping and, while Sakuya also spent a fair amount of time sleeping, it was only around 13-14 hours. Finished feeding Anise, Mona passed her over to Vahn in exchange for Alise, asking, "And whats this ones name...?" However, before waiting for an answer, Monas eyes widened when she saw Alise, remarking, "My goodness, she is so cute...Ive never seen an Elven baby before..." Distracted by Alises appearance, Mona began to wiggle her finger in front of the young Elfs nose, an affectionate smile on her face. Alise, however, didnt seem too fond of the interaction and, as she was very hungry, started to strain her face as tears began to build in her eyes. Realizing this, Mona gave an apologetic smile and, after shifting her top and exposing her other b.r.e.a.s.t, began feeing the teary-eyed Elf while her own heart danced around happily in her chest. Vahn watched their small interaction with a small smile before turning his attention to Anise, bringing her to his shoulder to burp her so she didnt breathe in any of the excess milk. When she released a high-pitched cough, followed by a burping sound, Vahn chuckled lightly. He began to hum a small tune while gently stroking Anises small back, urging the young Cat Person back to sleep since rest was very important to young children. When she began to purr against his chest, Vahn felt like his heart was going to explode, earning a few yful remarks from Tsubaki about his ability to coax young girls. In normal circ.u.mstances, Vahn would have just shrugged off such remarks but, considering he was supposed to celebrate Lefiyas birthday tomorrow, the image of the bashful Elf popped up within his mind. However, before he could enjoy pampering his faithful disciple, Vahn would have to deal with Freya, a matter that was creeping up on him very quickly. It was just after 6 AM now but, considering Freyas personality, Vahn expected she would show up very early. Even if she wanted to be considerate about the fact that Ryuu had just given birth, Vahn didnt expect she would arrive anyter than 10 AM. In a way, this was a good thing, as it meant he would have more time to deal with her, but, at the same time, Vahn felt troubled since he would rather spend the day just watching over Ryuu and the children in the maternity ward... Realizing she had triggered Vahn, Tsubaki gave him a very slight look of reproach as she inly stated, "Vahn, you really shouldnt worry about things so often. Never forget that we all support your decisions, no matter what you decide to do..." Vahn nodded his head, feeling revitalized by Tsubakis guiding words as he smiled and said, "This is something I decided to do, and Ill see it through till the end. I just get a little overwhelmed after the birth of one of my children...it isnt easy separating from them, especially since theyre all so adorable..." Thisment earned him a nod from both girls, as they clearly agreed wholeheartedly with his words... Knowing it would be worse if he was informed of Freyas arrival while he was with the children, Vahn only spent an hour in the maternity ward before returning Alise to her crib. Then, after giving Ryuu and Hestia a kiss on the forehead, Vahn left the ward and began mentally preparing himself for what was toe. In regards to Freya, Vahn knew he had to be very decisive. If he allowed her to get an advantage against him, she would probably be a terrifyingly difficult opponent, exceeding even Syr. The difference between a pseudo-Divinity and a fully developed Divinity were, quite literally, the difference between Heaven and Earth. Freya was known as one of the most prolific amongst the goddesses who possessed such qualities, though only because her affairs were generally well doc.u.mented. In truth,pared to some other goddesses of Love and Beauty, Freya didnt actually sleep around that often. Many such gods would be the managers of brothels while, in some extreme cases, the gods and goddesses would serve as p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es in their own establishments. Freya, however, was very selective in who she chose to sleep with, as her Divinitypelled her to only select people she deemed capable, or worthy of her affections. This was the reason why she groomed so many men and women into powerful Adventurers, as only those that had proven themselves could win a ce in her heart. Like many gods, Freya was bis.e.x.u.a.l in nature, showing no preference between men and women, other than the fact that men were generally stronger. There were even some rumors, though the people that spread them would often disappear, iming that her preferences extended beyond the surface races as well. Freyas charm was supposed to be so irresistible that animals, monsters, and even some gods were subjected to her whims. Vahn could clearly remember the incident where she had gotten a Variant Silverback to attack Bell in the manga, so there was certainly some truth to the im. However, he didnt believe she was the deviant that some of her naysayers made her out to be, especially since her character showed that her requirements in a partner were rather high. Vahn knew that, after she had observed his soul, Freyas opinion of him had drastically changed and, even though she had already been willing to make the necessary vows, she now showed an almost fervent eagerness. If she wasnt restrained, Vahn wouldnt be surprised if Freya began lingering around the Manor and, if she couldnt get what she wanted, there was a chance she might do something drastic in the future. To prevent this, Vahn knew he had to, forck of better term, tame the seemingly untameable goddess. He would likely have to be very firm in how he dealt with her in the future, especially since her vows would prohibit her from sleeping with other men until their child matured. With such a restriction in ce, Freya would undoubtedlye to him to deal with her urges and, if he didnt tend to her on asion, there was no telling what she might do. However, though it was very troubling in the interim, Vahn was optimistic that Freya would actually mellow out a bit in the future. He had seen how much Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, and Hestia had changed since he began interacting with them, even though gods generally didnt undergo many changes in their perspectives that had been cultivated over millions of years. Since it was something he had seen numerous times at this point, Vahn believed he would be able to set Freya on a better path and, in the future, even help her be a much better person once the influence of her Divinity could be mitigated. After all, though he might only have to deal with her for a decade or two now, Vahns return to the record in the future meant he would have her at his side almost indefinitely. As an immortal himself, it wasnt impossible that they would be together for millions of years so, even if it seemed troublesome, Vahn was determined to help Freya correct her ways. Instead of putting people through trials that were supposed to increase their potential, he would show her that the only thing required was helping them cultivate the proper mentality. With the School opening very soon, Vahn was confident that many of the future graduates would be reputable people in whichever career field they chose. For those that became Adventurers, Mages, and Schrs, Vahn believed they would bring about real andsting change in the world while forging their own small legends. When Freya saw how the potential of people could be increased without breaking them, Vahn believed she would wholeheartedly back his efforts instead of continuing her destructive methods of helping people realize their potential. Vahn believed that it was generally the fault of the Master, Teacher, or Mentor that a person didnt reach their full potential, not the fault of the student. Everyone had the potential to grow strong and, aftering to understand some of the fundamentalws that governed the world, Vahn knew there were no exceptions to this. Though a person might be restricted by the Tier of their soul, it wasnt impossible to ovee such restrictions. Not only would this benefit you in the life you lived, but all your future incarnations as well. This meant that, even if a persons potential seemed limited, they just needed a teacher to help them break through such limits and rise above the fate that had been assigned to them at birth. It wasnt the virtue of ones birth that decided if a person would be capable in the future, but a culmination of their upbringing, their willpower, and the people that supported their growth. Just a single one of these things could allow a person to be strong, even if theycked the other two... For the time being, it wasnt practical to make such methods known, as the state of the world wasnt conducive for such an environment, but Vahn knew this would not always be the case. One day, after the Tier restriction of the record was removed, there would be an endless number of paths that could lead people above even the realm of the gods. Vahn, and hispanions would clear an easier path for those that wished to follow them and, after a few hundred years, the very concept of limited potential would simply be the crutch of ipetent teachers, not a generally epted fact of life. Thinking this, Vahn found himself wandering to where the first Cultivator in this world was located, Fenrirs bedroom. Every time he needed to mentally prepare himself for something, Vahn found that he would often rely on Fenrirs assistance to do so. In many ways, she was his own crutch but, considering that she seemed happy to fulfill such a heavy responsibility, Vahn couldnt help but rely on the lovable little Vanargandr. This time as well, when Vahn entered into her icy chamber, she was already waiting for him with her exceptionally fluffy tail, floppy ears, and soft hair. Unlike the bristly hair of the past, Fenrir had put in a lot of effort to make herself fluffy, using Preasia as a temte, so Vahn made sure she knew how much he appreciated her efforts... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is going to need a very pointy stick to keep the suitors away from his daughters...,Vahn is going to make a Tiered Teaching System xD...Square up, hosers!,Extra Fluffy Murder Floof (U,...,U)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 735 - *Spoilers, Title at End*

Chapter 735 - *Spoilers, Title at End*

Vahn wasnt surprised when, around 9:30 AM, there was a fluctuation in the formation surrounding the Manor. Though it could be anyone, Vahn believed it was undoubtedly Freya so, having enjoyed his snuggle session with Fenrir, Vahn stroked her fluffy ears and said, "Thank you, Fenrir. I can always rely on you..." Letting her Master freely y with her ears, Fenrir lightly nodded, saying, "Yes, I will always be here for Master..." Then, after sharing a long kiss, Vahn left behind the icy cold chamber which, to him, felt like a very warm andfortable ce. Shortly after he left the room, Vahn heard Emirus voice in his head, exining, ("Master, Freya has shown up at the gate. Should we lead her to the guest residence...?") Though they couldnt see the action, Vahn nodded his head and responded, ("Yes. Please inform Loki, if she isnt already aware.") This time, instead of Emiru, Vahn heard Maemis voice respond, ("Loki-sama is already aware. She said to give her a few minutes to get prepared...") Though she hadnt been in the ward for the delivery of Alise, Loki had stayed upte with the other girls, partying and drinking until nearly 2 AM. Since she had never been a morning person, Vahn knew it would take her more than a few minutes to prepare. Since he knew her very well, Vahn suspected this was to give him a moment to confront Freya on his own. If he wasnt able to control the momentum of the conversation on his own, Loki would likely make an appearance to shift the flow in his favor. After all, Loki knew that Freya wasing by this morning and, though she acted uninhibited at times, almost every action she took was calcted. Waiting for him in the foyer, Vahn saw Syr and Maemi, thetter of which was adorned in her battle-maid outfit as she patiently waited to escort him. As for Syr, she was wearing a nightgown, obviouslying to intercept him after hearing about Freyas arrival. Her light-grey eyes, which were usually calm and gentle, contained a hint of unease that marred her pretty face. Vahn knew what she was worried about so, before she had to voice her concerns, he stepped next to her with [Shundo]. She was surprised by the spontaneous movement but, in the next instant, Vahn had already tightly hugged her as he soothingly stated, "Dont worry, Syr...everything will be fine..." Though they had never discussed it openly, Vahn knew that Syr was very worried that Freya would destroy the happy home they had built together. Because Syr had been the goddess protege in the past, the impression she had of Freya was that of a woman who would do whatever it took to get what she wanted. And, with her unrivaled charm, perfect appearance, and wealth of experience, Freya often did just that. There were few things that prevented her from acting as she pleased, at least before the existence of the Alliance. Still, if she managed to somehow get her ws into Vahn, everything they had worked so hard to build up could be broken down overnight... For several long seconds, silence dominated the foyers atmosphere until Syr finally released a soft sigh and said, "I believe in you, Vahn...you have the power to change everything, even the very world around you. I know that, in time, even Freya might fall under the influence of your capabilities...just promise me one thing..." Syr had turned her eyes up, looking directly into Vahns eyes as she firmly stated, "Never, ever, let that woman take the lead and try to make you do as she pleases. Dont let her involve herself in the heart of our matters...at least, not until everyone epts her. She isnt like us, the people that have banded together to share happiness...Freya is a greedy and possessive woman. The only thing that keeps her from trying to take you away from us is that shecks the power to do so..." Vahn nodded his head in understanding, cupping Syrs face with his palm as he calmly stated, "I understand, Syr...dont worry, I have my own methods of dealing with Freya. Just remember, regardless of what she has done, the child she bears does not carry her sins. In the future, when we ept them into our home, please treat them just like everyone else..." Syr was slightly taken aback by Vahns words, rolling her eyes and hugging him tightly as she said, "Obviously. Children cant be med for the type of people their parents are. Dont worry, Vahn, Ill cherish all of your children as if they were my own..." Then, as if realizing what she had just said, Syr showed a mischevious smile as a yful glint appeared in her eyes, saying, "Though, you know, I would prefer to have my own someday~." Releasing a heartyugh, Vahn lowered his right hand from the small of Syrs back, lightly pinching her butt as he said, "You just have to let me know when youre ready. I always am~."Feeling the prickish sensation that caused her to flinch, Syr lightly beat Vahns chest and said, "Dont you bully me, Vahn Mason...!" in a harsh whisper. Still, even though she felt embarrassed, Syr also felt a great deal of relief at Vahns words. She knew that, if not for her desire to leave things to fate, he would have already i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed her long ago. If she truly wanted to, the only thing she needed to do was ask and, just as he had always been reliable in the past, Syr knew Vahn woulde through for her... After one more parting embrace, made longer by the passionate kiss the Syr had decided to gift him with, Vahn finally left the Manor with Maemi escorting him. Since he noticed that her tail was somewhat stiff, with a vibrant pink aura listing in his direct, Vahn decided to reward his faithful maid with a hug from behind once they reached the Guest Residence. Her rtively thick tail began to twitch against his lower body as Maemi startlingly eximed, "M-Master!?" Then, kissing the back of her head, Vahn whispered into the adorable rounded ears atop her head, "You and your sister only have to ask as well, you know~?" Like red wine diffusing through cloth, Maemis aura transitioned into a passionate red as she released a hot sigh and said, "Maaaster..." However, much to Vahns surprise, Maemis next words were, "Emiru and I dont want to have children just yet...we want to serve Master for as long as possible...at least until Master wants us to bear his children...then well happily give up your bodies for you~." Though Maemis switch had been flipped, she was still honest in her admission of the facts. The only dream she and her sister had was to serve a kind and handsome Master, escaping the boring and rural lifestyle of their tribe. Besides, they were still very young and, under their Masters care, Maemi and Emiru knew they had plenty of time before they needed to have children... Nodding his head, Vahn gently stroked Maemis hair and ears before making his way inside to finally confront Freya. He knew he had been dying things a little more than necessary but, as he had already developed the habit of making his guests wait, Vahn didnt let it bother him too much. When he entered into the room, however, his expression had already turned calm and steady, even though he had previously been smiling casually while interacting with Maemi. He gave a curt nod to Emiru, who had been waiting inside for his arrival, allowing her to rejoin her sister as they returned to the Manor. As she passed by him, however, Emiru had stopped and, understanding what she wanted, Vahn produced a small smile and stroked her head before sending her on her way. The entire time this was going on, Freya was sitting on the sofa facing the door, silver eyes focused on his every action. She had a very calm disposition right now but Vahn hadnt missed the fervent glint in her eyes, nor the colossal red, pink, and green aura radiating from her body. When Emiru finally left the room, Vahn turned to her with a calm expression on his face and said, "If youre trying to get on my good side, it wont do you any favors to look at the girls around me with hatred and envy..." When she heard this, Freyas perfect brows raised slightly before she began tough in an elegant manner. Afterward, she slowly and enticingly uncrossed her legs in an obvious attempt to draw his gaze before fixing her posture with one leg resting on the knee of her other. Vahn felt like a warm and fuzzy sensation had flooded through his mind in an instant but, the moment his [Will of the Emperor] took effect, it faded away. Even so, there was a lingering sensation in his body for a minuscule amount of time as his [Magia Erebea] disposition,bined with the natural purification effects of his blood,pletely removed the external influence. His expression hadnt even changed in the slightest as he walked over to the opposite sofa and sat down, casually asking, "So, what brings you here so early, Freya?" Seeing how easily Vahn had dealt with her charm, Freya couldnt help smiling with a bit of excitement as she sensually intoned, "My, please dont tease me too much, Vahn...unless...oh? Do you have the habit of forcing women to describe to you their thoughts and feelings~? Did you want me to tell you how badly I want you to ravish my cold and lonely body~?" Though she had started off in a sensual monotone, Freyas cheeks started to be slightly flushed as a passionate glint passed through her eyes. She couldnt help it as, knowing that she would finally get to sample the boy that had left a deep impression on her heart, Freyas body had started to heat up on its own. Vahn had obviously noticed her reaction, as she wasnt making any effort at all to restrain her aura. Currently, there were thick red tendrils wrapping possessively around his body and, if not for the fact she probably didnt wish to offend him, Freya likely would have gone on the offensive. As for Vahn himself, he was surprised that she had so easily given up the momentum of the conversation by letting her emotions get the better of her. It was starting to seem like the impression he had left on her heart was deeper than he had expected. Still keeping his casual expression, Vahn decided to test Freya by asking, "So, how is your son doing? I heard he was named Ottar as well...?" For a brief moment, Freya had an almost pained look on her face, clearly upset that things were going so slowly. Even so, she tried to keep herposure by lightly touching her cheek and saying, "Yes...Ottar is an inherited name, you see. Back within the Boaz tribes, the firstborn son always inherited the name of their father. Though Ottar himself was an exception to this, he wanted to carry on the tradition of his people. In the future, he hopes that his son will carry on the legacy he left behind...fuuuu..." Having information the Boaz people within his mind, Vahn knew that Freya was speaking the truth. Still, he was a little ufortable seeing that Freya didnt seem to have any feelings on the matter at all. Deciding to rify his suspicions, Vahn asked, "Well, how is he doing? Have you been caring for him properly as a mother...?" Freyas eyes squinted slightly when she heard Vahns questions, understanding what he was trying to do. Even so, she wasnt going to try and fool him and, instead, simply stated, "Because I didnt want to make a bad impression on you, Ive been trying to care for him on asion. However, Ill admit, Im not exactly suited to be a mother. Ottar usually takes care of him personally and, when he is busy with missions, I let the servants look after him..." Though he was doing his best to remain unfazed, Vahn released a slight sigh when he heard Freyas exnation. He didnt even have to guess that, if not for the fact she didnt want topletely ruin his impression of her, Freya would have never even interacted with the young Ottar. She seemed so disinterested in her own child, something that unnerved Vahn a great deal as he said, "You should work on it...being a parent is a true blessing. If you really want to get on my good side, the least you can do is attempt to be a good mother..." Freya frowned slightly, crossing her arms to lift her perfectly shaped b.r.e.a.s.ts, which were neither toorge nor too small. Averting her eyes away from him, she muttered in a distant and tired voice, "I am constantly making concessions on behalf of the Alliance, even though Ive gained very little in the way of benefits. Even now, Im prepared to give up my child to you in the future, all to appease the conditions Loki, Hephaestus, and Hestia hadid out for me. Now, after Ive done so much, acted so patiently, even when it was very difficult, you still ask more of me..?" Vahn was surprised by Freyas behavior but, before he was even able to offer up any words of his own, she released another sigh and said, "Fine. I will do as you say, but not without having a promise from you in return. Im tired of being made to take vows, suffer restrictions, and denied the things I want to obtain. If it will make you treat my matters seriously, Ill swear a vow to try and be a good mother. In exchange, I want you to at least promise that you wont shun my affections in the future...you dont understand how my body craves, Vahn. If I have to give up on other people, youll have to take their ce...all of their ces..." By the end of her words, Freya had a very serious expression on her face and Vahn could see she was looking for any signs that he was going to try and foot around the issue. However, her expression morphed into one of surprise and confusion when he simply smiled and said, "I wont simply make you take a vow one-sidedly, Freya. I swear, on my name, Vahn Mason, Sage Aldrnari, and Captain of the Hestia Familia, to make sure you are more satisfied than any of your previous experiences. In fact, you can consider it a matter of pride as, though you may be unaware of it, I also possess another title...to those that have experienced my capabilities, I am affectionately referred to as the Godhand..." When she heard him take a vow, Freya was very surprised but, when she heard thetter half of his words, she couldnt help but feel amused. As capable as he might be, and Freya had no doubt he was very capable, she believed he was overestimating himself. He might have been able to get an advantage against other girls, or even goddesses, but nothing could have prepared him for what she would do once they, finally, had s.e.x. There wasnt even a god alive, including those with simr Divinities, that had been able to best her in the bedroom. And, though Vahn likely had some degree of prowess, Freya knew he wouldnt be able to match up to gods with Divinities rted to S.e.x. Feeling slightly amused by Vahns im, Freya believed she might be able to take advantage of this in the future. Since he wouldnt be able to make good on his promise, she would be able to have s.e.x with him whenever she wanted. Though those troublesome goddesses would undoubtedly interfere, she would at least be able to satisfy her urges a lot more than she initially anticipated. With time, she may even be able topletely conquer Vahns heart and mind, stealing him away from the other girls after he was no longer able to live without her body. Thus, with a smile on her face, Freya squinted her eyes and said, "Then I, Freya, Goddess of Beauty, Ruler of the Freya Familia, hereby swear that, as long as Vahn Mason is able to satisfy me, I will endeavor to be a mother in ordance to his expectations~." Small chains, formed by thews of the world, coiled around the souls of Vahn and Freya, patiently waiting for thepletion of the vows both of them had made. Vahn, seeing how confident and yful Freya had be, almost as if she had already won, just issued a small smile. Even if she was able to resist his [Grooming] and [Hands of Nirvana], Vahn knew there were two things she could do nothing about. If he made proper use of his [Enkidu], or melded together with her aura, Vahn knew it would quickly end as his victory. Even if his body and mind would have been consumed by the power of her Divinity if he had attempted to do so as a normal person, he had his [Will of the Emperor] to keep his mind from wavering. The only time it wasnt effective was when he gave in to his own thoughts and emotions, not when an external force tried to act on him. By the time Freya realized what had happened, Vahn swore that he would have already revealed if, like a Beast Human, Freya had a unique cry when she waspletely satisfied... Thus, within the well-lit reception room of the Guest Residence, two people, one mortal, one goddess, looked at each other with amused expressions. There was a clear expectation in both of their eyes as each had already bepletely assured of their victory. However, they were not entirely alone as, peeking through a false panel located behind a painting, a mischevious trickster goddess was desperately fighting the urge tough out loud. Seeing Freya willingly walk down the path of her own demise gave Loki to urge to immortalize the moment for posterity. Thus, after pulling out a pen and paper, she began scribbling down the details of the event she had just witnessed, determined to shove it into Freyas face the first chance she had... Title: Godhand Vs. Freya (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir is the goodest girl, always, and forever,RIP Freya-sama...,Loki is looking a lot like a perverted sage from a foreign record...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 736 - Decisiveness

Chapter 736 - Decisiveness

A few minutes into the discussion between Vahn and Freya, after having doc.u.mented everything she had seen previously, Loki made her way into the room with a loud yawn. Freya had been thinking about how things would progress so, seeing Loki show up, her curiosity was piqued, asking, "Ara~? Are we going to have an audience~?" Instead of Vahn answering, Loki casuallymented, "Its not like you dont enjoy being seen, dressed like that all the time. Heck, the only thing that stops you from just walking around n.a.k.e.d is probably because you dont want lesser men to see you, right~?" Freya squinted her eyes, not even remotely fond of Lokis biting words and the usations therein. Yes, as a Goddess of Beauty, Freya needed to be seen and appreciated, but that didnt mean she was an exhibitionist. However, though she wanted to point out that the clothes Loki wore werent much better, doing so wouldnt serve any purpose. Loki wasnt the type to care about things like that so Freya, knowing exactly what Loki did care about,mented, "They say its important to keep rude remarks close to your chest but, so as not to embarrass yourself and cause conflict. However, as I can clearly see, youve never been the type to keep anything there from the start~." In response to Freyas words, Loki just beganughing loudly while creeping her way into Vahnsp without a retort. This action alone was enough to make Freyas aura flicker as a very different red began to overtake the passionate one that previously existed. Loki parted her eyes, staring directly into Freyas as she said, "Well, I trust that youve prepared everything beforeing here, right? You know, Vahn just had a child of his own and, unlike you, he cares for them very dearly. The fact that you showed up so early...how uncouth~." Taking a slow and deep breath through her nose, Freya proceeded to open up a small ornate case, producing a stack of neatly arranged contracts that had all been signed with her ichor. These were the agreements and provisions she had to follow in order to have a Vanir of her own and, though it was very troublesome, Freya needed to have one. She had never seen an existence like Vahn and, no matter what she had to give up, Freya believed it would be worthwhile if she managed to get her hands on the boy and his progeny. The fact that Loki and Hephaestus adamantly refused to let her even see the Vanir only made her desire even stronger. Loki, very slowly, perused each individual contract before signing it with her own blood, activating their effects. With a sh of blue me, the contract turned into small particles that embedded into the chests of the two goddesses. When everything was finished, this process had repeated a total of thirteen times before Loki hopped out of Vahnsp. At this point, she was desperately resisting the urge tough because it always made her feel plete whenever she managed to sessfully scheme against another god. Though this wasnt exactly a trap, Loki believed that Freya had met her match when it came to Vahn as, having experienced Freyas capabilities herself, Loki knew that she couldnt quitepare to her young lover. Patting her hands together, as if she were dusting them off after sessful days work, Loki said, "Well, lets get this over with. I want to go back to my room and take a nap." Without waiting for them, Loki beganzily making her way towards the elevator with a bored expression on her face. Freya, seeing this, had a skeptical look on her face as a hint of doubt emerged in the depths of her eyes. She had known Loki for a very long time and, after witnessing the diminutive goddess reaction, Freya felt like she had been yed the fool. However, she had gone over the terms in the contracts several times and, with Vahns previous vow, this didnt seem to be the case... Vahn knew that Loki was trying to unnerve Freya so he simply smiled while rising to his feet, extending a hand to Freya as he asked, "Shall we...?" Freya absentmindedly grabbed his hand and, after making contact, began to calm down as her elegant expression returned. With a smile of her own, she said, "Certainly~." Regardless of what Loki had cooked up, Freya would deal with that when the time came. For now, the only thing that really, truly, mattered, was that she finally got her hands on Vahn. Even if her charm didnt work on him, that didnt mean he would be immune to her techniques in the bed. Vahn wasnt even the first person that could resist her ability, and Freya had stolen all of their hearts, eventually... Now that things had reached this point, Vahn couldnt help but feel a little excited in his heart while a steady buzz was affecting his mind. Though she couldntpare to the women he truly loved, as surface beauty wasnt the only attractive feature of a person, Freya was undoubtedly the most beautiful woman Vahn had ever met. Her character might be something he could never agree with, but Vahns appreciation for her physical appearance was simr to any mans. Knowing he would not only be having s.e.x with her, but impregnating her, gave him a feeling of aplishment before the act even began. Freya was rather tall for a woman, standing at 170cm tall, and had pristine silver hair that matched the color of her eyes. Though there was a gentle violet aura that would sh across them whenever her charm activated, their natural color alone was enough to captivate most people. Her physical proportions were almost perfectly bnced with each other, possessing impably shaped b.r.e.a.s.ts, a pert and perfectly round butt, a lithe, yet shapely, figure, and long legs that gave her a sensual and elegant gait. Even while walking at his side, her h.i.p.s swayed in a seductive and appealing manner that was hard not to take notice of. Though he wasnt looking at her, Freya could sense that Vahn was appraising her body through some means she couldnt see through. This made her feel proud and, without making any efforts to conceal her body, she instead unted it. Currently, she had on her godly raiment, consisting of a ck dress that revealed all of her features clearly, leaving almost nothing to the imagination. The edges of the dress looked like frayed flower petals and, much like Hestia, she had two flower-like ornaments in her hair. The difference is, hers were ck with red ents, the same as the design of her long sleeved gloves and choker. Whenever she wore this outfit in public, it didnt matter if it was a man, woman, elderly person, child, or even animal, all would turn to marvel at and appreciate her beauty. The ride on the elevator, though short, was rather awkward since Loki stood silently at the back of the elevator while Freya leaned into Vahns shoulder, intentionally letting her soft b.r.e.a.s.ts touch his bicep. She noticed his figure, though lean, was very firm to the touch while Vahn, though appreciative of Freyas softness, couldnt help imagining that Hestias were softer. This didnt show on his face, however, as he just silently waited for the elevator to move down the short few meters before it stopped at the private chamber that was used almost exclusively for impregnating goddesses. Freya looked around, separating herself from Vahn in the process as she inspected the interior of the room. It wasnt quite to the standard she had for her own bedrooms but, considering what was about to happen, she didnt care that much and just made her way over to the bed. Vahn followed her figure with her eyes, drawn to her h.i.p.s snaking their way forward until Loki nudged him with slightly parted eyes. Vahn could tell that she wasnt really upset, as the look in her eyes was more like she was telling him, Take care of things properly. than that of reproach. Giving her a small nod, Vahn followed after Freya and began to remove his clothes, cing a piece into his Inventory with each step taken. When she looked back to see if he was following, Freya was surprised to see that Vahns chest was already bare and he had a resolute look on his face. She lightly chuckled before slowly crawling onto the bed, musing, "Youre quite eager to get started, I see~." After making herselffortable, Freya began to pluck parts of her raiment with an amused look on her face as she asked, "Surely, you dont n to get straight to business, do you~? I recall you making a vow that you would satisfy mepletely...ufufufufu~." Vahn climbed into the bed himself, kneeling with nothing but his boxers on as he confidently stated, "Well, with a Divinity that ties you to s.e.x.u.a.l pleasure, I dont imagine you would need much preparation. I dont mind going through the motions, but I figured you would at least like to remember the moment when youre i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed. If I used my normal techniques on you, it would be toote to have regrets...after all, just as you n to conquer me, I have much the same intention towards you, Freya. I will defeat you at what youre best at, carving my existence, not just onto your heart, but onto your very soul..." Though subtle, Vahns words had a supressive effect on Freya because he was still using his [Will of the Emperor] to counteract her charm. From the moment she began walking out of the elevator, Freyas eyes had turned almostpletely violet with a strange pink hue reflected whenever the light hit them at certain angles. Their battle had already begun and, so she wouldnt have an excuseter, Vahn made his intentions clear from the start. Now that things had progressed till this point, Freyas only means of escape would be using her Divinity to return to Heaven. Of this, Vahn had absolutely no doubt... Freya hadnt expected Vahn to be so overbearing but, remembering their conflict in the past, she recalled that he was always like this towards her. Unlike others, who saw her beauty and pandered to her at every chance, Vahn had always treated her firmly, in an almost cold manner. The fact that he still had that appreciative look in his eyes, which Freya expected from others, didnt do anything to change the facts. This didnt really matter to Freya, but she found his challenge to be rather amusing as the heat in her body began to increase rapidly. Strong men had their charm and, if Vahn wanted to y at being strong, Freya wasnt averse to going along with him, at least for a short while. Leaning back against the bed, Freya yfully plucked one of the petals near her lower abdomen, keeping eye contact with Vahn as she asked, "Ara, is the famous hero, Vahn Mason, actually a beast behind everyones backs~? Are you going to eat me up~?" Surprising her, Vahn nodded his head and said, "I know you will only behave if Ipletely convince you. Though Im confident I would be able toe out ahead regardless, I dont really want to spend several days locked up in this room. Youre very beautiful, Freya, probably more beautiful than any woman Ill ever meet...but, with all your surface beauty, I would still be happier to have a single smile from my children than spend more time than is necessary to deal with you..." Vahns words, while undoubtedly cruel, were his honest feelings on the matter and, though he was genuinely interested in having s.e.x with Freya, he wouldnt prioritize his curiosity over the happiness of his daughters. Just imagining them at this moment made Vahn harden his heart and, before the dazed Freya managed to recover, he grabbed the wrist of her hand that had been peeling away at her dress, pinning it to the bed as he firmly stated, "Do your best...Freya..." Though she wasnt scared, Freya was surprised at Vahns behavior until her mind clicked that he must have a sadistic side to him. Since Anubis, a very famous masochist, had even been seen walking through the streets on a leash, Freya believed he just wanted to dominate her for a bit. Licking her lips in anticipation, Freya slowly enunciated, "Nnnn, Master~." in a sensual and seductive voice. However, Vahn very quickly gave her a reason to produce a real m.o.a.n as he gently grabbed her right b.r.e.a.s.t. This confused Freya a little, as she had expected him to be rough with her, but the next momentpletely flipped her perspective upside down as a wave of energy spread through her body, making it hard to breathe. Using her free hand, she clutched at his wrist and asked, "What...nnnn...is this...!?" while trying to resist the overwhelming stimtion that felt like it was going to destroy her. It had been a while since he used it to its full effect, not since his time with Eva, but Vahn had nowpletely activated his [Hands of Nirvana], using it in conjunction with his [Grooming] while injecting threads of source energy directly into the flow of energy in Freyas body. Though his actions were gentle, barely even coping a feel of her soft and malleable b.r.e.a.s.t, the reaction of Freya was that of a woman who had taken a powerful aphrodisiac. Vahn was directly stimting almost every nerve in her chest while being as gentle as possible, knowing it would actually make her more frustrated. He had learned this through his interactions with Tiona, Tione, and even Ais, now using those experiences to help him do the task that needed to be done. Freya had a pained expression on her face as her breathing began to rapidly elerate. However, instead of conceding, the look in her eyes became progressively more amorous as the petals began to ke from her body. She tried to lift her head and kiss Vahn but, after he easily evaded her lips, Freyas frustrationpounded and she tried to push him over and seize the initiative. If he wasnt going to y along, neither was she...at least that was her intention. She had severely underestimated Vahns physical strength and, after trying and failing to flip him over, Freya put on a pouting expression as she said, "I...nnn...didnt think you were so...cruel...Vahnnnnn...." Vahn gave a small smile in response, causing Freya to feel even more confused as he gently stated, "I actually promised to never go all-out with these techniques, as I was afraid the person I used them on might break. Since youre not an opponent I can deal with easily...I decided to make an exception to see if you are truly as capable as the rumors im. Besides, Im not exactly being rough with you, am I...?" As Vahn was speaking, he traced his index finger down Freyas stomach, causing her breathing to increase even further, especially when his hand came to a stop below her navel. Her brows furrowed deeply and, for the first time in her long history, Freya felt a little worried about what was toe... Just as he had done to her b.r.e.a.s.t, Vahn began to infuse all three different types of energy into Freyas body, this time starting off slow and steadily increasing the amount. He intentionally put threads of energy at all the key neve cl.u.s.ters, including one that attached the root nerve that connected to her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s. Freya paled when she started feeling the flow of energy and then began to desperately attempt to liberate her arm free from Vahn. Though the stimtion wasnt beyond her ability to cope, as her own Divinity allowed her to keep calm regardless of how excited she became, there was something within that energy that made her panic. It was something that not even her Divinity could oppose and it began to spread through her body like a corrupting force that made her heart race. Vahn watched each of Freyas reactions with his [Eyes of Truth] active, ensuring that he was constantly hitting the key points in her body, even as she pped his face and pushed at his body. Very subtly, even her Divine Power started to manifest as Freya warned, "Vaaaahnn, dont get carried awaaaay...!" Vahn, however, just continued to calmly observe Freya as he reminded, "I promised that I would make youpletely satisfied, just as you swore a vow of your own agreeing to be a good mother if I made good on my promise. Even if you muster up your Divine Power, you cant actually use your Arcanum against me, can you...?" At this point, Freya was breathing very raggedly and, even though there was a divine aura radiating from her body, just as Vahn stated, she couldnt actually do anything to him. Other than put on a front and try to scare him, she was powerless to muster any meaningful defense as a result of the various vows she had taken. Realizing she had severely underestimated Vahn, Freya looked towards Loki with usatory eyes, only to see that the trickster goddess had an amused smile on her face as she wrote down in a journal. In the next instant, the only thing going through Freyas mind, at least until her Divinity cleared her thoughts, was pure white. Having noticed the gap created by Freya, as a result of looking towards Loki, Vahn moved his hand down in a deft manner and ced his index finger against the scarily perfect vulva of Freya. Though her entire appeared seemed to be without any ws, the structure of Freyas v.a.g.i.n.a was like it had been carved from a piece of pristine white jade. It actually seemed to radiate a divine light that made it hard not to simply stare and gape at it. Vahn assumed this was rted to her Divinity, but it was still a nerve-wracking sight that made his heart race. The only thing that kept him from outright ravishing Freya was the influence of his [Will of the Emperor]. It was with this crystal clear state of mind that Vahn, using that momentary gap, pinched Freyas c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s, sending a thread of energy straight into the sensitive nerve cl.u.s.ter and causing the proud goddess to break like a dam... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Walking into the dragons den...,Dan-na-sa-ma~?,Today, you will learn) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 737 - Collapse

Chapter 737 - Copse

After breaking through Freyas preliminary defenses, Vahn expected things would be rtively straightforward from then onwards. He truly didnt want to be so hard on Freya, or anyone really, but she would be too dangerous unless he had the means to reign her in. Unfortunately, he had seriously underestimated Freyas Divinity as, the moment he forced her to climax, her entire body began to emit a glow that could only be seen through his [Eyes of Truth]. Freyas eyes regained their focus very quickly and, even though her body was being wracked by a powerful orgasm, she managed to make eye contact with him, violet eyes glimmering with powerfulpulsive light. Along with her aura coiling around him, Vahn felt like his entire body was being heated up very rapidly as Freyas charm effect crashed against his mental defenses like a tidal wave smashing against the shore. However, Vahns mind remainedpletely clear, the only fluctuations a result of his appreciation of her beauty and his own intrigue. As for the heat that was trying to settle within his body, Vahns natural recovery allowed him to simply shrug it off without it having anysting effect. If not for the fact that Freya was constantly outputting the overbearingly powerful charm, Vahns body would even feel the effects at all. With his fingers already positioned near her steamy entrance, Vahn began tracing the inside of Freyas vulva while holding eye contact with her. It was almost as though they were having a battle of wills but, even though her Divinity seemed to be giving her increased rity, Vahn was confident his Innate would oust her ability to cope. Even Eva had fallen to his hands numerous times, with a body that had nigh-instantaneous regeneration. There was also the simple fact that, though Freya was able to use her ability to charm, and was influenced by her Divinity, she couldnt use her full power without ess to her Arcanum. With a calm smile on his face, even though his eyes belied his heated state, Vahn softly said, "Im impressed...truly...but, unless you submit willingly, things will only get more difficult for you..." Using his middle and index fingers, Vahn probed into Freyas entrance, eliciting a gasp from her as she lifted her h.i.p.s in futile resistance. At the same time, he was tracing a slow circle around her sensitive little bead while using a surprising amount of strength to try and extricate her pinned hand from his grasp. Curiously, she didnt seem to make any efforts to stop his busy hand, leading Vahn to believe she couldnt stop it... Casting a nce towards her divine s.e.x.u.a.l organ, Vahn peered into Freyas body and took note of a few sensitive areas, testing them with his fingers briefly before turning to watch her expression. Freya, doing her best to control the throaty and sensual m.o.a.ns escaping her lips, clenched her teeth and said, "Even if you have some strange techniques, youll never be able topletely satisfy me without having s.e.x. Stall as long as you want, but Ill stille out ahead in the end..!" Freya did know what technique Vahn was using but, as stimting as it might be, she would never be satisfied with mere forey. The only thing he was aplishing was riling her body up, nourishing her s.e.x drive further while increasing the tensions in her body. Vahn nodded his head slowly, stating, "Dont worry, Freya, Im perfectly aware of that..." For a moment, Vahn almost wanted to rify that he wasnt afraid of having s.e.x with her, as it was actually something he was looking forward to. The truth of the matter is, just like he had so many inhibitions towards Anubis, Vahn didnt really want to have the experience of breaking a woman. His hesitation was the result of knowing that, when he finally stepped across that final threshold, Freya probably wouldnt be able to satisfy herself with normal methods anymore. With a Divinity rted to S.e.x, there is no way she would be content with a lesser experience than what she knew was possible to achieve with him... Bending his fingers into an arch, Vahn pressed into one of Freyas sensitive spots and lifted her h.i.p.s, causing her to twitch and convulse as a result. Even so, the rity in her eyes actually seemed to be increasing as a result of her heightened state. This was actually intentional on Vahns part, as he wanted her to bepletely aware of what happened next. Thus, after waiting for her convulsions to slow, Vahn removed his fingers from the sacred hole that seemed to cling to him before making an audible pop as Freyas h.i.p.s dropped to the bed. It was at this point that Vahn finally released Freyas pinned wrist, causing her to immediately cling to his body in an attempt to steal his lips. Vahn, however, just traced his fingers quickly up her abdomen, causing all her muscles to seize for an instant as her back arched. In a firm andmanding tone, Vahn said, "Behave...after all, I told you that I would take care of things. Are you afraid that youll lose without having to put up a fight...?" While speaking, Vahn lifted Freyas right leg, marveling at how easily it swiveled until her foot was near her head. He had to admit, she was very flexible and, as a result of her weakened resistance, she moved easily under his guidance. Continuing his words, while moving to a spot between Freyas legs, he looked into her expectant eyes and said, "Dont worry, Im going to give you what you want. From here on, its a battle to see if a Goddess of S.e.x, is actually able tost against my Godhand..." Instead of putting up any resistance, Freya just brought her right leg down a bit while bringing up her left leg, letting themy spread in an inviting gesture while slightly lifting her h.i.p.s. Vahn removed thest vestiges of his clothing, revealing the proud dragon that seemed hungry for the flesh of a goddess. Freya saw his revealed member and the light in her eyes shimmered vibrantly as she muttered, "Impressive..." in a husky voice. Vahn smiled, both as a result of herpliment and what was toe. He ced his ns near her lower abdomen, slowly scraping downwards until he reached the sacred divide. There was a tingling sensation that seemed to coil around his p.e.n.i.s, spreading through his testicles and even touching at something deep inside of himself. It was an almost unbearable sensation, but Vahn tolerated it as he asked, "How about a bet this time, nothing too serious, just a matter of personal pride...? Freya was beginning to grow impatient with Vahns teasing but, for fear that things woulde to a quick end, she reluctantly asked, "Oh...? What did you have in mind, Vahn Mason~?" Bringing his ns right near her entrance, which seemed to pull him inwards, Vahn replied, "Its simple...if you can make me c.u.m first, itll be your victory. However, if I make you climax more than ten times before youre able to manage it, youll have to concede...how does that sound?" Freya wasnt a fool and, though she had suffered some setbacks, her suspicions were triggered instantly. However, she couldnt simply refuse a challenge when it came to the thing she prided herself as peerless in. After frowning for a short while, she eventually responded, saying, "Ill ept, but on a condition..." Vahn slowly nodded, his mind currently more focused on resisting the temptation faced by his ravenous dragon. Seeing his current state, Freya felt emboldened as she said, "You can use your strange techniques, but you have to let me take charge. Youve already had a lot of advantages, surely you can afford me one~?" The fact that Freya had willingly walked into his trap nearly made Vahn smile and immediately ept. Fortunately, though perhaps not so for Freya, he was distracted by what was going on down below and hadnt been paying full attention to her words. It was actually his sub-process mind that picked up on her words, causing him to casually nod and say, "I agree. Show me the techniques of a goddess that prides herself as peerless..." The moment he gave his ascent, Vahn felt like his world had been flipped upside down. Freya had immediately reversed their positions and was now pressing her b.r.e.a.s.ts to his chest while her feet straddled his sides. This time, Freya was determined to steal a kiss from Vahn so she had sat high up his abdomen, grabbed his head like a vice, and seized them for herself. She tensed up and released a nasally m.o.a.n when he grabbed her butt and began massaging it, but she ignored it for the moment and focused on her own task. She noticed that Vahn had abnormally sweet saliva and was surprisingly skilled with his tongue, not that she suffered any disadvantages. Vahn was moderately surprised when Freya seized his lips, though not as much as when her tongue seemed to elongate as she traced every part of his mouth. He was aware of her honey-like saliva invasively making its way down his throat, causing a heat to rise up from his abdomen. However, just as his body had always done, the natural aphrodisiac of Freyas saliva was rendered inert almost immediately after it took effect. When Freya finally pulled away, body trembling from her own climax, she yfullyined, "Youre really not a simple boy...but this is where your funes to an end, and mine begins..." Then, as if emting his earlier words, Freya slowly descended her h.i.p.s towards his lower body while musing, "Do your best, Vahn~." Without knowing exactly what happened, Vahn almost felt like his p.e.n.i.s was eaten in an instant. The moment his brain even processed the sensation, a tight pressure felt like it was coiling and twisting around his member while Freya released a hot and contented sigh, saying, "Finally...by the time Im done with you, no other woman will be able to satisfy you again...Dont hate me too much, Loki~." Freya took a moment to send a yful look over to where Loki was seated at the side, momentarily stalling when she noticed that the trickster goddess didnt seem concerned at all. Vahn didnt even know how to describe what his lower body was feeling right now so, exploiting the gap created by Freya, he firmly held her h.i.p.s before beginning to trace his hands up her body. Freya sharply inhaled, surprised by the stimtion as she said, "Im impressed...most men would have lost themselves the moment they put their p.e.n.i.s inside me...my interest in you is growing by the second, Vahn~." As she extended the final syble of his name, Vahn felt like Freyas insides had turned into a ck hole, forcing arger blood flow into his p.e.n.i.s as a rosy blush spread over her face. She had an almost crazed and possessive look in her eyes as she began undting her h.i.p.s, rhythmically gasping as she supported herself on his firm abdominal muscles. Though it felt like he was going to go mad from the impossible situation urring down below, Vahn channeled his [Will of the Emperor] to the extreme while his sub-process mind actually focused on the [Mantra of Eternity]. With his [Magia Erebea] state, there was no chance of Freya actually forcing him to c.u.m and, though it felt like he was constantly on the brink, his body would immediately return to normal when the stimtion her body was producing shifted to something new. It truly was indescribable what her v.a.g.i.n.a was doing to his p.e.n.i.s, almost like it was a sentient creature that was determined to wring out everyst bit of his essence, to the point it even seemed capable of taking his life on a whim... Twenty minutes in, Freya had started to turn pale since it had been very difficult to resist Vahns hands. She had tried everything, even going out of her way to buy time by trying to press herself close to his body and kissing him against. However, his hands were just as effective on her back as they were on her front, arguably even more so. Whenever his hands would roam, a persistent and pervading pleasure would spread through her body. This feeling would continue long after his hands moved away and, by this point, it was as if her entire body was as sensitive as her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s. The most troubling thing was, the amount of frustration her body felt,bined with the rity of her mind and the sensitivity of her body, felt like it was going to drive her mad. With an usatory look on her face, Freya resisted the eighth climax wracking her body and said, "This is impossible...you did something..." Without any hesitation, Vahn removed his right hand from Freyas b.r.e.a.s.t, raised it in a casual manner and stated, "I hereby swear, on my life itself, that I havent used any outside means to gain an advantage against you. This is a result of my own capabilities and youll simply have to work harder if you want to defeat me..." To prove his vow was serious, small golden chain burst out of the void and coiled around his heart. Freya stared nkly with her violet eyes wavering slightly, though she hadnt been afforded any reprieve as Vahn pinched her n.i.p.p.l.e with a great deal of force and caused her body to tremble. Pushing Freya towards her ninth climax, Vahn stated in a firm and decisive tone, "I told you that I will defeat you on my own. I dont need anything other than my own capabilities to deal with you, Freya. Once you ept this, things will be much easier for you..." Hearing this, Freya forced down hering climax and brought her knees closed until they were parallel to Vahns abdomen. Using all the force she could muster, Freya clenched down at the entrance of her v.a.g.i.n.a and began to wring Vahn forcefully, just like a Chienthrope. This only caused Vahn to momentarily clench his teeth, however, before smiling as he said, "So you can emte the s.e.x.u.a.l organs of other races...that is pretty interesting..." Furrowing her brows, Freya felt deeply frustrated because it was almost as though Vahn was just toying with her. She could clearly see that all of her techniques were effective on him and, like everyone she had been with, there was clear infatuation and appreciation in his eyes. The thing that confounded her was that, just as it seemed like he was going to be pushed over the edge, Vahns expression would soften again. It was almost like his body was adapting to everything she threw at him and, unless she could spontaneously force him to ejacte, there was no way of getting him to do so naturally. Unable to resist the rising tensions of her own body, Freya hunched over, burying her face into Vahns chest as a powerful climax wracked her body. The fact that he had made her c.u.m nine times in a row, when she hadnt gotten him to do so even once, filled her with a frustration, unlike anything she had ever felt before. She needed him to c.u.m or her body felt like it was going to break down, something she had never experienced before. This was the result of possessing a Divinity rxed to S.e.x. She simply couldnt be satisfied getting off on her own, as it almost felt like masturbation without having her insides filled with the vital fluid her body craved... Doing her best to firm her state of mind, Freyazily lifted her body and arched her back away from Vahns clutches. His hands immediately moved her h.i.p.s, one firmly grabbing her butt while the other urately targetted the sensitive bead near the connecting point of their h.i.p.s. This touch made her teeth tter slightly but, in ast desperate attempt to achieve victory, Freya sn.a.k.e.d her hand between Vahns thighs and grabbed his testicles, massaging them with her fingers as the energy from her body flowed through her fingertips. Vahn was surprised by the unexpected stimulus but, even though it felt like his tensions had peaked, causing his p.e.n.i.s to swell, the feeling retreated in the opposite direction. Freya had just started to smile when she felt the expanding of his p.e.n.i.s but, when the expected release never came, thest vestiges of her sanity seemed to have been severed. She fell into something akin of a catatonic state as the final impending climax rose to im her body. Freya made no attempt to resist the convulsions of her body as she justid powerlessly against Vahns chest and tried toprehend what just happened. It wasnt until she felt a sudden gentle touch, apanied by a warm flow of energy, that she returned to her senses, only to hear Vahn say, "Its my victory, Freya...now, if you behave, Ill give you what you want..." It was very difficult for Freya to understand her emotions right now, as it almost felt like the meaning of her existence had ceased to be. Everything was still in working order, and all the sensations of her body were still present, but the overwhelming sense of loss felt like it was going to consume her. If not for the warm embrace of this boy that had ruthlessly crushed her pride, Freya wasnt sure what she would do. In fact, she had a very powerful urge to simply try and take his life and, if failing to do so, retreating to Heaven. This wouldnt erase the shame she felt, however, and, though it was hard to ascertain why, Freya felt grounded by Vahns embrace. Vahn had no idea what was going Freyas mind right now, only that it was somethingpletely outside his expectations. The moment she climaxed for the tenth time, her passionate red aura immediately transitioned into a deep violet one. It was like she had suffered a mental copse and had been consumed by fear and trepidation. When she fell powerlessly against his body, he couldnt help but try tofort her, even though his words were proiming his victory... After a few minutes of awkward silence, where Freyas v.a.g.i.n.a continued to try and wring him dry, she eventually asked in a quiet monotone, "What do I have to do to make you c.u.m...? Vahn...tell me what I need to do..." Vahns mind became slightly dulled by Freyas words while even Loki was gobsmacked by the sudden development. She had been interested to see what would happen when Freya lost, but this was far outside of her expectations. As for Vahn, he recovered his senses very quickly and, in a firm yet calm tone of voice, said, "All you have to do is ask...ask me to take care of you and follow my lead...if you behave, I will give you what you want..." Freyas breathing started to increase, almost like she was hyperventting, but Vahn noticed that pink started to spread through her aura, apanied by a few strands of red. Though she started in a quiet tone of voice, the quavering over her words developed into a plea as Freya said, "Please...please take care of me...I need your s.e.m.e.n...I need to feel your desire, your passion. I need to feel my existence...please..." A goddess of s.e.x that was unable to fulfill her purpose, that was simply something that had never happened before. The fact that Freya was the first, even though she was one of the most reputed, would be difficult for anyone to believe, especially those that knew her intimately. Vahn issued a small smile while gently stroking Freyas face, feeling both pity and a powerful sense of aplishment at the same time. Though her reaction was very drastic, Vahn believed this was a version of Freya that he could work with. Thus, to reward her and ease her mental anguish, Vahn leaned in close and gave her a very gentle kiss on the lips. This simple act caused arge portion of Freyas aura to stabilize and take on a pink glow as she gingerly reciprocated the affectionate act, almost as if it were the first time she had ever kissed someone. When their lips parting, she felt a strange sense of loss until Vahn said, "Turn over...I think its time for you to be a mother again...Dont worry, as long as you listen closely, Ill give you plenty of rewards after the fact." To punctuate his statement, Vahn gave Freya another short kiss before extricating himself from her living v.a.g.i.n.a. It was a little strange how it could feel very tight, yet he was able to pull himself out as if slipping out of a sock. To break her out of the reverie she was experiencing, Vahn gave Freya a light tap on the butt and repeated, "Turn around, Freya, or did you want to stop here...?" These words immediately brought her back to reality, causing the once-proud goddess to turn around with a start while pointing her butt towards him. Seeing this, Lokis eyes were rounded like saucers, quite the aplishment since she rarely opened her eyes. Then, for the next three hours, she watched in abject shock, intermixed with morbid fascination, as Vahn slowly tamed a goddess even Loki had feared in the past... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Simply Divine,Freyas V.a.g.i.n.a be like, "Its gr.a.p.efruit season...", (_)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 738 - Purpose

Chapter 738 - Purpose

After everything was said and done, Vahn had left the underground room to go visit Alexa. It was already muchter than he would have liked to have visit so he needed to work hard to make it up to her. As for Freya, she remained behind with Loki, thetter of which had wanted to discuss things after sending Vahn on his way. Currently, Freya just sat in a daze hugging her knees, unsure of everything that had happened while herpanion goddess, Loki, simply observed her. It was easy to see that Vahn had left a very deep impression on Freya, though the main reason for her current insecurities was the fact that she had failed. Freya had never been in a situation where she was unable toplete her purpose yet, in the face of Vahn, the only thing she could do was be given purpose. No matter how hard she tried, none of her methods were able to leave an impression on the boy unless he let her. Having taken what she wanted for so long, Freya didnt understand how she should feel when the only way she could make any progress with Vahn was to let him do as he pleased. The scariest thing was, when she left things in the hands of Vahn, it made her feel a host of emotions she wasnt sure how to act upon. If not for him telling her what to do, Freya would have felt terribly lost and, now that he had left her, that feeling began to spread through her heart and mind. As the warmth he had obtained from him began to fade, reced by this sense of loss, Freya simply curled up in an attempt to keep it for even a second longer... Loki, seeing the current state of Freya, could hardly believe she was looking at the same goddess who had toyed with others for millions of years. She never doubted that Vahn would win, especially after the day she made her vow, but, seeing how quickly he hade out ahead, Loki was awed. Still, it was what happened after that which left the deepest impression on her, as it had been a very educational experience to witness Vahn teaching the nonpareil of s.e.x what she needed to do. The fact that Freyas purpose, at that moment, had been to simply follow Vahns orders, didnt just leave an impression on Freya. Loki herself began wondering just what limits, if any, Vahn actually had...he always seemed to be able to do the impossible, time and again... After a very long period of silence, Freya lifted her head and looked over towards Loki, asking in a muted tone, "Was this...part of your n...?" Hearing this, Loki snapped out of her own daze and made eye contact with Freya for several long seconds before finally shaking her head, exining, "My only n this time around was to simply leave things in Vahns capable hands...I wanted to see how he would deal with the situation and, if things didnt go well, I would help to regain control of the situation...looks like that was an unnecessary concern, though..." Loki hadnt missed the fact that Freya trembled slightly when she mentioned Vahns hands. It gave her a very powerful urge to tease the once-proud goddess but, considering everything that had happened, that kind of action would just cause more problems in the long run. Instead, she simply asked, "So, Freya, what will you do now...?" This was a question Freya herself didnt truly know the answer to, and the thing she had been thinking about over thest few minutes. Having Loki ask what her ns were, Freya didnt know how to answer and just said, "I dont know...whenever I think about returning to my previous life, it all seems so...pointless..." Seeing the mncholy on Freyas face, Loki had to take a deep breath to keep calm as her own thoughts raced through her mind. Freya was actually an important part of several of her ns so, having her in this borderline catatonic state, would be very problematic. When her precious children saw her current condition, Loki imagined it would lead to an all-out war between the Freya and Hestia Familias. Even if Freya herselfmanded them not to, she no longer had that overbearing air of pride and control that followed her around everywhere she went. Loki wouldnt be surprised if, like Preasia had in the past, Freya began wearing thick clothes and just lingered around the Manor, waiting for Vahn to give her some attention... It was a very strange thought as, even now, Loki simply couldnt imagine Freya wearing clothes that didnt ent her figure. She had always been like an immacte silver rose, meant to be admired by everyone for her unique beauty, even if there were several thorns beyond the surface. Now, however, Freya still had that same appearance but, unlike the past, all of her thorns had been systematically clipped by Vahn. In order to prevent problems, Loki needed to artificially attach some thorns to Freyas body and mind, lest her presence bes a veritable thorn in their sides, instead of their enemies... After collecting her thoughts, Loki knew the best solution would be to use Vahns own words against Freya so, after recalling some of the things he had said, she looked into Freyas eyes, saying, "It is very simple, Freya~." When she heard Loki say this, Freyas eyes regained a bit of their light as she asked, "Then what do I need to do...?" Loki began tough in her characteristically mischevious manner before holding up her finger and eximing, "You just do what Vahn told you to do from the start! Remember, you made a vow, didnt you~?" Though she was confused for a brief moment, Freya recalled the vow she had made before Vahn broke her fragile reality into small pieces. She had promised to be a good mother if he had managed to satisfy her, something she fundamentally couldnt refute had happened. In fact, what she had received from Vahn made it almost impossible to y any value on her past interactions. After all, those had always been her doing as she pleased, taking what she wanted from her partner and, in some extreme cases, breaking them in the process. Now, she had gotten a taste of her own medicine, leaving her with a profound sense of loss as, for the time being, the only thing she could think about was waiting for Vahn to tell her what to do next... Freya now realized that Vahn had, from the very beginning, already told her what she needed to do. She had already known about his character beforehand as well, so Freya knew that, if she did what she was supposed to do, he would give her what she needed as well. Just imagining going a long period of time without Vahns care made her feel terrified, especially since she was now bound by very powerful contracts to not seek out other men. Though the provisions said nothing about women, Freya knew she would never be satisfied with such a shallow and fruitless endeavor. It was almost impossible to think that what she had taken from others was even remotelyparable to what Vahn could give her... When this thought crossed her mind, it was almost like an ambient warmth had radiated through her body and, unlike when she had been pregnant previously, Freya brought her hands to her lower abdomen and focused on the warmth contained within. After being bound by Vahns golden chains, he had given her the thing she had desired but, now that she had received his care, that desire had changed greatly. Freya wanted more, no, she needed more, just so that she could give meaning to her existence. In order to obtain what she needed, Freya knew that she would have to make good on her vow and, as incongruous as the thought felt, she knew that the only way left to her was to, as Vahn put it, behave... Seeing Freyas thought process slowly guide her towards the correct route, Loki gave a curt nod before saying, "Youre not a fool, Freya, so Ill exin it inly to you. You should already have a proper understanding of what role you yed in the Alliance. Because of your past actions, and your personality in general, you act as a natural deterrent to our enemies. Unless you want to make trouble for Vahn, you need to continue doing your duty...after all, that is the best way to guarantee you can get rewarded properly. Who knows, in time, you may even be able to receive more than just Vahns care, but his love as well~?" Freya had been listening closely to Lokis words so, when she heard thest part, her body began to tremble as a thought crossed her mind. What she had just received from Vahn had only been what he needed to give to her at that moment, not necessarily what he wanted to give to her. She could vividly recall all the moments when she was scared and full of doubt, Vahn would always show genuine concern for her, bringing her a warmth different than anything she had experienced in the past. Now, hearing Lokis words, Freya knew that was a lot more she could receive from Vahn that what he had already given her. As terrifying a thought as this was, Freya craved that feeling to the point that her body ached just imagining it... Understanding that her words had seeded themselves deeply within Freyas heart and mind, Loki cracked a crooked smile before hopping to her feet. She walked over to where Freya was still seated on the bed and, surprising the uncharacteristically demure goddess, lifted thetters chin with a sneer, asking, "How long is the proud and elegant Freya going to sit here brooding like a child? You might not know this, but your time limit to make a favorable impression on Vahn is very limited..." When she heard this, Freya jerked her chin away from Loki, scowling at her as she asked, "What are you talking about, Loki?" Lokis smile only grewrger as she slowly exined, "Youll near this very soon, but the children born between Vahn and a Goddess arent normal, not at all. They are actually an entirely new race, known as the Vanir...you see, Freya, one of the special characteristics of a Vanir is that they reach physical maturity in only five years...you understand, right~?" Hearing this, Freyas eyes widened before being reced by a serious expression as she asked, "Is that really true...?" Loki simply nodded in return before exining, "Ill introduce you to her soon, but my daughter Erika already like like she is around four years old. All of the Vanir are actually mildly cognizant from birth as well, possessing very sharp minds and remarkable potential. Your child will be much the same, but that isnt really something you need to worry about, is it~?" Because the Vanir were required to be raised in the Hearth Manor, Freya didnt really need to worry about their upbringing at all. The thing that most heavily concerned her were the vows she had made to be given the opportunity to birth a Vanir... Because of the avability of information at the time, the traits of a Vanir were not yet known and, as a result, the terms within the contracts were somewhat inurate. Freya was prohibited from having a physical rtionship with any other men until the child between her and Vahn reached physical maturity. This meant that, if Freya couldnt find a spot in Vahns heart over the next 5-6 years, a rtively short period of time for a goddess, she would likely never be able to. Because of how capable he was, and how quickly the power of the Alliance was increasing, Freyas use was also very limited. Right now, she served as a deterrent of sorts but, in the very near future, this role would no longer be necessary. The Alliance itself had almost reached a critical level of power and influence, thus invalidating the need for the services she provided. Once this happened, Freyas presence in the Alliance, unless she intended to fight for power at the top, would no longer be necessary. Since the power of the Alliance was consolidated around Vahn himself, the only way to have any real influence in the Alliance was to ce yourself at his side. If Freya failed to make an impression on him, it wasnt outside the realm of possibility that she would be thrown away in the future... Though Vahn wasnt the type of person to do such a thing, all of Freyas prior interactions with Vahn made it very clear that he had no real fondness for her. Because of her nature, she had left a bad impression on him and, from her perspective, the only reason he hadin with her in the first ce was because of the agreement made between her and the goddesses around him. They obviously wouldnt support her if she was a negative influence on Vahn so, after she gave birth to his child, Freya would only have those few short years to earn his favor. The problem was, she had no way of doing so other than doing what he had asked from her, all while fulfilling her duty to the Alliance in its full capacity. Freyas expression had turned fierce, but there was an undisguised fear in her eyes as she looked towards Loki and said, "I refuse to believe you didnt have any hand in this, Loki. There is no way Vahn simply developed those skills on his own. Even the way he handled himself, that wasnt the way a young boy of fifteen would behave... its like he is much older than he seems...tell me, what other secrets are you keeping from me!?" Because Vahn had spent so much time within the respective orbs, while also inheriting the memories of his memory fragment, it wasnt an exaggeration to say his mental development had progressed nearly twenty years since the time he hade to the City. This wasnt something most people could wrap their head around, especially if they were unaware of the methods he had used to obtain such growth. However, Loki didnt see the need to exin things so she simply snorted, asking, "And what puts you in a position to make such demands? If you want to find out the answer, youll have to hear about it from Vahn himself...of course, developing things to the point where he trusts you with such information might be pretty difficult~?" From Lokis words, Freya knew there had to be secrets, very important secrets, that she wasnt privy to at the moment. She also had no grounds to stand on in order to pressure for such secrets to be revealed, especially considering how she had acted in the past. Now, in order to avoid the terrifying prospect of being cut off from the thing she needed, Freya felt like she was being forced into a difficult position. It had always been like this, ever since she started getting involved with Vahn and the Alliance, and it was very frustrating. Now that she had experienced it, Freya needed Vahns care and concern, yet, now that he had left such a deep impression on her, the only way forward was to do as Loki suggested. She had no choice but to make good on her vow with Vahn, meaning she needed to take better care of Ottar, all while dealing with her other duties. Her children had been very rowdytely, and this was before she confessed to them that she would be unable to spend time with them. Though it didnt matter much in the past, as she would have simply culled those that tried to stir up trouble, Freya wasnt sure if Vahn would approve of such a method. Suddenly, it felt like all of her actions needed to be looked at through a filter, being Vahns approval of the methods she used... Seeing the confused look on Freyas face, Loki had an idea what the fretful goddess was thinking about. However, unlike what was going through Freyas mind, Loki knew there were some things that were simply necessary to avoid future trouble. Sitting on the bed a little bit away from Freya, she opened her slitted eyes slightly and said, "Nobody is telling you to change your methods so quickly, Freya. One thing you have to keep in mind is that Vahn simply doesnt pay that much attention to what goes on outside of his own life unless it impacts him and the people he cares about. Take care of your business, clean up any loose ends, and then work hard to be a good mother. There may be some problems in the future, but Vahn is an empathetic boy and will show you leniency as long as you take care of things in a neat and tidy manner..." Hearing this, Freya gave Loki a confused look before realization appeared on her face a momentter. For the first time since their conversation began, a smile touched Freyas lips as she asked, "Loki, have you been keeping secrets from Vahn...?" Loki snorted, opening her ruby-like eyes to reveal an almost sinister glint as she said, "You know as well as I do how f.u.c.k.i.e.d this world can be at times. Vahn is working hard to change things, but that doesnt mean things will be easy, especially if he wants to keep his hands rtively clean. Though he has the necessary decisiveness to do what is required of him, that is not the route any of us wish for him to take. When you have a better understanding of Vahn, youll understand exactly why my actions are necessary. If you cant get to that point, youll probably never be able to stand at his side...youll just be the mother of one of his children, nothing more..." Loki stood up from the bed, making her way to the elevator without continuing the conversation further. She had already said what needed to be said, so the rest was up to Freya to decide on. If she truly wished to stand at Vahns side in the future, there were plenty of actions she would have to take to get to that point. In all likelihood, she and Freya would have to work together a great deal in the future, so Loki wanted her to sort out her problems sooner, rather thanter. So, just as she pressed the mechanism to bring the elevator down, Loki looked over her shoulder and said, "Hurry along, Freya...time isnt really amodity you can afford to waste..." The elevator moved silently but, as it came to a stop, the clicking of a mechanism sounded that caused the doors to open. Loki was about to take a step through but, remembering the conversation she had with Vahn regarding the Vanir, Loki made eye contact with Freya and seriously stated, "The child you have in your belly, that is something very precious to Vahn. You would do well to care for it very seriously...dont let it end up as something like you. For your own happiness, you should make sure your own son or daughter are stable existences that wont cause problems in the future. It wouldnt end well for you if the child you give birth to causes Vahn physical, mental, or emotional strain...never forget that, Freya..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wat do...,Silver-Haired Goddess, Silver-Tongued Goddess,The shadows of Leh...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 739 - Soft Spot

Chapter 739 - Soft Spot

Once again, Vahn found himself in a situation where it felt like theing day was something that was both close, yet far away at the same time. After he left Loki to look after Freya, Vahn had gone to Terras Garden to spend some time with his daughter, Alexa. Though he could have been considered nearly thirteen days te, Alexa had been within the area waiting for him from the moment he stepped into the Space-Time orb. Feeling guilty, Vahn tried not to think too much about how he would tend to Lefiya and instead put his focus on the adorable little Dragon Princess before him. Though she was obviously upset that he had beente, Alexa had started to return to the stoic existence Vahn knew her to be before he brought Fafnir and Khaos into the orb. Without any external stress factors, as Alexa didnt consider the memory fragments real, most of her time was spent simply increasing her knowledge and trying to be stronger. This allowed her to calm down greatly and, though she was a little clingy, that was a trait Alexa had from the very beginning. It wasnt to the point of actual clinginess, but Alexa was very fond of just being in contact with him if the opportunity presented itself. This time around, Vahn taught Alexa how to meditate after she asked about methods to increase her strength and better control her emotions. Vahn told her about the efforts Fenrir was making to control her ownpulsions, and how Cultivation could allow a person to increase the strength of their Soul. At higher levels, he exined that it was even possible to be strong enough to create entire worlds, something that had caused Alexas leafy-green eyes to glimmer with stars. Thus, unable to refuse her request, Vahn spent nearly the entire duration of his stay in the orb teaching Alexa the same [Mind of Still Water, Heart of Eternal Ice] as Fenrir. When Terras memory fragment sensed the convergence of ice elemental energy, she hade to investigate. Seeing Vahn and Alexa sitting in front of each other, both assuming a lotus position with ayer of frost covering their bodies, she released a subdued sigh. Presently, thews within the Sub-Space orb were inclined towards the gathering of natural energy but, after seeing the techniques being used by her daughter, Terras memory fragment knew she needed to make an ice domain, simr to the one Fenrir used in Evas orb. Without disturbing them, she flew off to an area very far away from their cottage and began inscribing arge ward on the ground. Her ability to draw in ice elemental energy was severelycking, but that didnt mean shecked the knowledge to create an ideal ce for her daughter to train. Since Vahn cared for Alexa so dealy, Terra felt it was her duty to make sure she was able to grow healthily and be strong. Though Alexa would be limited by her age, as a True Dragons potential was tied to the development of their physical body, Terra was confident she could help her daughter reach around Level 8 before it was time for her to leave the orb. The fact that this would be purely based on Alexas capacity as a Mage would make her a truly terrifying existence within the world... Vahns final moments in the orb were spent hugging Alexa, as thetter had wanted to cuddle up with him before he left. She had wanted him to promise not to bete in the future but, considering how things typically developed, Vahn didnt want to make a promise he couldnt keep. This had upset Alexa a little but, knowing that he was still being honest with her, she eventually let him off the hook in exchange for a hug thatsted nearly an hour. She just sat in hisp, tightly hugging his body while listening to the beating of his heart. As for Vahn, he held his daughter close and cracked a small smile because of how her wings were flittering about happily... Back in the real world, Vahn experienced a small moment of confusion since Alexas weight had suddenly been reced by something much heavier. Even before he opened his eyes, Vahn already knew what was happening so he wasnt surprised to find that Terra had decided to use his body as her temporary roost. The amount of time he spent in the orb equated to a hundred minutes in reality, as the time dtion in the Sub-Space orb was 60:1. That meant, for the 100 hours he had spent with Alexa, Terra had probably spent the 100 minutes napping on his chest. When she noticed he had awakened, her wings, which had been loosely spread across the ground, slowly pulled back into a folded position as she raised her body, smiling down at him in the process. Before Vahn could ask what she was thinking, Terra had already started exining, "I know you had to go spend time with that woman. Now that youve reset by going into the orb, I wanted to be here for you when you awoke...so, my Master, will you reward this little Dragons faithfulness~?" Currently, it was a little past the time for dinner so Terra believed there was a good chance she could get her Masters favor, considering the circ.u.mstances. When she saw him smile, her wings had already started to make a rustling sound as she brought her hands up to his chest, tracing her lightly scaled fingertips across his body. Knowing that Syr hadnt been the only one worried about his interaction with Freya, Vahn wasnt that surprised by Terras concerns about his mental state. Since he had intended to spend the evening inside the Sub-Space orb anyways, Vahn decided to take her up on the offer. He did split from his Avatar though, which caused Terras eyes to sh, even though she didnt stop him from heading towards the orb. As for his main body, Vahn decided to pamper his faithful True Dragon until she waspletely satisfied. By the time he left her Garden, leaving the elegant dragon sprawled out against her roost, Vahn feltpletely refreshed, something he had made absolutely certain Terra was aware of... --- By the time he had finished showing Terra his gratitude, Vahn had spent nearly fourteen hours within the Sub-Space orb, this time watching over Nanu as thetter attempted to refine a piece of Orichalc.u.m. She really had improved a lot since the time she first starting forging and, after updating her Status Board, an experience Nanu had been very fond of, Vahn saw that she had reached C-Rank in her [cksmith] Development Ability. For someone who had only recently turned 13 years old, this was actually a monstrous amount of talent. Even with his me seed increasing her growth, Vahn was surprised that she had developed so much without anyone to guide her. At her current rate of growth, Nanu would probably be a [Mastersmith] by the time she was around twenty years old. Though this wasntparable to him reaching the same point at fourteen, it was still nearly a decade earlier than the previously held record. If he didnt exist, and Nanu was still able to grow as quickly as she was, Nanu would have been recognized as one of the most prodigious [Mastersmith]s of her time. Now, her aplishments in forging would likely be redited to him, Hephaestus, and Tsubaki, not that this was an incorrect assumption. Still, it was only because she put in the effort that she was developing so quickly, something that Vahn made sure she was aware of before giving her a reward. Watching Nanu, who was currently wearing very light clothing, manipte the piece of crystallized metal made Vahn feel proud to be her Master. Though her olive-brown skin glistened with sweat and was covered with soot, Nanu showed no signs of difort, even if a piece of g would fly off and touch against her exposed skin. As for why she was wearing so little clothing, even though it would inevitably cause her to be burned, Vahn med Tsubaki. Thetter had given Nanu a lot of guidance, which included the fact that it could increase your focus and elerate your growth if you felt the heat directly and allowed each mistake you made to literally leave an impression. Whenever Tsubaki was trying to forge a masterpiece, meaning an S-Rank item, she used to wear nothing but a cloth fundoshi and a sarashi around her b.r.e.a.s.ts. This was one of the reasons why her personal forge had been located in her room, as that sight would probably turn any observer into a beast, Vahn included. ording to Tsubaki, this was the method she had used to develop her skills and be a prolific [Mastersmith] at such a young age. After all, every mistake she made would be remembered very clearly and, in order to avoid serious burns, she had to increase her focus to the limit and make fewer mistakes. Vahn didnt really disagree with this method, as he actually did much the same by using his bare hands and generally removing any clothes covering his upper body. However, the only reason he had done this was because he hadplete fire immunity, meaning there was no actual danger. Tsubaki and Nanu didnt have such capabilities and, though Tsubakis resistance was actually very high, Nanus wasnt. To make sure she didnt have to suffer too much, Vahn had actually engraved the inside of her cor with a special formation before embedding a ruby into it. This gave the cor two abilities, Burn Resistance: B and Natural Regeneration: F, both being very conducive to Nanus training. As for the Chienthrope in question, she had just been happy to get an upgraded cor, especially since Vahn had put it on for her after she sessfully forged a high-quality Magisteel ingot... A loud quenching sound could be heard within the small workshop as Nanu ced the formed Orichalc.u.m ingot into a heated chemical solution to allow the heat to diffuse slowly while keeping the properties of the crystallized metal. Vahn rose from his seated position and, even though he had already seen the quality of the metal before she quenched it, walked over to inspect it more closely. Nanu took off her protective goggles, wiping the sweat from her face with a towel as she patiently awaited her Masters valuation. She already had a very clear understanding of what to expect but still hoped against all odds that her intuition was wrong... Vahn fought the urge to smile when he saw Nanus ears and tail drooping pitifully and just picked up the metal to inspect it with his [Eyes of Truth]. As they were both very aware of, Nanu had failed to form a usable ingot this time around, which wasnt too surprising considering how difficult the metal was to work with. Still, though there were numerous impurities, Nanu had managed to refine around 29% of the total Orichalc.u.m this time around. Her previous best had only been 25%, so it was clear that she had made a small step forward. Deciding that she was deserving of a reward, even though she had failed, Vahn gestured Nanu over to his side and did something that would probably earn him the ire of a lot of people. After having Nanu take up her hammer and tongs, Vahn stood close behind her and began guiding her to refine an Orichalc.u.m Ingot under his direct assistance. It was a little difficult for her, as it had been necessary to tuck her tail between her legs just to prevent it from wagging like crazy, but the final product was around 80% refined. When everything was finished, Vahn ruffled Nanus thick matte of dark-brown hair and pointed ears, saying, "Keep working hard, Nanu. Youre steadily improving and I believe you will be a capable [Mastersmith] one day." With her tail released from its thigh-shaped prison, it began wagging at a stable 4 WPS as Nanu balled her fists in a resolute manner and said, "Yes! Leave it to me, Master! Ill never give up, no matter what!" Vahn continued petting the high-spirited Chienthrope with a supportive smile on his face, even though he knew the tensions in Nanus body had started to increase. He knew the reason she worked so hard was to be a suitable mate for him but, as he had already decided to ept her affections in the past, Vahn wasnt going to deter her at this point. It felt a little strange, as he was essentially grooming her to be more suitable for himself, but that was just one of Nanus quirks as a Chienthrope. Even Naaza had a simr mentality, as she worked hard to be a capable [Alchemist], so Vahn knew it was just a trait of Chienthropes in general. From his recollection, this applied to both gods and mortals, as even Anubis embodied this characteristic to the extreme. It was simply a matter of instinct, as Chienthropes were inclined towards having service mentalities, being very loyal to their friends, and being borderline subservient to their partners. Since he couldnt just change these qualities, Vahn decided to embrace them and, as long as he avoided exploiting them directly, he didnt think it was a problem. Before Nanu got too high strung, Vahn brought his hand away, smiling when her ears and tail immediately drooped. However, as she was prone to do, Nanu immediately bounced back and began preparing the next set of materials. Now that she had experienced making a passing grade Ingot, she needed to literally, strike while the feeling was hot and fresh on her mind. As for Vahn, he simply moved back to his seat and watched Nanus figure as she set about, once again hard at work to meet both his expectations as her Master and the standards she had set for herself as his future mate. Her bouncing and lively figure were very adorable, though not as refreshing as watching her transition into serious mode while refining the metal... --- After leaving Terras Garden, Vahn made his way into the Manor while observing Nanus simultaneously fast and normal movements at the same time. From the perspective of his main body, she was moving six times faster than normal though, from the perspective of his Avatar, she was moving at a steady and earnest pace. It was still a little difficult wrapping his head around the shared perspectives, especially with the different flows of time, but Vahn had been getting used to it. He could now pilot both bodies without any great difficulty, even to the point where he could satisfy a girl in the real world while focusing on other tasks within the orb. Sure, he wasnt working at maximum potential, but that was very dangerous for the girls themselves... Standing at the back entrance of the Manor, Vahn wasnt too surprised to find Syr waiting for him with a gentle smile on her face. He noticed that her expression had softened when she saw him, likely feeling greatly relieved that he hadnt been influenced by Freya. Understanding she had been very worried about him, Vahn spent a bit of time exining things to Syr, even though he was certain she had already heard about the event through Loki. Since they had moved into a private study, cuddling up with each other during the discussion, Syr didnt seem to mind it at all. She just patiently listened to the exnation until it was over. Then, much as he had done for Terra, Vahn expressed his gratitude for his concern while proving to her that Freya hadnt left nearly as much an impression on him as he had on her... Within the orb, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head while a wry smile appeared on his face. Though it was a decision he himself had made, Vahn felt like he had been triggered by his interaction with Freya earlier in the day, even though it felt like several days had passed since then. He suddenly felt like his bonds with the girls had be much stronger than before as, afterparing his feelings towards them to someone like Freya, Vahn realized they meant a lot more to him than he expected. Seeing them concerned for him touched a soft spot in his heart and, as he had the power to do so, Vahn wanted to make sure they were able to smile happily, without any worries whatsoever...at least for a short while... (A/N: This may be thest chapter for today, as I want to write a few Fenrirs Journey before taking a rest and preparing for tomorrows challenge. My goal is to reach 30k words tomorrow, which would be as many as 10-15 chapters if I average 2-3k words. Ill try to have one out every hour, but I imagine the release will get skewed as the day progresses xD. Please excuse any errors I might make as the Discord will let me know so I can correct themter (UwU). See you, beautiful people, tomorrow <3.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: How to train your Master, by Terra Evergreen,Chienthropes need to be a thing. Please, Science-sama, get to work~!,Perspective (UwU)...Just imagine Vahn watching himself have s.e.x with Syr in slow motion, while at normal speed simultaneously xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 740 - Purify

Chapter 740 - Purify

As it was ought to do, regardless of how slowly timed seemed to pass, it eventually led to the moment where Vahn found himself alone in his room with a young Elven beauty across from him. This was none other than Lefiya and, after a rather awkward and lively breakfast, they had made their way to his room to discuss the matter of her using [Wishes Blessing] and to celebrate hering of age. The conversation had been very straightforward, with Vahn asking Lefiya about her intentions for the future, but the ruddy blush on her face made apparent that it wasnt the key concern of the bashful maiden. Ultimately, after discussing how her identity mighte to influence her future, Lefiya expressed that she didnt care about what other people would decide for her. She had gotten to this point in her life as a result of the decisions she had made and, regardless of the intentions of others, Lefiyas was to remain in the Hearth Manor. More specifically, she wished to stand at his side, endeavoring to be a capable Mage to help usher in the magical revolution he was bringing about. She didnt care about politics, heritage, or even the fact that she was an Elf. If not for the fact it gave her an advantage in the development of her magical power, Lefiya, with a crimson blush on her face, professed that she wouldnt have minded being a Chienthrope, or a Cat Person... When he had heard this, Vahn teased Lefiya a bit by reminding her that, if she worked hard on her transformation magic, it wouldnt be difficult to actually emte the racial traits of other races. This had seemingly left a deep impression on her, as Vahn could see a me ignited within her dark blue irises. Then, after their discussion had progressed to the point of her making a decision, Lefiya decided to use the [Wishes Blessing] to purify her bloodline. She did this for multiple reasons, intending to benefit from the magical amplification that would undoubtedlye with such purification, sate her curiosity, and create a stronger bloodline for any future children she might have with Vahn. Such things were still several years away, as she wanted to focus on increasing her strength and helping him, but Lefiya couldnt help thinking about the matter of her future children, especially considering the situation. After Lefiya had made her decision, Vahn handed her a small tear-shaped vial that contained a strange liquid that seemed to be made out of light. It radiated a bright white, but closer inspection showed that it actually had a green hue near the center. The moment he took it out, both he and Lefiya felt as though they were in a peaceful clearing, surrounded by the sounds of nature, wind blowing gently through their hair. It was a very refreshing feeling that made Lefiya feel even happier about the decision she had made before ingesting the light-like fluid. Vahn watched as the strange energy passed through her delicate lips, over her ruby red tongue, and down her throat before it spread through her body without actually entering Lefiyas stomach. For several seconds after she had ingested the light, Lefiya experienced no external changes and simply showed a face of confusion as she asked, "Did something...go wrong...?" Vahn, with his [Eyes of Truth] still active, shook his head with a calm smile and exined, "I can see the energy spreading through your body before slowly being absorbed by your mana circuits. It looks like your energy flow is being subtly altered..." As he was speaking, Vahn noticed something he hadnt quite expected and increased the focus on his eyes to observe more closely. The moment the energy contained within [Wishes Blessing] interacted with the strands of source energy he had left in Lefiyas body, it acted like it someone who had just been reunited with a long lost loved one. The energy suddenly became very excited and began to coil around the thread of source energy, happily intermixing with it while nourishing Lefiyas body, refining her blood and bones in the process. Vahn watched this process from start to finish afterying Lefiya on the bed, as thetter had started to glow before losing consciousness. Her skin was emitting a subtle green light with a small, almost indiscernible hint, of rainbow hue contained within. As the lights intensity increased, Vahn watched with abject intrigue as Lefiyas ears rounded slightly, beforeing to finer points at the ends. Simultaneously, her golden-orange hair had also begun to change, now having a rich honey-like coloration that formed a gradient, transitioning from the honey color into a gentle gold before finally settling into a light yellowish green. It gave Lefiya the appearance of a fairy, especially since herplexion had be fair and creamy, with a glow that only people with his unique form of vision would be able to detect. Then, though he couldnt see it just yet, Vahn saw energy begin to pool around Lefiyas back, creating a runic pattern on her backside that he was looking forward to investigatingter. Over the course of the next hour, Vahn continued observing the changes in Lefiyas body, including how her height had increased from around 154cm to an even 160cm. Most notably, which Vahn was certain would make Lefiya brood for a short while, her b.r.e.a.s.ts had inted slightly and seemed to be fuller. With his eyes active, Vahn could see Lefiyas internal energy actually pooling around the area, settling as though it was using her slightly overdeveloped mammary ns as a storage vessel. Most Elves that Vahn had met were especially sensitive in that area and, now that Lefiya had undergone such a peculiar change, Vahn felt a little guilty about what he might do to her in the future... Though he had been momentarily distracted, it was only his sub-process mind thinking such thoughts while Vahns primary focus had still been on Lefiyas transformation. The glow on her skin had started to fade now and, with his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see it pooling at other locations on her body. Eventually, the energy split off into six points, pooling around Lefiyas wrists, the base of her shins, an area above her tail bone, a spot just below her corbone, as if it were nestled between her b.r.e.a.s.ts, and on her forehead. After a few more minutes had passed, Vahn watched as gems began to form at each of the six points. The one on her forehead, which would be obscured by her bangs, looked like a blue oval that radiated with spiritual light. As for the ones on her wrists and shins, they formed into small diamonds with a gentle green in color that, when refracting the light, appeared to have a golden core in the center. The most noticeable ones, though he couldnt seem them directly just yet, were the ratherrge gems that had formed on Lefiyas chest and lower back. Vahn could see they glowed a vibrant red color while the one at her chest seemed to have an illusory rainbow hue that could be seen if you were observing very closely. Around the same time that the gems had formed, Lefiya began to closely open her eyes, revealing that their deep blue color was now a pure, leaf green color. The most shocking thing, however, which had caused both of Vahns minds to stall, was the fact that Lefiyas irises were now shaped like five-pointed stars. They were still the deep ck color of normal irises, but the fact they had formed into star shapes was something Vahn hadnt expected at all. Of course, when Lefiya turned her eyes towards him, almost as if seeking his approval, this confusion melted away in an instant and was reced by a gentle smile and undisguised intrigue. Before she could ask herself, Vahn exined in a soft tone, "Youll have many questions, Im sure. For now, just take a look at yourself in the mirror while I exin my observations..." Lefiya brought her body to a sitting position, nodding her head while realizing that her clothes were now somewhat restrictive. She generally wore loose andfortable clothing, so Lefiya immediately realized her physical size and proportions had changed. When Vahn turned to set up a set of mirrors for her to use, Lefiya absentminded brought her hands to her chest,menting the fact they were very clearly bigger than before. She also noticed that, simply by touching them lightly, Lefiyas heart began to race as a giddy feeling spread through her abdomen... After setting up a series of three mirrors for Lefiya, while holding arge hand mirror in his hand, Vahn turned around to see Lefiya quickly pull her hands down, hiding them behind her back as a ruddy blush spread across her face. Fighting the urge tough, Vahn just smiled before saying, "Youll probably want to remove your clothing so you can see all the changes directly..." As these words left his mouth, a small amount of heat reached his cheeks while Lefiyas face became beet red in an instant. In a way, removing her clothes would make what would inevitably follow much easier, so this was essentially escting things in that direction very quickly. Though that might have been the case, Lefiya only hesitated for a brief moment before rising from the bed and walking over to the mirrors. She was embarrassed to see her blushing reflection but, after realizing the changes in her body, the red coloration of Lefiyas face began to fade, reced by shock and curiosity. As if she couldnt believe what she was seeing, Lefiya brought her hand to her face and gingerly touched it, confirming that the reflection she was seeing performed the same action. Even so, she asked with a tone of disbelief, "Is this...really me...?" Vahn, standing slightly to her side, reached out his hand and began to gently stroke her tri-colored hair as he softly stated, "A persons physical appearance is just one part of what makes them who they are. Though what youre seeing is undoubtedly you, the real you hasnt changed at all, Lefiya. Youre still my adorable little apprentice and, very soon, well share an even deeper connection with each other..." Hearing this, Lefiyas face, which had started to show deep concern, began to rx until it turned into a happy smile. She turned around to face him, practically glowing as she said, "Thank you, Master...Im...really looking forward to it..." Lefiyas final words were stated like a squeak as she lowered her head, the faded blush returning in full force as she brought up her hands and made a nostalgic wawawawa sound. What followed was Vahn helping her remove her clothing, exining all the changes he had observed while Lefiya confirmed them with her own eyes. When she saw the gems growing on her body, she had been very confused at first but, after a few encouraging words from Vahn, she agreed that they gave her a unique appeal. She could also feel that her body seemed to be absorbing energy through the gems, helping replenish her mana while simultaneously acting to stabilize said mana. Watching Lefiya fiddled around with the gems on her body, even though she was standing there in her somewhat tight-fitting underwear, Vahn reached out his hand and touched the red gem on her backside. Lefiya released a surprised yelp, nearly knocking over the mirrors before looking back at him with a scarlet red expression and a hint of me in her eyes. Vahn released a light chuckle, exining, "Sorry, I was just curious..." while rubbing the back of his head. Not too surprisingly, Lefiya didnt stay mad for long and, instead of ming him further, actually turned somewhat sheepish before saying, "If you wanted to touch me, you could have just asked..." in a quiet voice. This time, after asking her permission, Vahn began to inspect the gems more closely, causing Lefiyas nerves to reach a critical level since he had decided on the vibrant red gem on her chest. The blush on her face had started to encroach on her neck and was slowly making its way down the rest of her body. As for Vahn, though he was aware of these changes, the uniqueness of the gem was simply too interesting to mind such details. He even reached his fingers out to test the feel and hardness of the gem, noticing it was warm and soft like flesh, even though it didnt actually deform under his touch. Though it hadnt been his intent, this touch of his had a very unexpected effect as Lefiya suddenly released a long and hot sigh before nearly copsing to the ground. Vahn caught her in his arms, feeling her soft, budding, b.r.e.a.s.ts press against his chest as a very fragrant aroma of flowers and honey reached his nose. Vahn realized the flower smell came from Lefiyas hair but the sweet smelling, almost to the point of intoxication, aroma of honey wasing from a very different part of her body. When this smell reached his nostrils, Vahn was instantly reminded of Terra and wondered if the amalgamation of natural energy in a womans body was the source behind such a fragrant aroma. Lefiya continued to breathe heavily, almost like her lungs simply couldnt draw in enough air as she pitifully mewled, "Maassster..." while clutching his arms with what little strength she could manage. This sound both excited Vahn while simultaneously breaking his heart, as hearing such a pitiful mewl made him feel more than a little guilty. He noticed that, the moment he touched the gem on Lefiyas chest, it was as if all the nerves in her torso had been stimted like a firework exploding. It was to the point that Vahn was confident in stating that the gems, at the very least the one of Lefiyas chest, were even more sensitive than the small little bead that served as the pleasure center of all women. Since things were going to develop that way regardless, Vahn hugged Lefiyas willowy body tightly, deeply inhaling her fragrant aroma while asking, "Are you ready...Lefiya...?" The moment these words left his lips, Vahn felt Lefiyas body flinch before her already red aura red to life with a deep and passionate glow. Her hands, which had been clutching his arms rather weakly, suddenly possessed a great deal of strength as Lefiya pulled up her body and raised her face to look him directly in the eyes. Though there was a deep blush on her face, Vahn saw a serious light in Lefiyas star-shaped pupils as she said, "Im ready..." With those two simple words, Vahn set aside his inhibitions and sealed Lefiyas lips with his own, simultaneously giving in to his curiosity as he gingerly touched the gem near her soft, albeit small, derriere. As expected, Lefiyas body began to tremble to the point where she wasnt able to continue the kiss, instead focusing on her breathing while burying her flushed face into his chest. Vahn noticed she didnt make any attempts to stop his antics, however, so he continued tracing his fingers over the 3cm wide gemstone. With his eyes active, Vahn could see the energy in Lefiyas body stirring while her nerves pulsed several times per second, causing Lefiyas body to rapidly heat up as her tensions continued to rise... (A/N: Today is the day I die xD. Lets do this shit! PLUUUUUS ULTRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Aint nobody got time for that political bullshit~!,Lefiya has be a real magical girl now xD...,Those gems...very convenient ( ? ?? ?)...) Chapter 741 - Lefiya Viridis (1/2)

Chapter 741 - Lefiya Viridis (1/2)

As forey was arguably even more important than the act of s.e.x itself, Vahn spent a few minutes exploring the peculiarities of Lefiyas body. During this entire duration, Lefiya simply allowed him to do whatever he wanted, even though they were still awkwardly standing near the mirrors. Since she could see her own appearance reflected in them, Lefiyas face was a deep crimson with a slightly zed look in her eyes. She watched as Vahns hands made their way across her body while he gently kissed around her neck and shoulders. It gave Lefiya a feeling like he was very possessive of her and, though it had never crossed her mind previously, she started to feel like it wouldnt be the worst thing in the world if she became her Masterspletely... Vahn discovered that the gems on Lefiyas wrists werent nearly as sensitive as the two on her chest and lower back and, as he could see the internal structure and how the mana circuits were formed, it was easy to deduce that the two on her shins would be the same. As for the teardrop gem on her forehead, Vahn felt a spiritual intent radiating from it and, unlike the other five gems, he saw this one was directly linked to Lefiyas mind. From this, Vahn knew that the gem on Lefiyas forehead was very special and, though he was interested in discovering its secrets, now wasnt the most opportune time to do so. Of course, that didnt mean he couldnt glean some other insights so, after parting the hair covering Lefiyas back, Vahn asked, "Before we start, should I check your Status Board~?" Unable to hide the teasing tone in his voice, Vahn wasnt surprised when Lefiya immediately assumed a pouting and aggrieved expression as she mewled, "Master...dont tease me..." Hearing this, Vahns smile softened and he lifted Lefiyas chin to kiss her from behind. He would likely never understand it himself, but Vahn knew he had a tendency to want to tease Elven women. It was almost like they had an aura that drew him in, whispering, tease me, tease me inside of his ear. Though Lefiyas race was very likely closer to that of a Spirit right now, she still had the appearance of an Elven maiden so, unable to restrain the instinct inside of him, Vahn couldnt help teasing her a bit. Knowing that it would be unfair to her if he took things too far, Vahn bought his left hand to Lefiyas navel, staring into her eyes through the mirror as he whispered, "I cant help but tease you a little, Lefiya...after all, youre such an adorable girl..." Lefiyas body trembled as he traced his fingers up her abdomen, getting progressively closer to her budding b.r.e.a.s.ts and the sensitive gem nestled nearby. Just as she thought he was about to tease her again, Lefiyas eyes widened when she saw that Vahn was suddenlypletely n.a.k.e.d, still holding her body against his while his index finger traced around the edge of her bra. Feeling how tight the fabric was against her skin, Vahns smiled increased as he yfully mused, "Tiona is going to be jealous...hahaha..." The already deep blush on Lefiyas face became so startlingly red that it created the illusion that her skin was glowing. Vahn used this gap in her mental processes to insert his hand into the fabric, lifting it up to reveal the pale and perfect b.r.e.a.s.ts that had barely been contained within. Lefiya released a surprised yelp before biting both of her lips, a teary-eyed expression on her face as she fought the powerful wave of stimtion assaulting her body. As he hadnt been using his [Hands of Nirvana], nor his [Grooming], Vahn was very surprised by Lefiyas reaction. He made a mental note not to use such techniques on Lefiya until her body had adapted more, as it seemed her sensitivity was abnormally high right now. It was likely a result of the changes to her body and, as she had only been in this form for a few minutes, Vahn wouldnt be surprised if Lefiya was unable to control herself just yet. This made what was toe more exciting but Vahn also knew he would have to be careful so as not to give Lefiya any form of trauma. Since she was obviously more than ready, Vahn picked up the startled Lefiya in a bridal carry before moving over to the bed. Though using the mirrors would have been interesting, that was a more advanced y, not something that a girl should experience during her first time. Vahn wanted Lefiya to look back on this moment with fondness, not embarrassment, so he wanted to give her a normal s.e.x.u.a.l experience. He could tell that Lefiya had inclinations that would likely cause her to be somewhat simr to Anubis in the future. For now, however, he wanted her to just be her normal bashful self...even if, by her own admission, she was a bit lewd at heart. Afterying her down on the bed, Lefiya looked up at him with her hazy green eyes and muttered, "Master..." in a wispy voice. Vahn returned a gentle smile to her, stroking her cheek ever so softly as he said, "I will forever be your Master, Lefiya...but, for the time being, the only thing I want to be is the boy you love. For now, it would make me much happier if you just called me Vahn..." Then, leaning in close to Lefiyas flushed face, Vahn whispered directly into her pointed Elven ears, "It makes me happy to have such an adorable apprentice...but Im even happier to make you my Lefiya..." As he spoke, Vahn had already started tracing his fingers around the band of Lefiyas panties, waiting for her next words before taking the next step... In the most sensual voice he had ever heard escape her lips, Vahn watched as Lefiya showed an absolutely amorous smile and said, "Vahn..." At the same time, Lefiya had brought both of her hands up, framing his face with her delicate fingers, before slowing pulling her head forward to ovep their lips. This was all Vahn needed to know that Lefiya was ready so, without dying any further, he tossed her panties and bra into his Inventory while locking his lips with the beautiful Elf that had patiently waiting for this day for a much longer period of time than even he was aware... Though they had shared plenty of kisses in the past, this time was far different than in the past and it hadsted nearly ten minutes before Lefiya finally broke free to gasp for air. A thin thread of saliva trailed between their lips that was broken when Lefiya absentmindedly licked her lips while her hazy eyes followed his face. Vahn had already been helping Lefiya prepare during their kiss and, now that the opportunity had presented itself, he hefted her legs up and repositioned himself between them. Looking down over the strangely mature young body, Vahn made eye contact with Lefiya and saw an almost fervent glint in her eyes, intermixed with a great deal of expectation as she suddenly spread her legs even wider. Vahn, egged onward by Lefiyas action, let his eyes wander down her body until they became firmly affixed to the honeypot down below. This was the most adequate description Vahn could give for what he was experiencing, as Lefiyas fragrance smelled sickly sweet and seemed to spread through his body, filling his lungs with her aroma while a buzz spread through his mind. It was almost shocking, the flow of honey leaking from Lefiyas pristine, unblemished, tender, and beautifully constructed vulva. Though he likened it to a honeypot, the appearance was closer to that of a very tender peach, with the exclusion of a single strand of hair. There was an almost perfectly drawn line diving the two fair, yet slightly flushed halves of Lefiyas v.a.g.i.n.a and, though it was almost unnoticeable, Vahn could see that her little red ruby had peered out from its hiding ce to join the fun. Unable to contain his amus.e.m.e.nt, Vahn cracked a smile, nearly reaching out to tease the mischevious bud beforeing to his senses. Lefiya was clearly waiting for him, watching each of his actions intently,pletely relying on him to guide things forward. Vahn brought his knees under Lefiyas thighs, lightly lifting her backside as he began to position himself near her entrance. Lefiyas eyes had be glued to his lower body the moment he began positioning himself and, when he began rubbing his ns against her honeypot to benefit from the supplied lubricant, Lefiya began breathing very quickly through her nose. Vahn was beginning to wonder if there was a limit to how red she could be but that was something he could discoverter since there were more pressing matters to attend to. Once his member was adequately coated in her viscous honey, Vahn inhaled an excited breath of his own before parting the perfect line with his ns, tracing it along Lefiyas inner walls as she tightly gripped the bedspread. Since Elves typically werent very sensitive in their v.a.g.i.n.as, Vahn found this reaction very refreshing as he gingerly probed the small indentation that designated the entrance to Lefiyas v.a.g.i.n.a. The moment he did so, Lefiyas body began to twitch slightly and a muchrger volume of fluid began to emerge from her depths, indicating the fact that she had a light climax. Since he could see the nerves in her body exploding like tiny fireworks, Vahn knew this would be a moment Lefiya never forgot, no matter how much time passed. Since it was a very opportune moment, Vahn pressed forward until the tip of his p.e.n.i.s had firmly rooted itself into the entrance of her v.a.g.i.n.a. Then, skillfully shifting his body without removing the firmly grasped tip, Vahn leaned over Lefya and brought his eyes parallel to her own. For several seconds, Lefiya just continued to breathe heavily, eyes trained on his, before she loosely wrapped her legs around his. Vahn smiled at this action of hers before leaning down and, instead of kissing her lips, as she would need to be able to breathe for what was toe, he began licking her long and sensitive ears. Lefiyas body began to tremble greatly as she brought her arms around to tightly hug his body. Using this moment, Vahn slowly began to bury himself into her depths, causing Lefiya to instinctively try to pull her h.i.p.s away. However, as ifpelled by an even greater instinct, she tightened her legs around him at the same time and released a long, drawn out, "Vaaaaaaahnnnnnn~." As for the boy in question, he was shocked by the sensations wrapping around his p.e.n.i.s, though not nearly as much as when he finally reached a dead end without any real resistance along the way. Vahn was certain that Lefiya had been a v.i.r.g.i.n, as he had verified it himself in the past, so it must have been one of the changes to her body that he hadnt noticed. This was a blessing for them both, as it meant Lefiya wouldnt have to experience the pain of losing her v.i.r.g.i.nity and he wouldnt have to put in the usual effort offorting a crying girl for a few minutes. The fact that her insides were constantly writhing around him, in a very stimting manner, all the while taking in well over half his length, only made things even better for them both. Lefiya herself didnt even seem to notice this incongruity and was just releasing hot breathes, ented by sensual m.o.a.ns, that tickled Vahns ears, steadily eating away at his restraint. Since she didnt need an adaptation period, Vahn immediately began moving his h.i.p.s in a steady and deep piston that caused Lefiya to immediately tighten her legs around him. The fact that she made absolutely no efforts to stifle her m.o.a.ns, which were bing progressively louder, made Vahn feel like he was going to lose his mind. It was almost like she was begging to be eaten up by him and, having a rather voracious appetite, Vahn wasnt sure he would be able to refuse such a tantalizing offer. His speed steadily increased, matching the increase in Lefiyas voice until she suddenly screamed, "VAAAAAHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN~!" directly into his ear, all the while tightly clinging to his body. Though he made sure to ce mental restrictions on himself, Vahn also cut loose at that moment, tightly hugging Lefiyas trembling body before pulling her into a seated position. She released a nasally and sensual Nnnn~ that plucked at his heartstrings, all the while locking her legs around his h.i.p.s. Vahn, mouth closed, took in a deep breath while his eyes widened slightly at how greedy Lefiya was, even though she didnt seem to be aware of it herself. Grabbing her small, yet fleshy, butt, Vahn began to lift Lefiyas body before allowing her weight to bring her down against him. Each time he did so, Lefiya released another long, drawn out, Nnnnn~ that served as a magic spell to increase his excitement. For a brief moment, Vahn recalled Lokis words, realizing that Lefiya was going to be a dangerous existence in the future. It was almost scary how reactive she was and, considering it was her first time, Vahn knew that she would only be more proactive in the future. Since she was generally a very bashful, quiet, and intelligent girl, it was hard to imagine that Lefiya turned into a nymphet in the bedroom. However, though this gap created a sense of incongruity in his mind, Vahn didnt mind it at all. Lefiya, including all of her quirks, was now his and, until she herself changed that fact, he would ept her everything... Following another one of Lefiyas powerful climaxes, this time strong enough to make the freshly plucked maiden dig her nails into his back, Vahn flipped her around onto her hands and knees. As if it didnt matter to her what position they were in, Lefiya just arched her back as if it were the natural thing to do. Even in the throes of her climax, she matched his movements with her own, resisting his thrusts with a counterforce that caused his ns to knocks at the entrance of her cervix, almost like a group of soldiers attempting to breach a castle gate. The edges of Vahns eyes were twitching while an incredulous smile appeared on his face at her natural prowess. Vahn never thought things would get so intense during a girls first time and, as it didnt seem like Lefiya had any intent to stop any time soon, Vahn feltpelled to see things through until the end. From this position, he could clearly see the gem on her backside, almost as if it drew his eyes to focus on its peculiar red hue. His thumbs had already been in very close proximity to the enticing gemstone so, without resisting his urges, Vahn began tracing his thumbs over the strangely soft and hot surface. Lefiya immediately released a loud cry,pletelycking any semnce of rationale before she buried her face into the bedding and tightly clenched her fists. Seeing this extreme reaction, Vahns expression became a little weird but, before he was able to do anything else, his expression quickly became one of shock. The gem he had been touching began to glow with a vibrant light as the runic formation he had observed during Lefiyas transformation sprouted from the top of the gem. It climbed up her back, like a sapling growing into a full-sized tree as it slowly began to sprout branches that coiled and curved around each other. In the next instant, two sparkling protrusions shot out of Lefiyas back, briefly impacting his face and chest before they expanded outwards nearly a meter in both directions. Vahn just knelt there on the bed,pletely motionless while Lefiyas body continued to tremble and wriggle around his h.i.p.s. All the while she was moving about, Lefiya seemed to bepletely unaware of the flittering appendages protruding from her back. Vahn, however, could see them very clearly and, even though this was the case, he couldnt quite make sense of the situation. To confirm he wasnt seeing an illusion, Vahn reached his hand out and gingerly touched the very real, incredibly beautiful, and sublimely soft pair of fairy-like wings that had popped out of Lefiyas back. As if he had touched the gem on her backside again, Lefiya began to tremble, entering into the throes of another powerful climax while her wings flitted about excitedly, entirely without her notice... (A/N: 5,462/30,000...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lefiya has grown up ( ? ?? ?)...,Nymphet, or Nympho...?,*Flittering Intensifies*) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 742 - Lefiya Viridis (2/2)

Chapter 742 - Lefiya Viridis (2/2)

Though he was very interested in the changes to Lefiyas body, Vahn wasnt going to leave the enthralled girl hanging just to sate his curiosity. Carefully avoiding her wings, for the time being, Vahn grabbed Lefiyas waist and pulled her against him in a firm manner. He lifted her h.i.p.s a little, as he was obviously taller than she was, and made use of the fact that she currently had her head buried in the nkets. Judging by how she had made counter-movements against him, Vahn knew that Lefiya was the type that liked to have her depths knocked against. Thus, appeasing the greedy fairy, Vahn began to firmly knock against Lefiyas cervix, causing her to tilt her head back and release loud, gasping, m.o.a.ns. Shaking his head slightly at her behavior, while showing an appreciative smile on his face, Vahn continued to increase his speed while restricting his [Magia Erebea] until it was almostpletely dormant. With the stimtion provided by Lefiyas writhing insides, Vahns own tensions began to rise at a very steady rate until he was nearly at his limits. Though Lefiyas wings kept smacking against him, it didnt do anything to deter his movements at all as he buried himself deep into her insides. It was a little disconcerting when he felt her cervix dte slightly, as, though it was very unlikely to ever happen, it wasnt entirely beyond the realm of possibility to breach through the nigh-unbreachable protective membrane. Fortunately, Vahn avoided that dangerous first experience by easing up on the pressure a little and just allowing his s.e.m.e.n topletely fill Lefiyas depths. He had misjudged the amount he released, especially considering how little space was avable in Lefiyas tightly clenching v.a.g.i.n.a, as his own milky white fluids practically shot out from where they were connected. Vahn noticed that there was a strange frustration in the back of his mind, having his s.e.m.e.n basically ejected from inside of Lefiya, but he let go of that thought almost immediately after it crossed his mind. Instead, he inspected Lefiyas insides with his [Eyes of Truth] to see if her reaction was any different than that of others with Elven heritage. Lefiya, currently in her own little world, just allowed her butt to be lifted by Vahn as she created a ratherrge damp spot from the drool escaping with her panting breaths. Vahn had forgotten to let her body rx since he was too busy observing the phenomenon going on inside of her body. Like a normal Elf, or a High Elf, Lefiyas body seemed to be absorbing the energy contained within the remnant s.e.m.e.n remaining inside her v.a.g.i.n.a. However, it was only these remnants since Lefiyas tightness had ejected therger volume previously. As for her w.o.m.b, the inside was actually filled with strange green runes that swirled around in an almost indiscernible pattern. Vahn realized where that strange feeling in the back of his mind hade from as, looking into Lefiyas body, he could see that those runes had actually formed a barrier across the cervical entrance of Lefiyas w.o.m.b. It hadpletely rejected his s.e.m.e.n, even though Lefiyas body itself seemed to crave it, at least that was the impression he got from her active her insides were writhing around him. Even now, Lefiya was slowly moving her h.i.p.s in shallow movements, constantly seeking pleasure while the strange energy in her body seemed to be up to its own thing. Eventually, the strange runes inside Lefiyas w.o.m.b began absorbing the energy that had been processed within her v.a.g.i.n.a.l walls. When this happened, their intensity increased greatly and, surprising Vahn, the runes began to spread roots through Lefiyas v.a.g.i.n.a before trying to embed themselves into his p.e.n.i.s. Vahn, understanding this was just energy, and not something physical, allowed it to happen. He was curious what Lefiyas body was trying to do and, as it might be very important for her future happiness, Vahn didnt mind letting the strange phenomenon influence him. The moment the vibrant green energy came into contact with his shaft, Vahn teeth clenched up and all the muscles in his legs and feet tightened. As he hadnt resisted it, Vahn watched as the runes spread to cover the length of his p.e.n.i.s before they began to move around in a highly stimting motion. At the same time, the runes seemed to be trying to train his vital essence itself, causing a sinking feeling in Vahns stomach, even as a powerful wave of pleasure passed through his body. It was fortunate that he was immortal, with an incredible amount of vitality within his blood, or this process could have potentially endangered his life. Vahn knew there was an incredibly rare monster within the Dungeon known as a Subus, which apparently took the form of the most beautiful woman within the hearts of men. It was one of the few monsters that werent exclusively killed on sight, as they were arguably safe to be around. One of the characteristics of a Subus was their ability to drain the essence of a man through s.e.x.u.a.l intercourse, which was said to be one of the most pleasurable experiences anyone could experience. It was so famously pleasurable that, even though it technically drained a little bit of their life force, there were numerous Adventurers who willingly sought them out within the Deeper Floors, even though they were incredibly rare, and never appeared in the same ce twice. Though he knew she wasnt a Subus, Vahn felt like Lefiyas behavior, and the phenomenon urring within her body, were startlingly simr to what was described within the Monster Compendium. It was in to see that those strange runes were trying to suck the vital essence from his body, nourishing Lefiyas own while simultaneously strengthening the runes within her w.o.m.b. Fortunately, Vahns source energy wasnt so easily absorbed so, after just a few short seconds of sublime pleasure, the runes seemed to be contented and began to retreat. At the same time, Lefiyas body becamepletely limp, almost as if she had been a marite with all its strings having been cut. Freed from what he could only describe as a ridiculous amount of pleasure, Vahn released a long sigh of relief before slowly extricating himself from Lefiyas insides. Though she seemed tock the ability to muster any strength, Vahns mind dazed slightly when he saw Lefiyas fair white butt sticking in the air while the previously perfect line dividing her vulva were now slightly parted. Vahn could see her healthy red depths palpitating eagerly as the entrance of Lefiyas v.a.g.i.n.a opened and closed greedily. Like all Elves, this process seemed to be tied directly with Lefiyas heartbeat and, as she was currently very excited, Vahn could see that Lefiyas insides were practically trembling in an inviting manner that made it hard to move his eyes away from. While he was distracted by this tantalizing sight, the wings on Lefiyas back began to tremble before, under Vahns watchful gaze, they began to shrink and retract back into her body. He had noticed previously that, instead of growing like a physical appendage, the wings had actually emerged from two swirls on her back that had been formed by the strange tree-like tattoo that emerged from her gemstone. Now, Vahn could see the tree slowly retracting its branches and shrink away until, nearly a minuteter, it had vanished within the now inert gemstone. Previously, it had been releasing a steady and vibrant light but, now that Lefiyas body had started to calm down, the gemstone had gone dark. Once he had observed this process from start to finish, Vahn decided to help fix Lefiyas posture. Though he felt like he could admire her appearance for an indeterminate amount of time, Vahn knew the aftercare was very important. If s.e.x could be graded on a ten-point scale, Vahn felt that the importance of forey and aftercare were both worth four points, while the s.e.x.u.a.l act itself was only worth two. After all, though s.e.x was a very passionate affair that allowed two people to bond very closely with each other, the parts that left the deepest impression were usually the buildup to the event, and the physical and emotional aftercare when your body was already in a state of blissful release. Vahn took a warm towel and began wiping down Lefiyas body very carefully, making sure not to cause her any difort before lowering her h.i.p.s to the bed. She was beginning toe down from her trip so Vahn rolled her over to the side beforeying next to her and patiently waiting for rity to return to her eyes. All the while, Vahn just appreciated Lefiyas beauty, even though she now had a lightyer of sweat covering her fair skin. The blush on her face had turned into a mellow pink while strands of moist hair clung to her face, framing it in a perfect representation of contentedness. Her gleaming green eyes, which had been watery and dazed from her s.e.x.u.a.l excitement, slowly became clear and Vahn could see as her star-shaped pupils, which had previously dted slightly, were beginning to contract back into focus. Thezy andcent expression on Lefiyas face morphed into a happy smile and, without any words being necessary between them, Vahn leaned in and gave her a gentle series of kisses. At the same time, he pulled Lefiya into his embrace, hugging her tired body that had, admittedly, been put through far more exertion than a v.i.r.g.i.n should have had to experience. Though they would probably have more s.e.xter, as the day, anding night, were still young, now was the time to simply experience thefort they brought to each other. For Vahn, he held the seemingly frail young girl in his arms, feeling a strong desire to protect her from harm. As for Lefiya, she foundfort in Vahns warm embrace, feeling as though he was a firm and steady support she could always rely on... --- After simply cuddling for the better part of an hour, Lefiya had calmed down a great deal, to the point where she yfully linked her leg with his. There was a perpetual blush covering her face, but her expression was very natural, the perfect image of a maiden in love. Vahn brushed his fingers through her hair, smiling as he said, "Honestly, you were amazing back then..." As if memories of her behavior had resurfaced the moment he said those words, Lefiyas face began to turn crimson until the color spread into her slightly drooping ears. In a small and sheepish voice, she responded by saying, "I dont know what came over me...how embarrassing..." Hearing her remark, Vahn issued a light chuckle, surprising the confused Lefiya the next moment by giving her a quick peck on the lips before saying, "Rememberst time, when you asked me to order you to be honest...I dont mind, Lefiya, even if you are a lewd girl...after all, youre only lewd for me, and that is all that really matters~." Lefiya seemed simultaneously relieved, and extremely embarrassed by his words, yet, surprising Vahn greatly, she followed up by saying, "I dont think that is true..." Before he could ask what she meant, Lefiya turned her eyes up at him and exined, "I think I could be lewd for Ais too...she...I just..." This time, Vahn couldnt hold back hisughter at all, causing Lefiya to flush ruby red before she began lightly beating against his chest with small and powerless hits. Vahn, of course, knew that Lefiya had been infatuated with Ais in the past, even if it wasnt actually love. Her adtion towards the girl that had been her idol had reached an extreme level, to the point where she had constant delusions about their potential interactions. Though she had opened her heart to him, it wasnt as if she and Ais had ever grown apart. In fact, because of his support of their budding rtionship, the two girls had grown much closer over thest year. Grabbing Lefiyas hand, which was about to hit his chest, Vahn held it firmly in his grasp before leaning in and whispering, "Next time, lets invite Ais to y with us...I think youll be surprised with just how curious that girl can be...if you want, I can even just watch the two of you from the side, at least for a little while~." At this point, Lefiya had turned into a tomato-colored statue and, even against Vahns expectations, a small trail of blood began to trickle from her left nostril. Her star-shaped pupils were expanding and contracting very quickly as Lefiya began to lose focus, inevitably issuing a wawawawa... that caused him tough out loud once again... --- After helping Lefiya calm down again, Vahn ended up sitting behind the n.a.k.e.d Elf, tracing a line of blood down her back so that he could update her status board. She needed a bit of time to recover before they did anything more strenuous and, after talking to her about the fact she had grown wings, even Lefiya was very curious about her current status. Now that she had ingested the [Wishes Blessing], it was obvious she wasnt a normal Elf any longer. After all, there werent any Elves that had gems growing out of their body, runes lining the inside of their w.o.m.b, tri-colored hair, and strange tattoos that sprouted from their body. Just her eyes alone made it very apparent she was no longer just an Elf,pletely ignoring the fact that she had sprouted fairy-like wings. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Lefiya Viridis Race: Sacred Tree Fairy Spirit LV. 4(+) POW: 719+(H119)->(G207) END: 1625+(F301)->(D547) DEX: 2092+(F316)->(C620) AGI: 2371+(G282)->(E498) MAG: 3891+(D515)->(A939) Skills: [Fairy Queens Domain:Innate:B](new), [Fairy Cannon:A], [Concurrent Chanting:E->C], [Prometheuss Blessing:A], [Ros Sanitatem:I->H] Magic: [Rattatoskr:Innate:(sealed)], [Arcs Ray:C->B], [Fuside Farica:C->B], [Elf Ring:B], [Sagitta Magicka:F](new) Development Abilities: [Daughter of Wishe:I->D], [Mage:B->A], [Abnormal resistance:F->E], [Spirit Healing:E->C] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When Vahn saw the change in Lefiyas race, he wasnt really that surprised, after all, it was very obvious she wasnt an Elf any longer. However, when he saw the changes in her Skills and Development Abilities column, Vahn couldnt prevent his eyes from widening in shock. The fact that Lefiya had apletely new Innate was far outside his expectations and, from this alone, he knew that the fairy before him now possessed a Tier 3 soul. Though she obviouslycked the capabilities of one, her potential had been increased to that point and, in the future, Vahn knew that Lefiya would be much stronger than before. After recording the changes onto a piece of paper for her perusal, Vahn handed it over to the anxious Lefiya while exining, "Your race has been updated to a Sacred Tree Fairy Spirit, which would exin the wings that had popped out earlier. However, the thing you need to be most aware of is that you now possess a new rare skill, while your previous [Daughter of Wishe] seems to have been upgraded. In the future, your potential...even I cant really imagine how far you will go...its kind of exciting, hahahaha~." As if sharing his excitement, Lefiya held onto the paper tightly, crumpling it as a result while shaking excitedly. Since she was still n.a.k.e.d, Vahn could feel his heart begin to itch as the smile on his face became slightly strange. Lefiya, sharing a strong connection with him, immediately noticed the change and began to release a deep-hued bush while her breathing began to elerate. This time, as a result of her excitement, Lefiya decided she wanted to take the initiative. Taking advantage of the moment Vahn was dazed, Lefiya brought her body close to his, pressing her painfully sensitive b.r.e.a.s.ts against his chest before whispering into his ear, "I heard fairies were supposed to be yful and mischevious by nature...I wonder...Vahn, will you y with me~?" As if to emphasize the fact that she was indeed a fairy, wings slowly unfurled from Lefiyas back while a hazy light began to spread through her deep green eyes... (A/N: 8,211/30,000) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Om nom nom nom,Gimme Gimme...,More like Subus Fairy...) Chapter 743 - Duty

Chapter 743 - Duty

The day following Lefiyas birthday celebration, she became a very popr topic of discussion within the Manor, especially when everyone found out she had undergone a racial change. Riveria, especially, waspletely shocked by the fact that Lefiya had not only be a Spirit, but had a direct link to the Sacred Trees, made evident by her name. Just as Vahn hadpared her to Terra, for a brief moment, all the Elves within the Manor had a very simr impression, even Eina and Risna. For Riveria and Ryuu, both have close ties to the Sacred Trees within the Elven Kingdom, Lefiya now had nearly the same presence as a sapling of the Sacred Tree. Of course, they werent the only ones that found the changes in Lefiya very interesting as both Ais and Tiona were ecstatic when they learned she could sprout wings. Almost as if they couldnt wait for a single moment longer, they had dragged her off to the Sub-Space orb to fly around together, with Ais being the first to pull Lefiya along. Since she had only recently discussed including Ais in their next y, Lefiyas face had turned beet red to the point where illusory steam sprouted from her tri-colored hair. Even so, she followed along with Ais and Tiona with a happy smile on her face, though the glimmer in her eyes was apparent to those possessing high perception. Once Lefiya had been dragged away, Vahn was forced to exin everything that had happened, including some of the more intimate details, such as Lefiyas dangerous capabilities in the bedroom. He was surprised when Ryuu, having been born into a family that tended to the Sacred Trees, nodded her head in understanding, exining, "It isnt that well known, but there are certain ceremonies that take ce to help increase the vitality of the Sacred Trees. Usually, we would carefully raise animals that had a very high affinity with nature before sacrificing them on the roots of the Sacred Tree. It isnt that surprising that Lefiyas body would have a simr quality and, as your...fluids...are rather unique, Im not surprised that kind of thing happened. Just...make sure to be careful..." Watching Ryuu run her fingers sheepishly through her golden hair, Vahns expression softened into a smile, nodding his head as he said, "Sure...thanks for worrying about me, Ryuu..." Eliciting a rare blush from Ryuu, Vahns smile grew in size until Loki suddenly chimed in, saying, "The fact that your creation ability produced an item that can change a persons race is a bit difficult to believe. If not for the fact that I had seen it with my own eyes, I would have never imagined such a thing was possible. Vahn, you really should put more effort into learning how to control that ability of yours. Since it was able to increase Lefiyas strength so drastically, it would not only be a great asset to the Alliance, but it would help keep everyone safe in the future." Loki wasnt the only one who was struggling toprehend what they had just learned, as all the goddesses present had moderately incredulous expressions on their faces. They had all lived for hundreds of millions of years, during which time nothing even remotely simr to what Vahn had just aplished had happened. Yes, new races would pop up every now and then, but these were just natural mutations and rare exceptions. The fact that he had simply given Lefiya a vial of light, which changed the very nature of her existence in just an hour, was very difficult to believe. If he hadnt done something even more unbelievable in the past, by reversing the time of Shizunes body, it would have been even more difficult to wrap their heads around. Hearing Lokis words, Vahn nodded his head in agreement, sincerely wishing he actually had a way to obtain more unique grade items from the system. Unfortunately, the only way such items could be obtained were through Quests and, though he hadpleted several dozen random quests while exploring the Dungeon, he had never been awarded such an item. Thus far, it was only through increasing a persons affection that he had been able to obtain them, though Quests such as [A Mans Responsibility] had also afforded him unique, though only his children could use them. Vahn had long since realized that unique items were usually obtained through Quests rted to his bonds with other people, especially his loved ones. However, even though this was the case, even girls like Hestia had never given him any extra quests. Sis had informed him that there would be a way to get Unique itemster on but, until now, she had never been able to reveal any details. Unless he managed to increase the functionality of The Path, bypletely hidden objectives and unlocking optional quests, there was no way to make any headway. Unfortunately, not that he wasining, he had always been very busy with the various matters that required his attention. Vahn simply didnt have the time to try and discover new system functions, nor did he want to invest what little free time he did have trying to learn how to exploit his system further... Seeing that he was seriously considering the matter, Loki nodded her head in satisfaction, saying, "Its good that youre treating things seriously. Your powers and abilities are something that has never existed in this world, not in all its long history. Nobody can really help you understand your unique capabilities unless you yourself are putting in the effort. However, never forget that you can always talk to us whenever youre confused about something. At the very least, Im certain most of the hopelessly infatuated brats can help you out..." As Loki was speaking, she adopted a mischevious smile and gestured to Riveria, Ryuu, and, Syr. As he had turned his eyes to the girls while Loki gestured to them, Vahn saw their reactions to being referred to as hopelessly infatuated brats. Riveria had furrowed her brows slightly while Ryuu had adopted another rare blush, averting her eyes to the side as if she couldnt see him looking at her. As for Syr, she just issued a gentle smile, squinting her eyes slightly as if she found the situation rather amusing. She didnt really mind that a nearly five-hundred-million-year-old goddess referred to her as a brat, especially considering the difference in their age. Even so, Syr wondered how she would be able to get even with Loki, though just a little bit... --- After this discussion hade to an end, Vahn ended up being pulled aside by Loki, reminding him that he still needed to tend to Eirer this afternoon. Since he couldnt forget such a thing, even if he had been busy with ten-thousand other tasks, Vahn assured her that he would take care of it. Unlike his feelings towards Freya, which were currently a littleplicated, Vahn had a very good impression of Eirene. Not only was she a very beautiful and mature looking goddess, but her character was also righteous and she had a simultaneously gentle, yet lively, disposition. She was always quick topliment others and, though she could be a little abrasive when it came to discussing what made someone a Hero, her strong desire for a peaceful world resonated greatly with Vahn. Being a Goddes of Peace, Order, and Longevity, Eirene was someone who never ceased her pursuit of true peace within the world. It was her earnest desire that all people could live alongside each other, working together to maintain order and interacting amicably amongst their fellows. She disliked conflict but, in order to keep things from escting out of control, Eirene had taken it upon herself to create the Familia that was responsible for maintaining public order within the City. However, even when she came across people that hadmitted viinous acts, Eirene never judged them too harshly. She always tried to set people back on a course where they would be able to not only better their own lives, but the lives of others. This had the unfortunate consequence of some people taking advantage of her kindness, but Eirene never let it get to her. Even now, nearly 30% of her entire Familia wasprised of former criminals that she had tried to set on the right path, even though many simply joined to avoid longer jail times, or worse punishments. While thinking of Eirenes ratherplex affairs, as some of the people that had let her down were her former lovers, Vahn made his way to Terras Garden. He needed to spend some time with Alexa before the afternoon came, or there wouldnt be any timeter. It was fortunate that Lefiya, while showing an unnatural draw towards s.e.x.u.a.l acts, wasnt as inconsiderate as Freya had been. She had put off her own celebration until the early afternoon, giving Vahn ample time to visit Alexa beforehand. It was very important that, unless it couldnt be helped, Vahn always showed up on time. After all, just imagining Alexa patiently waiting for his arrival every day, even if he was sometimes dayste, made him feel very guilty. This was exacerbated by the fact that he would inherit the memories of his memory fragment, who would often check up on Alexa as she spent days watching the empty space where he was set to appear from... With the lonely image of Alexa in his mind, Vahn stepped into Terras Garden, unfazed by the fact she waszily sitting on her perch, waiting for his arrival. Though he certainly wasnt immune to her beauty, Vahn had be very ustomed to Terra being n.a.k.e.d, much like everyone else that visited the Garden. The only time she seemed to don clothes was whenever she left the area, or when one of the children came along with him. Since her beauty seemed like it was simultaneously enhancing, and enhanced by, nature, Vahn felt like it was perfectly natural for her to be like this. He was just happy that her memory fragment had enough propriety to always wear clothing within the Spirit-Time orb, lest Alexa picks up a simr habit... Lightly nibbling on her finger, Terra issued an elegant, yet sensual, smile while saying, "Thesest few days have been very interesting for you, havent they, Master~? Ufufufu~." She was very aware of all the new girls her Master had been sleeping withtely and, though she wished it had been her in their ce, Terra was actually proud that her Master was so capable. From her perspective, just as he thought her n.a.k.e.dness was natural, Terra felt her Master should be surrounded by women. If other women didnt seek him out, be they mortal or goddess, Terra would have felt this went against the natural order of things. After all, he could even tame ridiculous existences like Eva, while giving meaning and power to existences such as herself. Returning a small smile to Terra, Vahn walked forward, not even breaking stride when his feet contacted the waters surface. With his mastery of [Shundo] and [Koku Shundo], creating a foothold on the surface of water was much easier than forming them in the air. Thus, with a casual ease, Vahn walked up to Terra and epted the orb she offered to him. After perusing it for a short while, Vahn turned his eyes back to her and said, "I guess Ill entrust my body to you, Terra...go easy on me, okay~?" Vahn knew exactly how much Terra got off on the fact that he left his defenseless body in her care, even if he wasnt actually in any danger. True Dragons were not only prideful, but they were very possessive of their treasures, with him being the most precious treasure to the elegant woman before him. Releasing a peal of sensual and satisfiedughter, Terra then smiled before bringing her body to a seated position and wrapping her wings around her Masters body. She pulled him in close, embracing his body tightly while saying, "Leave it to me, Master~." enting her words, even though it didnt exactly inspire confidence, Terra traced her long tongue up his cheek beforeughing with an ufufufufu~ once again. Vahn just shook his head in a slightly exasperated manner before sighing lightly and inserting his intent into the orb. Terra would never put him in apromising position so, if someone approached while she had been entrusted with his body, she would deal with the situation easily, and efficiently, even if it was an enemy as powerful as Siegfried... Vahn wasnt surprised to find Alexa hovering in front of him the moment he entered into the orb, her face only a few centimeters away from his own. A small smile spread across his face and, as she was already very close, Vahn gave the small True Dragon a kiss on the forehead before saying, "Im back, Alexa..." In return, Alexa produced a small smile of her own before nodding her head and flittering around to sit on his shoulders. She crossed her arms on his head and leaned forward, knowing that he would lose his bnce even if she sat a little awkwardly. Then, with an expectant smile on her face, Alexa said, "Wee back, Papa..." For the next hundred hours, Vahn spent his time watching over Alexas Cultivation progress, helping to guide her whenever she was making any mistakes. She had been practicing hard for thest two month, so the amount of progress she had made was verymendable. Vahn noticed that, as a result of using the [Mind of Still Water, Heart of Eternal Ice], Alexas disposition had be calm and, when she wasnt interacting with him, somewhat cold. Her eyes seemed to be sharper and there was an aloof feeling contained within their leafy green depths. However, when she turned them to him, Vahn saw those cold emotions melt away in an instant as she patiently listened to his guidance. During the times when she wasnt demonstrating her practice, and receiving guidance from him, Alexa had him serve as a glorified body-pillow as they took long naps together. Though it might have seemed a little wasteful to use their time simply lounging about, Vahn knew that Alexa was genuinely happy just having the warmth of a real person, especially if it was his. Though the memory fragments had the exact same warmth, most people were able to tell there was something off about them, especially if they knew the real people the fragments were based off of. After all, a normal person had a physical body, mana body, and spirit body. The memory fragments, however, had none of these things and simply emted the functions. Though they were very realistic, it wasnt something that could fool those with high perception and, when it came to True Dragons, they had some of the highest. Thus, knowing that it would be another sixty days before he could give her the warmth she craved, Vahn didnt mind indulging his cute little Dragon Princess requests. Even if she wanted to spend the entire 100 hours just sleeping away under the gentle rays of light shining down from above, Vahn wouldnt have minded at all. After all, it was the right of young daughters to be a bit willful and, as a respectable and doting father, Vahn knew it was his responsibility to be there for them during such moments... (A/N: 10,860/30,000) (A/N: Alternate Titles: One day, all the girls are going to be able to fly through the sky xD...,Terra will protect Master, surely (UwU)...,I actually feel a little sorry for Alexa at this point...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 744 - Peace

Chapter 744 - Peace

After spending time with Alexa, and extricating himself from Terras clutches, Vahn left the Garden with a peaceful smile on his face. The time for his rendezvous with Eirene was fast approaching and, though he still had a bit of time, Vahn made an exception and headed over to the Guest Residence early. After all, Eirene wasnt simply a guest, but a close ally, a good friend, and one of the goddesses he truly believed to be a capable mother for his children. Though she hadnt made any personal vows binding them together, Eirene had actually been the one to propose swearing off other men, even before Lok mentioned it. After all, she figured that, if she were going to have a child with a man, it wouldnt be appropriate for her to have other rtionsh.i.p.s. As a goddess of Peace, Order, and Longevity, this simply made sense to her. This,bined with the good impression he had of her character, made Vahn have a special ce in his heart for the stoic and noble goddess. As he approached the Guest Residence, thinking about Eirene, Vahn was somewhat surprised to actually discover there were two presences already waiting within. Even without investigating more closely, Vahn immediately understood who therge auras belonged to. Thus, when he saw Loki and Eirene sitting next to each other, sampling a ruby red wine, Vahn wasnt even remotely surprised. Instead, he put on a polite and casual smile as he said, "I didnt expect you to arrive so early, Eirene. I actually wanted to be here to greet you, but it seems I had kept you waiting..." Eirene smiled radiantly when she heard Vahns words while Lokis reaction was less inhibited, turning into a cacklingugh as she said, "Looks like I win our little bet, Eirene~!" Hearing her fellow goddess words, Eireneughed lightly before asking in an inquisitive tone, "And youre saying you didnt inform him of my arrival, dear Loki~?" Loki just waved her hand dismissively and said, "Bah! Even though I might have the means, you were here the entire time with me. Besides, Impletely confident in my understanding of Vahn, so that kind of thing is entirely unnecessary, kukukuku~" Walking over to the two goddesses, Vahn asked, "And, what exactly did the two of you bet on?" Eirene, after watching Loki closely for any sign of her usual trickery, turned her attention to Vahn, smiling as she said, "Though it is somewhat embarrassing to admit, I was a little too excited about today and decided to arrive early. Loki brought me over to the Guest Residence to keep mepany and, after sharing a few drinks, we made a bet saying if you would show up early, on time, orte. My guess was that you would show up punctually, while Loki said you would likely be here upwards of an hour early..." Though she was saying it in a somewhat in manner, Vahn knew Eirene was happy that he had shown up early, as her Affection, which had been fluctuating stably around 97-99, finally jumped up to 100, even though the bracket parameter actually showed (Faithful), instead of (Love). At the same time, apanying that preliminary notification, Vahn received several other notifications within his mind, including thepletion of Eirenes [The Hearts Desire] Quest. Vahn, using his sub-process mind, began perusing the notifications while sitting between the two goddesses and joining them for a drink. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Eirene Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: S Rewards: 10,000OP, 1x[Hearts Desire: Eirene] Grade Rewards: 100,000OP, [Command Howl:B] Skill Received,1x[Rallying Gong] [Rallying Gong] Rank: Unique Use: A small golden gong that, once wrung, can be heard clear across even the most chaotic battlefields. Any allies that hear the sound of this gong have their parameters enhanced by 50%, decaying 1% every minute before returning to normal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn was surprised by the functionality of the [Rallying Gong], as it could actually turn the tide ofrge fights very easily. He then considered if he should use Eirenes [Hearts Desire] but, after considering his past experience with such things, Vahn decided to let it sit in his Inventory. Currently, he had the unused [Hearts Desire]s of Riveria, Lefiya, Freya, Shizune, and Eirene. Ever since Riveria had shown how ufortable she was with the idea of him peering into her past, even though he was certain she would be okay with it now, Vahn had decided to not use them. He was veryfortable with his rtionsh.i.p.s at present and, unlike in the past, Vahn felt that it was unnecessary to rely on them, even for information. Though this could change during an emergency, that was something worth thinking about then and there, not something to harp over in the present. For the time being, the only thing that really mattered was the two goddesses sitting at his sides, especially the clearly nervous goddess sitting at his right. Eirene, while making small talk, kept sending him longing looks periodically while her aura had started clinging to him the moment he sat down. The fact that he had been able to get her Affection to 100 showed that she had already clearly found her resolve. By the time this day came to an end, she would be inextricably bound to him and, for the first time in her long life, she would get to experience the joys of what it was to be a mother, even if only expecting. Though the pregnancy would undoubtedly interfere with her duties around the City, Eirene was anxiously anticipating being a mother, especially to one of the adorable little children Vahn had produced with other goddesses... Completely aware of what her fellow goddess was thinking, Loki ended up excusing herself after sticking around until the time the two had set aside to do the deed. Unlike what happened with Freya, Loki didnt feel the need to stick around and bother Eirene, especially since thetter goddess wouldnt have appreciated it very much. Being the highly sensible goddess she was, Eirene hadnt been as experimental as many of her fellow gods, to the point where she had never even done anything other than basic missionary. Some of her former lovers had tried to convince her to do other things but, before she was willing to do so, she required that they be reputed Heroes that were recognized by society first. Since nobody had ever met her expectations, Eirene had only maintained very basic rtionsh.i.p.s in the past, with Vahn being the first seriousmitment she ever had. After all, he was already a Hero that was recognized by the people and, even though he did some things she didnt agree with, her own life wasnt free of such blemishes. Sometimes, the situation called for extreme measures and, in the face of evil, it was often necessary for those with righteous hearts to descend amongst the shadows, at least for a short while. One of the things that made someone a true hero was, even after they stepped into the darkness, they were able to emerge without it affecting their heart and mind. Many people, once tainted, would slowly be corrupted by the darkness they had experienced. Vahn, however, always bounced back from such things and, it was for reasons like this, Eirene had a very deep affection for the rather young hero. If it was him, she had already decided to do her best and, even if just the thought of such things weighed heavily on her heart, Eirene resolved herself to do her best to satisfy her young lover, the hero in her heart, and the man who would sire her child... The moment Loki left the Guest Residence, the atmosphere inside the room grew tense and awkward, with silence reigning for several long seconds. It wasnt until Vahn released a lightheartedugh that the tension was broken, even though Eirene was confused by his sudden shift in behavior. To answer her confused expression, Vahn smiled in the most gentle manner he could manage, softly saying, "Because our rtionship is a little unique, it makes sense that things would be a little awkward at first. However, I wouldnt have shown up so early if I wasnt fond of you, Eirene. Not only are you very beautiful, especially with your gentle blue hair and eyes, but your character is exceptional. I wholeheartedly believe you will make a fine mother and it is my honor to be the man who will father what I believe will be an amazing child..." Once again, silence dominated the room while Eirene looked at Vahns smiling face with a nk expression on her own. This time, however, the silence didnt persist for very long as Eirene suddenly released a peal of softughter to apany Vahns own. Since he had made such a confession, Eirene feltpelled to do the same, thus, after forming her thoughts into a cohesive structure, she matched his gaze and said, "For longer than Id like to admit, Ive always been looking for a man to share my life with. I know it was a little unfair to them, but Ive always had a great deal of respect for the Heroes that would pop up every now and then. I have a tendency to push the people Im involved with to be Heroes themselves, thus, Im very grateful to have met you, Vahn. Your words, the kindness you have shown me, I will do my best to repay it in full...even if..." Vahn blinked, confused by Eirenes sudden trailing of her words until she leaned in close, gesturing for him to lean down so she could whisper in his ear. What he heard from her waspletely outside his expectations, causing Vahns mind to nk for a moment while Eirene bashfully lowered her head. She knew Vahn managed many women, even to the point he could get advantages against Loki and Freya, but she didnt know what his preferences were. After thinking of the most shameless thing she could imagine, Eirene had whispered into his ear, "I dont mind, even if you want to do it from behind..." From how she had treated the matter, Vahn wasnt sure exactly what Eirene meant from behind, meaning he wasnt sure if she meant to do it the normal way, or in the more deviant manner. Since she had a very docile appearance, and wasnt supposed to be that experienced, it was impossible for Vahn to decipher her meaning. He also didnt want to force her to rify, as it would only make things difficult for them both if he pressed her on the issue. For now, he just ced his hand on her shoulder, drawing her gaze back toward him as he smiled and said, "Dont worry, Eirene, Im not going to press you to do anything youre ufortable with. For now, Im happy just knowing I get to be with an amazing goddess like you...we can try other thingster, there is no rush..." Eirene released a sigh of profound relief, going so far as to pat her chest in order to quiet the furious beating of her heart. The fact that Vahn had given her leniency, even though she had given him permission to do as he pleased, increased Eirenes impression of him even more. She could see that his Heroic character was something he possessed, even during moments where most men would show their beastly nature. With a smile on her face, she couldnt help but mentally remark, ("This is how a True Hero should be, always cognizant of the emotional state of others. Im d I was able to meet a boy like him...") While this thought had passed through her mind, Eirene showed a very beautiful smile on her face, almost as if she was feeling incredibly vindicated at this moment. Vahn wasnt sure what was going through her mind but he was very aware that Eirenes impression of him seemed to improve. With a smile of his own, Vahn helped her rise from the sofa and, after linking arms with her, escorted Eirene to the elevator. The fact that she gently rested her head against his shoulder during the short elevator ride made the soft spot in his heart where Eirene had made her home be especially sensitive. He could tell that, though having a bit of experience, Eirene was a very innocent and reserved woman. Though she might very well have the trait of a quiet woman who awakened in the bedroom, Vahn didnt think this was the case. After all, all gods had their unique quirks and, even if such principles held true for mortals, it didnt necessarily apply to the myriad gods that had descended to the Mortal World. Once they reached the room, Vahn walked Eirene out of the elevator and waited for her to look around with her curious expression for a few moments before she released his arm and, very suddenly, began helping to slowly remove his clothing. Vahn felt surprised but, after considering her nature, Eirenes behavior made a lot of sense. It was exactly because she was a principled and sensible woman that Eirene had started doing what would have been the duty of a wife or mistress. Thus, instead of letting his momentary confusion make things awkward, Vahn worked with Eirene to help her remove his clothing, taking note of the happy and contented expression she had on her face. He noticed that she didnt actually seem to pay much attention to his figure, which was a little strange, but it was probably just another one of her quirks. Had he seen some of her former partners, Vahn would have known that Eirene almost never took someones physical appearance into consideration, always looking at their character alone. After she had removed all his clothing, Eirene gave a small nod before moving towards the bed and loosening the pale golden sash around her waist. Though she always wore very conservative and simple clothing, Eirenes figure still stood out regardless of her efforts. When she removed the white clothes, bordered with gentle blue ents, from her body, Vahn couldnt stop himself from holding his breath for a short moment. Though she was slightly shorter than Hephaestus and Loki, being only 163cm tall, Eirenes figure beneath her in white dress was a shocking sight to behold. She had a shapely hourss figure and, as her back had been to him, Vahn followed her braided blue hair down the elegant line of her back until his eyesnded on her perfectly rounded and plush buttocks. Beneath those two immacte shaped butt cheeks, Eirene also had full thighs, appearing soft and pliable at a nce, giving Vahn a slight urge to simplyy his head across herp and take a nap. When Eirene turned around, revealing her somewhat shy and demure smile, Vahns eyes trailed up her body before fixing themselves to her beautiful blue gems, which seemed to only reflect him at the moment. Of course, his passing nce had been all it took for Vahn toplete his mental image of Eirene, saving it within his mind for all eternity. Like every other goddess, Eirene waspletely bare down below and, after passing her almost cute navel, Vahn had briefly locked eyes on her well-sculpted b.r.e.a.s.ts, seemingly defying gravity as they perfectly held their shape. They were only the lower side of a C-Cup but, even without touching them, Vahn knew they would be incredibly soft... Not minding Vahns gaze at all, Eirene actually felt the way he looked at her was the appropriate way a man should look at a woman. Too many men had possessive, greedy, and l.u.s.tful looks in their eyes, especially when they saw an attractive woman. Vahns gaze, however, showed genuine appreciation and, though she could feel his excitement, there was a certain confidence that radiated off of Vahn. He didnt need to be possessive, greedy, or even l.u.s.tful, as he was alreadypletely confident he would get what he wanted, as he had done what was necessary to obtain it. Eirene felt his gaze was very refreshing and, though she wanted to berate herself for thing such things, she humored thoughts of trying to get him to look at her other ways in the future. This thought passed very quickly, however, causing a small smile to appear on Eirenes face as she said, "Please, treat me kindly...Vahn." (A/N: 13,658/30,000...nearly eight hours in...I dont think Im going to survive this challenge xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Eirene wants one...,Vahn doesnt need any crutches anymore (UwU),Doki Doki, Eirene-sama) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 745 - Eirene

Chapter 745 - Eirene

Making his way over to her side, Vahn pulled Eirene into his embrace, allowing their bare bodies to touch against each other before gently kissing his lips. He kept things rtively tame, as it was obvious that Eirene wasnt used to anything more advanced, but still enjoyed the feeling of her b.r.e.a.s.ts pressing against his chest. Though they werent quite as soft as Hestias, who seemed to possess an Innate giving her the softest b.r.e.a.s.ts among both gods and mortals, but they were still very pleasant and deformed nicely while he held her close. The fact she made no efforts to resist him at all, simply allowing him to do as he pleased, made Vahn feel a strange desire to not betray the trust she had ced in him... Guiding Eirene to the bed, which had beenpletely reced since the time he had been with Freya, Vahn slowly lowered her to its surface. Eirenes cency actually unnerved him a little, especially since she was watching him with an unwavering gaze filled with trust and undisguised infatuation. Then, when she had beenid against the bed through his efforts, Eirene smiled lovingly and opened her arms, clearly inviting him into her embrace. Vahn blinked, somewhat confused about how things were developing but, never one to refuse the embrace of a woman, he leaned over of her body and allowed her to pull him close. The resulting embracest for a few minutes, during which time Vahn just absentmindedly enjoyed Eirenesforting touch while she hugged his face into the cleavage of her b.r.e.a.s.ts. She didnt seem to mind his weight against her body at all and, even though there was a startlingly hot object pressed against her abdomen, Eirene continued to hold him closely before framing his face and saying, "Youre a good man, Vahn...thank you for letting me prepare my heart...Im ready now." After saying her piece, Eirene gave him a very brief kiss before rxing against the bed and slightly parting her legs. It was looking like, true to the rumors involving her, Eirene wanted to keep things very simple, something Vahn actually found rather refreshing. Since Eirene was actually more than ready, contrary to her rather demure behavior, Vahn deftly found the correct angle, marveling at how Eirenes flesh seemed to simultaneously envelop him with both a gentle, yet snug, pressure. When he inserted himself inside of her, Eirene released a small sigh before producing a smile and musing, "Im d I took Lokis advice. Without the medicine, Im not sure if my body would actually be suitable to receive you...haaaaa..." Hearing this, Vahn felt that same strange sense of pride dance around in his chest, bringing a smile to his face as he said, "Youre doing well, Eirene, just leave everything else to me..." Nodding her head, Eirene then wrapped her arms around his back and loosely held onto his body without making many movements of her own. It was just him, slowly pistoning his h.i.p.s without stressing Eirenes body too much, as she gave Vahn a feeling as though she were very delicate and fragile. She didnt seem to derive too much pleasure and enjoyment from s.e.x, instead focusing on his reactions and supporting him with randompliments. It was a little strange, especially considering he wasnt doing much at the moment, so Vahn eventually slowly his already slow movements, asking, "Eirene, do you not enjoy having s.e.x...?" Eirene gave a simple smile in response before exining, "Well, it certainly feels good, but I dont think its that healthy for people to seek excessive pleasure. There are many things in the world that can give your life greater meaning than simply indulging in s.e.x.u.a.l pleasures. Im sure youve experienced such things, especially after your children were born, yes...?" When he heard her exin it like this, Vahn fell into thought for a moment before nodding his head in affirmation. However, he knew there was something wrong about Eirenes words so he then said, "That may be true. In fact, the time I spend with my daughters...I cant really imagine anything more fulfilling. However, during moments like this, when two people areing together to form a singr bond...I believe it is important to enjoy it. Even if you dont ce much emphasis on the act, ignoring anythingplex like ys, the emotional connection is very important...you see, it makes me happy when Im able to make the women Im with happy. In many cases, seeing me happy, also makes the girls even happier, effectively creating a loop where we can share each others happiness. Im not really sure if that makes sense...it just feels right...?" Hearing Vahns exnation, Eirene chuckled lightly, bringing her hands to his face with a loving smile on hers as she said, "Vahn, know that I am already very happy. However, if you want to try to make me happier...who am I to stop you...? Please, do whatever you like...I may be inexperienced, but I will do my best to make you happy as well..." Eirene had already decided to let Vahn do as he pleased, even before they began. Seeing him so concerned for her made a gentle warmth spread through her heart and, though she couldnt exactly agree with everything he said, she knew he meant well. Vahn could tell that Eirene wasnt really convinced by his words so he decided to try and show her through his actions. Knowing she might not enjoy anything too intense, Vahn decided to slowly ease her into things but using his [Grooming] to begin stroking various parts of her body. So she would be able to focus on each sensation, he didnt begin kissing her and, very gently, began kissing around her neck, shoulders, and corbone. He noticed the Eirenes body twitched slightly whenever his hands would pass over her soft and delicate skin. It was strange, especially since he knew she often fought and captured criminals, that Eirenes body seemed so frail... It took a bit longer than he expected, but Eirene eventually released a much hotter sigh than before, making the demure and soft sighs from earlier seem exceptionally tame. Realizing it herself, Eirene lightly chuckled and said, "If its like this, I can understand a little what you mean...youre so gentle, yet everything you do is effective...Ive never really experienced anything like this before..." It was at this moment that Vahn gave Eirene a short kiss, still keeping things tame for the moment, before he pulled away to say, "Things can go much further than this...one day, when you are truly open to the idea, I will show you...the bonds between people that love each other are what give moments like this their significance. It isnt the s.e.x.u.a.l act itself, but what we give to each other that matters...just as youre allowing me to do as I please...while Im trying to make youfortable and satisfied...if we didnt both want to give the other something, this would be nothing more than a means to an end...serving no greater purpose at all..." This time, Eirenes eyes opened a little wider, slightly taken aback by the content of Vahns words. They were much more convincing than what he had said previously and, though she couldntpletely agree with each part, Eirene knew there was a great deal of truth to his words. If one side simply gave to the other, without an exchange of emotions, the party giving would be nothing more than a glorified p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e. Even if that wasnt the case, they both had a reason to be here, at this specific moment, which was so that she could conceive a child. If she simply allowed Vahn to do as he pleased, without taking any more proactive measures, it would almost be like she was letting him do what he wanted in exchange for a child...which was an awful thought to have. Keying in on a few select words Vahn had stated, Eirene mustered up her courage, just like she would do before leading a raid into a den of criminals, saying, "As I said, Vahn, Im not very experienced with things like this...however...I want you to show me how far things can go. I have already given you my trust and, even if things get a little out of hand, I believe you will not stray from the path you have chosen to walk...so show me, the strength of the bond between two people...I want to know how strong it can be." As if they had traded ces once again, Vahns eyes widened at Eirenes words, thoughts racing through his mind as he tried to process their meaning. Just like herment about doing it from behind, Vahn wasnt sure if the meaning behind her words matched with his understanding of them. The one thing he knew was, by simply looking at Eirenes calm and determined gaze, she hadpletely entrusted things to him. How far he pushed her, what they experienced together, it was up to him to decide when things woulde to an end. Depending on his choices, he couldpletely reshape how Eirene treated the rtionship between men and women... Suddenly realization hit Vahns mind, causing a smile to appear on his face as he reached out his hand to gently stroke Eirenes aqua-blue hair. He leaned down, kissing her exposed forehead before saying, "Since youve given me your trust, I will give you my everything...it might be a little scary, though, as it would require you to do the same..." This time, Eirenes chuckle turned into a lightugh as she said, "Very well, Vahn...I know Im not the first goddess whose heart youve managed to reach...I trust you. Come, if you want my everything, take it..." As she spoke, Eirene opened her arms in a gesture as if she were offering herself up to him, no hesitation at all present in her expression and actions. Refusing to let down a woman who had ced her trust in him, goddess or not, Vahn threw away his own hesitation and began expanding his domain before contracting it to surround the bed. Then, just as he had done with Hephaestus and Loki in the past, Vahn began allowing his domain to mix with Eirenes aura, drawing out her divine power as the energies between their bodies began to meld together. For a brief moment, there was an unbridled surprise on Eirenes face until, much like Vahn, such thought seemedpletely irrelevant. Just as he could feel her everything, Eirene could feel Vahns entire existence, simultaneously small, frail, and weak, while also being insurmountablyrge, indomitable, and mighty. It wasnt the presence of a mortal and, though it wasnt as powerful as a god, Eirene couldnt help but feel like Vahn was far beyond any gods she had ever met before... Without any regards for time, Vahn melded with Eirene as a rainbow hue, intermixed with an ocean-blue radiated from their bodies. They were so taken by the passion shared between them, which seemed to infinitelypound upon itself, that, by the time the light began to fade away, nearly eight hours had passed, with them changing positions more than a hundred times. When everything was said and done, Eirene justy there in a daze while Vahn held her body from behind, gingerly kissing her neck while the now familiar presence spread her insides to their maximum capacity. Eirene didnt know what to think right now, as the experience she just shared with Vahn was far beyond her expectations. She actually felt like her existence itself had expanded slightly, in a way she couldnt even begin toprehend. The mortal boy holding her, his warmth, his scent, his presence itself, seemed to be permanently embedded in her thoughts, heart, and even her soul. Strangely, though this should have filled her with confusion and insecurities, Eirene knew Vahn hadnt kept anything from her, just as she had been unable to keep anything from him. They had given themselves to each otherpletely, something she hadnt even thought possible earlier, even when the words had originally left her mouth... Feeling Vahn slip out of her, Eirene experienced a sudden sense of loss, instinctually uttering, "Ah, no..." before realizing what she just said. Vahn just rolled her over to face him, an action she couldnt bring herself to resist at all. When she saw his face in close proximity to hers, Eirene felt her cheeks be hot, especially when she saw his gentle and knowing smile. As he came in to take a kiss from her, Eirene absentmindedly opened her mouth to receive him, feeling her mind start to numb when his tongue invaded, caressed, and intertwined with her own. Just as she had done during the previous eight hours, Eirene found herself reciprocating his kiss, even escting things slightly when she tightly clung to his head with her hands. When Vahn pulled away, he saw Eirenes red face and smiled once again, asking, "So, I know my words might not be very convincing, but I believe you should understand now...how about it, Eirene, can you feel the love I have for you now...?" He might not have had much before, as Eirene was more like someone he had respected as a friend, even while appreciating her beauty and fully intending to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e her. After melding with her Divinity, however, Vahn felt like there was no part of Eirene he didnt know, even some parts she herself hadnt be aware of before. At the time their existences seemed to have fused together, even though he lost his senses, Vahn felt his feelings intertwine with hers, bringing them to an absolute zero distance where nothing wasnt shared between them. Hearing his words, Eirene found herself breathing heavily and, inexplicably, the heat on her face continued to rise as she sheepishly muttered, "I...I under...I understand...I...I...I..." Reaching out his index finger, Vahn ced it against Eirenes lips, smiling in the most loving manner he could manage as he confidently stated, "I know..." At this moment, Vahn felt like he knew everything about Eirene, at least on an emotional level. She would probably struggle with her thoughts on what happened for a while after today but, once she came to ept the reality, Vahn knew she would be happier for it. He had felt how happy she could be, something Eirene didnt seem to be aware of herself, and she wouldnt be able to ignore that feeling anymore. During the moment when Eirene had entered a daze, Vahn gently lifted her right leg and, bringing her back to reality, slowly inserted himself into her again. Unlike the past, where she simply released a sigh of relief, Eirene released a throaty m.o.a.n, writhing around slightly in his embrace with a flushed expression on her face. She immediately began breathing faster before locking eyes with him when he brought his hand back to her face, saying, "Its time..." Then, to answer Eirenes unasked question, golden chains began to appear from the void as they slowly sn.a.k.e.d around her body. This time, Eirenes breathing became loud,bored, and excited. Even though she could feel the restrictive forceing from [Enkidu], Eirene managed to smile, tracing her palms across his chest as she said, "Vahn...I love you..." (A/N: 16,265/30,000...I aint gonna make it out of this one alive xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vani...,Less Talking, More Fluff (o`^ o)...,Just ording to keikaku...?) Chapter 746 - Tension

Chapter 746 - Tension

While Vahn was happily going about his life, spending time with his children, making love to beautiful girls and goddesses, and working hard to improve his strength, there were some ces where the atmosphere was not so pleasant. One such location was Fokvangr, the main residence of the Freya Familia, located near the richest section of the business district. It was a huge mansion, constructed in the form of arge temple with a solemn atmosphere, even at the best of times. Today, however, this generally solemn atmosphere had turned incredibly tense, almost to the point where the tension was palpable. The weaker members of the Familia, who usually held their heads high with pride, now hung them low, avoiding eye contact with the stronger members to avoid any potential trouble. As for the reason behind this tense atmosphere, it had been because Freya, who rarely visited the main residence, was now at the central region, having gathered all of her Elites. Generally, if she deigned to grace them with her presence, everyone in the Familia would have been beyond ecstatic. Today, however, even the newer members could sense there was something very wrong with the usual Freya, even though there were no visible changes. She still radiated a noble, indomitable aura, and was possessed of an unrivaled beauty that could sway the hearts of both men and women to do her bidding. Unlike her normal self, however, it was like she didnt have any of them in her eyes at all and, though it wasnt as if she had shown them much attention before, it was almost like there was disdain and contempt in her crystal clear, silver eyes... Freya, after gathering all of her Elite members, now sat on her throne as she looked out at all of them neatly gathered in a formation. Ottar, faithful as always, stood at her side radiating an oppressive aura, even without her asking him to do so. There were no servants present so, contrary to her typically behavior, Freya poured a ss of wine for herself. Seeing this, many people became even more tense, especially when Freya turned her eyes towards them. Currently, she didnt quite know what she was feeling but, seeing all of these people that she used to consider interesting, Freya couldnt help but find them...sorelycking. These were the Elites she had gathered over the years, many of which she had groomed from a very young age into capable Adventurers to serve her will. Just three days ago, Freya would have looked upon these people as her precious treasures, things to be cherished, polished, and disyed proudly. Now, Freya felt like they were allcking substance, each weaker than the next, severely limited in their potential. All of the effort she put into grooming them now seemed wasted, as if she were a fool blinded by her own restricted view of the world. The only ones that stood out among the two-hundred people she had gathered, other than Ottar at her side, were Allen, Hogni, Hedin, Grer, Afrigg, Dvalinn, Berling, and, the only female holding her waning interest, Helun. Allen Fromel was a Cat Person she had picked up in the past, essentially a stray kitten she had taken pity on after his n was wiped out. She had high hopes for him as, in order to seek vengeance and protect his sister, he had trained tirelessly to be stronger. As for the Dark Elf, Hogni, he served as a fine counterbnce to Hedin, a handsome Elf she had shown favor to. Freya had originally scouted them both, as she found that pairing them together, even though they hated each other, was very interesting. Then, there were the Gulliver Brothers, each rather unimpressive alone, but having incredible potential when together...at least, that is what Freya used to believe... Thest among them,pletely ignoring the other one-hundred-ny-one gathered Elites, was Helun, a beautiful Human woman that Freya had raised as her protege after Syr left her care. She was another demigoddess that Freya had stumbled across, though her fate had been inarguably more tragic than the grey-haired beauty she had been fond of in the past. Much like Syr, Helun had been raised as an orphan, even possessing simr attributes with an intrinsic ability to charm other people. Unlike Syr, however, Helun hadnt been so fortunate in her youth, suffering at the hands of the people who were supposed to have cared for her. By the time Freya discovered her existence, Helun had been a very high earning p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e in a private brothel that served men with more deviant tastes, typically targetted towards younger women Contrasting Syr, once again, Helun had been far more willing to be sculpted, all so that she could get revenge against the people that had wronged her. She willingly embraced everything Freya taught her, learning to manipte others with the same ease as some people drew breath. At the same time, Helun also worked hard to increase her strength, reaching the peak of Level 4 after only a few years of venturing into the Dungeon. Now, after havingpletely ughtered the people that had peddled her as their personal property, Helun had be one of the few females Freya had been interested in grooming. Now, however, much like she was feeling towards all her other Elites, Freya no longer thought she was very interesting... Though it had been more than an hour since everyone gathered, silence continued to dominate the tense atmosphere until Freya finally said, "I have gathered you all here for two reasons. The bnce of power within the City has begun to shift in favor of the Alliance and, regardless of what external forces attempt, it is unlikely they would be able to stop the already built momentum. Now, I had always prided my Familia as the strongest, hand picking each member and helping you develop your potential...Unfortunately, with fewer exceptions than fingers on my two hands, I have been leftrgely disappointed..." Hearing Freyas words, nobody within the formation moved at all, even though the majority of those gathered began to feel as if they had suddenly lost all their value. There were some, however, that could barely contain the smiles that were trying to creep onto their faces. This was especially so when Freya continued, saying, "I do not owe you an exnation, but know that the quality and potential of the next generation is already ted to far exceed the vast majority of you. Within the next few years, I intend to slim down the Familia until it is filled with only those I deem worthy...if you wish to stay, you will have to prove your worth to me. Those that show they have value will be groomed to be even stronger in the future...those that fail to meet my expectations, however...ufufufu~." Everyone present knew exactly what happened to the people that didnt meet Freyas expectations. It didnt matter if they were in her Familia, in other Familias, or even normal civilians. If Freya took an interest in you, and you failed to meet her expectations, it almost exclusively ended in death. It was either that, or you would be forced to flee the City, never returning lest you face your death at the hands of others willing the prove themselves where you failed. Even so, without exception, be they men or women, everyone present wanted to show their worth to this goddess before them, having long given their hearts to her in exchange for power. At this point, Freyas silver eyes were glowing with a violet light as she smiled towards the formation before saying, "Simply put, I will have the two-hundred of you gathered here challenge each other. What kind of challenge you wish to conduct, I will leave that to each of you...however, know that I will only be keeping the top twenty of you. For rules...lets see, Ill make it so that nobody is able to refuse a challenge after they have thrown their nomination into the mix. For those that fail to earn a position after one hour, you will be relegated to logistics until you are able to prove you are worth the effort Ive put into grooming you. However...well, Im sure I dont need to exin myself~." Though there were some that had been thrown into the logistics groups in the past, they typically ended up stuck there indefinitely. After all, everyone within the support troops of the Freya Familia had very clearly defined roles, many of which never offered you a chance for rising above your position. The only thing that could change your fate was to earn some kind of achievement or impress Freya during one of the times when she decided to promote people. After all, Freya considered it troublesome to update the Status Boards of those that hadnt earned the right to receive her attention. However, there were times when she would look for suitable people to serve as recements for former Elites that had died, meaning it wasnt impossible to rise up again... The first to rise to the challenge was none other than Allen, currently bereft of his spear, who turned to the rest of the Elites and shouted, "Come at me you f.u.c.kers! It doesnt matter how many of you weak shits try to step up. Now that Lady Freya had decided to cull the pack, Ill be the first to take the lead and rid her of you mongrels!" However, the moment Allen issued his challenge, a deep voice rose to ept. His ears twitched, as the deep baritone voice hade from behind him, while he had previously been facing the rest of the formation. Turning his head slowly, Allen saw Ottar removing all of his equipment, revealing a simple ck, form-fitting shirt that clearly disyed all of his muscles for others to bear witness to. Repeating his previous statement, Ottar matched gazes with Allen and said, "I, Ottar, will challenge you, Allen Fromel. Come." Allen felt like every bit of rationale that had remained inside of him had been broken, as if a powerful and unbridled rage had consumed him. However, his instincts kept him from immediately moving to attack Ottar, knowing exactly how he would end up as a result. If not for the fact that Freya hadid out the rule of not giving up a challenge, Allen would have simply dismissed Ottars tant provocation. Now, having already thrown out his name in such an overbearing manner, Allen had no choice but to face against the man known as the King. The fact they were both unarmed seemingly put him at a disadvantage but, after witnessing what Ottar was capable of with a sword, Allen knew it wouldnt have made any significant difference. Seeing things y out as she had expected, Freya smiled and said, "Ara~? How interesting...I didnt think two of the favorites to win the first seat would fight each other in the first round. This is exactly the type of motivation I wish to see in my Elites...ufufufufu~." Freyas words were the final nail in the proverbial coffin, at least that was how people felt as they watched Ottar and Allen get into their positions at the center of the arena they had gathered in. Everyone knew Ottar woulde out ahead but they were still interested to see how far Allen could go before he had to swallow his pride and back out. Facing Ottar, who was standing nearly 50m from his position, Allen had a scowl on his face as he cursed, "You big bastard...those at the top shouldnt be fighting against each other. Why do you have to try and f.u.c.k me over from the very beginning!?" Without responding to Allens statement, Ottar got into a stance, arms raised, legs spread, which gave him the appearance of an immovable mountain. There was a serious expression on his face with an unwavering, resolute look in his eyes. Seeing this, Allen felt even more pissed off and, using his superior speed, tried to get in close enough tond at least one hit on Ottars smug face. Though they had expected Ottar to win in the end, nobody was expecting to witness the sight happening before their eyes. Allens speed made him famously the fastest Adventurer in all of Orario, to the point that there werent even any contenders for the spot, as many had already died at the tip of his spear. Before Ottar, however, this speed didnt seem to phase him at all as, in one fell swoop, Ottar managed to grab Allens leg with the precision of a hawk. Though Allen shifted his weight, making use of his incredible flexibility in the process, and tried to smash Ottars wrist, he wasnt even afforded the opportunity as Ottar suddenly moved with a tyrannical momentum. As if Allen were a sledgehammer that was used to drive a stake into the ground, Ottar flung the lithe Cat Person over his hand, mming him into the ground below with enough force to actually copse the floor of the arena. There had been a storage area underneath, but it had been separated from the surface by three meters of reinforced marble, which had now crumbled like a ky stroodle. Everyone that had witnessed the scene waspletely gobsmacked, never expected that Ottar would be so...decisive. That type of attack could have easily killed another Adventurer, terrifying those that had witnessed it to the core. Without any change in her expression, Freya watched the event she had constructed y out along with the rest of her Familia. Currently, there was a cloud of dust obscuring everyones vision but, after a few seconds had passed, it began to clear. Moments after that, a shadow could be seen climbing out of the smoke, far too big to be Allen, not that he wasnt present. As if he had performed a very simple feat, such as throwing a cloth into a hamper, Ottar walked out of the marbled debris, still clinging to Allens horribly twisted leg as he dragged the limp Cat Person behind him. Aftering to a stop, Ottar lightly threw Allens mangled body towards a woman with cropped green hair, standing on the periphery of the group of Elites. She was someone that had proficiency with healing magic, though not nearly appropriate for repairing the damage Allen had sustained. Looking at him, it was hard to believe he was still even alive... Turning his head away from the woman, as if he werent at all concerned about the matter of Allens survival, Ottar looked towards everyone else and inly said, "Do not overestimate yourselves. If youck the confidence to rise into the top twenty, do not waste Lady Freyas time with your half-hearted resolution. Come with the intent that, if you fail, you will die...now, stay or leave, this will be yourst opportunity to consider. After one minute, I will begin choosing who is able to leave by their own efforts..." (A/N: 18,827/30,000...I think Im getting an ulcer from drinking too many energy drinks xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Look at all these people who arent Vahn...,Yare yare...,Ottar aint f.u.c.k.i.n.g around O_O...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 747 - Follow-Up

Chapter 747 - Follow-Up

Unaware of the restructuring of power that was going on throughout the City, not just within the Freya Familia, Vahn had returned to his daily lifestyle. Eirene now came around the Manor far more often, generally just to chat with the other goddesses and interact with the Vanir, while Demeter would sometimese along with her. She was another goddess Vahn had to take into consideration for the future, though that matter could be dyed for a while, as she was currently more focused on some of the developments in the ins Region to the west. Thus, with that matter set aside for the future, the only things Vahn really had to worry about was Riverias impending delivery, which shouldnt be far from the opening of the School. Both of these events were very major, so Vahn had been working to smooth things over while also following up with Rufina, who had actually been a little annoyed he hadnt stopped by sooner. It had been nearly eight months since he had left her at the Ganesha Familia, only stopping by twice since then, both times within the first week after he had left her there. Her Affection, which had been hovering in the mid-eighties, had dropped all the way down to 49, even though she strangely still had the (Trust) bracket parameter. This had been the result of Shakti often exining to her the things that were urring in the Alliance, with the majority of her news centering around Vahn and the matters within the Hearth Manor. Rufina couldnt truly me him for wanting to spend time with his newborn children and, considering her situation would inconvenience anyone, she had tried just focusing on her new life without worrying about what Vahn was up to. Her impression of him was that he was an honest boy so she knew, one day, he would eventuallye around and make good on her promise. As she had expected, though muchter than she would have liked, Vahn did eventually show up, carrying with him several different files. Each contained a woman that loosely resemble Rufina in appearance, all possessing simrly red hair and having disappeared in the Dungeon. The unfortunate thing was, none of them had been reputed for having any rare skills, especially ones rted to taming. Also, the strongest among them was only Level 3 and, though Rufina might have be stronger while under Enyos influence, the woman in the file would have made her a great deal older than she appeared. Thus, though the investigation had gone on for a full eight months, there hadnt been any major breakthroughs in discovering Rufinas original identity. Vahn did, however, impart unto her one of the pieces of information Loki had told him, being that Rufinas disappearance may have been covered up. During the investigation, which had included going through the records maintained by the Guild, and several infamous information brokers, Loki noticed there were a few Adventurers who had gone missing that werent doc.u.mented by the Guild, even though they had been properly registered. Though it could just be a clerical error, the number was far too great to be a simple coincidence, especially since every member had belonged to a Familia that had disbanded, with their gods no longer being present to give a proper ounting. This meant that their disappearance had been effectively erased and it had taken Loki a great deal of effort just to send and receive messages from Heaven, trying to verify if her instincts proved urate. In more than half the cases, she had been able to discover that several Adventurers, generally around Level 3-4, had simply been removed from the Guilds records, dating back nearly a thousand years... When she had heard this, Rufina had very decisively stated, "You should stop trying to investigate my past. I have a bad feeling about this and Ive learned to always trust my instincts...Ive already started building a new life here, none of that matters anymore. Besides, I wouldnt even know how to deal with people I dont even remember...it would be too awkward..." However, though she had said this, Vahn could clearly see that Rufina wanted to know, even if her fears were also just as visible. There were few people who would simply be okay with not knowing who they were, especially if they might have had some important family members who had been worrying about them. Yes, it would probably be awkward, but that was just how life was at times... Instead of agreeing to drop the matter, Vahn became even more determined to find the truth, smiling to Rufina as he said, "Sorry, Rufina, but I can be pretty obstinate at times. I made you a promise and, even if it ends up leading me into a sticky situation, Im confident enough to walk out of it just fine. I might not look like it, but Im pretty strong...after all, I even managed to defeat you, right~?" At the same time that Rufinas Affection jumped back up to 61, her fist also came flying towards his face with a great deal of force behind it. Vahn, transitioning into his Xunw form in an instant, just caught her fist in his palm,pletely negating the attack and storing it in the scales on his forearm. As he had been seriously training his [Rakshasa Body] again, Vahn had slowly been learning some of the secrets he had overlooked in the past, the ability to store kic energy being one of them. Though there was a limit to how much he could hold, which constantly drained his energy to keep contained, Vahn found that this particr ability was exceptionally suited for physical fighters. It had be the bane of Tionas existence, giving Vahn a slight edge of her, even though things usually ended up with him being pummeled, regardless of his efforts. Rufinas eyes widened in shock, both as a result of watching Vahn transform and seeing how easily he dealt with her attack. She had been very annoyed by his words and hadnt held anything back, assuming he would dodge, not take on the attack directly. For a brief moment, when he smiled at her, Rufina felt her heart pulse with a giddy feeling sensation spreading through her stomach. She jerked her fist free of his hand, snorting as she said, "Do whatever the f.u.c.k you want. Its not like I can do shit when you leave this ce again..." Without another word, Rufina stormed off in a huff, refusing to look back as Vahn watched her with a mild incredulity on his face. Shaking his head, Vahn turned his attention to the other person that had been sitting in on their conversation, Shakti. As the Captain of the Ganesha Familia, she had been given permission to hear about all the details rting to the investigation of Rufinas background. Over thest eight months, she had actually grown very fond of the free-spirited, though admittedly brash, redhead. Since anyone with amnesia had a reason to be high-strung, Shakti had always been very patient with Rufina and, after witnessing the monstrous talent thetter had, it was her hope to one day groom her into the next Captain of the Familia. Producing a wry smile of her own, Shakti rose to her feet and bowed politely before saying, "She means well, that woman...dont let her barbed tongue get to you. And, though she didnt say it, Im sure she is grateful for everything youre doing, Vahn. The only thing I think would make her happier is if you stopped by more often...after all, she isnt that good at making friends, though a few of us have been able to tolerate her long enough to at least be considered close acquaintances..." Shakti nearlyughed at her own words but managed to cover it up by coughing into her hand. Vahn, however, didnt mindughing and did so willingly, causing Shaki to frown slightly as the image of a loud-mouthed elephant appeared in her head. Bowing onest time, Shakti said, "If youll excuse me, I should be going. I need to make sure Rufina didnt run off and start smashing a poor inanimate object out of frustration..." There were more than a few target dummies, stones, and even metal poles that had be victims of Rufinas wrath. Her physical strength was the only thing more monstrous than her talent with taming, making her the one woman that even the bold and unrestrained men in her Familia couldnt easily approach...excluding herself, which her annoying god kept harping over... Understanding that his wee had run out, Vahn rose to his feet and return a polite bow to Shakti before saying, "I look forward to the exhibition..." Shakti nodded her head in response, saying, "Yes, Im certain it will be quite the sight. It does annoy me a little, however, knowing that youll be stealing the spotlight once again...try not to go overboard, Vahn Mason." With her words finished, Shakti made her way out of the room while Vahn rubbed the back of his head. Truthfully, stealing the show from the Ganesha Familia wasnt really his intention, it simply...couldnt be helped? In order to increase the poprity of the School, Vahn had arranged things with Ganesha to do a public disy of some of the things they would be teaching, especially magic. They would also have members of the Terpsichore Familia doing performances, mainly focused on music and dance, while the girls would be demonstrating sports like Volleyball and Ser, two things Vahn expected to be a big hit with the crowds. His memory fragment had been working on uniforms for them to wear, which would be both easy on the eyes, but also enough to protect the girls dignity. Vahn wasnt reallyfortable with other men eyeing the girls but, as they were all fine with putting on the performance, he wasnt going to make a big deal out of it...as long as nobody in the stands took things too far. While making his way back to the Manor, using the direct route by going through the sky, Vahn decided it wouldnt be a bad idea to stop by Marias Orphanage. Many of the children there had wanted to attend the School and, as he had been very busy, it had been nearly eight months since hest visited. Realizing this, Vahn felt a little sick to his stomach and quickly made his way over without minding the stares and pointing from pedestrians below. It was already known that he could fly through the sky, one of the many things he was famous for, so Vahn didnt bother with trying to keep it concealed. If anything, it would make the poprity of the School skyrocket, especially since only graduates would even have the chance to learn skills like [Shundo] by attending the Academy. After a short flight, Vahn dropped down in front of the Orphanage, startling two children who had been ying with one of the rubber balls he had left them in the past. Though momentarily spooked by his sudden appearance, the two had vibrant smiles on their faces once they realized who had dropped in on them. Without showing any restraint, the two young boys ran over, almost as if they were trying to tackle him to the ground, shouting, "Vahn! Its been so long since youst came by! Everyone, Vahns back! Heeeeeeeeey~!" Momentster, Vahn found himself hounded by a group of more than twenty children, aging between four and nine years old. The only ten-year-old among them, while also being the eldest, was Rye, standing at the back with his arms crossed and a face full of usation. Vahn, after pacifying the horde of children with sweets, made his way over to the young boy, showing an apologetic expression as he said, "Sorry for now stopping by. How had everyone been, Rye...?" As he was already aware, based on Ryes bodynguage and the color of his aura, the boy hadnt actually been angry. The moment Vahn apologized, he gave a curt nod before smiling vibrantly and saying, "Everyone has been great! Some people even got lucky enough to get adopted, though most of us still wanted to stick around to attend your School. Isnt it supposed to be opening very soon!? I cant wait to learn how to be an awesome swordsman!" Nodding his head, Vahn smiled, exining, "Yes, itll be opening right after the end of the Spring Harvest and the next Monster Feria. Ill talk to Maria about getting all of you tickets, after all, you were a big helpst time around." Hearing this, not only Rye, but all the children present began to get very riled up, screaming and squealing happily as they made their way into the interior of the Orphanage. Along the way, though he could sense them, Vahn still turned to Rye and asked, "So, where are Fina and Roux? I dont see them anywhere..." Rye began rubbing his index finger under his nose, smiling in an awkward manner as he said, "Well, that...you shouldnt really ask...yeah." Vahn blinked, slightly surprised by Ryes words and, as the boy had suggested, he decided not to pry any further. He could easilye up with a few different ideas that were likely very close to the truth, many of which werent really appropriate to talk about. Since he could sense that both girls were safe, even if they were off in one of the side rooms for privacy, Vahn decided to just focus on the children around him. After all, they would eventually show up and, being the sensible Papa he had be, Vahn knew it was important for young girls to have privacy. Unsurprisingly, the two concerned parties showed up a few minutes into one of the stories he had been telling. Vahn had to halt mid-sentence as a cream-colored projectile shot towards his chest, shouting, "Vaaaaaahn~!" before nuzzling against him happily. This was none other than Finna, tail wagging happily while she discreetly tried to sneak a few deep breaths of his aroma. Vahn knew the young Chienthrope had a crush on him and, as his [Grooming] would only exacerbate the situation, he just gave her a normal head pat as she happily giggled under his touch. With decidedly less motivation, Roux also walked over, appearing just as quiet and reserved as normal. One massive change, however, was the fact that, though it wasnt exactly girly, Roux wasnt wearing baggy boys clothing. Instead, she had on a pair of shorts that had a skirt attachment and, simr to Fina, whom she had likely borrowed the clothes from, Roux was wearing a white sleeveless tunic. It was a bit worn, having a few visible stains, but it was very apparent that Roux had tried to dress up a bit, presumably as a result of his arrival. Vahn didnt miss the few strands of pink that were spreading through her aura, clear evidence that she had also developed a bit of a crush on him. Feeling Rye pinch his side, while Fina gave him a look that said, say something nice, Vahn smiled to Roux and said, "You look very cute today, Roux. That kind of clothing suits you very well..." Hearing this, Roux tightly gripped the hem of her skirt, clearly unustomed with wearing such clothing as she began to blush a deep red. For several seconds, the entire room became silent, the tension thick enough that it could be cut with a knife. Eventually, however, Roux raised herrge eyes, uttering, "Thank you..." in a quiet voice...before running away. Fina hopped up out of hisp immediately after, chasing after the retreating Roux while shouting, "Ah, Roux, now is the moment to strike! Dont run away~!" From the side, Maria watched this entire scene y out, chuckling lightly to herself before returning to the kitchen to prepare lunch. She wasnt even remotely surprised when a stack of fresh ingredients was already waiting for her arrival when she got there... (A/N: 21,622/30,000...my brain is melting xD...oh, and Im going to straight up rify that Fina and Roux arent harem candidates. Vahns got more than a few things to resolve in this world, aint nobody got time fo dat~! Also, Ive personally been noticing a lot of typos in my writing this time around and, while Im trying to catch them all, know that Im very tired right now xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tsufina goes doki-doki~?,Deeper Mysteries...,Vahn is good at coaxing young girls...NANI!?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 748 - Transition

Chapter 748 - Transition

zing through a brilliantly lit sunless sky, four figures moved at velocities far exceeding the speed of sound while one, decidedly slower than the rest, held arge tulip-shaped staff in her hands. Raise it high into the sky, the young fairy holding the staff shouted in a high pitched voice, full of vitality and excitement, "Gather, 29 spirits of light! Magic Arrows, Series of 29 Light Arrows~!" The moment the chant finished, without forming a magic circle, a ring of 29 spheres of light began to slowly spin behind the lively young fairy before she pushed forward with her left hand, almost as if she were grabbing the void, and sent them forward with an even greater velocity than the four flying figures. Being the closest figure, Vahn came to a stop in the air as seven of the bolts created aser-like line directly towards him. With a smile on his face, Vahn began to use [Koku Shundo], creating footholds in the air as he made small movements within a 3m radius. Each of the beams of light passed through his body, almost like it were an illusion, before immediately careening towards the second target, Tiona. When she saw this, Tiona, wearing her magical girl outfit oveying her [Pactio] raiment, shouted, "Ah! Vahn, thats sneaky, ahahahahahahaha~!" Obviously undeterred by the now fifteen bolts flying towards her, Tiona released a burst of loudughter as she nimbly twisted her body in an athletic disy, showcasing her incredible flexibility and spatial awareness by dodging almost all of the attacks. One passed right by her face, causing the brown-skinned beauty to sweat a bit as the fringe bang framing the left side of her face was incinerated. Fortunately, as a quirk of her Regina Animalium, the strands started growing back at a visible rate while the rest of her hair transitioned to have a metallic sheen. The next target, now facing twenty of the bolts, was Fenrir who, much like Tiona, simply dodged the magic arrows at a minimum distance. Unlike Tiona, however, Fenrir had easily evaded all of them, not even singing a single hair of her now sleek midnight blue fur. She was getting progressively closer topleting her humanoid transformation, now having ears around the size of a Cat Person and a small tail that jutted outwards slightly, curling upwards because of how short it was. As for the fur covering her paws, it was now thin and sleek whereas, the paws themselves, now formed into fully developed hands and feet. There were still adorable little paw pads on her fingers, palms, toes, and soles, but Vahn knew Fenrir was keeping them there intentionally. Having been easily evaded by Fenrir, thest person to face the barrage was also the fastest, Ais. She had [Ariel] surrounding her body and both of her wings of light poking out of her lower back. When the twenty-nine arrows came towards her, instead of dodging, Ais eyes shone with apetitive glimmer as she brandished her sword. With a flurry of precise strikes, Ais cut apart each attack while flying backward, and dodging at thest moment. However, she didnt make an effort to break free from the arrows homing effects and seemed determined to cut them all down. Tiona, havinge to his side, whistled in an impressed manner before saying, "Man, Ais is getting way too good at flying. I wish I had her control over wind..." Vahn released a light-heartedugh, poking Tiona in her exposed side as he said, "And Im certain shed like to have your nearly indestructible body and ability to evolve..." Tiona, giggling from the unexpected poke, brought both of her hands up like she was going to attack him before an explosion resounded through the air. Ais had managed to cut down twenty-three of the twenty-nine arrows but, as their speed wasparable to her own, one managed to slip through her attacks and impact the arm she used to hold [Gram]. Following the first impact, the remaining five arrows smashed into her body, causing a magical explosion that sent a ripple through space. However, as scary at the explosion had seemed, nobody present panicked and, as expected, Ais emerged almostpletely unscathed momentster. Her [Aeriel] acted as both an offensive and defensive magic, imbuing her attacks with spiritual wind that could cut through almost anything, while simultaneously protecting her from harm. Even so, the first hit had caused a burn on her arm so Vahn had immediately stepped over and began healing her while Ais hung her head slightly, pouting. When he was finished, Vahn brought both of his hands to Ais face, pressing his index fingers to the sides of her mouth and giving her an artificial smile. Though showing a guilty expression at first, it quickly faded away as Ais began to smile for real. Seeing this, Vahn nodded, patting her head while saying, "Its better when you smile. Dont be upset when you fail, Ais. It is failure that gives us a reason to move forward. Next time, even if you fail, fail better..." An unconstrainedugh sounded out behind him, where Vahn had already noted Tiona had been. She clung to his body, hugging his neck from behind, asking, "What kind of advice is that, Vahn~? Fail better? Ahahahahaha~." Vahn joined her inughing before all three of them adopted somewhat serious expressions and began dodging again. Lefiya had started her next attack and, though she had a gentle smile on her face, there was a scary aura radiating from her body. Tiona, seemingly unaware of this, continued tough as she dodged the numerous arrows targetting him, now consisting of 80% of the total. Free from his own arrows, Vahn vanished from the sky before appearing next to Lefiya, poking her in the cheek when she turned to face him. Vahn knew why she was upset as, after trying to sneakily convince Ais to spend the night with them, Tiona had managed to hear her since she had enhanced hearing at the time. After trying to join in on the fun, Lefiya, somewhat surprisingly, ended upshing out at Tiona for butting in. It wasnt until Ais convinced her that it would be okay that Lefiya took a step back, though she still didnt agree to have other people participate. As for the reason...it wasnt that Lefiya actually minded Tiona and Tioneing along, but she had wanted to do something with Ais in front of Vahn. After the first time they all yed together, Lefiya knew it would be difficult to get away with what she had in mind so, for the time being, she was very adamant about it just being the three of them. This wasnt the full reason why she was upset though, which was actually rted to him, even though Lefiya seemed to shift the me onto Tiona. Thetter hade to him, asking if it would be okay if they all spent the night together and, not thinking there was anything wrong with it, Vahn had agreed. Now, Lefiya didnt want to be the one person in the group to object and, though she had originally wanted it to just be the three of them, it had quickly turned into the six of them. At the time Tiona had brought it up, he had been training with Lili and, never shying away from an opportunity to have some fun with Vahn, she immediately volunteered her presence... Lefiya, doing her best to ignore the finger poking into her cheek, eventually gave up and released a small, pouty, sigh. At this moment, Vahn brought his finger from her cheek, lightly pinching her ear and making her startle, moving away from his hand as the two pointy protrusion began wagging up and down. With furrowed brows, it looked like Lefiya wanted to say something until Vahn beat her to the punch, saying, "Dont worry so much, Lefiya...tomorrow, why dont the three of us go on a day trip outside of the City? I know a nice and scenic spot next to a river where we can enjoy the sights and sounds of nature..." Though he exined it that way, Vahn winked at the end of his statement, sealing an unspoken promise. The pout on Lefiyas face vanished in an instant, reced by a crimson blush that seemed to have hit her a little too hard as the wings on her back spattered before furling back into her body. With spinning eyes, she fell from the sky while Vahn easily caught her in his embrace. Seeing that Lefiya was stuck in a happy delusion, Vahn just shook his head and smiled wryly when he saw that all twenty-nine arrows were chasing after a frantic Tiona. Ais and Fenrir were just standing in the air watching her be chased around, all while shouting, "Aaaaah, Lefiya, Im soooooorrry~!" --- After enjoying a...very difficult to describe night, Vahn was flying through the sky at a leisurely pace while Lefiya and Ais nked his sides. It was very helpful that both girls were able to fly on their own, even if Lefiyas speed was somewhatckl.u.s.ter. She could actually run faster than she flew, though her agility in the air was very high since her flight pattern was omnidirectional. There wasnt a big difference between her wanting to move up, down, forward, or backward, all while having an absolute awareness of the space around her. Much like his own, Lefiyas Innate, [Fairy Queens Domain], gave her a spherical bubble of fourteen meters around her body. Within this zone, Lefiya was instinctually aware of almost everything, especially the flow of mana. At the same time, though it was hard to tell at times, Lefiyas mentality had been subtly changed, now possessing a bit of pride that hadnt been there previously. It could have just been a change brought about by the fact that she was now an a.d.u.l.t, but she was very quick to take a stance on things now, instead of just getting caught up in the momentum of others. Also, as she had been somewhat quiet in the past, it was very easy to notice that she had be much more outspoken than before, oftentimes even guiding a conversation topic that she was interested in. None of these changes had been that surprising to Vahn as, ording to what Sis was able to exin, the vast majority of people would have an Innate that alters their state of mind once reaching Tier 3. This was to enable them to develop the mentality that would allow them to reach higher Tiers as, for the vast majority of people, it was very difficult to even wrap their heads around concepts like Laws. Yes, they could understand the theory behind them, even exercise some minor control over ones they had an affinity with, but this wasnt trueprehension. Once a person was able to fully understand a Law, which would be impossible under normal circ.u.mstances, they could even break it. One of the most extreme examples of this would be if someone had somehow achieved mastery over Space and Time Laws. For the former, they would theoretically be able to move at any point in space, as if there were no distance between the two points at all. Pushing that concept even further, they could even move outside of space, entering into the true void where only pure, formless, energy existed. As for those with mastery over Time, they would be able to move forward, backward, sideways, or even parallel through multiples axes of time. An absolute extreme would be, should they be able to control both Space and Time, they could even create an entire universe within the true void...even though it would technically be empty. While he was thinking these thoughts, Vahn was also talking with Lefiya and Ais, primarily about the uing Monster Feria and anything that was troubling them in their magic studies. Lefiya, having always been prodigious at Magic, had been picking it up very quickly. Most of the other girls, however, had only been able to glean some insight into the techniques they liked. They were still several years of study from being able to pass muster as real Mages, though that time was being shortened greatly by the Sub-Space orb. After all, at this point, nearly two and a half years had passed for the girls that spent the most time in the orb. Even though this was the case, as he had already anticipated, most of the girls hadnt changed much, if at all. Ais was now chronologically older than she had been inside the orb, now more than seventeen years old,pared to her sixteen-year-old self from the manga. Still, as if she had almost been frozen in time, Ais appearance had barely changed from her fourteen-year-old self, at least proportionally. Her actual appearance had be inarguably more beautiful, possessing a vibrant youth that, because of her propensity to smile much more often, gave her the appearance of a doll whose maker had affixed a perpetual smile to her face. Ais wasnt the most extreme case, however, as even Shizune and Tina, who should be in their growth stages, hadnt changed much at all, especially in the case of Shizune. Vahn had already started to search for methods to elerate their physical growth, without harming their lifespans, as it would likely be necessary for Alexa as well. When she came out of the orb in the future, even though she would be over 100 years old, Alexa would have the appearance of a young girl around 9-10. Afraid of drawing a little too much attention, by having a Manor full of perpetually young girls, Vahn had hit the books hard, all while Fenrir taught the girls her unnamed transformation magic... Seeing that they had nearly arrived, Vahn broke free from his wandering thoughts and gestured to a very discreet clearing that was opposite a rock formation located next to the river. It wasnt that far away from where he had tried to stop the flow of water, so Vahn had made a mental note to stop by the next time he got a chance. He also wanted to use this as an opportunity to see how much he had improved, if any, as his grudge against the river was still going strong. As for Ais and Lefiya, they hadnt noticed the fiery light in Vahns eyes and just descended into the clearing before looking around with curious expressions. Vahn hadnded in between them and, to ensure they would have adequate privacy, pulled an artifact that had been made by Terra in herrge amount of free time. It had the appearance of a small and very homely looking cottage, with two bedrooms, a chimney, and a fully stocked kitchen. However, anyone with a discerning eye, would notice this was no simple trinket and, as Vahn set it down on the ground, theplex magical war at its base began to fluctuate. Momentster, the cottage had grown to its actual size, having been made small by spatial magic that reduced the distances between the individual partictes of mana that made up an object. This was Terras greatest Masterpiece, thus far, and Vahn had been required to heavilypensate her after requesting to use it for his rendezvous with Ais and Lefiya... Remembering how scary Terra could get, Vahn shook his head lightly to clear his thoughts before turning to the two stunned girls and asking, "Well, shall we take a look? All the furniture inside ispletely brand new and, I can personally attest that the bed is veryfortable~." Understanding the true meaning behind Vahns words, Ais and Lefiya both showed excitement on their beautiful faces, epting his extends hands a little too eagerly before the three of them headed inside to inspect their little home away from home...and its bedroom...maybe both of them...? (A/N: 24,489/30,000...Sorry guys, this is where my journey ends this time. I managed to beat my previous best, but fifteen hours of almost nonstop writing has literally caused my brain to transcend my body. I have be the infinite but, within that vast infinity, there is nothing at all. The number of typos Ive had to fix in thesest few chapters has drained what little remained of my mental endurance xD. I hope to do something like this again in the future, but it probably wont be for a few months. Also, though Im ending things here, technically, I may write some Fenrirs Journey after this. They are much lighter and required significantly less effort toplete. I figure I might actually be able toplete the 30k if I do something easier, though, not before I take a long ass nap xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bullet Hell, Queens Revenge OST,The Godhand is Rumored to Grant Eternal Youth to Those Graced by its Touch...,So much room for activities...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 749 - Time

Chapter 749 - Time

Though it was hard to keep track of on asion, given how much time he spent in orbs, Vahn had now been in the Danmachi record for around twenty-one months. Within that period of time, he had learned a great many lessons about life, himself, and the people around him. The position he had found himself in, even by the standards of this world. gave him a unique perspective and allowed him to experience many things that were outside the realm of normalcy, mostly as a result of his personal capabilities and the influence of The Path. However, none of his prior experience had quite prepared him for what he was now witnessing and, as he was ought to do, Vahn couldnt help but think about Lokis words of advice when thetter had exined, its the quiet ones you have to look out for.... Lefiya, prior to the changes she had undergone, had never been the most proactive girl. She was considered more on the quiet and demure side, even though she was also prone to delusions at times. Generally, most of the decisions she made were in response to decisions made by other people, getting caught up in the flow and often letting herself, and others, down. As for Ais, she had also possessed the quality of being quiet, though hers was predicated on how her emotions had be repressed as a result of losing her family, being thrown into a new environment, and then training hard to be strong. Even so, she was still a very confident andpetitive girl and, though she also got caught up in the momentum of others, it was easily as likely that they would have gotten caught up in hers. Now, Vahn was watching as both quiet girls put on a very riveting disy, with Lefiya, surprisingly, being the one to take the lead. Perhaps it was a result of the years of delusions she had harbored but, from the moment their y began, Ais had been on the receiving end of Lefiyas curiosity. Then, as Ais was the more experienced of the two, she would be giving Lefiya advice as thetter did her best to seek personal satisfaction while granting it to Ais as well. Very curiously, which Lefiya seemed to enjoy, Ais would give herpliments and praise Lefiya whenever she did well, turning the rather e.r.o.t.i.c scene into a strangely heartwarming one. Still, watching Lefiya, who was now slightly taller than Ais, push down the beautiful golden-haired girl, had left quite the impression on Vahn... Fortunately, after nearly an hour in their own little world, Lefiya seemed to recall that he did, in fact, still exist. From that point on, the y between the girls was catered specifically towards him, instead of being a journey of self-discovery, and, after a brief period of time, it became an experience he shared with them. By the time the event hade to an end, the sun had long since fallen from the sky and, though it wasnt the first time he had been in such a situation, Vahn had the experience of having two ethereal beauties sleeping on his chest. Since Lefiya was currently a Spirit, with Ais being a Human of Spirit descent, they both possessed a beauty that simply made them beyond the standards of normal mortals. Having both girls at his side, once again, made Vahn reflect on how fortunate he had been toe to this world first, even if it hadnt always been easy... After a splendid loss against the majestic river the following morning, Vahn swore he would one day get his revenge before flying back to Orario, apanied by Ais and Lefiya. Unlike before, where they had just flown in a loose formation together, they decided to fly back hand-in-hand, feeling much closer to each other than in the past. This was especially the case for Lefiya as, even after they returned to the Manor, she was a lot more affectionate towards Ais. Previously, Lefiya showed a great deal of propriety and rarely invaded the personal space of others. Now, however, she could sometimes be seen walking around holding Ais hand, sharing hugs with people, and, whenever she felt she could get away with it, Lefiya would even sneak off to take naps with Ais after their training. The fact that Ais almost always went along with things...well, it was fine, especially since Ais would often try to get him toe along with them... In this way, alongside many other smaller developments, life had continued forward for everyone within the Hearth Manor. The Vanir were growing up, now having appearances between 4-6 years old, with Erika being the tallest among them, while the other children were growing at a rtively normal pace. Vahn made sure to never use his [Hands of Nirvana] on them, as the thought of having one of his children stuck as an infant for a few years seemed almost cruel. As for their mothers, Vahn had be much closer to many of the girls, spending most of his rxation time at their sides, assuming he wasnt ying with the Vanir. Fortunately, though hemented it a little, the independent nature of the Vanir had started to shine through. Ina, though still being his clingy little princess, now spent most of her day cooped up in his workshop, or working alongside Hephaestus in thetters forge. Her propensity for taking things apart had reached a new level but,pared to the past, she had now gotten much better at putting them back together. It would still be a while before she had any great sess in her craftsmanship, but the fact that she had been able to reassemble aplex pocket watch showed her patience and skills were developing very quickly. In the case of Vana, the eldest of the three current Vanir, she had always been independent by nature but, now she seemed to have be like the embodiment of freedom. Though she still followed most of the rulesid out for her, Vana had been exploring the many regions within the Hearth Manor in her free time and, even though she wasnt supposed to do so without supervision, she had been training secretly where nobody could see her. Fortunately, Terra had taken a liking to Vana, even though thetter had contradictory affinities with her own, and had been watching over her. As long as Vana was within the range of Terras territory, which now far exceeded the boundaries of the Manors property, she was under Terras protection and supervision... Curiously, though she had always tried to act the most independent of the three, Erika had started to mellow out a little. Ever since the time she had beaten him at chess, which had happened a few times thereafter, Erika seemed to have be more confident. Though she still got embarrassed easily, she seems to have learned that her reaction while embarrassed was one of the reasons people thought she was cute. Now, she put in more effort into controlling her emotions, at least around other people, but had been opening herself up more in private. Vahn could still remember the first time she had tried to surprise him by having Doppel copy her form as they snuck up on him with their tiger pajamas on...it was very adorable... At the same time the Vanir were growing up, so too was Alexa, his little Dragon Princess who lived within the Space-Time orb. Her appearance almost never seemed to change, but she was closing in on 27 years old at this point. Without Fafnir and Khaos in the orb, she had calmed down a great deal and put a lot of effort into her magical studies and trying to cultivate both her mind and body. Currently, though she had the appearance of a four-year-old, Alexa was around the middle of a Level 4 in strength, with her Magic starting to develop very quickly. If not for her poor fuel efficiency, as a result of her slow physical development, she would probably be even stronger... Of course, it wasnt just his daughters that were changing, as most of the girls in the Manor had be inarguably more powerful than even their original counterparts in the Manga. Ais, Tiona, and Tione, even though they only ventured into the Dungeon whenever he went down to drop off supplies, had all managed to reach Level 6. This alone wasnt too surprising, as they would have also been Level 6 through normal training, but they had managed to aplish it without having to gain much exilia. Instead, it was because of their training within the Sub-Space orb, focusing on conditioning their bodies and learning magic, that had allowed them to Level-Up. If not for the fact that Riveria had already been pretty close to Level 7 previously, she would have been overtaken by the girls. Fortunately, with her own studies progressing steadily, Riveria had now be the second Level 7 within Orario, even though she had yet to report the change in her Status to the Guild. When word got out about how strong the members in the Hearth Familia had be, it would likely cause a monumental shift in the perception of everyone in the City. Vahn wanted to wait until just before the Monster Feria to have the news circte, further increasing the prestige of the School before it even opens. After all, if they could show that literally everyone within the Hearth Manor was growing at a seemingly impossible rate, people would understand that the methods they use are far more effective than the norm. And it really was the case of everyone, as Vahn had been able to exploit the cooldowns on some of his skills, including [Keeper of the Akashic Tomb] and [Prometheus]. The time he spent in each orb worked towards reducing said cooldowns, allowing him to give me seeds to both Tina and Shizune now. His research into his [Mentor] development ability had already reached a level where he had a fairly decent understanding of the skill, so he wasnt going to restrict the growth of the girls just for his own research. As a result, Tina and Shizune, who had progressed to Level 2 before getting their seeds, had reached Level 3 in less than a month after obtaining them. Even with their increase in Level, however, they were still considered among the weakest in the Manor, excluding nonbat personnel like Preasia. After all, those that were at Level 4 now consisted of Mn, Emiru, Maemi, and Naaza. Chloe, Arnya, Ryuu, and Lunoire had all managed to reach Level 5 rtively quickly and, as a result of their rather ridiculous training regimen, Lili, Haruhime, and Mikoto had all managed to reach Level 5 as well. This left only Tsubaki and Aki in the group of originalbatants who hadnt increased their Levels. However, as neither girl spent much time inside the orbs, and were always looking after their daughters, this wasnt too surprising. What was surprising, however, was that there had been someone that had unexpectedly increased their Level, even though he hadnt even seen her training at all. Risna, who spent most of her time cooped up in the Sub-Space orb, now actually looked more mature than her elder sister, Eina. After all, Einas age had essentially been halted by his influence and, as Risnas time in the orb equated to more than two years of growth, she had be more mature. Apparently, at some point he was unaware of, she had actually joined the Hestia Familia and, after researching magic on her own, reached Level 2 without ever fighting a monster. As for how Vahn eventually found out, it was because Risna had eventuallye to himining about fairness, requesting the same treatment as her elder sister. Though her words could have been easily misunderstood, Vahn knew she was actually talking about Nirvana, even though he was also aware that Risna had a very developed crush on him. He also knew she was somewhat afraid of suddenly bing old, as she spent all her time within the orb, and wanted to slow her physical aging, just like the rest of the girls. Thus, after making his preparations, Vahn conducted Nirvana for the third time, allowing Risna to be a true Half-Elf. As a result, he obtained her [Hearts Desire: Risna Tulle], and, surprisingly, another [Grimoire of Guidance], just like he had obtained from Eina. Since the time of her Nirvana, Risna would randomly show up whenever they were taking a break within the Sub-Space orb. She would talk about the books she was reading, how her own books were going, and the results of her personal research into magic. On one asion, she even shoved a book into his chest with a red face and told him to read it when he was alone, without sharing the details with other people. After he threw it into his Inventory and perused the contents, Vahn couldnt stop a small smile from reaching his lips as the novel had been a love story about a handsome heroic boy who had stolen the heart of a Half-Elf Princess who had locked herself away in a tower. Unlike a normal novel, this one only had a few dozen pages filled out, of the more than five hundred total, with the words To Be Continued... on thest line... Other than stealing the hearts of Half-Elf maidens, Vahn had been trying to use his time as productively as possible, especially since things would get busy in the near future. With his exploitation of the orbs, he had been able to name three new pieces of equipment that he had forged. The first two had been rings on a simr level as the [Promise] he had given to Hephaestus, as it felt a little awkward for Eina and Riveria, his two other wives, to not have simr rings on their fingers. They were named [Comfort] and [Future], belonging to Eina and Riveria respectively. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Comfort] Rank: S (Divine) P.Def: 0 M.Def: 0 Abilities: Indestructible(Divine), Magic Nullification(S), Physical Nullification(S), Abnormal Status Immunity(B), Soulbound(Eina Tulle) Use: Divine Intervention: By the will of the user, any target designated be absolutely impervious to all damage, negative influences, and status abnormalities. Duration: 24H (Warning: Item destroyed after use.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Future] Rank: S (Divine) P.Def: 0 M.Def: 0 Abilities: Indestructible(Divine), Sages Blessing(S), Physical Nullification(A), Abnormal Status Immunity(A), Soulbound(Riveria Ljos Alf) Use: Inheritance: Allows the user to store a portion of their potential, power, and memories into this ring, bestowing them upon an intended target. Restriction: Direct Descendents of [Riveria Ljos Alf] (A/N: Sages Blessing increases experience gain, enhancesprehension, and improves memory. Expect to see this on a few items in the future (UwU)...) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Just as he hade together with Hephaestus through the promise they shared, Vahn had originally bonded with Eina through thefort and concern she showed to him. As for Riveria, she had originally been drawn to him as a result of her intrigue and a strong sense of duty but, after they hade to know each other better, it was their dream of a better future for all people that had brought them together. Now, each girl had a ring that embodied the very thing that had brought them together and, in the future, Vahn intended to give everyone a ring of simr quality... The third item he made was for himself, as his fight against Siegfried had shown that his skill with the sword was not really up to the standard of people who had mastered the de. It also had the restriction of being an indiscriminate weapon, meaning it could potentially harm his allies in the future, so Vahn wanted something less destructive that he would be able to use in his strongest [Magia Erebea] forms. As a result, he decided to make a spear simr to the one he had possessed within the Divination, even bestowing upon it the same name out of curiosity... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Longinus] Rank: S (Divine) P.Atk: 1000 M.Atk: (-) Abilities: Indestructible(Divine), Anti-Divine(S), Piercing(S), Sealing(A) Though seemingly normal at a nce, this spear had been forged by a capable Master cksmith with some of the most valuable materials found in their record. As a result of the forging process, it is nearly indestructible, even by items of a higher rank. Uponpletion, it had been bestowed the power of the record Longinus, allowing it to be even more powerful when used against entities of Divine origin. Any wound inflicted by this spear causes sealing energy to spread through the wound, draining its target of the ability to muster their full power. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When he saw the Abilities and description of [Longinus], Vahn understood why his Emperor self had likely purchased the real [Longinus] from the shop. Since this one was only S-Ranked and was already so powerful, Vahn could hardly even imagine an SSS-Ranked version. That was on the same level as [Enkidu], meaning it must have been a Tier 5 item he had used to fight against gods. It was also useful in that it had an advanced version of Indestructible, as it meant he would be able to use [Longinus] even when he was in his Zhqu form. After all, even [Laevateinn] wouldnt have been able to resist the mes of the Vermillion Sparrow, which were at the peak of Tier 4 within this world... Naming [Longinus] had put his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] on a 63 day cooldown but, with thebination of his main body in the real world, his Avatar in the Sub-Space orb, and the 100 hours he would spend within the Spirit-Time orb, each day would reduce the cooldown of the skill by 258 hours, equating to nearly eleven days for every day that had passed. Vahn didnt understand it much at first but, remembering Sisments about how Time essentially didnt exist, Vahn was just happy it worked that way. Now, if he wanted to exploit the system even further, though it would also be very taxing on his mind, Vahn could create more Sub-Space and Space-Time orbs to artificially reduce his Cooldowns even further... (A/N: Im not sure how many chapters Ill write today, at least for EPIC. I had wanted to develop the story of Fenrirs Jounrey yesterday but, after I finally went to sleep, it was very hard to want to get back out of bed. Still, Ill at least try to get 2-3 out before swapping over and writing like ten Fenrirs Journey. Well see how things go xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Run away Ais, dont let the Spirit Queen eat you up~!,Risnas unique way of confessing xD...,Holy [Longinus] Batman, Vahn is learning how to exploit the system!? Its about time...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 750 - Practice

Chapter 750 - Practice

In order to prepare for the uing Monster Feria, though they may have to change the name in the future with how much it was going to change, the girls had separated themselves into two teams. Though Vahn would be doing his own thing, the girls exhibition of Volleyball and Ser were going to be two of the big events meant to get the people excited about future exhibitions. After all, it was rather exciting watching sports matches yed out, especially if thepetitors were handsome men, or beautiful women. As for the sports themselves, they had been modified to make things more interesting as simply kicking a ball would have been a very boring event to observe. For the two Volleyball teams, the girls had divided themselves as evenly as possible, with Ais, Lili, Lefiya, Chloe, and Lunoire on one team while Tiona, Tione, Arnya, Emiru, and Maemi were on the other. Unlike a normal game of Volleyball, the girls had somewhat unique roles that corresponded to the changes that had been made to make the game more suitable for this world. Because people were capable of superhuman feats, even moving in bursts of speed that far surpassed the speed of sound, the court would be the entire Coliseum arena. In order to make things more difficult, and visually interesting, the only person allowed to spike the ball was the Aerial Ace, which was a unique position that was filled by Ais and Tiona respectively. Since they were able to fly, they would be able to zip around above the other four yers and receive the ball, trying to spike it down into the opposing teams field. As for other unique rules, the forward members were allowed to catch the ball, only when it had been spiked, before passing it back to the rear guard to put it back into y. The reason for this was that it was almost impossible to receive a ball spiked at such speeds safely by just hitting it with your wrists and forearms. To avoid having limbs broken during the game, the rule had been modified to allow the yers to catch the rather durable ball. Ser was even more hardcore that Volleyball, though the differences in the outfits might make it considerably less popr. After all, when the girls yed Volleyball, they would be wearing something simr to halter tops and formfitting shorts, meant to protect their dignity with padding, but still very visually appealing. As for Ser, they had armguards, shin protectors, and even thin b.r.e.a.s.ttes meant to protect them from injury. The speed and force behind the Serball was enough to make it pass through a wall like a cannonball, so it was necessary to include protective equipment. The rules for Ser were also very different from normal as, instead of a giant goal, each team had a series of three rings. The ring in the center was smaller than the other two and was worth three points if you managed to score. As for the outer rings, they were worth only one point each and were nearly twice the size of the center ring. The goalie was allowed to protect all three rings, but the most important ring would obviously be their primary focus. As for the four yers, though future teams would have up to nine, they had been split into attackers and defenders. Attackers were allowed to go onto the opposing teams field while defenders were required to stay on their own side. This made it necessary to choose a proper bnce for your strategy and, much like actual Ser, yers were required to use their legs to y the ball. However, you were allowed to receive it with your chest and deflect the ball with your forearms, though thetter was only if you were a defender. As for the unique right of attackers, they were the only ones allowed to try and score on the center goal, while anyone was technically allowed to score on the other two. There were no rules in ce restricting where the goalie had to be on the field, meaning they could be an impromptu attacker or defender, but only enemy attackers were allowed into their box. This meant that the defenders that stayed back, should the goalie leave their post, would have to keep the ball from getting into that region... Vahn was currently watching the two teams y against each other, contemting if he needed to change their outfits since they even made him feel an itch in his heart. Seeing them run around and try to best each other in the sport, smiles on their faces withpetitive glints in their eyes, made Vahn feel very excited. He actually had the urge to y the game himself, as it looked very enjoyable, and hoped that the people in the stands would feel the same. Unfortunately, there would undoubtedly be people that are more focused on the exposed skin of the girls instead of the sport itself. Vahn wanted to increase the forms of entertainment in this world, especially for the younger generations, not put on a show for perverts to enjoy at the expense of the yers dignity... Seeing Lili jump 20m up into the air in an instant, twisting her body whilepletely inverting her position just to kick the ball upside down, Vahn found himself marveling at the disy and being distracted by it at the same time. After all, Lili looked like a very young girl and, wearing nothing by small red spats and what looked like a slightly thicker sports bra stood out a great deal. However, it was the girls like Tiona, who had just managed to catch the ball with her feet, that would cause a bigger stir. The bottoms Tiona had opted to wear were even smaller than the green shorts that Ryuu usually wore into the Dungeon. She also had on a thin white band around her chest, as she didnt like having a restrictive cloth around her shoulders. It looked like she was wearing white underwear and, if not for the extra padding, it probably would have be slightly transparent from her exertions. Yes, though he would never quite understand why, it was verymon for capable Adventurers to wear rather revealing clothes, especially females, but Vahn still felt a little bothered knowing that a crowd of people would be gawking at their figures...especially... Receiving the ball that Tiona had kicked across the entire field, Lefiya was actually pushed back nearly three meters by the force. Fortunately, Endurance allowed people to disperse shockwaves and Lefiyas had experienced explosive growthpared to the past. The problem was, much like Lili, she was wearing red spats and a red top. If not for the b.r.e.a.s.tte protecting her rather developed assets, it would have almost looked criminal to have her on the field. Ever since she became a Spirit, Lefiyas beauty had transcended normal standards and, with her simultaneously youthful and sensuous appearance, Vahn was worried about even letting herpete... Nudging him with her elbow, Tsubaki, who had been watching the match with him, had a cheeky smile on her face as she said, "Dont be jealous so easily, Vahn. After all, arent all those girls out there already yours? Have some confidence!" Vahn rubbed his ribs, even though the pain had already faded,menting, "Arent you supposed to be mine as well...?" Somewhat surprisingly, Tsubaki nodded her head in affirmation before cing her arm around his shoulders and pulling him close, saying, "And youre mine as well..." Though he was enjoying the feeling of her b.r.e.a.s.ts against the side, Vahn wasnt able to do so for long as the ball had been deflected in their direction, moving around 1800km/h. Tsubaki released her grip on Vahns head while stepping forward, reaching out her left hand in the process topletely stop the balls momentum. It spun in her hand for a few seconds, carrying a great deal of rotational force but it seemed like Tsubakis inertia had turned her into an immovable object. Even so, by the time the ball had stopped spinning, she clicked her tongue and shook out her hand before tossing it back into y. Turning back to Vahn, she had an amused expression on her face as she said, "These sports look fun, but theyre also pretty dangerous. You might have toe up with something that allows people topete without directly pitting them against each other..." Vahn nodded his head, understanding the truth behind Tsubakis words since there had already been a few injuries. During Volleyball, it wasnt that umon for people to sprain, or even break, their wrists. Tione had even taken a hit to the face once, causing her to go absolutely berserk since it had chipped one of her teeth. If not for his ability to use [Wounds Transfer] to repair the damage, she might have still been attacking Ais to this day. To prevent things like this, Vahn had introduced the idea of using protective equipment but it had beenrgely shut down since the girls themselves seemed to enjoy ying without using it. In fact, the outfits he had originally designed were much more tamepared to what they eventually decided upon. However, as he respected the girls decisions, especially when it came to their own bodies, Vahn had made the requested changes until they ended up with something that was between swimsuits and thick underwear. He was just d they had decided to use proper protection during Ser, as the speed and force behind the ball could be very dangerous if you took a bad hit. If Vahn wanted to eliminate the potential for injury, while also removing the need for protective gear, he would have to implement sports that didnt endanger the yers. Since these were supposed to be yed by children, it would probably be a good idea. The only reason he had chosen these, to begin with, was because the girls had enjoyed it and it seemed like a good way to foster friendlypetition. With the potential for injury, however, thepetition might not be so friendly after the first serious injuries... The easiest type of sport to implement would be things like archery, racing, and other physical sports. However, these types of events typically werent that interesting to witness and, depending on the bnce of a persons skills, abilities, and parameters, there would be a very big distinction between those with ability modifiers, and those without. The only way to keep things rtively fair was to have peoplepete in team events, ones where the use of skills and abilities either had no effect, or a minimal effect. If it came down to pure parameters, that was just the difference in effort that had been put in by the yers, meaning it could be ovee if people tried hard enough. One of the potential solutions Vahn had thought about was having the students simply fight against monsters, instead of each other. This could be entertaining to watch, allowed them topete against each other, and also helped to increase their strength and battle experience. However, making sure the matches were fair would be very difficult, as the difference in strength of simr monsters could be massive. Procuring a lot of monsters would also be very difficult, even if they coordinated with Familias like the Ganesha Familia. And, though it was possible to make things like simple golems, they werent actually that difficult to fight against, as having them performplex functions was simply impossible... Realizing howplicated things would be in the future, Vahn released a small sigh but, even though this was the case, he smiled immediately afterward. After all, even if it was hard to find a bnced method for people topete, it was still worth looking into. If he could increase the forms of entertainment in the world, while simultaneously allowing the strengths of individuals to develop, the future would be a lot more interesting. His main goal was to increase the number of paths and professions avable to people, instead of making the only practical means of bing sessful based onbat and mercantilism. There needed to be more fun things in the world, other than simply s.e.x, fighting, gambling, drinking, and drugs... Eventually, the ongoing Ser match hade to an end, with Tionas team emerging as the victors. Her coordination with Tione made them very capable attackers while the synchronization between Maemi and Emiru made them monstrous on both attack and defense. With Arnya as their goalie, it had been almost impossible for Ais team to score too many points, not that they really lost by much, either. Ais and Lili might not have had the coordination of Tiona and Tione, but Ais speed and control were almost unrivaled while Lilis spatial awareness and kicking strength were almost as monstrous as Tionas. Their only real weakness was the fact that Lefiyacked the coordination and athleticism to y her role as a defender properly, though Chloe and Lunoire covered for her well. Lunoires defense as a goalie made it difficult for anyone on the opposing team to score and, if not for thebined efforts of Tiona and Tione, they would have had a lot fewer points. Vahn watched as the girls gathered together, sharing handshakes, high fives, and hugs, skin glistening with sweat. This only served to enhance their beauty even further, putting him in enough of a daze that he hadnt reacted before Tsubaki heavily patted his back and said, "Dont just gawk. Im sure any of them would ept your offer if you wanted to go y with them, hahahahaha~." After catching his bnce, Vahn looked back at the smiling Tsubaki just as she vanished from the Sub-Space orb, likely returning to check on Sakuya. He had been contemting ying with her but it seemed as though she had seen through his intention and escaped. Snorting, with a smile on both of his faces, Vahns main body headed towards the maternity ward to tease Tsubaki while his Avatar, the one that had been watching the game, went to discuss the specifics of the uing sports festival with the girls. When that was finished, they all made their way over to the onsen to enjoy a hot bath together, rx, and, after a bit of further discussion, Vahn went into a private room with the winning team to celebrate their victory. Of course, he promised to pensate the losing team a littleter on, much to the satisfaction of Ais, Lefiya, and Lili... (A/N: Yeah, Im not just feeling it today. This chapter took me twice as long to write as it normally would have and, as Im sure you noticed, the content is a bit all over the ce. Im gonna write a couple of Fenrirs Journey today and just revitalize my batteries a bit.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Id like to see these sports ill.u.s.trated (UwU)...,Counter violence and stagnation with entertainment and progress,Vahn is very fair (^_^);) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 751 - Cycle of Life

Chapter 751 - Cycle of Life

Even ignoring the fact he was spending nearly ten days worth of time within a single day, time always seemed to pass both slowly, and very quickly at the same time. It could have been the result of his shifting perception, from controlling two bodies, but Vahn suddenly found himself in the delivery ward once again, this time staring into down at the form of his son with acent and proud smile on his face. He seemed incredibly healthy, practically radiating a powerful aura of life from his body that had a soothing effect on everyone present, including the exhausted Riveria. Much like Ryuu, she had been inbor for quite a long time, taking a little more than fifteen hours before finally releasing a profoundly relieved sigh. She was currently resting her head against the stack of pillows supporting her body, patiently waiting for her son to be handed over to her. Vahn, however, knew she wasnt actually as patient as she was letting on so, after handing over the jade-haired little High Elf to Preasia to be cleaned, he wiped down his hands and then carried the form of his young son to her side. When she opened her eyes, Riverias jade-green irises were wavering slightly and it almost seemed like she would burst into tears at any moment. After passing over his son into the waiting arms of his mother, Vahn ran his fingers through Riverias long jade-green hair, a gentle smile on his face as she looked down at their son with expressions of awe and love fighting for dominance over her generally noble and elegant countenance. However, no matter how close she seemed appeared to get, Riveria managed to avoid shedding tears outright and, but for a few lone crystal clear drops, the only thing present on her face was a beautiful smile, practically glowing within the well-lit and warm room. She gingerly reached out to touch their sons face with her fingers, almost as if she couldnt quite believe he was real, before saying, "I hope he is always so well behaved...fuuuu..." Vahn released a light chuckle, understanding Riverias meaning since their son had only cried out for a very short moment earlier before quickly calming down. Now, he justy his mothers arms while showing a variety of facial expressions, almost as if he were trying to learn how to control his facial muscles. Every now and then, jade-green eyes would appear as the young High Elf struggled to open his eyes. They were slightly lighter than Riverias, but it was very obvious that he had inherited her characteristic hair and eye color, essentially shouting out to the entire world that he was the inheritor to the Ljos Alf bloodline. With a bit of hesitation, Riveria suddenly asked, "Is it really okay to name him...Vahn...I..." Shaking his head slightly, Vahn just continued to stroke Riverias hair as he said, "It is only a name. Regardless of what my children are called, I will care and love for them to the best of my ability. This is my pride as a father, the honor I have been blessed with by surrounding myself with so many beautiful and capable women..." Riveria inhaled a deep breath, fighting the tingling feeling in her nose that seemed to cause moisture to build up in her eyes. Swallowing the knot in her throat, she did her best to produce a smile, an act made easier when she saw her son energetically moving about. In the soft and elegant voice she generally only reserved for the people she was closest to, Riveria gently hugged the body of her son and said, "From now on, your name will be Masonia Ljos Alf...even though this name may be your burden one day, your father and I will always support you..." Leaning down, Riveria kissed the forehead of their son, Masonia, this time liberating a few more of her tears as Vahns body visibly tilted a few degrees to the right... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //Optional Quest Complete// [Quest: A Mans Responsibility] Rank: B-SS Completion Grade: S Rewards: 100,000 OP, 1x[Guardian:(Nameless)] Grade Rewards: 1x[Spirit-Jade of Yggdrasil], 500,000 OP [Spirit-Jade of Yggdrasil] Rank: Unique Use: A pendant that radiates with seemingly endless vitality, nourishing the body and mind of the wearer. Helps to calm the minds of both the user and those within the immediate vicinity. Has a self-concealing ability when worn, making the powerful vital energy appear to originate from the wearer, not the pendant. Soulbound: Masonia Ljos Alf ---------------------------------------------------------------------- She hadnt noticed it immediately, as she was too focused on Masonia, but Riveria eventually turned her eyes to Vahn, momentary confusion shing across her jade-green irises. Vahn habitually produced a smile before regaining hisposure and saying, "Sorry, my ability had kicked in while I was looking at our son..." Reaching out his hand, Vahn produced the [Spirit-Jade of Yggdrasil], surprising both Riveria and himself with how powerful the aura radiating off the small emerald-green pendant was. At the same time, aplex and indecipherable magic circle appeared, causing a gentle light to spread through the ward as the form of Masonias Guardian took shape. Everyone present in the room watched as the light slowly coalesced into a rather small form and, as the light began to fade, Vahn had already moved his arms to snatch it out of the air before an ident urred. Within his arms, much to the incredulity of everyone that hadnt witnessed the formation of Doppel, there was now a brown-skinned infant girl with simrly jade green hair to Riveria and Masonia. When she opened her eyes, however, they were a vibrant pink and, the moment she saw Vahn, vines began to sprout from her body, coiling around his arms as she giggled happily. From the bed, Riveria was absentmindedly staring at the figure in Vahns hands, a whisper of disbelief escaping her lips as she asked, "A Dryad...?" Though she had asked the question to no one in particr, Vahn smiled in response and said, "This is Masonias Guardian, the immortalpanion who will protect him from harm. She isnt a Dryad though, not that it would be incorrect to call her one...she is a Meliai Dryad Queen, a nymph of the World Tree, Yggdrasil..." Considering the path his son would walk in the future, Vahn wasnt surprised that his Guardian would be a Queen. Since it had a clearly defined gender, Vahn just hoped that they exercised a sense of propriety in the future. He would need to make sure his son didnt have the same curious nature Vahn himself had in his youth... Bringing the young Dryad Queen over to the bed, she immediately ignored him and happily lunged towards Masonia, turning into jade-green light as she entered into his body. Masonia released augh of his own, breaking Riveria from her stupor as a gentle smile spread across her face. She knew how incredible an existence Yggdrasil was so, hearing that her son had one of the protector spirits of the World Tree, Riveria had been very surprised. However, knowing that such a powerful entity would be protecting her son, she felt a great deal of relief, even though she shared some of the same concerns as Vahn. She would have to be strict with Masonia in the future to prevent the young High Elf from acting without restraint... With the reminder of Hestia, Riveria finally started to give Masonia his first meal, embarrassing the young mother for having forgotten something so important. Soon after, Masonia finally went to sleep with a contented expression on his pristine white face. After that, Riveria was also feeling greatly fatigued and, now that the tensions in her body had started to release, it was important for her to get some rest of her own. Vahn, as he ought to do, stayed at her side throughout the night, simply watching over the two of them before, as was alsomon in this scenario, he epted Hestias offer of ap pillow. --- The birth of Masonia had urred only three days before theing Monster Feria, which had turned into a muchrger event after the Alliance started campaigning and advertising the event throughout the city. Things had gotten so out of hand that the schedule had been extended to epass a five-day period, as the number of people that had wanted to attend was several times more than in the past. One of the reasons for this was, unlike previous Monster Ferias, there would actually be an event that the spectators could participate in. This wouldnt have mattered to most people but, as there was a 1,000,000,000V prize offered, the entire city was in an uproar. Vahn had decided to use the Monster Feria as a tform to put on a public demonstration of his base power, both to increase his fame and deter future enemies from trying to find trouble with him. Since Zeus, Hera, Siegfried, and Jeanne had already seen him reveal some of his cards, there wasnt any great benefit in keeping his basic abilities a secret from the public. Though it might pull some powerful warriors out of the woodwork, this wasnt exactly a bad thing since it would allow him to polish his skills further and, in some cases, potentially recruitbat instructors to teach at the School and Academy. As for the monstrous prize pool, Vahn had more than 8BV to his name and he rarely had a use for it these days... Regardless, that wasnt really the matter that was chief amongst Vahns concerns at the moment since Riveria had sent a missive to the Elven Kingdom to inform her father, the Elven King, that her son had been born. As if there werent more than a 6,000km distance between the Elven Kingdom and Orario, a small procession had been allowed through the blockade of the Western Forest and had now arrived within the City. This procession was for none other than Riverias father, Larfal Ljos Alf, supposedly acting as an envoy for peace. To show his sincere desire to bring the ongoing conflict to an end, Larfal had left the Elven Kingdom for the first time,ing to the heart of the Alliance to negotiate. Those in the know, however, knew he had juste to see his daughter and grandson, with a special interest directed towards thetter. While awaiting the arrival of his father-inw, Vahns mind wandered back to two days prior, when Riveria had first gone intobor. With a pained and sicklyplexion on her face, she had looked into his eyes and given him permission to use her [Hearts Desire]. They had previously talked about the disconcerting orb in detail and, in order to obtain and Guardian for her son, Riveria had been willing to allow Vahn to peer into her memories. This, ultimately, hadnt been that impactful an event, however, as the only thing waiting for him within her orb was a n.a.k.e.d Riveria with a brilliant smile on her face. As the two watched her memory panes slowly shatter, each filled with fragments of the memories she held dear to her heart, Riverias Avatar of the Heart recounted the significant events of her past and the hopes she had for the future. Vahn spent what felt like an hour just holding her in his arms as she exined to him to the pain and disappointment she had experienced when being told she wasnt suitable to be Queen. At that time, she had felt so betrayed and lost that she had seriously considered ending her own life, refusing to be the tool for someone else. When she heard about her arranged marriage with Alosrin, however, something inside of her had broken. Though it might have been a reason for her to follow through with her previous intent, Riveria had instead snapped out of her negative mindset and decided to take a different approach. After fleeing the Kingdom, she wanted to gain enough power and influence within Orario to slowly bring about the change she believed was necessary for her people. She also worked hard to increase her rapport with the Elven people, making it nearly impossible for the Elven Kingdom to even try and force her into action. In truth, she never truly nned to return to her home and intended to simply live out the rest of her days helping change the minds and hearts of the Elves before eventually dying within the Dungeon. She had never stopped looking for a better solution, but Riveria had fully intended to be a Martyr for her people, which had been the secret she kept in her heart. The reason she became cold and detached from everyone, even though she had genuine care and concern for those she was close to, was so that they wouldnt be burdened by her inevitable death. Even Lefiya, whom she had groomed as her sessor in the Loki Familia, was supposed to bear witness to her death in the future. Riveria had hoped it would harden the girls heart and make her stronger for it by showing that, in the end, with herst and final act, Riveria had been willing to sacrifice herself to protect herrades and her precious disciple... When Vahn had awoken from the Heartscape, he had been stunned for a short while but, as Riverias water had already broken, he didnt exactly have time to think about it. Now, while he was waiting for the arrival of a father that had failed his daughter, Vahn didnt know how he should act. He had an urge to punch Larfal the moment he saw the man but, out of consideration for his wife, Vahn just periodically clenched his teeth to resist the building urge. In truth, Larfal was also something of a victim in this entire thing, as he had been put on the throne and molded to be the King his people needed. It was the system he headed that was corrupt and, had he not done as was required of him, Riveria would likely have never even been born. He had also lost his wife in the process and, ording to Riveria, he spent most of his lonely moments within the Sanctum the errant King had constructed in her memory. His main failure, other than being a terrible father, was that his mentality had simply been too weak to bear the burden of his crown. Larfal simplycked the capacity and resolve to bring about the change he had sought in his youth, allowing the power and authority that was supposed to be his to be seized by the other powers within the Elven Kingdom. He had constantlypromised with them until, at the end of everything, he had lost the love of his life, the trust of his daughter, and was now embroiled in an internal conflict that likely wouldnt end well for him and his people. When everything was said and done, it was very likely that Larfal would be dead at the end of everything and, bying here when there was so much turmoil within his Kingdom, he had essentially sealed his fate. Vahn could never truly understand why Larfal had made the foolish decisions he had in the past but, after seeing what his own self was capable of in the Divination, Vahn knew some paths did not always lead towards happiness. Had Larfal been stronger, smarter, or wiser, many of the events in his past could have been ovee with enough effort. However, the man, though powerful in his own right, was rtively average in all three categories. He simply hadnt been suited to the role of King and, after losing his wife, this had only be even more evident. Others used that as an opportunity to seize even more power, to the point that he had to betroth his own daughter to an ipetent swine, essentially giving up the mantle of King to another family, even though he had fought so hard to keep it in the hands of his own...simply foolish... All of that was in the past now, however, as Larfal seemed to have found his resolve and, ording to Riveria, was heading unhesitantly towards his death to pave the way for Masonia to take power in the future. Vahn had found it somewhat difficult to believe but, seeing how quickly Larfal hade to negotiate after the birth of his son, it was hard to see things any other way. While he was away from the Kingdom, the other families would obviously move to take the Pce into their own hands and, by the time he returned, the only thing waiting for him would be his death. Fully expecting this, Larfal had already made ns to prevent the other families from trying to pin his death on the Alliance, making it public that his death was inarguably regicide machinated by the other Noble houses. This would likely lead to a bloodbath within the Elven Kingdom, throwing it into a full-blown civil war since, though Larfal hadnt had the true respect of many of the Noble households, he had been a beloved King from the perspective of his people. The Ljos Alf family was one of the only households that didnt exploit the people, instead, working to better the lives of everyone by supporting businesses and smaller ns. With the enmity most Elves held in their hearts towards some of the High Elf families, the assassination of their beloved King would undoubtedly push them over the edge... Knowing that, just a few thousand kilometers away, a massacre was about to ur, Vahn couldnt help butment the foolishness of it all. However, this was a road that the Elven Kingdom had treaded for itself and, though there would undoubtedly be a great many people to lose their lives, the future of the Elven Kingdom would be better for oveing this trial. As long as the next leader of the Elven people is capable, benevolent, and wise, there will be hope for their recovery. In fact, with Vahns assistance, the future that awaited them would even allow them to grow beyond the peak of power they held in the distant past, before the disappearance of thest Elven Queen... With that thought in mind, Vahn watched as the procession arrived in front of his gate and, with Riveria at his side, holding the small Masonia in her arms, they made their forward. For Vahn, this would be the first time he met the man but, for the slightly pale Riveria, this may very well be thest. Even after everything that had happened, Larfal was still her father and, knowing what awaited him upon his return to the Elven Kingdom, she was struggling to maintain herposure... (A/N: I can hardly believe this is even real life. QI literally blocked/deleted a lot of the most upvoted positive reviews, including my original review. I didnt even give myself 5 stars, honestly exined what the novel was supposed to be about, and they deleted it when it had more than 200 upvotes? Now, the most liked is full of spam and trolls that med the novel in the past and used their own alts to upvote the negative reviews. This is one of the sc.u.mmiest things Ive ever experienced and, considering how much traffic Ive gotten for QI, Im honestly disgusted. Im going to make a new review, so Id like it if everyone upvoted it, at least until QI decides to f.u.c.k.i.n.g pull this shit again.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Birth of the Elven King...and his Queen!?,The Secret Within Riverias Heart...,A Fathers Responsibility...Larfal finds his resolve...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 752 - Responsibility

Chapter 752 - Responsibility

For a Kings procession, Larfals escort was rather small, consisting of only three carriages and around forty guards. At the front of the procession, riding on the back of a majestic albino deer, muchrger than any normal stag, there was a mature High Elf with pale blond hair. Without any pretenses, he jumped down from his mount and bowed low the moment he saw Vahn and Riveria arriving, though it was clearly for thetter as he said, "Princess Riveria, it eases my heart seeing you in good health..." Riveria gave a polite nod before casually exining, "This is Lendal Wisteria, the cousin of Aina and one of the elders of the Wisteria family, the retainers and distant kin of the Ljos Alf family..." With this introduction, Lendal lifted his head with an amiable smile, turning to Vahn with his jade-green eyes, which were closer to a leaf greenpared to Riverias. Walking forward, he extended his hand and said, "You must be Princess Riverias Husband, the Sage Aldrnari, Vahn Mason. I must say, you are a great deal different than the rumors...I am impressed." Vahn returned a polite smile of his own before shaking Lendals hand, recognizing that the mans words werent a simple formality when his Affection disyed as 71(Trust). As someone traveling with Larfal, Lendal was likely very aware of the fate that awaited them on their return trip. The fact he had stille, regardless of the danger, showed that he had a high degree of loyalty towards the Ljos Alf family. However, Vahn knew it was most likely his appearance that had made the elderly High Elf favor him, as he was currently in his Progenitor form. This wasnt just his emtion of the form either, but the true form of the Progenitor race, even though the appearance was different than what he had assumed in the Divination. Knowing that he would need to y his own part in the events toe, Vahn had endeavored to make Riverias im about him being a Progenitor true. They key to everything had been his experience turning into a Doppelganger, as Vahn was able to emte a flow that allowed him to free transition into almost any form he could think of, even if it was seemingly inanimate. Using this same principle, he incorporated that as part of his natural flow, not quite to the extent of a Doppelganger, but very close. Now, his cells were highly adaptive and, instead of having to spend several minutes changing his form, Vahn could do so almost instantly. This was why, when he was in the Divination, he had almost immediately turned from his Emperor form back into his child-like form. The only requirement for him to change was to simply will it, and it would be so...this was the true form of the race known as Progenitor, having the ability to emte ALL races. This exins how, in the distant past, the original race of Progenitor Humans had been able to intermingle with spirits, producing offspring and giving birth to every other species in the world, even though it was supposed to have been impossible to do so. As for his current form, Vahn allowed hisplexion to be lighter, brought his ears to a subtle point, and increased his height to 180cm. While not overly muscr, he assumed an incredibly athletic figure and allowed his [Eyes of Truth] to stay perpetually active while his [Will of the Emperor] spread from his body, infusing it with natural energy to give him both a suppressive, yet gentle, aura. To protect Riverias dignity, Vahn had put a lot of effort into his appearance, making it impossible for even the notoriously arrogant High Elves to find fault with him. When Lendal felt the firmness of Vahns handshake, almost like he was shaking hands with a mountain, his impression of the young man had increased marginally. He had been wondering what type of man his niece had given her favor to and, after meeting Vahn in person, Lendal had to admit, he was quite the capable young man. Just his presence alone inspired feelings of majesty and, as there was a massive amount of natural energy forming around his body, Lendal believed that the rumors of Vahn being a legendary Progenitor were true. It was very difficult to believe but, seeing it with his own eyes, Lendal felt vindicated about his decision to head this procession. After the guards had organized themselves, one of the Elves wearing ceremonial armor moved to open the leading carriages door, revealing the weathered figure of Larfal, smiling proudly even with his tired and weary expression. Even with the appearance of a man nearing his end, Larfal still had the presence of a King, however, causing all the guards to proudly salute as the jade-haired man descended the steps and ced his foot on foreign ground for the first time. Without any hesitation, almost as if he couldnt wait to get closer, Larfal walked towards the gate and stopped outside its boundaries, smiling towards Riveria in a manner Vahn was very familiar with...it was the same way he saw himself smiling when he interacted with his children. With a wave of his hand, before any words had been said between them, Vahn removed the barrier prevented the King from walking forward any further. As if he just realized Vahns existence, Larfal turned his jade-green eyes towards him, a glimmer of appreciation contained within his pitch ck pupils. Now, with the barrier removed, Larfal took a few steps forward, saying, "Riveria...you have grown up so much since thest time we met. As your father, I cant help but be sad, having missed so many important moments in your life...I hope, after all of this is over, you can forgive this foolish old man who had wronged you so..." Surprising almost everyone, though they kept their bearing and did their best not to show it, Larfal bowed apologetically towards Riveria. As a King, this was a serious breach of etiquette but, from Vahns perspective, this was the least Larfal could have done to apologize for the grievances Riveria had suffered. For Riveria, however, the feelings she had been trying to keep bottled up began to show through and ayer of moisture spread over her eyes as she sniffled slightly, whimpering, "Father..." in a soft and pained tone. Hearing this, Vahn felt his own heart twist in his chest and, even though he felt indignation about all of these events, he couldnt keep hating the man before him, Riverias Father, the sad and tragic King of the Elves... Releasing a sigh, Vahn ced his handfortingly on Riverias shoulder, giving her a supportive smile before turning to Larfal and saying, "There is much Id like to say to you, Larfal, King of the Elves. However, for the time being, just allow me to wee you as your son-inw..." Giving a polite bow of his own, Vahn matches gazes with Larfal, seeing a bit of usation contained in the mans eyes as thetter said, "I must say, Vahn Mason, it is somewhat troubling that our first meeting is after the deed has already been done...but, I suppose that is my own fault...haaaa..." As if the years were weighing heavily on his heart, Larfal suddenly appeared even more aged than before. Still, as he looked at the boy his daughter had chosen, he couldnt help but approve of her decision, even if hemented it as her Father...after all, it was much better than his own choice, a regret he would carry to his death... Making an exception, Vahn allowed the Elven procession to move their carriages and station them within the confines of the Manors estate. There was arge staging area on the western side, located near the Guild Branch, so there was plenty of room for them to even set camp if they chose. Since there was no danger of them roaming about on their own, with Terra paying close attention to everything within her Territory, Vahn overlooked their presence and even allowed Larfal and Lendal into the Hearth Manor itself, instead of taking them to the Guest Residence. Larfal may have made many mistakes in his life, some of which Vahn could nevere to terms with, but the man had already resolved to pay for them with his life. If he still held resentment towards someone with that level of conviction, Vahn felt he would have needed to reflect on his own life a bit... After sitting down within therge study on the first floor, Larfal had a dulled expression since, behind Vahn, most of the girls had gathered just to see the Elven King for themselves. Also, though Vahn and Riveria were at the forefront of the group, Hestia, Hephaestus, Loki, and Anubis were all present as well. Even the Vanir were present, with Hephaestus holding the hands of Ina and Vana while Erika sat at the side, watching the proceedings with slightly parted eyes. Doppel wasying next to her, on her stomach while she used a crayon to draw nothing in particr on a piece of paper. Though he knew of Vahns exploits, Larfal hadnt quite mentally prepared himself to see such arge group of women, goddesses amongst them, standing behind his daughter and son-inw. The fact that there were young children that were already around 3-5 years old was a big surprise for him, as the information he had ess to imed that Vahns oldest children should be around 9-10 months in age. However, none of that was as important as the small bundle in his daughters arms, the strange belt around her exposed abdomen, and the boy sitting to her left, the instrument of change that may lead to the salvation of his people. Coughing lightly to clear his throat, Larfal asked, "Riveria, my daughter...is that my grandson...?" Having regained herposure over thest few minutes, Riveria nodded and, ever so slightly, moved aside the covers to reveal the sleeping face of Masonia. When Larfal saw the jade green hair, long pointed ears,bined with the powerful aura radiating off from his grandsons body, arge grin appeared on his face. As if he was unable to stop himself, Larfal began tough in an unrestrained manner, pping his knee in the process as he said, "Risteria, my love, our daughter has blessed us with a grandson...I wish you could be here to see this..." As if having spoken a magical spell, the father-daughter pair of High Elves both became slightly misty-eyed, even though neither shed tears. For the second time, Larfal cleared his throat before saying, "In the future...I...no, let me be honest for once in my life. Riveria, Vahn...I know you may see me as a failure, a coward who couldnt protect any of the things he cared about...but, the one thing I can take pride in is the fact that I have such a capable daughter. Since she had chosen you, I will respect her wishes and, though it should not be your burden to bear, I will entrust the future of our people to you. Even if that future is only within the confines of this Manor, I am happy knowing that my daughter found her happiness here..." Over thest nine and a half months, Larfal had been allowed to consider things in much greater detail and realized that his understanding of things hadnt been on the mark. His daughter had, time and again, tried to help hime up with solutions that would help him tide through the civil strife facing the Kingdom. Though this could have just been an borate setup for the future, he had long-since realized she was genuinely pained by the plight of her people and, even though he didnt deserve it, she was worried about him. Even so, they had both resigned themselves to things at this point and, now that he could see his grandson with his own eyes, Larfal was content. He could see the love shared between his daughter and Vahn and, having failed her so many times before, Larfal was happy that she had found a real family in this warmth-filled Manor... Hearing Larfals heartfelt words, Vahn felt indignant, even though his expression didnt change much. He knew that, if he took action, it wouldnt even be that difficult for him to save Larfals life, deal with the various Nobles within the Elven Kingdom, and even bring about the change they wanted to see by working alongside Larfal towards a better future. However, there would always be strong resistance to these changes since the number of people that clung to the past was simply too great. They would see his interference as just a power grab made by the outside world, trying to force change in their home forests. It would take a very long period of time to weed out dissent unless he decided to take simr actions to his Emperor self and truly force the change...by killing those that opposed it... While paying attention to the conversation going on in the real world, Vahn was also talking to Sis, asking, ("Why does the world have to be such aplicated mess...? Why cant just happily live alongside each other without trying to live at each others expense? How can greed be so rampant? What allows people to even consolidate enough wealth and power to be cancer upon the very society their ancestors painstakingly built up? Will my own children, and their descendants end up just like this...?") Though he didnt want to believe this was the case, Vahn found it hard to believe that the founding ancestors of various ns and families had intended for their progeny to be as corrupt as they had... After a period of silence, Sis guiding voice sounded out in his mind, calm and soothing as she said, (*Over the course of eternity, you will undoubtedly face such difficulties...this is something that cant truly be avoided, Vahn. However, unlike the Ancestors that created a system that could be exploited by their descendants, you have the potential to live eternally, helping to guide and regte things so they never develop to that point. Though some of your own descendants may turn against you, they are, in essence, unique and solitary individuals. Family ties are powerful bonds but, much like you have met good and bad people in the world, your own descendants are also just other people. Just as you had once wanted to be objective in how you raised your children, you must keep that in mind in the future...everyone has their own path to walk and, as much as we try to help guide them in the right direction, some people are simply drawn to different paths...*) Sis words caused Vahn to remember some of the information that had been stored away in his mind from the Divination. He had been informed by Loki that two of his children had actually betrayed him, though the details behind that event hadnt been revealed. That meant, even in as short as a few years, he may have to face one of the situations Sis was talking about. As she exined, no matter how he felt about the situation, other people were responsible for living their own lives. Just as he had pushed girls like Lili, Naaza, Preasia, Maemi, Emiru, and Haruhime to grow stronger in the past, it was ultimately up to the people themselves which path they wished to walk. If, one day, his children diverged away from the path they were all currently working together...Vahn would have to ept that. And, if the path they walked ended up being at the expense of others, he may also have to cut off future paths to them with his own hand... The realization that he may one day have to cross des with his own children made Vahn feel solemn and lonely inside. However, he also knew that there was no such thing as someone being born into the world that was inherently evil. Evil was something created,prised of all the events that shaped the perspectives of the individual that walked down that dark path. If his children ended up like that, it would have been because he had failed them so, in order to prevent such a tragic oue, Vahn was determined to be a good father. He already worked hard to never truly spoil his children, so they were able to develop a healthy and independent perspective, so he just needed to make sure his future descendants had simr upbringings. If their family creed was always focused on bettering themselves, sharing happiness, and helping other people, Vahn believed he would be able to reduce the chances of darkness and corruption seeding themselves within his family. Even if his family became very extended in the future, as his children would eventually have children of their own, the core principles that their family was based on would unify them...at least, that was his hope. After having talked for a while, Larfal eventually turned to Vahn and asked, "So, are you truly a Progenitor...? I do not doubt my daughters words, but it is very difficult to believe that a Demigod Progenitor exists within the modern world..." Vahn smiled lightly, asking, "Are you able to read the godsnguage?" Larfal chuckled lightly, shaking his head as he said, "Im afraid we cant all be like my exceptional daughter. The fact that my grandson has such an appearance...and this aura...I cant help but believe your words are the truth..." Though tempted to ask Vahn to make a vow, Larfal decided against it, as he wanted his final days to be spent believing wholeheartedly in his daughter. Next, Larfal ruminated over his words for a bit before saying, "There is another matter I wanted to leave in your hands, though you are well within your right to refuse..." This time, Vahn sighed externally, dismissively waving his hand as he said, "Just get on with it...you dont have to keep up these pretenses when youre here in our home. If you have something to say, just be out with it already..." This whole situation with Larfal had started to leave an impression on Vahns heart and mind, causing him to want to just resolve all these minor issues as quickly as possible. Issuing a light chuckle, Larfal smiled in response before saying, "Im certain you have noticed, but we brought along two extra carriages. Because of the strife within the Elven Kingdom, I was afraid that the other Noble families would do some drastic. In order to prevent an even greater tragedy, I brought along a few of the promising younger generation and would ask that the Alliance give them asylum in the future. The pretense were using is that they are meant to be an expression of our goodwill, allowing them to attend the School youll be opening soon. To pay their expenses, we have brought a variety of treas-" Holding his hand up, Vahn stated simply, "The Alliance has already built amunity of Elves within its territory, so a few more shouldnt matter that much. As long as they dont act in an unrestrained manner, the Alliance will offer them the asylum you seek. Dont worry about the cost, as the Schools expenses are all fronted by my own personal assets. I do not ept bribes, even in the form of tuition and gifts...keep your treasures, or give them to the children and their guardians, if you can trust them." Even though the School would cost him a few hundred-million Valis a year, Vahn basic earnings made it easy for him to earn several billion valis in that span of time. He could pay the sries of all the staff, cover the expenses for the childrens clothes, food, personal belongings, and any other misceneous things. epting the treasures of a dying man just to protect people his wife would have wanted to protect regardless didnt sit well with him at all. Hearing Vahn agree so readily, while even saying to give the treasures to the children, Larfals impression of his son-inw increased greatly. He could already tell that Vahn had a righteous and just character so, seeing how quick he was to refuse the treasures for himself, Larfal felt vindicated. In truth, there were a lot of things he was worried about but, seeing his daughter, his grandson, and the man who protected them both, Larfal knew he could entrust the future to them. When he heard the exnation about the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing] alone, Larfal was absolutely certain that the Elves would not fade into obscurity in the future. No, instead of the path of the destruction they had set themselves upon, this boy before them was slowly pulling the entire Elven people back towards the light... (A/N: Holy snazzballs, looks like QI bots are really trying to promote their two current pet projects. Our novel is lower than three wish-fulfillment womens novels xD~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Progenitor Appears,The weight of responsibility...it is something that few can bear without being worn down...,Vahn Mason, Sage Aldrnari, Captain of the Hestia Familia, the Light of Hope) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 753 - Debut

Chapter 753 - Debut

After all of the discussions hade to an end, Vahn made another exception and allowed Larfal to stay in the Guest Residence for the next few days. He had decided to stick around until the Grand Opening of the School and would be attending the Monster Feria. As for his entourage, Vahn met with some of the few key individuals that would be under the protection of the Alliance, chiefly three young High Elven children, the eldest only twelve years old. In total, the carriages had brought thirteen children along with four a.d.u.l.ts that would be acting as their guardians until they were capable of taking care of themselves. Vahn helped them get situated within the Elvenmunity that had previously been established and, for the first time, Riveria had apanied him to make an appearance, bringing along the young Masonia as well. The reaction of themunity was a little beyond his expectations, as they practically looked towards him and Riveria as if they were gods, but it was also a blessing. Since Larfal had picked guardians that would raise the children without bias, they were readily epted by themunity, to the point where the eldest among them had been allowed a spot on their smallmunity council. Though he got his fair share of reverential looks, Riveria and Masonia were the focus of most people, as her fame had been the main reason many of them came to the City in the first ce. Seeing her carrying around what they believed to be the heir of the Elven Kingdom, things became festive very quickly and it had taken a fair bit of effort just to extricate themselves from the celebrations. Still, it was worth the trouble as, throughout the entire event, Riveria had a vibrant and gratified smile on her face. She even let some of the elderly Elven women hold Masonia, though not without standing very close to them in the process. Even Vahn had been in a hyper-aware state and, though it wasnt likely to happen, Masonia even had an [Effigy of the Hero] attached to the same string as his pendant. Fortunately, though they would never avoid taking such precautions, they were ultimately unnecessary as, without exception, everyone in the Elvenmunity adored Masonia. It wasnt just them either as, on the days leading up to the Monster Feria, Larfal was always lingering around the Manor and trying to spend time with his daughter and grandson. Since he wasnt allowed into the Manor, unless Vahn was apanying him, this meant the once proud King of the Elves had to wait outside the door during the early morning before being escorted into the central area. He spent a fair amount of time in Terras Garden, with thetter having donned her clothing, just sitting and talking with his daughter and doting over his grandson. The first time Larfal had seen Terra, he had beenpletely gobsmacked and, even though he was a King, it had taken all of his willpower just to avoid bowing in her presence. Terra kept it hidden most of the time, but her unrestrained aura could even bring Khaos and Fafnir to aplete silence. From the perspective of a High Elf, however, they were simultaneously suppressed and awed. Her aura was like that of a Sacred Tree given form which, as could be expected, meant he had an equally drastic reaction after meeting Lefiya. Learning that she was a Daughter of Wishe who, after having her blood purified, had be a Spirit, Larfal felt like he was meeting one of the first generations of Elven Royalty. The High Elves, having descended from Spirits, had a great deal of respect for their Ancestors. Lefiya, now having be the same type of existence they revered in the past, was practically a goddess to not only Larfal, but all of the Elves that had seen her. Though her aura wasnt nearly as impressive as Terras, just the recognition of her existence itself hadpletely awed them. Lefiya had never been one enjoy attention, unless it was from certain individuals, so she had started avoiding them very quickly. Vahnughed when he had to hear herin about how the Elves had all been treating her like she was some deity to be worshipped. Since that deity happened to be sitting on hisp at the time, pouting with rounded cheeks, Vahn had been unable to hold himself back. As a result, he ended up getting beaten up by the bashful little fairy spirit, which eventually ended up triggering her affectionate side soon after, though he wasnt quite sure how... In this way, the days leading up to the Monster Feria passed rather quickly and, though it had felt like half a month from the perspective of most the Manors residents, the morning of the Monster Feria came. Vahn needed to be present for the opening ceremony and, as he would also be viewing the event from the area that had previously been reserved for gods, it wouldnt do to bete. As for why he had been made the exception, it was hard to argue against having him there when more than half the gods in attendance were his supporters, Ganesha himself included... This event would also be important for another reason, as it would also be the tform by which the Vanir are introduced to the general public. Of course, they werent going to be touted and disyed like exhibits, they were just going to be observing the Monster Feria from the viewing tform. The rest would be left for the crowd and other gods to specte over as, now that Freya was no longer a concern, the existence of the Vanir wasnt as important to protect as before. Though the details of what they were, and their capabilities, would remain a closely guarded secret, their existence itself would be public. Though this might draw attention to them in the future, the final day of the Monster Feria would be with his open challenge to the public. His personal disy, after the girls put on performances of their own, would deter the majority of people. A lot of goddesses would probably be a bit more proactive in the future, but that wouldnt get them far. Other than a few select goddesses, Vahn wasnt going to be making anymore Vanir with goddesses just because they wanted them. As for the gods that would eye the Vanir with hostility, or other intentions, this was a chance to identify and mark them to be dealt with at ater date. The Alliance was already the most influential organization within the City and, as it didnt vie for power against the Guild, both organizations had be stronger for it. Lil Geirr had not only been a foothold for the Alliance, but the Guild had actually opened a branch on the 39th Floor and, in the future, nned to make another branch on the 50th. Since one of the main goals of the Alliance coincided with the intentions of the Guild, it was a good opportunity for them to benefit as well. This was also a y to prevent power frompletely falling out of their hands and, even though they hadnt allied with the Alliance, it made clear they werent against thetters rise to power. Revealing the Vanir was just one of the final nails in the coffin of the old ways, as their existence alone had fundamentally changed the flow of fate in the world. Even if he never left to go to another record, they would have been the key to allowing the world to grow beyond its current Soul Tier limitation. Now, they had be the key to securing power for the Alliance as gods and goddesses from all over the world would turn their focus on his adorable daughters. When they see how fast they grow, how capable they be, and how powerful their pseudo-divinities are, it would have been impossible to stay hidden anyways. By the time this Monster Feria came to an end, which is also when they would be announcing the growth of the girls publically, the entire world wouldnt be able to ignore the existence of the Alliance, and the Hestia Familia at its core. A Familia that had a single Level 6 could already be a powerhouse but, within the Hearth Manor alone, there was a Level 7, five Level 6s, and six Level 5s. Even their weakest members who, publically, were only aged 11-13, were already at Level 3. When this became public knowledge, the stir it would cause would be monumental, especially when the girls were almost all Level 5, or higher, by the next Monster Feria in six months. To put it into perspective, even a massive Familia like the Ares Familia, having more than 100,000 members, only had a few dozen people at Level 3. They didnt even have a single publically known Level 4 and the bulk of their army was only Levels 1-2. Regardless of how many people they had, a single Level 5 would be able to decimate an entire battalion of normal troops. A Level 6 might even be able to route an entire regiment on their own. This meant that, with the power consolidated in the Hearth Manor alone, they would be able topletely wipe out the Ares Familias forces in directbat, ignoring the existence of anomalies like Vahn and Terra. In the near future, there simply wouldnt be any force in the world capable of contending against them, at least on the surface. Since he had seen existences like Jeanne and Siegfried, Vahn assumed that there were other powers at y that tried to manipte things behind the scenes. However, it didnt seem like they would do something like fighting within the City and, if it came down to an actual confrontation, Vahn was confident Terra could protect everyone. As for himself, he would charge directly into the enemies midst and wipe them out, no matter how much pain and suffering he had to experience in doing so... After everyone gathered together in the front of the Manor, including Larfal and his escorts, Vahn raised his hand to quiet the group. Though he knew it was going to be a big strain on his power, Vahn smiled and said, "Okay, lets go~!" Picking up Ina and Erika into his arms, Vahn began floating into the sky and, along with him, so did all 24 other people. It felt like he was being weighed down by a massive anchor, but Vahn carried everyone through the sky at a leisurely pace, drawing hundreds of exmations from the pedestrians below. As for Larfal, and his entourage, they were somewhat pale as they looked down at the ground below. Vahn wanted tough and exin to them that, even if they fell, there wouldnt be any danger. However, seeing two High Elves, and a group of Elven Royal Guard, turn pale from freight brought a small smile to his lips. He realized that it wasnt just female Elves he seemed to enjoy teasing... Though he went much slower than normal, the flight had only taken twenty minutes before Vahn set down inside the Coliseum. Hended on the VIP viewing tform, where Larfal and most of the girls would be seated when they werent participating in their own events. Then, now carrying Ina and Vana, Vahn apanied Hephaestus, Hestia, Anubis, and Loki to the gods viewing tform. Erika was being pulled along by Loki after having refused to be carried in public by her Mother, much to the indignation of the usually proud and unrestrained goddess. It didnt take long to reach the gods viewing tform, as the VIP area was connected to it through a single curved corridor. At the end of the corridor, there were two massive doors and, standing at each side, there were two girls Vahn had immediately recognized. Since his hands were full, Vahn just smiled and said, "Rufina, Shakti, its good to see the two of you again so soon..." Rufina snorted in response before saying, "Are those two brats yours...?" Hearing this, Vahn furrowed his brows slightly and said, "These three beautiful youngdies are indeed my daughters. Ina, Vana, Erika, say hello to aunty Rufina..." Though Ina and Erika didnt y along, Vana immediately raised her hand and greeted, "Good morning, Aunty Rufina~!" in a vibrant voice. Rufina tilted a few degrees, almost like she was going to fall over before blushing slightly as she shouted, "Hey! Dont call me aunty, you brat! Im not rted to your Dad at all...!" To this, Vahn answered before anyone else could respond, "Mmm, that isnt exactly true, Rufina. Even if were not rted by blood, youre still like a sister that I have to protect. Until we find your real family, you can consider mine a temporary recement..." Before Rufina was able to respond, Vahn shifted his weight and hefted Vana towards her, saying, "Vana, why dont you get to know Aunty Rufina a bit. Look, she even has simr hair to your own and is also suuuuuuuuper good at taming animals and monsters." When she heard this, the previously hesitant Vana immediately tched onto Rufina, asking, "Is that really true!? Can you really tame monsters!? Can you teach me!?" Rufina, who had been struggling to keep up with everyone, suddenly found a little girl tossed into her arms and, unable to process the sudden developments, said, "Ah...I...sure...?" Nodding his head, Vahn then surprised Rufina and Shakti by having his Avatar separate from his main body. Smiling with both of his faces, Vahn said, "Here, Ille with the two of you. Lets go check out the monster holding area until the Monster Feria is ready to start." Then, with his other body, Vahn turned to Hephaestus to make sure she was okay with it before they all passed by the stunned Rufina and Shakti, entering the viewing tform where Ganesha was bending over the balcony and shouting at the people organizing things below... When the massive doors closed shut on their own, Shakti, who had missed her chance to return a greeting earlier, turned to Vahn and asked, "What...?" Vahn justughed, waggling his finger as he said, "Sorry, its a super big secret, isnt that right, Vana~?" Never one to miss out on the fun, Vana began giggling in her shishishishi manner with her hand covering her mouth. Rufina, still holding Vana, muttered, "What the fu-" before swallowing her word when Vahns aura converged on her. With a serious tone, Vahn said, "Be mindful, Rufina...there are children present..." Rufina swallowed hard and whispered a sheepish, "S-sorry..." in an uncharacteristically quiet manner. At the same time, Vahn felt his mind dull slightly since Rufinas Affection had jumped from 88 to 93 in an instant. Doing his best not to mind it, he turned to Shakti and said, "Ill go with Rufina and Vana to y for a short while. Dont worry, Ill also be helping provide security for any of the gods that are in attendance, so you shouldnt need many people stationed here. I can detect everything that is happening within a distance of more than 700m, so Ill let you know if I see anything suspicious. Shakti just nodded her head, more than a little confused by the situation but trusting that Vahns words were the truth. Seeing him split into two was more surprising than hearing that he could sense everything around him, even though she didnt know why. Thus, unable to refute his words, Shakti just watched as Vahn urged Rufina along, forcing her to carry Vana as the father-daughter duo teased the generally anti-social redhead incessantly. Still, Rufina didnt seem to mind it that much and even Shakti couldnt help but mutter to herself, "I wonder if it would be like that if I had a family of my own..." As if in response to her words, the doors suddenly mmed open as Ganesha popped out and said, "My loyal Shakti, my instincts have told me that you have found yo-" Unable to contain her surprise, Shakti had struck forward and buried her fist into Ganeshas masked face, sending the god flying through the sky until Vahn blinked up and caught him out of the air. Seeming to have taken no damage, Ganesha gave a manly smile and put his thumb up, saying, "Nice catch!" in a serious voice. For a few seconds after that, there was silence within the Coliseum, persisting until Ganesha beganughing boisterously... (A/N: This will be thest EPIC for today, as Im a little titled from the stuff going on atm. However, Ill probably be releasing the rest of my chapters today on Fenrirs Journey. It always makes me feel better having her beat up smelly bad guys. Also, some troll that has been spamming 1 star reviews on EPIC has now invaded our young murder floofs novel! That little brat actually gave a novel he hasnt even read a 1 star review, just because he has nothing better to do with his time!? I am discontented ( ^ )!!!!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: TFW the Hearth Manor has more sacred existences to the Elves than their own forest xD...,Aunty Rufina (UwU)~!,Ganesha is a gem...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 754 - Opening

Chapter 754 - Opening

The opening ceremony for the Monster Feria went without incident, with Vahns only real responsibility being that he was in attendance. Ganesha had made a big speech about how, with the support of the Alliance, the bi-annual event would be even bigger and better than ever before. During this time, Ganesha had asked Vahn to stand next to him, making it clear to the crowd that his status had been elevated to the level of the gods, even without being one. This drew a lot of attention, just to himself, but the young children that stood out a great deal within the viewing tform. When Ganesha had been making his introductions, he had mentioned that Vahn, the leaders of the Alliance, and their children were in attendance. This made it clear to everyone present that, even though it had been less than a year, the children sired by Vahn were different. How they were different wasnt revealed but, just by looking at how quickly the Vanir were growing, people knew they werent normal at all. Of course, the group with the biggest reaction were the gods and goddesses within the viewing tform itself. Without exception, every goddess present wanted to interact with Ina, Vana, and Erika, with only thetter having any real interest in talking to them. Vana was more focused on what was going on in the arena itself while Ina was just sitting in her Papasp, eating candy as she looked around at therge crowd of people. Seeing so many people focused on her, and her Papa, Ina understood that he was even more amazing than she had realized. Though she never doubted that her Papa was the most amazing person in the entire world, seeing a hundred thousand people cheer during his introduction had made her very happy. Loki had been having discussions with various goddesses during the events and, as Erika had been at her side, she had been personally introduced to everyone. The gathered goddesses were shocked with how intelligent Erika seemed to be, though not nearly as shocked as when Loki exined how the children Vahn sired with goddesses, as a result of being a Progenitor, had created an entirely new race. This earned Vahn a few heated gazes that seemed to burn through his back, but he had ignored them while answering all of Inas and Vanas questions. Though he might have to make an exception for Amaterasu and Kali in the future, the only goddess Vahn was even considering having a child with was Demeter. She had been very patient thus far and, though he didnt interact with her too much, Vahn had a good impression of the buxom goddess. Just her kind and charitable nature made Vahn rather fond of her, though he wouldnt lie about it if anyone asked if he were interested in her beauty. She was the only goddess he had ever seen that could rival Hestia in the b.r.e.a.s.t department and, being one of the more mature looking goddesses, Vahn felt like she would make a good mother... Suddenly, a very familiar figure appeared in the arena, causing Vana to nearly jump from the balcony as she shouted, "Ah! Aunty Rufinaaaaaaa, gooooood luuuuuck~!" Vahn had grabbed the back of Vanas tunic to prevent her from falling over as thetter waved her hands excitedly in an attempt to get Rufinas attention. Previously, Rufina had shown her around the kennels located underneath the Coliseum and even allowed Vana to y with a Needle Rabbit that had been domesticated. Because of this, Vana had a very good impression of Rufina and, given how Rufina sent her a small wave before starting her performance, it seemed the feeling was mutual. From his left, Ganeshaughed boisterously before saying, "It seems your daughter is starting to melt our Rufinas icy heart! Gaaaahahahahahahaha!" Vahn nodded his head, a small smile on his face since he actually wanted Rufina to be happier in the future. He felt guilty about leaving her alone for so long but, as he wanted to avoid the situation where she genuinely fell in love with him, it was somewhat difficult to interact with her. Vahn knew he had a big weakness for girls with tragic pasts and, if their feelings were sincere, it was very difficult for him to turn them away. If possible, hed like to just stay friends with Rufina and have her be a part of his family without actually joining it... Since she had heard Ganeshas words, Vana had turned to the free-spirited god and asked, "Why does Aunty Rufina have an icy heart...?" Ganesha put on a rare serious expression, withoutughing out loud, and softly stated, "Ah, young Vana, that is a very hard question to answer. You see, your Aunty had experienced a very troublesome thing in the past but..." Allowing a smile to spread on his face, Ganesha inclined his head towards Vahn and said, "Your Papa helped her out. As for what happened to her, that is her secret so sorry about that...please dont be upset, okay?" Out of nowhere, Ganesha had produced a red lollipop and handed it over to Vana, almost as if he were bribing her to not pry into it. Though she was clearly very curious about what had happened to her Aunty, Vanas face turned into a vibrant smile when she got her hands on the candy. Without asking any more questions, she just happily ate the candy while yfully kicking her legs, eyes glued to Rufina within the arena. Thetter was using a whip to demonstrate her taming ability on a Silverback, tiring it out and preventing it from running away until it eventually gave up resisting and allowed her to ce her palm on its forehead. Seeing her seed, Ganesha gave an appreciative nod and said, "That one really has an amazing talent when ites to taming. You know, Shakti wants her to be the Captain of the Familia in the future. What do you think, Vahn?" Vahn kept Vana from falling, as thetter was happily cheering for Rufina, answering, "Ideally, Id like her to be able to live a happy life. If she wants to be a Captain, Ill try to support her as best I can. As long as she isnt forced into the position, I think it wouldnt necessarily be a bad thing...it may help her find a real family of her own one day..." Though she didnt seem to be paying attention, Vana immediately turned around and eximed, "Rufina can be our family~! Papa, why dont you get Aunty Rufina toe live with us? I think she will be super happy ying with everyone every day. I can show her around in the forest and we can y with all the animals together~!" Before he could answer himself, Hephaestus, who had been sitting to his right, stroked Vanas hair and said, "Your Aunty needs to be able to find her own way through life. Though your Papa could let here to stay with us, it will be much harder for her to open up to other people in the future. Your Papa doesnt want her to be someone that just relies on other people to survive...she needs to be able to find happiness for herself, or she will constantly be afraid of losing it in the future..." Vahn felt a little guilty having Hephaestus covering for him so he lightly pinched Vanas cheek and said, "How about you ask Aunty Rufina to visit the Manor in the future. Even if she doesnt live there, it doesnt mean you cant y together. If she isnt busy, Im certain she wille and spend time with her adorable little niece..." Though she hadnt been convinced by her Mamas words, Vana perked up very quickly when she heard what her Papa said. Then, even though Rufina wouldnt be able to hear her small voice over the loud cheers of the audience, Vana leaned over the balcony and shouted, "Aunty Rufina, you have toe to y with me someday, okay~!?" Surprisingly, Rufina looked over produced a small smile, nodding her head in affirmation before she led the Silverback away. With her enhanced senses, and ability to focus, it hadnt been difficult for her to discern Vanas voice over the rest of the crowd. This caused Vana to be even more excited and, joining along with Ganesha, she began tough boisterously. Vahn just had a small smile on his face as he continued to prevent Vana from falling, as she seemingly had no sense of danger at all. It was probably his fault, as he had been flying around with her ever since she was an infant. She also, like all of his children, had something bordering on absolute trust that, as long as he was around, there wasnt any real danger... After Rufinas performance, several other tamers came out to show off their skills and, to Vahns surprise, not all of them were actually sessful. Ganesha had exined that this was an opportunity for the budding tamers to gain experience under stressful situations and, though he would like them all to be sessful, there were never any guarantees when it came to working with monsters. Hemented that not everyone could be like Vahn, seemingly able to tame any monster and even help it evolve on a whim. As for what happened to the monsters that were unable to be tamed, they would generally end up being in as a result. When Ina, Vana, and Erika had witnessed the first monster being killed, Vana had immediately gotten upset while Ina and Erika both became a little pale. Vahn had to coax them for a bit, exining the difference between monsters and animals before returning to their seatster. Vana hadnt bee convinced at first but, after hearing that she might have to fight against monsters if she wanted to be a Hero, she had turned very silent and just watched the festivities with a serious look on her face. As for Ina, she would turn away whenever it looked like a monster was going to be killed while Erika had a simrly serious expression as Vana. This wasnt exactly how Vahn had expected to expose his children to death but, now that it had happened, he intended to watch over them for a bit to make sure they were okay. Ultimately, this was something they would have to work through on their own and he knew that it was important that he was always there for them. Thus, after sending a nce towards Hephaestus and Loki, it looked like he would be spending the next few nights staying with the girls so they didnt have any nightmares. If necessary, he could get Preasia to take a nap with them in the afternoons as well since she had been getting very good at controlling her dreamscape. As one of the girls that spent most of her time in the Sub-Space orb, Preasia was, chronologically, around 21 years old atm. Though she was still only 18, going by the rules they had set, she had spent the better part of 2.5 years within the Sub-Space orb, most of it asleep. Her fur had be even fluffier with time and, whenever people were stressed out, they would almost always go to her to simply take a nap together. Preasias control over the dreamscape had increased greatly and one of the bigger focuses she had used it for was simply helping people rx and rest peacefully... The demonstration of taming had gone on until nearly 2 PM and, after a short break for Ganesha to give a speech, things had moved on to the next segment. Vahn waited for his moment and, after being introduced by Ganesha once again, stepped forward to make his own address. Ina and Vana had been left with Hephaestus so Vahn held up his right hand in a friendly gesture before saying, "As was mentioned previously, one of the reasons why the Alliance has decided to support the Monster Feria was to advertise the School that will be opening next week. Over the course of the next five days, there are numerous events that will take ce in conjunction with the Ganesha Familias scheduled entertainment..." While speaking, Vahn was gauging the reaction of the crowd and he wasnt too surprised to see that most people didnt really seem to care when he mentioned the School. It made him feel a little amused knowing how little regard they had for the very thing that would be the instrument of change in the future. This brought a small smile to his face as he said, "The School will teach a variety of things, includingbat, general knowledge, business, and even...magic. However, we also emphasize bnce within a persons life and will also be teaching our students other activities, such as sports, theatre, and other forms of art. To demonstrate one of the sports, namely Volleyball, the Alliance will be demonstrating the event in an exhibition match..." At this point, Vahn noticed that nearly half of the spectators were simply talking amongst themselves, ignoring his words until he said, "Im absolutely certain that the demonstration you are about to witness will be very exciting for many of you...thus, I will give out a simple warning, even though I also wish for everyone to enjoy themselves. Remember, this is an exhibition of a sport, with the sport itself meant to be the entertainment. If you act without restraint, please dont me me for being a little overprotective..." While speaking, Vahn let his aura begin to put pressure on everyone in the stands, slowly bringing the entire arena to silence, broken only by the murmurs of a few people. Since this silence was exactly what he had wanted, as it would make the impact of the girls entrance even more exciting, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Without further ado, please wee todays athletes, demonstrating the sport Volleyball for your viewing pleasure!" With his words as the marker, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, Lili, Chloe, Arnya, Lunoire, Emiru, and Maemi all ran out onto the field. Since they were ying Volleyball, each girl was wearing skintight shorts that hugged their pert little bottoms while their chests were covered with equally tight tops that only covered their chests, necks, and part of their backs. This left most of their bodypletely exposed, showing off their youthful and athletic figures for the entire crowd to see, immediately sending everyone in the stands into an uproar. At the same time as some people began making cat calls, Vahn stopped restraining his aura and allowed it to freely weight down on the entire crowd. This time, instead of a small amount of pressure, it felt like the world had dimmed slightly and there was a steady vibration that began to resonate through the Coliseum as Vahns voice carried through the void, "Remember, you are here to witness the sport...please, do not do anything to embarrass yourselves. I wouldnt be much of a man if I allowed other people to shamelessly call upon the women Im involved with. So, I will make myself very clear this time...look, observe, and, if you enjoy the game, please cheer. However, there is a difference between cheering and being shameless..." With his words finished, Vahn eased up his pressure and just showed a simple and amiable smile for everyone to see. Still, his threat had been made and, even though there were a few people who resented the fact he had been shameless enough to threaten the entire crowd, none of them were speaking up at the moment. Vahn was actually very famous for being overprotective of his women and, even though being part of a crowd made them feel empowered, the fact Vahn had been able to force the entire Coliseum into silence left a deep impression on most of the weaker attendees... Ina, seeing how her Papa could make such arge crowd of people immediately turn silent, had glowing blue eyes that shimmered with excitement. Even Vana and Erika had somewhat simr reactions, with thetter showing a proud smile as she looked towards the broad shoulders of her Papa, which seemed capable of bearing the weight of the entire world. As for Vana, she just thought it was cool how her Papa had been able to release such a powerful aura, with nobody even trying to oppose him. He was always so kind and gentle whenever they were together so it left a deep impression on her heart seeing how he was standing up for everyone. Even though there were so many people around, almost like an ocean, her Papa stood tall and proud, not hesitating in the slightest, even against what looked like insurmountable odds... After his second speech, the atmosphere within the Coliseum had turned a little awkward and there werent many people that were willing to speak loudly at the moment. During this lull, some members of the Ganesha Familia quickly set up the court for the Volleyball game while the girls had already split into their two teams and began warmup exercises. Vahn noticed there were numerous people that were eyeing the girls withscivious gazes but, as long as they werent saying or doing anything uncouth, he tolerated this. After all, the girls really were very beautiful and they were a point of pride for him as a man, especially since each of the girls on the field were his lovers. Just as everything had been set up, Vahn had left Ina and Vana with Hephaestus before jumping down into the field, appearing next to the girls in an instant. This movement had stunned a lot of people but Vahn just ignored the exmations as he asked Lili, "I know I asked earlier, but are you fine to continue ying...?" Lili justughed and lightly stroked her abdomen as she said, "Dont worry, Vahn, Im still early enough in my pregnancy to move around without endangering the babies. Many Pallums are forced to work long into their pregnancies without any issues, so Im confident things will be fine...thanks for worrying..." Vahn nodded his head but, just to be safe, a magical ward that would automatically cast [Deflexio] if a fast-moving object got anywhere near her abdomen. It made a small spell circle that hovered just above her skin and made her stand out a little, but he would rather be safe than sorry. Lili blushed lightly and said, "Geez, youre worrying too much Vahn...ehehehe~." Vahn chuckled lightly in response, ignoring the gazes of the crowd as he rubbed the top of Lilis head and gave the other girls a few words of encouragement before returning to the viewing tform with everyone else. Hephaestus, with a little bit of a teasing look on her face, said, "You know, people will start spreading rumors after seeing that little disy..." Vahn, taking Ina back into his arms, just smiled as he said, "At this point, Ive learned that people just like to gossip in general. It doesnt really matter what I do, as theyll just talk amongst themselves ande to their own conclusions anyway. Besides, I will always be a proud father and I will never, ever, be ashamed of my rtionship with any of you girls..." Vahns words had caused Hephaestus smile to soften and, whiling hugging Vana from behind, she leaned against his shoulder and began to watch as the first official game of Volleyball was about to be yed within this world. To decide who would be the first to serve, Ais and Tiona had flipped arge coin and, after making the correct call, Tiona happily seized the ball and took it to her side of the field. Then, after handing it over to Emiru, she and Ais surprised the crowd by taking to the skies, Ais with her [Pactio] and Tiona with a partial transformation using her [Mirukurins Magic Wand]... (A/N: So, yeah, my review got deleted again ( ^ )!!!! However, at the same time, it looks like a moderator went through and filtered out a lot of the spam reviews, at least on the front page. Now, instead of it being filled with trolls, it has a few general reviews, both positive and negative. For now, Ill just wait for things to cool down before trying to make a third review, hopefully without having it unfairly and inexplicably removed this time. I find it ridiculous that the Authors own summary review is deleted twice at this point...also, in other news, QI actually approached me to try and contract Fenrirs Journey. I wanted to see what you all thought about potentially getting the side-story/omake made into a premium novel so those that cant really support me through things like Pa.treon/Paypal would be able to do so through gifts and spirit stones. Ultimately, I will still be writing around the same amount, but it would make it so that there would only be around 70-80k words of EPIC and 20k words of Fenrirs Journey every week. This would mean around 3 chapters of EPIC and 6-10 chapters of Fenrirs Journey per day. Let me know what you think because, as I said from the very beginning, Im writing these stories to be read by you, the readers. This would essentially be a way for me to earn a bit more so Im not simply getting by while trying to write these two stories over the next two years xD...also, also, the other chapters will be a little dyed today, so dont feel the need to spam F5. My Discord Admins got me to y Risk of Rain 2 all night, so Im going to take a nap before writing the other chapters.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Animal Lovers Unite~!,Vahn is a little possessive xD...or maybe he just doesnt want people to act like cunts...?,Let the match begin~!) Chapter 755 - Match

Chapter 755 - Match

The moment Ais and Tiona took to the skies, Emiru had jumped back and served the ball, sending it high into the sky. It was against the rules to spike on a serve, so it was received by Lili, who reached forward in timing with the balls fall to scoop it backward towards Arnya. Thetter than used her wrists to send the ball careening in a perfect arc, a testament to how much control each of the high-Level girls had over their bodies. Ais swooped in like a phantom while the opposing teams defenses prepared to receive theing attack. In a soft, yet fiery voice, Ais arched her body in an extreme disy of athleticism, saying, "Meteor spike..." before snapping forward in an instant and sending the ball careening towards the ground at nearly 1800km/h. An excited stir passed through the crowd, but not nearly as much as when Tione had lurched forward, absorbing the powerful blow with her hands before diverting it towards Emiru, waiting in the backline. Emiru looked like she was going to send it straight back into the air but, surprising the audience and Ais team, she struck the ball to make it fly parallel to the ground, sending it towards Maemi on the other end of the court. Tiona began zipping into position, causing Ais team to form up their defenses as Maemi set up the ball for Tiona to strike. Much like Ais, though she wasughing excitedly the entire time, Tiona shouted out the name of her own self-created technique, "Coiling Dragon Strike~!" When Tiona struck the ball, using her fist instead of her palms, she rotated her wrist in an instant, giving the ball a powerful rotational force as it cut through the air. The most amazing thing was that, instead of careening directly towards the ground below, the ball actually curved through the air and became harder to defend against as a result. This disy got the crowd riled up even further, as watching scantily d women who could perform superhuman feats ought to do, especially when Arnya managed to sessfully stop the ball. She had jumped across the field like a phantom, catching the ball out of the air and spinning a few times before nimblynding on her feet. Without any dy, she sent the ball towards Lefiya, thetter of which sent the ball surprisingly low, but still above the. When Tiona saw this, she swooped down to help defend while Tione and Chloe moved towards the as well, jumping into the air to pre-emptively try to block the ball. Unfortunately for the three girls, Ais was much faster in the air than they were on the ground, appearing next to the ball with enough speed that her sudden deceleration caused a shockwave to spread out from her location. Before Tiona, Tione, and Chloe were able to recover, Ais pped the ball with a loud *pa*, sending it between the three of them and burying it into the ground below. A small explosion of dust erupted from the small crater that ball had formed while the crowd erupted into an excited cheer. Though some people had doubts at first, the sport they were watching was intense and, as a result of how appealing the girls themselves looked, it was very exciting as well. A few of them got a little too riled up, feeling a sudden pressure seize their body, but most people kept in mind Vahns warning and simply began to enjoy the game. Many of them were just normal citizens and, though there were a fair number of Adventurers present, there werent too many people above Level 3 in the entire City. Seeing the girls, who were able to move about at insane speeds as if it required no effort at all, was simply amazing to them. On the gods viewing tform, Ganesha had also joined the crowd to cheer, standing with one leg on the balconys guardrail as he shouted, "This is so exciting! Such an incredible disy of athleticism! Such a riveting disy of the human form! My blood is burning up! Gahahahahaha!" Of course, he wasnt the only god who was getting excited as, within the viewing stand, there were around nine gods present and arge number of goddesses, thetter number having increased after the Vanir made an appearance. Vahn would asionally send a re towards one of the gods in the viewing stand, as they were far less inhibited than the mortals in the crowd. Though Takemikazuchi and Miach obviously kept theirments to themselves, some other gods had been casuallymenting about what they thought of each of the girls below. Though they didnt speak too loudly, Vahn could hear what they were saying and had sent them warning looks, something they hadnt been fond of at all. However, when they red back at him, it suddenly became a lot more than just Vahn ring at them, as many of the goddesses were paying attention to Vahn. When they saw him re towards the gods, they had also been listening in and, when hearing the content of their conversation, joined Vahn in ring. Some even openly berated the gods for eyeing women who were already happily in a rtionship, saying theycked the sense of propriety and sensible nature a god ought to have. As Vahn hadnt quite expected this oue, he couldnt help but smile when he saw the goddesses flock in his defense, an action that seemed to egg them on until the number of gods on the viewing tform decreased from nine, down to six. At this point, Vahn knew that a lot of gods characters had been built up over a long period of time and, though they werent beyond redemption, it didnt mean he had to just bear their slights. It still baffled him a little knowing that there were some gods who seemed to outright forget his status and, just because he was a mortal, they seemed to think they were above him. Their pride had been deeply rooted in their character and, as a result of the offense they had felt about his actions, some of them began to develop hostile auras. When he saw gods like this, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head, mentally asking, ("What is the point of being hostile towards me when you were the ones in the wrong from the start? It isnt like you can actually do anything in opposition to the Alliance...seriously...") It wasnt exactly a secret that Loki, while being the spokesperson for the Alliance, also invested much of her efforts towards being its fixer. She used her ownwork of contacts and would proactively remove any elements that could harm the interests of the Alliance, both foreign and domestic. At the same time, goddesses like Freya would even go to extremes and, if you managed to offend her or publically opposed the Alliance without justification, it was likely your Familia would be dered war on. In some cases, especially if you were openly hostile or part of a criminal organization, she would outright skip dering war and simply wipe out the entire Familia overnight... Vahn knew it was a little heavy-handed to take such drastic actions but, considering how most gods and goddesses actually treated the Mortal World like their personal yground, those that were dissident against the Alliance directly opposed progress. They would be the same forces in the future that would bother the children that graduate from the School, doing whatever they could to try and get their hands on the capable young boys and girls that had been groomed by the new education system. Though many of the students would be orphans, there were a number that still had small families, with at least one parent still living. These people would be prime targets to be pressured by external forces, especially those rted to errant gods and the various Noble houses... Broken from his internal thoughts by Vanas excited shout, Vahn watched as Lili slid across the arena floor, creating two paths through the dirt with her feet as she received Tionas momentous strike. Tiona, seeing her attack sessfully blocked, released a loud, "A man~! Good catch, Lili~!" before zipping around in preparation for Ais attack. Lili shook out the numbness from her wrist before tossing the ball towards Lunoire to field it up to the waiting Ais. Though Ais had a massive speed advantage, which could be very beneficial during all sports, Tionas power was far above the norm. As the game generally progressed, it would be progressively harder to defend against her blows and, having to pay special attention to her lower body, Lili knew this would be a hard-fought match if they wanted to im victory. It was fortunate that, though the clothes they were wearing didnt cover much, and seemed to be simple stic fabric, they were actually B-Grade equipment that had Stamina Regeneration, Health Regeneration, and, in the case of their bottoms, Shaping functions built in. No matter what, Vahn didnt seem to be able to make bottoms that didnt have that function...it was one of the quirks that had caused him a fair amount of embarrassment as a result of the girls teasing... With the aid of their equipment, enhancing their already incredible physical capabilities, the match had gone on for nearly three hours before finallying to an end. Tiona had used her secret technique, which somehow made the ball arc downwards very quickly, tond the ball between Lili and Lefiya. Thetter hadnt been able to move back in time to receive it and Lefiya, though having high Endurance now,cked the physical strength to even try and block Tionas spike at all. This made the final score 10-8, which caused Ais, Lefiya, Lili, Arnya, and Lunoire to all falter a little before they walked over to congratte Tiona, Tione, Maemi, Emiru, and Chloe. As for why they had been so impacted by the loss, other than simply feelingpetitive, it was because it had be a tradition that Vahn rewards the winning team after the fact... The crowd hadnt cared when Vahn gave his original speech but, after witnessing the exciting and hard fought battle between the ten girls, they had been in an uproar by the end of the match. A strange phenomenon had urred around the end of the first hour, with a clear separation having appeared within the stands. People began cheering for the team they thought was going to win and, even though some of them were skewed by their preferences, it got everyone riled up a lot more when they had taken sides. Whenever a member of the crowd was next to a person that wanted their own team to win, they would band together to cheer even louder. In the event that they were near someone cheering for the opposing team, apetitive glint would appear in the spectators eyes and it seemed like some enmity had formed between them. By the end of the match, Vahn knew it would be almost impossible to control the crowd at present and, as he didnt want to ruin the favorable momentum, he did his best to ignore some of the people that had forgotten his earlier warnings. Fortunately, the girls didnt linger in the arena too long and went to the waiting area so they could change into something more suitable for viewing the next event. Though their new fans had called out to them along the way, expressing their support or simply trying to get their attention, the girls themselves seemedpletely immune to it. In truth, even before they became involved with Vahn, most of the girls had already built up a high tolerance against men and werepletely used to things like this, even if not quite at this scale. After all, girls like Ais, Tiona, Tione, Arnya, and Chloe, they were all prizes that many men had sought, to the extent that Vahn had garnered a great deal of hatred when he stole them away... Now that the next event was getting set up, Ganesha sat on his high chair and remarked, "These sports of yours seem to be a great hit, Vahn. I think your idea about turning it into a league in the future might actually be a good idea...as long as it will help to provide entertainment to the masses, you will continue to have my support." During their previous discussions, Vahn had pitched the idea about building a second Coliseum on the other side of the City and, in the future, having clearly distinguished teams that would be able to form a league and participate. Teams would be able topete against each other and, during the bi-annual Monster Feria, the two highest rated teams wouldpete against each other for the title of champion. As for why multiple Coliseums were necessary, it was because there were a few other sports that might be popr in the future as well. As it stood, Vahn wanted to have up to eight teams, formed from each section of the City, that wouldpete in a variety of Alliance sponsored events. Right now, they had things like Volleyball and Ser but, in the future, Vahn had been toying with the idea ofbat-basedpetitions as well. It was possible to create an isted field within the area of the arena that projected the image of what was going on inside of a Sub-Space, or Space-Time orb. Though they were a very closely kept secret of the Alliance, Vahn had plenty of ideas about how to keep their existence a secret from people. Since Space-Time orbs allowed the user to send their consciousness into the orb, Vahn could exin it away as just part of a simted projection magic that the Alliance had been researching. If they put strict regtions on the Laws the influenced the Space-Time orb, it would be possible for them to stage battle tournaments where people could fight to their fullest without having to face death. In the future, this may even be how War Games were fought, as the loss of life during such events was generally unnecessary. There were several stronger Familias that would bully smaller Familia and, in some cases, this ended as a tragedy for the weaker party. With this type of magical technology, battles could be fought on a muchrger scale than what would have generally taken ce in the arena, making them even more exciting without the terrifying consequences associated with such climactic battles. This was the same thing he nned to do for the live duels between students in the School, as there would be a leaderboard for each respective grade in the future. Competition was one way to spur people to continue pursuing further growth so, after the School had been established for a while, there would be Combat, Schr, and Production leaderboards. Being rated higher on the leaderboards awarded you with additional resources and an increase in the allowance you would be afforded at the end of each month. Though your living conditions would be the same as the other students, as everyone lived in the dorms, it would still make your quality of life higher. This also allowed orphans to start saving up money for their own futures while other students would be able to send money back home to help their families. In the end, the boards also served as a basic qualifier for schrsh.i.p.s for the Academy that would exist on the 50th Floor in the future. Though anyone that graduated from the School would be able to apply to take the entrance test, those that managed to rank high on the differing leaderboards would have a variety of advantages, excluding the ones they had earned for themselves, to begin with. Every team taking the entrance exam would have a Proctor to watch over and protect them, but those that ranked highly would be shown a bit of preference, especially if they were in the Schr and Production leaderboards. After all, not everyone was suited to abat role and it would seriously hurt the growth of secondary professions if Schrs and Production specialists werent able to attend the Academy... The final event of the day was going to be a performance by the Terpsichore Familia, who hade out in full force for todays festivities. Vahn had jumped down to help them set things up and, after creating wards to amplify sound and create a slightly illusory aura for all the girls on the inside of the barrier, he returned to the viewing tform to watch alongside everyone else. Since the crowd had still been riled up from the Volleyball game, the Terpsichore Familia would just be performing a concert this time around. Though they had a few dancers to apany the music, the main focus had been the songs themselves, with even Terpsichore herself ying a beautiful golden Lyre. It was her Divine Artifact, much like Hephaestus Eternal me, and the sound it produced caused the hundred-thousand spectators to actually enter a slight daze as her music resonated with the fond memories they had of home... Vahn found himself bing somewhat reminiscent as well, hugging his daughters close as they listened to the lovely melody together. This was exactly the kind of thing Vahn wanted to see more often in the future, as moments like these would be precious memories that people carried with them forever. It wasnt the transient bliss that people got from gambling, drinking, and seeking s.e.x.u.a.l stimulus, but something that was kept securely within the heart. If people had more memories like this, Vahn believed they would be happier and, with more forms of positive entertainment in the world, it would hopefully decrease the amount of negativity alongside it. In the end, much like he wanted all the people within the Hearth Manor to be happy, Vahn also sought the happiness of others...he didnt want the world to be a dark ce full of hatred and suffering...after all, this was his home, the ce he would alwayse back to...the ce with his family, and all the people he loved and cared about...such a ce should not be filled with suffering and endless tragedies...no, it should be a ce where everyone can smile freely, just like they were doing right this instant... (A/N: Thanks for all the input about the potential of FJ going Premium. Honestly, as it was only supposed to be a side-story/omake, I dont think it would be that great an idea to make it Premium. After all, I only wrote the story to make sure I can hit my promised word count and to give readers something easy and fun to read (even though that novel can be a little dark xD...). Since there was never any overarching story nned, as Fenrir is the only central character, I dont see any real reason to make it go Premium, especially since it might ostracize some of the readers. To those that supported the idea of the story going Premium, thank you for your support but, for now, Ill just take the positive vibes to motivate me to write more in the future :P.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: The birth of anime-style sports...Secret Techniques on full disy~!,The Alliance is taking over politics, entertainment, and education xD...just imagine how wealthy they will be in the future...!,Home is where the heart is so, take care of the heart and, no matter where you go, home will follow you...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 756 - Glimpse

Chapter 756 - Glimpse

After the sess of the opening day of the Monster Feria, a festive mood seemed to have spread through the entire town. In the past, just gathering to watch the demonstration of the Ganesha Familia had been entertaining enough to make it the most popr event in the city. Now, with the inclusion of sports, artistic performances, and other scheduled events, it had be even more popr. It was to the extent that, people who already had tickets, were being pestered by others to try and obtain seating, at least for a day. In the ck market, some tickets were being oversold for more than 50x the original amount, and it didnt seem like the price was going to go any lower. The reason for this was simple, other than the fact people were just interested in witnessing the festivities. Everyone wanted to attend the final day of the event as the open challenge from Vahn to everyone was a moment nobody wanted to miss. You also needed to have a ticket to make a challenge and, as challengers would likely be very strong, they had a lot of money to spend to get their hands on the coveted ticket. Even weaker Adventurers fought tooth and nail to obtain one, wondering if they would be able to fish in murky waters to get some advantages when Vahn was running out of stamina. After all, the only rules for the challenge included that Vahn couldnt kill them and, until the eight hour challenge period had ended, ANYONE with a ticket could issue a challenge. Other than those basic rules, people noticed that everything else had been left rtively vague, including the number of people that could challenge him simultaneously. Though some thought this was an oversight, most people realized Vahn was simply that confident, even if it came off as arrogance and hubris. The fact he had silenced the entire Coliseum on the first day showed that, regardless of the number of people, he wasnt going to back down at all. This realization opened up a lot of spective discussion about just how strong Vahn was and, those at the top, wondered if the King would rise to the challenge. Everyone was curious about who woulde out ahead and, as the reward of 1BV was rather enticing, with the rules favoring the challengers, many people wanted to see the sh between Vahn and the various famous Adventurers in the city. As for the man in question, he was currently spending his time within the orb training while his main body was having a tea party with Ina, Erika, and their Guardians, Kuu and Doppel. Ina and Doppel didnt get along that well, as she wasnt too fond of how Doppel clung to him, but they didnt really argue or anything. Doppel herself didnt seem to mind Ina at all, justughing and making various awaa and oooh sounds while coiling her hair around his arm and leg. Ever since he had be a Progenitor, Doppels affection toward him had increased greatly, much to the frustration of Erika and Ina. Vahn justughed, enjoying his time with his daughters and their guardians during the short period of time before bed. In this way, Vahn spent his days, serving as both joint host of the Monster Feria and spending his time freely with the people he cared about. He didnt mind that there was now a massive target on his back right now as that was the entire purpose of setting things up in such a manner. It didnt matter what people tried to scheme in order to try and obtain the prize he had offered, as their efforts would only serve to increase his own fame even further. As for all the other events, all of which had been very well received by the spectators, they increased the intrigue people had towards the School. It was already to the point that people had actually started loitering around the outside of the School, some even pitching up small tents as they waited for the day of enrollment. Enrollment would start theing weekend, as the Monster Feria would officially conclude on Friday. Thus far, a total of 711 students had already been approved to attend the School, most of them being orphans, the children of staff, and exceptions such as the Elves and the children who had migrated from the Far East. On the day of enrollment, the goal was to increase the number of students to an even one-thousand, split into fifty sses of twenty students each. The age of students wasnt what determined the grade they were in, but Vahn was trying to arrange it so that simrly aged students were in the same ss as each other. This would be the same for the dorms as well, making it easier for the children to socialize with simrly aged students without causing too many problems between younger and older children... The day before his open challenge to the public was also when the girls yed their Ser match which, much like Volleyball, had been very well received. Though they were less scantily d, as a result of wearing protective equipment, the sport itself was much more interesting to watch. Sending a ball up into the air over and over had greater restrictions than running around in an open field. With the athleticism of the girls, this became the far more popr of the two, which made sense considering it was based off two of the more popr sports he had found among the texts he had referenced. When he had been trying to find ways to make the games more interesting, Vahn hadpiled a bunch of books together before finding one called Magicians and Muggles: A History of Sports. Within, Vahn found an interesting game called Quidditch and, as it had originally been based on the muggle sport, Ser, he had adopted a few of the rules. Though he didnt have brooms, as the introduction of technology that allowed flight was too advanced for the current world, it was still possible to make the game interesting. After all, the girls were incredibly athletic and, even without brooms to zip through the sky, their physical feats far exceeded the meager 250km/h speed doc.u.mented within thependium... By the time the match has ended, this time in the favor of Ais team, the tensions within the city had increased to an all-time high. To add to the ir, Vahn had actually purchased a few items from the system called [Projection Spheres] that could record events and then y them back onto a surface. Even after the day hade to an end, the Ser match could be seen disyed all over town, usingrge walls as the screen so people could observe the popr topics everyone else was talking about. Some people gathered just to see the girls running around the field, with more than a few rich individuals trying to purchase the [Projection Spheres], but they were the minority... With everything else taken care of, leaving only his open challenge to the public remaining, Vahn woke up early the final day of the Monster Feria and took his time getting prepared. The matches didnt start until 10 AM, so he had plenty of time to just rx at home before he was supposed to head out. This dyed start was necessary since the preparations for theing battles would take a few hours, at the very least. After all, there would be battles between Level 5, 6, and potentially even Level 7 individuals taking ce. Attacks from such powerful fighters, especially if they were Mages, couldpletely copse the floor of the arena. There was also a high chance of people in the crowd getting injured, requiring powerful formations to be put in ce to prevent stray attacks from affecting the spectators. To prepare himself for theing fights, Vahn had split his body into two and was currently lounging in a small study with Lili and Haruhime while his other body was snuggled up with Fenrir. Whenever he was going to do something troublesome, Vahn always found himself simply rxing and trying to achieve a calm state before he jumped headlong into the matter. Since Lili had been getting much better at her own transformation ability, Vahn currently had two soft and smooth Renards showing him affection while he absentmindedly stroked their silky soft tails and ears. In the other room, a very simr thing was happening between him and Fenrir, except that he was n.a.k.e.d since his clothes would have frozen to the bed otherwise... For the final day, the only girls that would be apanying him to the Monster Feria were Hestia, Anubis, Ais, Tiona, and Tione. Everyone else would be staying home as, even though it wasnt too likely, there was a chance someone might use the challenge as an opportunity to try and strike at the Manor. It wasnt impossible that, by thinking they could wear him down, it was also possible for his enemies to potentially use the event as an opportunity to kill him. At the same time, they could target the girls or, in the worst case scenario, his children. To prevent anything from happening, all the mothers would stay back within the safety of the Hearth Manor, observing the event from one of the [Projection Spheres]. They could also stream events in real time, so it wasnt as if they would miss out on witnessing his battle against the masses. Though Evas words about there always being some stronger were undoubtedly true, it would be next to impossible for anyone to actually break through Terras defenses. After all, her abilities were derived from her Innates and, though she might not have the greatest offensive might, her defensive capabilities were almost insurmountable. The moment anyone tried to fight within her territory, theyd be lucky to even make use of their normal skills and abilities. Magic wouldnt work, their physical capabilities would be restricted, and then they would have to face her Forbidden grade magic, which was fundamentally a stronger ability than anything that should exist in this world. She might be restricted by her Soul Tier, but her existence as a True Dragon made Terras might unquestionable. After spending some quality time with the three fluffy girls, it was nearing time for Vahn to leave so, after saying goodbye to all his children, sharing a few hugs and kisses with the girls, and double checking to make sure the magical wards in the Manor were functional, Vahn headed towards the Coliseum. Without arge group of people, Vahn was able to fly through the sky very quickly while holding onto Tione and Anubis while Hestia clung tightly to his back. Though he could have levitated them, the girls had wanted him to carry them personally so, with Tiona and Ais flying at his nks, Vahn drew the ire of many onlookers by flying through the sky with two goddesses, two Amazons, and a beautiful pseudo-spirit girl... Fortunately, the flight didnt take that long and, even though nearly a hundred thousand people were giving him icy stares, Vahnnded within the viewing tform of the gods and greeted Ganesha and a few of his other acquaintances. Currently, it had just turned 9:57 AM, so he had cut it pretty close, much to the frustration of the crowd, many of which had been sitting in their seats since before the sun crested over the horizon. They had just been sitting in their seats, watching as the Ganesha Familia set up the arena, all while waiting for Vahns arrival. The fact that he had shown upte, holding beautiful girls in both arms, increased the number of people that had intended to fight him by a fair amount. Precisely at the 10 AM mark, Vahn jumped down into the arena without using any skills, just allowing himself tond heavily on the magically reinforced surface while the tensions in the crowd began to increase at a tangible rate. Ganesha, seizing the initiative, shouted out in a booming voice that could clearly be heard over the chatter of more than one hundred thousand people, "WELCOME, PEOPLE OF ORARIO! I AM GAAAAANESHA~!!!! GRAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Then, spreading both of his arms wide, Ganesha shouted in a less excessive tone, "Everyone knows what today is, so I dont need to exin the details. If you want to try and challenge Vahn for the prize of one-billions Valis, all you have to do is give your ticket to one of the members of my Familia stationed around the arena. If you try to jump in without a ticket, well, you arent protected by the rules that have been put in ce. Keep that in mind and, without further ado, lets get this exciting show on the road!" At first, there werent too many people moving but, after a few seconds had passed, a tidal wave of people began to queue up for a chance to fight against Vahn. For them, there was no danger, other than suffering some light injuries, so a lot of people were willing to have a crack at the boy standing proudly in the center of the arena. Most of them knew they didnt stand a chance again him but, if they banded together with others, there was a slim possibility they could benefit. At the very least, they would be able to brag to their friends and family in the future that they had been able to fight against THE Vahn Mason, even if it was alongside a few hundred other people. That was nothing a healthy amount of embellishment couldnt fix... While all this was going on, Vahn just casually looked around the arena, noticing there were more than a few auras full of negative energy. This event hadnt just been to showcase his prowess, increasing his fame further, but it had been left intentionally vague so it could be easily exploited. There were, admittedly, more than a few people that genuinely hated him, especially among the group of people that had pined after some of the girls he was involved with. This was their chance to get revenge against him while, in the shadows, there were numerous organizations that simply wanted to use this as a chance to assassinate him. Of the more than one hundred thousand people, Vahn had already identified a total of 1,318 people that undoubtedly wanted him dead. Honestly, Vahn was a little disappointed with how few there were, especially since the strongest among them was only a Level 5 woman who looked like a perfectly normal and powerless civilian. He had somewhat expected that the Smiling Reaper would use this as a chance to strike but, with his senses trained to their limit, Vahn hadnt detected any real threats just yet. There was a chance they would appearter, but it was starting to seem as though his bait had only affected normal people thus far. Even the members of the Freya Familia he had expected to show up, as they would undoubtedly be unhappy after he stole Freya from them, werent anywhere to be seen... Since they hadnt been told otherwise, the members of the Ganesha Familia epted the tickets of the contenders and allowed them to jump down into the arena immediately thereafter. Some of them climbed down, giving Vahn the urge tough, but there were a few that leaped down in a manner simr to his own. Many of them began grouping together in small teams, coordinating a strategy that might give them an edge, while a few bold individuals had almost immediately started attacking. The first among them was actually a red-haired Elven woman who had arge wooden staff that was adorned with a vibrant red sphere, which Vahn recognized as the processed core of a Valgang Dragon. He didnt know what he had done to offend her, as he had never seen her before, but her aura was filled with ck and purple as she began chanting a powerful fire elemental magic. Seeing the glowing magic circle that had appeared, many of the contenders began watching with interest to see how Vahn would react. The fact he just stood there with acent and calm expression unnerved a few of them, especially since he wore that expression even as a sphere of fire, around 8m in diameter, careened towards his position. It was so hot that the magically reinforced ground had started to melt, even though the red-haired mage was only Level 3. As for why Vahn made no attempt to evade...well, his Fire Immunity wasnt just for show, even though thats exactly what he intended to use it for. When the me sphere enveloped him, his expression didnt change in the slightest and, even though the shockwave from the spheres explosion had caused him some internal damage, the mes themselves did absolutely nothing. When the mes and smoke cleared, everyone stared with ck-jawed expressions as, other than some singed spots on his fire-resistant clothing, Vahn was entirely unharmed. Not even the hair on his head had been burned by the powerful ball of mes, stunning those that had expected him to at least suffer some light injuries. As for the Elven mage who had cast the spell, she had spent almost all of her mana in the attack and, seeing Vahn entirely unharmed, fell to her knees with a pale and discontented expression. Vahn produced a wry smile and wanted to say something about how fire magic didnt work on him but, as there was an arrow flying at his back from his blind spot, it didnt seem like the best time. This event was to serve as a demonstration of sorts so, instead of using his words, Vahn used his actions to speak for him. The moment the arrow got within 3m of his body, it immediately ignited into mes and then disappeared momentster. For less than .1 seconds, Vahn had transitioned into his Zhqu form, causing the arenas temperature to increase while an area of 8m around his body became red hot. As for the space within 3 meters, it hadpletely turned into molten stone as Vahn stood on its surface with the samecent expression as before. Unfortunately, all of his clothes, except for an S-Rank pair of fire-resistant shorts, had also burned into ashes. Even so, Vahn stood proud, not shying away from the gaze of everyone, even as several females, goddesses included, looked toward him with fervent and possessive gazes... As for the gaze of the red-haired Elven woman, she just looked up with a mixture of incredulity and fear, understanding that none of her magic would ever be able to harm Vahn. After all, his flicker of mes hadpletely outssed her most powerful magic spell...just as she had expected, he was, without a shadow of a doubt, a monster...and there was nothing she could do to him at all... Around the arena, a simr thought was passing through the minds of many of the contenders as none of them wanted to experience the heat of the mes that had appeared around Vahns body. The bravado that many had possessed from the start began to quickly fade, reced by an understanding that Vahn hadnt simplye here to embarrass himself. No, this handsome youth standing at the center of the arena, as if he was unaffected by the hundreds of people gathering around him, came here to prove a point. It was to show that, even if he allowed them all to work together, they wouldnt be able to defeat him easily...if at all... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Meager 250km/h...pathetic (UwU)~!,Mofu Mofu heals the heart,Come at me, all of you, together!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 757 - Fodder

Chapter 757 - Fodder

For several seconds, likely waiting for the pool of molten stone to cool, nobody had tried attacking Vahn, still standing silently in the center of the arena. Thus, realizing nobody else was trying to seize the initiative, Vahn decided it was time for him to take action. They might not be able to kill him, but it would be annoying very quickly if he continued to allow the number of people in the arena to build. If he didnt start thinning the herd a bit, it would also make fights against stronger enemies more difficult, as their internecine strikes would do coteral damage to the surroundings. Anyone who had lost consciousness within the bounds of the arena could potentially lose their lives and, though there were likely some that deserved such a fate, Vahn wanted to avoid that kind of oue. After equipping some new clothing, yet another thing that stunned the onlookers, Vahn stopped restraining his domain and allowed a natural pressure to exude from his body. Though he could have kept it confined inside of the arena, Vahn allowed it to spread out through the entire Coliseum, even extending outside it bounds slightly. This caused some of the people who had been about to jump into the arena to immediately reconsider their options, with some returning to their seats after they saw what was to follow. No longer standing in his ce amongst the center, Vahn vanished from the arena before appear next to a group of four people. There was a gentle smile on his face as he used his index and middle fingers to lightly tap the foreheads of each member, none of which were able to react to his presence with their strength at Level 2. Before their bodies even hit the ground, Vahn was already at the next group, this one slightly better prepared than the previous. Their leader, a man with dark-purple hair immediately attacked with a spear, showing no signs of hesitation as the silvery tip drew a lethal arc directly towards Vahns heart. Vahn issued a small smile, showing no real concern for the deadly weapon as his hand seemed to move in slow motion, diverting the de to the side before, in the next instant, he was already behind the man. Nobody knew what happened as the purple-haired spearman continued forward for a few steps before releasing a wailing shriek, both arms hanging loosely after Vahn had shattered his corbones. Though the man had shown killing intent, and had a dark aura, Vahn wasnt going to use this battle as a tform to go on a massacre, especially since his own rules prevented it... Instead, at the moment when he had shattered the mans bones, Vahn had nted a small tracking ward in his body and would be giving the information of who his would-be killers were to Loki after the event had concluded. After all, there was a difference between warriors who had resolved to go all out against an enemy and those that had clearlye with the express purpose to kill. The former were deserving of respect whereas theter, for their intent, would be investigated and, if found guilty of unjust crimes against those weaker than themselves, would pay the price for their transgressions. With unnatural ease, Vahn dealt with the manspanions, treating them less harshly since it looked like they had been roped into things based on their auras and expressions. Then, without giving them a second nce, Vahn moved on to the next group. Now, those that had banded together, realized it hadnt really offered them any advantages. Vahn was simply too fast and, being close together, actually restricted their own attack options instead. However, even dispersing wouldnt help too much as Vahn suddenly be like a phantom that had split into multiple illusory bodies. If used fast enough, [Shundo] could even create false bodies to confuse enemies and, with their semi-impermeable nature, they could even trick skilled warriors into thinking they had attacked the original. With what seemed like a gentle touch, Vahn went around the arena touching the backs of peoples necks, causing them to drop to the ground several seconds after he had already moved on. He had sent a small pulse of energy into their bodies, disrupting the nerve impulses that allowed their brain tomunicate with their bodies. As most of these individuals were just around Level 2-3, they couldnt even react to his attacks before they had already felt something touching the backs of the necks. Then, a few secondster, one of the Ganesha Familia members woulde and retrieve their body, disqualifying them from the fight. After dashing around the battlefield for a short while, Vahn came across the same red-haired Elven woman who had previously attacked him. It was more than a little rare, seeing a red-haired Elf, especially one that had light freckles on her face. Vahn didnt know her story, or why she seemed to hate him so much but, much like the other people who showed the intent to kill, Vahn ced a marker inside of her body. She hadnt even tried to defend herself, instead, showing a resolute expression like a warrior who was ready to face death. Vahn shook his head slightly and just robbed her consciousness without being too harsh on her, leaving her unconscious body for the Ganesha Family to deal with... For several minutes, Vahn had whittled down the number of people within the area, deterring those that were trying to enter by converging his domain on them when they were preparing to jump down. When people saw that contenders just go limp mid-jump, crashing into the floor of the arena below, those that had been preparing to follow had reconsidered. Those that were more perceptive notice that Vahn hadnt even looked in the direction of those that had fallen, causing them to try and inspect the barriers surrounding the arena for any tricks. As for those with even higher perception, they had already deduced that Vahn was aware of everything going on around him, likely through the tangible aura that was putting pressure on each of their bodies... One such man, having a height of nearly 200cm, snorted through his nose as a pressure emerged from his own body. He leaped down into the arena, hefting a massive cleaver-like sword on his back as he prepared to join the fray. Though his speed wasnt remotely close to Vahns, the man, a famous Adventurer known as The Mountain, believed he wouldnt go down in one hit like everyone else. Unfortunately, even though he was Level 5 and had a rare skill of his own, expectation was very different from reality. The pressure that had erupted from his body was almost immediately repressed and, at the same time as his feetnded in the arena, The Mountain saw Vahn standing in front of him. With widened eyes, the sturdy and muscr man swept his cleaver at an angle while jumping backward without enough force to cause cracks to appear on the arenas floor. At the same time, even surprising Vahn a little, he threw four stun grenades and a smoke bomb against the ground. Vahn couldnt help but admire how quick the mans reaction was, though it wasnt too surprising considering he was around Level 5. Even so, Vahn ducked under the de, allowing it to pass just two centimeters above his head beforending an open-palm strike on the mans chest. He had already been carrying a lot of backward momentum from his jump but, added to Vahns strike, this caused him to fly like a cannonball. His massive frame collided with the barrier protecting the periphery of the arena, sending a blue pulse through the previously invisible membrane. Not too unsurprisingly, the man didnt fall to the ground from the first hit and, instead, used his cleaver to support his body. Since he didnt have a dark aura, Vahn just gave him a polite nod, making his respect for the man known before moving on to his next target. Seeing this, The Mountain just released a sigh, shaking his head before making his exit without being obstinate. Vahns strike had broken several ribs and, though he could continue fighting, he knew it would just lead to his embarrassment. Since Vahn had already given him a bit of respect, the man decided to save face and leave the battle willingly. It was unfortunate that The Mountain was one of the exceptions, as most Adventurers seemed to possess a great deal of pride, even though they had realized the disparity in strength. The majority of those Level 4, or higher, seemed to take offense if Vahn didnt defeat them in a single blow. Instead of backing down, they would press forward and, as a result, end up suffering a far more embarrassing defeat than the sensible few who had excused themselves. There had even been a Level 4 Dark Elf who tried to get vengeance against Vahn by using a purple sphere that caused a cloud of poison to erupt within a 20m radius. Secondster, the cloud has miraculously been shrunk down by an invisible energy whereas the Dark Elf had been nted like a tree into the arena floor. He was still alive, though only because Vahn had transferred a portion of the mans wounds onto himself the moment he impacted the ground... By the time ten minutes had passed, of the eight hour challenge period, Vahn had already dealt with more than two-hundred contenders, including more than a dozen people ranked higher than Level 4. At this point, those who thought they could get lucky and overwhelm Vahn had started to realize the truth of the matter. Even after moving around like a phantom, defeating people with an ease that rivaled the proficiency of some people breathing, Vahn didnt look tired at all. He hadnt even taken a single attack directly and, it didnt seem like even those at Level 5 could exchange more than a few blows with him. Since the intensity of the battles had started to increase, most of the weaker people decided to stay back and observe for the time being. They determined that it would be better to wait until Vahn had already fought against the stronger enemies, hopefully tiring himself out in the process. Seeing that the number of people within the arena had sharply dropped, Vahn produced a small smile and returned to his spot at the center of the arena. Those remaining in the arena, and those still watching from the stands, entered an alert status as they wondered what action Vahn was going to take. None of them had expected him to pull a bow out of thin air, especially the groups of individuals still within the confines of the arena. Thus far, Vahn had been very lenient, only using his hands and feet to deal with people, even if they still ended up with broken bones as a result. Seeing him pull out a weapon had unnerved people, especially since it happened to be a bow, one of the things Vahn was famous for after rumors of his exploits had circted in the past. Vahns smile clearly showed that he was somewhat amused, especially after some of the contenders immediately bolted for the exits. Nocking a special arrow onto his bow, Vahn fired it towards one of the people fleeing, as they had a negative aura that showed their intent clearly. The arrow flew much faster than the n.a.k.e.d eye could see and, in less time than it took the mans foot to rise and fall, an arrow had buried itself into his side. Having the wind knocked out of his body, the man flew a few meters and began to seize up into a small ball, gasping for breath as he clutched the arrows shaft. Onlookers were surprised by how ruthless Vahns attack was but there were a few people that considered the mans actions equally surprising. It wasmon knowledge that you shouldnt pull an arrow free without a means to treat the wound, as this would only exacerbate the bleeding. Strangely, though most people hadnt noticed just yet, there wasnt even any bleeding to be seen, however, and the mans actions were perfectly understandable. The arrow Vahn had used was known as a [Shock Arrow], a misleading name as its actual effect was to immobilize and cause pain, not injury. It had a semi-immaterial quality that allowed it to pierce through the defenses of a target and embed itself into the body, causing intense pain until it had been removed. Unfortunately, it would bind with the body on contact and, unless youpletely stopped resisting, it was impossible to remove without also pulling arge chunk of your own flesh. For those that had negative auras, Vahn didnt show them any leniency and, even though a single [Shock Arrow] cost 800 OP, he wanted the people he targetted to reconsider their lives. Though they would still be investigatedter, Vahn knew that not everyone that had bad intentions towards him were genuinely bad people. There were numerous reasons why people might hate him and, it was very possible for some of the people that had targetted him to be innocent. After all, it only took a change in perspective for a persons aura to turn ck, at least for a moment. Some of the people he had marked could have just lived normal lives and, as a result of some kind of misunderstanding, hade to harbor ill intent towards him. Thus, like an automated-turret, with nigh-perfect uracy, Vahn began loosing arrows that would send their victims flying before forcing them to curl up on the ground, screaming in pain. It didnt matter if they were man, woman, young, or old...anyone who had stepped into the arena had to prepare themselves for the consequences. Of course, Vahn wasnt actually that indiscriminate as he allowed those trying to flee, assuming they didnt have negative auras, to reach the exit without harassment. There was no real honor in injuring people that had already given up the fight, especially if they harbored no hatred or ill will... While firing arrows of his own, Vahn detected another arrow entering his blind spot, much like the one from earlier. Without turning his head, Vahn twisted his body, loosing an arrow towards the iing projectile. As if his hands had created an echo, a second arrow shot out after his first, traveling a reverse trajectory towards the woman who had been skulking around the edge of the arena. Vahn had noticed her at the beginning of the match but, after she had fired her first arrow, she actually managed to disappear from his perception. Because she always hid near others, he had been having trouble detecting her, even by sending out pulses that allowed him to detect invisible objects, usually. It was obvious the woman had an Innate rted to stealth, or an artifact that allowed her to conceal her presence, so Vahn needed to eliminate her. Both of her attacks had been released with the intent to kill and, even though her aura wasnt really filled with negative emotions, it was very likely that she had been hired to assassinate him. The look on her face when the second arrow had urately targetted her diaphragm was rather priceless, especially since it had knocked herpletely out of her stealth. She had a face full of disbelief and, even though there was intense pain wracking her body, managed to utter, "H-h-how...!? While targetting someone on the periphery, Vahn had looked over at the woman, raising his brow as he said, "Youre pretty sneaky, but it isnt like your arrows possess that same trait...well, not really..." It could be said that her arrows were indeed very sneaky, especially since she targetted blind spots, but it simply wasnt effective against people like him. After all, she was only Level 3, likely limited in her growth by her profession, much like Chloe had been. Stealth abilities could be very powerful, especially if you had an Innate like hers. The fact that she had picked up a bow meant she was also rather intelligent but, much like he had experienced as a hunter in the path, your growth would be very limited following that path. She probably relied heavily on her skills to kill monsters and had likely never gone any deeper than the Great Falls area in the Dungeon. Since he hadnt reallye here to converse with people, Vahn punctuated his words by deciding to do the woman a favor. His [Yoichi Bow] had the effect of giving his arrows a basic homing function and, as a result of his own skills with the bow, Vahn could push this even further. He nocked five arrows onto his bow simultaneously and fired them towards the sky, immediately recing them with five more arrows and repeating his action seven times. The arrows flew high into the sky, beyond the perception of most people, before, several secondster, they began raining down. Each arrow urately buried itself into the shoulder, back, or leg of one of the remaining contenders, whittling their numbers further. This entire time, Vahn just looked towards the woman with a casual expression on his face before turning away from her shocked expression and continuing his attack. Though he had turned his back to her, Vahn had already locked the womans position in his domain and was keeping tabs on her. When she stood up and began walking towards the exit, his smile rxed a little. It was very likely that she was an assassin by trade but, after seeing how calm her aura was, Vahn didnt think she was a bad person. She could be someone like Chloe, who became an assassin at a young age and simply treated it like work, not as something she enjoyed. It was even possible that she wasnt an assassin at all and had just wanted to use her unique skill set to try her luck against him. As for her tendency to shoot towards the head, that could have simply been a result of her inexperience fighting with people, as shecked true killing intent... By the time his shooting spree had ended, the majority of people in the arena had already been cleared out. The only ones left were a man with arge white shield, defending his twopanions, and a zy looking man with sunken eyes who had dodged all the arrows fired at him. The strength of the trio were all at Level 4 while the rather creepy looking man actually had a fluctuating level of strength. At times, he seemed to be as weak as a Level 2 while, at the moment when he would dodge the arrows fired his way, his aura would sike up towards the peak of Level 6. Vahn wasnt sure if he was intentionally trying to obscure his strength, or if it was just the result of the mans Innate, but it was a little disconcerting being looked at by his dead-fish eyes. Since the man with the shield obviously had a defensive Innate, while the young woman behind him seemed to be able to heal others, Vahn decided to deal with the creepy man first. As if he had realized this, the gaunt man began to smile eerily as he raspily mused, "Oh, are you sure you want to fight against me so soon, Vahn Mason~? You might not be able to put on this farce any longer if I take action, you know~?" While he was speaking, the man lifted both of his arms, almost like he were a marite with stiff joints. Vahn tensed his body slightly, straining his [Eyes of Truth] to see the flow of strange purple and grey energy in the mans body. Because he had been around Anubis and Freya, Vahn was easily able to understand what this strange energy was...it would seem that his opponent had an Innate rted to death... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *poke* *thud* *poke* *thud*,Arrow Rain~! Do you even archer, scrub!?,Did you know, right now, at this very moment, there is a spooky scary skeleton wearing your flesh like clothing?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 758 - Intermission

Chapter 758 - Intermission

Everything that existed within the records, regardless of if it was a simple grain of sand, or the very fabric of reality itself, was governed by various Laws. There were simple Elemental Laws, which governed theposite elements that allowed for all matter to exist, such as Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water. Then, there were the moreplex Laws, such as how Elemental Laws could be merged together to make Creation Laws possible. Mastery of this ability would, quite literally, allow a person to create objects out of nothing, using only the Elemental energies pulled from the void itself to produce matter. However, there were various other Laws that were constantly at y as well, including conceptual Laws such as Space, Time, and even Dreams. Everything, without exception, was governed by the Laws, including the very concepts of Life and Death. These were very powerful Laws and, much like Destruction, Devouring, and Gravity Laws, there were very few ways to actually counter them. You either needed to have resistance against the Laws themselves, or you would need to counteract them with opposing Laws to prevent their effects from taking hold. Lacking the capacity to do so, the only thing you could do was ept the reality of the situation, suffering at the hands of Laws beyond yourprehension. At least, that was the case for some people, with anomalies like Vahn being obvious exceptions, even if the general populous was entirely unaware of this fact. Without any hesitation, even though all living creatures should have an instinctual fear of Death, Vahn charged towards the creepy man. He began to cackle madly, spreading his arms wide and eximing towards the sky, "Witness, the death of Vahn Mason! Kyaaakukukukukukuku!!!" With his shout, a cloud of formless purple energy exploded from his body, carrying the stench of corpses and creating illusory skulls that caused the spectators to exim in fear and shock. Even so, Vahn was entirely undeterred as he moved directly through the cloud without using [Shundo] to evade it at all. The creepy Death-mans eyes began to glimmer with a chaotic red glow, the light of absolute madness present within. He seemed assured of his victory as the crooked smile on his face grew, making his already creep visage look inhuman, twisted, and cruel. That being the case, he still managed to side-step the extended palm of Vahn, knowing that people were capable of almost anything upon deaths door. He just continued to cackle madly, opening up a distance between them while emitting more of the sickly purple aura from his body. Vahn felt the Death energy try to enter into his body but, as expected, it wasnt even able to ovee the influence of his own unique blood, much less that of [Magia Erebea]. Still, to prevent the man from doing anything that might endanger the crowd, as there was no way the surrounding barrier could prevent Death from passing through it, Vahn decided to end the fight quickly. The man was very fast, using a strange movement technique that was hard to read, but it wouldnt be able to outmaneuver his [Shundo]. As for his variable Level, Vahn had noticed there were multiple forms of energy in the mans body, almost as if he had absorbed the essence of other people. It was...very disgusting... Just as the cackling man looked as though he was about to gloat, his expression turned into one of abject shock as the boy he had already proimed to be dead appeared right in front of him. His body moved instinctually to dodge but, unlike Vahns previous attack, this one seemed to move much faster, homing in on his chest with more than twice the speed of his own movements. Then, the moment Vahns palm came into contact with his chest, the man felt a powerful warmth flow into his body that absolutely terrified him, allowing his previous limits to be broken as he desperately evaded, screaming, "No, what have you done!? WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!!?" Instead of answering, Vahn used [Shundo] to appear behind the man this time, striking his back and sending him careening across the arenas floor before smashing into the wall on the opposite side. When the man tried to rise to his feet, Vahn, holding two spears seemingly made of light, appeared once again, this time pinning the man to the wall as he howled like a banshee. What Vahn had been doing to the man was using energy that countered Death, being Vital, Life, and Light. When he had hit the man in the chest, Vahn sent a flood of healing energy into his body which, as a result of being filled to capacity with Death energy, began to cause him immense pain. Vahn watched as ck tendrils spread from the mans wounds, trying to consume the spears of light he had formed but, as they were powerless against his source energy, they just began to fizzle out and dissolve momentster. The man continued to scream, desperately trying to remove the spears before realizing he couldnt even hold them without the skin on his fingers and palms boiling and melting away. Then, hearing Vahns voice for the first time, the man looked into the magical blue eyes of the boy he had intended to kill, hearing thetter say, "There is no inherent evil in Death, but you have defiled that concept entirely...you will pay for the way you have treated the lives of others..." The only way a person could have the essence of other people in their body was if it had been stolen from their victims. Vahn could feel the negativity, the pain, the suffering, almost like the energy cried out for vengeance against an unjust world. It was a disgusting and sickening feeling, one which Vahn couldnt tolerate now that he had sensed it. Thus, while he continued to burn away the energy in the mans body, Vahn ced a spell ward deep within the core of mans mind. By this time tomorrow, before he even awoke from the deep state of consciousness he would be forced into, the man would no longer be among the living. After the man had passed out, Vahn left him pinned to the wall and began making his way towards the trio, now staring at him with shock and fear in their expressions. The rules of the event stated that Vahn couldnt kill anyone but, seeing how he had dealt with the previous contender, even though thetter was very creepy, people felt like this rule wasnt exactly a good thing for them. Vahn hadnt killed the man, as had been confirmed by a member of the Ganesha Familia, but, seeing the state he had been left in, it was easy to see that he wouldnt survive for very long without help. This shift in the perspective of people caused those that had still been intending to throw themselves into the fray to sit firmly in their seats. Though there were some that were still raring to go, the weaker members of the audience knew this wasnt a fight they could join. It was obvious that Vahn was showing leniency to most people but, if they had somehow managed to offend him, nobody wanted to end up like the man who was, even at this moment, being pulled off the spears of light that continued to cook his insides... When Vahn stepped before therge and honest looking man, who had multiple [Shock Arrow]s prating his shield and embedded in his arm, he couldnt help but nod respectfully. Though it was obvious that the man had a defensive Innate, and potentially one rted to pain resistance, it was still verymendable that he had protected hispanions with his own body. As for why they had never attacked, it was because he couldnt even move more than a few centimeters due to the pain and, unwilling to leave his side, the younger man and woman behind him had been trying to help heal his body. While the young woman continued to send healing energy into the stout mans body, the young man with brown hair and honey-colored eyes brandished a sword and shield, taking up a stance in front of hispanion. Vahn just smiled in response before shaking his head and saying, "The three of you are good people, I can tell. Im sure you have your reasons for joining thispetition, but Im afraid it wont go as you expect. If you simply came here to try and strike it rich, you should just back out here and now...I dont want to hurt you." The brown-haired youth furrowed his brows but, even though there was a look of indignation on his face, the resolution in his eyes had long since faded. Though he had prided himself as a rising star, reaching Level 4 at only 17 years of age, he knew there was nothing he could do against Vahn. Even the Captain of his Familia had used his body to protect him and his sister, not being able to muster any real resistance against the seemingly insurmountable existence before them. Still, he didnt want to back down without at least trying so, though he knew it would end badly, the boy charged forward and swung his de in a beautiful arc towards Vahns leg. Without losing the smile on his face, Vahn pulled out an unnamed temte sword, which was still graded as an A-Rank weapon through the system. He was waiting for the cooldown of his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] to be over so he could name the sword, which had been designed to match a legendary sword that appeared in a lot of records, [Excalibur]. After learning that the swordmonly made the user unkible in battle, Vahn had wanted to see how much of the original legend he could imbue into the de. If it was truly able to make its user unkible, Vahn would scour legends until he found simr items, forging one for each of the girls in the Manor. For a few minutes, allowing the tension and unease in the crowd to transition into something more festive, Vahn traded blows with the youth. He wasnt in any hurry to end the fight as, for the time being, nobody else had jumped into the arena to join the fray. Since he was stuck here for an entire eight hours, Vahn decided to let the boy before him fight till his hearts content. He had to admit, the youth possessed great skill with a sword and, if not for the drastic difference in their parameters, Vahn might not have been able to get much of an advantage. This was something he had noticed during his fight with Siegfried but, even though his [Swordsman] was Rank-A, his skill with swords left something to be desired. Still, the difference between a Level 4, and someone near the peak of Level 5, was almost as great a difference as a Level 1 trying to fight a Level 4. The return on Parameters increased exponentially at higher Levels and, after training his skills against people like Tiona, Ais, Tione, Lili, and Arnya, Vahn wasnt a pushover, even if his swordy wascking. When the boy had, as a result of his fatigue, overextended in his sweeping blow, Vahn tapped his wrist with the t of his de and forced him to drop it. Though he could have continued fighting, the boy fell onto his hands and knees, breathing heavily with clear indignation on his face. Seeing this, Vahn lightly shook his head, throwing the temte [Excalibur] into his Inventory before walking over and extending his hand to the boy, saying, "Good fight. You did well." His impression of the boy was that thetter was a very earnest and hard-working man, even if his power seemed to have given him a touch of pride. This could be seen clearly as, even though he looked dissatisfied with how things turned out, the boy still epted the hand and allowed Vahn to pull him up. Thus, with a curt and appreciative nod, Vahn asked, "What is your name...?" Realizing he had never even introduced himself, the boy fl.u.s.tered slightly before saying, "Ah, Im Tristain...an Executive member of the Polemos Familia..." This name was actually familiar to Vahn, as it should belong to a god within the Alliance, more specifically one of the few War Gods making up their number. Realizing this, Vahn wasnt surprised that the three before him were members of the Polemos Familia, as it wasnt umon for those hailing from such Familias to be a little prideful. Still, it was easy to see that they hadnt truly let it go to their heads as all three of them seemed to be good people that cared for theirpanions. Turning his head towards the viewing tform of the gods, Vahn saw a proud looking man with steel-blue hair and silvery eyes, smiling appreciatively towards him. Tristain followed his gaze and, seeing his god looking down at them from above, couldnt help but hang his head in shame. The moment he did so, however, Vahn heavily struck his shoulder and said, "Raise your head, Tristain. This is exactly the moment you should carry yourself with pride and dignity, or else it was just hubris and arrogance...look, Polemos is more upset now that you hang your head in shame than when you actually lost!" Hearing this, Tristain looked up at his god and saw that, as Vahn had stated, there was now a slightly exasperated expression on Polemos face. Before he was able to apologize, or embarrass himself further, a heartyugh sounded out as the shield-bearing man walked over and also struck his back with a little too much force. Following this, there was a bell-like giggle that made the young Tristain blush as he turned to his sister and asked, "Reba...you wouldugh at your own brother? Im heartbroken..." In response to this, the simrly brown-haired young girl turned her head up with a hmph before saying, "My brother isnt some crybaby who pouts every time he loses a fight...!" This earned another bout ofughter from the shield-bearing man, who then turned to Vahn was an appreciative smile and said, "Youre really something, Vahn Mason. The names Gawain, by the way...I look forward to seeing how far youll go in this challenge of yours..." Then, without sticking around to chat, Gawain pat Tristains shoulder and said, "Go pick up your sword, boy! What kind of swordsman leaves his partnerying on the ground!?" With these final words, Gawain began walking towards the exit while Tristain tumbled across the ground for a few meters. His sister, Reba, then surprised Vahn slightly by looking towards him with a light blush and saying, "T-Thank you for going easy on my brother..." Vahn just gave a polite smile in return, somehow causing the young girl to blush even more as she went to help Tristain before they both made their way towards the exit. Though there was a fair amount ofughtering from the crowd, Tristain kept his head high and his back straight, refusing to let his embarrassment get to him a second time. Vahn made a mental note to reward the Polemos Familiatter as, considering Polemos had been able to groom such capable and honest Adventurers, he was likely worth supporting further. One of the things he was intending to do in the future was help the Alliance Familias be even stronger, with a special focus on those capable gods that could produce upstanding children that wouldnt shame what the Alliance represented... After seeing the three exit the arena, Vahn returned to his spot at the center and pulled out his [Laevateinn] this time, nting it into the ground before him as crimson mes began to spread across the ground. They werent nearly as hot as his Zhqu form mes, but it was still very intimidating for those that were considering jumping into the arena. At this point, everyone seemed to be waiting for everyone else to enter into the fray. Nobody wanted to be the next victim to fall and, as a result, there was a long period of time where Vahn just stood silently at the center of the arena. It even got to the point where he closed his eyes, almost as if he had started to meditate and rx while waiting for his next challenger. This behavior caused some people to think he was actually just putting on airs to try and recover so, after oveing their hesitation, a group of five people jumped into the arena. Sensing this, Vahn slowly opened his eyes and turned towards the five women, asking with an amused tone, "Are you sure about this...?" The group that had jumped down were none other than the Rose Quintet that he had encountered in the Dungeon, the group that was hunting down Fatina, the Silver Unicorn he had converted into a Pegasus. While getting into their formation, having two girls take up the vanguard, two break off to the sides with crossbows, with their leader, Amalia, at the center, thetter exined, "We owe you a debt of gratitude for giving us the items we neededst time, but we cant just give up on such a prize...even if we dont stand a chance against you, we still want to try our best...!" As she spoke, Amalia created purple electricity that danced across her fingertips. Vahn hadnt seen her chanting during theirst encounter so, seeing her create electricity out of her body, he understood it was rted to her Innate. She had a very rare Pure Lightning affinity so Vahn wasnt surprised when she had sted him thest time. However, using magic, and casting lightning from your body, there was a very big distinction between the two... Before he began, Vahn tossed [Laevateinn] into his Inventory and said, "The five of you have a lot of potential for growth, especially you, Amalia. Instead of risking your lives as Frence Adventurers, you should join one of the Familia of the Alliance. I cant ept you into the Hestia Familia, but I can make sure you are treated well in one of the core Familia. If youre worried about things like money, your living conditions can be greatly improved if you consider my offer..." Not too surprisingly, all five of the girls showed contemtive expressions on their faces. In truth, after theirst encounter with Vahn, they had started to reconsider their way of life. If he hadnt been lenient towards them thest time, they would all likely be corpses within the Dungeon at this point... Amalia, though she had also waved with the rest of the girls, snorted through her nose and put on a haughty expression as she said, "Beat us and we might consider it. Were not going to listen to someone who-" In the next instant, Vahn had appeared right in front of Amalia, a casual smile on his face as he tapped her forehead with his index and middle fingers, asking, "Do I win...?" Amalia was only Level 4, and not even that far into the Level, while all the other girls were only Level 3. He had just finished fighting against Tristain, who likely would have been able to defeat all five of them, so it wasnt really a match from the very beginning. Not expecting the sudden development, Amalia hadpletely frozen, mouth still parted slightly from thest word she had been speaking. When she realized what had happened, a crimson blush covered her face and, against Vahns expectations, she tightly gripped her skirt, hung her head, and muttered, "You bully...stupid jerk...meanie..." Though he was slightly confused, Vahn noticed that Amalias affection was actually 83(Amore) within his system. Realizing he had dodged a bullet by rifying that he couldnt let them join the Hestia Familia, Vahn just smiled and said, "I guess Ill be seeing the five of you around. You should consider joining the Loki Familia, they could always use promising young Adventurers in their ranks...Ill make sure youre all treated well." With the same crimson blush on her face, Amalia looked up with a face full of resentment before she snorted and walked off with the other four girls. Vahn noticed that they all had light blushes on their faces as well, including the Pallum and Chienthrope girls. He gave them a casual wave and smiled, causing their reactions to be a little more extreme as they quickly made their exit. Vahn felt a little guilty on the inside, knowing that he had won the fight based on his rtive good looks. It wasnt really that surprising for him when girls had extreme reactions anymore, as even goddesses had pestered him quite a bit recently. Fortunately, he had built up a solid resistance against such things and, instead of just epting every girl that held their heart out to him, Vahn had started to mature...just a little bit... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bitch please! If the only you cats did ise out to y, stay out my way~!,Tristain, Gawain, and Reba (UwU),Riajuu Bakuhatsu~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 759 - Disappointment

Chapter 759 - Disappointment

After the anti-climactic fight between Vahn and the Rose Quintet came to an almost immediate conclusion, another one of the waiting contenders jumped down. It was a man with auburn-red hair, done up in a loose ponytail with long bangs framing a rtively handsome face. He seemed to be in his early twenties, wielding arge three-pronged spear with ornamental armor suited for a warrior from the Far East. Unlike the various groups awaiting their chance, he had jumped in alone and, after taking a low stand with his spear held at the ready, smiled as he said, "Yang Feilong greets the Sage Aldrnari, Vahn Mason. Please, give me your guidance..." With a curt nod, Vahn surprised the crowd by producing a spear of his own, significantly less shy than the three-pronged spear of Yang Feilong, but strangely more awe-inspiring. This was his [Longinus] and, though it looked rtively simple in structure, it would likely sell on the market for several billion Valis just based on the materials used in its construction alone. Vahn brought it to his shoulder, as he didnt really have a stance for fighting with a spear, and just squatted down slightly. Seeing this, Yang Feilong raised his brows slightly before saying, "Here Ie..." before dashing forward with a fierce momentum. The moment Yang Feilong began to move, Vahn knew he was someone that relied on speed and technique over raw power. Though he was only around the strength of a weaker Level 5, his speed would put him on part with some Level 6s and, based on how well he kept his center of bnce while wielding a 340cm long spear, Vahn knew he was a capable fighter. Thus, as Yang Feilong used a strange sweeping footwork and thrust forward, Vahn didnt underestimate him and traced the trajectory of the strike before intercepting it with his [Longinus]. When he saw the pronged de of the spear bend in a strange manner, Vahn was a little surprised but managed to side-step the attack that moved beneath the angle of his own strike. Now at Vahns nk, Yang Feilong flicked his wrist, causing the spear in his hands to retract until his right hand was near the spearhead. Using his left hand, he grabbed the shaft of the spear, keeping the angle concealed by his body as he sn.a.k.e.d forward and thrust the spear in a tricky angle where only the three-pronged point could be seen. Vahn lifted his right foot without even thinking about his attack, diverting the thrust upwards as it cut through his shoulder instead of his torso. He was surprised by his own reaction, though not nearly as much as Yang Feilong, who then twisted his wrist to make the tri-pronged de turn sideways as he pulled it back. The des on the end were double-sided and he was attempting to get a second blow in while creating distance between them. Vahn, holding his own spear with both hands, lowered his body while simultaneously raised the bar of the spear up. The two poles collided against each other, sending Yang Feilongs upward, causing thetter to press down on the top of his weapon and try to correct the angle. Unfortunately, the difference in their Power made this a mistake, as Vahns raised [Longinus] was simply immovable with both of his feet firmly nted on the ground. At the moment when Yang Feilong was going to cease his attempt and back away, Vahn spun his [Longinus] in a clockwise motion and reversed the position of their spears before locking Yang Feilongs in ce. Instead of giving up on his weapon, Yang Feilong used the leverage of Vahns strength to kick forward, pointing his toe as he aimed for Vahns trachea. Though hecked weapons-based skills, Vahns close-quartersbat proficiency and experience we very high. The moment Yang Feilongs kick aimed towards his throat, he had already ducked under the blow and found himself underneath Yang Feilongs leg, with his body wide open. Because he had used the positions of their spears as leverage, Yang Feilong hadpletely exposed himself so, without any hesitation, Vahn slid his spear across the formers and mmed the quickly swiped his de in a shallow arc, severing the flesh of Yang Feilongs thigh. The tanned trousers worn by Yang Feilong began to show a dark red stain that quickly spread down the length of his leg as he leaped back. In one quick motion, Yang Feilong reached into a pouch at his back, producing a red potion, uncorking it, and spreading it across his wound. By the time hended, still using one foot to support himself, the wound had already started to close. It was unfortunate, however, that Vahn had been in close pursuit when he had tried to create some distance between them. Currently limited in his movements, Yang Feilong parried Vahns rtively amateurish strikes but was quickly falling into a disadvantage as his hands be numb from resisting the powerful blows. As Vahn twisted his body, swinging his spear in a downward motion against Yang Feilongs, thetter winced in pain as the wound on his leg opened back up. Drawing in a sharp breath, he said, "It seems Ill have to forfeit this match...it was an honor fighting against you, Vahn Mason..." Vahn gave a small nod, brandishing his spear onest time before throwing it into his Inventory. Yang Feilong rose to his feet, producing a second potion before a gentle white light enveloped his body. In response to the mans confusion, Vahn exined, "You fought well. Your skills with a spear are vastly superior to my own. If not for the difference in our parameters, you would have been able tost much longer... Yang Feilong remained silence for a few seconds before releasing a light-heartedugh and saying, "But I still wouldnt have been able to win...would I...?" As he spoke, Yang Feilong looked at where he had wounded Vahn previously, seeing nothing but healthy and unblemished skin where the de of his spear had previously left an unsightly gash. There werent even any bloodstains on Vahns clothing and, considering how easily he had just healed his own wound, Yang Feilong knew that Vahns capabilities as a healer far exceeded his potential as a spearman. Yang Feilong suspected that, unless someone couldnd a heavy blow against Vahn, they wouldnt be able to defeat him. After all, it was obvious that Vahn had arge number of weapons and items safely stowed away with his storage magic...it was one of the things he was famous for on Expeditions. To answer Yang Feilongs question, Vahn just smiled with a knowing expression on his face before saying, "You dont seem to be from the city, based on your appearance. If a spearman of your skill had-" Mid-sentence, Vahn felt a high-speed object making its way towards him, putting a stop to his words as he spun around, grabbing the de of his attacker with his scaled hand. The attacker was a young Pallum, though it was hard to really determine his age. Though the Pallum was surprised that Vahn had grabbed his de with his bare hands, it didnt stop him from immediately tossing a small brown bag towards Vahns face. Using his free hand, Vahn reached up with his other scaled hand, grabbing the bag and, as it tried to release an explosion,pletely absorbed the majority of the energy into the scaled covering his arms. This time, the shock on the Pallums face turned into sheer disbelief as he gave up on his sword and pulled out a small crossbow, firing a red-colored bolt towards Vahns chest this time. All Vahn did to stop the prative bolt was turn his forearm slightly, blocking it directly with his ck scales, now suffused with glowing green runes. Still, this hadnt been enough to deter the Pallum who, seeing yet another one of his attacks fail, threw two handfuls of explosive balls to cover his retreat. Before the balls could explode, Vahn used the stored energy within his scales to send a shockwave forward, diverting the explosive projectiles upwards before erecting a small hemispherical barrier to protect against possible shrapnel. As expected, small purple barbs shot out of the explosive balls, impacting harmlessly against the barrier. Vahn turned his attention away from the poisoned barbs, watching the Pallum run towards the exit, reaching it in less than a second. Though it wouldnt be that difficult to deal with him, the rules prevented him from doing so right now. Thus, having missed his opportunity, Vahn threw the Pallums shortsword into his Inventory before turning to Yang Feilong and saying, "Now isnt really the best time to talk. Im sure Ill see you in the future, Yang Feilong." Seeing how easily Vahn dealt with the sudden sneak attack, Yang Feilong couldnt help but nod in approval of Vahns capabilities, remarking, "I hope you are able to make it to the end of this challenge. Ill see you around, Vahn Mason..." Then, brandishing his spear and hoisting it to his shoulder, simr to how Vahn had done, Yang Feilong made his way towards the nearest exit. Vahn watched him go before returning to his spot at the center of the arena. This time, instead of pulling out his [Laevateinn], Vahn did a full transformation into his Xunw form and stood stable, like a mountain. This time, it took a little more than eight minutes for the next group to enter the arena,prised of seven members, each around the peak of Level 3 while two of them were on the lower end of Level 4. The moment they jumped down, the entire group began to shoot towards him with crossbows while spreading out to avoid getting taken out together. At the projectiles approached him, Vahn stayed calm and just lightly exhaled, causing a watery blue spherical barrier to form around his body. Covering its surface, there was a simr pattern as the tattoo covering his body, creating the visage of a turtle and snake. When the bolts struck against the barrier, it was as if they had their momentumpletely, causing small ripples on the barrier before falling to the ground. After the initial volley, the seven attackers stopped firing and appeared as though they were waiting for the barrier to wear down. Most barriers took a lot of mana to power so it wasnt a bad idea to just wait for Vahn to exhaust his mana, assuming he was like most mages. Unfortunately for them, this barrier was something he was capable of producing as a result of his Xunw form. Though it did take some source energy to form, it didnt drain his reserves nearly as quickly as he replenished them. Unless they usedrge-scale attacks, he would be able to stay within the barrier indefinitely which, for his enemies, would be a very big problem. After all, though they werent aware of it, this particr barrier got progressively stronger as time passed, not weaker... For ten minutes, the group waited for the barrier to diminish but, seeing that Vahn just stoodcently on the inside, they began to suspect there was more to the situation than they had originally inferred. Since it wasnt impossible to have equipment, or magic items, that could create barriers, they assumed that Vahn wasnt using his own energy to create the barrier, but an item. Considering he could dish out 1BV for a simplepetition, it wouldnt be surprising if he had several such items within his storage magic... Cursing Vahns wealth, the group began using their crossbows to pelt the shield while one of them, a man with peculiar white hair, began to chant a magic spell that made a grey magic circle appear under his feet. Vahn was a little surprised that they had a mage in their midst but, seeing the density andposition of the mans mana, he wasnt too worried. The man had an affinity with earth and water, neither of which had been developed very far. Thus, when his chant waspleted, causing several stone projectiles to fly towards the barrier, Vahn just remained standing. When the earthen projectiles struck the barrier, they causedrge ripples that made the barrier fluctuate slightly before, just like the bolts, the stones fell powerlessly to the ground. In fact, as a result of their size, the presence of the stones actually gave Vahn more cover, eliciting a few curses from the other six members. Deciding to egg on, not just the seven attackers, but the other people waiting for their chance, Vahn sat down within the sphere and began to meditate. Though it wasnt an immediate reaction, several other groups of people jumped down and began assaulting the barrier. As for the spectators, they began to get a little riled up, talking amongst themselves about how things were progressing. It wasnt really interesting seeing Vahn just sitting in the middle of the arena, but they couldnt help specte when the barrier would break. As the intensity of the attacks continued, their tensions slowly started to increase and several people even began berating those that were trying, and failing, to break through the barrier. Ignoring the shouts of the crowd, Vahn continued to sit, eyes closed, simultaneously meditating while also sweeping his perception over the crowd. There were a couple of people he thought would make decent opponents but, thus far, they hadnt made any moves. Though there werent any more anomalies, like the creepy user of Death energy, Vahn figured they would at least pose a challenge if they call came at him together. Hopefully, they would just let him sit here for the next six hours as, even though it wouldnt be that long, Vahn had been looking forward to fighting. Even since he first started delving into the Dungeon, Vahn had developed a bit of a battle-junky mentality. Sitting still like this, as nobody was able to break through his barrier, he was beginning to get a little bored... For nearly an hour, various attacks continued to pelt his barrier, almost like raindrops against the surface of ake. Vahn was in a deep meditative state at this point, wondering if the passive strengthening of his barrier had been too much for normal people to ovee. He was starting to realize that his metric for determining strength had be skewed, especially after training with the girls for so long. It didnt help that most of the powerful enemies he faced were exceedingly abnormal, unlike the people gathered around him right now. This was a result of many Adventurers simply increasing their Level when they met the initial requirements, instead of working hard to max out their Parameters. It was...more than a little disappointing... Since it didnt seem like they would be able to break it on their own, Vahn slowly rose to his feet, making eye contact with a ratherrge man who was beating against the barrier with a massive battleax. He was more than 200cm tall, had broad and muscr shoulders, and a sculpted body that seemed to have been carved from marble. However, he was only Level 4 and, though his Power was impressive, the only other Parameter he had likely developed was his Endurance. Vahn shook his head slightly, raising both of his hands as he said, "Reflection Pulse." There blue sphere around his body, which had seemed almost invible all this time, suddenly expanded at a speed faster than most of the contenders could react to. It was like an explosion and, as it carried the force of the attacks he had absorbed, this wasnt an incorrect way to look at it. Fortunately for them, Vahn still contained the force within the sphere itself, instead of allowing it to explode outwards and tear them apart. This resulted in people getting lightly squashed against the barrier surrounding the arena, leaving the centerpletely barren. Even the rocks that had surrounded him were repelled outwards, leaving the arena floor almost perfectly even in its wake. After letting the sphere disperse, Vahn stated in a in tone that resonated through the now silent Coliseum, "I made this challenge for several purposes...one was to offer people the opportunity to prove themselves and, by doing so, they could earn mine, and the Alliances favor. If they managed to defeat me, using rules that I left vague for their benefit, they would also walk away with a hefty prize...as for my second purpose, it was to push myself to the limits...to see how I measured up against the strongest people this glorious city of Orario had to offer...I had expected a challenge, something that could push me to the extremes...not this..." Releasing a sigh, Vahn shook his head in disappointment and said, "If you want to enter the arena, feel free to do so. However, make sure you have the correct resolve..." This time, without erecting a barrier, Vahn sat back down in the center of the arena and began meditating. Though his action could be considered very rude, it didnt matter that much since the opinion of the masses was transient and ever-changing. If he wanted to, it wouldnt even take that much effort to win people over again and, even though his children watching at home might think lesser of him for his current behavior, Vahn believed the girls would be able to make up a proper excuse to justify his actions. This time, nobody entered the arena for nearly twenty minutes and the crowd began to grow restless as the spectators began taunting the contenders waiting at the periphery. Though they had been offended by Vahns words previously, seeing nobody challenge him after the fact started to make them understand why he said them. He was clearly disappointed in how things had turned out and, seeing how most of the challengerscked backbone, the crowd started to get disappointed as well. There were still hundreds of people lining the walls yet, as the time continued counting down, none of them had the courage to step forward and face the calmly sitting boy at the center of the arena... For several minutes after the momentum in the crowd had started to shift, the contenders on the wall just continued waiting for their moment. Though the jeers and jabs of the crowd were beginning to grate at them, especially those hotheaded and prideful individuals, they werent foolish enough to be the first ones down. They didnt get to their Level by being brash and, though it was starting to be very annoying, they continued to be patient. That is, until an unexpected arrival appeared, walking out from one of the entrances where monsters would be escorted in to fight against tamers. When they saw this figure, not just the crowd, but they themselves began to cheer loudly while a few of them immediately jumped into the arena to help defeat the arrogant boy sitting within the center... Unfortunately for them, the moment they jumped into the arena was one they would regret for the rest of their lives. In an instant, a formless de of energy had swept low across the ground, spreading through the entire arena in an instant. Those that had jumped down suddenly found themselves falling much further than they had expected, colliding with the ground face first as a searing pain shot up from the stumps where their legs had been. As for Vahn, he had immediately jumped to evade the attack as a resolute look reced his previously calm and cid expression. Then, as his feet touched the ground, amidst the scream of the fallen Adventurers, Vahn smiled and said, "You know, Ive been looking forward to this for a while...Ottar, The King..." Pulling back the onyx-ck de he had used to attack the distractions, Ottar gave a curt nod and said, "You are strong, Vahn...show me your limits..." Then, without any further discussion, Ottar swung his de in a horizontal motion that sent another de of energy through the air, this time aimed directly for Vahn. Seeing this, Vahn felt the hair on his neck stand and knew that even his Xunw form wouldnt be able to block this attack. Instead, he jumped forward, twisting his body to evade the de of energy, as he pulled out his own sword and prepared to face against Ottar for the first time. The moment their des collided, Vahn felt like he had just impacted an indestructible mountain and, as the recoil of energy made his own bones creak, Vahn felt his blood begin to boil in anticipation... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Two spears, brandished together...heading towards the climax!,The disparity between a min-maxer vs a casual pleb...,For those that cant stand proudly, grovel on the ground...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 760 - King vs. Emperor

Chapter 760 - King vs. Emperor

Shortly after his first exchange with Ottar, Vahn very quickly realized that thetter wasnt known as the strongest without a reason. Not only was Ottar 30cm taller than he was, built like a mountain, but the vast disparity in their strength appeared when Ottar extended out his sword, as if he had swung it, even though Vahn had been pressing all of his Power down on Ottars de. It was almost like he had been tossed like a loose stone, flying back nearly twenty meters before he was able to get his footing again. As for Ottar, he had a n and imcable expression as he dual-wielded tworge greatswords as if they weighed less than feathers. Vahn exhaled and, without trying to directly engage Ottar again, jumped back, extending his left hand outward as he eximed, "Magic Arrows, Three Fire Arrows. Gather, 19 spirits of me. Magic Arrows, Series of Fire~!" At the same time as his chant, arge red magic circle appeared behind Vahns body and, stunning the crowd, began rotating in clockwise as Vahn began to levitate into the sky. He pulled out [Laevateinn], wielding it in his right hand as the neen fire arrows shot out from his magic circle and veered towards Ottar. Instead of trying to dodge, Ottars eyes shed and, like a meat grinder, he began to swing both of his swords without taking a single step. des of energy flew every time he swung his swords, bisecting and dispersing each me arrow with impable uracy. On his twentieth strike, however, Ottar flexed his right arm, causing it to expand slightly before he cut at an upwards arc. This time, instead of a formless de of energy, a blue crescent shot towards Vahn in the blink of an eye. If not for Vahns ability to use [Shundo], causing the de to cleave through empty space, it very likely would have taken off his arm. Unfortunately, [Shundo] didnt serve him well this time as, the moment Vahn appeared next to Ottar, thetter swung his sword with unstoppable momentum, cleaving directly towards him. Using [Laveateinn] in an attempt to parry, Vahns mind dulled when the rtively low-grade sword used by Ottar bisected his S-Rank sword and veered towards his chest. Though he could tell that the wound would be shallow, it still caused all the hair on Vahns body to stand up seeing the glint contained on the edge of the de. With the fastest speed he could manage, in his base state, Vahn used [Shundo] and moved backward. Ottar, instead of following, looked at the sword in his hand, noticing that the edge had started to turn red hot. A few secondster, without him even letting go of the handle, the de began to melt and he remarked, "That weapon of yours...was very high quality...sorry..." When he heard this, Vahn justughed lightly and said, "Dont worry, Ill just reforge it even stronger next time..." Though it didnt have a true consciousness, Vahn could feel the half of [Laevateinn] he still held screaming that it could still continue fighting. Recing the previous de, a crimson me de began to emerge from the remaining half, causing the air around to begin warping. Seeing this, Vahn smiled, whispering, "Next time, old friend...this isnt an enemy..." before putting it back in his Inventory. Ottars expression didnt change in the slightest as he asked, "Do you have more weapons...?" In response to this, Vahn gave a small nod but, instead of pulling out a sword,mented, "Well, I have a feeling that swords wont have much of an effect on you..." Even now, with his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn could see another strange energy covering Ottars entire body. At this point, he was pretty confident he had identified all three of Ottars Innates, determining he had one rted to Swords, one that increased his defense, and one that altered his state of mind. Giving Ottars quirks, making him seem rtively simple and taciturn, it wasnt difficult to see there was something influencing his mind... Ottar simply nodded in turn, pointing the sword in his left hand forward while unsheathing one of the two he kept crossed on his back. He seemed very ustomed to losing his des in battle, considering he carried fourrge greatswords, a sturdy looking dagger, and what looked like a set of knuckle-dusters affixed to his belt. As for armor, Ottar only wore a te to cover his heart and a band around his head that had a small curve visor to deflect liquids and protect his eyes. Even if he was considered Invincible, it didnt mean he wasplete without weaknesses, all of which could easily be seen with Vahns vision. The area around his heart actuallycked the protective membrane of the rest of his body, simr to how Fafnirs durability didnt extend to the scar on his chest... The moment Ottar unsheathed his recement sword, Vahn took to the sky to avoid the two des of energy that cleaved through his position. They continued forward, slicing clear through the barrier and continuing through the walls of the Coliseum until vanishing before they reached the crowded streets outside. Vahn, noting this, continued to go even higher into the sky, causing some to believe he was running away. In truth, he just wanted to see Ottars range while buying a little bit of time to cast his next magic spell. Ottars previous attack had cut through his magic circle, which should have been impossible, but that was simply how Laws worked at times. It was obvious that Ottars Innate gave him control over Sword Laws, allowing him to cut through almost anything, much to his [Laevateinn]s misfortune... After retreated to around 700m, Vahn noticed that Ottar stopped attacking and just stood still as he patiently waited to continue the fight. Vahn lightly waved, showing an apologetic expression on his face before chanting, "Tyrannical me, Create an Endless cycle of Purgatory. Come unto me, Crimson ze, Fiery Inferno, Raiment of Destruction! Avatar of the Sun! me Emperors Wrath~! Fixate. Seize. Load magic, Imperatoris Ignis Mk 1~! " Though it wasnt quite at the level of true named magic, Vahn had put a lot of effort into creating a unique spell of his own, making full use of his fire elemental affinity, the one reliable element he had been able to make use of. As if a second sun had appeared in the sky, everyone in the stands shielded their eyes or looked away from the vibrant crimson-white light. Though nobody was truly surprised that Vahn had powerful fire magic to make use of, they were absolutely shocked when they bore witness to what was in front of them. Instead of his skin turning onyx-ck, Vahn had a red hue to his flesh, covered with zing white tattoos. He now lookedpletely different than his original self, growing to a height of 200cm, fully disying his muscr figure that was now shrouded by physical mes, forming a cloth around his waist that extended to his knees. Behind his back, there was a sun-shaped ring with nine wavy spikes that had a smaller sphere hovering in the center, looking exactly like a small sun. For the first time, Ottars expression changed slightly, brows slightly raised with a small smile affixed to his lips. In a voice only he could hear, Ottarmented, "Lady Freya made the correct choice, Vahn Mason...even though it had been my fate to serve as your stepping stone, it looks like you have already risen to a height I can no longer reach..." With his personal soliloquying to an end, Ottars expression turned into a fiercelypetitive grin as he released a loud warcry, creating a shockwave with his voice alone. In an instant, his muscles had expanded nearly 30% and, as he let his swords hang naturally in his grip, the ground around Ottar began to copse from the pressure exerted by the simple movement. Since Ottar had given him time to prepare, Vahn extended the same courtesy to the proud King below. It was a shame they had met under such circ.u.mstances as Vahn had always had a very good impression of Ottar, ever since their first meeting hade to an end. He was a man worthy of respect and Vahn couldnt help but wonder why Freya had sent him here, even though he was also grateful for the challenge. Now that he thought about it in greater detail, that might have been the actual reason for Freyas actions. She may have sent Ottar to show the City that he was no longer the strongest...or perhaps to convince the members of her own Familia... Realizing the potential truth of this line of thinking, Vahn resisted the urge to pity Ottar and, instead, showed the unwaveringly loyal man the respect he deserved. For better or worse, Ottar had never budged on the loyalty he had towards Freya, even if she treated him like a convenient tool. Though Vahn couldnt truly understand the reasoning behind such a train of thought, he knew there were few people that would be able to stay true to themselves in a situation where most people would have broken. Vahn suspected it had something to do with one of Ottars Innates but that could be considered at ater date since the proud King looked prepared to do battle. Pulling out [Longinus], Vahn then pushed his [Will of the Emperor] to the extreme, releasing a simr war cry to Ottars as they both shouted, "Haaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!" at the top of their voices. To the spectators, it suddenly felt like gravity had increased on their bodies and, as Vahn began to descend upon the arena, it felt like the very sky above was falling down upon them. The weaker members of the audience had copsed to their knees as the temperature in the arena began to rapidly increase. This was the case, even though Vahn was doing his best to contain the fire elemental energy within his body... As he hadnt used [Shundo] for the attack, feeling as though it would dishonor Ottars conviction, Vahn relied on his levitation and normal flying speed, which could easily reach 2300km/h, as he descended to the ground like a bolt of lightning. At the same time, Ottar had let go of his left sword and, using both hands, swung his weapon towards the sky in a beautiful arc that seemed to embody all the principles of perfect swordsmanship. Vahn tilted his body as quickly as he could, extending [Longinus] forward as his left arm and shoulder werepletely annihted by the meter-thick de of Sword Laws that had emerged from Ottars sword like a pir. With the same momentum he had started his descent with, Vahn struck forward with [Longinus] towards Ottars own shoulder, feeling a powerful resistive force feed into his hand as the defensive Innate of Ottar attempted to repel his attack. Vahn could actually see the strange energy in Ottars body converge towards the contact point, almost like a ripple condensing inwards as a golden light shone at the spears tip. Still, [Longinus] was his current masterpiece and, as Ottar drew some of his strength from his pseudo-divinity, Vahns spear pressed forward, undaunted, burying itself into Ottars flesh, even if only ten centimeters. Using the t of his de, Ottar swung it across and smashed it into Vahns chest, sending theter flying while [Longinus] stayed buried within the formers shoulder. Ottar released another loud warcry and, for the first time since the start of the fight, charged toward Vahn like a meteor descending upon the world. Confusing the spectators, who had seen Vahns arm obliterated previously, Vahn struck towards Ottars de with both palms covering with a dense energy coating. Before anyone had realized it, Vahns arm hadpletely regrown and the sun at his back had vanished as a surging heat spread from Vahns hands. Without backing down at all, Ottar cleaved downwards and, even though his de was turned into liquid metal before it collided with Vahns hands, the formless sword energy continued forward, cleaving through Vahns body and bisecting the entire arenas floor. A 10cm wide crevasse appeared that seemed to continue down into the ground deeper than light could travel. Still, though there were some who believed Vahn had been in by the blow, the more observant among them saw Vahns bisected body simply reform at the same time it was being cut through. There was almost no timeg between when he had been cut, and when his body had reattached... As a result of his regeneration being kicked into overdrive, Vahns attack had continued forward, striking Ottars chest and sending him several hundred meters into the sky. On his bare chest, as most of his clothes had been burned away, there were two white-hot handprints that were causing the surrounding tissue to begin glowing from the ambient heat. Amazingly, it seemed like his flesh was resisting this effect and, at a rate that only people like Vahn could discern, it could be seen that Ottars resistances were overwhelming the intense heat. Vahn felt his mind dull a little at this realization but it didnt do anything to the excited smile on his face as he kicked against the ground with full force... It could have been a result of Ottars sword attack disturbing the foundation, but Vahns kick against the arena floor caused the entire thing to copse as he ascended towards the sky in an instant, mming his foot into Ottars crossed arms. The moment the force of his kick had been dispersed, Vahn felt his ankle gripped by an invible strength as Ottar shouted, "Graaaaaaah!" and threw him towards the ground, seemingly twice as fast as when he had leaped upwards. This time, the already copsed arena floor sunk an entire level deeper, putting a heavy strain on the underground area where all the monsters were contained. Fortunately, it was even more durable than the bedrock located deep within the Dungeon, allowing it to bear the burden, at least temporarily... When Ottarnded, it happened to be outside of the arena and it caused the crowd to immediately recede away from him, almost as if he were a dangerous beast. However, instead of attacking and jumping back into the fray, Ottar just sat down in a seat of his own and used his good arm to pull [Longinus] out of his shoulder. He gave an appreciative look at the spear before confusing everyone present by lightly tossing it into the cloud of stone debris in the arenas center. At that moment, a powerful wind caused the cloud to disperse in an instant, revealing Vahns uninjured body as he caught the spear in his hand, remarking, "Thanks..." with a casual smile on his face. Seeing Vahn, once again,pletely uninjured, people began to assume that his current form actually made him invincible, even more so than the seemingly invincible King. Then, as if asking the question that was on everyones minds, Ottars voice sounded out in the arena, "That form...it is very powerful...what do you call it?" Vahn, still hovering in the sky as if it required absolutely no effort, smiled as he exined, "This is my Imperatoris Ignis, meaning Fire Emperor in an Ancient Tongue...what do you think?" In response to Vahns question, Ottar gave a nod of affirmation and said, "Its a good name...very fitting..." Then, as if he had just finished a menial task, Ottar stood up from his seat and said, "This is my loss..." before walking towards the Coliseums exit. When they heard this, the awestruck crowd wentpletely wild, exmations of shock and disbelief infinitelypounding on each other. The fight they had witnessed, to some people, was like watching a battle between two gods, one possessing of infinite strength while the other was the embodiment of fire itself. In the end, however, surprising almost every single individual present, the King had been ovee by the Emperor, making it obvious for everyone present that a new era had just been ushered into the City...the era of Vahn Mason, Sage Aldrnari, and the Emperor of mes... Though there were still a few hours remaining for the challenge, nobody jumped into the ruins where the arena once existed. Seeing Vahn casually standing in the sky, few people could even look directly at him, much less consider fighting him. There wasnt a single person present amongst the crowd who harbored the delusion that could defeat someone that not even Ottar had been able to best. The fact that Vahn seemed to recover from any wound, regardless of how severe, was just another reason for the absolute powerlessness that many previously proud Adventurers felt. Even those few Level 5s, who had been thinking about contending against Vahnter in thepetition, now sat in their seats and just waited for someone else to take up the challenge. Unlike Ottar, they didnt have nigh indestructible bodies so, as long as Vahn was in his Imperatoris Ignis form, none of them had any intention of seeking death... Just as he had done previously with his water barrier, Vahn waited patiently in the center of the arena, even going into a meditative seated position in mid-air. Strangely, even as the hours whittled away, very few people bothered to leave the arena. Everyone just sat, talking amongst themselves about what they had witnessed while wondering if anyone else would rise to the challenge. After Ottar, they didnt believe anyone was brave enough to fight against Vahns current form and, judging by how calm he was, nobody believed it would fade away any time soon. This was the reason Vahn had developed his Imperatoris Ignis Mk 1, as his control over fire elemental energy had always been much higher than his other elements. He could sustain the form almost indefinitely after assuming it, as long as his energy reserves werent drained by other attacks. While meditating, his efficiency increased even further, allowing Vahn to remain seated for the remaining duration of the challenge without issue. The moment the loud gong sounded out, followed by Ganeshas boisterous and booming voice, Vahn opened his eyes and allowed his body to return to normal, exhaling a sigh before smiling contentedly. While Ganesha was still making hisments, Tiona had flown through the sky like a bullet, tackling him in mid-air as she tightly squeezed his body. Much to the crowds amus.e.m.e.nt, he made a sound like a frog being crushed as the over-excited Amazon used her titanic strength to strain his bones and tenderize his organs. Some, though they were a marginal group, even prayed that she might identally kill him since a cold sweat had been pouring down their back for thest couple of hours. As for who these individuals were, they were people Vahn had taken the time to mark while he was meditating, inserting small wards into their bodies while using his domain as a medium. Now, the instincts they had cultivated over several years within the darkness of society were telling them that unavoidable danger was about to fall upon their heads... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Might of the King...!,Fire Emperors Descent,Checkmate) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 761 - Man of Action

Chapter 761 - Man of Action

Although the Monster Feria had officially concluded, the town was still abuzz about the events that had taken ce, especially during the final battle between Ottar, known as The King, and Vahn Mason, now being referred to by some as Emperor of mes. This was made easier by the fact that, much like the previous events, there were recordings of the flight being looped constantly in various regions of the city. People would gather together, even long after the sun went down, trying to glean insight from the fight between the two monstrously strong individuals. In the end, the one take away that almost everyone had was rather simple, Vahn Mason is the strongest Adventurer in the city now. Though the title of strongest fluctuated with time, the reason it was so meaningful in this instance was that Vahn, ording to general knowledge, was simply a boy of 15-16 years old. Ottar was nearly twice his age and was considered to be in his prime while Vahn, just a little more than a year ago, had only been around Level 2. In fact, there was a clear record of Vahns growth at the Guild, allowing people to see just how quickly not only Vahn, and everyone in the Hearth Manor was growing. Before, though some knew this through rumors, it wasnt that big a deal, just a bit of interesting gossip. Now, however, almost everyone knew that they had grossly underestimated the growth of the people around Vahn who, now, was understandably the heart of the Alliance. As for how that heart was currently spending his time, well, that likely would have made several people develop stomach ulcers, or perhaps even cough up blood. After his triumphant return to the Hearth Manor, Vahn had instantly been greeted at the door by Ina and Vana, with theter practically tackling him as she eximed, "Papa, that was so incredible! Please, teach me how to use fire like you!" Picking up the two girls, Vahnughed jovially and said, "Once youre a little older, Ill teach you all kinds of cool tricks with fire. For now, you need to continue developing your control so I can give you a special gift Ive been holding onto, okay~?" Though not entirely satisfied, Vana eventually nodded with a vibrant smile and said, "Okay, Papa, thank you~!" before giving him a kiss on the cheek and tightly squeezing his neck. As for Ina, she was hugging him from the other side, a dreamy and star-stunned gaze in her eyes, almost like she was looking at her idol. After things settled down a little whileter, Vahn learned that, during the screening of the event, the girls had been watching it intently the entire time. Whenever he would seem to be at a disadvantage, Vana and Ina would both be out of their seats, screaming at the projection and trying to cheer him on. Erika sat quietly at the side but, much to her chagrin, Loki kept makingments about how she would tense up, ball her fists, and get a fierce look in her eyes like someone contemting vengeance. It was in this matter that, for the first two hours of the broadcast, the girls watched with a mixture of excitement and tension as they prayed for his victory... By the time his fight with Ottar had started, few people were able to stay seated and, much like Vana, several of the other girls had joined in as they practically screamed at the projection. Though there were quite a few details missing, as the orbs couldnt really capture everything going on, they were still able to see the moment when Vahn had transformed into his Imperatoris Ignis Mk 1 form. Vana, unable to contain herself, actually burst into mes of her own, fortunately avoiding setting any of the furniture on fire. Then, when they saw him almost immediately lose an arm after that, Ina had nearly fainted, fortunately with Hephaestus there to support her. In the end, she was d she didnt as, much like everyone else, they were able to witness how invincible her Papa truly was... Now, the same evening after their reunion, Vahn, the man publically considered the Strongest, was dressed in an a.d.u.l.t bear costume with three little bear cubs clinging to his body. Ever since the start of the Monster Feria, the girls had, understandably, had a bit of trouble going to sleep at night. They would periodically imagine themselves fighting against monsters, especially Vana, as she genuinely wanted to be a Hero in the future. However, as rambunctious as she was, Vana was a very kind-hearted girl and, even though she hadnt given up on her dream, it made her sad just thinking about killing anything, monster or otherwise. Since then, Vahn had been sleeping in the same bed as the three girls, with Hephaestus and Loki often joining them. Tonight, as a form of parent-child bonding, Vahn had them all dress up in tiny bear pajamas and, being the Papa bear, he also wore a plush andfortable costume as they all snuggled up together and went to sleep. Since they had been watching the entire broadcast, the girls were all very tired so, for tonight, Vahn had just been sleeping with them alone. Loki had a number of things to take care of and, being the fiery and overprotective goddess she always had been, Hephaestus was helping out. Of course, that didnt mean Vahn was just leaving everything to them, as he had also split his body into two in order to help track down some priority targets trying to flee the city. There was one group in particr that he had taken note of and, after conferring with Loki, he immediately set out to track them down before they missed the timing again. Thus, after moving through Daedalus Street, following a few twists and turns through various buildings, Vahn found his way into a rather gaudy throne room. Before him, doing his best to appear nonplussed, Apollo sat on his golden throne while a rather handsome man nursed two broken arms and tried to protect him with his body. Tightly gripping the armrests of his throne, Apollo red towards Vahn with his golden eyes as an icy voice escaped his lips, "Vahn...Mason...why have youe here...? Why are you attacking my Familia!?" While speaking, a sun-like radiance began to shroud Apollos body as his Divinity began to shine forth, ready to activate at a moments notice. Vahn, being influenced by the inherent state of his [Magia Erebea] cells, felt like his skin was tingling but kept hisposure as he said inly, "You have harbored ill will towards myself, my family, and the Alliance...you have even tried to send assassins to kill me during the Monster Feria today and, most importantly, you are supposed to have already fled the city. The fact youre here, without reporting your activities to the Guild, shows that youre operating illegally...and this ce...disgusting..." Vahn hadnte into Apollos den on his own and, for the first time since he started proactively fighting his enemies, the bat group of the Hearth Familia hade along with him. Though he had prated directly to the heart of Apollos stronghold, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, Chloe, Arnya, Lunoire, Haruhime, Mikoto, Emiru, and Maemi were all wreaking havoc on their own. With their current Levels,bined with their [Pactio] forms, there hadnt been any real opposition the entire time. Even the Captain of the Apollo Familia, the man with two broken arms trying to protect his errant god, was simply around the peak of Level 3... While he had been dealing with Apollo, the girls had been raiding the stronghold, defeating the members that tried to fight back, and securing all of the people held captive by Apollo. The fact there had been more than fifty Elven ves had been a great surprise to them and, after he had heard this through his shared telepathy with the girls, Vahns visage had be icy. One of the things he hated the most was when people were forced to serve other people against there will, especially when that person was some arrogant god like Apollo. Some of the female Elves had even been found locked away in what was obviously a pleasure dungeon, chained and gagged as they awaited a fate some considered worse than death. Apollo, now shining like the very sun in the sky, rose to his feet and said, "You pathetic mortal...do you truly believe yourself the equal of a god...? That power you pride yourself for, do you believe it to be invible...?" Without holding anything back, Apollo allowed the aura of his Divinity to fill the hall as his eyes began to glow like mes. With a wrathful expression, he shouted out at the top of his voice, "You are just a brat that understands nothing of true power! How dare you try to usurp a right given to us gods!? YOU ARE NOT SPECIAL, VAHN MASON, YOU ARE A ABHORATION THAT THREATENS THE BALANCE OF THE WORLD!!! NOW, FACE MY DIVINE WRATH AND KNOW YOUR PLACE!!!" Though he would get ejected and forced back to Heaven, Apollo needed to destroy the boy in front of himpletely. Vahn didnt just threaten his own right as a god, but the rights of all gods that had been formed in Heaven. Apollo simply couldnt tolerate the idea of a mortal doing whatever he pleased, especially if it prevented him from doing what he wanted. The fact he had to act so cautiously, just because Vahn existed, had infuriated him to no end. Unable to contain himself any longer, Apollo sent out a wave of energy, almost like a sr re, that incinerated his own Captain, Hyakinthos Clio, and turned thetters body into ashes in an instant. Though Apollo felt a bit of pain in his heart, he continued to re towards Vahn with a vengeful expression and willed the boy before him to get incinerated into nothingness. Even Vahns soul wouldnt escape his wrath as, on his way back to Heaven, Apollo swore he would do everything in his power to tear apart and imprison it for as long as he could... Vahn was a little stunned by the terrifying might of Apollos Arcanum being fired towards him, even if it was much weaker than it would have been in Heaven. However, he wasnt remotely afraid of the attack and, surprising the proud Sun God, Vahn stepped into the attack. Though it made every cell of his body feel like it was itching, Vahn didnt take any actual damage since, as a result of his bond with the eternal me, Vahn waspletely immune to all Yang based mes. Since the mes from the sun were exactly that, Vahn couldnt be damaged by Apollos attack at all, even though it made him want to gouge his flesh with how absolutely irritating it was. Seeing Vahn walk through his attack, something which should havepletely annihted the mortal boy before him, Apollo waspletely awestruck. This was something that was simply impossible, so far outside the realm of probability that it would have never even crossed the minds of any god, including himself. However, he was forgetting that the vast majority of things that Vahn had aplished over thest 21 months were supposedly impossible. Now, Apollo was beginning to regret not treating Cassandra Ilions prophecy even more seriously. Time and again, she had told him that his actions would lead to their destruction but, no matter how he had tried to change this, the prophecy never changed. Apollo was simply fed up with it all and, much like the Elves he had been trying to break, she had been chained up with them as punishment for her failed divinations. One of thest thoughts that crossed his mind, as Vahns fist tore through the void towards his face, was that he shouldnt have doubted her at all... Though Apollo was getting ejected from the world for using his Divinity, Vahn wanted to make sure he wasnt able to return to the mortal world any time soon. Having your avatar destroyed would require you to spend nearly a hundred years just to form a new one and that would earn them plenty of time to change the world before the arrogant god could even think about returning. He also had a lot of regrets about how Chloe had borne the weight of his indecision against Laverna, the small goddess he had confronted long ago in the escape tunnels beneath the city. This time, Vahn would bear the weight on his own shoulders and, even if there was a bacsh from the godlymunity, he was positive they could tide it over. After all, Apollo was undoubtedly in the wrong right now and, even if he tried to hide it, everyone in Heaven would be able to discern that he had already used his Divinity against a mortal. The fact he had failed, and had been attacked, as a result, would undoubtedly earn him even greater ridicule. Though some gods, especially those that already disliked him, might try to find trouble in the future, the Alliance had already reached a point where its momentum simply couldnt be halted anymore. Thus, without any hesitation, Vahn buried his fist into Apollos face, feeling the bones break beneath the force of his punch as the once-handsome gods face distorted around his fist. In the next instant, a shockwave began to transmit from the force of the blow and caused Apollos head to disintegrate into red mist as his now headless body fell to the ground and started to dissipate into particles of light. Vahn, not entirely satisfied with the result, ced his palm against the Apollos remnants and, much like he would store a monsters body, stowed it away in his Inventory. Even if he couldnt make use of the body for anything meaningful, Vahn knew it would at least make it more difficult for Apollo to recreate his avatar in the future... With Apollo dead, Vahn turned his eyes to the human-shaped shadowy blotch on the ground where the Captain of the Apollo Familia had once stood. The fact the man had defended his god, even as thetter burned his body to a crisp, made Vahn respect his convictions. Even if they couldnt see eye-to-eye, on a fundamental level, Vahn knew there were some things in the world that simply deserved respect, especially in rtion to the dead. Thus, bringing his palms together, Vahn prayed that the man would find happiness in his next incarnation. Hopefully, if his loyalty held true in the next life, Hyakinthos Clio would find a much better master to serve... After finishing his prayer, Vahn focused his mind and sensed the stress levels of each of the girls he shared a [Pactio] with. None of them seemed to be in a heightened state of duress so he asked the person most likely to answer his questions clearly, ("Lefiya, can you exin the situation to me?") In response, Vahn felt the peculiar dy once again, squinting his eyes slightly as Lefiyas voice sounded within his mind, ("Ah, Master, everything is under control here! We noticed that the ve crests on all the girls bodies had deactivated and are now freeing them from their contracts~!") If a ves master had died, without any uses within the contract to free them, their contracts would be open at that point. Generally, such ves would immediately be the property of whoever found them next, an aspect of the system that Vahn thought was highly wed. Fortunately, there were some benefits to it as, right now, the ves had all fallen under the ownership of the girls and could easily be released as a result. This brought a small smile to his face until, shortly after Lefiyas voice faded, Chloes sounded out in his mind, saying, ("Vahn, there are two girls here I think you should speak with. One of them says she has something very important to tell you and wont reveal any of the details until you show up...") After sending an affirmation, Vahn quickly made his way over to where the girls were, not bothering to loot any of the items within the throne and adjacent treasure rooms. He would leave them for the Alliance to sort outter, as his own wealth and resources were nigh-infinite if he wanted to exploit his own body to the limits. Ever since he became a Progenitor, that could also emte the abilities of a Doppelganger, Vahn had been able to use his own body as a factory to produce any material he had an understanding of. Though it would produce negative karma if he tried to use these materials to generate wealth, there were no consequences for creating materials that he could use in forging. He couldnt sell the materials, nor the resultant equipment, for OP, but he still earned a sizeable amount from creating the items themselves. (A/N: This means Vahn cant grow an Adamantine Ingot from his body and just feed it into the system for a few thousand OP. Items harvested from his own body, just like his blood, would sell for a whopping 0. Trying to sell those items to other people, for petty wealth, would lead to gaining negative karma.) After moving through a few corridors, heading down a few flights of stairs, and passing through a heavily reinforced gate, Vahn found himself inside of a foul-smelling dungeon. He knew exactly what purpose this ce held and, before he even started talking with the girls Chloe wanted him to meet, Vahn turned to Ais, Tiona, and Lefiya, saying, "Get these girls out of this hell hole. You can free them on the surface after taking them to safety..." Just the smell alone annoyed Vahn and, considering they could have been here for months, he knew the girls probably wanted to get out of this dark ce as soon as possible. Without questioning his words, the three girls began escorting the former ves to the surface while Vahn passed each of them cloaks to conceal their bodies. Many of them were shedding tears and, as the majority of the girls were Elves, Vahn felt like he had an exposed nerve that had been touched. The matter of Riverias father still weighed heavily on his mind and, knowing the man was about to be heading off to his death, Vahn was sensitive to any matter concerning Elves. Seeing the girls like this, made ves for the benefit of people who were supposed to protect them, he felt an icy sensation spreading through his mind... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Papa bear ? ?????)...,Pow, right in the kisser!,Rage Boi, Vahn Mason) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 762 - Induction

Chapter 762 - Induction

Once all the girls had been taken out of the room, Vahn sat down in an adjacent room with Chloe, Haruhime, and Mikoto as two unknown girls sat across from him, both wearing thick andfortable nkets he had given them. They had previously been chained to walls, held up by their wrists and left to hang limply without a single shred of clothing to cover their bodies. Lefiya had already healed their physical wounds but Vahn knew it would probably take a while for their emotional and psychological states to recover. Fortunately, it seemed like one of the women was mentally strong and seemed to care deeply for the girl who had originally requested to meet him. The woman, who had introduced herself as Cassandra Ilion, had long dark hair and eyes that seemed simultaneously dark blue and also very pale at the same time. She had a thin, almost emaciated, figure with modest b.r.e.a.s.ts and a strange posture that made her back arch slightly, even though she was slouching forward. The woman supporting her, Daphne Lauros, had burgundy hair, styled in a short, almost boyish style, and light yellow eyes. Unlike Cassandra, who had droopy and sad eyes, Daphnes were sharp and angr, possessing a confident glimmer even though she had likely experienced great hardsh.i.p.s. Though her figure was also very modest, she seemed like a strong girl at a nce, especially with how she appeared to be trying to protect the demure Cassandra to her right. Once the introductions hadpletely, Cassandra, looking up with slightly glowing eyes, exined the reason why she had wanted to meet him. It wasnt the first time Vahn had seen such a glow, as it was very simr to Inas, so he patiently listened as she said, "It may be difficult to believe...but I have the ability to see the future..." When Cassandra said this, her body tensed up and she even closed her eyes, almost as if she were waiting to be ridiculed. Seeing this, Vahn just blinked once before turning to Daphne with a questioning look before turning back to Cassandra and saying, "That is a powerful ability. Im sorry you had to suffer at the hands of Apollo because of it..." Opening her eyes, Cassandra had a face full of confusion as she asked, "You...believe me...?" Without any real thought on the matter, Vahn nodded his head and exined, "Sure. You wouldnt be the first person Ive met with such an ability, after all. The only real questions are, how does your ability manifest, and how urate are the visions...?" For the first time since they had met, which hadnt really been that long, Cassandra and Daphne both smiled as the former brought her hands together, as if she were praying, and said, "Thank you for believing me..." After a small bout of crying, Cassandra eventually collected herself and said, "I dont understand my own ability that well, but Ive been having a lot of visions about you, Vahn. It was me who had warned Apollo about the eventual destruction of his Familia and it is also my fault that so many people had to suffer..." At this point, Daphnefortingly grasped Cassandras shoulder, supporting the downtrodden girl who seemed to me herself for everything that had happened. This was one of the pitfalls of having the ability of foresight, as it made people rationalize that everything they failed to prevent was somehow their responsibility... Raising his hand, even though both girls flinched, Vahn began to pat their heads and diffused calming energy into their minds while using his [Grooming]. In a calm and soothing voice, he smiled and said, "One day, you will learn that these things are generally beyond your control. There are no absolute abilities and, even if you have the power of foresight, you should have noticed that the future is constantly changing. You cannot me yourself in a situation where you were made into a victim, especially if that situation was something outside your control from the start...just the fact that you feel guilty about what had happened shows that you are not truly the one at fault. If you had the power, Im certain you would have done everything you could to help them...right?" Cassandra tightly gripped the nket around her while even Daphne began to crinkle her nose slightly, moisture building in her eyes. In truth, they had actually tried, time and again, to oppose the decisions made by Apollo. Unfortunately, the contract he bound the members of his Familia to were almost invible, essentially making them ves from the very moment they had been forced to join. Hearing someone tell them it wasnt their fault, whileforting them at the same time, was a little overwhelming for the traumatized girls...especially since Vahn was very different from the men they had interacted with in the past...he was calm, gentle, and seemed to empathize with their plight...almost like he truly understood the pain they had experienced... It took a little longer this time, but Cassandra managed to calm down enough to exin, "I had a vision where giant nt-like monsters were wreaking havoc within the City. In my vision, I saw you leading many of the girls that hade here to save us, fighting back against these monsters..." Vahn nodded his head, urging Cassandra to continue, leading her to hesitantly exin, "You must not kill those monsters within the city. If you do, the number of deaths that wille about, as a result, is unfathomable...I dont know the details, but Ive seen so many people dying right after the vision of you fighting against those monsters...please, you have to think of a way...please...I dont want to see so many people dying...!" Letting go of the nket covering her body, Cassandra clung to Vahns hand with the expression of someone that had seen far too much tragedy in one lifetime. Considering that she was only around seventeen years old, while also possessing an almost Pure Light Affinity, it couldnt have been easy for her to bear such a heavy burden, especially while suffering under the hands of Apollo. Though there wasnt much strength in her grip, Cassandra still tightly grasped Vahns hand as if she were afraid that letting it go would be the end of everything. Seeing the blue glimmer in her eyes, Vahn kept his calm and simply asked, "Tell me...can you see it right now...?" The moment his words fell, Vahn noticed that Cassandras look became distant, as though she were viewing something far beyond the perception of normal human beings. At the same time, Vahn ruminated over her words and wondered what could have happened for so much death to ur, even though the enemies shouldnt have been that powerful. The most probably causes should be rted to poison, disease, or curses...considering it was the fight that resulted in the deaths, Vahn figured it could potentially even be all three. If the monsters released some kind of chemical that could contaminate the air, or get into the water supply, it wasnt that difficult to imagine a great many people dying. However, if that were the case, there were numerous countermeasures that could be implemented... Cassandras distant look turned into one of confusion as she muttered an Eh? while still lost in her vision. Through this, Vahn could confirm several things, including that Cassandras ability was actually very strong. As an experiment, Vahn decided that he would burn the city down to quarantine it if things got out of hand faster than they could be contained. At the same time, Cassandras face became pale and Vahn immediately dashed the thought from his mind before she saw something truly terrifying. The only reason he could even harbor such thoughts is that he knew what kind of person he could be if he stopped caring about the means and focused entirely on the results. When the image of the city burning was instead reced by a pristine city, where people were walking around with happy smiles on their faces, Cassandra released a heavy sigh of relief and slumped even further. Vahn suspected that her issues with posture were actually rted to the burdens that she had been bearing, weighing down her physical body along with her mind. He knew that Preasia would probably be able to help her, and most of the other girls, and nned to ask if she would provide therapy for them in the future. Having simr experiences, Preasia would undoubtedly be able to help all the girls that had be victims slowly move forward... It seemed like it would take Cassandra a while to collect herself, so Vahn calmly stated, "I wont put either of you into a dangerous situation, but I think you should consider joining one of the Alliances Familia. I know some people that will be able to help you and, as long as you are within the Alliances territory, we can protect you. This will also allow you to inform me if there is something in a vision you think could be important. My dream is to create a world where people can be happy, so your gift will be very helpful...though, even if you choose not to use it, I will never give up trying to make the world a better ce." To punctuate his words, Vahn gave the most heartfelt smile he could manage, hearing notifications within his mind informing him that his Affection with both girls had increased marginally. Cassandra seemed more than willing but, before she could agree, Daphne suddenly asked in a stern tone, "What happened to Apollo...?" Without missing a beat, Vahn inly stated, "He used his Divinity to try and kill me, taking the life of his own Captain in the process. At this point, I imagine he is in Heaven raging about in his temple..." Daphnes sharp eyes widened slightly as she asked with an incredulous tone, "You...survived against a god burning his Divinity...!?" To this, Vahn justughed in a light-hearted manner and exined, "Youll understandter, but Im not so easily burned, Divinity or not. Just consider it an unfortunate matchup for Apollo that will remove him from the mortal world for a good hundred years, at the earliest." Hearing this, it was Daphnes turn to release a sigh of relief before she nodded her head and said, "Cassandra is my best friend, and Ive promised to protect her as best I can. Ill follow her wherever she chooses to go. Thanks for saving us, by the way..." Vahn was a little surprised by how calm and collected Daphne was, even though her appearance made her seem like a bit of a hot head. Still, he smiled in response to her before turning his eyes to Cassandra, awaiting her decision. When thetter saw him look over, she brought her index fingers up and began pressing them together as she sheepishly asked, "Can I...I mean we...join your...Familia...?" Feeling his brain buzz a little at Cassandras behavior, Vahn continued to smile before breaking the bashful girls heart when he said, "The situation within the Hearth Manor makes it almost impossible to ept new members into the Hestia Familia..." These words caused Cassandra to slump even more than before, making Vahn avert his eyes to avoid the pale white flesh that was on full disy. His reaction caused Daphne to pay closer attention to Cassandras state and, seeing that thetter never covered herself since earlier, a blush covered her face and she tightly pulled the nket shut while saying, "Pay better attention...haaaa..." This time, Cassandras face turned beet red and she tightly clung to the nket while sneaking peeks at Vahn through the gap in her bangs. Her hair was long and sleek, with long bangs that covered her left eye, even though Vahn could clearly make it out with his own [Eyes of Truth]. He was starting to feel that she was somewhat simr to Preasia, especially with how her pale dark-blue eyes were firmly affixed to his face, almost imploring him without saying anything. Even so, Vahn calmly exined, "Youll understand in the future...just know that there are too many factors that prevent people from joining the Hestia Familia, chief among them being that it is the heart of the Alliance..." Seeing that Cassandra wasnt entirely convinced, falling into a deeper mncholy, Vahn released a sigh and decided to bit the bullet as he honestly admitted, "Listen, Ill be as frank as I can out of consideration for the two of you...honestly...I cant really be trusted around women that have tragic pasts and begin showing affection for me. Though I wouldnt actually do anything, Im weak against girls that fall in love with me after I start taking care of them...I cant let the two of you stay in the Hearth Manor because youre both attractive young women that I would probably be romantically involved with at some point...Im a father now, and there are already numerous women around me that I love...so please, forgive me this time...I will do my best to help you find happiness, but I cant be the one to give it to you..." Vahn bowed low to both girls, causing Chloe and Haruhime to snicker and giggle since they were very aware of the truth behind Vahns words. As for Cassandra and Daphne, the former seemed to be lost in a vision while thetter had a flushed face as she pulled the nket covering her body securely around her shoulders. Even so, Vahn was aware that her Affection had increased again, nearly causing him to sigh while he kept his head bowed. At least this way, even though it was very embarrassing and borderline shameless, he would have a reason to refuse their advances if they genuinely started falling in love with him. He couldnt just take in every attractive girl with a tragic past into his home and eventually knock them up...with the standards of beauty in this world, there would never be an end to things if he didnt show more restraint... Ultimately, it was decided that Cassandra and Daphne would both join the Loki Familia, which seemed to be the go to Familia that Vahn kept throwing people into. However, unlike normal Familia members, Cassandra would have a unique protected status and Daphne would simply be assigned as her personal caretaker. Though Cassandra was a very skilled healer, making her an incredible asset on Expeditions, her prophetic powers were simply too useful to endanger her life. She also disliked fighting and, though Daphne looked like the type that would pummel monsters with her bare hands, she actually confessed that she hated fighting and was more suited to the role of a bodyguard. She had several support-ss magics and skills that allowed her to increase her Agility and Endurance, especially in a pinch. Once that had been decided, the Alliance started helping the Elven women get situated within the Elven Settlement and, after making a few other preparations, Vahn ended up in a room with Cassandra, Daphne, and Loki. The two girls had been informed about his ability to discern more from a Status Board than even gods but, even without being told that, neither had seemed to mind too much if he was in the room. They had already been given a change of clothes and it wasnt a big deal to expose their backs, especially after everything else they had already experienced. It was also a simple truth that both girls considered Vahn a safe person to be around, even after his earlier admission. Daphne, being the more confident of the two, had volunteered to go first and, after covering her front with a cloth, exposed her back that currently had the Apollo Familia emblem on it. The most notable thing, however, was the fact that Daphnes body was covered in scars and clear indications of torture though, fortunately, not as badly as Preasias had been. When he saw this, Vahn released a heavy sigh and said, "If you want, I can help you get rid of all those scarster...it will be a little embarrassing, but I can promise you that there wont be a single mark left when Im finished..." When she heard this, Daphne looked back with an unperturbed expression, remaining silent for a few seconds before she said, "Ill leave it to you..." After that, she turned her face away and Vahn did his best to ignore the jump in her Affection as he watched Loki modify the crest until there was a strange clown on Daphnes back, indicating she was now a member of the Loki Familia. Finished with this, Loki looked up with an uncharacteristically serious expression and asked, "See anything I missed?" Though she was a mischevious trickster by nature, Loki knew the girls had already gone through a lot and now wasnt the best time to mess around. Vahn gave her an appreciative nod in turn and looked at the hieroglyphs on Daphnes back, more than a little surprised at what he saw... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Daphne Lauros LV. 2 POW: F348 END: G288 DEX: D506 AGI: E492 MAG: H189 Skills: [Endeavor:Innate(sealed)], [Elios Passion:C], [Laurus Wreath:E], [Riposte:D] Magic: [Guardian Eos:Innate(sealed)], [Raumure:D], [Faerie Healing:E] Development Abilities: [Abnormal Resistance:D], [Mind Fortification:(sealed)], [Escape:(sealed)] [Elios Passion] Rank: C Use: Raises Agility, especially when fleeing from an enemy. [Laurus Wreath] Rank: E Use: Heavily increased Endurance when exhausted or in a near-death state. Efficacy of skill based on the mental state of the user. Modifies physical appearance slightly. (Active and Passive Trigger) [Riposte] Rank: D Use: Allows the user to deliver a precise counterattack after deflecting a blow. [Raumure] Rank: D Use: Self-Enhance Magic that raises Endurance andrgely increased Agility based on Magic. Chant: Follow the sky of the sky. Everything is to escape from the haze-blooms,urel bushes, Raumure~! [Faerie Healing] Rank: E Use: Provides light healing effect to target, allowing minor wounds to be treated. Also cures weak poisons. Chant: Faerie light, gentle breeze, recover, cleanse, purify~! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After reading her Status, Vahn had no doubt that Daphne was definitely suitable to being a protector, especially considering that almost all of her abilities modified her Endurance and allowed her to help others. He could even imagine her wearing one of the ck suits worn by the guards in the high-ss shopping district within Babel Tower. However, when this thought crossed his mind, so too did another thought. Vahn began to wonder what form Daphnes [Pactio] would take and if it would be beneficial for the two girls if he broached the subject. Unfortunately, as a result of his earlier admission, Vahn knew it would be an exceptionally awkward and misleading situation... At this moment, Cassandra, who had been lost in her own little world, released an Eh!? and began to blush deeply as focus was restored to her eyes. She looked directly at Vahn with her one revealed eye and began pressing her fingers together as she said, "I...I dont mind..." Both Daphne and Loki were confused by Cassandras words but Loki quickly picked up on what was going on. The mischevious grin she had been keeping at bay appeared on her face as she lightly elbowed Vahns ribs and asked, "What, not satisfied with the flower garden youve already gathered~?" Lokis words caused Daphne to misunderstand and, though she hadnt cared that Vahn was observing her bare back previously, she hung her head and shrunk into the chair while closely protecting her front. Seeing this, Vahn pinched the bridge of his nose and simply stated, "I was thinking that a [Pactio] would help guarantee their safety. It would enhance their capabilities and allow Cassandra to inform me if she had any important revtions..." As she had already been thinking about it previously, Loki nodded her head and said, "Yes, it is undoubtedly a good idea. However, I heard about your little confession earlier...seems like youre inadvertently bullying these girls~?" Before Vahn answered, Daphne, who had been listening closely, keyed in on how Vahn said it would help protect them. Judging by Lokis words, she would have to do something embarrassing, she doubted it would be as embarrassing as having Vahn treat her bodyter. Considering that Vahn would talk himself out of it, even though it could potentially guarantee their safety, Daphne looked up and inly stated, "This thing, [Pactio], I want one...if it can help me protect Cassandra, I dont want to pass on the opportunity..." Jumping in, even though it didnt look like she would ever be able to muster that much energy from her frail body, Cassandra shouted, "Yes, me too, please!" With Lokisughter as the background music, Vahn had released a long sigh and began exining the specifics of a [Pactio], including how it was a closely guarded secret. Both girls had already epted contracts to protect Familia secrets when they agreed to join the Loki Familia, so it was rtively safe to disclose the information to them. Neither seemed like the type to release such information anyways, so Vahn was open and honest with them, even though it earned him a re from Daphne. Even so, she still agreed after Loki asked Ais toe in and demonstrate her own [Pactio]. Following that, Vahn drew two [Pactio] circles and shared a kiss with Daphne and Cassandra, putting both of their Affections for him firmly at 84 and 92 respectively. It had been a very transformative day for the two girls, especially after they literally transformed into their raiments. Cassandra ended up have a one-piece purple dress that had a very high slit on the left side. She also had a pointed-purple hat that made her look like a witch out of a fairy tale. As for her artifact, it happened to take on the form of a crystal ball which, unsurprisingly, enhanced her foresight and made it closer to actual Divination. Daphnes outfit wasnt quite what he expected, as she didnt end up with a ck bodyguard outfit and instead ended up looking more like a knight. She had an ornate metal cuirass that covered her torso, matching pauldrons on her shoulders, and gauntlets thatpletely covered her arms with ting, leaving on the joints exposed. She also had sabatons, covering her feet, calves, knees, and the lower half of her thighs. However, somewhat embarrassingly, earning him Daphnes ire, there was no armor protecting her bottom at all. Instead, she had what looked like a pair of small red shorts that were barelyrger than underwear protecting what remained of her dignity. As for her weapon, it took on the appearance of a straight silver rapier with a rose-shaped guard. Its effect allowed it to pierce almost anything and, based on how much power she put into the thrust, the length of the de could increase greatly. After suffering under the stink eye of Daphne for a short while, Vahn exined the other benefits of the [Pactio], demonstrating his ability to buff them, call him to his side, and telepathicallymunicate. Though she was a little bothered by the fact he could summon them whenever he wanted, Daphne could understand how useful the abilities were. If they were ever in any danger, they could just send a message to Vahn and he would be able to immediately save them. Truthfully, it was one of the best protective measures she had ever heard of, making the fact that she had to kiss Vahn more tolerable. Besides, as she mncholically reminded herself, it wasnt as if he had taken her first kiss... Once the matter of the [Pactio]s was settled, Loki finished converting Cassandra into her Familia before allowing Vahn to inspect her Status. Like Daphne, Cassandra also had two Innates, meaning she was capable of reaching the peak of Tier 2, including the one rted to her foresight. Also, as she had professed before, Cassandra had numerous support skills and possessed a high talent for healing. Given the fact that she had a Pure Light affinity, this was easily justifiable and, as she wouldnt be entering into the Dungeon, Vahn had suggested she begin studying medicine. He would also be giving them both some basic study manuals for advancing their Magic skills, which would be the same as the ones used by future students... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [[STATUS]] Name: Cassandra Ilion LV. 2 POW: I65 END: H101 DEX: H154 AGI: G228 MAG: F362 Skills: [Five Dimension Troia:Innate:D], [Healing Palm:E] Magic: [Soullight:C], [Cure Ephialtes:D] Development Abilities: [Midnight Harlot:Innate:(sealed)], [Treatment:E] [Healing Palm] Rank: E Use: elerates natural regeneration and stamina recovery when applied to a region. (Active Trigger) [Soullight] Rank: C Use: Area healing spell that increases in both efficacy and range based on mana consumed. Chant: Cleansing light of purification. Extend a hand to the drowning. Hear my words and grant me the power to save those experience misfortune. Please, return the light of the Sun to thisnd. Soullight~! [Cure Ephialtes] Rank: D Use: Purification magic that can cure any ailment if the user has enough mana. Cleanses the body of poisons, abnormal status effects, curses, and other impurities. Chant: Light of Purification, Cure Ephialtes~! [Treatment] Rank: E Use: Increases the efficacy of all healing and support abilities, skills, and magic. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: This chapter felt like it took 37 days toplete xD. I actually had to re-read it towards the end just to remember what the hell I wrote!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Pats away the sadness*,Vahn tries to deflect...,Vahn fails to deflect...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 763 - Enrollment

Chapter 763 - Enrollment

Though the matter of Apollos body being destroyed by his hands had started to circte through the godlymunity, there was no great bacsh, especially when the matters Apollo had been involved in came to light. It was also noted that, before Apollo had been killed, thetter had already used his Divinity to try and kill Vahn. This news was the source of an even bigger stir but, once again, it was dealt with very quickly when Hephaestus exined that Vahn had an absolute fire immunity as a result of his own pseudo-Divinity. Though there were some people that wanted to hold Vahn ountable, they were just a small subset of the godlymunity within Orario and they didnt have the power to enforce such a decision, especially considering Vahns status. While that was going on, Vahn himself was sitting in a massive circr room with Riveria, Takemikazuchi, Terpsichore, Tenjin, Anubis, and Tsubaki. They were just about to start admissions to fill out the remaining spots for students. Thus far, the bulk of their first batch of students wasprised of orphans that hade from various orphanages around the City. Vahn had already gone to pick up the majority of the children from Marias Orphanage and Syr had helped them get situated in their dorms. Now, the majority of the Department Heads were gathered together to vet new students by evaluating their background, character, and, though it wasnt as important, their potential. Anyone that wanted to bring their children into the School had to provide doc.u.mentation proving their identities, including trade and upation. Once that was cleared, the children would be brought into the room for a preliminary interview. Sadly, especially for older children, they were very likely to be barred entry into the School, at least for the time being. They simply didnt have the capacity to babysit children and raise them in lieu of their parents, even if thetter werent necessarily the best parents. There were numerous children that needed assistance and they were exactly the target for the first batch of students, even if the justification could be considered a little shady. Vahn wouldnt deny that the ideal students for learning what the School was going to teach were those that didnt have other influences. For example, they wouldnt ept the children of Nobles, as thetter group was easily able to provide education and other resources to their progeny. There was no real justification for the Alliance empowering children who already had power and, even if it was borrowed, authority. Instead, Vahn believed it was more conducive to the change he wanted to see in the world to target younger children, specifically those that didnt have any outside ties. They would be the most receptive to teaching because they would understand exactly what they were working towards, especially after receiving the benefits provided by the School itself... As for thest qualifier, it didnt actually matter that much and just served as a test to determine what the child may be suitable for in the future. This included having Vahn evaluate their elemental affinities, if there were any anomalies in their bodies, and if they were under external influences. Lastly, using a sphere that could measure a persons control over their magic power, the prospective students would ce their hands against it and try to cause it to glow. Those that passed this test had a higher chance of being epted into the beginner Magic sses, though failing the test didnt disqualify anyone. After all, the whole purpose of the School was to allow the students to grow at their own pace, in the direction they chose. If a student genuinely wanted to be a Mage, they would be given the basic resources to train their control and magic power until they were able to join the actual Magic sses. Even then, not having enough magic power didnt disqualify you as those that pursued the path of Schrs, who looked into Magic theory, could also take the sses after passing tests proving they are ready. Vahns ideal School system gave the children almost limitless paths to take towards the sess they themselves sought, even if it was partially guided by the Instructors who would be observing them on a daily basis. In fact, the easiest way to get into the next ss was to receive a rmendation from the Instructor so you could take the test earlier. To that end, Vahn had a vibrant smile on his face as the first child came in, a young girl around 6-7 years old with adorable little blue cat ears and an s-shaped tail who seemed very nervous as she gripped the hem of her dress with a death grip. She stopped right in the center of the room, looking as though she was about to burst into tears at any moment. Raising his hand, Vahn sent calming energy through his aura and tried easing her tensions as he softly asked, "Please, can you tell us your name, youngdy...?" Suddenly being spoken to, the young Cat Person actually began to cry this time and plopped down onto the ground with loud Nyaaaaaaaaaa-like sobs. At this moment, Vahn realized that it probably wasnt easy for young children to actually enroll in the School. Most of the ones that made it to the interview stage would have at least one parent and, though they might not be well off, it certainly wouldnt be easy for them to be away from home so suddenly. He felt his heart twist in his chest until Riveria lightly elbowed him in the side and inclined her head towards the young girl. In the next instant, Vahn had appeared next to the young child and, using his secret technique, began patting the top of her head in a gentle and soothing manner. At first, when she suddenly felt someone touching her head, the girl seemed very scared but, in less than three seconds, she had started to squint her eyes and sniffle. Her tears were quickly receding and she seemed to be calming down very quickly, even going as far as to close her eyes and begin purring after around twenty seconds. Vahn fought against the giddy feeling in his stomach and pulled his hand away, lightly asking, "Can you tell us your name now...?" As he pulled his hand away, the girl followed it with her eyes before turning her head up and saying, "My...nyame is Nyelly...nyaa..." Vahn blinked, asking in a soft tone, "Nelly, or Elly...?" since it was hard to know when young Cat People were trying to speak. He wondered if his own children would have that same verbal tick as he smiled and heard the girl stutter, "N-n-nyelly..." without actually clearing up anything. To make things easier, Vahn wrote it down on a piece of paper and had her point to it with her small fingers, rifying that her name was indeed Elly. After putting out a chair for the girl to sit in, Vahn returned to his own seat and the interview officially began. If he were being honest, he had already decided to ept the adorable girl into the School based solely on how cute she was. The fact she also had a dual-affinity of Water and Earth just increased the desire, even though it was her story that won all of them over. She was in a simr situation to Tina, being that she lost her Adventurer father in the Dungeon. Her mother had only been a normal civilian, however, so, after her Husband had passed away, she made ends meet by working at aundry house. She had nobody to look after her daughter while she was at work and hoped that her childs future would be secure if she was able to attend the School. Since she had passed the interview segment, Vahn then had the young Elly test her basic magic proficiency by having her ce her palms against therge crystal sphere. Unfortunately, other than a very small light, the crystal remained dormant. Once again, Elly looked like she was going to tear up but, as Vahn had been next to her to observe the process, he just gave her some head pats to pacify her. When she started rubbing her head affectionately against his palm, Sis suddenly reminded him, (*Vahn...did you forget Mn and Tina telling you that on close family and spouses were supposed to touch the ears of a Cat Person...?*) Hearing this, Vahns hand twitched for a brief moment but, seeing how happy Elly was, he continued petting her as he said, ("There are a lot of things that will change in the future. Besides, Ill have to get used to small girls having a crush on me, regardless of what action I take. Dont worry, I wont let things get out of hand...") With that thought in mind, Vahn pulled his hand away and had the distraught Elly sit in her seat as he conferred with the other Department Heads. Then, by unanimous consensus, Elly had been epted as a student within the School. They let her return to her mother with the good news and then she would be escorted to her room before they separated. Realizing it would probably be very difficult for the younger children, Vahn considered if he should pay a visit to the dorms during the evening and allow his aura to help them go to sleep. Eventually, they would adapt to the separation and it may even be a reason for them to work harder, as those who performed well would have greater freedoms, especially if they were older students. For the time being, however, the only times they would return home would be during the two-week period between each semester. There were no major holidays in this world so the only event worth celebrating was the bi-annual Monster Ferias, which would likely be called the Alliance Faire in the future... As the morning progressed, Vahn began to notice a very distinct trend in the students that were applying, or at least those that had been cleared to attend an interview. He already knew there were more females within Orario than males, as a result of thetter generally taking on more dangerous jobs and thus prone to death, but he hadnt expected that nearly 80% of the students applying were young girls. However, when he thought about it in greater detail, it made a lot of sense, especially when considering the standards in this world. Most young boys would either begin training at an early age to be Adventurers, Tradesmen, or Laborers. Since this training usually began around the same time as the requirement for the School, it meant the boys would usually already be doing other tasks and were far less likely to attend the School. As for the girls, most of them didnt aspire to be Adventurers, at least not at first, and instead focused on getting jobs with family businesses, stores, and shops. Females in this world were more likely to get into the service industry, making sure things were running smoothly, while the men would typically focus on the more physically intensive tasks. Though this wasnt always the case, it was the trend that had defined the poption disparity between men and women. As this was the case, Vahn realized that the change he was going to bring into the world would be a little more drastic than he had expected. Though Orario was the exception, many cultures around the world were Patriarchal in structure, with only countries like Telskyura being the exception. By empowering so many young women with the tools to change the world, Vahn wondered if this power system would simply copse in the future. Though he was certain it wouldnt be the case of women trying to seize power for themselves, essentially reversing the status quo, it would still be interesting to see greater equality in the world... There were other benefits to this, at least from Vahns perspective, as he got to see a variety of adorable young girls from numerous different races. His Fatherly instincts were severely triggered by the end of the day, especially when a young Roon girl game in, standing only 83cm tall. She had reddish-brown hair, freckles, and the most adorable tuft of a tail he had ever seen. Though she wasnt the first Roon he had ever seen, they were still very rare in Orario and it was the first time he had seen a child. During the interview, it was revealed that she was a street orphan that had just arrived at the city a few months ago and, having nowhere else to go, heard about the School from other orphans and decided to see if the rumors were true. As a result, she was immediately epted into the School and, much to Vahns surprise, she had one of the better scores on the magic evaluation. Though her Wind affinity wasnt the most impressive, the fact that she had been clear-headed enough to travel through the city and reach the School, while only being eight years old, showed that she was an intelligent young girl with a lot of potential. When asked her name, she had very clearly enunciated it as Carmen Belfast, seemingly hailing from a small tribe located on the north-western regions of the Western Forests. Her family had fled to the City after Rakia Kingdoms force had started probing into the region, though it ultimately ended up with both of her parents dying along the way. The only rtive she had left was her Uncle but, after trying his luck as an Adventurer, he too ended up losing his life. Thus, as a result of the machinations of fate, Carmen had ended up a street orphan that had been getting by on the charity of others... Though he resisted the urge to outright adopt the unfortunate girl, Vahn arranged it so that she would have a little extra allowance given to her and, as she obviously had potential with magic, he gifted her a rtively in bangle he had formed for such situations. It looked like normal polished iron but, at the very center of the bangle, there was a core of Orichalc.u.m surrounding a thread of his crystallized blood. It would allow her magical power to develop a little quicker since its only effect was to increase the natural replenishment of mana. Vahn had developed nearly a hundred of these bangles and intended to give them to promising young children he met on the street, or by happenstance. Yes, it was a means of ying favorites, but most of the people he gave the bangles to really did deserve a break... Once their student quota had been filled, Vahn spent a bit of time perusing over the still waiting families and looked for any students he could add on the waiting list for the next batch of recruitment. It was a little unfortunate that they would have to wait, but this system was still very new and they needed to get all the kinks sorted out before they could increase both the number of staff, and the students that would be attending. It would also help that, once there were already students that had familiarized themselves with the School, they would then be able to help future students adjust. Thus, for the time being, the total number of students was an even one-thousand, all ages between seven and twelve years of age. The announcement that their quota had been filled had upset a lot of the waiting parents, especially since there were still several hundred that had been patiently awaiting their turn. However, when the remembered who it was they were dealing with, few people made theirints known and just retreated. Vahn secretly put letters in the bags of some of them, exining that their children would potentially be epted in the batch, before heading off to the dorms where the children were already being rallied together. Most of the rules would have already been exined to them, but he still needed to give his first speech as the current Headmaster. He would be seeing these children grow and develop over the next few years and it was very important that he beginying the groundwork for the future, now. It was starting to gette in the day so it wasnt too surprising to see numerous children that were on the verge of dozing off as they assembled in the massive auditorium that was meant to be used for concerts, ys, and performing arts, in general. Though they were a bit noisy at first, Vahn smiled when the room became almost absolutely silent the moment he stepped out onto the stage. He was already letting his domain spread through the room so, after appearing, Vahn let a mix of calming and revitalizing energy flow over the gathered children. This helped those that were sleepy wake up and also gave students a better impression of him, especially since many already looked up to him. At the very front of the Auditorium, Vahn saw Roux, Fina, and Rye all sitting together, excitement on their faces as they waved towards him. Vahn returned a small wave of his own before, against the expectations of the student, he began to levitate off the ground and sat on the air. Before they began to get too riled up, he lifted his hand, gesturing for silence as he said, "First of all, allow me to wee you to the Sage Aldrnari School of Orario. I know many of you are very nervous about what it is youll be doing here but, I assure you, these next few years will be fond memories youll carry with you for the rest of your lives. Not only will you be cared for during your stay here, but youll be able to increase your knowledge, develop individuals skills, and even work towards increasing your personal power. At the same time, however, it is my hope that youll all happily work alongside each other, bing life-long friends that will help create a better future for everyone..." Vahn didnt expect all the children to understand things so early, but he still smiled and exined, "It is my dream that, one day, the world will be a happier ce where everyone can smile together. Though it wont be easy, I believe each and every one of you is the key to making that happiness a reality. Know that, even if things dont always seem to be going your way, I believe that each person here has the ability to be wonderful people in the future. Some of you will one day be great leaders in their fields, bing prolific cksmiths, alchemists, craftsman, and merchants. Others, you will walk the path of power, focusing on mastering yourself and oveing the various trials that will bar your passage towards the peak. Though your path may be that of a Knight, or a Mage, know that there are no limits to your growth, so long as you never give up on seeking even greater heights..." While Vahn had been speaking, he was making gestures with his hands that showed small phantom images of Knights and Mages doing battle against titanic monsters. Sometimes, a little ir was necessary to keep the children focused and, based on how he currently had their rapt attention, it seemed his little trick had been sessful. Continuing his words, Vahn stated, "However, no matter what path you walk, youll discover that it is most important that you achieve a proper bnce in life. Not only should you work hard, but you should properly rx, focus on expanding your mind, and build bonds with other people. To achieve this bnce, expect that you will be required to study one of the arts that are taught here, be it painting, sculpting, music, theatre, and dance. It will be exined in greater detailter, but youll quickly understand the importance of these things as you continue your studies here...please, I ask that you simply have patience and never shy away from doing things that will help you develop as a person..." Coming to stand on his feet again, Vahn lightly pped his hand, allowing the lights in the room to dim slightly as the members of the Terpsichore Familia came out on the stage and began a light-hearted and entertaining performance. Vahn sat in the back, adding special effects to the act using unnamed magic spells to create small illusions and beautiful disys of fire, water, and electricity. The children seemed to enjoy it greatly and had mesmerized expressions, especially when he had made a wispy blue dragon fly around, passing through their bodies like a phantom before it began doing battle against a phantom red dragon. By the end of it, Vahn had exhausted a great deal of his energy reserves, causing him tough since it had actually been more difficult than his fights the previous day. After waiting for the children to calm down, Vahn smiled radiantly and exined, "If there werent people in the world that focused on the arts, you wouldnt be able to see disys like this. In the future, many of those sitting around you may be incredible artists that can inspire millions of people with their performances. To that end, remember to always encourage each other...never berate one of your peers for their differences, regardless of if its their appearance, character, or interests. Im certain none of you here would like to be bullied and made fun of, just because you liked something different than other people...thus, one of the most important rules I have for you to follow is to never bully yourpanions...everyone here is a fellow student, working towards a better future. You should support each other, not drag each other down...never, ever, forget that..." To wrap up his statement, Vahn allowed himself to show a solemn expression as a small amount of pressure spread through his domain. Though this could also be seen as bullying the children, Vahn knew he had to be stern at times if there was any hope of them actually getting along. In this type of environment, the children would undoubtedly form their own social circles and, try as they might, it would be impossible to prevent a few altercations from urring. However, by taking a zero-tolerance policy against bullying from the start, Vahn believed that things would get better with time. Since none of the children here had backings that would allow them to put on pretenses, it would hopefully never be a major issue that required them to expel any students... Though he said a few more words, Vahn noticed that many of the children were starting to get sleepy again and, as it was already slightly past the time for dinner, he allowed them to make their way to the dining hall to enjoy a feast. For many of the children, they rarely got to eat their fill so, having a buffet of food items to choose from helped ease the mental strain and separation anxiety they were feeling. Vahn also stayed with them until it was time for everyone to be within their dorm rooms, allowing his aura to help those that were struggling to fall asleep. As it was the first night, the number of crying children, especially those that had been brought here by their families, had exceeded more than half the student body. It had started with just a few but, as if the feelings they had been bottled up had been contagious, the sniffles and sobs quickly spread throughout the entire dorm, all while Vahn watched over them and tried to give them thefort they deserved... (A/N: This will be thest chapter for today, as I want to write some Fenrirs Journey. Thesest two chapters were over 4k words, and it was a buttload of information to work through before I was finished xD.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Godhand Strikes Again,Tiny and Intelligent Roon~,Vahn is such a Papa...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 764 - Resolve

Chapter 764 - Resolve

As it was ought to do, time continued to move forward and, the day after the enrollment of the new students, it was time for another separation of parent and child. Vahn had been up the entire night, watching over the children in the dorm, so he had been thinking long and hard about things by the time he had returned to the Manor. When he had gone to her room, Vahn found Riveria sitting listlessly on the edge of her bed, staring at the cradle containing Masonia. She didnt even respond to his presence at first, only turning after he called out to her, dried trails of tears marring her beautiful face. His presence seemed to awaken something inside of her that she had been fighting to keep down as, the moment she realized it was Vahn who entered, Riveria clung to his body and began crying once again... Though he had thought about it a great deal, Vahn couldnt even imagine what Riveria was going through right now. She and her father didnt have the best rtionship when she was a child but it was obvious she still cared about him deeply, as children ought to do. Over the past few days, she and Larfal had been spending a fair amount of time together and, now that the time for their permanant separation hade, he wasnt surprised she was in such pain. Still, while she was crying in his arms, Riveria never once asked him to help Larfal ovee his fate. She, like the tragic King himself, had epted the reality of the situation. They both epted the burden of their royal blood and, in order to ensure the future was secure for their people, both father and daughter had found their resolve... By the time the departure was scheduled, Riveria had worked to restore her appearance back to a more natural state, even though anyone could see she wasnt holding up nearly as strong as shed like them to believe. Larfal himself was much the same, looking haggard but containing a resolute light in his eyes as, for the first time in a long time, the two shared a long embrace together. Vahn just stood at the side, holding Masonia in his arms, watching the two give their final farewells. In truth, he feared he would never truly understand situations like this as it almost seemed senseless to take such actions when you had ways to circ.u.mvent them. He hated that sacrifice was necessary in some situations, just to smoothen over things for other people muchter down the line... After Riveria and Larfal finally parted, thetter turned to Vahn or, more specifically, the bundle in his arms. The light in his eyes seemed to ze like a bonfire as he walked over and looked into the face of his sleeping grandson, muttering, "I am full of regrets...but, to create a better world for all the generations to follow, this is something Ive chosen to do...forgive me, young one..." Then, as if finally realizing his presence, Larfal raised his head to match Vahns gaze, saying, "Vahn Mason...in all my years, Ive never seen anyone like you...so young...so capable...please, I know it isnt truly my ce to ask this of you, and I know you would do so without my asking, but take care of my daughter and grandchild...please..." Once again, causing his guards to twitch, Larfal bowed low and implored Vahn to protect the two most precious things held within the Kings heart. In response, Vahn took a deep breath to retain hisposure before solemnly stating, "No matter what happens, even if the Heavens themselves copse upon the Mortal World, I will bear the burden in ce of my family. I will never allow harm to befall them, regardless of the circ.u.mstances...that is my pride as a Husband and a Father...go, Larfal, King of the Elves, knowing that your legacy will continue forward into perpetuity..." Hearing this, Larfal showed a gratified smile and reached out his hand, patting Vahns shoulder as heughed boisterously. Many of the guards, each knowing what they were going into, also produced small smiles since, much like their King, they believed the future or their people was already secured. They, too, had seen Vahns performance the previous day, even viewing it on a loop after having one of the [Projection Sphere]s provided to them. His prowess simply went beyond anything they had expected, giving them full confidence that the progeny of their Liege was secure with Vahn around. Before Larfal was able to board his carriage, Riveria had reached out her jade-like fingers and gripped the edge of his robes, muttering, "Father..." This caused the King to lower his head slightly and, without turning to face his daughter, state, "The future of the Elves now rests on your shoulders, my child...and...Im so proud...of you...." Though nobody could see them, it was easy to infer that Larfal himself was on the verge of tears at this point, if not already crying. His voice was shaky and the fact that he refused to turn back was a true testament to what he was feeling right now. He wanted his final moments to show his resolution, not his weakness...not again... Appearing as though it was one of the most difficult things in the world, Riveria continued to grip the hem of Larfals robe for nearly a full minute before a sound snapped her back to reality. Masonia had awoken and started crying, causing her to look back instinctually, face filled with concern. Then, as if uttering a magic spell, Larfal said, "Go to him...a child needs their parents..." Though Riveria didnt seem to think too much on his words at that time, Vahn felt like his heart was seized by a skeletal grip, tearing away at his chest with a fierce intensity. Still, he stood staring at the back of the King, suddenly finding thetters shoulders to be much broader than his own... Using the moment when his daughter had let go, Larfal boarded the carriage and the guards quickly fixed their formation as Lendal proudly raised his banner and shouted, "Forward!" in amanding tone. Riveria, no holding Masonia, followed their departure with her eyes and, even if she wasnt aware of it herself, she took slow steps towards the gate to continue doing so for a long while thereafter. Vahn stood there silently, supporting her as best he could while also following the procession with his gaze. Seeing more than a hundred people willingly march to their deaths, without any discernable hesitation, weighed heavily on both his heart and mind. He knew they were deserving of his respect but, deep inside, Vahn felt like this entire thing was just...so senseless... After around twenty minutes had passed, Riveria turned her eyes away from the direction her Father had left. She looked into Vahns face, a wavering light in her jade-green irises as she said, "Im fine, Vahn...lets go inside...I need to feed Masonia..." Vahn lightly nodded, supporting Riverias trembling body as they made their way inside. The Hearth Manor, which was always filled with warmth, now felt like a chill had settled into it. To counteract this feeling, Vahn surrounded Riveria and Masonia with as much warmth as he could manage, letting calming energy envelope the entire room as he embraced his wife and child...a glimmer of light shing across his pupils when he saw Riveria break down into tears once again... --- When the procession had originally left the Elven Kingdom, they had used a powerful formation that had generally been reserved for evacuating the royal family to safety. This was how they were able to make a journey of more than six-thousand kilometers within a single days time. As to the reasons such an extreme method were used, it was because Larfal had desperately wanted to see his grandson while simultaneously creating a gap for his enemies to exploit. At this point, almost all of the Noble houses each had their plots against him, with the number of attempts at his life already numbering greater than a hundred. Even Alfred Els Lainu, the man he had treated as a friend and brother for more than a hundred years, had been plotting to seize the throne for himself, ming Larfal for the failures and crippling of his son, Alosrin. For thest ten months, Larfal had been using what remained of his power and authority, using his connections with both the Sage Council and High Priestess Faction to bide time. Fortunately, he still had the adtion and respect of his people as, even though some of the Noble houses had tried to nder him, the rumors simplycked credibility. After all, it was very difficult to believe when the people you knew were responsible for so many atrocities were the ones telling you someone else was bad. This was especially true when families started being forcefully taken into those very same Nobles houses, never to be seen again. When rumors began spreading of arge number of Elven ves being handed over to the Dwarves of the Iron Hills, everyone knew the truth of the matter, making it much more difficult for them to actually depose him. Remembering the foolishness of his own kin, who touted their superior intelligence over the other races, Larfal couldnt resist snorting. Though he also believed that the High Elves were a superior species, as the facts were readily avable, he wasnt one of the people that advocated their doctrine of racial superiority. The only thing that truly mattered was the survival of their people, something that had been jeopardized by nearly a thousand years of policies he had been too weak to change. In the past, he had given up his freedom, his love, his family, all for the sake of things he hadnt truly believed in...now, to set things right, he was paying the price with his own life. It was one of the only real decisions he had ever been able to make and, even though he was filled with regrets, they werent able to shake his conviction... It was with that same conviction that, several days after their departure from Orario, Larfal burst forth from his carriage to fight against his attackers. As expected, they had been ambushed on their return trip to the Elven Kingdom, fire and ice striking against his carriage in an attempt to take him out instantly. Fortunately, the barriers held true and Larfal was able to leap outwards as he began his own chant, causing a massive emerald green magic circle to appear beneath his feet. He might not be as strong as his daughter, but that didnt mean he would be taken out so easily. Loosing forth a tempest of wind, infused with the power of destruction, Larfal loudly eximed, "Traitorous dogs, you dare attack your own King!? Do you truly believe your Masters, the very men who have wronged you and your families, are deserving of your loyalty!?" Though he knew it wouldnt make much of a difference, Larfal cried out to rile himself up. Magic might be more difficult to cast when a person was in a heightened emotional state, but it also made the resultant magic much stronger. His family had always been able to use magic containing the power of Destruction and, much like the name implied, it was capable of wreaking havoc on everything, even other magics. Surprisingly, in response to his shout, a voice Larfal recognized sounded a response, "The only traitor here is you, Larfal! What right do you have to sit upon your throne when you cant even keep a single sow in line!? What value do your words possess when you so readily break promises!? You even go to the very man who had stolen your daughter, attacked my son, and enacted a blockade against our people! You have betrayed everyone! Your own wife, your daughter, your allies, and now, your very people!" Apanying the shout, several arrows and a powerful fire magic shot towards Larfal, breaking against the barrier he had erected. The man who had shouted out was none other than Alfred, the father of that bastard, Alosrin, the swine who had pined after his daughters flesh. However, as if to make his asinine words even more ridiculous, Alfred actually had the assistance of foreigners in the ambush. He was obviously trying to stage things to look like it was outsiders that attacked them, likely using it as a justification to rally the people and seize the throne for himself. Seeing that his friend had turned into a true traitor to their people, Larfal just snorted, raising his staff high as he shouted, "The Els Lainu family has betrayed the Kingdom, conspiring with outside forces tomit regicide! Give these traitors no quarter!" In response to his words, the surviving guards all released a loud warcry and continued to fight against the vastly superior enemy forces. They were easily outnumbered four to one but, as if the opposite were true, the Royal Guards continued to strike down their assants like farmers harvesting wheat in a field. Even Alfred was somewhat surprised by their fervor but kept a contemptuous scowl on his face as he looked towards the man who had betrayed him. Larfal knew they wouldnt be able tost that long and, if not for the fact his enemies were trying to make it appear like an ambush from external forces, they would have already died. After all, magic was a very powerful tool to use during an ambush and it wouldnt have been that difficult to set up a variety of powerful traps. This would be much more difficult to exin away, however, thus leading to this situation where only weaker magic, swords, spears, and bows were being used to ughter them. Still, even though this was the case, Larfal continued to fight with full confidence that he had already won, much to Alfreds chagrin. Long before he had left for Orario, Larfal had already made use of his ownwork, along with his daughters, to spread the information about todays attack. He had also gotten the support of the High Priestess Faction who, knowing that he was willingly facing his death for the better of the Kingdom, had decided to support him. Though it might be talked about openly, it was known by all of the important figures for the future that his death was undoubtedly a result of internal conflict, not external interference. The moment any of the Noble houses tried toy the me on others, they would instead be putting targets on themselves for the people to focus on. Though some would inevitably believe the Noble factions, especially those who supported the racial superiority of the High Elves, Larfal had alreadye up with a countermeasure for that as well. He hadpiled a list of every single Elf that had been sold into very, who had sold them, and where they had ended up. For thest ten months, he had .u.mted information on more than five-thousand ves, which would now be public knowledge with his death. This would undoubtedly lead to greater internal conflict, but this was a trial that his people needed to ovee if they wanted to raise their heads high in the future... Though he had held out for nearly twenty minutes, Larfals defensive artifact finally sputtered out as an Adamantine arrow pierced into his shoulder. Apanying the pain, he felt his nerves begin to tense up as a numbness quickly began spreading through his body. Understanding the arrow had been poisoned, Larfal just smiled towards the man he once treated as a friend, muttering decisively, "You bring doom upon your own people, yourself, and your kin...what a petnt little man...haaaaa." As if having salt applied to an open wound, Alfreds expression became even more fierce as he tore the bow from the man next to him and knocked an arrow of his own. With a cruel smile on his face, Alfred coldly stated, "You were never fit to be King..." before releasing the arrow and watching it fly. Not really having the time to nod, Larfal just looked directly into Alfreds eyes,pletely agreeing with the foolish man, though for entirely different reasons. He certainly hadnt been qualified to be King, as it had only been the catalyst for every regrettable mistake in his life, but, in the end, he felt that his life had purpose. Though he hadnt been able to give her the throne she rightly deserved, Larfal had an amazing daughter and, now that she had the support of someone like Vahn, Larfal knew there was hope for the future of their people... Seeming to travel in slow motion, the pristine white arrowhead reduced the distance between its lethal tip and Larfals forehead, holding true to its course as it prepared to im the life of a King. However, though it seemed as though nothing could have obstructed its flight path, the reality of the situation was quite different from expectations. As if it had been there from the start, a figure appeared within Larfals vision, obstructing his view of the arrow and the traitor who had fired it. In the next instant, a tyrannical and oppressive aura descended upon the forest as a cold and solemn voice resounded in everyones ears, "I wont give you the satisfaction..." Alfreds eyes widened when a stranger suddenly appeared, snatching his arrow deftly out of the air and ring towards him with zing blue eyes. Just as he wanted to shout out, asking who this neer was, the man was already right in front of him and, unable to voice any word whatsoever, Alfred found himself lifted from the ground. He didnt even have time to struggle as a sickening feeling welled up from his stomach, followed by a powerful jerking motion. Then, before his brain could even process the pain, darkness had imed his mind... Though almost everyone had stopped after the oppressive aura had appeared, they became absolutely silent when they saw this strange man cover the distance between the King and their attacker in an instant. Then, with the ease of a butcher preparing a chicken, the man wrung the neck of Alfred and allowed his lifeless body to drop to the ground. They didnt even have time to process what was happening, however, as pain suddenly spread through the body of every person performing the ambush. Looking down, with what remained of their strength, each and every one of them saw ck spears originating from their shadows, piercing through their bodies as if they were kebabs. Unfortunately, they didnt have the same painless death as their Master and were left to bleed out on the ground after the spears removed themselves from their bodies... Not even sparing a nce towards the attackers, Larfal continued to stare nkly at the man before him,pletely ignoring the painful numbness in his body as he asked, "Why...I-" Before he could continue his line of questioning, the man had looked back at him, a firm light burning vibrantly in his eyes as he repeated the words Larfal himself had said in the past, "A child needs their parents...you have failed Riveria too many times to simply throw your life away here...I dont want to see her cry anymore..." Hearing this, Larfal felt like the numbness in his body had spread to his brain but, in the next instant, a warmth began to spread through his body,pletely driving away the feeling. It wasnt just him either, as most of the people around him, including the attackers, felt the same warmth spreading into their bodies, repairing their broken bones and mending their wounds. The only real difference was that the attackers also felt an oppressive force weighing down on their bodies, which had been crippled from the spearspletely shattering the cores in their abdomens. They would live to face the justice they were due, even if they only did so at the behest of their now deceased master. Many of them were ves that were forced to take action so the man, none other than Vahn, wouldnt reap their lives so readily... Vahn looked out over the site of the battle, clenching his teeth for having waited so long to take action. Now, more than eighty of the Kings escort, including Lendal, had been in, bodies syed out on the ground with still-resolute expressions on their lifeless faces. In truth, he had just intended to bear witness to Larfals death, having felt it was his responsibility to ensure that Riverias father was at least treated with dignity after the fact. However, his main body was, even at this very moment, drinking tea with a very tired looking Riveria. Though he might have been able to repress his emotions in other circ.u.mstances, he simply couldnt be sittingfortably with his wife while simultaneously watching her father sacrifice his life...he just couldnt... Walking over to Larfal, who was still kneeling on the ground, clutching the arrow in his shoulder, Vahn pulled it out with a painful yank and began healing the wound as he inly stated, "You made your resolution, Larfal, and I respect that...however, I too have made my own resolutions...I want to make a world where people can be happy...where everyone can smile without having to worry about the situation they were born into...how can I build that kind of world when I cant even save the father of my wife...the grandfather of my child...? No...I cant do it...I wont just sit back and wait for change toe...I cant allow this senselessness to continue...not anymore..." Without allowing Larfal the chance to respond, Vahn pulled the ck-jawed King to his feet, dusted off his shoulders, and then patted his back, saying, "Come...we have work to do..." (A/N: This will probably be the only chapter today, at least for the time being. Im not sure why, but Ive had a bad migraine since yesterday and, even though it started getting better yesterday evening, it seems to be acting up now that Im seated at myputer. Ill try to write some more from myptop, afterying down, but I feelpelled to simply sleep away the pain as much as possible. Honestly, I dont really know what to say at this point and just ask that you please be patient with me. I really want to wrap up Vol 15 soon, and there are only a few chapters left, but my brain has been wonky for thest couple of days. For the future, I promise to never try another writing challenge, especially if its going to hurt the amount of content I can output after the fact. Know that I am very sorry for theck of content this week and I swear I will try and do better in the future.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tears are heavy on the hearts of heroes...,Pride of a King...,Pride of an Emperor...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 765 - Burn

Chapter 765 - Burn

Not long after taking a few steps away from the King, thetter reached out his hand and eximed, "Wait...!" Vahn, having taken less than five steps, turned around with a simultaneously intive and solemn look, asking, "What is it...?" With his hand still in the air, Larfal remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "Vahn...thank you for saving my life...however, this is something that is nec-" Before Larfal could finish, Vahn interrupted him, asking, "How is it necessary? Why is it that good men have to die at the behest of greedy and despotic individuals? Tell me, Larfal, what would you have done if you werent ambushed along the way...!? Cut off your own head!?" Larfals face turned into one of confusion, as he hadnt expected Vahn to have such a sudden outburst. All of his experiences with the boy had made thetter out to be a very calm and rational individual, not the type of person to suddenly argue against the convictions of another. At the same time, however, Larfal considered Vahns words, wondering, what would he have done if there wasnt an ambush waiting...he would have returned and, until the situation had worsened, continued working hard to help as many of his people as possible. There were many things in his life he had regrets about, one of the biggest being that he knew his people would continue to suffer for a while after his death. Seeing Larfal unable toe up with an immediate response, Vahn squinted his eyes slightly and stated, "The future is limitless. As long as you draw breath, you should be doing whatever you can to create a better future for yourself, and others. You are a King, Larfal...you owe it to your people, not just your daughter and grandchild, to do everything in your power to defeat the enemies that wouldy them low. Even if my assistance causes misunderstandings, we can focus on bringing change slowly, just like what Im doing with the School...besides..." At the end of his words, Vahn pulled out a crystal object that was now very familiar to Larfal, a [Projection Sphere]. Because he thought it could be helpful to the Kings cause, or serve as a memento for his family, Vahn had been recording Larfalsst moments. It was one of the things that had prevented him from taking action sooner, as his focus on ensuring the quality of the recording had helped to distract him, even if just a little. Now, though some of the sounds were hard to make out, he had almost irrefutable proof of the conspiracy to take the Kings life, even if people tried to spin things against themter on. Though some might still argue the the [Projection Sphere] is fake, they would have no way of proving it as there werent any simr items in the entire world. The few gods within the Elven Kingdom would easily be able to verify that authenticity of the item and, as long as they had even a small amount of support from the High Priestess Faction, things should proceed in a positive light. Larfal was finding it very difficult to form any words to exin the various thoughts running through his mind. He had been so determined to face his death that, now that he was alive, he actually didnt know what the best course of action was. From the moment he had used the emergency escape teleportation circle, nearly two weeks prior, he had been anticipating his own death. Now, after having lost arge number of his most faithful men, he was giving another chance at life...? It just felt so empty, like he didnt deserve the chance after having so many failures. The most problematic thing, however, was that he knew Vahns words cut through to the truth of the matter. Unless someone else took his life in a plot, his death would have no meaning, other than serving as a means of escaping a difficult situation... Suddenly, while the two had been staring into each others eyes, waiting for the other party to give in first, a loud explosion resounded through the forest. Based on how the sound was muffled, it had to havee from hundreds of kilometers away, at the closest. Giving the distance, and direction, it was very easy to understand that the source had been the Elven Kingdom itself. Vahn had jerked his head back before leaping into the sky to get a better vantage but, after remembering that the Elven Kingdom was hidden by a massive formation, he returned to the ground and asked, "Will you stay here, brooding, or will you go to your people...?" At the same time he was speaking to Larfal, Vahn, back at the Manor, was also taking actions of his own. He had been previously cuddling with Riveria but, now that things had developed so suddenly, he grabbed her shoulders and answered her confusion, "The Elven Kingdom is in danger. Im going to help..." For a moment, Riverias confusion increased even further before her eyes suddenly opened wide and she asked, "Vahn...did you save...my father...?" Though he didnt truly feel guilty, probably, Vahn still averted his eyes before nodding his head, saying, "I couldnt just stand by and watch..." Surprisingly, or perhaps not, Riveria wasnt angry at all and, instead of reprimanding him for doing something unnecessary, she tightly hugged him, eximing, "Vahn, than you...thank you so much..." In response to this, Vahn hugged Riveria tightly, stroking her long and silky smooth hair as he muttered, "I couldnt stand to see you in such a state any longer...we had promised each other previously, to shoulder the burden of the future together...I cant let you bear such a heavy weight on your own. Id rather bear the weight of an entire Kingdom, together with you all, than watch a single one of you suffer...especially when I have the power to prevent it..." Riverias expression turned especially soft upon hearing these words but, as if it had been an illusion, became very serious an instantter, asking, "What is the situation?" Vahn experienced a momentary pause before exining, "There was an explosioning from the direction of the Elven Kingdom. Im currently helping your father and his men get prepared and intend to investigate the source of the explosion soon. Once I get a better understanding of the situation, I may bring Terra, Fafnir, and Fenrir to support..." Nodding her head in agreement, Riveria said, "If things get out of hand, make sure you call me as well...Ill make sure our son is taken care of...go, Vahn, help our people..." With a final nod, Vahn made his way over to Terras Garden while using his telepathy tomunicate the situation with the other girls. Terra herself had already been called to the side of his main body so Vahn immediately submerged himself into the wellspring and began to meditate. This was a method he hade up with for emergency situations, as he could share energy with his other body through the link they shared together. By submerging himself in the wellspring, his natural recovery would be elerated even further and, if there were a multi-pronged attack that targeted the Manor, he could use the Unit Management function to immediately call Terra back... Back within the Western Forests, Vahn had quickly helped the 21 remaining Royal Guards get into fighting shape as three figures appeared nearby, startling everyone except Vahn himself. To prevent any problems, Vahn exined, "These are my trustedpanions; they will help." Without further exnation, Vahn turned to Terra, Fafnir, and Fenrir, exining, "Terra, Fenrir, the two of you will apany me to the Elven Kingdom. Terra, if there are any people that are injured, please do what you can to help them. Fenrir, youll deal with any fires that might have resulted from the explosion. If there are any people trying to attack you, try and incapacitate them without killing them. However, if you feel genuinely threatened...do not hesitate..." Terras wings rustled slightly, nodding her head with a solemn expression, while Fenrirs scarlet eyes just began to glimmer. Though Terra was a pacifist, it didnt mean she would turn a blind eye to those trying to im her own life. As for Fenrir, though she had never killed anyone, the only people she even ced in her eyes were those in the Manor, and those her Master wanted to protect. Using Terras [Void Transferance], the entire group was teleported to the edge of the Elven Kingdoms barrier, leaving only five men behind to tie up and escort the surviving attackers. Vahn was a little surprised to find that, even though they were right on the edge of the barrier, and there must have been conflict urring on the other side, he only saw empty forest before him. Of course, the moment he opened his [Eyes of Truth], this was no longer the case. Instead, Vahn saw a thick membranous barrier and, on the opposite side, a sight that chilled his heart and mind slightly. Larfal, not affected by the barrier in the first ce, nearly fell to his knees but was prevented from doing so by one of his Royal Guards. They all had pale and almost hopeless expressions on their faces as, in the distance, two massive trees were currently burning amidst a muchrger forest fire that sent plumes of smoke into the sky from various locations. Looking to Fafnir, Vahn said, "Protect the King as best you can. Get him to the Pce and prevent anyone from trying to bring him harm..." Fafnir nodded, diving into the shadow of Larfal while Vahn began chanting his [Dios Tukos], meaning Axe of Lightning, and absorbing it into his body with [Magia Erebea]. Turning to the King, and his escort, Vahn stated in amanding tone, "Protect his Highness and make sure he reaches the Pce safely. I will try to find the source of this attack and deal with it. Terra, Fenrir, you both know what to do." Thetter both nodded their heads, Terra taking to the sky while Fenrir dashed off like a phantom into the forest proper. Even though they were already within the Elven Kingdom, the majority of the area was still woonds, with most of the houses congregated towards the center and made of natural materials. In the sky, storm clouds began to form as a result of Terra coalescing a massive amount of water elemental energy and trying to cause a rainstorm. Vahn had already taken off into the woods himself at this point, following the sounds of fighting as he made his way towards one of the burning Sacred Trees. He didnt know what was going on and, considering how important the Sacred Trees were to the Elves, it was hard to believe anyone would actually attack them. This would have been an outside attack and, considering the entourage that had apanied Alfred, Vahn had an idea of who it could be. Presently, the Elven Kingdom was blockaded on the southern and eastern sides of the forest, leaving their only means of getting reinforcements were the Dwarves to the North...and the Rakia Kingdom from the West... Because he was in his Lightning Raiment, Vahn reached the closest Sacred Tree in only a few seconds time, even though it had been a few hundred kilometers away. Another reason he assumed it was the Rakia Kingdom was that the two burning Sacred Trees were located on the Western area of the forest, putting them in the closest proximity. When he got there, however, Vahn saw a small army of Elves besieging the burning tree while the fires within were constantly put out by those on the opposite side of arge barrier. There was an older High Elven woman maintaining the barrier, holding a jade-white staff adorned with five beautiful jewels before her. Vahn could tell she wouldntst long, however, as her energy had already begun to flicker under the constant bombardment of fire and lightning elemental magic spells. There was no question in Vahns mind who was at fault in this situation so, without waiting for a single moment longer, he kicked off against the ground and dashed through the besieging formation. It was a very difficult to describe feeling, having people break around you, but Vahn didnt really care at this moment and just used his Xunw form to increase his offensive and defensive capabilities. Along the way, as the group struggled to even understand what was going on, Vahn saw an especially arrogant looking group of men and appeared before them. They tried to counter using their magical artifacts but this was only because their brains hadnt caught up with the fact that their legs had already been sliced clean through by his hand. The three men, and one boy, all released blood-curdling screams, almost like pigs being ughtered by a butcher. Their cries had caused the surviving attackers to shout things like, "Dal Alfan-Sama" and "Els Lainu-sama", while lunging at him with their weapons. Vahn simply extended his hand out, releasing some of the lightning elemental energy from his body and attuning it to the magic power contained within the bodies of the Elves. As if seeking a ground, but unable to find one, the lightning traveled from his hand, extending into the body of one Elf and then bouncing to the next one in their formation. In what seemed like an instant, the lightning had bounced to each of the closest Elves before arcing towards the ground, melting an area of the dirt as it flickered and tried to arc towards the next Elf. While he was chaining his lightning between the attackers, Vahn had already turned his attention to the woman maintaining the barrier. As if she had seen a ghost, her face became very pale and, as a result of her break in concentration, the barrier surrounding the based of the massive 10km tall tree had dispersed. Seeing this, Vahn extended his right hand, causing the woman to loudly exim, "No, please, do not harm the Sacred Treed further!" Without even chanting, the woman had produced a small purple pendant from her bosom and directed towards his body. Vahn suddenly felt like his weight had multiplied several times as a brackish-purple column of magical light appeared around his body, crushing him into the ground and breaking apart [Magia Erebea] form. Though his immortality was enhanced to an extreme extent, Vahns actually defensive capabilities were severely reduced while in pure energy forms. Gravity was a very mysterious force and, even though it shouldnt have affected his lightning elemental energy, each molecule of his body still contained mass at the moment. As a result, he couldnt really resist the sudden gravitational well and was constantly having his body torn apart, causing him to internally retort, ("What the hell is this womans problem!? I just saved her and she immediately attacks me!?") Pumping more energy into his Xunw form, even though it was starting to drain his reserves very quickly, Vahn solidified his body and tried to disperse the gravitational force acting on him. Unfortunately, though he was able to stop the resistive force at the areas where he was contacting the ground, it didnt really do anything to the force acting on each individual cell. Vahn felt like all his blood, capiries, and even his nerves, were being weighed down and torn apart. It was a very infuriating feeling as, if he hadnt possessed his [Magia Erebea] form, this foolish womans attack likely would have taken his life. Fortunately, the moment he was able to get his feet against the ground, Vahn used every fiber of his being to initiate a [Shundo], appearing next to the womans side in an instant. Unable to resist the unbridled fury welling up inside him, Vahn brought the back of his hand across the womans face and shouted, "What the f.u.c.k is your problem!? Im here to help you!" Though he had tried to hold back, Vahn saw the woman spit out a mr while she shakily held her hand to her face. Seeing the severely swollen cheek, and the sheer terror in her expression, Vahn started to feel a little guilty but, considering what she just did, his expression stayed firm. Resisting the urge to apologize, he turned his palms back towards the Sacred Tree and, to the shock of the terrified High Elf, began to pull all of the mes towards himself. Though he might not be able to cast other forms of magic in his [Magia Erebea] state, it didnt mean his external elemental maniption was affected. He had always had excellent control over fire elemental energy and it wasnt that difficult to extinguish, move, or even absorb it, once it was within his domain. After extinguishing the majority of the mes, leaving on a few areas that would naturally disperse on their own, Vahn turned back to the woman and snorted. He understood she was likely part of the High Priestess Faction, the same group that had been giving Riveria and the Alliance a cold shoulder recently. Though he didnt know her reasons, the fact she had attacked him unprovoked had seriously pissed him off and, for the time being, she wasnt worth the effort of talking to. Without sparing her a word, Vahn turned his attention to the other Sacred Tree and vanished from the area with a thunderp marking his exit. For several seconds after his departure, the High Elven woman continued to nurse her swollen cheek with a nk expression on her face. Then, as if remembering she could use healing magic, she uttered a quick chant as green energy began glowing from her palm. At the same time, she rose to her shaky feet and gestured to the young women running towards her that she didnt need assistance. Instead, she turned to one of the girls with golden embroidery on her robe and said, "We need to send a message to my sister. Tell her that Vahn Mason...isnt the reason for the Elven Kingdoms destruction..." As the words left her lips, the woman, Deina Els Lainu, one of the most powerful Mages of the previous generation, couldnt help butment theirck of insight. As the Elven maiden went to carry her message, Deina made her way into the Sacred Tree with the other girls escorting her, wondering what had happened to lead to this current situation. They had already started to implement the countermeasures provided by the King, as their scouts had reported that the procession was nearing the border. However, just as they were beginning to make their move, a small army led by the Noble Houses had started to siege them. The most troublesome thing was, even though they were currently staying hidden, she knew the Sage Council was also helping out. There was almost no magic that could be used by the despotic Nobles that would have been able to suddenly injure the Sacred Trees. Previously, as a result of Sylfias vision, they assumed that Vahn had been the reason for the burning they had seen within the reflecting pool. Instead, it was their own people that had brought about such tragedy and, instead of epting his help, they had been borderline hostile towards him. The fact she had used a treasure that had been kept safe by her family for generations to attack an ally was now weighing heavily on her heart. Though she was more than a little upset that Vahn had painfully pped her cheek, Deina was doing her best to bear the tingling sensation that, even now, hadnt faded from her body. She had constantly been trying to expel the foreign energy but, no matter how much of her own mana she mustered, it was very persistent... (A/N: Ill be releasing some chapters today, but I cant say when they wille out. I need to take a break after I write to rx for a bit. Still, there should be 3-4 today since there are a few things I want to wrap up.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dont be a coward, kusoyarou...!!,Smells like smoked veggies...,Backhand of the Godhand, a lesson not soon forgotten!?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 766 - Mastermind

Chapter 766 - Mastermind

As before, it didnt take Vahn long to arrive at the next Sacred Tree but, unlike the previous instance, the group responsible for attacking the tree had already been dealt with. Standing amongst a group of very realistic statues, Vahn saw Terra talking with a group of Elves, led by two High Elves. The rain had already started to fall from the sky overhead but there was an almostpletely transparent barrier protecting them from the downpour that was slowly putting out the surrounding fires. Terra, having immediately noticed her Masters arrival, stopped talking to the smaller High Elf and turned to face him with a gentle smile on her face. When the Elves themselves turned, however, the majority of them became pale when they saw his appearance. Currently, he was still in his Lightning Raiment [Magia Erebea] and, to avoid the situation of getting spontaneously crushed by gravity magic, Vahn kept his Xunw form active. This gave him onyx ck skin, radiant white tattoos that glimmered with lightning elemental energy, spikey white hair, ck sclera around his eyes, and pure white irises that cut through the rain like two fiercely glowingnterns. Therger of the two High Elves raised her staff, causing a magic circle to appear beneath her feet as the surrounding Elves tried to move into a defensive formation. However, the moment they took these actions, a voice that seemed to cut through the void, straight to the bone, sounded out an "Ara~?" Though she still kept her smile, Terras expression had suddenly be icy and a very heavy and oppressive aura emerged from her body,pletely stunning the group of Elves who had been treating her as a savior previously. After all, unlike the vision they had of Vahn, Terras presence had a very calm and natural feeling, contrasting the domineering and fierce look of the onyx-skinned boy. Sensing the overbearing might of the woman who had previously saved them, the smaller of the two High Elves muttered, "Youre apanion of Vahn Mason...?" This caused the bigger of the two to follow up, saying, "I see...it seems we have made a grave error this time around..." As if to entuate her words further, a small falcon tore through the rain andnded on the taller High Elves staff, bearing a small message in a leather tube tied to its legs. Doing her best to ignore the oppressive feeling of Terras aura, she untied the message and read the contents, releasing a deeply profound sigh. Vahn understood that the misunderstanding had been cleared up, at least partially, so he turned to Terra and said, "Ill leave this area to you. Make sure there are no enemies still trying to attack the Sacred Trees. Ill check the surrounding area and then head to the Pce." Terra, still releasing her aura, smiled and said, "I understand, Master. Please, leave this area to me..." At the end of her words, Terra raised her index finger towards a spot in the nearby canopy and shot a vibrant white beam of light that tore through the void like aser beam. Within the area she had targetted, previously concealed by the leaves, an elderly High Elf now stood on the branch of a tree,pletely turned to stone. With a small nod, Vahn pulled out his bow and shot an arrow of his own towards a different location, this time causing the concealed man to try and jump away. However, as though his arrow had a mind of its own, it curved towards the man and, after piercing through a barrier protecting his body, embedded itself into his spine. He released a loud cry, howling like a beast as he tried to remove the arrow that hadpletely shattered his core. Unable to make use of his mana, the elderly High Elf began to shiver as the cold rain soaked into his aged body, quickly reducing his body temperature. As they were the only two threats remaining in the area, Vahn made his way towards the very fantasy-esque Pce that was formed of ornate wooden structures that seemed both constructed and natural at the same time. It almost appeared as though the Pce itself had been grown into the shape it currently held which, upon checking the information within the books contained within his mind, Vahn knew was the reality. He hadnt thought about it previously but, if such types of construction were possible, it would be an ideal method to make use of when he builds Haven in the future. After all, his [Seed of the Tree of Life] would be the foundation for Haven in the future, with arge poption of Elves and First-ss Adventurers... Upon arriving at the Pce, Vahn found a number of dead bodies strewn about all over the ce, belonging to several distinct groups. The most recent corpses, however, all had something inmon, being that the majority of them had been pierced by a sharp object. Vahn knew these wounds must have been caused by Fafnir so, following the trail of his trusted subordinates energy, Vahn quickly arrived at the location of where the King was talking down on a man who was bleeding from the stomach. Fafnir peeked up out of Larfals shadow, drawing the attention of everyone in the room as thetter released a sigh, saying, "It seems my haste to throw away my own life almost led to an even greater tragedy...haaaa..." The High Elf on the ground, spitting up a globule of ck blood, turned his crazed eyes towards Vahn and shouted, "You, you, you, you! Why is it always you!? Damnit...!" Previously, Vahn hadnt even noticed who was on the ground but, after hearing the voice, immediately understood who it was. With an incredulous look on his face, Vahn looked down at the man and asked, "Alosrin...?" However, this confusion didntst for very long as Vahns expression immediately turned icy and he continued, saying, "You simply never learn...tell me, foolish child, exactly how much are you willing to throw away to continue this despotic lifestyle of yours!? Not only do you bring ruin to yourself, but you bring ruin to your own people, your own family!" Vahn could see that Alosrins body was still crippled but, flowing overtop his previously red and green mana circuits, there was now a sickly ck aura. He had obviously consumed something tainted by demonic and cursed energy, likely in an effort to regain his lost power. Knowing this, Vahn knew the man probably did even more unspeakable atrocities,pletely disregarding the chance he had been given. Now, Vahn felt like this man needed to suffer as penance for everything he had done, even if some of those actions were only possible because he had been previously spared. Alosrin, eyes zing with pained indignation, screamed out like a banshee, "You took everything from me, you piece of filth! I was supposed to be King! I was supposed to marry that bi-" As he was prone to doing, Vahn didnt let his enemies simply say whatever they wanted, especially since it would only serve to rile him up even further. The moment he heard mention of the word marriage, Vahn knew he was about to say something offensive regarding Riveria. Unable to tolerate such a slight, Vahn had moved forward with the swiftness of lightning and ced his palm on Alosrins head. Like a Goblin that had swallowed a Thunder Core, Alosrin began to seize up, froth building at his mouth while a foul smell of ammonia spread through the air. By the time Vahn purified the malevolent energy inside the mans body, as Lightning was one of the most effective elements against negative energy, the once proud High Elf looked like a charred corpse, even though he was still alive. However, this wouldnt remain the case for long as, sensing a link between Alosrin and a mysterious force sever, the man quickly began to shrivel up like a dried corpse. Though he would have missed it normally, Vahns senses were pushed to the extreme in his Lightning Raiment and, with his [Eyes of Truth] active, he had been able to discern the slight fluctuation. Without regard for what else was going on in the room, Vahn sent a telepathic message to Fafnir to protect the King while turning his body into pure lightning energy. The temperature of this energy, while contained to an extreme, could reach a monstrous 30,000 degrees Celsius, even without the infusion of his source energy. With it, however, Vahns temperature reached nearly 60,000 degrees Celsius while his speed reached nearly 300,000 kilometers per second. In an instant, literally, he had arrived at a very surprised and withered old man who looked like a living corpse. Vahn didnt even know where he was at but, sensing the energy from the old man, knew thetter was near the peak of Level 8. And, just like that, a Level 8 was erased from the world as Vahn bore through nearly 17km of solid ground just trying to slow down his charge. He hadunched himself forward with such momentum that an almost perfect cylindrical tunnel had been formed, probing into the earth at an angle of around 24 degrees, carving a vast channel into the subterranean depths below. Vahn almost felt like the mes of a Valgang Dragon, which could make a perfect tunnel through kilometers of hard Dungeon bedrock, prating through seven Floors in the process. It was fortunate that his current speed was very fast or it would have felt very awkward climbing out of the 5m diameter tunnel he had just formed. Upon arriving out of the hole, Vahn looked around the area and noticed he was inside a heavily secured Sanctum located within the roots of a Sacred Tree. He didnt know his exact location but could feel the presence of several individuals nearby, many of which had strengths ranging in power between Levels 5-7. Using deductive reasoning, Vahn understood he was likely located at a secret meeting spot for the Sage Council, as they were the only group of concentrated powerhouses within the Elven Kingdom. Though he was certain not all of them had allied with the Nobles, Vahn knew that they had to have reached some ord if they had the audacity to try and besiege the High Priestess Faction. Since he had likely just killed their leader, Vahn used his lightning variant [Shundo] to quickly move through the corridors, destroying any barriers that tried to bar his passage. Now that he had decided to take decisive action on behalf of the Elven Kingdom, Vahn wasnt going to hold back. He quickly found himself in a room with four individuals, three of them being High Elven males while one was a very unwilling High Elven female, likely kidnapped as a result of the chaos above. Vahn had just enough time to hear the man finish threatening the woman before he blinked next to them, giving the despots the same treatment he had afforded Alosrin. With only two hands free to fry sc.u.m, this left thest High Elf to try and counterattack with a crimson red twig. Vahn didnt even blink as a red beam of light shot from the twig and pierced straight through his chest, creating a void that was immediately healed a momentter. The mans eyes started to widen into saucers but, before the muscles were able to reach their full opening, Vahn had already appeared before the man, returning the favor by creating a hole where thetters heart had been. His attack had been so fast that, other than a sh of vibrant white light, like lightning striking the earth, there were no other indicators of the attack before it had beenpleted. Releasing a stagnant breath, Vahn turned to the scantily d High Elven woman and threw a nket over her, saying, "Sorry you had to see that. Ill leave a change of clothing on the bed and take these two fools into another room. When youve fixed yourself up, you can find me or follow the path leading down until you see a huge opening. If you follow that opening, it will take you to the surface and exit into the Pce Throne Room. The King and his Royal Guards are there, along with mypanion, and they will protect you..." Though he wanted to try andfort her better, Vahn was currently in his [Magia Erebea] form and it would take too much of his energy to revert back to normal and transform again. Thus, after he finishedying out her options, Vahn picked up the two crispy High Elves by the scruff and dragged them out of the room, not minding the few ambient sparks traveling from his hands into their bodies. Though they twitched and seized up every time it happened, Vahn gave them no quarter for their horrendous actions. Even so, when he heard a bell-like voice sound out, "T-Thank you...", Vahn still turned his head and gave a polite nod, matching the womans emerald green eyes for a moment. After moving to the next room, Vahn threw the two men against the wall and, before they were able to fall, pinned them into the wooden surface with pure ck spears. He made sure to miss their vitals, and any important bits that would cause them to bleed out, but they still shrieked in pain as one of the men gnashed his teeth, pleading, "Please, spare us...! We were only doing what was necessary for the survival of our people!" In response to this, Vahn just snorted, twisting the spear as he said, "If this is how your people need to live, it would be better off if they were dead. A life of exploitation isnt living, it is an expression of cruelty and despotism. Dont give me that shit like you have some moral high ground to stand on! The two of you are nothing more than swine, wearing the flesh of civilized men!" At this moment, Vahn felt like something inside of him had broken, though it wasnt just now that he had noticed it. From the time he had stepped in to save the King, Vahn had already given up on trying to deal with these types of people in a passive manner. The more leeway you gave them, the more advantages they would try to seek as a result. They didnt even put others in their eyes and only saw the world they wanted to see, from a perspective entirely their own. He couldnt even understand how a group of people could feel justified in their actions after kidnapping, threatening, and trying to **** someone. It was simply ridiculous! Sending a flow of lightning elemental energy through the metallic spears, Vahn coldly asked, "Tell me...who else is involved with this attack? Did the entire Sage Council ally with those idiotic Nobles to try and stage a coup? Who came up with the idea to attack the High Priestess Faction? Tell me!" After shouting out, Vahn let up on the flow of energy, as they wouldnt have been able to answer him otherwise. He didnt care that they were both ring at him, nor did he mind their pitch-ck auras. The only thing that mattered right now was wrapping up this farce and trying to restore some semnce of normalcy to the world. Even if he had to gouge out a huge chunk of the rotting flesh that made up the ruling faction of the Elven Kingdom, it would put them on the road to recovery in the future... The man on his right suddenly adopted a vicious expression, smiling cruelly as he said, "F-Foolish b-b-b-boy! You think you cannnGYAAaaArgKyaaaaaakyuk!?" Not in the mood to humor the idiots drivel, Vahn turned his eyes towards the High Elf on his left, bearing his aura down on the man like a mountain as he said, "Answer my questions..." The entire time the man was exining, Vahn continued to send pulses of electricity into the body of hispanion on the right. At one point, he got a notification that he had gained a point of negative karma, which was the only reason he stopped frying the now catatonic and drooling High Elf, charred ck with his eyes having pooled into a milky organic mess filled with puss. Not wanting to end up in the same state as his counterpart, the remaining High Elf exined that the Sage Council had passed a vote to provide aid to four of the Nobles houses. Realizing that their line towards the future was slowly being cut off, as a result of all the female High Elves residing in the High Priestess Faction, it was decided that they needed to take drastic action. Their n was to burn the Sacred Trees that werent under their control, secure the borders of the Elven Kingdom, and initiate a forced breeding policy to recoup their dwindling numbers. As they were unable to defeat the High Priestess Faction head on, they had used specialized explosives purchased from the Dwarves to cause arge amount of coteral damage before gathering together all of the sympathizers into a number of locations and holding them hostage. It was their hope that they would be able to get the High Priestess Faction topromise after giving a demonstration of the bombs power but, after their initial attacks, it turned into a siege since the High Priestess Faction refused topromise. Even so, they managed to keep the poption atrge under control after threatening to explode the bombs if anyone tried to flee beyond the perimeter they had established. After listening till this point, Vahn asked, "Then what was the purpose of Alfred attacking the King? If you were nning on conducting an attack within the Kingdom itself, then why bother trying to make it appear as though..." Even as he was speaking, Vahn was able to reason why the Sages Council had done things in this manner. From start to finish, they had actually been hiding in the shadows, supporting the Nobles without ever making their own presence known. By sending Alfred to attack the King, all while the other Noble families enacted their plot, it would make it appear as though the scheme was wholly a result of the Nobles coup. Then, even if the Nobles failed in their attempt, the Sage Council could avoid the majority of the bacsh and, instead of three factions of power, there would only be two. As the High Priestess Faction wasnt trying to take over and lead the policies of the Kingdom, this would have left the Sage Council as the only governing body left. Even if the Nobles had seeded, it looked like they had orchestrated things to make Alosrin into their puppet, meaning the final victory would have belonged to the Sage Council...at least, if he hadnt shown up. As this realization hit him, Vahn turned his attention back to the man and asked, "Who was the old man that had the malevolent energy? He is obviously the strongest member of the Sage Council, so you must have known who he was...did he n all of this...?" In response to this, the High Elf males eyes opened wide as he stuttered, "D-d-d-did y-y-you...kill...him...?" Without any hesitation, Vahn nodded, a firm and fierce look in his eyes as he said, "In a single blow...Im pretty sure your people will be talking about it a lot in theing days..." This time, the man looked as though he had just heard the most ridiculous thing in the world, immediately shouting, "Impossible! Even if youre very powerful, there is no way you could have killed the Archmage so easily...!" Hearing the phrase Archmage, Vahn knew it meant the elder High Elf should have mastered the [Mage] Development Ability, making him one of the most powerful Mages in the world. It was unfortunate that,pared to the system of magic that he had learned from Eva, they were simply iparable. Hell, even Tiona, who still had a whopping 0 Magic parameters, now had the [Mage] Development Ability at D-Rank, even without having to learn it from a Level-Up. Almost all the girls that had been studying magic had the Development Ability now, as it was something that could be obtained just by reaching a certain level of proficiency with magic. For girls like Riveria, Lefiya, and Haruhime, they already had [Archmage] in their Status Boards...it really wasnt that impressive... (A/N: To put it in perspective, though this is onlying out two hours after the first chapter, they were written several hours apart. I woke up at 3am, finished chapter 1 around 5:20AM, and then went on to start this one around 7:50AM, finishing at 10:47. Ill probably rest for a bit and then write another chapter, hopefully before the window made by these two chapters closes up.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ara...Ara...Ara~?,El Thor~!,[Archmage]? More like, barely qualifying as apetent Mage, at least ording to Evas standards (>,...,<)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 767 - Rescue

Chapter 767 - Rescue

After interrogating the two High Elves, Vahn put them both into a temporarya and set about incapacitating the entire Sage Council. With the admission of two senior members, and the fact that he had already discovered the link between their leader and Alosrin, Vahn had no reason not to hold them all ountable. After all, ording to the nearly 300-year-old member he had just interrogated, they only made decisions based on internal votes. The part about certain Sages favoring certain factions had been a hoax from the start, only allowing them to manipte the Noble houses even further. It would seem that the corruption within the Elven Kingdom ran even deeper than expected, going all the way back to the establishment of the Sage Council more than eight-hundred years prior. The man he had killed, known as the Grand Archmage Kesir Alu Prana, had actually been the one to establish the Sage Council and, at the time of his death, was purportedly 837 years old. Ever since the death of the first Elven King, he had been plotting to try and seize power for himself but, as a result of having a rare mutation in his genes, could never lead in the light. He was one of the few people in the entire world who could use Necromancy, a type of magic that could animate the dead and have them fight at nearly the same strength as when they were alive. This type of magic was a serious taboo so, as a result of his mutation, which Vahn suspected was simply an Innate, the only path left to him was to run things from the shadows. Knowing this, Vahn couldnt help but find it fitting that someone who mingled amongst decay and death happened to be one of the primary reasons for the decline of the Elven people, and the deaths of thousands of its members... In total, the number of Sages within the council amounted to only twenty-seven individuals, generally divided between Master and Apprentice. Though they were all given the title of Sage, granted to them by the King in days gone by, the only ones who held power were the thirteen Masters. By the time Vahn hadpletely cleared out the underground Sanctum, he had managed to kill three Masters, incapacitate five, and disable the majority of their Apprentices. The rest had to be aboveground and, considering the duo he and Terra had taken out previously, this meant there were five Masters unounted for. Given the circ.u.mstances, Vahn assumed they had fled but, if this wasnt the case, he would weed them out if given enough time. Now that things had reached this point, he would take a more proactive approach in dealing with things. Even if Larfal didnt choose to retain his position as King, Vahn wouldnt let other people easily take up the mantle of leadership. From now on, the Elves no longer walked their path towards the future without guidance. If he had to be the stern Shepherd, earning the ire of the entire Elven people, it was something he feltpelled to do. With the introduction of things like the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing], better living conditions, and less restrictive trade regtions, Vahn knew things would eventually normalize. One of the more important matters on his mind wasnt actually the Elven Kingdom, as that would be resolved in time, but the Rakia Kingdom to the West, and the Iron Hills to the North. Vahn had given them a warning previously but, after this fiasco, his opinion of the Dwarves of the Iron Hills had reached an all-time low. Though it was certainly the fault of the Nobles and Sage Council for making use of the items provided by the Dwarves, the fact that the supposed allies of the Elven people had given weapons to be used on themselves was ridiculous. They obviously just wanted to take advantage of the inner turmoil even further, likely to secure more stock for their ve Farms and the like. Once things had started to calm down, they were next on Vahns corrections required list, regardless of their own opinion on the matter. Though he wouldnt be the same kind of tyrant Emperor in the Divination, he had just about gotten fed up with how backward all of these things were. Since the Nobles had no right to sell the Elven people as ves, the Dwarves would be forced to return each and every single one of them. If they failed to do so, Vahn wouldnt mind teaching them that, much like they seemed to purport, everything had a price. The Iron Hills had been .u.mting a great debt with him for a long time,pounded by things such as the matter with Tsubaki, and the attempt they had made to put pressure on Orarios markets. This matter was just the final straw and, if they were unwilling topromise, Vahn would simply flip the table on them. Though there would certainly be Dwarves that were innocent, Vahn would give them the same treatment that seemed necessary in almost every country around the world. The ruling ss had simply been in ce for too long and, with a greater focus on personal wealth and repressing other people, this had caused the world to turn rotten. As a physician, just as he had done previously, Vahn knew it was important to remove the rot if you wanted the wound to heal. Since he was trying to change the world in the long term, it would be better to cut out the cancerous parts now and, in time, there was a chance the newer tissue would be much stronger than before. All it needed was proper care, nourishment, and opportunity... As for Rakia Kingdom...Vahn knew they werent the true threat, merely the tip of a veryrge iceberg that he hadnt even been able to glimpse in the Divination. This meant the Empire probably wouldnt be a threat in the interim, meaning he should take care of the Rakia Kingdom sooner, rather thanter. They were the ultimate example of how corruption from the top could corrode an entire society of people, as anyone that was even remotely sessful generally did so using cruel and heartless means. The only exception to this seemed to be those at the lower rungs, forced to act as ves, and those that had never been exposed to the policies of Rakias upper echelons. However, even amongst them, there would be few people that had clean hands as even people like Lunoire and Welf had been forced to get their hands dirty in their youths... Since the Sages Sanctum had been cleared out, Vahn made his way to the outside of the Sacred Tree and began constructing a powerful ward around the outside. Unfortunately, he was unable to muster up enough magic power to activate it so, after sending Terra a message, he had to wait for her to deal with her own matters before arriving and finishing the job. While he was waiting, Vahn was sending telepathic messages back to the Manor, updating the girls on the situation, especially Riveria. She wanted toe over but Vahn had asked them to wait until things had calmed down as, right now, there were several things he needed to tend to without splitting hairs worrying about them. Though they could certainly be trusted to take care of matters, it would just cause even more trouble if all the forces of the Hearth Manor suddenly appeared within the Elven Kingdom. He had already thrown their original ns aside for his own selfishness and, in order to make things smoother in the future, it was better that he deal with things personally. Besides, as he would be the catalyst for the changesing to the Elven Kingdom, it was better to have everyone focus on him. They might treat him as a Tyrant for not but, in the next few years, Vahn believed he would truly be considered a Sage in their hearts. Now, he just needed to secure all of the Sacred Trees and, if the Elven people were still being held captive by the remaining Noble Houses, Vahn would save them. A few minutes after he hadmunicated the situation to her, Terra arrived at his side, fluttering her wings as she said, "Forgive myte arrival, Master, but I had to deal with a few...well, that can wait untilter. So, you want me to activate this ward~?" Vahn gave a wry smile when he heard Terras words, as he could imagine her intimidating the Elves that had shown hostility towards him previously. Though she had a kind and gentle disposition, most of the time, Terra actually wasnt a very personable True Dragon. In fact, like all True Dragons, she was very prideful and extremely territorial of the things she considered her treasures. She showed a great deal of leniency towards the girls in the Hearth Manor, mostly out of consideration for him, but that didnt mean she would tolerate hostility, or other things, from external parties. Nodding his head, Vahn exined, "Yes, and Id like for you to secure all of the other Sacred Trees, if possible. Ill make sure to reward you plentilyter, so please work hard..." Vahn had been staring nearby Terra when he was speaking and had to dodge her wings when they flicked open. Even her tail made a smooth undtion as her breathing increased slightly. Ever since the time they had first made love within Evas orb, Terra had been a lot less reserved than when she had first assumed her humanoid form. She was easily one of the more proactive women in his life and could be very greedy when receiving rewards... After leaving behind the excited True Dragon, Vahn dashed within the boundaries of the Elven Kingdom, looking for anyrge groups of Elves that might be held together. With his speed, it hadnt even taken more than two minutes to find arge underground area that looked like an ocean of life signs, all clumped together. At a nce, Vahn spected there were more than ten thousand people and, among them, there were two potential Sage Council members, as they were both Level 6. Before jumping in, and potentially bringing harm to the hostages, Vahn scanned the area within his perception, trying to find the location of the supposed bombs. Unwilling to overlook anything, it took Vahn nearly twenty minutes until he found energy signatures that matched what he was looking for. Using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn peered through the ground and saw the situation inside, releasing a sigh of relief when he noticed there was nothing too gruesome going on. It seemed like the High Elves had enough sense not to rile the people up too much, as it would likely cause them to revolt and escte the situation beyond control. Vahn visually identified the members that should belong to the Sage Council while also taking note of the forces that represented the Noble houses. Thetter was in a panic, likely as a result of losing contact with their main forces, while the group for the Sage Council was lingering around the periphery. Looking towards the energy signatures he had taken note of previously, Vahns aw several small cask-like objects that were filled with a mixture of powdered Fire Dragon Cores, some Earth-based catalyst, and what looked like an inner tube of me Dragons Oil. When it exploded, Vahn could imagine that, not only would the explosion spread out for around 50m, but the fire resulting from the explosion would be very persistent. It made sense how the Nobles had been able to damage the Sacred Trees now, as normal mes wouldnt have been able to do much to the magically resistant bark. The mes resulting from Dragons Oil, especially thoseing from Fire Dragons, were especially effective against anything that relied on natural energy to empower itself. After identifying each of the casks, Vahn took the path of least resistance and simply threw each of them into his Inventory. Though he could have probably taken out the Nobles before they were able to activate the bombs, there was no need to put on an unnecessary disy. For now, he just needed to save these people, as it would likely help his cause in the future if they were able to identify him as the reason they avoided a major catastrophe. His actions, of course, caused the Noble Familys forces to start panicking even further but, immediately after Vahn had stowed away the casks, he had already moved into action. Using his same lightning-form [Shundo], Vahn set his destination point at the same location as the stronger of the two Sages. He had learned his lesson from his previous eleration attempt and, instead of just picking a direction, Vahn set a destination from the start. Thus, with the sound of a thunderp impacting the ground, Vahn tore through theyer of soil with his body and struck the unfortunate Sage directly. Just like the elderly Necromancer, Vahn hadpletely annihted the body of the man while simultaneously stunning everyone present. The underground area had been very dark, as Elves actually have very good eyesight, so the sudden sh of lightning, apanied by the sound of an explosion, had caused many people to actually pass out from shock. Others held their hands of their ears while the vast majority of people near his destination point were temporarily blinded by his intrusion. Unfortunately, apologies would have to wait untilter as Vahn had already started moving towards the man desperately channeling his mana into a red crystal. It was obviously the trigger for the explosives and, knowing that he had actually tried to set them off, Vahn showed the man no mercy. He had set his destination point to right behind the monstrous individual, causing another thunderp as, in significantly less time than it took to blink an eye, Vahn was already behind where the man had previously stood. Now, other than some mist that had dispersed into the ionized air, nothing else remained to even mark that another person had been there previously. Vahn was beginning to find this method of moved-based-attack very effective and, feeling appreciative of the functionality of the skill, decided to name it Fulgur Interitum, Lightning Annihtion. Yes, it was a bit cheesy, but Vahn felt this technique could be the cornerstone of his attack method in the future and wanted it to sound shy. Then, as if tomemorate the naming of the skill, Vahn expanded his senses and set several destination points, making sure to avoid the citizens. With the sound of a thunderstorm constantly releasing shes of lightning and thunder, Vahn blinked around the underground area fast enough that it looked like a constant stream of lightning that had several versions of himself present. He could already make afterimages with regr [Shundo], so this was pushing that same functionality to the extreme. Though it felt like a minute had passed for him, the actual time it had taken to eliminate all the obvious hostiles was only seven seconds. When he was finished, Vahn stood before thepletely awestruck crowd of Elves and calmly stated, "I havee to help you, but I will not tolerate disorder in this situation. Stay still and allow me to heal you quickly so I can move on and save the next group. Anyone that tries to make trouble will be treated as a hostile..." To emphasize his words, Vahn allowed his aura to expand slightly, causing a very high pitched sound of electricity to spread around the cavernous underground storage area. Not too surprisingly, the crowd remained mostly passive as Vahn spread out his aura across them and began regting his energy to simultaneously heal their wounds and calm their nerves. At the same time, however, he was also identifying the remaining enemies and, after the majority of people were healed, he began pointing them out, ordering in a stern tone, "As you can see, it isnt my intent to bring you any harm. However, there are some hiding among you that belong to the forces that put you into this situation. I will point them out and, unless someone has a good reason exining why they shouldnt be punished, I will cripple them and put them into a temporarya until they can be judged for any potential crimester..." Once again, as expected, a person from the crowd immediately shouted out to try and refute Vahns words. Since it was one of the people he had already identified as an enemy, Vahn immediately converged his aura on the man, silencing him. Raising his hand, Vahn pulled the man forward with his telekinesis and poked his index finger slightly below the mans navel. Because of the suppression of his aura, the man wasnt able to scream out in pain and passed into unconsciousness momentster. With the same calm tone as before, Vahn said, "If you want to avoid pain, you would save us both the trouble by offering yourself up willingly. Your Masters are either dead or dying, so the only hope you have to avoid even heavier punishment is to show penance for your actions..." For several long seconds, nobody made any sounds, which was very eerie with more than ten-thousand people within the cavern. In response to this, Vahn just began converging his aura on everyone that had a highly negative aura, freezing them in ce. Some of them had been on the periphery and were looking for opportunities to disappear into the various passages doting the massive underground chamber. Then, with a raise of his hand, Vahn picked up nearly a hundred people, gritting his teeth against the strain as he brought them slowly towards his position. As this was happening, the rest of the group of Elves remained silent, many showing expressions of absolute fear and dread at the situation urring before their eyes. Like a machine, Vahn systematically crippled each of the ny-three men, and four women, beforeying them out on the ground in a line. Turning to the group of Elves, who seemed to be waiting for the sky to fall upon their heads, Vahn put on the gentlest expression he could manage and said, "I know this experience has been difficult for each of you...but were doing our best to get things under control. For the time being, I would appreciate it if you all stayed in this area and watched over these criminals. Ill provide you with food, water, and nkets to tide you over and, hopefully, this nightmare can be brought to a conclusion in the next couple of hours. Rest assured, as your King will likely make a statement alongside the High Priestess once everything is resolved..." While speaking, Vahn began to line the area with tables full of food, purchased through his system shop, and began piling uprge amounts of nkets next to the crowd. Pointing to a few people, Vahn tried to soften his words as he said, "Please, help pass out these nkets. There arent enough for everyone, so please share with your friends and family. And, please, remember my words...if you start returning to the surface while the conflict is ongoing, it will only make matters more difficult to resolve. I know some of you may wish to help, but you wouldnt have ended up in this situation if you could contribute to resolving it. Leave it to myself, mypanions, and the people that are in charge of your safety and protection..." Towards the end of his words, Vahn began to slowly levitate into the air, causing several people nearby to backpedal as if their lives depended on it. He knew that, while he thought it looked cool, his [Magia Erebea] form could appear very demonic. Though he had several forms that allowed him to make use of natural energy, they typically werent suited forbat like this so they would have to tolerate his demonic appearance. Fortunately, he noticed that many people had slightly positive colors in their auras, even though the majority of them also had clear indicators of fear present as well. They had been through a lot and, even though his attacks had been decisive, it wasnt a pleasant experience having lightning shing and exploding around you... Giving the group onest look, Vahn ascended through the hole he had arrived through, making his way towards his next destination. Now that he had sess using his method once, Vahn knew he would be able to repeat it for any other ces. He did, however, make a mental note to ask how many locations existed where people were being held. It would be very embarrassing if he had all these people waiting underground after he had already rescued everyone. Since there was a fair chance some people had been kidnapped during the chaos, having therger group of Elves search their own territory would save time. For now, however, they needed to be patient as, much like people were ought to do, they would only stand in his way... (A/N: Okay, this is thest one for today. I notice were number 1 in the rankings and it kind of makes me want to push myself a little harder xD...the people on my Discord have strongly advised against it, however, so Ill see you all tomorrow. I hope youre all enjoying Vahn losing his shit as it is, very loosely, a representation of my own frustrations atm xD...Also, since some people would probably point it out, the High Elf he had saved GTFO of that ce ASAP. Vahn just didnt stop her, as he had already given her the option to flee to safety. I imagine most people that had almost been r.a.p.ed would be in a hurry to leave the ce their trauma was associated with. She will make an appearanceter, however...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is on a f.u.c.ks clearance sale. Every f.u.c.k must go, until he has no f.u.c.ks left to give~!,Terra is very greedy (O,...,O)...,Commanding Chaos With Absolute Power) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 768 - Conflict

Chapter 768 - Conflict

While zipping around through the dense canopy of the dark forest, illuminated by his Lightning Raiment, Vahn encountered a variety of small groups that had sought shelter within the security of their own domiciles. With the massive downpour of rain extinguishing the once furious fires burning within the forest, it made the once beautiful and fantastical Elven Kingdom seem inordinately solemn. However, Vahn had the distinct impression that, even before he came to this magicalnd, it had already been a terribly dark ce. Instead of the rain creating the stagnant atmosphere, Vahn felt as though it was washing away the sins of the past, purifying the corruption that had deeply rooted itself within this sacred forest. And he, his role in all of this, was the Lightning of Tribtion, striking down upon those that had lived their lives at the expense of others... With his current speed, Vahn was able to move through the territory of the Elven Kingdom very quickly and, after a few minutes had passed, he had already located another group of hostages. Unlike the previous one, however, there were around thirty people from the High Priestess Faction currently trying to negotiate with the members of the Elven Nobility. Unfortunately, as a result of the fact that the main forces of the Nobles had already been mostly dealt with, those keeping the hostages werent in the mood to negotiate agreeable terms. Vahn had heard them make some foolish demands like requiring the Priestesses to make vows of servitude if they wanted to free the captive members of the Elvenmunity. Instead of throwing his voice into the negotiations, Vahn instead threw in his own body, though not beforepletely getting rid of the explosives located around the mass congregation of Elves. Then, just as before, he had torn through the group within just a few short seconds before turning to the High Elven woman leading the group from the High Priestess Faction. She had honey-colored hair, peach-colored eyes, and a very beautiful face. Unfortunately, much like the group he had just rescued, she had a paleplexion full of fear while resisting the urge to raise her staff in a defensive posture. They had already been informed about his involvement in the rescue efforts so, fortunately, the woman had enough sense not to attack an ally... Though he had left a survivor from the Noble faction, Vahn still asked the High Elven woman, "Tell me, do you know how many more locations there are with hostages? Ive already rescued a group of around ten-thousand previously, and I need to know what to expect before I move on to the next location." These words, which easily cut through the silent atmosphere, eased the tensions of the captives who began to talk amongst themselves. Before it became too loud, Vahn turned towards them and spoke in a firm tone, "For the time being, it will be helpful for everyone if you remain silent. This situation hasnt been resolved yet and, until everyone has been saved, I ask that you be patient, quiet, and well behaved..." As before, Vahn began setting out food and nkets with a wave of his hand, assigning a few people to help pass them out before turning back to the group of Priestesses. The honey-haired woman tensed up a bit with his approach but, after seeing the actions Vahn had taken, did her best to stay calm as she said, "Vahn Mason...thank you for your assistance. You have done the Elven people a great service today..." Though he would have humored her in normal circ.u.mstances, Vahn didnt believe that the Nobles and the Sage Council were the only ones to me for how things had be. For thest thousand years, all in a vain attempt to hold onto their old culture and traditions, the High Priestess Faction had stood at the side and allowed their people to stagnate to the point that their poption was actually declining. Their passive approach had crippled the Elven People greatly and, all because they refused to contend directly for power against the Elven Nobles, thousands of people had suffered due to their inaction. Without extending any of the normal courtesies, Vahns expression remained firm as he said, "I asked you questions previously, which are currently unanswered. Dispense with the pleasantries, there are peoples lives on the line..." This caused the High Elven woman to both pale and blush at the same time, showing an expression of incredulity and embarrassment as she said, "There should only be one more ce where people are being held...the High Priestess had gone to-" Holding up his hand to interrupt her, Vahn asked, "Where?" Looking as though she had swallowed a bug, the High Elven woman pointed in the direction of one of the Sacred Trees and started to open her mouth. Before she was able to form any words, however, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Ill go lend a hand. Stay here and make sure things remain orderly until this incident is over. If your people had sent a group to the third location, send a message to make sure they dont let people begin wandering around. Until this mess is cleaned up, you have the responsibility of keeping your people in line. Wait for the King and the High Priestess to give you notice when things have been resolved..." Finished speaking, Vahn used [Shundo] and vanished from the area with a loud thunderp, startling the already stunned group. They were too used to being looked up to and treated as if they were special so, having someone like Vahn treat them in such a manner, was difficult to react to. It was almost like they werent even in his eyes, merely an inconvenience that prevented things from running smoothly. Previously, the High Elven woman, named Rosalina Caed Gimh, had intended to use the captives to make a march on the properties of the Noble Faction. This would have caused even greater chaos, but it would have also prevented thetter group from bouncing back and trying to spin things in their favor. Now was the perfect time for a revolution and, suddenly being told to stand by, Rosalina couldnt help but clench her teeth in frustration. However, she couldnt even imagine something that could deal with the power that Vahn had just disyed. Since their current orders were to not antagonize Vahn Mason, the only thing she could do was swallow her pride and, as he suggested, make sure the people stay calm until everything had been resolved. Just the fact that Vahn had saved nearly twenty-thousand people, while eliminating a group they couldnt even do anything about, kept her from having any ideas that might go against his words... With the directions provided by the High Elven woman, it didnt take Vahn long to reach the final destination where people were being held captive. Once again, he bore witness to apletely different scenario, however, as the negotiations that had been taking ce looked to have progressed to an annoying point. Vahn saw a middle-aged handsome man with Dark Blue eyes and a mix of golden and silver hair putting a ve cor around a young High Elven woman, the same one he had seen previously alongside Terra. Seeing this, Vahn couldnt help shake his head because he couldnt understand what was going through the minds of the High Priestess Faction if they believed the solution was topromise with the people literally bringing ruin to their country. Just as the man had finished fastening the cor, showing a victorious look on his face, Vahn had appeared next to where the man had stood. The only thing that remained of the Level 6 Noble was the hand he had stretched out to touch the young Half Elfs chin, which now fell lifelessly to the ground. Having resigned herself to her fate, the young womans dark blue eyes opened wide when she saw this and she instinctually took a few steps backward before falling onto her butt. Her golden hair, which bordered on the color white, was matted against her face from the rain and she couldnt help but stare wide-eyed as Vahn, currently appearing like a phantom shrouded in lightning, tore through all of the enemies present. Once the main group had been dealt with, Vahn pulled out the remnant group within the crowd of captive Elves and crippled all thirteen of them. It seemed only the first group he had found, which was held underground, had been smart enough to include arge number of nts. The second group he saved only had a single high-level person hidden in their midst and the third group just had a few people carrying smaller explosives on their body, which had been thrown into his Inventory before he jumped in. Even so, his actions had left the grouppletely stunned as, much like the previous two, it was a very startling experience to have lightning exploding around you. Most people in the areas he had appeared werepletely stunned, fallen to the ground while covering their eyes and ears, while everyone else just cowered away, using the bodies of other people as cover. Shaking his head, Vahn spread out his hands and gently stated, "Do not worry, I havee to help you...please, stay calm and quiet. The King and the High Priestess will inform you when everything is safe..." With that thought in mind, Vahn [Shundo]d over to the group of nearly fifty women, consisting of two High Elves and forty-three other Elven women. He saw the young woman on the ground and frowned slightly, trusting his instincts and asking, "Are you supposed to be the High Priestess...?" Without forming words, the young woman just nodded her head a little too quickly while still letting the rain pepper her body. Seeing this, Vahn released a small sigh and threw a nket to her before condensing the periphery of his domain to form a barrier around the area, preventing the rain from reaching the exposed captives. Suddenly having a warm nket thrown over her body, the young High Elf muttered an Eh? while putting on a confused look. Vahn, however, had already turned back to the crowd to calm them down, providing them with warm food as he increased the temperature within his domain to keep them from being chilled. It took around fifteen minutes to get everything settled, as he was no longer in as much a hurry, before he turned back to the group from the High Priestess Faction. At this point, the High Priestess had been brought to her feet and was surrounded by therger group of Priestesses as the only other High Elf looked towards him with a fierce expression. Seeing the look she was giving him, Vahn felt his brain buzz with frustration as his own visage be icy cold. He was starting to get really tired of the people he was helping give him usatory looks and showing hostility. Previously, he thought the High Priestess Faction to be far more reasonable but, aftering to their aid, Vahn realized they had been treating him as an enemy. Since he had never done anything to antagonize them, the fact they were treating him like this was beginning to grate on his nerves a great deal. All he had ever done, since their first interactions with each other, was trying to help out their Faction and support the Elven people as a whole...this...this treatment didnt make any sense at all... Before the woman was able to say anything, Vahn bore his aura down upon her and said, "Choose your words very carefully...ever since Ivee here, the only actions Ive taken were to help you and your people. If you continue to treat me in such a hostile manner, I will give you a reason to..." While speaking, lightning began to crackle around Vahns body as a stark white aura lit up the darkness, radiating from his body and forcing everyone to remember how he had previously wiped out all of the enemies in mere seconds. This caused the mature High Elf to take a deep breath and step back as her hand instinctually went towards a pendant around her neck. With a crackle of lightning, Vahn appeared right in front of the woman and pulled away the pendant, even though there was a powerful resistive force trying to prevent him from doing so. The look in his eyes became even more fierce as fire elemental energy, infused with his lightning, consolidated within his hand. In mere moments, the temperature of his hand had reached nearly 60,000 degrees, causing the pendant to turn into liquid g that fell from the cracks between his fingers. During this disy, Vahn kept his eyes locked with the womans, almost as if he were daring her to make another foolish action. The tension in the atmosphere, which had started to soften from the warmth Vahn had introduced into his domain, immediately became icy cold as a terrifyingly oppressive aura descended upon everyone present. Vahn was fighting against his own urge to strike this woman as he had recognized the pendant to be very simr to the gravity artifact used by the previous woman. Though she may not have intended to use it, and was just moving instinctually to defend herself, Vahn didnt care one bit. If he had let her use that item against him, it was the same as essentially letting her kill him over a misunderstanding. Yes, he may be immortal, but the pain caused by having each of your cells weighed down by an oppressive gravitational force was maddeningly painful. After clenching his teeth for a few seconds, doing his best to calm down, Vahn asked, "What...did you...want to say...?" Currently, the mature High Elf had been staring ck-jawed as she observed the droplets of one of her familys most precious treasures drip down onto the ground. She knew the temperature and strength of Vahns grip was something unimaginable and, as she had not intended to use the item, it pained her to see it destroyed so quickly. However, regrets aside, she still tried to calm herself down, hardening her convictions as she said, "My name is Irisalia Els Lainu, former High Priestess and current Advisor to the new High Priestess, Sylfia Dal Alfan...Vahn Mason, if you do not wish to seek trouble with the High Priestess Faction, you will release our-" Without continuing to listen to the womans words, Vahn pinched the bridge of his nose, looking away from her as he coldly stated, "Ever since I came here, your people have done nothing but show hostility towards me. I did not seek trouble, Irisalia, your group created it for me! After all of this, you think you have the right to order me!? You believe yourself so above everything that you would show ire towards the person that had saved nearly a third of your entire poption!? You would show hostility towards the person that prevented you Sacred Trees from burning to the ground!?" Irisalia stared wide-eyed towards the boy in front of her, clearly seeing that he had reached the limits of his patience. Everything he said was true and, even though he had done nothing wrong, they had been openly hostile towards him, even while he was in the process of helping them. Not only that, but he had prevented the assassination of the King, stopped the burning of two of their Sacred Trees, and liberated arge number of their people. However, the only thing that had been on her mind was the fact that, at the present moment, Vahn had be the Master of the High Priestess, Sylfia. By killing the man who had contracted Syflia, Vahn had inherited her from him and Irisalia couldnt allow him to keep her as his ve, even for a short while. She had wanted him to nullify the contract before the people could react to what was going on, potentially spreading rumors that the High Priestess had been the ve of a human, even if he was rumored to be a Progenitor. The turmoil that the Elven Kingdom would face in the aftermath of this event was simply too great. They would need strong leadership to be able to return things to normal once again, especially now that arge power vacuum had appeared with the deaths of so many of the Nobles... Just as she was about to try and rebuke Vahn and get him to release the High Priestess, a small voice cut through the tense atmosphere, saying, "Please...wait..." Turning her head to the side, Irisalia saw Sylfia hesitantly talking towards Vahn and immediately moved to obstruct her, saying, "Sylfia, you must stay away from this man! He is too dangerous...!" These words caused Vahn to beginughing, freely and uninhibitedly while a righteous fury began to bubble up inside of his heart. When he hadughed enough, he turned his eyes back to the woman, shouting, "So, you say Im too dangerous, the man who just saved your people and provided them food and security!? Yet, just before I arrived, your group had literally been in the process ofpromising with the very people trying to f.u.c.k.i.n.g kill them! The only dangerous thing here is every word thates out of your f.u.c.k.i.n.g mouth!" In truth, Vahn had probably sworn less than a dozen times after arriving in this world, as it always seemed unnecessary. At this moment, however, he was so unbelievably annoyed at this situation that he couldnt help but use harsher words. Instead of thanking him, the first words anyone in their Faction spoke were telling him what he needed to do. Even now, after it was very clear that he wasnt buying her bullshit, the woman openly called him dangerous. This was immediately after she had been tempted, even for a moment, to use an item that would have been able to kill him. He couldnt stand the hypocrisy and longer... Raising his hand, Vahns expression became even icier as he said, "You seem tock an understanding of the situation on a very fundamental level, Irisalia. Currently, I have prevented the assassination of the Elven King, saved nearly thirty-thousand of your people, prevented the burning of two of your sacred trees, ensure that all seven sacred trees were protected, eliminated the forces of the Nobility, and destroyed the masterminds in the Sage Council pulling the strings behind everyones backs...I did all of this without a single bit of help from your ipetent group. There was never a point in time where your opinion on the situation has mattered and, now that it has been resolved, any right you had to makepromises has been lost. You could have helped out from the start but, just like the arrogant Nobles, and the foolish Sages, you have only thought about how you can use this situation to your advantage. Here, before more than ten-thousand of your kin, you show hostility to the very person that saved them. All of this, without a single f.u.c.k.i.n.g word of gratitude before you start showing your true face...!" Every word Vahn spoke boomed like thunder and, as his anger continued to rise, so too did the aura around his body. At this point, there was a stark white electrical aura shrouding his figure for nearly eight meters, making it almost impossible to look directly at him. Even so, his words echoed the truth of the matter to everyone present, putting into perspective what had been going on for the uninformed masses. As for Irisalia, and the other members of the High Priestess Faction, they had turned pale under the pressure of Vahn. Still, as if she was simply incapable of setting aside her pride and dignity, Irisalias expression remained undaunted as she opened her mouth once again. This time, however, Vahn red his aura even more and furrowed his brows deeply as he said, "Shut the f.u.c.k up...I swear, if you say one more asinine remark, I will wipe out your entire Faction along with the Nobles and Sage Council..." To emphasize this fact, chains formed by the Laws of the world came into existence, binding to Vahns heart as he gave Irisalia a stare that promised endless regrets if she so much as said a single word. This time, Irisalias mouth shutpletely and she swallowed hard enough that it was audible to almost everyone in the immediate surroundings. However, her silence only made it possible for someone else to speak up as the young High Elf stepped forward once again and muttered, "Vahn Mason...please...this is all a misunderstanding... its my fault...please dont hurt anyone..." The words came from none other than the current High Priestess, Sylfia Dal Alfan, currently with tears beginning to form in her eyes as she took hesitant steps forward. Vahns icy expression softened a bit when he saw this young girl pleading for leniency and, as he didnt actually want to hurt anyone, his mind began to calm down very quickly. After all, the only reason he hade here was to save people and bring about change that would make each of their lives better. He didnt want to be a tyrant that forced change, not if he didnt need to. However, it was very difficult to tolerate all the things he had to face over thest few hours, especially when the people that should have been helping him were the ones who had caused him the most actual harm. Suddenly feeling a little guilty for making a young woman cry, Vahn released a sigh and averted his eyes away as he said, "Calm down...Im not going to do anything unless some fools continue to try and antagonize me..." While speaking, Vahn had cast a nce towards Irisalia, once again daring her to say something to trigger his fury. Fortunately, for everyone, she kept her silence as Sylfia continued to close the distance and released a long sigh of relief. Her dark blue eyes reflecting his image in them and, after a few awkward seconds had passed, a small smile began to bloom on Sylfias face as she said, "Im sorry for everything...please take care of me from now on..." Following her words, Sylfia bowed low, stunning everyone present, Vahn included... //Sylfia Dal Alfan Wishes To Be Your Subordinate: (Y/N?)// (A/N: Ill be trying to normalize the number of chapters to around 14k words a day again, but I wont be sticking to a hard schedule for the time being. This weeks word count will probably be around 85-90k, as I got a slow start, but it should be back to normal in the following weeks. Enjoy these final few chapters of Volume 15 (UwU)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Aint nobody got time fo dis~!,SAY SOMETHING! I F.U.C.KIN DARE YOU!,You dun wat now girl...!?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 769 - Rebuke

Chapter 769 - Rebuke

For several seconds, Vahn experienced a nking of his thoughts before the gears within began to grind at a very fast rate. He realized he had overlooked some things and, seeing the cor around the young womans neck, Vahn started to make sense of the situation. Thus, before things could get further out of control, Vahn gestured with his hand and forced Sylfia to stand straight as he gazed into her dark blue eyes and said, "I absolve you of your ve contract. You are free to live as you please; I do not require servants, nor will I ept the responsibility of your life under these circ.u.mstances. Instead, as the High Priestess, you should consider what actions you can take to better the lives of your people in the future..." Since it was within his domain, Vahn flicked his finger and caused the cor around Sylfias neck to disappear, stunning the young High Elf, and the already stunned members of the High Priestess faction. Without sparing her another nce, Vahn turned towards the crowd of Elves and began to ascend into the sky as his voice carried across the void and sounded within each of their ears, "Some of you maye to hate and resent me, but know that my intentions are to help you walk towards a brighter future. Change is going toe to the Elven Kingdom in the near future and I cannot promise that it will be easy...however, I will work alongside your leaders to make sure things transition as smoothly as possible..." Turning back to look down upon Sylfia and Irisalia, Vahn squinted his eyes slightly and said, "The High Priestess Faction has the most stable group right now...you have an obligation to your people to help restore some semnce of normalcy to this situation. Conduct a census and try to find out if anyone is missing. Once that is taken care of, make sure your Factiones to the Pce so we can discuss the future of the Elven Kingdom...for the time being, ess to the Sacred Trees will be closed off...focus on the things you need to do, instead of what you want to do in order to secure your own power and authority..." Vahn had decided to give the High Priestess Faction a test to see if they could be trusted as, at least from what he had seen, it was very difficult to put his faith in them. Though their High Priestess, Sylfia, seemed to be a reasonably sensible person, that didnt mean the rest of the Faction was. It was obvious at a nce that, while they ced some importance on her, Sylfia didnt actually have power and authority yet. The fact they had let her enve herself to the opposing party, all while gritting their teeth in the back, showed that they didnt ce much emphasis on her existence. Like the Nobles and the Sage Council, it looked like the High Priestess Faction had its own form of corruption... Without staying to hear if they were agreeing to his words, Vahn flew towards the Pce while sending telepathic messages to the girls at the Manor. At the same time, hemunicated his intent to Terra and Fenrir, thetter of which had been wreaking havoc within the territories of the Nobles. She hadnt killed anyone, but there were hundreds of people who had their limbs frozen solid or had lost limbs due to her ws. When she had been putting out fires and tracking people down, several members of the Noble Faction had tried to attack her, causing Fenrir to follow their scent back to their residences. She didnt know who was bad so, instead of killing them outright, Fenrir had just disabled anyone that tried to attack her. After a few minutes of waiting, Fenrir showed up at the entrance to the Pce, body soaked through from the heavy downpour outside. Vahn extended his hand and pulled the water away while stroking her thick mat of midnight blue hair with his palm, smiling as he softly said, "You did well, Fenrir, thank you..." Fenrir just nodded her head, squinting her eyes happily as she enjoyed the warmthing from her Masters palm. The two then made their way into the Pce, where only a few Royal Guards and servants could be seen trying to clean things up. Nobody tried to bar their passage along the way, something Vahn appreciated since he was getting really tired of his allies showing hostility towards him. Within the Throne Room, there were several officials that had been gathered together around arge wooden table that was covered in doc.u.ments. Larfal was arguing with another tall High Elf and, when Vahn saw the dark aura shrouding thetter, he had immediately blinked over with [Shundo]. before thetter could say anything in his defense, Vahn had extended his hand forward and pierce the mans abdomen, shattering the core where his mana formed and forcing him to the ground. The other people present loudly eximed when they witnessed this but Vahn silenced them by passing his eyes across their figures. Larfal, seeing one of his Royal Court bleeding out on the floor, turned to Vahn with a very tired expression on his face and asked, "So, even those that Im supposed to rely on have turned against me...?" In response to this, Vahn turned his eyes to match those of his Father-in-Law, exining, "These eight men seem decent enough...this one, however, has a ck aura, just like the men who had been conspiring to seize the throne and exploit the Elven people further...nobody with this ck an aura deserves to hold a position of power. I only spared him so you can mete out a proper punishment after investigating his affairs..." Hearing this, Larfal nodded his head before shouting for two of his guards to take his former Finance Minister to the Pce Dungeon. He wasnt actually that surprised that the man responsible for monitoring the finances of the Kingdom had been one of the corrupt officials serving the interests of the Noble Faction. The fact he had been trying to force him to reign in Vahn and investigate the truth of the matter had been a pretty big red g. Though it was certainly correct to seek justice, now, perhaps, wasnt the time for such things. Larfal knew Vahns methods were a bit extreme but, considering the catastrophe that had nearly befallen the Elven Kingdom, it was undoubtedly the time for extreme measures... To rify things, Larfal turned to the surviving members of his court and exined, "This is our son-inw, Vahn Mason, the Sage Aldrnari. As we previously exined, he is the one who prevented our assassination and, as his presence here suggests, the current catastrophe facing our people hasrgely been resolved...is that a correct assessment of the situation, Sage Vahn?" Vahn noticed the King was using polite speech and, even though he had just attacked a member of the Royal Court, he was willing to give his Father-in-Law face, bowing politely as he said, "That is correct, your Majesty. I have released the hostages held captive by the Noble Faction, put out the fires burning throughout the Kingdom, secured the safety of the Sacred Trees, and destroyed the Sage Council who had been machinating everything from behind the scenes..." Hearing this, many of the gathered advisors and ministers drew in sharp breaths, one of them lightly eximing, "You destroyed the Sage Council...?" Raising his head, Vahn turned towards the man and stated inly, "Im not here to y games. The Sage Council were clearly responsible for many of the events that were guing the Kingdom, including the empowerment and maniption of the Noble families. However, they will not be the only ones I destroy, as anyone who tries to get in the way of progress will be forced to step aside. Those that directly oppose the changes I will suggest will be rooted out, imprisoned, or killed..." These words caused another one of the men, having rare red hair, to step in and say, "Sage Vahn, though we undoubtedly owe you our gratitude for helping us tide through this chaos, you cannot simply interfere with the affairs of the Kingdom on your whims! We need to focus on restoring order to the Kingdom, not bringing about changes proposed by an outsider! Even if youre wed to the Princess, neither you nor she has any authority within the Kingdom...!" Ignoring the man, Vahn turned towards Larfal and asked, "King Larfal, what is the title and upation previously held by this...?" As the man hadnt introduced himself, Vahn wasnt exactly sure had to address him. In response to this, Larfal sighed and said, "This is Mesir Aod Hokai, former members of my council and Minister of Foreign Affairs..." Vahn nearly burst intoughter when he heard this man was supposed to be in charge of the rtions between the Elven Kingdom and other countries. However, it put into perspective why the man was trying to take a hard stance on the issue, as he was very likely an Elven Supremacist, even if he hadnt been eyeing the crown and personal gains. Even so, Vahn was a little curious about something and asked, "Mesir, do you have a daughter or niece that is currently outside of the Elven Kingdom...?" Hearing this, the previously befuddled man furrowed his brows deeply and asked, "Do you know something about my niece...?" Vahn gestured in a dismissive manner, saying, "Rx, she is just someone I met recently and I noticed you had simr hair colors. She is within Orario, and I cant really answer any questions about her, even if you asked. Besides, the more important matter right now is that you have been relieved of your position. For the time being, you should clean your own house before I have toe by and do it for you...if you are truly loyal to the Kingdom, you will stand aside on this matter and do as you are told." Before Mesirs blood pressure caused him an aneurysm, Larfal raised his hand to silence the man and, with a stern expression on his face, stated, "Without Sage Vahns assistance, the Elven Kingdom itself would have faced destruction and fallen under a despotic regime. We have personally seen the extent of his capabilities and have absolute confidence that he acts in the interests of the Elven people, even if it goes against the interests of those currently holding power. As the Nobles were supposed to be the servants of the people, we will extend to him our full support and authority. For the duration of this emergency situation, Vahn Mason, Sage Aldrnari, has been given full administrative rights to the Kingdom, including the right to enact Martial Law and depose officials, irrespective of position. As for his own position, let the court recognize that Vahn Mason is now the acting Prime Minister of the Elven Kingdom!" Not only were the Ministers themselves surprised, but Vahn was also stunned to have suddenly been made Prime Minister by Larfal. However, it would make his future actions much easier to enact as he would now have a title granting him authority, instead of forcing the change as an outsider. There were several policy changes he wanted to enact and, as it would be necessary to clean house, Vahn would be able to act with impunity. This also made it so, after everything was said and done, his actions could be interpreted as the decision of the Crown, meaning the reform would only strengthen the power of the King in the future. Since Larfal was intending to step down and hand over the crown to Masonia in the future, Vahn would essentially be strengthening the foundation of his own sons rule in the future...assuming thetter became King. Since he was linked with her telepathically, Vahnmunicated the change in his status to Riveria, who almost immediately asked him to bring her over. Though it still wasnt the best time for such things, Vahn knew Riverias presence would also help smoothen things over in the interim. Without refusing her this time, Vahn moved to the side and chanted, "Let me Summon you, Riveria Ljos Alf~!" His sudden exmation had surprised everyone within the room, sans Fenrir and Fafnir, but not nearly as much as when they saw a strange magic circle appear on the ground. Coming forth from a burst of subtle golden light, Riveria appeared, wearing her [Pactio] raiment, which took on the form of a very regal dress with her artifact being a seven-pronged silver crown on her head. Larfal had no idea about his daughters [Pactio] and just thought Vahn had used a very rare and powerful spatial teleportation magic. The fact he had done something so advanced, using a single line incantation, hadpletely stunned everyone present. As for Riveria, she tapped the end of her [Magna Alfs] against the hard floor and calmly stated, "I will support my Husbands decisions and provide aid to the Elven Kingdom and its people. Father, please assign me the role of Special Advisor to the acting Prime Minister..." Though he had numerous questions, Larfal nodded his head and proimed in an authoritative voice, "Henceforth, Riveria Ljos Alf, Princess of the Elven Kingdom, shall hold the duties of Special Advisor to the acting Prime Minister, Vahn Mason, Sage Aldrnari!" Normally, such decisions would be put to a vote by the council but, given the circ.u.mstances, Larfal skipped the formalities and made the decisions personally. With Vahn and his daughter working together, Larfal had no doubt things would be resolved in a much smoother fashion than if Vahn had been the only one to act. Riverias poprity and rapport with the people were even higher than his own so they would more readily ept the changes proposed by Vahn if she supported him. Nodding her head in eptance, Riveria turned to Vahn and, seeing the pain hidden in his eyes, her heart twisted in its chest. However, she kept her calm demeanor and asked, "What is your next n of action, Prime Minister Vahn?" With his own expression softening a bit, Vahn turned to the gathered Ministers and stated, "The path walked by the Elven Kingdom for thest thousand years has led toward decline and stagnation. Not just the Nobles, but the Sage Council and the High Priestess Faction are all responsible for this urrence. Henceforth, we will be introducing great reforms to the Elven Kingdom, including opening up the borders and renegotiating trade deals with other countries. The Alliance between the Elven Kingdom and the Iron Hills will be absolved, as their hand in the events that nearly caused the Kingdoms destruction can be seen very clearly. Their bombs not only held nearly half the Elven poption hostage, but they nearly burned down two of the Sacred Trees..." For the next two hours, Vahn went on a very long diatribe, tearing apart all the old policies and verbally admonishing the failures of the Ministers themselves. It helped that, a few minutes after he had started, Terra ended up teleporting to his side while Fenrir continued to re icily at each of the men who once held their heads up high above others. Vahn gave them all a chance to prove that their loyalty was towards the Elven people, tasking each of them to return to their own houses and imprison anyone they knew of wrongdoing. He gave them two days to clean things up before he woulde through and do it for them. For those that tried to escape, or cover up the despotic ways of their family members, they would share in the punishment and responsibility. Vahn knew it wouldnt be possible to simply abolish the Nobility at present, but it didnt mean he couldnt slowly take away all of their power. Those that ced more emphasis on keeping that power, instead of doing what was best for the Elven people, would be removed from their positions. They would be forced to take vows and publically tried for their crimes, allowing the Elven people to see the truth of the matter as an investigation was conducted, prying into all of their affairs. When everything was said and done, the Noble houses themselves would be purified and demoted from Duke status into simple houses that owned property. However, if they had been proven to be incapable of managing said property, it would be seized and forfeited to the country... Towards thetter half the discussion, a servant arrived within the Throne Room, announcing the arrival of the High Priestess Faction representatives. This had caused Vahn to reign in his anger a bit, sparing the gathered High Elves his fury for a moment. Though this would likely change, depending on the attitude of the High Priestess Faction, thetter had brought the group a momentary reprieve. Then, when Larfal gave his permission for them to enter, a group of three women came in, consisting of two mature High Elves with matching gold hair and pale pink eyes. Between them, there was a much smaller High Elf, standing at only 158cm tall and possessing white-gold hair and dark blue eyes. Vahn recognized all three of the women, knowing two of them to be named Sylfia Dal Alfan and Irisalia Els Lainu respectively. As for the other woman, she was the one who had tried to kill him with her gravity artifact, leading to the situation where he had struck her across the face. Vahn wasnt surprised to see that the two older women had somewhat hostile auras towards him, filled with strands of red, orange, and a few threads of purple. What he was surprised to see, however, was the fact that the smaller of the three, Sylfia, had a sunny yellow aura, intermixed with a few stranged of sky blue and pink. This was very normal for most of the girls he interacted with outside of the Manor, but it was very abnormal for the current circ.u.mstances. Vahn couldnt help but frown slightly, wondering what he had done to leave such a good impression on the younger of the three High Elves. Regardless, though it might be troublesome in the future, Vahn knew it would be beneficial to the current situation and just let the mattery for the time being. After approaching, Sylfia gave a polite bow towards Larfal, saying, "Forgive me, King Larfal, for not having made introductions prior to this tragic event. My name is Sylfia Dal Alfan, the current High Priestess of the Sacred Heart Tree..." Hearing this, some of the Ministers began to stir but it was Larfal who asked, "Dal Alfan...?" while looking towards one of his remaining Ministers, the Minister of Agriculture, Jericho Dal Alfan. The man looked as if he had just seen a ghost and, against any reasonable sense of propriety, eximed, "You are a child of the Dal Alfan family!? How could the High Priestess faction have kept such an important secret from us!? We-" Before the man could continue any further, Vahn bore his aura down upon him and said, "If you even think about uttering some bullshit about someone belonging to a family, I will free yours from having to tolerate your idiocy. The High Priestess Faction has likely given shelter to many females from all the noble houses, including the royal family itself. Dont think you have any right toy im to the life of another. If you truly believe that is the case, then Ill extend my right toy im to your life..." Vahn had noticed the mans aura re up and begin to gravitate towards Sylfia the moment she announced her name, almost as if she belonged to him. Now that he had made his threat, Vahn noticed that the mans aura actually had a few strands of grey mixed in, slowly taking on a ck hue as he scowled with clenched teeth. The moment he saw this, Vahn had already appeared in front of the man, causing his eyes to widen as he attempted to bring his arms up into a defense position. Being a Level 5 Mage, without ever putting any focus on his physical parameters, Jericho was mid-movement when he felt a painful burning sensation in his chest. He hadnt beenpletely crippled, but Vahn would follow-up with himter to see if the man had theck of foresight to try and stir up trouble. Vahn knew that it was very important to the Noble houses to keep their blood purity high and, with the existence of girls like Lefiya and Sylfia, they would do almost anything to get their hands on them. This realization made Vahn wonder if it wouldnt just be easier topletely get rid of the Nobles outright. After all, though they would certainly spin it to make it appear as though only a few of their members had been part of the coup, there were more than a few reasons to hold them all ountable. When he stripped them of their titlester, it would be on these very grounds that Vahn passed judgment upon them. Before, he had intended to give them a little time to prepare, allowing them to either correct their ways or expose themselves. Now, however, it was looking like he would need to take more decisive action if he wanted to teach them a lesson... Mid-thought, a bell-like voice sounded out from behind, saying, "Please, Vahn, do not be too harsh on him. I know well of the Ministers actions, including those of his family. He had served the Kingdom loyally for more than one-hundred-seventy years, please be lenient with him..." Vahn felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over his mind, causing him to release a sigh while staring down at the man holding his stomach. There was a palm-shaped burn on his chest and all the mana within his body had been destabilized, causing the man to eject the contents of his stomach onto the floor. Riveria reached her hand out, cing it on his shoulder and mentallymunicating, ("Vahn, you have been working very hard over thest few hours...leave the rest to me and just give me input on anything you want to change, okay...?") Hearing Riverias calming words within his mind, Vahns tensions slowly began to release and he started thinking about his actions with a bit more rity. He had given in to violence too easily after saving the King from his assassination attempt. So many things hadpounded after the fact that, now that they were beginning to calm down, Vahn was struggling to get out of a battle-ready state. Thus, with a small nod, Vahn moved over to the side, pulled out a sofa for himself to sit on. Fenrir had already moved over and plopped down next to him, so Vahn snuggled up with her and began watching the proceedings with azy expression... Though Vahns actions were more than a little awkward, nobody said anything to reprimand him, including Larfal and Riveria. Instead, they began talking about the changes Vahn had mentioned previously and how they would be dealing with the fallout of this event. Sylfia, even though it went against the will of Irisalia and Deina, agreed with many of the things Riveria had said. During the conversation, she would also send nces towards Vahn, wondering about the identity of the strange Chienthrope girl. She would also look over at the woman who had saved her previously, an existence, unlike anything she had ever encountered. Then,pleting the cycle, Sylfia would look to Riveria, who she knew to be Vahns wife, and couldnt help but wonder about the other girls that surrounded Vahn... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nah, Im good...,*inhales deeply*...BOI!,*Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 770 - Reform

Chapter 770 - Reform

Riveria wasnt just the Princess of the Elven Kingdom in name, no, she had spent nearly fifty years preparing to be the next ruler of the Kingdom before fleeing to Orario after the revtion she had been denied the opportunity to do so. Now that she had the chance to bring about reforms, bringing forth a better future for her people, and preserving the life of her Father, Riveria had taken to the task with unrivaled fervor. Though she was still very reliant upon Vahn to bring certain changes, especially in regards to the status of the Noble families, most of the other things were easily fixed after making changes in the policies, and those charged with overseeing them. Ultimately, after a period of nearly two months, the seven primary Noble families had beenpletely defanged. After conducting their investigations, and holding nearly three-hundred public trials, it was determined that none of the Noble families, including the Ljos Alf family, should keep their Noble status. They were stripped of their Duke titles and, with the exception of some ancestralnds, most of their properties and investments were also seized. Though there was a fair amount of resistance, especially in the Ljos Alf and Dal Alfan families, Riveria had been as objective and decisive as possible. After all, even though she was a descendant of the Ljos Alf family herself, they obviously had their fair share of problems and were ultimately responsible for how things had be. During the trials, the amount of resentment the normal Elven households held towards the Nobles, including the few that believed High Elves to be special, had reached a critical level. The fact that five of the Noble houses had conspired together, with the support of the Sage Council, had been a very eye-opening event for them. With the Councilpletely dissolved, with most of its members killed or crippled, all of their wrath had been directed towards the Noble families themselves. If not for the transparency in the trials, and how Riveria had held all families ountable, there could have been an internal revolution. Of course, the ultimate deciding factor, preventing things from getting that far, was the presence of Vahn, and the prestige of Riveria and Larfal. In the end, though Larfal would remain King until he ceded the throne, it was decided that things would revert back to the past, a means of showing respect to the Elves of old. Previously, before the first Elven King had taken power, the throne had always been held by the strongest and most capable among the Elves. They also needed to be respected by the people and, any member of the royal court, was elected by the populous, not assigned by a Noble family. As for the whole blood purity thing, and the fact that Elves were superior, this was one of the first policy changes brought about. Riveria, Larfal, and Vahn, all made it very clear that, while your birth certainly affected your starting point, the life you lived after the fact it what should define you. Blood purity was a wed concept from the start as, without having arge enough gic pool, it caused more problems in the future than it solved. Though most people couldnt really understand this, doc.u.mentation to that effect was made publically essible after the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing] had been revealed. A lot of people had already heard the rumors, but seeing Riveria moving around easily, even more powerful than in the past, had caused many people to begin believing the ims about how Vahn had be a Sage, to begin with. When the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing] had been revealed, there was a very noticeable shift in the dynamic of the Elven people, giving Riveria much greater momentum for other policy changester on. Though he didnt disclose how the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing] was made, nor how to inscribe the crest onto the stomach of Elven women, Vahn did make much of his research public. This was to give people hope for the future and, to prove that it worked, Vahn had willingly performed the ceremony on a few Elven females, including some volunteers from the High Priestess Faction. Then, to demonstrate the principle that the developing fetus needed arge amount of natural energy to sustain itself, Vahn used his [Yggdrasils Favor] and [Hands of Nirvana] to replenish the vitality of many expectant mothers. At the same time, he had be something of a physician within the Elvenmunity and was training many of their doctors in some of the medical procedures he had learned from reading books and simting within his mind. Previously, most of the Elvenmunity had been utterly terrified of Vahn, especially when they realized exactly what he had done. The fact that, within the period of a day, Vahn had saved the King, defeated the Noble families forces, extinguished the fires burning down their homes, protected the Sacred Trees, freed more than thirty thousand of their kin, destroyed the Sage Council, and be the Prime Minister...it was very difficult to ept the reality of the situation. If not for the fact that nearly a third of their poption has witnessed these events, many people would have thought it was just a gross exaggeration. Now, the public opinion of Vahn had been quickly transitioning in a positive direction, especially after the blockade of the Western Forest had been immediately brought to an end. Not only was he improving the quality of life for themon citizens of the Elven Kingdom, but there was arge influx of essential goods entering in through the previously closed borders. This, added to the fact that he had publicized his research, had left a deep impression on people. He also made himself very essible and could always be seen either helping people out, rebuilding areas that were damaged during the attack, and even revitalizing the Sacred Trees... However, the biggest factor that changed the way Elves viewed Vahn were the people who had surrounded him. Not only did he have the support of their Princess, Riveria, but he also had a True Dragon that had dominion over nature. Terra, to the people of the Elves, was almost like a walking Sacred Tree. Not only did her aura give them an extreme degree offort, but she had a very kind and caring disposition, seemed to possess an infinite amount of wisdom, and was, inarguably, the strongest entity they had ever seen. She had been the one to put out the fires across the forest and, though it had caused them a great deal of stress at first, the barriers that had been erected around the Sacred Trees had been slowly revitalizing them over time. Other than Riveria and Terra, Vahn eventually brought Lefiya and Ryuu over as well, causing a stir within the Elvenmunity when they learned that Lefiya was not only a Dal Alfan, but a Spirit. As for Ryuu, she had simply wanted to return to her family for a short while. Her family had been part of the loyalist faction that served the High Elves and, as a result of their foolishness, the majority of them had been killed by Vahn, or tried after the fact. The only survivors ended up being her aunt and three children who had avoided the conflict outright. Vahn had agreed to let them attend the School in the future, but only because Ryuu didnt want to entrust them to her rather despicable Aunt... The reason Vahn had asked Lefiya toe over was to deal with a troublesome situation that had been urring with the High Priestess Faction, though it had a lot of its authority removed and was no longer a standing faction. Sealing of the Sacred Trees, and forcing the Priestesses to mingle amongst normal civilians, had hurt the prestige they enjoyed for thest thousand years. Though they had never taken direct action to try and control the people through force, it was easy to see that the High Priestess Faction had enjoyed many privileges due to the power base they had established. With the Nobles and Sages being dealt with, they also had to make several concessions and had the majority of their authority outright stripped away from them. At first, the High Priestess Faction had opposed these changes, as all powers that had held onto their power and authority for too long were ought to do. However, the fact that their current High Priestess, Sylfia, had been working alongside Riveria made it very difficult for them to make a case against it. Vahn also publicized the fact that, unless all of the standing powers gave ground on the issues of reform, he would never publicize the blueprints of the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing], nor would he teach anyone how to carve the crest. He wasnt here to empower a broken system, but to bring about real andsting change that would benefit all Elves in the present, and future. Sylfia had made a public statement as the High Priestess, giving her full support for the idea and asking that all of the other Priestesses, and those faithful to their beliefs, took this as an opportunity to revitalize the Elven people and create a better future for themselves... This had caused a bit of a problem, however, as Sylfia had never made any major public appearances and, though she had a fair amount of support, there were a lot of rumors going around about how she had be Vahns ve, even temporarily. Though they had felt a certain amount of gratitude and anguish when she had originally agreed to the terms of the people keeping them captive, all so they might go free, people couldnt forget how readily she had lowered her head to Vahn. The fact that she supported him so strongly, after the fact, had caused people to wonder if she was simply a maiden that had fallen in love and, though this wasnt exactly a bad thing, tensions had been very high during the time these rumors were going around. What made matters worse was, during one of her public appearances, shortly after she had gotten a crest carved into her abdomen, Sylfia had publically admitted to the fact. Vahn had already been very aware of her feelings, as she had been very awkward during the time he was applying her crest, but he hadnt expected her to essentially announce that she had fallen in love with him to the public. This caused things to take a strange transition and it almost ended with Sylfia having to announce that she had given up her title as High Priestess. If not for the fact that she had the support of the King, Riveria, Vahn, and, after making her existence public knowledge, Lefiya, things might have be even more troublesome. Lefiyas involvement had been predicated on the fact that she was a Spirit, the object of worship by the Elves and the High Priestess Faction in general. Though they respected all Spirits, those that had direct ties to their Ancestral Spirits were significantly more important to the Elven people. The whole reason Sylfia had even be a High Priestess herself was that she had descended from the line of Wishe and possessed high potential, startling intellect, and the ability of foresight. With Lefiya also being revealed as a daughter of Wishe, with a purified bloodline, her existence had garnered a lot of attention, especially from the now-defunct Dal Alfan family. There was a big push to have her be the next High Priestess, something Lefiya had adamantly refused while publically giving her support to both Vahn and Sylfia, though not towards any romantic developments between them. With Lefiyas words, people began to consider things in greater detail and, after learning that her blood purification was also a result of Vahns efforts, public opinion immediately swayed to their side. Though blood purity had been invalidated and treated as a matter of lesser significance, it was still something deeply rooted in the hearts and minds of almost every person of Elven descent. Knowing that Vahn had not onlye up with solutions to their infertility issue, but could also purify their bloodlines, the public couldnt me anyone for wanting to support him, especially the High Priestess. After all, she was a very rare female High Elf and, though she didnt exploit her status, she was an important figurehead to her people and there was a big push to have her engaged with Vahn as a result of their heritage. Though it was still very difficult to believe, it had already been made public that Vahn was a Progenitor who had already sired a child with their Princess, resulting in a High Elf of extremely high blood purity. Since he also had the ability to purify a persons blood after the fact, a lot of the older families, and those that had previously supported the idea of Elven superiority, believed that Vahn would be able to revitalize their people. It wasnt just Sylfia who the people had tried to push onto him, but almost every unmarried High Elf, totally thirty-seven people, with Sylfia being the youngest. Eventually, Vahn had to publically announce that he had no intentions of taking additional wives, nor would he be epting mistresses. Though he appreciated the feelings directed towards him, it was his goal to change the standard of living for all Elven people, not create a new generation of High Elves to be worshipped and respected by virtue of their birth. Though he would help ensure that High Elves, and Elves in general, were able to safely give birth, he wouldnt have any direct hand in impregnating them. Since the majority of people couldnt really understand why he would refuse to bed so many beautiful women, Vahn outright admitted that he was already in love with too many women and it would simply be wrong for him to ept even more into his life. Since he also refused to sire children that he could not care for personally, this meant he had absolutely no interest in bing breeding stock for the benefit of a broken system. Such admissions had hurt his impression within themunity at first but, after a few weeks had passed, most people had epted his reason and had started to open up to him after witnessing all the things he was doing to make good on his promises. Anyone that knew him closely could see that Vahn was a very kind and caring man and, though they didnt have too many public disys of affection, it was easy to see that he was very close to the girls around him. Though some of the hardliners from the old factions were still trying to press the issue, most of the High Elven women respected Vahns decision as, both directly and indirectly, he had shown his respect for them as well. The only one who didnt seem to give up on the idea was Sylfia herself who, if she wasnt busy, would linger around the areas Vahns frequented. If she couldnt find him, she would go to where Terra could usually be found or, using her status as High Priestess, seek out Riveria or Lefiya to simply chat. She had also started wearing a two-piece robe that had a crop-top design that exposed the navel and a loose robe that hugged her slender h.i.p.s. This was a fashion that had been poprized by Riveria herself, and the public disy of their crests had be a matter of pride for the women who already possessed one. Riveria wasnt actually that against the idea of Sylfia pursuing Vahn and, as they worked together a lot, the two had started to be close over the two-month period they had been traveling back and forth between Orario and the Elven Kingdom. As for Lefiya, she wasnt that fond of her cousins attempts to seduce her Master, especially when she heard how Sylfia had also tried to be a subordinate during the chaos of the first day. Though Lefiya didnt mind Vahns rtionsh.i.p.s with other girls, as some of them were also very exciting for herself, she actually didnt like the idea of him being involved with other girls. The people at the Manor had been like one big family for a long time and it was much easier to ept her Master being involved with them than any outsiders. Even though this was the case, and Sylfia could tell that her younger cousin wasnt too fond of her pursuit of Vahn, she never gave up trying to get close to them. The first time she had been able to receive a head pat from Vahn, Sylfia had happily talked about the event to everyone in her social circle. That night, Vahn had to pacify a frustrated Lefiya, promising that he wasnt going to let other girls break into his heart so easily. As this was the truth of the matter, and Vahn was still living his dual life between the Manor and the Elven Kingdom, she eventually forgave him. After all, Vahn genuinely had no intention of giving into Sylfias advances and was actually more focused on managing things with the School and spending time with his children. Each of the Vanir had been growing like beansprouts, now appearing to be around the ages of 5-6 years old each. Eina was also due to deliver her child any day now and it had been a big distraction for Vahns other duties. This waspounded by the fact that Naaza had been seeking him out a lot more than before, simply wanting to spend time together, while Lili actually looked like she was already halfway into her pregnancy. The fact she was carrying triplets, with her small body, always made Vahn feel very fretful. If not for his ability to travel the distance between Orario and the Elven Kingdom in less than a few seconds, he wouldnt really be able to keep up with all of the things he wanted to take care of right now. Vahn was stuck between helping manage the affairs of the Elven Kingdom, dealing with the fallout of the Alliance between the Elves and the Dwarves, renegotiating trade agreements, spending time with the girls, making sure his children were happy, and trying to fit in small moments of training. All the while this was going on, Vahn also had to make sure things with the School were running smoothly and, though he still struggled with controlling two bodies, Vahn was starting to consider trying to make a third. Even [Shadow Clones], which he had neglected as a solution in the past, were starting to look like a very useful ability... Even so, Vahn still felt like every day was very fulfilling, especially since his children seemed to be very understanding of things. He still yed with them when he could and, almost every night he wasnt within the orb, Vahn would sleep with them and their mothers. Loki and Hephaestus had been very helpful during all of this, while all the girls in the Manor showed their support in their own ways. Vahn even summoned over the girls to the Elven Kingdom to start getting people used to the idea of foreigners visiting theirnds in the future. Vahn also noticed that many of them had, temporarily, even stopped using the orb and spent more time in the real world. Since he couldnt really make use of it himself right now, they didnt want to be away from him for long periods of time, especially when they knew he was working very hard. Though they would still drop in for an hour or two each day, generally to get in some morning training and work on some projects, most of the girls had been outside ying with the Vanir, taking care of the children, or even serving as assistant teachers at the School. It was moments like this, when everyone was working together to share the burden that would have been impossible for one person, that made Vahn feel truly gratified... --- Though Vahn had been busy with a variety of different issues, he had be the primary talking point for a certain group that resided in a City above the clouds. Presently, located within a cold stone sanctum, there were three gods sitting around a circr table talking about Vahns recent exploits. On one side, there was a youthful god with onyx-ck hair, starling blue eyes, and a strange golden eye patch covering his left eye. On the other side, there was a god who appeared both elderly and youthful, possessing simrly striking eyes and currently wearing a loose robe that exposed his muscr body. To his left, leaning into his shoulder, there was a proud goddess who had a glimmer of wisdom in her golden eyes as she rested her auburn red hair against the previous gods neck. The onyx-haired god, Odin, looked at the two lovebirds across from him and asked, "So, do you think we should intervene with the Alliance, or let it continue to grow? I do not believe Vahn is a threat to the world, but I believe the changes he is introducing will fundamentally alter how people live in the future. I even had Frigga and Urer look into the future...I believe Vahns actions to be just and in the interests of everyone..." Though he had only interacted with Vahn once, Odin had been watching over the boy and his exploits often ever since. Yes, Vahn was very ruthless at times, but only when he needed to be. Most of his actions generally had far-reaching consequences, almost exclusively for the betterment of arge number of people, so Odin had a very favorable impression of the boy. In response to his words, however, Zeus snorted and said, "Ill admit, the boy truly is deserving of the title of Hero, but he is also far too arrogant. Though he hasnt be a threat yet, he is only a few steps away from being a repeat of that golden-brat, Gilgamesh. We need to seriously consider dealing with him soon or itll be toote to have regrets after even more goddesses support him!" Unlike Odin, Zeus impression of Vahn was that of a petty and arrogant mortal that thought too highly of themselves. Though he couldnt fault Vahn for wanting to protect the dignity of his women, the fact he had been so disrespectful to a god had ruined most of Zeus favorable impression of the arrogant youngster. As was often the case, Hera nodded her head in agreement with Zeus, parroting, "Even though he is still a little weak, he was able to defeat Siegfried after thetter went all out. It seems he has abilities that grant him instant regeneration, unlimited mana, and elemental transformation. Combine with his status as a demigod and Progenitor, he is simply too dangerous to leave be. Once he matures, even Heracles and Theseus may not even be able to pose a threat to him...depending on how things develop, he could be the greatest enemy of Legend and slowly conquer the entire Continent. Even gods are siding with him, making him a lingering threat that might also affect us when we return to Heaven...!" Feeing into the loop, Zeus nodded his head and added onto Heras words, "If we cannot get Vahn under control, we need to take actions to remove him from the equation in the future. Though it will probably upset Hestia, and some other troublesome goddesses, we cant simply let one person bring about such change in such a short period of time. People cant adapt that quickly and, if left to his own devices, Vahn will probably bring about reform to all countries, not just the Elven Kingdom. If the policies he enacts are just, that is good, but we all know that power will eventually get into the head of any mortal. Now that he has progeny of his own, they will slowly change how he sees the world and, in order to make sure they are able to live as they please, Vahn will undoubtedly change his own perspective to suit them...troublesome..." Odin looked at his twopanion gods with a dull expression, supporting his head with his fist as he said, "As I said, the path Vahn is creating towards the future seems to be the correct path. The prosperity he will bring to the world far outweighs any of the damage he is doing in the present. He is also increasing the strength ofmon men and pushing the strength of those that seek the peak even higher. For our purposes, the reforms he is bringing are actually more beneficial than any actions we ourselves have taken. The number of potential Heroes will undoubtedly increase in the future and, as long as we dont make any mistakes now, our Organization may grow evenrger. I also believe that, if we leave him be now, Vahn will actually be much easier to convince once he matures. He is still young right now and, though power can easily corrupt mortals, the number of goddesses around Vahn will keep him in line...if we take action now, there is no guarantee we can even defeat him. In the process, we will earn the ire of hundreds of goddesses, both in the Mortal World and in Heaven...youre letting your own frustrations cloud your judgment..." Hearing this, Zeus frowned and Hera finally stopped leaning against him as she sat up straight and hardened her expression. She actually agreed with Odins words a bit, especially after watching the battle between Vahn and Siegfried, but she would still support Zeus if it came down to it. Thus, she sat by and watched as the two gods, who had shared a kinshipsting for eons, red towards each other. Neither was willing to back down and, even though Zeus also knew Odin was likely correct, he couldnt easily give in on the matter. Vahn had hurt his pride and, as petty as it might seem, Zeus had never allowed anyone to step on his pride without some form of retribution... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Where the King at...?,Sylfia wants them good genes...?,Petty AF) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 771 - Time Flies : Dont Blink

Chapter 771 - Time Flies : Don''t Blink

Getting involved with diplomatic affairs and trying to help a Kingdom prosper wasnt a simple task to tend to. Though Riveria had borne thergest burden in ensuring things went smoothly, it had required a great deal of effort on behalf of everyone. The Alliance became the main trading partner with the Elven Kingdom and, though there were usations from some that this had all been an borate takeover of thetter, it ultimately didnt matter. With the power and authority of the Alliance, it was almost impossible for anyone to oppose their decisions and, time and again, it was easy to see that the actions taken by their group had been for the benefit of everyone. Unless you were an organization that made a living through exploiting others, association with the Alliance guaranteed you would prosper, a simple fact that had caused their numbers to increase so much that they had started to expand into a second district of the City. Previously, they had only taken up arge part of District 4 of the City but, with so many small organizations throwing their lot in with the Alliance, the territories they managed bled into District 3 as well. This meant that the Alliance had slowly started to assimte the area that contained Daedalus Street, home to the impoverished and downtrodden. The reason for such a happening was rather simple, being that Vahn ced a much greater focus on improving the quality of life for those who struggled to make a living in the current social structure. With the reforms taking ce in the Elven Kingdom, he slowly started putting pressures on the Nobles of Orario and, with the support of an increasing number of gods, the Nobles had no choice but to back down and consolidate their power, entirely incapable of contending against the massive military and financial might of the Alliance. The biggest factor that prevented them from taking direct action was knowing that Vahn had not only ughtered the majority of the Elven Nobles forces on his own, but also stripped them of their titles after the fact. At this point, the Nobles of Orario simply wanted to avoid earning his ire and, at least publically, they had started to reign in their own troublesome members and trying to appear more clean to the public. They had even tried to resist against the Alliances efforts to influence the poverty-stricken of Orario by enacting policies to open arger number of Orphanages and food distribution centers, fighting against progressive reform with charity. Even these efforts didnt amount to much as, even though there were a few people that enjoyed getting things for free, the opportunity provided by the Alliance offered them an actual solution to their problems. The Alliance had created hundreds of thousands of jobs that paid much better wages than simr positions around the City. Most of these jobs were manualbor, construction, and maintenance work, but these were things that most people could do if they were physically fit. Since the work paid more than a Low-ss Adventurer, it meant anyone who was employed through the Alliance was easily able to support their basic living expenses and, by working hard, they could easily earn as much as a High-ss Adventurer without endangering their lives. Wages like these had greatly increased the civilian workforce of the Alliance and had even drawn in people from other Districts who sought stable work that paid well. The fact that the Alliance also provided three meals a day to contracted workers was one of the biggest factors behind this, as people enjoyed the delicious food and drink provided to them while also being able to save their earnings for their own personal use. To capitalize on this, and also earn back a bit of the money that was being paid out, several restaurants, taverns, and entertainment facilities were opened in the populous regions. The taverns were supplied with unique food and drink that had never been seen in the City previously and, as for the entertainment facilities, they were often fitted with [Projection Sphere]s that were constantly showing the sports matches that were often being yed these days. Since being an athlete paid very well, and there were far more females in the City than males, the number of teams had quickly increased. Many women, who previously were only able to make a living in the service and entertainment industry, if they didnt want to fight for their lives in the Dungeon, were drawn to the idea of bing athletes and earning high pay for rtively safe and easy work. This did result in something rather unexpected, however, as sports were bing an increasingly popr spectator sport with all current teams, for both Ser and Volleyball, being women only. It might have been because of the social climate, but most men were still either Laborers or Adventurers and would rather watch the rather scantily d women y sports than try to y themselves. There were also far fewer organizations that wanted to support and sponsor mens teams and, without enough interest to make a league, there were currently no matches yed by men within the Coliseums. Though this had bothered Vahn at first, there were actually very fewints among the general populous and, as the interest for men was simplycking, he didnt try to force the issue. One thing he did push for, however, was the inclusion of Amazonian women into sports as it had always bothered him that their only means of living previously had been either being p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es or Adventurers, most of the time both. The fact that they had amazingly athletic figures, as a result of their training since childhood, made them incredible athletes and, after a bit of effort, they had be the dominant force within the industry. Vahn had been hoping to change how the various races were seen in the City and, to ensure that he had more sway when going to Telkyura in the future, he figured actions like these would have far-reaching effects on the future. This also had the side effect of making him very popr with Amazons in general, to the point that groups would sometimes stop by the Hearth Manor or linger around the areas he sometimes frequented. Fortunately, as he was often very busy, he was able to avoid the mobs of healthy brown flesh most of the time. It wasnt just his poprity with the Amazons that had been increasing, as his reputation and rapport with the general public had reached the point that he was amon name in almost every meaningful conversation, for better or worse. Within the Elven Kingdom, there had actually been a push to make Larfal step down and, instead of being the acting Prime Minister, the people had wanted him to be King. The reforms he had introduced to the Kingdom had already started to have a major impact on the lives of everyone within the Kingdoms borders. Though he had held onto it at first, Vahn had eventually started teaching a few skilled Elven [cksmith]s how to create a basic temte for the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing]. The keyponents still needed to be created by him, so as to protect the secret of his and Terras blood, but it was still possible for the main band to be produced by others. As for the crest, Vahn had actually reached out to the skilled Priestesses of the former High Priestess Faction and started teaching a few of them how to apply the crest. He also took time out of his day to apply a few and, as a result of his proficiency increasing, Vahn couldplete the entire pattern within a short fifteen minutes. This made him a little too popr with some of the Elven women, but his obstinance in not increasing the number of girls around him had held out, thus far. With the avability of the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing], the very obvious increase in the number of women possessing what was now being called the Sages Mark, and the techniques Vahn had been teaching Elven Physicians, the Elven Kingdom was now experiencing a poption boom. Within the course of a single year, the number of children being born, which typically hovered between 300-500, had jumped up to a monstrous 10,908. Even several older Elven women, who had already stopped having children for fear of death, had helped out. Riveria eventually had to put restrictions on this, so as to prevent a situation where there were too few a.d.u.l.ts to tend to the children, but it was still a major event that had elevated Vahns status to one of reverence from the perspective of the Elves. One troublesome matter was that Sylfia had never given up on her pursuit of him and, after interacting with many of the girls he brought to visit the Elven Kingdom, she had integrated herself into the girls social circle. Even Lefiya, who had opposed the idea at first, had started toe around on the issue after learning how much she had inmon with Sylfia. They were both rather unfortunate, made orphans in their youth while Sylfia actually had to keep her existence a secret for decades. Then, though she wasnt as prodigious as Lefiya, Sylfia also had a keen interest in Magic and had been able to reach Level 5 without ever leaving the Elven Kingdom. This,bined with the fact that they were both considered Daughters of Wishe, eventually made the two girls as close as sisters, instead of distant cousins. Even so, Vahn had continued to be obstinant and it seemed, at least on the surface, that Sylfia had stopped pressing the matter. This, however, didnt mean she had given up as, instead of rushing things, she had confided in Riveria and Lefiya that she was willing to wait for up to a hundred years if it meant she could eventually bear his child. When Vahn had learned of this, it had caused him to seriously consider the matter for a while but, with the birth of even more of his children, it prevented him from acting on his thoughts. After all, as Sylfia herself pointed out, she was still very young and had her duties as High Priestess, even if the organization itself publically held very little power now... With the passage of a year, Eina, Lili, Naaza, Freya, Eirene, Demeter, and Preasia all ended up giving birth to beautiful and healthy children. Einas daughter, Eiko, had been an adorable little Half-Elf with slightly darker hair than Eina but simrly emerald green eyes. Her Guardian was a Gemcutter Squirrel, a tiny creature with chestnut brown fur and green stripes along its back. As for Lili, she gave Vahn a rather big scare during her pregnancy but had managed to give birth very easily, even though his expectations had caused him to fret over her safety. Pallum children were actually very small and he could hardly hold them without feel a bit of panic after they had been born. The triplets ended up being identical to each other, possessing light brown hair and pale green eyes. Though Vahn and Lili could easily tell them apart, they ended up having unique baby clothes that had the names Rose, Iris, and Daisy. It wasmon for Pallum names to be rted to their origin, sometimes even having names like Pot, Pan, and Stone, but Lili had chosen flower names for her daughters, hoping they were able to bloom into beautiful and vibrant young girls under the care of everyone in the Manor. Each also had the exact same Guardian, a creature that didnt previously exist with Danmachi, known as Mountain Corgi. They were small, dog-like creatures that had tiny legs but contained a very pure Earth Elemental energy, just like Lilis daughters. Naaza had be an almost overly affectionate girl during her pregnancy, often showing a mncholic expression whenever she interacted with others while Vahn wasnt around. As a result, Vahn tried to tend to her whenever he could and, when she finally gave birth, it ended up being to a very healthy young Chienthrope boy with brown hair and an adorable little tail that trembled and wagged slightly whenever he was happy. He ended up being named Macht, a strange name that she had apparently been brooding over during the times he was absent. As for his Guardian, Macht ended up have a strange creature called a Deepwater Smander that looked like a somewhat rounded lizard, close to an eel, that had moist and cool skin. Wrapping up the mortal births, Preasia had ended up getting pregnant during one of the times she and Vahn had made love. It hade as a bit of a surprise to both of them, as Preasia spent most of her time sleeping and Vahn was often busy with other things. She was nearly five weeks pregnant before anyone noticed the signs, the result of Preasias constitution making it so that she never had morning sickness. It wasnt until Demeter, who had been visiting the Manor, pointed it out that anyone had been aware she was expecting. Preasia had been very happy and wondered if her child would inherit her fluffy body, an important question that Vahn was also very curious to see the result of. He knew it should be possible to inherit Innates, as could be seen with Mn and Tina, but he had never been able to confirm this theory as of yet. When Preasia finally gave birth, Vahn was blessed with his third son and, to their pleasant surprise, the young Sheep Person did indeed have a lightyer of downy fur covering his body. Vahn actually felt it was more surprising to see two tiny nub-like horns poking out behind his sons temples, as it seemed like something that could have injured Preasia during the delivery. However, when he touched them, Vahn discovered they were very soft and should even be malleable. Later on, he actually learned that some tribes of Sheep People actually shaped their horns during their younger years to express themselves. Those that typically became warriors would force their horns to stick out to points while most females allowed theirs to curve naturally. Vahns third son was named Lucas while his Guardian ended up being a Stonebreaker Mountain Ram, a somewhat peculiar guardian that was strangely suitable. They were a species of Ram that were used as mounts in the hignds regions on the Continent, which is where many of the warrior tribes of Beast Humans resided. This made it appear as though Lucas would be a warrior himself but, Vahn had a suspicion that his son would actually take after his mother a great deal. Though all infants slept a lot, Lucas almost never seemed to wake up, even when he was feeding or had soiled his diaper. The only times Vahn had seen his son awake was when he spent time with Preasia taking care of him within the Dreamscape... Though the births of each of his children had been impactful moments, it was the arrival of three new Vanir into the Manor that had caused the biggest stir. Freya ended up giving birth after only seven months, making her pregnancy one of the fastest thus far. As expected, she ended up giving birth to a beautiful baby girl with silver hair and silvery-blue eyes. However, confirming Vahns spection, their daughter did not seem to take after the Leh from the Divination, even though Freya hade up with the same name. Instead of an unstable young Vanir with a pseudo-Divinity rted to S.e.x, this Leh seemed to possess fragments rted to Love and War, giving her a simultaneously calm, yet fierce, disposition. Though Leh was very attached to him, it wasnt greater than the attachment Ina had when she had first been born and she hadnt shown any signs of a more troublesome inclination. As for her Guardian, it ended up being a True Silver Dragon which, as its name implied, meant it was a True Dragon covered with silver scales. However, instead of having reptilian wings that were covered with scales and dragon leather, it had beautiful white feathery wings that were soft, yet retained a metallic property simr to Terras and Alexas... Eirenes pregnancy had been a standard nine months and the delivery itself had been one of the smoothest Vahn had ever experienced, after Tsubakis rather magical delivery. Like the other Vanir, and Vahn suspected this would always be the case unless they wanted a son, Eirene also gave birth to a beautiful baby girl with aqua blue hair and simrly blue eyes. Eirene named their daughter Aisha, meaning Hope, as she imed it was very simr to his own name which, to Vahns surprise, also meant Hope. It was Eirenes wish that their daughter takes after him and be a person that always helps other people, giving the young Vanir a smile that seemed to melt the hearts of anyone that looked upon her, much like how Ina had. Aishas Guardian ended up being a Starweaver Pegasi, possessing a beautiful fur that was hard to discern between blue and ck. All over its body, small lights would glimmer like stars and it had eyes simr to gxies that seemed to swirl around if you stared into them for too long. Its most striking feature, however, were its beautiful wings, possessing a simr color as its pelt but appearing almost crystalline in structure. Whenever it would extend its wings fully, it would appear as though there were constetions glimmering across it, creating a truly awe-inspiring sight that had caused even Fatina to humble itself, just a little... Demeter was thest of the goddesses to give birth, for the time being, and her pregnancy hadsted nearly ten months. Vahns rtionship with Demeter had been more than a little peculiar as, though they did the deed, it had been less passionate than he expected. The first time he had s.e.x with Demeter, she behaved a lot like Eina and simply took care of him, trying to help him rx. He had been very busy with several matters at the time and Vahn always felt a little guilty when he interacted with her after the fact. Demeter herself, however, didnt seem to mind it at all and would instead always try tofort and pamper him, giving Vahn the impression she was far more motherly than he had expected. When she started staying at the Manor during thetter half of her pregnancy, Demeter had actually reced Tsubaki as the Manors de facto Mother, often giving people advice and simply being someone you could easily confide in. Demeter, not breaking the trend, also ended up giving birth to a beautiful baby girl, bestowing the name Autumn upon her. She had the same honey-colored hair as her mother but, instead of orange and cid eyes, Autumns were a rich green that could almost rival Einas and Riverias in purity. Like her mother, Autumn almost seemed incapable of having an expression that didnt include a smile. She was a very quiet and gentle girl, rarely speaking unless spoken to and, when you did speak with her, she would silently listen and just smile. Her Guardian was somewhat strange,pared to the other Vanir, as it took on the form of an Ox known as a Heaven-Bearing Ox. When it had popped up in the middle of the delivery room, it had been a bit of a shock since it was the size of a small cow and had already weight more than 500kgs... With the birth of Autumn, Vahn now had a shocking eighteen children, even though it hadnt been that long since the birth of his first. Among the Vanir, there were Ina, Vana, Erika, Leh, Aisha, and Autumn. On the side of the mortals,prised of numerous different races, there were his daughters, Meinya, Anise, Sakuya, Alise, Eiko, Rose, Iris, and Daisy, as well as his sons, Masonia, Macht, and Lucas. Wrapping up everything, though they were technically not rted to each other by blood, was his clever and prodigious little Alexa, now more than 116 years old while appearing around ten years old, physically... Alexa wasnt the only one with an age that didnt match her appearance, however, as Vana, Ina, and Erika, now being around two years old, had appearances that would cause others to mistake them as teens. It was a little sad, seeing his daughters grow up so quickly, as it felt like time had passed by far faster than he would have liked, especially since he had been busy over thest fourteen months. Though he was still very close with all of his daughters, to the point that they often all slept together, it was still heartbreaking how independent they were all bing. Fortunately, Leh and Aisha, now appearing around 3-5 years old, were both adorable and very affectionate young Vanir. Autumn was also developing quickly and, even though she only had the appearance of a toddler around fourteen months old, she had already been able to speak a few words fluently... Vahn felt like he never had enough time to spend with his children, even though he had been spending progressively more and more with them as the months continued. Some of the younger mortal children were beginning to crawl around, making broken sentences and beginning to socialize with each other while a few exceptional ones had appeared as well. Little Meinya was already able to run around the house at this point and, though she was a little troublemaker, Vahns heart would melt whenever he saw her following around Vana on their Adventures. Vana had been a very caring elder sister to most of the girls, mellowing out a bit as she continued to grow and develop. She spent her time split between training, ying with animals, and looking after her younger siblings. Though she was still a little firecracker, prone to emotional outbursts when she got excited, she had adopted a more calm and carefree disposition, closer to Tsubaki than the troublemaker she had been in the past. This change had been a result of the time she had spent with thetter, learning how to fight, and her close rtionship with Rufina, who often stopped by and spent time within the illusory forest and interacting with the children. As for Ina, the second oldest of the Vanir, and Vanas twin, she was still a very affectionate youngdy who was often teased for being a Papas girl. However, this didnt seem to bother her at all and she actually seemed to have a bit of pride about it, especially after she took over his old workshop. Ina had quickly reached a level of proficiency in forging, crafting, and mechanical skills that would have put many craftsmen to shame. She spent most of her days creating new inventions, sometimes not leaving her workshop at all until she had finished one of the projects she was working on, or someone came to pull her away from them, a task generally delegated to Vahn. Vahn had allowed Ina ess to much of his personal research and also provided her hundreds of books to help expand her knowledge on the things she had been interested in. As a result, she actually managed to make an invention that had stunned Hephaestus, Tsubaki, and himself. This took on the form of a gauntlet that covered the hand and forearm but, instead of simply providing protecting, it had an inneryer of artificial mana circuits that made the gauntlet closer to a robotic hand than a simple piece of armor. It could give the wearer arge increase in their strength, even if their Power was rather low, while also enhancing magic spells by using the artificial magic circuits as a catalyst...it was a very revolutionary invention, unlike anything the world had ever seen before... As for Erika, she had steadily been increasing her knowledge and, simr to Vana, experienced a shift in her personality. Instead of being quiet and reserved all the time, while also being easily embarrassed, Erika had opened up a lot more. She spent a lot of time talking with others, trying to learn more about interacting and socializing so that she could help everyone solve the troubles on their heart and mind. At the same time, she spent the majority of her study-time focused on magical studies and had already be a skilled Mage, even if she was still at the beginner level as far as magical power was concerned. Unfortunately, as the Vanir were unable to have Falna crests carved onto their backs, it was currently impossible to see how strong any of them had actually be... This wasnt the case for the other girls in the Manor, however, as their strength had also reached an almost ridiculous degree after spending their time between the Dungeon and the Sub-Space orb. In fact, though Vahn had been able to reach Level 6, that was now the average Level amongst the girls that made up thebatants in the Manor. Even Tsubaki, who didnt venture in the Dungeon that much, managed to reach Level 7 while most of the girls within Vahns own generation were now all Level 6 or higher. Leading the pack were Ais, Tiona, and Haruhime, annoying Tione a bit since her younger sister had clearly be much stronger than her. However, she was still around the peak of Level 6 and was determined to be the more capable Mage between them, a feat that shouldnt be that difficult considering Tionas own capacity as a Mage wascking, still having a whopping 0 Magic Parameter... (A/N: Greetings, it is me, Time-Skip-sama. I actually intended Volume 15 to wrap up a little faster than it had so, in order to cut down on quite a few chapters, Im using the reforms taking ce with the Elven Kingdom to elerate time a great deal. Though there will still be some slice of life elements, mainly rted to Vahns rtionship with the girls and his children, there will be a bigger focus on plot progression for the next 200-300 chapters. I know some people will be upset that Vahns first time with Demeter wasnt portrayed, but I intend to make it up to her a little bitter on, so stay tuned. The main reason for this is that it would have taken a lot of chapters to wrap up things within the Elven Kingdom, especially with things going on within Orario and the Hearth Manor. I know there are a lot of people looking forward to Vahns adventures in other worlds so, to ensure that were still on schedule, I had to speed things up a bit. However, if this is upsetting for a lot of people, I will simply remove this chapter and focus on slower developments and several smaller time skips instead. Since this will be the only chapter of EPIC today, Ill wait to see thement sections consensus on things before making the final decision. Also, I know some of you have been worried about my health but, after getting a checkup, know that there are no major issues. The reason for my migraines had been the result of an inner ear infection that spread into the bone and caused a great deal of pain that eventually transitioned into migraines. I took antibiotics and pain killers to deal with it previously and the current headaches are just abination of improper hydration (I had to get an IV xD) and other stress factors. Dont worry too much, as Ill do better to eat healthier foods and have a water filter near my workstation to stay hydrated.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Change you can believe in (UwU)~!,Holy shit, eighteen children...and one more on the way!?,Ina is Tony Stark (O_O)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 772 - Ripples : Waves

Chapter 772 - Ripples : Waves

While things were trending in a positive direction in the life of Vahn, the Elves within the Elven Kingdom, and the people of Orario, the rest of the world wasnt quite as peaceful. Though they had never truly taken action to preserve their alliance with the Elven Kingdom, the Dwarves of the Iron Hills were livid suddenly having all diplomatic rtions cut off. Now, not only had they lost a lot of their business in the now bustling Orario, but their second trading partner had closed off their borderspletely. Vahn, as acting Prime Minister, had publically renounced the policies of the Iron Hills and informed the world that he would not continue to tolerate their affronts to peace and civil society. This announcement hade shortly after what many had been referring to as his takeover of the Elven Kingdom but, considering that he was married to Riveria, and had been steadily improving the quality of life for the Elves, such rumors didntst long. The reputation of the Dwarves had been stagnating for a while and, as they didnt have a positive rtionship with Rakia, they suddenly found themselves without any substantial trading partners. Since their territory was severelycking in agriculturalnds, the sudden cut off of trade had been devastating to their people. In order to prevent a famine, the Dwarves had tried to trade their goods for food, primarily focused on wheat and other grains. However, the Alliance had stepped forward at this point, once against circ.u.mventing the ns of the Dwarves when Loki gave them an ultimatum. In order to renegotiate trading deals between the Iron Hills and Orario, the Dwarves would have to return all the illegally purchased Elven ves and had to publically renounce all active ve Farms that still existed within their territory. Though the Dwarves did not agree to theter, they did hand over nearly 80% of the ill-gotten ves, with the remaining amount being unounted for after selling them through traders. Since the Dwarves were notorious for keeping a proper ount of trades performed, this type of behavior made it so they were only able to exchange their goods at 40% of the initial value, something that had caused the leaders of the caravans to curse the upper echelons of their society. Just to turn a profit, they had to mark up the prices of food within the Iron Hills several times, as the oceanic trip alone was very expensive. However, the group most affected by the increase in prices were the ves that still existed within the territories, something that woulde back to bite them very hard when Vahn learned about itter. After a few months had passed, Vahn ended up stepping in and forcing the new deal, this time requiring that the Dwarves use their ves as barter instead of their other products. Though he knew this was beneficial for the Dwarves, Vahn had been more concerned about the ves under their control and, by the time the matters of the Elven Kingdom had started to stabilize, more than 60,000 ves had been exported out of the Dwarven Kingdom. As a result, Vahn was now hailed as the true hero of the Pallums, even more than Finn as thetter was never known to have aplished any great feats for their people. Though he was very strong, it was easy to see that Vahn was much stronger and, unlike most people with power and authority, he showed a great deal of concern for the Pallum people. As most of the ves that had been exported from the Iron Hills were Pallums, there was now argemunity of Pallums within Orario, affectionally referred to as Little Town by the residents there. Later, when Vahn would visit there personally, he would end up being embarrassed greatly when he saw a statue of himself had been erected at the za they had constructed... Other than the developing issues between the Alliance and the Iron Hills, there was a major shift urring within the Rakia Kingdom as well. Though there had been a great deal of propaganda painting Vahn as a Demon after thetter had destroyed all the border fortifications, things had escted even further now. This had been the byproduct of a massive increase in the number of people trying to flee the Rakia Kingdom, exploiting theck of border security. As a result, the Ares Familia had cracked down hard on the lower echelons of society and everyone below second ss citizens had actually been forced into ve contracts or killed. Unfortunately, as there had been an absolute information lockdown of the events taking ce in the Rakia Kingdom, with only a few rumors circting about, Vahn had been unaware of these travesties. He had been so focused on the matters regarding the Elven Kingdom, the Alliance, and the internal affairs of the Hearth Manor, that it had slipped under his radar. Now, Rakia Kingdom had been consolidating its forces, performing a mass conscription effort that had increased their numbers from nearly 80,000 to more than 200,000. It almost seemed like they were preparing for a massive invasion, unlike anything the world had ever seen before... To make matters worse, as a result of their antagonistic rtionship with the Alliance, some of the less above-board families from the Iron Hills had started trading weapons and supplies to the Rakia Kingdom. These exchanges were highly illegal, even within the Iron Hills, but it didnt seem like anyone was making any efforts to regte them at the present. Officials within the Iron Hills,prising the eight most powerful families, simply turned a blind eye to these ck market dealings. It was their hope that, even though the Rakia Kingdom would likely fail in its efforts, they would be able to benefit from the resultant conflict... Watching all of this from high atop the world, deep within the heart of the City of Heroes, there were three gods gathered around a circr table. Ultimately, though Zeus still harbored a grudge against Vahn, he decided to listen to Odins advice and watch how things y out. Since it could easily be seen that the actions Vahn was currently taking were just, it would have been counter to the fundamental nature of their organization to interfere before things had stabilized. They also couldnt exactly try to fight him within the boundaries of the Elven Kingdom, or Orario, as the amount of devastation that would be wrought would be cataclysmic. It was decided that, as long as Vahn was focused more on positive developments than actual control, he would be allowed to continue. If, however, he tried to make a y for power and assume a high political position, they would send him a warning and begin preparing their own forces. Though the Heroes within the City had taken vows to not interfere with the matters of the world, unless it was endangered, Vahns presence at that point would be a real threat, at least in the interim. Yes, he might be able to create a much better world for the survivors, but the number of people that would die in the transition would be horrifying. After all, Vahns personal kill count at this point number in the five digits, something that made it very difficult to consider him a true Hero... Ultimately, it wasnt simply Vahns actions that had caused Zeus to take a step back, as it had actually been the influence of his grandson that made him momentarily swallow his pride. Bell had ended up hearing of everything Vahn had done, mainly through a positive lens from interacting with people within their small vige. As the people to benefit the most from Vahns efforts had been the poor, there were arge number of people that were migrating from the border viges and trying to enter Orario. Previously, people only migrated to Orario if they wanted to be Adventurers, as it was very difficult to get established in the City without joining a Familia. Within the Alliance territory, however, the only thing you needed to do in order to get a foothold was to enter a two-yearbor contract. Even if you didnt want to be an Adventurer, you could earn a living by helping in the construction efforts, or working within one of the businesses within the Alliances territory. If you still wanted to be an Adventurer, it was now much easier to join a Familia since you just needed to go to the Guild and they would direct you to any recruiting Familia within the Alliance. Presently, there were a total of 93 Familiaprising the Alliance, with their members ounting for more than 170,000 people, though the majority were support and logistics personnel. This was because, though there were several powerful Expedition-Type Familia within the Alliance, the majority of their Familia were production oriented. To add to this, the top three merchant Familia were also members and, as a result of the massive focus on production and distribution of items,bined with therge workforce controlled by the Alliance, they now had a monopoly on most of the high-quality goods and services. Almost everything, from small businesses, simple household goods, to high-end equipment, it all carried the mark of the Alliance and the Familia that had produced it. Bell, after hearing about everything Vahn had done, and how amazing a person he was, had be one of his biggest fans. The fact that Vahn was touted as a hero, who was also surrounded by arge number of beautiful women, had left a deep impression on the boys heart. After all, his Grandfather had been telling him for years that a true Hero was always surrounded by beauties, especially those they had saved within the Dungeon. Since there were girls like Naaza and Lili involved with Vahn, Bell believed Vahn was the exact type of Hero he wanted to be. When Zeus heard his grandson fanboying over Vahn, he didnt know whether he shouldugh or cry. Though he had a personal grudge against Vahn, it was hard to paint him in a negative light without having any means to actually justify why Vahn was wrong. After all, he had been educating Bell to pursue the path of a Hero, very simr to the one Vahn had been walking for thest two and a half years. If he suddenly changed his tune, it couldpletely ruin the trust Bell had ced in him, as his words would be contrary to years of careful grooming, all without any easily justifiable excuses. Even if he tried to nder Vahn, it would likelye back to bite him in the end after Bell learned of the rumors associated with him...thus, begrudgingly, Zeus had returned to the City of Heroes andpromised with a very surprised Odin. Now, unless Vahn started making a y for his own power and authority, Zeus had decided to keep his personal grudge close at heart but not allowing it to affect his decisions. Instead, he actually intended to have Bell try to join the Alliance when thetter finally started his journey. Because they were trying to get a foothold in the Dungeon, Zeus knew they would be a useful stepping stone on Bells own adventure, allowing him to kickstart his Heroic tale. Zeus also believed that Vahn himself would probably take note of Bell at some point and help promote his strength further. Since Vahn didnt seem like the type to force people into doing things, only making sure they werent acting to exploit others, his organization would be very beneficial for Bells growth. At the same time, Zeus believed that Bells fate would actually put him in a position to even be Vahns protege and eventually rise up to the top of the Alliances internal power hierarchy. This would put Bell into a prime position to receive even more benefits in the future, even if it took several years for there to be any returns. After all, though there were several beautiful girls around Vahn, it was also well known that he had arge number of daughters. There were also hundreds of women that were drawn to him, from a variety of different species and, as Vahn had apparently closed his doors to additional women, this made it very easy for others to swoop in and pick them up. Though his grandson was a little girly, Zeus knew the boy had a powerful resolve just waiting to be awoken. After all, the flow of fate around Bell was unlike anything he had ever seen before and, in the future, Zeus knew it would set him on a road where he would reach the pinnacle. As the boys legend continued to expand, the number of women around Vahn would eventually shift their focus to the avable Bell, making him the prime candidate since thetter should be near the heart of the Alliance by then. After a few years passed, Zeus even believed his grandson might be able to conquer the hearts of some of Vahns daughters, especially those that he had sired with goddesses. Zeus knew the girls apparently grew up much faster than normal and, if rumors were to be believed, the three eldest actually appeared to be simr in age to his grandson. He felt like fate itself had engineered events to benefit his grandson and, in the future, Bell might even be the leader of the Heroes of Legend... Though Odin didnt know why Zeus had changed his mind, he was just grateful that the errant god avoided causing them even more trouble. With rumors of Vahns exploits also circting among the members of Legend, some of the troublesome Heroes had been talking about going to test Vahn themselves. The only thing that prevented them from taking action were the vows that bound them and, unless they were given a mission to deal with Vahn, they wouldnt be able to justify their actions so easily. Currently, the only way they could fight against Vahn would be to draw him out of the City, much like how Siegfried had done in the past. However, with all the things Vahn was currently involved with, it wasnt that likely thetter would ce any heavy emphasis on the challenges of others. There was also a very real chance that Vahn would be able to seriously injure, or kill, some of their members and, as they didnt actually have a reason to fight right now, that would simply be wasteful. Presently, other than a few of their more unique members, there werent any practical means to even deal with the lightning elemental transformation of Vahn. Few people would be able to contend with the speed and power afforded by such a technique and, if Zeus was to be believed, he actually seemed to have a transformation that allowed Vahn to manipte time, at least with the help of his True Dragon. That was another one of the more troublesome aspects of Vahn, as thetter seemed to be able to greatly increase the strengths of others, including monsters. ording to the information they had on hand, it was almost like everyone directly involved with Vahn were able to greatly increase their rate of growth. Many of the girls around him were actually approaching a Level where they themselves could be considered Heroes. This was the main reason that Odin wanted to get Vahn on their side, instead of antagonizing him, as they desperately needed to increase their own numbers. Odin had put in a lot of effort siring the Valkyries, hoping they would be thepanions of Heroes and help bolster their numbers further into the future. Unfortunately, this n didnt pan out very well because many of the Heroes were more interested in girls like Helen and, as a result of general ipatibilities, his daughters had essentially be glorified servants and messengers. It bothered Odin that his daughters werent actually able to serve any greater purpose, which was one of the reasons he sometimes allowed Zeus to release his tensions on them. Odin hoped that one of the Valkyries would eventually give birth to a higher form Demigod, simr to what Vahn was purported to be. It also allowed him to release his own frustrations, as watching Hera rage and brood about always brought a smile to his face. The fact she always supported Zeus, regardless of what idiotic decisions thetter made, had always caused him an endless amount of frustrations. If not for the pact they had made long ago, Odin would have recruited more gods into their inner circle, just to avoid the situation where he was constantly forced to go along with their foolish decisions... --- Far away from the City of Heroes, on the eastern side of the Continent of Eden, there was a vast forest that protected a fertile in,pletely inessible by anyone not of Amazonian heritage. This was the location of Telkyura, the country led by the current generation Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons. Other than the goddesses that resided within her borders, which were the main faith of her people, she had absolute power andplete control over thews and regtions imposed upon her people. As the strongest of the Amazons, she was revered and respected by her people and, other than the goddesses themselves, there were none that could question her decisions. This proud Queen, powerful and terrifying to all that knew her, was currently beating a pir made of pure Adamantine with her bare fists. The number of Amazons that had been curious about the outside world had been continuing to increase as ofte. As a result, their core strength had been decreasing rapidly and it was all because of Vahn, whose visage was carved into the Adamantine pir Hippolyta was punching. She didnt mind that her people wanted to seek out the strongest potential mate but, instead of doing their duty, her Amazonesses were just off ying games. The purpose of Amazonesses leaving the country was supposed to be so they could find powerful mates, conceive children, and then return to their country to make sure the next generation was able to prosper. She hadnt even cared that many of her people would be p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es as, at the very least, this allowed them to fulfill their purpose, their duty. Now, however, arge number of her people were migrating to Orario to y sports and serve within the group that should be their enemy, the Alliance. Hippolyta, by virtue of being the Queen of the Amazons, vehemently hated Orario and everything it represented. Like all Queens before her, she believed that her Amazonesses were the most superior species in the entire world, beneath only the gods themselves. The fact that Orario was a gathering ce for many races, who then lived peacefully with each other, seemed like a very bad joke. Peace led to nothing but stagnation and creating an environment where the weak could prosper ran contrary to the very beliefs of her people. Knowing that her Amzonesses were contributing to this massive farce, Hippolyta was very discontent... The only reason she tolerated things thus far is that the Alliance had greatly improved the status and eptance of Amazonesses within Orario. Instead of being treated as troublesome and licentious women, they were now highly respected and had greater rights afforded to them in the past. Arge number of them were also part of the Alliance, which had the greatest concentration of suitable males to choose from. Instead of being p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es in a brothel, they were often in close proximity to capable mates that would sire the next generation of Amazonesses. This, however, didnt mean Hippolyta liked the situation at all, especially when she heard how happily her people were talking about sports instead of fighting. Within Telskyura, the only form of eptable entertainment was dancing and fighting, oftenbined together. This allowed them to greatly increase their strength and continue their legacy that had been passed down for nearly ten thousand years. It also prevented their people from bing stagnant, even if their culture didnt move forward quickly... From Hippolytas perspective, the changes in the perspective of her people would eventually force them to be stagnant, meaning she would have failed her ancestors. After all, if her people were focused more on ying around, instead of fighting and increasing their strength, their mentality would slowly spread like a sickness that affected their entire race. However, as Orario was the only suitable ce to send their people, there was almost nothing she could do to change the situation. She had no influence within Orario itself and, forcing her Amazonesses to go elsewhere would simply guarantee their progeny is weaker than they could have been...it was very vexing... Suddenly sensing the approach of another person, Hippolyta turned around in a blur of motion, unsheathed her golden sword and pointed it towards the neck of the new arrival. Without even flinching, the Amazoness at the tip of her de simply stated, "My Queen, we have managed to obtain an item known as a [Projection Sphere] after raiding one of the Alliances taverns. I have personally confirmed that it has the information you had requested!" With a curt nod, Hippolyta sheathed her sword and took the strange orb into her hand, her expression not changing in the slightest as she said, "Good work, Myrina. Ensure that our sisters are properlypensated for their efforts. Leave me." Myrina gave a practiced salute before immediately leaving the chamber and returning to her other duties. As one of the Queens personal guards, being one of the few Level 7s within Telskyura, her duties were without end. She also knew that, after witnessing the sports within the orb herself, that her Queen wouldnt be happy when thetter viewed them. Though Myrina thought they were very entertaining to watch, it probably wouldnt be seen that way by her Queen... (A/N: Since people wanted some more information about what was going on outside of the City, I made this chapter to wrap up Vol 15 a little more cohesively :). Also, as some of you had noticed, there is indeed one girl within the Manor that is pregnant >:D...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dwarves and Obstinacy go hand in hand,Bell has been corrupted by the Godhand...!,I like how Hippolyta is beating an indestructible version of Vahn...it is very realistic training (UwU)...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 773 - Small Steps

Chapter 773 - Small Steps

Deep within the heart of the Elven Kingdom, which seemed to be ushering in a new era of peace, Vahn was currently nursing a slight headache as he listened to the King once again ask, "Are you certain you wish to step down as acting Prime Minister? You have done an excellent job thus far, Vahn, and I believe you are suited to the position..." Rubbing the bridge of his nose, while Rivera chuckled lightly from the side, Vahn looked into Larfals jade-green eyes and repeated, "I have already done everything I can with this position, and I need to focus on the matters of the Alliance now. My intuition tells me that events have already been set into motion that will affect the entire world, not just Orario and the Elven Kingdom...besides, the Elven Kingdom cant simply rely on the effort of Riveria and myself for its prosperity..." Larfal, understanding Vahns words to be the truth, released a sigh and, once again, asked, "Will you not rethink it...?" This time, Riveria began tough lightly while Vahn simply turned away and said, "Ill stop by to make sure things are running smoothly when I can. If there are any emergencies, you can always contact the Alliance and request assistance..." Without turning to look at the King, Vahn raised his hand and continued to walk towards the exit, Riveria falling in line beside him with a gentle smile that always seemed to adorn her face these days. Larfal continued watching them until therge ornate wooden doors had closed before releasing another long sigh, muttering, "Things are going to get busy for me now...I hope my grandson grows up quickly...haaaaa..." On their way out, Vahn sensed a troublesome presence approaching at a rtively fast pace, bringing him to a halt and causing Riveria to incline her head in confusion. This didntst long, however, when she saw the doors at the end of the corridor burst open, revealing a petite figure with white-gold hair and dark blue eyes. She was one of the few people that could freely run through the Pce without being stopped and, for thest year, one of the things that had constantly been wearing away at Vahns patience. Of course, if anyone heard him say such a thing, they would have looked at him like he was the greatest fool in the world. After all, the young woman with pointy ears was none other than the High Priestess, Sylfia, a beautiful young maiden who could even make gods and spirits turn their heads. Sylfia was currently breathing a little heavily as she walked forward with hasty steps until she was right in front of Vahn and Riveria. She took a few seconds to calm her breathing, putting on the air of a proper youngdy before asking, "Are you really going...?" Then, without waiting for the answer, Sylfia adopted a resolute look and said, "Please, take me with you...!" This time, Vahn closed his eyes, containing the profound sigh he was tempted to release before saying in a calm tone, "Sylfia...at this point in time, your presence is needed to help the Elven people tide through this transition...besides, Ive told you several times that Im not trying to increase the number of women around me...you will be happier if you find someone else to love..." To this statement, Sylfia just snorted and, not minding Riverias presence at all, stepped forward and grabbed Vahns other arm. She didnt say anything and just continued holding onto him, almost as though she hadpletely ignored his refusal. This caused Riveria to nudge Vahn slightly, a small smile on her face as she mentallymunicated, ("Elves, especially High Elves, can be pretty obstinate when ites to things like love, Vahn...you should be very aware of this...") With Riverias words, the image of Ryuu, Eina, and Risna all entered Vahns mind, with thetter being another one of his concerns as ofte. He knew that Riveria was right, as even Aina, Einas and Risnas mother, had been willing to spend hundreds of years without remarrying after her husband finally dies. Typically, an Elf didnt look for a life partner until they were between 50-100 years old and, when they finally found one, it was generally a life-long love. There were actually legends about unrequited loves that had be tragic tales as, without being able to follow the one their heart had been dedicated to, many female Elves would simply spend the rest of their years alone... If not for the fact that even goddesses, many hundreds of millions of years old, had also fallen in love with him over a rtively short period of time, Vahn wouldnt be able to process how quickly the Elven women in his life fell for him. Riveria was at the correct age, but girls like Ryuu and Lefiya were very young to have already entered into a rtionship, with the former even bing a mother at an inordinately early age. With Risna and now Sylfia looking to enter into a rtionship with him, Vahn felt greatly conflicted and simply wished they could be more patient. Things were going to be very hectic for a while and he didnt think it would be right to start new rtionsh.i.p.s with girls when he could barely manage his current affairs... Fortunately, as he was brooding over the best course of action to take, two other presences closed in on their position, each belonging to Deina and Irisalia. When Sylfia saw them, her body tensed up and she tried to hide behind his back as the two mature High Elves observed with stern expressions on their faces. Vahn, seeing this, took a slow breath through his nose before smiling as he said, "Good morning, Deina, Irisalia...you seem...healthy..." Deina, never quite forgiving him for the backhand she had earned, simply snorted in response. Irisalia, however, gave a somewhat wry smile as she said, "I heard you will be leaving the Kingdom for a while...the Elven people will miss your presence dearly..." To this, Vahn just shook his head lightly and said, "Well, it isnt as though I wont be visiting when I have time. It doesnt take long for me to jump over and check in on things, and Ill probablye by to visit with Riveria and Lefiya when they want to stop by..." Turning to Sylfia, who was still hiding behind his back, Vahn lifted his hand and began petting the top of her head as he said, "Your people need you right now, Sylfia...but...once things settle down...haaaa..." Vahn hadnt been able to finish the words but, understanding what he meant, Sylfia immediately became bubbly as she grabbed his hand and bounced around happily. It wasnt until Irisalia and Deina dragged her away that Vahn was finally liberated from the rather unique High Elf... Riveria, still holding onto his other arm, squeezed it gently as she said, "There is nothing wrong with having more love to give, Vahn...we all understand what kind of person you are...even I...ufufufu~." As there werent any people to see them, Riveria leaned her head against Vahns shoulder and showed a lovely smile on her face. Thisst year had been very fulfilling for her, especially since her son was growing quickly and had even said his first words, gratifying her as he had inartictely cooed Mama. Since most of Vahns children almost always said Papa first, Riveria felt strangely prideful about the matter and had teased Vahn excessively about it after the fact... With Riveria leaning against his shoulder, Vahn couldnt prevent a small smile from spreading across his rather tired looking face. In truth, if not for how busy things had been over thest year, he likely wouldnt have been able to actually refuse Sylfia for very long. She was a smart girl who was pleasant to be around, especially since she was always deferential and honest with him, something very rare for a High Elf. Though she wasnt prone to embarrassment, another rare trait, her assistance had been instrumental in ensuring things ran smoothly within the Kingdom. If he were to be honest, she had found a small part of his heart andid im to it, something he couldnt honestly refute... For the time being, however, he simply couldnt divert his focus even further than he already had been, especially since things should be picking up with Orario. He wasnt lying when he told Sylfia her presence was needed in the Kingdom but, inversely, his own was required within Orario. The expedition down to the 50th Floor was scheduled only a month from now and it was nearing time for Alexa to exit the Space-Time orb. He also needed to handle his tasks as the representative of the Alliance and, as his own strength had been stuck around the middle of Level 6 for a while, Vahn knew he needed to begin training soon. Simply put, he just didnt have time to invest himself in new rtionsh.i.p.s, especially with the fact that girls like Nanu, Risna, Tina, and Shizune were bing pressing issues... Because they had been making use of the Sub-Space orb, even sparingly, the youngest of the previous youth troupe was now, chronologically, seventeen years old. Shizune and Risna, who had been staying in the orb a lot more than the other two, were actually 24 and 22 respectively, even though their appearances hadnt changed much. Shizune, at least, no longer looked like a ten-year-old girl and, using the nutrition supplements he had developed, she now looked to be around 13-14 years old, even though her chest hadnt developed that much. The troublesome thing was, Vahn could see their patience had been slowly wearing down, especially since they were all of legal age, with the exclusion of Tina. Tina was still thirteen, if ignoring the amount of time she had spent in the orb, but her birthday wasing up rtively soon. She had also been taking the nutritional supplements and, though she still looked on the younger side, her height had increased to 156cm and her secondary s.e.x.u.a.l characteristics had been steadily developing. To deal with her stress, she had been training very hard with the other girls and, as a result of possessing a me seed, learning magic, and spending several hours polishing her skills, Tina had reached the peak of Level 5 already. She even managed to awaken her Innate, [Eclipse], a terrifying ability that allowed her to enhance her own parameters based on a percentage of her own opponent every time they traded blows. Thinking of how strong all the girls had be over thest fourteen months, Vahn had a smile that didnt quite reach his eyes. He was happy they were all a lot more powerful than before, as it would make the future threats easier to deal with, but it felt like he had missed a lot of their growth. As he hadnt been using the orb much, as a result of splitting his time between Orario and the Elven Kingdom, it felt like they had been changing faster than he could easily cope with. He now had a true understanding of how the girls had seen him in the past, with how he was developing much faster than they expected by relying on Evas orb. Fortunately, none of the girls seemed to be too affected by the fact that they would spend months at a time away from him and it had even made the times when they were together more intimate than expected... Vahn knew that the girls were a very powerful support group for each other and, as many of them were actually pursuing the path of immortality, they werent too caught up by the idea that they were missing out on life. The only exceptions to this seemed to be the girls he hadnt actually consummated a rtionship with, such as Risna, Tina, and Shizune. Nanu was surprisingly okay with things and had even told him that she wanted to try and be a [Master Smith] before they mated. She was now, chronologically, slightly under twenty years old and had made great strides in her skills as a [cksmith], pushing the Development Ability to Rank A under the guidance of Hephaestus and Tsubaki. Thinking of his young and faithful apprentice, Vahns smile softened and he kissed the top of Riverias head, saying, "Ill meet you back at the Manor. Im going to do onest check on the Sacred Trees before I head back..." Riveria nodded her head and, taking advantage of the fact they were alone, stood on her toes and gave him a quick peck on the lips before smiling. A few secondster, after being summoned by his other body, Riveria vanished with a magical light and Vahn found himself alone within the corridor while, on the other side, he yfully pinched Riverias ears. When he said he would meet her back at the Manor, the words had been quite literal. After all, with his ability to control two bodies at once, Vahn could serve as a waypoint for the girls to travel vast distances in very short periods of time. --- While his main body was flying around above the Elven Kingdom, Vahn had escorted Riveria back to the Manor. They had nearly been run into by a figure exiting through the back door but, as Vahn had already noticed her presence, they had already moved out of the way when Vana burst out through the door. Her eyes widened when she saw them, nearly dropping the pastry from her mouth before grabbing it and saying, "Hey, Papa, Riveria~!" Then, as if realizing something, Vanas eyes began to glimmer as she asked, "Papa, are you busy right now!? I wanted to show you something!" Riveria released his arm when she heard this and just smiled politely as she said, "Im going to go check on Masonia. You two have fun..." Vahn followed Riverias back with his eyes before turning his attention to his eldest daughter, excluding Alexa, and marveling at how much she had grown. Since the girls appearances hadnt changed that much, as a result of his care in the past, Vana almost looked like she was in the same generation as girls like Ais, Tiona, and Tione. She had the appearance of a girl around 12-14 years old, already 153cm tall with a maturing face and a figure that was quickly following in the footsteps of her mother. It was a very strange feeling, seeing his daughter had already blossomed into a young woman when, just two years ago, she was small enough toy atop just one of his arms... Even so, Vana didnt seem to care that her body had changed and, without any hesitation whatsoever, jumped forward and gave him a big hug while shouting, "Yay~! Lets go, lets go~!" Thus, never really able to refuse his daughters requests, Vahn ended up being dragged into the illusory forest by Vana so that she could show him what had interested her. It didnt take long for them to reach the secret area, which now looked like a proper training field, allowing Vahn to see what his daughter had wanted to show him. There, in the center of her training area, was a mannequin that Vana often used for her sword training. This time, however, she took out a satchel full of candles and began cing them all over the mannequin before having him stand off to the side. Vahn already understood what Vana wanted to show him but just remained silent, a small smile on his face as he watched her shout, "Doryaaaa!" and send out several lines of me. In an instant, without burning any part of the mannequin, Vana had lit all the candles and immediately jumped up, raising her fist high as she shouted, "Did you see that, Papa!?" Without waiting for his answer, Vana had already run forward, poking out her head happily with arge smile on her face that screamed praise me. Then, as if it were the most natural reaction his body had, Vahn reached out his hand and began stroking her ruby-red hair and said, "Youre amazing, Vana. You never cease to amaze me~." Thispliment caused Vana to release her characteristic shishishiughter before her eyes suddenly widened and she asked, "So, do you think Im strong enough to start going on my own adventure now!? I know were supposed to wait until were older, but I reeeeeeally really want to try and go into the Dungeon on my own. Please, Papa, pleeeeeeeease~?" Vahn felt his brain buzz a little when his daughter suddenly started begging him to allow her to risk her life within the Dungeon. Though he hadnt been there to see all of her growth, he knew she was only around the strength of a low Level 2, even with her mes. Vulcans strength was closer to a Level 4, but it was still far too dangerous to allow her to enter the Dungeon. They still didnt know how the Dungeon would even react to the presence of a Vanir and, as they were unable to possess a Falna, it may not be efficient to even allow her to fight monsters in the Dungeon. Still, though this was the case, Vahn felt like a hand had gripped his heart and it was very difficult to say no at times like this... Fortunately, Sis voice sounded out in his mind, saving the day and making his decision a little easier as she reminded, (*You could always give her the [Genesis me] and set a goal for her to reach before apanying her into the Dungeon personally. Also, youll need to let her fight at some point if you want to verify the use of the [Heroic Tale].*) When he heard these guiding words, Vahn knew that Sis was right and all of the things she pointed out were actually very important to the future of the Vanir. The [Heroic Tale] was supposed to record all the detail of the Vanirs life and, ording to its description, it even rewards them with items, skills, and abilities when they performed feats acknowledged by the record. It was almost like they all had their own sub-system to make use of, which would allow them to be much stronger than normal, especially if they were able to ovee difficult trials. Still, Vahn felt nervous about any of his children entering into the Dungeon...though, thinking about it more clearly, this was probably simr to how most parents felt... After releasing a sigh, Vahn pulled his hand away from Vanas head and, before she could begin pouting, pulled out a scarlet red book and a tiny vermillion colored seed that made the surrounding temperature begin to rapidly increase. Holding out the seed, Vahn smiled and exined, "This is a unique artifact you had been born with, Vana, called the [Genesis me]. When you consume this seed, you will be able to create and control mes at will. I wanted to make sure you had been able to control your normal mes before giving this to you...I believe you are ready now..." Vana took the seed into her hands, feeling a very strong attachment to it and, without waiting for a single moment longer, immediately tossed it into her mouth. It felt like she had swallowed a very warm and delicious soup that spread through her stomach before warming up her entire body. Unable to resist the pleasant feeling, Vana released a light m.o.a.n that made Vahns flinch as he continued to hold out the [Heroic Tale] with a nk expression on his face. When she had regained her focus, he held out the book and exined, "This is another item that is bound to you, called the [Heroic Tale]...you will need to keep it safe, as it will be very important if you want to be strong in the future." When she heard this, Vana reached out and grabbed the book, causing it to immediately sh with a magical light as the name on the cover changed to read The Heroic Tale of Vana Mason. This caused her fiery eyes to glimmer like a zing me as she opened up the book to see what the contents contained. There, on the first page, surprising the both of them, was a Status Board that listed all of Vanas current parameters, including values for Soul and Divinity... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Status]] Name: Vana Mason Title: Little Firecracker [Increases control of fire elemental energy] Race: Vanir Age: C2, P13, M8 Level: 2 POW: G230 END: E418 DEX: F391 AGI: F317 MAG: D553 SOUL: 3 [Lord Soul] Divinity: Fire[pseudo:56%], Life[pseudo:17%] Skills: [Inheritor of me:Innate:D], [Shepherds Grace:Innate:I], [Precise Thrust:E], [Featherfoot:F] Magic: [Genesis me:Innate:I], [Sagitta Magicka:G], [me Lance:D] Development Abilities: [Eternal me Spirit:Innate:F], [Swordsman:H] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Seeing Vanas Status, Vahn realized he had made an error as a result of his concerns that the girls hadnt been ready to make use of their artifacts and [Heroic Tale]s. Since Vanas [Genesis me] actually showed as one of her Innates, Vahn realized he had set them back slightly by not allowing them to develop their artifacts while they were growing. Now that he thought about it, as all of the artifacts were nourished by the soul, it made a lot of sense that they had some rtion to the girls Innates. He would have to check with Ina and Erika to see if they actually had a (sealed) version of the abilities before he gave them their artifacts... Vanas eyes were glimmering excitedly when she saw her own Status, especially since there were so many cool abilities she didnt even know she had. Still, the things she was happiest about were the fact that she managed to awaken the [Featherfoot] skill and [Swordsman] Development Ability. It had bothered her a little not being able to see if she was able to use the same skills as everyone else. Now that she was able to tell that her efforts had paid off, Vana was incredibly excited so she hugged the scarlet book tightly before shouting, "Thank you, Papa, I love you~!" Vahn was broken from his thoughts by Vanas shout, instinctually smiling as he reached out and began to ruffle her hair again. He then spent the better part of half an hour giving Vana a few goals that she would need to reach before she was able to apany him into the Dungeon. Just like they werent supposed to start dating until they were 14, Vahn told her she wasnt allowed to venture into the Dungeon on her own until she was, at least, ten years old. However, as long as she went with one of the Level 7 girls, or himself, she would be allowed to register as an Adventurer and start going into the Dungeon once she hadpleted her challenges... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wont you reconsider...?,Sylfia is very persistent (o,...,o)!,Vana is the new MC!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 774 - Bestowment

Chapter 774 - Bestowment

After leaving Vana to her training, as she had wanted to immediately jump into things, Vahn knew it would be prudent to give the other Vanir their own artifacts. At the very least, he needed to assign them their [Heroic Tale]s so he could see if their Innates were simply sealed away. Though he had a few inhibitions, especially concerning the artifacts of Erika and Leh, it was still an ability the girls would have to master at some point. As long as they were properly supervised, there shouldnt be any great dangers, at least to themselves. Innates could ignore the Laws of the record at times so, even a rtively low rank Innate could still be used to seriously injure, or even kill, the unsuspecting. Since they were almost always in the same ces, Vahn decided to start with Erika and Ina, choosing thetter since it was around the time for lunch and Ina might be ignoring the needs of her body again. She had a habit of foregoing everything, including food, drink, sleep, and even bathing when she got deep into her work. If he didnte to get her, the only two people that could break Ina away from her work were Hephaestus and Tsubaki, as she would often want to ask for their opinion on things. As expected, Vahn found Ina hard at work on a new prototype, this time a pair of greaves that extended all the way to the knee. Her current goal was to make a full-body suit of armor that could allow people to fight on par with a Level 3, even without having a Falna of their own. If worn by someone stronger, it would also amplify their base capabilities further and, after a few iterations and reworks, it would undoubtedly be a terrifyingly useful suit of armor. Vahn was curious to see how far she would be able to develop it in the future and, after seeing what she had already aplished, he was more than a little interested in helping her develop a suit for himself... Ina looked slightly younger than Vana, appearing to be around 11-12 years old with a petite, yet strong build. Since she was always working hard in her workshop, Ina had a very healthy figure and visible muscles, even if she still looked very delicate at a nce. Though not nearly as much as her sister, she was also maturing properly and currently stood at 149cm tall. Currently, she was wearing some fire resistant coveralls with the top half tied around her waist. Vahn couldnt help but put on a wry smile since she was only wearing a ck sports bra to protect her dignity while hammering away at a metal ingot. Since Ina was almost always looking slightly into the future while doing her work, she had detected his arrival almost immediately but didnt stop hammering away just yet. Vahn, understanding that she wanted to wrap up her current task, just walked over and observed her workmanship. She wasnt quite at the level of Nanu, but Vahn guessed she probably had a B-Rank [cksmith] Development Ability. She was currently forging a piece of the unique Damascus Steel that he had purchased for her through the system. The level of difficulty was between that of Magisteel and Mithril and Ina was able to preserve around 85-90% of the base material when refining it into an ingot. After finishing up her task, Ina released a sigh of relief and set the ingot into an oil-based quenching solution before removing her goggles and smiling radiantly as she said, "Papa, wee home." Though she was more than a little dirty, Ina jumped forward and tightly hugged him while Vahn held her in his arms, feet dangling off the ground. Ina had always been his Little Princess and, though she spent a lot of time in her workshop, they had always been very close. As a result, their hug hadsted nearly three minutes before Vahn set her down on the ground and ruffled her pale-blond hair, currently tied up in a rather sloppy ponytail. While fixing her clothes, Ina kept a smile on her face and asked, "Did youe to my workshop for something, Papa?" Then, without waiting for an answer, Ina turned to look at the clock and saw it was around lunchtime. Her smile grewrger and she followed up by asking, "Will you eat lunch here today~?" Vahn, nodding his head, smiled as he said, "Yes, but there are also a few things I wanted to talk to you about. After seeing Vanas progress, Ivee to understand a few things and decided to give all of you the artifacts you had been born with. There is also a book, called a [Heroic Tale], which will allow you to view your Status Board, even without obtaining a Falna." Inas pale blue eyes began to glimmer in expectation because she knew her own artifact was supposed to be a hammer. She had previously thought it wouldnt be given to her until she was five years old so, hearing that her Papa was going to give it to her today, it almost felt like her birthday all over again. With a vibrant smile, Ina practically skipped over and tightly hugged her Papa again, happilyughing while he patted her head and loosely hugged her in return. After using his cleaning magic to help remove the grime and sweat from Inas body, the two sat down on the nearby sofa. Vahn set out some food for them to eat before pulling out the [Heroic Tale] and [Soul Hammer], passing over the pale blue book first while exining, "This is the [Heroic Tale]. It will bind with you and enable you to keep track of your Status from now onwards. If you work hard, and acquire some achievements, it will actually give you rewards that can range from anything, be it items, materials, skills, and abilities." Hearing her Papas exnation, Ina was very excited and could hardly wait to find out exactly what her Status was. However, her main focus was on the small hammer in his opposite hand, looking rather in and nondescript but feeling as though it was calling out to her. Even so, she still epted the book first, correctly assuming her Papa wanted to test something since he always had the same look on his face when he was interested in verifying his conjecture. Ina assumed he wanted to see what her Status was before giving her the hammer, likely to determine if it had any effect on her Parameters and abilities... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Status]] Name: Ina Mason Title: Little Princess [Improves mental focus and enhances positive emotions.] Race: Vanir Age: C2, P12, M20 Level: 1 POW: D530 END: S911 DEX: SS1003 AGI: E401 MAG: B816 SOUL: 3 [Lord Soul] Divinity: cksmithing[pseudo:31%], Crafting[pseudo:37%], Creation[pseudo:8%] Skills: [Mind of the Maker:Innate:E], [Soul Hammer:Innate(sealed)] Magic: [Origin Trace:Innate:I] Development Abilities: [Eight Circles of Divination:Innate:C], [cksmith:B], [Craftsman:C] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Seeing Inas Status, Vahn gave a small nod and handed over the [Soul Hammer], which Ina practically snatched out of his hands. He was able to confirm that her fourth Innate did indeed activate the moment she absorbed the hammer into her body, proving his spection was urate. This gave him every reason to give the other Vanir their own artifacts, as it would be infinitely more beneficial for them to nourish their artifacts as early as possible. Since both Vanas and Inas had started out at Rank I, the lowest possible rank, Vahn knew he had made a mistake. However, when he thought about Vana ying with fire that might even be able to melt Adamantine with ease, he didnt regret his choice. Ina felt veryfortable after absorbing her hammer but managed to keep her bearings as she turned her attention back to the book. She was pleased to see how high her Parameters were but, seeing the three different values for age, she couldnt help but ask, "Papa, these values, how do minepare to Vana...?" Momentarily confused, Vahn blinked a few times before looking at what Ina was pointing at. A small smile spread across his face as he answered, "Your chronological age is the same, but your physical age is a little lower than your big sisters...as for your mental age, it looks like you win out by a fair amount. You have to remember, though, that you have spent a lot more time studying and working than Vana has...dont tease her, okay...?" Hearing this, Ina just giggled yfully before scootching over and sitting in hisp, leaning against her Papas chest as she said, "Dont worry, Papa, I know Vana is a kind and innocent girl...Im actually envious that she is able to befriend animals so easily. Still, thank you for giving me this book and my new hammer..." Turning her head, Ina kissed her Papas cheek and then gave him another hug while nuzzling against his chest with a contented expression on her face. After that, the two ate lunch together, talking about the potential of her unique skills and the projects that she had been working on. Afterward, Ina practiced using her [Soul Hammer] a bit and was beyond jubnt when she learned how useful it was. It could take on any shape or form she could imagine, even changing its weight to suit her purpose. Now, instead of having to use a variety of different tools, she could use her [Soul Hammer] to supplement them all. It was almost more urate to call it a [Universal Tool], as it could even turn into a pair of pliers, but Vahn kept thatment to himself and just watched his daughter happily y with her new artifact... Since Ina wanted to get back to her work, the two shared another long hug before Vahn finally left her workshop and went to track down Erika. She was almost always within the Library or spending time in the first-floor main study, where people congregated, or the dining room, another ce where you could generally find someone to converse with. This time, Vahn found Erikas presence within the Library, alongside another presence that he was very familiar with, Loki. He walked into the Library, surprising the mother-daughter pair who had been ying another one of the games Vahns had purchased through the shop, Shogi. Lokis eyes parted slightly and she began to snicker before saying, "Dont interrupt us just yet, Vahn. Were close to finishing up this match...kukukuku..." Erikas eyes were also slightly parted but she still managed to squint, somehow, before moving her Gold General to take her Mothers rook. As for Vahn, he just sat down to watch the game, which was already in its final stages, trying to discern who would win. At the same time, feeling strangely introspective today, Vahn observed Erika and noticed that she had changed even more than her two elder siblings. She was a lot like her mother, for better or worse, but had a gentler appearance and arger volume of hair. Though it still made a unique star-shaped pattern with her ponytail, Erika now had fringe bangs that framed her face and almost always wore a pair of sses that gave her a more mature appearance. After a few minutes had passed, Loki ended up biting the nail of her thumb before raising both her hands and saying, "Aiyaaa, you dont know how to hold back, do ya~? Youre going to break your poor mothers heart being so vicious, Erika~." In response to this, Erika just smiled slightly before turning to her Papa and asking, "Papa, is there something you needed me for, or did you just want to spend time together? If you have time, Id like to y Chess, Go, or Shogi with you..." While speaking, Erikas green eyes glimmered through her partly open eyelids and it was easy to discern apetitive light glowing within. Thus far, her Papas win:loss ratio was heavily in favor of his victory and, through Hel or high water, Erika was determined to close the gap... Vahn chuckled lightly before gently ruffling Erikas hair and exined the same things he had already discussed with Vana and Ina previously. Loki and Erika listened patiently until he had finished his exnation, causing them both to release simultaneous sighs. Vahn already knew what they wanted to say so he rubbed the back of his head and said, "Sorry, I should have put more consideration into it before now...however, I dont regret it. The artifacts of you, Vana, and Leh arent exactly the type of things young children should be ying with...even if you are very intelligent." Loki nodded her head in response to this, especially when she considered the detrimental effects her daughters artifact might have had if she was allowed to use it. Erika also understood this and, thinking about her past self, couldnt help but feel as though her Papas mistake had actually been beneficial. After all, being able to know the thoughts of another person was a very dangerous ability, especially under certain conditions. Still, just imagining what she could do with it, in conjunction with her Doppelganger, had stirred up Erikas curiosity. Thus, when she had been handed a nondescript white mask, which had vanished with a sh of light, and a green book, Erika had epted them both without hesitation. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Status]] Name: Erika Mason Title: Prodigy [Increases Experience gained when performing any action.] Race: Vanir Age: C2, P15, M70 Level: 2 POW: G207 END: F315 DEX: D523 AGI: G230 MAG: B799 SOUL: 3 [Lord Soul] Divinity: Knowledge[pseudo:41%], Wisdom[pseudo:33%], Chaos[pseudo:10%] Skills: [Pce of Wisdom:Innate:D], [Amorphous Guise:Innate:I], Magic: [Curse of Entropy:Innate:I], [Sagitta Magicka:C], [Evocatio:D], [Deflexio:C], [Cantus Bex:F] Development Abilities: [Solomons Heir:Innate:(sealed)], [Mage:C], [Spirit Healing:C] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Seeing Erikas Status, especially her mental age and her Magic Parameter, Vahn was more than a little surprised. He knew she had been treating her magical studies very seriously, but the fact that she had enough proficiency in four magic spells, enough that they appeared within her Status Board, really made her Prodigy title make sense. Though he felt like Vana would still win in a fight between the two, this was only because Erika wasnt really abatant and was more of a Schr than anything else. She would likely be a highly proficient Mage in the future but, just as it was within Evas world, Erika would need Knights to protect her. Fortunately, with Doppel on her side, Erika already had an ally with an almost unbreakable defense, even if she was a little weak currently. Erika had a small smile on her face as she read her own Status but, seeing the words listed within her Divinity category, she couldnt help but frown slightly. She had actually thought her Divinity would have been more closely rted to her Mothers, to the point it had bothered her a great deal in the past. Now, seeing that she didnt have a Divinity rted to Trickery, Erika wasnt exactly sure how she should feel right now. Ultimately, she settled on just being content with the new knowledge she had obtained, understanding it would be very useful for her future development. Loki was having very simr thoughts to her daughter but, remembering the wishes she held for her daughter during her pregnancy, it made sense that their Divinity wouldnt actually be the same. In fact, this revtion made Loki realize that Vahns spection was more urate than they had initially thought. Previously, she believed the Divinities obtained by the Vanir would still be strongly associated with the parents. Now, however, Loki believed it might actually be possible to give thempletely different Divinities just by wanting them to possess certain qualities...this line of thinking actually made her want another child just to test her theory... Noticing the change in Lokis aura, Vahn raised his brows slightly and looked towards the smiling goddess, now gaining a slightly predatory look through her veiled eyes. Fortunately, she returned to normal before Erika had noticed anything strange and the three of them began to talk about what kind of methods Erika might be able to use to increase her proficiency in her new abilities. Though he couldnt really exin to them exactly what Soul Tier was at the moment, the fact that it was mentioned in the book allowed Vahn to share some spection on the matter. Loki and Erika quickly built upon his reasoning and had started to structure a working theory that would allow all of the girls to make greater progress in their Innates in the future. It helped that the book actually called them Innates, as it would make it easier to ssify such abilities in the future. Now, by identifying the Vanirs Soul parameter, Vahn spected that mastering their Innates would allow the girls to strengthen their soul and, by increasing their proficiency with their Divinities, it would be possible for them to ascend to godhood in the future. Presently, the [Heroic Tale] only listed their Divinities as pseudo but, once they reached 100% proficiency, Vahn was certain they would evolve into full-blown Divinities. As for the strength of those Divinities, he suspected it would also be viewable through the [Heroic Tale], something that made Lokis eyes burn with intrigue. After all, there were no known ways to increase the strength of ones Divinity so, if the Vanir were truly able to aplish such a feat, it meant they could potentially grow beyond existing gods... For the better part of the afternoon, Vahn discussed theories with Loki and Erika, continuing until Hestia hade to retrieve them for dinner. They used the meal as an opportunity to disclose the matter and discuss it with everyone else present while Vahn went through the process of helping Leh, Aisha, and Autumn bind with their [Heroic Tale]s and artifacts. He had each of the girls, especially Leh, to promise never to use them without supervision and to always let someone know if there were any problems. Each of them, though they only had appearances ranging between 1-3 years old, were all very intelligent young girls and readily agreed to be responsible with their artifacts. As a result, the dinner became rather lively while everyone passed around the girls [Heroic Tales] and discussed what each of the Innates might do. While this was going on, Vahn was sitting with Leh and Aisha in hisp while Autumn sat in her mothers and happily ate a small pile of mashed potatoes with a wooden spoon... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Status]] Name: Leh Mason Title: Papas Girl [Makes it easier to gain attention and enhances positive emotions] Race: Vanir Age: C6M, P3, M6 Level: 1 POW: I28 END: I40 DEX: I59 AGI: I31 MAG: H141 SOUL: 3 [Lord Soul] Divinity: War[pseudo:27%], Beauty[pseudo:38%], Magic[pseudo:3%] Skills: [Sword of Divine Judgment:Innate:I] Magic: [Nibelung Valesti:Innate:(sealed)], [Magic Gods Domain:Innate:(sealed)] Development Abilities: [Goddess of War:Innate:I] [Sword of Divine Judgment] Rank: Unique Use: A sword that can be nourished within the soul of the user, allowing it to be increasingly more powerful with the passage of time. Allows the user to form an ethereal de that canpletely ignore the defense of their target, disturbing the flow of energy within the body and exorcizing their spirit. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Status]] Name: Aisha Mason Title: Hope [Allows the wielder to increase their rapport with other people easily] Race: Vanir Age: C5M, P19M, M4 Level: 1 POW: I11 END: H101 DEX: I13 AGI: I08 MAG: I41 SOUL: 3 [Lord Soul] Divinity: Peace[pseudo:52%], People[pseudo:25%], Order[pseudo:4%] Skills: [Jurist Scale:Innate:I] Magic: [Pce of Peace:Innate:(sealed)] Development Abilities: [Saints Sacred Aura:Innate:(sealed)], [Peerless General:Innate:I] [Jurist Scale] Rank: Unique Use: A scale that can be nourished within the soul of the user, allowing it to be increasingly more powerful with the passage of time. Enables the user to discern the truth by binding a target under a temporary vow, emting the Laws of the World. Those under the effect of this Scale would have their vitality and internal energy reduced until the effect is negated. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Status]] Name: Autumn Mason Title: Good Listener [Causes people to confide in you more easily] Race: Vanir Age: C3M, P14M, M6 Level: 1 POW: I04 END: I22 DEX: I05 AGI: I11 MAG: I25 SOUL: 3 [Lord Soul] Divinity: Agriculture[pseudo:33%], Fertility[pseudo:27%], Earth[pseud:4%] Skills: [Sacred Land:Innate:(sealed)] Magic: [Harvest Goddess Blessing:Innate:H], [Heart of the Earth:Innate:I] Development Abilities: [Elderwillows Will:Innate:(sealed)] [Heart of the Earth] Rank: Unique Use: A heart-shaped seed that can be nourished within the soul of the user, allowing it to be increasingly more powerful with the passage of time. Enables the user to nt the seed, allowing for arge increase in the amount of natural energy gathered into the target. This seed is not limited to being nted within the ground and can also affect people, animals, nts, and other organisms. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Im assuming people wont want to read a MASSIVE data dump about how all the girls strengths have increased over thest year. Since these two volumes wont actually show much of an increase in the strength of the characters within the story, I will be doing an AUX chapter detailing the Status of each of the central characters andbatants. Im not sure if it wille out today, as such chapters generally take way too long, but look forward to it...? Im already feeling tearsing xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Birth of Magi-Science Technology,Erika is mentally an olddy xD...,Leh needs to watch where she points that thing...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 775 - Power

Chapter 775 - Power

With a shift in focus from the affairs of the Elven Kingdom, Vahn suddenly found that his schedule had opened up a great deal. He suddenly had a lot more free time than before and it was having a very positive impact on his own mentality and his rtionsh.i.p.s with the girls, his children, and his personal affairs. However, though this was the case, Vahn knew it was actually a sign that events were about to be set into motion, especially considering that he had almost been in the world for a total of three years at this point. This meant, if he hadnt already shown up, Bell would be entering Orario soon and, considering that the expedition to the 50th Floor was less than a month away, Vahn knew the young Hero would likely set in motion a series of troublesome events. Fortunately, the girls had all been training hard over thest year in preparation for the push into the 50th Floor and the battle against Enyos forces. Though Vahn wasnt actually that worried about the threat posed by Enyo from the original story, as he knew the girls were now far stronger than they would have been in the canon material, he knew that his influence on the world would cause events intended to bnce his impact on the record. Since girls like Cassandra had seen events that shouldnt have taken ce, Vahn knew Enyo had likely made some kind of preparations to deal with the changes he had introduced into the City. Now, it all depended on how the events transpired after the arrival of Bell within the City... Vahn had a theory that, as the protagonists of the world, it was almost impossible to prevent the flow of fate from somehow incorporating people like Bell and Ais into the significant events in the world. It was almost as though, as a result of the original authors intent, essentially as the creator of this world, they had to be at the center of things. Vahn wasnt really against this, as it would allow him to essentially use Bell as bait, but he was still concerned how it would impact those around him. This was why he helped the girls increase their strength greatly and, as a result of these efforts, the weakest person in the entire Familia was Preasia, who was Level 3. After making arrangements with the Guild, the residents of the Hearth Manor no longer had to publicize their Levels and, though most of the general public only thought there were a few Level 6s amongst their group, there were actually several Level 7s now. Riveria, Ais, Tiona, and Haruhime were all Level 7 now, with Lefiya, Tione, Mikoto, Arnya, Tsubaki, Chloe, Ryuu, Lunoire, and Lili making up the Level 6s. Behind them, still monstrously powerful in their own right, were Naaza, Emiru, Maemi, Mn, Tina, Shizune, and Nanu at Level 5. This left the only girls below the rank of First ss Adventurers as Aki, Risna, and Preasia, being Levels 4, 3, and 3 respectively, none of which were consideredbat personnel. Since he was also around the peak of Leve 6, while having thousands more parameters than the girls themselves, Vahn was one of the strongest in the Manor, with only Terra being inarguably stronger than him. However, if it was a fight to the death, there wasnt anyone capable of defeating him, with only girls like Ryuu, Fenrir, and Lefiya even being able to do any meaningful damage to him. Still, ever since gaining increased proficiency with his three most powerful forms, now referred to as Lightning Emperor, Void Emperor, and me Emperor, Vahn was confident he would be able to win any fight, even if it had to be through attrition... If his own strength wasnt enough, there were a few Aces that were always waiting to take action, especially if it was in the defense of the Manor itself. These were his subordinates, with the weakest among them being Khaos, who was currently Level 6. Since they had been able to take human forms, it was now possible to view the Status Boards of Fafnir and Khaos, confirming that the former was Level 8 while theter was nearing Level 6. As for Terra and Fenrir, it was almost impossible to know exactly how strong Terra was, only that she was beyond Level 10. Fenrir, however, could still be measured with the Falna and, as a result of her unique training and cultivation, she was also at Level 7, even though her actual fighting prowess would make it impossible for anyone other than Ais and Haruhime to even contend with her. In a direct battle, Fenrir would be able to injure or kill almost any enemy, regardless of how physically strong or durable they might be. The only girls who could even fight against her were Ais, Tiona, and Haruhime, with only Ais and Haruhime being able toe out ahead on asion. This was because Ais was simply faster than everyone else, especially after incorporating [Shundo] into her skill set. Though Vahn hadnt taught them the skill directly, both Ais and Tiona had learned how to use the instant movement technique just by seeing Fenrir and Haruhime use it so often. As for how Haruhime was able to fight against Fenrir, much to the frustrations of thetter, it was because her skillset almost perfectly countered Fenrirs. Fenrirs Magic was still one of the most powerful within the group of girls, with only Lefiya evening close, but that had almost no effect on Haruhime. When Haruhime used her [Pactio], her barrier was able to block most magical attacks with ease. Then, when it came to closebat, Haruhimes Innates made it almost impossible for Fenrir to even strike at her directly. Unless it was a battle to the death, where Fenrir used her [Severing ws] or [Devour], she had no means to get close to Haruhime at all. Thetter would simply dance around the battlefield like an illusion that even his [Eyes of Truth] couldnt see through, as any attempts to focus on Haruhime often forced him to fall into a dazed state... Just imagining Haruhimes dance would cause Vahns mind to dull for a moment and, as a result of hispse in focus, he was almost caught off guard when Lilis fist came tearing through the void like an unstoppable force. Twisting his body slightly, tapping the side of her fist to redirect it, Vahn jumped back with [Shundo] and watched as the tiny fist mmed into the ground. He had made sure to jump back more than 20m, allowing him to be outside the st radius when Lilis fist caused the ground to explode with a massive shockwave. Of all the girls in the Manor, Lili was physically the most powerful, without any question whatsoever. She was also one of the most agile, making use of her small size and impable sense of bnce, making it very difficult to fight against her directly... Before the dust had even started to fall downwards, a tunnel had been cut through the debris as Lilis small body bore through the shrapnel, shouting, "Yaaaaaaah!" as she tried to punch him in the diaphragm. Vahn exhaled while his zing blue eyes focused on the tiny fist,ing to pinhole sized points that made it feel as though the flow of time had stagnated to a crawl. He could see the formless energy contained within Lilis body, which wouldpletely annihte him if he allowed the strike tond. Even so, Vahn didnt try to dodge directly and instead moved his right hand into the nook of Lilis arm, opposite her elbow, while using his left hand to redirect her arm away from his body. Lili allowed her body to be twisted, using the momentum of the movement to coil up her body like a spring as she kicked off his stomach with enough force to dislocate his arm while causing catastrophic damage to his abdominal muscles and internal organs. Vahn could feel a powerful shockwave pass through his body, almost like he was loose silt beneath the crashing of a wave. He simply couldnt resist it at all and nearly fell to the ground before catching himself by levitating. Before Lili had even turned back around to continue the fight, he had alreadypletely regenerated and, as before, they continued the spar for a full four hours. Thus far, most of the girls werent exactly ustomed to attacking people with the intent to kill so, in order to make it easier for them to adapt, Vahn always had them go all out against him. He figured, if they were able to go all out against him, someone they cared about deeply, the girls wouldnt hesitate if they had to fight against real enemies. Though this had the result of some idental activations of [Effigy of the Hero]s, when they got a little too excited fighting against each other, it was a very realistic form of training that would probably save their lives in the future. Ironically, it was Tiona, who was borderline unkible, who had used the most [Effigy of the Hero] in her spars. This was because she would sometimes ce too much trust in her ability and, when Ais got serious, it was very difficult to not get shredded into pieces... With their sparing to an end, Vahn released an exasperated sigh while Lili sat on his stomach, giggling as she traced her hands around the muscture of his upper body. Then, as she was prone to doing, Lilis hair changed into a light pink color as two curved ck horns appeared at the sides of her head. Her ears, previously rounded, grew into points while, at the area above her rather small shorts, a bushy ck tail simr to Anubis sprouted out and began to tap against his inner thigh. Leaning forward, not minding the presence of the other girls, Lili dragged her slightly pointed tongue along his corbone and asked, "Will you y with me tonight~?" From the side, Tiona had bounded up to her feet and shouted, "Ah, Lili, that is cheating! You cant use that form to try and tempt Vahn~!" In response to this, Lili just smiled mischievously and, like a pink blur, appeared behind Tiona, hugging the lively Amazoness from behind as she asked, "Oooh? Did you want to y with me instead, Tiona~?" Feeling her ear get licked, causing a hot sensation to spread through her head, Tiona quickly wiggled out of Lilis embrace and desperately wiped away at the saliva on her ear. Lili just began tough like a mischevious imp until a gloved fistnded on her head, knocking her onto her butt as a cool and reprimanding voice sounded out, "Lili, youve been getting carried away a lottely...are you going back on your promise?" Since the hand that had struck her had several metallic tes, Lili rubbed the top of her head with a teary-eyed expression andined, "Ais, youre too violent!" Then, after pulling herself back to her feet, Lili continued rubbing the growing bump on her head and said, "Im just ying around. Seriously, even with this form, youre the real Subus between us..." To this usation, Ais just averted her eyes slightly and, seeing Vahn sitting on the ground smiling at them, returned one of her own as she said, "Perhaps...but its Vahns fault Im like this..." Hearing this, Tiona raised her hand like one of the children that attended the School and eximed, "Nope! Ais has always been a perverted and curious girl, you cant me Vahn for that~! Ahahaha..." Though she had been very proud of her im, Tionasughter trailed off at the end when Ais turned her golden eyes towards her, apparently not as amused by the im. However, after a few seconds of awkward silence, all of the girls began tough, including Lili. She had moved over to sit in Vahnsp and was currently getting the growing lump on her head treated while they were fooling around. Over thest year, which had been closer to 4-5 years for the girls, they had be a lot closer to each other and liked to tease one another, especially during the lulls in their training. In truth, at least amongst the three of them here, they were all a little more perverted than was probably healthy, as they had made it apetition amongst themselves to see who could win against Vahn when they were together. As a result, Lili had developed her Subus transformation, ironically basing it off information she had obtained from books and observing Lefiya. Not only was her body very unique, almost to an extent that could even rival girls like Syr, but Lefiyas saliva actually gained an aphrodisiac effect that she liked to use when teasing some of the other girls... As for Tiona, though she couldnt actually change the fundamental nature of her body so easily, she would sometimes use her [Pactio] transformation to make things more interesting. Since Amazons, in general, were already very pleasant girls to have s.e.x with, the various exotic qualities she would adopt when transformed were very refreshing. As for Ais, she simply made up for her own inability to transform by developing her skills in the bedroom a little too far. She had always been a very curious andpetitive girl so, after several years of practice, she had be a very scary existence in the bedroom. She was one of the few people that could directly contend against him in the bedroom, with the only others being goddesses like Freya, demigoddesses like Syr, and anomalies like Lefiya and Lili... Thinking of Lefiya, Vahn suddenly felt the link between them begin to fluctuate slightly, followed by her voice actually sounding in his mind, ("Master, were you thinking of me~?") Vahn released a chuckle, impressed by how sensitive Lefiya was to their bond, as the only others that could contend with her were Hestia, Fenrir, Hephaestus, Loki, and Terra. He sent her a quick message, exining that he was indeed thinking about her, including the context behind his whimsical thoughts. He could almost feel her blushing through the link they shared and, momentster, a magic circle actually appeared next to him as Lefiya forcefully summoned herself to his side. With the introduction of the carnivorous spirit, the training session had quickly been derailed and the group had to move to a more private location. Almost as if they were making up for lost time from when he had been busy with the Elven Kingdom, thest few days since Vahns return had been filled with passionate emotions and romantic rendezvous. Though he was getting back into the swing of his own training, it was very difficult to keep his focus for long periods of time when the girls auras were constantly clinging to him whenever they were rxing. Unable to refuse them, or perhaps instinctually incapable of it, on a very primal level, Vahn often found himself giving into the momentum of the situation, something the girls hadnt voiced anyints about... --- Back in the real world, Vahn tapped the tip of his pen against the doc.u.ment he had been perusing and let his mind wander to what was going on within the orb for a while. This didntst long, however, as he sensed a small presence sneaking around outside his office. cing down his pen, and pushing the set of doc.u.ments to the side, Vahn went to the door and opened it just as a tiny figure was trying to stretch up and turn the doorknob. This had spooked the young girl on the opposite side of the door but, before she was able to fall to the ground, Vahn had already swooped down and picked her up, asking, "Did you want to spend time with Papa, Leh~?" Though she was still a little spooked, Leh nodded her but asked, "Is Papa busy...?" while tilting her head to the side, allowing her adorable silver pigtails to bob. Vahn just chuckled lightly, carrying her into the room so he could spend some time with this adorable little daughter of his. He pulled out the book that had been previously reading and allowed Leh to snuggle up in his embrace as she attempted to mouth each of the words on the page. To prevent himself from getting distracted, Vahn activated his [Will of the Emperor] with his main body while keeping things rtively tame with his Avatar. For the remainder of the afternoon, Vahn spent time helping Leh improve upon her vocabry while he eventually finished things within the sub-space orb. Since he had previously stored the doc.u.ments in his Inventory, Vahn pulled them out within the orb and began going over the various stacks of paperwork that required his attention. Though the gods were still the primary authorities within the Alliance, he was publically the Alliance Head or, more specifically, the Commander in Chief of the Alliances forces. He not only had the authority tomand any of the Familia within the Alliance, but was also in charge of approvingrger projects and personally finalizing negotiations. Every day, Vahn felt like he would have to spend hours sorting through paperwork, as he needed to seriously consider each matter before making a decision. Though he could change his mindter, he didnt want to get into the habit of being an unreliable leader. Trust was the most important thing for anyrge organization and the fewer mistakes the made, the easier it was to implement more difficult policy changes in the future. These formative years were pivotal to ensuring things ran smoothlyter on and, as he was about to be within the Dungeon for a long period of time, Vahn needed to make sure things were properly dealt with before he ventured down. Though he could return to the surface in a rtively short period of time, Vahn wanted to always be at the heart of things, even if events started to flow around Bell with the influence of fate. It was fortunate that he had two bodies to work with, or else it would be even more difficult to deal with things in the future. Even though he wouldnt be able to move the girls in and out of the Dungeon, as the function was restricted based on the distance between Floors, he had already confirmed that his Unit Management was able to get around this restriction. Simply put, he could move anything that was directly linked to his soul and had been reconstituted with his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]. This meant, wherever his bodies were, Vahn could summon Terra, Fenrir, Fafnir, and Khaos to his side at a moments notice. This functionality, on top of the fact that his Inventory was linked through the system interface, meant Vahn could move things in and out of the Dungeon in an instant. He could also facilitatemunication between the Dungeon and the Surface through his two bodies and instantaneously react to anything the enemies tried to throw at them. Though he certainly couldnt prepare for everything, Vahn was determined to at least be able to react to any changes in the situation... No matter what it took, Vahn was determined to protect this ce that had be his home, even if it meant confronting fate itself. One day, when he returned to this record, the influence of fate would probably be the most serious threat he had to face. Thus far, he had been able to ovee any challenges thrown his way. Now, the flow of fate would be revolving around someone else and Vahn wanted to use this as an opportunity to get a better understanding of how it worked. In the future, he wanted to be able to directly influence fate and, as there were no such things as impossibilities within The Path, Vahn knew it would be possible if he never gave up trying... (A/N: I have decided topile the list of all the girls stats AFTER thepletion of this volume. For now, Ill only list them as they be relevant to the story and, as there are some spoilers that would be present within their Status Boards, I want to keep them a secret for the time being. Im actually getting to the point, like many Authors, where I realize that stats are actually more trouble than anything else. After all, having numerical values that allow you to quantify a persons abilities, even without he influence of Innates, makes things too real while also breaking away from the realism of the situation and making it seem more like a game. In future records, I intend to address this in a way I believe people will be able to appreciate but, for the remaining duration of Danmachi, dont expect Status to change much, or even be a centralponent of the story (UwU)...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Stronk Grills,Terrifyingly Tiny Subus o_o...,Fate can f.u.c.k right off~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 776 - Fate

Chapter 776 - Fate

As he was ought to do, Vahn awoke early in the morning with a beautiful woman snuggled up in his arms, bare body pressed into his own as subtle signs of the previous nights activities marred their flesh. Leaning over, Vahn kissed the light grey hair that had been tickling his nose, stirring awake the blissfully sleeping beauty, causing simrly light grey eyes to turn up and meet his as shezily mused, "Good morning...Vahn..." Reaching out his hand, removing some stray strands of hair, Vahn pressed forward with his lips, sampling the sensuous sweetness of her lips and tantalizing tongue before responding, "Good morning, Syr..." In response to his kiss, Syr just nuzzled into the nook of his neck and released a sigh as she said, "We wont be able to have s.e.x for a while pretty soon...did you want to sleep in with me this morning~?" Vahn released a light chuckle before reaching his right hand down, tracing the curve of Syrs body before bringing his palm to rest on her abdomen. Turning his glimmering green eyes to match the loving expression of the beautiful girl in his arms, Vahn smiled and began gently stroking her stomach as he said, "There will be plenty of time for things like that in the future...you shouldnt push yourself so hard, Syr." Feeling Vahns warm palm diffusing energy into her body, Syr felt veryfortable and simply entrusted her body to hispletely while yfully pouting, "Moouuu...you better not let my body get saggy after I give birth, Vahn..." This caused Vahn to beginughing loudly, as he couldnt even imagine any part of Syrs wless body sagging, regardless of what happened in the future. Even if she gave birth a thousand times, Vahn still felt like Syr would look like an inordinately beautiful young woman, constantly skirting the border between innocence and sensuality. For now, however, he was content with her just giving birth once, proud that their efforts had borne fruit two months prior. Syr was currently the only girl within the Manor that was pregnant, something that had caught all of them off guard since it was very rare for a Demigoddess to get pregnant. Because she had wanted her pregnancy to ur naturally, it had taken nearly twenty months of effort before Syr ended up getting pregnant. Though they didnt spend every night together, she was one of the girls that often appeared whenever he had group activities, at least in the beginning. Later on, his time with Syr had been cut down a bit, as a result of being split between Orario and the Elven Kingdom. However, quantity didnt seem to matter much and, after spending an intimate night alone together, Syr ended up getting pregnantpletely naturally. Though they didnt do anything more sensual, Vahn still decided to take Syr up on her offer and spent the better part of two hours just cuddling with her. It wasnt until Maemi had sent him a telepathic message, informing him that Loki was looking for him, that Vahn finally crawled out of bed. As for Syr herself, she decided to sleep in for a bit since she was still tired from the previous nights exertions. Vahn spent a few minutes helping her getfortable and making sure she was properly tucked in before making his way down the stairs to the main study, where Loki, Hestia, Anubis, Maemi, and Emiru were all waiting for him. Anubis tail began to wag gently when she saw him enter into the room, bowing slightly as she said, "Good morning, Master..." Vahn smiled, returning her greeting and stroking her head for a short while before sitting down next to Hestia and Eirene. Loki made a small frowny face, acting as though she was bothered that he chose to sit in between them instead of next to her. However, she was only ying around and quickly got to the point before Vahn even asked, "That boy, Bell Cranel, had registered at the Guild and started looking around for a Familia this morning. The little werewolf girl, Rose, received the message and ryed it through Aisha, who then told Eina, who passed on the message onto the Network. What did you want to do about it, Vahn~?" The moment he heard Lokis words, Vahns somewhat tired expression immediately morphed into a more serious one as he reminded, "That boy has an incredibly powerful fate and will likely be one of the Alliances most important allies. However, that doesnt mean we should cater to him and provide everything that he needs. Even if left alone, I believe events will transpire that forces our paths to converge at some point...though, that isnt really my intent..." Vahn knew that, if he let Bells fate jumpstart things, it might be in the form of an event outside of their control. By bringing Bell into their fold early on, even if he allowed the boy to take action on his own, Vahn believed they would be able to avoid some of the more troublesome events that would normally surround a protagonist. After thinking this far, Vahn matched Lokis gaze and said, "I want to observe him and see what kind of person he is with my own eyes. Since he had been raised by Zeus, there is always a chance that he could have be brainwashed by that old perverts idea of what it means to be a hero. As we previously nned, I think it would be best for him to join the Loki Familia but I also want to see if events transpire that lead him to any particr Familia. Ill leave my avatar here and go observe him personally for the next couple of days." Loki nodded her head, also adopting a serious expression as she reminded, "I dont mind if that boy ends up bing the heart of my Familia, but I wont let my other children be endangered so easily. Though Im also curious to see what kind of existence could have such a powerful fate around them, Im not going to just watch on the sidelines if things begin going south. For now, Ill let Finn take the actions he deems prudent but, if that boy triggers an event bigger than they can handle, youll have to be ready to step in at a moments notice." Even if some people assumed she only treated her children as tools, Loki still cared for them very deeply. After being influenced by Vahn, this nature of hers had be even stronger, especially after having an actual daughter of her own. Previously, in preparation for the events that would follow, everyone within the Hearth Manor had gotten together to discuss Enyo, the forces outside Orario, and key figures such as the Heroes and Bell Cranel. Since Bell had even been able to reach Level 9 in the Divination, bing the Commander of the forces probing deeper into the Dungeon, his potential couldnt be ignored. Though he certainly wasnt necessary, Vahn knew that things would actually be harder to deal with if he tried to remove Bell from the equation. It was simr to how he had received a quest to save Haruhime in the past, an event he could have avoided entirely if he had been willing to shoulder the burden of the world on his own. Vahn knew that there were certain key figures that would likely be involved with future events, primarily revolving around Bell, Ais, and Haruhime. Ais had been the heroine in the story and, now that she was involved with him, Vahn didnt know how fate would have changed to incorporate her into the events that would follow. This was the same for Haruhime, though Vahn assumed that her influence on events was likely rted to her Level-Up magic, not necessarily any specific action she would have taken. Still, he didnt know these things for certain and, fearing that withholding the knowledge would cause even more problems, Vahn had disclosed as much information as he could without exposing the existence of The Path. It helped that he actually had ess to several different means of divining the future, with Cassandra, Sylfia, and Ina, while also having experienced an actual Divination himself. The current n, if it could be called that, was simply to go about their own lives as much as possible while simultaneously doing their best to keep each other informed of any events that might take ce. One of the best means to maneuver around fate was simply tomunicate with each other and, as they were able to telepathicallymunicate, they already had some massive advantages. As for everything else, such as interacting with Bell himself, that would be up to the prerogative of everyone on an individual level, so long as they werent going out of their way to act out of character or on a whim. Vahn had already warned everyone about Bells [Luck] so, if anything happened to trigger an event, they needed to be firm with the boy to prevent the unique Development Ability from putting them inpromising positions. Though Vahn believed [Luck] wouldnt lead Bell into a situation where it drew him the ire of other people, Vahn would personally extend some punishment on the boy if he ended up having a fated encounter with one of his girls. Since he had already seen the type of person Zeus was, and interacted with Hera, Vahn didnt believe for a moment that the two gods didnt intend to use Bell to their advantage at some point. One of the things Vahn couldnt help thinking about was how fate might alter the flow of events to allow Bell to cross paths with one of the Vanir in the future. He didnt believe it was a coincidence that the Vanirs ages put them around the same age as the young Hero, especially with how Vana was already pressing him to allow her to venture into the Dungeon. Though Vahn wouldnt prevent his daughters from falling in love in the future, he didnt like the idea that fate would have already paired his children with someone else, at least until they were of age. If Bell tried to make a pass at one of his 2-3-year-old daughters, Vahn would take the boy so far away from the continent of Eden that the young protagonist would never be able to influence events again, fate be damned... After getting the information regarding Bellsst known location, Vahn changed his form slightly and set out into the City, seeking out the boy that used to be his favorite character within the original story. Now, that impression had faded a bit, likely as a result of ruing nearly 120 years of experience within the Space-Time orb, so Vahn wasnt as excited to meet him. Though he was certain Bell would be a good friend, Vahn no longer felt bound by the idea that he needed to befriend him simply based on his previous understanding of the boys character. Any number of things could have changed over thest three years to fundamentally change the type of person Bell was, especially since Zeus probably wasnt too fond of him. Even so, Vahn believed that Zeus had probably tried to bother him within the Divination as well and, considering Bell had still be a central character, Vahn believed it was still worth getting to know him. At the very least, it would be nice to have a male friend that might actually be able to stand at his back in the middle of a fight. Though he trusted the girls with his life, there was also a part of Vahn that was absolutely terrified by the prospect of losing any of them. Unless it was a situation where he could be reasonably certain they werent endangered, Vahn couldnt easily expose the girls to the real monsters that inhabited the world... Since he had seen existences like Siegfried and Jeanne, Vahn knew it was possible for people to reach a degree of power he hadnt actually considered possible before glimpsing it with his own eyes. He knew Bell would actually be able to be much stronger than either of those two, as he was the main character, so his expectations for the boy had gone up greatly after his battle with the Dragon Knight. Vahn was curious to see how quickly Bell would grow as well, especially since thetter must have been able to reach a strength that allowed him to save the world in a rtively short period of time... While ruminating over the future, Vahn arrived in the area where Bell wasst seen, which happened to be one of the Familia associated with the Alliance, the Skadi Familia. Without announcing his presence, Vahn walked in through the front gate and beheld the rather homely looking residence of the Skadi Familia, looking like an oversized hut that might belong to a skilled Hunter. There were numerous hides, bones, and drop items on disy all around while the majority of the members present carried various different sized bows, shortswords, and daggers. The Skadi Familia was one of the few that focused on hunting monsters instead of killing them, harvesting them for the greatest number of resources instead of simply killing them. Though many of them had noticed his presence, it was a young woman with dark brown hair, styled in a boyish cut without any attempts to manage it. There were two red markings under her hazel-brown eyes and she was wearing leather armor that, contrary to how many females Adventurers wore their clothing, covered most of her body. On her back, there was a green shortbow that had a small amount of mana present within, making it a rtively high-grade magic weapon, even though it looked rather simple at a nce. With a look of intrigue, the woman came forward and asked, "Are you here to try and join our Familia as well? Were lucky to get a new member each month, much less two prospective members in one day...tell me, kiddo, do you know your way around a bow? Ever hunted anything?" While speaking, the girl was giving Vahn an appraising look and, even though he had disguised himself to an extent, she was still very impressed by what she saw. At the very least, from her perspective, he was much better than the scrawny kid that had barely been able to form a coherent sentence... Vahn was almost seized by his urge to show off but, remembering the times he had embarrassed himself in the past, he simply smiled and said, "My skills with a bow arent bad, but that isnt why I came here. That other boy you mentioned, with white hair and red eyes, Im actually looking for him. It would help me out if you could point me in his direction..." As he was speaking, though he tried to keep things casual, Vahn noticed that the girls aura had taken on a slightly pink hue. Seeing this caused his smile to tense up slightly, but he kept his calm and simply cursed the Development Ability he had never intended to awaken... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 15 Race: Half-Doppelganger, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level: 6(+) -Power: 4001+(E408)(A/N: Weak!!!) -Endurance: 5713+(D577) -Dexterity: 5156+(C623) -Agility: 4492+(D501) -Magic: 11611+(S924)(A/N: Vahns Magic would make him a Level 12 xD...) Total: 30,973+(3,033) Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) [Karma]: 93,413 [OP]: 103,408,882 [Valis]: 11,007,912,050 Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:D->C], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth: B],[Bow Mastery:S], [Stealth:A->S], [Chainbreaker:S], [Heart of the Eternal me:SS], [Prometheus:A], [Call of the Reaper:A],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Featherfoot:S], [Hands of Nirvana:S->SS], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:A->S], [Friend of Spirits:A], [Void Ward:E->A] Magic: [Thria*Mimos:A->S], [Shundo:S->SS], [Koku Shundo:C->B], [Cantus Bex:S], [Mellodia Bex:B], [Vis Maxima:E->B], [Sagitta Magica:B->S], [Pactio:S], [Magia Erebea:SS], [Dios Tukos:C] Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:S], [Well of Spirit:C->A], [Swordsman:A], [Master Smith:H], [Mixing:C], [Mentor:A], [Grooming:D->B], [Arch Mage:I->G], [Charm:E](new) [Charm] Rank: E Use: Increases the ability to build rapport with other people, especially members of the opposite s.e.x. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ While he had been dealing with the affairs of the Elven Kingdom, Vahn had left a deep impression on a great number of people, especially the female Elves he interacted with. He had personally applied the crests of 1,739 females and, as Elven women are typically very reserved, the rather intimate ceremony had won him the favor and fanfare of more than a few of them. As his reputation continued to improve, Vahn eventually awakened the [Charm] Development Ability, an exceedingly rare ability that has only been doc.u.mented a few times within the Guilds records. Ever since he had awakened the ability that would have earned him the envy of almost any other man, Vahns life had been filled with troubles as even his own women seemed marginally more attached than normal... Mentally shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Vahn listened as the woman exined, "Ah, that kid wanted to join our Familia but I sent him along after he said he had never used a bow before. All he had on him was the dagger given out by the Guild, so I guess he is aplete novice..." Then, as if realizing something, the woman frowned slightly and said, "Actually, I think I saw him run off in the direction of Babel Tower after I turned him away...you should probably hurry along if he is your friend. I hope he hasnt done anything stupid just because some of our members teased him a little..." Vahn, having just cleared his head from stray thoughts, felt like his brain had beenpletely emptied by the womans words. He couldnt help but ask, ("Sis...do you think...there is no way that could be the case...right?") Unfortunately, the only thing Vahn heard in response was a sigh before Sis said, (*You should be an existence outside the influence of fate, under normal circ.u.mstances...but, as you have seen with Tina, your willingness to be involved in events allows fate to have some indirect influence on you. If you dont chase after Bell now, he may end up dying before his journey even begins...*) Before Sis had even finished her words, Vahn had already disappeared from the small courtyard, stunning the members of the Skadi Familia. Vahn now realized that it might not even be the other people around him that ended up getting wrapped up in Bells fate, but he himself would be the anchor between the other significant characters and Bell. This wasnt that much of a surprise but, given how events were ying out, Vahn couldnt help but feel as though he had be the key to Bells future growth. Just as Ais had saved him in the original story, it looked like fate had conspired to put him into the position of Bells would-be savior. The fact that he didnt get a quest for it was a little bothersome but, considering how annoying things would be if Bell spontaneously died, it didnt really matter too much... --------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Optional Quest Triggered// [Quest: Is it Wrong to Pick up Heroes in a Dungeon?] Rank: B Objective: Save Bell Cranel from his inevitable death as a result of the changes to fate. [0H17M43S] Rewards: 1x[Fate Severing Knife], 18,000OP Failure Conditions: Death, Death of Bell Cranel Penalty: 5,000 Karma, Recognition as a threat by the Records Laws --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Seeing the sudden notification, Vahn nearly slipped in mid-air and, after regaining his senses, immediately began chanting his [Dios Tukos] before absorbing it with his [Magia Erebea]. Then, like a sh of lightning, Vahn made his way to the entrance of Babel Tower, bypassed all the startled Adventurers located within, and then made his way into the entrance of the Dungeon. With less than seventeen minutes to find a single person within the Dungeon, Vahn knew he didnt have that much time. Though he knew it might be the machinations of fate, trying to set things in motion, Vahn also sent a telepathic message to the girls exining the situation. While he was quickly making his way through the first floor, he summoned Fenrir, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lili, Naaza, Chloe, Arnya, and Nanu to his side, having them break off to find the boy supposedly loved by fate... (A/N: Iughed when I realized that Rose/Aisha share names with Vahns daughters xD. However, just like in the real world, I consider it perfectly normal for people to sometimes have the same name :3. Also, fate is such a fickle little bitch...I swear, even though Im the Author, these events have nothing to do with me (o 3 o)...!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Syr is the Preggers (*w*)!,What a Charmer xD...,I feel like he should have let Ais stay at home...kappa~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 777 - Brink

Chapter 777 - Brink

Though his Lightning Emperor mode gave him incredible speed, far above the standards of the world, Vahn was learning very quickly that it wasnt that suitable for use inside closed areas. He was still able to move through the various corridors and rooms at high speed, but it wasnt actually that much higher than if he were using normal [Shundo]. However, as he had already transformed, Vahn felt it would be a waste to transition back, at least for the time being. If necessary, even if it meant potentially spawning a Juggernaut, he was willing to bore through the Dungeon in order to track down the errant Bell, who had immediately been promoted to the top of his bucket list. Vahn knew that Bell wasnt exactly the most sensible person, always seeming to ignore the advice that people gave him, but he hadnt expected to get wrapped up in the boys quirks from the start. Once he found Bell, Vahn intended to, at the very least, harshly reprimand the youth for not considering his actions. Depending on the circ.u.mstances, that lesson might be something a little more physical, assuming he was the one to even discover Bell from the start. Part of him felt like Ais would be the one to discover Bells location, even though she had immediately gone down to the Second Floor with Tiona and Tione... --- Ever since I can remember, at least after the time Grandpa had saved me, it had always been my dream to be a Hero. Hearing all the stories about great men and women who faced adversity and, against all odds, overcame the trials that prevented their rise...I had hoped, by aspiring to be a Hero myself, that I would be able to create a legend that could be passed down through the ages. Along the way, I would make lots of friends, save damsels in distress, and, if I was lucky, maybe even surround myself with several cute girls. I never told Grandpa, but it had been my dream to have a Harem filled with girls of various different shapes and sizes,prised of the members of several different races. It didnt matter if it was a long-eared Rabbit Hume, an adorable Pallum girl, or even a goddess...in truth, however, I just wanted a real family to call my own, other than just my Grandpa... I now understood why the stories of Heroes and Heroines were fairy tales or, at the very least, something that only a few exceptional men and women could be. My overzealous attitude, believing I was something special, caused me to overstep my boundaries a great deal. All because I was too embarrassed to talk directly with the beautiful girl that had the red marks on her face and ended up getting teased by herpanions. I wanted to show them I wasnt just some useless kid that would burden them and, even though the nice people at the Guild had told me not to venture into the Dungeon before joining a Familia, I ignored their advice and now had to pay the price... Still, I didnt feel like it was entirely my fault as, at least when I was fighting Goblins, it wasnt that difficult of a battle. As for the monster before me, it shouldnt even have been on this Floor at all, at least if the information provided by the Guild staff was urate. Since they were very helpful and gave me lots of advice, I believe that their words had been the truth. Thats why, even though I was probably going to die in a few moments, I only med my terrible luck andck of foresight for the current predicament I was facing...at least, thats what I was trying to tell myself within my mind while my mouth only managed a guttural scream that sounded almost inhuman in its savagery... Swinging my dagger forward, a simple de of around 30cm long that was a bit heavy in the handle, it bounced off the hard surface of the strange blue lizards body and, as if to taunt me for my attempt, the lizard hissed before swinging its body like a whip, striking my abdomen with its tail. A very sharp pain spread through my body, almost like something inside of me had broken while an overwhelming sense of powerlessness rose up from my stomach...or was that my lunch? It was hard to tell what was going on at this point and the only thing I could really discern was that a volume of liquid, filled with some dangerous looking bits, had burst forth from my mouth after I was pushed back into the hard Dungeon wall behind. Though I had managed to get up and run after the first couple of hits, it didnt seem like my body was listening to me anymore. I didnt want to die, especially before I was even able to have a serious conversation with a single girl, but my body simply wouldnt listen. The only thing I got for my efforts was sharp and agonizing pain but, as if to exacerbate and mock my situation, something was blocking my throat, preventing me from even crying out any longer. As for the strange blue lizard, nearly 4m long and possessing thick blue hide as it skulked forward on four legs, I could swear it wasughing at me. Then, like a cat toying with a small field mouse, it began to move forward with a predatory glint in its deep red eyes, now reflecting the image of my own terrified face within their depths... Step by step, almost as if time had slowed to a crawl, the strange lizard made its way forward until it was right next to my feet. As though it was intending to make things as painful as possible, it opened its mouth and aimed for my legs with its long and serrated jaws, lined with three rows of teeth that glistened with viscous green saliva. At this moment, just as another wave of pain was about to greet my existence, I was able to understand why my body had been getting progressively slower as the fight went on. It seemed to have some kind of paralytic venom, even possessing a lightyer covering its durable blue hide... Just as the lizard was about to bite down on my legs, I tried to muster what remained of my strength, pulling forth from reserves I didnt even know I had. Even so, other than moving my head away from the Dungeon wall slightly, my body simply refused to allow me to evade the sharp teeth. I could only watch helplessly as the lizards head lowered towards my legs, jaws agape as its head fell lifelessly to the ground in between my calves. Like a broken faucet under arge amount of pressure, blood shot out from the now exposed viscera of the neck and, even though it hadpletely soaked my body, the only action avable to me was staring ck-jawed at the decapitated blue lizard as its body broke down into small particles of purple dust... "Haaaaa...it looks like I made it in time. From now on, dont do such reckless things, okay, kid...?" Even before I turned my head towards the voice, I could already sense a powerful and almost overbearing pressure weighing down on my body. The most noticeable thing, however, was the intense light that made it almost impossible to look directly at the source, which seemed to be a boy around my own age. When I looked towards him, it was like looking at a statue that had been carved from ck marble as some great master sculptors take on perfection. This look, however, caused me to realize I could actually move and, instead of being blocked, a natural, "Eh...?" came out of my mouth. Then, when the boy reached out his hand to pull me up, I absentmindedly grabbed it, feeling a powerful warmth spread through my body that chased away all the negative emotions that had been building up inside... --- After helping Bell stand, Vahn looked into the dazed boys red eyes, noticing they actually had a very unique and clear feeling to them. His hair was also startlingly white, with a slightly translucent appearance that made it seem like fibers of pristine white jade. The weirdest thing was, unlike how he appeared within the manga, Bells facial features were like a blend between a handsome boy and a cute girl. His face was slightly rounded in a youthful manner and, if not for the blood covering nearly half of it, Vahn had the strangest impression that Bell would have actually looked cute. This,bined with the fact that Bell was actually thinner and smaller than he had expected, almost made the young Hero look more like a girl than the boy Vahn knew him to be... Since it didnt seem like he was capable of forming any words at the moment, Vahn waved his hand in front of Bells face and asked, "You okay, kid? I healed your physical wounds, so youll be fine after returning to the surface and rxing for a bit...sorry, I cant do anything if you experienced a trauma. If thats the case, the only thing you can do is work hard to ovee it..." Though he had always considered what he might say after meeting Bell, watching the boy simply stand there in a daze was making it very difficult to find his words. Fortunately, or perhaps not, Vahn had already sent messages to the other girls and, as they were only a few Floors apart, they immediately teleported to his side. Upon seeing a group of beautiful girls pop into existence, Bells eyes widened and he backpedaled several times until colliding into the wall once again. Much like how Lefiya would in the past, his blood covered face became beet red and he uttered a wawawawa sound. Then, as ifpelled by some tug of fate, Ais, who had teleported the closest to Bell, walked forward with a curious and reminiscent expression on her face as she asked, "Are you okay...can you stand?" This caused Bell to release a squeak but, unlike how he had originally run away, he just quietly stammered, "Ah...Im okay...Im...ah...I..." Though Ais had extended her hand to help Bell stand, he didnt reach out to grab it and just kept looking into her face as a deep blush began to spread across his own. Seeing this, Vahn released a sigh while Tiona and Tione just looked at Bell, the boy who was supposed to be very strong one day, like he was some kind of strange animal. They had never seen an effeminate boy with white hair and red eyes before, causing Tione to incredulously ask, "Are you sure this is the right kid...? He doesnt really look on anything special...well, other than his appearance?" Seemingly tired of extending her hand, Ais frowned slightly before turning her head towards Vahn and mentallymunicating, ("This boy...it feels like I know him. Its hard to exin...almost like it is something sealed away in my memory..."). Vahn gave a small nod in response, saying, ("It is likely rted to the nk period in your memories that we talked about. Though he might not have a direct connection to your past, there is a good chance there is an indirect one. For the time being, just let me know if you realize anything and, if you feel any awkwardness or difort, please tell me...") Vahn knew there was definitely more to the rtionship with Bell and Ais than he had seen within the limited amount of manga he had read. Her reactions towards him had always been strange and, though it could just be a result of the crush he had on her, Bells pursuit of Ais had definitely been unnatural. He obviously didnt truly love her, not in any obvious or meaningful way, or he wouldnt have paid so little attention to his emotions and influenced so many other girls in his life. After all, it was his focus on Ais that had caused some resentment to build up within the girls around him, even though it wasnt truly that obvious that Bell had loved her. It was like they were inextricably drawn to each other, which might have turned into love over time, but definitely wasnt love from the start... Moving forward, Vahn reached out and, as Bell seemed incapable of functioning right now, picked him up by the scruff of his tanned tunic and brought the boy to his feet. Since thetter only weighed around 60kg, it was almost like picking up a slightly heavier pebble, even though Vahns Power was his lowest parameter. When the catatonic boy was finally back on his feet, Vahn released a sigh and asked, "What is your name, kid? Why are you here in the Dungeon on your own? How did you even encounter a variant Dungeon Lizard on the First Floor...?" Generally, variant monsters didnt even start appearing until you reached the Seventh Floor...after all, if such strong monsters could appear in an area with Rookie Adventures, the statistics of deaths recorded by the Guild would be much higher... Hearing Vahn questioning him, Bells mouth just opened and closed a few times before suddenly trying to run off. Vahn, however, quickly grabbed the boys shoulder, asking, "Youre not just going to run away after I saved your life, are you? I understand that you might want to hurry out of the Dungeon, but wouldnt it just cause misunderstandings if you run off...?" To this, Bell showed a face of embarrassment and hung his head as though he was contemting what to say. He noticed that Vahns grip on his shoulder strap hadnt loosened at all so, even though he wanted to run away and escape his embarrassment, it didnt seem like that would be possible... After several long seconds of silence, Bell released a sigh and it seemed like all the tension in his body was slowly released as he muttered, "My name is Bell Cranel...thank you for saving me...Im sorry for trying to run away..." Then, with Vahns hand still on his shoulder, Bell tried to bow in a polite manner with an apologetic expression on his face. Vahns brows raised slightly when he saw this and he couldnt help but smile before hearing a ping sound within his mind. Turning his attention to the system notification, Vahn resisted taking in a sharp breath and instinctually let go of Bells shoulder as he read... //Bell Cranels Affection+44, Intrigue+50// //Bell Cranel Affection:95(Reverence), Intrigue:100(Insatiable Curiosity)// Bell, being released from the seemingly immovable grip, put on a bright smile with blood still covering his fair skin, almost as though he was oblivious to the fact he was covered in blood. With glittering red eyes, he excitedly asked, "Ah, I never got your name! Please, can you tell me who you are? Who are these girls behind you? How did they appear out of thin air!?" Reaching out, Bell sped Vahns hand, which had been hovering in the air, and seemed intent to keep holding onto it as his excitement continued to build. Vahn noticed his Affection go up another two points and was unable to resist the urge to pull his hand away, shocking Bell slightly in the process. Though he was jolted by the ambient lightning energy, Bell just flinched slightly before resuming his smiling expression as if nothing had happened. From behind, Tione suddenly whispered, "This kid...is he an idiot...?" Tiona beganughing when she heard this while Fenrir just lightly nodded her head while continuing to watch the events y out. Chloe, Lili, Naaza, and Arnya had already been summoned back to the Manor by his Avatar, who was now exining the situation to the rest of the girls. Even so, Vahn couldnt help but think that Bell was definitely a little scatterbrained, not that it stopped him from putting on a casual smile as he said, "My name is Vahn, Vahn Mason, Ca-" Before he was able to finish, Bells eyes became round like saucers as he practically jumped forward, asking, "Youre Vahn Mason!? THE Vahn Mason!? Captain of the Hestia Familia? Commander in Chief of the Alliance!? The strongest Adventurer within the City, possessing the dual title of me Emperor and the alias Sage Aldrnari!?" Then, without giving his response, Bell had already let go of his hand and started sorting through a small brown bag at his waist before pulling out a small broken pencil and a piece of paper as he excitedly asked, "Can I have your autograph!?" Vahn absentmindedly epted the bloodstained piece of paper and quickly signed his signature, something he had gotten used to when the children at the School would approach him. This action caused him to suddenly see Bell as though he were one of the children in his charge and, considering how excitable the boy seemed to be, that didnt seem to be beyond the realm of possibility. Thus, adopting a softer smile, Vahn said, "Bell, there is nothing wrong with trying to venture into the Dungeon in order to be stronger. However, youll learn that real strength is abination of experience, wisdom, insight, and power...you cant just run headlong into situations without making the proper preparations. Though you may be strong enough to do so one day, youll never reach that point if you end up dying to a random monster before youre even able to get your footing..." The entire time Vahn was speaking, Bells eyes continued to glimmer and it was almost like he was gravitating towards Vahn, only stopping when he was looking up into thetters face with an expression that made him appear like a small and excitable animal. Vahn nearly took a step back but, instead of backing down, brought his hand up to Bells shoulder and pushed him back to create some distance between them. Still, the smile on his face didnt fade as he asked, "I cant let you join my Familia, but I can help you find a good ce within the Alliance if youre interested...?" As ifpletely unaware of the distance Vahn had created between them, Bell tried to grab the formers hand again and ended up falling forward since Vahn had moved to evade. This put him on a crash course towards Tiona and Tione but, unlike what might have been expected to happen, both girls immediately stepped far outside Bells trajectory. As they were aware of the boys [Luck] Development Ability, even if it hadnt awakened, they were more than prepared to avoid any idents from happening. Vahn had also stepped in, grabbing Bell but the scruff of his tunic and holding him up so thetter didnt fall t on his face. Releasing a deep and profound sigh, Vahn once again asked, "So, did you want to join one of the Alliance Familia?" This time, with a face filled with embarrassment, Bell rubbed the back of his head, smearing more blood into his white hair as he said, "Yes, please...thank you..." Setting Bell back on the ground, Vahn lightly tapped his shoulder and said, "You have to be careful and less excitable in the future...though some people might not mind, it would be pretty easy to offend someone if you end up tripping and falling into their women. Since you seem to know me, you should know that Im pretty protective of the girls around me...please keep that in mind, Bell..." While speaking, Vahn put a little bit of strength into his hand, squeezing Bells shoulder since he had very nearly had one of his idents, seeming to make a beeline towards Tionas chest as he fell. Vahn knew it wasnt exactly Bells fault, as he had actually been victim to the skills influence before, but it still made his mind buzz slightly knowing that another man had almost touched the b.r.e.a.s.ts of one of his women...even if Tiona didnt have much to touch... Bell had an apologetic expression on his face again as he made no effort to even struggle out of Vahns grasp. The fact that he was being held up by another person didnt really seem to phase the boy at all, seemingly more focused on the fact he had almost offended the person he respected. Thus, while still being held up by his scruff, Bell brought his hands together and eximed, "Please forgive me! It was never my intention to do something so-so-so...uncouth! Waaaaaaaaah, Im sorry, please dont be mad..." Hearing this, Vahn let go of Bells cor and just released a sigh as he turned to the girls and said, "Ill send all of you back to the Manor and take Bell over to the Loki Familia to get him situated." Fenrir, Ais, and Tione all nodded their heads in affirmation while Tiona waved yfully towards Bell and said, "Sorry, little rabbit, but Im already taken. If you touch my b.r.e.a.s.ts, even by ident, I might break your fingers, okay~?" Then, as though she didnt just threaten bodily harm, Tiona began tough happily before vanishing in a magical light. When she was gone, Bell stared nkly towards space as theplexion on his face became slightly pale. It took him a few seconds topose himself after the fact before he turned to Vahn with a wry smile and said, "Ill be more careful in the future...hahahaha..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bell, lucky, or unlucky...?,Fanboy +1...,Bell avoids tragedy...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 778 - Peculiar Energy...Fate?

Chapter 778 - Peculiar Energy...Fate?

Now that things had calmed down a bit, Vahn was able to observe Bell in greater detail than before. He had to admit,pared to his expectations of Bell, the white-haired young boy didnt really have the aura of a Hero at all. Instead, he actually seemed somewhat wimpy and frail, a stark contrast to what Vahn had expected, even though he seemed like a good kid. Still, Vahn believed that Bell could undoubtedly be strong and, just like he didnt know much when he first arrived in the City, it was possible that Bell would change a lot in theing months. After all, even in the original manga, Bell had appeared to be a wimpy kid until he started trying to pursue Ais...he just needed a push in the right direction. Seeing Vahn observing him, Bell couldnt help but squirm a little as he asked, "Ahh...umm, Vahn?" To this, Vahn raised his brow slightly, curious as to what Bell wanted to say only for thetter to surprise him by asking, "Umm...exactly how many girls are you in a rtionship with...?" There was a glimmer in Bells eyes, full of expectation and curiosity, as he asked his seemingly innocent question. Vahn, however, couldnt help but release a small sigh as he said, "That isnt really something you should concern yourself with. Though youll probably meet some of them in the future, you should instead focus on increasing your strength and starting your own adventure..." Bell justughed awkwardly in response, then, as if the words didnt actually process in his mind, said, "You know, I heard a lot about you back in the vige I grew up in. One day, I want to be a great hero that is surrounded by beauties, just like you!" This time, Vahn released a light chuckle and almost reached out his hand to pat Bells head before casually redirecting it to lightly pat his shoulder, stating, "Youre making a small mistake there, Bell...men that only seek to selfishly increase the number of women they are involved with arent heroes...instead, you should just focus on being the best you that you can be. If you work hard, girls will naturally be drawn to you...haaaa..." Having learned from experience, Vahn knew this to be a truth as, with the prerequisite that you were handsome, rich, famous, or capable, any of these things could draw women to you. Though Bell had a somewhat girly appearance, he also had various unique features that gave him the semnce of a handsome young man. Once he matured a bit, there would undoubtedly be girls drawn to just his looks, even without him putting in much effort. Since he also had the potential of bing very powerful, that meant money and fame would follow his rise to prominence. The only thing that would prevent Bell from having women gather at his side would be his own willingness to be with them... Before Bell could continue asking questions, Vahn held his palm in front of the confused boy and used his cleaning magic to pull all the blood and gore away from his body. The fact that Bell seemed to bepletely unaware of just how messy he had be made Vahn realize the former was more than a bit of an airhead. Though, as this thought crossed his mind, Vahn realized that many of the main characters within the manga he read matched that description. Luffy was a notorious idiot, Naruto had been a dunce that never would have graduated without fate guiding him along, and even characters like Goku and Ichigo had been the type to just go with the flow of things, never really thinking for themselves... After observing Tina for a while, and seeing that she had also be a little airheaded, Vahn wondered if the influence of fate actually made a person more oblivious to their surroundings. This likely made them more susceptible to getting wrapped up in the flow of fate, instead of resisting it, which allowed them to walk the path that their creators had established for them. At this point, though Vahn didnt know what level of influence they would have had, he understood that the creators of the records, even though they were normal humans, had a powerful influence on fate within the records that hade about as a result of their efforts. Going against the intent of the creator could potentially cause the record itself to identify you as a threat, even though it didnt actually seem to be something that had awareness... Shaking his head lightly, Vahn decided he would need to pay close attention to how events transpired around Bell in the future so that he could have a better understanding of how to manipte the flow of fate in the future. Many of the records he would visit in the future would be ces he had no information on, meaning he could actually experience innumerable setbacks if he didnt know how to recognize the machinations of fate. Fortunately, it seemed that he had an instinct that allowed him to sense when something was afoot and, depending on what he desired from The Path, there would be plenty of ways he could work around such troublesome matters. Once Bell waspletely cleaned, Vahn ignored the boys starstruck gaze and began walking towards the nearest corridor, saying, "Follow me, Bell. Ill take you to the surface and help you get situated within a Familia...hmm, I also want to see how well you can fight, so take this..." Pulling out a nondescript ck dagger, as Bells had broken from his previous fight, Vahn handed it over while exining, "I know you might be a little shaken after everything that happened, but it is events like those that will help you grow as a person. In order to avoid another situation where you are powerless to protect yourself, you need to constantly press forward, always aiming for greater heights..." Bell epted the dagger with both hands, holding it like some sort of sacred artifact as he put on a vibrant smile and eximed, "Thank you very much, Vahn! I swear, I wont let such a small thing set me back. Just watch, Ill show you that I can also be a great hero, just like you!" Hearing this, Vahn shook his head, surprising Bell a little until the former exined, "Having a goal isnt bad, Bell, but you should never aspire to be like someone else. You can be simr, sure, but a real goal would be trying to ovee the person that inspires you...if you are content with such a small goal, it will only prevent you from reaching your full potential. Even I, as strong as I might be, understand that there is always someone stronger...never stop aiming for greater heights, or youll eventually be overtaken by someone else you set their goal as exceeding you. If that person is good, it isnt a problem...but, if they were evil...well, there is no medicine for regrets..." Though he said that, Vahn was curious if the system shop might actually have such an item. Given the myriad of different items contained within, and the functionally infinite number of records to pull from, Vahn believed the chance of there being such an item was actually close to 100%. Still, it was a cool phrase that he had been a recurring sentiment in several novels he had purchased from the system and, given the circ.u.mstances, it seemed like the correct things to say. It also helped that, after experiencing it himself several times, Vahn knew his words were an absolute and invible truth. Even Eva had always cautioned him to never assume he was the strongest and, considering she was only at the peak of Tier 5, Vahn knew that entities from higher tiered records would be almost impossibly strong from his current perspective... As if he had just heard the most insightful words in the entire world, Bells expression transitioned into a serious and reverential one as he firmly nodded his head. He fixed the dagger to his back and said, "From now on, Ill do my best to never forget those words, Vahn! I dont want to be the kind of person who cant protect the things he cares about, just because I thought I was the strongest in the world. As long as I draw breath, I swear that I will never stop pursuing even greater heights!" Bell held up both his fists as a fiery light was glowing within his ruby red irises. Vahn couldnt help but feel he was somewhat simr to Vana, a thought that made him more appreciative towards Bell, even while feeling slightly perturbed by the fact. He just hoped that Vana didnt be an airheaded person in the future... Having Bell lead the way, though Vahn instructed him what directions to take, the duo began making their way towards the surface. When the encountered a pair of Goblins, Vahn didnt even have to give Bell any advice as thetter immediately dashed towards the two monsters and, using more agile movements than should be possible for his level, began attacking while evading the Goblins attacks. This peculiarity caused Vahn to activate his [Eyes of Truth], noticing that formless energy was flowing through Bells body as thetter fought against the two monsters as though his life depended on it. This energy was unlike anything Vahn had ever seen before and seemed to be guiding Bells movements, making it seem like his earlier spection about fate literally guiding the main characters more than a simple assumption. Vahn could see a path created by the energy that, when Bell followed it, allowed him to slide underneath the sharpened stick of the Goblin, slicing into its side before Bell twisted around like his feet were almost frictionless surfaces. It didnt really make sense how he was able to pull off such movements, especially considering that Bell didnt even have a Falna at the moment... Though it had taken around three minutes, Bell managed to kill both Goblins by cutting the first one across both eyes, blinding it, and somewhat severing the arm of the second. The dagger Vahn had given him was actually just a practice weapon that he had forged for use by the Schools students. It didnt have very high attack power at all and shouldnt have been sharp enough for Bell to cut through flesh, tendon, and even bone with a single strike. Vahn knew there had to be more going on than his eyes could currently see and figured it was like an Innate that hadnt been revealed within the original manga. Once again, seemingly unaware of the blood staining his hands, Bell wiped the sweat from his brow and smeared blood there instead. Vahn didnt understand how the sweat could have bothered him since he was seemingly unaware of the blood, almost like he simply couldnt be affected by it. One of the things that affected most newbie adventurers was a general aversion to blood, as it would cause people to tense up when they saw it, especially inrge quantities. Bell seemedpletely immune to this, however, almost like he was unaware it even existed... Out of curiosity, Vahn asked, "Do you not care about the fact that youre smearing blood on your own face? You know, it will be difficult to impress girls if youre covered in blood..." While he was speaking, Vahn watched as Bells face showed confusion, even going so far as to tilt his head slightly and mutter an, Eh...? before looking down at his own hands. As if noticing the blood for the first time, Bell released a much louder, "Eeeeeeehhhh!?" before wiping it off on his own tunic. Vahn justughed when he saw this, throwing a towel to the boy who graciously epted it while asking, "How are you able to just pull stuff out of thin air? Ive never heard of such an ability...is it something I can learn?" Since this was a question he actually got asked a lot, Vahn casually responded by saying, "Ive always been highly proficient with Storage Magic, and other space-rted abilities...well, youll understand better in the future, just know that everyone has elemental affinities that make it easier for them to learn specific skills. It isnt impossible for you to learn storage magic, but it would be very difficult if you didnt have an affinity with space..." While saying this, Vahn was inspecting Bells internal flow of energy and saw that it was a triple helix of pure red, violet, and pristine white. After seeing this, Vahn smiled and exined, "Ive always been able to discern the affinities of other people and I can tell you that yours are Pure Fire, Pure Lightning, and Pure Light. It is already very rare to have a single purified affinity, so you should feel blessed having three...if you work hard, you will be able to use powerful skills, abilities, and magic rted to your elemental affinities..." Bell was very excited to learn of his own affinities, especially after hearing Vahn exined he had three rare ones, but he couldnt help but release a sad sigh when he realized Vahn hadnt said he had an affinity rted to Space. It seemed like a super useful ability, being able to put things away and pull them out whenever he wanted, without having to carry them himself. Still, he didnt stay upset for long and immediately resumed smiling as he asked, "How can I learn how to use my affinities? Ive never even heard people mention them before...and, can I really learn magic? I thought only Elves and a few exceptional geniuses were able to use magic...?" Hearing this, Vahn shook his head and confidently stated, "That is a misconception that is held by many people, so I cant exactly me you for believing that to be the case...however, you should know that there are no limits to a persons growth. As long as a person never gives up, even the impossible is something that can be ovee, as there is no such thing as impossible from the start...anyone that says otherwise simplycks theprehension required to perform such feats. If you had attended my School, you would have been able to learn magic there, regardless of your race..." Bells eyes lit up again as he asked, "Can I still join the School? I really want to be able to use magic!" Vahn, however, immediately shook his head and exined, "The cutoff for the School is being fourteen years of age...you should already be fourteen, so its a littlete for you to enroll. Also, now is the middle of a semester and you would probably be able to be much stronger than most normal students before the next enrollment came around. Focus on increasing your own strength and understanding your own abilities before you start trying to learn things like magic. After all, with how little mana you currently possess, magic wouldnt really be a reliable way for you to fight. Overusing it leads to a state called Mind Down and, as you currently are, you would probably only be able to shoot off a few fireballs before you passed out and ended up getting killed by a stray monster..." Hearing this, Bell released a sigh and slumped over, eyes bing slightly moist as he said, "I really am just a weakling right now...arent I...?" Vahn immediately nodded his head, making Bell release a pitiable whine until Vahn exined, "It is perfectly normal to start off weak, Bell, especially if you havent actually put in an effort to be stronger...even I almost lost my life to a simple Goblin in the past. Heck, when I first came into the Dungeon, I almost died a second time when I first met a Kobold...that was only around two and a half years ago, so dont beat yourself up just because you arent already strong. The fact you can already fight multiple Goblins, even without a Falna, actually makes you ridiculously strong for a beginner..." Having been a fan of Vahns, Bell knew that his words about only having been an Adventurer for a little more than two years were the truth. One of the things that made Vahn so famous was how he had been able to rise from a fresh Level 1 and, in less than two years, managed to reach the peak of all the Adventurers within the City. He had be an inspiration for all Adventurers, young and old, for how perseverance and determination could pay off. After all, it was also well known now that Vahn had actually been much weaker than normal and, only by constantly working to improve his strength, was he able to reach the point where he was currently at...standing at the top of a massive pyramid as he led the most powerful organization on the entire continent... With Vahns encouragement, Bell was excited to increase his own strength and, mid-conversation began running down the corridor as he looked for another monster to fight. Vahn nkly stared at the boys back for a few seconds before following behind, wondering just what exactly went through Bells head to make him act so spontaneously. One thing he did know was that, after giving Bell a bit of advice, the strange energy surrounding his body actually be slightly more noticeable. Vahn was beginning to wonder if this energy was fate itself, being so thick around Bells body that it actually became visible to those with the discernment to see it. He would need to get Anubis or Freya to look at Bells soul and see if they were able to discern anything if he wanted to be certain... While following along behind Bell, who had started to fight another climactic battle with a single Goblin, Vahn turned his attention briefly to his Inventory and inspected the [Fate Severing Knife] he had received from saving Bell previously. It looked like a straight de with a tip that had a 45-degree angle instead of a curve, giving it the appearance of an angr tanto. The handle wasprised of interwoven ck cloth and had a red cord tied around the end that spread out into a small tassel. Overall, it was a very strange looking de but it was the description of the item that truly caught his attention... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Fate Severing Knife] Rank: Unique Use: Allows the user to sever the fate of a target, resetting their karmic value to 100 and breaking any vows, strings, or promises linking them to any other entities. [!!( Warning)!!] This knife has the ability to affect causality and fate, changing the perception of other entities towards the target. Using this item also severs any connections between the target and any soulbound items, including those acquired through special circ.u.mstances. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- By andrge, this was the most powerful unique item Vahn had ever obtained, even though it didnt actually seem that useful at a nce. The fact that it actually came with a warning showed that he would have to seriously consider how he wanted to use it in the future. After all, if his interpretation of the knifes use was correct, it meant that even his [Enkidu] or, at worse, Evas fragment would be severed and split from him. Since neither object was something that existed in a physical sense, they would likely be destroyed the moment they were separated from him, meaning he wouldnt be able to use the knife to reset his own karmic value...even if it would have been a mistake to do so from the start... Since he had obtained it in rtion to Bell, Vahn felt as though The Path had actually given it to him in the event that he decided the boy was no longer important. Severing Bells fate would essentially remove his status as the protagonist and, as it seemed to affect how other people saw him, it would probably prevent Ais and other significant characters from even caring about their rtion to him. If Bells existence became too troublesome, Vahn now had a way to simply cut ties with the boy and send him to an area where he would no longer be able to influence events... Imagining severing the fate of another person, Vahn couldnt help but frown slightly since it seemed like an inextricably cruel thing to do, at least in rtion to someone destined to save the world. Though he hadnt exactly stolen anyone from Bell, there was still a small part of Vahn that felt somewhat guilty that he might have taken the girl that Bell had been fated to love at some point. If the original author was setting things up as they appeared, this meant that he and Ais probably would have be a couple at some point or, at the very least, had some kind of powerful fate binding them together. There was almost no chance of them being with each other now, but Vahn still felt it was wrong to sever the bond between them, especially considering it might be important to Ais past and helping her resolve the matters of her past... Since he didnt n to let Bell actually do anything that would negatively impact his family, Vahn didnt see the need to use the [Fate Severing Knife] on the boy. After all, Bell was a good kid who had never really wronged him in any meaningful way. He also had a powerful fate that meant, as long as he was given time to grow, meant he would be able to shoulder the burden of the entire record at some point. This made Bell a very powerful ally that would actually allow Vahn to rx a bit more in the future since Bell would likely be able to deal with most smaller matters without any direct involvement on his part... With that thought in mind, Vahn decided to hold on to the [Fate Severing Knife] for the time being, as it would be very useful if he ever encountered someone with a tragic fate. One such example was Eva herself as, from what Vahn was able to discern, she seemed to be one of the central characters from her record. If he used the [Fate Severing Knife] on her, it would allow her to avoid association with the Mage of the Beginning or, at the very least, allow her to be rid of any of the negative karma she might have garnered over her six hundred years as a Shinso Vampire... (A/N: Todays chapters will be split into two parts. I have twoing out this morning, and two moreing out this afternoon.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: The journey towards the top has no final destination~!,Protagonists are innately dense!?,Severing fate isnt something to be treated lightly...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 779 - Joining a Familia

Chapter 779 - Joining a Familia

From observing Bell, there were a few things that Vahn hade to understand about the capabilities of those who were fated to be the protagonists of their record. Bell, even though it was obvious he was tired, seemed to have an almost limitless amount of stamina. It didnt seem like, regardless of how fatigued he was, that he even had the thought of slowing down at all. Instead, every time he saw a new enemy, it was almost as though he was suddenly revitalized, causing him to immediately run headlong into danger once again. The most notable thing, however, was the fact that Bell seemed to be adapting to the fights at a very fast pace, to the point that he was able to almost instantly kill a Goblin by the time they reached the exit. Once they were on the surface, Bell released a long sigh of relief and, even though they were surrounded by other Adventurers, he plopped down onto the ground with a grin on his face as he said, "I was able to make it all the way back without stopping! Ahahahahaha~." Seeing this, Vahn released a sigh of his own before extending a hand to the young boy and helping him rise to his feet, saying, "You wont impress any women by suddenlyying down in the middle of a public area, Bell...hahaha~." Unfortunately, though that should have been the case, almost every girl in the immediate vicinity was looking towards them with glittering eyes. Vahn felt a shiver run up his spine, unaware of the thoughts going through the minds of the various female Adventurers as they looked toward him and Bell. Though he was no longer in his Lightning Emperor form, Vahn still drew a lot of attention to himself as a result of his general good looks and the influence of his [Charm] Development Ability. When they saw him next to Bell, who they instinctually knew to be a boy, it was like something terrible had awakened in them as untoward thoughts spread through the minds of various female Adventurers... Feeling strangely unnerved by the gazes directed towards him, Vahn inhaled through his nose and allowed his default appearance to shine through, immediately causing a variety of different reactions from the surroundings. Those that had been looking towards him with yful interest suddenly had shocked expressions on their faces that quickly turned into embarrassment as they quickly went about their business. Nobody wanted to inadvertently offend the most powerful man within the City, even if they knew him to be a rtively amicable person... Bell, seeing Vahn suddenly transform, now had a shocked expression of his own as he eximed, "Wow, that is incredible! I wish I could transform like that~!" At this point, Vahn was beginning to get ustomed to Bell being a bit of a fanboy, something he was used to as a result of interacting with the children at the School. He never expected that his interactions with the students would help him cope with these circ.u.mstances, as it was very strange that the main character of the record was treating him like an idol. If it had been a little more than two years ago, their roles could very well have been reversed... Shaking these thoughts from his mind, Vahn asked, "Are you afraid of heights...?" Though he was a little confused, Bell shook his head and said, "No...? I always liked climbing trees and it was always fun looking down at the vige from atop the hill where my house was located..." As he was speaking, Bell suddenly put on a very mncholic expression and looked downwards. Vahn raised his brows at this, asking, "Whats wrong, Bell...?" Releasing a sad sigh, Bell turned his watery eyes up and muttered, "Sorry, I was just thinking about my Grandpa...the whole reason I came to the City was that I heard from the vigers that he died to a Goblin attack..." When he heard this, Vahns mind became somewhat dull and he had to fight the urge tough since, even though he knew it wasnt the truth, just imagining someone like Zeus dying to a Goblin was hrious. Still, he was wondering if he should exin to Bell about his Grandfathers true identity and, almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind, Vahn made the decision to do just that. Levitating into the sky, breaking Bell out of his mncholy, Vahn also lifted Bell up at the same time while exining, "Im not going to badmouth your Grandfather, Bell, but you deserve to know the truth of the matter. Your Grandfather, Zeus, wasnt an ordinary human at all...instead, he was actually a god, and quite the famous one at that. There is no way he would have died to a Goblin and, though I can guess at his reasons for faking his death, you should know that he is undoubtedly still alive. If you were to ask me, Id imagine he wanted to give you the opportunity to go on your own adventure without having the burden of worrying about him and the vige you hade from..." Bell, hearing all of this, just stared nkly without seeming to even realize they were flying through the sky. After a few seconds had passed, his eyes suddenly opened wide as he loudly eximed, "Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh!?" Vahn began tough, finding most of Bells reactions refreshing, even though they were somewhat troublesome as well. Before the boy started asking any questions, Vahn exined, "For now, you should focus on increasing your strength and pursuing your dream. Im certain Zeus would have wanted you to live your life the way you chose, even though...well...that isnt really important right now..." Vahn, though he had a personal grudge against Zeus, wasnt going to go out of his way to badmouth the god to his own grandson. Bell seemed like a good kid and it was unlikely he saw Zeus as anything other than his beloved Grandpa. Though the manga didnt go into too many details, it was obvious that Zeus did his best to raise Bell and treat him kindly, even if some of the lessons he imparted on the boy were a little suspect. If he suddenly started saying nderous things, it would only cause Bell to be confused and hurt, especially since he was still processing the fact that his Grandpa was still alive, while also being a god to boot. As if the gears had finally locked into ce, Bell stopped stammering and asked, "Is that really true...? Do you know my Grandpa? Is he really a god?" Vahn nodded his head, exining, "Yes...a few years ago, he was actually the God of the most powerful Familia within Orario. Unfortunately, most of his members ended up dying when they tried to subjugate the One-Eyed ck Dragon. After that, the Zeus and Hera Familias were disbanded and Zeus ended up disappearing from the City. Though he showed up a little more than a year ago, he had been missing ever since his Familia had disbanded...probably to look after you, Id imagine." Bell had a thoughtful expression on his face, mulling over the new information he had just obtained and trying to sift through his memories to discern the truth. He knew that Vahn didnt really have a reason to lie and, if his Grandpa was actually a famous god within Orario, it wouldnt be that difficult to find out more about him. Thus, instead of doubting his hero, Bell decided to believe in Vahns words, looking towards the sky as he silently swore, "Ill do it Grandpa...Ill be a hero, just like the stories you used to tell me about when I was a kid...one day, I hope we meet again and that youll be proud of me..." Though Bell uttered his words very quietly, Vahn had still been able to discern them, even though he showed no signs that this was the case. There was no need for him to try and make Zeus out to be anything other than the loving Grandpa that inspired Bell to be a hero. Though this might change in the future, depending on the actions Zeus himself took, that was something that could be addressed then and there. He had already made preparations to prevent Bell from bing a tool that could impact the affairs of the Hearth Manor, so there wasnt any real reason to pressure and manipte Bell to resent his only living family member... After a rtively short flight, which seemed topletely pass under Bells perception, the two had arrived within the expansive courtyard of the Twilight Manor. Though many of the Loki Familia members were now stationed within the Alliances territory, there were actually more people here than in the past. Not only had Vahn rmended a lot of promising members into the Loki Familias ranks, but Loki herself had greatly increased the amount of recruiting they did,pared to the past. Previously, other than a few children she had taken an interest in, most of the members that were recruited into the Loki Familia hade there after gaining a bit of experience in lower ranked Familias. They would then spend a few years as a Supporter before finally moving up into the ranks of official Adventurers. Now, however, the Loki Familia had more than quadrupled in size and had branches for Logistics, Supply, and Construction. Since the Loki Familia was in charge of the management of Lil Geirr, they needed to increase the number of personnel avable in order to ensure that things were running smoothly, both within the Dungeon and on the surface. Bell was awed by the sheer size of the Twilight Manor, barely able to squeak out the words, "Is this...the Loki Familia...? Its so huge...there are so many people here...awaawaaa..." Vahn lightly frowned when he heard Bells words, asking, "Is this how you imagine your Grandpa would have wanted you to behave...? Look at all the Adventurers who are looking this way...see how many girls there are...? Are you sure you want to be acting like a frightened rabbit right now...?" Vahn could understand why Bell would have trouble interacting with other people, especially after only entering the City recently, but he still wished the boy would show a little backbone... When he heard Vahns words, Bell looked around and saw that there were actually several cute girls looking towards them, many eyeing him with curiosity while the majority focused on Vahn next to him. Looking over, Bell saw that Vahn had a calm and casual expression on his face, seemingly unfazed by the fact that so many people were looking at him. Realizing that this was the type of person he wanted to be like, Bell tried to stand with his back straight and took several deep breaths through his nose to calm down. Once his nerves had settled a bit, he tried to show a polite and casual smile towards the girls, earning a few smiles and waves in return. Though it made his stomach flip a few times, this reaction from the girls made Bell feel happy, causing his smile to be more natural as a result. Seeing Bell calm down, Vahn gave a small nod and said, "Follow me. Were going to go meet with Loki. She should have already arrived by now and I dont want to keep her waiting for long." Bell quickly fell into pace next to him, asking, "Can we really meet with Loki-sama so easily? I know you are supposed to be the leader of the Alliance, but..." To this, Vahn just beganughing out loud, confusing Bell as even some of the people who had heard his words in the surroundings also began tough and snicker. Bell started to feel embarrassed once again and wondered if he had said something wrong as, from his perspective, gods werent existences that most people could approach that easily... A few minutester, Vahn and Bell arrived at the same study where Vahn had originally encountered Loki, finding thetter sitting on a sofa. Next to her, surprising Vahn a great deal, Erika was also present while Doppel was ying around nearby. As for Bell, he immediately bowed in a stiff manner as he loudly eximed, "G-Greetings, Loki-sama! My name is Bell Cranel! I swear that I will do my best to meet your expectations in the future!" Though there was nothing wrong with Bells greeting, per say, the fact that he had bowed towards Erika caused Loki to begin cackling while Erika frowned slightly. Vahn pat Bell on the back a few times before walking over, stunning the boy silly when he sat down between Loki and Erika and said, "First of all, the person you just greeted isnt Loki, but our daughter, Erika..." Then, alternating his gaze between the mother-daughter pair, Vahn asked, "Secondly...why is Erika here...?" To this, Erika pushed up her sses and said, "I asked Mother if I coulde along...I was slightly curious about something and wanted to get out of the Manor for the first time. Im sorry if I have upset you, Papa..." While she was speaking, Vahns mind raced to think of the reasons why Erika would have wanted toe here, especially knowing she would meet Bell. He knew there was no way she was actually interested in the boy, at least in any meaningful way, so the only things he could think of was that she wanted to use her mask on him. The fact Loki allowed her toe here at all meant this was very likely to be the case so Vahn just lightly shook his head and said, "Im not really that upset, Erika...I know you and your Mother wouldnt take any chances that might endanger you..." Vahn knew that, to Loki, Erika was inarguably more important than even her own existence, meaning she would never endanger their daughter... Bell was having a hard time making sense of what was going on, at least until he remembered one of the rumors iming that Vahn had been helping goddesses get pregnant. He knew that Vahn had married a goddess named Hephaestus, but he had no idea that Vahn was also involved with other goddesses, or that his children were already so old. It looked like the girl next to him was simr in age to himself, maybe even a little older, which didnt make sense considering that Vahn should have only arrived in Orario around two and a half years ago. Unfortunately, he didnt get the opportunity to think about it further as the goddess whose Familia he was about to join turned to him and said, "Sit down and tell me a bit about yourself, kiddo. I told Vahn I would let you join my Familia, but that doesnt mean youll be given any special treatment. If you want to rise up through the ranks, youll need to bust your ass and work hard, okay~!?" Loki had practically shouted herst word, startling Bell and causing him to stand at attention as he loudly responded, "Yes, I understand! I promise to work hard!" This response, however, only made Loki want to tease him even more as she began tough mischievously before saying, "Good, good, good...its good that you say youll work hard...even though you cant seem to follow simple orders...kukukuku~." Hearing this, Bell became confused for a moment before remembering that Loki had told him to sit down. Thus, without considering the details any further, Bell sat down...on the ground... Vahn couldnt help but pinch the bridge of his nose while Loki beganughing like a maddened hyena. From his right, Erikas frown deepened as she leaned in closer to his ear and asked, "Papa, could it be that this boy is actually an idiot...?" Because she had been present during the discussions about Bell, Erika thought he would have been a more capable person. From this first meeting, she couldnt really see the boy sitting on the floor as anything that special. Though he had a strange appearance, not that she had interacted with many other boys, it didnt seem like he was thatpetent...especiallypared to her Papa... Eventually, Bell finally made his way to the opposite sofa and answered all of Lokis questions as though they were conducting an interview. She mainly asked things about his past, including things like his parents, the vige he grew up in, any training he might have done, and what he wanted to aplish by joining a Familia. Bells answers were that he couldnt really remember his parents, as they had died when he was very young, that his vige was known as Shalia, he hadnt really done much actual training, and his dream was to be a hero that was strong enough to protect the people he cared about. Vahn noticed that Bell didnt say anything about his desire to have a bunch of girls surrounding him, seemingly sensible enough not to say such things when he was in the presence of his goddess, her daughter, and Vahn himself... When Bell had finished answering all the questions he had been asked, Loki nodded her head before turning to Erika and saying, "Go ahead and give it a try, Erika. Though I can already tell he is being honest, Im curious how much information you can glean..." Bell was confused by Lokis words but Vahn had already expected things to develop in this manner, thusly being unsurprised when Erika produced a somewhat translucent white mask and put it over her face. The mask seemed to expand like a viscous fluid that quickly spread across Erikas body before her appearance morphed into that of Bell, clothing and equipment included. Bell was startled by the sudden appearance of another him, especially since he had seen the girl named Erika transform right in front of his eyes. Then, adding to his confusion, the brown-skinned girl that had been sitting on the floor off to the side suddenly transformed into him as well. He had no idea what was going on and it didnt seem like anyone was going to exin anything as both Vahn and Loki were focused on the other him. Erika, as Bell, frowned deeply and felt very ufortable with her new appearance since it felt like she was wearing a very thick and heavy film over her entire body. Though she could move around, see, hear, and even touch things, it didnt feel like she was herself, more like she was sensing things through a proxy. Still, remembering the reason why she hade here, Erika focused her mind and noticed there were several thoughts and memories within her mind that were not her own. She could see hazy images of a man and a woman, not quite able to discern their form clearly, a small cottage next to a farming vige, an old man named Zeus, and various different girls that the boy across from her had taken an interest in. Seeing that some of the girls within her home were on the boys mind, including her mother and herself, Erikas frown deepened even further. Still, she knew that Bell had told the truth so she turned to her mother and nodded before reaching up and pulling off Bells face from her own. It felt like she was emerging from a pool of syrup and, once it was finally removedpletely, Erika couldnt help but release a sigh of relief as she muttered in a voice only she and her Papa could hear, "Disgusting..." Vahn didnt know exactly what his daughter had seen, but he could make a few guesses based on her behavior and that quiet remark. Since she had never really interacted with people outside of the Manor, especially boys, it was probably a very eye-opening experience to suddenly have ones thoughts in her mind. Bell must have been thinking about his dream when Loki was questioning him and, even though he might not have had any licentious thoughts, it could certainly appear disgusting from the perspective of another person. Vahn knew that his own mind wasnt free of such thoughts, so he didnt reallyy much me on Bell, assuming that thetter didnt actually have anything perverted on his mind. If that were the case, and it somehow negatively influenced his daughter... Though he hadnt been upset at first, Vahn couldnt help but frown when this thought crossed his mind. Fortunately, Loki had already advanced the conversation forward and rose from the sofa as she walked over to a chair, saying, "Move over here and sit down, Bell. Youll need to take off your shirt so I can put my Familia crest on you. After that, youll be able to gain exillia from killing monsters and start increasing your strength as a real Adventurer. The fact that you had even gone into the Dungeon before getting a Falna...haaaa, whatever, just get over here." Loki wanted to call Bell an idiot but, remembering that Vahn had actually done the same thing in the past, she decided to keep it to herself so as not to be hypocritical. Then, after a ceremony that hadsted for around half an hour, she, as well as Vahn, was finally about to see the Status of the boy that was supposed to have a powerful fate... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Status]] Name: Bell Cranel Race: Human, God(sealed), Spirit(sealed) Age: 14 Level: 1 POW: I0 END: I0 DEX: I0 AGI: I0 MAG: I0 Skills: [Liaris Freese:Innate:SS], [Argonaut:Innate:(sealed)] Magic: Development Abilities: [Child of Destiny:Innate:SS], [Spirit of the Hero:Innate:A], [Luck:(sealed)], [Abnormal Resistance:(sealed)], [Escape:(sealed)] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: I made the mistake of reading Vol 11 of Sword Oratoria and learning how badly the canon material had been butchered to create one of the most bogus and forced developments Ive ever seen. As a result, though I already said this in the past, I will essentially be treating the story as an AU that is only loosely rted to the original canon. Seriously, I have no idea what was going through the authors mind when they wrote Vol 11, but its simply ridiculous to see some of the shit they threw into their story...well, hope you enjoy how things develop from this point forward (UwU)...!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bell is so oblivious,Disgusting...,Bell is living life on easy mode (-_-)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 780 - A Young Boys Adventure Begins

Chapter 780 - A Young Boy''s Adventure Begins

For several long seconds, Vahn just stared nkly at Bells back before creating a copy of his Status Board for Loki to read. From her perspective, she was only able to see his [Liaris Freese], so Vahn updated her on how monstrous Bell was. The curiosity on her face turned to incredulity as she looked at the paper with eyes so wide that they were almost open to the same extent as a normal person. She then squinted, turning her attention to Bell briefly before eventually saying, "Bell, since youre going to be in my Familia, I will treat you just like I treat all of the children that have nted roots here..." Bell was confused by Lokis words, asking, "Loki-sama...?", turning around to see that she had be very serious. Loki then handed over Bells Status Sheet so that thetter could see it, even though it could have negatively impacted his growth under normal circ.u.mstances. Most people would struggle to awaken their Innates if they knew about their existence before intuitively understanding how to unseal them. Bell, however, already had three Innates awakened, each possessing a very high degree of development that was, honestly, more than a little unfair. When he saw his own Status Sheet, it was Bells turn to be shocked, as he knew it was actually very rare for people to awaken Skills and Development Abilities without a lot of effort. The fact that he had just obtained his Falna, meaning he didnt even have a single Parameter, but already had seven different abilities listed...even if some of them were (sealed), Bell was able to understand that his Status wasnt exactly normal. His mind shed back to all the things Vahn had said previously, about how he had very unique and rare affinities along with a decent amount of potential, as long as he made use of it... Before Bell could get lost in his own thoughts, Vahn gently touched Lokis shoulder, taking over her exnation as he said, "Those are rare skills, which we refer to as Innates, things that most people would spend their entire lifetime just trying to awaken one. The fact that you have so many awakened, and to such an extent, means you will be able to grow very quickly if you put in a serious effort. As for why you are so unique...well, that may have to do with your heritage, after all, Zeus really is your Grandfather...meaning you are actually, at the very least one-quarter god." Realization hit Bell like a tone of bricks, causing him to stammer out, "I-I-Im a g-g-g-g-god!?" This time, Loki jumped in, correct Bell by saying, "Calm down, Bell. Of course you arent a god just by have a quarter of your lineage derived from one. At best, youre a second generation Demigod which, while admittedly being very rare, mean you are even further from being a god than normal Demigods. However, at the same time, you also have a very high potential and a strong flow of fate around your body...depending on how you choose to live, your dream of bing a hero might not even be that far away...dont let me down, okay...?" Though Loki knew Bell would be something exceptional, after how influential he had been within the Divination, it was still surprising to see just how big of an exception he was, even when just starting out... For the better part of half an hour, Vahn went over his spection about Bells Innates, trying to help thetter have a better understanding of his [Liaris Freese] and [Argonaut], at the very least. He exined that, as long as Bells convictions didnt change, he would be able to experience faster growth than almost any other person, to the point he could even reach high Levels in a rtively short period of time. As for his [Argonaut], which was currently sealed, Vahn exined that it was likely an ability that would greatly increase his attack potential, meaning he would need to learn an attack or ability that was able to give him the feeling and desire for greater power... Vahn went over a few skills that Bell could work on developing, exining his confirmed theory about how skills could be learned by anyone that had enough conviction. The only things that truly mattered wereprehension and willpower, something that Bell seemed to have in spades since thetter actually awakened a new skill just by listening to the exnation. Vahn had noticed a small fluctuation in the energy surrounding Bells body and, after checking his Status Board a second time, noticed he now had the [Heroic Strike] skill, already at D-Rank...the boy was an absolute cheat within this record. Towards the end of the conversation, Vahn pulled out some basic equipment, exining, "Ultimately, how strong you be will be up to you, Bell...Loki will be the person who dictates your status and position within her Familia, so make sure you listen to her orders and work hard. There are thousands of people in her Familia, ensuring that the Loki Familia is able to stay the strongest by working together and performing the tasks assigned to them. Though youll have plenty of time to venture into the Dungeon on your own, never forget that true strength is derived from the bond shared betweenpanions...if you truly wish to be a Hero one day, youll quickly learn that the path you walk will greatly rely on the impression youre able to make on others...if you are honest and hardworking, people will flock to you, bing your source of strength during moments when your own power wasnt able to carry you through to victory..." Bell was listening attentively the entire time Vahn was speaking, still struggling to take in all this new information but even more excited by the prospect of bing a real hero. He was actually starting to feel a little giddy, almost as though the Dungeon was calling to him the moment Vahn handed him a new set of equipment. As thetter had noticed this increased level of excitement, Vahn reached out and ced his hand on Bells shoulder, smiling as he said, "Even though we havent known each other that long, I can tell youre a good kid, Bell...I believe you will be very powerful in the future. For the time being, this equipment will serve you well...it might not be the strongest, but the durability and bnce will be very useful for a novice Adventurer. If you work hard, Ill actually forge you some personal equipment of your own...something truly fitting of someone aspiring to be a Hero." Though there was already a ze burning with Bells eyes, that me turned into an inferno when he heard the second half of Vahns words. He knew that Vahn was actually the youngest and most prodigious [Master Smith] in history, with some of his masterpiece quality equipment purportedly being worth several billion Valis. Bell knew he would never be able to afford personal equipment on his own, unless he was able to be truly strong, so it made him feel greatly inspired knowing that Vahn had such a high impression of him that he was willing to reward his efforts with amazing equipment. Suddenly giving a curt and loud salute, Bell eximed, "You can leave it to me, Vahn! I wont let your expectations go to waste, just wait and see!" Then, his words finished, Bell turned around on his heels and immediately bolted towards the door as he shouted, "Loki-sama, Im going to the Dungeon! Ill be backter!" Momentster, he was already out of the room, leaving a moderately surprised Loki, a slightly frowning Erika, and an absentminded Doppel standing within the room. As for Vahn, he just had a small smile on his face as he turned to Loki and said, "He will grow faster if left to his own devices, but it might not be a bad idea to make sure someone follows him so that he doesnt overextend and end up getting killed..." Loki immediately nodded, understanding that Bell didnt see to actually think about his actions at all. The fact he had just run from the room, heading towards the ce where he literally almost died a few hours prior, showed that he was more than simply airheaded. Though he would probably be protected by fate, such an ambiguous thing couldnt guarantee anything, regardless of how strong the flow around a persons body was. If they were guaranteed to seed, then people like Zeus wouldnt have had to watch over the boy so closely. Vahn wouldnt have had to step in and save him either, even though that event was likely a result of the powerful fate surrounding the unique and peculiar young boy... After sending for a runner to fetch one of the more experienced Supporters, a rather cute woman with short, neatly trimmed ck hair showed up. She also had brown eyes, with a hint of orange, and a petite and proper appearance that made her look like a smart and kind girl, especially with her rounded sses. What caught Vahns eyes, however, wasnt her adorable appearance, or her gentle disposition, it was the fact that she actually had a small fluctuation of the same formless energy as Bell around her body. Realizing this, Vahn wondered if she had actually be entangled with Bell, even though they had never even met... As for why Vahn knew the woman didnt have a powerful fate of her own, it was because they had actually met several times previously. She was one of the Supporters that often apanied the Rearguard Party of the Loki Familia, a polite and demure young woman named Line Arshe. Previously, she used to have a long and braided ponytail but, after trying to confess to Bete and getting turned down, she ended up cutting her hair and keeping it short. Though Bete was a bit of an asshole at times, it turned out he was actually a very loyal man as well, now having a developed rtionship with the Amazoness, Lena Tully. She hadnt really cared, even if Bete wanted to have several women, but it seemed like she was enough for him, something that had brought the two even closer together. Loki didnt beat around the bush at all, immediately addressing Lena as thetter walked into the room, "Lena, there is a young boy who just joined our Familia, named Bell Cranel. He has white hair, red eyes, and looks like a timid girl that very loosely resembles a boy. Since he is too big of an idiot to consider his actions, I want you to look after him and act as his mentor for a while. Try to keep him out of trouble and, if there are any big developments, let me know immediately." Hearing her gods exnation, Line nodded her head and began looking around the room, asking, "Where is he...?" Line was somewhat curious about her new Familia member, especially since he had likely been in the room with both Vahn and Loki previously. Even without it being directly exined, Line knew the boy was probably someone with a special background, or else Loki wouldnt have asked for her to look after him immediately after he joined. However, when her goddess suddenly began tough in a mischevious manner, Line felt her body be tense, nearly falling over when Loki exined, "Oh, he actually ran off to the Dungeon on his own again, without even making any preparations whatsoever. Since he almost died just a few hours ago, you should probably move quickly to catch up with him~kukukuku." Though he felt guilty about it, Vahn pulled out a standard Supporters pack and handed it over to Line before also handing her an [Effigy of the Hero], exining, "You might find it hard to believe, but that little wooden figure is easily worth more than a billion Valis. Keep it on your at all times, as it will actually save your life in dangerous circ.u.mstances..." Line had absentmindedly epted the small wooden figure but, hearing Vahns exnation of its function, she began to grip it tightly as her hands actually lowered down slightly, almost like she was carrying a heavy weight. Lines thoughts were racing right now but, considering that she was already very far behind the boy she was supposed to be looking after, Line put on the pack and began running towards the Dungeon at her fastest speed. Since she was a Level 2, slowly edging toward reaching Level 3, she was much faster than the fresh Level 1 Bell, meaning it wouldnt be that difficult for her to even overtake him if his speed was normal. She promised herself that, when she finally did catch up with him, he would get a piece of her mind for causing her so much stress before they were even properly introduced to each other... Vahn watched Lines departure while Loki began to cackle, walking over to his side in the process and pressing herself into his chest. Her eyes parted slightly as she asked, "Did you send Fafnir to watch over him...?" In response to this, Vahn just smiled slightly, causing Loki to chuckle even more before a teasing expression appeared on her face as she said, "You pushed a real troublesome matter onto me this time, Vahn...how are you going to make it up to me~?" While speaking, Loki traced her hand atop Vahns heart, resting her cheek against his chest as each of her words had a bit of sensuous heat added to them. Though he didnt mind Lokis behavior, as it was something he had be very ustomed to over time, Vahn gently pinched her pert little butt at an angle that Erika couldnt see, causing Loki to yelp and jump away from him. With a light smile on his face, Vahn mouthed, Ill reward you plentily tonight. Dont act strangely in front of Erika. Because of these words, Loki resist the urge to rub the tender spot on her butt as she turned to her daughter and asked, "So, what was it like, using that mask of yours~?" Erika had averted her eyes slightly when she saw her Mother misbehaving with her Papa but, hearing the question, herplex expression turned into one of moderate disgust as she said, "It felt very unpleasant...though I dont think he is a bad person, that boy had a lot of thoughts about girls within his head. There were even thoughts of it would be nice if I could have girls like this when he was thinking about several of the girls from the Manor...its like every girl that enters his mind bes someone he is interested in..." Erika shuddered a little and hugged her own body as if she was shaking off negative emotions while recalling what she had seen from Bells mind. Vahn had almost immediately appeared at her side, reaching out his hand to gently stroke her hair while loosely embracing her. Erika noticeably rxed, leaning into the hug without any resistance while enjoying thefortable and familiar feeling of her Papas presence. When he gently exined, "Dont be too hard on him...it is pretty normal for young boys to be easily influenced by beautiful women, especially when there are so many other changes in their lives. Even I had been heavily influenced by your Mother, Hephaestus, Eina, Chloe, Tsubaki, and...well, all of the girls that currently live in the Manor...dont worry, Bell isnt going to cause any drama within our family and, even if he tried...well, your Papa isnt just going to stand at the side~." Erika began to chuckle lightly, though it was overshadowed by how loudly Loki had started tough. Loki found the idea of anyone trying to steal a woman from Vahn utterly ridiculous, especially considering all of Vahns capabilities. Not only was Vahn handsome, but he was empathetic to an extreme, had an incredible amount of wealth, arge amount of influence, and an inhuman level of power. Most women sought someone that could provide for them, giving them a sense of security that would allow them to live their lives in peace as they pursued their own hopes and dreams. To this end, Vahn was borderline perfect for many girls, even ignoring the cheat-like influence of his [Grooming], [Charm], and his admittedly godlike prowess in the bedroom...just thinking about the reward she might receiveter made Lokis body begin to ache a little... --- Running at her fastest speed, it didnt take that long for Line to catch sight of the boy she knew should be the one called Bell Cranel. After all, she had never seen a cute boy that had white hair and red eyes, especially one that had such a unique air around him. However, she wasnt excited to see him at all right now since her sudden mission had made her feel a little stressed out. Of course, that wasnt the true cause of her current frustration, as the boy she was supposed to look after was currently on the receiving end of a group of thugs fists. Behind him, Line could see a young girl clutching a piece of bread with a few visible bruises and scr.a.p.es on her emaciated body. Understanding the situation, Lines expression became somewhat fierce since she couldnt believe such an incident was happening on the main street while people just watched it unfold. However, just as she was about to step in, Line watched as Bell suddenly red towards the men with a righteous expression, shouting, "I told you, I will pay for the bread! Why are you doing something so cruel to a little girl? Can you call yourselves men after picking on someone so much smaller than you!?" The three thugs didnt take kindly to this, causing the leader to strike forward once again as he tried to punch Bells face. If Vahn had been here, he would have seen the energy around Bell had already started to move, guiding the boys own movements as he dodged the punch by an infinitesimally small margin. Then, following the momentum of his own movements, Bells body twisted as he jumped off the ground, kicking the man square in the face, causing thetters nose to shatter as several teeth were kicked loose. The muchrger man was sent barreling backward as Bell jumped towards the surprisedpanion of the thug, gripping the sides of his face before jumping up and kneeing the ck-jawed man directly in the fact. The final man pulled out a dagger at this point, shouting the words, "You little piece of rabbit shit! Ill f.u.c.k.i.n.g kill you!" In response to this, Bell had pivoted on his heel, pulling out a rather in looking dagger that would have surprised any capable [cksmith] thatid eyes on it. It was almost perfectly simple in design, making it appear rather unimpressive at a nce but, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the craftsmanship of the dagger was something only a [Master Smith] would have been able to pull off. It had a perfect bnce that would have allowed anyone that picked it up to feel as though it was a weapon they had been using for years, regardless of if they were a novice or a veteran. With a quick swipe, Bell aimed towards the mans weapon and, surprising everyone watching, cut directly through the de. His attack didnt stop here, however, as Bell quickly resheathed his dagger in a natural motion while lowering his body and sweeping the mans legs out from beneath him. Before the man had even fallenpletely, Bell had already moved forward, leaning over the mans falling body as his fist followed a linear path towards the mans face. Though he didnt have that much Power of his own, Bells punch had added to the momentum of the mans fall, causing his head to strike the cobblestone ground and bounce before the thug fell into unconsciousness. Bell, seeing that all three men had been incapacitated, released a relieved sigh as he turned towards the rather small girl behind him, extending his hand with a smile as he said, "Dont worry, youre okay now..." The young girl, who was actually older than Bell himself, looked up with her pale purple eyes, dazzled by the boys smile. She was actually a Pallum who had escaped to Orario only recently, hoping to be able to change her life for the better after moving into the Alliances territory. Unfortunately, she had be a target for a small gang almost immediately after entering the City, being forced to work for them under threat of greater violence. Reaching out her hand, albeit with a bit of hesitation, the Pallum girl epted the outstretched hand of the boy who had helped her, suddenly feeling as though her misfortunes hade to an end. A bit away from them, Line was staring with a shocked expression on her face as she looked towards the three men who had been quickly bested by Bell. She couldnt help but wonder why he hadnt defeated them immediately, instead of letting himself get beaten up, causing her to believe he might have let himself get beat up just to impress the Pallum girl behind him. The strange thing, though, was that her instincts told her this wasnt the case and, considering what little she knew of Bell thus far, Line dreaded to think that the boy might not have thought to counterattack from the start... (A/N: For those wondering how Line is still alive. You have to remember that Valletta, the woman who had also killed Chloe, was straight up hunted down by the Freya Familia. This meant that Line simply never encountered the tragic fate from the original canon, giving her an open-ended fate that makes her easily influenced by the powerful fate of someone like Bell (UwU)...!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bell over here ying a New Game++...,NTR is a trash fetish >:D..ori, however...,The aura of a Hero is actually just the gravitational pull created by their brains density...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 781 - Balance

Chapter 781 - Bnce

Though it would undoubtedly change in the near future, Bell, for the time being, was only venturing into the first few floors of the Dungeon. Vahn had Fafnir keeping tabs on him and had even snuck an [Effigy of the Hero] into the equipment he had provided for Bell. With his character, even if he found the item, Bell wouldnt discard it. Since there was a chance Line would also find out about it, probably from going over his equipment and helping him manage things, she would certainly tell him to keep it safe. Thus, though he didnt drop his guard down around Bells fate, Vahn found himself with more free time than he had expected. As he own strength had reached a bit of a bottleneck, though only as a result of hisck of effort towards training, Vahn decided to use this as an opportunity increase his own power before the expedition to the 50th Floor. At the same time, he was also spending time with his children and helping to get things situated within the School. Though they had only epted one-thousand students in the first batch, there were now a little more than 1700 students after two more stages of enrollment. Vahn was happy to see that things were going well, even though there had been a few hups along the way. Though he had expected there to be issues, especially since it was a new system that hadnt previously existed, most of them had been dealt with rtively easily. The biggest problem had been some of the teachers being bought by members of the Noble faction but, as Vahn would personally interview them between semesters, it wasnt that difficult to root them out. At the same time, the Alliance put a little pressure on the Nobles themselves, who had given ground quickly since there was already a precedent of Vahn simply removing corrupt families that took things too far. Though they were still doing things in the background, there was actually a slight transition in their policies and, though it had failed the first time, there was now building support for a School of their own that was currently under construction. Vahn wasnt worried that the School created by the Nobles would even be a threat to what they were trying to aplish, especially considering that it was supposed to cater to the children of nobles, influential businessmen, and privileged families. Given how such a gathering would only be able to try and exploit each other for their own benefits, even as children, Vahn knew it was destined to fail unless muchrger changes were made. After all, cycling funds within their own social circle actually did more damage to the economy in the long run because a few wealthy individuals would stockpile money, requiring more to be made and harming the intrinsic value contained within the currency. He still had a lot to learn, but Vahn had received guidance from goddesses with Divinities rted to Wealth, Fortune, and Merchants. Inarguably, as long as you had a stable source of material goods, the best way to bolster an economy was investing in infrastructure and enabling lower ie families to have more expendable wealth. Consolidating money at the top was fruitless, as it actually put a heavier burden on the lower rungs of society who made up the actual foundation of the economy. It would be like making a pyramid out of frail wood and then putting a massive golden block at the very top. Yes, the golden block would look pretty and valuable, but the foundation holding it up would eventually break down, destabilizing everything in the process after the weight of the wealthy crashed down upon society. The biggest problem with this concept, which seemed to be the trend in almost any longsting family that consolidated power, was that it almost exclusively led to corruption. They became so focused on increasing their own personal wealth, often at the expense of others, that they ended up invalidating the purpose of their wealth after enough time had passed. To make sure their money still had value, the Nobles would have to enact policies to revitalize the currency, often creating systems that would stimte the growth of infrastructure and the economy in general. The downside is, at the same time, the changes they would introduce would just cause the cycle to repeat itself since the methods they used would eventually break down as a result of having an unstable foundation...it was simply ridiculous... Fortunately, though it was more than a little unfair in the grand scheme of things, Vahn was blessed to have no real interest in money. He also had ess to the system shop and could even make materials with his own body, giving him a functionally infinite number of resources. Since he had no interest in .u.mting wealth, he would often just gift out items that he made, enabling other people to increase their ability to bolster their own personal finances. Slowly but surely, the general wealth of everyone around him was steadily increasing and, as they were feeding those funds into the economy, the general earnings of everyone within the Alliance was going up. People would use the money the make to invest in their property, purchasing produce, and acquiring equipment and consumables that would increase their chances of survival in the Dungeon. This meant there were arger amount of Drop Items feeding back into the Alliance, giving Vahn arge amount of additional OP even without doing anything other than being a decent person. Though he could only do this with an existence like The Path enabling him, something inessible by most people, Vahn still endeavored to simply be good to people. He believed that, if you treated people with dignity and helped them provide for their future happiness, they would eventually return that kindness to you or, at the very least, share it with others. Though there would always be the issue of greedy people wanting more power for themselves, the Alliance was able to circ.u.mvent the majority of such issues. The Hearth Manor not only had thergest concentration of wealth, but it was also the central hub for the distribution of rare materials. This,bined with the fact that almost everyone within the Hearth Manor was a powerhouse in their own right, with a very strong sense of unity, meant that corruption would never be a prevalent issue within the Alliance. This would persist until, at the very least, the tier restriction of the world was removed...after all, with goddesses still holding the real power within the Alliance, they were existences that were fundamentally disinterested in anything other than their personal interests. Though they would consolidate power and wealth, if necessary, they werent intrinsically drawn to it like mortals, having a limited lifespan, would be. Even the various merchant gods didnt actually care much for the wealth the acquired, simply using it as a means to an end, so there was little chance of it being an issue in the interim. Though some goddesses, such as Freya, werepelled to consolidate their wealth, it was for the purpose of disy and status, not so that they could exploit a broken system and take advantage of mortals. She was, singrly, the wealthiest person in the entire City, having personal assets that would easily ballpark in the several hundred billion Valis range, on the low end. However, she used this to build massive Manors, adorned with masterpiece-quality works of art, and to show off her own status by purchasing ridiculously expensive clothes, products, and essories. She had even brought over a bottle of wine for him one evening, iming that its value was actually one billion Valis, as it was the closest wine within the mortal world to being divine in quality. When Vahn looked up the bottle of wine within the system shop, he was surprised to find that it was actually worth 300,000OP, making it one of the most expensive beverages he had ever sampled without having to outright buy it from the shop. It was almost tragic that he couldnt actually get drunk, as the wine could even cause gods to quickly bow down after a single ss, but it still had one of the richest vor profiles he had ever tasted. Strangely, even after the entire bottle had been finished, it was nearly impossible to actually describe the taste. If he had to put his thoughts to word, Vahn could only describe that it tasted reminiscent, refreshing, and, though it could have been a result of drinking privately with Freya, sensual in nature. It was almost like meeting your lover after having been separated for a long time, celebrating your reunion while experiencing the same emotions that made you fall in love in the first ce...it was almost addicting, even though his body generally filtered out such thingspletely... After that fateful encounter with Freya, when he had wholeheartedly put in an effort to defeat her, she had changed a great deal, at least when she was around him. Vahn eventually learned about the event that the citizenry had called the Purge or the Refinement of the Freya Familia. He was surprised to learn that she had reduced the members of her Familia by nearly 70%, even ousting some of her previously touted Elites. At the same time, her Familia had started to rapidly develop the strength of its remaining members while also serving as something of an enforcement unit for the Alliance. Though he would have been resistant to the idea under normal circ.u.mstances, Vahn had been wrapped up in the personal affairs of the Elven Kingdom, the Alliance, and Orario in general. He knew that there were situations where the most meaningful response was swift and decisive action. Since Freya had also been seen spending time with her first child, even showing up at some social events with him in her arms, Vahn couldnt really say much about how she managed her own Familia. She was putting in efforts to be a better mother, just as they had agreed, even confiding in him that the reason she had reduced the number of people in her Familia was to prevent future troubles that would endanger his life... The former Freya Familia was full of people that were almost unhealthily devoted to Freya, with some of the Elites actually fighting amongst themselves for her favor. Freya imed that she had been afraid that some of the more powerful members would eventually try to kill her children in the future. At the same time, she had also wanted to free some of the people who had been dedicating themselves to her solely as a result of infatuation. Now that she was unable to show her favor to any of them, it would have caused inner turmoil within her Familia if she didnt cull the dissent from the start. Her actions, though extreme, had caused the remaining members to take their duties very seriously and, though some of their actions were dictated by fear, that was slowly beginning to evolve into a different form of reverence than what had been present in the past... In the end, the biggest trouble that had resulted from Freyas actions, at least in a manner that affected the lives of the people in the Manor, was how badly Arnyas brother, Allen, had been injured. On the day of the purge, many of the Freya Familias Elites had been seriously injured or killed, with Allen being one of the unfortunate survivors. Most of the bones in his body had been broken from his battle against Ottar, something Vahn could easily understand, but the biggest problem had been his recovery. Though healing magic and Elixirs had been used on him, the damage that he had sustained to his spine was simply catastrophic. As a result, Allen could barely walk after his recovery and, as a result, the Adventurer who had previously been considered the fastest in the City was now forced to hobble along at the pace of an elderly townsperson. Though Vahn could have healed Allens injury, Arnya surprisingly asked him not to, as she had learned of his wounds first and had gone to visit him during his recovery. When she met him, heshed out at her, calling her several terrible things and even outright threatening violence upon her, Vahn, and their children. From his perspective, Vahn had taken everything he cared about away from him, including the goddess he loved and his only remaining family. As a result of these usations, Arnya actually injured him even worse, demonstrating her [Pactio] and causing the pommels of nearly twenty spears to smash into his already severely injured body... Vahn actually pitied Allen a great deal, knowing that his actions had actually been a very big impact on the mans life. However, the only reason this was truly an issue is that Allen had been a very unstable existence every since the annihtion of his n. There were some deeply rooted psychological issues that had sprouted into a corrupting force that had warped his existence into something cruel and sadistic by nature. Since he had tried to heal his heart by relying on things like s.e.x, almost insane levels of training, and enacting violence upon others...Allen was simply too far gone to be reasoned with, at least until he experienced a major setback that forced him to put matters into perspective. It would take time, likely even several years, but there was hope that Allen would eventually recover, even if it wasnt physically. Arnya would still visit him on asion and, even though he had been kicked out of the Freya Familia, he had been given severance pay and provided residence within the Alliances Territory. When she visited, they would almost always argue and get into a small scuffle, which Arnya would inevitably win, but he was slowly starting to mellow out since Arnya genuinely did care about him. With nobody else showing any concerns for him, Allen truly only had Arnya to rely on during these trying times and, as he was too prideful to consider things like suicide, the man was being worn down by Arnyas persistence... As for the main culprit behind Allens tragic fate, excluding himself and the events of his past, Freya was currently sitting n.a.k.e.d upon the bed with his legs across herp, massaging them with an almost eager to please look on her face. She had purchased the Southern Manor from Anubis, as they had previously arranged in the past, and it had already been refurbished into a ptial structure that would make people spit up blood if they learned its sole purpose was just a very ornate love nest for the two of them. Within the massive building, there werent even any guards present, including members of the Freya Familia. Everyone was forced to stay outside, with powerful barriers and wards set up to prevent anyone other than Vahn and Freya herself from entering. Watching Freya press her perfect, seemingly delicate, fingers into this thighs, massaging deeply into the tissue, Vahn had acent smile on his face. Ever since their first time together, Freya had always been surprisingly deferential towards him, at least when they were alone. Instead of trying to be forward and progress things ording to her previously selfish and possessive personality, she would now make idle conversation with him, offer things like oil massages, bring expensive drinks for them to enjoy together, or simply wash his back in the bath. The reason for this was because she wanted to be rewarded for her efforts, knowing it was the only way she could get the thing she really wanted from Vahn... Slowly but surely, Freyas hands made their way further up his right thigh, letting her b.r.e.a.s.ts dangle freely as she leaned forward and continued her efforts. Vahn watched as her hands got progressively closer to his proudly standing tower of Babel, never actually touching it for fear of inadvertently offending him. Truthfully, he didnt really know how to treat Freya when they were together, especially since he had made an effort to break her in the past. There was always a small amount of guilt inside of him since that day but, knowing that Freya would probably revert back to her bad habits if he gave her any leeway, Vahn allowed things to progress in this rather peculiar manner. Though her hands lingered around his inner thigh for a moment, Freya just released a hot sigh before moving her hands down to his left calf and massaging his other leg now. Seeing this, Vahns smile softened slightly as he said, "You know, Leh is almost able to read through some of the easier books on her own now...she really likes stories with happy endings..." For a brief moment, a small smile spread across Freyas face and her hands came to a stop before she returned to the duty she had assigned herself. Still, a few secondster, when she was massaging near his knee, Freya turned her silver eyes up toward him and said, "I already told you that Ottar had taken his first steps but, did you know his father actually has him pulling small stones while crawling around? Honestly, Im a little worried..." Vahn knew that Freya had seriously considered her words, framing them in a way that was meant to appeal towards him. Still, even if she didnt truly care about the young Ottar, the fact that she was making an effort could be seen by almost anyone who associated with her over thest year. Thus, though he knew her words werent truly how she felt, Vahns smile grew marginally in size as he reached out with his right hand. Freya, though it looked like she tried to hide the fact, ended up swallowing as she shifted her body and crawled to his side. Vahn brought her loosely into his embrace and allowed her to rest against his chest. Then, as if realizing she wasnt going to get the bigger prize just yet, Freya let the tension flow out of her body as she entrusted her weight against him and released a hot sigh that tickled his chest. One of the things that Vahn had been trying to teach Freya, which she hade to appreciate, even if only a little, was the fact that they could be intimate without having s.e.x. He wanted her to get used to the idea of simply being with each other, hoping that it would be a positive influence on her after enough time had passed. Since she knew he would certainly reward her plentilyter, Freya had been slowly learning to enjoy moments like this. After all, it really was a refreshing way to pass the time, especially since he would generally lightly stroke her head, back, and even her stomach. This touch would always carry with it a strange energy that caused people to feel rxed a calm, with even goddesses being subject to its influence... Freya was actually the reason his [Grooming] had increased so much over thest year, as well as the increase in his [Hands of Nirvana], a skill he thought wouldnt develop much further within this record. As her pregnancy had continued to develop, Vahn had toe up with other methods to keep Freya satisfied, mainly using his skilled hands to pacify her. This was what encouraged her to begin learning massage techniques for herself, even going so far as to ask for a copy of the [Hands of Nirvana] and had been seriously studying it. When she learned that Eina, Preasia, Naaza, and Lefiya were also learning it, Freya had actually shown a bit of herpetitive side by trying to be the most proficient in the skill in an effort to appeal to him... After about an hour of justying together, making small talk about various things going on throughout the City, Vahn began tracing his index finger around Freyas navel, allowing a thread of stimting energy to flow from his fingertip. Even though it was only a small amount, Vahn had to resist the urge to chuckle when he saw Freyas rosy pink aura immediately turn almost blood red. He had tried to be sneaky about it, just to see how she would react, but it would seem that Freyas Divinity rted to S.e.x wasnt really something that could be fooled that easily. She turned her eyes towards him, now having a subtle violet emerging from their depths as she asked, "Is it time...?" Before he even answered, Freyas breathing had started to elerate and Vahn could feel her heart beating rapidly through her soft and immactely sculpted b.r.e.a.s.ts. Instead of saying anything, Vahn squinted his eyes slightly and slowly traced his fingers further down, allowing threads of energy to urately strike all the sensitive spots within Freyas body. Understanding this as permission, Freya immediately transitioned from being a rather docile and deferential woman into a much more passionate and greedy existence. She never took things too far, understanding that she could only get what she wanted when he was willing to give it to her, but she was still very proactive... (A/N: This chapter exists because people kept asking for some developments between Freya and Vahn. To summarize their rtionship, in a nutshell, Freya has essentially be a sword for Vahn, even though she acts in the interests of herself and the Alliance. For better or worse, he could freely point her towards anything and Freya would probably willingly throw herself into the situation without questioning it at all. The reason she can do this is that she hade to understand Vahns character better and knows that, unless she gives him a reason to, he actually wouldnt put her into a situation that would be harmful to her...in a way, they are both exploiting each other in a very passive and roundabout way, slowlying closer as a result of Vahns constant efforts to help her have a healthier means of being happy...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Politics and Economics, intrinsically linked, fundamentally a negative influence on each other xD...,Allen got straight up wrecked (.___.)...,Gimme Gimme (OwO)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 782 - Gathering

Chapter 782 - Gathering

In preparation for the uing expedition, the girls had decided to schedule one of their Vahnatus, a name that, till this day, Vahn had never really gotten used to. Still, as the event often helped direct the momentum of everyone in the Manor, Vahn looked forward to them, this time being no exception. The topics of discussion were the expedition itself, including who would be going with him, the matter of Bell, Alexas emergence from the Space-Time orb, and the uing Denatus. At this point, the Alliance was the primary focus of every Denatus so it was important to discuss anything that they wanted to address during the assembly of the gods. Vahn had arrived in the dining room a bit early and, seeing Hephaestus sitting alongside Ina, he smiled happily before joining them. Ina, though she was getting a little big for such behavior, immediately crawled into hisp as if it were the most natural thing in the world while Hephaestus released an amusedugh. She leaned on the table, supporting her head with her hand and mused, "Even though your body and mind have developed quickly, it seems like youll never outgrow that clinginess of yours~." Ina, without so much as a lightyer of blush, just nodded her head in response and said, "Ive seen so many different futures, and Papa is the only constant that Ive been able to observe. After talking to Erika, I dont mind if I never end up getting a boyfriend, as long as I still get to create my babies and spend time with Papa..." While Ina was speaking, her eyes were glimmering with a magical light, obviously focusing on something in the future that only she could see. Vahn, hearing her words, released a soft chuckle while gently hugging Inas body and saying, "Ina will always be my Little Princess, even if she became 300cm tall..." This caused Ina to produce a rare frown while Hephaestus began tough heartily while they both imagined what it would be like if she was actually 3m tall. Ina never wanted to be bigger than her Papa, as she feltfortable whenever he was holding her. As for Hephaestus, she just thought it was amusing and, knowing Vahn was just teasing Ina, went with the flow of things. For a few minutes, the three of them just talked amongst themselves, enjoying the atmosphere until it underwent a subtle shift when the others began to arrive. Maemi and Emiru had walked in to begin setting the table and, seeing the three of them sitting there, began to fl.u.s.ter a bit as they said, "Master, forgive us for making you wait. Well prepare some tea and snacks..." Bowing together, the twins then whisked away to the kitchen while Vahn produced a wry smile. He had made efforts to get them to rx a little but, as their strength continued to increase, the twins actually became more devoted to their work as maids. It was a little strange but, as they genuinely seemed to enjoy their current lifestyles, Vahn didnt try to force them. They werent the only ones in the Manor with quirks, as everyone had something unique that defined them, including their thought process and general mentality. There were girls like Mikoto, who were almost always serious and dutiful, while, inversely, there were girls like Tiona, who seemed to bepletely incapable of treating anything in a truly serious manner. The only time she restrained herself was when other people were solemn, or if something impactful had just happened. Then, probably the most unique amongst them all, were girls like Preasia and Risna, the former spending the majority of her time sleeping, while thetter holed herself up in her own room and pumped out a number of novels on various subjects. At this point, Vahn had nearly a dozen books that Risna had written to him, each detailing various different ways their rtionship could progress. He had noticed that, as time passed, the details within the books had be progressively more bold, making it very clear he would have to start treating their rtionship seriously, sooner, rather thanter. She wasnt the only one, either, as girls like Mikoto, Nanu, Shizune, and Tina were also waiting for him to initiate things. Among them, the only two that showed genuine patience were Mikoto and Nanu, but Vahn knew it had been a little unfair for him to put things off this long. Though he was very busy, it wouldnt have taken that much effort to at least show that he cared for them in a more meaningful way... After a few minutes had passed, Maemi came out pushing a tray full of snacks, enough for everyone that would show upter, while Emiru carried an ornamental teapot that had a very fragrant aroma wafting from within. Vahn could smell mint, a trace of honey, and the special ck tea leaves that the girls had been cultivating after they found out he enjoyed them. Though he could easily purchase them through the system shop, Vahn appreciated the efforts that they would go to in order to try and please him, making a mental note to express his gratitude when he got a chanceter. Slowly but surely, the other girls began to show up, starting with a ratherrge group that wasprised of Haruhime, Mikoto, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, Lili, Naaza, Mn, Tina, and Shizune. When they entered into the room, most of the girls happily greeted him but Vahn hadnt missed the somewhat envious look that Tina gave towards Ina. At the same time, Vahn also took note of how much Tina had changed over thest year, now looking much more mature than in the past, with her secondary physical characteristics developing just fine. She often took the nutritional supplements that he had provided for the girls who stayed within the orbs, though never more than a single dose per day. He knew that she wanted to be mature enough to bear his child in the future, which was one of the reasons Vahn was somewhat hesitant about allowing things to progress further... Vahn had long ago resolved himself to treat Tina as one of his lovers and, after having several years to think about it within the orb, it seemed like Mn had epted itpletely at this point. Just a few weeks ago, after the two of them had finished having s.e.x, Mn had actually asked him to consider removing the restriction on Tina and Shizune, as they were both, chronologically, much older than most girls would be when having their first time. At this point, Tina was actually seventeen years old, even though she wasnt actually treated as an a.d.u.l.t yet, while Shizune was twenty-four. The only thing holding them back at this point was the restrictions that had been enacted when the orbs were first created, now seemingly far less important than they had been in the past... With this thought passing through his mind, Vahn considered addressing it during the Vahnatus but decided that, instead of doing things in such a roundabout manner, he owed it to the girls to simply seek them out. There was plenty of time within the orb to spend time with them, so Vahn made the decision to do away with some of the restrictions, though he would still have Tina wait for a little while before they took the final step. Still, just like his interactions with Lefiya and Preasia in the past, there were plenty of things he could do with her that should help release some of her tensions. In fact, just being open to the idea of being more intimate with her would almost guarantee her [Luck] caused an event to ur to that effect. At this point, they had been able to observe the effects of Tinas [Luck] for more than a year, giving Vahn an incredible amount of insight into how the skill actually works. Essentially, the skill worked by altering the perception of the user slightly, making them more susceptible to triggering events that would coincide with their innermost desires. This meant, if the person wanted to get more drop items, they would end up killing monsters in such a way that it would increase the odds of them dropping items. At the same time, if they had somewhat perverted mentalities, which seemed to be one of the requirements for having [Luck], they would often trigger events that allowed them to interact with the object of their affection. That wasnt the limit of the ability though, as it actually influenced the people around the person that had the [Luck] Development Ability as well. In the event of facing off against an enemy, this could result in things like critical strikesnding, the opponents weapon breaking, or a monster tripping over itself. When it came to the object of their affection, assuming that person wouldnt get offended by an ident happening, it would guarantee that something would happen between them. If the target was resistant to the idea, the [Luck] would trigger, as that would potentially harm the development of their rtionship. Inversely, if the target was open to the idea, the effect of [Luck] would be more pronounced, something Vahn had learned personally... Around the time when Tina had, chronologically, reached fourteen years of age, which she had earnestly been keeping track of within the orb, Vahn got to experience the extremes of her [Luck]. The topic of her unique item, [One of Heart, Mind, and Body] came up in conversation, bing a matter of intrigue for the girls within the orb. Tina had taken it out to show it off to them and, after talking about its potential uses for a while, she ended up getting riled up. Later that evening, after a fair amount of hesitation, she ended up using the item without truly considering the repercussions of her actions... Though his instincts had been warning him that something might happen, Vahn happened to be busy with diplomatic affairs at the Elven Kingdom while, back at the Manor, he was making love with Mn. These events had been enough of a distraction that he hadnt noticed the strange energy the ovepped Mns body, continuing to make love to her for several hours as she too waspletely oblivious to what was happening. As a result of these oversights, Tina ended up in the orb for nearly thirty hours, linked with the feelings, thoughts, and sensations of her mother back in the real world. For nearly a week after that, Tina had keptpletely silent about the incident until, after being confronted about her strange behavior, she finally confessed what had happened... Ever since that incident, Tina started training even harder than before and started taking the nutritional supplements to help her still immature body develop further. She had a strangely resolute disposition after that and, though she had initially been perfectly fine with waiting, it was obvious that her patience had slowly worn down with time. Unfortunately for her, it was actually this incident that had kept Vahn from taking any further action with herter on, as thoughts of what she must have experienced made him feel more than a little awkward. Mn could be a very needy woman in bed and, as a result of her increasing stamina, she could go for a few hours without any significant rest...knowing that Tina had experienced all of that had caused Vahn to develop a few inhibitions about the future, though that wouldnt matter now that he had made up his mind. She shouldnt have known what he was thinking, but Tina used the opportunity when Vahns left side was open to skip over and try to take the seat for herself. From her perspective, Tina figured, even if she couldnt sit in hisp, sitting next to him was better than nothing. As this thought passed through her mind, a very different thought passed through Vahns, causing the hair on his neck to raise as he internally remarked, ("So quickly!?") Then, as a result of Ina sitting in hisp, Vahn was unable to move fast enough to prevent Tina from tripping over nothing. He reached out his hand to prevent her tumbling head-first towards Ina, somehow missing her shoulderpletely and feeling a soft and plump sensation against his hand. Tina, startled by her sudden fall, had reached out her hands to try and use Vahns arm as support, the very act that caused him to miss her shoulder. When she felt a hot and firm sensation press against her right b.r.e.a.s.t, the momentary gap in her mentality caused her to release a mewling "Nyaa~" while clinging to his arm. It was almost as though she was actually holding his hand against her chest, even though she was simply trying to prevent herself from falling down. As a result, Vahns hand was firmly pressed against Tinas chest and, attempting to remove it, just made the absentminded Cat Person writhe about slightly as her tail flickered happily. Cursing himself for not using his head, Vahn then used telekinesis to lift Tina away from him so she would let go of his hand. Her face was a little flushed and she seemed to be a little embarrassed after realizing what had just happened. However, she didnt seem capable of hiding the smile that was creeping onto the corners of her mouth, nor could she control her tail that was dancing around happily even as Vahn set her back a few meters. Vahn, using his telepathy, then sent her a message to help her calm down, causing Tina to remember where she was as she bashfully hid her face from view. All the while this was urring, Ina had been observing the event with slightly glowing eyes and a small frown on her face, though it didnt persist for very long as she just released a small sigh and leaned against her Papas chest. With Tina losing the initiative, Lefiya had quickly slipped into the spot on Vahns left while the other girls began to fill in the empty seats and begin having lively discussions about what they would be talking aboutter. Vahn felt it was somewhat amusing, that they were actually already talking about the matters that would be covered in the Vahnatus, but he still pitched in his own take on matters whenever they would ask. The biggest concern on most of the girls minds was if they would be able to go on the expedition, or if they would remain back at the Manor. Following that, the majority of the conversation revolved around the topic of magic, any new insights others might have had in their training, and what was going on with their favorite sports teams... Though there had been a bigger focus on increasing their strength in the beginning, as learning Magic had been a very interesting idea for most of the girls, this had no longer been the case after a few years had passed within the orb. Most of the girls werent very studious so they were unable to make significant progress in their studies, leading to the situation where they spent more time learning how to use their [Pactio]s and bing Knights instead of Mages. Since training could get stale, this meant that the girls had started going into the Dungeon while he had been busy with his own personal matters. The only times he had gone in with them were when he made a quick stop at Lil Geirr, replenishing their supplies, but the girls had been spending a fair amount of time fighting monsters to polish their skills. As a result of their efforts, the Hestia Familia had been promoted to S-Rank, making it the fastest Familia to achieve the rank within the history of Orario. At the same time, Vahn had been able to greatly bolster his OP reserves with all the rare drop items they would bring back. Though he was able to earn a fair amount from the exchanges through the Alliance, Vahn also spent a lot on the materials that were requested from them, meaning his actual gains werent that great. With the girls efforts, however, he had been able to break one hundred million OP, a monstrous amount, even if it wasnt even 1% of what he needed to purchase the [Dimensional Anchor: Stasis]... During the uing expedition, he would need to decide who would be apanying the main group and providing security for the construction crews that would be helping jumpstart the construction of Haven. Though he had humored the idea of just going down with only the girls and building the core structure themselves, Vahn scrapped that idea very quickly. That would ensure they would be able to develop it in the way they wanted, while also making it a special ces for themselves, but that wasnt the point of Haven. It was meant to be the frontier City for those that were brave enough to try and probe into the deepest depths of the Dungeon. At the same time, it was the first line of defense against any terrifying monsters that would try to break free from the Dungeon and cause destruction on the surface. Though it would undoubtedly be his pet project, Vahn wanted Haven to be a symbol for people all over the continent. It would be the ce where, if you wanted to reach the peak of your potential, you would have to make a pilgrimage down to its depths just to take your first steps towards the top. If you couldnt even make it to Haven, you fundamentallycked the qualifications to be truly strong, meaning you would need to refine your capabilities further before trying again. In the future, Haven would be the ce where the strong would gather, aspiring to be even stronger by having ess to the resources that would only be avable within the City. At the same time, it would be the location of what Vahn believed would be the heart of the entire world, the Academy, where the most powerful Mages, Knights, and Schrs would emerge... To ensure his dream was able to be a reality, Vahn knew he would have to invest a lot of time and effort into personally overseeing the development of Haven. This would also serve as the catalyst for future conflicts between the Alliance and the forces of Enyo, as there was no way the errant goddess would simply watch as they build a fortress so deep within the Dungeon. After she fails to stop them, Vahn believed she would undoubtedly try to draw them away from the Dungeons depths by targetting the surface, something he had confirmed with Cassandra, Sylfia, and Ina. Though every decision he made altered when the attack would happen, the Alliance had already started making several preparations, including the distribution of specialized potions that Terra had synthesized with his blood. If Enyo truly tried to use chemical and biological attacks against the City, they were already prepared to deal with the fallout. A single potion would be able to cure more than ten people and, as a result of the mass production of the potion over thest fourteen months, they had more than enough for almost every citizen of Orario, ording to the most recent census. Vahn knew that Ais, Haruhime, and Lefiya all had fates tying them to the Dungeon, as he was now able to see a very subtle flow that had started to follow them around, so they were almost guaranteed members for the expedition. At the same time, he would have to take along people like Tiona, Tione, Lili, Ryuu, and Arnya, as their capabilities were simply too significant to overlook. Tiona was borderline unkible, though she seemed to push the boundaries a lot, while Lili, Ryuu, and Arnya had an almost ridiculous amount of offensive strength. Lili would probably be able to punch clear through one of the Dungeons Floors while Ryuus [Pactio] would be a counter to almost anyrge monsters that might appear from Enyos side. As for Arnya, her [Pactio] andbat prowess made her one of the most terrifyingly effective anti-army fighters within the Manor. Though Riveria, Lefiya, and Fenrir would be able to nuke a mass of enemies, this would also eat a lot of their mana reserves. Arnyas [Pactio], more specifically her artifact, used very little energy to produce a seemingly endless amount of spears that could be shot forward with the same strength as she would have thrown them. These spears would then explode after contacting an enemy, releasing the terrifying might contained within, dealing catastrophic damage that could easily rival the attacks of a Level 7... With these candidates in mind, Vahn just had to bnce out who would stay back on the surface to protect the Manor, and who would be staying inside the Dungeon to assist in the defense of Haven. Fortunately, it shouldnt be too difficult to establish a teleportation magic circle within the Tree of Life itself, linking it to a second teleportation ward within the illusory forest. Though each use of the ward would likely cost arge amount of mana, and the resources supplying such mana, it meant they always had a way of traveling between the 50th Floor and the surface in an instant. They wouldnt be able to use it leisurely, but it would be a very powerful asset in the event of an emergency...now, Vahn just had to see how Enyo would react...he also couldnt help wondering if things might be over as soon as they began... (A/N: As there will certainly be people that ask, "Why doesnt Vahn just go [Magia Erebea] and conquer the whole Dungeon!?", I will exin...first of all, that isnt how you write an interesting story. Secondly, that would be the same pitfall he has fallen into before, the same thing Eva had cautioned him against. The only reason Vahn would take such an action was that he either stopped caring, or assumed he was able to resolve it with his own strength. As one of the most prevalent lessons Vahn has learned is there is always someone stronger, he wouldnt simply go into the situation without thinking, especially since it ties into the flow of fate within the record. It would always be the more prudent act to meet the enemy on your own terms, forcing them to act in a situation where you have greater advantages. Thus, even if Vahns personal strength is very high, the actions he is taking are, inarguably, the more correct choices to make. For any real person that somehow managed to get a lot of power, hubris and egotism would be the main way most of them meet their end xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ina has no need for smelly bois~!,Damn, calm down, Tina (O_O);,Vahn has been ying too much chess...already thinking several steps ahead...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 783 - Contrast

Chapter 783 - Contrast

As the days counted down towards the expedition, which simultaneously felt like a long ways away, Vahn was within the Space-Time orb with a proud smile on his face as he watched the figure above fly around at high speeds. It continued to build up more speed and momentum as it zipped back and forward before, once again, tearing through space and reappearing several kilometers away in an instant. The smile on Vahns face grew a bitrger when he saw this, rising to his feet and closing the distance to the figure after a few seamless uses of [Koku Shundo]. He came to a stop next to the figure, which had the form of a sleek ck dragon with ents of jade green on its scales. It was around 8m long and had ck wings that were nearly 12m across when fully extended. cing his palm against the neck of the Dragon, who was currently breathing heavily as it barely managed to keep itself within the air, Vahn began to channel arge volume of his own source into its body as he said, "You impress me more and more, every time I see you, Alexa..." After his words fell, Alexa quickly transformed back into her human form and flew into his embrace before allowing her body to go limp in his arms. Vahns natural smile transitioned into a wry one as he held up the body of his eldest daughter, even though she only had the figure of a girl around ten years old. Pulling out a mantle from his Inventory, Vahn dr.a.p.ed it around Alexas body, gently reprimanding her by saying, "Alexa, I gave you clothes to wear when transitioning back from your Dragon form, please make sure youre wearing them properly..." After he spoke, Alexa opened her wings slightly as a ck tailcoat, adorned with tufts of white fur, and dark green skirt, overtop a pair of ck hosiery that left her feet exposed, popped into existence. The tailcoat, if observed closely, was actuallyprised of very small ck scales that went all the way down the length of the coat, including its long sleeves. As for the white fur, it wasprised of thick downy fur that came from a type of wolf known as Snowember Wolf King. It had the property of providing good instion in the cold, but also being veryfortable even when worn in hot environments. Now that she was fully clothed, Alexa broke free from the telekinesis holding her up and fluttered forward back into his embrace as she said, "Sorry, I wasnt thinking about using more of my mana since I was already exhausted..." Vahn gave a small nod of understanding, even though they both knew she wasnt actually telling the truth. This hadnt been the first time that she had done such a thing and, as Alexa was a very intelligent young girl, such mistakes would never repeat unless she was doing it intentionally. Still, as long as she didnt try to push things too far, Vahn wasnt going to be too harsh on this daughter of his, whom he had been watching grow up for more than a hundred years... After helping Alexa replenish her energy reserves, which almostpletely drained his own, Vahn gently pushed against her to break out of their long embrace. Alexas shoulders slumped a little but she quickly began using her own magic power to maintain her flight before smiling as she said, "I think I might even be able to break out of the orb on my own pretty soon. I just need to familiarize myself with my Dragonification a little better and then Ill be ready to live in the real world with everyone else..." While she was speaking, Alexa had her hands behind her back and was leaning forward slightly as her tail gently sn.a.k.e.d from side to side. Vahn knew what she was going to say so he released a small sigh and said, "I dont really need to rely on a mount anymore...but, I dont mind flying around together on asion..." Previously, after Alexa had managed toplete her first full transformation, she had started to pester him about bing his mount back in the real world. Truthfully, he didnt really need a mount at all anymore, as his own speed could easily exceed even Fafnirs now. This was one of the reasons why Alexa had been trying to copy Khaos ability to shrink space and teleport at will. Since Alexa also had an affinity with Space and Time, she would undoubtedly be able to pull it off with a little more practice... Alexa happily flitted her wings as a vibrant smile spread across her face, pleased with the response of her Papa, even though she knew he would eventually give in. She had talked to her mother about ways she could be close to her Papa without taking things too far, and this had been one of the solutions they hade up with. Since it was a matter of pride for True Dragons to serve as a mount to the person they recognized as their King, Alexa had wanted to contend against the others for the position. Though she knew her Papa didnt really need the assistance of others to fly, it still made her happy knowing that he would ride on her back...it made her feel a little closer to him, even though it was hard to exin why. After moving to arge clearing, which had a special wellspring that Alexa herself had constructed, Vahn sat on the hammock that had been woven out of fragrant and soft grass, known by the unique name [Blue Silver Grass]. Most of his time in the orb with Alexa was watching her demonstrate any new abilities she had developed before they eventually just spent the rest of the time rxing. Since she spent nearly two months training non-stop in between the moments he would visit, Vahn never pushed her to continue training whenever he was around. Instead, he just pampered her a bit, as his departure would once again mean she was alone for another two months... It took a little while to getfortable but, after Vahn finally reclined in the hammock, Alexa flicked her wings and came to hover above him before slowly lowering herself onto his abdomen and curling up her wings to getfortable while hugging his body tightly at the same time. She was currently around 138cm tall but, now that his height was generally around 185cm, Alexa could stillfortably be cradled in his arms as they took a long nap, cuddling together all the while. Vahn knew it was things like this that probably made Alexa more attached to him but, considering he had technically only been around for around 1/60th of her life, he felt like he needed to at least provide her some smallfort when he could... Alexa was currently around 116 years old, meaning she would be around 120 years old by the time the expedition was scheduled to set out. Vahn had been seriously considering bringing her along with him, as she would need to familiarize herself with battle at some point just to satisfy her natural urges. Unlike Terra, who was a bit of an exception, most True Dragons needed to fight against other creatures. Failing to do so would cause their growth to be stunted and, if they continued to avoid fighting, their power would slowly begin to drain until they eventually died. Vahn hoped that, by allowing her to fight until her hearts content, Alexa would be able to manage any other urges she might have as her body continued to mature. He would have to avoid letting her watch him fight against any truly powerful enemies, but that wasnt to difficult to arrange since she would listen to his order if he firmly ryed his intentions. Though there were certainly a few inconveniences when dealing with the instincts of True Dragons, there were also a few benefits as well. Since Fafnir, Khaos, and Alexa all recognized him as the King of their tribe, they would listen to him if he gave them a serious order. It was almost impossible for them to refuse, even if he asked them to protect a certain area for all eternity or give up their lives for his benefit...not that he would ever do such a thing... After his time in the orb hade to an end, Vahn awoke in the real world, body partly submerged in Terras wellspring while several beautiful and ethereal figures surrounded him. As they had been present before he entered the orb, Vahn wasnt really that surprised. Still, he hadnt seen them for more than four days and couldnt help but admire the beauty of each girl in turn, allowing his eyes to wander across the figures of Terra, Riveria, Lefiya, and Ryuu. They were each wearing nothing but swimsuits, with the exception of the n.a.k.e.d Terra, so Vahns eyes were able to enjoy a feast that most men would kill to glimpse, even for a moment. Terra, being the first to notice his awakening, smiled in a yful manner as she intoned, "Ara~? It seems Master has returned to us...allow me to wee you back~." The wellspring was only about 40cm deep, but Terra still managed to tread through the energy-rich water with her spread wings barely touching the surface while her long and thick tail sn.a.k.e.d through the water. Each step she took was sensual and inviting while the look in her eyes glimmered like those of a predator that had just found a delicious treat to partake of... Before she was able to close the distance, Lefiya had already moved into the way, pressing her hands against Vahns chest as she looked back at Terra with a firm expression and said, "We already agreed to let Master rx, Terra...you know better than most that he is tired...!" Though her words were powerful, it didnt help her case much that Lefiyas hands were twitching slightly as her aura became progressively redder with the passage of time. Even though she couldnt see such things, Terra knew that the little spirit before her was taking advantages while putting on a pretense so she lightly chuckled and continued forward regardless. Sensing the rising tensions between the two, Vahn produced a slightly wry smile and gently removed Lefiyas hands off of his body as he rose to his feet, remarking, "Sorry, I got a little carried away seeing so many beautiful girls right after waking up. As for what you said, Lefiya, you dont really have to worry about that. I just spend the better part of four days rxing my body and mind, so Im more than ready and willing to tend to my women." Though he had removed her hands so that he could stand, Vahn wrapped his arm around Lefiyas waist while he was speaking, causing her momentary mncholy to immediately vanish as her rate of breathing slightly increased. Riveria and Ryuu, who had been sitting a short distance off to the side, watched the interaction between Vahn, Terra, and Lefiya with slightly amused smiles on their faces. Though neither girl were the type to appreciate public disys of affection, both Riveria and Ryuu had undergone great changes from interacting with Vahn for so long. There was also the fact that, within this small garden of Terras, especially within the wellspring, they always felt incredibly calm andfortable. Though the powerful natural energy used to make their bodies get excited, they had now adapted to it and, unless Vahn triggered them, they were able to stay calm even while fully submerged. Sensing Riveria and Ryuu watching him, Vahn sent a smile towards the two girls, causing their own to bloom slightly. Riveria even inclined her head slightly and sent him a telepathic message encouraging him to spend time with Terra and Lefiya, though she would prefer if he went somewhere private first. Since it wasnt a bad suggestion, Vahn intended to take it, but not before sending a message to both Riveria and Ryuu, promising to spend some time with both of themter. As he moved to a private area within the forest, using Terras [Void Transferance], Vahn didnt miss the fact that both Riverias and Ryuus aura had a few strands of red spread through them after hearing his message... --- While Vahn was enjoying a lifestyle that would have earned him the envy and ire of almost every man within the City, there was one boy who was more focused on his own personal adventure than the matters of other people. Apanying him, there was a smart looking girl who had a slightly exasperated expression on her face while a second, much smaller girl, stood at her side. This trio was Bell, Line, and the Pallum girl he had saved, a seventeen-year-old girl by the name of Plum Vino, named as such because of her purple hair and pale purple eyes. Ever since Bell had saved her, she had decided to follow him as a Supporter, bing an official member of the Loki Familia after Line had forced them to return to the Twilight Manor for treatment. A few days had passed since then and, after several very long and serious lectures, Line ended up giving up trying to educate Bell and simply did her best to keep him out of trouble. Fortunately, Plum herself was a smart girl who was quick on the uptake, so they were able to outnumber Bell whenever thetter would be about to do something foolish. This had brought the two closer together, much to thementation of Bell, often on the receiving end of their cooperative teasing. Fortunately, at least when he was in battle, things like that didnt matter at all and, though his strength was still nothing special, he was improving at a rate that would have caused most aspiring Adventurers to vomit blood. Though he hadnt even been an Adventurer for a week, Bell was already on the eighth floor, fighting against a group of Killer Ants while Plum fired her crossbow at targets along the periphery. Line stood by with several small grey balls that would allow them to beat a quick retreat if they started to get overwhelmed. However, this preparation ended up being unnecessary since Bell was making short work over every Killer Ant in front of him, making her feel an incongruity in her heart since she wasnt really confident of being able to do the same in his ce. Since she was nearing Level 3, while Bell was just Level 1, Line felt like the boy she had been tasked to support was some kind of prodigy... As a pair of razor-sharp mandibles made their way towards his calf, Bell skillfully moved his leg backward while allowing his body to tilt forward from the movement. He buried his dagger right next to where the magic core of the Killer Ant was located, not because he had missed, but because he intended to use his dagger as a pivot to vault over the unfortunate monster. Following through with this maneuver, Bell ended up flipping over the Killer Ant, but not before he twisted his dagger and fractured the magic core, causing the Killer Ant to disperse into purple dust before he inverted his dagger, twisting his body around to decapitate another. In the same motion, Bell pulled out a thin white dagger that Line had given him for dealing withrger monsters. Wielding a dagger in each hand, Bell had a serious and determined expression on his face as he weaved between the monsters attacks, piercing the cores of some, diverting the attacks of others. He didnt know why, but moments like this made him feel more alive than anything he had ever experienced in the past. At the same time, the words of his Grandpa and Vahn would often echo in his mind, making his desire to grow stronger even more powerful. He wanted to meet their expectations and the expectations of everyone who had ced their trust in him! Having used herst bolt, Plum called out in a somewhat high pitched and cutesy voice, "Bell, fall back, we need to drop the aggro so we can loot the drop items~!" Hearing this, though he still wanted to fight even more, Bell returned a shout, "Okay! Line, cover me, please!" Stabbing both of his daggers into the closest Killer Ant, killing it in the process, Bell then jumped away and began to run at his fastest speed towards the two girls. Line, long prepared for this moment, tossed out two of the grey balls while Plum had already started making her way towards the nearby tunnel. Upon contacting the ground, the balls exploded into a cloud of pungent smoke that would disorient most monsters, but also served as a means of blocking the pheromone signals of Killer Ants. This would buy them time to escape, wait for the monsters to thin out a bit, and then return to collect their Drop Items before they were absorbed by the Dungeon a few hourster. All the times they had used this strategy in the past, there had never been a single issue, even with Bell sometimes overextending a bit. This time, however, it didnt seem like things would go as smoothly since Plum screamed the moment she entered the tunnel. Hearing this, Bell shouted, "Plum!" while somehow increasing his running speed even more as he went in the direction of the scream. Line was a little startled but, having years of experience as a Supporter, threw out three more balls, one of which was ck and more than three times the size of the others. The first two exploded in the same pungent smoke, but the third one bounced and rolled along the ground for a bit before exploding within thergest group of Killer Ants. Even so, Line didnt stay to observe her handiwork and quickly followed after Bell to investigate what had happened to their party member... After running a rtively short distance, Line nearly fell over when she saw that Bell was currently entangled with Plum, looking like a brute pushing down a young girl. She could see the twitching body of a Needle Rabbit off to the side, a small dagger buried in its neck. Since the dagger belonged to Plum, Line understood that she had probably just been spooked by the monster before managing to stab it. Bell, in his haste toe to her aid, had probably run into the tunnel and, seeing that there was no great cause for concern, must have tripped and fallen into her after the fact... This wasnt the first time Bell had a happy ident, so Line wasnt even that surprised anymore, just profoundly exasperated. She had also been a victim of his miraculous falls, though never in the situation that Plum currently found herself in. Somehow, in a manner Line would never understand, Bell had managed to slip, pin down Plum, and then nt his lips against hers in the same motion. Now, the two both had wide-eyed expressions but didnt seem to understand they could simply separate. Line released a sigh after a few seconds had passed before picking up a rock and pelting Bell with a little more force than was necessary, shouting, "How long are you just going to keep kissing her!?" Bell immediately pulled himself off of Plum, sliding across the ground with a spinning motion before he bowed low with his hands and head pressed to the Dungeons floor. He had never been taught what dogeza was, but even Takemikazuchi would have been impressed by Bells form if he had been present. At the same time, Bell stammered in a loud and overexcited voice, "P-P-Plum! Im very sorry! Please forgive me! It wasnt my intention to push you down; I was just...I...!" Contrary to his expectations, Plum didntsh out at him, instead muttering, "I dont mind..." in a quiet voice while Line just released a heavy sigh. Walking forward, Line grabbed the neck of Bells tunic and began dragging him forward, saying in an icy monotone, "We dont have time to for this theatrical romanticedy...there is a horde of Killer Ants in the next room. Unless the two of you want to be tragic lovers, we should probably move to a safer location..." Lines words caused Plum to scamper about in a fl.u.s.tered manner as she recovered her dagger, looted the monster core, and then chased after the two of them. The entire time she was speaking, Line had continued to drag the catatonic Bell, who had a red face as his brain processed the words that Plum had spoken previously... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Papa...ride me (^?^)! -Alexa,The mind is rested and the flesh is willing...,Bell is beta af...needs some personal guidance from the Godhand...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 784 - Busy

Chapter 784 - Busy

Early morning, Vahn found himself rxing in a small study, reclining on a ratherfortable chair with three adorable little angels using his body to much the same effect. He was holding Aisha in his left arm, Autumn in his right arm, and had Leh sitting in hisp, snuggled up into his chest while her sisters used his shoulders as pillows. Vahn was going to be busy in the afternoon and had decided to spend some time with them but, partway through their small study session, Aisha had begun to doze off. With her taking the lead, the other two girls also decided it was a good time for a nap, thus leading to this rather wholesome situation Vahn found himself in. From the entrance to the room, a pair of adorable rounded cat ears appeared, fixed atop the head of a rather beautiful young woman wearing a maid outfit. She, Emiru, had noticed there wasnt any sounding from the room and peered in to see what was going on. Sighting Vahn with his three daughters all taking a nap, Emiru felt her heart flutter a bit and nearly jumped out of her skin when her Master suddenly opened his eyes. Vahn gave her a small smile, mentally asking ("Is there something the matter, Emiru...?") The Snow Leopard in question lightly pat her chest to calm her rapidly beating heart as she returned a smile of her own and said, ("No, there isnt anything in particr, Master. I was just passing by and noticed it was very quiet, even though I could smell Master and the young missuses. Im sorry if I disturbed you...") Bowing in a polite and proper manner, Emirus rounded earsy t against her head, adding to appeal greatly. Seeing this, Vahns smile softened and, if he could see his own affection towards others, he was certain that his would have gone up a few points towards the adorable little maid standing at the door. As had been the case quite often recently, Vahn was feeling a little whimsical with his affections so, using his affections as a justification, he replied, ("Ill be busy this afternoon, but I havent made any particr ns for the evening. The two of you shoulde by my room, if youre feeling up for it...") Almost as soon as the words left his mind, they resounded in Emirus head, allowing Vahn to see her rounded and plush tail curl up excitedly as a lovely smile bloomed across her face. This time, she bowed even lower than before, palms crossed over herp as she loudly responded, ("Yes, Master~! Im looking forward to it, very much!") Not tarrying much longer, Emiru left the room after her mental exmation, a bit of a skip in her step as she drew a beeline towards her equally excited sister. Even though it wouldnt be for several hours, the two were nning to go through their wardrobe and pick out some suitable clothing for the event that would take ce in the evening. Recently, they had been working with Haruhime to sew some unique outfits that would appeal to their Master, this time a maid outfit that was missing a cover for the chest and had a skirt that barely covered half of the buttocks their Master was so fond of... Though he didnt know exactly what she was thinking, Vahn knew that Emiru probably had something interesting nned based on her reaction. His own anticipation was beginning to build and he suddenly felt like the matter he needed to take care of this afternoon was a minor inconvenience. Of course, when that thought crossed his mind, Vahn immediately dashed it away since it was actually something very important towards the future. Not only would it potentially change the lives of everyone involved, but it was something that would have far-reaching effects on all people in the near, and distant, future. There were still around four months until the next semester would begin but there were a few children that had been performing well in the Magical Studies ss. The majority were Elves, but there were also a few humans, three Beast Persons, and one of the children he had personally known even before the School had opened, the young orphan, Roux. As a Half-Elf, she wouldnt be able to use normal magic, without undergoing Nirvana, but Roux actually had a decent aptitude when her control of magical energy had been tested. This meant, using Evas magic system, she would be perfectly capable of using magic with a fair amount of study and a bit of practice. Though she was only nine years old, slightly too early for any significant growth in her magical power, Roux had been studying very hard ever since entering the School. While Fina and Rye had still been stuck in the basic sses, Roux had actually earned five credits, two from passing her sses and three from self-study and taking exams on her own volition. It seemed she had taken his words back then very seriously and, not doubting them in the slightest, was absolutely determined to be a capable Mage. Since her sess would fundamentally change the perception that Half-Elves couldnt use magic, Vahn had been giving her supportive words whenever he saw her surrounded by pirs of stacked books within the Schools Library. Thinking of the hard-working little Half-Elf, Vahn cracked a small smile and hugged his daughters close, hoping they would also be studious and hard-working in the future. Unfortunately, he knew Aisha and Leh leaned more towards Vana in nature, even though Leh would often use books as a pretext to spend time with him. As for Autumn, she was a very quiet girl who liked to go through picture books filled with various nts and animals. She had also started to show a small interest in medicine so Vahn assumed she would end up going the route of a physician or veterinarian... --- While his main body was in the real world with his daughters, Vahns avatar was within the orb fighting against Arnya. They had already decided who would be going on the expedition and, being one of the main forces that would be protecting Haven, Arnya had been trying to get as much practice with her [Pactio] as she could. Vahn had also wanted to try and get better at dodging fast attacks in his base form and, as Arnya was a very prodigious spearman, she was also one of the best possible candidates to help him improve his own spearmanship. In fact, after their very first lesson with each other, Vahn ended up obtaining the [Spearman:I] Development Ability, something he intended to at least get to A-Rank within the next 4-6 months. (A/N: There are around 25 days until the expedition, meaning Vahns avatar could spend around 150 days in the orb. Leet haxor :)...) Arnyas raiment was one of the more interesting ones among the girls, taking on the form of a tan overcoat in much the same way as Mikotos. The biggest difference was that Arnyas had a strange cross-motif along the individual splits of the coat. There was also a circr gap formed by a golden loop, located around the divide of the two coattails that allowed her tail to poke through without causing any difort. At the same time, there were two belts that crisscrossed around her h.i.p.s, keeping the coat in ce as she dashed around at high speeds and barraged him with not one, but two spears in her hands. Instead of simply using her spears as projectile weapons, Arnya had been developing a fighting style where she could freely pull them out and store them away in an instant, conserving her mana and making almost impossible to adapt to her fighting style. Even with the enhancements of his perception, Vahn often found himself pressured by the tempestuous attacks that would assault him from every conceivable angle. However, he hadnt been slouching nearly as muchtely and, instead of being helpless in the spar, Vahn was able to use his [Longinus] to parry a few of the attacks while using his own nimble body to evade the rest. He would still end up with some shallow cuts every now and then, but it was much better than when they first started sparring a few days priors. (A/N: Once again, this is a few days in the orb, not the real world.) Previously, when his training with the girls had begun, it wasnt umon for him to lose an average of three limbs-per-minute, a unit of measurement that was rather unnerving. However, as he would only benefit even more by using such an extreme method of training, Vahn had persisted to the point that he could now avoid any major loss of limbs against almost everyone except Haruhime and Ais. They were a bit of an exception, even amongst the group of exceptional girls, as Ais attacks were almost impossible to counter while Haruhimes were impossible to read... Towards the end of their spar, Arnya made a movement with her body spinning low to the ground, causing Vahns hairs to stand on end as she disappeared from sight. Trusting his instincts, he used [Shundo] to move forward in a flicker and kicked back after the small evasive maneuver. Arnya had appeared behind him, using a unique version of [Shundo] she had been developing and he had just barely avoided a decapitation by her true spear, [Gulgeirr]. Vahns foot carried toward her abdomen, but Arnya skillfully traced the shaft of her spear in a circr motion to deflect the counter-blow while a golden light emerged from both the right and left sides of his body. In normal circ.u.mstances, he would have immediately moved to dodge with [Shundo] but this time Vahn surprised her by using the momentum of when she diverted his kick to jump, twisting his body as the two spears passed where he had previously stood. In the same motion, Vahn thrust his [Longinus] downward, aiming towards Arnya but finding her spear tracing a perfect line to meet his own. Unfortunately for Vahn, this ended up being a misconception as, instead ofing to meet his spear, Arnyas passed just next to his, diverting it away from her body as her own traced a dangerous path towards the fleshy bit between his legs. This time, even though his own use of teleportation was severelycking, Vahn used nearly 90% of his energy reserves just to flicker a few meters away and avoid that especially dangerous strike. He couldnt help but look at Arnya with me and indignation written across his face as sheughed in a mischevious manner, saying, "Nyahaha, I would have stopped before it hit. I dont think the girls would let me live it down if I actually followed through with that strike~." Even with her words of assurance, Vahn felt like his legs had turned to jelly as he plopped down onto the ground and released a sigh. Arnya released another awkwardugh before stowing her [Gulgeirr] away in the small golden bracelet on her left wrist. Over thest year, with the assistance of Terra and her memory fragment, they had been able to emte the function of a unique item he had purchased through the shop known as an [Interspatial Ring]. Vahn had learned about the ridiculously convenient item through his research into Cultivation and, by attuning metals with a high adaptability towards Space Elemental Laws, they had been able to create essories for the girls to store extra equipment and items. They were another important secret of the Alliance, but Vahn intended to publicize them as one of Havens unique products in the future. For these items alone, Vahn was absolutely certain that arge number of people would try to make the trip... Arnya had walked over at this point, taking a seat next to him beforeying down and using his spread arm as a pillow. Vahn didnt mind her action at all, as it was far tamer than how some of the girls would behave after their spars, so he just let her snuggle up at her leisure. Generally, after a hard-fought battle concluded, Vahn would then spend a good hour or so just rxing with them before he moved on and began sparring with his next opponent. After Arnya, he would be facing off against the terrifying Ais, so Vahn felt like he needed to use this time to mentally prepare himself. Fortunately, with his real body snuggled up with his daughters, Vahn was able to fall into a rxed state very quickly, at least until Arnyas somewhat dry tongue licked the base of his jawline. For a brief moment, Vahn could feel his tensions increase but, after realizing she was just affectionately grooming him, he quickly calmed down and enjoyed the sensation. The giveaway had been the fact that her aura, while having a pink coloration, was filled with warm yellows and soft blues instead of anything more passionate. She was likely trying to apologize for nearly skewering him previously so Vahn allowed the tensions topletely drain away while she systematically licked around the entire left side of his head, including the fringe of his scalp... --- After enjoying his morning alongside his cute daughters, it was finally time for Vahn to head off to the School. Riveria had already been waiting for him outside the Manors entrance so Vahn used his telekinesis to lift her body before flying off towards the School at a casual pace. Along the way, Riveria looked down over the City while enjoying the warm energy enveloping her body, remaining rtively silent until just before they reached the Schools grounds. Still, when she did speak, it was only three soft words that Vahn wasnt quite sure were meant for him, simply, "Flying is nice..." Uponnding, even though it wasnt necessary, Vahn extended his hand as he lowered Riverias body to the ground. She graciously epted it with a small smile and, like a goddess descending upon the earth,nded softly next to him. Vahn returned a smile of his own, stating, "If youd like, I have confidence in creating an item that will allow you to fly for short distances. I still havent had Asfi show me how she creates Magic Items, either, so I could probably reach out to her if you want something more practical..." Vahn recalled that Asfi actually had a pair of sandal-shaped magic items that could allow her to fly, figuring it would be a useful item for most of the girls, not just Riveria. In response to his words, Riveria released a softugh and said, "I would like to be able to fly at your side, instead of being carried along by you. If it wont burden your current schedule, I wouldnt mind epting such a gift...thanks in advance, Vahn." Then, looking around to ensure there were no witnesses, Riveria leaned in an gave him a light peck on the lips before a soft blush spread across her cheeks. Vahns own expression turned into a gratified grin and, as it would be prudent to develop the items before the expedition, Vahn made a mental note to contact Asfiter. Ever since the incident within the Dungeon, Vahn had only seen Asfi twice, both times when she had stopped by the Manor and rather awkwardly apologized before mentioning that she was prepared to make Magic Items whenever he was ready. Since he had been busy at the time, and also wanted to avoid any troublesome developments, Vahn had politely turned her away and promised to reach out to her when he was ready. He knew that, especially the second time, he had hurt Asfis feelings a little but, considering he wasnt trying to get involved with her, it had been a necessary action to take. Vahn knew that Asfi still felt a lot of guilt about what happened and, as she had intended to make amends personally, it had been difficult on her knowing that she had yet to be called upon. The reason for this was simple, however, as Vahn had noticed her Affection was hovering in the upper nies and was trending in a direction that would have them develop a rtionship. Though this was necessarily a problem, Vahn didnt want to be involved with another person simply as a result of guilt or for personal indebtment. He knew that Asfi would inevitably request his assistance with her home Kingdom and, in order to ensure that he would help, would probably dedicate herself a little too strongly to him. Since he had already promised to help her, as a friend, Vahn felt ufortable with this thought and, as he couldnt even spend time with some of the girls he was already involved with, he simply prevented things from developing further from the start... After walking along with Riveria for a few minutes, the two arrived outside of the Headmasters Office, belong to Vahn himself. There was still a bit of time before the preliminary exam was scheduled to start so Vahn set out some tea for Riveria and the two rxed in his rtivelyvish office for a few minutes. During that time, Riveria had been leaning against his shoulder and Vahn had to fight the urge to nibble on her long ear, tantalizingly located just on the periphery of his vision. Since she would probably shun him for a while after the fact, as a result of embarrassing her in public, Vahn behaved himself and just enjoyed the time they had together. When it was nearing 1 PM, just after the children would typically finish eating lunch, Vahn and Riveria walked through the hallways towards their destination ssroom, politely greeting the excited students who would loudly exim whenever they saw him. Most of the boys would have looks of excitement, mixed with a great deal of respect, while therger student body,prised of the girls, had a variety of different reactions. Vahn knew there was a fan clubprised of some of the more excitable girls within the School, but it wasnt that umon for many of the younglings to flush slightly whenever they came across him. It took a lot of self-restraint and individual training just for him to break the habit of patting anyone he came across, though it seemed like many of the girls hadnt been fond of this development as, at times, they would sometimes stand a little too close to him with expectant looks on their adorable little faces. Along the way, seeing how all the students behaved around him, Riveria had a gentle yet teasing smile on her face as she said, "My, you are rather popr, my Husband...it seems the rumor within the Manor about you being good at coaxing young girls needs to be treated more seriously..." Vahn tensed up a little when he heard this but managed tough it off a few secondster since he knew she was just teasing him a little. In truth, he did have a soft spot for children in general and it wasnt just the young girls that he would extend a hand to. If he knew they wouldnt be upset by the action, Vahn would ruffle the hair of some of the younger boys as well, giving a few kind words to encourage them to work hard. After reaching the ssroom, Vahn saw Tenjin waiting for them along with a few students who had already arrived. Out of the corner of his eye, even though he had already sensed her, Vahn saw Roux fidget a little and it looked like she was having trouble trying to call out to him. To ease her burdens, Vahn took the initiative to send her a small wave, causing the young Half-Elf to blush as he turned to Tenjin and asked, "How have sses been going, Tenjin?" In response to this, the schrly god issued a light chuckle and said, "This School of yours is actually quite amazing. I think, once everything settles down, Id like to bring about some reforms in the Far East to match the standard youve established here." Vahn gave a small nod, exining, "There are a lot of specific guidelines that Id like to have implemented for such things, but it has always been my intention to open more Schools in the future. Though I dont really have the logistical support to manage it now, Im certain it will be possible once the various countries have stabilized a bit more. After all, it isnt really a practical solution to have every child born attend just two or three different Schools..." To this, Tenjin just nodded while stroking his non-existent beard, a habit that he had exined away as being part of his Divinity. When all the students had arrived, almost each as excited as the rest to see both Vahn and Riveria, it was officially time to test each of their progress. Though he had been willing to see to their education himself, enough time had passed that Riveria was prepared to see to her own duties. She was the official Department Head of the Magic Division of the School and would be in charge of giving the children a basic education innguage, magical geometry, ward creation, and basic incantations. Vahn had already provided her with the majority of Evas books on magic theory and Riveria had been making steady progress in her own research on the subject. Though she would never quite reach the pinnacle that people like Lefiya were working towards, Riveria would still be one of the most prolific magic schrs in the future. Of course, if she genuinely wished to be stronger, Vahn had alreadye up with several potential solutions, though the majority would have to wait until his return to the record in the far future... After the exnations were finished, the preliminary tests were conducted and, over the twenty-nine applicants, only seventeen ended up meeting the pre-requisites. Unfortunately, Roux hadnt made the cut this time around since she didnt have a proper education prior to attending the School, unlike many of the other students. Still, this was just the first round of testing and the students actually had three more opportunities to improve upon their scores before the official enrollment would begin. To ensure Roux, and the other students, would be sessful, Vahn gave them a short speech to encourage them and, as the testing had extended into thete afternoon, had all of them gather together for a special dinner with Riveria and himself. Since many of the children were orphans, Vahn knew it would help them a lot to, even for a moment, experience a lively dinner with a familial atmosphere...something he ensured by extending calming andfortable energy through his domain... (A/N: Todays chapters will be spaced out a bit, so dont feel the need to spam F5 at the normal posting times (UwU)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wholesome AF,No, not the fleshy bits!,Vahn could be a cult leader...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 785 - Duality

Chapter 785 - Duality

After enjoying a rather yful night with Emiru and Maemi, Vahn entered in into the Sub-Space Orb with both of his bodies, a rather rare urrence that caused his mind to actually stall for a brief moment when he entered. He had been getting so used to experiencing two different flows of time at once that, the moment he entered with both of his bodies, Vahn felt like something was off. Even so, it didnt take that long for him to recover and set out to see two different women that he had, rather unfairly, been forcing to wait for him to push things forward. Though he was feeling a little nervous about going to them like this, Vahn was confident that both Risna and Mikoto wouldnt mind the sudden intrusion. He had already talked to both Aina and Eina about his rtionship with Risna and, as they were both supportive of the idea, Vahn didnt want to keep the rather delicate looking novelist waiting. As for Mikoto, he was certain she would wait for years if he didnt take the initiative and, considering it had been years within the orb, Vahn felt it was time for them to move to the next level. That left only Nanu, Shizune, and Tina for him to tend toter on, with thetter two being rather troublesome for slightly different reasons. Shizune had been training hard with Chloe over thest few years and, though she no longer seemed focused on her revenge, her personality had be a little cold and distant. She was no longer the personable woman who would tease and casually chat with people, now spending a fair amount of her time talking with her own Shadow Summons instead of the others. It wasnt that she would avoid you if you tried to engage her in conversation, she just no longer sought it out on her own prerogative. Now, other than Mn, Chloe, Syr, Haruhime, Preasia, and Tina, Shizune didnt really go out of her way to talk to anyone. Tina was a slightly different problem as, though she was of age, Vahn felt like she wasnt actually ready for a physical rtionship. He felt that she needed to mature a bit more as, evenpared to her past self, Tina didnt seem as sensible as she used to be. It was like her hard training,bined with her [Luck] Development Ability, had slowly caused her to develop a few quirks. Though she was generally very bubbly and outgoing around everyone, she would immediately be very clumsy, excitable, and angsty whenever he was around. He knew this was because she was anticipating their future rtionship too much, causing him to feel a little worried about how she will behave once they finally consummated their rtionship... Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Vahn gently knocked on the small cottage that had been built within the firstyer of pressure along the orbs periphery. Since it wasnt as if the gravity had been increased, structures were able to remain stable without showing any significant signs of strain. Mikoto had asked him to help her build a cottage in the area so she could temper her body, even when sleeping. She took her training very seriously so, even though she rested properly, it was just another method she used to train herself even further... Mikoto, who had been inside the cottage silently meditating, opened her eyes with a start and quickly made her way to the door. Since she couldnt detect the presence of the person on the other side, she knew it was Vahn and, though she was pleasantly surprised to see him, it didnt really show on her face. Instead, she had a casual smile as she asked, "Vahn, did youe here to train with me? Please, give me a few minutes to get prepared and Ill be right out..." As it wasnt that umon for Vahn to seek her out, Mikoto was looking forward to another exciting training session,pletely unaware of the actual purpose behind her Master, Lord, and Lovers visit... Around the same time as he was meeting with Mikoto, Vahn was also standing outside the door to Risnas room, feeling somewhat hesitant about intruding into her sacred territory. In general, she never let anyone into her room and, though he would likely be an exception, Vahn had never stepped into this invible space over thest year. Thest time he had seen it, there was almost no space to even sit as Risna had piles of books,undry, and misceneous items littering the whole area. Even her bed had been stacked with a pile of cleanundry, which also substituted as both a pillow and nket to the rather peculiar young Half-Elf... Soon, Vahns hesitation ended up fading away, helped by the fact that Mikoto had turned beet red when he made his intentions clear to her. Currently, he was being invited into her cottage as she peered out the door to see if anyone else was nearby before closing it behind her and locking it. Though he kept a casual demeanor on that side, Vahn couldnt help but chuckle lightly outside of Risnas door before lightly rattling on it. He heard the sound of a pile of books being knocked over, followed by a somewhat pitiable groan before, nearly a minuteter, Risna finally opened the door. At first, Risna had an annoyed expression, emphasized by the rather haggard look she currently possessed. She was wearing a loose, pale pink, pajama top without any bottoms on, barely covering the stark white cotton panties doing their best to protect what remained of her dignity. Her muted green hair messily fell around her face which, even while appearing very tired, still had an adorable and youthful appeal, made more apparent when Risnas emerald green eyes opened wide and she suddenly shouted, "Vahn!? W-W-What...ah...nooooo, dont look at me~!" For only the second time in his life, Vahn experienced having a door mmed in his face as the sound of Risna whining as she quickly tried to fix her appearance sounded out from her room. He could hear her cursing under her breath about showing up unannounced, all while simultaneously letting slip her expectations and guesses behind his arrival. With his sensitive hearing, Vahn could hear everything she said and couldnt help cracking a smile as he patiently waited for her to prepare herself. Since she apparently wanted to try and hide some of the stuff in her room, it took nearly twenty minutes, but that gave him plenty of time to focus on what was happening at Mikotos cottage... Once she learned his reasons for stopping by, Mikoto had be somewhat tense and mechanical in her movements. In truth, she had been anticipating this moment for a while longer than she would care to admit. After all, she spent every day hearing other girls talk about their own interactions with Vahn and, though she never expressed much interest in the discussion, Mikoto had garnered a few expectations about this day. Now that it came down to it, however, she found her heart beating rapidly in her chest and it was difficult to stay calm as she tried to offer tea to Vahn... Vahn found Mikotos behavior adorable but knew she would need him to lead her into things in order to avoid stressing her out too much. She was always a little too serious, making it almost impossible for her to actually fall into the flow without being pulled along. Thus, as she awkwardly offered to make him some tea, Vahn walked closer to her, causing Mikoto to take a deep breath as he reached out and stroked the left side of her face. With a smile on his own, Vahn leaned forward slowly, saying, "Mikoto...be mine..." Stopping just a few centimeters away from her lips, Vahn waited for Mikoto to give a small nod before pulling her into his embrace instead of going the remaining distance on his own. She was startled, causing her eyes to widen greatly, but calmed down and began reciprocating the kiss he had imposed upon her rather forcefully. She twisted her right hand free, as he had been pulling her wrist, and began to cling to his tunic while slowly pressing herself closer to him. Vahn allowed her to push him back with her efforts until he had impacted the side of the cottage. He kept his right arm around her waist as Mikoto stood on her toes and somewhat eagerly sought to extend the duration of their kiss even further. As she was currently wearing just a light purple kimono, held closed with a red obi, Vahn used his left hand to remove the tightly bound red cloth, causing the kimono to open naturally. Mikoto temporarily broke free from the kiss, doing her best to calm her breathing as she looked down at her bound b.r.e.a.s.ts and the singr piece of fabric protecting thest bastion of her maidenhood. At the same time, Vahns hand was loosely resting on her hip, thumb ying with the tape that kept the cloth from falling away from her body. Though she already knew the answer, Mikoto took a deep breath and turned her deep ck eyes up at Vahn, brows furrowing slightly as she asked, "Vahn...do you love me...?" Without any change in his expression, one which already showed a great deal of love and affection, Vahn nodded his head and said, "I probably cant love you as much as you deserve, but I will always do my best to make you happy, Mikoto...so, yes, I do love you..." Hearing this, Mikoto felt her heart dancing around in her chest while her stomach was performing acrobatic feats that would have caused a circus performer to blush. She felt incredibly giddy just hearing Vahn say those words and, even though she had resolved to simply be his sword, retainer, and mistress, Mikoto couldnt help feeling a little happy at this moment. In fact, it was more than just a little happy and, if not for her own embarrassment keeping her in check, Mikoto felt like she wouldnt be able to stop herself from attacking Vahn... With a small nod of her head, and a happy smile affixed to her face, Mikoto leaned in and gave Vahn another kiss, saying, "I love you too, Vahn...it is hard to even describe all the reasons why...but I do...truly..." Punctuating her words with onest kiss, Mikotos breathing started to rapidly increase as she added, "Now, let me do my duty...I have prepared myself for this day for a long time...please, leave it to me..." Without exining how she had prepared, Mikoto began crawling down his body while Vahn continued to stand with his back to the wall. Her fingers dexterously unfastened his belt and, in the blink of an eye, Mikoto had released the dragon that had been threatening to break free from the restraints keeping it at bay. Vahns eyes widened slightly as Mikoto moved her hair to the side and brought her mouth close to his exposed member, pressing her muted cherry-red lips to his ns as she began licking it. Since she was an inexperienced woman, Vahn immediately understood just who Mikoto had been talking to in order to prepare herself. The image of a mischevious four-tailed Renard appeared in his mind as Mikoto suddenly attempted to try and take his full length after lubricating it with her saliva. As she didnt really have the technique to pull it off, she ended up gagging before she even got half of it in, eyes widening in surprise as she tried to adjust her angle while slowly bobbing her head... Understanding that there was simply too much stuff in her room to hide it all, Risna eventually gave up and instead focused on trying to fix her appearance. She hoped that Vahn hadnt been upset when she closed the door and prayed he was still waiting for her. So as not to keep him waiting even longer, even though it had already been nearly twenty minutes, Risna just took a hairband and tied her somewhat messy hair up into a ponytail and tried to fix a few of the stray locks using a small mirror. She then wiggled into a pair of form-fitting pink shorts, noting that they were fitting a little tighter than she remembered and hoping that she hadnt been putting on any weight... After finishing her preparations, Risna took a few deep breaths to try and calm down, muttering, "Its okay, Risna, you can do this...!" She repeated simr phrases a few times, psyching herself up until she was confident in finally opening the door. When she saw that Vahn was indeed still waiting on the outside, Risna couldnt prevent a smile from blooming on her face as she asked, "What brings you to my room, Vahn? Dont tell me that you finally decided to calm the fire in my tiny little heart~?" To ease the tension, Risna had tried to make a joke, even if it hurt a little knowing that he probably hadnte by for such a reason. At this point, she fell like Vahn didnt actually like her and, if not for the fact that she was Einas sister, wouldnt have even cared about her at all... Contrary to her expectations, to the extent that she didnt even process the words that left his mouth, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Yes, that was my intention. Sorry for keeping you waiting, Risna. I havent shown you the care you deserve...please forgive me." To emphasize his remorse, Vahn gave an apologetic bow, further startling the already confused Half-Elf. Her brain was still trying to make sense of the situation and, by the time the gears had clicked into ce, Risnas face had turnedpletely red as her legs turned to jelly. Feeling faint, Risna fell forward but, instead of colliding with the nearby tower of books, she found herselfnding in a warm and intoxicating embrace. Without her brain processing what her body was doing, Risna deeply inhaled the fragrance of the boy in front of her, closing her eyes in the process as she enjoyed the aroma that tickled her nose, lungs, and heart... As he was very ustomed to the girls enjoying his aroma, as it was amon trait among many of those he associated with, Vahn didnt mind Risna absentminded actions. Instead, he just casually helped her rise to her feet, supporting her shoulders as he said, "If youll ept me, Risna, I would like to take our rtionship to the next level. We dont have to do anything too serious, but Id like to spend some time with you..." Still feeling a little absentminded and fl.u.s.tered, Risna just stared nkly back at Vahn as her tired mind slowly made sense of the information. She regretted the fact that she had spent thest thirty hours writing her novel and felt like downing an entire kettle of ck tea just to force her brain to start functioning properly. When a few words finally clicked into ce, Risna just blurted them out without really thinking about them, startling herself and Vahn in the process as she practically screamed, "Yes, please! I have a ton of things I want to try!" Her mind had been filled with all the delusions she had harbored over thest six years, now swarming around in her head like a school of fish that threaten to drown her rationalepletely. Though things were progressing in a slightly different way than he expected, Vahn nodded his head, smiling as he said, "Sure. From now until you wake upter, Im at your disposal..." He had already decided to stay with Mikoto and Risna until they werepletely satisfied, including any necessary aftercare. To Risna, however, these words seemed to set off an explosion in her mind as she quickly ran over to her bed and pulled out a stack of books without titles on them, fingering through them rapidly until she apparently found what she was looking for. Then, with a resolute nod of her head, Risna muttered, "Yosh! You can do it, Risna!" before scampering over and shoving the book into his chest. Taking a deep breath, Risna too excitedly stammered, "Please, do everything in this book! I...I want to live out the fantasies in my head, just to see if my imagination matches what I wrote on paper...!" While she yelled this, Risnas face had be beet red and it looked like she was on the verge of passing out as a result of her rapidly building tensions. To prevent this, Vahn nodded his head, stowing away the book and stroking her head as the contents were rapidly processed in his mind. While he helped to calm her mind, Vahns own started to buzz after he saw what Risna had in mind in book identified by the system as [My First Time With A Beast]... Within the book, there was even a script that she wanted him to follow, making it sound as though he greedily sought her body and wanted to eat her. Her own lines were also annotated with slightly shaky pen strokes, making her seem like a frail and helpless young woman who couldnt escape the tragic fate that would befall her. As for the contents of what she wanted him to do...it was far more advanced than what Vahn had expected for a maiden. He realized that, probably from reading too many romance novels written by other people, Risna had developed some rather...deviant tastes... Much like Risna had, Vahn also took a deep breath and resolved himself to help Risnas fantasiese true, so long as they didnt develop in a dangerous direction in the future. He had already promised to do what he could and, though the things described were a little advanced, it wouldnt be the first time he had acted out a y. Anubis, Loki, Maemi, and Emiru were all rather fond of the uniquely intimate act and, at this point, Vahn had a wealth of experience to pull from in order to guide Risna towards a safe direction. Still, that didnt mean he wouldnt start things off ording to her expectations so, after helping replenish her stamina, Vahn moved his hand to caress Risnas cheek, tracing it past her pointed ears, and then pulling her towards him in a slow but firm manner as he brought his face to the side of her own and said, "From now on...even if you want to leave me...I will make your body unable to do so...from now until the heavens fall upon the mortal world, you will be mine, and mine alone..." Risnas body began to tremble, simting fear but actually the result of her rapidly rising tensions. She weakly pushed against his chest, whimpering, "No...please...spare me..." Vahn, however, following the script, began to lick the upper ridge of her ear from root to tip, saying, "Its your own fault, Risna...how can I not eat up such a tantalizingly sweet young maiden..." Punctuating his words, Vahn began nibbling on Risnas ear as she writhed about in his embrace, trying to break free from his inescapable grasp. Then, with her anxious m.o.a.n as his cue, Vahn put pressure into his hands, firmly gripping Risnas pert little buttocks as he stated in what he intended to be a possessive manner, "I have already decided...there is no escape for you now...me your own tragic fate for giving you an appearance that stirs up my beastly nature...dont worry, Risna, even if your body cant live without me, I wont let you have any regrets...now, give yourself to me...or I will take it from you..." With her jaw quivering from fear, Risnas delicate fingers tightened around the fabric of his tunic as she looked up with wavering eyes and said, "Then take me...Im yours...you beast..." (A/N: Godhandes aknockin...,Mikotos Duty (O-O)...,Its the quiet ones you have to watch out for!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 786 - Godspeed

Chapter 786 - Godspeed

Unsurprisingly, without a great deal of assistance, Risna was unable to see the end of her own story through to fruition. Though things started off smoothly, she quickly ended up at a disadvantage as a result of the fatigue she had been feeling since before they even started. Vahn could help replenish her stamina, and help to calm her mind, but there wasnt much he could about the diminished mental and spiritual energy within her body. He allowed her to push herself a bit but, by the end of things, Vahn was just holding the rather petite Half-Elf in his arms as her sweat covered body slowly calmed down, long having passed into unconsciousness after a little under an hour... His other self was having a significantly different experience, however, as he was able to experience the full extent of what Mikoto considered her duty. Though she had required him to lead into things, Mikoto quickly put herself into a service mentality and had been focused more on his own pleasure than her own. Vahn managed to reverse the situation partway through, but it was still a very refreshing experience having a very different kind of battle with Mikoto. The more he had tried to pleasure her body, the greater her own attempts to service him. By the end of things, Vahn found it rather difficult to believe it was her first time and, if not for the fact that she was Level 6 and had bled a great deal, Vahn didnt think she would have been able to go to such great lengths,sing nearly five hours before she eventually begged for a reprieve... As a result of his earlier decision, Vahn had found himself in two different rooms, snuggled up with two uniquely adorable girls. Risna, having long fell asleep in his embrace, had a youthful vibrancy and, even though she had her quirks, this actually made her more appealing. As for Mikoto, her demure behavior during the times they were generally together,bined with her serious nature, created a bit of a gap between how she normally behaved, and how she behaved in bed. Though he enjoyed the excitement of spending time with the more experimental and outgoing girls, Vahn had always been rather fond of those who had a service mentality in the bedroom. After this encounter, Mikoto now fell into that category alongside Anubis, Eina, Lunoire, Emiru, and Maemi. As for the other categories, there were the girls who were very open and eager about their emotions, such as Ais, Tiona, Tione, Lili, Haruhime, Chloe, Arnya, Mn, Tsubaki, Hephaestus, Hestia, and Aki. These girls were also the most open to experimental y, generally involving other women within theirfort groups. As for the final two categories, there were the petent women and those that liked to receive more than take proactive action in the bedroom. Loki, Terra, Freya, Syr, Eirene, Demeter, and, surprisingly, Lefiya fell into the former category. As for thetter, which Vahn had a soft spot for, they were the girls like Riveria, Ryuu, Preasia, Naaza, and, now, Risna... Thinking of all the girls he was involved with, Vahn couldnt help but produce a slightly wry smile, even though there was also a great deal of love contained within his gaze. He genuinely cared about all of them, to the point that he would be heartbroken if their paths one day diverged. To prevent that from happening, Vahn tried his best to keep them happy and was infinitely grateful for the efforts they themselves put into their sisterhood. The fact that everyone supported each other, even to the point that they considered roping in other girls, was something that Vahn would never quite be able to wrap his head around. Even so, he was extremely grateful for this fact and, if possible, intended to make them even happier in the future... Lost in his own thoughts, Vahn hadnt gone to sleep throughout the time that Risna and Mikoto were resting. He wasnt too surprised by the fact that Mikoto, even though she hadsted much longer, ended up waking before the ratherzy Half-Elf, thetter having terrible sleeping habits from the start. When she awoke, Mikoto could feel a powerful warmth beneath her that made the cool air within the orb feel somewhat chilly and unpleasant. Generally, she would never mind such things but, as a result of being within the first zone of pressure, it made the warmthing from the person she wasying against even more attractive. Opening her eyes, Mikoto entered a momentary daze, still struggling to believe that she had finally been able to dedicate herself to the man she had long-since recognized as her Lord, Master, and Lover... With that thought crossing her mind, Mikoto released a rare giggle, causing Vahns brows to rise slightly as he pulled her closer toward his face and asked, "How curious...I wonder, will you tell me what you find so amusing, Mikoto~?" While speaking, Vahn allowed his left hand to follow the curve of Mikotos body but, somewhat against his expectations, she lightly pped away his hand and said, "Sorry...I need to mentally prepare myself before we do something like that again...even though my body feels like its recovered, Im afraid my mind may break if we have s.e.x too often..." Recalling this, Mikoto regretted even trying to contend against Vahn in an area where he had every advantage, something she had known about beforehand. Still, her pride and desire to dedicate herself to him had caused her to see the limits of her self-exerted hubris. In the end, her only salvation had been the fact that Vahn showed mercy on her after she begged for leniency. Had this not been the case, Mikoto felt like her dedication to her sword, and everything she believed in, might have been shattered by the almost too capable boy holding her... Vahn gave a casual smile in response to Mikoto, bringing his nose to where it touched against hers as he said, "Dont worry, Mikoto...I just wanted to cuddle with you for a little while..." While speaking, Vahn brought his hand to the small of Mikotos back without going any further, even though she had a pert little rump that he had grown rather fond of a few hours ago. It wasnt big, but it was immactely round and had a pleasant firmness that seemed to attract his hands like a powerful ma. Mikoto gave a small sigh but, instead of rebuffing him any further, just rested her head against his chest and allowed her mind to wander for a little while. In truth, it was very pleasant to simply stay like this and, even if they were toy in bed for hours, Mikoto didnt think she would mind too much. This, however, was one of the reasons she forced herself to mind it as it seemed counter to how she had lived her life up until this moment. The interest she had towards training, at least for the time being, had almostpletely waned and, unless Vahn finally released her on his own, Mikoto wasnt quite sure she would be able to pull herself away from him... Fortunately, though it was rather embarrassing for the proud swordswoman, Mikotos stomach began to rumble after around twenty minutes of silence. As a result, the rather warm and intimate atmosphere was instantly shattered, causing Vahn to release an amusedugh while Mikotos face turned tomato red... After getting dressed, even though it was just Mikoto putting on a loose kimono over her n.a.k.e.d figure, the two ate a hearty together, Vahn teasing the taciturn young woman by offering her bits and pieces of food with his chopsticks. The fact that she ultimately gave in and ate everything offered to her, even though she was clearly embarrassed, made Vahn feel like moments like this could be addictive. Now that they had consummated their rtionship, moments like this would be more prevalent in the future and Vahn was looking forward to seeing how Mikoto would change over time, even if it was subtle. Towards the end of the meal, Mikoko wanted to take advantage of the momentary lull, asking, "After this, what did you intend to do, Vahn? If youre not busy, I would like to have a spar against you..." Though she knew it wouldnt be the case, Mikoto felt like she needed to vent out some of the more difficult to process emotions she was feeling by picking up her sword. In fact, during breakfast, she continued to look towards where it was resting, something Vahn had noticed throughout the meal. With a curt nod, though his smile didnt fade away, Vahn said, "Sure. After were done, Ill have you join me in the bath and then brush your hair afterward...okay?" Looking at Mikoto, Vahns smile widened marginally because her silky ck hair, which was usually fixed up in a ponytail at the side of her head, was currently loosely hanging around her shoulders. There were a few tangles here and there and, after they finished sparring, Vahn knew it would probably be significantly worse. He suspected that, if she had seen her own appearance, which was currently wearing nothing but a loose kimono over her n.a.k.e.d body, Mikoto would be significantly less concerned about training right now... A few minutester, after Mikoto prepared her equipment, the two made their way into the third pressure zone, the ce many of the girls used to temper themselves during training. Though she would only be able to stay inside for around an hour before having to leave, that one hour of training could be worth several in the lower pressured regions. As for Vahn, his body had adapted to the resistive forces of thepressed space, enabling him to move freely without any major restrictions. Since his body had always had an affinity with Space Elemental Laws, his presence within the pressure zones helped to increase hisprehension, even if it didnt do much for his actual training. Mikoto checked herself over, making sure she had her [Effigy of the Hero] safely tucked away, before assuming a squat stance with her legs spread out slightly and her hand resting lightly against the hilt of her katana. Vahn also assumed a stance of his own, wielding a slightlyrger katana than Mikotos that had a muted grey handle. Though there was no way he could directly contend against her mastery in the [Flying Heavenly Sword] techniques, at least during livebat, Vahn still had a few advantages of his own to even the odds. Instead of allowing his aura to spread out for 741m, Vahn condensed it down to twenty, making the space around him even denser. Like this, even if Mikoto used her godly speed, she would actually crash against the barrier he had created and make openings that were easy to exploit. Her only means around this would be to enter within the 20m radius before she began her attack, though she would still have to ovee the resistive forces acting upon her body. As this wasnt her first time seeing Vahn use this technique, as he often used it against the faster girls, Mikoto remained absolutely calm. From the moment she assumed her stance, it was as though her mindpletely nked and, other than this one moment, where she and her sword had be one, nothing else existed in the entire world. In truth, had Vahn not used his domain to make her movements more difficult, almost every strike Mikoto performed would have ended the fight in an instant. Though she was only Level 6, her techniques allowed her to fight people much stronger than herself, with only a few anomalies like Ais, Haruhime, and Tiona being a serious threat to her... From Vahns perspective, it was like the world around him dimmed slightly and he hadnt even been able to see Mikotos strike as a de of formless energy contacted his barrier and cut apart space itself. She wasnt at the level of someone like Ottar, but Mikotos single-minded pursuit of mastery of the sword had turned her into a true monster. Around two years ago, within the orb, she had started to glean insight into Sword Laws themselves, now able to make her attacks able to strike targets from a distance of around 50m... Though the attack moved faster than he could see, Vahn was able to react to it when it entered into his domain and was slowed by thepressed spatial energy. He used [Shundo] to close the distance between them in an instant, causing his domain to m into Mikoto but ultimately having no effect on her. Vahn could see the muscles in her body tense slightly, but her eyes remained clear and focused as her figure turned into a phantom image. At the same time, he had already moved to open up a distance between them,ing to a stop nearly 400m away from her. His left arm and leg, being infused with the Sword Laws from Mikotos strikes, were unable to hold their form until he allowed them to fall freely before reattaching them. Mikoto was perfectly capable of giving chase, as she had also made great strides in techniques like [Shundo], but she chose to stay in her draw stance as she observed Vahn with the intensity of a hawk. From his perspective, he could actually see Mikotos own domain, even though it was just something that hade about as a result of his perception, not something that actually existed. All around her body, there was a small bubble that extended out to a distance of 50m, the maximum attack range of her current Sword Laws. The moment he entered inside of that space, he would have to deal with Mikotos nigh instantaneous attacks... Knowing this, Vahn just smiled lightly and assumed a draw stance of his own, this time triggering Mikoto to move toward him in an instant. Unfortunately, his mastery of [Shundo] was much higher than hers so, every time Mikoto moved forward, Vahn would keep the distance between them as they skirted around the periphery of the orb. For the first time, Mikotos expression changed, bing slightly hardened and more fierce as she forwent using her [Shundo] and instead moved forward with raw speed, temporarily even exceeding her own instant movement technique. Even without skills like [Shundo], the core principle of the [Flying Heavenly Sword] technique relied on having speed that greatly exceeded the limits of the human body, to the point where the user could even move faster than the perception of their opponents. The only thing Vahn saw was where Mikoto had started her movement and she was already on the edge of his domain with a brilliant sh of light emerging from her katana. Though he couldnt see the strikes, Vahn felt nine lines of energy pass through his body in an instant, temporarily disrupting his own energy flow and allowing Mikoto to enter into his domain, moving swiftly at a low angle as she drew a vibrant crescent that seemed determined to split the heavens and earth. Unfortunately, the moment she entered his domain, the world around Vahn had dulled to the point that it was almost monochromatic in color... Ever since the first incident where he almost injured Anubis with [Enkidu], Vahn had noticed he had the ability to see things that were much faster than he should be able to react to. He also had a lot of experience using the [Hearts Desire]s, observing as time slowed and stagnated to the point that he could spend hours within the girls inner heart without a single second passing in reality. This phenomenon had always resulted in a dimming of the world around him and, understanding this was his own perception of time being altered, Vahn had been trying hard to master using it to his advantage. The final straw had been when Terra assisted him in assuming a [Magia Erebea] form that used Time Elemental energy itself as a catalyst. Though he still had a long way to go until he reached mastery, there were already a few ways Vahn could use this strange phenomenon to great effect... Though Mikoto should have almost been frozen in time, Vahn could still see that she was moving in slow motion, with her de not only seeming to cut through space, but time itself. If not for his increased perception, he probably wouldnt even be able to react to the attack without having a much greater proficiency with the sword. Still, he could react and, sidestepping the lethal crescent, Vahn was already drawing his own sword, using one of the principle technique of the [Flying Heavenly Sword Scroll], Battojutsu. He noticed that Mikotos eyes actually followed his movement, but there was nothing she could do to make her body move to avoid the sword that had alreadye to rest on her neck, with only a single microsecond passing. (A/N: Microsecond = 0.000001s. To put it in perspective, it only takes a single Millisecond .001s for neurons in the brain to send information.) Suddenly, it was like a bubble had burst and color had been restored to the world as both Vahn and Mikoto began breathing heavily. That one instant had pushed both of them beyond their limits and, even though he had the regenerative effects of [Magia Erebea], Vahn could feel the strain on his muscles and mind for a few seconds after the movement. As for Mikoto, she plopped to the ground and allowed the beads of sweat to fall from her forehead as she said, "One day...suuhaaa...I will surpass that instant...suuhaaa..." To this, Vahn just nodded his head and pulled a barrel-like tub out of his inventory, filling it with hot water as he said, "I have absolute confidence you will be able to do that, Mikoto. Youre already one of the most skilled swordswomen in the world and, if anyone imed to be above you, I would be highly skeptical of their im..." Mikoto was never the type to mind such things, but she still appreciated Vahnspliment, a small smile spreading across her face. She knew that her skills had already reached a point beyond what she had even been capable ofprehending in the past. If not for Vahn, she could have spent decades trying to master the sword, something she hadpletely dedicated herself to, and never even scratch the surface of the skills she currently possessed. Now, like most of the girls around Vahn, Mikoto genuinely believed that there was no such thing as limits, each seeing the others break through their own preconceived limits on a daily basis... After the bath was ready, Vahn picked up Mikotos body, noticing that some of her muscles had actually torn from the excessive strain. He helped liberate her of her clothes, enjoying the light blush on her face before submerging both of their bodies into the hot water. Then, just as he had this morning, Vahn simply focused on enjoying the moment, hugging Mikotos body from behind as he helped to repair the damage she had suffered from her inhuman movements. All the while, Mikoto stayed rtively docile and just allowed it to happen, the same small smile she had graced the world with earlier never leaving her face... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mikoto is adorable af...,DONT BLINK(0.003s),Entrusting oneself to another...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 787 - Calm : Complacent

Chapter 787 - Calm : Comcent

Though he would have liked to stay with Mikoto for a while longer, it had been nearing time for Vahn to enter the Space-Time orb to visit Alexa. He ended up parting ways with Mikoto after spending around twenty minutes brushing her long ck hair, which extended to the small of her back when she didnt have it tied up. As for his other body, Vahn was currentlyying with a still asleep Risna, learning just how bad her posture could be. She had started off by clinging to him but, after a few hours had passed, Risna began moving around all over his body as though she were looking for afortable position. Her current posture had her sprawled out across his body,ying with her back on his chest as her head hung next to the side of his face, a silly smile stered across her face. Since he had been able to tolerate girls like Hestia, Lili, and Tiona, Vahn didnt really mind Risna bad sleeping posture and just loosely held her body so she didnt roll off the bed. Vahn suspected this happened quite often as, unlike the other girls, Risna had chosen a bed that was very low to the ground instead of one with a proper frame. Whenever he would prevent her from falling, she would release a smallugh and hug him tightly, even though she hadnt actually woke up in the process... As he couldnt enter Alexas orb while his bodies were split, Vahn knew he needed to wake her up and head out, even though it felt a little wrong to stir her from the apparently pleasant sleep she was enjoying. Still, being just a littlete to visit Alexa could trante to several hours, or even days, so Vahn thought about how he should wake her up without making her feel too saddened by his need to leave the orb. Fortunately, after their little y yesterday, Vahn had a decent understanding of the type of girl that Risna was... Using the fact that she wasying with her back against him, Vahn brought his left hand, which had been loosely wrapped around Risnas abdomen, up to her rather modest left b.r.e.a.s.t. They were almost the perfect size to be held in the hand and, like all people of Elven descent, Risna was very sensitive in her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Even before she woke up, her body twitched and she began to make slight squeaking m.o.a.ns before her emerald green eyes slowly opened. For a brief moment, there was a small amount of confusion and fear in her ck pupils before she remembered where she was, and who was with her. Bringing his right hand up to Risnas chin, Vahn tilted her head back and began to nibble around her shoulder and corbone as he exined, "Risna...I need to go visit Alexa soon, so Ill have to leave you shortly..." At the same time, Vahn pinched her n.i.p.p.l.e between his index finger and thumb, sending a thread of energy into the concentrated nerves as Risnas body began to tremble. He then moved his head up, lightly biting her ear with his teeth, causing Risna to flinch as her teeth ttered slightly. Even so, she didnt make any effort to stop him at all, allowing Vahn to rub his forehead against her hair in an affectionate manner before whispering hotly into her ear, "Im looking forward to the next story you write..." The voice she had been holding back escaped from Risnas mouth all at once, the tensions releasing from her body as a powerful reverberation passed through her. As this was happening, Vahn traced his hand from her chest, continuing down her thin frame until his hand was just below her navel. The entire time this was going on, he allowed threads of energy to flow from his fingertips, proding all of the important nerves that caused the wave within Risnas body topound. Her trembling continued to increase for nearly three minutes until Vahn finally stopped caressing her abdomen. By the time he was finished, Risnas body was like a marite with its strings cut as she gasped for air and periodically swallowed the saliva building up within her mouth. Turning her head to the side, Vahn gazed into her glossy emerald green eyes, noticing that a small light returned to them when she matched his gaze. Vahn gave a small smile, leaning into a gentle kiss that didnt stress her too much, this time using his palm to pet Risna instead of stimting her. She was already in a highly rxed and blissful state so his petting energy was especially effective on her right now, causing Risna to slowly begin to lose consciousness while they were still kissing. Before shepletely passed into an even more blissful sleep, Vahn broke from the kiss and gently stroked her hair as he said, "Sweet dreams...Risna..." Once she fell asleep, Vahn pulled out a warm towel and wiped down her body before tucking her into her bed and giving the adorable little Half-Elf a kiss on the forehead. As if she was aware of what was going on, Risna released a somewhat sillyugh with a sloppy grin on her face. Vahn also chuckled lightly when he saw this, stroking her silky green hair for a short while until the door to her room opened, revealing himself with the samecent smile. Vahn turned to himself and brought his two bodies close together before absorbing his avatar into his soul once again. A strange rity always came over him whenever he was just one body, as he was no longer experiencing two perspectives at once, but Vahn didnt pay too much heed to it as he quickly ejected himself from the orb to go spend time with Alexa... --- With several months of time to practice, Alexa was getting progressively better at controlling her transformation and other abilities. She could remain in her Dragonification for several hours without too much energy expenditure and, after a fair amount of effort, managed to convince Vahn to fly around within the seemingly infinite Space-Time orb atop her back. This turned into a somewhat interesting game where she tried to buck him off by trying to fly around quickly, making very acrobatic maneuvers, and even tearing through space. Vahn knew she was just trying to get him to cling to her but this was unnecessary as he was able to essentially anchor himself to her back with his own telekinesis. In ast-ditch attempt to get him to fall off, Alexa mustered up all of her strength and stamina to fly ever upwards, ascending thousands of kilometers as the space around them became progressively colder. Though she would never be able to fly high enough to break out of the atmosphere of the orb, theck of energy along the orbs periphery actually simted a vacuum better than space itself, seemingly sapping the energy out of a persons body as it tried to return closer to the ground. Vahn found this discovery rather interesting and wondered if he should spend some time studying the space within the record of Danmachi more... Unfortunately, try as she might, Alexas energy expenditure was draining much faster than the strange atmosphere could affect Vahn. She had ascended nearly 3,000km above the seemingly endless ins and forests below, making the colors mix together until there was a vast ocean of green below while a gentle white radiance was cast down from above. Under these conditions, as Vahn sat casually with his arms crossed, Alexas transformation broke and she wasnt even able to breathe at all, not that it was really a requirement for her. Breathing, for True Dragons, was just a means of absorbing more energy into their body, meaning it was impossible for them to suffocate. After all, there was no air at all within ces like Fafnirs shadow dimension or within the upper atmosphere where Khaos sometimes went to recharge. Vahn bundled Alexa up in a nket and held her close to his chest as he just allowed himself to fall towards the ground. With thews in the Space-Time orb, it would take him several hours to descend and there was no particr hurry. Freefalling was a very liberating experience and, as there was no actual danger to either of them, Vahn just held Alexa close and fell towards the ground below with his eyes closed. As for Alexa, she just nuzzled into his chest while clutching his tunic with her left hand and enjoying the moment for as long as she could... For the remainder of his time in the orb, much like in the past, Vahn just spent time lounging around with Alexa and spending time together. Though she made a few obvious attempts to try and appeal to him, Alexa generally kept things in moderation and, during the times they would swim together, she would even assume a neutral appearance. Vahn also, out of consideration for her, had modified his own body to be genderless whenever they were bathing together, something that had been upsetting to her in the past but she had gradually be used to it. She interpreted his efforts, and the concern he always showed towards her, as a reason to temper herself as well, so as not to upset the father-daughter rtionship they currently enjoyed... Towards the end of his time within the orb, Alexa wasying near his feet, with her own pressed against his soles as shezily yed around with them. Vahn was absentmindedly looking towards the sky since Alexa had decided to wear a skirt and some rather adorable panties to try and draw his eye toward her. It was small things like this that had caused Vahn to slowly develop an immunity to her attempts and now he treated them more as her wanting attention than anything else. Since she was more than a hundred years old at this point, Alexa had a good understanding of what she could get away with and was simply ying around in her own unique way... Just as the time for his departure arrived, Alexa rolled forward and mounted his stomach with a somewhat mncholic longing in her eyes as she said, "Ill be waiting...Papa..." Vahn nodded his head, a gentle smile on his face as he framed hers and pulled her head downwards so he could kiss Alexas forehead. Without turning her face back up to look at him, Alexa spent the final few seconds just hugging his body until it had started to break down into partictes of energy that couldnt be contained by any kind of container, physical or magical. Alexa plopped to the ground as a result and finally raised her somewhat watery eyes towards the sky until thest particle vanished from sight. Afterward, she took a few deep breaths to calm down before assuming a meditative pose and, once again, focusing on her Cultivation... --- After spending time with Alexa, and showing his gratitude towards Terra, Vahn returned to the Sub-Space orb with one of his bodies while the other went to spend time with his children. Along the way, he came across Vana and Rufina, thetter of the two slightly startled when she saw him. Vahn had already detected her presence long before the encounter, however, so he just smiled and asked, "Are the two of you going into the forest...?" To this inquiry, Vana immediately nodded her head and, with arge smile on her face, said, "Yes, Aunt Rufina was going to help me with my sword training and then we were going to y with Vulcan~!" Vahn released light chuckle and casually reached out his hand to begin stroking Vanas head, causing her to giggle with a contented smile on her face. At the same time, he turned to Rufina and said, "Thank you for always looking after my daughter, Rufina...she is blessed to have a friend like you..." Rufina gave a wry smile in response, saying, "Yeah...friend..." while crossing her arms in a somewhat insecure manner as her brows twitched. Vahns own expression nearly faltered but, ustomed to Rufinas behavior, he managed to hold out and just watched the two redheads as they headed off towards the forest. He had long known that Rufina harbored more than a little affection towards him but, at the same time, Vahn was very aware that her natural inclination seemed to be towards women. He had actually stumbled in on her and Shakti ying together once, with Rufina taking the dominant role in the rtionship... Because of this, added to the fact that her bracket parameter for affection was (Love?), Vahn tried to give Rufina space to live her own life. He felt that her affection towards him was heavily influenced by the fact that he had saved her, helped rebuild her life, and even shared his family with her. Since he didnt want to take advantage of the confused emotional state she was in, Vahn did his best to support her indirectly, even if she and Shakti had been somewhat hostile towards him ever since the ident. He had never told anyone, not even Loki, Hephaestus, Eina, and Hestia, which was probably the only reason the two girls didnt try to beat him half to death every time they met. They had also tried to exin to him, in a very unconvincing manner, that neither of them were actually lesbians. Their rtionship had apparently started after the two got drunk and, as a result of Ganesha always pressuring her to find a man, Shakti had gotten frustrated and goaded Rufina on. After a rather passionate night together, the two proud women had started a secret rtionship, even though both imed to be interested in men... Remembering Shaktis extremely embarrassed face,bined with the fact that they had tried to get even with him after the fact, Vahn produced a small smile. If he were being honest, he wouldnt have minded joining in on the fun but, considering the situation at the time, he thought it best to show restraint. After all, Shakti didnt have those kinds of feelings toward him and he didnt want her first time to be under such dubious circ.u.mstances. If they had perhapse to him with that intent from the start, instead of trying to force it in the situation, the oue could have been very different... Shaking these thoughts from his mind, Vahn wandered into the maternity ward and looked down upon the sleeping faces of Eiko, Rose, Iris, Daisy, Macht, and Lucas. He noticed that Alise was missing but, considering that Ryuu was often carrying her daughter around, Vahn wasnt too surprised. Instead, he was experiencing a veryplex emotion that he wasnt exactly sure how to describe, being which child he should choose to hold first...they were all so adorable, especially the three identical sisters who were around two-thirds the size of the other children... Ultimately, Vahns decision was made for him as Macht, his son with Naaza, had woken up and started squirming around. From experience, Vahn knew he had probably soiled himself since the furrowed brows of the young Chienthrope pup were pinched together in frustration. Thus, without any hesitation, Vahn picked up his son and helped calm him down while moving him over to the changing station. At the same time, as the rm on the crib had been triggered, Mona came hurrying into the room, startling a little when she saw him inside. Vahn smiled in a casual manner, deftly wiping the rather pungent poop away from Macht and making sure he was properly cleaned before wrapping him in a new diaper. When he was finished, Vahn passed Macht over to the now patiently waiting Mona, saying, "Thank you for always helping out, Mona..." She returned a small nod, epting Macht into her arms and, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, freeing her ratherrge b.r.e.a.s.ts from her blouse and feeding the young pup. Her expression softened greatly as the voracious little Chienthrope devoured her milk, muttering, "All of your children have suchrge appetites...they are all so healthy and full of life..." Though she had initially only intended to serve as a wetnurse for Hephaestus and Loki, Monas contract had been for four years and, even though she had been released from it, she decided to stick around as the childrens Nanny. She had grown deeply attached to most of the children within the Hearth Manor and was struggling with finding the courage to ever leave in the future. At times, she even just wished Vahn would pursue her so she wouldnt ever have to leave this happy and fulfilling lifestyle. However, desiring a more simplistic life, Mona was also d he didnt try to push her, even though she had given him a few hints that she was receptive to the idea... While Mona was feeding Macht, Vahn picked up Rose and Iris into his arms, marveling at how tiny and adorable they were as the two girls quietly snoozed in his arms. He only held them for a few minutes, as he didnt really want to wake them up, before swapping them out for Daisy and Lucas, thetter of which shed with a gentle golden light that spread across his thin downy fur. Vahn found himself within a vibrant and bright area that was full of abstract colors and very soft shapes that didnt quite form anything cohesive. Lucas had inherited his mothers Innate ability and he actually helped the other children sleep peacefully since the young Lambling almost exclusively had happy and peaceful dreams. Even within the dreamscape, Lucas was still sleeping within his arms so Vahn just bent down and kissed his forehead as the space around him distorted before he had returned to reality. Though he didnt have mastery of dreams, Vahn had gotten very good at breaking free from the Dreamscape without disturbing the user. He then ced Lucas back into his crib, lightly pinching his nose until Daisy began to squirm around in his left arm. She didnt actually wake up, but Vahn still cradled her for a while until she had calmed downpletely. Afterward, he ced her back into the crib while Mona had moved over and put Macht back in his. After settling Macht, Mona looked over all the sleeping faces of the children before turning towards Vahn and bowing in a polite manner and excusing herself. They rarely talked to each other, both knowing it was likely for the best if Mona wanted any semnce of a normal life in the future. She already had enough money to live out the rest of her life in rtivefort and, with the other benefits she had received, Mona could open up an entire chain of bakeries, much less one shop. Vahn respected this and, even though he was a little curious about what it would be like to be with her, there were other ways to ease such curiosity... For better or worse, Lili had be exactly the type of existence she had purported herself as, meaning she now became the go to person if he was curious about something. Not only could she emte the racial traits of any race she had seen, but Lili had been able to create some races from mixing and matching features now. Even her Subus form was based off transforming into a Dryad and then modifying the traits to match what was recorded within thependium. Other than that, she also had an evolved Chienthrope form thatbined the features of a Chienthrope with a Vanargandr. This was because, out of respect for Fenrir, Vahn had refused to y around when she had assumed to normal form, causing Lili to spend a few weeks developing a unique form that was far enough removed that Fenrir had given her consent... Remembering Lilis efforts, Vahn released a silentugh and began heading towards the Library while his real body sought out the girl who had caused him to think of Chienthropes, Nanu. As usual, she was hard at work within her workshop and Vahn had been able to sense her presence long before he reached the entrance. No sound escaped the barriers surrounding the workshop, but he could still feel each strike of her hammer against a piece of metal and, as a result of his more than a hundred years of experience forging, could even discern its quality from intuition alone. She really had improved a great deal and Vahn knew the day she would be a [Master Smith] wasnt actually that long, at least if he went by the time passing in the real world... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is a hell of an rm clock. Wakes you up easily, only for you to immediately fall into a deeper sleep afterward~!,Work hard, little Alexa (T^T)...,Wolf at the door...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 788 - Grooming

Chapter 788 - Grooming

Walking into the workshop, Vahns eyes were immediately drawn to the exposed and glistening olive brown skin of Nanu, now wearing an outfit simr to an Amazoness. She had a pair of brown shorts with a white band hugging her bottom, with the entire fabrics length being less than the length of a persons hand. They hung very low on her h.i.p.s, to the point that the crevasse between her two pert butt cheeks was clearly visible when her tail moved. As for her only other piece of clothing, it was simr to the strap that Tiona always wore around her chest, covering very little of her actual torso barely concealing her budding b.r.e.a.s.ts. Unlike Tina and Shizune, Nanu had changed a lotpared to her past self, who had been a little too eager for the moment they could be mates. Not only did she train seriously, but the amount of effort she put into forging had earned her manypliments from both Hephaestus and Tsubaki. Also, unlike the other two members of the youth troupe, Nanu had never bothered with taking the nutritional supplements to bolster her growth. Even so, as she had spent the better part of four years within the orb, Nanus body had started to develop into that of a moderately more mature woman, having fuller h.i.p.s and b.r.e.a.s.ts that were progressively budding closer to a B-Cup. Though she was very aware of his presence, Nanu continued shaping the piece of metal she was working on, forming it into the temte of a curved sword that created an inverse crescent with a hooked end. It was a traditional weapon from the Southern Sands, referred to as a Khopesh, though most people simply called it a curved sickle sword. Vahn could see she had been shaping the Mithril de around a core of Orichalc.u.m, making it a very magically conductive sword that Vahn expected would reach the A-Rank by the time she was finished. Still, Nanu didnt seem that satisfied with it and furrowed her brows slightly as she inspected her own craftsmanship for the better part of ten minutes... Eventually, Nanu released a sigh and set the de into a vice to let it naturally cool in the air as her tail began to waggle back and forth. When she had fixed the de nice and tight, Nanu turned around with a happy smile on her face and trotted over to him as she asked, "Master, what brings you to my workshop today~?" Upon reaching him, Nanu wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her nose into his chest as it if were the most natural thing in the world, a process Vahn knew the girls referred to as recharging. He fulfilled his part of the process, ying with her pointed ck ears and hair as he let her senses understand the reason he hade. Nanu, who had been smelling her Masters scent, suddenly noticed a very different aroma wafting from his body, causing her own to begin aching as she put more force into her hug. She could smell the pheromones his body was releasing and it made her heart begin beating rapidly as she turned her head up to match his gaze. Seeing the look in his eyes, Nanu understood why her Master hade here and it made her body ache even more as her tail curled down between her legs. Turning her face downward, so as to keep her calm, Nanu muttered, "Master...unless you want to take me now...I think we should wait..." Vahn was more than a little surprised by Nanus words, restraining the biological response of his own body as he asked in a soft tone, "Is it because you want to be a [Master Smith] first...?" Nanu, unable to fully resist the urges of her own body, had started to nuzzle into his chest as she nodded her head, saying, "Yes...I was using it as motivation to work harder...over thest few years, Ivee to understand a lot of things about myself, and all the girls within the Manor. I dont want to be the only odd one within the group, who is only able to be with you because of a misunderstanding...even though I know you love me, I want to do something to break free from the constraints ced on me as a result of my upbringing...I dont just want to be Masters mate, but someone who belongs here with everyone..." Hearing Nanus reasoning, Vahn felt a strange emotion spread through his chest, something he generally only felt when he was watching his daughters...pride. Since she was both his apprentice and disciple, Vahn didnt think it was that strange an emotion to feel towards her, it was just a little unexpected. She hade a long way from being the young Chienthrope girl who only followed her instincts and the cultural fundamentalism she had been indoctrinated in while in the Southern Sands. Now, she was beginning to show genuine independence and, instead of treating others like they were in a pack, Nanu was starting to understand what it meant to be family... Though she already had a ce in his heart, Vahn felt like Nanu had touched a soft spot that made his expression morph into a loving and appreciative one. He brought his arms around her, noticing her skin was damp and hot as he pulled her into a firm embrace, saying, "Im so proud of you, Nanu..." Her tail, which had tucked itself between her thighs, slowly emerged from its hiding spot and began to wag from side to side with increasing ferocity. Vahns smile grew marginallyrger upon witnessing this, pulling Nanus 155cm tall frame off the ground as he continued hugging her for several long seconds. Nanu didnt mind the tight embrace at all, instead, finding it veryfortable as she resisted the urge to ask her Master to squeeze her tighter. The fact that he had praised her, and was now hugging her, caused Nanu to feel very happy and, if not for the fact that she was wrapped in what amounted to a bear hug, she would happily hug him in return. Fortunately, though she felt a little mncholic that it had ended, he ended up setting her back down on the ground after spinning around a few times. Even so, he didnt let go of her body, causing Nanu to feel contented until something very unexpected happened that caused the aching feeling she was suppressing to increase... Vahn knew it would be a little difficult for her but, after he had set her back on the ground, Vahn allowed his hands to wander down to Nanus moderately fleshy butt. Though she still had room to grow, Nanu went out of her wait to always wear bottoms that were enchanted with his Shaping function, giving her an immacte little posterior that he couldnt help but stare at on asion. In the past, staring was all he would do but, now that he wanted to reward her, Vahn decided to push Nanu a bit before bringing her back down. Thus, while satiating his own slight obsession with a well-shaped butt, Vahn egged on Nanu a bit as she began breathing heavily into his chest. Since he didnt want topletely trigger her into a heated state, Vahn reluctantly pulled his hands away and, before Nanu could ask, lifted her body into a princess carry and moved over to the sofa. Nanu had a somewhatplex expression on her face, even though there was a fair amount of eagerness in her eyes, until Vahn exined, "Dont worry, Nanu...Im going to respect your wishes...this is just a small reward for being such a good girl..." Hearing her Masters words, Nanu felt but relieved and sad at the same time, causing a fair amount of conflict within her mind as the former lowered himself onto the sofa while still holding her. Just as she was about to ask what the reward was, understanding immediately impacted her mind like powerful explosion magic as her Master allowed her to rest across hisp, pulling out a pillow to support her head. She could see her own exposed navel, still glistening with sweat, as her Master brought his hand to her belly and began gently rubbing it. In an instant, she jerked her legs up slightly and pulled her hands into fists near her chest as an indescribably pleasant sensation spread through her entire body... For a Chienthrope, there were few things more intimate than having your lover rub your belly, even in normal situations. When Vahn did it, however, it was several orders of magnitude beyond anything most people could evenprehend. His petting energy spread through Nanus body like a very gentle, yet unstoppable, tidal wave. Everywhere it passed, it was like the energy washed away all tension, eased any form of difort, and chased away all negative feelings and mental burdens. While this was happening, Vahn also yed with Nanus ears as her tail reached a record peak of 5 WPS, though it was getting progressively slower as her body rxed. Since he hade with the intention of staying for a few hours, Vahn spent the time he was intending to make love to Nanu simply pampering her into oblivion. For the better part of three hours, until she had essentially turned into a smiling puddle of contentedness, Vahn continued petting, rubbing, stroking, and lightly groping areas of Nanus body. By the end, her tail had slowed to a crawl of around .01WPS, barely raising before it would thump onto the sofa. Her legs, which had curled up happily at first, were now sprawled outpletely as shey limply across hisp with the expression of a person that had achieved nirvana within the mortal world. Picking up Nanus seemingly boneless body, Vahn repositioned her so that she was sitting in hisp and straddling him. He then pulled the dazed Chienthrope into a gentle embrace, hugging her body with his left arm and stroking the back of her head with his right hand. At the same time, he reclined against the backrest and just allowed Nanu to slowly recover and bask in the moment for as long as she wanted to. Since it was a good opportunity for himself, Vahn also decided to rx his mind and take a short nap, confident it would take at least an hour before Nanu actually returned to her senses. His petting energy could course within a persons body for several hours after he finished petting them and it was very difficult for people to want to return to reality after falling into such a blissful state... --- Back in the real world, Vahn was using his avatar in a way that would have stunned almost anyone that had a high impression of him. Currently, the proud Sage Aldrnari was crawling around on all fours as he chased a mischevious little kitten with predominately brown hair and tufts of white. She ran around very nimbly for a girl that was only sixteen months old, hiding behind the edge of the sofa as she peeked around the corner,ughing with a cheeky nyahaha. On the same sofa, Arnya sat upside down with her head dangling off the cushions, a simr smile on her face as she watched Vahn y with their daughter. Vahn also had arge grin on his face as he mused, "Im going to get you, Meinya~" while scuttling forward to try and snatch her up. Meinya giggled, saying, "Nyaha, Papa nyever catch Meinya~!" while continuing to run around the sofa. The moment she vanished from sight, Vahns eyes shed with a serious light and, instead of continuing his current course, turned around and went in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, he underestimated his daughters cleverness as she had actually shimmied up the side of sofa and crawled behind her Mamas somewhat plump thighs, confident she was hidden from view. To make it fair, Vahn had suppressed his domain and he was actually surprised when he didnt see Meinyae around the corner. It wasnt until both Arnya and Meinya beganughing that he looked over to see an extra, significantly smaller, tail poking out from Arnyas backside. He also caught a pair of light brown eyes peeking through the gap between Arnyas thighs, snickering as she tried to bolt away. Without any hesitation at all, she actually jumped off the armrest of the sofa andnded nimbly on her feet before scampering towards a table and hiding behind it... Though he had panicked a little when he saw Meinya suddenly jump from such a height, even though it was only around 90cm, Arnya had acent glimmer in her eyes so he assumed it would be fine. He was then surprised to see Meinyand in such a nimble fashion but, considering she was a Cat Person, it wasnt that difficult to understand why. Not only that, but her gics were actually more refined than normal, even ignoring the fact that she had seemingly inherited her mothers talent. Though it was too soon for her to begin training, little Meinya would sometimes swing around a small wooden stick after watching her mother do some light exercises. She really liked to move her body and was always full of energy, a trait she shared with her sister, Anise. Seeing Meinya hiding behind the leg of the table, Vahn put on an expression like he couldnt see her, looking around as though he was very confused. This didnt fool Meinya, however, as the moment he got near her location she immediately bolted away towards the next point of cover. Vahn tried to intercept her but she managed to jump to avoid his hands, snickering happily as she attempted to flee. Unfortunately for her, Vahns hand had darted forward like a snake, sping Meinyas thin ankle in his hand and then dangling her upside down as she began tough, saying, "Nyaaaa~! Papnyaa catch Meinya~! Vahn flipped her right side up and dangled her by her arms this time as he moved over to the sofa where Arnya was now sitting, taking the spot next to her and letting Meinya sit on hisp. Thetter immediately tried to escape from his grasp and flee again, even attempting to slip out of her small vani colored dress. As a punishment for her attempt, Vahn held up Meinyas right arm and began to tickle her exposed and round belly as she began to kick, squirm, andugh. Eventually, Meinya screamed out that she gave up, red-faced with tears in her eyes fromughing too much. Vahn, however, was a little skeptical so, even though he stopped tickling her and had her sit down, he didnt drop his guard. This ended up being the correct decision as, from the very moment that Meinya sat down and appeared to behave, she immediately tried to roll forward and flee once again. Having already anticipated her efforts, Vahn had swooped forward at the same time, supporting Meinyas belly with his palm as her eyes widened. Instead of falling, as she had expected, she instead found herself inverted and back in her Papas arms! Vahn held up Meinya by her armpits and had a sinister smile on his face as he asked, "Oh~? Meinya tried to run away after she gave up? How should Papa punish this mischevious little kitten~?" As Vahn spoke, he turned to the smiling Arnya, prompting her to hold up both hands like ws, musing, "Tickle attack~!" This caused Meinya, who had recently suffered defeat at her Papas vicious hands, to begin kicking and trying to escape as she said, "Nyoooooo~! Nyo tickle Meinya~! Meinya be good! Promise!" It was somewhat difficult to believe his daughters words as, while she was trying to escape, she had kicked him in the face a few times. Though Meinya was only sixteen months old, she was already 78cm tall, slightly above average for her gender and race. This meant she could easily reach his face from how he was holding her, eating a few of her somewhat powerless kicks as a result. In fact, at the same time as she was putting on a pitiable expression, both of Meinyas bare feet were resting against his cheeks with the big toe of her right foot hooked to the edge of his mouth. Though he enjoyed his daughters energy, Vahn was a little worried about the future with Meinyas mischievousness growing by the day. Sill, he didnt really mind it that much and just moved her from side to side until her feet fell away from his face and made her sit on hisp again. This time, Meinya didnt try to run away, kept pacified when he brought his hand to her head and began lightly stroking her tiny cat-like ears. As if her previous energy was an illusion, Meinya almost immediately squinted her eyes with a contented expression and became very docile from the moment his hand contacted her head. Seeing this, Arnya began to snicker with a teasing look in her eyes until Vahn telepathically messaged, ("I wonder how your daughter will act if she sees you purring...hmm...") This caused Arnyas teasing look to fade away in an instant, reced by a very light blush as she sneakily reached her hand over and pinched his side. Vahn began tough in a somewhat uninhibited manner until a subtle sound reached both of their ears, causing Arnyas to twitch while Vahnsughter immediately ceased. They both looked down, seeing Meinya tilting her head up slightly with closed eyes as a gentle and pleasant purring sound resonated from her throat... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nanu is a good girl...though not as good as the goodest girl (o,...,o)~!,RIP Nanu, pet into oblivion by her Master...,This is wholesome as f.u.c.k O_O...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 789 - Rapture

Chapter 789 - Rapture

After leaving behind an exceptionally fired up Nanu, Vahn spent a bit of time idling around while thinking about his next course of action. In the distance, he could see some of the girls training hard, amon sight that could generally be seen at any time throughout the day. Since the general sleeping schedule of everyone was thrown out of whack by the existence of the orb, there always seemed to be someone awake and active. If not for the clock tower that had been constructed in the center of the orb, disying the time in the outside world, it would be very difficult to keep meal times scheduled... Vahn was currently considering if he should try to approach Shizune, as she was one of the girls who had been waiting on him for quite a long time. It felt strange to cycle through the girls that he had yet to consummate his rtionship with, but it was unlikely that she would mind. In fact, Vahn suspected she would probably turn into something of a carnivorous woman the moment he gave her the okay. Though she had her body reverted in the past, giving her the appearance of a ten-year-old girl, Shizune still had the mind of a mature woman who had spent several years as both a ve and p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e. Now, she was even older, having a chronological age of more than twenty-three years old. She had also been using the nutritional supplements to help bolster her growth but still looked a little on the young end, though not nearly as much as Ais had in the past. Presently, she was around 155cm tall, just six centimeters short than her a.d.u.l.t height of 161cm. Though her b.r.e.a.s.ts hadnt really been keeping up with her growth, as she was currently much smaller than the pert B-Cups she had in the past, it was hard to say she wasnt ready for a physical rtionship... Thinking till here, Vahn released a small sigh and made his way towards the southern section of the orb, seeing a small shrine-like house sitting atop a hill. With Terras influence, the majority of the orb was filled with grass and, at least towards the center region, there were numerous trees that had been nted to liven up the atmosphere. Here atop the hill where Shizune typically resided, however, there was a bit of a chill in the air and the majority of the surrounding region was filled with muted ck grass, a unique species called [Shade of Dusk]. A single bag of seeds had cost a total of 500,000OP, but it allowed for a small amount of Shadow, Darkness, and Yin energy to naturally disseminate into the surroundings. Because of this, it had been segmented off from the surrounding areas and, as it was very beneficial for their own skills and abilities, girls like Shizune, Chloe, and Haruhime often spent their idle time inside the small cottage located in the very center of the ck patch of grass. Since it had been proposed by Shizune and Haruhime in the past, both hailing from the far east, it had the appearance of a small shrine with a red roof that came to a point at the top and curled ornately at the edges. They had actually put in a lot of effort to build it themselves, though Tsubaki had helped out a fair amount. Passing through the stark red torii gate that was located at the edge of the grass boundary, Vahn noticed that two of the presences within the shrine immediately reacted to him. A small smile spread across his lips as one of them disappeared and he could suddenly sense an anomaly within his own shadow before Shizune popped up behind him and wrapped her arms a little seductively around his body. He could smell a fragrant perfume wafting from her body as she inclined her head upon his shoulder and mused, "Have youe to eat me up now, Vahn~?" Since he hadnt really been discreet about his actions over thest two days, Vahn wasnt surprised that Shizune had been expecting his arrival. Tina had also been fidgetting around a lot at meals and Risna had even shown up at dinner with a red face as the other girls looked toward her with amused smiles. Even Eina had entered into the orb after the fact, which was very rare for her, and spent a few hours talking with her sister in the privacy of thetters room. Thus, Vahn wasnt really that surprised by Shizunes behavior, nor by the fact that Haruhime was currently sneaking out through the back of the shrine, likely to give them privacy. Suddenly, Vahn felt himself sinking into his shadow as Shizune pulled herself up and began to nibble on his ear. It seemed that, even before he had said anything, she was already fully prepared for what was toe, causing Vahn to withhold a sigh as he pulled himself free of the shadow and turned to face her. The moment he saw what Shizune was wearing, Vahn felt his brain buzz slightly because the only clothing on her body was a loose red kimono that wasnt tied together, disying Shizunes intricate ck bra and panties. She was also wearing a ck choker with a small golden bell while her dark brown hair was tied up into a loose bun, held together with two chopstick-like hairpins... With a slightly flushed face and a simultaneously eager and serious expression, Shizune stared back at him with her amethyst eyes and said, "Vahn...I have been waiting for this for a long time...please, dont hold back..." While speaking, Shizune had walked forward, wrapping her arms around his body and pressing her developing b.r.e.a.s.ts against him as she buried her face into his chest, muttering, "You gave me back my life, Vahn...this body, and everything that I am today...I want to dedicate them to you. The only thing I ask for in exchange..." Turning her face up to match his gaze, Vahn noticed that there was a deeply rooted pain showing through in Shizunes eyes as she said, "I want you to help me forget...if its you, I believe you can do it..." Even without her exining in any great detail, Vahn knew exactly what Shizune wanted him to overwrite for her. She had been taken from her vige at a very young age, r.a.p.ed by a band of scoundrels, sold into very, and then worked as both a ve and p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e for nearly half her life. Though she now had a life that many people would envy, it hadnte without her have to pay an unfair price. Now, she was asking him topletely overwrite the existence of all the men who had used her body to satiate their cruel desires for so many years...a daunting task, but something Vahn had full confidence in seeing through till the end. With his left hand, Vahn brought it up and began stroking Shizunes dark brown fox ears, having a slight curve and tufts of white hair on the inside. At the same time, he moved his right hand into her open kimono and brought it around to the small of her back, right above her tail. Shizune, sadly ustomed to the touch of others, didnt show any signs of nervousness and simply tip-toed to meet his lips with her own. It wasnt the first time they had kissed, but there was a great deal more passion this time around as Vahn slowly guided her into the shrine without breaking free from her rather skillful and aggressive little tongue... Once they were inside, Vahn maneuvered Shizune over to the small size room where there was a thick futon with purple nkets. Shizune herself had started to heat up a little bit, the result of the fact that she was a v.i.r.g.i.n and her instincts were beginning to trigger in expectation. Vahn knew she didnt want to have a child so soon, but knowing that her body was eagerly preparing itself for insemination always got him a little riled up. This was a unique quality of many of the Beast Human girls and it was always especially intense during their first times. Shizunes own excitement was also increasing very quickly, as she was the most aware of what was going on with her body and it made her feel strangely happy to have this kind of reaction that she couldnt control... Since she wanted him to overwrite her past experiences, Vahn decided to take a different approach than normal and, instead of giving her the opportunity to use her skills, Vahn decided to take the lead and service her instead. After guiding her down to the futon, and taking a few seconds to marvel at her sensuous and still developing figure, especially the long brown tail poking up between her thighs, Vahn smiled and said, "I will take everything, Shizune...all of the bad memories, the tragic fate you had to experience, and the worries you have about the future...I will take them into myself and, in exchange, give you as much happiness as it takes to fill in the ces where those memories had previously resided..." Shizunes amethyst eyes never broke away from Vahns gaze, even as his hands began to wander around her body, each ce they traveled being infused with an energy that made her heart race. She desperately wanted to believe in Vahns words and, after interacting with the other girls for thest few years, Shizune was confident he would be able to heal her wounded heart and mind. Still, though she had been looking forward to this day for a long time, Shizune was surprised to find that she was actually a little scared...she didnt know how she needed to act, nor how her body would react after they had started...for the first time in a long time, Shizune didnt know what she was supposed to do while having s.e.x... Seeing a few tendrils of purple waving around in Shizunes aura, Vahns expression softened further and, as gently as he could manage, whispered, "Shizune..." Though she had already been looking at him, Vahn noticed her focus had increased when she heard him call her name. This made Vahns smile curl up slightly as he continued, "I love you...Shizune..." For a brief moment, Vahn saw even more purple in Shizunes aura but he just continued saying, "I love you, Shizune..." while moving his hands around her body, avoiding any of the more delicate areas for the time being... Slowly but surely, Shizune began to calm down and rx, releasing a hot sigh before she finally smiled and said, "I love you too, Vahn..." This time, Vahns smile turned radiant because he genuinely was happy to hear her say those words. He had already repeated his more than ten times and, though he was determined to do whatever it took to make her happy, a strange feeling had started to flutter around in his heart when she didnt say it back. Her words had caused that feeling to go away and, perhaps as a result of his own happy smile, Shizunes blossomed into a truly beautiful one in response. Vahn didnt know how many steps it would take for Shizune to fully recover, but it was nice to know they had at least taken the first step together. At the same time that her expression had turned into a more natural smile, Vahn slowly moved his palms up her sides, diffusing a mixture of petting energy and stimting energy from his [Hands of Nirvana]. Shizune took a deep breath through her nose as his thumbs came to the bottom of her bra and moved it up, revealing the pale white b.r.e.a.s.ts and muted cherry-red buds, standing proudly and excitedly as his eyes fell upon them. Vahn resisted the urge to chuckle, as he knew girls were sometimes self-conscious about the size of their b.r.e.a.s.ts, and just gently traced his fingers around them as Shizune rested her head against the futon with her eyes closed. After seeing that the petting energy in her body had built up to an adequate level, ensuring that Shizune would be both calm and rxed, even while s.e.x.u.a.lly excited, Vahn lightly pinched the two protrusions. Her brows furrowed slightly as Shizunes body twitched, a sensual m.o.a.n escaping her lips that had surprised Vahn a little. Though he knew his skills had reached a dangerous level, Vahn hadnt really done anything elicit such a response from her just yet. Still, he didnt allow his surprise to show on his face as his mind rationalized what must have happened... Since Shizune had dealt with a lot of men in the past, she had built up a habit of trying to appeal to them in order to ease her own burdens. There were men that liked the challenge of conquering strong women so many p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es, especially those that were ves, acted in a contrary manner. Instead of showing any real resistance, they were typically very forward in both their actions, gestures, and even their reactions. It was essentially an act that was meant to both rile up their partner but also cause them to wrap things up rather quickly since the increased tensions would generally make men spend their stamina faster than more intimate s.e.x... Realizing that Shizune was defaulting back to her past reactions, Vahn felt a little sad for her but promised he would change her perception towards s.e.x, to the point that her body and heart reacted honestly. Thus, with that in mind, Vahn put a little more energy into his fingertips and began tracing them around Shizunes upper body, b.r.e.a.s.ts, and abdomen. The entire time, her body was bing increasingly flushed and, after a few minutes, she had opened her watery eyes to watch what he was doing. It wasnt the first time she had received a massage from Vahn, but Shizune had expected things to develop a little faster than this...though it was very pleasant, almost to the point she didnt want it to ever end, Shizune wanted something more at this moment... Vahn felt Shizunes tail curl up between his legs and begin to stroke his back as she tried, and failed, to lift her body towards him. This caused her tough slightly as she yfully said, "It will be difficult to show off my skills if I cant move~." To her surprise, however, Vahn nodded his head, exining, "We will have our entire lives to do things like that, Shizune...this is your first time, so I will make it a pleasant experience youll remember fondly, even if hundreds of years were to pass...after all..." At this point, Vahn pulled Shizune into a seated position, hugging her body as he whispered into her ears once again, "I love you..." This time, Shizunes body trembled lightly and Vahn couldnt help smiling when he saw her ear flicker from his words. Unable to resist the urge, Vahn lightly blew into the tuft of fuzzy white fur sticking out of her ear, causing it to flicker again as Shizune lightly headbutted his chest in defiance. This time, Vahn released a silent chuckle and began to quickly press around spots on Shizunes back, his intent to ce small seeds of source energy in each of her nerves. When he used different techniquester on, these seeds would resonate with his energy and greatly increase both the potency and duration of the massages effect. This was the technique he had developed that pushed his [Hands of Nirvana] to SS-Rank, so it was actually a skill that exceeded the realm of mortals and could even conquer gods... Shizune didnt really know what to make of the current situation, other than the fact it felt like her body wasnt even her own at this point. It was hard to describe her current emotions, other than exining it as happiness building up inside of her body till the point it felt like it would explode. Though she was still turned on, almost to a scary amount, the pleasant and rxing feelings suffused through her entire body were almost mindbogglingly overwhelming. Other than taking deep breaths through her mouth, as there was a fair amount of fluid draining from her nose, Shizune didnt even know what she could do at this moment. Other than feeling, she couldnt really form any thoughts and, other than the powerful warmth radiating from Vahns body, Shizune was hardly even aware of anything other than what she was experiencing right now... He had never experienced it himself, but Vahn had a good idea of what Shizune was going through, as he had used this technique, named Rapture, on Freya, Hephaestus, Loki, Hestia, Anubis, Eirene, and Demeter. It put them in what they described as a state of supreme bliss that could even forcefully activate their divine power, even without their intent. This was because it forced the recipient to enter their most natural state, unable to truly form any thoughts as their body was entirely focused on the experience of existence itself. Vahn wanted to use this technique to do exactly as Shizune had asked, overwriting her past experiences by making itpletely impossible to even think about anything other than this moment they shared together... After nearly a half hour had passed, Shizune was lying limply in his arms as her head rested against his shoulder, a trail of slobber having caused arge stain to spread across his tunic. Even though this was the case, Vahn knew that Shizune was very aware right now, even if she was also in a highly receptive state. If he chose to, Vahn knew he could use this technique to effectively hypnotize and potentially even brainwash other people. Doing so, however, would earn him a potentially monstrous amount of negative karma so Vahn just allowed Shizune to make her own decisions in this state and just chose a few guiding words to lead her along. As she was already sitting in hisp, straddling his waist, Vahn pulled Shizune away from his shoulder and supported her body as he gently called, "Shizune..." Her head, which had been dangling previously, slowly raised to meet his gaze, a small amount of rity returning to her amethyst purple eyes. Once again, this time with as much love and affection as he could manage, Vahn smiled and repeated, "I love you..." Though it took a few seconds, Shizunes dazed expression melted into a smile of her own as she spoke out in a soft, bell-like voice, "I love you, Vahn..." Vahn allowed his smile to expand naturally before he leaned in slightly and waited for Shizune to pick up on what was going on. Realization seemed to hit her a few secondster and, without him having to lean in and kiss her himself, Shizune brought her lips to meet. Her thin and willowy arms wrapped somewhat awkwardly around his neck as their kiss grew progressively more passionate, with Shizune taking the initiative. Right now, her body was responding honestly, almost to an extreme extent. When she pulled away to catch her breath, there was a little more rity in her eyes as she said in an emotional voice, "I love you so much..." With an even bigger smile on his face, Vahn nodded his head and just reached his arms around to hug her firmly in his embrace, stroking the back of her head as he said, "I know...Im sorry for making you wait so long...I promise to make it up to you in the future..." With his own words sounding through the room, followed by several seconds of silence, Vahn continued to hug Shizunes body and try to show her thefort she had deserved long ago. It was truly unfair that her childhood had been robbed from her, reced by a tragic fate forced upon her by terribly cruel people... Though the silence continued, Shizune slowly put more strength into her own embrace and, somewhat against his expectations, she began to grind against him slightly. Vahn knew this was her honest desire and it felt a little awkward since he had expected things to go a little differently. However, without letting it knock him off kilter, Vahn instead moved his head over and nibbled on the pointed tip of Shizunes fox-like ears. She twitched and began to wriggle around a little before turning her head and trying to free her ear from his mouth, muttering, "Dont tease my ears, Vahn~" Vahn released a light chuckle, freeing Shizunes ear at the same time while the Kitsune in question released a small sigh and put on a pouting expression. Once again, against his expectations, Shizune turned her face away from him and just tightened her grip around him while she rocked her lower body in a circr motion. Since he knew what she wanted, Vahn finally unequipped his clothing and could now feel the moist fabric of Shizunes silk panties grinding against him while her soft butt straddled his member. She stopped her movements after noticing the change and, surprising him for a third time, began to gently suckle on his n.i.p.p.l.e as she traced her tongue around it... As he was very ustomed to such things, primarily as a result of Chloe, Arnya, Aki, and Mn, Vahn recovered quickly and moved his right hand to the base of Shizunes tail. Though the tail itself flickered in response to his touch, Shizune herself took a few seconds to process what was happening. Her own actions came to a stop as her forehead rested against his chest for a few seconds, her breathing the only discernable sound, though her heart seemed to be trying to make its presence known. Then, after nearly twenty seconds had passed, Shizune lifted her face, revealing an amorous blush as she lifted up her butt and allowed his ns to trace her panties untiling to a stop at a very hot and moist spot... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Yin Fox Shrine,Seriously, people who peddle other people as goods, especially children, deserve the worst kind of death,A fox maidens earnest plea...make the bad memories go away (T^T)...;) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 790 - Pride

Chapter 790 - Pride

Though it had only been six days since he started venturing into the Dungeon, Bell was already on the Twelfth Floor, much to the frustration of Line and thementation of Plum. Because she didnt want to let him run off on his own, Line had been spending an average of fourteen hours a day in the Dungeon with Bell, something that wasnt that difficult for her but was very taxing for the Level 1 Plum. Unlike Bell, who seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of energy, even when fighting in the frontlines for hours, Plum wasnt really abatant and had taken on more of a support role. She had even started apprenticing with Line and was building up her stamina while slowly growing ustomed to carrying greater loads... As for Bell, he currently had a fierce expression on his face as she stood just a few meters away from arge red armadillo-like monster, a variant version of a Hard Armored. The fight had already been going on for nearly ten minutes and, though Bell had been able to outmaneuver the rather simple creature, none of his attacks had been able to prate the thick red barb-like scales along its back. Every attempt to do so would cause a small amount of pain to spread through his hand as the tear between his thumb and index finger had gotten progressively worse. Even so, his expression didnt waver in the slightest and, the moment the monster released a loud roar and curled up into a ball, rolling towards him a fierce momentum, Bells eyes shone with a resolute light as he leaped towards the monster. Seeing this, Plum covered her eyes in panic while Line screamed out, "You idiot, dodge!" while running forward with a stark white dagger of her own. It was a basrd-type dagger simply named [Armor Piercer], a weapon that had cost her 1300KV of her hard earned savings. Though she didnt fight on the frontlines much, Line was still a Level 2 Adventurer and it wouldnt take her too much effort to kill a Hard Armored, even if it was a variant. Unfortunately, she hadnt expected Bell to be stupid enough to charge directly at the sharp spines of the monster and now she could only regret allowing him to try and .u.mte experience in a difficult battle... Completely immersed in his own unique state of mind, Bell hadnt even heard Lines voice as he lunged forward and, just as the razor-sharp spines were about to grind into him, he jumped to the side while aiming towards the monsters soft underbelly. His dagger pierced directly into the exposed skin as the monster continued forward, twisting his arm with its momentum and causing Bells shoulder to dislocate. Even so, he managed to evade therger attack and even had a satisfied grin on his face, seemingly proud of himself for giving up an arm in exchange for lightly wounding a monster. As the Variant Hard Armored turned around and released a primal roar from deep within its throat, Line dropped down from above and buried her dagger through the hard scales of its head, urately piercing its medu and instantly killing the monster. Its death caused an explosion of dust, leaving behind a few red scales and a horribly bent dagger as the only indicator of its prior existence. Seeing this, Bell released an impressed oooooooh~ before smiling radiantly and saying, "Wow, Line, that was amazing~!" Line, finding her bnce, turned her hazel-brown eyes towards the smiling boy, frowning when she felt her own heart throb. Ignoring the giddy feeling, she walked over towards him and, seemingly against his expectation, used the pommel of her dagger to bonk him on the head, shouting, "You idiot! What is the point of losing an arm and one of your weapons just to deal such a small amount of damage! Geez! Stupid Bell!" Bell had plopped onto the ground, teary-eyed as he nursed the growing bump on his head and instinctually assumed a seiza-like position. He waspletely prepared for another lecture but, before Line could choose between lecturing him or mending his wounds, Plum had run over with a worried expression, eximing, "Bell, your arm, are you okay!?" Since she had also been worried about Bells arm, Line suddenly felt very awkward and inadvertently turned her head to the side with a small blush as she moved over to pick up the Drop Items. She left Plum to use a potion on Bells arm while picking up the scales and safely storing them away before inspecting the now bent dagger. This was actually the second weapon that Bell had broken, the first being the one she had gifted him just four days prior. Though it previously had an incredible make, Bells unskilled use of the dagger,bined with his failure to properly maintain it, had resulted in the B-Grade item already losing it function. If anyone else were to learn of this, they would have looked at Bell like he was a wasteful idiot but, seeing how much he had been fighting to grow stronger, Line couldnt really me the weapon for giving out. Bell was very earnest in trying to increase his strength, having a natural talent that was far beyond the norm, but there was a distinctck of skill in his movements. Line had already suggested that he try to ask some of the more skilled Adventurers to help train him but Bell had refused, saying he wanted to forge his path alone. She was hoping that, now that he was without any weapons, Bell would seriously consider her advice and slow down a bit. In all honesty, she also wanted a break from constantly staying within the Dungeon and felt it would be nice to rx after a week of hard Dungeoneering. His dagger breaking was like a small grace to their team, as it should make Bell reflect on his actions a bit and actually listen to her advice for once... Carrying over the broken dagger, Line held it up for Bell to see and said, "Now that your weapons are destroyed, we should take a break from the Dungeon and purchase some new equipment for you. This is also a good opportunity for you to get some training in and, even if you dont want to learn from other people, you can still benefit a lot from sparring against them. Right now, your only experience is in fighting monsters and you should familiarize yourself with fighting against people. When we get to the lower floors, there are numerous enemies that can even fight with weapons so you will be at a significant disadvantage as things stand..." Bell was listening attentively, at least he appeared to be, but it was Plum who ended up answering as she jumped up, spreading her arms in a defensive manner as she shouted, "Line, you cant be so hard on Bell! Youve seen how hard he is working, so why are you always lecturing him!? Cant you say anything nice for once!?" Unlike Line, who had only been tasked to support Bell, Plum had been saved by him, resulting in her tiny Pallum heart falling for the young Hero almost instantly. Though she was also very tired of spending her time in the Dungeon, as she wanted to go on a date with Bell, it bothered her that Line was always telling Bell what to do. Initially, she hadnt minded that much, even finding Bells reactions when being lectured to be very cute. Now, likely as a result of her fatigue, it was starting to be very annoying hearing Line constantly badger the boy she liked... Line was very surprised by Plums sudden outburst, causing her somewhatrge eyes to be even wider, sses dropping slightly from the bridge of her nose. She didnt think she was being that hard on Bell and, if he had actually listened to her advice, many of the troubles they had faced would have been avoided. Thus, though she knew it was a little harsh, Line pushed up her sses and assumed a serious expression as she said, "Plum, this kind of childish mentality is exactly why so many rookie Adventurers lose their lives in the Dungeon. You might not like the fact that Im always telling Bell what to do but, even if it made both of you hate me, Id rather tolerate your ire than watch both of you die..." For a few seconds, Line let her words linger in the air, causing Plum to shrink back slightly while Bells expression became more serious. Then, with a small nod, she added, "You might not be aware of it, but it is actually very rare for a rookie Adventurer to even have a veteran Supporter look after them. Now, imagine for a moment that it had just been the two of you this week, what do you think would have happened...?" This time, all of Plums previous ir hadpletely faded away and she couldnt help but hang her head as several memories of Line bailing them out of sticky situations yed through her mind. Even now, as Bell had clearly lost his weapon and crippled an arm, there was almost no way they would have been able toe out of the fight without serious injury...or even death. Just as Plum was beginning to doubt the choices she had made, a warm handnded on her shoulder as Bell rose to his feet, an air of confidence radiating from his body as he said, "Line, youre right...I have been relying on you a lot this week and, without your help, I may have already died. Truly, thank you..." Following his words, Bell bowed low for a few seconds before raising his head and saying, "It is my dream to one day be a powerful Hero that can protect the people he cares about...if I end up pursuing that path at the expense of those very people, I would never be the hero I aspire to be. Thank you for opening my eyes...I will do better in the future. I promise." At the end of his words, Bell smiled radiantly, this time causing Lines sses to almostpletely slip off her face as she stared nkly towards the young boy left in her charge. After inadvertently swallowing, Line suddenly felt very embarrassed and had to turn her face away as Bells words somewhat reyed themselves in her mind. He had essentially said they were people he wanted to protect and, though it wasnt that clear, his words also made it seem like he wanted to stay with them for a long period of time. Though it wasnt umon for people to form teams that stuck together for years, especially within the same Familia, Line somehow felt this was a little different and had to pat her chest a little to calm her rapidly beating heart... Suddenly, just as the atmosphere was bing a little strange, the sound of footsteps emerged from a nearby corridor. Line pulled out a small dagger that was used for harvesting specific monster drops and passed it over to Bell while she tightly gripped her own dagger in a ready position. Plum immediately moved to position herself behind Bell and pulled out her crossbow, seating two bolts into the spring channels and waiting for the identity of the new arrivals to be revealed. As for Bell himself, he held the rather small dagger in his right hand in a backhand grip since his left arm still ached a little from the previous injury. After a tense few seconds had passed, a group of four people appeared, two showing expressions of surprise while the others strengthened the grip on their weapons. The group wasprised of a man with messy red hair, possessing of anky but muscr figure while arge ck nk-like sword rested on his back. As for his threepanions, they were all very attractive women with healthy brown skin, dark hair, and simrly dark eyes. Each had rather unique weapons that were umon amongst other Adventurers based on their sheer size and structure. The woman at the very front even had arge curved de that also looked simr to a battleax. It was actually longer than she was tall and, even ballparking the weight, it must have been close to 100kg. The other two women also had rather unique weapons, with the smallest of the three using two mace-like weapons that were nearly 110cm long and had vicious looking spikes along the ends. As for the final of the three, a woman with a strangely predatory expression, her weapon of choice was a strange crescent de that curved in the opposite direction like a sickle. The thing that made it stand out the most, however, was the fact that it was nearly 150cm long while the des thickness was around 5cm. It wasnt asrge as the weapon of the more mature looking woman, but the difference in their weight couldnt have been that different from each other... Just as Line was about to engage in introductions, the red-haired man behind the mature woman suddenly opened his eyes wide, eximing, "Hey, that dagger! Where did you get that!?" Without minding the tense atmosphere, the man came forward with a look of intrigue as he stared at the bent dagger still held by Line. She was a little off-put by his excitement but, seeing as how he didnt seem hostile, gave an awkward smile and said, "Were members of the Loki Familia...who are you?" At the same time, she moved to wrap the daggers de with a piece of leather and store it away. The man watched her actions with slightly furrowed brows but eventually showed a wry smile and scratched the back of his head as he said, "Hey, were actually allies, you know? The names Welf, from the Hephaestus Familia. These three beautiful Amazonesses are Sonia, Maia, and Vesta, my fiancees. Theyre actually from the Loki Familia, just like you, though theyve been staying at my ce for thest year and a half, ahahahahaha~!" The red-haired man, Welf, seemed very proud of himself as he was speaking while the three Amazonesses behind him all rxed a little and walked over to join him. Line was surprised that the three powerful looking girls were actually in her same Familia but, hearing the boys introduction, she knew it was the truth. Though he wasnt nearly as famous as someone like Vahn, Welf had also garnered himself a bit of fame after forging a few pieces of magical equipment. Within the Alliance, his wears were rather popr among some of the lower Level Adventurers, as the gear was high-quality while being rtively cheap. In fact, in exchange for entering a contract to field test some of his equipment, Welf often produced equipment free of charge for some of the newer Adventurers. With a more rxed smile on her face, Line bowed slightly and said, "My name is Line, a Level 2 Supporter in the Loki Familia. This boy with the white hair is Bell, a rookie Adventurer who just started entering into the Dungeon six days ago. As for the Pallum girl with purple hair, her name is Plum, and apprenticing Supporter who had started venturing into the journey around the same time as Bell. All three of us are in the Loki Familia..." Upon being introduced, Bell, who had been somewhat dazed and embarrassed at seeing the incredibly skimpy outfits of Sonia, Maia, and Vesta, immediately bowed low, stammering as he said, "H-H-Hello, my name is Bell Cranel, it is nice to meet you!" While Bell lowered his head, he could see the panty-like bottoms of the three girls and there plump and full thighs, glistening slightly in the Dungeons low light. Then, from his left, a painful sensation spread from his waist as Plum pinched him as hard as she could while saying, "My name is Plum Vino..." At the same time as she was introducing herself, Plum tried to stand in between Bell and the three Amazonesses, causing Maia and Vesta to have amused expressions. However, though they wanted to tease Bell and annoy the little Pallum girl, they didnt want to upset Welf and just bowed slightly and introduced themselves instead. Once all the introductions were out of the way, Welf immediately focused his gaze on Line and asked, "That broken dagger, where did you get it...?" Though Line had already ced the dagger in her pack, Welfs intrigue hadnt faded in the slightest. He had only gotten a glimpse at it but his instincts were telling him that he wouldnt have been able to forge such a dagger without an incredible amount of effort. Even in its damaged state, Welf felt like it was a masterpiece in its simplicity and, if they were willing to part with it, he intended to purchase it off of them. Since she knew Welf was a capable cksmith, Line didnt see any harm in allowing him to inspect the dagger. There was even a chance he might be able to repair it for them, which would save them the effort of having to purchase a new weapon. This,bined with the fact that Welf might actually forge some armor for Bell, caused Line to hand it over willingly. When Welf took it into his hands and unwrapped the leather bindings, his blue-grey eyes began to glimmer excitedly as he turned to Line and asked, "Where did you get this dagger!? How did you end up breaking it!?" At this point, Bell had recovered a bit and, even though his eyes would wander towards the scantily d Amazonesses, he managed to focus long enough to make eye contact with Welf and exin, "That dagger belongs to me. It was a gift when I first joined the Loki Familia and...Im ashamed to say that I broke it..." When Welf heard this, even with Bell exining in greater detail, he understood the origins of the dagger. If Bell had received it when he first joined the Loki Familia, it had to have been a gift from Vahn as, though she did favor her children a great deal, Loki wouldnt simply give gifts to young boys that joined her Familia. She had be famously loyal towards Vahn over thest two years and would have gotten someone else to pass off such things, if not outright requiring the members of her Familia to earn their equipment themselves. Confident in his analysis, Welf turned over the dagger a few times and noticed there wasnt a makers mark, meaning Vahn had likely just made this as a casual weapon to give away. The fact such a simple dagger was beyond his current means made Welf feel a strange emptiness in his chest, though it faded away very quickly as he handed the dagger back to Bell and said, "I can tell from the wear and tear that you havent been maintaining your equipment properly. In the future, youll need to take better care of your gear, as it will save your life in a sticky situation. If you dont want to learn how to do it yourself, its best that you find a cksmith and pay a fee to have them repair it for you. Itll be much cheaper than having to purchase new equipment every time yours breaks." Hearing this, Bell was apologetic for a moment but, with Welfs words as a catalyst, his expression immediately became more vibrant as he asked, "I know! Since youre a cksmith, will you help me out, Welf!? I promise to take better care of my equipment in the future!" Not only Bell, but Line and Plum also had expectant and hopeful looks on their faces, causing Welf to feel a little awkward but proud at the same time. However, just as they were thinking he would agree, Welfs expression turned slightly fierce as he looked into Bells eyes and said, "I wouldnt have minded helping you out if you had asked previously, but...you cant really expect me to help out a guy that thinks he can just eye my fiancees whenever he wants, right? Honestly, Im already resisting an urge to pummel you, hahahahaha~!" Though Welf wasughing, it didnt quite reach his eyes and, though Bell had already been embarrassed about his earlier actions, he now lowered his head in shame. Fortunately, the more mature looking Amazoness stepped in and grabbed Welfs arm and said, "Welf...thank you for defending us, but we wouldnt dress like this if we cared about the gazes of other men. Be more confident, after all, arent you the one that managed to conquer our hearts~?" Though he was still weaker than them, Welf had managed to just reach Level 3 a month prior, making his growth very fast for a cksmith. In order to try and be a man worthy of his lovers respect, Welf had been doing his best to increase his strength while also working hard to improve his [cksmith] Development Ability. After taking a deep breath to calm himself, Welfs fierce expression softened a little as he smiled and said, "Consider yourself lucky this time, kid...Ill help you out for now but, if you ever ogle my girls in front of me again, dont me me for knocking some sense into you!" Then, turning to Sona, Maia, and Vesta, Welf puffed out his chest slightly and said, "Even if you girls are fine with other people looking, it is my pride as a man to protect your dignity! Though I might still be weaker than the three of you, Im still a man, and I wont throw away my pride so easily!" Welf held up his fist, a firm and resolute look in his eyes that caused all three Amazonesses to look at him with gentle and appreciative expressions... At the same time that Welf was giving his speech, Line had looked over to Bell was azy and judgmental expression on her face as she muttered, "That is what you get for looking at other women..." Though she had intended to say women that were already in a rtionship, Line had misspoken her words, seemingly unaware of her own slip as Plum nodded her head,pletely agreeing with herpanions words. As for Bell, he kept his head lowered and had be somewhat pale as he muttered, "Im sorry..." in a small voice... (A/N: I have to go somewhere this morning, so the other chapters will be in the afternoon. There should be one more EPIC and three Fenrirs Journey today. Depending on if there is a cliff at the end of next chapter, I may write two EPIC though and just one FJ. Also, it looks like QI is trying to push EPIC out of the top three slots this week, so stay strong and dont let the broken system win xD!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Yes, I have sessfully crippled myself!,Welf aint ying no games...,Bell is whipped so hard, even though he isnt in a rtionship yet xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 791 - Shift

Chapter 791 - Shift

Somewhat unexpectedly, Vahn spent the better part of three days within the orb looking after Shizune after their first time together. In that time, they didnt have s.e.x again and it was just him looking over her, cooking meals together, chatting about various subjects, bathing in a small tub, and then cuddling up together when they were tired. Vahn understood the aftercare for someone like Shizune needed to be taken very seriously and, as she had undergone a defining moment in her life, leaving her so suddenly thereafter could have been harmful to her mentality. Vahn didnt want her to ever have the thought that he just stopped by to have s.e.x with her, like one of her clients from the past. He wanted her to understand his care and concern for her until she herself eventually said she was okay and chased him off... After leaving the fox shrine, Vahn made his way over to the central building of the orb, seeing that the clocktower showed it was nearing 9PM in the real world. His main body and Shizune had ended up missing out on dinner in the real world, but he had still eaten a lively meal with everyone using his avatar. Currently, he was sharing a bed with Aki, Arnya, and his daughters, Anise, and Meinya. As was tradition within the Manor, the adorable little kittens both had animal pajamas, with Meinya wearing tiger while Anise wore light blue pajamas with a cartoonish cat appearance. The best part, from Vahns perspective, were the holes that allowed for the girls ears and tails to poke through, bringing together the image very nicely... Not too surprisingly, Vahn found Tsubaki, Haruhime, Chloe, and even Syr sitting within the small room where some of the girls would gather when they werent training. Since it was the evening in the real world, some of the girls that spent their days in the real world woulde into the orb to either get more rest or work on various small projects. Though he was a little surprised to see Tsubaki right now, she seemed to understand his concerns and immediately adopted a natural smile as she said, "Sakuya is having a slumber party with Aisha and Autumn. They are sleeping in Demeters room tonight." With an understanding nod, Vahn made his way over to the low square table and sat down next to Tsubaki and exined, "I think Shizune will be okay, but shell need everyones help to look after her for the next couple of weeks. Though I believe I made the correct decision, the only way to know for sure is to observe her while showing both physical and emotional support. If any of you have advice that might prove beneficial, Im open ears..." Since he knew they were likely waiting for him from the start to talk about Shizunes state, Vahn didnt foot around the issue and brought it up directly. Chloe, being the most familiar with Shizune, leaned forward with her head resting on her palms, smiling as she said, "You are generally very perceptive when ites to things like this, so Im sure Shizune will be fine if you just follow your intuition. Though others might struggle to pull it off, you have always been able to heal the hearts of troubled girls...nyahahaha~." In truth, Chloe had been very worried about her not-so-young disciple but, after Vahn stayed with Shizune for almost three days, likely just taking care of her, the worries in her heart were alleviated. If the man she loved spent three days of his busy schedule tending to her wellbeing, Chloe felt like she would be over the moon with happiness as a result. Though she and Shizune werent exactly the same, Chloe felt like her prided apprentice wasnt that dissimr to herself and should be feeling the same way... Seemingly agreeing with Chloes sentiment, Haruhime had an elegant smile while her four tails danced around behind her, adding, "I didnt have to suffer nearly as much as Shizune, but I believe I can empathize with her. Though it had been a struggle for her, I think it was a good thing she had so much time to live a normal life for thest few years...as long as people treat her normally, she should be able to live a happier life in the future. Dont worry, Master, I will make sure to look after her properly~." Because of their simr background, Haruhime and Shizune had always been very close, often spending time together and talking about their homnd, the past, and the future... Vahns smile softened when he heard Chloe and Haruhime affirm that everyone would be okay but, out of a habit that had formed over thest few years, Vahn still turned to Syr to get her opinion. She had a simrly elegant smile as Haruhime, subtly changed over the years from her normal gentle and calm appearance. Though it wouldnt be as prevalent as the Vanir, Syrs own pseudo-divinity had been developing with time and she had a strangely seductive aura to her, even when she was just smiling normally. This,bined with her beauty that could even rival goddesses, gave Syr an almost otherworldly appeal that few could ever hope to match. Though she had already know Vahn would look to her for an opinion, Syr still felt happy when his aquamarine eyes fell upon her. The thing that gave her the greatest sense of fulfillment had always been when Vahn would rely on her, as it was the purpose she had given herself from the very beginning. Thus, the already beautiful smile on her face turned even more radiant as she asked, "When you left, did you do so on your own, or because Shizune asked you to...?" Even without having to answer himself, Syr had already intuited the answer based on the subtle changes in Vahns demeanor, causing her to give a small nod and say, "If that is the case, she will be fine. Unless she tried to hide one of her familiars inside of your shadow to spy on you, she probably just needs a bit of time to sort her own thoughts and feelings. This is a good thing, so long as you make yourself avable if she needs you...she mighte to find you just to see if her presence is an inconvenience to you. Dont worry, though, as she will eventually calm down after spending time with the other girls. This is a good time for her to improve her rtionship with everyone, not just you~." For someone with such a heavy psychological trauma, it was very important for them to have arge support group to help them stabilize. For thest four and a half years, from Shizunes perspective, she had been constantly surrounded by people who understood her past, supported her happiness in the present, and were genuinely concerned for her future. Now, she also had the thing she had convinced herself that she wanted so, after enough time had passed under these unchanging conditions, the odds of her making meaningful steps towards a full recovery were possible. With Tsubaki, Chloe, Haruhime, and Syr all showing their support and confidence, Vahn felt like a burden had been lifted off of his heart. Surprisingly, the burden didnt feel that heavy, leading Vahn to believe that Shizune was actually further along in her recovery than he expected. Still, deciding to take Syrs advice seriously, Vahn made the decision to make himself avable within the orb for the next few days, only spending a few hours in the real world with his daughters and visiting Alexa. If he kept both of his bodies within the orb for a long period of time, he could always be avable to look after Shizune while also going around and spending time with the other girls without burdening her heart and mind. If she was paying attention to the events transpiring around her, instead of just the things going on in her own life, it would be a sign that Shizune was recovering steadily. Eventually, after a few weeks had passed within the orb, she might even have apletely different personalitypared to the past. This time, instead of hiding behind a facade, there was a genuine chance that she could open her heart to others and be happy... As he wasnt particrly busy, and would need to wait for his other body to wake up in the morning, Vahn decided to spend some time chatting with the four girls as other residents of the orb would stop by from time to time, joining in on the pleasant atmosphere. After a few hours had passed, nearly everyone within the orb had ended up arriving in the room, causing things to be even more lively as time passed. Eventually, bringing a smile to the face of many people, even Shizune showed up to investigate what was going on. Vahn had noticed one of her familiars had arrived a few minutes before she did so it wasnt exactly a random decision on her part and instead showed that she simply wanted toe and spend time with everyone, a stark contrast to how she had been distancing herself recently... With Shizunes presence, the atmosphere got to the point that it was almost as though they were celebrating, delicious food and alcohol readily avable. There was even a bit of entertainment as Lili and Tiona both took a small dosage of Fallen to weaken their strength and began to wrestle around on the floor in nothing by their skivvies. Though it could have been mistaken as an attempt to appeal to him, the fact they were being egged on by the other drunk girls was a testament to the truth of the matter. As for Vahn himself, he just watched the wrestling match with moderated intrigue while Shizune curled up in hisp with a ruddy red face and a contented smile as she slept peacefully through the rest of the impromptu party. --- Following through with his intent, Vahn started spending a greater amount of time in the orb with both of his bodies, leaving only when it was time to visit Alexa and to eat meals with the rest of the Manors residents. He also spent a bit of time ying with his children, but still spent nearly twenty-two hours in the orb using his Avatar while his main body was averaging around fourteen. If ounting for both of his bodies, this equated to Vahn spending an average of 216 hours within the Sub-Space orb daily. He used this time to work on his training, spend time with the girls, and, making good on his internalized promise, watching over Shizune. Slowly but surely, Shizune started to show noticeable changes in her behavioral patterns and, though she started off by just wanting to spend time with him alone, it had quickly developed into her wanting to train with the other girls. Because she knew he was pandering to her a great deal, Shizune had started to feel slightly guilty since it was almost as though she were selfishly monopolizing Vahns time. Since she still wanted to spend time with him, the natural solution was just to apany Vahn to spend time with the other girls as well. Training was the most practical method to justify this and, as a result of simply making herself more avable,bined with how amicable most of the girls were, Shizune was starting to open her heart to more people. After around five days had passed within the real world, Shizunes personality had nearly done a one-eightypared to the past. With nearly a month to adapt to the changes in her life, including spending a few intimate moments with Vahn, Shizune had started to behave more and more like Chloe. Though she still had a heavy burden on her heart that may never truly go away, Shizune was truly beginning to move on from her past and epting the new and happy life she had within this unique and special ce. Here, she had dozens of people who cared for her, a man who loved her, and absolute security from both a financial and livelihood perspective. She now realized that her options for the future were functionally limitless, no longer bound by the worry that she might be forced to leave if she acted out more than was eptable... As a result of this change, for better or worse, Shizune had stopped holding herself back and, by the end of a months time within the orb, she had developed a strangely slovenly and teasing disposition. Whenever she wasnt training, Shizune would wear nothing but a loose kimono with her hair tied up in a somewhat messy yet strangely stylish ponytail. She could often be found sitting at the edge of her shrine, leaning against one of the pirs with a long kiseru in her hands, a unique pipe that originated from the Far East. Vahn had seen Tsubaki use one on asion and it was apparently a means of calming the nerves and allowing a person to focus on introspection and rxation. When he asked Shizune about it, she hadughed and, after shifting her body in a somewhat seductive manner, exined that she was thinking about their future together, including the number of children she wanted to have... In this manner, things were progressing rtively peacefully for the residents of the Hearth Manor, and the Alliance in general. Though the City was alive with rumors regarding the uing expedition, many somehow deducing that the Alliance wanted to build a headquarters within the Dungeon, things hadnt gotten too out of hand. Other than the Nobles trying to form together a small expedition party of their own, likely to try and follow behind the Alliance and try to make a im of their own within the 50th Floor, Vahn wasnt even remotely worried about such a possibility. After all, even if such a group pitched up tents and tried to force a bit of contention, there was no way they would be able to stay down there for long. Given the fact that Enyos forced would likely emerge to try and repel the Alliance, smaller groups would either move out of the way or be victims of their Masters greed and hubris. A group of Adventurers, more specifically frence Adventurers, simplycked the logistical power and individual power required to get a foothold in the depths of the Dungeon. The fact they would need to rely on the Alliance to clear the way automatically made them unqualified to pete. There was also the fact that they couldnt genuinely afford to offend the Alliance so, other than trying to im an area far away from the central region where Haven would be built, there was no way they could even build an actual settlement. Since there was no way the Alliance would provide such people with building materials and supplies, any attempt for them to establish themselves was doomed to failure from the start. The Nobles themselves were aware of this but, if they didnt at least try to secure their future, it would be the same as standing idly by as their power is slowly stripped away from them. Though they had implemented regtions that had favored their families over thest thousand years, things were changing much faster than they could adapt to. The Alliance wasnt exactly introducing change forcibly within the City, but the living conditions within their territory had impacted the mentality of everyone outside as well. The same citizens who had kept their frustrations withheld in the past, even though they didnt like the system of taxation and exploitation of the Nobles, were now advocating for real change. After all, there were few people who could live next to a prosperous district and simply be content with the lot they had been given in life, especially if they could band together and bring about change. As a result of this shift in the mentality of the civilian populous, the Noble families were slowly losing their influence as any attempts to try and forcibly repress the dissidence would be the same as giving themselves a death sentence. A civilian council had been formed while Vahn was enacting his policy changes within the Elven Kingdom and expanding the Alliances territory and influence. They had been very vocal in portraying the Nobles out to be to corrupt crooks their families had be after holding power and influence for far too long. There were a seemingly infinite number of incidents they could reference where one of the Nobles, especially those in the younger generation, exploited their power to ruin and take advantage of others. Since these werent exactly isted incidents, as many people within the City had been subjected to this reality, the momentum had quickly built in favor of the new civilian council. To make matters worse for the Noble faction, the representative of the civilian council had actually gone to meet with Vahn who, that very same day, announced that the Alliance was backing their efforts to improve the quality of life for everyone within the City. Though some of the Nobles tried to use theirworks to paint the representative out to be a whore who sold her body for benefits, as she was a very attractive woman, this only served to create a bigger bacsh for themselves. One of the earliest actions of the civilian council had been to identify the members of the Nobleswork and publically oust them, making almost anything they tried to say in taverns and pubs earn the Nobles even greater admonishment from the people. So that their fealty towards their purpose couldnt be questioned, every member acting on the civilian council made a huge show of taking a public vow, swearing that they would never use their positions for personal gains and, should the general public find them unsuitable for the role, they would step down and allow for the populous to elect a recement. Like this, for the first time in the record of danmachi, a small democratic society had taken root within the city, something that many of the gods found rather amusing. Few of them believed such a society would be able tost, considering that humans could be very fickle and constantly sought ways to exploit the systems they themselves established, but it was still a very interesting development, nheless. Of course, those same gods knew there was an exception to the rule of mortals, though they werent even sure if he should be ssified as such anymore. At this point, more than a hundred gods associated with Vahn through the Alliance and, with very few exceptions, they had extremely positive impressions of him. Most of the things he did were considered impossible, even from their perspective as entities who had lived for several hundred million years. At the same time, his personal capacity seemed limitless and almost every action he took was revolutionary in both concept and implementation. In just two years, he had be the center of an organization that had greater financial clout, logistical support, and military might than any other organization in history. With his efforts, Orario was bing even more powerful than ever before, with the economy practically booming with vitality. The living conditions of almost everyone had been steadily improving and the rapport he had built with the citizenship was so great that Vahn could potentially, for the first time in history, unify the entire city under the rule of a single person. Even now, though they mainly said it as a joke, people had already started to refer to him by a slightly modified name than the one which had be poprized after his battle with Ottar. Instead of me Emperor, many people had begun to affectionately refer to Vahn as the God of Progress and The Immortal Emperor of Orario... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Everyone deserves a strong support group,Shizune is bing an Onee-san...(OwO)~!,All Hail The Emperor!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 792 - Clash

Chapter 792 - sh

Within a heavy and oppressive space, surrounded by devastatednd that had clear signs of hard-fought battles, several figures were darting around at high speeds. They would periodically sh together, sending powerful shockwaves that would erupt from the point of contact between their blows and disperse a part of the dust cloud that had shrouded the area. Each figure, other than when they hade to blows, moved faster than the eye could follow, making it almost impossible for inexperienced warriors to even react to their movements. Vahn, however, standing at the side with the gratified smile of a teacher watching his prized pupils, was easily able to see most of their shes. Currently, he was conducting a private training session with all of his official disciples, including Lili, Haruhime, Mikoto, Emiru, Maemi, Shizune, and Tina. Lefiya was also present but, as a pure Mage, she was standing at his side and simply observing the training while trying to increase her focus and perception. Unlike the other girls, who trended towards being Knights and Magic Knights, Lefiya was the odd one out and, as was even the case in Evas world, it was exceedingly difficult for a Mage to outright spar against a Knight. Of course, this didnt mean Lefiya was weak, as her full powered attacks could seriously injure or kill in a single blow, but she couldnt quite keep up with the high-speed movements of the other girls. Though Vahn helped everyone with their training, it was only the disciples who truly treated him as their Master that he guided personally. Eva had allowed him to teach general magic theory to everyone but, unless he was willing to personally shape the lives of specific individuals, she told him to only teach the more advanced techniques to his disciples and apprentices. Since many of the girls already had their own styles, which had been honed over years of experience, the majority of Vahns disciples were in the group of younger women and those he had previously saved. In fact, other than Mikoto and Lefiya, all of the other girls happened to be people he had either saved the life of, or liberated from their tragic fates... Suddenly, a loud cracking shockwave resounded through the area as a lithe figure was sent hurtling towards the ground with fierce momentum. Vahn winced, resisting the urge to move over and interfere as Maemi smashed into the reinforced earthen structure of the orbs interior. Even so, she made a crater that webbed out for nearly 8m and was unable to rise to her feet as the attacker, Lili, dropped down next to her. She had a concerned expression on her face but, as they were told to fight seriously, Lili didnt want to disrespect Maemi by going easy on her. Emiru, who had been fighting against Tina, also fell to her knees, using her halberd as support while arge volume of blood was coughed up from her mouth. Still, though she had to be in a great deal of pain, Emirus gaze remained resolute as she looked over towards the battlefield between her sister and Lili before activating the ability of Maemis halberd, appearing and thetters side and swinging her own weapon towards Lili. By activating their Innate, [Gemini], Maemi and Emiru had long discovered that they could use each others soulbound equipment so they were very difficult to fight against under normal circ.u.mstances. Lili, however, being a Level higher than the two girls, twisted her body while kicking off the ground with her right foot. Her body agilely twisted around Emirus halberd at a near-zero distance before the curled up her body like a spring and kicked against the air itself. Though she wasnt that proficient at its use, Lili was capable of using [Koku Shundo] to create footholds in the air. Her means of using it, however, were vastly different than almost anyone else as she was actually able to make use of her own Innate, [As], to trigger its effects against her own foothold. As a result, the energy from her attack shattered the foothold, causing a veritable pir of formless energy to barrel towards Emirus body, sending her careening over thendscape like a stone skipping across water. This disy had brought the spar between Mikoto and Haruhime to a temporary halt as they looked towards Lili with mildly shocked expressions. As for Tina and Shizune, who had been teaming up to fight against Emiru previously, they just looked at each other and gulped, bothing to an unspoken agreement not to antagonize Lili too much in the future. Still, though Emiru had been knocked away at a high speed, the actual damage the took hadnt been that great, significantly less than what she had suffered from the link she shared with Maemi. The moment she managed to regain her footing, Emiru wiped the blood from her mouth and brought her hands together, forming a triangr shape with the empty space between her thumbs and fingers. A small blue sphere appeared between her hands, surrounded by a peculiar muted ck aura that stranged emitted white light on the edges. Emiru took a deep breath and began to chant, "I beseech thee, Queen of the Frozen Tundra, Herald of Endless Winter! Come, cial Spear, Biting Cold! Imprison my Enemies in a Timeless Ice, Eternal Imprisonment! Framea Inanis cies~!" With thepletion of Emirus chant, the rtively small sphere in her hands turned into a blueser that was still shrouded in the same strange ck and white glow, cutting through space in the blink of an eye. Lili, however, didnt make any attempt to dodge the attack and, before Emiru had even finished chanting, already struck forward with her fist. Her [As Grips] shone with a vibrant golden light as, instead of formless energy, a pir of resplendent golden energy shot forth from Lilis hand and impacted the powerful magic spell. Before the collision even happened, Emiru knew her attack wouldnt be able to ovee Lilis punches, which seemed to be able to tear through magic. This was well within her expectations and, using the moment when Lili had fullymitted to her strike, Emiru blinked back to her halberd that had been left behind when she was first sent flying. Upon arrival, she ced her palm against Maemis chest and sent a pulse of magic power into thetters body, forcing her awake with the sudden stimulus. In an instant, their eyes met and, unlike in the past, where Emiru would always be absorbed by Maemi, thetters eyes turned pale blue before she vanished into her younger sisters body. Lili was already aware of the fact that Maemi had slipped in behind her but, instead of trying to move and attack immediately, she shouted out, "Haruhime! Mikoto! Truce! If we dont take down Maemiru together, well all lose!" Almost at the very instant her words had finished, Lilis eyes widened and she had to bring her arms together in a cross guard as two separate halberds smashed into her gauntlets. Then, even though she had blocked the strike with her indestructible gauntlets, Lili felt a sharp pain in both arms as a sticky and wet liquid began to fill up the small gaps in her [As Grips], an indicator that both of her arms had been cut by Maemirus attack. Before Lili could react further, the heel of Maemirus metal greaves struck Lilis exposed abdomen and, in a simr fashion as Emiru, Lili was sent flying across the ground. Unlike Emiru, however, she had managed to recover very quickly, not that it was much help to her since Maemi had already appeared behind her, striking her back with the t of her halberds heavy de. Lili clenched her teeth, resisting the intense pain and, before she was sent flying again, created a foothold on the air and kicked against it. This caused her body topletely absorb the shockwave of Maemirus attack, making her bones cry out in protest, but Lili was able to bear it and divert the formers attack and create an opening. Maemirus heterochromatic eyes shed with surprise for a brief moment, but she was still much faster than Lili and managed to [Shunpo] away while tossing her second halberd to the side. Lilis punch cut through where Maemirus head had been, sending a wave of pressure that tore through the dense space and caused it to break in a few areas. Her eyes then followed where Maemiru had jumped to before turning her head in slow motion to see the second halberd still trailing through the air. Lili knew that, even if she tried to close the distance with Maemiru, thetter could simply blink to the second halberd and it would be increasingly more difficult to keep fighting as her body .u.mted damage... Fortunately for both of them, Lili had underestimated the damage both Maemi and Emiru had suffered before fusing together, something which had actuallypounded when they became one. When shended nearly 300m away, Maemiru was desperately trying to control her breathing while resisting the pain of six broken ribs and a punctured lung. She used the opportunity when Lili had hesitated to bring her free hand to her ribs and chant, "Let the grace of Jupiter be the cure for your sake. Cure~!" Having an affinity for water, light, and space magic, one of the first time the twins had ever learned was how to use basic recovery magic. Just as she was about to re-engage Lili, Emirus ears twitched and she immediately dropped low to the ground as a ck blur, the result of a spatial tear, appeared where her neck had been. Mikoto, having closed the distance between them in an instant, was now standing behind Maemiru, sword already resheathed as her body lowered slightly. Maemiru, unable to resist, shouted out, "This is tant bullying~!" before jumping to her spare halberd. As she anticipated, Haruhime was already there waiting for her, an illusory aura spreading out nearly ny meters as she chuckled lightly and said, "Its because Maemiru is so powerful...I promise to make it up to youter~." Maemiru grit her teeth and twisted her body in an acrobatic maneuver, swinging forward with her halberds far faster than Haruhime should have been able to respond to. Unfortunately, though her weapons seemed to strike true, they simply passed through Haruhimes smiling face as hundreds of sakura petals had, without her notice, already surrounded her body. Seeing this, Maemiru furrowed her brows deeply and brandished her halberds as an intense blue-ck aura began radiating from her body, a sign she had activated her [Melodia Bex] to increase her agility. As futile as it might have been, Maemiru did her best to try and sweep away all of the sakura petals, even cutting apart nearly half of them before a few managed to slip through her guard and pass directly through her body, almost as if there was no resistance at all. Eventually, a light burst out of Maemirus body and a small figure appeared on the ground, burning from head to toe as her strength more than doubled for a brief moment. The moment this happened, the petals immediately disappeared and Maemiru, even though she could use the opportunity to get her revenge, plopped down to the ground in defeat. This battle was over the moment an [Effigy of the Hero] had been triggered, making Maemiru the loser in their bi-weekly brawl... Now that the battle was over, Vahn had moved next to the destitute Maemiru and reached out his hand to rub her fluffy rounded cat ears as he said, "Dont worry, Maemiru, while your body is in an inactive state, I will take care of you personally..." Upon hearing this, Maemirus previously limp tail shot up like a metal rod and she turned her lc-blue eyes up at him and mewled, "Master~." while rubbing her head against his palm. As for Haruhime, Lili, Mikoto, and, after they had walked over, Tina, and Shizune, it was now their turn to have expressions of defeat. Seeing this, Vahnughed uninhibitedly and said, "Ill be done with Nanus guidance pretty soon. If you girls want to make your way over to the central bath, Ille to join you after Im finished." Seizing the opportunity, Haruhime let her four tails flicker in a rather enticing manner as she said, "Since I managed to win this time around, please help me wash my tails and ears, Master~." Since the victor wasmonly rewarded in some manner by Vahn, Haruhime wanted to make her intentions clear from the start so as to avoid other people seizing the initiative. Though she would certainly prefer a different reward, she, like all of the other girls, was being considerate of Tina, at least for the time being. With Haruhimes words as a catalyst, Lili immediately jumped forward, arm raised as she said, "Ah, I want you to show my body with your bare hands~!", followed by Shizune saying, "Ill be happy if you brush my tail after the bath..." This left Mikoto, Lefiya, and Tina as the only ones who hadnt made any demands, though the mild blush on Mikotos face showed that she would likely keep her request secret untilter, even though she could have simply sent it to him telepathically. As for Lefiya, she hadnt really participated in the battle royale and was fully confident that she would be able to get benefits of her own when Vahn trained with Ais, Tiona, or Tier... Being thest one to have a im to make, Tina had stepped forward, simr to Lili, but ended up catching her foot on the edge of a rock. The ground had beenpletely destroyed as a result of the previous fight though, even if it had been perfectly t, Tinas A-Rank [Luck] would have found a way to trip her. This was an event that everyone had be used to but, even though it was futile to try and stop her, Lili and Mikoto tried to reach out to Tina as Vahn prepared to blink away with [Shundo]. While trying to move away, though the odds were impossibly small, Vahn found that his anchor point was interfered with by the instability of the space at the very instant he tried to move away. At the same time, Lili felt the pain in her body act up, causing her to divert her hand slightly, a part of her gauntlet catching the strap of Tinas b.r.e.a.s.tte and severing it. Mikoto, distracted by Lilis actions, hesitated in her own and managed to somehow trip herself, pushing her palm against Tinas back and speeding up her momentum instead of stopping her. Tina barreled towards the wryly smiling Vahn as Maemiru tried to move to block the seemingly unstoppable young Cat Person. This coincided with her own body going into an inactive state, causing Maemiru to fall forward with her outstretched hand, grasping the belt attached to Tinas shorts and pulling them down with her fall while Tina tumbled over Maemirus body, flipping overpletely as her butt managed to nt itself firmly against Vahns face. Though Tinas momentum would have been enough to knock him back, Vahn had anchored himself while trying to use his telekinesis in a final effort to stop her tumble. His efforts were for naught as, though he managed to stop her momentum, she had already done a full 360-degree rotation and was squeezing his head with her thighs while his nose and mouth were buried into her panties, his own cartoonish face smiling back at him. Tina, feeling the sudden stimulus, tightly closed her thighs together and hugged his head, seemingly forgetting about the situation. Vahn couldnt even pull her away easily as, her shorts that had been lowered around her knees had actually managed to get behind his head, making any attempt to move her away just pull her shorts further down. It was fortunate that he was able to avoid breathing, or moving his mouth, or the situation might have gotten even more out of hand... After more time than it should have taken, Tina finally recovered her senses and, with the help of the other girls, managed to pry herself away from Vahn with a beet red face. Even so, her tail was twitching excitedly, at least until Haruhime lightly patted her head and, with a smile that didnt quite reach her eyes, said, "I believe that qualifies as your reward..." Tinas expression immediately turned into one of shock but, after looking around and seeing the other girls in agreement with Haruhime, lowered her head embarrassedly and said, "Okay...nyaa..." --- Over at Nanus workshop, Vahn was somewhat dazed, unable to believe what had just urred with his main body. That was the most extreme way he had ever seen Tinas [Luck] activate and he felt she must be pretty close to reaching S-Rank, unlocking an even higher form of [Luck] in the near future. There werent even any records of the higher form of the skill, as it had never once appeared since the founding of the Guild, so Vahn was both interested and terrified to see what it would be. If its influence was already this extreme, it wasnt beyond the realm of possibility that Tina would somehow manage to slip through space itself and end up in bed with him as he was having s.e.x with another girl... Just imagining the impossibilities that Tina might make a reality one day, Vahn withheld a sigh and instead produced a wry expression as he continued his happy times with Nanu. She had already finished working on the task he had assigned her, creating a hybridposite of Mithril, Green Dragon Scales, and Dragons Bone Meal. This resulted in a workable piece of metal that had moderate conductivity with mana that was also much lighter than the base materials. Though it had a somewhat porous quality, this actually made it even more suitable for absorbing shockwaves. Later, Nanu would forge it into a shield to be used by Mn or Tina, though not before engraving a formation into it under his guidance. Nanu, having enjoyed the personal guidance of her Master over thest four hours, was showing an extremely contented expression on her face asid across hisp with her belly up. Though he wasnt pushing his [Grooming] to any extremes, Vahns touch was still very pleasant and she kept twitching her arms and legs happily whenever his fingers caress the tender and soft skin below her belly button. Vahns fondness for Chienthropes always reached an extreme level whenever he was with any of them alone like this, as both Anubis and Naaza also behaved in a simr manner. Though he had a great appreciation for all Beast Humans, the honest reaction of Chienthropes made his heart melt in a way only the three adorable girls could manage. It wasnt quite at the level of when he was watching over his daughters, nor during the intimate an intense moments he would sometimes share with every girl, but it was still a very refreshing experience. He even humored the thought that, if everyone in the world could just have an adorable Chienthrope to pet, all of the worlds problems could be solved... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lilis space-breaking punches (O_O),Dont bulli Meido-chans~!,The key to world peace?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 793 - Mutual Support

Chapter 793 - Mutual Support

With only six days left before the expedition was set to depart, though it still felt like a long time from Vahns perspective, he found himself feeling strangely tense. Things had been going very welltely, as the amount of time he was able to spend with the girls had caused him to feel almost irresistiblycent. Since he would spend tens of hours every day fighting to the death, this feeling was even more prevalent, causing Vahn to believe that it was his instincts telling him something was about to go down. Thus, just as he encouraged the girls to talk to him whenever they felt something was off, Vahn had waited until after dinner, when everyone was still gathered together, to bring up his concerns. After sending the children into another room, with Anubis, Mona, and Preasia to look after them, Vahn adopted a serious expression, saying, "My intuition is telling me that something will happen very soon, likely during the expedition, but possibly before. If you feel anything is abnormal, please tell someone as soon as possible. We may find ourselves in a War between the Alliances and Enyos forces very soon, with the entire City wrapped up in the conflict. At the same time, our other enemies may be maneuvering to take advantage of the situation. Though youre all much stronger, never forget that there are always stronger enemies in the world...never drop your guard, and dont try to deal with a situation by yourself. Were all in this together and, to protect everyones happiness, we need to support each other. There is nothing wrong with having secrets, but dont keep anything that could endanger yourself, or the others within the Manor...please..." Though he had been preparing himself for the possibility of losing one of the girls, Vahn knew it would be a painful experience, one which he genuinely didnt want to go through. If they lost their lives doing their best to protect others, holding true to the beliefs they shared together, that was one thing. The worst possible oue would be, like in the case of Tina from the Divination, that they ended up falling into a scheme and suffering a tragic fate. He might be able to move on if they died in battle, especially if they fought hard, Vahn knew part of him would break if they ended up falling to a scheme. Whichever group managed to pull it off...he wouldnt stop until they, and anyone remotely associated with them, werepletely annihted... Hestia, having managed to im the throne of Vahnsp for herself, could feel the pain Vahn was going through just thinking about the possible loss of a loved one. She gently squeezed his hands, which were loosely wrapped around her waist, and smiled radiantly as she addressed everyone at the table, saying, "Everyone here is family, regardless of the circ.u.mstances you may havee from. I believe in each of you, as youve shown me the strength of character possessed my mortals, something we gods could never hope to aspire towards. Remember that, even if fate may influence your life, each and every one of you is in control of your own destiny...if you feel as though you cannot bear the burden on your own, there are numerous people that will happily shoulder that burden with you. I sincerely pray every single time you all enter the Dungeon, that you will return safely to this ce we have turned into our home..." Toward the end of her words, Hestia brought her hands together in a gesture of prayer, using the opportunity to sincerely request fate to be kind to her family. With the serious plea of Vahn, followed by the guiding words of Hestia, everyone at the table adopted a somewhat solemn appearance, nodding their heads in affirmation. Afterward, Ais raised her hand slightly, drawing everyones attention to her as she hesitantly said, "Lately, unless Im with Vahn, I have been having dreams that seem to rte to my past...I keep seeing visions of my mother and father, even though I cant remember thetters face. Also..." Turning her head to the side, looking in the direction that many of them immediately understood was the Dungeon, Ais continued, saying, "I feel like the Dungeon is calling to me...like someone very dear to my heart is waiting for me..." Though others might be somewhat surprised by Ais words, there were a few within the room whose expressions didnt change much. Chief amongst them was Loki, who knew the most about Ais background, with Riveria also adopting a more thoughtful than confused expression. As for Vahn, he knew that Ais fate was directly tied to the Dungeon and he knew there were important revtions waiting for her deep within. He had also seen Ais [Hearts Desire] and, after talking with Loki and Riveria about her past, he knew there was nearly a thousand-year gap between the time Ais should have been born, to the present. She had many secrets that only the Dungeon would be able to reveal, one of the only reasons he didnt outright use the [Fate Severing Knife], even though it only had one use, to sever her fate...he wanted her to get the answers she sought and, even if it hurt her greatly, all of them would be here to help her recover. Firming his resolve, Vahn returned an encouraging smile to Ais as he said, "Thank you for sharing that with us, Ais...I promise, no matter what it takes, I will help you find the answers you seek. If you want to try and get a better understanding of those dreams, you can try to take a nap with Preasia. Though the memories may be buried deep within your subconscious mind, you may be able to find some answers within her Dreamscape...is that okay, Preasia?" Without any dy at all, Preasias face bloomed with a smile, saying, "Of course. I feel my ability exists to help people with exactly these issues. Whenever you take a break from your training, pleasee by the pagoda, Ais. I will do my best to help you, just like I will always do my best for everyone else within the Manor~." Having the support of both Vahn, the boy she loved, and Preasia, someone she was actually quite fond of, Ais troubled face transitioned to a happy smile as she said, "Thank you...!" Her smile brightened up the whole room and, almost as if the solemn atmosphere from before had been an illusion, everyone was infected by Ais happiness. They all began to talk about things they could do to help each other and, for those that were very close to Ais, they promised to help her find out why the Dungeon was calling out to her. Since they would be going into the Dungeon on the expedition in six days, there was a chance they would be able to find some of the answers very soon... Once the meeting hade to an end, many of the girls transitioned towards the orb while most of the mothers went to spend time with their children. Vahn, though his mind had been eased a little by how open and caring everyone was towards each other, decided he wanted to rx a bit more. Instead of making his way into the orb with the girls, he divided his body into two parts, one to go kiss all of his children good night, the other following behind Fenrir to her icy chamber. He didnt miss the fact that she had a small smile on her face, nor that her tail was very slowly moving from side to side as she led the way. After reaching her room, which immediately caused ayer of frost to spread across his skin and clothes, Vahn hugged her from behind and, perhaps influenced by the other girls, took a deep breath of her midnight blue hair. Fenrirs fur became progressively fluffier as Vahn nuzzled his face between her tworge ears, getting a little carried away as he lifted her body off the ground slightly. She just let her legs dangle without resisting whatsoever, the small smile on her face growing progressivelyrger as time passed. Though she eventually said, "Master, letsy down...", Fenrir really wouldnt have minded if they spent hours just standing at the entrance of her bedroom. Still holding her in his arms, Vahn smiled and began waddling towards the bed while Fenrirs paws dangled a few centimeters above the ground. Her tail kept rubbing against his lower body, something Fenrir was intentionally doing since she didnt retain the instinct for wagging her tail. Whenever she did so, it was because she had chosen to, not because her body was reacting to her emotions. Thus, Vahn allowed his own body to react naturally as he lowered Fenrir onto the icy bed and crawled in with her. Fenrir lifted up her body slightly, waiting for her Master toy against the bed before she brought her leg over his body to straddle his h.i.p.s. The clothes that she had formed from magic dissolved into nothingness, revealing her almost unchanging figure, even though she looked significantly more healthypared to the past. However, this didnt mean she was unable to change at all as, under his steely gaze, Vahn watch as Fenrirs b.r.e.a.s.ts slowly inted while both her midnight blue hair and tail grew marginally longer, gaining a sleek sheen instead of appearing as rough bristles. Even her butt, which has always been somewhat on the small side, began to inte as a very soft sensation wrapped around the tent he had been pitching at her backside. Though it took a fair amount of focus to retain her transformation, Fenrir had worked very hard on it over thest year, wanting to make herself more appealing to her Master, even though she knew he didnt mind her normal figure. However, instead of being cute and adorable, Fenrir wanted to be beautiful for her Master, at least when they were alone like this. It wasnt simply because she wanted to do naughty things with him, but Fenrir knew now that her Master was more reliant on the mature girls within the Manor. Since he was also the most reliant on her, Fenrir thought she could make him even happier if her form also matched the purpose she had epted upon herself... After letting her b.r.e.a.s.ts grow to just below a C-Cup, the most she could manage with her current capabilities, Fenrirs smile grew until it reached her eyes and, taking advantage of her newfound assets, she moved a little higher up his body andid against him. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts, which she had put a lot of effort into making soft, sandwiched her Masters face as she used her forearms to both support her body and hug the sides of his head. At the same time, she began to use her now sleek and slender tail to brush against the bulge in her Masters trousers until he finally removed them, liberating the object that always made her heart beat rapidly. Using her tail, which she had put a lot of effort into controlling ever since she first became Fenrir, Fenrir coiled it around her Masters p.e.n.i.s and, while lightly patting his head, began to slowly move her tail up and down. Though they couldnt have s.e.x, Fenrir hade to learn there were many things she could still do with her Master, working hard to improve her skills to make him as happy as he could easily make her. Still, she was very gentle with her tail because, even though her Master was reacting to her, Fenrir knew he just wanted to rx, not do anything too intense. At this pace, even if several hours passed, he would never shoot out any of his delicious fluids, one of the few things she had ever eaten that had a vor, tasting sweet and making her heart flutter when she devoured it. Since it had the added benefit of providing her arge amount of energy, even more than when her Master normally helped her recharge, Fenrir was very fond of it. She somewhat regretted the fact that, though she had practiced with more than a thousand bananas, Fenrir had never once seeded in not devouring it instantly. If she was able to use some of the things Haruhime had shown her, Fenrir knew she would get to eat even more of the delicious substance while also making her Master very happy... Unaware of what was going through Fenrirs mind, Vahn was absentmindedly enjoying the blissful softness pressing into his face, even though it also cut off the flow of air to his lungs. He didnt really have to breathe and, though it caused him to panic in the past, he was now used to resisting the natural instinct by using his [Will of the Emperor] at a rtively low level. Right now, other than the focus he ced on trying to get Sakuya into her tiny fox pajamas, the only thing on Vahns mind was rxing. Fenrirs paws were very soft and she had learned how to almostpletely retract her ws at this point, allowing her to rub the sides and top of his head with her squishy paw pads as much as she wanted... For the better part of an hour, until he had gone to bed with Demeter and Autumn, Vahn let Fenrir do her best tofort him while he slowly traced his palms up and down the sides of her body. Since she was putting in so much effort, bringing herfort was the least he could do, even though there was now a frozen pool of liquid that had spread across his abdomen. Fenrirs body was in a very excited state and, though the fluidsing from her honeypot strangely didnt freeze instantly, they would do so soon after leaving her body. There was actually a small icy hill forming right above his navel, prevented from growing any further by the heating from Fenrirs nearby v.a.g.i.n.a... With his other body going to sleep, which always caused a strange ckness to ovep in his perception, Vahn decided that he should reward Fenrirs care a bit. Since she was very synchronized with him during moments like this, Fenrir almost immediately lifted her body from his face and had an almost too eager smile on her face as she turned around and straddled his body in reverse. Vahn released a light chuckle at her antics and, momentster, found an almost painfully red and swollen mound in his face. Fenrirs body didnt react much in the past, but with the change in her mentality and the power of his [Grooming], her body would quickly go into a heated state, simr to a Chienthrope. Hugging Fenrirs waist, Vahn pulled her h.i.p.s closer to his mouth and began to work his tongue on her insides, something that didnt cause much of a reaction normally, but his hands were also inserting threads of stimting energy into her deeply buried nerves. Fenrir released a heated sigh the moment he began his efforts before pressing her lips to the tip of his ns, something that had caused all the hairs on his body to stand on end in the past, and began gently circling it with her tongue. At the same time, she used her inexplicably soft paws, squishy paw pads included, and began stroking his p.e.n.i.s in a rather skillful manner. Since she couldnt use her mouth, Fenrir had put a lot of effort into learning how to use her hands properly, with Vahn being along for the learning experience the entire way... After around ten minutes, though he could have held out almost indefinitely, Vahn gave Fenrir what he knew she was waiting for. Anticipating this, her tongue stoppedpletely and she made a seal around his ns and began a powerful suction that was absolutely impossible for the other girls to emte. Because of her instinctual ability to use devouringws, Fenrir could create a powerful vacuum to suck in even magical attacks that were fired at her, much less the tip of his p.e.n.i.s that was sealed off by her lips. The first time she had done this, Vahn thought his ns were going to explode but Fenrir had gotten much better at it now, essentially using it topletely empty the contents of his urethra... Unlike a normal ejaction, Vahn stayed in a pseudo-Magia Erebea state and, though this would have caused his s.e.m.e.n to vanish inside of a normal girl, Fenrirs [Devour] would process the vital liquid almost instantly. Though it was nutritious by default, her body was capable of processing the source energy contained within, making it strangely more effective than actual food for the peculiar Vanargandr. When Terra had learned of this, she had practically wrung him dry a few times, not that he had minded it all that much. With his hands moving to the tender skin between his testicles and anus, Vahn sent a thread of energy into his own scrotum, causing his anus to clench up tightly as a wave of pleasure ran up his spine. At the same time, a seemingly endless stream of s.e.m.e.n began to pump from his testicles, which rapidly replenished their contents, while Fenrir tookrge gulps of it without pulling away for a single moment. He didnt understand why, but Vahn always felt a strange sense of aplishment when a girl would swallow his s.e.m.e.n, even though it wasnt the intended purpose of the viscous liquid. Though he was embarrassed when the girls would remark about how sweet it tasted, Vahn still enjoyed watching them somewhat eagerly ingest it, almost as if it were a rare delicacy... Keeping up the flow for as long as his willpower could tolerate, which was a three minute period that other men would probably rte to the feeling of being caught between life and death, Vahn pulled away the thread of energy and began gasping for air. Fenrir continued her powerful suction until his urethra waspletely drained before pulling her lips away and kissing the slightly swollen ns before they almost instantly reverted back to normal with his powerful regeneration. Since she knew what was going toe next, Fenrir lowered her head and nuzzled against the warm p.e.n.i.s of her Master as Vahn calmed down and moved his hands to the top of Fenrirs tail and the tiny bead poking out of her almost painfully swollen vulva. Pressing firmly into the nerve cl.u.s.ter at the base of her tail, Fenrirs legs slowly became rigid as her butt raised proudly towards the sky. She was prevented from going too high by his hand, causing Fenrirs legs to kick out and her ws to dig into the ice bed bellow. It had a natural recovery function, so it wasnt that big a deal if she got a few scratch marks on it while excited. Vahn always found himself smiling whenever he saw this unique reaction of a Vanargandr but, not forgetting his purpose, he began to use his right hand to trace around Fenrirs vulva, sending seeds of source energy into all of her most sensitive spots, including her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s. Though she didnt have the sensitivity of a normal woman, such limitations meant almost nothing to Vahn anymore. He was confident that, even if a woman waspletely frigid and barren, he could get her to melt under his touch in just a few short minutes. Since Fenrir actively sought out the pleasure he could bring to her, and he knew her body arguably better than his own, Vahn quickly targetted all of her favorite spots in less than thirty seconds. Fenrir was already releasing arge amount of saliva, as her body seemed to be capable of producing an infinite amount of it, while slovenly tracing her tongue along his p.e.n.i.s. Though his testicles had almost been frozen into popsicles in the past, Vahn was experienced with this process now and had already channeled his [Heart of the Eternal me] to increase the temperature of his body and infuse fire elemental energy into his testicles. It caused them to feel like they were vibrating, but Vahn preferred the somewhat itchy sensation over having them frozen solid by Fenrirs saliva. Once he had prepared her body, stimting her for a good twenty minutes, Vahn knew she was beginning to reach the limit of her patience since he could see her scarlet eyes begin to glow as her grip on his p.e.n.i.s steadily increased. So she didnt use him of bullying herter, Vahn decided to wrap things up by tracing his index finger along the almost scalding hot inner walls of Fenrirs v.a.g.i.n.a and probing into the small hole near the base, barely big enough to take in a single one of his fingers. Fenrirs body tensed up a little but, as long as he was pressing into the button near her tail, she couldnt even move her lower body if she tried. After slowly inserting his index finger to its base, Vahn gave Fenrir a few seconds to prepare herself before he began to radiate source energy from his entire finger in a rapid pulse. When he had been petting her earlier, Vahn had inserted seeds of source energy into most of her deeply rooted nerves and, as her body was also infused with a great volume of petting energy, his current actually caused waves of pleasure to begin rapidly crashing through Fenrirs body. Her mouth instantly became agape as an, "Aaaaaaaaaaa-aaaaaah-aaaaaaaaaaah" sound escaped from her throat, like a raspy m.o.a.n as a result of her generally husky voice. Vahn continued this until, nearly a minuteter, a veritable flood of fluid began pouring down his hand and sshing onto his body, almost immediately turning into ice on contact before melting under the influence of his body temperature. At the same time as the phenomenon urred, Vahn stopped pressing Fenrirs button, allowing her h.i.p.s to immediately fall against his chest while her legs began to twitch and spasm. Then, to capitalize on the opportunity, as he was also rather fond of Fenrirs vor, Vahn hugged her h.i.p.s tightly and began to slurp up the somewhat citrusy love juices was Fenrirs raspy voice continued to sound out for a few minutes longer... (A/N: Ive been busy in the morningtely, so the other chapters will, once again,e this afternoon when I have time to write them :). I hope all the people that have been requesting an appearance of Fenrir and her being intimate with Vahn are satisfied by this chapter. I know Fenrir was (^,...,^)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Spoilers: Ais is an obaa-chan,*Devouring Intensifies*,I wonder, if Vahn timed it properly, would it be like eating a slushie...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 794 - Empathy...?

Chapter 794 - Empathy...?

In the final days before the expedition, Vahn found himself slowly flying through the sky as he made his way towards the obscurely located Travelers Inn, the home of the Hermes Familia. It was a rather demure looking building with two floors, matching the general architecture of the Orario. The overall color was a muted white with simrly faded brown wood where all the visible support struts were located. At a nce, it seemed to be a simple Inn where anyone could stay the night for just a few hundred Valis but, to those that knew the true nature of the Hermes Familia, this surface appearance couldnt fool them. Simr to the Demeter Familia, which was able to stay within the top ten most influential Familia based solely on their produce, the Hermes Familia actually didnt have a very high ranking. The peculiar thing about this was the fact they were an Expedition Familia, which meant they publically made their living by venturing into the Dungeon and performing missions. However, though they had existed for decades, the Familia was only F-Rank, something that would generally be impossible since they had several members reported to be Level 3 or higher. The reason for this was because the Hermes Familia served a very important role within Orario, maneuvering between the light and dark sides of society to help maintain bnce and order. Though didnt expressly do anything that would be considered illegal, the Hermes Familia existed as a grey, or neutral organization that the Guild often relied on to trace ck market goods. As a result of their track record, they had the trust of the Guild and were not required to publically report their Levels, nor thepletion of quests. Thus, even though they could have been near A-Rank based on their numbers and the average Level of their executive members, the Hermes Familia was perfectly content with their current status. The only problematic thing, other than the fact they had managed to offend Vahn in the past, was that their reputation as a Familia that would do anything for money earned them the ridicule of many. Vahn wasnt exactly sure why the Hermes Familia needed so much money, as even Lokis investigation into things had turned up no significant information, but he knew there was more than a little truth to the story. It was rumored that there were two books possessed by Hermes, one violet and the other green. Listed within those books were the prices of various goods and services that could be purchased from the Hermes Familia, including the tracking of ck market items, sending messages, or transporting goods. One of those books, however, purportedly had the names of every member of his Familia. If the rumors were to be believed, and Vahn had already learned there was a good chance this was the case, there were various prices listed beneath each members name. These included everything from general contracting fees, such as if you wanted that specific member to perform a mission, but also went on to detail services that couldnt be discussed in polite society. The only thing that made it eptable was the fact that the members themselves were able to set the prices. Inversely, however, was the fact that they were bound to provide any service that had been paid for, even if it was for someone they hated. ording to Loki, part of her investigation turned up information that one of the Hermes Familia members, a Cat Person by the name of Tabitha, in order to pay off gambling debts, ended up having to lower the price of some of her services. The same debtors that she owed the money to ended up purchasing her for an entire week, an event that had fundamentally changed the womans character after she took nearly a month to recover fully. Though she would have been able to elerate the healing process with Elixirs, even those were billed to the individual members of the Familia so she instead had to rely on her natural regeneration to bounce back... Just imagining such circ.u.mstances caused Vahn to sigh but, considering that Hermes wasnt actually doing anything wrong, including how the members themselves set the prices, there wasnt much he could say on the matter. At the same time, however, he had considered buying the entire Familia, which was apparently something else that was also given a value within Hermes special book. At least this way, though there were certainly a fair number of members with quirks, Vahn felt like they would be able to live a moderately happier life. However, unless he was willing to force them to obey his words, many of the members would undoubtedly fall into the same pitfalls once again, invalidating his intentions in the first ce... Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Vahn descended in front of the Travelers Inn and made his way into the dual-purpose tavern-c.u.m-reception-room. Upon entering, Vahn noticed a tall woman with silky ck hair,vender purple eyes, and full lips that fit snuggly upon her angr and squarish face. Her neck seemed to be thick than his thigh and she had visible muscles that were all clearly defined, each having arge volume that made her physical power obvious at a nce. At the same time, the woman had thergest b.r.e.a.s.ts Vahn had ever seen, though their form was strange as he could see a crease in her white blouse that showed the underlying muscture of her body... Vahn had never seen such a manly looking woman and, for a brief moment, his mental processes had slowed down until she turned towards him, brows furrowing slightly before her expression softened and she asked, "Ara~? What brings you here, kiddo? Did you want to purchase the services of the Hermes Familia, or would you like to rent a room?" Though he had almost recoveredpletely, Vahn was surprised by the cheerful and almost girly voice of the gigantic woman, who he had identified as a Dwarf. This knowledge caused the gears in his mind to begin turning again as, after interacting with Mia Grande several times in the past, Vahn could easily ept that other Dwarven females could easily exceed 180cm... With a casual smile on his face, eliciting a blush from the stout woman, Vahn said, "Greetings, I believe this is our first meeting, but I find it rather difficult to believe a member of the Hermes Familia is unaware of my existence...?" Against Vahns expectations, the woman began to fiddle with one of her pigtails as she sheepishly looked to the side and said, "Youre Vahn Mason...sorry for calling you a kid..." As she was speaking, the womans face became even redder, causing Vahns brain to buzz while he resisted the urge to sigh. He was very ustomed to the fact that girls would have this type of reaction if he talked directly to them, but it was still a little surprising that such a powerful looking woman had such a demure personality. Turning his head towards the nearby door, Vahn saw what looked like a child with golden hair that had a subtle green hue to it, tied into a braided ponytail that extended past her shoulder. Her outfit consisted of a white tunic, a light blue mesh scarf, a pair of purple trousers, and small brown leather boots. Though she had the appearance of a girl around 9-12 years old, Vahn immediately identified her as a Pallum and, based on the flow of energy in her body, she should be closer to around 17-18, even with her height only reaching a meager 108cm. When she turned her grey eyes towards him, which had a hint of purple, they immediately rounded as she pointed her finger and eximed, "Ah, youre Vahn!" Though she wasnt really that fast, the Pallum woman made her way to his side in an instant, trying to grab his hand in an excited manner but Vahn had casually moved it away. Her eyes showed mild surprise until Vahn plopped his hand on her head and said, saying, "Im just another person...dont get so excited. By the way, may I ask your names? Also, Im here to meet with Asfi, so please let her know Im here." Vahn could sense a ratherrge underground structure beneath the Inn, with more than a hundred people present in theplexwork of corridors and rooms. He had already identified where Asfi was but kept up the pretense since he was certain they didnt know the true limits of his abilities. While the Pallum girl was absentmindedlyughing under Vahns patented head patting technique, especially effective on small girls and Beast People, the tall Dwarven woman stared with a look containing surprise and envy. Still, hearing Vahns question, she smiled and answered, "My name is Elilly, a Dwarf. That melting creature there is Pot, a Pallum..." While speaking, Elilly pressed a button underneath the counter and Vahn could sense that Asfi had be alerted and was beginning to make her way to the surface. Since it would take her a few minutes, Vahn lightly nodded his head and exined, "Yes, I was able to tell your races almost immediately. As a physician, I would be aughing stock if I was unable to properly identify something as important as the race and gender of others." Elilly nodded her head in understanding but her eyes were glued to the hand he was using to pet Pot with, thetter seeming to have forgotten how to do anything other than smile, a silly expression on her face. Her expression had turned somewhat mncholic and, seeing this, Vahn felt strangely guilty so he asked, "Is there something the matter, Elilly...?" This caused her to blush slightly, which looked strange on her chiseled facial features and, against his expectations, she adopted a pouting expression and said, "No...its fine...theres nothing wrong..." Pot, who had been in her own little world until this point, suddenly snapped back to reality and raised her right hand high in a childish gesture as she shouted, "Elilly probably wants you to pet her head as well! She might look like a gori, but she is actually a girly girl who is very self-conscious of her appearance~. I keep telling her to stop eating and exercising if she wants to slim down, but she actually took it too seriously once and nearly starved to death, ahahahahaha~." Hearing this, Vahn furrowed his brows slightly while Elilly hung her head in shame, face transitioning between being pale and blushing fiercely. Removing his hand from Pots head, which made the girl instantly adopt a pouting expression of her own, Vahn flicked the rather brash Pallum in the forehead with his middle finger. Her head bobbed back like it was trying to make contact with her back as she stumbled a few steps before squatting down on the ground with teary eyes as she rubbed her head and asked, "Why did you hit me...?" with a sobbing intonation. With a serious expression on his face, Vahn inly stated, "It isnt right to makements about someones physical appearance, especially if they are already self-conscious about things. The fact that she has tried to work on it is something she should bemended for, not made fun of..." While speaking, Vahn was also considering if there was something he could do to help Elilly with her problem, not that he really believed she needed it. Though she didnt really match his preferences, which had been developed over thest few years, Vahn didnt think she was an ugly woman. Compared to many of the Dwarves he had seen, she was actually on the more attractive side and, had she been amongst her people, Vahn was confident she would be a popr woman. Pot was still rubbing her forehead, confused as to how the stinging sensation was able to persist for so long, even though it should have stopped hurting rather quickly. This was a result of Vahn inserting a small amount of source energy into the attack, which would take a few minutes to fade away naturally. He had wanted to punish her for saying something so rude and inconsiderate, especially since the two were supposed to bepanions within the same Familia. As for what Pot was thinking, she made a small promise to herself to not say harsh things to people in the near future, at least when Vahn was around. The fact that she had been able to reach heaven, only to be dropped down into hell caused her to reflect on all the harsh and abrasive things she had said to others in the past... Other than outright performing Nirvana on Elilly, the only thing Vahn could think of to help her would be to give her one of the cultivation skills or techniques he had been gleaning through over thest year for Fenrirs and Alexas training. Included amongst them were several methods to refine the body, which had been purchased for Fenrirs benefit, unfortunately without any great sess. Other than making her skin look healthier, and strengthening her bones, Fenrir wasnt able to make full use of the skills and still relied on transformation magic to shape her body. For someone like Elilly, who was a rtively normal person, Vahn believed the effects would be very noticeable in a rtively short period of time. The only thing that kept him from handing over the manual was the fact that, even if she didnt share the information with others outright, it would eventually fall into the hands of others. Though there wasnt anything intrinsically wrong with allowing a technique to shape the body into the open market, Vahn knew such a technique would be heavily exploited if it fell into the wrong hands. With his past experiences with the Hermes Familia, it gave him more than a few doubts about entrusting such a manual to one of its members, even if the Hermes Familia was famous for being trustworthy with such information. Though that might be the case, the sole fact that you could purportedly purchase the entire Familia mad it very difficult to actually trust them... As rude as it might be, Vahn decided to confirm the spection and, surprising the two girls, asked, "So, if I wanted to buy the two of you, how much Valis would it cost?" In an instant, the atmosphere became somewhat tense as Elilly lowered her head slightly and asked in a business-like manner, "Are you asking about rental services, temporary ownership, or permanant ownership? Depending on the terms, the amount of Valis required increases exponentially. You also have to make vows to ensure the protection of the purchased goods unless you intend to buy thempletely. In that case, you have to make a vow iming you will care for the goods until their death, without being able to free them..." With sad eyes, now possessing much less light than they had previously, Pot held up three fingers on her hand and, with a business smile of her own, said, "Since Im a Pallum, and a former ve, you can buy me for 650,000V per month, 7,500,000V per year, or 20,000,000V for permanant ownership...if you just wanted to rent me, the fee is 50,000V, as long as there is no physical harm done to my body..." Though it wasnt exactly public knowledge, the reason behind why the prices were still so high, as even ves were much cheaper to purchase, was because the life of the Hermes Familia member would be in the hands of their purchaser. When you bought ves, legally, there were several contracts that you had to sign that would guarantee the protection of the goods. Since the Hermes Familia members wouldnt be ves, but people bound by powerful vows that they had made in the past, this could be circ.u.mventedpletely... As a result, the prices were on the high end, but you could also purchase rtively high-Level goods that wouldnt be avable on the market. This was a method by which the Nobles would sometimes acquire their personal bodyguards, and it wasnt a practice wholly unique to the Hermes Familia. In fact, for better or worse, it wasmon for many Familia run by gods with Merchant-based Divinities to offer, not only their Familia as goods, but themselves. Though he had assumed it was a joke, Vahn had actually been propositioned by Fortuna in the past when his personal finances had exceeded 10BV. After Pot had mentioned her prices, Elilly went on to promote her own, being the more expensive of the two since she was at the peak of Level 3 and specialized in protection. She even went on to exin that she knew how to cook and clean and, though her figure might not be the most appealing, she was confident in the durability of her body if he wanted to do anything extreme. By the end of her self-promotion, Vahns mind had a moderate chill running through it, even though his expression didnt show it. He knew they all had their reasons for being here, as even a Princess like Asfi had put herself in simr circ.u.mstances, and it wouldnt be fair to them for him to say anything on the matter. Though it bothered him, more than a little, it was arguably a better system than very and, as Pot had proimed to be a ve in the past, she was likely very aware of that fact... Asfi showed up shortly after she had crossed his mind, her close proximity being the reason for his stray thoughts. When she sensed the tense atmosphere in the room, Asfi didnt really understand the situation until Vahn turned to her and asked, "Asfi...if I wanted to purchase you, how much Valis would it cost me...?" Though anger had already started to pool within his mind, Vahn wanted to verify if even a Princess like Asfi was truly subject to the same circ.u.mstances. If she was...he felt that it would be marginally more eptable, as that would show that Hermes was at least fair in his treatment of his Familia members. Inversely, if she was the exception to the rule, Vahn would take up the matter personally with Hermester and see how the rather troublesome god was able to justify his actions... Hearing Vahns words, Asfi immediately understood what must have happened and, considering Vahn wasnt really the type to take advantage of others, she knew he was likely just verifying a rumor he had heard. Still, the rumors had a fair amount of truth to them and, even though it wasnt quite as simple as he might expect, Asfi sighed and exined, "Though Im certain you are already aware of my circ.u.mstances, I cant go into the details unless you finalize the transaction. Since Im the Captain of the Hermes Familia, and one of its stronger members, the general fees for my services can be very expensive. However, if you wanted to rent me, the fee is five-million Valis for the first day, with a guarantee of three-billion Valis if any permanant harm was to befall me. After that, there would be a standard rental fee of 500,000V and, if you wanted to purchase me, the rates are twelve-million Valis per month, one-hundred million Valis per year, and three billion Valis for permanant ownership..." Though she had a stoic expression on her face, Vahn was aware that Asfi, much like Pot and Elilly, all had chaotic and wavering auras. When she finished listing her prices, Asif began her own self-promotion spiel, detailing that she was a qualified ountant, had extensive knowledge of politics, negotiation, etiquette, and, most importantly, was a Level 4 that also had the [Mystery] Development Ability. When she got to this point, Asfi rified, "Because of my special circ.u.mstances, any profits garnered from using my ability require that twenty percent of the funds are allocated into a private ount that you wouldnt have ess to. At the same time, there are terms that would allow you to receive a discount on permanant ownership or any period that is greater than five years...in order to learn what they are, Im afraid you would have to take a vow of non-disclosure..." While Asfi was exining everything, Vahn felt the chill in his mind subside slightly and, even though it wasnt his intention to purchase the girls, he couldnt help but eye his personal finances. Currently, he had more than 11BV and, if Asfi only cost 3BV, Vahn was certain it wouldnt be that difficult to purchase nearly every member of the Hermes Familia. However, just as he had been trying to avoid developing additional rtionsh.i.p.s, Vahn didnt exactly want to get wrapped up in the affairs of such aplicated group of people...thinking till this point, Vahn couldnt help but release a long and exasperated sigh, surprising Elilly and Pot while Asfi seemed to have anticipated such a response. Even if he tried to convince himself that it wasnt his business, Vahn knew he was something of an idiot when it came to situations like this. He wouldnt have worked so hard to bring about reforms in both the Elven Kingdom and Orario if he was able to avoid being a busy-body. For better or worse, he simply couldnt overlook situations where he could improve the conditions of other people without any great cost to himself. Though it would be an extreme amount of wealth, Vahn had almost no real use for petty cash and, if he truly needed more money, he would probably be able to make more than a hundred billion Valis just by selling a few interspatial rings... Turning his head to Elilly, whose self-consciousness about her appearance was the catalyst for his current decision, Vahn withheld another sigh and then turned to Asfi as he said, "Tell Hermes that I will be purchasing the entire Hermes Familia for the duration of a year. During that time, you will be under the direction of the Loki Familia and any information that is disclosed to those within my charge will be absolutely confidential. Any items, be they equipment or consumables, will have to be returned to the Alliance before the expiration of the contract and, even after the contract expires, I will not tolerate the disclosure of any sensitive information that was obtained while under my ownership..." Elilly and Pot werepletely gobsmacked by Vahns words but Asfi responded with a rare smile as she said, "Ill prepare the contract shortly, but it already has uses that cover each of the things you mentioned. At the same time, you will be given a list detailing the backgrounds, capabilities, and special circ.u.mstances of each member of the Hermes Familia. Since this information is also very sensitive, you will have to make a vow of non-disclosure before signing the contract..." As she was speaking, Asfi was withholding her own sigh because things were developing in the way that her god, Hermes, had spected. Though he couldnt guess at the reason directly, Hermes had guessed that Vahn would likely try to take ownership of the Familia at some point, even going out his way to spread the rumors about his two books personally during Lokis investigation... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Baited...,Some say that the best man for the job is a woman...who looks like a man!?,Never underestimate someone that can match wits with Loki (O___O)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 795 - Contract

Chapter 795 - Contract

For the better part of three hours, Vahn sat in Asfis office discussing the details of the contract while, back at the Manor, he was exining the situation to Loki. She wasnt too happy about the situation but, after hearing about the terms, agreed to let Vahn do as he pleased. The fact that she would be able to use the Hermes Familia members, who were known for their information gathering capabilities, would be a major benefit in the near future. After all, they were going to be contending against Enyos forces and would also need to repel the darkness of the City itself. Since the Hermes Familia had dealings with the underside of society for many years, she would be able to make use of their connections to circ.u.mvent a lot of potential problems. Because Vahn knew there was a fair chance that Hermes was plotting around him, something Loki had emphasized several times in their discussion, he had, once again, decided to let Loki manage the moreplex matters. He knew that if he interacted with the members too much, especially after reading their details, his empathetic nature would cause him to get wrapped up in a variety of troublesome affairs. Almost every single member of the Hermes Familia was a former ve, many who had been subjected to harsh conditions that would have broken most people. Their lives had been treated with such insignificance that, of the 117 members of the Hermes Familia, only nine of them even hadst names...before they had managed to escape, and ept Hermes offer, many of them had been treated so harshly that they had never even eaten a meal other than ck bread and protein slop that was made from ves that had died within thebor camps... After he had gone through all of their information, Vahn knew he would have to seek a reckoning with the Iron Hills after the establishment of Haven. Though he did his best to try and ignore most of the internal affairs, almost everything that he eventually learned about the Iron Hills just made his antagonism towards them even stronger. With this new information, he decided that, not only would he free the majority of their ves, but he would leave the fate of their former Masters up to them to decide. It would be too easy to kill them for their crimes but, with how much pain they had caused others, Vahn understood that it shouldnt be easy for them... Though he didnt need to read the doc.u.ment personally, Vahn still went over it all while Sis analyzed the terms to make sure there werent any loopholes that could be exploited against him. As could be expected, there were numerous things he would have to be aware of, including uses that would require him to return the goods in good health or he would have to pay a heavy fee. However, except for a few exceptions, there were no penalties if the members ended up dying during their duties, nor were there any uses protecting the Hermes Familia members from harm. In other words, if he ordered them to kill themselves the day before he was scheduled to return them, they would have to obey without him having to pay any penalties...in a way, the contract favored him a great deal, something Vahn recognized as Hermes trying to y him... Other things he needed to be aware of was, after purchasing them once, he would have to pay a premium if he wanted to keep them after the end of the terms. There were absolutely no provisions for freeing the members of the Hermes Familia, as they had also made vows that made it impossible for them to leave the Familia until their personal contracts had expired. At the same time, not that he intended to exploit them in such a way, any children born by the females while under his ownership were considered members of the Hermes Familia. Though he would be allowed to raise them while owning their mothers, they would have to return to the Hermes Familia after the fact... This most troublesome use, for better or worse, was the fact that he could actually liberate the members if he managed toplete specific tasks that were annotated in each persons file. Because of his nature, the moment Vahn learned about this use he had beenpelled to go through each persons details, including the information about their past, and the terms they had agreed to when forming a contract with Hermes. These ranged from things like, in the example of Pot, and her brother Pock, Vahn would have to keep Pot for five consecutive years on single-year contracts, each sessive year being more expensive. He could get discounts if he managed to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e her, and ensure that the children were happy and healthy, as her dream was to create a happy family. As for Pock, a Pallum with light brown hair and grey-purple eyes, Vahn would have to help the boy reach Level 6 and help promote him as a Hero of the Pallum people. His dream was to be as famous as Finn, the Pallum he aspired to be like to the point of making replicas of Finns sword and spear. The fact that Hermes had left such uses in everyones contract made Vahn unsure of what to think about the troublesome god. Though he couldnt really agree with the way Hermes treated his Familia members, it was a fate they had chosen for themselves in exchange for some semnce of freedom from tragic circ.u.mstances. In normal circ.u.mstances, they would have either died or be ves that were exploited within the ck market. There would have been no hope for them if that were the case, excluding people like himing through and liberating them. Hermes had even included several ways for them to free themselves, which is the main reason they sold themselves in the first ce. Though they were able to offer their services for prices they had chosen themselves, it was Hermes who set their value for purchase. If the members were able to pay up the requisite amount, they would not only be freed from their contracts but would also receive a severance based on how many years had remained on their contract. When a member joined the Hermes Familia, they would agree to a contract guaranteeing ten years of service. If they reached the end of their contract, they would be allowed to leave at their leisure but their value would transfer into a debt that they would have to make monthly payments on. As a result, many of the members took up things like gambling, epted dangerous jobs, or lowered the prices of their services to .u.mte more funds. This was the main reason why the Hermes Familia members were known to do anything for money, as it was the best way to guarantee their freedom in the future... This was inarguably better than being a ve for the rest of your life, but it would depend almost entirely on the amount of effort you put in to growing stronger or earning money. Though the terms seemed cruel, it wasnt that difficult to be decently strong over a ten year period and the majority of the Hermes Familia members would be able to buy their freedom before their contract expires...if they saved their money and properly nned their finances. Unfortunately, because many of them had gambling habits, the actual rate of people that bought their own contracts were few in number. In fact, to avoid being burdened with a great debt, many members ended up renewing their contracts and dedicating an additional ten years of service to the Hermes Familia. Though this seemed like an obvious case of entrapment and exploitation, the fact that the members were able to make their own decisions, and set their own prices, meant they actually had a great deal of freedom. Since there were also uses that would allow them to be freed by their Owners, it almost made it seem like Hermes wasnt actually a bad god, even though Vahn couldnt help but harbor resentment towards him. However, much like he didnt me Loki, Anubis, or Freya for their actions, he wouldnt seek trouble with Hermes over this matter. It was obvious that Hermes, possessing Divinities rted to Trade and Mercantilism, came up with this system based on the influence of said Divinities. Yes, it was a system that took advantage of people that were easily exploited, but it also gave them a great deal of freedompared to the norm, with several ways for them to earn their actual freedom within very clearly defined terms... After flipping through some of the more interesting files, Vahn turned his eyes up to meet Asfis gaze and said, "As Ive already made a vow to protect the information, you should be able to disclose the terms of your own contract, yes?" Though he had the files of every other member, Asfis wasnt amongst them and, knowing a bit about her background, Vahn was aware things werent that simple. She was the Princess of a maritime Kingdom known as Aethiopia, located far to the south of the continent within the Poseidon Sea. ording to the information Loki was able to obtain, Asfi had gone missing after her mother managed to offend Poseidon himself, proiming her then sixteeen-year-old daughters beauty to be greater than the vengeful gods concubines. Because of this offense, even though it wasnt Asfis fault, Poseidon had started sinking the sh.i.p.s of the Aethiopian Kingdom and proimed that Asfi was so far beneath his lovers that the only suitable mates for her were his pet monsters, Cetus and Brutus. He issued an ultimatum that, unless Asfi was strapped n.a.k.e.d to a sacrificial altar and allowed to be publically ravished by his pets, Poseidon would continue to sink the Kingdoms sh.i.p.s. Eventually, Cepheus and Cassiopeia, the King and Queen of Aethiopia, under the constant pressure of their people, caved to Poseidons demand. As a result, Asfi had been fated to be publically humiliated and likely killed, considering that Cetus was supposed to be a massive sea monster that could capsize sh.i.p.s. If she had been allowed to be ravished by such a creature, death was almost guaranteed, making Asfi nothing more than a sacrifice because of her Mothers hubris. The simple fact that Cassiopeia didnt even try to appease Poseidon by offering up herself, considering she was the one who even spread the rumors in the first ce, showed that there was more to the situation than made public... The biggest evidence towards this was the fact that, around the time Asfi was scheduled to be sacrificed, the ship that was transporting her ended up sinking. Asfipletely disappeared from the Aethiopia Kingdom and, after being used of sinking the ship to leave them no way out, Poseidon eventually stopped sinking other sh.i.p.s, though not before causing arge tsunami to sweep across the isles. Now, Asfi was publically considered dead and there was absolutely no information about what happened that fateful day, nor how she was able to be a member of the Hermes Familia and keep her identity a secret for so long... Knowing that she couldnt foot around the issue, Asfi released a small sigh and, before exining her circ.u.mstances, surprised Vahn by asking, "You have no interest in me as a woman, do you?" This question caused Vahns brows to raise, as it was a very peculiar question to ask at the present moment. However, as his brain began piecing together the information, Vahn was able to rationalize what Asfi must be thinking. Giving the context of the situation, Asfis question had to be rted to her own secrets and must have pertained to her past actions as well. Considering this, Vahn furrowed his brows slightly and said, "Your liberation use..." Asfis expression adopted a wry smile as she averted her eyes and said, "Because of my circ.u.mstances, the duration of my contract with the Hermes Familia is indefinite. Though you can buy my first time, and request other services from me, I am unable to sell ownership of my person to anyone unless they are willing to swear a life-bound vow. Unless you are willing to help me resolve my past grievances, and deal with the internal affairs of my Kingdom, you will be unable to im ownership of me. Trying to resolve the matters personally is also uneptable, as such roundabout measures to achieve my vengeance would ensure that I have to stay in the Hermes Familia for the rest of my life. Even if you tried to kill Hermes-sama, my vow also ties my life to his...though it shames me to say, I inherited my mothers pettiness and, unless I am able to take back my birthright on my own, I would never be satisfied..." Vahn could see Asfis aura re up, a wrathful red contained within as she spoke about her Mother, something that made Vahn ufortable. He knew there were more than a few bad parents in the world, but it still made him feel uneasy to hear someone talk about their parents in such a way. If not for the fact he had also tried to resolve himself to deal with some of his own children one day walking down a dark path, Vahn would probably reproach Asfis words. She likely had a legitimate reason to harbor hatred towards her mother, especially considering the circ.u.mstances surrounding the incident that forced her away from the Kingdom in the first ce. Though he had gotten much better at controlling his expressions, Asfi was able to see that Vahn was both troubled, yet understanding of her circ.u.mstances at the same time. This caused a small smile to appear on her face as, from Vahns perspective, her aura began to dim down with a calm azure blue as she said, "In truth, though you may think lesser of me for it, I had intended to try and earn your favor during the time we spent together during the production of your magic items. Im not sure how much you know of my past, but my worth had been reduced to such an extent that I would have been defiled by a monster to appease the foolishness of others. I figured that, even if I had to dedicate myself to you, it would have been a worthwhile exchange if it meant I could have my revenge..." At this point, Asfi released a sigh, bringing her left hand up and moving the hair framing her face as a mncholic look passed through her eyes. Continuing her words, Asfi added, "It may have been your perceptive nature, or perhaps you just didnt consider me a suitable woman, but you distancing yourself from me has broken my pride more than Id care to admit to others. Thus, though I know I will likely regret it, I must advise against trying to purchase my contract, even if youre empathetic towards my cause. In truth, I never believed I would be able to return to my Kingdom and, even though Im not satisfied with how things had turned out, the life Ive built within Orario isnt that bad...Im one of the most famous item makers in the City and, though Hermes is a bit of a pervert, he generally exercises the proper restraint..." One thing that Asfi was keeping from Vahn, which she hoped he wouldnt be able to see through, was that Hermes often purchased the various services offered by his Familia members. Though he hadnt done anything too uncouth towards her yet, Asfi knew that her god fully intended to buy her contract himself if she was unable to meet her goal before she turned thirty. He would sometimes remind her of this fact whenever he was going through his books, teasing her by asking if he should fork over the five million Valis to take her first time. Thus far, other than groping and touching her on asion, he hadnt taken things too far but, as the years piled on, Asfi knew he would show less restraint in order to capitalize on her youth. If not for the fact that he preferred more mature women, she probably wouldnt have evensted as long as she had... Though her aura didnt waver that much, Vahn saw a few thin strands of ck and purple in Asfis aura, almost indiscernible if not for the fact he had been paying close attention. At the same time, using his body that was currently giving Loki a shoulder massage, Vahn released a sigh. This caused Loki, who had been enjoying the massage with a contented expression on her face, to beginughing in a mischevious manner as she asked, "Is it that Asfi woman~? When you sigh like that, it is almost always because youre about to do something stupid for a girl..." Rolling over onto her back, Loki unabashedly traced her hands around her lower abdomen and asked, "So, what are you going to do? Is it going to trouble the Alliance?" With another sigh, making no effort to hide it from Loki, Vahn began massaging her stomach this time, causing her to release a sigh of her own, significantly more sensual than his exasperated one. While tracing his thumb near her navel, he absentmindedly exined, "I may have to make a life-bound vow with Asfi to help her reim her birthright. Given her personality, Im almost certain the terms would include marriage..." Loki, cing her hands atop Vahns, nodded her head and said, "Well, for a Princess to enter a life-bound vow with the person that owns her, marriage would be the obvious condition. On the bright side, she wouldnt really be able to announce it until she managed to reim her Kingdom. Since you would still be the owner, you also have the right to dictate the terms for when and how you help her...though it seems a little troublesome, there arent too many disadvantages for you. On the plus side, the Alliance would be able to get its hands on the Aethiopian Kingdom, expanding our power base outside of Orario..." Vahn knew Lokis words cut to the truth of the matter and, considering that he wanted to bring reforms to almost every other country, the Aethiopian Kingdom was also on the list. Since their Queen had orchestrated an event to get her own daughter publically shamed and killed, it was obvious that there were more than a few issues back in Asfis homnd. The thing that bothered him was that he would have readily provided his assistance in the future, even if Asfi herself never made the request. Now that he knew this was the same as forcing her to stay in the Hermes Familia for the rest of her life, the only way she would be able to return home would be if Hermes himself allowed it. Since she would still be in service to him, Hermes would either be the shadow-ruler of the Aethiopian Kingdom or, considering his nature, marry Asfi himself and be King... This realization was backed by the fear and trepidation Asfi showed for a brief moment when talking about Hermes well-known perversion. Though he didnt have a reputation for criminal and deviant acts, the number of times he had been caught peeping on the godly baths in Babel tower numbered in the hundreds. At the same time, he could almost always be seen teasing and messing around with the females in his Familia, even though these actions usually earned him a punch or a kick from said girls. Now that Vahn understood the internal system of the Hermes Familia, however, he knew it wouldnt even be difficult for Hermes to do whatever he wanted, perfectly within the bounds of the system he had established... Trailing his thumbs around the stic band of Lokis shorts, Vahn felt his resolve building as he said, "Im going to pay double so we can have shared ownership of the Hermes Familia members. Ill need your help resolving some of their contracts, but Ill deal with some of them personally, including Asfis. I know this will be another inconvenience Ive shouldered you with, Loki...but..." Though there were a few things he wanted to say, Loki rolled to a sitting position and, surprising Vahn, wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her head into his chest. In a firm tone, Loki stated matter of factly, "Even if you wanted to conquer this world, I would have stood at your side with pride. Dont mull over such insignificant matters, Vahn...if you continue insulting my convictions, Ill have to punish you~." Though she had started off serious and solemn, Lokis finger had found themselves around the belt of Vahns trousers, dexterously unfastening the buckle. She then twisted her body around, wrapping her legs around his waist as she raised her head up, a mischevious smile on her face as she licked her lips and said, "The next time you think to try and apologize to me, Im not going to let you leave my room until you give me another baby..." While speaking, Loki put more strength into her locked legs, pulling herself to a zero-distance with Vahn, pressing her lower body against his own... At the same time this was urring, Vahn gazed into Asfis eyes and said, "I will not leave you to suffer the whims of Hermes, Asfi...though I cant deny it will be a little troublesome, your matters will be mine in the future. I cant promise that well deal with the Aethiopian Kingdom any time soon, but I promise that you will be able to raise your head up high within your homnd once again..." Though it was a little difficult to say such serious words, while he had just started having s.e.x with Loki, Vahn had grown ustomed to expressing different emotions with his two forms, at least on the surface... Asfi could sense there was something off about Vahn but, hearing the promise contained within his words, she didnt think there was any hidden meaning in his words. Since he used words saying that her matters would be his in the future, Asfi knew he was aware of what kind of vow she would have him take. Realizing this, she noticed that a giddy feeling was spreading through her stomach and that her heart was beginning to beat progressively faster. In the future, she wouldnt be able to refuse anything this boy before her asked of her and, even though she had resolved herself to do whatever it took for her vengeance, Asfi had started to feel nervous. Still, even as the feeling started to be overwhelming, her expression didnt change much as she nodded her head and said, "Then lets begin...Darling..." (A/N: I trieding up with an entrapment contract that seemed feasible for someone like Hermes to employ given the rules I had already established previously. Though I believe I exined things as clearly as possible, there could still be a few loopholes I overlooked and Ill try to clear them up if you post about them in thements section. One thing I will rify is that Hermes uses abination of the persons background, gender, race, capabilities, age, and Level when he determines their value. Their buying price would be the value he had assigned to them over a contractual period of ten years and, even though Asfis own contract is indefinite, she could still purchase her freedom for three billion Valis. In a way, though the contract is clearly entrapment, Hermes still has to make sure things are fair, or else the world wouldnt validate the vows.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Finns biggest fan, Pock,Asfis mom is a cuuuuuuuunt,There is so much keikaku here that Im not sure who won in this situation...I guess, Asfi?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 796 - Willingness

Chapter 796 - Willingness

Hearing Asfi suddenly refer to him as Darling, while her aura was ring about chaotically, Vahn resisted the natural urge to sigh and internally vowed to never get wrapped up in things like this in future records. Though he would undoubtedly favor some women along his journey, as it could continue for thousands of years, Vahn never wanted a repeat of what happened in the record of Danmachi. He considered everything that was happening a result of his own childishness and inexperience, the fact that he simply didnt have the heart to watch others suffer. Since he didnt want to have to link together multiple worlds, nor did he want to build a massive harem that transcended dimensions, Vahn swore that he would be more resolute in the future. Fortunately, it didnt seem like most records were as open to the idea of so many women being involved with one man, nor would have the foundation that had been built by the girls in the Manor to rely on. He would never want to put people he cared about in a situation where they doubted the love he had for them as a result of his inability to get involved with troubled girls. If not for the fact that the girls had established their work, and worked so hard to support each other, Vahn knew things would have never reached this point... While he was thinking about other worlds, Asfis mind was wholly focused on the moment and, seeing Vahn adopt a thoughtful expression after her address, her heart felt like it was being gripped. She believed he was aware of the fact that they would be officially wed after their vows werepleted, even if they didnt have a ceremony. However, though he would be her Husband, Vahn would also be her Owner at the same time. Though he didnt have a reputation for exploiting others, quite the opposite, Asfi had believed he wouldnt be opposed to the form of address. Now, however, she wondered if she had overstepped her boundaries a little...the fact that he had shown no interest in her previously, outside of their first meeting, now weighed even heavier on her heart... Sensing the change in Asfi, Vahns distracted mind regained its focus and he habitually smiled while exining, "Well, I know you dont really have the option to refuse my purchase, so Ill exin something so youre not misunderstanding things. Not many people are aware of this, but Im actually able to exist as two bodies simultaneously after learning a unique technique. Currently, Im a little preupied with something happening back at the Manor, so please dont misunderstand. How you choose to call me is up to you, but Id prefer if you simply call me by name, as I will do the same for you...Asfi." Hearing Vahns exnation, though it was very hard to believe, Asfi released a sigh of relief. She knew he was a very honest boy and, as it would likely be apparentter, there was no reason for him to lie about such a thing. He may not invite her to live within the Hearth Manor, but there was a good chance she would spend the night there a few times in the future...when this thought crossed her mind, Asfi had to pinch her own thigh to try and stop a blush from reaching her cheeks. She didnt understand it herself, as she actually had an aversion to such activities, but just imagining being under Vahns care made her heart race... After Asfi had calmed down, the two exchanged their vows, Vahn promising to do whatever it took to help Asfi achieve her revenge by the means she had chosen, so long as it didnt endanger himself, the people he cared about, or the Alliance. As for Asfi, she pledged herself to serve Vahn in the capacity of a wife and, should he desire the actual status in the future, she would establish him as the King of the Aethiopian Kingdom in the future. Ultimately, though she cared dearly for the well-being of the subjects she had intended to lead, Asfi was willing topromise even her own integrity for vengeance. The fact that the person she had dedicated herself to was apassionate and benevolent person like Vahn was a blessing she could never truly express her gratitude for... As their vows were vocalized, a blood red chain formed between the hearts of Vahn and Asfi as they brought their lips together to finalize the vow. Though Asfi regretted not being able to give her first kiss to Vahn, she did her best to make up for it by epting his invasive tongue and reciprocating it to the best of her ability. Even if he wanted to push her down on the table right now, the fact that they had already made the vow was enough of a reason for her to ept him willingly. It was infinitely better to be ravished by the man she had sworn herself to than a giant sea monster that would have shamed her grievously before killing her... Contrary to her mild delusions, Vahn pulled away a few secondster and smiled gently before reaching out his hand and stroking the side of her face. Asfi felt her heart twist around in her chest as the most fl.u.s.tered feeling she had ever experienced rose up inside of her. Turning her face to the side, Asfi muttered, "You dont have to be so gentle with me...since youll have to purchase my contract no matter what, I dont mind, regardless of what you want to do with me..." To this, Vahn nodded in understanding and said, "Look at me, Asfi..." Though she still had a will of her own, for the time being, Asfi found herself unable to refuse Vahns gentle words and, even though she felt embarrassed to make eye contact with him, turned to meet his gaze. When she saw Vahns smile soften, Asfi was certain both her heart and stomach had done a flip, surprising her greatly. She didnt know why she was feeling this way as, even though she was determined to do whatever Vahn requested of her, it was only because of her own selfishness, not because she loved him. However, as the reaction of her body and mind were so drastically different from her own expectations, Asfi began having doubts about her actual feelings towards Vahn... Asfi might not be aware of it, but Vahn knew exactly what she was going through, as he had seen simr reactions a little too often over thest few months. His [Charm] was very effective of members of the opposite s.e.x and, as a result of the vows they had made, Asfi was simply too aware of him to think clearly at the moment. Even if she intended to act out of duty and vengeance, Vahn knew those feelings would quickly morph into something else after he took action. Since he would care for her, just like all the girls he had given his favor to, Vahn was confident he could get Asfi to truly love him one day. At the same time, he would allow his affections for her to grow and, by the time the matters in her Kingdom were resolved, Vahn believed she would truly have a ce in his heart... Running his fingers through Asfis aqua-blue hair, Vahn gently said, "There will undoubtedly be a time for things like that...but there are other pressing matters to attend to right now. I can sense that Pot and Elilly have already gathered almost everyone that was within the Travelers Inn at this point, and I dont want to make things difficult for you when we exin thingster. Since youre my wife now, I will do my best to protect your dignity and never allow you to experience shame brought about by my actions...I like the cool and intelligent you the most, so please dont try to force yourself just to pander to me, okay...?" Hearing Vahns kind words, Asfi felt a strange feeling rising in her chest as a hard to suppress moisture began to spread across her eyes. She knew what kind of boy he was, so his words werent that great a surprise, but the fact that he was saying them in this situation made it hard to hold back the emotions that had been weighing on her heart for thest six years. There were so many things she regretted but, knowing that he would not only shoulder the burdens alongside her, but one day truly liberate her from the burden on her heart...it was a lot to take in. Before he had shown up so suddenly, her biggest concern on her mind had been what to each for lunch this afternoon...things had taken a very sudden turn. Though she got infinitely close to shedding tears, Asfi managed to keep them bottled up and produce a small smile as she said, "Very well...if that is your wish, I will do my best to meet your expectations. Still, if there is ever anything...I wont refuse you..." This time, Asfi averted her eyes and swallowed audibly, something that caused her to blush as she turned away and brought out her own contract, passing it over to Vahn as she collected herself and exined, "As Im sure youre aware, my true identity is Asfi Al Andromeda, eldest child of the King of Aethiopia, Cetheus Al Andromeda..." Since Asfi had already sat down behind her desk, Vahn sat across from her and perused her file, and the contract contained within. It was much the same as the others, with a few stiptions pertaining to Asfis special circ.u.mstances, but it wasnt anything he couldnt handle. While he was reading over the information, Asfi began recounting her tale, many of the details matching his own spection of events. The apparent truth of the matter was that Cassiopeia, Asfis mother, had been envious of the fact that Asfi was apparently growing to be more beautiful than she was. As a result of her vanity, and the fact that she simply didnt get along with her intelligent daughter, Cassiopeia had hatched a scheme to have Poseidon, known as a vindictive and wrathful god, to deal with her. Since Cassiopeia herself was quite attractive, she managed to earn Poseidons favor by cheating on Cetheus, who was so beguiled by his wife that he couldnt see the truth of the matter. She then managed to convince Poseidon to help dispose of Asfi in a high profile manner that would cause people the never speak of her daughter in a positive light... As for the reason why Cassiopeia couldnt outright kill Asfi herself, it was because thetter was the heir to the throne and, even though Catheus was a fool to trust his wife, he still cared deeply for his daughter. He had watched her grow up and groomed her to be a suitable heir, not minding the fact that she wasnt male in the slightest. Cassiopeia, knowing she wouldnt be able to fool him using mon methods, had devised a ridiculous scheme that would invite ruin upon her own Kingdom, all so that she could feel personal vindication and proim herself as the most beautiful woman in the Kingdom... The rest of the story was much like what was discovered in Lokis investigation, with the added fact that Cassiopeia had tried to spin things by iming that she had only said that Asfi was more beautiful than Poseidons concubines after her daughter had made the im herself. She tried to make Asfi out to be a vain girl who prided herself as being superior to other people because of her intelligence and looks. She imed that the only reason she had made such a public announcement of her daughters foolish words was to show thetter that the people wouldnt be fooled by her ridiculous im. With this as her justification for why she wouldnt apologize,ying the me on Asfi to pay for her mistakes, Cassiopeia had openly endeavored to increase the pressure on her husband to dispose of their daughter... When he heard the full story, Vahn felt like an endless icy abyss had taken root in his mind and, if not for the fact he promised to let Asfi seek a reckoning for herself, he would have gone to the Aethiopian Kingdom to immediately expose the truth of the matter. He couldnt believe that a mother would be so cruel to her own flesh and blood and if Asfi wasnt under a vow thatpelled her to speak the truth, Vahn didnt think he would ever believe such a story. The indignation on Asfis face also emphasized the fact that she had been grievously wronged and, now that they were bound to each other, Vahn would see to it that she had her vengeance in the future. Cassiopeia would face justice and, though he wouldnt pass it himself, he wouldnt mind dragging the vain woman out by her hair in public so that Asfi could deal with her mother personally... Seeing how angry Vahn was getting on her behalf, Asfi produced a rare smile and said, "In truth, I had never expected to meet anyone that would be able to help my dream be a reality. Im d to have met you, Vahn...truly...thank you." If not for the fact they were separated by her desk, Asfi felt like she would have liked to embrace the boy who had just be her husband. She didnt really know how to express herself properly, especially after her own mother had tried to kill her, but she swore to do her best to at least show Vahn a little of her gratitude. Hearing Asfis words, Vahn took a deep breath to calm himself and, taking a few minutes to conduct the official transaction, became the Owner of the Hermes Familia. It cost him a little over four-billion Valis, but that was only around a third of his expendable ie. His actual finances were far greater than what he kept within his Inventory, as the Alliance actually had a treasury that easily ounted for assets in the trillions of Valis. Though he couldnt exactly liquidate everything himself, the decisions he made could dictate how the Alliance allocated arge portion of its funds with a few simple words. Once all the contracts were signed, Vahn was feeling a little yful and wanted to lighten the mood a bit so he suddenly said, "Just this once, why dont you give me a quick pirouette so I can get a good look at you~." To apany his words, Vahn sent a wink towards Asfi who, with a slightly fl.u.s.tered face, immediately spun around with surprising finesse. Since she had taken years of ballroom dance lessons, Asfis pirouette was executed wlessly and Vahn couldnt help but swallow a little awkwardly when he saw the contents of her skirt. Even though he hadnt looked directly, it was almost impossible for such things to escape his sight since they would be imprinted in his head perfectly... Asfi, seeing Vahns stupified expression, covered the front of her skirt in a sheepish manner and asked, "Did you see...?" in a somewhat icy tone. Vahn felt a little guilty for his prank but still nodded his head in the most casual manner he could manage, saying, "They suit you...very mature." Hearing this, Asfi took in a deep breath with clear frustration on her face and, just as Vahn thought she was going to contradict herself and start yelling at him, he nearly fell t on his butt when she instead lifted her skirt, saying, "If you want to look, then just look...!" As ifpelled to do just that, Vahn let his eyes wander to the pale bluece panties Asfi was wearing, tied together by a string that looked like it would fall apart with just a light tug... Pulling his eyes away from the tantalizing sight, Vahn rubbed the back of his head and said, "You can lower your skirt now...thanks for the treat...?" Though he wanted to apologize for making her do something that was obviously embarrassing for her, Vahn felt like Asfi would me him even more if he did. Instead, he chose to do the opposite to see if it had a better effect and, to his pleasant surprise, Asfi nodded her head in a curt manner and said, "Youre wee." It was this small action that showcased that, not only did she have to listen to him if he gave her an order, but Asfi was perfectly willing to do more as a result of the vows they had shared. She took her promises very seriously and, after already saying he could do whatever he wanted, Asfi would rather he be direct than roundabout on the matter... Understanding that the other members of the Hermes Familia might also have simr mentalities, as they would undoubtedly try to appeal to him in their own way, Vahn felt a slight headacheing. Heforted his mind by reminding himself that he now had a cool beauty, who was also a Princess, as his fourth bride. Though he had already married one princess with simr features, Asfi was a unique beauty that had quite a few distinct features that set her apart from Riveria. Not only did she have umon aqua-blue hair, but she also had clear cyan-blue eyes, fair skin, a rather shapely figure, and a pair of white-rimmed sses that made her appear even more intelligent. Seeing Vahn appraise her, Asfi felt a little fl.u.s.tered but, instead of shying away from his gaze, puffed out her chest slightly and nearly turned around so he could view her backside before he held up his hand and said, "I appreciate your willingness...haaa..." Vahn realized he would need to control himself around Asfi as, at least for the time being, she seemed a little too willing to try and appeal to him. He didnt know that, as a result of her upbringing, the grievances she had suffered, and the constant stress of having to deal with Hermes teasing, Asfi wasnt that ustomed to directly appealing to men. The only thing she could think of was to openly show that she was willing to do whatever was necessary, even though it made her heart race like she was staring down the maw of a dragon just as it was about to breathe fire... After cing all of the duplicate contracts into a safe that only Hermes and she would be able to open, though Vahn could now tell her to open in for him, the two made their way to therge gathering hall located just under the first floor of the Travelers Inn. With the exception of a few members who were out on missions, and Hermes himself, Pot and Elilly had gathered everyone together to announce the big news. Other than when the Guild wanted to conduct special missions in the past, nobody had ever purchased the entire Familia before so it was pretty big news, especially for the women in the Familia. As Hermes was considered to be a renown womanizer, a total of 82 of the 117 members of the Familia were females of various different races. Because of their circ.u.mstances, they believe they might have a chance at getting in Vahns good books and, instead of just a year of service, there was a chance they could win in life and be one of the various girls within the Hearth Manor. Many of them were carefree girls who were hopelessly drawn to gambling, as a result of trying to buy their freedom, so there were quite a few of them that wanted to go all in during the next year... Of course, not all of the girls were thinking along these lines and there were a few, who had pushed the price of their services into an extreme range, who were currently very nervous. Everyone was fully aware of the fact that, even if Vahn suddenly ordered them to choke themselves to death, they would bepelled to do so regardless of their thoughts on the matter. By that same logic, if he suddenly ordered every woman in the room to strip down and line themselves up, the girls who had done their best to hold onto their v.i.r.g.i.nity would undoubtedly have to give it up to their new Owner... One such girl, the leader of the Rearguard Supporter group, a young Human named Nelly, had a sad look in her eyes. She had been in the Hermes Familia since she was eight years old and, being seventeen currently, she was only a few months away from being able to end her contract. Though she would be saddled with arge debt, Nelly didnt mind working hard to make the payments since she would still be able to live the way she chose. For thest nine years, she had done her best to avoid having to do any shameful acts and had tried to avoid drawing attention to herself. Now, depending on the whims of a boy she actually respected in the past, she would have no choice but to swallow her tears if he asked her to do shameful acts. One thing that wasnt discussed openly was the fact that, if the person who purchased them decided to work them, it wasnt impossible for them to end up in a brothel or servicing the friends and clients of their Owners. Just imagining this made Nelly feel like her heart was going to break...at least until she saw the object of her fear enter the room, carrying with him a warm aura and disying a smile that felt like he could purify all the negativity in her heart... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Cassiopeia is a cuuuuuuuuuunt,Asfi is kind of cute...,Die Riajuu~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 797 - Clarification

Chapter 797 - rification

Seeing the gathered members of the Hermes Familia, many of which looked like they were immediately about to jump out and begin questioning him, Vahn chose to make things clear by holding up his hand and saying, "Please, remain quiet for the time being and everything will be exined shortly..." With these words, the group suddenly found themselves unable to say anything and, with a few exceptions, most of those gathered realized that Vahn had already finalized the contracts. From this point, until the duration of a year hade to an end, this boy before them now controlled their life and death... Though he had experience with such a phenomenon because of his ability to subordinate others, Vahn was still slightly awed by how a few words of his had silenced the entire room. He was even tempted, with arge number of girls present, to make them perform a pirouette together, just to see what it would look like. Fortunately, the more than twenty other males kept him from doing anything he might regretter so Vahn casually smiled towards them, confusing them greatly. When he saw one of them have an aura that red up with pink, Vahn felt his brain dull slightly so he turned to address therger group, saying, "As Pot and Elilly have likely already informed you, I have just purchased the entire Hermes Familia for the next year..." Vahn left out the fact that he had purchased theplete contracts of some of them, but that was something he could bring upter on when he had a clear n to resolve their matters. There were many amongst those gathered before him that he took a great deal of pity on and, though he couldnt personally liberate all of them, he would do his best to at least prepare them to purchase their own freedom in the future. For the time being, their services were required by the Alliance and, by the time his ownership wasing to an end, Vahn would outright give them the money to buy their freedom, if they desired it. The only reason he chose not to was that their contracts actually made them unable to ept bribes, gifts, or take out loans in order to purchase their freedom. There was nothing that prevented him from giving them a bonus while they were in his employ, however, so Vahn intended to exploit that little loophole for those that genuinely sought a better life for themselves... Since he had everyones attention, Vahn decided to use this moment to rify some things and, seeing the fervent look some of the girls were giving him, it was better he get it out of the way now. Though there were undoubtedly a few girls he was interested in, a part of him had alreadye to rely on Lili for such things and he would try to avoid a situation where he felt guilted into allowing them to position themselves at his side. If they wanted to be someone like Aisha, who was content only receiving his affections while leading her own life, that was one thing. He just wanted to avoid having numerous girls with a lot of emotional baggage entering into the Manor, especially since there were so many children running about, with even more on the way... Though it made him feel a little guilty to see them almost immediately be mncholic, Vahn still hardened his heart and exined, "So as not to mislead any of you, know that it isnt my intention to have you do anything that wouldpromise your integrity, demean, shame, or defame you. It is entirely my intention to have you work in the capacity of your specialties, not exploit you for my own needs and whims. Though I cannot deny that there are those among you that I may favor in the future, I will always act in consideration of your character and background. By the time this yeares to an end, it is my intention to reward those who have worked hard with the freedom they desire...to this, I will solemnly swear, lest my blessing bes a curse and my power be stripped from my body...!" With his final words, golden chains emerged from the void and, for what felt like the hundredth time, Vahn had a vow imprinted on the surface of his soul. He knew he could void the vows if he truly wanted, as there was nothing within the records that could influence his soul directly, but that wasnt something he was willing to do. It might be something he exploits to get an advantage against his enemies in the future, but Vahn didnt want to be someone associated with breaking his promises, especially if he had treated them seriously enough to make a vow. If not for the fact they were currently unable to speak, as Vahn had asked them to be quiet, many of the members of the Hermes Familia would have had a lot to say. Even so, there were a few that weremunicating with small hand signs and signals, some keying in on the fact that Vahn had effectively admitted there were some in their ranks he might favor in the future. Though their freedom was a tantalizing prospect, many of the members of the Hermes Familia were actually satisfied with the rtive freedom they already had. With few exceptions, they all had outgoing personalities, loved to gamble, and enjoyed living their lives to the fullest when possible. Though they certainly had to do some disreputable acts, it was still better than being an actual ve or p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e. If they could manage to leave an impression on Vahn, someone who could just waltz in and purchase their entire Familia on a whim, they believed they would be able to live an unrestrained lifestyle in the future. It didnt really have to be said that Vahn was a handsome boy, but he was also the representative of the most powerful force in the world while also possessing the strongest individual might within the City. He was a jackpot for any sensible woman who desired more out of life than the lot they had been given, especially those that had been born as expendable ves... Vahn was gauging the reactions of every member and made a mental note of who he would have to watch out for in the future. Though it was almost impossible to avoid them outright, as his petting habit had developed almost to the point ofpulsion, but he could avoid any serious developments. An easy way was to simply guilt himself into remembering girls like Sylphia, Tina, and, to a lesser extent, girls like Rufina and, to a much lesser extent, Shakti. Though she would probably try to beat him to a pulp if she learned about it, Vahn decided to use Shakti as a shield against girls he didnt directly take an interest in...(A/N: Wow, rude...) While looking around, Vahn also set eyes on the people he was somewhat interested in and wanted to help out over the next year. There were Reid and Tallow, the Chienthrope and Pallum duo he had met in the past. Though they had caused a few problems for him, they were also victims of a rather traumatic event. Since he had children of his own, even though Tallow wasnt a child, Vahn had a soft spot for Pallums. He could still remember her tear-stained face as she desperately tried to protect Reid, even when she was almostpletely n.a.k.e.d... Other than the duo he had already met, Vahn would help Elilly ovee her self-conscious mentality, as it was somewhat cruel that she was judged for something she had no control over. Her liberation use was also something he could resolve rtively easily, as it pertained to one of the well-known ve breeders back in the Iron Hills. Vahn would seek a reckoning from them in the future and, as long as the man was still alive, he didnt mind leaving the cur for Elilly to deal with... As for her counterpart, not that they were actually a duo, Vahn decided he would help Pot buy her freedom in the future. He couldnt really give her a bunch of children, as he already had more than his fair share of problems dealing with his own Pallum lover, but it wouldnt be difficult to potentially find her a spouse. Since her brother, Pock, aspired to be strong like Finn, and they would both be acting within the scope of the Loki Familia in the future, Vahn figured Finn might actually take a liking to her personally. Finn now had five children of his own, even though he had only gotten two of his lovers pregnant, but it wasnt as though he was too old to add more girls to the rather fierce group surrounding him. As long as they took a liking to Pot, it ultimately may not even be up to Finn if he wanted to ept her... Other persons of interest were another Pallum, Meryl Tear, an adorable girl with fluffy purple hair, blue eyes, and clothes that identified her as a rare Pallum Mage. There was also her mute protector, a man by the name of Dodon who had been tortured and exiled by his tribe, now wearing clothes thatpletely covered his body. His liberation use, instead of revenge against his tribe, was actually to free Meryl by making her own dreame true. Since she had a rare talent as a Mage, it was her dream to be someone like Riveria, who could inspire her entire race to great aspirations... Wrapping up the people he was interested in, though almost everyone before him had troubled pasts that qualified them for happier lives, was a peculiar Chienthrope named Lulune Louie. She was the first Chienthrope Vahn had ever seen who had light brown earsing out of the side of her head instead of the top. Though this alone wasnt that peculiar, it was the fact that her shaggy hair was ck, contrasting the color of her earspletely. At the same time, she had bronzed skin, golden eyes, and was garbed in the attire of a Thief with red shorts with, matching red boots, a red jacket, and a crimson scarf. Completing her outfit, she also wore ck gloves, a ck belt and a ck shirt beneath her jacket. All of these things, including her long and shaggy brown tail, were enough to make her stand out greatly. However, the thing that truly caught Vahns attention, though her file didnt mention anything about it, was the fact that Lulune was a demigoddess... Seeing Vahn looking towards her, Lulune felt like an electrical current ran through her body, causing her tail and ears to perk up as she tried to hide behind the nearby Dodon. She didnt mind if Vahn wanted to do anything to her, in fact, she was somewhat hopeful for the chance. However, something about his gaze made her heart flutter in a different way than she expected, almost like he had suddenly be very interested in her all of a sudden. She hoped that, at the very least, he didnt want to make her do something embarrassing in front of everyone else...! Noticing Lulunes strange reaction, Vahn resisted the urge to produce a wry smile and said, "I can assure you that you wont be forced to do anything too dangerous, but know that you also will be at the behest of Loki for the next year. I paid twice the amount for joint-ownership and she will be the person directing you in most circ.u.mstances. At the same time, however, both of us will be working to help fulfill your liberation uses so please dont mistake the situation and think Im trying to abandon any of you. As Im sure many of you are aware, Im proactively trying to avoid a situation where I arbitrarily ept women into my life, even if many of you are very beautiful. Please, consider your happiness in a setting that doesnt include trying to use the Alliance as a means to elevate your status and give you an easy life. Just like the girls that currently reside in the Manor, you need to be willing to work hard for your dreams if you want to be happy. Even the youngest person in the Manor, Tina, only thirteen years old, has managed to reach Level 5...please keep that in mind..." Since they couldnt disclose the information he releases to them, Vahn didnt mind elevating Tinas status a bit while also making his point clear to everyone gathered. As expected, his words shocked most of the Hermes Familia members to the core, including Asfi herself. She was only around the middle of Level 4, even though she was twenty-two, so it was a big impact to hear that a thirteen-year-old girl was Level 5. Though it wasnt unheard of, as Tiona, Tione, and Ais had all achieved the feat, they were considered exceptions, not the standard... Pot, having previously associated with Vahn, had enough confidence to raise her hand like a child wanting to ask a question. Vahn nodded toward her, allowing her to excitedly ask, "This Tina girl, what race is she? Will you help us be stronger too~!?" Vahn furrowed his brows slightly when he heard Pot ask about Tinas race but, considering that she was a Pallum, it wasnt that surprising that she was curious. Without concealing the matter, Vahn clearly stated, "Tina is a Cat Person who started training around two years ago. Like the other girls in the Manor, she has worked hard to be strong in an incredibly short period of time. As for each of you, it will ultimately depend on the efforts you make, your character, and the level of trust I can confidently ce in you. By the end of this year, the majority of you will likely have earned your freedom, but only a handful of you would be privy to extra benefits within the Alliance. I have always tried to reward hard work and merits directly. Dont expect me to simply help you increase your power if you intend to use it to exploit others or selfishly pursue your own interests..." Pulling out a scroll, Vahn tossed it to the surprised Elilly and said, "Since Ive already seen that Elillys character ismendable, I have no problem giving her a reward that she would greatly appreciate. That scroll details a special technique that, if you practice seriously, will allow you to slowly shape your body however you like. Even if you wanted to be the size of a Pallum, though it would take several years of effort, it wouldnt be impossible." Though she had been confused at why Vahn would suddenly give her a scroll, Elillys eyes became rounded like saucers when she heard his exnation. The scroll in her hands suddenly felt like it was made of fragile ss that also weighed a thousand kilograms... Seeing how happy Elilly was after her shock had faded, Vahn produced a genuine smile and exined, "Its actually thanks to Elilly that I had decided to purchase the Hermes Familia today. If possible, please extend your kindness and gratitude towards her in the future. At the same time, you can bear witness to her transformation and decide for yourselves what kind of future you want to pursue. Those that are willing to work hard, I promise that you will have my support, even after you have earned your freedom. The Alliance could always benefit from having capable people within its ranks and, even if you dont wish to join a Familia, there are a variety of positions within the Civilian Sector that you could fill." Elilly felt like Vahn was trying to give her a heart attack, saying and doing so many surprising things that impacted her heart and mind like a hammer. She even began to wonder if, by some strange machination of fate, Vahn hade to like her. Though it didnt seem possible, the kind smile he showed,bined with his supportive words and gestures, made Elilly suddenly feel like a bashful maiden once again. She was one of the older members of the Hermes Familia, with no real intention of ever leaving it in the future, but that might very well change now. Even if he didnt currently like her, Elilly felt like the scroll in her hands could be the key to unlocking Vahns heart and finding a ce for herself within... Watching Elillys aura suddenly re up, as a resolute light began burning in her eyes, Vahn felt a cold sweat on his back but didnt break his smile. Instead, he considered if there was anything else he needed to say right now and, believing he had said more than enough for them to mull over for the rest of the day, decided to wrap things up by saying, "For now, dont take any missions and just talk amongst yourselves about these new developments. Try to contact those that are currently on missions and inform them of the changes and Ill try to give you a more concrete idea of what you should expect in a few days. The Travelers Inn is included in the provisions for purchasing the Familia, so you can stay here for the time being. Loki may stop by to discuss things with you and, unless you feel as though your life is maliciously endangered by her orders, you will listen to her." With his final words, Vahn dismissed everyone but, before she could go too far, he called out to Lulune, causing the girls tail and ears to go rigid. Though this type of action was very adorable, to the point he had an urge to pet her into oblivion, Vahn controlled himself and went into a side room with the nervous Chienthrope and Asfi. The moment he closed the door behind them, Vahn was surprised when Lulune suddenly said, "I never thought I would ever have to do it with the Captain in the same room...haaaa, today is such a strange day!" Before her words had even finished, Lulune had deftly removed her red jacket and had started to lift her ck shirt, which had only covered the upper half of her torso. Like many of the Beast People he had met, Lulune wore a shirt that exposed her stomach and her shorts werent much longer than the length of a hand. This not only made it easy for her to move around, but the clothes themselves could be removed in a very short period of time. As a result, Lulune had already lifted her shirt, revealing the fact that she hadnt even been wearing a bra. Though he was briefly distracted by her slightly pale pink rosebuds, which stood out against the backdrop of her bronzed skin, Vahn quickly said, "Lulune, that isnt why I called you into this room. Please, wear your..." Just as Vahn was going to tell Lulune to wear her clothing, he remembered that he did actually want to check her Status Board. As a demigoddess, she should have at least three Innates and he was more than a little curious to see what they were. This hesitation resulted in the strange situation where Lulune, with her arms above her head in mid-motion of removing her shirt, was staring at him with a confused expression. Resisting the urge to sight, Vahn rified, "You can remove your shirt, but please dont misunderstand that Im intending to do anything uncouth towards you. I actually have the ability to check the Status of others and, though you may not be aware of it yourself, there are a few unique things about your heritage that I can confirm by checking your status. When Im finished, you can put your clothes back on without worrying that Im going to ask you to do anything selfishly..." While he was speaking, Lulune had already finished removing her shirt and, once he was done, immediately said, "Youre too serious, Vahn. If you want to f.u.c.k, I dont really mind it, you know? You seem like a good guy, much better than some of the ones Ive met. You dont need to make excuses if you want to see my body." As if to emphasize this, Lulune brought her arms together and squeezed her almost nonexistent b.r.e.a.s.ts together. She didnt seem to believe his words at all and, as he hadnt formed them as an order, Lulune genuinely believed he was just p.u.s.s.yfooting around the matter. Realizing this, Vahn released a genuine sigh this time and said, "Asfi, pull over a chair for Lulune to sit down on. Lulune, turn around with your back facing me so I can check your Status. For the time being, please remain quiet and see for yourself the truth of the situation." Unable to refuse his words, Lulune remained quiet and sat down in the chair that Asfi had provided. She felt a little awkward and hoped she didnt offend him, especially when a magical light shone from her backside as Vahn traced his finger along her spine, sending a shiver through her body at the same time. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: Lulune Louie Age: 18 Race: Chienthrope, God(sealed) Level: 3 POW: E472 END: D529 DEX: C644 AGI: C637 MAG: H148 Skills: [Thief Gods Blessing:Innate:H], [Pickpocket:A], [Featherfoot:B], [Silent Strike:B], [Double Thrust:D] Magic: [Reapers Death Gaze:Innate:(sealed)], [Red Owl:F] Development Abilities: [Noctournes Avatar:Innate:(sealed)], [Abnormal Resistance:C], [Escape:D] [Silent Strike] Rank: B Use: Allows the user to strike without generating any discernable sounds. [Double Thrust] Rank:D Use: Allows the user to issue forth two strikes in a very short period of time. [Red Owl] Rank: F Use: Controls red shifting to not only obscure the user but make it difficult for opponents to discern distance and attack trajectories. Chant: Bloody Baron~! [Escape] Rank:D Use: Allows the user to greatly increase their speed when running away from danger. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Everyone wants to hit the Jackpot (O,...,O)~!,Dodon, stay strong friend...,Lulune is a bit of a ditz...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 798 - Heartbreak

Chapter 798 - Heartbreak

Upon seeing Lulunes Status Board, Vahn referenced her file in his mind and began looking over her background again. Unlike many of the members of the Hermes Familia, Lulune had never been a ve. She had apparently joined the Hermes Familia after the passing of her mother and Hermes had picked her up after debt collectors came to try and enve her to pay off her mothers debts. As a result, Lulune ended up joining the Hermes Familia but, given what he knew of Hermes, and what he could ascertain from Lulunes Status, Vahn knew things werent nearly as simple as they seemed... There were only a few gods with a divinity rted to Thievery and, given the circ.u.mstances, the only person that could have been Lulunes father...was Hermes himself. Though it was possible he was making a misunderstanding, the fact that Lulune was one of the girls with the highest buying prices, Vahn felt Hermes had to know of her heritage. He might not be able to see all of her Innates, as many things were hidden from even the eyes of gods, but the fact she had such a high valuation must have had a reason. The thing that bothered him the most was the fact that Lulunes services werent particrly expensive, meaning that she would have had to work hard on missions and selling herself in order to .u.mte the ridiculous 700MV to purchase her freedom... Seeing Vahn stare at Lulunes back with a face of trepidation, even though he was doing his best to hide it, Asfi was curious about what he had discerned. She had known Lulune ever since thetter was a young girl of only twelve and, to Asfis knowledge, there wasnt anything particrly unique about her. Though she was a gifted thief, Lulune was also an airhead who could be very clumsy at times, making it difficult to entrust her with missions that required tact and finesse. In fact, she was so ditzy at times that, even though she was Level 3, Lulune had never been entrusted with an executive position and many of the other members resented the fact they had to clean up her messes on asion... The only peculiarity Asfi could think of was the fact that Lulune had a very high valuation from Hermes and, as a result of her nature and the fact most people refused to team up with her, Lulune had to work much harder than most of their members. Unfortunately, as many of her missions ended in failure, the only reliable means for her to .u.mte ie was to offer her services at rtively low prices. This had also caused more than a few problems though, as Lulune would often use her services as a pretense to scout out marks and then rob themter. As a result, other than a few clients she couldnt afford to offend, quite literally, Lulunes struggles in the Familia had almost reached a legendary status... Suddenly, against the expectations of both Asfi and Lulune, Vahn asked in a somber tone, "Tell me...does Hermes ever purchase the services provided by Familia members...?" Though he knew this was undoubtedly the case, Vahn wanted to have a leading question before he asked Lulune what he actually wanted to know. She seemingly didnt think anything of it and immediately nodded her head and said, "Yes, Hermes-sama has a few girls that he likes within the Familia. He also tries to help out anyone who is hurting for money and will often purchase their services before they try to lower their prices." The only thing really going through Lulunes mind right now was how long she was going to have to sit in this chair with her top removed, especially since Vahn said he wasnt going to do anything... After clenching his teeth lightly, something he noticed Asfi had taken note of, Vahn sent her a warning look to keep silent before asking, "Has Hermes ever propositioned your services, Lulune?" This time, Lulunes shoulders slumped slightly and she released an exasperated sigh before saying, "I think Hermes-sama is actually bullying me. Though he says flirtatious shit all the time, he never follows through with anything and berates me instead! Its super f.u.c.k.i.n.g frustrating you know~!? Why doesnt he give the other girls shit for reducing their prices to make ends meet? Its not like I have any other f.u.c.k.i.n.g choice. Hell, I have even had to practically beg members of my own Familia for money at times, did you know that? Have you ever tried borrowing money from a bunch of money grubbers before? Hahahahaha~" When she first started speaking, Vahn felt like he might have to track down Hermes and give the errant god a piece of his mind. However, listening to the rest of Lulunesining, it was apparent that Hermes actually gave her slightly preferential treatment and, as a result of the fair contract he gave out to everyone, he was powerless to stop this potential daughter of his to ruin herself. Vahn felt that, if they were truly rted to each other, Hermes could have just raised her as his daughter openly and avoided all these issues. Unfortunately, likely as a result of his Divinity and his nature in general, it seemed that Hermes had put himself in a position where he had to watch his own progeny... Unable toplete the thought, Vahn suddenly felt a bit of pain in his chest just imagining how he would feel if his own daughter developed such a nature. For some reason, Vana crossed his mind for a brief moment and Vahn had to shake the image from his mind before saying, "You can put your clothes back on. Ive learned what I wanted to see..." To this, Lulune leaned back, exposing herself and staring up at him as she said, "Are you sure? You know, now that you own me, I dont mind if you want to do something. Unless..." Suddenly, Lulunes tail and ears perked up before immediately drooping sadly as she muttered, "Dont tell me you think Im not good enough...? You know, Im a Chienthrope so I have a little confidence..." Vahn pinched the bridge of his nose and said in a tired voice, "Put on your clothes, Lulune..." This time, Lulunes shoulders drooped as well before she climbed off the chair and began getting dressed. Instead of trying to appeal to him again, she kept her back facing Vahn and avoided direct eye contact with a sad expression on her face. As for Vahn, his brow had started to twitch since, even though Lulune looked very distraught, her aura had threads of pink in it and she kept ncing at him periodically. Eventually, she seemed to realize she had been seen through and just released a sigh before quickly putting on her clothes and muttering, "Damn, I thought there was at least a chance...haaaa...unlucky." When she was fully dressed, Lulune looked towards Asfi and spontaneously asked, "If Vahn purchased you, does that mean youre finally going to lose your v.i.r.g.i.nity? Hermes-sama is going to be super butthurt that his darling Asfi got bought up by another person~." To this, Asfis eyes became sharp as she coldly stated, "Vahn has purchased my contractpletely so, while I may act in the capacity of the Hermes Familia Captain, I am no longer bound to Hermes-sama. The moment I am no longer required to help manage the affairs of the Familia, I will be expatriating myself and joining a different Familia. You may concern yourself with Hermes-samas feelings on the matter, but I no longer have any interest in his shameless antics..." Lulune seemed genuinely surprised by Asfis words, her tail bing ramrod straight as she brought her hand over her mouth in shock. From the perspective of everyone in the Hermes Familia, Asfi had always been a very dedicated and loyal follower of Hermes. In fact, it was even rumored that Asfi had a permanant contract with their god and many assumed the two had been bumping bodies in secret. Now that Asfi was clearly showing that her fondness for Hermes was almost nonexistent, Lulune couldnt quite believe it so she looked towards Vahn with an incredulous expression and asked, "Is this the kind of y you like? I didnt think you were the type that got his rocks by making girls badmouth other people...hnnn..." Appearing to be deep in thought, Lulune brought her index finger to her chin but, before she could say anything else without thinking, Vahn raised his hand and said, "Lulune...I understand that you are trying to get some advantages in this situation, but you need to stop. Also, there are some things you should know about your heritage as it will be important for your future growth. Once Im done exining, I will help youe up with a n of action for how you want to live your life in the future. Stop trying to think about how you can take advantage of the situation to try and escape from the troubled existence youve lived till now..." Though she wanted to refute Vahn and say that she didnt really mind her current lifestyle, Lulune wasnt quite sure she would even believe her own words. Sure, she actually enjoyed having a rtively free and unconstrained lifestyle where she could almost do anything she wanted. At the same time, since they were a special existence that worked with the Guild, it made her feel special herself, especially when she was tracking down bad guys...inversely, however, she was worried that the other members of the Familia actually hated her for being clumsy. At the same time, because she failed a lot of her missions, the level of trust she had was rtively low and, unless she epted dangerous missions or sold her body, there were no easy ways to make money. It wasnt all bad, as some of the men she had met with were quite nice, Lulune had burned a lot of those bridges by trying to take advantage of their kindness...in fact, now that she thought about it clearly, Lulune realized her life kind of sucked. Seeing Lulune stay quiet and attentive, Vahn took a breath to calm himself before exining, "This is a secret between the three of us, at least for the time being. Dont go exposing what Im about to reveal to anyone, especially Hermes and the other members of the Hermes Familia..." Since he had worded it in the form of a mand, Vahn knew neither girl could even talk about it if they wanted to now. Making sure to frame his words appropriately, he then continued, saying, "Lulune, though I can only specte as to who your father was, I can state without any doubts that he was a god. In other words, you are a demigoddess, being part god, part Chienthrope." Vahn could see Lulunes hair begin to bristle as her tail and ears began to arc upwards in slow motion. Understanding what she was about to do, he held up his hand and said, "Stay silent." in a quick and curt tone of voice. Lulune, who was just about to scream a very loud Eeeeeeh? suddenly found her voice stuck in her throat, almost as though she was going to choke on her words. Then, just as it felt like her head was going to explode from the pressure, a very warm sensation entered her body and she was able to rx again. Lulune immediately felt like a very pleasant feeling had wrapped her entire body but, just as she was trying to discern the source, it had vanishedpletely, reced by a strange emptiness she hadnt been aware of previously. As he hadnt expected his order to cause Lulune to choke, Vahn had moved his hand slightly and allowed his petting energy to transfer through his domain to help Lulune calm down. Though his maximum range was only around eighteen meters right now, Vahn had found the fact that he could pet someone at a distance to be a very interesting discovery in the past. He liked to use it to tease the girls every now and then, even though they had caught on to his antics very quickly. Still, it was very useful for situations like this as, be they male or female, his petting energy could calm anyone that wasnt antagonistic towards him in an instant. With Lulune now calm, even though she was now giving him a slightly curious and inquisitive look, Vahn exined, "They arent listed in your file, but I have the ability to discern a persons secrets through their Status Board, including any hidden Skills, Magic, or Development Abilities. Though your race is listed as Chientrhope, there is also a hidden race that lists you as a God, even though it is currently sealed. This is the case for all demigods, which is how Im able to discern the fact that you are a god. I was also able to intuit this from seeing the flow of energy in your body, which was one of the reasons I had called out to you to test my theory...do you understand?" Lulune, still unable to talk, nodded her head in affirmation, even though she couldnt quite wrap her head around what Vahn was saying. She found it very difficult to believe that she was actually a demigoddess but, considering that she had never known her father, and that her mother refused to tell her, it started to make sense. Now,bined with what Vahn was saying earlier, Lulune felt a small sense of dread rising up in her body as the potential identity of her father crossed her mind. If that was the case...Lulune felt like she might break... Seeing the sudden shift in Lulunes aura, which had started to take on a muted grey and purple, Vahn wasnt sure he should reveal his spection. However, he felt like everyone deserved to know about their past and, even though it might be difficult for her, Vahn believed she would be able to ovee it with enough support. The problem with that was Lulune didnt seem to have too many friends, which meant he would have to introduce her to people that could help her. At the same time, he had the option of helping stabilize her life himself and, considering he was the one to cause the instability, it wasnt exactly beyond his responsibility to do so. He just didnt want to suddenly pull a second girl into his circle on the same day... After considering his options, Vahn internally sighed and reminded himself that he had an entire year, or more, to help Lulune recover and live a happier life. Even if he didnt take her in as a lover, he could still be a friend to the unfortunate demigoddess. In fact, he needed more female friends who he could interact with in a tonic fashion. If all the girls around him ended up as his lovers, it would be very difficult for him to have normal rtionsh.i.p.s in future records. Thus, though he was certain Lulune would probably be an existence like Aisha within his life, Vahn walked over and nted his hand atop her shaggy ck hair and began lightly petting her head. Even without him exining anything, Lulune knew what Vahn wanted to say and it made her heart break in an instant. Her legs suddenly felt like jelly and, if not for the fact she had been told to remain silent earlier, Lulune felt like she would have had to scream out. Instead, feeling theforting from the hand on her head, Lulune gave into the overwhelming emotions and buried her head into Vahns chest and began sobbing. This whole time, she felt like she had been alone in the world and it turned out that her own father had put her into such a terrible situation. All of his refusals suddenly made a lot more sense and, even though she could tell he wanted her to be more considerate of herself, Lulune couldnt help but me Hermes for all of the heartache and negativity she had experienced in life... Asfi also understood the reality of the situation and wondered how she could have been so blind to the truth for such a long time. Though she hadnt truly hated Hermes before, Asfi suddenly felt a great deal of resentment towards him. After all, she knew better than most what it felt like to be betrayed by family, even if her situation was significantly different from Lulunes. She, at the very least, had a father who had cared for her and tried to protect her. He had been the reason she was able to flee on that fateful day, even though it cost him the lives of his most faithful guards, men and women who willingly embraced their deaths to cover for her escape... Vahnforted Lulune until she had stopped crying nearly an hourter, a giant stain of tears and snot left behind where her face had been buried into his chest. She looked apologetic and embarrassed about it but Vahn just waved it away and, causing the two girls eyes to widen, quickly changed into a spare tunic. For a brief moment, they had been able to see his body and, having secretly memorized Vahns scent over thest hour, Lulune felt her heart flutter. She didnt know why, but Vahns hands were veryfortable and, now that she was separated from him, she really wanted him to hold her again... After changing his tunic, Vahn did his best to ignore the two sets of eyes that were perusing his body as he exined, "As I said, you will keep this a secret for the time being...I know this event might be something you struggle to deal with for the rest of your life, Lulune...but, if you never give up, you can ovee this moment. The best thing you can do is try to seek happiness for yourself and be strong enough to take control of your life. By the end of this year, I can guarantee you will be free your contract, even if the burden on your heart remains for a long time...you know, we cant really choose who we are born to and, in some instances, there are people who simply arent suited to be parents. If you talk to Asfi, Im sure you will be able to understand very quickly how truly terrible a persons parent can be. Stay strong, Lulune, and this will just be a minor event in your life, not something that defines how you will live for the rest of your life..." Hearing Vahns words, Lulune nodded her head but, at the same time, she swore in her heart that she would one day make Hermes pay. She hadnt really thought her life was that bad previously but, knowing that her father had been watching her struggle for thest seven years...it was the most heartbreaking thing she had ever experienced. Even now, she could remember the first time someone had purchased her first time, something he had reprimanded her for selling so cheaply but ultimately allowed her to follow through with. At that time, she had been severely indebted to the Familia after having to consume an Elixir to save her life. Since she had no other means to quickly earn money, and had just reached a.d.u.l.thood, it was the only choice Lulune thought she had... Remembering that event, and the rather cruel and greedy man that had bought her, Lulune felt like crying again. Then, just as this thought crossed her mind, the warm hand had returned to her head and, looking up into Vahns eyes, she could seepassion and concern in his vibrant green eyes. Now, seeing his handsome face and the amount of concern he showed her, Lulune actually felt even worse about the decisions she had made in the past. Part of her even med Vahn for not being there for her back then, even though she knew it wasnt fair to me him at all. In fact, he hadnt even been in the City back then and it was ultimately her decision to follow through... This time, instead of bawling her eyes out, Lulune just lowered her head and muttered, "Please, keep petting me for a little while..." She didnt want to make another wet stain on Vahns chest and, more than just sadness, there was a lot of anger within her heart and mind. More than ever before, Lulune had a very powerful urge to just start hitting and breaking things, with Vahns warmth the only thing keeping her fromshing out. At the same time, as her mind slowly calmed down and rxed, Lulune tried to embed Vahns words into her heart. She wanted to work hard to live a happy life, save up a lot of money and, if possible,pletely ruin Hermes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Does this make Hermes a fair god...or a massive cunt...?,All Chientrhopes are good girls (T ^ T)...,A demigod that hates their father and vows revenge...this could be an actual Greek myth xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 799 - Reminder

Chapter 799 - Reminder

After she had calmed down for the second time, Lulune sat down in the nearby chair, kicking her legs out as she inly stated, "Well, this has been a pretty shitty day...still, thanks for telling me, Vahn..." Towards the end of her words, Lulune had muttered something about wanting to punch him and forging him this time, but Vahn pretended not to hear them as he smiled and said, "Youre a strong girl, Lulune. If you use this information to your advantage, you can actually be much stronger..." Passing over the Status Sheet he had produced earlier, Vahn allowed her to peruse her information, causing her to ask, "These letters...are they like the letters in Parameters? Higher is better...?" Asfi was also seeing the Status Sheet created by Vahn for the first time and was quite curious about it herself, turning her attention to Vahn to hear what he had to say. Confirming Lulunes suspicions, Vahn nodded his head and said, "This is one of my secrets, so Ill have the two of you keep it to yourselves. Dont tell anyone any information you acquire from me without my direct consent...well, to exin it simply, I have a version of Read that is much more powerful than most gods. Not only can I interpret the hieroglyphs of a persons Status, but I can glean a lot of extra information that can be very useful for your growth. In normal circ.u.mstances, I would have kept your other hidden skills a secret but...well, I just thought you deserved to know the truth outright." Lulune took a deep breath through her nose and looked like she wanted to say something but ultimately kept silent. Asfi, using this opportunity to her advantage, inclined her head slightly and asked, "Will you check my Status Board as well...?" Though she was a little nervous about removing her armor, as it wasprised of a single piece of multiyered leathers, Asfi was very curious about any secrets her body might possess. Fortunately, Vahn looked over and, seeming to think for a few seconds, eventually nodded his head and said, "Youll have to expose your back...Lulune, let Asfi sit in that chair." Then, making Asfi feel strangely annoyed, Vahn turned his back and seemed to enter into deep thought, clearly waiting for her to remove her armor. Though she was nervous about him seeing her underwear, as she had worn somefortablece garments today, Asfi wished he would at least pretend to show interest toward her. Sheforted her mind by reminding herself that he might be distracted on something happening with his other body and, remembering his earlier words, Asfi didnt think Vahn genuinelycked interest in her. He was probably just trying to be considerate and it was actually she that was acting out of character...especially since there was someone else present... Asfis spection wasnt exactly wrong, as Vahn was currently holding Loki up in a dangerous position as she clung to his neck. They had been going at it for well over an hour at this point and she was being especially greedy today after his earlier slip. She had even teased him by having him pull out [Enkidu] and using the spearhead to trace red marks across her body, even drawing blood once before he dispersed them and started to proactively pacify her... Around a minuteter, as she had several belts, pouches, and magical items to remove, Asfi didnt immediately sit down and instead sent a warning look towards Lulune before saying, "You can look..." Vahns mind came back to reality and, realizing what Asfi was trying to do, a small smile appeared on his lips as he turned around and unhesitantly stared at her figure. She was wearing pale bluece underwear that almost made it seem as though she knew he would being by today. With her fair white skin and her shapely figure, it was pretty difficult to pull his eyes away from the sensitive areas. Asfi was currently twenty-two years old and, instead of a thin and lithe figure like many of the girls he associated with, her figure looked natural and soft. She was still thin, but her h.i.p.s, thighs, and b.r.e.a.s.ts had filled out very well. At a nce, he could tell she was on the upper end of a C-Cup and, though it hadnt been obvious when she was wearing her leather skirt, Asfi had very full thighs and a fleshy buttocks that appeared to have a bit of fat on it. The strings of herce panties cut into her skin slightly and gave Vahn an urge to want to tease her by pinching the small bit of excess flesh that Tsubaki had admonished him about in the past. He didnt understand why girls were sensitive about such things, especially since the appearance of a mature woman was very impactful, especially whenbined with Asfis intelligent look... Though she had intended to show off her body, Asfi suddenly felt very nervous and regretted not going on the diet she had been thinking about a few weeks prior. To pull his eyes away from her bottom, unaware of the fact that Vahn was renown in the Manor for appreciating butts, Asfi crossed her arms and tried to prop up her b.r.e.a.s.ts. She immediately regretted this, however, as, though she managed to get Vahns eyes to focus on her b.r.e.a.s.ts, Lulune suddenly eximed, "Oh, Asfi is pretty sneaky...I didnt think you were the type to appeal in such a direct manner. Wow..." Though she was still moody about the information she had obtain, Lulune was trying to act in an upbeat manner, this time at the expense of her somewhat frigid Captain. Asfi, hearing the remark, furrowed her brows and nearly ordered Lulune to leave the room before remembering she didnt exactly have that authority. Fortunately, Vahn looked over at the troublesome Chienthrope with a stern expression and said, "Asfi is one of the people who can best understand what youre going through, Lulune. You should try to get along with her better...I believe the two of you can be friends." Upon hearing this, Asfi smiled slight and felt a bit of heat touch her cheeks, at least until Lulune brought her hands up to her t chest and muttered, "I guess...anyways, do you like bigger b.r.e.a.s.ts or smaller b.r.e.a.s.ts, Vahn?" Then, before Vahn could even answer, Lulune jumped up to her feet and had stars in her eyes as she asked, "Hey, do you have another one of those scrolls that you gave Elilly!? If it can really change a persons body, doesnt that mean I can use it to increase the size of my tits!?" Hearing her rapid-fire questions, Vahn felt his body tilt slightly as he absentminded said, "When you ask me a question, at least wait until I answer before you ask another one..." At the same time he was saying this, Vahn remembered an incident in the past where many of the girls also wanted to try and learn the scroll. Unfortunately, it really did take a lot of effort and it had been a simpler solution to just develop the nutritional supplements to help bolster their development. He had also carefully exined that he was fond of the girls as they were, culling the dangerous light in some of the girls eyes, especially Tiona and Lili. The former had been humoring the idea of trying to increase her bust size while Lili had wanted to develop her height, something Vahn didnt actually think was a bad idea, even though he exined that she was fine the way she was... Like then, Vahn tried to keep a calm and casual demeanor as he exined, "I have always been of the mind that women, and people in general, are fine the way they are. I have no special preference for bust size and, unless you are genuinely self-conscious about your figure, you shouldnt use such an extreme method. Besides, you already have a very unique appearance, Lulune, and I think you would be a very charming woman if you wanted to be..." Though he had an appreciation for mature woman, especially those with toned butts, Vahn didnt think there was anything wrong with the outgoing and athletic type either. Lulunes figure, though it wascking in the bust department, was actually lean, athletic, and it was obvious at a nce that her butt would be very pleasant to touch. Her long and somewhat shaggy brown tail was also a very unique feature and, if she were to wear lighter clothing, Vahn felt that Lulune would have a very vibrant and youthful appeal... Though she was listening to his words, Lulune took the opportunity when Vahn had finished speaking to immediately say, "You gawked at Asfis b.r.e.a.s.ts, even though she is still wearing a bra. When I waspletely topless, you barely even spared a single nce towards mine...very suspicious..." To this, Vahn once again pinched the bridge of his nose, deciding to be frank as he said, "You cant tell this to anyone, but Asfi and I have a life-bound vow with each other. She is essentially my wife and well likely have a physical rtionship in the near future...though I cant deny that Im somewhat interested in you, Lulune, Id rather us be friends than be lovers. Though Ill help you find the happiness you seek, I cant be the sole provider of happiness for every woman in the world. I can barely manage the rtionsh.i.p.s Im already in so, though I dont mind if you want to spend time with me in the future, I think it would be best if you find someone else to dedicate your heart to. You deserve someone that will be there to support you...someone that treats you like the center of their world...as for me, well, I simply cant do that..." For the first time in her life, Lulune felt like she had lost something before she had even managed to obtain it. There was an aching feeling in her heart and, for the third time today, she felt a very strong urge to cry. However, just as she wanted toin about him being unfair, Lulunes brain keyed in on a few words Vahn had said. Though he had told her that she should find someone else to fall in love with, Lulune noticed he also mentioned that they could spend time together in the future. This was a very vague way of saying things but Lulune felt like she might still have a chance if she managed to soften up Vahn. At the very least, since he imed to be somewhat interested in her, Lulune was confident she could get him to f.u.c.k her, at least once. Then, if she yed her cards right, they could at least be s.e.x friends until she finally finds that person Vahn seemed to believe was out there waiting for her... Seeing the rapid changes in Lulunes aura,bined with the fact her Affection was jumping up and down, Vahn withheld a sigh and wondered what he would do with this peculiar Chienthrope. She had a very simr look in her eyes as Sylfia so Vahn could easily imagine Lulune trying to linger around and appeal to him if she got the chance. Though he could just tell her to stay away, which she would have toply with, Vahn had just turned the girls life upside down and, as he stated previously, he would like to be friends with her. There was a fair chance they might do something more intimate in the future, but Vahn would prefer if she could turn her affections to another person. A small part of him could even imagine Bell making an impact on the girl and, given his character as a hero, there was a good chance they could be happy together... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn felt more than a little like a jerk and wondered what had changed inside of his mind to allow him to be so epting of such a thing. Not only was he understanding of the fact that he might sleep with Lulune in the future, which could easily be considered him taking advantage of her, but he was also hoping she would be someone elses problem. This simultaneously made him feel even less worthy of the affections she was currently directing towards him while also making him feel like he was obligated to make her happy...such contradictory thoughts were the hardest to deal with, making Vahn feel conflicted and guilty about the type of person he had be... Since Asfi had already sat down on the chair, Vahn moved behind her and, though he was tempted to observe her fair backside for a bit, he instead drew a line of blood and got on with things. He was starting to feel like he needed to wrap things up here, arrange for Asfi to demonstrate how she made magic items, and then return to the Manor. At times like this, when he was feeling doubts and didnt know how to deal with them himself, Vahn knew he could rely on the girls. In fact, he was currently having a discussion with Loki while the petite goddess patiently listened to hisints and gave him advice. She essentially repeated the same things he had said himself, being that he cant make everyone happy. However, she also told him that he didnt need to show so much restraint and, because they knew he loved them deeply, most of the girls didnt mind if he had developed a promiscuous behavior... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: Asfi Al Andromeda Age: 22 Race: Human Level: 4 POW: F389 END: G256 DEX: C618 AGI: D539 MAG: I60 Skills: [Analytical Eye:Innate:(sealed)], [Piercing Strike:B], [Homing Throw:B], [Five-Points of Pain:D] Magic: [Kalov Argol:D] Development Abilities: [Makers Intent:Innate:D], [Mystery:A], [Mixing:B], [Metalworking:B], [Throwing:(sealed)], [cksmith:(sealed)] [Piercing Strike] Rank: B Use: Causing a strike to inflict greater damage depending on the defense of the target. Active Trigger [Homing Throw] Rank: B Use: Imbue energy into a thrown weapon and allow it to track a target for short distances. Active Trigger [Five-Points of Pain:D] Rank: D Use: Create a pentagram using projectile weapons that causes debilitating pain to a target if sessfully activated. Active Trigger [Kalov Argol] Rank: D Use: Spews forth a thick and pungent stream of liquid from the mouth that quickly hardens into a calcified mass that causes the target to be immobile and more susceptible to damage. Chant: The errant winemaker creates a stale mockery of extravagance. Let all those who sip from the gold grail suffer. Tear the stomach and taint the body with your foul invitation. Fermentation, Stagnation, Decay, seize mine enemies and allow them to know the Endless Abyss. Fall into despair, Kalov Argol~! [Mystery] Rank: A Use: Allows the user to activate a miracle and create magic items. [Metalworking] Rank: B Use: Allows the user to freely shape metal into the intended form. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Asfis Status allowed Vahn to focus his mind and record the information onto a Status Sheet for her personal perusal. She only had two Innates but the fact she had already awakened one, while also having very developed Development Abilities, showed that Asfi was quite the capable woman. The fact that her [Mystery] was currently A-Rank, even though she was only twenty-two, meant she was actually a prodigy in the field of item creation. Vahn knew this was likely a result of her [Makers Intent], as the name seemed to be directly rted to the creation of items, but that didnt mean Asfi hadnt worked hard. Once he was done looking over her Status, Vahn passed over the Status Sheet to Asfi and casually muttered, "Get dressed..." Asfi, who had just been able to look over her Status, while sitting in nothing but her underwear, immediately stood up with a slightly flushed face and began getting dressed. Because of how he had worded his statement, she couldnt refuse and this made her feel even more embarrassment since she could have gotten dressed of her own volition if she hadnt been distracted. As for Vahn, he was feeling a little tired and, though his mind said it was wrong to tell them what to do, it was the existence of contracts they had signed that gave him that power... Even if he didnt truly treat them as his possessions, everyone in the Hermes Familia, including any members that might join over the next year, were irrefutably his belongings. He could spout all kinds of titudes denying it, but the world itself recognized this as the truth. Though he didnt have any intention of outright exploiting any of them, it was very useful at moments like this when he was feeling mental fatigue. Currently, he didnt even feel like being yful and teasing either of the girls, especially considering the circ.u.mstances of Lulune. She would probably be happy if he teased her a bit, but Vahn was genuinely worried about her mental wellness after the earlier revtions. As if she knew what he was thinking, Lulune furrowed her brows slightly and said, "You know, youre a bit different than I expected, Vahn..." Hearing this, Vahn turned his eyes towards her, a questioning look on his face that urged her to add, "I mean, youre like this amazing and incredible guy that has a ton of power and authority, right? Its just...I mean, its really weird to see you acting so solemnly. Look, youre in a room with two girls that will literally do whatever you say, but youre acting like a victim that doesnt even know if their next meal will evere. Its like...super f.u.c.k.i.n.g weird..." Though she was speaking honestly, Lulune shrunk back a little since she was afraid of offending Vahn with her words. He might never do such a thing but, if Vahn was genuinely annoyed by her words, he could literally order her to kill herself. It was even possible, if her words were constantly grating on him, for Vahn to order her to never speak again. Then, even if she wanted to scream and shout, not even a single syble could escape her lips for the next year. He had absolute authority over them and, though she could tell he was a sensible and thoughtful boy, Lulune was bothered by how Vahn acted like everything happening was troublesome. If he didnt want to get involved with all of this, Vahn could have simply ignored them and moved on with his life... Seeing thebination of fear and concerning from Lulune, Vahn produced a small smile and said, "Im sorry, Lulune, Asfi...honestly, even though people tout me as being something amazing, Im really just..." Even if he wanted to, Vahn couldnt find any words to describe his situation as, no matter how he looked at things, he truly was blessed. In fact, he often felt extremely happy whenever he was just spending time with the girls at the Manor and watching over his children. It was everything he did outside of his home that weighed heavily on his heart, especially the matters of other nations. Sometimes, he felt like it would be so much easier to just stop caring about the rest of the world and just spending his time happily with his loved ones...however, it was that same desire, the desire to protect that happiness he already had, that drove him forward. Vahn genuinely wanted other people to be happy and, in order to facilitate this desire, while also protecting his own happiness, Vahn had to change the world. He didnt want his children to venture out one day and be exposed to all the terrible things the world currently possessed. At the same time, he simply couldnt overlook people who were suffering, especially if they were right in front of him. Yes, these things often caused him a host of problems, mainly because of his own mentality andck of restraint, but they were also the moments he prided himself in when looking back on events. The things he was doing now, though they weighted heavily on his heart and mind, were the exact moments that would shape the world he wanted to see... Realizing this, Vahn began to release a lightheartedugh, suddenly feeling much better about how things were developing. Just as Loki said, he really didnt need to mind such things and, as long as he didnt do anything to truly bring discourse to the Manor, most of the girls wouldnt mind. In fact, other than Terra, Fenrir, and Lefiya, the other girls wouldnt care at all. The only thing that mattered to them was the happiness that already existed in the Manor and, as long as he didnt threaten it directly, they would work with him to make sure it persisted far into the future. Some of them were even more concerned about what would be on the menu for dinner than they were about his rtionsh.i.p.s outside of the Manor... Though Asfi and Lulune were giving him strange looks, Vahn didnt mind it and continued tough until it felt like he had removed all of the negativity that tried to take root inside his heart and mind. When he was done, he looked at the two girls with a smile that grewrger as their blushes deepened. Just as Lulune began to fidget a little, causing a subtle aroma to spread through the room, Vahn chuckled lightly and said, "Youre a good woman, Lulune. You might not realize it yourself, but those words of yours really were what I needed to hear right now. In the future, even if you change everything else, I hope youre able to continue being straightforward and honest. Seriously, it adds to your charm a lot more than you realize..." After dealing a critical blow to Lulune, emphasized by the fact she had plopped onto her butt with a stupified expression, Vahn turned to Asfi and let his expression soften as he said, "Ill say it directly, so youre not always misunderstanding things, Asfi. I think your intelligent look,bined with your mature body...well, it makes you look very s.e.xy? Also, though I can appreciate your shapely b.r.e.a.s.ts, Im actually more interested in your butt...really, though it might make me sound inconsiderate, your mother was right to be envious of your looks. Even though Ill let you deal with her as you please, dont me me if I give her a p or two of my own...hahahaha~." Though she had wanted him to be more honest and direct, Asfi now realized she was wholly unprepared for Vahn actually following through with her intentions. Her face felt like it was set aze and, even though she had already worn her clothing again, Asfi shrunk her body a bit and tried to hide her figure. She was strangely happy that Vahn had called her s.e.xy, something she hadnt remotely expected him to say, but it also made her hyper-aware of her body. Part of her couldnt help but feel as though he was just trying to be nice, even though she could see clear appreciation in his gaze... Seeing Asfis peculiar behavior, Vahns smile softened even further as he reminded himself that this adorable creature in front of him was one of his women. In fact, even Lulune could be one of his women with a simple change in his intentions. He didnt even need to ept her as a lover that resided in the Manor and, as long as he was always open and honest with her, Vahn believed Lulune wouldnt even mind. Ultimately, he couldnt take care of everyone woman and ept them in his heart, but that didnt mean he couldnt show them his favor and help them be stronger people. It was strange to consider, but that was a power he had held for a long time...something the girls in the Manor had reminded him of several times when they saw how much he was restraining himself at the Elven Kingdom. With these thoughts running through his mind, Vahn gestured to Asfi, muttering in a light tone, "Come here, Asfi..." Unable to resist his words, Asfi moved closer to Vahn as her heart began beating like a drum that was on the verge of copse. Then, with that same smile on his face, Vahn said, "This is an order...if I ever do something you dont want me to do, immediately tell me. Dont keep it inside your mind just because youre afraid to offend me...that goes for you as well, Lulune. You dont have to tell me everything, but I want you to be honest with me if I ever do anything you dont want, okay?" In response to his words, Lulune absentmindedly nodded while still sitting on the ground. As for Asfi, she was breathing a little heavily and, after a few seconds of silence, a resolute light emerged in her cyan eyes as she said, "If it is something you want to do...I will ept it, Vahn...I already told you back when we first made our vows...besides...a part of me feels like I need you to show your interest in my body..." Ever since the time they had spent together in the Dungeon, when she had seen Vahn happily interacting with the other girls, Asfi had developed a strange emptiness in her heart. When their Familia had lost the information they had spied from him, Asfi felt like the sky had fallen on her head, especially since she had to ask him to help save herpanions. The year and a half after that had been very difficult for her because she had always been wondering when, or even if, Vahn would finally ask her to make items for him... Hearing Asfis words, Vahn lightly shook his head and mused, "Asfi, youre really adorable, did you know that...?" At the same time, causing Asfis words to catch in her throat, Vahn reached his hands around her body and ced them upon her surprisingly firm buttocks. They were soft, as he had expected from witnessing them previously, but also possessed an unexpected firmness. Perhaps it was because she was constantly creating items, or because she flew around while bncing on her magic sandals, but Asfis butt was surprisingly muscr. Vahn spent about twenty seconds marveling at the sensation before eventually pulling his hands away, smiling radiantly as he said, "Sorry, but I wanted to do that since the first time we met...hahahaha~." Asfi, with a beet red face that made her intellectual look break down, reced by the charming and bashful look of a maiden, returned a small smile to him as she shrunk away and said, "Idiot...you made me worry all this time...haaaa..." Though Vahns actions had been a surprise to her, Asfi actually felt a great deal of relief since she had been worrying about it more than shed like to admit. However, just as she was about to say he could continue, Asfi nearly lost her bnce when Lulune suddenly said, "Ah, the Captain is a lucky girl. You know, you can touch my butt if you want, Vahn. I might not have as much fat as the Captain, but Im pretty confident in its feel, yknow?" (A/N: I know there are a few people that are annoyed by how cyclic Vahns thought process is, but its actually a very realistic representation of how people think. If you know anyone that is prone to getting stressed out when there is a lot going on, Vahns actions are actually very easy to understand. Though he had matured a great deal since the beginning, the number of things he gets involved with would be a burden most people couldnt even hope to even empathize with. At the same time, the understanding of the girls in his life actually enables his bad habit. The fact he stresses out solely because he cares about the girls, even though they dont really care if he cuts loose a bit, actually serves to humanize Vahn. He genuinely does love the girls within the Manor, to the point he would probably tear down Heaven if it meant they would be happy. At the same time, as a result of their expectations and understanding, Vahn has been enabled to be a very abnormal existence without any real restraints. The only thing that holds him back at this point is Vahn himself, something he is constantly being reminded of xD...By the way, if not for the fact I had set up things in this way from the start, in an effort to try and bnce Vahns harem, I never would have allowed things like this to happen. Seriously, I understand better than anyone that Vahn is involved with too many women but, considering how his character has developed, I would be misrepresenting him but forcing him to suddenly change. The way the character in the Manor have developed would also be set aside for my own convenience, which is something Im not willing to do. Because of this, I will endeavor to ensure that Vahn wont establish many, if any, permanant rtionsh.i.p.s in other records. Though he may be involved with some girls, as Im sure people would like to see something like VahnxSaber, or something simr, they wont be on the same level as his involvement with girls in Danmachi.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn isnt being honest with himself...,Lulune would make a good service dog...?,Author-sama making excuses again...Nani!?...seriously though, I will never make arge harem in a novel ever again...Im just all in at this point...haaaa...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 800 - Mystery

Chapter 800 - Mystery

After finally settling things within the Travelers Inn, Vahn was now flying through the sky with Asfi using her [Tria] to keep pace. Though he did end up coping a feel of Lulunes butt, which was springy and tender, Vahn couldnt exactly stay there all day and keep messing around. The original purpose of his visit was to follow-up with Asfi and have her develop some magic items for him. He already had a few ideas in mind for things she could make and, considering he actually owned her now, there were no longer any restrictions on the total amount. So long as he provided her with ample materials, Asfi could theoretically make anything his imagination coulde up with. From the information Vahn had been able to gather on the [Mystery] Development Ability, it was purported able to create miracles, which seemed to match the description provided by the system as well. As for what constituted a miracle, it was any phenomenon that was naturally urring in the world, but represented through a function that had nothing to do with the original phenomenon. An example that was quite popr, even though the items were very expensive, was the concept of creating magic items to allow flight. Within the natural world, there were numerous creatures that could fly and, by believing in that phenomenon and superimposing onto an item, you were able to create a miracle that allowed the item to reflect the initial phenomenon. Asfis [Tria] worked with this same concept and, though they had the basic form of sandals, she could use them to produce four wings out of thin air, allowing her to fly around the same speed she could run. As for other magic items she made use of, Asfis dagger was able to produce magical fire, her sses enabled her to see the flow of mana, her leather armor could be as hard as metal, and her cloak was able to obscure the detection abilities of others. All of these properties were things that existed naturally and, though it was possible to create simr effects with his [Master Smith], the fact that magic items could be assigned almost any effect was fundamentally different than the abilities obtained while cksmithing. Afternding in the Manors courtyard, Vahn led the way while Asfi, who had been following behind, suddenly came to a stop. Even without looking at her, Vahn had detected her hesitation and, without breaking step, said, "Come along, Asfi. You cant lecture me about hesitating if youre going to act like this...." Then,ing to a stop at the door, Vahn turned around and smiled before adding, "Besides, it is a littlete to start worrying about things you cant really do much to influence. From the moment we shared vows, this ce became your home...besides, most of the things youre worrying over dont have much to do with the reality of the situation...well, youll understand soon enough." From the moment he had said e along, Asfi had already started walking toward the door, no longer able to stop her own feet from moving forward. Vahns words helped her calm down a little, though not to the extent that she didnt feel a great amount of trepidation about meeting the other girls in the Manor. She felt like she had intruded in on something that should have been invible, as the Hearth Manor was the heart of the entire Alliance, the most powerful organization on the continent. Because of this, Asfi was a little worried about other people would see her, especially those that were close to Vahn... Unable to do anything about her fears, Asfi followed behind Vahn in silence until he stopped outside of a door and said, "Well, do your best, Asfi..." These words caused Asfi to feel even more nervous as Vahn opened up the door to reveal...another Vahn. Not quite understanding what was going on, Asfis mind nked until a small part of her memory was triggered, reminding her of the fact Vahn imed to have two bodies. Remembering this, she started to rx a little, at least until the second Vahn stepped to the side, revealing an entire room full of people staring back at her. Asfi felt like her heart was gripped by each and every one of them and sweatdropped when Vahn gently said, "Go inside..." while lightly pushing against her back with his surprisingly warm palm. What followed was Asfi sitting like a statue between Haruhime and Mikoto as she answered everyones questions. As for Vahn, he sat down between Loki, Hephaestus, Anubis, and Hestia. Having two bodies was convenient for situations like this, as he could see from two different perspectives while also giving more people an opportunity to sit next to him. He had already exined the situation to the girls before Asfi and him had even shown up, so they mainly asked about her past, her [Mystery] Development Ability, and her various likes and dislikes. Asfi, realizing that almost none of the girls were hostile towards her, with Haruhime even showing her a bit of support, quickly calmed down after a few minutes had passed. When the questioning phase was over, Loki had her take some very detailed vows to ensure she wouldnt ever be able to exploit any loopholes to share the secrets of the Manor. After that, Asfi was given her own set ofwork items, a book containing all the rules and regtions of the Manor, and a summary doc.u.ment of decisions made during past Vahnatus. Seeing how organized everything was, Asfi started to realize that what she had just be a part of was much bigger than anything she had expected... While Asfi was going over the doc.u.ments, Hephaestus leaned against the table and said, "You know, Asfi, Ive always been curious about the [Mystery] Development Ability. If possible, Id like to see you make something within the workshop of the Manor. My daughter would probably be interested to see your skills in action as well, especially since you also have [Metalworking]. Honestly, Im quite surprised to see how far your skills have developed while youre so young..." When she Hephaestus voice, Asfi became a little rigid before responding with, "Youre too kind, Hephaestus-sama, I-" Before she was able to continue any further, Hephaestus furrowed her brows and said, "Just call me Hephaestus. Here, in this Manor, were all family..." Swallowing her words, Asfi fell silent for a few seconds before nodding her head and saying, "I understand, Hephaestus..." This earned her an approving nod from Hephaestus, who then added, "Also, dont try to see yourself short for no reason. One of the things youll learn after staying in this Manor long enough is that everyone here works hard to improve themselves. Though there isnt anything wrong with being humble, that kind of mentality will only slow your progress. Be confident and proud of what youve been able to achieve, especially if the person paying you apliment is a couple of hundred million years old than you..." With Hephaestus words, Loki, Hestia, and Anubis all began to chuckle. Demeter and Eirene were currently busy with their Familias or they likely would have joined in on theughter. Piggybacking off of Hephaestus words, Tsubaki showed an amicable smile and added, "You wouldnt be known as the most capable item maker in the City if you werent inordinately skilled. Im also quite interested in your skills and wouldnt mind taking a look myselfter. You never know, I might actually be able to give you some advice on where you can improve. Since youre already at the A-Rank, itll only take a few more breakthroughs before you reach mastery. Im pretty curious to see what the [Mystery] Development Ability bes once it reaches S-Rank..." As one of the rarest Development Abilities, the amount of information on the [Mystery] skill was severelycking, with no record of the next tier anywhere in the Guilds files. Vahn, however, didnt have such a limitation and immediately threw a filter into the system shop to see if there were any books or journals that would detail the skill further. It didnt take long for him to even find a manual for the [Mystery] Development Ability, costing 3,000,000OP, but he instead purchased a small encyclopedia of skills, magic, and abilities that had been doc.u.mented. He assumed it would have the information he needed because it had the same name as one of the Guilds records but cost several times more. Though it was almost impossible to buy items from the future of his current timeline, as it no longer existed within the system, Vahn was able to buy items from the other records of Danmachi that existed within The Paths information base. Upon purchasing the book, Vahn copied the information to his mind and immediately found what he was looking for, deciding to vocalize his discovery by saying, "There is a good chance that Asfis [Mystery] would evolve into [Enigma] once she mastered it. After that, it would be [Phantasm] before finally reaching the peak at [Miracle] itself..." As they were very ustomed to Vahns quirks, none of the girls were surprised by his revtions, even when he pulled out a book they knew had likely never been printed before. Vahn passed it off to Loki, who immediately opened it up and began reading the contents. Once she was finished, the book would be one of the important records of the Alliance, much like the other random books Vahn would create... Asfi, thinking that Vahn had already had the book this entire time, didnt think much about it and just kept rtively silent in the lively atmosphere. She was thinking about what kind of item she would make and, though they had asked if she were willing to let them see her process, it wasnt as though she could refuse. If Vahn told her to stand in the middle of a public venue stark n.a.k.e.d and create an item in front of a crowd, that would be her fate. Besides, as all of these girls were people that were close to Vahn, Asfi couldnte up with any justification to deny their request, even if she wasnt told expressly to reveal her techniques. Unaware of the exhibitionist thoughts running through Asfis mind, Vahn was also thinking about a simple magic item she could make that wouldnt take too long. He was pretty confident in being able to learn the [Mystery] Development Ability himself, which is why he wouldnt spend 3M OP just to get a manual exining things. There was also a good chance that, once Asfis Affection reached 100, their bond would likely outright give him the skill. Presently, she was at 97(Love?) and Vahn believed it wouldnt take too long to reach 100. In fact, he spected he could get her to 100 almost instantly if he was a bit more forward in his approach...Asfi seemed like the type of girl who was stoic on the surface but was actually fragile underneath. She wanted to be sought after openly and, now that they were bound to each other, Vahn knew he would have to take the initiative to avoid having her lose confidence in herself... After a lively luncheon, most of the girls went about their own business while Vahn, Hephaestus, Hestia, Loki, Tsubaki, and Haruhime all went with Asfi to one of the spare workshops in the East Annex. Along the way, they picked up Ina from her workshop and, even though she was a little annoyed at the interruption, her eyes glimmered the moment she heard about Asfis ability. When Asfi saw Ina, knowing it was Vahns daughter, she was shocked to the core and could hardly believe her eyes. After all, Ina was only around two years old publically but the girl standing in front of her looked closer in age to a teenager... Keeping this thought to herself, Asfi began setting up her workshop with the assistance of Vahn, surprised by the fact that he seemed to be able to pull out anything she could think of from thin air. When he noticed her surprise, Vahn smiled and exined, "It should be in the doc.u.ments you were given, but I have the power to create almost anything I can think of. The only requirement is that I have enough special energy within my reserves, which is the reason why the Alliance exchanges so many drop items with the Manor. I produce many of the hard to obtain resources within the market by using the energy contained within the drop items that are provided..." When she heard Vahns exnation, Asfis face had apletely nk expression, like she was looking off into the distance and had seen something outside the perception of others. When she finally processed exactly what he had said, Asfi had wanted to ask several questions but lost the opportunity when Loki said, "Youve got plenty of time to learn about whats going on within the Manor, especially if it rtes to Vahn. For now, just focus on creating a magic item and, after youre done, there are a couple of things I want to talk to you about. I need to get your input on the Hermes Familia so I have a better understanding of how to use them in the most efficient manner." Though she really wanted to have her questions answered, Asfi knew that Lokis words were true and, after she had finished here, there was plenty of time to ask about the things on her mind. Loki herself would probably be the best person to answer the majority of her questions so, without further dy, Asfi quickly got to work. The first thing she did was take a piece of already refined metal and, using the temte blueprint Vahn had given her, began shaping it into a disc. Unlike what a [cksmith] would have to do, she was able to shape the metal itself by directly inserting her mana into the structure and molding it. Though it took a lot of her energy, Asfi was startled when Vahn ced his hand on her back and a warm flow of energy invaded her body, replenishing her reserves much faster than she could consume them... Vahn knew about the [Metalworking] ability, so he wasnt too surprised to see Asfi suddenly warp the metal just by cing her hands above it. Though the others couldnt see it, he was able to see a hemisphere of energy that had been created by Asfi when she activated the ability. He wasnt able to understand everything that was going on, but Vahn could still memorize the process and strive to emte itter. It would take some trial and error, but he would eventually be able to replicate the strange energying out of Asfis hands, enabling him to use the [Metalworking] ability himself after a bit of practice. When Asfi finished shaping the strange disc, which was around 150cm in diameter and had several small grooves located on its surface, she reached up to wipe the sweat from her brow only to discover a white towel being handed to her from the side. Seeing Vahn holding it out for her with a smile on his face, Asfi felt her heart flutter before epting it, muttering a small Nn in the process. The moment she did this, however, it felt like a jolt of cold electricity ran up her back and, turning towards the direction her instincts warned her of, she saw Vahns daughter staring at her with somewhat icy eyes. This didntst long, fortunately, as Hephaestus had brought her hand to Inas shoulder and began lightly rubbing it to calm her down. As he had also noticed Inas behavior, Vahn knew he would have to exin things clearly to her and the other childrenter. The situation in the Manor was certainly very unique and, to avoid them harboring any ill will towards any of the girls that maye to reside here in the future, Vahn wanted to clear some things up with them. He knew Ina was probably worried that she would have even less time with him in the future, something that made him feel a little guilty at times. There were even moments when he considered trying to make another Avatar for the sole purpose of spending time with his children but Sis had advised him against it, saying he needed to increase the Tier of his soul if he wanted to split his consciousness any further. Knowing how difficult it had been just to master controlling two bodies, which he was still working on, Vahn knew her advice should be taken very seriously. This once again brought up the idea of using shadow clones but, after experiencing the mental strain of just absorbing his memory fragments thoughts, Vahn knew the skill wasnt the best solution. Instead, he intended to simply make more time for them when his main body went into the Dungeon with the majority of the girls. This would actually free up a lot of time for him on the surface since he was supposed to be within the Dungeon and it would raise a few gs if people discovered he was in two ces at once. Currently, the number of people aware of this fact, at least outside of the Manor, numbered only eight people. It was a very important secret that he wanted to keep under wraps since it would allow him to get a jump on any enemies that wanted to attack his home, or the Alliance, while he was away. Since he had the ability to change his form, Vahn intended to transform into a smaller version of a Vanargandr and use an Ice Raiment [Magia Erebea] to make people think he was just another Xenos kept secret by the Alliance. He was quite fond of the transformation as well since Fenrir was extremely fond of it and he had gotten pampered quite a bit after showing it off to the girls... Broken out of his thoughts but Asfi finishing up the temte levitation tform he wanted her to make, Vahn smiled and answered her unasked question, "Youve seen it yourself, but Ill demonstrate it again and exin the phenomenon of levitation..." While speaking, Vahn hovered off of the ground slightly and crossed his legs into a seated position, exining, "Essentially, but using your mental energy in a skilled manner, you can manipte objects with your mind and bring about a variety of phenomenon. This specific technique is called levitation and, by having a proper grasp of Space, you can change your orientation to the ground or even create anchors. Ill demonstrate..." Vahn sent a telepathic message to Tsubaki, surprising her at first before an excited grin appeared on her face. Then, surprising Asfi, and many of the other girls, Tsubaki jumped through the air with a Haaaaaaa! and kicked towards Vahns chest. She didnt put that much force into the hit, but Tsubaki was also a Level 6 with arge focus on physical Power. Her kick caused the ground beneath Vahn, which he wasnt even in contact with, to crack slightly as he caught her bare foot with his hand. Unlike in the past, Vahn was now more than a little stronger than Tsubaki, especially if she wasnt going all out. Releasing a sigh, which caused Tsubaki tough even more, Vahn turned to Asfi and exined, "As you can see, it is possible to anchor yourself to other objects, with the ground being the easiest. The miracle I want you to perform is imbuing that tform with the ability to levitate off the ground while still being anchored to it. This will give it much greater stability and stop the tform from wobbling when weight is ced on top of it. At the same time, you should keep in mind that it shouldnt be a perfect anchor, like what I just demonstrated, and should instead act as a shock absorber...like so..." Turning to Ina, Vahn gestured towards his daughter and she immediately ran over without any exnation required and hopped into hisp. This caused Vahn to spring slightly with the added weight before immediately returning back to his starting position. Ina happily began dangling her feet while leaning into his chest, giving Asfi a somewhat haughty look as if she had achieved some great victory... Asfi was starting to realize it wasnt the girls in the Manor she needed to win over, but Vahns children. For the time being, however, she just nodded towards Vahn and said, "I understand. Though I may not be able to get everything working properly the first time, I can use my [Mystery] skill multiple times on the same object. Only one effect can stick, but removing effects I personally assigned is easy enough..." Without waiting for Vahn to tell her to proceed, Asfi brought her hands together like she was praying and actually did exactly that. In reality, she was forming the image of the phenomenon she wanted to create and, by understanding the said phenomenon, she would be able to imbue it into the object she had designated. Vahn watched Asfi with his [Eyes of Truth] active and could see one of the strangest phenomena he had ever observed before. An illusory sphere had surrounded Asfis body and there were several cogs, rings, and other strange mechanicalponents that nobody else seemed to be able to discern. The reality, however, was quite different from Vahns expectations as the young Vanir sitting in hisp could also clearly see these things, her own eyes glimmering with the illusion of eight segmented parts, each reflecting a different image of the same scene. They both watched as the strange mechanical structure around Asfi changed into a more organized shape before blue characters appeared in front of her face, which Vahn could interpret as Levitation. It would seem that, once again, the phenomenon on the world could be guided by words and intentions, just like how magic itself was able to function... When the word had formed, it began to condense into a small droplet of energy between Asfis hands and, when she opened her palms, the illusory droplet now existed in reality. She was able to move it forward without it falling to the ground and ced it above the tform before letting it drop. When it contacted the metallic surface, it created ripples that could be seen with the n.a.k.e.d eye before the metallic surface became calm once again. From the side, Hephaestus hand her hand to her chin in a thoughtful manner and said, "Hooo...trully, a prodigious talent...I havent seen someone use the [Mystery] ability with that much finesse in my entire time in the mortal world..." Next to her, Loki also nodded her head and understood that Asfi was actually far more skilled than she had expected. Though neither she nor Hephaestus had seen the phenomenon observed by Vahn and Ina, they were able to sense the fluctuations of the world and a small amount of Divine Power contained within Asfis ability... After releasing a sigh of relief, Asfi smiled and picked up the tform before cing it on the ground and standing on it. Since she was used to activating magic items near her feet, with her own [Tria] requiring the same capability, Asfi was quickly able to activate the [Levitation tform]. The moment it was activated, she hovered about two meters off the ground and, to test the shock absorption capabilities, jumped up and down a few times to make it bob. As for Vahn, he had averted his eyes to the side as Ina looked up at Asfis pale-bluece panties that were on full disy from the current angle... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Into the shark tank...,Inas icy gaze...,*staring further intensifies*) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 801 - Preparations

Chapter 801 - Preparations

Though she didnt catch it at first, Asfi quickly noticed the gaze of Ina and the fact that Vahn had averted his eyes. A bit of heat reached cheeks as she defensively pressed the front of her skirt to make it harder to see. Then, in an effort to calm herself, Asfi focused on lowering the [Levitation tform] to the ground before setting it on the table. When she was finished, as if nothing had happened, Asfi turned to face everyone with a stoic expression on her face and asked, "Is there anything else...?" Loki and Tsubaki bothughed boisterously at Asfis behavior while Hestia and Hephaestus had somewhat wry smiles on their faces. This caused the blush to return to Asfis face as she averted her eyes to the side, making eye contact with Ina in the process. She noticed the girl had a small frown on her face, filling Asfi with a bit of trepidation that she had no easy means of dealing with. Since Ina was Vahns daughter, Asfi wanted to try and make a good impression on her but, given how Ina had been acting, Asfi was certain she didnt appreciate her presence here... Vahn also noticed that Ina didnt seem that fond of Asfi but he assumed it was just because Asfi was an outsider and potentially ate into the time they could spend together. As he was ought to do, Vahn reached out his hand and pat his daughters head, causing her to startle slightly before immediately calming down. Instead of staring towards Asfi, she turned her eyes to the side and stared at the [Levitation tform] with a glimmer of intrigue in her eyes. Contrary to expectations, she was actually more than a little interested in Asfis abilities and had a ton of questions to ask her. Though she was a little annoyed that there was another girl to divert her Papas attention, Ina had already gotten used to the fact that she couldnt always be with him. There was also the simple fact that she could look into her own future and see herself getting along with Asfi, making it a lot easier to ept her...eventually... Since there were a lot of things she wanted to talk to Asfi about, Loki cut through the atmosphere with her words, saying, "Okay, that was pretty interesting but there are a lot of things we still need to discuss. Im sure you have a lot of questions as well, so lets move to a private room in the west wing. There are a lot of empty rooms where you can take up residence in as well so well get you situated afterward." Then, turning to Haruhime, Loki added, "Haruhime, you seem to have the closest rtionship with Asfi so Ill have youe to our meeting. When were done, youll be in charge of looking after her until she gets limated to the Manor." As she had already expected something simr to happen, Haruhime just smiled politely as her four tails flickered behind her. Ever since she had grown her fourth, Haruhimes tails had a natural inclination to curve around her body whenever she was standing idly. They would also frame her body like a fan whenever she was inbat and always seemed to be moving around in a mesmerizing manner. Though she could proactively control them, almost with the dexterity of a hand, Haruhime let them act as they pleased in normal circ.u.mstances. As a result, it was easy to see that she was pleased by the oue and, at least from Vahns perspective, he could see a slightly mischevious glint in her eyes... With Asfi heading off with Loki and Haruhime, the other girls were all nning to go their separate ways as Hephaestus, Tsubaki, and Ina carried off the [Levitation tform] to study. As for Hestia, she stayed behind and came to Vahns side, grasping his hand in aforting manner as she asked, "Are you okay, Vahn...?" Since her bond with Vahn was inarguably the strongest amongst the girls, Hestia had felt the turmoil he had gone through earlier. She had been talking with Hephaestus, the other goddess that could literally feel what Vahn experienced, and decided who shouldfort him. Since Vahns other body had been with Loki at the time, they hadnt had the chance to get him to rx and open up his heart if necessary. Feeling Hestias concern, Vahn produced a soft smile and, somewhat surprising her, reduced his height to more closely resemble hers as he hugged her inexplicably soft body and buried his face in her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Hestia blushed a little at the sudden intimate contact before bringing up her hand and patting the top of Vahns head, saying, "You did the right thing Vahn...good boy..." Being talked to in the same way he would sometimes talk to the more emotionally unstable girls, Vahn felt a small urge tough but just kept silent and held Hestia for a while. Though he had already calmed down a lot after Lulunes reminder, Vahn was still reliant on the girls of the Manor for his stability... --- With the inclusion of Asfi in the Manor, there were a few ripples that had been made, especially as the reality of her situation began to settle in. She was shaken to the core when she learned about the existence of the orbs and how powerful each of the girls in the Manor was. At the same time, Asfis presence was a topic of interest for the girls themselves, with Haruhime acting as something of an intermediary to facilitate her adaptation. She also stepped in to help Asfi begin her training, meaning thattter spent a lot of time at the Fox Shrine with Chloe, Shizune, and Tina. Asfi immediately started training as hard as she could, facilitated by Vahn giving her a me seed and, though her face had turned a ruddy crimson, bestowed upon her a [Pactio]. Asfis raiment took on a form nobody had quite expected, with her having a white blouse, short ck skirt, and what looked like a whiteb coat. As for her artifact, it took on the form of a series of belts and pouches that actually worked as interspatial storagepartments. It would seem that Asfis propensity to try and prepare for anything had manifested itself as an organized storage for the magic items, equipment, and consumables that she would keep on hand... Because she had ess to an almost unlimited number of supplies and also benefitted from the existence of four skilled cksmiths, with three being [Master Smith]s, Asfi could make significantly more powerful items than in the past. Vahn had quickly tested a theory he had formed and, working alongside Asfi during the production of an item, he had managed to forge an A-Rank bracelet that she was also able to use her [Mystery] on. Generally, an item maker could only bestow a miracle on the items they had created but, with the two of them working alongside each other, Asfi was able to get around this restriction. At the same time, Vahn was over the moon since Asfis [Mystery] was actually able to emte the storing function he had been struggling to crack for years. It took a few tries but, after showing Asfi the functionality of the gems that could store items within their internal structure, she was eventually able to bestow this effect on any item with a core. The best part of this was the fact that the items were able to benefit from the abilities derived from his [Master Smith] without any conflict with her [Mystery] Development Ability. Though it wasnt exactly more useful than the interspatial bracelets that he had already developed, the fact that the girls could instantly transform into abat-ready state was meaningful. Yes, they could do something simr with their [Pactio], but not every girl had a raiment and artifact suited forbat. This innovation would be instrumental for their protection in the future and also served as another unique product that only the Alliance could create. Adding to the changes was the fact that Asfis Affection had quickly reached 100 during the [Pactio] ceremony, unfortunately without awarding him the [Mystery] Development Ability. Instead, Vahn received Asfis [Metalworking] at C-Rank, a pendant that allowed the wearer to breathe underwater, and a few thousand Origin Points. Though he had been a little disappointed to have missed out on the [Mystery] Development Ability, Vahn admonished himself for the thought and got over it pretty quickly. After all, he didnt actually need the ability and, if he truly wanted to learn it, the only requirement was that he put in the effort to do so... Though it was difficult for her to process, most of these events had happened over a four day period, meaning not even a day had passed in the real world. Asfi now perfectly understood how the girls had been able to increase their strength so quickly, especially after experiencing her own growth in a short period of time. Even without killing any monsters, just using the techniques demonstrated by the girls had started to increase her parameters rather quickly, especially her Magic. She was also looking forward to being able to cast the same spells as the other girls as her own magic, [Kalov Argol] had literally always left a bad taste in her mouth. Since it had the visual impact of watching her vomit out arge volume of pungent liquid, she very rarely ever used it, especially if other people were around... After exiting the orb, Asfi ended up returning to the Travelers Inn because she was still the Captain of the Hermes Familia and needed to organize things in ordance with Lokis intentions. Their Familia would be serving as an extension of Lokis own informationwork while the more unique members would be part of the expedition party heading down to the 50th Floor. They would be acting as scouts and serve as lookouts to make sure things were running smoothly, as Vahn himself could not always be observing everything taking ce during the construction. As they had to be loyal, and already possessed very keen observational skills, they would make adequate observers and informants during the long construction process. At the same time, Hermes had already learned of the fact that his Familia had been purchased and hadnt been surprised, even for a moment. Instead, he ended up having a long conversation with Loki, Freya, and Hephaestus before disappearing to go on vacation. Vahn hadnt been present for the meeting, as there was a high chance he would have entered into conflict with Hermes, but he heard about the details after the fact. Hermes currently had no authority over his own Familia and, ording to the contract that Vahn and Loki had agreed to when taking ownership of his children, he was only required to stop by once a month to update their Status Boards. Thus, without detailing what he would be doing over the next year, Hermes simply disappeared after the meeting, apparently to return to Heaven temporarily. He was one of the only gods that could freely travel between the mortal world and Heaven without destroying his avatar and was probably putting into motion the next step of whatever n he had machinated... As they were used to their god being absent, none of the Hermes Familia members seemed to care at all about the changes. Though they had been surprised by the fact that Vahn had purchased them, the shock had worn off very quickly with the passage of the evening. With a few exceptions, almost everyone in the Hermes Familia had experience with being purchased previously and Vahn being their owner was inarguably better than most other arrangements. The fact that he announced he would be paying them a sry, even though they were his belongings, caused many of the members that had previous concerns to settle down very quickly. They were able to intuit from this fact alone that Vahn wasnt actually treating them as possessions, at least for the time being... One thing that Vahn had both expected, yet was still surprised about, was the fact that Lulune and Pot had essentially spread a lot of rumors over the course of a single evening. Since many of the girls in the Hermes Familia had already harbored intentions towards him, the words of the two girls had caused many of them to feel emboldened. This was especially the case for the Beast Human girls as both Lulune and Pot had verified the rumors that Vahn had a tendency to pet the heads of girls. Lulune also came forward about the fact that Vahn had actually grabbed Asfis butt and made remarks about her own tail and ears. When Vahn learned about these things from Asfi after the fact, he immediately regretted not telling Lulune that she should have kept quiet about everything that happened during their discussion. Instead, the only things she wasnt allowed to talk about were the secrets they had shared, allowing her to freely cause misunderstandings with her propensity to say whatever was on her mind. Even Elilly had contributed to the misunderstanding, proiming something about him being the type of man who showedpassion to all women. Since Elilly was currently a very hot topic within the Familia, her words had been the final straw that now turned the Travelers Inn into a ndmine that Vahn would have to be cautious of in the future... This didnt mean he would actually avoid going there, however, since many things could be avoided by him simply telling the girls not to pester him. After all, even if he didnt truly treat them like his possessions, his word was absolute to the Hermes Familia members for the next year. As a result, he stopped by on the evening of the second day and took care of one of the things that had been bothering him. Dodon, the man who seemed like a kind soul who had been brutalized by his tribe, was someone Vahn felt deserved a better lot in life. His file showed that the reason for his exile had been the result of an internal struggle where the wife of the tribes chief had actually been in love with him. Since the chief didnt want his then-fiancee to elope with another man, he simply used his authority to brutalize Dodon before burning down his house and chasing him out of the vige. The only reason he was still alive is that the chiefs fiancee had threatened to kill herself if he didnt allow Dodon to flee safely. Strangely, Dodon didnt seem to harbor any ill will towards his tribe, even after he had been treated so poorly. This was because, even though he had lost respect for the chief, he genuinely cared for the vigers that he had spent his entire life growing alongside. Though he had regrets about the fact that his childhood friend ended up marrying the much older Chief, Dodon knew she would be taken care of since the Chief wasnt simply fond of her, but actually loved her a great deal. Thus, Dodon epted his lot in life and now his only desire was to look over the weaker members of the Familia and make sure they dont have to suffer. Most of the money he earned actually went to the younger members of the Familia, especially the Pallum girls like Tallow, Meryl, and Pot. With all of these factors, Vahn had a great deal of respect for Dodons character and decided that he would heal the man and allow him to live without the burden of being a disfigured mute. Though Dodon himself had politely declined the offer, Vahn didnt leave the man much of a choice and selfishly healed Dodons body. This allowed Vahn to see the extent of the damage on Dodons body and made the respect he held towards the man even stronger. After he finished healing him, Vahn pat the muscr mans shoulder and gave him a tab for entry into the Clubhouse as a VIP member. Then, for the first time, Dodon rubbed the back of his head and, after remaining silent for nearly a minute, muttered in a deep baritone voice, "Thanks..." Contrary to his expectations, Dodon donned his previous disguise and, when Vahn asked why, the behemoth of a man simply exined, "My silence has be something many members of the Familia rely on. I am someone they can talk to, an existence that will listen to their troubles without judgment. Even if I can now speak, the identity I have assumed for thest five years is something important to both myself, and mypanions...still, thank you for healing me, Vahn. Im certain I will sleep much better now that the aches and pains in my body are gone..." Then, without any other exnations, Dodon bowed politely and excused himself from the room as Vahn stared with an absentminded expression on his face... With Dodon as the precedent, Vahn also healed many of the injuries of other Hermes Familia members, both male and female. Many of them had either sustained an injury in their work, or were subjected to the whims of their clients in the past. This was especially true for some of the female members who, after being healed, would generally spend a few minutes in front of a standing mirror and inspecting their bodies. Some of them shed tears, as many women were very self-conscious about their appearance, while others tried to proposition him after the fact. Vahn politely declined their offers, even though he was more than a little tempted by some of the more flirtatious girls. As a result of his efforts, his reputation within the Hermes Familia immediately became very positive, even though some of the girlsined about him being a prude. Most of this was said in jest, as it was very easy for them to see that Vahn had an appreciation for their bodies, but it still ended up being an affectionateint when they were gossiping about him. As for the girls who had been lucky enough to receive his touch directly. Since he needed to touch the damaged areas to remove scars and repair damaged muscles, they ended up being the winners amongst the girls within the Familia, iming the first advantage in a petition that had apparently been started between them... In this manner, the days before the expedition continued to count down and Vahn was in the final phase of his own preparations. They had already confirmed the members that would be heading towards the 50th Floor, consisting of nearly six-hundred construction workers and a total of two-hundred Adventurers over Level 3. With the logistics group and Supporters, generally those that were Level 2 or lower, the total number of members had exceeded a thousand,ing to a record high 1308 personnel. It was thergest expedition since the establishment of Orario and was also the most ambitious project in History, being the construction of a settlement on a Floor that many had no hope of reaching in the past. Since he wouldnt be able to lead and direct such arge group of people on his own, the Expedition had three Commanders that would be in charge of groups around 400-450 members. As an official operation of the Alliance, every Familia was pitching in their support, giving Vahn ess to a wide array of talent to choose from. Tomand each unit, he had selected Finn, leaving Gareth in charge of Lil Geirr, and Shakti, as the Ganesha Familia would be ying a major role in the establishment of Haven. As for the final unit, it would actually bemanded by Haruhime. Though she would officially be ssified as the Rearguard Commander, this was an important moment for her to .u.mte leadership experience while also serving in the capacity of the Hestia Familias Vice-Captain. Haruhime wasnt the only one with a key role, however, as many of the girls had been assigned as part of a strike team that would constantly be moving to protect all three units. Ais would be pairing up with Tiona and Tione while Arnya and Lefiya acted as ranged artillery. The second strike team would be led by Fenrir and included Mikoto, Chloe, Shizune, and, as she refused to be left behind once again, Tina. As a Level 5, Vahn didnt really have a justifiable reason to refuse her and, with Mn giving her permission, Tina would be acting as the groups vanguard. Her defensive capabilities had actually reached a monstrous level, especially after getting her own [Pactio], so there werent many enemies that could threaten her. Not only did Tinas [Eclipse] allow her to sap the strength of her opponents, increasing her own, but her artifact took on the form of a shield, just like her mothers. The biggest difference was that Tinas shield took on the form of a small buckler that, when struck by an attack, caused a strange sphereprised of hexagonal panels to appear around her body for an instant. At the same time, whatever struck her shield became rooted to the spot, essentially making Tina almost impervious to damage and indefinitely stunning an enemy. Though it wasnt impossible to break out of, as Lili and Tiona had both managed to pull it off, the amount of strength required to do so was immense... The remaining members that would be entering into the Dungeon with the expedition were Lili, Ryuu, and, in order to give her a chance to vent out her frustrations, Alexa. Lili and Ryuu would be charged with protecting Haruhime and, should anyrge enemies show up that Ais and Fenrir couldnt easily deal with, they would take it out with their almost unstoppable offensive power. As for Alexa, Vahn would be watching over her personally while serving as the Supreme Commander in the case of an emergency situation. His own power was at the level that he would be able to defeat almost any enemy the moment he took action so he decided to let the girls cut loose a bit to warm up for whatever Enyo would throw at them. With that in mind, while every resident of the Manor was gathered around, Vahn entered into the Space-Time orb to retrieve Alexa. They would be celebrating her 120th birthday in the real world while also weing her into the Hearth Manor as its newest resident. Though she wouldnt have much time to venture around, as it was currently the day before the expedition, Vahn still wanted to take her around the City to experience the sights and sounds of society for the first time. The fact that he would probably end up riding on her back for this tour was something he selectively chose to ignore... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lulune is a bbermouth...,Dodon is a real man (O_O)...,The expedition approacheth~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 802 - Emergence

Chapter 802 - Emergence

After entering into the orb, it wasnt long before a somewhat heavy weightnded on his abdomen, something he had gotten used to over thest few weeks. This was none other than Alexa who, though she was only around 144cm tall, weighed around 65kgs, as all True Dragons were a lot denser than normal. He was currently located in her nest, the ce where they would usually nap before he was kicked out of the orb. Just as Eva used to do, Alexa had developed the habit of greeting him whenever he would apparate into the orb. This time, she was especially excited because she knew today was herst day in the orb, causing her to knock the wind out of him after she plopped down on his stomach... With her glimmering green eyes, Alexa looked down at him with a smile, saying, "Papa is getting soft, ufufufu~." While speaking, Alexa moved around as if she were gettingfortable before leaning down and hugging him with her wings like a nket, asking, "How much time do we have...?" Though she was happy to be leaving the orb, Alexa was going to miss the fact she was able to monopolize her Papa for four day periods, even if was only every two months. In the real world, she knew it would be almost impossible to have him to herself and it was the one thing she wasnt looking forward to after leaving this quiet and peaceful ce... Vahn released a lighthearted chuckle and lifted Alexas body away from his own so he could sit up, answering, "Everyone is waiting to celebrate your emergence from the orb, so we shouldnt keep them waiting for too long. Besides, I know youre probably thinking we wont have any time together in the future but you seem to be forgetting that this orb still exists. Though it would only be your spiritual body in the future, we can alwayse back to visit this ce whenever you want." Since the Space-Time orb was simply too useful not to exploit, there was no way Vahn could simply set it to the side and ignore it. He and Terra would be resetting their memory fragments so that they could make use of their increased capabilities, but that would be the only significant change. In the future, this orb would be a ce where he could rx with the girls while also mass-producing items that he didnt have time to produce himself. Hearing her Papas words, Alexa had started off sad but became progressively happier as he exined that she wouldnt have to give up this ce. Though she didnt really care for it that much, it was still the home she had made for herself over thest 120 years, a ce where she and her Papa had spent a lot of time together. Just knowing she could alwayse back to it, even in a spirit form, made Alexa feel a great deal of relief. As a result, her tail began to snake around behind her body as her wings began to rustle happily. Vahn, seeing this, habitually rubbed her head, making sure to avoid her horns after learning how sensitive they were in the past... After spending a few minutes together, Vahn gave Alexa a piggyback ride as he casually strolled through the forest and made his way towards the cottage where his and Terras memory fragments resided. Alexa rarely spent time there over thest twenty years, but that didnt mean she hadnt been looked after by the two memory fragments. Though they were already aware of the situation, Vahn was giving Alexa a bit of time to collect herself since the hour-long walk to the cottage would only consume a minute of time in the real world. The two memory fragments were waiting outside the cottage by the time Vahn reached the outskirts of the forest, both smiling as they stood side-by-side. There was no fear or trepidation about being reset, as neither truly possessed their own ego, but Vahn still expressed his gratitude towards the two of them for everything they had done. It was a little strange, thanking himself for working hard, but Vahn had long grown ustomed to such things. When he was done, the two burst into particles of light as Alexa looked on with an unfaltering expression. To her, though she didnt really treat them badly, neither fragment was real and the only reason she interacted with them at all was that they were emtions of her parents... Once the two had vanished, Vahns own memory fragment popped back into existence, this time having all the memories he had .u.mted until this point. There was a brief moment of incongruity, as his senses were momentarily split, but Vahn had gotten very used to having two bodies in the real world. After a few seconds had passed, the fragment hadpletely stabilized and released a lightugh before making his way inside the cottage, no words necessary since it was updated with all of Vahns current thoughts and ideas. When he had left, Vahn turned his head sideways and asked, "Are you ready, Alexa...?" For a short while, Alexas grip tightened around his neck as her body tensed up, understandably a little hesitant since she would have to reduce herself to her core state for the first time. Though she had the ability to break out of the orb forcefully, it would destroy the orb in the process, destroying 120 years of development within the space, including all of the rare herbs and materials contained within. Since this would also destroy Alexas nest, though she would probably build another one in the real world, it was obviously not the best course of action. After preparing herself, Alexa nodded her head and said, "Please, treat me well, Papa..." as her body began to break down in rainbow-colored dust. Vahn felt his own body shudder slightly, as it was actually more than a little unpleasant to watch one of hispanions, especially his child, dissolve into dust. He prevented her core, which was a resplendent green with a wispy rainbow gradient in the center, from falling to the ground. Though she was in an inactive state, Vahn could almost feel Alexas trepidation and fear radiating from the core. Fenrir and Terra had described being in that state as having no sense of feeling at all, even though your mind was constantly active. Staying within the core for a long period of time could be a very maddening experience, which was fortunately mitigated when they were ced in his Inventory. Once Alexa was within his Inventory, Vahn closed his eyes and ejected himself from the space this time, breaking down into small particles that became progressively smaller until they didnt exist at all. The next time he opened his eyes, after only being asleep for little over a minute, Vahn was surrounded by all the girls of the Manor as Terra held the space-time orb within her palms. Vahn epted Tionas hand, even though he could have easilye to stand on his own, and immediately pulled out Alexas core. Everyone watched with bated breath as he channeled his energy into the core, especially those that had never had the opportunity to meet Alexa in the past. Fortunately, though Alexa was already 120 years old, she was still a juvenile and it only took around 60% of his energy before her core began to emit arge amount of rainbow-colored dust, forming into the shape of a young girl around 11-12. Since he knew she would be disoriented at first, Vahn already prepared a nket for her, even though it wouldnt have mattered that much with everyone present being female. Khaos was currently hovering in the stratosphere as he absorbed the energy of space while Fafnir was sunbathing in the clearing at the center of the forest. Neither really wanted to upset Alexa by being present so they had elected to avoid being present during her emergence. After a few seconds, Alexa opened her aquamarine eyes and began to look around, slightly surprised by the number of people present as she naturally gravitated towards her Papa. Vahn had a gentle smile on his face as he reached out his hand, stroking her emerald green hair as he reminded, "Alexa, clothes..." in a soft tone of voice. She quickly donned her custom outfit and, as the nket was ufortable against her wings, handed it back to her Papa before taking a deep breath and turning towards everyone. Her eyes passed over every single person present, lingering a bit longer on the goddesses before politely bowing as she said, "Greetings, my name is Alexandria Eva-Evergreen Mason...I will be in your care from now on. As there are many things I do not know, please be patient with me..." With Alexas own introduction finished, everyone took turns introducing themselves before the entire group moved to therge table set nearby and began Alexas birthday party. To make sure she wasnt too perturbed by arge number of people, both Vahn and Terra nked Alexa as the other girls asked her a variety of questions. It was very simr to when Asfi had entered into the Manor what seemed like a month ago, though Alexa was far moreposed. In fact, as the celebration continued, she seemed to grow progressively more confident and had started asking questions of her own. Vahn noticed she had the most interest in the stronger girls in the group and wondered if herpetitive spirit had been ignited... True Dragons were very prideful creatures and, the moment another entity near their strength was present, they wouldpete to be the strongest in the area. Though Alexa may never be able to ovee her parents, it didnt mean she would tolerate being weaker than anyone else. Her current strength would put her around Level 5, but it wouldnt be difficult for her to fight against someone at the peak of Level 6 with her racial traits. Not only was her body immensely powerful, but it was also equally as durable to the point that she would never need armor. After all, the hide and scales of a dragon were literally the best material to make powerful armor and Alexa, being a True Dragon, was essentially wearing full body armor at all times. The girls she had taken the biggest interest in, excluding the goddesses, were Fenrir, Ais, Tiona, Haruhime, Lefiya, Lili, and, somewhat to Vahns surprise, Ryuu. Though thetter could be argued to be the weakest among the strong girls, the fact that Ryuu had a form of energy that could naturally counter many of Alexas own affinities was something she instinctually picked up on. After all, Ryuus Star Elemental energy was near the same tier as Space and Time. It was also the natural counter to Darkness, Ice, and Fire, which were Alexas primary elements until she had a better understanding of the three dominant forces in her body, especially her Source Energy. As for the number one threat within Alexas mind, however, that was none other than Ais, a girl who was fated to be a yer of Dragons. She not only had an Innate rted to it, but Ais [Avenger] was super effective against Dragons, even without her full ensemble of dragon-ying equipment. At the same time, her [Ariel], which was a spirit-based Wind Elemental ability, was also a very powerful counter to Alexas affinities. As a result, Alexa would actually twitch slightly whenever Ais would move, something the taciturn woman seemedpletely oblivious of as she fed cookies to the gluttonous Lefiya... Towards the end of the party, Loki, always being the one to point out the necessary matters, chimed into the ongoing conversation and asked, "So, where will you be staying, Alexa? You should know that, here in the real world, your Papa is a pretty busy man. He also needs to look after his other children, you know~?" Upon thepletion of Lokis sentence, Alexa had already looked around the table, eyeing all of her would-be siblings, especially Ina, Vana, and Erika. She had interacted with all three of them within the orb and had grown particrly close with Erika in the past. However, now that she was in the real world, Alexa knew she would have to pay closer attention to each of them...after all, they were her Papas cherished children. Even without him telling her to do so, Alexa had a natural inclination to protect them in order to make her Papa, the King, happy... In response to Lokis question, Alexa turned her eyes back to the sly looking goddess and said, "Im a little ufortable with making my nest in my Mamas territory, but I dont want to go that far away from Papa. If possible, I want to find afortable and quiet ce where I can build my nest in peace..." To this, Terra brought her hand to her daughters shoulder and smiled naturally as she said, "This ce isnt just my territory, Alexa, but our home. Everyone here is one big family so, even if you feel like fighting with them a little, never forget that they are all important to your Papa. As long as you remember that, you can create your nest anywhere you want. In fact, you can stay inside mine if you dont want to go build your own...honestly, I wouldnt mind spending time with my cute little daughter, ufufufufu~." Alexa was more than a little surprised by her Mamas words, especially since it didnt make sense given that they were both True Dragons. Unless they were sharing the nest of the King, two female True Dragons would never stay in the same ce. This was even more true for males but, after recalling what her Mama just said, Alexa was able to realize that this was her Papas nest. This entire Manor, including the people residing within, all habitated her Papas nest. The girls were his mates and the children he shared between them were his brood. Realizing this, Alexa felt strangely happy and, surprising her Mama this time, nodded her head and said, "I will stay with Mama then, at least for the time being." Though this seemed to be perfectly normal, Loki couldnt help butugh mischievously as she said, "I just hope you dont be an exhibitionist like that mother of yours...seriously, every time I visit the Garden I cant help but want-." Before she finished her words, Vahn sent Loki a wry look that caused her to beginughing in a somewhat awkward manner. Try as she might, it was impossible for Loki topletely constrain herself at times, especially when she was in a happy mood. She understood it wasnt exactly the time or ce to make such jokes, especially with children present, and had nearly slipped up with thecent and lively atmosphere... To segue the conversation in a more appropriate direction, Vahn ruffled Alexas hair and said, "Alexa will be apanying me on the expedition. I want to give her the opportunity to fight against monsters so she can polish her skills and release some of the stress of being a True Dragon. Since well be leaving tomorrow morning, Ill let her stay inside my room tonight and would like to have a sleepover with all the children so they can get to know their big sister." Alexas eyes were squinted with a pleased expression under her Papas hand but they opened wide when he mentioned her sleeping in the same room with all of her siblings. As a True Dragon, it was very difficult for her to be okay with actually sleeping around others, especially since she had never slept with anyone but her Papa... Vahn gave aforting smile and continued patting Alexas head as he looked around at his children, especially the Vanir. Even the youngest amongst them, Autumn, looked to be around 2-3 years old. Leh and Aisha were around five while Ina and Vana were around 13-14, physically. As for Erika, she looked to be the oldest, around 15-16, and had the most mature disposition amongst them all. The rest of his children, at least the ones that could safely sleep in a bed with other people, were all around seventeen months old, or younger. Within the group, Meinya had practically climbed onto the table with an excited expression and said, "Nyahaha, Meinya stay with Papnya~!" Then, spurred on by herpetitiveness with her simrly aged sister, Sakuya put on a fierce little expression and said, "Papa...I stay...!" Tsubaki, sitting at her side,ughed boisterously and, even though it was embarrassing for the somewhat proud toddler, pulled Sakuya into her embrace and tightly hugged her. Not to be left out from the other girls in her generation, Anise pulled on her moms dress and put on a pitiable expression as she asked, "Mum..stay with Papnya~?" To this, Aki pet her daughters head and nodded, causing the small Cat Girls tail to curl up happily as arge smile spread across her face. After the adorable trio made their decision, there was two more candidates that Vahn wanted to attend the sleepover. These were his eldest son, Masonia, currently sitting next to Riveria with his expression stoic and thoughtful. He was a brilliant little boy and had already started to develop an intelligent expression with slightly angr eyes, giving him a cool look like his mother. Sitting right next to him, with a shy and demure appearance, was his daughter with Ryuu, Alise. Perhaps because Ryuu herself didnt speak much, but Alise was a very quiet girl who was quick to hide behind her mother when others were around. Somewhat regrettably, though Vahn had expected it, Masonia shook his head and, with words you wouldnt expect from someone so young, said, "My apologies, Father, but I think it would be best if I stay with Mother. Im notfortable sleeping in the same bed as so many people, please forgive me..." To punctuate his sentence, Masonia even bowed in a polite manner as Riveria showed an apologetic expression of her own. Vahn didnt really mind it much and just gave a small nod to Masonia before looking towards Alise. Though she was shy around most people, this didnt extend to him and, being very fond of spending time with her Papa, Alise nodded her head without saying anything. With the inclusion of Alise, that meant he would have the opportunity to cuddle up with a total of eleven of his adorable daughters. If he included Doppel, who would undoubtedlye out to cuddle, that meant he would get to see his children dressed up in twelve different outfits. Just imagining this scene in his mind caused a silly smile to spread across his face, earningughter from the table who knew what he was thinking. Unexpectedly, Erika raised her hand at this point and said, "I think I will..." before swallowing her words. From her perspective, it was almost like she could see her Papa dete suddenly and she couldnt find it in her heart to say she didnt want to attend such arge sleepover... Erikas failure to avoid the inevitable meant that Vahns dream of a slumber party with all his adorable daughters quickly became a reality. Though it was a bit hectic, especially with Meinya jumping around on the bed and wrestling with Sakuya, Vahn was able to quickly pacify them when it was actually time for bed. To give them more surface area to work with, he split into both of his forms and ended up spending the most blissful evening he had experienced, surrounded by a horde of adorable little angels wearing a variety of different animal jammies. Even Erika wasnt an exception and, after Ina and Vana readily epted their fate, she eventually gave up and ended up snuggling up with her Papa while Doppel clung to his leg... (A/N: I am very tired this morning, so I will try to get out the third chapter after taking a nap. However, as there have been A LOT of people asking me to write some FJ, I might spend the afternoon releasing a few chapters there instead. Tomorrow will be the official start of the expedition and it the events within the Dungeon will likely continue for the remainder of this volume :)...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: True Dragons areplicated (x__x),Ais is going to dethrone Seigfried at this rate xD...,Paradise...RIP Erika) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 803 - Staging

Chapter 803 - Staging

Waking up early the next morning, Vahn was able to see the adorably terrible sleeping habits of his daughters snuggled up next to him, with each other, or syed out across the bed. His main body was pinned by Alexa, who was also using her wings as an impromptu nket for some of the other girls, while his avatars chest had been imed by Ina. The thing Vahn found most amusing, even though it was a little inconvenient, was how Meinya was syed out at the head of the bed with her leg resting across his forehead. Her little tummy was exposed in her tiger jammies and Vahn was tempted to poke her if not for the fact it would disturb the others. Very carefully, Vahn stirred Alexa awake and began to extricate the girls from his main body before moving them near his avatar. At the same time, he let warm and calming energy suffuse from his domain so they would naturally gravitate towards him while sleeping. Doppel ended up waking while he was moving around, but Vahn wasnt even sure if she actually slept in the first ce. His perception of her internal structure made it impossible to know if she was asleep since her cells were always in an active state. Though it didnt appear that way on the surface, everything from the follicles of hair on her head, to the muted brown skin on her body, each part of her acted as sensory receptors that had all six senses active at all times... Patting the young Doppelganger on the head, earning a somewhat silly smile from her as she attempted to let go of his leg and cling to his main body. Since he didnt really have time to y right now, Vahn pinched her nose and made a gesture to be quiet. Though she had a somewhat sad expression for a brief moment, Doppel still nodded her head before cocooning herself around his avatars leg with her hair. Both seeing and feeling this, Vahn smiled before grabbing Alexa and gently levitating their bodies from the bed. Seeing himself surrounded by his eleven children, Vahn couldnt help but take a snapshot and storing it away in his mind before exiting the room with Alexa in tow. Once they were out of the room, Vahn set Alexa down on the floor and she remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "Papa...you really do care about them a lot...dont you?" Vahn gave the most assured nod he had ever managed, reaching out his hand in the same motion to rub her head as he said, "I care deeply about all of my children, Alexa. Never forget, that includes you as well..." Seeing her wings droop slightly at his words, Vahn felt a little sad before Alexa perked up a momentter, a smile on her face as she said, "I understand, Papa. When we return from the Dungeon, I will do my best to get along with all my siblings. I wont let anyone, or anything, bring harm to them...!" Though he knew there was more that Alexa wasnt saying, Vahn still smiled and ruffled the young True Dragons hair as he said, "You really are amazing, Alexa. Though I care about all of my children dearly, you are a point of pride that I would proudly tout to the entire world. Come...we dont want to keep the others waiting for too long." Seeing Alexa practically puff out her chest in pride when he mentioned he was proud of her, Vahns smile softened further. Then, epting her outstretched hand, Vahn led the way down to the dining room where the majority of the a.d.u.l.ts were already gathering... With the exception of Mona, everyone that generally resided in the Manor was gathered together to eat breakfast before sending off the expedition group. As for Mona herself, had been given leeway to sleep through the night while Lili, Naaza, Eina, and Demeter looked after the children. Since Lili would be away from her daughters for what could easily be a few months, she had wanted to spend some more time with them before leaving. Though she seemed to spend a lot of time in the orb, the truth of the matter was that she woulde out every few hours, which only amounted to a half hour or so in the real world, to check up on them. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts didnt produce much milk, even though she was muchrger than other Pallums he had seen, but Lili still liked to just hold her daughters so they didnt forget her warmth. After taking a seat between Hestia and Hephaestus, the two goddesses leaned into his shoulders slightly as Alexa took a seat behind him instead of at the table. It was a little awkward but Vahn left her to her own devices as she leaned against his back and appeared to continue napping. He had noticed this with Terra, Fafnir, and Khaos, but True Dragons seemed to have prettyzy personalities as they could easily spend entire days just lounging under the sun. Though Alexa trained hard to grow stronger, and also spent a lot of time studying, it didnt mean she invested all of her time focused on those pursuits. In fact, out of a twenty-four hour day, Alexa would generally sleep up to ten hours... Breakfast was a lively affair and Vahn could tell that everyone was excited at the prospect of entering into the Dungeon, even though they knew it would be dangerous. Amongst the girls that would be apanying him, there wasnt a single one who showed even a hint of fear. In fact, Vahn could see a fiery resolution and a great deal of expectation in many of the girls eyes, something that was especially prevalent in Ais, Tiona, Haruhime, and Lefiya. Tiona was the type that got easily riled up at just the thought of a fun battle while Haruhime seemed to be excited by the prospect of acting publically as his Vice-Captain. As for Lefiya, she never shied away from the opportunity to show off as his apprentice and, in an effort to support Ais, was almost giddy with anticipation for the battles toe. Ais was, of course, the most excited for the expedition since, even though her personality had changed a great deal, her hatred and resolution to kill all evil monsters still burned strong. Since her fate was also tied to the Dungeon, to the point it had been calling to her over thest month, the only thing that had kept her from charging into its depths on her own was thebined efforts of everyone present. As for the reason behind this, it was because Preasia had been helping her make sense of some of the memories within her mind, something Vahn himself had the opportunity to experience. When he first saw Ais as a little girl, Vahn felt slightly dazed and wondered if their child would be as adorable as she was. As for her mother, Aria, Vahn found her to be an exceptionally beautiful woman who, from Ais memories, seemed to be very kind and gentle. The most peculiar thing, however, wasnt Ais mother, but her father, Albert Waldenstein. Even in the dreamscape, Ais ability to recall the man was severelycking, making it appear as those he was an enigma without a face. However, his basic features could still be made out and it was in for each of them to see that the man had a lot of simrities with Bell. Not only did they have very simr hairstyles, with Bells already being a unique anomaly within the world, but even their armor choices were surprisingly simr. The only key difference was the hair color, the fact that Albert was much taller, and that he used a sword that Ais had trouble envisioning as well. This wasnt the strangest thing, though, which was the fact that everything that Albert said within the dreamscape sound almost synthetic in nature, much like how Sis voice had in the past. It was like Ais memories had been tampered with and fabricated, something that he hoped to get to the bottom of in the near future... As far as Bell himself was concerned, he had been on his own journey over thest month and had actually managed to reach Level 2 after fighting against the exceptionally rare Killer Ant Queen. ording to what he heard from Loki, the boy nearly died and, if not for the fact Vahn had given [Effigy of the Hero]s to each of hispanions, the small Pallum girl at his side would have certainly died. She ended up getting one of her legs severed and had bled out while Bell fought desperately to protect her while Line tried to treat the wounds. Unfortunately, this didnt go that well but, fortunately, she had the [Effigy of the Hero] to immediately recover her wounds after taking fatal damage. When Bell had seen this, and understood the use of the item after seeing how full of energy Plum was, the dumb boy practically suicided into the mass of Killer Ants just to trigger his own. The boost he had gotten from the [Effigy of the Hero] had been enough to give him the edge against the Killer Ant Queen and, using the pair of daggers that Welf had forged for him, Bell managed to decapitate her before destroying therge monster core. Since the other Killer Ants had been connected to her through some kind of mental link, they all stopped moving when the Queen was dead, allowing Line to systematically kill the unresponsive ants before moving her two unresponsivepanions to a safe area... Vahn had felt a little dizzy when he heard the report from Loki, who had not been pleased with the boy and put him on house arrest until he received proper training. Since he would potentially be a liability, as a Level 2 that seemed to trigger dangerous events wasnt conducive to their mission, he wouldnt be apanying the expedition. Vahn suspected that something would happen over the next few months that would get Bell wrapped up in things, but that would have to be something his avatar dealt with. At the same time, Vahn had been considering forging a growth weapon for Bell, just like in the original series, but had been putting it off since it might be better to just give the boy an S-Rank weapon. Though a growth weapon would be very beneficial for him in the long run, an S-Rank weapon would help Bell survive the situations he idiotically threw himself into... As they both sensed what he was thinking about, Hephaestus and Hestia turned toward Vahn with curious expressions, bringing a smile to his face as he said, "I was just thinking about matters of the future. On that note, though Im sure youre all getting tired of me repeating this, make sure you arent dropping your guard during the expedition. Remember,munication is one of the most important factors for avoiding dangerous situations. We have the benefit of using telepathy to remain in touch so use it the moment you notice something strange. There is no way Enyo will just watch as we begin building a base on the 50th Floor so we will need to remain on alert and avoid being separated..." The lively atmosphere had be slightly more tense with his words but all of the girls nodded their heads in understanding without voicing anyints. They had all been training hard for what felt like more than six years, all so that they wouldnt be caught off guard during this expedition. If they made a mistake at this point, just the embarrassment along might be enough to make them wish they were dead... Seeing everyone treating this matter seriously, Vahn smiled appreciatively and said, "Once we defeat Enyo and establish Haven, the Alliance will be a force that is almost impossible to root out. We will be in a position to bring about change to the entire world and increase the quality of life for all people. Truly, I can never express the gratitude I feel for each and everyone one of you...the only thing that can eclipse that feeling is the amount of love I have...hahahahaha~." Vahn felt a little foolish to say something so cheesy but, at this moment, he meant every single word of it. The girls also seemed to buy into it as the tense atmosphere immediately vanished and was reced by a warmth that he would never tire of... Once breakfast hade to an end, the expedition group was getting ready to head out while Vahn shared an embrace with all the girls that would remain behind. Though he would still be able to spend time with them, the benefit of having two bodies, it didnt mean they wouldnt show him support while he ventured into the Dungeon. Then, with Fenrir, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Haruhime, Lefiya, Mikoto, Ryuu, Lili, Arnya, Chloe, Shizune, Tina, Emiru, Maemi, and Alexa, Vahn headed towards the rendezvous where the expedition was currently staging their supplies. Asfi had wanted toe along, but Vahn had her stay behind this time since she was a little weak and better suited for the production of magic items, at least for the time being. Since he could easily transfer them into his Inventory, for use in the Dungeon, she was inarguably more useful on the Surface than within the Dungeon itself. She reluctantly agreed to this, not that she would have had a choice if he told her to stay, but perked up very quickly when Vahn had pinched her pert little rump and reminded her that they would potentially have some privacy in the near future... While flying through the sky towards their destination, Vahn noticed that one of the girls was showing signs of hesitation and looked back to see Tina staring towards the Manor that was quickly bing smaller in the distance. Every time she had gone into the Dungeon before now, Mn had apanied her. Though she wasnt genuinely afraid, the fact that her mother was staying behind in the Manor this time around made Tina feel a little nervous. Since she would also be an a.d.u.l.t in the Dungeon this time around,cking the moral support of her mother was a first for her. Vahn was tempted to remind her about the fact that her mother could even experience her first time alongside her, but kept it to himself for the time being and just pulled her closer to his side to grab her hand. This helped her calm down almost instantly but also prompted Tiona to nearly tackle him out of the sky as she nded on his back and gave him a hug from behind... After a few small hups, and a fair amount ofughter, the peculiar flying troupended in the Babel za under the curious eyes of a massive crowd. Though it wasnt even 5 AM yet, there were already thousands of people gathered around, creating something of an impromptu festival as they prepared to send off thergest expedition in history. There were a lot of stalls that had been set up, selling delicious food andst minute supplies, while many people were spending a final few moments with their friends before separating for what could be a two year period. To prevent stowaways, and people from trying to solicit the members of the expedition, arge area of the za had been cordoned off, not that it was that effective with this many people... Vahn sent the girls off to make their own preparations while he approached a small tform where Finn was talking with a group of eleven people, with Shakti and Rufina among them. Both girls noticed his presence before he had even touched down, as a massive group of flying people stuck out like a sore thumb, and Vahn could swear he saw Rufina flinch slightly. As for why this was the case, it was because she wasnt supposed to be apanying the expedition ording to the original n. Since Rufina had lost years of her life to the Dungeon in the past, Vahn hadnt really wanted her going back into its depths, especially since Enyo was bound to attack them. However, the decision was ultimately hers and, if this is what she had decided for herself, Vahn wouldnt force the issue. Instead, he walked up to the group with Alexa, Fenrir, and Haruhime following behind him and smiled before saying, "Good morning, everyone. Its good to see the two of you, Shakti, Rufina. With capable tamers like you apanying us, I think the domestication n has a fair chance at sess." Rufina visibly rxed when she heard how easygoing Vahn was, barely containing a sigh before turning it into a hmph as she said, "Though Im not a freak like you, Im still the best tamer in this City. If you really want to try and raise monsters within the 50th Floor, youll need my help...be grateful!" To this, Vahn just gave acent nod, annoying Rufina even further as he ced his hand on Alexas head and said, "This is my daughter, Alexa. Since this is her first time in the Dungeon, Ill be looking after her personally. Dont worry, she may look young, but she is a True Dragon who could fight on par with a Level 6 with a reasonable chance of victory~." These words, stated as casually as a morning greeting, caused the entire group to visibly shudder while Finn, having long given up on trying to understand Vahn, simply gave a wry smile as he said, "I hope my children are as capable as yours are in the future. My oldest is a real handful and Im almost positive she is trying to make me go bald...hahahaha~." As if to emphasize this fact, Finns handsome face actually showed signs ofpounding fatigue and his blonde hair was frayed in a few spots. Vahn knew the reliable Pallum had been working very hard over thest year and a half and, once they reached the 50th Floor, he decided to help Finn ease some of his burdens. For the time being, he just handed over an emerald green potion and said, "Just a sip of this potion would help replenish your vitality and stamina, allowing you to continue fighting for hours. Be careful that you dont tax your mind too much, though, as the only cure for that is proper rest..." To this, Finn just showed a gratified smile and epted the potion before immediately sampling it. In an instant, the small bags under his eyes softened and he suddenly seemed full of energypared to before. Feeling how effective the potion was, much like anything Vahn would give him, Finns smile grew even wider as he said, "The productions of the Hearth Manor never cease to amaze me. Thank you for the potion, Vahn, I greatly appreciate it." Vahn nodded his head and, out of general courtesy, handed out potions to everyone present before asking, "I trust most of the preparations have been taken care of...?" To this, Finn nodded his head and began exining what extra preparations had been made before handing over a list of all the supplies that would still be carried on the carts. It was mainly things like basic rations, for anyone that was hungry during the movement, and an assortment of extra weapons and armor. The Hephaestus Familia had gone all out to mass produce equipment for the expedition this time around, just like other Familias has contributed their own specialties. Since the Alliance wasprised of about 70% production-based Familia, the number of consumable goods and resources they coulde forth with was monstrous. Since nobody wanted to be used of holding back, considering how important this expedition was to the Alliance, everyone had put in an extra effort and they were currently carrying around nearly twice the requisition amount. Some of this was because the Alliance was paying a premium on the goods, assuming they passed the quality check, but it was still very helpful. After arranging things with Finn, Vahn moved the majority of the excess supplies into his Inventory, mainly consisting of things like camping equipment and materials for repairing equipment. This would greatly increase their movement speed, which would be very important with howrge their expedition was. They would be trying to ze through the Dungeon and reach the 50th Floor within five days, a feat that would be nearly impossible with such an oversized group. However, with his aura helping to keep people energized, the hearty food that would be provided during meals, and the girls practically ughtering any monsters along the way, their momentum would be nigh unstoppable... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Doppel want huggies (^o^)~!,Bell is an idiot,An expedition to shatter all records~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 804 - Descent Start

Chapter 804 - Descent Start

By the time the expedition was ready to depart, nearly two hours had passed, making it around 7 AM before they finally set out. Therge crowd walked alongside the expedition party, cheering and shouting along the way as the path leading into the Dungeon had beenpletely cleared out. This wasnt just a major event for the Alliance itself, but represented progress for the entire City of Orario. The mission statement of the Guild, and every Adventurer within the City, had always been to venture into the unknown and uncover the secrets shrouded in darkness. The Dungeon represented the ultimate adventure and, with the Alliance paving the way forward, it was as if they were all witnessing the dawn of a new era. Of course, not everyone was weing this change as Vahn had already taken note of several small groups with the expedition itself who had less than clear auras. They were likely belonging to criminal Familias that had infiltrated in with the construction workers andborers. There was an even higher chance that they belonged to the Noble faction and would try to facilitate whatever schemes that group of fools had cooked up. He had already received a report of an expedition of around one hundred people venturing into the Dungeon the previous day,prised almost entirely of frence Adventurers and mercenaries. Vahn knew they would likely try to follow behind the Alliances expedition and try to get a foothold of their own, something that was already expected. With assistance from their men on the inside, they would probably try to steal resources or something more sinister, not that it would matter in the end. Though the settlement on the 50th Floor was a project of the Alliance, it was still a project personally headed by Vahn himself. He had absolute authority and, from the moment the [Seed of the Tree of Life] was nted, there wasnt a single person that would have any say on the matter. If any criminal activity was discovered within Haven, especially if it was rted to subterfuge, collusion, and espionage, they would immediately be exiled from the encampment and allowed to fend for themselves. Haven was inarguably the most important project that he would implement within the record before he returned to it in the future. To prevent any hups from urring, Vahn didnt mind being somewhat ruthless if people didnt have enough sense to stand aside and see reason. This was something that was necessary for the stability of the entire world, not just the Continent, so Vahn wouldnt tolerate fools machinating to undermine what the Alliance was setting out to aplish... Because of their sheer numbers, and how small the corridors on the Upper Floors were, it took nearly three hours to make the journey from the surface down to the 18th Floor, Rivira. Along the way, they had been besieged by a veritable army of monsters that sought to bar their passage. Their numbers were so great that it was almost like a permanant monster party, even if they were almost entirelyprised of Level 1 monsters. Even so, it was still very inconvenient and this was the main reason why such a massive expedition had never been attempted in the past. It would only get worse as they progressed further but, with the corridors opening up a bit, it would actually be easier to deal with the endless waves. For the time being, the girls had protected the wagons while the Supporters and lower Level Adventurers got experience fighting monsters. This was another reason why the journey had been slow, even though it was rather entertaining watching Level 1 and 2 Adventurers fight seriously against Hellhounds, Minotaurs, and Ligerfangs. The construction crew, crowding around the carts in a formation, had stayed in the back while cheering on the budding Adventurers, much to thetter groups chagrin. Still, it was inarguably a good amount of experience and Vahn wasnt in any particr rush, even if he had set the window for reaching the 50th Floor at five days. Unlike the past, where they would ept missions from the various Adventurers located on the 18th Floor, the expedition continued forward into the Great Tree Labyrinth without stopping. This had surprised many people but, remembering the purpose of the expedition this time around, it wasnt too surprising. Unfortunately, one group waspletely caught off guard by this and Vahn couldnt help butugh, causing Alexa to inquisitively ask, "Papa, what is so funny...?" To this, Vahn inclined his head towards a small encampment near a hill in the distance. There was a chaotic scene ying out as the expeditionary party belonging to the Nobles were caught grossly unprepared for the fact that they hadnt stopped to make final preparations. With her eyes, Alexa could even see the small hairs making up the scruff of some of the mens faces. She saw them moving about and, realizing what they were up to, Alexa frowned and asked, "Papa, why do you allow people to get in your way? With your strength, people should lower their heads and do as you say, not get in your way. They are taking advantage of your kindness..." As she was speaking, Alexa looked like she was contemting taking to the sky and bombarding the fools that would dare to bar her Papas passage. Understanding this, Vahn ced his hand on her head and, with a smile that didnt quite reach his eyes, exined, "Sometimes, people wander off the path and end up living a life of inevitable regret. There is always hope that they will correct their ways and, unless we witness their crimes ourselves, or learn of them through a reliable source, it isnt right for us to pass judgment on them. Besides, its giving them too much credit if we let every minor threat bother us..." Alexas aquamarine eyes shimmered slightly before she lowered her head, a thoughtful expression on her face. To his right, Fenrir was dangling her feet off the edge of the cart while looking towards the Noble expeditions encampment with her scarlet red eyes reflecting a cold light. She also agreed that those people werent worth her Masters time but, contrary to this, Fenrir also believed it would save everyone a lot of trouble if someone dealt with them. Still, unless she was told to take care of them, Fenrir would always respect her Masters wishes since she too desired a happier world, not necessarily one with more death... Passing through the Large Tree Labyrinth was the first step of their journey this time around and, after around ten hours, the expedition had arrived outside a connecting corridor that would lead to the first Floor of the Great Falls, the 25 Floor known as the Water City. Since passing through that area would be one of the most troublesome legs of the entire journey, the expedition made camp outside the 25th Floor and sealed off all the areas leading into it. Even if the Nobles expedition showed up, they would be turned away since the entire area had been imed by the Alliance for the time being. This was a bit of a power y but, if they wanted to y games, Vahn didnt mind inconveniencing them as well. Seeing the ocean of tents that had been set up, Vahn had a thoughtful expression while hovering in the air around twenty meters. This drew the attention of a lot of people but, as it was already well doc.u.mented that he was able to fly, nobody was that surprised. In fact, if not for Alexa sitting on his shoulders, while Fenrir curled up in hisp, most of them likely would have minded their own business. As for what the other girls were up to, Ais, Tiona, Tione, Chloe, Tina, Shizune, Arnya, Ryuu, and Mikoto had gone to get some rest. They would be very busy starting tomorrow and it was paramount they were functioning at one hundred percent to avoid any issues. The only two that were busy, at least for the time being, were Haruhime, overseeing the Rearguard Unit, and Lefiya, managing the allocation of Mages within all three Units, essentially serving the role that Riveria would have filled in the past. Though their magic wasnt nearly as versatile as what many of the girls were capable of, it wasnt as if Mages using the old magic system were entirely useless. Their power could still wipe out monsters that were several levels above themselves if used properly. They might not have much of a role starting tomorrow, but that didnt mean they wouldnt have their uses when dealing with any waves that break through the strike teams perimeter. Vahn also knew that, just witnessing his girls perform, many of the Mages within the Alliance would be inspired to grow stronger. This would increase the reputation of his girls and also serve as a means for them to build rapport with the rest of the Alliance in general... Once the camp waspletely set up, Vahn made the decision to give everyone a full eight hours of sleep and decided he would watch over the encampment while everyone else slept. Since he was currently back at the Manor enjoying a somewhat hectic bath while trying to keep Meinya from running around, he wasnt particrly in need of any rest. Eventually, he managed to snatch her up with his telekinesis when she almost slipped onto her face and, while she wasughing mischievously, brought her into the water to wash her head. Without Arnya to constantly look after her, Meinya was acting out a bit and Vahn had been spending a good part of his day ying with her, Alise, and many of his other children. Perhaps it was the fact that he was enjoying a pleasant experience back at the Manor, but Vahn felt like the Dungeon was actually somewhat boring right now. Even though he knew there were actually legitimate dangers, even to his immortal self, it was almost impossible to feel any real tension when happy things were happening at the same time. He could even imagine an instance where he might be making love to one of the girls back at the Manor while Enyos forces tried to ambush him. This thought caused a strange incongruity in Vahn that made him feel as if he wasnt treating this matter as seriously as he should be... Though she had seemed to be snoozing in hisp, Fenrirs ears perked up around 2 AM, her scarlet eyes opening soon after as she began sniffing the air. Vahn had already noticed the peculiarity she was sensing and wondered if this was the best Enyo would be able to throw at them. Currently, there was a light pink mist that had started to emanate from strange flowers that had bloomed throughout the encampment. They were small, seemingly harmless, nts that most people wouldnt have spared a second nce. Vahn, however, immediately noticed their peculiarity and appeared at the side of one, plucking it from the ground with his [Eyes of Truth] active and smelling it directly. The hazy pink mist caused his body to heat up slightly before it was immediately purified, causing Vahn to snort as he began to use a basic purification spell through his domain itself. The spores emanating from the nt were almost invisible to the n.a.k.e.d eye and, though someone like Fenrir was able to smell it, the spores were actually scentless. As for their effect, it was a rtively potent aphrodisiac that could have caused a great deal of chaos if it had gone unnoticed. Though it wasnt traditionally considered a weapon, anything that could affect a persons base instincts could cause a catastrophe in an emergency situation. Sensing that the amount of mana in the area had started to increase, Vahn shot a re into the air that caused bells to begin ringing out momentster. In less than three minutes, most Adventurers had already exited their tents in full equipment and werebat ready. As for Vahn, he had already reached the Command Tent as Finn came outside with his spear in hand, asking, "What is the emergency, Vahn?" Without beating around the bush, Vahn held up the flower and exined, "A monster party is going to converge on our position soon. These nts emit nearly invisible pollens that act as a powerful aphrodisiac. Make sure everyone has their [Panacea] at the ready for any unexpected situations." Even though this area should have been rtively safe, Finn wasnt surprised that a Monster Party would converge on them when they had such arge number of people. When Vahn mentioned the flowers, however, he was extremely surprised and asked, "Enyo...?" However, he didnt stick around to wait for Vahns answer, already knowing the truth of the matter as he moved to the top of a cart and began shouting out orders with his [Command Howl] ability. In the distance, Shakti had already started to organize the majority of the second unit into the center of the encampment while Haruhime had created a phnx oriented towards the 24th Floor while people quickly began disassembling the tents behind. In total, less than five minutes had passed and even the construction personnel were already quickly at work in preparing the defenses... Seeing how smoothly everything was going, Vahn had a satisfied smile on his face as he stood in the air with Fenrir and Alexa at his sides. Turning to his daughter, Vahn said, "Make sure you dont use any big attacks near our allies but, other than that, feel free to cut loose if you want. Ill watch over you from here...good luck, Alexa..." Before sending her off, Vahn gave his daughter a hug and then watched with a mixture of pride and concern as she pulled out a 4m long ck spear, forged from her own scales, and took off like a loose arrow towards an area where monsters had started to break through the reinforced wooden walls. Without any hesitation at all, as though she had fought hundreds of times before, Alexa buried her spear into the gullet of a Hobgoblin before brandishing it, sending the monsters body ragdolling through the air as she quickly diced through the next enemy. There was absolutely no sign of fear on her face at all, instead, a small smile had started to spread across her face as she danced through the bits of blood and gore that deflected off her emerald-green aura. Seeing this, Vahn knew she was more than a match for monsters of this Level but, just to be safe, turned to Fenrir was a slight plea in his gaze. She returned a somewhat wry smile before nodding her head and heading toward where Alexa was fighting, supporting her without directly interfering with the battle. With Fenrir looking after Alexa, Vahn spared some of his attention to other ongoing fights and wondered how the Dungeon was even able to keep its structural integrity when monsters were pouring out almost every surface. For the time being, he didnt need to interfere personally and, other than dealing with any variants that would pop up, the girls were also keeping their true strength hidden. The only thing he needed to do at the moment was take out any of the flowers that would periodically pop up, even though Shaktis Unit had already been assigned with disassembling the remaining tents and destroying any flowers they found... After nearly a half hour of constant battle, most of the tents had already been stowed away in apact form that Vahn could easily store inside of his Inventory. With this, they could begin their march into the 25th Floor directly, even though the Monster Party hadnt ended. There were no great benefits to clearing it outpletely and, as they would be barraged by monsters on the 25th Floor regardless, it didnt make much of a difference if they began moving. To enable the transition, Vahn decided to take action of his own for the first time and pulled out his reforged [Laevateinn], now possessing a de that looked perpetually ame. Sending a telepathic signal to Haruhime, she quickly raised her Unit Banner high and shouted, "Second and Third toons, begin falling back and join up with the 2nd Unit. First and Fourth toons, prepare to close up the gaps and focus on the defense. Mages, erect an anti-magic barrier on my mark~!" Much like Finns, Haruhimes voice also cut through the air since she too had the [Command Howl] ability. Since she had been groomed to hold a leadership position from the very beginning, Haruhimes battle sense and perception had be quite sharp. She also practiced directing mock battles within the orb and had learned a great deal from Aki, Riveria, and Tsubaki. With Haruhime sending out her orders, Vahn put on a show as if she had perfectly predicted what was going to happen. The moment her Unit began moving out, he crashed down in the mass of monsters and created arge swath of perpetually burning mes that spread quickly through the monsters as a result of his me elemental maniption. Since the 24th Floor was also part of the Large Tree Labyrinth, beingprised of wood, it spread even faster than normal and began to incinerate the mostly nt-based monsters. At the same time, without minding the mes at all, Vahn walked freely amongst them and cut down monsters with incredible ease as the ck-jawed members of the Rearguard Unit stared aimlessly at his figure. Seeing that her forces had stopped moving, Haruhimes voice transitioned from being calm and elegant to cold and firm, shouting, "First and Fourth toons, move into your positions, now!" These words snapped the majority of her forces back into focus, which also caused those few that were still distracted to begin moving. At the same time, Haruhimes tails began to snake through the air in a somewhat tantalizing manner before fanning out behind her in a perfectly symmetrical fashion. Illusory blue mes began burning on their tips as thin spears of blue-ck ice formed in the air around her. Instead of just four, however, there were a total of twenty-nine lethal looking magic projectiles that then shot forward at hypersonic speeds. After polishing her [Sagitta Magicka] and [Icicle Edge] to the extreme, Haruhime had been able to fuse them together into a chantless version of the spell thatbined both Darkness and Ice Elemental energy. This greatly increased their destructive power and, such as in this instance, made it nearly impossible for fire to melt them as they cut through [Laevateinn]s mes and skewered any unfortunate monster in their path. This disy caused those that werent paying full attention to Haruhimes orders to quickly get in line, especially since her spears had passed within centimeters of some people... With Vahn filling more and more of the wide room with his mes, keeping them from spreading to the Alliance by creating a membrane that blocked both the spread and the smoke resulting from the mes burning. Vahn knew that using fire without an enclosed area could lead to a severe drop in oxygen levels, but his barrier had segmented the room and forced a backdraft that sucked away some of the monsters into the connecting corridors. This was a pretty interesting phenomenon and Vahn enjoyed seeing some monsters get pulled off their feet and tumble through the air as a result of the increasing wind speed. While this was going on, the expedition had almostpletely reformed itself and only the Rearguard would need to get into position before they advanced. However, just as Haruhime was prepared to give the order, she instead shouted, "Fan out, immediately!" Since they had been listening closely to her orders, the First and Fourth toon immediately dispersed from the nks as Lili flipped through the sky like an acrobat and, just as a massive flower-type monster burst through the ground, buried her fist into its head. The nt had a strange appearance, much like a snake, but with vibrant flower petals around its head and a giant pistil protruding from its stamen. There was a thick pink mist flowing from its mouth but, before it was even able to release whatever sound it was capable of producing, Lilis fist created a veritable pir of a shockwave that tore apart the monster like paper mache. The ground, which had been partly destroyed by the emergence of the monster, was now absolutely devasted as the shockwave from Lilis punch caused the hard wooden surface to fracture and splinter for dozens of meters. Upon witnessing this, an eerie silence descended upon the expedition before Lili came stumbling out of the smoke with a heavily flushed face and a predatory expression as she looked towards Vahn... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Get pranked, Noble twatnuggets,First Contact,Predatory Pallum (O,..,O)) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 805 - Suspicion

Chapter 805 - Suspicion

Though she was in a heated state, Lili didnt lose her senses as a result of the essories Vahn had created for all the girls. They had a very high resistance to almost every status abnormality and, though it was obviously affecting her a bit, the main reason was that Lilis own excitement from the previous hour of fighting had gotten her blood to boil a little. Understanding this, Vahn stowed away his [Laevateinn] and came next to her with [Shundo] before, not minding the ground at all, tracing his fingers through Lilis hair and stroking the side of her cheek. She whimpered and made a pouting expression but epted his assistance in helping rid the effects of the aphrodisiac on her body. Once he had removed the spores in their entirety, Vahn traced his thumb along Lilis lip and, with a casual smile on his face, reminded, "There is a time and a ce for everything, Lili..." This caused her to take a deep breath and, after looking around at the more than one-thousand people, blush fiercely before surprising him with a punch to the gut and running off. Vahn felt the wind forced from his lungs but recovered almost instantly as he followed Lilis retreat for a few seconds before turning his attention to where the monstrous nt-like monster had been. It wasnt surprising to find nt-based monsters within the Large Tree Labyrinth section of the Dungeon, as they were quitemon in this area, but this was his first time seeing this particr species. Waving his hand, Vahn pulled arge magic core from the rubble and noticed it had a peculiar yellow coloration, distinctly different from the amethyst purple of almost every other monster core. Though there were some exceptions, such as in the case of variant species andrge monsters like Dragons, this was the first time he had seen this type of core before. It had malevolent energy and, though he wasnt sure how he was able to discern this, Vahn felt like there was a lot of pain and anguishing from the core... Deciding to keep it for further study, Vahn tossed it into his Inventory without selling it to the system shop, the final resting ce of most cores and Drop Items that werent generally useful. Afterward, he turned to Fenrir and Alexa, who had alreadye to his side, and said, "Lets go. Fenrir, Ill leave freezing the water on the 25th through 27th Floors to you. If you run low on energy,e back to me and Ill help top you up." Fenrir nodded her head, saying, "I understand, Master. Leave it to me." As for Alexa, she was breathing a little heavily from getting too excited so Vahn smiled before picking her up in an embrace carry and rejoining the expedition. There were still thousands of monsters present, but the majority were burned by the mes immediately after spawning while the rest were picked off by the ranged units in the expedition... Passage through the Water City, notoriously one of the more difficult legs of any expedition, went rtively smoothly with Fenrir literally freezing everyke, causing several meters of magically reinforced ice to prevent monsters from taking action. Though it cost him much of his own reserves to top hers off, Vahn wasnt that active on these Floors and just acted as a sentry while Alexa snoozed across hisp. He could replenish the majority of his energy after resting for a few minutes, a fact that would cause any other Mage to vomit blood if they learned about this terrifying fact. While passing through the Floors, Vahn was wondering just how much of the monsters response to their presence was the Dungeon itself and how much was orchestrated by Enyo. The strange nt monster was an obvious anomaly and the species of flower wasnt doc.u.mented in any of thependiumspiled by the Guild. Even his Inventory would take a few hours topletely analyze it, showing that the flowers were likely something that had been cultivated and engineered, not something naturally urring within the record. They were either the product of an Innate, or someone on Enyos side had the rtively rare [Botanist] skill at a very high degree of development... Just as the Vanguard Unit had passed from the 27th Floor and began heading down the stairs to the 28th, a very loud rustling sound could be heard echoing through the Dungeon. If not for Ais creating a massive wall of tempestuous wind in an instant, this surprise attack would have likely caused many casualties, if not death, amongst the Rearguard Unit. Vahn sent a telepathic message to the first strike team to exin the situation to Finn and make sure they didnt stagger and instead continue moving forward. At the same time, he startled awake Alexa by taking to the sky in an instant, causing her to dig her rather sharp nails into his arm. Vahn just gave her a wry smile and allowed her to fly on her own before he joined Ais in creating a barrier that the massive cloud of sparrow-like monsters. These were the same Iguazu that had nearly wiped out their party in the past and, the fact they were so far away from dangerous cliff region showed that this was undoubtedly an orchestrated event. Unfortunately for the suicidal birds, other than their broken forms and blood raining from the sky, they were unable to pass through his 780m wide barrier as Ais began chasing around arge blue Iguazu that was guiding the rest of the pack. Her [Ariel] protected her bodypletely and tore apart anything that got even remotely close to her. It took a few minutes, but Ais eventually managed to catch the hypersonic bird,pletely destroying its body in a single strike. As a result, the cloud of Iguazu dispersed and be significantly more disorganized as they doubled back before turning around and mming head-first into Vahns barrier. Even as this was happening, Vahn didnt pay them any attention and instead focused his [Eyes of Truth] on the small golden particles that had emerged from the body of the variant Iguazu. He could sense the same malevolent energy and was now absolutely certain that the yellow monster cores had something to do with Enyo. Ais came to his side while Alexa continued to show a rare blush as she averted her eyes away in embarrassment. Vahn had never actually seen her embarrassed before, even after observing her for one-hundred-twenty years. He found this reaction of hers a little refreshing but was pulled away from this thought as Ais said, "Its like they are all one monster...very strange..." Vahn nodded his head, understanding what Ais was saying and wondered if the Killer Ant Queen that nearly killed Bell was actually a simr entity. If these werent isted events, and Enyo had started to indiscriminately release her strange monsters into the Dungeon, things would be problematic in the near future... With thought crossing his mind, Vahn turned his attention away from his son, Masonia, who he had been helping study. Even though the boy wasnt even two years old yet, he had already learned how to read and, though Riveria wasnt truly pressuring him to be King, Masonia himself had be strangely focused on the idea after learning of his heritage. He knew that it was no longer his birthright, as the crown was no longer inherited but based on power and merit, so Masonia was studying hard and wanted to be capable enough to one day seed his grandfather, Larfal. As he was an exceptionally perceptive boy, he immediately noticed the peculiarities with his father and asked, "Father, is there something you need to attend to...?" Vahn felt a small pang of guilt but nodded his head and exined, "I have discovered some important information in the Dungeon and need to investigate it as soon as possible. However, I dont really need to leave and have already sent a telepathicmunication to Syr. She will let Loki know and that should get things started..." Masonia nodded his head in understanding but then asked, "If you went yourself, wouldnt it go much faster?" To this, Vahn became silent for a moment before Masonia produced a small smile and said, "Father, if it is something important, please see to it yourself. I will be fine here on my own and I have Sherry to apany me if I need to take a break. Please, dont ignore your duties on my behalf..." Hearing his son speaking words that were far more mature than his age would suggest, Vahn felt a mixture of pride and conflict. Then, deciding to ignore the fact that Masonia didnt like to be doted on, Vahn snatched up this intelligent son of his and gave him a firm hug. Having long learned of the futility of resisting, Masonia produced a wry smile and just epted his fate as the adorable little Sherry, Masonias Dryad Guardian, giggled off to the side. She was wearing a dress entirelyprised of leaves, banded together with vines, and adorned with small flowers all over. Though she couldnt speak fluently yet, barely stringing together 2-3 words at a time, she still showed a great deal of awareness about the world around her. After cuddling his adorable son for the better part of a minute, Vahn set him back on the ground and said, "Ill have to ask your mom for permission, but Ill take you back with me to the Elven Kingdom the next time I visit. Im certain your grandfather would love to see his brilliant little grandson~." This caused Masonias long ears to perk up slightly, as they had been drooping down a little previously, and arge smile spread across his face as he asked, "Really!?" Vahn nodded without any hesitation and, thinking he needed to try and set a good example for his son, ced his hand on Masonias shoulder and said, "The only time a man lies is if it is necessary to protect the people he cares about. If we can avoid it, we never speak falsehoods and, so as to never call into question our integrity, it is important to always mean what you say. Though the decision will rest on your mother, Im certain I can convince her with a little coaxing..." Masonias smile suddenly transitioned into a very serious expression as he nodded his head and said, "I understand, Father. Since that is the case, I will make my first promise now...as long as it does not conflict with me protecting the people I hold dear, I will endeavor to never tell a lie!" Though it felt a little awkward to hear his son parrot his words, Vahn couldnt help but smile as he stroked Masonias head and said, "Thats my boy...you make me so proud, Masonia..." This caused Masonia to puff up his chest and raise his chin slightly, not minding the fact that he was currently getting his head pat by his Father... Before leaving the room, Vahn also gave Sherry some head pats, eliciting another giggle for the adorable little girl as some of the vines making up her dress coiled around his hand. As an entity that was perfectly attuned to natural energy, Sherry was especially fond of his petting since his [Yggdrasils Blessing] was doubly effective against her. In fact, it was because of Sherry that Vahn learned that his [Yggrasils Blessing] could be used to greatly elerate the growth of nts, something that made a lot of sense but he had never even thought to use it in such a manner. So that she didnt root herself to his arm, Vahn had to pull his hand away, pinching her nose as he said, "Make sure to take care of my son, Sherry..." This caused the small Dryad to bring both hands to her face, giggling happily as she nodded her head. Afterward, she ran over to Masonia who had already started taking evasive action by moving to the other side of the table with a face asking, Father, why have you betrayed me...? To this, Vahn just beganughing and headed towards the door as the sounds of his sons struggles emerged from behind him. The reason Sherry had been sitting by herself is that Masonia, perhaps as a result of having so many female influences in his life, was strangely intimidated by women. Even his own Guardian, who was extremely attached to the natural energy radiating from his body, wasnt an exception. There was even a time when Vahn had wandered in on them in the library with Sherry essentially growing off of him. If he truly wanted her to leave him alone, Masonia could order her away, or even keep her in his body, but just the thought of it would make him slightly pale. When asked about the reason, Masonia had sheepishly exined that he always felt very fluttery when Sherry was inside his body and could feel her moving around as she yed inside of his body... Since the two would be together for thousands of years, Vahn knew his son would have to get used to Sherrys presence as, even if he ended up getting married, it was simply impossible for him to escape the clingy Dryad. He and Riveria had already talked about it and fully expected that Masonia and Sherry would probably end up together at some point and, though that was several years down the line, Vahn felt strangely proud of this firstborn son of his. Though he would educate Masonia about never biting off more than he could chew, a hard-learned lesson that he himself couldnt adhere to, Vahn still wanted his son to be a capable man who could make many girls happy. --- Following up on his suspicion, Vahn ended up flying through the sky in a rather peculiar manner, this time with Loki riding on his back. Though they could have called Khaos to give them a lift, Loki had cackled madly before saying this would be her preferred method of travel in the future. She kept wiggling around on his back and trying to tease him, even going so far as to nibble on his ear and asked if he wanted to try and have s.e.x in the sky. As a result, Vahn arrived at the Twilight Manor in record time, but not before giving in to Lokis teasing and returning the favor doubly so. By the time they reached the balcony outside her personal quarters, she couldnt even stand on her feet without his support, mumbling, "Cheater...that isnt fair..." During the flight, Vahn had tossed Loki up in the air and flipped over so that he could catch her in his arms. The remaining flight had been both disorienting, as he zig-zagged through the sky, but he also gave her butt a deep tissue massage that had turned her legs into jelly. Now, as she clung to him for support, Vahn reached around and pinched the slightly exposed flesh around the cutoff of her shorts, causing Loki to flinch as she wiggled to try and escape. With furrowed brows, sheined, "You always pinch my butt...Im going to pinch something of yours if you keep getting carried away..." To this, Vahn lightly pinched her butt again, smiling as he said, "Who is the one that once imed that she was proud of her butt...? Can you me me for wanting to sample such a tantali-" Unable to finish his words, Vahn evaded Lokis attempt to grab at the area below his belt, quickly moving around behind her and giving her body a hug as she calmed down. They stayed like that for a while, Vahn sending waves of calming energy into her body, before Loki finally released a yfulugh and said, "Lets go. Im sure that idiot you pawned off on me is getting some high-quality instruction around this time~." Vahn nodded his head in affirmation and since Loki hadined about her legs being sore, he ended up having to give her a piggyback ride as the members of the Loki Familia looked on with amused expressions on their faces. Some of them even went out of their way to try and greet him with a bow while Loki would periodically try to start conversations with random members. Eventually, though Loki seemed to be in anything but a hurry at this point, Vahn ended up carrying the troublemaking goddess into an inner courtyard that was used as a training area. As if on some divine cue, their arrival in the training ground was marked by a white-haired boy spinning in a beautiful arc through the air as a trail of saliva coiled around his body like a work of art. Across from him was someone that Vahn hadnt quite expected to see, sending Loki a questioning gaze as she frowned and said, "This isnt the arrangement I made...Raul, Im going to strangle that spineless brat~!" Instead of Raul, who Loki had arranged to be Bells teacher since he had just returned from Lil Geirr around a month ago, the person currently beating the young hero to a pulp was instead a beautiful Elven woman with muted gold hair and green eyes. This was none other than Alicia Forestlight, one of the main members of the 2nd Party of the Loki Familia, a skilled swordsman that was currently around the peak of Level 4. She was currently wearing her very stylish Adventurer attire, consisting of a muted pink-beige leather armor that ended in a skirt around her knees. There were ornately designed leather tes covering her abdomen, propping up her modest b.r.e.a.s.ts, and covering her shoulders and neck. Her legs and arms had purple warmers that were simr in color to the belts, pouches, and sheath for her medium-length rapier. Completing the outfit, she had ornate boots that were adorned with gold motifs that matched the other hard leather sections of her armor. Overall, and this was an opinion Vahn had ever since their first meeting, she was a very beautiful and stylish Elven beauty. Currently, Alicia had a very amused expression on her face as she beat Bell with her sheath while Line and Plum spectated from the side. Vahn noticed that Plum seemed very worried about Bell but it appeared that Line was enjoying the boys suffering a little, at least until she saw their arrival. Alicia also noticed Vahn and Loki, her smile blooming into a more natural one as she said, "Vahn-sama, Loki-sama, it pleases me to see you. Did youe here for me, or did you have business with my foolish little apprentice~?" Ever since he had married Riveria, Alicia had insisted on addressing him as sama, leaving no room for discussion as the amount of respect she had for Riveria wouldnt allow her to neglect such courtesy. After he made a big impact back in the Elven Kingdom, this became even more prevalent and, much like many Elven women, Alicia always had a very reverential look on her face when she saw Vahn. In fact, Loki had even teased him about it in the past, saying that all the Elves in her Familia wished he would extend his favor to them... Vahn felt a little guilty that Alicia had simply turned away, leaving Bell sprawled on the ground as she now ced her full attention on him. Though she didnt have the (Love) bracket parameter, Alicias Affection was currently sitting at 99(Exalted), a verymon parameter he had been seeing pop up in those that had a great deal of respect and reverences towards him. She had even started to walk over to meet them halfway as if waiting for them to approach her would be an uneptable affront, leaving Bell for Plum and Line to attend to. After sending a nce towards Bell, who strangely seemed uninjured after getting knocked 10m from a hit to the face, Vahn smiled at Alicia and said, "We needed to confirm something with Bell about the Killer Ant Queen subjugation. Sorry for interrupting your training, Alicia...tell me, how has Bell been as a student?" To this, Alicia returned an even more radiant smile and said, "Ahhh, he is actually improving at a faster rate than anyone Ive ever seen before. The only problem is, he had a tendency to slip and...haaaa..." Just remembering the incident, Alicia didnt know if she should blush or vent her frustrations directly on Bell with her rapier. Moments before Vahn and Loki had arrived, Bell managed to evade on her attacks and catch her off guard. She managed to disarm his weapon but that ended up knocking him off bnce, allowing the airheaded boy to cop a feel of her chest before she sent him flying on instinct. The strange thing was, before Vahn arrived, she didnt really mind the small slip and it was only in hindsight that she felt bothered by it...after all, she, like most Elves, didnt allow people to touch them, especially in such an intimate manner... Even without Alicia exining in greater detail, Vahn had a good idea what had happened and he couldnt help but look towards Bell like he was a very dangerous existence. If Alicia had been behaving normally, she probably would have genuinely injured Bell for such an affront and harbored a small grudge towards him for the indeterminant future. However, Bell seemed to be able to avoid such repercussions and, much like how it had been in the manga, the boy was able to get away with things that would have earned any other man the ire of various women... Loki also didnt really want her members being poached by Bell passively so she asked Alicia to find someone skilled with daggers that could instruct Bell, preferably a male. Alicia, however, showed a slightlyplicated expression and exined, "I had already agreed to train him...it would not be very dignified for me to go back on my word. Please, forgive me for this, Loki-sama..." In a very polite fashion, Alicia bowed with a slightly apologetic expression on her face. She didnt give her word easily and, once she had made a promise, it was her creed to follow it through till the end. Besides, or at least she was telling herself this, Bell hadnt intentionally touched her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Feeling like Alicia was spiraling into a trap that had been machinated by fate, Vahn wasnt sure if he should help her avoid it or allow her to slowly fall for Bell. Given the boys nature, he would actually be a pretty good man for her but, by the same machinations of fate, Alicia may be exposed to danger in order for Bell to grow further. Since he wanted her to at least have more control over future developments, Vahn smiled and exined in a quiet voice, "He may not intend to do it, but Bell has the [Luck] Development Ability. Unless youre adamant about preventing it, those types of slips may happen asionally, usually in situations where you wouldnt mind. Please, remember that as youre training and there shouldnt be any problems." Alicias eyes widened when she heard this, her long ears perking up slightly before realizing exactly what Vahn had just told her. She suddenly felt a little worried about training Bell but, with Vahns warning, could at least prepare herself. The next time Bell made a slip, she would properly educate him so that he learned to respect the boundaries of other people. At the same time, she resolved herself to not simply pass it off as an ident in the future and bowed at an even lower angle towards Vahn than she did her own goddess. Loki didnt seem to mind this and just snickered slightly as she leaned next to Alicia, whispering, "You know, Vahn might seem hard to approach at times, but he has a soft spot for Elves...trust me, his touch is something youd never be able to forget. Even Riveria turns into a very honest girl whenever she is with Vahn, you know~?" For the first time since he had met her, Vahn watched as Alicias ears began to waggle adorably as her face turned scarlet red. From the side, Bell saw this and also blushed slightly, muttering, "Cute..." in a small voice that was heard by both Line and Plum. The former, who had been applying a salve to some of Bells wounds, suddenly poured the remaining contents onto his head while Plum, teary-eyed,ined, "Bell-sama, why are you looking at other girls all the time...Plum is broken-hearted..." This caused Bell, creamy white salve staining his face, to turnpletely pale as he began trying to exin that it was a misunderstanding... (A/N: Though Sunday is supposed to be my rest day, I decided that I didnt release enough content yesterday and made an extra chapter for you to enjoy. And believe me, Im not trying to bully Bell...I promise >:D...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bloody rain...,Unstoppable Godhand,Vahn never gets any breaks (>,...,<)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 806 - Bestowal

Chapter 806 - Bestowal

Resisting the urge to pinch Lokis butt, Vahn did his best to keep a stoic expression on his face as Alicia nced towards him briefly before turning away with a fl.u.s.tered expression. Loki began cackling as she casually guided Alicia away so Vahn would be free to talk with Bell. Seeing this, Vahn was full of mixed feelings because he knew that, while Loki was teasing Alicia, there was some truth to her words. His impression of Alicia had never been bad and, if she genuinely showed an interest in him, Vahn wouldnt be averse to the idea. It ultimately depended on if she wanted a permanant rtionship which, considering she was an Elf, was more than likely the case. If that were so, he would have to politely decline her advances and then punish Loki for putting him a difficult spot when they were alone... Moving to where Bell was, Vahn extended a hand to help the boy stand before surprising Line and Plum by pulling away all the excess ointment and forming it into a small ball. With a slightly stern expression, Vahn looked at Line and scolded, "Line, medicines like this are very expensive. Please, keep that in mind..." Though the ointment was significantly cheaper than an Elixir, that didnt mean it was something that could be squandered without consideration. He may not be the best person to lecture others about not to waste resources, but Line seemed like a calm and intelligent girl and it was a little unexpected for her to lose her cool. Line lowered her head, showing an expression of embarrassment as she muttered, "I understand..." before sending aplex look towards the smiling Bell. For Plum, this was her first time meeting Vahn up close and she had turned into an immovable statue with her mouth slightly agape. Though he didnt have the title of Braver, Vahn had be the true hero of Pallums the world over. It was because of his efforts to help the Pallum people that her family had tried their luck at fleeing to the City in the first ce. Thus, for Plum, seeing the person that so many Pallums looked up to within arms reach of her was a very big impact... As he was already ustomed to such looks, Vahn didnt pay too much attention to it and simply pulled out another [Effigy of the Hero], cing it into the small girls hands and allowing her to absentmindedly stare at it before turning to Bell and saying, "Bell...grit your teeth..." To this, Bell showed a face of confusion and uttered an Eh?,pletely unable to react to Vahn bringing his middle finger to his head and flicking him with enough force to knock the boy end-over-end a few times. Vahn noticed that the flow of energy around Bells body actually protected him, which was both interesting and annoying, but let it slide for the time being. With a teary-eyed expression, Bell rubbed his forehead and asked, "What was that for...?" as if he waspletely incapable of understanding the error of his ways. Vahn, understanding this was likely a product of fate, in conjunction with Bells [Luck], felt a powerful urge to sigh before exining, "Line should have already told you about it, but that effigy you used would have been enough to pay the sries of thousands of people, including all of their living expenses for years. The fact that you used it just to kill a monster...haaaa..." Though he didnt really care that Bell used the effigy, as that was its intended purpose, Vahn didnt want him to start treating it as some consumable item that would allow him to get through sticky situations. It was meant to be ast resort and, while the Killer Ant Queen was a major threat, Bell didnt actually need to stick around and fight it. In fact, with Plums own enhancements from her effigy, they would have been able to escape with rtive ease. If that event had been something orchestrated by Enyos forces, the fact that Bell would have lost the ability to fight afterward would have gotten his entire party wiped... Bell suddenly showed an extremely apologetic expression on his face while Plum tightly gripped the effigy in her palms as if it were a precious treasure. In fact, after having experienced its function for herself, she knew it was exactly that. Having Vahn give her a second one was almost like receiving a third chance at life, one which she would have already lost if not for the original one he had given her. This realization made her feel a little choked up without any means of truly expressing herself with any words or actions she could think of. Since reprimanding Bell wasnt exactly his reason foring here, Vahn just released a small sigh before helping him rise to his feet again, saying, "The only reason Im going to forgive you is that you used it to at least try to help the people you care about. However, you have to remember that this item is extremely precious and is meant to help you preserve your life in a dangerous situation. You already experienced the fact that you wont be able to take any actions after the fact, so treat this as a lesson and make sure you never use it in such a haphazard manner again. I understand you may not have been in the right state of mind after watching yourpanion get seriously injured, but this will be thest time I show you leniency...remember, Bell, a hero isnt someone who gambles with their lives and the lives of others. Be strong enough that the effigy is nothing more than a reminder of your mortality, not a crutch you can use to ovee your enemies..." Taking another [Effigy of the Hero], Vahn ced it into Bells hand and reiterated, "Think about the hero you want to be...is it the type that relies on handouts from others just to protect the things you hold dear...?" Bell had been somewhat absentminded when he had been handed the new effigy but, after hearing Vahns words, he squeezed it tightly and even considered giving it back to Vahn in order to prove his convictions. Vahn, noticing this change in Bell, just snorted and said, "You will keep it until Im confident you are capable enough to avoid having the need for it. If you want to prove something, bring that effigy back to me in one piece after you be strong..." This time, Bells expression shown a fierce resolution burning in his eyes and Vahn could even see the fate around his body be slightly more powerful. He didnt know if this was a good or a bad thing, as it meant Bell could potentially influence a greater number of people both positively and negatively. There was even a strand that came from Bells body and tried to contact him, something Vahn hadnt quite expected to ur at all. However, when the thing tendril of energy got near him, it suddenly shrunk back like it had received a powerful shock and retreated into the energy around Bells body once again. Seeing this, Vahn couldnt help but smile, causing Bell to misunderstand slightly as he interpreted Vahns smile as encouragement. This caused Bell to produce a radiant smile of his own, which seemed infectious as it was quickly followed by Line and Plum showing happy expressions of their own. Vahn was slightly taken aback by this but chose to ignore it as he turned to Line, asking, "I had a few questions about the battle between the Killer Ant Queen. Since Bell was out ofmission, I figured you would be the best person to answer my questions, Line." Hearing this, Line nodded her head, a more serious expression on her face as she said, "Please, ask away, Vahn-sama..." Though he was a little bothered by the sudden address of sama, Vahn buried it in his heart and just smile casually as he asked, "Tell me, did you notice anything strange about the Killer Ant Queens behavior? Also, were you able to collect the monster core and Drop Items?" To this, Line inclined her head to the side and seemed to lose herself in reflection before answering, "It was strange that we encountered her on the 11th Floor, as Killer Ants have never been sighted down there previously. Also, though I didnt have time to loot all the items, I did manage to get the magic core from the Killer Ant Queen. However, when I inquired about it at the Guild they acted strangely and, even when I asked for the core to be returned, one of their managers came out exining that it had been destroyed during the identification process..." Vahn wasnt exactly surprised to hear that the Guild would have taken such action as Ouranos was obviously keeping a lot of secrets about the Dungeon. Since Ouranos was helping to keep the seal in ce, Vahn knew he had to be aware of some of the threats that others were simply not privy to, even in the godlymunity. Vahn would need toe up with a means to make Ouranos more forthright about the situation in the future but, for the time being, simply pulled out the strange nt monsters magic core and asked, "Did it look like this...?" Even without Line answering, the look on her face told Vahn everything he needed to know, confirming his suspicions, at least based on the variables he had analyzed. Without waiting for her to exin, he stowed the core away and asked, "Tell me, Line, Plum, are you going to be permanant party members to Bell?" This questions had caught the two girls off guard but Plum collected herself rather quickly, putting on a resolute look as she said, "Yes, I will follow Bell-sama for as long as it takes, even if he is a big idiot...!" Though she had received a trauma after nearly dying, Plum had already be ustomed to death, including the thought of her own, long before Bell had saved her. The fact that he had fought tooth and nail for her twice had already left a deep impression on her heart that wouldnt fade away so easily. As for Line, she had a somewhat tired expression on her face and didnt seem to know how to answer until she saw Bell smiling back at her. She felt her heart thumping in her chest and, even though she felt like she would regret it, averted her eyes and said, "If someone doesnt look after this idiot, hell end up getting himself and Plum killed..." Bells smile broke slightly but he managed to prevent it from fading awaypletely as he internally remarked, ("Why are they both calling me an idiot...Im not that bad, am I...?"). As for Vahn, he had already nodded his head and said, "If that is the case, head over to the Hearth Manor in the next few days and well get the three of you fitting with some suitable equipment. Since I have a feeling things are going to get pretty hectic in the next couple of months, Id feel better if the three of you were prepared to deal with any situation that might arise. That goes for you as well, Plum...even if you dont like fighting, or just want to act as a Supporter, you need to be strong enough to protect yourself when Line and Bell are fighting serious threats..." Plum nodded her head, even though she had a few inhibitions about trying to be strong as a Pallum, while Line somewhat hesitantly asked, "Are...you going to make the equipment...?" Vahn, understanding some of her concerns, smiled politely and said, "Dont worry, Ill have Tsubaki take your measurements in private. Depending on your needs, it may be me, Tsubaki, or even Hephaestus that forges your equipment. As for the price, that isnt something youll need to worry about unless I catch you trying to exploit or resale the things youre given~." Since he said this in a teasing voice, Line blushed slightly as Plum and Bell were shocked to learn they would be receiving equipment made by three of the most reputed [Master Smith]s in the entire City, including the most prolific goddess of forging in both Heaven and the Mortal World... Seeing the surprise on their faces, Vahn felt a small amount of pride before turning his attention to Bell and wondering if he was about to make a grievous error. For thest year and a half, Vahn had been keeping two [Grimoire of Guidance] on his person, never quite sure the best method to make use of them. Since it allowed him to bestow any non-Innate skill, magic, or development ability, it was easily one of the most useful items he had ever received from a quest. Since he had yet to discover the means to acquire more of them, even though he had wanted it quite a bit, Vahn had been keeping them safely stowed away in his Inventory. Right now, however, he was wondering if he should use a [Grimoire of Guidance] in a way he had never quite considered in the past... Vahn wanted to help the three of them be strong enough to face whatever would endanger them in the future but, for the time being, he could only really afford to give out a single me seed. Since Bell already had [Liaris Freese], Vahn didnt want to waste it on him, especially since the skill itself was a growth-type Innate. However, this didnt mean Vahn couldnt teach Bell [Promethus] itself, even though the actual skill he was thinking about bestowing upon Bell was the [Pactio]. For someone like Bell, having a means to increase his Magic parameter, while also helping to empower the girls around him, these were two extremely useful boons that many would cry tears of blood to obtain. Vahn was just worried that Bell might take things too far and get in the habit of bestowing the [Pactio] to any girl he randomly started to fancy... This thought caused Vahn to release a sigh, confusing the three people and causing them to give him strange looks. He was just thinking about the parallels between him and Bell, specifically about his own inability to refuse the affections of women. In truth, Vahn was worried Bell would be like an unrestrained version of himself but, after remembering one key feature of this record, calmed down as he said, "Bell, I have a gift that I think will be extremely beneficial in your journey. However, in order to receive it, I would need you to make a life-long vow to never, under any circ.u.mstances, bestow this skill upon other people. In fact, before youre able to use it, I would require that you go through extensive measure ensuring that others arent even able to observe the skill besides those who have also made vows to keep the secret..." These words had caught the interest of Loki, who had been listening in with Alicia from the side after teasing thetter for a bit. She used this moment to walk over, asking, "Vahn, have you considered this decision of yours properly? I understand that you have high expectations for the boy, but he hasnt really done anything deserving of the amount of attention youve shown him, right~?" To this, Bell, who had been somewhat confused by what was going on, took a deep breath and eximed, "Loki-sama, please trust me! I wont let Vahns expectations go to waste; just watch me, Ill surely be a hero that can protect everyone!" Hearing this, Loki just snorted and said, "You brat. It is easy to take big but, without all of the help and support you have been given, where would you be right now? Hell, if Vahn didnt save you, wouldnt you already have failed to achieve your dream...?" These harsh words of Loki caused Bell to shy away slightly but the resolute look in his eyes didnt fade in the slightest as he confidently said, "I know...I really do know that Ive done a lot of foolish things...but! I wont always be the foolish and childish person that needs to rely on others! In order to create a world where everyone can smile happily, Ill never give up trying to improve myself!" Resisting the urge to strangle Bell, Loki turned her slightly parted eyes toward Vahn and remained silent for several seconds before releasing an exasperated sigh. She could also see the simrities between the two boys and knew that Vahn probably saw himself in the young Bell. Since there was nothing wrong with Vahn trying to support the people he had taken an interest in, Loki decided to take a step back but not before asking, "Which skill are you thinking of giving him...?" For a brief moment, Vahn was tempted to tease Loki by saying he would give Bell the [Charm] Development Ability but, as this would also reveal to the girls present that he had it, Vahn decided to y it safe. With a serious expression on his face, he simply stated, "[Pactio]...", causing Loki to take a deep breath through her nose like she was about tosh out at him. Instead, she turned a fierce re towards Bell and warned, "If you use that skill Vahn is going to teach you haphazardly, Ill castrate you myself, Bell..." This caused Bell to instinctually close his legs together as Loki then turned her attention to Line and Plum before saying, "Though the skill Bell gets can drastically improve your power, make sure you think about the consequences before epting it...haaaa..." Turning her back, Loki began walking towards the door as she stated, "Im going to look into a few things on my own and try to squeeze out some information from that old man. Ill see you back at the Manor this evening Vahn..." Then, without requiring a response, Loki exited through the door to go investigate some of her own hunches. She had already discussed things with Vahn before they had even headed to meet up with Bell so, now that things had been confirmed, Loki had a few threads to follow. It helped that she had several members of the Hermes Familia as part of herwork now, especially since they had been the gophers of the Guild for years... (A/N: seems to be trying pretty hard to push EPIC out of the rankings for their premium content. Dont let their bots promote novels that have more than 50 grammatical errors in a 1k word chapter rise into the top 3. Seriously, some of that stuff looks like it was tranted through multiplenguage filters before finally being converted into English xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hero of the Pallum People,Ouranos needs to fess up...,Giving [Pactio] to a Harem Protagonist...oh god...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 807 - Unexpected Changes

Chapter 807 - Unexpected Changes

With Lokis departure, Vahn turned to Bell and had the boy make his vow before asking the other girls if they were willing to do the same. Plum agreed very quickly and, though she showed a bit of hesitation, Line eventually gave in and made a simr vow. As for Alicia, she made a simr vow but modified it to instead protect the information and ensure that anything Vahn taught Bell wasnt exposed to the outside world. With her 99(Exalted), Vahn wasnt too surprised by this rather bold vow of Alicias and considered that, if she wanted a [Pactio] of her own, he would give one to her... Once everyone hadpleted their vows, Vahn pulled out one of the precious [Grimoire of Guidance]s and activated it, feeling a strange haze pass through his mind for a brief moment. When the feeling had vanished, the grimoire now had the title Pactio with his name written in golden lettering on the bottom. The cover now showed the faces of two nondescript people, with indeterminant s.e.xes, kissing each other as a magic circle was formed around them. Vahn handed the book to Bell and said, "This grimoire will teach you incredibly rare magic that allows you to bestow power to another person by creating a contract with a kiss. When the contract isplete, they will be able to transform into a powerful form that can also make use of a magical artifact that suits their nature. At the same time, as they would be using your magic power to enhance their own strength, it will increase the growth of your Magic parameter by a great deal. Make sure you pick up the [Spirit Healing] Development Ability the next time you Level up, as it will enhance the efficacy of every [Pactio] you have formed..." The moment the [Grimoire of Guidance] had entered his hands, Bell had felt a link between him and the book as, even without reading it, a flood of information poured into his mind. He hadnt even been able to hear Vahns exnation as the grimoire slowly dissolved into magical energy that entered into his body. As for the girls, they were shocked by the exnation of the skill and both Line and Plum now had slightly flushed faces. Their auras had be slightly chaotic and Vahn could see them gravitate towards Bell a little, even though Line had turned her face away. The only exception among them was Alicia who seemed to fall into deep thought after the revtion before finally saying, "I dont want to kiss Bell, but I am also interested in a [Pactio] of my own...if...if it wouldnt be too much trouble...ano..." Since he had already expected this, Vahn returned a casual smile to Alicia before gesturing to have her join him off to the side for a private conversation. Bell didnt actually need his guidance to make use of the spell, as his own understanding andprehension were included in the grimoire, so Vahn just left him a piece of contract chalk and left the trio to their own devices. Bell, with a beet red face, had started scrawling a [Pactio] contract circle on the ground while Line and Plum looked from the side with slightly differing expressions. Vahn noticed that Plum was standing much closer to the circle than Line was but turned his attention to Alicia for the time being and exined, "Alicia, Ill be honest with you since we have been friendly with each other ever since the first expedition..." Alicia inhaled somewhat audibly through her nose before nodding her head, swallowing a bit as she waited for him to continue. Vahn was beginning to feel a little nervous himself because, much like when he had talked with girls like Aisha and Lulune, it wasnt easy to say what he was thinking. Even so, he knew she deserved his honesty so he bit the bullet and exined, "As you know, I already have a number ofmitted rtionsh.i.p.s with the girls inside of the Hearth Manor, including Riveria. At the same time, I understand the nature of Elves and am afraid I may not be able to meet your expectations. If possible, Id rather us be friends than develop a permanant rtionship with each other...still, if youre fine with that, I dont mind giving you a [Pactio]. Also...ummm..." Though she had been very nervous at first, Alicia beganughing when she saw how fl.u.s.tered Vahn was bing while trying to exin himself. In truth, she had once resented Vahn in the past for stealing Riveria, someone who she was very loyal towards. However, after witnessing how much Vahn had done for not only Riveria, but the entire Elven people, Alicia had developed a fondness for him. She had even, on asion, thought about offering to be a servant within the Hearth Manor so she could help look after Riverias and Vahns son. Since she knew Riveria was sometimes busy with the School, Alicia had thought it would be an opportunity for her to support the two people she respected most in the world. At the same time, knowing a bit about Vahns interpersonal rtionsh.i.p.s, Alicia couldnt lie and say she had never thought about the other activities private maids would sometimes perform for their Masters. Now that Vahn was trying to foot around the issue of having a physical rtionship with her, even if they didnt have any deeper emotions, Alicia could feel her heart fluttering as she genuinely considered the matter. Though she was an Elf, and had her own pride, things were rapidly changing for her people and Vahn was the crux of everything...even if people may have judged her in the past, Alicia knew there would be far more Elves that would now envy her instead... Bringing her hands together and smiling with a somewhat strange light in her eyes, Alicia stepped a little closer to Vahn and said, "If Riveria-sama will not resent me, I dont mind, even if you never have a ce for me in your heart, Vahn-sama. Just receiving your affections, even for a single night, almost makes me feel like Im in a dream...if it doesnt displease you, please consider epting my affections. Though I may never be worthy of your love, I believe my life would be fulfilling just supporting you and Riveria-sama...yes, just the thought of it makes my heartbeat quicken...!" By the time she was finished speaking, there was almost a near-zero distance between Vahn and Alicia, with the only thing seemingly holding her back being Vahns permission. Vahn felt a fluttery feeling in his own stomach as he fought to collect himself and said, "It is my hope that you will find someone that can truly make you happy, Alicia...but if you truly believe this is something you want, I..." Vahns words were left to trail as he took a deep breath and allowed Alicia, who had grabbed his face with her gloved hands, to kiss him with a little more passion than he had expected. At the same time, a system notification urred in his mind that Vahn checked from the perspective of his main body, currently sitting on a wagon as the expedition continued cutting a swath of destruction through the Dungeon. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //Alicia Forestlight has reached 100 Affection// //Quest: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS] Cannot Be Completed Due To Special Circ.u.mstances// //Alicia Forestlights Affection(Exalted) Has been upgraded to Hidden Parameter: (Allegiance)// //System Function: Unit Management Upgraded To Reflect [Retainer] Status// [Retainer] Name: Alicia Forestlight Age: 33 Race: Elf Level: 4 Allegiance: 417 Soul Strength: 2 Karma: 7,813 State: [Active] [Physical Details] Hair: Gold Eye: Green Height: 169cm Weight: 55.7kg Bust Size: 88cm Waist Size: 63cm Hip Size: 84cm Status: V.i.r.g.i.n //System Function: Unit Modification Unlocked// [Unit Modification] -[Rename] (Variable) -[Modify Race] (Variable) -[Modify Gender] (1,000,000OP : 5,000 LP/AP) -[Modify Physical Details] (Variable : Variable) -[Modify Preferences] (Variable : Variable) -[Modify Affinity] (500,000OP : 1,000 LP/AP) -[Reset Status] (700,000OP : 500 LP/AP) System Warning: Modifications may have inadvertent effects and unforeseen consequences. Use extreme caution when using [Unit Modification] Function as the actions of Subordinates and Retainers directly impact the rual of Karma by the Host(Vahn Mason). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn was gobsmacked by the sheer amount of information that flowed into his mind after the changes to his Unit Management. Since he knew she would be able to provide more information, Vahn asked, ("Sis, what exactly does all of this mean? I have a general idea...but...") For better or worse, Sis immediately replied, (*It is as you suspect, Vahn. As long as you have enough Origin Points, Loyalty, or Allegiance, you can now freely modify almost everything about those that have chosen to follow you...please, make sure you properly consider any decision you may wish to make before following through with it. Just as you were always worried about influencing the thoughts and actions of your subordinates, you shouldnt toy with the lives of those who have chosen to follow you without their consent.*) With Sis affirmation, Vahn felt a tremble run up his spine because he knew how powerful this function was. All of his system functions had been incredible powers that far exceeded the restrictions of the Laws, but this was something Vahn had never quite expected to get. With this, he could potentially modify any of his subordinates freely, meaning he could make them extremely powerful, or even just shape them to his preferences. Though it would consume their Loyalty and Allegiance, it was still a ridiculously powerful function that gave him power far beyond what any one person should have, at least with a Tier 3 Soul. This was on a level that even the gods in Danmachi wouldnt be able to achieve, causing Vahn to feel a little scared of his own existence... He had previously confirmed that the only reason his orders to his subordinates were effective was that they themselves would have eded to his orders, even without him forcing them to. In fact, if he tried to give them an order that they would normally follow, they would instead experience arge drop in Loyalty ande to him for confirmation. The thing that pelled them to follow his orders was the link they shared with each other, which allowed them to feel and better understand his intentions. It wasnt that he was mind controlling or brainwashing them, but they were willingly changing themselves to match his expectations after understanding what he wanted... This new functionality, however, was at a much higher level than what he had been able to aplish with Loyalty previously. Now, as long as he had the resources to spend, he could change everything about his subordinates and retainers, with the only exception being their mentality itself. If the [Rename] function did what he expected, it meant he would even be able to use his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] topletely change their fate. This would allow him to help Fenrir with her current problem, but it also put a lot of pressure on him to use the ability responsibly... Though the link they shared, Fenrir had been very aware of the change in her Masters mental state and had brought her paw to his shoulder with a concerned expression on her face. Vahn returned a smile towards her and, swallowing his inhibitions, asked, "Fenrir, if I were able to rename you and allow you to be both more powerful...and also help your body change...what would you want me to do...?" Ultimately, Vahn decided the best method to use the ability would always be to confer with the recipients of the effects themselves. He knew there would always be circ.u.mstances where the girls would potentially want to change something about themselves and, once it was known he had this ability, Vahn expected the number of retainers he had would increase very quickly. Fenrir felt her heart pulse powerfully in her chest a few times as excitement began to well up inside her. For her Master to ask her something like this, she knew he must have a way to follow through and this thought alone made it hard to hold back her excitement. With an expression showing her willingness, Fenrir smiled with a look of profound expectation as she said, "I love the name Master gave me, but if it meant I could finally...Master, please, no matter what I be, I would be happy as long as we can be together..." At this point, Alexa had also started listening in and couldnt help feeling a little bit of resentment that her Papa would probably end up having another girl in the future. However, instead of letting her emotions get the better of her, Alexa just reminded herself that her Papa would surely find a solution to help her find happiness in the future. For the time being, she kept her eyes closed and just snuggled up on hisp, pretending to be asleep even though she knew her Papa had undoubtedly noticed she was awake. When his warm hand began patting her head, Alexa allowed herself to smile and decided to ignore whatever he and Fenrir talked about. While promising Fenrir that he would find a good opportunity to [Rename] her, Vahn was also back in the Twilight Manor with Alicia, letting her know about his power. He couldnt give her all of the details, but he could still exin some of the functions since Alicia had already promised to protect any secrets that were exposed to her. She listened attentively and, much like Lefiya, asked Vahn to try and order her. He wasnt sure how Allegiancepared to Loyalty and, after trying to send her a mentalmand, noticed that it was impossible to do so. This highlighted that the two were fundamentally different than each other so Vahn tried giving her a verbal order this time, saying, "Mmm...touch your toes..." Alicia showed a face of confusion before nodding her head and bending over to touch her toes once before standing up. She was still a little confused and asked, "Why did you ask me to touch my toes?" As for Vahn, he noticed that there hadnt been any change in her Allegiance and asked, "Did you feel any kind of strangepulsion, or did you just follow my order on your own volition?" To this, Alicia returned a small smile and admitted, "Well, I thought there was a reason behind your words and figured following them would help rify things. Was I supposed to try and resist...?" Vahn nodded his head, exining, "Under normal circ.u.mstances, whenever someone had a high degree of loyalty and bes linked with me, I would be able to order them with just a thought. Since I didnt feel the same kind of link, I was curious to see if there were simr effects...this time, try to refuse my order after I give it to you, okay...?" Alicia nodded her head as Vahn tried to think of something more plex for her to do before saying, "Do a backflip..." This time, Alicia didnt show a face of confusion and instead had a slightlyplicated look before, after a few seconds had passed, she jumped up and performed a perfect backflip beforending on her feet. While she was doing that, Vahn noticed that her Allegiance actually drained by one point for every second that had passed until Alicia performed the feat. From this, he understood that his Retainers could resist his order but, if they had enough Allegiance towards him, they would eventually follow regardless. From Alicias perspective, she found herself feeling progressively more bothered by the sense that she had failed Vahn by resisting his order. Convincing herself that he would forgive her, she then proceeded to follow his order and felt the feeling vanish instantly, causing her to sigh in relief before saying, "I can see what you mean bypulsion...still, I do not believe you would ever give me any orders that would endanger me so Im actually d that you have a means of sensing my Allegiance towards you..." Vahn felt a little awkward hearing Alicias words but still managed a smile when he saw her Allegiance was actually slowly increasing. Since she deserved to know, he then exined, "It isnt as simple as me just giving you orders, Alicia, but there are other abilities I can use if your Allegiance is high enough. With your permission, I could even modify your race, elemental affinity, your appearance, or even your gender...an extreme example would even allow me to rename you, giving you a name that would greatly increase your power..." Though it felt extremely awkward exining this, Vahn actually wanted to ask Alicia to allow him to test the functions and was hoping she would propose the idea herself. When she heard Vahns exnation, Alicia was very surprised, especially when he mentioned even having the power to change her gender. She began to wonder what kind of existence Vahn was but, at the same time, felt excited by the prospect that her decision to serve him was infinitely more meaningful than she had expected. Though she couldnt sense it herself, Alicia imagined her Allegiance towards him was rapidly increasing as a small smile appeared on her face. Since she was very interested in some of the things he mentioned, Alicia asked, "Does that mean you can change my hair and eye color...or perhaps even turn me into a High Elf...?" If thetter was true, Alicia felt like she wouldnt mind dedicating a lot more than just one of her lives to Vahn... With an affirming nod, Vahn exined, "Changing your race would require your Allegiance towards me to be much higher, but modifying your physical features isnt that difficult..." Vahn pulled out a mirror for Alicia to make use of and, understanding his intentions, Alicia looked into her own face and said, "I know it may be uncouth of me to admit, but Ive always wanted to have beautiful jade green hair like Riveria-sama...I dont mind my golden hair, but I wish it was at least straight so it would be easier to manage...ufufufu~." Even as Alicia was speaking, Vahn was already testing the system function and it showed him that such changes would only cost 7,000OP and, to his surprise, 0AP. It could be because she herself desired the change, but Alicias request didnt cost him any of her Allegiance as he confirmed the changes within the system. Then, in an instant, a somewhat terrifying sight urred that caused Vahn and Alicia to both pale as her golden hair simply fell from her head. Fortunately, silky jade-green strands began to grow from her scalp a few momentster until it had grown to around the center of her back. This enhanced Alicias beauty a great deal, especially since she already had beautiful green eyes to apany her now jade-green hair. Vahn noticed that Alicias Allegiance was rapidly increasing as she ran her fingers through her own hair, muttering, "It is beautiful..." She then turned her attention away from her own reflection and had a look of intrigue in her eyes as smiled radiantly and said, "I didnt think you were lying to me, but I can see now that my decision to follow you is something that will redefine my understanding of the world. Please, as it is your power, you need only tell me your wish and I will abide by it, Vahn-sama..." Since he could change her hair so quickly, Alicia knew the other things Vahn had mentioned were also well within her power. She was actually a little excited to see how much she would change at the whims of this young boy before her...unaware that he was actually more mentally mature than she was... (A/N: Alternate Titles: That feeling in your stomach is the resentment of all other men in the world, Vahn...,Holy shitballs, Unit Management just became ridiculously OP,Poor Alicia, just volunteered to be an experimental subject for a curious idiot who tends to get carried away...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 808 - Changes

Chapter 808 - Changes

At this point, Bell, Line, and Plum had all noticed what was going on between Vahn and Alicia but they chose to keep to themselves since thetter two had gone out of their way to open up some distance for privacy. Bell kept trying to draw the [Pactio] circle, as he had failed to form the lines properly the first two attempts, and was doing his best to avoid having to ask for help. Line and Plum did their best to ignore the fact that they saw Alicias hair fall out, only to be reced by a very healthy head of green hair, and kept their focus on Bell. This didnt mean they were able to keep their curiositypletely in check, however, as their eyes would periodically wander towards the mysterious event transpiring just 50m away from them... Vahn was currently dazed after hearing Alicia essentially give him permission to do whatever he wanted. He didnt really have anything in mind, but someone giving him that kind of power made him feel a little giddy. If he were being honest, he was actually very interested in the effects of this system functionality but didnt have the courage to proactively change things. He was certain he could have convinced someone like Lefiya to help him out and had already thought about what might happen if he gives someone a race that didnt exist in the record. His curiosity had been piqued and having someone so willingly offering themselves up to appease his curiosity was something that always affected him greatly in the past... With various thoughts racing through his mind, Vahn swallowed hard before leaning a little close to Alicia. She became a little red in the face when he approached but didnt make any attempts to move away as Vahn asked, "Do you mind if I try to change your body...?" This question made Alicias heart flutter but she was also a little saddened, thinking Vahn wasnt satisfied with her appearance. However, this feeling faded away very quickly as she produced a smile and said, "If it pleases you, Vahn-sama..." As she gave her permission, Alicia also thought about the fact that she could request changes of her own, making it marginally more eptable that he made such a request of her. Vahn had noticed Alicias hesitation and it actually reflected in the system interface as well, causing the price for the change to increase before it slowly started decreasing again. Eventually, it settled on a much lower number than it started so, after spending 815OP and 40AP, Vahn confirmed his selection and swallowed hard a second time as he waited for the changes to ur. At first, there were no obvious changes at all and it wasnt until Alicia furrowed her brows slightly and began to fidget that Vahn was able to confirm it had been effective. Alicia then asked in a low voice, "Vahn-sama...what did you do to my butt...?" With a bit of an awkward smile on his face, Vahn stroked the back of his head and said, "Honestly, Im able to see and understand the proportions of a persons body and I noticed that your butt was a little smaller than your bust size. I figured it would improve your bnce if I gave you a fuller butt and, if I were being even more honest, I admit that Ive always had a thing for girls with fuller h.i.p.s and thighs...dont worry, I only increased the size from 84cm to 88cm, matching closely with your bust size..." Thought he fluttering in her heart increased in intensity, Alicia did her best to keep calm as she remarked, "That is fine and all, Vahn-sama...but please keep in mind that many girls have their clothing fitted forfort. Suddenly having my panties bite into me isnt exactly pleasant..." Even as she was saying this, Alicia actually wasnt that bothered by the situation, especially after hearing Vahn confess to liking fuller butts. She knew that, as an Elf, it would have been very difficult to exercise and shape her butt so this had saved her a lot of effort on something she would have tried to change naturally after learning of Vahns preference. Noticing that Alicia didnt seem upset, based on her bodynguage and the fact her Allegiance had already recovered what he expended, Vahn returned a smile and asked, "If there is anything that has ever bothered you, I can help you change it. However, even without the small tweak I made, know that I already find you to be an exceptionally beautiful girl." Since he genuinely meant it, Vahnspliment seemed to get through to Alicia as a lovely smile spread across her face, ented by the light blush on her cheeks. Still, as happy as she was for thepliment, it didnt stop her from thinking about all the things she had wanted to change in the past... As a woman, even though she had the natural beauty of an Elf, there were an endless number of small changes that Alicia would have liked to have made to her body. In fact, she would often wish her body appealed more physically fit than lean, as the image of her own frail looking body would sometimes bother her. At the same time, having somewhatrge b.r.e.a.s.ts for an Elf, Alicia had always been a little self-conscious about them. There were even small cosmetic changes, like having more shapely eyebrows, fuller lips, and removing the slight curve at the end of her ears. She also had a mole on her back that was a top priority on the list of things she would want to change, each of which she detailed to the poker-faced Vahn. Even before Alicia had finished listing out all the changes she would like to make, Vahn had started to understand that it wasnt just himself that he needed to worry about. His exploitation of the system had a certain measure of awareness associated with it, but the recipient of the benefits also needed to properly consider what they wanted to change. Vahn realized that, if he didnt refuse certain requests, it was even possible for his retainers and subordinates to make petty requests every time they didnt like something about their body. However, there was a certain realization that also came from thinking about the potential requests that could be made... Still listening to Alicia, Vahn asked, ("Sis, if I can change the race and appearance of people, isnt that essentially a way to grant them functional immortality? Since Ive used my Nirvana to make changes, my understanding of the internal structure of the body should allow me to even modify people to the point that they are able to have the same physique as someone that had undergone the process...right?") Affirming his suspicion, Sis immediately responded, (*That is correct, Vahn. The modifications you make are based on yourprehension of the changes so, if you were able to form an image, much like you do for your own transformations, it is not impossible to refine certain features, or change them entirely...*) Vahn was beginning to realize that this function was even more godly than he had initially expected, as it meant he could even make people into Progenitors or modify their race to be the purest version of their original species. Since he had already observed the effects with his eyes, he would even be able to allow people to assume a simr race to someone like Lefiya, something that should have only been possible because of her heritage. Though he imagined the cost would be immense, which he confirmed by selected Alicia and imagining changing her into a Progenitor, it was a function with limitless possibilities. (A/N: Btw, it would take 500,000,000OP to change Alicias race to a Progenitor. Dont look down on the origin species~!) Since he might have requests of his ownter, Vahn eded to the majority of Alicias requests and spent around 94,000OP changing all of the small things that bothered her. In the end, she had strangely asked him to reduce her bust size by around 4cm, give her a slightly more athletic body, alter the shape of her ears, change the color of her eyes to an azure blue, and even altered her baseplexion to have a more tender and fair look. This made Alicias lips slightly redder which meant that her n.i.p.p.l.es and vulva would likely reflect the change as well. Vahn felt he would know the answer to that question the moment he even hinted at wanting to sleep with Alicia, but he kept it to himself for the time being. One of the most notable changes, other than her hair and eye color, was the fact that Alicia actually requested to have her height reduced from 169cm to 165cm. This made her look slightly more petite and also made the armor she was wearing look a little too big for her. It was fortunate that the majority of the fabric around her arms and legs was stic or her stockings and arm warmers would have likely sagged off her body. Alicia observed all these changes in arge mirror, a contented smile on her face as Vahn watched her Allegiance continue to rise until he broke through the 1k mark and continued climbing. Apparently satisfied with what she saw, Alicia turned around with a smile, giggle as she said, "Ill need to go shopping and buy some new clothing...thank you, Vahn-sama. It is a little hard to believe that this is me...Im a little afraid of what people will say. How should I answer their questions...?" As he had already been thinking about the matter, Vahn quickly answered, "You can tell them I used a special technique and a rare Elixir to help make the changes. Most people know about the drastic change of Tsubaki, Eina, and Shizune, so the changes in your appearance arent that difficult to exin away. If they ask for specifics, just tell them that its a secret that you dont wish to expose." As she had also seen the drastic changes in Tsubaki and Eina, Alicia felt relieved with the excuse Vahn had prepared for her. If he had told her to just keep everything a secret, that is exactly what she would have done. However, since many of the members of the Loki Familia were her good friends, Alicia was happy that she had some freedom to exin the changes to her body. At the same time, she was also thinking about converting some of the girls she knew fancied Vahn. He had exined her status as a retainer, a term she was both aware of and happily epted, and knew it wouldnt be difficult to get some other girls to follow Vahn... Unaware of the ripples his actions had caused, Vahn had a smile on his face as he said, "Well, lets go ahead and get your [Pactio] taken care of. It looks like I might need to help Bell out as well..." This caused Alicia tough, covering her mouth with one hand as she looked over at the fiasco urring between Bell, Line, and Plum. She found their interactions amusing but was d that Vahn had shown up today, lest she somehow end up falling victim to Bells nature. Though she didnt have a bad impression of the boy, it was very difficult to imagine falling in love with him...at least, that is what her reasoning told her. Strangely, she could see it happening and, if not for Vahns warning, Alicia realized it might not have even taken that long before she was epting of the boys behavior... Deciding she would have to educate Bell about how he should behave around women in the future, Alicia nodded her head and watched as Vahn quickly created aplex magic circle in under three seconds. This caused Bell, who had been working hard to draw his own, make another mistake as he looked over with a defeated look on his face. Line and Plum also watched with bated breath as Vahn and Alicia shared a kiss, causing magical light to shroud their bodies before a strange card emerged. Alicia, having intuitive knowledge on how to use it, activated her [Pactio] and gained a rather unique appearance that nobody had expected. Alicias raiment took on the form of an ornate sleeveless top that had white as a base color and was covered in green embroidery that looked like leaves and vines. Instead of her dress and stockings, she now had on a pair of green shorts that were frayed on the edges, looking like something Loki would have worn with how small they were. At the same time, she also had a green vest that ended around her ribs and had the motif of a tree etched upon the back with golden embossing. She also had a pair of muted green boots and gloves that extended to her knees and elbows. In her hand, which was undoubtedly her artifact, Alicia had a dark red rapier that was covered with a subtle purple sheen and had thorn-ridden vines wrapping around the guard and handle. Observing her changes in the mirror, Alicia had a slight blush on her face as she tried to pull at the edges of her shorts so her butt wasnt poking out. She would have never worn such an outfit under normal circ.u.mstances and, though it certainly suited her figure, Alicia was embarrassed that this raiment was supposed to be based on her personality. If not for the fact that her artifact seemed very interesting, Alicia would have inquired about trying to change her raiment somehow. It was fortunate she could summon her artifact out without using her raiment, or it would have been very difficult to show her face around her Familia mates... Vahn had also noticed the slightly exposed cheeks of Alicia and couldnt help smiling slightly as he said, "It suits you..." This earned him a small look of me from Alicia who, failing to pull the shorts down to cover the exposed skin, gave up trying. She figured she could just buy a waistcloth or something to wear around her h.i.p.s in the future. There was also the option of removing her vest and wearing an overcoat or something that would easily prevent people from gawking at her butt. She didnt mind if Vahn saw it, but the thought of someone like Raul eyeing her gave Alicia the urge to poke the innocent man with her artifact, [Reginae Spinam]. It had the effect of allowing her to convert mana into toxins that had a variety of effects ranging from sleep induction, paralysis, or even necrosis. Since she didnt have to go change her clothes, as staying in her raiment was good enough for now, Alicia joined Vahn as they made their way over to where Bell, Line, and Plum were located. Line, unable to restrain her curiosity, immediately asked, "Alicia, youve changed so much...how...?" To this, Alicia chuckled lightly before remarking, "Would we have moved to the side if I could answer questions like that, Line~?" This caused Line to blush, earning her even moreughter from Alicia who then rified, "Dont worry, Ill exin it for everyer. For now, there are other pressing matters to resolve and Im certain Vahn-sama has other things to tend to. Please, be considerate of the circ.u.mstances~." Line nodded her head in understanding and bowed slightly as she said, "My apologies, Vahn-sama. I didnt mean to pry into your matters..." Vahn just waved his hand dismissively and kept his focus on Bell as he said, "It seems like youre having a bit of trouble drawing the circle..." Bell gave a wry smile in response, causing Vahn tough lightly as he said, "Dont worry, it actually took me a lot of practice to reach the point where Im at. If not for the fact that I was already a [Master Smith], it would have taken me even longer. As your Dexterity increases, and you practice the skill further, you will be more adept at its usage. Just make sure you practice in private and always erase the circle when youre finished, even if it is a failure..." After making sure Bell understood the precautions he would have to take, something Vahn also imposed on Line and Plum, he then helped Bell create the [Pactio] circle. Who made it didnt matter as, even in Evas world, there was often a skilled Mage that would act as an intermediary for the process. After all, there were few people that could actually master using the skill and it wasnt umon for people to spend years just learning how to perform it adequately. Thus, after drawing a circle in a whopping three seconds, Vahn watched as Bell, with a face redder than a tomato, took nearly a minute before Plum got fed up and initiated the kiss. Plums [Pactio] took on the form of a yellow one-piece that extended past her knees and had a variety of pockets located all over it. She also had what looked like a brown miners helmet that had a set of goggles and arge light on the front. Her artifact was something that took Vahn by surprise, at it had the appearance of arge pickax with a shiny white top. It was actually taller than Plum herself was and looked much heavier than someone her size should be capable of lifting. Contrary to this, Plum was able to easily wave the pickax around, exining that it had the ability to ignore defense and gave her an ability to detect mineral veins. Vahn found it somewhat strange that Plum, who had been a ve used in wine production, ended up getting a raiment and artifact that made her look like a Miner. However, so as not to trigger any trauma that might exist within her, Vahn kept his opinion to himself and just smiled as he watched the small girl create a fewrge holes in the training area... When it came time for Bell to perform a [Pactio] with Line, she didnt beat around the bush at all and, as soon as Bell began to hesitate, she grabbed his face in a death grip and gave him a somewhat forceful kiss. Vahn couldnt help but shake his head at Bells behavior and wondered if he should mentor the boy so that he would be able to handle women better. Though Vahn knew his own actions were heavily influenced by the women in his life, he was far more decisive and resolute than someone like Bell. He also knew how to handle each of his women, including the best methods to tease and appease them... Lines raiment was, once again, somethingpletely outside of Vahns expectations. The sses on her face were reced by rounded spectacles and her clothes hadnt actually changed all that much, instead, looking like a slightly modified and more armored version of her basic attire. This showed that Lines personality already ounted for her clothing preferences, making the massive artifact she had in her possession stand out even more. She had what looked like a canon, a massive ivory canon that was 220cm long and had a strap so that she could sling it across her shoulder. It looked like it weighed more than a hundred kilograms, but Line didnt show any difficulty supporting it at all, instead, showing a face full of excitement as she inspected her gigantic artifact, [Carmina Librator]. Lines canon had the ability to pull in mana from the atmosphere based on whichever element she selected from a dial located on the side. There was a blue turbine located at the core of the canon that would rapidly spin as it absorbed this energy and condensed it into a devastatingly powerful projectile. Though it wasnt exactly practical in a fight, as the fastest charge took around four seconds, there didnt seem to be an upper limit on how much energy it could contain. The only restriction was Lines ability to keep the shape of the projectile, as it used her own magic power as a container. Still, even if she failed to keep it condensed, the canon would instead spew out the energy in a wide arc over a much short distance, making it incredibly useful forrge groups of enemies located near her position. Bell, seeing the awesome raiments and artifacts of Line and Plum had glittering eyes as he suddenly asked, "Is it possible for me to get a [Pactio] as well!? I cant believe something like a canon can just be pulled out of thin air! So cool!" Before Bell had even finished, speaking, Vahn created a bit of distance with him and said, "You know the answer to your question from the information that should have been embedded in your brain with the grimoire. As the Magister, you should focus on your personal development ande up with other ways to grow strong. They, as your Ministra, are now your allies that will both serve as your protectors but also rely on your mana to protect themselves. If you dont focus on bing stronger on your own, they wont even be able to keep their [Pactio] forms active, nor will they be able to benefit from the advantages provided...work hard, Bell..." Vahn had his [Eyes of Truth] active when he was observing the girls use their [Pactio]s so he was very aware of the fact that Bells internal reserves were quickly being consumed. By the time he had finished his words, Bell had gone a little pale and copsed around the same time that Plums and Lines raiments and artifacts vanished. This caused Plum to fl.u.s.ter as she quickly ran over, shouting, "Bell-sama...!" while Line also had a concerned expression on her face. Being the more experienced of the two, she quickly determined that Bell was in a state of Mind Down and began treating him by giving him a sip of mana potion and letting his head rest on her thighs as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Seeing this, Vahn shook his head and marveled at Bells [Luck] as he gave the girls a parting farewell, exined to Alicia that she didnt have to worry about consuming his mana, and then went to seek out Loki... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Godhand, Sage Aldrnari, me Emperor, Butt Aficionado,Does Alicias artifact mean she has a toxic mentality...?,*Bell furiously staring at Vahns lips*...!?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 809 - Impatience

Chapter 809 - Impatience

With battles raging around him, Vahn remained rtively unperturbed as he gently stroked Alexas hair and contemted how best to use his new ability. There were many unknowns about the function thus far and he would need to conduct several tests to discover the limitations, if any, that his Modify function possessed. Vahn believed that, in the future, it would undoubtedly be without limit but, considering his experience with The Path thus far, Vahn didnt think it gave him nearly as much power as he assumed. If that were the case, he could slowly upgrade his subordinates and retainers until he had acquired a group of allies that were simply beyond anything within the record... Since he was able to ess their information through the system interface, Vahn could see all of his current subordinates and retainers, testing a variety of different options without finalizing anything. The only exceptions to this were the eternal me and Anubis, whose parameters could be observed but couldnt be influenced. This, as exined by Sis, was the first proof that there were limitations to the function, this time being that his Soul Tier was simply too low. Though the functions of the system seemed incredibly powerful, they were still restricted by the level of existence he was currently at. Even so, by inputting various options under Lefiya, Vahn could see the costs of modifications, including things like turning her into a True Dragon for 390,000,000OP. Though the prices were exorbitant, especially since he was currently trying to save up 10-100 billion OP, Vahn knew it wouldnt be that difficult to harvest arge amount of OP in higher Tier worlds. By the time he linked the records, he would have a veritable ocean of OP to make use of, something that would undoubtedly help him promote the strength of the girls for whatever dangers would present themselves. After all, they would only be Tier 3 Souls at best by the time he left, with some having the potential of reaching Tier 4. Since the record would be Tier 7 by then, Vahn knew he wouldnt be able to fight against the bncingponent of karma entirely on his own, making the girls a major weakness of his that he was trying toy the foundation to prevent being exploited... After sorting through a variety of options for Lefiya, Vahn then looked through Fenrirs information and frowned slightly when he saw she was still only a Tier 1 Soul. Her Innate, [Insatiable Hunger], was also very unique in that she couldnt actually train it any further. It simply didnt have the capacity to be developed as, without any exceptions whatsoever, it was entirely associated with her hunger, stress, and emotions. If she decided to cut loose and make use of her Innate to its full potential, Fenrir would eventually be strong enough to even [Devour] the entire record, all while being a Tier 1 entity... Thus far, Fenrir had been trying to walk the path of a Cultivator so that she could increase her Soul Tier but, without any Innate to promote her strength through mastery, it was exceedingly difficult for her to do so. Vahn spected he would be able to [Rename] her through the system function and help promote her Soul Tier further, allowing her to ovee this limitation. If this was true, the power of his Modify function would be truly immense as he could simply upgrade his subordinates, even if it required a monstrous amount of OP. However, as he toyed around with modifying Fenrirs name, it surprisingly didnt cost nearly as much as he expected, prompting Sis to exin, (*Though the [Rename] ability works by allowing you to assign a name of power to an entity, it isnt on the same level as your [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]. Since Fenrir already has a fate assigned the first time you gave her a name, she is no longer an applicable target for your [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]...sorry, Vahn.*) Though this was a minor setback, Vahn just took a slow breath through his nose and kept calm as he said, ("It isnt your fault, Sis. Thank you for rifying that for me..."). This prompted her to give him a quiet, Nn, with an apologetic undertone, but Vahn had already started thinking of ways around the issue. He could still use the [Rename] ability to change Fenrirs name or, more specifically, give her a secondary name that would enhance her power. It might not be at the same level as a name derived from the [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] but Vahn knew there were plenty of skills or abilities associated with names that Fenrir would benefit from. At the same time, though it was a strange way to look at the situation, Vahn knew he could potentially modify Fenrirs physique so that she simply didnt have a h.y.m.e.n from the start... As that thought crossed his mind, an equally strange thought appeared, along with an image of Lili within his mind. Vahn suddenly felt incredibly fl.u.s.tered but, after using the [Grimoire of Guidance] on Bell, he realized there had been a solution to Fenrirs problem this entire time. Now, having Fenrir sitting next to him with a concerned look on her face, Vahn felt like the biggest fool in the whole record. He had been helping her try to ovee her problem for so long but kept running down tangents that would require her to work hard and seemingly do the impossible. This was all while the solution had been in front of him the entire time... Sending a telepathic message to Lili, as she was currently standing on the back of a cart and watching the battles, Vahn then turned to Fenrir and exined, "Fenrir...your Master has been an idiot...haaaaa..." This caused Fenrirs eyes to widen as Alexa also stirred in hisp, curious about what her Papa had done wrong to call himself an idiot. At this time, Lili had already arrived at the cart and asked, "You called me, Vahn?" To this, Vahn nodded his head and pulled out the second [Grimoire of Guidance], saying, "Can you please imbue your [Cinder*E] into this book and give it to Fenrir...? I promise to help you de-" Before he even finished, Lili snatched over the book and stuck out her tongue, saying, "Dont worry about it. Even if we dont get along that well all the time, Fenrir is still my friend, you know~?" When she heard Lilis words, Fenrir snorted but didnt refute the im as her tail thumped against the reinforced wood of the cart with a loud thud. Vahn felt a bit of warmth in his heart at Lilis words while also feeling as though he hadnt truly been an idiot. If this ended up working, he could always make it up to Fenrir plentilyter on... It didnt take long for the grimoire in Lilis hand to have the title [Cinder*E] by Liliruca Arde on the cover. She then handed it over to Fenrir who, at this point, seemed to understand what was going on as she somewhat shakily epted the heavy book. Simr to the phenomenon he had seen with Bell, the book began to dissolve into magical energy that flowed into Fenrirs body, carrying with it the knowledge andprehension that Lili had of her unique magic. Since Fenrir already had a great deal of knowledge in transformation magic, she was quickly able to make sense of the new information. Even without being prompted to do so, Fenrirs body suddenly emitted a magical light as her fair white skin became a healthy brown while the fur on her paws, arms, and legs simply retreated, reced by adorable fingers and toes. Her midnight blue hair became dark brown as therge floppy ears atop her head vanished, reced by two human-looking ears at the sides of her head. Even the tail on her backside seemed to be sucked into her body, with the only constant carrying over from her previous form being her two scarlet red eyes... From the moment she heard her Master mention Lili giving [Cinder*E] to her, Fenrir understood what he had in mind and it made her feel extremely anxious and excited. She had seen Lili transform into a variety of different species without any issues at all, including one that Fenrir had even wished she could be at times. As a result, the moment the information for [Cinder*E] entered her mind, Fenrir immediately transformed into an Amazoness and now sat, nkly staring at the backs of her brown hands before turning them over and seeing they were slightly pale on the inside. She could also tell that her senses had dulled greatly, but there was also an eagerness welling up inside of her as she turned to her Master with teary eyes, on the verge of crying wholeheartedly for the first time in her life. Lili also understood the implications behind Fenrir being able to use her magic and couldnt help smiling, feeling very happy for this troublesomepanion of hers. At the same time, she felt like teasing Fenrir a little to prevent the mood from souring,menting, "This is great, Fenrir. Ill teach you a lot of my more unique transformationster...or do you already have them inside your head? Either way, now we can team up against your Master and prevent him from straying away from the Manor, ehehehehehe~." Vahn froze up a little when he heard Lilis words, thoughts of Lulune and Alicia running through his mind as a cold sweat beaded on his back. Fortunately, Fenrir produced a rareugh at Lilisment, wiping the budding tears from her eyes as she said, "Thank you, Lili...*sniff*...Id like that..." Then, annoying Alexa a little, Fenrir tightly hugged Vahns arm and began rubbing her cheek against him with a happy smile on her face, apanied by an encroaching blush. Vahn knew that things would get dangerous if she didnt change back so, after stroking her somewhat shaggy brown hair, he gently said, "Once we reach the 50th Floor, Ill do my best to make up for lost time...for now, we have to stay on high alert to prevent the expedition from getting overwhelmed..." As these words left his lips, Vahn knew the truth of the matter was actually slightly different, at least for Fenrir herself. He was really starting to feel like an idiot now, even going to far as to facepalm as he said, "Actually, I can call you to my other body, or even transfer you through my storage magic if you want to spend the night at the Manor...we can also go into the orb and have some privacy...or perhaps stay in your room...?" If he didnt know any better, Vahn felt like Fenrir was, quite literally, about to attack him after hearing his words. The mild blush on her face had deepened considerably as a hot voice escaped her lips as she said, "Master...I dont want to wait anymore..." Back on the surface, Vahn had been drinking tea with Loki as she sent out dozens of messages through her informationworks andpiled anything pertinent to the investigation in a logbook. With Fenrir showing her impatience, not that he could me her after she had waited for such a long period of time, Vahn knew he needed to tend to her immediately. Startling Loki a little, he picked her up from hisp and said, "I need to enter into the sub-space orb and tend to Fenrir. Using the [Grimoire of Guidance], Lili was able to teach Fenrir her [Cinder*E] magic spell..." Without any other exnation required, Lokis eyes opened to an almost normal degree as she began shooing him out of the room, saying, "Hurry up then~! Make sure you take care of her properly, you hear!?" Though Fenrir had never been that fond of her, that didnt mean Loki wasnt fond of the young Vanargandr. Just the thought of an existence that could be powerful enough to even devour Heaven made her feel giddy and excited. She had tried on several asions to get Fenrir to open up to her, with the vast majority of them ending in failure. Even so, she knew how important such an event was for Fenrir and wanted the ravenous little wolf to be happy... For the first time, Vahn found himself skulking through the Manor and evading any of his wandering children, knowing they would essentially be andmine at this point. He swore in his heart to make it up to themter and quickly made his way to the room containing the sub-space orb. Since there could beplications if he tried to call her while in the orb, Vahn used the [Summon] function of Unit Management to bring a somewhat confused and almost pained Fenrir next to him. She quickly trained her glowing red eyes on him and, noticing the nearby orb, ced her palm against it around the same time as Vahn himself. When they entered into the orb, Fenrir practically tackled Vahn and began pulling at his durable clothing with enough force to tear the fibers apart in an instant. Since it might cause problems to do the deed in the middle of where other people entered into the orb, Vahn bearhugged the voracious little Amazoness and quickly carried her into one of the side rooms before kicking the door closed behind him. A powerful ward emerged on the door, preventing entry to anyone while blocking all sounds from traveling to the outside. Then, after a small battle to assert dominance and inhibit Fenrirs budding Amazonian instincts, Vahn pinned the sweaty girl to the bed and, after years of waiting, the two finally became one... Fenrir had been more than ready to receive him and, though her body couldnt adaptpletely from the very beginning, her actions carried an almost scary carnal intensity. It was fortunate that her nails werent that long or, after she buried them into his back, Vahn was certain he would have been ripped apart. Even so, blood continued to trickle down his back throughout the very long session of lovemaking before it would retract and heal momentster. Fenrir only seemed to get more riled up and violent the longer they continued, but Vahn eventually managed to get her to settle down by getting serious with her... After Vahn loosened his restraints, Fenrir became like putty in his hands and, with a deeply enamored blush, sought him out for the better part of three days before she was finally satisfied. This was abination of the fact that, even though she was an Amazoness, Fenrirs body still reverted back to the default state she was in during her transformation. Since she was filled with energy from his [Hands of Nirvana] and [Grooming], Fenrir had been a tireless machine that eagerly sought her Masters touch, and much, much more. By the time the climactic event hade to an end, the barriers protecting the room had even started to crack under the intense battle that had taken ce... When all was said and done, Fenrir had returned to her Vanargandr state with Vahn assuming his own, hugging her sweating body from behind as a thin shroud of mist rose from their n.a.k.e.d figures. Her tail was tucked between his legs, wrapped around his own while Vahn was nuzzling into her hair and enjoying the rich fragrance wafting from her body. For the first time since she had assumed this form of existence, Fenrirs scarlet eyes had a natural coloration to them, possessing of a deep darkness that seemed like it could swallow gxies. Normally, there would always be a very subtle glow to them but now, against any expectations she had harbored, Fenrir felt incredibly contented as her Masters warmth still lingered in her lower body, even though they had long since separated... Back in the real world, Vahn was hovering above the expedition encampment with his fingertips against each other as he held his hands in an inverted position while meditating. There was only half the normal number of tents and they had all been brought close together as nearly a hundred Adventurers were guarding near the perimeter of a massive barrier that covered the entire encampment. Though his own ability to cast external magic was severelycking, Vahn hadnt been slouching around for thest couple of years, especially with Terra constantly advancing her own magical power further. She had developed an artifact that had her barrier magic infused into it,prised of eleven interrted magic circles that had been shrunk down using Space magic. By channeling his energy into it, without having to manifest it into the real world, Vahn was able to use Terras nigh-indestructible barrier without any great expenditure of his own internal reserves. Since his avatar was also in the orb, Vahn experienced his energy recouping at six times the normal rate and this was more than enough to keep the barrier up indefinitely, all whilst thousands of monsters mmed against the outside. Even though this was the case, there was still a guard rotation to make sure none of those strange flowers popped up within the encampment and, to prepare themselves for another surprise attack, most people had gone to sleep still fully geared up for battle. Sensing the change in her Papa, as he had just finished having s.e.x with Fenrir a short while ago, Alexa lifted her head as if she wanted to ask something but ultimately remained silent. She then tightened her grip around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder once again; she had been clinging to him as if he had been giving her a piggyback ride. It looked a little strange to anyone observing from a distance, but most people knew that Alexa was Vahns daughter at this point and just figured she was a little clingy. Many had been so awed by the performance of the girls, and Vahn himself, that any negative thoughts were buried deep within their hearts. Nobody wanted to earn his ire by saying something that might offend him and, after witnessing the almost unfathomable power of the girls keeping them safe, these feelings werepounded greatly... (A/N: I am not afraid to admit that, until I used the [Grimoire of Guidance] on Bell, I hadnt even thought about Lili giving her [Cinder*E] to Fenrir. I feel like I have failed the Murder Floof...please forgive me (T^T)...Also, to all the peopleining about Bell getting [Pactio], youre ignoring the whole reason Vahn had given for helping Bell in the first ce. He wants to observe Bell in a controlled environment so he can have a better understanding of how fate can influence people in records he had no foreknowledge of. At the same time, he is helping to groom Bell into a capable ally that will ease his own burdens in the future. If Bell bes strong enough to maintain the frontline with his own party, Vahn is freed up to deal with other issues on the surface, specifically those rted to other countries and organizations. Vahn could have very easily just made the [Pactio] circles for Bell each and every time, but this current method guarantees that the girls around Bell have a higher chance of survival while also stimting Bells growth. Those that point out that Bell will just get used to having everything handed to him have a fundamentalck of understanding about Bells character. The more you give him, the more effort Bell will put into his own training since he doesnt want to be the type of person that takes advantage of and relies on other people one-sidedly. If the girls were actually stronger than him, this would bolster his desire to grow stronger and, at the same time, increase their ability to protect themselves. I dont really like making huge walls of text trying to exin my reasoning, rifying things that have already been mentioned in the context of the novel, so this will be one of thest times I do so. Just know that I read almost everyment and take into consideration what the readers want to see, so trust that I will always try to give you some form of vindication in the future. Remember, I even told you from the very beginning that most people would probably hate Bell...this is intentional xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Not as OP as expected...for now (UwU)...,Vahn is a big dumb dumb,Fenrir setting records from the start xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 810 - Intuition

Chapter 810 - Intuition

After letting the expedition rest for a couple of hours, all the while monsters continued to besiege the barrier, it was time for them to progress into the 37th Floor, the beginning of the White Pce. Though Vahn had initially wanted to make it all the way to the 39th Floor and rest on Lil Geirr, the number of monsters inhibiting their advance was far beyond his expectations. At any one moment, the corridors and caverns would be filled with tens of thousands of monsters that were trying to halt their advance. Since he had been worried that Lil Geirr was also under attack, Vahn had even sent Ais, Tiona, Maemi, and Emiru to break through the blockade and go provide support. Since there were only a few Floors separating them, Vahn was able to maintain contact with the girls and learned that, against expectations, Lil Geirr had only been assaulted a few times. This meant that Enyos forces were specifically targetting the expedition and, quite possibly, there could be something carried by one of its members that was drawing them in. After all, he hadnt expected Enyo to put so much effort into stopping their progress since it made it very apparent that something unnatural was urring. In his original calctions, she should have already learned about the ns to build a settlement on the 50th Floor and would have been nning some kind of ambush for them, not proactively wasting forces just trying to stall... Vahn had told the girls to continue defending Lil Geirr since there was no way of knowing if the situation would change and, though the defenses of the small fortress were rather high, thebat capabilities of their individual members left something to be desired. Other than people like Gareth, Bete, and a few other Elites, the only means by which they could turn away a wave of monsters was entirely dependent on the defensive wards and ballistae that had been installed. Other than that, the defenders would have to rely on ranged weaponry while anyone capable enough to fight up close would struggle to try and hold ground against the numbers that the expedition was currently facing. Once the expedition had prepared to move out again, Vahn slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a sigh as Alexa quickly released his back and relied on her own wings to remain airborne. She looked down at the monsters that were futilely striking at the barrier, a cold glint in her aquamarine eyes as she asked, "Papa, can I kill them...?" Vahn stretched his body, as he had been stationary for nearly six hours, nodding his head as he said, "Yes, but dont overextend yourself. It would be best if you barrage them with a few big attacks and then return to my side." Alexa smiled excitedly, saying, "I understand, Papa, leave it to me~!" as she flicked her wings and created a shockwave with her sudden eleration. Vahn slowly began moving along with the expedition but kept his back towards the front as he observed Alexa wreak a bit of havoc on the enemies. She created green spheres of condensed magical power in her hands that had dark ck cores that radiated with what looked like green electricity. Whenever she tossed them into a group of monsters, the spheres wouldnt simply explode, but instead expanded in an instant before persisting for several seconds. When they finally faded away, the only thing remaining was a perfect hemispherical hole where monsters had previously stood. The attack spell that Alexa was using is something she had created for herself, an unnamed spell that wasprised of Space, Darkness, and a small amount of source energy to contain it. This was why the attack was nearly soundless as, even though the destructive energies inside were terrifying, they still couldnt overwhelm the thin membrane of source that had been used as a stabilizer. Anything unfortunate enough to be trapped inside was devoured by the Darkness as the space around them waspletely isted for external energies. Even if they had a teleportation ability, unless it was an Innate, there would be few means by which most enemies could even escape Alexas attacks. After lobbing eight of her terrifyingly destructive magic sphere, Alexa quickly created a few shockwaves as she zipped back to his side, breathing a little heavily but still smiling. Vahn extended his arm and let Alexae forward to hug him while he helped to replenish her energy and keep pace with the expedition. This cycle repeated a few times and, though he knew she would probably be okay, Vahn didnt let his attention fall away from Alexa whenever she was fighting monsters. Even if she was a True Dragon, he couldnt help but worry about her, regardless of the fact that most enemies couldnt threaten her even if theynded a direct hit. At the same time that Alexa was helping the Haruhimes Rearguard Unit thin out their pursuers, Lefiya was surrounded by a perpetual pink magic circle as dozens of smaller magic circles formed behind her back like wings. Whenever she would see arge group of enemies, she would send forth a beam of magical power that would cut through any enemies unfortunate enough to meet its path before exploding against the ground and creating an explosion nearly 20m in diameter. The fact that she could send out 79 such attacks at once made Lefiyas role within the group of Mages the most important. It also helped that, standing a short distance from her, Ryuu was using her bow to immediately pick off any variant monsters that might appear. They couldnt even hope to defend against her arrows, eachpressed Star Elemental energy that naturally counteracted the very existence of mana constructs like monsters... Though the girls were the most dominant forces on the battlefield, it wasnt as if they were doing all of the work. In fact, if not for Vahns ability to replenish their energy reserves and therge number of consumable items they had avable, it might not even be possible to progress as smoothly as they had been. Fortunately, the girls were able to conserve the majority of their strength to mislead Enyos forces, instead, allowing the expedition itself to do handle most enemies. Having hundreds of Adventurers that were Level 3 and higher made short work of most monsters, as each of them was able to fight off dozens of enemies with ease while the normal Mages were able to clear outrge groups that exerted pressure on the convoy. Even the construction crew and Supporters were helping out, using crossbows, miniature ballistae, and a few of the [Burst Oil] potions that Asfi had mass-produced within the sub-space orb. Each potion was enough to create a small inferno that could cover an area of around 8m, tearing through the defenses of most monsters with ease. With the help of Naaza, Chloe, Shizune, Lili, and Vahn himself, they had made more than three thousand of the highly useful explosive potions. If they ran low, Vahn could even purchase more from the system shop but, given the fact that they had the resources and it also saved him a great deal of OP, he preferred having them made from scratch. Thus far, other than a few light injuries that had been easily dealt with, everything was proceeding rtively smoothly. This fact, however, caused Vahn to be on even higher alert, especially during the moments when Arnya, Mikoto, and Lili were clearing out the Coliseums. Since it was very difficult for those inside to get out, Vahn was worried that an unexpected attack would ur while their forces were split. Fortunately, the three girls were able topletely annihte the monsters barring further passage while he had been waiting with Alexa, Haruhime, Ryuu, Lefiya, Chloe, Shizune, and Tina. Thetter two hadnt had the opportunity to showcase their skills just yet, but Vahn knew they would have a chance in the near future. Using this same strategy, the expedition continued forward in rtively high spirits as Finn directed everyone in a tight formation. The second Unit,prised of arge number of members of the Ganesha Familia, was their weakest spot. However, as this was also where Vahn and Alexa were located, it was simultaneously the safest ce to be for the weaker members of the expedition. Things were intentionally designed this way to draw attention to the center of the formation, especially if there were someone intelligent guiding the monsters actions. The majority of those making up the leadership of the Alliance was very aware of the existence of Enyo at this point, so morale had been high, even under the constant barrage of monsters. After clearing through the White Pce, the expedition filtered into where the Udaeus would normally spawn but, after the girls passed through the previous day, it had been easily defeated. The room had been so damaged from the fight that, even though the Dungeon would heal over time, there were several indicators of the battle that had urred. Vahn knew that Ais, Tiona, and Tione had let Maemi and Emiru take it on by themselves, so it wasnt too surprising to see how much damage remained in the area. After all, Maemiru was powerful enough to defeat thebined efforts of many of the other girls, assuming she wasnt already injured beforehand... While the expedition made its way through the wide-open room, Vahn didnt drop his guard for a single moment, even though the waves of enemies had temporarily stopped. His intuition was telling him that something was wrong but, even after they had clearly progressed into the next Floor, nothing had happened. As a result, the expedition continued forward until they were very near the entrance to the 39th Floor. The waves of monsters had started from the moment they entered into the 38th Floor, but the open space was actually to the advantage of the Alliance and made it rtively easy to continue forward since they were no longer funneled inward. Even as they entered into the 39th Floor, Vahn suspicion that something was wrong kept nagging at his mind, almost affirming that it was something within the expedition itself that was setting off this feeling. Unfortunately, he hadnt been able to sense any abnormalities, even after inspecting every single person within the expedition with his senses. Not only did he search their aura, but Vahn even went out of his way to inspect their clothing, view their bodies with his [Eyes of Truth], and even transform into his Baihu form to try and sense something. The only thing this aplished was making the danger feel even stronger, but Vahn couldnt identify the source at all... Once the expedition managed to enter into Lil Geirr and begin setting up camp, the girls that had trailzed regrouped with the main group and Vahn took the initiative to call together a council of all the Unit Commanders. He gathered Finn, Shakti, and Haruhime into the Command Tent while a little over twenty other executives filed in to listen to his orders. Without beating around the bush at all, Vahn exined, "I cant ascertain the source, but there is something within the expedition itself that is causing my instincts to trigger. Though that might not sound convincing, know that Im absolutely certain there is something seriously wrong about how things have been going..." Following his words, Finn immediately nodded his head and added, "Vahn is right. My own instincts have been going off for a while now. My thumb is so itchy that I can hardly prevent myself from gnawing it off..." To emphasize this, Finn raised his hand and showed the teeth marks on his glove with a wry smile on his face. His thumb was a very well known quirk so, even though they hadnt exactly discounted Vahns words, most people were convinced by the fact that both people with the highest authority were in agreement. The only peculiarity, which Vahn was surprised he had overlooked, was that Rufinas aura began to shake a little while she sat at the side with a thoughtful expression on her face. Seeing her behavior, Vahn wondered if his feeling was somehow rted to her and, even though he was resolved to hold onto it, Vahn was tempted to use the [Fate Severing Knife] on her. For the time being, however, he just closed his eyes as if he were in deep thought and inspected Rufina in greater detail than he had before. It was his mistake to have overlooked giving a detailed inspection of the people he had already trusted, even though Rufinas fate was intertwined with the Dungeon itself. He was relieved to see that there wasnt anything particrly strange with her, even though she clearly understood he was looking based on her bodynguage and aura... Vahn smiledfortingly to her and sent a telepathic message to Tiona and Chloe to try and look after her once the meeting was over. At the same time, he had started to discuss the best course of action to take in determining the cause of the abnormality. The simplest solution seemed to be separating everyone that had a negative aura and spending a few extra days in Lil Geirr to determine the cause by investigating everything in detail. There were a couple of thousand people that currently resided in Lil Geirr itself, includingborers, artisans, and construction workers. It wouldnt be that difficult to rotate them out in exchange for greater benefits for those that would volunteer for the journey... Finn listened to Vahns n of action before nodding his head in agreement, trusting Vahns judgment as he said, "I believe this is one of our best options right now. However, we should also extend our investigation to everyone in the expedition while helping bolster the defenses of Lil Geirr. Weve all seen how abnormal the monsters are acting and, even though were in a safe area, there have already been several small attacks over thest twenty-four hours. Considering it would sometimes be weeks between simr attacks, it is clear to see that there is a greater scheme afoot here. We cant expose any weakness that could be exploited by our enemies so, until we get to the bottom of this, we should stay put and consolidate our forces." Shakti and Haruhime immediately gave their approval and, even though that would have been all that was required, the matter was still put to a vote. The representatives of the merchant and construction Familia also eded to the ruling very quickly, even though some of the merchant Familia members were obviously a little nervous. Many of them knew that some of their members were less than reputable individuals and would likely be weeded out by any thorough investigation. Even so, they wouldnt pass up the opportunity to set up shops within the 50th Floor this time around, even if the number of clients they had would likely be extremely few for the first few years. They were in this for the long-term investment of such an ambitious project and, missing the opportunity when they had the backing and protection of the Alliance would be one of the greatest chances they ever let slip. Vahn understood what the merchants were thinking but didnt mind it that much as he had discussed their participation with Minerva and Fortuna before following their advice. Though he could easily establish a monopoly for various goods, the two goddesses exined that it was good to at least create the semnce ofpetition. This would give people the illusion that things werent exclusively controlled by the Alliance and encourage more merchants and business owners to make the migration. At the same time, the Alliance would be establishing a Merchants Guild in conjunction with the actual Guild representatives, this timeprising of a group of three people, one elderly Elven man, and two youthful looking Human women. With the unanimous approval to conduct an investigation, everyone was denied leave to explore Lil Geirr until they had provided the proper doc.u.mentation and had both their personal belongings and bodies thoroughly investigated. Though some of the female members hadined about this kind of treatment, they had quieted down after learning that Vahn would personally conduct the search. For better or worse, it was times like this where his reputation, the amicable aura he emitted from his body, and the influence of his [Charm] Development Skill were able to show off their usefulness. Fortunately, he was still back at the Manor and was able to vent some of his frustrations on the surprisingly docile Fenrir, having be more affectionate and submissive after their first few days together... Given the fact there were more than 1300 people to go through, the investigation would obviously take a few days. To expedite things, Vahn had started off by identifying each of the members with dark and negative auras, giving a list to Finn so he could call them forward first. It wasnt that surprising to Vahn that the majority inevitably confessed to various crimes they hadmitted, nor that nearly thirty people admitted to being nts by the Noble faction. As for how he was able to get them to admit to this, it was abination of mental suppression, calming incense, and imnting suggestions in their mind using a few advanced hypnosis techniques. Though he would never use such things on the people he cared about, nor would he shamelessly exploit those under his influence, it was a very useful technique for prying information out of enemies. At the very least, it was better than having to torture it out of them, the method that Loki and Freya were a little too fond of... Other than the nts of the Nobles, and those that admitted to the fact they intended tomit crimes in the new settlement, Vahn let the rest of the people go free. Many of these people, while having dark auras, were the victims of circ.u.mstance, pressured by criminal Familias on the surface, or simply wanted to migrate into the Dungeon to escape from a difficult past. Vahn took pity on people like this and, after nting a ward inside of them that was designed to absorb negative energies, he let them go free. As long as they didnt make any trouble in the future, he had no reason to put pressure on people that were trying to improve their lives. For those that had been victimized by other people, to the point that they were drawn into the darkness against their will, Vahn had them identify the people that pressured them. He would investigate them back on the surface and try to remove them so that they were unable to pressure other people into living simr lifestyles. In total, the number of people that were detained numbered 58 people, the majority being nted by the Nobles, those that hadmitted horrible crimes like **** and murder, and those that intended to try and illegally smuggle goods back to the surface. After the first wave of people, everyone that followed came from the queue that had been situated outside. Vahn noticed that nearly every person to enter the tent after calling in the first person was a female. Some of them, taking the inspection a little too seriously, even tried to strip down the moment the tent p closed behind them. Since this type of behavior could be used to mislead him, Vahn remained unperturbed and closely inspected each person, even while exining that he didnt require them to remove their clothes and just wanted to ask them a couple of questions. The majority of such women pouted slightly but still answered his questions honestly. Some, however, took notice of the fact that he was eyeing their bodies rather seriously and thought it was an opportunity to push their luck. By the end of the first evening, Vahn had lost count of the number of b.r.e.a.s.ts he had seen while some of the more bold women had even entered the tent without panties from the start. The fact that the majority of such girls were Beast People and Amazonesses was something deeply ingrained into Vahns mind... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns just sitting in the air, casually maintaining a barrier around 1300+ people while tens of thousands of monsters smash against it...,Alexa is a clingy little powerhouse,Wealth, Fame, Power...all of these could be yours...you just need to im the one Vahn~!)(A/N: Even I think thest one is some sharp cheddar...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 811 - Rumination

Chapter 811 - Rumination

After the first round of the investigation had beenpleted, Vahn was sitting within the same tent that he used to inspect each of the expedition members. Sitting across from him was Finn and, having arrived to wee the expedition much earlier, Gareth. They were all sipping on some [Dwarven Stout], with Finn partaking of a diluted solution that had been mixed with a much weaker ale. Gareth had snorted upon witnessing this but kept his opinion on the matter to himself as their discussion progressed. He was eyeing the liquid in his own mug as he asked, "So, whatre the odds of Enyo attacking Lil Geirr? Do we need to start preparing for a war...?" Vahn, tapping against the desk in a rhythmic fashion, brought his index finger to a stop as he responded, saying, "Its hard to be certain, especially with how things have been progressing. This is definitely not the limit of Enyos forces so it almost doesnt even make sense that she would be trying to stop us. It would have made more sense for her to stage a massive attack the moment we tried setting up camp on the 50th Floor, especially since it should be closer to their base of operations. These actions are exposing her hand before there has even been any direct contact between our main forces...it doesnt make any sense..." Because of how strange this matter had been, Vahn even went out of his way to meet up with Freya, Minerva, Nike, and Polemos, all gods possessing War and Wisdom Divinities. They were simr to his war council and served as his advisors during situations where he might not be able to infer the answer from his own limited perspective. However, even they couldnt understand why Enyo, who had been keeping hidden for so long, would suddenly oppose the expedition in such a direct manner. In fact, Nike pointed out that, since Enyo obviously had the means to control monsters, she would have forced the expedition to retreat by sending waves into the upper Floors and trying to attack the City directly. Though the City certainly wasnt helpless, having enough powerful monsters climb up through the upper Floors would effectively wipe out most weak Adventurers, potentially destroy the settlement on the 18th Floor, and force a restructuring of the defensive forces on the surface. If Enyo truly wanted to prevent them from entering, it would have made sense for her topletely ignore the expedition and pull their focus away entirely. Instead, she was shing head-on with the expedition, which was the main reason Vahn began to suspect there was something else going on. Finn, seemingly a little tipsy at this point, gave a nasally hnnn before making a spective guess of his own, saying, "Maybe the point of their strategy is to throw us off by acting in an unexpected way from the very beginning. The feeling you have may not being from within the expedition itself, but may pertain to something going on away from the expedition...maybe this is a big misdirect, or a means to buy more time so they can finish their preparations on the 50th Floor...?" Though he was speaking in a somewhat absentminded manner, Finns words rang with a bit of wisdom that had caused Vahn to fall into reflection once again... Though he might not have investigated every small detail, his cursory look over the expedition when they were traveling hadnt exactly been performed hastily. In fact, as everyone else was focused on the battle urring, it would have been more difficult for them to keep secrets from his eyes and senses. Even when they announced the investigation, though there was a bit of dissatisfaction, nobody tried to sneak away or cause a scene. In fact, after getting some alcohol, setting up an entertainment tent, and making some delicious food avable, most people had gotten wrapped up in a festive atmosphere. Now that Finn made his spection known, Vahn was beginning to think there might be a fair bit of truth to the matter... Gareth also seemed to be entertaining the idea and, after taking a hearty gulp of his stout, asked, "Ye have one of yer bodies up on tha surface, right? Think you ought to issue an alert through the Alliance n start preparin for an attack. If Finns right, I expect that Enyo might be tryin ta get you to focus more on what is going on in the Dungeon. By tha time ya get down to the 50th Floor, it would be a little difficult to turn around if somethin started happenin on the Upper Floors." After working alongside Finn for more than a decade, Gareth had a great deal of trust in the Pallums intuition and didnt want to leave anything to chance. Vahn just nodded his head, remaining silent because he had already issued the alert at the same time as his war council. It was impossible to have a gathering of War and Wisdom gods where they wouldnt have alreadye up with such an idea. Though their spection didnt run down the same line as Finns, they were very aware of the possibility of a misdirect and, knowing about the divinations of Cassandra and Sylfia, they werent going to take chances. Since a lot of the Alliances war potential was concentrated inside of the Dungeon right now, it was even more important for them to maintain proper ountability for their members and the situation within the City in general. Still, to follow up on Gareths advice, Vahn went to talk with Eirene to have her increase the number of patrols urring throughout the City, especially around the regions where construction was ongoing. Since this included Daedelus Street, and the artificial dungeon underneath, Vahn figured it would be prudent to focus their efforts there. If Enyo wasnt going toe up through Babel Tower, she would undoubtedly move her forces through the artificial dungeon. At the same time, he sent a personal message to Freya, even though Loki also had a paired logbook, asking her to station her Familia in the area as well. She almost immediately responded back, agreeing without any debate whatsoever before Loki added a few words of her own... So that Gareth didnt think he was ignoring him, Vahn matched gazes with the amicable Dwarf and said, "Dont worry, we wont be caught off guard so easily. The Hearth Manor will be safe as long as Terra and myself are there, especially since we didnt bring all of our reserves into the Dungeon. Im more worried that you and Finn hit the nail on the head, just with a different target than the most obvious. Its possible that Enyo may specifically target Lil Geirr and Rivira before she makes a move for the surface. The chances of her trying to cut off our escape from the Dungeon itself are quite high..." Vahns mind was brought back to the strange flowers that had produced the aphrodisiac, which his Inventory had been able to identify as [Visc.u.m Eudicotyledons]. They were a type of flowering mistletoe, which was somewhat ironic, that had several different possible toxins contained within their spores depending on the structure of a special type of protein called lectins. Other than the aphrodisiac spores, the mostmon spore produced would cause severe gastrointestinal problems, including debilitating stomach pain and spontaneous diarrhea. It was obviously a nt that had been designed for the sole purpose of serving as a distraction or causing chaos. Most Adventurers would have [Abnormal Resistance], which would prevent the majority of such effects, but it would be very effective on the general populous. Just imagining several million people running around like s.e.x-crazed fiends, irrespective of age, race, or gender, was a terrifying thought... However, using such methods in an open area would have a significantly reduced effect, leading Vahn to believe that Enyo may try to flood the Upper Floors with the spores to cut off their route of retreat. Eventually, though it could take several months, it was possible for her to slowly extend the influence of the spoors between the 18th and 24th Floors until the entire area became almost impassable without specialized equipment. Fortunately, such equipment was easily purchasable through the system shop but it still didnt discount the fact that Enyos forces could easily wipe out, at the very least, the settlement on the 18th Floor... After Vahn gave his take on things, the tent became very quiet for several minutes as all three men ruminated over the best course of action. Vahn himself was starting to feel a nagging frustration that had been reced by the familiar cooling energy from his [Will of the Emperor]. Honestly, he was getting fed up with these types of situations and was very tempted to throw caution to the wind and dive into the Dungeon with a small group of Elites and just target Enyo directly. He could even go on his own and, even if his body ended up getting destroyed, his soul would be entirely unaffected and reform with his Avatar on the surface. After that, he could always produce a second Avatar and then just repeat the process until Enyos forces just break... The only thing preventing him from taking this course of action were things like Evas advice, the guidance from Sis, and the non-negligible chance that Enyo may have a way to seal him away, at least temporarily. Though he would potentially be able to destroy his own body, or even call Terra to his side for assistance, there were simply too many unknowns to make such a bold risk. It was infinitely safer to put pressure on Enyos forces, focus on the establishment of Haven, and slowly whittle them down through overwhelming power and resources. Eventually, something would have to give and Enyo would be forced to try and contend with Haven directly, exposing the errant goddess and giving Vahn the chance to deal with her directly. He even had the option that, after finishing the establishment of Haven, diving into the Dungeon with Haven serving as a waypoint. This would save him a lot of time and effort while also creating a ce for the girls to fall back to if things got dangerous. Since they would undoubtedly be involved in the fighting that was toe, having a base of operations to rest and recuperate were incredibly important... Ironically, though he wasnt exactly fond of the idea, one of the best options was to simply wait for Bell to be strong enough to trigger whatever events fate had machinated for the boy. Vahn was trying to elerate Bells growth so that he would be useful, not necessarily to resolve the problem, but to serve as a means of directing the problem in a controlled manner. Vahn believed that, if he and Bell were both involved in the situation, events would undoubtedly transpire around Bell. This made it much easier to n around things because they would always know the approximate location where events would take ce. By simply observing Bells actions, andparing them against other variables, it might even be possible to predict the future, even without someone that has an ability rted to divination. After all, fate and karma were far more reliable things than any form of future sight that wasnt directly rted to looping through time. To bolster Bells growth even further, Vahn intended to try and strengthen the people around him since it would constantly urge Bell to grow even faster. At this point, it was easy to see that Bell had imprinted on him as the target for his [Liaris Freese], so Vahn had been trying to make the boy feel somewhat indebted towards him. Though there was certainly no resentmenting from Bell about the help he had received, Vahn could tell that it bothered the boy. It was because of this that Vahn had challenged Bell to be stronger without having to use the second [Effigy of the Hero], as it would be a powerful motivator for the boys growth. Once he obtained equipment that would allow him to push himself even further, Bell might even skyrocket to higher Levels in a very short period of time, especially with fate as his guide... Realizing the best option was to simply react to whatever Enyo threw at him, the icy feeling in Vahns mind increased in intensity. In truth, he didnt like the idea of simply waiting around, even if everything seemed to point towards that as being the best solution. He had already put off several other things that were bothering him, especially the matters rted to the Rakia Kingdom and the Iron Hills. If not for his resolution to avoid bing the Emperor version of himself from the Divination, Vahn felt it would just be easier to charge into the capital and remove the cancer as he had in the Elven Kingdom. The difference was, he had a very real reason to take action at that moment, especially with the coup that had been staged...if he just charged into two nations where he had no real power or influence, it would take much longer to bring about changes than it had with the Elven Kingdom. There, he had the support of the King, the High Priestess, and was even made the Prime Minister...none of which he would have once he essentially dered war on and ughtered arge number of people... Though he knew it wasnt likely the case, Vahn couldnt help looking over at Gareth and asking, "Gareth, you wouldnt happen to be somended noble from a powerful family in the Iron Hills, would you...?" To this, Gareth began tough as if he had just heard the most hrious joke in the world, even hammering the table a few times before he said, "Ahm afraid not, ma boy. Before I came to Orario, I was nothing more than a miner who had a little bit of an ego, constantly gettin myself inta trouble by epting dangerous missions around volcanoes. Even so, I managed to make a name for myself an have quite a few connections back in the Hills." Vahn just waved his hand in a dismissive manner, not wanting to ruin any rtionsh.i.p.s that Gareth had established with his kinsmen. For someone like Gareth to associate with them, Vahn didnt believe they were part of the problem and, even though it was a potential in that he could make use of in the future, it wasnt opportune to do so right now. Still, the impatience he was feeling about everything was starting to wear at him and, at the very least, Vahn intended to vent a little bit when Enyo began moving. He intended to venture progressively deeper into the Dungeon after establishing Haven and harvesting a plethora of materials and OP that would serve towardspletely his current goal. At the very least, he needed 10,000,000,000OP toplete his current objectives, meaning he needed to be somewhat frugal with his expenses whenever possible... After another hour of drinking, Finn had been taken out ofmission and was currently producing a pool of drool on the table, mumbling something about being too busy to change another diaper with an almost pained expression on his face. Vahn and Gareth bothughed when seeing this, prompting Gareth to follow up and mention, "You know, I have a daughter of my own back in the Hills. Havent talked to her after havin a falling out though...damn, hard to believe its already been thirteen years since I saw thess...make sure you treasure the time you have with your children, Vahn, they grow up faster than youd think..." Vahn was tempted to retort something along the lines of you have no idea, but kept it to himself since he could see that Gareth had be mncholic after mentioning his daughter. Since he was currently 56, that meant Gareth had been 43 thest time he met his own child, something Vahn couldnt really imagine doing if he was in the same record as his children. Considering that Gareth was a Minor, that meant he was probably in histe teens or early twenties when he had a kid, making her around her mid-thirties, at the very least. Since it didnt seem like Gareth really wanted to talk about it, Vahn shelved his curiosity for the time being and intended to inquire about herter. After all, if he truly waged war on the Iron Hills, it would be a terrible tragedy if he identally deprived one of his few male friends of his own flesh and blood... Slowly but surely, Gareth also started to s.u.mb to the heavy alcohol and eventually ended up excusing himself after picking up the small keg and carrying it with him. He knew that Vahn couldnt actually get drunk and had only been humoring him for thest few hours. Since he also knew that Vahn wouldnt mind if he took the remnants, Gareth happily snatched the keg andughed boisterously as he made his way out of the tent. Finn had stirred a little from the loudughter, enough to fall out of his chair and onto the ground, but ultimately remained asleep. As for Vahn, he finished the remainder of his ss and set a potion on the ground next to Finn before heading to his own tent. He had been able to sense that most of the girls had been waiting up for him and knew that Alexa was probably growing impatient with his absence. After reaching the Hestia Familia tent, Vahn was reunited with the girls and noticed the presence of two people he hadnt quite expected to see, Rufina and Shakti. It had turned out that, while he was watching over the encampment and busy with things back on the surface, the two girls had somehow found themselves staying within the Hestia Familias tent. They were actually somewhat surprised to see him, as he hadnt slept a single night since the expedition began, with Rufina even asking, "What are you doing here?" in a mock hostile tone. Vahn, however, just released a small sigh and said, "I wonder..." before walking into the side room where the giant futon was and dropping onto his face with a thump. Alexa had, very quickly, followed behind him and seized the initiative to im the area immediately surrounding him. As if she was afraid the other girls would try to make a im, she even used her wings to nket him, something that made Vahn unsure of whether he wanted tough or cry. Ultimately, he just decided to let them sort it out themselves as the other girls had also started to meander into the room as they began teasing Alexa for her clingy behavior. At the same time, Haruhime and Lili had also moved to his immediate surroundings with Lefiya, showing a great deal of concern, even changing into her [Pactio] as she hesitantly asked, "Master...do you want me to wash your body...?" To this, Vahn just sent her a telepathic message saying he was fine and saying he simply wanted to sleep for a bit to recover his mental energy. Though he had only sent this message to Lefiya, she quickly ryed it to the other things, causing the tent to be silent very quickly. They had wanted to talk about a few things before bed but, seeing Vahn appear genuinely tired, knew it could wait until the morning. As for Rufina and Shakti, they suddenly felt awkward for having intruded into the ce they knew was Vahns domicile. In truth, they had just gotten a little carried away after having gotten along well with all of the other girls. When they received an invitation to stay in the tent, it had been pointed out that Vahn would undoubtedly be sleeping there as well. They had epted this at the time but, until now, Vahn had never even shown up for a single moment. Now, they suddenly felt out of ce and Shakti brought forth the idea of leaving to go set up a tent of their own nearby. Around the same time that Shakti made this proposition, Haruhime poked her head out of the side room and said, "Come now, what are you two acting so shy for? We even have children sleeping in the room so you dont be afraid of just one sleeping boy...besides, will you really be satisfied if you keep hesitating~?" With a somewhat mischevious look on her face, Haruhime retreated back into the room and left the two girls alone with their thoughts. Eventually, Rufina got up with a huff and made her way towards the side room but ended up hesitating before making her way inside. Shakti, seeing this, released a sigh and, even though she felt like her life had taken a turn she had never expected, stood up to push Rufina into the room, following behind with a small blush on her face... (A/N: Alternate Titles: War is never simple...,Vahn cant even drink his troubles away...,YOLO) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 812 - Snap

Chapter 812 - Snap

While his main body slept, causing a shroud to cover his perception, Vahn was using his avatar within the sub-space orb to think of solutions and methods to circ.u.mvent Enyos ns. Drinking with Gareth and Finn hadnt exactly provided him with any concrete ideas so he now found himself reclining in a plush spherical chair that allowed a persons body to sink into it. Curled up on hisp, Vahn had both Fenrir and Nanu keeping himpany as he absentmindedly stroked their hair. Since girls with fluffy ears and tails had something of a ther.a.p.eutic effect on him, Vahn had somewhat selfishly asked them to apany him for a few hours... Since there were so many things that were taking ce in the future, Vahn couldnt help thinking about it and how all the pieces fit together,prising his jumbled existence. One thing he was considering was how to best use his Unit Management in the future, as it was one of his most powerful functions within the system at present. At the same time, though he had tried to ept the idea that whatever happened between him and other girls didnt matter, part of him was still resistant to the idea. Since opening his heart and mind to the idea might exponentially increase the number of women around him, Vahn was considering tempering his mind to both refuse women, without letting their sadness weigh on his heart... The problem with this was that it made him feel somewhat like Finn, who he had been frustrated with in the past because of the matter with Tione. If girls genuinely fell in love with him, which seemed to be the trend, but he still closed his heart to them...it would be very simr to how Finn had closed his heart to Tione. If there were girls like Sylfia, who showed they were willing to wait several years for him to eventually open his heart...Vahn felt like he had already taken a step down a path filled with endless troubles... Vahn was genuinely afraid that he simply didnt have what it took to refuse a woman in any meaningful way, especially if she was beautiful or had a nature he could appreciate. Though he had resolved himself to have little to no rtionsh.i.p.s in future records, well...it was easy to say such things. The question he had to ask himself is if he found some girl with a tragic past, helped her out, and then she fell in love with him...could he actually refuse her? If he became the anchor for their existence, much like Chloe had for him in the past, could he simply burden them after potentially bing their reason for living...? There had been a time when Vahn refused such girls, such as when he first met Lili, Haruhime, Preasia, Maemi, and Emiru...but that wall had been broken down a long time ago. In fact, because he had made them wait, Vahn had felt very guilty by the time he finally epted the girls into his heart. It had been very unfair to them when he forced them to work hard, essentially making them earn the right to be with him. Now, with things like that as a precedent, Vahn found himself severelycking reasons to refuse women, even though the only one he actually needed was a general unwillingness...he...just...wasnt...unwilling...! Feeling a strong urge to break something, Vahn kept his calm by stroking the fluffy ears of the two girls, both of which had already noticed his state and were trying tofort him. This was another thing he had be very aware of, the fact that he was extremely reliant on the girls around him just to maintain his mental stability. There were just so many things going on at any given time that it was almost maddening when things were happening outside of his control. All of these events with Enyo were wearing at his patience and Vahn felt himself deviating ever closer to the existence he had embodied as the Emperor. Vahn kept telling himself that, even if he walked down that path, he wouldnt end up the same way...after all, he had so many people supporting him. But, remembering the things he had seen in the Divination, how the girls kept chasing after him tirelessly, Vahn knew he had a great deal of support then as well...even when he had be a terrible person, there were likely hundreds of people propping him up and enabling him to keep moving forward... It was a strange thought to consider, but Vahn now realized there were actually a lot of problems with having too much support. He lived a truly blessed existence, surrounded people that loved and supported all of his decisions. At the same time, this enabled him to do almost anything he wanted to and, with The Path as his biggest support, there were fundamentally no limits ced on him. This had horribly warped his personality into something that was beyond theprehension of other people and, as much as he might try to deny the reality, Vahn knew he was exceptionally spoiled... Realizing this, Vahn beganughing out loud, even as tears poured down his face. He felt such an amazing amount of incredulity and confusion that it felt like something had broken inside of him but, even as this happened, the pieces of his mind were stitched together by all the people he loved, with his children being what kept his mentality firmly rooted in ce. Vahn realized the answer had been in front of him the entire time, as it was something that had be his reason for existence ever since he firstid eyes on his children. Since he wanted to live by example, Vahn knew he needed to be better than he was now...he needed to be a rock that they could always rely upon, not something loose and unstable that would cause them to lose their own footing on the path of life... In an instant, the cold energy that had permeated through his mind expanded through his body and mingled with the warmth rising from his heart. Vahn felt the two energies blend together, seemingly neutralizing each other while simultaneously filling him with incredible calm, almost like he was floating in a perfectly cid ocean. At the same time, Vahn felt that this ocean was a seemingly endless amount of power that he had ess to with but a thought...however, at the same time, Vahn knew that, if he tried to tap into it, the calm would be disrupted and turmoil would be introduced to this extremely peaceful state of mind... He couldnt see it himself, but Vahns ck pupils now radiated with a gentle blue light and, much like they had in the past, there was an illusion of a tall figure holding a sword. The difference was, instead of raising it high and appearing extremely tyrannical, the figure had the de of his sword firmly rooted in the ground as he crossed his hands over the pommel,pletely calm, almost as if it were waiting for something. Behind the figure, what appeared to be an endless ocean of people all stood solemn and patient, not even a single movement discernable to be seen amongst them... By the time Vahn realized the changes, his domain had expanded from 781m and continued to increase until it had extended a thousand meters, omnidirectionally, from Vahn. The same calm persisted in his mind and it almost felt like every action he took was through a filter of sorts, even though his senses seemed sharper than ever. It was in this calm state that Vahn made a firm and invible resolution that would define his character from that moment forward. He would not be bound by a future that had no relevance on the present other than what little value he afforded it. His love would not be bound by paltry sensibilities that had been concocted by people in a society that was fundamentally wed from the start. The feelings other people had toward him should never sway his decisions unless they were people he had decided to open his heart to. He would not allow himself to be exploited, nor would he serve as the anchor for someone elses reality. From this moment onwards, he was Vahn Mason, not the possessor of The Path, but The Path itself. His existence was something invible that transcended the very tier system of reality itself. He was never normal, even when he had been born back on Earth long ago. The life he had lived in Danmachi had been nothing short of exceptional and, the only limitations he had ever possessed were those he ced upon himself. From this point onwards,passion, love, mercy, these were things he would give at his leisure and, as long as he did not choose to walk the path of a cruel and merciless Emperor, there had never been a danger of that being a reality from the start... -------------------------------------------------------------- //Main Quest Chain Triggered// [Quest: The Path of an Emperor Begins With the First Step] Rank: Zenith Objective: Unify the Continent of Eden:(2/9), Conquer the Living Dungeon, Tartarus(0/1), Form a Divine Council with a God of every Major Divinity(5/30) Optional Objectives: [Curiosity] Form a Harem with at least one member of every race:(22/59), [Inspiration] Acquire 10,000 Followers, Subordinates, or Retainers(9/10,000), [Might] Ovee the restriction of Level 10:(6/10), [Virility] Sire 100 Children(18/100) Rewards: 10,000,000,000OP, Quest System Upgraded, 1x[Innate Awakening Pill], 1x[Page of the Akashic Tome] Failure Conditions: Forfeiture of Main Quest Chain Penalty: Record Bacsh, Divine Law Cataclysm Initiated -------------------------------------------------------------- Even as the notification appeared within his mind, Vahns only reaction was a small smile as he began to ruminate over his decisions. He found that it was much easier to act than it was to just wait for things to happen. With that in mind, he tilted Nanus head and looked into her slightly confused face as he asked, "Nanu, though I will never stop loving you, will you be my subordinate or retainer? I want to help you grow stronger and it will bring us much closer together. I swear that I will never exploit your status for my own benefit." Though he wasnt really surprised, Vahns smile widened slightly when he saw Nanus tail begin to wag quickly as she very earnestly said, "Yes, please! Master~!" Following her eptance, the notification about Nanu wanting to be his subordinate appeared within Vahns mind once again. This time, instead of trying to push Nanu away and have her adhere to his intentions without him taking responsibility, Vahn quickly epted the request. He wasnt even remotely surprised when he saw that her Loyalty towards him was already at 43,391 and continually increasing every few seconds. He then selected the [Rename] option within the interface and added thest name Mason at the end, willing her into direct association with him and desiring that it give her greater power. Nanus eyes widened suddenly and formless energy that only Vahn could see began to flow around her body, very simr to Bells except for the fact Vahn knew he could influence it, instead of the other way around. Following this intuition, Vahn moved his fingers through it and could actually feel it against his skin as Nanus body trembled slightly. Pushing this even further, Vahn stated very seriously, "Nanu, without pushing yourself to a breaking point, I want you to earnestly continue trying to reach the pinnacle of forging. I believe that you have the potential of even reaching the level of the gods...never doubt yourself, as you now carry the surname Mason..." As if sealing a pact, Vahn tilted Nanus head up and kissed her lips, feeling and guiding her reaction much like how he did when he first shared kisses with the girls. When he pulled away, Nanus face was flushed and Vahn was very aware of the state of her body, smiling with a somewhat teasing expression as he said, "I have some things to take care of right now. Ill stop by your workshop when Im finished and take care of you properly..." While speaking, Vahn pulled Nanu towards him by lifting her butt, kissing her on the corbone for a few seconds before lightly spanking her and saying, "Go, but make sure to rest properly and not distance yourself from the others." Nanu, still breathing heavily, nodded her head like a chicken pecking at feed and said, "Leave it to me, Master! I wont let you down~!" With her tail spinning like a propeller, Nanu then ran off at her fastest speed,pletely determined to break through to [Master Smith] as soon as possible. Previously, [Master Smith] had been a goal she aspired towards in order to be with her Master. Now, however, she sought something far greater and, having her Master bestow his family name upon her, Nanu felt like her heart was going to explode out of her chest. If she didnt begin forging something soon, it would be impossible for her to hold back from attacking her beloved Master...! Vahn had already risen to his feet, having Fenrir hop out of hisp and stand next to him as he said, "Things are going to be changing very quickly in the near future, Fenrir. Im tired of waiting around to see what our enemies are going to do. Though it may be stressful for you, Ill need your help in dealing with a few problems that I cant tend to personally..." At the same time that he was speaking, Vahn ran his fingers through Fenrirs midnight blue hair and kept eye contact, marveling at this woman who he had a hand in creating. He never thought about it in such a direct manner before, but Vahn now realized that this adorable little Vanargandr in front of him really was the embodiment of what he considered as cute. Since that had been his intent when naming her, she had be an existence that could easily weasel her way into his heart, something Vahn found humorous in retrospect. Simr to Nanu, Fenrir also seemed to be getting very excited, nodding her head as she said, "If it is what you want me to do, I will do it without question. Please, dont hold back, Master...your trust is what gives my life meaning...I want to be needed by you, more than anything else...!" To this, Vahns smile widened greatly and he made no effort to restrain himself as he sealed her lips with his own. Though he made certain to keep his tongue on the outside of her invible devouring domain, this didnt mean Vahn couldnt share a passionate kiss with this lovable little subordinate of his. He even took it a step further, lifting her off the ground so that her paws dangled for nearly five whole minutes before letting her go. When he was done, he heavily patted her head and said, "Come, we have much to do..." (A/N: "There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man." -Patrick Rothfuss) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Breaking Point,Vahn is done ying games,With but a single resolute step of the Emperor, the entire world shall tremble) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 813 - For The Future

Chapter 813 - For The Future

Though it was nearing the middle of the night, Vahn exited the orb and spread his perception to see if any of the goddesses were awake. Since a lot had been going on from the moment the expedition set out, he wasnt surprised to find that Loki, Hephaestus, and Eirene were all awake, gathered together in Lokis room alongside Syr, Riveria, and Tsubaki. Erika had already moved into her own room and Vahn could see that she was also awake, huddled up at a desk with amp while continuing her studieste into the evening. He wasnt going to hold it against her for working hard but made a mental note to make sure she is resting properlyter on. Since he knew she would want to be involved in the conversation, Vahn let his intentions reach Hestia, stirring the goddess awake in an instant as she sat up in her bed in a daze before preparing toe down to Lokis room. Vahn also ordered Anubis and Terra toe over while pulling out Freyasmunication scroll and giving her a quick update on the situation. He informed her that he would meet her after the discussion began and told her to stand by for the time being, as she had wanted toe to his side the moment he mentioned it. Since Loki was also paying attention to herrgerwork, this alerted her to the fact he was inbound and Vahn could sense them moving around to prepare for his arrival. Upon entering into the room, Vahn smiled towards the gathered girls and inly stated, "I havee to realize many things and need to make my intentions clear so that everyone understands my future actions better." To this, many of the girls showed slightly startled expressions while Loki asked, "Did something happen? Your presence... its very different than normal..." Vahn nodded his head, not denying her observation at all and instead exined, "Though I will not im to have a proper grasp on the situation, this farce with Enyo, no, the entire world has gone on long enough. If the Alliance is going to be shaping the world in the future, we need to take more proactive measures to bring about the changes we desire. I have decided to take the initiative to prevent our enemies from simply doing whatever they want...Im tired of people getting hurt just because a bunch of fools believe that we will simply stand at the side and bide our time..." This statement seemed to have a big impact on Eirene who immediately asked, "Vahn, what are you trying to do...?" There was a bit of hesitation in her voice and it was easy to see that she was shaken by the sudden change in his behavior. Seeing this, Vahn smiled gently to her and said, "Dont worry, Eirene, it isnt as though Im nning on bing some generic tyrant that just does whatever he wants. The change I intend to bring about is something that will require the concerted efforts of the entire Alliance. However, I will be taking personal action to deal with enemies that would have required us to react after they caused a great deal of harm to people. I know that everyone here is aware of the dangers presented by Enyo and, with her current behaviors, I refuse to just stand by and wait until she releases some great gue or chemical attack upon the City. Since her forces are currently located within the Dungeon, I n to keep them there and systematically eliminate them. Im done waiting for people to suffer before Im able to take actions I have already known would be necessary from the start." Though she had shown a bit of hesitation at first, Eirene seemed to get fired up by the righteous fervor in Vahns voice. She had even risen to her feet, a resolute look in her eyes as she asked, "What do you need me to do? How can I help?" Since the first time they had be one, Eirene had already resolved to stand at Vahns side until the end. His sudden change had caused her to feel a slight amount of concern but, hearing the conviction in his words, she couldnt help but feel as though he had be even more heroic than before. Vahn reached out his hand, stroking Eirenes blue hair as he softly stated, "Thank you for your support, Eirene...for now, just wait until everyone else has shown up. We all need to be on the same page for what I have nned, so please just be patient for the time being..." As he knew it was a very effective method, and because he wanted to do so, Vahn gave Eirene a kiss to break her tension and cate her for a moment. He then gently pushed against her shoulder and guided her to the bed as a rosy blush touched her cheeks. At the same time, he made eye contact with Loki and Syr, seeing a calcting look in both girls eyes as they processed his words. In a way, they had been two of his greatest supporters and Vahn knew their assistance would be instrumental to the sess of his future ns. It didnt take long for the majority of the Manors residents to gather in Lokis room, a first, considering they would typically gather within the dining room. Ultimately, it didnt really matter, however, so Vahn pulled out a few pieces of furniture for them to sit on as he stood tall and exined, "To exin this as simply as possible...I have decided to treat my convictions of the pass with the severity and dedication they deserve. In order to create a better future for our family, I will work to bring about the necessary change to shape this world into a ce where the potential of people is not simply cut off by the decisions of a greedy few. The existing system is fundamentally wed and since our Alliance has the power to bring about the necessary change, I will not sit on my hands and just sit idly by as people work to circ.u.mvent our efforts..." Taking a deep breath, Vahn then continued, "Ill be honest with you all...I have be extremely spoiled by the support Ive received from everyone and, as a result of restrictions I have ced upon myself, it has made my choices much more difficult. This has caused my resolve to waver and, so as not to appear unreliable and fragile before my children, I have decided to be a more stable existence. As a result, I understand that I may make many decisions in the future that would have required much greater consideration than I will likely put into it. In order to prevent myself from straying onto a path none of us wish to see, I will be relying on each and every one of you to be forthright with me..." Vahn closed his eyes, waiting for his words to settle for a short while before adding, "I cannot say how I know these things, as it is something simply beyond my ownprehension to even grasp at, at least for the time being. However, I can say with absolute certainty that I am not a demi-god, nor have I ever had any pseudo-divinity to speak of...my existence itself is something that I may never be able to wrap my head around, but it is fundamentally different than anything that has ever existed before...Im sure, in your own way, many of you have already understood this..." Thisst remark was targetted towards the gathered goddesses but Vahn noticed that Syr, Riveria, and Tsubaki also understood the truth of his words. Since they were all waiting for him to continue, he took another deep breath and said, "I have a unique power, something that is fundamentally impossible for me to ever exin to another person. As my understanding of this power has increased, Ive been able to glean insight into many things and it has constantly been evolving. At the same time, I have been able to garner insights into the very nature of the world itself, including things like fate, creation, space, time, and concepts rted to the very Laws that govern everything..." Seeing the confusion on the faces of most of the girls, goddesses included, Vahn rified, "My power seems to be rted to my own perception of the world, and my interactions with other people. The more I desire strength, the more power I am able to gather in a short period of time...it is this desire that had given birth to things like Evas orb, allows me to bestow names upon other people and now, even allows me to modify and change the very existence of those that have dedicated themselves to me..." As he spoke, Vahn had already gotten permission from Fenrir and changed her hair color into a pure red while making her eyes radiate with three different colors. Before anyone could ask questions, Vahn had already continued, saying, "I now have the power to modify any person that had subordinated themselves to me, be one of my devoted followers, or pledged genuine allegiance to me. If the bond we share is strong enough, I can even modify everything from their race, their gender, and even their elemental affinities. This is only the tip of the iceberg and, Im certain that many more powers Im unaware of will make themselves known in the future. As weve all seen with the Vanir, my existence within this world has fundamentally changed the very nature of reality and, in order to prevent myself from deviating onto a dangerous path, I will need the council of each and every one of you..." Vahn said thesest words with a gentle smile but it quickly morphed into a slightly apologetic look as he added, "However, at the same time, Ive chosen to embrace my existence and stop holding myself back without any justifiable reason to do so. Even right now, at this very instant, there are undoubtedly hundreds of thousands of people suffering all over the world. Though my life already has meaning, which is the love I share with each of you, the bonds weve formed together, and the proof of our unity through our children...I know I can do much more. In order to make the world I have envisioned a reality, I will stop holding backpletely..." Taking yet another deep breath, Vahns smile softened as he stated, "You can call it an ability to understand the machinations of fate if you wish but, much like how I need to have various gods make eternal vows to me, there are now other things I must aplish. From this point onward, I will make an earnest effort to unify the entire Continent. At the same time, the primary objective of the Alliance will be the establishment of Haven, confronting Enyos forces, and theplete subjugation of the Dungeon. We will guide this Continent towards a better future and, to facilitate this, I n to form a Council of Gods,prised of every major Divinity. For now, we will settle with trying to achieve influence through the Denatus but we will slowly try and create a system that benefits both gods and mortals without either party exploiting the other..." At this point, Loki stepped into the conversation, asking, "What do you n to do about gods that resist the changes youre trying to introduce? You should know it very well, Vahn, that some gods simply cant resist thepulsion of their Divinities. Taking a hard stance..." As he already knew exactly what Loki wanted to say, Vahn raised his hand and interrupted her for what felt like the first time in years. This caused her eyes to part slightly as he exined, "There are no absolutes in this world Loki and, though Divinity is a serious issue that needs to be taken into consideration, we cant simply watch as some gods only take action to exploit others. If that is their nature, at least for the time being, they shouldnt be in the mortal world from the start. Nothing Im trying to do is in opposition of the regtions imposed by the Guild currently, nor should it be in vition of the vows gods make before descending. What Im proposing is simply removing the loopholes that have allowed gods to exploit people for nearly a thousand years. I know this isnt the best solution, which is why I will construct a Divine Council to serve as the governing body that acts as an intermediary between gods and mortals. At the same time, I will never give up trying toe up with a solution to the Divinity that I know gues many gods...one day, even if it takes a few decades, I will liberate all gods from thepulsion of Divinity. At the same time, I will pave the way forward for even mortals to rise to godhood...the world cannot continue along its current path...there has to be a better way. If not, I will make a better way..." Though it wasnt his intention, Vahns [Will of the Emperor] had been in full effect while he was speaking. However, instead of putting a tyrannical pressure on others, the nature of the ability seemed to have changed slightly. Vahn could feel the intenting from everyone before him and was able to feel their emotions rising alongside their resolve. He didnt know why, but his intuition was telling him that the Will of an Emperor wasnt simply a means to pressure others with power. Instead, the true power of an Emperors Will was to inspire like-minded people to strive towards a unified greatness that singr entities would never be able to achieve... Riding on the momentum, Vahn could feel himself getting riled up as he said, "I swear an eternal vow with my very existence at stake...I will never stop trying to create a better world for everyone, not just mortals, but all sentient creatures that exist within all worlds. If gods are suffering from their Divinity, I will be strong enough to alter the fundamental nature of Divinity itself...I will not stand idly by and watch the world stagnate for the benefit of a greedy few that have selfishly seized power for themselves. Though I may not always walk a straight path, I will never stop moving forward, even unto the ends of eternity itself...!" With Vahns words,rge golden chains came out of the void and coiled around him but, surprising everyone present, Vahn shattered them in an instant, saying, "I do not need the world to recognize my resolve. This is a decision I have made and the only thing that can bind me is the convictions Ive set for myself...!" This time, the chains coiled around Vahn and seemed to be posing to strike in an effort to bind him once again. However, after a few seconds had passed, the chains began to retract themselves into the void,pletely shocking all of the goddesses. Even they couldnt resist the Laws of the World, especially those pertaining to something like an Eternal Vow. Seeing Vahn, a mortal boy, simply shrug them off...it was somethingpletely impossible with their previous understanding of the world. Seeing the chains retreat, Vahns eyes shone with a powerful light as he looked towards everyone that had gathered, confidently stating, "I would not be the person I am today if not for the support each of you has given me. I will never be able to make you understand the overwhelming gratitude I have towards you...so I will show it with my actions. Know that, just like in the past, I will always respect the decisions made by those gathered within the Manor. At the same time, however, I need to be able to have confidence in the actions I take on the outside. I will do my best to never bring discourse into our home but I will also rely on the unity you girls possess to keep order...this is probably my biggest weakness, so please forgive me for the man I have be..." Though it felt like all of his nerves were going to tear apart when he tried to initiate the action, Vahn lowered his head to the girls, even as blood began to emerge from his seven orifices. The [Will of the Emperor] was such that it adamantly refused to lower its head to others but Vahn confidently stated within his own mind, ("There is no shame in lowering my head to people that deserve my respect! I will never bow at the behest of another but that doesnt mean I cannot revere the women who have helped to give my life meaning!") With these words, the pain wracking his body faded away in an instant, reced by the calm that had been present before... Many of the girls panicked when they saw Vahn suddenly bleeding out of his head but it was Hestia who eventually spoke out, saying, "No matter what, I will continue to protect this home we have created together...I believe in you, Vahn. Even if you travel far away, conqueringnds I have never even heard of...I will always be here to wee you home. Never forget that this is the ce where your family is always waiting for you..." Though she couldnt understand why, Hestias intuition told her that Vahn may go very far away one day. The way he was speaking caused something inside of her to know this was the reality of the situation and, believing he needed her to help protect the sanctity of their home, Hestia wanted to show her resolution. With Hestia as the first to open her mouth, Anubis quickly added, "Ever since I first saw your soul, I knew you were an existence far beyond even theprehension of gods. I believe in the future you will make, Master, and will always follow at your side." Even if Vahn became a monster in the eyes of others, Anubis had seen the resplendence of his soul. She didnt believe for a moment that he was the type that would selfishly exploit others and, more so than any other hero in history, Anubis believed Vahn would truly save this world. Loki was a little annoyed that she missed the chance to speak up herself so she took the opportunity to speak up right after Anubis words fell, saying, "As I said in the past, I would have followed you even if you chose to be the Emperor of the entire world. Dont worry about straying from the path you want to walk, Vahn, as you can be confident well whip you into shape if you take things too far~." In truth, Loki had been feeling an extreme level of excitement ever since Vahn had interrupted her earlier. The only fault she had ever truly found in Vahn was that hecked decisiveness and was too easily influenced by other people. Seeing him standing firmly, even against the very Laws of the World itself, made it exceedingly difficult to restrain herself... Following Lokis words, Hephaestus simply stated, "There is a reason I swore an Eternal Vow to never love another man...I believe in you wholeheartedly, Vahn. Just as Loki stated, if you get out of control, I will help reign you in...ufufufu~." These words caused the eternal me in Vahns chest to happily dance around as a great deal of warmth spread through his body. Vahn returned a smile in response and, following behind Hephaestus, the rest of the girls made their resolutions known. It was the support he received from these girls that gave Vahn the confidence to move forward so, once everything was said and done, he began exining the course of action he had decided upon... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Decisiveness,Vahn shoulda set up a podium for this shit xD...,Dont enable Chuunibyous, even if they have real power (UwU)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 814 - Plan : Action

Chapter 814 - n : Action

After the tensions had eased a bit, Vahn began detailing his n of action, primarily focused on his countermeasures to deal with Enyo. Since she would need to reach the surface in order to deal any meaningful damage, Vahn wanted to observe both the Dungeon and the Artificial Dungeon. At the same time, he would fly around the City with Terra and see if there are any abnormalities already present since she would be able to detect anything hiding underground, especially if it was nt life. As for the actions he would take inside the Dungeon itself, Vahn would continue pressing into the Dungeon in order to establish Haven. The moment they were able to get a foothold on the 50th Floor, Vahn would head into the deeper floors with the girls and focus on rooting out Enyo from the source. Though she could still go through with ns to try and entrap them, Vahn knew there were numerous ways for him to exit the Dungeon in an emergency, even if it meant cutting a path through all the Floors himself. Ultimately, the moment Enyo actually moved forward with her ns, Vahn would begin pressuring her directly. Even if she had some means of creating monsters, there had to be a limit to their production or she wouldnt have waited this long before taking action. Since destroying her forces would only increase his own resources, Vahn was absolutely confident in winning a war of attrition. At the same time that the expedition was expanding Haven, the Alliance would be taking proactive measures to prevent Enyo from aplishing anything on the surface. If they rooted out any forces she had already nted, all while preventing anything from escaping the Dungeon without their notice, there was very little she could aplish. Since the Alliance was already in the City, it would be much easier than when they had maintained a blockade along the borders of the Western Forest. Though it might cause some tension, especially amongst the Nobles, Vahn didnt give a damn about them at all... Afterying out the basic structure of his n, Vahn decided to be forthright and, even though he had exined the details about girls like Lulune, Shakti, Rufina, and Alicia, Vahn now extrapted on it a great deal. Though he knew there would undoubtedly be some girls that diverged from the path he was walking, especially if he lived forever, Vahn couldnt let himself be swayed by such things. He clearly and confidently exined, "In order to best make use of my new power, as it serves the dual purpose of increasing my own strength while increasing the strength of others, I will endeavor to increase the number of followers I have to ten-thousand people. Given the nature of my character, the types of skills I possess, and the current state of the world...I am fully aware that many of this number would be made up of women..." Though he had an urge to sigh, Vahn instead just inhaled through his nose before saying, "You may think lesser of me for it, but I cant continue to invest the same amount of focus on restraining myself as in the past. Though I will always take precautions to prevent things from getting out of hand, I will be relying on everyone in the Manor to keep anyone from outside from trying to weasel their way in. However, I also want to set a better example for my children so I will endeavor to avoid being outright licentious in my behavior...at the same time, please let me know if you think any of my actions are causing problems...I would never want topromise the happiness of the people I care about just because I am over-empathetic..." In response to this, Loki and Syr made eye contact with each other before thetter said, "We understand, Vahn, even if it is a very unique situation. Because of your nature, things have already gotten a little out of hand...ufufufu..." Syr couldnt stop herself fromughing a little before she coughed and continued, "It is your nature to empathize with people, for better or worse. Since there are undoubtedly some girls that would be drawn to you that may cause problems, please leave it to us to vet them. Just like Mona, it isnt impossible for us to support each other and push the girls towards a future separate from the Manor..." Though she remained quiet while Syr was speaking, Hestia immediately spoke up afterward, saying, "We cant just ept everyone that falls in love with Vahn into the Manor or else wed have to keep adding rooms until the Manor was the size of the City...! From now on, unless its someone that Vahn develops genuine affection for, we shouldnt let them stay here. Its one thing if they decide to be maids or servants, but we cant just let girls infiltrate the Manor and take up Vahns time. Itll also cause problems with his children if there is that much chaos introduced in an uncontrolled manner..." Syr nodded in understanding and, while he watched on with a calm expression on his face, a conversation about the hierarchy of the Manor took ce right then and there. Ultimately, the only girls that would be epted in the Manor would be those that have be subordinates or retainers that were loyal to Vahn. As for those that genuinely loved him, they would be vetted by the girls and, such as in the case of girls like Asfi and Sylfia, they would likelye to be permanent residents in the future. The girls also crowded around Vahn and lectured him about getting carried away and misleading girls to bepletely enamored with him... Loki even brought up the idea of teaching Vahn how to handle women in a manner that clearlymunicated to them that he didnt want a permanent rtionship. There would undoubtedly be an endless number of women who would simply be satisfied with experiencing a single night with Vahn and, as long as he made his intentions clear from the start, that would pacify the majority of them. This led the conversation in the direction of the Amazoness country, Telskyura, as Vahn would likely have to pacify arge number of people when he finally took action there. In a simr manner to what he had aplished in the Elven Kingdom, the best method Vahn could use to bring about change in such a country was to be a focus of reverence to their people. This could be aplished by either conquering arge number of Amazons, winning the heart of their Queen, oring to an agreement with Kali. Simply using overwhelming power wasnt a solution as this would effectively trigger their entire race to crusade until they either killed or captured him... When the conversation progressed to this point, Vahn released a slight chuckle and gestured in a cating manner to bring a lull to the discussion as he said, "This is the exact type of thing I know is necessary, but it is also the primary reason behind much of the stress I feel at times. I carry these discussions with me and, in the moments I should be rxing, they always gue my mind greatly. Though it may be irresponsible of me, Id rather leave it to you girls to discuss amongst yourselves and, when it is finally time for me to take action, I wille to you for advice. I believe the best course of action is for me to trust my instincts and just go with the flow, at least during the times when I am in control of the situation..." This remark caused Loki to begin cackling loudly as she remarked, "How irresponsible~! Given how much thought you put into your past actions, this new mentality is both exciting and terrifying at the same time...kukukukuku~." Contrary to what she might have expected, Vahn nodded his head in agreement and said, "I have read a lot of books about what it means to be a good leader and, as Ive never been the type to inspire people directly, Ive decided to instead trust in those that support me. By assigning the best people to any given position, I believe things will progress in a smoother and more controlled fashion...the biggest problem Ive constantly been making is trying to take care of everything myself. From now on, Ill be more openly reliant on each of you...I have always relied on your support before, this is just a more direct means of doing so..." As he was speaking, Vahn showed a very thoughtful expression on his face and began looking around at each of the girls present. It was clear many of them were also reflecting on how things had changed but Vahn was also feeling a small urge to take action and gave into it. Extending his hand, Vahn began diffusing petting energy through his domain and started petting everyone in the room all at once. This caused some of the girls to be dazed momentarily before Hephaestus hugged her body, releasing a hot sigh as she asked, "What are you thinking about doing...Vahn?" Though she asked this, the connection they shared had already made her very aware of his intent. Vahn smiled, an excited glimmer in his eye as he said, "I will never force any of you to do anything you are unwilling to do...however, after everything that has happened tonight, I feel like I need to do something to show you how happy I am. For those that dont want to participate, I would encourage you to get some rest and I promise to tend to youter...for now, however, Im not sure I can keep holding myself back..." Other than petting energy, Vahn had started to infuse his [Hands of Nirvana] into his domain as well, causing stimting energy to disperse through the bodies of everyone present, himself included. This caused Eirene to slouch over slightly before she eventually managed to extricate herself from the room, though not before sharing a long embrace with Vahn. Not entirely surprising, everyone else ended up staying in the room and, though he was greatly outnumbered, Vahn proceeded onto the bed without any hesitation. It didnt matter if there were nine of them, and only one of himself, Vahn feltpletely unstoppable at this time... Back in the Dungeon, Vahn had already woken up and stared absentmindedly up at the roof of the tent as he focused on what was going on back at the Manor. If not for the presence of Tina and Alexa, Vahn might not have been able to hold himself back from cutting loose here in the tent as well. Though he didnt have any inhibitions about Tina now, and intended to tend to her in the near future, Vahn had solidified his resolve in regards to Alexa. He knew she would continue to struggle with her instincts for a long time and, depending on her choices, Vahn would have her be his subordinate or retainer before changing her racepletely if it was necessary. Even if they didnt have any blood rtion to each other, this was actually true for all of his children since he actually had no gic information to even provide towards the process. His body was entirelyprised of source energy and simply emted things like blood and s.e.m.e.n for the purpose of facilitating his intentions. This meant he had no blood rtionship with any of his children, including Alexa herself. However, this wasnt a reason for him to act without restraint and Vahn adamantly refused to allow things to progress in that manner. Because of the nature of his existence, he was too well equipped to earn the affections of others, including his own children. Since he would never allow himself to be the type of monster that l.u.s.ted after the result of his bond with the women he loved, Vahn would have topletely shut down Alexas budding desires before things got out of hand. He had already checked to see how much OP it required to convert someone like Terra into one of the rtivelymon races in the record and, though it would reduce her potential somewhat, Vahn would make Alexa into something other than a True Dragon if she couldnt restrain her instincts. Since he didnt ce any true value on race, Vahn would still help her be strong without relying on her bloodline and, considering the wisdom she was capable of, Vahn believed she would understand... As if she was aware of the fact he was thinking about her, Alexa put a bit of strength into her wings that were nketing his body. Vahn didnt mind this part of her, as he was actually very fond of spending time with all of his children, but he knew there was a deeper meaning behind her clinginess that made Alexa a ticking time bomb. Still, at least for the time being, she actually served as a means of restraining his own actions as, without her presence, Vahn wouldnt have minded dragging Shakti and Rufina into the fun he had nearly initiated within the tent. Though he knew it was because of the girls that they had decided to sleep in the same futon, Vahn knew they had long made the resolution to pursue him. There was even a chance he could genuinelye to love them in the future but, at least for the moment, Vahn was more interested in more direct actions... Eventually, Vahn managed to emerge victorious from his battle with the girls in Lokis room and, after cleaning up a bit, headed out to meet up with Freya. She had been patiently waiting for his arrival and, much like he had exined things to the girls at the Manor, Vahn would rify some things for her. At the same time, he would conduct a personal inspection of the area before returning to the sub-space orb to take care of some of the other things he had nned. He had already arranged to have Terra do a thorough sweep of the entire City and, to make sure there was nothing serious going on within the Artificial Dungeon, Vahn had given Fafnir the mission of observing things within the shadows and keep track of who wasing and going from the interior. Around the same time that he was having a very long meeting with Freya, it was time for everyone in the expedition to begin waking and Vahn needed to finish his investigation. Even though he had decided to be more direct in how he dealt with Enyo, Vahn wasnt going to put a great deal of pressure on the expedition without any exnation. For the time being, he would continue with the n he hade up with alongside Finn and Gareth, keeping the expedition within Lil Geirr as they traded out personnel. If Enyo did anything during that period of time, they would repel her and, if there were any leads to exploit, Vahn would take advantage of them. Depending on how things yed out, Vahn would determine how he would allocate his forces and potentially move a detachment to the 18th Floor to protect Rivira. From this point onward, Vahn wasnt simply ying games with Enyo...he had instead dered all-out war against her forces... (A/N: Not every girl was present for the meeting, even important girls like Eina. Dont fret, however, as you can be sure that Vahn would be very forward with them, even though they would easily find out through the Network. It isnt easy to gather everyone into the same room in the middle of the night, so cut Vahn a little ck :P...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Enyo better be a QT if she wants to have any hope (.__.),Numbers do not matter before the prowess of the Godhand,*Vahn spreads his arms wide* "If youre gonna take the shot, you better not f.u.c.k.i.n.g miss...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 815 - Stance

Chapter 815 - Stance

After the girls had awoken, Vahn spent around half an hour exining things to them, keeping it moderately more concise than his discussion back at the Manor. Shakti and Rufina, who had already taken vows of secrecy long ago, were also in attendance. Neither girl really understood the true meaning behind his words, as they hadnt been privy to many of the things happening behind the scenes. However, once Lefiya volunteered to help him make a few things clear, allowing him to change her hair color and b.r.e.a.s.t size a few times, it was a lot easier to believe what he was saying. Following this, Vahn also brought up the idea of bing his subordinate or retainer, rifying that it wasnt a means to simply change their appearance and they needed to put a lot of thought into it before making a decision. Tiona had been very keen on the idea of bing his retainer after seeing Lefiyas b.r.e.a.s.ts inte and dete a few times, but ultimately gave up after Vahn affirmed that she was fine the way she was. Since she was one of the girls that had the (True Love) parameter, it would be nearly impossible for her to be his subordinate or retainer in the first ce. The only girls in the group that could easily fall into that category were Chloe, Lili, Haruhime, Mikoto, Shakti, and Rufina. There was simply ack of perspective on the part of the other girls, as their personalities and individuality had been defined long before their exposure to Vahn. Even Shizune and Tina werent good candidates as their affection had developed to an extreme in a somewhat skewed manner. Ultimately, Rufina agreed to be his subordinate, but not before asking, "Tell me, Vahn...do you even like me...?" To this, Vahn nodded his head and honestly stated, "Rufina, I wont deny that Ive always had an interest in you. However, with your past, I didnt want to pressure you in a strange manner and manipte your feelings while you were still trying to adapt to a normal life. If youre asking if I love you, the answer right now wouldnt be a clear yes or no...I do care for you, especially after seeing how well you get along with the children...but it isnt at the level you may require of me, at least not right now." These words had dealt a bit of a blow to Rufina but she bounced back a few minutester after thinking over the words carefully. When she had seemingly made up her mind, she lifted her head and said, "Even Im not sure if what I feel is love...I can kind of understand where youreing from...haaaa...this is f.u.c.k.i.n.g annoying..." As she was speaking, Rufina had walked toward Vahn and looked up into his eyes, adding, "Kiss me...at least once..." To this, Vahn unhesitantly pulled Rufina into his embrace, startling her a little as he made his affections known. She tried to pull away after a few seconds, but Vahn held her waist for much longer than she had expected before finally releasing her... When they finally separated, Rufina had a dark blush on her face but ended up releasing a sigh as she said, "Its weird...I enjoyed it...a lot...but I still dont know how I feel...something just feels off..." This time, Rufina looked over towards Shaki and Vahn was able to feel her heart thump a few times since they were still close together. Though her heart throbbed a few times when they were kissing, Vahn could tell through the Affection system that Rufina didnt quite love him. Her bracket parameter still showed (Love?) and it didnt seem like it would change any time soon. Even so, she agreed to be his subordinate just for the chance of spending more time with him in a more meaningful manner. She also requested to be converted from a half-creature into a pure human, something Vahn easily acquiesced to. Shakti was still loyal towards Ganesha and couldnt make her decision at the moment, even though Vahn could tell she had wavered a great deal. When he saw this, he clearly exined to the two girls, "If youve made the proper resolution, you are always allowed to stay within the Hestia Familia tent. Be warned, however, as Ive decided to stop holding back on the things I want to do...the next time I find the two of you alone, well, Ill leave that to your imaginations..." Vahn cracked a smile toward the end of his words that made Shaki and Rufina blush furiously, especially thetter. She balled up her fist and looked like she wanted to take a swing at him but Vahn just kept eye contact with her until she averted her eyes and dragged Shakti away by hand. As they were leaving, however, Vahn stretched out his hand slightly and sent petting energy through his domain as he caressed across both girls butts. This caused Shakti to release a rare yelp, looking back with wide eyes as Rufina dragged her away even faster... Since they had understood what happened, Tiona had an expression of awe as she said, "Vahn has be a lot bolder now...Im a little excited~?" Tione nodded her head, swallowing hard as she said, "Yeah, its like he finally grew up into a real man all of a sudden..." This caused Vahn to furrow his brows slightly, sending her a warning look from the side of his eyes that made both girls somewhat embarrassingly protect their butts with their hands. Seeing this, Vahn began tough boisterously as all of the other girls made a fewments of their own. Following that, each of the girls that had an easy means to be his subordinates/retainers ended up agreeing to do so. This resulted in Haruhime and Lili to be his official subordinates while Mikoto and Chloe became his retainers. Since what Haruhime and Lili had towards him was a very powerful devotion that centered around feelings of love, they leaned towards the category of being subordinates. This was subtly different for Chloe and Mikoto, both girls who had wanted to be his shadow or his sword in the past, always thinking about how they could help him manage things instead of how they can be with him. To prevent exploitation of the modify ability, as Lili had almost immediately asked him to change her from a Pallum into something else, Vahn said they needed toe up with a justifiable reason for requesting changes, other than simple wants. He did, however, help Lili increase her height slightly and was able to discover another limit on the function. The maximum height he could increase Lili to was only 122cm, much better than her 110cm default height, but still a bit on the short side. This was a natural limitation of a Pallums physiology and, without altering the very structure of her body, making her any taller was impossible. Even so, Lili was very excited to have her height increased by more than 10%, even though it made her look much thinner than she had been previously. That was something that she could fix through proper diet and exercise so she didnt have any realints, repaying his assistance with a monstrously strong hug that nearly brought him to the ground. As for the other girls, Mikoto surprisingly asked for her b.r.e.a.s.ts to get reduced, giving the reason that they got in the way duringbat and it was painful to wrap them. As a result, her b.r.e.a.s.ts were reduced to a modest B-Cup and she seemed surprisingly happy by the change, apparently having been a little bothered by how much her b.r.e.a.s.ts were growing. Though there were a few other minor requests that Vahn gave in to, it was nothing that extreme since Shakti had eventually returned, informing that Finn had already started to gather people for the continued investigation. Vahn thanked her for delivering the message and chuckled when she very quickly left the tent after the fact. Before he left, Vahn turned to Alexa and stroked her head for a short while, softly whispering, "There is no rush to make a decision...I am your father, Alexa, and I will never lose my patience with you. Just remember that I do not wish to hurt your feelings in the future..." Vahn had already exined things for Alexa and believed that, even if she chose to remain a True Dragon, things would work out. Even if he had to break her heart in the future, that was something he would have to do as her Father, regardless of how difficult it would be for both of them. Alexa took a deep breath and rubbed her head against his palm, saying, "I like being a True Dragon...and I like being a girl...at least for the time being, I am fine with just being together with you, even if it never goes any further...one day, even if it takes thousands of years, I will eventually begin looking for a partner of my own...for now, I just want to stay like this..." As she was speaking, Alexa tightly wrapped her arms around his waist and brought her wings around his body at the same time. The girls all witnessed this and remained rtively silent, understanding this was something that needed to be worked out between father and daughter. There were some, such as Arnya, Haruhime, Lefiya, and Chloe, who wanted to help Alexa find a different form of happiness and Vahn had already exchanged nces with them, spreading a telepathic message to take care of Alexa for him... After leaving the tent, Vahn made his way over to where a long queue had already formed, heading inside where Finn was still cleaning up from the previous night. He had consumed the potion Vahn left for him,pletely removing his hangover, so Finn showed a vibrant smile and asked, "So, did youe up with anything? You seem...different..." Vahn returned a smile of his own and said, "Ill exin the details to youter in the day. For now, lets get this investigation over with and start nning for our next course of action." Finn nodded his head and made his way out of the tent to send in the first person while Vahn sat down on the opposite side of therge wooden desk and disposed of the remnant alcohol from the previous night before setting out some incense. Though he had already dealt with all the people possessing negative auras, Vahn wanted to be fair so he made sure to ask about everyones reasons for wanting to assist in the production of Haven. Unfortunately, this sometimes led to very strange revtions and, seeing that the first person toe into the tent was an Amazoness, Vahn knew it would be much the same as the previous day... The Amazoness was an attractive and fit beauty with healthy brown skin, light brown eyes, ck hair, and wearing an outfit many women would ssify as underwear. Though she wrapped a pareo around her waist, like many Amazonesses who tried to fit in, she very casually removed it after entering the tent. With a very simr expression as most of the Amazonesses who interacted directly with him, the girl has a somewhat eager look on her face as she smiled and said, "Good morning, Vahn...my name is Agda Jedha...will you be checking my body personally~?" As she spoke, Agda yed with the sp holding her panty-like bottoms to her h.i.p.s and Vahn knew it would only take a small indication from him before a sh of tantalizing brown would meet his gaze. Unlike how he had simply been dismissive the previous day, Vahn raised his hand this time and swept a wave of energy across Agdas body as he said, "Calm down...I just have a few questions for you..." From Agdas perspective, it was like a gentle and calming caress had touched every part of her body, causing her to release a hot sigh as a look of intrigue appeared on her face. However, when she saw the serious look in Vahns eyes, a shiver ran up her spine and she obediently sat in the chair opposite of him. Though her instincts werepelling her to try and get with the man in front of her, Agda felt a strange pressure on her mind that made her fearful of trying to push things too far... Vahn had noticed this previously, but he was able to meet the requirements to view a persons affection by touching them with his [Grooming] through his domain. He saw that Agdas Affection was at 78(L.u.s.t) and temporarily removed her name from his ns. Since he was serious when he mentioned acquiring 10,000 followers, subordinates, or retainers, Vahn was looking for people that specifically had the (Loyal), (Exalted), and (Respect) parameters. Though he would certainly be able to appease arge number of Amazonesses, this would instead cause greater problems until he had dealt with Telskyura. Thus, though he was somewhat tempted by the fit and curvaceous body of Agda, Vahn told himself that he could always go to Tiona, Tione, Lili, Fenrir, or Aisha if he just wanted to spend time with an Amazoness... After questioning Agda, learning that her reason for going to Haven was much the same as other Amazonesses, he sent her on her way. She was simply looking for a mate to produce a capable offspring and had ended up joining one of the Alliance Familia after learning how epting they were of Amazonesses in general. There had been arge flux of their people into the City, much like Pallums, Beast People, and Elves, and things had been going rtively smoothly thus far. They almost all followed the rules that wereid out for them so Vahn didnt have any problem with some of their peopleing along just to satiate their biological need for strong mates. Following the first, Vahn went through nearly an entire Unit of the expedition before finally wrapping things up in the early afternoon. He still needed to discuss things with Finn and Gareth before any attacks began and also had to wrap up some of the things taking ce on the surface. Things were starting to get very busy but, after making sure things were running smoothly near Daedelus Street, he spent the majority of his day thus far in the orb making magic items with Asfi. She was also aware of the changes now and had even wanted to be his subordinate by her own volition. Since she was already his possession, having the potential for greater benefits wasnt something she was going to pass up on... As a result, Asfi had asked Vahn to help her slim down a bit but, outright refusing to do so, Vahn then spent the better part of an hour showing her that she was fine just the way she was. Though they didnt have s.e.x, as Vahn felt that Asfi simply wasnt ready for it just yet, it didnt stop him from allowing her to experience his Godhand for the first time. Since she was still a v.i.r.g.i.n, things werent as intense as they could have been but Asfi still ended upying n.a.k.e.d on a spare bed with a veryrge wet stain on the bed from when she had peed herself... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Next thing you know, Rufina is going to ask to be a male so she can smash Shakti...O_O,Poor Alexa, got Daughterzoned...?,RIP Asfi, may you rest in peace(piss)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 816 - Artificial Dungeon

Chapter 816 - Artificial Dungeon

After gathering with Finn, Gareth, Haruhime, and Shakti, Vahnid out his ns to delve deeper into the Dungeon while also ensuring their path of retreat wouldnt be cut off. Since Enyos forces seemed to rely on chemical and biological attacks, Vahn did a few rolls using the gacha system to try and find a suitable item to defend against that type of warfare. From this, he received a [Purification Stone], which had the appearance of a blue crystal the size of an infant. When nted into the ground, or powered by a formation, it emitted a hemispherical aura that couldpletely repel the majority of poisons, toxins, and miasma. They had variable prices, ranging between six-hundred and ten-million Origin Points, but Vahn only purchased a few of the 100,000OP stones to protect Lil Geirr. He also gave an interspatial ring to Gareth and entrusted him with sending someone to station themselves at Rivira on the 18th Floor. Though Vahn had been tempted to send Fafnir there to watch over the settlement, it was far more beneficial to have it lurking around in the shadows of the Artificial Dungeon. Since sealing off the main Dungeon would also cut off Enyos means to attach to the surface, the only other route would be through the Artificial Dungeon. Since Fafnir could inform him of the moment such an attack urred, it was better for it to remain near the Freya Familia for the time being... Other than the [Purification Stone]s, Vahn spent a bit of time performing maintenance on the various wards that had been set up around Lil Geirr while also taking the opportunity to investigate if anyone had been trying to use the settlement for their advantage. He wasnt even remotely surprised by the fact that there had been a hidden pathway carved through the teau that was serving as a throughway for smuggled goods. Those associated were tried in ordance with thews that had been established, resulting in a group of twenty-three people being cklisted from Lil Geirr. This left them kicked out of the encampment with only enough supplies to reach the surface of the Dungeon, even though many of themcked the strength to do so. If they wanted to make it up safely, they would need to survive in the surrounding woods for a few months before one of the return expeditions was held. Since their supplies wouldntst nearly long enough, these people that wanted to exploit a system that was fundamentally designed to help people would have to hunt monsters and bide their time. There was also a system that would allow them to trade magic cores and drop items for additional supplies, but the conversion wasnt very favorable to them since they had earned the ire of the entire encampment. At the same time, in preparation for the expedition down to the 50th Floor, Vahn continued his investigation into the bodies, equipment, and intentions of every attending member. By the time he was finished, he had removed more than a hundred people off of the expedition and exchanged them with volunteers residing within Lil Geirr. It was also during this investigation that Vahn was able to confirm that, unless they had a means of hiding that were beyond his perception, the feeling he had been having wasnt rted to anyone within the expedition. This meant it was the fact the expedition was taking ce at all which was the source of his instincts triggering... Since they had been inconvenienced over a three day period, Vahn gave the expedition leave for forty-eight hours so that they could experience some of the interesting aspects of Lil Geirr. As long as they showed up for their patrol duties, everyone had been allowed to use their time as they pleased while Vahn and the girls did much the same. He was spending his recreational time trying to learn how to use the other functions within his system efficiently while also spending time making preparations back on the surface for whatever Enyo would throw at them. At the same time, Vahn was a lot more open about his own wants and desires during the evening hours, even though he spent a fair amount of time just spending time with his children... Terra, flying over the City at his behest, very quickly found several areas where there were strange creaturesying dormant within the massive andplex sewer system of Orario. She even found that there were several tunnels that seemed to connect into the Dungeon itself, showing that the Artificial Dungeon and Babel werent the only ways into and out of the Dungeon. This information had caused Vahn to release a heavy sigh before shifting the focus of the Alliance to the purging and sealing of the tunnels beneath Orario. Terra had already dealt with all the strange nt-like monsters, many simr to the Visc.u.m he had encountered near the 24th Floor, so the rest was just busy work to prevent monsters from rising up and attacking at random spots throughout the City. Upon this rtively major discovery, Vahn had gone with arge group of gods that were associated with the Alliance and directly met with Ouranos. It was very surprising to see the massive seal that the elder god kept maintained but, other than memorizing its structure, Vahn ignored that and got to the point. Since the Guild was supposed to be regting the various Familia, managing the flow of magic cores within the market, and keeping order within the City, it was a major fiasco that tunnels had been constructed that connected to the Dungeon. Just the fact that the Artificial Dungeon even existed, without any effort on the Guilds part to shut it down was a major red g that Vahn wanted to be addressed. Ouranos admitted that the Artificial Dungeon, which was known through the Guildswork as Knossos, had been the ambition of a demigod by the name of Daedelus. Not only was he one of the principal founders of Orario itself, but he had constructed Daedelus Street and Knossos after bing infatuated with the structure of the Dungeon. Since he made major contributions to the City, and hadnt actually done anything wrong, the Guild had no reason to prevent his ambitious project froming to fruition. It wasnt until organizations like Evilus stepped in and imed Knossos for themselves that it had be an issue that required the focus of the Guild. By that point, though they had the means of confronting the organization themselves, the amount of chaos that would have ensued would have greatly weakened the Guild and potentially brought ruin to the entire City. Other than entrusting the task to other people, the Guild had been powerless to take any meaningful action. As for why Knossos was allowed to continue existing after the fact, it was due to the sheer number of people residing in its structure and the fact that they simply had no reason to destroy something that had been developed by one of the most prolific craftsmen in history... Though there were a lot of things that Vahn didnt agree with, he was content with the fact that Ouranos officially recognized the Alliances im to Knossos since they had already purchased thend containing Daedelus Street. Since Vahn had already broughtrge reforms to the area, drastically reducing the number of people living underground, Knossos would now be the Alliances personal back entrance into the Dungeon. Now, with some additional concessions that Ouranos had agreed to, Vahn had a perfect excuse to begin cleaning out the Artifical Dungeon and purging any criminal organizations residing within. He even humored the idea of turning Knossos into a practice dungeon for the School in the future but, for the time being, just used the map that had been offered up by Ouranos to let Hephaestus and Hestiae up with a design to cap off the Artifical Dungeon. They obviously couldnt build a second Babel Tower but, after negotiating with Penia, the ruler of Daedelus Street, it would be converted into a massive trading center that would act as the central power base of the Alliance in the future... Before that was possible, however, Knossos needed to be swept clean so Vahn was currently standing in arge clearing where all of the buildings had been leveled. There was a massive set of stairs leading into the earth that served as the primary entrance to Knossos while all of the smaller entrances were being cleared out and sealed off. Freya stood next to him, causing the members of her Familia to give him cold nces that Vahn simply ignored. Vahn also had Fenrir at his side and the two of them were about to probe into Knossos so he could beginpiling a detailed map of its structure while simultaneously eliminating any threats contained within. They had already found thousands of traps that were built into the Artificial Dungeons structure, so he had decided to just deal with it directly instead of waiting for results. After all, it didnt matter how many traps he triggered himself and, other than a mild inconvenience, he would be able to circ.u.mvent their effects entirely. With an eager glimmer in her eye, Freya asked in a seductive and sad tone, "Are you really going in...?" Vahn nodded his head, turning to Freya and performing an action that would stun almost anyone that witnessed it. Reaching out with his hand, Vahn began to stroke her silvery hair as he smiledfortingly and said, "Be a good girl and make sure nothing escapes while Im inside. Your Familia has the strongest war potential of the Alliance and I trust that your children will be perfectly capable of rounding up anyone that tries to flee..." Freya had a very lovelorn expression on her face but still moved her head around adorably, seeking out his touch while saying, "I understand..." in a sad tone. Seeing this, Vahn chuckled lightly and said, "Dont worry, youll be the first to know what Im finished up here. When I return, lets have a small celebration..." These words cause Freyas eyes to shift into a hazy purple as an expectant smile spread across her face, seemingly brightening up the entire world around her. Vahn felt her charm break powerlessly against the defenses of his mind as Freya nodded her head and said, "Ill prepare an interesting surprise for you when you return, Vahn...ufufufufu~." Since he already had a good idea of what she intended, Vahn just returned a smile to Freya and said, "Ill look forward to it..." before turning away and stepping into Knossos entrance. He had already discussed the same details that he had gone over with the other girls so Freya had started selecting members from her own Familia to turn into his retainers. Vahn wouldnt even be surprised if, by the time he returns to the surface, Freya had gathered an elite group of men and women who were waiting to pledge their allegiance towards him. Though the majority would likely be female, Vahn had already discussed it with the girls that he needed male subordinates and retainers as well, being that he couldnt always confide in women if he wanted to be a stable existence. To this, Loki had surprisingly mentioned turning some of the girls into men, and vice-versa, a thought that had sent shivers up Vahns spine since he immediately recalled his experiment with Tiona from the past... Shaking that thought from his mind, Vahn transformed into his Baihu form so he could easily see in the dark while Fenrir skulked behind him on high alert. Within his shadow, Fafnir was also present and ready for any sign of an enemy attack while extending his own unique senses to detect hidden threats. Though Vahns domain had already increased to 1,008m, it didnt mean the would easily be able to process everything that was happening all at once. He had long noticed that, as his domain increased in size, it was much more difficult to focus his perception on any given object contained within. Though he was aware of everything present, it was like being aware of a candle on the very edge of your periphery vision. Unless you looked at it directly, it would be difficult to describe the fine details of the object. Vahn current domain worked very simrly to this principle and, as it could also be interfered with by physical boundaries, it made his senses somewhat unreliable while in closed corridors. This is why he focused on his other senses to act as a supplement to the perception offered by his domain and, as his Baihu form also enhanced his instincts, it was the best possible form for this task. As a result, Vahn walked forward confidently and used very minimal movements to dodge a series of spears that had shot out from the walls. The entire corridor had been filled with holes to distract from the actual mechanism but Vahn was able to very clearly see which ones held the true dangers. At the same time, he would sometimes bypass the traps entirely just by manipting Earth Elemental energy to disable them or having Fenrir simply freeze thempletely. His main purpose was topile a map of the maze-like structure of Knossos and he didnt actually want to destroy all the traps since they served the dual purpose of keeping people out while also keeping monsters in... There werent many, but Vahn and Fenrir would sense the presence of monsters wandering around Knossos and, after confirming they werent Xenos, quickly dispatch them. They would also periodicallye across sealed rooms where people would be holed up, sometimes totaling more than a hundredborers that were forced to produce things like drugs and ck market goods. The first time Vahn saw such a sight, he had to take a deep breath to maintain his calm before manipting the walls to create an opening into the sweatshop. After dealing with the thugs that were watching over the groupprised almost entirely of Pallums, Vahn had Fafnir escort them back to the surface while sending a telepathic message to Preasia requesting her toe and help deal with any psychological trauma the workers may have experienced. She had be especially capable of dealing with troubled minds and, using her Dreamscape as a medium, had managed to help many people recover from their trauma. Though some people were a little bothered by her rather peculiar appearance, as Preasia now had a very dense coat of tinum blond fur covering her body, they quickly opened up to her after she gave them counseling. As a result, Preasias own fame had been steadily increasing and she was even called a Saintess by those that had received her care and guidance... Once Fafnir had returned to his side, Vahn had continued deeper into Knossos and wondered what other discoveries he would make by the time he reached the end. Thus far, he had only gone down around three levels and he knew that theplex maze-like structure would extend all the way to the Middle Floors of the Dungeon. As he went deeper and deeper, Vahn had no doubt something would happen to bar his passage... (A/N: I know the punishment seems rather light, but it wasnt as if they were murdering and raping people within Lil Geirr. Being exiled from the settlement and cklisted by the most powerful organization in the world are pretty serious consequences to live with xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Get the f.u.c.k out...!,Ouranos, master of doing nothing,Pallum sweatshops (T^T)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 817 - Raid

Chapter 817 - Raid

After spending the better part of twenty hours searching through the first five floors of Knossos, detailing all the areas where it connected to the main Dungeon, Vahn decided to take a break. He pulled out a single-person chair with super thick cushions and plopped down onto it before letting Fenrir curl up in hisp. Fafnir also popped out of his shadow and sat on the armrest so Vahn could pet the both of them while going over the map of Knossos within his mind. There were so many corridors and, much like how the Dungeon itself was structured, Knossos expanded greatly the deeper you went. He already knew his investigation would take several days but Vahn felt like he would rather be back at the Manor with his children, rather than sitting in these stagnant corridors with their low lighting. Still, he didnt let it weigh that heavily on his mind and only spent about an hour resting before ruffling Fafnirs onyx-ck hair and saying, "Its time to continue. We dont want to keep the people that might be kept against their will waiting..." Since they had already liberated nearly three hundred people on just the first day, Vahn suspected there would be even more secrets as he went even deeper. Fafnir releasing a small yawn, as it currently had the appearance of a very young androgynous version of Vahn, before rolling off the armrest and plopping into the shadows below. Its mastery over [Shadow Walk] had increased greatly and Fafnir could easily move through even a pinhole-sized shadow if it wanted to enter into the strange dimension that existed beneath reality. It was a terrifyingly useful ability as, with a few exceptions, Fafnir was able to move about without any real obstacles. With Fenrir hopping out of hisp, Vahn stowed away thefortable chair and stretched his body a little before continuing onwards. He didnt actually require rest, especially with his other body able to recuperate mental energy for both of them, but Vahn wasnt beyond getting a little bored at times. Just like the girls needed to recharge with him, Vahn felt like he needed to at least rx and recharge his own reserves on asion. Still, he was starting to consider mapping Knossos from the bottom floor up at this point since it would potentially save him a lot of time and effort. Thinking this might be the best way to proceed, Vahn made his way towards a long shaft that connected to all five floors he had explored thus far. There were chains that were linked to a veryplex mechanism at the top of the shaft and continued down into the abyss below. Vahn also noticed there were a fewdders located all around the edges of the shaft but, after making up his mind, bypassed all of it by just jumping down. He didnt fall at a normal pace, however, and instead guided his fall with telekinesis as he inspected the structure of the 30m diameter cylindrical shaft. It didnt take a genius to realize the shaft was obviously a veryplex elevator that should have been beyond the technological limitations of the record. However, if the person was a demigod with an Innate rted to engineering and construction like Daedelus, it wasnt beyond expectations to see such a thing. After all, Babel Tower actually had far moreplex mechanisms running through it, even though it hadnt been constructed by people and had instead been created in Heaven. Daedelus had likely drawn inspiration from the structure of Babel Tower itself when he was creating this elevator and, given how aged and ancient everything seemed, it was obvious that this elevator shaft had been a coreponent of Knossos since the very beginning. Even so, everything was still in working order and it didnt seem like it would break down any time soon, showcasing just how brilliant Daedelus had to be to construct such a timeless masterpiece. After descending nearly two kilometers, Vahn set foot on a massive disc-shaped tform that was filled with numerous crates of supplies, ores, and tools. He had already sensed several nearby auras and activated his [Eyes of Truth] to get a better look at the situation. Almost instantly, Vahn felt the tensions in his body increase slightly and he waspelled to release a small sigh through his nose. Fenrirs hackles had already been raised as well and, feeling a strange calm seize his entire body, Vahn lifted his hand and brought the constituent particles of mana within the wall under his control. He then jerked his hand back, rending a gaping hole in the wall that revealed an area with several dozen people herding monsters into cages. This wouldnt have bothered Vahn that much but the fact that the monsters were crying out and begging for mercy made their true identity very apparent... By the time the people in the room had reacted to the wall beingpletely removed, Fenrir had already darted forward like a midnight blue bolt of electricity and began cutting off the arms and legs of the cruel men and women that were present. Fafnir also pulled some of them partially into its shadow dimension and left them screaming for mercy as the shadows continued to encroach upon their bodies. Vahn knew how terrifying the feeling of being swallowed by shadows could be but he didnt mind their cries since it was very obvious they hadnt cared about the people they were harming. Vahn watched as a man came running out from a side corridor with another group of thugs in tow and began ordering them to try and get the situation under control. He had shaggy ck hair and a pair of strange goggles covering his eyes while waving what looked like a shortsword around in a very haphazard manner. His voice was harsh and abrasive when he saw Fenrir, pointing his sword towards her and yelling, "Isnt this the little bitch Xenos that belongs to that arrogant asshole, Va-" Unable to finish his words, the man took evasive action to dodge the spear of ice that would have pinned him to the wall. His speed was actually quite fast but, before he was able to make a second movement, Fenrir was right underneath him with her scarlet eyes zing. Though it was impossible to make out his eyes, the gaping mouth and the incredulity of the mans expression showed he hadnt expected things to turn out like this. He tried to swipe forward at a downward angle to cut into Fenrirs flesh but she was much faster than he was, twisting her body and cutting off both of his legs before catching his wrist and continuing her spin as she threw his body into the wall. Spiderweb cracks emerged outward from the central impact point and the man, who was nowpletely upside down as blood streaked from his mouth. This time Fenrir, very sessfully, skewered him with a spear of ice before snorting through her nose and saying, "You arent allowed to talk about Master..." Since he was in his Baihu form, Vahn had heard Fenrirs retort and it brought a small smile to his face even as he crushed therynx of a man who tried to stab one of the Xenos with a spear. Then, tilted his head to the side slightly, Vahn evaded a ck bolt fired from a crossbow and caught it out of the air before returning it back to the sender. There was a small Pallum woman with a scar extending from her nose to the left side of her face. She had apletely ck aura and a fierce glint in her eyes, at least until she showed an expression of abject shock as she looked down at the hole that now ranpletely through where her heart used to be. Vahn watched her slump to the ground before tossing the corpse in his hand to the side and using [Shundo] to capture a bald man with a beastial tattoo on his face. He had been part of the group that arrived with the goggles-wearing man and, after seeing thetter get devastated by Fenrir, this bald thug quickly tried to turn tail and flee. Vahn sensed that he was one of the stronger people within the group so he cut off the mans retreat, deflected the curved ax that drew a lethal arc towards his neck, and then pulled out a nondescript ck spear and impaling the man through the pelvic bone. He released a guttural sound like a pig being ughtered before spewing a great deal of saliva as he yelled, "You motherf.u.c.ker! You bitch! You-" Vahn had moved outside of the range of his spittle and was preparing to incapacitate the next person when he saw the bald man get impaled by a series of ice spikes from behind. Fenrir was a few dozen meters away with deeply furrowed brows, causing Vahn to shake his head slightly and ignore therge bald man. He wasnt dead, but the cold temperature would likely rob him of his life rtively soon if they werent removed. Though Ice might not appear to be as scary as Fire from the start, this was only because most people never saw how quickly frostbite could set in, turning skin necrotic and gangrenous in mere seconds... After a few short minutes of absolute chaos, most of the people that had been mistreating the Xenos captives were either horribly maimed or dead. Some had been smart enough toy down their arms and curl up in a submissive gesture, but this only prevented greater suffering as Fafnir still skewered their legs to prevent them from trying to run during the chaos. Now, there were more than a dozen people with missing limbs that wereying about on the ground, begging for mercy or trying to crawl away to safety. Vahn even saw a rather buxom woman with purple hair hugging her severed leg with a pale expression of disbelief on her face. Vahn didnt consider himself a cruel person but seeing the state of some of the imprisoned Xenos made it very difficult to care about the wellbeing of the people that had wronged them. He stopped the bleeding of those that were on the brink of death but made no effort to help reattach their severed limbs, at least for the time being. They would be imprisoned back on the surface and, after being interrogated thoroughly, their fates would be decided by thews of the Alliance. Many would likely end up as criminal ves while the majority would undoubtedly be executed for their crimes... Though they had been shocked and scared during the raid, most of the Xenos had be quiet as thebat had started toe to an end. They were very aware of the energy that had coursed through their bodies and healed their wounds and realized that Vahn, Fenrir, and Fafnir werent there to hurt them. By the time everything hade to an end, all of the Xenos had beenpletely healed while their captors were left sobbing, crippled, or dead on the ground. Though there were more than a dozen left alive, the number killed was more than triple that, all because of the efforts of the three people standing in the center of the chaos... Turning to get a proper look at all the captured Xenos, Vahn saw that the majority looked like normal monsters except that the color of their eyes was slightly different. Of the eight present, there was a Kobold, two Goblins, two Almiraj, a Silverback, and two War Shadows. Amongst them, only one had slightly more humanoid characteristics, even though it was somewhat hard to discern. Vahn was interested in all of them but this War Shadow, who had a muscr body and looked almost like a shadowy human, was easily the most eye-catching. He didnt know what determined if a Xenos obtained humanoid traits but figured their intelligence had a good chance of being tied to their appearance. Extending out his hand, Vahn noticed many of the smaller Xenos twitch in fear but he simply smiled and said, "My name is Vahn Mason...Im not going to hurt you...please, stay calm and I will free you from your cages soon..." As he was speaking, Vahn moved his hand left and right in a soothing motion that caused petting energy to mix with his calming energy from [Hands of Nirvana]. This invasive energy spooked some of the Xenos but they quickly began to rx as the energy spread through their bodies. Vahn noticed it was especially effective on the Kobold and two Almiraj, something he made a mental note of for future reference. Though it could cause a small riot, Vahn had Fafnir destroy the locks on the cages and released all of the Xenos from their bindings, turning to the more masculine War Shadow and asking, "Do you have a name...?" This caused the War Shadow, who didnt really have a face and mouth to speak from, to respond back with a wispy voice that seemed to emanate from the glowing red orb in its head, "My name is...Xude...I have heard of you...Vahn Mason..." Though it was very strange to hear the whisper-like voice, Vahn still returned a smile and jokingly mused, "I hope it was good things..." This caused Xude, the other War Shadow, and the Silverback tough along with his joke before Xudes core glowed and it said, "It is rumored amongst the Xenos that you are the Savior that will liberate us from the Dungeon...I never thought I would meet you in person..." Towards the end of his statement, Xude bowed low and, apparently having influence in the group, most of the other Xenos bowed as well. Though he would have felt awkward in the past, the current Vahn was rtively calm as this happened and simply raised his hand, inly stating, "I appreciate your gratitude, but please do not bow..." As if this was something uneptable, the Silverback that towered over the rest of the group had a solemn look on its face as, very surprisingly, the voice of a woman sounded out, "You have saved us from a fate worse than a second death...please, allow us to at least do this much." With thepletion of her words, the Silverback lowered her head even further, causing Vahn to shake his head and ignore them. Instead, he turned his attention to the only Xenos that wasnt bowing, one of the Almiraj who just sat at the side with red eyes staring directly at him. Vahn felt it had a strange simrity to Bell and followed his urge to squat down and pat the small Xenos head. Though the atmosphere became a little strange when the bowing Xenos saw Vahn ignore them, he decided not to care since he had already told them not to mind it. How they expressed their gratitude was up to them and he would rather get the formalities out of the way than have them behave this way. This ended up leading to an interesting discovery as well, so Vahn couldnt help smiling as the small Almiraj released a childish giggle and seemed to be very happy... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //(Nameless)s Affection +19, Intrigue +25// [(Nameless)]: Affection: 69(Trust), Intrigue: 75(Curious) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: For those confused, Vahn had never actually confirmed if he could get affection/intrigue from Xenos before now. Before this point, he had always subordinated the monster/xenos beforehand, making this a very important discovery which will be extrapted upon next chapter (UwU)...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Recharging Fluff Capacitors...,Fenrir doesnt tolerate insults to her Master...,Fine, keep bowing then...*proceeds to pet the bunny*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 818 - Leads

Chapter 818 - Leads

Vahn knew for certain that normal monsters and animals wouldnt be listed in the View Affection function of the system and, even though he couldnt see the aura of the Xenos, this at least allowed him to confirm that they werent monsters. Monsters were simply mana constructs that had been created by the Dungeon and served no greater purpose than mindlessly attacking anything, other monsters being the one exception. The Xenos, however, should at least have the foundation for a soul and Vahn was tempted to confirm this by trying to make one into his subordinate or retainer. Since the system interface showed the Soul Tier of his units, Vahn would be able to confirm conclusively if the Xenos were entities possessing a soul. If this was true, and they didnt have a name, it meant their potential was functionally limitless through The Path... While thinking of the possibilities, the small Almiraj began licking the hand Vahn was using to scratch its chin, bringing a smile to his face as he picked it up in his arms and turned to the other Xenos, exining, "Im not sure what you have nned, but Id like to open dialogue with the Xenos directly and talk about incorporating them into the Alliance. Weve already been establishing the framework to allow the Xenos to exist on the surface but, without a few brave individuals that are willing to set the precedent, there is only so much we can do. If you can take me to your leaders, if you have anything like that, Id like to begin negotiations with them..." The Almiraj that had been snuggling up in his arm, which had yet to speak a word before now, suddenly spoke out in a childish voice, "Can we really leave the Dungeon...? I want to see the sky..." Vahn wasnt entirely sure if the small Almiraj was a boy or a girl, but he returned a smile and scratched under its chin as he said, "I cant promise it will be easy, but I will never stop trying to make the world a better ce for all sentient races to coexist. I also have the power to help the Xenos evolve further, giving them more humanoid appearances that will let them blend into society more easily. This cute little Vanargandr, Fenrir, and that adorable True Dragon, Fafnir, they used to be a Kobold and Wyvern in the past...now, they are my importantpanions who I would risk my life to protect." Fenrir thumped her chest with pride while Fafnir gave a happy smile in response to its Masters praise. As for the Xenos, some of them had heard the rumors of Vahn giving power to their kind and it was a very big impact for them to see the very human-like Fenrir and Fafnir. For many Xenos, power is the one thing they craved even more than the surface as it was only by obtaining a great deal of power that they would be free to go where they please. Unfortunately, even this wasnt enough in normal circ.u.mstances as, from the moment they left the Dungeon, they would start to lose energy after their connection with the Dungeon was severed. It would require an incredible amount of resources for them to exist on the surface and, with the hatred most Adventurers showed them, most Xenos had long given up truly leaving the Dungeon. This was why it meant a great deal, seeing existences like Fenrir and Fafnir, two Xenos that had managed to evolve to the point that they were able to at least appear humanoid. Many Xenos set this as their goal and it was only by spending years training, fighting other monsters, and consuming arge number of monster cores that they were able to evolve further. Xude was a good example of this, being a Xenos who had managed to survive for a total of 13 years, which was very long considering how fervent the people hunting them were. Suddenly, the purple-haired woman who had been clinging to her severed leg shouted out in a shrill and deranged manner, "Go ahead, listen to that liar all you want! Be his ves and do his bidding for the rest of your lives like the beasts you are! Yo-." This time, instead of Fenrir hurling the small spike of ice towards the woman, Fafnir, opened one of its wings and sent a volley of ck scales careening towards the crazed woman. Her eyes widened as nine different sized scales pinned her to the wall, including two that had pierced through the leg she clung to her chest. Vahn just shook his head slightly when he saw this and waved his hand, using a pulse of psychic energy to rattle her mind and instantly kill her. Though most people would be able to defend against such attacks in an active state, she was in no position to do so after losing a leg and being impaled through the body nine times... Before things became more chaotic, Vahn caused calming energy to spread through his domain, forcing the peopleying on the ground to slowly fall asleep while he looked towards the Xenos and exined, "I hope you wont simply believe the words of one of the women who brutalized you and tried to make you into ves..." To this, Xude shook its head and said, "We may not have the same level of intelligence as some of the surface-dwellers, but were not fools. Even if you truly ended up trying to use us for your benefit, we Xenos would still follow you. It is no secret, everything you have done on the surface, and we believe you are not ckhearted like these cruel people..." Vahn smiled when he heard this but still rified, "Though it isnt in the manner she made it out to be, there is a small amount of truth to her words. You see, in order for my abilities to take effect on a persons body, they would have to sincerely be my subordinates or retainers. For the Xenos, Im even able to use a skill that will allow you to evolve in an instant, even though the time it takes between using the skill can vary greatly. Thus, if you truly desired power over normal freedom, the route forward would be at my side..." As he spoke, Vahn gently stroked the Almiraj in his arms, who had long since fallen asleep with a contented expression on its rabbit-like face. The Goblin-Xenos, being the smallest and weakest of the group, raised its hand slightly and had a hesitant look on its somewhat ugly face as it said, "I no want die...but, if get stronger, me follow..." Though most of its speech sounded indecipherable, Vahn was even able to interpret normal monster speech, making it rtively easy to understand the Goblins words. It had a lot of reason to be worried about living, as it was one of the weakest of all monsters, so Vahn could understand why it sought power over freedom. In the past, he would have simply ignored the offer of a Goblin from trying to join him, much like he almost refused Fenrir in the past, but a lot had changed since then... Passing over the sleeping Almiraj to Fafnir, Vahn reached out his hand and rubbed the somewhat oily scalp of the Goblin and said, "Even without my help, the desire to grow strong and the willingness to make your dreams a reality are all you need...if you truly wish for my help, I will offer it in exchange for your fealty. However, well worry about thatter, as there are more pressing matters to attend to...okay...?" Vahn didnt like the feeling of petting a Goblin but this distaste actually bothered him more than the simple contact. Fortunately, the calm in his mind made such thoughts melt away and he managed a casual smile, eliciting a somewhat crooked one from the Goblin. Turning to Xude, Vahn asked, "Do you know the way back? How did youe to be captured by these people?" Xude didnt have any expression whatsoever, but Vahn felt a strangely amicable vibeing off the War Shadow c.u.m Xenos as it said, "The Xenos avoid this ce since many of our enemies reside here. We do not know theyout of this ce but, if we can return to the Dungeon, we will be able to show you the way. All Xenos have an instinct that allows us to find the safe areas of the Dungeon that are rarely visited by Adventurers..." Vahn nodded his head but, as his instincts hadnt really calmed down just yet, he asked, "You said your enemies use this ce...is it just the Hunters like this group, or are there other enemies I need to be aware of...?" As he asked this question, Vahn noticed a shudder run through the body of nearly every Xenos before Xude answered, "There have been many Xenos who have been kidnapped within thest two years...instead of being taken to the surface, they have been pulled deeper into the Dungeon. On asion, those that were taken woulde back...changed...far different than they were before they were taken away. Some of them have even tried to nder you, Vahn Mason, and ourmunity has slowly been divided as a result of their efforts..." The Silverback-Xenos nodded her head and added, "Xude speaks the truth. Many of our kin have been changed into something horrible...some even bing worse than the actual monsters within the Dungeon. When we refuse to go with them, they would often ughter the weaker Xenos and it has taken a lot of effort for us to protect ourselves against them. The worst part is...those bastards have even brought the Hunters directly to our homes...!" By the time she was done speaking, the Silverback-Xenos was trembling with indignation as many of her fellow Xenos showed very simr reactions. Standing next to Xude, the second War Shadow Xenos ced its shadowy w on the Silverbacks shoulder in aforting manner as it spoke in an eerily simr voice to Xude, "Jude, it is okay...let us believe in the Savior...perhaps the future of the Xenos will no longer be within the darkness any longer..." It was hard to imagine that a deathly whisper could beforting, but Jude seemed to calm down, nodding towards the second War Shadow as she said, "Thank you, Mest...I am calm now..." Seeing the camaraderie between the Xenos, Vahn felt like they were actually more civil than some of the people on the surface. Even though they were drastically different in appearance, the Xenos seemed to genuinely care about each other in a way that most people only cared for their direct kin. Vahn felt like it was incredibly unfair that they were forced to live in the darkness of the Dungeon while greedy fools exploited and took advantage of each other on the surface. In the world that he envisioned, the Xenos would be able to take their rightful ce alongside the other surface-dwellers, setting an example that Vahn wished others would be able to follow... With a confident expression and an expectant smile, Vahn looked around at the injured members of the criminal Familia and wondered if their god was nearby. He couldnt sense the powerful aura of a god within his domain but, with how massive this floor of Knossos was, this wasnt too surprising. There were so many ovepping corridors within his perception, many belonging to the Dungeon itself, and it would likely take him several days to even map a Floor this size. For the time being, he sent a mentalmand to Terra to see if her teleportation could prate through Knossos. He quickly got his answer as, only six secondster, a vibrant spatial distortion appeared as Terra broke through the void and emerged before them. She rolled her shoulders and flexed her wings, appearing as though the teleportation had been rather taxing on her body, before smiling radiantly and asking, "You called for me, Master~?" The Xenos were terrified by Terras presence as, even though she wasnt trying to pressure them, her existence as a True Dragon that had exceeded the limitations of the Falna was enough to trigger the instincts of normal people, much less, the somewhat animalistic Xenos. If not for Vahn diverting the majority of her natural pressure, it wouldnt have been surprising if the Xenos fell to the ground and bowed before the monstrous existence that was Terra. As if it was the most natural thing in the world, Vahn extended his hand, causing Terra to giggle as she trotted over and enjoyed his petting. Unlike Alexa, Vahn didnt shy away from Terras horns, stroking them casually before tracing his palm along the side of Terras face as he said, "Im afraid I will have to trouble you with taking these people to the surface. Have the Freya Familia hand them over to the Eirene Familia for processing. Ill entrust the matter to Eirene but let her know I want a full report if there is anything important her investigation uncovers. I may be away for a few days longer, so let the girls know for me...will you?" Terras wings were fluttering happily but she still put on a pouting expression as she teased, "Ara, I made so much effort toe down here and youre sending me away so quickly~? Muuuu, Master is a big bully tonight...I got all excited for nothing~." To this, Vahnughed in a lighthearted manner before shocking the gathered Xenos by tightly embracing Terra and giving her a very long and passionate kiss. At the same time, Vahn stroked her body with his hands, sending arge amount of source energy into her since she had surprisingly used up nearly half of her reserves for the teleportation. With this being the case, it took him more than fifteen minutes to top her offpletely, during which time she hadpletely surrounded him with her wings... Vahn knew that Terra was trying to give them a small amount of privacy, but she also seemed to be enjoying the spectators or, more specifically, the reaction from Fenrir. When they finally parted, she released a sensualugh and sent a wink towards the frowning Vanargandr before waving her hand and pulling the unconscious criminals over. She let themnd pretty heavily near her feet before an emerald green formation began to spread from her feet until it had extended a full ten meters. After licking her lips onest time, Terra lightly pushed against her Masters chest and moved him outside of her teleportation ward as Vahn maintained a casual smile on his face. Before she left, Terra giggled once again and said, "Please hurry back, Master...Im not the only one who will be waiting for your return~." With those parting words, the ward beneath Terras feet glowed vibrantly before everyone within its boundaries vanished from sight. The gathered Xenos was still shocked to the core after everything they had witnessed, causing Vahn to chuckle lightly. This drew their attention to him, just in time to watch Vahn raise his hand and witness him consolidating an incredible amount of me Elemental energy. However, even as it shifted from red and became a bluish white, the ball of mes didnt emit any heat at all, kept at bay by the thin membrane of pure source energy that gave it a slight rainbow hue. This was simr to Alexas technique and he wasnt afraid to admit he had been inspired by her in its creation. When it was finished, Vahn sent the sphere of mes forward at speeds much faster than most eyes could follow, causing it to crash into a far wall... The moment the sphere touched the wall, instead of exploding into a massive ball of fire, it instead shrunk down until it had nearly be a point. At the same time, the protective membrane expanded outward for around twenty meters and, very simr to Alexas technique, everything within this protective membrane waspletely incinerated. It wasnt simply turned into hot g and broken down but literally turned to ash in an instant as the small point of me continued to radiate a phenomenal heat. By the time it had burned out, there was absolutely nothing remaining within the sphere of source energy as it popped like a bubble. With the dispersion of the bubble, the temperature in the room skyrocketed several tens of degrees, even heating up the iron cages closest to the attack until they had turned red hot. As for Vahn, Fenrir, Fafnir, and the Xenos, they werepletely unaffected. Vahn had created a small barrier using his domain and kept the heat at bay as he turned towards the ck-jawed group of Xenos, smiling as he asked, "Shall we go~?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Power for Allegiance!,Vahn is an equal-opportunity petting fiend,Look at this Chuuni, showing off...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 819 - Towards the Xenos Settlement...

Chapter 819 - Towards the Xenos'' Settlement...

Upon entering into the Dungeon proper, Vahn spected they were somewhere on the 17th Floor since the walls, ceiling, and floor were all made of a dark bedrock. The space was cramped together, with severalrge boulders littered about while, in the distance, holes could be seen that led both deeper into the Dungeon and towards higher Floors. Since there was also very little light, it was easy to guess their approximate location and his suspicions were practically confirmed when a Lygerfang, monsters that only appeared between the 15th and 17th Floors, jumped out to attack. Unfortunately for it, the monster wasnt even able toplete its jump before several ck spears emerged from the walls and skewered it in an instant. The Kobold-Xenos that had been the original target of the Lygerfang plopped to the ground and was shaking a great deal as Fafnir extends its hand out, saying, "Its okay, I wont let anyone get hurt~!" Here within the low-light of the Dungeon, Fafnir was even stronger than it was on the surface. Every surface was its domain and, if you were in an enclosed space like their current location, you had better possess some form of defensive or speed Innate if you wanted to survive even a few minutes against its assault. epting the offered hand, the Kobold shakily rose to its feet and stammered, "T-Thank you..." in a sheepish voice. Fafnir smiled with a very innocent expression on its face and, likely emting Vahn, reached out and began to stroke the Kobolds head as it said, "There, there, everything will be okay..." Vahn saw this and felt a small amount of pride well up inside of his chest as, even though Fafnir certainly wasnt his child, seeing his rather childish looking subordinatefort others made his paternal instincts flutter about. Piggybacking off Fafnirs words, Vahn turned to Xude and said, "Ill entrust you to lead the way. Leave the fighting to Fafnir and Fenrir and take your time moving forward...there is no rush." As if to emphasize that things were under control, Fafnir sunk into the ground and the primal whine of several monsters being ughtered resonated through the cavern. Vahn set up a thin membrane to block out higher frequency sounds while also activating his [Stealth] to try and hide their presence a little. Though it wouldnt affect the Xenos, Vahn suspected that the Dungeon actually harbored them willingly instead of trying to kill them like it did Adventurers. This was another one of the things he wanted to investigate in the future, as it didnt seem like the Dungeon was wholly devoted to purging Adventurers and spewing monsters out onto the surface... Xude nodded its head and gestured towards one of the passages, muttering, "It shouldnt take that long to reach the nearest settlement...lets move carefully..." Jude and Mest nodded their heads and quickly fell into step while the smaller of the two Almiraj, the one Vahn had pet previously, sleepily moved over to his side and gripped the pantleg of Vahns trousers. Since it looked like nothing more than arge rabbit with two small horns on its head, Vahn found it to be adorable so he didnt mind picking it up and carrying it along. He also noticed that its Affection had already increased to 81 and it would very likely be his first retainer if he could change its perception towards him into exultation or reverence. Surprisingly, though he had tasked her with fighting off monsters as well, Fenrir used her [Cinder*E] to turn into an Almiraj with midnight blue fur as she jumped onto his shoulder before climbing into his arms. Vahnughed boisterously, surprising the Xenos as he cradled the two adorable rabbits in his arms and said, "It seems Im pretty popr~." in a lighthearted manner. Fenrir just nuzzled into his chest,cking the horns on her head of a normal Almiraj, not minding the fact that she was being a little selfish and unnecessarily jealous. Vahn didnt mind either and just held the two tiny creatures, even though Fenrir still retained the weight of her default form... After traveling for around twenty minutes, Xude led the group to what appeared to be a dead end but Vahn could already see the tell-tale signs that it was a hidden entrance. As expected, Xude tapped around for a bit before the hard bedrock began to warp and deform, creating a passage that linked to another section of the Dungeon. Xude turned its head back, training the glowing red core at the center of its head on Vahn as it said, "I trust you, Vahn Mason...please, do not betray our people..." To this, Vahn just returned a casual smile and nodded, not bothering to repeat himself over and over since he genuinely had no desire to harm any Xenos that wasnt trying to proactively harm people he cared about. Xude gave a nod of its own before leading the way into the safe passageway that was much smaller than the normal corridors of the Dungeon. It continued downward, even leading to several sets of stairs that the group had to descend before theyout of the corridorspletely changed. Instead of bedrock, the walls were now made of wood that was covered in a bioluminescent moss, showing that they had transitioned onto the 19th Floor and entered the Large Tree Labyrinth. Vahns wasnt surprised that the Xenos would reside in the area that had thergest amount of natural resources and provided the most cover for concealing their movements. Though there were several pathways within the Large Tree Labyrinth, much of the Floor itself was very open and the path forward were on elevated tforms that towered above the forests below. There were several massive tree-like structures that were simr to the roots of the massive tree on the 18th Floor but had branches of their own. It was easily one of the most scenic regions in the entire Dungeon and there were even several species of animals present, not just monsters. With the addition of several types of flora, fauna, and fruit-bearing trees, it was almost like a paradise. Of course, to reside within this seemingly peaceful ce, you needed to be strong enough to avoid the dangers that were constantly lurking in the shadows of the underbrush... As Xude led the way forward into an open area that revealed a verdant forest, a swarm of Gun Libell immediately tried to assault them. The projectile spines they shot from their abdomen made loud popping sounds like gunpowder exploding but it ended up being more ir than effective. Vahns barrier, which had been erected to inhibit external noise, immediately condensed into a more solidified form that caused the lethal spines to ricochet away powerlessly. At the same time, instead of metallic ck spears erupting from the shadows, beams of Darkness Elemental energy emerged from a deep ck pool where Fanfirs head could be seen poking out. The beams of ck energy cut through the Gun Libellua swarm and left iplete bodies behind that continued to be devoured by the ambient energy. Eventually, their bodies broke downpletely or were dispersed into purple-ck dust that left behind monster cores and drop items. At this point, the Silverback-Xenos, Jude, remarked, "Yourpanions are very powerful..." There was an almost reverential tone to her voice and Vahn could see Jude ball her hands into fists as a resolute light emerged in her sky-blue eyes. Silverbacks were always creatures that sought power and, even though she was an intelligent Xenos, this desire to grow stronger had never faded from her mind... Seeing this, Vahn had a thoughtful look on his face and knew it shouldnt be difficult to get the majority of Xenos to follow him. Though they would end up as his retainers, Vahn knew this would be for the best since he was the only one in the entire world that would allow their potential to increase while also paving the way for their future on the surface. He could help them evolve and, in the future, ensure that they were an epted part of society that people happily lived alongside. There were even thoughts cycling through his mind about making Xenos a guardian species that could be paired with trustworthy people on the surface...the possibilities were functionally infinite as long as he didnt give up searching for a means by which they could live happily... To prevent the harassment of the various insect-type monsters that were prevalent on these Floors, Vahn gradually lowered the temperature within his domain until it was below freezing while keeping the core a very temperate warmth. This would be enough to dissuade most monsters and, as a result of allowing his pressure to permeate through the region, Vahn could detect many monsters simply fleeing from their location. The Xenos in hispany werepletely unaware of this, however, so they kept moving forward with caution. Though they were confused about the frost building up on some of the nt life, they didnt ask any questions about it since they were slowly limating to the abnormal existence that was Vahn Mason... It took another half-hour, but they reached the other end of the forest before Xude pointed to the base of a tree that had what looked like a foxhole going deeper into the ground. Since the hole was easilyrge enough for a group of people to walk through, it stood out like a sore thumb once it had been pointed out. Even Jude, standing nearly 3m tall, ducked down into the hole and followed behind Xude and Mest without any hesitation. Vahn, still carrying the (Nameless) Almiraj and Fenrir, slid in behind them while the other Xenos and Fafnir trailed after him. This time, the passageway looked like a series of roots that had been woven together before being forcibly split to make a tunnel. It was a very interesting sight and, though it was somewhat hard to walk on the roots, Vahn managed to bypass the inconvenience by lifting himself, the two Goblin-Xenos, and the remaining Almiraj-Xenos with his telekinesis. Since the War-Shadow Xenos were able to easily move across the uneven surface, and were also leading the way, Vahn let them remain on the ground. As for Jude, the Silverback-Xenos, she didnt seem to have any trouble navigating the terrain, even though she had to slouch slightly to avoid some of the areas where the ceiling was quite low. Eventually, the root-formed corridor came to an end, opening into a ce Vahn hadnt expected to see within the Dungeon. There were several pools of mineral rich green water that appeared to be hot springs naturally formed between intertwining roots. Beautiful crystals dotted the rather openndscape and, in some of the pools, what Vahn correctly assumed to be Xenos could be seen enjoying the hot water. Though some of them bolted the moment their group exited one of several holes in the ceiling, there were a few amongst the bathing Xenos that remained behind. Amongst the group that remained, there were two of the most human-like Xenos Vahn hadid eyes on thus far. The first, being the more humanoid of the two, had golden-brown feathers on her wing-like arms while also possessing a wind-swept hairstyle that wasprised of healthy brown hair and ented with what Vahn assumed were her own feathers. She had striking golden eyes and, perhaps the result of her bathing, two rather voluptuous b.r.e.a.s.ts exposed for the whole world to see. It was easy to deduce she was a Harpy but her fair skin and unnatural beauty set her apart from any monster Vahn had seen before. Though she still had scales that started from her thighs and continued down until ending in some rather scary looking talons, all of the womanly bits were present, including a fleshy butt that was visible through the tail feathers barely concealing its presence... Next to the Harpy-Xenos, likely her close friend andpanion, there was what appeared to be a rather cute looking girl. If you looked closely, however, it was easy to see that she hadpound eyes like an insect and, instead of two, there were a total of five. The three dots on her forehead also served as eyes because Vahn could sense her looking towards him with measured caution. Her hair was somewhat boyish and short,prised of pure white locks that framed her rather delicate looking face. The rest of her body appeared to be that of a young woman, at least above the waist, but Vahn could see a shadow beneath the water that was currently concealed. His eyes were able to make out several segmented legs which allowed him to deduce that she was most certainly the very rare species known as an Arachne. Vahn was somewhat curious in how her body was structured by kept his eyes focused on the mature Harpy-Xenos who was standing proudly without concealing any part of her body. Her fierce and confident expression gave her a unique appeal but, when she opened her mouth, Vahn nearly burst outughing when one of the most adorable and cutesy voices he ever heard emerged from her rosy red lips. She almost sounded like a young Cat Person, with a very high voice, as she asked very pointedly, "Xude? Why have you brought a human here...?" Since it wasnt umon for Xenos to not see each other for several weeks at a time, it was hard to know when any of their members had been captured by Hunters. Given the fact that none of the Xenos around Vahn had any injuries, it was easy to mistake that they had simply brought him along after encountering him in the Dungeon. Xude took in a wispy breath, causing Vahns brows to perk up since he hadnt even noticed the shadowy Xenos breathing this entire time. When it spoke, Xudes tone was filled with respect as it said, "Terror...this is Vahn Mason...He saved us from Hunters and healed our wounds...Kiel and Soda died when we were captured..." As Xude spoke, Terrors expression changed several times, transitioning from surprise, happiness, shock, and then sadness, all over the course of a few seconds. Vahn had never seen someones expression change so quickly, nor did he expect such a mature woman to have such a cute voice, all while being named Terror...if not for the fact Xude had just mentioned losing two of theirpanions, Vahn wasnt sure he could stop himself from at least releasing a light chuckle... (A/N: Some people may be confused about the Guardian thing, as it could be misconstrued as making Xenos into Guardians that served and protected people. What Vahn has in mind would be more of a mutual rtionship where the Xenos and their partner would pledge to protect and support each other. If society could get to the point where being paired with a Xenos was the norm, they would essentially be able to live alongside people regardless of their appearance. Even if they became true Guardians like what Vahns children have, being immortal isnt exactly a bad deal...?) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Casual stroll...,Vahns domain is very versatile (UwU),Moe-Gap Harpy and Bashful Arachne have appeared...!,Were getting to some advanced levels of fetish here...(o____o)) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 820 - Incongruity

Chapter 820 - Incongruity

Though she seemed to be heavily affected by the revtions, Terrors expression changed back to normal a few secondster as her hawk-like eyes trained on Vahn. She then flitted her wings to dislodge all the ambient water, bing somewhat puffy in the process, before stepping out of the hot spring. Her overall height was around 175cm, muchrger than a normal Harpy, and Vahn could now clearly see the four curved talons that made small divots on the wooden floor as she walked forward. She also made no effort to conceal herself at all and Vahn noticed that, instead of normal hair around her pubic mound, there were small downy feathers that were speckled with golds, browns, and greys... It was fortunate that he was able to see such things without looking directly or Vahn suspected this Terror would have noticed his gaze instantly. Though she had eyelids, he hadnt seen her blink this entire time but, just as that thought crossed his mind, Vahn watched as a second set of eyelids moisturized Terrors eye, seemingly without obstructing her vision. He had to admit, the exotic qualities of a humanoid Xenos were very eye-catching... Terror walked directly up to him without breaking eye contact, stopping less than 15cm away from him, almost to the point that her ratherrge b.r.e.a.s.ts brushed against his arms. She tilted her head a few times, as if she were inspecting him before turning her eyes towards the two Almiraj in his arms, including the transformed Fenrir. For several seconds, her head tilted progressively further to the left before it looked like she was finally going to say something. However, instead of following this rationale, Terror used the w-like talons on her wings to lightly caress Fenrirs head before smiling and walking away. She pped her wings and began flying off towards one of the ceiling tunnels as the Silverback-Xenos, Jude, exined, "Dont let her behavior put you off, Vahn...Terror is a little bit of a bird brain..." With this remark, many of the Xenos beganughing or chuckling as Xude rubbed the back of its head in an awkward manner. However, this atmosphere was broken very quickly as the small Arachne-Xenos suddenly shouted, "Eiii~! Dont make fun of Big Sis behind her back~!" Her lower body, which had been hidden by the hot springs, burst into view as she scuttled forward rather quickly. Though she had a rtively normal upper body, everything past her pelvis was a rather difficult sight to behold. Where the thigh of a person normally would have started, the seemingly young Arachne-Xenos had a curved carapace-like cephalothorax with two segmented leg-like protrusions sticking out of the front the curled protectively to hide her lower body. Around this cephalothorax, there were six other segmented spider legs that had a base coloration of ck while being covered in dense white furs. This cephalothorax connected into an abdominal segment that was also covered in white furs but had a few areas of pure ck that created a skull motif before ending in a series of spinnerettes. Honestly, she looked kind of cute if you didnt look too closely, but Vahn knew she would probably creep out numerous people on the surface. After all, even normal spiders could be very creepy, and the two ck fang-like protrusions at the end of her forelegs werent exactly inviting to look at, even if they appeared strangely soft at a nce... As for how Vahn was able to attach the cute descriptive to such an entity, it was because her height was only around 90cm tall, even when she was scuttling forward with her six tiny legs working in overdrive. She ran straight up to Jude and began to hammer against thetters thick and muscr thighs, brows furrowed as she eximed, "Take it back, Jude~! Dont be mean to Big Sis~!" To this, Jude just released a steamy sigh and used her thick index finger to lightly rub the tiny Arachne-Xenos head, saying, "Yare yare, Naho...you know I didnt mean anything bad by my words. Everyone loves your Big Sis a whole lot...thats why we can joke about her in good spirits..." If Naho had been capable of crying, Vahn imagined herpound eyes would be misting up greatly as she looked up at Jude with an expression as though she had been greatly wronged. Even when Jude was rubbing her head, she didnt seem to believe the words intended to pacify her and scampered away from the extended finger in a huff. She turned her five eyes back towards Vahn and curled up what he assumed to be her mandibles in a protective disy to prevent him from spying whatever she was keeping hidden behind them. Since he could see that her flesh extended quite a bit below her navel, Vahn could only assume that she had somewhat worth protecting as she furrowed her brows and asked, "Are you really Vahn...the Vahn...?" Though he heard her question, Vahn didnt immediately answer and instead wanted to test the limitations of his system shop by purchasing a dress for the tiny Arachne-Xenos. He was curious about what the shop would produce, especially since he also selected a pair of panties and brassiere. It didnt seem like any of the Xenos, including those that had humanistic s.e.x.u.a.l traits, wore clothing as he didnt see any around the hot springs. Still, it was obvious that the seemingly young Xenos didnt want to be seen openly so Vahn figured it would be a proper peace offering to give her cute clothing. With a smile that likely would have caused Tsubaki toment about him coaxing young girls, Vahn pulled out a ck and white gothic-style maid outfit and noticed it looked rtively normal. The brassiere was much the same, even though it seemed to be sized for a child, and it wasnt until he saw the panties that the first disparity appeared. Instead of wrappingpletely around the h.i.p.s, which would have been impossible from the get-go, these wereprised of a strange material that seemed somewhat sticky, especially on the edges. Vahn likened it to the tape-bound panties that Mikoto often wore, except that there was only half of the normal garment. Though she had been spooked by the sudden appearance of clothing, scrunching down in a protective stance, Vahn noticed Naho adopt a curious expression when she saw what was in his hands. Then, with the same smile on his face, Vahn nodded his head and said, "I have never met another Vahn Mason so I can say rather decisively that Im probably the one youre thinking about. That isnt really important though...here, these are clothes that I believe will be suitable for you. Im not sure if Xenos wear clothing, but I can tell youre embarrassed to be seen..." Vahn had already set down Fenrir and the unnamed Almiraj before he pulled out the clothes so he turned to Fenrir and asked, "Fenrir, can you help our little friend wear these clothes? I dont want to scare her away..." However, before Fenrir even changed back into her Vanargandr form, Naho had already scampered up with a curious expression on her face and actually crawled up his legs. Vahn felt a slight shiver run up his back but it was quickly quelled by the ocean of calmness that had been a part of his existence over thest few days. Even so, he still eyes the fangs on the end of Nahos foreleg/mandibles and saw a glimpse of tender flesh behind them. Though it was strange to have spider legs touching him, Vahn tolerated it as Naho smiled excitedly and asked, "Can I really have these clothes!?" She practically snatched the dress out of his hands and moved around with little thumping sounds as her six feet tapped against the wood. Vahn was happy she was so excited but there was still a sense of incongruity as he watched what appeared to be a young girl with half of her body consisting of a spiders dancing around. He wondered if giving her a proper name would alter her appearance into something more eptable but, at the same time, Vahn couldnt help but reprimand himself slightly for humoring the idea that she wasnt eptable from the start... Naho eventually calmed down a little before scuttling forward and asking, "How do I wear this...?" Since the dress was a littleplicated, even for a normal person, Vahn wasnt that surprised by Nahos question. Fortunately, Fenrir had already adopted a Chienthrope transformation and had rtively normal hands as she said, "I will teach you how to wear it. First, you need to wear your undergarments..." Fenrir snatched over the bra and panty set from her Master while she was speaking and disyed them for the curious Naho to see, exining their purpose at the same time. Vahn left Fenrir to deal with Naho, even though he was admittedly a little curious about the physiology of all the Xenos, and turned his attention back to Xude as he asked, "Are we going to follow after Terror now?" This earned him a nod from the War Shadow Xenos who appeared to still be looking at the interaction between Fenrir and Naho. Still, this didnt stop him from answering, "This ce is very close to thergest hidden vige on the neenth Floor. Many of the most powerful Xenos reside there, serving at the leaders and protectors of our people. If she remembers to do so, Terror will likely inform the others of our arrival. Since you are an important guest that many Xenos have been looking forward to meeting...please prepare yourself..." Xude knew that most Xenos, especially when they were younger, had almost no understanding of personal space at all. Seeing a human that wasnt hostile, especially when it was their Savior, would likely cause Vahn to get crowded by the more curious members of their kin. The few times they had interactions with peaceful surface-dwellers in the past often ended up with some light injuries if they werent properly prepared. After all, there were some Xenos that hadrge frames as a result of their species, while others would have poisonous quills, barbs, spikes, scales, or even corrosive touches... Vahn knew Xude was being considerate of him so he returned a smile and said, "Dont worry, Xude, Im actually more durable than I appear. Im not sure exactly how much the Xenos know about me, but there are very few things in this world that can genuinely harm me. Also, even in the event that some of the Xenos get out of control, I wont me them for their behavior...rest easy." By the time he was finished speaking, Vahn felt like he had seen a heavy weight lift off of Xudes shoulders as thetters core glowed relievedly as he said, "It seems like the day we Xenos may live upon the surface is drawing nearer..." Off to the side, Fenrir had managed to adhere Nahos panty-panel into ce before helping the Arachne-Xenos fit into her pure white silk bra. Vahn had picked silk intuitively since it seemed like something a Spider Person might wear. He didnt doubt that Naho was capable of producing her own silk and had started to wonder if that was a way she could appeal to people on the surface. If she could be adept at the production of fine clothing, Vahn knew that, at the very least, there would be plenty of Adventurer women that would appreciate Nahos existence... Once Naho had on her undergarments, Fenrir helped fit her into the dress, noticing that the cords that normally tied up the back were instead on the front of this particr dress. Since Naho wouldnt have been able to tie them up at the back, and it would be difficult for others to assist in the effort, the system shop seemed to have inverted the design slightly and made it appear more like a corset that tied together at the front. When she finally managed to get it on, Naho looked even more adorable than before, even though part of Vahns mind still couldnt quite adapt to the segmented legs and the skull-motif abdominal section poking out from the back of the dress. Naho was ecstatic in her new clothing and was spinning around in circles as she tried to get a better look at herself. Vahn pulled out arge mirror to help her out, giving the Arachne-Xenos the chance to see her actual reflection for the first time. She seemed to appreciate this greatly and, causing Vahns hair to stand on end, ran over to him before crawling up his back and hugging him with her arms and legs. Vahn noticed the fur on her legs was actually very soft so the tension in his body melted away quickly as he reached up and pat the spiderling on the head and said, "Im d you like it, Naho..." The following few minutes were a bit more taxing than Vahn had expected but, by the time the group managed to reach the rather wholesome looking vige, he had grown ustomed to the two sharp fangs that were resting on his shoulders as Naho happily yed with his hair. Vahn never imagined there would be a day when he had a petite Arachne-Xenos clinging to his back. It was almost like he was giving her a piggyback ride, without the need to support her with his arms since her legs clung to him very firmly. Though this earned him looks of envy from Fenrir and the smaller of the two Almiraj, neither voiced theirints and just let Naho do as she pleased for the time being... Moments before they reached the location of the hidden vige, Mest had inclined its head back, seemingly with a curious glint to the red core near its face as it said, "Im surprised that Naho opened up to you so quickly...she is usually a very shy girl..." This was a statement that didnt require Vahns answer as Naho happily giggled and said, "Vahn is the Savior that everyone has been talking about. He even gave Naho clothing so Naho likes Vahn almost as much as Big Sis and Bigger Sis~!" Then, as if to emphasize this statement, Vahn noticed as Nahos affection jumped up a few more points, reaching 88(Familial Love). This was the first time he had seen this parameter on anything other than his own children and it was the primary reason he had adapted to Nahos presence very quickly. Since she seemed to call two of the other Xenos by familial associative names, Vahn reached up to grab Nahos hands, pulling her around to the front of his body and said, "If you want, you can call me Big Brother, or Big Bro, okay, Naho...?" Her six legs had already clung tightly to his torso but, upon hearing his words, Naho smiled radiantly and wrapped her two tiny arms tightly around Vahns neck and said, "Big Brother~! I cant wait to introduce you to everyone!" In response to this, Vahn released a lightugh and, ignored the two coiled up mandibles resting against his chest, gave Naho a warm hug while stroking her small back in aforting manner... (A/N: I never realized how creepy Arachne could be until I started trying to think about the mechanics of how to interact with one...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Birdbrain,This is some uncanny valley type stuff...,Kinda cute...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 821 - Introductions

Chapter 821 - Introductions

Upon arriving at the Xenos Hidden Vige, Vahn was greeted by the sight of what most would describe as a small Monster Party. There were monsters of all shapes and sizes, including a number of variant species that stood out from the crowd. However, their impact paled inparison to the numerous individuals that were attired in the equipment of Adventurers, some even wearing full armor while carrying swords, spears, and axes. Among this group, there were several that had humanoid traits and Vahn couldnt help but marvel at the uniqueness of their entire species. The fact they could alle together in support of each other made a warm feeling spread through his heart, even though the tiny pincers at the ends of Nahos legs were digging into his back a little. From amongst the group, there was one particr Xenos that readily drew the eye, though it could have been a result of the fact he had another one of her species clinging to him. She was an Arachne-Xenos garbed in the attire of a female Adventurer, but it didnt do much to hide her mature and shapely figure. The armor consisted of a few tes that had been sewn together by what Vahn assumed to be her own silk and she had a visored helmed on her face with two glowing red eyes staring back at him. There was white hair sticking out from her helmet, causing Vahn to wonder if it was a trait of all Arachne-Xenos since her spider-bits were significantly different than Nahos. If Naho was like a cute little jumping spider that was covered in white fur, this unknown Arachne-Xenos had ck chitin that was glossy, even in subtle green light from the bioluminescent moss. There was also a startlingly red hour-ss like marking on her abdominal segment while the two mandible protrusions at the front of her body looked significantly more fierce than the petite Nahos... The moment her eyes locked on him, Vahn felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as she scuttled towards him very quickly, shouting, "Let Naho go right now you-!" Before she was able toplete her journey, Fenrir had stepped out to block her path, eyes glowing with a fierce light as she said, "Do not insult my Master...he hasnt done anything wrong...look closely..." Though it looked like she had considered attacking Fenrir for a brief moment, the unknown Arachne-Xenos turned statuesque around the same time that Fenrir let her bloodthirst leak out. Since Xenos had very strong instincts, she was able to discern rather quickly that only death awaited her if she took another step forward. Following Fenrirs prompt, the Arachne-Xenos trained her eyes on Vahn and also saw that Naho was wearing high-quality clothing while also clinging to the human boy on her own. She had initially thought that Naho had been captured but, remembering the words of Terror, she remembered the supposed identity of the docile looking boy. Realizing she hadshed out on an assumption, the Arachne-Xenos felt her body heating up slightly as she curled into herself and snorted before saying, "Naho,e to your Big Sis. You shouldnt be overly familiar with humans...they will-" This time, instead of Fenrir speaking out, the little Naho turned her head a little too far and eximed, "Bigger Sis, dont be mean to Big Brother!" This caused the Arachne-Xenos to flinch as she released an Eh...? from behind her visor, pointing to Vahn with her pale white finger and asking, "This is your Big Brother...?" Naho immediately nodded her head and tightly hugged Vahns body with six of her legs and both of her arms, happily giggling as she said, "Big Brother is great~!" To this, Vahn lightly pat her back and, keeping eye contact with the yet unnamed Arachne-Xenos, said, "It looks like we became something like extended family now. My name is Vahn Mason, Sage Aldrnari, and Captain of the Hestia Familia. May I inquire as to your name, Miss...?" The Arachne-Xenos shrunk away slightly and Vahn could see her trembling, not as a result of fear, but likely her own embarrassment. Fortunately, Naho was more than willing to sell out her Bigger Sis as she giggled and said, "Bigger Sis is named Rayne. She is an Arachne-Xenos, just like me~!" Vahn smiled, nodding his head in response to Naho as he mused, "Yes, I can see that quite clearly, Naho...well, its nice to meet you, Rayne. I understand you have been wronged by other surface dwellers so I will not force you to open up to me. My only expectation is that, unless I give you a reason to distrust me, please dont make assumptions that could cause problems for everyone...I am not the enemy of the Xenos..." Though she seemed very unwilling, Vahn pulled Naho away from his body and set her down on the ground before kneeling down and whispering, "Go to your Bigger Sis so she can stop worrying...ah, and if she asks about your clothes, tell her that I can make her some as well. That way, you can look even more like family...okay~?" Naho perked up very quickly when she heard these words and, after a few more head pats from Vahn, ran over to Rayne and crawled on her body in much the same way as she had Vahn, hugging the now relieved looking Arachne-Xenos from behind. The two then wandered away from the group, climbing up the side wall as if it were t ground and retreating into a canopy house near the ceiling... Vahn watched this urring with eyes of intrigue before turning to therger group of Xenos, smiling as he said, "That was an interesting way to start introductions...well, as I said previously, my name is Vahn Mason. How you address me is up to you though, as long as it isnt anything tantly offensive..." Since he already allowed Naho to call him Big Bro, Vahn figured there would likely be some of the younger members of this tribe that would want to call him simrly. He noticed there were also several Xenos that had furry and fluffy bodies and, even if he tried to fool himself, Vahn knew his [Grooming] would see some heavy use while he stayed within the vige. From amongst the more than one-hundred variable Xenos, three figures walked forward and Vahn could tell they were all much stronger than the others. Thergest among them was a stout Gargoyle-Xenos with a rigid and stern appearance, though it could have been an illusion since he was seemingly made of stone. His skin was grey and there were strange runes covering his body, including therge bat-like wings behind his back. Even his eyes seemed to be made from stone and, if not for the fact he was wearing armor and moving around, it would have been very difficult to discern him from a statue. Leading the group, though he was decidedly less human in appearance than some of the other Xenos present, was what appeared to be a variant Lizardman Chieftan. His body was covered in red scales, except for his front and underbelly, and his orange eyes zed like a Dragons. As if he wasnt content with simply having his scales be red, this Lizardman-Xeno was also wearing red ted armor that was simr in design to the Samurai armor worn in the Far East. Instead of a katana, however, this Xeno had a massive scimitar that was nearly 160cm long and, though there were several nicks and other signs of use, it was highly polished and well cared for. Though he slouched forward as a result of his two-jointed legs, his bnce was impable with the spined tail that trailed behind him... Thest of their group, even though he had noticed her first, was a strikingly beautiful woman that was simr to Terror. She appeared to be a Variant-Harpy with fair skin, features that appeared to be sculpted by the gods, and beautiful golden feathers that were tinged a subtle blue on the ends. Her eyes were a scarlet red that could almostpete with Fenrirs, if not for the fact her pupils were much bigger than normal, giving her a very fierce gaze. She was wearing highly revealing clothes that looked like they had been borrowed from an Amazoness, her figure stood out even more. Vahn could even see small downy feathers poking out from the front of her panty-like bottoms and he wondered if he should give her something that can help properly conceal the tiny blue feathers... Even as he was evaluating their physical features, Vahns expression remained cid and casual while keeping eye contact with the Lizardman-Xenos at the front. He could tell all three of them had already formed an opinion of him and they were likely the leaders of this particr vige. The Lizardman-Xenos seemed pretty amicable and, if not for the fact he had a reptilian face, Vahn could have sworn he was smiling. As for the Harpy-Xenos to his right, she had a surprisingly gentle look on her face and, other than her somewhat fierce looking eyes, Vahn felt her impression of him was rather high. This left the only exception amongst the three as the Gargoyle-Xenos on the left, who had furrowed brows and a stern expression...though it was hard to know if he could even form other expressions from first appearances... The Lizardman-Xenos raised his hand in greeting, even before they had fully closed the distance, a lively and excitedly voice sounding from his carnivorous maw as he said, "Yo!" His eyes squinted as if he was very happy and Vahns impression of the man immediately went up a few points as he also raised his hand and said, "Yo." This caused the Lizardman-Xenos tough hard enough that he had to hug his stomach before he wiped a non-existent tear from his eye and said, "The names Lyd, a Lizardman-Xenos. Im one of the three leaders for this here vige. Nice to meet ya, Vahn!" By now, they were right in front of each other so Vahn epted the offered handshake from Lyd and didnt mind it much when the rambunctious Xenos heavily pat his shoulder. Following Lyd, the female Xenos stepped up and offered her humanoid hand, significantly different than the talon he had seen on Terrors. She seemed to be much further along in whatever process the Xenos used to be humanoid and, other than the extra joint located near her wrist that extended to form the fold of her wings, she had normal and delicate looking fingers. Vahn epted her handshake as she smiled radiantly and said, "My name is Ray, a Siren-Xenos. I have looked forward to meeting you for a very long time, Vahn Mason. Wee to the Xenos Hidden Vige..." Vahn was a little surprised that Ray introduced herself as a Siren-Xenos, as they were a rtively rare creature that could use sound-based attacks that were very difficult to deal with. However, it was the fact that her Affection was already at 95(Exalted) that truly caught him off guard, so much so that he couldnt prevent his brows from raising slightly. Though he wasnt sure how she had interpreted this, Ray giggled pleasantly and squinted her glimmering red eyes as she moved off to the side to allow their final member to introduce himself. Unlike Lyd and Ray, however, this massive Gargoyle-Xenos stood at a distance as a deep voice emerged from his throat, saying, "So, you are the supposed Savior of the Xenos...I dont buy it...you are just another person that wants to take advantage of our people, arent you...?" As the man spoke, a somewhat oppressive aura radiated from his body and Vahn had to send a mentalmand to Fenrir and Fafnir so they didnt outright kill the untrusting Xenos. After making sure the two were under control, Vahn took a step forward through the pressure with apletely calm expression on his face. He looked up into the nearly 3m tall Xenos eyes and said inly, "The reason the Xenos are feared and hunted is because of misunderstandings and prejudice from ignorant people. If you cannot see how your actions are the very same as those you hate, you dont deserve to be a leader among your people. Stubbornness, especially towards your own allies, will only cause greater misfortunes...what are you willing to sacrifice in order to keep your own people from seeking out the happiness avable to them...?" To this, the Gargoyle-Xenos just remained stone-faced without any change in expression as he responded, "Surface Dwellers cannot be trusted...your kind only see the Xenos as an exoticmodity that can be exploited forbor, entertainment, and utterly disgusting acts. I will not stand by and watch as you mislead our people and turn them into your ves and ythings, all for a dream that can never be...!" As he spoke, the Gargoyle-Xenos raised himself even higher until he was standingpletely upright, now nearly 4m in height. Vahn, however, kept standing with an unperturbed expression on his face, even though there was a thoughtful look in his eyes... After a few tense seconds, Vahn turned his eyes towards Ray, seeing her smiling back at him with a slightly concerned expression. He also raised his head towards the canopy house above, seeing the face of a pale woman duck back into a hole when they made eye contact. This caused the smile on Vahns face to soften slightly as he said, "I wont deny, not even for a moment, that I am very interested in the general physiology and appearance of the Xenos. There are even those among you that I find very attractive..." Since there was already a massive stone fist heading toward his face, Vahn brought his Xuanwu transformed hand up andpletely negated the attack with incredible ease. Seeing how easily his attack was stopped, the Gargoyle-Xenos jumped back and pped his wings, sending a powerful gust of wind as he stabilized himself in the air and eximed, "I knew it. You are just another despicable surface dweller that wishes to use the Xenos to sate his own perversions! I will not let you-" This time, without any effort on Vahns part, the Gargoyle-Xenos was sent flying when Lyd jumped up and smacked him across the head with his scaly red fist. There was an angry look in his eyes as he shouted, "Stop causing trouble without thinking, you stone-brained idiot! Are you really trying to start a fight with the person that just saved a group of our kin and defeated the Hunters that have made our lives miserable!?" The Gargoyle-Xenos had been sent smashing into one of the residences that had been constructed but emerged unscathed a few momentster, the same stone-faced expression on his face. Vahn was slightly surprised that he didnt immediately beginshing out and trying to attack again. Instead, he seemed to be considering things before releasing a throaty grunt and flying towards a residence at the back of the vige. Upon seeing this, Lyd released a sigh of relief as he rubbed the back of his head and said, "Sorry about that, Vahn. Gros really isnt a bad guy...he has just been living this lifestyle a lot longer than most of us. The number of Xenos that he has seene and go number in the hundreds..." Vahn nodded his head in understanding and knew that Gros didnt actually think too badly of him since his Affection was currently at 63(Trust). He likely had his own reasons for acting out and, after having his errors pointed out, Gros had backed away without stirring up further conflict. Just the fact he had the (Trust) bracket parameter fixed any negative impression Vahn had of the over-protective and stubborn individual. Since it was his intention to show the Xenos he could be trusted, Vahn didnt mind if there were a few that showed greater caution towards him. If all the Xenos openly epted his presence within their home, even after what could have been hundreds of years of mistreatment, Vahn would have been far more surprised... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tsundere ck Widow...!? Oh god...,Those feathers though...,Grandpa Gros, rightfully skeptical...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 822 - Celebration : Rest

Chapter 822 - Celebration : Rest

Though Gros actions had caused a bit of tension amongst some of the Xenos, typically those that were a bit older than the others, things quickly evolved into a more celebratory atmosphere. Vahn brought out delicious food and some mild alcoholic beverages, though thetter was reserved for the more humanoid members. He quickly learned that the physical appearance of the Xenos didnt have much to do with their age, as there were even Xenos like a Mermaid girl named Marie who had the appearance of a fully matured woman, even though she was only six years old. Their form was apparentlypletely random and, with the exception of a few species, none of them aged a day after their second birth from the Dungeons walls. Vahn also got to learn a lot about each of their pasts and, without exception, it seemed that most Xenos became as such after interacting with humans and developing bonds in their previous lives. Even Lyd wasnt an exception to this, admitting that he had been a Lizardman who met a powerful warrior from the Far East in his previous life and had been inspired to grow stronger after narrowly escaping. From that day onward, Lyd had trained hard and tried to emte the techniques used by the Eastern Samurai, all the way up until their final duel that imed his life. When he had awoken again, he was in the Dungeon and had developed intelligenceparable to a human, but could now no longer walk upon the surface in pursuit of his dream of being a proud warrior recognized by others... Of course, not all of the reasons were positive, while some were outright strange and borderline unbelievable. Vahn had very quickly noticed that the majority of Xenos seemed to be female, while those that had humanoid features even as monsters had been l.u.s.ted after and even developed rtionsh.i.p.s with people in their past lives. Not all of these rtionsh.i.p.s were willing, however, which is why Rayne was so hostile towards surface-dwellers. All Xenos were the same species as they had been in their first lives and, after being severely weakened by a group of Adventurers in the past, Rayne ended up taking her own life when they tried to ravish her body. When she was reborn in the Dungeon, more intelligent than she had been in the past, Rayne became a cold and distant Xenos who waspletely untrusting of surface dwellers... As for what some people referred to as the bird-brain group, they had very different pastspared to Rayne and some of them enjoyed very intimate, albeit short, rtionsh.i.p.s with men in the past. Unfortunately, these positive experiences became the bane that resulted in their deaths, though none of them seemed to mind it that much. Their leader was, of course, the Siren-Xenos, Ray, and she had a group of seven Harpy-Subspecies who all shared the same residence. Among them was Terror, who was the speckle pattern of a falcon, a Xenos named Fear, who had dark red hair, simrly colored feathers, and striking blue eyes. The other four Xenos in their group had the appearance of normal Harpies, with the upper bodies of women, somewhat uncanny facial expressions, sharp teeth, and shorter limbs. Three of them couldnt even speak any discernable words, though Vahn had been able to understand their speech easily, surprising the group and making him very popr in an instant. Though he got scratched up a bit by their talons and ws, it was mainly his clothes that suffered the brunt of their affections, drawing attention to his regeneration and sparking conversations about Vahn himself. Without revealing too many secrets, Vahn gave his background information to the Xenos, including how he had been exploited and experimented on for having unique blood. This resonated heavily with many of them, as they were also persecuted for being different, even though they almost avoided conflict in its entirety. Since they were also very empathetic towards people that were simr to them, regardless of appearances, a lot of the more innocent Xenos opened up to Vahn very quickly after the revtions of what he had gone through. By the end of his personal recounting of events, Vahn was practically surrounded by Xenos who seemed to be trying tofort him, causing Vahn to return the favor and literally bask in system notifications... Though none of their Affection broke through 99, Vahn noticed that many of the Xenos had the (Kin) and (Familia Love) parameter, with only a few having the (Exalted). It seemed that the normal Xenos were simply happy to have a new family member while the more humanoid Xenos, who certainly had the highest base intelligence, were those that had moreplex emotions. Lyd and Ray both had the (Exalted) bracket parameter and this was shared by most of the Xenos he had saved from Knossos. The only exception was the small Almiraj that he had carried along the way, who finally introduced itself as Mlem. It had developed a strange parameter that he hadnt seen before and Vahn was curious if there would be any changes to his Unit Management if he managed to get it to 100 Affection without changing its feelings... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [(Nameless)]: Affection: 99(Constancy), Intrigue: 81(Very Curious) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- After the party began dying down, as many Xenos were beginning to grow tired and drowsy, Lyd swished around the contents of his ss and said, "Youre wee to stay here as long as you want, Vahn. Though there have been some troublestely, the Xenos will never turn away a friend...!" Vahn, covered in sleeping Xenos to the point that only his upper body could be seen, smiled in return and said, "I told my family that I will probably be in the Dungeon for a few days and there are a lot of things we still need to talk about. As for the troubles that have been happening...well, you can leave that to us to take care of. Now that Im here, Im not going to just watch the Xenos suffer any longer..." Lyd beganughing boisterously while some of the Xenos curled up around Vahn began to stir slightly and snuggle up closer to him. Even Fenrir, who had taken on a strange form that looked like a cross between a wolf pup and an Almiraj, was curled up on top of his head like a hat. Vahn had to sit ramrod straight to avoid identally knocking her off, especially since he knew she was a little upset with how much attention he was getting from others. As for Fafnir, it had long ago fallen asleep whileying on the back of Green Dragon Xenos named Gryuu. Thetter had immediately assumed a subservient position and had been waiting upon Fafnir for the entire afternoon, now serving as thetters bed... Once he had finishedughing, Lyd emptied the contents of his ss and had what Vahn could only assume was a teasing look as he asked, "So, we can fix you up a ce to stay, or you can hole up in one of the other residences. Most of us stick with our own species forfort but I think they might make an exception if you want to sleep in the same ce~." In response to this, it wasnt Vahn who answered but the small Mlem, who apparently represented the more than a dozen Almiraj present as it eximed, "Vahn will stay with us~! We have plenty of space!" Since almost every Almiraj-Xenos was piled up around him, they seemed to agree with Mlem as many of them began to wake up. It wasnt just them, however, as things quickly started to be chaotic within therge open area where they had been celebrating. This caused Lyd tough even more while Vahn just showed a calm expression as he thought about if there was a best ce to sleep. There were certainly a few dangerous ces, as he was certain the Bird-Type Xenos would probably get carried away if he joined them in their nest. The Almiraj were a pretty safe choice, and they were all very adorable and fluffy, but Vahn felt that Fenrir would actually be more bothered by this fact than if he were to stay with the Bird-Types... As he was thinking this, Vahn sensed something enter into his perception so he tilted his head forward and cradled Fenrir in his arms as a thick and sticky strand of silktched onto his back. Then, in front of the shocked andining group of Xenos, Vahn was pulled from the pile of fluffy and reeled in towards the canopy house near the roof. He already knew it was Rayne that had reeled him in, likely at the request of Naho who had been absent from the celebration. Though it would certainly be an experience to cuddle up with an Arachne-Xenos for the night, Nahos fur was actually very soft and Vahn knew she would probably cry if he refused...assuming she could cry...? Though she had tossed him rather roughly, Vahnnded nimbly on his feet as Rayne severed the threads and began using her spinnerettes to break down and reabsorb the silk into her body. At the same time, she was ring towards him with her red eyes, now bereft of the visored helmet she had worn previously. She didnt have the chance to say anything, however, as Naho had jumped on Vahn and immediately started clinging to him as she happily giggled and said, "Vahn, you can stay here with us. Since you already yed with everyone else, y with Naho and Bigger Sis now~!" Vahn didnt mind that Naho was clinging to his body but he still frowned slightly and asked, "Naho, what happened to your dress...?" Currently, she was only wearing the white silk sports bra he had given her while the panel protecting her delicates was also on full disy. He also noticed that her body temperature didnt seem to generate much heat and she instead felt a little cool to the touch. As for why she was no longer wearing her dress, this was revealed by Rayne who averted her eyes to the side, an expression of guilt on her face as she said, "Im sorry...I got curious..." Naho justughed as if she werent affected by the fact her dress had gotten ripped by Rayne and said, "Its okay, Naho isnt used to wearing clothes anyway. Im sure Bigger Sis will be able to fix it with a bit of practice~!" She then began to nuzzle against Vahn, seemingly unconcerned about the loss of the dress she had been so excited about previously. Vahn lightly patted her head before, once again, peeling her away from his body as he said, "It is important for a youngdy to wear proper clothing. There are a lot of people that would see your normal appearance and try to steal you away...when you live on the surface, you will have to be very careful, okay, Naho...?" Since she had been enjoying the head-patting with her eyes closed, Naho simply nodded her head with an Nn, making Vahn feel a little worried about the young spiderling. He wasnt sure about her age but, based on how she was acting, Vahn felt like she was a child. The appearance of her humanoid self matched this mental image and Vahn couldnt help but feel worried that she might be taken advantage of by others in the future. Fortunately, she had an experienced Bigger Sis named Rayne who had a fierce expression on her face as she said, "If anyone tries toy their filthy hands on my Little Naho, I will spin them into a coon and hang them upside down until the blood flow makes their head burst...!" Vahn, still patting Naho, returned a smile to Rayne and yfully mused, "Please dont hang me upside down, Rayne...I would never even think about harming your precious Naho..." This caused Rayne to show aplex expression and it didnt seem like she knew what to say. Naho, however, tried to jump on his body and cling to him again but Vahn managed to catch her by her armpits. She was apparently very ticklish as she began to squirm about, saying, "Big Brother, hahaha, put me down, hahahaha~!" When heplied with this request, Vahn could swear he saw a glimmer in Nahos eyes as she once again jumped into his chest, clinging even tighter to him this time as she said, "Big Brother would never hurt Naho~!" Rayne, seeing the exasperation on Vahns face because of Nahos clinginess began to chuckle almost inaudibly. When he turned his attention towards her, she felt very fl.u.s.tered and immediately fixed her expression as she hmphed and said, "Out of consideration for Naho, Ill let you and that furry creature stay in our home...be grateful..." The furry creature she was talking about was the still-transformed Fenrir, who was currently giving a deadpan stare towards Naho. When she heard Raynes words, however, Fenrir turned her attention towards the mature Arachne-Xenos and said, "It is better to be honest. Master will be troubled if you are roundabout and act foolishly..." Given the fact that Fenrir was currently around the size of arge rabbit, and looked incredibly adorable, her words werent as impactful as they could have been. Rayne, however, tensed up greatly when Fenrirs eyes trained on her, the result of her developed instincts warning her of impending doom once again. If she could sweat, Raynes skin would undoubtedly be covered with a glossy sheen as Fenrirs scarlet red eyes bored holes into her mental state. Vahn managed to get Naho off of him once again, this time picking up the cute Fenrir as a means of protection as he began stroking her fluffy ears and said, "This is Fenrir, one of my most importantpanions. She mighte off as a little abrasive at times, but she is really a good girl...one of the best..." Naho didnt seem to entirely agree with this, as her five eyes trained on Fenrir with a slight pout apparent on her face. As for Rayne, she just nodded her head in understanding, hugging her body somewhat self-consciously before inclining her head towards what looked like a nest made of web. It wasnt the kind that was sticky and clung to objects, but a very fine silky structure that almost seemed like a coon that could fit a few peoplefortably. With Naho and Rayne, however, Vahn imagined it would be a little cramped and wondered if he should pull out a bed and just use that instead. This thought prompted a very different one to cross his mind and, with the half-n.a.k.e.d Nahos presence a constant reminder, Vahn pulled out some clothes for the two Arachne-Xenos. This time, Vahn selected a simple white sundress for Naho and handed it over to the little jumping spider before turning his attention to the very fl.u.s.tered Rayne who shied away and said, "Im fine with this..." Her current armor was just a bunch of ting that had been sewn together to protect her vitals, leaving several parts of her pale white flesh exposed. Since she also had ratherrge b.r.e.a.s.ts, on the upper end of a C-Cup, this meant there was a fair amount of skin showing at the sides of the ting that barely kept them contained. Vahn was ustomed to girls wearing skimpy clothing, but Raynes didnt exactly fit the bill, nor could it truly reach the standard of actual clothing... Since she had an exotic appearance and was actually quite beautiful above the waist, Vahn decided that a ck Kimono might suit Rayne. He purchased one from the system shop and noticed it actually had the motif of a spider sewn into it, an aesthetic choice that The Path seemed to make on its own. Vahn also purchased her a set of undergarments to wear and walked over to Rayne, even though she was halfway up the wall as she tried to escape. Vahn issued a soft smile when he saw how cautious he was and decided to use his trump card, gesturing Naho over and handing the garments to her. With the smaller Xenos insistence, Rayne didnt have a choice in the matter and eventually changed into the surprisingly suitable clothing before Vahn got to experience the admittedly disconcerting event of sharing a soft coon-like bed with two Spider-Girls...he was able tofort himself by mentallymenting about how soft the very clingy Nahos fur was... (A/N: Alternate Titles: So, the Xenos are essentially created...because of fetishes...?,Fluffy Pile of Happiness,Oh god...I got weirded out just imagining this scene...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 823 - Conflict

Chapter 823 - Conflict

While he was dealing with matters both on the surface, and within the Dungeon, things hadnt exactly been quiet within Lil Geirr. There had been several monster waves that had appeared, even though it was supposed to be a safe zone, so the patrols had been rather tense. Though every attack had been dealt with very quickly, as defensive battles with heavy fortifications were quite easy to maintain, things be a little more troublesome when the expedition from the Noble Faction showed up. They were lead by two Level 5 brothers named Keith and Ike, both having retired from Adventuring years prior but now served as the head guards for the Deval Noble Family. Upon arriving on the 39th Floor, it was very apparent they hadnt enjoyed the same smooth journey of the Alliance as nearly a third of their convoy had been wiped out. They had lost nearly half of their wagons and supplies as well, arriving beaten and battered as they demanded to be allowed within Lil Geirr. It was their reasoning that the outpost, while operated by the Alliance, was supposed to serve as a rest stop for all Adventurers that were delving into the Dungeon. This wasnt exactly false, as anyone that hadnt been cklisted by the Alliance could temporarily reside inside of Lil Geirr, but the guards werent happy to have people who were obviously hostile towards the Alliance making demands of them. Instead of eding to the two brothers provocation, the gates remainedpletely closed and a message was quickly sent viamunication scroll, alerting Gareth, Finn, and, subsequently, Vahn himself. All three had been gathered in the public mess hall and were partaking of a small feast with other residents of the settlement as a means of increasing morale. When the messenger arrived carrying the report, the entire mess hall had turned silent as Gareth released a throaty hmph and rose from the table, saying, "Ill deal with these idiots..." As if he wasnt about to go deal with a groupprised of nearly two-hundred people, Gareth threw back another mug of alcohol and released a loud belch before moving rather quickly towards the exit. Vahn and Finn watched him waddle away as thetter asked, "Are you going...?" with a slightly annoyed look on his face. Since he wasnt the type to just sit around, at least currently, Vahn nodded his head and swept away his food as he said, "We should probably prepare the next rotation and increase the defenses of Lil Geirr. I have a feeling these idiots have brought even more trouble with them than they themselves realize..." Finn nodded his head and began issuing orders to the people within the Mess Hall as Vahn quickly made his way to the main gate of Lil Geirr to see what kind of farce they would try to pull this time. Though Gareth didnt seem to be that fast from his physique, he had already run over to the gate without even bothering to wear his armor as he looked down upon the expedition camping outside of the front gate and shouted, "Its obvious yer lot hasnte here with good intentions. The Alliance will offer you aid to help lick yer wounds, but youre two shades shy of a piece of shit if you think Ill let you inside these walls!" Vahn nearly fell out of the sky when he heard this loud bellow, not quite understanding the logic behind the insult, even though it was hrious. The two brothers gathered below didnt seem to find it nearly as funny, however, as the taller of the two, Keith, raised his sword and pointed it towards Gareth, screaming, "You and the Alliance believe you can do whatever you want without any consequences!? This trash heap is publically purported to be a ce where people can seek shelter and supplies! But that isnt the truth, is it, Gareth Landrock!? No, this shitty-" In the middle of his words, Keith and Ike both jumped back to evade therge mass of muscle and bristly hair that was Gareth, smashing into the ground like a mountain falling from the sky. He didnt even have any of his equipment on at all as he gestured towards the two men, stating, "Less bullshit. Come, brats. Im not yer Daddy, but Ill give you a spanking if you need it!" As entertaining the sight of Gareth spanking two grown men might be, Vahn decided to make his own entrance at this moment, using [Shundo] to appear next to Gareth and patting the mans iron-like shoulder as he said, "Make sure to get your equipment prepared, Gareth, I have a feeling things are going to escte very quickly." Though his eyes were still focused on Keith and Ike, Gareth nodded his head before leaping back to the top of the 20m tall walls with an ease that didnt quite match his frame. As for Vahn, he now traded ces with Gareth, staring down the two men as he inly stated, "I have no interest in the games you wish to y. If you decide to cause trouble and run your mouth, expect to be dealt with ordingly. I dont care what you tell your Masters when you return, but make sure they know the Alliance will seek a reckoning with them depending on your actions..." Though he had been focused on the two men at first, Vahns eyes darted towards one of their wagons since he had sensed a peculiar fluctuation of manaing from within. His eyes shed a mystical blue color and he peered directly into the tightly bound contents, immediately feeling his body tense up with what he saw. Waving his hand, Vahn ced the entire wagon into his Inventory before moving forward and striking both men in an instant. A cold light glimmered in his eyes as he asked, "You were never trying to build a settlement of your own...you sly bastards...hahahahaha~!" Within the cart, Vahn had seen a massive monster core that had been surrounded by aplex mechanism that radiated an incredible amount of energy, even though it had been contained. Since he had seen the explosives used back at the Elven Kingdom, Vahn immediately understood the purpose of the secret cargo and why they so desperately wanted to enter Lil Geirr. He even suspected that the tunnel that had been dug through the teau had been specifically designed to move this massive bomb into the encampment. Having no intentions of ying around, Vahn bore his pressure down upon the injured members of the Nobles expedition and shouted, "Leave this ce, immediately, you curs!" At the same time, Vahn pulled his hands free from the chests of Keith and Ike, letting their dead bodies slump to the ground before moving several more carts of supplies into his Inventory. Though it was unlikely every member of their expedition knew what they were carrying, it was a simple fact that these people hade to cause problems for the Alliance. Vahn wasnt going to dirty his hands by killing them himself, but he wasnt going to let them get away without paying some form of reparations either. Seeing their leaders get killed in an instant, while most of their supplies simply vanished into thin air, the remaining members of the Nobles expedition began running down the slope leading up to the teau as if their lives depended on it. Vahn didnt stop them from fleeing but he could also see what they were fleeing towards as he raised his hand and shouted, "Prepare to engage the enemy! Man the ballistae!" At the same time, Vahn took to the sky and pulled out his [Yoichi Bow] and began loosing arrows towards the forest surrounding the teau. The members of the Noble expedition were confused by this, at least until they saw the veritable horde of monsters break through the line of trees and rush towards the slope they were currently standing on... To prevent them from doubling back and trying to enter into Lil Geirr, Vahn drew out [Laevateinn] and created a massive tidal wave of me that barred ess to the slope. This would prevent both the majority of scoundrels and monsters from ascending the slope, even if they tried their hardest to extinguish the mes. As for those that had the physical ability to leap over the mes, they were fortunately intelligent enough not to even try and instead abandoned the weaker members of their troupe and fled into the forests. This left the logistical support specialists and Supportspletely unprotected as the horde of Loup Garou, Obsidian Soldiers, Spartoi, and Barbarians tore through them. Though he pitied some of them, Vahns face remained unphased as he continued to draw his bow and loose arrows with enough force to pierce through several monsters before losing their power. Beneath him, as he had ascended above their trajectory, hundreds of arrows, ballistae bolts, and magic spells traced colorful arcs through the air and crashed into the approaching horde. Even so, with their sheer numbers, the monsters were slowly gaining ground as a line of Skull Sheep waved their magical staves and created barriers to block the rain of projectiles. Though this didnt do much against the ballistae bolts, and Vahns arrows, it still gave the monsters a slight advantage...at least until they reached the sea of mes halfway up the slope. The monsters seemed intent to try and smother the mes with the corpses of their own allies, but [Laevateinn]s mes were even more powerful than they had been in the past. Not only could the mes burn perpetually, but they carried a highly corrosive effect with the power of Destruction and Darkness contained within them. This gave them a bloody-red coloration with wisps of crimson and pure darkness as they continued to expand and devour the monster horde. Then, once the mes had reached a critical level, Vahn tossed his [Yoichi Bow] into his Inventory and pressed both of his hands forward. The bloody mes then began to descend the slope and proactively devour the monsters trying to use their allies as a foothold to proceed forward... Around this time, Gareth and Finn had shown up tomand the defenses, thetter showing a slightly confused expression as he murmured to himself, "Where are Ais and the others...?" Generally, whenever there was an attack against the base, the girls would be the first to take to the defense. Vahn usually sat back and only assisted when necessary, generally serving as a support and preventing any casualties from urring. This was the first time Finn had watched him put on such a showy disy and, as the girls presence was very noticeable on the battlefield, it felt strange not seeing them ughtering monsters with the ease of a skilled farmer harvesting wheat... While devouring the enemies with his mes, Vahn was actually sending telepathic messages to the girls, having them protect the perimeter and keep watch for any surprise attacks. This wave of monsters was much bigger than normal and Vahn suspected it was the result of Enyos forces trying to take advantage of the secondary expedition trying to cause trouble. If things had proceeded in a normal manner, the gates would have been opened to allow the Nobles expedition to flee into Lil Geirr when the monsters attacked. This would have allowed them to set off their bomb in the core of the settlement, leading Vahn to specte that the Nobles had some kind of dealings with Enyo and the Iron Hills...either way, it was very annoying. As expected, Vahn got a message from Lefiya a few minutes into the invasion, her panicked voice resounding in his mind as she said, ("Master! There is a strange nt monster here!"). Vahn blinked next to Finn, startling the Pallum as he held out [Longinus] and said, "You can borrow this for the time being. There are other enemies. Protect the Gate." Without bothering to exin further, Vahn vanished from sight, leaving a confused Finn holding one of the most powerful spears within the record. His attention was pulled to the spear a few momentster, causing his blue eyes to glimmer as he felt the power emanating from the rtively simple looking weapon... It didnt take Vahn to reach Lefiyas location, finding her chanting a powerful magic spell as Tina rooted a massive Minotaur-like creature that had a flower blooming out of its head in ce. There was a cloud of spores in the area but they were unable to break through Tinas barrier as her rather petite frame stood stalwart like a mountain. Vahn felt this disy wasmendable and, if not for the fact there were other strange creatures assaulting Chloe and Shizune, he would have just watched the battle y out. Now, with [Laevateinn] in his hands, Vahn tore through the air like a meteor and bisected what appeared to be a Lambton that was nearly 20m long and had strange vine-like tentacles that kept trying to whip and pierce the two nimble girls. As his [Laevateinn] cut through the creature, Vahn noticed purple blood erupt from its body, acting as a powerful acid that burned into the ground at a very fast rate. It waspletely ineffective against his [Laevateinn], but he could tell it would be a very serious issue for normal people to deal with. He sent messages to all the girls, warning them that the blood of the creatures was corrosive so that they wouldnt get caught off guard. He then picked up Shizune and carried her away as sheined, "If you let me use my power, I could have dealt with that monster on my own...!" To this, Vahn justughed lightly and set her at the top of the teau, stroking her ears to cate her as he said, "Your power is one of the Alliances most important trump cards in a war. Be patient, Shizune, youll have plenty of time to show off in the future..." Since she wasnt really that upset, Shizune closed her eyes and simply enjoyed Vahns caress until a loud explosion erupted, creating what appeared to be a miniature sun that wiped out hundreds of monsters in a single strike. Vahn turned his attention back to the fight and saw Tina walking away from the explosionpletely unscathed, even though arge section of the forest was now destroyed in Lefiyas attack. She had one of the highest defenses amongst the girls and, with her [Pactio] and essories bolstering it even further, Tina was nearly indestructible in normal circ.u.mstances... Vahn released a sigh, blinking to Tinas side and using his cleaning magic to pull away the caustic purple blood that was dissolving the majority of her clothes. All of the armor was undamaged but there were several areas of tender skin that had been revealed as Tina showed a bashful expression and said, "Thank you, Vahn..." When he was finished, Vahn ruffled her hair and said, "Make sure to change back to your normal form to reset your raiment..." She nodded her head in response and returned to Lefiyas side as several other explosions sounded in the distance. At the same time, Haruhimes voice echoed in his head, rtively calm even though her message wasnt exactly good news, ("Master, there are a lot of strange caterpir-like monsters trying to climb up the western side of the teau."). Though she couldnt see him, Vahn nodded his head and sent an affirmation to Haruhime before turning to Lefiya, Chloe, Shizune, and Tina, saying, "Try to keep the monsters here at bay. Let me know if you need assistance." The girls nodded in understanding while Chloe brandished her daggers and said, "Nyahaha, leave it to us, Vahn~." As she spoke, Chloes shadowy mantlepletely surrounded her body and she vanished into her own shadow. It then bloomed outward like a spiderweb, paralyzing any monster it came into contact with before Chloe would pop up next to them and slice them apart before vanishing once again. Seeing this, Vahn cracked a smile and pet the heads of Lefiya and Tina, wishing them luck before he moved towards the western side of the teau. He didnt know if it was because Ais was there, her fate drawing more attention to the location, but there was a veritable ocean of massive caterpirs that were spewing forth streams of acid. The girls dodged them with rtive ease, but Vahn could see that it would be very troublesome to fight against such enemies since their acid blood had caused the ground to turn into a murky swamp that wasprised of therge volume of acid that had mixed together and diluted itself after melting through several meters of hard bedrock. Fortunately, Ais, Tiona, and Maemiru were devastating the enemies from the sky while Arnya stood at the top of the teau, raining explosive spears onto the enemies that would wipe out several tens of them at a time. As for Haruhime, she was also in her [Pactio] raiment but was currently cing her palms against a defensive ward that caused a barrier to erect itself, preventing the streams of acid from affecting the teau. There were also several dozen Adventurers belonging to the Alliance present but,pared to the girls themselves, their efforts didnt quite stack up... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fools o3o...,RIP Noble Expedition-san...,Tinas [Luck] never quits...,Dont be mean, Vahn, they are doing their best~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 824 - Trap

Chapter 824 - Trap

Dropping down next to Haruhime and Arnya, Vahn ced his palms on the girls backs and said, "It looks a little troublesome, but I dont think you need my help here..." Though the surrounding area was being devastated, Ais presence on the battlefield alone had made short work of any of therger nt-like monsters. As for the strange caterpirs, they were very slow and seemed tock any significant intelligence as they bumped against each other. They were even devouring those that were injured, showing none of the behavior expected of normal monsters at all... Haruhimes ears twitched and her tails flickered behind her as she said, "Im sorry, Master, I may have panicked a little after seeing so many enemies..." Vahn nodded his head while Arnya snickered from the side, cutting into the conversation a little as she exined, "Ryuu and Mikoto went to support the southern gate while Lili and Tione went towards the north. What is it like in the regions youve visited? Should I go support another area?" Right now, the western front was the most heavily besieged but, as long as the barrier remained standing, the monsters wouldnt actually be able to climb the teaus steep sides. Vahn squinted his eyes, watching as Tionas almost n.a.k.e.d body tore through hordes of enemies like they were paper mache. She had already evolved skin that made her immune to the acid and was conserving her energy by fighting with her bare hands and feet. Though her Aegis would have been able to resist the acid rtively easily, her raiment didnt have that property and she was on the verge of beingpletely n.a.k.e.d pretty soon. Since he didnt want anyone gawking at her body, even if it was a state of emergency, Vahn rubbed Arnyas head and said, "Go to the north and help Lili and Tione. Even with Tiones artifact, theyck ranged support..." Arnya nodded her head without any argument and almost immediately vanished from his side with [Shundo], not wasting any time in going to aid the other two girls. As for Vahn, he was also rubbing Haruhimes head and said, "Send a message to Shirohime so she can let-" Haruhime startedughing with an amused expression on her face as she interrupted, saying, "I have already informed everyone back at the Manor. Go help Tiona before she does something shameless~." Being one of the people with the highest Loyalty towards him after bing his subordinate, Haruhime was able to understand what Vahn was thinking, especially when they were this close. Vahn released an almost silentugh, tracing his fingers through Haruhimes silky blond hair onest time before taking to the sky and practically tackling the berserk Tiona with a mantle. Since his presence was almost impossible to detect through normal means now, Tiona had panicked a little but quickly calmed down when she felt the familiar energy spreading through her body. She lifted her now feral looking face up, a predatory look in her eyes as she bared her sharp teeth and asked, "Did you want to y, Vahn~?" His response was to trace his fingers along her almostpletely exposed skin,ing to a stop near her neck as he said, "Call me jealous...but I dont want other people gawking at your body..." As if she realized just now that she was practically n.a.k.e.d, with only her bottom and a part of her top covering one b.r.e.a.s.t still remaining, Tiona bashfully covered herself and began tough sheepishly as several spouts of acid crashed ineffectively against the barrier Vahn had created. He helped her reset her magical girl transformation and then gave her one of the spare Aegis sets, helping her put it on while they stood within the air,pletely unaffected by the chaos below. When she was finally clothed, Tiona gave Vahn a powerful hug and they shared a long kiss before he lightly pinched her butt and sent her back into the fray. Ais had been splitting her attention on what was going on with Vahn and Tiona so she puffed out her cheeks slightly and telepathically retorted, ("Dont y around in the battlefield, Vahn...") As she said this, a tempest of Spiritual Wing coiled around Ais body like a hurricane, cutting apart any enemy within 100m from her in an instant. Vahn saw this and sent her a wink, responding with, ("Dont worry, Ill make sure to reward you plentily after this battle ends. Stay on your toes and let me know if you see anything weird...") An almost indiscernible blush touched Ais cheeks as she nodded her head and returned to the battle in earnest. She, like most of the girls after their training evolution, would get heated up after an intense battle. It was probably his fault, as their training in the orb almost always ended with a long bout of intimacy afterward, but Vahn didnt mind helping them relieve their stress after the fact. For the time being, however, Vahn decided to try and bring the current situation under control by using [Shundo] to return to Haruhimes side. Though Lefiya would be the better choice, Haruhimes own prowess as a Mage was rather high, allowing her to cast powerful ice magic that Vahn could use to enhance his [Magia Erebea] transformation. He swapped spots with Haruhime, powering the barrier ward with his Source Energy while Haruhime began dancing as she chanted, "Heed the Contract and Serve Me, oh Queen of Ice! Come, Unending Darkness, Eternal cier. Bring Death to All That Has Life, Eternal Rest! Frozen Cosmos~!" This was none other than Evas [Kosmike Katastrophe], a powerful Forbidden magic spell that Vahn had helped Haruhime emte after nearly two years of continuous practice. Though it was much weaker than Evas, it was still able to achieve temperatures of -270 degrees, getting dangerously close to an absolute zero derived from Ice Elemental energies. Vahn absorbed the massive spell that could have easily destroyed Lil Geirr in its entirety, containing the energy within his body as his figure became icy blue with swirling tattoos of pure white energy. The sclera of his eyes became ck while his irises glowed with a fierce icy blue that seemed like it could cut through to the bone in an instant, which wasnt far from the truth. His most striking feature, which seemed to be a trend when using Forbidden Magic, was the icy raiment that covered his body, giving him the appearance of an Ice Emperor with a divine garb. There were six icy des rotating slowly behind his body and a crown had even formed on his head, framing his white hair that had a translucent quality to it... Haruhime had copsed after using a spell that was beyond her in normal circ.u.mstances, as she was only able to cast it while in her [Pactio] form and drawing energy directly from Vahn. He prevented her from falling to the ground by supporting her with his telekinesis, giving her enough time to pull out a mana potion from her interspatial ring and ingest it. At the same time, Vahn helped ease her fatigue, smiling gently as he said, "Im going to end this..." Haruhime nodded her head, a look of absolute trust on her face as she replied, "Go, Vahn, show them that hell is a very cold ce~." Seemingly pleased with her own words, Haruhime giggled, covering her mouth with her sleeve as she found her footing and resumed her elegant appearance. If not for the fact she would probably freeze over in an instant, Vahn would have reached out and stroked her ears. Instead, he had to settle with using his [Grooming] through the medium of his domain before taking to the sky once again. In this form, adequately named Ice Emperor, Vahns body carried an immense amount of Ice Elemental energy while his natural body temperature was almost absolute zero. Since he could further enhance the energy in his body with Source, this meant he could freeze the entire 39th Floor if he stopped restraining his aura. As this would kill his allies in normal circ.u.mstances, Vahn obviously didnt have this option...at least without proper preparation. He had already sent the order to have everyone retreat into the boundaries of Lil Geirrs walls and, though there were likely a few innocents still remaining within the forest, Vahn brought his hands together as if he were praying. Around a minute after he had ascended several hundred meters above Lil Geirr, a massive barrier came into existence, protecting the entire teau with a nigh-indestructible magical membrane. Vahn knew he could shatter it if he attacked directly but that wasnt really his goal so he instead slowly pulled his hands apart and allowed the energy he had been nourishing inside of his body to begin escaping. The surrounding temperature dropped so quickly that ayer of ice actually spread across the barrier protecting Lil Geirr and made a dome as it instantaneously dropped to a temperature infinitely close to absolute zero. By the time Vahns hands hadpletely separated outwards, consuming a great deal of his energy in the process, the entire floor had now turned into a crystallized ice forest. All of the strange monsters were now statues that had been frozen in time while anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in the forest joined them... Vahn allowed himself to slowly drop from the sky until his feet came to rest on top of the icy dome he had created, so cold and durable that it could easily support his weight. He stood there with his eyes closed and allowed his energy to slowly replenish while still maintaining his Ice Emperor form. Since his instincts hadnt settled down, Vahn knew this fight wasnt over just yet and, as if on a divine cue, a powerful rumbling began to shake the entire Floor. Since it was more than 100km in diameter, Vahns senses couldnt urately identify the source but he got his answer a few momentster when the crystals lighting up the Floor overhead suddenly turned dark. As it was nowhere near evening time, this was very unnatural and Vahns instincts red up in an instant, just as the massive building-sized crystals overhead began to fall down from the ceiling. Some of these crystals would easily weigh tens-of-thousands of tonnes, causing the hairs on the back of Vahns neck to raise as he bolted towards the falling crystals and began smashing them apart into smaller pieces. If the barrier below suffered a direct hit from a crystal weighing millions of kilograms, it wouldntst very long at all. He needed to break them down into much smaller pieces for the barrier to be able to withstand the brunt but, just as this n of action was affirmed within his mind, several explosions sounded in the surrounding icy forest. At all four cardinal directions of Lil Geirr, massive flowering nts that were nearly 100m tall emerged, each containing a flower bud that was around 20m tall and 10m in diameter. These flowers immediately began to bloom, revealing four vaguely humanoid figures thatcked eyes and had massive toothy maws. It almost looked like they were wearing masks as they immediately released roars that could shake the souls of mortal men to the core. Unfortunately, Vahn could only spare a brief nce towards them, confirming they were some strange derivative of Visc.u.m that had humanoid traits. He then tried to release more icy energy from his body to freeze them over but this immediately drained what little remained of his reserves, turning him back into his normal form as he quickly pulled out a [Max Ether] and ingested it. Though he had been rtively calm thest few days, Vahn was actually beginning to feel a little excited as the ocean within him began to turn chaotic and swell, creating massive waves that crashed against each other. Using the bomb that had been brought along by the Noble Faction, Vahn sent it veering towards the copsing crystals and detonated it with an explosive arrow, causing arge explosion that, sadly, didnt do much to the falling crystals. This caused Vahn tough as he sent a telepathic message to the girls so they knew to deal with the four strange creatures while he created a web using [Enkidu]. Even with their massive weight, the moment the crystals came into contact with [Enkidu] their momentum was stopped almostpletely. Though the golden chains deformed slightly, and Vahn felt like his brain nearly split apart, he still managed a smile as cracks began to emerge on his skin. He might not have been able to divert them with the explosion, heck, it even caused more crystals to rain down, but Vahn didnt care at all. With [Enkidu] buying him a small window, Vahnpleted his Zhuque transformation andunched himself towards the crystals as a sphere of vermillion mes erupted from his body. He expanded this sphere until it almostpletely filled his domain, creating a vermillion sun in the sky that was more than 2k wide. The heat from this sun was enough to instantaneously shatter all of the frozen sculptures below as the crystals supported by [Enkidu] began to melt down almost instantly. Vahn tossed some of the smaller chunks into his Inventory, selling them into his system for some extra OP, as the temperature within the 39th Floor was rapidly climbing. Even the four strange monsters had curled up their petals in a protective measure while the girls that had gone to engage them protected themselves with Vahns own magic power. This caused his reserves to drain even faster, making Vahn only able to maintain his Zhuque form for around twenty seconds before he had to transition back to normal. Most of the crystals overhead were now nonexistent, having melted into molten crystal that crashed against the barrier surrounding Lil Geirr before sliding off and pooling around the perimeter. This made the fortress look like an ind floating in the middle of va but Vahn didnt really have the time to worry about that as he ingested several other expensive potions and dealt with the remnant crystals that were still weighing heavily on his [Enkidu]. The girls had already engaged three of the strange creatures, with Ais alone going towards the one to the south. She looked like a greenser that created a perfect line through the sky and, even though the monster had created a very intricate looking barrier, Ais [Ariel] cut through it like paper. Vahn realized he didnt really have anything to worry about, asking Ais toe and give him a hand while the other girls got some practical experience fighting the titanic enemies. She very quickly obliged and, with the vortex of energy surrounding her body, managed to reduce the remnant crystals into scraps as Vahn released a peal of wryughter. He stored the chunks into his Inventory and watched as Tiona dive bombed one of therge monsters with Lili as a projectile. Her fist shattered through the barrier protecting the monster in an instant and, even though it seemed like the monster was extremely shock resistant, Lilis attack still annihted its upper body. Once the core was exposed, a projectile spear smashed directly into it and created arge explosion that dispersed the strange monster into a cloud of ck and yellow energy. The other two fights were going rather smoothly as well, with Lefiya sending a mass telepathic message,municating that the monsters seemed drawn to magic while also having no resistance to it. Almost immediately after that, the Variant-Visc.u.m to the west was impaled by dozens of icy projectiles before Mikoto vaulted through the air and created a sword wound nearly 30m in length that bisected the upper third of the monster. To the east, where Lefiya had been located, another massive explosion urred that created a pure white sphere of magical energy. By the time the brilliant sh of light had cleared away, there wasnt a single sign any enemy had been present in the first ce... This seemed like the end of things but, just as Tiona happilymunicated, ("Yay, we won~!"), it was almost as if the world itself was mocking her as another loud roar sounded throughout the entire Floor. Vahn released a sigh as Tionas awkwardughter sounded inside his mind before she said, ("Sorry...?") Then, just as Vahn was about to tell her not to mind it, a very powerful intent locked onto him that caused his head to naturally turn, eyes focusing to a point as a skeletal ck creature that had a demonic skull affixed with two pitch ck horns locked eyes with him... Unlike the one he had seen in the past, this monster had a pure ck body and possessed an aura stronger than almost anything else Vahn had ever experienced before, with only the Divinity of gods and the True Dragon Aura from Terra outssing it. The most striking feature, besides the too thin limbs that strangely seemed to contain infinite power, were the scarlet red goat eyes that looked toward him, almost as if there was recognition contained within. This was a feeling Vahn shared as well, causing a fear he had long forgotten to well up inside him as he muttered, "Juggernaut...its a Variant Juggernaut...!" (A/N: Dont jump (>,....,<)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Haruhime just wanted headpats...,Ice Emperor, Vermillion Bird,Tiona should be the gbearer in the group...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 825 - Rematch

Chapter 825 - Rematch

Unlike a normal Juggernaut, the one was around 8m tall while slouched over, having a length of nearly twenty meters with its snaking, whip-like tail. With its ck coloration, the strange runes spread across its body, and the bloodthirsty aura radiating from it scarlet red eyes, it gave off a very intimidating presence. Vahn, however, felt a powerful excitement begin to rece the momentary fear that had welled up within him as he sent a telepathic message to the girls, ("Protect Lil Geirr. Haruhime, use your [Uchide no Kozuchi] on Ais, Tiona, Ryuu, and Arnya. Maemi, Emiru, Chloe, take Shizune and Tina back to the central fortification and protect my daughter. Do not let here out...!") Vahn knew that magic would almost be useless against even a normal Juggernaut so he wanted Haruhime to boost those that had powerful physical capabilities and ranged attacks. At the same time, he was considering if this would be a chance to push his body to the limits and trigger his Azure Dragon transformation. If Alexa managed to catch sight of that form, Vahn was worried that her body would activate in a simr manner to her Mothers. Since he couldnt give her what she needed, there was a chance that Alexa may end up losing her mind as even Terra had barely managed to withstand the anxiety associated with failing to produce a fertilized egg... At the same time that the girls followed his orders, Vahn pulled out his [Yoichi Bow], nocking a [Yi] arrow onto its string, immediately triggering the Juggernaut to release a terrifyingly shrill howl. In the next moment, Vahn felt color draining from the world as the Juggernaut arched its back before kicking against the ground and making the entire Floor shudder when it moved forward. Vahns eyes widened and he immediately dropped down to intercept the charging monstrosity, now moving so fast that the entire world seemed stagnant inparison. This wouldnt have been that bothersome in a direct confrontation, but the fact the Juggernaut was charging towards Lefiyas group made Vahns brain buzz. Vahn was immediately regretting that he hadnt taken the time to transform into his Lightning Emperor form, as it felt like he was moving through a super-dense liquid as he moved to try and intercept the seemingly unstoppable monster. It had to be moving more than 20,000km/h and each step caused a pir of debris to erupt into the sky, long after it had moved away from where it had stepped. From the perspective of a normal person, they could only see a ck shadow that left two red trails for its eyes as it barreled towards Lefiya, Chloe, Shizune, and Tina. Though he wasnt sure when he had formed the thought in his own mind, Vahn extended three links of [Enkidu] to block the Juggernauts path while practically screaming within the girls minds to fall back, even though they had already been moving towards Lil Geirr. When he saw the Juggernaut jump through the air, twisting its skeletal frame topletely bypass the three chains, Vahn felt like a bomb had been set off within his mind. The world instantly lost all color, with even the Juggernaut and Vahn himselfing to a stop. However, slowly but surely, Vahn was tearing through space and time in order to intercept the Juggernauts path, even as his own body was shattered into pieces and regenerating. By the time color had returned to the world, Vahn had managed to move to the front of the Juggernaut, pulling out a massive shield that was literally named [Aegis] with his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]. The Juggernauts body smashed into the shield and caused a powerful shockwave to spread out for hundreds of meters, sending the girls back until Chloe picked up Shizune and Tina, diving into the shadows and moving at an insane speed towards Lil Geirr. Lefiya used [Cantus Bex] to create a protective membrane around her body and brought out her wings, fleeing with her fastest speed as Vahn stored away [Aegis] and swung [Laevateinn] across the Juggernauts maw. As his de cut through the air in a smooth arc, Vahn felt time slowing to a crawl once again as the Juggernaut ducked under [Laevateinn]s trajectory before biting forward with its Dragon-like skull. Though he already knew this to be the case, the evasive maneuver and counterattack of the Juggernaut made it very obvious the creature was far faster than his base form. Vahn felt like he was moving in slow motion while the Juggernaut was moving at a normal speed, even though his mind was able to keep up. It was with this rity that Vahn put away [Laevateinn], pulled out a small golden nail, and allowed the Juggernaut to bite down on his body while driving the anti-immortal tool into the monsters eye. There was a protective membrane that tried to prevent Vahns attack from driving forward, but it did absolutely nothing to stop the rtively simply looking nail. The Juggernauts teeth mped down around his body, but Vahn just beganughing as it howled in pain, thrashing about and trying to tear his body apart. Even when Vahns upper body was separated from his goody bits, the light in his eyes didnt fade in the slightest, instead, growing much more powerful as his blood swirled and regenerated his form in milliseconds. He had already pulled out his [Laevateinn] again and cut forward, intending to chop off the Juggernauts head as the monsters razor sharp ws cut towards him. Vahn was beginning to get annoyed with the Juggernauts speed and tried to defend himself with his Xuanwu form while contracting his domain in an attempt to pressure the enraged monster. Though this did have an effect, it was negligible in the long run as the four de-like ws of the Juggernaut still diced through his body as if his transformation offered him no benefits. Following behind this attack, the Juggernauts tail cut forward with such speed that it left a ck trail behind it, cutting through the void. Vahn hadnt fully regenerated as a ck de of energy separated his body once again, this time followed up by the Juggernauts overhead sweep as it tried to crush his mangled body into the ground. (A/N: Fast boi.) Unable to resist the difference in speed and power, Vahn was smashed into the ground with enough force to lodge him nearly 30m into the durable bedrock of the Dungeons Floor. This surrounding area was devastated, sinking several meters like a meteor had struck the ground as arge dust explosion reached hundreds of meters into the air. Following this, the Juggernaut released another blood-curdling howl that dispersed the cloud in an instant before he balled up its fists and began to beat at the Dungeons Floor, intent onpletely crushing Vahn to paste. It could sense that Vahn was still alive and was determined to destroy himpletely, the shared memories of its kin ying through its mind. Unlike normal monsters, Juggernauts had a shared consciousness that allowed them to better protect the Dungeon from destructive forces. It could still remember having its head blown apart, and the indignation it had felt during theirst encounter... In the midst of the Juggernauts enraged assault, a resplendent column of light tore through the sky, impacting the monsters body before it had any time to react at all. Even with its ultrasonic speed, dodging and attack that could reach nearly a third the speed of light was nearly impossible. As a result, this column struck true, smashing into the Juggernauts body as it released a shrill groan and did its best to protect itself. The durable ck carapace-like skin began to fracture and tear away, revealing a scarlet red interior that began to sizzle under the influence of the powerful energy. By the time the beam had cleared away, nearly a third of the Juggernauts body was now shimmering with a red light as a look of absolute hatred was directed towards the source of the light, none other than Ryuu and her artifact, Meteoron Imber. Just as it was about to charge towards the brave Elven woman, the Juggernaut was impacted on its blind side as Ais shouted, "Lil Ragna~!" Appearing very simr to Ryuus attack, Ais was like a focused tempest as her Spiritual Wind tore into the left side of the Juggernauts face, tearing away the bone-like structure of its head and revealing even more bloody scarlet below. As for its eye, it had been turned into a wispy paste that waspletely disintegrated by Ais attack as her [Gram] tried to destroy the head in its entirety. Instead of resisting against the attack, the Juggernaut twisted its body and only lost a portion of its skull as Ais barreled forward and carved arge scar across thend. She brandished her sword, shifting her weight to make a second attack as her wings of light kept her stabilized within the air. By the time she had turned back, however, there was a massive red beampletely filling her vision, barely giving her enough time to shield herself with the sword in her hands. The beam collided against the tempestuous energy around Ais body, the majority of it being deflected away from her body and causing deep crevasses to decimate thendscape. As for the rest of the energy, it crashed against the indestructible [Gram] while also being broken down by the magical aura protecting Ais body. Though the attack had forced her back until she had mmed into the far wall, several kilometers away, Ais was ultimately unscathed and immediately darted forward at a speed much greater than the Juggernauts. If not for the fact that this speed relied on her to move in a single direction, Ais would have been able to get a big advantage against the massive creature. Unfortunately, the Juggernauts speed wasnt the type based on momentum and was just pure agility, giving it greater flexibility as it dodged the second strike from the seemingly unstoppable Sword Goddess. It then tried to whip her with its tail but ultimately hit nothing but air as Ais was already long gone from that spot and preparing her third strike. Since it couldnt fly, the Juggernaut released an indignant roar and began to channel energy from its mouth once again, only to find another star-powered, meteor-like arrow impacting its body. This time, the Juggernaut rolled to try and get under the attack but ended up losing an arm in the process as it began to rage about, using a massive b of the Dungeon Floor to try and shield itself. Its arm had already started to regenerate mere momentster and it wanted to buy enough time topletely recover before destroying the annoying insects that brought it so much pain. The fact that no attacks came during the time it was recovering made the Juggernaut feel a sadistic glee, even though it was still very annoyed that its left eye, stabbed through by Vahn, hadnt recovered. Using its senses, which enabled it to detect almost everything on the Floor, the Juggernaut pushed against the massive bedrock b and used it as a shield to plow towards Lil Geirr. It didnt get far, however, as golden chains barred its passage andpletely halted its momentum. Recognizing these chains, a moment of rity passed through the Juggernauts mind, almost at the same time that its head waspletely separated from its body. It could see itself still pushing against the stone as the world spun around, at least until a sh of brilliant whitish blue light appeared in the periphery of its vision. Vahn grabbed the tumbling head out of the air and buried his fingers into its harder-than-Adamantine flesh, staring into the remaining eye as he said, "I feel like I owe you a great debt...the next time you are reborn, lets settle it in full...!" Then, just as the Juggernaut seemed like it was going to howl out once again, even though it didnt even have a windpipe anymore, the light faded from its eyes and it nearly burst into dust before Vahn tossed the head into his Inventory. Ais had buried her [Gram] into the exposed core of the Juggernaut and Vahn wanted to see what would happen to a monster part that was kept for an extended period of time in stasis. He had already noticed that there was something very wrong about the Juggernaut this time around and also wanted to see if the system could analyze it... What was left after the Juggernaut faded away was an assortment of monster cores but, Vahn noticed there was an encroaching yellow coloration on many of them. This helped to confirm his suspicions somewhat and he was certain everything had all been a n executed by Enyos forces. The fact that the crystals had fallen and nearly crushed Lil Geirr were enough damage to the Dungeon to trigger the spawn of a Juggernaut. Though it was still serving the purpose of the Dungeons cleaner, it was very obvious that the monster hade under the partial influence of Enyo using a method that had yete to light. She seemed to have the ability to mutate and produce nt-like monsters that were far more powerful than normal. At the same time, there were several strange variants beginning to pop up, showing that their methods were beginning to influence normal monsters...or, as Vahn was beginning to fear, Xenos... After dropping down next to Ais, Vahn gave the beautiful girl a loving embrace, holding her tightly against his chest and stroking her silky golden hair. Unlike normal, however, Ais had a slightlyplex expression as she said, "Vahn, we have to return to Lil Geirr..." These words set something off in Vahns mind and he had to release Ais before he put too much power into his grip, asking, "What happened...?" Ais held up her hands in a cating manner before a very different voice answered his question, entering into Vahns mind as the synchronous voice of Maemiru, ("Master, we captured an enemy who tried to attack Rufina. Alexa protected her and we managed to subdue him.") Vahn took a deep breath to calm himself when he heard this, asking, ("Did anyone get hurt...?"). This question was followed by a moderately terrifying period of silence before Maemiru replied, ("There were several people killed, but Alexa, Rufina, and Shakti are all okay...") Vahn could hear an apologetic tone in Maemirus voice and he knew she was probably ming herself for their deaths. At the same time, however, Vahn felt greatly relieved as he informed the girls he was on his way back, looting all of the Juggernauts drops before flying along with Ais. Since the Juggernaut couldnt actually answer his questions, Vahn was hoping the person they had captured was slightly more understanding when it came time for questioning...though, even if they werent, Vahn was confident they would eventually talk...he was quite sure of it... (A/N: Lightning Emperor [Magia Erebea] is just too OP xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Breaking through space, time, and limits...!,Haruhime, Ryuu, and Ais MVP. Vahn is just a Kill-Stealer...,Dont anger the calm boi o_o...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 826 - Recovery

Chapter 826 - Recovery

When Vahn arrived back at Lil Geirr, he noticed that the number of deaths had far exceeded his expectation. Since more than half of the people residing within the settlement were just normal people, they had no way of protecting themselves at all after an attack urred from the inside. Most of the Adventurers had been moved to the walls to protect against the monster wave, leaving them exposed at the heart. Vahn realized they had been outmaneuvered quite a bit during this conflict and, if not for the rtivelyrge difference in overall strength, the Alliance would have suffered a far greater loss than they were prepared to shoulder... Many of the Adventurers had been pulled from the walls at the point and were helping move the injured to the medical ward while others lined up the deceased and covered them with nkets. Gareth and Finn were both present at the site, thetter directing everyone while Gareth was talking with Aisha and a very angry looking Bete. When the rampant Werewolf noticed Vahn and Ais touch down, he came over with great momentum and tried to grab Vahns cor. Not fond of being handled, Vahn grabbed Betes outstretched wrist and bent it to the side, brows furrowing slightly as he said, "I have other duties to deal with, Bete. If you have a problem, shelve it untilter..." Bete clenched his teeth, obviously dissatisfied with having his arm leveraged against him by Vahn. However, instead of following his instinct to try and kick Vahn, which he knew would end very badly for him, Betes expression broke slightly as he said, "Please, help Lena..." Vahn let go of Betes wrist, scanning the area as Gareth and Aisha walked over, thetter rifying, "We Amazonesses were the closest to the incident and responded to try and help as many people as we could. Lena...she ended up taking a bad hit..." Hearing this, Vahn took a deep breath andmunicated with the girls, exining he would be along shortly before helping Bete stand straight, saying, "Show me. Ill do what I can..." Ais went off to fetch Alexa for him, as Vahn was feeling slightly anxious without confirming her safety with his own eyes, while Bete and Aisha led the way to a room separate from therger medical ward. Bete hesitated outside of the door, a pained expression on his face until Vahn gently struck him against the back and said, "This is when a man shows his backbone..." Without waiting for Bete, Vahn made his way into the room and saw that Lena was being nursed by two other Amazonesses while a Chientrhope doctor was tying a tourniquet to the stump where Lenas left arm used to be. They had avoided closing the wound with an Elixir, likely because Bete had intended to ask him for help from the start... When the girls inside the room saw Vahn, they showed expressions of relief as the Chienthrope woman with dirty-blond hair smiled and said, "Im d you showed up...thus far, weve kept her stable by feeding a low potency Elixir directly into her stomach..." Vahn held up his hand, a kind smile on his face and said, "You did well. Leave the rest to me..." He could already see the tube inside Lenas nose that extended all the way into her stomach, an upturned Elixir drip at the side being held by one of the Amazonesses. This world was severelycking in medical sciences, something Vahn intended to change in the future when there was more time... Though he could use other means to heal Lena, Vahn didnt really want to spend that much time within the dark room, directly using his [Wounds Transfer] with the unconscious Amazoness as the target. A sharp pain spread through his arm as the limbs dissolved into particles of magical energy and immediately began regrowing Lenas. When she had fully recovered, Vahn moved his phantom arm and allowed his [Magia Erebea] to regenerate the injury, all while everyone in the room watched with expressions of abject shock. Bete had also made his way into the room, witnessing the event and staring ck-jawed as his lovers arm and injuries werepletely recovered in just a few seconds. Vahn flexed his left hand and arm a few times,menting, "You need to remove the tourniquet to restore the flow of blood before you damage the nerves..." These were hisst words as he pat Betes shoulder and made his way out of the room, Aisha following close behind. Seeing Lenas injuries made Vahn want to move to the actual medical ward and lend a hand as he felt slightly responsible for what had happened, even if that wasnt truly the case. He only made it a few steps down the corridor, however, when Bete burst out of the room, aplex expression on his face as he murmured, "Thank you..." By the time Vahn turned around, Bete had already ducked back into the room, causing Aisha to release a smallugh as she said, "Ill never truly understand what Lena sees in that boy...well, it isnt really my business..." As she spoke, Aisha leaned into Vahn and rested her head on his shoulder, a thoughtful look in her eyes. Vahn brought his hand up, stroking her long ck hair as he said, "Thank you, Aisha...you and the other Amazonesses...well, I can imagine things would have gone much worse if you hadnt been present..." Though he wasnt sure what would follow in the next couple of hours, Vahn gently caressed Aishas face and added, "I cant promise you my full attention, but Im certain the girls wouldnt mind if you stayed with us tonight." Since they would need to release their tensions, Vahn expected that he wouldnt be getting much sleep, even though he had yet toe up with a n to have Alexa and Tina stay elsewhere. Then again, Tina probably wouldnt want to be left out after fighting so hard and nearly getting injured by the Variant Juggernaut...realizing this, Vahn knew it was going to be a very chaotic evening. Aisha seemed to understand this as well, tracing her hand along his chest as she muttered, "Take care of those girls properly, Vahn...when you have time, juste visit me at the Amazonesspound..." Punctuating her words, Aisha tiptoed and gave Vahn a kiss, continuing even when a group of Adventurers ran through to go provide aid at another location... When Aisha finally pulled away, or, more specifically, when Vahn let her pull away, she had a slight blush on her face and habitually licked her lips. With a somewhat regretful smile, she pushed against his chest and said, "I have to go help my people...stop by after you finish up at the ward. We have our own means for dealing with injuries, but Im certain none of them willin if you make an appearance...ufufufu~." Aisha ran her finger through the part of her bangs covering her right eye, producing a teasing expression that didnt quite reach her eyes as she turned away, h.i.p.s swaying with a natural seduction that was hard to pull your eyes from... Vahn watched Aisha until she had turned a corner, following her lonely back instead of focusing on her rather plump and toned butt. He knew she actually wanted to stay with him for the evening but, being the representative of the Amazons within Lil Geirr, she had other duties to attend to. She had always been a very responsible and caring woman, even sacrificing her own happiness at times if it meant she could help others. Even when she had helped Haruhime in the past, to the point of being forced to be a p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.e, Aisha never made a singleint. Vahn knew he should treat her better and, when he visited the Amazoness Compoundter, intended to help her ease the burdens on her heart and mind... While making his way to the medical ward, Vahn was nearly tackled to the ground by his daughter, Alexa, who buried her face into his chest and nuzzled against him. Vahn hugged her tightly, even as her wings flittered about excitedly and stroked the back of her head as he said, "You did very well, Alexa...I am proud of you..." This caused the young dragonling to smile radiantly before a strangely condescending look appeared in her eyes as she said, "That weakling actually tried to target people that Papa wanted to protect. I broke all of the bones in his arms and legs to teach him a lesson...!" Behind her, Maemi and Emiru had apologetic expressions on their faces as they bowed low and said, "Forgive us, Master, we didnt think an enemy would be able to get so close to Miss Alexa..." Vahn just shook his head, mentally telling the girls he knew they did their best and that it wasnt their fault. This caused them to show gratified smiles as Vahn shifted Alexa to his back before asking, "Where is the prisoner being kept? I want to help out at the medical ward but I can go there first if he is in critical condition." The two girls looked at each other for a brief moment before shaking their heads in a perfect mirror as they said, "He seems to have very high vitality and Lady Chloe has him bound with her shadow for the time being. We dont think it will be a problem if you go to the medical ward first, Master..." While the two were speaking, Vahn also got confirmation from Chloe, saying there were no chances of him escaping or even killing himself. Since most of the other girls were present, with only Lefiya and Lili going around to help the wounded, there shouldnt be any issues dying things for a short while. It wasnt as if he intended to spend a lot of time at the ward as, even though it would be very painful, Vahn could heal the majority of injuries with [Wounds Transfer]. Since these were people who had trusted the Alliance with their protection, it was the least he could do to make amends for their failure to do so... After arriving at the ward, Vahn entrusted Alexa to the twins and told her to behave as he began systematically healing everyone within. There were a few hundred people with moderate to severe injuries but, with Vahns assistance, they werepletely healed and would recover after a proper nights sleep. The staff and Adventurers that had been triaging and tending to the patients were extremely relieved when they saw Vahn show up, knowing their only job was to keep people stable until he got around to healing them. As a result, several people that would have had to retire from their careers, or spend exorbitant amounts of Valis for powerful medicines, were back to their default condition with only mental fatigue as their remaining symptom. By the time he had finished, only six minutes of time had passed, causing the atmosphere within the war to be solemn and reverential. Those that had still be conscious during their treatments had tried to express their gratitude but they were urged to stay out of the way by the medical professionals so Vahn could continue treating others. When he healed thest patient, Vahn released a sigh of relief and rolled his shoulders without sticking around any longer. He made his way over to Alexa, Maemi, and Emiru, rubbing the twins heads before picking up Alexa and leaving behind the still-silent ward. This silence persisted for several minutes after he departed, many still awed by the miracle they had witnessed take ce in a very short period of time... Vahn made his way over to where the others were waiting, sending Emiru and Maemi to deliver a message to Finn before going to assist Lefiya and Lili. They hadnt been in the ward and had instead gone to the defensive line where a few people with minor injuries remained. Though the monsters hadnt been able to breach through the defenses, there were some who had embarrassingly injured themselves during the chaotic situation. These were mostly bumps and bruises, but there were a few who had also been injured during misfires of magic or from falling awkwardly off the tall walls... Upon reaching the location where the man was kept bound, Vahn saw that Rufina was being consoled by Shakti as the two waited outside with Haruhime watching over them. Her ears perked up when she saw him, drawing the attention of the other two girls who looked over with slightly startled expressions. Rufinas quickly turned into an apologetic one as she stood up shakily and said, "Vahn...Im sorry...I should have nevere here...I..." As he had already set Alexa down, Vahn walked over to Rufina and gave her a firm hug, sending a flood of calming energy into her body as he brought her face to rest in the nook of his neck and shoulder. At the same time, he stroked her back in aforting manner, saying, "We must not me ourselves for the actions of those that wish to bring harm to others...even if you werent here, they would never stop trying to destroy the Alliance. If youre truly bothered by this oue, just focus on bing strong enough that, even if they came at you with ten times the forces, you would be able to divert them away with ease..." Though she might not have beenforted by these words under normal circ.u.mstances, Rufina was stunned silly by how much fort she felt in Vahns embrace. She had also witnessed the prowess of the other girls, especially when Alexa and Maemiru had torn about dozens of monsters in an instant. Alexa had even beaten the arrogant man who tried to force them to eat strange yellow magic cores, breaking all of his limbs and tossing him around like a broken doll. Even when she spent time ying with Vahns children, Rufina had never seen people with such power before...now, after bing Vahns subordinate, Rufina knew it was possible for her to be much stronger, if she really wanted it... Feeling Rufina begin to calm down, Vahn waited until her trembling stopped, giving her back onestforting rub as he slowly pulled away and stared into her green eyes. He produced a small smile on his face, stroking her cheek with the back of his fingers as he said, "You can be much stronger, Rufina...I believe in you..." This action and words caused Rufinas face to be red as she turned away in a huff and made her way back to Shaktis side without making eye contact with him again. Both Haruhime and Shaktiughed, causing Rufinas body to twitch as she hung her head, clearly embarrassed but still managing to say, "You have to help me...Im...weaker than you think...I will need a lot of help..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bete is slowly learning...,Aisha is a good girl,Miracles...,There are a lot of Tsunderes this chapter...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 827 - Questions

Chapter 827 - Questions

After leaving Alexa with the three girls outside, Vahn made his way into the room to meet the man that had made his way to the very top of Vahns list. Even if he had just targetted Rufina, Vahn wouldnt have been able to forgive the assant, especially after so many people died. However, the fact that Alexa had also fallen into the scope of his plot had caused the calm ocean within Vahns body to begin boiling. His expression showed little emotion but there was a fierce light glowing within his pupils that even gods would shy away from... Upon seeing a middle-aged man with white hair, forced to kneel on the ground with his joints bound by Chloes shadow, Vahn took a deep breath through his nose and asked, "Who are you...?" His rationale told him that this man was another victim, just like Rufina, but Ryuupletely dashed this thought from his mind when she said in an icy tone, "Olivas Act, a former member of the Rudra Familia, one of the core Familia of the organization Evilus...he was supposed to have died nearly six years ago..." Being the person that wiped out the Rudra Familia, Ryuu was very knowledgeable of all members, including those that had fled her back when she purged them from Daedelus Street... Olivas raised his head, showing a tired and crazed expression with his animalistic green eyes, simr to Rufinas from the past. After Vahn had turned her into a normal human, Rufinas eyes had changed back into rounded pupils, a far cry from the snake-like eyes possessed by the cruel looking man kneeling before him. With Ryuus words, however, Vahn was actually grateful that Olivas wasnt a true victim and likely even followed Enyo of his own free will. This made what he intended to do weigh far less heavily on his mind as, without restraining himself much, Vahn punched Olivas in his smug face, nearly forcing him to swallow the gag in his mouth. Chloe had already released her shadow restraints as Vahn lifted Olivas by his neck and mmed him into the reinforced wall of the room, cracking it in the process as the barrier protecting it shattered. At the same time, Vahn jammed his index and middle finger into Olivas diaphragm, chanting, "Spirits of Lightning, bring the retribution of Heaven upon my enemies~!" This was an unnamed spell that Vahn had created on the spot, sending millions of volts of electricity through Olivas body, with a rtively low current. This caused the chaotic energy inside of his body to writhe about, trying to escape from his pores as the man seized and twitched about like a rat struck by lightning. By the time Vahn had purged all the malevolent energy within Olivas body, the mans eyes had boiled over and melted while arge amount of steam emanated from his charred body. Vahn kept the smell from reaching the rest of the room by isting it with his domain whilemunicating to the girls that they should leave if they didnt wish to see what was going to happen. Chloe and Arnya had already snatched up Shizune and Tina, removing them from the room, but everyone else stayed behind as a show of support. They knew Vahn wasnt normally a cruel person and this was simply the result of Olivas evil actsing to a head...it was retribution. Though his body was horribly mangled, Olivas still managed a smile as broken words tried to escape his lips, muttering, "You...will never...win...you...will all...die...! Go ahead...kill me...hahaha...hahahaha!" Vahns response was to let Olivas drop to the ground, not worried that the man would try to attack since most of his nerves had been fried. Without any energy in his body, he was weaker than a normal Level 1 civilian, even if he wasnt severely injured. The only thing even keeping him alive right now was Vahns understanding of Olivas body and the resilience of a Creature... Since Olivas had information that he needed, Vahn set up incense and manipted the air currents to consolidate the potent aroma around Olivas body. At the same time, even though he harbored no intention to alleviate the mans suffering, Vahn reached out his hand and ced it on Olivas head. He began to lightly stroke, sending waves of petting energy directly into Olivas mind as he tried to struggle and resist. Unfortunately for the sadistic and cruel man, there was nothing that could have possibly prepared him for the existence of petting energy, which could even tame gods, much less a Creature-Human hybrid... After a few minutes, Olivas had be stock still, a confused andcent expression on his face as Vahn asked, "What is your name...?" There was a slight dy but Olivas eventually said, "Olivas Act..." in a dull andzy tone of voice. Vahn gave a small nod out of habit before asking, "Who sent you here...? What is your purpose...?" Though he already knew the partial answer to these questions, Vahn needed to verify his assumptions. Fortunately, there were no real surprises as Olivas muttered, "I was sent by my goddess, Enyo-sama...my task was to remove the cancer on the 39th Floor...recover the apostate, Revis...and capture one of thepanions of Vahn Mason..." This was the first official reveal of Enyos name, turning this war into one where they now had an official target, not just a name to go by. Vahn felt like the pieces wereing together and, very soon, he swore to make Enyo pay for the things she had done. Even if it was thepulsion of her Divinity, there were some things that simply couldnt be allowed to continue. Still, there were more things he wanted to know so he asked, "Where is Enyo...? What is her n...? How many of you are there...?" Olivas body began to twitch slightly but Vahn sent another wave of energy through his mind before inserting a threat of Source Energy to create a protective membrane around the core in his chest. There were fluctuations present that caught Vahns attention, almost like a signal was being sent to the core, likely as a means to force Olivas to silence. Though the signal had already been sent, Vahn could stabilize the core for a short while, allowing Olivas to answer, "My goddess waits upon her altar...awaiting the day when she can return the world back to its true state...she will bring divine judgment upon those fools that have made this world their yground..." Vahn squinted his eyes when he heard this, uncertain if Olivas was talking about gods or mortals, as she shouldnt have even been able toe to this world before the bridge was created. This meant that her target shouldnt be the gods themselves, but the people that already resided in this world before her descent. Even that was something Vahn had many questions about, however, as Enyo was a goddess that none of the gods in the Alliance knew of. Though Vahn had found several records that should have connected Enyo to the gods of the northern pantheon, it was almost like her existence had been erased from the minds of everyone...after all, gods that had lived for hundreds of millions of years would know every other god, especially those that descended to the mortal world... After another long pause, Olivas continued, answering Vahns other questions, "We are limitless...a legion that will wash over the world and return it back to its primal state...you fools have no idea what kind of monsters have been sleeping beneath your feet...!" Though he was still in a sedated state, Olivas managed to crack a crazed smile, an eerieugh escaping his throat before he practically shouted, "You dont even know the enemies in your midst...! Hahahahahahahaha~!" Suddenly, Olivas hollowed eyes glowed like ming embers as his skin began to crack and fracture, wispy mes emerging from within. Vahns brows furrowed and he fully converged his domain, keeping the energy within Olivas body at bay as he asked, "What Floor is Enyo on!? Who are the ones supporting your goddess!? Tell me there names...!" Instead of Olivas answering, his head twisted nearly 180 degrees in an instant, strange eyes peering up at Vahns face as a very different voice escaped through his lips, "Vahn Mason...so this is what you look like...ufufufu~." The core inside of Olivas chest began to radiate with a powerful energy that crashed against the source energy membrane and caused what appeared to be a divine power to shroud his body. Even so, Vahn continued to repress this energy with his own domain, causing the person controlling Olivas tough in a deranged manner before she shouted, "Ah, youre so perfect...! I cant wait to make you mine~! Come to me, Vahn Mason, Im waiting for you on the 60th Floor! Ahahahahaha~!" As she spoke, the person who Vahn suspected to be Enyo extended Olivas hand towards Ais and said, "My darling Aria...you shoulde along as well...I cant wait to meet you both~." Though she said this, a ck de appeared out of Olivas palm and tried to shoot forward but Vahn had already pinned it to the ground, crushing Olivas arm in the process. This caused the ghostly green eyes to turn back to him, a smile spreading further across the possessed Olivas face before the core in his chest shatteredpletely. Momentster, his body turned into yellow, ck, and purple dust before the divine energy dissipated into nothingness. The only remnants showing that Olivas had ever existed was a tribal outfit that wasprised of the hides and bones of monsters... For several seconds, Vahn processed what had just happened before turning his attention back to Ais, seeing the conflict and confusion on her face as she said, "I thought Enyo had something to do with my mother...why does she think Im her...?" To this, nobody had an answer but it didnt stop Vahn from walking over and giving Ais a warm hug as he said, "We will find the answers together..." He was very annoyed that his interrogation had only created more questions, providing no real answers, even though Olivas should have been in a very receptive and mentallyx state. Vahn had seriously underestimated the mans madness and hadnt expected Enyo to have a remote means of controlling people... At the very least, Vahn was able to learn that the strange yellow monster cores were directly rted to Enyo and seemed to be a forced evolution using her own Divinity as a source. Since Enyo should just be a goddess with a Divinity rted to War, Vahn knew there was something very wrong with the current situation. Just the fact that most of the mutated monsters were nt-based showed that there was more to things than meets the eye, especially with Olivas mentioning enemies in their midst. Though it wasnt surprising to know that Enyos forces had infiltrated part of the Alliance, Vahn felt like Olivas was implying that there was an enemy much closer to him than he realized. Given how mad Olivas seemed, Vahn assumed the man was just trying to sow doubt within the minds of those that were present, especially since he hadnt answered any of the questions asked of him in a direct manner. Vahn knew it was impossible for Enyos forces to truly be infinite and, even though he had asked about Enyos location, Olivas had managed to keep it secret, merely describing the location without giving any actual details. It seemed that, even though he was in a mental state where he shouldnt have been able to lie, Olivas beliefs had caused him to protect the important information about his goddess and their purpose... Shaking his head to clear stray thoughts, Vahn gave Ais one more strong hug before releasing her body so he could address the others. Even so, he stayed at her side and held hands with the slightly shaken girl as he said, "The only information we should consider is that Enyo may be located on the 60th Floor. Everything else should be treated as information that was meant to deceive and sow doubt within the minds of everyone present. Unfortunately for them, our unity is not something that can be shaken by such devious methods...hmph...!" Enyo had no way of knowing that the girls had already spent years with each other, with some of their rtionsh.i.p.ssting well over a decade. If she thinks such insignificant revtions would have any meaningful effect, she was as crazy as Olivas seemed to be... Ais squeezed Vahns hand when she heard this, a small smile spreading across her face as the light that had started to fade from her eyes now doubled in intensity. She had even prepared herself for the fact that her mother may have been consumed by the Dungeon, one of the nightmarish rumors that were often spread amongst female Adventurers, so this revtion was far less difficult to deal with. Unless Enyo was just trying to deceive her, it meant that her mother may not be associated with the Dungeon and could even still be alive somewhere. She was determined to seek out the truth with Vahn, defeat the One-Eyed ck Dragons avatar, and one day conquer the entire Dungeon if it was necessary. After that, she would have a happy family with the boy she loved, irrespective of what had happened in the past that was no longer within her control... Vahn was surprised by the fact that Ais (Love) had jumped up several thousand points in an instant but his expression remained calm as each of the girls also made their resolutions known. Tiona and Tione showed direct support for Ais, being the two that had known her the longest, while Ryuu swore that she was root out all of Enyos forces, especially since she seemed to have an association with Evilus. Arnya and Chloe supported Ryuus conviction and promised to help her seek justice for all the innocents who had died as a result of Enyos, and Evilus schemes. This left Mikoto standing somewhat awkwardly at the side and, perhaps embarrassed to see how fired up everyone else was getting, she also pledged her de to the elimination of Enyos forces and the remnant of Evilus... Following the first round of everyone bolstering each others motivation, showing the exact unity that made them strong, the girls waiting in the hall were brought into the strange atmosphere as Lefiya, Lili, Maemi, and Emiru came in a few minutester. Now,pared to how tense things had been before, the mood had be much more vibrant as everyone showed support for each other. Even Rufina and Shakti were included in the groups unification speech, to the point that they had nearly been dragged into the nightly activities by Haruhime and Tiona. Fortunately, Vahn had caught them in the act and managed to gently chide the two, having them watch over Alexa and Tina alongside Shakti and Rufina. Vahn did, however, promise to spend some time with all five girlster, just not while Alexa was present within the group... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Shocking~!,Shit went from 0 to 100 real fast (o____o)...,And back down to a moderate 10 a few momentster...RIP Haruhime and Tiona xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 828 - Rally

Chapter 828 - Rally

Following the attack on Lil Geirr, the momentum of the expedition to the 50th Floor had taken a serious hit. The visual impact of watching Vahn freeze over the entire floor, wiping out tens of thousands of monsters in an instant, was enough to give everyone that witnessed the feat a serious boost in morale. However, the subsequent copse of the lighting crystals, theck of which made the Floor now seem dark and dreary, the follow-up attack by the monstrous Juggernaut, and the surprise attack by Olivas Act, each of these events had been a significant blow to everyones spirits. Though this was offset by Vahn healing the survivors of the sneak attack, the loss of lives had weighed heavily on the forces who were set to proceed even further into the Dungeon... To prevent things from breaking apartpletely, Vahn had given a speech, addressing the entire encampment and making Enyos presence known. Though it could be considered fear-mongering, Vahn knew he had to get the people angry and impassioned if they were going to risk their lives for a cause greater than themselves. This incident actually proved the need for the existence of Lil Geirr and, though it hadnt been named yet, Haven. Without forces keeping the monsters within the Dungeon in check, they would continue to build up until they reached critical mass, overflowing to the surface. If that happened, it would be significantly more difficult to preserve the lives of the innocent and the damage to the Citys infrastructure would be monstrous. Since the purpose behind the expedition was to prevent these types of attacks from impacting the lives of those without the means to protect themselves, Vahn tasked everyone present to remember the righteousness of their cause. Though there were a number of people who didnt outright agree with Vahns words, the strength he had disyed, the prowess of the girls, and the inspiring aura resonating from Vahn had been enough to rile up the crowd. Once enough people began cheering and showing their support, it began to spread like an infection that eventually caused the entire group of nearly five-thousand people to cry out in unison, calling for the blood of those that would seek to destroy what their ancestors had endeavored over thest thousand years to build. Even if it wasnt the parents of those present who built Orario, it was a fact that the City represented the hope of most people on the Continent. Many of these Adventurers present actually migrated into the City in the past, seeking a better future for themselves in thisnd where sess and glory could be earned through hard work and individual effort. If Orario was truly overrun by monsters, all of their dreams would die with the City and, without a force working together to stymy to flow of monsters that would expand and wipe out all life on the Continent, there wouldnt even be a ce to flee to... Following the sessful rally, a restructuring of the forces of Lil Geirr was set into motion as the Floor slowly repaired itself. Vahn returned to the surface to deposit Alexa with her mother, updating everyone at the Manor about what was going on while Finn took care of the administrative work. The girls remained in the Dungeon, providing defense for any waves that may ur but, after the death of Olivas, it seemed like things had calmed down for the moment. Even so, their presence alone was enough to bolster the morale of the defensive troops manning the wall, memories of the girls battle prowess still fresh on everyones minds... At the same time that he was dealing with the matters of Lil Geirr and the continued expedition to Haven, Vahn was also back in the Xenos Hidden Vige. He had been there for two days and had been constantly building rapport with their tribe, bing a little too popr with the females of their species. His [Charm] didnt seem to care if the other party was a different race than his own, garnering Vahn a great deal of attention from each group of Xenos. After the first night, where Vahn had spent a rtively peaceful night with Rayne, Naho, and Fenrir, the following night had been far more chaotic. Not only was he dealing with the aftermath of the attack, but Vahn had been whisked away by Ray, Terror, and Fear, spending the evening in the nest of the Bird-Type Xenos. Vahn quickly learned that Harpy and Siren Xenos didnt put a lot of thought into their actions and, though Ray was able to reign them in a bit, he still got flocked by them after they managed to get him into the nest. Though it ended with him pacifying the group with his [Hands of Nirvana] and [Grooming], Vahn had most of his clothing torn to shred by their talons and ws. He also managed to get them into some proper clothing, even though it ended up being based on the Amazoness style. They didnt like anything that was restrictive and, with Ray setting the example, each girl wanted rather skimpy clothing to wear instead of anything more practical. After that, Vahn was surrounded by surprisingly warm feathers and managed to get a rtively peaceful sleep... Rtive was the key word in this situation as Vahn would be stirred awake periodically by one of the girls trying to sneakily remove his trousers. They were somewhat promiscuous by nature and had an insatiable curiosity that made it so that, even with him rebuffing their advances, they never seemed to take it to heart. It could be that they simply forgot he had declined their offer but, considering he had treated them very well, the girls could have just been getting carried away. This spection was drawn from the fact that they seemed to remember what Ray told them to do, even though words Vahn spoke to them moments before seemingly slipped in one ear and out the other... The following morning, Vahns clothing and hair was covered in small feathers and he smelled like he had slept in a barn, causing Fenrir to actually avoid him for the first time. Fortunately, he was able to clean himself rather easily, earning him some leniency from the standoffish Vanargandr as she quickly leaped into his arms after the fact. This caused many of the surrounding Xenos tough, with Ray showing an amused expression as she said, "The two of you are so close...Im honestly a little jealous~. Well, if you ever want to sleep in our nest again, Vahn, just let any of us know. Well always wee you~." Adding to this, Fear raised up her dark-red wing and said, "Ray is right. Your hands are veryfortable and I dont mind if you want to help groom my feathers, you know...?" Though she worded it like a question, Vahn felt like Fear was telling him to groom her featherster, causing him tough lightly before saying, "Im sure I can make time for that kind of thingter. For now, there are a few things I need to discuss with the three leaders..." Even as Vahn as speaking, it felt like he was being surrounded by a flock of predatory birds as each of the Harpy-Xenos gathered around him, each offering to allow him to groom their feathers. One of the more promiscuous among them, even though she had one of the less humanoid appearances, even offered to groom him in return... After finally escaping the flock, Vahn ended up in a small circr room at the very back of the Xenos Hidden Vige, a room used for important discussions by the decision makers of the Xenos. Vahn wasnt surprised by the presence of Lyd, Ray, and even Gros, but the inclusion of Rayne, Naho, and Xude caught him a little off guard. This was especially the case for Naho as, the moment her five eyes locked onto him, Vahn got to experience the mildly terrifying sight of an Arachne-Xenos, even one as cute as Naho, jumping towards him. He barely managed to raise his arms by the time her body collided with his, three sets of legs and a pair of arms wrapping around his body. Lyd, seeing this, beganughing out loud beforementing, "Seems youre bing more popr every day, Vahn. I wouldnt be surprised if some of our members might stalk you back to the surface when you try to leave...!" Vahn, after returning Nahos hug for a few seconds, gently removed her from his body, even though her legs tried to continue holding onto him. He set her down on the ground and pat her head, saying, "There are important things I need to discuss with the others. Be a good girl and behave, okay~?" Though she had a pouting expression on her face, Naho still nodded before scampering over to Rayne and climbing onto thetters body. After being on the receiving end quite a lot, Vahn had already realized that Naho had the type of nature that desired contact with others. If she wasnt clinging to him, she was clinging to Rayne and, on one asion, Vahn saw her riding around on Terror like arge backpack as the frazzled Harpy-Xenos tried to fly around. It had been a very humorous sight, at least until Terror dive-bombed him, delivering Naho from her body and depositing the spiderling onto Vahns. Now, Vahn had to be careful of both jumping spiders and spiders delivered via Harpy-Xenos care package... Vahn pulled out a cushion to sit down on while Fenrir turned into her hybrid-Almiraj form and hopped into hisp. She seemed to like this form since it allowed him to pet more surface area at once and, as it was quite fluffy, Vahn found himself absentmindedly petting her into oblivion. This was the state he referred to when the girls would be almost catatonic from the overwhelming feeling of rxation and bliss that resulted in over-exposure to his [Grooming]. Though it could be expected that the girls would build up a resistance to this after a while, the truth of the matter was quite the opposite. Anyone that had fallen under the influence of Vahns godhand, be they mortal or god, was almost powerless against it after the fact. If he got serious, Vahn could get Aki and Chloe to purr after just a single touch, even if he caressed the danger zone of their bellies... While habitually stroking Fenrirs fluffy pelt, Vahn looked into Lyds eyes and exined, "There was an attack by a man named Olivas Act, representing a goddess by the name of Enyo...have you heard either of these names...?" Though he already had his answer based on the indignant expressions of almost every Xenos present, Vahn still waited for Lyd to nod his head and exin, "Olivas Act is one of the people who has been capturing and ughtering our people. Those that get taken awaye back changed, continuing the cycle over thest two years...now, were less than half of what we used to be...if youre going to fight against that man, please exercise caution, Vahn..." Though it was a little awkward, Vahn showed a casual smile and said, "Olivas Act is dead. Though he staged arge attack on the settlement on the 39th Floor, it was sessfully repelled by the forces of the Alliance. I personally witnessed his death with my own eyes, so you dont have to worry about him any longer..." Seeing the reactions on each of their faces, Vahns smile turned into a more natural expression as he added, "You shouldnt underestimate me, mypanions, or the Alliance in general. Olivas Act had actually been defeated by my daughter without even being able to fight back..." Gros, stone-faced as ever, suddenly ced his hand heavily against the ground as he eximed, "Is that the truth!? How do we know you arent lying to try and trick us...!?" Though Vahn knew Gros impression of him wasnt actually that bad, it was still annoying to be called into question time and again. Producing a stone-faced expression of his own, Vahn inly stated, "Gros, no matter how you look at it, Ive only been an ally to the Xenos thus far. Yes, I offer your people power, but the only thing I require in exchange ispanionship and understanding. I want to make the dream of the Xenos a reality, creating a ce for your entire race on the surface! What do I have to do to get this simple fact through the thick skull of yours!?" As if he had been waiting for Vahn to ask this question, Gros immediately responded in a serious tone, "Swear on your life that you have no-" Though he still felt rtively calm, Vahns brain buzzed when Gros brought up the idea of him making a vow. He didnt mind making vows, having already made a few, but Vahn was starting to get annoyed that it seemed to be the only way anyone would ever trust others. Rtionsh.i.p.s founded on vows almost felt like exchanges, not something that was founded on mutual respect and understanding. As a result, he red towards Gros and interrupted the stout Gargoyle-Xenos, saying, "I help the Xenos because I have chosen to do so, not because I have to do it. If it takes such a vow for you to trust me, then you simply arent worthy of my trust from the start. Just sit there and watch as I create a better world for the Xenos, regardless of what you think about the matter..." Though Gros was around the strength of a veteran Level 5 Adventurer, he couldnt even move a muscle after Vahn had locked him down with his domain. For the duration of Vahns speech, it was as if he had truly turned into a statue as a primal fear welled up in the back of his mind. This was an instinct that all creatures had when they encountered a species of a higher tier. It was simr to how Gryuu felt when it first saw Fafnir, quickly lowering its head to thetter and subordinating itself without any resistance whatsoever. Now, Fafnir was off teaching Gryuu how to be a proper Dragon, with thetter following Fafnirs words like they were divinely inspired... Gros resisted the instinctual urge to bow his head but it didnt stop him from slouching over further as a wave of uncertainty washed over him. With a slight quiver in his voice, Gros asked, "You...are you really a human...?" He suddenly recalled the strange form Vahn had taken to stop his attack previously, ck scales and strange markings covering his body. In response to this question, Vahn raised his brows slightly and surprised everyone by shaking his head, exining, "It isnt wrong to call me Human...but Im also everything else...? To be more specific, Im currently a Progenitor, but I can also be any other race that I have a proper understanding of..." To emphasize his words, Vahn looked towards the safe option, making eye contact with Lyd before using his hybrid transformation magic, with [Thria*Mimos] as a base, to assume an almost identical appearance as Lyd, being a red-scaled Lizardman. It felt strange to have his body temperature lower instantly, but it wasnt nearly as peculiar as the surprising rity his eyes possessed. At the same time, the strength of every smell in the vicinity increased, Rays aura practically smacking him in the face. She had a mixed scent of a woman and a wild animal, confusing Vahns senses while also exciting him slightly...at least until it waspletely repressed momentster when he cut off his sense of smell entirely. Though the expression of shock on Lyds face was interesting, Vahn noticed that Fenrir didnt seem to enjoy his scaly hands so he quickly changed back, now turning his attention back to Gros as he said, "My race doesnt matter...just as none of your races matter...my dream is to make a better world for everyone, regardless of their origins. As long as your people do notmit crimes and try to harm others, I will guarantee the safety of every Xenos. It doesnt matter to me how society views you right now...if we work together, we can change that perception and, one day, the existence of Xenos as a sentient species deserving of respect will simply be mon sense...if you have a problem with that, I cant help but wonder why you even dreamed of the surface in the first ce..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Crowd Mentality OP,Thirsty ass birbs (UwU)...,Square up, Gros-boi~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 829 - Resolve...?

Chapter 829 - Resolve...?

Though Vahn had his focus on Gros, it was Lyd who spoke out first, eximing, "Whoa, did you really just turn into a Lizardman? Are you actually a Xenos, Vahn!?" This outburst caused Vahns brow to twitch slightly as he gazed into Lyds orange reptilian eyes and said, "I just exined it, Lyd, Im a Progenitor and I can change my race at will. Besides, Xenos is just a generic term used to define your people, not what you actually are...the only thing that matters is that you have souls, possess sentience, and aspire for a better life. This gives you the same rights as everyone else and, as long as you dont live by exploiting others, I will always be an ally to each of you..." As serious as his words were, it didnt seem to matter as everyone in the room was simply too excited after witnessing Vahn transform. Naho had actually tried to jump from Raynes back, arms and legs spread like a grappling w before Rayne snatched her back with asso of silk. Naho wriggled around in her arms, failing to break free so she instead asked, "Can you turn into an Arachne!? Show me, show me~!" Rayne hugged her close, covering Nahos mouth as she said, "Hush, Naho, youre being silly..." However, even as she said this, Vahn could see a bit of expectation and curiosity, not just in her eyes, but everyones. Releasing a silent sigh, Vahn produced a wry smile and said, "If I practiced, I could probably turn into an Arachne. However, Im not going to practice it, as the form is simply tooplex and I have no desire to be a female...sorry, Naho." As he had tried and failed to even turn into a True Dragon in the past, at least one with wings like Terra, Fafnir, Khaos, and Alexa, Vahn wasnt even going to try and be an Arachne. Without the instincts associated with the race, he wouldnt even know how to begin moving around on six legs... Naho deted like a balloon when she heard this, asking in a pitiable tone, "Do you hate Arachne...?" Fortunately, Rayne began patting her head, exining, "Dont be silly, Naho. Your Big Brother would never hate Arachne...besides, if he turned into a girl..." Thest part of Raynes words was said very quietly and Vahn felt his body be tense when both girls looked at him with theirpound red eyes. He already knew that Naho was actually older than Rayne and, even after several years pass, she wouldnt change at all. This was one of the troublesome aspects of a Xenos, as their age didnt always match their appearance, nor would it change over time. In fact, unless they are outright killed, it could be said that most Xenos had biological immortality, even if it wasnt quite at the level of possessing an Ageless constitution like Fenrir. Changing the topic, Vahn turned his attention back to Lyd and said, "I wanted to discuss the terms of our cooperation in the future and also had some questions I wanted to ask..." Lyd was still a bit riled up from watching Vahn transform into a Lizardman but he managed to calm down enough to ask, "What did you want to know? Go ahead and ask away, Vahn." Not missing the opportunity to sessfully change the topic, Vahn nodded his head before asking, "How exactly do the Xenos be more humanoid? I thought it was based on intelligence and strength, but I can tell you are the strongest in the camp, even though you still have the form of a Lizardman Chieftain...?" Instead of Lyd, it was Ray who answered, exining clearly, "This has been something discussed among the Xenos ever since the first of our kin stepped foot in the Dungeon. From what we have been able to gather over several generations of knowledge, passed down from one leader to the next, is that the Xenos appearance is highly dependent on if they want to be human. Those of us who have the strongest ties to humans, after enough time has passed, typically be more humanoid in appearance. Those that prioritize their strength, their dreams, and the basic desire to see the surface...their appearance doesnt change much. From this, we have determined that the appearance, or perhaps the existence of the Xenos itself, is entirely dependent on our desires...our hopes and dreams for a better future..." As poetic as the words sounded, Vahn actually wasnt that surprised by the revtions given by Ray. One of the things he had learned ever since entering this record, which was a predominant lesson he was constantly being reminded of, was that intent was one of the most important factors behind progress. If you could focus your intent, believing in the thing you desired while constantly working towards it, there were literally no limits. Even those that had bemon knowledge, passed down for thousands of years as something impossible to achieve, could be broken with just a simple change of perspective. Thus, the fact that Xenos might exist solely because they wanted to exist...Vahn found this very easy to believe...after all, this entire record came into existence because enough people wanted this world to be real... Since Ray seemed like a rtively intelligent woman, Vahn smiled and said, "As it may not be appropriate for me to conduct all of the research myself, Id like your help in studying the Xenos in greater detail in the future. I can already help those who desire strength and change to evolve into an entirely new form, but Id also like to doc.u.ment the development of those that simply want to live freely. When we return to the surface, the Xenos will probably have to live in a closedmunity until the perception of society can be changed in our favor. Dont worry, with the influence of the Alliance, it shouldnt take more than a generation for peoples views of the Xenos to changepletely." When he finished speaking, the corner of Vahns eyes twitched slightly before he turned his gaze upon Gros with a slight warning contained within his aquamarine irises. He noticed that the Gargoyle-Xenos wanted to say something and, given thetters track record, Vahns goodwill towards him was fading. This time, however, Gros lowered his head slightly and said, "Though you may not trust me, know that I have only ever considered what is best for my kin. If what you say is true, please allow me to be the first volunteer to experience this evolution you mention...I do not care how you change me, so long as my mind and memories remain unaffected..." This had surprised Vahn a little but, given how Gros had presented himself thus far, it wasnt that difficult to believe the man was willing to sacrifice himself. The diminishing goodwill Vahn had towards Gros began a slow climb once again as he smiled and said, "There are three different methods that would allow me to help a Xenos evolve. Also, as I stated previously, there is a long period of time where I wouldnt be able to use the ability. Once I help you change, you also wont be able to return to your original appearance any longer...are you certain?" In response to this, Gros just nodded his head without saying a single word, no hesitation visible on his generally expressionless face. Vahn smiled when he saw how resolute Gros was and, though he wasnt really the first choice he had in mind, Vahn still exined, "There are two designations for people that choose to follow me, being subordinates and retainers. The difference between the two is that the first requires you to either willingly subordinate yourself to me, or that your loyalty reached a certain threshold. As for thetter, it would depend on the bond we share and if your feelings lean more towards allegiance and fealty than true loyalty. Keep in mind that, if you be my subordinate, I would actually be able to order you through mentalmands. Though you arent forced to follow my orders, the amount of loyalty you have towards me can heavily influence your decision making..." This time, Gros expression changed slightly, appearing to soften before he said, "My allegiance will alwaysy with my people so, as long as your dream of creating a better future for the Xenos exists, I will give you my loyalty, Vahn Mason, no, my Master..." At the same time that these words left Gros mouth, Vahn got the notification through the system and epted it immediately. He had already confirmed during their first encounter that Gros, like every other Xenos, was actually (Nameless). This meant he could give Gros any kind of name and, considering that he was already rather humanoid, the potential options were almost limitless... Thinking this would be a good chance to make an impression on, not only Gros, but everyone present, Vahn asked, "Tell me, other than the desire to protect your people and live on the surface, is there anything else that drives you? Like, have you ever envied another creature, wanted a specific kind of power, or desired any particr trait?" In response to this, Gros remained quiet for nearly an entire minute before saying, "As I said, Master, I will leave my fate in your hands. However, if I am allowed freedom of choice, I would like to no longer be made of stone...it makes it...difficult tofort others..." Vahn was a little surprised by Gros words but a smile quickly spread across his face momentster as he said, "Very well then...I will give you an appearance that is suitable forforting others. Ill also try to imbue you with a name that increases your potential further...even if you dont desire power, Im sure you can understand its usefulness after being a leader for so many years..." Gros nodded his head, understanding that power was always necessary if he truly wanted to protect the things he cared about. Though he had failed many of his kin, it never stopped him from trying to use his meager strength to keep his people safe... After sorting through various texts in his mind, with a lot of help from Sis, Vahn decided on a suitable name and then formed both an image and intent within his mind, both instrumental if he wanted to ensure Gros form was suitable. Vahn had a fair amount of experience with naming at this point and had even created Fenrir just by wanting her to be cute when naming her. Thus, for Gros, Vahn imagined a stalwart guardian who protected his people, defended their homes, and broughtfort to all that resided within. Then, with these feelings filling his heart, Vahn smiled and spoke in a voice that shook the hearts of every Xenos present, "From this point forward, you shall be known as Gros Terminus, Guardian of the Xenos..." With Vahns words still resonating through the room, Gros body became enshrouded by a powerful sphere of bluish energy with a rainbow hue suffused over the surface. Everyone that was nearby had to back away, causing Vahn to realize he should have taken the location into consideration. He had gotten a little wrapped up in how motivated Gros was and now had to stand with a stoic and casual expression on his face as the surrounding residence shook and started to fall apart. Fortunately, this only persisted for a few minutes before the energy began topress, taking on the shape of a rather tall and muscr man who was, not too unexpectedly,pletely n.a.k.e.d... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (Gros Terminus) Age: 139 Race: Titan Level: 5 Loyalty: 83 Soul Strength: Tier 2 (Named Familiar) Karma: - State: [Active] Skills: [Terminus:Innate:B], [Titans Physique:Innate:D], [Malleable Muscles:B], [Vignce:C], [Harden:C], [Sacrifice:A] [Terminus] Rank: Innate(B) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* Passive: Greatly enhances capabilities within a designated area. Active: Allows the user to ce four immovable and indestructible pirs, designating the space without as their dominion unless removed by the user. [Titans Physique] Rank: Innate(D) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* Passive: Growth of all physical parameters is greatly enhanced. Use of external magic bes impossible. Active: Use internal energy to further strengthen physical parameters without any upper limit. Energy is expended after executing an attack or performing a block. [Malleable Muscles] Rank: B Use: Allows the users body to absorb physical blows and shockwaves. [Vignce] Rank: C Use: While active, the user does not feel fatigued for the duration of skill usage. When deactivated, all of the stress and fatigue experienced during use immediately take effect. This skill has been known to lead its user to self-destruction. [Harden] Rank: C Use: Greatly enhanced Endurance in exchange for a sharp decrease in Agility. [Sacrifice] Rank: A Use: Designate a target and absorb any wounds that would have been inflicted upon them. This skill takes into ount the defenses of the target, not the defenses of the user. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Gros new appearance was that of a 220cm tall man with light blue skin stretched tight over muscles that would make an Adonis blush. He had pointed ears, appearing simr to an Elf, with long ck hair that hung loosely around his chiseled face. His eyes had strange white irises without any discernable pupils and, much like Fafnirs and Khaos wings, Gros had two light blue reptilian wings folded behind his back. Vahn also saw that there was a whip-like tail snaking around behind his back,ing to a spear-like point at the end. Lastly, at the very center of his chest, Gros had arge red crystal that pulsed like a beating heart, something Vahn hadnt really expected, nor imagined... Looking at his new figure, and feeling the power contained within his body, Gros couldnt help but squeeze his fists tight and flex his muscles a bit. Vahn stepped forward at this point, holding out some clothes for the n.a.k.e.d Titan as he asked, "So, how do you feel, Gros Terminus...?" Hearing his new name spoken by his Master, Gros inhaled deeply, puffing out his chest in pride as he said, "I feel like I could break apart the entire Dungeon with just my bare hands...thank you, Master...I never expected things to end up like this...simply incredible..." Though his Level hadnt actually changed, Gros now had Source Energyprising his body and it wasnt an exaggeration to say that he was several orders of magnitude stronger than before. Vahn had Gros wear some proper clothing, not really giving him the option to remain n.a.k.e.d since he had been very thoughtful towards his newest subordinate. Though it probably wouldnt help, Vahn wanted some of the Xenos to potentially focus their intentions towards Gros in the future, as it would save him quite a few hassles from some of the more promiscuous women. To aid in this endeavor, must like Gros had asked for, Vahn made sure that his muscles, though looking stout and indomitable, were actually very soft and pliant to the touch. Though they would actually be harder than his previous stone skin when he got serious, their default state was like a tender marshmallow that was smooth as polished marble... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Will it, want it, do it (>,...,<)~!,Gros over here taking advantage of the situation...shameless!,How does Vahn know how smooth Gros muscles are...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 830 - Gathering

Chapter 830 - Gathering

Gros evolution had caused waves within the small Xenosmunity as, even though Vahn was already quite popr within the close-knitmunity, having the leader of the faction that believed Xenos couldnt live amicably amongst surface dwellers was a great boon. Though there were a few skeptics, their minds were changed rather quickly after a private discussion with Gros. Since they were able to determine that he was in full control of his actions and still possessed all of his memories, all while possessing much greater strength, it was hard not to believe in the future that Vahn had promised. As a result of these developments, Vahn ended up at the center of amunal gathering as he tried toy out his n for allowing the Xenos to live on the surface. He had Lyd, Ray, Gros, Rayne, Naho, Terror, Xude, Marie, and Gryuu behind him as he looked out at the hopeful Xenos and said, "I do not want to mislead anyone here...know that, even amongst differentmunities of surface dwellers, there are ongoing conflicts that are slowly being resolved. The integration of Xenos into society would be an endeavor that we would have to spend several years working on. However, I can promise you wholeheartedly that the Alliance, the organization I represent, will continue to make efforts to ensure the Xenos are able to live with the same liberties afforded all surface dwellers..." Vahn noticed that, though the gathered Xenos had intelligence, many werent really following what he was trying to say. There was a lot of confusion on their faces so he adopted a kindly smile as he exined, "For the time being, the Xenos will be givennd within the territory of the Alliance to build their homes. You will have my personal support and the support of those that follow me...even though it may take several years for the public opinion of people to change, I promise you will still be able to live on the surface. I will never force you to do anything you dont want to do and, as long as you dont endanger the lives of others, you will be protected under the banner of the Alliance. To that end, you will have to receive an education so you know how to interact with other surface dwellers, but that is something that can be managed by your current leadership. I will work with Ray, Lyd, and Gros to help them understand how you can incorporate yourselves into society, so you will just have to listen to them. As long as you do not break anyws,mit heinous crimes, or bring harm unto others, the Alliance will never turn its back on you...!" Though Vahn could sense the excitement building, his words didnt seem as impactful as he expected, causing Lyd to step forward and point his scimitar towards the ceiling as he shouted, "Vahn is another part of our family! He deserves our trust and will take us out of this prison so that we can live on the surface! It wont be easy, but we can work together to make it easier! Now give Vahn a loud hurrah to show him that the Xenos cant be underestimated!" With the rise of Lyds scimitar, the gathered Xenos all began to shout and cheer, many calling out Vahns name while others began to happily talk about living on the surface... Vahn had a humbled smile on his face as Lyd gently elbowed him and said, "Big words are nice n all, but you gotta be direct. Just like you were staying to Gros earlier, show the Xenos with your actions, not your words. Dont worry, we know how to keep each other in line to avoid trouble. Rays group might cause a few problems, but it shouldnt be that difficult to keep them distracted...hahahaha~!" In response to this, Ray produced a wry smile, knowing that she actually didnt have much ground to stand on if she wanted to argue against it. Though they would get better as they became more human, it was an established fact that Bird-Type Xenos didnt have the same intellectual growth as some of the other species... From amongst the crowd of Xenos, one of the Goblin-Xenos, wearing a red-brimmed hat, raised their hand and stepped forward, drawing attention to itself as a she asked, "Mister Vahn, is it possible for all of us to be powerful like Mister Gros? I know that many Adventurers would mock and look down upon us Goblin-Xenos and, if possible, would like to be stronger in order to protect myself..." This was a very important question on the minds of many Xenos, especially since the majority were only Level 1, beingprised of Goblins, Kobolds, Imps, and Almiraj. They had been fodder in their previous lives and, even though they hadparable intelligence to some surface dwellers, their weakness was still a predominant issue... Hearing the apparently female Goblins question, though she looked like any normal Goblin, Vahn smiled and asked, "Tell me, little one, what is your name...?" With a courteous bow, catching Vahn off guard, the Goblin-Xenos introduced herself, stating in a polite tone, "My name is Laura, a Goblin-Xenos. Thank you for asking for this little ones name, Mister Vahn..." With her words finished, Laura raised her head, patiently awaiting an answer to her earlier inquiry. Vahn was a little taken aback by her behavior and lightly reprimanded himself for making assumptions about any Xenos as a result of their heritage... After collecting his thoughts, Vahn gestured Fenrir to his side and began patting her head as he smiled and exined, "As long as you have the desire to grow stronger, there is no limit to how far your strength can develop. This here is Fenrir, my most adorable and trustedpanion...though it may be difficult to believe, she actually used to be a normal Kobold. Now, after working harder than most people, she has be one of the most powerful existences in the entire world...I am very proud of her..." As he praised her, Fenrir puffed out her chest and should a prideful expression on her face, following up his words by adding, "As long as you desire power for the right reasons, anyone can be strong. Though my Master can help you be strong much faster, this is only possible if you are a good person. Dont expect Master to help you be strong just so you can use your power to harm others...strength is meant to protect the things you care about..." Since Kobolds werent that different than Goblins, Laura produced a crooked smile and was satisfied with the answer she had received. However, seeing how physically appealing Fenrir was, Laura couldnt help but ask, "Is it possible for even a Goblin like myself to be an adorable existence like Miss Fenrir...?" To this question, Vahn couldnt help but chuckle lightly as he said, "I n to work with Ray to help pave a way forward for all Xenos to be more human. But, the easy answer to your question is, yes, it is possible. I can help you evolve like Gros or, if your allegiance towards me is high enough, I can help you change your racepletely. If you wanted, I could even help you be a real and true human..." This revtion caused a bit of a stir amongst the gathered Xenos with Ray taking the initiative to ask, "You can really change Xenos into humans...? Is that really true, Vahn...?" Understanding where this conversation was headed, Vahn nodded his head and exined, "Not just human, but almost any conceivable race so long as your desire and allegiance are high enough. I could even make a Goblin-Xenos like Laura into a True Dragon like Fafnir, though it would take a very long period of time. For some rtively simple like a Human, it would only take a few weeks of time...?" Since he couldnt just spend all of his OP without consideration, Vahn knew he would have to request resources from those he helped transform. Though some exceptions could be made, as demonstrations would serve as a powerful motivator for others, that was an investment towards the future that would likely pay dividends with time... Since he expected it might be another question that popped up, Vahn decided to borate, saying, "It isnt just race, either, as I can help you change your size, shape, appearance, and even gender. However, there is something I need to rify from the start so that there are fewer plications in the future. You will all be able to see this in greater detail when we return to the surface, but I already have a veryrge family and several lovers that I care for deeply. I know there are some amongst you who have started to harbor hopes and expectations about how I may interact with you in the future...though it isnt beyond the realm of possibility, I would rather you focus your affections towards others. This has nothing to do with the fact that I may prefer any particr species of Xenos over any others, so dont jump to conclusions, please..." Though he was more than a little interested in the exotic nature of some of the Xenos, Vahn had experienced another shift in his mentality as ofte. The moment he had stopped worrying about his rtionsh.i.p.s with women outside of the Manor, Vahn noticed that the number of women approaching him in a meaningful way had drastically increased. It was almost as if they were aware that he was more receptive to their approach and, as it was never his intention to greatly increase the number of women around him, Vahn needed to begin directly shutting down the advances of some. If things continued as they were, Vahn had a sinking suspicion that almost every female Xenos would take up residence around the Manor in the future... The moment his words had fallen upon their various different types of ears, several of the Xenos began stirring, talking amongst themselves while some cast nces at him. Vahn noticed this was primarily the group of Bird-Type Xenos, those that had experienced his [Grooming] for extended periods of times, and those like Marie, Naho, and even Rayne. Though he hadnt interacted with Marie much, as she couldnt easily move around as a Mermaid-Xenos, she had a very positive impression of him from the very beginning. As for Naho and Rayne, Vahn noticed that they were somewhat isted from many of the other Xenos and it was likely he was one of the closest people to them, even after a very short period of time... As if she were the representative of the female Xenos, Ray stepped forward and pped her hands together to make everyone quiet down. When she had their attention, Ray smiled radiantly before saying, "Girls, everyone has the choice to love who they want to love. However, note that Vahn didnt say there wasnt a chance...work hard, ufufufu~." Since she had already been behind Vahn, Ray was now right next to him so, when she finished her words, Vahn found himself being hugged by a pair of golden wings was a pair of soft mounds pressed into his back. Ray began to giggle and it was apparent her words had resonated with the other Xenos as many of the girls who harbored expectations towards Vahn began to cheer and celebrate... --- The gathering had quickly turned into another celebration as everyone began talking about what it would be like to live on the surface after thinking about it for such a long period of time. Some also discussed what race and gender would be the best to live as while others, never knowing anything other than their original race, simply wanted to evolve further. Vahn answered a lot of questions about his powers and even pointed out some of those among the Xenos that were the closest to being able to activate his powers. Since many of these were girls like Naho, Mlem, Rayne, Ray, Marie, Terror, Fear, and even Jude, it got some of the other female Xenos riled up, causing Lyd and Gros to designate an area around Vahn as a no-entry zone... Fortunately, though the topic was never truly dropped, Vahn managed to have a more guided conversation with Lyd, Gros, and Ray. Though thetter seemed to be targetting him, she was a lot easier to deal with than the other Xenos who had no understanding of personal space whatsoever. Fenrir also acted as a barrier to keep others away while they talked about the necessary steps to facilitate the transition of Xenos from the Dungeon onto the surface. Vahn was currently back at the Manor trying to get things prepared, mainly by having Terra agree to allow the Xenos to reside in the Illusory Forest. Though she showed a bit of hesitation at first, especially knowing that there would be many peting females within the group of Xenos, Vahn managed to convince her after a few hours of coaxing... Vahns current n was to have the majority of the Xenos begin migrating to the surface and slowly introduce them to the general populous through various events that would be coordinated with the Ganesha Familia. Before that, they would be kept safe within the small illusory forest at the center of the Hearth Manor. At the same time, Terra was going to be creating caverns underground if space started to be an issue that needed to be addressed. Though it would be a rtively simple solution to let the Xenos stay within a Sub-Space orb that had been catered to their needs, this wasnt exactly conducive to their desire to live on the surface. They would just be trading one scenic prison for another, never truly incorporating themselves into society. Though they would certainly have a Sub-Space orb to make use of, if not using the main one directly, that was a secondary focus for the time being, not a priority... At the same time that the Xenos would be moving to the surface, they would also be organized into teams that would patrol and investigate the Dungeon. They were able to locate and navigate the secret areas of the Dungeon with rtive ease and would be moving between the various Hidden Viges to recruit any new kin that came into existence. The Xenos had always proactively searched for more of their kind and offered protection andpanionship to their newly formed kin. It was this spirit of cooperation that had allowed them to survive for hundreds of years and, even though they lost their some of theirpanions in the process, they never gave up on their own people...it was truly an admirable trait that Vahn felt all sentient species could learn from. Though there would be several teams formed, the members would beprised of the stronger Xenos in the group, specifically those that had be his subordinates and retainers. They not only had the highest chance of survival but could also train to ovee their limits with greater ease than those bound by the pseudo-restrictions of their base species. For the time being, Gros would be the leader of the search team and, once Vahns cooldown was up, Lyd would be the second team leader. They would operate with impunity, under the guidance of supervision of other Xenos, reporting only to Vahn himself. Vahn wanted to strengthen theirmunity so that, even if it took decades for the general popce to ept the Xenos, they would still be able to get a foothold for themselves within the Alliance... The final phase of the Xenos migration, even though it would be an ongoing process from the very start that would likely continue indefinitely, was the researchponent of things. Vahn knew there was a lot to be learned through observing the Xenos, as their existence itself touched upon the secrets of the soul itself. Since monsters were simple mana constructs, the fact they could obtain souls was a phenomenon that deserved the highest priority of attention. After all, even the gods had spent hundreds of millions of years proactively trying to create souls, only for the first batch of truly sentient beings toe into existence at random. The fact that the Xenos existed at all, even though the Dungeon wasnt that old, was one of the most significant discoveries that deserved proper study and research. It was even possible that one day in the distant future, any monster could be groomed into a Xenos, fundamentally changing the very nature of the record... Since it wasnt exactly proper for him to conduct the research on the Xenos without any oversight, Vahn decided it was best to simply focus on educating the Xenos to coexist with society. As their intelligence continued to develop, Xenos like Ray could be the frontrunners in Xenos research, working tirelessly to understand and promote her species so that true understanding could be reached. Since this research had the chance of exponentially increasing their numbers, Ray was very excited to get started, though she emphasized that Vahn had to be involved directly. She wasnt entirely in agreement with the fact that Vahn wanted to let the Xenos head the research as it seemed unnecessary from her perspective. Ray argued that many Xenos would willingly allow someone like Vahn, who they had ced their trust in, to conduct research on them. She pointed out that, as he had no intention to exploit and use them for his own selfishness, it would be better for their entire species if he took charge of things. Since he was already helping them evolve and change, it wouldnt make sense for him to take a backseat on the research that would better the lives of every Xenos in the future. As there wasnt any real argument he coulde up with to refute Rays words, which was surprising in itself, Vahn ended up agreeing with her. Though he knew Ray had more than a few intentions of her own, Vahn agreed that he was inarguably the most capable in conducting research into almost any field... (A/N: Just a reminder that Sunday is supposed to be my rest day. The number of chapters could vary greatly and you shouldnt expect them to release at a normal time xD. There will probably be another chapter of EPIC today, but it is more likely that Ill release a few FJ and just spend some time ying games or reading other novels for inspiration. Im going to start trying to release between 4-6 chapters a day (based on length) since the pacing of the novel has been elerating a great deal. Im trying to bring the events of Danmachi to a head around chapter 1000 and, though it wont be the end of Vahns time in Danmachi (as he will returnter), it will be time for him to enter the next record around that time. Stay beautiful, all of you EPIC readers :P...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Intelligence is rtive xD...,Rays Conspiracy...!?,It is weird how Vahn essentially became a researcher himself, even though he hated them in the past o3o...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 831 - Preparations

Chapter 831 - Preparations

In order to make sure the Xenos were able to safely live on the surface, there were several things that needed to be taken care of before the migration could begin. Though Vahn managed to pacify Terra, it didnt mean the other girls were open to the idea, chief amongst them being Hestia. He also needed to make sure the Xenos were able to replenish the mana within their bodies but, as Terras territory now extended party into the Dungeon, it wasnt that difficult for her to incorporate the Dungeons structure with the underground of the Hearth Manor. In the future, the Hearth Manor would be a third entrance to the Dungeon, one which allowed its residents, and the Xenos themselves, to freely move without drawing attention to themselves. Though this idea wasnt exactly safe under normal circ.u.mstances, the fact that the area in question would be under Terras dominion made it much safer than the Artificial Dungeon, Knossos. It would also allow Vahn to avoid drawing too much attention when his bodies were moving about, as he would be able to enter the Dungeon without even having to leave the Manor. The only real danger was if any of his children wandered into the Dungeon but, given the fact that the girls, the Xenos, and Terra herself would be watching over them, this wasnt likely. Vahn even intended to create a powerful barrier at the actual entrance to the Dungeon that couldnt be passed through without a keystone, so the odds of anyone identally passing through were functionally negligible... The most difficult part of the Xenos migration was Hestia, who was adamant about not allowing men into the Manors territory, Xenos or not. At the same time, she argued that having an influx of hundreds of people would simply cause too much chaos while also unnecessarily exposing the children to danger. Though the Xenos werent monsters, it didnt mean they were beyond following their instincts when angered or stressed out. If they were residing within the Illusory forest, even with Terra keeping tabs on them, there was always a chance they could injure one of the children that yed there. Since Vana practically spent more than half her time within the forest, Hephaestus took Hestias side on the matter and was afraid the influence of the Xenos would bergely negative on her eldest daughter. Since his children were inarguably the most important thing in the world, at least from Vahns perspective, he had no grounds to stand on once this discussion had taken ce. It was fortunate that Terras territory extended far outside the bounds of the Manor these days or the first news he would have to bring the Xenos would have been bad. Thus, after Loki brought up the solution, it was decided that the Xenos would instead reside in the confines of Lokis Manor to the north. Terra would fill the entire region with trees and nts, essentially turning the massive plot ofnd into a forest that would keep the Xenos concealed. With the underground tunnel system already connected with the Northern Manor, they could just extend it into an artificial construct that connected to the Dungeon from there instead. This also made it less likely that any of the children would wander into the area, as there were numerous failsafes in ce, so Vahn readily agreed to the changes. In a way, it was better for the Xenos as well since the Alliance could turn over thend to them in the future, allowing them to create a small settlement that could house a few thousand of their species. If they had been within the confine of the Hearth Manor, the Xenos would have been forced to migrate a second time once things had started to calm down and they were more epted in society. Once all the preliminary details were worked out, which also included negotiations with the Ganesha Familia, Vahn enjoyed some leisure time with his children and the remaining girls within the Manor. Since Meinya had been left in the care of Aki, thetter had been somewhat fretful trying to keep up with the energetic kitten, who had also started to influence her own daughter, Anise, a bit. The two had been trying to sneak away and cause trouble every chance they could get, causing Vahn to have to snatch them up on Akis behalf when it was time for bed. Fortunately, they turned into adorable little angels while sleeping and, though she was in a panic trying to keep up with them, it was easy to tell that Aki was actually very happy... When she was busy with her duties at the School, Tsubaki was spending a lot of time looking over Sakuya and helping girls like Vana, Leh, and Aisha in their basic training. Though thetter two werent exactly ready to begin training in earnest, their rapid development meant that it wouldnt be long before they were. Tsubaki wanted them to have all the basic knowledge down before practical training and used Vana as both her student and assistant for demonstration purposes. Since Vana loved being a good big sis for her siblings, she happily took to the task and was improving very quickly, even without fighting against any monsters just yet. Vahn had joined the girls for one of their training sessions and got to spar against his rather fiery daughter for the better part of an hour, showing that her stamina was already much higher than a novice Level 1. She was even able to use her [Genesis me] to create a few openings by producing small explosions meant to disorient her opponents. If not for Vahnspletely fire immunity, and ability to track her movements through his domain, she may have even been able tond a blow or two against him. Fortunately, his thousands of hours of spars against the girls had honed his senses to an extreme so, even after being blinded, Vahn easily parried all of his rambunctious daughters sneak attacks. By the time she had tuckered herself out, Vana actually had arge grin on her face,menting, "Of course, Papa is the strongest...haafuuu..." When he wasnt busy running around after his more energetic children, Vahn also spent a fair amount of time watching Ina in her workshop, marveling at the ingenuity behind her creations. Though she was also developing the habit of letting her body sweat out freely, wearing nothing but a simple band around her chest and tying her coveralls around her waist, Vahn couldnt exactly tell her it was wrong to do so. Seeing her hard at work, making huge strides in her progress almost every single day, the only thing he could really do was encourage her to keep pushing her art to the next level. Besides, since many of his children still had the habit of wanting to take a bath with him, he couldnt exactly start fretting over some exposed skin when they were in deep focus... One thing Vahn found very refreshing was how Erika had started to help out in the education of the other children, following the principle that you only truly understood something if you could convey and teach it to others. She and Alexa spent a lot of time together helping to educate their siblings, with Masonia now following his big sisters around like a puppy. Vahn felt a little strange seeing his eldest son listening so adherently to his sisters because, even though he was a polite and intelligent boy, it was a bad habit to fall into if he let others walk all over him. This was especially the case as Sherry seemed to be taking after the older girls and it almost felt like the young Masonia was getting bullied by his own Guardian... When Vahn confronted his son about the matter, Masonia simply stated, "Since Father is such a capable man, even while listening to others, I believe I can be the same. Dont worry, even if it is difficult to deal with at times, I never allow anyone to tell me to do something I am unwilling, or unable, to rationalize. My sisters are kind and intelligent girls, worthy of my respect and trust, so I do not mind it, even if they want to tease me a little." Thus, unable to really refute his sons logic, Vahn could only shake his head when he stumbled into the study one day and saw his son dressed up in a gothic style dress while his sisters styled his hair and put makeup on his face... (A/N: Like father, like son...xD...) As much as he would like to remain within the Hearth Manor indefinitely, Vahn knew he needed to return to Lil Geirr to prepare for the continued expedition to the 50th Floor. He had already been away for more than two days and, though this was necessary with the preparations he had been making for the Xenos, it was closing in on the time he needed to return. Right now, the motivation of the expedition members was rtively high and that would be a very important factor that determines how quickly the construction is able to proceed. Since it was likely that Enyos forces would attack again, they would need to work almost tirelessly to establish the foundation for Haven in the shortest period of time. Working conditions like those would be heavily dependent on the amount of motivation owed by the construction crews and Vahn knew it was important to act while their motivation was highest. Before he returned to the Dungeon, however, Vahn spent the final evening with Hestia, Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, and Eirene. Demeter was often away, managing the affairs of her own Familia, so she was unfortunately absent from the godly sendoff that Vahn had received. At the same time or, more specifically, after things had calmed down, Vahn also had a discussion with the goddesses about the enemies in their midst. Though it was likely to be an unfounded im meant to cause internal tension within the Alliance, it wasnt something that could be ignored either. It was rtively easy to eliminate almost everyone that resided in the Manor, regardless of if they were mortal or god, as there was simply no feasible means to keep such a matter secret. Not only were the girls themselves very perceptive, but Vahn had witnessed the [Hearts Desire] of almost everyone within. The only exceptions to this were Mona, the girls that worked at the Guild Branch, and Vahns children. Mona was simply an impossible candidate, given her background and the vows she was ced under, and the girls at the Guild Branch had no actual power or influence within the Manor. This meant the enemy was outside of the Manor and, with the being the case, it wasnt actually that big of an issue at all. Since the majority of the Alliances power was consolidated within this centralized location, it didnt really matter what was going on outside... To be safe, Loki said she would start investigating the internal affairs of every Familia with any meaningful influence within the Alliance. The most obvious person that would betray them would be Ouranos himself but, considering the vows he had taken,bined with nearly a billion c.u.mtive years of acting as a bystander, it wasnt likely. Though the people beneath him were still suspect, the Guild didnt actually have that much influence in the Alliance and they were actively supportive of each other. It wouldnt make much sense for Ouranos to allow for the establishment of Orario, supporting its growth and regting its affairs, only to want to destroy it after nearly a thousand years. The biggest thing Loki would be investigating was how Enyo, a goddess that must have resided in Heaven at some point, was able to avoid detecting by literally every other god. Though there were certainly some gods that didnt know the names of every other god, it wouldnt make sense for the pantheon Enyo was created into to be unaware of her. In total, the number of gods only numbered in the thousands, with the creation, death, ascension, and descent of every god a rtively major event that was doc.u.mented and noted immediately as it urred. It was simply impossible for a goddess to have been created in Heaven and gone unnoticed unless, at the time of their creation, they were already being concealed. This was especially true if she descended to the mortal world, as there were only a few means of doing so. The only path was by using the bridge created by Babel Tower and, unless you could somehow piggyback a god like Hermes, there were simply no other means to reach the mortal ne. This simple fact made Hermes seem like the most likely candidate but, as many of the goddesses knew him for a very long period of time, it wouldnt have made any sense for him to do such a thing...even so, he fell into the crosshairs of Loki and she intended to cross-examine every member of his Familia to find out what they had been up to over thest few decades... The one thing that made it hard to deny Hermes involvement was the fact that he had disappeared around the time the expedition was set to ur. Though he had the excuse of Vahn purchasing his entire Familia, the fact he hadnt appeared since then was a minor g. However, given how clever Hermes was supposed to be, the fact that most of the signs pointed towards him actually made it less likely. It wouldnt have made any sense for him to spend hundreds of years plotting in secret only to now draw so much attention to himself. He was likely involved with whoever was working with Enyo and, for one reason or another, drawing attention to himself at their behest... --- Deep within a ruined city, long forgotten in the flow of time, a blonde haired god wearing a feathered hat sneezed loudly before wiping away his nose and staring into the distance with his slightly parted orange eyes. With a perpetual smile upon his face, he murmured, "I wonder if a beautiful girl is talking about me~?" At his left, a beautiful woman with blue hair tilted her head to the side slightly, muttering, "Hermes...you should show a greater sense of propriety as a God. Your bad habit of ying with the hearts of maidens...haaaa..." In response to hispanionsint, Hermes released a light-heartedugh before musing, "Love is one of the most powerful and influential forces in the entire world, my darling Artemis. If you ever fell in love, I believe you would agree with my sentiments~." Hearing this, Artemis furrowed her brows slightly and said, "I am a Goddess of Chastity, Hermes...I will not lower myself to partake of the wanton desires of the flesh. You would do well to hold your tongue and not say something so tantly offensive..." To this, Hermes maintained a casual smile and continued walking down the dark corridor with Artemis in silence. There was little he could say to change her mind on the matter and, though he had an idea as to whom might be able to break down the walls of her heart, that was a story for another time... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hestia aint having Vahns shit xD...,RIP Masonia...,gs, gs everywhere...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 832 - Much to Learn

Chapter 832 - Much to Learn

While Vahn was making his preparations to descend into the Dungeon, he was doing quite the opposite within the Xenos Hidden Vige. He was just entering into his fifth day amongst the Xenos people and,pared to his interactions with people on the surface world, Vahn found theirpanionship very refreshing. Spending time lounging about and drinking with Lyd and Gros was a great way to pass the time and, though it caused a fair number of incidents, Vahn enjoyed how they did everything as amunity. Though it could be a result of simply never having clothes to wear, many of the Xenos didnt mind their appearance much and it wasnt umon for groups of their tribe to partake inmunal bathing, or even just napping together. There was no sense of shame, nor were things like social propriety and facades present within theirmunity. Everyone just lived freely amongst each other, helping out when things were difficult, and supporting their shared dreams. Though there were sometimes disagreements, there was never any true infighting and, if there were ever any real disputes, they were almost always settled through mediation and discussion, not violence... Vahn found himself growing fonder of the Xenos as the days passed, to the point that their sense of boundaries, or theck thereof, no longer bothered him. Currently, he found himself rxing in the hot springs with Lyd sitting at his side as they both drank sake from a wooden tform floating within the water. At the same time, the somewhat mischevious Marie was touching the tips of his toes with her tailfin, her heart-shaped pupils glimmering with amus.e.m.e.nt. There were several other Xenos present as well, including Gros, Xude, and his current stalker, Naho. Though they knew better than to cling to him now, it didnt stop the girls from trying to y around and push the boundaries a bit... Throwing back another cup of sake, Lyd released a small burp that caused a wisp of me to escape his reptilian maw before he smiled and said, "You know, I wouldnt mind if things just stayed like this, Vahn. Now that we can move up to the surface whenever we want, it almost feels like there isnt really a need to. Having you here has been great for all of us and, with everything youve revealed about the surface...well, some of it doesnt really sound all the pleasant..." As if she had been waiting for the conversation to start, Marie nodded her head and swam up next to Vahn, resting against his chest as if it werepletely natural as she said, "Vahn stay with us...everyone happy...Vahn make everyone happy...Marie make Vahn happy~" Marie was a strikingly beautiful Mermaid-Xenos with gradient, emerald-blue, hair that loosely hung around her shoulders. She had jade-colored eyes with heart-shaped pupils that reflected pink whenever the light struck them perfectly. This was her natural [Charm] and, much like how Syr had been negatively affected by hers, Marie was one of the Xenos that was constantly in danger of being hunted. There was no end to the number of deviants who sought her out for her beauty and, much like Unicorn Blood, the blood of a mermaid was used as an ingredient to make things like the false [Elixir of Immortality]. A Mermaids blood could literally heal any non-fatal wound and also allowed things like detached limbs to be reconnected with rtive ease. If she got captured, the only thing awaiting her was a life of perpetual **** and, much like his former self, having her blood constantly harvested until she eventually died. This was one of the reasons behind why, even though he was trying to deny the advances of other Xenos, it was very difficult for Vahn to shun Marie...the number of parallels he shared with the rather innocent and child-like Xenos were many, causing Vahn to take a silent oath to protect her from harm... The only problem with this was that Marie seemed to understand his intentions and had grown very attached to him ever since their first meeting. Though she was limited to areas where there was water, it didnt stop her from behaving much like Naho, with marginally greater sess as she also knew when to get close to him. Since he had been unable to convince her to wear even a single strip of clothing at this point, Maries presence had caused Vahn a few troubles...not that he could genuinely stay mad at her... Contemting Lyds and Maries words, which hade up several times in thest day or two, Vahn lightly shook his head before patting Maries, saying, "Though I have enjoyed my time here in the Xenos Hidden Vige, my home is on the surface...Im sure, once you meet my family, you will understand why I cannot bear to part with them for long periods of time. I actually have to manage two bodies at once just to divide my time and, even then, it really isnt enough..." When he said this, Marie just had acent smile on her face, showing no signs that she had even processed a single word he had said. As for Lyd, he released augh before striking Vahns shoulder a little heavily as he said, "Thats one of the things I like about you, Vahn. You always treat us Xenos as equals, even when we can barely understand half the things you say...! Gyahahahahahaha~!" Acting on Lyds cue, Marie also started tough as she hugged Vahns arm, musing, "Vahn funny, stay always...ehehehehe~." Unable to really get his message through to her, at least for the time being, Vahn joined the two in theirughter as, from a short distance away, Gros mumbled, "Things really have be much more pleasant ever since Master showed up..." To his left, the Harpy-Xenos, Fear, nodded her head and said, "Vahn is already like family. We should do our best to make sure he can be happy..." This was a sentiment shared by many of the nearby Xenos, all hearing the rather quietly spoken words with their enhanced senses... Vahn had also heard the quiet conversation urring a short distance from him but gave no indication that he was listening in as he gently tried to remove Marie from his arm. He honestly didnt mind having his arm sandwiched between her rather plump bosom but, with the looks some of the other Xenos were giving them, Vahn wanted to avoid triggering another incident. Fortunately, Marie let go of his arm rather easily and just dove into the hot spring pool, swimming around in a quick circle before she popped back up and giggled yfully. Vahn returned a smile to her and took the opportunity to escape the hot springs before things got out of hand. Lyd and Gros also followed behind, both wearing clothes Vahn had given them as they moved through the tunnels leading towards the vige. Fenrir was waiting for him at the entrance, surrounded by a posse of Kobolds, Goblins, Horned Rabbits, and Almiraj. She had be something of a de facto leader for their group over thest few days and, not wanting her n.a.k.e.d body to be seen by other people, refrained from partaking of the hot springs bath. This was probably for the best, considering that she was prone to jealousy when watching her Master interact with other girls, especially those outside of the Manor... Considering it might be better for her to apany him on his excursion back to the 39th Floor, Vahn pet her fluffy ears as he asked, "Do you want toe with me back to Lil Geirr? Ill be entering into the Dungeon in a few hours and itll be just the two of us for a little while." These words caused Fenrirs ears to perk up like an alerted rabbit, an eager smile spreading across her face as she eximed, "Yes, I want to go hunting with Master~!" Though she didnt mind the peaceful life within the Xenos Hidden Vige, Fenrir had been pretty bored over thest few days. Since her Master was always focused on other things, she found herself just educating the weaker Xenos on how to be good for the future. Vahn nodded his head and, in the blink of an eye, Fenrir was already gone from the spot, now standing at his side back at the Manor. Lyd showed a face of confusion when he saw this, much like the other surrounding Xenos, causing Vahn to exin, "For those that have been named by my [Keeper of the Akashic Tome], Im able to transport them between my two bodies in an instant. I really wasnt lying when I said there are literally two of me...things get really busy for me at times..." Lyd nodded his head in understanding and showed a thoughtful expression while Gros brows perked up slightly as he asked, "Does that mean you can bring me to the surface right now, Master?" Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn said, "Yes, but there would be a few problems with that for the time being. Though you would probably be an exception, the presence of males within my home isnt really epted. Also, calling you to my side right now wouldnt really be the best time to do so, as Ill be heading into the Dungeon with Fenrir shortly. She probably wouldnt react well if I brought you along right after saying it would be just the two of us..." Since it was a good segue, Vahn also went on to exin the decision that was made by the goddesses, alerting them to the fact that they would be given their own territory to manage. The Alliance would still be protecting them, and they would still fall under the influence of Terras dominion, but the majority of the Xenos wouldnt be allowed within the confines of the Hearth Manor. This revtion was received surprisingly well, another credit to how reasonable and understanding the Xenos could be at times. Gros even brought up the idea of changing his s.e.x into a female in order to prevent problems, something that had caused Vahns brain to dull for a short while before shaking his head and saying not to mind it. If one of their leaders spontaneously changed gender to gain ess to the Manor, Vahn wouldnt be surprised if most of the male Xenos did the same. He exined that the main issue was simply the number of people, the potential dangers of having children running around, and the futureplications that would be present when trying to transition the Xenos into general society. It was simply better for them to have a territory of their own instead of living within a much smaller region where the number ofplications would drastically increase... Gros didnt really argue on the matter, epting it at face value, while the other Xenos didnt show any signs of being troubled by the changes at all. For the majority of the Xenos, they had never actually thought about what it truly meant to live on the surface and were just happy to have the opportunity. Since they had expected to be confined within the Dungeon for their entire lives, just having a ce to call home on the surface was more than enough for them. At this point, the trust they had towards Vahn had almost reached an extreme level and, even though it had only been five days, the lowest Affection he had with a Xenos was 93. For better or worse, the Xenos was very trusting, especially to those that could empathize with their dream and proactively tried to help them. Vahn was d he had been the one to earn their trust as, given their nature, it wouldnt have been difficult for someone to fool and manipte them. Just imagining these good people dying because of the machinations of another person made Vahn feel solemn indignation inside of his heart. It wasnt right for anyone to have to suffer unjustly and, with what he had observed of the Xenos thus far, Vahn felt they were something that should be protected. Those on the surface could learn a lot about life from watching the Xenos, assuming they could see beyond surface appearance and their personal bias... For the rest of the day, Vahn discussed the migration of the Xenos to the surface, spent some time fostering positive rapport with their members, cut a swath of destruction through the Dungeon with Fenrir, and then spent the night surrounded by the warmth of the girls at Lil Geirr and the fluffiness of the Almiraj-Xenos within the hidden vige. Naho also managed to get their permission to intrude into the small and homely den but, fortunately, she was also on the fluffy side of life. Thus, with a contented smile on both of his faces, Vahn drifted to sleep, ruminating over the hopes and dreams of those that had ced their trust in him... --- After more than ten days of hard training, Bell had managed to duck under the sheath of Alicia, twisting his body in a manner that even people far more skilled than him couldnt manage. He traced the dagger in his right hand along a smooth arc, aimed towards Alicias nk, and nearly clipped her before she twisted away from the daggers trajectory and kicked Bells backside. Because of the awkward angle he had been at, Bells feet slipped out from under him and he slid along the ground after smacking his head against the hard floor of the training arena. Alicia winced slightly when she heard the loud cracking sound but, given Bells Endurance, it was unlikely he had suffered any serious injuries. As expected, Bell rolled into a sitting position and nursed the bump on the back of his head, sighing as he said, "Miss Alicia, you dont have to be so rough...ataaa..." To this, Alicia justughed lightly, moving a few strands of her now jade-green hair behind her ear as she said, "You are improving very quickly, Bell. The fact that you can almostnd a hit on me, someone near the peak of Level 4, even while youre merely a fresh Level 2...well, its rather unbelievable. Once your probation is finished, Im certain you will be able to increase your strength very quickly...just remember, strength is useless if you cant even protect the things you care about..." While speaking, Alicia turned her attention to Line and Plum, both sitting against the wall and leaning against each other, fast asleep. Much like Bell, they had also been training hard to master their [Pactio]s, increasing their own strength to avoid a negative oue during their next stint within the Dungeon. It was currentlyte in the evening but Bell had been insistent on continuing their spar, causing Alicia to forget the time. Now, seeing the two girls snuggled up next to each other, Alicia smiled affectionately and said, "Those girls have been doing their best, Bell...if you let them down, well, Im not the only person youd have to worry about...fufufufu~." Bell had adopted a resolute look when Alicia mentioned protecting the people he cares about but, hearing her follow-up words, a shiver ran up his spine. Just imagining the expression of Loki if he got Line or Plum killed caused Bell to swallow hard with nervousness. However, it was the image of Vahns disappointed face that weighed most heavily on his mind. Vahn had not only saved his life, but the amount of support he had given Bell made thetter feel a great deal of pressure. Since it was his dream to be a hero, much like Vahn, Bell didnt want to be the type of person that got hisrades injured, especially after they had trained so hard together...he would never be able to hold his head up high if he erred so grievously... Seeing Bell treat her words seriously, Alicia nodded her head and said, "Ill talk to Loki-sama about redacting your probation soon. I believe you may be able to reach Level 3 in a rtively short period of time, potentially even soon enough to attend the rotation of personnel down to Lil Geirr. It would be a good experience for you, diving deeper into the Dungeon and experiencing the many mysteries that await those willing to probe its depths..." These words got Bell hyped up and, without due consideration for the two sleeping girls, he loudly eximed, "Alright! Thank you so much, Miss Alicia~!" As he spoke, Bell moved forward very quickly and tried to grab Alicias hands in his excitement only to have her sheath smack him dead center in his forehead. At the same time, Line and Plum had been startled awake by Bells loud cry, seeing him jumping towards Alicia with his arms spread, face filled with a heavy sheath. They immediately assumed it was his bad habit acting up and, without bothering to question Bell on the matter, began lecturing him in earnest... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A Species Worth Protecting...,Just...just pile them on me...,RIP Bell-kun...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 833 - Perception

Chapter 833 - Perception

When he had arrived on the 39th Floor the prior evening, Vahn had a short meeting with Finn to get a better understanding of the expeditions preparations. He learned that, for the most part, everyone was ready to depart and, instead of the approximately 1300 original members, there were now closer to 1800. This was abination of the fact that Lil Geirr no longer felt as safe as it was in the past, making people want to follow the stronger group, and the motivation everyone had to essentially be part of history. Knowing what was at stake, arger group than expected had rallied behind the Alliances banner and were determined to help establish a foothold, not just for the Alliance, but for all surface dwellers. In order to facilitate the additional units worth of people, the first three units had been shuffled around and now Aisha, representing more than 100 Amazonesses, would be the leader of the new 3rd Unit. Finn would still be leading the Vanguard while Haruhime would be takingmand of the Rearguard. Shakti would remain in charge of the 2nd Unit, leaving thergest congregation of Adventurers within the 3rd Unit as a response force. Vahns task remained that of the Supreme Commander of the expedition, but his main duty would be providing assistance wherever it was needed. Aisha had decided to apany the expedition down to the 50th Floor both as a means of supporting Vahn, and watching over her people. Since the 50th Floor would undoubtedly be the goal of many Amazonesses in the future, she knew it was important to establish a foundation early on to ensure there wouldnt be any problems. In a way, she would be the head of the Entertainment District within Haven and, with Vahn giving her a me seed, her strength would continue to increase in the future. Vahn also promised her that, once things with Telskyura were dealt with, if she wanted one, he would like to have a child with her... This news had caused Aisha tough quite a bit, catching Vahn a little off guard until she came close enough that their noses were practically touching each other and said, "If not for the fact those two were exercising patience, I would have already gotten a baby from you, Vahn~." Aisha, licking her own lips, also traced her tongue just barely across Vahns. Though she had been a very patient woman, it was primarily out of respect for Tiona and Tione, concern for Haruhime, and a desire to take care of her people. If Vahn had already had children with Tiona and Tione, Aisha would have already talked things over with Haruhime before sneaking into Vahns bedroom in the middle of the night if she needed to... After that rather sensual encounter with Aisha, Vahn had a moment of reflection and wondered if what he was doing now was really the most important thing. However, almost as soon as this thought crossed his mind, Vahn remembered Enyos provocation and the attack on Lil Geirr. She was far more dangerous than he had initially expected and, even if her forces couldnt contend against the Alliance directly, the amount of damage she could cause was catastrophic. Vahn could tell that her minions were growing stronger and, if he didnt personally throw a wrench into her ns in the near future, the death toll would weigh heavily on his mind for a long time. Currently, Vahn was helping the girls get ready for the expedition and, as things had been rather quiet over thest couple of days, they had been lounging around a bit. He had Fenrir, in what he now referred to as her bunny-wolf form, sitting atop his head much like how Shirohime was fond of doing. This impression was very strong as, with a jadeb in hand, Vahn was slowlybing through Haruhimes fluffy tails as she sat in nothing but a pair of crimson red silk panties. Most of the other girls were also in nothing but their underwear, causing tantalizing shes of youthful skin to fill Vahns vision. It was difficult to have any negative thoughts when witnessing such a scene so Vahns expression showed a calm contentedness and a subtle smile instead... After nearly two hours, as it required a fair amount of time tob through every girls hair, ears, and tails, Vahn was finally able to set down hisb and stretch his legs. At the same time, Maemi brought over a hot cup of ck tea, smiling as she said, "Here you are, Master..." Vahn graciously epted the tea as Emiru stepped behind his back and began massaging his shoulders, even though there was no real tension in his body. Even so, Vahn didnt stop her efforts and instead enjoyed the momentaryfort as he finished his tea, handing the empty cup back to Maemi as he smiled to the girls and said, "Lets go ruin Enyos ns, shall we...?" Tione was the first to raise her fist, shouting, "Lets teach that bitch a lesson!" with an expectant glimmer in her eyes. Tiona alsoughed, holding her hands behind her head as she mused, "I hope they have some strong guys to at least put up a fight~." Other than the Variant Juggernaut, the rest of the enemies had gone down rather quickly. Even the strange Visc.u.m were only around the strength of a peak Level 5, making them a non-threat to most of the girls. With their battle instincts as Amazonesses, Tiona and Tione were a little more excited for theing fights than most... Following the two rambunctious Amazons, Ais surprisingly smiled as she said, "Make sure not to defeat Enyo too quickly...I have a lot of questions for her." Tiona beganughing even more when she heard this, clinging to Ais with a jubnt smile on her face as she rubbed cheeks with the doll-like beauty. Lefiya also show her support, balling her hands into fists as her star-shaped pupils radiated confidence as she said, "As long as everyone works together, there is nothing we cant ovee~!" This exmation got pretty much everyone fired up, including the rather quiet Rufina who had been sitting with Chloe, Arnya, and Haruhime previously. She, much like Ais, had a lot of questions shed like answered and, even if it was impossible for her to fight on the frontlines, Rufina was determined to uncover the truth. With Fenrir gently wagging her tail, still clinging to his head, Vahn nodded slightly and said, "Im not going to let Enyo get away so easily next time...well, lets go get ready. Everyone has their own duties to take care of but make sure to stay in contact at all times. Remember, Enyo will probably try to deceive you the first chance she gets and, given what we know, she may even have methods to alter your memories. Never believe anything the enemy says, especially if it sounds too good to be true or pertains to something you want to know about. We will find the truth together...never forget that..." Vahn was more than a little worried about both Ais and Rufina, especially the former as she likely had a direct connection with Enyo... After one final hurrah, followed by a ratherfortable group hug, everyone left the Hestia Familiaspound and went to their own Unit to make final preparations. There were still more than two hours before the departure was scheduled, but Unitmanders like Haruhime needed that time to get things properly organized. Lefiya would also need time tomunicate her orders and intentions to her Mage squad while everyone else performed checks on the carts, supplies, and people that they would be protecting. Vahn also met up with each of the Unit Commanders to make sure everything was good to go before having a short briefing with Finn before final checks were made. By the time the expedition was ready to move out, Vahn was sitting at the front cart of the 3rd Unit with Shizune and Tina sitting on his nks. Things would get very chaotic in the Deeper Floors and, though they were more than strong enough to protect themselves, Vahn felt better with them at his sides. This arrangement had been well-received by both girls so Vahn felt less guilty about treating them like children, even though they were far older than he and the other girls were back when he first began entering the Dungeon. To make it up to them, Vahn had a hand on both girls heads and used his [Grooming], both to pacify them while also bolstering their parameters for any dangerous fights that may ur... With one final shout from Finn, which was repeated by Shakti, Aisha, and Haruhime, the expedition began moving forward while the majority of Lil Geirrs residents saw them off. There was a slight bit of solemnity in the atmosphere, but everyone still cheered loudly and wished the expedition good fortune in its endeavors. It wasnt an exaggeration to call this one of the most important events to take ce in thest thousand years so everyone at least made an effort to appear supportive. Then, as thest cart had exited the gates of Lil Geirr, a massive barrier covered the entire enclosed region. Vahn had left enough resources to power the barrier for nearly a month straight and, unless something like the Dungeon ceiling copsing urred, there were few things that would be able to damage the powerful magic dome. This type of barrier was called a [Paling], a type of magic barrier that was powered by a massive crystal that was kept within the heart of Lil Geirr. As long as it was powered, the barrier it produced was nearly indestructible and, out of consideration for a repeat event, Vahn made sure it was a type of barrier that could redirect kic energy and withstand much greater physical pressure than the previous one. It cost him 6,000,000OP to purchase but, with the remnants of the Variant Juggernautting him nearly 4,300,000OP, Vahn didnt believe it was a waste of resources. (A/N: Vahn also killed several tens of thousands of monsters, leaving a veritable floor full of drop items and crystals behind after the fighting had ended xD.) With the pale white barrier at their backs, lighting up the rather dark dungeon floor, the expedition continued forward until they arrived at the entrance to the 40th Floor. The journey to the 50th Floor would be conducted in one fell swoop, starting from the 40th Floor, continuing through the zing Hell between the 44th and 49th Floors, and then ending after the ying of the Balor. After entering the 50th Floor proper, it was very possible that a veritable ocean of monsters would await them but, no matter what it took, the expedition would press forward. This time, Vahn had decided to enter into his Lightning Emperor form the moment a major threat appeared. He didnt want a repeat of what happened with the Variant Juggernaut, where he got thrashed pretty badly until Ais and Ryuu helped out. This was also why he wanted Shizune and Tina at his sides as, even though their [Effigy of the Hero] would have protected them, Vahn had been a little shaken when he saw the malicious monster immediately set its sights on them in the previous encounter. Without his ridiculous number of blessings, the quick reaction of Chloe, and the existence of his [Aegis], there was a non-negligible chance the two could have died... Thinking how close the two hade to losing their lives, Vahn hugged the two girls close and kissed the tops of their heads. They didnt really know what he was thinking and just epted his care and affections without anyint. As for Fenrir, who had some idea of what was going through her Masters mind, she hopped down onto the back of the wagon and returned to her bat ready appearance. There was a fierce glint in her eyes as wisps of midnight-blue and a mystical white light began to spread from her pupils. With her Master prepared to act at a moments notice in order to protect the two girls, Fenrir shared the same mentality and her hair began to be slightly rigid as her body became tense like a spring that was ready to release. Though he had noticed Fenrir roll off his head, Vahn just looked back for a moment without questioning what she was up to. She had a habit of being considerate of other girls at times and he assumed this was her way of letting him spend time with Shizune and Tina. Sending her his gratitude through their shared connection, which caused Fenrir to slightly nod her head, Vahn continued to pet the two girls without restraint. Shizune even moved to hisp, causing Tina to curse under her breath slightly as the mature Kitsuneughed triumphantly. Vahn immediately moved her back to his side, pinching her button-like nose as he said, "I need to be able to move during an emergency..." Shizune had been slightly surprised by the fact that Vahn had moved her away from hisp but, hearing his reasoning, she blushed slightly and lowered her head, saying, "Sorry...I..." Vahn reached out his hand and plopped it onto her head, whispering, "Shhhh...its fine..." while doing the same to the now triumphant looking Tina. Neither girl really looked like a child anymore but, with nearly 30cm of height on the two of them, Vahn could easily stroke their heads in much the same way as in the past. However, even while he enjoyed gently ying with the girls ears, Vahns eyes remained sharp as his massive domain scouted an area of 1,083m around him... Vahn had noticed that the range of his domain had started to increase very quickly over thest few days and had a few spections about why this was the case. It could be the change in his mentality, but Vahn had felt a slight change when he had used his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] on Gros. After that, he noticed that the improved affections of others seemed to have a minuscule effect on his domain and, considering the nature of the quest he had received, Vahn started to understand why The Path assigned him to get 10,000 followers, subordinates, or retainers. He had always known that his [Will of the Emperor] actually became stronger based on the devotion of his followers but, until recently, never saw the skill for what it truly was. Now, if his suspicion was true, Vahn knew the best method to strengthen himself in this, and all future records... He may not be the Emperor he had seen within the Divination, but Vahn was beginning to understand that, with his personality, it was impossible for him to pass through a record without bringing about change. Since he couldnt simply ignore injustice and corruption that existed right in front of him, his path would always be marked by numerous tyrants, kings, and nobles that he had deposed. Even gods would likely fall in his personal crusade to make the worlds he visits a better ce and, in order to make sure such a dream became reality, he would need the support of the people he was trying to save. The more support he had, the faster his growth would be and, once he had linked together several records, Vahn knew his power would reach an unfathomable extent that his current mind simply couldntprehend... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Aisha aint ying no games, boi xD...,Protec the smol floofs...,Who would have thought that a skill with the description [Passive]: Transcend all limitations and boundaries. Increases growth based on the conviction of the wielder and their followers. would get stronger with more followers...? Vahn is a smurt boi...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 834 - Momentum

Chapter 834 - Momentum

Though it was supposed to be a Dead Zone, where not too many monsters were known to spawn, what awaited the expedition on the 40th Floor were waves upon waves of enemies. The majority were Loup Garou, the 130cm tall musclebound wolfmen known for their sharp ws and high agility, but there were also Skull Sheep and Peluda in support. The Skull Sheep were bigger than the Loup Garou and had ck cloaks covering the skeletal bodies, making it hard to predict their attacks as they used spears to try and assault the expedition. As for the Peluda, they were actually formed into lines at the back of the waves, using their poisoned spines to try and assault from a distance... Leading these organized assaults were several Variant Monsters that Vahn knew were under the influence of Enyo. He suspected that some were Xenos but, fortunately, they didnt possess the same level of intelligence and it seemed more like they were part of a collective instead of having any individual intelligence. As long as these monsters remained on the battlefield, the other monsters were far more organized in their attacks. They became the priority targets of the Strike Forces led by Ais and Tiona while Lefiya, Ryuu, and Arnya assaulted from a distance. Haruhime was still protected by Lili and Mikoto while Chloe, Maemi, Emiru, and Tione assisted Ais and Tiona. Fortunately, the moment their leaders were taken out, the monsters would be more chaotic, making them slightly more dangerous but also easier to route. With the expedition focused primarily on defense, forming a tightly packed convoy that made slow and steady progress, the number of injuries was kept to a minimum. Those that did end up taking a spear, spine, or arrow, knew to remove the barb as quickly as possible, marveling at how their wounds would almost instantly heal. With Vahns support, so long as you didnt immediately suffer a fatal blow, you only needed to deal with a very temporary pain before you were already back in the fight... Keeping a calm expression, even as holes would asionally dot his body, Vahn remained vignt and periodically used his domain to support the girls while looting the monster cores and drop items. The expedition used a lot of crossbow bolts, arrows, and [Burst Oil] to deal with the monster hordes, requiring Vahn to supplement the OP expenditure with the loot left behind by monsters. It was a good thing that the cores and drops were typically worth a lot more than most of the supplies and resources used up by the expedition, or he would be drawing a deficit as they pressed forward... By the time the expedition had fought tooth and nail to reach the 44th Floor, nearly twelve hours had passed. During this time, Vahn had managed to .u.mte nearly 7m OP, a monstrous amount that actually made Vahns blood boil with excitement. He needed, at the bare minimum, ten billion Origin Points if he wanted toplete his [I Shall Seal The Heavens] Quest. Though his expenses were rather costly, Vahn estimated it would only take around 1200 days to .u.mte the required amount, assuming things continued as they were. Though this would probably overtax the Alliance greatly, meaning he would need to put a stop to the endless waves of monster, Vahn still felt hopeful for the future. If Enyo was truly on the 60th Floor, Vahn was confident they would be able to deal a critical blow to her forces within the next few months. Beyond the 60th Floor, there were undoubtedly numerous powerful monsters that would be worth a plethora of OP. That being the case, so long as he didnt breach through Tier 4, Vahn knew he would be able to increase his reserves exponentially once Enyo was dealt with. Though he would undoubtedly be busy with other countries, and had more than a few things to resolve back on the surface, it was still possible for him to probe into the Dungeons depth, drastically increasing hisbat potential and OP earnings. Dealing with Enyo would be like finding his footing on a stepping stone that immediatelyunched him closer toward the future he sought... Before transitioning into the 44th Floor, Vahn erected a barrier around the expedition and gave the signal to all the Unit Commanders to pass their orders. Everyone in the expedition had two of the [Sage Aldrnaris Relief], the potions that had been brewed by Terra and Naaza. It was the same emerald green potion Vahn had given to Finn before the expedition had set out, allowing the user to replenish their stamina and stave off fatigue temporarily. At the same time, he was using his [Hands of Nirvana] to alleviate a bit of the stress everyone was feeling after fighting almost non-stop for twelve hours. Though it was tempting to stop and rest here, especially since there would be even more monsters in future Floors, their momentum would take a hard hit that would make it even more difficult to recover after such a setback... Fortunately, the 44th through the 48th Floor could almost be ssified as Vahns domain, as the overabundance of fire elemental energy gave him a massive advantage. It was also an area where the number of monsters attacking them would be greatly restricted, as many monsters simply couldnt survive in the fiery dominion for long periods of time. The only major threats would be me Rocks, which werent a real threat at all, given the fact that Vahn could simply kill them the moment they entered into his domain. Any other monsters that tried to badger them would have to contend against a veritable ocean of fire, provided by the Dungeon and manipted freely by Vahn. Once everything was ready, Vahn entrusted Shizune and Tina to Haruhime, as she, Lili, and Mikoto would be able to protect them in an emergency. Then, after taking up the banner of the Alliance from Finn, Vahn waved it proudly and gave a loud bellow that shook the very Dungeon itself. With his own resolution igniting like a volcano about to explode, Vahn shouted, "Onwards! For the future of Orario! For all that we hold dear! Do not slow your steps and allow this ursed Dungeon to stop our advance! We are the hope that will vanquish the darkness and light the way towards the future!" He didnt expect them to shout or cheer, but Vahn wanted to at least bolster the morale of the expedition a little. To his surprise, however, nearly every single person within the expedition released loud war cries in response to his words. Though it could be an illusion, Vahn felt like a wave of power passed through his body, effectively causing the volcano within to erupt as he joined them with a cry of his own. Then, without any hesitation, Vahn pointed the banner forward and proceeded into the 44th Floor proper. Almost immediately thereafter, several disguised me Rocks exploded into fragments as Vahn forcibly ripped theposite Fire Elemental energy in their bodies away. For golems that wereprised almost entirely of stone and magma, they simply stood no chance the moment he became aware of them... Unlike the previous Floors, the expedition pressed into the 44th Floor at a much faster pace than before. Vahn eliminated every me Rock within his domain and waved the banner around like it was a baton that could manipte the tidal flood of mes under his control. Any variant monsters that showed up to bar their passage were buried within the flow of these mes as the girls grouped up to eliminate anything that tried to attack the nks and rare of the expedition. Fenrir put on a big performance of her own here, sending out waves of Ice Elemental energy that, after contacting the fiery terrain, would explode from the temperature differential. She was able to use rtively weak attacks to great effect, riling up the expedition members even more as they actually began something akin to a war chant while marching forward... Vahn was absolutely certain that he drew power from other people at this point, as the flood of energy in his body almost seemed infinite. The calm within his mind and body was every present, but there was also a fierce motivation burning inside of him that made it feel like he was a tsunami washing over thend. Every time the expedition chanted, Vahn almost feltpelled to make a hurrah of his own, brandishing the banner with a fervor that seemed intent to cut through the very darkness of the Dungeon around them. This, in turn, inspired the expedition members even further, creating a positive feedback loop that caused the Dungeon itself to tremble from the overwhelming momentum they were generating. Each step of the expedition seemed to be in concert, shaking the Floor like an earthquake as waves of bolts and arrows immediately killed anything that even dared to slow their advance... While this phenomenon continued to loop andpound upon itself, a massive monster that didnt exist within the monsterpendium broke free from the Dungeon wall and tried to stop the expeditions advance. It was a behemoth of a creature that looked like a giant wingless dragon that was almost entirelyprised of dark ck stone and molten crag. It had several oveyered tes that seemed incredibly durable while a fiery glow spewed forth from its eyes and mouth. All around its body, there was poisonous smoke and smog and, when it released a heaven-shattering roar, the surrounding stone began to bubble and crack as small spouts of magma erupted from the Dungeons walls, floor, and ceiling. In response to the monstrous monsters roar, Vahn raised the Alliance banner high and, as if they had agreed to it beforehand, the entire expedition gave a loud war cry along with him. When Vahn dropped the banner down, pointing it towards the unknown monsters head, several links of [Enkidu] burst out of the void and bound the creature in an instant. Vahn then vanished from within the air, appearing atop one of the meter-thick tes on the monsters back before he nted the Alliances banner down. It was actually an S-Rank item that was made to be nigh-indestructible so that it would always be present and invible within a battlefield, so it was able to resist the force of Vahns blow. As the sharp point of the banner embedded itself into the monsters back, the ting shattered in an instant and the chains of [Enkidu] tightened, pulling it to the ground. Raising the banner once again, Vahn dropped it for a second time, now causing the hard hide of the monster to fragment and shatter as it released a howl and started to condense arge amount of energy within its throat. Vahn snorted, extending his hand to create a membrane of source energy within the monsters maw as the wave of Fire Elemental energy surged forward. It impacted the barrier Vahn had formed, spreading omnidirectionally and causing the monsters head to explode from its own attack. With one final war cry, Vahn lifted the banner for a third time before impaling it straight into the massive core that must have weighed a few thousand kilograms. The force of his strike was enough to shatter this core apart, causing the monster to turn to purple, ck, and yellow dust. This was confirmation that the creature had been infected by Enyo, even if it wasnt under herplete influence just yet. He quickly looted all of the drop items and core fragments before raising the banner once again, this time with the entire expedition shouting out while he simply smiled victoriously. The fact they were calling out his name made Vahn feel like he could bisect the entire Dungeon by nting the banner once again, even if he knew this wasnt the case. Now, even faster than their already quick pace, the expedition continued forward with a monstrous momentum. Vahn continued to clear out everything barring their passage while all straggling monsters were wiped out with overwhelming force. This was definitely a waste of resources and OP, but Vahn didnt care about such trivial things right now as he brandished both the banner and [Laevateinn] together, directing his own mes to consume anything that tried to slow them down. By the time eight hours had passed, the expedition had used its unstoppable momentum to move directly into the notoriously dangerous 49th Floor. However, instead of stopping to try and defend against theing attacks, Vahn held out the banner and allowed a very excited Tiona to receive it. Unlike the 48th Floor, the 49th Floor was one massive room, known colloquially as Moytura, the realm of the Monster Rex, Balor. There were no grass or trees located anywhere, leaving only deste red sand and stone to dot thendscape. Other than the massive pirs that would obstruct the view of anyone passing through, there were no actual obstructions to advancement, which was a trap that the Dungeon made use of. This was the Floor where thousands of monsters would band together in waves to try and overwhelm even normal expeditions. With their expedition being muchrger than any other throughout history, it wasnt surprising to Vahn when what seemed like an endless flood of monsters began converging on their position. Unfortunately for these monsters, which consisted of more than a hundred-thousand Fomoire, goat-like monsters that were known for their massive groups, they had a very exploitable weakness. Being brute creatures that had an almost Pure Darkness Elemental affinity, they were extremely vulnerable to magic, especially of the Ligh variety. Vahn had Lefiyae to his side and she had already started to chant, "Gather, 101 spirits of light, strike my enemy. Magic Arrows, Convergence of 101 Light Arrows~!" Two magic circles appeared behind Lefiya while another appeared in front of her hand, converging together all 101 Light Elemental arrows as Vahn reached out his hand, grasping the incredibly painful ball of magic as he shouted, "Fixate. Seize. Load magic, Emperor of Light!" Vahn felt like every cell in his body had incinerated in an instant as the Light Elemental energy forcibly fused together with the fundamentally negative energy of his [Magia Erebea]. If not for his body beingprised of Source Energy, it would be impossible to achieve this feat as even attempting to do so would have broken his body down almost instantly. Now, though it was a very painful form to take, Vahns skin had turned almost translucent white as spirals of pure white energy coiled around his arms, torso, and legs. At the same time, six angelic wings spread from his back while his hair more than doubled in length, taking on a pure gold color that radiated with divine light. His eyes no longer had sclera at all, instead, taking on the appearance of orbs of light as Vahn seemingly illuminated the entire Floor. The monsters, which had been pressing forward with a fervent madness that seemed nigh-unstoppable, not stopped dead in their tracks. They held their forearms up to try and cover their faces as the few Variants among them tried to use magical barriers to protect their troops. Seeing this, Vahn raised his index finger towards one of the variants and, inserting a small amount of Source Energy into the attack, sent a beam of light that instantly prated through the barrier. The Variant Fomoire, which would have the average strength of a Level 5 Adventurer, immediately broke down into purple dust the moment the beam pierced its core. Even then, it didnt stop moving forward and Vahn could feel his attack actually pierce through several Floors of the Dungeon in an instant... Even without him prompting her to do so, Tiona raised the Alliance banner high in the sky and gave a loud war cry as a smile spread across Vahns face. Then, raising his hands like a master pianist who was about to perform his greatest masterpiece, Vahns fingers began to dance through the air, ying a song of purification and death as beams of light rained down upon the endless ocean of Fomoire... (A/N: Last EPIC for today since I had lost power earlier and had to rewrite this chapter from scratch xD...I kinda like how it ended up though. Vahn got to be a badass this chapter (UwU)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wow, such OP, very cool,The [Will of the Emperor] is the Will of his People~!,Angel of Death...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 835 - 50th Floor

Chapter 835 - 50th Floor

After the initial barrage from Vahns fingertips, the Fomoire below entered into a panic, rushing forward in a mad frenzy in ordance with their base instincts. However, his elimination of the Variant-Species and Mages had crippled the threat level of the wave of monsters while also buying time for Fenrir, Haruhime, and Lefiya to finish their chants. Fenrirs and Haruhimes magic caused massive explosions of ice and snow to decimaterge groups of Fomoire within a st zone of several kilometers. As for Lefiya, shepleted her chant and summoned seventeen aetherial Valkyries that were formed from wind. They charged into the horde of Fomoire and began cutting through the mass of enemies like a gale sweeping through a field of wheat. The attacks of the Valkyries were extremely lethal while any attempt by the Fomoire to retaliate had their attacks pass through the Valkyries formless bodies without any effect. Not content with just seventeen summons, Lefiya consumed a mana potion and summoned another seventeen, repeating this process several times until there were more than a hundred unstoppable Valkyries of wind cutting through the flood of goat-like creatures. Vahn noticed how hard she was working and sent her a bit of his own source energy to make use of, empowering her to continue while he focused on keeping his reserves rtively full. He wanted to stay in his transformed state until the expedition hadpletely cleared out the Floor and nned to annihte the Balor once it showed up. Though he didnt mind leaving it to the girls, so that they could gain experience, Vahn didnt know what was waiting for them on the 50th Floor and wanted everyone at their peak. With the window of opportunity provided by the girls bombardment, Vahn looked over the supplies remaining in the wagons and began to purchase bulk goods from the system shop in order to replenish the reserves. Even if some individuals within the expedition were weak, it was difficult to discredit the might of nearly two-thousand people firing magically enhanced crossbows. At the very least, they would be able to take out most of the fodder enemies that would spawn during an emergency situation. Since there were barrier wards ced within each wagon, which only prevented attacks from entering, they would be able to hold out for a few hours against anything below the strength of a Monster Rex. After topping up the supplies, Vahn looked towards Tiona and saw her practically dancing around with the banner in her hands. She seemed to be riled up quite a bit so he sent her a small nod that caused the giddy Amazoness to charge into the horde of Fomoire without any hesitation. Since she was already in her [Pactio] form, Tiona was an unstoppable force within the group of Level 4-5 monsters, brandishing the banner as if it were a weapon she had used for years. Vahn felt a little awkward, as he had intended for her to return the banner to his hands, but he remained stoic and expressionless without calling her back. Instead, he tried to familiarize himself with the six wings at his back, noticing they responded to his thoughts but didnt actually seem to have any function outside of aesthetics. Until now, he didnt really know why the armament took on the various forms it did and assumed it had something to do with the structure of the spells. He wanted to look into it more in the future as it would be pretty interesting to be able to control the form he took without having to forcibly change it after transforming. Still, he found his current appearance to be rather inspiring and, given the fervent and reverential looks some of the expedition members were giving him, Vahn didnt make any alterations. Instead, he just continued to target any Variants that popped up and, when his reserves were near full, sent energy to the girls to keep them supplemented for the duration of the battle. As their progress hadnt been slowed by much, the expedition continued towards the center of the Floor and Vahn was finally able to sense the Balor within his range. It was currently waiting to try and ambush them with its explosive emergence strategy, something which brought a small smile to his face. He extended his hands forward and noticed that his six wings also curled in slightly, alerting Vahn to their purpose as the feathery tips began to condense mana. It seemed that his wings also served as a catalyst for producing the beams of light from [Sagitta Magicka] so Vahn cracked and evenrger smile as he sent forth a volley of sixteensers with Source Energy contained within. The Balor, which had been biding its time and waiting to assault the expedition, now found itself with several beams of light prating straight through its magic core, continuing into the Dungeon beyond as if its body had been nothing more than an illusion. This time, Vahn didnt even need to use [Enkidu] and, as he had targetted the magic core directly, the Balor immediately turned into dust before most people were even aware it was present. Since it had still been underground, this caused a geyser of purple dust to explode from the Dungeon Floor as monster core fragments began to rain down. Vahn couldnt help butugh out a little, unable to even hear his own voice with the chaotic explosions and loud cheeringing from the expedition... Knowing that there was an enemy within the Dungeon that had the means to influence monsters, nobody on the expedition was expecting the 50th Floor to truly be a safe zone any longer. Instead of rxing their tensions and celebrating their sessful conquest, everyone remained on guard as the carts and wagons were brought closer together. The pace they had been moving at caused a bit of a slinky-effect and Vahn wanted to make sure everyone was properly formed up before making the final push. This was also an opportunity for people to eat rations, drink some water, and tend to any damaged equipment. Vahn never really managed to crack the mechanics behind what made a [Whetstone] work, but there were more than a hundred Hephaestus Familia members present that could perform spot-maintenance. After around an hour, as Vahn also wanted to give them time to eat and do things like use the bathroom, always an awkward affair, he took up the banner again and pressed forward into the 50th Floor. Tensions immediately reached a critical level and Vahn could feel his own bubbling up as he descended therge staircase leading to the 50th Floor and passed through the massive natural archway that served as its entrance. Vahn had used the hour-long rest to transition into his Lightning Emperor form so he was ready for anything that might appear before him. There was a shroud of bluish-white electricity crackling around his body while his long and spikey hair would periodically crackle with sparks. This was, inarguably, the strongest form he could manage as it provided the greater offensive potential than almost anything in the record could conceivably deal with. Not only was his power output immense, but the sheer speed he could achieve was simply beyond the perception of even powerful Level 8 enemies with developed Innates of their own. This gave Vahn the confidence that he could deal with whatever Enyo would throw at them. Thus, without any hesitation, Vahn chose to enter the 50th Floor, finding that the only thing awaiting them were ashen trees, white stones, andplete emptiness... This had caught Vahn slightly off guard but he didnt show any discernable changes in expression as he turned back and said, "Fenrir, Ais, Tiona, do a quick sweep of the Floor and see if you cant find any enemies in hiding. Ill keep watch and react if there are any changes..." With his current speed, Vahn would be able to react to anything that happened within the 200km wide room in an instant. If he didnt restrain himself, it was possible to achieve speeds near 300,000km/s, even if he wouldnt really have any control outside of aiming himself. While the three started flying around and looking for enemies, Vahn descended to the Dungeon floor and gestured Finn to his side, handing the banner back to the confused Pallum as he said, "Given Enyos behavior thus far, this could very well be a trap meant to lull us into a false sense of security. We will beginying the foundation for the settlement in ordance with our original ns...though they dont have to be on high alert the entire time, make sure there is a proper guard rotation. Let people get plenty of rest, but advise them to only do so if they are half-geared or greater..." Since Enyo was supposedly a goddess of War, Vahn suspected she was employing a tactic to try and drain their morale by having them remain tense for a long period of time. Given how much of a hassle it was to even reach the 50th Floor, the tensions of everyone within the expedition were already very high. If nothing happened for an extended period of time, it was almost an instinctual response for people to becent. It was during such moments, when the defenses werex, that an army was the most susceptible to an attack. If something to the extent of what happened as Lil Geirr urred, before proper defenses could be established, the number of casualties would be far greater... Finn understood Vahns concerns, giving a curt nod as he said, "Dont worry, though I cant speak on behalf of the construction crews, most of the Adventurers here are seasoned veterans. So long as we help bolster positive morale during meal times, everything else can be addressed based on the mood within the encampment." This current situation wasnt that dissimr to previous ones, the only exception being that they had an enemy that was proactively targetting them. Even so, as they couldnt exactly retreat aftering this far, they would simply have to deal with any changes as things developed... While Finn was organizing the somewhat confused expedition, Vahn continued to watch the small lights that represented the mana shrouds around the girls bodies. They had already been flying around for a few minutes and were beginning to slowly double back, searching for any enemies hidden within the ashen forests below. Since they hadnt found anything in the first pass, Vahn gave the order to proceed forward and began doing his own sweep of the Floor while the expedition marched the 100km to the center of the Floor. Vahn made sure to check the location where Haven would be built before anything else, confirming that there were no discernable signs of sabotage. Even the small encampment they had built in the past was still present, looking almost unchanged since thest time they were on the 50th Floor... Since it would be the location of Haven, Vahn closely inspected the area and even used his [Eyes of Truth] to probe into the ground. Though he found some incredibly rare mineral veins, which he promptly looted into his Inventory, Vahn didnt see any indicator that Enyos forces had made any preparations at all for them. It was almost like she was doing the opposite of almost everything he expected or...if he considered it in greater detail, it was possible that Enyo may have a better understanding of him than believed... Other than the nt-like mutated monsters, and the Variant species under her control, it didnt seem like Enyos actual forces were that great. The Variants may have the restriction of only being able tomand monsters on specific Floors and, as he had already demonstrated the ability to wipe out an entire wave of the caterpir monsters, Enyo may have decided it simply wasnt worth throwing away her forces without any gains. Since it was impossible for Enyo to have control over the entire Dungeon, these conclusions seemed to make sense and, given how things had progressed till this point, Vahn believed he might actually have gleaned some understanding of the mysterious goddess... If his deduction proved correct, Enyo would likely go with his original spection and try to trap them in the Dungeon instead of fighting directly. They would need to send scouts into the upper Floors to make sure their path wasnt cut off and, in order to keep Enyo on her toes, Vahn was contemting venturing into the 59th and 60th Floor to cause some havoc of his own. He had several attacks that could pierce through Floors and, even without fighting against her directly, Vahn was certain he could cause her some problems. The downsides to this course of action was the fact that he had almost no information about Enyos reserves. There were also numerous people that were likely being kept as captives for Enyos schemes and, knowing they wouldnt all be like Olivas, Vahn didnt want to unnecessarily take the lives of innocents. After all, any one of those people, including Enyo herself, could have information about Ais and Rufinas past, something Vahn had promised to help uncover. If he shotsers or pirs of lightning into the 60th Floor, there was no way of knowing who would get caught in the crossfire... Realizing he was beginning to fall back into his cycle of overthinking things, Vahn focused internally and saw the ocean within his body was currently very tumultuous. He was now beginning to understand why so many texts rted to being a good Ruler discussed assigning capable personnel to contemte over these types of matters. It should be his duty to make decisions based on the avable variables, not try to analyze and create variables within his mind that would drive his actions forward. Since there were so many unknowns right now, the only thing he needed to do was obtain more information. With a small nod of his head, directed towards no-one in general, Vahn opened his eyes and felt the ocean within stabilize. He looked down towards the spot where Haven would stand and made a solemn conviction within his heart to protect what it represented, hope. If Enyo wanted to y these games, he would slowly tear apart all of her ns until the only things remaining were broken ns and, if necessary, an even more broken goddess. He would systematically analyze and wipe out any of the forces she had seeded in the surrounding Floors and slowly im this territory as part of the Alliance. Though she might have some influence over the Dungeon, Vahn knew she wasnt in control and, with a certain True Dragon at his side, Vahn knew that influence could be taken from her... Though he didnt have an image to associate with Enyo in his mind, Vahn still imagined an angry and frustrated goddess pulling her hair out in frustration after he tore apart what could have been a thousand years of nning. He even sent a silent prayer, wondering if she would be able to hear it as a goddess, encouraging her to reflect on her future decisions if she wanted to avoid an even harsher punishment... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Balor-chan...never gets any screentime,The pitfalls of man xD...,Enyo-chama needs a spanking...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 836 - Migration

Chapter 836 - Migration

With preparations on the surface going rtively smoothly, even though it involved a very rapid deconstruction of Lokis Manor, Vahn and the Xenos had already started their migration to the surface. They were one of the most likely targets for Enyo and, though none of the changed Xenos had shown up during his stay, Vahn felt that arge-scale attack might ur if he left them alone. He had never discovered the exact means Enyos forces were using to obtain information through the Dungeon but was certain they must know about his presence within the Xenos Hidden Vige. Though his presence in two locations may be very confusing for them, they apparently didnt have the means of using more powerful pawns in the Middle and Upper Floors, something Vahn wanted to look into when he had time. He spected that it was either rted to the energy density on the Floors, making it harder for strong monsters to survive for long periods of time as they went higher up, or that Babel Towers sealing effect got stronger towards the surface. Thus far, he hadnt been able to determine how exactly Babel Tower was sealing the Dungeon but, after seeing the massive formation situated behind Ouranos throne, Vahn knew the two were rted... It was very likely that forces he simply couldntprehend, at least for the time being, were at y. Since even his Emperor self had been unable to circ.u.mvent this issue, Vahn knew there had to be something going on behind the scenes, especially since the version of himself in the Divination had been rather overbearing in the actions he took. However, instead of worrying about such things, Vahn was trying to focus on the tasks at hand, specifically the establishment of Haven and the migration of the Xenos. His main body was currently leading the expedition towards the 50th Floor while his Avatar was protecting the small congregation of Xenos as they took the safest paths avable towards the surface... As there were simply no other means to transport her, Vahn ended up in a rather unique situation where he was using Water Elemental maniption to create a sphere of water that contained a very excited Marie. She would periodically send small jets of water to ssh him and seemed to be enjoying the strangeness of the situation while most of the other Xenos, somewhat against Vahns expectations, werent tense at all. They made their way through the Dungeon as if it was their backyard, not minding the noise they were making or showing any great concerns for their safety. This was abination of the fact that the weaker Xenos had full confidence in their leaders, which now seemingly included Vahn himself, and the fact that their instincts and senses were extremely developed. If there was any actual danger, even Marie would be alert in an instant, causing most monsters to get immediately taken out without Vahn having to do anything... This ended up being for the best as, other than maintaining the sphere of water for Marie, Vahn currently had a backpack shaped like an adorable Arachne-Xenos. Naho seemed to have the ability to cling to him even while she was asleep, so Vahn was carrying the tuckered out Xenos who had stayed awake throughout the night out of excitement. Most of the Xenos with immature mentalities had a stronger desire to live amongst the surface or, at the very least, they were more open about it. The Xenos who had developed more mature mentalities were better at keeping their thoughts and emotions under control, typically serving as leaders and counsel to their...less intellectually inclined kin. It only took around two hours to reach one of the connection points between Knossos and the Dungeon, something the Xenos were very aware of since the existence of Knossos was one of their banes. Now, though there were likely more than a few secrets still pertaining to the artificial dungeon, Vahn could lead them through it safely and disarm any traps that would bar their safe passage. Once they reached the elevator shaft, it was apparent that others were still at least trying to make use of Knossos for their own purposes, as the elevator tform was located a few Floors above. Vahn spent a few minutes figuring out how the mechanism worked before calling the tform to them, noticing that the majority of the supplies were now missing. He would have to investigate the lower fifteen Floors of Knossos in the future but, for the time being, simply made the elevator return to the first subterranean Floor. The elevator moved rather slowly and, more so than when they were in the Dungeon, many of the Xenos were bing tense. Even Naho, who had woken up from the loud noises of the elevator, was clinging to him with greater strength. Her small arms were trembling a little, causing Vahn to lightly pet her head as he spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, saying, "Dont worry. Even if the entire City of Orario wanted to bring you harm, the Alliance would never allow it. Just trust me...I will protect you all." Though not everyone in the Alliance would be okay with the Xenos from the start, it was already the official policy that their organization supported the equal rights of all Xenos. Anyone that tried to cause trouble would have to make the choice of distancing themselves from the Alliance and bing cklisted. Since very few people had a prejudice strong enough to sacrifice their livelihoods for something that was essentially unrted to them, the majority of those within the Alliance would just ept the Xenos passively. They may not rally to the protection of the Xenos but, so long as they werent causing trouble, Vahn didnt really mind letting their perception change with time... Since the lowest Affection he had amongst Xenos was now 95, with the majority actually around 98 and 99, many of them had rxed after hearing Vahns words. This caused Vahns desire to protect them to be even stronger as, even in the distant past, he had always endeavored to meet the expectations of those that ced their trust in him. Since his impression of the Xenos was almost at an extreme level now, Vahn didnt care if the entire world opposed his decision to support and protect them. No matter how much time it took, he would create a better world where, not just the Xenos, but all peoples could live freely and seek the happiness everyone intrinsically deserved... (A/N: Vahn is a Beyond-Omega Level Idealist...) After around twenty minutes, the elevator tform reached the highest Floor, which Vahn had already mappedpletely in the past. He confidently led the way forward until they were nearing the main entrance of Knossos, encountering two members of the Freya Familia along the way. Since Freya had already received notice that he would be returning with the Xenos, her Familia members werent surprised by the horde of monsters behind Vahn. Instead, they both saluted with stoic indifference before one of them began ringing a bell. Following this sound, several other bells began ringing further away, resonating with each other to alert those stationed around the first Floor that Vahn had returned. Seeing the respect other surface-dwellers showed Vahn, many of the Xenos released a sigh of relief and, while passing the two guards, some of them even tried greeting them. To the guards credit, they managed to remain rtively unperturbed, at least until the more powerful and humanoid Xenos passed by them. Since Gryuu, a Green Dragon that was nearly 14m long, was also amongst their entourage, the two guards had to reposition themselves to make room as Gryuu, with a deep voice, said, "Pardon me..." and squeezed his way through. Upon reaching the surface, Vahn wasnt surprised by the fact that Freya was waiting for him while several hundred members of her Familia had created a cordon around the entire district. The Alliance had already cleared out the area around Knossos entrance and had started to tear down the surrounding region to construct their future headquarters. Even so, being surrounded by rtively strong Adventurers had caused the Xenos to be somewhat tense, even as Vahn gestured for them to remain calm. He then removed Naho from his back as, though Freya was rtively docile these days, Vahn knew she wasnt truly understanding of any kind of rtionship he had with other women. Even with this being the case, Freya retained her elegant appearance as she walked forward, long legs causing her h.i.p.s to snake seductively with each step taken. Then, as if it were perfectly natural, Freya reached her arms forward and attempted to hug him. However, beforepleting the act, there was a brief pause which brought a small smile to Vahns face as he stepped forward toplete the embrace. He stroked the back of her hair and whispered, "I almost thought you were going to misbehave a little..." This caused Freyas body to shudder slightly as she whispered in a somewhat pitiable tone, "Maybe Im a little jealous after your other body yed around at the Manor...please dont tease me too much..." Releasing a slight chuckle at Freyas antics, Vahn stroked the side of her immactely sculpted face and gave her a rather long kiss, even if it was very tame. At the same time, he moved his hand along the side of her body, sending energy through his fingertips that caused Freyas aura to begin ring up. He didnt do anything too untoward, especially since it would potentially cause dissent amongst some of her children, but knew she would appreciate his touch, even if but a little. By the time they separated, Freyas face was slightly flushed as she whispered, "I had prepared a surprise for you...but Im not sure if it would appeal to you after gathering so many exotic women..." Freya had been eyeing several Xenos, very aware of the ones that were drawn to Vahn since she was, after all, a lesser goddess of Love. Her eyes settled the longest on Marie, who was floating just behind Vahn, surprised by the fact her young lover had managed to secure a Mermaid, especially one with genuine intelligence. Freya could sense the natural [Charm] radiating off of the innocent Xenos and, if not for the fact it would bother Vahn, would have tried to train the exotic girl to her preferences. She would have been very useful in the past, though that was no longer important now that so much had changed... The thing Freya found the most interesting was the fact that some of the normal looking Xenos, those that still had uniquely monster features, also seemed very fond of Vahn. She could understand why the obviously female Xenos were drawn to him, as she understood Vahns nature very well, but it was very interesting to her to see animals attached to her lover. As this thought crossed her mind, however, Freya remembered that Vahn could actually give them humanoid appearances through his unique skill, putting the puzzle in her mind together in an instant. This made her feel a little excited, as something new, like the Xenos, represented a path she had never even considered in the past... In response to Freyas words, Vahn tilted his head to match her gaze and obstruct her view of Marie, saying, "Im certain whatever you had nned would be exhrating...youve been working so hard, Freya...I know you wouldnt let me down after having several days to n..." Though she understood his nature, Vahn had be ustomed to Freyas as well. He knew that, if he had never existed in this world, Freya is exactly the type of goddess who would have taken advantage of the Xenos. He could imagine her taking an interest in and grooming several of their kind, if not outright using them as whetstones to sharpen and test the members of her Familia she had taken an interest in... Hearing Vahns words, Freya couldnt stop another slight tremble from passing through her body, knowing he had seen through her once again. Unlike all of her former lovers, Vahn had always been able to strip her down until sheid everything bare before him. It was almost impossible to even think about what she would do with other men now, to the point that she hadnt even kept any of the male Xenos in her eyes. The only reason the females had caught her attention was because of their attraction to Vahn, something she was always very perceptive of since it would potentially threaten her own rtionship with him. Not wanting to stress her out too much, Vahn kissed Freyas forehead and smiled before saying, "We need to move the Xenos safely to their new home. After we get them settled, Ill make sure to keep my promise with you...Im looking forward to your surprise..." Freya nodded her head almost immediately and, while still leaning into Vahns chest, shouted out, "Make preparations to begin moving. I want all the streets within two blocks of our pathpletely cleared out...!" Since a block within Orario, at least when you got to districts with Manors, could be several kilometers, this would be a rtively daunting task. However, none of the Freya Familia membersined and had immediately set out to perform their duties, even as the object of their reverence rested in the arms of another... As reluctant as she was to part, Freya gave Vahn onest sneaky kiss before separating from him, saying, "I need to make some final preparations. Everything should be ready in around two hours but, even if it takes a bit longer for you to show up, Ill keep waiting..." Freya knew it would probably take a little while to get the Xenos settled in, especially since the journey to the Manor would probably take around twenty minutes. She knew he would probably end up spending some time with his children and talking with the goddesses within the Hearth Manor as well. However, this didnt matter much and, if she had to wait longer, Freya was very willing to do so...after all, if Vahn felt a little guilty about keeping her waiting, her reward would be even greater... Though he knew she was ying him a little, Vahn kept a calm smile on his face and wondered exactly what she had nned for him. He knew it was likely rted to a group that she wanted to make into his retainers and wondered if she had gathered some of the more attractive members of her own Familia for entertainment purposes. Given her nature, Freya wouldnt exactly share him with others so Vahn suspected she had arranged a show of sorts and potentially wanted to engage in something like an exhibition y. One of her quirks, which is how he referred to many of thepulsions binding the gods, was that Freya enjoyed being seen. As a principle Goddess of Beauty, she needed to be appreciated for her appearance and, if they made love in front of a gathering of beauties, that would appease her Divinity a great deal... Deciding not to think about it too much, Vahn shook his head lightly and turned to the somewhat stupefied Xenos and said, "Lets go see your new home on the surface...shall-" Vahns words were interrupted by Naho suddenly jumping towards him, clinging to him expertly as she eximed, "Who was that girl!? Was she ones of your wives~!?" Freya, who actually wasnt that far away just yet, nearly tripped when she heard Nahos outburst. She looked back with a light blush on her face and even hugged her body somewhat insecurely before walking away with hastier steps. Vahn had pretended not to see this, as he didnt want to make her feel even more embarrassed, and instead lightly patted Nahos head as he said, "Maybe someday..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: I mean, it kind of is their backyard...,Vahn often ends up as some kind of pack leader, doesnt he...,Freya...is kind of cute...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 837 - Arrival

Chapter 837 - Arrival

Not only had the Freya Familia started clearing the route forward, but anyone wearing the emblem of the Alliance was asked to help keep order along the way. The Eirene Familia also stepped in to reroute civilian traffic from the area where there Xenos were expected to pass through. Since they had already been making preparations prior to Vahns return, things were running rtively smoothly. Though there were several shocked individuals within their homes and ces of business that looked wide-eyed towards the congregation, none of them tried to stir up trouble. After all, the sight of a group of monsters moving orderly through the City, with none other than Vahn leading the way, wasnt something most people would want to be involved with. The Xenos themselves were also looking around like children in a candy store, eyes glimmering with expectation and excitement. Many actually had dazed expressions, absentmindedly following along while looking towards the clear blue skies above. The majority of Xenos were actually monsters that had memories from a time before they revived within the Dungeon. For some, it had been several years since they had seen the surface, making the moment rather meaningful for them. The fact that they were allowed to pass through highly popted areas without being obstructed was something bordering on the impossible, at least ording to the logic and reasoning they had cultivated over several generations of Xenos... Lyd had closed the distance naturally, still highly alert to his surroundings as hemented, "This is pretty unbelievable...I almost feel like Im in a dream..hahaha..." Though he wasnt really the type to get nervous, this particr situation wasnt something Lyd had truly prepared himself for. His, and most of the Xenos, instincts were actually itching quite a bit, warning them of potential danger as several Adventurers in their surroundings also entered abat-ready state. Seeing a group of monster, especially with some rare species and Variants included, was enough to unnerve even veterans. Vahn was also aware of several people eyeing Marie, who he had fortunately convinced to wear a bikini top and pareo, so he could understand Lyds nervousness. Even so, Vahn maintained a calm expression and just smiledfortingly towards Lyd as he said, "The City doesnt exactly know the Alliance is moving a group of Xenos through the streets today, as it would have given our enemies time to prepare countermeasures. A bit of nervousness and intrigue is to be expected...dont worry, I will not allow any harm toe to the Xenos without exhausting everything to prevent it from happening..." As he spoke, Vahn sent a pressure-filled re towards what looked like a young Noble whose aura had red up when eyeing Marie. The blond-haired youth immediately entered a state simr to mind down, frothing at the mouth as his servants began to panic... With his return to the surface this time around, Vahn was nning to publically denounce the actions of the Nobles and force them to answer for their crimes. He would also be increasing the Alliances support for the Civilian Council and see if he couldnt influence the Denatus enough to bring aboutsting policy changes for the future. Even if the Nobles tried to deny any involvement with the bomb carried by their personal expedition, Vahn didnt care at all. That was inarguably an act of war, not a simple y of aggression and politics. If the Nobles were so pressured by the Alliance that they were literally allying with other countries, Vahn would deport them. He wondered in amus.e.m.e.nt how the Nobles would react when the Iron Hills immediately cut ties with them after they were no longer useful... Lyd had already noticed the possessive look of the man drinking tea and his sword arm had begun to itch. Seeing Vahn openly deal with the man, Lyd clicked his tongue but also felt a great deal of relief since it was very difficult to withstand some of feelings that were triggering his instincts. In their lives, it had always been very important to either avoid danger outright or strike first to protect themselves. Being unable to take such actions was more stressful than he had imagined but, as Vahn had emphasized several times that they needed to prepare themselves for such things, Lyd was doing his best to set an example for the others... The long walk through Alliance-controlled territory finally came to an end after a little over twenty minutes, even though their pace had been rather hurried. With how curious the younger Xenos were of their surroundings, the procession had been slowed somewhat and Vahn had tried to keep a steady pace that even stragglers could keep up with. Fortunately, other than a few groups who expressed a little too much interest in the Xenos, there were no major incidents before Vahn brought the Xenos to the entrance of what looked like a walled-off forest. Terra hadnt actually spent much effort topletely change the 3km2 plot ofnd into nearly 800 acres of forested terrain. Therger effort had been thebination of her and Riveria setting up the massive illusory forest formation that would disorient anyone that didnt possess a specialized crystal on their body. Since the Xenos would need both privacy and security in order to protect themselves, a lot of effort was made to ensure only those trusted by the Xenos themselves would be able to enter. As for where they would be living, the Xenos were very industrious people who were not against working hard to createmunal homes that they freely shared with their kin. They could request Terras assistance for any changes made to the underground, but everything else would be left to them to decide... Vahn was a little surprised that, at the very least, Loki wasnt present outside her own former Manor to greet him. He checked his logbooks and viewed her status, confirming that she was actually meeting with Ouranos alongside Hestia and Hephaestus. They were likely helping to smooth things over, if not outright discussing some of the other matters he wanted to take care of. Either way, it was actually more convenient that there wasnt anyone waiting outside of the Manor since it allowed him to escort the Xenos directly inside. He could feel the tension literally drain from their bodies once they entered into the forested area,pletely immune to the effects of the powerful barrier as a result of the small nes, bracelets, and anklets each of them wore. Naho, still riding his back, began to get even giddier as she excitedly asked, "Is this ce really going to be our home!?" Though there were a lot of different types of nts, trees, and animals within the surrounding Floors of the Xenos Hidden Vige, it was nothing like this immacte and beautiful forest. There was currently a distinctck of any fauna, as even insects hadnt been able to migrate into the territory spontaneously changed by Terra, so there was a very peaceful and quiet atmosphere permeating through the area. For most Xenos, this was an ideal ce to live, as their instincts were allowed to calm down almostpletely after the curious eyes and emotions of the surrounding surface-dwellers could no longer reach them. Vahn nodded his head in response to Nahos words but addressed all of the surrounding Xenos as they continued making their way towards the heart of the forest, "This entire plot ofnd is around 800 acres on the surface, but you will have a lot more space to work with if you choose to work underground. Since every Xenos has an ideal habitat, dont be afraid to ask for any materials that would be helpful in shaping your surroundings. Yourfort, at least for the time being, is the most important factor you need to concern yourselves with. My own home is actually very close to thispound and, if you follow the underground tunnels, they are connected to each other. Though there were certain restrictions everyone will have to keep in mind, this ce has now be something of a sanctuary where you can live freely..." Though not every Xenos could fully understand his words, Vahn knew it wouldnt really be a problem since they would listen to whatever rules and ws that were created by Lyd, Gros, and Ray. Even the Harpy-Xenos had been behaving her no flying rule after reaching the surface, as it would have caused quite a few problems if they started flying around and investigating everything. All Bird-Type Xenos seemed to have very curious natures and, having no real inhibitions about interacting with people, it would cause a lot of problems if they took a liking to any particr person or ce. Not everyone would be as understanding as he was if they ended up getting identallycerated by a Harpy-Xenos if thetter got a bit too excited... After arriving at the very center of the territory, which was easy to locate since it was the only clearing present on the plot ofnd, Vahn had the Xenos gather around him, Lyd, Gros, Ray, and, as she was currently still reliant on him carrying her around, Marie. Naho was made to cling to Rayne for the time being as Vahn would be helping to get them started by shaping thend and setting out supplies. He could sense that Terra was also paying attention to what they were doing and, knowing she would also be able to hear him, Vahn smiled and said, "Given the Xenos ssification, there is actually a very powerful Xenos that will be watching over you while you develop this area. She is a True Dragon by the name of Terra and, so long as you dont do anything to offend her, she will undoubtedly help you out with the construction process..." To demonstrate what he was talking about, Vahn drew a circr outline on the ground and also wrote down the word pond in the center before rifying a few things for Terra through their shared connection. Moments after he finished creating the outline, the ground began to sink down, forming a perfect cylinder before it began to widen into a vase-like shape. Though she would be able to create water as well, Vahn saved Terra the trouble and began to condense water from the atmosphere into a stream that started to fill up the pond that would be Maries home. Part of the rification he made with Terra was to link the pond to the underground since he wanted Marie to have some freedom of movement and, in the event of an emergency, a ce to flee to. The Xenos were shocked by the inexplicable phenomenon they just observed but, after Terra decided of her own volition to teleport over, they were far more focused on her and Alexas presence. This was especially so for Gryuu, sharing amon heritage with Terra and immediately lowering his head to the ground in a subservient manner while the majority of Xenos either fell down or outright joined Gryuu in bowing. Amongst thetter group was Lyd, as Lizardmen also shared amon ancestor with Dragons, who had decided to take a knee and lower his head by instinct. Terra beganughing in an elegant manner while Alexa strangely puffed out her chest in a somewhat self-important fashion. Vahn saw this and released a light chuckle of his own, even as he reached out to lightly chop Alexas head, saying, "These are our importantpanions, Alexa...make sure to treat them well, okay...?" Surprised by the fact her Papa had struck her, Alexas eyes widened before she immediately lowered her head and muttered, "Im sorry, Papa..." Vahn felt his own heart palpitate anxiously once before he began to ruffle Alexas hair, his [Grooming] fully active, even though he had actually only lightly chopped her head... This interaction between Father and Daughter caused Terras smile to turn even more radiant before she turned her attention to the gathered Xenos and said, "My Master has charged me with helping you shape thisnd into a suitable ce to live...I will also be protecting you, at least for the time being...make sure you work hard to increase your strength so as not to take advantage of my Masters kindness. Each of you has unlimited potential and, so long as you desire to be stronger, there are no limits to your growth...keep that in mind and work hard, okay~?" Some of the Xenos began to nod very quickly, causing Terra to giggle once more before she grabbed Alexas hand and said, "Come, Alexa, we will wait for your Papa back at the nest~." Without waiting for her daughters consent, Terra teleported away, leaving the Xenos to act as if a heavy weight had been removed from their bodies. There were some who had tensed up a great deal when Terra showed up, now falling to the ground and breathing heavily as Vahn sent calming energy through his domain to help support them. He understood that Terra was introducing herself in an effort to both keep the Xenos in line while also inspiring them to work hard. Vahn decided to support this action of hers, looking towards Gryuu and saying, "You know, there was a time not that long ago where Terra also possessed the form of a Green Dragon Xenos..." Gryuus sky-blue eyes began to glimmer when he heard this, even though part of him also epted that he would never reach the peak his instincts drew him towards. Since he had already lowered his head to Fafnir, Gryuu epted its lot in life, especially since it knew Vahn was an existence that even towered over the seemingly insurmountable True Dragon that had just appeared. As for the other Xenos, many were recalling all of the talks about Vahn being able to help them be stronger. Now that such a powerful existence like Terra had told them they had limitless potential, even the weaker Goblin and Kobold Xenos were feeling more than a little fired up. Vahn noticed the majority of Xenos reached 99 Affection in an instant while a few that had been at that value for a long time finally reached 100. There were several notifications within his mind, bringing a smile to his face as he looked towards Lyd, Gryuu, Mlem, Laura, Naho, Rayne, Ray, Fear, Terror, Xude, Mest, Jude, and another Almiraj Xenos named Arles. She was one of the Xenos who had taken a liking to him very quickly since Vahn had noticed her early on with her blue vest and the broken pocket watch she wore around her neck. He had repaired the watch for her and gotten 99 Affection almost instantly so it wasnt too surprising she made the leap after Terras disy... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Innocence,Vahn is just about done with the Nobles...,Terra OP o_o...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 838 - Society

Chapter 838 - Society

Now that several Xenos had be his retainers, with the exception of Gryuu and Lyd, who prompted subordinate notifications, Vahn had a lot of things he wanted to test out. The Xenos were a very unique species and having the ability to see their parameters and status was very insightful. Vahn was able to immediately identify one thing that had been on his mind, confirming that the more humanoid Xenos actually had slightly higher tier souls. This kind of information would be instrumental towards the research he had in mind but, for the time being, Vahn gestured to Ray and had her walk over to his side with a curious expression as she asked, "Vahn...?" With a smile on his face, Vahn said, "A few of you actually met the requirement for me to use a special technique...I was wondering if you would be willing to assist me...?" The curiosity in Rays eyes only increased as she nodded her head, saying, "It would be my pleasure~." in a humorous tone of voice. Vahns own smile increased as he asked, "Well, other than your race, is there anything you ever wanted to change about your body...?" The reason he had called out to her was that Ray, not too surprisingly, actually had a very high Allegiance value towards him, already sitting at 813. Even Nahos was only at 241, but Vahn suspected that was due to her having different parameters that had been developing in the shadows... Ray tilted her head to the side, seeming to consider the matter very seriously before a glimmer of amus.e.m.e.nt lit up in her eyes as she asked, "Can it be something like changing the shape of my body or the color of my hair and feathers~?" Vahn nodded his head, curious about what Ray wanted to change until she red all of her plumage simultaneously and said, "I always liked Maries hair, so make my feathers emerald-blue, please~." Though this was an easy request, Vahn gave a wry smile andmented, "I thought your feathers were actually very pretty...but, if that is what you want..." This was actually the truth, as Rays golden feathers with their blue tips were actually very aesthetically pleasing to the eyes, but Vahns remark was actually to see how much the Allegiance requirement would change based on his words. Seeing the AP requirement change from 70 to 900, Vahn nearly burst outughing because it actually became impossible to change her feathers after she made sense of his words. Ray actually had a slight blush on her face and began rustling her feathers somewhat excitedly as she averted her eyes and said, "Actually, I changed my mind..." She scratched the ground with her talons, showing a sheepishness Vahn hadnt quite expected before Ray seemed to recall something, a mischevious glint in her eyes as she said, "How about you change my b.r.e.a.s.ts or butt to your liking~?" While saying this, Ray unashamedly hefted her b.r.e.a.s.ts while tilting her head to the side, causing some of the feathers in her hair to also flop adorably... Vahn felt like his heart took a few points of damage as he nodded his head and said, "Sure..." and began tweaking the values in his system before confirming the input. As a result, Rays pert b.r.e.a.s.ts became somewhat fuller, not really changing in size but giving them a more natural appeal. This gave her nearly D-Cup b.r.e.a.s.ts a bit more cleavage as her already shapely butt became slightly more toned. All Bird-Type Xenos had pretty shapely butts so Vahn didnt have to change much to give Ray what he considered an almost perfect butt. She noticed these changes very quickly, poking and prodding her own body with a smile on her face before asking, "Did you want to check and make sure they are to your liking~?" Though he knew this was something akin to entrapment on the part of Ray, Vahns expression remained casual as he reached out his palm and unashamedly groped her left butt cheek and b.r.e.a.s.t. He could feel Rays heartbeat speeding up but, after coping a feel for a few seconds, pulled his hand away andmented, "Very nice...thanks for the treat..." Rays expression became more than a littleplicated as she actually wanted to do a bit more but knew it wasnt really the best time. She was also a little bothered by how casual Vahn reacted, even though he had never really shown too many other reactions,pletely different from how other Adventurers would react when seeing their bodies... Seeing her confusion, Vahns expression didnt change much as he reached out his hand and began lightly stroking Rays feathery hair, saying, "Now is an important transitional phase for all the Xenos. For the time being, Id rather everyone focus on building theirmunity further...other things can wait untilter, okay...?" Vahn knew that if he started to openly ept the affections of any Xenos, especially at this stage, things would be chaotic very quickly. He wanted them to adapt to their new lifestyle before things got out of hand, even though he also harbored a few expectations of his own. Since one of the objectives of his main quest included having children with 59 different races, Vahn was curious if the Xenos each counted as their own unique race. Though they couldnt give birth by default, that wasnt really a restriction that could stop him...so long as it was something they also desired... Some of Rays feathers were rising and falling, giving her a somewhat frazzled and frayed appearance as she nodded her head. As reluctant as she might be, Ray fought to keep her emotions in check as her expression slowly returned to normal, a casual smile on her face. She had never told Vahn but, like many of the female Xenos with humanoid features, her dream wasnt simply to fly freely under the sun, but also to be embraced by a man she loved. Vahn was the first to trigger these emotions and, also like many Xenos, there was something about him that drew her towards him ever since their first meeting. This was abination of Vahns [Charm] and, being a Progenitor with a very calming and exciting aura, could also be attributed to his animal maism. Just as Vahn had been able to use his [Will of the Emperor] to subjugate and caused monsters to feel a primal fear towards him, the opposite was also true. His aura had the effect of inspiring awe in others as well, especially entities that were instinctually aware of things like bloodline. This was why many Dragon species, known for their pride and arrogant natures, would quickly recognize Vahns aura as something simply beyond their own, allowing them to bow their heads instead of fighting till their death. Many creatures, especially those with unique bloodlines like Ray, were also drawn to him for the same reason, subtly being influenced by his aura as their instincts were triggered... He wasnt aware of this himself, even though he had seen several indicators of such a functionality behind his Innate, but Vahn could influence andpel being with weaker souls than his own. This was especially effective on entities that were restricted by their instincts, allowing him to use his aura to forcibly subjugate others to his will, just like Fafnir and Khaos in the past. If he exploited this ability like a tyrant, Vahn could forciblypel and attract most Xenos to his side with just a few words. This was something he had been slowly forgetting about as he no longer used the power of words to defeat his enemies and instead relied on [Magia Erebea], a simple skill, in lieu of his own Innates... Blissfully unaware of his regression, Vahn maintained a smile as he turned to the gathered Xenos and said, "Coordinate with each other to begin building your homes. If you need any supplies or resources, let me know and Ill procure them for you. Remember, there are underground tunnels for those that dont want to remain on the surface for long periods of time." Since Horned Rabbits and Almiraj were burrowing monsters, at least in the wild, Vahn knew they would likely create a sub-surface hovel to act as their den. He also ced Marie into her pond, as it was nearly full at this point, allowing her to swim around excitedly as she disappeared into the depths to investigate her new home. The Xenos immediately set out to start building their homes, the more dexterous amongst them helping to draw out the perimeter while the few amongst them that could read and write simple characters wrote down what each section was supposed to be. As for Vahn, he moved towards the northern part of the clearing and imagined the trees moving, something Terra understood since she quickly shifted them aside as he drew out arge area that would serve as the residence for the Xenos leadership in the future. Once the temte was finished, he led the way inside with Lyd, Gros, and Ray following after him. Within therge hut, there was also a small tunnel leading into the ground that was slowly filling with water, this time without Vahns efforts. Terra was linking all of the houses that were being built with Maries pond below so that she would be able to visit everyone instead of being constrained to just a few locations. As a result, Maries head popped up before they had even sat down to discuss things, giggling happily before she disappeared with her tail breaking against the surface. She seemed to be enjoying herself greatly, bringing a smile to all four of their faces as they began to discuss the rules all Xenos would need to follow. In general, as Vahn greatly appreciated the Xenos way of life, there were no major restrictions that would be ced on them within their own territory. The only thing they truly needed to concern themselves with was how they would interact with society atrge. Since Vahn wanted those with wings to be able to fly around freely, much like Terra, Fafnir, and Khaos, there were considerations that had to be made in order to both protect the Xenos and prevent any harm from befalling other citizens. In general, Vahn wanted the Xenos to avoid moving outside of the Alliance Airspace and, unless it was someone recognized as an ally, they should avoid interacting with most people. Those that could be trusted would be given simr pendants to the ones carried by the Xenos, which would resonate with each other to avoid counterfeit situations. The Harpy-Xenos themselves would actually be required to memorize the names and faces of those recognized as trustworthy, lest they be constrained to the airspace above their territory instead of therger Alliance-controlled space. It would only take one incident of a Harpy-Xenos favoring a citizen and getting killed as a result of a misunderstanding, causing major setbacks to what they wanted to aplish. Vahn wanted to prevent such tragedies from urring and, if necessary, was prepared to make it a requirement for them to be his retainers or subordinates to even gain ess to the outside world. This wasnt because he wanted to outright control them, but it would allow him to officially name them or help modify their intelligence by altering their race slightly... Things like this were important to bring up early on as it was actually an important method for the Xenos themselves to promote their growth further. Since they already trusted Vahn a great deal, using his power wasnt really something that bothered them, as it very well would have most people. Because of this, Vahn had toy some ground rules to prevent exploitation, as he didnt want the Xenos to sacrifice what made them unique just because they wanted to fit in or take advantage of certain perks. He felt it would be a tragedy if the solution many Xenos came up with was to simply be the same race as a surface-dweller, losing what made them unique and potentially causing them to pick up some of the habits that made civilized society outright wrong... Ultimately, any Xenos that wanted to be the same race as a surface dweller would need to receive an education, pass some tests on moral and social behavior, and then they could begin assimting into society by joining one of the Alliance Familia. Though it wasnt impossible for them to live amongst their fellow Xenos, Vahn knew it would only cause problems in the future if there was integration between external cultures and what the Xenos had created within the Dungeon. As much as he would like to believe they were an exception, there would undoubtedly be Xenos that became corrupted by external influence and developed attributes like greed, l.u.s.t, and other disreputable traits. Just imagining them going from amunity that worked together to ensure each others happiness, to a group that was exploited by their own people...it was honestly a little heartbreaking. The biggest victims in such a situation would be those Xenos with unique bloodlines and profitable features that could be exploited. Maries safety would be one of the first jeopardized, as her blood would literally fetch prices in the billions of Valis if she were captured. Other Xenos had very rare materials that constituted their bodies, such as Gryuus scales, Rays feathers, or the silk nds of Arachne like Naho and Rayne. To some, the Xenos would be nothing more than glorified material production factories that could be exploited almost indefinitely, as the Xenos themselves had biological immortality and could regenerate... Vahn knew it would actually be a source of wealth for the Xenosmunity in the future, harvesting their own resources to trade to the outside world, so it was important to establish rules to prevent exploitation from the very beginning. Thus, if a Xenos chose to abandon its identity and live amongst surface dwellers during this transitory phase, they would have to remove themselves from Xenos society as a whole. This wouldnt be a partial exclusion either, as there was a chance they could use their prior rtions with the Xenos to their advantage in the future. If they chose to renege on their identity, that was something that would be respected, just as they would have to respect their own choice and live with the consequences... Given his own experience, Vahn knew there would undoubtedly be Xenos who experience life amongst surface dwellers who would be jaded after experiencing the reality of such a life. They would undoubtedly wish to return to a more understandingmunity thatcked the pitfalls and tragedy of civilized society. However, as this had more negative consequences than benefits, they would be denied the opportunity based on their own prior decisions. After all, the reality of the situation was that, unless they had their memories erased, society would have irrevocably tainted them at that point. Vahn wanted to keep this corruption out of the Xenosmunity for as long as possible...at least until they themselves sought such integration. At that point, he would probably have to either publically recognize certain Xenos as a protected species, if not outright changing them into something else to avoid them be the victims of the cruel and greedy people that always infested society... (A/N: Vahn is a little jaded with society...though, he really does have a lot of reason to be, doesnt he? I like how much effort he is putting into something that is doomed to fail after a few years pass...all to protect people like Marie and Naho xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Doki-Doki Instinct is Strong...,Vahn straight up turning the Xenos settlement into Maries yground xD...,Seriously, f.u.c.k people that live by exploiting others...damn parasites (o,...,o)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 839 - Surprise

Chapter 839 - Surprise

After nearly an hour of discussion, Vahn, Lyd, Ray, and Gros hade up with a list of rules that would shape how all Xenos lived for the indefinite future. Most of the actual restrictions were in regards to how they would interact with the outside world and guidelines for anyone that wanted to integrate into society and leave behind the Xenospound, now named Spero Vige. This roughly tranted to hope and, though it wasnt exactly a vige, the Xenos had a very small poption and it wasnt exactly wrong to ssify theirnd as such. They actually had sovereignty that was guaranteed by the Alliance, making this 800-acre plot ofnd its own country, but such things didnt matter to the Xenos at all... Once the discussion hade to an end, though there were likely to be several more in the following days, Vahn helped install a [Paling] to protect the Xenos during emergencies, even though Terras presence almost guaranteed they were protected. This was simply a measure so that, if Terra was busy elsewhere, they werent left unprotected based on an assumption. Each leader was given the activation key but, feeling that she was actually very suited for the task, Vahn also gave Marie a key. She was very happy to receive such a present, jumping clear out of the water an into Vahns arms to give him a somewhat sloppy and inexperienced kiss. Promising to returnter, Vahn managed to extricate himself from Spero by fleeing towards the sky and, choosing to keep his promise with Freya, headed towards the small residence she had procured near Knossos entrance. He knew that, once he returned to the Manor, his time wouldnt exactly be his own anymore, especially if there was anything that needed his attention. Since Syr had informed him that nothing major was going on, as he had to make sure, Vahn decided not to keep Freya waiting. After all, she had actually waited for several days longer than necessary, as he had returned from the Dungeon for a short period of time and could have gone to visit. The only justification he had for not doing so was that he had made the promise to her after entering Knossos and he hadnt officially returned just yet... Such thoughts made Vahn feel a little guilty, even though he knew it wasnt exactly something he should worry over. Deciding to simply enjoy whatever Freya had nned for him, Vahn slowly flew through the sky with an expectant look on his face. He was honestly more than a little interested in what Freya was nning and, so long as she wasnt using her [Charm] to force the matter, Vahn was willing to give her some wiggle room to y. She knew better than to try and appeal to him using nefarious and questionable means so he couldnt help but be a little excited... After a rtively short flight, Vahn touched down on the balcony of a pristine white building that had been hastily constructed for a very exorbitant amount of Valis. Since it was near the center of Daedelus Street, the elegant temple-like building stood out like a sore thumb, likely Freyas intention from the very start. As a result of her Divinity, she had to show off her wealth and power so it could be appreciated externally. The greater the disparity between her own home, and the surrounding architecture, the better it was from Freyas perspective. She actually went out of her way to design any residence she stayed in to be both ancient in design, but extremely extravagant at the same time. As a result, the entire structure was made out of extremely polished marble while the reliefs carved into the walls depicted various heroic figures adorned with gold while their eyes were actually set with precious gemstones... Though there were several barriers barring entry, Vahn was able to freely pass through all such obstructions with a small red ring that Freya had given him in the past. He generally kept it within his Inventory but, for situations like this, would wear it on his left middle finger. As for his ring fingers, Vahn actually had small and intricately designed bands that represented Hephaestus, Eina, and Riveria. Each had a very small fragment of ruby, sapphire, and emerald, a constant reminder of the women he had officially married. Though he kept them safe within his Inventory while in the Dungeon, as hisbat style often destroyed his equipment, Vahn wore them proudly during most other circ.u.mstances... Vahn also had the pendant that represented his bond with Lili while various other essories and markings emphasized his rtionsh.i.p.s with other girls. The most obvious of these all, at least when he was n.a.k.e.d, were the various bite-shaped scars around his shoulders, corbone, and, as a result of Terras nature, a small scar above the location of his heart. It was somewhat ironic that every visible scar and injury on his body, instead of being obtained from battle, was the result of one of his lovers. Even so, Vahn didnt mind them at all, regardless of the strange looks and questions he would get when people saw the questionable wounds... With these thoughts fresh in his mind, Vahn wondered what kind of mark Freya would leave on him someday, as he knew she was very bothered by the scars left by the other girls. Then again, it might be that she wanted him to leave his impression on her as, even though she could keep it concealed, Freya often wore gowns and dresses that exposed her back, disying the makers mark he had left as if it was something that ented her beauty further. If this was the case, though Vahn knew it wasnt really the truth of the matter, that would probably be for the best. However, given the various presences located within the chamber containing Freya, Vahn knew she was determined to leave an impression on him, one way or the other. Upon entering the inner sanctum of the temple-like structure, Vahn found Freya wearing nothing but a loose transparent robe that served almost no purpose as actual clothing. She was standing next to an empty throne, a violet glimmer in her eyes as an elegant smile spread from her lips as she said, "Vahn...youre a little earlier than I expected...ufufufu~." As she spoke, Freya moved forward in such a way that it was like her body had a gravitational pull that drew the eyes towards whichever trait she decided to ent at any given moment. Her arm would lightly push up her fair b.r.e.a.s.t, making the small bead at the center stand out before, immediately after your eyes were drawn to the cherry-red protrusion, Freyas h.i.p.s would snake, revealing a tantalizing gap between her thighs that redirected the eyes down... Letting her pull his hand, Vahn sat in the throne that Freya had apparently prepared for him as she very naturally sat on his left leg, remarking, "I heard Lokiment about how sitting on yourp was almost like sitting on a throne that granted both mortals and gods absolute power over even fate...I must admit, even those created by prodigious smiths cant give me the same feeling as what Im experiencing right now...I wonder...can you feel it as well, Vahn~?" Following her cue, Vahn brought his hand to Freyas left b.r.e.a.s.t, earning a hot sigh from her as a powerful thumping emanated from her chest. He had already seen her aura re up when she sat down but there was something far more intimate about cing your hand over the heart of your lover... For several seconds, there was nothing but the sound of Freyas slightly elerated breathing as both she and Vahn maintained smiling expressions. Freya had noticed the change in Vahn several days prior and was very curious about what was going through his minds at times like this. She already had a good understanding of his character, at least in the past, so seeing a new version of the man that conquered her heart was very exciting. She wondered if he might just push her down on the cold marble floor and ravish her until she couldnt even move the following day, a state she had only ever been able to experience whenever he rewarded her for doing a good deed. It was her hope that he interpreted her surprise in such a way and, now that he was acting out of her expectations, Freya was even more excited to see how he would react than normal... Since her heart wasnt exactly calming down, Freya released another hot sigh before picking up a pure crystal bell on the thrones armrest and ringing it. As the sound of steps reached her ears, Freya felt like her heartbeat was matching their pace, even though her expression remained unchanged. She didnt even turn her head to mark the entrance of the four new arrivals, instead, watching Vahns expression for any changes, no matter how minute. When his eyes opened slightly, Freya couldnt help but smile as the beating in her heart increased exponentially. She then had enough confidence to rise from Vahnsp and move over to the lined up girls and begin their introductions... Though he had known about the five presences Freya was keeping in reserve, Vahn hadnt quite expected the scene that was ying out in front of him. Wearing rather intricately designed maid outfits, not the kind used for more devious acts, there were four very unique and exotic looking young women gathered before him. The first had two pointed horns that matched her light brown skin near the base but transitioned into scarlet red. They were very obviously horns but Vahn had never seen anything remotely simr, even though he had immediately identified her species as the very rare Oni from the Far East. This particr Oni had dark purple hair that extended to her lower back, braided together in a very intricate fashion while tri-part bangs framed her face. Since her horns parted her hair naturally, this left neatly trimmed frontal bangs while the two fringe bangs on the side of her face extended in a very elegant fashion towards her corbones. Her figure was somewhat petite, only around 158cm tall, but simultaneously very mature with b.r.e.a.s.ts around a C-Cup while her h.i.p.s were full and sensuous. Vahn, however, knew this was actually a very variable appearance that she was keeping as, without powerful alcohol within their system, Oni would shrink into progressively more petite forms. They were a very unique race whose physical appearance, after reaching a.d.u.l.thood, was entirely dependent on the quality and quantity of alcohols they had ingested... Turning his eyes from the pale-gold pupils of this Oni woman, Vahn looked at the second girl, equally exotic but for entirely different reasons. She had leaf green hair that was cut very evenly around her shoulders and, much like the Oni woman, had two horns parting them near her forehead. The key difference is, unlike the flesh-type horns of an Oni, this woman had antler-like horns that were split into three segments. She also had slit-like eyes that were orange in color, giving her a somewhat fierce look even though her eyes were slightly droopy. Vahn identified her as another very rare species from the Far East, a female from one of the Beast Human tribes known as Ryuushu. Though her mature figure was very eye-catching, the thing that drew Vahns eye about this woman was the fact she had a rather thick tail green tail lifting the back of her skirt. There was extra white fabric preventing her panties from being visible, but seeing the adorable 30cm long tail curving upward at a slight angle was quite the sight to behold. She seemed to be somewhat nervous as well, as her tail was trembling slightly, even though Vahn wasnt exactly informed about the physiology of a Ryuushu. Of course, when this thought crossed his mind, Vahn got his answer and knew that the trembling was actually associated with excitement, not nervousness... The final two girls were actually members of the same race, though this wasnt exactly a detriment whatsoever since they were both very unique in appearance. The first woman was rather short, around 153cm, and disyed a very confident look on her face as her short blonde hair, having a wild and unrestrained appearance with several spikey locks, almost entirely covered her right eye. This left only one of her striking blue eyes visible, as she returned a smile without breaking eye contact for even a moment. Fixed at the side of her head, there were two bronze-colored horns that angled outward before curving into points. She also had pointed ears at the side of her head, though they didnt stand out as much as her tworge D-Cup b.r.e.a.s.ts and her pert and athletic lookings h.i.p.s and thighs... This was a trait shared by the second girl, though it was hard to tell at a nce who actually had therger b.r.e.a.s.ts. Instead, it was easier to identify them by the differences in their horns, as the second womans horns appeared shorter and curved in a more extreme manner, almost making an s-shape. She also had long white hair that nearly reached the ground, braided in one massive braid that was fixed together with a red ribbon towards the end. Much like the first girl, she also had a rather confident and brave expression but possessed red eyes and rather prominent bangs that framed her face. Vahn knew them both to be members of the Kyrie People and, though they were rather small in stature, they were reputed to be a match for Dwarves in physical prowess. Freya, with a confident expression of her own, smiled elegantly as she held out her hand, gesturing toward the girls as she said, "These four girls were ves that had been liberated when my Familia was purging some of the illegal traffickers within the Entertainment District. Each has an equivalent strength of around Level 3 and, though they have been freed from the shackles binding them, jumped at the offer of bing your personal servants. Im certain you can tell they are under nopulsion and, if necessary, I will even make a vow attesting to the fact...ufufufu~." After seeing Vahns expression, Freya had gained a great deal of confidence and knew she had made the correct decision when taking these particr women under her wing. Though it was true she didnt use her charm to influence them, it didnt mean she hadnt used silvery words to get them riled up at the thought of serving Vahn... As they had rehearsed, the Oni woman bowed very politely and, with a somewhat husky and sensual voice, said, "Greetings, Master, my name is Momo-Oni, member of the Oni tribe of the Far East. Please, it would be my honor to serve as your attendant..." At the very end of her words, Momo couldnt resist swallowing and Vahn nearly released a light chuckle since he could imagine what Freya had promised her in exchange for her service. He knew that Freya had certainly done something to convince the girls and, considering the nature of an Oni, Momo was likely expecting herpensation to be in the form of rare and expensive alcohols... Following Momo, the Ryuushu woman bowed even lower, saying in a stoic and soft tone of voice, "Greetings, Master, my name is Katsuya Ryuusen, daughter of the Ryuushu People and heiress to the now-defunct Ryuusen n. I may be inexperienced, but I will do my best to meet your expectations and serve your esteemed and dignified self to the utmost of my ability..." Though it wasnt directlymunicated, it was easy to see that Katsuya had an ulterior motive for bing his servant. It was well-known that Vahn helped everyone under his care be much stronger and, though she might not directly request it, Vahn could understand Katsuya wanted the strength to restore her n in the future... Once Katsuya finished her introduced, the first of the two Kyrie actually puffed out her chest and stood with arms akimbo instead of bowing as she loudly eximed, "I heard youre a real man that doesnt discriminate against any race! As long as you can beat me outright in a match, I dont care what youll have me do. I appreciate strong men and heard youre the strongest there is! So, that means Ill be in your care from now on, ahahahaha~!" It was only at the very end of her outburst that the yet unnamed Kyrie bowed, causing her ratherrge b.r.e.a.s.ts to bounce and jiggle a few times when she straightened out her back... The final woman, seemingly familiar with her fellow Kyrie, released a muted sigh before she smiled and said, "Greetings, Master, my name is Elizabelle Grandis, a proud member of the Kyrie People. This airhead to my left is my cousin, Merribelle Grandis, a not-so-proud member who cant even introduce herself properly..." These words caused Merribelle to flinch, her only visible eye widening as herplexion paled slightly. Before she could correct her mistake, Elizabelle continued, saying, "We are very grateful that Lady Freya had liberated us before we could be shamed. Though it may be imprudent of us to expect such treatment, we do hope you will show us consideration if our appearance is to your liking. Since our people pledge loyalty to those we owe a life-debt to, please ept our fealty as Lady Freya had willed..." With Elizabelle clearing things up, Vahn could understand that the two were likely proud warriors of the Kyrie People who had somehow be ves. Since Freya had liberated them, she became their benefactor and, if it had been her will, the two, or at least Elizabelle, would have taken their lives if it was her request. Freya had diverted their attention towards him and, being the strongest made it easy for the two proud women to shift their loyalty onto him. They were currently acting in the capacity of Maids but, if he so desired them, Vahn knew both girls would likely be more than willing to dedicate themselves to him after a brief conflict... Realizing that Freya had actually gone through a great deal of effort to not only secure him exotic women, likely after hearing something from Loki, but also did it in an above-board fashion. Though it could be argued that she had taken advantage of the girls situation, it was only by offering them genuine benefits that they ended up here in front of him. He could easily just give alcohol to Momo, help Katsuya be strong enough to restore her n, and free the two Kyrie women of their obligation, but that would actually go against the expectations of all five girls. Vahn could see the four girls had a very positive impression of him, likely as a result of something Freya had said or done, so it almost felt wrong to even think about turning them away... With a slightlyrger smile, Vahn turned his eyes to Freya and asked, "Have you talked to the others about this little surprise...?" When Freya moved her hand to her lips and began to giggle in a yful manner, Vahn knew she had gotten permission before moving forward. With that in mind, he let loose a smallugh of his own before turning to the four girls and saying, "So long as you do notpromise the safety and security of those I cherish, I will do my best to act as apetent and worthy Master. I thank you in advance for your service..." Even before he had finished speaking, four prompts appeared within his system notification and Vahn epted the four unique girls as his subordinates before turning to Freya and saying, "It seems I owe you a reward, Freya..." (A/N: For those curious, the Kyrie are fundamentally simr to the Draph race from Granblue Fantasy. I even borrowed two of my favorite Draph as a temte :P...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Visible Extravagance,Freyas mark leaves quite the impression xD...,RIP Freya, may the Godhand guide her safely through the abyss...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 840 - Union

Chapter 840 - Union

When his words fell upon Freyas ears, Vahn saw her aura practically explode with a passionate red as her stoic expression softened slightly. This caused Vahns own smile to reach his eyes, finding her behavior rather adorable, especially with how she tried to keep up her facade in front of the other four girls. The fact that she did this, while wearing a transparent garment, created a gap that Vahn found amusing, even though he was aware this could have very well been her intention from the start. Based on how quickly she collected herself, Vahn assumed this was the case and allowed his eyes to wander towards the corridor where the other four girls had emerged earlier... Seeing where Vahn was looking, Freyas own smile turned slightly mischevious as she said, "No peeking..." in a sultry tone. This brought Vahns eyes back to her, his gaze burning her skin and causing her heart to seize up in expectation. She found herself averting her eyes away, strangely unable to maintain eye contact with the emotional turmoil and expectation her body was feeling. Vahns reward was something that her body craved to an almost maddening extent but Freya tried to pretend she was calm, looking toward the four girls and saying, "From this point onward, Vahn is your Master...you no longer have to listen to my orders, so long as Vahn himself does not grant me that right..." As this was also something they had discussed and rehearsed previously, all four girls bowed politely to Freya before standing straight, four sets of eyes focusing on Vahn as if they were awaiting his orders. He could tell that, amongst the four of them, Merribelle and Katsuya seemed a little too excited for the order that rested on the very tip of his tongue. However, though he knew Freya would probably enjoy it quite a bit, Vahn smiled casually as he said, "For the time being, Ill have the four of you wait in the side room to keep Freyas other surprisepany. I dont want the four of you thinking Ill treat you however I please so, until you have a better understanding of my character, you will be left in the charge of the Hearth Manors Administrator, Syr Flova..." Seeing Katsuya and Merribelle dete while Momo and Elizabelle actually perked up a bit, Vahns eyes squinted in amus.e.m.e.nt. Though he was certainly interested in the rather buxom group of women, having them watch as he made love to Freya was a little more deviant than he felt like being at the moment. Freya might want them to watch and temper themselves as proper servants, but Vahn had never treated anyone under his care in such a fashion. He would rather help set the girls on their path towards the future and, when their feelings mature a bit, that would be the best time to pluck them. Since they were all v.i.r.g.i.ns, even though Momo was surprisingly 71 years old, Vahn didnt want their first times to be under such peculiar circ.u.mstances...(A/N: Oni have a lifespan of around 600 years.) Without a word ofint, even though Merribelle clearly had a few words to say, the four bowed in a very prim and proper manner before walking in an orderly line as they followed his order. It was obvious they had spent, at the very least, several months training to be Maids. Since Freya had purged the Entertainment district more than a year and a half ago, it was possible some of them had been groomed from that point into bing proper Maids for this very moment. This being the case, Vahn wondered who the fifth person Freya was keeping hidden could be...well, he would let her keep it a secret for now as there were more pressing matters to attend... Once the girls had exited the room, Vahn matched Freyas gaze before resting his head atop his fist with his elbow on the armrest. Since she had probably been nning this surprise for a long time, Vahn felt like he should give her a reward that he had been keeping in reserve for quite a while. Until now, he had never melded with Freya, as that was a level of closeness that was very dangerous for anyone to experience. Vahn could still clearly remember how drastically Hephaestus, Loki, Hestia, Anubis, and Eirene had changed after he melded with their Divinity. Even Loki, having a Divinity that would cause her to plot and scheme, had turned incredibly docile and genuinely affectionate after the true union of their Divinity and his domain... The only thing that kept Vahn from melding with Freya was the slight fear that she would be addicted to the experience, as her Divinity was already associated with S.e.x. The other goddesses were actually a little shaken by the experience, though not of them had offered a single word ofint, so Vahn knew it was a defining moment in their incredibly long lives. When this thought crossed his mind, however, Vahn remembered that he was already bound to Freya for what could very well be an eternity. He couldnt exactly keep such an experience from her and, considering it could actually change her for the better, Vahn decided it was time to truly be one with the rather excited goddess who was anxiously awaiting his words... After checking to make sure there was plenty of room on the throne, Vahn sat up straight and stored his clothes away within his Inventory. Freyas inhaled a slightly deeper breath through her nose as Vahn gestured her over, saying, "This will probably be unlike anything youve experienced before, e, sit..." Though he said sit, Vahns dragon was already eyeing the heavens, striking a fierce and indomitable figure. Freya, understanding his mand, walked over with slightly hurried steps as she gingerly stepped onto the thrones seat, legs spread as a tantalizing sight filled Vahns vision. He still found it very peculiar that her v.a.g.i.n.a seemed to glow with a divine light but was no longer surprised by this face and just absentmindedly blew towards the already moist mound. Freyas body trembled slightly when she felt Vahns breath touch her sacred grounds but she didnt slow her actions at all, cing her hands on his shoulders while lowering her h.i.p.s. Vahn didnt even need to position himself to enter Freya as she very skillfully managed to target her own entrance before his dragon was already raging through her heavenly pce. Freya released a long and sensual m.o.a.n, craning her head back as she adjusted her legs from a squatting position until she waspletely sitting against Vahnsp, a zero-distance between their h.i.p.s. Vahn teased her a little, reaching out his hand to pat her head gently as he said, "Good girl..." Though she already had a flushed face, Freyas blush developed a few shades redder as she fought against her urges to try and take from Vahn. She wanted nothing more than to just grab his face and begin kissing but, knowing that this could have a negative impact on their future interactions, Freya desperately resisted trying to take the lead. This caused Vahns expression to soften a bit, something that always made Freyas heart thump in a way that only he could manage to inspire... Knowing that Freya was probably suffering a bit, Vahn pulled her into a very gentle embrace, whispering into her ear, "No matter how intense things get, I will be here to hold you close...you should hold me tightly as well, okay, Freya...?" Though she didnt understand what Vahn wanted to do, Freya lightly nodded her head before wrapping her arms around Vahn, finding their current position to be very intimate andfortable. She was beginning to suspect this was one of the time he just wanted to focus on intimacy, instead of doing anymore more intense. However, just as this somewhat sad thought crossed her mind, Freyas eyes widened into full circles as her Divinity itself began to tremble... Compression his domain into the confine of the room, Vahn began to fuse with the passionate red aura of Freya, intertwining the two different forces until they had be one. As this happened, something rather unexpected urred and Freyas body was immediately shrouded in her Divine Power, enveloping both of their bodies as the two ck lilies in her hair fell away. Freyas silver eyes became wine-red as her silver hair gained a pink hue and began to curl up slightly. Unlike in the past, this was her actual Divinity taking effect with its Arcanum, not the restricted Divinity that most gods would have in the mortal world. In normal circ.u.mstances, this would have caused her to immediately be ejected from the world but, as if driven by instinct, nine links of [Enkidu] had emerged from the void, forming a dome around their bodies that prevented the massive influx of energy to spreading beyond the confined space within... From an outside perspective, they would see nothing by a bright pink sphere that was bound by resplendent golden chains, causing the void around to tremble as sensual sighs and m.o.a.ns dispersed into the surroundings. The energy contained by the sphere actually leaked out slightly with these sounds, cutting through all physical obstructions and seeding itself in the hearts and minds of anyone in the surroundings. Though the Arcanum itself was restrained, the influence of Freyas Divinity had spread for several kilometers around her residence, causing the bodies of everyone within to begin heating up. Those closer to the center, especially the five girls in the side room, had even copsed from the unexpected stimulus, eyes zed over as they eagerly endeavored to ease the suffering of their bodies... Unaware of what was going on outside, Vahns eyes and mouth were sending out beams of light that matched the color of Freyas Arcanum as she desperately clung to his body, trembling and shaking as her own had almost turned into a pure-light construct. There were small feather-like protrusions rising from her skin as her hair extended to the floor and continued to fan out. This was a form that could only exist in Heaven and Freya felt like Vahn was pulling her real self into the mortal world, an unimaginable pleasurepletely overwhelming the entirety of her existence. Vahn was experiencing a very simr thing, his voice resonating outward without ceasing for even an instant, producing a sensual ohm sound that had already gone on for several minutes... While Vahn and Freya were beyond themselves, Sis was observing everything quietly from the deep recesses of Vahns mind, doc.u.menting the changes in his body and ensuring that his mental state wasntpromised. There was a very powerful Divine Energy flowing through his body, carrying with it an irresistiblepulsive force and unrestrained charm. However, as if it waspletely tamed by the Source Energy in Vahns body, the only effect this Divine Energy had was nourishing Vahns cells while being nourished by the Source Energy in turn. It would then loop back into Freyas body, causing the changes in her physique as her mortal avatar became even more refined, pulling even more of her Arcanum into the Mortal World... Ever since Vahn first melded with a goddess, Sis had been doc.u.menting every change his body experienced,paring it against the information contained in the hundreds of thousands of texts Vahn had .u.mted. She knew the actual technique he was using was very simr to a Cultivation worlds Dual Cultivation. The primary difference was, Vahns body didnt actually contain generic Yang Energy since he was entirelyprised of Source. Though he could emte the effects, it was entirely unnecessary and, as a result, Vahn didnt need the nourishment of his partners Yin to grow strong. Instead, he could meld his Source Energy with the everything of his partner, regardless of their elemental affinity and constitution. The Source Energy in his body would refine others while tempering Vahns body and soul in exchange, further increasing his capabilities with absolutely no detrimental effects... This time, Sis could sense the cells in Vahns body expanding slightly as the membrane around his soul became suffused with a slightly pink hue. At the same time, his [Charm] Development Ability had been elevated directly to A-Rank, something that gave Sis the urge tough since it would probably cause Vahn to mentter. In fact, though it was hard to discern this kind of thing, Sis felt like it may actually reach S-Rank and evolve if the two continued to go at it for a while, not that they were actually doing much. From the start, even though nearly half an hour had passed, Freya just clung to Vahn as if she was afraid of disappearing while he kept her firmly within his embrace and just sat there...even though they were both experiencing an unimaginable amount of pleasure... For the better part of an hour, much to thementation of others in the surroundings, Vahn and Freya continued to meld together until the beams of light from his eyes and mouth slowly began to recede. At this point, Freyas body was almost entirelyprised of light that had a pink hue along the edges but appeared pristine white towards the center. There was a very subtle rainbow hue near where her heart would be located as her hair slowly dispersed into particles. Small strips of what appeared to be fair white skin emerged from the void, arranging themselves like puzzle pieces to cover Freyas body, slowing restoring her appearance. However, even when her entire body was covered, a few very noticeable changes had urred that would very soon cause a stir within the godlymunity... Though her hair had regained its silvery color, Freyas eyes remained wine red as her previously ck pupils now had a pink light emanating from within. The makers mark on her body had disappeared from her backside, as it had vanished away with her previous flesh, but there was now a strange crest located between her two immacte b.r.e.a.s.ts. This crest had the appearance of a sword-like cross that was nked by two wing-like protrusions that had three defined points. Though it was primarily dark red in color, the interior of the sword glowed with a divine light that matched the color of Freyas Arcanum... Less noticeable, at least to outsiders, was the fact that Freyas insides had also been nourished by her connection with Vahn. Though it already had a divine glow before, Freyas v.a.g.i.n.a now had a subtle pink hue to it as her inner walls actually emanated the same light as her Arcanum. She felt like her insides had actually been sculpted to match Vahnpletely as his p.e.n.i.s was also glowing with the light of her Arcanum, causing Vahn to be unable to even breath as the chains of [Enkidu] that were previously forming a dome around them became limp. The throne and its surroundings had also changed a great deal, now appearing a strange golden color that had a pink sheen to it, even though the floor was still seemingly made of marble... Unlike Vahn, Freya was able to breathe and was doing so veryboriously, ayer of sweat covering her entire body as she gasped for air. She wasnt entirely aware of the changes to her body just yet but knew that something impossible had just urred. Though only vague memories of her union with Vahn remained, those that she could recall caused her body to tremble as she instinctually tightened up, causing Vahn to groan and hug her a little tighter. This action made Freyas heart feel fluttery and, if she could freely move her body right now, nothing could have stopped her from seeking out Vahns lips... With Freya mping around him, Vahns awareness was returned and he actually couldnt even feel his own p.e.n.i.s right now, just a pure sense of pleasure. It was a ridiculous incongruity that was nearly able to break through the influence of his [Will of the Emperor] based on the sensation alone. Vahn, for the first time, felt a sense of urgency as he lifted Freyas butt and tried to remove himself from her insides. This caused a bright light to emanate from where they were connected as Freya immediately became teary-eyed and mewled, "Noooo...stay..." Vahn felt his heart tighten in his chest but continued pulling out, something that seemed impossible with how Freya was mping down. Strangely, the tightness of her insides didnt actually stop him from pulling out at all, causing Vahn to extricate himself rather easily as the light slowly began to dim. He could see his own p.e.n.i.s was glowing with a pink light that was slowly beginning to fade away as it returned to a flesh color. It was a very strange sight to behold but Vahn was too relieved at the moment to really care about the peculiar glow... Freya, teary-eyed before, now started sobbing as if Vahn had just taken her most precious thing in a very selfish manner. This caused the tightness in his heart topound as he tightly hugged the crying goddess, stroking her back in aforting manner as he said, "Its okay, Freya...everything is going to be alright..." He was using his [Grooming] and [Hands of Nirvana] at their full potential, but it still took nearly ten minutes for Freya to calm down within his embrace. Vahn noticed this was around the same amount of time that it took the light to fade from where they were connected, causing him to assume her mental state had been a result of the strange phenomenon... Now that she was feeling calmer, even though her insides felt very lonely, Freya hung her head and wiped away the tears before looking up into Vahns face, stunned upon looking into his eyes. They still had their aquamarine-green coloration but there was now an almost indiscernible pink ring surrounding his pupils, something others might not notice but, being a Goddess of Beauty, Freya immediately knew what it was. She felt strangely vindicated, knowing that Vahn would have to suffer in the future after he bullied her in such a mean way... Sensing the change in Freya, Vahn blinked in confusion, stroking her fair white and inexplicably soft cheek as he asked, "Are you okay...?" Vahn found Freyas wine-red eyes very captivating but he was able to resist the effect of her natural charm, expressing concern for her after she had cried for nearly ten minutes. She almost immediately nodded in response to his question, a beautiful smile spreading across her lips as she said, "I dont know what you did...it was amazing...I cant even describe how amazing it was...I..." This reaction of hers caused Vahn to feel a great deal of relief as he chuckled lightly and surprised her with a sudden kiss. Before she could propose doing it again, Vahn stroked her silver hair and said, "It isnt something we can do that often, but Im d we were able to truly be one, Freya..." Following his words, Vahn pulled her tightly into his embrace and hoped that, now more than ever, she was able to feel the care, concern, and, though it hadnt been that obvious before, the love he felt for her... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn isnt an exhibitionist xD...,RIP Innocent Bystanders...,Vahn essentially fused with Freyas insides (>,...,<)...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 841 - Smile

Chapter 841 - Smile

After collecting himself, Vahn realized there was a slight dy in his thought processes as his main body slowly awoke from a dazed state. Fortunately, Fenrir had kept his body floating above the construction site, even though her telekinesis was rathercking. She didnt even ask any questions about what he had been doing, instead,ing to his side when Vahn reached out his hand. He hadnt expected the union with Freya would cause his awareness to bepletely dominated by what was happening on the surface. Though Sis would have snapped him out of it if there had been an enemy attack, Vahn knew he had erred quite a bit this time around. Since Fenrir had kept him from embarrassing himself, Vahn sat in the air and had her sit in hisp, pulling out an ornate brush as he beganbing through her hair... Back on the surface, Vahn let his constrained domain return to its normal size and immediately noticed the abnormalities in the surrounding area, specifically those in the nearby room. His eyes widened and a bit of cold sweat caused his skin to be mmy as he tried to process what had happened. Sis immediately chimed in at this point, exining, (*The synchronization between your domain and Freyas Divinity caused the connection between her Avatar and her Divine Body to be much stronger. If not for you instinctually restraining her Arcanum with [Enkidu], Freya would have been forced back to Heaven. However, since you werent actively trying to seal her Divinity, some of the ambient energy diffused into the surroundings. The Arcanum itself was sealed but the...S.e.x Energy spread out and likely affected several bystanders...*) As her perception was restricted to Vahns own, Sis wasnt entirely aware this was happening during the moment and hadnt noticed until Vahn himself expanded his domain... Vahn knew he would probably have to issue an apology and exnation of what had happenedter and wasnt looking forward to it. He was hoping that the fallout wasnt too great as, if something tragic happened during the time he was united with Freya, the amount of regret he would feel...it wasnt a pleasant thought. Fortunately, as he wouldter learn, the energy emitted by Freya, though influencing several hundred people, mainly resulted in them going to seek their lovers out or head off to the Red Light District. Those in close proximity had to suffer a bit, but the majority of those nearby belonged to the Freya Familia and actually had a fair amount of resistance to charming effects. The greatest victims of this unexpected phenomenon were the five unfortunate girls within the side room, as they were essentially located near ground zero of the energys influence... Concerned about what was going on around them, Vahn released Freya from his embrace, a not-so-stoic expression on his face as he said, "I think your Divinity leaked out and affected others..." Vahn didnt really have to exin exactly what happened to Freya, as their union had been a shared experienced where they were able topletely understand the heart and mind of the other person. Thus, when she heard this, Freya became slightly pale and looked toward the side room as she picked up the now golden-crystal bell and rang it. Everything within the vicinity cordoned off by [Enkidu] had actually been elevated to the extent of materials that could only be found in Heaven, making the space of around 8m around them worth several hundred billion Valis, at the very least. Though this would be a matter of extreme importance in most situations, Freya knew there were more pressing matters to attend. When nearly a minute had passed without the girls showing up, she took the initiative to try and separate from Vahn, nearly falling from the throne in the process. Vahn had reached out to catch her, holding her in his arms as he traced his hands around her butt and the back of her thighs. This wasnt intended to be s.e.x.u.a.l, however, as Vahn was instead revitalizing the muscles of her legs while removing the rather extreme fatigue that Freya was experiencing... Once she was able to walk, Freya released a sigh, tracing her palm across Vahns chest as she said, "Ill be right back...dont worry, I will deal with this...haaaa..." Freya was more than a little worried about the state of the girls next door because, if anything happened to them, Vahn would probably never let her experience that amazing feeling again. Even now, though it felt like her insides were full, Freya also felt indescribable loneliness, every step away from Vahn increasing the mncholy in her heart. She didnt stop her steps, however, and tried to keep her chin raised proudly as she hurriedly went to the adjacent room to bear witness to the effects of her Divinity on others... After passing through an immactely sculpted marble door, fitted with ivory and gold handles, Freyas heart shook but she almost immediately calmed down and released a sigh upon realizing the worst hadnt happened. Though Momo, Sakuya, Elizabelle, and Merribelle were entangled together on the ground, clothes disheveled as they ovepped each other, their expressions ruddy and filled with fatigue. Sitting a little aways from them, the person Freya had been most concerned about, was a very young girl with a beet red face, peeking over a coloring book as she looked wide-eyed towards the other four girls. This girl had long blond hair, extending to the small of her back, neatly arranged to frame her adorable facial features. Her eyes were blue like sapphires and, though she was also wearing clothes simr to a Maid, they were light blue, frilly, and matched therge ribbon in her hair. Since she was currently sitting with her knees up, there was a lot of white frills visible beneath her skirt, though her dignity was protected by the pure white hose that she was wearing. When she saw Freya enter, the girl quickly adjusted her seated position to appear moredy-like as she stammered, "L-Lady Freya...I dont know what happened...everyone just...uuwwaaaaa...." Using the coloring book in her hands, the young girl tried to obstruct her view of the four disheveled Maids on the ground, the two pointed ears on the side of her head waggling anxiously. Freya smiled slightly upon seeing the girls reaction, walking to the side where arge wardrobe was located so that she could wear something to cover her n.a.k.e.dness. Once she was wrapped in a silk gown, Freya made her way to the girls side and, performing an action that would shock any that would im to know her well, picked up the girl and hugged her closely. Still carrying her, Freya made her way to the rooms entrance before looking towards the four girls on the ground, inly stating, "Clean yourselves up...your Master will likely be leaving soon..." Without sparing them a second nce, Freya gently stroked the back of the young girl and walked along the cold marble floor until reaching the room where Vahn had been waiting. She knew he wouldnt me her for what the girl had witnessed, as it was both of their faults, so the fear and trepidation she felt earlier had started to melt away. Instead, every step she took closer to Vahn filled Freya with expectation and happiness, chasing away the mncholy that was shrouding her heart after their momentary separation... Seeing Freya bring in what looked like a very young girl, Vahn couldnt help but inhale rather deeply as he fought to remain calm. Freya seemed to have calmed down a lot and, given the aura of the young girl, Vahn knew the situation probably wasnt as bad as anticipated. Even so, the fact that Freya had a young girl wearing what appeared to be an ornate Maid outfit bothered Vahn a little, though he decided to give Freya the benefit of the doubt and allow her to exin. Since she was carrying the girl personally, Vahn felt like the situation wasnt simple and didnt want to jump to any conclusions, believing Freya wouldnt do anything to overtly trouble him... Turning her body slightly, Freya stroked the young girls back and said, "Diana...this is Vahn..say hello..." Diana, who had been resting her head on Freyas shoulder, now looked over towards Vahn, her blue eyes widening in an instant as she immediately turned away once again. Freya chuckled lightly, looking toward Vahn and saying, "It looks like your charm even works on Spirits...how peculiar..." Even for Freya, who was known to have one of the most powerful charms in both Heaven and the mortal world, it had absolutely no effect on Spirits, especially a High Spirit like Diana. They were existences that served as the temte for the godly Avatars every god used in the mortal world. This was why people referred to Spirits as the children loved by the gods, as they were directly created with Divinity and magic to aid the surface races since time immemorial... Though he had noticed the abnormal energy in Dianas body, Vahn was surprised that Freya referred to her as a Spirit. Generally, what most people referred to as Spirits was actually just the mana contained within the environment. For Spirits that had physical forms, they were known as High Spirits and Great Spirits, with thetter group being considerably rarer. Within the current world, the number of High Spirits was extremely small, to the point that there were less than a dozen even residing inrge poption zone like Orario. Vahn had only ever seen the Gnome High Spirit, Bom Cornwall, and the Undine High Spirit, Silica Swiftstream. Other than them, only Lefiya could qualify as a High Spirit, though Vahn would liken her closer to a Great Spirit after her body had adapted a bit of his Source Energy... Vahn was d he had chosen to wear clothing when Freya had left earlier, even though the Spirit in her arms was likely much older than he was. He rose to his feet, doing his best to assume a calm and gentle appearance as he neared the two girls and softly muttered, "Hello, Diana...it is nice to meet you...?" Vahn tried to look over Freyas shoulder and peer into Dianas face, but she immediately turned her head away, causing Freya to release a peal of bell-likeughter that could make a mans heart tremble. The only thing he felt right now, however, was confusion, at least until Freya exined, "Diana is a Xana High Spirit, so she cant easily look at other people...especially if they are men..." With Freyas exnation, information regarding the Xana appeared within Vahns mind, allowing him to better understand the situation. They were a very umon Spirit that had actually been hunted to near-extinction long ago after being associated with the deaths of several men. This was a result of their natural charm, their unique abilities, and their hypnotic song that could calm the hearts and minds of pure individuals while causing a suffocating feeling that could drive those with dark hearts to insanity. They were rumored to have been created by the Gods in order to curb the amount of evil-hearted men in the world, giving them the appearance of young women with blond or brown hair that could stir the negativity in mens hearts. When their voices reached the ears of such men, the only thing awaiting them was a rather gruesome death as they wed at their own eyes and ears... Knowing that the young girl in Freyas arms was an existence that had been the nightmare of many men, at least before their true nature had been uncovered, Vahn felt more than a little shocked. As far as he knew, there hadnt been any reported sightings of a Xana in almost six-hundred years, to the point that they were considered a protected species by the Guild. Even then, there were no known publically protected Xana and it was even possible that Diana may very well be one of thest of her kind. Since they were immortal, their appearance would never change under normal circ.u.mstances and Vahn had no idea how long she had lived...or how lonely and existence she may have had... As if to clear up his confusion, Freya lightly stroked Dianas back, exining, "Diana was captured and illegally imprisoned by ve traders...fortunately, the voice of a Xana cannot be obstructed by physical barriers and most of the people that had tried to buy her initially lost their lives. She spent thest sixty years locked away since even the ve owner was afraid to get near her. A member of my Familia stumbled across her cell,pletely sealed behind a concrete wall, and alerted me to Dianas existence. I promised to introduce her to someone that could help her live a free and happy life..." Though Freya would have generally found an existence like Dianas to be very interesting, it wasnt an exaggeration to say the Spirits were truly loved by the gods. She actually felt a bit of kinship towards Diana, treating her as a proxy of her own daughter since thetter had been living within the Hearth Manor... Vahns mind was racing to make sense of what was going on and, now that he had melded with Freya, his understanding of her had increased greatly. He suddenly felt very guilty for having kept Leh within the Manor, as the mother and daughter only met each other during supervised visits. Seeing Freya show such care and concern for Diana made Vahn feel like he had been a terrible father, even though he tried to treat Leh with as much care and concern as he could manage during the times they were together. Though part of him felt like Freya had orchestrated things so that he felt this way, she couldnt truly hide anything from him and he knew that, while she was a bit extreme in her behavior, Freya wasnt incapable of love...in fact, she had a lesser-Divinity rted to it... Repressing a sigh, Vahn reached out with both hands, one stroking Freyas while the other rested on Dianas as he said, "I think we need to have a discussion with the others...you should spend more time with Leh. Though Hestia doesnt want men inside the Manor, Im certain she wouldnt mind if you brought the little Ottar by as well..." Even before he had finished speaking, Vahn saw one of the most loving smiles he had ever seen on Freyas faces bloom into existence. At the same time, Diana peeked over at him, curious about the source of the veryfortable energy entering into her body. She knew this was the man that Freya had told her she could trust but, after spending such a long period of time locked away, it was rather difficult to believe... Vahns eyes stared back at the sapphire blues looking at him, their gazes matching for several seconds before Diana quietly muttered, "Hello..." Though she spoke very quietly, Vahn felt a strangely refreshing tingle in his heart that caused his smile to soften even more. Since it wasnt a negative effect, his [Will of the Emperor] didnt resist the influence of Dianas voice and Vahn was able to experience a very pleasant and peaceful sensation. This caused Dianas eyes to widen slightly as she hesitantly asked, "Are you not going to try and eat me...?" The pleasant sensation practically washed over him, causing Vahn to release a light-heartedugh as he stroked Dianas head and said, "Dont worry, Im not going to eat you...hahahahaha~." Even if she might be several times older than he was, Vahn could never eat a girl with an appearance that made Eva seem mature. Dianas physique was closer to a girl around 7-8 years old, causing absolutely no fluctuations in Vahns heart, other than a simple desire to protect the beautiful smile that Diana had produced. She now no longer looked away from him, smiling radiantly in the equally radiant Freyas arms, creating a dual-impact on Vahns mind since the smiles of girls were a lethal weapon in such circ.u.mstances... (A/N: At the time of writing this, I needed to head out to visit my dad and elder brother. There should be two more chapters today, but they will probably be in the afternoon. I cant really predict the future though, so dont spam f5 xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ground Zero...RIP Meido-sans...,High Spirit, Diana Sonata,Ultra Combo Finisher~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 842 - Caretaker

Chapter 842 - Caretaker

A few minutes after their first meeting, Vahn ended up having Diana sitting on hisp with a contented expression, enjoying some quality head-pats, as he discussed exactly what Freya wanted him to do. She exined that, in almost all other circ.u.mstances, a Xana like Diana would pose a legitimate threat to most people, making her existence rather tragic. Since her voice could be fatal to those with dark hearts, even a ce like the Freya Familia wasnt exactly safe for her. Diana could only interact with a few people and could almost never live a free and happy life, at least under normal circ.u.mstances. Freya wanted Diana to be able to live within the Hearth Manor, where her abilities would essentially have no effect, while Vahn helped find a means to let her control her abilities. Since she also knew about his ability to modify those that were his subordinates and retainers, information that had been spread through all the central figures in the Alliance, it was even possible for Vahn to eventually turn Diana into something other than a Xana. However, she also directly opposed this idea, stating that Diana could essentially be a failsafe within the Manor that would also be a very potent asset during any negotiations. If Dianas existence was made public, it would undoubtedly strike fear into the hearts of any individuals who lived at the expense of others. Most people would outright avoid getting anywhere near the Manor, making things like burries, kidnapping, or any other form of subterfuge exceedingly more difficult. Of course, after the next few days, Vahn knew this wouldnt really be necessary since he was still nning on having a reckoning with the Nobles. However, he understood Freyas reasoning and, considering Diana was actually 3,409 years old, it wouldnt necessarily be fair to change her into an existence she was unfamiliar with... Like gods, High Spirits also had very different thought processes than normal entities within the record of Danmachi, even if they didnt exactly possess Divinity. This was because Spirits were created with a purpose and, as they had biological immortality, their brains werent really wired in the same way as other creatures. If a normal person had lived for more than 3,000 years in such circ.u.mstances, they would have long gone crazy, potentially even killing themselves out of loneliness and depression. Diana, however, didnt seem to take any of this to heart at all and, instead, was more concerned about identally hurting other people than the fact she had been locked away for 60 years without any contact with others...Vahn was a little worried that, if he changed her race into something that could rationalize negative emotions better, Diana might suffer a severe trauma and undergo a formative change in personality... Right now, Diana seemed to have a rtively carefree and innocent nature, especially as she happily hummed away in hisp, kicking her legs out yfully. His [Grooming] had caused her to warm up to him very quickly and, after just a minute or so of discussion, Diana ended up shifting from Freyas arms into his. After that, they sat down to properly discuss the seemingly young Xanas fate and Diana had decided to sit in hisp instead of the chair offered to her. As this was something Vahn was very ustomed to, he didnt think anything of the situation at all, even as Dianas Affection breached 80(Trust) over a few short minutes. Eventually, the four Maids, consisting of Momo, Sakuya, Elizabelle, and Merribelle, came out from the side room with mild blushes on their faces. Vahn made sure to act oblivious to what had happened to them earlier, so as to make things slightly easier on them, before deciding to wrap up the conversation by saying, "Well, if Diana wants to stay at the Hearth Manor, I dont think there will be any problems. Her ability shouldnt have any effect on children and I dont think any of my sons would be endangered by her song before I find a solution to help her control it." Since he already had a few ideas in mind, Vahn knew it wouldnt be difficult to create a pendant or choker that allowed Diana to regte her ability. He had more than thirteen years toe up with a solution and that was way more time than he would need to solve such a simple problem... Freyas smile softened a little, even though she knew Vahn couldnt exactly overlook an adorable girl like Diana, especially considering her tragic past. It was a very well-known fact that Vahn was something of a bleeding heart that was very susceptible to girls with past troubles. Ever since he had done recruiting for the School, this became public knowledge and it was often a means by which some women would try to get close to him. Of course, having such thoughts generally made it impossible for them to genuinely make an impression. Though he was drawn to girls with a tragic past, Vahns appreciation was generally directed towards those that had stronger personalities that were already trying to change their lives for the better... Diana, already being told that she would end up staying at the Manor for over half a year, wasnt surprised by Vahns words at all. She just tilted her head up, looking into his face as she said, "I may be small, but I promise to be a good Maid~." Vahn blinked, somewhat surprised by Dianas words until Freya exined, "Since she saw the other girls working hard to be Maids, Diana also wanted to be a Maid...she worked very hard, ufufufu~." Freya reached out her hand, patting Dianas head and causing the small Spirit to giggle happily. Vahn drew the assumption that Diana probably didnt want to be a freeloader or, given how she had behaved so far, it was very likely she simply treated being a Maid as a game of sorts... Since he wanted Diana to live with rtive freedom, Vahn didnt mind letting her y as a Maid for a bit, confident that his children would be able to influence her positively after a while. Given her innocent and caring personality, Diana would get along with the majority of children and Vahn believed she could be good friends with his daughters, the Vanir. At the very least, he could guarantee her a decade or so ofpanionship with other children and give her a chance to limate to socializing with people as he worked on an essory to restrict her voice. With his mind made up, Vahn nodded his head slightly before saying, "We will need to discuss the changes in your body with the others soon, if not today. Im not entirely sure what happened, but I know it is something very...significant...for now, Ill take everyone back to the Manor and introduce them to Syr and Lunoire. Also, though Ill probably need to send Fafnir to watch over her, Ill try and arrange it so that Leh can visit you at the Southern Manor..." Vahn knew it would be very difficult to give Freya ess to the Manor, as her presence would cause problems even without her directly intending to. However, so long as precautions were made, it shouldnt be that difficult to at least arrange things so that Leh could spend more time with her mother. Freyas aura red up and a very beautiful smile spread across her face as she quietly uttered, "Thank you...Vahn..." She had neverined about it, but Freya actually felt a little saddened every time she saw Leh, especially seeing how quickly thetter was growing. When actually spent a fair amount of time just absentmindedly looking towards the direction of the Hearth Manor, wondering what her daughter was doing...it was a very strange feeling that she couldnt quite exin. If not for Ottar and Diana, Freya wasnt sure she could cope with only seeing her daughter once or twice a week for much longer... After a few more minutes of discussion, during which Freya sent a few messages through the Network to exin things, Vahn decided to head back to the Manor. It was starting to gette in the day and he still needed to n out how he wanted to deal with the Nobles while also checking to make sure things were going smoothly at Spero Vige. Tonight would be the first night the Xenos spent on the surface and he wanted to make sure they werefortable and had plenty of mana-rich food to keep their bodies stable. Until their vige was connected with the Dungeon, they needed to supplement their energy requirements with things like magic cores and other items that could supply them with the mana needed to sustain themselves. Vahn gave Freya onest kiss, promising toe and pick her up in the morning since that is when they would be discussing exactly what happened to her body. It was very obvious that some of the restrictions ced on her Avatar had been loosened at this point and, depending on their future findings, it may even be possible to fully manifest their entire Arcanum in the world one day. Though it would likely require years of research, a great deal of support from the godlymunity, and the implementation of several precautionary measures, the chance that the gods could use their power in a more meaningful way were actually very high... Though they panicked a little when he first lifted them into the sky, the girls calmed down after a short while and were more focused on holding their skirts than moving through the air at a rtively high speed. The only clothing they had were several sets of Maid clothing, undergarments included, all safely stowed away within his Inventory. This would have bothered him a little in the past but, after seeing how dedicated Maemi and Emiru were, Vahns perception of Maids had changed quite a bit. Since the five were willingly bing Maids, he intended to treat them as such, at least until they themselves decided to try and change their fates. The Manor actually needed a ratherrge staff to take care of the cleaning,undry, and cooking. Thus far, things had only worked out because everyone helped each other out, usually with the girls originating from the Hostess of Fertility assisting Maemi, Emiru, Mn, and, after her retirement, Aki. It would make things much easier on the girls if there were full-time Maids working in the Manor, especially since they had the proper training to provide adequate service. Though it was only a matter of time before the five were integrated into the Manorpletely, Vahn believed they would continue to perform their duties diligently without trying to take advantage of the situation... After a rtively short flight, Vahn integrated the girls mana signature into the surrounding barriers before touching down within the inner courtyard. He was carrying Diana in his arms and, after setting her on the ground, turned to the girls and exined, "Most of the finer details with be exined by Syr after I introduce you to her. She is essentially the Administrator of the Hearth Manor and also acts as something akin to the Head Maid. As long as she doesnt order you to do anythingpromising or dangerous, please listen to what she has to say...other than that, you should try to avoid wandering into the forest until you are properly introduced to Terra. She can be territorial at times..." Terra was a very well-known entity within the City now as her aura was something that most gods could sense even from several hundred kilometers away. It had caused a bit of a fiasco when people realized she was taking over an area of the City but, after rifying that she was only influencing the territory of the Alliance, there wasnt much anyone could say. After all, there wasnt anything wrong with ensuring their territory was well protected, especially after pointing out the incident where several streets had copsed in the past. There werent any legitimate arguments to make against her efforts to prevent people from illegally tunneling so, with the Alliance taking a hard stance on the issue, Terra was now allowed to take over anynd within the Alliances territories. Not wanting to make an enemy out of a True Dragon, the four girls nodded while Diana seemed blissfully unaware of the dangers involved. To her, this ce was the home where Freya promised she would be protected while finally being able to live a happy life. She just continued to hold Vahns hand with a smile, looking around at the rather beautiful scenery with a very curious expression on her face. As Vahns words werent exactly directed toward her, he didnt bother repeating them since Terra would likely be very fond of Diana even without his interference. Since Xana were High Spirits that resided in heavily forested areas and near rivers, their energy was very pure and he wouldnt be surprised if Terra ended up taking an interest in Diana, assuming she hadnt already... Other than Anubis, all of the other goddesses were away and Vahn actually felt a little strange that Hestia hadnt been there to greet his return. He hadnt thought about it before, but she had always been here previously and it was only now that he noticed that it didnt quite feel like he had returned without hearing those words. Fortunately, Syr had shown up as they were heading over to the dining room, a weing smile on her face as she said, "Wee home, Vahn..." Though it wasnt quite as impactful as when Hestia said it, potentially because of her Divinity, Vahns heart felt unburdened by Syrs words, a natural smile spreading across his lips as he embraced Syr and said, "Im home..." Since she had already been aware of Momo, Katsuya, Elizabelle, and Merribelle, Syr wasnt that surprised when introductions were made. She quickly began assigning each of them duties and dragged them off for a tour around the Manor, leaving behind Diana until thetter followed on her own initiative. Though she wanted to stay with Vahn, Diana also wanted to treat her Maidly duties very seriously, surprising Syr a bit until Vahn rified exactly who and what Diana was. Before his exnation, Syr just thought she was a random child that Vahn picked up off the street or saved from some vile sc.u.m. Freya had kept Dianas existence a secret from almost everything so Vahn had to exin the reality of the situation before entrusting the 115cm tall Maid to Syr. When she understood the situation, Syrs expression had softened and she led Diana by hand through the Manor while the other four girls followed behind. She was able to understand Vahns intentions, even without him stating them openly, and knew Diana was a special existence within the Manor. For the time being, Syr decided to look after the girl to get a better understanding of her character and, though she didnt openly state it, make sure the youthful-looking High Spirit wasnt a danger nted by Freya... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Those that think of Diana as legal would probably end up dying to her voice xD...,3.5x the Meido action~! Maemi and Emiru are gonna bully some newbies...?,Syr will probably never trust Freya (O_O)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 843 - Intuition

Chapter 843 - Intuition

Without much else to do, as he was just watching over construction efforts within the Dungeon, Vahn decided to spend time with his children until the goddesses returned. He found Eina b.r.e.a.s.tfeeding Eiko within the maternity ward so they talked about everything that had been going on while he yed with his sons and daughters in their cribs. Surprisingly, it seemed that Misha and Rose had officially be a couple at some point, bringing a somewhat strange smile to Vahns face. He had sort of expected the rtionship between him and Rose would develop at some point but, with everything that was going on both inside and away from the Manor, things never really had the opportunity. Rose never spent that much time within the actual Manor and, as he didnt proactively seek her out, it wasnt that strange for things to develop differently than expected. Though there were signs from both girls in the past that they might like him, Vahn had to ept the fact that feelings werent something that could withstand the test of time without proper care. This realization was something he had alreadye to in the past but, having an actual example of people moving on, Vahn knew he needed to treat his own rtionsh.i.p.s better. Over the course of an eternity, the odds that one of his current rtionsh.i.p.s would end up falling apart were functionally one-hundred percent. In order to dy that inevitability, Vahn knew he needed to be a better lover for them... Eventually, sometime after dinner would usually take ce, the goddesses returned to the Manor in rtively high spirits. This time, Vahn was the one to greet the girls at the door, weing them home and sharing an embrace with each of them before they moved to the dining room. Once they had settled in, Loki broke the ice, exining, "During my investigation into any enemies within the Alliance, we managed to uncover a number of former servants of Nobles that had been infiltrating into several of the smaller Familia. Since this was another obvious attempt by those idiots to cause chaos within the Alliance,bined with the fact that they had colluded with the Iron Hills to bomb Lil Geirr, we essentially told that Old Fool that the Nobles had outlived their purpose. If you want to take care of them, feel free to act as you please, Vahn...kukukuku~." Though his expression didnt change much, Vahns eyes had started to emit a small amount of illusory light and, though it was imperceptible by those gathered, the armored figure within drew its sword out of the ground. Vahn was fed up with the schemes perpetrated by the Nobles and, though he may not seize their properties and businesses, their authority would be removed in the future. They were no longer qualified to passws and, as they werent even in charge of security for the City in the first ce, their usefulness had outlived itself. The moment they allied themselves with the Iron Hills and became the patsies of the Dwarves, they had lost what little remained of Vahns mercy towards them... Even though it was subtle, Loki noticed the change in Vahns expression and was wondering what he was cooking up in his mind for how to deal with the Nobles. No gods were allowed to assume control of the politics of Orario so it was very likely the Civilian Council would be the new legitive branch while Vahn would undoubtedly be the Chief Executive, even if he didnt assume the position of Governor. It was a secret that Vahn hadnt been privy to, but many of the membersprising the Civilian Council were people she had supported to rise to their current positions. Loki wanted to establish a foundation so that, if Erika wanted to get into politics one day, the stage was already set for her to do so. Now that things were ying out ording to her expectations...well, she wouldnt be able to deny that there was a mess in her shorts... Vahn had noticed the small changes in Loki as well but didnt inquire about what schemes she had cooked up since he had long epted that she acted behind the scenes in the interest of the Alliance. Instead, he looked to the rather distracted Hestia and asked, "Whats wrong, Hestia...? Such a mncholic expression doesnt suit you..." Upon hearing Vahn address her, Hestia adopted a smile that didnt quite reach her eyes before exining, "We also talked to Ouranos about the existence of Enyo and the location of Hermes...haaa..." When Hestia spoke, Hephaestus expression turned slightly sour and even Loki became serious as she added, "That Old Fool was definitely aware of Enyo, but he wouldnt give us any information at all. As for that cheeky bastard, Hermes, he apparently didnt just skip the City, but the entire f.u.c.k.i.n.g Continent. He is on a secret mission issued by the Guild and, though that Old Fool wouldnt give us the key details, he did mention it was rted to the Artemis Familia. She and Hestia had been good friends back in Heaven, as they were both one of the three v.i.r.g.i.n goddesses of the Northern Pantheon, and it seems like there might be some trouble based on how Ouranos was acting..." Hearing Loki mention other continents, Vahns brows perked up and, after levitating a slightly startled Hestia into hisp to console her, asked, "I cant imagine the Guild having any involvement with the Empire...did he go to the Dark Continent?" From the information Vahn had about the rather enigmatic Empire, there were very few gods within the Empire and even its location wasnt publically known. If not for the fact Vahn had purchased a world map through the system, discovering that the record was actually muchrger than expected, he wouldnt even know where to begin looking for them. When he had learned that the Empire was located nearly 400,000km to the West, Vahn had been shocked at the sheer size of this nar world... Loki nodded her head, opening one of her eyes to reveal a slightly envious glint as she looked at Hestia sitting in Vahnsp, saying, "Though you could probably make it there in an instant with your ridiculous speed, the trip would take more than a week of constant flying if you flew on the back of a Wyvern. That ce is very dangerous for both mortals and gods, however, so wait until we have more information before you decide to run over...that goes for you as well, Hestia. Remember, we already have enough problems here on Eden to be worrying about what is happening elsewhere. Artemis is a big girl, she can take care of herself..." Hestias face became even more mncholic when she heard Lokis words, knowing thetter spoke the truth. However, she just felt like something was wrong about this entire situation, especially with Ouranos going out of his way to reveal specifically that it involved Artemis, her only friend in Heaven besides Hephaestus. Since the red-haired goddess also had a simr feeling, she decided to speak up in response to Loki, saying, "The way everything is lining up worries me more than a little, Loki. We should talk with Ganesha about securing some Wyverns before sending an Investigation team to at least collect information..." Loki immediately frowned when she heard this, questioning, "And where would we even send them, Hephaestus? The Dark Continent is three times the size of Eden and there are almost no significantndmarks. You know very well what kind of environment the investigation team would have to face...I think the existence of everyone in the Manor is affecting your thinking. Not everyone is as powerful as those residing in the Hearth Manor and we cant start treating the lives of the Alliance members as if they are expendable. We just thwarted arge-scale attack on Lil Geirr and Vahn is currently wrapped up in trying to establish Haven on the 50th Floor. You really want to divert even more of our forces to send a group of people to search a massive continent where they wouldnt even know where to begin their investigation...!?" Instead of letting Hephaestus and Loki argue, Vahn held up his hand to ease tensions, giving an apologetic smile as he exined, "Loki is right...until we have more information, there isnt anything we can do about the situation. Our best option is to try and contact Artemis by sending a message through an oracle and seeing if any messenger gods are willing to reach out to her for us. There are just too many things going on right now for us to split focus and stick our fingers in a matter that may not benefit from our intervention...if something does happen, or we find out Artemis is in trouble, I promise to help out...okay?" Vahn cursed theprehensiveck of information regarding the history of this record as, other than some rtively vague information, there were almost no historical texts within the system that rted to the record of Danmachi at all. Since he could purchase items from the future of his own timeline, as the future no longer existed after he entered into the world, the only option was to seek out texts from alternate worlds. Though some of these undoubtedly had events that followed the original events, there were actually hundreds of thousands of years of historical texts with almost no information at all. It was like the mortal world was stuck in a ten-thousand-year cycle and even Enyo waspletely missing from every single record he had obtained. All Vahn knew was that Orario had both faced and ovee destruction an infinite number of times, sometimes with Heroes other than Bell being the one to carry the mantle of the records fate... Hephaestus showed a slightly troubled expression, especially when she looked at Hestia, but eventually released a sigh before nodding as she said, "I understand...it just feels like something terrible is going to happen..." Hestia nodded in agreement, causing Vahns mind to begin racing since he knew very well that intuition wasnt something to be ignored. If both Hestia and Hephaestus felt like something was wrong, it may be toote to act by the time something actually happened. He just didnt know what he could do about the situation without knowing more details about what was going on. Finding a single goddess on andmass nearing 118,000,000km2 wasnt exactly a small feat, especially without any leads to her approximate location... Loki also knew better than to underestimate the intuition of women, especially when they were goddesses, so she had aplicated expression as she said, "We need more information...someone in Heaven must know where Artemis is located. If we can find her location, it wouldnt be that difficult to assist her...we need to understand the situation better, though, or everything were working for here in Eden may be jeopardized. The worst case scenario would be Artemis being forced back to Heaven so dont stress out so much..." Even as she spoke, Loki felt there was something wrong about her statement and immediately found herself recalling the information Vahn and Freya had sent through the Network earlier. She had been extremely intrigued in the concept of Vahn performing yet another impossible feat, allowing a god to fully manifest in the Mortal World. However, if he was able to do so, that meant it was intrinsically possible within thews and restrictions of the natural world. The question was, if a god fully manifested in the Mortal World, what would happen if they somehow managed to die? Could they even destroy their Avatar and return to Heaven after the fact? As excited a thought as gods in the mortal world was, there were many unknowns and she had been looking forward to uncovering each and every one of them. Now, however, a small amount of dread spread through Lokis heart as the thought of meaningful death in the Mortal World be a real possibility. Previously, returning to Heaven for a few decades wasnt that big a deal...but would that be the case if her Arcanum manifestedpletely and she was somehow killed...? A silence fell over the room as no one knew exactly what to say at the moment to try and ease the tension. Hestia and Hephaestus were obviously concerned about their friend and Loki seemed to havee to some form of realization as she fell into deep thought. Vahn continued to hug Hestias waist, gauging the reactions of everyone present before his eyes rested on Anubis. She was the least affected by the current situation as she and Artemis had never closely associated in the past. Being a Goddess of Chastity, Artemis had never really been fond of Anubis personality and they had only met on a few asions, mainly during gatherings in Heaven. Anubis returned a smile to her Master and, deciding she might be able to help ease tensions, said, "Now that Master is back at the Manor, we dont have to worry so much. If there is anything he can do, everyone knows that he will do his best to ensure everyone is happy. Im personally very interested in meeting these Xenos and am also curious about the new Maids that have just arrived. If that sounds a little inconsiderate, I apologize..." Though it wasnt that the other goddessescked faith in Vahn, Anubis believed wholeheartedly in her Master. She thought it was a little sad that, when the man they all cared about had just returned, the conversation was already rted to where he would be going next... Hearing Anubis words, Loki and Hephaestus were a little shocked and Hestia had raised her head so quickly that she nearly struck Vahns chin. He managed to tilt his head back in time to dodge her famously hard head as she looked up with an apologetic expression and said, "Im sorry, Vahn, I...!" Before she could finish, Vahn sent a pulse of energy into Hestias abdomen and caused her to startughing as he forcibly broke the tensions and began tickling her, saying, "You know better than to start apologizing over such things, Hestia~." She thrashed about, trying to escape his hands while tears began building up in the corner of her eyes, eximing, "Ahh, Vahn, forgive me, ahahahaha~!" Though he relented a little, Vahn continued to tickle Hestia for a bit as he sent a warning look towards Loki and Hephaestus so they didnt try to apologize. Seeing they understood his intentions, Vahn smiled and began to gently rub Hestias abdomen as he said, "I will be back for a few days in order to make sure there arent any issues with the Xenos. We have plenty of time to gather more information before anyone starts stressing out over such matters...for now, lets enjoy the time we have together, making the most of the moment until something inevitably requires us to change focus once again..." It wasnt much, but Vahn sent a little thread of stimting energy into Hestias body to tease her while he was speaking. This caused her body to heat up very quickly, face flushing red and she issued a small nod in response... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Misha NTRd Rose!?,Oh no...Artemis-chan...!,Godhand Style: Spontaneous Tickle Technique~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 844 - CLB

Chapter 844 - CLB

Though he did stop over at Spero to check on the Xenos, Vahn spent the majority of the evening celebrating his reunion with Hephaestus, Loki, Hestia, Anubis, and, though they had shown upte in the evening, Eirene and Demeter. He also stopped in the orb to see how Nanu, Risna, and Asfi were doing, spending about six hours catching up with the three hardworking girls before returning back to the real world. At the same time, Vahn exined everything that was happening on the surface to the girls while also informing Finn that he may have to bring some of them out of the Dungeon, depending on the situation. Currently, though it could be sped up quite a bit if he called Terra down to help, it would take around 35-40 days before the first phase of construction was finished. Since Haven would be an actual City in the future, the overall construction efforts would likely continue for several years. The main focus, at least for the time being, was setting up the defensive perimeter where the Tree of Life would be established. They were building a massive circr wall that was nearly 3km in diameter that would cordon off the area to everyone before the rest of Haven would be built after the fact. Ultimately, Haven would be set up in much the same way as Orario except, instead of eight sections, there would be ten. Around the wall protecting the Tree of Life, there would be five fortresses that would also be linked together by a massive circr corridor so they could reinforce each other. These fortresses would serve as part of one of thergest ritual magic circles that would likely ever exist in the record, powering the teleportation ward that Vahn intended to form within the heart of the Tree of Life. The five fortresses would also serve as the heart of Haven, with the majority of the Alliances forces and facilities located within. Though he would try to ensure that corruption never rooted itself within the City, Vahn knew that it wasnt realistic to think he could keep things tightly regted when considering the types that would make the migration down to the 50th Floor. Eventually, after enough time had passed, there would undoubtedly be people born within the Dungeon that may even spend the early years of their life without seeing the sun. This meant, unless they deported children and denied permanant residence to people that made it down this far, the poption on the 50th Floor would continue to increase with the passage of time. Though it would remain rtively low for several decades, the rtive prosperity of Haven would undoubtedly cause a poption boom after the base poption reached a critical threshold. By the time fifty-to-a-hundred years had passed, there could actually be several hundred thousand people residing on the 50th Floor, with a migrating poption of several tens of thousands... In preparation for this inevitability, it was important that the foundation of Haven was unshakeable and that the Alliance had absolute power within the confines of the city walls. After all, especially once the power bnce in the world was disrupted through the propagation of Evas magic system, there would one day be hundreds of Level 5-7 individuals residing within this frontier City against the monster poption. Such individuals could cause massive damage during conflicts and, in order to preventwlessness and catastrophic oues, the power base of the Alliance needed to be unshakeable. The Academy Vahn intended to build would serve the purpose of nourishing talent and power to keep things in check but there were hundreds of other implementations that would be necessary to keep order... One important step would be eliminating the current standing held by Nobles and changing legition within Orario to regte the kind of people that entered the Dungeon. The Guild had been far too lenient in allowing criminals and frence Adventurers to essentially do whatever they wanted, so long as they didnt get caught. This led to things like exploitation, especially in the case of young and impoverished children that would be frence Supporters. There were so many undoc.u.mented cases of ****, murder, and other vile acts that Vahn could not continue to tolerate the system as it was. In the future, those allowed in the Dungeon would need to have their identities verified and, those with any past or present association with criminal Familia would have to take vows agreeing to the samews that already applied to most Adventurers. The biggest change Vahn intended to make was theplete refusal to allow children, especially frence Supporters, to enter into the Dungeon. Though exceptions could be made for regted Familia, as manyrge Familia treated their young Supporters with an adequate level of care, Vahn wouldnt ept the situation where children were exploited as cheap and expendablebor. If they were not recognized as a.d.u.l.ts in ordance with thews of society, they would have to enroll in a Guild or Alliance sponsored Survival Course. A system needed to be created to allow all children, regardless of if they were orphans or born into wealthy families, the opportunity to receive adequate preparatory lessons before exposing themselves to such dangers. Though this would cost several hundred million Valis a year, on the low end, it was ridiculous from Vahns perspective that things had been allowed to get to this point after nearly a thousand years of civil and social development... To set in motion these legitive changes, Vahn needed topletely break down the corrupt system that was currently put into ce by the Nobles. Though they were slowly changing, mainly to avoid a direct confrontation with the Alliance, this change wasnt nearly fast enough. Since they were also working with the enemies of the Alliance and trying to sabotage efforts that were literally enacted for the good of ALL people, Vahns patience had worn out. The moment he saw the bomb carried by the Nobles Expedition, they had moved to the very top of his cklist and now they would be forced to face the consequences. Currently, Vahn sat across from a very beautiful woman who was nked by four other members of the Civilian Council. The womans name was Freyalise Achene, a woman born and raised in Orario who had once suffered at the handles of the Nobility. Her family business was destroyed after refusing to gift expensive materials that had been required by their expedition party that had ventured near the Dragon Valley, one of the Three Great Unexplored Regions. They managed to harvest a very rare mineral vein known as Dragons Jade, used primarily in the production of some of the most expensive andvish furnishings. When it was discovered that her family hade into possession of arge quantity of the rare mineral, the Nobles moved to seize it and, after refusing to hand it over, Freyalise family had been ruined. Now, she served to represent all citizens who had been wronged by the Nobles and acted as the primary representative of the Civilian Council. The other four members present were all men, the youngest being in his thirties while the oldest was actually 106, being a Half-Elf that had faced persecution in the past. They came from all walks of life but had themon experience of suffering from the Nobles tyranny, nowmitting their lives to making Orario a better ce for everyone to live. Like Freyalise, they had all made public vows that ensured they would never fall to things like corruption and, so long as the people continued to support them, they would continue to serve Orario into the far future. Vahn admired what the Civilian Council represented and, in the power vacuum that would be left by the Nobles, he intended to make them the decision makers in Orario as they worked together to build a better system of government. Freyalise had a very stoic expression as she listened to Vahns admonishment of the Nobles and his proposal that they be the foundation of Orarios new government. The Guild and the Alliance would obviously keep their power, but the Civilian Council would be the third branch that helped createws that regted themon citizens. This would include everything from trade, general taxation, conducting the census, and general policing. Though the City Guards would remain the higher authority during emergency situations, Vahn proposed that the Civilian Council also establish a court system that would also regte things like criminal ves in the future. Though Vahn was intending to abolish very in general, the merit of criminal ves wasnt something he could simply ignore. Imprisonment wasnt a real solution and it would require a significant amount of resources to keep people imprisoned for long periods of time with humane conditions. Having people be part of thebor force, so long as the conditions werent extreme, ensured that the tasks most people werent willing to tend to were taken care of. This was especially important since many of the farmers that were sent to the ins region of Eden were criminal ves, most living rtively happy and free lives after their service had ended... For those who hadmitted heinous crimes, Vahn believed it was a mercy to pass judgment on and execute them outright, even if it sounded extreme. It wasmon knowledge that people reincarnated and Vahns understanding of this principle was even more developed than the gods of this record. Because of this, though he would prefer to settle things diplomatically, Vahn knew that death was more of a reprieve than an actual punishment, especially for those who had strayed too far from the path to correct course... After waiting for Vahn to finish outlining his basic intentions, Freyalise looked towards her fellow Council members before lifting up a small wooden totem, saying, "We will put it to a vote. Out of consideration for the support meted out by the Alliance in the past, I am not against elevating the Civilian Council into the Civilian Legitive Branch in the future. All those against, please make your objections now..." As they had long been preparing for this exact event, none of the councilmen offered any objections whatsoever, instead, showing eager and expectant looks as they held their own identity totems. Seeing this, Freyalise smiled and ced her totem forward, saying, "All those for the Sage Aldrnaris proposal, please offer forward your totem and recite your affirmation..." As if it were a race to see who could put their piece out first, all four men practically mmed their totems down and agreed to the proposal while Vahn observed them with mild intrigue in his eyes. These people would be the de facto rulers of Orario in the future and it was somewhat amusing to see them so motivated. When Freyalise finished looking to her left and right, her light brown eyes turned to match his as she smiled and said, "It seems we have a unanimous agreement. Though we dont have any forces to dedicate to the dissolvement of the Nobility, the Civilian Council will immediately begin maneuvering to rece the current government facilities with our own. We may need to rely on the support of the Alliance during this transition..." Vahn held up his hand, causing Freyalises words to trail off before he exined, "The Alliance has alreadypleted negotiations with the Guild and we will be dedicating the same forces that have been patrolling the City to keeping order. The Eirene Familia has already stationed members near the current government offices and, to facilitate a quicker transition, the Civilian Council is advised to seize these facilities for their own use. The Nobles may have built those facilities, but their intended purpose had been to support the citizenry. We would have forced them to yield them anyway but this will ensure there are fewer issues that would undoubtedly arise when the Nobles try to burn and dispose of official doc.u.ments..." The man to the left of Freyalise, named Jackson Thune, released an excitedugh as he eximed, "This is great! Well perform an audit on all the doc.u.ments kept within and uncover even more of the Nobles schemes! Its about time those bastards were exposed for the snakes they are...!" This remark caused the Half-Elf, named Aiden Cinderswill, to humorously add, "More like leeches..." Now, almost every member of the Civilian Council, now the Civilian Legitive Branch, began to chuckle. Freyalise also had a slight smile on her face, even as she lightly reprimanded them, saying, "We should not engage in such petty antics and immediately set about following through on our own part of the transition. The more time we waste here, the more time the Nobles have to dispose of the evidence of their crimes..." Nodding his head in agreement, Vahn rose to his feet and said, "I have already scheduled a meeting with the heads of each Noble Family...I dont imagine they are happy to have been waiting for thest hour and a half...hahahaha~." Vahn scheduled his meeting with the Civilian Legitive Branch and the Noble Faction at the same time, cing far more emphasis on the first group over theter. After all, he would be issuing an ultimatum and it would be beneficial if they were already annoyed by the time he arrived. The Deval Family, especially, was at the very top of Vahns list and he was hoping they tried to oppose his ultimatum... Realizing his own rather tyrannical thoughts, Vahn wondered if it was events like this that had slowly pushed him towards the path of an Emperor in the Divination. Now, even if he ended up on a simr path, things were very different and Vahn didnt mind deposing some corrupt Nobles. As a physician, he knew that the sooner people were liberated from such a cancerous system, the faster the healing process could begin. This time, a lot of the power in the world would undoubtedly be consolidated by the Alliance but, considering the changes brought about by the records tier being increased, Vahn knew this was necessary. It was also better that the power bnce established was enforced by beings that could essentially live forever, as the chance of corruption could be marginalized through proper regtion... Knowing he would be one of those eternal entities, Vahn parted ways with the Civilian Legitive Branch and began to fly rather leisurely towards the rendezvous point where he would meet the ex-Nobles of Orario. To give them a false sense of security, Vahn had requested they meet him at McKeh Familys main residence. Marcus Vale McKeh was the most influential man within the Noble Faction and Vahn knew it would give them a feeling of empowerment and unity if they were gathered together under his roof. Though this seemed like a detriment, Vahn wanted them to harbor such delusions since it would make his following actions more impactful. He had promised a reckoning and, unless their answer was satisfactory, there may very well be fewer influential families remaining in the City by the days end... (A/N: Keep in mind that Vahn isnt trying to take away the property, businesses, and wealth of the Noble Families. Though they are seizing government facilities, he isnt going to rob them, just strip them of the rights and privileges they had enjoyed for far too long. This means their future actions will be very illegal and gives the CLB and the Alliance ample justification for dealing with them rather harshly in the future. Of course, thats not to say that Vahn wont be treating them rather harshly next chapter :P...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Building a City aint easy...,Governing a City aint easy...,Facepping Nobles is very easy (o3o)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 845 - Ultimatum

Chapter 845 - Ultimatum

Nearly two hours after he scheduled the meeting, Vahnnded within the courtyard of the McKeh Family Manor. There were barriers barring entrance to anyone that tried to enter from ces other than the front entrance and, though he could have passed through without triggering them, Vahn chose to break through the barrier this time around. This caused fluctuations through the barrier that set off several silent rms, alerting everyone attuned to the formation of his arrival. As a result, several guards rushed towards his position but Vahn maintained a stoic appearance, back straight and chin tilted upward slightly. The guards, realizing who had intruded, froze on the spot and didnt know if they should try to apprehend Vahn or make way so he could pass unobstructed... Looking at the man with marginally more expensive armor, Vahn inly stated, "Take me to the meeting room. Im a littlete, but I believe your Master should still be awaiting my arrival...?" Vahn had already sensed several presences gathered in what he assumed was one of the safe rooms of the Manor. They were unaware of who had intruded so Marcus must have moved them to safety until a report about the situation could be made. Vahn also sensed the presence of someone he had a slight interest in, causing him to look toward the adjacent wall and mutter, "Did the Smiling Reaper decide to escort me, or is it your hobby to spy on people...?" Seemingly unconvinced she had been noticed, the Smiling Reaper didnt reveal herself and instead pulled out a short-rangemunication crystal, likely reporting his arrival. Vahn chose to ignore her for the time being since she would undoubtedly be present when he met with the ex-Noble Faction. Since he didnt want to waste too much time with these people, Vahn started walking towards the safe room while the Guards were trying to receive their orders. The man he had originally talked to moved to block the way, saying, "Exc-" before Vahn backhanded him and sent him spinning into the adjacent wall. He wasnt here to keep ying the game orchestrated by the Nobles and, though he had kept them waiting nearly two hours, Vahn wasnt going to wait even two minutes for them to prepare for his arrival. Though some of the guards looked like they wanted to help out theirpanion, none of them had the courage to draw their swords. Vahn didnt spare them a nce, walking a direct route to where the former leaders of the Noble Faction were congregating. Nobody obstructed him along the way, likely receiving orders to allow him to move freely. It wasnt until an Elderly Butler met him at thending of a stairwell that Vahn even encountered another person. He bowed low the moment Vahn stepped into the corridor, stating in a polite tone, "Allow me to escort you, Master Vahn..." If not for the ratherrge ck aura surrounding this Butler, Vahn would have been impressed by themendable disy of etiquette. He was slightly curious about how the McKehs had managed to secure a demigod as their Butler but decided to ignore it for the time being and simply nodded his head. This man was only around the peak of Level 4, which wasnt low by any means, but,pared to even the weakestbatants within the Manor, he couldnt evenpare to Tina and Shizune. Following behind the man, Vahn noticed he had tried to take a longer path to reach their destination so he immediately broke away and continued along the correct path, causing the Butlers aura to re up. As soon as this happened, Vahn had vanished from the corridor and appeared at the nk of the Butler, palm pressing into the side of thetters face before hurtling him through the wall. There was a magical ward left where his hand made contact, crackling with a powerful electrical current that kept the Butler from rising to his feet as Vahn pressed onward. He didnt mind overlooking the man, at least temporarily, but that didnt mean he would ept animosity openly. Shortly after leaving behind the paralyzed Butler, Vahn grabbed the ornate handle of a door and wrenched it open, irrespective of the barrier that tried to bar his passage. Inside the room, looking towards him with various expressions of shock and anger, there were eight middle-aged men and one rather old fellow who seemed to have one foot in the grave already. There were several maids and servants present as well, including the disguised Smiling Reaper. Vahn sent her a sidelong nce, causing her aura to re up slightly, even though her bearing and expression remained unperturbed. At the center of the group, a middle-aged man with faded purple hair rose to his feet, a tired expression on his face as he bowed slightly and said, "Vahn Mason, wee to my, Marcus Vale McKehs home..." The moment these words fell, a balding fat man with green hair and a piggish nose immediately eximed, "You have a lot of nerve, making us wait for more than two hours to attend a meeting YOU scheduled! Do you think the Nobles will just stand by and suffer your-" When the mans mouth tried to close, his teeth bit down on the indestructible metal of Vahns sword, the tip of which now rested in his mouth as Vahn stunned the foolish man with his domain. The tension in the room immediately reached as critical level as the servant-c.u.m-bodyguards moved to protect their Masters, only to find themselves unable to move as the entire room began to creak under an intense pressure. Vahn had constrained his domain, which had be much stronger in the past few days, causing the very void within the room to seize up and tremble. In a solemn and slow tone, ensuring that even idiots like this could understand his words, Vahn said, "I havente here to have a chat. I will speak and, until I am done, you will listen. Now, SIT...!" With his final word, the pressure in the room increased even further, forcing almost everyone that was standing to drop down to the floor unceremoniously. Though he eased up the pressure slightly, Vahn didnt pull back his aura as he pulled his sword out of the fat mans mouth, the only person who had been left standing. Now, he plopped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, greasy sweat pouring out of his pores as the blood drained from his face. He seemed to want to say something but was unable to form any words as Vahn brandished the sword, removing the saliva staining the de, before returning it to his Inventory. Afterward, he moved to the entrance of the room before turning around, passing his gaze over everyone present before saying, "It must be quite difficult, suffering the tyranny of another...even so, I doubt what youve experienced is even one percent of what you have forced upon others. Though there are certainly exceptions among you, the system of Nobility has been corrupt for far too long. From this point forward, there shall be nonded Nobles within Orario. You will be allowed to keep your personal properties and businesses, but your right to govern has hereby been revoked in its entirety. Allnd rights you believe to be yours have now been returned to the rightful owners, the citizens of Orario. You will bepensated the minimum amount for the property based on the market price per acreage. The exceptions to this will be the McKeh, Deval, and Reinhardt Families, as your extraneous properties will be seized as rpense for your attempt to destroy Lil Geirr after colluding with the Iron Hills tomit acts of treason, jeopardizing all surface-dwellers as a result of your greed." While speaking, the pressure in the room gradually increased, especially on the leaders of the formerly most powerful and influential families. When he was done, however, Vahn gave them some breathing room and hoped at least one of them would take the bait, offering themselves up as an example. Fortunately, the fat man, current Patriarch of the Deval Family, Georg Engi Deval, practically screamed like a ughtered pig, "Scandalous! What right do you have to nder my family without offering up any proof!? You cant just steal away the property of the Noble Houses based on false usations! My Deval Family is one of the founding members of this City, serving the interests of Orario for nearly a thousand years! Ill not lower my head and ept your libelous ims like some whipped dog! Even if you have the backing of the Alliance, gods have no right to meddle in the affairs of mortals outside of their own Familia. You cant just do whatever you want, boy...!" The entire time Georg was speaking, Vahns expression didnt change in the slightest, keeping a small smile until the fat mans diatribe hade to an end. When he stopped to gasp for air, just as some of the other ex-Nobles looked like they wanted to step forward, Vahn beat them to the punch. Using [Shundo], Vahn appeared before Georg and, before the fat mans eyes could even widen, chopped down while in his Xuanwu form. Redirecting the force of the attack through the mans body, Vahn hammered Georg into the floor before resting his foot on the fat fools face as he said, "I have already given you more mercy than you deserve. From this point onward, you are nothing but wealthy families without any power or authority in the politics of Orario. The Civilian Legitive Branch will now createws and regte trade within the City. If you are found trying to act in the capacity of a Noble, your family will immediately be listed as traitors of Orario and exiled. Maybe the Dwarves will show you courtesy if you go to them begging for help...hmph...!" With his final snort, Vahn put weight into his foot and crushed Georgs head like a watermelon, punctuating his point and causing the majority of those present to pale. One of the few whose expression didnt change much was Marcus, looking as tired as when Vahn first entered the room as he bowed slightly and said, "The McKeh Family will abide by the verdict of the Sage Aldrnari...I understand that our path had diverged from a righteous one long ago...one day, perhaps we will be able to make amends for our wrongdoings..." As he was saying this, Marcus wondered how he was going to deal with his children. Their identity as Nobles was something they had exploited for a very long time and he may have to put them to the sword himself if their family was to survive this catastrophe... Vahn was slightly surprised by the quick ession of Marcus but, remembering the middle-aged mans remarks andints about his children, Vahn realized he may not have been one of the problems. His aura was more of a grey than the ck present on many of the men in the room, with the elderly gentlemen being the only one with a slightly sunny aura. Vahn knew he was the Patriarch of the somewhat ironically named Savage Family, originating from huntsmen. He had a rather terrible reputation after killing off his two eldest sons who, ording to rumors, had squabbled over the right of session before conspiring to poison the current Patriarch, Saxton Cruz Savage. After learning of the scandal, Saxton had cleaned house and had nominated his grandson as the next Family Head... Soon after Marcus lowered his head, many of the other Patriarchs acquiesced and bowed, even though there wasnt much sincerity in their actions. Vahn didnt care if they openly epted his judgment and expected that he would be personally visiting some of them in the next few days. He had already sent a telepathic message to Fafnir topletely trash the Deval Estate, the next destination on his itinerary. For now, however, Vahn turned his gaze to Marcus before looking towards the Smiling Reaper and asking, "Tell me, Marcus, how did youe across a Half-Doppelganger? And you, Smiling Reaper, was it your mother or father who was a Xenos...?" This time, the Smiling Reapers expression changed a great deal, though not in the way Vahn had expected. She suddenly had a very amused expression as her form changed back into a very mature and seductive form,pletely bereft of clothing as strands of pale-blond hair and feathers covered her delicate areas. Her skin darkened into a healthy brown as the color in her eyes faded into a milky white before turning blood-red. These eyes,bined with her enticing appearance, were rather striking...however, it was all offset by the toorge grin she had on her face, exining her epithet as the Smiling Reaper. Marcus had aplicated expression on his face when he saw Beatrix turn into her true form, especially since she had revealed it in front of the other families, even if they werent Nobles any longer. Still, feeling the pressure radiating from Vahn, Marcus exined, "Beatrix has been a servant in my family for generations...she was found by my Grandfathers Great-Grandfather within an alleyway more than three hundred years ago. I do not know all the details, other than that she had taken a vow to serve the McKeh Family for the duration of her life after being rescued from a near-death state..." This was one of the closely guarded secrets of the McKeh Family but, considering the circ.u.mstances, Marcus didnt have a lot of leeway to try Vahns patience... Though she remained quiet when Marcus was speaking, Beatrix released a sensual chuckle before adding, "Back then, I never knew I would live this long...so, Im a Half-Doppelganger, was it~? Very interesting, ufufufu..." Vahn didnt believe for a moment that Beatrix didnt know what she was, given that she had more than three hundred years to discover her heritage. The members of the McKeh Family would have undoubtedly investigated her but, from what he could discern, Marcus wasnt lying. This meant Beatrix herself must have disposed of the records at some point and was trying to cover up something that had happened in the past... Turning his attention back to Marcus, Vahn stated inly, "The Xenos are a protected species recognized by both the Guild and the Alliance. You have no right to keep the descendent of a Xenos as a servant or retainer, especially with such a restrictive and unfair vow. All Xenos have biological immortality and, being a Half-Doppelganger, Beatrixs service would have continued indefinitely without any justification. Her service should have ended with the death of your Ancestor so I will have you release her from this ridiculous vow in its entirety..." Though he knew Beatrix was likely a very cruel and sadistic person, it was because she had been manipted and taken advantage of. She would have to face judgment, if not outright execution, but Vahn still wanted to liberate her and give the peculiar woman a chance to live a better life. Marcus expression paled for the first time, lowering his head slightly as Beatrix answered, "Little Marcus doesnt have the authority to free me, as I had been tricked into making a personal life-long vow to serve his ancestors descendants. You may find it hard to believe, but my cute little Master actually tried to free me when he was younger. That night, I made sure to eat him up to show my gratitude, ufufufu~." Now, instead of being pale, Marcus cheeks actually turned slightly red, causing Vahns mind to dull slightly at the peculiar situation he was witnessing. Beatrix seemed genuinely fond of Marcus and, based on his reaction, the feelings were mutual... Feeling as though he had lost a bit of the momentum, Vahn increased the pressure on the room a bit before turning toward Beatrix with a fierce look. Her body tensed up but the smile on her face didnt fade away, even as Vahn moved to stand before her. When she suddenly licked her lips, Vahn furrowed his brows slightly but, having already made his decision, ced his hand on the center of Beatrixs chest. Her skin deformed slightly and, like very thick msses, began to flow around his fingers as if she were trying to absorb him. Vahn didnt pay any attention to this and instead focused his mind, seeking out something he wasnt exactly sure he would find. He didnt have the ability to see souls but, as some gods were able to observe the ego, Vahn was looking for any sign of Beatrixs so he could try and erase the vow she had made. Unfortunately, by the time his hand waspletely submerged, Vahn hadnt been able to sense anything and, unwilling to use the [Fate Severing Knife] in such a circ.u.mstance, pulled his hand free. Beatrix made a slight pouting expression before giggling and resuming her rather creepy smile and saying, "A, and I thought you wanted to y~." Vahn ignored her remark, turning to Marcus and saying, "I cannot remove her vow, at least for the time being. So long as you do not try and use her as a tool against others, I will momentarily overlook her presence here...keep in mind, however, that the criminal actsmitted by the Smiling Reaper will not go unpunished. Given the current circ.u.mstances, the McKeh Family will be held ountable for any verifiable criminal activities and you will be forced to pay reparations to the Civilian Legitive Branch. If you are found to use her tomit any future criminal acts, especially for the purposes of infiltration and espionage, I will personally wipe out the remaining McKeh Lineage to liberate her from your control..." Surprisingly, Marcus looked more relieved than anything, bowing his head lower than before as he said, "I understand. Thank you for your lenience..." Hearing this, Vahn resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose and, after sending onest look towards Beatrix, turned to the other Patriarchs and said, "There are ongoing investigations into each of your familys actions over thest several decades. If you are found trying to obstruct these investigations, your family will suffer the same fate as the Deval Family..." With thisst remark, Vahn made his way to the exit and passed through the broken door before continuing straight through the wall without stopping. Eventually, his figure vanished from the Manor entirely, causing the tensions in the room to ease slightly. Almost immediately after Vahns figure had vanished, the youngest man in the group, Leonard Arks Walder, hurriedly muttered, "We need to move quickly to try and spin this in our favor. Vahn Masons tyranny cannot go-" Mid-sentence, Leonards words were reced by a mouthful of blood as a resplendent golden chain pierced through his abdomen in an instant. He instinctually tried to pull out the chain as his two bodyguards came to his aid, only to be skewered by a second golden chain, leaving the three figures pinned to the spot before me Elemental energy converged around their body. As this happened, the surviving seven Patriarchs watched with nk expressions as one of their formerpatriots burned to ashes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Move, bitch, get out the way~!,*squish*,y stupid games, win stupid prizes...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 846 - Development : Echoes...

Chapter 846 - Development : Echoes...

After issuing his ultimatum to the former Nobles, Vahn made good on his promise and decimated the properties of the Deval and Walder families. Anyone with a dark aura who stood in his way met their ends while, at the same time as this was urring, the government facilities and extraneous properties of the former most powerful families in the City were seized. This event had struck Orario like a natural disaster, bringing sudden and unexpected changes to the status quo and everyday life. Fortunately, with thebined efforts of the Alliance, the Guild, and the newly established Civilian Legitive Branch, the transition was proceeding with only a few minor hups. During the days following this transformative event, the Civilian Legitive Branch made public the majority of the former Nobles crimes, providing doc.u.mentation and written ounting of many events, some dating back over a century. This caused a massive public outrage who, now knowing the full extent of the Nobles crimes, and feeling emboldened by the support of three massive factions, began to rally and protest outside of the various Manors within the City. Public order was maintained by the forces of the Alliance and, in order to appease the citizens of Orario, the first trials presided over by the CLB were held. In the end, most of the former Nobles lost the majority of their properties, as many had been illegally seized in the first ce, and hundreds of billions of Valis had to be paid out in reparations. The majority of these funds were ounted for by the newly established treasury, operated in coordination between the Alliance, Guild, and CLB. To prevent Misappropriation, Fortuna was ced in charge of the funds and publically tasked with using them to invest in the infrastructure of Orario. Though she was a goddess belonging to the Alliance, Fortuna had operated for more than six-hundred years as the leader of one of the most influential and trustworthy Merchant Familia in the entire City. She enjoyed a rather extreme reputation as being a fair businesswoman and, as a patron Goddess of Fortune, was considered the best possible candidate to manage the rather massive amount of funds. This also served to emphasize the fact that the three most powerful organizations in the City were cooperating together, a stark contrast to how the Nobles had rather selfishly regted things. Since many newws were established, the majority extremely beneficial formon citizens, there were few people that felt any sympathy for the former Nobles. In fact, the biggest reactions came from the few Dwarven Merchants who still tried to trade within the City, and the remaining criminal organizations. The former was forced to leave the City, packing up their goods on the spot and told to await a detailed evaluation of trade benefits, an audit of goods exchanged over thest 50 years, and the renegotiation of trade treaties. As for thetter, they had already been pressured greatly by the Alliance and, after this power y, the majority of the powerful criminal Familia issued orders toy low, seemingly disappearing to tide over the transition since nobody wanted to be Vahns next target... As a result of thistest action, people were genuinely referring to Vahn as the Emperor of Orario, a nickname that was only made in good humor previously. Though he didnt hold the actual position, it was an epted fact that Vahn was not only the most powerful, he was also the most influential person in the entire City. Some even began to im he was the most influential person on the entire continent, at least in regards to mortals. He could act with impunity, purportedly answering only to his wives, and enjoyed the full support of the Alliance, the Civilian Legitive Branch, the Elven Kingdom, and, though it has never publically been stated, the Guild. It was even rumored that, if Vahn dered war on the Iron Hills, which seemed rather likely, the entire might of Orario would be at his disposal...almost like the army of an actual Emperor. The simple truth of the matter is, there were actually a number of people who were looking forward to such a development while some taverns were even running odds and epting bets for whether the Alliance would go to war with the Iron Hills or the Rakia Kingdom first... While such discussions were urring, Vahn himself was busy spending time with his family, watching over the construction of both Haven and Spero, and doing his best to research various topics, including the materials produced by his union with Freya, the change in her Avatar, and possible solutions for Dianas voice. As he had expected, she quickly became friends with Erika and was actually quite the studious girl, even though her true passion seemed to be drawing and singing. This also made her close with Alexa, Vana, Leh, Aisha, and, though he would likely never admit it, Masonia. Syr spent a lot of time watching over her while also educating Vahns four new Maids about their duties while helping them to navigate some of the secret passageways of the Manor. Keeping his promise to Freya, Vahn also discussed the matter of her being able to spend more time with Leh and, though some restrictions were put into ce, there wasnt that much resistance to the idea. So long as she was apanied by one of the goddesses, or Vahn himself, Leh could freely visit the Southern Manor to spend time with her mother. Anubis had volunteered to be her permanant chaperone but, as she still spent most evenings at the School Dorm, Vahn didnt want to put that kind of responsibility on her. He wasnt so busy that he couldnt make time to visit Freya with Leh in tow, oftentimes bringing along Diana since Freya treated both girls rather affectionately. During some of these visits, Vahn also got to see the miniature Ottar, though his father was never present since Diana posed a very real threat, even to the King... Other than some public appearances to show his support for the Civilian Legitive Branch, the most troublesome matters Vahn had to deal with were the ever-increasing affection of the Xenos, the growing tension of the expedition members on the 50th Floor, and the news of Bell constantly getting into trouble. Though the boy was growing very quickly, it seemed like an event would happen every few days, causing Loki to vent her frustrations out on him when they were together. She had redacted his probation on Alicias request but, three days after he began delving back into the Dungeon, Bell ended up triggering the spawn of the Goliath on the 17th Floor. He somehow managed to defeat it, activating his [Argonaut] for the first time, but ended up passing out on the 18th Floor after carrying both unconscious girls to the outskirts of the settlement... Vahn didnt really know what to do about Bell but, every time he had to pacify Loki, thoughts of using the [Fate Severing Knife] would enter his mind. If not for the fact that his general impression of the boy was more on the positive side, Vahn would have severed Bells fate just to prevent him from inadvertently endangering others. However, as this was already within his expectations from the start, Vahn tried to show patience and understanding, especially since the trio had managed to avoid using an [Effigy of the Hero] in their battle. Line and Plum had only passed out from fatigue and light injuries, which was also the only reason Loki didnt castrate the rather peculiar boy on the spot... In this manner, a surprising lull had descended upon Vahns life as the days turned into weeks before slowly transitioning into a full month. As though happening in the blink of an eye, stability slowly returned to the City and, without Enyos forces showing up even once, the first phase of Havens construction hadpleted. At the same time, Spero had now turned into a rather exotic and fantasticalnd with massive trees twining about each other, forming strange residential structures that towered over agoon-like floor where Maries figure could often be seen. There were now several Xenos was humanoid forms, being Gros, Lyd, and Gryuu, while arge number had slowly started to naturally make the transition, gaining human-esque features. During his research with Ray, who had be progressively more troublesome to deal with, Vahn quickly discovered that the evolution of Xenos wasnt actually difficult to trigger. So long as they trained hard, consumed a veryrge amount of mana-rich resources, and genuinely desired the change, the Xenos were capable of rapidly evolving. Since many of them, especially after seeing their leadership change, now genuinely desired such forms, their changes had been happening very rapidly. Vahn noticed that these changes urred much faster in the female Xenos, specifically those in the troublesome category... One of the very first to evolve under natural conditions was Naho, growing a pair of delicate and pale humanoid legs as her thoraxpletely vanished, leaving a small abdominal section like a tail above her now perky little butt. She could still weave silk, and had been making great strides towards the production of very high-quality cloth, but now looked closer to a human than an Arachne. Though her clingy personality hadnt changed in the slightest, Vahn had already adapted to her nature and no longer let it bother him, so long as she wore proper clothes... Following Naho were two of the Almiraj Xenos, Mlem and Arles, each gaining very dangerous appearances that made Vahn grateful their vige was more of a rumor at the moment thanmon knowledge. As their Almiraj forms were only the size ofrge rabbits, the two girls assumed forms that were only 88cm and 90cm tall respectively. Though they didnt exactly look like children, with somewhat more rounded figures with rtively short limbs, Vahn still felt they were dangerous with their adorable bunny ears, fluffy tail tufts, and the tiny horns on their foreheads. It took them several days to get ustomed to wearing clothing as well, as only Arles even had experience with clothes as she often wore her tiny blue vest before her transformation...(A/N: Think Lfells from Final Fantasy 14, or Harvin from Granblue Fantasy.) This was one of the bigger struggles that Vahn had faced with the Xenos, as their propensity towards running around in the buff was deeply rooted in their mentality. It felt a little wrong to tell them they needed to wear clothes, as none of the Xenos minded the n.a.k.e.dness of their kin, but it was a necessary measure before they could begin interacting with other surface-dwellers. It was fortunate that, so long as he gave them the clothing personally, the Xenos would actually wear it until the fabric turned to rags. Vahn worked around this by making them rtively high-quality clothing that could withstand a lot of active movements, finally solving the problem of what had started to quickly develop into a nudist colony... One of the happier developments among the Xenos was that theirmunity had actually increased by two members,prising of a second Silverback and what would be the fourth War Shadow Xenos. They had been found by Gros and Lyd after making rounds through some of the moremon Hidden Viges. The two neers were very surprised that their desire to live on the surface became a reality almost immediately after their rebirth, quickly blending into the developing society. Vahn had joined the Xenos to celebrate the new arrivals, getting permission to bring along Vana as the first outsider to Spero Vige. She got along very well with the Xenos, to the point that she could naturallymunicate with even the less intelligent members with ease. Vulcan also got along well with Gryuu, though only after they had a spar where thetter came out ahead... Overall, things were going very well and, as a result of this simple fact, Vahn knew things were actually growing progressively more dangerous. He didnt know what would break first, be it an attack from Enyo, some scheme from an unknown enemy within the City, or if Bells fate woulde into y at an inopportune moment. Since there was a Denatus taking ce very soon, Vahn suspected it would happen around that time, considering that it was often during such inconvenient instances that events would take ce. With most of the gods gathered at the Denatus, and the majority of Adventurers taking a break from the Dungeon, it was the perfect time for something unexpected to ur... In preparation for this, Vahn discussed the matter with everyone, both within the Manor and inside of the Dungeon, making sure they were all on the same page. As a result, Loki immediately put Bell under temporary house arrest, telling him to explore the City and take the girls on dates until after the Denatus ended. Vahn also chose the pletion of the next event as the time when he would nt the Tree of Life so he began making preparations to ensure everything in the City was rtively stable since Terra would temporarily have to enter the Dungeon. Before then, he would be escorting some of the girls out of the Dungeon so their forces werent consolidated in a single area. Once the teleportation ward was established, moving between the surface and the 50th Floor would be much easier, so it was a necessary measure to take in order to avoid the worst case scenario... During this momentary lull, Vahn also took some time out of his schedule to visit Sylfia back at the Elven Forest before bringing her back to explore Orario for an afternoon. Though this caused a smallmotion, Vahn didnt really care as it was also a good opportunity to discuss his intention of procuring retainers and subordinates for the future. Sylfia readily supported this aspiration though, considering the happy smile she had while clinging to his arm, Vahn felt like he could have said anything and she would have agreed to it. Later that same day, after introducing her to everyone at the Manor and Spera Vige, Vahn returned Sylfia to the Elven Kingdom, avoided a lecture from her two caretakers, and declined an offer by Larfal to be the next Elven King... Vahn had suspected something to happen when he was escorting Sylfia around so he was a little surprised with how smoothly things had gone, though he didnt drop his guard. Even when he was making ns to escort his daughters around during the uing festival, Vahn was on high alert and even had Terra fly around the City a few times to make sure there were no signs of Enyos forces reappearing. Ever since the first batch was cleared out, there had been no signs of Enyo trying to ce forces in hiding and, with Knossos being sealed off, there were few means by which an attack was even possible. Even so, especially since everything was proceeding without incident, Vahn never once dropped his guard, all the way until the day of the festival preceding the Denatus... (A/N: Alternate Titles: All Hail The Emperor, Vahn Mason,It feels like Vahn really wants to use the [Fate Severing Knife]...,... ... ... bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 847 - Mood

Chapter 847 - Mood

In Orario, there were very few festivals and holidays as the culture had simply never developed to the point that it celebrated specific events. Other than the Harvest Festivals, New Years, the Denatus, and the Monster Feria, there were simply no organized events that people came together to celebrate. With the change of governance, however, one of the ideas that the Civilian Legitive Branch hade up with was organizing more holidays to bring people together. Not only was this a good way to circte currency and goods into the markets, but it was a good method to at least create the illusion that things were going well. From the perspective of normal citizens, the only reason such holidays could be celebrated was that things were stable enough thatrge events could be organized without any major issues urring; essentially, it was a means which a governing body could show their confidence and dictate the general atmosphere within the City. Of course, this didnt mean they could just shoe-horn in a new holiday without any preparations so the CLB had decided to schedule the current festival during the period where the Denatus would generally be held. Even the Guild had stepped in to help prepare the festival, borrowing from an ancient festival that was sometimes celebrated after long periods of peace, the Holy Moon Festival. When this festival was brought up, however, Vahn felt that something was definitely afoot, especially with how Hestia had been behavingtely. She would spend long periods of time just watching over the children in the maternity ward or simply staying cooped up in her room. Though she didnt give a reason for her behavior, it was in to see that something was very wrong. When the name of the festival was released, Loki and Hephaestus had actually gone to the Guild in order to pry out what exactly was going on from Ouranos. His only response was that they should try to enjoy the festival and, even though Hestia hadnt been brought up during their conversation, he advised that she get out and breathe in some fresh air... As a result, though he mainly just wanted to put a smile on her face, Vahn asked Hestia to apany him during the Holy Moon Festival, even though the looks on his daughters faces had been very heavy. This put Hestia in a slightly better mood but, even though she had a vibrant smile on her face while Vahn was leading her around the various stalls, it didnt quite reach her eyes. She would also turn absentminded periodically and he kept having to guide her around obstacles and release a subtle aura to make people walk around them. Most people already kept a fair amount of distance from them but there were children, drunkards, and general festival-goers that werent exactly paying attention to their surroundings. Eventually, seeing that Hestia simply wasnt feeling the festival, Vahn reached out his hand and stroked her silky ck hair, drawing her crystalline blue eyes toward him as he softly said, "If youre not feeling well, why dont we head back, Hestia...? We can just rx on the Manors balcony and watch the moon together..." To this, Hestia tried her best to appear happy, smiling as she said, "No, Im fine...really...we dont get many chances to go on dates together so, even if Im a little distracted, Im still enjoying our time together..." Though she had started off strong, Hestias expression became progressively more mncholic as she was speaking. Vahn gently pulled her into his embrace, resting her head against his chest while stroking her hair in a gesture offort... So she wouldnt feel bad about them heading back early, Vahn continued to guide Hestia around the lesser popted areas while moving closer to Babel za. Though it was a city-wide festival, most of therger events were taking ce in the open area of the za while the majority of the streets were filled with temporary stalls. To get people out and about, most restaurants were serving customers outside so it felt like all of Orario was out and about, creating a very lively atmosphere. Of course, none of this really mattered to Vahn as he was more concerned with Hestia state of mind...at least until a group of four people walked out from an alleyway and immediately caught his attention. Seeing this group, Vahn released a sigh that caught Hestias attention, causing her to look at the approaching group with mild interest. She saw a strange boy with white hair and red eyes, a very umon set of features that immediately allowed her to discern his identity. Surrounding him were three girls, one bespectacled human girl with a very prim and proper appearance, a rather diminutive Pallum, and a tomboyish looking Amazoness with arge grin revealing a slight snaggletooth. The Amazoness and the Pallum didnt seem to get along very well while the intelligent-looking human girl had a very tired expression that spoke volumes about the situation... Not long after Vahn had noticed him, Bell also noticed Vahn, seeing him as something of a savior as he broke free from the two arguing girls and waved his hand, eximing, "Vahn~! Hey, its me, Bell, over here~!" The fact he was shouting like this, even though they had already established eye contact, gave Vahn an urge to flick Bells forehead. His body seemed to agree with this sentiment as, without thinking about it too much, Vahn intercepted the charging boy, causing thetters head to snap back like he just dodged under a crossbow bolt. Somewhat amusingly, this didnt actually knock Bell down and he managed to find his footing in an instant, rubbing his forehead as he said, "Ow...that wa-" No sooner than Bell had opened his mouth toin, a brown fist zipped past his face,nding squarely in Vahns hand as he flipped his wrist and tossed the unknown Amazoness into the air. Her eyes widened as she uttered a Wha...? while trying to flip in the air and correct her center of gravity. Vahn didnt allow this, however, extending his hand outward and stabilizing her mid-air with telekinesis as he calmly stated, "I see youve made a new friend, Bell..." Instead of Bell responding, the Amazoness began kicking around in the air, screaming, "Ah, what the heck is this!? Let go of me you asshole...! Grrr, Im going to..." Midway through her thrashing, the Amazoness became strangely silent, eyes widening as she moved her head in an appraising manner, getting a better look at Vahn before asking, "Hey...is your name Vahn...?" This brought a small smile to Vahns face as he nodded his head, noticing the cold sweat building up on the yet unnamed Amazoness. Fortunately, Bell had managed to collect himself by now, waving both hands in a cating manner as he said, "Taliah didnt mean any harm, Vahn...she just...umm..." Not waiting for Bell to finish, Vahn flicked his hand up, sending Taliah barreling skyward with an Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeh~!?" while the surrounding crowd watched on with both shock and amazement. Vahn watched as the girl disappeared toward the sky for a few seconds before turning his attention to the surprised Bell and patting his shoulder, saying, "Its good to see you, Bell. That goes for the two of you as well, Line, Plum...Im d youre all okay after thatst fiasco..." Line and Plum had both looked skyward, turning slightly pale when Taliahs figure disappeared, but immediately snapped their attention to Vahn when he spoke their names. Both girls bowed politely as a somewhat awkwardugh issued from Lines through as she said, "Thank you for your concern..." As for Plum, she didnt seem to have any words suitable for the asion and just kept ncing towards the sky for any sign of her bickeringpanion... Eventually, Hestia gently tugged at Vahns sleeve and with a slightly reproachful look, said, "Vahn, it isnt nice to bully girls..." Since he had already taught her a lesson, Vahn knew it wouldnt be fair to Taliah to y around too much so, after nodding his head to Hestia, allowed her to begin falling. She wasnt in any real danger, even if he let her fall freely, but Vahn slowed her descent when she was nearing the street as a frantic Eeeeeeeeeeei- slowly became audible to the onlookers. Deciding it would be for the best, Vahn looked towards Bell and said, "Make sure you catch her properly, okay...?" This caused Bells eyes to widen before he adopted a humorously serious expression and said, "Right!" A few secondster, the pitch of Taliahs scream increased exponentially as her figure came into view, falling like a heavy stone towards the ground. She was actually falling much slower than the normal eleration of gravity so Bell managed to catch her in a bridal carry as the young Amazoness breathed heavily like a startled rabbit. Vahn was just about to tease her a little but his words got stuck in his throat as, contrary to her appearance and behavior, Taliahs eyes began to water as she tightly clung to Bell and began to bawl rather loudly... Realizing he had taken things a bit too far, Vahn kept his teasing words to himself and nearly reached out his hand to cate her before Hestia swatted it away and said, "Youve done enough, Vahn~! Come, lets leave these four to their date in peace...!" Hestia no longer had an absentminded look on her face, which was a good thing, but Vahn couldnt help but hang his head in shame as she dragged him away amidst theughter of the crowd. Vahn supposed the lull over thest few weeks had been getting to him and, as the feeling of something wrong still persisted in the back of his mind, it had slightly affected his judgment...maybe...? As this thought crossed his mind, Hestias steps slowed to a crawl until she eventually came to a full stop and asked, "You did that to try and change the moody atmosphere I created...didnt you...?" Without waiting for his response, Hestia released a long sigh before turning around and tightly hugging Vahns waist as she said, "Im sorry for making our date so difficult for you, Vahn...I know you are working hard, even now...I should..." Not waiting for her to finish, Vahn tilted Hestias chin upwards at a better angle, ovepping his lips with hers without minding the surrounding oohs and aahs. They kissed for a few seconds until Hestia, caught unprepared for the intimate gesture, snorted through her nose and tried to draw in air, without making an effort to actually break free from the kiss. Vahn eventually gave her a reprieve after a short while longer, noticing the slightly hazy look in her eyes as he said, "You can feel it...cant you...?" Hearing this, Hestia swallowed rather hard, nodding her head as she buried her red face into his chest to avoid having anyone see her directly. Because of the link they shared, Hestia could feel the care, concern, and love that Vahn had for her right now, understanding her words were entirely unnecessary. Even so, she also had a small urge to beat him up because, just after she told him not to bully girls, he bullied her in public... Knowing she was embarrassed, Vahn just hugged Hestia against him and was preparing to fly off towards the Manor before a very familiar presence appeared within his domain. His body mood immediately soured before a calm settled into his mind that caused Hestia to lift her head in confusion. She turned to face the same direction as, atop a stage set up on the edge of the za, none other than Hermes began shouting in a very theatrical manner, "Ladies and Gentlemen, Mortals and Gods alike, please, may I have your attention...!" With his arms spread wide, and an exaggerated smile on his face, Hermes gesticted to draw attention to himself as he continued, "Listen if you stand far; Watch if you stand close! My friends, lend me your ears and, should you find yourself emboldened, call out your name if youve got what it takes! Here before you, for one night only, a legendary spear rumored to answer to but a single ownerys embedded in an indestructible crystal. Should the spear find you worthy, not only shall you receive the blessing of the Goddess of Purity, but the Guild has decreed that he or she that is able to wield this spear will be invited on an all-expenses trip to explore one of the most sacred regions of the entire world! Now,e forth, test your fate against this spear and prove to the entire City that you have what it takes to be a true hero~!" Following Hermes shouts, therge group of Adventurers and citizens that had gathered all shouted out, cheering in response. Hermes had produced an official doc.u.ment that was signed and sealed by the Guild, proving the validity of his ims and guaranteeing the reward was legitimate. Since most people rarely ventured outside of Orario, leaving the City on a Guild-sponsored trip was a rather exciting prize. Several people immediately shouted out their names, trying to scramble up to the stage to be the first to pull the ornate spear that was embedded into a mound of mystical blue crystal. Vahn had already inspected both of them with his [Eyes of Truth], shocked to see that the spear was actually impossible for him to inspect while the crystals had an incredibly powerful sealing formation, unlike anything he had ever seen before. Hestia, however, was much more focused on Hermes himself, her aura ring up as the generally calm and gentle expression she was known for turned icy. Hermes seemed to have sensed this as well, shivering noticeably as his words got caught in his mouth, mid-sentence. He had been trying to rile up the current Adventurer to try his luck against the spear and now focused his gaze towards Vahn and Hestia, the smile on his face twitching slightly. He recovered very quickly though and, likely in an effort to smoothen things over, pointed theatrically towards Vahn and shouted, "Aha, if it isnt the famous Vahn Mason~! If anyone has a chance to free this spear, it must certainly be the strongest Adventurer within the City, no~?" Though many people had long-since noted Vahns presence, they now got caught up in the momentum of Hermes words and began cheering to get Vahn up on the stage. The man who had been struggling to pull out the spear previously used the opportunity while everyone else was distracted to sneak away from the stage while those who had been waiting in line made room. As for Vahn himself, his expression was calm as a cidke, staring down Hermes with an unwavering gaze. He had already expected something to happen during this festival, especially with how the Guild had been acting, and it looked like Hermes had indeed been involved...meaning the Goddess of Purity he mentioned had to be Artemis... (A/N: For those confused about why Artemis was thrown into the story at this point, its because, though the movie isnt canon, the timeline fits. Someone made a contribution through Paypal requesting that Artemis be included in the story, likely because of the Arrow of Orion event going on in the phone game recently...? Anyways, enjoy how things y out (o 3 o)...Also, this is one of three chapters Ive written so far...? Well, Ill try to write the other twoter x_x...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Guild is ying dangerous games...,Fly, you fool...!,The plot thickens...) Chapter 848 - Intent

Chapter 848 - Intent

Though he had more than a few questions for Hermes, Vahn didnt want to cause a scene in front of so many people, especially since this was an official event. Every action he took had potentially far-reaching repercussions and, as this was supposed to be a festive celebration for the people, Vahn didnt want to ruin the atmosphere. Thus, after lightly patting Hestias shoulder and earning a small nod, Vahn made his way up to the stage. Hermes orange eyes looked slightly troubled and, without Vahn having to say anything, quietly, "I know youve been looking for me...dont worry, I will exin thingster..." Then, changing gears in an instant, Hermes gestured grandly and said, "Everyone, give it up for the Sage Aldrnari, Vahn Mason! Lets show him our support and see if he cant release the legendary spear from its crystallized prison~!" As Hermes was riling up the crowd, Vahn was trying to analyze the spear but couldnt even identify a single one of its properties, nor itsposition. The inside of the spear seemed to contain nothing, almost like it was an illusion, even though it was very clearly a physical object. On the other side of the spear, Hestia was looking up at him with her clear blue eyes, a look of support and confidence in her unwavering gaze. Vahn returned a smile to her and, amidst the cheering of the crowd, ced his hand on the spears handle. A thread of energy that would have been indiscernible to normal people tried to enter through his palm, causing Vahns eyes to squint slightly as he felt it collide against the membrane protecting his soul. The spear, simr to the [Saints Halberd]s wielded by Maemi and Emiru, had tried to inspect his soul, perhaps trying to test its purity, but was ultimately unable to influence it, even a little. When this thread tried to escape, Vahn caused his Source Energy to restrict around it as his [Eyes of Truth] tried to make sense of the threads identity. There was a subtle intent contained within it and, having experienced it several times, Vahn knew there was also Divinity present, even though he wasnt able to discern what kind. Since it had also tried to siphon some of his Source Energy, ultimately being unsessful, Vahn decided to turn the tables and used [Yggdrasils Blessing] to insert his energy directly into the spear. As if it was truly alive, the thread began to wriggle around in a panic as it tried to return to the spear, which now began to peel away its muted grey exterior and gain a golden hue reminiscent of [Enkidu]. Vahn found this interesting and was about to break the spear away from the crystals until a feminine voice, not belonging to Sis, appeared in his head, eximing, ("Ano...please let me go...!") Since there was a great deal of anxiety contained within the voice, Vahn stopped restraining the thread of Divinity and allowed it to retreat back into the spear. As it did so, runes began to light up along its length as a relieved sigh sounded in his mind, followed by, ("Im not sure if you are my Orion, but the purity of your energy is unlike anything I have ever seen...I will ce my trust in you...") Following these words, Vahn felt the intent leave the spear as the sealing formation contained within the crystals shattered, destroying them in the process. He was left holding onto the spear, which was slowly regaining its dull l.u.s.ter, while the crowd went wild. Hermes had a slightly confused expression on his face but, after a few seconds passed, managed toe to his senses as he shouted, "As expected of the strongest Adventurer! It looks like the winner of todays prize is none other than Vahn Mason! Now, to bestow him the promised prize, allow me to introduce the sponsor of todays event, the Goddess of Purity, Artemis~!" Hermes gestured towards the back of the crowd, drawing everyones attention to an inordinately beautiful goddess long blue hair, styled ornately with two pointed bangs framing her face, fringe extending past her corbone, and a partial braid in the back that was tied together by a white ribbon and fastened with golden essories. She also possessed beautiful green eyes that, much like Hestias glimmered like pristine gemstones that felt like they could ensnare anyone that gazed into them for too long. As for her outfit, it consisted of a pale blue and white outfit that exposed the shoulders and sn.a.k.e.d around her neck in a loop. Around her waist, she had a white sash folded over a brown belt that was adorned with metal ting on the side. Completing this outfit, Artemis had long brown boots that had crisscrossing straps extending to the middle of her thighs... Everyone was stunned by her appearance but, having followed the intent from the spear, Vahn had witnessed the moment when Artemis appeared. Previously, the spot she now stood at had been empty and, until the intent had escaped the spear, the only gods present were Hestia and Hermes. However, even with Artemis appearance, this fact hadnt changed and Vahn was able to identify that, whatever was standing before him, was certainly not Artemis. Even so, Hestias eyes widened when she saw herpanion goddess, shouting, "Artemis...!" as she began running towards her friend. As if she were responding to Hestias exmation, Artemis also moved forward with a hurried pace, a longing gaze in her pristine green eyes as shepletely bypassed Hestias charge and leaped towards the stage. Hestias arms closed on empty air, a face that could serve as the textbook example of sublime confusion as she looked back to see Artemis now resting in Vahns left arm. He had caught her out of the air and now held the goddess rather ridiculously soft body against his. Though they werent nearly asrge as Hestias, Artemis had two full b.r.e.a.s.ts that could actually rival Hestias own softness. Presently, Artemis was pressing the two shapely mounds against his chest as she tightly embraced his body and said, "Im d to have finally met you...my Orion..." The crowd, which had been stunned by the presence of Artemis, now began catcalling and cheering for Vahn, some even stating, another goddess has fallen while Hestia continued to stare nkly at the stage. Hermes stepped in at this point, gathering the attention of the crowd as he said, "That concludes this evenings event! I pray that everyone enjoys the rest of the Holy Moon Festival to the fullest. As a constion prize to those who feel as though they lost their opportunity to shine, the adjacent shops have all been informed to provide free alcohol for the remainder of the evening! Make sure to toast our young hero, Vahn Mason, and the beautiful Goddesses, Artemis and Hestia~!" Hermes words caused more than just those who had gathered around the stage to begin cheering, the majority of them dispersing towards the already prepared stalls who had hundreds of disposable sses prepared to hand out. At the same time, Hestia ran up on the stage with a face of extreme confusion, concern, and moderate relief as she separated Vahn and Artemis, turning to thetter to say, "Artemis, what are you doing here? How do you know Vahn? Why didnt you tell me you were in Orario? I was very worried, you know!?" As if she had just noticed Hestia for the first time, Artemis showed a face of surprise before it turned into a warm smile, followed by her embracing Hestia as she said, "Hestia, it is good to see you...Im sorry to have worried you..." Hestia, being much shorter than Artemis, found her face pressed into thetters b.r.e.a.s.ts as she tightly hugged herpanion goddess. Vahn, however, had slightly furrowed brows until Hermes stepped close to his side and whispered, "I will exin the situation in detailter. Even if you have noticed it, please do not tell Hestia...it will devastate her..." With Hermes words, Vahns suspicions were immediately answered and he was barely able to restrain his aura from exploding outward. He had been wondering what exactly this Artemis in front of him was supposed to be but, after hearing Hermes words, was able to infer the likely answer...this Artemis wasnt her real self, just a fragment of her intent that manifested itself from the remnant Divinity contained within the spear... Though he didnt say anything, Hestia had sensed the changes in Vahn and tears had started to build in her eyes, even as her face showed confusion. She muttered an Eh...? before wiping away her tears and asking, "Why am I crying...? Vahn...?" Hermes moved forward like he was going to smooth over things but Artemis beat him to it, hugging Hestia even tighter as she asked, "Hestia, how do you know my Orion? You said his name was Vahn...are the two of you close?" This seemed to be enough of a distraction for Hestia who, upon being asked such a question, immediately smiled radiantly with a blush on her face as she said, "There are so many things I have to tell you, Artemis! Come, you can stay at the Hearth Manor tonight and Ill introduce you to everyone. We can talk-" This time, Hermes did step forward, breaking into the conversation as he said, "Its fine if the two of you y catch up for the evening, but there is a pretty tight schedule we need-" cing his hand rather firmly on Hermes shoulder, bringing a halt to the gods words, Vahn smiled toward Artemis and Hestia, saying, "Ill send you two back to the Hearth Manor and hear about the details from Hermes before making my way back as well. I know you have some catching up to do, but please inform the others to gather so I can catch them up to speed when I arrive..." Before his words had even finished, Terra appeared at Vahns side with a curious glint in her eyes as she asked, "You called me, Master~?" Vahn nodded his head, indicating towards the two goddesses as he said, "Take Hestia and Artemis back to the Manor, please, Terra..." As she could sense the urgency in her Masters voice, Terra gave a curt nod and, before Hestia and the somewhat startled Artemis could react, all three of them vanished from the stage. At the same time, Vahn put even more pressure into his grip on Hermes shoulder as he said, "You and I have a lot to talk about, Hermes...as for your schedule, I assure you that the mode of travel at my disposal is much faster than anything you could prepare. Now tell me...is the real Artemis still alive...?" Though he didnt much appreciate the vice-like grip that felt like it was going to crush his shoulder, Hermes expression didnt change much as he said, "I honestly never expected that the spear would choose you, though, considering you are in Hestias Familia...perhaps it is fate...?" Vahn squinted his eyes, a very real threat contained within them that caused Hermes smile to break slightly before he answered, "Artemis is still alive...which is part of the issue we are facing right now...you see, she is currently in a state much worse than death itself, Vahn...Artemis has been devoured. We are not sure how, but her Arcanum had manifested itself after a monster named Antares consumed her...if we do not kill Artemis, liberating her from that monstrosity, there may not be any force in the mortal world that could stop all life from being wiped out...!" Upon hearing Hermes words, Vahns mind had turnedpletely calm since he didnt want to stress out Hestia, even though part of him wanted to rip Hermes to shreds. With a dull monotone sounding from his throat, Vahn said, "Exin to me how such a thing could have happened...how were you involved? Why did you conveniently leave the City right after I purchased the Hermes Familia...? And...what is your connection to Enyo...?" Hermes expression didnt change during the first two questions, nor did it change during thest, but Vahn saw the slightest of fluctuations in the gods aura. This time, his hand squeezed with a bit too much force and a very loud cracking sound emanated from Hermes shoulder as he drew in a cold breath, a slight aura of Divinity radiating off of his body. Jerking his shoulder free of Vahns grasp, Hermes expression had turned extremely serious as he stated, "Damnit, Vahn, Im not your enemy...! I thought you had more sense then this....tsk...!" Hermes couldnt even lift his left arm right now and there was an incredibly sharp pain radiating from his crushed shoulder as he clenched his teeth, exining, "I dont have any connection with Enyo, outside of the fact I had been investigating her on behalf of the Guild. You should know that Im a neutral party that simply collects information before selling it to the highest bidder. What would I have to gain from partnering up with a crazy goddess who is dead set on destroying the City? I dont know what you think of me, but you should at least be able to see that I have a vested interest in mortal affairs...damn...your power is starting to affect your rationality...!" The entire time Hermes was ining, Vahn was looking for any signs that the god had been lying. He knew Hermes was the type that was almost impossible to read and, though his words made a lot of sense, Vahn also knew he was extremely maniptive as well. However, considering what Hermes said in greater detail, Vahn did agree that Hermes was the type that enjoyed the games and none of his Divinities would point towards him wanting to destroy the City. From the brief contact they had made, Vahn could even see that Hermes Affection towards him had been 93(Trust), though it had fallen to 88 after having his shoulder crushed. Realizing he had been steadily adapting to violent solutions as ofte, Vahn felt slightly guilty but didnt allow it to show on his face. Instead, he extended out his palm and sent healing energy through his domain while saying, "Exin how you ended up bing involved in this event with Artemis..." Hermes released a sigh, his serious expression turning into one of mild exasperation as he said, "Artemis was the one to contact the Guild and requested help in conducting an investigation. Her Familia had been noticing arge influx in the number of powerful monsters around her territory and they suspected that Antares seal was weakening. I was already scheduled to go an investigate before you even purchased my Familia...essentially, it was just a rather unfortunate coincidence..." With his shoulder now healed, Hermes rolled it a few times before adopting a somewhat sad smile as he added, "This is a major incident that none of us have any experience dealing with. The Guild wanted to keep it under wraps while Artemis herself desires a pure-hearted Hero to save her...were fortunate that you are the one to have taken up that spear, Vahn, as the chances of sess have gone up exponentially. You must journey to where Antares is located and use that spear to end the tragic existence that Artemis has be...if we are unable to act before it is able to fully use her Arcanum, even thebined effort of every god in the mortal world would be powerless to act..." Though a god could activate their Arcanum in the real world, it would eject them long before they were able to achieve full activation. At best, they would only be able to manifest around 5% of their power before the world itself rejected them, making it functionally impossible to defeat a monster that was able to use the full power of a gods Arcanum. Nothing like this had ever happened since the gods had started descending into the mortal world and Hermes had already confirmed that Artemis statue in Heaven had cracked. Her Arcanum was currently fully manifested and nobody knew what would happen if a monster was able to master its use...if they didnt kill Artemis and severe the connection between her and Antares, the mortal world itself would fall to ruin... (A/N: Alternate Titles: You aint sneaky...!,Hestia, dont cry (T ^ T)...!,Before the fall...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 849 - Questions

Chapter 849 - Questions

After Hermes finished his exnation, Vahn wasnt entirely convinced but decided the only way to ascertain the truth was to see it for himself. He didnt understand how any god could end up in a situation where they were devoured as it would have made more sense for them to activate their Arcanum to eliminate the threat outright. The fact Artemis had not only been eaten, but the monster was able to seal and freely use her Divinity made absolutely no sense to him. If it wasnt a Tier 4 entity, how could any creature conceivably restrain and use the full potential of a higher being? Even with The Path, given him fundamentally not limits, Vahn was unable to emte such a feat as it simply went against the established w of the world. After all, why would a monster be able to use an Arcanum without restriction in the first ce? How would it have the knowledge to make use of it? Even if it had some Innate that would give it the power to seal a Goddess, why did it require Artemis death to destroy the monster itself? There were so many things that didnt make sense about this situation that, even if Hermes had exined the matter for several hours, Vahn wouldnt have been able to treat any revtions seriously. After all, just the fact that Artemis had been able to create a spear, split off a fragment of her Divinity, and then created a secondary Avatar...these were things no other god could do, or had ever done...none of this made sense at all...if she had such leniency to perform such feats, what stopped her from using her Arcanum to kill Antares...? Vahn agreed to meet up with Hermes early the next morning though, instead of using the prepared mounts to make the trip, he would be taking along Fafnir and cutting the time down exponentially. It was even possible for him to blink over to the continent and have Hermes show him the location of Antares outright but, as a precaution, Vahn wanted to make sure Artemis fragment was present since he fully intended to save her. He didnt buy the bullshit about her death being the only solution as there would undoubtedly be ways to split her away from Antares with their souls being two fundamentally separate things. Of course, this was assuming Antares even had a soul to begin with...Vahn didnt know what kind of creature could have devoured a god but it had immediately jumped to the top of his list. After arriving at the Manor, Vahn found Loki, Hephaestus, Eina, Syr, Riveria, and Terra all waiting for him. Before he even asked, though he had already sensed her location, Loki exined, "Hestia and Artemis are doing some catching up within her room. You should have seen Artemis face when she met the Vanir...kukukuku~." Hephaestus, with a smile of her own, added, "It wasnt quite as extreme as when she learned that Hestia was no longer a v.i.r.g.i.n...Ive never seen Artemis scream in such an amusing tone of voice before...ufufufu~." In general, the atmosphere in the room was very jovial and, as Vahn had been regting the ocean inside of himself, even Hephaestus hadnt noticed the abnormality of the situation. For a brief moment, Vahn wondered if he should keep the fact that the current Artemis wasnt real a secret, as it was very possible for him to resolve the situation on his own. In fact, so as to expedite things, the only person he had nned to take along was Artemis herself. Fafnir would carry them over to the Dark Continent and, if he needed backup, it was possible to summon Fenrir, Khaos, Gros, Lyd, Gryuu, and, in extreme circ.u.mstances, Terra to his side. He didnt think this would really be necessary, however, as he intended to decimate whatever the hell Antares was supposed to be with thebination of [Magia Erebea] and [Enkidu]. If it was so powerful that his Lightning Emperor form wasnt able to do the job, most of the girls wouldnt really be able to help out...instead, he would bepromising Orario, the Manor, and Haven if he brought them along... This momentary hesitation didnt go unnoticed by Loki, who parted her eyes slightly as she asked, "So, you finally managed to get your hands on that slippery bastard, Hermes...what did the two of you talk about, Vahn?" Though she may not have intended it in such a way, Loki had left him a means to talk around the issue so Vahn walked over, sitting down between her and Hephaestus as he exined, "There is a powerful monster on the Dark Continent that Artemis needs help dealing with. She staged an event near Babel za to find a suitable hero by sealing a spear into a crystal and finding someone pure to remove it." Vahn pulled out the spear as he was speaking, handing it over to Hephaestus so she could inspect it. Hephaestus immediately noticed something off about the spear, chiefly that her eyes were unable to see through the techniques used in its construction. This meant it had to be an artifact and, given the shape, she intuited that it wasnt actually a spear, but an arrow. As she was inspecting it, Vahn went on to exin, "It seems our guess about Hermes being a patsy in arger scheme was on the nose, though I dont believe he was the enemy that Enyo alluded to. He agreed to have a meeting with you once the matter with Artemis was dealt with so Ill leave it to you when the timees..." Loki had been watching Vahn very close as he was speaking, her Divinity allowing her to know he was keeping something from them. However, instead of pressing him for information, she nodded her head and said, "Dont worry, I wont let that feathery fool get away without spilling his gutspletely this time...so, you n to go to the Dark Continent...? How long will you be gone?" Vahn gave Loki a gratified smile, understanding she had seen through him but decided to trust his judgment without prying. He then answered in the most casual manner he could manage, "The longest part of the journey will be the trip to the Dark Continent, but I dont imagine it would take more than three days total for me to resolve everything. If need be, I can always call Terra to my side and then we can teleport back if there is an emergency situation." There were actually various chaotic spaces separated the various continents within Danmachi, making direct routes somewhat difficult, but Vahn could bypass them all by flying through the stratosphere with Fafnir or Khaos. At a cruising speed, Fafnir would be able to make the journey in under ten hours but, depending on the circ.u.mstances once they had arrived, Vahn knew it might take some time before he was able to return. He didnt buy the bullshit solution that Hermes and Artemis herself seemed to believe in and, even if Antares was actually able to use her Arcanum, Vahn knew it would be possible to restrain it with his [Enkidu]. Even if it took him several days, or even weeks, toe up with a solution, he wouldnt give up and let Hestia lose one of her only friends... His conviction may have leaked out a little as both Loki and Syr gave him knowing looks, even though they kept quiet about it. Hephaestus had finished her evaluation of the spear, handing it back to Vahn as she stated confidently, "That weapon is most certainly not a spear, Vahn, but an arrow. Given the fact that my eyes are unable to discern itsposition, it could only be an Artifact that Artemis had produced with her Divinity. Whatever monster youre doing to be fighting against must be pretty powerful for Artemis to bestow her arrow to you...hmmm..." Since Artemis was known as the most powerful archer in all of Heaven, with her arrow being one of the most destructive weapons to ever exist, Hephaestus knew any Artifact based on that concept was extremely powerful. Vahn wasnt surprised by Hephaestus words as, after storing the spear into his Inventory, the name was listed as [Arrow of the Orion]. It was a Unique grade item, the first he had ever seen without obtaining it from The Path, so Vahn was very aware of how powerful it was. After all, when he had inspected the actual descriptive, Vahn nearly dropped the arrow and had to immediately toss it away into his Inventory for safe keeping... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Arrow of the Orion] Rank: Unique Use: A Divine Artifact possessing a fragment of Divinity belonging to Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt. Upon activation, this arrow can break through all restrictions, striking forth with enough power to instantly kill any enemy. It is said that only those who have received the blessing and favor of Artemis herself can use the true power of this arrow. Target Restriction: Tier 4 or Lower Restriction: Vahn Mason(???) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Since it was intended to kill Artemis herself, Vahn wasnt surprised by the fact that the arrow was strong enough to kill gods. However, the fact that it was an instant kill to anything in the record made him want to study it in greater detail. Hopefully, after he managed to save Artemis, she would either give him a second arrow or, depending on how things develop, give him insight into its production. After all, ever since he had arrived in this world, Vahn had leaned more towards the usage of a bow than almost any other weapon. Though he relied on his Innates and [Magia Erebea] quite a bit, the use of a bow had alwayse rather natural to him, likely as a result of his high perception and his ocr Innate... --- For the better part of an hour, Vahn talked about various subjects with the girls, mostly pertaining to the ongoing matters in the City and how Lokis investigations were going. She had discovered several exploitable gaps within the Alliance, mostly rted to weaker Familia that were often run by rather entric gods, but they had been closed up. As for the enemy mentioned by Enyo, it was seeming more likely to be Ouranos as the day passed, even though the odds of his actually doing were infinitesimally small. If not for this fact, his involvement with Enyo would more or less be confirmed but, at the very least, he knew far more than he was letting on. Other than Ouranos, the only other candidates were those working under him, making it appear that he is involved through the actions they took on his behalf. This ced a spotlight on the man named Fels, who Vahn had actually been able to find out a great deal of information on through the system shop. He was a mortal man who hade into prominence more than 800 years ago within a small port city named Altena. Though he couldnt bepared to the gods themselves, Fels had been the father of Alchemy, paving the way forward for all those to follow since the gods typically didnt teach the secrets of such techniques. Within the texts, it was recorded that he had actually created the first [Philosphers Stone], earning the title of Sage from the Elves, making him the only person besides Vahn himself to earn the title outside of the Elven Kingdom. The fact that Fels was still alive, and Vahn could even purchase his research notes and journals through the system shop, also verified the ims that the man had obtained an immortal body. History recorded that he had vanished while trying to perform human transmutation, attempting to revive his dead sister, but rumors of his existence had persisted for decades after the fact. Since the [Philosphers Stone] he had created was never found in any of hisbs, people assumed that Fels had instead fled after sessfully reviving his sister. Since immortality and resurrection were two things most greedy and affluent Nobles would do anything to obtain such capabilities, it wouldnt have been a stretch to imagine this was the case... For the time being, Fels became the priority suspect the be the traitor working with Enyo, especially since he was the one serving as both Ouranos voice and hand within Orario. The problem was trying to pin down his location and trying to prove a connection between the two without ring up tensions between the Alliance and the Guild. Ultimately, it woulde down to either catching him in the act or, if Vahn ever met the man personally, capturing and interrogating him. If he didnt have any connection with Enyo, things could be settled with an apology, reparations, and other means. However, should there be a verifiable connection between the two, Fels would suffer the same fate Vahn nned to bestow upon Enyo in the near future... Once their discussion wasing to a close, Hephaestus had released a long yawn beforezily rising from the table and saying, "I think Ill spend the night with Hestia and Artemis. Its been a few hundred years since Ive seen her and it would be nice to catch up before you run off to the Dark Continent together..." There was a teasing undertone to Hephaestus voice as she fully expected things to develop between Vahn and Artemis in the future. Hestia had already made remarks about Artemis throwing herself at Vahn during their first meeting and, considering they would be alone for a few days, odds were rather high that Vahn would end up squeezing his way into yet another goddess heart. (A/N: Quite literally...? xD...) Vahn, understanding what Hephaestus was implying, briefly recalled the inexplicably soft sensation of Artemis body, wondering if her real body would be the same. If she was currently fully manifested in the real world, one of the things he would likely have to resolve is sealing her Arcanum into a vessel to prevent it from being destroyed by the worldsws. However, if he used [Enkidu] in a simr way as when he melded with Freya...just thinking about this made Vahns body react slightly, causing a ripple to emanate from his body that made Eina, Riveria, and Syr blush while Loki began cackling like a hyena. His [Charm]s rank hadnt simply increased after he bonded with Freya, it had instead evolved into a Development Ability never possessed by a mortal, [Allure]. If he didnt restrain it, Freya had exined that he could, quite literally, conquer almost any woman that didnt outright have resistance to such bined with his appearance, aura, and various other factors, it was a very dangerous ability in his repertoire... Knowing she was in a dangerous phase of her pregnancy, Syr looked towards Terra, the only one unaffected by Vahns [Allure], with a slight plea in her gaze. Terra giggled, tapping her tail against the floor once as she said, "Master, I will take Syr to safety...but, I expect a rewardter, okay~? It may not be tonight, but I want a lot of your affection when you return~." Terra was actually just as riled up as the other girls, if not more so, but she had been tempering Alexas mentality over thest month and it wasnt the best time for her to partake of her Masters affections. Still, when she found a good opportunity to divert her daughters attention away, Terra intended to fully capitalize on the moment... With Terra whisking away Syr, Hephaestus going to stay with Hestia and Artemis, and Loki needing to look into a few things, the only two remaining within the room were Eina and Riveria. Neither girl would be willing to stay with Vahn at the same time, resulting in a rather strange scenario where they simultaneously made the excuse they needed to look after the children. For what felt like the first time, Vahn found himself in the mood but without apanion for the evening, at least among those who had initially gathered. It was still too early for any of the new Maids and everyone in the Dungeon had already gone to bed...("Ah..."). Vahn realized he had been thinking too much about theing morning and resolving the matters on the Dark Continent. There were still more than seven hours until he even needed to prepare for the journey, meaning he had nearly two whole days within the orb. Presently, the only girls inside would be Nanu, Risna, Asfi, and Preasia. It was still too early for Asfi and Nanu had been endeavoring to be a [Master Smith] as soon as possible. This meant Vahns options were narrowed down to a very soft and fluffy Sheep Person or a somewhat e.r.o.t.i.c and outgoing Half-Elf...or perhaps both? He had time... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Seriously, so much shit that makes no sense...,Vahn keeping secrets o_o...,In Spero Vige, several female Xenos rolled over in frustration...their instincts raging at the injustice of the world xD... Well, this was the third chapter Ipleted after I had calmed down a bit. Im very tired and intend to take another nap after this and hopefully finish up the Artemis mini-arc within the next 5-7 chapters.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 850 - Power of Love...?

Chapter 850 - Power of Love...?

After around thirty hours of catching up with the girls in the orb, Vahn felt refreshed and ready to head out to the Dark Continent at a moments notice. With the additional time to think of possible solutions, Vahn came up with a few theories that could be put into y in order to save Artemis. However, before he could start to implement any of them, he needed a better understanding of the situation. Hearing about it was one thing but once he had seen Antares himself, Vahn was confident ining up with the proper solution. After all, he would likely be able to see and intuit more about the scenario than Hermes and Artemis had been able to. With that thought in mind, Vahn was sitting on the third-floor balcony with Fafnir seated on a low stool in front of him. Since the flight would be rather long, Vahn was helping Fafnir groom its wings, both as a means to help it rx and to simply spend time together. Vahn knew that, because Fafnir and Khaos hadnt been female, his treatment towards them hadnt always been the best. There was just something about Fafnir being a giant dragon that gave Vahn confidence in having it deal with problems for him, contrary to how he felt protective towards Fenrir. Now that Fafnir had the ability to take on a humanoid appearance, Vahn had grown closer to it, even if it was a little strange to have a True Dragon version of himself running around... Slowly but surely, the sun began to crest over the horizon and it was around time for his rendezvous with Hermes. Vahn had been keeping tabs on the three goddesses within Hestias room and noticed that Artemis either didnt sleep or had woken up before he exited the orb. He suspected it was the former as, at least for the time being, Artemis likely had to focus on her existence, even if it was a subconscious process on her end. Vahn didnt yet know if Artemis herself waspletely aware of what kind of existence she was but, considering how she had covered up matters to divert Hestias attention, it was very likely... Ruffling Fafnirs onyx-ck hair, Vahn softly muttered, "Ill go get Artemis. Well be out in a few minutes..." Fafnir answered with a long yawn and stretched its wings before saying, "Okay, Master, Im ready to go whenever you are~." Vahn gave a curt nod, turning towards the balconys entrance and making his way down the hall where Hestias room was located. Though he would normally enter without knocking, Vahn lightly rattled on the door out of consideration for Artemis. He was certain the outfit she had manifested in was her raiment and, given theplexity of the garment, it was highly likely she went to bed wearing one of Hestias or Hephaestus nightgowns. She didnt seem like the type of woman to have much, if any, experience with men and Vahn didnt want to make things awkward when he was currently trying to save her... Vahn could sense that Hephaestus woke up almost immediately after he knocked and, though she wasnt much of a morning person, Hestia also stirred awake much faster than normal. There was a bit of movement within before the presence Vahn knew to be Artemis made its way toward the door. He sensed Hestia practically fall out of the bed but, with the soundproof wards installed on every room, no sound actually reached him. Vahn harbored a slight suspicion about what was going to happen and inhaled through his nose to stay calm as Artemis, wearing nothing but a silkce nightgown opened up the door, smiling radiantly as she said, "Good morning, Orion..." Hestia was nursing a bump on her forehead, wearing a cream-colored nightgown as sheined, "Artemis, where did your sense of propriety go? Arent you supposed to be really bad around men...?" Contrary to expectations, Artemis nodded her head in agreement with Hestia but, with the same radiant smile on her face, stated, "Orion...no, Vahn, is different...in a way, we are fated to be with each other. Though I may be a Goddess of Purity, it doesnt mean I cant learn to love...after all, love is the most powerful force in the entire world..." As she spoke, Artemis brought her right hand over Vahns heart and, by the time she had finished her words, nestled her forehead into his chest. Hestia and Hephaestus had somewhat dull expressions at first but, after processing Artemis words, the former released a sigh while thetter began tough in amus.e.m.e.nt. Hestia climbed to her feet and looked toward Artemis figure for a short while, the exasperation in her expression turning into a happy smile as she muttered, "If its Vahn, I believe anything is possible..." After speaking these words, Hestias smile became rather vibrant as she looked into Vahns eyes and stated, "Vahn, make sure you take proper care of Artemis, okay? She and I have been friends for a very long time...dont make her cry..." Hearing this, Vahn gave a confident nod, lightly embracing Artemis body and startling her slightly as he said, "No matter what it takes, Ill make sure everyone has a happy ending..." Though simr words had been heard by Hestia and Hephaestus hundreds of times at this point, they had quite the impact on Artemis. She knew her situation better than anyone else and didnt have much hope for a truly happy ending. By not giving up on life, she would eventually reform after enough time had passed but that could take thousands of years since her Arcanum had manifested in the mortal world. It was rather tragic, learning about the power of love, only to have to use it as a weapon to take her own life while cing a heavy burden on a pure-hearted individual like her Orion... At least, that was how she felt before Vahn grabbed her arrow and used his incredibly pure energy to do several things that should have been outright impossible. He wasnt the Orion she had expected, but something far more unique...utterly beyond her imagination. When she learned about all of the things he had aplished over thest few years, even after having such a tragic background, Artemis felt even closer to him than before. Now that he was promising her a happy ending, a small me of hope had ignited itself within her... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //Artemis Affection Has Reached Maximum Affection// //Quest Completed: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS]// Completion Grade: S Rewards: 10,000 OP, [Bow Mastery:S] Reced by [Archery Goddess Blessing:B], 1x[Hearts Desire: Artemis] Grade Rewards: 1x[Tears of the Moon Goddess], 20,000 OP [Archery Goddess Blessing] Rank: B Use: So long as the bond between the user and the Goddess of Archery remains, it is said possessors of this skill cannot miss their target when using any form of marksmanship. Greatly enhances critical strike potential of attacks made with a bow. [Tears of the Moon Goddess] Rank: Unique Use: So long as the ego has notpletely vanished, can be used to resurrect a target that has received the Blessing of the Moon Goddess. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahns eyes widened slightly when he saw the system notification, not just because Artemis Affection had instantly hit the 100 threshold in an instant, but because of the ridiculous Unique item he had obtained. He knew Unique items were existed outside of the restriction ofws, bound only by the restriction and use of the item itself, so they were capable of pretty much anything. Having a resurrection item was beyond expectations, however, as the ego would diminish very quickly after the death of most people. Even so, depending on the state it would restore their body to, this [Tears of the Moon Goddess] was truly a miracle contained within a small tear-shaped vial... Though he was momentarily distracted by the system notification, Vahn didnt allow it to show on his face as he gently stroked Artemis back and said, "You should get ready, Artemis...we need to resolve things as quickly as possible..." As much as he enjoyed Artemis soft body in his embrace, Vahn felt that it was better if they deal with Antares sooner, rather thanter. Once Antares was able to use Artemis Arcanum, things would be extremely problematic. Though his [Magia Erebea] should still be able to contend against a Tier 4 entity, that didnt trante to him being able to deal any meaningful damage to such an existence... Artemis nodded her head in agreement but, instead of changing into her raiment, grabbed the sides of Vahns face with her hands and smiled for a few seconds before giggling. He wasnt sure how to interpret her behavior until Hestia inly stated, "Unless youre intending to watch her change, you need to leave, Vahn..." These words caused a very subtle blush to reach Artemis cheeks as she released Vahns, turning her face to the side while casting a shy nce towards Vahn. Though he found this reaction of hers rather adorable, Vahn returned a polite smile and said, "Ill wait in the hallway..." before stepping back through the door and closing it behind him. Once Vahn was out of the room, Artemis brought her hand to her chest, feeling the rapid pulsation of her own heart as she turned to the other two goddesses and asked, "Is this how the two of you feel all the time...?" This caused Hephaestus tough, amused by Artemis words, while Hestia puffed out her well-endowed b.r.e.a.s.ts and bragged, "Though I wont say what youre feeling isnt love, it cant quite match up to our feelings just yet, Artemis~! My bond with Vahn is stronger than anyone elses, ehehehe~." Hephaestus gave a wry smile when she heard this, rubbing the ring on her finger as she muttered, "Vahn and I share a very powerful bond as well...it isnt just my own heartbeat that I can feel, but I am always able to sense his as well. It is a veryfortable and pleasant sensation...even if it can be distracting at times..." Knowing Hestia and Hephaestus for hundreds-of-millions of years, Artemis didnt discredit their words, even a little. Just the fact that Hestia gave up her v.i.r.g.i.nity to Vahn was something that hadpletely shaken Artemis to the core. The fact that Hephaestus now had children, while alsomitting herself to an Eternal Vow, were equally as impactful, even though it should have also been impossible. It seemed like that was apletely foreign concept to Vahn, however, as these two things were just a fraction of the other impossible feats he had performed...Artemis found her heart beating even faster as she wondered what miracles he would perform before her eyes...it was very exciting... After peeling off the nightgown she had borrowed from Hestia, Artemis brought her hands together as though she were praying. Illusory beams of moonlight began to shine within the room as the internal lighting dulled inparison. Wherever these moonbeams touched, clothing would form on Artemis body and, after a few seconds had passed, she waspletely clothed in the same outfit she had manifested in previously. The only real part of her garb was the dagger that she kept in the back of her belt, a gift she had received from Rethusa, the former Captain of her Familia... Thinking about the tragic fate of her Familia, Artemis excitement was tempered in an instant and she couldnt help but tightly squeeze the dagger for a few seconds before fastening it to her belt. Hephaestus and Hestia had witnessed this, with theter showing a concerned expression as she said, "Artemis...I dont know exactly what happened...but I believe in Vahn. Even if something truly terrible has happened, know that your friends will always be waiting for you here...one thing I have learned from watching over mortals is that, by working together to support each others happiness, burdens that are too big for one person to carry be much easier to bear..." Hephaestus, agreeing with Hestias statement, nodded her head, adding, "Its the thing we gods have always desired, ever since the first mortals began walking the world long ago...the feeling of having a family...people that can rece the feeling of loneliness with warmth,passion, and love..." Even now, Hephaestus could vividly remember the long loneliness she had tolerated before opening her heart to Vahn. She knew most gods felt something simr, bound by thepulsion of their Divinities and never truly being able to confide in each other. Vahn had stepped into her heart and filled a void she thought would persist for all eternity...not only that, but he had never stopped adding more of himself, giving her children, and making her happier than she ever thought possible... Artemis was awed by the behavior of Hephaestus and Hestia, feeling the sincerity in their words and the concern they had for her. It was different than the affections they would show in the past, that which had made them friends...now, the amount of sincerity contained within those words felt meaningful. Artemis herself knew exactly how much a god could change after being exposed to their children for long periods of time, as she had also changed a great deal, so she was able to empathize and truly understand the significance of their words... With a gratified smile blooming across her face, Artemis nodded her head, saying, "I have already ced my trust in Vahn...now, I will see with my own eyes what kind of man he is...I want to be able to understand...more and more...this feeling inside my heart..." Both goddesses smiled in response to Artemis words but Hestia also added, "If you truly open your heart to Vahn, you need to be prepared for the consequences...he wont force you, Artemis, but you have to seriously consider how you want your rtionship to develop. Vahn has a lot of people that can fulfill his needs but, for a goddess with your beauty and purity, you may never get a chance to find a more suitable partner..." Understanding Hestias words, Artemis blushed slightly and averted her eyes, stating, "Im only now learning how to love...things like that...I..." Hestia had bounded over to Artemis while thetter was talking, grabbing the bashful goddess hands as she sternly eximed, "Artemis, listen to me very closely, okay...even if youre a goddess presiding over chastity, you have to be more open-minded. Without s.e.x, procreation would be fundamentally impossible...the very creature we gods have protected since the dawn of time wouldnt even exist in any meaningful way...it is not a bad thing, especially if you do it with the person you love...!" Being, formerly, the oldest v.i.r.g.i.n within Heaven, Hestias words carried a great deal of weight and Artemis was slightly taken aback by the diminutive goddess seriousness... Out in the hallway, Vahn was wondering what the three were doing to get so riled up, especially with how chaotic Artemis aura had be. It kept fluctuating with a rainbow cascade of colors, with a few pinks and reds intermixed that made his heart palpitate slightly... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fafnir needs some TLC too~!,Artemis is surprisingly affectionate...,Vahns self-propagating Harem...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 851 - Unreasonable

Chapter 851 - Unreasonable

After waiting for a few minutes, the door to Hestias room opened and revealed all three goddesses, Hestia and Artemis wearing their raiment while Hephaestus was wearing a loose white shirt and a pair of tight shorts. Vahns eyes gravitated towards her well-shaped posterior for the briefest of moments but he wasnt able to escape their notice. Hestia and Hephaestus both beganughing in a light-hearted manner while Artemis brows raised slightly before she asked, "Will we be going to meet with Hermes now...?" Vahn, smiling in response to Hestia and Hephaestus, nodded his head and said, "Honestly, I dont really think it is necessary for Hermes toe along. So long as you can show the way, everything should be rtively straight forward. There is a lot going on in the City and he should stay to help rify some matters..." Since Hermes had given him some bogus reasoning that the Guild actually intended to keep other gods within the City until this even was resolved, Vahn didnt see why he should be an exception. He knew that Ouranos was nning to have the majority of gods return to Heaven if the mission was a failure, as their presence would only serve to strengthen Antares further, so Vahn nned to refuse Hermes offer to apany them. Artemis didnt argue in favor of Hermes, instead, asking, "Will it be...just the two of us...?" A very subtle blush touched her cheeks, the conversation she had with Hestia and Hephaestus still fresh on her mind. When Vahn shook his head, Artemis felt both relieved and conflicted at the same time, at least until he said, "There are a lot of things youll have to get caught up to speed with in the future, including the existence of my subordinates. Well be riding a True Dragon named Fafnir to our destination and, if we need any backup, I can summon my other subordinates over in an instant. The entire flight to the Dark Continent shouldnt take more than ten hours..." Hearing this, Artemis mind nked for a moment, parroting, "Ten hours...?" with a tone of disbelief. She had previously thought it would take close to ten days, giving her ample time to prepare her heart and spend more time with her Orion. The efficacy of her arrow increased based on the amount of love they shared and, though she already felt very close to Vahn, Artemis didnt believe it was enough. Bing closer over just ten hours didnt seem very realistic, even if she tried pushing herself and opening her heartpletely... Vahn nodded his head in response to Artemis question, exining, "We could reduce the time even more if Fafnir pushed itself, but that would potentially lead to other problems upon our arrival. In total, Im guessing everything should be resolved in a few days time...ultimately, it will depend on how the situation ys out and if the monster requires immediate attention..." Since he also knew of the timeline established by Hermes, Vahn wasnt too worried that Antares would begin moving before he coulde up with a concrete n. Things would be very dangerous if he waited too long but they would have more than a week to make preparations, if necessary... Since she could see that Artemis was very confused, Hephaestus exined, "You havent had enough time to adapt to how truly unique Vahn is, Artemis. His power is already far beyond most mortals, including those legendary heroes from the past. Even if he were to go alone, I have full confidence that any monster on the Dark Continent would end up meeting their end at his hands, regardless of how strong they are...youll see it soon, so watch closely..." Hestia also nodded her head in agreement, adding, "Youre lucky that Vahn was the one to pick up your spear but, even if he hadnt been chosen, the odds of him being the one to help you were already very high. He has a soft spot for beautiful women who need help...ehehehehe~." Vahn released a lighthearted sigh when he heard Hestias words, reaching out to rub her head as he mused, "Youre not exactly wrong...hahaha..." Now, Vahn, Hestia, and Hephaestus all started tough while Artemis was still struggling with how fast everything was going. She didnt doubt that Vahn was very powerful, as even Hermes had introduced him as the strongest, but the fear embedded in her by Antares was fresh. That monstrosity had not only managed to consume her body, but used her own Arcanum to ughter her Familia...it wasnt an easy image to overwrite within her mind. She wanted more time with Vahn, both as a means to prepare her heart, but also to guarantee that he would be able to make full use of her arrow when the time came... Sensing the change in Artemis, Vahn changed hands so that he was rubbing Hestias head with his left while stroking Artemis with his right. Producing the most encouraging smile he could manage, Vahn calmy stated, "Artemis...trust in me...I will not fail you..." As he spoke, Vahn not only sent calming energy into her mind with his [Hands of Nirvana], he also made full use of his [Grooming] and added some pure Source Energy into the mix. Her body was currently that of a false-avatar, but he knew his energy would be able to stabilize her better while also helping her rx and calm down... Feeling the wave of warm energy wash over her like a veryfortable stream of water, Artemis nearly released a sigh of relief but managed to restrain it in time to avoid embarrassing herself. She didnt know what kind of technique Vahn was using, but it was unlike anything she had experienced before. Part of her even thought that if he continued this for the full ten hours, it might be more meaningful than ten days together...if she knew the full capabilities of the boy before her, who had even tamed goddesses like Loki and Freya, Artemis would have known to fear the hand that was currently bringing her nothing byfort and a sense of security... Though there was no particr reason to hurry, other than resolving the matter even faster, the group migrated to where Fafnir was waiting. Artemis had been shocked to see the 18m long evil dragon, nearly pulling out her bow before a childish voice entered into her mind, saying, ("Hello there, Im Fafnir. It is nice to meet you, Artemis~!") Vahn had also moved forward, stroking the massive and lethal looking maw of Fafnir as Artemis paled slightly in confusion. Hestia, with a teasing smile on her face, nudged Artemis side and said, "The sooner you ept that Vahn can do anything, the easier it will be to deal with all the surprises youll experience through interacting with him. He is even...well, Ill leave that as a surprise, ehehehehe~." After stroking Fafnirs rather smooth and cool scales, Vahn turned to Artemis and extended his hand, asking, "Shall we...?" She walked forward with a bit of hesitation but managed to grab his hand without any major difficulties as Vahn levitated them onto Fafnirs back. This had caused Artemis eyes to widen yet again as she asked, "You can fly, Vahn...?" After setting her down, Vahn nodded his head, exining, "If I move at my fastest speed, I can actually reach the Dark Continent in just a few seconds. I wouldnt be able to carry you with me, though, so well be using Fafnir for safe passage..." If not for Vahn supporting her, Artemis felt like she might have lost her bnce when she heard how casually he mentioned traveling more than 43,000km in just a few seconds. Now, she felt like the 10 hours he had afforded her were very generous while, at the same time, the tiny me of hope in her heart began burning more vibrantly. It felt like, every time Vahn revealed even a small amount of his capabilities, all of the things that she had been worrying about seemed less consequential... Though Fafnir created twofortable seats for them to use, Artemis ended up insisting that she sit with Vahn. They eventually ended up in a position where she was sitting in hisp while Vahn held her waist from behind somewhat awkwardly. He had some suspicions about why she wanted to be so close but, out of consideration for her, decided to keep any questions about her motives to himself. Since she had a very soft body and an indescribably pleasant aroma, Vahn didnt mind the rather intimate arrangement. It was actually more awkward when they arrived near the walls of Orario a few secondster and had to separate from each other while Artemis was, once again, surprised and confused... Hermes was already awaiting them, arge wyvern resting atop the walls of Orario, packed with a variety of different supplies for a long journey. Vahn had no need for such things with his Inventory, something Hermes took notice of as he lightheartedly remarked, "That storage magic of yours is truly something enviable, Vahn. If I had such a useful ability, my job would be so much easier~." To this, Vahn just gave a curt nod before exining, "Well, you wont have to worry about transportation that much this time around. Since things will only be more troublesome if you apany us, Ill have to stay here in Orario. You should go meet up with Loki soon and answer her questions while I go and take care of Antares myself." Hearing this, Hermes was slightly taken aback and it showed with how his eyes opened to an almost natural degree. However, when he saw Fafnir stretching behind Vahn, Hermes was able to rationalize why Vahn had made such a decision. It was rumored that Fafnir could travel several times the speed of sound, much faster than a normal Wyvern. If Vahn had to keep pace with him, the journey would take much longer and, as the boy alluded to, it wasnt as if he would be any real help inbat. Hermes knew very well how powerful Vahn was and, if he was unable to defeat Antares, the only purpose his presence there served was bringing back the bad news... Releasing an exasperated sigh, Hermes remarked, "And I thought I might be able to postpone having to interact with that little hellion of a goddess for a few days longer...you know, Im starting to feel like you genuinely dislike me, Vahn...hahaha~." Hermes really wasnt looking forward to having to deal with Loki, especially since Hephaestus and Freya were likely to be present. Any single one of them would be troublesome but, together, they were a veritable nightmare for any god unfortunate enough to enter their sights. Vahn knew Hermes had every reason to be afraid of meeting with Loki but, as if to answer Hermes remark about whether or not he disliked him, Vahn stated in a dull monotone, "I know the system you put into ce was better than the fates those children of yours would have faced, Hermes...but I will never forgive you for the situation you put Asfi and Lulune through..." Hermes, for a brief moment, appeared as though he was going to make a light argument to exonerate himself but the look in Vahns eyes made him realize the greater meaning behind his words... After taking a deep breath, Hermes exined in a serious tone of his own, "Youre a good man, Vahn...better than most could ever hope to be. However, you are too quick to jump to conclusions and hold others in contempt when you arecking the full story. I am not going to try and justify my actions to you, as I have no need to exin myself to an outsider who wasnt involved with the events taking ce at that time...if you have a problem with what I did, just keep doing what you already do best...make this world a better ce. One day, when you be a more reasonable person, I may trust you with the truth of the matter..." Just as he finished speaking, Hermes pat the tamed Wyvern and sent it flying back towards the Ganesha Familia. In the next instant, in a movement that caused Vahns eyes to widen a great deal, Hermes turned into a blur and hadpletely disappeared from his perception. From his left, Artemis furrowed her brows slightly and said, "God of Travel...an envious ability..." Hermes was one of the few gods that served as an active messenger between Heaven and the Mortal World, as he was not actually bound by distance, barriers, and general obstructions. So long as it was within his perception, he could move almost anywhere in an instant, far faster than magic spells like [Shundo] and [Void Movement]... Vahn also frowned slightly when he heard Artemis words, understanding that Hermes would be a very difficult enemy to deal with if they were truly at odds with each other. He would need topletely lock down the area with [Enkidu] to have any hope of preventing the gods escape, though such an act would reveal the secret of his golden chains to a rather troublesome individual. For better or worse, this disy actually made Vahn feel more confident that Hermes wasnt their enemy, as his assistance to Enyo would have likely brought her ns to fruition long ago... After collecting his thoughts, Vahn turned to Artemis and held out his hand for her to grab, saying, "We should get going soon..." Artemis nodded her head, cing her gloved hand into Vahns and allowing him to levitate her body onto Fafnirs back. They resumed their rather awkward seating arrangement, causing Artemis heart to pound anxiously within her chest, before Fafnir spread its wings and took to the sky. She found herself leaning into him while his hands around her waist felt somewhat hot and ticklish, even through severalyers of clothing. As for Vahn, though he had noticed Artemis aura fluctuating quite a bit, he was currently thinking about the fact that Hermes would very likely show up during the fight with Antares, even after their previous discussion... Upon taking off from Orarios walls, Fafnir began ascending higher into the sky, intent on rising into the upper atmosphere before proceeding towards the Dark Continent. There were powerful magical storms and other kinds of hazards that would prevent them from crossing directly over the ocean so Vahn had imnted a route into Fafnirs mind through their mental link. Artemis was surprised by how high and fast they were moving but, much like how Hestia, Hephaestus, and Loki werent that impressed by the visual impact of seeing the world below, she was more focused on Vahn than her surroundings. She knew the time they had was very limited and, even though Vahns existence seemed increasingly more reliable, Artemis couldnt help but think about how they might grow closer over the rtively short flight... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn had already broken themon sense of Hest and Hephaestus long ago xD...,Hermes is a fast boi...,Doki Doki, Artemis-chan...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 852 - Dream

Chapter 852 - Dream

The hour-long ascent into the sky had been rtively silent as Artemis didnt know quite what to say and Vahn was currently back on the 50th Floor of the Dungeon helping the chefs in the mess hall prepare breakfast for the current construction crew rotation. Maemi and Emiru were both helping out and it had been eating up a fair amount of his attention, at least until Artemis wriggled about suddenly. Without thinking about it too much, Vahn casually picked up Artemis by her pits and asked, "Is your butt getting numb from sitting down? Fafnirs barrier will block the wind and you dont have to worry about falling off now that were already at cruising speed. Feel free to walk around and stretch if your legs are falling asleep..." Artemis had turned statuesque when Vahn suddenly lifted up her body like she didnt have any weight whatsoever. It was also the first time she had ever been handled before and she didnt know exactly what the chaotic feelings inside of her meant. When Vahn set her back down, it felt like her cheeks were on fire and, instead of getting up to move around, Artemis buried her face into her hands out of instinct. Now Vahn was paying closer attention to her and realized his words and actions were indeed a little embarrassing for such a mature woman. However, he had noticed how Artemis aura had been ring with a variety of different colors during the flight so it was very likely she wanted to say or do something to break the silence. Thinking about what they could talk about to let her rx, Vahn tightened his grip around Artemis waist, just a little, before asking, "What kind of ce is the Dark Continent, Artemis? Why did you decide to stay there instead of around Orario with the majority of the other gods...?" Though he could always use the [Hearts Desire: Artemis], Vahn wanted to hear Artemis own recounting of things before he broached the subject and asked permission to view her past. The amount of information he could obtain from a goddess [Hearts Desire] was more than a little extreme and it would expose a great deal of personal information about them that they didnt necessarily want to be known... Though she had flinched when Vahn tightened his embrace, Artemis rxed a little when she heard his question, deciding to regte her breathing before answering, "I stay there precisely because other gods have abandoned that ce. Without protection, those who have sought shelter and peace within that inhospitable ce would one day be wiped outpletely...I pray that they are able to tide through this cmity safely..." Knowing that her failure may have already resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, Artemis felt a heavy burden on her heart...made lighter by theforting embrace of the boy behind her... Artemis went on to exin that the majority of people residing on the Dark Continent were those who had either been exiled from their people or sought to escape persecution from the troubled societies of Eden. Most of them were Beast People, with the otherrgest groups belonging to Half-Races and Amazonesses. There was an entirely separate tribe of Amazons on the Dark Continent, having broken away from the influence of the maind hundreds of years ago to build a more progressive society for themselves. To avoid being hunted down by some of the more zealous Amazons from the maind, they had adopted a nomadic society that was constantly on the move... Vahn continued to listen to Artemis talk about the Dark Continent for quite a while, asking questions to guide the conversation along so that she wouldnt fall into another bout of mncholy. At the same time, she had started holding his hands around her waist, fiddling with his fingers absentmindedly as she told him all about the hardy people of the Dark Continent. He noticed she avoided talking about her Familia and, based on his understanding of the situation, Vahn knew better than to ask about it. For Artemis to have been in a situation where Antares was able to devour her, it was very likely her Familia had also been nearby. Unless they were very powerful, the odds that they had been wiped out after Antares awakening were very high... Eventually, Artemis wrapped up her exnation by talking about how the Dark Continent had two seasons, a temperate Summer and a six month long Winter. The reason why it was known as the Dark Continent was that, during those long winter months, there would be thick cloud coverage that would obstruct the sun for weeks at a time. Fortunately for the residents of the Dark Continent, there were a variety of caves and ruins wheremunities would seek shelter from the extreme weather. This also meant they had to rely heavily on hunting and preparing supplies in advance to avoid having people starve and die due to exposure... Vahn was impressed that people would actually willingly live in such a harsh environment but, considering how messed up some of the countries back in Eden were, he could see their reasoning. Hopefully, by the time he was finished with bringing reforms, such individuals would be able to migrate back to Eden and live their lives in rtive peace. Since she had asked about it, Vahn spent the better part of two hours exining to Artemis all of the changes he had been trying to introduce in the world. Much like he had when she was speaking, Artemis was rtively quiet during Vahns rather idealistic speech, only asking questions when she was curious about something in particr. Like this, more than three hours of the flight had passed and now Artemis was reclining against Vahn as she listened to the rather fantastical vision he had of the future. She already knew about the Alliance, and many of Vahns greater feats, through Hestia, but having the detailsid out made everything seem simultaneously more real yet still unbelievable at the same time. When he finished talking about his ns with Haven, Artemis released a sad sigh and said, "Vahn...I wish we had met sooner...I would have liked to help you create such a wonderful world..." Though she wasnt fond of living in highly popted areas, Artemis felt that it wouldnt be that bad to spend her days working towards Vahns dream...together with him, Hestia, Hephaestus, and the other interesting girls he had mentioned... With Artemisying against him, Vahn had one of his palms resting on her abdomen while his other hand had its finger interlocked with those of Artemis. Hearing her words, Vahn gently moved his left hand in a calming motion while putting strength into his right hand as he stated in a very serious tone, "One thing youll learn about me, Artemis...I dont give up on the things Ive set my sights on. I have already decided to save you...even if you give up on yourself, Ill pull you back from the abyss against your will if I have to...Id rather you resent me for eternity than see Hestia cry when I return..." Artemis had felt a little giddy when Vahn began moving his left hand but, hearing his words, she couldnt help curling up in an insecure disy as she muttered, "I know my current state better than anyone, Vahn...but..." Now, Artemis twisted her body around so that she was facing him as she smiled somewhat sadly and added, "I wont give up...I want to keep my promise to Hestia but, even more than that, I want to believe in the power of love that my children believed it...!" During her words, Artemis had grabbed the sides of Vahns face, the smallest spark of hope contained within her crystalline green eyes that reflected nothing by his own face within their depths... Vahn brought his own hand up, caressing Artemis cheek and wiping away a stray tear that had marred her impably beautiful face. With unshakable resolve contained within his voice, Vahn stated with utmost sincerity, "That is more than enough, Artemis...so long as you believe in love...no, even if you never truly loved me, I would never betray the hope you ced in me. No matter what happens, I promise you that this story will have a happy ending...!" Vahn was feeling fired up, even if his words caused Sis to giggle within the recesses of his mind... Hearing Vahns words, Artemis felt like the tiny me in her heart had ignited into a bonfire, causing her body to heat up as her breathing elerated slightly. She didnt know what else to say so, whilst still holding her hands to his face, Artemis smiled as she exined, "You know, even though it has been less than a thousand years since gods descended upon this world...it is a popr belief that those gods who choose to live amongst mortals are guaranteed ten-thousand years of love...I never believed in such things before...but...I...I dont think Id mind...if it was ten-thousand years with someone like you..." By the end of her words, Artemis face had gained a ruddy hue that made her delicate and mature appearance look truly divine. Vahn felt his own heart racing upon hearing her confession and a natural smile had spread across his lips as he said, "Then its a promise, Artemis...ten-thousand years..." With his words falling upon her ears, Artemis eyes widened in slow motion as she deeply inhaled through her nose before, for the first time in more than 439 million years, she kissed a member of the opposite s.e.x. Her face turned beet red in an instant as Vahn fell back against Fafnirs back with the rather awkward goddess falling against him, bumping their teeth somewhat painfully in the process... Artemis flinched, holding her hand to her mouth as she muttered, "Im sorry, I..." Before she was able to finish, however, Vahn had already sat back up and started caressing the side of Artemis face, easing the pain as he smiled radiantly and said, "There is no rush, Artemis...thank you, though...your lips are strangely sweet...and very soft...hahahaha-." Artemis blush had deepened at first but, after a few seconds had passed, her smile blossomed like a beautiful flower as she said, "Im d...I was a little worried." Vahn continued to smile, stroking Artemis cheek long after she waspletely healed. The two spent several minutes just staring at each other, Vahn wondering if he should push her a little while Artemis was wondering if she should ask him to teach her how to kiss. She knew he must have had a lot of practice, as the number of girls that hade up in the conversation was actually a little extreme...just before she was able to muster up her courage, however, Vahn suddenly said, "Artemis...I..." Vahn was thinking about broaching the subject of the [Hearts Desire] as it would make some of his ns to resolve this situation easier to implement with more information at his disposal... Seeing the serious expression on Vahns face, Artemis swallowed audibly, cing her hands over her rapidly beating heart as she interrupted him, saying words she never thought would leave her lips, "Its fine...since it may weaken Antares...and because I wanted us to be closer...if...if you really want to...I...I...I..." By the end of her words, Artemis had both eyes closed tightly as she clenched her fist, oveing the seemingly insurmountable hesitation in her heart as her clothing vanished like an illusion. The dagger in her belt fell to Fafnirs back, ck scales deforming to catch it while Vahn just stared with the widest-eyed expression he may have ever produced since arriving in the record... Fortunately, this state onlysted for around two seconds before Vahn came to his senses and pulled out a cloak for Artemis to cover herself, tightly embracing her so she didnt misunderstand as he took a few deep breaths and exined, "Dont misunderstand, Artemis, I am extremely interested in you...if the circ.u.mstances were more appropriate, I wouldnt even hesitate to eat you up right here and now. However, what youre going through right now could be heavily affecting your mentality...dont be rash...remember, I already promised you ten-thousand years of love..." Though his instincts had been screaming at him to ept the situation as it was, Vahn didnt want the guilt of taking advantage of Artemis when she wasnt exactly in a stable condition. There was also a chance she may try and rationalize their moment together and use it as the justification for doing something extreme if things went south faster than he could control... Artemis felt like her heart was going to burst when she discarded her raiment but, after Vahn embraced her tightly with a warm cloak, this feeling changed to relief in an instant. Her heart was still beating rapidly and she almost couldnt believe what had just happened, including the fact that Vahn didnt act how she had expected. Part of her was happy that his character was strong enough that he wouldnt immediately make love to someone without consideration for time, ce, and asion. Truthfully, if they did one day have s.e.x, Artemis didnt think that doing it on the back of a True Dragon was the best ce... Vahn waited for Artemis to calm down, stroking her back gently as he held her in his embrace, ignoring the fact that her body heat was transferring into his. When her breathing had calmed down, he exined, "For those I share a close bond with, Im able to create items that embody our rtionship...at the same time, Im able to produce an item called [Hearts Desire], which allows me to experience the significant memories of a person, giving me insight into what their true hearts desire is...I wanted your permission to use it..." Artemis had been very quiet from the moment he wrapped the cloak around her but, now that Vahn had exined the situation better, a sigh of relief escaped her lips. Herplexion quickly reverted back to normal as a gentle smile bloomed on her face as she said, "Hestia actually told me about the [Hearts Desire] previously...if its you, Vahn, I dont mind sharing my everything..." It was actually the existence of the [Hearts Desire] that emboldened Artemis to try and push their rtionship forward even faster. Hestia and Hephaestus had described it as an item that allowed Vahn to empathize greatly with anyone and, as all of the other goddesses had trusted him with their [Hearts Desire], Artemis wasnt afraid he would misuse the information... With her permission, Vahn adjusted the cloak so that Artemis body was properly covered before pulling out a beautiful green orb. It was identical to the color of Artemis eyes and he actually felt like it was a bit of a waste to destroy something so beautiful. Of course, such sentiment wouldnt prevent him from doing what was necessary so, without any outward disys of hesitation, Vahn crushed the orb and embraced the phenomenon of time slowing to a crawl as his mind faded into darkness. The next time Vahn opened his eyes, a massive crescent moon dominated his vision, sparkling with a dull and beautiful blue... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Casual Flex*...,Vahn actually resisted!?,Blue Moon~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 853 - Hearts Desire: Artemis

Chapter 853 - Heart''s Desire: Artemis

The first vision Vahn had from Artemis perspective was far different than his expectations as it was a memory of conflict, unlike anything he had ever experienced. It wasnt recorded in any history books, but Heaven was not always a peaceful realm, especially when the first generation of gods hade into existence. Artemis came into existence towards the end of a great conflict between the Northern Pantheon and the Eastern Patheon, the culmination of several stay Divinities that had been given sentience. Artemis first memory was appearing n.a.k.e.d amidst a battlefield between Zeus, his sworn brother Poseidon, and their enemies, Hachiman, Susanoo, and Fujin. Unaware of which side she represented, Zeus had moved to capture Artemis, forming a swirl of space and cloud that wrapped around her body as Poseidon created a flow of dark blue water that seemed like it could fill the entirety of Heaven. It was a disy of power that Vahn, and Artemis at the time, couldnt evenprehend... After being whisked away, Zeus, body d in pure white thunder as space around him bent and distorted, grabbed her neck in a vice-like grip, asking, "What is your name!?" Though gods didnt need to breathe, Artemis felt extremely suffocated by Zeus pressure and wasnt able to answer his question due to the confusion she felt from justing into existence. It didnt seem to matter to the raging and battle-hungry god, however, as his stark-white eyes danced across her body with a possessive glint contained within. With a sneer across his face, Zeus proimed, "I will spare your life if you swear to serve me. Soon, I will be the ruler of the Northern Pantheon and I will allow you to stay at my side if you vow to dedicate yourself to me, and me alone...!" Filled with indignant rage, another ambient Divinitytched itself onto Artemis as she tightly gripped Zeus wrist and spat, "I would never pledge myself to such a vile and wicked mongrel! Even a dog is more worthy of my loyalty than a vain fool who forces others to yield to them on their first meeting...!" Though she had juste into existence, Artemis head was filled with a wealth of knowledge and information, provided to her by the various Divinities taking root within her soul. She even had memories of Zeus himself, tearing a body she could no longer visualize within her mind to pieces as unbridled rage fought alongside the pain flowing into her neck. Suddenly, the massive blue moon that had formed in the sky shot forth with an arrow that barreled towards Zeus with unstoppable force. His eyes widened as the amount of electricity around his body more than doubled, distorting space until it looked as though his body was bent into a C-shape. The arrow missed him but the ambient energy tore away at his Arcanum while Artemis herself was empowered, dawning her raiment for the first time as massive magic circles formed around her body. These formations sent forth several phantom images of animals, assaulting towards Zeus with ravenous intentions as the angered god created wh.i.p.s of lightning that tore hundreds asunder with each blow. Hachiman, a mountain of a god that stood more than 300cm tall, body primming with phenomenal might as his muscles glistened under the ambient light of Heaven, took advantage of the sudden conflict between Zeus and Artemis to attack. He hefted a massive ck staff that was adorned with a golden loop on the end, possessing nine rings that radiated divine light. Against expectations, he pulled at the air, causing the staff to bend as a line of energy formed into a string, giving the staff the appearance of a bow that now held a pure golden arrow. The moment Zeus had to dodge an 8m tall tiger, Hachiman loosed the arrow and sent it on a direct path towards Zeus forehead. At this point, distracted by the horde of animals attacking him, Zeus was unable to react in time to evade Hachimans arrow. Fortunately, Poseidon had noticed the attack and managed to intercept the seemingly unstoppable arrow with an ornate golden trident, shouting, "Cowardice! Using sneak attacks when you already have a numerical advantage...is this the so-called pride of the Eastern Gods!?" Without waiting for their response, Poseidon brandished his trident towards Artemis, sending an ocean of Arcanum infused waves to wash away the animals as he eximed, "You are obviously of the Northern Pantheon; do not interfere with this fight if you will not aid your fellow gods!" Because the style of raiment varied greatly amongst the different Pantheons, it was rtively easy to determine the origin of another god. Artemis also knew she was of the Northern Pantheon but, instead of backing down, furrowed her brows deeply as she ascended into the sky, eximing, "That cur wished to tarnish my body at his leisure, without even given me the freedom of a real choice! You asked for my name, Zeus, then I shall tell you...I am Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, Goddess of the Moon, Goddess of the Wild, and..." At this point, a moon-shaped magic formation that was several kilometers across had formed behind Artemis as she shouted, "Goddess of Chastity...!" With a much greater force than even Hachimans arrow, Artemis descended upon Zeus like a moonbeam, traveling much faster than the eye could follow. Zeus body distorted just before the arrow struck, causing his body to appear several hundred meters away as a massive hole was torn through the very fabric of Heaven. Chaotic energy began to spill out from the gaping void Artemis arrow had created, alerting the other five gods present and bringing an end to their conflict as they were actually forced to seal the hole together. From that point on, Artemis arrow became one of the most famous weapons in all of Heaven, making her a force many wanted to win over, but few were able to get close to... Because of her experience with Zeus, Artemis didnt trust any male gods and, as even goddesses were embroiled in conflict at the time, she became something of a loner. Other than the animalpanions she could summon to her side, Artemis spent the majority of her time within the Spirit Wilds, a massive expanse of forest where even normal trees seemed to be formed of precious gemstones. She felt far morefortable among the unformed Spirits, some of which would temporarily fuse together with her animalpanions for a few hundred thousand years... Eventually, the conflicts within Heaven started to calm down, though Artemis wasnt sure how much time had passed before Apollo, a god who hade into existence shortly after her, delivered unexpected news. Though Zeus had been unable to overthrow Ouranos and be the ruler of the Northern Pantheon, the Elder God had bestowed him the title of Olympian for his exploits. Zeus used this as an opportunity to elevate himself by bestowing a simr title upon those he deemed worthy. Since he had realized Ouranos wasnt actively controlling the North Pantheon, Zeus wished that the gods he selected would represent the Northen Pantheon and rule over future generations of gods... Apollo, who had been given the 7th seat, hade to inform Artemis that she had been selected at the 8th Olympian. Though she had no interest in the title at all, Apollo also carried news that Zeus promised to never interfere with her life if she epted the seat. Since she wanted to avoid having her peaceful life ruined by the egotistical gods intervention, Artemis reluctantly epted the offer and showed up at the massive ptial structure that dominated the horizon. This was the central structure that represented the North Pantheon, currently known as the Sky Pce but soon to be known as Mount Olympus... Upon arriving within the Pce, Artemis met her fellow Olympians for the first time, including Zeus himself. At his side, clinging to his arm like an extension of the arrogant mans body, was the Goddess of Marriage, Hera. Standing at the side, wearing ornamental robes that flowed around his body like torrential waves, was Poseidon, a perpetually stern expression on his face. The other Olympians included gods Artemis had never met before, introduced as Demeter, Athena, Ares, Hermes, Aphrodite, Hades, and, almost immediately catching her attention, a diminutive goddess named Hestia. Hestia was unlike all of the other gods Artemis had met, each seeming self-assured in their individuality and having strong characters. Compared to them, Hestia was a very quiet and gentle looking woman, even though the aura surrounding her body dwarfed almost everyone else within the room. After the gathering hadpleted, Artemis sought out Hestia, eager to learn more about the strange goddess who, simr to herself, seemingly had no desire to be an Olympian. It was during this meeting that Artemis first sat with Hestia atop an ancient temple that seemed much older than almost any other structure in Heaven. Here, next to this warm and sacred fire, Artemis foundpanionship in another god for the first time... Though she did not visit that often, Artemis always found herself arriving at Hestias Divine Hearth whenever her heart was troubled. She very quickly learned that other gods also went to Hestia, finding peace and eptance in her small temple, even though Hestia rarely said anything. Most of the time, she simply listened to the troubles of others and, if it was suitable for her to do so, offered them kind advice that felt like it could heal the soul. Strangely, those that were too proud to seek this samefort began to bad mouth Hestia, especially after she stepped down from her position as an Olympian, giving it up to a rather young god named Dionysus. When Artemis asked why Hestia did something so troublesome, especially with how people treated her within the godlymunity, Hestia simply smiled and said, "I was only ever made an Olympian because Zeus had intended for there to be an even split between men and women. He believed that we v.i.r.g.i.n goddesses may one day relent, seekingpanionship in our fellow Olympians and bing couples that would owe our happiness to him. I dont believe he ever expected three of his Olympians to remain v.i.r.g.i.n goddesses for so long...besides, Dionysus, that troubled child, seemed to really want to be an Olympian...I could not stand to see him continue hurting himself in an effort to elevate his status...if I can avoid another conflict by giving up my seat, that is for the best..." Hestia was always like this, being better to other gods than she was to her own self, even if the entire godlymunity ridiculed her as a Lazy Goddess. Artemis found it ridiculous that her kindness was held in contempt, even though the majority of gods acted like fools who squabbled over the pettiest of issues. They were a bunch of licentious and egotistical despots who eagerly sought to receive benefits from others with the least possible amount of effort at their expense. There were even gods who woulde to the Spirit Woods, trying to coax her into a fling out of nothing more than curiosity and bragging rights. Artemis had heard so many flowery words said with the intention to manipte and exploit her that she now greeted most gods with a flurry of arrows instead of words... Unable to change Hestias nature, or perhaps unwilling to as she was more reliant on Hestias kindness than shed admit, Artemis continued her eternity among the animals and spirits. Eventually, she also became rtively close with Athena, the third of the three v.i.r.g.i.n goddesses and they were able to confide in each other within Hestias Hearth. Then, bringing about a great change to the power structure of the Northern Pantheon, a goddess named Hephaestus hade into existence. Her creations were so prodigious that all eight regions of Heaven had taken note of her, leading Zeus to confront Hades and remove him as an Olympian, once again bncing the gender ratio of his little group... Because of her deformity, Hephaestus was shunned by many gods and, as a result of her loneliness, she became close friends with Hestia. Artemis met her several times and, learning that Hephaestus character wasmendable, they too became rather close. It was a tragedy that Hephaestus was actually a very beautiful woman but had been afflicted with a curse, rumored to have been bestowed upon her by the collective envy of every other forging god. Since she was able to create artifacts that could put to shame the creations of all other gods, many considered it fair that she wore a perpetual blemish on her face...a permanant reminder that, even if her creations seemed perfect, they were the production of a wed goddess... Eons passed and, slowly but surely, changes urred in Heaven, this time resulting from the emergence of sentient creatures within the mortal world. This had brought most ongoing conflicts to a halt as everyone, including Artemis herself, was watching over the mortal world with intrigue. She became fond of the budding hunters and explorers, granting them her blessing so they could safely navigate the forests and walk amongst the animals. Though some hated them, Artemis became very fond of the Beast People that resulted in the unity between their children, the Spirits, and humans. The fact that many surface races ostracized them made Artemis feel a kinship towards these people and, after hundreds of years of careful guidance, Artemis helped to select champions that would help to unite their people in one massive tribe... Eventually, though Heaven was still divided into eight sections, the borders between the regions were almost inconsequential. Most gods freely roamed Heaven, making partnersh.i.p.s with other gods as they interfered with mortal affairs and treated the lower world as a game. Some even had the idea of trying to directly descend, attempting to possess the bodies of High Spirits to serve as their vessels. These first attempts actually had unexpected consequences, chief amongst them being the strengthening of the barrier between the two worlds. Gods lost the ability to directly influence the mortal world and they went to the surviving Elder Gods, pestering them until a solution was found... Using powers that dwarfed anything remotely attainable by younger gods, Ouranos assisted in the creation of a bridge between Heaven and the Mortal World, using the very same bridge that connected the three realms together. To cross into the Mortal World, it was necessary to form an Avatar that could pass through the barrier separating the worlds. This was a simple feat for most gods so, after sealing their Divine Bodies, many curious and perpetually bored gods descended to the mortal world alongside Ouranos. Most of the Olympians also made this journey and, wanting to experience life alongside those she felt a kinship with, Artemis bid farewell to Hestia and descended to the mortal world after things had stabilized a bit... Before descending to the mortal world, Artemis convinced Hermes to escort her away from the main pathway and deposit her on the Dark Continent. She didnt enjoy the politics of the Continent known as Eden and preferred to live alongside the Beast People who worshipped her as one of their patron goddesses. For a time, Artemis enjoyed life as one of the most powerful and influential gods on the Dark Continent, creating a temple with hundreds of female huntresses maintaining her shrine. Unfortunately, as a result of the greedy and whimsical nature of mortals, gathering so many people in one ce, especially on the Dark Continent, drew a lot of attention. Artemis temple was destroyed and, of the more than six-hundred maidens within her shrine, over half had been murdered while the others became war spoils, enved and r.a.p.ed by their would-be conquerers... Enraged by this injustice, Artemis activated her Arcanum in the mortal world and, as a result, a crescent-shaped coast now existed where solidnd used to be. Artemis not only ughtered the people who had defiled her followers, but her defiled followers themselves, praying their souls would be washed and purified before they reincarnated anew. She spent the fifty years after that almost entirely within Hestias Divine Hearth, bing much closer with the diminutive goddess and trying to defend her image within the godlymunity. When her avatar had reformed, Artemis once again descended, this time deciding that her Familia would be much smaller and, instead of staying in one ce and bingcent, they would be a group of wanderers that would help others that needed their assistance... Unlike how she took a backseat role during her previous descent, Artemis was now much more proactive with her Familia. She specifically sought out girls who seemed to have great potential and rtively pure souls. After bestowing her blessing upon them, Artemis would train them as Huntresses as they went around eliminating dangerous beasts and protecting the small viges dotting the Dark Continent. Though it wasnt as extreme as her first time in the mortal world, Artemis Familia slowly grew until they had nearly twenty people, each her beloved and cherished children... While traveling around and helping people, Artemis noticed that several of her children would fall in love with men they ended up saving. She didnt understand how the girls could fall in love so easily but, not wanting to restrict their happiness, Artemis would allow them to leave the Familia if they wanted to seek love. Curiously, the majority of the girls chose to stay within the Familia and Artemis began to appreciate them even more. Though some of them acted very strangely toward her, helping to wash her back and sometimes snuggling up in the same tent, Artemis found theirpanionship veryforting... One day, one of her rtively new Familia members, a Chienthrope woman named Lante, ended up causing a scene by confessing that she had fallen in love with a man after their hands brushed identally. Artemis found this im rather amusing and, though she had intended it to be a jest, told Lante that she should leave the Familia if she desired malepanionship so dearly that a simple touch was enough to set her off. Surprisingly, Lante defended herself rather proactively and went on a long diatribe about the power of love and its ability to change everything, even fate. Artemis found her words strangelypelling, deciding to ask the others within her Familia what they thought about love. To her surprise, causing Artemis to fall into deep reflection, all twentyof her members purported that love wasnt just important, but perhaps the most important thing to experience in life... For quite a while after that confrontation, Artemis brooded over her Familias words and tried to reflect upon their meaning. She realized there was a fair amount of truth contained within their ims, as the emotions she felt towards goddesses like Hestia and Hephaestus were akin to love. Without thepassion and understanding they had shown her, Artemis wasnt confident she could have tolerated the loneliness of existence with just the spirits. She also realized that even her bond with the animalpanions she kept was another form of love, just that she had never treated it in that fashion... Since her children were very loyal to her, choosing to stay within the Familia instead of seeking out love, Artemis began to wonder if she needed to change her ways. She started to harbor thoughts that love might be one of the things she had been missing throughout her long existence and, remembering Hestias words about family, Artemis began wondering what it would be like to have her own, at least for a short while. However, as if some form of divine objection to these thoughts, Artemis noticed that a powerful aura began to rise up from the end of the Continent. Since she had watched the conflict against Antares in the past, Artemis believed its seal could be weakening and used an oracle to contact the Guild to request assistance in an investigation... Hermes, one of the people she truly didnt want to see with her conflicted state of mind, ended up being the one to show up. Artemis felt like he could see through her thoughts and she became very defensive about everything he said, each word grating against her patience. She wanted to end the investigation as quickly as possible so he would leave, taking her entire Familia along to Elsos Ruins to expedite the process. Things were going rtively smoothly and, after only a few hours of searching, they found a massive scorpion-like monster sealed away within the heart of the ruins. Fortunately, the seal seemed to still be in ce so Artemismanded her Familia to prepare for a ritual that would allow them to strengthen the seal until a more permanant solution could be found. Once everything was set up, Artemis stepped forward to recite a long incantation in thenguage of the gods, her entire Familia watching with intrigue. However, at the very moment she opened her mouth to speak the first word, Artemis heard a scream from Rethusa, the Captain of her Familia, and opened her eyes to see the massive maw of Antares closing around her. She tried to activate her Arcanum out of instinct but, before she couldmand the power, her Arcanum crystallized and formed a prison around her avatar, one which was directly linked with the Antares magic core. Panic set in Artemis mind as she tried to muster up as much power as possible, only serving to strength Antares further as it began ughtering her Familia. Unable to move, Artemis could only scream out in her mind while tears pooled at her face, watching as each member of her Familia was brutally murdered by the monster...using the very power she mustered to try and protect them. In less than a minute, the only two members of her Familia were brave and love-sick Lante and her uncharacteristically terrified Captain, Rethusa. Thetter ran for the doors, now barred by crystallized ck tendrils, while Lante ran forward and cried out, trying to rescue Artemis from the Antares grasp. Artemis wanted to cry out, telling Lante to run, but her voice was trapped within her immobile body as Antares impaled the young Chienthrope through the abdomen. Even so, Lante didnt immediately die, tears running down her face as blood pooled at the edge of her lips, muttering, "Artemis-sama...I...love..." Before she was able to finish her words, Lantes eyes darkened as the life faded from the body. However, falling out from her clenched hand, there was a dark-red magic core that began to radiate with a vibrant light. Lante had a rare skill that allowed her to destabilize the mana within magic cores, using them as powerful explosives. The magic core exploded, fracturing the crystallized Arcanum just enough for Artemis to fragment a piece of her Arcanum, forming a single arrow that embedded itself into the wall. Almost immediately thereafter, Hermes appeared, grabbing the arrow with a solemn and pained expression. Artemis used the remnants of her consciousness to send him a message, asking him to seek out someone pure-hearted to carry the burden of ying her with the arrow. Without waiting for a response, she converged as much of her power as she was able, trying to seal it away so Antares couldnt use it to wreak havoc anymore. Thest thing she heard was the roar of Antares, the scream of Rethusa, and the muted sobs of her own soul crying out at the loss of her children... (A/N: This chapter was a doozey so I decided to take a break after it was written. Next chapter would have been a massive cliff so I will probably release 6 tomorrow, unless some of the chapters get long. This one was over 4k words and I needed a break after writing so many heartbreaking things T_T...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Zeus, egotistical sc.u.m from the start...,Hestia is Bestia...,Oh no...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 854 - Believe

Chapter 854 - Believe

After what felt like an unbelievably long period of time, the darkness clouding Vahns mind faded away, reced by the appearance of the curious Artemis looking back at him. She was still wearing only the cloak he had wrapped around her body, causing Vahn to blink a few times to collect himself before saying, "You have gone through a lot, Artemis...I..." It was always very difficult to experience the [Hearts Desire] of a goddess and Vahn could still feel the echoes of her pain and anxiety. He was ustomed to the feeling of loneliness that gods would experience but this was the first time, even from his own perspective, where he had felt genuine loss...it was one of the most painful things he had ever experienced... Just as he lowered his head in thought, Vahn found a pair of pristine white arms wrap around his head before two inordinately soft and warm cushions enveloped his face. He didnt need to open he eyes to know that Artemis had hugged him into her b.r.e.a.s.ts and, though he had tried to keep a sense of propriety between them earlier, Vahn didnt care about that right now. For the time being, thefort of another person was almost enough to bring him to tears and, knowing that Artemis had been experiencing the same thing, Vahn tightly wrapped his arms around her in return... Back in the Dungeon, Vahn had been sitting in the area above the encampment, watching over the construction efforts with Fenrir sitting in hisp. Her ears had twitched the moment he exited the [Hearts Desire] and he was now hugging her body as well, wanting to ease the feeling of intense loss that still existed within his mind. She didnt offer anyints and instead altered her body to be fluffier as she began lightly patting his head, saying, "There, there, everything will be okay, Master..." Vahn nodded his head, knowing this to be the truth but still saying, "For now, I just want to stay like this..." In response, Fenrir released a quiet Nn before whispering, "As long as it takes...Fenrir will be here with Master..." For the better part of an hour, Vahn foundfort in the two girls and did his best to return that samefort to them. This was especially the case for Artemis, who he knew must be suffering a great deal since it was her pain that had influenced him so greatly. Their positions slowly reversed as the time had passed, now with Artemis resting her head on his shoulder as Vahn slowly and gentlybed his fingers through her hair while lightly stroking her back. At one point, she had started crying very silently so Vahn had started humming the same tune that Tiona often hummed in the past. He had stolen the tune from her, often using it when he was cradling his children and spending time within the maternity ward... Vahn always felt the tune had a calming effect and,bined with his [Grooming], hoped it was enough to ease the burden on Artemis heart, at least a little. At the same time, he wondered what exactly he could do to make her desire a reality. There were obvious things, such as defeating Antares and freeing her, but Vahn felt like the thing she genuinely sought, at least for the time being, was salvation for her children. With the [Tears of the Moon Goddess], it might be possible to resurrect one of them...if so much time hadnt already passed. The soul in a persons body, and the attached ego, wouldnt linger for long around their corpse. Though there could be something anchoring them there for a few hours, it was extremely unlikely that any souls attachment to the world would persist for several days... Since he couldnt save her former family, Vahn felt that incorporating Artemis into his own would be the next best thing. Even if he couldnt heal her heart on his own, existences like Hestia and Hephaestus would undoubtedly help Artemis regain her happiness. As a goddess, Artemis knew how the cycle of souls worked and she would eventually be able to move on from the loss she had suffered. By interacting with the children around the Manor, or perhaps having one of her own, Vahn believed her smile would return in full one day...as they already had a promise of 10,000 years of love, Vahn swore to make those years happy... As if she could feel his resolve, Artemis raised her face, crystalline green eyes still moist with her tears as she said, "Hestia was right...it is a very liberating thing, knowing there is at least one person in the world that can truly empathize with you...thank you, Vahn, for being sad on my behalf..." Artemis wasnt sure exactly how much Vahn had seen in the [Hearts Desire], but she knew it was supposed to be all of the significant events from her past. There werent many memories she kept close at heart but those that left the deepest impression were undoubtedly very lonely. Knowing that he had shared those painful memories with her, fully understanding of what she had gone through, Artemis suddenly felt much closer to him... Without putting much thought into the action, Artemis brought her left hand to the side of Vahns face and leaned in, ovepping their lips once again. This time, she wasnt as fl.u.s.tered as before so they ended up in a gentle and loving embrace with Vahn slowly taking the lead and guiding her tongue with his own. Artemis heart began to beat very rapidly but, at the same time, there was a sense of peace with her heart that hadnt been present before. She felt incrediblefort in Vahns arms as the inhibitions that had been present within her mind for eons slowly faded away...reced by feelings of warmth and security. Artemis knew that Vahn would never hurt her, nor would he take advantage of the memories they now shared...it was a very freeing realization. Vahn knew that, though she would likely agree if he asked, Artemis wasnt ready for something like s.e.x. Until he could make her happy naturally, Vahn swore he wouldnt push Artemis to do something she wasnt wholly prepared for. At the same time, however, he knew that she sought a greater sense of closeness and, perhaps for the first time in her life, genuinely wanted to be desired by another person. As a result, Vahn let his hands roam while gently peppering her neck corbone, and shoulders with his kisses. He made sure to moderate his actions but, until the time that Fafnir sent a small whisper into his mind, Vahn continued to shorten the distance between himself and Artemis... When Fafnir gently touched down on the ground, Artemis didnt seem to notice they had arrived at all, neck craned to the side as she released a hot sigh. Her left hand was clutching Vahns hair as he kissed around the connective tissue between her left b.r.e.a.s.t and shoulder. Their intimate act had gone on for well over four hours and Artemis aura was now a deep red that clung to his body like a shroud. During that entire time, Vahn never did anything more than holding her in his embrace, touching her back and sides without once deviating to attend her b.r.e.a.s.ts and the sacred wellspring below. Now, when he brought his head up, peering into her dazed expression, Vahn saw a very different kind of hope in Artemis eyes that brought a smile to his face as he said, "Weve arrived..." Artemis blinked slowly, clearly confused as she looked around at the surroundings and saw wild trees and various other types of flora in the surroundings. Realizing where they were, she released a long and hot sigh before resting her head against Vahns chest and saying, "I never knew...is this why people are so drawn to love...?" Though she wasnt looking at his face, Vahn shook his head and tightly embraced Artemis body as he said, "This is intimacy...something that you should only share with those you love and have a physical attraction to. As for love itself...it is a veryplex emotion that can have as many different forms as there are people and gods in the world...only you can answer the question of what love means to you...for me, love is the sincere desire to protect others and ensure they can live happy lives. Even if I had to shoulder the weight of Heaven itself, I would do so if it could make the lives of my loved ones easier..." Vahn knew that Artemis form of love actually matched his own a great deal, as she had always lived to protect others and had always been drawn to the close kinship of Beast People. He had experienced the long periods of time when she watched over the ancient beast tribes, longing for the same closeness members of the same tribe generally shared with each other. Gods in Heaven didnt have this same level of closeness and the only truepanion she had ever found within Heaven was Hestia, a Goddess of Family...in a way, Artemis was very simr to him, desiring a family of her own and simplycking an understanding of how to obtain it after the trauma she had experienced during her creation... For several minutes, Artemis rested against Vahns chest as her aura slowly stabilized, bing a sunny yellow with small strands of purple and dark blue mixed in. She knew that Vahns fight with Antares was going to take ce much sooner than expected and, though her trust in him had already reached an extreme, Artemis was still worried. If possible, she would like to spend the next week with him so they could be even closer...then, even if he wasnt able to save her, the feelings they shared may be strong enough to significantly reduce the amount of time it takes her to reform... Though he wasnt trying to rush Artemis, Vahn knew he needed time toe up with a solution so he gently separated her from his body, a soft smile on his face as he whispered, "We must go, Artemis...your children are still waiting for us...I dont want to leave them there with that monster for even a moment longer..." Because of how important they were to her, Vahn had experienced several years worth of Artemis memories with her Familia. He felt close with all twenty members, knowing each of their quirks and names by heart. Knowing they wereying on that cold stone floor, surrounded by darkness without having a proper burial...it was uneptable. His words were enough to make Artemis aura re up, a light of conviction within her eyes as she nodded in agreement, saying, "Youre right, Vahn. We cant leave them with that monster...!" In an effort to increase the bond between her and Vahn, Artemis had been trying her best not to think about anything other than the present moment. However, Vahns words had reminded her of the reality of the situation and, imagining her childrenying on the ground within the presence of that monster filled her with indignation. They were all great girls who deserved much better than how they had been treated...they should have been able to live free and happy lives, just as Vahn wanted for everyone...she should have supported their love and allowed them to stretch their wings... Sensing that Artemis was starting to lose herself in negativity, Vahn plopped his hand onto her head and reminded, "Change into your raiment, Artemis...youll need to direct Fafnir towards the location of the Elsos Ruins..." Though Vahn had a map of the Dark Continent, the Elsos Ruins simply werent listed anywhere, even after purchasing one-hundred different maps. It was possible that maps were an advancement that hadnt existed during the time of its construction and, considering that it would probably be destroyed after Antares awakening, not being listed on generic maps wasnt that difficult to rationalize... Artemis looked down at her figure, noticing several red marks where Vahn had kissed her bare skin. Her face immediately felt hot and she quickly brought her hands together, manifesting her raiment as Vahn watched with unconcealed intrigue. The raiment of a god was something he still hadnt been able toprehend as each goddess had a different way of manifesting theirs. Hestias took on the form of petals, Hephaestus would have mes snake across her body before taking shape, and Lokis had an inky liquid that would cover her body before solidifying. Though there were examples like Freya, who had a very simr mechanism to Hestia, the ways in which a raiment would manifest were distinct and, for the moment, indecipherable... Once Artemis was fully clothed, it was as if the atmosphere around her body had changed entirely. While n.a.k.e.d, though she was incredibly mature and alluring, Artemis felt very frail and stirred up Vahns desire to protect. Now that she was wearing her raiment, Artemis had the aura of a warrior and her disposition turned calm and stoic. Vahn knew that clothes could really change a person, as he had experienced it himself multiple times in the past, so this wasnt too surprising. He did, however, wonder what kind of feeling Artemis would give off if she were to wear elegant or cute clothing...both seemed very suitable for her. Unaware of what Vahn was thinking, Artemis walked over to where her dagger was located and gingerly picked it up after Fafnirs scales moved aside. After fixing it to her belt, she smiled gently and stroked Fafnirs back, saying, "Thank you for keeping it safe...this dagger is very precious to me..." A thunderous rumble emerged from Fafnirs throat as it was very pleased by Artemis praise, telepathically eximing, "You are very wee, Artemis~!" These words caused Artemis smile to broaden but Vahn hadnt missed the fluctuation in her aura that indicated she was a little embarrassed. As for the reason, Artemis had turned her head to the side where she and Vahn had been sitting previously... Having already arrived at her side, Vahn ced his hand naturally around Artemis waist and said, "Youll have to guide Fafnir from here onwards...you know the way, correct...?" Though there was a very subtle blush on her cheeks, Artemis leaned into Vahn and said, "Yes...it is on the north-western end of the Dark Continent...as we get closer, Im certain the route will be clear..." Vahn nodded his head and put a bit of strength in the hand around Artemis waist as he said, "Do not waver, Artemis...remember Lantes words and believe in the power of love...as for everything else...you can leave that to me..." (A/N: The sad little trolls with nothing better to do with their lives have added even more tags to the novel xD. Its always interesting to see how willingly people undermine their own integrity over such petty things on the inte. Also, 2 hours between chapters today. I got a 4.5-hourte start because of rolling ckouts that have been happening near me in the early hours of the morning.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Loss...,Intimacy...,The Power of Love...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 855 - Hope

Chapter 855 - Hope

For an additional three hours, Vahn and Artemis sat together as Fafnir continued toward the location of the Elsos ruins. Though she didnt need to eat in her current state, Vahn set out a variety of different foods for Artemis to sample while he sent threads of Source Energy into her body. So long as he was careful with the flow, it was beyond the detection ability of almost any other entity as Source was a concept far beyond their understanding. If he used it normally, people would misunderstand it as the highest form of energy within the record, this case being Divine. Vahn, however, unable to manifest his energy easily in the world, had instead focused on developing subtlety after bing a little too ustomed to touching the bodies of other people. Ever since he had learned about Petting Laws, Vahn had actually harbored a slight impulse to reach the pinnacle of petting, as the amount offort he could bring to others would constantly increase. Since he didnt want to bother people too much, Vahn had endeavored to try and make the influence of his skills almost undetectable. Though it could be misconstrued as trying to manipte people, Vahn was confident that anyone bearing such thoughts would never be able to develop pettingws to the same extent. His only desire was to help bringfort to people, even though he was also prone to fusing his Petting Laws with skills like [Hands of Nirvana] to achieve very different effects on asion... As a result of what could equate to decades of consistent effort, Vahns ability to manipte the Source Energy in his body and keep it in a state that others could detect had greatly increased. Now, he was using it to stabilize this faux-avatar of Artemis since it may be necessary when he freed her main body from Antares. Vahn now understood why she and Hermes thought death was the only solution, as Artemis had essentially fused together with Antares. Though her ego was untouched, the Divinity thatprised Artemis was now linked with Antares, giving them a very simr rtionship as Hephaestus and the Eternal me. Even if Vahn separated Artemis from Antares, it would still be able to use her Arcanum to wreak havoc upon the mortal world, all while Artemis would be sealed away. Antares was currently siphoning as much of her power as possible, making her essentially a battery that would power its rampage indefinitely, all while it was wholly indestructible. Even Artemis body, after fully manifesting her Arcanum, was impervious to damage so long as the entity trying to harm her didnt exceed Tier 4. Other gods would be able to activate their Arcanum to damage her, but it wouldnt be enough before their body was returned to Heaven, resulting in Artemis healing almost instantly... Under normal circ.u.mstances, the only possible solution was to destroy Artemis body using the [Arrow of the Orion], as her Arcanum had no defense against itself. Vahn, however, was so far removed from normalcy that he actually had several possible solutions. If it truly came down to destroying her body, the number of methods he could make use of were functionally infinite. It was marginally more difficult to save her but, with an item like the [Fate Severing Knife] collecting dust within his Inventory, Vahn had at least one guaranteed method. Though he would look into other solutions, he had resolved himself to using this inarguably broken item to severe the connection between Artemis and Antares... Vahn had no idea what would happen to Artemis when the link between her an Antares was broken so he was strengthening her faux-avatar as much as possible before then. Hopefully, he would be able to recover her main body and fuse the two of them together before severing their fate. At the same time, he hoped that their fate wasnt intrinsically tied to their Divinity, even though logic told him this was undoubtedly the case. Artemis may very well lose her Divinity in the process but, so long as she had an indestructible body and maintained her ego, Vahn was certain everything would resolve in a positive manner...even if things became troublesome within the godlymunity. As they approached the location of the Elsos Ruins, Vahn understood why Artemis said it would be obvious they were nearing their destination. There was a very oppressive and malevolent aura spreading through thend, even though it also contained the purity and radiance of a god. Though Artemis had sealed as much of her Arcanum as possible, Antares was slowly siphoning more of her power and even the ambient aura was tremendous. The Mortal World simply wasnt suited to withstanding the existence of a Tier 4 entity and Vahn could feel the Elemental Energy in the world breaking down as the void itself became chaotic... Artemis had risen to her feet to look at thendscape below, currently appearing no different than it had in the past,menting, "It may truly be a blessing that we have arrived much earlier than nned...the number of innocent lives my power would have imed will be greatly mitigated..." The number of small viges around the Elsos Ruins numbered less than three as the increased mana density caused the strength of monsters to increase exponentially. Though some brave souls would venture into the various ruins and temples located around the Dark Continent, no one was foolish enough to live within close proximity. Since it had been less than three days since the incident, the influence of her Arcanum on the world wasnt nearly as bad as it could have been if they had waited... Vahn walked behind Artemis, wrapping his hands around her waist and kissing the back of her head before saying, "Dont worry about such things...from this point onward, it is not my duty to bring about a happy ending, not just for you, but for everyone affected by this event...in the future, lets send an expedition to the Dark Continent to help build a realmunity in this inhospitable ce. For those that want to return to Eden, we will make a world that is more willing to ept their differences..." When she heard this, Artemis body tensed up for a moment before she entrusted her back against Vahns chest and simply intoned acent Nn. Once they had picked up the trail, locating the Elsos Ruins had taken less than five minutes, bringing into view arge ptial temple. This was one of the few ces in history where a Great Spirit had resided, making it a home for High Spirits and a now extinct species known as the Disir. They were a people that had never numbered more than a thousand, possessing an affinity with time and sealing that earned them the attention of many gods in the Ancient Times. Though they were incapable of reproducing, members of their species would simply appear one day, already possessing great knowledge and wisdom. They were a race of Schrs who, much like the Ancient Elves, created several powerful magic, mostly rted to sealing. When Antares had burrowed up from the heart of the Dark Continent, the leader of the Disir, the Great Spirit of Time, Osma, worked alongside his people to perform a powerful sealing art that had held the monstrous entity for more than six-thousand years... Seeing the ancient spires and the timeless city that had withstood the millennia in silence, Vahn couldnt help but admire the now-extinct people for their determination and sacrifice. If not for the oppressive atmosphere that forced him to activate his [Will of the Emperor], he would have liked to explore the Ruins for a bit. Now, however, he had business with the monstrosity beneath the City and intended to bring a proper resolution to these events. He gave Artemis another long embrace, whispering, "Let me show you the result of cing your trust in me, Artemis..." After releasing her body, Vahn levitated away from Fafnir and began chanting, "Come from the void, oh thunder, and cut down my enemy! Axe of God~! Fixate, Seize, Load Magic, Thunder Emperor~!" A massive amount of Lightning Elemental energy had condensed in Vahns hand before he reabsorbed it into his body with [Magia Erebea]. This was still his most powerful form and, with his main body meditating and feeding his energy reserves, Vahn could maintain it for a few hours if he didnt do anything shy. Artemis was shocked by Vahns sudden transformation, feeling the energy radiating from his body as his [Will of the Emperor] began rapidly converging the external energy in the atmosphere toward him. Even the ambient energy of her Arcanum wasnt spared, something that hadnt gone unnoticed by her as she absentmindedly muttered, "How...?" Vahn, unaware of the true question on Artemis mind, just winked toward her and said, "There is no such thing as impossible, especially when concerning love..." This caused her eyes to widen as her heart began to beat rapidly in her chest; she had taken Vahns words a little too seriously and genuinely believed it was love that gave him the ability to absorb her Arcanum... Since he couldnt exactly hold onto her in this form, Vahn used telekinesis to help Artemis descend to the ground as Fafnir assumed its human form and dove into her shadow. Even before they had reached the entrance to the underground sealing array, Vahn had sensed hundreds of presences skulking about in the ruins that had started to converge toward them. Artemis had detected them as well, pulling out her bow and preparing for battle until Vahn shook his head and said, "That isnt necessary...you entrusted this matter to me so I will deal with them, Artemis..." Shortly after his words fell, a 3m long crystalline ck scorpion that was covered in strange red runes broke through the nearby wall,unching towards them with murderous intent. Vahn lifted his index finger, sending an arc of electricity through the air that caused the monster to turn into dust. Lightning was a natural counter to most malevolent energies and had a purification effect on creatures that had been corrupted by Divinity. These monsters were wholly unprepared for an existence like Vahn, unable to even approach within a kilometer of their position after he began infusing Lightning Elemental energy directly into his domain. Artemis, bow in hand, continued to follow behind Vahn was a dull expression that slowly turned into a gratified smile. Things werent going as she had expected, almost to the point that this threat seemed negligible with Vahn around. This made her feel a great deal of relief, the bonfire in her heart having long be an inferno after being exposed to this peculiar boy for less than a day. Though part of her questioned why she had waited so long to fall in love, another part of Artemis was grateful she had been patient enough to hold out until meeting Vahn... Though he could have reached Antares in an instant, Vahn made slow progress through the catbs since he didnt want to identally destroy the Ruins and potentially harm the bodies of Artemis Familia. They had plenty of time to deal with Antares and it shouldnt even be able to move while trying to wrest Artemis Arcanum from her sealed body. Vahn had already peeked at it with his [Eyes of Truth], finding a massive four-armed scorpion-like monster. It was ten meters tall and had a body that was nearly 15m in length that wasprised of six segmented legs and a long tail with a very lethal looking stinger. Its offensive weapons were a pair of six pincers, including two pairs on its four segmented arms that allowed it to have a greater reach. All over its crystalline ck body, it had the same red runes as the monsters obstructing their path. However, at the very center of its chest, there was a very different energy that emanated from one of thergest magical cores that Vahn had ever seen. The size of a magic/monster core depending on the amount of mana contained within and, beingprised of the Arcanum of a goddess, this particr core was more than 2m tall, 1.5m in diameter, andprised of a pure blue that was unlike any core in existence...it was actually very beautiful, though this wasrgely in part due to the n.a.k.e.d Artemis contained within... Antares seemed to be aware of their presence as well, though it wasnt reacting to being peaked at by Vahns [Eyes of Truth]. Instead, it was sending out tendrils of ck crystal from its body that burrowed into the surrounding walls, floor, and ceiling. Vahn could see the tendrils branching out, stabbing into various animals and converting them into the monster scorpions that had been sent to attack them. Fortunately, it wasnt trying to target the bodies of the Artemis Familia members, which were strangely preserved without any signs of rot. When Vahn had seen the state of their bodies, he felt a powerful mncholy for a brief moment but it was quickly reced by a slight bit of expectation... Though it had been more than three days since they had died, some of the girls still had signs of blood that hadnt even dried yet. It seemed that that same sealing effect that had been preserving the Elsos Ruins themselves was affecting the bodies of the girls as well. Either that, or the flow of time within this ce waspletely different than the outside world, even though he hadnt noticed it with the influence of Antares aura. The fact that these stone structures had stood for more than six-thousand years without breaking down, even with the extreme weather of the Dark Continent, showed that there was certainly something going on that he would need to look into after this matter was resolved... He didnt want to get her hopes up, but Vahns feet slowed to a stop as he exined, "There is a strange phenomenon going on here...it may not be impossible to save some of your children, Artemis..." This caused the smile that Artemis had developed to melt away as an expression of abject shock emerged to rece it, followed by her eximing, "Is that true, Vahn!? Please, if its possible...I...!" Since she had tried to get close to him, Vahn had to side-step to avoid Artemis as he held up his hands and said, "Artemis, you need to remain calm...my body cant be touched in this state without causing harm to others. For now, just listen to me very closely..." Artemis didnt even consider for a moment that Vahn was trying to trick her, relief and excitement welling up inside her as she said, "Please, tell me what I need to do...I will do anything..." Hearing this, Vahn allowed a natural smile to spread across his lips as he said, "It may not make sense right now...but you just need to love me even more..." Vahn was about to exin the effect of the [Tears of the Moon Goddess] but, as soon as Artemis heard the first part of his exnation, a system notification had appeared in his mind that caused him to swallow on instinct... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //[Hearts Desire: Artemis] Quest Requirements Have Been Voided// //[Artemis] Affection Has Broken Through Restrictions. Extra Parameter Love Unlocked.// [Artemis]: Love: 439,109,779(Eternal Love) //Bond Established with [Artemis]// //Optional Quest(s) Triggered// //[Hearts Desire: Artemis] Evolved into [Salvation of the Moon Goddess]// [Quest: Salvation of the Moon Goddess] Rank: SSS Objective: Liberate [Artemis] from Antares(0/1), Restore the Bodies of Artemis Familia Members To A Complete State(0/19), Perform Nirvana Rebirth on Artemis Familia Members(0/19) Optional Objectives: Save Lante(0/1) Rewards: 10,000,000OP, 3x[Unique Gacha Coupon] Failure Condition(s): Death, Artemis Death, Antares Complete Awakening Penalty: 30,000 Karma, Curse: [Moons Mourning] In Effect Until Leaving Record [Moons Mourning] Effect: So long as the moon is present in the night sky, suffer a status debuff equivalent to the phase of the moon. During a full moon, those under the effect of this curse have their parameterspletely sealed. [Quest: Origin of Heroes] Rank: SS-SSS Objective: I.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Artemis (0). Ensure a safe delivery Rewards: 1,000,000 OP, 1x [Guardian:(Nameless)], 1x [Heroic Tale] Failure Condition(s): Death, Artemis Death, (Nameless) Childs Death Penalty: 439,108,779 Karma (0) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn wants to be the God of Petting~!,The Emperor Descends...,Is this the power of love!?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 856 - Limits

Chapter 856 - Limits

Though he had been surprised by the system notifications at first, Vahn felt the urge tough out when he read the information contained within. He knew The Path would give him a way forward and, as his highest priority right now was saving Artemis, the quests had changed to meet the circ.u.mstances. After this event came to an end, Vahn was determined to get a better grasp of his Quest function and see if he couldnt use it to gain more benefits, specifically those that would grant him more Unique items. They often had effects that ran contrary to the restrictions of the record itself and Vahn wanted to get a better understanding of how he may one day make his own Unique items... Artemis was aware of the bond she now shared with Vahn, causing her to tilt her head to the side before a loving smile spread across her face. Vahn felt his heart flutter upon witnessing this, earning him a smallugh from Artemis as she ced her hand above her own heart, saying, "This feeling...is this the power of love...?" Though she was detached from her main body, Artemis could feel a very powerful bond between her and Vahn that had embedded itself within her very soul. It was like a part of him was now inside of her, filling a hole she had never known existed and making her feel moreplete in this one moment than the 349 million preceding years... Vahn felt like Artemis words had hit the nail on the head, nodding as he said, "Love is an amazing thing. Now, lets go save your children..." Artemis eyes widened slightly when she heard this before the most beautiful smile he had ever seen upon her face revealed itself. Vahn found it hard to look at such a radiant smile but couldnt avert his eyes even a single micrometer as she said, "I believe in you, Vahn...when all of this is over...I..." At this point, Vahns heart felt like a drum that was being beaten by an entire battalion of Amazonesses as Artemis stepped towards him, hands together as if she were praying. She stopped right outside the minimum range of Lightning Energy shrouding his body, a natural blush on her cheeks as she said, "I want to try and have a real family next time..." Even without willing himself to do so, Vahn found his head nodding in response to Artemis as he uttered an affirmative Nn. Though she didnt actually use any kind ofpulsion against him, Vahn found himself fundamentally unable to refuse such words from someone possessing the Eternal Love parameter. Ten thousand years was already a long time but, now that Artemis obtained that particr parameter, Vahn knew their rtionship would continue for an iprehensibly long period of time. Even if he had been a normal mortal that went through the cycle of reincarnation, Artemis would have certainly followed each of his incarnations, no matter how much time passed... Now, fired up even more than he had been previously, Vahn entered into the massive stone chamber where Antares had been sealed. Rethusas body had been impaled on the other side of the door so Vahn had to make an entrance of his own since he couldnt store their bodies into his Inventory without their soul and ego leaving. The fact that he could still use Nirvana Rebirth on them meant that they actually hadnt been dead for very long. Though he wasnt sure if it was rted to the seal, the flow of time in these Ruins was vastly different than the outside world, growing progressively more stagnant as they approached Antares... His guess was that the Disir had incorporated some form of temporal distortion to give themselves more time toe up with solutions to deal with Antares. He even started to suspect that the surrounding structures were built after Antares was trapped within the formation as the seal was part of the architecture itself. There was no way they would have been able toe up with an underground seal that would have allowed them to lure and trap Antares, meaning they must have used a very powerful time magic to buy time before putting the seal into ce...it was honestly quite terrifying since his connection with his real body would have beenpletely severed if not for the fact that he was in a very deep meditation... From the moment they entered into the room, the aura around Antares increased greatly as crystalline ck tendrils shot towards them. It wasnt able to move right now but that didnt stop it from using the strange tendrils from its body as a defensive mechanism. Fortunately, unlike its main body, these tendrils didnt possess the indestructible quality so Vahn simply held out his hand and sent Lightning Elemental energy racing through them. They immediately broke down into dust fragments as Vahn inspected Antares more closely with his [Eyes of Truth]. Though the power it possessed was unlike anything he had ever seen, Antares current state meant it wouldnt even be a threat to a decently strong Level 3... Feeling that he had overprepared for this fight, Vahn sighed within his mind as the surrounding air became suffused with a golden hue. Artemis felt her skin crawl as an instinctual fear welled up inside of her heart but,pared to the trust and faith she had in Vahn, this was nothing. She watched with intrigue as several resplendent gold chains emerged from the void and began entwining around the immobile Antares. For a brief moment, it actually stopped absorbing her Arcanum and tried to resist the chains but it was already far toote. By the moment [Enkidu] had entwined around its body, the oppressive aura in the air hadpletely vanished, the ambient Arcanum now restrainedpletely. Vahn released a sigh and allowed his Thunder Emperor to fade away since he needed to keep his focus and conserve his Source Energy reserves. To make sure he wasnt in danger of running low, Vahn ingested a few mana potions before turning to Artemis and saying, "We need to deal with your Familia before trying to recover your main body. Time flows differently within these ruins so the girls arent beyond hope of a full recovery. Ill heal their bodies and then restart their hearts using one of my unique abilities..." Even as he was speaking, Vahn was sending energy through his domain, revitalizing the damaged tissue of the girls and gingerly moving them over with his telekinesis. Artemis was very confused by the situation but she could feel the confidenceing from Vahn, helping her remain calm as she eyed Antares while asking, "Is there anything I can do...?" Seeing her dead Familia members floating through the air caused Artemis heart to twinge in pain and regret, at least until Vahn said, "Make sure their Falna is still present and, if it is weakening, strengthen it with your remaining Arcanum." Vahn pulled out the [Arrow of Orion], handing it over to Artemis since it was the source of her power, minus his own Source Energy supplements. Though Artemis was worried that using up the power in the arrow might make this an unwinnable fight, the chains Vahn had brought out gave her the confidence to convert the remnant Arcanum into her own energy. Antares released a shrill growl but it couldnt even move a single millimeter under the influence of [Enkidu]. It couldnt even send any signals out to the monsters it had converted since Vahn had destroyed all of the tendrils it had produced beforehand. Other than screaming while trying to resist against the chains with its physical might, Antares was stuck watching the procedures. Unfortunately for it, as Vahn had created a soundproof barrier around the girls, even this was an ultimately futile action... He had seen them all within Artemis [Hearts Desire], but Vahn couldnt help but note that she had a knack for finding beautiful women to recruit into her Familia. Though they all had athletic and mature figures, honed over years of hunting and fighting in the wilderness, Vahn found their physical appearances very appealing. Given the circ.u.mstances, he was certain many of them would follow after Artemis when they returned to Eden and, unless he actively tried to avoid such a development, it was almost as probable that they would be attached to him...well, having more retainers wasnt exactly a bad thing... After healing their bodies, most of the girls looked like they were simply sleeping, so long as you ignored the tattered clothes, blood, and grime. Vahn turned to Artemis at this point, saying, "Im going to have to undress them for this next part...dont think less of me, this is purely a..." Artemis had giggled lightly, causing Vahns words to trail off as she said, "You know, I can sense your thoughts and the stirring of your heart, Vahn...its fine, Im certain these girls wouldnt mind at all..." During the moment when Vahn was thinking about inevitabilities, Artemis had been able to sense the change in his thought process and joined him in thinking about how the girls might react once they discovered their lives had been saved by such a handsome and capable man... To make sure they wouldnt be disturbed, Vahn began to set up some semi-permanant barriers but was interrupted when Artemis asked, "Vahn...what about Lante...?" There was a tremble in Artemis voice as she asked this since she could still vividly remember the explosion that had been set off before she had tried to seal her Arcanum. Only neen of her Familia were present within the barrier Vahn was setting up and it caused her legs to feel weak as she waited for his answer. When he was quiet for several seconds, Artemis legs nearly gave out, only to find herself falling into Vahns arms as he said, "It seems that I almost did things out of order...thank you for speaking out when you did, Artemis..." Artemis was a little confused as Vahn set out a cushion and guided her to sit upon it before brushing her hair with his fingers as he said, "Im going to separate your main body from Antares. I do not know exactly what will happen, but never stop believing...understand...?" Feeling the soothing energy entering into her mind, Artemis absentmindedly nodded her head and said, "I believe..." in an almost inaudible voice. Momentster, though sleep impossible in this form, Artemis found herself fading into unconsciousness. She knew this would normally be a terrible development but didnt resist at all, cing her full trust in Vahn... The moment Artemis consciousness faded, Vahn felt the energy in her body try to dissipate but he instantly prevented this by cing her into his Inventory. She had only been able to keep her faux-avatar active by willing herself to exist so, after removing her consciousness, it was impossible to keep her form. Now, the only Artemis remaining was the one sealed away within the massive crystal located within Antares chest cavity. Vahn could see her eyelids flicker slightly as the bond between them persisted, allowing them to feel the love each had for the other... Deciding Artemis had suffered far too long already, Vahn pulled out the barrier artifact that Terra had given to him. Normally, he would power it on his own but, with so many unknown variables to deal with, Vahn pulled out a blood-red crystal and embedded it into the battery slot. Since his blood was one of the most powerful sources of energy avable, Vahn had a few painfully constructed [Source Energy Crystals] that could power formations for up to 24 hours. It was one of the greatest exploits he had discovered, even if they could only remain outside of his Inventory for 24 hours and would shatter after a single use... After the emerald green barrier came into existence, capable of blocking even the Tier 5 Evas spells for a short while, Vahn popped his neck and stepped outside. Antares couldnt put up any resistance right now but there was also no guarantee it would die after he severed its connection with Artemis. If it was still a Tier 4 entity, he would have to do something about it since it wasnt practical to keep it ensnared with [Enkidu]. He was also hoping to be able to release some of the pent up frustrations he had right now and wanted to break the massive monstrosity with his bare hands if the opportunity presented itself... Without wasting any time, Vahn blinked near Antares chest and ced his palm against the vibrant blue crystal that encased Artemis. Since he was no longer in the soundproof barrier, Vahn got to hear the incredibly loud and shrill howl of Antares in close proximity. He countered this by creating a thin film of energy around his body, blocking out external sounds as his hand slowly turned a rainbow hue. Though it shouldnt be possible to use the skill like this, Vahn had experienced having his body changes an incalcble number of times and had absolute confidence he couldpletely ignoremon sense in this case. He was using his [Hands of Nirvana] while at the same time allowing the energy to feed back into his body, almost as if he were absorbing it with [Magia Erebea]. Vahn knew it was possible to match the energy wavelength of a persons body to allow him to safely maneuver his hands through physical matter without any obstruction. Since Source Energyprised up all other forms of energy, Vahn was confident he could match the wavelength of the surrounding crystal and pass through it, indestructible or not... Over the course of twenty minutes, Vahn made absolutely no progress other than having his entire right arm now suffused with a rainbow hue. His hand was now so bright that it was nearly white but he didnt relent for even a single moment. Then, though it was almost indiscernible, Vahn felt his hand sink into the crystal slightly as a system notification sounded in his mind. His [Hands of Nirvana], which had long since reached the peak of mortality, just upgraded to the SSS-Rank. For the first time, Vahn had raised a skill to the very peak of the record through his own effort and perseverance...! As if he had ovee some major threshold, Vahns hand now sunk into the crystal as if he were submerging into water. When it somewhat amusingly tried to siphon off his Source Energy, just as it had been doing to Artemis Arcanum, Vahn nearly burst outughing. It couldnt even drain the Arcanum of a goddess without a serious effort yet it wanted to try and siphon away a form of energy that exceeded, not just the record of Danmachi, but all records. Since this was an energy that belonged solely to him through his union with The Path, Vahn couldnt help but feel a bit of pride for his current aplishment, apanied by a great deal of scorn for Antares... Seemingly without any obstruction, Vahns hand continued forward until it came to rest in the center of Artemis chest. He could feel her body heat through his palm and noticed her eyelids had twitched slightly as the edges of her mouth curled into a smile. It was impossible to remove her body from the crystal under normal means, as she was still wholly physical, but Vahn didnt care about normal means at all. His hand began to deform like a film that slowly spread across Artemis body like a thin membrane. It was objectively a little creepy, as he was essentially shaping his own body into a coon around Artemis body, but it was the best method he could think of for the time being... Though it seemed to be trying to break free from [Enkidu], Antares couldnt do anything as Vahnpletely surrounded Artemis body and extracted it from the crystal. As expected, this didnt actually sever the connection between Artemis and Antares, but it allowed her to open her eyes slightly as she weakly clung to his arm and said, "Youre...full of surprise...haaa..." Vahn smiled in response, pulling out an ornate knife with his left hand as he said, "This next part is where things get interesting...remember, Artemis, never stop believing in me..." To punctuate his words, Vahn leaned in and gave Artemis a kiss, enjoying the umon sweetness of her saliva as he swiped the [Fate Severing Knife] towards Antares... (A/N: Someone pointed this out so, if youre not too busy, feel free to add the NoNetorare, TrollsMakingTags, and NoYaoi tags. A friend of mine actually had the idea of just flooding the novel with tags so people wouldnt treat them seriously at all. After that, I can just add them to the synopsis until QI learns how to make a functional system o3o...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Path Forward Has Been Set...,I Believe In A Thing Called Love~!,RIP Antares-chan...getting bullied really hard) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 857 - Oblivion

Chapter 857 - Oblivion

With the swing of the [Fate Severing Knife], simr energy to that which always shrouded Bellunched itself forward and collided with Antares. Vahn had no idea what would happen but he too believed that intent, this time in the form of love, would tide them through. Even as Artemis body turned into pale-blue light that began to fracture, Vahn adamantly believed everything would be okay. He sent as much Source Energy into her body as she was able to withstand as Antares body became ruby-red, pulling against [Enkidu] with enough physical might to shake the indestructible golden chains. Vahns response to this was tightening them even further, causing simr cracks to those on Artemis to begin appearing on Antares body. Vahn realized that his [Enkidu] was actually preventing the Arcanum from leaking out of Antares but he was afraid that Artemis body would fracturepletely if he loosened the restraints. He wasnt entirely sure what was happening right now and just continued his loving embrace with Artemis, even as fragments of her body vanished into the void. She didnt seem to notice this at all, eyes closed as she clung to his head and reciprocated the kiss that represented their shared hopes. Parts of her body began to ke away even faster so Vahnpacted his domain as if it would seal her within this ce, intertwining with her wavering aura and melding the two energies together... Though they werent having s.e.x, Vahn could feel himself being overwhelmed by Artemis unconstrained Divinity. He could also sense the connection she had with Antares, now appearing like a shattered crystalline bridge the connected the three of them. Vahns rainbow-hued hand, still rich with Source Energy, began to embed itself into Artemis back as, within the mind space they shared, a massive palm appeared out of the void. Vahn reached forward, smashing the bridge to pieces and causing Antares to howl with a void-shattering roar. Though this caused the mindscape to begin breaking down, Vahn took what he felt to be the remnants of Artemis ego into himself and protected them as his mind withstood the brunt of Antares rage. It was very simr to when he had been attacked by the Juggernaut in the past but Vahn was able to protect them both with his [Will of the Emperor], even though rainbow-colored blood began to leak from the sides of his mouth and into Artemis... As if her life depended on it, or perhaps she was just unaware of what was going on, Artemis unhesitantly swallowed Vahns blood. There was already an incredible amount of energy moving through her body but this blood seemed to act like fuel thrown onto a me. Her body suddenly cracked like a pane of ss but, instead of breaking away, these cracks had wisps of rainbow light emanating from them. Slowly but surely, these cracks began to recede as even the broken fragments of her body were regenerated at a slow but discernable rate. Eventually, Artemis glowing blue hair started to turn white on the fringes, though there was still a very subtle hue contained to the light emanating from each individual strand... Though it felt like an eternity, this process had only been going on for three minutes by the time Vahn felt as if the majority of his energy was drained. He had actually bitten through part of his tongue and prevented it from healing just to use his blood as a catalyst. Fortunately, the amount of energy contained within his blood was far more than his own reserves seemed to be, even though it was still under his control. He manipted the source energy to stabilize Artemis fracturing body until the rate of regeneration finally overtook the rate of destruction. At this time, they both opened their eyes and Vahn could now see a gradient of aquamarine in Artemis previously pristine green irises... The light that had been illuminating Artemis slowly began to fade away as thin strands of what appeared to be skin began to cover her n.a.k.e.d body. This was a simr phenomenon to what he had observed with Freya so Vahn felt a great deal of relief as he rested his forehead against hers, a single tear escaping his eye as he muttered, "I love you, Artemis..." In response to this, Artemis giggled lightly, moving her arms to embrace him as she said very matter-of-factly, "I know, Vahn...I can feel it...Ive never felt something so powerful...so warm..." Though the [Fate Severing Knife] had been used in Antares, it still affected Artemis since their Divinities were shared. The bond he had with Artemis, for a brief moment, had also been severed...however, the memories, their shared hopes, all of the things that brought them together, these still remained...Vahn didnt know everything that Artemis had lost after he used the knife but, at the very least, love had kept her from fading away... After a few more minutes, Artemis body had returned to rtive normalcy but, much like Freya, there was now a crescent crest nestled a few centimeters above her b.r.e.a.s.ts. It had a dark blue outline while the interior light emanating from within was pale blue to most, but contained a very slight fragment of rainbow hue from Vahns perspective. She might not be able to sense it, but Vahn could feel his Source Energy coiling around inside of Artemis mana circuits, acting as something akin to the glue holding her body together while it healed. Even after its purpose had been fulfilled, the energy still remained, however, nourishing Artemis body in ways neither of them could imagine... The most notable change to Artemis appearance was that her pale blue hair now appeared somewhat frosted, especially near the tips of her fringe bangs. Her eyes also appeared bluish towards the center now, possessing a simr aquamarine green as his own eyes. Overall, she appeared much the same but, to those that had known her for a long time, the feelinging from her had fundamentally changed. She would also appear markedly more proactive, seeing as how she began kissing the base of his neck while her fingers slowly began tracing their way around his equally n.a.k.e.d back. His clothes had been torn apart by the chaotic energies that resulted from their melding together and it seemed that Artemis had forgotten herself for a brief moment in her confusion... Stopping Artemis actions by gently pushing against her shoulders, Vahn smiled and said, "You should get dressed and retreat into the barrier. I still have this...thing...to deal with..." Artemis, as if just noticing Antares was still present, looked up at the ruby red creature that still glowed with divine light. A worried frown appeared on her face but she still ced her palm atop Vahns heart and said, "I believe..." before putting her hands together in prayer. Instead of beams of moonlight casting down upon her, pale pink petals began to bloom over Artemis body,ying atop each other as they formed a very different raiment than what she had worn previously. This immediately answered one of the pressing questions in Vahns mind, concerning if Artemis Divinity had been influenced by what had just happened... Once the firstyer of pink petals had formed what appeared to be a dress, moonbeams began to cascade around Artemis, covering the pre-formed dress with ayer of pale-blue that was close to white in color. Seeing this, Vahn had no idea what to make of the phenomenon and just watched as the final form of the raiment came into existence. It took on the appearance of a doubleyered backless dress that extended around 2/3rd of Artemis thighs. enting the dress, there was a vibrant blue ribbon that tied itself around her waist and kept the dress from ring out. Completing the outfit, Artemis had pure white gloves and stockings that extended nearly the full length of her arms and legs, thetter of which continued into a pair of short-heel boots. Simr to Freya and Hestia, the entire outfit appeared to be frayed on the ends with blue and pink ents to the petals that had formed each individual garment... Artemis was equally surprised by the changes in her raiment but ignored it for the time being as she quickly snuck in a small kiss on the somewhat dazed Vahn before running towards the barrier. This had brought him back to his senses so Vahn watched her back as she moved along, feeling as though there were greater changes than just her appearance. He didnt know what Divinity she had now but Vahn suspected it was rted to the Moon and, almost assuredly, Love. Ultimately, it wouldnt matter what Divinity she ended up with, as the most important matter was that she was still alive in the first ce... With that thought in mind, Vahn turned cold eyes towards Antares and saw that his [Enkidu] had embedded itself into the seemingly indestructible carapace. Since it was a Tier 5 item that could eventually break through the defenses of anything, Vahn wasnt surprised that it had slowly been overwhelming the still Tier-4 Antares. Without its Arcanum dissipating, Antares body hadnt broken downpletely and it was brimming with phenomenal power, even if it couldnt escape the chains. Even so, Vahn suspected it would begin to break down the moment he loosened [Enkidu] and he was wondering what the best course of action to take was. Though part of him wanted to simply brawl against the massive monster, logic and reasoning told him this was a terrible idea since their battle would likely destroy these Ruins. It also put the girls he still needed to save in unnecessary danger so Vahn decided to take a more prudent approach... Using [Shundo], Vahn appeared near the glowing red eye of Antares and ced his palm on the ruby-like carapace, ignoring its screams and struggles. Surprisingly, an Affection notification appeared within his mind that showed Antares Affection towards him was at -60,508 and steadily dropping. This brought a wry smile to his face as he said, "I cannot say that I do not harbor hatred towards you...what you have done has hurt people I care about, therefore I have been brought to take these actions. I dont know what kind of past you had but your existence has wrought death and destruction to too many people...if there were a way for you to reconcile and live with others in peace, I would try to save you...but, as your nature is drawn to consuming and corrupting others, I have to destroy you...in your next life, I pray you are able to live happily..." While Vahn was speaking, he had started to gently stroke Antares head while also sending waves of calming energy into its mind. Though it had screamed and tried to resist, having its Divinity and Arcanum sealed by [Enkidu] left it with no means to defend itself. By the time five minutes had passed, while Vahn continued to steadily pat the giant monsters head, Antares had stopped strugglingpletely. The glowing red panel that represented its eye began to turn dim and, after another three minutes, the eye had turned into what appeared to be an inert ck stone. Even so, Vahn continued his efforts, brows raising slightly when he noticed the Affection Antares had actually begun to, very slowly, increase... Though he was momentarily tempted to try and subordinate Antares, Vahn felt it had already lived a long and troubled life. Since its existence would be a great trauma to the members of the Artemis Familia, Vahn decided the creature was better suited to simply reincarnating. Even though its karmic value had been reset to 100, that wouldnt change the millennia of memories it had and, with no discernable brain to erase memories from, Vahn gave up on the idea of subordinating this living cmity. It was also a simple fact that, as a Tier 4 being, Antares posed a very real threat to the world itself and, given his inability to influence higher Tier entities with most system functions, Vahn felt it wouldnt be possible to subordinate it from the start... After a half-hour had passed, Antares body hadpletely slouched and Vahn confidently began loosening up [Enkidu]. As expected, its ruby-like body began to crack and fracture as the Arcanum contained within began to dissipate into the atmosphere. Vahn observed it vanishing into the void and, in hopes that a new god might form from the Divinity contained within, he allowed it to go freely. Though he was tempted to try and take it for himself, Vahn knew his body would just process it as Source Energy while the Divinity itself would simply escape him. Without understanding the concepts andws contained within, there was no way to make use of that power. If he had such understanding, he would be able to awake the Divinity himself, making it fundamentally pointless to try and siphon himself... Without any incident, Antares body slowly lost all of its Arcanum and began to break away into fragments. Since it still maintained an ego, Vahn couldnt harvest any of the materials and, out of basic respect for sentient life, he allowed it to go without further hardship. Strangely, as the veryst fragment began to dissipate into the void, Vahn heard the sound of a very soft voice mutter, ("Thank you...") within his mind. It was indiscernible between a male or a female, sounding like the voice of a very young child carried by the wind... Releasing a sigh, Vahn left behind the now empty seal and made his way into the barrier, finding Artemis sitting patiently on the cushion he hadid out earlier. She had aforting smile on her face as she said, "You did the right thing, Vahn. Even I dont know the origins of Antares but, if it was truly a sentient creature, sending it back into the cycle of reincarnation peacefully was a just end..." Vahn nodded his head except, unlike Artemis, he had some idea about where Antares may havee from. Though he would have to investigate it further, Vahn noticed this his domain continued well over a kilometer into the ground below and, very simr to the Dungeon, there were tunnels and pathways which had mana infused into their walls... After confirming that his Quest Log now showed he had saved Artemis, Vahn set about the next most important step before it was toote. Turning to Artemis, he asked, "I need your consent-" but was interrupted by Artemis as she smiled radiantly and said, "Anything at all, Vahn...I trust youpletely, no matter what happens, nor how much time passes...always, and forever..." Hearing this, Vahn felt his heart begin beating rather quickly but he nodded his head and said, "I wont let you down..." As quickly as he could, Vahn drew at twoplex formations on the ground, each a variation of the [Avatar Creation] techniques he had used to create his second body. The difference was, instead of splitting a soul, Vahn was one formation to gather an ego from the surroundings while the other would allow the transnt of that ego into an avatar. When he was finished with the formations, Vahn took a deep breath and pulled out what appeared to be a charred and mangled upper body, any identifying featurespletely missing. This was the one body he had stored in his Inventory, belonging to none other than the Chienthrope, Lante... Artemis, even in her changed state, felt faint when she saw the remnants of her youngest member. It was fortunate she was already sitting down or she may have copsed upon witnessing such a gruesome sight. Vahn, however, focused on the activation of the formation and his heart nearly began dancing around in his chest when it almost immediately lit up. Though he couldnt sense the ego directly, the only two possible remnant egos in the area either belonged to Antares or Lente. With the farewell of Antares, Vahn didnt think it would have remained in this area for very long. As for Lante, however, the odds of her sticking around, especially with Artemis nearby, were extremely high... Trusting in his intuition, Vahn activated the second formation and, surprising Artemis for what seemed like the five-hundredth time in thest day, brought out her faux-avatar. Vahn ced his hand on her chest to stabilize the body with his Source Energy as the formation continued to revolve. In some circ.u.mstances, there was a chance Lante might try totch onto his body but The Path wouldnt even allow the attempt. He waspletely immune to any form of possession and, unless Lante was somehow a being that transcended Tier 9, the only option avable to her was the body of Artemis. Since he had seen Lante from Artemis perspective, Vahn was absolutely certain she would choose thetter over his... Even so, all of this preparation was just a precaution for a very different n of action, which involved Vahn pulling out the [Tears of the Moon Goddess] and pouring it into the hole that should have been Lantes mouth. If her body was able to healpletely from the use of the Unique item, Vahn would store Artemis faux-avatar back into his Inventory and confer with her about what she wanted to be done with it. If the tears was unable to heal Lantes body, Vahn would transfer the rooted ego from the rather tragically mutted corpse and allow it to reside in Artemis faux-avatar, at least until he could find a better solution. Almost as soon as the tears entered into Lantes throat, a powerful light enveloped her body and she very quickly began to regenerate. Vahn smiled upon witnessing this and was prepared to store away Artemis body, only to find that the formation on the ground had been triggered in an instant. However, instead of the light around Lantes body fading away and her ego migrating to Artemis, her entire body itself vanished. Immediately after that, light began to emanate from Artemis faux-avatar, leaving Vahn to stare nkly as the avatar grew a pair of pointy ears and a bushy tail before lowering to the ground...a happy and contented smile on her face... (A/N: Also, though this wasnt supposed to be thest chapter for the day, my brother called and Im going to visit my mothers grave with him and my sister. Ill see you all tomorrow.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Loving Intensifies*,Ive seen the future...the story ends with Vahn petting the universe into Oblivion~!,Never underestimate the intent of sentient creatures...Lante is quite bold xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 858 - Rebirth : Reward

Chapter 858 - Rebirth : Reward

Though there were several things Vahn wanted to investigate regarding Lantes situation, he decided it would be best to leave her be for the time being. The other Artemis Familia members had been in a state where their breathing and hearts had stopped for longer than was medically ideal. He had used his Source Energy to revitalize their bodies and repair the damage to their brains but there was no way of knowing exactly what they had lost in the process. Entities with lower tier souls couldnt imprint their memories that easily onto their ego, meaning most of the girls would have suffered severe damage to their synapses, affecting their functionality and memory. Artemis also had many questions but, understanding Vahn would likely answer them for herter, she followed Vahn as he picked up Rethusas body and exiting the sealed chamber. Vahn was intending to use the temporal distortion present within the room to buy time for himself. If he had performed Nirvana Rebirth on each girl within the chamber, several days would have passed by the time he was finished. This would make it impossible to save some of them while also causing a much longer period of time to pass in the outside world. The few hours he had spent inside the seal had resulted in eleven daysing to pass outside... Feeling his perception catch up with itself, Vahn heaved a sigh of relief that caused Artemis to ask, "Is there something the matter, Vahn...?" To this, he nodded his head and exined what had been happening in the outside while preparing his operation room for the procedure. Artemis was surprised to find out how much time had passed while they were inside but, given the state of her children, she epted the reasoning rather quickly. At the same time, Vahn was having to answer the questions of the girls within the Dungeon, who had actually moved his body to a secure ce while he was in deep meditation. Fortunately, other than a few stray monsters migrating in from other floors, there were no major issues with Havens construction. If anything, the fact Vahn hadnt been watching over everyone actually made people feel morecent. Without his presence in the sky, their own alertness had gone down a bit and the morale within the encampment had strangely improved. Vahn made a mental note of this and, though he had wanted to spend some quality time with the rather concerned girls, he exined the emergency situation and earned himself a momentary reprieve. They once again started protecting his body as Vahn entered into a deep meditative state, wholly focused on replenishing his reserves to make the Nirvana Rebirth go smoothly. Once the preparations werepleted, Vahn had Rethusas n.a.k.e.d body on an operating table he had produced from his Inventory and began the long procedure. Fortunately, now that his [Hands of Nirvana] was SSS-Rank, the time it took for him to tune his energy was negligible. It still took the better part of an hour to infuse the energy into Rethusas body, but this was still much faster than in the past. Since he was only trying to revive her, instead of repairing small defects and the like, Vahn inserted his hand into her heart and began the delicate procedure. This mainly involved repairing her mana circuits and revitalizing her spirit body, making it a stable container for her ego before jumpstarting her heart once again... The moment Rethusas heart began to beat again, her body jerked slightly and she inhaled deeply before settling down once again. She shouldnt have been able to move in her current state but having Source Energy coursing through her body to jumpstart her heart went against expectations a bit. Vahn could spend a million years researching this energy of his and never fully understand it so he wasnt too surprised when unexpected events urred. The only important thing was the intent he put into the energy and, so long as he does not wish to do harm, it was entirely incapable of having negative effects on a persons body... The process for awakening Rethusas body took significantly longer than the procedure itself and Vahn felt a little guilty as he flipped her body over. As usual, the final step was to use the Convergence of Heaven and Earth to bring her back to reality and Vahn knew it would be a very intense experience for all of the girls. Even if they never truly loved him, this would be a memory that would never fade from their memories and, considering the circ.u.mstances, it might be one of the most powerful memories they have left. Even so, Vahn didnt hesitate at all as he ced his fingers at the base of Rethusas neck and spine. She had a beautiful and mature line to her back and, with that thought in mind, Vahn brought his fingers together and sent the rather unfortunate woman into a veritable seizure of pleasure... Fortunately, unlike in the past, Vahn could make use of his [Grooming] to help calm people down so, while Rethusas body was trembling atop the table, he stroked her hair gently and muttered, "Its going to be okay..." Artemis had been standing at his side during the procedure, watching with a hopeful look that slowly transformed into intrigue before settling on mild amus.e.m.e.nt. She no longer doubted Vahn would be able to save the other members of her Familia but, seeing the process with her own eyes, Artemis knew it was going to cause some problems for Vahn in the future. Thinking about what the future might hold, Artemis giggled a bit and, when Vahn looked toward her with a questioning gaze, she simply stuck her tongue out and skipped off toward the sealed chamber... This put Vahn in a rather awkward situation because it would have been better for Artemis to be present when Rethusa calmed downpletely. Right now, she was still in a dazed state so Vahn pulled out a warm nket and covered her exposed back as a general courtesy. He then stepped away from the operation table and began using his domain as an intermediary for his petting as, if she really had lost her memories, Vahn didnt want her to be too dependent on him through a misunderstanding. These girls were all victims of a terrible tragedy and he wanted to help them move forward and seek out their own happiness...even if he suspected they would all be his retainers and subordinates... Under Vahns constant care, Rethusa calmed down after a few minutes had passed but keptying on the table for a short while, simply staring at him with her reddish-brown eyes. She had medium length hair of the same color and an incredibly fit body that had been honed over years as a Huntress within the Artemis Familia. Vahn felt like she would even be able to contend against some of the Amazonesses he had met, though the closestparison his mind drew was to that of Rufina. Her somewhat sharp and angr eyes,bined with her rather serious look, matched well with the version of Rethusa he knew from Artemis [Hearts Desire]. Since it didnt seem like she was going to speak, Vahn broke the long silence, saying, "Im sure you have a lot of questions, Rethusa, but most of them will have to wait. There may be gaps in your memory but know that Im an ally of the Artemis Familia and that Im currently in the process of saving all of your injured members. If you have the strength, lets get you dressed and I will escort you to your goddess, Artemis...okay?" Vahn didnt know the level of rity that Rethusa currently had so he tried to give her tidbits of information in his general exnation to gauge her reaction. Though she was silent for a few seconds, Rethusa eventually asked in a moderately deep and mature womans voice, "So...you saved me...?" Vahn nodded his head and, seeing that she didnt seem to be as confused as expected, asked, "Do you remember what happened?" This question caused Rethusas expression to break as a look of terror emerged in her eyes, followed by her curling up and tightly clinging to the nket. She obviously had some memories rted to the event and, though it would leave her with a trauma, Vahn saw this as a positive sign that indicated there was more going on within the sealed chamber than he currently understood. There seemed to be a preservation effect oveyed with the temporal istion and distortion formation that was present. This indicated that Antares wasnt simply sealed away, but someone had wanted to preserve itpletely... Understanding she would probably need time to cope with what had happened, Vahn held out his hand and sent threads of calming energy through his domain. A few secondster, Rethusa slowlypsed into unconsciousness and, though he could have carried her with telekinesis, Vahn picked up her body and carried her along. Direct contact was surprisingly important in situations like this and Vahn knew she would feel morefortable with the warmth of another person. Since he could also send calming energy directly into her body, Rethusas right hand moved to clutch his tunic instinctually as the expression on her face slowly rxed. Upon entering into the sealed chamber, Artemis brows raised slightly as she said, "Its like you were right behind me...the flow of time in this ce...how peculiar..." As she spoke, Artemis moved her fingers through the air as if she could feel the flow of time present. Vahn knew she shouldnt have that capability though, had she truly awakened a Divinity rted to Time, that would be a rather major development. He still had a few inhibitions about how to deal with Kali in the future and it would have saved him from having to deal with at least one of the problems he would have to face... After setting Rethusa down on one of the futons he hadid out, Vahn put some clothes next to where she was sleeping and said, "If you want to wait here and watch over them, that would-" Artemis had already started shaking her head before he had finished speaking, smiling as she said, "I want to be there...watching you bestow the miracle of life to those that even we gods wouldnt be able to save...I want to see it with my own eyes, the rebirth of each of my children." Vahn felt a strangepulsion from her words that caused the mental image of Hestia to ovep with Artemis within his mind. It was a rather amusing development, but Vahn figured he had stumbled on to at least one of Artemis new Divinities... It took the better part of three days, but Vahn slowly worked his way through the entire Artemis Familia and performed Nirvana Rebirth on each member. Other than an Amazoness named Shadie, who had suffered severe head trauma, the other girls were a bit shaken but showed no indication that their memories had been adversely affected. As for Shadie, she had experienced a moderate Anoxia and would have semi-permanant memory loss, even though she didnt have fully developed amnesia. There was a chance she would recover what was lost but, considering the type of injury she had suffered, the odds were rather unlikely... Even so, after performing Nirvana Rebirth on a Cat Person named Kaeko, Vahn received the system notification that he hadpleted the SSS-Rank Quest, [Salvation of the Moon Goddess] and had received a plethora of rewards. Though he was already ecstatic to havepleted the quest, Vahns brain hadpletely nked when he saw the Grade Rewards section. He was so distracted that, while he was petting the previously dazed Kaeko, she had started to purr under his touch. It wasnt until she actually nabbed his hand and began to y-bite his fingers that Vahn came to his senses and asked her the same series of quick questions as the other girls... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //Optional Quest Completed!// [Quest: Salvation of the Moon Goddess] Rank: SSS Completion Grade: SSS Objective: Liberate [Artemis] from Antares(1/1), Restore the Bodies of Artemis Familia Members To A Complete State(19/19), Perform Nirvana Rebirth on Artemis Familia Members(19/19) Optional Objectives: Save Lante(1/1) Rewards: 10,000,000OP, 3x[Unique Gacha Coupon] Grade Rewards: 3,000,000OP, 1x[Skill Advancement Scroll:SSS] [Unique Gacha Coupon] Rank: Unique Use: Guarantees that the next Standard Gacha pulls from the Unique Items Pool. Restriction: Items pulled are restricted to Unique items within the current record. [Skill Advancement Scroll][A/N: Price: 100,000,000,000OP, the same as a Dimensional Anchor!] Rank: SSS Use: Advances any non-Innate ability to the SSS-Rank, independent of the record of origin. //*Warning*// [This item is exceedingly rare and should be used with extreme caution and consideration!] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Though he was more than a little distracted by the existence of the [Skill Advancement Scroll], Vahn decided to put it off untilter since it even included a warning to exercise extreme caution. This situation still hadnt fully resolved and, now that he had an affectionate Kaeko clinging to him, Vahn knew he needed to wrap things up. He, fortunately, got her to at least wear proper clothing, though this was only because Artemis had intervened and lightly reprimanded her. Though there was a considerableck of sternness in her tone, Kaeko still listened obediently, even if she teared up a bit when left alone to get dressed. Like the other girls, the memory of her own death was still very vivid in her mind and she had just gotten a little carried as a result of howfortable Vahn was to be around... Once Kaeko had finished getting changed, the three made their way into the sealed chamber where the majority of the girls were still sleeping. As for those who were awake, it only felt like a few minutes had passed for them and they hadnt fully recovered yet. They had been talking about what had happened, while some were even bold enough to venture outside of the barrier and inspect the seal where Antares had been located. Now that Vahn and Artemis had arrived, however, everyone gathered together once again, this time to hear a proper exnation from their goddess. Though a lot of their attention was focused on Vahn, as a result of Artemis advocating for him as if she were his biggest fan, he didnt mind their attention and just returned a natural smile in response. He had been thinking about the best method to use the [Skill Advancement Scroll] and was taking a peek at his own Status while conferring with Sis. The moment he did so, however, Vahn felt like his mind had sunk into the infinitely expansive ocean contained within and he had started to sink to the bottom, absolutely overwhelmed by what he had seen... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 16 Race: Progenitus, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level: 6(+) -Power: 4001+(E408)->(D564) -Endurance: 5713+(D577)->(C629) -Dexterity: 5156+(C623)->(C699) -Agility: 4492+(D501)->(D545) -Magic: 11611+(S924)->(SSS1208) Total: 30,973+(3,033)->(3645) Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) [Karma]: 93,413->439,202,192 [OP]: 103,408,882->239,633,417 [Valis]: 11,007,912,050->7,998,400,002 Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:C], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth: B],[Archery Goddess Blessing:B->SSS](new), [Stealth:S], [Chainbreaker:S], [Heart of the Eternal me:SS], [Prometheus:A], [Call of the Reaper:A],[Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Featherfoot:S], [Hands of Nirvana:SS->SSS], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:S], [Friend of Spirits:A], [Void Ward:A], [Temptation:I](new) Magic: [Thria*Mimos:S], [Shundo:SS], [Koku Shundo:B], [Cantus Bex:S], [Mellodia Bex:B], [Vis Maxima:B], [Sagitta Magica:S], [Pactio:S], [Magia Erebea:SS], [Dios Tukos:C] Development Skills: [Wound Transfer:S], [Well of Spirit:A], [Swordsman:A], [Master Smith:H], [Mixing:C], [Mentor:A], [Lapidary:B], [Grooming:B->A], [Arch Mage:G->F], [Allure:I->D] [Archery Goddess Blessing] Rank: B->SSS Use: So long as the bond between the user and the Goddess of Archery remains, it is said possessors of this skill cannot miss their target when using any form of marksmanship. Greatly enhances critical strike potential of attacks made with a bow. Active: When activated, the users next attack had 100% uracy and 100% critical hit chance. [Temptation] Rank: I Use: Your power, authority, and natural allure allow your words to sound more convincing in the ears of others. [Allure] Rank:D Use: So long as there is even a mild attraction towards you from another party, allows every action you take to be seen in a positive light. Increases perception and awareness of the opposite s.e.x in regards to the user. Greatly increases the odds of sessfully charming a target and makes all skills, magic, and abilities rted to mental maniption more effective. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Something of note; Ive moved my rest day to officially be on Monday out of consideration for the Sunday reset. Also, until around June 10th, the schedule will generally be M1, T4, W5, T5, F6, S5, S5. Ive been busy and a little stressed outtely so the word count for EPIC will be around 85-90k words as Ill also be doing daily releases for FJ. Ah, and if anyone can figure out what I have in mind for the [Advancement Scroll], Ill give you a virtual cookie on Discord~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: 11 Days o__o...,Thats one way to revive someone...,Dat Karma (O o O)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 859 - The Dawn of Endless Troubles...?

Chapter 859 - The Dawn of Endless Troubles...?

It took a short while, but Vahn was able to slowly understand how his Karma had increased so much. Though it could simply be the result of using the [Fate Severing Knife], granting the Karma of the target unto himself, Vahn felt it was directly rted to the fact that he had prevented Artemis destruction. Not only was she a goddess with an incredibly long lifespan, but the fact that he prevented her Arcanum from literally destroying the world likely factored in a great deal. If Antares hadnt been defeated, it would have quickly assimted all other monsters, animals, and surface dwellers into itself. With an unrestrained Arcanum, it could very easily overwhelm the Mortal World, forcing the gods back to Heaven until they came up with a solution... In essence, Vahn had saved the entire world and, as a result, he knew things would only get more hectic in the future. Karma was already a heavy influence in his life before and now he had a level of Karma that should only be essible by the gods themselves. Until he left the record, he had no reliable means of reducing his Karma, other than the absolutely horrid thought of allowing one of his children to die and failing an [Origin of Heroes] quest. If he managed to earn the Eternal Love of a goddess near his own Karmic value, it wasnt impossible to reset his Karma, though he would never, ever, in a million years, do such a terrible thing...Vahn just hoped his Karma itself didntpel Fate to make things more difficult... Though he didnt externally sigh, Artemis eyes practically snapped towards him, clear concern on her face as she stopped talking with her Familia and asked, "Is everything okay, Vahn? Is there anything I can do to help...?" Then, as if a dam holding back a mighty river had been breached, several members of the Artemis Familia also expressed their intentions to help him. Vahn found himself sandwiched between two rather buxom members of the Familia as Artemis herself came before him, grasping his hands out of concern. This brought a slightly wry smile to his face as he exined, "Well, I was just thinking about the future and how best to guarantee everyone can be happy. Though I already have some expectation...will your Familia return to Eden, or will you stay here and continue to help the people of the Dark Continent...?" This question was immediately answered, though not by Artemis, as Lantes body sat up with a start as she eximed, "There is no way were not going to follow you! This is fate, I just know it!" Lante had been pretending to sleep for a while, enjoying the feel of her new body while listening in on the conversations with her sharp ears. As a girl who had thought it to be fate when her hand brushed against a mans, the fact that Vahn had not only revived them, but gave her the chance to be one with her goddess was a veritable mountain of fate crashing down on her whimsical brain. Almost immediately following Lantes outburst, many of the other girls expressed that they wanted to follow him as well, appealing to Artemis in the process. This made Vahn feel a little helpless but, as he had already expected such a situation, his expression just softened slightly. As a result, several of the girls that were focusing on him blushed while Artemis, without showing any signs of due consideration, stated, "Of course we will follow Vahn. The Artemis Familia will be part of the Alliance so that we can make a better world for everyone...!" With these words, the entire Artemis Familia released a celebratory cheer before an impromptu group hug was initiated with Vahn at the center. He didnt mind this so much, if not for the curious hands that found their way to his butt, stomach, and inner thighs... Artemis made an effort to get her Familia under control but, the moment Vahn was liberated, she made a point of plopping down into hisp with a serious expression on her face, saying, "I know everyone is heavily impacted by this event...but we must take into consideration Vahns situation as well. Not only has he married goddesses, but Vahn is already involved with several women, many of whom have already had children. In the future, I will no longer prevent you from seeking out someone to love...I understand now that it is a very important and precious thing. However, as capable as Vahn might be, it would be unfair to him, and his family, if everyone here thought their only path towards happiness was through loving Vahn..." Though there were a few things hed have liked to add, Vahn remained rtively silent while Artemis was speaking. His [Allure] and [Temptation] werent things he needed to activate for them to have an effect, especially with the positive impression of almost every girl present. He knew, as scary as it may seem, just a few tempting words would be all it took for things to develop in a very...intimate way. This was especially true for those who were staying closer to him, their auras gravitating towards his position with tinges of pink and red. The only exceptions to this were Rethusa and the rather unfortunate Amazoness, Shadie, who was watching the proceedings with a bit of confusion as two other Amazonesses, Vera and Kinoa, supported her. She didnt have all of the information about Vahns lifestyle at the Manor, but Artemis went on to recount everything she had learned from Hestia and Hephaestus. Though some of the things she said bordered on the unbelievable, most of the girls didnt seem too surprised by these revtions. After all, those who hadnt been unconscious after their procedures had seen the state of their other Familia members. From their perspective, the friends and allies they had for several years had all died, themselves not being an exception. Vahn, however, had not onlypletely healed their bodies, but also brought them back to life. He had even given Lante what appeared to be another body of their goddess, Artemis, though there were some very noticeable changes...with these facts being their first introduction to Vahn, none of the girls were genuinely surprised by anything Artemis revealed to them... By the time Artemis finished her exnation, Lante once again was the first to speak out, raising her hand as she eximed, "Question!" Artemis, seeing herself raise her hand, returned a gentle smile as she asked, "Yes, what is it, Lante...?" This caused Lante to point towards Vahn, currently acting as a seat cushion for Artemis, asking, "What is your rtionship with Vahn-sama? Also, wont you tell us how you feel about this situation? You know, I really believe it was fate that brought us all together and I reeeeeally feel like I would regret it for the rest of my life if I gave up on these feelings...!" Instead of being deterred by anything Artemis had exined earlier, Lante was even more convinced that Vahn was essentially her knight in shining armor... Being pulled into the conversation, Vahn put on a thoughtful expression while Artemis answered, "I love Vahn...more than I ever thought possible. It is just as you said in the past, Lante...love has the power to change people and, with the love he and I share...I..." As she spoke, Artemis face became slightly flushed and she began to wriggle around in Vahnsps, causing his brows to rise slightly as he hugged her waist, exining to Lante and the other girls, "My intentions are more in line with Artemis on this matter. You are all beautiful girls and, though I will not deny having an attraction towards you, my situation is only getting increasingly moreplicated as time passes. I want all of you to be able to live happy lives and, though you may feel a lot of affection towards me at this moment, you should be more considerate of the future...it may be difficult to believe, but I am a person who has obtained immortality and, if you worked hard enough, I could help you be immortal as well...however, that kind of thing can be a curse if you cant even n a few years ahead...just imagine living for a thousand years...or ten thousand years...will the feelings you have at this moment reallyst that long...?" These words by Vahn had caused a bit of discussion within the girls as even Lante didnt seem to know how to answer his questions. Most of them had only ever thought about the present, or how they would be able to gather enough food and supplies for theing winter. They had never thought about things like nning decades ahead, much less how they would spend what could possibly be an eternity. However, there were some girls, such as the Amazonesses, who quickly answered, "Meh...if not for you, Vahn, wed all already be dead. Much less nning for the future, we wouldnt have even been able to n for lunch. Besides, even though we arent part of the main tribe, we still have the instinct to crave a powerful mate. If our presence might be troublesome than you in the future, that is in the future...even if it is just for a short while, Id like to at least experience love with the first man to win my affections..." The person speaking had been the Amazoness named Vera, a twenty-three-year-old woman with a very mature and athletic figure. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts were on therger side of a C-Cup and her long dark-brain hair was styled into a long ponytail with her bangs framing her face. She had a very serious look in her eyes and, much like how Tiona, Tione, and most Amazonesses in general, looked at him, there was an almost predatory glint in her gaze. Vahn was very aware of the state she was in and it almost felt like Artemis was the only thing preventing him from being attacked, not just by Vera, but by several of the girls present... For a brief moment, Vahn felt tempted to just go with the flow of things but, strangely, the image of his children yed through his mind at this point. By the time they had cycled through, settling on the lonely visage of Alexa, Vahn felt like his heart had hardened slightly as he opened his eyes and firmly stated, "I will exin my stance very clearly. I will not pretend to be principled, nor will I deny Ive sometimes given into licentiousness and debauchery, but I cannot keep living in this manner. Though I want to respect these feelings you all have towards me, can you imagine what it would be like for a single person to try and manage a rtionship with nearly a hundred women at once...? There may very well be a time when I return your affections...after all, I do feel a great deal of responsibility towards you all...however, we cannot have a real andsting rtionship. I cant do that to my children...my family..." Vahn knew he had walked off the more normal route a long time ago, giving in to his curiosity and suffering from an inability to refuse the affections of those who had ced their trust in him. These were all girls he would likely interact with for decades toe and, though he would be there for them at times, he simply couldnt be there for them in a more meaningful way. If it came to choosing any single one of his girls over the entire group gathered before him, Vahn would be conflicted after the fact, but he wouldnt hesitate at all. Artemis was the only real exception to this as their rtionship would likely continue for a period of time that was almost iprehensible to mortal minds... With Vahns sudden transition into a more serious persona, the atmosphere became a little tense and some of the girls even lowered their heads slightly, ashamed of their behavior. Before these feelings could progress too far, however, the sound of someones stomach rumbling broke through the atmosphere. Everyones attention immediately turned towards the culprit, a Half-Elf girl with somewhat wild brown hair and blue eyes. Vahn knew her name was Lunalia, a twenty-eight-year-old Half-Elf who had been found by Artemis in a destroyed vige as one of the only surviving children. She had been in the Familia for longer than almost any other member and was something of a Big Sis within the group with her generally calm and caring disposition... Currently, Lunalias face had turned beet red and her ears had drooped down slightly as she quietly muttered, "Sorry...I get hungry when stressed...its been a long day..." This reaction caused the tension in the air topletely shatter as Artemis pped her hands together, a happy smile on her face as she said, "Yes, we have all just ovee a great trial and should be celebrating, not talking about such serious matters~!" After extricating herself from hisp, Artemis turned to Vahn, her happy smile immediately softening a great deal when she looked directly at him. Vahn felt his heart throb powerfully once again, even though she simply asked, "Can you give us some ingredients and help set up camp? Knowing you, we could probably return to Eden very quickly...but, at least for tonight...let these girls celebrate life, okay...?" Though he had been nning on calling Terra over so they could teleport back to Eden, Vahn nodded his head in response to Artemis plea. This caused her smile to blossom even further as she turned to her Familia and began assigning duties in high spirits. As this was very different from how she would normally act, most of the members of the Artemis Familia were more than a little surprised. They got caught up in their goddess momentum very quickly and hastily began preparations for a feast, not even questioning how Vahn was able to produce ingredients, tents, nkets, and just about anything they asked for... As she was assigning duties, Artemis turned her attention to Rethusa, one of the few girls who had been lost in thought during the previous discussions. Artemis had a good idea about what was bothering her generally loyal and serious Captain. Even before they had entered into the sealed chamber, Artemis had tasked Rethusa with escaping if things went south so that she could warn the surrounding viges of Antares awakening. She trusted that her proud and capable Captain would be able to flee, even if everyone else was unable to do so...instead, they had been trapped inside of the chamber and Rethusa ended up impaled into the door by Antares tendrils. Not only had she been unable to help her Familia, but Rethusa had failed to perform the task that was assigned her, helpless as she watched her Familia ughtered... Artemis didnt me Rethusa for what had happened, not even a little bit, but the trauma her Captain had experienced as a spectator was quite extreme. If she had been able to fight and die alongside everyone else, her perspective on the situation likely wouldnt have been so dire after the face. Now, instead of the proud and capable woman of the past, Rethusa seemed like a shadow of her former self, unable to even help out in the celebratory preparations because she was lost in her own thoughts. This was a very saddening thing from Artemis perspective so she turned to Vahn with a slight smile before walking over to Rethusas side and whispering into her ear... Though she had been somewhat absentminded at first, Rethusas face flushed slightly and a bit of light was restored to her eyes after she heard Artemis request. This didntst for long, however, as Rethusas head hung slightly, stating, "I do not think that would be appropriate...there are-" Instead of waiting for Rethusa to finish speaking, Artemis pulled her by the hand, surprising the red-haired beauty who quickly became redder whilst her goddess dragged her over to Vahn. Upon arrival, Artemis surprisingly pushed Rethusa towards him, causing Vahn to catch the startled girl as Artemis exined, "You have been working very hard thesest few days, Vahn. Rethusa here will wash your back, so go take a bath in a nearby stream or something. Im certain you can find one very quickly with your capabilities~!" From the moment she ended up in his arms, Rethusa hid her face but made no actual attempts to move away while Vahn and Artemis looked into each others eyes. He understood that Artemis was very worried about Rethusa and, having shared her experiences, Vahn couldnt help but be a little worried himself. Since it was very possible for him to help her, Vahn withheld a sigh and just gave a small smile in response before saying, "Sure, but I think Ill just make a bath in one of the side rooms that everyone can useter. Im sure everyone would enjoy a nice hot bath after everything that has happened..." This caused Artemis smile to widen as she mused, "My, how thoughtful of you, Vahn. Im certain everyone will be ecstatic when they hear about it. For now, the two of you should go enjoy yourselves... lets see, the food should be ready in about an hour, so there is no rush." The entire time their conversation had gone on, Rethusa kept her head lowered and didnt resist when Vahn gently pulled her hand along. Their departure drew a lot of attention but none of the girls called out to them as they too had been very worried about their Captain. Even Lante, who had heard what Artemis had whispered to Rethusa, kept her silence...at least until the two were out of sight. Once Vahns and Rethusas figures had disappeared, Lante practically jumped on Artemis, hugging her tightly as sheined, "Artemis-sama, that isnt fair at all, you know? I want to take a bath with Vahn too~." In response to this, Artemis surprised Lante by hugging her tightly and saying, "Im certain, so long as you believe in love, that time wille...now, lets make a delicious meal to impress Vahn. If we all work together, we may one day be able to be a real family...!" (A/N: 2 hours between chapters today o3o~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fate-sama pulling out a spiked club with the word life on it...,Vahn is going to have Harem Trauma in the future xD,Artemis family nning...!?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 860 - Beyond Doubts

Chapter 860 - Beyond Doubts

After leaving behind Artemis and her Familia, Vahn found arge room with hard stone floors that would be suitable for having arge bath. Though the walls and ceiling had cracks running through them, the foundation was strong and it wasnt in any danger of copsing. Even so, Vahn set down afortable sofa for the confused Rethusa and set about using Earth Elemental maniption to repair the structural damage. He was only doing some temporary fixes, as anything moreprehensive would take far more than the hour they had, but it still made the room look presentable. Once his impromptu repairs were done, Vahn inspected the floor to ensure it was thick enough before cutting arge 5x5m square hole in the ground that was around 55cm deep. He levitated the excess stone b and began cutting it into tiles that would surround the perimeter of the bath before rounding off the edges. With his skills as a [Master Smith],bined with his ability to manipte the earth with reasonable ease, the entire process took just over ten minutes. When he was finished, Vahn created a few wards to regte the temperature of the water, before purchasing mineral rich onsen water directly from the system shop before crushing arge number of magic cores into fine dust and letting it spread through the liquid medium. He wanted the girls to not only feel rxed in the bath but refreshed and revitalized as well...they had been through a lot and smallforts went a long way towards promoting happiness... When he was finished, Vahn turned to the quietly observing Rethusa, smiling as he said, "The bath is ready...let me know if I need to adjust the temperature any." These words startled the somewhat absentminded woman but she was more surprised by the fact that Vahn set up a partition and pulled out arge basin for his own bath. He began filling it with water, fully aware of the fact that she was watching him as he removed his clothing and submerged himself into the very hot water. A contented sigh escaped from hisps before he quietly remarked, "Worrying about the past serves no purpose, Rethusa...none of your Familiays me on you, including Artemis herself. Theyll all be happier when you set this aside and, once again, be the reliable Captain they all know and love...when you finally want to start moving forward, theyll all be there waiting for you..." Though he knew his words were a bit underhanded, given the circ.u.mstances, Vahn would rather she be the confident and decisive person she had been in the past. He could easily have pressured her into be dependent on him but, simr to what he had told the girls outside, the direction their lives tooky on their own decisions. This world was already very chaotic and, by the time he linked the records, Vahn knew things would be even more problematic to deal with. Though he would never abandon those who followed him in earnest, he couldnt invest his time and energy towards taking care of people who were unable to function without him. There was no way of knowing what the future would hold and, without being independent and strong, any girl that held affections towards him would be forced aside by the sheerplexity of his life. After all, everyone had limitless potential and, as strange a thought as it may be, Vahn knew he could essentially pick up any random orphan off the street and raise them to be incredibly powerful. If they desired it, he could change their appearance, race, gender, and even alter their very preferences. The only thing that stopped him from doing so was the happy life he already enjoyed, the family he loved dearly, and the simple awareness that people needed to be free to make decisions about their own lives. He couldnt live their lives for them...just as he sincerely dreaded the thought of anyone trying to live for him... A few minutes passed in silence with nothing but the subtle sound of system notifications within Vahns mind. He was aware of the fact that Rethusas Affection had slowly been increasing as time passed and, even without him doing much of anything, it had just crested over 90(Trust). Around the same time, he could hear steps on the cold stone, followed by clothes falling to the ground as Rethusa crossed the partition with a flushed face. She had removed her tunic and was now using it as a makeshift towel to cover the front of her body as she muttered, "I want to wash your back...I failed thest task Artemis-sama gave me...I wont fail a second time...!" Hearing this, Vahn lightly nodded his head before leaning forward in the basin that was easilyrge enough for two people. He kept his eyes closed and slouched slightly as Rethusa slowly climbed into the bath behind him. When she tried to adjust her position to sit down, her foot came into contact with his back, causing her to ssh a bit of water in surprise. Seeing that he didnt react, Rethusa began to calm down as she picked up the nearby soap and sponge. For a brief moment, she was surprised by the quality of the soap and its texture but quickly set other thoughts aside as she began scrubbing his back in earnest. Vahn was rather ustomed to having his back washed by others but he enjoyed the fresh sensation and awkwardness of a girls first time doing so. It was obvious Rethusa had helped to wash others before but, having almost no association with men at all, every action she took had a great deal of hesitation and delicacy. Even so, she managed to get through the process in just a few minutes before cupping hands of hot water to help remove the suds. The entire time, there was very little direct contact between them, even though Rethusas feet had inched forward slightly while she was scrubbing. Once she had removed all the suds, Vahn nodded his head slightly and said, "Thank you, Rethusa, it was a very refreshing experience..." Even until the end, Vahn had kept his calm demeanor and remained seated with his eyes closed. Rethusa had peeked around to look at his face a few times and he was aware that, while there had been very little, most of the time she had touched him was intentional. By the end of the backwashing session, her Affection had increased to 92(Love?) and Vahn felt things might be troublesome if he kept silent. Before Rethusa could say something along the lines of wanting to wash his front, Vahn startled her by saying, "You know it as well, dont you...Artemis had suffered a lot from this incident...?" In response to this question, Rethusa remained silent but Vahn could feel that she had nodded her head. Even so, he allowed the silence to persist for a short while before saying, "If we rounded up, Artemis has lived for nearly 450 million years...its an iprehensibly long period of time...in all those years, however, it was the loss of her children in the mortal world...something that should have been inconsequential to a goddess in the flow of time...that made the biggest impact on her heart. Even the love she feels for me, though I will likely never understand the sheer magnitude of her feelings...Im certain she would have traded it away if it would have been able to protect all of you..." Artemis, even though she had quirks of her own, was a very sensible and responsible woman who genuinely desired family, even if she hadnt been fully aware of it. Unlike the first time she had descended, where she observed her Familia from a distance, Artemis had genuinely lived with her children this time around. It was because of this close association that she even started toprehend things like love, meaning she had experienced more change in thest sixty years than almost the entire preceding yearsbined...watching these precious children of hers die, by her own power no less, had been a very tragic happening... In the silence following his words, Rethusa ended up resting her forehead against his back, trembling as the sound of tears rolled down her cheeks and fell into the water below. Vahn knew that she had also experienced great suffering from this oue but knew she was strong enough to ovee it with a little guidance. A small smile spread across his lips as he stated in a sincere tone, "What you have experienced...it is something that would break most people. However, so long as you remember why you fought so hard in the first ce...why it hurt so much to fail...you will recover...you will grow even stronger...and, so long as you continue fighting for those you care about, you will never have truly failed them..." At this point, though she wasnt hugging him, Rethusa had both of her fists resting on his back as she used him to support her shaking body. Vahn felt a very strong urge to turn around and embrace her tightly in his arms, bringingfort to help drive away the pain and the fear...but he didnt. Instead, confident that Rethusa would be able to forge a path forward for all of the girls, Vahn stated, "We will all return to Eden together...Artemis, everyone...the world is full of pain and sadness, Rethusa, and I want to make it a better ce for everyone, regardless of race and status. In order to do that, to right the wrongs in the world, I need people that understand the suffering of others...will you help me? Can you use the strength I know you possess to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again...?" Vahn remained calm within the bath but, deep within the 50th Floor of the Dungeon, he squeezed his fists together with enough force to draw beads of blood. It simply felt wrong to be leading someone that was experiencing emotional turmoil onto a path he had decided. Since he had the power to help her, it was very difficult to continue with this charade he had created...but, even though this was the case, Vahn pressed forward. He knew that he had always been trying to live in a way to help others but, in order to create true happiness for arger number of people, Vahn knew he needed to teach people to help themselves more. If the only way people could be strong in this world was by being closely associated with him, then he would be the linchpin of reality...the moment he broke, everything would be lost... For several minutes, Rethusa continued to cry, each of her tears weighing heavily on Vahns heart and disturbing the ocean within his mind. He hated seeing girls cry and, knowing he could have stopped them, Vahn felt like he had wronged Rethusa for his own selfish reasons. It wasnt until she finally sniffled, asking, "Can I...be stronger...?" that the tensions in his body released. Then, without any hesitation whatsoever, Vahn firmly stated, "You may not believe me now, but I can promise you...so long as you desire strength and continue forward with a firm conviction...it is even possible to exceed the level of the gods themselves. There are no limits to the growth of those who have the convictions to face against limits themselves...and shatter thempletely..." These words caused Rethusa to remain silent for a short while, her aura undergoing a somewhat worrying change before she said, "Ill do it, Vahn...I will follow you...I will be strong enough to protect everything I care about...!" As sincere and determined as these words sounded, Vahn remained silent and solemn, waiting for what Rethusa would say next. She had already moved her head away from his body and he could hear her moving around in the water as she said, "But...if the path you talk about is truly possible...I know I wouldnt be able to walk it if I have regrets. I swear, no matter what it takes, I will be even stronger than the gods someday...but, for just this one moment...can I just be a woman that you love...just a little...?" Vahn turned his head, finding Rethusa propping herself against the basin with her back arched slightly, a visible plea present in her gaze. There were still visible signs of the tears that had stained her face, causing Vahns heart to twist in his chest. He reached his hand out, caressing the small of her back before bringing his palm to rest on her rather plump butt, saying sincerely, "If you are determined to walk this path, I will give you more than just a little of my love, Rethusa...I may not be able to give you everything you undoubtedly deserve, but I wont back down when ites to making you feel wanted...never doubt yourself..." As he had been speaking, Vahn used his now SSS-Rank [Hands of Nirvana] to send threads of energy into Rethusas body, causing her to tremble as she tightly held the side of the basin. When she heard his words, Rethusa looked over her shoulder while biting her lower lip, tears building in her eyes once again as she said, "I want it...Im sorry for Artemis-sama and the other girls, but I cant help it...Ive never felt this way before...please, Vahn..." In a disy that caused Vahns brain to buzz like a gong that had been rung, Rethusa reached between the gap of her thighs and spread herself open for Vahn to see... Vahn didnt know how much of her actions were the result of his [Allure] and [Temptation] but, as there were no signs of external influence like he would see in the charm of a god, Vahn didnt hesitate any longer. His body was already more than prepared and Rethusas entrance looked hot, filled with a slightly murky liquid that was most certainly not from the bath. He continued to massage her butt with his hand, targetting all of the nerve cl.u.s.ters and muscle groups that would make things much easier on Rethusa, before cing his ns near her entrance. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind and, thinking it would improve things from her perspective, Vahn admitted, "You know...Ive always had a thing for red-haired women...especially when they are strong and independent..." Though he hadnt entered into her yet, Vahn felt the entrance of Rethusa mp up slightly before she moved her own h.i.p.s back, just a little. She had turned to face him, almost as if trying to discern the truth from his expression before a small smile appeared on her face, followed by a very subtle chortle. In time, this turned into a restrained giggle before, a few secondster, Rethusa had startedughing in a lighthearted manner. This was a bit unexpected but Vahn didnt lose his patience, even though he did send a little jolt into one of her sensitive spots. Rethusasughter was reced but a rather throaty m.o.a.n before she nearly slipped while trying to cover her mouth. Fortunately, she was able to catch herself rather quickly, a very visible blush on her face as she looked back once again and said, "I want it..." This time, Vahn returned an appreciative smile toward Rethusa before moving his h.i.p.s forward in a steady advance. Her legs locked up a little and she tried to raise her h.i.p.s but Vahn kept her firmly rooted in ce as his dragon once again wandered into unimednds. A barrier tried to stop its progress but, as if ascending to the heavens from the mortal world, the dragon continued forward until it found the sacred temple of life located within. Here, so long as special care was taken, it was possible to forge a new life and, very familiar with these procedures, the dragon began knocking at the gates in a steady rhythm with powerful energy emanating from its proud form. Then, very subtly, the dragon began to gain a slightly pink hue that caused the sacred temple to tremble as if affected by a world-devouring earthquake... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I me Loki and Freya...,Rethusa takes the lead...Rufina will not be pleased,Heavenly Dragon of Love...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 861 - Prowess...

Chapter 861 - Prowess...

Though the tryst between Vahn and Rethusa hadnt taken up the full hour, Vahn had made a slight oversight, forgetting the recovery time. As a result of helping Rethusa return to a state where she could walk without support, they ended up being a few minuteste to the celebration. Based on how everyone was looking at them, it was very obvious their antics hadnt gone unnoticed and, considering he didnt do much for soundproofing the stone corridors, there was a chance some sounds had echoed. This realization caused Rethusa to turn scarlet red as she was whisked away by some of the other girls for details while Vahn was seated between Artemis and Lante for the celebration. During the celebration, Vahn wasnt free from pestering and, as if all the words he had spoken earlier no longer had any relevance, the girls werent shy about approaching him anymore. It seemed that, while he was away with Rethusa, the girls had done more than just prepare the feast. Artemis, who Vahn learned now had Divinities rted to the Moon, Family, Wilderness, and Love, had talked things over in greater detail with her Familia. She talked about the world they wanted to create and how amazing the City of Orario had be under the influence of the Alliance. As a result, she wanted the Artemis Familia to support the Alliance as its arrow, going to ces outside of the City where Vahns influence couldnt reach so easily. With her newfound Divinities, Artemis no longer had any thoughts about restricting her children from finding people to fall in love with. As for how they should act around Vahn, she gave them her support but also emphasized the fact that they shouldnt unfairly harbor expectations towards him. She understood there was a fair chance Vahn would show his favor to the majority of them if they expressed an interest and worked hard to support his dream but, in order to protect the family he had already built, she asked that everyone show propriety and understanding once they arrived in the City. What she neglected to do, however, was reign them in during the celebration and things quickly began to spiral out of control... Though he had already taken a bath earlier, Vahn was dragged away by the veritable horde of girls and they all squeezed together in the rtivelyrge bath he had made. For many of the girls, this was somewhat curiously their first time seeing a n.a.k.e.d man. As a result, Vahn became an even bigger point of interest than before and he nearly had shbacks about being in ab back on Earth. Artemis, instead of helping him out directly, knew he wasnt wholly against the idea and, having only seen Vahn n.a.k.e.d during a rather precarious situation, she also showed more than a little curiosity. What followed the bath was an event Vahn would never be able to speak about in public, even though he also felt a small amount of pride after the fact... Before his tryst with Rethusa had even started, she had already be his subordinate and, with how curious the girls were about the benefits involved, Vahn had her help with a demonstration. This had not only surprised Rethusa and the girls but Vahn as well, being that he received a barrage of subordinate requests from nearly the entire Familia. Being their benefactor, and the only man many of them had ever been close to, Vahns image had already firmly rooted itself in the hearts and minds of nearly every Artemis Familia member. After their discussion with Artemis, they were already determined to follow him so, knowing there were such premium benefits to have, none of the girls had problems be official subordinates. As a result, Vahn had to spend the better part of two hours helping customize the girls. The only exception to this was Lante, who actually had a much greater affection for Artemis and ended up bing his retainer instead. She was also very satisfied with her current body and was the only girl that didnt have any real requests for his modify. Once the modification party was done, a very strange phenomenon urred where Vahn ended up surrounded by nearly n.a.k.e.d women who were observing the changes in each others bodies. His presence was certainly not ignored by them, but they didnt seem to treat him as if he were a wolf among sheep, as would be the asion if almost any other man had been amongst them. Instead, it was almost as if he were a delicatemb surrounded by carnivorous women and, once they smelled blood, it was already toote for him to escape. When morning came, even though it was nearly 11 AM by then, Vahn felt like a true Sage as he sat amongst sixteen n.a.k.e.d women with the rather adorable Kaeko seated in his embrace,pletely passed out by still instinctually licking his shoulder. Though they werent as prominent as the other marks he had, Vahn now how three new bite scars on his body, belonging to the Cat Persons, Kaeko, Kaia, and, the Leopard Person, Kisara. He wasnt surprised when they had bitten him and, after a momentary inner conflict, decided to let the bites remain unless any of the girls back at the Manorined... Almost as if she knew everything was over, and Vahn was very aware that this was likely the case, Artemis poked her head into the tent, a smile on her face as she looked around at her defeated Familia. This time, Vahn didnt restrain his sigh, resulting in Artemis giggling as she asked, "Do you regret it, Vahn...?" Even though she knew the answer, Artemis felt like teasing him a bit since her own Divinity had caused her to feel fluttery throughout the night. She had stayed with Lante, Rethusa, Shadie, and the only underaged member of her Familia, Lana. Lante wanted her first time to be when Artemis had her first while Rethusa stepped back out of consideration for the other girls. As for Shadie, she wasnt in the right state of mind for such activities and even had trouble speaking, much less doing something so extreme. She ended up being looked after by Lana, the rather adorable girl from the Ursa tribe... Vahn still had a Sagely look on his face as he gently separated himself from Naeko and let hery against therge futon shared by the other girls. She released a mnyaaa~ when he plopped out of her, causing Artemis to giggle lightly before saying, "Lunch will be ready soon..." Vahn nodded his head, watching as she disappeared from the tent p before looking around at the havoc his pride had wrought. By the time the first girl had managed to break through his defenses, it was already toote for him to back down and retreat. As a result, Vahn went all out for the first time since he had been rather heavily outnumbered. In the end, his worries about their numbers had beenpletely unnecessary and only the Amazonesses had proved troublesome, though only for a few minutes longer... After making sure Naeko was properly covered, Vahn used an area of effect cleaning magic to absorb all the sweat and blood present within the room so the girls could sleepfortably. They had exerted themselves quite a bit and, after experiencing his [Hands of Nirvana], made even more effective by the fact they had all experienced Nirvana Rebirth, it would be a while before they were ready to move. For the time being, he just decided to join Artemis and the other four girls for lunch and enjoy a nice cooldown. The look Lana had given him was rather prating but Vahn still managed to enjoy the meal and make some polite conversation... --- While Vahn had been involved in one of the longest conquests of his life, losing out only to his first time with Fenrir, he had also been rather busy back on the 50th Floor of the Dungeon. There were feelings of guilt involved but, after exining how the events had been resolved, Vahn went to seek Rufina and Shakti. He ended up earning a rather heavy p from Rufina when he brought up the subject, not being she was offended by the prospect, but because he had admitted to being actively engaged in intercourse back on the Dark Continent. Even so, after forcing him to coax her a bit, Vahn ended up another precarious situation. Not only did he have to contend with the two mature women, but Tina had been very aware of what was going on and he had actually missed her birthday during the time his main body had been in a deep meditative state... Vahn managed to convince Tina to wait until they returned to the surface, promising to take her with him the moment Terra established the teleportation ward. To convince her, he promised to take her to a secret location with just the two of them, even though he didnt currently have any ideas in mind. After that, he ended up in a room with Rufina, Shakti, and, though she hadnt been part of the original n, Haruhime. She had be very close with the two over thest few months and was there to coach them and provide moral support. Vahn didnt think it was necessary but Rufina and Shakti surprisingly agreed to it rather quickly, almost as if they had been nning this day in advance... Almost as soon as the soundproofing was activated within the room, Rufina suddenly stammered, "There is s-s-something you need to know, Vahn...!" Turning to face the suddenly beet-red Rufina, Vahn smiled slightly and said, "Please, tell me..." In response to this, Shakti and Rufina held hands with each other, both seemingly very nervous as thetter closed her eyes tightly and shouted, "I think I like women more than men...okay!?" As this wasnt really new to him, Vahns expression didnt change much, at least until Shakti also blushed slightly and said, "I also...it may be because Ganesha-sama was always pestering me, but Ive always had my defenses up against men..." With a small nod, Vahns smile grew slightly as he said, "Yes, I have been aware of your mutual attraction to each other...for a while...?" This remark caused both girls to turn scarlet as Haruhime began giggling from the side, clearly amused by the little y that was urring. Rufina balled her free hand into a fist, clenching her teeth in as she embarrassedly said, "F.u.c.k, you should have just joined us then and there...you you...you idiot...nnnuuhuuu!" In what a manner that made Vahns heart flutter, he watched as Rufina stamped her feet in frustration, almost as if she were ming him for the feelings she and Shakti shared. As if to clear up a misunderstanding, Shakti took in a deep breath and admitted, "That time...we did that to intentionally try and get you to take action...we never intended for things to develop like this..." Thisment by Shakti exined a great deal and Vahn was suddenly hit by a wave of rity as to why Rufina had been so frustrated after that day. Essentially, by refusing to join them on that day, the two had awakened something within themselves and Rufina, at the very least, med him for what had happened. This gave him a slight urge tough, especially since he knew their feelings for him werent fake...essentially, they had be bis.e.x.u.a.l as a result of his indecisiveness on that fateful day... At this moment, Haruhime raised her hand and suddenly added, "Because they were worried about what to do, I have been helping to teach Rufina and Shakti how to properly deal with men. Make sure to praise them lots and lots so they know they are doing a good job, okay, Vahn~?" As a result of developing a physical rtionship with each other, and enjoying intimacy they hadnt quite nned, Rufina and Shakti had lost confidence in themselves. Rufina, especially, thought that Vahn simply didnt like her and it had hurt her pride a great deal, simr to how Asfi had felt on the day he purchased the Hermes Familia. Vahn realized he had a strange influence on the self-worth some women felt, especially if they were the smart, intelligent, and prideful types... After giving Haruhime a small nod, Vahn turned his eyes to the two girls, noticing their interlocked hands were shaking slightly. With as much sincerity as he could manage, Vahn smiled widely before saying, "Shakti, Rufina...you are both beautiful and amazing women. Since you have given me your love, allow me to make up for my mistake on that day...though I will not change how you feel about each other, I will endeavor to make sure you dont regret choosing me as your lover...!" As he spoke, Vahn had moved forward, hugging the waists of both girls and pulling them into his embrace... Rufinas expression had turned a littleplex and Vahn could see the moisture building up in her eyes as she mumbled, "You better...dummy..." As for Shakti, her expression had turned rather calm as she lightly mused, "Ganesha-sama will never shut up once he hears about this...haaa..." Then, wrapping her arm to embrace Vahn in return, Shakti suddenly whispered into his ear, "I want a baby..." This time, Vahn was a little surprised but, after remembering Shakti was already thirty-eight-years-old, it was perfectly understandable. Most women began having children in their early twenties, especially if they were humans like Shakti. The reason why Ganesha had always been pressuring her to find a man is that he was genuinely worried that she wouldnt be able to have children in the future if she didnt hurry... Without any real hesitation, Vahn surprised Shakti with a short kiss before smiling and saying, "Sure...though you may have to move into the Hearth Manor...well, we can worry about that kind of thingter." Since it looked like she was about to bite him, Vahn leaned over and gave Rufina as kiss as well, this one a bit longer than what he had given Shakti. At the same time, he moved his hand to her rather plump butt, something he had always been curious about, and gave it a firm squeeze. This elicited a slight m.o.a.n from Rufina who promptly grabbed Vahns wrist with her iron-like grip, an ultimately futile action since his hand had already found its target... As awkward as it was to push down two women at once, Vahn had .u.mted a great deal of experience with such situations and quickly managed to wrangle the two girls onto the bed. He used his rather unfair hands to lead them along and had been making steady progress when Haruhime suddenly appeared next to him, something Vahn had noted long before she actually arrived. She had a slightly mischevious smile on her face as she hugged Shakti from behind and said, "I will keep Shaktipany and exin what is going on...ufufu, please treat Rufina well, Master, she had been a very patient woman..." Being one of the support girls during the times he was with arge number of women, Haruhime was a little too talented at dealing with women and had even gottenpliments from Aki and Loki in the past... Though he nodded in agreement, as Shakti herself didnt seem against it, Vahn made his left-hand glow with a rainbow hue as he reached out his index finger and, very gently, poked the area above Shaktis w.o.m.b. Her body began to tremble and she was forced to bring her thighs together, slumping over with shaky eyes as she asked, "W-What is this...its too much...!?" Vahn simply smiled in response, winking towards Shakti as he said, "You cant see it, but I created a small ward on the inside of your w.o.m.b while also sending some of my energy into your body. Since you werent ovting, I decided to help out while giving you something memorable so you dont feel lonely..." Right now, there was a gently pulsing seed of source energy that was causing all of the pleasure receptors in Shaktis body to simte an almost perpetual climax. At the same time, the ward was actually an unnamed spell that existed within Evas notes, one that she had researched herself to try and force ovtion...when Vahn had seen it, he promised to make her dreame true when he arrived in her record... Shakti was left trembling, her own hand digging in between her thighs as Haruhime hugged her body from behind and served as her emotional anchor. Rufina had witnessed this and currently had her own legs closed, though this resistance didntst long as Vahn turned his rather dangerous hands on her next. Though she had a rather high tolerance, it didnt take long at all for Rufinas body to getpletely warmed up. Then, amidst a flurry of rather eager kisses from the beautiful red-head, Vahn imed her v.i.r.g.i.nity for himself. Though she hadnt been a v.i.r.g.i.n when they met, it was one of the modifications Rufina had asked for, as she had no memory of the time she had lost it and wanted to experience giving it to the person she loved... In this manner, Vahn cycled between the two girls and made sure to pamper them plentily for all the time they had lost. At some point, dragged into the fun by Rufina, Haruhime also ended up getting directly involved. Since Vahn was extremely adept at dealing with three girls at once, they reached a rather interesting equilibrium which, so long as he didnt overuse his [Hands of Nirvana], could probably go on indefinitely. Unfortunately, he had a tendency to get carried away and, during the moment when he intentionally i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed Shaki, the bnce was broken when she ended up passing out. After that, Vahn had to hold himself back a bit since the sight of Rufina almost begging for leniency had been rather impactful. It was fortunate that Haruhime was very adept at dealing with Vahn, or things may have gotten even more out of hand. When everything was said and done, Vahn took a moment to reflect on his actions and knew he needed to show more restraint in the future...though he didnt truly possess a Divinity rted to S.e.x, Vahn knew that his prowess had risen a great deal after his melding with Freya. If he wasnt more careful, the chances of him identally breaking someone in the future would continue to increase... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn reached the Zenith of Nirvana..., Shakti says, "Gimme, gimme..." , Vahn is bing a dangerous existence...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 862 - Sagely Lamentation

Chapter 862 - Sagely Lamentation

Though there were several unexpected developments, Vahn finally returned to the Hearth Manor after calling Terra to his side with Unit Management. They spent a few hours setting up a waypoint that she would be able to teleport back to, as he was still very interested in the Elsos Ruins, before making a few trips to move everyone over. The mana requirement for [Void Movement] heavily depended on the distance and weight that she was carrying, forcing her to move over three people at a time while having to recharge in between trips. Even so, the entire process only took two hours for all twenty members of the Artemis Familia, Artemis, and Vahn himself to make the transfer. Hestia, as usual, had been there to greet him upon his return but this time she also weed Artemis as well. Vahn was then forced to sit down and exin everything that happened while the members of the Artemis Familia were essentially having a pic in the inner courtyard. When he finally finished the very lengthy exnation, including his thoughts about what exactly had happened to Artemis, Vahn was met with several surprises in sequence. Instead of being in the inner courtyard, Syr had gathered Diana, Eliza, Melissa, Katsuya, and Momo before fitting all of the members of the Artemis Familia into Maid outfits. It hadnt exactly been his intention, but Syr had intuited what had happened between him and the Artemis Familia and managed to convince them to be Battle Maids like Maemi and Emiru. Since none of the girls wanted to part with Artemis, who had now be a permanant residence of the Hearth Manor, this wasnt exactly the worst development that could have happened. They fell under the same vows as every other resident but also signed service contracts to officially work as Maids in the future. The current Maids would be training them in their duties while Lunoire, at least until Chloe and Ryuu returned to the surface, would be training them in how to investigate, infiltrate, and provide security... When Vahn had seen a flock of Maids gathered together, his mind had nked for a moment, something many of the girls found very interesting. Fortunately, they took their goddess words to heart and showed a proper sense of propriety, especially since Diana was present. Their feelings towards Vahn were a littleplicated, but their trust and loyalty toward him had already reached a surprising extent. Vahn didnt know if it was because of thebination of his skills, or how they reinforced the idea in each other, but the lowest Loyalty rating amongst the girls was at 319, belonging to the young Lana. She also wanted to be a Maid and looked especially adorable alongside Diana as they quickly became good friends... The second surprise Vahn received happened soon after everyone had sat down for a small celebration to wee all of the new residents and staff. Vahn had sensed several friendly presences moving underground and, less than a minuteter, Naho, Mlem, and Arles had burst into the dining room. Without any hesitation at all, even though he had Diana sitting in hisp, Naho jumped toward him, shouting, "Wee back, Vaaaahn~!" Vahn caught her out of the air with his telekinesis, causing her tough as she wriggled around before finally settling down a bit. Even so, she came over to his back and gave him a hug, rubbing her cheek against the side of his face as she giggled happily... His longer than expected absence had caused Gros and Lyd to investigate if there were any issues and, after a series of small events, the exposure between the Xenos and the Manors residents started to increase. Vahn had taken his children over for a few visits but now, with permission from Hestia, some of the Xenos were entering into the Manors grounds. Though this was mainly just to y, and was specifically limited to female Xenos, it was still some form of progress. Since his children seemed to really get along with the Xenos, something Vahn had expected after they had been cooped up for so long, he didnt have any problems with this development at all... What had been the most surprising thing for Vahn, at least on the surface world, was that there were now a series of tunnels and small ponds located around the Manor. There was even a room that had been cleared out near the dining room, next door to where Maemi and Emiru slept, serving as the current domicile of Marie. She and Terra had be surprisingly good friends and, being a very innocent and pure Mermaid, everyones impression of Marie was quite high. Though they hadnt officially scheduled anything, everyone had been on a rotation to spend time with the childish Xenos, telling her stories while soaking their feet in the massive pool that was her room. As for how Vahn came to learn about Maries presence in the Manor, as nobody had told him about it just yet, it was when she popped up in the bath, surprising him and many of the others present... With these developments, Vahns return was marked by a very festive atmosphere within the Manor and he greatly enjoyed spending time with his children once again. Though there were a few things going on with the City and School that he needed to deal with, none of that mattered as much as the time he spent with family. Now, their family had grown a little...well, a lot, but that just made it feel like new life had been breathed into the Manor. Though Terra did whisk him away after dinner, as he still needed to keep his promise with her, that was also quite an enjoyable experience. She had managed to convince Alexa to help Risna with her magic training, so they had a few intimate hours together without any interruptions... --- Deep within the Dungeon, things werent going particrly as well, unfortunately. Though his time with Rufina and Shakti had been a very fulfilling experience, ignoring the fact that Rufina tried to punch him asionally, the following day hadnt been kind to any of them. It could be rted to the fact that his Karma had exploded, or the fact that he really wanted to just rx at home, but the strange caterpir monsters had started to show up on surroundings Floors. Their scouting parties had encountered them, observing as they devoured other monsters and consumed magic cores en masse. One report even mentioned the Dungeon triggering a Monster Party in response to a horde of the caterpir monsters, causing a massive feeding frenzy that required the scouting party to beat a hasty retreat. It was obvious that Enyo was beginning to move and, with her timing, Vahn felt like she had flipped a switch inside of him that was trying his patience. Since he had been nning to have Terrae down and establish the teleportation ward, this news was more than a little annoying. He had also been preparing to return to the Manor with some of the girls as there were things like birthday celebrations and other important events going on. Maemi and Emiru also needed to return rtively soon, as the number of Maids in the Manor had increased explosively. As they were supposed to be in charge of the group, having them gone for a long period of time was detrimental. If the girls already established a hierarchy of their own, it would be difficult for the two to wrangle them...well, more difficult...Vahn was certain they would manage... Even so, Enyos timing was very inconvenient for him and Vahn felt like it had to be a result of his Karma that things were developing. Though he also sent a small prayer of gratitude, thanking it for not interfering with his return from the Dark Continent and his reunion, Vahn was still troubled. It was a bit of a lonely thought, as part of him wanted to stay here indefinitely, but Vahn was starting to want to move on to the next world, just to reset his Karmic Value. As it stood, the next few years would be progressively more difficult since he was now stuck with the rather heavy virtue he had earned for himself. Fortunately, there was a bit of a surprise when he was thinking about potential solutions and, for a brief moment, Vahn was filled with hope and expectation... The three [Unique Gacha Coupons] he had obtained werent simply for three individual pulls, no, Sis had informed him they could be used during a pull and still take effect. This meant Vahn had a chance of obtaining 33 Unique grade items, some of which could have record-breaking effects like the [Fate Severing Knife]. Though he couldnt use such a thing on himself, as he still had the eternal me, Evas memory fragment, and other things to consider, it wasnt impossible for a simr item to exist. Since he genuinely desired a means to enjoy his life in rtive peace, at least for a little while, Vahn was intending to go all in... With that thought in mind, Vahn opened his Gacha function and left the parameterspletely nk, as there was no means of knowing what kind of Unique item would benefit him most. Then, without any hesitation, Vahn did a 10+1 pull and watched as the giant wheel that resided in the back of his mind spun around. It slowly spat out a series of orbs and Vahn, surprising Vahn greatly since the worst pull was actually yellow. Since the system used the color spectrum to grade items, the value increased from Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, and Rainbow. He knew Unique items were very useful, but for the weakest to be Yellow...this was an important discovery. Unfortunately, though there were some pretty good items in the mix, Vahn didnt obtain anything close to what he was looking for. The best item ended up being the only Green pull, a strange item known as [Ginsin Gum Root]. It had the effect of being absolutely irresistible to Dragon-Type monsters under Tier 4, allowing them to quickly be tamed so long as you had the requisite skills. Since he had no need for such an item, Vahn gave it to Rufina so she would be able to tame one of her own subordinates in the future. Those that had been tamed and named through his Innate were intrinsically connected to him so Vahn wanted her to have a uniquepanion wholly her own. This would give her another parallel with Vana, while even Vulcan would undoubtedly like having a new junior around to bully... Vahns second 10+1 pull ended up being marginally better than the first batch, as there was two Green pulls this time around. One was a [Warhorn of the Beast King], an item that could double the parameters of all Beast Humans for 10 minutes. Though the duration was short, the range was 5,000km and it could truly turn the tide of battle if you had enough powerful Beast Humans on your side. As for the second item, it was an emerald color pill named [Dryads V.i.r.g.i.n Sap], with the effect ofpletely curing all ailments. It would also make the bodily fluids of the target possess a simr property, so long as they remained a v.i.r.g.i.n... As useful as some of the Unique items were, Vahn felt somewhat disheartened but refused to give up as he made his final pull. This time, all ten spheres were Yellow, which wasnt exactly a bad thing, but still caused Vahn to want to crush the Dungeon Floor. When he saw the +1, however, Vahn nearly jumped through the ceiling since it ended up being Violet, the second highest possible color. Before opening up the other spheres, Vahn immediately cracked open the violet one to obtain his prize. Part of him hoped it was rted to karma but, even if it wasnt, just obtaining a violet grade Unique was truly a blessing... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Brsingamen] Use: Bestowing this sacred Pendant unto the Goddess [Freya] will grant you her Blessing and Favor. As a Goddess of War, Beauty, Wealth, S.e.x, and Love, you will be forever fruitful in all such endeavors. Restriction: [Freya] [Blessing of Freya] Rank: S Use:(Passive): Greatly increases the learning speed of allbat arts, including skills, magic, and abilities. Enhances the efficacy of all charm rted skills and improves the users appeal to the opposite s.e.x. Slight boost to s.e.x.u.a.l stamina. Use:(Active): Doubles the sess rate of the next charm attempt. Failure still improves the opinion of the target slightly. Cooldown(12H) [Freyas Favor] Rank: Unique Use: Allows the user to make any single request of [Freya] and guarantees she will ept. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- As Vahn stared at the beautiful pendant floating around within his mind, his eyes in the real world zed over slightly and he entered a truly Sage-like state. An aged smile spread upon his face as he outwardly spoke, "Sis, it seems as though I need to reflect upon my actions and live a better life..." Vahn felt that The Path had been somewhat corrupted by the decisions he had been making, as many of the things happeningtely had affected his charm, and other abilities. From the moment he had decided to stop restraining himself, it was like his life his social sphere had exploded, now with almost twice the number of active rtionsh.i.p.s as before. At the same time, he managed to meld with Freya and get a boost to his prowess while also developing several abilities that increase his chances of wooing the opposite s.e.x. Now, he even got an item that was specifically suited to that purpose... Though she knew he didnt expect a response, Sis still chimed in, saying in aforting tone, (*Well, its because you have a soft spot for girls with a tragedy...though, Ill admit, you have gotten a little carried awaytely.*) Sis had, obviously, been watching over Vahn since the beginning of his changes and had been diligently doc.u.menting them all. She knew he was a little stressed out by everything happening but, at the same time, all of the incidents were his own making. The Path had a way of giving Vahn what he wanted and, though he certainly wanted to be rid of his mountain of Karma, his desire to make others happy, specifically the girls around him, was much stronger... Vahn, still in his Sagely state, nodded his head in response to Sis and began stroking a non-existent beard. He knew it was ultimately futile to resist the genuine affections of other people and, in truth, he would probably have thousands of partners if he truly showed no restraint. Almost any girl within the City, including some that were already happily married, would want to spend at least one night with him. After all, it wasnt just his heroic feats and reforms that had be legendary, rumors had long circted about his [Hands of Nirvana] and his s.e.x.u.a.l prowess. Freya had even openly admitted the fact that he had pletely conquered her in the bedroom, to an extent that she imed to be unable to live without him... The number of goddesses desiring his children, not simply his assistance with conceiving a child, had long since broken the one-hundred mark. Luckily, the core goddesses of the Alliance had put a stop to such antics very quickly, though it didnt stop the asional goddess from trying to solicit him. Being that they were almost all unblemished and wless beauties, Vahn had to admit he was very tempted each time. The only thing that stopped him was the fact he was generally busy during such times, as they would only cross paths when he was moving through specific areas of the City... Though he already knew this, Vahns poprity had exponentially exploded over thest few months and it wasnt likely going to slow down in the near future. Knowing this, even though he had made the same promise to himself several times, Vahn was adamant about not having many rtionsh.i.p.s in other worlds. He knew he would undoubtedly fall for some girls, perhaps to the point of even linking the records together, but he had decided to ce a hard limit on permanant rtionsh.i.p.s. After all, the more records he had to link in the future, the more difficult it would be to manage...well, everything...fortunately, by the time he truly reached Tier 7, Sis assured him such things wouldnt actually be issues at all... (A/N: An example of Tier 7 is someone on the same level as Xeno from DBS, meaning Vahn could theoretically have enough power to not only link records, but create and destroy Universes. Look forward to how the story develops when the power scales literally through the Heavens xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Battle Meido Squadron Is Formed...,Everyone Loves Marie...,That Unique Item though xD...Freya is going to be one happy goddess (UwU)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 863 - Planning

Chapter 863 - nning

Though he wasnt sure if now was the best time, Vahn decided to simply proceed with his ns since it was a necessary step to take in order to make headway against Enyo. Construction of Haven had been steadily progressing and, though it would like take several months for the outer wall to be constructed through normal means, Vahn knew Terra would be able to create a makeshift wall in less than a day. He also had the opportunity of buyingrge stone bs to serve as natural barriers so, in preparation for potential attacks, the main priority of theborers was simply clearing trees and leveling the ground. Once he had decided this, Vahn called a meeting of all the Unit Commanders, the representatives of each Familia, and the few influential merchants who had faced their fears to descend into the Dungeon for profit. Now, Vahn sat at the head of a ring-shaped table with twenty-three individuals, each waiting for the decision he would make as the Supreme Commander of the Alliance. He had Maemi and Emiru standing slightly behind,pletely decked out in their [Pactio] raiments and holding their [Saints Halberd]s to create a rather imposing figure. Haruhime was sitting on his left, tails flickering behind her in an almost hypnotic fashion, while Finn stat to his right, elbows on the table and an amiable smile on his face. He seemed in much higher spirits than before the expedition had started, honestly admitting in private that he was relieved to be away from his women and children for a short while... Once everyone was properly seated, Vahn waved his hand, causing hot tea and pastries to upy the empty area in front of everyone. He made sure there werent any hard foods that would make chewing noises and, to ease everyones tension, picked up a small cherry danish and ate it with a smile on his face. Though he didnt go out of his way to intimidate people, Vahn had noticed that the way people acted around him had changed drastically ever since he began operating in the Elven Kingdom. When he turned his sights on the Nobles within Orario, everyone suddenly became very fearful of offending him, even though he generally tried to be polite and easygoing towards all but his enemies. With tensions easing a bit, Vahns on expression softened slightly as he said, "I know that my calling this meeting hasnte as a surprise to anyone. As youd expect, we need toe up with ns to deal with the impending danger of Enyos forces. Our actions of focusing on the establishment of Haven gave her a bit of breathing room and, now that she is starting to get restless, we need to prepare for an attack. I have gathered everyone here to ask for their opinion but, at the same time, I wanted to assuage your concerns so you can assure everyone else that things are going well. Please, wait for me to finishying out my n before you begin making suggestions." Not surprisingly, nobody spoke out to try and guide the conversation themselves, knowing full well that the final decision rested on Vahn from the outset. Though there were certainly those among them that had their own ns for Haven, Vahn already knew of their intentions and wasnt against them trying to find sess on the 50th Floor. So long as they didnt try to outright exploit people in the future, he didnt mind if they sought a few benefits for themselves. Thus, without any objections, Vahn smiled and began exining, "Because of the nned size of Haven, construction on the outer wall will not bepleted by the time were expecting an attack. For the time being, the main focus should be on clearing the surrounding terrain while maintaining the defensive line near the inner wall..." As he spoke, Vahn raised his finger and used Earth Elemental maniption to make a diagram of Haven within the center of the ring-shaped table. There was arge empty space that he had reserved for this purpose and, with the reactions of surprise from those gathered, he was happy to havee up with the idea. Besides, it was much easier for people to understand what he had in mind through demonstration instead of simply talking it over. Though they had all seen the blueprints, the fact there would be a Tree of Life within the center was something that had yet to be revealed. Continuing where he left off, Vahn exined, "Though we will have patrols watching over the workers, thergest force will be concentrated near the five fortresses. We have five [Paling] barriers that will prevent most external attacks but they dont have the ability to block monsters from moving into the protective area. Sincerger barrier magic wont work under a [Paling], we have several defensive wards in ce that can be activated with magic cores. As you can see, our main focus will be solely on a defensive fight and we have it set up so that only a tenth of our personnel would be required to maintain the active defense..." Since there were genuine concerns about people overdrafting themselves, especially during a siege, a lot of the defensive weaponry was mechanical in nature and could be operated by almost anyone. Though the damage would be much lower without any skills to enhance their efficacy, cannons and arbalests were still very useful weapons against evenrge monsters. Their bolts were three-meter long projectiles that were affixed with carved Dragon Fangs on the tips. Since they had a base property of being able to prate almost anything, they were exceptionally useful againstrge monsters. As for smaller monsters, they would be dealt with by abination of Asfis [Burst Oil] and explosive ordinance that was designed to prate into a monster before exploding. Though this wouldnt deal much damage to stronger monsters, just weakening them slightly was very helpful in a defensive engagement... After detailing some of the defensive measures they would be employing, Vahn got to the heart of the discussion, saying, "Also, Im sure many of you have been wondering why we left such a massive space within the center of Haven..." Since many of them had actually asked the question directly in the past, Vahn wasnt surprised when almost everyone nodded in response. Seeing this, his smile broadened slightly as he raised his hand, causing a tree to begin sprouting in the middle of the diagram. As this was happening, Vahn exined, "In order to make sure Haven truly bes a territory of the surface world, I will be nting a Tree of Life within the center of the City. The true purpose of our strong defenses is solely for protecting this tree and ensuring that it is able to grow without issue..." Since one of the participants of the meeting happened to be an Elven Mage, her eyes widened greatly upon hearing this, eximing, "Did you discuss this with the King and the High Priestess!?" Even as she spoke, Vahn noticed her Affection had jumped up from 80 to 88 in an instant, a look of reverence in her pale blue eyes. Vahn, however, shook his head lightly and said, "There are things going on behind the scenes that I am not able to disclose, even to those gathered here. Just know that this Tree of Life is different than the Sacred Trees back at the Elven Forest, though their function if fundamentally the same. Also, please be patient and allow me toplete my exnation before interjecting...if you have any questions that dont directly rte to the subject at hand, please confer with me in privateter." Though there was no greater meaning behind his words, Vahn saw the system notification show that her Affection had jumped to 92 as a light blush appeared upon her cheeks. This caused his brows to raise almost imperceptively as he quickly got back to the discussion, saying, "In order to ensure the Tree of Life is properly protecting, I will be moving one of the Trump cards of the Alliance down to the 50th Floor to assist in the defense. Many of you know her as the True Dragon, Terra, one of my trustedpanions...she is very likely the most powerful Mage in the entire world and it is her work that allows me to use the giant emerald barrier many of you have seen. Even if Enyos forces tried to copse the entire Floor, they would be unable to do so while Terra is present..." As she was very famous these days, nobody doubted Vahns words when he said Terra would be able to greatly increase their defensive strength. They had seen the barrier artifact that Vahn uses withstand the assault of tens of thousands of monsters for several hours,pletely impervious to almost any attack so long as there was enough energy. With Vahn generally acting as the battery, seemingly without having to strain himself, they knew the defensive strength of Haven was almost guaranteed. That left the question, however, as to what they would be doing to deal with the issue, something everyone was very curious about... Understanding what everyone must be thinking, Vahn tapped his finger a few times before saying, "Once we have secured the perimeter around the Tree of Life, I will create a detached force to begin breaching into the Deep Floors. Just as we have always done in the past, well use a small group of elites to scout ahead and deal with any looming threats. For the preliminary scouting, it will just be Ais, Tiona, Haruhime, Lefiya, Fenrir, Lili, and myself. I dont want to leave Haven without any means of dealing with the strange nt-monsters that might show up in response to our probe into the Deep Floors. While Im away, Finn will be the acting Supreme Commander...keep in mind, Finn, that Terra only really listens to my orders. When she is here, trust that she will do her duty and try not to make her angry..." Knowing that Vahn wouldnt give him such a warning without reason, Finn nodded his head with a serious expression on his face, saying, "Understood, Vahn. You can leave it to me when the timees. Dont worry, I will make sure Haven is safe while you are away." Hearing this, Vahn gave a small nod to Finn before turning his attention back to the rest of the group and saying, "Also, though this is a provisional thing, expect there to be an influx of Elves and Xenos into Haven in the future. Though they may not be easily epted on the surface world just yet, the Alliance is the official protectorate of the Xenos people. They will be helping to maintain the supply route using paths that normal Adventurers dont have ess to. Though their services may not be cheap, Im sure many of the merchants here would appreciate being able to move supplies to the surface safely...when the timees, I wont ept a single instance of persecution towards the Xenos. Please start taking steps to ensure there wont be any problems when they do start showing up, understood...?" This time, Vahn let a bit of pressure leak out and influence those within the room, causing several people to turn pale as they all nodded in understanding. Vahn noticed that not everyone was in agreement with his words but, after he sent them a nce, they fell in line rather quickly. He didnt expect things to go entirely without issue but if he ever found out about an incident where a Xenos was murdered unjustly, Vahn knew he would have to make a harsh example out of the perpetrator. In a way, the Dungeon was the territory and home of the Xenos and, for nearly a thousand years, the people of the surface had been impeding into their domain, harvesting materials, and even killing the Xenos people. Though he wouldnt let anyone simply im ownership of the Dungeon in such a way, the Xenos still had every right as any other surface dweller to roam safely within the settlements that had been established... For the better part of three hours, Vahn continued to discuss the defensive measures and any developmental ns that the leaders present had in mind. The merchants wanted to speed up construction of the Industrial and Business Districts of Haven, iming that it would jumpstart the economic growth of the budding City and allow for future expansions to proceed more quickly. Vahn agreed with their opinion of establishing the Industrial District, as that was where the Alliances Laborers Guild would be located, but he denied their ims that the Business District should be a primary focus. The reason for this was rtively simple, as most of the specialized goods would be flowing out of the Alliances fortresses early on. As almost every merchant would be buying specialty goods from the Alliance directly, it was essentially pointless for businesses to be the main focus early on. Though some argued against this, Vahn said he would discuss it with Fortuna and Minerva to get their take on things, effectively silencing the group of Merchants who knew benefits wouldnt be that easy to obtain. Even so, Vahn promised that, so long as they didnt partake in any shady practices that drew the attention of the Alliance, he would ensure they were able to draw a profit. To assuage their concerns, he gave them a catalog of some of the items they would be able to procure in the future and nearlyughed out loud when one of therger merchants nearly fell down upon witnessing some of the items listed. With the Merchants pacified, for the moment, Vahn argued that the secondary focus should be on the establishment of the Residential District. This would leave a gap in their defenses, as the Entertainment District would be located between the Residential and Industrial Districts, but Vahn wanted to have the infrastructure for epting Adventurers and migrants as soon as possible. They couldnt simply allow everyone that showed up to stay within the fortresses that protected the Tree of Life, as that would unnecessarily increase the chances of someone trying to interfere with his future ns. Though the chances of anyone breaking through the defensive measures around the tree would be small, there was no way of knowing what kind of Innates people had. All it took was one person with a stealth-based Innate that allowed them to move through barriers and they would be able to discover the teleportation ward and potentially damage the Tree of Life... There was also the simple fact that, but creating ces where people could begin living, people would naturally begin to reside within Haven. If there were only things like Inns and temporary housing, then Haven would never feel like a real City. Thus, to encourage migration, Vahn emphasized building residences and, though they would be very expensive, he knew people would pay hefty sums to obtain such property. In the future, owning a residence within Haven would be a status symbol that showed off your wealth, strength, wisdom, or prestige in general. The materials used to construct each residence, the security that would be provided, and the general living conditions of almost everyone that would reside here in the future...Vahn wanted to elevate it all to an extreme. One day, he believed that Haven would be a true beacon of hope for everyone on the surface world...a fantastical ce that everyone aspired to at least visit once... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn wonders why people fear him...then casually intimidates them xD...,Terra is very scary (o,...,o)~!,Vahn is essentially trying to create a Utopia...delusions are dangerous~.) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 864 - Tree of Life

Chapter 864 - Tree of Life

With his n of action decided upon, Vahn released his impromptu council to go about their business while heading towards the clearing with Haruhime, Emiru, and Maemi in tow. Most of the girls had fallen into their own schedule, which typically involved helping clear debris and scouting the 200km wide Floor. It was generally only in the afternoons and evenings that Vahn got to spend time with everyone though, if he wanted to spend time with them, none of the girls would really be against it. Still, with the amount of time he had spent helping Artemis, Vahn knew he needed to show his proactivity or people might start to spread rumors that he waszy and unreliable... Once they had reached the center of the clearing, which actually looked a little strange within the ashen-stone of the Dungeon, Vahn sent the signal to Terra before moving her to his location with Unit Management. He would be looking after Alexa on the surface while she was down inside of the Dungeon, though she had been rtively well behaved even without supervision. Terra immediately appeared at his side, the same smile as usual on her face as she bowed politely and said, "Good morning, Master~." Though they had already met each other this morning, as Vahn had slept with Terra the previous night and exined what she would be doing today, Vahn still nodded his head and said, "Good morning, Terra. Thanks foring down into the Dungeon for me; I couldnt really do this without you..." In response to this, Terra just giggled before adding, "Master, there is a limit to humility, you know~? I believe everyone understands that, if you really needed to perform this ritual without me, you would undoubtedly find a way...ufufufufu~." Vahn didnt really have a way to refute this as, though it would take much longer, it wasnt impossible for him to create the ward himself. He already knew the structure and had all the materials necessary toplete the project. Terra would simply be able to do it much faster than him, saving potentially weeks worth of time which he could be used to confront Enyo. Thus, instead of refuting her words, Vahn simply smiled in response while Maemi, Emiru, and Haruhime all giggled behind him. Terra also rustled her wings, clearly amused by the developments as she stepped off to the side, gesturing towards the center as she said, "Master, I am ready when you are. Please, nt the seed~." Though part of him expected something to happen, Vahn still pulled out the beautiful walnut-like seed with a green spiral pattern. He knew a Tree of Life was perfectly adapted to any environment, purportedly even ntable on the surface of a star. It would gain the properties of its surroundings while purifying them at an incredible rate. Its energy would intermingle with the Dungeon but, by being bound to him, whatever forces could control the Dungeon wouldnt have any influence over the Tree of Life. Even copsing the ceiling would ultimately be futile, unless someone tried to aplish it with pure physical force. Still, even if that were to happen, Vahn wasnt even sure if the Tree of Life was something that could be damaged so easily from the outset... Without dallying too long, Vahn moved to the very center of the region and ced the [Seed of the Tree of Life] on the ground. Then, following Sis instructions, Vahn made an incision across his palm and dripped his blood directly onto it. The moment the first drop of blood contacted the seed, it spun until it was standing straight up and then started sinking into the ground. It didnt actually push any of the stone out of the way as it did so, almost as if the seed had be intangible. Vahn then backed away a fair distance while everyone followed along, silently waiting for the Tree of Life to sprout. During this time, most of the girls ended up arriving to witness this historical event for themselves, forming a small gathering with Lefiya and Ryuu hardly able to restrain themselves. During this period of silence, Terras eyes were focused on the Floor of the Dungeon, much like Vahns. Her brows perked up slightly upon witnessing the massive amount of energy that had started to expand outward like a deeply entrenched root system. It was significantly more energy than even her own Dominion was able to produce, causing Terras interest in the Tree of Life to increase a great deal. Vahn also marveled at this phenomenon and was able to discern a great deal more than even Terra herself. He could even sense intent contained within the roots and, as if to directly respond to his intrigue, a small voice sounded in his mind, ("Are you my Father...?") Vahns eyes widened upon hearing this childish voice in his mind but he quickly responded, saying, ("In a way, I suppose that is true...as for these girls, they will be your family from this point onward, though, if were getting into the specifics, the very excited blond Elf is your Mother...if not for the love we shared, it would not have been possible for me to nt you in this ce...") As he said this, Ryuu startled slightly before looking back, saying, "There is a voice in my head that just called me Mother...?" This time, Vahnughed a little while nodding his head to Ryuu, saying, "Indeed. Since the Tree of Life is the product of our love, it isnt incorrect to say they are our child. It looks like Alise will have a little sister in the future...?" Ryuu flushed slightly upon hearing this while Lefiya, who had been standing to her left, pped her hands together, saying, "Congrattions, Ryuu~! I dont think there has been a Sacred Tree with sentience since the Ancient Times...I think this makes you Royalty?" Following Lefiyas remark, the other girls began to congratte the progressively more fl.u.s.tered Ryuu. She didnt know what to say at the moment, only that it would be very cruel to tell the voice in her head that they werent actually rted to each other. In truth, she was very happy, even if the news was very sudden and somewhat difficult to ept outright... While Ryuu was fl.u.s.tering about with the other girls, Vahn listened to the voice in his mind ask, ("Father...what is my name? Where is this ce...?") To these questions, Vahn came up with both answers rtively quickly, smiling as he said,("Your name will be Yggdrasil, though I think I will call you Yggy for short...as for this ce, it is the Dungeon, Tartarus, located on the Continent of Eden. I nted you hear in the ce called Haven, praying you might be a beacon of hope that protects this City against the darkness contained deeper within...") This time, the voice within his head sounded very chipper and excited as it said, ("That is a wonderful name, Father~! Thank you, I love it a lot!") Almost as soon as these words sounded within Vahns mind, the massive amount of energy contained in the Floor began to converge towards the center of the empty region. Then, as if watching the event sped up several times, a small sapling emerged from the center without breaking through the stone. Vahn noticed that Yggdrasils energy seemed to ovep with other forms of energy, instead of overwriting and breaking through it like normal matter. His [Eyes of Truth] were active the entire time, watching as the Tree of Life grew and expanded very quickly, stopping once it had reached precisely ten meters. At the same time, the trunk of the tree was a very stout 5m while the canopy overhead spread out to, once again, 10m. The most startling aspects of this tree were that the bark had a very dark green coloration with emerald green swirls creating a beautiful pattern on the surface. As for the leaves, they looked like gemstones that possessed a variety of different colors and patterns, while still retaining the flexible and natural quality of actual leaves... As everyone was marveling at the awe-inspiringly beautiful tree, a figure began to emerge from the bark, drawing the attention of everyone present. Then, what appeared to be a very young version of Ryuu, stepped out from the tree trunk. She had the appearance of a very young girl around 4-5 years old and, somewhat surprisingly, at leastpared to past experiences, she was clothed in very cute clothing that wasprised of leaves and vines. The main difference between her and Ryuu, other than the drastically different age, was that her skin had a light brown color while her blond hair frayed outward a little with green tips. Like Terra, she also had strange runes on her bare arms and legs but, though her power was much lower, the amount of energy contained in the figure before them was phenomenal...it actually felt borderline infinite, as Vahn was simply unable to grasp the magnitude of Yggdrasils energy... Without saying anything, Yggy smiled radiantly and leaped towards the surprised Ryuu, hugging her tightly as she said, "Thank you for making me! I love you, Mother~!" Since Vahn had told her that she wouldnt have existed without Ryuu, Yggy was very fond of her Mother. She didnt know exactly what an Elf was supposed to be but, based on the pure energy contained within Ryuu, Yggy knew she had to be a good person. Even so, she didnt hold onto Ryuu for that long and immediately set her sky blue eyes on her Father, Vahn. Her smile became even more radiant as, from her perspective, Vahn actually was more infinite and pure than she was. The purity andposition of energying off of him made her own feel minuscule inparison, causing Yggy to feel truly blessed to have such amazing parents... As the super small Yggy ran towards him, Vahn naturally scooped her up into his arms, pinching her button-like nose and causing her to giggle happily. Calling him Father had immediately elevated Yggys status in his heart so Vahns impression of her was already rather extreme. He actually started to feel a little guilty, knowing that she would be down here watching over Haven while he was away at times. Though he had already nned to spend a fair amount of time on the 50th Floor in the future, Vahn made a mental note to spend time with Yggy herself whenever possible. Fortunately, once the teleportation ward was established, it wouldnt be that difficult for him to stop by, even if the costs were a bit expensive... Though she had a physical body, the Elven version of Yggy was just the form she had decided upon for her avatar. Her actual body was the Tree of Life itself, and she had just wanted to create a form to interact with everyone that had gathered around. From Vahns perspective, she was essentially an entity of pure energy and, even if her body was destroyed, Yggdrasil would be perfectly fine, so long as her real body remained. Since the Tree of Life was borderline indestructible, and actually produced its own energy, the chances of this happening were slim at best. The only way Yggy could die was if someone managed to gain ess to her heart, which was the very same seed he had nted previously. Since the only person that could even remotely gain ess to it was Vahn himself, she immediately became the best protector for Haven they could have asked for... From the moment Yggy had sprouted, a very clear and refreshing aura had expanded to cover a 400m radius around her canopy. It was so vibrant and pristine that, from the perspective of his [Eyes of Truth], there was now a green sphere surrounding Yggy, purifying everything within. Even the surrounding ashen stones in the surrounding area has slowly changed into an entirely different state of matter, bing rich and fertile soil that was already covered in ayer of emerald green grass. There was so much energy in close proximity to Yggys trunk that Lefiya and Ryuu actually had to move to the outskirts since their faces had be extremely flushed from the excess energy entering into their bodies. The most amazing thing about this was the fact that this was Yggys passive state. If she wanted to, though the energy would be thinner, the region under her influence could be increased greatly. Her base ratio, for 100% purity, allowed her to influence an area that was precisely 40xrger than the height of her main body. Since she was 10m tall, this meant Yggys influence extended omnidirectional, including into the ground, 400m. If she wanted to, it was possible to reduce the purity of her aura to around 10%, allowing her to influence a region with a radius of 800m. Since this was actually more than enough to bolster nt life, Vahn asked if she could expand her aura to its maximum, assuming there wasnt an emergency. Since her aura had a natural purification effect, that even worked on the negative energy in peoples hearts and minds, Vahn felt it would be helpful to keep order. At the same time, her aura also warded off evil creatures, such as monsters, causing them to take persistent damage so long as they were within her range. If they approached near her trunk, almost any monster that wasnt allowed to be there would end up disintegrating entirely. The only downside to Yggys aura was that it would make all poisons, toxins, and miasma almostpletely inert. Even this wasnt a true downside, however, as the medicinal herbs that would have been most affected by her aura would actually be purified versions of themselves, or outright evolve into a new type of nt. Making a poison was next to impossible, but it was exceptionally easy to make powerful healing and mana potions just by allowing herbs to soak in Yggys aura for a few days... Though Vahn had always expected the Tree of Life to be amazing, it was far more incredible than he had expected it to be. Not only did he get a cute little daughter, but her existence itself was already infinitely close to Tier 4 from birth. He was able to discover this very quickly as, after handing over the two [Yggdrasils Branch]s in his possession, and exining his intentions, Yggy very happily became his subordinate. Though her Status listed her as [Nameless], meaning he would be able to use his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] in a few days, he was still able to confirm she was a verified Tier 3 existence with a whopping four Innates... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Nameless] Age: 0 Race: Spirit of the Tree of Life Level: (-) Loyalty: 1,019 Soul Strength: Tier 3 (Great Spirit) Karma: - State: [Active] Skills: [Spirit of the Tree of Life: Innate: SS], [Yggdrasils Blessing: Innate: SS], [Fountain of Youth: Innate: S], [Sanctuary: Innate: A], [Purifying Light: SS], [Rampant Growth: S], [Terraforming: S], [Endless Vigor: A], [Healing Rain: A] [Spirit of the Tree of Life] Rank: Innate(SS) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* Passive: Allows the user to adapt to any and all environments, purifying them and strengthening the life essence contained within. So long as the Sacred Heart of Life remains, those possessing this skill will live eternally. [Yggdrasils Blessing] Rank: Innate(SS) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* Passive: Grants the user limitless vital energy and allows them to infuse it into other sources. Active: Bestow [Yggrasils Favor] unto a target via a kiss. Warning: Weakens the passive strength of [Yggdrasils Blessing] for a year after bestowal. [Fountain of Youth] Rank: Innate(S) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* Passive: Produce one ounce of pristine water every month. Those that consume this water will have their vitality replenished, enabling them to reverse the effects of aging by a single year. [Sanctuary] Rank: Innate(A) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* Passive: Create a domain of purification that increases the growth rate, natural recovery, and spiritual development of everything within. Has the effect of negating negative energy, purifying poisons, preventing the spread of miasma, and damaging entities recognized as a threat by the user. [Purifying Light] Rank: SS Use: Causes a radiant light to emanate, dealing persistent damage to enemies based on the purity of their soul. Against familiars and mana constructs, this ability canpletely destroy any entities beneath the Level of the user. [Rampant Growth] Rank: S Use: Convert vital energy into the natural energy to stimte explosive nt growth. [Terraforming] Rank: S Use: The user is able to passively change the environment to be more hospitable for recognized lifeforms. Able to create ecospheres with isted habitats that canst indefinitely, so long as the user is still alive. [Endless Vigor] Rank: A Use: Massively increases the replenishment of stamina, mental energy, and spiritual energy. [Healing Rain] Rank: A Use: Convert vital energy into clouds that will rain down indiscriminately, healing all within this abilities range. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Securing the future by nting a seed...,Spontaneous Tree-Daughter-no-Jutsu~! RIP Ryuu...,Man, Vahn needs to start using his Unique items more proactively...Yggy is OP as all heck~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 865 - Inevitable

Chapter 865 - Inevitable

With Yggy being much stronger than he expected, especially after consuming the two [Yggdrasils Branch]s, Vahns confidence in his future actions increased greatly. He wasnt actually that concerned with what Enyo might have prepared for them and had been considerably more worried about protecting Haven. Now, though it would still take a few years, Yggy would be able topletely take over the 50th Floor while protecting the residents of Haven. There was no danger of her actually being hurt, assuming the enemy didnt have some Innate that could circ.u.mvent her defenses. Even then, Yggy could regenerate very quickly, a fact she had made apparent by burying Vahn in a pile of crystalline leaves after he asked for a few. She could apparently regrow thempletely anew once a month, leaving Vahn with 227,019 multi-colored leaves that would make most Alchemists fight tooth and nail just to obtain one... Yggdrasils branches were slightly different than her leaves, as they possessed an inherent indestructible quality to them. Unless Yggrasil herself gave them up, it was impossible to harvest them through normal means and, though her regeneration was quick, such as if she somehow suffered slicing wounds, it took time to regrow limbs. Since it would stunt her growth, and Vahn could just obtain branches from the system shop on his own, he refused her offer of a branch until she had already grown to an adequate size. Since these branches would be even more powerful with time, there was no rush in trying to procure resources from her. After all, much like how he felt towards his other subordinates, Vahn felt very awkward when they willingly tried to give up their resources for his use. This was something that bothered him about the Xenos as well since even Marie had happily offered her blood while Lyd even cut off one of his horns. Vahn adamantly refused the former but, as Lyd had already cut off the horn and presented it, Vahn infused it into a scimitar that the proud Xenos loved so much that he even slept with it... Remembering the uniqueness of the Xenos, Vahn felt like he should spend some time at Spero vige when he finished up with all these troublesome matters. For the time being, however, he was helping establish severalyers of defenses, not necessarily to protect Yggy, but to keep people from discovering the teleportation ward that was going to be ced in the center of the region. Though he wasnt sure of the reason, all Trees of Life seemed to be hollow on the inside and there was even a small stump located in the center that contained a rather deep well. The well was only 1m in diameter but was nearly 3m deep, containing a very thinyer of luminescent water contained within. Vahn understood this was water created by Yggys [Fountain of Youth]. Since it was produced from an Innate, Vahn suspected it was a Unique grade item but decided to leave it be for the time being. If Yggy hadnt possessed sentience, he might have tried to harvest some of its resources but that was no longer an option, at least from his perspective. Yggy, upon seeing him inspecting the well, beamed with a face full of innocence as she said, "If you want, I can give you all of my fountain water, Father~! Please, just tell me if there is anything I can do to help!" Hearing this, Vahn turned to this daughter of his and performed his almost instinctual head-patting technique on her. She squinted her eyes happily as a result while Vahn returned a smile of his own, saying, "I am truly grateful for how eager and giving you are, Yggy, but please dont strain yourself. If you truly consider yourself my daughter, then allow me to take care of you for a bit...so long as you protect this ce, Id rather you focus on being happy, not trying to make me happy..." In response to this, Yggy smiled wide enough that Vahn could see both rows of teeth, a smile full of the same vitality that the young Spirit herself represented... After having Ryuu hold their daughter, Vahn began inscribing the teleportation formation in the location where the fountain had been located. Just as she had been able to make an opening for him and Ryuu to enter into her trunk, Yggy had easily relocated her fountain to the back so that Vahn had enough space to make the formations core. The actual teleportation ward would be much bigger than the location where people would transfer from, but that was intentional. Having arger transference area would exponentially increase the number of resources required for teleporting and, though Yggy offered to supplement some of the energy with her own, Vahn didnt want to use her as a battery for their convenience. She could produce a seemingly infinite amount of energy, but that didnt mean she was producing an infinite amount at every moment. There was a limit to what she could do at any one moment and, in order to supply the energy for single teleportation, it would almostpletely use up her reserves. Vahn was at a point where the amount of OP he was gaining actually exceeded his somewhat ridiculous expenditure by a great deal. He knew he hadnt exactly been frugal with his OP but, even with that being the case, his reserves were currently sitting at 238,443,417. With the [Leaves of the Tree of Life] being worth between 700-1000 OP, if he chose to sell them to the shop, Vahn was at a point where his passive earnings could reach more than 200,000,000OP per month. Things like this caused him to question why his Emperor self hadnt been able to afford the [Dimensional Anchor: Statis] but, almost immediately upon thinking this, Vahn realized he must have made the decision not to freeze the world. Vahn didnt know what he would have done with Eva in the Divination but it was very apparent that the path he was currently walking had diverged greatly from the course he had taken to be that lonely Emperor... With Yggys help, Vahn knew it was only a matter of time before he .u.mted enough OP to be able to purchase the anchor andplete his Quests. If necessary, he even had a trump card, as it was possible to exchange the [Skill Advancement Scroll: SSS] for 10,000,000,000OP, meaning he couldplete two of his important Quests in almost an instant, assuming he was willing to take a loss of 90 Billion OP as a result. For a moment, just after he had obtained the scroll, Vahn humored the thought of using it on his [Grooming] to see just how far the skill would develop. Sis immediately discouraged this course of action, not because it was a bad idea, but because it would very nearly push him into Tier 4 as a result. The [Skill Advancement Scroll: SSS] wasnt restricted to simply giving you SSS-Rank in the current skill, it immediately advanced it to the highest evolution within the record. This meant, if Vahn used his scroll just after obtaining [cksmith], he would have been able to immediately reach [Godsmith: SSS]. Though he wouldnt be able to forge Tier 4 items within the mortal world, theprehension he would obtain in rtion to forging could actually push him towards awaking his own Divinity the moment his soul was strong enough to sustain the transition. This meant, if Vahn had truly used the scroll on his [Grooming], it would have reached the pinnacle of Tier 4, making it very possible he would one day obtain an actual Divinity rted to Petting... As a result of this conversation with Sis, Vahn decided to hold onto the scroll until he moved on to a higher Tier record. This was because, ording to Sis, the price of the scroll actually increased based on the record he was in. Since it always elevated a skill to the peak of the record, this meant the scroll was infinitely more useful in a Tier 5-6 world than it was in Danmachi. He already knew that most of the parameters and skills he possessed rted to the record wouldpletely vanish when he entered a new record, losing all of his parameters in the process, so having a [SAS: SSS] to rely on could very well save his life. So long as he learned a single useful skill or ability within the record, he could immediately increase its rank to the peak of that record. Though he would certainly have to adapt, just as when he had upgraded his [cksmith] faster than hisprehension, it would undoubtedly prove useful... --- Around the same time he was working on the teleportation ward with Terra, Vahn was also back at the Manor watching over his newly appointed Battle Maid Division. They had been given ess to the Sub-Space orb and were currently receiving a basic education on how to use enhancement magic from Alexa. She was surprisingly motivated to be teaching so many people, even though a somewhat haughty look would appear on her face when she did demonstrations. Vahn was watching over them and serving as a demonstration dummy, enjoying the oohs and ahhs from therge assortment of women sitting at desks very studiously. Though they would struggle to ever outpace any of the mainbatants within the Manor, this Battle Maid Division would truly be a very powerful arrow for the Alliance in the future... Alexas lesson hade to an end after the clocktower in the center of the Sub-Space orb began ringing that it had just turned 10 AM. Since the Maids had other training and duties to attend to, Alexa dismissed them before she and Vahn enjoyed a half-hour tea time with Risna. The two had be surprisingly close friends since Alexa genuinely enjoyed reading all kinds of books and it was very interesting for her to know someone that wrote them. She had even started writing a few short stories of her own, though Vahn had sweat a little when she snatched away a nk temte novel that she had been working on. Since he knew about Risnas own collection, he decided not to inquire about the contents of the novel and had never mentioned it since then... As enjoyable as spending time with the two adorable authors was, Vahn bid them farewell after their tea time hade to an end. He wanted to give Freya the [Brsingamen] sooner, rather thanter, as the effects offered by her Blessing were still very useful. Though it would certainly cause him a fewplications, it wasnt anything new that he couldnt deal with. The fact that it enhanced the growth rate of allbat skills was simply too useful and, though he never intended to use it, having the chance to charm almost anyone was still an extra weapon in his arsenal. Since it worked on anything of the opposite s.e.x, Vahn knew it would actually be quite useful if he ever came across any difficult to handle female monsters. There was even a chance it would momentarily effect Enyo, creating an exploitable gap that could result in a much easier victory for their party. Besides, no matter how he tried to spin it, Vahn was good at using such techniques and there were no limits to being better at something... After exining to the girls where he was going, Vahn stopped by the training area his hardworking little daughter, Leh, was tirelessly swinging her sword. She was growing up quickly, already 115cm tall and able to swing around a weighted iron sword with rtive ease. At the side, her Guardian, the True Silver Dragon she had affectionately named Vaan was patiently watching each of her movements. It responded to his presence much earlier than Leh did but Vahn held up his finger in a shushing gesture as he watched his daughterplete her current training set. Though she only had the physique of a six-year-old, Leh was as adorable as a doll, even with her face showing an uncharacteristically serious look as she struck forward for what must have been the three-thousandth time today. Once she had finished her set, Leh didnt immediately rest and instead nted the tip of her sword into the ground and focused on her breathing. She struck a horse stance, with her tiny fists balled up near her waist, and took in several slow and steady breaths through her nose while exhaling somewhat loudly through her mouth. Since she was only wearing what amounted to an Aegis-grade sports bra, spats, a skirt, and weighted forearm and leg protectors, it was easy to see that she was sweating a great deal. Vahn didnt really know what to say to get his daughters to try and wear more appropriate clothing, as he had never really been bothered by it when the other girls wore simr attire. He didnt want to sound like a hypocrite and cause any kind of strange misunderstandings so Vahn just tolerated it...so long as no men from the outside world began harboring intentions towards them... After three minutes of focused breathing, Leh moved to pick up her sword for a new set but was interrupted by a hand patting the top of her head. Since only one person was really able to sneak up on her so easily, while patting her head, Leh immediately giggled before asking, "Papa, how long have you been watching me...?" As she spoke, Leh looked up to confirm it was indeed her Papa before happily enjoying theforting energy flowing into her head. Vahn smiled in response before saying, "Well, Ive been watching since you were about halfway through thest set. You must remember to always pay attention to your surroundings, Leh, even if your senses dont inform you something is amiss..." Leh puffed up her cheeks in response to this, saying in a tone full of childish exasperation, "Papa, that might be the case in a battle, but this is our backyard. Vaan would have told me if there were any real threats...!" With True Silver Dragons having some of the highest perception amongst all True Dragons, it was even able to track Vahn while thetter was using stealth, not to mention almost any other people. Even so, Vahn poked his daughters puffed-out cheeks and said, "Though it isnt wrong to rely on your allies, the mark of a truly great warrior is how reliable their own skills are. Isnt it your dream to be an unstoppable General in the future~? What will you do if the enemy tries to send assassins against you when your guard is down?" Vahn never truly treated his children as if they were ipetent and he had often discussed what each of the Vanir wanted to do in the future to obtain achievements for their [Heroic Tale]s. Erika had wanted to be a Schr and a Diplomat and intended to be a Professor within the Academy one day, if not the Governor of Orario itself. Ina, inspired by the tale of a castle floating in the sky, had actually drafted a basic blueprint simr to his [Heavenly Pce] in the Divination. As for Vana, her desire was to be a powerful Hero that traveled around the world and saved people that were in trouble. Leh, somewhat inspired by Vana, actually took things a little further and said that, if the Alliance one day had a standing military, which was very likely, she would be its General and uphold order. Aisha, having be somewhat of a follower to Leh, was studying hard to be her Advisor while Autumn, being rather peculiar amongst the Vanir, simply wanted to bake bread to make people smile... In response to her Papas question, Leh frowned slightly and seemed to fall into deep thought before realization dawned upon her. With a radiant smile that felt like it could purify the darkness in ones soul, Leh confidently stated, "Papa will protect me~! Even if I be the most powerful General, Papa will always be the absolute strongest. If people try to hurt me, I know Papa will always be there to protect me, ehehehe~." Though he wanted to correct her, Vahn didnt have the words to say she was wrong and, instead, patted her head a little more affectionately as he asked, "I was going to go visit your Mother; will youe with me, Leh...?" This caused the intensity of Lehs smile to go up a few notches, rivaling the sun in the sky as she happily shouted, "Yes, lets go visit Mom~!" --- (A/N: Though Ive exined this several times, I will reiterate for those who have forgotten or were confused about the way things work. When Vahn enters a record, his body essentially has to be created and tuned to match the Laws and system within the record. A skill like [Master Smith] may not even exist in a record without skills and development abilities, meaning Vahn would lose it. However, that doesnt mean he loses his knowledge and skill as a cksmith. You have to remember, in a record like Danmachi, skills/magic/abilities have modifiers and correctional attributes. In other words, they can increase damage, maniptews, and increase the chance of sess for certain oues. Vahn would still be able to forge high-quality equipment, even without the [Master Smith] Development Ability, he just wouldnt have any of the extra benefits associated with it. I hope that made sense o3o~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Just imagine all the leaves of a tree falling off at once...,Battle Meidos, fighto~!,The True Guardian of the Vanir, Vahn Mason) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 866 - Defensive Measures

Chapter 866 - Defensive Measures

After giving Leh a quick wash down with a sphere of water and changing her into more suitable clothing, this time an adorable ck dress with white frills, the two set out towards Freyas temporary residence near Daedelus Street. Her Familia had nearly seized full control of the first ten Floors of Knossos and also secured the sole elevator to control anyone that was trying to move in and out secretly. Though the number of emergency tunnels leading into various parts of the City would likely take months to explore, it was safe to say that Knossos was currently under the control of the Alliance. Vahn just needed to finish mapping out the lower floors and making sure there were no other illegal activities going on before construction to convert it into a practice dungeon would begin. Leh enjoyed the rtively short flight, happily riding on her Papas back without any fear of heights whatsoever. She had her hair styled up in a short ponytail that was fixed by a ck ribbon, contrasting her silver hair and silvery-blue eyes splendidly. Much like Freya and Syr, she had fringe bangs that curved around her face but, after starting her training with the sword, Leh had picked up the habit of pinning her bangs up so they didnt get in her eyes. Overall, she was ridiculously adorable and Vahn found himself flying a little higher than normal so that he wouldnt have to deal with anyone eyeing her with malicious intentions...he ignored it in a lot of circ.u.mstances but, if anyone so much as looked at his daughters in a devious manner, Vahn didnt think hed be able to allow them to roam freely... By the time they had reached Freyas residence, she was already waiting outside on the balcony to receive them, something most people couldnt imagine her doing for anyone. Even before they hadnded, Leh was already beaming as she cried out, "Mom~!" Freya, with a smile of her own, waved gingerly as a peal of bell-likeughter escaped her lips. Upon seeing her eyes wandering, however, Vahn realized he should have brought Diana along with them. Afternding, he handed Leh over to her, even though she was a little big to be held, saying, "Sorry, I didnt think about things properly this time around...I just wanted to bring you a gift..." Without showing any signs of actually being upset, Freya began carrying Leh into the interior, softly stating, "Come along, Ive already had a fresh tea set out. It is nice to be able to spend time with just the three of us, ufufufu~." With that said, Vahn quickly followed along, watching with a small smile on his face as Leh went into great details about what she had been up to since theirst meeting. Freya showed genuine interest in everything her daughter said, even asking some questions of her own and paying Leh a few choicepliments that got the girl to giggle happily. Once they reached one of the interior rooms, very different from the location of his throne, the three sat around a rounded tabled that was formed from what appeared to be pure silver and quartz. There was a very fragrant pot of tea that had been set out while a tall thermal pitcher that Vahn knew contained a very expensive coffee was next to it. Since there werent any snacks, Vahn quickly produced some of his own, earning a yful smile from Freya as she lightly mused, "I must admit, Vahn, Im rather curious about what kind of gift would lead you to seek me out on such short notice. For you to bring out daughter along...well, I cant say any thoughtse to mind when ites to presents you know Ill enjoy~." Vahn knew Freya was subtly teasing him about a very different kind of present that he could have given her but, without losing hisposure, he quickly pulled out the [Brsingamen] and gauged her reaction. More so than he had ever seen before, Vahn observed as Freyas eyes widened until they were nearly rounded. Even Lehs eyes showed genuine shock and awe as she mused, "So pretty..." in a voice less than a whisper. Then, realizing her own reaction, Freya blushed slightly without taking her eyes away from the ne, saying, "That ne...Vahn, do you know what that is? How...? I..." Freya couldnt actually believe the present Vahn had brought her, as there shouldnt have been any way for him to even know about it, much less obtain it... Based on her reaction, Vahn knew that Freya was aware of the origin of the ne and, as he had done a bit of research of his own, he knew the story might not be the most pleasant. Though the record of Danmachi certainly wouldnt match the lore and mythos of another world, almost every story regarding [Brsingamen] showed that Freya had paid to obtain it using her own body aspensation. Some stories even depicted herying with several hideous Dwarven men who, so smitten with her beauty, refused to sell it to her unless shey with each of them for a night. Vahn didnt understand how a Goddess of War could be manipted by a bunch of Dwarves but that was simply how events were depicted in some texts... So she didnt misunderstand, Vahn maintained a casual smile as he said, "This is a unique item that my ability had produced while I was in the Dungeon. Since it seemed to share a fate with you, I wanted to return the item to its rightful owner...what you do with it is ultimately your decision, Freya. However, I believe it does suit you a great deal..." The [Brsingamen] was actually one of the more beautiful pieces of jewelry Vahn had ever seen and, based on its grade from the gacha, Vahn suspected it was actually bordering on the Divine in quality. His [Eyes of Truth] couldnt see through the secrets of any Unique items thus far, the [Brsingamen] included, so there was no way to be absolutely sure. Even so, the fact that it had a resplendent gold base that was affixed with seven inextricably pure amber gemstones drew a lot of attention... Freya gingerly reached out her hands, taking the [Brsingamen] from Vahn and once again showing a face full of surprise as she asked, "Your power made this...?" From what she could tell, this was exactly the ne she often wore back in Heaven, meaning it should be on her Divine Statue, not here in the Mortal World. In truth, it was one of the only things that made her hesitate before descending, as it had been her most prized possession for several hundred million years. Unlike the stories Vahn had read, however, Freya had received her [Brsingamen] after taking an interest in Hephaestus craft and trying to befriend the previously cursed goddess... Though Freya was a Goddess of Beauty, she had never actually cared about the appearance of others so, while they werent exactly friends, the two had an amicable rtionship for a time. Since this had been shortly after Hephaestus came into existence, the then young goddess had put quite a bit of effort into creating a masterpiece solely for Freyas use. Vahn wasnt aware of it, but in Freyas hands, the [Brsingamen] greatly enhanced the effect of her own Divinity and was one of the reasons many gods feared her back in Heaven. If Vahn had given it to her in the past, Freya would have granted him almost anything he could wish for, even if it was her own body... Now, though Freya felt a powerful longing for the ne in her hands, it almost seemed meaningless while she was sitting with her lover and their child. She would have used this ne to conquer the entire City in the past but, now that Vahn had already conquered it, Freya was perfectly content at his side. Thus, without much hesitation at all, Freya smiled before cing the [Brsingamen] around Lehs neck, saying, "This ne is a very precious heirloom that I never thought I would be able to pass down...Leh, I want you to take care of this ne and, when you one day find someone you love and have a daughter of your own...bestow it upon her as well, okay~?" Lehs eyes brightened like stars as she marveled at the beautiful ne her Mother had just given her. Seeing this, Vahn was more than a little surprised and he couldnt help but adopt a smile of his own after witnessing such an event. He had still gotten the [Blessing of Freya] and the Unique item [Freyas Favor], so he didnt mind at all that she had regifted it to Leh. Though it was currently a little big for her, the ne was still inordinately beautiful and seemed to give Lehs skin a subtle glow. Vahn was surprised to see this as Leh was actually able to make him feel a slight amount of pressure while wearing the ne... As if to exin away any questions he might have, Freya softly stated, "The [Brsingamen] is one of the greatest masterpieces that Hephaestus had forged back in Heaven. It is one of the only artifacts with the effect to strengthen the Divinity of we gods, making it one of the most sought-after items in all eight regions of Heaven. From now on, it will help Leh grow even stronger, all while protecting her from any harm that may befall her...make sure you cherish it well, Leh, as it will one day protect your most cherished treasure as well..." As these words left her lips, Freya felt like a weight had been lifted on her heart as she internally mused, ("Yes, I have no need for such trinkets anymore...there are far more precious things in the world...") Seeing Freya look towards Leh with an expression full of love, Vahn felt like his own heart had melted, a great deal of warmth spreading through his body. Freya, susceptible to these kinds of feelings, turned her eyes towards him, a very simr look to the one she viewed Leh with...but with very different emotions contained within. Vahns eyes squinted slightly and their moods began to ovep with each other until Leh suddenly asked, "Mom, whats an heirloom?" This innocent question had caused Vahn and Freya to startle slightly before thetter happily began exining in great detail about heirlooms, love, and precious people... --- It had taken nearly sixteen straight hours but, with theirbined efforts, Vahn and Terra managed to finish setting up the teleportation ward. The longest part of the process ensuring that therge ritual ward couldnt be interfered with, requiring them to install severalyers of protection. Though Yggy would be able to initiate a transfer without therger ritual ward, during an emergency, it was necessary to power the formation with rather expensive materials during other instances. Vahn was able to circ.u.mvent some of the cost by using his [Lapidary] to make [Source Energy Crystal]s that could power a few transfers before being destroyed. These were also for emergency use, however, making it necessary to use twenty high-quality magic cores, generally obtained by monsters over Level 5, just to transfer a single person. With the girls strength, and the power of the Alliance in general, it wasnt that difficult to acquire a number of such cores. However, this meant it would cost nearly 1.6MV just to transfer a person one-way, meaning it took 3.2M for a round trip. With the average party of Veteran Adventurers only earning around 600KV per day, generally split between five people, this meant the cost for transfers was exorbitantly expensive. Just moving everyone within their private group to the surface would cost, on average, around 180-200MV. Though Vahn could easily support these expenditures with his constantly increasing savings, it would even bankrupt him if they overused it. Fortunately, he expected that it would be rtively easy for them to acquire their own high-quality magic cores once they began venturing into the Deeper Floors. In the future, once things had stabilized, it might actually be rtivelymon for people to move between the 50th Floor and the surface with secondary transfer gates the Alliance might set up. Vahn expected the average strength of Adventurers to increase over the next few decades and, though it was currently rather impressive to even solo to the middle Floors, that bar could very well be raised to the Deep Floors one day... Once the teleportation ward was functional, causing the interior of Yggys trunk to be even more fantastical in appearance, things werent quite finished. Though he could take a break, Vahn was determined to bolster the defenses of Haven before he began venturing inward to confront Enyo. Terra also didnt tire out and, after promising to spend some time with her in the Sub-Space orb for a few hours, she happily agreed to help reinforce the perimeter wall. As a result, there was now a 50m tall bedrock wall that was more than 15m thick creating a giant ring around Haven that was nearly 10km in diameter. When the construction crews saw this miracle, the way people had started looking at Terra now had an extrayer of fear and reverence contained within their gazes. As powerful as she was, Terra wasnt quite strong enough to used such arge-scale unnamed spell, at least outside of her Dominion. Instead, she relied heavily on her Masters support for the task and, with [Yggdrasils Blessing] and [Hands of Nirvana] not quite providing nearly enough energy, this resulted in Vahn getting yet another bite mark on his shoulder. Though she had brought up the idea of obtaining a very different fluid from him, Vahn had been back on the surface dealing with some issues at the School and didnt want any distractions. As Terra had no aversion to sucking his blood at all, as it was often reputed to be quite sweet, they ended up embracing in the sky above Haven as she manipted enough mana to even make a god sweat... Once the spells structure wasplete, there were no other steps required and, other than one of thergest magic circles anyone had ever seen forming above the City, the wall itself hade into existence without incident. After that, Vahn had gone around to set up several defensive wards while Terra, finished with her own duties, returned to the surface to patiently await her reward. Though she could have helped to establish the defensive wards, Vahns were inherently more powerful as, even though Terra wasprised of Source Energy, she actually couldnt sense this at all. She had no way of using it directly but, unlike Vahn, had nearly no trouble converting it into the natural energy she used in her spells...it was quite enviable. Even so, as his wards were several times stronger than normal, Vahn willingly ced a total of 1,000 wards before he was finally satisfied... As they had been patiently observing him, Fenrir, Maemi, and Emiru had alle to his side immediately after Vahn had sat down to rest. He wasnt physically tired but, if his avatar hadnt been resting for the both of them, Vahns mental energy would have failed a long time ago. Emiru and Maemi brought over a warm towel, cing it around the back of his neck as Fenrir turned into her Bunnywolf form, except even fluffier than in the past, and curled up in hisp. Vahn couldnt resist smiling as he began stroking her fur, feeling immediately more rxed as Maemi even went about massaging his shoulders. Emiru, seemingly having nothing else to do, came around to the front of Vahn, kneeling down as if she were going to perform a seiza before bringing her hands up to create paws before saying, "Master, good work, nyaa~" Though she was a Leopard Person, Emiru still had a simr appearance to a Cat Person and could definitely pull off the adorable appeal their species were known for. Thus, with a very contented smile on his face, Vahn found himself petting two adorable creatures while a very determined Maid massaged his shoulders. At the same time, in the back of his mind, Vahn muttered, ("Iming for you, Enyo...") (A/N: Though I was supposed to do 5 chapters today, the next chapter is the start of the new volume and I wanted to start the day off strong. Ill see if I cant pump out six tomorrow, though it will probably still just be five. Please keep in mind that it can take upwards of 10-12 hours to write and edit five chapters so dont think Im trying to short change you any xD. Even so, Ill make tomorrows releases on separated by one hour, as there should be some action that everyone has been looking forward to (UwU)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Freya has changed a lot...,That is an expensive form of transport!,RIP Enyo...messing with Vahns happy times (>,...,<)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 867 - Before the Descent

Chapter 867 - Before the Descent

The more time that passed, the greater the sense of incongruity in Vahns heart grew. He knew this was his instinct that was associated with karma and fate so his desire to seize the initiative in his own favor was growing by the day. Now that the basic defensive perimeter of Haven had been established, the only thing left to do was venture into the Dungeon and try to unlock its secrets. At the very least, they needed to interrupt the momentum that Enyo was trying to build with her forces and try to prevent her ns froming to fruition... In preparation for this, Vahn was doing some finishing touches on the routine maintenance he would perform for the girls equipment. Though they could rely on their [Pactio] in a fight, it didnt mean their other equipment could be neglected. There was always a chance that something could go wrong and, in the event the girls werent able to use their [Pactio], having powerful equipment to fall back on was very important. With his maintenance also providing enhancements to the base stats of there equipment, it was worth the time it takes in order to protect the people he cares about. After giving Ais [Gram] an oil rub, Vahn finished wiping the rather holy looking de with a cloth before handing it over to the patiently waiting Ais. The girls had a habit of watching him whenever he was doing maintenance on their equipment so Vahn was used to her unwavering gaze at such times. Ais happily epted her now extra shiny sword, an appreciative smile on her face as she said, "Thank you, Vahn. I love it...ah...!" As if realizing something, Ais smile changed subtly and she quickly put away her [Gram] in the runic golden ring on her finger before leaning down and giving him a quick peck on the cheek. Then, with a smile that reached all the way to her eyes, Ais whispered, "I love you more..." The moment these words left her lips, Tiona was already flying through the air and tackling Ais as she said, "Ais, thats sneaky~" This little disy got a small rise out of many of the surrounding girls while even Vahn gave a light chuckle as he rose to his feet. While using a quick cleaning magic to remove some of the grime that had built up on his clothes, Vahn looked towards everyone and said, "Well, its about time for us to head down. While were away, Ill leave the defense of Haven to you all. Remember, if things get really bad, Yggy will protect you and, should you decided to go up to the surface, try not to draw too much attention to yourselves..." At this point, every girl had enough magic cores in their inventory to move to and from the surface around five times. Maemi and Emiru had already returned but Vahn expected that Tina may end up heading upwards at least once in the next few days... In response to his words, Tione actually snorted with her arms crossed but didnt say anything, a slightly conflicted look on her face. Though she knew her strength was quite a bit lower than her sisters, the fact that she was remaining back at Haven bothered her a fair amount. However, among the girls that Vahn was taking with him, the only one she had even a small amount of confidence beating was Lefiya. Even Lili had grown almost ridiculously strong and, though she could fight on the defensive for a decent amount of time, Tione knew she wouldnt even be able to take one solid hit from the diminutive Pallum... Seeing Tiones behavior, Vahn unhesitantly walked over to her, causing the conflicted look on her face to waver a bit as he wrapped his arms around her like a bear hug. He held her tightly in his embrace and, with his mouth next to her ear, stated, "Remember, Tione, this is just supposed to be a scouting party...but, even if something happens, it isnt because you are weak that Im not taking you along. Dont forget, I care more about the protection of Haven than anything rted to Enyo...I need everyone to keep it safe while Im not here to protect it...besides, once this is all over..." At this point, Vahns voice had be a hushed whisper as he added, "Well be one step closer to resolving the issues at Telskyura...Ill be taking you and your sister with me when the timees, okay...?" By the time Vahn had finished his words, Tiones face had be slightly flushed as she nodded her head, an angry facade as she muttered, "You better remember it..." To this, Vahn chuckled very lightly, causing the slight blush on Tiones face to develop even more, especially when he said, "Ive been looking forward to it for a while...I think youd make a great mother, Tione. I can hardly wait..." Towards the end of his sentence, Vahn traced a small circle on Tiones back with his index finger, a rainbow-hue suffusing from the tip. She pushed him away rather abruptly and stormed off, not angry, but to prevent herself from pushing Vahn down in the middle of the group... Vahn followed her with his eyes for a few moments before turning his attention to Arnya and Ryuu, saying, "The two of you will be in charge during any defensive operations. Make sure you familiarize yourselves with the terrain and, in an emergency, you can send a message to Terra through Yggy..." Seeing the two girls nods, Vahn then turned his attention to Chloe, Tina, and Shizune, his eyes resting on the maturing Kitsune as he said, "Youve been very patient thus far, Shizune, thank you. If there are anyrge scale battles that ur while Im away, dont hesitate to use your abilities to their fullest. Chloe, Tina, Ill trust you to keep Shizune safe, but dont forget that your own safety is just as important..." Hearing Vahns permission, Shizune chest puffed up and she smiled radiantly, saying, "Finally, its about time I had an opportunity to shine. Im looking forward to it~." As for Chloe, she simply nodded her head and said, "Leave it to me, nyaa~." while Tina showed a serious expression, saying, "Ill protect everyone, Vahnya~!" Vahn habitually reached out to stroked Tinas head and, as she was standing right next to her, Shizunes as well. Both girls had matured quite a bit but, the moment Vahn began stroking their heads, they had happy and contented expressions that made them appear much younger. This caused Vahns smile to soften a bit before he turned his attention to the stoic Mikoto who, without him even saying anything, gave a small nod and said, "Please, leave it to me, Vahn. This is why Ive trained so hard...to protect the things I care about..." Vahn ruffled the two girls hair onest time before walking over to Mikoto and cing his hand on her shoulder, saying, "I believe in you, Mikoto. You have already be incredibly strong..." Though there were a few bad matchups for her, Mikotos offensive power in a melee was just under Ais. Her speed had reached a point that most of the other girls couldnt even cope with and, so long as she was able to close the distance quickly enough, very few people would ever be able to defend against her attacks. Vahn had full confidence that she would even be able to deal with therge nt-like monsters on her own and wanted to leave her as a failsafe if there were any enemies that could resist ranged attacks. As it was growing closer to the time Vahn had wanted to set out, hestly turned to Shakti and Rufina, theter of which immediately asked, "Can I not go with you...?" She knew she was far from the strength of the other girls but, imagining Vahn going to face against a terrifying enemy while she just waited didnt sit well with her. In response, Vahn slowly shook his head and, before Rufina couldsh out, smiled to her as he said, "Vana would never forgive me if something happened to you...also, this ce, this Dungeon, it has already influenced your life enough...the fact you were able to return here shows that you are a very strong woman, Rufina. One day, if that is your wish, Im certain you will be even stronger...but now, this is our stage and my fight...("dont worry, if you feel lonely, Ill be waiting for you on the surface...") Vahn said thest few words telepathically, causing Rufinas face to flush a bit as she hugged her body and averted her eyes... Vahn couldnt help smiling slightly when he saw this, as Rufinas actions reminded him a lot of how Eva used to behave back when they first met. He didnt tell her this, of course, as it would have likely required him to dodge a few punches, and just turned to Shaki to say, "Shakti, take care of yourself and watch over Rufina for me. If things get dangerous, please retreat to the surface...remember, you cant just think about yourself anymore." Though she didnt seem to do it intentionally, Shaktis hand naturally gravitated towards her abdomen as a very serious expression appeared on her face. Even so, she managed to pull off a smile after a few seconds had passed, saying, "I wont take any risks, Vahn, I promise...Rufina and I will both be okay." Choosing to believe in her words, Vahn gave a curt nod before sharing a long embrace with the two girls. Rufinas ended up being a bit longer since she didnt seem willing to let him go but, after a few minutes had passed, she finally relented while saying, "Try ande back quickly...but, if you see that bitch, Enyo, make sure to give her a solid hit on my behalf..." Thisment gave Vahn a slight urge tough but he managed to keep it in, instead, saying, "Ill make sure Enyo pays for everything she has done...dont worry, your share will be included, Rufina." After sharing a few more parting words and expressions of affection, Vahn ended up heading towards the outer perimeter of Haven with Fenrir, Ais, Tiona, Haruhime, Lefiya, and Lili in tow. He had already discussed things with Finn previously so, other than a few people that were patrolling around the perimeter, there was nobody to send them off. Even so, everyone was in his spirits as Tiona and Lili began making bets as to who would kill the most monsters between them while Haruhime, Lefiya, and Fenrir were, somewhat embarrassingly, talking about him. As for Ais, she simply walked at his side and remained rtively quiet as a resolute light shone within her eyes... Once they reached the entrance to the 51st Floor, Vahn brought everyone to a stop as he said, "Weve already gone over the n a few times but, now that were about to put it into action, Ill give everyone a brief reminder. Our goal is to map the entirety of the 51st Floor and make sure Enyos forces arent trying to undermine the integrity of the 50th Floor. Once were finished, well be heading into the 52nd Floor and use the Valgang Dragons breath to cut a path down to the 58th Floor. Our goal will be to secure the 58th Floor and then make camp before proceeding to the 59th Floor, tying the record of the Zeus and Hera Familias from the past. There is no way of knowing what awaits us beyond that point so we will be systematically exploring and mapping everything as we proceed, especially when we reach the 60th Floor...understood?" Seeing that nobody had any questions, as they had probably discussed these ns nearly a dozen times at this point, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Lefiya will be our pace-setter. Ais, Fenrir, the two of you will be our Vanguard while Lili and Tiona will take up the Rearguard positions. Haruhime and I will protect Lefiya and act as the ranged support during the exploration. If there are any new enemies, act with caution but do not be afraid to make a decisive strike to keep the momentum in our favor. I will support you with my [Wounds Transfer] and my bow unless the enemy looks particrly dangerous. In that circ.u.mstance, remember to retreat into Haruhimes barrier so that Ais and I can try to deal with it. If that happens, Ill be relying on you, Lefiya, to chant a spell so I can absorb it with [Magia Erebea]..." Lefiya, a fiery glint in her eyes, nodded her head fervently and eximed, "Leave it to me, Master!" Even without any thought required, Vahn had reached out his hand to pat the adorable Spirits head, causing her expression to melt. At the same time, he gave a confident nod to everyone, saying, "We can do this. The preparations we have made over thest few years give us a distinctive advantage in these engagements. So long as we maintain the momentum, there is nothing that can stand in our way. Remember,munication is the most important thing...now, lets go teach Enyo that she cant simply do whatever she wants...!" Following Vahns words, everyone gave a loud hurrah in response, each equally excited to teach Enyo not to mess with their family. With everyones morale at its peak, Vahn smiled confidently before giving the signal to advance to Ais and Fenfir. He also drew out his new bow, [Khryskatos], a powerful weapon that had cost him a total of 30,000,000OP to make full use of his [Archery Goddess Blessing]. Though it didnt have the rather scary effect of Naazas [Yi], this bow carried a fragment of Artemis record, as Vahn had specifically looked for equipment rted to her mythos. Its form was that of a golden crescent and, in conjunction with his greatly increased critical hit rate, it was a truly monstrous weapon... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Khryskatos] Rank: S (Magic) Slots: 5 P.Atk: 700+70 M.Atk: 1500 Ability: Artemis Blessing(S), Curse of the Huntress(S), Impable Aim(A), Crippling Blow(A), Moons Grace(A) A legendary bow that was enshrined at the Temple of Artemis, rumored to have obtained her Blessing. Those that wield this bow, so long as they have the Goddess of the Hunts favor, are fated to never miss their targets. During the night of the Full Moon, this bow is said to reach its full potential... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- So long as he had this bow, Vahn was confident he could even take out one of therge nt-like monsters in a single shot. Not only was he almost guaranteed a critical hit, but every time hended a critical it would stun the monster for a minimum of one second. Though that didnt sound like much, every sessive critical would increase the duration of the stun and, with how fast and powerful their attacks were, this was a death sentence to anything without borderline Innate levels of resistance. Since he also had skills like [Call of the Reaper] to back him up, Vahn felt like he had literally be Artemis Champion with a bow... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Poor Tione xD...,Bestid ns...,Vahn is Archer, confirmed...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 868 - Exploration : Explanation

Chapter 868 - Exploration : Exnation

As was the case during thest time Vahn had visited the 51st Floor, the majority of the enemies were simply ck Rhinos while, very rarely, there would be a Deformis Spider trying to ambush them. These enemies werent even a threat back when the girls were much weaker so, without any difficulty whatsoever, Ais and Fenrir had ughtered every monster that appeared almost instantly. Every time one was about to spawn, Fenrir had already impaled the wall with a spear of ice while Ais, even without her [Ariel], cut through the thick-skinned ck Rhinos as if they were less dense than fog. With Vahn dealing with the stealthy Deformis Spiders using a single well-ced arrow, their progress through the 51st Floor had been going very smoothly. With that in mind, Vahn watched as arge flow of mana began to condense in the surrounding walls and simply stated, "Monster Party." in a calm tone. Haruhime gave a small nod, uttering Adeat as her raiment immediately came into existence. It still had the same ptial appearance as before, making Haruhime look like an Empress as she caused an opaque white membrane to spread around. Though it looked thin, the only way to break through Haruhimes barrier was topletely eat through her mana and, with Vahn serving as a battery of sorts, this was nearly impossible. Everyone had already moved inside of the barrier as Fenrir, forming two pure blue magic circles in her paws, began to reduce the temperature outside of the barrier extremely quickly. As the monsters began breaking free from the walls, floor, and ceiling, they were almost immediately coated in ayer of frost. Some of the ck Rhinos charged toward the barrier with great momentum but the only thing they got for their troubles was a crink in the neck as their momentum was immediately halted. Before they even had any time to regain their senses, Fenrir held out her paws in both directions, causingrger magical wards to appear outside of the barrier as she shouted, "Master, give me strength! sh Freeze~!" Following Fenrirs outburst, a vibrant white light red outside of Haruhimes barrier and, by the time it had faded away, there were hundreds of icy statues no loitering in the surrounding corridors. Every surface had became covered in ayer of frost as Fenrir took a few deep breaths while Vahn patted her head. She had been trying to get better at using unnamed spells and, after witnessing him freeze an entire Floor, Fenrir had been inspired to make her own version of the spell. Though it ate up nearly 60% of her reserves, she could freeze almost everything within a 300m radius, so long as it didnt have a natural resistance to Ice Elemental magic. Tiona, seeing the frozen world, walked out of the barrier and immediately jumped away from the Floor as her bare feet nearly got stuck to the ice. By the time shended back down, however, there was a thinyer of energy covering her feet as she yfully eximed, "Ehehe, Fenrirs ice is very cold~." At the same time, she had walked up to one of the statues and knocked on it with her knuckles, causing the Variant ck Rhinos to immediately fracture and fall apart. This made Tionas eyes widen slightly as she mused, "Wow, super cold~! Maybe I should try to learn Ice Magic~?" Though Tiona didnt really expect a response, Fenrir said, "Ice Magic is dangerous for those who dont have an affinity with it. Tiona is already very strong with Enhancement Magic...you should improve upon your strengths and cover your weaknesses, not pursue random things..." Upon hearing this, Tiona made a pouting expression, saying, "Muuuu, Fenrir is a bully..." Then, eyeing Vahn, Tionas eyes glimmered as she said, "Vahn, if I collect a bunch of materials, can you make me a Magic Weapon that can use Ice Magic~?" Vahnughed lightly in response while patting Fenrirs head to keep her from saying anything mean while he answered, "Sure, but only if you train diligently. Fenrirs words are from Eva, a very wise and powerful Mage who uses Ice Elemental magic. If you dont have a talent for it, the chances of you injuring yourself would be very high...though, I suppose that wouldnt matter to you that much...?" With her [Magic Devouring King], Tiona would probably just get stronger if her Magic backfired against her. Since it seemed she understood this as well, Tionaughed boisterously while smashing a few of the nearby statues to collect the monster cores. Other than Ais, most of the girls had awakened most, if not all, of their Innates after spending a few years inside of the Sub-Space orb proactively trying to awaken them. Ais had only managed to awaken her [Progenitor of the Wind], allowing her to manipte Air Elemental energy even without the use of her [Ariel]. As for Tiona, her [Magic Devouring King] as already C-Rank while her [Titan Virga] was at H-Rank. Even then, the amount of power she could gain from siphoning off the mana of other people was rather terrifying, especially since Titan Virga also increased her Magic Resistance and Regeneration based on the amount of damage she had taken from magical attacks. She was slowly but surely bing an unstoppable existence that, if you were unable to kill her instantly, it was almost guaranteed she would eventually overwhelm you... As if to emphasize this fact, one of the statues Tiona was about to break ended up fracturing before she was able to smash it. This had belonged to a Variant ck Rhinos who, instead of having thick ck hide, possessed a white hide with shiny blue eyes. Vahn had already known it was still alive and he knew that Tiona was fully aware of this as well, given the fact that her smile had berger and more yful as she drew near. When the White Rhinos tried tounch itself at her, Tiona simply spun her body in a natural arc with her foot following behind like a whip. When her seemingly delicate brown toes came into contact with the side of the White Rhinos head, the durable hide immediately contorted as a shockwave passed through. All of its forward momentum had beenpletely overpowered as the monsters head popped like a balloon, followed closely by its body also turning to dust. With even a weaker ck Rhinos being a Level 3 monster, most of the Variants would be Level 4 or higher. Even so, Tiona had defeated it with a simple kick before putting her hands behind her head andckadaisically walking to break the next statue. At this point, everyone else had started to break statues of their own in passing until the formation slowly rebuilt itself. There was almost no danger of other monsters showing up after a Monster Party had been cleared so things became a littlex for a few minutes. Vahn collected all the Drop Items into his Inventory, selling the majority for a few drops of OP into the massive reserves he was building... While the exploration of the 51st Floor was going on, Vahn was also back in the Manor talking with Hestia, Hephaestus, Loki, and Artemis. Ever since the changes to Freya, which had caused a major stir during the previous Denastus, rumors had been spreading in regards to Vahn seemingly finding a method to remove the restrictions ced on gods in the Mortal World. As this wasnt exactly false, many gods, including those that were already within the Alliance, had been pressuring for details. Things had only been made worse when rumors regarding Artemis began to spread, which Loki credited to Hermes, as some gods had actually gone to her Temple in Heaven. There, they found that her statue had been broken into small fragments, which would have led to the conclusion that she was dead, but it was already well-known that she was alive in the Mortal World. Some gods even spected that Artemis had fully manifested and they were currently discussing the matter and possible solutions. Loki, releasing a frustrated sigh,ined, "Man, I swear Ill wring that bastards neck the next time I see him..." She had thought, at least for a short while, Hermes would try toy low after theirst meeting together. Since he still spread these rumors within the godlymunity, it was likely at the behest of Ouranos or, even more frustratingly, he may have his own reasons for doing so. It was impossible to pin him down and, now that Vahn was the owner of the Hermes Familia, the number of people that the wandering god associated with had decreased exponentially. Artemis, upon hearing Lokis words, showed an apologetic expression but, before she could say anything, Hestia interjected, saying, "Artemis, you have no reason to feel bad about anything that happened! You and your children are the victims here!" This brought a smile to Artemis face as she reached out her hand to stroke Hestias hair, saying, "Thank you, Hestia, you are always so kind..." To this, Hestia smiled radiantly and said, "Of course! Were family now, so Ill always be here to support you, Artemis~!" As pleasant as the mood was, Loki, always the realist, chimed in, saying, "Still, the question remains about exactly what kind of existence Artemis and Freya are at this point. Tell me, Vahn, what do you make of everything that is going on? Do you think you can really allow a god to fully manifest in the Mortal World? And you, Artemis, can you even use your Arcanum...?" Before thetter could answer, Vahn raised his hand and said, "That may not be the best idea. Though I can say with certainty that it is possible to manifest a gods Arcanum, it requires a very powerful seal to prevent their body from breaking apart. In fact, it may be necessary for us tomission Hermes to escort Artemis back to Heaven so she can descend again safely. As it stands, overusing her Arcanum may cause her body to break down and, though this may not kill her, the time it takes to reform her body would likely stretch into the thousands of years..." Hearing this, Loki hunched over in deep thought, hand supporting her chin with a moderately annoyed expression on her face. Almost everyones attention was focused on her, including Artemis who eventually stated, "I do not mind returning to Heaven for a short while but, before I go, I...I want to..." Towards the end of her sentence, Artemis eyes had trained on Vahn and her cheeks had started to be slightly flushed. She now had a Love Divinity but, unlike normal Goddesses of Love, Artemis was kept in check by the fact she also had a Divinity rted to Family. Her affections were almost wholly reserved for the people she treated as her kin while Vahn was undoubtedly the focus of her love... Without any sign of perturbance, Vahn smiled in response, saying, "I understand it may take a few years for your to form an avatar and descend a second time...if youre willing, we can protect you here at the Manor and build a family together before you return..." Since she was fully manifested, it was actually possible for Artemis to enter into the Sub-Space orb as well. If she truly wanted to live in the Mortal World safely for a few years, it was possible for her to reside there and experience living amongst her family and friends for a while before returning. Vahn was even willing to make a slight exception and allow her to raise a Vanir within the orb, as he would rather she have the opportunity to raise their child to maturity before being separated for a short while... This time, Artemis face had be a rosy pink color as a vibrant smile spread across her face as she said, "Id like that, Vahn...!" There was even a slight moisture buildup in her eyes that made Vahns heart tremble with a powerful desire to protect her. Still, there were a few other options and, given how much Karma he had .u.mted, Vahn had prepared himself to broach a major subject he had been sitting on for a while. He couldnt exactly tell them he would be going to another world but, depending on how he worded things, it was possible to convincinglye up with an excuse that would exin the record suddenly being linked one day... Before he had even started speaking, all of the goddesses in the room had be quiet and serious, their bond with Vahn telling them he had something very important to discuss. This was something that made Vahn really appreciate the power of bonds, as having their understanding during such times was very beneficial. Thus, as serious as the topic was, Vahn smiled casually as he stated, "Im sure youve all seen it, and I know weve discussed several rted matters before...but the world is beginning to rapidly change. With the existence of the Vanir, and the possibility of not only myself, but several of the girls in the Manor obtaining godhood, the bnce of the world is slowly being distorted. In time, the average strength of Mortals will continue to increase and, in the not so distant future, the boundaries between the realms will slowly blend together..." Vahn was already immortal and, after discussing the purpose of Innates and the future development of everyone in the Manor, it wasnt even a question if others would be able to obtain immortality. In fact, just by using his modify, Vahn could grant everyone in the Manor a form of immortality just by changing them into Xenos with predominately human features. As Xenos didnt age, this meant they would have biological immortality and, so long as the girls werent outright killed, they would go on to live forever. With the existence of the Sub-Space and Space-Time orbs, it was only a matter of time before someone amongst their group was able to obtain unrestrained godhood in the Mortal World. After gauging their reactions thus far, Vahn continued, adding, "Im certain these incidents with Freya and Artemis are some of the most notable signs of the changes toe. Since it will be necessary for these developments to transpire in order to remove the restrictions and inherentpulsion found within Divinity, I will continue to push the world towards these changes. The tragic existence of the gods has gone on for too long and I want to not only liberate you from the influence of your Divinities but also open the way forward for even gods to grow much stronger..." When he said this, Loki almost immediately asked, eyes slightly widened, "Vahn...is that really what youre trying to do...? As impossible as it seems, I...I believe you would actually be able to pull it off. However, is such a world truly a safe ce...ah, I see..." As she was speaking, Loki began to deduce some of the underlying factors behind what Vahn was saying. Her eyes squinted into lines but her sharp red irises were still slightly visible as she stated, "Youre going to do something very dangerous in order to make sure everyone is protected...even if the bnce of the world is destroyed..." Hestia and Artemis immediately adopted concerned expressions as the smaller of the two, Hestia, stated, "Vahn, please dont do anything too dangerous. I know you want to protect our family, but that is a burden we all share together...please, rely on us a little more...!" Even Hephaestus had a very concerned expression on her face but, unlike Hestia, asked, "Its something only you can do, isnt it...? You must have a power that you either cant exin, or dont understand yourself..." Loki, without missing a beat, piggybacked off of Hephaestus words, saying, "Its always like this, one way or another...Vahn...haaaa...just answer me this, is there a chance of failure...?" Vahn had felt a great deal of inner turmoil seeing how they were reacting but, upon hearing Lokis question, he immediately regained his confidence and said, "No, even if it is very difficult to achieve, the chance of sess would be one-hundred percent by the time I initiate the technique. I just wanted to let everyone know that, at some point, the world may begin to change very quickly...in fact, just like in the History books, the very nature of the world may experience a sudden shift. Not only do I n to remove the restriction of gods, but I n to pave a way forward for all people...it will be necessary for me to be much stronger but, by the time the changes ur, I will possess a degree of power far greater than any god..." As he spoke, the subtle light in Vahns eyes actually became visible to the goddesses in the room, causing all except Hestia to take in a sudden sharp breath of surprise. Vahn gave an apologetic smile in return, exining, "You all remember Eva...the method Id be using is very simr to her orb, but on a level that will affect the entire world. Though it will seem as if no time had passed, it is very possible I may experience thousands of years before I am able to seed in my n...however, no matter how long it takes, I will seed...this ce is my home and I will not leave the safety of my family, my children, and all those who believe in me to chance...!" Since Vahn had already spent hundreds of years in Space-Time orbs, none of the goddesses were too affected by the admission he could be away for thousands of years. Still, they knew that Eva was apparently a being that was even stronger than gods like Ouranos yet, ording to the stories they had heard, even she wasnt the strongest. For Vahn to get involved with forces that could exercise greater power than even the gods, they couldnt help but feel very worried for him, even if he was seemingly unkible. The amount of suffering he may have to experience, all while they were blissfully unaware of it, was almost heartbreaking to each of them, even Loki... Understanding what they were thinking, Vahns expression softened as the aura he had been passively letting out turned mellow and calm. Though it may be a little unfair to them, Vahn asked in a quiet tone, "Tell me...what would you do to protect our children...? Is there anything you wouldnt suffer through if it meant they would be safe...?" These were the only questions Vahn needed to ask in order topletely convince the goddesses before them. He already knew that, even if they needed to go to war against Heaven itself, not a single one of them would shy away. Loki would probably destroy Heaven in its entirety if it meant she could protect Erika while Hestia, even though she had already started to tear up, had a very resolute light contained within her beautiful blue gem-like eyes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Copywolf, Fenrir, "Master, give me strength~!,Hermes is on everyones shit list xD...,Vahn is feeling the weight of Karma...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 869 - Information : Weakness

Chapter 869 - Information : Weakness

With the size of the 51st Floor, aplexbyrinth more than 200km in diameter, Vahn hadnt expected to explore the entire area within a day. Now, they were just entering into the morning of the third day and, though they had the option of returning to Haven to rest, the group had spent most of their time resting in the various secret passages that Vahn had discovered. Since these were also part of the 51st Floor, and there was even a chance of stumbling upon a Xenos Hidden Vige, they too were being explored by Vahns party. As a result, during the second day of their expedition, the group had discovered a small region that, unlike the white stone walls of the surrounding Floor, was full of lush greenery and a small spring. Since the spring ended up having a passage leading into another section of the Dungeon, Vahn had swum through to the other side before moving the girls over by summoning them. The room on the other side of the passage had a variety of different fruit-bearing trees with some tunnels in the walls and ceiling that Vahn knew would lead to other secret passages. He couldnt help wondering why the Dungeon would create so many save havens for the Xenos, even though the monsters birthed within would aggressively try and kill them. It was almost as if the Dungeon had multiple wills and, with Enyo also interfering with things, it was impossible to discern the true purpose behind the Dungeons existence without further investigation... As a result of finding this small grove, the group had made camp for the night within the rtively peaceful and serene secret area. It even had small crystals in the ceiling the simted natural light so it was a very rxing ce to rest, even if Tiona and Lili ended up getting a little grabby at one point. Fortunately, other than a little heavy petting, things didnt get too serious as Vahn cautioned them about surprise attacks during such circ.u.mstances. They were supposed to be drawing the attention of Enyo and trying to interfere with her ns, meaning there was a non-negligible chance they were being watched. Even though they had a tent that should obstruct such things, Vahn knew there were several means to circ.u.mvent physical obstructions and this was a good enough reason to get them to remain calm during their trip. Thus, after enjoying a peaceful evening snuggled up with the six girls, Vahn had proceeded back into the heart of the 51st Floor to continue their investigation. His instincts had been triggering several times while they were exploring, sometimes more than others, so there should be something going on to cause such a reaction. Fortunately, they werent that far away from Haven and the telepathy from [Pactio] was still active, allowing him to confirm there werent any attacks taking ce. As a result, Vahn believed it had to be something taking ce on the lower Floors or, though he hoped this wasnt the case, something taking ce within the City... After proceeding forward for quite a while, Ais and Fenrir slowly came to a stop, bringing Vahns awareness away from the Manor and wholly focused on the Dungeon. He had a habit of going into something like an auto-pilot mode where he was passively focused on detection while his primary focus was on specific tasks. Having the two girls stop suddenly was abnormal so Vahn immediately became more alert, asking, "Is there something wrong, Ais, Fenrir...?" In response, Ais shook her head while Fenrir, showing an expression of suspicion, stated, "Its too quiet...there should have been a lot of monsters by now..." Vahn didnt need to hear any further exnation to know Fenrir was right, especially considering that it had been nearly a half-hour since an enemy appeared. His mind immediately became hyper-aware of everything going on within his domain, specifically the flow of mana within the Dungeons walls. Everything seemed rtively normal, except for the fact that none of the mana was diverting towards them. In most circ.u.mstances, the Dungeon reacted the number of people in an area and would periodically divert some of its mana to intercept people. As a party progressed forward, these incidents would continue as a rtively consistent rhythm until the amount of mana returned to the Dungeon by in monsters reached a certain point. Then, as if some form of retribution, a Monster Party would form to make use of the consolidated mana. If the party was able to ovee even that, the defensive measures of the Dungeon would recede for a time, diverting the mana to other areas as if recognizing the aplishment of the party. For the Dungeon to bepletely ignoring them like this was simply inconceivable, as their energy signatures were some of thergest in the entire Dungeon. In fact, even though there were only seven of them, the spawn rate had been nearly five times the normal amount thus far...never nothing... The moment Vahns mind began reaching conclusions, his instincts began to slowly well up as he quickly stated, "Well be moving straight. Follow my lead. Protect the nks and the rear...!" When he was finished giving his quick orders, Vahn took a deep breath before shaping a part of his domain into a cylinder and, for a brief moment, transformed into his Zhuque form. The cylindrical area he made was to guide the flow of Fire Elemental energy and, in a manner reminiscent of the Valgang Dragons shooting from the 58th to the 52nd Floor, Vahn made an instantaneous pir of fire that cut a path through the Dungeon. With this particr group,bined with the confined spaces of the 51st Floor, Vahn wasnt worried about a Juggernaut appearing at all... In the void created by the pir of mes, there was a powerful vacuum effect caused by the massive temperature differential and thepleteck of oxygen in the space. The girls, however, were fully prepared for this phenomenon as Fenrir had already finished casting a powerful Ice Elemental spell, holding the energy between her paws. Vahn reached out his hand and absorbed the spell with his [Magia Erebea] before moving forward at a pace he knew Lefiya would be able to follow. Though he wanted to hurry, Vahn still continued with caution since he didnt know exactly what was going on with this strange phenomenon at all... With Vahn leading the way, the superheated surfaces were cooled very quickly, turning the once white stonepletely ck as a thinyer of frost began to cover it. The girls had formed up behind him and managed to keep pace rtively easily, never once dropping their guard whenever they entered adjoining corridors. Eventually, after making several twists and turns, still without encountering any monsters, Vahn made another pathway for them and the process repeated itself. Things continued in this manner until, nearly twenty minutester, Vahn found the convergence point of almost the entire Floors mana... It didnt seem like this phenomenon hadpleted so Vahn felt there was a chance to stop it if they acted quickly. He sent a telepathic message to the girls to fan out upon entering the room and watching each others backs as he, determined to bring a swift resolution to things, charged toward what appeared to be a Cadmus Dragon. Unlike a normal Cadmus, however, this one was more than twice the size and was currently feeding off both the Dungeons mana, and thousands of the strange caterpir-like monsters. They had white tendrils piercing into their bodies and it appeared as though the Cadmus was drinking the acidic blood within, inting its own body further. Of course, the most notable feature of this particr Cadmus was the existence of a womans upper body where its neck and head should have been... Simr to how Naho and Rayne used to be, this strange monster had the figure of an inordinately beautiful and mature woman but, as soon as you looked toward her waist, she had the body of a 15m long white dragon that was slowly turning green. It was a very strange sight, almost like looking at a parasitic organism taking over the body of another, especially since her predominant features gave her the appearance of a Dryad, except for her leafy green skin, lime-green hair, and the vicious purple eyes that had locked onto them from the moment the party burst into the room. Vahn could see the malicious aura surrounding this monster and, though there were many questions he wanted to try and ask it, the fact it had an aura near his own meant time wasnt a luxury they had. Without any hesitation, he created another cylindrical channel with his domain and turned into his Zhuque form without breaking changing out of his [Magia Erebea]. Though it was generally impossible for Ice and Fire Elemental Energy to coexist with each other, Vahns body was entireprised of Source Energy and his Zhuque form used Yang Fire, not normal Fire Elemental Energy. His raiment had be like that of an Ice Phoenix with a vibrant red core near his heart as a pir of bluish-white mes barreled towards the monstrosity. Though he was surprised by this unexpected discovery, as he didnt often use his [Rakshasa Body] while in his [Magia Erebea], Vahn didnt have time to think about it. His pir of mes hadpletely incinerated the female portion of the Cadmus, annihting arge group of the caterpir monsters in the process, but he could still sense powerful vital energy. He quickly called out, "Dont drop your guard, it isnt dead yet...!" while using [Shundo] to approach the creature and try to burn it awaypletely. The girls had already started battling against the caterpir monsters, with Ais cutting apart arge number very quickly, but Tiona had looked like she was getting a littlecent after seeing his first burst. The moment he appeared near the body of the creature, Vahn watched as its flesh and organs began to bubble from the heat, massive amounts of acidic blood pouring from its wounds like a fountain. Then, with an increase in the temperature, at least until his reserves started to get low, Vahn began to burn away the body before transitioning out of his Zhuque form and stabbing forward with his [Longinus]. There was a massive core located in the chest cavity of the monster and Vahn wanted to destroy it to prevent the possibility of the surprisingly fire-resistant nt from regenerating... When his spear pierced into the core, Vahn immediately heardughter within his mind as the room began to tremble. His eyes widened as he immediately shouted, "Get into Haruhimes barrier...!" Right now the girls were split up all over the room but, with their incredible speed, it wasnt difficult for them to reach Haruhimes side in an instant. Fortunately, Lefiya was already being protected so the only one left outside of the protective membrane just two secondster was Vahn himself. The voice in his head stoppedughing before saying, ("Youre an interesting man, Vahn...so capable...") With these words resounding in his mind, the core he had pierced exploded but, instead of turning to dust, the body of the mutated Cadmus, and the thousands of surrounding caterpir monsters, all erupted in a wave of acidic blood. Vahns body waspletely covered in it but it had been kept at bay by his magical aura, courtesy of the spell [Vis Maxima]. Then, the surrounding pools of acid began to freeze over as he looked back to see nearly a meter deep pool of acid surrounding the bubble of Haruhime without a single drop being able to get through. Strangely, the acid wasnt eating through the Dungeon and, as if to answer this unasked question, the voice said, ("This was a special ce I had prepared just for you...it is quite amazing, really, that youre able to see the flow of mana within the Dungeon...I had wanted it to be a surprise, kukukuku~.") Vahns brows furrowed slightly, understanding that this was Enyos way of testing their capabilities and trying to gain more information. Just the fact that the acid now had fire resistant properties, even when he could easily produce temperatures above 20,000C, showed that she was adapting. They werent the only ones growing stronger and Enyo had an obvious advantage when it came to gathering information, something Vahn still didnt understand. She had to have someone with an Innate rted to information gathering within her pawns and, based on how quickly the monsters under her control were changing, there must be someone with an Innate rted to nts, Botany, or Evolution...so many unanswered questions... While he was scanning the area with his [Eyes of Truth], Enyos voice once against entered his mind, saying, ("You seem calm on the surface but I can tell, you know~? You are scared, Vahn Mason...not that I will bring harm to you, no, kukuku...you fear what I will do to others. It is amazing how quickly youve grown, trying so desperately to protect the happiness you share with so many people...your weakness has been obvious from the start...kukukuku~.") As these words sounded in his mind, Vahn felt slightly nauseous but it had passed in an instant. This time, though he could sense the link Enyo had established with him, there was a brief period of silence before she once again said, ("You can resist my power directly...very interesting, Vahn Mason! Come,e,e, I really cant wait to meet you, kyahahahahaha~!") With these parting words, the link that Vahn had been trying to backtrace had vanished and his mind had returned to crystal rity. Enyo had tried to use some kind of technique that could affect the mind, one that was far more powerful than even Haruhimes Innate. Without his [Will of the Emperor], it would have been almost impossible for him to resist it. However, this didnt bring him anyfort at all because now Enyo had revealed one of her own cards, even though he should have been aware of it ever since meeting Rufina...Enyo had an Innate that could alter the mind and cause people to see illusions. Now, instead of the enemy within seeming like a particr person, Vahn realized it could be almost anyone that Enyo set her mind on... As soon as this realization dawned on him, a subtle shift in one of the girls auras entered Vahns perception as the light of Haruhimes barrier dimmed. Vahns heart felt like it stopped as he looked over, seeing a berserk Tiona, already in her [Pactio] transformation, tightly squeezing Lilis neck. The amount of pain and betrayal in her bulging eyes made Vahn feel a level of anguish he had never expected to deal with at this point. She had beenpletely unable to defend herself against the sudden attack as Tiona, tears in her eyes, screamed, "Where is everyone!? What did you do with my friends!? Where is Vahn...!?" with glowing purple eyes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Rest...,Anomaly...,Betrayal...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 870 - The Enemies Within

Chapter 870 - The Enemies Within

The sudden attack by Tiona against Lili had caught everyone byplete surprise and, until a loud snapping sound broke the silence, nobody had been able to move. However, instead of Lilis neck being broken, Vahn slumped over slightly before using [Shundo] to break into Haruhimes barrier forcefully. She would normally have to allow people to enter but Vahn didnt have time to wait, grabbing the enraged Tiona who was desperately trying to choke the life out of Lili. As if she were being attacked by another enemy, Tionas eyes became fierce as she swung Lilis body like her own weapon and attempted to hit Vahn. Seeing this, Vahn clenched his teeth and allowed his [Magia Erebea] to fade away while recing Haruhimes broken barrier with his own. Lilis body hit him with an incredible force but, instead of resisting it at all, Vahn allowed his body to be broken apart beforepletely regenerating after Lili had passed through him. He used the gap created by Tionas surprise to cut forward with a de of Source Energy coating his hand, cutting through Tionas wrists to free Lili before use [Wounds Transfer] to sever his own. Everyone was greatly confused by what was happening, Tiona included, as Vahns handnded on her forehead, inserting enough energy topletely disperse the foreign influence affected Tionas mind. In total, less than five seconds had passed from start to finish but Vahn felt like a heavy weight was pressed against his mind as he slumped down with Tionas unconscious body while Haruhime renewed her own barrier to rece his. Lili, no longer looking as betrayed as before, rubbed her already healed neck and asked, "What happened, Vahn...?" She had been good friends with Tiona for years at this point and knew that thetter would never attack her under normal circ.u.mstances. Everyone else was equally as curious, though their worries about what had happened outweighed these thoughts by quite a bit... While scanning the girls minds to make sure they werent being influenced by Enyo, Vahn exined, "Enyo has a way to alter the minds of other people. She may even have the ability to influence gods, based on how none of them are able to remember her...this is the worst possible oue..." Even as he was speaking, a realization hit Vahn and he was now able to understand the dy that would sometimes appear when he was sending telepathy in the Dungeon. Enyo had been watching them much closer than he had expected, even repeating some of his own words back to him...words that were spoken in extremely secure and private locations...she had even been able to intercept their telepathy... Vahn swallowed hard since he had actually given all of the girls essories that should protect against such influence. However, if it was truly an Innate or even a Divinity, there was no way the equipment he had forged would be able to protect them. This was an unprecedented disaster and, if his intuition proved correct, Enyo could, at the very least, temporarily brainwash almost anyone. There had to be a limit to the ability, or she would have been using it far more often, but the fact remained that Enyo had just be far more dangerous than before. Knowing now wasnt the time or ce to think about such things, Vahn immediately lifted Tionas body and said, "We need to return to Haven. At this point, it is actually worse for our powerful members to be within the Dungeon...dammit...!" Now, Vahn was even more determined to deal with Enyo and, even if he had to go alone. Just as he was thinking this, however, Sis interrupted his thoughts, saying, (*Enyo must have been defeated within the restrictions of this record, so her ability cant be as dangerous as it seems. There must be requirements to trigger the effect and it may not necessarily be permanant either. I believe that her influence grows stronger based on proximity and the mental state of the person she is trying to influence...havent you noticed it, Vahn, the acid...?*) Since Sis could only use his senses to perceive things, Vahn knew exactly what she was talking about, allowing a bit of calm to return to the chaotic ocean in his mind. Not only was the acid now resistant to fire, but burning it away caused a hallucinogen to release into the atmosphere. Enyo very likely needed her target to already be in apromised state and, based on how she had taunted him by mentioning his loved ones, Vahn knew this was likely the case. As for Tiona, she had a habit of losing her focus after a battle and, witnessing him destroy the Mutant Cadmus, had probably caused her instincts to trigger. There were too many gaps to exploit for someone like Tiona and if she had seeded in killing Lili, it is very likely she could have exploited the others as well... Realizing there were some positives to gain from this incident, chiefly the new information he had been able to obtain about Enyos abilities, Vahn began to quickly calm down. Even so, he still followed his original intentions and began breaking through the surrounding walls. The room had been sealed to prevent the acid from flowing outward and, instead of the normal white stone, there was a strange waxy substance coating most surfaces. Vahn took one of the coated stones as a sample and stored it away in his Inventory as they quickly made their way towards the nearest stairs that led to the 50th Floor. The map he hadpiled over thest two days was around 60%plete and, though they hadnt investigated every corridor, it was easy to identify stairwells and the like... While he was making his way back with the girls, keeping a close eye on everyones mental state, Vahn was also exiting the Sub-Space orb back on the surface after calling an emergency meeting. This was a major development and they needed to try ande up with some kind of defense against to prevent Enyos influence from affecting them. Though he had reason to believe her influence couldnt reach the surface so easily, or she would have probably destroyed the City long ago, it wasnt a safe assumption at all. At least one thing was now clear, which was the reason why the Dungeon was now inessible to gods. Ouranos must have known Enyo had this type of ability or at least assumed there were some means by which she could even influence gods...if any god were to enter the Dungeon, the chance of theming under Enyos influence likely increased the deeper they went. Since Innates could outright overpower even Divinity in some circ.u.mstances, especially if Enyo was a goddess, there were very few gods that would be able to resist her abilities. This could very well be how she had managed to get the gods of the Evil Organization, Evilus on her side. The most terrifying part of this all was that, at least in Heaven, Enyo had very likely used her ability to erase her existence from the memories of almost every god that would have known her... After his emergency summons, Vahn quickly found himself in a room with Loki, Hephaestus, Hestia, Artemis, Syr, Tsubaki, and, as she hadnt yet gone on her patrols, Eirene. Anubis was usually at the dorms around this time so Vahn wasnt surprised that she was missing and intended to go inform her personally about what had happened after the fact. The one person he was worried about, as she would often be away for days at a time, was Demeter. Vahn hadnt suspected her even for a moment in the past, as he had even seen her [Hearts Desire], but this new information he had obtained about Enyo was a game changer. It was very possible that her influence may not even be remembered by people at all, making almost every single suspect they ever had back in the running... Loki, having been upte the previous night, released a loud yawn, asking, "What is this about, Vahn...?" Since she had plopped down next to him for the discussion, Vahn put his hand on Lokis head to help remove her fatigue as he seriously exined, "Enyo has an ability to influence the minds of other people and, based on what Ive been able to gather, the chance of her power working against gods is very high..." It didnt take much time at all for Loki to realize the seriousness of Vahns im, causing her expression to immediately harden as thoughts raced through her mind. With this new information, hundreds of unanswered questions she had stumbled across during her investigations suddenly made a lot more sense... Biting the nail of her thumb with a vexed expression upon her face, Loki stated, "Damn, weve been yed hard this time. Now, all of my investigations need to be organized and reconducted from scratch...!" Previously, there had always been information that had strangely been missing and, even after discussing things with Ouranos several times, Loki had been unable to glean any insights. If Enyo truly had the ability to influence the minds of others, she could very well even get around some basic vows to get people to act as her arms and legs. The information that had vanished from the Guilds records could have been removed by one of her pawns and they may have simply been unaware of their crime from the outset... Vahn felt a little guilty knowing that Lokis workload was going to increase a great deal but he once again emphasized, "The fact she can influence gods is a major factor that cant be overlooked. We have no way of knowing the extent of her control but Ive been able to analyze some of the info to get a basic understanding of how the process works. Though these are not verified pieces of information, the chance that she can influence people outside of the Dungeon are slim. That narrows down the number of people under her influence as those who have ventured into the Dungeon, especially into the Middle and Deep Floor. Her influence seemed to get stronger the deeper people delve into the Dungeon, which is why she needs to have people act for her on the Upper Floors..." Hephaestus, understanding the severity of the situation, asked, "Is there any way to tell if someone is under Enyos control? Did the items you prepared have no effect at all...?" As she often checked the equipment Vahn had forged, both out of curiosity and to appreciate his progress, Hephaestus was very aware of almost everything he had produced. In response to her questions, Vahn answered, "My [Eyes of Truth] are able to discern if someone is under her influence, but only if Im able to observe them in close proximity. The problem is, my abilities arent nearly effective against gods and I dont know if I would be able to determine if they are under her influence at all...as for the essories I made for the girls, they seemingly had no effect whatsoever...haaaaa..." The only way Vahn could determine if a god was being affected by Enyo was to bind them with his [Enkidu] as it was almost impossible to glean any major insights while their body was protected by their Divinity. There were so many strange energies already present within the gods that it would very likely take him several hours just toe to a conclusion. At the very least, he was able to eliminate most of the people who had a close rtionship with him. The only point of contention towards this was Demeter, as Vahn had only ever used [Enkidu] on her in one instance. Since then, Demeter was often away and there was a non-negligible chance that she had been affected by Enyo. After all, for the gods to have forgotten about her, it meant they had all been under her influence at some point, at least within the Northern Pantheon... With that thought in mind, Vahn looked to Loki and said, "I can verify if a god is affected by Enyo if I bind them with [Enkidu] and analyze the energy within their minds. We should reach out to those that have the most influence in the Alliance and vet them before she has the chance to get the jump on us. Now that Enyo knows Im aware of her abilities, she may have already started moving her pawns to take action...we need to act quickly. Once this meeting is over, I will go to Anubis and Demeter personally to make sure they are okay..." Vahn had already checked both goddesses Status within his logbook, showing that Demeter was supposed to be visiting the ins while Anubis was located at the Schools Dorms. Loki caught on to what he was getting at very quickly, asking, "Do you think Demeter is being influenced by Enyo...?" When asked this directly, Vahn winced slightly before saying, "Enyo shouldnt have the ability to manipte nts and the like on such arge scale. There may very well be some mortals or Xenos under her control that have such an ability but, with how quickly the creatures have been adapting, their level of skill would have to rival the gods. Demeter is a soft target that has been in the mortal world for a long time and, if something happened to her Familia, or the food production waspromised, there would be widespread famine across the entire continent...I wasnt looking for such things previously so we need to make sure she is free from Enyos influence before something terrible happens..." Though the Demeter Familia wasnt the only Agriculture Familia, it was easily thergest and, if something were to happen, the food shortages would cause severe problems. If this happened during a time of war and strife, the consequences would be truly disastrous. There was also a chance that, if any of the gods that had ess to the Manor were under Enyos influence, they could pose a very real threat to the Vanir and all the other children. Vahn didnt need to exin this to those who were already gathered and, always taking the lead in such circ.u.mstances, Loki boldly stated, "You need to use your [Enkidu] on all of us. Though Im not from the Northern Pantheon, I operated there for a long time before descending to the Mortal World. I have no memory of Enyo at all and want to make sure that bitch isnt in my head...!" With Lokis words as the catalyst, all of the other goddesses present wanted to be wrapped in [Enkidu] as well, just to be safe. Thus, knowing it was necessary to do so, Vahn produced five links of [Enkidu] and had them coil around the goddesses until their Divinity waspletely sealed. Then, starting with Loki, Vahn activated his [Eyes of Truth] and immediately felt his skin be mmy. There, swirling around Lokis mind like a serpent, there was an almost indiscernible purple tendril that was deeply rooted within her brain, inserted between the hippocampus and the cerebral cortex. This meant that, at any point in time, Enyo could potentially exercise her influence over Loki and she wouldnt even be aware of it, as no new memories would form once the energy was active...The most terrifying thing, however, was the fact that Vahn saw the same thing in almost every single goddess, Hestia being the only exception... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Never Underestimate The Enemy...,State of Emergency...,Horrifying Revtion...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 871 - Stress

Chapter 871 - Stress

When she saw the look in Vahns eyes, Lokis face became fierce and, for one of the few times, her eyes were open naturally, albeit with a serious expression. Then, without the need to verify what Vahn had seen, Loki stated, "Get rid of it...!" Vahn returned a nod, cing his palm against her head and sending a wave of source energy through her mind. It wasnt nearly as intense as the emergency treatment Tiona received, but Loki still gritted her teeth as it passed through. Vahn followed up his banishment of the malicious energy by sending calming energy into Lokis mind while exining, "Other than Hestia, everyone here has been affected by Enyos ability..." Though Syr and Tsubaki were also exceptions to this, Vahn had been primarily focused on dealing with the influence of Enyo in the goddesses. Of course, when Hephaestus, Artemis, and Eirene heard Vahns words, their faces had be slightly pale. This was especially true for Artemis, who had nearly had her body destroyed only recently. The fact that she was still under the effect of Enyos ability was a very worrying thought. As for Hestia, nobody was actually that surprised that she hadnt been affected by Enyo as, other than a few gatherings, most of Hestias time had been spent in istion near the Divine Hearth. Though some gods might ridicule her, it was only because they knew Hestia wouldnt trulysh out and harm them. This wouldnt necessarily be the case if you went into her home, however, and it seemed that even Enyo wasnt foolish enough to try her luck against Hestia. While going around and purging Enyos tendril from the goddesses minds, Vahns own was racing as he said, "The fact that Enyo was able to influence so many gods, yet hadnt been using her power for all these years, gives partial credit to the idea that there are requirements for her ability to be activated. There must be several unknown variables but, for the time being, we can assume that her influence cannot reach out of the Dungeon too easily..." At this point, Vahn squinted his own eyes as Loki, having a very simr thought, stated, "This must be why the Guild made it so that gods arent able to enter the Dungeon...Ouranos must know something...that old bastard...!" Given Ouranos nature, it wasnt outside the realm of possibility that he simply allowed Enyo to act as she pleased, as this had always been how he behaved since time immemorial. Ouranos was always an observer and, if he had revealed the information he knew about Enyo openly, it would have been the same as siding against her. From his perspective, regardless of what happened to the world, it was meant to happen. This was the reason why he allowed the Alliance, and Vahn in particr, to operate as they had. Ouranos had even been one of the few to believe the Xenos could one day coexist with the surface dwellers, even though he took no actions to facilitate this transition... Understanding this, though he was likely overlooking several factors, Vahn exined, "We should treat Ouranos as a non-factor in theing struggles...though there are likely those beneath him that are under Enyos influence, it is almost impossible that he would have been affected. Given his nature, Ouranos will probably be a bystander that observes from the side, standing witness without direct interference..." Though he said this, Vahn couldnt help but wonder why Ouranos was serving the role of sealing the Dungeon with his own Divinity. Since Ouranos didnt really do anything, the fact that he was proactively sealing the Dungeon was a red g that couldnt be overlooked... Loki, at least from her own perspective, was angrier in this one moment than she had been throughout her entire long existence. She already hated the fact that she had essentially been a prisoner to her own Divinity so, knowing that another god had affected her mind, Lokis rage hadpletely broken through previous thresholds. Though she would respect Vahns decision, for the time being, Loki still said, "Vahn, until we know more about her abilities-" Before Loki could even finish, Vahns squinted his own eyes and said, "I will kill Enyo. She tried to use Tionas hand to kill Lili and, once I secure Haven, I will go seek her out on the 60th Floor and annihte her. If she isnt on the 60th Floor, I will keep destroying the Dungeon until something gives...!" Vahn felt like he had given Enyo too much leeway while he had been focusing on other things and, now that she had shown one of her cards, he decided to flip the table. Though he had used basic hypnosis to gain information from people in the past, the fact that Enyo was able to use what essentially amounted to mind control hadpletely shattered his own inhibitions. Not only that, but she was able to corrupt the energy in monster cores and slowly exercise her control over them as well, something that seemed to be increasing as the days passed. She could no longer be left to act freely and, even if he had to send a thousand avatars into the Dungeon to break through her schemes, that is what he would do...! As he was leaking out a great deal of pressure subconsciously, it was very difficult not to get caught up in Vahns momentum. Even Loki, with her rage at the highest point in her existence, simply furrowed her brows and began considering the best n of action. Since Vahn had a form of immunity against Enyos influence, and he could send avatars into the Dungeon without any real danger, his n of action was one of the best avable to them. There was a chance that Vahn could get sealed but, when she had talked with him about his avatar in the past, Vahn assured her such things were impossible. She had detected no lie in what he said back then and, now that it hade to this, the faster they dealt with Enyo, the better...there was no way of knowing just how far her influence reached... Hestia, having been silent for a while, asked in a voice filled with concern, "Is there anything we can do to help...?" Hearing her almost heartbroken tone, Vahns tensions eased slightly as he smiled and said, "I will still be here in the Manor to help with Lokis investigations and vet any of the gods we have concerns about. The best way you can help, Hestia, is to simply...keep being yourself...be the same kind and gentle goddess who brings peace to my mind and heals my heart. Other than that, the only thing I hope for, more than anything else, is that everyone can be safe and happy together...Im growing weary of all these conflicts and burdens...hahahaha..." Vahn knew he still needed to deal with the Iron Hills, Rakia, Telksyura, and, depending on the circ.u.mstances, the Far East. Enyo was undoubtedly the most immediate issue that needed to be dealt with but, considering how much Karma he had now .u.mted, the chances of something going wrong had increased greatly. He wouldnt be surprised if the Iron Hills and Rakia ended up trying to start an invasion or, even worse, if there was some kind of ancient weapon that had been slumbering and was now going to awaken because of his own positive Karma. Since there were already Heroes that were several hundred years old, each having died in History, Vahn knew there were things going on behind the scenes that hadnt even been revealed yet... Thinking about Zeus, Hera, Siegfried, and Jeanne, Vahn felt a powerful urge to just sit down and take a nap. Zeus and Hera were from the Northern Pantheon and, with the memories he had from Artemis [Hearts Desire], it wouldnt be surprising if he discovered they had also been under Enyos influence. After all, nobody knew what happened on the 59th Floor when they fought against the One-Eyed ck Dragon and were wiped out. Their Familias had been arguably the most powerful in history yet, upon reaching that point in their expedition, they were suddenly bested and, afterward, the Dungeon became off limits to gods...Vahn felt like Enyo had done something to turn the two Familia against each other and, with how things appeared, Zeus and Hera didnt even seem to be aware of it... While he was thinking about all of these troubling things, Vahn suddenly found a weight against his back as a pair of arms wrapped around him in aforting embrace. He had been so lost in his thoughts while running back to Haven with his main body, that the approach hadpletely skipped his mind. When he came to his senses, Vahn noticed everyone giving him a concerned look while Tsubaki, who had snuck up on him muttered in aforting voice, "Vahn, you should rest..." Following her words, Hephaestus added in a calm tone, "Yes, let us deal with retrieving Demeter, Freya, and Eirene...with how things appear, the odds of Enyo being able to directly influence a god on the surface seem extremely slim. Though we cant make you rx much while youre in the Dungeon, you should still rx here so you dont overtax your mind..." Most of the girls knew a bit about how Vahns avatar worked and, though they could share energy between each other, they also shared the mental strain during tense moments. If he didnt rx, the strain he would experiencepared to a normal person was more than just double the amount. Stressing from two different perspectives essentiallypounded the mental strain and, if he didnt calm down soon, it wasnt impossible that he would have a mental breakdown. He was already doing everything he could at the moment and, as there were things they could do to help him, nobody wanted to see Vahn suffering so much... With practically everyone present encouraging him to rest, Vahns tensions eased a little more and, knowing there was only so much he could do right now, he agreed with their consensus. It was currently still early in the morning and, as it would help him replenish his energy more quickly, Vahn said, "I will go into the Sub-Space orb and rest..." Though this would actually put an increased mental strain on him, Vahn could always meditate to mitigate this almostpletely. It would also allow him to increase the replenishment of his reserves a great deal, giving him an almost inexhaustible supply of energy to deal with matters in the Dungeon. Instead of agreeing with him, Hestia shook her head while Tsubaki actually put a bit more strength into her embrace. It was Loki, however, who said in a very stern voice, "No, you should call back Fenrir and go take a nap in her room. Either that or you should spend some time in the maternity ward until Anubis arrives...you need to rx for real, Vahn, not in an efficient manner. When the younger children wake up and begin to y around, you should spend time with them without worrying about what is going on in the outside world..." This time, Hestia nodded her head, adding, "This is your home, Vahn, the ce where you should be able to rx and ease your mind. If you stress out so much during the times when you are supposed to be happy, then you will begin to feel stressed every time you are happy...you have to separate the two emotions..." With how things were progressing, especially with Vahn having two bodies, it was hard for him to separate matters of the home from external matters. It wasnt impossible for him to be spending time with his children while, at the same time, be embroiled inbat in the Dungeon. This wasnt good for his mentality at all, especially since his mind constantly seemed to be leaning outside of the home, instead of what was inside of it. He was trying so desperately to protect the things he cared about, all while neglecting to care for them in a truly meaningful way. When both of his bodies were in the Manor, Vahn seemed genuinely happy all the time...now, he was always distracted and worrying about how to keep everyone safe... Vahn knew the girls were worried about him and, though he wanted to run over and check on Demeter, Freya, and Anubis himself, there was a lot of truth in what they had said. In fact, Demeters Status showed that she was already on her way back while Freya and Anubis had long been inbound for the Manor. During the earlier discussing, Syr had been rying all of the information through thework and there were no obvious signs that Enyo was trying to outright manipte any of them. Though Demeter was still a possibility, the worst thing that Enyo could do at this point is trying to return her to Heaven in order to protect her pawn. That would, however, be Enyo showing her hand once again, this time without any conceivable benefit outside of simply trying to annoy him... Just as Vahn was about to agree to call back Fenrir and just rx for a bit, he had just finished ascending the stairs to the 50th Floor. This was one of the reasons he had been stalling and, upon witnessing the normalcy of the situation, he couldnt help but release a sigh of relief. He looked towards Fenrir and said, "Im going to call you back to my side, Fenrir...is that okay?" As she had been very aware of the duress her Master was experiencing, Fenrir nodded her head and was gone in the next moment. The girls were somewhat confused by what was happening but Vahn just smiled and exined, "We should check on the others and make sure they arent being affected by Enyo. This is an emergency situation and I may have the majority of you return to the surface until we have a better understanding of what is going on..." At this point, Tiona had long since awoken and learned of what she had done, showing a face full of remorse as she said, "I think Vahn is right...this isnt an enemy we can fight easily...not like this..." Though she liked fighting, Tiona didnt consider herself a violent person, especially when it came to friends and family. She had been in low spirits ever since waking up and had apologized to Lili several times, even though thetter said not to mind it and forgave her. Since Tiona was usually so vibrant and full of life, seeing her in such a sorry state was affecting everyone quite a bit. Lili had even tried to cheer her up a few times on their way back, disregarding how serious the current situation was... Without much discussion, they quickly arrived at Haven and, while making their way towards where everyone had been asked to gather, Vahn was inspecting every person they passed. There were no obvious signs that Enyo had affected any of them but, based on how quickly she had tried to gain control of him and Tiona, Vahn knew it only took a moment for her to do so. The moment a serious battle began, any of the people guarding the ramparts could be an enemy and, though she shouldnt be able toprehend them easily, it was even possible Enyo had long since started studying the magical wards he had ced down. Her informationwork was more expansive than he had anticipated and it wasnt impossible that she had been growing stronger and more capable just by observing them... Vahn now understood fully why so many of the texts he read would have a phrase that equated to knowledge is power when it came to warfare. However, it wasnt just Enyo who was constantly learning and adapting and, now that she had revealed her hand early, they had already moved into the endgame. If this were a game of chess, Enyo essentially just sacrificed her Queen to try and put him into check but had ultimately failed to do so. Now, though she could cheat and take over the pieces on his side of the board, Vahn also had a unique indestructible King that she could never truly ovee. Even if he had to wipe out all of her pieces himself, this was now a war of attrition where he would inevitablye out ahead... (A/N: Two-hour chapter dy will be the standard, just like it used to be. Trying to make sure they are released an hour after each other usually requires me to write almost non-stop for upwards of ten hours. Id rather have a 14 hour work day with plenty of breaks than write non-stop xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Flipping the Table,Vahn needs to embrace the calm once again...an Emperor should be more dignified and stoic~!,EPIC: Dungeon War: Endgame) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 872 - Catalyst

Chapter 872 - Catalyst

From the moment he knew of Enyos capabilities, Vahn had sent a message to the girls back at Haven and had them gather near Yggy. He assumed that Yggdrasils aura would be able to resist against any attempts by Enyo to seize control of the girls. At the same time, Vahn had formed a hypothesis that those recognized as his subordinates and retainers through the system would also be immune to such effects. There shouldnt be any force in any record that should be able to overwrite the influence of Loyalty and Allegiance towards him. As powerful as Enyo may be, Vahn didnt believe for a moment she would have the ability to circ.u.mvent the system function of The Path. As a special exception, Finn was also within the inner sanctum of Haven since he needed to be informed about what was going on. Vahn found him seated with an amiable smile on his face but, with the lightyer of sweat and the chaotic fluctuations of the Pallums aura, it was clear to see he was very nervous. Right now, Arnya, Chloe, Mikoto, Tione, Tina, and Shizune all had very serious expressions while Yggy sat in Ryuusp while thetter held her in a very protective manner. When they saw the arrival of Vahns group, a lot of the tensions in the air had melted away as Vahn swept his eyes over every and confirmed they werent affected by Enyo. Tiona was pulled to the side by Tione as Haruhime and Lili went to support and try to cheer her up. Ais and Lefiya made their way to where Ryuu and Yggy were while Vahn approached Finn and immediately got to the point, exining what had happened. Though he had been nervous before, Finn had be slightly pale by the time Vahn was done recounting what they had discovered. If it was true that almost anyone within Haven could be an enemy, the moment arge scale attack urred could spell the end of this ambitious project. Were this information to spread to the members of the expedition, everyone would begin to suspect everyone else of being a potential traitor... Vahn understood this even better than Finn and, though it would reveal one of their most powerful cards, he had been considering evacuating the entire Floor. If he allowed everyone to move through the teleportation ward, it was the safest way to ensure that Enyo wouldnt have any time to influence them. However, instead of using the primary ward within the Yggdrasils trunk, Vahn was intended to use Terra as a proxy while establishing a temporary ward within the primary fortress of the Alliance. They could make a big show of the ridiculous cost of using such a service while increasing the reputation of the Alliance at the same time. By showing how willing he was to spend a veritable fortune just to guarantee everyone was safe, Vahn knew he would be able to increase his rapport while diminishing the inhibitions future expedition would have about proceeding this far. Though the Alliance would undoubtedly suffer a hit to its reputation after calling a full retreat, Vahn knew it would be possible to spin things in their favor once he had defeated Enyo. The more troublesome group to deal with would be the Merchants but Vahn had alreadye up with the idea of giving them each a token that allowed them to return to the 50th Floor in the future. Knowing they would be able to immediately reach the 50th Floor again, while also having the knowledge they may be able to return to the surface with goods contained within an interspatial ring, many of them would practically froth at the mouth for such an opportunity. Vahn discussed all of these things with Finn while the girls quietly conversed at the side, both listening to what Vahn was saying while also affirming their own resolve for what was toe. Some, such as Ais and Lefiya, were still fullymitted to trying to support Vahn within the Dungeon. Vahn could hear them talking about trying to convince him to ept their help and, while snuggling up with Fenrir back at the Manor, he couldnt help bute up with solutions. Lefiya may very well be immune to Enyos influence and, if he could help her awaken the [Child of Destiny] Innate, Ais would likely be immune to it as well. At the very least, Vahn suspected this awakening that particr Innate would make Ais fate far more powerful and would allow her to resist such effects. After all, Bell undoubtedly would have had to deal with the influence of Enyos abilities at some point and it was likely the influence of his [Child of Destiny] which allowed him to do so. By the time he was finished going over his n with Finn, Vahn had a basic n of action for how he would proceed forward. They would be evacuating the 50th Floor, leaving only those who had already be his subordinate and retainers to protect the five fortresses. As they would also be able to seek shelter with Yggy, this was one of the safer options moving forward. Though there were no guarantees they would be outside the influence of Enyos abilities, Sis had assured him that, at the very least, he would be able to know very quickly if something happened. She could monitor the Unit Management list and, if someone was under Enyos influence, it would reflect as an abnormality within their State. If their Loyalty and Allegiance parameters were high enough, it was very likely they would simply shrug off Enyos influence after losing a few points... Though he never intended for things to happen particrly in this manner, Vahn felt like his intentions back when he decided to create Haven had influenced this oue. Originally, he wanted this ce to be a safe haven for the Elves who sought to escape the corruption of the Elven Kingdom. He also wanted it to be a ce where the Xenos could roam freely without fear of persecution by the surface dwellers. Now, because hisrgest following were the Elves and the Xenos, those intentions seemed to be bing a reality. Vahn was certain he could man the fortresses using those who were genuinely loyal and had pledged their allegiance to him, turning Haven into the truest expression of his ideals and intentions. This would undoubtedly draw some criticism by some groups who would want to spin it as him using the Alliance to make a seat of power for himself, but those who cried the loudest usually had the least amount of real power. Those with any sense could already see that he acted with impunity within the Alliance and, even if he locked down the entire 50th Floor, there wasnt much anyone could do to stop him. Once he had made these decisions, Vahn looked to Finn and stated in a voice filled with authority, "Pass down my order, Finn. Everyone will gather in the za that had been opened up in front of the Alliances main fortress. Do not worry about the defenses of the other areas for the time being as everything has already beenpromised at this point. It will take a few hours to establish, but we will make an emergency teleportation ward to move everyone to the surface. I will entrust two spatial artifacts with you so that all of the supplies and materials can be secured before everyone sets out. There will be a lot of paperwork that youll need to do but it is better than the alternative of having everyone wiped out because of Enyos schemes..." Without arguing at all, Finn epted the list that Vahn hadpiled, detailing all of the people that could be trusted, at least for the time being. They would be the ones moving all of the supplies and performing the final checks to make sure there werent any people trying to break away while everyone was gathering. Vahn would be confirming with his own eyes if anyone was under Enyos influence but, for the time being, his focus was on securing the safety of everyone present. Once Finn had set out to carry out his orders, Vahn turned to the girls and, before they could say anything, firmly stated, "We were very fortunate that nothing worse happened...Im sorry, Lili, you should have never had to go through that. Tiona, you as well, please try to cheer up; there isnt a single person here that mes you for what happened. We will find a solution to prevent things like this from urring in the future so smile and keep moving forward, just like you always do..." Vahn always felt bothered when someone like Tiona wasnt smiling, as it almost felt wrong to see her so sad and mncholic. In response to his supportive words, Tiona managed a smile that didnt quite reach her eyes as she said, "I will be even stronger in the future...but, I wont neglect to focus on my mental development any longer. I dont want the strength I worked so hard to cultivate, all so that I can protect the people I care about, to be used to cause them harm...!" By the time she finished her statement, a small fire had already started to burn in Tionas eyes. This caused Vahn to also feel a bit of relief as, with Tiona slowly returning to her former self, everyone else would undoubtedly cheer up and continue working hard. Since it would undoubtedlye up, Vahn seized the initiative and exined, "There are several types of meditation technique and cultivation basics that we can all start to develop together in the future. For the time being, the important thing is making sure were not exposed in a situation where Enyo can act to bring harm to those we care about. Right now, there are a lot of things going on within Orario and we should consolidate our forces there. Enyo will be dealt with by me and, though I know some of you will want to help, it is currently safer for me to take action on my own. Ais, I know you have the strongest drive to probe deeper into the Dungeon but, until you awaken your other Innates, I think it is best if you temper yourself and protect what is most important." In response to this, Ais showed a conflicted expression and hung her head a bit before tightly gripping her fists as she asked, "Will I be able to help you if I awaken those abilities...?" Without any hesitation, Vahn confidently nodded and, with an encouraging smile on his face, said, "It is as Ive always said, Ais...so long as you believe wholeheartedly in yourself, and never give up, there are no limits to your growth whatsoever. If you truly believed in the path you were walking, it isnt impossible that everyone here could one day be stronger than even the gods in Heaven..." As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Vahn found himself trying to use this catastrophe caused by Enyo as a means to push the girls even further. Not only did he naturally begin thinking of ways to spin things in the Alliances favor but, knowing things had taken a very sudden turn, this event could be used as a catalyst for both his growth and the growth of the girls... Though they were ustomed to hearing Vahn say very simr things, everyone was fired up by his words this time around. They had already seen Vahn do the impossible several times and, though they never believed themselves to be weak, everyone present knew that their beliefs had been shaped considerably by Vahns influence. Before, even if decades were to pass, the odds of them reaching Level 7 were nearly impossible. Now, even though they were still rtively young, the majority of their group was already above Level 5 while some of their members were slowly approaching intermediate Level 7. In time, they would undoubtedly reach Level 8 and, so long as they didnt give up, even breaking through the limit was entirely possible... Vahns words were especially effective on girls like Haruhime, Lefiya, and Lili, as they were already Vahns disciples and truly believed almost everything he said. It had only been a few years but now, even though they couldnt even protect themselves in the past, Haruhime and Lili were both monstrously strong Adventurers who had a great deal of fame. As for Lefiya, she had broken through the limits of normal Mages long ago and, with Vahns help, she was nowhere near the pinnacle she sought. There were no obstacles in her way, so long as she continued to follow Vahns teachings and put her all into the research they conducted... Seeing how everyone was reacting positively to his words, Vahns heart and mind were at ease, the calm brought upon by his [Will of the Emperor] finally returning. He had panicked a great deal after realizing what Enyo was capable of but, now that he was rxing back home, and had seen the resolute lights in each of the girls eyes, Vahns confidence had returned. Now, he just needed to secure Haven and, once that was taken care of, his hunt for Enyo would begin. Vahn knew her informationwork was powerful but, if he went all out, even she shouldnt be able to track him easily. Though he would try to never underestimate her again, Vahn knew he hadnt been going all out this entire time and, now that things had reached this point, there was no turning back... Back within the Manor, Vahn had detected the arrival of Anubis and, though he had been enjoying Fenrirs presence, he still wanted to make sure those close to him were outside of Enyos influence. Fortunately, Anubis had very rarely left her area of Heaven and didnt have many connections with the social circles in the godlymunity. She hadnt been under the influence of Enyo, making Vahn feel a lot better about the future. If Enyo had been able to influence all eight regions of Heaven, things would have been infinitely more troublesome in the future. Now, he really just had to worry about those who were active in Heaven, those who originated in the Northern Pantheon, and those who had ventured deep into the Dungeon. Amongst these groups, the most troublesome to deal with were potentially Zeus and Hera but, with Enyo showing no signs of being able to actively control gods on the surface just yet, this was only an assumption... As the day continued, Vahn ended up entering into the Dungeon with his avatar while his main body returned to the surface through the primary teleportation ward. He also had Terrae to his side with Unit Management and help establish a secondary teleportation ward that would be connected to the monster stables within Babel Tower. Loki had already discussed things with Ganesha to clear out arge area that would serve as the evacuation point, at least for the time being. While this was going on, Vahn also met up with Freya at the Southern Manor, clearing up Enyos influence within her mind and then pacifying her for a bit since she had been very upset by the revtion. Later that same day, Vahn confirmed that Demeter had also been under Enyos influence so he freed her as well, seemingly without it bothering her too much. Since she was unaware of being affected by Enyo, Demeter didnt let it get to her much and just promised to assist Loki in the investigations into her own Familia. There was a chance that some of her core members had also been affected and, now that Enyo was losing some of her pawns, she may try to do something drastic that could result in gods being assassinated. As a Goddess of War, Enyo undoubtedly had a powerful understanding of war and tactics...this wasnt likely thest card she had to y... (A/N: Alternate Titles: There is just something wrong about seeing lively girls sad...,Vahn is slowly learning how to be a leader. Manipting negative situations to have a more positive oue...oh my...,The best thing Enyo could do at this point is just buy time for herself...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 873 - Defenders

Chapter 873 - Defenders

Shortly after the evacuation of the 50th Floor had beenpleted, the City was in an uproar as everyone wanted to know what kind of methods the Alliance had that allowed such a feat. Though teleportation existed in the record of Danmachi, it was impossible to use that kind of Magic within the Dungeon. Even basicmunication scrolls wouldnt work so the fact the Alliance could move nearly two-thousand people, even though the cost was near four billion Valis, was a big deal. Vahn, however, simply issued a statement to pertinent parties that he was under no obligation to use such a method on anyones behalf. He exined that it wasnt a simple means and that the cost was extremely expensive, listing out all the required items and having the entire expedition validate his ims. Around the same time, he weed anyone else that had that capability to create a teleportation ward of their own as the one established within Haven was solely the property of the Alliance. It didnt matter if others tried to pressure the Alliance to gain ess to the teleporter, as they simplycked the power and authority to make such demands from the start. There were numerous rumors circting around about how Vahn was essentially trying to im the 50th Floor for his own personal use, especially oncerge groups of Elves and Beast Humans began moving into Haven. It was still a little too soon for the Xenos, as their numbers were simply too few, so Vahn relied on his influence with the Elven Kingdom and his poprity with the Beast Tribes. There were also quite a few Pallums who easily met the requirement to be his retainers and, though they were on the weaker side of the spectrum, Vahn still selected a very intelligent and reliable Pallum to help them create a foothold in Haven for the future. He was using this opportunity to establish a solid power base for himself, using people that he could trust toy the foundation. While this was going on, Vahns main body had rxing back at the Manor, except for when he was dealing with various Gods and Merchants. He had been vetting many of the previously i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed goddesses after Loki convinced them it was just a measure to make sure there were no side-effects that had gone unnoticed. Through these examinations, Vahn discovered that quite a few goddesses had Enyos influence inside of them and quickly got rid of it. This had been taking ce over the course of five days and, thus far, there hadnt been any major issues. It was seeming more likely that Enyo either didnt have the means to influence those on the surface or was taking action in a way they werent able to trace just yet. All the while this vetting process was taking ce, Vahn remained ever-vignt within the Dungeon while Haruhime, Chloe, Ryuu, Lili, Mikoto became the leaders of each Fortress. Their main purpose at the moment was simply training the rtively low-Level defenders how to activate formations, respond to orders, and operate the basic defensive mechanisms of the fortresses. Vahn had made some pretty excessive purchases, equipping the majority of the Elves with Magic-grade bows that were each B-Rank or higher. For the Pallums, as they surprisingly had a decent affinity with Earth and Water magic, Vahn had given C-Rank [Green Mage Staff]s to the majority while the few with Darkness and Light elemental affinities received [Void Staff] and [Noah Staff] respectively. Though they may not be powerful Mages in the future, using the new system, they would still be respectable assets that would also serve as the inspiration for other Pallum in the future. With pendants and essories to increase their mana regen, supplement their mental energy, and increase the amount of experience they acquired, it wasnt impossible for them to be rtively strong in a short period of time. As for those that didnt have a suitable constitution for Magic, they still had very good eyesight that made them suitable with crossbows and, with their small sizes, they were able to maneuver quickly and unseen forying traps. Lili and Chloe had started giving a group of seventy Pallum a crash course in Scouting and omnidirectional fighting maneuvers. Though it would likely take them several months to be proficient, just having the basic skills was enough for helping maintain the defenses of Haven... By the end of the fifth day, Vahn had migrated approximately 800 Elves, 500 Beast Humans, 300 Pallums, and nearly 400 assorted races, primarily consisting of Demi-Humans, the colloquial name for any Half-Breeds between Humans and other races. Because of the rumors associated with Eina, Tsubaki, and the Elves in general, Vahn was very popr with most Demi-Humanmunities. As they had always been gued by the issues of their low birth, Vahn represented the hope for a better future and, with that very future promised to them for their service, there had been more than a few willing to pledge their allegiance earnestly. The only thing that stopped even more from joining, as there had been no specific Level requirement for the task, was the fact that Vahn had limited the number of people to 2,000. Even having this number of followers was already mind-boggling as seeing the massive list of names, statuses, affections, and other values were rather intimidating... One rather unexpected addition to his forces had been Finn who, upon learning of the situation, had kneeled down in front of Vahn and pledged his allegiance as well. Since Vahn had been relying on Finns leadership and management abilities for quite some time, he happily brought Finn into his fold and even bestowed a me seed into the now much younger Pallum. Though his appearance hadnt changed much, it was a fact that Finn was starting to age and had been feeling its effects for a while. Being an Adventurer for a long period of time slowly wore down the body so Vahn had reduced Finns physical age to 28 years old, even though it had cost a little more than 400,000OP to do so. With Finn serving as the Supreme Commander of Havens defense, Vahns confidence about heading into the Dungeon to deal with Enyo had been steadily increasing. He didnt know how many days it would take but, so long as he was putting pressure on her, Vahn knew he was also buying time for Havens defenses to be even stronger. After all, though it did stunt the growth of their parameters a bit, the amount of experience that could be gained from killing monsters around these Floors was immense. Even if their Endurance and Power might stagnate a bit, just being able to grow their Dexterity, Agility, and Magic were great boons that many of those selected as defenders would have struggled with for their entire lives. Now, with the equipment that had been provided to them, it wasnt impossible for even Level 1 Defenders to kill the Level 3-4 monsters that roamed in from the 49th and 51st Floors. As for the name Defenders, it was the simple term used to represent what Finn had named the Haven Defense Force. Since the majority of those who hade to protect Haven werent actually Adventurers, it was good for their morale and sense of unity to give them a unique designation. Now, with their military-style garbs, the patches designating their rank and Level, and the high-quality equipment everyone carried with them, there was a strong feeling of purpose within this hodge-podge of people... Though it was never his intention, seeing the group of rather zealous people walking around in orderly formations and interacting with each other in a rather serious manner, Vahn felt like he was building an army. The first thing that was being beaten into them by the girls, which everyone strangely seemed to ept, was discipline. Since everyone within Haven had pledged their loyalty or allegiance to him, Vahn had given them some simple orders that had been taken very seriously. His words were for them to work hard to create a future for themselves as he would help to promote their strength without limit, so long as that was their desire. Vahn also provided veryrge mary rewards, insurance for their families and, with the defeat of Enyo, everyone who had volunteered would be able to keep all of their equipment, even if they left the Haven Defense Force afterward. With girls like Lili and Haruhime giving them pep talks after the fact, Vahn noticed that the Loyalty and Allegiance values of the Defenders were increasing rather quickly. He had even gotten a [Leadership] Development Ability when he had recruited his 100th follower and, even without doing much, it was already at D-Rank with Finn and the girls doing most of the work... With these things taken care of, Vahn was sitting in Yggys branches with the tiny Spirit dozing away in hisp. Fenrir was snuggled up in Yggys arms using her Wolfbunny form while Fafnir, unable to stay within the area of Yggdrasils influence without feeling a burning sensation, dozed off in the shadow of the surrounding wall. Though it wasprised of Source Energy, Fafnirs Innate served as something of a curse that made it difficult for Fafnir to tolerate Yggys domain. Vahn had even tried to modify Fafnirs Affinity but, trying to give it anything positive affinities costs several hundred million OP. The one he had in mind was giving Fafnir Light Elemental Affinity, but that actually cost a total of 1,000,000,000OP, which was more than a little outside Vahns spending range... From over the wall, Vahn saw Lefiya flying towards him so he poked Yggys cheek to wake her up, even though she didnt actually sleep. This didnt mean she was unaware of the concept of sleep, however, and, after watching Fenrir snooze in hisp a few times, she had to try it herself. Now, Yggy stretched somewhat theatrically while releasing a loud yawn as she said, "Good morning, Papa~." As was the case with all of his children, Masonia being the only exception, Yggy ended up calling him Papa after talking with her Mama, Ryuu for a bit. He had promised to let her meet Alise once things had settled down, to which Yggy had more than happily imed she didnt mind waiting for a few hundred if necessary... Ruffling her golden hair, Vahn smiled as he said, "Good morning, Yggy...and Fenrir...did you two enjoy your nap?" Fenrir had been stretching like a cat in Yggysp and Vahn couldnt help but pull up the sides of his mouth a little more upon witnessing this. Neither girl answered by the time Lefiya arrived, however, as they were focused on thetters fairy-like figure. Lefiya waved towards Yggy, a natural smile on her face, before turning to Vahn with a slightly more serious expression as she said, "Master, there were a few issues with the defensive wards that had been created in some of the key areas of the fortresses. I believe Enyos victims had been manipted to try and undermine their integrity before she attackedter..." During the investigation, there were a number of people who were under Enyos influence, even though they hadnt tried anything when he cleared the mark from their minds. From this, Vahn had concluded that Enyo could only actively control a single person at a time and, having already experienced how difficult it was just to control two bodies, Vahn understood the reason. This was likely why she relied on corrupting monsters and usingyered brainwashing to control the Xenos and her Creatures. By using the corrupted magic cores as a catalyst, she was able to manipte people without having to take direct control, making her power considerably less scary than before... Vahn nodded his head in response to Lefiya but there was a small smile on his face as he said, "If you ever want my affection, you just have to let me know, Lefiya..." Because she could have simply informed him through telepathy, Vahn felt that Lefiya had wanted him to praise her so she hade to inform him directly. Surprisingly, Lefiya became very fl.u.s.tered as she waved her hands back and forth, saying, "Waaah, Master, I just remembered you mentioning that Enyo might be able to intercept ourmunications. I wanted to let you know in person so she wouldnt have any way to know that the wards had been fixed...!" Hearing Lefiyas words, Vahn realized she was right and, perhaps because of how easy things had been going, he realized his habit of bingcent had gotten to him once again. It wasnt even a week ago that hemitted to never underestimating his enemy again but here Lefiya was, reminding him about a very simple fact. He had even been the one to tell the girls to only rely on using the telepathy in an emergency and to try andmunicate important issues within Yggys domain to avoid detection... Currently, Vahn had been taking a nap back at the Manor with Aki, Meinya, and Anise while he had also been rxing with Fenrir and Yggy. Though he was paying attention to his surroundings, it was now rather obvious that he had lost focus somewhat. Even so, his expression didnt show the slight perturbance he felt as heughed lightheartedly at Lefiyas outburst before saying, "You were right to do so, Lefiya, thank you for covering for my oversight. I am constantly reminded by how capable everyone is that my own training can never cease...hahaha~." Vahn had been told by the goddesses that he needed to rx as much as possible before confronting Enyo, or else he would be prone to making even more oversights. Right now, he was ted to be venturing into the Dungeon in two days and, while that was going on, his main body would likely be in deep meditation within the Sub-Space orb. If he didnt rx now, there might not be any time to rxter... Though she already had a red face, Lefiya showed a bashful blush as she brought her fingertips together and said, "Thank you for saying such kind words, Master...but...umm..." This time, Vahnughed for real as he gestured toward Lefiya and invited the bashful Spirit to sit in hisp. Then, for a good twenty minutes, Vahn enjoyed the flowery aroma of Lefiyas hair while embracing her from behind. Though she could get him very excited in many circ.u.mstances, Lefiyas aroma had the same calming effect as girls like Terra, Riveria, and Ryuu. This was a natural quality of Elves and, though Lefiya was now a Spirit, this ability had only been amplified, not reduced... --- (A/N: The standard outfit of the Defenders is essentially a false-aegis coat, their choice of trousers, shorts, or skirt, and a mantle that gives them naturally enhanced stealth abilities and provides protection from magic attacks. They each have badges, pendants, and two essories of their choosing that have very simr effects. The badges are a simple soulbound item that can only be carried by the person it was issued to and work simrly to Guild Cards in other fantasy settings. The pendant boosts their experience gain and increases the replenishment of mana and mental energies while the other two essories work as batteries to power the various defensive formations while giving them an emergency means to use their Magic items. As for the color palette, you can essentially imagine everyone wearing grey/ck outfits, simr to Vahn himself, while their mantles would be an off-white that matches the surrounding Floors and helps them blend into the background (UwU)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: You can shove your rumors up your bum (UwU)~!,And so, the HDF fought...,The Calm Before the Storm...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 874 - Promises

Chapter 874 - Promises

During his preparations to confront Enyo, Vahn had been splitting his time between the Manor and the Sub-Space orb. There were a few things he needed to address in order to keep promises he had made while, at the same time, Vahn was working to reduce the cooldown of his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]. Thest step to ensure Haven would be protected involved naming Yggy with his Innate and upgraded her abilities even further. His own naming ability might not be able to help her break into tier 4, as his own Soul Tier was a restriction, but it would still remove her limiter and make it much easier for her to reach that point on her own. While he was in the orb, Vahn had been improving his rtionship with Artemis and her Personal Maid Attendant, Lante. She actually had the highest loyalty towards him amongst all the Artemis Familia members, primarily as a result of how happy she was to have been revived with her goddess faux-avatar. Though Lante wasnt Tier 4, far from it, she had been promoted to Tier 3, presumably, and was able to use a small fraction of Artemis power. Even with these capabilities, however, Lante was the most dedicated amongst all the girls to bing a proficient Maid and didnt spend that much time training, even with Maemi and Emiru pestering her. It was after several small conflicts that Vahn came up with the idea of making Lante serve as Artemis personal Maid. This resulted in her practically following Artemis around everywhere and, as a result, Vahn ended up spending a decent amount of time with a third set of twins. He did enjoy the fact that Lante had dog-like ears and a tail, even if Artemis had pouted about it when he was petting the both of them. It was during that same incident that, after a bout of coaxing that Vahn ended up sleeping with the two girls. He knew that Tina had been waiting for simr treatment and, after promising they would be together after returning to the surface, Vahn intended to make good on his promise. Thebination of Artemis and Lante, however, had been too tantalizing to resist and, with Artemis Divinity rted to Love, Vahn was a little weak against her... As was the case with all goddesses, Artemis body had beenpletely unblemished and, once n.a.k.e.d, her figure looked like a divine sculpture. Having the exact same body, with only slight differences, Lante looked equally as impressive, though Vahn wouldnt be able to deny that the ears and tail had added to her charm. When they had finally united, Artemis had been in a great deal of pain and, very simr to Hestia, Vahn had been unable to move at first. Fortunately, he was already ustomed to dealing with such things and, after a bit of magic with his hands, Artemis was able to enjoy herself...perhaps a little too much. As for Lante, Vahn got to experience a rather strange phenomenon because, though her appearance closely resembled Artemis, Lantes physique as that of a Chienthrope. They ended up in a situation where Vahn was locked together with Lante while sheid atop Artemis, both kissing each other rather passionately... Of course, he wasnt just focused on stress relief and spending intimate moments with the girls as, true to his word, Vahn had started to help Ais and most of the other interested girls learn the basics of cultivation. Fenrir had helped out a lot and, having some experienced with meditation and guided focus, Tsubaki would give advice when she wasnt busy at the School. Her sses generally ended around 2 PM, allowing her to spend upwards of 18 hours within the Sub-Space orb before it was time for dinner. This wasnt the rule though, as arge portion of her time was also dedicated to tending to Sakuya, who would generally be entrusted to Aki while ying with Anise and Meinya. Ais was very determined to ovee her limits and, though it wasnt too surprising, ended up awakening the [Child of Destiny] Innate at the C-Rank almost immediately. During the time Vahn was helping to update their Status Boards, shortly after their evacuation, Ais already had the skill unlocked and was very determined to return to the Dungeon. However, when it was pointed out that Bells own version of the Innate was at the SS-Rank, Ais calmed down and immersed herself in some pretty intense training. Terra had even helped to make arge waterfall on the thirdyer of pressure within the Sub-Space orb where Ais could often be found meditating for hours at a time. She was using a meditation method called [Gale Heart Tempering Technique] that allowed her to increase herprehension Wind Elemental Laws and absorption of Wind Elemental energy. Even after just twenty days within the Sub-Space orb, Ais could create a wispy green aura that shrouded her body during meditation, diverting the water away from her in a seemingly natural manner...she really was a genius with an insane degree of talent towards Wind Elemental Laws... Though she also used the waterfall for meditation, Tionas method of building her foundation was fundamentally different from everyone elses. She was just as determined as Ais, if not more so, but Vahn had never truly understood how her Innates worked. Tiona, impossibly, had absolutely no affinity towards any element at all. In fact, from general observation, it should be impossible for her to use mana, qi, or any other form of energy... The truth of the matter, however, was that she could use them regardless of what logic would dictate. Her body was able to convert the energy within the void itself to supplement her use of skills, magic, and abilities, essentially making it so that she was always cultivating. She also had a natural talent forprehending Laws rted to fighting, especially if it was physical in nature. As almost anything could be a Law, including something like petting, Vahn tried toe up with a few methods to help Tiona temper her mind while also tempering her soul. What he came up with was a bit of a cheat, as he gave Tiona ess to a weaker Space-Time orb that Terra had helped to create. The time dtion was only 1:10, making it rather low for a Space-Time orb but, other than the basic Laws that would allow Tionas spirit to keep its shape, the only two influential forces within the orb were Gravity and Darkness. Upon entering the orb, you would find yourself on a small stone tform with nothing but oppressive darkness surrounding you, stretching out until infinity. There were also ratherrge fluctuations in the amount of gravity that would act upon you but, unlike in the real world where such forces would tear you apart, the Spirit was something that could withstand such things with rtive ease. Since even breathing was unnecessary within a Space-Time orb, as your Spirit didnt require oxygen to survive, it was a very effective way to temper yourself, assuming you could bear the darkness and gravitational forces that could sometimes exceed 100G. The first time Tiona had used it, she had only been able to stay inside for around three minutes before exiting the orb and breaking out into a cold sweat while gasping for air. He had been there to make sure it wasnt too intense for her, helping to calm her mind so she could recover more quickly. When she had calmed down, Tiona almost immediately wanted to re-enter the orb but, this time, Vahn went in with her to help tide her through. As a result, shested the remainder of the 60 minutes the orb could be used for within a day, equating to a full 10 hours of strenuous meditation... Vahn, seeing the girls work so hard to improve themselves, felt greatly at easepared to how he had been feeling previously. It honestly wasnt their fault that Enyo had such a broken ability and, had the circ.u.mstances been even slightly different, they would have been able to tear through the Dungeon with ease. Now, it was on him to deal with Enyo and try to find out the answers to the many questions they had. The only saving grace the errant goddess had at this point was the fact that Vahn still wanted to learn about Ais past. Even though Ais herself hade to him, iming that it was no longer important, Vahn still wanted to try and keep his promise from long ago. Depending on the circ.u.mstances, he may even try to capture Enyo but, with how dangerous she was, it was far better for everyone if he just killed her outright... After experiencing the incidents with Freya and Artemis, Vahn was confident he would be able to outright kill Enyo when they confronted each other. He was nning to pull her Arcanum, if it was even still in Heaven, into the Mortal World. Given what he knew thus far, Vahn already suspected that Enyo wasnt a normal goddess anymore, but that would require him to see her to confirm this. Regardless, the moment her Divinity was bound to this realm, Vahn would bind her with [Enkidu] and drive one of its spears straight through her body. Though this wasnt guaranteed to end her permanently, as she could reform after a few thousand years passed, that would buy him more than enough time toplete his Quests and seal the record...when he returned in the future, the immortality of the gods would be an almost inconsequential thing... With these things in mind, Vahn continued to watch over the girls training, spending time with everyone, ying with his children, and, with only a few hours left before his focus would be shifted towards the Dungeon, Vahn ended up within the Sub-Space once again. There was certainly time to take care of such things in the future but, as nearly a month had already passed since their promise was due, Vahn feltpelled to mark his descent with a major event. As a result, he found himself it a soundproof room that contained arge andfortable bed, currently fitted with red nkets, a matter he had no part in. Seated upon the bed was not only Tina, looking rather heated and nervous, but her Mother, Mn, as well... Seeing the Mother-Daughter pair who, upon his first entry into the City, had helped to shape his outlook on life in general, Vahn couldnt help but smile in reminiscence as he said, "It feels like a lifetime ago since we first met...its hard to believe things have reached this point..." Back then, Tina had barelye up to his diaphragm, even though he had been a rather short boy at the time. Now, however, she had the appearance of a young woman who, much like her Mother, was rather tall for a Cat Person at 159cm. She was already the same height as Chloe, even though her face and figure still had a touch of youthfulness to them... Mn, looking even more nervous than her daughter,ughed somewhat awkwardly before teasing, "Araa...if I had known the cute little boy from back then would grow up to be such a capable man, I may have imed you for myself before others got the chance..." Though she had once backed out in consideration of her daughters feelings, that was a memory from years ago at this point. Mn hadnt used the orb that much, but it wasnt as if she hadnt been using it at all. By now, she had known Vahn for what felt like 6-7 years, the majority of which had been spent preparing for this day. Hearing her Mothers words, Tina gave a small hmph before saying, "If Mom had been more decisive back then...gnyuuu..." Tina was unable to finish her words because, in truth, she didnt know what to say at times like this at all. Her body felt like it was burning and, as Vahn wasnt doing anything to restrain his natural aroma, doing nothing was bing rather difficult for her. For a long time now, she had wanted to leave her own mark on Vahn and, seeing all the new marks he had obtained over the passing months, the only thing that kept her from nightcrawling was the fact that so many things were constantly going on... Seeing Tinas reaction, Vahns smile softened and, though he was tempted to ask if they were both okay with this, Vahn knew it would be a disservice to both girls, no, both women. Tina wanted her Mother to truly ept the rtionship between the three of them and had been very insistent that Mn was present during her first time. Since this had been her intention for a very long time, Mn had already agreed to her Daughters demands long ago. Now, Vahn found himself in a situation that was, in polite society, even rarer thanying with a god...even so, he loved both girls dearly and, true to his words back then, intended to make them both happy. In an effort to ease the tension, Vahn began to remove his clothes manually whilementing, "I hope that [Super Lucky] of yours doesnt act up even more after this...hahahaha..." As impossible a feat as it was supposed to be, Tina had been able to develop her [Luck] to S-Rank, unlocking the evolution of the Development Ability. Of course, the moment he mentioned this, Vahn got to experience something that truly should have been impossible. He had been removing his trousers and somehow got his foot caught in the leg, tripping forward in a manner that was only ever possible around Tina. He didnt even try to resist it this time, knowing full well that it was near impossible to do so without taking a hard stance... As a result of his tumble, Vahn ended up in a situation where he had Tina pinned down to the bed while her blouse had miraculously been lifted, revealing her two well-shaped and perky b.r.e.a.s.ts. They werent thatrge but they were nearly the same size as her Mothers at this point, giving Tina a rather charming appeal, especially with the heated blush present on her face. From the side, Mn released a sigh of exasperation before deftly removing her own blouse in one swift movement. With Vahnspromised position, it was better to just ignore the slip and move on to the next part of their tense tryst. Tina, after recovering her senses, practically kicked Vahn away from her since Cat People, in general, didnt like to be on their backs. Vahn rolled to the side with the movement before moving to the headboard of the bed, which he knew would be necessary for such situations. Tina, with a face as red as a tomato, watched him with fully widened eyes while breathing rather heavily through her nose. When Vahn sat with his back to the headboard, her heart began to fluttery madly while Mn, finished with her own clothing, reached around and spooked Tina by giving her a hug, saying, "It is always scary during the first time...dont worry, I will be here with you the entire time..." As muchfort as her Mothers presence brought to her at this moment, Tinas excitement far exceeded it, especially since Vahn was already bereft of clothing. She couldnt tear her eyes away from the almost impossiblyrge protrusion sticking out of his lower body, even though she had seen it many times in the past. Her gaze was so transfixed on the member that Tina hardly registered that her blouse had already been skillfully removed, leaving her wearing nothing but a pair of panties and a green ribbon around her tail. Then, when Vahn gestured towards her, Tina slowly crawled forward and, after tightly embracing each other, the two finally became one...with Vahn earning yet another bit mark on his shoulder...this one right next to Mns. (A/N: Next set of chapters is Vahn entering into the Dungeon to bully Enyo-chan. There are also a few major developments that will happen so get hyped~! Also, I know people want to see longer scenes between Vahn and the girls but, given the circ.u.mstances, there are far more people who would rather get to the action and suspense bits. I may do some side chapters detailing some of the more intimate moments that may have felt skipped. The people at the top of this list are Fenrir, Demeter, Artemis/Lante, and Rufina/Shakti. Though Im sure there are some who would want a detail oyakodon scene, there would have to be a lot of support for the idea since it would certainly be a little difficult to make it not feel weird for most people xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lante is VERY loyal to Vahn now...,Ais, Tiona, and Tione, fighto~!,Vahn finally learned how to cook an Oyakodon with red rice...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 875 - Yggdrasils Heir

Chapter 875 - Yggdrasil''s Heir

Back on the 50th Floor of the Dungeon, enough time had passed for Vahn to use his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] once again. He had talked with Yggy about it beforehand and she was more than a little excited to have a true name, especially since it was the same as her previous one. As a result, Vahn ended up ruffling the adorable Spirits hair while a small crowd, consisting of Fenrir, Haruhime, Lefiya, Ryuu, Arnya, Mikoto, Lili, and Riveria. She hade down for a short visit to witness Yggy for herself and, with how important a Tree of Life was for the Elven People, Riveria knew she needed to at least build some rapport with the adorable little Spirit. Thus, with everyone gathered, Vahn looked down on Yggy with a smile and said, "From this point onwards, you should be known as Yggdrasil Lion Mason..." Though they had witnessed Vahns naming several times, seeing a 10m tall tree suddenly be encapsted in a vortex of magical energy was quite surprising. Eventually, it had formed into an emerald green sphere that becamepletely stagnant, emanating a powerful vitality that made everyone feel refreshed and full of life. Then, after fifteen minutes had passed, the light slowly began to retreat but, instead of losing its vibrancy, the emerald green glow became even brighter. By the time it had formed the outline of a tree, the light was so bright that it seemed to illuminate the entire Floor before slowly dimming into a natural and serene green, tinged with a golden hue. Yggys bark now seemed to be covered in ayer of glowing moss while nine golden vines coiled around her trunk. Curiously, her height didnt increase much but now, amongst the gem-like leaves, there were a few pure green ones that had swirling gold patterns present on their surface... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Yggdrasil Lion Mason] Age: 0 Race: Spirit of the World Tree, Yggdrasil(sealed) Level: (-) Loyalty: Eternal Loyalty Soul Strength: Tier 3 (Great Spirit) Karma: - State: [Active] Skills: [Spirit of the World Tree: Innate: SSS](new), [Yggdrasils Heir: Innate: SSS](new), [Sacred Dew: Innate: SS], [Haven: Innate: SS](new), [Sacred Light of Purification: SS](new), [Rampant Growth: S], [Terraforming: S->SS], [Vital Soul:H](evolved from [Endless Vigor], [Healing Rain: A->S] [Spirit of the World Tree] Rank: Innate(SSS) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* Passive: Allows the user to adapt to any and all environments, purifying them and strengthening the life essence contained within. So long as one of the nine Sacred Hearts of Life remains, those possessing this skill will live eternally. Active: Allows the user to self-propagate eight times by nting their Sacred Heart of Life in any medium. In total, the user will be able to exist as nine bodies, each linked together irrespective of distance. [Yggdrasils Heir] Rank: Innate(SSS) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* Passive: Grants the user limitless vital energy and allows them to infuse it into other sources. Active: Bestow [Yggrasils Champion] unto a single target via a kiss. This skill can only be used once for each main body the user has created. [Yggdrasils Champion] Rank: (-) Use: Allows the user to draw upon the energy of [Yggdrasils Heir], giving them nigh-inexhaustible energy and endless vitality. So long as this skill persists, the user will possess eternal life and the ability to purify all negative energies. [Sacred Dew] Rank: Innate(SS) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* Passive: Produce a single drop of Sacred Dew each month. Those that consume this Sacred Dew will have all their wounds healed, all sicknesses recovered, all curses removed, and, for the period of 1 year, be immune to any ailments. Consuming ten Sacred Dew can increase the longevity of the recipient by around 10% of their basic lifespan while also giving them a constitution that is immune to sickness. [Haven](A/N: This is a Unique Innate, even though the effect is simr to Sanctuary (UwU)...) Rank: Innate(A) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* Passive: Create a domain of purification that increases the growth rate, natural recovery, and spiritual development of everything within. Has the effect of negating negative energy, purifying poisons, preventing the spread of miasma, and damaging entities recognized as a threat by the user. [Sacred Light of Purification] Rank: SS Use: Causes a radiant light to emanate, dealing persistent damage to enemies based on the purity of their soul. Against familiars and mana constructs, this ability canpletely destroy any entities beneath the Level of the user. [Rampant Growth] Rank: S Use: Convert vital energy into the natural energy to stimte explosive nt growth. [Terraforming] Rank: SS Use: The user is able to passively change the environment to be more hospitable for recognized lifeforms. Able to create ecospheres with isted habitats that canst indefinitely, so long as the user is still alive. [Vital Soul] Rank: H Use: Massively increases the replenishment of stamina, mental energy, and spiritual energy. Increases the natural recovery of all friendly entities near the user. [Healing Rain] Rank: S Use: Convert vital energy into clouds that will rain down indiscriminately, healing all within this abilities range. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Seeing how much Yggy had changed, Vahn was truly awed but, unfortunately, as naming her had consumed almost the entirety of his energy, he wasnt able to take in all of the changes just yet. Unable to remain standing, Vahn fell forward andnded softly in a bed of thick grass and flowers that had practically bloomed in an instant to catch him. A bright light shed from his side before condensing into the figure of Yggy, unchanged except for the fact she now seemed to glow with a golden hue. Then, unexpectedly, the little Spirit leaned down and gave him a kiss on the forehead, causing a flood of energy to flow into Vahns body as his own reserves began to steadily replenish. Watching her Papa slowly regain his strength, Yggy smiled so radiantly that it wouldnt be difficult to imagine all evil creatures in the world flinching at that moment. Just as he often did to her, she began to pat his head while softly uttering, "Papa is really amazing...even though I feel so much stronger than before, my energy is only like a small streampared to yours..." As Yggy had just given her Papa the [Yggdrasils Champion] Skill, it should have been able to revitalize him in an instant. If he were a normal person, it would be almost impossible for him to ever use up more energy than she was feeding into him through their bond. How Papapletely defied this logic, however, as she was feeding what felt like an ocean of energy into his body only for it to slowly replenish... Vahn sat up and traded roles with Yggy, now stroking her hair with a proud smile on his face as he said, "Youre amazing yourself, Yggy...I cant wait to see what youll grow up into. Make sure you study hard and get along with everyone, okay~?" Right now, though it was incredibly gentle byparison, Yggys presence actually exceeded Terras by quite a bit. This was because Terra, as powerful as she was, had only reached the very early stages of Tier 3. Yggy, however, was so close to Tier 4 that the only thing limiting her, other than her age, was a properprehension of how to use her skills. Once she matured and broadened her horizons a bit, Vahn knew Yggy would break into the Tier 4 very naturally, like a flower blossoming in the sunlight... After Yggy evolution, Vahn sat around in the verdant meadow that now existed, talking with the girls about his ns. He would be venturing into the Dungeon very soon but, now that these new changes had urred, there were other things they needed to discuss. Though it would have been easy to talk about them back at the Manor, Vahn wanted Yggy to be present during the discussion that directly rted to her. She now had nine total [Sacred Heart of Life], one of which served as the core of her current main body. The other eight were inactive and Vahn was discussing where they should be nted in the future, both for Yggys benefit, and their own. The Hearth Manor seemed like the most obvious ce to nt Yggys second heart as it would allow her to y with everyone back on the surface. Though it would certainly cause quite the stir, as her body no longer had a limit to the size it could grow, Vahn didnt want Yggy to be stuck in the Dungeon all the time. If necessary, they could even expand the Hearth Manor until it epassed a muchrger region of the Alliances territory. However, when he brought up this idea, it was rather quickly shot down because, after a few thousand years passed, Yggy would outgrow the City itself. Anywhere she was nted would essentially be a central gathering point for Civilization in the future and it was actually a problem that one of her bodies was now constrained to the Dungeon... Yggys diameter was always half of her height, meaning that she would eventually grow to a point where her canopy reached the ceiling, more than 2000m above, while her trunk would have grownrger than the region they had cleared for her. Though it would take as long as 400,000 years, Yggy would have actually grown wider than the 50th Floro itself, having a diameter of more than 200km with a height that was over 400km...meaning she would have a canopy that had already grown to the surface and spread across the entirety of Orario by then. This was actually a rather terrifying thought but, as Vahn knew he would realistically live forever, and there were already entities several hundred million years old, it would eventuallye to that point... Fortunately, when the discussion got to this point, Yggy chimed in, saying, "Dont worry Papa, if I start to get too big I can just move a part of myself into the void. I can grow there as much as I want while keeping only a piece of myself in the Dungeon~." Hearing this, Vahn was more than a little surprised, asking, "How will you do that...?" Yggy, with an absolutely innocent expression, just giggled as she said, "It is easy~!" before hopping up and pointing to her main body and shouting, Eiii~!. When she did so, the rather awe-inspiring tree actually started to shrink until it was barely the size of a sapling, even though the massive aura that now covered arge part of Haven, persisted. Vahn was immediately reminded of Terras Space Magic, shrinking down objects so they could be carried around in his Inventory with greater ease. Yggy, however, was able to emte that ability Innately, without having to use aplex magic circle at all. Seeing this, Vahn remembered Evas lessons about how Magi would study the rare magic and superpowers of others to create new Magics of their own. He wondered if the first person to make spatialpression magic had seen someone use an ability simr to Yggys, as he himself now felt inspired to look into it a bit. There was a lot he could learn just through observing the effects of Innates, even though he admittedly cked on his own at times... With Yggys rather fantastical disy, the problem of her size wasnt really a problem at all, meaning she could easily be nted within the Illusory forest of the Hearth Manor without issue. Terra would need to give her permission but, considering she would greatly benefit from the nigh-infinite amount of natural energy that would be present, the odds of her refusing were astronomically small. He could already see the two of them getting along splendidly while Alexa may even be simr to a big sister to Yggy in the future... Yggy herself didnt seem to mind where her other hearts were nted but, knowing she would be able to stay on the surface and interact with everyone whenever she wanted, the Hearth Manor was more or less confirmed as her next home. The third seed would very likely be nted within the Elven Forest, allowing the Sacred Trees there to grow without requiring sacrifices and the like. Vahn may have already provided a solution to the Elven infertility issue but there was no harm in making sure other problems didnt pop up in the future. Though the Elves would probably be a very friendly and outgoing people in the future, as an overabundance of natural energy was a mild stimnt for them, their bodies would adapt with time. Future Elves would likely be far more powerful than their ancestral king, bathing in Yggdrasils energy since birth and increasing their potential to greater heights... The location of the other six seeds would have to be debated in the future, as there were currently no ideal ces to allow Yggy to grow. Vahn definitely wanted to nt one on the Dark Continent, allowing it to slowly turn into a more hospitable environment, but that would have to wait untilter. Other than there, he had the idea of nting one near the bottom of the ocean, as there were no limits to where Yggy could be nted, while another could potentially be nted in the Southern Sands. The climate there was very harsh and the lives of its inhabitants had struggled to survive for thousands of years...Vahn remembered this his Emperor self had somehow turned the Southern Sands into fertile ins and there was a fair chance Yggy had been involved. It was either that or, by having Yggy help with his research, Vahn had learned [Terraforming] for himself...? As for the final locations he had in mind, at least for the moment, Vahn was tempted to nt one of Yggys hearts within the chaotic energy of space. She didnt require a physical medium to grow into and, even if he nted her in the air, Yggy would be able to sprout a main body without any issues. This allowed her to be nted in some rather exotic ces and, though there wasnt a physical sun and moon within the record of Danmachi, Vahn felt it shouldnt be impossible for him to affect the celestial artifacts that represented them. Artemis would likely be able to help him reach what was known as the Moon Pce and, though Apollo would probably hate him for a few thousand years, Vahn knew he would meet Amaterasu in the future. She was one of the principle Goddesses of the Sun and would probably help him nt one of Yggys hearts on the Celestial Sun Pce in the future. Other than that, Vahn had thoughts of trying to nt Yggys hearts within Hades and Heaven one day, linking the three Realms and potentially allowing him to move between them once she reached Tier 4. The only problem with that was, if Yggy did end up in a realm where the gods werent restricted, her indestructible nature may be brought into contention very quickly... Ultimately, for the time being, Yggy offered up her eight hearts to Vahn and allowed him to ce them into his Inventory. Then, back in the Manor, Vahn went to discuss the matter with Terra and quickly got her permission to nt Yggy within the clearing of the illusory forest. Once the seed was nted, an exact replica of Yggdrasils body in the Dungeon was created on the surface. Each of her bodies were linked together, meaning they shared the same age and rate of growth as all the others. By the time she had reached her full size, another radiant light emerged from Yggys trunk before a duplicate Spirit body was produced. Then, rather unexpectedly, Vahn found himself getting another forehead kiss, feeling the amount of energy flowing into his body doubling as Yggyughed happily, face full of childish innocence and the desire to receive praise... (A/N: Thest paragraph is to show that, even if an ability reached SSS(the peak of the record), that doesnt mean it cant grow even further. Though SSS is the highest rating something can have, the difference between SSS can vary greatly. Remember, Vahns [Will of the Emperor] has been SSS from the start, yet its power and efficacy have grown alongside Vahn. However, if he were to enter into a higher record, the skill may no longer be SSS at all. The rank is entirely based on the record itself, and this applies to items as well. If he took [Enkidu] into a Tier 9 record, it probably wouldnt even be a C-Rank item. Btw, anyone else like how Yggy essentially became Vahns most powerful ally in the course of a week xD...?) (A/N: Alternate Titles: One day, having the name Mason will give a person great power...,That is one OP Tree Spirit (O______O)...,Yggy be like, "Papa, take my hearts, *mwah*~!") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 876 - Solitude

Chapter 876 - Solitude

Though the matter with Yggy had set back his departure for a short while, Vahn was even more confident about dealing with Enyo now. Instead of her aura being restricted to 40x her height, Yggy now affected an area that was always the cube of her height. This meant Yggy already affected an area of 1,000m but, unlike before, she could no longer spread her aura to be thin. Even so, the fact that her aura had 100% of its effect within a muchrger region than previously already made her evolution incredible. Vahn had even been able to pluck one of her new leaves, simply called [Yggdrasil Leaf], a Unique item that had a simr effect to an [Effigy of the Hero]. The difference was that, while the [Yggdrasil Leaf] had no boost to a persons parameters, it also had no detriments to speak of. So long as you had one on your person, you could stand up after suffering a fatal wound based on the number of leaves in your possession. If not for the fact it took Yggy a hundred years just to sprout a single leaf, they would have had ess to one of the most beneficial utility items Vahn had ever seen. Presently, Yggy had eight leaves on her main body, after giving one to Vahn, while her body back in the Hearth Manor had sprouted with nine. This meant, at the very least, they would have ess to up to 81 leaves for emergency situations. However, as these leaves also served to enhance the effects of Yggys aura, Vahn decided it was best they were left unplucked for the time being, as the benefits provided to everyone within her area of effect werent something to look down upon... With Havens defenses shored up as much as they could be, Vahn spent a rtively long period of time parting ways with the girls before dawning his equipment, transforming into his Baihu form, and then absorbing Shizunes [Lanceae Umbrae] with his [Magia Erebea]. This was one of the few Magic Spells she had been able to learn over thest few years, allowing her to create spears out of Shadows that had the ability to prate through even Haruhimes magic barrier. Vahn had only used this form a few times before, and it was one of his secrets that he had kept close to his chest for a long time. Whenbined with his Baihu form, Vahn called this particr raiment, Shadow Emperor: Nether Tiger form. Without making it known to the normal members of the Haven Defense Force, including even Finn, Vahn skulked through the shadows without any discernable presence whatsoever. Not only was he blending into the environment naturally, but Vahn was pushing his [Stealth] to the extreme. Though his appearance was rather striking, with the normal coat of fur having inverted to be ck with white stripes. Vahn was able to move through the Dungeons corridors without disturbing the mana in the surroundings even a little. He wanted to discern if Enyos ability to track people was directly tied to the Dungeons own detection systems or if their forces were entirely reliant on a separate system. Thus, like a living shadow, Vahn made his way through the Dungeon with his [Khryskatos] drawn as he silently moved outside the perception of most creatures. He had even managed to walk right by a Deformis Spide, passing within just a few meters of its hiding spot, without triggering its aggro at all. From their perspective, Vahn imagined he was like an illusion or a daydream, something they were able to see but paid no real attention to, almost like a figment of the imagination. He had been able to conceal his presence even against very sensitive animals in the woods, walking right up to them, and it seemed to work just as well against monsters. From these observations, Vahn wondered if the reason why monsters didnt attack each other was because of how they sensed the presence of other monsters. They fundamentallycked an ego so there had to be something governing their reactions and behaviors. Now that his presence matched the Dungeon itself, Vahn was able to pass without drawing any of their attention. He had even, in an effort to verify his hypothesis, walked right up to a Deformis Spider before cing his hand against its head. Though it twitched and began to move its mandibles, the ratherrge spider didnt make any attempts to attack Vahn at all, causing a small smile to spread across his face... With this discovery, Vahn began to move like an actual shadow through the Dungeon, no longer concerned that he would draw the attention of monsters. Though he wasnt using [Shundo] to maneuver, as it would be a waste of energy in this instance, Vahns natural speed in his Shadow Emperor: Nether Tiger form was rather extreme. It wasnt nearly as fast as his Lightning Emperor form, but the stealth capabilities and adaptability were far higher while the cost to sustain the form were significantly lower. This, added with the fact that the Dungeon itself was rtively dark, made Vahns progress through the Floor unmatchable, at least while moving undetected... After having mapped arge section of the 51st Floor previously, Vahn quickly reached a staircase leading down to the 52nd Floor without having to fire a single arrow. He wondered if things would continue in this manner as, from the 52nd Floor to the 58th Floor, Vahn would have entered into the Dragons Vase. Under normal circ.u.mstances, the Valgang Dragons on the 58th Floor would begin to bombard him with their pir-like me breath. Had that been the case, Vahn would have gone straight down to the 58th Floor, bypassing the six preceding Floors entirely. Now, however, Vahn had already stepped into the 52nd Floor for a few minutes without a single sign that the Valgang Dragons had detected him... This confirmed his spection in the past, that the Dragons were likely linked to the detection system of the Dungeon itself. He had trouble believing that their natural detection range would have broken through several kilometers of Dungeon and, with no attacksing his way, Vahn was able to confirm they were indeed reliant on the Dungeon. This opened up the possibility that other monsters were also tied to the Dungeon more intrinsically than was currently understood. Though entities like the Juggernaut were already evidencing that this was the case, the fact that the Valgang Dragons were currently ignoring him was a muchrger credit to this fact... Vahn realized that, by moving along through the Dungeon, his curiosity about many things had been piqued once again, much like when he first entered. When he started traveling with the girls, his focus had always been on protecting them and efficiently killing the enemy. He couldnt even remember thest time he had simply enjoyed traveling through the Dungeon, outside of the time he spent with the girls. There were actually so many things that he was interested in and wanted to learn about, just like when he had first entered this record...yet, it was only at a time like this, when he was in deep meditation back at home and fully focused on the Dungeon that Vahn was reminded of this simple fact... Feeling strangely mncholic being alone, Vahn released a small sigh before musing, ("Ever since I made my avatar, I dont think Ive ever been alone...it feels rather strange...") In response to this, Sis giggled lightly before asking, (*Do you not consider my presence adequatepany~?*). Hearing this, Vahn felt a slight bit of guilt before Sis added, (*Im just teasing you, Vahn...besides, this is a good opportunity for you to experience being alone once again. It is a feeling you will have to get used to at some point...after all, even if you take some of your subordinates with you to another world, it wont be easy summoning them to your side. Until your own power reaches the point where you can sustain them, it would cost a great deal of OP just to maintain their presence for short periods of time. Depending on the world, it may not even be prudent to summon them at all, even if your modify will fix many of those problems.Im just saying, if you truly wish to be strong enough to return to this world one day, much of your journey will be a very solitary path...*) Though he had already had simr thoughts in the past, hearing Sisy things out in such a manner caused Vahn to lightly nod his head in response. He had actually thought about it long and hard for what was very likely several hundred hours at this point. Since he didnt know how long it would take him to move through other records, Vahn had often thought that it would be better for those like Fenrir if he simply left them behind. They wouldnt be aware of the separation at all whereas, if he took them with him, the chances of them spending long periods of time in their cores were very likely. Even summoning them wasnt necessarily a good thing, as it would put them in real danger and drastically increase the chances of something terrible happening... Vahn knew that, as he moved to progressively higher tiered worlds, the amount of danger they would face increases exponentially. Since there were very likely to be entities that have some degree of omniscience, calling them into the world would draw a great deal of attention to Vahn while he is in a weakened state. Though they would undoubtedly try to protect him, there were some enemies that his subordinates simply wouldnt be able to face until Vahn himself grew stronger. In some worlds, it may take him hundreds of years to reach a point where they could safely be introduced into the world and, without a means to seal away their perception, it would be a very lonely existence for any subordinates that traveled through the records with him... Thus far, the only person Vahn had considered always taking with him was Fenrir, as he had promised not to leave her behind long ago. Though she would ept his decision, Vahn didnt want to be gone for several thousand years, only to return and have betrayed the trust of one of his most faithfulpanions. It was also a simple truth that, even if he tried to deny it, Vahn had be very reliant on Fenrir, even when she had first transformed. She had also done so much for him over the past few years that Vahn simply couldnt see himself traveling through other records without her. It was a bit selfish of him but, for both of their sakes, Vahn didnt think he would be able to truly move into future records alone... In response to his concerns, Sis chimed in with a rather pleasant tone, saying (*You know, you dont have to put Fenrir into your Inventory when you move between records. Remember, you can always put her into an [Inactive] state through the Unit Management Function and store her away there. Her perception would bepletely sealed in that case while the only requirement to call her back out would be 50% of her Loyalty. Though that sounds like a lot, Fenrirs Loyalty is always increasing at a rather extreme rate...Im certain she wouldnt mind, either.*) Even now, Fenrirs Loyalty was generally increasing around 100 points every second, having long crossed over the boundary of one hundred million. Hearing Siss words, Vahns pace slowly decreased until he was stationary within the 54th Floor. He then asked, ("Is it possible to use the Unit Management function to call my subordinates to other records...?") This time, even though he couldnt see her, Vahn felt like Sis shook her head as she exined, (*It should be possible to summon them to your side in between two records but, once you move into a second record, everyone on your Unit Management would grey out until you were between records once again.*) Just as there had been before he entered the record of Danmachi, there was a hub that Vahn would return to, the ce in his memory he referred to as the stone dais. Though he felt a great deal of excitement at these new revtions, Vahn also felt a strange sense of incongruity and awkwardness as he muttered, ("I need to put more effort into learning the potential of my system functions. There are some I havent even used a single time since unlocking them...") Because his focus was generally on other things, Vahn rarely spent much time wholly focused on trying to learn the ins and outs of his system functions, even though they were his most powerful asset. In fact, he was constantly learning new things about them, almost like each function was an Innate that he could master to great effect. Every time he realized something new about them yet, until this day, things like the Upgrade function had gone untouched for what now amounted to years... Once again, Sis gave sagely council, advising, (*This is why loneliness isnt always a bad thing, even if it is sometimes difficult to bear. Though you should never be ustomed to such feelings, it is during these moments when you have the most time to reflect. If you are able to maintain your focus, your self-mastery, the mastery of your Innates, and the mastery of your system functions...all of these will show a marked increase. After all, is it not when you are alone and trying your best to return to the people that you care about that your growth is the fastest...?*) Because Vahns growth was highly dependent on his intentions and desires, he inarguably grew much faster with the proper motivation. When you were ustomed to being surrounded by the people you cared about, the desire to break away from loneliness could be a very powerful motivator... Knowing that Sis words were the truth, as she was inarguably more observant of his own life than even he was, Vahn found himself looking down at the floor. He wasnt thinking about anything in particr and just focused on experiencing and trying toprehend this one moment. Then, as if finding the answer to aplex question that had eluded him for a very long time, Vahns face adopted a natural smile as the shadowy shroud clinging to his body slowly began to expand. As if it were a dense ck liquid trying to fill up every avable space, the shadows around Vahn continued to spread until they had filled every empty section of the 54th Floor in a 1.7km radius. Those monsters unfortunate to get caught within this shroud of darkness found their bodies dissolving rapidly, just like the ceiling, walls, and floor itself. Vahn knew that this wasnt where he was meant to be and this entire fiasco with Enyo had gone on for too long...it was time to end this once and for all. Now, no longer concealing himself from the Dungeon, Vahn could sense several massive pirs of Fire Elemental Energy converging upon him. Though this wouldnt have been a threat to him, even under normal circ.u.mstances, this time the mes ate through the Floors below Vahn until they came into contact with his shadow. The moment these seemingly unstoppable pirs of fire made contact with the endless darkness, it was as if they had disappeared into nothingness. By the time they had faded away, this darker than ck cloud began to descend down the tunnels that had been created by the Valgang Dragons breath, carrying the promise of death along with it... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Yggy-chan, banzai~!,Vahn is bad at exploiting the system~,Just imagine a 3.4km wide cloud of pure darkness falling towards you...spooky...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 877 - Overwhelming

Chapter 877 - Overwhelming

Much like his previous descent into the 58th Floor, Vahn carried a powerful killing intent that only made the Shadows around him burn even stronger. Though the ocean in his mind was extremely calm, Vahn had decided that Enyo needed to die. He had wanted to try and be discreet, in order to understand her capabilities a bit better, but that had changed after his conversation with Sis. Now, he would much rather resolve this matter as soon as possible, not just so he could spend more time with his family, but to allow him time to understand the functions of The Path in greater detail. When he moved to other worlds, The Path would be his most reliable asset and, the greater Vahns understanding of its functions, the faster he would be able to return to his home in the future... After falling for a few minutes, during which time several other Valgang Dragons wasted their breath against him, Vahn once again entered the 58th Floor proper. His eyes scanned the surroundings, unobstructed by the cloud of shadows that had already started to devour and tear apart the flock of Ill Wyverns. They may have an affinity for Darkness and Poison but their resistances against his shadow domain only prolonged their suffering as the 3m long bluish-purple Dragons bodies were torn apart, their howls soundlessly spreading into the Shadows that immediately filled their throats and insides... Still falling, Vahn knocked arrows onto his [Khryskatos] and began loosing them towards the Valgang Dragons below, creating a veritable rain of pitch ck arrows that urately pierced through their thick scales and destroyed the cores within. With his SSS-Rank [Archery Goddess Blessing],bined with the Abilities of [Khryskatos], every single one of Vahns arrowsnded true on his targets. Even though he was using simple Mithril arrows, they were suffused with his Shadow Elemental energy and carried with them the power to pierce through magical barriers, the thick scales of Dragons, and even several meters of the Dungeons bedrock with ease. With more than half the arrows also dealing explosive critical strikes, Vahn had in a total of 38 Valgang Dragons by the time he hadnded. Without wasting any time, Vahn made his way towards therge hole that was located near the center of the 58th Floor, which was a giant and expansive wastnd with few areas of cover. His shadowy domain moved along with him, appearing like a tidal wave of darkness that moved several times the speed of sound as it ate away at the Dungeon Floor below. The rate at which it devoured the bedrock wasnt that quick, but it still left a very noticeable path in the Floor as Vahn moved along. He was still conserving his energy as maintaining the Shadow domain would be significantly more difficult if he was moving while using [Shundo]. Since the shroud wouldnt be able to keep up with the instantaneous movement, Vahn didnt want to waste his efforts in producing it just by hurrying along too quickly... Even with his natural running speed, Vahn only needed a few minutes to reach therge spiral staircase that would have normally led down to the entrance to the 59th Floor. That was the furthest point any Familia had ever treaded, at least ording to the Guilds records. It was supposed to be a Floor nearly 300km in diameter that wasprised of abyrinthine expanse of frozen tundra. There would be an endless blizzard assaulting you fought against sub-zero temperatures while trying to fend of ambushes from Snow Yeti, Frost Giants, and the very rarely seen Ice Elves. It was supposed to be one of the most inhospitable Floors, each monster possessing the strength of an average Level 4 Adventurer while the Ice Elves were archers that could easily reach Level 5 in strength... As he leaped down into the stairwell, not bothering to use the actual stairs, Vahn mused that he was technically setting several records on behalf of the Hestia Familia. These thoughts faded away rather quickly, however, as he noticed that the temperature actually increased during his descent instead of decreasing. If there were truly sub-zero temperatures on the 59th Floor, there would have been a very noticeable decrease in temperature the closer he was to the actual entrance. Instead, by the time hended at the bottom of the massive spiral stairs, Vahn found a cavernous entrance that had a steady stream of warm air, carrying with it the fragrance of flowering nt life... Knowing that Enyo had the ability to influence the minds of others, Vahn couldnt help but wonder if there was ever supposed to be a frozen wastnd on the 59th Floor at all. It was very likely that the Zeus and Hera Familias had been wiped out upon entering the Floor and, before allowing them to return, Enyo had falsified the memories of the surviving members to suit her needs. By making the 59th Floor sound like an incredibly inhospitable ce, she could have been trying to buy time for herself. If an Expedition had to pack arge number of supplies to allow for survival in such a harsh winter climate, their progress through the Dragons Vase would be much slower... Shaking his head a bit, Vahn internally remarked, ("I wonder, just how many lives have been lost due to Enyos schemes over the years...") Given what little he knew of her, Vahn didnt find it difficult to believe that Enyo had indeed fabricated the reports of the 59th Floor. This almost guaranteed that Zeus and Hera had been manipted by her, which made a lot of sense considering how weak Evilus was rumored to be. Ryuu, back when she was only at the early stages of Level 4, managed to wipe out the majority of their standard forces all on her own. However, the two most powerful Familia, even though they had been crippled, were unable to oppose Evilus...? Even with other Familia banding together to exile the Zeus and Hera Familia, Evilus itself should have been rtively powerless to do anything to them... Knowing he would find the answers to questions like these, and more, Vahn continued through the massive cavern that eventually opened to reveal an incredibly lush environment that was reminiscent of the Large Tree Labyrinth. There were tall trees, massive nts, dozens of different kinds of flowers, and a variety of other flora that could be seen from the very moment Vahn entered the Floor. Though his Shadow domain immediately began devouring it, Vahn was still able to take in the rather awe-inspiring sight. The most immediately obvious thing, however, was the massive 100m tall flower that was located in the exact center of the room... As if it had sensed his presence as well, the ten petals wrapping around the top of the flower slowly unfurled, revealing the upper body of another beautiful woman, even though her skin and hair were different shades of green instead of a more natural color. Vahn felt that this monster was either a Xenos or, based on theposition of her aura, a Spirit. She was somewhat simr to a Dryad, if he ignored the fact that her lower body seemed to have fused with a variant of the Corpse Flower, a rare monster that sometimes spawned within the Large Tree Labyrinth. If he hadnt previously seen another woman fusing with the Cadmus previously, Vahn wouldnt know what to make of this situation... Suddenly, the expression of the woman turned into one of absolute madness as a seething and malicious aura began to spread, epassing the entirety of the Floor in an instant. Vahn felt a bit of pressure on himself, causing his brows to furrow as he resisted the oppressive aura with his [Will of the Emperor]. At a nce, this nt-like monster before him was nearly as strong as Terra, at least if their auras were to bepared with each other. Instead of being afraid, however, Vahn stopped wasting energy on diffusing shadows through his domain and instead created a vortex that condensed the shadowy energy into a giantnce. For the first time, the strange monster spoke, an almost synthetic voice sounding out, "You arent Aria...! I was told Aria would being...ahhh, that bitch lied to me...hahahaha...tell me, do you know Aria...? Where is she? Bring her to me...!" Without answering her question, Vahn sent the 20m long spear of shadows towards the dangerous monster, causing her to fold her petals inward as a powerful nullifying aura covered her body. Seeing this, Vahn snorted through his nose and moved forward with [Koku Shundo] as the spear crashed against her defenses but, instead of breaking away as she likely intended, the shadows easily pierced her magical resistance and began to corrode her body. With a loud and blood-curdling scream, the nt-like monstrosity spread open her petals like wings, shrieking in pain as she ripped them away from her body. At the same time, a seemingly endless ocean of the caterpir-monsters began burrowing up out of the Dungeon Floor before spear-like roots pierced through their bodies, absorbing their blood and mana. Vahn didnt wait around to see the results of this, however, as he pressed both palms forward and sent ten [Lanceae Umbrae] tearing through the quickly regenerating body of the monstrous entity. He had aimed for her magic core and, being unable to provide any meaningful resistance to his anti-magic spears, the woman became statuesque with a look of sheer disbelief on her face as she muttered, "I just wanted to be one...with Aria..." The moment her words fell, the body of the massive nt monster turned into ck and yellow dust that exploded outward like a tidal wave. Vahn quickly gathered up the massive amount of magic cores and threw them into his Inventory while standing in the air and observing his surroundings. There were still a seemingly infinite number of monsters in the surrounding area but now, instead of trying to attack him, they had begun to cannibalize themselves, devouring each others magic cores in a massive feeding frenzy. Upon witnessing this, Vahn just shook his head before brandishing [Laevateinn] and sweeping massive swaths of crimson mes onto the Floor below. With the entire room being covered end-to-end with nt life, Vahn knew his mes would spread very quickly, especially if he guided them with his Fire Elemental maniption. Since there were still things he wanted to investigate, Vahn didnt just let the mes burn freely and instead guided them while systematically annihting the horde of monsters below. He was looking for anyndmarks or points of interest that might provide some answers about how he should proceed. At a nce, there didnt seem to be any exits that would lead down to the 60th Floor and, other than the massive mushroom-like pirs, Vahn found nothing of interest in his first sweep. Even so, he made a few passes over each region of the Floor before deciding that anything of interest was likely further down. With that thought, Vahn allowed the mes to burn freely before taking a seat in the air and watching as the ocean of fire ceaselessly burned the fire-resistant creatures. It wasnt his intention to make them suffer but, based on how they didnt seem to have a reaction to pain whatsoever, Vahn didnt feel the need to kill them at the expense of even more energy. These were monsters that not only devoured other monsters within the Dungeon but even cannibalized their own kin in order to increase their strength. As he watched them burn away in the mes, still trying to devour each other in an effort to evolve, Vahn felt nothing but contempt, not for the monsters themselves, but that Enyo had engineered them in such a fashion... By the time the mes had nearly swept the Floor clean, Vahn was entering into the evening of his first day of subjugating Enyo. More than half that time had been him running around on the 52nd-54th Floors, while the rest had been the result of his preliminary search of the 59th. Now that most of the nt life had burned away into ash, Vahn began a secondary search to see if he could find the entrance to the 60th Floor, starting from where the giant nt-like monster with the upper body of a woman had been located. In retrospect, Vahn realized that he may have been able to get some information out of the woman but, remembering the look of madness in her eyes, this was very unlikely. Had he waited any longer, things would have be marginally more difficult and, if not for the fact that Shadow Elemental energy could tear through magical barriers with ease, the fight could have been a lot harder. Unfortunately for her, Vahns Shadow Elemental energy had also been suffused with Source Energy, making it impossible for her to regenerate from the wounds he had caused. Now that he had the [Yggdrasils Champion] Skill, Vahn was even more perceptive of Vital and Nature energy than before, allowing him to discern that therge monster would have likely regenerated almostpletely in a short moment. Since he had long ago learned that his Source Energy could outright prevent such regeneration, even as far back as his first fight against an Orc on the 10th Floor, it was a rather unfortunate matchup for Enyos pawn. Though this would have given Enyo even more information about his capabilities, Vahn didnt think it would matter now that he was this close to her heart... After sifting through the ruins and ashes, Vahn finally found a secret passageway under a stone b that looked to weight several hundred thousand kilograms. It would have been very difficult to move it but, with his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn quickly found the mechanism to make the massive b shift out of the way revealing not a set of stairs, but a shaft that led straight down into darkness. This seemed more than a little strange to Vahn since, unless Enyo had the power to change the Dungeonsyout, the fact that there were no obvious entrances into the 60th Floor was abnormal. Vahn knew that the Dungeon went much deeper than the 60th Floor, as they were pushing into the 70s in the Divination, so this was a troubling revtion... Upon considering what Enyo had done to make it more difficult for people to reach her on the previous Floors, Vahn found it rather likely she would have made it so that an Expedition couldnt proceed with their supplies beyond this point. Before the introduction of his spatial artifacts, any group that got this far would have have been forced to make camp and leave their supplies behind while their advance party scouted the Floors below. Since many people were unnecessarily afraid of heights, they would have been even more cautious about taking the leap into absolute darkness. He, however, had no such inhibitions and, after a cursory pass over a few other areas, Vahn jumped down into the darkness below, wondering if his encounter with Enyo would being soon... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Shadowy Descent, the Moon Goddess Champion~!,TFW youre a big bad Mage who can use Expedition wiping spells and youe across an immortal who can use anti-magic magic...,The unexplored 60th Floor...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 878 - Push

Chapter 878 - Push

After falling for around twelve seconds, and passing nearly 800m, Vahnnded rather explosively on the 60th Floor of the Dungeon. Looking around, he found that many of the corridors were very cramped and, instead of appearing like an organized structure, it was almost like he was in a system of tunnels used by ants. The ceiling itself actually dropped below 100cm at some points, making it almost impossible to pass through quickly while causing a slightly ustrophobic feeling to begin welling up inside his mind for a moment before being suppressed. Vahn imagined that, with the number of blind spots, the tight and cramped spaces, and having no idea if the tunnels you crawled down might lead to a dead end, this Floor would be a nightmare...for most people. While looking around, Vahn was mapping theplex Floor and quickly noted that, unlike previous Floors, the flow of mana within the surroundings was fundamentally different. Instead of flowing naturally, it was like the surrounding corridors were siphoning away the Dungeons mana and redirecting it. Though almost anything was possible beyond this point, Vahn didnt believe this was a natural urrence within the Dungeon and, having passed through Knossos, Vahn spected this was an artificial construct. It seemed like another method that Enyo hade up with to make passage into the Dungeon more difficult, as it would be impossible to travel withrge groups in such confined spaces. After getting his bearings, Vahns form began to shrink rapidly until he was only 110cm tall, looking very much like a young Pallum, even though his ears were slightly pointed. As a Progenitor, he could easily change his appearance just by shaping his body to match the image within his mind. Now, though it still appeared a bit cramped, Vahn was able to quickly begin moving through the snaking tunnels without much difficulty. However, after proceeding through a few dozen meters of rather abrasive bedrock, Vahn was brought to a very quick stop when a metallic rod jutted out from a small hole and nearly pierced his abdomen. He had been sliding down a chute of sorts and hadnt sensed the trap until it had been triggered. Fortunately, not that it would have mattered too much, Vahns reaction speed was faster than the mechanism itself and he managed to create a small foothold to stop his momentum before sliding any further. Releasing a small sigh, Vahn looked up towards the direction he hade from while muttering, "This ce is annoying..." If Enyo was truly on this Floor, and it continued like this the entire time, Vahn didnt know how many days he would be crawling around in these tunnels before finding her. Since the chances of this structure being artificial were very high, it was possible that these tunnels didnt connect to any important locations at all. She may have created this troublesomebyrinth just to make those that venture forth experience a sense of futility as they wandered aimlessly through the cramped spaces for weeks on end. He hadnt even sensed any monsters, as the flow of mana was being directed towards specific channels instead of reacting to his presence... At this point, Vahn had a choice to make about how he could proceed from this point onward. It wouldnt be that difficult for him to assume a form that allowed him to simply tear through theplex structure of this artificial Dungeon, such as his Zhuque or me Emperor Forms. Even if the surrounding stones were me resistant, his mes would still burn through the walls and slowly melt them into nothingness. The downside to this was that Vahn knew for a fact that there were likely several victims of Enyo present somewhere on these Floors. If possible, he would like to remove her influence from them and, much like Rufina, give them another chance at all. Being forced to act against their will was a cruel fate and, so long as they werent people like Olivas, Vahn wanted to liberate them. There was also the simple fact that Vahn had absolutely no idea what exactly Enyo had been up to while she was within the Dungeon. He didnt know what circ.u.mstances would result in a goddess being sealed away, nor why she would be seeking to bring ruin to the surface world. She had to havee up with this n back in Heaven and, with how old the gods were, Vahn knew that Enyo had likely been scheming for millions of years. There had to be a greater reason behind her actions and, as she also held the secrets to Ais past, Vahn didnt want to indiscriminately destroy the clues that would contain the answers he seeks. After all, Enyo may not even be the biggest threat within this world, especially since entities like Leviathan, Behemoth, and the One-Eyed ck Dragon originated from within the Dungeons depths. Vahn still had no idea how such creatures had even escaped the Dungeon, as there was simply no way for them to move through the confines of the upper floors with their colossal size... While he was thinking, Vahn also shrunk his body even further, gaining the appearance of a very young child who was only 80cm tall. He had to stow away his [Khryskatos] long ago and now slipped passed the metallic protrusion to reach a small corridor below. Though there was almost no light within these suffocating chambers, Vahns Baihu enhanced eyes were able to see rtively easily as he began to move forward once again. He had decided to at least try to map the area for a bit to see if he could find any enemies or potentially even reach the 61st Floor. If Enyos words were true, she should be somewhere on the 60th Floor so he could at least surmise that he had gone too far. If he was unable to find any leads after a few hours of searching, Vahn would proceed with a secondary n of action, chiefly destroying the surroundings while making his way towards the points where the Dungeons mana was flowing... --- Shortly after Vahn had cleared the 59th Floor, the swift-footed Pallum Scouts, who had been patrolling along the outer perimeter of Haven, noticed movement in the surrounding ashen forests. WIthout dying and trying to confirm if there was an enemy attack, the first to notice this abnormality immediately pressed their palm to a small magic ward. Every simr ward around the entire wall lit up, as a result, causing those on the walls to beat a swift retreat toward Havens inner walls. They had been trained that, even if it caused inconveniences, never dy the report as it was better to make a mistake than suffer the consequences of indecision. This ended up being the correct choice as, moments after their retreat had begun, thousands of the strange caterpir monsters began to emerge from the woods as they charged forward. They hadnt triggered any of the proximity wards near the Floors entrances and exits, instead, burrowing up from select parts of the Floor where mutated Visc.u.m had bored through. They had first tried to emerge within the inner walls of Haven but found it impossible to do so with the reinforced magical wards that covered the surrounding Floor. Though forcing their way through was possible, this would actually cause the inevitable Juggernaut that spawned to target them, something Enyo would rather avoid since a Level 8 Variant wasnt easy to deal with. By the time the caterpir-like monsters reached the outer walls and began trying to melt through them with their acid spouts, the Pallum Scouts had already retreated into the five fortresses. With their arrival, arge white barrier, more than 3km wide, spread out to surround Haven. Shortly after, five blue barriers emerged to protect each individual fortress while the adjoining walls had severalyers of magic circles, each representing a [Reflexio] magic barrier. In total, it had taken less than five minutes for the entire Haven Defense Force to ready the defense, each wielding Magical crossbows, Magic Staves, Bows, and Ballistae. On the main rampart of each Fortress, Haruhime, Ryuu, Arnya, Mikoto, and Lefiya could be seen, a fearless glint in their eyes as they issued orders through a sound amplifying ward that directly transmitted their voices to everyone with a Defenders badge. Slowly but surely, the thick outer walls were being melted through by the caterpir monsters but, just as the first group nearly broke through, the wards lining the inner walls activated. In an instant, all of the progress made by the monsters acid was undone as the Dungeon Floor below rose up to repair the damage. This caused the giant Visc.u.m to release guttural and wispy howls beforerge magic circles appeared neared each of their flowery openings. When she saw this, Lefiyas brows couldnt help but raise slightly as she activated hermunication ward and said, "The enemies seem to have the ability to cast a form of artillery magic. Ryuu, please deal with them while I prepare arge-scale magic spell...!" Based on the structure of the magic circles, Lefiya knew the approximate effect of the Visc.u.ms impending magic. It was the type that would cast beams of light that would explode and ignite on contact, much like her [Fuside Farica]. It wouldnt be that useful against their defenses but the barrier would end up using arger amount of energy trying to withstand such a wide-spread artillery strike. Though there werent any major threats of their defenses being breached any time soon, Lefiya knew it was important to be conservative in a defensive fight. They just needed to hold out until Vahn had dealt with Enyo, something Lefiya believed wouldnt take too long since he had been rather fired up before leaving... After hearing Lefiyas message, Ryuu pressed her heels to the ground and activated the effect of her Magic boots. Four wings of light sprouted out from their sides, much the same as Asfis, allowing Ryuu to take to the sky and stabilize herself before she drew back the glimmering string of her [Meteoron Imber] and loosed a beam of shimmering starlight towards the Visc.u.m furthest from her position. Her arrow moved forward at around a third the speed of light, piercing through the monsters head and disintegrating it in a single shot as she prepared her second arrow. It took a few seconds for her to charge the attack but, by the time she released the arrow, it would spell the end for almost anything within her line of sight. Much like Ryuu, Lefiya also took to the sky, using her own fairy-like wings to support her as she held out, not one, but two different staves and began chanting, "Gather, 199 spirits of light, strike my enemy. Magic Arrows, Series of 199 Lights~!" Lefiya felt her mana immediately tank as a massive magic circle appeared behind her, forming 199 individual arrows of light. Her star-shaped pupils contracted into small points as Lefiyas eyes began to focus on each of her targets and releasing what she believed to be an adequate amount of magic arrows to deal with them. Once they began moving forward, several small shockwaves were created in sequences as the devastatingly powerful arrows instantly elerated to hypersonic speeds. Before Lefiya even brought a mana potion to her lips, the majority of the Visc.u.m had been obliterated as hundreds of the green caterpirs joined them... As awe-inspiring a sight it was to see Lefiya fling forth 199 arrows of light, it was impossible to see the oue of her attack with the massive outer wall blocking their vision. The Defenders instead focused on their own tasks, even though there were several amongst them who were clearly worried. For many, this was their first real battle and, if not for the discipline that had been drilled into them over thest week, some would have wanted to flee. It was their sense of unity that kept them at their posts, following the orders of those with higher ranks than their own while awaiting the surging enemy tides. Of course, for every nervous individual that was present, there was an equal number of people who were excited about theing fight. They were one of the main reasons the morale had been kept high as, even without seeing the result of Lefiyas and Ryuus attacks, the sound of explosions and the shrill howl of monsters was music to their ears... --- Unaware of the battle that had begun on the 50th Floor, Vahn continued mapping out theplex tunnel system for around three hours before stopping for a moment to think. Other than a few traps, the most annoying of which was acid flooding the tunnel he was in, Vahn hadnte across any enemies. He had been following the flow of mana for a while now and had begun to suspect that Enyo was altering the flow to keep him moving in circles. It was when he zoomed out from his three-dimensional minimap that Vahn realized what was going on. The flow of energy was making a spiral shape and, though he was going deeper into the Dungeon, Vahn suspected he was moving further away from his goal. There was arge gap within his map, almost as if he had been moving around on the edge of the Dungeons Floor instead of venturing into the inner catbs... Deciding that he would rather not continue going around in circles, Vahn took in a deep breath through his nose and, by the time he had exhaled, he had transitioned from his Baihu form into his Zhuque form. Now, though he remained in his Shadow Emperor raiment, Vahns figure had wisps of vermillion mes that formed runes over his body. He could see his own appearance through his domain, having a shadowy visage with glowing vermillion eyes and a mixture of ck and red feathers covering areas of his body. Though he had to change out of the equipment he had been wearing, Vahns petite figure looked strangely tyrannical with his forearms and feet glowing with a fierce vermillion light... To avoid wasting his Source Energy, Vahn had contained as much of his Zhuque mes as he could inside of his own body, fusing it with the Shadow Elemental energy of his [Magia Erebea]. The expenditure was still rather extreme, eating around 2% of his reserves every minute, but Vahn was able to supplement this with his main body meditating in the Sub-Space orb while the dual blessings from Yggy also provided a minor assist. She had mentioned giving him the blessing all nine times in order to help. something Vahn found rather adorable at the time and was especially grateful for now... Once his energy had stabilized, Vahn allow the heat to emanate from his body until it had created a small sphere of Yang Elemental energy 5m in diameter. He then began to fly forward at a moderate pace, instantly melting the obstructive Dungeon and clearing a path for himself. Shortly after he had done this, Vahn felt the Dungeon trembling around him as arge volume of whitish-purple liquid began filling up the porous caverns, almost as if it was trying to extinguish his mes. From this, Vahn could conclude that Enyo had not only been watching him, but she had some degree of control over this artificial Dungeon. He noticed the flow of mana in the walls change, now spreading in all directions, while parts of it began to flow into nearby chambers. Instead of spawning monsters, however, a tidal flood of the whitish-purple fluid began to fill every avable space. Though this could have been disastrous for others, Vahn continued to fly forward at the same pace while the liquid that came into contact with his sphere was immediately evaporated. This caused a very powerful explosion due to the difference in temperature and the instantaneous conversion of the liquid into a gas. However, other than making the sphere feel slightly morepressed, Vahn didnt experience any real setbacks as he pressed forward until, after a few minutes of flying, he broke into a vast cavern as a veritable waterfall of the whitish-purple liquid emerged from the hole he had created. Ignoring the high-pressure flow, Vahn moved into the giant chamber and began to look around, noticing that his surroundings looked normal, with healthy mineral rich stone making up the surrounding walls. There were also numerous blue and green crystals, very simr to to the roots found in a monster pantry, which created a rather pleasant ambiance that lit up the caverns. Vahn assumed this was the real 60th Floor, as the flow of mana within the walls was being absorbed by the ashen grey bedrock that seemed to be encroaching on the main Dungeon. Seeing this, Vahn felt like Enyo had to have a Divinity rted to Corruption or something, as she seemed to be trying to assimte and corrupt the very Dungeon itself for her purposes... Releasing an exasperated sigh, Vahn looked around with his [Eyes of Truth] and began to move towards what he felt to be the center of the Floor based on his earlier spiraling. He didnt make it that far, however, before mana began to coalesce on the nearby surfaces, shattering the walls as monsters began emerging en masse to attack him. They had the appearance of 3m tall red Minotaur with pitch ck horns and dark red eyes. Simr to Lizardman Elites and Mermen, they actually had equipment covering their bodies, consisting of shiny ck armor while the majority dual-wielded battleaxes. The only exception was the Onyx-ck Minotaur in the back, who had blood red armor and a spiked mace that seemed to be made of several hundred kilograms of pure Mithril... (A/N: Alternate Titles: By the time Vahn reaches Enyo, he will only be 30cm tall~!,Defenders, to your positions! Here, at this moment, we stop the forces of Evil in their tracks...!,Enyo keeps leading Vahn around...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 879 - Nothing

Chapter 879 - Nothing

Without any fear, the red Minotaurs, which Vahn had chosen to ssify as Berserkers, charged toward him with incredible momentum. Based on their movements, Vahn approximated their speed as just above Level 4. Their strength, however, remained a mystery since the moment they entered into the effective range of his Zhuque mes, they immediately burst into me before dissolving into ash in an instant. Those that came in behind their kin showed a bit more caution, throwing their axes with enough force to create multiple shockwaves which, upon reaching Vahns mes, once again turned into molten g before breaking down and dispersing. Vahn was somewhat interested in the ecology of these monsters but knew now wasnt exactly the time to hold back and simply observe. Around the same time that the Onyx-ck Minotaur, which Vahn had decided to call a Berserker Chieftan, lifted up its colossal spiked-mace, Vahn had moved forward with [Shundo] and punched the 3m tall monster in its chest. His fist went straight through the blood-red armor of the Berserker Chieftan before continuing unobstructed as Vahn grabbed its monster core and crushed it. This resulted in the Chieftan bursting into dust while Vahn looted the massive spiked-mace into his Inventory,prised of enough Mithril to make more than a billion Valis worth of equipment. The surviving Berserkers, as if to give credit to the name Vahn had bestowed upon them, began to howl in concert with each other as their red fur began emanating light. Their size rapidly increased as they ran forward with an enraged charge, seemingly forgetting the results of their previous attempts to do so. Upon seeing this, Vahn shook his head disapprovingly before increasing the temperature of his surrounding and manipting the Yang Elemental Energy to sweep through the chamber. This allowed Vahn to see a rather strange sight as the flesh and muscles of the Berserkers turned to ashes slightly faster than their skeletons. Seeing their skeletal figures for a brief moment, still in the midst of their charges, was a peculiar sight that had embedded itself into his mind... With the monsters dead, Vahn began to scan around the area with his [Eyes of Truth] before deciding it was best to follow his previous course of action. As a result, Vahn began moving through the Dungeons walls, cutting a direct path towards the center of the Floor. He knew there was a fair chance that a Juggernaut might spawn but, even if it was a little annoying to deal with, Vahn was confident ining out ahead. Without needing to protect others, the means with which he could attack were functionally limitless... While doing his best to conserve his energy, Vahn cut through several walls of the Dungeon, ignoring the majority of monsters that spawned along the way. It wasnt until he came across an entirely new creature that Vahn advance was halted. He had entered into arge room that was a few hundred meters across with a ceiling nearly 200m tall. At the very center of the room, almost as if it had been waiting for him, there was an oblong spherical mass with a ruby-red coloration and a slightly translucent appearance. It looked very simr to a snack the girls liked to eat, known as jello, and it was jiggling slightly from the moment Vahn had entered the room. As for how he knew it was alive, Vahn could sense a veryrge amount of mana flowing in the creatures body, almost as if it was entirelyprised of pure Fire Elemental energy... It didnt take long for Vahn to realize this was either meant to stop him, or to determine exactly how powerful his fire-based attacks are. Since he was admittedly curious if his attacks would be effective against such a strange creature, Vahn created a fireball at the tip of his finger before aiming it towards the rotund monster and shotting it out like a vermillionser. His attack struck against the surface of the monster, causing ripples as its color changed from ruby red to a slight vermillion coloration as hundreds of tendrils suddenly exploded outwards towards Vahn. This caused Vahns brows to raise as he used [Shundo] to evade to the side, watching as the tendrils smashed into the walls and floor, leaving molten stone wherever they passed. This was an interesting development and, now that he had a better look, Vahn noticed that the monster was on a ck tform of sorts that seemed resistant to the heat it produced. As for his attack, Vahn could see his energy coursing through the creature as it tried to tame his mes and absorb them into its own body. Unfortunately, though it made some headway with the mes themselves, his Source Energy was wreaking havoc and Vahn could see its trembling had increased a great deal until it spat out the foreign energy. From this, Vahn determined that this creature has an incredible fire immunity and, even though his Zhuque mes could be ssified as Tier 4, they couldntpletely ignore resistances while he himself was restricted to Tier 3. Now that his little experiment had concluded, Vahn evaded a few of the molten tendrils before sending a Shadow Lance towards what he had decided to call a Molten Slime. Vahn knew of the existence of Slimes, as they would very rarely appear within therge basin of water that was fed by the Great Fall. They had the same appearance and coloration as water and, while submerged, were nearly impossible to detect until you had the ability to sense mana. If you chose to swim around in therge basin, you could find yourself being swarmed by the invisible creatures as they constricted your body and tried to slowly dissolve your flesh... Without any suspense, the Shadow Lance embedded itself into the Molten Slime before exploding outwards. Though it likely had basic immunity to physical attacks, Vahns Shadow Emperor forms were an almost perfect counter to any creature that was dependent on magical barriers and general magic resistance. His attackspletely ignored such defenses and, being able to see the shiny red-hot core with his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn had easily dealt with the 5m diameter Molten Slime. Curiously, instead of turning into dust, it spread out like water from the bottom of a broken bucket and began to melt through the surrounding Floor before cooling down and turning into a ck puddle a few minutes after Vahn had recovered the core fragments, nabbed the ck b, and took a sample of the slime before continuing his journey. Ignoring theyout of the Dungeon itself, Vahn continued to make his own path once again until several auras entered into his perception. Since there was a big difference between an aura and being able to sense somethings mana, Vahn immediately identified these had to be sentient creatures. His ability to see aura might have been influenced by his general perception, but Vahn knew it was the View Affection function that allowed him to see them in the first ce. Since the creature would have to possess some degree of sentience for him to see their Affection, Vahn knew he had to be on the right track. Using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn focused his eyes and began to peer through the walls until he was able to see into the room where the auras were. What he saw in that dark chamber was something Vahn would never forget for the rest of his life. It was such an extreme image that, even with his [Will of the Emperor] supporting him, Vahn felt extremely nauseous and began to dry heave mucous and stomach acid. He hadnt eaten anything in quite a while so his stomach had beenpletely empty, something he now regretted as it was more painful than expected to have nothing in your stomach while vomiting. After regaining his bnce and taking a few deep breaths, Vahn wiped his mouth and muttered, "Enyo, if you can hear me...know that I will make you pay for this...youve gone too far...!" Within the chamber Vahn had peered into, there had been dozens of Adventurers and what Vahn had assumed to be Xenos fused together with a strange nt-like monstrosity. They had roots going into their bodies and seemed to be providing a constant supply of mana to the horribly misshapen entity, all while tubes pumped nutrients and water directly into their stomachs. These were enough reasons for Vahn to feel horribly perturbed by the existence these people had to suffer through, but it was the fact that each of them had their arms and legs amputated that caused Vahns soul itself to tremble... As if to answer his words, a peal ofughter sounded from inside of Vahns head before fading away with the word, ("Come..."). When he heard herugh, Vahn felt like the ocean in his mind had be fiercer than the waves sailors would encounter during a hurricane. Each wave seemed like the size of a mountain, crashing against other mountains as Vahns body trembled with rage even greater than what he had experienced after seeing Mns state in the past. Though he had epted his past when obtaining the [Magia Erebea], Vahn couldnt ept that others were put into a simr situation as himself. These people were being used for their mana, just as he had been used for his blood, all without their consent...they were living a nightmare without even the reprieve of death being an option... Before he even realized it, Vahn found himself in the room with these tragic people, tearing apart the mannequin-like monsters that possessed several mechanical des and traps within their structure. None of these bought them any time, however, as Vahn mowed through them in an instant and was about to tear apart the monstrous flowering nt that had assimted all of these people for its own use. Enyos voice entered his mind at this moment, warning, ("If you kill my baby, all of these people will die. What will you do-"). Completely ignoring Enyos words, Vahn tore apart the bulbous ovipositor of the giant nt, destroyed the small embryo-like eggs within, and destroyed the gigantic core that was located near the center without a second thought. Even if everyone outside died, Vahn knew they would likely be d for the relief, as some amongst them were even Elves with greying hair... As the massive nt turned into dust, the people and Xenos it had assimted fell limply to the ground, painful m.o.a.ns and croaking voices sounding out wordlessly. Though they would undoubtedly die if left alone, Vahn could tell from this that Enyos words had once again been a lie. Now, he had to choose if he wanted to save these 83 unfortunate souls and return them to the surface world. He could erase their memories and give them hope for a better life moving forward or take mercy on them now, putting them out of their misery and returning them to the cycle of reincarnation. They were likely considered dead back on the surface and he had already seen from how Rufina lived that it wasnt exactly easy to adapt to life without any memories, barring heavy support from others... Without thinking about it too much, Vahn decided it was only right to give them the option themselves, instead of choosing for them. Some of these people could have been trapped down here for hundreds of years, living the life that someone else had decided for them. He could return to them the freedom of choice and, though some would undoubtedly choose death, that was their decision to make, not his. There was also a chance that these people had living friends and family that would sincerely appreciate the safe return of their loved ones, even though the road to recovery would be very long... After releasing a deeply exasperated sigh, Vahn set about stabilizing these unfortunate souls, even though it was certainly unpleasant to experience having his own arms and legs ripped away several times in sequence. As for the people themselves, Vahn had put them into a very deep sleep with his [Hands of Nirvana] and temporarily blocked their pain receptors before the procedure had started. He had to go through a process of cutting apart their atrophied muscles and opening up their wounds before he was able to perform a [Wound Transfer] to rece their missing limbs. Even so, Vahn tolerated the pain, ignoring Sis advice that he could dull his own pain receptors so that the burden was lessened... During the very long process of stabilizing these people, there were several auras skulking about in the surroundings while a veritable army of the mannequin monsters tried to interfere with his efforts. Vahn didnt even turn his attention away from his work, instead, using one of his other trump cards by making use of his telekinesis to lift and spin things until they were broken apart by the centrifugal forces. There were very few things that had any resistance to telekic powers in this world, so long as their physical abilities werent outright about to ovee the forces applied to their bodies. With Vahns understanding of a targets body, however, the chances of them breaking free once he had caught them were incredibly low. All he had to do was make anchor points near someones ears, the joints of their fingers, their eyes, or even individual teeth and any movement they made would be excruciatingly painful...(A/N: Jeez, imagine a psychic lifting your body up by your eyes...) After more than five hours of operations, Vahn wiped non-existent sweat from his brow before releasing a profound sigh and rising to his feet. His now greater understanding of the situation had caused any emotions he had been feeling to fade away by now. In the record of Danmachi, it was a simple truth that females had higher mana reserves than males. Of the 83 people he had rescued, a total of 74 were female and, amongst them, eleven had been pregnant. Vahn realized Enyo hadnt simply been collecting Adventurers for her purposes, but breeding them for efficiency. Of those that had been collected, the majority were Elves while there were even two Demigoddesses and, at the very heart of everything, a High Spirit. Enyo had been using what Vahn identified as a Tree Nymph as a breeding bed and, even though she wasnt able to bear children herself, Enyo had found a way to artificially produce pseudo-spirit offspring. She had somehow been extracting the egg cells from Elves, fertilizing them, and then nourishing them with nutrients and energy from the High Spirit that Enyo had imprisoned. This didnt exactly make them the offspring of Spirits, but Enyo had been warping the minds of the strange embryonic Spirits to make them parasitize monsters, producing the nt-like creatures that had been assaulting the Alliances forces... With these new revtions, the ire Vahn now possessed towards Enyo had reached an extreme and even he wasnt sure what he would do when they finally came face to face. For now, he was just taking a short break to recuperate his energy while watching over the sleeping figures of these tragic individuals. Though they had been kept alive by the nutrients pumping into their stomachs, the inability to move had made each of their bodies emaciated andnky. Vahn had helped to stabilize them but it would be a very long road before they were able to recoverpletely. They would need months of physical rehabilitation while no amount of therapy would ever truly remove the trauma they had experienced in this dark and stagnant ce... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ill be taking that...//[Steal] Development Ability Unlocked//,Well, at least it survived more than one hit...?,Empathy, Sadness, Rage, Nothingness...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 880 - Conflicting Ideals

Chapter 880 - Conflicting Ideals

While Vahn was naturally recuperating on the 60th Floor, he had exited the Sub-Space orb on the surface to let the girls know what was going on. They had actually expected it to take several days for him to reach the 60th Floor so, learning that he was already saving some of Enyos captives, Loki, in particr, was very surprised. None of them were actually surprised by the fact that Enyo was keeping captives, however, even though Vahn only exined the truth of the matter to Loki herself. She quickly set about arranging a ce for the majority of the victims to stay while the High Spirit and Demigoddesses would be tended to in a more secure location. Vahn also called Gros to his side, exining the situation so they could facilitate the addition of seven more Xenos into theirmunity. He actually expected the Xenos to recover much quicker than the other victims, as the Xenosmunity, in general, had a very ther.a.p.eutic effect on the heart and mind... Most of these arrangements had been made in only fifteen minutes, as it was something of an emergency situation that needed to be dealt with quickly. Vahn had Emiru and Maemi take some of the other Maids to organize beds using therge training area on the north side of the Manor which, to this day, had gone unused. It had more than enough room for a hundred gurneys to be lined up side-by-side while Naaza and Preasia showed the girls how to prepare an Elixir-drip. After entrusting that matter to the girls, Vahn had ended up in the clearing next to Yggys tree, learning of the situation on the 50th Floor while also updating Terra on the situation on the 60th. Terra didnt actually have enough mana to break through 60 Floors of the Dungeon with her [Void Movement], as even passing through twenty-four Floors had been very taxing. Vahn, however, had stored over 30 of the [Source Energy Crystals] in his Inventory and, at the very least, she should be able to make 30 jumps with them alone. For the rest, Vahn cut open his palm and filled several potion bottles with his actual blood, giving them to Terra to store in her spatial ring to refill her own mana. The crystals were more practical to use, as she could instantly use the energy contained within to power the teleportation, while the blood would allow her to quickly replenish her reserves while Vahn returned to the Sub-Space orb to act a battery for himself within the Dungeon. If necessary, he would further supplement her energy with his avatar but, for the time being, these steps should suffice for the purpose of transportation... By the time all his preparations had beenpleted, less than a half-hour had passed when Vahn called Terra to his side with Unit Management. He noticed a shift in the Dungeons mana flow but it didnt prevent Terra from creating a magic circle with one of the [Source Energy Crystals] in her hand, transporting the High Spirit and the two Demigoddesses back with her. Though Vahn wouldnt devalue the lives of others, the three were inarguably the higher priority targets to evacuate in this circ.u.mstance. As if to verify this, Enyos voice somewhat angrily sounded in his mind, ("Vahn Mason, you are beginning to try my patience. If youre not going to y with me, Im not going to keep following the rules either, you know...?") Squinting his eyes, Vahn stated in an icy voice, "This isnt a game, Enyo. What you have done here is beyond rpense. When I find you...". In response to this, an eerieugh sounded in Vahns mind before Enyo responded, ("Youre making such a big deal out of something so small...I had thought you were closer to a god than a mortal but it seems you have disappointed me, Vahn Mason. Can you not see that I gave these people a greater purpose...? Yes, they may have gone through hardship from the perspective of mortals, but it is only a few years of misery before they have the privilege of returning to the cycle of reincarnation. Their imprisonment is nothingpared to what we gods have experienced...no matter how much I make them suffer, it will not even amount to a fraction of what we have experienced...!") While continually calling Terra to his side so that she could move even more people away, Vahn snorted in response to Enyos words, asking, "Is that what this is about, Enyo? Youre envious of mortals and now want to destroy the surface world to vent? If you already understand they will simple reincarnate in the future, why even go through all this trouble? If youre so fed up with the lot youve been given, why dont you just let your existence fade away so that someone else can take up the mantle of Divinity...? You are just a mad and errant god, even if your Divinity had led you down this path..." This time, Enyosughter sounded like someone who hadpletely lost their mind before she loudly eximed, ("You know nothing, Vahn Mason! See, that is how mortals view the world, using their own limited understanding of the situation to pass judgment on others! Your mentality is exactly the same as every other tyrant who believes they can shape the world to their liking, only to lead it to ruin and stagnation in the end when your petty greed gets the better of you...! Even if you spent thousands of years trying to understand the greater purpose I aspire towards, you will never be able to see beyond your own limited perspective! What youre doing isnt fixing the world, its making the world into your own personal yground!") Hearing Enyos outburst, Vahn furrowed his brows, saying, "Im trying to make a world where people can be happy. Even if my goals are selfish, Im doing my best to prevent tragedies like what youve created here. No matter how you try to spin your madness to make it sound like logic, the fact you cant do anything without bringing harm and suffering to others shows how limited your own perspective is..." This time, Enyosughter was more moderated as she asked, ("And how is what youre doing any different, Vahn Mason? How many people have you killed? How many have suffered because of your actions, or your inaction? Every evil person youve ever put to the de was someone that became that way through circ.u.mstance and because they opposed the world view you have in mind, you killed them without remorse...tell me, what can YOU do without bringing harm and suffering to others...?") Vahn shook his head, a look of pure condemnation on his face as he retorted, "It is too easy to draw parallels between people, especially when youre acting to justify your monstrous actions. There is no trueparison between someone that takes lives to limit the suffering of others and someone that causes suffering just to take more lives. No matter how you try and spin it, they are fundamentally different things, something your egocentric mentality will never understand. My actions would lead to a world of general prosperity where the path towards greatness is open to everyone...yours would only lead to pain, destruction, and death...the fact you even try topare us is sickening...!" For several seconds after he had finished speaking, Vahn heard nothing within his mind before Enyos voice sounded out in an icy monotone, ("You know nothing, Vahn Mason...your mindset is only possible because of your limited lifespan. I have lived for eons, watching the continuous cycle in both Heaven and the Mortal World. The natural state of the world is chaos and, by trying to resist this cycle, you would lead the world to ruin. Your n sounds fine now, but what will you do when the poption explodes? How will you deal with the innate nature of sentient creatures to seek war with each other? How do you prevent greed from running rampant and corrupting society? What will you do when resources run low, or when sickness begins to spread due to overpoption? Will you slowly expand until the surface ispletely covered with people, continuing outwards to conquer the seas, inds, and even other Continents? Your world view is restricted to a few thousand years of time passing, while the three realms will continue to exist for eons further...you call me a mad and errant god, but the number of people that we will have killed in the end will heavily favor you, Vahn Mason...I pray that you live to see the ruin your actions bring upon the world...!") With these parting words, Enyos presence faded from Vahns mind, leaving him staring with a hardened expression toward the center of the Floor. He knew there was actually a bit of truth to Enyos words, as it had actually been a talking point during the Denatus. Loki had also mentioned simr things, talking about things like poption control, resource management, andnd allocation. There was undoubtedly a finite amount of resources that naturally existed in the worlds, as even the power of a god was not truly without limit. If he truly wanted to keep order, at least with the record as it was, regtion,ws, and restrictions would have to be imposed. This would undoubtedly make it so that he was benefitting from others, as the chance that these restrictions applied wholly to him, his family, and their future kin, were rtively small. Even if he wanted to avoid corruption from taking root in his bloodline, Vahn knew it was an inevitable fact, as karma itself would always attempt to restore bnce to the world... The only thing Vahn could do about the situation was to take a deep breath through his nose, exhale, and then simply let it go. He would undoubtedly make mistakes over the course of eternity but, so long as he always did his best to try and learn, there was time to correct his mistakes. As Enyo said, there were some things that were simply beyond his limited perspective and, only by experiencing these setbacks personally, could Vahn truly learn from them. Since he would continue to live forever, the number of people to die at his hands was functionally infinite, as he may even one day create entire multiverses with Death as a functioning Law. This was something he simply needed to ept; not something he should let Enyo use to sow the seeds of doubt within his mind... After around two hours, Terra had managed to move everyone out of the 60th Floor, leaving Vahn to mull over his thoughts in silence for a few minutes before he rose to his feet and changed back into his Zhuque form. Even as he rested, Vahn never dropped his Shadow Emperor raiment, as it would have unnecessarily dropped hisbat potential, so he once again used thebined form to cut through the Dungeon. Vahn, while he had time to think, reasoned that this room was likely not the only one that Enyo had for producing the pseudo-spirit embryo. There were hundreds of doctored files within the Guilds archives and he suspected the number of Xenos she had captured, especially in recent months, had crossed into the triple-digits. Saving them all would be ideal but, with how much time it took just to move 83 people, Vahn wanted to deal with Enyo herself first. So long as he didnt encounter any such rooms along the way, Vahn could fool himself into believing that one room was the only one that existed. Though he empathized with the victims to an extreme, the revtion that Enyo had already begun her siege of Haven meant that the longer he dyed things, the more dangerous it was for the girls. He could tell himself that their defenses should hold out for several weeks but there were never any guarantees in war. Enyo could have any number of means up her sleeves to turn the tides in her favor, especially with her propensity to rely on chemical warfare, mutated monsters, and other cruel means. The only way to stop her was to take decisive action and, now that he knew how warped the errant goddess mentality was, Vahn knew it was far too dangerous to let her continue acting as she pleased... With the desire to bring things to a swift end, Vahn tore through the walls until he broke into anotherrge room, this one having a distinctly differentyout than the rest of the Dungeon. The number of crystals lining the walls made it appear as though the Dungeons structure itself was one massive geode. Here, the amount of mana was so dense that a mist was present in the air, causing Vahns pores to open and greedily absorb it to supplement his own reserves. There was a malicious energy contained in the mana but Vahns body naturally filtered it out, eliciting a synthetic voice toment, "You truly are an anomaly, Vahn Mason..." Following these words, what appeared to be a Silverback that had been mutated by one of the parasitic nts, followed by a Lizardman with a simr state, jumped towards him with two peculiar golden weapons. They were shaped like a tool used to capture people and, upon entering into the range of Vahns Zhuque mes, they werepletely unaffected as they tore towards him with incredible momentum. Vahn, however, was long gone from the spot as the two continued forward withrge holes where their cores used to reside. The same synthetic voice cursed, "Useless, useless, useless...!", the sound emanating from every direction without any apparent source. Using his domain, Vahn was slowly seizing control of the mana in the air and began to send pulses through it, the same radar-like ability he had developed to detect invisible enemies in the past. With just the first pulse, Vahn found an outline within his perception and, using [Shundo], immediately appeared next to the target with his hand reaching out. It tried to move away but was far slower than Vahn, allowing thetter to grab what felt like cloth that easily ripped away. Whatever invisible entity had been present tumbled to the ground rather pathetically, rolling to try and douse the mes that had ignited on the fabric of its clothing. Vahn felt like this person would be a good source of information so, while they were thrashing around, he lifted their body with telekinesis while pulling away the mes that they had been unable to deal with. With the loss of their cloak, what was left floating in the air before him was a skeletal figure that waspletely covered in red and ck armor, tens of magical artifacts and essories adorning their body. Other than the extremely emaciated and skeletal figure, with onyx-ck bones, the most striking feature of this entity was the peculiar red and ck mask the covered their face. Strangely, they also had a shaped b.r.e.a.s.tte that gave them a more feminine appearance, though Vahn had already identified the figure as a female from the bone structure. It was still very strange, seeing a living skeleton with an incrediblyrge amount of vitality contained within their bones, even though their mana was malicious to an extreme... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Casually traveling in and out of the 60th Floor*,Not evenparable...!,RIP Skeleton-chan...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 881 - Encounter

Chapter 881 - Encounter

As intrigued as he was by how a skeleton was even able to move, or even think for that matter, Vahn put those thoughts to the back of his mind as he asked, "What are you to Enyo? Where is her main body...?" The figure had tried to activate one of the magic items in her left gauntlet so, while he asked his questions, Vahn shaped the shadows around his hand and severed the arm, eliciting a loud, "Gyaaaaaaaaaghk-!" from the skeletal entity. Hearing the synthetic voice cry out with the undertones of a male and a female, Vahn furrowed his brows before using his telekinesis to stretch out the arms and legs of his captive so they couldnt struggle about needlessly. Without answering his questions, the figure began to emit arge volume of wispy ck energy from the gaps of the armored ting covering their skeleton. Seeing this, Vahn pulled the entity towards him and ced his palm against the strange mask before sending a torrent of purifying energy into its body, courtesy of his [Yggdrasils Champion]. This time, the screeching sound of the skeletal figure was indiscernibly shrill as a power aura radiated outward from its body, not because it was trying to power up, but because the purifying energy was dispersing the malicious energy very quickly. Even the ckened bones had started to regain a more healthy white, at least until they were suddenly syed with blood... Vahn felt a sharp pain through his chest that caused him to cough out a mouthful of blood before dropping the skeletal figure onto the ground. Through his chest, a reddish-ck de that emanated a thick ck miasma was trying to wreak havoc through his body. This was a cursed weapon which, under normal circ.u.mstances, would have been able to inflict an unheble wound. For Vahn, however, he clenched his teeth to resist the pain while sending Shadow Lances out of his back, piercing into the entity that had snuck up behind him. For a brief moment, hisnces impacted against something and stalled but, after oveing whatever resistive force had held them at bay, the invisible entity behind him was sessfully skewered. Though it seemed his attack had been effective, the next reaction of the invisible entity was to twist the de in Vahns chest and pull it at a downward angle, cutting a painful trail through his body as Vahns eyes widened. This time, heunched himself backward with full-force, smashing the invisible entity into the hard crystalline walls and causingrge fractures in the Dungeons structure. He then kicked away, allowing the de to tear through him before instantly regenerating as he sent out another pulse of energy through his domain. Vahn identified the outline of not only his invisible assant but several other figures that charged towards him. Sensing this, Vahn sent out eleven Shadow Lances, one for each of the enemies closing in on him. Surprisingly, though six of hisnces struck their targets, three were evaded while the remaining two were actually cut through by the unseen enemy. Vahn quickly transformed into his Zhuque form to deal with the nearest enemy, reaching out with his hand to grab the invisible de barreling towards his neck. Even before he had stopped the de, however, the invisible figure immediately burst into mes and began to scream before bursting apart into yellow and purples dust in under a second. Vahn ignored this oue and instead sent a burst of mes away from his body, shaped like a disc that radiated outwards. This attack had been sent out almost instantaneously, cutting through seven of the assants, incinerating their upper bodies and destroying the magic cores contained within. From the first enemy he had killed, Vahn knew these were either Creatures or corrupted Xenos but, with the circ.u.mstances as they were, he couldnt afford to save them. He instead sent out several pulses of energy, identifying the three remaining enemies, and closing in on them with [Shundo]. His first target was the surviving member who had evaded his Shadow Lance and ducked under the wave of mes. Though they had been rtively silent until now, this invisible figure cried out in the voice of a female, shouting, "You bastard...! I wont let you kill me so easily!" Vahn felt three impacts against his chest as the butt of three daggers protruded out from his body. The invisible figure then, with a speed that could easily rival a Level 6 Adventurer, tried to decapitate him with her de. Vahn, however, just increased the temperature of the mes around his body, turning the cursed de into molten g as he reached forward and struck against the chest of his opponent. They immediately went up into mes but, from the moment his hit hadnded, the unseen woman was already dead. Vahn habitually shook his head before turning back to the final two enemies, both of which had been able to deal with his Shadow Lance and me wave with rtive ease. They hadnt moved to attack him, potentially believing their invisibility was still effective, so Vahn stated, "Reveal yourselves and surrender if you want to live. I know you are just being us-" Before he could finish his words, Vahn leaned back to dodge the de of a spear that had tried to slice through his neck. Vahn was surprised that, even though the spear had passed so close to his body, it just became red hot without melting down. Impressively, he could even see where someone was grabbing it,pletely ignoring the heat as their skin sizzled while manipting the weapon... Twisting his body to evade the iing thrust, Vahn kicked against the abdomen of his attacker and caused their cloak to go up in mes. The fabric was obviously treated to resist mes, but the corrosive effect of his shadows broke through such defenses while the force behind his strike still carried the Power of someone near Level 7. As a result, the attacker was sent back like a ballista bolt, smashing into the Dungeons wall and creating spiderweb fractures that extended all the way to the roof, more than 80m overhead. This hadnt been enough to take them out of the fight, however, as they simply tossed away the cloak and ignored the red-hot footprint that was now present on their armor. Vahn was surprised to see that it was a rather humanoid Xenos who had obviously descended from a Silverback. Though there was definitely something wrong with it, being that part of its body had be ck and corrupted, Vahn knew this was yet another victim of Enyos influence. He didnt have time to try and reason with the man, however, as the second attacker had tried to sneak in from behind and pierce him with a longsword. As this happened, the Silverback-Xenos shouted, "No, he is too strong, run away...!" while spitting out a mouthful of boiling blood. Instead of heeding the Xenos call, the invisible figure continued forward with decent speed, only to be intercepted by Vahns foot and kicked into the ceiling above. Unlike the Silverback-Xenos, this one was much weaker and Vahn knew that his attack had been more than enough to im the life of the rtively petite attacker. Through the burning fabric, Vahn could see what appeared to be a humanoid Goblin-Xenos, nted into the ceiling of the Dungeon as its body burned to ashes. Though this scene made Vahn feel a pang of guilt, he hardened his heart as the Silverback Xenos charged toward him, madness and grief in his eyes as he shouted, "Vahn Mason, why must you kill my kin!? What have we ever done to deserve this kind of treatment!?" As he shouted, the Silverback Xenos ignored the sizzling of its flesh as it continued to sweep forward with a surprising degree of skill, desperately trying to skewer Vahn with its spear. Vahn, however, was simply too fast and nimble while in his Shadow Emperor form, easily evading the strikes before seizing an opening to grasp the Xenos wrist. The feeling of his fingers sinking into flesh was never pleasant, especially with the burning odor, but Vahn ignored it as he rammed his shoulder into the Xenos chest and sent him flying once again, this time without his spear. Vahn looked at the red-hot spear in his hands, marveling at the fact it had been able to resist the temperatures from his body, even though it was currently starting to warp a bit... Being mmed into the wall a second time, the Silverback-Xenos no longer put up any form of resistance and instead showed a face filled with indignation as he muttered, "We Xenos are not monsters...its bastards like you...who are the real...monsters..." With these words spoken, the Xenos lost consciousness while the armored ting that had preserved its life continued to cook away at its flesh. Vahn threw the spear into his Inventory and, with a look of regret in his eyes, sent a Shadow Lance into the Xenos core as a small mercy. It was obvious that these Xenos had been corrupted by Enyo and, with their yellow-ck cores, it was almost impossible for him to liberate them. Restraining a sigh, Vahn exited his Zhuque form and downed a [Turbo Ether] to replenish his reserves before turning to the two remaining figures. The one he had been purifying was currently syed out on the ground, unmoving, while the one he had smashed into the wall seemed intent on pretending to be knocked out. As for why Vahn hadnt killed them as well, it was because he knew they would be able to give him answers, especially after identifying who the second figure was. Thus, while slowly making his way over, Vahn asked, "Fels...does Ouranos know you are working with Enyo?" From the moment Vahn had seen the skeletal masked figure, he actually assumed it had been Fels from the very beginning. Now that he saw this second figure, however, Vahn knew the truth of the matter was slightly different. Fels had been recorded as a male and, based on the skeletal figure smashed into the wall, Vahn knew this one was undoubtedly Fels. As for the identity of the woman, Vahn wondered if it might have been Fels sister, whom he had been rumored to have revived, as the existence of two skeletal entities must have some rtion to each other. At the very least, Fels should be able to provide some of the answers he was seeking, even if the revtions may cause him to war with Ouranos in the future... Instead of answering, the entity Vahn had identified as Fels, wearing pitch ck armor to cover its skeletal figure, continued to y possum. The only part of its body that was revealed was a white skull, visible through the ck mask that had covered his face. Simr to the first figure, there were numerous Magic Items covering Fels body and, once again, Vahn could sense a very powerful vital energy contained within the bones. The difference, however, was that Fels energy actually seemed very pure, possessing three rare affinities, Pure Water, Pure Light, and Pure Wood. It seemed very strange for a skeleton to have three positive affinities but, based on Fels aplishments in the past, Vahn wasnt too surprised... The moment Vahn arrived right before Fels, the body in front of him began to fade away like an illusion. Vahns expression didnt change in the slightest, however, as he spun around and deflected the de aimed for his heart and grabbed the scarily thin neck of the invisible Fels and asked, "Even with an abnormal amount of mana, your physical traits are at best those of a Level 4...are you really going to continue this farce...?" Instead of providing an answer, one of the rings on Fels gauntlet glowed green as a cloud of miasma erupted, surrounding both of them. Vahn could feel the malignant fumes try to invade into his pores but, the moment they attempted to do so, his body naturally expelled the effect. Shaking his head, Vahn began to increase the pressure of his domain on Fels while also using his telekinesis to crush the skeletal figure. Though he tried to resist, while letting out the synthetic voice of a man, Fels was physically too weak and quickly found himself in something akin to a fetal position as arge amount of pressure restrained him. Vahn was actually very surprised by this, as he noticed that Fels bones themselves possessed an indestructible quality. Even the ck armor adorning his body was easily S-Rank while some of the items seemed to be Artifact grade. Two of the rings he had were the same strange gold that Vahn had seen after his melding with Freya, meaning they were a standard that generally only appeared in Heaven. Vahn tried to move some of the items on Fels body into his Inventory to avoid further trouble but found it was impossible to do so. This meant they were likely Soulbound items or, like Riverias staff, possessed a small amount of intent that allowed them to resist. Thus, unable to take the items from him, Vahn increased the pressure on Fels even further as he asked, "How long are you going to remain silent? If I have to, Ill drag you out of the Dungeon and seek answers from Ouranos directly." As he spoke, Vahn continued to test the resistance of Fels who, even under heavy pressure, didnt seem truly worse for wear. Vahn wasnt even sure if he could feel any difort at all, with a distinctck of nerves, muscles, and organs in general... Seeing that Fels was still refusing to answer, Vahn lifted his left hand and grabbed the first skeletal figure with his telekinesis and began dragging them over. He noticed a fluctuation in Fels aura, dropping his Affection from 43 down to 28 in an instant. This was another reason why Vahn wanted answers from Fels, as his Affection had been neutral from the beginning of their fight. Even now, his aura was rtively calm and, other than small fluctuations when he grabbed the first figure, there was no greater response from Fels. Finally, just as Vahn brought the first figure over, Fels stated in a synthetic monotone, "You are not a cruel man, Vahn Mason. I do not believe you will torture another just to gain information...not in these circ.u.mstances..." Hearing this, Vahn squinted his eyes slightly, saying, "You are both correct, and incorrect, Fels...you see, I try to avoid the path of cruelty...I do not want to end up achieving my dream through the suffering of others...however, considering what you people have done here, I am willing to bear the burden of acting cruelly if it can end the suffering of others. If you will not tell me what I want to know, then you are forcing my hand..." Towards the end of his words, Vahn began to close his left hand, causing the unconscious skeletal figure to begin shaking under pressure. Fels response, seemingly without any emotion, was simply, "Nobody can force your hand, Vahn Mason. Any action you take is one you have chosen to take...if you will be a cruel person to achieve your ends, then you are just another tyrant..." As he spoke, the empty socket of Fels eyes began to shine with a ghostly blue light, staring back at Vahn as if judging his actions. Upon witnessing this, Vahn felt a chill pass through his body that caused a frown to appear on his face. In truth, he was starting to get very annoyed with people saying he will be some vicious tyrant based on their own understanding of the situation. He wouldnt need to act like this if they werent already doing cruel and inhumane things. How can they continually try to make him out to be the bad guy, all while engaging in activities that perpetuate an endless cycle of suffering!? With Fels words fresh on his ears, Vahn clenched his teeth and, even though he felt righteous indignation, he still let the unconscious figure drop to the ground. At the same time, he eased a bit of the pressure on Fels and asked, "Will you continue to avoid answering my questions...? I may not torture her after hearing your words, but that doesnt mean I wont kill her swiftly...I imagine, as old as the two of you are, this would be something of a mercy...?" This question caused the me in Fels eyes to burn even brighter as, somewhat surprisingly, he said, "If you are truly capable of killing her, that would indeed be a mercy...however, I am still unable to answer your questions..." Hearing this, a realization hit Vahn and he nearly released a loud sigh, understanding that Fels had probably been bound by a vow. Even if Vahn pressed him for questions, it was unlikely he would ever be able to answer. Since Fels didnt seem to be under the same influence as others, though it was very difficult to tell, there had to be other means by which he was controlled. Vahn could only assume it had something to do with the unconscious skeletal woman, deciding to ask, "Tell me, is this woman your sister...?" Fels, however, simply remained silent when asked this question which, in a way, was akin to a confession. Since Fels seemed unable to answer his questions, Vahn turned his attention to the unconscious skeletal woman and wondered if there was even a way to wake her up. Neither of them had organs like a brain and Vahn wasnt even sure how she had passed out in the first ce. He didnt know how Enyo had exercised control over them, nor what the ck energy within the first figures body was rted to. There were so many unknowns but, at the very least, Vahn was confident he could kill the unconscious skeleton. As indestructible as their bodies may be, Vahn knew there were varying degrees of indestructibility, some of which could be dealt with rather easily. Pulling at the [Sacred Duplex Nail], the S-Rank item that he used to pierce the eye of the Variant Juggernaut, Vahn mmed it down towards the chest of the first figure. It had the effect of not only restricting the regeneration of immortal beings but was also incredibly effective at piercing their defenses in general. The most important aspect of the nail was the fact that it could also kill both holy and demonic being, so long as they werent actually at Tier 4. Thus, without any major ir, the golden nail pierced through the red and ck ting of the entities chest and prated therge mass of vital energy contained within. This caused the remaining ck miasma to immediately disperse outward while wisps of white and green energy leaked out from the stab wound. Vahn was able to confirm the figure was indeed dead as he was now able to stow it away in his Inventory... All the while this was urring, Fels remained silent and simply witnessed the event y out from start to finish. Vahn noticed that the Affection of Fels had jumped up to 61(Trust), even though his aura had almost no discernable fluctuations. It was almost as if thest eight-hundred years had drained the once prodigious Alchemist of any emotions. However, even if this was the case, Fels still inly stated, "Thank you, Vahn Mason..." before hanging his head and falling silent... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ein got wrecked...,RIP Silverspear-sama...Ecks-chan...,Skeletons have no tear ducts...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 882 - Abyss

Chapter 882 - Abyss

With the first skeleton dealt with, Vahn observed Fels for a few seconds before saying, "You are too dangerous to be left unattended. I dont know the conditions of your vows so Ill be taking your magic items before imprisoning you temporarily. If your vows are rted to Enyo, I have a lot of questions you for after she is dealt with..." There were several means by which Vahn could kill Fels but, based on the information he had avable, it was possible that Fels wasnt genuinely evil. Since he had lived for more than eight hundred years, Fels undoubtedly knew about most of the major events urring behind the scenes. If he was only being prevented from speaking because of a pact with Ouranos, Vahn could use this event as a justification for having the elderly god nullify the vow and free Fels from his service... Once again, Fels remained quiet and didnt even try to resist as Vahn rather forcefully removed all of the Magic Items in his possession. By the time everything had been stripped away, Fels was left with nothing but his ckened armor as it had been grafted to his skeleton and also possessed the indestructible trait. Even so, Vahn had removed sixteen Magic Items from Fels body and, unable to store them in his Inventory, Vahn created a sphere of pure Yang mes and destroyed each of the items. Fels aura trembled slightly, especially when Vahn got to the two divine grade rings, but there wasnt anything he could do to stop Vahn from at least trying to melt them down. At first, Vahn wasnt able to make much progress but, after infusing his Source Energy into the mes, even the divine grade gold was slowly melted down. When he was finished, Vahn had a marble-sized piece of divine gold that he was now able to store into his Inventory without difficulty. He did feel slightly guilty about destroying Fels items but, considering thetter had tried to kill him, Vahn got over it rtively quickly. If they truly ended up being allies in the future, Vahn could help the errant Alchemist create new items. Besides, if he had been able to create them previously, Fels shouldnt have any difficulty remaking such items in the future... After making Fels effectively powerless, Vahn ced his hand against the strangely warm cranial bones of Fels head and began to send waves of Source Energy coursing through him. Vahn was pushing Fels energy out of his body, causing the skeleton to tremble before he inevitably went limp. This was essentially the same as Mind Down for normal people, allowing Vahn to purchase some durable chains that were covered in sealing runes from the system shop. He spent some time wrapping Fels up as firmly as possible before cing a durable lock to keep them in ce. Vahn finished up by cing a small barrier ward on the lock itself, hopefully preventing anyone from removing the restraints while he dealt with Enyo. When he had finished binding Fels, Vahn wondered if he should send the skeletal figure back to the surface so that he could temporarily be imprisoned. He was just going to leave himying on the Dungeon Floor but, considering Enyo could send someone to retrieve him, Vahn decided against it. Thus, back within the Sub-Space orb, Vahn created a few more vials of his blood before calling Terra to his side, apologizing to the rather fatigued True Dragon before asking her to escort Fels to the secure room beneath the Guest Residence. As even his Innates couldnt really peer through the barriers there, Vahn assumed that Enyo wouldnt have any means of trying to recover him either. This was also within Terras domain and, even if Enyo sent her forces to try and free Fels, Vahn was confident Terra would repel them rtively easily... Though she didnt let it show on her face, Terra was a little annoyed by having to move back and forth between the Dungeon so many times today. It took a great deal of effort for her to make each jump and it was beginning to wear her down. Even so, she kept a calm smile and said, "I hope this will be thest one for today, Master..." with a subtle plea in her tone. Vahn had picked up on this and, even though he had already apologized after calling her, he once again adopted an apologetic expression as he said, "Youre the only one I can rely on for things like this, Terra...Im sorry if it is troubling you..." Hearing her Masters words, Terras tail flicked happily as she adopted a more natural smile and said, "Ah, if you put it that way, I cant exactly stay unhappy now, can I~? Ufufufufu~." Though she knew he relied on her a great deal, hearing her Master say that he relied on her made Terra feel especially fluttery in her heart. Most of her time these days was spent just watching over Spero, educating Alexa, and researching a few magic topics when she was bored. Her Master was generally very busytely and, though they had a few intimate moments together,zing about in her Garden could get rather boring. She used to have Riveria, Ryuu, and Lefiya to keep herpany but now they were either busy in the Dungeon or taking care of things in the School... After promising that his schedule would open up a lot after dealing with Enyo, Vahn sent Terra on her way with Fels. She left in a much better mood than she had arrived but Vahn still made a mental note to get check on her when he had the opportunity. He still didnt actually know where Enyos main body was located but, with the number of important personnel gathered here, Vahn felt she shouldnt be that far. This became especially apparent when, after moving along the natural crystalden path for a few minutes, Vahn found a very strange structure. He had already realized that this crystalline section of the Dungeon was one of the safe areas that were naturally produced to serve as a safe haven to the Xenos. Now, in one of therger chambers he hade across, Vahn found something akin to a throne while one of the adjoining rooms finally answered one of the questions that had always been on his mind... Covering almost every surface of the spherical room he was in, Vahn saw several panels, each showing a different section of the Dungeon. The most incredible discovery, however, was that there was a projection of what Vahn assumed to be the Dungeon itself. It was a ridiculously intricate structure that looked like a series of stars linked together by an infinite number of strings. Upon touching his finger to one of the stars, some of the panels on the wall had their images change, showing what Vahn assumed to be the location he had clicked on. This was an amazing discovery and, though it might not be entirely urate, Vahnmitted the projection to memory andpared it with his own map. As expected, many of the areas he had map himself ovepped with the projection, even though some parts had obviously changed. The Dungeons structure was constantly morphing so it wasnt surprising to see that his map of certain areas was already outdated. This actually made the existence of this room even more amazing to Vahn, as the amount of information a person had ess to with these panels and projection was monstrous. He was even able to click on therge room he assumed to be the 50th Floor, finding several long-distance images of Haven. From the images orientation, Vahn was able to determine that it was the lighting within the Dungeon that was responsible for collecting information. Enyos forces must have reced hundreds of thousands of lighting crystals, bioluminescent moss, and otherrgely ignoredponents of the Dungeon with observation devices. Now that he understood how they had been spying on him for so long, Vahn couldnt help but release a sigh as his mind raced with possibilities. He had always wondered why Enyos forces ignored the girls whenever they would enter the Dungeon without him. It wasnt simply that she didnt have enough people to venture into the upper Floors, but there were no practical means to track small groups with the projection. Unless she had someone keeping track of everyone entering and exiting the Dungeon, or the person monitoring this room was watching the entrance at all times, it was simply impossible to track small groups all at once... Vahn assumed they must have had some means ofmunicating with each other but, for the time being, that remained a mystery to him. He didnt even know how the crystals were connected together in order to feed information into this observation room. For the time being, his assumption was that they were somehow able to use the Dungeons systems and mana itself...there was even a chance that this observation room had been a product created by the Dungeon, potentially to help the Xenos find their kin. Every thought led to even more questions but, the one thing Vahn knew for sure was that Enyo herself certainly had the means to manipte some of the Dungeons processes. He had been targetted by Monster Parties in the past and she had shown, on several instances, the ability to manipte the Dungeons mana flow... Deciding he would have to look into things in greater detailter, Vahn clicked on some of the points of interest on the projection to see what the panels reflected. He focused his search on the 60th Floor, trying to identify from the projection the most likely location of Enyo. She would have ced her most trusted aide to monitor things on her behalf so he assumed she had to be rtively close by, even though he couldnt sense her presence at all. Ultimately, Vahn decided to seal off this room with a powerful barrier, in the hope that another one of Enyos pawns wouldnte by to sabotage the observation system. When he was finished, Vahn used his updated minimap to get his bearings before heading towards thergest chamber on the 60th Floor. Its appearance on the map was a perfect circle and, being dissimr from almost every other part of the Dungeon, Vahn felt it was the most suspect location... The thing that drew his attention to this particr location even more, however, was the fact that this current room acted as something of an antechamber for therger room beyond. What confused Vahnw as that, even as he neared the room, his perception wasnt able to sense anything contained within. This was a rtively big g, causing his instincts to trigger so strongly that is felt like his skin was crawling with ants. Thus, even though he told himself he wasnt afraid to confront Enyo, Vahn found his feet slowly to a crawl as his [Eyes of Truth] peered through the walls to get a better look. When his vision reached the circr room, however, the only thing Vahn saw...was reflective darkness, almost like an abyss... Even though he wasnt in the room, Vahn could see his reflection against what looked like a liquid hemisphere of pure darkness. It had an appearance simr to oil but was more reflective than a mirror as Vahn felt his consciousness being sucked towards the image of himself. He quickly broke free when his [Will of the Emperor] took effect, allowing him to deactivate his [Eyes of Truth]. Vahn realized he was breathing raggedly and had even ended up on his hands and knees, sweat pouring from his head before evaporating into wisps and returning to his body. In this state, Enyosughter reached his mind once again before she mused, ("You really do know how to ruin a girls fun, Vahn Mason...I wanted you toe to me and see with your own eyes what youre trying to oppose. Now, I wonder if you will flee and continue ying the game like a good little boy~?") Though Enyo could very well be goading him forward into a trap, Vahn found his resolve upon hearing her taunting words. He rose to his feet and pressed forward, even though his instincts screamed at him to turn back. Using his [Will of the Emperor], Vahn buried these feelings away and, after a few minutes had passed, reached a pair of ornate crystalline doors that were more than 50m tall. On the other side of these doors, the ck liquid awaited him and, presumably within, Enyos body should also be present. As if to emphasize this fact, Enyos voice began to enter his mind but Vahnpletely severed the connection with his [Will of the Emperor] while pushing against the massive door with all his Power. Surprisingly, the door opened rtively easily and, as a result of Vahn pushing forward with such force, cracks where present where his hand had impacted. The door itself mmed open before crashing into the adjoining wall with an explosive sound. As this had been rather unexpected, Vahn flinched slightly because of how tense his body had been, especially once the ck liquid was within view. This time, however, it wasnt his own reflection that was present within, but the reflection of the Manors residents. Behind them, there was a tall figure with a scythe and, while staring at it, Vahn found himself pulled into an illusion like when he watched Haruhime. For a brief moment, he saw images of people being ughtered by figured dressed in ck robes. The girls were fighting against these figures but, even after ying their targets, they ended up being stabbed through by invisible assants, much as he had been... Vahn shook his head to break free from the image as Enyos voice stated rather pointedly, ("That is a vision of the very near future, Vahn Mason. Because of your failure here, everyone you care about is doomed to die. Did you know that, even as we speak, my forces have already infiltrated into your little Haven and are simply awaiting my orders to cause chaos? If even your perceptive self can fall victim to my pawns, what chance do you think they have~?") This time, Enyos voice sounded like it was spoken through amplification magic, resounding inside of his head and echoing loudly. Vahn channeled his [Will of the Emperor] to resist it but Enyosughter still reached his mind, causing him to feel nauseous and copse to the ground. Unaware of what was going on around him, Vahn clutched at his head and attempted to resist the voice and images while an extension of the ck liquid slowly made its way toward him. As it sn.a.k.e.d along the ground, the bluish-crystalline structure of the floor began to rapidly turn ck, spreading out like mold that corroded everything it touched. It continued forward at a slow and leisurely pace and, even upon nearing Vahn, didnt immediately reach out to apply the same corrosive force. Instead, the liquid began to lift itself up like a snake that was about to strike a sleeping target before creating a shape simr to a teardrop. From the bottom end of this teardrop, a face that wasnt quite a reflection came into shape, looking like a white mask that was sculpted to match the expression of a smiling woman... --- (A/N: Alternate Titles: If Fels had tear ducts, he would definitely be crying now...,Terras pouting...,If you gaze into an abyss, the abyss gazes back...,Cliff-sama is not gentle o_o...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 883 - Against the Darkness...

Chapter 883 - Against the Darkness...

As hey upon the ground, visions and voices assaulting his mind, Vahn was actually very calm, at least the version of himself back within the Sub-Space orb. Though he had been in deep meditation previously, Vahn now found that his mind had be crystal clear as he experienced what was happening to his other self. It seemed that Enyos ability, or whatever was happening to him, was something that was proximity based. Now, Vahn could watch what was happening as it yed out six times slower than reality, analyzing every minor detail to get a better understanding of the situation... For Enyo to have overpowered his [Will of the Emperor], at least for a moment, she would have to have an Innate that was at the very peak of the record. This,bined with the difference in their Soul Tier, had given her a momentary advantage. However, even as her influence tried to taint his mind, nothing Enyo did had any effect on his ego whatsoever. Vahn was now trying to separate his thoughts from his mind, something he knew was possible since his body wasnt real from the very beginning. He could even collect himself and regenerate from minute particles of mana, maintaining a sense of self through his domain instead of relying on his brain. If he could simply sever the connection and reliance of his mental faculties from that of his ego, Vahn knew he could possibly gain a basic immunity to Enyos influence. It was fortunate that whatever was going on with his avatar, the entity looking down on him seemed to be enjoying his suffering with sadistic glee. The creature, who very well could be Enyo herself, kept poking and prodding at his defenseless body, almost as if she were trying to understand his make andposition. Small tendrils of oily ck corruption would pierce into his skin, only to be rejected by his blood after a very momentary contact. This seemed to intrigue Enyo and, at least for the time being, she hadnt done anything too drastic like trying to destroy his body. Based on how she had behaved thus far, Vahn assumed she was likely trying to seize control and even brainwash him for her own purposes... Seeing her actions, Vahn was reminded of the Scientists and Doctors of his previous life, doing whatever they wanted without consideration for what their subject was going through. If she only knew the wrath he was going to bring down upon her, Enyo would have likely destroyed his body in an instant. She was looking down on him a great deal and, though Vahn knew he had also erred quite a bit in this engagement, he was gaining more information by the second. The only thing he needed to do now was cut the connection between his mind and his ego and, hopefully, it wouldnt cause his body to break down and dissipate... In order to execute his n, Vahn tried to shift his body from being a normal Progenitor into a full Doppelganger, thus making his brain no longer necessary for interpreting external stimuli. This ended up making him feel very disoriented but, after a few seconds had passed, Vahns mind sank back into a deep meditative state while, deep within the Dungeon, the visions Enyo had been forcing into his mind faded away in an instant. Vahn chose this moment topress his domain down to only 20m, instead of the 1.7km radius it had been previously. His mistake had been stretching his domain outward and creating a gap within his own mind by having part of his focus split on the surroundings. Now, not even a whisper of Enyos could be heard as Vahn bounded to his feet and used the [Sacred Duplex Nail] to shatter the eerie white mask. Though he had stabbed it in the forehead, causing a small fracture, the previously sculpted mouth now cracked open, revealing tworge rows of mr-like teeth. As if it wasnt affected by the golden nail at all, the oily-ck entity lurched forward like a snake that was trying to devour its prey whole, a gratingugh echoing through the entire chamber. Vahn opened some distance with [Shundo], dodging the attack while transitioning into his Zhuque form and creating a column of fire to counterattack. He couldnt sense whatever the ck entity was but, based on appearances, Vahn felt it was akin to pure Darkness, Corruption, or an outright representation of Evil. Yang fire should be the natural counter to such entities, especially with his Source Energy fueling the attack, so Vahn intended to burn the creature with purifying mes... The creatureughed, its voice sounding like several ovepping tones all echoing simultaneously as it agilely evaded the column of fire. A loud thunderp then sounded out, but not before Vahn had already dodged the attack heading towards him, carrying a velocity several times the speed of sound. His attack, however, hadnt stopped in its path and, even though the snake had evaded, Vahn watched as the vermillion mes impacted the massive ck dome before seemingly being absorbed. This caused the snake to pull itself out of the rubble,ughing evilly as it said, "Your mes are quite hot, Vahn Mason...ahh, I can feel my body burning up, kukukuku~." There was a sadistic undertone to the voice but Vahnpletely ignored it as he observed the area where his attack hadnded. Though it seemed to have absorbed his mes, Vahn saw small bubbles emerging from the mirror-like surface while, at the base of the dome, there was a small puddle of inert ck liquid. Enyo might be trying to y it cool but it was obvious his attack had done something to her, as a mere Tier 4 entity wouldnt be able to resist an attack powered by his Source Energy. It might not have done much, but this was all Vahn needed to see to understand his endeavor wasnt futile... As if she had understood what Vahn was thinking, the white-masked snake actually separated from therger dome and began morphing very quickly until it had the figure of a 5m tall humanoid, the same white mask now adorning its head. It had four arms and, before Vahn could get a better look at it, the masked figureunched itself forward with seemingly impossible speed. Vahns eyes had widened slightly as he instinctually moved to defend himself while dodging backward with [Shundo]. Though this bought him a very short window of opportunity, Vahn hadnt been able to exploit it before one of the massive fists stretched forward, growingrger as it traveled, trying to m into him. Without any time for thought whatsoever, Vahn instinctually manifested his [Aegis] to block the attack, causing a massive shockwave that made the surrounding crystalline structure fracture. Large shards started to fall, though Vahn wasnt truly able to see this as the world had currently lost most of its light. Time itself had slowed to a crawl and, even after several seconds had passed, nothing around him had moved. Vahn experienced profound rity as he felt the ck substance making up the golem slowly breaking through his [Aegis], slowly but surely trying to destroy his indestructible shield. Through his domain, Vahn could also sense more entities forming from therger ck dome and he knew things were going to get very difficult, very quickly... At the moment time seemed to have returned to normal, Vahn had already stored his [Aegis] back into his Inventory as a second fist mmed forward, finding nothing by empty air before it smashed into the wall, causing arge portion of the room to explode outward. Enyo looked around the area, the white maskpletely expressionless as she tried to make sense of what had just happened. By the time therge shield had vanished, Vahns presence had disappearedpletely. Now, even with eight extra bodies, each taking on the appearance ofrge and misshapen monsters, he was nowhere in sight... Seeing that Enyo hadnt been able to tell what had happened, Vahn released an echoing sigh of relief as he stroked the ck scales of Fafnir and said, "You saved me this time, Fafnir. Now, lets teach this repugnant goddess a lesson..." Since he had been in his Shadow Emperor form from the start, Vahn was easily able to traverse safely through Fafnirs shadow dimension, even if it was almost impossible to get his bearings. Fafnir, however, had no such issues and justughed happily as it said, ("Im d I could help out, Master~!") with an excited tone. It then moved through the shadow dimension, avoiding the ck sphere that represented the dome in the real world, before allowing Vahn to exit through the shadow of a pir. Enyo immediately sensed Vahns emergence but, instead of attacking with one of her nine forms, said, "That is a very interesting ability you have...moving through shadows~?" Then, as if to prevent him from using the ability a second time, the ck dome began to tten slightly as the bottom section spread out like water, slowly encroaching upon the surrounding surfaces. Seeing this, Vahns expression hardened as he once against transitioned into his Zhuque form and charged towards the dome itself. One of the creatures moved to intercept him, possessing a white wolf mask and a form simr to a Loup Garous, albeit muchrger. This time, Vahn taxed his reserves a great deal, putting nearly half of his remaining Source Energy into an attack that caused his surroundings to immediately fill with vermillion mes. Though wisps of shadows also suffused through the small star that had formed, his attack was predominately pure Yang fire, the bane of all things evil. Vahn even felt his own body begin itching madly as if his Zhuque form was trying to expel the [Lanceae Umbrae] powering his [Magia Erebea]. At the same time, the ck mass with the wolf mask dissolved away in an instant as the mask itself turned into ash. Something simr was happening to therger dome as well, appearing to slowly evaporate, ck mist rising from its boiling surface... Compared to Enyo, therge crystalline room had taken the brunt of Vahns attack, the blue crystal now suffused with a vermillion glow as every surface seemed to melt under the intense heat. The other eight constructs had to shield themselves with the ck dome while five of them directly returned to it, causing the rate of destruction to slow greatly. Even so, the heat didnt fade away for several minutes as, back within the Sub-Space orb, Vahn downed a vial of his own blood to replenish his reserves. It had a strangely sweet taste but also carried the heavy metallic taste of iron as Vahn unhesitantly drankrge gulps. Though his stomach felt a bit squeamish, and the conversion wasnt as fast as hed like, Vahn was still able to bolster his regeneration for a short period of time... By the time his attack had ended, Vahn was no longer in his Shadow Emperor form, as it had been dispelled by the purifying energy of his pure Yang elemental mes. However,pared to his past transformations, Vahns arms were now covered in vermillion feathers all the way to his elbows. Usually, there would just be a few feathers that emerged from the cracks that would appear in his body, a stark contrast to the natural appearance he currently had. Even his hair had more than doubled in length, extending past his shoulders, as wisps of vermillion mes caused it to dance around without the winds assistance. His eyes had also changed a great deal, burning like pure mes while his pupils were now suffused with blue light, the illusion of a majestic Emperor pointing his sword towards the Heavens contained within... While resisting the urge tough, Vahn followed his instincts and inhaled deeply as a smile spread across his face. Then, with a surge of vermillion mes, two wings burst from his back, the same vermillion color as the rest of his feathers. From Vahns perspective, however, there was an obvious rainbow hue and, though Enyo couldnt see it, the amount of confidence this subtle glow gave him was immense. He clenched his fists, causing two heavy shrouds of vermillion mes to form around them as his wings flicked once, instantly increasing his velocity to hypersonic speeds... The remaining masked constructs tried to attack, each striking forth with incredible momentum that could shatter Dungeon walls with ease. Vahn simply ignored these attacks, allowing them to near his body without even making an effort to dodge them. Unable to get close to his body, the ck liquid split apart and disintegrated in an instant as Vahn spun around in the air, using his wings as if they were des. His feathers had already started to disintegrate the enemies before his attack had reached but, as fast as he was moving, Vahn still got to experience cutting through two of the malicious constructs. At the same time, Vahn sent two fist-shaped projectiles of vermillion mes towards the final enemy, the one possessing a womans face, which was now horribly misshapen with an expression of una.d.u.l.terated rage... In an incredibly short period of time, Vahn had found himself within a furnace-like room with nothing but the ck dome to keep himpany. He was no longer relying on his eyes to stare into it, having learned his lesson, and instead made use of his domain to sense his surroundings. So long as he didnt know the trigger for Enyos mental control, Vahn couldnt take any risks as he began sending a constant wave of pure Yang mes to bathe the ck dome. It began to sizzle and burn away but, no matter how much he seemed to destroy, Vahn noticed that its overall volume wasnt decreasing. So as to conserve his energy, Vahn created a bit of distance with the dome and began coalescing mes to produce vermillion spears. For the moment, Enyo didnt seem to be attacking, causing Vahns instincts to trigger as a slight hesitation entered his mind. Even so, he sent the wave of spears into the dome, concentrating Source Energy in their tips. Simr to his previous attacks, the spears impacted silently against the dome before vanishing entirely upon contact. Other than a pool of watery ck liquid, there were no other signs that his attack had even done anything. One thing for sure, however, was that Vahns instincts were sounding the rm, his skin practically crawling from the resultant difort... Now, instead of attacking, Vahn began to focus on replenishing his reserves while trying to understand the situation. Shortly after he began to inspect the surroundings, however, a needle-thin tendril shot out of the dome, soundless and impossible to detect. Vahn felt a twinge of pain in his chest before thousands of hair-thin strands of the ck liquid exploded inside of his body. Fortunately, as painful as it was, Vahns body repelled the liquid a momentter while his wounds recovered at the very next instant. He felt Enyo try to establish a link with him but, failing to probe into his mind, the side of the dome instead opened up like a massive maw... From within the darkness, Vahn saw a pitch ck void before several white masks emerged, numbering in the hundreds. Their mouths cracked apart, revealing vicious rows of teeth as they began tough eerily in concert with each other. At the very center, a feminine mask once again appeared, showing a smiling expression as viscous ck liquid poured down from its nk eyes in a steady stream of tears. Then, as Vahn was trying to make sense of what was happening, the hundreds of masks all simultaneously chimed, "Come y with us, Vahn Mason~!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Observation...,Zhuque Form Descends,Come y with us~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 884 - Trap

Chapter 884 - Trap

Seeing the monstrosity before him was one thing but, hearing Enyo refer to their struggle as something aking to a game to be yed, Vahns expression hardened once again. There were a few trump cards he had been holding in reserve, as he didnt want to destroy the surrounding Floor and the secrets it might contain, but this monster before him needed to be dealt with. He wasnt making any real headway and, though the changes in his Zhuque form had given him a small advantage, it wasnt anything to celebrate over... Just after the invitation by the hundreds of masks, Vahn extended his domain until itpletely contained the oozing ck creature, saying, "Lets see how durable you really are...". This time, instead of attacking himself, Vahn used his domain as a medium and brought out ten small red marbles that glowed with a bluish-white radiance. If Zeus had been present, seeing just one of these marbles would have caused the arrogant god to sweat as each one contained even greater destructive force than the attack Vahn had used to teach the man a lesson. They were [Star Fire Spheres], created with his Oblivion andprised of a mixture of 80% pure Fire Elemental energy and 20% Star Elemental energy. Even Vahn didnt know how much devastation these ten marbles would cause so he immediately adopted a defensive posture, even though he should have rtively immunity to the attack. Enyo, however, closed therge maw in an instant, almost as if she were trying to devour the [Star Fire Spheres]. When he saw this, Vahn couldnt resist raising the side of his lips in a sneer as an absolute silence began to dominate the massive chamber. He could feel Enyo try to establish a link with him but, once again, Vahn simply ignored it as the surface of the ck ooze began to bubble. Arge volume of watery ck liquid began to pool out from the giant dome which, for the first time, began to shrink at a discernable rate... As Vahn watched through his guard at what was going on, he saw Enyo trying to force away the [Star Fire Sphere]s, each rising like bubbles on the ck dome before rolling away to the side. This was an ultimately futile action as, without the ck mass keeping them constrained, the spheres began to rapidly increase in size. Vahn noticed that he actually didnt feel any pain whatsoever, likely the result of his Zhuque form temporarily suppressing the nature of his [Magia Erebea]. Enyo was significantly less fortunate, as the bluish-white spheres of me rapidly grewrger than the ck dome and rapidly melted the surrounding Dungeon. The ceiling continued to rise as the liquid crystal drooped down, adding to the moltenke that had formed in the sinking Dungeon floor... Vahn was able to keep himself in position by creating footholds in the air but he noticed that even the mana in the surroundings was getting pushed away very quickly. This attack was turning out to be even bigger than he expected, even though it hadnt actually reached critical mass and exploded just yet. He never expected that the spheres would begin to fuse together, increasing the destructive force in a way he couldnt predict. Vahn felt that, if he didnt do anything, it was likely that the surrounding Floors would all be destroyed when the attackpleted. This would destroy the Observation room and, though not likely, there was a chance the explosion may even be able to reach Haven... Instead of defending himself, Vahn extended his palms towards the constantly expanding blue star and tried to take control of the me Elemental energy andpress it once again. This caused the vermillion feathers on his arms to begin radiating an intense light which, very slowly, gained a subtle blue hue. Vahn didnt have time to observe this change, however, as all of his efforts to reign in the now 50m diameter sphere had, at best, just slowed it down. Since he was almost positive there would be more of Enyos victims present on the Floor, Vahn clenched his teeth and continued to restrain the mes until a solution entered into his mind... Realizing it was impossible for him to reign in so much energy on his own, Vahn used [Shundo] to drop below the expanding sphere before striking at the base. His hand entered into the vibrant bluish-white sphere, filling him with an incredible amount of energy in a very short period of time. This brought a smile to Vahns face as he pulled down, manipting the energy contained within the Sphere to be unstable. It had been expanding out gradually at first but now Vahn had created an instability, giving the energy a second path to flow through. As a result, arge column of bluish-white mes descended downward, piercing through the moltenke below and continuing into even deeper Floors... Vahn allowed himself to bathe in this energy, finding it strangelyfortable as it washed over his n.a.k.e.d figure and soaked into his feathers. If Enyo was still alive after the sphere had leaked all of its energy away, Vahn was confident he could immediately continue fighting against her. He even had thirteen more [Star Fire Sphere]s and two of the spectacrly difficult to produce [True Ice Sphere]s. Though he could make anything with his Oblivion, Vahn was limited in his ownprehension when it came to making solid Elemental Spheres. Fire was rtively easy for him toprehend and control whereas Ice, though easy enough to understand, strangely required several times the amount of Source Energy during its production... Though it had taken nearly twenty minutes, the sphere stopped trying to expand and instead started to shrink at a noticeable rate. Vahn noticed this rtively quickly and decided to prepare himself for theing battle, assuming there even was one. His instincts told him that Enyo wouldnt be so easy to defeat and, even though she hadnt counterattacked during the baptism of mes, she would probably be very angry once they had faded away. Thus, as the sphere continued to shrink, Vahn continued to watch, searching for any traces of the strange ck ooze, the eerie white masks, and Enyo herself... Due to his focus on the sphere, Vahn hadnt even noticed the changes in his own Zhuque form just yet. Now, instead of pure vermillion feathers, the tips of some now had a subtle blue tint like star-fire. Even his eyes had started to change colors, a blue glow emanating around his pupils, while his hair now had strands of wispy bluish-white near his scalp. His wings, however, had undergone the biggest change as the vermillion coloration had now be even deeper while small eye-like red markings were visible on the plumage. Within these eye-shaped markings, there were wisps of bluish-white me glowing with a beautiful radiance, shining proudly even without anyone to bear witness to their majesty... Though the temperature inside of the room was still close to around 70,000 degrees, Vahn could feel the atmosphere gradually cooling as the sphere shrunk to only 20m in diameter. If the ck ooze had been unaffected, he would have been able to see it by now but, even as the sphere of mes continued to shrink, there were no signs of Enyo. Vahn didnt drop his guard upon seeing this, however, as his instincts were sending him danger signals that continued to grow in intensity as time passed. Even with the previous room expanded to nearly a kilometer wide, the result of the walls, floor, and ceiling all being melted away, Vahn felt like the space around him was shrinking, trapping him inside and causing him to feel ustrophobic... Even before the mes had faded in their entirety, Vahn knew the battle was far from over as a ck dais, floating in the air, slowly came into view. As the mes faded away even further, a shimmering ck object, very simr to an egg, also emerged. There were intricate runes cover its oily ck surface, many of which were simr to the hieroglyphs that represented thenguage of the gods. Vahn noticed simr glyphs on the ck dais itself, reading the words Thou whom hast ventured into the depths of Tartarus, bear witness to the ilk of Echidna, Mother of Monsters. Almost as soon as he has finished reading the letters, Vahn watched as the damaged runes covering the egg slowly began to fade away. With the fading of each rune, the sense of dread within Vahns heartpounded several times. He had already realized that, instead of being a protective barrier, the runes had been a seal, restraining the egg upon the ck stone dais. Vahns attack had not only destroyed the ck ooze but had overtaxed the powerful sealing Magic that had been keeping the egg trapped here. With this realization, it didnt take Vahn any time at all to understand that Enyo had been ying him from the start... Though he would have to confirm his spections in the future, Vahn now understood exactly why Ouranos had been sealing the Dungeon, preventing powerful monsters from reaching the surface. It was because Enyo, simr to Artemis, had been fused together with a monster...unlike Artemis, however, Enyo seemed to have initiated the process herself. Vahn could imagine her finding this egg and, using her ability to influence the minds of even gods, slowly corrupted the dormant creature until it became a suitable vessel. If she could erase its ego entirely before the fusion, Enyo would be able to fully manifest her power in the real world while being inplete control of her actions... This time, when Enyo tried to establish a link with him, Vahn allowed herughter to enter his mind as she said, ("You have my gratitude, Vahn Mason. I have been unable to break this seal for nearly a thousand years, ever since that bastard Ouranos...well, it doesnt really matter. To express my gratitude, I have decided to allow you to escape today. Im curious to see exactly how strong you can be while trying to fend off the attacks of my children in the shadows...kukukuku~.") While she was speaking in his mind, the egg upon the dais had started to crack, emanating an incredible amount of Arcanum that caused the mana within the Dungeon to begin coalescing towards them... Not content to just watch as a goddess-monster hybrid was born into the world, Vahn moved forward with [Shundo] and tried to ce his palm against the eggs surface. He was unable to even get within 10m of the egg, however, as a powerful repulsive force smashed into him, sending his body crashing into the far wall in the blink of an eye. Enyos voice once again sounded out, cheerful and crazedughter contained within as she eximed, ("Now, the path towards Hades shall be opened...! Enjoy the few years you have, Vahn Mason. Make as many preparations as you like, be as strong as you can, and struggle as desperately as you are able...once I reach the heart of this Dungeon, you will bear witness to the true nature of this world...uwahahahahahahahahahahahaha-!") As powerful as the repulsive force was, Vahn was able to recover in an instant and, even as Enyo continued her mad diatribe, he wasnt going to just let her get away with this. She had already hurt too many people and, if he allowed her to get away, even more would be harmed in the future. He may not have a way to kill a fully manifested god just yet but that didnt mean he was as powerless as she wanted to make him out to be. In fact, there were numerous ways Vahn knew of that would allow him to deal with this situation, including... In the midst of herughter, Enyo felt an incredibly oppressive force that was even more powerful than the seal that had locked her in ce for so long. From around the ck stone dais, nine gold chains appeared out of the void and, even though she tried to repulse them with her Arcanum, they werepletely undaunted. If she had eyes at this point, Enyos would have widened greatly as the chains continued to coil around space, contracting closer towards her until they were firmly wrapped around her egg-form body. She suddenly found that none of her power could be used at all, causing an intense feeling of dread, unlike anything she had ever experienced in her entire long life. Even her voice could no longer escape, leaving her powerless as the boy she had just been looking down on slowly drifted over... Standing next to the 5m tall ck egg, Vahn shook his head and said, "I may not be able to kill you just yet, but that doesnt mean I cant seal you away, Enyo. There are greater forces at y than your small-minded hubris would ever allow you to understand..." Though he could contain her Divinity, there wasnt much Vahn could do against Enyos fully manifested Arcanum. She likely had a simr degree of indestructibility as [Enkidu] in her current state and, even if he got a Tier 5 weapon, it would be almost impossible to actually destroy her. For now, Vahn just collected one of the egg fragments while ensuring that the chains around Enyos egg were nice and firm. He would conduct a bit of research on the fragment while trying to obtain information from the egg itself. Though he wouldnt treat her as an experimental subject, even though she very much deserved such treatment, Vahn would continue looking for ways topletely destroy Enyo in the future. Her fate, for the time being, would be spending her days trapped inside of the glossy ck egg until he hade up with a way to seal her without using his [Enkidu] all the time. If he teamed up with Terra, it shouldnt be impossible to use one of the Tier 5 sealing spells within Evas notes. Though its strength would still be restricted by the record, it should at least buy them plenty of time if they trapped Enyo in a reverse Sub-Space orb where time was slowed down, instead of sped up. It should only take them a few years toe up with a more permanant solution, even if it ended up just being Fenrir increasing the strength of her [Devour] to the peak. Vahn, right now, had the option of giving his [Skill Advancement Scroll: SSS] to Fenrir, which would immediately give her the power to [Devour] Enyo. This could even increase the strength of Fenrirs soul a great deal, something that would potentially be very useful in future records... (A/N: For those asking, "Why didnt Vahn just use [Enkidu] from the start?"...well, it is one of his most powerful tools and, with the information war going on between him and Enyo, it wouldnt have made sense to use one of his trump cards so early. There were too many unknowns about the situation but, once Enyos true form was revealed, [Enkidu] became a far more practical solution to the problem. Imagine if he used [Enkidu] against the ck ooze, only to find out it was just another one of Enyos pawns...?) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn goes P2W~!,Enyos short-lived victory...,Dont feed Fenrir rotten eggs~!!!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 885 - Wake

Chapter 885 - Wake

Vahn decided that it would be best to confer with the goddesses back at the Manor before he made a final decision. In truth, he had been struggling with how best to use the [SAS: SSS] since receiving it and, if it could put this matter to rest, Vahn didnt think it was a bad trade. The only problem with this was the fact that Vahn stillcked a great deal of information, including what Enyos actual purpose had been. Even now, he still didnt know how Ouranos was involved, how Ais parents were involved, or how Bell had been expected to kill Enyo in the future... The manga very well may have had the setting where Bell and hispanions managed to defeat Enyo, only for her true form to be revealed after. She would have then gone deeper into the Dungeon, causing the strength of monsters to gradually increase with time as the original residents of this world desperately resisted. Bell had already reached Level 9 in the Divination so it was very possible he would have grown beyond the restriction of Falna at some point, all while having the potential to reach Tier 4 himself. The final battle could have been the Tier 4 Bell, using his incredibly broken Innates, fighting against Enyo in the very heart of the Dungeon... Realizing howplicated things had be, Vahn released a sigh,pletely ignoring the shaking ck egg that seemed to be desperately trying to free itself. It was shortly after this that Vahn realized he actually had no way of moving the egg from this spot, as the chains of [Enkidu] were protruding from the void to lock it in ce. If he left the area, the chains would fade away the moment his domain no longer ovepped with them. He had the option of producing [Enkidu] out of his own body but that would still mean he was stuck lugging around a 5m tall egg until he was able to take it back to the surface. He knew [Enkidu] wouldpletely prevent him from being transported with teleportation magic, meaning he was stuck egg sitting until they could seal her away... With nothing better to do at the moment, Vahn began absorbing the ambient Fire Elemental energy to rapidly cool down the massive chamber, which now had a teardrop shape. Because of the pir of mes he had directed into the deeper Floors, the molten crystalke had drained away, creating a funnel of sorts that continued for several hundred meters. Vahn noticed that the liquid crystal had also flowed out into some lower passages and could only help that there werent any innocent lives imed during his fight against the errant goddess. His decision to use the [Star Fire Sphere]s had been a spur of the moment thing, prompted by his frustration with Enyo...now, Vahn realized he needed to properly research the best use for some of the emergency weapons he created... As that thought crossed his mind, Fafnir popped its head out of the shadows before adopting a humanoid appearance and flying over to Vahns side. Sensing this, Vahn stated as a precaution, "Be careful, Fafnir, I have her sealed away but there is always a chance something could go wrong..." With how devious Enyo had been, Vahn wouldnt be surprised if she still had ns that had been put into fruition that didnt require her oversight. He already suspected that she had a Familia of her own and, with how patient Enyo had been, the odds of them having infiltrated several sections of society were very high. Though she likely wouldnt have been able to bestow her blessing upon people, resulting in her need for corrupting monsters, capturing Xenos, and creating Creatures, Vahn assumed that Enyo hadnt just been idling about. Just as she had likely manipted Evilus for her own ends, Enyo had probably nted her pawns within other influential Familia over the centuries. There was even a chance her forces had spread out across the Continent, merely waiting for the day when she would break free so that they could bring about the destruction of the surface world... Realizing this was very likely to be the case, Vahn released a heavy sigh while his main body back at the Manor had awoken from meditation and was moving to exin the situation and make preparations for what was toe. It was the middle of the night now but almost everyone was still awake while Syr had even been waiting for him to exit his temporary seclusion. Though her expression seemed calm, ented by a beautiful smile, Vahn could tell she was troubled by something, asking, "Is it bad...?" He had anticipated that, other than attacking Haven, Enyo had probably done something to try and divert their focus back to the surface as well. Confirming his suspicions, Syr nodded her head, exining, "There have been numerous attacks within the City. The Alliance forces are working to control the damage and deal with the culprits, but the number of fires has proven troublesome..." Vahn nodded his head, saying, "Ill head out to try and deal with the fires and see if I cant provide assistance...has anything happened near the Manor...?" As they had already anticipated an attack on the City, Vahn wasnt surprised by Syrs words in the least. A few hours after he had ventured into the Dungeon, the War Council of the Alliance had already started to mobilize forces to deal with any attacks that might befall Orario. This time, Syrs smile seemed more genuine as she said, "Though there were some enemies skulking about, they were all swiftly dealt with by Terra. Most of the attackers had tried to target Spero but they were unable to prate the barrier. The more troublesome matter is that the enemy had been nting some kind of strange seeds inside of tamed monsters, turning them into the strange nt-like mutants that you warned about previously. They are able to emit a poisonous miasma that caused a great deal of chaos...fortunately, the [Panacea] that had been prepared in advance has proved effective. Though some of the storage warehouses werepromised, the reserve stock you prepared had gone unnoticed..." Even before they knew of Enyos ability to directly interfere with a persons mind, the Alliance had already made preparations to deal with inside enemies ever since the enemies within warning. It likely hadnt been her intention, but Enyo ended up giving them advance warning for what was toe, allowing them to prepare backup supplies in the event something went wrong. Vahn was tempted to tease the shackled goddess about this fact but decided that talking to her at all would only cause more problems... Syr gave her report within the Sub-Space orb to save time, allowing Vahn to also update her on matters on his end. Once they were both up to speed, they exited the orb and headed towards the Guest Residence, which was currently the emergency headquarters for dealing with this situation. Syr had already written most of the details into thework, which updated when they exited the orb, so the gathered goddesses were already informed by the time Vahn reached the residence. Currently, Loki, Hephaestus, Minerva, Freya, la, and Bast. Thetter was a goddess from the Southern Sands who had joined the Alliance over a year ago but only recently became a part of the War Council. Bast was unique in that, much like Anubis, she had the same olive-colored skin as a member of the Southern Tribe, but was instead of Cat Person. She had short ck hair that was neatly trimmed in a straight line while her eyes glimmered between gold and emerald. Though she was a bit of an airhead at times, Bast did have a Divinity rted to War and had been good friends with Anubis for a very long time. Contrary to Anubis, however, Bast had a bit of a sadistic and yful personality, even though she could be easily bullied if she recognized you as being in a higher position... Upon Vahns entry into the room, most of the goddesses shifted their focus to Vahn while Loki craned her head back and said, "There is a bit of chaos, but the situation on the surface is under control for the time being. Syr should have already exined things, but those girls had already dealt with most of the major threats. You dont have to worry about the fires either, as most of the areas being burned are in low poption centers..." Though he gave a curt nod in response, Vahn still asked, "What are we doing tobat the invisible enemies? Is Fels still locked away in the underground...?" Instead of Loki, Minerva answered rather quickly, "The sses created by Asfi have allowed our forces to track down some of the invisible enemies. Though some slipped through our grasp, it is very likely they willy low for a while before drawing more attention to themselves. As for Fels, well..." Loki picked up the sentence, adding in a voice filled with scorn, "That bastard, Ouranos, tried to send Hermes over, asking for Fels to be freed to help deal with the attack on the City. I told him he could shove his feathery hat up his ass...!" The fact Ouranos even thought to request they free an enemy that had tried to kill Vahn wasughable to Loki. Currently, Fenrir and Alexa were watching over the bound skeletal figure after Loki threatened that, if Hermes tried to free him, she would truly castrate him in both the Mortal World and Heaven... Hephaestus ced her hand on Lokis shoulder, a small attempt to get thetter to calm down, as she looked toward Vahn and said, "Hestia, Demeter, and Artemis are taking care of the children. They are all having a big sleepover together tonight..." Though it wasnt exactly a coincidence, even Hermes wasnt able to use his movement ability to break into the Manor, so long as Hestia was within. Her Divinity made the Manor an almost invible territory while few gods truly wished to antagonize her. Hermes strength was actually on the weaker end of the spectrum and, if not for his ability to move about freely, his status as an Olympian wouldnt have held out for very long. Though he had already been informed about the sleepover from Syr, Vahn gave a small nod to Hephaestus, a casual smile on his face. In truth, hed like to just sneak into the room and enjoy a peaceful nights rest with his children but, as matters stood, he had other duties to tend to. To that end, they began to discuss how to deal with Enyo, what to do with Fels, the future of Orario, the continued development of Haven, and how to deal with thergework of individuals who had been influenced by Enyos abilities. Vahn was very tempted to just wrangle up every god with [Enkidu] just to make sure they were in the clear but that could cause no end to future troubles within the godlymunity. There was also very little reason as, now that Enyo was sealed away, she shouldnt be able to influence them further. Everyone that still acted on Enyos behalf, at this point, would be someone who had been fully indoctrinated and manipted by her. They were those who had been led astray, raised within the darkness and brought up believing in their goddess teachings. Though there were some who could be redeemed, such as some Creatures, Xenos, and the captives on the 60th Floor, others would never be able to live a normal life. It was better to simply return them to the reincarnation cycle and pray they are able to live freely in the future. The Alliance would likely take in any young members that were discovered, but that would be on a purely situational basis... Ultimately, it was decided that, instead of Vahn immediately bringing Enyo out of the Dungeon, he would remain on the 60th Floor. The defense of Haven had gone rtively smoothly and, without Enyos influence to guide them, most of the monsters had been defeated without ever breaking through the defensive lines of the Haven Defense Force. Now, Vahn would call some of the Xenos he had subordinated and named to his side so they could establish a forward base within the 60th Floor. With the existence of the Observation Room alone, the Alliance had more than enough justification to establish arge presence on the Floor. Vahn would be creating a teleportation ward with Terras assistanceter while they systematically wiped out the remnants of Enyos forces and rescue her victims. He hadnt been able to save them earlier but Vahn had already verified the existence of thirteen birthing chambers after reading through the notes of the skeletal entity, Ein. She had been serving at Enyos side for more than 800 years and, from her notes, Vahn was able to get a few answers regarding some of the questions he had... Though further investigations would be necessary, Ein had recorded that Enyo had been one of the gods to descend into the world alongside Ouranos nearly a thousand years ago. Unlike the other gods, who had been drawn to the mortal world out of general curiosity, Enyos goal had been the Dungeon the entire time. She had even formed a cooperative alliance with the forces of Albert Waldstein, who was then leading a Mercenary organization called Wings of Freedom. It wasnt just her Familia who ventured alongside the legendary Heros party, however, as several other gods that would one day make up the member of Evilus had been present... The Dungeon had long been considered a threat to the survival of the surface races and, with existences like the ck Dragon King, it was paramount that they were able to seal it away. As a result, more than ten Familia had banded together to probe into the Dungeons depths, trying to unlock its secrets. Enyo was one of the few gods that apanied the party and, by continually upgraded her Familias Status Boards, they had be one of the mainstays in the Alliance. Being a Goddess of War, many proud warriors answered the call to arms and, fighting alongside the other members of the Alliance, the Wings of Freedom had slowly made headway into the Dungeon... After several hard-fought battles, the group finally arrived at the 60th Floor of the Dungeon and, though it was not recorded in History, they battled against a monstrous entity named Typhon. Eins records stated that the creature was more than 300m long, possessing the upper body of a winged giant and the lower body of a massive serpentine creature. By the end of the battle, theyout of the Dungeon itself had been fundamentally changed, causing almost every Floor to copse as a result of the climactic battle. Even with this level of destruction, and almost every member of the Wings of Freedom falling, they still came out victorious. However, it was also this battle that allowed creatures like the ck Dragon King, the Behemoth and, spawning from the corpse of Typhon, the Leviathan to break free... With no other choice, the Wings of Freedom retreated from the Dungeon to give chase to these cataclysmic threats. To prevent further monsters from escaping, Ouranos, supposedly inspired by the fervor and heroism of Alberts party, made the rare decision to create arge seal on the Dungeon, using the emergent Tower of Babel as the foundation. The real reason for this action, however, was to prevent what he and many of the other gods had seen during the conflict between the Wings of Freedom and Typhon from leaking out. Not only was the creature nearly as strong as a god, but they could sense there were even more dangerous entities contained deeper within the Dungeon. They watched helplessly as Enyo entered into a secret chamber, followed by the emergence of a dreadfully powerful aura...However, instead of confronting the enemy then and there, Ouranos, being the observer he had been since time immemorial, chose to seal it away, waiting for a True Hero to rise up one day and deal with the threat. Ouranos had believed that Albert would be the one to uncover the secrets of the Dungeon and open the way towards the future, even going so far as the bestow the first blessing upon the young Hero. As a result, Albert made an Eternal Vow that, so long as the Dungeon exists, he would dedicate all of his lives to subjugating it...all so that the surface world could one day be free from the impending threat of destruction that even gods were powerless to protect them from... As for how Ein knew of these things, it wasnt exactly clear from the doc.u.ments that Vahn had discovered, only that she hadpiled excerpts from several journals and texts that had still existed on the 59th and 60th Floors. When the Wings of Freedom had been wiped out, they had thousands of members and Vahn suspected it was theption of their own expedition reports that had allowed Ein to make her deductions. After all, they were events had taken ce more than two hundred years before she came under Enyos influence while the matters rted to Ouranos seemed grossly out of ce...almost as if they had been addedter. Vahn suspected it was Fels, who hade to serve under Ouranos, who had been feeding information to Ein. Though there was nothing showing they were brother and sister, the fact that Fels still had a pure aura, while still choosing to interact with such malicious entities, showed there had to be some kind of rtion. Ein had probablye under Enyos influence at some point and, unable to leave his sister to suffer alone, Fels had been doing his best to act as support...at least, that is what Vahn would like to believe. In truth, unless Fels and Ouranos gave them the answers, it was impossible to know the truth... (A/N: Im going to be busy for the next couple of days and cant really guarantee how many chapters will being out. Also, Im moving apartments very soon and will be leaving for work around June 14th. At the very least, I will be releasing a chapter every single day and, so long as I can make time, you can expect around 4 chapters other than when Im moving. Today should still have one or two more, though they may not be untilter. Ill keep everyone posted as things continue to develop (UwU)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn should just make Bell into a powerhouse and then lock him in a room with Enyo xD...,Enyos schemes echo throughout History...,You know nothing, Vahn Mason...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 886 - Discovery

Chapter 886 - Discovery

For a period of nine days after Enyos capture, her forces had continued to stage small scale terrorist attacks throughout the City. Though the Alliance had cleaned up arge number of them, those who had escaped thus far were bing increasingly more difficult to pin down. Their methods became more discreet and, even with the City gates being temporarily locked down, it was likely that several members had left Orario. With their [Helm of Darkness], a weaker and mass-produced version of the [Helm of Hades], they were able to move invisibly, giving off no presence whatsoever, even if the mana cost was rather intense. Unlike the [Helm of Hades] itself, which was able to naturally pull mana out of the air, the [Helm of Darkness] was limited to about an hour of use, though Tiona seemed to be an exception to this rule as her body itself allowed her to power it almost indefinitely... Because they had been the ones primarily subjugating the enemies, Ais, Tiona, and Tione ended up looting quite a number of [Helm of Darkness]. Since they were very proficient at controlling their own mana, they had been ying around with being invisible, pulling off a few pranks on Vahn to lighten the mood. This resulted in Vahn gaining increased proficiency in detecting invisible enemies so, even with Tiona sneaking kisses and touching parts of his body unexpectedly, it wasnt really a bad thing. The first time she did it, however, Vahn had been sessfully spooked and nearly ended up attacking her, something that only fueled herter actions as she imed it made things more exciting... With so many items as research material, Asfi had actually made her own prototype of the [Helm of Darkness], this one taking on the appearance of visored goggle that Vahn intended to issue to the Pallum Scouts that were being specially trained by Chloe. After he had used the [Star Fire Sphere]s against Enyo, Vahn realized there was a great deal of merit to making use of produced goods to make fights easier. Yes, it reduced the amount of Exilia you could gain from defeating enemies but it wouldnt matter how much experience you could gain if you ended up dead as a result of your own hubris... Vahn understood the dangers of mass-producing powerful equipment that could be used by weak individuals as, if the technology was stolen and replicated, it would make future wars for everyone more difficult. If Asfis, [Stealth Visor Mk. 1] fell into the hands of a thief or a murderer, the amount of damage even a single person could do was monstrous. They had all learned this first hand from Enyos forces as the majority were only around Level 1-2 in strength. For better or worse, Enyos influence over them made it so that they were unable to join other Familia, meaning their rtive strength was rather low. Vahn also had the unfortunate opportunity to discover that, as expected, many of these individuals had been raised by Enyo and her pawns since birth and, outside ofpletely erasing their memories, there was no way to truly free them from her control... By the time the Xenos had helped to secure the 60th Floor, Vahn had rescued a total of 1,274 victims of Enyos birthing chambers. Of this total, 102 had been male while the remaining 1,172 were a mixed assortment of females, fourteen of which were High Spirits. Vahn had incorrectly assumed that thergest number of victims would be Elves as, after clearing out the other rooms, it became apparent that Enyos pawns had tried to separate the chambers by race. This depended on the specific traits of the High Spirit, as Vahn found a lot of Chienthropes in a room with a dog-like Spirit while another room had an assortment of Pallum and Dwarves connected to a Gnome. (A/N: This isnt the garden gnome spirits, but an actual Earth Elemental Gnome.) From Eins research notes, Vahn had been able to learn that they were trying to discover how High Spirits had bred with other creatures in the past, as it should have been impossible to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e them. It was in these same research notes that Vahn was able to discover the answer to one of the important questions he had wanted to uncover, this time rting to Ais. There was an entire section of research doc.u.ments rting to her as the alpha subject, dating back nearly a thousand years, even before Ein had be Enyos pawn. It was Ais existence, and the cells of her mother Aria, which hadid the foundation for the research into the breeding chambers and trying to cultivate what the doc.u.ments referred to as Demi-Spirits... Vahn had stumbled across this information while he was trying to confirm the connection between Enyos Familia and the victims within those nightmarish chambers. He ended up regretting the discovery, however, as there was no easy way to exin the truth of the matter to Ais. This was primarily due to the fact that Ais may not even be her original self at all, even if her soul and ego had been transnted in sessive generations of herself. In essence, she was essentially just an avatar, or a clone, of the original Ais...someone who had died a very long time ago. If not for the fact that something had gone wrong in the research, causing the clone to be spat out in a different part of the Dungeon, Ais likely would have existed as nothing more than a test subject... Even with his inhibitions, Vahn still revealed the truth to Ais and, as she had beenfortable with them knowing of her origins, everyone else within the Manor. She took the news surprisingly well, even better than Vahn himself had, simply nodding her head in understanding with a small, "I see..." as Tiona, Tione, and Lefiyaforted her. Nobody thought lesser of her after the revtion as, much like everyone that existed, she had simply been a soul that migrated to a new body. Unlike others, however, Ais had been born through the reincarnation process of the Dungeon, much like the Xenos. This made her very unique and, after learning the truth, Ais hatred towards monsters had faded greatly while her kinship with the Xenos had blossomed... From the research notes rted to Ais and her mother, Aria, Vahn was able to glean some insights about the Dungeon, Tartarus, itself. Though it felt awkward to look into the particrs, given Ais association to them, Vahn had her consent to seek out the truth. This was a very important part of understanding the very nature of the world and could give him insights that even gods would err in their path to obtain. After all, Enyo had been outright obsessed with the Dungeon and, given the nature of her Divinities, this didnt make a lot of sense... What Vahn was able to glean thus far was that the reincarnation cycle was something that even the gods themselves didnt fully understand. Though it was certainly operational within the world, to the point where it was even possible to track a person from one life into the next, there were always exceptions. The biggest unknown was the Realm of Hades, as even the gods in Heaven were unable to ess it through any known means. Though gods like Hermes could potentially find a way to traverse into the mysterious third Realm, it was unlikely someone like him would tell anyone about what he discovered there... One thing Vahn knew, ever since the discovery of the Xenos, was that the Dungeon, Tartarus, had a self-contained system of reincarnation. Not only could it take in the budding souls of monsters across the Continent, allowing them to be reborn in its depths, but it now seemed possible that the surface races were also subject to this. The thing about this fact was that it didnt make any sense, as a physical object like the Dungeon shouldnt be able to influence souls to such a degree, at least from what Vahn understood. There had to be some greaterws at work and, only by probing into the depths of the Dungeon, could he find any real answers. If it truly did connect to Hades, the chances this mysterious third Realm connected to the cycle of reincarnation were very high... With even Anubis unable to give him any insight into the cycle of Life and Death, Vahn was left with nothing but a few hundred years of research and a seemingly infinite number of questions beyond hisprehension to answer. One thing he knew was that Tartarus was the name of the Primordial Goddess that connected the three Realms by sacrificing her body. This created another question, however, as Vahn couldnt understand the reason why she would have made such a sacrifice. History stated that Nuwa and Tiamat, two other Primordial Deities, remained behind in Hell, which he now believed to be Hades. It was also doc.u.mented that Hell was the remnants of the Realm that existed before the formation of Heaven and the Mortal World... It was this line of thought that gave Vahn insight into the truth of the matter, at least as far as his ownprehension allowed. If the Dungeon was truly Tartarus, which was almost certainly the truth since The Path designated it as such, it meant there was a high chance that...if you were able to descend its depths, you woulde out in Hades, the true nature of which was the Primordial Gods ne of existence. It was impossible for mortals to ascend to Heaven but, if there was a physical path to a Realm that even transcended Heaven, there was no way of knowing what kind of power one could obtain. Enyo may very well have wanted to return to the origin of things...for reasons that Vahn could only guess... When Vahn had discussed this with the goddesses, they had been greatly shaken by the revtion as the Dungeons name wasnt actuallymon knowledge, even to the gods themselves. The Dungeon had existed long before the creation of most living gods and, though they knew that Tartarus had be the bridge connecting the Realms, they had no idea her body had be the Dungeon. If that was true...it both made sense as to why Ouranos kept it a secret, as there was no way of knowing how most gods would react to knowing they had ess to the original ne of existence. Instead, he wanted mortals to be the one to venture forward and conquer the Dungeons depths which, in a way, was actually ascending from the Mortal World to one of the godly nes... Ouranos had always been a silent observer to History, taking action so rarely that his only two notable actions were recorded by History. His first action had been assisting the other Primordial Deities to rewind time, restoring bnce to the Shattered Realms. After that, he took no major action in Heaven, even when other gods tried to contend for his position. It wasnt until he had descended to the Mortal World, something that had been necessary with the pressure from the entire godlymunity, that he was once again noted in History. Since then, other than serving his role as a Mediator to maintain bnce and order, Ouranos only action had been sealing the Dungeon... Loki had originally thought that Ouranos seal had spelled doom for the Mortal World as, with the increased mana possessed within its walls, the strength of monsters would continue to rise. However, it wasnt until Ouranos sealed the Dungeon that the Xenos began emerging in the world. In a way, their existence was the Dungeons way of maintaining equilibrium as they were neutral monsters that often sought to avoid conflict. The Dungeon even changed its own structure, creating safe areas for the Xenos to reside while the continued to feed on the ambient energy of the Dungeon, all while desiring to escape and reach the surface. If this had worked as intended, the energy within the Dungeon would have slowly been drained away by the Xenos but, in order to prevent this, Evilus, likely as an extension of Enyos will, ensured that the Xenos were treated as true monsters... Vahn couldnt help but wonder if Ouranos understood the purpose of the Xenos as, before the Guild announced they were a protected species, there were active subjugation rewards posted for their sessful ying. Since Ouranos personal policy was that the Xenos existence was unique, even iming they would be able to coexist with those living on the surface, he had remained silent as his own organization hunted them down. It was contrary actions like this that confounded Vahn, even though he could somewhat rationalize this as Ouranos way to remain neutral. If he had truly taken action to protect the Xenos, this would have been a clear indicator that he had sided with them, even as the perspective of mortals and gods painted them as enemies... With as much power as Ouranos possessed, Vahn knew the elderly god would be able to act with impunity in both Heaven and the Mortal World. The fact he was content to simply observe was, in a way, something verymendable. His age was arguably twice that of almost every other god and, in that time, Ouranos had watched as each new era began and ended, never wavering in his duty to the world atrge. Vahn knew this was something he simply wasnt capable of, as watching the world around him be destroyed was beyond him. Even though he knew this only invited greater chaos in the world, so as to oppose him, Vahn couldnt back down and just watch as people suffered... Though Vahn found it difficult to forgive Ouranos, he could also rationalize that the elderly god had done nothing wrong. There was nothing that required him to take action and, if he had truly been an arrogant god who exploited his power, the world may have been a very different ce. In fact, with Ouranos serving as an invible power, and a truly neutral force, it was possible to keep the other gods restrained. If he hadnt descended before the others, the number of Nation-Type Familia would likely be far greater, to the point that the Mortal World would truly just be a yground for the Gods. So long as Ouranos simply sat on his throne, helping to seal the Dungeon, other gods would gather around him, building an eptingmunity that couldnt be found anywhere else on the Continent... Even so, Vahn still couldnt truly understand Ouranos perspective on things, which wasnt difficult to rationalize considering one of them was nearly a billion years old. Since there was literally nothing he could do to change the way Ouranos acted, Vahn had no choice but to simply ept how things were...at least for the moment. It was very likely he would one daye to understand Ouranos position but, at the very least, Vahn knew he would be able to change things when he connected the records in the future. Though a lot would change between now and then, Vahn would do his best to fight against the forces of chaos, even if the Tier of the records were constantly elevated to keep the bnce... (A/N: Some people may not like how things were wrapped up in regards to Ais, but know this isnt the end of things. Remember, the avatar of the One-Eyed ck Dragon was supposed to be on the 60th Floor...even though Vahn hasnt encountered it? Ufufufufu~. Also, this will be thest chapter for today since I dont want tomorrows to bete. Ill probably have out three before I get busy but the day after should be normal? Im not entirely sure, so Ill let you know as things change~! Also, also, though some of you may hate Ouranos, you have to consider that someone needs to be in his position in such a world. If even the most powerful gods are corrupt, then it would be borderline impossible for mortals to even exist with any semnce of peace xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: All your base are belong to us...,Ais is essentially a Human Xenos with the cells of her Mother spliced into her (T _ T)...,The legendary Tartarsauce~! Ouranos neutrality, at what cost...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 887 - Establishment

Chapter 887 - Establishment

Deep within the 60th Floor of the Dungeon, Vahn was standing before an icy pir more than 9m tall, casting out a thick chill that brought down the surrounding temperature to nearly -100 degrees Celsius. Even with theirbined efforts, Vahn and Terra had been unable to replicate Evas [Eternal Ice Coffin], as their understanding of Laws rting to Time, Space, Ice, and Darkness were simply below the necessary standard of Tier 5. Even so, their efforts hadnt been entirely in vain and, with Vahn using his own Source Energy to power the ritual magic ward they had created, the final result should end up holding her in ce for several hundred years. Though it wasnt impossible to move Enyo out of the Dungeon, the chances of something going wrong exponentially increased. Since it was, ironically, safer to seal Enyo within the Dungeon, Vahn had decided to seal her away in one of the natural safe regions of the 60th Floor, close to the Observation Rooms location. Here, there would always be a guard rotation of Xenos watching over Enyo, a duty they took very seriously after learning how she had been exploiting and experimenting on their people... Even if the Xenos did ck off, it wouldnt make too much of a difference as, in order to decrease the chances of something going wrong, Vahn and Terra had designed the room as a self-contained system. All of the mana that flowed away from the imperfect [Eternal Ice Coffin] went into the intricate ritual magic ward that covered every single surface. This formation worked as a space-time lock of sorts, slowing the flow of time within the room to a crawl depending on the amount of energy fed into the system. Even in the final stages of her awakening, they would have upwards of several years to make preparations, during which time Vahn could always use [Enkidu] once again... This being the case, Vahn didnt actually like the idea of imprisoning anyone, even someone as errant and dangerous as Enyo. However, when he considered that the passage of time she would experience would only be a blink within her long life, it was easier to ept. Even so, Vahn had put Enyo into a deep slumber before they cast the [Eternal Ice Coffin] on her, making it so that she wouldnt even experience the passage of time from her own perspective. For Enyo, it would feel like she had simply blinked, allowing hundreds of years to pass on the outside. During that time, any threat she posed would have beenrgely mitigated, especially since Vahn would have already returned after linking the records... The sole purpose of the patrols keeping watch over Enyos chamber was to prevent external influences, though the chances of this happening were rtively slim. Only those that had very high Loyalty and Allegiance towards Vahn were allowed to operate on the 60th Floor. This region had now be one of the closely guarded secrets of the Alliance and its importance was arguably greater than even Haven. Other than the Observation Room, there was argework of safe areas to make use of and, with the research notes of Ein, their understanding of the Dungeon itself had increased greatly. On Eins person, there had been several unique Magic Items, including an artifact that had been identified by The Path as a [Dungeon Controller]. This was an incredible discovery as it allowed the user to trigger the transportation function of the Dungeon. So long as you had the spatial coordinates of your location, it was possible to use the [Dungeon Controller] to traverse through the Dungeon and emerge out at the specified location. The downside was that its functions only worked within the safe areas of the Dungeon and the only viable targets for transfer were the Xenos... Just knowing it was possible to ride the mana streams of the Dungeon was an important discovery, as it should be possible to reverse-engineer the process with time. Until then, Vahn knew it was possible to modify those that would reside within the 60th Floor into humanoid Xenos, though that wasnt something he would do without serious consideration. For the time being, he had entrusted the artifact to Gros, the first to volunteer to observe Enyo and make sure she was unable to escape. He had never required sleep as a Gargoyle Xenos and, even after bing a Titan, this nature of his hadnt changed. If it meant he could protect, not just the Xenos, but everyone that lived on the surface, Gros was the type that would stand vignt for thousands of years without leaving his post... Back on the surface, Ray had be the Vige Chief of Spero and was helping the seventy-one new Xenos adapt to life within Spero. As he had expected, the Xenos were very adaptive and, even after experiencing Enyos influence, they were able to bounce back quickly amongst their kin. They would be under observation for a few months, training with the more powerful humanoid Xenos within the vige, before some of their members joined Lyds Search and Rescue Expedition... Of the three former Leaders of the Xenos, Lyd had be responsible for leading the team that explored the depths of the Dungeon to scout for any emergent Xenos. His focus of operations was now on the 60th Floor, waiting for the Observation Team to investigate the areas around the Xenos Hidden Viges for their kin. Upon discovering any traces of their people, Gros would use the [Dungeon Controller] to send the group to the closest transfer point, allowing them to recover the emergent Xenos and escort them to safety. As a result, the poption of Spero was steadily increasing and they would likely be nearing five hundred residents by the years end. With the Observation Room and the [Dungeon Controller], they were finding an average of one Xenos every thirty hours... Overall, things were going very well, to the point that Vahn couldnt quite believe something hadnt gone wrong to disrupt his rtively peaceful life back at the Manor. Though he had certainly been busy within the Dungeon, things had calmed down quite a bit in regards to his personal life. He now had a lot of time to spend with his children and, after checking his Main Quest], Vahn noticed that killing Enyo had never been a requirement. Currently, he just needed to unify the other seven major regions of Eden, descend into the depths of Tartarus, and finish establishing the Divine Council. Thus far, he had (11/30] members picked out and it wouldnt be that difficult to get the other neen after dealing with external issues... One curious thing Vahn noticed was that his Optional Objectives had also progressed a great deal, especially in regards to acquiring followers, subordinates, and retainers. Originally, this number was a measly nine while, after all of these events had transpired, Vahn now had (2,937/10,000). The curious thing was that his Sire 100 Children had increased from (18/100) to (21/100) before he had noticed. Upon discovering this, Vahn had used his [Eyes of Truth] to investigate, finding that, other than Syr and Shakti, Lunoire had also be pregnant. This caused a bit of a stir, as she hadnt really been trying to get pregnant, but Vahn was just d it hadnt been Tina. He hadnt confirmed if she had taken the pill after their first night together and, being a Cat Person, it was almost guaranteed she would have been pregnant if she chose not to... Vahn didnt have any issues with Tina wanting to be a mother but, with how things had been developing within the Manor, it wasnt exactly an ideal time. He didnt want to cause any kind of strange tension with Mn and, with Tina herself also wanting to be much stronger, bing pregnant would have thrown a wrench into her n. Not everyone was like Lili, training twice as hard after giving birth just to catch up on the training time she had lost during her pregnancy. If possible, Vahn wanted everyone to start rxing and enjoying life a bit more, especially now that one of thergest threats was already dealt with... Even with that being the case, Vahn still found himself thinking about his future actions and contemting the best method to move forward. He still had several promises to keep and would have to deal with the Amazoness country, Telskyura in the near future. Before that, however, Vahn had a bone to pick with the Iron Hills, as their actions have been grating his nerves for quite a while. This would likely tie into his confrontation with the Rakia Kingdom and, based on how things develop, Vahn knew he would have to make personal efforts within the other regions of the Continent as well... The closest region, which Vahn had a bit of genuine interest in, was the Land of no Sun, located a little over a thousand kilometers to the north of Orario. He found himself curious about the status of Shiva, the Dark Elf he had saved in the past, and wondered how well her revenge had been going. Since others didnt have The Path serving as an incredible boon to their potential and resources, it could take several years for a personal campaign or revenge for most people. Shiva had been strong, but she was only around the strength of a Level 4, which couldnt be the strongest within a region. It had been nearly two years since she had set out on her journey and, with things as they were, Vahn wondered if he might be able to help her unify the Land of no Sun if he showed up to assist... Though he believed this could be a good idea, Vahn knew he needed to take care of other things before he decided to assist Shiva. For the time being, he had posted amission within the Headquarter of the Haven Defense Forces. It was prompted ept by a four-person squad, which was the standard in their organizational structure, consisting of two Pallum Scouts, a Chienthrope, and an Elf. Such squads were highly mobile and, with their racialposition, they had advantages in almost any type of terrain and situation. The Chienthrope in the group acted as the nose and ears while the Pallum had keen eyesight and could easily scout dangerous areas. As for the Elf in their squad, they served the purpose of monitoring the natural energy in the environment while also having the natural ability to see mana. Vahn entrusted them with the task of investigating the Land of no Sun and, if possible, learn of the location of Shiva and any of her allies. Since it was only an investigationmission, they didnt have to engage inbat unless they were targetted first. Given the culture and traditions of the Dark Elves, it wasnt difficult to imagine they would be attacked by some of the ns that made a living off looting merchant groups. So long as they used their squadposition to their advantage, most of these threats were easily avoidable, however, so Vahn told them to exercise caution above all else... It wasnt just this squad who ended up having a mission as, even with Enyos defeat, there hadnt been a single person who wanted to leave the Haven Defense Force. Instead, the organizational structure of the group was bing increasingly more stable with each passing day. Though Finn ended up stepping down from his position after the sessful defense, relinquishing it to Haruhime, the momentum and morale of the HDF members was through the roof. Not only was their strength increasing very quickly, but their sense of unity was stronger than most armies that had worked alongside each other for years. Since this would only stabilize the foundation of Haven even further, Vahn hadnt opposed converting them into a permanant fixture of the emergent City... In an effort to ensure things were running smoothly, the HDF became an organization that emted the Guild while having aspects of a standing army. There were ranks that could be obtained through merit or by increasing your individual strength to a certain point and applying for promotion. Much like the Guild, the HDF issued quests andmissions that only its members could take, acquiring contribution points much like the system used by the girls within the Hearth Manor. Your rank and contribution points determined your weekly sry while also giving you ess to arger pool of valuable items and equipment. It was even possible to obtain S-Rank equipment through the contribution system, turning the HDF into something of a meritocracy, even though you could be assigned to a squad and given missions at the behest of the organization itself. One thing that Vahn truly believed in was that, if people are making an effort to improve themselves, they should be rewarded for their efforts. He liked systems that promoted this ideology and, so long as people werent trying to gain benefits at the expense of theirpanions, he didnt mind a bit ofpetition between the HDF members. It helped that they were all his Subordinates and Retainers, meaning they had a natural ability to work with each other for the greater good of the organization. Even if someone wanted to use the HDF as a means to promote themselves for selfish gain, it would be very simple to identify them since their values within the system interface would likely be very low... To ensure that such individuals never rose to a rank of power, the HDF regtions specifically stated that Vahn had to approve of anyone that wanted to rise to amand position, making them a Captain within the organization. In order to gain this position, Vahn would conduct an interview with the applicant and, so long as their Loyalty or Allegiance was high enough, it was very likely they would get the position. If they didnt meet these requirements, Vahn would use the interview as an opportunity to set them on a better path, even if it meant ordering them to do so. Since his orders didnt actually affect the free will of his Subordinate or Retainer, they would either correct their actions and be a Captain after an evaluation period, or they would be retired from the organization. This would be necessary as, if they werent even following his orders as Supreme Commander when he tried to correct their errant path, they would be a seed of corruption within the HDF. Though it was a little unfair to opportunists, Vahns Unit Management made it impossible for anyone to truly rise up and use the organization for their own means. The moment they began taking selfish actions, their Loyalty and Allegiance would begin to drain away, raising a red g that made them easily removed after an investigation... This type of system was necessary as, without any doubt whatsoever, Vahn was sure there would be individuals who seek to join the HDF for personal gain. Even with him recruiting all the members himself, people could change a lot under the right circ.u.mstances. All it took was a single instance of someone feeling they had greater power and authority than they had earned to set them down the path of a corrupt tyrant. With powerful Magic Items and Equipment at their disposal, there was even a chance they would try and profit off selling the equipment to the ck market, depending on the circ.u.mstances. This wasnt necessarily because they were tempted by the money, but it wasnt impossible for things like ckmail, hostage taking, and other factors toe into y... Knowing that, regardless of the actions he took, fate and karma would allow evil to propagate under his influence, Vahn could only do his best to weed out the corruption from the start. He would try and ensure that any organization he established was free from people using it for their own benefits, especially things like the HDF, the Sage Aldrnari School, and the Haven Academy. Since these three organizations would produce some of the most powerful individuals in the world, Vahn wanted to make it exceedingly difficult for cruel and malicious people to rise up. Even though he knew it would inevitably happen, Vahn believed it was his duty and obligation to hold back the tide of fate, even for a short while... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Imperfect Sealing...? No worries, well just use that imperfection to power a second seal~!,The HDF seems like an ideal organization...until you get that loyal person who is also tyrannical xD...,It is very frustrating, knowing that every positive action you take just increases the power of future evils...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 888 - Limbo

Chapter 888 - Limbo

With Enyo dealt with, at least for the time being, Vahn found himself within the underground area of the Guest Residence. Though he had talked with Fels a few times, thetter hadnt given out almost any beneficial information and usually just spent the entire day sitting in silence. The skeletal man didnt require sustenance at all, nor did hein about being locked away, irrespective of the Hermes request that he be freed. Because of this, Vahn wasnt entirely sure how to deal with Fels but, considering the man had attempted to kill him, letting him simply walk about freely wasnt an option... This time, Vahn had juste over after having a pic with his younger daughters, Meinya, Sakuya, Anise, Leh, Aisha, and Autumn. They had all gathered together under Yggys canopy with Diana acting as their Maid, even though this resulted in her just ying along with the other children after a while. Fortunately, Emiru and Maemi had been in attendance as well, even though Vahn could have easily cleaned up on his own. He noticed that, as time passed, the number of duties he had for himself was steadily decreasing. Now, if he tried to take proactive action to n, prepare, or clean up, one of the Maids would end up shooing him away so that he could spend time with one of the girls or, as was often the case, his children... Having left the pic in a pleasant mood, Vahn took the elevator down to where Fels was contained, finding the aberrant Alchemist, once again, sitting silently on the edge of his bed. It was always a bit strange, seeing a skeleton adorned in ck ting just sitting on the edge of a bed, but Vahn had gotten used to it over thest two weeks. As for Fels, he just turned his head up to see who had entered the room, his ghostly voice echoing, "Vahn Mason...wee..." While speaking, Fels rose to his feet, standing with a crooked andzy posture before making his way over to the small table where they often talked with each other. In response to Fels greeting, Vahn just gave a curt nod before sitting at the table himself, saying, "Im actually not that fond of keeping people imprisoned, even though Ill do so if necessary...if you would only answer my questions, I dont mind freeing you from this ce..." In response to this, Felsughed in his characteristically eerie manner before shaking his head and saying, "Though I am able to speak, I am unable to answer most of the questions you have asked. If you do not wish to keep me held here, you are better off killing me, Vahn Mason..." As Fels had alluded to killing him more than once in their discussions, Vahn wasnt taken aback by his words in the least. Over thest few days, he had considered killing Fels more than once, as it seemed the immortal Alchemist genuinely desired his own death. However, Vahn was also very aware that Fels had likely made an Eternal Vow to Ouranos, meaning death wouldnt truly liberate him in most circ.u.mstances. If anything, he would have a reprieve of a few hundred years before once again being born into the world. Though this would give Vahn enough time to truly free Fels, after linking the records, there were simply too many questions he wanted answering... While falling silent for several long seconds, Vahn mulled over his discussions with Loki and, after firming his resolve, looking into Fels hollow eye sockets and said, "If you are willing to make a vow, swearing not to interfere with matters rting to the Alliance and its members for ten years, I will allow you to return to Ouranos. With Enyo having been dealt with, and Ein no longer a concern, you should be able to perform your duties without causing harm to others..." Other than a very slight fluctuation in Fels aura, it was entirely impossible to read the skeletal visage before him. Even so, Vahn was able to glean enough from that small ripple to confidently state, "You have information that I want, Fels, and Im certain that Ouranos will allow you to expose it in the future...however, I can promise you this, there wille a time when you will be freed from your curse..." Since there was no point in killing Fels just yet,bined with the fact it would be increasingly more troublesome to keep him imprisoned, Loki had convinced Vahn to at least try to get some benefits out of the situation. Ouranos wasnt a fool and, even if he just sat by and watched as Fels betrayed the Guild, the elderly god allowed it to happen because of his nature. If they returned Fels to him, it would give them some leeway in future discussions with Ouranos. Since they had already dealt with Enyo and were intending to probe deeper into the Dungeon, it was possible that, even without revealing information himself, Ouranos may allow Fels to speak freely. Fels understood Vahns intentions and, even if it was just a bit, there was a visible sag to his shoulders. Even so, he knew that thetter half of Vahns words held some truth and, having seen thetter kill something that should have been immortal, there was a small kindling of hope lit within his non-existent heart. Thus, without any argument, Fels nodded his head and swore a vow in ordance with the terms listed out by Vahn. With that out of the way, Vahn gave him a shroud to conceal his figure before returning the [Helm of Hades] to him. He and Asfi had already done the necessary research on the Magic Item and having Fels walk around in public as a skeleton would draw far too much attention... With one less problem to worry about, even though it had potentially created future problems, Vahn was in a rather light-hearted mood. He decided to spend the rest of the afternoon with Syr, as she was getting further along in her pregnancy, before spending another blissful night sleeping alongside his children. Though he was still using his avatar to manage things on the 50th and 60th Floors, there were no longer any attacks from Enyos pawns, especially after the source was dealt with. Without the pseudo-Spirit fetus parasites, there were no longer any mutated monsters to worry about, allowing the Alliance to prepare a second expedition while shoring up the defenses of Lil Geirr and Haven... Presently, Vahn biggest issue was dealing with the aftermath of Enyos actions, more specifically those rted to her victims. There wererge-scale investigations being conducted to identify each person while the High Spirits, Demigoddesses, and Xenos were all moved to secure locations. The Xenos had been turned over to Spero, where they were starting to get their lives back on track, while the eleven recovered Demigoddesses were being kept with the High Spirits in the sectioned of West Wing of the Manor. Though the High Spirits had recovered almost instantly, and would likely end up joining the Alliance Familia or residing in the Elven Kingdom, the Demigoddesses, and other victims, were struggling a great deal. One of the more extreme cases amongst Enyos victims had been a Demigoddess of Elven lineage, having been trapped inside of the Dungeon for more than four hundred years. Since the contraption they were connected to did nothing to rob them of their consciousness, they would spend long hours of each day in great suffering. As a result, many of the victims were broken beyond repair, with some outright trying to kill themselves or generally just refusing to eat. Over half of the victims had bepletely catatonic, though they had been improving slowly with Preasias assistance and Vahns daily visits to give them treatment. Vahn really didnt know the best way to deal with thisrge number of victims, outside of erasing their memories or giving them the mercy of death. He remembered his resolve upon saving them, fully intending to end their lives if they chose that path, but the reality of the situation had run contrary to his initial resolve. Seeing people suffering, but still alive, Vahn feltpelled to do what he could to help them recover and find happiness. He believed there was always hope, so long as there was life and, if they truly had surviving friends and family, Vahn thought it would be even more tragic if they gave up on life after having survived through that hell... Though he did erase the memories of the broken individuals, who even Preasia couldnt help, Vahn often tried to encourage the others to look towards the future and seek a better life for themselves. Now that they had been liberated from Enyo, he emphasized that the best way to get their revenge was to do everything they could to be happy. He promised that, so long as they didnt walk down a dark path that victimized others, the Alliance would do everything in their power to help them reim the life that had been unjustly robbed from them. In the end, after preliminary investigations were conducted, a total of 93 people had ended up choosing death, a solemn matter that Vahn ensured waspletely painless. Though it might have been unfair to the other victims, Vahn made it a rtively public affair within the group since he wanted them to feel a sense of unity while also seeing how painful and sad it was to send off apanion. This was a very draining experience for him but, by the end of things, Vahn could see a stronger desire to live in some of the more worrisome individuals in the group. As for those that had chosen death, it was because they had either lost most of theirpanions before bing captives, or they had simply lived too long and had no hope for a better life, even with assistance... As a result of incidents like this, Vahn found himself cherishing the time he had at home with his own family a lot more. There was so much pain and anguish in the world but, here at the Hearth Manor, almost every day was filled with warmth and happiness. He could choose to spend his time showing affection to his many wives and lovers, watching over his childrens training and education, or just ying around andzing about. There was so much happiness within his home that, as long as he didnt let the matters of the outside world get in, Vahn felt like he could spend an eternity just enjoying the time spent with his ratherrge family... This was emphasized by moments like now, with Vahn opening his eyes halfway to see the adorable face of his children piled around him. It was alreadyte in the morning but, with nothing concrete nned for the day, he could spend several additional hours justzing about if he wanted to. If not for the fact he tried to set a good example for thisrge herd of angelic creatures, Vahn very well might spend the entire morning just cooped up in this warm andfortable atmosphere. However, as he did try to be a good Papa, Vahn ended up extricating himself from the younglings before waking them up properly, helping the younger ones get dressed, making sure everyone washed their faces, and, though it took the longest amount of time, even brushed and styled their hair all before breakfast. Just making his way down the stairs was a bit of a chore, as Vahn had Meinya riding his shoulders while he held Sakuya and Anise in his arms. They were starting to get a little big to carry around, but Vahn didnt mind it at all, even as the girls Guardians caused him a bit of trouble. Tsukyuu, Sakuyas Three-Tailed Fox, was ying with Meinya while her nails dug into his scalp. As for Chamo, the Tyrant Mountain Bear belonging to Meinya, Vahn was levitating its rapidly growing body behind them as it wriggled around ufortably. The only one not causing problems was Argo, Anises Steel-Backed Wofl, who followed behind obediently as if Vahn was the pack Alpha... Vahn didnt mind the presence of any of the Guardians, so long as they didnt damage the Manor, so it wasnt umon for a veritable menagerie of unique and exotic creatures to be present within the dining room for meals. There were rather massive entities like Vanas True Fire Dragon, Vulcan, and Autumns Heaven-Bearing Ox while, inversely, there were tiny creatures like Eikos Gemcutter Squirrel and the triplets Mountain Corgis running around. Though the younger children were still nursing, it wasnt umon for everyone to gather for meals ever since the number of Maids had greatly increased. As a result, there were often more than thirty people present for meals while the seventeen Guardians lingered about. With entities like Shirohime also present, though she would often just cuddle up with Tsukyuu, every meal was incredibly lively... It was moments like this that Vahn wanted to protect at all cost so, even though he would rather just stay home all day, he knew there were a number of things he needed to tend to. Though he would be busy in the Dungeon for a few months longer, Vahn was very aware that his power wasnt truly at the point that he could oppose all threats. With Artemis and Enyo both being examples, Vahn knew it wasnt impossible for other monsters to have potentially fused with the Arcanum of a god. At the same time, it was very possible that there were entities that were infinitely close to Tier 4, just like Yggy was...he knew he needed to increase his power further while putting pressure on his enemies at the same time. After his confrontation with Enyo, Vahn understood the supreme significance of information, as even just a few minor details rting to your enemy provided an extreme advantage. It would take a few months, at the very least, but Chloe and Ryuu were training a secondary division of Scouts that would bepletely focused on gathering information in other countries. To make their tasks even easier, Vahn had managed to convince Fortuna and Minerva to allow these same individuals to apprentice within their Familia to learn skills like Trade, Bartering, Terrain Mapping, etc. By the time their training hadpleted, these select individuals would be Vahns personalwork of spies. With his Quest, Vahn was determined to unify the Continent and improve the standard of living for everyone within the seven different regions. He also had ns for both the Dark Continent and the Far East, all while having the intrinsic need to venture deeper into the Dungeon, Tartarus. Since external powers would limit his time to delve into the Deeper Floors, Vahn needed to deal with the Iron Hills, Rakia, and Telskyura in the near future. As for the other Kingdoms and regions, it would depend on the findings of his spies and the Scouting parties sent out by the Haven Defense Force... There was still much to do before his time in this record was through...Vahn just hoped that his Karma wasnt able to keep up with the rate of change he was introducing, as it would be even more troublesome if unexpected events happened. Even then, so long as it didnt affect his family, Vahn was confident he would be able to deal with it...regardless of how difficult things got... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fels, in a way, is rather tragic...,Never stop believing in the future,Maybe Vahn will realize that, as someone with authority, he needs to let his subordinates act if he wants to have real quality time with his family in the future (OwO)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 889 - Embrace

Chapter 889 - Embrace

While managing things, and generally enjoying his time back at the Manor, Vahn spent much of his focus on what was going on inside the Dungeon. Though the tensions in Haven were a bit strange between the HDF and those who had returned to continue the construction efforts, Vahn had the assistance of several Captains within the Alliance to manage the administrative and logistical duties on his behalf. In exchange for allowing them to build branches for their Familia within Haven, Vahn was able to borrow their expertise while his primary focus was on the 60th Floor and, very soon, beyond. Presently, Vahn was helping to clear away the artificial constructs within the 60th Floor while Ais, Tiona, and Tione, wanting to test their skills, fought off any monsters that spawned. Thus far, other than the standard Berserkers, there were the asional Berserker Chieftan and, even rarer, a miniature Berserker with blue fur that Tiona had named Cobalt Terror after being the first to encounter it. Though only around 130-150cm in height, these minotaur-like creatures were exceptionally fastpared to theirrger counterparts. Also, instead of wearing the heavier armor of their kin, the Cobalt Terrors would wear a cloak to conceal their figure while assaulting with a pair of pitch ck shortswords,prised almost entirely of Mithril. One of thergest boons thus far was the fact that, other than standard Drop Items like horns and hide, the Berserkers, more specifically their variants, had a high chance of dropping natural Mithril weapons and armor. Mithril was a rtively rare resource on the surface so, having monsters drop it at a somewhat reliable rate, was an extremely important discovery. The 60th Floor would likely be a ce that is heavily farmed by skilled Adventurers in the future, as obtaining even a single mace or armor drop could earn you upwards of a billion Valis with the current market. This was also a godsend for cksmiths as well, being that the prices would inevitably begin to lower while the avability of the rare resource would continue to increase... Currently, Vahn was tearing away a piece of the artificial construct and stowing it into his inventory as he casually remarked, "Five more are about to spawn while a Cobalt Terror is sneaking up from the corridor to the south..." Upon hearing this, Tione flexed her left arm while cing her hand against her bicep, shouting, "Yosh! Leave this batch to me!" Tiona, having already prepared for battle, made a pouting expression as she remarked, "Come on, Tione, you just fought thest group five minutes ago...!" As for Ais, she was using her [Gram] to break parts of the artificial dungeon so that Vahn could stow them away, only fighting if there was a monster party or an interesting enemy. Hearing Tionas words, Tione snorted before asking, "And how many enemies, exactly, have you killed so far...? Besides, I need the chance to improve myself against enemies like this..." Presently, Tiona was far stronger than she was so Tione wanted to fight against tough monsters in order to close the distance, even a little. Though they werent particrly strong, at leastpared to how strong she had be, the Berserkers were surprisingly skilled. They worked well together and, even though their strength was only around Level 4-5, their berserk state could even endanger a Level 6 when they were grouped up. Instead of arguing, Tiona just plopped down onto the Dungeons floor, finding a cushion beneath her before her rump had impacted the hard bedrock. This caused her pouting expression to turn into a smile as she kicked her feet out and said, "Thank you, Vahn~!" in a sing-song voice. Though he had continued to almost mechanically dispose of the artificial parts of the Dungeon, Vahn was still paying attention to everything happening around them. He gave a small nod towards Tiona before turning his eyes to Tione and saying, "You can do it, Tione..." in a calm tone of voice. Tione brandished therge ded ring she often used to fight, a confident smile on her face as she said, "Obviously~!" In the next moment, Tione arched her back while spinning around, creating arge momentum as she threw her artifact toward where the Dungeon wall had cracked. The ring immediately began heating up along its edges, cutting through two of the spawned Berserkers in an instant. This caused the other three to release loud howls, their bodies inting as their fur began shimmering with a vibrant red hue. From the side corridor, the hidden Cobalt Terrorunched itself towards Tiones back with enough momentum to cause the Dungeon to tremble when it kicked against the floor. Tiones body was shrouded in a yellow aura from her use of [Cantus Bex], allowing her to almostpletely ignore the two swift des cutting towards her. She had leaned forward at a low angle, palms against the ground, as she kicked into the chest of the Cobalt Terror beforeunching herself towards the other three enemies. Her strike had left a dent in the monsters chest but, after a bluish mist escaped the wound, it had alreadypletely healed. However, even in this small span of time, Tione had already closed the distance with one of the Berserkers. She had jumped directly towards its face, nting her feet against its cor bones, before yanking the two fierce horns protruding from the sides of its head. As a result, the monsters head and spine were pulled free from its body as Tione jumped away, extending her hand to catch her artifact that had just bisected another one of the Berserkers on its return vector. As she caught the circr de out of the air, Tione used the momentum of its return to twist her body around, intercepting a lunge from the Cobalt Terror in the process. This attack had enough momentum tounch her back but this had been intentional on Tiones part as she extended her hand and shouted, "Magic Arrow, Prating Stone~!" Though her skill with Magic was much higher than her sisters, Tiones foundation in the arts was still shallow, At most, she could only use [Sagitta Magicka] up to three arrows, with her go-to spell being a single enhanced shot that relied on her own physical strength for increased momentum. Appearing as though it was shot from her hand, a 20cm long bolt of stone,prised of Earth Elemental energy, impacted into the chest of the Cobalt Terror. Like most monsters, it had no real resistance to magical attacks and had been defenseless against the sudden attack that tore a gaping hole in its chest. She hadnt hit its magic core, but the damage was severe enough to make the monster drop to the ground before turning to dust a few momentster. In that time, Tione had sent out her artifact once again, cutting off the head of the surviving Berserker who hadnt even had enough time to finish its full transformation. After all, from the very start of the fight, only eleven seconds had passed... Even so, Tione released a heavy sigh before retrieving her artifact and rolling her shoulders, feeling slightly fatigued from the short fight. Though there werent many enemies that spawned on this Floor, their strength wasnt anything to scoff at. If they didnt go all-out from the start, it wasnt impossible for them to sustain heavy injuries in a very short period of time. This was because, on average, the instantaneous eleration of a berserker could easily reach between 800-900 meters per second. If you were caught unprepared, it wasnt impossible that you would end up as meat paste that was stered against the hard walls of the Dungeon. This wasnt a Floor most people could safely navigate and, without the standard strength of a Level 7, most people would be killed by a group of Berserkers in their first engagement. From the moment an Adventurer descended past the 59th Floor, the danger level increased exponentially. Vahn had probed down into the 61st Floor after failing to find the One-Eyed ck Dragons avatar anywhere on the 60th. It was here that he encountered something wholly unexpected...though the 61st Floor shared the crystalline structure of the 60th, the type of monsters that emerged there were far more dangerous than the Berserkers. Though they would only appear in groups of 1-3, every enemy on the 61st Floor that Vahn had encountered was a type of Slime... The 60th Floor was a test of physical strength, speed, and awareness, but the 61st Floor was a ce where these things were almost useless. Unless you had Magic Items or a means to counter the specific type of Slime you encountered, it was impossible for most Adventurers to proceed any further. This was because Slimes were almostpletely immune to physical attacks unless you had indestructible weapons and could destroy their invisible core in a single blow. The reason for this was simple, as the basic makeup of a Slimes body consisted of an acidic substance that could melt down almost any material in a very short period of time... Vahn spected that it was research into Slimes that had been the catalyst for the acidic blood possessed by the nt-like creatures in the past. However, even that paled inparison to the original and, unless you were fully prepared to deal with them, bing a victim to a Slime was a terrifying ordeal. Though they melted equipment almost instantly, the process of destroying organic material waspletely different for a slime. For metals, they broke them down as waste while the purpose of breaking down organics was for consumption. This process was much slower than the former, meaning a person would have to suffer having their bodies slowly dissolved if they were unfortunately captured by a Slime... The most troubling part was that, barring the ability to kill them instantly, the only reliable means to deal with Slimes was by using Magic. Even that wasnt entirely reliable, however, as some Slimes would bepletely immune to specific Magic. Since most Mages were limited to only three spell slots, their versatility was severelycking. At the same time, Magic using the pre-existing system was horribly inefficient, making it very difficult to continue fighting for long periods of time. Though the spawn rate of Slimes seemed very slow, making them rtively easy to deal with, this was only the case in normal circ.u.mstances... Like all monsters, Slimes also had Variant and Rare species, excluding the basic Elemental Slimes that would appear. During his limited exploration, Vahn had encountered what he named as a Mimic Slime and a Slime Colony, two terrifying enemies that would be the bane of any unprepared party. The Mimic Slime was a trap monster that would take on an appearance that matched the crystalline floor and ceiling of the Dungeon. If you tried to pass over this type of Slime, you would immediately be entrapped in its body while, passing under it, would result in a simr oue. As for the Slime Colony, they were much easier to locate but significantly more dangerous than even the Mimic Slime. This was because a Slime Colony consisted of dozens of Slimes that had fused together, making them several timesrger than normal. Not only did this make them more resistant to magic attacks but any physical attack against them would cause the Slime Colony to explode, separating the Slimes into their individual parts as they swarmed you... Because of the dangers of the 61st Floor, Vahn had prevented the girls from venturing any lower than the 60th, at least for the time being. Though he intended to venture deeper for his training, during which time they would likely apany him, Vahn didnt want them to be the victim of some unexpected horror. It was obvious that the type and nature of monsters would vary greatly as they descended further and, with how dangerous just these two Floors were, Vahn knew they would need to exercise caution before probing too deep. After all, even in the Divination, the Frontier Party led by Bell had only made it down to the 73rd Floor. Considering that a god-tier monster like Typhon had been present on the 60th Floor, it was highly likely that there would even be monsters that could rival the gods in the depths of the Dungeon. Without training in a higher-tiered system of Magic, or breaking through the limits of the Falna, it was almost impossible to conquer the Dungeon. Vahn, however, was confident that they would be able to do so by working together. In the future, it was even likely that people would venture into the Floors beyond the 60th with simr confidence, finding monsters like Beserkers and Slimes as small annoyances instead of dangerous enemies. This would heavily depend on the sess of the School, the Academy, and the propagation of Magic Items and Equipment as Haven continued to flourish... In a few decades, the average strength of Adventurers would likely reach Level 5-6, instead of being around Level 2-3. Instead of one man being crowned King, even though he was only Level 7, there would be numerous individuals that were able to breach that peak in their twenties. On the other end of the spectrum, it was possible that Mages and Schrs may have just as much power and influence as Leveled individuals. After all, the blessing of a god wasnt required to be strong, it just helped promote the potential of the recipient. Even without joining a Familia, it was possible that the world would one day have several powerful individuals that were beyond the system of Levels entirely... While thinking such thoughts, Vahn felt arge amalgamation of mana converging on their location, causing him to inly state, "Monster Party." This time, he turned his attention away from his work and pulled out his bow, feeling a little bored with the monotonous task. As he nocked an arrow and fired it towards the first enemy, Vahn knew the future didnt solely belong to Mages. He intended to make the Knight and Magic Knight ssification popr in the future as well, simr to those that existed in Evas record. From observing the school children, Vahn knew that people had different natures and personalities that dictated whether or not they were suited to specific types of magic. There may even be some, like himself, who had a natural disposition towards the bow. With a stoic expression on his face, Vahn was loosing groups of five arrows between 5-7 times a second. His attacks liked like rain that was tearing sideways through the air, urately piercing the magic core of any enemy unfortunate enough to fall under his gaze. It hadnt been his intention, but Vahns proficiency with the bow had always been leaps and bounds above his other weapons. Now, he was beginning to fully embrace this fact and, instead of trying to force his skill with the bow and spear to develop further, he epted that his talentsy in hand-to-handbat and the mastery of the bow. He simplycked the dedication and focus required to truly master other weapons while, ever since he had arrived in this world, his skill with the bow had always increased very naturally... Because it had helped him survive, Vahns appreciation and mastery of the bow had, in a way, be his means for securing his life. This held true when he first entered the Dungeon, stillcking the strength to fight head-on, and during emergencies like his first encounter with the Juggernaut. If not for the effort he had put into mastering the bow in the past, Vahn knew he wouldnt have even been able to leave the forest. Even his first major quest would have ended in failure, as there were no practical means for him to deal with the Goblin Chief and his horde. Now, with the benefits of both Artemis and Freyas blessings, Vahn was determined to push his mastery with this most faithful weapon of his to the extreme... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 16 Race: Progenitus, *sealed* Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-4] -Level: 6(+) -Power: 4001+(D564)->(C606) -Endurance: 5713+(C629)->(A889) -Dexterity: 5156+(C699)->(SSS1292) -Agility: 4492+(D545)->(SSS1108 -Magic: 11611+(SSS1208)->(SSS2411) Total: 30,973+(3645)->(6306) Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) [Karma]: 439,202,192->439,293,231 [OP]: 239,633,417->251,941,664 [Valis]: 7,998,400,002->9,494,405,480 Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:C], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth: B], [Archery Goddess Blessing:SSS], [Stealth:S->SS], [Chainbreaker:S], [Heart of the Eternal me:SS], [Prometheus:A], [Call of the Reaper:A], [Yggdrasils Champion:SSS], [Yggdrasils Favor:S], [Veil of the Traveler: S], [Featherfoot:S], [Hands of Nirvana:SSS], [Metallurgy:B], [Fist Strike:S], [Friend of Spirits:A], [Void Ward:A], [Temptation:I] Magic: [Thria*Mimos:S], [Shundo:SS], [Koku Shundo:B], [Cantus Bex:S], [Mellodia Bex:B], [Vis Maxima:B], [Sagitta Magica:S], [Pactio:S], [Magia Erebea:SS], [Dios Tukos:C] Development Skills: [Blessing of Freya:SS](new), [Wound Transfer:S], [Well of Spirit:A], [Swordsman:A], [Master Smith:H->G], [Mixing:C], [Mentor:A], [Lapidary:B], [Grooming:A], [Arch Mage:F], [Allure:D], [Leadership:D] [Blessing of Freya] Rank: SS Use:(Passive): Greatly increases the learning speed of allbat arts, including skills, magic, and abilities. Enhances the efficacy of all charm rted skills and improves the users appeal to the opposite s.e.x. Moderate boost to s.e.x.u.a.l stamina. [Yggdrasils Champion] Rank: (SSS) Use: Allows the user to draw upon the energy of [Yggdrasils Heir], giving them nigh-inexhaustible energy and endless vitality. So long as this skill persists, the user will possess eternal life and the ability to purify all negative energies. [Leadership] Rank: D Use: Allows the users voice to carry over great distances, making it easily discernable by allies. Increase the impact and believability of the users words, allowing them to motivate and inspire others. Provides a small increase to the mental resistance and natural recovery of allies. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hard Work, Boring Work,Slimes imba, please nerf...,*pew pewing intensifies*) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 890 - Tensions

Chapter 890 - Tensions

In the blink of an eye, it had been more than two months since Vahn captured Enyo and secured the 60th Floor. He was now sitting within the viewing stands of the gods with his son, Macht, sleeping in his arms. Today was the first day of the Alliance Faire, the event that that had nowe to rece the Monster Feria from the past. Instead of a focus on simply taming and demonstrating monsters to the public, the first event of the Faire was an exhibition match between the top-ranked teams from the Schools Adventurer Course. They were split into teams of five and, even without belonging to a Familia, the average strength of these students was actually around that of a Level 2. To ensure there were no injuries during such events, Vahn had coordinate with the Ganesha Familia to build a powerful spatial magic formation into the rebuilt Coliseum. It had been destroyed in his battle against Ottar in the past and, out of consideration for both the crowd and the contenders, a more suitable battlefield had been created. Now, contestants would enter the field through a special teleportation ward. Though it did teleport them, the actual location was a Space-Time orb while their main bodies were put into stasis. Within the Space-Time orb, there was no threat of death, allowing the contestants to fight to their absolute limit without fear of serious repercussions. This had led to an era of significantly more extreme sports, as the crowd got riled up even more when there was increasedpetition and violence. At the same time, the contestants themselves could cut loose and push themselves beyond their limits, increasing their willpower and honing their intent for further growth in the future. As for the spatial barrier itself, it was just a three-dimensional projection of the events taking ce within the Space-Time orb. It was exined that the arena had been isted to protect the crowd and, as for why people couldnt die within, the Alliance simply stated that it was a type of Magic created by Vahn, further increasing his prestige... Though he knew everyone battling against each other on the field, Vahns focus was on the rather petite and diminutive Roux, serving as the Mage on a team that also contained Rye and Fina. The two were acting as Vanguard and Forward Assault, with Fina wielding a thin rapier while Rye stood unhesitantly at the front with a shield and hammer. They had great teamwork and, as a result of Vahns slight bias, had been excelling within the Schools environment. Even so, Roux stood out amongst them as her magic wand revolved in front of her hand as she chanted, "Three Spirits of Wind, Make Shackles and Capture my Enemy! Magic Arrows, Capturing Wind~!" With thepletion of her magic, three bands of wind sn.a.k.e.d forward, restraining the enemy teams tank, allowing Rye to step in and break his targets stance. At the same time, Fina dashed in like a bullet, urately piercing through the metallic tes of the opponents armor and directly hitting a vital spot. As a result, the opposing tank burst into blue light and was gone from the battlefield, shifting the momentum towards Ryes team. He served as the Captain of their party, named Hammer of Justice, and had be rtively popr within the School because of his outgoing and kind nature. Though the opposing team fought hard, even managing to take out Fina with a well-ced arrow to the knee, the victory was clinched by Rouxs magic. Even though the sses had just begun recently, Roux was truly a prodigy when it came to magical studies, especially with the new system of Magic. She could only use basic spells thus far, but considering the fact that she was already outshining even the High Elves in her ss, all while being a Half-Elf that shouldnt be able to use Magic, Roux had every reason to be proud of her aplishments. Instead, she acted very humble and never let her power get to her head, constantly striving for greater heights... Vahn felt nearly as much pride watching the team of former orphans win as he would watching his own children seed in their pursuits. Since Roux was also setting a powerful example that anyone can use Magic, Vahn felt even more gratified by their victory. If not for the fact he was holding his sleeping son, wrapped in a soundproof barrier to allow him to sleep peacefully, Vahn would have risen to his feet to p with the rest of the crowd. Rye had lifted his hammer after their team had won, getting arge number of the crowd to rise and cheer as a result. The boy now stood at 143cm tall and, though he still had a very youthful appearance, he was beginning to look like a kind young man as the days passed... As if to emphasize Ryes growth, Vahn watched the rather eye-opening scene of a slightly blushing Fina walk over to the smiling boys side and give him a kiss on the cheek. This made his smile turn goofy as the crowd began cheering even louder, much to the chagrin of the fiercely blush Fina. It was possible the two had genuine affections for each other now but, based on what he was able to discern from the system, Vahn felt that it was more likely that she and Rye had made a bet. This was pretty much confirmed as, likely after saying a few teasing words, Fina ended up giving Rye a rather fierce punch before storming out of the arena. Now, the crowd began tough boisterously while Rye nursed a ratherrge bump on his head while shaking the opposing teams hands. From his right, opposite of Hephaestus, Ganesha had also beenughing rather loudly, shouting, "Ah, its good to be young, graaaaaaaaaaahahahahahaha~!" Hephaestus tilted away from Ganesha, slightly perturbed by the loud outburst as she gave him a wry look and remarked, "Ganesha, be considerate of the children..." This caused Ganesha to ce both hands over his mouth in an instant before he worriedly looked over at the sleeping Macht and the small crib containing Rose, Iris, and Daisy. Fortunately, Vahn had ced a barrier around them as well while Lili was watching over them from the side. Even so, Hephaestusment was enough to get Ganesha to sit down as hemented, "Ill have to learn to restrain myself better out of consideration for Shakti...!" As she was standing behind him, Shakti reached out and bonked Ganesha on the head in a manner reminiscent of Finas action towards Rye. She was constantly being pestered by the rambunctious god ever since returning to the surface with, as Loki liked to refer to it, a bun in the oven. It was only recently that she started showing any signs of her pregnancy, though she still continued serving in the capacity of a Captain. Rufina was helping her out with various matters but, even after giving birth, Shakti still nned to continue her duties for a few more years. When she retired, Rufina would be the Captain of the Ganesha Familia until someone from the next generation was ready to carry the mantle. Shakti hitting Ganesha caused a round ofughter among the gods gathered in the stands, totaling more than a hundred individuals. Though the Monster Feria had always been popr, the number of gods that attended were generally very few. This was because, even before descending into the Mortal World, the gods had seen countless battles between the surface races and the monsters. Watching something as simple as a taming demonstration wasnt particrly interesting to them so they rarely ever showed up personally. Now that there were things like sports, ys, concerts, and active battles between Adventurers, the number of gods who attended the events had greatly increased. This was especially so for the gods of the Alliance, now totaling 209 individuals and further cementing the Alliance as the greatest organization in the world... Within the arena, the field slowly distorted, changing from the battleground used by the students into a massive arena for Ser. Of the sports he had introduced, Ser became the most popr and, as they were intended to be a form ofpetition for students, the second event of the Alliance Faire would be a match between the student teams. It wouldnt be nearly as intense as the matches between the professional teams, but it was clear to see the amount of effort that these young children put into mastering the sport. This was enough to get the crowd riled up a great deal as seeing children perform such amazing feats, all whilecking the blessing of a god, was amazing in its own right. There were very few people who would look at the efforts of children and outright scorn them, especially in this kind of setting... From a little ways off of the balcony, Vana was wriggling around in the air as she shouted, "Papa, I want to y sports too~!" Even though she, Ina, and Erika, now looked old enough to be considered a.d.u.l.ts, Vana still had her carefree and vibrant personality. She originally came to watch the Ganesha Familia put on a rehearsed performance with tamed monsters but, seeing how excited the crowd was getting during the Ser game, Vana was getting riled up a great deal. In response to her outburst, Vahn justughed in a lighthearted manner before saying, "There will be a championship match yed on the third day; if you still want to be a Ser yer, youll have to train very seriously in order to keep up~." Vana was at a phase where she took an interest in pretty much anything and everything, so long as it seemed fun. Since being an athlete was much safer than some of the other things she had taken an interest in, Vahn didnt think it was a bad idea. He certainly had inhibitions about the uniforms that most athletes wore but, fortunately, there were already rules in ce that prevented anyone under the age of fourteen from ying professionally. In the youth bracket, the uniforms they wore were padded and covered a lot more skin than normal, making it slightly more eptable if any of his daughters wanted to get into Sports. Hearing her Papa give his consent, Vana happily pumped her fists before staring, starry-eyed, at the match being yed below. Though it was very fun ying with everyone back at the Manor, Vana really liked seeingrge crowds cheering for those ying below. The Coliseum was filled with more than 200,000 spectators and, from Vanas perspective, it was very possible that they would be cheering for her one day. Every time she saw the crowds cheer and follow her Papas words, Vana always felt very inspired and her desire to get the same reaction out of people had been increasing by the day... Unaware that his daughter was simply trying to emte him, to an extent, Vahn showed acent smile as he watched the match y out below. At the same time, he was down on the 60th Floor, finishing up a few final touches to the defenses that would bar idental ess to the area containing Enyo. After two months, the safe region of the 60th Floor had been converted into a highly secure area using the building materials that Enyos forces had used to construct the maze of tunnels that Vahn spent more than a month breaking down. Now, the section of the 60th Floor containing Enyo had beenpletely separated from the rest of the Dungeon proper. Without ess to the teleportation ward, or being a Xenos, it was impossible to enter into the area through normal means. Since he knew what some of these means could be, such as Hermes entering into the area with his movement ability, Vahn had set up several countermeasures. He had managed to subordinate several Mimic Slimes from the 61st Floor and had them surround the area outside of the Xenos patrols. Since it was almost impossible to sense their presence in normal circ.u.mstances, anyone without foreknowledge of their existence would fall victim to their surprise attack. Since it was a heavily cordoned off and protected area, anyone entering without permission would almost exclusively be doing so with intentions conflicting his own... Vahn wanted to make sure Enyo waspletely secured before he began trying to probe deeper in the Dungeon. Right now, they were experiencing a bit of a lull, even though the power of the Alliance was rapidly increasing. There was arge focus on infrastructure, both in Orario and in Haven, while Vahns focus had been split between family time, training, and his responsibilities as the Supreme Commander of the Alliance. Things were pretty easy to deal with, especially with Aki and Mn both acting as his Secretaries, so Vahn had plenty of time to focus on his efforts on the 60th Floor. Now, the only thing preventing him from making a concerted effort to probe into the depths of the Dungeon was the ongoing issues between the Alliance and other countries... The Elder Council of the Iron Hills had sent a representative to try and broker peace and establish trade rtions with the Alliance but Vahn had immediately rejected their offer. Instead, he sent their representative, Brogi Axl Steelforge, back with an ultimatum stating a list of issues they needed to address in order to avoid a military response by the Alliance. This hade as a great surprise to many people as, even though a war between the Alliance and the Iron Hills was expected, nobody had expected Vahn to be so frank about things. He had essentially told the Dwarves, You willply, or you will face my wrath. If such words were issued by others, it could be taken as a sign of extreme hubris...in Vahns case, however, there were far too many instances where people had sought their own end by refusing to show the Emperor of Orario his due respect... Included in his ultimatum to the Iron Hills, Vahn had given a very long list of criminals that they would have to offer up for judgment. This list included many cruel ve owners, two of which were members of the Elder Council themselves. As a result, he wasnt surprised when the Iron Hills made a public deration of war, not against the Alliance, but Orario itself. Their issuance stated that Orario had already fallen under the influence of Vahn and the Alliance ever since he had illegally deposed the Noble Houses that ruled the City. At the same time, their alliance with the Rakia Kingdom was made very apparent as they had started pressuring the northern and western fronts of the Western Forests, clearly pulling the Elven Kingdom into the mix. Vahns response, at the time, was simply to do a strafing of the two fronts with Fafnir before granting them an opportunity to reconsider their actions before further esction... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Era of Prosperity and Entertainment,They grow up so fast...,You know what they say, y stupid games, win stupid prizes...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 891 - React

Chapter 891 - React

Being one of the backers for the Alliance Faire, Vahn was expected to make an appearance on each day of the event. He had noticed that, as his prestige and authority rose, the number of things he was expected to do had increased. Though it was a little troublesome, there were now more than 600,000 moving parts making up theplex structure that was the Alliance. Responsibilities needed to be delegated to the appropriate people and, being the Supreme Commander and Head of the Alliance, Vahn knew his ce involved public representation. His presence alone could increase the tension in the entire Coliseum and, when he pped or gave outmendations, the reaction of the public and participants was, forck of a better word, extreme. The unfortunate downside to things was that it gave Vahn a predictable nature, as it was very easy to know where and when he would be located in specific ces. This made it possible to set traps in preparation of his arrival or, in the more troublesome cases, his enemies had the option of attacking his location or prioritizing targets away from his location. In this instance, as Vahn firmly seated the rambunctious Meinya in hisp, it seemed they had decided to take the bold approach. Though they were far outside of his detection range, Vahn had seen the small beyond the dense c.u.mulonimbus clouds overhead. His eyesight, though not as extreme as Naazaz [Eagle Eye], allowed him to spot small targets at an extreme range of over 10km with rity. Because of this, and the fact the skies were supposed to be cleared during events, Vahn had immediately taken notice of the more than two-hundred Drakes flying high above the Coliseum. Though it was difficult to make out what they were dropping, Vahn quickly deduced that the riders had decided to drop explosive ordinance over the Coliseum, indiscriminately... Given the height they were dropping the bombs, Vahn knew they were intending to release their payload and simply try to fly away before anyone knew what was happening. It would take several minutes for the bombs to impact the City, during which time they would have covered a great distance. At the same time, it was nearly impossible to counterattack because they were simply too far away for even skilled Adventurers to attack. Vahn found this disy to be extremely cowardly but, at the same time, he understood that the people riding the Drakes simply wanted to preserve their lives. It was simr to how he would have Fafnir attack from outside the range of enemies, the key difference being that he didnt just attack innocents and flee... Interrupting the battle taking ce in the Coliseum, Vahn rose to his feet and began exerting pressure through his domain, his voice silencing the entire crowd as he kept his focus on the sky and said, "The Iron Hills is attacking the City. The Coliseum is a safe area where you can seek shelter. All members of the Alliance, report to your respective Familia and do your duty..." Though his voice was calm, the void around Vahn trembled slightly as everyone listened in absolute silence. He had used his domain to amplify the sound of his voice so that it reached everyone without him having to scream out like Ganesha. There was a stir in the crowded Coliseum but the calm in Vahns voice,bined with the subtle pressure they were feeling, kept people from panicking. Those belonging to the Alliance moved in an orderly fashion while Vahn passed Meinya over to Maemi, saying, "Be a good girl and go with Maemi back to the Manor for me, okay...?" She was a troublemaker in most instances but, when her Papa got serious, Meinya knew when to be a good girl. Without arguing, she nodded her head and hugged Maemi close as thetter sprouted wings and immediately took towards the sky. Emiru took along Anise, who was almost inseparable from Meinya, while Vahn turned to Hephaestus, the only goddess toe with him on the third day, asking, "Do you want me to send you back with Fafnir? I need to deal with the bombs..." Hephaestus shook her head casually, a smile affixed to her face as she confidently said, "Ill wait here to help pacify the crowd if things be chaotic." Vahn returned a smile to Hephaestus before turning his eyes skyward and vanishing from the viewing tform. He had still called Fafnir to Hephaestus side, as there was always a chance she could be one of their targets, while sending telepathic messages to the girls back at the Manor to alert them. It could be that the Iron Hills was simply attacking the Coliseum to disrupt the Alliance Faire, likely to hurt their prestige among the public, but there was a good chance they had targetted other areas as well. If Vahnter found that they had dropped bombs on the Hearth Manor...well, they had already sealed their fates with this attack. That would just speed up their demise as the Hearth Manor and its residents were well-known to be something of a reverse-scale for Vahn. You could antagonize him directly without too many issues but, the moment you targetted the people he cared about, it was the same as throwing any chance for reconciliation out the window... Much faster than the bombs were falling, Vahn ascended into the sky with a monstrous momentum. The moment he detected the bombs within his domain, Vahn condensed a dense membrane of air that smashed into the bombs and caused them to explode far above their intended targets. Then, amidst a veritable cloud of explosions, Vahn burst through as the plumes of me coiled around his body. He was using Fire Elemental maniption to prevent the mes from dispersing, feeing them with excess oxygen through his domain. This caused the cloud of Drakes to disperse outward but they were nowhere near as fast as Vahn himself was. He sent waves of mes barreling towards therger clumps while pulling out his [Khryskatos] and urately sniping the Drake-riders without harming their mounts. Vahn wanted to avoid having the bodies of Drakes smashing down on buildings and pedestrians so he was primarily targetting their riders. They were strapped onto the Drakes and, because of their homing instinct, Vahn would be able to follow them back to wherever they had taken off from. This became even more important as, during the time he was picking off the riders, Vahn got a telepathic message from Syr, stating, ("Vahn, some explosive rained down against Terras barrier. Everyone is safe; Fafnir and Khaos have given chase.") Now, after a momentary pause, Vahn attacks had be even more fierce as he began loosing arrows with enough force to evaporate his targets, destroying both the rider and the Drake. Since it was possible that they were just trying to pull him away from the City, Vahn left the 60th Floor by teleporting to Spero, the destination point for the 60th Floors ward. He immediately noticed a thin membrane above the vige where small fragments of metal were bouncing against the barrier. They were dancing around against the magical membrane like grease on a hotte as the Xenos sought shelter within their abodes. The vige now extended several hundred meters below the surface so there were plenty of ces of them to retreat to during this kind of attack. Even so, Ray and the other bird-type Xenos were flying around to make sure nothing was amiss after the bombs had been dropped. They had noticed him very quickly but, after Vahn shook his head slightly, none of them came down to greet him. Momentster, as if he had been an illusion, Vahn was already outside the perimeter of the Xenos territory, arriving at the Hearth Manor in less than ten seconds. At the same time, he was giving chase to the few remaining Drakes after dawning a [Shadow Visor Mk. 2], the more advanced model that Asfi had recently developed. Its function was the same as the original but the materialsprising it were both lighter and more durable, being almost entirelyprised of Mithril. Vahns stock of the rare metal had reached an almost ridiculous amount of thest two months, to the point that Ina was using it as temte material in her prototypes... Vahn followed the retreating Drakes as they slowly began to converge together into a flock, even with their riders dead. He noticed that some maimed strays hade in from other areas and had to send Fafnir and Khaos away since they would massacre the flock in an instant if he left them to their own devices. Instead, the two flew high into the sky, far outside the perception of any detection magic or ocr device, as Vahn continued to give chase. He was a little surprised that they had flown for nearly an hour before descending towards the shadow between two of therge pir mountains making up the Alv Mountain Range to the East of Orario... The Iron Hills were located far to the North-West of Orario so it was a little unexpected for the Drakes to have fled to the East. Vahn realized the Iron Hills had probably made bases in the surrounding mountains for an inevitable war with Orario, as it would take years to build fortifications without the Guild taking notice of the site. From this, Vahn knew that the Iron Hills had likely been nning to seize control of Orario for much longer than he had been in the record. This wasnt too surprising though, considering that almost every country that surrounded Orario had been eyeing its resources for nearly a thousand years. Because of the [Shadow Visor Mk. 2], not even a single Sentry sounded the rm as Vahnnded in the staging area where several stout men, adorned in Damascus Steel armor, came out to wrangle the Drakes. Their average height was around 145-160cm tall, but their muscle density was more than triple that of a normal human being. Each looked like a part of the mountains they resided in, possessing sturdy and defined bodies, hardened facial expressions, and ornately braided beards. Some of these beards extended halfway down the torso of these men who, without exception, belonged to the Dwarven people of the Iron Hills... One of the Dwarves that was wrangling the Drakes, noticing every rider was dead, showed a grim expression as he shouted to the others, "Move yer asses and get some more hands out here to deal with these overgrown lizards!" He then pointed towards one of the younger looking Dwarves, shouting, "You! Go tell the Medics to get out here and do their damn jobs...!" The boy, who looked like a middle-aged man with a full beard, gave a quick salute by pounding against his metallic b.r.e.a.s.tte before running down a set of hard stone stairs. Vahn, choosing to investigate the interior without drawing attention to himself, followed soundlessly from behind. Even without the [Shadow Visor Mk. 2], his [Stealth] as SS-Rank while he could evenpletely conceal his presence from most detection formations and magic barriers. So long as there wasnt someone with an Innate that was suited for detection, Vahn could stand between two people who were conversing without drawing the attention of either. He had tested this by getting revenge against Tiona for all of her pranks using the [Helm of Darkness] in the past... As Vahn was thinking about the best course of action to take, he noticed arge number of presences located deeper within the hidden fortress. Using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn saw that the vast majority of these auras belonged to Pallum and Cat People ves, two races with great vision in the low light of ces like mines. The Dwarves were excavating the mountain for minerals to shore up their defenses and manufacture siege weapons that were hidden within the mountain. Based on how much progress they had made in their mining operation, Vahn estimated that this particr fortress had been in operation for around 6-8 years. It took a long time to reinforce the structure of the mountain as mines were dug and, the deeper you went, the harder the stones and minerals became as a result of exposure to Earth Elemental energy. Though he hadnt intended to really spare these Dwarves, who were illegally upying territory outside of their borders, seeing hundreds of malnourished and emaciated ves only served to cement their fate. As a result, Vahn moved into an unupied area of the fortress and began to locate and mentally mark each of the enemies within the range of his minimap. Though physical barriers could influence his domain a bit, Vahn could tune it to match theposition of his surroundings and slowly probe nearly 2km into the earth below. Over thest two months, his domains radius had reached 1,982 meters, nearly twice what it had been only a year ago... Once he had identified all of the enemies, Vahn took a deep breath before pulling out a nondescript ck dagger that he had named [Mercy]. Though it wasnt named through the [Keeper of the Akashic Tome], it was still an S-Rank weapon with a very unique effect. Using it, Vahn was able to inflict wounds that didnt leave an injury, targetting the Mana and Spirit Bodies of the target instead of their physical body. If he moved undetected, the enemy wouldnt even know how they died before their body was able to hit the ground. It was originally made to cut the mana circuits of his target but, after considering other uses for the weapon, Vahn named it [Mercy] for purposes like this... Starting from one of the rooms further down the adjoining corridor, Vahn walked forward with absolute silence before slicing [Mercy] across the neck of a sleeping Dwarf. With the flow of manapletely severed, the stout soldier drifted into darkness without even waking from his slumber. Vahn performed the same deed on the others present in the room before throwing their bodies into his Inventory. Vahn intended to give them a proper burialter as the ves they had tormented watched. Though he could let the ves deal with the corpses, Vahn wasnt fond of the idea of mutting the dead and, years from now, anyone he allowed to participate in such acts would likely regret it dearly... Because there were no signs of struggle at all, Vahn had killed nearly half the Dwarves upying the fortress, nearly two-hundred people, before anyone realized the abnormality. rms began to ring, resonating through the stone caverns with a very high pitched chime. These were simr tools to the bells used by the Freya Familia and were verymon when operating in mines and other underground structures. Vahn followed the flow of Dwarves as they were assembling, taking out the stragglers along the way as they began to congregate in arge chamber that served as an assembly and sleeping area for the ves. Vahn would never know why so many cruel-hearted individuals thought it was a viable option to take hostages in such circ.u.mstances. Though he would certainly do what he could to help them, it wasnt as if he would allow the Dwarves to kill him in exchange for some arbitrary promise. Other than earning his ire, such actions served absolutely no purpose, as there was no logic involved with the idea... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is slowly bing a true Emperor...,You done f.u.c.k.i.e.d up now~!,If you want these ves youve never met to live, youll kill yourself without fighting back~! We promise, like for-realsies, we wont go back on our word...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 892 - Control

Chapter 892 - Control

With absolutely silent steps, Vahn proceeded into the room where the Dwarves were gathering the ves, many of which were forcibly clumped together by the stressed soldiers. This was a good opportunity for him to take action so, without ying the game of negotiating with fools, Vahn focused his intent to the extreme. As a result, everyone within his domain, with the exception of himself, became statuesque in their former positions. Then, as it was also considered a ranged attack, Vahns eyes were able to easily trace the proper vector as he sent out [Enkidu] to skewer the surviving Dwarves. He had given mercy to those who had no idea they had died but these people, who were intending to take hostages to use as shields, were undeserving of that basic courtesy. By the time his [Enkidu] had illuminated the dark cavern, lit only by a few Glowstones, 211 of the 212 surviving Dwarves were now skewered through the heart. Though [Enkidu]s attack power was rather low, critical hits were able topletely ignore most forms of defense. With his [Call of the Reaper] and [Archery Goddess Blessing], his attack had been a guaranteed crit on their vitals, stringing together the Dwarves before Vahn tossed their corpses into his Inventory. Afterpleting this action, Vahn removed the [Shadow Visor Mk.2], revealing himself to the sole surviving Dwarf and the six-hundred-forty-two ves. To the Dwarven Commander, who Vahn heard called Geof, his appearance was like death itself, an inevitability he could never hope to escape. As for the ves, who had no idea who the stoic man before them was, they could onlyment their fortune as they too awaited death. Understanding this, Vahn gave out a gentle smile and said, "Please, stay calm. Other than that fellow there, I am not going to harm a single one of you. After this event has concluded, you will all be freed from these fools tyranny..." While speaking, Vahn waved his hand across the void, sending calming energy through his domain while using his [Grooming] tofort these unfortunate souls. As warm andforting energy washed over them, the more emotionally unstable ves began to weep in each others arms, freed from the suppression of Vahns domain. The Dwarven Commander received no such reprieve, however, as Vahn levitated the stone-faced man over to his side. From the moment he entered into close proximity with Vahn, Geof tried to spit out a wad of spit, which Vahn quickly sent back with a flick of his index finger. Then, before Geo could say anything, Vahn had already grasped the man by his dense and bristly beard, using it as leverage to m him into the hard stone walls of the mine. This caused loose stones to fall from the ceiling as the entire cavern trembled but, with the sturdiness of the mines supports, it wasnt in danger of copsing any time soon. Vahn was slightly surprised by how durable the mans beard was, as only a few hairs were plucked even though he weighed more than 200kg in full armor. Less surprising was how he immediately bounded to his feet, using a stray stone as a weapon to try and bash Vahns head. In response to this, Vahn tilted his chin up slightly as dense ck scales covered in green runes appeared on his body. The stone struck against Vahns temple but, instead of smashing from the forces involved, the only thing that was destroyed was Geofs hand. He had used his full Power in the blow, the entirety of which was redirected directly back into his hand. Releasing a guttural cry, Geof then tried to ram his steel-like forehead into Vahns diaphragm, this time to less effect than his barbaric stone attack. Vahns Agility, unmodified, was over 6000, making him several times faster than Geof could possibly move. With his enhanced perception, the man was essentially moving in slow motion as Vahn took a half step before mming his palm into Geofs chest. As if gravity no longer existed, Geof traced a perfectly straight line towards the caverns wall, moving so fast that his body had blurred with an afterimage. To prevent a cave-in, Vahn squeezed his palm closed in an instant, anchoring Geofs body in the air and giving the man a serious case of whish. Even this wasnt enough to kill him, however, as Geof was around the peak of Level 4 and had incredible Endurance... Once again, Vahn levitated the now limp Dwarf to his side, casually remarking, "I didnt think the prideful and arrogant Dwarves were the type to y possum. To think, you look down on other races and treat them as ves but, the moment you meet a powerful enemy, you y dead...?" As many Dwarves were indeed very prideful, Geof tried to grab one of the loose tes of his armor so that he could throw it at Vahn. Vahn allowed this attack, keeping apletely calm expression as the te impacted against him without any discernable effect before falling to the ground. Though his [Rakshasa Body] hadnt increased in rank, Vahns control over the ability had increased greatly in thest few months. Ever since the change to his Zhuque form, giving him an edge against Enyo, Vahn had pursued greater mastery of his Innates in preparation for the future. Pulling out a non-descript ck de, Vahn decided to set the stage for his future disy, remarking, "If you answer my questions honestly, I will make a vow to bury yourrades with the proper honors. I am aware of the customs of the Dwarves and, even though I loathe what you have done here, I am not above giving funeral rites to the deceased. I wonder which is more important to you, Geof...your personal pride, or the honor you owe your kin...?" Though many Dwarves were greedy and fought amongst themselves, it was distinctly different within the warriors of their tribe. Those that fought alongside each other truly considered themselves closer than brothers, as it wasnt umon for actual brothers to backstab each other over business deals... Geof gnashed his teeth, seething in rage but unable to find words for several seconds before saying in a voice so deep it seemed to resonate from the very earth below, "Yer a bastard, Vahn Mason, but I know you arent the type to desecrate the dead. Do with me what you will...Ill not betray my duty to the Iron Hills and give you any information...!" At the end of his words, Geof actually bit through his tongue before smiling like a madman with bloodstained teeth. Vahns brows raised slightly when he saw this, feeling a modic.u.m of respect for the man, even as he used [Wounds Transfer] to invalidate the action. It would have been possible to simply heal Geof with a spell but that would have repaired the damage to other parts of his body, instead of the specific area Vahn had targetted. Feeling his tongue against the roof of his mouth, Geof showed a face of incredulity as Vahn smiled apologetically and said, "When I go to the Iron Hills, I will tell them of the action you took here. However, before I allow you to die, there isnt a force in the world that could im your life..." Before Geof could respond, Vahn ced his palm against the mans sweaty brow, sending in waves of petting energy until the man was in an absentminded state. Since his confrontation with Enyo, Vahn felt even more ufortable about using means like this but, considering that the order to assault the Manor had likelye from this man, Vahn forgave himself... After a few minutes had passed, during which time the ves watched on in silence, Vahn extracted a great deal of information from Geof. He learned that they had a second fortress located further south, acting as a stopover for supply sh.i.p.s making the long journey from the Iron Hills. This fortress was located very close to the Serpents Pass, the sole point of entry to the Serpent Sea that acted as the primary port for shipping goods in and out of Orario. The Dwarves had been acting as pirates, periodically plundering merchant vessels that were not allied with the Iron Hills. It was a much older fortress as well, having existed for nearly fifty years without drawing any attention to itself. The most surprising revtion, however, was that the Dwarves had also created three fortresses within the Beol Mountains to the north of Orario. This was an area few ever ventured as, in the distant past, arge number of monsters that had escaped the Dungeon had made these mountains their home. It was so dangerous, with its steep inclines, loose gravel roads, and constant monster attacks, that the few merchants that dared venture through the only mountain pass called it the Trail of Blood, Evil Mountain, and The Dragons Maw. The fact the Dwarves had imed part of the mountain without anyone noticing was difficult to believe, as it meant they had long-since surrounded Orario with their hidden forces. They were actually the reason for many merchant convoys going missing, just as they had been plundering merchant vessels in the Serpents Pass... Learning that the Dwarves thought so little of the other races that they had been indiscriminately building in the territories of other countries was eye-opening. Just the fact this information had been kept a secret for so long was something very difficult to believe but, considering how willing Geof had been to kill himself, Vahn understood that those who knew of these fortresses were very loyal. If not for his ability to easily follow the Drakes to infiltrate their base, it was unlikely they would have ever been discovered before a full-scale invasion had been initiated. In that regard, there was indeed an invasion nned, though it was scheduled to take ce nearly three months from now. The n had been to conduct aerial raids from several different directions, causing coteral damage to Orario and splitting the focus of its forces away from the main invasion force. Previously, most of Orarios eyes had been focused to the West, not even considering that attacks woulde from the North, East, and, with the Rakia Kingdoms forces taking a route through the Southern Sands, the South as well. These air raids would have split their focus even more, leaving their backs unprepared as Rakia tried to cut a path into the weakened City... Upon hearing this n, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head at the foolishness of it all, as even this wouldnt have been near enough to destabilize Orario. As powerful as the Rakia Kingdoms forces were, there was absolutely nothing they could do in a direct engagement against the Adventurers of Orario. Though the City would have undoubtedly sustained damaged from the first few air raids, it would have only served to rile up the Adventurers even more by the time the battle came. With a few Elites leading the charge, Rakias forces would be devastated while their extended supply line was destroyed. Thus far, Rakia had tried to invade five times, each invasion ending in their retreat without Orario even needing to mount a dedicated defense. Even with explosives and siege weaponry provided by the Iron Hills, this wouldnt change the ultimate oue even a little, regardless of if Vahn had been in the record. This was because, among their forces, even Generals within the Rakia Kingdom were only at the peak of Tier 3. The number of Level 4s were limited to people leading small factions and criminal organizations within Rakias borders. Though things were a little better for the Dwarves, as there were some Level 5-6 individuals leading some of the more powerful families, they were unable to mount an invasion. Dwarves specialized in building fortifications, mining, and defensive warfare, not conductingrge scale invasions. Their actual numbers werent that great, with only around 300,000 people, with those dedicating themselves to the life of a soldier making up around 1/8th their poption. It was much more profitable to be a merchant, ve owner, cksmith, or other trade that focused on acquiring revenue and prestige. As a result, nearly 70% of the Iron Hills poption wasprised of ves, who would undoubtedly revolt very quickly if the soldiery was sent to invade foreign nations. This was why they needed to rely on a country like Rakia to act as the Vanguard while they focused on destabilizing Orario a direct confrontation... Once he had learned everything he needed to know, Vahn used [Mercy] to im Geofs life before stowing him away with the rest. Then, after dispelling this soundproof barrier that had been erected, Vahn turned to the patiently waiting ves. Even though they could have run away while he was dealing with Geof, not a single ve had tried to escape during the fifteen minutes of long silence. To some, the thought of escaping didnt even exist in their mind, having grown up under the iron thumb of the Dwarves. Since they were operating within a secret fortress, the only fate that awaited them was death due to overwork or mine copse...escape was entirely impossible with the ever vignt Dwarven loyalists watching over them. Understanding that they may not even know who he is, Vahn held out his hand in a cating manner, a gentle smile on his face as he said, "My name is Vahn Mason, Sage Aldrnari, Commander in Chief of the Alliance, and Captain of the Hestia Familia..." As he spoke, Vahn performed the same action he had used when dealing with the scared Elves in the past. He pulled out warm nkets, set out delicious food, and set out several kegs filled with purified water and honey mead. Though they had already been paying attention to him, the appearance of these goods had caused thousands of subtly glowing eyes to shift in an instant, primarily towards the steaming piles of food... Vahn noted that it was surprisingly eerie to see so many reflective eyes in the dark but he didnt let it show on his face as he said, "If you have any sick or injured, regardless of how minor the wound, please bring it to my attention. Know that there is plenty of food for everyone so dont think you will miss out on eating if you want treatment. Also, as difficult as it may be for you to believe, from this day onward, you will be free from a life of very. It will be a long journey, but I will give you plenty of supplies to journey to Orario to seek refuge with the Alliance..." As his words trailed, Vahn then bowed low, a sincere expression on his face as he said, "Thank you for surviving...I promise, from now on, nobody will ever treat you like ves. Every single one of you is an amazing person that has survived a difficult trial...my only regret is that I was unable to save you earlier..." Seeing this unbelievably powerful man, who could reap their lives without any effort at all, thanking them for their survival, most of the ves couldnt quite believe their eyes and ears. Apologizing was one thing, even though he owed them nothing, but he had even thanked them for their efforts while promising them a better life. With the ridiculously fragrant food and thefortable atmosphere, some of the ves were entirely incapable of standing. Even those with stronger mentalities couldnt help but embracing each other in tears as one brave former ve amongst them, a small Pallum boy that was only 73cm tall, hesitantly walked forward to grab some food. Seeing Vahn ruffle the boys hair, instead of striking him down, the reality of the situation slowly set in...just as Vahn had stated, against all hope, they had survived... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Having a weapon that can pierce anything,bined with an effect that ignores defense...SUPER OP,When you have forfeited all hope, then you have my permission to die,So long as life remains, so too does the promise of a better future) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 893 - Rise

Chapter 893 - Rise

At the same as Vahn had been liberating the ves within the Dwarves hidden fortress, his avatar was back at the Hearth Manor with the War Council. He had be very familiar with this group of goddesses over thest few months, as it constantly felt like they were meeting to discuss various matters. This time, the agenda was obviously rted to the necessary military response to resolve this matter. With Vahn updating them about the information obtained from Geof, Minerva and la had been bouncing ideas back and forth while Vahn tried to think about the logistics of everything. Ultimately, the decision to deploy troops fell on him, courtesy of being the Supreme Commander of the Alliance forces, so he had to seriously consider the best method to proceed. The simplest solution was to take action himself, bringing a decisive end to things, but that wasnt necessarily the best method for ensuring society, in general, was able to progress in the proper direction. If he resolved everyone situation on his own, it would undoubtedly increase his own prestige but, at the same time, it made his actions seem almost too fantastical. Though the general public credited him as being the strongest, very few people could actually give a cohesive answer if asked why he was the strongest. After all, even if someone said, "Well, he defeated Ottar.", that would only truly hold relevance to those who knew of Ottars strength... Vahn realized that his route had undoubtedly entered the path of an Emperor, even if the end result was drastically different than the Divination. The Alliance was growing too fast to simply be an Alliance for much longer, as there was a real need for a more cohesivemand structure to be in ce. Though the Divine Council would undoubtedly serve this purpose, it would fall on Vahn to act as an overseer, as sitting on the sidelines simply wasnt an option. This would actually give him less responsibility in the end, as his input would only be required to make overarching decisions that influenced the entire Alliance, simr to an actual Emperor who entrusted administrative tasks to his Ministers... No matter how he spun things, the moment Vahn set out to unify the entire Continent, he would be responsible for maintaining peace and order in all countries. Without a clearly defined role, such as that of an Emperor, there would always be contention in smaller countries and Kingdoms. He would need to form a Mortal Council as well, requiring Kings and Queens to attend to express his authority and pass down Imperial Decrees. The only other solution was to ce people he trusted in positions of power within those countries, but that was functionally the same thing. For better or worse, the only way to maintain control, in the long run, is if people, both mortal and god, respect the decisions he made based on the authority he possessed... In an effort to ensure corruption and the concept of Nobility wasnt able to be the seed of future discourse, Vahn intended to create an oversight council, though that may have to wait until he linked the records in the future. Essentially, he wanted to make it a requirement for anyone that wanted to hold a position of power, regardless of their presumed birthright, to graduate from both the School and the Academy. Then, only by earning proper merits, would they have the right to im any title of Nobility. The former systems, that promoted meritless individuals, purporting them as something special by virtue of nothing more than birth, was simply ridiculous to him. If a person didnt even have the basic capabilities to govern and manage a territory, they simply didnt deserve to inherit a position they didnt make any effort to obtain. As a result, Vahn intended to make the Academy one of the most powerful forces in the entire Continent, serving as a furnace of sorts that tempered individuals to pave the way toward a better future, both for themselves and others. This would make the Guild, the Academy, and Vahns own Empire as the three main powers in the world, reinforcing each other while establishing a basic system for checks and bnces. Vahn intended to allow the Guild to remain autonomous because, as much as he didnt believe in what Ouranos did, there was undoubtedly a need for an objective and neutral party for proper mediation. The Divine Council would represent the wisdom of the gods, setting forthws and regtions that would govern the mortal world for generations. However, the final decision would always fall to Vahn and, if they were in agreement, it was possible to implement the change. At the same time, the Divine Council could oppose decisions he made and, if Vahn insisted his decision was correct, it would then fall to Ouranos to make the final say. As a god who had lived for nearly a billion years, all while observing the natural flow of the world, his counsel was something that couldnt really be called into question. Though, considering there would be thirty primary gods within the Divine Council, it wasnt likely that Vahn would disagree with any decisions they made together... It was with this understanding, knowing he would have to rise up and im the title of Emperor in the future, Vahn held up his hand to bring the discussion to a stop. The fact that three goddesses immediately turned their attention to him, ceasing their cross-talk in an instant, was a credit to the authority he already possessed. This brought a small smile to Vahns face as he said, "Rakias forces are moving through the Southern Sands to stage their invasion. With the heat and unstable terrain, their pace will be heavily influenced by any changes in environmental factors. I will have Terra dy their advance without causing them too much damage...I want them to get closer to Orario..." Though he had the option of simply wiping out the entire army, Vahn knew it would be far more effective to make a show of things for the future. He would let Rakia Kingdoms forces make their way to Orario but, unlike the past, where they were allowed to retreat, this would be their final invasion. He would deal with Ares himself while the entire army would be routed by members of the Haven Defense Force alone. So long as he was in the area, Vahn would be able to use [Wounds Transfer] to protect their lives while a group that may very well consist of just Pallumspletely devastated the enemy forces. Finding the thought a little humorous, Vahn internally reprimanded himself before saying, "The more important thing is to intercept, or outright prevent, anymunication between Rakia and the Iron Hills. I will be dealing with the matter of the Iron Hills personally while the Alliance will move forces to secure each of the fortresses that have been secretly constructed by the Dwarves. In the future, those mines will serve as an area where tradesmen andborers within the Alliance will be able to venture in order to collect resources. Those in the Alv Mountains, included the hidden port near the Serpents Pass, will fall under the direct control of the Hephaestus and Fortuna Familias while the three located in the Beol Mountains will be shared ownership of the entire Alliance. We will set up a system to manage the flow of ore and resources while ensuring the infrastructure of the mines is notpromised. So long as a person has the proper rank and contribution points, they will only have to pay a tax on their harvest before carrying it away or having it processed on site..." Vahn knew that controlling the port would be a huge boon for the Alliance in general, especially since the Alv Mountains had several mineral-rich veins. Vahn had detected them through his [Metalurgy] Development Ability when he searched the area with his domain. So long as he mapped out the subsurface, the mining team would be able to obtain a bountiful harvest from the mountain. He couldnt supplement all the resources of the entire Alliance using the system shop, even though it was very convenient for others if he did so. As the number of moving parts within the Alliance increased, their requirements for goods would drastically increase as well. Vahn would never be able to keep up with the supply and demand of millions of people, not if he wanted to have any time with his family in the future... With his decision and reasoningid out before them, the goddesses began to talk about the various pros and cons of his choice. Vahn listened patiently, taking note of key details like establishing proper infrastructure to make moving supplies and resources easier. It would be beneficial to build small viges and settlements in close proximity to the fortresses, allowing those traveling to and from the location to rest. So long as there were riches and resources avable, there would always be people willing to move into inhospitable environments to settle. If the Alliance provided them with building materials and food, those seeking a more rustic and peaceful life would undoubtedly answer the call... Once he heard all their counterarguments and counsel, Vahn ruminated for a bit before saying, "It may be better to entrust the management of these areas to the very ves that were forced to construct them. This would give them a sense of empowerment while also serving as a powerful motivator to sessfully settle the area. At the same time, Ill force the Iron Hills topromise, providing the building materials necessary at no cost to the Alliance. Though they will enter a long period of restructuring once Im done with them, the Dwarves will undoubtedly be a powerful industrial machine in the future. However, their national istionism and racist social structure will be shattered like the very mountain they believe protects them..." There were motivators more powerful than rising above those that had pressed you down, especially if it was at the expense of the oppressors. Since it was unlikely most of the ves would adapt well to the rapid changes within Orario, Vahn believed it would be a better option for them to settle thend they were forced to toil over. It would ultimately be up to them but, having already discussed it with some of the older ves back in the Alv Mountain Fortress, Vahn knew many amongst them would jump at the opportunity. As a result, Vahn gave them the necessary supplies and rations while promising that the Alliance would bring forces to protect them from bandits and Dwarven patrols that may try to reim the mines. Then, for the first time, they were able to make a genuine decision for themselves, voting on a Vige Chief to represent their buddingmunity... While discussing the building ns with the aptly named Survivor Vige, Vahn was also pouring over maps back at the Manor while discussing the best method to prevent future attacks again Orario. With its size, it wasnt practical to provide [Palings] to protect the entire City, so the solution would be to protect important structures while building a moreprehensive defensework. It was fortunate that Orario had been divided into eight sections as, even though it would take several months of effort, it was possible to establish a ritual defensive ward that could protect the entire City. Though they would need to build eight ratherrge towers, it was an easily justifiable expense if it meant the entire City would be protected from aerial attacks in the future. The problem was that the estimated cost in Valis was approximated to be 89,000,000,000,000V while purchasing the materials through the system shop would cost close to 3,000,000,000OP. Since this was a sum that even the entire Alliance wouldnt be able to shoulder easily, it would dy the construction to the point it would take several years toplete. Even with this being the case, there was no resistance to the n and, with careful management of funds, it wasnt impossible to finish the city-wide magic ward without overtaxing the Alliances funds. This was ounting for economic growth and the avability of resources in the Frontier Floors of the Dungeon, but even Sis was able to calcte a very high chance of sess. Just selling spatial artifacts and introducing new products into the market would be able to keep them afloat without too many issues. Since it was meant to protect the entire City, it was even possible to work alongside the Civilian Legitive Branch to issue bonds or increase taxes. This method was an avenue Vahn didnt want to pursue, however, as he knew having the publics support would be important if he truly intended to be an Emperor in the future. If he pressured the CLB to increase taxes before he held that level of authority, there would be greater opposition to any future ns he wants to implement. By showing a willingness to protect the City, even without pressuring its citizenship, Vahn was essentially iming ownership of Orario while taking a public stance as its protector. In time, this would bemon knowledge to the general public and, by the time he made the move to be an Emperor, many would feel as if it was expected, instead of something they should oppose. When he increased taxes, the general consensus would be along the line of, well, he protected us at his own expense back then, it is only natural we pay him back... With thoughts like this on his mind, Vahnid out his ns for the future before his War Council, each a goddess he genuinely trusted. Even Eirene wasnt opposed to the idea as, from her point of view, Vahn was constantly making sacrifices for the benefit of everyone. Since he was even allowing the Guild and something like the Divine Council to exist in order to establish a system to prevent corruption, she wholly supported his vision of the future. As for goddesses like Loki, Freya, and Fortuna, they had somewhat scary smiles as their eyes reflected genuine intrigue. The rest also expressed their support while only goddesses like Hestia showed no concern about such things, simply stating she would always protect the Hearth Manor so that Vahn had a ce to rest when he was weary of the outside world and itsplex politics... Thus, without any opposition, Vahn cemented his resolve to begin unifying the Continent and, when the timing was appropriate, rise up to be a true Emperor. Though his conquest had actually started long ago, almost as far back as the first steps he had taken out of the Western Forest, Vahns next stepping stone towards the future was the Iron Hills. There were some loose ends, like helping Elily with her revenge and tracking down Tsubakis father, his treatment of the Iron Hills would be rtively straight forward. From the moment they targetted his family directly, Vahn had decided to return the favor in a drastic way. He and Terra would literally split their mother mountain in two, connecting the Iron Hills to the rest of the world, before forcing them to acquiesce by tearing apart the very foundation of their society, starting from its roots... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The mentality of an Emperor,Laying a Stable Foundation for the Future...,By tearing away the rotten foundation at the roots...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 894 - Shadow

Chapter 894 - Shadow

Deep within a cold and dark mine, with the only source of lighting from the Glowstones that were intermittently ced throughout the cavern, there were several groups of Beast People and Pallums clumped together. All around, there were sounds ofbat echoing off the hard stone walls, generally followed by blood-curdling screams. As they were very ustomed to hearing these voices shouting, it was possible for some of these ragged individuals to even identify just which of their former masters had just died. Even so, none of them moved, afraid of getting caught up in the chaotic conflict and bing fodder just to buy time... From a vantage point, high in the sky above the mine, Vahn held his [Khryskatos] in hand, shooting any fleeing Dwarves in the back while eliminating any messenger birds they tried to send out. This time, instead of dealing with all of the enemies himself, Vahn had left it up to Chloe, Shizune, and a team of twenty Shadow Corps members. Though their average strength was only Level 2, each of the members had been training hard under Chloe for thest two months. This wouldnt give them the necessary strength to deal with some of the more powerful Dwarven warriors but, with powerful equipment, the difference was more than made up as their primary focus was stealth, speed, and precision. Each member of the Shadow Corps either had an Earth, Darkness, or Shadow elemental affinity, which is where they got the name. Most of their members were Cat People but, in order to sneak into small ces even easier, there were a number of Pallums in the groups as well. For this particr mission, there were fourteen Cat People, five Pallum, and a single young Chienthrope that had a unique Pure Darkness affinity. He was a peculiar young boy, only fourteen years old, with pitch ck hair, pointed ears, a somewhat droopy ck tail, and dark orange eyes. Chloe had started training him in much the same way as Shizune, iming he had a natural inclination towards stealth and assassination... From one of the escape tunnels at the base of the mountain, Vahn saw a group of three Dwarves wearing grey cloaks trying to sneak out and hide amongst the rocky terrain. Since he was trying to prevent information from reaching the Iron Hills, Vahn couldnt let these men escape so easily. He deftly knocked a single arrow that appeared to be wholly made of wood, intricately carved in an ornate and beautiful spiral near the arrowhead. Recently, Yggy had asked if there was anything she could help with and, after understanding the use of her own materials, she had started to produce a small grove of natural weapons that had simr qualities. Since the wood she was capable of growing had greater durability than even Damascus Steel, with an incredible affinity for all natural elemental energies, Vahn had produced a few very useful arrows with a variety of different functions... When Vahn loosed this arrow, it traced a pale green blur through the air, though this was something only he could see since it was invisible as a result of his [Call of the Reaper]. It urately pierced through the back of the closest Dwarf before curving at a sharp angle and piercing the second. The Dwarf that had been leading the group turned to try and parry the arrow but it sn.a.k.e.d around his ax in an instant, piercing through his chest without any resistance at all. Then, instead of continuing forward and striking a surface, the arrow zig-zagged through the air once, doubling back, before returning to Vahns hand. This particr arrow was called a [Wind Chaser], as he could guide the arrow using Wind Elemental maniption, so long as it was inside of his domain. He didnt even need to use his bow to fire it but, considering the Abilities and benefits from doing so, Vahn still went through the proper motions. It was certainly very cool to be able to manipte arrows and daggers through his domain, but the power would be drastically reduced. Though it might be a useful ability in the future, it was more important to focus on efficiency at the moment, instead of ir. While waiting for other potential runaways, Vahn kept his focus on the battles taking ce within the mines. This particr fortress had been in operation for nearly a century, having kilometers ofplex tunnel systems. Fortunately, in order to prevent ves from sneaking away, a lot of areas were sectioned off and blocked by massive mechanical doors. When the Alliance imed the mine for themselves in the future, this ce would be a powerful stronghold that even had the potential of bing what the Dwarves referred to as an Undercity. There were no naturally urring earthquakes on the Continent of Eden so it was rtively safe to build into the ground, instead of just building above it... Within one of the rooms where some of the ves were hiding away, a Dwarf had just broken into the area after fleeing from thebined attack of two Shadow Corps members. He was Level 3 while the two young men were only Level 2. However, even though they werent using their [Shadow Visor Mk.1], likely to conserve mana, they werent losing out in battle. Dwarves typically had lower Agility than most other races, while the two young men were Cat People, possessing remarkable Agility and flexibility. With their A-Rank shortsword, they were steadily pushing the Dwarven warrior back until he had crashed into the room. Upon noticing the ves hiding away, the man attempted to reach out to use one of them as a shield, only to find a ck spear piercing his gut. Fafnir was something of a mascot to the Shadow Corps and, in conjunction with Chloe and Shizune, it had been teaching them the basics on how to use Shadow and Darkness Elemental magic. There werent any members who could use it just yet, but their affinity with the elements would allow them to be proficient in a year or two. Until then, Fafnir was helping out in the shadows to protect both the ves and some of the weaker members of the Corps. Since these two were paired together, it was obvious they werent quite at a level to conduct solo missions just yet. Of course, other than four individuals, the other sixteen members were also paired up, so it wasnt exactly a discredit to their capabilities. As for these four individuals, they were performing their duties in amendably, almost as if they were ghosts moving through the mines. Among them, there was the Chienthope youth, Kinan, two Cat People, Charle and Bianca, and a rather peculiar Pallum named Skully. She had light pink hair and strange grey eyes that glowed eerily in the dark. With them, Skully was able to see something simr to the aura of life, though it wasnt nearly to the extent as Vahns own ability to see and read auras. Still, while her own presence was very hard to detect, Skully could track people down by locking onto their aura and had be extremely proficient in a very short period of time. There was also the fact that, unlike many of the other Stealth Corps, who used daggers and shortsword, Skully preferred using a crossbow and throwing knives instead. Vahn watched as the auras of the four moved around, quickly dealing with their targets, while Skully would skulk about in the shadows and silently eliminate her foes. There had originally been more than a thousand soldier stationed in this fortress but, after just three hours, their numbers had been reduced to less than a hundred. The fact that none of the Shadow Corps had died, even though Vahn had a hand in that, showed that their skill had developed in an extreme manner over a very short period of time. Though Chloe, Fafnir, and Shizune had taken out most dangerous enemies on their own, before the hunt had begun, it was still promising how quickly they were growing... Remembering how quickly Chloe and Shizune had infiltrated the fortress and eliminated the most powerful warriors in just a few minutes, Vahn couldnt help but think about methods to prevent other capable assassins from infiltrating their own important structures. He had already done a lot to make sure the security of certain areas was almost invible but, if there were entities like Fafnir, Chloe, or even Shizune trying to break in, it wasnt impossible for them to do so. Fafnir and Chloe could easily move through the shadows while Shizune...well, she was bing one of the trump cards of the Alliance. Over the few years she had been training with her [Pactio], Shizune had absorbed the shadows of thousands of monsters. Since she couldbine the essence of simr monsters together, even the Goblins and Kobold that Shizune could send out would rival Level 2 Adventurers with ease. The scary part, however, was the fact that, unless you had Magic, or a means to counter the Shadow element in general, it was impossible to kill her summons. Since Shadows could easily move through magic barriers and formations without any resistance whatsoever, Shizune was bing a monstrous existence with one of the most expansive informationworks in the City. This was because, instead of just absorbing monsters shadows, Shizune was even capable of making shadow summons of animals like worms, beetles, flies, and even ants. These were pests that most people outright ignored, allowing Shizune to have eyes and ears all over the City without any major difficulty. However, these werent the shadow summons that made her a terrifying enemy to face, as the true terror of Shizunes [Pactio] manifested itself in the form of Humanoid Shadow Beasts and things like Dragons, Trolls, and a swarm of Poison Vermis. Using thetter, Shizune could send a swarm of nigh-unkible monsters that had the average strength of a Level 2-3 Adventurer, each capable of using poison that could rot flesh from the bone... It was fortunate that Shizune had be a rtively stable and rxed individualpared to the past, so long as he stopped by to spend time at the Fox Shrine on asion. She usually spent most of her time, when she wasnt in the Dungeon or the Sub-Space orb, just talking with Loki, Syr, and Chloe. Vahn knew they were using Shizuneswork to keep tabs on events transpiring in the City and, even though he felt it was an invasion of privacy, it was undoubtedly very useful. So long as they didnt start exploiting it for nefarious purposes, which was extremely unlikely, Vahn wasnt going to interfere with the steps they took to protect everyone behind the scenes... After another hour, Vahn watched as the Shadow Corps began sweeping the mines to gather up all the ves while Chloes voice entered his head, saying, ("Were just about finished up here, Vahn. Did we miss anyone~nya?") Since her trainees had reported the mines to be cleared, Chloe wanted to confirm with Vahn to make sure they werent already building a habit of making oversights. Vahn, understanding this, cracked a small smile as he responded, ("There were a few that used some secret escape passages, but I managed to deal with them easily. Your Shadow Corps performed very well this time around, Chloe, Im very impressed...") Since it would be necessary to entrust duties and responsibilities to people he could trust in the future, the entire purpose of this exercise was to give the Corpsbat experience while also testing the efficacy of Chloes training. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that she was a genuine prodigy when it came to the art of assassination and, now that there were numerous proteges training under her, Chloe really was making good on her promise in the past. She was, quite literally, bing his Shadow, especially with the Scouts and Shadow Corps. Now, he just needed to make good on his promise in the future by pulling her into the light and giving her a real family... This was the final fortress subjugation, as Vahn dealt with the other three on his own, and, much like the previous times, he once again extended the same offer to the former ves. Though some were inspired by the Shadow Corps and sought strength, the majority simply wanted to live free and happy lives. Being able to build a home near the fortress, which would be protected by the Alliance, was something they were more than willing tomit to. Even if Vahn had imed them as his own ves, most of them wouldnt have had any problem with the new arrangement, especially with good food and warm clothing. Now that they were free, it was possible to see the light of hope reignited in these unfortunate souls once again... In total, it had taken only six days to wipe out all five hidden fortresses operated by the Dwarves. Since they had only used messenger birds and physical missives formunication, it was very likely that the Iron Hills didnt even know their plot had been uncovered. This was made obvious by the fact that, even after the first aerial raid had failed, several others had beenunched from the different fortresses. Their original n was to disorient the forces of the Alliance by attacking from a variety of different trajectories over the course of a two month period. The fact their plot had been broken down in less than a week was something their Commanding Officer likely couldnt even conceive. Now that these fortresses were dealt with, the Dwarves actually had no practical means of attacking any longer. Their closest fortification outside of these five locations was the Valley of Iron located to the south of their Mother Mountain. This was more than 2500km away from the closest base, while being nearly 3500km from Orario itself. It was impossible for them to make a supply line that extended that far, especially with the Elves in a position to easily assault their nk. In other words, the Dwarves of the Iron Hills were stuck turtling in their own territory, forced to stay on the defensive as all their forward operations bases had beenpletely wiped out. Vahn could already imagine their stone-faced expressions darkening as theirplexion paled upon receiving news of these events. However, it was his next course of action that would truly cause them to regret as, for thest six days, Terra and Yggy had been massing a massive amount of natural energy into an unstable Sub-Space orb. The Dwarves seemed very fond of explosives,pletely disregarding the victims who would be affected by these malicious inventions, so Vahn wanted to teach them a hard lesson. He would show them an explosionrger than anything they can even imagine...all while feeding enough natural energy into the environment to make it into a prosperous and verdantndscape in the aftermath... (A/N: Guys, today is actually my birthday and I didnt even notice until my Dad called xD... Im shifting my rest day up to today so there will be the six chapters tomorrow while Sunday will have the standard amount.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: So...Ninjas...?,Chloe Lolo, Shadow of the Emperor,Shizune is scary...,Is that what you call just desserts?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 895 - History Teaches Us...

Chapter 895 - History Teaches Us...

In Ancient Times, like before the gods had descended upon the Mortal World, the first generation Dwarves were born into the world, crawling out of the 8,500m tall Mother Mountain. Unlike other races, who had prospered on the surface, the Dwarves hade into existence in a cold and unforgiving environment with few natural resources. Though they had ess to the sea, this was a time when aquatic monsters rampaged about freely, capsizing any ship that dared venture out into the murky waters. As a result, the Dwarves had been forced to dig into the earth, both out of necessity and an unrelenting resolve to tame their world. Though it had taken them hundreds of years, the Dwarves had cleared out the surface of their homnd,pletely wiping out all monsters in the surroundings. While other surface dwellers were desperately fighting against the waves of monsters that would emerge from the Dungeon, the Dwarves had already reimed the surface while also conquering whaty below. They had built massive underground cities and structures, showing a natural understanding of mechanical engineering, stonemasonry, and construction. This,bined with their powerful physical might, had allowed them to create hundreds of kilometers of underground tunnels while, at the very heart of the Iron Hills, there was a massive cavern that spanned more than 50km in diameter, coiling down into the earth nearly 20km. True to the nature of this massive cavern, and therge fortress-like City built into it, the Dwarves had named this sacrednd as Ironheart, serving as the exact center of their budding culture. The founding family of the City even took the name upon themselves, bing the first High Dwarven Noble Family, the Ironhearts. Later, simr cities would be built into the subsurface afterrge mines were stripped away and converted into simrly sized caverns. Now, fast forwarding to the present, there were eight such cities, each presided over by a powerful Dwarven Noble family of their own. After the Ironheart family, who had be the most influential family amongst the Dwarves, these were the Alderfist, Hammerforge, Stoneborne, Firebeard, Goldbrew, Deepsbane, and, nearly rising up to the same position as the Ironhearts, the Stormwright n. During the time when other races were fighting tooth and nail to survive, the Dwarves had already mastered theirnds, expanding outwards into their very own Mother Mountain. Out of respect for the site, it was decreed that the mountain was an invible ce where mining and resource harvesting was strictly regted. This was the ancestralnds where most Dwarves wereid to rest, the interior filled with several expansive mausoleums and masterful works of art representing aplished and heroic men and women from the past. Once you got beyond the mountain, however, things changed rather quickly... On the southern face, the Dwarves once again encountered powerful monsters after a very long period of civil infighting and industrial expansion. They received a harsh reminder that the world outside of the Iron Hills could be cruel and unforgiving, as their probes into thesends had nearly spelled their doom. Using the very same system of tunnels they had developed over centuries, hordes of monsters tried to make the Mother Mountain their home after breaking through the unprepared defensive line. It took decades to once again reim the mountain but, once they had, the Dwarves converted the southern face into thergest and most powerful fortress against the monster tides, ckstone. The Dwarves had pioneered forging technique rted to Damascus, making powerful Damascus Steel ramparts that lined the bottom face of the mountain, stretching nearly a thousand kilometers with only massive towers breaking the flow. The construction of ckstone had been a monstrous effort that cost thousands of Dwarves their lives over the course of 187 years. Even so, they never ceased in their efforts until their homnd was truly secure from the monster hordes. Then, as if it were a matter of pride, the Dwarves didnt rest on their aplishment and instead began reiming the forest and surroundingnd from the monsters control. The valley on the northern side of the Mother Mountain was inhospitable with arge circr air current that brought in heavy volumes of salt from the sea. To the south, however, there were verdant forests and ins, fertilend which the Dwarves had desperately sought out. Unfortunately, thesends had been the Ancestral Forests of the High Elves, who acted decisively to prevent the Dwarves from clearing out their forests to create farnd. From this encounter, the Dwarves learned of the wider world, including the various races that inhabited it. Then, instead of trying topromise and seek peace, the Dwarves became jaded at the idea that these longears had so many resources avable to them. Unlike the stout and hardy Dwarves, the Elves were frail and weak, spoiled by the avability of food and fresh water, unlike the tenacious Dwarves who had struggled for centuries to master their home environment. Unable tomunicate with each other, the Dwarves began attacking the Elves in earnest, fully believing they had a greater right to thend than the Elves who had upied it for millennia. In order to drive back the Elves, they set fire to the forests and, using their technological prowess and mechanical might, the Dwarves quickly cleared away arge section of the forest after a few decisive skirmishes. It was under such circ.u.mstances, drunk on the taste of victory, even as their lungs filled with the smoldering ashes of the burnt forests, that the Dwarves were introduced to Magic. Though there were only a few a High Elven lineage that could use the Magic of the Spirits, those that possessed such capabilities held awesome power. Initially, the Elves hadnt shied away from trying to seek dialogue with the Dwarves but every attempt to do so was met with bolts and des. After that, their primary concern had simply been protected the forest, as the Dwarves were using machines that spoiled thend while indiscriminately cutting down trees that had stood the test of time for centuries. Now that the Dwarves had thrown all decency aside, burning the very forest and resources they sought to im, the High Elves were forced to take action, even though they had been a very peaceful people that provided aid to the other races. Shortly after the Dwarves had once again started to clear sections of the forest, three High Elves had rallied together, including the then Queen of the Elves, a heavenly beauty named Arie. The three used powerful nature magic topletely devastate the Dwarven machinery and, to ensure they would not arbitrarily decide to attack again, Arie made the rare exception to attack the fortress of ckstone directly. The proud and majestic physical barriers that the Dwarves had spent nearly two hundred years constructing were powerless against the mighty magic spells which, with the help of the Spirits, was far stronger than most modern magic. Being that they were not a violent race, at least at the time, the High Elves pulled back after doing a substantial amount of damage. Then, as the Dwarves began repairing the mighty fortress, the Elves had erected tall wooden towers along the northern border of their forest, both to serve as a reminder to the Dwarves while also acting as a lookout. The Dwarves, however, were undaunted by the presence of the Elves and, just as they had conquered their homnd in the ancient past, they were determined to im the resources that ought to be theirs. However, they werent fools who would attack without nning a proper strategy and, just as they had dedicated nearly two hundred years just to build a fortress, the Dwarves began researching countermeasures to magic. As the decades passed, tensions between the Dwarves and the Elves steadily increased until, rather unexpectedly, Arie hade with several envoys to broker peace and trade with the Dwarven people. This didnt end well, however, as the pride and arrogance of the Dwarves had been cultivated over centuries of internal strife and istion from other races. Using their newly researchedposite alloy, Magisteel, the Dwarves attacked the peaceful envoys, managing to kill Arie and the majority of her escorts. The few survivors were then captured by the Dwarves, both as a means to study magic and as a punishment for the Elves audacity to oppose them. Using their ill-gotten victory as a catalyst, the Dwarves began arge invasion into the Elven forests, killing and capturing as many Elves as possible. They didnt believe that the Elves had many people capable of using the powerful magic used by Arie and her twopanions. At the same time, with their powerful equipment to protect them, the Dwarves rapidly cleared out arge section of the forest which wouldter be one of theyered defensive lines of the Iron Hills. With their invasion sessful, and no major response from the Elves, the Dwarves thought themselves victorious and began reiming thend on the inside of their perimeter, turning it into thousands of acres of farnd. What the Dwarves did no take into consideration was the longevity and patience of the Elves who, after the death of their Queen, entered a long period of observation as they groomed Aries sessor. Now that things had reached this point, the Elves believed the Dwarves to be an errant and warmongering species who, unlike the other races struggling to reim the surface, turned their weapons against what should be their allies. The fact the Dwarves had attacked a peaceful delegation had wounded the hearts of the High Elves who, at the time, served as the guardians and protectors of the forests while providing aid to almost every other race. Even the Goliaths, who scorned the Elves for their magic, had never slighted them in such a grievous and dishonorable manner... By the time the new Elven Queen had been elected, the Dwarves had spent nearly twenty years cultivating thend they had stolen from the Elves. Now, after discovering other races seeking asylum in the forests, the Dwarves had started capturing groups of refugees en masse. Instead of toiling hard in the mines, they had realized it was much easier to make the lesser species of the surface work in their stead. This was the catalyst for the propagation of very within the Iron Hills and the start of the wastrel like lifestyle of the Dwarves. With actual farnd providing for their rather small poption, many Dwarves had be rathercent over a short period of time. Now that they didnt have to toil away in the mines, many Dwarves had a lot of free time on their hands to master the art of forging and craftsmanship, all while other recreational hobbies began emerging. The Goldbrew n had already be a powerful family after learning how to ferment wheat and hops to produce various types of ales. Now that there was so much agriculturalnd to work with, the production of alcohol had greatly increased while the variety of alcoholic beverages practically exploded, especially with the various fruit orchards and herbal gardens that now existed. Instead of being a grain supplement that could be enjoyed rarely, drinking became one of the favorite pastimes of the Dwarves in a very short period of time... Overall, things were going exceptionally well for the Dwarves and, confident they could im even morend, a second invasion into the Elven forests was nned. Before this n could be implemented, however, the new Elven Queen had made her appearance, this time with a total of ten powerful High Elves at her side. With hundreds of other Elves as support, the new Elven Queen, Valrhona,pletely devastated the defensive line of the Dwarves. They used powerful magic to reim the ill-gottennd before staging a counteroffensive against ckstone. After a battle thatsted more than two months, during which time thend stolen by the Dwarves had beenpletely reimed, the Elves finally retreated back into their forests. Though they were incensed, the Dwarves now realized that their efforts needed to be more meticulous and, regardless of how powerful they were, there were some forces that simply couldnt be resisted through normal means. This time, they didnt have the luxury of the Elven Queening to them to seek peace and, after a long period of rebuilding their damaged fortress, it was the Elder Council,prised of the various patriarchs of the High Dwarven Noble Houses who stepped forward. They sent envoys who had studied the Elvennguage from the ves that had been captured in the past, entering into a long period of negotiations with the Elves. Using the bartering and trade techniques they had honed against each other over centuries, the Dwarves eventually managed to reim their once-seizednd by creating various pieces of equipment for the Elves to use. At the same time, arge-scale breeding effort had been underway, both for the Dwarves and their ever-increasing poption of ves. After their failures to break into the outside world, which they knew very little of, the Dwarven policy became more of an istionist doctrine that focused on defense. The fortifications of their territory gradually increased over the centuries as their poption slowly reached a bottleneck. In order to deal with this issue, the Elder Council began sending groups of Dwarves out into the world atrge, both as explorers and merchants. Slowly but surely, the Dwarves grew beyond their homnd of the Iron Hills, primarily through their exchanges with other races. It was extremely profitable to sell equipment and defensive weaponry in the world that was still fighting against the monster hordes on a daily basis. They were also able to use their technological prowess and natural talent for construction to earn the respect and admiration of various races. The Dwarves helped to design and construct powerful fortress cities that became the bastions of the surface world, all while increasing the wealth of their own country. As a result, the arrogance of the Dwarves actually continued to rise and, over the course of several millennia, they had slowly be the wealthiest people in thend... With this explosion of wealth, thecency and wastrel-like behavior of the Dwarves only grew in intensity, to the point that any respect they had earned from other races had morphed into scorn. Dwarven merchants became known for their greed and, with their physical prowess, forck of a better term, dwarfing almost every other race, their pride went unchecked by all but the Goliath people and the High Elves. Now, in modern times, the Dwarves had be a people known for their propensity to exploit everyone, including each other. Infighting between brothers and sisters was extremelymon, especially when it came to business transactions, while many Dwarves spent their days simply forging, crafting, and putting on airs. Because of their mastery in these pursuits, the technology of the Dwarves had reached an extreme, making their lives easy while the ves that made up the very foundation of their society toiled tirelessly to their deaths... The once proud Dwarves that fought tooth and nail to survive in their inhospitable homnd were now nowhere to be seen. They had been reced by a group of people who profiteered off the misery of others, sold weapons without any care for how they would be used, and sought every possible advantage they could get out of a situation. Their arrogance and overconfidence had grown to an extreme and, before the Alliance had disrupted their businesses, they had ruled over the markets of almost every country. Now that the Alliance had dominated the market of Orario, the most prosperous City on the continent, in their ce, the Dwarves were extremely dissatisfied. However, to most, this was just a mild inconvenience and, fully confident there would be no major repercussions, the Elder Council didnt mind antagonizing the Alliance. Though they did fear the power of Fafnir, to an extent, there were several weapons they had kept concealed for a long period of time. Even with war being dered, they simply had to stay on the defensive and, when Vahn and his dragons appeared near their fortress, they would shoot the tyrannical creatures out of the sky. It was believed that, without his Dragons, Vahn wasnt considered to be terribly dangerous and, even if they were unable to trade within Orario for a few years, it wasnt too difficult to turn a profit in other countries. Eventually, just as it had always been, they would one day be able to develop countermeasures that allowed them to deal with the Alliance, even if it took hundreds of years. This was the general belief of even themon Dwarven citizenry, even when the Alliance sent a message iming their Mother Mountain would be shattered within three days. They believed this to be simple nonsense and considered it an example of Vahns hubris, all the way up until the morning of the third day when, long before the sun had risen, a green sun had emerged against the backdrop of the Mother Mountain. When it had vanished, to the horror of every Dwarf that drew in the cold morning air of the Iron Hills, the upper half of their Ancestral Mountain had now vanished in its entirety...then, as they stared on with horror, several hundred million tons of stones and debris began raining down on the surroundings like a meteor shower... (A/N: Alternate Titles: An inhospitable people from an inhospitable terrain...,Those That Fail to Learn from History are Doomed to Repeat it...,Some lessons are learned harder than others...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 896 - A Grim Reminder

Chapter 896 - A Grim Reminder

Though his original n had been to st open the Dwarves Mother Mountain and create a pathway to the interior valley, Vahn had changed his mind after due consideration. Because thergest poption of the Iron Hills consisted of ves, meaning their were far more innocents that would be hurt by such an attack, Vahn decided to be less direct. Though there would still be arge number of casualties, the number of people that would be liberated after he forced the Elder Council to acquiesce would be far greater than if he chose a more direct method. Since this was an action that needed to have a visible oue, so that it wouldnt fade within the memory of future generations, Vahn chose to blow off the top of the mountain instead of breaking it apart. There were several reasons why he had chosen this course of action, other than a general concern for the lives of several hundred thousand ves within the Iron Hills. Because the bomb was whollyprised of natural energies, there would be no real fallout from the st, as normal explosives would often have various chemicals that made the affected area inhospitable. After his bomb exploded, the area would be saturated with natural energy, turning the valley that woulde into existence after the bomb was detonated into a natural paradise, filled with greenery and rare materials. Vahn wasnt fond of the idea of causing destruction for the sole purpose of harming a target, as the act of destroying the environment to make future life difficult didnt sit well with him... The more important purpose of this bomb, however, was to serve as an important lesson, not just for the Dwarves, but for the future generations of all peoples. Vahn was intending to enact strict regtions on the development of technology designed to be used for war in the future, as even the existence of Magic Items like the [Shadow Visor Mk. 1] were already game-changers. If possible, he wanted most issues to be settled in designated arenas and battlefields in the future, where the stakes would be high while the destruction and loss of life would be closely regted. This was a means to promote individual growth and encourage people to pursue greater heights instead of allowing the trend of relying on technology to wage warfare to be poprized. After uniting the seven regions of Eden, Vahn was expecting war in general to be obsolete, at least in the grand scheme of things. Those it would be impossible to prevent civil strife and small conflicts from breaking out,rge-scale wars would be pointless as a single proficient Mage would likely be able to take out tens of thousands with ease. Future battles, where hundreds of thousands would engage each other in fights to the death, would serve no purpose other than wasting lives. Though overpoption, and other factors, would have to be considered, Vahn was confident that these types of issues could be addressed after he had linked the records. After all, it would be possible for him to create entire records, each containing entire multiverses. Limited resources werent an issue in the grand scheme of things though, as people tried to ascend the path to godhood, there would certainly be a fair number of conflicts over the especially precious ones... It was with thoughts like this on his mind that Vahn stood high above the Mother Mountain with an 80cm diameter green sphere. He knew that, even if he detonated the Sub-Space orb at the very peak of the mountain, the resultant shockwave would probably copse several mines and tunnels. The eight Undercities themselves would probably be fine, but the number of casualties amongst the ves would still be veryrge. Vahn also suspectedndslides and rock showers to ur but, in order to bring an end to future conflicts, he knew a decisive action was required. Thus, after nearly an hour of inspecting the region, Vahn ced the Sub-Space orb into a cavern near the very center of the mountain before fracturing its surface... At the same instant as the orb was fractured, a veritable ocean of Nature Energy poured out from its interior. The inside had beenpressed to a 5km space that was highly saturated with Nature energy, to the point that even a High Elf probably would have died from exposure. Even the air inside had a slight emerald hue so, when the orb detonated, it created the image of a green sun that instantly consumed the upper half of the mountain. Though he had expected this result, Vahn was still surprised by the sheer power contained within the Sub-Space orb as his own body was immediately reduced to mana partictes that were pushed away with the explosion. When his body had reformed, the mountain now looked more like a volcano, with a spherical mouth, while the surroundings were utterly devastated by the explosion. The curious thing, though Vahn had entirely expected it to happen, was that the once snowy mountain was nowpletely covered in grass and small nts as a green haze formed a dome around the former peak. Natural energy wasnt the type to disperse very quickly and, unless something siphoned it away, even the high altitude wouldnt be enough to prevent the propagation of vibrant nt life in the area... After overlooking the devastation for a bit, Vahn felt somewhat mncholic but buried the feeling in his heart as he moved to the center of therge impact crater and pulled out one of Yggys hearts. In the future, this ce would be a true paradise while the surroundingndscape would also benefit from the endless infusion of vital energies. As for the crater itself, however, Vahn nned to immortalize the site and prevent the Dwarves, or anyone for that matter, from trying to take advantage of the devastated area for their own purposes. In the future, people would be able to make a pilgrimage to this area, seeing where the once proud mountain once stood and understand the true terror of indiscriminate warfare... Once the 10m tall tree had sprouted, Vahn was greeted by the ever-adorable Yggy as she popped out of the trunk with a slightly mischevious expression on her face. Vahn already knew what she was going to do so he kneeled down and allowed Yggy to nt a kiss on his cheek, granting him the fourth boost to his [Yggdrasils Champion]. Each boost had given him about a 2% increase to his Source Energy regeneration rate and, even though it seemed like a small amount, this made it possible for him to replenish his reserves in under twenty minutes. If she granted him all nine, it wouldnt be impossible for him to replenish his entire reserves in under sixteen minutes which, ifbined with the Sub Space orb, meant he could be topped off in just 2.5 minutes. In actually, the [Yggdrasils Champion] buff was slowly turning Vahn into even more of a ridiculous existence than before... After nting an innocent and sloppy kiss on her Papas cheek, Yggy giggled happily before looking around at her fourth home and saying, "I like this ce a lot, it has so much natural energy already~!" Vahn, upon hearing this, showed an affectionate smile while, on the inside, he felt rather awkward hearing Yggy say such a thing. Previously, the dominant energies in this area were Earth, Ice, Water, and a bit of Darkness. It was only by destroying the top of the mountain that it became oversaturated with Nature energy, making it a suitable environment for all types of flora and fauna for the future. Even so, he didnt let the mild incongruity show on his face as he ruffed Yggys hair and said, "I have to go deal with a few troublesome matters now, Yggy. Ille by to visit you at the Manor for lunch, okay...?" Yggy, bringing her tiny fists together in excitement, nodded her head with a vibrant smile and said, "Yes~! Dont worry, Ill make sure this area is protected properly, Papa...!" Since she already knew beforehand the purpose behind her heart being nted in this area, Yggy was determined to keep thisrge crater safe. She would let people enter and walk about freely but, if they tried to take away any of the nts or animals that woulde to reside here, she would drive them away very quickly. Terra had already taught her some of the basics of magic and, being extremely quick on the uptake, Yggy could easily defend an area of a few kilometers with ease. After giving Yggy a candy that had, somewhat awkwardly, been made out of a crystallized version of Terras sap, Vahn flew towards thergest structure in the valley, assuming it would put him in touch with someone of authority. The aboveground City, known as the City of Gold, Enterprise, was arge port City that served as the consolidation hub for various merchants and businesses. Most of the Dwarves still lived in the Undercities, making thergest poption of people present within Enterprise ves. Vahn was surprised by the sheer number of Beast People present, many wearing nothing more than rags while metallic cors cut into their necks and corbones. Because of the mountain face exploding, there was arge amount of damage to Enterprise, resulting in tens of thousands of ves moving about as they rapidly tried to clean the area and repair the damage. It was easy to see they were shaken by the events as even the Dwarves, who would typically beat and berate them at every opportunity, were walking around in low spirits. Their expressions were pale and there were even a few who had been unable to take their eyes off the once majestic mountain, now bereft of its sharp peak. Though it hadnt been the tallest mountain on the Continent, it was still their prided ancestral grounds, now ruined in an instant after an explosion of impossible magnitude... One of these Dwarves was the eldest son of Kanav Mun Ironheart, the current Patriarch of the Ironheart Noble House. He had been in charge of the external businesses of the family for thest thirty years, making a name for himself as the aspiring head of the Ironheart n. To his fellow merchants, he was known as Steag the Mountain, because his expression was always cold and unchangeable. In business, he had been an unshakeable existence, proudlyparing himself to their very Mother Mountain during a few recreational drunken brawls. Now, seeing that very mountain broken, with arge boulder crushing the office where he would normally have been sitting, Steag found himself feeling a series of solemn emotions, unlike anything he had ever experienced before... Vahn had noticed this rather stout figure, appearing to be around histe fifties with dark ck hair and an intricately woven beard that extended past his chest. Even the ves around this man were dressed better than the others, wearing ck uniforms with golden ents, so Vahn decided to drop in and make his presence known. Upon dropping down in front of the man, Vahn noticed he hadnt quite processed the reality of the situation as his face warped into one of abject confusion instead of rage. Even so, Vahn increased the pressure on this man and forced him to his knees as he said, "I am Vahn Mason,e to make good on my promise. Go, inform your Elders that this is only the beginning of conflict if they are unwilling topromise..." Being forced to his knees in an instant, Steag came back to his senses and did his best to resist the pressure weighing him down. His face was filled with indignation and, after hearing Vahns introduction, an expression of unhinged rage reced his confusion. However, before he was able to open his mouth and order his ves and guards to attack, Steag felt the pressure more than double, smashing his body into the ground below as his bones creaked. There was nothing he could do except listen as Vahns cold tone resounded, "This attack was meant to serve as a warning for what awaits your people if you choose to walk down this errant path. The next attack will be within your Undercities themselves...once again, I will give you three days. If you fail to pass on my message, I will track you down personally and have you watch as your precious cities are destroyed one by one..." After leaving his message, Vahn equipped his [Shadow Visor Mk. 2] and vanished from the area in an instant, though the pressure persisted for several minutes after the fact. He had already identified arge elevator that looked like it shuttled supplies between the surface and the Undercities below. Though he would allow the wealthy merchant to pass on his message, Vahn still wanted to investigate the underground himself to better n his next course of action. If possible, he wanted to recover Elilys former Master and, depending on the circ.u.mstances, free some of the ves. Vahn knew an absolutely nightmarish scene awaited him when he got to some of the ve farms and, even if it caused some trouble, he would nt to assassinate the staff and n for the future liberation of the ve poption... Vahn fully intended to negotiate terms with the Dwarves but, regardless of how they felt about the matter, there would no longer be ves within the Iron Hills after he was finished. The Dwarves had mistreated other races for far too long so, even if they had a legitimate im to some ves, Vahn didnt care one bit. They hadpletely lost the right to manage the lives of others and, for the foreseeable future, the Dwarves themselves would be responsible for their own progress. Vahn intended topletely cripple their foundation and force them into a period of reflection and recovery that relied on other countries for their prosperity. There would be no more ves kept as nothing more than livestock to be worked to their deaths for the sole purpose of greed and sheerziness. With that thought in mind, Vahn steeled his heart and mind before dropping down the elevator shaft and descending more than five kilometers into the dark depths below. There were several areas where the elevator tform would have stopped but Vahn assumed the farms would be located in the lower levels. He didnt expect the glorious and artistically designed Undercities would be home to arge number of ves, as their fate had been perpetually toiling away within the mines and endlessly harvesting resources for others to use. At this depth, the air temperature was a steamy 61 degrees Celsius, an extremely ufortable temperature for most people. However, here in these dark caverns that seemedpletely inhospitable to life, Vahn sensed hundreds of auras moving about, the vast majority of which seemed extremely fatigued while others were on the verge of death... (A/N: Alternate Titles: League of Legends, anyone...?,June 17th, Zeroth Year of the Emperor, the morning of two suns...,Descent into Hell...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 897 - Nightmare

Chapter 897 - Nightmare

While Vahn was skulking around in the darkness of the Dwarven mines, Steag had quickly gone to meet with his father, Kanav. It had only been a few minutes since the Mother Mountains upper half was destroyed and, even though the information had already reached the various Patriarchs, none had seen the true extent of the damage. There were even some who, upon receiving the message from the ves, ended up caning the messengers for grossly exaggerating events. Though the shockwave was powerful enough to even resonate within the Undercities, few could believe their precious Mother Mountain had been devastated to such an extent. Kanav, holding the most authority amongst the Elder Council, was one of the more level-headed of the bunch, even though he too couldnt quite believe the words that had reached his ears. When his son burst into the room unannounced, Kanavs expression became icy as he used his golden scepter and thumped his panicked son, stating, "Calm yourself, boy, are you trying to embarrass the Ironheart household?" At the same time, Kanav sent a re towards his Chief Steward, a sturdy Kyrie tribe member who was 220cm tall with shaven horns that were capped with gold. The man bowed low in response and quickly cleared the room, forcing the servants into a nearby chamber where the sound of a whip could be heard... Steag made no effort to wipe the blood from his forehead as he looked into his fathers eyes and eximed, "Vahn Mason had appeared within Enterprise, Father. He warned that, if the Elder Council did not acquiesce, even greater devastation would befall our people. You may not have seen it yet, but half of the Mother Mountain is now gone...! Father, he said the next target will be the Undercities themselves...!" Right now, information and reality werent quite caught up with each other so the response of the Dwarves had been staggered in an extreme manner. If this had been a real invasion, the amount of damage they would have suffered due to theircency would have put them in an unrecoverable situation. Hearing his sons words, Kanav scowled in disdain but still said, "Calm down and exin what has happened. You said half the Mother Mountain is gone? Preposterous..." Even as these words left his mouth, Kanav simply couldnt believe such a thing were possible. Though he could tell his son was being serious, his words matching with other reports, such a devastating weapon as a green sun was beyondprehension. If Vahn really had a weapon that could destroy half a mountain, there was simply no way they would be able to defend against his attack. They hadnt even been aware until after the attack had happened that he was within their perimeter. Now, his son was saying that Vahn had even appeared within Enterprise...it sounded like a horrible nightmare, far removed from reality. Seeing that his father didnt believe him, Steag felt incredulous as he recounted everything he had seen with his own eyes. He spoke of how the outgoing shipments were being prepared when, out of nowhere, a massive green sun had appeared where the Mother Mountain once stood, tall and majestic. By the time the light had cleared away, the peak had now be empty space as a catastrophic amount of debris rained down upon Enterprise, dealing enough coteral damage that it would take years toplete the repairs. He even spoke about how his office, which he was about to enter, ended up beingpletely crushed by arge boulder before, a few minutester, Vahn appeared right before him with his message. Then, after leaving his message behind, Vahn simply vanished from sight, leaving a powerful pressure in his wake that took minutes to disperse... While listening to his son, Kanav had poured himself a cold ss of the exceptionally rare [Dwarven Drought]. He had acquired it for 70,000,000V through the ck market after thieves had stolen it from the abode of one of Vahns Clubhouse members. It was one of his prized possessions and, during stressful times, Kanav found himself nursing a crystalline ss of the aromatic substance as he ruminated over the best course of action. Even as his son practically salivated upon smelling the aroma wafting from the ss, Kanav just gave him an icy re and encouraged him to continue his recounting of events as he locked away the precious alcohol within his personal safe... After his son had finished exining things, Kanav knew it likely wasnt an embellishment of the facts, especially when several other messengers came to deliver updated reports. There were even reports about ve Wranglers and Breeders being found dead while their ves were rioting in the mines below. Given the rumors of Vahn being a Saint who liberates ves, Kanav believed the chance that Vahn had infiltrated their underground was very high. It was even likely, with almost absolute certainty, that Vahn had already nted the Green Sun Bombs within the Undercities, all without their notice. He obviously had the means to move about undetected and, even if they searched every nook and cranny of the Undercities, it would be nigh-impossible for them to locate the bombs, especially if he nted them in the mines below... Though it was incredibly wasteful, Kanav found himself opening his safe and pulling out an entire container of [Dwarven Drought] and downing its contents. It immediately hit him like a ton of bricks but, at the same time, allowed him a strange bit of rity as he looked toward his son and said, "Pass a message to those old bastards. We need to discuss this topic immediately...!" Three days was hardly enough time to make such important decisions and, given Vahns track record, Kanav knew they didnt have the option to try and stonewall him. It was very possible to buy a bit of time for themselves, as Vahn was known to be rtively lenient, but, the moment he decided to take action against them, it would already be toote. Steag immediately went to pass on his fathers words without sending for a ve to do so in his stead. He knew it was a matter of supreme importance and, if they sent ves tomunicate through ves, the context of the message could get distorted slightly. Generally, it could take several hours just to get all of the Elder Council members into the same room, as each member tried to show upter than the others, but that would only cause more problems this time around. Now wasnt the time for fronting and fencing issues as, for the first time in their long history, their walls and defenses served absolutely no purpose in protecting them from enemies. In fact, rather than protect them, it was almost like they were Pallums stuffed into a barrel and prodded with hot irons. There was no escape and, if Vahn found their responsecking, they would be the ones to feel the burn this time around... --- Following behind a bronze-skinned Pallum with dark hair and golden eyes, Vahn found himself at one of the middle levels in the underground infrastructure beneath the Undercities. This was one of the regions where ves were bred, born, and, after their deaths, mashed up into protein for future generations of ves. Vahn had already ughtered the majority of Dwarves manning these farms, as the vast majority had auras so ck they were like pure darkness. This time, however, Vahn was intended to spare the Professional Breeder, as this young Pallum had actually known the name and location of the man Elilly had wanted vengeance against. Vahn promised that, if the Pallum led the way to the farm, he would take him back to Orario with him, providing food, clothing, and payment for his services. Pointing a maimed and calloused finger forward, the Pallum, named Aja, spoke in an icy tone, "That is where Master Hodin lives...what do you want me to do now...?" Since Vahn had already identified the man who should be Hodin, he looked toward the young Pallum and saw that the light in his eyes had yet to return. For many ves in these circ.u.mstances, they simply couldnt believe that a better future awaited them, even as Vahn went around killing Dwarves like harvesting wheat. They were so ustomed to being used and tossed aside that, within Ajas mind, it made sense if Vahn simply killed him before going on his way... Understanding Ajas worries, Vahn held out one of the apples that grew naturally within the illusory forest. They were extremely rich in nutrients after bathing in the natural and vital energies from Yggys and Terrasbined dominion. Instead of red, they had actually started to take on a pale yellow color while, those growing closer to Yggy, even had a slightly golden hue to them. Since they were extremely delicious and could make a person feel full with just a few bites, Vahn had stockpiled a few into his Inventory for such situations. They had been a big hit whenever he gave them to the starving ves and, though he was hesitant at first, Aja epted the apple before biting into it momentster. When he tasted the rich juices and the indescribably delicious meat of the apple, the boy broke down into tears and began cradling the apple in his chest as if it were his most precious possession. With a calm smile on his face, Vahn lightly whispered, "I always try to make good on my promises, Aja. When I am finished here, I will make an emergency teleportation ward that will allow those within these mines to escape this hellish ce. For now, take these apples and meet me back at therge underground river where the aqueducts were located. I have already sent others to do the same and, once you enter that area, you will be safe from harm until I return. Before this day ends, your life as a ve will be no more..." Though there would undoubtedly be casualties amongst some ves, as their Masters could kill them at a distance with simplemands, it required a long process that included naming and imagining the correct person. Vahn was killing most of the ve owners and breeders to prevent the loss of innocent lives, but there was no way he could get everyone in this massive undergroundplex... Aja, feeling full of energy, epted the bag of apples without any argument and quickly began making his way to the undergroundke. Even if Vahn was lying to him, the fact that he had a bag filled with nearly a hundred delicious apples was a fair exchange for simply guiding him to a single destination. However, seeing the serious expression on Vahns face, Aja felt hopeful that there was truth in the strange and powerful mans words. He had already seen Vahnpletely annihte every wrangler and guard within the mines in an instant while quickly controlling the ves with just a few concisemands. They all listened to him without question, readily taking up the strange ck swords and spears to begin rioting for their freedom. At the time, even Aja had proudly waved around a ck shortsword as warm energy filled his body with limitless stamina... Seeing the boy run off, Vahns smile faded away, reced by an icy and emotionless expression as he held out his hand and locked on to the position of Hodin, his apprentices, and his Wranglers. Vahn felt them resist against his telekinesis butpletely ignored their efforts to escape as he pulled his hand back, forcing their bodies to crash through the reinforced walls. The natural Endurance of a Dwarf, without a Falna, could even rival most Level 2 Adventurers. Being smashed through a few walls might break a few bones, but it wouldnt cause any fatal wounds unless they were unlucky... With the eight men and two women floating in the air above him, Vahns icy gaze passed over them as he set eyes on Hodin, asking, "Which one of you is Hodin...?" He wanted to see if this disgusting man would try to talk his way out of the situation, throwing one of hispanions forward as a sacrifice for time. Surprisingly, Hodin struggled in the air, screaming, "Let me down you pathetic human cur...! You think you can just do whatever you want here on my farm!? Ill have the guards shackle you to a sheer limestone surface and whip you for days...!" Hearing Hodins words, Vahn was actually slightly taken aback, wondering what kind of thoughts were running through the madmans mind for him to think he had any such authority. If not for the fact Hodins life belonged to Elilly, Vahn would have simply snapped the arrogant mans neck for his asinine remark. However, just because he couldnt kill him, didnt mean Hodin was exempt from any form of suffering after saying such foolish things. Vahn, with a pebble in hand, flicked it towards Hodins elbow with enough speed that it created three audible ps from the air breaking around it. He could see as the pebble passed clean through the joint, shattering Hodins elbow, as the muscle and skin red outward from the shockwave before copsing back inward from sticity. Even so, there was a gaping hole where the stone had passed, causing Hodin to scream out bloodcurdling insults as spittle flew from his mouth... Since holding them up was troublesome, Vahn used his domain to exert pressure on these ten individuals as he dropped them to the ground, hard. He gave the group a quick once-over, taking note that the cleanest amongst them had a muted grey aura, before pulling out a set of metallic cors. These werent normal ve cors, but a specialized item that Vahn had developed to restrain troublesome individuals. Capturing Enyo had gotten him to think about means to keep others captive for short periods of time and, as a result, Vahn developed an indestructible Adamantine cor that was coated in magisteel. It could resize to fit a person, causing extreme difort, without losing any of its rather hefty weight. At the same time, the cors had a detrimental ability called Extreme Fatigue:A that made even small actions extremely difficult. Once the cors were on, Vahn released them from his pressure but, even without his domain pressing down on them, none of the ten monsters were able to rise to their feet. Even Hodin, who had strength over Level 3, was left clutching his arm as his body trembled like a man caught in a snowstorm for several days. Vahn just looked down on them from above, feeling absolutely no pity as he said, "Your status is unique amongst those that will die for their inhumane treatment of others. One of your former ves, Elilly, will decide how to deal with you...I hope you are prepared..." As he spoke, Vahn noticed the two Dwarven women began trembling just as much as Hodin who, upon hearing Vahns words, became extremely pale... (A/N: I had to go get keys to my new apartment and move some stuff with my roommate so Im not sure when the other chapters wille out. Still, there should definitely be at least two more with a fair chance for three.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Corrupt to the very foundation...,God of Liberation,Karma isnt just a bitch to Vahn it seems xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 898 - Liberate

Chapter 898 - Liberate

True to his words, Vahn cleared up several more areas of the Dwarven underground ve trade, including the small military forces that had started to respond to the ongoing riot, before making his way to the undergroundke. Though the Dwarves had ess to the sea on the surface, this ce was an underground reservoir that served as a source of fresh water for the Dwarves in the Undercities. There were several miles ofplex aqueducts redirecting the water to the various Cities, many of which had been damaged or blocked by the malcontent ves. Vahn frowned upon seeing this, as damage to the key infrastructure of the Iron Hills posed a variety of issues for the future. As cruel and foolish as the Dwarves seemed, Vahn knew they werent innately evil since he had met a number of kind and honest Dwarves in his time. If anything, they were horribly misguided over several generations, much like the Elves had been before he introduced his reformations. Since their poption was already rather low, Vahn fully intended to cripple the very foundation of their society, all while sparing most mon Dwarves. It was a simple truth that the Dwarves were the most capable craftsman and merchants on the entire Continent, with a history stretching back thousands of years. Since he was trying to build the basis for an Empire, Vahn knew it would be extremely useful to have the Dwarves around to build infrastructure and promote trade between the various regions of the Empire... The transition for the Dwarves would be rough, especially with the loss of their ve poption, but it was an important lesson that they would survive through. Once they were in line with the reforms he intended to introduce, they would be a proud and glorious people, even greater than before. Other races would alsoe to reside within the Iron Hills one day, next time as citizens, not ves. With the introduction of various cultures, the mentality of future generations of Dwarves would slowly change to keep up with the times. There would undoubtedly be resistance to the changes that were introduced but, by controlling information and deposing those with power and authority, change was inevitable... With the unconscious figures of several ve Traders, Breeders, and Wranglers floating behind him, Vahn split therge crowd of ves who had been awaiting his arrival. In the mines, therge majority of ves, once again, wereprised of Pallum, Cat People, and some more burly ves like the Kyrie tribe. Liberating the stock at the farms had added a variety of Elves, Dark Elves, Dwarves, and arge number of unique Beast Tribe members into the mix. Now, there were nearly a hundred thousand ves gathered in the area, kept safe by the existence of Fafnir lurking around in the shadows. Vahn had chosen this area, trusting that the Dwarves wouldnt arbitrarily attack their own source of fresh water without proper consideration... Aja, followed by several other ves Vahn had entrusted with simr tasks, squeezed out of the crowd, eyes now filled with hope. Thest few hours had affected all ves a great deal but those who had been entrusted various tasks by Vahn felt a sense of empowerment. Instead of being whipped and beaten, they had been able to guide and direct other ves while waving around weapons and supplies that Vahn had given them to pass out. Most ves readily assisted each other, especially as the momentum continued to build in their favor. Now, thest step was to help them escape this hellish ce, even though it would be very difficult to settle such arge number of people in a short period of time. Fortunately, preparations had been made to establish a refugee camp outside of the City to process this veritable ocean of ves as proper citizens. Loki had even advised securing somend to the south, building an entirely new nation in close proximity to Orario. This would serve as a throughway for trade in the Southern Sands, making it an important hub for merchants in the future. Vahn would pitch the idea to the refugees after they had gottenfortable within the encampment outside of the City. Since it would take several weeks to process so many people, it shouldnt be difficult to convince a few thousand to build homes for themselves instead of forcing them to adapt to the ever-changing Orario. After sharing a few words with the hopeful bunch that had surrounded him, Vahn pulled out the item that Terra had prepared in advance for these types of events. She had been growing rather tired of having to set up teleportation wards every time Vahn needed to move arge number of people. As a result, Terra had made the first SS-Rank artifact Vahn had ever seen, even though she possessed neither the [Master Smith] or the [Mystery] Development Abilities. The artifact took on the form of a simple disc but, once activated, expanded to a size of twenty meters, aplex teleportation ward carved into the surface. The indentations had been filled with several tens of gallons of Terras own golden blood, serving the purpose of gathering natural energy to power the artifact in most environments. So long as there was a viable power source, such as Vahn with his limitless vital energy, it was possible to use Terras [Path of Salvation] as a portable teleportation ward, an innovation that would even make a stir back in Evas record... Vahn had the former ves clear out an adequate amount of space as he exined what they should expect on the opposite end. The Alliance had already set up an organized encampment and was prepared to receive therge group of refugees outside the Eastern Gate of Orario. This put them in the closest proximity to Daedelus Steet and the various crafting districts where they would likely seek employ in the future. It would take some time for them to adapt to the lifestyle of the City but, with a bit of guidance from their kin, Vahn believed the future was much brighter for these individuals with the support of the Alliance. Once exnations werepleted, Vahn became the battery powering the teleportation ward and began sending the ves more than 3700km in the blink of an eye. It was actually a lot easier to teleport this group of people than it was to move in and out of the Dungeon, while his reserves were seemingly limitless in these circ.u.mstances. With his main body meditating within the Sub-Space orb, Vahns reserves were hardly impacted at all, even when moving groups of more than one-hundred people at a time. In the time it took for the opposite end to be cleared out, Vahns reserves would bepletely filled once again, allowing him to send batches every forty seconds, on average. This massive exodus ended up taking more than thirteen hours, during which severalrge-scale attempts to breach into the massive cavern had urred. Fafnir easily dealt with thousands of Dwarves who had tried breaking into the area while the ves patiently awaited the chance to escape to freedom. Vahn had set out severalrge crates of supplies and nkets for their use, prioritizing the evacuation of women and children while the mature and sturdy ves protected the perimeter. So they were able to keep the momentum, Fafnir let some of the weaker Dwarves through so that the former-ves could use the weapons and equipment they had been given. It was a little strange seeing people get so riled up, cheering at the death of each Dwarf in, but Vahn knew it was a fate they had brought upon themselves... When it was time for thest group to go through, Vahns main body was already waiting on the other end with several members of the Hermes Familia, including Elilly. She wasnt the only one who had a vendetta against someone from the Iron Hills so he had captured several groups other than Hodins. He had already talked to them about the correct decision to make, advising them to either bring the group to justice or simply grant them mercy. Vahn was worried they would have a scar on their heart if they treated their vengeance as a cruel affair. If they went the route of torturing their previous oppressors, it would be a dark memory they would have to live with for the rest of their lives. For some, however, their deeply rooted trauma needed an outlet and, fully understanding this, Vahn had left the decision for them to make. Ultimately, Elilly, who already showed signs of slimming down, simply couldnt forgive Hodin and the two women who had been cruel to her during her time as a ve. When a Dwarf became a ve, they were treated much harsher than other ves, as there was a great deal of scorn forced upon them. Elilly had been born as a ve because her ancestors had be criminal ves after infighting between two of the Noble Houses more than two-hundred years ago. She was a third generation ve, forced to suffer since before she was even aware of her surroundings. The two women were simr in age to her so, as she grew, the two treated her as a ything, forcing cruel a sadistic acts upon Elilly for her entire life... When Vahn brought her to a secure location with the three individuals, Elilly had released a great deal of pent up frustrations upon them within the privacy of a soundproof cell. After several hours had passed, she exited the room with long-tried tracks of tears on her face, blood stains covering her hands, face, and clothing. Vahn entrusted her to the care of Lulune and Pot, having them get Elilly cleaned up so she could put the matter behind her. As for the maimed corpses of the three monstrous individuals, Vahn prayed they became better people in their next life before burning them to ashes. Simr scenarios yed out between several of the captive vers and other members of the Hermes Familia, something that made Vahn feel a strange heartbreak. Since the majority of those in the Hermes Familia had outgoing and vibrant personalities, it was saddening to see that only a few were able to let the past go. They let the vers be judged, forced to be criminal ves themselves, instead of resorting to violence and cing a heavier burden upon themselves. Even so, Vahn didnt hold it against those that sought more direct means to deal with the capture vers, many of which were females that had been brutalized in the past. There was even one member of the Hermes Familia, an Elven woman named Suicia, who spent nearly a full day torturing her former Master before she was finally content. Suicia was a woman who wore an outfit that covered her entire body, to the point that she even wore a facial mask. In the past, she had been a personal s.e.x ve that was forced to serve as an exotic pet within an influential circle of the Iron Hills. Now, she had a very prominent androphobia that even extended to the men within her own Familia, Hermes being the only exception. She had slowly opened up to Vahn as well but, after reading her file, this was mainly because he kept a proper distance from her and made efforts to ease her burden over time. Now that the source of her suffering was dead, Suicia hade out of the room and, for the first time, removed her mask before bowing low and expressing her sincere gratitude... Most of the ves who had wanted direct vengeance had been female, as the life of a female ve was inordinately harder than their male counterparts. Not only did they have to perform manualbor, but they were always subject to the whims and licentiousness of their owners. Even worse was the fact that the male ves, in order to release their stress and tensions, would vent it out on the females bodies during mating. Since they were expected to produce the next generation of ves, the life of female ves within some farms was extremely cruel. Many even forced themselves to have abortions, doing their best to avoid bringing children into the world for the sole purpose of suffering as they had... Vahn could never truly empathize with the suffering they had gone through but,paring it to his own, he had long since realized he hadnt had it the worst. Ever since arriving in the record of Danmachi, Vahn had numerous reminders that there were infinitely greater tragedies than what he had experienced. Though this didnt make his suffering lesser, Vahns mentality had matured a great deal since his emergence in this world. Now, he was no longer a victim, but a force that helped to liberate other victims and set them on the path towards the future. He felt a powerful drive to create a future where these people, having survived their tragedy, were able to prosper. By the time things had started to settle down, a celebratory atmosphere had overtaken the massive encampment as nearly 110,000 people celebrated their freedom. There had been some who were still skeptical, all the way up until they had arrived on the outskirts of Orario, but that sentiment no longer existed. As a result, Vahns domain had broken through the 2km radius threshold, reaching 2,317m. While amongst the mass of former ves, he felt an incredible amount of power that made it seem like he would even be able to split mountains with the turn of a hand. He knew this wasnt the case but, even so, Vahn celebrated with their freedom alongside them, talking at length about the bright future that awaited those willing to migrate south after the Rakia Kingdoms forces were dealt with... --- While celebrating with the liberated ves, Vahns avatar was now investigating one of the Undercities, choosing the magnificent Ironheart City as his destination. Enough time had passed that each member of the Elder Council should have gathered to discuss matters. He wanted to get a sense of the tensions within the City, finding a dark atmosphere present amongst the citizenship, who now knew the truth of previous reports. Having their ancestral Mother Mountain desecrated had been a big impact on many Dwarves and, though many wanted vengeance, the reality of the situation wasnt beyond theirprehension. In general, Dwarves were rtively intelligent, allowing most to understand there was simply no way for them to fight against such awesome power. Theycked the means to stage arge invasion and, understanding that Vahn would likely have simr weapons in reserve, any attempt to do so would undoubtedly be met with an unfathomably powerful counterattack. Though they were arrogant and prideful by nature, most Dwarves were also pragmatic to the extreme, the result of growing up in a society that always sought advantages from each other. Now, most pubs and taverns were filled to the brim with Dwarves who understood the futility of the situation, many cursing the Elder Council openly for allowing things to reach this point... What surprised Vahn was that very few people were talking about him directly, almost as if even mentioning his name would turn the ale sour. Those that cursed him did so indirectly, calling him things like ursed brat, false sage, and tyrant, never speaking his name directly. It was a little strange, to the extent that Vahn nearly wanted to reveal himself just to see how they would react to his presence. He avoided this course of action, however, as the deadline he had set still had a little over forty hours before expiring. In that time, he nned to liberate as many of the ves forced intobor farms as possible, forcing the Elder Council to feel greater pressure as they were powerless to do anything to stop him... (A/N: Im once again reminded that moving sucks. Im going to have to walk a series of mattresses like .4km just to save money on truck rentals (=_=);...Also, to those saying that Vahn should just kill the Dwarves, that is just senseless. Genocide is never the answer to anything and, if you find yourself believing it is, congrats on rising to the standard of reputed historical figures like Adolf Hitler, Julius Ceasar, and the Spanish Conquistadors xD~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Shatter the Foundation, Leave the Infrastructure,Terra, proof that, if someone sincerely wants to do less work, they can create amazing innovations...,He who shall not be named xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 899 - Negotiation? : Ultimatum

Chapter 899 - Negotiation? : Ultimatum

By the eve of the second day, Vahn had done a cursory exploration of three of the Undercities, gaining a decent understanding of their social structure. Most of the wealthiest Dwarves, many of which belonged to the eight most influential houses, were located towards the heart of the Undercities. Surrounding these tall stone structures, it was possible to find numerous [Master Smith], [Master Craftsman], and even [Master Metalwright]s. In total, Vahn had discovered more than forty workshops belonging to such capable individuals, validating the im that the Dwarves were the most skilled artisans in the world. Even in Orario, excluding gods, there were only seven [Master Smith]s, two [Master Crafsman], and zero [Master Metalwright]s. Since the disparity in their poption was massive, with Orario having several million residentspared to the Iron Hills only having around four-hundred thousand Dwarves, it really put things into perspective. Vahns purpose for investigating these shops, other than getting a better understanding of the critical infrastructure of the Undercities, was in an effort to find Tsubakis father. Though she had long since imed it no longer mattered, Vahn still wanted to seek answers on her behalf. He didnt believe the Sakuya, a proud warrior and [Master Smith], was a foolish woman who would have opened her heart to a truly cruel man, even bestowing Tsubaki hisst name aftering she was born. This showed there was a deeper connection between the two and, given Tsubakis nature, Vahn knew she must have realized her understanding of events wascking. It was perhaps her fear that there was a reason behind his leaving that she was truly afraid to learn...especially after having harbored resentment toward him for decades in her youth. Unfortunately, even after poring over several doc.u.ments and exploring three Undercities, Vahn was unable to find any trace of Tsubakis father, or anyone named Collbrande for that matter. Since he couldnt exactlye out and ask questions openly, Vahn was left having to wait until he dealt with the Elder Council before pursuing the matter further. Presently, he wasing up on the eve of the second day so it was time to seek them out for their response before he had to teach them an even harsher lesson. Fortunately, things should be settled if he dealt with them directly, even if there were great instabilities introduced in the Iron Hills as a result... Instead of returning to the surface, Vahn decided to cut to the chase and head directly for the Ironheart residence. Most of the Patriarchs of the eight families had been staying there since the first day, with only the Stormhammers sending out men to search the premise of their Undercity for a bomb. In truth, Vahn didnt have nearly enough time to make a second Sub-Space orb to use as a weapon, meaning he would have to take matters into his own hand if the Dwarves didnt acquiesce. This would also allow him to avoid greater casualties to the ve poption, so Vahn didnt mind getting his hands dirty. With that mindset, Vahn arrived on the stone steps of the fortress-like residence belonging to the Ironhearts before unequipping his [Shadow Visor Mk. 2]. There were quite a number of guards patrolling the residence while shiny gold and white ballistae were interspaced atop the stone ramparts. When they saw him appear, there was an immediate response from these troops who, upon realizing exactly who had just shown up within their defensive line, became slightly pale as a series ofmands echoed about. Vahn was a little surprised that none of them outright attacked him, showingmendable discipline and bearing instead of inviting destruction unto themselves... After a few minutes, instead of a veing to guide him, there was a rather tall Dwarf, 166cm, who came out to greet him. He was wearing ornamental golden armor, as Dwarves, in general, had a habit of wearing ornate and powerful equipment to show off their status. With his dark beard, filled with lines of grey, Vahn knew he had to be either a Patriarch or something like a Captain of the Guard. His power was around the peak of Level 4 while a resolute light glowed in his eyes, even though he didnt make any motion to attack. Instead, after approaching within twenty meters, the man stopped and said, "Vahn Mason, cant say youre wee within my home, but I dont exactly have a choice this time...hmph...!" Without showing any change in his expression, Vahn simply asked, "Are you Kanav...?" Leaving out the full name and title of a person, especially in a diplomatic situation, was considered an extreme gaff. However, as Kanav had failed to mention his titles, Vahn knocked him down a peg by not even mentioning the mans full name. This caused the proud Dwarf to inhale deeply, a fierce look in his eyes as he stroked his own beard in a self-calming gesture. Then, in a voice that sounded like it escaped the very earth below, Kanav rumbled, "I am indeed Kanav Mun Ironheart, Patriarch of the Great Ironheart Noble Family and Ruler of this majestic Ironheart Undercity...!" Understanding the game Kanav was trying to y, Vahn adopted a smile that didnt quite reach his eyes as he raised his chin slightly and said, "Very well, Kanav Mun Ironheart, I, Vahn Mason, Sage Aldrnari, Captain of the Hestia Familia, Supreme Commander of the Alliance, and future destroyer of the majestic Ironheart Undercity greet you, with all due respects..." Following his words, Vahn gave a theatrical bow without breaking eye contact with Kanav for even a moment. If the old man wanted to y politics with him, Vahn didnt mind reminding him about the reality of the situation. He wasnt here to y games, nor were they going to be negotiating... Upon hearing the words future destroyer of the majestic Ironheart Undercity, Kanav had be statuesque for several seconds without even breathing. Part of him wanted to call Vahns bluff but, considering what was at stake, there were no benefits in doing so. The man before him possessed an unfathomable amount of power and, even if his nature wasnt the type to indiscriminately kill, he did indeed possess the power to destroy an Undercity. In a way, though they could hold theirrge ve poption hostage, Vahn was already holding their entire nation hostage...if they truly set him off, there would be noing back from the destruction that he could rain down upon them. By the time Kanav had started breathing again, he reminded himself of why he had been the one toe out and greet Vahn. Thus, after a slight bow, he said in a slightly uneasy tone, "Well, let us hope things do not reach that point. Im certain we cane to some form of agreement that will benefit both parties..." To this, Vahn gave a small nod before saying, "So long as the Elder Council is willing to acquiesce, Im certain such a travesty can be avoided. It ultimately depends on how much you are willing to sacrifice in exchange for keeping a pretense of pride..." Without even waiting for Kanav to lead the way, Vahn began walking forward, passing the middle-aged Dwarf as he made his way to the interior of the residence. Resisting the urge to try and cut Vahn down, Kanav gnashed his teeth before falling into pace and guiding Vahn to where the other Patriarchs were gathering. Things were beginning to y out in a simr way as to when he dealt with the Nobles of Orario, though Vahn knew there would be greater resistance since he was in a foreign country. They would likely believe themselves to possess some form of leverage against him but, regardless of their demands, Vahn had already hardened his heart to do what it takes to make sure future generations are not born into very. Even if the Dwarves tried to hold the lives of their ves hostage, Vahn would simply go around ughtering every Dwarf with a dark aura until they surrendered, starting with the Elder Council. After passing through various corridors, Vahn found himself in a room with seven individuals, each around Level 4 in strength, while several powerful forces remained hidden nearby. Vahn gave them each a cursory nce, noting that each of these aged Dwarves had stern and cold expressions on their face, sculpted through decades of looking down on others. The most neutral aura amongst them was a very dark grey, intermixed with furious reds and avaricious oranges. As for those who were on the criminal list Vahn had issued out previously, their auras were pitch ck, a strong desire for Vahns death deeply rooted in their hearts and minds. The moment everyone was in the room, Vahn brought his domain to bear upon each of them in an instant as he tilted his head upward and said, "I have shown you leniency in allowing you to discuss the matter, but that doesnt mean I havee here to negotiate. The moment you dered War or Orario and had the audacity to target my home, the ce where my children are, you lost any right to negotiate with me. I have grown weary of your games and will ept nothing short of absolute surrender. You will acquiesce to my demands and begin to implement my reformations or, without any exception, each of you will die...!" At the end of his words, Vahn gestured towards the Dwarf with the ckest aura, the Patriarch of the Deepsbane Noble Family. In the distant past, they had been the family to pioneer the ve trade within the Iron Hills, leading to the suffering of countless millions over millennia. As a result, the Deepsbane family had be the fourth most influential of the Eight Noble Houses. Vahn had intended to bring the man to trial and execute him for his heinous crimes but, wanting to punctuate the severity of his words, his life would serve as an example to the rest. Unable to resist the force moving his body through the air, Ashram Tru Deepsbane found himself before Vahn as a powerful pressure began to press in on his body from all directions. He had several S-Rank equipment to serve as protection but, as if they served no purpose at all, Ashram found his joints twisted as a bloodcurdling howl escaped his hoarse throat. Then, after his arms and legs were shattered, Ashram found his body supported by several ck spears that had pierced through his body. Most of his vitals had been avoided, leaving him to bleed out slowly while Vahn exchanged gazes with the other Patriarchs within the room... Adding to his previous statement, Vahns cold voice sounded throughout the room, "Im certain everyone here should have a basic understanding of my character. In general, I am not a cruel man and acts like this bring me absolutely no satisfaction..." As he spoke, Vahn had a genuine expression of disgust as he pulled out his [Mercy] and finished off Ashram. After stowing the nondescript ck de into his Inventory, Vahn continued, saying, "You will publically announce your surrender and immediately begin taking action to follow my previous demands. All ves, without any exception, will be liberated from the cruel lifestyle you have forced upon them. In the future, the institution of very outside of criminal context will be banned within the Iron Hills. The Eight Noble Houses will be stripped of their titles and authority while a representative will be assigned to govern in your stead. Henceforth, you will be a vassal nation under the rule of the City-State of Orario..." There was a long list of terms that the Dwarves would have to acquiesce to, many of which would take several years to fully implement. However, they didnt have a choice in the matter as, unlike most countries, the Dwarves of the Iron Hills had established a system that was corrupt from the very roots. They didnt even have a generalbor ss within their society, entrusting farming and the collection of resources to ves. Their privileged lifestyles would be a cancerous existence that would make true reform impossible unless it was addressed immediately. In the future, there may very well be members of other races working on their farms and within their mines, but it certainly wouldnt be as ves. They would be actual farmers and miners, paid well for the work they had done by selling their produce and ores, instead of having them seized. The fact that farmers in the Iron Hills would have their teeth pulled out if they were caught stealing some of the produce they themselves had cultivated was ridiculous... For nearly a full hour, without easing up his pressure at all, Vahn listed out his ultimatum before allowing the six surviving Patriarchs to fall to the ground. Then, without waiting for their response, Vahn turned his back and said, "I have numerous forces within the Undercities to observe if you have taken my words seriously. Your first action should be to announce that very is no longer a legal institution within the Iron Hills. Everyone, without exception, must absolve their ve contracts while all ves will be required to congregate near the central za of each Undercity. Transportation to Orario will be granted to them while my teams investigate criminal activities and other forms of dissidence. Those that attempt to harbor ves, or unjustly im the lives of their servants out of spite, will suffer the same fate. Even if I have to put half the Dwarven poption to the de to ensure that future generations are not corrupt at the very foundation of society, I will do so..." During his exploration of the Undercities, Vahn noticed that more than a few of the more sessful Dwarves had grey or ck auras. Their pride caused them to unt their power and authority at any opportunity, often at the expense of less reputable Dwarves and ves. Though things got markedly better at the lower rungs of society, the treatment of ves was still terrible. Because of the way they were treated by the more affluent members of the Dwarvenmunity, those from smaller houses had a tendency to take it out on the ve poption. Even women and children werent exempt from this behavior as Vahn had seen examples of Dwarven youths stoning ves whileughing in glee, all while the a.d.u.l.ts that should have been correcting their behavior simply watched in amus.e.m.e.nt... By removing the ve poption entirely, the Dwarves would be left in a closedmunity with only each other to exploit. Thoughws would be implemented to regte things and introduce reforms, there would undoubtedly be a number of hups along the way. They would have to delegate part of their poption to agriculture and mining operations just to maintain their businesses while their merchant caravans would have to pass through customs before being allowed to leave the Iron Hills to conduct trade. Because of this, Vahn fully expected that many Dwarves, especially those that would be selected to be farmers, would likely try to migrate to other Cities with their ill-gotten wealth. This, however, would bepletely illegal in ordance with the terms forced upon the Dwarves during their surrender. Vahn didnt want them to simply escape the repercussions of their actions by trying to flee to other countries...no, the Dwarves now had to face theireuppance, one way or another... (A/N: I honestly have no idea how many chapters wille out and when over the next few days. There are a lot of things going on and, until my real worldmitments have been dealt with, I dont have that much time to sit at aputer. To be fair, I generally write upwards of 10-12 hours a day, making my work weeks between 70-84 hours at times. That is time I typically need to allocate well if I want to avoid bing too stressed out, making it very difficult to write when I have other things going on. Dont worry as, even when I go away for work in a few weeks, there will ALWAYS be a least one chapter a day. Thank you for your patience and understanding.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Seeking Tsubakis Father...,When the Emperor Speaks, Everyone Else Listens,It is going to be a rough transition...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 900 - Aftermath : Answers

Chapter 900 - Aftermath : Answers

Before the dawning of the third day, loud gongs resonated throughout the vast Undercities, disregarding those that would be trying to sleep at such times. Even so, there were many who had been awake, drinking their stress away within the various taverns and bars. This caused a crowd to quickly gather as the surviving members of the Elder Council announced the surrender of the Iron Hills in the war against Orario. Though there was more than a little dissent, especially when the decree freeing all ves was made, it wasnt too surprising to most that they had surrendered. After all, there was simply no way they could fight against an enemy that could blow away half a mountain in an instant. The ny hours following the surrender, every former ve was slowly rounded up and transported to the outskirts of Orario. It was fortunate that the first batch of refugees had been moved earlier, as they were able to expand the encampment to create space for the remaining groups that would follow. Though this caused the eastern side of Orario to be surrounded by an ocean of tents, it was a temporary measure that they were steadying working towards a solution for. The city had the capacity to amodate all of the refugees but, out of consideration for public order and to bolster future infrastructure, severalrge groups would move to create towns and viges in the surrounding areas. Many would end up moving to the hidden fortresses that had previously been upied by the Dwarves, bolstering the poption and allowing for quicker construction and growth. So that they would have goods for trade, each of the viges had been given partial ownership of resourcesing out of the mines. Those that entered the Alliance-controlled mines would have to pay taxes on the unprocessed minerals while a select few within the town would be specialized in processing the materials for additional fees. As a mining town, the wealth of its citizens would slowly increase with the passage of time until, after a decade or so, they would be flourishing in a home of their own creation. There were more than a few hups during the migration of refugees between the Iron Hills and Orario, primarily from prominent ve owners and merchants. When these same people were captured and promptly executed, however, this trend died down rtively quickly. Though some still tried to get away with ordering their ves to move elsewhere until the incident had passed, they were quickly identified and snuffed out after a very short investigation. Since the possession of ves was treated as a capital offense under the surrender agreement, those that attempted to resist the change out of greed and arrogance were quickly put to the de. By the end of this event, which wouldter be known as the Fifteen Day War, the number of Dwarves that had lost their lives totaled 24,197, more than six percent of their entire poption. As for the number of ves to have died, however, they numbered more than 73,000, with an urate ount being impossible at the time. Those that had been liberated during the Fifteen Day War totaled precisely 811,471 freed peoples, many belonging to the Pallum and various Beast Tribes. For these individuals, instead of calling it the Fifteen Day War, it became a historical event that was celebrated in their various towns, known as Independence Day. Vahn became the true Hero of the Pallum peoples while, amongst the Beast People tribes, Vahn, and various iterations of his name, became a very popr name for baby boys in the years that followed... Without arge ve poption, the Dwarves entered into a phase of civil strife and general unrest, as everyone fought amongst themselves to seize power and benefits. As expected, many tried to flee the Iron Hills to take up residence in other countries but the usual oue for such attempts primarily resulted in their stockpiled wealth being seized before they were imprisoned for desertion. Though some exceptions were made, generally rted to women and children, this was only if the persons in question were cleared of any crimes that they may have perpetrated in the past. Even then, they were put into a very long and arduous queue that required them to go through several investigations before they were processed as proper citizens... The previous Eight Noble Houses no longer existed after the surrender, at least not in the same capacity as before. Many were tried for acts of cruelty, resulting in the majority of Patriarchs to take the fall to ensure their families future survival. At the same time, the Iron Hills was required to pay massive reparations towards the former ves, bankrupting many smaller families while even the former Eight Noble Houses had to dig deep into their treasury to make the cut. For those that were unable to pay, they would have their assets seized while having to shoulder a heavy debt. In these cases, they were given the chance to work off their debt by entering into contracts to either be farmers or miners, a stop-gap measure to ensure the economy of the Iron Hills wasnt entirely crippled. In the end, the abundant wealth of the Iron Hills had taken a significant blow while the country was forced into an era of introspection and internal growth. Since it was illegal for them to try and flee their country, they were forced to set aside their pride and start working together for the benefit of themunity. For too long, the Dwarves had exploited others for benefits while promoting an individualistic mentality thatpromised their entire social structure. Now that they didnt have ves to keep their society functioning, they were forced to learn that people needed to work together in order to survive... Fortunately, there were many Dwarves that had made their home outside of Orario, having long ago escaped their country after disagreeing with how their society worked. Now that their people were suffering, however, many Dwarves returned to their homnd to help rebuild. Since the country was now open to external migrants, some brought alongrge caravans full of supplies. Though there were some amongst these groups who sought to build their own power and influence in the restructuring society, the ideals they had built outside of the Iron Hills would be necessary for the countrys future survival... --- Following the migration of the refugees to the outskirts of Orario, Vahn hadnt immediately returned to the City himself. Instead, he had been the spearhead for investigations into criminal acts while also seeking out any information on Tsubakis father. Within the Undercities, there were only two families with the surname Collbrande, both belonging to the same lineage. If a family were able to produce a Master of any form of craft, they would have the privilege of bing a Lesser Noble family. As a result, there was a Collbrande Main Family and, serving as the business extension of the Main Family, there was also a Collbrande Branch Family. Vahn knew he would be able to get the information he sought rtively quickly, even though there were no public figures within the family that matched Tsubakis fathers name...Jorfaic Collbrande. Determined to get the answers he sought, Vahn made his presence known at the Collbrande Main Familys workshop and residence. Even as Lesser Nobles, they hadnt lived avish and outgoing lifestyle and, honoring their craft, spent much of their wealth on .u.mting resources to create more masterworks, few of which they actually sold. As a result, there were several disy cases that were covered in powerful runes to prevent theft. This was one of the first times Vahn had seen so many S-Rank and A-Rank items on disy together, outside of Hephaestus workshop. At the front of the Workshop, there were two Dwarves present, each having powerful builds that could easily be noted as a result of their high exposure. The first was a man, standing around 161cm tall with a stocky yet muscr build, muscles so developed it seemed they were trying to break out of their fleshy restraints. As for hispanion, she was a female Dwarf with a height of 174cm, as was often the case amongst Dwarves. They were one of the few races where females were muchrger than their male counterparts, with some even reaching upwards of 190cm tall while the tallest male Dwarf Vahn had seen was around 168cm. Like their male counterparts, female Dwarves were usually burly and muscr, though they werent nearly as stout and stocky inparison. At the same time, they could be very beautiful, as there was a certain appeal to muscr women with a natural quality to them, while most male Dwarves seemed strangely old, even when young. Since Dwarves would begin growing beards as early as eight years old, while already developing muscr builds, many young male Dwarves had a simr appearance to middle-aged men once they had reached a.d.u.l.thood. It was a strange contrast, as female Dwarves looked rtively normal, even though their limbs were a little thicker than the average human. Having noticed the presence of someone in their workshop, the man and woman both turned their attention to Vahn. For a brief moment, their brains didnt seem able to process what they were witnessing as their expressions slowly paled. Vahn understood there were many reasons behind such a reaction but still gave a casual smile as he said, "Sorry for disturbing you. I know things are a little chaotic right now, but I had a few questions Id like to ask. If possible, Id like to speak with your ns Matriarch..." Unlike the Patriarch, who usually ran the business and work-rted tasks within the family, the Matriarch generally made sure the internal affairs of the family were running smoothly. There could be a lot of infighting between even kin so it was necessary to have someone to act as a mediator at such times, often making the Matriarch one of the most influential members of the entire family... The man sent a nod to the woman, causing her to give a quick bow before she ran into the back of the workshop, likely to deliver Vahns message. As for the man, he had a very wary expression on his face as he asked in a polite tone, "Might I ask why you havee here...Sir?" It was obvious he didnt know exactly how to address Vahn so thetter just gestured to rx as he exined, "As I stated previously, Ivee here seeking information. Dont worry, your Collbrande family only had a few ves and I dont believe you had hidden any away during the migration. Im here for personal reasons this time around so you can rx..." What Vahn didnt say was that, if the info he got was negative in nature, he couldnt exactly guarantee he wouldnt seek some trouble with them. As could be expected in such circ.u.mstances, Vahns presence within the Workshop had drawn a great deal of attention from the Collbrande family members. Not only the Matriarch, but the Patriarch and other influential members of the family showed up very quickly to greet Vahn. There were several wearing the attire of [cksmith]s while the Patriarch and another middle-aged man had seals carved onto their gloves that denoted them as [Mastersmith]s. As for the Matriarch, she stood at 170cm tall, even while hunched over with greyish-white hair and milky eyes, having long lost their light due to age. Even so, Vahn could sense she had strength simr to a peak Level 3 while her aura was aged to the point that she should be around 250 years old, at the least... Since he had asked to speak with the Matriarch, even the two [Mastersmith]s didnt step into the conversation as the elderly woman walked forward with the assistance of another female Dwarf. Vahn felt more than a little awkward having such an old woman move about on his behalf so he held up his hand and said, "Please, you dont have to go to such lengths for me." At least for the time being, he could afford to be polite, given the circ.u.mstances. Though there were a few with greyish auras, it wasnt nearly as bad as some other families Vahn had seen during his cursory investigations. As a result, he set out afortable sofa for the Matriarch to sit on before pulling out tea and snacks out of habit... Though she couldnt see what was going on, the Matriarchs other senses were still very sharp. She understood what was happening and gave a wrinkled smile after sitting down, remarking, "Youre a very polite boy, Vahn Mason. With current events ongoing, it is rather peculiar to learn this fact...haaaa...this is why we Matriarchs have always cautioned our juniors about acting without consideration for others. We have truly wrought this fate upon ourselves..." Because of their importance within the Dwarvenmunity, most female Dwarves never left the borders of the Iron Hills. They would often be somewhat jaded with reality, especially in theirter years, after watching centuries of pointless infighting and selfish antics. After ncing around the room for a brief moment, Vahns smile became somewhat mncholic as he stated, "My dream is to make a world where people can be happy while working to reach their potential. The institution of very is wed from the start and, though it will be a hard lesson, the Dwarven people will be stronger after oveing this trial. There are great changesing to the world in the near future, many of which have already been set in motion. Even if the Iron Hills had never dered war on Orario..." Given the reaction of everyone present, Vahn let his words fade away since it was obvious most Dwarves werent exactly happy about their recent surrender. The Matriarch of the Collbrande Family, however, gave a sad smile, nodding her head before asking, "Tell me, Vahn, why have youe here seeking this old bag of bones? What can the Collbrande family do for you...?" Typically, anyoneing into their Workshop would request equipment but, given Vahns status as a [Mastersmith], especially one that cohabitated with Hephaestus, this was unlikely. As proud as their family was in regards to their masterpieces, there was simply noparison between their creations and the creations of the most prodigious and prolific forging Goddess... Understanding the Matriarchs confusion, Vahn got straight to the point, asking, "What do you know of a man named Jorfaic Collbrande...?" As he asked the question, Vahn noticed that several auras in the room fluctuated, some quite severely. His eyes scanned over the Patriarch and the second [Mastersmith] as a fierce glimmer emerged shed across his aquamarine irises. When the Matriarch, after several seconds of silence, finally answered, there was a deep solemnity in her voice as she lowered her head and said, "Jorfaic Collbrande...is a man who was exiled from the family more than forty years ago..." (A/N: I have officiallypleted my move so my schedule is rtively open, at least for the next couple of days~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Historic Moments,S.e.xual Dimorphism,Revtions...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 901 - Jorfaic Collbrande

Chapter 901 - Jorfaic Collbrande

Tsubakis father, Jorfaic Collbrande, had been born into the Collbrande Main Family sixty-seven years in the past. He had been the second son of the Patriarchs brother and, after several years of internalpetition over who would be the next head of the family, Jorfaic ultimately failed in his endeavors. His cousin, the son of the Patriarch, had been able to be a [Master Smith] at the age of thirty-two, confirming his ce as his fathers sessor. As for Jorfaic, even though he was also highly skilled and well on his way to bing a [Master Smith], he had been moved into the Branch Family to remove him from contention. His older brother, Edwin, had been good friends with the Patriarchs son, Dulgurim, forcing Jorfaic to sacrifice his career as a [cksmith] in order to be a Merchant. Dissatisfied with the lot he had been given, Jorfaic ended up betraying the Collbrande Family by stealing away the valuables and sinking one of their small merchant vessels. He then vanished, seeking asylum within Orario before taking up his hammer once again. Jorfaic was determined to be a [Master Smith] so that, when he did return to the Iron Hills one day, he would be able to show his brother and cousin how foolish they were. They had tried to suppress his growth by forcing him into the position of a Merchant but, once he obtained the title of [Master Smith], they would be seen as fools within Dwarven society while Jorfaic was free to open his own Workshop. The Matriarch wasnt entirely sure what happened while Jorfaic was within Orario, but Vahn knew the man had sought out other capable cksmiths before finally meeting Tsubakis mother, Sakuya. Not only did she have techniques that were significantly different from the Dwarves, especially when it came to forging weapons, but she was already a [Master Smith] at the time. The two entered into a rtionship after a few years had passed before Sakuya ended up bing pregnant with Tsubaki... This was where things became tragic for all parties involved as, shortly after learning of Sakuyas pregnancy, Jorfaics mentality had undergone certain changes, allowing him to finally break into the coveted [Master Smith] rank at the startling age of twenty-nine. Upon realizing his dream, Jorfaic had immediately wanted to return to the Iron Hills to show the Collbrande Main Family how foolish they had been to try and make him into a Merchant. With his achievement, he was one of the youngest [Master Smith]s in the entire History of the Iron Hills, beating out the son of the Patriarch a full three years while his older brother was behind by nearly ten... Once the story had gotten to this point, Vahns expression had turned icy as he asked, "What happened to Jorfaic after he returned...?" By now, he had already started to glean some insight into things, especially with how the Matriarch imed Jorfaic to have been exiled. Matching his expectations, the elderly woman showed a mournful expression as she said, "Jorfaic did indeed return to the Iron Hills, but it wasnt in triumph...because he had stolen wealth, sunk a merchant vessel, andpromised an entire caravan...he had been exiled from the family. He had also been cklisted andbeled as a criminal by the Elder Council, barred from entering into the Iron Hills as a citizen..." Vahns expression hardened even more upon hearing this as he once again repeated, "What happened to him...?" At this point, the room had be incredibly tense as everyone present hung their heads when the Matriarch answered, "The only fate for criminal exiles within the Iron Hills is to be ves. If we hadnt exiled Jorfaic, he could have ruined the entire family..." Because they would have been held ountable for Jorfaics criminal acts, the Collbrande Main Family had very quickly cut ties with their kin. This was a verymon urrence when there were any hups or idents with the merchant caravan, as it was considered borderline treason topromise the lifeblood of the Iron Hills to such an extent. Though he already knew the answer, Vahn still asked, "Is he alive...?" in a solemn tone. Just by the Matriarchs expression alone, Vahn understood the truth of the matter. Even so, he still listened as she exined, "Jorfaic refused to be a criminal ve and pay off his debts, even though it wouldnt have taken that long with his capabilities as a [Master Smith]. The Stormwright n had offered him terms that would have allowed Jorfaic to earn his freedom after ten years...however, regardless of the terms, Jorfaic adamantly refused. In his attempt to escape, Jorfaic injured several members of the Stormwright Family and was subsequently executed for his crimes..." Upon hearing this, Vahn was unable to resist allowing his domain to release a subtle pressure, as a strong desire to wreak havoc amongst the Stormwright n emerged in him. However, he also understood that Jorfaic had indeed brokenws which, at the time, were beyond his means to do anything about. As the member of a Lesser Noble house, it was impossible that Jorfaic hadnt been aware of thews he had broken. That meant there was more to the situation while, at the same time, his justification for causing havoc at the Stormwright residence was without any basis. He would essentially be throwing a tantrum, even though it was an irrefutable truth that Jorfaic had broken thews and had to be held ountable... Trying to piece together the whole story, Vahn asked, "Do you know why Jorfaic was so against bing a ve to pay for his crimes...?" Vahn already had a guess as to the reason, making it no surprise when the Matriarch looked towards the side, nodding her head towards the middle-aged Dwarf standing next to the Patriarch. The burly man swallowed audibly with a troubled expression on his face as he said, "I had the chance to meet with my brother when he was imprisoned. He argued that he could pay back all of his debts after returning to Orario, even if he had to pay double the amount owed. At the time, he wouldnt exin why returning to Orario was so important, so it was seen as an attempt for him to escape responsibility once again..." Even without the man exining further, Vahn was able to deduce why Jorfaic had wanted to return, especially with how hesitant Edwin seemed to be about speaking on the matter. Tsubaki had be very famous as both a [Master Smith] and the Captain of the Hephaestus Familia. Even if they hadnt known about her existence at first, the various merchant caravans that traded with the Hephaestus Familia obviously would have spread the word upon their return. Vahn suspected that Jorfaic wanted to return for Tsubakis birth, likely after severing ties with the Collbrande Family directly. It was considered a pox of sorts, having a child with another race, but it was obvious that Jorfaic hadnt been a conventional Dwarf in the least. He had fallen in love with a human woman who had greater skills than himself, even siring a child with her and bing inspired enough to be a [Master Smith]. It was his desire to protect Tsubaki and Sakyua, who could have been pressured unfairly by the Iron Hills, thatpelled him to remain silent when questioned... To confirm part of his suspicions, Vahn asked, "Did you receive letters for Jorfaic around twenty years ago...?" This time, the atmosphere in the room became so tense that it felt like you would be able to cut through the air with a knife and leave a visible trail. For several long seconds, nobody answered Vahns question, causing the tension to increase further until the Matriarch finally exined, "After confirming the letters had been delivered...they were burned as an offering to Jorfaics unmarked grave...Im sorry..." As criminals were not allowed to be buried with honors, most were simply tossed into mass graves or burned to ashes within a furnace. Jorfaic had been a small exception, as he had obtained the rank of [Master Smith], so his body wasid to rest with an unmarked gravestone on the edge of the Collbrande Family Estate... Knowing that Tsubaki had paid exorbitant fees, during a period of her life when she was suffering the most, only for her letters to be burned away...made Vahn feel incredibly empty on the inside. Since the letters had been addressed to a dead man, it would have been exceptionally rude for anyone to actually read the contents but, the fact nobody had even bothered to send a return letter exining the situation, causing Tsubaki to continue spending a small fortune to deliver more letters, showed just how greedy the Dwarves could be. Part of him wanted to punish these people forcking the basic decency to provide any kind of closure to a girl that had been suffering greatly...even though this was a matter from more than twenty years ago... After taking in a long breath, Vahn exhaled a sigh as he stated inly, "Tsubaki is one of my most important people...you know, we even have a daughter together now. I had wanted to bring her some form of closure by finding out what happened to her father, a man she had spent thirty-nine years believing had abandoned her. Even when she was caring for her sick mother, desperately trying to contact her father, she had be an even greater victim because of the practices of your corrupt and wicked merchants...I dont know what to tell her about this event, as it feels like anything I say would only bring her greater pain..." Vahn knew it was possible to have ties closer than family, even with people that had no blood rtion to you. At the same time, it was possible to have direct kin who felt extremely distant, to the point that they would even backstab you if it meant they would receive benefits. He didnt want Tsubaki or Sakuya to have any rtion to these kinds of people, even if they may one day grow beyond their current status and be kind and capable people in the future. Though it should be Tsubakis decision to make, Vahns expression turned icy as he said, "I feel an indignant rage, yet have no way to deal with it without causing a tragedy...from now on, the Collbrande Family no longer exists. You will change your name and bury this matter entirely...if I ever find out any of your family tries to use your loose rtionship with Tsubaki to gain any form of benefits, I will fix my mistake by making you disappear myself...!" Once the Iron Hills became a more open country, it was very likely that Tsubaki would one day venture to the homnd of her father and seek answers. Even if he lied to her and said he was unable to find out any information, there was no way he would be able to genuinely fool her. As much as he tried to hide his thoughts, Vahn was terrible at lying to the people that were close to him, especially women like Tsubaki. This meant he would have to tell her the truth at some point, as she deserved to know that her father had cared for her enough to stake his life just trying to return to them. One day, she may even forgive the Collbrande Family for what they had done, but that was something in the far future, for both of them... As prideful as they may be, not even the Patriarch of the Collbrande Family was willing to stand against Vahn on this issue. He knew they had erred a great deal in how they handled the situation and, given Vahns power and authority, he had more than enough of both topletely bury his entire family. Dulgurim had even made an internal decision to properly mark Jorfaics grave and entomb the area properly, just in case Tsubaki or Vahn returned here one day. They didnt have the right to seek any benefits from either of them but, depending on the choices his family made in the future, things werent entirely irreconcble. As small a connection as it may be, they still had familial ties with Vahn and Tsubaki, meaning it was possible their family could flourish in the future if they changed their ways. (A/N: Remember, these are people that have lived like 80+ years only thinking about benefits. It is impossible that they wouldnt be considering how best to make use of such a situation...) Vahn spent a few minutes discussing matters with the Patriarch of the former Collbrande family, including the steps they would take to change their status and reputation in the future. Since they had two [Master Smith]s, it wouldnt be hard for them to uproot their Workshop and businesses before moving into another Undercity after changing their names. Dwarves rarely had interaction with people outside of their social and business circles, and now was a good time to move since the entire Iron Hills was in chaos. A lot of people would likely be moving about in the next few years while those families with Master Artisans would likely rise to even greater prominence in the aftermath... After their discussion hade to an end, Vahn wanted to see Jorfaics grave so he could pay respects to his would-be father-inw. Though he and Tsubaki had never truly married, they had gone through the ceremony that would have made her into his Mistress. In ordance with hers and Sakuyas culture, Vahn wanted to pay his respects properly. Thus, for the better part of an hour, Vahn washed Jorfaics grave before bowing low to it, praying he had found sce and happiness in his future incarnation. If possible, Vahn prayed that he and Sakuya could reunite at some point, finding peace and love in each otherspany once again... Once had finished paying respects, Vahn raised his head and, without turning around, asked, "Did you need something from me, Matriarch...?" The old woman had been watching him for over a half-hour, silently standing at the side without making any sounds to interrupt his disy of respect. Now, upon hearing Vahns words, she moved forward with slow steps, carrying a wrapped cloth in her arms as she said, "You have every reason to be dissatisfied with us, Vahn, there is nothing I can do to remedy that. Please, take this with you...it is the item that Jorfaic had forged to be a [Master Smith]. It does not belong here in this ce any longer..." Within the wrapped cloth, which seemed to beprised of fine red silk, there was a rtively in katana. However, as simple as its appearance was at a nce, Vahn was able to feel a strange sense of pride and elegance radiating from the sheathed de. Upon receiving it from the Matriarch, Vahn unsheathed the de, finding an immacte silvery-white de that was the obvious result of a [Master Smith]s c.u.mtive efforts. Even the untrained eye would be able to see the amount of effort that had gone into the production of this single de, so sharp that simply looking at it gave the sense that you were going to be cut... With a small nod, Vahn resheathed the de and ced it into his Inventory, pausing when he saw the name that was listed through the interface. His nose felt a little sour and, even though he had never met Sakuya and Jorfaic himself, Vahn felt an urge to tear up. Reading the name and description of the katana made Vahns heart feel like it was twisting in his chest and, though he had already paid his respects once, Vahn feltpelled to do so a second time... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Sakuya-no-Tsubaki](A/N: Last Nights Camelia Flower) Rank: S P.Atk: 1800 M.Atk: 0 Abilities: Parents Hope(S), Impable Edge(S), Durandal(A), Auto-Repair(A) A sword produced by a budding Mastersmith during a bout of inspiration, allowing him to produce a miracle in the form of a masterpiece. This de contains the passion and intent of its creator, bestowing it with the unique ability to greatly increase its users potential. After going unused for forty years, the effect of this de has only increased, carrying the sincere hope that its intended user may cut through all obstacles in order to obtain happiness. Restriction: Tsubaki Collbrande ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: A Man Who Would Not Be Suppressed,The Failure of a Family...,A Hope That Transcends Death...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 902 - Overwork : Understanding

Chapter 902 - Overwork : Understanding

Back in Orario, Vahn had been busy with a veritable mountain of paperwork, even though thergest portion was being handled by Fortuna, Loki, and Eirene. Thetters Familia was processing all of the new residents that would be entering into the City while Fortuna was allocating the necessary funds to get everyone situated. If not for all the temporary housing that had been constructed during the ongoing reformations of Orario, it would have been extremely difficult to ce therge influx of refugees. Currently, the Alliance was assigning refugees that had close rtionsh.i.p.s with each other to the same abode, at least until they were able to find work and move into one of the proper housing districts. As there was a chance some of the ves would want to stay inside of the temporary housing indefinitely, Vahn had to make the hard decision to put a two-year limit where they would have ample opportunity to find work. Fortunately, most of the former ves were extremely motivated and wanted to get a jump start on their new lives, many immediately bingborers and joining construction crews. They had the necessary skills after living for decades within the Iron Hills and, with the avability of food, ample break time, and decent pay, many refugees considered Orario as paradise. This was especially the case for the Pallum, making up nearly half of the entire refugee poption, who moved into thergemunity that had been established for Pallum previously. Because Vahn had always anticipated that a veryrge number of Pallum would migrate into Orario after his policy changes were introduced, the Alliance had ced a lot of its efforts into expanding that particr district, even when the poption wasnt that great. Previously, there had been around 70,000 permanant residents in the district while the avable housing could amodate nearly 500,000. They werent the mostvish of residences but the architecture was suitable for ease of living for Pallum, with most of the shelves, tables, and countertops made much lower than normal. As a result, Orario referred to this section of the City as Little Orario, even though the Pallum residing in it had literally named it Pallums Paradise... Currently, Vahn was pouring over a list of applicants who wanted to join the Haven Defense Force, which, once again, constituted arge number of Pallum and various Beast Humans. The Elves he had liberated were either returned to the Elven Forest or given residency within the budding Elven Community District. Many of them hadnt been ves for very long, so their mentality had suffered a heavy trauma as a result of the very different lifestyles. As for the Half-Elves that had been forced to be ves, they were currently unable to rationalize that the very nation that had sold them into very was now undergoing reforms. Many of them were seeking to be servants and shop assistants, essentially taking up the role they had back in the Iron Hills. As a result, Mama Mia ended up taking in several hundred Half-Elf refugees to serve within her various Hostess of Fertility, which now had a total of twenty-nine branches in operation. Overall, things were transitioning slowly but surely in a positive direction, at least until Vahn saw what was happening back in the Iron Hills. His hands hade to a stop mid-stroke, causing Fortuna and Loki to give him a curious look as thetter asked, "Did something happen, Vahn?" She had been helping sort out the more troublesome ves, as not every ve that had been liberated from the Iron Hills could be treated with impunity. Some had fallen into very as a result of crimes, many rting to theft, fraud, and embezzlement. Currently, so long as they cooperated with the investigations, these individuals would be given a clean te of sorts, assuming their crimes were not of the heinous variety. Vahn shook his head lightly, exining, "Ill have to take a break to meet with Tsubaki...there are a few things I need to inform her about. Why dont the two of you take a tea break to clear out the cobwebs? Youve both been working hard..." Instead of Loki, Fortuna was the one to answer Vahns question,ughing in an amused tone as she twirled her pen and said, "Though Im sure we can both appreciate your concerns, arent you working harder than everyone right now, Vahn? Ill take a break when you take a real break..." Fortuna was a principle Goddess of Fortune with lesser divinities rted to Wealth, Trade, and Luck. Vahn had been introduced to her through Minerva a long time ago and she had served as his intermediary when dealing with the markets of Orario. She was a beautiful goddess with a sharp and intelligent appearance, possessing pale green eyes and tinum blonde hair. As if trying to ent her intelligent look, Fortuna almost always wore a pair of designer bifocals while her hair was done up in a neat ponytail with her bangs done up near her temples with two golden pins. This caused the fringe hairs on the side of her face to frame her intelligent visage in an extremely neat fashion,pletely her intelligent look, even though there was always a teasing glint in her eyes that seemed capable of discerning the true value of everything... The one thing that Fortuna herselfined about was, much like Loki, she hadnt been blessed in the b.r.e.a.s.t category at all. She was also rather petite, standing only 162cm tall, though her heels brought her up to a fair 170cm. Vahn had given her a massage in the past, discovering that Fortuna wore a padded bra that bolstered her bust size quite a bit. Though she wasnt truly t, having simrly sized b.r.e.a.s.ts to Emiru and Maemi, Fortuna had remarked, "Having arge bust is an asset when conducting business." Since she usually wore very stylish clothing that ented her appearance even further, giving her a professional feel that could put most of the Guild receptionists to shame, it was obvious that Fortuna was very calcting in how she presented herself to others... Vahn knew that Fortuna was more than a little fond of him and, if circ.u.mstances were slightly different, they may have already entered into a more permanant rtionship. Now that she was showing her concern for him, in her own way, Vahns expression softened a little as he said, "Im not sure how long Ill be, but I wouldnt mind joining the two of you for a long break when I return. Though there is still a lot of work toplete, I can finish most of the paperwork in the Sub-Space Orb or create an updated memory fragment that can go through the paperwork on my behalf..." In general, if not for the two orbs, Vahn wouldnt be able to manage all of the doc.u.ments that required his attention, especially during chaotic times like this. Fortuna and Loki both frowned when they heard Vahns words, knowing that he was going to use the break as an excuse toter work himself even harder. They knew he was trying to build a foundation to be an Emperor, something they both supported, but he was trying too hard to make things run perfectly from the very beginning. There were so many ongoing projects right now and, at the heart of everything, there were both of Vahns bodies working tirelessly to make sure things were running smoothly. Though he did take breaks, usually when they forced him to spend the night with the children, Vahn was spending upwards of six full days without sleeping even a wink. During the Fifteen Day War between Orario and the Iron Hills, Vahn had spent more than two months of time without resting at all... Knowing that Vahn had to have a limit, and fearing they would learn the hard way what happens once he reached it, Loki rose to her feet before walking over and cing her hand on Vahns shoulder, sternly saying, "You can take the doc.u.ments and let your memory fragment deal with them. That isnt an opportunity to just do more work, though, so youll have to take a few days off to actually rx, okay? This thing with Tsubaki, it seems like a pretty big deal...you should spend some time with her and Sakuya. Though everyone in the Manor will help her out, youre her lover and the father of her child...there are some things only you can do for her. Rx, show her you are there for her through your actions, not just your words..." Without waiting for Vahns response, Loki turned to Fortuna and said, "Come on, Fortuna, we could use a break of our own. This idiot will probably be busy for a while and we might starve to death if we wait around for him~." Though Vahn had be very reliable over thest few years, Loki knew it wasnt that difficult to influence his decisions. She was confident that her words would be enough to get him to at least rest for three days, even if it was only with one of his bodies. The other would undoubtedly be off taking care of other important matters, something she understood was outside of her control to truly regte. It would take thebined efforts of the girls in the Manor to get him to truly rx which, at the present, wasnt necessarily a good thing with how much was going on... True to Lokis expectations, Vahn sought out Tsubaki with the intention of staying at her side for as long as she needed him there. In truth, he also wanted to spend time with her and Sakuya, just as he wanted to spend time with all of his lovers and children. Though he had a decent lull in his schedule after sealing Enyo, it never felt like he had enough time to actually spend with all of the people important to him. He had to split time between spending time with his lovers, ying with his children, training, forging, assisting Asfi, Naaza, and Nanu with their research, making sure things were running smoothly at Spero, watching over the development of Haven, and ensuring that Enyos seal wasntpromised somehow. Without the Sub-Space and Space-Time orbs, it would be impossible for him to manage everything, even when he was in a period where he was supposed to be rxing... While thinking it would be best to actually rx for once, even while preparing to head back to the 60th Floor to monitor things with his avatar, Vahn made his way to Tsubakis workshop. She didnt spend much time in the Sub-Space orb as, even though he could prevent her from aging noticeably, Tsubaki had never truly gotten over how old she was. Presently, her age was around thirty-nine years old while, chronologically, she was forty-three. Her appearance, however, would cause most people to assume she was in her mid-twenties, as her healthy brown skin glowed with a youthful vitality while her sensual curves would make most men short of breath, assuming they had the opportunity to gawk without getting their face smashed in by her fists... It was currently Sunday, meaning Tsubaki wasnt at the School, so Vahn was easily able to track her down without even having to look. He could have sent her a telepathic message to meet up with him but, considering the circ.u.mstances, Vahn wanted to go to her side instead. She was in the middle of making a pair of ck bracers that would easily fit a child, leading Vahn to believe she was making them for either Sakuya, Aisha, or Meinya. Thetter had started to train hard after Arnya became busy training members of the Haven Defense Force. Though she still liked to y around, Meinya obviously wanted attention so Arnya had been guiding her more actively after noticing the change. Tsubaki was at the stage where she was adding embellishments to the material, giving it a unique appearance that would match its user. As a result, she finished up rather quickly before setting the bracers to the side, a loving smile on her face as she asked, "Vahn, is there something I can do for you...?" Even before she had finished asking her question, Tsubaki realized something was off so she had started to make her way over, allowing Vahn to naturally embrace her. He wasnt the type toin about a bit of sweat and, in circ.u.mstances like this, it was important if they were closer together for mutualfort... Vahn held Tsubaki for nearly a full minute, sending threads of calming energy into her body, before exining, "I know you told me not to worry about it, but I couldnt help trying to find out what had happened to your father..." Tsubakis response to this was to just hang her head slightly, breathing in a little deeper to remain calm before uttering an Nn to encourage Vahn to continue. He went on to exin the truth, including her fathers past, how he hade to meet Sakuya, and why he had put his life on the line. In the end, Vahn gave her the [Sakuya-no-Tsubaki], exining its name and origin, causing the silent Tsubaki to tremble with the de in her grasp. For the better part of an hour, Vahn just held Tsubaki in his arms as she curled up in his embrace, neither crying nor speaking a word. She just held the [Sakuya-no-Tsubaki] as if it were a precious treasure, staring into the pristine white de that even her current skill may not be able to replicate. Though itcked magic, the make of the de and its unique abilities were something that only a god would be able to replicate, making it a true miracle amongst [Master Smith]s. The fact that Jorfaic had produced such a masterpiece, all because of the passion and love he had for Sakuya and her unborn child, showed the mans absolute dedication to both. Tsubaki, however, simply couldnt shed tears for the man as it conflicted with her own image to greatly...it would take time for her to truly ept these revtions... After calming down, Tsubaki still remained silent for a few minutes before asking, "Are you still back in the Iron Hills...?" Though he had already started making his way back with Fafnir, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation, causing Tsubaki to say, "I know you have the power...please, bring my father back...I want him to be buried at my Mothers Manor. In the future, when we go to pay respects...I..." Tsubaki knew that Jorfaic, her Father, had been yet another victim of circ.u.mstance and that all of her resentment towards him had been created based on a misunderstanding. Part of her even wondered if her mother had known about his death, giving her his surname and helping her to grow stronger as both a warrior and a cksmith before telling her the truth. In the end, however, her Mother had remained silent on the issue, for reasons that had died with her... Tsubaki wondered if it was because of her single-minded hatred of her Father that her Mother had been unable to speak the truth. People could be foolish at times, especially when it came to keeping the truth from their loved ones, all in the name of protecting them. Understanding this was likely just another misunderstanding, Tsubaki didnt know quite how she should feel about the situation. The one thing she now understood was that both of her parents loved her dearly and, even though she had gotten her Fathers giftte, she had already found the happiness her parents had wanted for her... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Welfare and Charity can also cause problems,Vahn is still broken, just in a different way...,There is no truer love than that of a parent towards their children) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 903 - Respect

Chapter 903 - Respect

Taking Lokis advice seriously, Vahn stayed at Tsubakis side and, instead of busying himself in the Dungeon with his avatar, decided to spend time with his family back at the Manor. He really didnt need to be rushing everything so much and, so long as he wasnt caught wholly unprepared, it wasnt as if there were any great threats that required his attention. Now that they needed time to get the refugees settled, Vahn knew he should focus more on internal affairs instead of seeking conflict with other countries. They still had a little more than five weeks until the Rakia Kingdoms invasion forces arrived, so now was a good opportunity to get his personal life sorted out. With these intentions, Vahn spent nearly three days caring for Tsubaki, rarely leaving her side except when she needed to perform her duties at the School. During that time, Vahn would y with Sakuya, Meinya, Aisha, Leh, and Anise, watching over their training and just spending time ying games with them. At the same time, he had found the opportunity to check on his older children, helping Erika with her never-ending studies, teaching Vana how to manipte external Fire Elemental energy, and helping Ina test her inventions. Thetter had developed a prototype suit of armor that covered the entire body,plete with size-changing functionality. Most impressively, however, was that Ina had discovered how to create and exploit slots, something that Vahn had overlooked in other peoples work. Depending on how a slot was assigned, it was possible to use equipment in conjunction with other equipment, such as how a bow could make use of unique arrows depending on the number of slots. Ina had found a way to increase the number of slots in her armored suit, copying the basic structure of the Aegis Armor that Vahn had produced for the girls. With all the pieces of her suit together, including helmet, b.r.e.a.s.tte, pauldrons, arm harnesses, gauntlets, belt, leg harnesses, and greaves, Inas [Aegis Prime Mk. 2] had a total of twenty-nine slots. The armor itself only had the Abilities Auto-Sizing and Shock Absorption, but the additional parts that could be slotted into it gave it infinite functionality. Currently, Ina was proactively trying to learn how to engineer gemstone constructs, using abination of [Lapidary] and, after learning from Asfi, the [Mystery] Development Ability. All of the Vanir seemed to have a natural ability at learning Skills, Magic, and Development Abilities, much like how Vahn had been able to learn them in the past. So long as they set their minds on a goal, each had been able to achieve a great deal in a very short period of time. Vana already had [Swordsman], [Tamer], and [Acrobatics] while Erika had reached A-Rank in her [Mage], and [Analysis] Development Abilities. Vahn had never even heard of thetter before it popped up in her [Heroic Tale], which exined that it allowed her to analyze targets, identifying their strengths and weaknesses at a nce. She could even, to an extent, gauge the power output of a target, iming that Vahns aura made it seem like he was a massive ocean of power... Ultimately, Vahn was incredibly proud of each of his children, even though the Vanir stood out as especially exceptional. The fact that his three eldest already appeared to have reached a.d.u.l.thood still caused him to feel slightly mncholic but, seeing how much they had grown along the path they had chosen, he could only smile with pride. His onlyint, though it really couldnt be considered one, was that there seemed to be a gap in their awareness that he wasnt sure how to address. Even Erika would sometimes want to receive a bit of pampering, causing Vahn to feel awkward whenever they would make requests for things like massages and other types of spa treatments. He didnt mind it so much, as he felt no deviant feelings towards his daughters, but a part of him wished they would show a bit of propriety at times...(A/N: Keep in mind that Vahn is also the family physician, does beauty treatments, etc. Dont be weird about it :P) From the period between 4:30 AM, as Tsubaki had to be at the Schools training field by 5:00 AM, until around 2:00 PM, Vahn would spent his day watching over his children and interacting with the other residents of the Manor. When Tsubaki eventually returned, he would always be there to greet her with Sakuya in his arms, spending the rest of the day together and showing her as much care and concern as she could tolerate. This ended up being the key word, tolerate, as Tsubaki eventually started teasing him for being overly concerned, trying to drive him away and make him spend time with other people. Even so, Vahn had gotten good at handling most of the girls, Tsubaki being no exception, so he managed to coax and pacify her until she became docile in his arms once again... It was the evening of the third day when, after having what amounted to a tickle fight, Tsubaki was leaning into Vahns chest with the sleeping Sakuya in her embrace as she muttered, "I think Im ready... lets go tomorrow afternoon..." Vahn had already moved Jorfaics body to where Tsubaki had wanted him buried, erecting arge prayer shrine where people from the Far East would go to honor their ancestors. Tsubaki had a smaller shrine inside her room, where they would return to at the end of the year to pay respects to Sakuya. Now, the shrine inside Tsubakis old room, which had belonged to her mother before her, had two pictures enshrined inside. The first showed a vibrant Sakuya, still the picture of perfect health, while the second showed a stern-faced Dwarven man who, if you looked closely, had a soft light in his eyes... Vahn responded by rubbing Tsubakis arm as gently as he could manage, not wanting to wake Sakuya, while he kissed the top of Tsubakis head and said, "Whenever youre ready...there is no rush, Tsubaki..." She nodded her head slowly in response before muttering, "The longer I wait, the guiltier I will feel...besides, arent I always telling you not to overthink things? As sad as this ended up being, it is actually a positive oue. Instead of abandoning us, my Father cared for both my mother and me very deeply...I have wronged him greatly and it has already been far too long since I have paid my due respects..." The only reason Tsubaki had waited an additional three days was that she had been trying to think about why her mother had kept the truth from her. However, no matter how much she thought about it, any answer she coulde up with didnt seem to be the truth of the matter. Now, after watching over the various orphans in her change at the School, Tsubaki felt that she needed to pay respects to her deceased Father soon or the guilt might tear her apart... Without saying anything, Vahn just held Tsubaki a little tighter, knowing she was trying to sort her own thoughts, not really expecting him to have a response. This was something she could only work through herself and, for the time being, his duty was to show her as much support as she needed from him. Tomorrow afternoon, they would go and pay respects as a family, taking Sakuya along with them so she coulde to understand that both of her grandparents were loving parents to her mother. Though she was still a little young to understand such things, Sakuya would one day learn the significance of these truths, giving her strength and direction in her own life down the line... --- True to her word, Tsubaki had arrived punctually at the Manor afterpleting her duties at the School. Vahn was already waiting for her with Sakuya, dressed up in an adorable red kimono, holding his hand at the side. Tsubaki, seeing her own daughter in such a getup, couldnt help smiling affectionately as she too made her way inside to get changed. Vahn was also wearing a ck yukata with red lines, designating him as the head of the household while Tsubaki eventually dawned a simrly colored Kimono. Though she looked very stylish wearing such clothing, there were no adornments or embellishments to be seen, as they would be going to mourn and pay respects. This wasnt the case for Sakuya, however, as Vahn had spent nearly two hours helping her style her hair and look even more adorable so that he could show her off to his inws... Though they would have flown during most circ.u.mstances, this was a solemn event that Tsubaki would need time to prepare herself for. As a result, the three walked hand-in-hand the entire distance, even stopping to peruse a few stalls when Sakuya showed an interest in something. By the time they reached Tsubakis Manor, the adorable little Half-Dwarf was happily nomming away at a candied stick while Tsubakis expression had softened a great deal, a natural smile disyed on her face. When they went inside, Tsubaki showed no hesitation as she stepped into the shrine and, though it was long overdue, she paid her sincere respects to her father while praying for the health of her daughter... Vahn waited patiently outside with Sakuya since, even though he was the head of the house, he had no right to enter into the Ancestral Shrine dedicated to Tsubakis ancestors. His time cameter, when the three of them entered into Tsubakis room and opened the partition where the shrine that was dedicated to both Sakuya and Jofraic was located. Here, Vahn paid his respects together with Tsubaki before they had a long conversation with the two pictures, introducing the confused Sakuya to her grandfather. Even in her confused state, however, Sakuya did an adorable little bow and happily began chatting with the two pictures as, for a brief moment, it felt like the five of them were all in the room together as a family... That night, the three of them stayed within Tsubakis Manor while Tsubaki, for the first time since learning the truth about her Father, shed tears on his behalf. In the past, she had cried tears of indignation, ming her father for the suffering she and her mother had to go through alone. Now, knowing she had misunderstood the truth of the matter, Tsubaki shed tears that had been bottled up for forty-two years, crying for the father she had never known. All the while, Vahn lent his shoulder to her, stroking Tsubakis silken ck hair until, several hours after she had started, the proud and strong woman he had fallen in love with cried herself to sleep... The following dawn, Tsubaki had returned to her normal and upbeat self, an honest and caring smile on her face as she cooked up some fried rice and eggs for Sakuya. Vahn knew she was still hurting, and would likely be for a while, but he also disyed a happy smile. He knew that now, aftering to terms with what had happened, the healing process could finally begin. Just as Sakuya and Jorfaic had hoped, Tsubaki would be stronger after knowing the truth and, with the [Sakuya-no-Tsubaki] at her side, her happiness would continue to grow. Even their daughter seemed to understand this as, during breakfast, with pieces of rice sticking to her face, Sakuya happily asked, "Mom, will you teach me how to use a sword like that...?" Tsubaki had already started teaching Sakuya some of the fundamentals but, as thetter was too young for real training, they hadnt started on anything more difficult. When she heard her daughters question, however, Tsubaki smiled lovingly before adopting a serious look as she said, "If you start down the path of a warrior, you will not be able to deviate and ck offter on. Ill teach you everything I know until you are strong enough to grow beyond me and begin teaching others. It isnt a path you should walk if youck the conviction so, until you are four years old, you should seriously consider if that is what you truly desire, Sakuya..." Even though her mothers words sounded serious, Sakuya just giggled yfully as she held up her spoon and shouted, "Dont worry, Mom, Sakuya will be the strongest~!" With her exmationplete, Sakuya scooped up another mouthful of fried rice and shoveled it into her mouth, squinting happily as she did so. Tsubaki, hearing her daughters words and observing her actions, simply began tough out heartily while Vahn, watching the interaction between mother and daughter, felt like his heart was going to melt. With the bonds of family, and a willingness to do whatever it took to make the other party happy, it was possible to whether any kind of setback. Tsubaki would normally need the support of many people to put this matter behind her and face the future but, with just a few choice words from her daughter, the road to recovery would be much shorter. Since Tsubaki had taken the day off, having Arnya fill in for her, the three spent the first half of the day lounging about and simply spending time together as a family. In the afternoon, after having Sakuya wear some casual childrens clothing, the three went around the various interesting areas of Orario, including the very top of Babel tower. It worried Vahn a little, that none of his children seemed to have any fears while he was around, but it also made him feel like a capable father at the same time. Even when Sakuya was walking around the edge of Babel,pletely ignoring the high winds that could easily sweep her off her feet, Vahn just created a wind barrier around her while anchoring her with his telekinesis. Since even Tsubaki allowed her to y around, enjoying the sight of Orario from above, Vahn allowed his daughter to do as she pleased while saving his lecture forter... Once Sakuya had yed around for a bit, the three made their way to a rather high-end restaurant within Babel Tower before taking Sakuya to view the various weapon and item shops on the 16th Floor. Along the way, Vahn found a small shop that sold childrens toys and souvenirs, which had been growing in poprity, and decided to buy something tomemorate the event. When they entered the shop, however, Vahn felt his face heat up as Tsubakisughter echoed throughout the entire Floor. As for Sakuya, she beamed upon witnessing the adorable plush dolls that were on disy,beled under a sign that boldly touted, Best Selling Childrens Toy, The Little Emperor of Orario!. There, in a disy bin that was surrounded by various women and children, a veritable pile of Vahn plushies could be seen... In the end, Vahn had to purchase several of the rather intricately designed dolls while those who had already been there to buy one ended up asking for autographs. Some of the bolder women, at least until Tsubaki scared them away with a deadpan stare, even tried to ask for a lock of Vahns hair to sew into the backing. His poprity with Amazons, Elves, Pallum, and Beast People had been peaking for a while now, though they typically had enough sense not to bother him when he was with family. This time was a bit of an exception, however, as the group of girls fawned over the adorable Sakuya while happily unting their dolls and paying him more than a few heavypliments... Along the way back to the Manor, Tsubaki teased him incessantly about the dolls while Sakuya happily hugged her 40cm tall plush that had cost Vahn a surprising 60,000V. It used rather high-quality materials in its construction and, after asking the store owner about who created them, Vahn learned they were produced by a goddess named Rhapso, possessing a literal divine level of skill when it came to sewing. Her Familia was rtively new, only existing for around eight months, and she currently only had four total members. Since she hadnt joined the Alliance yet, and Vahn had never heard of her previously, it was likely that she had only descended in the Mortal World around the same time. Now, Vahn nned to give her a public endors.e.m.e.nt and invite her into the Alliance, as the poprity of such items had a lot of potential within the ever-evolving markets of Orario... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ina Inherited Tony Starks Will xD,Four decades of saved tears...,Rhapso is about to be famous, producing an entire line of Vahn-type plushies~! I imagine they would be very popr with refugees and the girls at the School...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 904 - Contemplation

Chapter 904 - Contemtion

Because Tsubaki had taken a personal day, Vahn had decided to make an appearance at the next training session for those aspiring to be Adventurers. The School had fully implemented the system where students were evaluated ording to four different categories. These were the Warrior, Mage, Artisan, and Schr boards. Thetter category ounted for everything from the arts, such as music, painting, singing, dance, and theatre, while the Artisan board focused on those that wanted to pursue Forging, Metalworking, Crafting, Fletching, Mixing, and other trades. These sses also included things like business management, arithmetic, and the basics of providing logistical support to organizations. In general, students needed credits in each of the four categories to graduate but they were also required to pick a major and minor focus. Currently, the most poprbination amongst students, as the vast majority were orphans, consisted of majoring in the Warrior and Artisan sses. These types of students wanted to be Adventurers and, in preparation for their inevitable retirement, they also wanted to know the basics of running a business while having a trade they can rely on. Behind them, the most poprbination was students who focused on sses that allowed them to earn credits as a Mage and Schr. Because the magic system from Evas world required mastery of gestures, drawing wards, singing, and even dancing, a student would have to earn a number of credits in these categories to even qualify as a Mage. Since the majority of such students were Elves, who already had an appreciation of the arts, thergest portion of potential Mages leaned heavily in their favor. Still, that didnt mean there werent members of other races participating as, with Vahns constant reinforcement of their path, many had been inspired to be Mages and Schrs. With sess stories like Roux, who shouldnt be able to use Magic at all, there was a shift urring in the School these days. For the time being, however, the trend for most students had them oriented towards bing Adventurers while a select few were determined to be capable athletes. As a result, Tsubaki, who taught the basics ofbat and survival, usually had a full ss of one hundred students that she would train from 5-7AM before they would be given time to eat breakfast. Afterward, from 8-11, the students would be made to spar against each other to build basicbat proficiency while Tsubaki, and her assistants, would provide guidance from the side. Once the long sparring session came to an end, the students would have another hour to eat lunch before they spent the final two hours learning survival skills, monster ecology, and the basics for working as a team. Under normal circ.u.mstances, this was how a typical day for those learning under Tsubaki would y out, with most of their other sses taking ce in the afternoon when it was generally too hot and muggy to trainfortably. With Vahn showing up at the field, even though Tsubaki had tried to keep him away, things didnt go quite as nned. The moment Vahn appeared in the training area, he became the main focus of every student while Tsubaki, and her three assistants, released sighs of exasperation at the side. Vahn was simply too popr amongst the student body who, after being given the chance to improve themselves in such an environment, all free of charge, showed a truly reverential level of respect toward him. Regardless of how the situation was spun, it was an irrefutable truth that Vahn had created an ideal environment where children could receive a high standard of education, improving their quality of life into the far future. For the orphans who previously had no hope, being given the opportunity to attend the School had fundamentally changed their fate, allowing them to obtain the power and resources to choose their own path in life. Vahn was looked up to by boys, who aspired to be like him, while many of the younger girls idolized him, sometimes a little too much. This was primarily Vahns fault, as he had a habit of indiscriminately petting people, motivating the boys and causing tender feelings in the girls that fell under the influence of his [Grooming]... Now, while giving one of his inspirational lessons, Vahn had the rapt attention of not only Tsubakis ss, but many other students who had learned that he was on campus and giving a lecture. By the end of his lesson, the one hundred students had grown to a little under three hundred, causing Vahn to lightly reprimand those who had skipped out on their actual sses. There was actually nothing that forced students to attend lectures, as some children were better suited to self-study in the Library, but Vahn still felt a little guilty having pulled focus away from some of the other teachers. (A/N: Essentially, as long a student is able to earn credit for the ss, usually by taking a test to showprehension, they dont actually need to attend lessons. Stressing out students and forcing them into an environment where they are ufortable is counter-productive to healthy development.) Once the lecture hade to an end, Vahn found himself surrounded by a veritable horde of his young fangirls while the boys, understanding the futility of trying to break through, simplyughed at the side and began talking about the lecture in high spirits. Vahn ended up in a bit of an awkward situation where two hands simply werent enough as he tried to encourage the rather excitable crowd of young girls who seemed to be fighting, albeit peacefully, for his attention. Eventually, one of the older students, an intelligent looking Chienthrope girl, ended up having them form a queue so that everyone would get a turn. As a result, Vahn found himself standing in front of an orderly queue while the Chienthrope girls stood at the side with a watch and counted the time for everyone. Since many of the female students had spent their breakfast time queuing up in front of him, Vahn had given out little bags of cookies and bottles of milk-tea to those happily conversing at the side. At this point,bining the few he had obtained today, Vahn had nearly two-hundred optional quests rted to the affection of students attending the School. Because they were underage, just as Tina had once been, the quests he got were different from the [Hearts Desire]. Most pertained to small requests, such as giving specific gifts or performing certain actions, but Vahn hadnt acted on any of them. There wasnt much he could do about students having a crush on him, but he could still act professionally as a mentor instead of leading them on and developing devious tendencies... Towards the end of breakfast, just as the queue had finished up, the Chienthrope girl that had kept things orderly happily stepped in front of Vahn. Instead of her intelligent look, there was a happy smile on her face, a soft pink hue on her cheeks, and a glimmer of expectation in her teal eyes. She was one of the girls who had reached 100 Affection for him, giving him a quest to invite her on a date and pet her ears and tail. As a Chienthrope, this was a very intimate action and, even though she was approaching a.d.u.l.thood, Vahn didnt take advantage of the situation. Though he did reach out his hand and lightly stroke her ck hair, giving her a few encouraging words in the process, that was where he drew the line. Once she had received her share of petting, the Chienthrope girl, her intelligent disposition having faded entirely, ran off to join her friends with her tail wagging about excitedly. At this point, Tsubaki pulled him to the side with a teasing look on her face as she said, "That habit of yours is going to be the bane of your existence, Vahn..." At this point, most people knew about Vahns habit of petting, understanding it wasnt meant to be overtly intimate nor a form of courtship. There were some girls who tried to take advantage of the situation, straightforwardly asking to be pet, but Vahn was usually able to deal with them without issue. It was the girls he had a rtively closer rtionship that was the issue as even women like Renka, who was currently assisting Tsubaki, would privately ask to be pet... Unable to refute Tsubakis words, Vahn shrugged with a helpless smile on his face as he said, "I know its a bad habit, but I cant really restrain myself when they have so much expectation and hope in their eyes. Besides, it will help motivate them to work hard, especially while their parameters are boosted and they feel more energetic..." Vahn was often teased for his propensity towards petting, especially by the goddesses within the Manor. They joked that, when he finally did obtain a Divinity, it would be one rted to Petting. The fact they made suchments, generally while receiving the benefits of his [Grooming], made it feel like a joke while also adding a bit of veracity to the im... Tsubaki gave Vahn a slightly usatory look but didnt say anything, as there were students nearby that had sensitive ears. She wanted to joke about Vahn not taking things too far but knew he wasnt the type to take advantage of others, even though it wouldnt be that difficult for him. Even without his magical fingers, Vahns looks, power, and authority were all things that would allow him to have women fawn over him. In fact, there were quite a few who had been the recipient of his affection, even though Vahn didnt actually have a licentious character. Tsubaki, having watched Vahn grow and develop since he had been broken, understood he simply wanted to make people happy, even though it overtaxed him a great deal... Being one of the people who had been pulled along by Vahns momentum, Tsubaki released a small sigh before a loving smile appeared on her face. Even without Vahn discovering the truth rting to her father, Tsubaki couldnt really stay mad at him. For better or worse, she hade to love him a great deal and, even if some of his actions annoyed her, Tsubaki understood that Vahn simply wasnt normal. In fact, if she epted his assistance and put in the effort, it was possible that she would be able to live forever or even change her race entirely. Trying to apply any kind ofmon sense to him, or attempting to restrict his actions, was probably one of the few impossible things left in the world post-Vahn... --- After being chased off by Tsubaki, Vahn found himself sitting above the City, watching as the people below moved around, causing Orario to feel alive with theings and goings of those residing within. Though he was very busy with his own matters, everyone else was also busy living their own lives, some without any thought or consideration about the future whatsoever. Vahn could see vendors pedaling their goods while children, having no School of their own to attend, ying around in the streets. There were even young girls ying sports in alleyways, emting their heroes as they imagined what it would be like to be famous themselves. Slowly but surely, the entire City was beginning to change under his influence, especially with therge influx of refugees that, as of yet, still hadnt been fully processed to be citizens... Vahn knew there was still a lot of work to be done and, in order to make sure there werent any problems, he needed to work quickly. With the amount of Karma he had .u.mted, there had to be something in the world that served as a counterbnce, even if it was a person or creature that had just been born. In order to prevent the worst-case scenario, Vahn was determined to finish his Main Quest and .u.mte enough points that, even if something terrible began to develop, he would be able to simply eject himself from the record and put it into stasis. By the time he linked the records in the future, any major threat would bepletely negligible inparison to the amount of power he would wield... Currently, as the Iron Hills would take some time to trulye under his control and be unified with the rest of the Continent, Vahn had only brought together three of the nine regions. Orario was fully under his control while the Elven Kingdom practically treated him as their Savior, especially with the High Priestess Faction now wholly supporting him after he nted one of Yggys hearts in the center of the Kingdom. He still needed to deal with the Land of No Sun, Frozen Tundra, Southern Sands, Telskyura, and the Iron Hills. There were also ces like the Far East, Dragon Valley, and the Singing Ruins that would likely require his attention, even though the Dungeon should be his primary focus... The greatest progress Vahn had made towardspleting his Main Quest was his .u.mtion of gods to serve on the Divine Council in the future. Though he had made a great deal of progress on the optional objectives as well, Vahn knew he couldnt prioritize them while the actual objective went iplete. He still needed eleven more gods to serve on the Divine Council but finding those that had Major Divinities wasnt as easy as he expected. Most gods possessed a variety of Divinities while those who did actually possess a Major Divinity were generally very entric. Thepulsion of a Major Divinity was much stronger than normal, meaning most gods that met his requirements simply stayed in Heaven instead of descending to the Mortal World... It was for this reason that Vahn had been trying to bring about reformations while making the Mortal World, in general, more interesting. If he could unify all nine major regions of Eden and rise up to be an Emperor, it would be much easier to convince gods to descend and serve on the Divine Council. Since it would be an organization that allowed them to have real influence in the world, all while providing them with a means of dealing with theirpulsions, Vahn was confident a few woulde down just for the experience. Presently, Vahn had a few candidates for the Divine Council that he was hoping to meet with while taking care of other objectives. Chief amongst them, as he was considering dealing with Telskyura after the matter with Rakia was dealt with, was Kali. She had a Divinity rted to Time that should be considered a Major Divinity, as Laws rting to Time were one of the foundational forces of reality itself. Vahn was hoping she would be reasonable, even though he already fully expected the exact opposite to be the case. There was no way Hippolyta, and the Amazoness purists, would allow him to implement changes and reforms without a great deal of effort on his part... Other than Kali, Vahn believed Amaterasu would be a member of the Divine Council while Tenjin, who was currently acting as the Head of the Schr Department, had suggested Vahn try to reach out to Izanami, Tsukuyomi, Leizi, and Feng Po Po. ording to the youthful-looking elderly god, they were all Goddess with Major Divinities that had a high chance of showing favor to Vahn, assuming he reciprocated. Izanami was a goddess of simr status as Amaterasu, possessing a Major Divinity rted to Creation, making her an incredible ally if he could actually win her over. As for Tsukuyomi, she was the principle Goddess of the Moon in the Eastern Pantheon, having one of the stronger Divinities associated with Yin Elemental energy. Leizi and Feng Po Po were both goddesses that hadnt descended yet but they possessed Major Divinities rting to Lightning and Wind. They were known to be temperamental but, ording to Tenjin, both had been openly discussing their visit to the Mortal World for quite some time... Though he had already realized this, Vahn couldnt resist releasing a small sigh when he considered that more than twenty of the thirty gods on the Divine Council would be Goddesses. This alone wouldnt be a problem, as many goddesses were actually more stable than their male counterparts. The primary issue was that, with the passage of time, a number of goddesses on the Divine Council would likely bear his children. This made it difficult to prevent bias from existing within the Council thus, in an effort to bnce things out, Vahn had been trying to find gods withparable Divinities. The problem with this was the simple fact that most male gods, especially those with Major Divinities, ended up being arrogant and difficult to work with... Releasing another sigh, Vahn looked toward the vast blue sky above and muttered, "The future is filled with infinite troubles...hahahaha..." Then, having spent an hour just crowd watching, Vahn decided to head back to the Manor and spend some more time with his children. He knew that, ultimately, the Divine Council was just a stop-gap measure. By the time he connected the records, they would be a group that monitored and regted the Mortal World while he would inevitably have to restructure everything once again. For the time being, having a bit of dissidence within the Divine Council wasnt necessarily a bad thing, especially considering that goddesses like Loki, Freya, and Fortuna would likely bend the entire Council to their will with time... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Problematic Poprity,Tsubaki gives up xD...,Countermeasures Against Karma...,Endless troubles...Just the type of environment where Loki thrives (o,...,o)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 905 - Structure : Discipline

Chapter 905 - Structure : Discipline

In preparation for Rakias invasion, the Haven Defense Force had been training in earnest, even though only a few of their members had been selected to repel the 100,000 troops slowly making their way through the Southern Sands. It was important to select appropriate candidates, as this was an event that would serve as the basis for future expansion and Vahns rise to the status of Emperor. The members that represented the HDF to repel Rakias invasion couldnt be well-known individuals and, as much as possible, they should be readily identifiable as weak from the perspective of observers. Vahn was trying to create a scenario where even normal citizens, after witnessing what the Haven Defense Force was capable of, would be inspired to work harder to reach their own potential. Currently, the School was already serving as a means to elevate the standard that others would aspire towards but it would still take several years for things to reach that point. It wouldnt be until the next generation that things truly took off so, for the time being, Vahn needed an impetus for change in the interim. The Haven Defense Force served that role well but, until now, they hadnt really .u.mted any achievements in the eyes of society. By using a punitive force of only one hundred individuals to repel more than one-hundred-thousand, all while appearing rtively weak, the perception of people would begin to change. This would also make the transition of power to those graduating from the School and Academy easier in the future, so it was important to select each member of the punitive force properly... The simplest solution was to use Pallums, as society still hadnt quite epted the fact that Pallum werent the weakest race. There were many who still looked down on Pallums, causing some to remain in the Pallum Paradise at all times. So long as they were within theirmunity, where even the buildings were designed to make their lives easier, most Pallum were content. This was because they also believed themselves to be weak and wanted to avoid confrontation entirely, even though there were several powerful Pallum within the City that ran counter to this misconception. Unfortunately, unless Vahn had a hand in promoting their strength directly, it wasnt incorrect to say that Pallum were weaker, even if their potential in certain categories was higher. Though there were certainly some exceptions, most Pallumcked the physique to be powerful over a short period of time, as the growth of their Strength, Endurance, and even Agility were below average. Inversely, their Dexterity and Magic increased rapidly, while their racial traits made them exceptionally suited to bing scouts, thieves, archers, and assassins. At the same time, so long as they had magic items and equipment, Pallum were capable of bing impromptu mages that could wreak havoc for short periods of time... This was another problem, however, as their aplishment would be credited to the existence of the magic items, not their own capabilities. Though the same argument could be said for their equipment, it wasnt difficult to spin things in a positive direction since it was significantly less shy than using magic. As a result, thirty Pallum that had been training specifically under Ryuu, focused on developing their speed and archery, had been selected for the punitive force. There would be a force of ten Pallum supporting them, specializing in the use of Magic Staves that allowed them to cast barrier and support magic. They simply didnt have enough time to learn real magic, so the HDF was restricted to using Magic Items and equipment purchased by Vahn through the system shop. Since having Pallum make up the entire force could cause other issues, as the misconception that Vahn was preferential to their kind could be reinforced, the remaining sixty members were selected from a variety of other races. Amongst this group, there were eight Cat People that had been given passing marks by Arnya, each wielding spears that allowed them to exploit the natural nimbleness, bnce, and flexibility of their race. There was also a mixed assortment of Beast Tribe members who wielded swords and shields, having learned from the increasingly confident Tina, who would be acting as the vanguard. As for the rest of the punitive force, they were made up of a group in the HDF ssified as Technicians, a new ssification that specialized in setting up and disarming traps. There were a variety of ssifications within the HDF, including numerous designations that only existed within their organizational structure. This was a result of the unique training methods used to allow the members of the HDF to increase their strength over a short period of time. At the same time, because of their standardized equipment and the avability of magic items and resources, there were some ssifications that specialized specifically in their use... Amongst these ssifications, Technicians, generallyprised of Chienthropes and Elves, were experts at tracking, detection, arming magic devices, and disarming traps. Those that had earned the ssification had been equipped with spatial artifacts that were filled with a variety of consumables like [Burst Oil], [sh Grenades], [Smoke Grenades], [Thunderburst Oil], [Blinding Powder], and other useful items. Their job was to cause chaos while controlling the enemies movements, supporting the other members of the punitive force in the process... Presently, with less than two weeks until the invasion force arrived, the punitive force was conductingbat drills together while Vahn overwatched their movement from above. With the benefit of elevation, Vahn was able to easily keep track of their movements and provide support during an emergency. This was very necessary as most members were only around Level 2, with only a few amongst them having reached Level 3 in the few short months since the HDF had been created. Even with the benefit of their equipment, it wasnt impossible for enemies to get the better of them, especially on the 49th Floor where Fomoire, the goat-like monsters known for massing in huge waves, were located. Because they would be fighting against a force more than a thousand times their size, fighting against Fomoire was the best possible training for the punitive force. On average, even a weaker Fomoire was the equivalent of a Level 3 Adventurer. They also spawned in groups numbering in the thousands meaning, so long as they were able to fight against an army of Fomoire, it should be easy to defeat Rakias forces. After all, even a General in the Rakia Kingdom was around mid-to-peak Level 3 in strength, while the vast majority of their army was between upper-Level 1 and lower-Level 2. With the difference in equipment, coordination, and generalbat proficiency, it wouldnt be that difficult for the Fomoire-tested punitive force to clinch a decisive victory. Vahn watched as the vanguard, maintaining a loose concave formation, stood their ground against the tide of Fomoire, deflecting attacks with their shields and urately piercing vital points. The style of swordsmanship that Tina had inherited from her mother was focused on precision and reactionary strikes, making use of a minimal amount of movement for the maximum amount of efficacy. Since these HDF members had been trained by Tina, who had used rather hellish training methods that involved having them dodge omnidirectional attacks, they were cutting down the Fomoire like wheat. Though they might have been overrun by the vast disparity in numbers, the other members of the punitive force were doing their jobs well, preventing the vanguard from being pressured too greatly. Mostrge groups of Fomoire would be scattered by [Burst Oil] thrown by the Technicians while the few Variant Fomoire that spawned were quickly barraged by the crossbow-wielding Pallum archers. When things got tense, the faux-Mage corps would step in, using their Magic Staves and Wands to either provide a reprieve to the vanguard or push back the wave of Fomoire with offensive magic. The rest of the punitive force, including Arnyas eight spear-wielding Cat People, served as a nking force or coordinated with the Vanguard when the Pallum faux-Mages were replenishing their mana. During the battle, Vahn would sometimes have to use [Wounds Transfer] when someone made a mistake or was caught by a stray attack they were unable to deal with. If the punitive force got pushed back, he would step in and help to clear the wave while they retreated, as it was also an important maneuver to master. As for how they knew when to move, it was because Haruhime had been acting as the Commander of the punitive force. By now, she had several years of leadership experience, making managing a small group of one hundred people rtively easy. She also had the [Command Howl] skill, making her voice carry easily if themunication devices used by the HDF members werepromised. As had been the case in almost every other instance, the punitive force was eventually pushed back by the Fomoire wave, though not before taking down tens of thousands of the crazed monsters. Though this could be considered a failure in some instances, the fact they were capable of fighting against so many enemies after around four months of training would have made them famous back when Vahn first entered the record. By the time Rakias forces arrived, it was possible that most members of the punitive force would be Level 3, meaning the majority would have gone from Level 1 to Level 3 in around four months. This was an exceptional speed, wrought by their unwavering persistence and an environment that was constantly polishing their skills in livebat. While the punitive force was retreating, Vahn was firing upwards of forty arrows per second, all while appearing extremely casual as Fomoire burst into purple dust. So long as he made any effort at all to aim, his arrows would always strike the intended target. This was because, from Vahns perspective, he could see the path the monsters themselves were taking, all while their movements appeared painstakingly slow. Even when he first entered the Dungeon several years prior, Vahn had been able to read the movements of enemies, almost as if he was seeing into the future. This ability, at least when he was using the bow, had only increased with the passage of time. Now, if Vahn increased his focus and perception to their limits, it was almost as if the world had slowed to a crawl while even the subtle movements of individuals muscles and hairs were not overlooked within his eyes... In less than three minutes, Vahn had killed a total of 6,492 Fomoire, looting their magic cores and drop items before converting them into more than five-million Origin Points. It would take a while for the next wave to spawn but this was an excellent means of increasing his reserves which, at this point, had reached a monstrous 491,334,005 points. Having thousands of people .u.mting magic cores and drop items to exchange for contribution points had greatly increased his gain of OP. Since he could also hunt Berserker, Berserker Chieftain, Cobalt Terror, and various elemental Slimes, each of which was worth between 3-10k OP, it had been a long time since Vahn felt pressured by his avable OP. He was still a long way away from the 10,000,000,000 required for his Quest, Vahn knew he would be able to make the required amount in under two years if he stopped spending his OP, assuming no other factors changed. Once the area waspletely bereft of any sign of Fomoire, Vahn used [Shundo] to reach the location of the punitive force which was currently conducting inventory on remaining supplies while performing routine maintenance on their equipment. There wasnt a single person cking off and, after Vahn arrived, all one hundred members rose to their feet in salute, shouting, "We greet the Supreme Commander~!" in a sonorous chorus. Since more than half their members were females, the shout was rtively high-pitched while even the men in the punitive force had fervent looks when saluting Vahn. Amongst them, the lowest Allegiance was 7,411 while some, especially amongst the Pallum and Elves, was well over thirty thousand. Vahn knew that, if he ordered it, each of these one hundred people would follow his order without question, even if it led to their inevitable death... Raising his hand to put them at ease, Vahn allowed a small smile to reach his lips as he said, "Youve all been working hard. In theing fight, all of Orario will stand witness to your growth while those within the Haven Defense Force will look toward you for inspiration in their own paths. I have full confidence in each and every one of you, my brave and loyalrades...together, we will pave the way towards a better future for everyone...!" At this point, Vahns [Leadership] had reached A-Rank while his words, influenced by their Loyalty and Allegiance towards him, resonated deep within the hearts and minds of the punitive force gathered to fight against seemingly insurmountable odds. Amongst them, there wasnt a single person who was afraid that fighting against odds greater than a thousand-to-one put them at a disadvantage... As if they had rehearsed it beforehand, the entire punitive force raised their weapons, shouting, "Together, towards a better future for everyone...!" Following this outburst, everyone cheered loudly, riling each other up as the fatigue that had been present previously had been an illusion. Even under these circ.u.mstances, however, it only took Haruhime making a hand gesture to get everyone to fall silent before she said, "Everyone, make preparations for the next engagement. We have less than an hour to prepare for the next wave. Squad Leaders, make sure you perform secondary and tertiary checks on the important equipment. If your members are running low, coordinate with the other Squad Leaders to make sure there is an even distribution within each squad." This time, the punitive force saluted Haruhime before immediately setting about to perform their tasks, no longer paying attention to Vahn. From the very beginning, thergest focus in the training of the HDF had been discipline. Though individual thinking was encouraged, those that held higher ranks generally got there through their efforts and qualifications. Unless you had significant reason to believe your idea was better suited to the situation, countermanding orders was a serious offense that could cause you to lose your position within the HDF entirely. As a result, every member of the punitive force immediately followed Haruhimes orders without question orint. Though Vahn could easily override her orders with his own, he generallymunicated with Haruhime through the [Pactio], allowing her to constantly retainmand to prevent confusion. While the punitive force was busy making their preparations, Vahn and Haruhime moved into the Command Tent without anyone even sparing them a nce, at least until the two had disappeared behind the tents p. Once this happened, some of the members of the punitive force exchanged knowing looks and amicable smiles before the Squad Leaders lightly reprimanded them. Even they had smiles on their face, however, causing a few chuckles and silentughs to echo around the temporary encampment. All the while this was going on, Haruhime was happily cuddling with Vahn as the two shared augh of their own, fully aware of the happenings outside since the tent only blocked sounds from escaping, not entering... (A/N: Alternate Titles: For a moment, Vahn essentially considered making a full loli/shota army xD...,Machine Gun, Vahn Mason,Discipline takes time (^_^)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 906 - A Vanirs First Steps

Chapter 906 - A Vanir''s First Steps

A few days before the arrival of Rakias invasion, Vahn found himself in the Upper Floors of the Dungeon for the first time in a while. Vana had been pestering him a great deal about entering into the Dungeon and, already having several Skills and Development Abilities, while having the physical development of an a.d.u.l.t, Vahn hadnt been able to continue refusing. He had promised her a long time ago that he would apany her in the Dungeon to help her training so, now that the punitive force was resting in preparation for the uing battle, Vahn had a bit of free time with his second body. As a result, he ended up spending around two hours just helping Vana prepare her equipment before they finally proceeded into the first Floor of the Dungeon. Currently, Vana had already grown to 162cm and had the appearance of a young woman around 15-16 years old. For better or worse, she had developed very simrly to her mother, with her b.r.e.a.s.ts already growing to a sizeable B-cup while her figure had already started to fill out like a mature youngdy. Fortunately, she had always been more of a tomboy so, instead of wearing equipment that showed off a lot of skin, Vanas armor actually covered most of her body, sans head. Even this wasnt enough to hide her charm, however, causing several Adventurers to gawk at her when they were entering into the Dungeon... Vanas armor consisted of a padded pale-beige blouse that had slight frills at the hem, causing the garment to have the appearance of a skirt when she wore her ck tunic over top. Her tunic was structured with a red cor, as Vana thought it looked cool, while the surface was covered in paper-thin scales that Fafnir had produced. She also wore a pair of ck form-fitting trousers, very simr to her mother but, fortunately, the blouse/tunicbination was able to prevent people from having a clear view of her backside. Completing the outfit, Vana had a pair of padded white greaves that continued past her knees while wearing a simrly white pair of boots and gloves. To prevent her hair from getting in the way duringbat, Vana wore a white hairband that forced her rather wild hair to fall behind her back, extending down to her waist. As for her weapon, Vana had always preferred using a sword and, after learning her daughter would be entering into the Dungeon, Hephaestus made her a white longsword with the properties of a growth weapon. It now hung at the left side of her h.i.p.s while a paired dagger was situated on her right. Though she had the option of using interspatial items, Vana thought it was cooler to have her weapons on disy and, other than a pendant that Vahn had forged for her, she didnt wear other girly essories. Now, after an admittedly excessive amount of fretting over her preparations, Vana was breezing through the first Floor without any difficulty whatsoever. Though she wasnt able to have a Falna, Vana already had the strength of a Level 2 Adventurer so it wasnt too surprising that Goblins and the asional Kobold were unable to stand against her. She maintained a casual smile on her face without showing any major changes in expression as her de drew practiced arcs through the air, cutting through enemies with exceptional ease. Vana didnt even have to move around much,pletely in control of the battles tempo without creating any openings that could be exploited by the rather unfortunate monsters that crossed her path. When facing against a group of five Goblins, two of which had club-like natural weapons, Vana had essentially strolled forward to meet them, sidestepping a downward swing with minimal movement as her sword bisected the offending Goblin. In the same motion, Vana twisted her body, kicking the waist of a second Goblin and causing it to fold before it was flung into the Dungeon wall with enough force to shatter some of its bones. Then, with her back facing two of the Goblins, Vana simply jumped backward slightly to evade their attacks, swinging her sword out to the right to decapitate the third Goblin without even looking at it. Her spatial awareness had been polished by both sparing and practicing her me control so that she wouldnt identally set fire to her surroundings. With three of the Goblins dead, after just a simple series of movements, Vana raised her palm toward the remaining two, the corners of her mouth raising slightly as a golden me erupted from her hand, forming the shape of a snake that serpentined through the air. As if it was a living creature, the snake urately pierced through the magic cores of the Goblins before drawing a circr arc through the air and returning to Vana, coiling around her forearm without even burning the fabric of her blouse and glove. Unlike Vahn, who still had a habit of burning his clothing and equipment, Vana already had a mastery of her [Genesis me] that he would be hard-pressed to emte. After inspecting the edge of her de to make sure it wasnt tarnished, Vana sheathed her sword before turning toward Vahn and smiling casually as she said, "Papa, I think we should descend a bit deeper in the Dungeon. I know Ick experience, but Im confident in being able to fight against slightly stronger enemies than just Goblins and Kobolds~." Though it wasnt her intent, Vanas words had developed a teasing undertone to them as ofte, as her previously rambunctious disposition had be more casual and calm with time. It was likely due to the fact that she spent a lot of time with the taciturn Rufina while also ying with the animals living in the illusory forest. She had a very natural calm and, if not for the fiery look that was everpresent in her eyes, Vana woulde off as a very gentle young woman. Understanding the Vana could probably reach the 18th Floor on her own, Vahn returned a casual smile before saying, "Sure, we still have a few hours before we need to head back. Though it isnt wrong to push yourself, make sure you have a path of retreat for emergency situations. You are an incredibly talented youngdy, Vana, but you should never allow your confidence to develop into hubris..." Though she had seemingly calmed down a great deal, Vahn knew that his daughter was still just a fiery as she had been in her youth. If the battle got exciting, she was simr in disposition to Tiona, meaning she would cut loose and push herself to the limits if the battle was fun. Since even he had a simr nature, especially after awakening [Rakshasa Body] in the past, Vahn just wanted her to avoid the same mistakes... Vanas response was to just smile even more radiantly than before, squinting her eyes slightly as she said, "As long as Papa is with me, Im not afraid of anything~." After saying this, Vana giggled before turning around and heading deeper into the Dungeon. Vahn also released a dryugh of his own before falling into step as, just as Vana implied, he would never allow her to face any real danger since she was barely two and half years old. He even had the Xeno monitoring their movements while he actively scanned the surroundings with his Domain, guiding Vana away from groups of Adventurers and areas of high monster density. Though he didnt mind if she made friends, Vahn didnt believe that any normal man would be able to interact with his rather beautiful daughters without having stray thoughts. Even if they knew how young Vana was, her appearance would still cause people to fantasize about her and, as much as possible, Vahn would prevent people from looking at any of his children withscivious eyes and intentions... As expected, Vana was able to continually progress through the Floors, finding no real challenges even after reaching the seventh Floor and facing a horde of Killer Ants. Upon seeing therge group of monsters known as novice killers, Vanas expression didnt waver as she upturned her palm and began producing small cat-like creatures that jumped down, forming a small group of rather adorable kittens. Her [Genesis me] was exceptionally suited to making constructs that could even emte reality and, with her love and knowledge of animals, and a fair amount of observing Shizunes shadow summons, Vana had learned how to create her own me summons long ago. Without any great effort on Vanas part, she kept producing more kittens as the previously formed constructs began assaulting the Killer Ants on her behalf. By the time the room had been cleared out, there were a total of twenty-seven golden me kittens walking around the area, carrying the magic cores in their mouths as they scampered over and presented them to Vana. She happily epted the cores, cing them into a small satchel attached to the back of her belt, before petting each kitten in turn. Vahn couldnt help marveling at the sheer beauty of his daughters ability while an affectionate smile spread across his lips. He wondered what kind of future Vana would have and, when she finally did find a life partner, what kind of person he or she would be... Other than a break for lunch, Vana had continued cutting a path through the Dungeon with startling ease. She had to put in a bit of effort when facing against Silverbacks and Minotaurs for the first time, as their Agility and Power were much greater than most monsters in the Upper Floors, but only during the first few encounters. Once she had gotten used to their movements, Vana had been able to cut down even Minotaurs with a casual swipe of her sword. Presently, her [Swordsman] had reached the B-Rank, so her adaptability with the de and associated techniques was very high. For anything more challenging, Vana would use her [Genesis me] to defeat even Wyverns, who had high fire resistance, in an instant. In her first day of venturing in the Dungeon, Vana had been able to clear all the way to the 18th Floor without any major hups. Upon reaching the rather beautiful region that some referred to as the Under Resort, Vanas fiery eyes glimmered with appreciation as she looked around at the vast expanse of forests, asking, "Are there any animals within the Dungeon, Papa~?" For Vana, having spent much of her free time within the illusory forest, all wooded areas equated to ces where she could make new friends. She was a child loved by nature and, even amongst the various guardians belonging to his other children, Vana was good friends with each of them. Since he knew there were indeed a few animals in the surrounding forests, Vahn nodded his head but exined, "The fauna within the Dungeon is extremely limited. Other than monsters, the mostmon creature would be various types of insects. As for animals, there are a few that had escaped from the small enclosures within the settlements that had bred in the surrounding forests. They are usually hunted by stray monsters, however, so the odds of encountering any normal animal is very slim." As he was speaking, Vahn guided Vana away from the stairs leading into the 18th Floor since there was a group of Adventurers making their way over, likely heading toward the surface. Most Adventurers wouldnt interfere with each other, especially within the Dungeon, so the group passed without sparing much attention for the duo that had made way for them. There was a young man who had let his eyes wander across Vana but, feeling an icy cold shudder run through his body, he quickly averted his eyes as an instinctual response. Hispanions, thinking he was getting cold feet, yfully badgered him a bit as the group ascended the stairs to hunt a few monsters before returning to Rivira. They were semi-permanant residents of the settlement on the 18th Floor, not a group returning to the surface as Vahn had expected. Unaware of the constant vignce of her Papa, Vana happily wandered into the forested area to see for herself if there were any animals she could befriend. To Vahns surprise, he could detect a few signs of life within his perception and, as if she had some kind of homing instinct, Vana had walked a direct route to where a fox den was located, upied by a mother and three kits. Instead of staying hidden, or trying to defend her den, the mother fox poked her head out, curiously eyeing Vana and Vahn before exiting her den with the small kits following behind. Vana plopped down onto the ground and began ying with the small foxes as if they had known each other for years, all while Vahn observed with a thoughtful expression from the side... As it had started to gette, with the crystals above beginning to dim, Vahn informed Vana that it was time to return to the surface after she had yed with the family of foxes for a little over an hour. She didnt argue at all, nodding her head as she gave the kits a few more caresses before hopping up to her feet and saying, "Im ready to go home~." Though she had a lot of fun exploring the Dungeon, especially since she had the whole day to spend time with her Papa, Vana felt a little lonely being away from her friends in the illusory forest. After ying with the family of foxes, she couldnt help wondering how her friends back home were doing while she was away. Thus, in order to return faster, Vana had her Papa give her a piggyback ride to the surface as she took a short nap and reminisced about the day... ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Status]] Name: Vana Mason Title: Free-spirited me [Increases proficiency in creating constructs out of mes], Friend of Animals [All animals treat you as kin] Race: Vanir Age: C2, P16, M13 Level: 2(+) POW: C601 END: B718 DEX: B702 AGI: C640 MAG: A823 SOUL: 3 [Lord Soul] Divinity: Fire[pseudo:56%->58%], Life[pseudo:17%->18%], Animals[pseudo:2%](new) Skills: [Inheritor of me:Innate:D->C], [Shepherds Grace:Innate:I->G], [Precise Thrust:E->B], [Featherfoot:F->D], [me Sword:B](new) Magic: [Genesis me:Innate:I->E], [Sagitta Magicka:G->F], [me Lance:D->C], [Shundo:H](new) Development Abilities: [Eternal me Spirit:Innate:F->E], [Swordsman:H->B], [Tamer:C](new), [Acrobatics:E](new) [me Sword] Rank: B Use: Infuse weapon with burning attacks that can pierce the defense of a target. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Vana uses the character Soleil as a temte, so this is essentially what she looks like at the moment: /gallery/DsVjTaN ) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns Worries are only Beginning...,Worlds Strongest Two-Year-Old...,Do I spy a new Divinity!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 907 - Unexpected : Farce

Chapter 907 - Unexpected : Farce

Though everything was going as nned in regards to dealing with Rakias invasion, there were some things that simply couldnt be controlled. It was around two weeks early, but Syr had gone intobor in the middle of the night, causing a small incident that had most of the Manors residents awake. There were no problems with the delivery itself but Syrs child, a frail little angel named Natalie, was a little premature. Vahn stayed with her to make sure she was stable, feeding strands of Source Energy into her body while Syr, in order to make sure Natalie would develop properly, was put on a strict diet that would greatly increase the nutritional value of her b.r.e.a.s.t milk. Even with these unexpectedplications, Natalie was still an exceptional beautiful infant with fair skin and tiny wisps of grey-blue hair. Her eyes were a muted grey color with hints of blue while her guardian, somewhat surprisingly, was a creature known as a Silvervine Python. It was a peculiar Guardian but, with its silvery diamond-shaped scales, light blue eyes, and dark blue flickering tongue, Vahn found it strangely adorable. As for Syr, she was unnecessarily apologetic about going intobor early and showed a great deal of concern for Natalie, requiring Vahn to ease her mind so she could sleep properly... Now, Vahn was even more annoyed by Rakias invasion as, even though they werent really to me for Syr going intobor, Vahn felt like they were. Syr was a very earnest and hardworking woman so, as he was busy with his own matters, she would also be busy managing the affairs of the Manor. Things had gotten much easier with the Artemis Familia and the additional Maids provided by Freya, Diana included, but the number of things she dealt with had only increased. Syr was constantly checking in on everyone, including the Xenos and the children, so, even though her workload wasnt particrly strenuous, her mentality could still be affected when she was thinking hard about how to keep everyone in high spirits... Up until the Scouts had reported that Rakias forces were in close proximity to the City, Vahn spent his days idling about in the maternity ward, taking care of Natalie alongside Syr. Though he was still helping to prepare things with his avatar, supporting Syr while she was going through troubled times was infinitely more important. It helped that, because she was close with literally everyone in the Manor, there were generally 2-3 people present at any given moment to support her. With the constant care and concern of people she was constantly concerned about, Syr was quickly returning to her usual self. --- With rumors quickly spreading about the massive military force that was looming in the distance, a strangely festive atmosphere was lingering about the City. This wasnt the first time that Rakia had tried to invade Orario and, regardless of the size of the army, not a single resident was worried anything would go wrong. Even without the Alliance, Rakia would have been repelled by a few of the S-Rank Familia with ease. Now, with the colossal might of the Alliance, fresh of a victory against the Iron Hills, most residents were in high spirits. They were treating the invasion as if it was nothing more than a spectator sport, curious about how Rakias forces would be repelled this time around... Though Vahn knew Orario didnt really treat the threat of Rakia seriously, as their power had declined significantly after the Crozzo Family lost their ability to make Crozzo Magic Swords. Without such powerful weapons to make use of, Rakia was limited to the strength of its standing army alone. Since there were nearly no Mages within their ranks, they were essentially a mob of physical fighters who werecking in discipline and unity. Currently, Vahn was overlooking this discordant bunch from above and he couldnt help shaking his head in disbelief. Vahns original intention was to use the tension and threat of Rakia to promote the Haven Defense Force and inspire themon citizenship. He hadnt been present during the previous invasions so Vahn had underestimated how flippant and easygoing everyone would be. Now, it felt like, even with his punitive force decimating Rakias, people wouldnt really be impacted at all. Though there would certainly be a fair amount of surprise that so many unknown people had such strength, people would just credit it to the might and resources of the Alliance. Now, even before the fight had even begun, Vahn felt like things had ended in a very anticlimactic way... With a sigh, Vahn made his way back to the Southern Gate of Orario, where the punitive force was ready and waiting for Rakias invasion to begin. Right now, it was obvious that Rakia was confused about what was going on with the Dwarves as, ording to the ns Vahn knew of, the Iron Hills would have moved siege weaponry to support Rakias invasion. Since they were unable to move such heavy equipment through the Southern Sands, Rakia was wholly unprepared to begin a siege against Orarios tall outer walls. Unless they began cutting down trees in the surroundings, making make-shift siege weaponry on the spot, they were reduced to breaching the walls with individual soldiers instead of breaking through with siege equipment... The leadership of Rakias forces was significantly more ipetent than Vahn had expected, as they had never even tried toe up with a backup n in the event that the Iron Hills hadnt made good on their promise. Now, though they had some smaller explosives, arge cavalry, and a few winged Drakes, their invasion had been crippled before it even began. Even so, instead of retreating or trying to use other tactics to gain an advantage, Rakias forces began advancing upon the City after two days idling about in secret. This made Vahn feel like this entire event had be a farce and, with Syr and Natalie being his primary focus, Vahns motivation had diminished a great deal. With slightly dulled eyes, Vahn watched as Rakia very slowly got into a formation a few kilometers away from Orario before sending forth a small group of envoys to make demands. Even though they had absolutely no advantages, Rakia was still pretending as if this was a perfectly normal situation. It was like they had a checklist and were just going through the motions, no nning or thought going into their actions whatsoever. Vahn was barely able to restrain his sigh before turning to the punitive force, each member showing a serious and resolved expression as they awaited the beginning of the battle. Unlike him, they were all treating this event with as if it were a matter of extreme importance as, for thest two months, that is exactly how they were trained... Since this was an important moment for the members of the Haven Defense Force, Vahn managed to psyche himself up a bit as he smiled confidently toward them and said, "Ill head out to meet with the envoys to see what their demands are. Given Rakias history, the battle will begin shortly after the discussionse to an end. From this point onward, until Rakia calls for a retreat, Haruhime will be inmand while I deal with Ares and his supporting gods. Stay sharp and, most importantly, make sure every member of your squad, yourselves included,es back safely...!" Following Vahns words, the punitive force released a loud warcry that got the spectators on Orarios walls riled up in response. There were tens of thousands of civilians and Adventurers gathered to watch the show while some Bookies were even taking bets. Vahn couldnt really concern himself with them, however, as his main focus in regards to Rakia were the four gods that he had detected in the encampment. There was a tall god, who Vahn had identified as Ares, with red armor, shining golden hair like a lions mane, and fierce red eyes glimmering like gemstones on his immactely sculpted face. The rumors that his looks could even rival a god of beauty werent an exaggeration as he practically radiated confidence and charisma. Apanying Ares was another male god and two goddesses, each either a member of a Familia Ares had conquered in the past while one of thetter, a strikingly beautiful goddess that could even rival Freya, stood out more than the rest. This goddess had strawberry blonde hair that fell in gentle curls around her bare shoulders. Her eyes were like champagne rhinestones while her facial features and figure were simply perfect, especially with her ample bosom and shapely buttocks. She was appeared to be a silken white robe that did nothing to hide her figure, barely giving her any semnce of modesty. Around her waist, there was a golden girdle which, if removed, would have made apparent the fact that she waspletely bereft of any form of lingerie. Even at a nce, Vahn had identified this goddess as Aphrodite, possessing Divinities rted to Love, Beauty, S.e.x, and Fertility. Standing out significantly less so than the sensual Aphrodite, there was a rather diminutive goddess with blood-red hair that extended past her waist. Unlike her counterpart, this goddess wielded arge battleax that was much longer than she was tall. Her own height was around 150cm tall while the ax she wielded was easily around 220cm long and likely weighed more than 70kg. Matching her hair, she also had blood-red eyes that glimmered with a fierce light while her garb wasprised of a ck battledress with a ck b.r.e.a.s.tte, greaves, and gauntlets. The fact that her gauntlets and greaves had spikes near the knuckles, knees, and toes showed that she was likely a very violent goddess and, from information he had already obtained, Vahn was able to identify her as Ioke. She was a goddess with Divinities rted to War, ughter, and Pursuit. Even if an enemy army was routed, Ioke would continue to pursue them until her entire body was soaked through with the blood of her enemies... Rounding out Ares entourage, there was the god, Sobek, who was another god with Divinities rted to War, Martial Prowess, Military Discipline, and, strangely, fertility. He was a god who hailed from the Southern Sands and, more than a hundred years ago, came under the influence of Ares after theter bested Sobek in individualbat more than one-hundred times. Other than his human Generals, the god Ares trusted the most withmanding his military was Sobek as Ares himself often threw himself into battle without bothering with troublesome matters like issuing orders. Ioke was much the same and, even if you spoke to her, she would just stare nkly back at you since she was apparently self-conscious about her somewhat jagged teeth. The only one who didnt truly belong on the battlefield was Aphrodite and, if not for Ares licentious nature, and Aphrodites whims, she wouldnt have been present. Vahn knew he would likely have to deal with Ares personally and, if it came down to it, he may even have to kill Ares and return thetter to Heaven. Though he was undoubtedlypelled by his Divinities to act as he had, Vahn knew that real change in Rakia could onlye if Ares was either dead or under control. Sobek was much easier to deal with as he would readily back down once things began to go south for their armies. As for Ioke and Aphrodite, Vahn knew to be wary of thetter while Ioke was actually someone that Hephaestus, Hestia, Artemis, and even Demeter wanted him to recruit. Because of her Divinities, Ioke had lived a rather tragic existence and was once something of a ything for Zeus in the past, at least until Hera forced her to descend into the Mortal World. She had wandered thend engaging inpelled ughter and, after being reigned in by Ares, her life had been miserable once again... So that Ioke would have a means to vent, Vahn hade up with the idea of having her be one of the regtors in the Coliseum. They were constantly making improvements in the Sub-Space setup and it was possible for her to fight against challengers as much as she wanted without actually harming anyone. If this didnt pacify her Divinity, Vahn had the secondary idea of making her into a Special Commander for an Assault Unit that would take action to cull monsters attacking viges in the frontier regions of Eden. It was surprisingly easy to find people who would readily serve under a goddess like Ioke, especially among the Amazoness and select Beast Human tribes... The more troublesome goddess to deal with would be Aphrodite as, even more than Freya, she had a very direct and possessive nature. Not only did she have incredible beauty, but Aphrodite had a personality that made her take what she wanted as her Divinity simply didnt allow her feelings and interests to go unreciprocated. The golden girdle around her waist was actually a manifestation of her Divinity, much like Hephaestus Eternal me. Anyone that Aphrodite took an interest in, so long as they set eyes upon the golden girdle at her h.i.p.s, would feel themselves ovee with irresistible love and desire for the amorous goddess. It had an instantaneouspulsion that worked like the most powerful aphrodisiac in the entire world,ying low both gods and mortals depending on Aphrodites whims. Fortunately, Aphrodite was staying in therge Command Tent that served as Ares headquarters within their encampment. She would take no part in the fighting toe thus, for the time being, Vahns primary concern was dealing with the small group of Envoys, led by Sobek himself. He was a tall god, standing at 210cm, and wore ck robes adorned with golden scales. His skin had a simr olive color to Anubis but, unlike thetters Chienthropic features, Sobek had very short ck hair, fierce golden eyes, and pointed ears like an Elf, if not for the fact they were covered in ck scales. Since he also had a scaley ck tail protruding out of the back of his robes, Vahn felt like Sobek was closer to a Xenos or a member of the Ryuushu n. If not for the fact that many of the gods from the Southern Pantheon had various animalistic traits, Vahn would have been incredibly surprised by his appearance... (A/N: ce your best in thements section on who you think will win in the uing battle xD!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Stay strong, Syr and Natalie...!,Citizens of Orario, *pulls out popcorn*,Asinine Ares, Amorous Aphrodite, Indignant Ioke, Stoic Sobek) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 908 - Break Down

Chapter 908 - Break Down

Sobeks group proceeded to the halfway point between the Rakia invasion force and the Southern Gate of Orario. As was customary, Sobek held an olive branch in his hand while his fourpanions set up a table and two chairs, used by both parties for the issuance of demands. In most situations, Vahn would bring a notary of his own to create an ounting of the negotiations which would be exchanged with the opposing party forter review in the event of surrender. Vahn would also be given a doc.u.ment from their side, listing out the terms for Orarios surrender and the intentions of the Rakia Kingdom in upying and controlling the City in the future. As much as he wanted to just deal with things in a more direct manner, Vahn wasnt going to break from convention and vite the agreed-upon regtions and traditions regarding war. It was very important rules of engagement to exist and, even though it was incredibly foolish of Ares to even try and conquer a City with hundreds of gods, Vahn would at least give them an opportunity to negotiate terms. After all, without going through these procedures, there was nothing outlining how prisoners of war would be treated, nor how Orario would bepensated after their own victory. Since Haruhime would bemanding the punitive force, while Sobek would bemanding Rakias forces, Vahn brought her along for the negotiations, even though she was just his notary. They had descended from the sky, startling the other four envoys while Sobek remainedpletely stoic as he said, "You must be Vahn Mason... your reputation precedes you. And this...I believe is the Vice-Captain of the Hestia Familia, Sanjouno Haruhime...? I must admit, the rumors regarding your beauty havent prepared me for our meeting. Perhaps, when this matter is concluded, you would be willing to join me for a moonlit rendezvous...?" Sobek seemed genuinely surprised by Haruhime, his eyes widening subtly as his pupils dted marginally. Vahn could also see his aura gravitate towards Haruhime slight, even as her own red up in agitation, contrary to her calm and elegant disposition. She returned a smile that didnt quite reach her eyes as she said, "Youll have to forgive me, Sobek, as my heart belongs to Vahn. Ive no desire to degrade myself by betraying the trust of the person I treasure more than life itself." As she spoke, Haruhime wrapped one of her tails around Vahns arms while thetter stared directly at Sobek, adding, "Youd do well to remember that Im rather protective when ites to my loved ones, Sobek. Choose your words carefully, lest you invite a catastrophe upon yourself and your army..." Seemingly unfl.u.s.tered, Sobek just gave a small nod before gesturing to the negotiation table and asking, "Shall we get down to business? Id rather the first engagement take ce while the morning is still cool and refreshing. As much as I am partial to the weather in the Southern Sands, Im sure neither of us wants the first skirmish tost the day..." In general, sieges would persist for several weeks as the forces of Rakia shed against Orarios elites. It was very rare forrge-scale battles to ur since it was inconvenient for both sides, both in terms of resources and personnel. During the previous invasions, Rakia would typically bring along 100-150k men and, by the time they retreated, their numbers would have only fallen by around 15-20%. The reason for bringing so many people along was to serve as an upational force, not actively engage inbat for extended periods of time. Vahn stood behind his chair, simr to Sobek, the two staring at each other as it was submissive to be the first to take their seat. As a mortal, it would usually fall upon Vahn to sit first but, given his position and circ.u.mstances, Sobek would eventually have to sit down unless he wanted negotiations to break down. Vahn understood this after spending several long sessions with his War Council so his expression remained stoic as he said, "If you havente to negotiate, you should use this time toe up with an excuse to exin to Ares why his army was wiped out..." Right now, they were all ying by the rules which protected both sides, at least in normal circ.u.mstances. Vahn, however, wasnt afraid of the gods on Ares side using their Arcanum to gain an advantage. Even if things came to that point, he would be able to weather the storm and deal with the entire army on his own, if necessary... Sobek squinted his eyes with a contemtive look on his face before finally taking his seat before Vahn, even though there were strange of fiery red and sickly orange spreading through his aura. It was only after the god had sat down that Vahn also took his seat, gesturing to Haruhime to prepare the necessary doc.u.ments while Sobek waited for his side to prepare theirs. When both sides were ready, Sobek brought his hands together, thumbs pressed against each other, as he said, "Our terms are the same as always. So long as Orario surrenders, you will be given the opportunity to be a vassal state of the Empire and a subsidiary of the Rakia Kingdom. There will be a forty percent tax on all goods flowing out of the Dungeon while a fifteen percent tax will be ced on all produce. All merchants with a permit to do business will be taxed thirty percent while independent organizations, such as Familia, will be taxed fifty percent unless they pledge themselves to serve under the Ares Familia...." For the better part of ten minutes, Sobek listed out all kinds of ridiculous demands that more or less guaranteed that the other party would refuse. Ares was a God of War and Conquest, not a god of peaceful negotiations, mercantilism, and trade. If his army did emerge victoriously, the demands would be even more heinous, making use of the fact that the opposing party hadnt eded to his more reasonable demands from the start. This time, however, there were changes in the demands as Sobek squinted his eyes slightly and stated, "Also, this organization called the Alliance will have to be disbanded while its Commander-in-Chief, Vahn Mason, will be the property of the Rakia Kingdom. You will be required to assist in the production of one-hundred children of godly descent or your family will be held ountable for your failure..stly, I will add that Sanjouno Haruhime will be forced to undergo Conversion, bing a servant within the Sobek Familia..." Out of spite for Vahns behavior, and his general interest in Haruhimes beauty, Sobek decided to add an insult into the terms,pletely disregarding the strange pressure apanying Vahns gaze. He was entirely unaware of the fact that, from the moment he had mentioned Vahns family being held ountable, essentially making them hostages, the negotiations had already broken down. Presently, Vahns mind had be exceptionally calm as thoughts of how he would deal with Rakias forces were already passing through his mind. Many of the soldiers were conscripts that were forced to fight so he didnt want to kill everyone. Sobek and Ares, however, had immediately earned a spot at the top of his list... When Sobek was done listing out his demands, a small smile spread across Vahns lips as he said, "The Alliance hereby issues no terms or demands for the leadership of Rakia Kingdom. After this battle has concluded, Rakia Kingdom will lose its right to sovereignty and its residents will be given one weeks time to evacuate the Captial City, Valua. Citizenship as a member of the Rakia Kingdom will no longer be treated as valid for the purpose of trade and migration. Henceforth, the existence of Rakia Kingdom will be nothing more than a footnote in History, an annotation depicting the inevitable oue of errant tyrants who live by exploiting others..." With his words, finished, Vahn manipted Fire Elemental energy to set fire to the olive branch before rising to his feet and ascending into the sky with Haruhime. Thetter gave Sobek a look that could freeze over a volcano, her beautiful pale-gold eyes filled with contempt and unabashed scorn. From the moment Sobek made her out to be a prize that he could im for himself, lowering her to be nothing more than a servant, Haruhimes elegant disposition had cracked slightly. Her tails flickered around behind her agitatedly and, though she hadnt intended to go all out in the battles toe, now she fully intended to im Sobeks life with her own de. Sobek looked toward the burning olive branch before setting his gaze upon the retreating figures of Vahn and Haruhime. He was fully aware that things probably wouldnt end well for them after the negotiations had broken down but he didnt really mind it too much. For him, he never expected a day woulde where Ares actually managed to take down Orario. Even if they managed to take the City, there were too many independent gods that would seek trouble with them. There was no real benefit of trying to conquer Orario unless they nned to try and kill every other god that resided within its walls. This was an impossible feat so Sobek didnt really care for the negotiations from the very beginning. He was just regurgitating what Ares muscle-brained mind hade up with while trying to spite Vahn for offending him, wholly unaware of the wrath he had just invited upon himself... After returning to the staging area of the punitive force, Vahn set down Haruhime who, uponnding, immediately turned to the one hundred soldiers under hermand and said, "Today, we will not be forcing the Rakia Kingdom to retreat, we will be destroying it entirely. We will push them back to their encampment before setting fire to their supplies and tents. If necessary, we will pursue their forces all the way to the borders of their now-defunct country. You have all been preparing for this day so, until our enemies have been scatteredpletely, we will not cease our pursuit...!" As there was a chance the scattered forces could try to attack the ins region, Haruhime knew they would need to continue their pursuit to prevent the soldiers with more bandit-like tendencies from wreaking havoc. Vahn was a little surprised with how fired up Haruhime was but, remembering Sobeks words, he understood she was well within her rights to be angry. Since this punitive force had been trained to follow hermand, Vahn would allow her to have the final say. Even so, he intended to have Fafnir act as a support while Chloes Shadow Corps picked off any stray forces that tried to regroup. It was verymon for defeated soldiers that were part of a military rout to form small groups of bandits after the fact. They would rob and harass merchant caravans while slowly building up supplies as they made their way back to their country of origin. Once the punitive force was ready, amidst the cheers of tens of thousands of Orarios residents, they exited the South Gate and prepared their small formation. Seeing the highly disciplined members of the HDF, each wearing matching uniforms, some people couldnt help but admire the sense of unity present just looking at the organized group. Many people had been thinking about trying to join the HDF themselves in recent months, as there had been no major requirements other than having a clean record and pledging loyalty to the organization and its leader, Vahn. Now that they had a better look at active members of the HDF, there were a number of youths who felt inspired to follow through with their previous intentions and be part of something bigger than themselves... Unaware of the subtle shift in the mentality of some onlookers, Vahn hovered in the air above the punitive force as they closed the distance with Rakias forces. There were five divisions within the Rakia Kingdoms forces, four of which weremanded by a General. These individuals were around the peak of Level 3 while their Captains and Lieutenants were around the Low-Mid Tier of Level 3. Every other Officer would be Level 2 while the majority of Rakias forces, making up nearly 65,000 members, were simply Level 1. The only threat was the central force, which was headed by Ares while Sobekmanded from the rear. Within Ares army,prising 22,000 members, the lowest Level among their ranks was Level 2. There were also several Level 3 Elites that made up a force that followed in Iokes wake, causing as much havoc as possible within enemy forces. Now that the punitive force was moving forward, Rakias forces began moving in an inverted wedge formation, obviously intending to try and surround the measly one hundred members of the HDF. Vahn could even see the bloodl.u.s.t and ridicule in some of the Level 1 soldiers eyes while only the veterans of past invasions showed any real wariness. Overall, they were highly disorganized, even though their equipment was standardized and appeared to match, However, with some people failing to wear the equipment properly, the entire army, sans Ares forces, looked extremely sloppy as they shuffled to try and surrounded Haruhimes forces... After moving within 1km of Rakias forces, Haruhime gave the order to create the normal convex formation, as the Pallum Archers and faux-Mages prepared. At this range, both armies had the capabilities of attacking each other and the only thing keeping order was the Commanders and Generals. Being far more organized that Rakias forces, the HDF remained calm while each member kept their bearing without wavering in the slightest. Even when thousands of archers at the front of Rakias army came to the front, loosing volleys of arrows towards them, they remained unfl.u.s.tered as the Pallum faux-Mages cast barriers thatpletely blocked the projectiles. With the first attacks issued, Haruhime gave partial control to the Squad Leaders while directing them through the small crystals located near their ears. Unlike the failed volley of Rakias forces, the bolts fired by the Pallum Archers cut through the air, leaving scars in the void, before urately hitting their targets. The moment these bolts made contact, the unfortunate souls the failed to defend themselves exploded into meat paste, injuring and disorienting those in the surroundings. As their crossbows were A-Rank weapons that had been purchased from the system shop, they had a mechanicalponent that allowed them to fire racks of six bolts in only three seconds. Changing racks was simple, requiring them to pop out the previous rack before the Pallum Archers, who now had incredibly high Dexterity, deftly reloaded with a secondary rack that had been provided by the Technicians. Each had upwards of 100 racks to make use of, allowing the unit to fire thousands of explosive bolts into the enemy lines every minute. Ares, who had been riding a muscr white horse at the head of his army, raised his brows after seeing the damage sustained by the other four armies. Thus far, the punitive force hadnt targeted the central army, allowing them to proceed unobstructed as their cavalry prepared to charge. Ares was intending to simply overrun the small force of one hundred people, unaware that nearly every member of the small unit was nearly, or above, Level 3. He believed they were just a throwaway force that had powerful weaponry, as they hadnt performed any great feats thus far. Thus, feeling bored with how things were turning out, Ares raised hisrge golden ymore high before pointing it forward and shouting, "Crush them...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sobek done f.u.c.k.i.e.d up,Pursue, until nothing remains...!,The ignorant are truly fearless) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 909 - Dual Ascent

Chapter 909 - Dual Ascent

The moment Ares gave hismand, more than twelve-hundred cavalry charged forward with loud warcries while the remainder of his army began to fan out while advancing on the punitive force. With the other four armies creating arger container, the situation was changing so that the smaller force would be surrounded doubly so, Ares army acting as the inner group that would the one hundred soldiers representing Orarios first line of defense. There were many in Ares army who were faster than the majestic and mighty looking white stallions owned by the cavalry and, not wanting to miss out on the fun, they ran ahead without fear. The elites making up Ares army specialized in individualbat and, in order to increase their own standing, there were those who wanted to earn meritorious achievements for themselves. Even more, however, simply wanted to ughter as many people as they could, reveling in the idea of cutting through what they believed to be weak enemies. With nearly half the punitive force wasprised of Pallum, it reinforced their misconception that the enemies before them were weak. Now, instead of targetting the outer armies, the punitive force switched their focus to Ares army, shooting around sixty explosive bolts per second towards the oing cavalry. There were a few soldiers who were able to swipe away the bolts while others, even after getting hit, pressed forward without showing any signs of slowing down. The Endurance parameter increased a persons ability to resist shockwaves, to the point that normal explosives were useless after a certain threshold was reached. Other than taking out most of the horses, which did slow down the momentum of Ares army a bit, therge majority of soldiers were just incensed by the attacks, not taken out by them. Completely expecting this oue, which is why they hadnt targetted Ares forces at first, a series of quickmands were issued that caused the next rack of bolts to contain pure white projectiles. These were all carved from Dragon Fangs, each possessing a single Ability that would make them extremely lethal, Piercing:S. Though some of Ares forces realized the difference in the projectiles, there were others who had decided to simply take them head on like the previous bolts. This time, instead of simply slowing them down, the bolts continued forward, piercing straight through their targets and even injuring some other soldiers that had been behind those unfortunate enough to overestimate themselves... At this time, the two armies had grown close enough for a physical sh, resulting in several Level 3 members of Ares army to advance towards the punitive force with the intent to ughter the whole lot. They numbered merely five individuals, believing themselves to be skilled Elites that would be like wolves released in a flock of sheep as they attempted to jump over the vanguard and target the interior of the punitive forces formation. Since they were ignored by the Archers and Vanguard, the few Level 3s that had breached forward believed themselves unstoppable, all the way up until the eight Spear-users trained by Arnya ran them through in an instant. Each of their members was Level 3 while their coordination was impable, making short work of three of the Level 3s without any difficulty at all. The sole survivor that had managed to touch down in the middle of the punitive force found himself surrounded, skewered by three different spears before he was able to attack anyone. The Technicians within the punitive force split into two groups, one that moved forward and began lobbing [Burst Oil] and [Smoke Grenades] into Ares army while three members moved to dispose of the corpses that hadnded within the forces interior. Unlike the explosions caused by the bolts, the [Burst Oil] was easily strong enough to overwhelm a Level 2 while even most Level 3 wouldnt be able to resist the viscous oil that possessed corrosive properties and couldnt be doused by normal means. This marked the moment when things became truly chaotic as the center of the battlefield quickly became suffused with plumes of smoke and mes as the advancing forces of Ares army were mowed down rapidly. Because of the bodies of their own fallenrades, the advance of other soldiers was slowed as few people were willing to move ahead into the kill zone that had been established. Ares had been watching these events y out without his expression changing even a little, a small smile stered across his immactely sculpted face. He still believed that the small unit before them was entirely reliant on equipment and, so long as they were continually pressed, they would begin to run out of supplies while building fatigues. The existence of spatial artifacts was a very well-kept secret as of the present moment, making Arespletely unaware of the fact that the punitive force had enough supplies to repel more than ten waves of Fomoire, much less a few armies. His actions amounted to sending his men into a meat grinder that was harvesting the lives of his men much faster than they could even advance. After around fifteen minutes had passed, there was now an area of more than one-hundred meters around the punitive force, which many people could cover in an instant, nowpletely bereft of living soldiers. There were thousands of corpses littering the battlefield while the mes from the [Burst Oil] continued to burn, filling the air with a pungent smell of burnt flesh. This didnt reach any of the members of the punitive force, however, as Vahn was able to sweep away the smoke and pungent aroma by providing a constant stream of fresh air through his domain. Rakias forces had no such luxury however as, even with their Generals urging them forward, there were people who would die from the fumes and mes alone, without the punitive force even needing to harvest their lives. Sobek was a little surprised with how things had gone thus far, as he had expected a few elites from Orarios side to simply throw themselves into their forces and sow chaos for a bit. This was the first time Orario had manned a standing defense, even if it was rtively small, so his expectations had been skewed by the five previous invasions. Now, he was passing orders to reform the lines, creating a perimeter around the punitive force as they tried to create a wall of shield bearers to try and box in the one hundred highly proficient killing machines. They didnt have the option of actually trying to attack Orario, where tens of thousands of people were watching atop the massive City walls. From the very beginning, this endeavor had only been to satiate Ares desire to try and conquer Orario, a City known to simply be unconquerable through direct methods... Seeing that Sobek had begun to direct the army to back away and reform, Ares expression changed for the first time, showing a frown as he cursed, "Sobek will always be a coward....haaaa..." From Ares perspective, a direct battle, where both sides fought for dominance and tried to conquer the other, was real War. He didnt care for things like strategy, believing that individual prowess, and battle itself, were the only things that mattered. The fact that Orario would usually only send out a few Level 5-6 Adventurers to rout his armies was a perfect example of this simple truth. He was a little surprised by the fact that the weaklings that relied on equipment had managed to hold out for so long but, now that the other four armies were beginning to pull back, Ares knew it was his time to shine. The frown on Ares face slowly faded away, reced by a confident look and zeal that spread around him, causing the few elites that had formed around him to show battle-crazed expressions of their own. A short ways away, Ioke also pulled her massive battleax out of the ground, her mouth opening slightly to reveal sharpened teeth that were simr to Fenrirs when she got angry. The blood-red in her irises began to dance around like a liquid that was contained by the structure of her eyes, giving her a very strange and eerie appearance, almost as if there was actual blood contained within. This wasnt entirely incorrect either, as Iokes ughter Divinity gave her ess to actual ughter Laws, causing a bloody red aura to begin wrapping around her body and ax as she prepared to throw herself into battle... Seeing the gods were about to move, Vahn knew it was time for him to take action as well so he sent hismands to Haruhime who quickly ryed them to the punitive force. In an instant, the force broke apart into four different toons that dispersed towards the four armies that had been boxing them in. They moved as one, advancing on the restructuring enemy lines and sowing even greater chaos in the battle as Haruhime stood alone before Ares army. As nobody had expected the turtling force to suddenly fan out, even Ares was slightly taken aback before he began tough out loud. With the speed of the punitive force, he realized that each person was around the strength of his own Generals, not some weak prey that had been waiting for them to make a move. Jumping off his horse, Ares shouldered his golden ymore as he shouted, "This is starting to look like fun...!" Right now, Haruhime stood before his army alone,pletely unfl.u.s.tered by the army that was moving to surround her, catcalling and taunting her as they prepared to jump on her like a pack of wolves. Even so, none of them actually moved forward as they had already identified her as the General of the enemy forces. Nobody wanted to be the first to make a move as, without any doubt whatsoever, it would likely mean their death. It was Ares himself who took action first, pulling a small golden shortbow that had the motif of a lion carved into it. Instead of a physical arrow, Ares pulled back the string of his bow as the surrounding elemental energy converged together, forming what appeared to be an arrow of light. He unhesitantly loosed it toward Haruhime, causing it to trace an invible arc as it pierced through her chest a momentter. This caused Ares to raise one of his brows as the smile on his face became even more excited, undeterred by the fact that Haruhime had turned into a haze before reappearing outside of the arrows original trajectory. From the beginning of the battle, her Innate had already been in effect, subtly altering the perception of Ares forces while Haruhime herself appeared unmoving. Ares was preparing to loose another arrow to test the limits of Haruhimes abilities but his action was interrupted when, unexpectedly, a massive pir of light appeared at the very back of the army. His head snapped around, genuine surprise and confusion on his face as in the distance, Sobeks body was breaking down as his Arcanum was burned in an attempt to kill Haruhime. She had used [Shundo] to appear at the gods side undetected, cutting him at the waist and bisecting his body. Sobek had been caughtpletely off-guard as his Arcanum disintegrated Haruhimes body, once again showing it had been a simple illusion, not the person herself. When the pir of light had faded away, Haruhimes figure seemingly stepped out of the void as she brandished her [Sakura Blossom] with a cold smile on her face. The soldiers who had been at Sobeks side, who had been standing around in confusion as their god was in, now faded away in a haze, revealing that they had already been killed by Haruhime. Her pale-gold eyes glimmered as her tails flickered around behind her, causing those who beheld her to take in sharp breaths while their hearts beat furiously in their chests. For some, they found themselves awash with a warm breeze like spring, filled with the scent of flowers, as sakura petals danced around them. In the next moment, however, this dream faded as those very same petals cut through their body like a tempestuous wind, tearing them asunder as Haruhime, a Level 7, danced through enemy lines. She cut down hundreds as if the sounds of ughter were an apanying tune, an elegant smile on her face that made those within the effective area of her domainpletely helpless to resist... Seeing Haruhimes capabilities, Ares didnt even care that Sobek had been killed as he ran forward with incredible momentum, charging straight into Haruhimes domain. When the pink petals swept towards him, Ares brandished his ymore, sweeping them away in an instant as a crazed smile spread across his face. Haruhimes brows moved slightly as she muttered in a soft voice, "You are my Masters prey..." while sweeping her katana towards Ares. An icy blue aura had shrouded her body for a moment, greatly increasing her physical parameters as her de shed with Ares. From Ares perspective, it felt like he had just been hit by a mountain as he was forced back several hundred meters, crashing through his own men and breaking their bodies apart with his momentum. Feeling his hands numbed by the strike, Ares was undaunted and instead felt greater anticipation as he began tough loudly. The next moment, his instincts caused his temples to tremble as he swept his sword to the side and blocked an invisible arrow that had been aimed toward his heart. With his golden eyes shining, Ares looked toward the sky where Vahn was standing with his [Khryskatos] in hand. The two made eye contact as Ares lions mane like hair began to stand on ends, a war cry escaping his lips that caused all soldiers in the surroundings, from Vahns perspective, to be covered in a golden aura. This was ultimately futile against Haruhime while Vahns response was to begin loosing a literal rain of arrows upon Ares. Instead of retreating, Ares beganughing boisterously as his sword danced around like a golden tempest, cutting through each arrow with ease. It was only when one of the arrows triggered his instincts that the battle-crazed god moved to the side, sending waves of golden energy to sh with the dangerous arrows that seemed to home in on his vitals with ridiculous precision. Vahn, seeing Ares able to withstand his barrage, was slightly surprised but, considering his parameters had dropped by half after Ares blocked his [Call of the Reaper], it made a lot of sense. Now, to put more pressure on the golden god, Vahn began firing arrows randomly, many of which werent even aimed at Ares at all... Without exception, these randomly fired arrows drew sharp arcs through the air as they all converged towards Ares from every conceivable angle. Amongst these arrows was a total of ten [Yi], each charged with the power of a single sun. This time, Ares stopped swinging his sword and instead pointed it toward Vahn as he released a loud shout that resonated through the battlefield. The golden energy around his body more than doubled in size as a pir of light passed through where Vahn had been located previously. Even if Ares could fight on par with a Level 7 for a short while, there was nothing in his millions of years of experience that could prepare him for a battle against Vahn. Having easily evaded Ares attack with [Shundo], Vahn appeared right behind the golden god, undeterred by the golden energy that seemed to be trying to rip his body apart. Without any intention of causing any harm, Vahn reached out his hand and ced it against the top of Ares golden mane of hair. Vahn had already identified that Ares was able to read bloodl.u.s.t and intent so, instead of trying to harm Ares, Vahn did the exact opposite. This caused the briefest of gaps in Ares awareness as a confused look appeared in his golden eyes. In this momentary gap, the ten [Yi] arrows that Vahn had fired smashed into Ares weakened aura and impacted his body. Now, Ares eyes widened greatly as the golden aura around his body exploded outward in an attempt to resist the ten gravitational singrities threatening to tear him apart. Since he didnt use his Arcanum, this endeavor was ultimately unsessful as Vahn pulled his hand away, saying, "War will change in the future...your era is over, Ares..." As even his own body was being pulled apart by the powerful gravitational forces, Vahn quickly escaped the affected area. At the same time, Ares simplyughed in response before shouting, "War is eternal..!" as his body was torn apart and converted into particles of light. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Meat Grinder,Haruhime over here being more decisive than Vahn...,Ares is surprisingly not petty...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 910 - Chaos

Chapter 910 - Chaos

With the fall of Sobek and Ares in such a short period of time, absolute chaos began to spread through the battlefield. Even with the Generals trying to keep order by cutting down those trying to flee, they were unable to stop their forces from dispersing rapidly. The punitive force had been mowing through their ranks with unstoppable momentum and now that their gods had fallen, everything they had believed in previously fell with them. After all, the Rakia Kingdom was just an extension of the Ares Familia, with the King of Rakia being the Captain of the Familia. With Ares dead, the Familia would cease to exist, meaning their very Kingdom would likely fall shortly after. Following Haruhimes original orders, the four toons of the punitive force continued to give chase,pletely routing the enemy forces that had outnumbered them one-thousand-to-one. With chaos now spreading through the entire battlefield, few even tried to fight back as everyone tried to be the quickest to flee. Many even abandoned their weapons and armor while others would attack their own allies to prevent them from escaping faster than they themselves. It was only in the center of the battlefield, where a group of ten people ignored the retreating tides as they looked towards Vahn, fear and inhibitions nowhere to be seen within their eyes. This group was entirelyprised of Amazoness women who were covered in red tribal markings while, at the very center of their small unit, Ioke stood with her massive battleax. Like the Amazoness surrounding her, she had a blood-crazed expression as she said, "You...strong..." in a cold monotone. With these two words leaving her lips, simr red markings to those that had been painted on the Amazoness bodies began to appear on Iokes pale skin. Vahn realized they had likely copied their markings after observing Ioke but he didnt have time to think about it since thetter had already moved toward him after kicking against the ground hard enough to cause corpses to lift into the air. Iokes body tore through these corpses, turning them into a torrent of flesh and blood that followed along with her movement. Vahn was a little surprised by this but, at the most, Iokes strength was only around the peak of Level 5 while her Amazoness troupe, each wielding massive weapons of their own, were only Level 3. He raised his hand while converging his domain in an instant, greatly increasing the pressure in the surroundings while the mana density in the air was so condensed that it had be both visible and tangible. All of this mana was under Vahns control as well, allowing him to dictate its structure and manipte it freely, this time converting it into pure Light Elemental energy. Though he didnt understand the principle behind it, Vahn felt that the ughter Laws around Iokes body were cold and dark, leading him to believe it was a form of negative energy. His [Yggdrasils Champion] allowed him to use the vital energy granted by Yggy to greatly increase his ability to purify negative energies. As a result, the blood red shroud around Ioke dispersed as a red mist began erupting from her body, all while Vahn used his Xuanwu form to deflect her heavy battleax. Instead of 70kg, it was actually closer to 150kg, causing Vahns bones to creak slightly as his feet fractured the ground below. Iokes physical power had been much higher than he had expected, even though her speed hadnt been that impressive. As Ioke screamed and writhed about on the ground, bloody mist escaping her body with incredible momentum, Vahn used [Enkidu] to wrap her up while dispersing the Light Elemental energy that had caused his domain to be like a vibrant white sun. If not for his [Eyes of Truth] being unaffected, Vahn would have been blinded by his own attack, much like the nine Amazoness who hunched over on the ground, protecting their eyes with their hands. Their skin had turned tender from the high exposure to Light Elemental energy, but they would be fine after soaking in an Elixir bath for a short while. Vahn, however, couldnt exactly afford them the opportunity since they had some of the most vicious ck auras he had ever seen... These nine Amazoness were women who had reveled in ughter and murder for a long period of time, even though they werentpelled by any kind of Divinity to do so. They happily butchered people for the thrill of it and, back in the Rakia Kingdom, they were notorious for murdering people in broad daylight without consequence. Vahn understood they were probably close to Ioke, likely her only Familia members, but having such toxic existences would only make her life more difficult. For the time being, however, Vahn just put them into a deepatose state since he didnt want Iokes first experience with him and the Alliance, outside ofbat, to be negative. Once the Amazoness had been dealt with, Vahn used telekinesis to levitate their bodies as he turned to the bound Ioke who, for the first time in her long existence, no longer felt thepulsion of her Divinity. She just stared nkly at Vahn, mouth slightly agape as both words and thoughts, at least for the moment,pletely escaped her. Vahn felt a great deal of pity for an existence like Ioke and, knowing how much she had suffered in the past, his bad habit was acting up a bit. Without putting much thought into it, Vahn had found himself in front of Ioke, stroking her blood-red hair with a concerned look on his face as he said, "Hestia, Hephaestus, Artemis, and Demeter have been worried about you...nobody will use you as a weapon anymore, Ioke. It may take some time but there will be a lot of people who help you try and be happy in the future..." There was a great deal of confusion in Iokes eyes as she looked up at Vahn, seeing the mncholy and empathy contained within his expression. This caused her brows to furrow as she asked, "You will...not bully...Ioke...?" Though she was nearly three-hundred million years old, Ioke very rarely spoke full sentences to people, often choosing to forgo conversations entirely. Her social skills had degraded a great deal, to the point that she sounded more like a child who was just learning how to speak for the first time. This made Vahns heart feel like someone was twisting it as he nodded his head and said, "From now on, you will choose how you want to live. Though I cant just let you go around killing people, I will do my best to create an environment where you can be happy..." Ioke didnt need to kill people in order to pacify her Divinity so, as long as Vahn was able to provide an environment where she could cut loose whenever she wanted, that should be enough to allow her to live a rtively normal life. Since the undergroundwork of tunnels was now connected with the Dungeon, Vahn could make a channel where monsters were able to spawn and proliferate. Though these would mostly be just Goblins and Kobolds, it shouldnt really matter from the perspective of Iokes Divinity. So long as she was able to ughter something, Ioke wouldnt have to worry about experiencing pain and suffering from trying to resist her Divinityspulsion. Though she couldnt really imagine a world where she was happy, Ioke felt like Vahn wasnt trying to trick her by lying. Just the golde chains wrapping her body, which were strangelyfortable,bined with the warm energy flowing from his palm made her feel very rxed and safe. Even if he was lying to her, Ioke felt it was better to be with someone that treated her kindly instead of someone that would bully her all the time. She had been severely scarred by Zeus in Heaven and, aftering to the Mortal World, she ended up being used as a weapon by Ares. The worst part was that, while Ares himself didnt do anything to her, he had allowed his men to do as they pleased, all while she was unable to kill them because of the vow she had made to not harm anyone in his Familia. There were many cruel people within the Ares Familia and, being able to do whatever they wanted to a goddess was arge boost to the ego of many in the upper echelons of the Familia... Vahn, unaware of the full extent of Iokes suffering, continued to stroke her head gently until she had slowlypsed into a deep slumber. Haruhime had already appeared at his side long ago, waiting for his orders since it would be easy for her to catch up with the retreating army. Vahn picked up Iokes body in a bridal carry, feeling pained by how light she was in his arms. He turned to Haruhime, that same pain showing on his face as he said, "If they are just Level 1, give the punitive force the order to have those that surrender make a life-long vow to nevermit criminal acts before letting them go. Those who are Level 2 and above, especially if they have the scent of blood on them, make sure they are all killed. The Rakia Kingdom no longer exists...I will not let its legacy survive it..." The official poption of the Rakia Kingdom was around 600,000 citizens, not counting those in the lower rungs of society who were generally treated as ves andborers. Though there would be those amongst the 600,000 that are innocent, Vahn knew those that had risen through the ranks of society were just as corrupt as the Kingdom itself. Now that Ares had died, the worst amongst them would either try to seize power within the broken Kingdom while those with keen insight would start fleeing. They wouldy their roots elsewhere, likely taking over a small vige or township, if not outright migrating to other countries where their corruption would once again begin to spread. Vahn wanted to eliminate people like this, especially those that acted willingly as agents of the Empire, each like a cancerous cell that needed to be cut out in order to begin the recovery process... Haruhime gave an elegant bow, her usual smile nowhere to be seen as she understood this wasnt an easy decision for Vahn to make. In a way, most of the residents of Rakia Kingdom were victims and, if given the opportunity to seek a better life for themselves, many would take the chance. Now, there would undoubtedly be innocents who would die as a result of the chaos that would permeate through the now defunct Kingdom. Each of these lives, even if Vahn didnt experience the deaths themselves, would weigh heavily on his heart. Understanding this, Haruhime shared Vahns pain and, if possible, she wanted to take it unto herself so that he could have peace of mind... Even without seeing her aura, Vahn was sensitive to Haruhimes feelings because of their ever-growing bond with each other. His expression softened and, before she raised her head, Vahn had started to pet her glossy blonde hair as he said, "Soon, events like this will be a thing of the past. Dont worry, Haruhime...I will not break from something like this. With amazing women like you supporting me, I can bear the weight of Heaven itself if I need to..." The moment these words left his mouth, Vahn felt like each of his nerves was on fire as his instincts warned him of imminent danger. In an instant, the world lost almost all of its color as Vahn strained every muscle in his neck and torso to look skyward, all while pushing Haruhime, Ioke, and the unconscious Amazoness away from him. Within this colorless world, there was a shining golden star that had entered Vahns perception, even though it had yet to enter into his domain. It felt like his body was being weighed down like a mountain that grew exponentially heavier with each passing moment. However, even though less than a thousandth of a second had passed in reality, even with Vahns perception making it appear as if time itself had been brought to stop, the golden object had already pierced through his body before passing into the earth below... Vahn could feel the cells in his body being torn apart in slow motion as his senses were bing obscure, almost as if he was no longer in his own body any longer. This resulted in time returning to normal as Haruhime, Ioke, and the Amazonesses were still caught in therge shockwave that had urred after the golden object had pierced into the earth, traveling very near the speed of light. Haruhime and Ioke had been pushed away from the stwave without any grievous injuries, but the unconscious Amazonesses, who were only Level 3, had been disintegrated by the strike. Vahn hadnt had enough time to try and protect them as the period between his instincts trigger and the attack hitting had been nigh-instantaneous. With the stwave expanding outward, Vahns body was also disintegrated alongside them but, long before the light had faded away, he had already regenerated. He then immediatelyunched himself into the sky with a vicious look in his eyes as sheer una.d.u.l.terated rage had overtaken him for the time being. Though Haruhime would have been able to survive with the [Effigy of the Hero], that attack had been more than enough to sure-kill almost anything within its area of effect. The fact that this unknown enemy had struck forth with the intent to kill, not only himself, but Haruhime, Ioke, and the Amaonesses, had caused Vahns rage to explode outward. Even without transforming into one of his [Magia Erebea] forms, Vahn had torn through the sky with enough force to create several shockwaves as a ck trail followed behind him. He reached out with his hand, grasping towards a man with short ck hair and a casual smile on his face. This same man held out his hand, causing a sh of brilliant golden light as an ornate spear, covering from tip to pommel in glowing runes, appeared. From Vahns perspective, the world lost its color once again as the man kicked with enough physical force to fracture the void, leaping higher into the sky as he arched his back and prepared to strike down with his spear a second time. At the very same moment that the mans muscles contracted, fully prepared to throw his spear, Vahn had also torn through the void, shrinking the distance between him and the man in literally no time. His w found its way around the mans neck while he was still transitioning out of his wind-up motion, tearing through flesh and bone without any resistance. Vahns other w had pierced through the mans chest,pletely crushing his heart and causing ripples to spread from the contact point as, with time returning to normal, his neck and torso exploded into particles so fine that they seemed to vanish into the void. All that was left of the man was his still smiling face, his lower body, and a golden spear that was quickly losing its light... Vahn matched gazes with the man who finally seemed to realize his situation but was already too far gone to do anything to preserve his life. The light in his eyes faded away almost at the same instant that realization hit him, the smile on his face turning into an incredulous gap as his ck eyes reflected an azure-blue light. There, within that reflection, the image of Vahn, shrouded in an azure radiance. Much of his body was covered in scales that emanated with azure blue and gold light as he stood like an indomitable tyrant while the very void around him was shattering from his presence. His eyes had be like zing golden suns as golden antler-like horns protruded from the mane of electrified azure-blue hair framing his fierce visage. Behind his body, there was a golden ded ring that seemed to vibrate with a frequency that caused space to retreat away from Vahn, almost as if the world itself feared his presence... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The End of Suffering...,Removing cancer from the source,The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it...all while the Azure Dragon watches silently from the void, its wrath waiting to be unleashed...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 911 - Space and Time

Chapter 911 - Space and Time

With a reformed height of 190cm, azure blue scales intermixed with a pattern of gold, glowing runic tattoos covering his body, and majestic golden antlers protruding through his azure hair, Vahn stood within the quaking void as he overlooked the devastation below. His eyes were a vibrant golden color that radiated like the sun while his pupils had be like thin reptilian slits. Other than the peculiar golden wheel behind his back, the most striking feature he possessed currently was the azure lightning that coiled around his scales and danced between his body and the wheel. Wherever the arcs of lightning spread, a ck emptiness would be left within the void before space tried to repair itself. Vahn found himself in a strange state where he was suffused with intense rage while also feeling extremely calm, contemptuous thoughts welling up inside him as he looked down upon the world. He didnt know who the man was but, based on the variables avable, Vahn had a strong suspicion about where he hade from. His golden eyes turned towards the North-West region of the continent, almost as if his gaze could pierce through time and space. In the next moment, Vahn found himself in an area with an oppressive aura suffused through the atmosphere as an expansive City stretched out below him. The buildings looked extremely ancient but, as if unaffected by the passage of time, had an immacte quality to them. There wasnt even a single sign of fauna, including a distinctck of insect life that would typically be present in most environments... Upon blinking his eyes, Vahn found himself standing in the air above the battlefield once again, causing him to squint as a result of the mild confusion he felt. It was almost as if his intent had been able to travel to where he wanted to view and, testing this theory, Vahn found himself looking down at the Elsos Ruins in the Dark Continent a momentter. This time, he moved his body and found himself tearing through the void as, instead of just his intent being present above the Ruins, his body had formed as if there had been no distance separating him and Orario from the start. His energy reserves had taken a massive hit but were quickly replenishing as Vahn once again found his intent above the battleground before tearing through space as if it were just a slightly resistive membrane... With most of his reserves sunk in the two spatial transfers, Vahn felt the contempt that had invaded his mind slowly begin to fade away. He saw that Haruhime had recovered Ioke while Lefiya treated the unconscious goddess injuries. Ais, along with most of the girls that had been observing the battle take ce, had formed a defensive line to protect the City. Most of the citizens that had been content to simply watch had started evacuating very quickly with the assistance of the Alliance and the various Adventurers who had gathered. The festive atmosphere from before hadpletely vanished the moment the golden spear had descended, leaving a deep cross-shaped scar in the terrain while the surroundings had sunken inward after the massive explosion... Vahn estimated the strength of the person that had attacked him to be around the peak of Level 8 while the attack they had used was likely rted to an Innate. It had beenpletely indefensible as, from the moment the spearman had locked onto his target, they would be weighed down by an incredible pressure that made even dodging impossible. Vahn wasnt even sure if he would be able to evade it in his Lightning Emperor form, as the attack had torn through him faster than his already ridiculous perception could process. From the moment he had sensed the attack, several kilometers away, to the time he had been run through, it was almost as if no time had passed at all... Because of this, and the fact that such individuals simply couldnt exist in secret, Vahn supposed that the man had belonged to the faction of Zeus and Hera. Other than Siegfried and Jeanne, Vahn had yet to meet anyone who was remotely close to the spearman in strength. He had to be some Hero from History who had fallen out of the limelight after events Vahn could only begin to specte over. All he knew for certain, even though he was unaware of the reasons, it seemed like this group of people had be antagonistic towards him. This realization,bined with the wrath he had felt previously, caused Vahn to enter into his Azure Dragon form for the first time as thoughts of what might happen if he wasnt careful yed themselves through his mind. The weakest person he had seen from the group had been Jeanne, even though Vahn also felt that he wouldnt actually be able to beat her. Even she had been Level 8, meaning there was a very high probability that others in their organization were also around a simr degree of strength. If anyone in their group had Innates that would allow them to breach the Manor, it meant none of his family was safe if they were truly at odds with each other. Though Terra should be able to keep everyone safe, there was no way of knowing how an Innate could manifest. Understanding this, Vahn once again turned his eyes towards the North-West as rage and contempt began to permeate through every fiber of his being... As he was thinking of wreaking havoc at the ancient-looking city atop the mountain, Haruhimes voice entered Vahns mind, asking, ("Vahn, what happened? What do you want us to do...?"). Vahn could hear the concern in her voice as it echoed within his mind, causing a bit of the rage he felt to diminish as he looked toward where the girls were gathered and sent a broad telepathic response, ("This is a group of enemies that you all arent prepared to face. Not only are their Innates polished over hundreds of years, but the weakest in their group is over Level 8. Return to the Manor and protect our family. I dont think they will attack within the City, but there is a chance one of them may try to infiltrate the Manor...please, keep everyone safe.") Since they may try to insist on helping, Vahn averted his eyes when he was finished speaking, sending his intent thousands of kilometers in an instant before tearing through the void. The oppressive energy in the air made it feel like he was trying to swim through liquid metal that had beenpressed under intense pressure. Vahn felt like, as he was tearing through the void, his body was also being torn apart in the process. However, with the immortality he possessed through his [Magia Erebea], Vahn was able toplete the transfer as the golden blood in his body defied gravity to return to him, sealing up his wounds almost instantly. Almost as soon as he broke through into this condensed space, Vahn knew he had been detected and, a few seconds after his arrival, several hundred armored warriors had ascended into the sky. Though he didnt feel much of anything at the moment, Vahn was mildly surprised to see that, of the nearly three-hundred warriors, each of them looked like ethereal beauties that practically screamed the word Valkyrie in the back of his mind. Each wore ornate blue and ck armor that was adorned with gold, the only exception being their white battledresses and the feathers in their visored helmets. They had dark-grey metallic wings and either wielded halberds or paired swords and kite shields, each glimmering with the resplendence of A and S-Rank items... Even though the entire group consisted of Level 5 warriors, with a few Level 6s and 7s mixed in, the only thing Vahn felt after his momentary surprise was absolute contempt. The closer they charged to him, the dimmer the world became until one of the Level 7s, a woman with pristine white hair and blue-grey eyes, was merely ten meters away from him. With this urrence, Vahn felt like time had actually stoppedpletely, even though he could still see the lightning moving in slow motion across his azure-blue scales. It seemed that his Azure Dragon transformation not only gave him the ability to manipte space, but it was heavily affecting his perception of time as well. From the perspective of reality, unobserved, both Time and Space, while being fundamental Laws that governed almost every record, didnt actually exist. There was no distance between two points unless you had the means to measure it through the lens of your perception, given by the ego and interpreted by whatever instrument you used to view reality. If you were able to exist outside of records, where even Laws themselves didnt exist, you could view the inside and choose any point in Time and Space, regardless of the location or if it was in the past, present, or future. It was only when you were inside of the record, bound by its Laws, that the two concepts had any influence over you in a meaningful way... With the ability to move through and manipte Space, which could not exist without Time, Vahn was secondarily able to have some degree of control over theter. Though he could not tear through time, as he could Space, just having the ability to change his perception of Time, and its rtion to the Space around him, gave Vahn a degree of power that his own mind was having trouble keeping up with. If not for the strange state he found himself in, Vahn wasnt sure if he would be able to make sense of any of the phenomenon happening around him, even with all the Time in the world to do so... Though he would normally have to strain his muscles to move in this state, as his body simply couldnt keep up with his mind, Vahn was able to shrink and tear through space without Time seeming the affect him. Instead of straining himself, it felt like he was moving through a dense and fiery liquid as a ck trail existed where his body had been previous. Vahn could even see light, or the Space around where his hand had been, slowly copsing in on itself as the mana and light in the air flowed in to fill the nothingness that had been left behind. During Vahns simple movement, where he had lifted his hand up in a seemingly casual manner, the leading Valkyrie hadnt even moved a single millimeter through the air as even her pupils were contracting at a ridiculously slow rate. It wasnt umon for powerful warriors to have a perception and mental acuity that far outstripped their physical capabilities so, even though the Valkyrie was seemingly frozen in time, her mind was slowly processing what was happening... Vahn felt like he had all the time in the world to contemte his next choice of action thus, after what felt like several minutes of thinking, he had made his choice. None of these Valkyries had dark auras so Vahn didnt want to kill them, especially since there was a chance he had misunderstood the situation. If the forces under Hera and Zeus werent already antagonistic towards him, ying these two-hundred-seventy-one Valkyries would most-certainly ensure that they would be in the future. The ideal situation would be one where they were able topromise and avoid a direct engagement as even Siegfried and the spearman he had killed previously didnt actually have ck auras. Willing the energy coiling around his body to be contained within, Vahn watched as the lightning slowly embedded itself into his scales. When the energy was gone, he moved through Space without actually moving his body, pressing his hand gently against the leading Valkyries head. For a brief moment, Vahn felt something simr to static arc between his hand and her helmet as it blinked away a few meters behind her. The Valkyries hair was still in the same position, as if her helmet was still in ce, as Vahn pressed his palm against her bare forehead this time. As if it was liquid slowly spreading through a cloth, Vahn watched as his own condensed Source Energy slowly turned his palm into a rainbow hue that spread into the Valkyries forehead, illuminating her fair skin as he gave her head a light caress. In the next instant, Vahn felt his percept shift before his body had torn through Space once again, cing him in front of the next Valkyrie, a Level 6 with deep-blue hair that was almost ck. This process repeated two-hundred-and-seventy-one times, all in the time it took for the entire flock of Valkyrie to move forward just a few centimeters. By the time Vahn had finished, allowing color to return to the world, the entire group of winged-warriors was falling limply through the sky, their consciousness robbed by his caress. Vahn supported their falling bodies by anchoring them using telekinesis through his domain. Though they would be fine, regardless of how far they fell, Vahn would feel guiltyter if he let nearly three hundred women crash to the ground, especially when he could easily prevent it... With his stuntplete, Vahn felt like every nerve in his body was on fire while his mind felt incredibly sluggish, even with his reserves steadily replenishing. His Mental Energy had drained a great deal and, if not for the fact he was meditating back at the Manor, having two bodies would probably cause him to break down like when he first used his avatar in the Sub-Space orb while his body returned to reality. When Vahns perception of time had caused the world to slow to a crawl, this wasnt the same thing that his body was experiencing back at the Manor. This caused him to feel an intense mental strain and it was likely he wouldnt be able to perform such feats in sequence without his avatar breaking down entirely. Ignoring the feeling of his brain splitting down the center, Vahn descended into the Ancient City, his target one of the few auras present within his domain, excluding the Valkyrie. The owner of the aura was a small boy, seemingly no older than ten years old, with white hair and heterochromatic eyes. One was light-grey in coloration, glowing with a subtle light, while the other was a pale-purple, a peculiar color, though not nearly as peculiar as its glowing counterpart. He was wearing a long-sleeved dress shirt, fasted together by ornate silver buttons, with a pair of brown shorts that were held by suspenders. The boy also had a beige t cap, white socks, and a pair of brown loafers that gave him an appearance that contrasted with anyone Vahn had ever met previously. Without showing any fear whatsoever, the boy had an innocent looking smile on his face as his big eyes were locked on to Vahn. When they were within afortable speaking distance, the boys smile grew marginally wider as he said, "That ability of yours is amazing, Vahn Mason. Quantum Tunneling and Inter-Temporal eleration are exceedingly rare, even amongst the monsters here in the City of Heroes~!" The boy seemed more excited by Vahns disy of taking down the Valkyrie than worried about his own safety. Even his aura was a sunny yellow with strands of blue and subtle greens that showed amicability and curiosity. Vahn felt like his momentum was heavily affected by the boys nature but, understanding it could be an Innate, he didnt drop his guard as he asked, "Who are you? Where are Zeus and Hera...?" He also wanted to ask about the City of Heroes but, considering existences like Siegfried and Jeanne likely resided here, it wasnt really that surprising. In response to his inquiries, the boy seemed to get even more excited as he raised his head proudly while cing his hand over his heart as he said, "My name is Paracelsus, the Medicine King! Im also a [Philospher] tier Alchemist so if you need to treat an incurable disease, or want high-grade Elixirs, feel free to ask me and Ill give you a good deal~!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: If you are moving through Space, you are always moving through Time, even if you are discing both (UwU)~!,Ougi, Serious Series, Serious Head Patting~!,There goes the momentum :infiniteKeks:) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 912 - Exasperation

Chapter 912 - Exasperation

With Paracelsus rather light-hearted self-promotion, Vahn felt like his momentum was quickly being sapped away. He knew of the name Paracelsus from History, belonging to a prodigious Physician who existed a little over four-hundred years ago. While most people relied on potions and Magic to heal sickness and injury, Paracelsus had made startling advancements in the now almost extinct field of practical medicine and natural healing. Many of the rural remedies used in viges,bined with the texts on first aid and emergency treatment, were all developed by him in the past. However, as a result of his unorthodox methods, and the enemies he had made amongst the [Mixing] and [Alchemist]munity, Paracelsus had fallen into obscurity. His greatest achievement wasing up with a cure for a gue that had wrought havoc through nearly half the Continent, iming millions of lives before he had publicized a rtively simple mixture that would keep the gue at bay while encouraging proper hygiene and waste disposal practices. When people learned that his methods actually worked, he became rtively famous in a very short period of time though, after that feat, History made no other mention of the man that had saved millions. One of the things that caught Vahn off guard was the fact that Paracelsus was supposed to have been an old man at the time he had be famous. Though there were undoubtedly more than a few methods to reverse aging, as Vahn had several at his disposal, it was still a little surprising. The fact that Paracelsus acted childish was the biggest factor behind the incongruity Vahn was feeling, causing him to be unable to rx as he said, "Ive read about your aplishments. How are you still alive after all this time?" Then, remembering his purpose, Vahns expression turned slightly icy as he asked, "Where are Zeus and Hera?" Still unperturbed by Vahn, Paracelsus tapped his chin as if he were in deep thought before muttering, "Ah, you must have had a disagreement with C Chinn...did you kill him~?" At the end of his question, Paracelsus light-grey eye began flickering with light as a runic structure, simr to clockwork, was visible for a brief moment. Vahns own perception of time caused the world around to became a dull monochrome as the only two sources of color remained Paracelsus and himself. The boy had a curious expression on his face for a moment before his eyes widened in surprise, time returning to normal as he said, "Its like the axis of time has be fixed...did you...? No, such a thing shouldnt be possible..." In the next instant, Paracelsus was already halfway down a long corridor as he turned back to look at Vahn, saying, "You should follow along. There are a few things Im curious about and I believe you will find the answers you seek at the heart of the city. Ah, you should be wary of Heracles as well, lest you want to put your immortality to the test. If you are going to fight, though, please do it within the Coliseum. I dont want you destroying my Atelier and Im certain the others would be bothered if you began rampaging without consideration for the damage youll cause to the surroundings..." Vahns eyes had be sharp when Paracelsus teleported, as none of the information pertaining to the Historic figure hinted that he had such capabilities. It was obvious that the boy had some kind of Innate rted to time, though it seemed like he was unable to move backward through time after Vahn had entered into the record. Because The Path was an existence that could only exist in one axis of time, meaning Vahn was also a singrity, the only way to move backward in time was to reverse the entire records time. Individuals would be unable to make the transition as it could lead to parallel or divergent timelines where a second version of The Path would exist. This was something Vahn had been aware of ever since the Divination, as all the events that had taken ce ceased to exist in their entirety after he returned to the present. Understanding that this peculiar boy calling himself Paracelsus probably wasnt an easy person to deal with, as he seemed lost in his own thoughts, Vahn decided it was best to ignore him for the time being. The fact he hadnt answered his questions, even though he should have been able to give him some insight, was a red g from Vahns perspective. Instead of following along, Vahn made sure the Valkyrie would be out ofmission for a while before ascending into the sky once again. His eyes were immediately drawn to a man wearing red robes that matched the style worn in one of the western provinces of the Far East. He was sitting atop a building with apiszuli dome and a golden spire, shouldering a red and gold staff as he waved towards Vahns direction. Seeing yet another peculiar individual, Vahn wasnt sure if his purpose foring to the City of Heroes matched his previous spection. Other than the Valkyries attacking, which wasnt wrong, considering they were likely the security of the City, Vahn hadnt met anyone trying to bar his passage. Even though he was outputting an immense amount of energy and pressure, the only two individuals he had seen thus far didnt seem bothered by it at all. If not for the fact that Paracelsus had mentioned the man named C Chinn, who Vahn knew was a spear-wielding Hero that had vanished around 581 years ago, Vahn would have believed his assumption was groundless from the start... By the time Vahn had blinked over to the man wearing a red robe, he had jumped up to his feet, an amiable smile on his face as he held up one hand and said, "Whoa there, friend, Im not looking for a fight. Your type is a bad matchup for me, hahahaha..." Though he showed no hostility, the man still tightened his grip on the masterpiece of a staff that currently rested on his shoulder. It seemed to be made of wood but was a glossy red that rival beryl in sheen. The golden caps on the end had severalyers of intricate runes that had been painstakingly embedded in super-fine print. From a nce, Vahn felt like it was a weapon that waspletely beyond his ability to craft, as there was almost a divine quality to it... Having his staff eyed by Vahn, the man gave a wry smile as he said, "Hey now, I didnt think you were the type to covert another persons possessions...give me a break, will ya...?" As he spoke, the Far Eastern man, having slightly bronzed skin, dark brown hair that was parted at the center, a topknot tied with red cloth, and a handsome face, acted as if he was trying to hide the staff behind his body. Since it was around 220cm long, while he was only 175cm tall, he wasnt doing a good job of it, giving off the impression that he was foolish in nature. At the same time, however, there was a serious look in his eyes that made Vahn feel slightly alerted, almost as if he were about to step on the tail of a sleeping dragon if he actually did want to take the staff... Releasing a breath that caused the void to ripple slightly, Vahn asked inly, "Where are Zeus and Hera? Do you know why C Chinn attacked me...? Ah, and who are you...?" Since everyone he had met here seemed to be a Hero, Vahn fully expected this man to also have a name recorded in History. As expected, the man introduced himself proudly, eximing, "My name is Zhou Yu, though I doubt youve ever heard of me, hahahaha..." Toward the end of his introduction, Zhou Yu released a sigh since very few people, even in the Far East, would remember his name. Though he had been one of the people to poprize the use of the staff, to the point that many people studied the style he had developed, few remembered the name of the styles founder... Vahn was beginning to feel a little annoyed that the only questions he had answers to thus far were the identities of the people he was talking to. It was almost as if they refused to answer, or were unable to answer...since there was a chance thetter was true, Vahn decided to verify his conjecture by asking, once again, "Where are Zeus and Hera...?" Zhou Yus response was to rub the back of his head before saying, "You should try heading to the heart of the city. The answers you seek should be found there...?" As if it were some kind of conversational habit, Zhou Yu started off speaking in a casual tone before sounding uncertain at the end of his statement. Given that he should be over six-hundred years old, Vahn wouldnt be surprised if it was a quirk that he had developed with the passage of time. In order to test what kind of questions these Heroes would be able to answer, Vahn asked, "How many Heroes reside within the City? What are their names...? Who is the strongest...? What is your purpose here...?" Zhou Yu gave a wry smile in response while rubbing the back of his head once again, only answering two of Vahns questions, exining, "The strongest in the City is undoubtedly Heracles. If you choose to fight against him, youll need to prepare yourself quite a bit...that form of yours seems pretty strong, but it probably wont help you much against him. As for our purpose...I guess you could say were like insurance...? If something urs in the Mortal World that the other forces are unable to oppose, well step in to save the day before disappearing again...hmmm..." Hearing yet another Hero warn him about Heracles, a man recorded in History as the strongest, to the point that the descriptive for inordinately powerful individuals described them as having herculean strength. There were even Innates rted to the name while legends of Heracles were so prominent within Mythos that it was hard to imagine just how powerful a records version of the Hero would be. Since Zhou Yu, who Vahn estimated had strength around the mid-tier Level 8, was giving him such a warning, Vahn was certain that Heracles would be Level 9. Even Siegfried had only been at the peak of Level 8 while neither Zhou Yu or Paracelsus had issued warnings rting to the mighty Dragon Knight. Feeling a headacheing along, Vahn turned away from Zhou Yu, leaving the man showing an awkward smile as he resumed his seated position and began to drink from a wine gourd. Vahn felt the tension between the two of them vanish in an instant, even though he knew the man would react almost instantly if he were to show any hostility. Much more so than the Valkyrie, these Heroes seemed both entric and powerful, with a fair amount of mystery apanying them as well. Along the way to the heart of the City of Heroes, Vahn detected several other powerful presences, many of which only showed him a momentary interest before returning to their own affairs. Vahn even saw a man sleeping at the base of a Sakura Tree, a bamboo hat veiling his eyes as he chewed on a thin needle-like chopstick. The moment Vahns eyes passed over the man, it felt like there were several sharp des in close proximity to his vitals, even though the only change in the man was his bamboo hat shifting almost imperceptibly... Though he still felt a permeating sense of contempt towards everything around him, Vahns logical mind told him that this ce wasnt simple. Previously, his transformation into the Azure Dragon form had given him the confidence to fight against any number of enemies without having to worry. Now that he saw some of the unique individuals present within the City of Heroes, however, Vahn knew his victory, though inevitable, would be hard-won. C Chinn had only fallen as quickly as he did because he had been overconfident whilepletely underestimating Vahn. As thetter had never shown the ability to tear through the void previously, the proud spearman only knew what little information Siegfried had provided. He had be a victim of his own hubris, one of the mostmon causes of death for Heroes in all records... The very center of the City, from what Vahn could discern, was a Coliseum that had a diameter spanning more than five kilometers. It looked like it could hold more than five hundred thousand people with room to spare. At the very center of the Coliseum, whose structure gave off a subtle glow in Vahns [Eyes of Truth], there were four people present, one being a god. Vahn was a little surprised as, instead of Zeus and Hera, the god before him had the same presence as the elderly god who had disguised himself before Vahn in the past. Currently, he had onyx-ck hair that seemed to shimmer slightly while his right eye was covered in an eyepatch, even though a phenomenal amount of energy pulsed from within... Standing with the spiky-haired god, there was a Valkyrian woman that possessed strength near the peak of Level 7 while the other two were people Vahn had already met, Siegfried and Jeanne. Thetter had a somewhat paleplexion while Siegfrieds eyes seemed to glimmer with anticipation. With Vahn being in his Azure Dragon form, the famous Dragon Knight could feel his blood boiling as the only thing keeping him from challenging Vahn was the vow he had made during theirst encounter. As for the Valkyrie, she had a stoic expression but Vahn felt like there was a glimmer of hatred in her eyes, amplified by the furious red aura she possessed. With her stark blue eyes, glossy onyx-grey hair, and dark-grey angelic wings, she struck a heroic figure, even though her strength wasckingpared to the actual Heroes present. The moment Vahn touched down in the Coliseum, the god amongst their group showed a slightly mournful expression as he said, "So, another Hero has fallen...Brynhildr, go wake your sisters and prepare for C Chinns burial rites. Even if he erred this time around, he was still a Hero deserving of an honorable sendoff...is that eptable for you, Vahn Mason...?" Since Vahns golden eyes had shed at the mention of C Chinns name, Odin decided to err on the side of caution, confirming with Vahn if it was okay to honor the spearmans death. With his understanding of Vahn, Odin didnt think he would be against the idea, even if the two had confronted each other... Vahn felt his own body tense slightly when he heard that C Chinn would be given the rites of an honorable burial, even though he had sneak attacked with the intent to kill both Haruhime and Ioke. The mans attack had also imed the lives of the nine Amazoness but, considering he had originally intended to kill them as well, Vahn could let that part slide. Even so, Vahn didnt feel as though the man truly deserved such honors, regardless of the actions he had taken in the distant past. The only thing that prevented him from refusing was his own reason, telling him that he should not harbor hatred and resentment toward the dead. C Chinn no longer existed in this world, his soul having moved on to Heaven to enter into the cycle of reincarnation. Going out of his way to prevent others from celebrating his life was a grave injustice that could breed unnecessary hatred in the future... Withholding another sigh, Vahn closed his eyes for several seconds before nodding his head slightly, choosing the high road of the victor instead of holding onto a petty vendetta against an already deceased man. This caused the auras of the god, Siegfried, and Jeanne to improve slightly while even the Valkyrie, Brynhildr, seemed to restrain her rage. After Vahn nodded in affirmation, she bowed towards the god, her paradoxically deep yet soft voice sounding, "As you will, Allfather. We shall inscribe his name in the halls of Valha and recount his tale for three days and nights...!" With a nod from Odin, Brynhildr spread her wings and took to the sky, carrying her silver spear, sparkling like starlight, along with her... (A/N: No fifth chapter today.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Heroes are Weirdos,Vahn, "I am inevitable.",Those who harbor hatred for the dead give power to the memory, letting it consume them like an insidious poison that affects both the heart and mind) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 913 - Dialogue : Conviction

Chapter 913 - Dialogue : Conviction

With the departure of Brynhildr, the atmosphere within the Coliseum became slightly tense, an awkward silence permeating through the arena. Eventually, Odin released a small sigh through his nose before turning solemn as he said, "Im certain you have many questions but, unless you were willing to join our organization, there isnt too much I can tell you. What I can say is that we are not your enemies, at least for the time being. If C Chinn attacked you, there must have been a reason behind his actions...can you exin what happened?" Even though he already had a basic idea of what had transpired, Odin was curious about how forthright Vahn was willing to be on the matter. Brynhildr had referred to the god as Allfather, allowing Vahn to identify him as Odin, one of the more influential gods from the Northwestern Pantheon. He knew a bit about the gods character and exploits after knowing his identity but, with circ.u.mstances as they were, Vahn didnt care too much about maintaining propriety. After hearing Odins questions, Vahn simply stated, "From the very beginning, it has always been your organization causing trouble for me, all while maintaining your secrecy. Under other circ.u.mstances, I may have answered your questions...that is no longer the case. You do not have my trust, Odin, so do not expect me to take the steps towards cooperation. I already have a basic idea of why your group is gathering Heroes, even if your reasoning is asinine to the extreme..." Somewhat surprisingly, Odin nodded his head in agreement, saying, "Though our original intention was to keep order and guarantee there was a failsafe to protect the Mortal World, I can understand why you would call us foolish. As you can see from the size of the City, we had expected that Heroes would proliferate with the passage of time, allowing us to cultivate future generations of Heroes that would protect the world. The reality was quite different, however, as Heroes often possess unique and individualized personalities that make it difficult for them to interact with each other. Honestly, it really is a mess...haaaaa...." The City of Heroes could amodate millions of people yet, even with nearly a thousand years passing since its establishment, there had only been twenty-three permanant residents. With C Chinn now dead, their numbers had reduced once again. Originally, the purpose of Legend was to prevent Heroes from deviating from their path and bing the very threats that Heroes were sworn to fight against. At the same time, it was meant to promote the growth of Heroes, allowing them to grow closer to godhood while polishing their strength against each other. This had the unfortunate consequence of several Heroes losing their lives unnecessarily while the independent nature of Heroes prevented them from truly growing close to each other... Even with Odin pandering to him, Vahn wasnt really in the mood for a polite discussion as he was still contemting if it was worth bing enemies with Legend. Right now, there were numerous other matters on his te and, even though he would win in the end, it didnt seem worth it to fight against so many powerful individuals. In general, they didnt seem antagonistic towards him, if Paracelsus, Zhou Yu, Jeanne, and Siegfried were any indicator. Even those he had passed over on his way to the Coliseum didnt show him much interest while the majority had pure and stable auras, much like Fels. He understood that C Chinn had likely attacked him for having vited the taboo of killing a god or, at the very least, hisment to Haruhime about shouldering Heaven itself... After collecting his thoughts, Vahn opened his eyes and matched gazes with Odin, saying, "What Im trying to aplish is something that will benefit everyone, especially those in future generations. Even your organization will benefit, as the path towards godhood will be open using the innovations I am introducing. If you want to y at being some kind of failsafe to protect the Mortal World, that is your own prerogative...stop interfering with my life, and those of my family. Your C Chinn had sneak attacked us and, even if he had his reasons for doing so, his attack would have vited the same taboo...!" Hearing this, Odin squinted his eye slightly before saying, "C Chinn was a little hotblooded, but he wasnt a fool that couldnt control his power. His attack would have killed precisely who it was supposed to, even if others would be injured in the process..." Odin had seen C Chinn sever the wings of a fly from a kilometer away without killing the fly itself. If he attacked Vahn, anyone else caught in the attack was someone that had been marked as a threat to the Mortal World, at least ording to his perspective. The fact that he had sneak attacked, showed that C Chinn didnt consider Vahn an honorable opponent that he was willing to face head-on. Vahn could feel the rage and contempt brought upon by the Azure Dragon form bubble up after he heard Odins words, even if the god had his reasons for saying them. His golden eyes zed like suns as he coldly stated, "Even if gods are forced to act to appease their Divinity, there is nothing that requires mortals to have to tolerate slights against them. How many millions have died because of the whimsical nature of gods who act without any sense of propriety, sometimes disying apleteck of general sensibilities? This world isnt meant to be the yground for the gods, allowing them to act as they please without any repercussions. If you truly believe in the potential of mortals to rise up, you wouldnt treat them in such a contemptuous manner while making the same excuse over and over...!" Though there were goddesses like Loki and Ioke, who were forced to take certain actions to appease their Divinities, these same actions were often a heavy burden to them. Gods like Ares, Sobek, Apollo, and Zeus, they were obviously not burdened by their Divinity at all. Instead, they embraced the power they had been born with, using it to act however they please, often without any kind of repercussions at all. They even victimized their own kin, showing little to no remorse for the lives they ruined along the way. Vahn was growing tired of having to deal with gods like these, even if their existence was necessary from the perspective of the worlds bnce. Once again, Odin nodded as if he were in agreement with Vahn, saying, "There are certainly some gods who treat the mortal world as a yground where they can act freely. However, it is because of our long lives that these types of behaviors present themselves. That doesnt mean we are all like that, nor does it justify your own actions, Vahn Mason. Amongst your Alliance, there are several gods who would have been able to deal with Ares and Sobek in your stead. The fact you publically killed them is the issue, as it shows apleteck of disregard for what the gods represent. When you start picking and choosing which gods are allowed to live, as a mortal, you will invite chaos in both the Mortal World and Heaven..." Vahn squinted his eyes upon hearing Odins words, trying to make sense of what the god was getting at, something Odin seemed to notice as he exined, "You should know that Heaven isnt exactly a peaceful ce, even if most of the active conflicts had ceased. It is the existence of the Mortal World, and its draw to gods, that allows the carefully maintained bnce between the eight Pantheons to continue. No matter what happens, there will always be gods that are prone to violence, be it the result of their Divinity, their nature, or their general desire for power. Many such gods have descended to the Mortal World, allowing the peace to continue in Heaven which, in turn, allows the Mortal World to remain stable..." For a brief moment, Odin fell silent, his eye wandering before turning to look toward the sky as he said, "If you only allow the gods you believe beneficial to the world to remain in the Mortal World, you will bring about War in Heaven. Since you also im that your methods will pave the way towards godhood for mortals then, in the future, there is likely to be a cataclysmic battle between both sides. By forcing all the violent and troublesome gods back to Heaven, you are only increasing the likelihood of everyone suffering as a result. You must ept that you cannot rid the world of things like War, Death, Disease, Famine, ughter, and Chaos...these are necessary forces that allow races to change and evolve with the passage of time while preventing the world from being ruined by individuals who far outlive the general life expectancy..." Hearing Odin mention about conflict in Heaven, and the inevitable conflict between Heaven and the Mortal World, Vahn fell into deep thought of his own. Vahn knew that, once he increased the Tier limit of the record, the boundaries between the Mortal World, Heaven, and Hell would all be blurred. Unless he regted things so that only certain tiers of individuals could reside in each ne, then there would certainly be a conflict between the realms in the future. Though he would be able to take a hard stance to prevent it, while changing the way Divinity itself worked, it was only a stop-gap measure. No matter what action he took, Vahn was unable to ovee the inherent nature of the records to maintain bnce. Even if he killed every powerful entity within the record, a natural born entity that was stronger than all of thembined could be born... However, it was this same knowledge, knowing that there were certain Laws at y that even the gods of the record were unaware of, that gave Vahn the confidence to move forward. There may not be a solution in the interim, but he could definitely buy time before the conflict arrived. Even if there was a battle between Heaven and the Mortal World, the record would persist in the aftermath and, after a few millennia passed, a new bnce would have been established. The moment Divinity no longerpelled the gods to act, there was bound to be chaos far greater than the war that Odin was able to foresee...after all, the limits for the gods would also be removed at the time, allowing those with greater ambition to prosper, at least if they were left to their own devices... Reaching this conclusion, Vahn matched gazes with Odin as he confidently stated, "The gods are certainly a higher level of existence than mortals, but they are still bound by the same Laws. Even without us mortals doing anything, the gods have always been fighting amongst themselves since time immemorial. All Im doing is leveling the ying field, allowing the gods to truly experience what it is like to live as the mortal they are so interested in. If anything, the gods have always had an inherent obligation to remain objective, watching over the Mortal World without direct interference. It was the actions of the godlymunity, descending into our world, that has necessitated this development...if you would paint me as a force that brings chaos and disorder, all because I want to create a world where people can be happy, then you need to seriously consider why gods should even be allowed in the mortal world!" Vahn had made his decision, choosing the path that would allow him to make the most people happy, even if it was only through a great turmoil that he was able to do so. The world could be a better ce where people were able to grow without fear that they would be killed unjustly at the whims of others. It wouldnt be easy, but it was better than allowing the world to continue along a path where people lived tragic existences just because of their misfortune of being born into a terrible situation. If the standard of living for every country could be elevated to the point that education was freely essible, food was readily avable, and the only restriction on your growth was your willingness to put in the effort, the world would be a better ce. What Odin proposed, maintaining the status quo, would either lead to true stagnation or, once a god got bored, the world would be changed through true chaos. Enyo was the best example of this as, if she had been left unchecked, her power and influence could have destroyed all three realms...all while people like Odin sat and spat out titudes as if it was true wisdom... Now, the atmosphere had be much tenser than it had been previously as Odins Divine Power leaked out, contending against Vahns domain without much sess. Unless he activated his Arcanum, there was no way he could overpower the pressure Vahn could output which, from the perspective of the record, was always the highest form of energy. A Tier 4 entity could easily overpower Vahn, but they had little chance of sess while being restricted by the Laws and vows that kept their power in check. As a result, Odins aura was being steadily overpowered as a ck void shrouded Vahns silhouette, the very fabric of Space and Time bending around him while azure lightning danced across his scales. Just as the tension had grown to the point where it felt like things were about to break, Odin beganughing out boisterously while even Seigfried and Jeanne showed relieved expressions. Vahn was confused by their reactions until Odin stated, "You certainly have the right conviction, Vahn Mason, even if youck the experience and proper foresight. Dont worry, as we have already made the decision to allow you to do as you please, so long as you do not begin arbitrarily suppressing others and actively begin fighting against the gods. Since your Alliance has the support of so many gods, while each action youve taken has shown a marked increase in the average potential of the surface races, our organization, Legend, had decided to simply observe. C Chinn was there to see how the battle between the Alliance and the Rakia Kingdom yed out. His attack against you was the result of his own prerogative, not something that had been directed by myself, Zeus, or Hera. Weck the authority to meaningfully direct any of the Heroes here, as it would restrict their growth and stall their advancement towards godhood. Those that take action do so because they choose to, not because they are representing the entire organization..." Unless it was a genuine threat that had been identified and agreed upon, Legend would never take proactive action against any force or individual. Though there were certainly some incidents that skirted the line, such as when Hera scouted Vahn as a result of thetter having offended Zeus, that was an exception. She still had to provide adequate benefits to the Heroes that would assist her, as having any of them take action for her own personal reasons was nearly impossible. Siegfried had only gone along as a result of his eternal vendetta against Dragons while Jeannes only purpose had been to serve as a bodyguard, fighting only to protect Hera if Vahn hadshed out in retaliation. As much as he was annoyed by the situation, Vahn knew that an entire organization, especially if it was structured as more of an alliance, couldnt be held ountable for the actions of every member. It would be the same as the Alliance being held responsible for a Familia going rogue and causing conflict. Though they would certainly try to mediate the conflict, ountability would still fall to the offending Familia, not the organization as a whole. Depending on the nature of the offense, the Familia in question would be kicked out of the Alliance, assuming it hadnt been wiped out during the conflict... Resisting the urge to rub his temples, which had been throbbing from hisck of mental energy, Vahn released a sigh through his nose and said, "Regardless of the reasons, you should try and limit the members of Legend from trying to interfere with the Alliance. If anything, you all should have taken action in regards to Rakia and the Iron Hills long ago, instead of letting such broken systems continue to exist. Since you neglected to do anything against them, you have lost the right to take action against me for correcting the societal imbnces in the Continent. From now on, I will work to unify all nine regions of Eden, bringing them under the governance of a single organization to allow for the greater prosperity of every Nation, Country, and Kingdom. Unless you intend to be the very type of organization you purport to fight against, willing to indiscriminately ughter innocents in order to prevent my rise, then you will stay out of my way. Someone has to care about the lives of those who cannot fight for themselves...if you stand in my way, then all of Legend will be my enemy...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Poor Odin, having to watch Legend fail because of Zeus and Hera xD...,The Mortal World belongs to the Mortals...!,Some people y Hero, while others choose to act when they see atrocities urring. The Emperors Decree...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 914 - Compromise

Chapter 914 - Compromise

After hearing Vahns deration, Odins response was tough in a lighthearted manner, causing Vahns eyes to shimmer violently until the onyx-haired god stated, "There is no need to be so overbearing, Vahn. You should have seen it yourself already, but there really arent many here who would openly antagonize you without due cause. Even if you sh with some of our members in the future, would you really go out of your way to attack people that arent hostile towards you?" As if answering his own question, Odin shook his head and said, "No, and that is one of the reasons why we determined you arent a real danger to the world. As long as you still listen to the counsel of the gods within the Alliance, that is enough for the time being. We dont want to offend all of them just because we might disagree with some of the actions you take..." Vahn took a deep breath as he listened to Odins words as, much like the god pointed out, it was very difficult for him to attack people that werent hostile towards him. In general, Vahn wasnt fond of killing others, especially if they werent actively harming others or showing antagonism towards him and his family. The only exception would be if a member of Legend ended up attacking and injuring one of the people he cared about as, depending on the circ.u.mstances, it would be difficult to restrain himself. Even if it showed his own bias in the situation, Vahn didnt believe the girls were the type to take any action that would have earned them the attention of Legend... Seeing Vahn thinking about his words, Odin showed a knowing smile as he said, "The Alliance and Legend will probably have a cooperative rtionship if the future you mention ends up bing a reality. Youll understand one day but, when individuals possess too much power, it can be a problem to allow them to stay within society without strict regtions. That type of environment would just breed corruption and invite the very same tragedy you wish to avoid. Even if you possess great power, enough to defeat all your foes, it would be impossible to prevent dissent and selfishness from propagating in an environment that promotes individual growth. If it doesnt happen in the outside, it will ur right under your nose, amongst the people that have been born in the protective environment you have produced...one day, even if you do not allow Legend to preside over them, you wille to realize that powerful individuals need to be isted to prevent a catastrophe." This time, Vahn knew Odins words held a great deal of truth, as there was an infinite number of examples that would verify such a im. Even Eva had told him simr things while Vahn himself had already been worried about this very issue. The reason why he ced so many restrictions on the School and Academy was to prevent the methods he would teach from being spread without limit. He even ced heavy restrictions on the Haven Defense Force while his support for the Civilian Legitive Branch was the result of their willingness to take highly restrictive vows... Even with these efforts, however, Vahn knew it was only a matter of time before the techniques learned at the School would spread throughout the Continent, regardless of his efforts to prevent it. At the same time, there would undoubtedly be people that are produced by the system he had implemented that were adept at manipting it to their advantage. The only way to prevent this was is if he managed and regted everything, something that was simply impossible if he wanted to live free and happily with the people he cared about... Vahn had long felt the weight of the responsibility he carried on his shoulders, as it was something he had epted upon himself from the very moment he began forming bonds with others. The only way to truly be free from such things was to iste himself, bingpletely detached from the very world and people he wanted to protect. This wouldnt truly make him happy, however, as, much like the gods themselves, Vahn would eventually seek out change. It was the nature of all entities that possessed a soul to seek out others and experience what the infinite number of records and their contained worlds had to offer. Even if he allowed his ego to fade away, choosing to refuse the gift of The Path, Vahns soul would have reincarnated an infinite number of times, constantly seeking new stimulus to imprint upon itself... Understanding this was the nature of reality, something he would be bound by so long as even a basic desire for freedom and happiness existed within him, Vahn could only ept the reality of the situation. He would continue to shape this world, his home, into a better ce for all those who resided here in the future. It wasnt meant to be easy, as the power and feats required to aplish such a thing were arguably impossible for most people. Vahn, however, knew it was something that was within his capabilities and, remembering his reason for setting out on this path, he was determined to see it through until the end. One day, when he finally reunited with his mother, even if it was just a fragment of her ego, Vahn wanted her to understand that he had never given up on the happiness he had found for himself...the love he shared with those he had been blessed to meet in this second life of his... Feeling decidedly calmer than before, Vahn restrained his leaking energy before saying, "The future is a heavy responsibility...but...so long as I share the burden with those who seek a better future, it is something we can bear together. I am not alone and, even if I possess greater power than all others, it is the presence of the people I care about that allows me to keep my focus on what is important." So long as there was a single person that sought the same future as he did, one where people could smile without facing persecution over inconsequential matters like race, gender, or status, Vahn would never give up striving for that future. Even if it took billions of years of trial and error, he had all the time in all records to figure out the solution, not to outright prevent tragedy, but to avoid situations where tragedy was something people were born into and had to bear alone... Odin saw the conviction in Vahns eyes and allowed a small smile to spread across his lips, even though he simply couldnt share the same ideals as the young Hero. He had lived for a very long time, watching over the Mortal World since the first men emerged and made the surface their home. The future Vahn sought wasnt an impossible one to obtain but, in the grand scheme of eternity, it would merely be a blip in time. History had shown, time and again, that widespread prosperity was impossible to maintain, even in a ce like Heaven. For a time, everyone could y nice with each other but, eventually, regardless of the efforts people take to prevent it, there would be instability and chaos once again. The catalyst for this chaos had already been born into the world and, even if Vahn couldnt see it himself, Odin knew that the Vanir, the children Vahn had sired with goddesses. Unless Vahn isted the Vanir entirely, Odin could already foresee the future that awaited the world once they were able to influence it. They would either shape the world around them or be shaped by the world after meeting people that were able to make an impression on their hearts and mind. Even the gods themselves could be fickle and whimsical, regardless of the fact that even young gods were well over a hundred million years old. All it would take was a single Vanir, possessing incredible potential and status, being influenced by any form of negativity. It could be something as small as unreciprocated love, or something as petty as dissatisfaction with the words of another person. All it took was a single impactful incident for the seeds of chaos to be born within their hearts and, with the inherent bias most parents had towards their children, Vahn would likely fail to notice until it was toote... With both parties having formed their respective resolve, Vahn and Odin continued to hold each others gaze until thetter looked towards Jeanne and asked, "What do you think of all this...?" From the very beginning, Siegfried and Jeanne had gathered to try and prevent things from escting out of control as, even though they had a conflict with Vahn in the past, they were still familiar to him. His actions would be more measured in their presence, giving them the opportunity to negotiate ande to apromise that would prevent things from reaching an irreconcble point. At the same time, Jeanne would be the one to protect Odin from Vahn in an emergency as the only other Hero that could guarantee the safety of the gods was perhaps Heracles. If thetter met with Vahn, however, their battle would probably destroy much of the City of Heroes, causing a great many inconveniences for everyone residing within... Jeanne had been somewhat pale at the beginning but, after the long conversation between Vahn and Odin, herplexion had returned to normal. With Odin asking for her opinion, Jeanne gazed into Vahns eyes and smiled as she said, "I believe our treatment towards Vahn has been an injustice towards him and his family. What he has been trying to do is something deserving of respect and admiration, not something we should have troubled him over. Though the incident with the Iron Hills could have been handled better, it is a fact that hundreds of thousands of ves had been liberated as a result while arger war was avoided. I am regretful for the loss of an ally but, once again, it was our mistake that had led to this oue..." Towards the end of her words, Jeanne gave a polite bow with an apologetic expression on her face, her ashen grey bobbing as a result... Odin stroked his chin while listening to Jeannes words, giving small nods as if he were agreeing with some of the things she was saying. When she raised her head once again, Odins eye passed over Jeanne before looking toward Vahn and saying, "In order to prevent further conflicts between our organization and the Alliance, I believe it would be ideal to have a mediator between the two groups. Though you may not agree with how we have done things, the purpose of Legend had always been for the benefit of the Mortal World, even if some of our members havent always been forthright. At the very least, our association with each other should be able to prevent any major conflicts from arising..." Vahn had an idea about what Odin was proposing but, at the same time, he was very aware that any actual cooperation between the Alliance and Legend would serve thetter far more. Currently, there was arge shift urring in society as, slowly but surely, the average strength of Adventurers was on the rise. With the existence of the School and the future Academy, the number of individuals that could be considered Heroes, even if based solely on power, would continue to increase. In a way, the Alliance was doing what Legend had failed to do, fostering an environment where capable individuals would continually be produced. Legend would undoubtedly reach out to some of these people, slowly building up their numbers with the passage of time... If Vahn chose to ept Odins proposal, it was the same as giving Legend a direct line to the future talent that would be produced. At the same time, it gave them a connection to the Hearth Manor and, even if Odin wasnt mentioning it, Vahn knew that individuals with Legend, especially those like Zeus, would be eyeing the Vanir. They may not take action any time soon but there was no way a snake like Zeus could overlook their existence as everything Vahn knew of the errant god made him out to be a despotic scoundrel. The moment he epted a cooperative rtionship with Legend, it was opening the door for their members to begin associating with the Alliance, even if only loosely at first... Regardless of how things turned out, even if his children came to hate him for it, Vahn would never allow someone with a reputation like Zeus to weasel his way into their lives. Hera was almost as bad since she enabled Zeus to act in an unrestrained fashion while also having a scheming nature and a petty character. Thus, even though he could undoubtedly learn a great deal about Innates and other things from interacting with Legend, Vahn shook his head and said, "It would be better if we simply choose to remain neutral towards each other. I can even refer capable individuals to Legend in the future but I will not allow an intermediary to exist that would allow Zeus and Hera to set roots in Orario once again. Ive already had to make preparations to prevent him from using Bell to influence the Alliance in the future so why would I allow that despicable man to have other means to do so?" This time, Odins brows raised in surprise before he released a very long and exasperated sigh, saying in a tired tone of voice, "I understand what you are trying to say...however, there are some circ.u.mstances...haaaa." Apparently unable to find an excuse, Odin pat Jeannes shoulder and simply stated, "Honestly, for the same reasons that you dont want Zeus and Hera in Orario, there are some Heroines within the City who would be happier being able to reside outside, at least for a while. This one is the type that can only really be happy if she is serving a Lord that she respects. Since youre trying to unify the whole of Eden, she could serve as your Knight Captain and help to train others to serve a simr role. If its you, she might even be able to open up her heart instead of living for the sake of duty alone..." Jeannes lips formed a small pouting expression upon hearing Odins words but, instead of refuting them, she kneeled ceremoniously, bowing her head as she said, "It would be my honor to serve as your shield. I would like to see the world you wish to create with my own eyes...I cannot be a de to cut down your enemies, but I swear to be the strongest shield to protect your ideals." As if helping to promote her further, Siegfried gave a thumbs up and added, "Jeanne is quite the prize, Vahn, especially if you are serious about that whole spiel you gave earlier. You should know the stories about her, yeah...?" Not only was Jeanne a true master with the sword, but the legend of her loyalty and sacrifice had stood the test of time. If he wanted to remain on the straight-and-narrow, having someone like Jeanne there to keep Vahn honest wasnt a bad arrangement. Vahn was mildly taken aback by the situation but, even during their altercation in the past, his impression of Jeanne had never been bad. He actually thought she was a little too innocent and believed she would be good friends with Vana and his other children. At the same time, even while he was in his Azure Dragon state, Vahns instincts were still telling him that he couldnt defeat Jeanne. He didnt feel like he would lose, either, but something about Jeanne made it seem like she was an insurmountable wall that he wouldnt be able to breach without going beyond his limits. If she became his Knight, it would be impossible for her to keep such secrets from him while her protection would make the Manor even safer in the future. At the same time, as Odin pointed out, it wasnt really safe to leave someone like Jeanne around Zeus. Vahn was actually a little surprised that the errant god hadnt put his hands on her, regardless of how much it would hurt the image of Legend... Ultimately, Vahn knew there were far more reasons to ept Jeannes fealty than there were to refuse. Regardless of Zeus efforts, the Alliance and the citizens of Orario, in general, treated the god as a target for contempt. There were still people alive who had experienced the reign of the Zeus and Hera Familia and, so long as the Alliance existed, they would not be allowed to take root in Orario again. If Zeus tried to press his luck, Vahn was absolutely determined to force his return to Heaven, even if that very action became the catalyst for the chaos Odin warned of. When the records were linked in the future, Vahn would deal with people like Zeus personally, allowing a new god to inherit his Divinities instead of allowing the despot to continue acting as he pleased... Knowing there would likely be future troubles, but willing to do whatever it took to ovee them, Vahn epted the system prompt and allowed Jeanne to be his retainer. At the same time, he walked forward and extended his hand, bringing Jeanne to her feet as he said, "I will never force you into a course of action that goes against your principles as a Knight. Please, protect my family and the future we are all striving to create..." In response to this, an elegant smile blossomed across Jeannes face as she ced her hand atop her heart and said, "Yes, my Liege...!" ---------------------------------------------------------------------- //Jeanne DArc has reached 100 Affection// //Quest: [The Hearts Desire:C-SS] Cannot Be Completed Due To Special Circ.u.mstances// //Jeanne DArc Affection(Exalted) Has been upgraded to Hidden Parameter: (Allegiance)// [Retainer] Name: Jeanne DArc Age: 329 Race: Human Level: 8 Allegiance: (Innate) Soul Strength: 3 Karma: 3,019,442 State: [Active] [Physical Details] Hair: Ash-Grey Eye: Pale-Blue Height: 154cm Weight: 53.1kg Bust Size: 83.2cm Waist Size: 61.4cm Hip Size: 84cm Status: V.i.r.g.i.n [Unit Modification] -[Rename] (*Unavable*) -[Modify Race] (*Unavable*) -[Modify Gender] (*Unavable*) -[Modify Physical Details] (Variable : Variable) -[Modify Preferences] (*Unavable*) -[Modify Affinity] (*Unavable*) -[Reset Status] (*Unavable*) System Warning: Modifications may have inadvertent effects and unforeseen consequences. Use extreme caution when using [Unit Modification] Function as the actions of Subordinates and Retainers directly impact the rual of Karma by the Host(Vahn Mason). ---------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns biggest weakness is not being a sociopath xD...,Zeus has his name firmly at the top of Vahns shit list,Obtaining a Kneito-chan) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 915 - Resolution

Chapter 915 - Resolution

As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Jeanne stood on Vahns left with her chin raised slightly and a serious expression on her face. Right now, Vahn was still in an alert state so, as his Knight, Jeanne was prepared to protect him at a moments notice. She even locked eyes with Siegfried who, even while doing his best to act casual, kept flexing his hands to keep calm. His instincts made it impossible for him to rx while Vahn was in his Azure Dragon state, causing the twopanion Heroes to end up in a staring contest with each other as Odinughed at the side, clearly amused by the sudden change. Taking the opportunity to strike while the iron was hot, Odin controlled hisughter, making eye contact with Vahn as he said, "Truth be told, there is another in our ranks that would benefit from alighting to Orario and enjoying thepany of your Manors residents. Unfortunately, I fear you do not have the ability to im her, immortal or otherwise..." As Odin was speaking, Vahn felt Jeannes aura fluctuate slightly, even though her bearing made her appearpletely unfl.u.s.tered. Thus, even though he knew he was being baited by Odin, Vahn still furrowed his brows, saying, "Exin..." No longer showing acent expression, Odins face became stern and serious as he said, "Im certain you wille to learn of each resident in the City of Heroes in time. The three you need to be aware of, however, are Heracles, Musashi, and Helen. Even with your immortality, Heracles might is something beyond even the Laws of the world. As for Musashi, he is a man you should avoid at all costs, as his mastery of swordsmanship has reached unfathomable depths. Lastly, Helen, the woman fated to be the most beautiful...any words used to describe her would be a severe underestimation of her beauty, putting even goddesses to shame..." As Odin listed off the names, Vahn was able to pull up information rting to each, including Helen and Musashi. The former was said to be so beautiful that Kingdoms would wage war, brothers would fight to the death, and women would hang their heads in shame upon witnessing her. As for thetter, he was a famous Samurai that had pioneered the Niten-Ichi-Ryu style, meaning Heavenly School of Two Swords. He was rumored to have been so skilled that, over the sixty-year period of his life, he had won more than ten-thousand duels and destroyed the dojo of almost every single rival school in the entire Far East. Legend stated that he had died when several thousand vengeful students had surrounded the mountain where Musashi resided, burning poisonous herbs for two weeks to smoke out the entire region. Though the feat had cost them their own lives, this was how the tale of Miyamoto Musashi, the greatest Samurai in the Far East came to an end...supposedly. Though he knew he was taking the bait even harder, Vahn frowned as he said, "Im guessing most of the Heroes within Legend would try to stop me...I cant imagine Zeus would let the most beautiful woman in the world go, either. Honestly, Im surprised that...well..." Vahn nearlymented on the fact that Jeanne was a v.i.r.g.i.n but realized it was incredibly inappropriate to do so. He wasnt even sure how a Human had been able to live for over three-hundred years but, considering the strength of her Soul and the Level she had obtained, it wasnt that difficult to believe. Even a normal human, once reaching Tier 4, would be biologically immortal while their Soul would also be able to persist long after their body was destroyed. It would take shattering their ego and stripping away the Divinity it had obtained just to force them back into the cycle of reincarnation... Even without Vahn finishing his words, Odin cracked a knowing smile that made his face seem exceptionally punchable. Fortunately, his smile didntst for too long before he returned to a serious expression and said, "Zeus is admittedly a pain in the ass when ites to a lot of things, but the bigger issue, as you pointed out, are the other Heroes. Amongst them, it is Heracles who would take the greatest offense to Helen leaving as, even though they are siblings, his love for her would never allow him to ept another man taking her. In fact, Heracles is one of the reasons why the City of Heroes is decidedlycking in poption as, either through their challenge of his title as the strongest, or their pursuit of Helen, many Heroes have died at his hands...immortals included." Odin ced a heavy emphasis on thest few words as, much like Helen was impossible to harm, there had been other Heroes with traits that made them unkible. Rare skills that made a person immortal almost always led them to becent, arrogant, and hubristic. Without any exceptions among them, including those that had intangible natures, they all died after a very short fight against Heracles. Even Vali, one of the greatest Heroes that had ever resided in the City, an immortal who possessed the ability to halve the strength of an opponent, adding it to himself, was ultimately taken down by Heracles after seven hours. Their battle had resulted in hundreds of kilometers ofndmass on the northern side of the Continent to sink into the sea, creating a massivegoon which now had apletely unique ecosystem from the energies that had soaked into the underwater terrain... Hearing the serious undertones of Odins warning, Vahn suspected that Heracles must have had an Innate that either allowed him to prevent regeneration or directly enabled him to kill immortals. Though he doubted Heracles would be able to overwhelm his [Magia Erebea] immortality, as he fundamentallycked the ability to destroy the Source Energyprising his body, it didnt mean he wouldnt take the warning seriously. Even if the sub-atomic particles making up his body were indestructible, it didnt mean he would be able to outright ignore Heracles Innate and reform his body. There was a high chance his avatar would be destroyedpletely while his main body would potentially take several hours to reform. So long as he was able to keep his ego within the record, Vahn would eventually be able to regenerate from nothing if it was necessary... Throughout the conversation, Vahn had noticed Jeannes aura fluctuate several times, causing him to restrain a sigh as he asked, "Is she in any danger here...?" To this, Odin shook his head and stated, "Of all the members of Legend, she is likely to be in the least amount of danger, at least physically. Ive heard the rumors regarding you Vahn...Im certain you can understand the pain of loneliness. For nearly eight hundred years, she has been the source of many tragedies but, amongst them all, she has been the one to suffer the most. With what you know of the world now, what do you imagine the life of a woman that can inarguably be considered the most beautiful must have been like...? Even for a normal beauty, regardless of age or race, they would be a prize sought after by many men, too often against their will. With the legends regarding Helen, who likely had an indirect body count in the millions, Vahn could only imagine how difficult life must have been. Since her beauty was likely rted to an Innate, most people wouldnt have had any form of resistance against her at all. This meant her only oue, besides bing a caged bird that was locked away from the rest of the world, was death or an even greater tragedy. The fact that she had lived this long would have meant that, had she been less fortunate,cking an overprotective brother like Heracles, Helen would have experienced suffering that could havested centuries... Vahns face had formed into a slight grimace as he contemted the depths of loneliness that would havested nearly eight-hundred years. He had a fair amount of experience with the emotion himself but,pared to Helen, who likely had few people to rely on, his life had been blessed with numerous people to support his actions. If not for the fact he had experienced several goddesses [Hearts Desire]s, each feeling loneliness even Helen wouldnt be able toprehend, Vahn wasnt sure if he would be able to truly empathize with what she had gone through. If possible, he would like to help her but, considering the trouble that woulde with such an action, Vahn wasnt sure if the benefits would evene close to the detriments... When this thought crossed his mind, Vahns eyes widened slightly as his first conversation with Loki resurfaced in his mind. Back then, he hadshed out against her for considering a persons worth and how many benefits could be gained from a situation. Now, he was rationalizing abandoning someone that could use his help, all because he was afraid it wouldnt be worth it. He was currently trying to create a world where everyone could be happy, all while allowing someone that had lived a tragic life to continue suffering, fully aware that it was going on. In a way, he was acting afraid of Heracles and the troubles that Helen might bring, choosing to let her remain in istion as a result of his cowardice... Now, Vahns blood felt like it was beginning to boil as azure lightning began to crackle and arc along his scales, all while Odin watched with intrigue in his singr eye. Siegfried, however, appeared as if his body was itching as he scrunched his shoulders and said, "I have to get out of here. Next time you stop by, lets have a drink or something, Vahn." With these parting words, Siegfried took to the sky, hardly able to resist transforming himself after seeing Vahns power amplifying by the second. Even Jeanne appeared to be slightly ufortable by the field of energy radiating off Vahns body, though she stood her ground without shying away from his side. Even though Vahn hadnt said he was going to fight against Heracles, Odin had a small smile on his face as he said, "Heracles is exceptionally arrogant, but he has a lot of reason to be. He also has the qualities of a True Hero, even though there have been a number of Heroes who have fallen to him. If the world was in danger, he is the strongest weapon on the side of the Mortal World and, for more than eight hundred years, he had defended this world from several threats that could have caused life on the surface world to be a part of History. He is also one of the only people in the whole of the Mortal World who could fight against the Golden Emperor, Gilgamesh, ruler of the Golden Empire in the west. If you try to battle against him, there are only two oues..." Odin had actually harbored a bit of a grudge towards Heracles for a long time as many of the Heroes he had brought into the City had been killed by the Strongest Hero. If not for Heracles existence, pacifying the remaining Heroes and giving Zeus greater authority, there was a chance that this splendorous City could have been filled with the descendants of Heroes. It was the existence of Helen that made most of the male Heroes simply not care about other females and, with Heracles protecting her, it had ensured that not a single child had ever been born in the City he had spent an excessive amount of resources building. In a way, all of the brood of Zeus were a pox that had infected the City of Heroes like a curse, to the point that he had sired the Valkyrie just to try and stimte the production of Heroes. Instead, they became the ythings of Zeus and, though many were nearing their one-thousandth birthday, none of his daughters had given birth to a single child. It was a very vexing and frustrating situation, both for the Valkyries and for Odin himself... If Vahn knew how Odin had treated his daughters, even though they themselves epted the role they had been given, the two wouldnt have been able to negotiate to this point. For the time being, however, the only thing Vahn was thinking about was how he would be able to defeat Heracles. Even with Odin saying there were only two oues, Vahn knew there was only one inevitable oue. Odin didnt know the limits of his immortality and, so long as Heracles was unable to attack Orario, his loss was guaranteed. Even if Vahn was struck down multiple times, he would eventually emerge victorious in their confrontation, assuming Heracles didnt lose his rationality andsh out at others. Vahn suspected his Innate might even allow him to break through Terras barrier but, if things came down to it, the odds of Hestia or Artemis stepping in were extremely high... Deciding he would need to confer with everyone back at the Manor, Vahn opened his eyes and matched gazes with Odin as he said, "If Heracles is as youve described, I imagine he has been wanting to fight me as well...since our battle is inevitable, Id rather get it out of the way sooner, rather thanter. Tell me, Odin, is there any chance of Heracles losing his mind and trying to attack Orario...?" Seeing that Vahn wasnt worried at all, Odin felt an urge to sigh, thinking that Vahn was too young and inexperienced. From his perspective, Vahn was another person that was too confident in their immortality, even though he also hoped that the young Hero would emerge victoriously. To answer Vahns question, he shook his head casually and exined, "Unless someone has beenbeled as an active threat to the world, the members of Legend have all takenprehensive vows that would disallow them to take such actions. There are a few loopholes that can be exploited, but nothing that would allow Heracles to charge into Orario and attack the Hearth Manor, if that is what youre worried about. Besides, there are a few monsters within that residence that even someone like Heracles wouldnt be able to oppose..." Though it was very subtle, Odins aura trembled slightly as his expression became solemn. Even though he was not from the Northern Pantheon, Odin had visited Hestias Divine Hearth in the past and, witnessing the unfathomable strength contained within the diminutive goddess, he had never directly antagonized the Olympians since then. He knew that those gods who didnt act, such as Ouranos and their own Pantheons Ymir, were the most dangerous. Hestia was one of the few existences he wasnt able to see through, possessing what felt like an infinite amount of Divine Power, something only the four Primordial Gods remaining in Heaven could match... Upon seeing Odins reaction, Vahn was slightly surprised and relieved at the same time as, without the ability to attack the Manor, Heracles wasnt a major threat. This was potentially an opportunity for him to temper himself against an enemy that was far more powerful and, by the end of things, Vahn was certain his own strength would have increased. Currently, he was only at the early stages of Level 7 while Heracles was presumably around the peak of Level 9. Being a Demigod that had lived for hundreds of years, polishing his Innates as he tried to reach Tier 4, Vahn assumed that Heracles must have had one or two Innates at the SS-Rank, or higher. This would be one of the most important battles he would fight within the record of Danmachi as, at least until the bncingponent of Karma kicked in, there shouldnt be anyone near Heracles in strength. Though the Golden Emperor, Gilgamesh, could potentially pose a threat, especially since he wasnt restricted from attacking the Manor, Vahn doubted the man even knew what was urring in Eden... Confident that his chances of victory were infinitely close to 100%, even if it required more than one attempt, Vahn steadied himself as he said, "Im certain your organization has the means to regte and officiate duels. I need around an hour to recover my mental energies but, once I am at my peak, I want to challenge Heracles for the title of Strongest...!" The moment Vahn finished speaking, it felt like a predator had locked on to him as his instincts caused the already molten blood in his body to boil. Turning away from Odin, matching the direction both he and Jeanne were looking, Vahn sensed a pair of eyes looking through him, even though the owner of the gaze was nowhere in sight. It felt like he had beenpletely locked onto like a hare beneath the gaze of a lion as, momentster, a figure descended from the sky with enough force that the ground rippled outward in defiance of physics before rupturing with a massive explosion... (A/N: There are two options for how things will develop from here. I can ce emphasis on the fight and the members of Legend for a short while or I can make the fight resolve rtively quickly so we can move on to other plot advancements. Regardless, things within the City of Heroes will continue for another couple of chapters so, even though this is a big cliff, I will be cutting todays chapters short so I can release the full fight all at once tomorrow. When the daily reset happens, there will be 2-3 chapters released at the same time while another 2 should follow that. I have already cleared up my schedule for the day so there will be no interruptions in the action sequence.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: I wonder how Musashi and Mikoto would react if they met...,Hestia is secretly the final boss!?,Vahn seems to have developed a new Innate, [gmaster:SSS]) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 916 - Dawn (1/3)

Chapter 916 - Dawn (1/3)

Though there was a cloud of dust and debris obscuring the figure that had leaped into the arena, everyone present was still able to see the man who had descended. With his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see a man who stood nearly 200cm tall, possessing fiery red hair that red backward like a lions mane. He was wearing the pelt of a red and gold lion tied around his waist, fastened like a belt around his cingulum, a type of dragon-leather belt that was ted with a gold alloy. His calves were covered in fasciaprised of the same material while a pair of open-toed harnessed sandals adorned his feet. This left his upper body bare, disying clearly defined muscles that, under Vahns gaze, glistened with a pale golden light. Even someone like Ottar, while being slightly taller than the man before him, would be hard-pressed to match the god-like muscture of the man before him... As if the cloud of dust he himself had created was bing annoying, the man spontaneously flexed his muscles, causing a shockwave to pulse out from his body as the sound of a thunderp resonated through the arena. The cloud of dust was dissipated in an instant as the mans stark blue eyes locked on to Vahn, his chin raising slightly as a sneer spread across his face, asking, "So, you killed that whelp C Chinn? Very interesting, hahahahahaha~!" Even as he spoke, there was a great deal of scorn in the mans zing irises as he began systematically popping his joints and stretching his body. All the while this was going on, Vahn maintained eye-contact, even though his instincts were screaming at him to look away. Before things had developed any further, Jeanne had moved to the front of Vahn with her kite shield raised and sword drawn, her expression pale as she said, "Heracles, if you intend to attack my Liege after he issued a fair challenge, disregarding honor and chivalry, I will be forced to intervene...!" After hearing Vahn mentioned he needed time to recuperate his mental energies, Jeanne was prepared to buy him as much time as possible. Heracles wasnt the type to wait around for the other side to start the fight as, even with his arrogance, he treated every battle seriously. Even now, though his face was filled with contempt, Heracles was making sure his body was properly warmed up before his attack would begin. The moment he was ready, it wouldnt matter if Vahn had prepared himself or not, the battle would have already begun... Heracles response to Jeanne, while popping his neck, was to beginughing boisterously before eximing in an excited voice, "Very well then! Ive always been curious about the limit of your durability, Jeanne. I wonder just how long it will take to break you...? Hahahahaha~!" Almost as soon as hisughter had ended, Heracles leaned forward slightly before his figure had be nothing more than a blur. In the next instant, his fist had mmed into Jeannes kite shield, causing a golden radiance to erupt outward as she stood her ground without budging in the slightest. It was only after the attack hadnded that the shockwave caused by Heracles lunge had erupted outward, causing the stone structure of the arena to emanate a pale glow as powerful formations activated to prevent coteral damage. Seeing his attack stopped, Heracles smiled so widely that each of his pearly white teeth was on full disy. Though Jeanne had stopped his attack, there was now the indentation of a fist in her shield as Heracles, still contacting the supposedly indestructible metal, twisted his h.i.p.s while his muscles expanded noticeably. This time, Jeannes feet were lifted from the ground by Heracles pushing motion as her body began to spin in the direction he had twisted his wrist. With five sequential shockwaves spreading outward from her bodys eleration, Jeanne immediately collided with the arenas walls. The glow covering the stone became even more intense as it pulsed outward from the point of contact, preventing the structure from being broken while Jeannes body smashed heavily against it. Even though the hit contained a monstrous amount of power, enough to distort Jeannes armor and shatter her kite shield, she was ultimately unscathed as she dropped down to the ground and kicked against the reinforced floor. Moving even faster than when Heracles had attacked her, Jeanne had nigh-instantaneously appeared before Heracles, appearing much smaller than the mountainous man. Regardless of the sheer difference in their size and strength, Jeannes expression waspletely stoic as she thrust her beautiful white de towards Heracles throat. Instead of evading, Heracles just raised his chin slightly, exposing his throatpletely as Jeannes de scr.a.p.ed against his flesh, creating a rain of sparks as it slid across with nothing but a small red line to show for it... Undaunted, Jeanne had shifted her weight in an instant, twisting her body in a lithe and flexible disy as she swept her sword in a swift and beautiful arc on the exact same point. This time, Heracles eyes twitched almost imperceptibly as he leaned his head back instead of trying to take the attack directly. The very tip of Jeannes de made contact with the previous mark she had made, cutting into Heracles flesh and causing fresh blood to trickle from the wound. It had a slight gold hue to it that grew more prominent before, an instantter, the flow had reversed and the wound had beenpletely healed. Jeanne had already moved well outside of Heracles attack range, anticipating his counter-attack, but the Demigod just stood there rubbing his neck with a smile on his face. His eyes never left Jeanne as she was moving about, even though her speed was quite a bit faster than his own. The smile on his face became one of moderate intrigue as he said, "You are probably the only woman who could ever cause me to bleed...well done, Jeanne." It was only at this point that Heracles turned his attention away from Jeanne, showing clear disregard that ran counter to his words. Now, his focus was on Vahn as he asked, "How much time do you need to be able to fight at your fullest...?" Vahn had been busy making arrangements back at the Manor, trusting that Jeanne would be able to hold out against Heracles, at least for a short while. His focus had never waned, however, intending to step in at the moment Jeanne was in a dangerous situation. Now that Heracles had ceased his attack, he was more than a little surprised, though not nearly as much as Jeanne and Odin. Thetter had appeared on the viewing tform above at some point, wearing golden armor and wielding a three-pronged golden spear. He knew full-well, much like Jeanne, that this type of behavior was out of character for Heracles, causing him to feel more than a little suspicious as he asked, "What are you intending, Heracles...?" Hearing Odin address him, Heracles turned his eyes to meet the onyx-haired god, clear disdain on his face as he answered, "I heard from my father about everything Vahn has aplished, evenying gods low with utter disregard. When I joined Legend, the three of you promised that I would be able to achieve godhood after training seriously. Now, after nine hundred and fifty years, there arent even any opponents for me to face. ording to that old man, Vahn had developed several ways to help even weaklings rise up and be strong in a short period of time..." Now, Heracles turned his gaze back to Vahn yet continued speaking to Odin, saying, "Im beginning to grow tired with how things are done around here. I spend days training without any break yet, no matter how much time passes, I cannot break through the threshold of mortality. Since the three of you have failed to keep your promise, all while allowing this boy to do as he pleases, Im not going to keep ying nice. I know you must have made an agreement to allow Helen, my most precious treasure, to leave this ghost city and live in the lower world. The fact you are pandering to this brat, ignoring the very people who had supported this farce from the beginning, is...infuriating. I will not let what should have been mine from the start fall into the hands of an outsider...!" Because he had been the first-born Demigod that Zeus had sired, Heracles had always been under his fathers influence since birth. He had tirelessly trained every single day, all so that he could fight against the progressively stronger monsters that dominated the surface. The entire time, Zeus had been promising that, so long as he kept working hard to be a True Hero, never wavering from the path, it would be possible for him to rise to godhood one day. Zeus had even promised that, once he managed to ascend beyond mortality, his blood ties with Helen would no longer be an issue. For nearly eight hundred years, Heracles had protected this precious half-sister of his, all in the hopes that she would one day belong to him while still being pure. He had even avoided rtionsh.i.p.s with lesser women entirely yet, now that Vahn was beginning to rise up, Heracles knew that Odin would try and push Helen to his side, all so that Legend, this stagnant organization, might grow further... Taking in a deep breath through his nose, Heracles squinted his zing blue eyes as he asked, "Tell me Vahn...if you defeat me, what do you intend to do? How does being the strongest Hero, even though you are not part of Legend, benefit you...?" As he had been paying close attention to each of Heracles reactions, Vahn had seen the mans aura wave chaotically for a brief moment. Presently, it was a stable golden coloration while, at the very heart of the sun-like shroud, there was a fiery and wrathful red that was waiting to be unleashed. Even so, Vahn clearly stated, "I will allow Jeanne and Helen to both live freely, instead of being trapped like birds in a cage. If you truly care about your sister, you wouldnt-" In an instant, the gold in Heracles aura had shifted into a raging and wrathful blood-red color as his blue eyes began emitting a me-like haze. Now, he turned his attention to Odin, asking, "So, you were willing to let this boy try and kill me, promising my sister to him in exchange...!?" There was an almost crazed look in Heracles eyes as he red at Odin, almost as if he was sincerely trying to kill thetter with nothing more than his gaze. In response, Odins Divine Power red up as his aura, unlike how it had been suppressed by Vahns,pletely overwhelmed Heracles. After forcing Heracles to half-kneel under the pressure, Odins cold voice rang out, saying, "Do not pretend your nature hasnt been a factor in all of this. Even though you have trained hard, your focus had never beenpletely on reaching godhood. Your unhealthy desire for that sister of yours has clouded your mind and caused you to deviate from the path, just as her presence here has affected the entire City! You may not know it, but I can recount every Hero that has fallen because of your pettiness and arrogance, Heracles, Murderer of Heroes...!" Contrary to expectations, Heracles expression turned into a cruel sneer that was a mix between glee and something far darker. Suddenly, the sound of metal breaking spread throughout the arena as fragments of blue and gold chains, formed by the Worlds Laws had erupted from Heracles body. In the next instant, his figure had vanished, followed by a sound so thunderous that it was as if an entire mountain range had copsed. Vahn had barely been able to process what was happening and, if not for his perception of time causing the world to slow to a crawl, he would havepletely missed the moment when Heracles fist, carrying insurmountable might, caused the very fabric of space to shatter as it collided with Odins chest. Without the time to activate his Arcanum at all, Odins body had been turned into partictes of golden blood that dispersed into the wind before fading awaypletely. The entire upper section of the Coliseum, where the gods would look down upon the Heroes, had now vanished from the world. Even the wispy white clouds that had been prominent in the sky above had been split in twine, a massive cleft that was still forcing them apart from several thousand meters away. This image cast a backdrop on Heracles, now zing with a pale gold aura as his hair danced about, now possessing a golden shimmer instead of the red mane of hair that had been present previously... Leaving his back to Vahn and Jeanne, Heracles stared down at his own fist, muttering, "The time of the gods in this world hase to an end. Your method, and the path taken by the only man who had ever been able to rival me, have been correct from the start. I should have known that the gods were full of nothing but hot air...even when they had first descended into our world, they have made nothing but false promises. The purport to give us their blessing, exploiting their children for their own selfish reasons, iming it would help us grow strong. What a farce..." Heracles vows had been in existence long before Legend had been established as an organization and, with Odins words having betrayed the terms of their agreement, Heracles had been able to break free from the constraints holding him back. When he fought against Gilgamesh hundreds of years prior, thetter had told him that the gods were the shackles of the world, fearful of the power mortals could wield if they remained free. Even before the gods had descended, mortals had survived for thousands of years, long before even the Spirits had been sent to aid them. Ever since people had be reliant on the power granted to them by others, individual strength became less important while cooperation became the norm. As a result, civilizations began to prosper but, at the same time, the power wielded by individuals had stagnated a great deal, a far cry from that which had been wielding by the Primordial Species, Progenitus... Gilgamesh had imed that the gods, fearing the potential of mortals, had been trying to weaken them since the very beginning, introducing Spirits into the world to limit their potential. If not for the existence of Great Spirits, introducing things like Magic into the world, the surface would have been dominated by the Progenitus species by now. Instead, there were dozens of different races and, as a result of their various differences, they had been fighting amongst themselves since before recorded history. Back then, Heracles thought these words were simply ridiculous but, now that he had been training hard for more than 950 years, restraining himself while his father traveled around the world and acted as he pleased, the man known as the Strongest had be fed up... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Insurmountable Might vs. Unbreakable Defense,Breaking free from the gods restraints...,You either die a Hero, or live long enough to see yourself be the Viin...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 917 - Dawn (2/3)

Chapter 917 - Dawn (2/3)

With a golden aura that made the sun pale inparison, Heracles turned to face Vahn, his previously excited and battle-hungry expression now a visage of pure contempt. Once again he asked, "How long do you need to recoverpletely...?" From his perspective, it was obvious that Vahn wasnt capable of outputting one-hundred percent of his power. Now that he had decided to follow this path, Heracles wanted to test himself against the herald of the current age. He was fully confident in his own victory but, in order to know for certain he was truly the strongest, Heracles wanted to defeat Vahn when thetter had fought his hardest. Afterward, the surface world woulde to know his name once again, ushering in an era where mortals would take back their world, ejecting the errant gods who had interfered in their affairs for far too long... At this point, the confidence Vahn had possessed previously, knowing that he would eventually obtain victory, had been reced by pure conviction. Without the restraint of his vows, Heracles would be free to wreak havoc as much as he wanted. Though most gods would be able to kill him with their Arcanum, this would depend on them actually being able to hit him. The power and speed that Heracles had disyed wasnt something that most gods, at least in their sealed state, would even be able to respond to. Just as Haruhime had been able to evade Sobeks Arcanum, Heracles would be able to avoid suffering a disadvantage. At the same time, he had the ability to regenerate quickly so, unless it was a direct hit, the chance of him actually being killed was slim. Now, the battle between them had much higher stakes and, given Heracles current behavior, Vahn didnt imagine the oue would be pleasant should he fail... In response to Heracles inquiry, Vahns cold voice sounded out, "I would need around an hour to recoverpletely..." Though his energy reserves were holding fast, Vahns mental energy drained extremely quickly every time he mustered the power of his Azure Dragon form. It was almost to the point that the form was more of a liability than an advantaged and, if not for the fact that Vahn would need the enhanced perception provided by the transformation, he would have returned to normal. He also suspected that Heracles Innate would counter his [Magia Erebea], making the best options for theing battle his Zhuque and Azure Dragon transformations... Heracles gave a small nod after hearing Vahns words before turning his gaze to the side, training it on Jeanne as a thoughtful glimmer shed across his eyes. After staring at her for a few seconds, Heracles looked to his surroundings, casting his fiery blue eyes across each of the Heroes present within the City before looking toward where Helen was located. For a brief moment, he felt like his battle with Vahn was meaningless and, with nothing being able to stop him, he could simply go and steal away Helen before fleeing. The thought of running away, however, caused Heracles to frown before popping his neck and saying, "I will give you a half hour to recover..." Once again, Heracles looked towards Jeanne before saying, "ording to Jeanne, there should be a few powerful people at your home, including a True Dragon. You should ask for their help as, once our battle haspleted, I will end up fighting them regardless. Now is your only chance to band together before I break you..." As he mentioned Orario, Heracles nced towards the Southeast with a vicious look in his eyes. Orario had stood as the veritable center of the world for nearly a thousand years and, with hundreds of gods residing within its walls, it was the first ce Heracles intended to destroy. When he was done there, he would then go around bringing ruin to every Kingdom and Country, forcing the world to reset into a natural state once again. He would also destroy Babel Tower, opening the Dungeon to the surface world so that people would no longer livecent lives that pacified their species for the benefit of the gods... Knowing he needed every second avable to him, Vahn sat down on the spot and immediately fell into deep meditation while Jeanne once against ced herself between him and Heracles. Thetter gave her a momentary nce before turning his attention towards where Helene was once again, saying, "If the circ.u.mstances had been different, you would have made a fine woman, Jeanne. I know Helen would be saddened by your death so, after your Liege falls, I will spare your life. Even if you cannot bless our union, Im certain Helens burdens would be eased by your presence..." If not for his unwavering love for Helen, Heracles would have considered making Jeanne his woman. He didnt want to be like his father, having many lovers and tossing them aside, so his pride would not allow him to have affections for anyone other than his first love. Jeanne didnt dignify Heracles words with a response as, if the person she had sworn to protect died before her, she would have failed as a Knight. She would die with Vahn and, regardless of Heracles intentions, Jeanne knew that Helen would likely follow soon after. Thetter had spent her entire life sought after by others with an extreme amount of possessiveness, with Heracles just being another in a long line. If it came down to it, Helen would take her own life in order to prevent her secret from being exposed, refusing to allow someone like Heracles to benefit from her special power. This was something Helen had confided to Jeanne a long time ago and they were both determined to take the secret to their deaths, if necessary... Unaware that the path he had set himself upon would only end in tragedy, Heracles sat atop the now inert stone structure, watching Vahn below as the minutes counted down. He wondered how many of the Heroes had already noticed his defection and how they would react once the truth was known. From the standpoint of Legend, he had undoubtedly be a threat to the surface world, meaning he would likely have to fight against all of them. The only way around this would be to truly convince them that the vows they had taken were based on false premises or, easier yet, killing Zeus and Hera. They shouldnt know what had happened here and, unless Odin had some means to ry the message to them in a short period of time, there was a chance he would be able to kill them both before they were any wiser regarding the situation. After precisely thirty minutes had passed, without any words exchanged between them, Heracles leaped from his spot with fierce momentum as he barreled towards Jeanne and Vahn. Without any sign of fear and trepidation, Jeanne stood her ground, leaning in with her shoulder to try and intercept Heracles charge. Thetter reached out with his hand, intending to grab Jeannes cor and toss her aside so he could get to Vahn at her back. He wasnt afraid that Jeanne would be able to deal any serious injuries to him and, true to his word, Heracles intended to spare her for his sisters sake. Against the expectation of both Heroic figures, their intentions were disregarded entirely as Heracles found his path obstructed by a series of resplendent golden chains. At the same time, Vahns figure tore through the void, appearing behind him as if no time had passed at all, azure lightning covering his entire body. This time it was Vahns turn to be surprised, however, as Heracles tensed up every muscle in his body, causing him to somehow stop in mid hair as a powerful shockwave resonated outward. He used this opportunity to twist his body, kicking towards Vahn inplete defiance of physics as thetters perception of the world caused it to lose its light almost entirely. Vahn felt every muscle in his body straining to keep up with the impossible movements he was trying to make and, if not for his ability to tear through Space and Time, it would have truly been an impossible feat. The fact remained that Vahn did indeed have this ability, allowing him to will a link of [Enkidu] to appear from his palm while converging his domain to the absolute limit in hopes of stopping Heracles attack. As this was urring, the golden aura around Heracles was slowly building as, even with Vahns perception of time making the world appear as if it were in a standstill, the mighty Demigod seemed to be elerating... From Jeannes perspective, she saw a sh of golden light that was apanied by a powerful shockwave that tore at the clothing and equipment of her body as she was sent careening away with enough force to smash through the Coliseums walls, continuing onward for nearly a full kilometer beforeing to a stop. Wearing nothing but a tattered dark-blue battledress, a single silver gauntlet, and her silvery greaves, Jeanne climbed to her feet using her bent sword as a support. Even after carving arge swath in the reinforced stone, Jeanne didnt have a single scratch on her body as she quickly made her way back to the Coliseum to see what was going on. Back within the Coliseum, Heracles was caught in the air with his left arm and right leg bound in golden chains while Vahns entire upper body hadpletely disappeared. His legs were rooted to the spot while partictes of golden blood were trying to reform before invisible energy tore them apart once again. Even [Enkidu] was trembling slightly, each small movement causing more of the invisible energy to spread out as Heracles gnashed his teeth and tried to break free. Ultimately, he grabbed his own shoulder, ripping away his left arm entirely before twisting his body around and slicing through his own leg. The two abandoned limbs were left bound in the air as Heracles pivoted off his remaining leg before smashing down in a hammer strike. As Heracles fist descended downward, it was if a powerful gravitational field had formed around his hand, warping Space around it as it smashed towards Vahns remaining lower body. Even before the blownded, Vahns abdomen and legs began to twist and distort under the pressure and, without evering into full contact, the wind pressure alone had caused Vahns remnants to dissipate before the shockwave apanying the blow transferred into the ground below. A pulse of energy passed through the floor of the arena, causing a wave more than five meters tall to spread outward as the ground below began to sink rapidly before exploding with such phenomenal force that the heavily reinforced foundation of the Coliseum copsedpletely. Jeanne hadnt been able to reenter the Coliseum before a veritable tidal wave of dust and debris spread outward, smashing into her body and causing the remnants of her outfit to disintegrate. Beneath her battledress, however, there were garments that seemed to be made of pure light, protecting Jeannes dignity as she stood her ground against the stwave. The moment it had spread outpletely, however, Jeanne felt her body pulled forward as the atmosphere imploded with oxygen returning to the void that had been created. Jeanne quickly caught herself and, by the time she was standing once again, there was a pure white dress covering her body that was slowly forming into a moreplex design as she pressed forward once again... When the dust had cleared, Heracles found himself in a cavernous pit, looking up into the air where his arm and leg were still restrained. He inspected his wounds, seeing that his blood had formed a protective membrane that was almost gtinous in nature. Normally, even dismemberment would only be a temporary obstacle in his battles so he had never seen how his body would treat wounds that couldnt be healed. It was a very peculiar feeling and, for the first time in a while, Heracles found no enjoyment from his battle. This wasnt the first time he had been injured but the chains wielded by Vahn werepletely outside his expectation, especially since they hadnt dissipated even after he destroyed thetters bodypletely. Rolling forward, Heracles came to stand on his sole remaining leg before leaping upward more than a hundred meters without any difficulty. Having only two limbs was very troublesome, but it wasnt enough to remove his battle capabilities. Currently, he wanted to inspect the chains further before trying to extricate his limbs so they could be reattached. If any of the more troublesome Heroes showed up and tried to fight him in his current state, it could potentially prove inconvenient... As if to spite him, Jeanne showed up at this moment and, without any hesitation, leaped through the air as a de of light formed in her hands. Heracles frowned while punching out, causing a ripple in the void that spread out and passed through Jeannes body. His rare skill allowed him to transfer his power into any medium, regardless of if it was solid, liquid, gas, or outright intangible. This was how he was able to strike down people with rare abilities that should be a natural counter to his strength, as his attacks simply couldnt be resisted. Jeanne wasnt an exception to this as her momentum had been brought to an instantaneous stop before she was once again sent flying away, this time high towards the sky since Heracles was getting annoyed with her persistence... After sending Jeanne off, Heracles released a snort through his nose before his zing blue eyes snapped to the left, causing him to turn his head as an arrow appeared out of thin air and smashed into his face. Heracles released a loud bellow as he tore himself away from the powerful gravitational force that had erupted from the arrow, only to find that several more had impacted him from other angles. Even with the intense gravity, however, Heracles was able to struggle free, smashing a few of the gravitational singrities with his own clenched fist as he pivoted around, looking for any sign of the attacker. Part of the flesh on his face had been torn away at this point, revealing an empty eye socket where the eye had beenpletely pulled free... Standing two kilometers in the air,pletely concealing his presence, Vahn was staring forward with his [Khryskatos] drawn. He was no longer allowing his intent to emanate from his body and instead used his Azure Dragon form to transfer his intent to the Space around Heracles. From their battle, Vahn had realized that Heracles had the ability to read and react to any attack that was directed at him, so long as the intent of the person was focused on him. He was able to trace this intent instinctually, counterattacking with indefensible might. Vahn had been able to determine this from when he willed his [Enkidu] to bind Heracles, even as thetters attackpletely destroyed his upper body and scattered his intent. Now, so long as he didnt direct his intent directly toward Heracles, the Demigod was unable to detect him, allowing Vahn to nock another round of [Yi] arrows before releasing another barrage. His intent waspletely separate from his body, appearing randomly around Heracles as each arrow drew a path towards the errant Demigods blindspots. The fact that he was still able to dodge caused Vahns heart to shake slightly, especially when Heracles began punching towards where the attacks were emanating from, destroying the arrows before they couldnd. His body was even beginning to regenerate, albeit slowly, as the energy from his Innate was slowly expunging the ambient Source Energy permeating through his wounds... (A/N: Alternate Titles: This is what exposure to Zeus does to people...,You can do it Jeanne, fighto~!,The Strongest is not so easily ovee...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 918 - Dawn (3/3)

Chapter 918 - Dawn (3/3)

After only a few rounds of arrows, Heracles was no longer suffering any damage from them whatsoever. His body was moving like a blur as each small ripple within the surrounding void would cause him to strike out with a quick blow that wouldpletely copse the spatial crack. Then, in response to another wave of arrows, Heracles singr blue eye zed with incredible ferocity as he leaped toward an arrows emergent point and punched it directly. Up in the sky, Vahns slit-like pupils became paper-thin as he used [Shundo] to evade away from the massive feedback of energy that had nearly destroyed his body once again. Heracles had used his own spatial tunnel as a means to attack, allowing four [Yi] arrows to hit his body in an attempt to flush Vahn out. Almost as soon as he had exited his [Shundo], Vahns vision was obscured by the grim visage of Heracles zing blue eye. His fist was already halfway through the motion of punching into Vahns face, barely affording thetter the opportunity to pull his [Aegis] out. At the same time, Vahn knew the seemingly indestructible shield wouldnt be enough, choosing to tear through the void instead of using [Shundo]. As expected, Heracles fist smashed into the ornate Adamantine shield before its structure was almost immediatelypromised, fracturing into thousands of tiny fragments that rained down like shrapnel over the surrounding City. Some pieces flew with enough force that entire buildings were copsed after being impacted by the hypersonic debris. Heracles clicked his tongue when Vahn had evaded him again as he had no way of tracking Vahn when thetter moved through space. His only option was to try and flush out Vahn so that he could strike him down once again, this time permanently. If not for the fact that Orario was thousands of kilometers away, Heracles knew he would have been able to use someone close to Vahn in order to lure him out. Presently, his only option was to use Jeanne but, even after he had attacked her with a half-serious blow, she hadnt been injured. Her immunity to damage was one of the higher forms of immortality he had seen but, like all skills, Heracles knew there had to be a weakness. Uponnding back in the destroyed Coliseum, Heracles noticed that his arm and leg, including the chains that bound them, were now missing. This caused him to snort once again before, much to the skulking Vahns surprise, he made a knife shape with his hand before stabbing it into his own heart. In an instant, the fiery blue light in Heracles eyes faded away as his body dropped lifelessly to the ground, bingpletely still momentster. Vahn didnt know what to make of this as, even with his [Eyes of Truth], it genuinely seemed that Heracles had spontaneously killed himself. Instead of moving to inspect the body, however, Vahn produced several links of [Enkidu] and tried to wrap up Heracles corpse... Before the chains had even managed to flow out of his domain, Heracles body had exploded with golden light as a massive shockwave swept through the crumbling Coliseum. At the same time, Vahn felt feedback from his [Enkidu] before his Source Energy reserves took a massive hit. Generally, if he tried to bind entities much stronger than him, excluding gods, the amount of energy required would go up exponentially. Whatever Heracles had done ate through twenty percent of his reserves in an instant as, immediately thereafter, the now living Demigod emerged from the golden cloud as he evaded the pursuing chains. Heracles now realized that even his power wasnt enough to deal with these strange golden chains that belonged to Vahn. Even when he struck out with all of his power, causing Space to begin to fracture, the golden spears at the end of the chains had still torn through the obstruction as they tried to ensnare him. For a brief moment, when his fist had made contact with the spearhead, Heracles felt like all of his strength had been negated as the spear prated into his fist nearly a full centimeter before he jumped away. He believed this was one of Vahns rare skills and realized it was going to be more difficult to deal with thetter than he had expected... Currently, both Vahn and Heracles were trying to find out the weakness of the other party, each trying to understand the capabilities of their opponent. Vahn had noticed that, at the moment Heracles body had bepletely devoid of life, a mysterious golden light had erupted from the very center of his body. By the time it had exploded outward, dealing heavy damage to the surroundings, Heracles had beenpletely healed. Since he still had one of the Demigods arms and legs in his Inventory, Vahn felt like he must have had an Innate that produced a simr effect to an [Effigy of the Hero]. This was because, not only had Heracles healed, but his strength and speed had increased to the point that even his evasive movements were causing the void to tremble... For several seconds, Vahn had focused onpletely erasing his presence, bing one with the surrounding Space. Previously, this would allow him to even stand amongst a group of skittish animals without causing them to flee, almost as if they couldnt discern him from the trees in the surroundings. Now, with his Azure Dragon transformation, Vahn felt his body literally blending into the surrounding space as even without the [Shadow Visor Mk. 2], he was able to bepletely invisible. At this moment, Vahn felt his senses expanding outward, almost as Space itself had be a part of him, instead of the other way around... Since producing more [Enkidu] to pressure Heracles would heavily tax his reserves, Vahn allowed the chains to disperse as his intent was now everywhere within a 200m radius. He could see the front, back, top, and bottom of Heracles all at the same time, giving Vahn the feel as if, for a brief moment, he had be omniscient. He created fluctuations Space a little aways from Heracles, causing the Demigod to immediately leap towards it as another world-rending punch was issued out. At the same time, Vahn equipped his [Mercy] and tried to tear through the void to cut through Heracles neck. Strangely, instead of tearing through Space directly, Vahn felt himself wave [Mercy] without his intent shifting back to a singr perspective. While Heracles punch caused a chasm to tear through the walls, extending outward for several hundred meters, Vahns [Mercy] had passed unnoticed through his neck in an instant. Vahn wasnt entirely sure what was going on, only that it felt like he had be the surrounding Space, no longer having a physical body at all. He could even feel his perception of himself begin to slip away as a haze began to cloud his thoughts. If not for the fact he was able to keep his awareness with his main body, Vahn felt like this technique would have caused his avatar to break down. Even though he was able to keep partial focus, however, Vahn felt extremely absentminded as he tried to will [Enkidu] to bind the fallen Heracles. His [Mercy] had temporarily severed the mana circuits in the Demigods body, effectively killing him for the second time in their skirmish... This time, Vahn managed to bind Heracles properly, even as the strange golden light attempted to revive him once again. His zed eyes began shining with a fierce light once again as he struggled to break free from the binding chains. If he had been a normal Human, Heracles might have actually been able to free himself but, with his lineage as a Demigod, this was impossible. Though his raw power was enough to even shatter mountains, it was still restricted by the fact he was only a Tier 3 existence while, even under the restrictions of the records Laws, [Enkidu] was Tier 5. The only thing he could do was gnaw at the indestructible chains with his teeth, eyes glimmering with the light of madness. Even after capturing Heracles, Vahn felt like it was impossible to even think at the moment, finding his focus escaping him as he fought against the feeling of vanishing. He was trying to use [Will of the Emperor] keep himself frompletely slipping away while simultaneously separate himself from the void. Vahn knew that he likely wouldnt get another chance to capture Heracles, at least without an incredible amount of effort. Now that he knew the true effect of [Enkidu], there was a chance that Heracles wouldpletely abandon the fight, resorting to vicious means to gain the upper hand once again. Slowly but surely, Space began to distort in the air above Heracles as the silhouette of a person started to take shape. It took several minutes but, with the passage of time, Vahn felt like he was gaining greater awareness of himself while the omniscient feeling began to fade away. When his body finally took shape once again, he was no longer in his Azure Dragon transformation while his head felt like it had been fragmented into several pieces. Vahn felt an intense and irresistible pain that was only kept at bay by the support of his [Will of the Emperor]. Parts of his body were sagging, almost as if he was unable to maintain his shape, with nearly half his face having descended several centimeters... Vahn pulled out the [Sacred Duplex Nail] from his Inventory and buried it into Heracles skull, killing him for the third time. Three secondster, another burst of golden light had emerged from within the Demigods body, causing Vahns own figure to distort as he once again struck down with the golden nail. This process continued several times until Vahns figure had distorted so greatly that his legs had formed into a lump puddle of flesh as his deformed hand brought down the nail for the ninth time. When the golden light emerged from Heracles body, reviving him for the twelfth time, the force was so powerful that it even managed to shake [Enkidu] a bit. Vahns on form slumped backward, unable to remain upright after the shockwave passed through him once again. In his current state, Vahn felt like he was controlling his body through a dense and hazy fog as each limb felt like it was several thousand kilometers away. His perception had been shifting back to his main body, allowing him to understand that his avatar had gone too far beyond its limits. At this point, Vahn was essentially remote controlling his avatar as his ego seemed intent on merging back together to escape the unbelievable pain he was experiencing on the other end. Even Vahns main body was pouring blood out of his seven orifices,pletely ignoring the regeneration that shoulde with his [Magia Erebea]. All Vahn could do was grind his teeth with enough force that his mrs were fracturing under the pressure, watching as Heracles shimmied out of the loosened [Enkidu]. Right now, thetters eyes were zing with such intense ferocity that the blue sky above seemed dark inparison. He had an expression that could have only belonged to someone that hadpletely lost their mind as he looked down upon Vahns sorry form and sneered. As if he were crushing a bug, Heracles continually raised his foot before stepping down on Vahns body. Even though he could havepletely destroyed thetter with a single attack, Heracles wasughing madly as he used a nominal level of power to shatter the deformed bones within Vahns avatar. After trying everything, including turning into his Zhuque form, Vahn realized there was almost no way to recover the state of his avatar as things stood. He couldnt even use the system functions like his Unit Management and Inventory as even his domain barely extended more than 5m around his body. Vahn could feel his perception begin to fade and knew that his chance of defeating Heracles had slipped through his grasp. Now, if he couldnt transform into his Azure Dragon form and continue the fight with his real body, Heracles would roam freely and cause mass devastation around the Continent. Next time they fought, there was no way the mentally unstable Demigod would fight him directly once again, making it almost impossible to stop him withouting up with several countermeasures... As the impact of his failure was weighing heavily on his heart and mind, Vahn saw through his waning perspective a sightpletely outside his ability to fullyprehend. Heracles had raised his foot to step down once again yet, as if time had been brought to a stop, the Demigod became frozen in time as the entire backdrop of reality becamepletely ck. Vahn felt like that one moment had gone on for several seconds before his perception was split, matching what was happening to Heracles body. It was like the world had been divided in two, causing part of it to shift several centimeters in a perfectly bisected line as Heracles body split into two halves. Vahn even felt like his mind, located back within the Sub-Space of the Hearth Manor, had been split in twine as thest image his avatar saw was what appeared to be a vagrant man from the Far East, fit with a ragged robe and a bamboo hat, walking forward with his sword drawn... Unable to resist the pain that had spread through his mind, Vahnpletely cked out within the Sub-Space orb. His body was quickly collected by Haruhime and Lefiya as they began trying to treat the serious injuries that he had sustained, even though his main body had been nowhere near the conflict. Other than simply feeling as if his mind had been split, Vahn actually had a cleft running the length of his face, creating a visceral scene as the girls desperately tried to stimy the flow of blood and mend his wounds. They were pouring several of the highest quality Elixirs over his body while Lefiya poured the shimmering white liquid from her artifact into his bisected mouth. Haruhime had even forced her [Effigy of the Hero] into his hands, praying that it would allow them to avoid the worst case scenario... Back within the City of Heroes, which had seen much better days, the same Far Eastern man was looking down at the corpse of his formerrade. He had tried to inspect the lump of flesh previously but it had dissolved into motes of light almost immediately after he poked it with his sheath. As a result, the man, Miyamoto Musashi, had shifted his focus to the corpse of Heracles as other residents of the City slowly started showing up. The first to arrive had been Zhou Yu, who had been watching the battle from a fair distance, while, nearly twenty minutester, Jeanne had finally returned to the mountain after having been flung several hundred kilometers away and being forced to ascend the sheer slopes before she was able to return. Zhou Yu and Musashi had been talking about what had transpired when Jeanne showed up, an expression of incredulity and surprise on her face as she saw Heracles corpse. She turned her eyes to the two Far Eastern men, asking, "Where is Vahn...?" Her rare skill would have informed her if Vahn had been killed so Jeanne knew he must still be alive. Musashi, however, shruggedzily as he said, "When I showed up, the only thing I saw was Heracles stomping on a puddle of flesh. Fe hadpletely lost his mind and had enough bloodl.u.s.t to drown someone. Aint noing back from that kind of mindset so I decided to put em down. What happened here,ss...?" Musashi had been napping in his own private courtyard, ignoring the thunderous shockwaves and rumbling earth, at least until the shrapnel from Vahns [Aegis] crashed into his residence. The Sakura Tree he had painstakingly groomed over thest fifty years, even though the climate in the City of Heroes made it exceptionally difficult to cultivate, had beenpletely destroyed by stray shrapnel. No longer able to continue ignoring the conflict, Musashi hade to seek a reckoning, deciding to hold whoever was fighting ountable. When he saw Heracles stomping on Vahns avatar, Musashi felt like he had stumbled onto a troublesome situation and decided to put an end to things. Though he understood the flesh pile must have been a person, Musashi didnt really care and just attacked them both without thinking about it further. Jeanne gave a general summary of what had happened, including the fact that Heracles had in Odin before fighting against Vahn. Zhou Yu showed a surprised expression, even though he had watched the entire event y out from start to finish, while Musashi had a look that practically shouted how troublesome. Once Jeanne had finished recounting things, he pulled down the front of his bamboo hat and said, "Im going back to the Far East for a bit...need to get a new sapling..." Musashi had never really cared about the affairs of Legend and, now that Odin, the god who had scouted him, was dead, he decided it was a good time to wander for a bit... Feeling helpless as a result of Musashis actions, Jeanne just shook her head before activating her [Voice of the World] to try and locate Vahn. Strangely, the voice told her that Vahn was no longer in the world, even though her [Fealty of the Knight] told her that he was still alive. Jeanne could only frown as she decided it would be best to descend the mountain and confer with the residents of the Hearth Manor for answers. Before that, however, Jeanne looked out at the various crumbling buildings of the City of Heroes, setting her sights on where Helen should be located. With Heracles dead, there was a chance that any of the Heroes who had fancied her may try and take action. It was even possible that, with the defection of Heracles, Theseus would make a move on his sister... Knowing that things would be even more troublesome if she dyed things, Jeanne decided to try and help Helen flee the City of Heroes. She needed to act before Zeus and Hera returned as, with the death of Heracles, there was no way of knowing how they would act. Thetter knew of Helens secret while Zeus, in his rage, would likelysh out and me others for Heracles betrayal. Since Odin would be at the top of the list, there was a fair chance Zeus would vent his frustrations out on the Valkyrie. Jeannes loyalty nowy with Vahn and, now that Heracles was dead, she wanted to help her friend and try to prevent a tragedy from urring. With this thought in mind, Jeanne departed for Helens residence as the sun, which had been hidden by the mountains in the distance, began to crest above the peak. The battle between the Alliance and Rakias forces had urred during the twilight hours of the morning and, even though it felt like a lifetime had passed, less than two hours had transpired since then. Now, as if rising to witness the dawn of a new era, the suns majesty began to cast its rays down upon the ancient City, recing the solemn and tense atmosphere with a subtle warmth... (A/N: Keep in mind that the next chapter will likely be in around 5-6 hours. Remember, there is usually a two-hour dy between chapters, while these were released together. I hope you enjoyed this micro-arc of sorts (^_^)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Adaptability and Raw Power,Omniscience isnt something a Tier 3 should possess (o,...,o)~!,Musashi, "...f.u.c.k this, Im out.") bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 919 - Wake

Chapter 919 - Wake

Vahn was currently experiencing a familiar sensation that had long fallen into the deepest recesses of his mind. Simr to when he had fought the Juggernaut, Vahn felt like his mind hadpletely shattered, immersing himself in deep and all-epassing pain. In this state, it was entirely impossible to form any thoughts and, for what felt like an eternity, Vahn could only ept the pain as it permeated through his entire existence. Still, part of him knew the pain would one day pass so, even though it felt like an eternity until that time woulde, Vahn did his best to withstand the pain... Just as it felt like his very existence was on the verge of fragmenting, Vahn experienced a familiar cooling sensation that began to spread from the center of where he felt his mind to be. Though he had no lungs to breathe, Vahn exhaled a profoundly relieved sigh as he allowed the cooling sensation to wash over him. Everywhere its influence spread, the seemingly endless pain would fade away, reced by a refreshing sensation as his body was finally fully submerged. Following this, Vahn felt the cooling sensation slowly fade away, reced by a gentle and all-epassing warmth as the warmth that brought his perception back into focus... Upon opening his eyes, Vahn found himself staring up at an endless expanse of darkness but, instead of feeling afraid, he felt incredibly rxed and calm. Raising his tired body, Vahn saw the familiar existence of Baihu, Xuanwu, Zhuque, and his yet unnamed Azure Dragon. Different from thest time he had visited, the first three now had glowing runes covering their body. Beneath him, Vahn found the same eight-elemental Taiji that normally appeared on his back had now expanded outward from his location. It glowed with a sacred blue light that had stretched outward topletely epass the four sacred beasts, each taking cardinal positions for themselves. To the North, representing Water, there was Xuanwu, the ck Tortoise and Snake pairing that had been one of his staunchest allies. Its ck scales were covered in aquamarine green runes while the snake coiling around its body now had ck scales with yellow runes. To the West, upying the Metal element, surprising Vahn slightly, there was Baihu, therge White Tiger that had been his firstpanion, allowing Vahn to experience the joy of battle. Vahn found it a little peculiar that it upied the Metal element, even though it had granted him an increased affinity with Wind... The ck stripes on Baihus fur shimmered with a pattern of light green runes but, at the very center of its head, where the pattern for king was located, Vahn saw a vibrant gold rune shining radiantly. Next, he turned his head to the South, finding the strangely enchanting Zhuque, the Vermillion Bird, upying the symbol representing Fire. This wasnt a great surprise to Vahn but, noticing some of its feathers now shimmered with a golden hue while runes that appeared simr to eyes now glimmered along its flight feathers. Vahn was momentarily brought back to his fight with Enyo, remembering how he had used Zhuque topletely overwhelm the Darkness for a brief moment... Vahn noticed that he had naturally smiled while observing Zhuque and, though it didnt have the means to produce human expressions, Vahn felt it had smiled back. This caused him to feel a bit of warmth in his chest as he turned to his finalpanion, upying the element of Wood. Just as with Baihu, Vahn felt it was a little strange that the Azure Dragon would upy such an element as, while he had been fighting previously, it seemed to have a rtion with Space and, to a lesser extent, Time. Even so, it didnt really matter right now as Vahn could see the expectant look in the Azure Dragons eyes as it lowered its head... Reaching out his hand, Vahn ced his palm against the Azure Dragons head and muttered, "I have kept you waiting for too long, my friend..." In response to Vahns words, the Azure Dragon just nudged his hand slightly and released acent rumble from its throat, causing Vahn to chuckle lightly before a tense atmosphere spread throughout the infinite darkness. The other three Sacred Beasts became silent as they watched from their positions, a gleeful look in their eyes as Vahns voice resonated, "Henceforth, you shall be Qinglong..." The moment Vahns words sounded out, Qinglongs body became covered in a pattern of golden runes as it raised its head and released a loud roar that shook the very void around them. Baihu, Xuanwu, and Zhuque all joined in, releasing their own distinct roars as the runes on their bodies began to resonate with each other. Vahn saw the eight-elemental Taiji begin to emanate intensely with a blue light that began to shroud both his body, and those of the four massive beasts roaring around him. When the light faded away, instead of being surrounded by the familiar figures, Vahn saw four versions of himself, each representing his transformed states... Suddenly, his Baihu form began performing a series of movements that caught Vahns eye while the other three adopted seated positions, falling silent as the runes on their body shimmered. Having nothing else to do, Vahn found himself immersed in watching Baihu perform a total of nine different techniques, each seeming simple but radiating a sense of profundity that caused Vahns soul to tremble. He didnt think it would be possible for him to perform simr moves but, using his own transformed body as the example, Vahn watched as Baihu demonstrated the techniques ceaselessly until, after an inordinately long period of time, Vahn noticed that his own body had already started emting the movements... Just as it felt like he was about to discern some great truth regarding his [Rakshasa Body], Vahn opened his eyes, finding a familiar roof overhead as two different pressures weighed against his chest. Turning his eyes downward, Vahn found Lefiya drooling on a light-grey tunic he didnt remember wearing while, opposite her, Fenrir had been curled up in the same bed as him, looking decidedly fluffy. As if they were both aware of his awakening, which was likely the case through their powerful bonds, Lefiya and Fenrir both startled awake, immediately turning their unique eyes towards Vahn. In the next moment, Vahn found himself consoling both girls as Lefiya cried in his arms while Fenrir hugged his body tightly, almost as if she were afraid he would disappear... --- Nearly two hourster, after practically being paraded around and embraced by almost every girl within the Mano, Vahn was seated together with the entirety of his ratherrge family. At the side, somewhat unexpectedly, Jeanne was wearing brand new armor while, wearing a cloak that veiled most of her features, Helen stood slightly behind her. Currently, Loki was exining to him what had happened while he was passed out, this time for a full thirty-eight days, even though only a little more than six had passed in the real world. So that his children wouldnt worry too much, Vahn had been treated within the Sub-Space orb while the girls took turns watching over him as his body went through various stages during his recovery... ording to Loki, after hearing an ounting from Jeanne, thetter had fled from the City of Heroes after warning the Valkyries of the potential fallout. The group of proud warriors had been preparing C Chinn funeral rites,pletely ignoring the battle urring in the Coliseum. Upon learning of their fathers death at the hands of Heracles, the girls werepletely incensed but, after learning that thetter had also died, their anger quickly turned into feelings of loss, confusion, and uncertainty. They served within the City of Heroes at the behest of their Allfather and, now that he was gone, their purpose could no longer be fulfilled. None of them wanted to take orders from Zeus and Hera and, with Jeannes and Helens efforts, they had not only helped the two women escape but were now residing in Freyas Manor to the south. Jeanne and Helen were not the only ones to part from the City of Heroes as Vahn learned that Musashi, the man whose sword intent had been so intense that it actually cut through his ego, had also begun wandering. Vahns form was wholly dependent on his self-image and, in a state where he had pushed his mental energies far beyond their limits, the impact of Musashis strike had carried over to his main body. Though he hadnt been in any danger of actually dying, it was the singr most impressive sword strike Vahn had ever witnessed and he expected this would remain the case for a very long period of time... Other than Musashi, several other members of Legend also departed the City, none of them wanting to be around when Zeus began raging and throwing a tantrum. Jeanne and Helen were unable toment about which members had left as, even while residing in the Manor, they werent able to share information about Legends structure. The only reason Jeanne had been able toment on Musashi was that he had been involved in the event, allowing her to readily speak about what she knew on the matter. What was important, however, was the fact that, with the exception of Zeus, there werent really any threats from their side. Though most of the Heroes had their quirks, none were the type to go out of their way to seek trouble, especially with recent developments... Wrapping up her recounting of events, Loki released a pent up sigh while her red eyes gleamed through the slits in her eyelids. She hadnt even been remotely surprised by the fact that Zeus actually had an organization of Heroes that he had been collecting over thest thousand years. What annoyed her was the fact that Zeus had been keeping so many powerhouses a secret, even when his Familia had been in operation. Though it ended up being for the better, as Enyo would have been much more dangerous if she had powerful Heroes under her influence, it still bothered her that Zeus, Hera, and even a god from her own Pantheon, Odin, had kept such a secret without anyone realizing it was going on... Having already publically dered Zeus and Hera as exiled gods who were not allowed to roam within the City, there wasnt much else Loki could do other than plot to have them both killed. Even if she had to have them assassinated, it would be worth getting rid of such troublesome individuals since, in the future, Loki truly believed Vahn would be able topletely crush them. She didnt know exactly how he would do it but, based on everything Vahn had been able to reveal, Loki knew he had a way that waspletely beyond herprehension. For now, the things that needed to be dealt with most pressingly were the two women quietly standing at the side... Just as she was about to mention Jeanne and Helen, Lokis thoughts wandered to an even more important subject as she interrupted her own thought process and said, "Now that your avatar is destroyed, you should take some time to live a normal life for a while. She might be putting on a strong front, but you have no idea how stressful thest week had been for Syr..." Before he had run off to confront Legend, Vahn had been spending time with Syr in the maternity ward. He had left partway to enter into the Sub-Space orb but, the next time he had emerged, his body had almost beenpleted bisected. Not only Syr, but most of the girls in the Manor had been extremely stressed out while Vahns body had been recovering. Presently, there wasnt a single one amongst them that was protecting Haven while Anubis, Tsubaki, and Riveria had taken leave from the School... There were a lot of things Vahn needed to take care of, sooner, rather thanter, but he still nodded his head in response to Lokis words. After what had happened, Vahn felt like he needed to reset his mentality as the impact of his failure to defeat Heracles,bined with the over-taxing of his mental energies, had left him a little shaken. If Musashi hadnt dealt the final blow, Vahn would have been out ofmission while Heracles, in his madness, would have wrought havoc upon the Mortal World. There was no doubt in his mind that the mad Demigods first target would have been Orario and, out of spite, the Manor itself... At least for a short while, Vahn just wanted to spend time with his family without having to worry about what was going on in the outside world. Zeus wasnt a real threat and, with ess to his Qinglong form, Vahn knew that his movements in the future would be much easier. He could also use this time to familiarize himself with the techniques demonstrated by Baihu, all while watching over his children and spending time with everyone normally for once. With that thought in mind, Vahn very nearly asked if everyone wanted to go on a pic, overlooking the fact that it was alreadyte in the evening... Fortunately, before Vahn said something to embarrass himself, Loki asked, "What are you going to do about these two girls? We currently have Ioke being cared for by Juno, so you dont have to worry about her for the time being. As for the Valkyrie, they havent caused any trouble thus far, though their leaders had wanted to meet with you at some point. For now, weve been letting these two stay in the Guest Residence since the Jeanne woman had readily epted the vows after iming to be your Knight..." Loki wasnt really concerned about Jeanne but, after learning the identity of Helen, she didnt believe it was safe for her to stay in the Manor at all. Even without Loki expressly stating her concerns, Vahn had been able to intuit what she was worried about so he gave an apologetic smile to everyone before saying, "For the time being, I need everyone but Loki, Hestia, Anubis, Fenrir, Jeanne, and Helen to leave the room..." Vahn understood that it was better for fewer people to see Helens true appearance and, though it could potentially be a little dangerous for Fenrir to meet her, Vahn was confident her Loyalty would invalidate the danger. Vahn, truthfully, had no interest in trying to enter into a rtionship with someone like Helen, but that didnt mean he would abandon her and cast her out in the world alone. Though part of him was intrigued by the existence of the most beautiful woman, his intuition told him that things would beplicated if he was actively involved with her. Since he wanted to avoid the situation where conflict was to arise within the Manor, Vahn knew he needed toe up with a solution for where she would stay in the future. If possible, he would try to help her find a way to reduce the effect of her Innates on other people so that she could at least interact with a few people normally... After a few rather awkward minutes, which were made easier by Maemi and Emiru proposing tea and snacks while they waited, Vahn ended up in the room with only those he had designated to stay. Now, to set things in motion, Vahn turned his attention to the veiled Helen, saying, "For the time being, you can remove your hood and allow everyone in the room to see your appearance." Instead of obliging Vahns words, Helen shook her head slightly before saying, "I believe it would be better for everyone if I were to stay like this. As I am very grateful for what you have done, I do not wish to make things difficult for you, Vahn Mason..." Hearing Helens words, Vahn released a small sigh before locking on to the dark cloak with his intent and stowing it away in his Inventory. He had already seen through the fabric with his [Eyes of Truth] previously and, though her appearance had been a visual impact on his mind, it wasnt to the extent of overpowering his [Will of the Emperor]. Though she truly was one of the most immacte beauties Vahn had ever seen, especially with her inordinately long white hair and her pale red eyes, swimming with runic symbols. Upon looking into her slightly startled eyes, Vahn, for a brief moment, felt like he was being pulled into her gaze but quickly managed to shake it off as he said, "I need to understand your situation better if Im going to be able to help you live a normal life in the future..." As he spoke, Vahn gauged the reaction of everyone else in the room and as somewhat surprised when he saw that Loki, of all people, had be absentminded. Everyone else, including Fenrir, seemed rtively unaffected by Helens appearance but Loki, perhaps due to her association with the fairer s.e.x, seemed somewhat smitten while looking at Helen. It didntst too long, however, as her skin radiated a slight l.u.s.ter that only people like Vahn could see as her Divinity naturally repelled the influence of Helens Innate. As for Helen herself, her surprise had faded away quickly and, even though her expression waspletely neutral, it still made the rest of the room seem strangely dull inparison... Vahn was starting to get a feel for the situation and decided to test something by calling over Lyd through the Unit Management function. Lyd was very confused by the sudden change in his surroundings but, seeing Vahn, and sense the strange atmosphere, he chose to remain silent and away Vahns instructions. His eyes still wandered around the room, however, passing over Jeanne and Helen with a bit of intrigue in his slit-like pupils before inspecting everyone else gathered in the room. This seemed to surprise Helen somewhat, as Lyd had made direct eye contact with her, while Vahn simply nodded his head after confirming his suspicions. As a final test, even without exining things, Vahn sent a telepathic message to Rufina, having her enter into the room unawares. Much like Lyd, she looked around and, seeing the unveiled Helen, showed a slightly surprised expression. This, however, was the extent of her reaction to Helen before she turned to Vahn and asked, "What did you need me for...?" Instead of Vahn, it was Loki who answered as she had been paying close attention to what was going on. She had locked eyes with Helen a second time while waiting on Rufina, feeling her mind wander once again before he resisted the influence invading her mind. Now, she understood much of the situation, exining, "It seems like it wont be too difficult finding a ce for you to stay after all, Helen..." (A/N: I decided to release this chapter a bit early since Im not sure I have enough willpower to continue writing further xD. Though I woke up super early to get a jump start on things, the first three chapters took a lot more time than expected. I started around 2:40AM and, at the time of writing this A/N, it was 2:52PM. I did take breaks to eat and shower, but Ive been essentially focused on writing for twelve hours at this point and just want to take a nap xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: My pain is far greater than yours~!,Changes in [Rakshasa Body],Loyalty and Allegiance are OP (o 3 o)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 920 - Responsibility

Chapter 920 - Responsibility

Just as he had observed during his confrontation with Enyo, those with high enough values of Loyalty or Allegiance were extremely resistant to any effects, including Innates, that could influence their mentality. Though it would require a fair amount of observation and research, Vahn believed that Helen should be fine to interact with anyone over a certain threshold. This meant that, within the Xenos Vige, Spero, or deep within the central area of Haven, Helen would be able to move without having to conceal her presence. As a result, Vahn suggested she stay with the Xenos as he felt she would benefit greatly from existing in their rtively simple and weing society. Though she had been somewhat hesitant at first, Helen quickly became friends with Marie and, after interacting with the members of Spero Vige, she realized that the Xenos were a very pure species. She was so used to people looking at her with intent in their gazes so it was a liberating experience to interact with a sizeable group of people without having to worry. Vahn had allowed her to take up permanant residence there, staying with Ray, Terror, Fear, and the other bird-type Xenos. Among the Xenos, they were the most sociable group and it would be very ther.a.p.eutic for Helen to have people she can associate with in order to open her long-closed heart. For the time being, Helen was left to her own devices since Vahn wanted her to be able to live a normal life, even if her situation was still more than a little unique. As for Jeanne, her situation was also rtively unique but, with her straightforward an earnest personality, she quickly integrated into the Manor. Unlike many of the women around him, for one reason or another, Jeanne didnt have any romantic interests or expectations about how her future might develop. From her perspective, the only thing that mattered was her duty as a Knight and, with Vahn nning to build an Empire, she would be instrumental in training the first generation of Imperial Knights. Unsurprisingly, Jeanne had be very quick friends with Vana who, unaware that her Papa was injured at the time, had been following the ashen-haired beauty around like a puppy. Within the record Danmachi, Jeannes tales were one of the only historical examples of famous female Heroines so Vana had always been very fond of her. Now, Jeanne was helping Vana, alongside Vahns other children, with their training. Leh and Aisha were quickly growing fond of her and, with even Ais, Haruhime, Mikoto, and Arnya unable to get any advantages against Jeanne during sparring, she truly was the best possible instructor for the girls. As for how she matched up against the powerhouses within the Manor, the only one to trulye close to her Ais and Haruhime, both around the middle of Level 7 in strength. Jeanne herself, however, was very near the peak of Level 8 and, as a result of her strong foundation and Soul Tier, she had monstrously high Parameters and skills... ------------------------------------------------------------------- [[Stats]] Name: Jeanne DArc Age: 329 Race: Human -Level:8(+) -Power: 6993+(A843) -Endurance: (-) -Dexterity: 6993+(S994) -Agility: 6993+(S901) -Magic: 6993+(A871) Total: 42,672+(5709) Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) [Karma]: 3,019,442 Skills: [Perennial Saintess:Innate: SSS], [Voice of the World:Innate: SS], [Precise Strike:SSS], [Sweeping Blow:SSS], [Shield Stance:SSS], [Shield m:SS], [Armorbreaker:SS], [Chasing Strike:SS] Magic: [Holy Ray:SS], [Healing Touch:S], [Sacrament:S] Development Skills: [Fealty of the Knight:Innate: S], [Child of Light:Innate:D], [Grandmaster Swordsman:A], [Unbreakable: C], [Null-Magic Aura:B], [Grandmaster Shieldbearer:B], [Master Spearman:B], [Armsmaster:A], [Cooking: A] [Precise Strike] Rank: SSS Use: Active skill that allows the user to strike the intended target with 100% uracy. Doubles natural critical rate. [Sweeping Blow] Rank: SSS Use: Active skill that prevents the momentum of a de from being deflected while cutting through enemies. Sessfully cutting an enemy modifies Power by 10% for the duration of the strike. Restriction: CD: 00M30S [Shield Stance] Rank: SSS Use: Active skill that doubles all physical and magical resistances for .5 seconds. [Shield m] Rank: SS Use: Active skill that allows the user to convert resistances into physical power after receiving an attack. Guaranteed stun chance on targets with resistance lower than the rank of the skill. Duration: 1-10S [Armorbreaker] Rank: SS Use: Active skill that rapidly reduces the equipment durability of an opponent with each strike. [Chasing Strike] Rank: SS Use: Active skill that allows the user to close the distance to a target, regardless of the difference in Agility and base speed. [Holy Ray] Rank: SS Use: Short-chant magic that creates a beam of light elemental energy that can pierce through heavily armored targets with ease. Deals double damage against targets with negative elemental energies. Range: 3,000m Chant: Lights Judgment, Holy Ray~! [Healing Touch] Rank: S Use: elerates the natural healing of the target by 5000% during contact. Warning: Overuse of this magic can shorten the lifespan of the target considerably. Chant: (-) [Sacrament] Rank: S Use: Four-verse magic that allows the user to amplify the parameters of allies by 10% for each sessive verse. Chant: [Because I could not attack for Allies, they did kindly attack for me. Pause to attack, as Allies do.]-[Companions, however hard they try, will always be stronger together. Do armies make you shiver? Together, we shall ovee.]-[One afternoon I asked myself, "Why do people oppose the Light?" Enemies are heinous. enemies are unworthy, enemies are ugly, let us begone with them.]-[Hope for freedom. Give freedom to those who have Hope. Sacred Sacrament, Divine Blessing~!] [Grandmaster Swordsman](Third evolution of Swordsman) Rank: A Use: Allows the user toprehend the truth of the sword, oveing the limits of both the body and mind with a de in hand. Greatly enhances perception and mental acuity. [Unbreakabale](Third evolution of Strong Defense) Rank: C Use: User ispletely immune to physical damage under a certain threshold. [Null-Magic Aura](Third evolution of Magic Resistance) Rank: B Use: User ispletely immune to magical damage under a certain threshold. [Grandmaster Shieldbearer](Third evolution of Spearman) Rank: B Use: While using a shield, Endurance acts as a modifier for shield durability. t damage mitigation of 50% from all sources when blocking. [Master Spearman](Second evolution of Spearman) Rank: B Use: Greatly increases proficiency with all rods and spears. Increases critical hit chance and allows attacks to pierce armored targets. [Armsmaster](Super rare Development Ability from achieving Mastery in three uniquebat styles) Rank: A Use: The user is able to demonstrate mastery of any weapon, armor, or item based on the rank of Armsmaster. (A/N: In other words, Jeanne could even pick up a Yoyo and use it as an A-Rank weapon, even if she has never used one before.) [Cooking] Rank: A Use: Increases the efficacy of all actions rted to cooking. Moderate enhancement to all senses while providing the ability to discern unique ingredients and vor profiles. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- The first time Vahn had seen Jeanne Status Board, after her conversion to the Hestia Familia, he had beenpletely taken aback by the sheer amount of information. Not only had she reached the limit of each parameter before leveling up, made possible by the use of special items that had allowed each member of Legend to revert back to Level 1, but she was near-mastery of almost every skill, magic, and ability she possessed. Even her Innates were of a very high ranking and, so long as she was able to push her [Child of Light] to higher ranks, Jeanne would be able to reach Tier 4 with rtive ease. From conversing with Jeanne, Vahn was finally able to learn exactly why it felt like, even if he went all out against her, he would never be able to defeat her. With [Perennial Saintess], so long as Jeanne never lost her purity, she waspletely impervious to all detrimental effects, including damage. Even if this wasnt the case, her natural Endurance was around 16,800 and, with basic modifiers, he would need to have a damage output that exceeded an Endurance factor of around 40,000. Since parameters scaled exponentially, Sis calcted that he would need to hit Jeanne with around 24,000 kilotonnes of instantaneous force. Even a direct charge with his Lightning Emperor form wouldnt be able to ovee her resistances... As for Jeannes [Fealty of the Knight], [Voice of the World], and [Child of Light], they were decided less impactful than her [Perennial Saintess], but still very impressive. With [Voice of the World], Jeanne had a basic level of irvoyance while also possessing the ability to speak with the world itself to gain information. She could locate almost anyone, or anything, so long as she knew what the targets were. At the same time, she would be able to determine their approximate strength, if they were a good or evil, and how much of a threat they posed to the world itself. The [Voice of the World] would also actively warn her about dangers, allowing Jeanne to detect threats much earlier than most, even without actively having to do so. With just [Perennial Saintess] and [Voice of the World], Jeanne was already an existence that was far outside of Vahns expectations. Since her [Fealty of the Knight] also enhanced herbat abilities, especially if it was in service of the person she had pledged to protect, her base parameters were already enhanced greatly. Combined with the fact that [Child of Light] allowed her to create and weave constructs out of pure Light Elemental energy, it was easy to see why Jeanne was one of the strongest entities in the entire world. Though she was still below people like Heracles, Theseus, Musashi, and a few others, they would be hard-pressed to actually defeat her. The only option, without something like The Path to provide support, was to seal Jeanne away and restrain her, albeit temporarily... For the time being, Jeanne was one of the strongest forces within the entire Alliance, even if she was specialized in defense and was unable to go on the attack in most situations. Her vows prevented her from taking proactive action to directly increase the strength of the Alliance, meaning she would have to train other people to bebatants if Vahn wanted to have Knights that served the purpose of attacking. However, if it came to protecting his life from enemies, Jeanne was one of the staunchest protectors he could ask for, second only to Terra herself... When it came to how Jeanne got along with Terra, the two actually became quickpanions since Jeannes Pure Light Elemental affinity was extremely pleasant to Terra. Vahn had expected her to be a little jealous of the fact that Jeanne wanted to serve as his protector but, as Terra was truly a [Pacifist] by nature, she was happy to have someone capable to stand at her Masters side. She was usually very busy with protecting the Manor, watching over Spero, and developing her dominion of influence further. Knowing there was another capable protector at her Masters side, especially with potential enemies like Heracles in the world, made Terra strangely fond of Jeanne. It wouldnt be until muchter that Vahn realized that Terra epted Jeanne quickly because thetter wasnt a petitor for her Masters affection... Other than the matter of Helen and Jeanne, there were three other pressing matters that Vahn had to deal with before he could truly begin to rx. Ioke was currently staying with the Juno Familia, being cared for by the petite, yet motherly, goddess. Her urges to ughter werent so extreme that she would indiscriminately start killing people but Vahn still wanted to help find a semi-permanent solution until he could find a way to restrict Divinity without causing a god to have a mental breakdown and die. Currently, he was still considering the idea of developing an underground arena that was connected to the Dungeon so that she would be able to kill monsters whenever her Divinity was acting up. This would serve as an interim solution while his research into Sub-Space orbs and projection magic was still underway... Ioke wasnt the only goddess that Vahn needed to worry about at the present moment, however, as an extremely troublesome pink-haired goddess had been lingering around the Alliancetely. After the defeat of Rakias forces, which Vahn still needed to deal with, Aphrodite had decided to enter Orario. She had originally tried to approach the Hearth Manor directly but had quickly been shut down by Hestia, Hephaestus, and Loki. Thetter tried to keep her under control by having Freya look after her but, not caring for the authority and influence of the Alliance, Aphrodite had ignored warnings as she went around pestering various gods. Because of this, the Alliance had to take an official stance against her while having the Guild act as an intermediary to put a stop to Aphrodites actions. In order to avoid being forced to return to Heaven, Aphrodite had to follow the same rules as every other god within the City. The only reason she had avoided outright being killed by Loki or Freya, other than the fact that she was rtively harmless, was because Aphrodite had a Major Divinity rted to Love. Though there were several other gods and goddesses of Love that were associated with the Alliance, Aphrodite was the only one amongst them whose primary Divinity was Love. She was a potential candidate for a spot on the Divine Council and, even though she was a troublesome woman, it wasnt that difficult to control her actions... Aphrodite was the type of goddess who was exceptionallyzy, expecting other people to pamper and care for her while she just indulges in their affection and adtion. Even when Rakias forces were making their way through the Southern Sands, she had been carried in a pnquin that had a regted temperature on the inside. Most of her time was spent lounging about, sleeping, or being made love to. Aphrodite rarely took a more proactive role in her rtionsh.i.p.s, choosing to let the other party pamper her excessively. Surprisingly, she wasnt actually that spoiled and instead had a very gentle and amorous personality. Her nature was the result of the fact that she had simply always been treated a certain way, as people were almostpelled to love and care for her... Vahn knew that he would have to deal with Aphrodite at some point, even if it was only to have her be a part of the Divine Council in the future. Fortunately, though she was interested in him, Aphrodite was one of the few goddesses who didnt want to have a child. She was content being pampered herself and never thought about having to take care of others. With her licentious and open nature, Vahn knew she wasnt really suited to be a mother either, especially with Divinities rted to S.e.x, Passion, and Sensual Pleasure. It was to the extent that, even though she also had a lesser Divinity rted to Fertility, Aphrodite had never born a child since she often overindulged in her other Divinities, keeping them sated... The most pressing matter Vahn needed to deal with, other than the dismantling and destruction of the Rakia Kingdom, were the 303 Valkyries that were residing in Freyas Manor. Even the weakest member amongst their forces was Level 5, making them an exceptional force that could even contend against the might of the Alliance, at least for a short while. Vahn had some expectations about what they wanted to talk about and had discussed the matter with Hestia, Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, Artemis, and Freya herself. As was often the case, they left the final decision to him thus, with Jeanne and Fenrir at his sides, Vahn made his way to the Southern Manor. There, likely waiting for his arrival for thest week, Vahn found three inordinately beautiful Valkyrie. Each possessed cold and stoic dispositions that did nothing to mar their beauty, instead, enhancing it to a degree that some mortal men might die with a smile, even as the Valkyries des pierced their hearts... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Helen, at home amongst monsters...? xD,Holy snazzballs, Jeanne, you need to calm down with those stats (O o O)...,Aphrodite is a true wastrel~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 921 - Valkyries

Chapter 921 - Valkyries

Leading the group of three Valkyrie that had lined up to receive Vahn was the same Brynhildr that Vahn had met previously. The other two were Valkyrie he had never seen as they hadnt been present when he took down therger flock after arriving at the City of Heroes. Though not nearly as strong as Brynhildr, both had the strength of a Level 7 with the same dark-grey wings as other Valkyries. What set them apart was that, unlike the onyx-grey hair and stark blue eyes of their sister, the taller of the two Valkyries had light-grey hair and pale purple eyes. As for the smaller of the two, though she was still around 170cm tall, she had dark green hair and orange eyes, a rather strangebination that made her stand out with her fierce expression and well defined facial features... Almost as soon as Vahn hadnded near them, all three Valkyrie spontaneously kneeled, allowing their wings to perk up at their backs so they wouldnt dr.a.p.e on the ground. Brynhildr then took the initiative to say, "Vahn Mason, the Allfather had ced his trust in you before his untimely demise at the hand of the treacherous Heracles. As the person who had fought against our enemy and allowed our vengeance to be met out, we pledge our service to your cause. Be it our des or bodies, you may use us as you will..." As the Valkyrie had been created for the sole purpose of serving Heroes, even in the capacity of lovers andpanions, Brynhildr was absolutely serious when she mentioned Vahn doing whatever hed like with them... Seeing the three prompts,beling the other two Valkyries as Sigrun and Hrist, Vahn gave a small nod as he epted the three as Subordinates. He already knew about the Valkyrie after talking with Jeanne and Helen, including why they had been created, and how they had been mistreated by Zeus for nearly a thousand years. Vahn had initially thought the loss of Odin was somewhat regretful but, after knowing the purpose he had given his own daughters, part of him wished it had been his own de to im the gods life. Now, however, Vahn was content with providing a safe haven for the Valkyrie while removing them from Odins influence. It would take a bit of time, but Vahn was confident he could help them find some semnce of happiness aftering to understand their nature and characteristics better... Understanding his own role in the situation, Vahn kept a stoic disposition as he said, "Rise..." in amanding tone. Even more than the members of the Southern Tribe, the Valkyrie strictly followed a hierarchy and it was easier for them if he was decisive and firm. In response to his words, the three immediately rose to their feet and, instead of the fierce looks from before, Vahn could see a bit of relief in their gazes as Sigrun and Hrist gave polite salutes, introducing themselves and their roles within the Valkyries ranks. Like Brynhildr, they were Captains, representing the leadership of the Valkyries while, beneath them, there were six Lieutenants, twenty Adjutants, and sixty Sergeants and two-hundred normal Valkyrie. The remaining fourteen were the Support Unit of the Valkyries, possessing the ability to heal wounds and use rare skills that could boost the strength of allies. Vahn patiently listened to Brynhildr exin theposition of their small army, waiting until she waspletely finished before saying, "Very good. Thank you for the exnation, Brynhildr..." As he spoke, Vahn performed an act that had shocked the three proud Valkyrie to the core, even though it was a very natural and casual reaction on his part. He had reached out his hand, gently stroking the top of Brynhildrs head as he sent calming energy into her mind and allowed his [Grooming] to take effect. Since rebuffing him went against every instinct Brynhildr had cultivated over thest 937 years, she just stood their nkly while obediently receiving head pats from her Master... Though she didnt show much outwardly, Vahn noticed that Brynhildrs Loyalty had increased slightly after he praised her, bringing a small smile to his face as he said, "Take me to meet with the others. I will exin what youll be doing from this point onward." For a brief moment, Brynhildr had a slight pause before giving a proper salute, answering, "Understood! Sigrun, Hrist, let us alight." Her two fellow Valkyrie had also experienced a momentary pause after seeing Vahn casually stroke their elder sisters head. When she called out to them, they gave a loud, "Ha...!" while cing their fists over their heart in a curt salute before all three of them flew off towards the central region of Freyas Manor. They hadnt been allowed to stay inside and had instead made camp in the inner courtyard while Brynhildr, Sigrun, and Hrist had been waiting for more than seven days straight for Vahns arrival... To give them time to prepare, Vahn enjoyed a casual stroll with Jeanne and Fenrir, giving them a brief tour of Freyas Manor. She normally didnt allow outsiders into the premise, other than to clean and maintain specific areas, but Vahn was allowed to bring whoever he wanted along with him. Freya made quite a few exceptions when it came to Vahn, a behavior that he found increasingly adorable with the passage of time. Though she still wasnt allowed to enter the Hearth Manor, much of the antagonistic feelings towards Freya had diminished somewhat. She often worked alongside Loki and, though it was still rtively umon, the other goddesses in the Manor would sometimes meet up with Freya for tea and y dates with the other children. After their brief tour hade to an end, Vahn, Jeanne, and Fenrir made their way to the inner courtyard where the Valkyrie had already formed up into three different groups. Each was fully adorned in their battle attire as they stood in perfectly spaced columns, standing at attention as they awaited his arrival. Because he was used to dealing with the HDF, Vahn wasnt caught off guard by their disy of military bearing. He unhesitantly made his way to the front of the three formations, prompting Brynhildr, Sigrun, and Hrist to all salute simultaneously. Following them, like a thunderous chorus, the other Valkyrie all gave their own salutes, allowing their metallic gauntlets to strike their b.r.e.a.s.ttes. This created such a loud sound that it echoed through the rtively spacious inner courtyard as Vahn gave a small nod and said, "At ease." Vahn had only intended to have them rx and adopt a more casual stance so he was surprised when the Valkyrie, as one cohesive unit, widened their stance and ced their hands behind their backs, wings unfurled slightly. Fortunately, with both of his split ego within one body, Vahn was able to remain entirely unperturbed on the outside as his secondary thought process was thinking about what to say. He had already decided what he wanted the Valkyrie to do in the future but, depending on their own desires, things could change drastically in the very near future... Deciding to put their conviction to the test, Vahn cast his gaze over the three-hundred additional Valkyrie, saying, "This will be the one time I will afford you the opportunity to leave freely and pursue your own happiness. If you do not wish to serve me, and the ideals I represent, then please excuse yourself now, knowing that those who remain will not be allowed to treat you in contempt. It is the right of every sentient creature to seek their own happiness and, so long as it does not infringe upon the right of others, I will not restrict you from doing the same...if you choose to stay, you must be willing to work for the shared happiness of others. We will work together to build a better world where all peoples have basic inalienable rights and freedoms, allowing the generations that follow to reach greater heights than their predecessors. If you can support this ideal of mine, I wee you to stand at my side and, in exchange, I will bestow upon you even greater power than you currently possess...!" Almost as soon as he finished his words, Vahn was barraged by a total of three-hundred system notifications simultaneously. With the nature of the Valkyrie, he wasnt remotely surprised that they had all chosen to follow him. As he was speaking, there were almost no fluctuations in their auras whatsoever, each showing resolute and stoic expressions. Having lived as long as they had, every Valkyrie had tempered themselves to the point that most of their basic emotions had been buried deep within their hearts and minds. One day, Vahn knew he would be able to help them open up once again but, for the time being, just having their support for the future was enough. Now that they were all his Subordinates, their perception would slowly change based on the actions he took. So long as he desired their happiness, the Valkyrie would almost instinctually seek out the same thing for themselves, all out of the feelings of Loyalty they possessed toward him... With the inclusion of so many powerful individuals amongst the ranks of his subordinates, Vahn noticed that his domain had spread considerably, reaching 3,204 meters. Though he rarely let it grow to that extent, it was still very useful to have the option of thinning out his domain for ease of use with his other skills and abilities. One such example of this functionality was like now, as he extended his hand slightly and sent petting and invigorating energy through his domain as he adopted a pride-filled smile and said, "From this moment onward, we share the same dream, the same future. I swear, I will do my best to make sure each of you is able to obtain the happiness you deserve. You may have already been sisters before, but now you are my family as well...as strange as it may seem to you, my first order is also my most sincere desire. I want each of you to reflect on your own futures and think of what you need to be happy. When you find the answer, share it with me and, so long as I am able to help, I will spare no effort in doing so. If I cant even guarantee the happiness of those that follow me, how can I expect to create a world where everyone is able to seek happiness for themselves...?" While his main body was speaking, Vahns sub-process was watching the values of each Valkyrie in his Unit Management. He saw some of the numbers fluctuate downward but the vast majority had small positive increases. Fortunately, even for those who had lost some Loyalty, it was only a few points and wouldnt make a great difference. The fact it was such a small amount showed that they would undoubtedly follow his order and, with the passage of time, their Loyalty would continue to increase while they slowly opened up to him. He was serious about helping them seek happiness as, if those closest to the core of the Empire he was going to build werent happy, then he was nothing more than a hypocrite spewing titudes. This would also allow him to wrest away the influence Odin had over them as, after learning what kind of life he had prepared for his own children, Vahn felt both disdain and spite towards the onyx-haired god... With various thoughts running through his sub-process mind, Vahn had continued addressing the Valkyries, saying, "For the time being, you will be training under the guidance of Jeanne on how to perform your duties as Knights in the future. Though there will be individuals that may exceed you in strength, I will help the Valkyrie be known throughout the entire world as the most powerful and noble force. You will be one of the central strengths of the Alliance and, in the future, serve as my Imperial Guard. There will be other duties expected of you, but that will wait until I am able to assess your strength and capabilities..." For better or worse, the Valkyrie were exceptionally skilled servants and it was likely that they would be the standard for the Battle Maids that already resided in the Manor. Before he knew about the existence of Valkyries in the record, Vahn had been helping Maemi and Emiru cultivate a simr mentality to what many of the actual Valkyrie already possessed. They were currently influencing the members of the Artemis Familia and the five Maids that had been provided by Freya. Though they currently called themselves the Battle Maid Squadron, most of the battle dress designs and weaponry that was being produced for their use was simr to the Valkyries own armaments. To avoid conflict in the future, the two groups would likely merge at some point and, when he had created his Empire, the Valkyrie would likely be synonymous with powerful Battle Maids that also served the role of Imperial Knights. Their numbers would expand to include races other than Valkyrie though, depending on the circ.u.mstances, Vahn also had the option of providing race changes and modifications to make every member match the descriptor... Vahn spent the rest of the morning registering the Valkyrie with the various protective formations surrounding the Hearth Manor and other important structures. He also got to familiarize himself with some of their more prominent members, though anyone below the rank of a Lieutenant didnt seem to even think about approaching him on their own. During this time, many of the more friendly residents used the opportunity to interact with the Valkyries as well, including the majority of Vahns children. As Knights, the main responsibility of the Valkyrie would be protecting the territory of the Alliance and, more importantly, the weaker residents of the Hearth Manor. So that they knew who they were protecting, Brynhildr had every Valkyrie memorize the name of each of Vahns children before grilling them on the characteristics of each for the entire afternoon... In the very near future, the Valkyrie would be the most publically identifiable symbol of power within the Alliance, the core members such as Vahn and otherbatants excluded. Previously, the Valkyrie had been existences that were spoken of in rumors, many regarding them as possessing skill in battle that was only rivaled by their beauty. Since each Valkyrie was exceptionally beautiful, themon consensus was that they were also exceptionally strong, something which was proven very quickly when some of the bolder men in the City tried to make advances against them. With even reputable First-ss Adventurers being quickly bested by the beautiful warriors, their reputation within the City spread extremely quickly. At the same time, so too did another wave of rumors regarding Vahns prowess and his insatiable appetite for beauties, even though he hadnt actually made any moves against them. This was because the Valkyrie, when rebuffing their would-be suitors, always mentioned things along the lines of, I am only faithful to my Lord and You cannot evenpare to my Master... (A/N: Freyas Southern Manor is linked with the Hearth Manor through underground tunnels, so it isnt difficult for the goddesses to move the Vanir rtively safely. At this point, Terras dominion has stretched to the five surrounding Manors, giving her the ability to watch over them and provide assistance during emergencies.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Valkyrie are extremely dutiful,Vahn is slowly consolidating even greater strength,Vahn Mason, the Enemy(Envy) of all Men...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 922 - Break : Breakthrough

Chapter 922 - Break : Breakthrough

A few days after his awakening, Vahn found himself enjoying ap pillow while the small figure of an infant girl slept on his chest. This was none other than his newest daughter Natalie, now looking far healthier than when she had been born. Vahn was lightly stroking her back, sending thin strands of Source Energy into her body as he made sure she was sleeping peacefully. The exceptionally soft thighs he was using as a pillow belonged to Syr, Natalies mother, who was currently tracing her fingers through his brown hair with a loving smile on her face. She seemed a little absentminded but Vahn knew she was probably just lost in the bonding moment and not really concerned about anything... Ultimately, Vahn had decided that, instead of destroying the Captial City, Valua, it would be a territory under the management of the Alliance. The previous Royal Family had been publically executed while those under the age of a.d.u.l.thood had to renounce their ims and would be under observation for the time being. Vahn had entrusted Chloe and her Shadow Corps to slowly clean out the criminal elements of the Kingdom while 2,000 members of the HDF had been mobilized for the sake of public order during the transition. Since Lunoire had refused his jest to be Queen, Vahn had conferred with the Civilian Legitive Branch to have them restructure the Kingdoms Laws and regte internal affairs. Instead of a King, the former Rakia Kingdom would be a province that was governed by Governor and a series of Magistrates who would be elected and sworn in under the authority of the Alliance. Though there were a lot of things he had to take care of, there were certain benefits to having more than two-hundred gods within the Alliance. Loki, Hephaestus, and Freya had convened a gathering with seventy suitable gods, determining the best course of action and then running it by Vahn for approval after the fact. As a result, other than asking Chloe to take action, and negotiating with the Civilian Legitive Branch, Vahn just had to fill out a bit of paperwork before things were set in motion. Now, there would be a total of twenty-eight Familia migrating to the former Rakia Kingdom, mostly specializing in construction and mercantilism. They would work to build up the infrastructure of the province while revitalizing the copsed economy. Amongst this number, there were also two gods who had rtivelyrge Farming Familia in the ins region. Though much of the former Rakia Kingdoms territory was like a wastnd, there were several thousand acres of fertilend around the Capital City, Valua. Vahn had decided to nt one of Yggys hearts in the area while the three Farming Familia would slowly begin to build up their influence in the restructured province. In the future, they would be providing food to the citizens that remained in the now defunct Kingdom, working to eliminate the famine and starvation that had been mon in the past. Now, the biggest problem was changing the perception of the citizenry, mostly by eliminating the dissidents that were trying to preserve power and take advantage of the situation. Now, after taking care of a few other matters, Vahn had been spending his days rxing in the Manor and enjoying a much needed vacation. Though he would need to create another avatar at some point, Vahn had been confronted during an impromptu Vahnatus, which essentially served as an intervention by the girls to get him to take a break. Since he didnt want to worry them too much, Vahn had epted their terms and, unless it was something very important, most matters were dealt with without Vahn even learning about them. Instead, he spent nearly the whole day just lounging about, spending time with the girls, or simply reading in his private study. Vahn felt strangely itchy at the start, but he had quickly fallen into a pleasant groove after enjoying a few naps under Yggys canopy while her Spirit Avatar yed a small silver flute that Hephaestus had made for her... While enjoying the peace and quiet of his current lifestyle, Vahn ended up humming one of the tunes that Yggy would y for him. He wondered if, like Tiona, Natalie would beforted by this tune in the future, even though she was currently sleeping peacefully on his chest. Even her snake, the Silvervine Python, was coiled around his free hand as it flicked out its dark blue tongue flickering out happily. Vahn felt that moments like this were what made life worth living, regardless of how difficult it could be at times. The children of many races were exceptionally fragile in their infancy and Vahn felt saddened just thinking about those who were born into environments that either couldnt provide for them, or into families that didnt care for them. He wished that, just as he could spend time with his children like this, every family was able to do the same... Around the time when the residents of the Manor would normally eat lunch together, Vahn felt a familiar sensation in his mind before Nanus excited voice stated, ("Master, I did it~!"). Even without her exining in greater detail, Vahn had some expectation about what Nanu was talking about. Nearly six months had passed in the real world since she began her serious efforts to reach [Master Smith]. Within the Sub-Space orb, this was nearly three full years worth of time where Nanu had been making steady strides under his guidance, the tutge of Tsubaki, and the constant evaluations of Hephaestus. With functionally limitless resources, Nanu prodigiousness as a [cksmith] had been allowed to shine forth and now, at the startlingly young age of eighteen, Nanu had managed to be a [Master Smith]. Nanu had been so excited by her achievement that she ended up immediately exiting the Sub-Space orb and running through the Manor wearing nothing but a pair of small ck shorts and a ck chest wrap. Her olive-brown skin had be a little darker from constant exposure to the heat of her forge while her present appearance was covered in sweat and soot. When Vahn had returned Natalie to Syr to meet up with Nanu, she practically pounced on him even with several others present. Since she was usually a little more reserved, it was easy to see that Nanu was happier than she had ever been before, her tail wagging furiously as she nuzzled into her Masters chest... The truth of the matter was that, after seeing the sorry state of Vahn after his confrontation with Heracles, Nanus heart had been greatly stirred. In her mind, Vahn was an unbeatable existence that shone even brighter than the sun. Seeing him in that state had shaken Nanu to the core and, afraid of being unable to be with the man she had dedicated herself to, she experienced a drastic shift in mentality. She was no longer content simply waiting for her skills to develop to the point that she could finally be with her Master and, after his awakening, Nanu had put in more effort than ever before into her work. It was to the point that she only stopped to eat and sleep, never leaving her Workshop until the moment when she had finally achieved her goal... Because of her actions over thest few days within the Sub-Space orb, Nanu actually had a very pungent animalistic musk that filled up the entire room and tickled peoples noses. Vahn didnt particrly mind it but, seeing the reactions of other people, he sent a quick message to Emiru and Maemi before carrying the tired Nanu to one of the closer baths. At this point, she was already running on fumes and, after Vahns petting, Nanu had quickly fallen asleep as he carried her in a bridal carry, removed the rather dirty clothes from her body, and carefully wiped her down with a warm cloth before soaking her in the water. Nanu woke up as she was being submerged but, realizing the situation she was in, her only reaction was to hang her head slightly with a heavy blush visible on her face... Having been smothered by her previously, Vahn decided to use the opportunity to bathe himself, entering into the small bath alongside Nanu as he pulled out an exquisitely designed cor. Nanu had been carrying this with her when she pounced on him and, seeing it in his hands, Vahn could feel the water moving around as a result of her tail beating furiously beneath its surface. With an expression of immense pride, as he truly was proud of what Nanu had aplished, Vahn opened the sp of Nanus previous cor before recing it with the S-Rank cor she had produced as her first masterpiece. After tightening the cor to afortable level, Vahn fastened the intricate golden sp before leaning down and kissing the fumbling Nanus lips... She had been giddy since the moment he entered the bath and, understanding this hard-working apprentice of his, Vahn decided to reward her plentily. Her nervousness quickly faded away as she somewhat aggressively reciprocated his kiss, at least until Vahn got a little serious. In the end, Nanu leaned backward a bit by instinct as Vahn leaned over her and continued entwining his tongue with hers for the better part of ten minutes. During that time, he had been tracing his hand along her exposed abdomen as Nanus legs writhed about, disturbing the water as she balled her fists up and trembled under his touch... When their lips finally separated, Nanu was breathing heavily and had a dazed look in her eyes as her tongue flicked against the air a few times. She had even chased after his lips when he pulled away, causing Vahn to smile as he stroked her pointy ck ears and said, "Youre so adorable, Nanu. In all the world, there are none as fortunate as I, having such a capable apprentice that is as adorable as she is skilled..." These words brought a bit of light back to Nanus eyes as she quaveringly intoned, "Mashta...awuuu..." while her tail curled up between her thighs. Her reaction caused Vahns smile to stretch as he leaned in and licked her neck around the cor, trailing kisses up to the side of her head before saying, "My Nanu..." Compared to when they first met, when Nanu was a thin and frail girl that was only 130cm tall, she had now grown up considerably since that time. Previously, she hadnt even started to develop her secondary s.e.x.u.a.l characteristics but now, after years of training, plenty of nutritious food, and earnest efforts to increase her appeal, Nanu was 159cm tall with a very healthy and sensual figure. Though she had visible and developed muscles, Nanus b.r.e.a.s.ts had grown to a healthy B-Cup while her h.i.p.s and thighs had developed exceptionally well. She had the appeal of a mature woman and, being eighteen, Vahn felt no inhibitions at all when he nibbled on her ear and said, "My beloved mate..." Nanus teeth began ttering as an adorably awkward smile appeared on her face before she answered, "Alwaysh...Nanu alwaysh belong to Mashta..." She was still slurring her words a bit but, at the same time, Nanus Love parameter was rapidly increasing. Though she was also his Subordinate, Vahn was able to see the (Love) of those he had seen and fulfilled the [Hearts Desire]s of. Nanus Love was markedly lower than her Loyalty, the former being 37,229pared to thetter at 408,711. Seeing the number rapidly climb, even though it wasnt as quickly as her Loyalty, Vahn felt somewhat amused as he gave her another very long kiss, this time moving her to hisp so he could hold her more easily... Though it wasnt really the best time for such activities, as everyone else was back in the dining room eating lunch, Vahn couldnt leave the excited Nanu alone to suffer. Her body had been in a heated state since before they even entered the bath so, after pampering her for nearly half an hour, she wasnt even able to support her own weight anymore. She had be so red and swollen down below while a sincere plea existed within her rose-colored eyes. Vahn felt like he would have failed her if he made her wait any longer so, after shifting her over to the side of the tub, Vahn ced the tip of his ns at Nanus fiery entrance and the two became one after having her wait nearly six years... Being a Chienthrope, Nanus insides were incredibly stimting as her body tried to adapt to the foreign body that invaded its depths. Her mping had been even more prominent than Naaza as a result of her excessive training and tireless endeavors in her Workshop. Nanus core muscles, legs, and thighs had been developed over a concerted effort of several years, causing Vahns hands to sink into her muscr yet tender flesh. She had a very malleable body that was also incredibly refined, causing her appearance from behind to be incredibly tantalizing. Vahn had been greatly enjoying the experience, at least until Nanu arched her back, looking over her shoulder as she said, "Mashtaaa...." Vahn was confused for a brief moment but, after Nanu nearly slipped trying to grab her cor, he understood what she wanted. Being a member of the Southern Tribe, Nanus preferences had been molded as a result of her cultures quirks. As much as she enjoyed simply being together, she had a strong desire to be dominated forcibly instead of just having normal s.e.x.u.a.l intercourse. Traditionally, the first mating session between an Alpha and his mate was a rough and bloody experience that, strangely, became a matter of pride for women to talk aboutter. Some females, in order to be able to brag about how seriously their bodies were sought after, would even self-inflict bruises and scratches to show off to the other women within the tribe... As much as Nanu had changed and adapted to the differences in culture, her base preferences had never changed because of how she self-identifies. Vahn had briefly overlooked this but, now that Nanu was essentially pleading him to do more, he ran two fingers through her cor and pulled it back slightly. She had been struggling to even support herself previously so this action caused her to feel a choking sensation that made her insides tighten up even more. Vahn had to clench his teeth as the stimtioning from her body greatly increased as she cried out, "Mashtaaa..." with her tongue stretched out. Vahn resisted the urge to release a sigh as he resolved himself to meet Nanus expectations and began treating her a little roughly, all while his sub-process mind was thinking about the cor Nanu had produced to be a [Master Smith]... ------------------------------------------------------------ [Cor of Ownership] Rank: S (Magic) Slots: 1 P.Def: 890 M.Def: 1220 Abilities: Submissive Pride(S), Durandal(A), Restraining(B), Self-Repairing(C) A cor produced by a peculiar cksmith who had wanted to dedicate her everything to the person most precious to her. Her feelings of gratitude and love were imbued into the cor during the forging process along with her desires and hope for the future. Has the ability to forcibly control the sensitivity of the wearer based on the will of the person recognized as its Master. Current Master: Vahn Mason Soulbound: Nanu Mason ------------------------------------------------------------ (A/N: Alternate Titles: Quality time...,RIP Rakia Kingdom,Nanu has really grown a lot (X w X);;;) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 923 - Change in the Tides

Chapter 923 - Change in the Tides

With Nanu reaching the rank of [Master Smith], it felt like a ripple of positivity spread throughout the Manor, slowly building into a powerful wave. For the longest time, many of the girls had been near the peak of their respective Development Abilities, such as Ais with her [Swordsman:A]. With Nanu as the trigger, many of the others began to make breakthroughs while everyones progress in the study of magic had been making small strides as well. Vahn had found himself with a lot of free time so he had been having small study sessions with the girls, helping them improve while continuing his personal research. He had been working alongside Riveria and Lefiya to study each type of elemental energy and how they could influence, not only the world around a person but their internal structure as well. Vahn knew that he would eventually leave the record of Danmachi and, in order to increase his basicprehension and make it easier to adapt his magic in other worlds, it was important to learn how the Laws might influence the basic structure of Magic. After all, even though Evas magic system still used mana, the way in which it was manifested within Danmachi was fundamentally different than the way it would in Evas record. This was one of the reasons why the girls progress in magic hadnt been nearly as fast as even Fenrirs. Because they had to adapt Evas magic system and incorporate it into the pre-existing framework for how Magic manifested in the record of Danmachi, it took a lot of trial and error to make real breakthroughs. It was almost like they were creating apletely new magic system which, in a way, was the genuine truth of the matter... This experience would help Vahn a lot in future records as he already knew that most of the skills and abilities he had developed in Danmachi would be lost entirely. Though he wouldnt lose the knowledge of how to use them, it was only because of the Worlds Laws that he was able to see the actual skills, magic, and development abilities within the system interface. In Danmachi, there were Laws at y that allowed the various techniques that existed to modify the actual phenomenon created by the techniques themselves. For something like [cksmith], it genuinely increased the refinement process and greatly increased the chance of the equipment having the Abilities you wanted. Vahn would lose these corrective modifiers in other worlds, meaning he would have to put in a greater amount of effort if he wanted simr results... The biggest loss Vahn would have to face, other than the fact his Parameters themselves would no longer exist as they too were part of the record, was his prehension of Laws. Because the same Law could bepletely different between records, Vahn knew that he needed to develop his basic understanding of Laws themselves if he didnt want to suffer any setbacks. As peculiar a im as it might be, Vahn knew that his understanding of Petting Laws, Elemental Laws, and even the modifiers he enjoyed from his various Archery rted skills and abilities would vanish. Though he would still be an incredible Archer with his [Eyes of Truth] and his domain, Vahn was a little saddened knowing that it wouldnt be nearly as easy when he moved on to other records... Of the things Vahn was most worried about losing, however, were indeed the boons rted to his Petting Laws, such as [Grooming]. Though he would be able to emte them with his understanding of [Hands of Nirvana] and using Source Energy, Vahn knew that, unless he developed a genuine understanding of how things like Petting Laws worked, he wouldnt be able to use them easily. At first, it might seem like an inconsequential loss but, being able to even calm the minds of raging and berserk monsters was a benefit in any record. Since it also allowed him to bringfort to those he cared about, Vahn truly wished to develop hisprehension of the unique energy to the extreme. He had even purchased several expensive manuals from the system shop, allowing him to push his understanding even further... Because of his strange focus on such things, and the fact that there were generally several girls within the Manor present around him, a second trend had developed amongst the residents. Just as girls like Eina had wanted to study massage techniques and learn [Hands of Nirvana], Vahns actions had caused some of the girls to take an interesting in Petting Laws. For a while after the trend had started, it wasnt umon to find small groups of the girls together just petting each others heads. Vahn had transcribed several copies of the texts and manuals he had purchased, allowing them to peruse them freely in their leisure time. It could have been the result of their weakness against petting in general, but a few of the Beast Human girls within the Manor were the first to show the [Petting] Development Ability in their Status Boards. Though it was still in a (sealed) state, it meant they had achieved a basic understanding and could use their next Level up to forcibly learn the rather unique ability. Of course, this didnt mean they had to rely on a Level up to learn it as, a little over a month after the trend had started, Preasia had managed to reach I-Rank [Petting] through her own efforts. Even before the conflict with Enyo had been resolved, Preasia had been something of a Therapist to the various trauma victims Vahn would rescue. Since she had personally experienced thefort such abilities could bring to victims, Preasia had seriously endeavored to learn many of Vahns skills. Not only was she studying to be a Physician, but she had made the most actual progress in learning [Hands of Nirvana], reaching the F-Rank after a few years of practice. This had given her the proper mentality to learn [Petting] much faster than the other girls and, as a result, the efficacy of Preasias therapy sessions had increased greatly. It would still take years for the victims to truly recover but, with the Dream Saintess on their side, there was hope for the future... --- Eventually, though he had put it off for a few weeks out of consideration for the girls concern, Vahn ended up reforming his avatar once again. The things that had been distracting him from his free time had been steadily increasing and, in order to make sure he could still spend time with everyone, Vahn didnt have much of a choice. With the various incidents urring in the Iron Hills and the new provincial nation of Westport. Though Rakias coast was surrounded by whirlpools and exceedingly dangerous to navigate, it still had a ratherrge port ever since the time of their preliminary invasion. It had been literally carved out of thend by the ves that Rakia had acquired in the distant past, turning the small inlet that previously existed to now have enough space to amodate nearly three-hundred merchant vessels... The Iron Hills had been secretly importing various military goods into Rakia Kingdom for decades but, after Chloes Shadow Corps swept through the area, most of these supplies had been destroyed. At the same time, though Vahn felt a great deal of guilt about it, even their youngest member, a Pallum girl that was only fourteen, now had a kill count in the triple digits. The corruption of the former Kingdom had run deep, causing several massive criminal organizations to be deeply entrenched within every major city, town, and vige. It was to the point that, over the weeks that their operation had begun, Chloe had personally in more than seven-thousand people. Though he knew such actions were necessary to secure the future, Vahn still felt like he had failed Chloe somehow. When she would stop by the Manor to make her reports, Vahn would dedicate all of his attention to her, spoiling and pampering her just as he used to back at the Hostess of Fertility. She wouldy across hisp as he gently caressed her body, all while feeding her snacks and gently massaged her pointed cat-like ears. She had never onceined about the task she had been assigned and, even if decades were to pass, Vahn knew that Chloe would never allow him to see if she was truly troubled by such things. This gave him a much stronger desire to make the world a more peaceful ce, so that kind and caring individuals like Chloe did not have to walk a path shrouded in darkness... With such thoughts deeply ingrained in his heart and mind, Vahns focus had slowly started to shift away from the Manor as his involvement in the affairs of the outside world increased greatly after the creation of his new avatar. The reforms being instituted in the Iron Hills and Westport took a lot of his attention while the information gathered by the HDF also found its way to his desk. The small squads that had been sent out to various parts of the Continent had been steadily increasing Vahns stockpile of information about the countries surrounding Orario. This included the information about the Land of no Sun and, though the squads hadnt been able to track down Shiva, they did discover that there was arge scale civil war that had been urring for nearly two years between the various ns... Because of the inhospitable nature of the races upying the Land of no Sun,bined with the fact that it was and of perpetual darkness, most merchants outright avoided the region. Most trade was conducted in small viges on the periphery where they would generally acquire ves captured through small skirmishes between ns. In exchange, the rather bold merchants would provide produce and grain as, due to the nomadic nature of the ns in the Land of no Sun, there were very few ongoing agricultural efforts. As for the races that made such an inhospitablend their home, they were the Dark Elves, Panther Tribe, Mink Tribe, and ck Cat Tribe. Contrary to expectations, most residents within the Land of no Sun had darker skin tones instead of the expected paleplexion most people would have without exposure to sunlight. Inversely, however, the Dark Elves were known for having lighter hair colors while the diminutive Mink Tribe, having rounded ears and bushy tails, was full of people with pure white hair. Though the Panther and ck Cat tribes typically had ck hair, their skin tone was also strangely tanned while the mostmon eye colors were pale-gold, light purple, or an off-white color that glimmered in the low lit region. Vahn knew that Shiva was likely somewhere in the northern area of the Land of no Sun and, with its close proximity to Orario, he was intending to put a stop to their wars and open the region to trade and progress... In preparation for his eventual departure to the Land of no Sun, Vahn had issued several other high reward missions through the HDF to acquire more information andpile a detailed map of each Tribes territory, and the ns inhabiting them. He also wanted to try and track down Shiva to see what kind of changes she thought were suitable for her homnd. If possible, he would respect the changes she wanted to see but, depending on how they aligned with his vision of the future, Vahn would have to enact a few of his own. The times were changing and, so long as he allowed nomadic tribes that relied on piging and war to exist, Vahn knew progress would be slowed. Vahn had a great appreciation for the unique cultures of the various races, some of which stretched by thousands of years, but that didnt mean he could allow tradition and pride to stimy the flow of progress. All cultures had developed over time and, in most situations, adopted the culture of other races to make their own moreprehensive. There was no such thing asnd that inherently belonged to any given race and, so long as the idea that heritage and tradition needed to be respected, even if it caused hardsh.i.p.s, things would continue to be cyclic. Vahn wanted to break the cyclepletely and pave the way towards a better future, even if the various traditionalist and purist races would condemn him in the short term... Amongst these groups, and the one most prominent on Vahns mindtely, were the Amazonesses of Telkyura. Right now, the Amazoness presence within Orario had explodedpared to the past as, instead of being scorned by civilized people, they were now readily epted in themunity. Though they had to adapt to a few changes that had been introduced through the CLB, many proud Amazonesses had made the City their home without the tensions that had been present in previous years. This was because, with a few exceptions among the various Beast Humans, the Amazonessespletely dominated the rapidly expanding Sports scene in Orario. Though the technology was still heavily regted, it was very easy to view the games that were yed on a near-daily basis within the two Coliseums of Orario. The most popr ce for viewing was by visiting a tavern where hearty food, vorful alcohol, and beautiful women were located. This was one of the means by which the Hostess of Fertility had quickly grown into arge franchise that had turned Mama Mia into a Billionaire in a short period of time. She had even started sponsoring one of the Ser teams, consisting of eleven Amazonesses, two Chienthropes, and, somewhat surprisingly, a Half-Dwarf goalie that was around the peak of Level 4... With other businesses also quickly jumping on the bandwagon to advertise themselves through sponsorsh.i.p.s, the Sports Industry within Orario had practically exploded in a short period of time. The most popr spectator event, other than the intense and exciting Ser games, was watching teams of five people battle it out within the arena. With Space-Time orbs and some advancements in the projection setup, there was now a rapidly growing interest in watching live and brutalbat against small teams that fought for dominance. Usually, you would only be able to witness such scenes during a War Games between Familia but, after the students had demonstrated the structure by which they polished their own skills, it had be a very popr means for Adventurers to gain realbat experience in a safe setting. Once again, this scene was also heavily dominated by Amazonesses who, since their youth, had engaged in simr spectator events. Now, however, they could cut loosepletely and, as a result of their scantily d figures and generally beautiful appearances, it was a sight most likened to the blending of Heaven and Hell. Amazonesses could be very brutal in fights without restraint so it created a visceral spectator event where beautiful brown-skinned women practically tore each other apart while hundreds of thousands of spectators watched in both appreciation and horror. Because of their presence in the Sports scene, and his general poprity amongst Amazonesses, Vahn knew that he would need to address the matter of Telskyura in the near future. This was due to the fact that, with royalties and other fees that were paid out, many Amazonesses were making a very sizeable ie. Compared to the past, where they had to rely on venturing into the Dungeon or selling themselves in the Red Light District, Amazonesses made a veryrge amount of money just by fighting in the Coliseum. This also greatly increased their poprity and exposure, leading to a rather peculiar situation where there was a very high turnover in athletes andbatants. The cause of this was the result of the fact that, instead of leaving it to chance and selling their bodies to weak men, there were numerous capable men amongst their fans who would solicit them in publicter on. Even the Level 3 Amazonesses who would be the Captains of Sports teams would usually end up pregnant after just a few months. The moment they became popr, the number of capable men that wanted to be with them increased exponentially. This had made the previous case of Amazonesses getting pregnant rtively rarely a thing of the past, causing arge migrant poption to be moving in and out of the City. Since this was also bing a trend, Vahn knew that Orario would essentially be the seed bed of Telskyura in the future and, unless he could reach apromise with Kali and Hippolyta, there were guaranteed to be several issues in the future. Even now, there were some men who had genuinely fallen in love with the Amazonesses they had sought out. At the same time, a few of these Amazonesses, having enjoyed their lifestyle within the City, were troubled by the fact they needed to return to their homnd to fulfill their duty. Even so, each of the pregnant Amazonesses would leave the City without exception. This had caused a small public outcry that was steadily beginning to gain momentum, calling out against the injustice that was imposed upon these budding families, even though the vast majority of Amazonesses didnt seem to care... Because it was genuinely a part of their instincts, the number of deviants within the Amazonessesmunity was still very low. Vahn didnt think this was a reason to sit on the issue, however, so he wanted to address it sooner, rather thanter. He also had a promise to keep with Tiona, Tione, and Aisha so, with nothing more pressing going on at the moment, Vahns sights had been set on the South-East. There, on a penins located nearly 6,500 kilometers away, on the opposite side of a vast Shreme Mountain Range, through dense jungle terrain and swamps, the home of the Amazonesses, Telksyura, awaited... (A/N: Sorry for thete release. I had to go help my friend take care of some things and we ended up hanging out for a bit so I wasnt able to start writing until around two hours ago. Today is still my rest day, though, so this will be the only chapter. Tomorrows should be on time~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fluffy Golden Goddess, Preasia-chan~?,Vahn be like, Cultures arent something unique to a species, they are simply another thing that is created by the people themselves. Change and progress should never be set back by culture and tradition,Just imagine the Amazonssess, pregnant, having to migrate 6,500km over mountains, jungles, and swamps, all so they can give birth to children who would be put through a crucible during their formative years...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 924 - Plot

Chapter 924 - Plot

Fully aware of what Vahn was intending, as was often the case, Loki had been making preparations of her own behind his back. It wasnt that she wanted to keep secrets from him but, if she didnt do something to pacify her Divinity, it would make her body feel itchy. Though the influence of her Divinity had markedly weakened after she had given birth, it wasnt that it no longer took effect at all. In order to prevent things from getting out of control, Loki made sure to keep her interactions with other people vague and plicated. She was wrapped up in dozens of small schemes and plots, mostly in preparation for Vahns rise to be an Emperor... Currently, she, along with Freya and an escort of five Valkyrie, had made their way over to the nearby port city of Melen. Though their departure from the City had been kept from Vahn, it wasnt as if they were being very low profile since Loki and Freya had flown on Khaos back for the short flight. It had grown to 17m long and, with its ck/crimson scales, Khaos stood out noticeably whenever Loki went around to manage affairs for the Alliance. This was the first time Freya had ridden on its back, however, causing her to make off-hand remarks about asking for her own Dragon from Vahn... So that Freya didnt do anything to unnecessarily pressure Vahn, Loki had seriously discussed the matter with her so she knew when and how to make such a request. She knew that, even more than a normal Tamer, Vahn cared deeply about those he had subordinated and named. Because of this, she had gone out of her way to try and treat Khaos well so that he wouldnt worry too much. There were times when she would also mention Khaos in casual conversation with him before they both went to meet with and groom their True Dragonpanion. This had a very noticeable effect on Khaos as well, even though he would never admit to being happy for thepany... After touching down in a spacious area in Melens port, causing quite the scene in the process, Loki and Freya made their way over to arge tavern near the ports periphery. Since there were a lot of sailors and fishermen moving through the area at various times of day, this particr tavern was highly frequented and,pared to the surrounding shops and stalls, it had a higher-end feel to it, even though there was also a warm and homely atmosphere permeating out into the cool morning air. When Freya saw this building, a small smile spread across her immactely sculpted face as she mused, "It seems that wayward child of mine has been doing better as the days pass~." This tavern was none-other than Melens main branch of the Hostess of Fertility franchise of taverns and, as for why it was so popr in the rtively simple port town, it was the existence of the same projection spheres that were used in therger branches. Because its residents were all simple and hard-working people, there werent too many advanced forms of entertainment in Melen previously. Most sailors and fishermen just frequented bars and taverns, enjoying a few drinks with their friends after working hard all day. Here at the Hostess of Fertility, however, you could do much the same, all while being attended by beautiful barmaids as exciting Sports matches yed on each wall... Loki understood Freyas meaning very well as one of her secrets from Vahn was the fact that she worked closely in hand with the various Merchant Familia in the Alliance. This wasnt something that would surprise him, as Vahn genuinely expected that Loki was working with everyone, but the true extent of her cooperation and maniption of the markets of Orario would shock him. She had, for thest two years, been working alongside Fortuna to slowly center the entire economy of Orario around the Alliance. In order to make this possible, they had to slowly convince those Familia who had been sitting on the fence to join the Alliance. This usually involved a few small schemes, such as purchasing up all materials and resources, or reducing the price ofparable goods in the area to the point that most smaller Familia simply couldnt keep up in the long term. It was more than a little underhanded but, in order to make sure there werent any problems when Vahn wanted to start collecting taxes in the future, it was a necessary step to take. Since she had been having the Civilian Legitive Branch establish a Civilian Merchant Association, which also worked closely with the Alliance, Vahn was well on his way to dominating the entire economy of Orario, both foreign and domestic, even though he had no idea it was happening. Fortuna was even training a disciple of sorts to be Vahns future Minister of Finance and Trade... After having Khaos take on its human form, something Loki liked to tease him for since it was very simr in appearance to Vahn, the three made their way into the Hostess of Fertility with the Level 7 Hrist and another Level 6 Valkyrie named Bruna. The other three waited outside, effectively scaring off any other potential customers with their rather imposing figures and fierce gazes. Though they were exceptionally beautiful women, and drew a lot of attention, the fact that each was near the peak of Level 5 was enough to make most people sweat if they tried to keep eye contact. The reason for their presence was that there was no way of knowing what action the person they were meeting might do if she felt her side had the advantage. Within the tavern, that usually had upwards of fifty-to-a-hundred guests, the only people present were the Proprietress, a motherly woman named Susanne, and a small number of uniformed staff that were looking decidedly nervous. As for why these girls, who were ustomed to dealing with rough and burly men, had such a reaction, it was because the entire tavern only had three customers before the arrival of Lokis entourage. At the back of the tavern,ying down sloppily in one of the booths facing a projection sphere, was a girl with crimson red hair that glistened like fresh blood. The girl had brown skin that had a bit of an ashen coloration and, much like an Amazoness, wore extremely revealing clothing while a bone-like mask covered the upper half of her face. Around her neck were several small skulls forming a ne while the only thing covering her seemingly non-existent b.r.e.a.s.ts was a thin white vest. Because she wasying down, and the vestpletelycked buttons, this caused the fabric to slid down, creating an inarguably obscene sight as the figure disyed apleteck of regard for public decency and a general sense of shame. With the arrival of Loki and Freya, the girl, still supporting her head with her arm,zily looked over and said, "I was wondering how long you were going to keep me waiting. You know, it takes nearly three months to travel here by boat. If not for this contraption, I might have been bored to death..." As she was saying this, the seemingly young girl came to a seated position, adjusting the thin loincloth that that only barely protected her dignity. The fabric was the kind that didnt even fold under and wrap around the h.i.p.s, meaning she waspletely bereft of undergarments. If not for the purple cloth that loosely covered her arms and h.i.p.s, this girl, seemingly no older than ten, would havepletely exposed herself to the eyes of onlookers... Upon seeing their counterpart, Freya and Loki gave each other a nce before thetter turned her attention back to the crimson-haired girl, saying, "I had thought you would have disguised yourself better, Kali. I know you have the capabilities to do so...what are you scheming, I wonder~?" These words caused the young girl, the Goddess of Sacrifices, Death, Time, and Entertainment, Kali, to beginughing without any inhibitions whatsoever. After herughing fit, she picked up a leg ofmb and began gorging herself, mouth filled with meat and greases as she said, "Who would have thought a day woulde with the Goddess of Tricksters used others of scheming~." As she was addressing Loki, Kali was passing her crimson-eyed gaze across Khaos, Hrist, and Bruna. She had brought along the Captains of her Familia, Argana and Bache, along with an assortment of thirty Amazoness warriors. Even with her two Captains being near the middle of Level 6, Kali could tell that they wouldnt stand a chance against the tall winged women at Lokis and Freyas sides. She would probably be able to hold her own against one of them while her Captains fought the other but, with the inclusion of the boy with strange red and ck hair, Kali knew things wouldnt y out in their favor. Knowing Loki, there were probably other cards she had hidden, making the forces she had in reservepletely useless... Argana and Bache,pletely unable to see through the strength of Hrist and Bruna, were smiling amusedly at the Valkyries while Argana had a taunting look in her eyes. The two were twins, much like Tiona and Tione, with a simr disposition to match. Argana was around 165cm tall and, though she had b.r.e.a.s.ts, they were at the very low end of the B-Cup, barely cresting over an A. As for Bache, her b.r.e.a.s.ts were muchrger, consisting of well-shaped D-Cup b.r.e.a.s.ts that deformed under the leather straps that kept them bound while she moved around during battle. Both girls had sand-colored hair and golden eyes, though Arganas was kept in a long braid that reached the back of her knees while Baches was kept short, barely reaching her shoulders. Thetter also had a veil covering the lower half of her face, concealing a grisly scar that ran from the side of her mouth and caused her otherwise beautiful face to became almost ghastly to anyone who saw what was beneath. Seeing the two Amazonesses looking toward them, Hrist and Bruna remainedpletely stoic without showing any sign of fear or fl.u.s.ter. There was neither scorn nor disdain in their eyes as, from their perspective, the two prideful Amazoness warriors were simply beneath them. If a conflict did break out, it would be a very short engagement since the Valkyrie had nearly a thousand years ofbat experience and possessed some of the highest base parameters of any race. After all, they were each demigod Valkyries while Argana and Bache, incredibly powerful in their own right, were simply Amazonesses... After a few tense seconds had passed, Loki returned a conniving smile to Kali before releasing a few cackles of her own after saying, "The truly interesting thing is, in this situation, I dont even have to scheme, kukukukuku~." Unless both sides were equal, or she was slightly on the losing end of things, there was simply no reason to be roundabout in these types of situations. Once the Alliance had reached a critical level of growth, Loki had been able to exercise a degree of power and influence that almost invalidated the need for schemes entirely. Even in this situation, depending on how things turned out, they could simply destroy the other party and then deal with the aftermathter on... Kali, understanding Lokis meaning, showed an almost crazed smile of her own as she licked the fang-like snaggletooth on the left side of her mouth. She wasnt even remotely afraid of what would happen in they came to blows as just the thought of battling against a powerhouse like the Alliance made her excited. It truly didnt matter to her if she had to return to Heaven for a short while as she would be able to return much faster than most gods. Because of her Divinities, it was easy to gather the necessary materials to recreate another avatar meaning, even if she ended up dying during battle, Kali would be back in the Mortal World after a decade or so had passed. This was simr to the case of Gods of War like Ares, though he took markedly longer since he wasnt a very popr god. Kali, however, had hundreds of thousands of devout followers, each practicing the teachings that had been engraved in them for hundreds of sessive generations. Freya, having been silent up until this point, squinted her eyes slightly and muttered, "How uncouth. We didnte here topare who had the creepiestugh, my dear Loki and Kali. Shall we get on with this little discussion of ours? Id much rather lounge in my Manor with a ss of wine than spend the rest of my day in this foul-smelling ce..." As a Goddess of Beauty who enjoyed the finer things in life to an extreme, Freya wasnt fond of rural towns like Melen. The odor of salt and fish was heavily permeating through the air and, even though it was bearable within the Hostess of Fertility, she would rather be back in Orario, resting on afortable bed as she awaited the potential arrival of Vahn... Kali, taking advantage of Freyas words, simply stated, "There isnt much to even talk about, is there? I already know why you wanted to meet and the fact that I even showed up should already tell you all you need to know about my stance on the issue. This really only goes one of two ways, doesnt it? You either make me the offer I want, which would likely end up in a conflict with Telskyura, or you go to war against me and the entire Amazoness peoples. Im personally very interested to see just how well such a massive organization would be able to hold out against an entire race of warriors~." Even knowing that Telskyura had no chance at victory, Kali didnt really care that much as the thought of such a massive battle alone was very exciting. Lokis smile didnt change after hearing Kalis words but, in the back of her mind, she couldnt help but curse the quirks of gods with Divinities rted to things like Death. There was no way to really pressure them by taking a hard stance as, even if they ended up dying due to disagreements, such gods simply wouldnt care. Then, since it was impossible to eliminate death from the world, they would just return a few yearster and continue being a pain in the ass all over again. At the same time, just as Kali pointed out, the Amazoness people would very willingly wage a suicidal war that could very well continue for several years. After all, the Amazonesses didnt really care that much about their country itself and many even slept in small hammocks without any real shelter, enjoying the natural world to an extent that could even put Elves to shame... (A/N: Im not sure if the meaning behind Lokis words was conveyed properly, so Ill borate on a few things real fast. Essentially, most Amazonesses dont really care about their own lives, much less the lives of others. They are a species that enjoys battle, polishing their skills through brutal and bloodybat. At the same time, they make almost no cultural advancements and, if not for the fact it would be difficult for them to roam in other countries otherwise, many Amazoness would simply move around without caring about clothing. Many live in the actual jungles surrounding Telskyura, where resources for making clothes are even scarcer, so they generally just wear things like loincloths, oftenpletely forgoing clothes on their upper bodies. These types of Amazoness usually cover their bodies in tribal markings and they are the main source for food, almost entirelyprised of hunters and gatherers. They would usually make offerings to the warrior tribes that are located closer to the heart of Telskyura. From the perspective of most Amazonesses, cultural and technological advancements lead to the stagnation of society, not the propagation of society. Building defensive walls, running businesses, farming, innovation, these are all things that go against the natural order and, in time, would lead to the actual destruction of the world. By existing within the natural world, living and dying along with their surroundings, the Amazoness have a culture that couldst for millennia without any difficulties, even though it pretty much guarantees their race would continue to brutalize itself for generations toe. The thing is, in a way, they are correct as, instead of thinking about how they can exploit each other and consolidate wealth, the only thing that Amzonesses really care about is strength. Even the basic concept of status, other than the Queen, ispletely pointless and, so long as you are strong, you would have the respect and admiration of your fellow Amazonesses.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sneaky sneaky,Whats with this sassy...lost child?,While Empires, Kingdoms, and Countries fall, the Amazoness have remained unified for more than ten-thousand years...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 925 - Negotiation Between Goddesses

Chapter 925 - Negotiation Between Goddesses

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, and procuring some food and drinks from the Hostess of Fertility staff, the entire tavern had been cleared out for the discussion between Loki, Freya, and Kali. As thetter had pointed out, there wasnt much for them to actually discuss, making the meeting more of a small get-together to make sure everyone was on the same page. Because of this, Kali very frankly stated, "The terms from my side are pretty simple and, given that little boys reputation, Im sure he can take care of it. In exchange for the technology that allows those two ygrounds of yours to function, I am prepared to pressure the Queen to change thew so that those who have yet to reach a.d.u.l.thood are not forced to fight in true battles of life and death. The one thing that kid of yours will have to ept is that we wont change our culture to try and keep up with the changes he wants to introduce. We can change certain things but Amazonesses simply do not function in civilized society without issues in the long term. Even if he wants to try and put on a show of force as he did in thend of tree huggers and mine rats, there is simply nobody within Telskyura for him to kill. Even if he puts down Hippolyta and tried to ce one of those little girls of his in the position of Queen, the Amazonessmunity simply wouldnt care. Unless he ns to wipe out the majority of our species and selectively breed those that match his requirements, the Amazonesses will always need their own localized and istedmunity." Though there were certainly some anomalies, such as Tiona, Tione, Aisha, and Lena, they made up less than a single percent of the Amazoness people. Even they were still subjected to their instincts and, unless Vahn created some kind of inhibitor or fundamentally changed the nature of their being, it was impossible for most Amazonesses to truly blend into other societies. It wasnt just because they wanted to indoctrinate children that Amazonesses was forced to give birth back in their homnd. The main issue was that most Amazonesses simply didnt care about their own children and, without a structure that would allow them to grow and learn how to survive in a rather unforgiving society, many would outright die early on. As for why they didnt allow the fathers to take care of the children, this was because there were all sorts of issues that could pop up that the untested fathers simply couldnt deal with. In the worst case scenario, the younger Amazonesses could even imprint on their fathers, making it fundamentally impossible for them to even have children with anyone else as a result of the deep mental impression... Loki had expected Kalis terms but stillid out a few of her own, saying, "So long as you show a concerted effort in trying to make your society safer for children, Vahn would show understanding for your situation. However, as Im sure you are aware, not every Amazoness has the same nature as the majority of those born within Telskyura. Also, though it would certainly cause problems if left unchecked, we can passws that can protect young Amazonesses born in Orario. One thing we are prepared to do is to create an Embassy of sorts, surrounded by amunity of Amazonesses. Thisnd will belong entirely to Telskyura and we are even prepared to build a smaller Coliseum and help develop educational facilities that can help guide young Amazonesses before they interact with thergermunity. Im sure you can see the benefits of this, as it will create an actual destination for many Amazonesses leaving the country in search of mates..." Kali was actually a little surprised by Lokis promise, causing her brows to rise slightly, even though they were hidden by her bone mask. Loki was acting decidedly differentpared to how she had acted in the past, causing Kali to feel intrigued by what changes had urred for her to behave like this. As it was indeed very beneficial for Telskyura to have sovereignnd within a huge poption zone like Orario, especially with the increasing poprity of Sports, Kali gave a toothy grin as she said, "That is an interesting idea, Loki, though youll have to give it to me in writing and take quite a few vows if you want me to believe this isnt some borate trap. Also, even though it seems like were winning out in this exchange, I can tell...kukuku...that boy of yours is quite the soft-hearted individual...!" Though she always intended to take advantage of Vahns nature, as he had already be famous within the Amazonessmunity, Kali had underestimated Vahns influence. At first, she believed he was just an exceptionally powerful mortal that had managed to be something of a figurehead for the Alliance. Kali never believed he was genuinely in control but, after seeing Lokis behavior, she realized that her assumption had been incorrect. It seemed ridiculous but, given the circ.u.mstances, it seemed that Vahn really was the leader of the Alliance. Kali wondered what kind of person he was to have gained such influence over gods, many of which were selfish individuals who only sought their own benefits... Deciding to get to the main point, Kali controlled herughter and put on a serious expression as she said, "I will agree to that idea of an Amazonessmunity within Orario but, in order to make sure there is ample attachment from the perspective of the Alliance, there is something we will need from you. That boy, Vahn Mason, has left quite the impression in the hearts and minds of many Amazonesses, to the point that even that brat Hippolyta is constantly thinking about him..." Though it was from the perspective of seriously wanting him dead, it was true that the Queen of Telskyura was constantly thinking of Vahn. Continuing her words, even though she knew both Loki and Freya were aware of what she would say, Kalis grin became almost vicious as she said, "In all the world, there may never be a more suitable mate for the Amazonesses that Vahn himself. If he is willing to sire an adequate amount of Amazonesses, I will trust that Orario will be able to keep them safe. I know the whole reason you came up with that little idea of yours is because of those unique twins that are attached to Vahn, isnt that right~? He probably wants to knock them up and raise his children in Orario, instead of following our traditions and sending the girls back to Telskyura...well, that is probably for the best, kukukuku~." Because of Tionas and Tiones status and strength, there was a lot of Amazonesses who envied their rtionship with Vahn. If the two got pregnant and gave birth in Telskyura, they would be forced to stay in order to protect their daughters as, resulting from their fame, any children they gave birth to would likely face the wrath of some of the more petty and envious Amazonesses. If Tiona and Tione left their daughters in Telskyura to return to Vahns side, it was almost guaranteed that their children would face a far more difficult crucible than other Amazonesses, even if their society would prevent things from getting too out of hand. Now, if things were arranged so that their children would be able to stay in Orario without concessions being made, it would cause malcontent feelings to spread in the hearts and minds of many Amazonesses. Kalis words werent outside of Lokis expectations at all and, after discussing various possible scenarios with Vahn, she knew he had even considered conquering the entire country through simr means. If Vahn truly had walked into Telskyura and systematically defeated every Amazoness, he would likely even be recognized as their King. Even Hippolyta, once defeated, would have to take a step back and submit to Vahn, at least until she was able to defeat him and reim her title. This, however, would result in an unstable poption that numbered in the hundreds of thousands all beingpletely dedicated to Vahn. Just as Tiona, Tione, and Aisha couldnt imagine themselves sleeping with other men, it would be much the same for many of the Amazonesses Vahn defeated, with the stronger ones being even more affected... Knowing that it would be an even bigger problem if Vahn was allowed to deal with things directly, Loki had orchestrated this meeting with Kali around the time Enyo had been imprisoned. She knew that Vahn would eventually set his sights on the Amazoness nation and wanted to avoid a major fiasco that would unnecessarilyplicate matters in the future. Because of this, instead of being fl.u.s.tered by Kali, Loki nodded her head and said, "That is fine, but there are certain requirements that must be met as well. Because they will likely be the core of the Amazoness society within Orario, those that want to bear Vahns children would need to be much stronger than the others that reside there. This will be necessary to keep order and to protect Vahns future children, as he would never allow them to be in a dangerous situation without every precaution being made..." As she listened to Lokis words, Kali squinted her eyes slightly, interrupting the flow of the conversation by asking, "How strong do they need to be, exactly...?" To this, Freya answered, gesturing to Hrist as she said, "Most of the members in the Hearth Manor would be able to walk through your country without anyone being able to block their path. Even the Maids and Guards surrounding Vahn are, at the very least, Level 5. These two are near the peak of Level 7 and Level 6 respectively, while the three waiting outside are all at the peak of Level 5. Why dont you tell us, Kali, who exactly you think it qualified to bear Vahns children...?" Kali knew that the winged women standing in the back were strong, but she never expected one to be near the peak of Level 7. As if to rub salt on her wounds, Loki then exined, "The Valkyries that serve as the Guards of the Hearth Manor have a total of 303 members, each being above Level 5 in strength. As for the actual Guardian of the Hearth Manor, she is a True Dragon that has exceeded Level 10 and broken through the limits of the Falna. However, even she isnt the real threat...though I have no reason to exin exactly what kind of cards we have in reserve, do I~?" In truth, the power base Vahn had established over thest year gave him more than enough power to conquer the entire Continent, even if he just sat back at the Manor all day. Other than Legend, there werent even any forces in all of Eden that could resist the Valkyries for more than a few hours... If the Valkyries werent a big enough surprise, the revtion that there was a True Dragon that had broken through the limit had caused Kali to hold her breath for a brief moment. Then, as if to give voice to the words on Kalis mind, Argana mmed her hand against the table and eximed, "What kind of bullshit are you spouting!? Youre telling me those bird bitches are supposed to be Level 6 and 7!? If youre going to lie, you should at leaste up with something believable!" Having spent twenty-seven years training to the point of exhaustion almost every single day, Argana refused to believe there were so many people that were at her Level. The idea that there were several who were beyond her felt like a p to the face hard enough to loosen teeth. Though she had been silent and stoic the entire conversation, Hrist now turned her attention to Argana, coldly stating, "The world is broader than you could ever imagine. You may be one of the biggest fish in your small pond, but there are vast oceans with powers you cant even imagine with your small-minded perspective of the world. We, Valkyrie, have trained hard for hundreds of years and even we do not have the hubris to believe there are none stronger than us. In fact, it is because we understand there are individuals capable of far exceeding our growth that we are content with serving. Watch your words, wretch, or I will remove your right to speak anything more than pain-filled groans for the rest of your insignificant life..." As Hrist was speaking, an icy and oppressive aura spread through the entire facility, causing all but the three goddesses seated around the table to feel an instinctual fear. Most of the Valkyrie had inherited pseudo-Divinities rted to Death, Divination, and, to a lesser extent, Magic. Hrist had a total of three Innates while also possessing a pseudo-Divinity rted to Death. This was something that Kali had picked up on instantly, causing her to activate her own aura as she looked to Argana and said, "Stand down, Argana. That isnt an opponent you can fight, even if you and your sister teamed up together..." Kali hadnt expected the Level 7 Hrist to also be a Demigoddess, especially one with a simr Divinity to her own. Mortals with such a Divinity were usually very dangerous, even if their Level was low. The fact that Hrist was Level 7 made itpletely impossible for her two Captains to even think about fighting against her... Argana had felt an instinctual suppression from Hrist but, after feeling her own goddess power, she became somewhat pale as her slightly agape mouth closed, the words of challenge she had nearly issued being swallowed. Now, she could only think about what kind of monstrous organization the Alliance was to have such powerful entities serving as mere guards. Her pride had taken a serious hit and, even though Hrist had mentioned training for several hundred years, Argana felt like her own power would never be able to reach simr heights. She only had a few decades left in her prime and even reaching Level 7 would be difficult before her body simply couldnt keep up with the strain of intense training andbat any longer... Appearing as if she hadnt noticed the tense atmosphere that had been created, Freya once again repeated, "Well, who do you think is qualified to bear Vahns children, my dear Kali~?" If it were up to her, Freya would much rather bear one hundred children for Vahn, rather than let him i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e one-hundred Amazonesses. Knowing her own children would be rted to the children born to the Amazonesses who would reside within Orario, Freya felt more than a little troubled. This notion was even shared by Loki who knew that, given the nature of Amazonesses, in general, Vahn would be troubled when his Amazoness daughters ended up seeking out their own mates too early. Because Amazonesses were considered a.d.u.l.ts after reaching certain Levels, irrespective of their age, there would have to bews passed that restricted this particr cultural trait to avoid causing Vahn to fret incessantly in the future... Kali, unaware of what was going through her fellow goddesses minds, had a small frown on her face as she thought about how to answer Freyas question. The Alliance was obviously far more powerful than she had expected, meaning she would have to seriously consider the matter in greater detail in the future. For the time being, there were a few easy answers she coulde up with, including one pressing matter she wanted to address. Thus, after collecting her thoughts, Kali gave a nce towards Argana and Bache before turning her crimson eyes, matching Lokis ruby-red gaze as she said, "It is obvious that you must have the means to help increase a persons strength qualitatively over a short period of time. Im certain you have other schemes at y so, for the time being, I will select a few Amazonesses over Level 5 that should be suitable for monitoring themunity within Orario. To facilitate a smoother transition, I will even move to Orario for a short while to-" At this point, both Loki and Freya released their characteristicughs, causing Kalis mouth to shut as she red back at them. Then, just as she was about tosh out, Loki preempted her, saying, "You will have to deal with Hippolyta and the traditionalists before things get out of hand. Until things are settled back in Telskyura, you shouldnt be worrying too much about themunity that will be created within Orario. We will beginying the foundation and preparing for a stable Amazoness poption in the future. The important thing at this point is public recognition and support for those Amazonesses who wish to remain in Orario and raise their children within the budding society we will establish. You dont need to concern yourself with who they are; just know that they have much higher importance than anything you are trying to prepare..." As she was speaking, Loki passed over several doc.u.ments and a contract for Kali to peruse, the one at the very top being the same one that all goddesses who had a chance to give birth to a Vanir had to agree to. Kali had been frowning as she listened to Lokis words but, upon reading the contents of the doc.u.ments she had provided, her expression turned into a cheeky grin. There was even a file on Vahn himself, including some of his personality quirks and characteristics. Kali was reminded of Lokis first words when they met earlier, causing her grin to turn sly as she said, "It looks like I have a lot of preparations to make, shishishishi~." (A/N: Alternate Titles: At this rate, Orario is going to be a bunch of small segmentedmunities xD,Fish in a pond? More like a frog in a well...,You simply cant get a real advantage against Loki (o....,o)) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 926 - Research, Progress, Problems

Chapter 926 - Research, Progress, Problems

In preparation for dealing with Telskyura, Vahn had been training with Tiona and Tione for several hours in the Sub-Space orb each day. He knew that it would be even more troublesome if he tried to take care of things himself so, in order to keep the issue internalized, Tiona and Tione were going to be fighting for their own right to happiness. Since the Queen of the Amazonesses was supposed to be the strongest and most capable warrior, both could rise up to the position if they chose to. It would take a bit of time but, so long as he was able to convince Kali to support the changes, Tiona and Tione could slowly change the way all Amazonesses lived. Vahn believed that, so long as they didnt stop looking into a more permanant solution, even the instincts of the Amazons could be dealt with. He had even been developing an inhibitor formation that would suppress some of their instincts, serving as the basis for the seal he wanted to create to regte Divinity in the future. At the same time, the seal would also allow them to grow stronger since Vahn intended to make it possible for the formation to also absorb energy, much like he had done for the Elves. Since it would be difficult to create an item simr to the [Sage Aldrnaris Blessing] for use by Amazonesses, Vahn had insteade up with a formation that would allow them to store magic power and then use it to enhance their physical capabilities, much like [Cantus Bex]. This was a method that some Knights back in Evas world used in order to temper their bodies in preparation for situations where they were unable to use their Magisters mana to enhance their capabilities. In a record like Danmachi, Vahn believed this would be a means by which people could enhance their physical parameters further while also increasing their familiarity with manipting mana in general. Other than through the hands, most people couldnt channel mana through the rest of their bodies, making people like Asfi an exception. Because she was constantly developing Magic Items that could be used on and around the body, she was able to channel mana into her feet, eyes, and ears. Since even a proficient Mage like Riveria could only channel mana through her hands, this showed just how rare such an ability was... Because of their reliance on equipment, Vahn was worried that the HDF would slowly lose its footing as the average strength of Adventurers continued to increase. Theycked a foundation and, though he had found a means to reset their Levels after hearing Jeanne detail the methods Legend used, Vahn knew there werent many people that would give up their power and start from scratch. In order to supplement theirck of parameters, he was trying toe up with a variety of methods that could be employed for the future. Though it would still take a lot of effort and training, it would one day be possible for even pure Mages to be able to zip around as if they had much higher parameters. As for his first test subject, Tione and Tiona had both volunteered but, after a short squabble between the two sisters, Tione was given the opportunity to undergo the procedure. The simple fact was that Tionas body already performed something simr to what Vahn intended, serving as the catalyst for why Vahn even had the thought, to begin with. She could use Magic Items with any part of her body and, when using her [Pactio], Tiona was constantly absorbing mana and converting it to raw speed, power, and regenerative capabilities. Using her to develop the method would be filled with all sorts of problems, as her body may not even react remotely the same way as other people... Because of this, Vahn was currently standing next to an operating table of sorts with the n.a.k.e.d Tioneying on her stomach. Lefiya, Naaza, Preasia, and Lili were all spectating as Vahn very carefully used his own body as the materials to create aplex magic circle on Tiones back. He had gotten the idea after talking with Terra about how she had used her own blood as a catalyst for many of the more advanced magic circles she carved into the artifacts she produced. Since his blood already had the quality of being epted by the bodies of others, Vahn had decided to push this to the natural limit. By using [Hands of Nirvana] to allow his fingers to fuse with Tiones back, Vahn was manipting his own cells to create a permanant magic circle in the second dermalyer of Tiones skin. He had already confirmed that it wouldnt evaporate if he made sure the cells were properly adapted to Tiones body and were still living. It was just like how he would produce Orichalc.u.m and other materials with his body except, this time, Vahn was creating living cells that would continue to live in Tiones body, potentially longer than she would even live herself under normal circ.u.mstances. He was even linking the tattoo-like magic circle directly with Tiones mana circuits, using small bridges of cells to anchor into each of the invisible points... Slowly but surely, aplex five-point magic circle was taking shape on Tiones back while the person in question was in the deepest and most rxed sleep of her entire life. Each point of the magic circle had smaller interconnected magic circles, four of which enhanced Tiones physical parameters while one would allow nigh-instantaneous regeneration of her body if the magic circle waspromised. Vahn was worried about what might happen if the magic circle was damaged, or Tione took a hit she couldnt defend against, so he built a failsafe into it. As for therger magic circle that contained these five effects, it was meant as both a stabilizer and to make the circle more aesthetically pleasing to look at. Overall, the structure of the magic circle had a blood-red coloration that, through Vahns [Eyes of Truth], emanated a slight rainbow hue. Tione would never be able to make use of the Source Energy contained within, but it would perfectly absorb the type of mana she needed from the environment, all while preventing her from ever getting sick in the future. Vahn even suspected that, if he reced the marrow of a person with his own, they would be genuinely immortal since their body would be able to create new cells without limit. This was something that would require testing on smaller mammals instead of humans, however, as Vahn had no idea how such a procedure would affect the recipients life thereafter... After nearly twelve full hours, as it was marginally moreplicated to infuse cells into a persons body than it was to simply use ink to tattoo them, Vahn finally finished the procedure. It had a serpent-like design oveyed with the actual magic circle, matching Tiones Alias Jormungandr. Though it would look very out of ce when she was getting her Status Board updated, as it would ovey with the Loki Familia crest, it looked pretty cool with its crimson coloration against her healthy brown skin. Vahn had drawn up several designs before beginning, allowing Tione to choose the one she thought was the most suitable to her own preferences. She had grown ustomed to her Alias and, even though it annoyed her when she first received it, Tione had long-since started to treat it as a mark of pride, considering it was the name of a mythical entity. While Tione was still in a very deep sleep, Lefiya, who had been seriously taking notes during the entire procedure, ended up tracing her finger on Tiones back for a few minutes as she studied the final product. Though she had the temte that Vahn had designed as a reference, seeing it on a persons body was a very different experience. Lefiya considered herself Vahns primary disciple when it came to magic and, though she couldnt replicate such feats in the present, there were no limits to what she could aplish in the future. She genuinely believed Vahns words that, so long as she continued striving towards greater heights, there would always be an even higher height to aspire towards... Tiona had also taken a keen interest in the magic circle on Tiones body, for entirely different reasons. She kept poking at various parts, a pouting expression on her face as she said, "Unfair, I want a cool magic circle...moouuuu..." This remark earned Tiona a fewughs from the other girls, causing her to give Lefiya the stink eye as she eyed thetters abdomen. Lefiya blushed up to her ears in an instant, using the notepad she had been writing in to hide her face from view. Though she didnt really need it, being a High Spirit and all, Lefiya had the same crest as other Elves carved onto her abdomen. She had also developed the habit of wearing clothes that exposed her stomach though, now that Tiona was eyeing her with an envious gaze, Lefiya was suddenly very embarrassed by the situation... Vahn had also issued a light chuckle before ruffling both girls hair as he said, "Dont squabble over such small matters. Tiona, you already have markings whenever you transform so you should be content with that for now. Im afraid any magic circle or tattoo I give you would just be destroyed by your fighting style. If you want, I can make you some temporary ones that canst for a few days...?" Because Tiona had a habit of taking hits head on at times, her body would sustain heavy injuries at times. Even if he made a regenerating magic circle for her, such things would require him to repair them every now and then. With Tionas fighting style, he would probably spend part of each day just reapplying her tattoos... Since she didnt actually care all that much, Tionaughed mischievously through her teeth while enjoying Vahns caress. She was fully aware that he would give her one if she really wanted one, so Tiona was more than happy just ying around and teasing others. Her entire fight with Tione on who should get the tattoo had just been her goofing around, something almost everyone but Vahn seemed to key in on. Even so, the fact that Vahn was still dense at times was one of the reasons why Tiona was so fond of him. Not only had he truly lived up to her expectations as a Hero, but he would always show her concern if he even thought she was a little sad or troubled... After a few minutes, Tione had finally awoken and, not minding her n.a.k.e.dness around the other girls, began inspecting the final result through a set of mirrors Vahn had ced out for her. She gave a satisfied nod after looking at it for a few minutes before eximing, "Adeat~!". Then, fully clothed in her raiment, Tione tried to focus on the magic circle and activate the effects. It took her nearly twenty minutes but, every so subtly, the circle that would enhance her Power began to glow. Only Vahn could actually see this, though Lefiyas eyes did contract slightly since she was also very perceptive to mana being used. Tione released a sigh of relief and began flexing her fingers as she said, "It is very difficult to use but I think I can get the hang of it with practice. How long was I out for...?" This time, Lili answered out the fastest, saying, "A little over thirteen hours. Vahn worked hard to make sure there werent any mistakes." Because she had gotten a little bored watching the procedure, Lili had been checking the time and wondering if she should leave the Sub-Space orb and grab something to eat. Her appetite had increased exponentially with her increased Power and, though she wasnt as gluttonous as Lefiya, Lilis metabolism was probably the highest within the Manor. Hearing she had been out for thirteen hours, Tiones expression went from mild shock to a soft smile as she looked at Vahn and said, "Thank you, Vahn..." As she was speaking, Vahn noticed the shift in her aura and produced a wry smile in return as he apologetically said, "Youre wee, Tione. For now, just try and familiarize yourself with using the magic circle. Livebat should be one of the fastest ways to adapt to its use..ter on, Ill have you exin how things went. For now, there are a few things I need to take care of so I cant stay and watch..." As was often the case when he did something that left an impact on them, Tiones body entered into an active state when she heard Lilis words. Though Vahn didnt mind tending to her for a while, that could easily turn into a few hours depending on how things yed out. Since he genuinely did have other things to do right now, Vahn could only suffer the indignant look in Tiones eyes as she allowed him to leave. Then, in an effort to relieve herself, Tione ended up having Tiona stick around so they could spar while Lefiya monitored from the side and made observations. As for Vahn, he didnt stick around for too long since his presence would probably be troubling for Tione, even if she had someone else to vent on. He watched just long enough for Tione to catch Tiona by surprise, using her enhanced Power with an excited smile on her face... --- Back in the real world, Vahn had been eating lunch with Terra, Alexa, and Yggy, thetter of which had provided most of the delicious fruits and vegetables that Vahn had used to prepare the meal. Though Terra had quickly taken action when he first transformed into his Qinglong form, Vahns aura had easily reached from the outskirts of Orario and invaded into the Manor. She reacted rather quickly, teleporting Alexa into one of the istion chambers that Vahn had developed for cultivation practice, but the damage had been done. Ever since then, Alexa had been despondent and fidgety, disallowed from transforming into her female form to prevent her body from having a dangerous reaction. Vahn had been slowly helping her alleviate the symptoms by spending time with them in a peaceful setting, usually with Alexa and Yggy as support. This was also allowing him to observe the actual effects of a True Dragons instincts and how it could influence their actions, giving Vahn insight into potential solutions for the future. For now, however, Alexa wouldy across hisp for around an hour each day while Vahn sent calming energy into her abdomen. Though it wasnt exactly correct to call her a female in this androgynous state, Alexa identified as female even more after the event. Even if she knew it was almost impossible for her to ever get what she wanted, her instincts made it impossible for her to even consider taking the route of a male now. After all, even Fafnir and Khaos had been greatly affected by Vahns transformation and, if not for the fact they had already given up trying topete against him, they probably would have be females as well... Fafnir and Khaos identified as male and aspired to be like Vahn, to the point that they even assumed human transformations that closely matched his appearance. As for Alexa, she had been on the fence but, being one of Vahns children, her perspective was decidedly different than the two True Dragons who had subordinated themselves and received names from Vahn. They had the benefit of their names and the influence of The Path to inhibit their instincts somewhat while Alexa was entirely forced to deal with them on her own. Since she had always had to consider the role she would y in the future, and could never trulypete with her Papa, her instincts made it nearly impossible for her to want to be a male after feeling his aura. Since she wasnt allowed to be female right now, the only thing Alexa could do was stay in a genderless state as Vahn slowly helped to quell the discordant energy circting in her body... (A/N: As Im sure many of you have noticed, I dont have as much time to release chapters since there are a lot of things I need to prepare for my uing job. Ill still be trying to release around 3 chapters a day but, as the time for my departure approaches, the number of chapters would decline. Even while Im away for work, however, I will still be updating a chapter a day. This job is important, as it will give me an emergency reserve and work as a cushion during times of financial burden while Impleting EPIC. By the time the summer ends, Ill be back to writing up to 100k words per week in order to finish out the story by the end of next June (^_^)~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Da Queen~!,Vahn would make so many Scientists grit their teeth until their gums bled...,Oh noes (O o O)...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 927 - Observation

Chapter 927 - Observation

Around the same time that Vahn was taking care of Alexa, he was using his avatar to venture down into the 60th Floor of the Dungeon. Even during his vacation, Vahn had to pay attention to what was taking ce around Enyos seal as ignoring her simply wasnt an option. Though there hadnt been any idents thus far, it was simply foolish to overlook her presence and assume nothing would go wrong. With the amount of Karma he had, Vahn wouldnt be surprised if some random change happened in the Dungeon that wouldpromise the seal. If Enyo managed to escape, she would be a Tier 4 monster within the mortal world and, though he had a few means to deal with her, that too was just an assumption. After stepping through the teleportation magic circle, Vahn found himself in arge circr chamber that wasprised almost entirely out of dark blue stone. The teleportation war on the ground emitted a magical blue light that illuminated the entire room, refracting off the blue crystals growing out of the wall and ceiling. Waiting for his arrival were two humanoid Xenos named Trix and Davr, both belonging to the Goblin-Xenos lineage. Compared to their past selves, they shared almost no simrities with other Goblins, now standing around 140-145cm tall with pale green skin and a few areas of matted brown fur. They had grown slightly more muscr, losing the emaciated appearance of their kin, while their facial features were now almost entirely human. As was often the case for those guarding the teleportation ward, the two quickly greeted Vahn upon his arrival before Davr ran off to inform Gros. Trix stayed behind, exining, "There be no changes since thest time youe, Boss." The Xenos took their duty of guarding Enyos seal very seriously, something Vahn was grateful for, but he always had to personally make sure things were okay. His eyes were able to discern far more than most people so there was a chance he would be able to discern something they had overlooked. Even so, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Thank you, Trix, you have been working hard." Though Trix was a male Xenos, like many of the Goblin-Type, Vahn still reached out his hand and used his [Grooming] to show his appreciation. He had the feeling that he would break through to the next evolution of the skill pretty soon and, knowing his mentality yed arge part in that, Vahn had be somewhat indiscriminate in his petting as ofte. Besides, Trix was around the size of one of the older students at the School so Vahn was easily able to perform the act without any real inconvenience. As for Trix himself, he had a happy smile on his face until Vahn departed, heading towards the Observation Room. By the time Vahn reached the room, Gros had already been waiting for him, Davr at his side while several other Xenos were monitoring the various screens located around the room. All of the central screens showed the surrounding Floors of Haven, making sure there was no danger to the rapidly expanding City. Just with the members of the HDF, there were already 14,000 permanant residents while the rest of Havens poption, already having reached 23,000 members, wasprised of various Familia belonging to the Alliance. There were a few Merchants that ran their own businesses as well, but they were in the minority at the moment since the Alliances influence in the market had been expanding rapidly. Gros gave a salute that he had copied from the Valkyrie, thumping his chest with a proud smile on his face as he eximed, "Wee back, Master! Since yourst visit, we have rescued three more Xenos refugees and evacuated them to the vige. There is also one incident that I wanted to discuss with you, as Im unsure of how to deal with it..." Gros gestured to the side where three Almiraj-Type Xenos were paying close attention to what was happening on a series of screens. They hadnt grown enough to develop humanoid features just yet but, true to the nature of Xenos, they were happy to be able to help track down and rescue their fellow Xenos. Even now, there were a few incidents where Adventurers would encounter Xenos and try to kill them, either out of ignorance or in sheer vition of the changingws. These werent nearly as bad as some of the deviants who would encounter Xenos with female characteristics, sometimes trying to force themselves upon them for the thrill of the experience. The Xenos charged with rescuing their fellow kin had ended up fighting with and ying a few Adventurers over thest few months but, in each case, their justification for doing so was perfectly understandable. Generally, it was during such incidents that the Xenos would defer to him, causing Vahn to feel slightly exasperated as he turned his attention to the monitors. Upon seeing the people on screen, Vahns exasperation reached a critical level and he couldnt help releasing an outward sigh while shaking his head. There, hiding away in one of the various safe areas in the Dungeon, Bell was sitting alongside a humanoid Xenos with pale purple skin, silver-blue hair, and amber colored eyes. She had long ears like an Elf and a thick blue lizard-like tail protruding out of the tattered red mantle that Bell had likely lent to her. Vahn was able to identify her as a Vouivre Xenos because of the red gemstone at the center of her forehead and the sapphire-like scales covering sections of her body. After seeing the scene, Vahn noticed something wrong, asking, "Where are Bellspanions...?" Though he had asked Gros, it was one of the Almiraj-Xenos that pointed to a screen that was being monitored by a Kobold-Xenos. It reflected the image of a group of four girls searching through the Dungeon, obviously looking for Bell. Seeing this, Vahn felt even more exasperated until Gros exined, "We managed to find that Xenos as she was being chased by a group of Adventurers. At the time, she had been n.a.k.e.d and injured and we were afraid we may be toote to arrive and help her..." Gros had tightly gripped his fists as he was speaking, clearly upset that there were so many depraved Adventurers targeting his newborn kin. Continuing where he left off, Gros exined, "Just as she was corned by the group of Adventurers, Bell had entered into the area after being separated from his party. He managed to fight off the group of Adventurers and flee with the Xenos girl while the group gave chase. Eventually, the Xenos girl must have detected one of the safe areas as she pulled Bell inside so they could escape pursuit. Since then, weve been monitoring their interactions and awaiting your arrival, Master..." Bell was actually one of the people Vahn had asked the Xenos to monitor semi-actively, as he was interested in how the world would treat Bell after the threat of Enyo was removed. At this point, Bells party had grown from three members, consisting of Line, Plum, and Bell himself, to a total of six members. There was the tomboyish Amazoness Taliah who, when meeting Vahn after the past incident, would turn skittish and hide behind Bell for protection. Following her addition to the group, there was now a peculiar Cat Person with green hair and yellow eyes. She was wielding a longsword and a rather revealing outfit that looked like a leather swimsuit with various belts and a thick mantle. It was the existence of the Bells final party member, however, that caught Vahns eye the most as it was actually someone he recognized... Located at the center of formation looking for Bell, Vahn saw a red-haired Elven woman with light freckles dotting her face. This was the same Elven girl who had shown up during his open challenge, showing a great deal of hostility towards him while casting Fire Magic with lethal intent. Vahntter learned that she was one of the Elves who thought he had been ckmailing and forcing Riveria against her will. Her true identity was that of a branch member that used to serve the Hokai Elven Noble Family. Vahn learned from the investigation into her past that she was an illegitimate child that had been born to the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mesir Aod Hokai. Vahn recalled that her name was Julienne Eastvale and hadnt expected that she would end up as part of Bells entourage... Fate was a curious thing at times and Vahn couldnt help but shake his head slightly as he asked, "Where are they located...?" Without any dy, Gros immediately answered, "They are currently located on the 19th Floor. If youd like, we can reach them within ten minutes, Master." To this, Vahn shook his head and gave the screen onest nce as he said, "Continue to monitor the situation, but you dont have to interfere. If theyre only on the 19th Floor, then there shouldnt be any problems that Bell cant deal with. When theyre trying to exit the Dungeon, make sure to pick them up and guide the Xenos to Spero and get her situated. If she wants to continue to associate with Bell, we can make arrangements to start publicizing the existence of the Xenos and have her begin apanying Bells party..." At this point, Bell had been an Adventurer for over seven months and, even without much assistance, his Level was around the peak of Level 4. He had even been able to overtake Line who, even while trying her best, had only reached the peak of Level 3. As for Plum, she was still only Level 2 while the excitable Taliah should have be Level 4 around a month ago. Vahn wasnt sure about the other two members of the party but he knew the Elven Mage had been Level 3 during their battle and it seemed like the longsword wielding Cat Person was actually leading the group in Bells absence. This meant she was probably Level 4 as well, meaning Bells group had already be one of the more powerful parties in a very short period of time... As he was thinking this, Vahn saw something rather unexpected reflected on the monitor that showed Bell and the Xenos girl. Though he didnt really have the means to heal wounds without potions and Elixirs, it seemed like Bell was worried about the wounds sustained by the Xenos girl. With her constitution, she would eventually regenerate just by being exposed to the Dungeon but Bell was entirely unaware of this. As a result, he had a flushed face and was stammering words that none of them could hear. Then, after the Xenos girlughed at his antics and nodded her head, Bell began to fl.u.s.teredly draw a familiar magic circle on the ground... The moment Vahn realized what was going on, he couldnt stop himself from rubbing his temples and remarking at how unbelievably stupid Bell was at times. Currently, he was separated from his party and, instead of summoning them to his side using the very same [Pactio], he was unnecessarily using the [Pactio] just to help a Xenos woman he didnt even know that well heal her injuries. Based on their proximity, Vahn knew that Bells party would find him pretty soon and, as expected, the moment Bell activated the [Pactio], the red-haired Elf detected the mana. The group discovered the secret door and broke into the room, just as Bell and the Xenos woman were kissing each other and sealing their [Pactio] contract... Vahn watched as Julienne and Line began beating Bell while the rest of his party members began to question the Xenos girl. They seemed a little too ustomed to Bells antics and were ignoring the boys cries as he was getting beaten up by the two sensible girls in the group. As for the Xenos girl, they ended up providing her some extra clothing and talking for a few minutes until Bell ended up in a seiza and started listening to a long lecture from Line and Julienne. At this point, Vahn shook his head and turned away from the monitor, saying, "Im going to check Enyos seal before venturing into the 61st Floor for some materials. Keep monitoring the situation and be prepared to receive the new Xenos when they are trying to exit the Dungeon..." Gros gave another salute, which was emted by several of the Xenos, as Vahn left the room with an expression of light amus.e.m.e.nt on his face. If he were being honest, he didnt actually understand why so many girls were drawn to Bell, even though he was also somewhat fond of the boys nature. The confusion was the result of the fact that, even though Bell was surrounded by girls, and they would sometimes kiss and hold hands, he hadnt actually done anything more with them. Even Vahn could see that some of the girls were very frustrated with Bells dense and passive nature, yet the boy himself seemedpletely unaware of the hungry looks some of the girls gave him. They were well within their rights to hit and berate him as even Vahn felt incredulity after witnessing some of the things Bell would do... Deciding to meet up with Bell at the Clubhouse at some point and have a serious talk with him, Vahn made his way to where Enyo was sealed and began checking the structural integrity of the Dungeon and the incorporated seal. With the various failsafes, it would take years for Enyo to break free, even if the seal was broken, but Vahn would rather be safe than sorry. Fortunately, there hadnt been any abnormalities in the seal thus far and, even after triple checking it this time around, Vahn was able to confirm it was holding strong. He then checked the surrounding area to make sure there werent any other issues before making his way to where he had previously fought Enyo. Unlike other areas of the Dungeon, which would regenerate with the passing of time, the chamber where Enyos egg had been located had never repaired itself. It was part of the safe area of the Dungeon and had an isted mana current that was distinctly different than the mana that gave the rest of the Dungeon its structure. As a result, Vahn was able to descend into lower Floors by using therge hole that he had bored into the Dungeon during their conflict. It originally continued all the way to the 63rd Floor but, after the Floors themselves were repaired, it now only connected to the 61st. The reason for Vahns visit to the 61st Floor was because he had long ago determined exactly what the essence liquid used in Terras wellspring was. Sometimes, after killing a Slime, it would drop a small clear membrane that looked like a gtinous balloon. Inside of this balloon was around 1 litre of the essence while the actual name of the unprocessed item was [Slime Ration]. In its natural and unprocessed state, it was an item that could rapidly regenerate wounds and suppress hunger. If you drained the insides and boiled the contained liquid, it would separate into twoyers, one consisting of thick and resilient gtine while the runoff was the same versatile liquid essence that Vahn had researched heavily in the past. Though he could purchase [Slime Ration]s from the system shop, each one was worth between 6,000 and 4,000,000OP, depending on the size. This told Vahn that there were muchrger Slimes that would likely appear on lower Floors, presumably in the form of a Monster Rex. Since he didnt want to invest heavily into something he could easily obtain on his own, Vahn decided to make a habit of harvesting a few [Slime Ration]s every time he visited the 60th Floor to check on Enyos seal. As a result, Terras wellspring had been slowly increasing in size and depth while the amount of energy it was able to absorb from Yggys presence had caused her dominion itself to spread rapidly. Currently, Terras area of influence was a 7.3km radius around her Garden while the depth her dominion reached was around 2.7km, creating a dome shape. This was because the Dungeon actively resisted Terras encroachment and it took her a lot longer to seize the parts of the Dungeon than it did the surrounding terrain. Even so, Terra was very persistent and, as a result, had created a rtively safe area in the Dungeon where she could manipte the spawning of Monsters. This had been very helpful for dealing with Iokes urges as she would visit every few days with Juno and venture into the segmented area of the Dungeon and ughter to her hearts content before using the bath and departing once again. She currently appeared very cautious around Vahn but was steadily opening up to others under the constant support of various goddesses... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is a little paranoid xD...,Be(ta)ll needs to man up (o 3 o)...,Delicious Slime essence...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 928 - Daily Life : Little Slice of Happiness

Chapter 928 - Daily Life : Little Slice of Happiness

After collecting a few dozen [Slime Ration]s, Vahn ended up calling it a day and deciding to head back to the surface. They were a rtively rare Drop Item, averaging around 1 per 30 Slimes, but Vahn was able to supplement the amount by exchanging the magic cores for OP and then converting them into more. Though he was trying to conserve his OP, Vahn made exceptions during moments like this since it always felt better to return with arge harvest. Since he was only using OP gained from hunting the Slimes themselves, it wasnt really eating into his actual reserves. Satisfied with his harvest, Vahn returned to the Manor and promptly re-entered the Sub-Space orb since he was currently eating dinner with everyone using his main body. Having both of his forms in the same ce was actually harder for Vahn since he could see his own actions through a second set of eyes. He wasnt entirely sure why it was harder but, having experienced it several times, Vahn tried to avoid himself as much as possible. Since it also made things less awkward for the girls, as they wouldnt have to split their attention between two of him, it was generally for the best. Upon entering into the Sub-Space orb, Vahn took a few seconds to limate before expanding his domain to see if anyone was nearby. There were a few people missing from the dinner table so there was a high chance some would be lingering around the area. This was most often the case for girls like Risna who, at this point, was several years older than her elder sister, Eina. She spent a little too much time in the Sub-Space orb but, with an average life-span of several hundred years, even without his assistance, it didnt affect her much. If anything, she had be a little quirky after they started a physical rtionship, but it was usually very fun to spend time with her. At this point, she had written several dozen books that had been painstakingly edited and published into the market. She had been slowly building a following amongst female Adventurers by writing rather risque novels from the perspective of women. Vahn had read a few of them himself and, knowing some of the characters were based on the residents within the Manor, it was pretty interesting to read. The fact that many of the male characters were based on him always made him feel strangely giddy and heated whenever he read some of the more intense scenes she had written... After expanding his domain, Vahn did confirm that Risna was still secluded in her room but his focus almost immediately deviated elsewhere. There were a few girls bathing within therge bath located near the center of the residential area of the Sub-Space orb. It was an open bath that anyone could use so it wasnt that umon to find people entering the orb just to save time in the real world. Vahn noticed that a few of the Artemis Familia members were lounging in the bath, talking amongst themselves and enjoying a bit of skinship without care. They had all been training hard ever since bing Battle Maids, but it didnt mean they were always performing their duties in the real world. It wasmon for nearly half their members to be within the Sub Space orb, either training, studying, or simply lounging about. Vahn was momentarily tempted to join them in the bath but decided against it and instead made his way towards arge workshop on the western side of the residential area. This was where Asfi usually worked and, though she was back in the real world eating dinner with everyone else, there were a few things Vahn wanted to check on. He also made use of the area for the production of some items, after all, so there were several tasks he could take care of now that would save him timeter. Though Asfi would probably have preferred to be there when he was working on them, Vahn knew her quirks well at this point and knew she was prone to making small mistakes whenever they worked alongside each other. Entering into the workshop, the most noticeable thing was arge rig that had severalplex pieces of metallic armor strapped to it. Inacked the proficiency that Asfi had when it came to manipting metal so Asfi would often prepare some of the moreplex pieces on her behalf. The two had be rtively close over thest few months as Ina had relied on Asfis assistance to develop her [Metalworking] and [Mystery] to greater heights. As for Asfi herself, she was still on A-Rank with the [Mystery] Development Ability but should be able to reach mastery in the next few months, Sub-Orb-Time. Vahn did a cursory inspection of the armorponents that Asfi had been working on, marveling at how she was able to make the channels for mana circuitry after just a few demonstrations. Asfi was inarguably a prodigy when it came to the creation of Magic Items and, as her knowledge of Evas magic system increased, she was steadily improving herprehension and abilities further. Vahn relied on his use of Oblivion to create simr channels but Asfi had been able to emte the feat using her [Metalworking] and genuine understanding of the alloys structure. If not for the fact that he knew it was inordinately more beneficial to develop his Innates, Vahn would have worked on developing the [Metalworking] ability himself. With that thought in mind, Vahn moved to his own small workstation and began calming his mind for a few minutes before opening his eyes, revealing striking blue irises that glowed with a divine radiance. Though he wasnt aware of it himself, his pupils also hadplex runes revolving within their depths as a ck void took shape before him. It continued to expand outward for 10cm until Vahn felt like his eyes were going to start bleeding and was forced to stop. When the ck void faded away, there was a pure red crystalline sphere that dropped onto the padded table. This orb shared simr qualities to a [Dragon Heart], the phenomenally powerful magic crystals that could be obtained from Dragons. Vahn had been increasing hisprehension of the structure ofplex objects, such as magic core and crystals, and had been trying to replicate them with his Oblivion. It had been slow and arduous training, but each sessive day brought him one small step closer towards the goal he had set for himself. Vahn knew that his Oblivion used the duality of Creation and Destruction Laws as its core principle. If he mastered its use, Vahn was certain he would even be able to create life in the future, elevating his Soul Tier much higher as a result. Because he had the ability to choose any path that he wanted to walk, Vahn had decided he would pursue the path of Creation and Destruction itself. When he reached Tier 6 and 7, Vahn wanted hisprehension of such Laws to have reached the pinnacle as, even if he had extreme power, it didnt guarantee he would be able to act as he pleased. If he reached Tier 6 based on something like Fire Elemental Laws, he would be able to create some forms of life using his mes, but that would be the limit. The more he went down a specific path, the harder it would be to develop other types of Laws because of his skewedprehension. To avoid this, Vahn set his goal as learning Creation and Destruction Laws themselves, confident his own Innates would supplement his growth andprehension through constant use. Though he was extremely limited by his own understanding of such Laws, Vahn was still able to make use of them with his Oblivion. Slowly but surely, he was making small steps towards his goal and, though the pseudo-Dragon Heart he had developed was a failure, it was still very useful. This was because, even though itcked the sheer power and intricacy of an actual Dragons Heart, the ruby-red sphere Vahn had produced still absorbed external mana and converted it into pure Fire Elemental energy that was stored on the inside. These could be used as power sources for some of the Magic Items that Asfi and Ina would produce. Ina had even had him design a fewplex gem-like power cores that could be slotted into her armored [Aegis Mk 4]. Vahn knew that the day when his exceptionally brilliant daughter shocked the entire world with her creations wasnt that far off. The only real limit to her growth right now was her experience, which was severelycking considering she was barely over three years old. It would take her another year or so to reach the Master rank in any of her Development Abilities, assuming she continued working earnestly. When she finally did be a Master, Ina would undoubtedly start producing a version of her [Aegis] armor that wouldpletely outperform most S-Rank equipment sets. She even had a version of the suit that was nearly 5m tall that she wanted to prototype, called the [Aegis Dragon Buster Mk 1]. In his pursuit of research material to help inspire his daughter, Vahn hade across a few schematics and blueprints within the system shop that detailed the engineering ofrge mechanical suits of armor. Ina had been heavily impacted by the descriptions contained within and, though shecked the current proficiency to produce such machines, it didnt stop her from investing long hours designing prototypes and developing machines that would assist her in fabricating the parts. She was determined to make a suit that would even be able to fight against a True Dragon in the future, though Vahn felt that such a feat would require her to likely reach Tier 4 to perform... While thinking of his amazing children, Vahn continued to cycle between meditating and producing items of variousplexity with his Oblivion skill. This continued for nearly six hours and only came to a stop when dinner was wrapping up in the real world. Vahn knew a lot of the girls would return to the Sub-Space orb, Asfi included, so he was going to rest for a few minutes before they arrived. He took the opportunity to use the now emptied bath, soaking his body in the hot mineral-rich water and enjoying the cool air touching his skin. The inside of the Sub-Space orbs was usually on the colder side, so it was very enjoyable to soak your body while the refreshingly cold air tickled your skin... Like this, Vahn enjoyed a few more minutes of peace and quiet before his senses picked up on spatial fluctuations. He had grown increasingly sensitive to them ever since awakening his Qinglong transformation so Vahn could feel when the girls were entering into the Sub-Space orb, even before they actually appeared. Since he knew they would also be able to sense him shortly after entering, as many of the girls were extremely sensitive to his presence, Vahn quickly extricated himself from the hot water and made his way over to the padded gazebo where everyone generally rested together. It was sometimes used for other activities and Vahn expected that he would need to make a bit of effort since both Tione and Tiona had been eyeing him like a predator during dinner. Unexpectedly, Vahn hade to learn that Tione managed to get a small victory against Tiona in their previous sparring session. Though he didnt really look down on Tionesbat prowess, it was still very surprising to learn she managed to edge out a victory against the battle-junkie Tiona. This showed that the efficacy of the magic circle carved into her back was far more potent than he had expected, giving Tione the ability to overpower her younger sister for the first time in many years. Though she had lost inter exchanges, the fact that she was able to keep up with Tiona had made Tione a little more excited than normal. Since he had promised to discuss the efficacy of the magic circle with herter, Vahn was already prepared for the inevitable development that would follow. He wasnt entirely sure which girl had detected him, but Vahn could sense the group split into smaller pairing as Tiona and Tione made their way over toward him. Neither had the ability to sense him so they had to have been directed by Lefiya or Lili before the group came to an agreement of their own. Since Vahn could sense the changes in their auras, he knew the next few hours of his schedule had likely been determined for him. This didnt really bother him much, however, as, unlike Bell, Vahn wasnt against the advances of the women he cared deeply for. When Tiona and Tione showed up with heated expressions and hot bodies, Vahn knew it was up to him to quell the fires burning their bodies and give them relief... --- Back in the real world, a very different scene was ying out as Vahn was ying with Meinya, Anise, and Sakuya. They had developed the habit of ying after dinner before finally taking a bath and going to bed after they were tuckered out. Vahn enjoyed spending time with the rambunctious little girls and their Guardians, even though Chamo, Meinyas Tyrant Mountain Bear, had a habit of wing his ankles and y-biting his leg as Vahn chased after his and Arnyas mischevious little daughter. As for Arnya herself, she was sitting at the side with Aki and Tsubaki, all watching the interaction between Father and daughters with affectionate smiles on their faces. When the girls were eventually tired out, they would be the ones to take them off to prepare for bed while Vahn would usually spend the evening with one of the goddesses. Of the three troublemakers, Sakuya was the easiest to deal with since she didnt possess the natural agility and flexibility of Cat People like Meinya and Anise. As a result, Vahn managed to snatch her up several times, giving her a tickle attack that would usually make her short of breath, before freeing her once again. During the time when she would try to catch her breath, Vahn would try to catch Meinya and Anise but they usually coordinated together to evade capture. He had to be careful not to get them too excited as they had the bad habit of bumping into things or doing dangerous stunts when in a pinch. A good example of such antics was when Vahn tried to grab Anise by the back of her little tunic yet, as soon as his hand grabbed the fabric, she slipped out of it in an instant beforeughing in her characteristic nyahahahaha~ as she shook waggled her butt tauntingly. This was brought to a quick end, however, when Aki snatched her up and said, "It looks like Anise is ready for a bath~". Anises response was her ears perking up as she struggled to free herself,ining, "Nyoo, Anise want y with Papnya~!" Aki, however, just kept her motherly smile, which didnt quite reach her eyes, as she carried off the struggling Anise, a quietugh escaping her lips. Even when Anise called out for him, Vahn kept a casual smile on his face and just waved in response, saying, "Listen to your mother, Anise. You know better than to try and run around without clothes~." Though the girls were still very young, it was important that they learn a sense of propriety early on or it would be toote once they developed strange habits. Cat People were known for their easy-going and carefree natures so they needed to be disciplined while they were young or it could be a problem. Vahn himself wasnt good at disciplining his children, so it was generally left to their mothers when the girls did something they werent supposed to. Without her cohort, Meinya tactics were limited so, even though she had already be very nimble, Vahn managed to box her into a corner after blocking her escape route a few times. Meinya ended up with her back to the wall but there was still a determined look in her mischevious eyes as an excited smile lingered on her face. Vahn, undaunted, held out his hands to the side with a look in his eyes that said, go ahead and try. As if she could read this intention, Meinya ducked toward his left and appeared as if she were going to roll under Vahns arm. When he moved to swoop her up, however, Meinya kicked against the floor and tried to leap through the cap in his legs and escape to freedom. Vahns eyes shed with a yful glint when he saw Meinyas attempt to trick him, as it really was pretty clever on her part. He restricted himself quite a bit when ying with the girls so they would be able to avoid him without bing disheartened. This didnt mean he wasnt going to subvert her expectations of sess a bit, as Meinyas reaction to failure was to simply improve even further in the future. Thus, when Meinya tried to sneak through his legs, Vahn closed them slightly to catch her body while reaching down with his left hand and grabbing Meinyas ankle. She tried to kick free and escape the pincer movement but was ultimately unsessful as Vahn created a thread of stimting energy on his index finger and began to tickle the bottom of her foot. Meinyaughed hard enough that tears came to her eyes before Vahn finally freed her foot and let her try to run away. Her response was to just gasp for air on the ground for a few seconds as Arnyaughed from her spot on the sofa, asking, "Did you already give up, Meinya~?" Though she acted like she hadnt heard it, Meinyas ears had twitched after hearing Arnyas words. She had her eyes closed previously but Vahn could see the reflection of her irises through her eyshes as she snuck a peek at him. It was clear that Meinya was trying to pretend she was too tired to keep ying, all so that she could recover more energy to y even longer... Vahns response to this was to reach down, this time without using his [Hands of Nirvana], poking Meinyas exposed belly and causing her to flinch as she rolled away to escape. Like this, their game continued once again, all the way until Sakuya had been captured five times. Five tickle attacks were too much for her so she ended up being carried away by Tsubaki, leaving Meinya alone to face against her tyrannical Papa. This caused her to take drastic action as she attempted to flee the room and run around the Manor itself, something Vahn had seening since she continued to eye the door periodically. When she made a break for the slightly ajar door, Meinya found herself running into a soft barrier that slowly lifted her off the ground. Vahn had set a trap there for her by cing a small ward on the ground that had the effects of nullifying impacts and levitating the target for a few seconds. As a result, Vahn was able to walk over while Meinya kicked around helpless in the air, eximing, "Papa, nyo fair~nyahaha!" Vahn, however, began his tickle attack in earnest, exining, "Who was it that tried to break the rules and run out of the room, I wonder~?" Even if she wanted to answer, it didnt seem like Meinya was able to manage it as a result of her intenseughing fit. This time, instead of letting her go free, Vahn handed over the exhausted and limp Meinya to Arnya, giving thetter a small peck on the lips before seeing them off. Like this, another fulfilling day hade to an end, officially signaling the start of an equally fulfilling evening for Vahn. After leaving the yroom, which was filled with all kinds of toys and had been child-proofed, Vahn met up with Artemis and Hestia, joining the two for the evening. Traditionally, Artemis would usually spend time with Vahn in the Sub-Space orb, generally alongside Lante, but it was nice to spend time with other people she was close with. She and Hestia had been very close for millions of years and, when the two were together, Vahn got to experience an event that was both exhrating, and incredibly rxing at the same time... (A/N: This chapter was made a bit long since Im not sure if Ill have time to write a thirdter. Im not going to be taking any more break days until just before my job begins so Ill try to make up for any missing chapters when I have the time to do so. Also, this should be one of thest slice-of-life chapters for a while, as there are a lot of events that are being set in motion that require Vahns attention. This was essentially to highlight that, even though I dont detail everything that happens in Vahns interactions with his family, they are almost always ongoing. Some people may feel like Vahn doesnt spend time with his family, but this is incredibly far from the truth. Even in the real world, most parents dont really spend that much time proactively engaging with their children while Vahn usually spends several hours a day just horsing around, training, or teaching his children personally. He cares for them deeply and, even though he has to split his focus to deal with his duties, you can expect that he is constantly trying to make sure his children are happy and feel loved...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: The origin of the essence was Slimes all along~!,Who would have thought that a magic circle powered by Source Energy infused cells would be effective...,10 yearster, Ina would have developed a Gundam that could fight against Gods!?,Poor Sakuya, has to suffer five times because Meinya is a cheat~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 929 - Concerns

Chapter 929 - Concerns

Though he had discussed the matter of dealing with Telskyura several times, Vahn found himself in a peculiar situation where he didnt know how or when to take action. Currently, he was filling out a stack of paperwork, something almost equally as confused to him since Vahn knew that printing technology in the record was limited. He wasnt sure who was going through the tedious process of actually writing up the paperwork he constantly seemed to be working on. Still, this wasnt nearly as important as the matter with Telskyura so Vahn the matter to the back of his mind as he wondered how he should initiate things... In almost every other instance, it was the actions of the other country that caused Vahn to take decisive action against them. Dealing with Telskyura waspletely different since he would essentially be invading them, even though they hadnt really antagonized them. Just entering the country would be vitingws that they had established thousands of years prior. Because of this, though Vahn knew he needed to take action, he wasnt entirely sure how to go about it without acting like an outright tyrant. He was relying on Tiona and Tione to make the decision since it would be easier to provide support for them on the matter. However, even this wasnt necessarily the best way to go about things as there was a chance the two would be considered exiles that had been marked for death if they brought him into the country... One of the troublesome things about Amazonesses, especially once they were mature, was that there were very few who even remotely feared death. If it was to take down theirmon enemy, there would literally be hundreds of thousands of Level 2, and higher, Amazonesses throwing their lives away to try and kill Tiona and Tione. It wouldnt matter if they knew the action was futile as, being the followers of a Goddess of Death, dying in battle was the most honorable form of death. Because of this, Amazonesses that had grown beyond their prime would take up arms onest time before venturing into dangerousnds and ying as many monsters as they could before their own lives were imed... While thinking about how troublesome foreign affairs could be, Vahnpleted the doc.u.ments he had been working on before referencing texts rted to foreign policy and negotiation within his mind. Presently, though there were nine regions on Eden, the number of Kingdoms and Provinces dotting thends and its surroundings numbered seventeen, excluding the Elven Kingdom and the Iron Hills. Vahn was thinking about gathering the leaders of every major Nation together for a conference of sorts, even though it would be run and moderated at his behest. Since he was going to be an Emperor, these Kingdoms would either have to join his Empire willingly or, much like the other corrupt Nobles he had met, Vahn would depose them. Vahn didnt see any issue with a country being led by a King or Queen but he didnt think it made any sense for the descendants to be the only rightful heirs to the throne. This type of mentality was exactly how you ended up with deeply rooted corruption, as those born into positions of royalty and nobility thought they were above other people, even though they were as normal as everyone else. Since he knew about how reincarnation worked, especially within the context of the record itself, Vahn knew that the very wastrels that lorded themselves over others could have been nothing more than a bandit or a ve in their previous life. The only thing that truly mattered was what you had done to earn the right to rule over people...if you couldnt even meet the basic requirements to govern well, you werent suited to your title at all. In the future, Vahn would be making it a requirement for allnded Nobles, including Royalty, to have their heirs attend and graduate from both the School and the Academy. Vahn would pass a decree that, unless they have earned the right to be called as such, nobody could im themselves as inherently more Noble than others. This also served the purpose of preventing said heirs from bing twisted by politics and infighting from an early age, as they would be required to attend the School in their formative years and continue studying until they were a.d.u.l.ts. At the same time, the Academy would essentially be one of the most powerful and influential institutions in the entire world. They would be the guarantor that allowed people to have the power and authority to govern over others, giving the Academy and everyone that graduates from it greater prestige. Now, Vahn just needed toe up with a proper setting to gather all of the Continents leaders, including Asfis parents, into the same room. Ultimately, Vahn would be forcing them to take a step back and fall under his authority, irrespective of their will. Since the benefits for their Kingdom and their people were inarguably beneficial, their only reasons for doing so would be to retain power for themselves or to try and oppose his policies. Though they had this right, from a certain perspective, Vahn didnt care about their thoughts on the matter since it was inevitable at this point that the entire Continent would be united under his rule. It wouldnt take much effort to expose almost any Kingdom or Noble for their corruption, especially if they have ruled for a long time, so Vahn knew it wouldnt take that much time and effort to shift the perspective of the populous in his favor. Since the policies he intended to enact would greatly improve the living conditions of moners and peasants, Vahn knew they would side with him after experiencing the benefits. Not only would their economy be bolstered, but Vahn intended to make future travel between every country easier, all while improving the quality of life and public order of every City, Township, and Vige. He couldntpletely eliminate crime, but there were more than a few methods to discourage heinous and organized crime, at least on the surface... While he was drawing up a temte letter that would be sent out to every Kingdoms monarch, Vahn sensed that Loki was making her way towards him. At this point, his domain easily covered the entire Manor so Vahn was able to subconsciously keep track of everyone within. He quickly set aside his work and rose to his feet, giving him ample time to reach the door before Loki, a smile on his face as he opened the door and said, "Good afternoon, Loki...to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?" Though she could easily manipte her own aura, Vahn could usually tell if Loki had business to discuss based on various factors, including the basic speed of her movements. Loki wasnt exactly a zy goddess, but she had a habit of ambling around when she was thinking or had nothing to do. When she had something to take care of, she was usually decisive in her gait and moved at a steady pace, something Vahn was able to track through his domain rtively easily. Loki habitually made her way into the room, unfl.u.s.tered by Vahns behavior as she made her way over to his padded seat and sat down on the armrest, clearly indicating him to take a seat so she could sit in hisp. When they were alone, Loki almost exclusively sat on Vahnsp, straddling his h.i.p.s as she hugged his neck and spoke about what was on her mind. This was something Vahn had grown ustomed to so he had already followed behind Loki, taking his seat and letting her adjust herself as he loosely ced his hands around her h.i.p.s and asked, "What is it...?" in a soft tone. In response, Loki wiggled her h.i.p.s yfully before snickering a little as she said, "There are a few things I needed to talk to you about, mostly in regards to Telskyura..." Vahn wasnt really that surprised by Lokis words as he was perfectly aware that she took many actions in the interest of the Alliance, even without conferring with him. It was impossible for him to manage so many moving parts himself so Vahn entrusted those capable of assisting him to arrange matters on his behalf. Because of this, when Loki mentioned Telskyura, Vahn felt more than a little relieved as a smile spread across his face, causing him to hug her body a little tighter as he said, "Ive been thinking about them a lottely. If you have any good news and advice, I would be more than happy to hear it." In response to Vahn hugging her waist tighter, Loki had leaned into his chest, resting her head against his shoulder as she said, "I know youve been struggling with thoughts of how to deal with them for a while now. Ive made a few arrangements to help make things easier...though there are also some things I know will trouble you. Sorry about that..." Lokis words were ented by her hot voice tickling Vahns neck before, punctuating them, she kissed his neck a few times before awaiting his response. Vahn was currently guessing at what Loki could have arranged that would be troubling to deal with. Their conversations generally flowed with Loki making rtively vague ims and talking points, leaving Vahn to guess at what she hade up with. This was a way they could express how well they knew each other and it was something both Vahn and Loki enjoyed... A few things readily came to Vahns mind, causing him to trace his fingers around the small of her back as he asked, "Does it have something to do with Kali...?" Because Loki shouldnt have any way to influence what was happening in Telskyura, Vahn assumed she had gotten in contact with her fellow goddess instead. When Lokis body tensed up slightly, Vahn knew he had hit the nail on the head, causing him to ask, "Did youe to some kind of agreement...ah...I see...!" Even as he asked, Vahn realized several ways Kali would be able to help deal with the matter of Telskyura atrge. She was the most influential goddess in the entire country, giving her inarguably more power than even the Queen, Hippolyta, herself. So long as it didnt go against their established culture and traditions, there were several ways to progress things forward without him having to be the initiator... With this in mind, a small smile appeared on Vahns face as he asked, "Well be having a War Games between the Alliance and the Telskyura, correct...?" This time, Loki began to chuckle, clearly amused by the deductions Vahn had made, kissing his neck once more before adjusting her position so she could look him in the eye. Her expression had turned slightly more serious as she exined, "Freya and I negotiated terms with Kali and there will indeed be a battle...however, it will not be between the Alliance and Telskyura. You can take Tiona and Tione along with you, but the fight will ultimately be between you and the seventy-third Queen of Telskyura, Zria Hippolyta. It will be a purely physical fight within their Sacred Coliseum, spectated by the strongest warriors in all Telskyura..." This time, Vahn was a little confused by the situation, as this was one of the potential scenarios they had discussed previously. There were a lot of problems associated with fighting against Telskyura directly as the aftermath would be very difficult to deal with. If he truly defeated Hippolyta in front of her elites, Vahn knew he would be the goal of many of the Amazonesses in the stands and they would likely be breathing down his neck for several years in an attempt to get children from him. However, this did ensure that they would be able to smooth things over in the future, as the upper echelons of Telskyura would have been effectively crippled and unable to conceive under normal circ.u.mstances... Vahn frowned slightly, remembering that Loki said there were some troubling things hed have to deal with. This was indeed a very troubling matter as, even though he could do it, Vahn didnt want to have hundreds of children, especially if he couldnt take care of them. He already struggled with the children he already had, and there were still more already on the way. Shakti would be giving birth in a few months and Vahn had recently gotten both Lunoire and Artemis pregnant as well, thetter intentionally. She needed to return to Heaven in order to avoid having her Arcanum shattered if something happened to her body in the Mortal World. Since it would take a few decades for her to be able to return, they had decided to have a child and raise it to maturity before she returned to Heaven and reformed her avatar. Loki, understanding Vahns concerns, ced her hand on his cheek as she did her best to put on a gentle and caring look, rifying, "We already came up with a few ways to prevent the oue youre thinking of, Vahn. Though there will have to be some exceptions made, you wont have to go out of your way to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e a bunch of Amazonesses you dont even know..." Towards the end of her words, the edge of Lokis eyes twitched, catching Vahns attention as he said, "Tell me..." Though he already had some expectations, Vahn was curious about what kind of agreement Freya and Loki had made with Kali. Because she was one of the necessaryponents in a lot of his ns, Vahn wouldnt be too surprised if Loki had arranged things on his behalf... Releasing a small sigh, Loki contemting how best to phrase things but, feeling Vahns hand rubbing her back, she felt less worried and simply stated, "Kali will migrate to Orario and help in the establishment of the Amazonessmunity. However, this is predicated on the fact that she wants a child of her own...a Vanir. At the same time, you will need to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Hippolyta, the Captain of her Royal Guard, Myrina King, and one of the Captains of the Kali Familia. I would suggest the younger sister, Bache, as that Argana woman will probably get killed by Tiona or Tione at some point..." Since it was far fewer than the hundreds it could have been, Vahn felt strangely relieved when Loki only mentioned a few names. Even so, Vahn still felt a little ufortable with the arrangement since his memories from Tionas and Tiones [Hearts Desire]s showed Kali as having a very childish figure. Though she was still bigger than Lili, thetter was a Pallum and had fully developed to have a mature, albeit petite, figure. Kali, however, was an Amazoness, the same as the people who had worshipped her for millennia. Though she was well over the age of maturity, and their culture didnt ce any emphasis on actual age, only strength, Vahn still felt off-put by the idea of sharing a bed with her. He could vividly remember the somewhat emaciated looking goddess with her blood red hair and extremely revealing outfit...she wasnt the type of goddess he would really want around his children, much less having one... (A/N: Not so fun fact, Kali weighs around 30kg and is around 138cm tall. She is actually much taller than Lilis previous 110cm, but their weight is around the same.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Magical Paperwork...,RIP Monarch-sans...,Vahn fears FBI-sama xD) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 930 - Looking Forward

Chapter 930 - Looking Forward

Vahn went on to listen to Lokis entire recounting of her conversation with Kali, including the ns andpromises they hade up with. He had already known about the establishment of the Amazonessmunity, as they had already naturally started to congregate together, but a lot of the other information was entirely new to him. If he were to be honest, Vahn didnt actually know how to deal with the Amazonesses that easily, which was why he had beening up with a seal of sorts to deal with the situation. Most Amazonesses, however, would oppose such a thing since it would be denying their own instincts and, in a way, was considerably unfair to them as a species... Since Telkyura would be passingws to prevent children from being victimized in the future, it was already infinitely better than it had been in the past. One of thepromises that they had agreed to was having a few trustworthy and powerful women move into Telkyura to manage the Coliseum and provide a basic education to growing children. Vahn couldnt simply do away with their culture as, from a certain perspective, what the Amazonesses had built was better than the cultures that had been derived from wealth, greed, and corruption. Much like the Xenos, they coexisted with the environment instead of trying to exploit it, bartering goods and sharing what resources they had with the entiremunity instead of trying to consolidate it and exploit each other for personal gain. The only thing that truly mattered was strength and individual power, not a persons birth and their ability to exploit a system that was rigged in favor of a few elites... Bringing slow reforms while allowing the Amazonesses to continue living in pseudo-istionism was better for both the Amazonesses themselves and the other races inhabiting the Continent. With time, it would be possible to change the way the Amazonesses lived, especially with several from the younger generation potentially graduating from the School. They would also be able to gather the deviants that would be born within Telskyura, providing them a safe haven where their uniqueness could be developed instead of bing the source for their suffering. It was inarguably tragic for girls like Tiona, Tione, Aisha, Lena, and even Taliah, having to grow up in a rather brutal society where they were different from everyone else. This made them easy targets for the ire of normal Amazonesses and, except in a few cases, most of the unique Amazonesses would end up dying early on if they werent protected by Kali... Vahns only problem with the situation was how he would deal with Kali and, to a lesser extent, the other women that Loki had named. Freya was one of the exceptions Vahn had made in the past and, though they had be a lot closer now, Vahn still wasntfortable with the idea of having children for political benefits. He would rather get to know the mothers of his children beforehand, creating a child through love and mutual affection instead of necessity. Loki had already expected this, however, informing Vahn that Kali was waiting for him in Melen, allowing him the opportunity to apany her Familia on its sea voyage back to Telskyura. This would give up upwards of three months to familiarize himself with Kali, her Captains, and a few other central figures within the Kali Familia... Hearing this, Vahn couldnt help feeling a little gratified and moderately curious, the first in rtion to the fact that Loki had taken his nature into consideration while thetter emotion was the result of his intrigue towards traveling by sea. Vahn had never even been on a boat before, much less arge sea-faring vessel. He had been a big fan of One Piece in his previous life so the thought of voyaging by sea, especially on a vessel full of Amazonesses, seemed like an enjoyable time. Since Tiona and Tione would be apanying him, he would be able to avoid a scenario where the other Amazonesses tried to force themselves on him as even the Captains of the Kali Familia wouldnt be able to defeat either sister... At the same time, Vahn knew this was also a way in which Loki wanted him to rx a bit, as the journey would take upwards of three months, most of which was spent in leisure. There would be the asional battle against a sea monster, but the Amazonesses themselves would easily be able to deal with such attacks. After all, much like Tiona and Tione, the vast majority of Amazonesses had the [Diving] Development Ability and were almost as capable in the water as they were onnd. Without contest, they were the most capable sailors on the entire Continent and, if not for their policy of secluding themselves in their home country, they would easily dominate the seas. This was how so many Amazoness had been able to flee to the Dark Continent in the past, traveling through seas that even seasoned veterans would avoid... The problem with this arrangement was that Vahn would only have one body back at the Manor and, unless he gave up his free time with his children, his only time to enter the Sub-Space orb would be in the evenings. It seemed like Loki was trying to force him to actually rx as most of the goddesses had actuallyined about the fact he had gotten back into the groove of things too quickly. They argued that there were already a lot of things going on right now and there was no need to rush things forward, especially with how strong everyone had be. With the inclusion of the Valkyrie, the military might of the Alliance had be monstrous and, unless there was a rogue Hero on the level of Heracles, which wouldnt make sense, there were no real threats to deal with. Now was an opportunity to shore up and strengthen the foundation of the Alliance, increasing the average level of each member and promoting the growth of the economy even further. At the same time, he could be gathering information while observing the changes in the Iron Hills and Westport. Even these wouldnt require his direct interference, however, meaning Vahn was very quickly transitioning to the point where others acted at his direction instead of him having to resolve everything on his own... Knowing that Loki, and the other goddesses, only wanted the best for him, Vahn eventually ended up agreeing with her and decided he would spend the next three or so months focusing on his family life and the matter with Telskyura. This would also allow everyone else around him to rx a little as, in order to make his life easier, there were several people acting on Vahns behalf at any given moment. If he took a real break, they would also be able to focus on other things instead of trying to deal with the matters he had put on their te, even if it was indirectly. Chief amongst these was Chloe, who had been spending most of her time in Westport with her Shadow Corps, while even Sylfia would certainly want to spend time with him... As a result of their discussion, Vahn ended up in the dining room with most of the core decision makers within the Manor, exining his decision and how they would be moving forward. At the bare minimum, he would be taking around three months off to focus on consolidating his rtionsh.i.p.s and just spending time with everyone. This would allow him to have plenty of time with his children and be by Shaktis side when she gave birth. If possible, the lull would continue after he dealt with Telskyura, followed by another wave of children that would inevitablye as a result. After all, it was decided that Tiona, Tione, and Aisha would want children of their own, followed by the inclusion of Kali, Hippolyta, Myrina, and one of Kalis Captains. This meant, at the very least, there would be nine more children born into their veryrge family in the future, including two Vanir. Since there was a fair chance he would also end up having a child with Fortuna and Sylfia at some point, the children in the Manor would likely increase to well over thirty in the next year or so... Fortunately, preparations had already been made for this and, with some of the children reaching an age where their education would officially begin, Aki, Mn, and Syr would be home-schooling the children in the ssroom section of the West Wing. Ever since they had learned how many children Vahn had in the Divination, preparations for having between 80-100 children within the Manor had long been underway and, even though it would be chaotic, there were more than enough Maids within the Manor to take care of everything. Instead of just Maemi and Emiru, there were Merribelle, Elizabelle, Katsuya, Momo, Diana, and the twenty members of the Artemis Familia. Even Mona was more than willing to help out while the actual mothers of the children werent shy when it came to providing their own support... Realizing the consequences his antics had brought about, Vahn found himselfying on the roof of the Manor with Fenrir snuggled up at his side. One of his optional quests was to have a harem with fifty-nine different races while another required him to sire a total of one hundred children. At this point, even though he hadnt done anything with them just yet, Vahn knew there were more than a few Valkyrie that had some expectations towards him. The same could be said for many of the Xenos, meaning Vahn could very easily hit the requirement for both optional quests in a rtively short period of time. There were a lot of people who would be more than willing to change their race to suit the needs of his quest, even though they were unaware of its existence... Vahn recalled the time in the past where he had the stray thought of having a partner in every race, even though Lili had sated his curiosity about several races. He understood well why the Objective itself was called [Curiosity], but wondered what kind of reward he would receive forpleting such an objective. Since it was a Main Quest, Vahn assumed the benefits were either directly rted to The Path or, at the very least, they would follow him into other records. Before he could worry about that, however, Vahn still needed to Unify the other regions of the Continent and bring the various Kingdoms and Provinces under his control... Releasing a sigh, Vahn turned his head to look down at Fenrir, finding her scarlet eyes staring back at him with mild concern and a depth of emotions he may never truly understand. He found more than a littlefort in these glimmering red irises, causing Vahn to smile naturally as he hugged Fenrir close to his body and muttered, "There is still so much left to do, even before I begin thinking of ways to save Eva...I cannot even imagine what awaits uster on, Fenrir...will you still follow your useless Master, even knowing the journey will be long and arduous...?" Vahn didnt even know how he would save Eva when the time came, nor if he would even be able to oppose the power that had influenced her fate. He couldnt simply take her out of the record, as that may very well doom it to destruction. Even if he tried, there were various problems associated with such an action as, unless he could remake Evas entire body somehow, it may not even be possible to take her from the record from the outset... Fenrirs eyes twitched slightly when she heard her Master say useless since, from her perspective, if he was useless, then other people werent even worthy of the air they breathed. His life was the culmination of endless impossibilities that had been given shape in reality, irrespective of the rules, restrictions, andmon sense of the world. As a result, Fenrir used her soft paw pads to smack her Masters head with a genuinely angry expression on her face as she said, "You should never say things like that, Master..." Then, allowing the expression on her face to soften, Fenrir nuzzled against the side of her Masters face and added, "I will follow you, no matter how hard things get, Master. Even if you wanted to throw me away and leave me behind, I would continue to chase after you, no matter what..." Punctuating her words, Fenrir gently licked Vahns jawline, causing pleasant feelings to spread through his heart as he tightly embraced this exceptionally lovable and reliablepanion of his. Vahn wouldnt even be surprised if Fenrir awakened an Innate rted to loyalty in the future, truly bing his eternalpanion that will stand at his side through various records. The thought that she would always be with him made Vahns worries about the future lessen a great deal. Even if he faced setbacks in the future, so long as he had the support of this first subordinate of his, Vahn felt like he would undoubtedly recover and continue to move forward... --- Early the next day, after extricating himself from Fenrirs icy chamber, Vahn wore a set of casual clothes before he went to meet up with Tiona and Tione. Though there was no particr rush, they had decided it would be best to set out as soon as possible. The journey by sea to Telskyura would take several months and, with winter fast approaching, it would be even more dangerous if they dyed things further. Though the sailors of the Kali Familia would undoubtedly be able to deal with the ice flows and the various sea monsters that would be following their migrational paths, it was still better to err on the side of caution. Even gods, once descended into the mortal world, couldnt fight against natural disasters, especially while out at sea. There were a few exceptions, of course, but Kali certainly wasnt one of them... Vahn found Tiona and Tione waiting in the inner courtyard with Loki, Hephaestus, Hestia, Artemis, Eina, Syr, Ais, Lefiya, Emiru, Maemi, Diana, Terra, and Alexa. Though his main body would be staying behind, they still wanted to see him off properly since Vahn was still Vahn, even in his avatar. It was things like this that gave Vahn a profound sense of fulfillment, causing a natural and gratified smile to appear on his face as he said, "Thank you, everyone...Tiona, Tione, lets go change your fates. It is time to make good on my promise, atst..." (A/N: Vahn still has a few major quests that he needs toplete before the recordes to an end, even though there isnt that much time before he is supposed to leave Danmachi. Since a few people may have forgotten, I will go ahead and copy+paste the important quests that are still on the te~!) -------------------------------------------------------------- [Quest: The Path of an Emperor Begins With the First Step] Rank: Zenith Objective: Unify the Continent of Eden:(2/9), Conquer the Living Dungeon, Tartarus(0/1), Form a Divine Council with a God of every Major Divinity(19/30) Optional Objectives: [Curiosity] Form a Harem with at least one member of every race:(30/59), [Inspiration] Acquire 10,000 Followers, Subordinates, or Retainers(10,000/10,000), [Might] Ovee the restriction of Level 10:(7/10), [Virility] Sire 100 Children(19/100) Rewards: 10,000,000,000OP, Quest Creation System Function Unlocked, 1x[Innate Awakening Pill], 1x[Page of the Akashic Tome] Failure Conditions: Forfeiture of Main Quest Chain Penalty: Record Bacsh, Divine Law Cataclysm Initiated -------------------------------------------------------------- [Quest: I Shall Seal The Heavens] Rank: SSS Objective: Obtain 100,000,000,000 OP and purchase a [Dimensional Anchor: Stasis] from the system shop. Rewards: All unlocked functions in The Path evolve, 3x[Spirit Vessels], 1x[Enlightenment Stone] Failure Condition(s): Death, Failure to obtain the required amount of OP before leaving the record. Penalty: Danmachi Record inessible until Tier 8, All Karma Nullified after leaving the record. -------------------------------------------------------------- [Quest: I Shall Return] Rank: SSS Objective: Complete [Quest: Origin of Heroes](6/9). Establish Eternal Bonds with gods that possess Primary Divinities rted to Time, Space, Bonds, and Fate (1/4). Current: [Hestia] Rewards: Reduction of requirements for [Quest: I Shall Seal The Heavens]. 10x Reduction in necessary Origin Points. Failure Condition(s): Death, Exiting the Record Before Completion Penalty: Danmachi Record inessible until Tier 8, 10,000 karma based on conditions (5/12) -------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Compromise and Politics are interrted...,Fenrir is the Dao of Fluff, forever and eternal~!,Vahn is about to experience the legendary 36P o_o...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 931 - Melen

Chapter 931 - Melen

As Melen was only located a little more than three kilometers away from Orario, it was a very short journey with Vahn, Tiona, and Tione all being capable of using [Shundo]. However, as it had been a long time since Vahn actually walked anywhere, with flying being his primary means of transport, it was somewhat refreshing to be able to join the scenery they passed along the way. The area surrounding Orario was very scenic while the record of Danmachi itself was full of beautiful and breathtakingndscapes. Vahn was able to enjoy several sights that most people could only dream of but, on asion, it was nice to just travel leisurely alongside some of the people he cared about. To make things more interesting, Tiona had started a game of [Shundo] tag, that had the three of them darting around along thendscape, trying to evade each other using the surrounding terrain as cover. Vahn enjoyed a big advantage, being able to detect the girls within his domain and use [Shundo] to a much higher proficiency, but it was still very fun. Seeing Tiona and Tione acrobatically navigate the terrain and try to pull feints against him, only to end up falling into his arms regardless, brought a smile to Vahns face each time. It also made the trip to Melen seem much shorter, as time spent ying always seemed to pass much faster than normal... As such, Vahn and his two Amazonesspanions arrived at the port town of Melen, located on the shores of Lologke and having a small poption of only 40,000 permanent residents. This homely ce was affectionately referred to as Orarios ess to the sea, providing fresh fish to the City while serving as the primary hub for merchant vessels trying to conduct trade ind. The architecture primarily used wood for the foundation while the overall structure used the wattle and daub method, interweaving stray and hay beforepacting it with processed mud, lime, and other building materials. Most of the buildings had te-tile roofs and Vahn could smell the nearby sea, carried on the rather strong wind flowing in from coast. It was already much colder here than it was in Orario yet, everywhere he looked, Vahn could see people with smiles on their faces as they happily worked alongside each other to unload the early morning catch... Tiona, who had been standing close at Vahns side, had her arms leisurely ced behind her head as she mused, "Its been a long time since Ive visited Melen. Im looking forward to being able to travel by sea once again~." Though they had used thend route when their journey began, Tiona and Tione had both served and Kalis personal vessel to train out at sea a few times. They both had experience fighting underwater and had a very high tolerance to both pressure and cold, much like most of the Amazonesses who served on such vessels. As for Tiones take on things, she had a stern expression as she muttered, "Were not here to y around, Tiona. Dont forget our purpose on this journey...!" Tione could already feel her blood boiling,pletely invalidating the cool sea breeze as she looked forward to stomping the woman who had made her life a living hell. In the past, whenever she would make her Master upset, it wasnt umon for thetter to beat her until Tione had been left bedridden for weeks. Once, Argana had even broken both of her arms and fractured several of Tiones ribs, all while insulting her as being weaker than Tiona. Now, Tione knew she would be able to defeat the cruel and vicious woman who yed at being her Master. She had even been tasked by Loki to personally deal with Argana as, no matter how things developed moving forward, there was no way such a woman could ever be a suitable mother. After all, back within Telskyura, Argana had the nickname Voracious Killer, as she had a propensity of biting the jugr and even takingrge chunks out of her opponents using nothing more than her teeth. Though it had healed now, Tione had also lost arge chunk of her calve in the past after pissing off Argana when thetter had a little too much to drink... Remembering all of the times she had suffered under Arganas cruelty, Tione tightly gripped her fists in expectation, a murderous look in her eyes. Vahn and Tiona both noticed this,pletely understanding Tiones current state of mind. Tiona had been there to see her sisters suffering and, though he hadnt been there personally, Vahn had seen the events from both sisters perspectives. He knew that, if he had to choose between Argana and Bache, it wasnt even a contest. Bache had been a rtively kind and caring Master to Tiona, even if she was still harsh during their training. She was also the one that allowed Tiona to keep books rted to heroes, giving her hope during the darkest part of her life... Vahn reached out his hand, grasping Tiones fist firmly as he said, "Whatever you decide, I will support you..." Though he knew it was better for people to move on, leaving their tragic past behind them, Vahn also knew it was borderline impossible for some. Experiencing great cruelty, all while feeling you are powerless to change it, is something most people cant ovee. Tione had managed to escape with Tiona in the past, but the trauma she had experienced due to Arganas treatment was deeply rooted in her psyche. If she wanted to duel Argana to the death, Vahn wouldnt allow anyone to interfere, even Kali herself...though thetter probably wouldnt care at all. For a moment, Vahn, Tione, and Tiona were enjoying a heartwarming yet tense atmosphere amongst themselves. It wasnt until a burly looking fisherman, carrying a wet full of a fresh catch, gave them a wry smile that they were brought back to reality. Tione gave a rare blush while Tiona justughed out loud, just as she normally did when embarrassed. Vahns own cheeks felt a little hot, even against the cold air, so he just gave a small nod to the fisherman before heading towards the port. There were several fishing vessels in port but, standing out amongst them all, Vahn could see arge red twin-masted Brig Sloop moored in the center of the harbor. It was arge vessel around 50m long, possessing a unique structure that had a very foreign feel to itpared to the rtively standard vessels anchored nearby... Tione and Tiona had confirmed it was indeed Kalis ship and, with therge eight-armed female emblem adoring the sails, it wasnt really a point of contention as to who the ship belonged to. This was clearly the Kali Familia emblem and, as a result of her reputation, most of the other sh.i.p.s gave them a very wide berth. Some sh.i.p.s were even traveling in a very wide arc to avoid passing anywhere close to therge blood-red ship and its crew. As for the crew themselves, Vahn could see several nearly-n.a.k.e.d women diving into therge saltwaterke, disappearing for what felt like several minutes before reemerging withrge fish they had caught by hand. Seeing this, even from a distance, Vahn wondered what it would be like to go fishing while relying on nothing but his physical capabilities. He had never really dived too deeply into arge body of water and couldnt help feeling a little intrigued by the concept. Unlike most people, he didnt really need to breathe so there was no limit to the depth and duration of his dives. Vahn knew that, even with therge size of the Continents, they made up less than five percent of the nar world of Danmachi, the rest almost entirelyprised of an ocean that extended several dozen kilometers down into the dark abyss where the light from the sun had no hope of reaching... While humoring the thought of exploring the oceans depths, Vahn came to a sudden stop as the aura of three gods entered his perception. One was far more powerful than the other two and seemed to be making its way towards them, causing Vahn to gesture to Tiona and Tione as he turned his head towards the direction of their guest. Given the circ.u.mstances, it was almost undoubtedly Kali herself and Vahn was curious about what she was up to by meeting them without an escort. Though she didnt have any reason to fear for her safety, it was still a very strange decision to make since Vahn did have a track record of killing gods... From around the corner connecting to an alleyway, a small brown-skinned girl wearing a blue smock-dress came into view. The dress had a squarish hole where the head protruded, adorned with cream colored and green stripes, just like the hem of the dress. Since the hem extended past her knees, it gave the girl a very youthful appearance and, if not for the golden ornaments on her wrists and ankles, she might have looked like a normal young girl. Even without such adornments, however, the long ck hair tied into a loose ponytail that extended to the back of her calves, the crimson red pupils, and the fact that she had exuded a feeling of intense threat made her stand out quite a bit... As soon as the young girl made eye contact with Vahn, she gave a small pouting expression as she said, "Lok said you were very perceptive, but you could have at least yed along for a little while, Vahn..." Vahn had already started to emit a bit of pressure from his domain while Tiona and Tione had both assumedbat-ready stances, neither remotely fooled by the disguise of the goddess that had been deeply ingrained into their hearts, minds, and bodies. Even so, Kali didnt really seem bothered by the cautious and hostile reactions of the group, walking forward with a pretend innocent expression on her face as she exined, "Like this, you can refer to me as Chandi, okay? Come on, dont you want to try patting my head~?" Completely ignoring the looks Tiona and Tione were giving her, Kali made her way right before Vahn, looking up at him with a yful and expectant smile. If not for the massive aura and insane bloodl.u.s.t she exuded, Kali could have easily yed the part of an innocent child, something that made Vahn feel apprehensive. Even so, he didnt let it show on his face and, causing Kalis smile to widen greatly, reached out his hand to stroke her head. She was only 138cm tall so it was very easy to ce his hand on her head, sending waves of petting energy that caused Kali to show momentary surprise before giggling. This time, Vahn couldnt help himself as hemented, "This act...is kind of disgusting..." Kali poked out her tongue in response, stating confidently, "Who, other than a god, determines how a god should act? Even Loki and Freya were allowed to change, even though they had been stagnant for so many years. Is my act really such a bad thing, if its who Im willing to be in order to make things easier for you~?" Being one of the older gods in her Pantheon, Kali was nearly as old as Hestia yet, because of her Divinities, she had a far more active role throughout History. She wasnt nearly as clever as Loki, but her experience over more than five hundred million years wasnt something that could be looked down on by most mortals. In response to Kalis words, Vahn moved his hand back, removing the silky ck-haired wig that Kali had been wearing, revealing her blood-red hair that curled a bit towards the ends. It easily extended past the small of her back as it flowed down, falling naturally into ce as Kalis eyes turned somewhat sharp. Her little tooth, which had been poking out innocently previously, now seemed more like a fang as Kali ran the tip of her tongue across it hard enough to draw blood. Then, with a bit of excitement glimmering in her eyes, Kali stated, "You know, I dont mind if you want to take the lead and do things your way...but, if you are going to disrespect me so readily, Vahn, you should prepare yourself for the consequences. Unless you can beat me head on, dont expect me to just stand idly by as you cause me to lose face in front of my Amazonesses..." Kali had tried to use the information Loki had provided about Vahn to appeal to him in a way that she thought he would prefer. Though Loki mentioned that he had inhibitions about her size, the fact that he had a Pallum in his harem meant he wouldnt be able to use it as a genuine excuse. If he had just yed along, Kali had been willing to keep up the pretense for the entire duration of their journey, all so that Vahns mind would be at ease. Now, he seemed to be doing everything in his power to undermine her intentions and, though Kali also expected this somewhat, it didnt mean she would y along if he wasnt willing... Vahn continued looking down at Kali, then, without minding her vicious look, he reached out his hand and began stroking her head directly this time. The hair of a goddess was usually finer than refined satin so it was a very pleasant feeling against his palm, even though the silky ck wig, which seemed to be a very high-quality item, was also rather nice. Then, amidst Kalis confusion, Vahn simply stated, "There wille a time when we have to settle things, but that is beside the point...this whole journey is supposed to be us getting to know each other better, not a version of ourselves that we think is suitable for the asion. If I cant get close to the real you, there is no way I would be willing to have a child with you...for the time being, we should do our best to get close naturally. Dont y games with me, Kali..." Even as he spoke rather sternly, Vahns actions seemed gentle, especially with the aid of his [Grooming] and [Hands of Nirvana]. Kali had be momentarily absentminded as she listened to his words, onlying to her senses when thest syble left his lips. Then, a smile that was the exact opposite of the word innocent appeared on her face as a predatory light glowed in her eyes. She bared all of her teeth like a wild animal before saying, "Im starting to see how you were able to win over those two troublesome goddesses, Vahn. If that is your wish, Ill be more than happy to oblige you~!" At the end of her words, Kali broke away from Vahns hand, feeling a strange twinge in her heart that caused her brows to twitch as she began removing her one-piece smock. Before she could do so, however, Vahn had made his way to her side and held down the hem of the fabric, a stern expression on his face as he said, "Just wear that dress for the time being. You stand out quite a bit already, so it would cause problems if youre walking around with next to no clothing on..." Vahn also ced the ck wig back on Kalis face, all while she looked at him as if he was spouting somethingpletely ridiculous. He even went out of his way to make sure the wig was seated properly on her head, hiding her blood-red hair and fixing her clothing as if he was incredibly ustomed to the act... (A/N: Never underestimate Papa Vahn...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Its all fun and games when you treat like as if its a fun game~!,Tiones resentment runs deeper than the ocean...,Kali is wholly unprepared for the abnormality that is Vahn Mason xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 932 - Settling Debts...

Chapter 932 - Settling Debts...

With Kali taking the lead, properly wearing her disguise, the four made their way towards the docks where a group of Amazonesses were waiting. Though Kali could have easily swum through the water, their Brig Sloop did have a few smaller boats for transferring supplies and, in order to receive Vahn, they had unloaded one to transport him and Kali over. That would have to wait untilter, however, as there was currently an incident urring at the docks that caused Tiones eyes to glimmer with a murderous light... Currently, there were a few seriously injured fishermanying around on the ground as an Amazoness with white hair, braided with golden twine, and a very revealing outfit. She had blood staining her hands and, with a predatory gaze, stared back at the surrounding fisherman as she licked the blood clean from her fingers. Vahn frowned when he saw this and, after confirming the men were only injured, not dead, he looked to Kali and said, "She can only me herself for what is toe..." To this, Kali just shrugged dismissively before saying, "Ourw is survival of the fittest. If she is too weak to survive then, just like those who have fallen at her hand, she too will die. It isnt anything to be upset over..." As a Goddess of Death, Kali didnt particrly care if any of the children, or anyone else for that matter, ended up losing their lives in battle. To her, death was apletely natural thing and, if you didnt have the power to stave it off, then the only person to me was yourself. Since most gods were fully aware of the cycle of reincarnation, she had no real attachments to any of the children in her Familia, knowing that they would simply return to the cycle and live anew. Her only real interests were fighting, watching people fight, and observing the unique Amazonesses that went against the grain and chose a different path from their sisters. It was this same mentality that allowed her to let Bache give Tiona books in the past, curious if the young girl that loved Heroes would be able to make her dream a reality... With Kalis words signifying her consent, Vahn gave a small nod towards Tione who, like a blue, vanished from sight before appearing near Argana. This movement caused Kalis brows to rise slightly as she uttered an oooh~? in a small voice. As for Argana, her vicious gaze turned into one of surprise as she quickly twisted her agile body, kicking outward as her shin collided with Tiones hard enough to make a small shockwave. Vahn winced slightly upon seeing this, knowing both girls shins probably had micro-fractures after contacting each other with such a forceful impact. He was tempted to transfer the injury from Tione to himself but, considering this was her personal fight, he decided to watch patiently from the side, trusting she would emerge victoriously... Now that she saw who it was, Arganas expression change from surprise to scorn as she intoned an amused, "Hooo? Look whos grown up. You know, I was hoping you would tag along with that boy, my sweet little disciple..." As she was speaking, Argana had gotten into a loose stance with both of her bloody hands up in a grabbing motion. Her style of fighting relied solely on her physical body, choosing to forgo the use of a weapon unless she was hunting monsters. Against human opponents, she preferred to rip them apart with her bare hands, bathing in their bloody and reveling in the act of ughtering those weaker than herself. Tione chose not to respond to Arganas words, long having entered her berserk state, increasing her parameters further. Though she was actually more than strong enough to fight against Argana, the mental trauma Tione had suffered in the past was causing her to push herself from the outset. As a result, sheunched herself towards Argana, shattering the paved stone of the port as she vaulted through the air and dropped her heel towards Arganas head. Thetter, as arrogant and vicious as she was, wasnt a slouch when it came to actualbat. Her instincts warned her not to block the blow so she stepped back rapidly, spinning on her heel as she attempted to counter Tiones attack after thetter missed. With Argana having dodged, Tiones foot mmed into the dock and caused spiderweb fractures to spread out in an instant as her right hand shot up to catch Arganas foot. This caused Argana to tuck in her leg, turning her kick into a feint as her body twisted around in an instant. Her long braid came to an end with a solid gold ring that now sliced towards Tiones face with the intent to maim. It was this same attack that had cut open Baches face in the past and, unless you were expecting it, most opponents would be caught by surprise. Tione, having trained under Argana for years, was one of the few whom the attack waspletely useless against... Argana hadnt been the only one twisting her body as Tione had also turned her attempt to grab the formers leg into aplete motion, turning her body and grabbing out with her left hand this time. For a brief moment, Argana had her back to Tione and, though she was preparing to vault away and get her distance again, her actions were one step slower. Tione had grabbed the long braid that her former Mentor had prided herself over, causing Arganas attempt to jump away to fail. Instead, she was pulled off her feet as Tione jerked her hair, pulling Argana into a spin as she mmed thetter toward the ground with bone-breaking force. To Arganas credit, she reacted very quickly to being pulled by her hair, pulling up both of her legs to change her center of gravity as she moved with the motion of Tiones attack andnded on her feet. Even so, Tione hadnt let go of her braid just yet and now used it as a leash that kept Argana in her range as she kicked towards thetters abdomen with an explosive kick. Arganas expression had turned especially vicious since the moment Tione had grabbed her hair, screaming, "You bitch!" as she tried to meet the base of Tiones shin with her elbow. The elbows and knees were significantly harder than the straight bones of the body so Argana was trying to break Tiones shin with her counter attack. The moment Argana initiated her counter, Tione pulled the golden loop toward herself, knocking Arganas bnce off-center and changing the vector of her elbow. This caused Arganas eyes to widen slightly as she tried to follow with Tiones pull while tucking in her arms to protect her ribcage. Tiones attacknded against Arganas guard, causing a ripple to pass through thetters body as a pained grunt escaped her lips. Though Tione hadnt been using any weapons, the magic circle on her back was releasing a subtle glow that signified she had enhanced her parameters. It didnt reflect any changes on her Status Board, but Vahn knew the enhancement was very nearly 30%, though the effect would decay with time. This meant that, for the first few minutes of a fight, Tiones base Power easily eclipsed 6300 while Arganas maximum possible Endurance was only 5,994. Tiones attack wasnt enough to send Argana flying, but it had been enough topletely disrupt her bnce for a brief moment as the wind was forced from her lungs. In that brief window, Tione had shifted her weight forward, nting her left foot heavily against the ground as she used the hand holding Arganas braid to smash the golden loop into thetters teeth. Argana had tried to jerk her head back to evade the attack but Tione was slightly faster, causing the loop to slice through the soft tissue of Arganas mouth as several of her teeth were fractured and dislodged. She was then knocked backward by the attack but, with Tione still holding her braid, thetter simply yanked Arganas head forward again for another follow-up attack. Arganas expression had turned intopletely murderous at this point as shepletely ignored the injury to her face, grabbing her own braid as she brought her head forward and attempted to bite Tiones neck. Even with teeth missing, Arganas habit of trying to bite away chunks of her opponent was deeply ingrained into her attack patterns, something Tione was fully aware of. She responded to Arganas attempt by cutting her left fist upward in a short uppercut, forcing thetters mouth shut before she mmed her head forward, mming it into Arganas nose. Even after taking several painful hits, Argana didnt seem willing to back down as she quickly yanked her own braid away from Tiones vice-like grip. This caused the hair to rip, freeing her from Tiones grasp as her long hair slowly began to uncoil, blown chaotically by the cold coastal winds blowing inward from the sea. For a brief moment, the two Amazonesses stared each other down as Argana moved her tongue around inside her mouth before spitting out several fragments of teeth and a fair amount of blood. The inside of her cheek was ripped to shreds while the corner of her lips now extended several centimeters further than it should... As if it was someone else who was injured, Arganas expression remained vicious as she ignored the pain and spat, "You really have grown up, brat. Im d I didnt kill you back then...now, you will be part of my own strength...!" At this moment, Arganas pale-golden pupils became crimson red as her figure moved forward at several times the speed of sound in an instant. Like a spear, her hand tore through the air as it drew a fierce line towards Tiones neck. The only thing it contacted, however, was Tiones afterimage as she hadpletely avoided the attacked with the use of [Shundo]. Argana had lunged forward with her fastest momentum, extending her body forward to try and end the battle with a single blow. With Tione evading her attack, her body was leftpletely exposed as a blur formed into existence at her side, turning into the image of Tione kicking upwards with simrly fierce momentum. Arganas body folded over Tiones leg as a powerful shockwave rippled through her abdomen before she wasunched high into the sky. Her forward momentum from her lunge hadnt been lost, causing her to spin as she flew through the air for several hundred meters before smashing into a building on the ports periphery. After this attack, Tione was left breathing heavily but was otherwise in good condition as she looked towards the section of the building Argana had smashed into. She didnt think for a moment that the woman who had tormented her for years would be done in with such a simple, albeit effective, attack. As expected, there was the visual of the building exploding outward, sending supersonic pieces of shrapnel outward as Arganas raging figure charged toward Tione once again. It wasnt until after Argana arrived that the sound of the buildings explosion reached bystanders, as her speed was much faster than the sound of her movements. This wasnt something that Tione couldnt cope with, however, causing her to evade with [Shundo] once again. Argana wasnt caught off guard this time and, as she had kept low to the ground during her charge, he was able to palm against the ground and pivot quickly to reorient herself towards Tione. This showed remarkable adaptability on her part but, being weaker, less durable, and slower than Tione, it didnt provide her too many benefits. To her credit, she had made sure her back was facing towards the water this time so, when Tiones fist collided with her cross guard, Argana was sent barreling backward, skidding across the water a few times before sinking into the ports depths. Amazonesses could fight just as well in the water as they could onnd and, being one of the Captains of the Kali Familia, Arganas aptitude in the water was above most. She had the [Master Diving] Development Ability, something Tione, with her [Diving: A], wouldnt be able to match. When Argana didnt emerge from the water, Tione knew she was being baited to chase after her but, even in her berserk state, she knew this wouldnt end well for her. Instead, surprising both Kali and the other Amazonesses, Tione held out her hand and shouted, "Adeat~!" Deep beneath the waters surface, Arganas crimson eyes glowed within the murky water of Lologke, patiently awaiting Tiones pursuit. She was genuinely surprised by how strong Tione had gotten in only nine years, causing her to momentarily reflect on her own path towards power. Since she had known Tione since thetter was born, Argana knew it couldnt have been her own talent that had allowed her to reach such heights in such a short period of time. Tione hadntcked talent, but it was a far cry from the truly prodigious Amazonesses that would periodically appear within the younger generation. Compared to Tiona, she had always been subpar and, with her emotional instability, it was easy to exploit the gaps in her attacks...at least it used to be. Now, Tione seemed to be stronger, faster, and tougher than she was, causing Argana to feel slight envy but even more excitement. She believed that defeating Tione would allow her strength to grow exponentially and, since Vahn should have been the source for Tiones quick rise, Argana believed she would be able to receive simr benefits in the future. For so many powerful people toe into existence around Vahn, he had to have the means to promote the strength of others and, now that he would be on their ship for the next three months, there would be ample opportunity to find out what he... Without being able to finish her line of thinking, a sh of gold tore through the waters surface, catching Argana off guard as she twisted her body to try and evade. She was extremely agile in the water so it wasnt too difficult for her to dodge a surprise attack, at least in most circ.u.mstances. Unfortunately for Argana, the de of Tiones artifact could reach several thousand degrees and, cutting through the salt-filled water, a variety of detrimental things happened all at once. The surrounding water was explosively boiled while the super-heated salt became almost like a highly corrosive acid that pelted Arganas skin, causing chemical burns over arge portion of her exposed flesh. This had highly disoriented her while forcing her body to seize up slightly from the unexpected pain that now wracked her body. In this state, Argana waspletely defenseless as the backwash of the water pulled her body back into the path of Tiones artifact, just as it was on its return vector... Argana didnt even know she had died as thest thought to pass through her mind was genuine relief that the pain she had been experiencing had ceased. The two split pieces of her body, charred and cauterized, sunk towards the bottom of the port asrge fish, generally her prey, began tearing away chunks of her body. Just as she had lived, devouring the flesh of others, Arganas death was celebrated in much the same way. Her flesh would be the nutrients that nourished new life in thekes depths, causing severalrge fish to explosively increase in size and strength over a short period of time. Just as she had consumed others to grow stronger, now Argana was being consumed by others, supporting the natural cycle even in death... On the surface, Tione had felt the feedback of her de cutting through flesh and, after a few minutes of silence, it was Kali who announced, "Looks like Argana was the weaker one this time around. Its a shame you arent still in my Familia, Tione, or I would have made you into my Captain. Congrattions on your victory; I hope you are satisfied by the oue~." As if it was a stranger she had never met, Kali seemedpletely unaffected by the death of her Captain, someone she had watched grow up over thest twenty-seven years. She gestured to the other Amazonesses, equally as unaffected by Arganas death, saying, "Prepare the boat so we can head back. I dont really feel like dealing with the Guild and Melens Familia if I can avoid it." The members of Kalis Familia quickly set into motion, preparing for the departure while Kalizily walked over to Tiones side and joined her in looked down at the water below. They didnt really say anything to each other, standing in silence as the sunlight cast its warm rays down upon the now devastated port. Vahn had sent Tiona to pass on a literal b of Adamantine to the Guild, which should be more than enough to pay for the damages that had been done. He also took care of the injured and reimbursed the middle-aged couple who had their shop destroyed during the battle. All the while, he continued to pay attention to Tione, sending herforting words through their [Pactio] link as she stared absentmindedly towards the cold water below... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A deeply rooted hatred...,The Student ovees the Master...,Whatys beyond vengeance...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 933 - On Deck : Setting Sail

Chapter 933 - On Deck : Setting Sail

After taking care of the port officials, Vahn and Tiona had joined up with the ready to depart Amazonesses, Tione silently sitting at his side. Her aura was weak but stable as she leaned against Vahns shoulder, ignoring the looks of her kinsmen that would periodically nce toward her or, more specifically, Vahn. They were all interested in the man that their goddess was escorting back to their homnd, a ce where men were not allowed to trespass. Vahn joined Tione inpletely ignoring them, all while Kali made casual conversation with Tiona for the short trip between the shore and the blood-red Brig Sloop anchored in the ports center. By the time the Amazonesses onboard had thrown ropes down to those waiting in thending ship, Tione had taken a deep breath before hardening her expression and sitting straight. Now, instead of ignoring the looks she was receiving, Tione stared down the curious Amazonesses. There would be plenty of time to thinkter and it was more important, for the time being, that she remembered her purpose on this trip. She needed to keep others in line and, if necessary, set an example to prevent any random Amazoness from trying to approach Vahn. Vahn put a little bit of pressure into the hand he had on Tiones waist before kissing the side of her head and saying, "You dont have to force yourself. Take as much time as you need...Tiona and I can manage the rest, at least for the time being..." Knowing the emptiness that followed sessful vengeance, Vahn knew that Tione would take a while to ept the reality of the situation. If she recovered instantly after dealing with the source of her trauma, it would have been even more problematic. Emotions werent something to be repressed in such circ.u.mstances as it could lead to other problems in the future whereas, not caring about the situation at all, would be the first steps towards developing psychosis and apathy towards life and death... Tione turned her eyes up at Vahn, her brown eyes shimmering for a moment before a smile spread across her face. Without saying anything, she began ignoring the surrounding Amazonesses once again and instead hugged Vahns arm as she continued resting her head against his shoulder. As for the Amazonesses themselves, they were slightly surprised that someone as strong as Tione acted so docilely around Vahn. Though they knew of his identity as the strongest in Orario, they had never actually seen him perform any feats. Even seeing his battle against Ottar on the projection sphere didnt really have the same impact as watching the fight in person. There was a lot that wasnt conveyed properly through an image, especially when it came to the overwhelming aura that usually emanated from Vahn when he was fighting seriously. Tiona had also been eyeing the interaction between her sister and Vahn, forcibly restraining her urge to snuggle up with thetter since she didnt want to butt after such a serious development. She let her mind wander to what they could doter as, unlike Tione, she hadnt been affected by the death of Argana that much. Because she hadnt been particrly close to Tione in the past, she had never really interacted that much with Argana and only knew second-hand what kind of things Tione had to go through. She had resented her sisters tormentor quite a bit so the death of Argana was more of a happy event for Tiona, not something to mourn andment... Sensing the peculiar atmosphere on the smallnding craft, Kali disyed an innocent smile,pletely ying the part of her Chandi persona. Even the members of her own Familia, while being deferential towards her, were treating her differently than normal as they were already ustomed to Kalis shifts in personality. While she was in her Chandi persona, they would treat her as if she were a young girl while doing their best to avoid directly antagonizing her. After all, though she appeared innocent, Kali was actually more dangerous as Chandi than her real form. Usually, Kali wouldze about and just observe from the side unless the situation called for her to act directly. In her Chandi persona, however, Kali would proactively engage people and, if you did manage to offend her, it was almost the same as signing your death warrant. She would instantly transform from her rtively innocent self into a brutal and merciless killer, often in less time than it would take her victims to even process what happened... Kali usually adopted her Chandi form when dealing with outsiders who werepletely unaware of her true nature. All they saw was an abnormal Amazoness child that stood out from her kin, especially with her innocent appearance. There was no end to the number of people who would try to exploit such a young girl, giving Kali more than enough justification to beat them into literal meat paste. She did, however, make sure to always introduce herself as Chandi which, to those who knew her native tongue, was a very big warning sign as it meant y evil without mercy. With thending craft being pulled up onto the deck of the Brig Sloop, Chandi hopped up to her feet and trotted over to an elevated tform with a thick cushion. The surrounding Amazonesses gave her a wide berth while those closest to thending craft observed its upants with interest. Many had respectful glints in their eyes as they looked upon Tione while the vast majority looked toward Vahn was a slightly predatory glimmer reflecting across their irises. Vahns gaze also passed over them, albeit very briefly, as hemitted their appearances and strength to memory. Most Amazonesses had simrly brown skin while, with the exception of a veiled woman, each had brown or reddish-brown hair. Like Tiona and Tione, nearly the entire crew had various shades of brown eyes, making Kali, Bache, and the Amazoness at the helm the only exceptions. Kalis eyes, even in her Chandi persona, were still blood red. As for Bache, she had the same pale-gold eyes as her sister while the helmswoman had sharp hazel-orange eyes like a hawk. For the brief moment when Vahn made eye contact with her, he noticed her eyes retract to points and it felt like her gaze had pierced him before she instinctually looked away, now slightly pale. While Vahn was standing on the deck with Tione, Tiona had walked over the Bache with an amiable smile on her face as she mused, "Im even stronger than you now, Bache~." This caused Bache to nod her head slightly before a soft yet womanly voice sounded out behind her veil, saying, "That seems to be the case. Even though I was a terrible Master, Im d to see how much youve grown, Tiona. You truly are the pride of the Amazonesses..." As she finished saying this, Bache turned her eyes towards Tione, her eyes squinting slightly as if she were smiling, adding, "Your sister has also grown a great deal. I am happy the two of you were able to live a fulfilling life outside of Telskyura..." Even though she was Arganas twin sister, it had been nearly two decades since the two were genuinely close with each other. Ever since she received the scar on her face at only eight years old, Bache had never treated Argana as her sister. She had genuinely been afraid that the day woulde when Argana would try and kill her, all in the pursuit of greater strength. Now that Argana was dead, she felt more relief than anything else since, more than any other Amazoness, Argana had killed the greatest number of their kin. Though she also reveled in battle, Bache had never been able to understand why Argana had been so bloodthirsty since their youth... Tiona rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish smile on her face as sheughed, happy and embarrassed after beingplimented. Unlike Tione and Argana, she had never really resented Bache and, after thetter began giving her books to read, the two had actually grown rtively close. The one thing Tiona had resented Bache for was the fact that her b.r.e.a.s.ts were muchrger but, after meeting Vahn, such things had be inconsequential. Now that she knew Bache would probably be her sister in the future, as it was almost guaranteed she would bear Vahns child, Tiona felt a little happy about how things had turned out... Unaware of the arrangements that had been made for her, as she was unable to speak anynguage other than her native tongue, Bache looked toward Vahn and Tione with mild interest as she asked, "Is that boy really as strong as the rumors say...?" Since she was speaking in the Amazoniannguage, Bache was surprised when it was Vahn who smiled and answered, "I still have a long way to go before I can confidently call myself the strongest. However, if it is for the people I care about, there isnt anything in the world that can hold me back..." Vahns words had caused most of the Amazonesses on deck to show genuine surprise as even Kali gave him a curious look, asking, "You can speak ournguage...?" Her question had been in their native tongue, causing Vahn to turn his attention back to her as he answered, "I can read, write, and speak in anynguage, including thenguage of the gods themselves..." Though it was a boon granted to him by The Path, Vahn was inextricably linked with it for the rest of eternity. Each function and ability it provided was a part of himself, something he had grown to ept with the passage of time. Kalis curiosity was piqued even further as this was something that hadnt been mentioned in the file provided by Loki. She didnt believe that thetter was unaware of this fact and, curious about the veracity of Vahns im, asked, "What am I saying right now...?" This time, she had spoken in a voice that caused everyone except Vahn to wince slightly as thenguage of the gods was something that should be iprehensible to mortals. They were words of power that were rarely used in the Mortal World as it would also cause the god in question to feel extreme fatigue for a short while. Since Vahns trantion worked automatically, everything Kali said soundedpletely normal to his ears. When he tried to respond, however, Vahn felt his energy reserves drain rapidly as he said, "You asked me what youre saying..." By the time the words had left his lips, Vahn had a small trickle of blooding out of his left nostril that caused him to furrow his brows and activate his [Magia Erebea] constitution. He quickly healed while his reserves were rapidly replenishing, all while Kali looked at him with wide eyes and arge grin on her face. She suddenly felt like the next three months were going to be infinitely more interesting than she had expected... Vahn felt like he had erred slightly but quickly recovered a stoic disposition as his mind raced with possibilities. He had felt the power contained within the words and wondered what kind of effect they would have if he used them in a spells incantation. As Eva had emphasized a lot, there was a lot of power in words and, the older thenguage, the more powerful the effect. In the record of Danmachi, thenguage of the gods was the oldestnguage, existing far longer than the Mortal World and the concept of Magic itself. Because of this, Vahn decided to look into it using one of the Space-Time orbs, as his intuition warned him that things could easily go awry if he used it in the real world... Unaware that she had just made Vahn inordinately more powerful, Kali was also thinking about the future as she leaned to the side, resting her elbow against a small raised tform. For a moment, she had forgotten she was in her Chandi persona and had fallen into her rather uncouth habits, invalidating the purpose of her blue smock as she sat in a rather slovenly manner. This caused Vahn to snap out of his own thoughts, furrowing his brows slightly as he asked, "Where will we be staying during the voyage...?" Kali had noticed Vahns reaction, the smile on her face vanishing as she adjusted her seated posture and exined, "My ship isnt exactly suited for the transport of passengers. Your choices are to sleep in my private quarters or below decks with my children. We dont have a lot of the luxuries you may be used to so youll have to bunk up with me if you want to sleep on an actual bed. Keep in mind that Im a rough sleeper, however, kukukuku~." Kali had defaulted to the native tongue of the Amazonesses, allowing her children to understand clearly what she was saying. Now, the looks they gave Vahn contained a great deal of fervor as their goddess had never really shown any interest in men previously... As he had already scanned his intent across the ship, Vahn knew that Kalis words were actually the truth. Other than a few barrels full of preserved fruit and a few other essential supplies, they didnt even carry any food reserves. Therge area below decks just had a few tightly bundled hammocks where the crew would sleep while all of their food was harvested from the sea. Even their fresh water was produced by boiling saltwater and processing the condensation and runoff into potable water that could be consumed sparingly. There werent even any onboard weapons for dealing with pirates and sea monsters. Only the small private quarters at the back of the ship was properly furnished, though that itself was a bit of an exaggeration. Kalis bed was just a wooden tform with a matted cushion nailed to it while the rest of the cabin was filled with strange ornamental furniture that served no practical purpose... Vahn was admittedly impressed with how seriously the Amazonesses were devoted to their lifestyle, even if he couldnt personally agree with some of their traditions. The fact they could sail out into the sea, seemingly without making any preparations, showed that they werepletely dedicated to surviving through their own capabilities. If not for the fact they were transporting a few goods and required sleep, Vahn suspected they might even forgo the use of sh.i.p.s entirely. Since he had seen how agile Tiona and Tione could be in the water, Vahn knew that the Amazonesses could actually travel through the water much faster than the ship itself... In response to Kalis obvious taunt, Vahns expression didnt change at all as he said, "It is only three months, so Ill stay on deck and observe throughout the journey. Im pretty interested in sailing so it would be a good opportunity to see how professionals operate..." Since almost everyone had been paying attention to Vahn at this point, there were varying degrees of incredulity on the faces of several Amazonesses as they processed what he had just said. As for Kali, she gave a small frown, saying, "You really are no fun at times, Vahn...well, I cant say Im not interested to see exactly how long you canst without sleep. If you get tired and pass out, I cant promise youll wake up in the same condition that you fell asleep in though, shishishishi~." Afterughing to her hearts content, Kali hopped up off her elevated tform and shimmied out of her smock before tossing her ck-haired wig to the side. An Amazoness quickly scooped it up as Kali manifested a spiked bone mask, cing it over the upper half of her face. For a brief moment, she had actually beenpletely n.a.k.e.d, wearing nothing but golden wristlets and anklets before her divine raiment took shape around her. Once her extremely revealing outfit hadpletely formed, Kali gave Vahn a mischevious smile before licking her lips and shouting, "Looks like well have an observer for the next three months, girls! Make sure you do your jobs properly so our guest is properly entertained! Khodiva, set sail for home~!" Following Kalis words, the Amazonesses on deck released a loud war cry as they set into motion, furling the sails and manually pulling up the two anchors before tying them down to the deck. It took less than a minute and a half before the ship was in motion, propelled against the wind by a series of long red oars that protruded from the side of the ship. One of the younger Amazonesses on the ship, even smaller than Kali, began beating arge drum in a rhythmic fashion, setting the tempo for the rowers below as therge Brig Sloop began to steadily elerate through the water... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Moving Forward...,Language of the Gods,Wise Sailors fear the sea during a storm while Amazonesses sail into it with smiles on their faces...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 934 - Idle

Chapter 934 - Idle

Watching the Amazonian crew at work was almost like watching a skilled artisan create a masterpiece. Each coordinated their efforts ording to themands of the hawk-eyed Amazoness steering the ship, never once stopping to doubt or question the orders issued. Other than Kali, Vahn, Tione, and Tiona, there wasnt a single idle hand as even Bache took over one of the guidelines for the main masted sails. It would usually take a muchrger crew to man a vessel of this size but, with the monstrous strength of the Amazonesses, they were able to easily perform the duties of several people with individual members. Tiona had been a little antsy ever since setting sail, eyeing the crew hard at work as she fidgetted about on the deck. Kali gave her an amused look,menting, "See, Vahn, it is the instinct of a true Amazoness to take action. Life is a machine in perpetual motion, constantly threatening to consume those who sit in ce, epting a life of stagnation andcency. The number of lives that have been lost because of such a foolish concept such as civilization far outstrips the lives of those who live and die by thew of the jungle. As you continue to y at making a world where people can live free, you are really just creating a prison that perpetuates excess life and death. Those who live in such a society will turn passive, living amongst excess and going against the natural order as their numbers expand exponentially, leeching off the power and resources provided to them by the strong..." As a Goddess of Death, Kali was intimately familiar with Life as well, being that the two were the opposite sides of the same coin. There had been a time before Death, causing even the gods themselves to go mad as they sought an end to the endlessly perpetuating cycle. Without death, the world could never exist in bnce while those who seek to preserve the lives of others indiscriminately only upset the natural order. She didnt fault Vahn for desiring a world with needless suffering, but the world he envisioned also led to an increased reliance on resources, leading to greater consumption, waste, and inevitable decay. People propagated even faster during peaceful times and, without the lingering threat of death, they would steadily growcent, dooming the very civilization that supports them out of the greed and expectation that always apanies such development... Vahn had been standing near the center of the deck, making sure he wasnt in the way of any of the Amazonesses as they performed their duties. Hearing Kalis words, his expression hardened since most of the goddesses, especially Loki, had mentioned simr things. They had all seen Empires, Kingdomes, even entire civilizations, rise and fall over the course of the Mortal Worlds long History. Orario was only a City that had existed for a thousand years while there were several Ancient Kingdoms that hade to ruin well over ten-thousand years ago. Some of these had even persisted for far longer than Orario itself and, in almost every case, it was prosperity itself that led to their ruin... Passing his gaze over the silent Tione and the giddy Tiona, Vahn then set his sights on Kali herself as he replied, "I wont deny that your words hold a great deal of truth, Kali...however, just because something has always been one way, that doesnt mean it cant be something else. After all, more than a thousand years ago the concept of gods roaming amongst mortals didnt even exist. The world is constantly in flux, moving forward as other variables are introduced into theplex equation that is life. In my short time, I have seen and done many things that even gods older than you had deemed impossible...even if my vision of the future fails, I will pick up the pieces and try again, no matter how many times it takes. That is the persistence of humanity, the very thing that has intrigued gods since the birth of primordial man..." Vahn had epted long ago that he was very likely to fail on his path, perhaps even several times in sequence. Over the course of an eternity that even exceeded entire records, Vahn knew he may even experience events that led to the destruction of entire universes. Even so, he was determined to continue forward until he could create the world he envisioned, knowing full well that he may be the very lynchpin maintaining the bnce between good and evil in the future. This was something even Kali, having existed more than five hundred million years, couldnt even conceptualize in a meaningful way... Kali was slightly surprised by Vahns conviction and, knowing some of the feats he had performed, she couldnt help but agree with him, even if only a little. In fact, she was currently thinking about what it would be like to get pregnant and give birth, a thought that had never even crossed her mind previously. The existence of the Vanir, apletely new race that defied nearly a billion years of mon sense was the truest testament to Vahns words. Even his remark about the gods descending to the Mortal World was true, which was one of the reasons she herself had descended in the past. With a thoughtful expression on her face, Kali pulled up her leg to getfortable, taking note of the fact that Vahn averted his eyes in the process. This caused her smile to turn mischevious as she made no effort to adjust the piece of fabric that was supposed to conceal her nudity. Though she would dig the eyes out of a normal mans skull for daring to peak at her, Kali treated Vahn an exception and found his reaction entertaining. She wondered how long he would fret over such a small and inconsequential matter and wanted to tease him since it was his decision not to y along when she wore proper clothing. After averting his eyes from Kalis figure, Vahn looked to Tiona and said, "If you want to help out, Im sure they could use the assistance. The same goes for you Tione, though you dont have to push yourself if you want to just enjoy the journey. Ill continue to observe for a while and try to pick up small duties after a few days pass..." Even though they were guests on the ship, Vahn felt it would potentially be very boring for Tiona and Tione if they sat still the entire time. They were the type that needed to enter the Dungeon every few days to vent stress, even though they spent a lot of time training and sparring. The three-month long journey wouldnt be easy for them as Tiona could already hardly contain herself... With Vahns consent, Tiona released a happy Yosh~! as she ran over and liberated one of the main masts guidelines from an unsuspecting Amazoness. This was the paired line to Bache and, outside of steering the rudder, it gave the most control over the direction and progress of the ship. Tiona had a happy smile on her face as she easily coordinated with the other Amazonesses, almost as if she had been part of the crew for years. As for the Amazoness who had lost her duty, she immediately moved to assist elsewhere, not even sparing Tiona a second nce since there was a vast difference in both their status and strength. Tione watched her younger sister with a small amount of incredulity in her gaze before releasing a sigh and saying, "Ill rest for a while before joining the fishing team once we get out to sea..." She hadnt really expected to start working alongside the crew so early but, after thinking about how boring and troublesome it would be to just stand around, Tione epted reality and thought about how she could best help out without getting in the way. Back when they were both sailing on Kalis ship, her duty had been the same as the small girl beating therge drum so her actual sailing experience wasckingpared to Tionas. Since it would be very demeaning for her to beat the drum at her age, Tione decided she would catch the biggest fish during thepetition that was bound to urter... After their short exchange, Vahn and Tione just watched the crew guide the ship into open waters, entering into the Serpent Sea as the maind quickly began to shrink on the horizon. Vahn had seen the sea several times from high above but it was his first time seeing such a vast expanse of water up close. It was somewhat surprising and strangely eerie to see so much water, especially with thend shrinking in the distance. His curiosity about whaty in the depths increased the further they went out but, even though he would easily be able to catch back up with the ship, Vahn stayed at Tiones side and continued to support her for the time being... During this time, Kali had been watching him intently and, even though Vahn was aware of it, he refused to look in her direction ever since they had reached open seas. It was surprisingly windy out at sea and, with Kalis negligible clothing, there were constant shes of tender skin that hed much rather avoid perusing. Part of him wanted to pull out another dress and force her to wear it but, given the circ.u.mstances, it would be impossible to convince her withouting to some kind ofpromise. He knew this is what she was waiting for as her smile had grown increasinglyrge while her posture became progressively more slovenly... Eventually, a change urred on deck as the hawk-eyes helmswoman issued orders to go half-sail while adjusting the ships course at an angle against the wind. This started them on a zig-zagging pattern that allowed them to progress forward, even against a headwind, as most of the oars were pulled back into the ship. A few minutester, some of the crew appeared from below-decks, the majority of their clothing removed. Other than their waterproof tops, bottoms, and some stockings, most of these Amazonesses hadpletely discarded the majority of their already revealing outfits. At this point, Tione also began to store her excess equipment into her storage bracelet, causing Kalis brows to rise slightly but otherwise remain silent. As for Tione herself, she turned to Vahn and said, "I need to catch the biggest fish, so Ill probably be under for a while. You dont have to worry unless I send you a telepathic message..." With these words, Tione began to stretch her body for a short while before leaping overboard and diving into the water below. This started a chain reaction amongst the other scantily d Amazonesses who almost immediately dove in after her, each disappearing into the seas depths. Even the small Amazoness girl, no longer having to create the cadence for the rowing crew to follow, jumped down into the murky and cold water below... Kali had noticed Vahns reaction when he watched the youngest of her crew jump overboard,menting, "She would be very insulted if you tried to advise her against fishing with everyone else. Youlle to understand Amazonesses better in the future, Vahn...for now, you should just observe. If you want to step in during an emergency, however, feel free...assuming you are willing to take responsibility~." Just as an Amazoness would get excited watching a strong potential mate in battle, they could be equally excited if a strong potential mate saved their lives. One of the ways to fish for an Amazoness that would dedicate themselves to you, at least for a short while, was to try and save them when they were in dire straits. After all, even if you were weaker than them, the fact you helped them ovee a situation where they would have otherwise perished left quite an impression on the Amazoness in question... Vahn withheld a sigh after hearing Kalis words before doing something she, and most of the other Amazonesses hadnt quite expected. Since it was a little awkward to just stand in the middle of the deck doing nothing, Vahn unequipped his top before changing into a pair of diving shorts. This left his own tanned skin exposed to the brisk sea breeze as more than twenty pairs of eyes locked onto his body. Ignoring the heated gazes, Vahn leaped high into the air, lingering for a few seconds before diving down into the water with unexpected momentum. His rather dynamic entry caused a plume of water to erupt at the side of the ship as he barreled through the water faster than most of the Amazonesses themselves could manage... Though he didnt possess the [Diving] Development Ability, Vahn was able to move through the water with even greater ease than he could fly through the air. He sacrificed a lot of agility but, by moving the water ahead of him to the side, Vahn was able to move at supersonic speeds through the water. Since his domain allowed him to detect life in the depths, he made a beeline towards arge shark-like creature that was around 18m long. It should have more than enough meat to feed the entire crew so he quickly skewered the side of its neck, sending a de-like pulse of energy thatpletely decapitated the rather surprised creature. After grabbing the still-twitching tail, Vahn was preparing to make his way back to the surface before stopping for a moment and looking at his surroundings. He had gone down to around 300m in a very short period of time, causing there to be almost no visibility, at least under normal circ.u.mstances. With his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could easily see through the murky water where even the suns light could barely reach. He could seerge schools of fish and evenrger singr creatures swimming about in the distance. There was even a serpent that was more than 30m long, currently being tag-teamed by two incredibly agile Amazonesses who were quickly causing it to bleed out as it futilely struggled against them... Turning his attention away from the duo, Vahns eyes passed over the area where the youngest Amazoness was rapidly swimming after a fish more than three times her size. It looked like a type of tuna and, even though it was darting through the water at more than 80km/h, the young Amazoness was keeping pace, matching every twist and turn with her tiny body as she steadily closed the distance between them. He noticed that, though Amazonesses werent particrly known for treating their young well, there were a few nearby the younger Amazoness that were keeping an eye on her, both out of intrigue and just the smallest modic.u.m of concern... After watching the chase for a few seconds, Vahn felt a shockwave pass through the water that was followed by a loud yet muffled thump. Though he had been keeping tabs on her, Vahn was a little surprised to see Tione dragging a massive crab that was over 10m across up towards the surface. It wasnt really the biggest catch, but the strength and difficulty of capturing such a creature were much higher than even fighting against the serpent. Unlike thetter, the crab in Tiones grasp was known as a Titan Stone Crab, a type of monster that was the equivalent of a Level 3 monster. The serpent was just arge sea-dwelling creature that had grownrge from exposure to the mana leaking out from some of the connecting points to the Dungeon below. If it were toe across the Titan Stone Crab, it would be killed almost instantly, making thetter far more impressive of a catch... Vahn suddenly felt like his 18m long shark was significantly less impressive than his initial impression. However, not wanting to show up Tione, Vahn threw it into his Inventory before moving on to catch something slightly smaller than her Titan Stone Crab. He found a rtively rare Emerald Tortoise that was also around Level 3 but was much easier to deal with since they were rtively slow. Using his Xuanwu form, Vahn easily broke through the monsters notoriously high defense before dragging it towards the surface. Though he could store it in his Inventory, everyone else was dragging their prey back so Vahn feltpelled to do the same... After Vahn had dived down below, Kali had risen from her seat before making her way to the side of the ship, her crimson eyes glimmering with interest as she looked at the surface of the water below. She didnt have the ability to see through the depths, but she could feel several lives being extinguished and was curious about what kind of prey Vahn would bring back. Even she hadnt expected him to suddenly strip down and jump into the water, causing her to stare slightly wide-eyed with the other Amazoness when he revealed his body. Though it wasnt the most impressive figure she had ever seen, Vahn was significantly more developed than she had expected. As a result, slowly but surely, Kalis intrigue in the anomalous boy continued to grow... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Death is part of life. Those who cannot die, seek it. Those who can die, run from it. The truly wise seek a worthy death, the culmination of all their lifes achievements, never fearing the future they had a hand in shaping,Clinging to the past denies the future; failing to learn from the past perpetuates the cycle anew...,Go, tiny Amazoness, catch the fishy...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 935 - Late Night Rumination

Chapter 935 - Late Night Rumination

After nearly five days at sea, Vahn found himself standing at the edge of the bowsprit, the protruding beam that jutted from the front of the ship. It was currentlyte in the evening and Vahn was enjoying the cold night air while staring up at the vast ocean of stars above. Tiona and Tione had already integrated with the crew rather quickly and, being the strongest Amazonesses on board, the crew showed them a great deal of respect and reverence. The same could be said about their treatment towards him, especially with Tiona constantly talking about how strong he was, but there was far more intent behind how they looked towards him aspared to the two girls. Over thest few days, Vahns role on the ship had essentially be that of the lookout since his domain allowed him to even detect what was deep beneath the waters surface. Even though he could probably do any number of other roles, it felt a little awkward for him to step into the ce of someone else, especially since none of the crew seemed to need help. Because of this, Vahn decided to stay out of the way, absentminded focusing on his domain while spending time with his children back at the Manor. The only time Vahn was fully focused on what was happening on the ship was when it was time to go diving, which he generally enjoyed, and when it was time to prep food. Unless it was a type of fish known to be poisonous, most of the prey hunted by the crew was eatenpletely raw, without even a basic level of preparation. Though the basic vor of creatures that had an ample amount of mana was already good, Vahn wasnt too fond of eating nd foods after learning to prepare meals properly. As a result, he became the de facto chef within the crew and would prepare a hearty and delicious meal during the morning and just before sunset. For the rest of the day, the Amazonesses would generally focus on making as much progress on the open sea as possible since the ship was forced to travel much slower at night. The majority of the crew would be sleeping in the evening so there was typically only a skeleton crew manning the ship while Vahn kept watch over the surrounding sea... While enjoying the evening breeze flowing through his hair, Vahn was also paying attention to the figure that was observing him from behind. Throughout the entire journey thus far, Kali had spent most of her time simply watching him from her elevated tform. As a goddess, she could alsopletely forgo sleep if she chose, allowing her to constantly train her focus on him even in the dead of the night. Vahn had already grown ustomed to this behavior of hers but still found it somewhat troublesome as it made it difficult to interact with her normally. At this point, it almost felt like a game between the two of them, one where Kali would wear proper clothing to get closer to him, or Vahn would give up and broach a subject in order to shorten the distance between them. Thus far, other than at meals, they rarely talked to each other, even though this journey was supposed to be one where he could familiarize himself with Kali and her Familia... Since there was still well over ten weeks left on the journey, Vahn didnt feel too constrained on time and decided to just leave matters as they were for the time being. The more important thing to worry about, at least at the present, was the subtle changes urring in the weather. Vahn could feel a bit of warm wind mixed into the cold air tickling his skin,bined with a subtle shift in the smell of the surrounding sea. He could also tell that the water below was beginning to grow tumultuous and, even though it hadnt hit yet, the chance of a storm forming seemed very high. One of the most dangerous things any crew would face during their journey across the vast sea was the potential of facing a storm during the dead of night. The chance of an ident urring increased exponentially and some of the waves could grow sorge they would easily capsize the ship of an inexperienced crew. There was still more than enough time for the crew to react to the forming storm and, even without him taking action, Vahn knew things wouldnt end badly. Though there was a chance something could happen, the crew aboard the ship was far from inexperienced and, from what he had heard, they had never once lost a vessel out at sea. Even having people fall overboard wasnt that big of an issue as most of the Amazonesses could build up enough speed in the water to literally leap out of the sea and back onto the deck above. They didnt even both to use a rope to tie themselves down to avoid mishaps, fully trusting in their experience and capabilities to whether the storm... Vahn was interested to see what many of the Amazonesses referred to as an exciting evening but, knowing that most of the crew had gone to sleep only two hours prior, Vahn didnt really want to bother them. A storm could persist anywhere from several hours, to even several days, setting the ship back just as long since it was almost impossible to navigate when you couldnt even see the sky and get your bearings. Because of this, Vahn released a hot breath that sent up a plume of condensation before rising to his feet. He felt seven pairs of eyes immediately train on him, mostly out of general curiosity mixed with a hint of excitement and anticipation. Though it wasnt really his intention, Vahn felt like he was about to show off and it made him feel a little anxious as the habit had never really left him. Even with hundreds of years of memories and experience, Vahn still felt a little childish at times, especially when he was being watched intently by women. Even so, he did his best to ignore them as his aquamarine eyes shifted into a stark blue that slowly transitioned towards an icy white. Holding out his hand, Vahn began to create a sphere of pure Ice Elemental energy with his Oblivion skill, much like the [True Fire Sphere]s he had created in the past... Vahn could feel his reserves draining rapidly but he still managed to make a sphere that was 8cm across with rtive ease. Though its temperature easily reached absolute zero, the pure white sphere Vahn had created had no effect over its surroundings at all. For the time being, it waspletely contained within itself, just like how the [True Fire Sphere] wouldnt output any heat until it became unstable. This didnt mean that the sphere wasnt extremely dangerous as even the briefest of contact with it would likely freeze a person so thoroughly that the very molecules in their body would break down, scattering away with the wind... Without dying too much, Vahn created three magic circles,yered with a small amount of distance between them, each with only a single property: eleration. Vahn sent what he generally called a [True Ice Sphere] into the first ward, instantly causing it to elerate exponentially before the same urred as it passed through the other two wards. The icy energy contained within actually shattered the magic circles themselves and caused the surrounding air temperature to drop a few degrees instantaneously as the orb itself seemingly vanished. It had easily moved outside of Vahns own detection range but, less than a minuteter, it was very obvious where the sphere had gone... In the distance, more than 50km away, a blue star could be seen forming through the dense clouds that had started to obscure the night sky. Its radiance continued to increase until it seemed to illuminate the entire world below, casting a bluish white light down on the sea and the blood-red ship belonging to the Kali Familia. As for the crew of said vessel, they were staring wide-eyed towards the sky as even Kali herself rose from her raised tform to get a better look at the blue star that had continued to expand until it was like a small moon. Even at this distance, they could all feel the temperature dropping even further as the sea below slowly began to settle, bing less tumultuous than it had been before... Unable to restrain her curiosity, Kali eventually tore her eyes away from the persistent blue star and made her way over to the bowsprit, asking, "What did you do, Vahn...?" She had never seen a mortal exercise as much power as Vahn had just demonstrated, seemingly without cing any discernable burden on himself. That kind of attack seemed like it couldpletely devastate entire Cities and, other than a few of the strongest individuals, most people would die under that single attack. Even as a god, Kali felt danger from the icy energy tickling her skin, causing small goosebumps to dot her exposed arms and legs... Though it made him feel a little giddy, Vahn did his best to act casually as he exined, "Most storms are caused by temperature differentials, primarily when there is a difference between the temperature of the sea and the atmosphere above. By reducing the temperature within the atmosphere, I can either dy the formation of storm clouds, orpletely prevent them if the conditions are ideal..." Since it was already nearing winter, it didnt take too much effort to further decrease the temperature, preventing the forming storm from taking shape. Though there was a chance his actions could cause a small blizzard to ur, it wasnt that likely since the cold air would fall towards the sea and dissipate rather quickly, cooling the surface water below and pushing the storm away from them. As Vahn was exining things, Kali gave him a slightly incredulous look before inclining her head to view the blue star once again. It was only now beginning to slowly dissipate but she could tell that it would get much colder before the surrounding temperature began to normalize again. She was almost tempted to in, tasking Vahn with warming up her body aspensation for his actions. Reason cautioned her against this, however, and, seeing an example of what Vahn was capable of, Kali felt the need to reflect on a few things. She released a hot sigh that kicked up an evenrger cloud of condensation than Vahn, feeling a cold chill run through her body in the process. Almost as soon as this shudder passed through her body, Kali suddenly felt very warm as calm andfortable energy enveloped her body,pletely dissipating the chill. This caused her to blink in confusion before she turned her blood-red eyes toward Vahn, seeing him avert his eyes once again before resuming his ce on the bowsprit. Upon seeing this, Kalis face developed a mischevious smile as she made her way back to her own seat, noticing that the warmth that had enveloped her body also covered the majority of the ship. Her Amazonesses, as resistant to the cold as they were, would have been adversely affected if the temperature dropped too much. Now, instead of freezing temperatures and biting winds, there was a veryfortable warmth permeating throughout the ship that made the small buildup of ice in the sea seem like an illusion... Vahn had been temptedment that, if Kali was cold, then she should wear some proper clothing instead of the negligible amount of cloth that her raiment wasprised of. This sentence got stuck in his mind, however, as Vahn realized the full context of what he would have said. He had been ignoring it for some time but Vahn now felt a small amount of confusion since he realized that clothes that Kali was wearing werent her own design. All gods had a raiment and, just as in the case of Loki and Hephaestus, not all were particrly fond of what they had been given. They didnt get to choose the form their raiment would take and, since the skimpy outfit Kali was wearing was much the same, Vahn couldnt really me her for wearing what the record, and fate itself, had assigned her... With thoughts like these on his mind, Vahn realized that he had been somewhat biased against Kali, wanting her to change to suit his standards, even though she had lived more than million times longer than he had. She was just living as naturally as possible, matching the Amazonesses that worshipped her since long before she had descended into the Mortal World. Though he had every right to be ufortable with the situation, Vahn knew that he was just being obstinate as, regardless of how long he put it off, there wasnt anything even Kali could do about her physical appearance. Eventually, the time woulde where he would either have to ept the reality of the situation, setting aside his personal bias, or he would have to live by that bias and ept the inevitable fallout that would ur... While thinking of things like this, Vahn had sent warm energy through his domain, constrained to the ship itself. He pretended to ignore the looks he was receiving and decided to focus on his thought, mulling over a variety of things as he tried to reason his way to a conclusion he could ept. Even after just five days, Vahn could tell that the Amzonesses in Kalis Familia genuinely enjoyed their lifestyle, including the younger Amazoness in the crew. They worked hard, yed hard, and had a very strong camaraderie, even though they were also extremelypetitive. Without exception, everyone did their duty and followed through on any task they were assigned, never questioning orders and always contributing their full effort for the benefit of everyone... If not for the fact he had seen the [Hearts Desire]s of Tiona, Tione, and even Aisha, Vahn would have felt that there was nothing wrong with a society that produced such a cohesive group of individuals. However, the crucible, which pitted Amazonesses as young as four years old against each other, was undoubtedly something that existed back in Telskyura. For girls like Tiona, Tione, and Aisha, the unique Amazonesses, it was a living nightmare that they had only been able to escape through extreme effort and circ.u.mstance. However, this was just one side of the equation and it was only now that Vahn realized he hadnt really seen the event from the perspective of a normal Amazoness... After seeing the influence of instinct on other races, especially the True Dragons and Beast Humans, Vahn knew it was almost impossible to inhibit natural urges without several severe consequences. He knew that Amazonesses, even young ones, had a propensity towards expressing themselves physically while having extremelypetitive and borderline prideful natures. If more than 95% of a poptions children had that same disposition, it wasnt hard to imagine how their culture would have developed over time. Without a strength-based hierarchy to keep order, or having an outlet to express themselves, it was possible that young Amazoness children would suffer severe psychological strain and a variety of other health issues... Realizing this, Vahn released a long and exasperated sigh, muttering, "Why does this world feel like it ces limits on everything...?" Even the very gods in Heaven were severely limited because of thepulsion of their Divinity. Now, Vahn realized that almost everything that made up the existing structure of Danmachi was much the same, a series of biological, mental, or even spiritual limitations. Even he, having bonded with a limitless existence such as The Path was still bound by the Laws of the record, unable to grow unless he made a concerted effort and worked tirelessly toprehend the very Laws themselves. Though this made each aplishment feel worth it, Vahn was starting to realize that his perspective towards how he treated others, and even the world itself, had been through a very heavy and personal bias... Ever since he had started gaining power, Vahn had been on a path where he was forcibly changing the world to suit his perspective. Even though the world had existed long before his intrusion, he was forcing it to change over a very short period of time, imposing his will onto others. Since he was doing this for the right reasons, this wasnt necessarily a bad thing, but the way he had gone about things had, at times, been both foolish and childish. Without the tireless support of goddesses infinitely more experienced than he was, Vahn would have failed from the outset, likely losing his life as the result of making a foolish decision that he hadnt properly thought out... With this thought lingering in his mind, Vahn looked toward the area where the [True Ice Sphere] had detonated and wondered how much he would change the records he visited in the future, all for his own selfish reasons. After all, if he chose to avoid a record, its entire History would have yed out without his influence, including the lives of several trillion individuals, both good and bad. The part of History that represented the events he knew from the manga were nothing but a momentary blip in a vast expanse of time that could stretch for billions of years, if not longer...yet, even knowing this, Vahn still forcibly changed things, knowing full well that he would likely make several mistakes along the way... After reaching this conclusion, a small smile spread across Vahns face as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the brisk evening air once again. As he had told Kali previously, he would indeed make mistakes along the way and, no matter how many times it took, Vahn would pick up the pieces and try again. His actions may be selfish but, so long as life persisted, seeking changes both positive and negative, everyone possessing an ego was just as selfish. Even the peopleuded as Heroes were just individuals that possessed enough power to bring about the changes they had selfishly sought after bing dissatisfied with the world they had been born into. This was yet another natural part of life and, instead of fretting over things he was unable to influence, at least for now, Vahn wondered if it wouldnt be better to simply enjoy the life he had already created for himself... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Life is motion,Some things never change...,Some things shouldnt be changed...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 936 - Dual Lifestyles

Chapter 936 - Dual Lifestyles

While on his sea voyage towards Telskyura, Vahn wasnt idle back at the Manor and, though he was supposed to be taking a break from external affairs, it didnt mean he waspletely unaware of what was going on. With theing of winter and the drastic increase in the poption of both Orario and the budding settlements near the former Dwarven Fortresses, there were a few food shortages expected as therge caravans that had previously traversed through various countries had yet to reform. Vahn had found himself in a meeting with Fortuna, Minerva, Demeter, and another Goddess of Agriculture, Annona. Annona was one of the key suppliers of cereals and grains to all regions, not just Orario, and had been a long-time associate of Demeter. She had a rather unique appearance with fluffy pink hair that curled naturally, framing her rather gentle facial features. As all gods were considered unblemished, the thing that stood out the most with Annona was the fact that she had speckled freckles that were a light pink and soft brown coloration. She also had greyish eyes that had a tone of yellow and blue mixed in, giving her one of the more unique appearances Vahn had ever seen amongst goddesses. This,bined with her rather shapely figure, motherly nature, and gentle disposition made her very easy to associate with, even though she seemed a bit airheaded at times... Vahn had been listening to them give an ount of the supplies that were likely to run short, especially on the fringe territories. Just as Emiru and Maemi had experienced in the past, there were many territories that would experience short famines during the winter months if hunting, gathering, and trade hadnt been favorable to them. Though they werent yet his responsibility, Vahn didnt feelfortable with the knowledge that small viges and tribes would struggle through theing winter months. This meant that the elderly would likely starve while the young, especially if they were female, may end up being sold by their viges as ves, trading lives for a small amount of grain and supplies... The problem was, even if he wanted to do something about it, the only viable option was to either pass through each vige himself, or send out members of the HDF to deliver supplies. This could have other detrimental effects, however, as it could potentially create a series of misunderstandings that could cause these viges to expect free goods every winter. The people on the fringe territories werent well educated and most led very simple lives where it was rtively rare for even a handful of vigers to be able to read and write. Some tribes didnt even speak the nativenguage of Orario, and most of the Continent, Koine. Fortuna hade up with a potential solution, which wasnt too different from what would normally happen during such circ.u.mstances. The HDF members that were sent out to the fringe territories could exchange supplies for the very same people that would have been traded away by their viges, allowing them to be temporary ves under a two-year contract, serving as an additionalbor force for the Alliance. At the same time, Vahn had the option of training and educating these people before allowing them to return to their homndster, taking farming techniques and knowledge back with them. These people would also serve as the catalyst to encourage migration and proactive trade with the Alliance in the future, allowing the flow of goods in and out of the City to slowly increase with the passage of time... Since Vahn knew that, under the right circ.u.mstances, very wasnt exactly a bad thing, he ended up agreeing with Fortunas suggestion. The contract the Alliance used was significantly different from a normal ve contract so they wouldnt be mistreated and exploited as property by those who thought themselves above others. Those that were already a.d.u.l.ts would be given work, shelter, and a steady pay that would allow them to save enough to finance themselves if they decided to stay in Orario after their contract expired. As for those who had yet to be a.d.u.l.ts, they would either be epted into the School or incorporated into some of the smaller Familia. They would not remain ves and would instead be given a proper education or apprentice within a Familia to learn a trade that would allow them to make a living when they were older... With these decisions made, Vahn had filled 100 storage artifacts that were filled with grain and preserved meat that he had obtained through the system shop. These would be issued to HDF members who had already reached the rank of Lieutenant, meaning they were already Level 3 and had earned enough contribution points to be trusted with important assignments. There were now around 14,000 members of the HDF so Vahn had plenty of suitable candidates to choose from, each leading small toons of twenty that would easily be able to fend off attacks from monsters and bandits. During the months before winter, the number of bandits that roamed the countryside increased exponentially as some poor farmers would take up robbing small merchant groups instead of trying to obtain a higher yield from their overfarmed plots ofnd... Though he had arranged the artifacts and supplies, the task of choosing suitable candidates was left to Finn who, when Vahn and Haruhime werent in Haven, acted as a Commander in the HDF. Gareth usually presided over Lil Geirr so, after working with Finn for a long time, Vahn hade to trust his judgment and leadership capabilities. Though Finns wives had migrated down into the Dungeon, bringing their children along with them, Finn seemed in rtively high spirits after Vahn gave him a pendant that doubled his stamina regeneration. With some of the other benefits Vahn had given Finn, even some of his wives hade to express their gratitude whenever he would stop by to discuss various matters... After arranging everything, Vahn entrusted the supplies to Yggy who was easily able to move inorganic objects between her other selves. It still consumed a lot of energy, but it was nothingpared to teleporting a person, allowing Yggy to easilyplete the task and inform Finn about Vahns arrangements. As for Vahn himself, he had spent a few minutes pampering Yggy before returning to where Fortuna, Demeter, and Annona were still waiting for him. During their earlier discussion, they had asked if he would apany them for tea after he had finished his arrangements. Since Fortuna was also a goddess he was steadily growing closer to, Vahn didnt refuse the offer while Minerva, having her own matters to attend to, ended up parting ways with the group while Vahn was taking care of things. With nothing else nned for the day, Vahn spent around forty minutes enjoying thepany of the three goddesses and, after she ambled into the room, his adorable little Autumn. She already had the physical appearance of a young girl of around eight years old, but her disposition made her seem far more mature. Autumn always seemed to have a gentle smile on her face and, much like her mother, she had eyes that drooped at the ends while even her movements seemed slow and elegant. She never seemed to be in a rush and would often spend well over an hour just staring out windows or quietly listening to the sounds of nature along the periphery of the illusory forest... When Autumn slowly made her way into the room, her natural smile blossomed even more when she saw who was inside, stating in a soft and quiet voice that was difficult to hear unless you were listening closely, "Father...Mother...it is good to see you. May I join you...?" Just after these words left her mouth, Autumn also gave a polite smile and a slight bow towards Fortuna and Annona, lifting the edges of her vani-colored dress in the process. Vahn, rarely able to refuse when his daughters asked something of him, returned a smile of his own as he said, "I dont see any problem with having you join us, Autumn..." This was followed by Fortuna and Annona nodding while Demeter simplyughed softly before making space on the sofa so that Autumn would be able to sit between her and Vahn. Unlike his other children, Autumn was significantly less attached to him, often sitting on her own and keeping a bit of distance between herself and others. During conversations, however, this would change a bit as she was also quick to make gentle and supportive contact with people, even though it was hard to tell if she was actually listening at times. Vahn didnt really know what to make of this kind of behavior but, as Autumn seemed to be happy, he allowed her to do as she pleased. Thus, after smiling radiantly towards Demeter, Autumn slowly ambled over to the sofa before fixing her dress and sitting in the spot that had been emptied for her. She folded her hands in herp as her eyes seemed to peer off into the distance, seemingly content with just being present without even attempting to take any tea or snacks for herself... This was something Vahn was used to so he took the initiative to fill a ceramic teacup with a fragrant tea that was filled with honey. Autumn, though never really stating her likes and dislikes, always seemed happier when she had something sweet to eat or drink. Vahn ced two teaspoons of refined honey into her cup and swirled it around with a fine silver spoon before handing her both the teacup and the saucer. Autumns eyes gained a momentary focus as her smile grew slightly, happily epting the teacup as she said, "Thank you, Father..." before sampling the contents with an even happier smile. Like this, Vahn enjoyed a quiet and peaceful teatime with thepany of three goddesses and his inexplicably quiet and elegant daughter. She only spoke a few short sentences when directly addressed, spending the rest of the time simply listening in on other conversations while staring into the contents of her teacup. If not for the fact that her Love parameter was at 8,017, even Vahn wouldnt really know what was going through Autumns mind. He had tried asking her before but her only response was a somewhat amused smile as she answered, "This ce is very warm..." without exining the meaning behind her words. Since many of her answers were simrly as vague, Vahn had grown ustomed to just lightly pampering this peculiar daughter of his, doing his best not to disturb the peace she seemed to have found... --- Back on the Kali Familia ship, Vahn had a gentle smile on his face as his mind was focused on the tea party in the Manor. He was vaguely aware of the looks the surrounding Amazonesses would give him but it didnt do anything to particrly spoil his mood. Since his previous rumination, Vahn had decided to just go with the flow of things instead of fretting over them unnecessarily. Though this was a somewhat cyclic habit he had developed, Vahn wasnt bothered by this fact as it was just another part of what defined the person he had be. He was happy with the life he created for himself in this world and didnt see any need to change. As a result, Vahn was sitting with nothing but a pair of waterproof bottoms and a few tribal essories, blending in well with the surrounding Amazonesses, so long as you ignored the fact he was a man. Vahn enjoyed the feeling of the cool air against his skin while the warm and revitalizing rays of the sun kissed his healthy brown skin. During his previous rumination session, Vahn had decided to try and experience a simr way of life as the Amazonesses themselves, even though he was still just an observer. He wanted to truly understand their perspective before making decisions that could impact their entire culture and way of life. Just as he had done with the Xenos, Vahn wanted to respect the unique society they had created and, though he would undoubtedly change some things, he wouldnt continue to force his perspective and bias. With these kinds of thoughts on his mind, Vahn stared out over the deep blue sea before shouting, "Sea monster, twenty degrees starboard side! Distance, 700m, depth 90m!" His rm was followed by a series of orders from Khodiva, each setting groups of Amazonesses into motion as they quickly prepared for theing battle. Now, other than a skeleton crew that kept the ship moving, most of the Amazonesses on deck had gathered near the starboard side, quickly gearing up with spears before releasing war cries and jumping into the water. Even though the monster had yet to appear, none of them questioned whether or not Vahn was telling the truth, instantly following through on the information he had provided, even as an outsider. Shortly after the first batch of Amazonesses jumped into the water, there were a series of thumps that caused plumes of water to shoot up. Almost immediately thereafter, arge ck squid-like monster that was covered with white speckles broke the surface of the water, iling its tentacles as it thrashed about and tried to attack the swarm of Amazonesses agilely cutting through the water and surrounding it. Seeing them easily evade the tentacles that could weigh several tons, all while acrobatically vaulting out of the water to throw their spears, was truly a sight to behold. They all worked together, coordinating their efforts to systematically overwhelm the squid-like monster without exposing any individual member of their group to danger... Vahn continued to watch the battle from atop the ships deck, Tiona, Tione, Bache, and even Kali joining him. The stronger members would only interfere if the weaker members were unable to deal with the threat, allowing those with less experience to grow and mature. If Tiona, Tione, and Bache were to step in, the fight would have been over after a very short period of time. As for Kali, she rarely took action directly and was simply using the opportunity to linger around Vahn, saying, "This is how we Amazonesses live and die, fighting for supremacy against the natural world instead of trying to escape it..." Even now, Kali would say such words, almost as if she were trying to convince Vahn that their way of life was correct. Hearing her, Vahn just gave a small nod without answering her directly, knowing that Kali didnt actually expect one from him. This caused Kali to lick her fang-like tooth with an amused smile on her face before she leaned against the ships railing and shouted, "You brats, Vahn said he would personally feed the person who gets the killing blow~!" This time, Vahns brows furrowed slightly as he gave Kali a sidelong nce, earning a mischevious shishishi from her as the previously coordinated Amazonesses became like a school of piranhas. Amongst them, there were even two Amazonesses who leaped out of the water and mounted the squid-like monster, digging their hands into its slimy exoskeleton and forcibly trying to tear apart the ting with brute strength. Kali had turned to match Vahns gaze, asking, "What, are you going to refuse after seeing them work so hard? I didnt think you were-" Before Kali could finish her words, Tiona had vaulted off the deck, flipping through the air with a yful smile on her face. This time it was Kalis turn to frown slightly as she watched the Level 7 Tiona performed an ax kick into the massive squids head, causing a massive concave indentation that caused the surrounding water to drop slightly before sending out a shockwave. The squid was smashed into the water while the surrounding Amazonesses were pushed away by the shockwaves wake, some flipping and tumbling through the water a few times as they tried to orient themselves again... When the squids emerged once again, it was long dead as Tiona stood on the surface of its corpse, giving a sheepishugh as she waved her arms and said, "Youll have to try harder than that if you think Ill let you have Vahn, ehehehehe~!" This caused Kali to click her tongue while Bacheughed from the side, covering her already veiled mouth with her hand with an amused light in her eyes. As for Tione, she had a stupefied expression on her face, realizing that Tiona had stolen the limelight before she could even act. Even so, she didnt say anything and instead cross her arms with a hmph that caused Vahn to produce a wry smile in response. He knew he would have to feed her too, causing apetition between the two sisters that would require him to pamper both until they were satisfied... (A/N: Reminder, Vahns children have the bracket parameter (Familial Love), nothing more sinister. Also, if there is a third chapter today, it will beter in the afternoon. Tomorrow will probably have four regardless though since it is the reset. Also, how is everyone liking the mini-arc with the Amazonesses? Im not sure if it is interesting, even though I like the idea of sailing quite a bit...?) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Winter ising...,The peculiar, yet adorable, Autumn...,Tiona is a very honest girl xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 937 - Natural Disaster

Chapter 937 - Natural Disaster

After fifteen days aboard the Kali Familia ship, even Vahn felt like he had integrated into the crew, at least a little. Though he wasnt assisting with the actual process of sailing, his role as both a chef and a lookout had earned him even more popr than normal. Not only was he able to easily locate sea monsters andrge prey long before they were an actual threat, but he was able to turn said prey into delicious meals that were a rare luxury out at sea. After the first petition, where Tiona had stolen the victory, it had even be a small game amongst the Amazonesses to see who would be able to get pampered by Vahn during meal time. Currently, Vahn was somewhat awkwardly holding a piece of Deepsea Megalodon meat with a pair of red chopsticks as the victor of thest hunt nibbled at the offering with a little too much fervor in her eyes. This was none other than the Helmswoman of the Kali Familia ship, the hawk-eyed Amazoness, Khodiva. It was generally her duty to pilot the ship but that didnt mean she was always at the helm as, unlike Vahn, others generally required sleep. During these times, another trainee would take up the helm though, on asion, Kali would also take the wheel in order to detour towards something she was interested in. During the early morning hunt, when most of the Amazonesses were waking to prepare for another long day, Khodiva had joined the hunt after being egged on by a few other Amazons. Since Tiona, Tione, and Bache were disqualified from thepetition, this gave the Level 5 Helmswoman the edge to clinch the victory. She had wrangled in a twenty-two meter long Deepsea Megalodon, a monster near the peak of Level 4 that was covered in rough skin and white bone-like protrusions that it used to impale its prey before ripping it apart with its powerful jaws. Khodiva had managed to kill it by ripping out one of its eyes before breaking into its skull and destroying it from the inside... Because of Khodivas victory, Vahn now had to suffer under the womans prating gaze from close proximity as she stared unblinkingly toward him. He had heard she had a rare skill that was literally called [Hawk Eyes], an Innate that greatly enhanced every function of her eyesight. Not only could she see very far away, eyeing targets upwards of 3km away with rity, but her dynamic vision allowed her to track fast-moving objects much easier than normal. Though her peripheral vision suffered as a result, it was still a very useful ability to possess if she could develop it further. The downside to Khodivas Innate was that her gaze felt like it could pierce through flesh if she was looking directly at you. Her eyes would also twitch and lock on to things that moved around in her periphery, even though she didnt move her head around that much. It was a very peculiar sight and, being in such close proximity to her, even Vahn felt slightly unnerved as she nibbled away at the offered bits of food. Contrary to her rather fierce appearance, and how she was able to mand the entire crew skillfully, Khodiva had turned very quiet when he began feeding her. She just slowly ate the food offered to her with a heated look in her piercing eyes, causing Vahn to feel like each bite she took was taken out of his own body... Fortunately, Khodiva couldnt exactly put off her duties for too long so the tense moment came to an end after a rtively short period of time, contrary to how it felt. This left Vahn free once again as Khodiva tookmand of the ship and began directing the crew to perform their duties as she piloted the ship. As was often the case, Kali had used this opportunity to linger around Vahn, musing, "You really know how to make an Amazoness act like a maiden, dont you, Vahn~?" Since she had known Khodiva for thetters entire life, Kali knew she wasnt the quiet and demure girl that she appeared to be when Vahn was feeding her. In fact, many of the Amzonesses on board acted strangely around Vahn, showing far more inhibitions than they normally would... Vahn, still wearing only a minimal amount of clothing, had been wiping his hands clean after disposing of the excess waste into his Inventory. The Amazonesses would usually throw the remains overboard, letting the fish in the sea benefit from the easy meal, but Vahn could earn a few extra OP by exchanging some of the more valuable parts. In response to Kalis words, he simply gave her a small smile as he said, "I imagine they dont know how to treat me since this situation is rather abnormal..." Unlike a normal strong male, which could kick their instincts into high gear, Vahn was very abnormal existence. Though he was certainly strong, they had watched him stay away for literally fifteen days, never tiring, never showing signs of fatigue, and interacting with their goddess as if they were equals. At the same time, powerful existences like Tiona and Tione were very deferential to Vahn, making it hard for them to approach him since it felt like there was arge distance that was almost impossible to ovee. Contrary to this, however, Vahn was also very amicable and had been blending in with their way of doing things very well, causing many Amazonesses to simply not know how to behave around him. Even Kali had been feeling this way over thest few days, to the point that she was now wearing an extra set of cloth bottoms since she was tired of Vahn not looking at her... Kali squinted her eyes slightly upon hearing Vahns words before saying, "Come sit with me today. You can still keep a lookout, even with your eyes closed, right~?" Previously, under normal circ.u.mstances, sitting on Kalis tform was something that could earn you the death sentence outright. Kali was willing to make an exception for Vahn since she had been watching him from a distance for more than two weeks and there were a few things she was curious about. It was awkward to talk during the meal times since she didnt eat with everyone else as it would make it impossible for them to eat in peace. Vahn contemted Kalis offer for a brief moment, allowing his thoughts to show on his face for a bit and sessfully annoying the diminutive goddess in the process. She wasnt the only one who had been observing others over thest two weeks as Vahn had also been paying close attention to her. He had noticed that Kali, though capable of showing wisdom and keen insight, genuinely seemed to dislike thinking too much. She wasnt fond of when other people showed hesitation and thought too seriously over a matter, preferring the people she interacted with to be more decisive and forthright. Since almost everyone around her was rtively simple, Kali showed an almost childish intolerance for people that were excessively considerate of matters. As he had expected, Kali furrowed her brows after a while, rebuking Vahn by saying, "A goddess allows you to sit in a ce reserved for gods and you have to think about it? If youre a man, you should be more decisive and stop fretting over small matters...!" In response to this, Vahn gave a small smile and said, "Well, things are already a littleplex between me and the crew. If I sat with you, wouldnt that just make things even moreplicatedter on? Besides, I cant simply sit around while even Tiona and Tione are hard at work, can I...?" Vahn had just finished wiping his handspletely so he threw his towel into his Inventory before leaving behind a frowning Kali as he climbed to the edge of the bowsprit and began his lookout duty. Kali wasnt stupid so she knew that Vahn was messing with her yet, at the same time, she knew his words were also true and there wasnt any way to actually make him do what she wanted. She was fully aware that this was his intention, demonstrating that it didnt matter if she was a goddess and he was a mortal. He wasnt someone she could simply bend to her will and force him to act as she pleased, quite literally cing himself on the same level as her by the stance he had taken. This was something that annoyed her greatly as she had already made severalpromises for him and, even though he was supposed to be getting to know her better, Vahn spent more time with Amazonesses he would never have a rtionship with than a goddess that would bear his child in the future... Feeling vexed, Kali took her seat and leaned against her armrest, staring at Vahns back with an annoyed glint in her blood-red eyes. She knew he was aware of her gaze so Kali was boring a hole into the back of Vahns head and sending out a bit of her own Divine Power to annoy him. Though he pretended to be unperturbed, Kali could see the hairs on Vahns arms rise slightly, causing her to cackle lightly as she lounged on her tform. If he was going out of his way to annoy her, she could do the same to him and, just as she couldnt do anything about the way he acted, he couldnt really do anything to her either... Feeling like a grim reaper had a de to his throat, Vahn ignored the urge to rub his neck as he resisted the cold chill that made the sea breeze seem warm byparison. Since Kali actually had two Major Divinities, rted to Death and Time, even his domain couldntpletely resist her power unless they were directlypeting against each other. Vahn wasnt trying to be actively hostile to Kali and, considering it would ruin the atmosphere on the ship, he decided to let her act out a bit in order to avoid arger conflict. If she got carried away, there were plenty of ways he could punish herter on so this wasnt something intolerable... Unaware of the somewhat petty squabble between Kali and Vahn, the crew of the ship went about their duties with an unwavering intensity that seemed to persist, irrespective of the passage of time. Even after more than two weeks on the sea, none of the Amzonesses showed any signs of fatigue andcency, fully focused on their individual tasks. It was almost as if they were determined to reach their destination in record time, showing an inspiring amount of motivation that, to Vahn, was genuinely awe-inspiring. He had grown progressively fonder of this crew as time passed and couldnt help marveling at how easily both Tiona and Tione had blended in, almost as if they had known each other Amazoness for years... Like this, several hours passed uneventfully as even Kali seemed to be bored with ring at Vahn, allowing him a reprieve as he gazed out over the horizon. It was around 2 PM that Vahns senses detected what he could only describe as an abnormality, causing his brows to furrow as he rose to his feet and activated his [Eyes of Truth]. Since he would generally remain unmoving during the day, Vahns actions drew the attention of the entire Amazoness crew as even Khodiva issued orders that would free up a few members to deal with any potential attack from a sea monster. However, this time it was Kali who had the biggest reaction as her bored expression turned into one of extreme seriousness as she also rose up, shouting, "Furl the sails! Turn the ship around and get a rowing crew ready, now...!" For Kali to takemand, it meant the situation was incredibly dire so the entire crew understood something was wrong as they quickly set into motion. Against all expectations, a calm voice broke through the chaos, countermanding Kalis orders as Vahn simply stated, "It is fine, leave this one to me..." Though they would normally never ignore Kalis orders, Vahns words seemed to pass through the entire crew, carrying with them calm andpelling energy that caused Kali to look toward him, asking, "Are you certain? That isnt something even you should be able to fight..." Hearing Kalis words, Vahn turned around, eyes zing like blue mes with a calm smile on his face as he said, "You may be right, but that doesnt mean there arent other ways to deal with the situation. Besides, you should know me well enough at this point...do you think I will endanger the lives of everyone here on a whim?" Even as he was speaking, Vahn had restrained his domain and enclosed it around the ship, bringing the mana in the surroundings under his control in the process. The mana was so dense that it glistened under the light of the sun, causing the crew of Amazonesses to show extreme confusion as they reached out, tracing their fingers through the air. As he had stated, Kali knew that Vahn wasnt the type to put others at risk, almost to the point of it being a major weakness of his. Thus, though reason told her it was an extremely foolish decision to make, Kali took a deep breath through her nose before sitting back on her tform, stating, "Khodiva, full speed ahead...!" Even as these words left her mouth, Kali felt somewhat foolish but convinced herself that it would only be a small setback if she ended up dying as a result of Vahns hubris. Since he would probably survive, she could use it as leverage against him and force him to be more amenable in the future... Following Kalis order, the crew stopped furling the sails as Khodiva continued to steer the ship forward, the atmosphere growing progressively more tense with the passage of time. They had yet to see what had alerted both Vahn and Kali, causing them to feel giddy and excited as their anticipation continued to rise. It wasnt untilrge serrated points began to rise out of the sea that the generally fearless Amazonesses realized what it was they were facing. In an instant, even Bache and Khodiva paled greatly at some of the crewmembers, for the first time, became idle in their movements with expressions of sheer disbelief and terror on their faces... Suddenly, the sea level began to rapidly drop as a ck void appeared beneath the ship, causing the jagged points nearly a kilometer in the distance to feel as though they were ascended into the sky. However, instead of descending with the water, the ship continued forward on its trajectory, flying through the air under the guidance of Vahn. The water level continued to descend several hundred meters in only a few seconds, revealing the serrated spines to actually be the teeth of a massive funnel-like creature. For nearly 2km, the sea itself was being sucked in by the impossiblyrge monstrosity before the gaping circr maw began to slowly close, its thousands of rows of serrated teeth coiling inward as the sea turned incredibly tumultuous below. As if unaffected by the terrifying event ying out below, the Kali Familia ship continued through the sky, bypassing the periphery of spire-like teeth that were more than 20m tall with ease. Vahn had been using telekinesis to propel the 40-ton vessel through the air, causing a dull ache in his mind but no outwardly discernable signs of stress or fatigue. He also knew his action was more than a little foolish but, after seeing the impossiblerge monster rising up from the seas depths, Vahn felt like he needed to press forward. As for the creature itself, it was something that all sailors feared and was considered to be on the level of a natural disaster that had gued the Poseidon Sea since before more than a hundred thousand years...the Charybdis. Though it was a legendary creature, there were tens of sights of the monstrous entity each year, depicting it as a titanic monster whose maw alone was nearly 3km across. It was impossible to know when and where it would appear but, if any ship was unfortunate enough to be even remotely close, death was almost inevitable. Even if they had turned around and rowed with maximum speed, Vahn had determined the ship wouldnt have been able topletely avoid the Charybdis. After all, the creature seemed to be targetting them, something he intended to confront Kali aboutter on. He was rtively certain it was her aura that had drawn the attention of the massive creature and, based on her reaction after realizing what they were facing, Vahn was equally as certain that she was aware of it... For nearly a half hour, there wasnt much movement on the ship as Vahn continued to focus on propelling it through the air, waiting for the sea below to stabilize. The Charybdis had disced such a massive amount of seawater that waves more than 25m high continued to rage about for a while afterward. This was thebined result of the seas discement, followed by the massive funnel that had been created as the Charybdis dove back into the seas depths. Vahn had no idea howrge its actual body was but, even with his domain able to sense well over 3km, he wasnt able to determine its length. All he knew for certain was, much like Kali had attested, there were no practical means he could use to fight against something so monstrous that it made even the existence of a Level 10 seem inconsequential... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-*<---onomatopeia for intense staring,There is always something stronger...,Kali f.u.c.k.i.e.d up...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 938 - Atmosphere

Chapter 938 - Atmosphere

After evading the natural-disaster ss monster, Charybdis, the way the Amazonesses viewed Vahn had undergone a very noticeable change. Though they had always eyed him like a prize to be won, the few inhibitions they had been developing over the past two weeks had been thrown awaypletely after things had settled down. Previously, they had given him a bit of distance and it seemed like they were struggling to get close to him, even though he hadnt particrly tried to keep them away. Now that they had survived an ordeal that would have spelled their deaths in normal circ.u.mstances, the instincts of the entire crew had been triggered all at once... By the time the afternoon meal hade around, Vahn found himself practically swarmed by several Amazonesses, with even Tiona and Tione unable to keep them at bay. Instead of him feeding them, everyone was literally fighting for the opportunity to feed Vahn this time around, including the youngest of the crew, an Amazoness named Myahi. She was only eight years old but had already reached Level 2, making her an a.d.u.l.t within the eyes of Amazoness society. Because she was still a little too young, however, she was being groomed much like Tiona and Tione had been in the past. Much to Myahismentation, though she was also slightly happy for the opportunity, Vahn treated her like the child he considered her to be. This meant he allowed her to sit in hisp and, so long as she behaved, he didnt mind pampering her a little. Even Tione and Tiona gave her a bit of leeway, thetter of which eyed the young Myahi in much the same way that the various mothers at the Manor eyed their children. Soon, Tiona and Tione would both be mothers themselves so it was obvious that Tiona was thinking about the future, something that was particrly rare for her... Most of the Amazonesses in the crew were rtively easy to deal with, leaving Bache, Khodiva, and the young Myahi as truly troublesome ones. Bache was a Level 6 Amazoness who had never left Telskyura to find a mate, making her one of the few that had reached herte twenties that had yet to give birth. She already had a good impression of Vahn because of Tiona but, now that he had moved their ship through the sky and evaded the Charybdis, it was very obvious that the way she viewed him had changed greatly. Previously, she had kept a bit of distance and simply watched the other Amazonesses interact with Vahn. Now, however, Bache had sat alongside Tiona with a small gourd of fermented wine, offering Vahn small saucers of the rather potent alcohol. He noticed wine had the qualities of a natural aphrodisiac but didnt refuse the offer outright, enjoying the lively atmosphere with a humorous smile that caused Bache to breathe a little heavily... Thest of the troublesome Amazonesses, Khodiva, was the one that unnerved Vahn the most as she didnt overtly approach him and continued to re at him from the periphery. Though she might have tried something if it was just Tiona and Tione, as they were outsiders, the presence of Bache around Vahn made it impossible for her to get close. Normally, this would have applied to Myahi as well but, with Vahn having shown a great deal of leniency towards her over thest two weeks, most of the Amazonesses present werent surprised that she was allowed near him. They knew Vahn didnt view her as a suitable mate so her behavior wasrgely ignored since she wasnt an activepetitor just yet, yet another thing that frustrated the young Amazoness... Vahn kept Myahi pacified by lightly stroking her head as she brooded in hisp with a light blush on her cheeks. Her pride made her want tosh out but thefortable feelinging from Vahns hand made her hold back and tolerate the offense of her fellow crewmates. She knew that she was still luckier than the rest of the crew as, even though Vahn didnt treat her like a woman, he at least allowed her to be near him. If he truly treated her like an a.d.u.l.t, she would be stuck watching from the side, unable to breach through the defense of Tiona, Tione, and now even her Captain, Bache. Thus, swallowing her pride, Myahi bottled up her negative emotions and just enjoyed the small benefits she was able to gain... As the afternoon slowly turned into the evening, Vahn continued enjoying the lively atmosphere as Bache, seemingly realizing her wine had no effect,mented, "It isnt nice to get a womans hopes up, Vahn..." She now understood why he had an amused smile and a teasing look when she would refill his cup, causing her to feel a little annoyed and embarrassed. In response to this, Vahns expression remained casual as he said, "Im trying to be conscious of the situation atrge, Bache. How do you think things would y out if your wine actually had an effect...?" Hearing Vahns question, Bache showed momentary confusion before Tione released an exasperated sigh, pointing to the group of scantily d Amazoness in the cabin, saying, "Were on a ship in the middle of the sea with only a singlerge sleeping area. Even if Vahn was okay with you, do you think he wants to have a gallery of spectators watching...?" This caused Baches eyes to widen slightly as she habitually red towards the other Amazonesses before lowering her head in embarrassment. Tiona saw this,ughing uninhibitedly until Bache pinched her exposed side and said, "Dontugh at me, you brat...!" Baches words only caused Tiona, along with several other Amazonesses, tough even louder as their Captain, a woman who they generally revered and respected, was left furrowing her brows in frustration. If not for the veil covering her face, everyone would have been able to see Baches deep blush as she could only re back a warning toward her Familia members. If Vahn hadnt been present, she would have thrown them overboard and beaten them for their disrespect. Though she wasnt as mad as her sister, Bache shared a simr love for battle and would usually never allow them to act out of line like this... This was something that the only person not to join the evening meal, Kali, was very aware of as well. She had been watching the small celebration in silence, not really thinking about anything in particr and just waiting to see how things yed out. When Vahn had started drinking the wine offered by Bache, Kalis brows had raised slightly in amus.e.m.e.nt before turning to a frown a few minutester when it had no effect. Now, she was just taking note of how strangely the children of her Familia were acting around Vahn, not that she could really me them. As he had suspected, Kali was very aware of the fact that it had been her that drew the attention of the Charybdis. She would never apologize for this, however, and simply epted it as a mistake she had made and should avoid making in the future... In this same silence, Kali watched as the evening meal went on far longer than normal before Khodiva finally wrapped things up, reminding everyone to rest properly. If Vahn had been affected by the wine, things probably would have yed out very differently but now it was starting to gette and they would need to be up very early if they wanted to stay on schedule. It was her personal pride, ever since being made the Helmswoman of Kalis ship, to try and make each journey as short as possible. With Khodiva ordering them, many of the Amazonesses made small groans andints but ultimately did as they were told, transitioning from the galley into the sleeping quarters below deck. There was a messywork of hammocks present within, allowing the crew to sway with the bowing and rocking of the boat as it was turned by the waves. Along the inside of the hull, there were also a series of red oars that were ced in racks, ready and waiting in the event that they needed to avoid something like a whirlpool or navigate through difficult sections of the sea where coral reefs and rock formations threatened to capsize unsuspecting sh.i.p.s. One of thest to retire for the night, other than the seven members that would be manning the ship for the first nights rotation, was the young Myahi. She had already fallen asleep in Vahnsp so he entrusted her to Bache, causing the mature Amazoness to frown slightly but still ept the responsibility. Vahn gave her a gratified smile,menting, "If that scar bothers you, I can treat it for youter..." Though he hadnt seen it directly, Vahn had been able to peer through Baches veil with his [Eyes of Truth] and saw the rather ghastly scar. He couldnt use [Wound Transfer] on a long-healed wound, but that wouldnt really stop him from being able to remove it with [Hands of Nirvana]. Bache showed an expression of momentary surprise before furrowing her brows slightly and saying, "Tiona had mentioned it to me previously, that you were able to heal scars that even powerful Elixirs were useless against. If you were to treat my wound...you have to be willing to take responsibility. Im not a weak woman who cant keep her instincts in check but that is something that I wouldnt be able to ignore..." Generally, the older Amazonesses were far more skilled at keeping themselves under control. So long as they werent in directbat, they could keep their instincts in check during most situations. If it was something that left a deep impression on them, however, even the most stoic and steadfast of their race wouldnt be able to restrain themselves... Knowing that, if things progressed as they were supposed to, Bache would be the mother of one of his children, Vahn smiled in response, saying, "Ill keep that in mind...good night, Bache." These words caused Bache to inhale audibly through her nose as she turned away and retreated into the cabin with her fellow Amazonesses. She deposited the sleeping Myahi into a small hammock before crawling into her own, ignoring the heat of her body as she regted her breathing. From a nearby hammock, Tiona had been observing since the moment Bache had entered the cabin, a small smile on her face as she curled up in her own hammock and went to sleep... With the majority of the Amazonesses either going to sleep or manning their posts, Kali had used this opportunity to enter into the galley, making herself and Vahn the only two present. Vahn was aware of almost everything Kali did so he wasnt surprised by her presence, turning toward her with a casual smile as he said, "Even if you didnt want to apologize, that is fine. We both made a mistake this time, Kali, so I wont force the me on you..." Because she had been acting out as a result of the way he was treating her, Vahn couldnt truly me Kali for the appearance of Charybdis. He decided that they shared responsibility for the event and chose to bury the matter instead of trying to reproach her for it. Kali had anticipated many responses from Vahn but had never expected the first words out of his mouth to be sharing responsibility. She had nearly remarked that she didnt owe anyone an apology after hearing the first half of his statement. Histter words, however, had caused Kali to frown slightly since she didnt really know how to respond to them. Since she wasnt the type to mull over such things, Kali decided to just drop the matter entirely, saying, "I never expected you would be able to make my ship fly through the air. That was quite the impressive feat...it looks like you ended up taming my entire crew as a result, shishishi~." Seeing how Kali had reacted to his words, Vahns smile curled up at the corner of his mouth and he couldnt help but chuckle lightly. This caused Kalis smile to immediately turn into a frown until Vahn reached out his hand, plopping it on her head as he said, "Youre pretty cute sometimes, Kali..." As he spoke, Vahn rubbed the top of Kalis head, finding it a little difficult because of her bone mask. Because of this, before Kali could respond, Vahn added, "Im not sure why you wear this bone mask...hmmm..." These words caused Kali to regain her senses, exining, "It is to represent my true form and status as a Goddess of Death. In Heaven, I am able to manifest my Divinity and produce a total of eight arms, each representing an aspect of death..." Kalis words were left trailing as Vahn casually removed the mask, revealing her rather childish and pouting expression as hemented, "Sorry, but its getting in the way..." Vahn resumed petting the top of Kalis head, causing her brows to furrow even deeper a rather annoyed smile spread across her face. The edge of her mouth twitched as she balled up both of her fists, trembling slightly as her icy voice stated, "Dont you dare treat me like a child, Vahn Mason...!" Even though she wasnt trying to manifest it, Kalis aura began to leak out as a result of the incredulity and rage that she was beginning to experience. Vahn knew he was skirting the limit of Kalis patience but remained undaunted as he said, "Im not treating you like a child. It doesnt matter how old you are, how big you are, or what your status is, Ive always had a habit of petting people I think are cute. Dont worry, as even Loki and Freya have been subjected to the same treatment..." Towards the end of his words, Vahn surprised Kali by bringing his left hand, caressing her right cheek and tracing his fingers through her hair. He then moved his right hand to her left cheek, slowly moving his thumbs across her face as threads of energy dispersed into the soft tissue of Kalis face. This was inarguably a kind of petting that would be considered highly improper under normal circ.u.mstances... Kali struggled with deciding if she wanted to be angry or if she wanted to just let Vahn do as he pleased. Her pride made her want to strike his exposed abdomen while thefortable feeling in her face, head, and neck made her want to just enjoy the moment. Eventually, she dide back to her senses enough to shake away from his hands before observing their surroundings, noting that there werent any prying eyes that had seen her shameful disy. This caused Kali to inhale deeply before snorting as she manifested a new bone mask, protecting her head and face from Vahns wandering hands. She noticed the wry undertones in his smile, causing her ire to fade rather quickly as a small smile spread across her face. Vahn was a little confused by Kalis reaction until she stepped a little too close, leaning against his body as she looked up into his face and said, "Ive already given you several chances to try and stand on the same level as me, even in front of my own Familia. If youre going to act like this, you have to be willing to give and take, Vahn. Im not going to let you do whatever you want without putting up any kind of resistance at all..." Kali had been tempted to warn him that, depending on the circ.u.mstances, she would have to kill anyone that saw him embarrass her. Knowing Vahns character, these words wouldnt have been very conducive to her situation so she instead loosely wrapped her arms around his neck, adding, "Dont forget, I have a cabin if you think you have what it takes to tame me..." Kali felt Vahns body tense up, causing her to release a mischevious cackle as she pulled her hands away, tracing her fingernails across his chest and leaving a few thin red lines. She noticed they almost immediately healed, causing her to frown slightly and remark, "Youre no fun..." With these parting words, Kali turned her back to Vahn and ambled over to her elevated tform. She made an effort to tease him by snaking her h.i.p.s, knowing that Vahn was still unnerved by her physical appearance. As expected, Vahn averted his eyes, causing Kali to snort as she muttered, "Hypocrite..." before turning awaypletely and climbing onto her tform to lounge once again... (A/N: Kali is essentially calling Vahn a hypocrite because he knows she isnt a child, yet still acts like she is, all while having a Pallum as one of his lovers.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Myahis major loss, minor victory...,Bache is a little sneaky...,Difference in perspective...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 939 - Worries

Chapter 939 - Worries

As the days continued to pass in rtive peace, Vahn began to feel like many of his ambitions had slowly started to fade away as his happiness continued to increase. Though there were still ongoing issues, such as his maintenance of Enyos seal, the treatment of Alexas condition, and the instability in both Westport and the Iron Hills, they didnt have too much of an impact on daily life in the Manor. At this point, Alexa had calmed down a great deal and had been able to return to her female form so long as she didnt get excited. As for the other matters, excluding Enyos seal, Vahn didnt have to worry about them personally since they were being handled by people he could trust. Presently, Vahns greatest worry was the uing birth of his next child as Shakti was well over eight months into her pregnancy. She had already been moved into the Manor so he had been spending a lot of time with her and his children as the days counted down towards her delivery date. Even the ongoing journey with the Kali Familia had almost be routine for him so, unless something unexpected happened, Vahns avatar spent most days in a daze. He had grown ustomed to skinship with the Amazoness crew and would asionally spend some time during the evenings alongside Kali, but nothing major had happened after the Charybdis event. As a result of howx things had be recently, Vahn found himself in one of thefortable hemispherical canopy chairs with Shakti dozing away in his embrace. Instead of wearing her Adventurer attire, she had been wearing loose andfortable clothingtely and was currently sporting a white sundress as she curled up against him, cradling her own stomach by cing her hands overtop Vahns. The canopy chair they were rxing in was gently rocking with the wind as it was suspended like a swing from Yggys branches. There was a very pleasant aroma permeating through the air as some of the younger and more adventurous children yed around nearby... Vahn had recently been fighting against the feeling that something was going to go wrong as he grew progressively happier. Fortunately, his instincts seemed to have also taken a vacation and, even though he never truly dropped his guard, it was extremely refreshing to spend his days in such a fulfilling way. He knew this was primarily because of how hard goddesses like Loki, Freya, and Fortuna were working, but he made sure to make it up to them when he had the chance. There was even a moment, just a few days prior, where he had given Fortuna her first full-body massage, causing the generally stoic and professional goddess to have to stay the night since she had been unable to walk for a few hours after the fact... Thinking back to Fortunas scarlet blush, Vahns mouth arced into a smile before he adjusted his posture without waking Shakti, tempted to join her in taking a nap. If not for the fact he was supposed to be keeping an eye on the children, Vahn very well might have dozed off himself for an hour or two. He had to remind himself that, even though Vana looked like an a.d.u.l.t, she wasnt even four years old yet and, with how much fun she was having with the other children, this was especially apparent. She may have mellowed out a great deal, but her true nature woulde out when she was having fun with her smaller siblings... With his mind wandering a bit back at the Manor, Vahns focus subtly shifted to the Kali Familia ship where the cold air had turned frigid with nearly two months having passed since their departure. The further south they went, the colder the winds blowing inward toward the Continent seemed to be. They had to follow a rather roundabout path to reach Telskyura, traveling far from the shore to avoid the underwater rock structures and coral reefs that were located closer tond. Out in the sea proper, the depth could easily reach several kilometers, making Vahn liken it to an ocean but unable to really remark on it since such a concept didnt really exist in a record like Danmachi. Over thest two months, not too many exciting events had happened and, other than the dailypetitions for food, things had been smooth sailing. Even Kali seemed to have grown bored with watching him every day and could often be found sunbathingpletely n.a.k.e.d on the deck or lounging about and taking long naps. At this point, Vahn had grown somewhat desensitized to her behavior and wasrgely immune to her teasing during the evenings, even though she had be progressively bolder in her actions. There had even been an evening where Kali had invited him to take a dip in the frigid ocean with her, not really waiting for his consent as she dragged him down into the water for ate night swim... Vahn didnt mind the cold water at all, as the temperature never really bothered him, but the fact that his vision worked just as well during the evening was a detriment at the time. Kali had beenpletely bereft of clothing and had dragged him deep under the water as she attempted to get him riled up. The image of her blood-red eyes glimmering in the icy and dark waters had left quite an impact but Vahn ultimately disappointed her after she tried to snake her fingers into his swimwear. Neither of them needed to breathe underwater and they could have very easily stayed down for as long as necessary, but Vahn ended up pulling away from her grasp, much to Kalis frustration. Even now, after several days had passed, Vahn felt like he could still feel prickles on his skin from where Kali had bitten and wed him during the tantrum that had followed his rebuff. He really didnt know what to tell her as, even though he had been warming up to the idea after spending a few thoughtful evening with Lili, there was still a mental block that prevented him from closing the distance between them. She wasnt aware of it, but this was primarily due to the presence of Myahi who, while only eight years old, was nearly as tall as Kali. Though Myahi, ording to their culture, was also considered an a.d.u.l.t, Vahn simply couldnt see it that way since she literally had a bit of baby fat around her face and stomach, without even a semnce of secondary s.e.x.u.a.l characteristics having developed. She had actually gone through a growth spurt of sorts after essentially setting Vahn as her target, growing from around 125cm to 133cm over thest two months of their sea voyage, but that was beside the point. Vahn simply couldnt see her as anything more than a young girl that wasnt even remotely prepared to be a mother. She couldnt even speak anything other than her native tongue,pletelycking the ability to read and write, so Vahn had left her under the tutge of Tiona to stop her from trying to grind against him when she was excited... As if she knew he had been thinking about her, Myahi had intruded on the bowsprit,pletely unaffected by the rise and fall of the ship as it cut through the waves. She, like all Amazonesses, had impable bnce and had easily made her way over to Vahn, asking, "Can I sit with you, Vahn...?" Since her only duty was to beat the drum and clean the ship, Myahi had more free time than the rest of the crew and, even though it had earned her a few sharp quips and barbs from the others, she had been trying her lucktely. This time, her luck didnt hold out since Vahn was aware of the state of her aura, shaking his head as he said, "You arent calm right now..." Myahi showed a pouting expression but didnt argue against his words, knowing it was futile to even try since Vahn hadnt shown any real openings throughout the journey. She knew the state of her own body well and, even though it wasnt time for fishing, dove into the water below to cool off. Nobody stopped her from doing so and, as she could easily catch up with the ship, it didnt matter if she wanted to go for a short swim. Vahn kept track of her within his domain to make sure she didnte across anything too dangerous but she wasnt foolhardy enough to wander away too far so it wasnt an issue. She just ended up killing a fewrge fish to vent some of her frustrations before picking up speed in the water and leaping back onto the deck around twenty minutester. Vahn was aware that she was watching him for nearly a full minute after returning to the deck before her aura slowly calmed down when she realized he wasnt going to turn around. Then, just as all the Amazons did after going for a swim, Myahi stripped down into the buff and applied a type of lotion to her skin that would protect against the harmful rays of the sun and prevent brine and salt buildup from damaging the soft tissues of the body. Vahn had the basic sense of propriety to not gawk when the other Amazonesses would wipe down their bodies, so there was no way he could meet Myahis expectations when she did the same... Ignoring the pair of eyes that would periodically nce over at him, Vahn activated his own [Eyes of Truth] to peer at arge presence around 2km ahead of the ship. It ended up being arge jellyfish with a crown more than 5m wide and tendrils that seemed to stretch down for nearly 20m. It wasnt a species that Vahn had ever encountered, causing Sis to exin, (*That is a type of sea creature known as a Cannonball King Jelly. They arent particrly dangerous torge sh.i.p.s but have been known to ram against smaller merchant vessels. It is umon to see them out during this season, ording to the records stored within your memory.*) Cannonball King Jellies were moremon in the Serpent Sea, where the water would remain rtively warm during the winter, at leastpared to the open Poseidon Sea. The current sea temperature was around -1.4 degrees Celsius, causing ice drift to build up when the waters were calmer. For it to be in the area, it meant there was likely a pocket of warmer water in the area or even something like an underwater volcano nearby. It was too deep for Vahn to determine if this was the case so he could only set the matter aside as his eyes traced over a few other creatures roaming about, some of which seemed to support this idea. As Sis had pointed out, the Cannonball King Jelly didnt even try to interfere with their voyage and instead drifted out of the ships path without contest. Since there were no real benefits in killing such a creature, as it wasnt even edible under normal circ.u.mstances, Vahn ignored it in passing. He was more interested in some of therger chunks of ice that had been appearing in the sea, causing him to wonder if they would reach Telskyura before the ind sea became impassable. Khodiva had said they would make it a few weeks before the ice set in, so he could only trust her experience since he could only guess as to how the nature of the sea would change in the weeks to follow... Like this, another day at sea passed without any major incidents other than the sessful hunt of a juvenile Aspidochelone, an extremely rare sea creature that even the Amazonesses werent willing to waste. They were a type of creature known by some as Ind Turtles, as there was no limit to their potential growth and they could live well over ten-thousand years. In that time, they could grow to the size of a small ind and there had even been cases where sh.i.p.s would be marooned on unexplored inds, only to find that it was the corpse of an Aspidocheler on. As for why even the Amazonesses would treat it as a big harvest, it was due to the fact that the liver, which could be several meters long, could be used to make extremely high-quality Elixirs. The rest of the materials, such as the shell and bones, were also suitable for making equipment so they had spent the better part of four hours harvesting the rather unfortunate creature after Vahn had spotted it... Following the sessful harvest, the Amazoness crew was in especially high spirits as they enjoyed the rather famous turtle meat inrge quantities. Vahn was once again the center of attention and, after producing a few gourds of rather expensive wine from his own inventory, the evening had be rather chaotic and lively, resulting in some of the Amazonesses to even begin to yfully wrestle together while Vahn watched alongside Tiona and Tione. They knew better than to go all out while on the ship but that didnt stop the girls from y-fighting for dominance, usually pinning each other in ratherpromising positions and pulling at each others already sparse clothing. The evening finally came to an end after one of the drunker Amazonesses ended up challenging Tiona to a wrestling match, promptly finding herself on the losing end as Tionaughed happily on her back. She had managed to pin the challenging Amazoness in under ten seconds, forcing the woman onto her stomach as Tiona twisted her legs into a rather painful looking angle. If not for the flexibility purported by most Amazoness warriors, the foolhardy woman likely would have injured her joints and tendons, if not outright having her bones broken under the pressure of Tionas submission hold. After that, nobody was foolish enough to challenge Tiona and, being the reigning champion, the impromptu event came to an early end as Khodiva wrangled the crew and forced them into the cabin to rest for theing day. As was often the case, Kali showed up when the other Amazonesses had cleared out, now no longer worried that they would be spied on. At this point, the crew had adjusted to their goddess habit so they wouldnt leave their cabin unless the rm was sounded. Because of this, Kali made her way into the galley before sitting down on one of the cushions that Vahn had set out. The Amazonesses didnt normally use such luxury items but, with Vahn bringing them out, they didnt refuse to make use of them either. As for Kali, she unhesitantly gotfortable on the plush cushion without making any attempts to feign decency as sheid on her side and said, "You know, since you are the one that found the Aspidochelone, you have the right to keep it for yourself. Are you trying to make us feel indebted to you, Vahn~?" Though he didnt look directly at her, Vahn also didnt avert his eyes and just matched Kalis expression, even as she yed with the thin piece of fabric covering her crotch. Vahn didnt answer Kalis question and instead changed the topic, asking, "Why do you want to have a child, Kali...?" This had caught her off guard, causing Kalis brows to rise before she adopted a more casual expression and answered, "I imagine my reasons arent that dissimr to the reasons of other goddesses, even with my rather unique Divinities. Though I am a Goddess of Death, I am inextricably drawn to the living...I want to see the natural limit of all creatures, watching as they struggle to survive against an unforgiving existence that will inevitably even im the very gods themselves..." While speaking, Kali had rolled onto her back, staring up at the roof above instead of looking back at Vahn. She extended both of her hands, almost as if she were trying to grasp something as she said, "The Vanir are somethingpletely new, a type of existence that has never been seen in the world before now. Im curious to see their potential for myself and, knowing I have the opportunity to give birth to one, I cant help but desire to experience being a mother to something so unique and exciting. You know, Im one of the first generation goddesses after the creation of the three realms. Even though I see the futility of everything, a part of me still wants to break free from the constraints that have limited my own existence..." The power of a god is almost wholly determined by their age and the t power of their Divinity itself, making it almost impossible for them to grow any further with the restrictions of the Laws. This,bined with thepulsion of their Divinity, could cause existence itself to feel like a heavy burden for some gods. Though not to the extent of someone like Loki, Kali too had desired to change the fate she had been given but, understanding the futility of such things, epted it far more readily than Vahns favorite trickster goddess. After all, Kalis Divinities were very easy to pacify as, just by existing, observing the passage of time and the natural cycle of life and death, she was able to remain calm and in control. Vahn nodded his head after hearing Kalis words beforeying down on a few cushions of his own, looking up at the same roof as the diminutive goddess in silence. A few minutes passed like this before he eventually said, "I read the file Loki had given you, so Im sure you know that the intent of the parents heavily influences the development of the Vanir. Honestly, Im a little afraid of what our union might produce with your nature and the influence of the Amazonesses that may interact with our child in the future. Though I will care for my children, no matter what, I have seen a terrifying example of how bad things could get if both parents arent in a stable state of mind as the Vanir develop..." With this recent incident with Alexa, Vahn was once again reminded of the Leh from the Divination, an existence that still terrified him at times. Even when Terra had tried to talk to him about opening up and epting Alexa, as they had no actual rtion to each other, Vahn couldnt remove the shadow of the former Leh from his heart. The idea of treating someone as his genuine child, only to make them his loverter in life, was one of the few things that terrified him to the core. Kali was a little surprised with how forthright Vahn was being, causing her to fall into a very rare state of rumination before saying, "Honestly, Im not entirely sure how you see me, Vahn, but I would say that Im far more stable than you are. I have no expectations for our child other than that they are a unique and interesting existence that I would like to experience mothering. Even though I may not be the best mother from your perspective, Ive watched over the Amazonesses for well over ten thousand years and have seen hundreds of thousands grow up within my time in Telskyura. Your fear is that our child may not take a form that matches your sensibilities...if your words about loving your children no matter what are true, that wouldnt be an issue. If the Vanir are shaped by the intent of their parents, I am more of a neutral element in the equation that has the potential to grow and change, just like that pet Freya of yours..." As she had spoken, Kali rolled onto her side, closing a bit of the distance between her and Vahn before adding, "One of the reasons I took an interest in you is because I believe that you would even be able to change me, even if it took a little while. Ive been willing topromise with you from the start, all because you arent strong enough topromise for me. Dont worry, Vahn, even if you never trulye to love me, Im not going to neglect my own responsibility as the mother of a Vanir. At the very least, I can make sure to act the part for a few decades..." Though she knew it was pushing her luck, Kali had begun to nibble on Vahns ear as he processed her words... Vahn frowned at Kalis actions but didnt immediately put a stop to them as he was indeed ruminating over what she had said. Just the fact that Kali had been cleared to give birth to a Vanir, which was a decision that could only be made by the entire group of goddesses at the Manor, showed that they trusted her enough to give their consent. In truth, though she often got a bad rep as a result of being a goddess presiding over Amazonesses, Kali wasnt particrly cruel towards anyone. Even in the [Hearts Desire]s of Tiona and Tione, though she obviously enjoyed watching the struggles of others, Kali never personally tormented anyone and forced them into anything... Just as he was thinking along these lines, Vahn jerked his head to the side since Kali had licked the inside of his ear suddenly. She beganughing mischievously before saying, "There is only a month until we reach Telskyura and we havent really grown any closer so far...how long are you going to continue ying around and being indecisive? Even though Im very old, my patience isnt without limit, Vahn..." The final few words spoken by Kali were said in a very serious and cold intonation that was reflected in her expression. She wasnt fond of being yed with and, since it was already decided that they would have a child together, Kali was growing progressively more annoyed with Vahn footing around the issue for so long... Vahn had matched gazes with Kali, made easier by the fact that she was looking over him with her blood-red eyes glittering in the low light of the galley. She had very clearly emphasized the words very old, reminding him of the fact that she was easily more than a million times more senior than he was in this record. From her perspective, his behavior could be considered very childish and, admittedly, Vahn knew he had been rather unfair to her over thest two months. Most of his rtionsh.i.p.s developed rather quickly and, even though she had actually taken steps to close the distance between them, his own efforts had beencking. Though he certainly thought about it quite a few times, Vahn always felt a sense of incongruity when seeing Kalis figure and how she generally behaved... As if she could read his mind, Kalis expression turned icy and Vahn could see her jaw flexing as she clenched her teeth a few times to stay calm. She was, once again, restraining herself on his behalf and, though he had grown ustomed to it in the past, Vahn felt guilty this time around. Surprising her, Vahn released a heavy sigh before rolling onto his side,ing to face Kali and once again realizing just how small she waspared to him. Even so, Vahn kept eye contact with her as he reached up his hand, moving it under the thin vest-like fabric that generally did nothing to cover her b.r.e.a.s.ts. The cold and cautious light in Kalis eyes seemed to fade away in an instant, reced by a glimmer of amus.e.m.e.nt. Before she could say anything that would inadvertently deter him, Vahn nestled his forehead against the bone mask on Kalis face, cing it into his Inventory and revealing her rather childish face of surprise. Vahn gave her a smile that seemed to contain a variety of emotions that even he didnt understand as he said, "For now, lets just stay like this. Laugh at me all you wantter, but itll take some time for me to get used to this..." As he spoke, Vahn sent out threads of energy through his fingertips that caused Kali to sharply inhale, shock visible in her expression. Her reaction caused Vahns smile to turn more natural as he began to slowly move his hand around, exploring the body he had hardly dared to even look at previously... (A/N: This chapter was made longer since I wont be able to write another.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 940 - Shift : Balance

Chapter 940 - Shift : Bnce

The day following Vahns attempt to get closer to Kali marked a variety of changes, including the way he was treated by the other Amazonesses and his position within the crew. After putting Kali through the plete experience of his [Hands of Nirvana], she had to retire to her own cabin for the remainder of the evening. When she finally did emerge, long after the crew had already awakened and began setting sail, she was no longer wearing her divine raiment and had instead worn a beige smock. She had emerged as her Chandi persona and remained silent throughout the day until the eveningpetition had concluded and the Amazonesses were gathered together for their meal... This marked the first big change on the ship as, for the first time, Kali had shown up at the meal and pre-empted Myahis im, taking Vahnsp for herself. It was at this point that she turned her Familia, blood-red eyes glimmering with a serious light as she said, "I understand how each of you feels but, unless you think you have what it takes to rise to the top of our society, you should give up. Even if it isnt wrong to desire a strong mate, simply wanting it isnt enough. Unless you have the willingness to rise up andpete directly, then youll do the sensible thing and stay out of the way. If you cant even reach Level 5, give up ever trying to stake a im to Vahn..." Kalis words weighed heavily on the hearts and minds of her Familia but, even from their own perspective, they understood the truth contained within. It was the strongest Amazonesses who would have the strongest mates while the weaker members of theirmunity often ended up as little more than p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es before the changes in Orario. If you had a genuine desire to obtain something, you should put in the requisite amount of effort and increase your strength in order to obtain it. Because this was a defining principle of their culture, even the young Myahi could only ball up her fists and resolve herself to get stronger in the future... After letting her words settle for a short moment, Kali reached up with her right hand and grabbed Vahns cor, pulling his head down as she twisted her body slightly and somewhat aggressively tried to steal his lips. He had been caught off guard when Kali had moved to sit in hisp but habitually moved his hand to intercept Kalis face, causing her lips to contact his palm before she began tough in her characteristic shishishi manner. Vahn was confused by this reaction until Kali turned to her Familia, exining, "Other than Tiona and Tione, even I havent been able to im what I want, just because I want it. Vahn isnt like a normal man, or he wouldnt have been allowed to return with us. A lot is going to change in the future and, unless you think you can contend against me, youll stay out of my way. I might not be able topete against people he is already involved with, but that doesnt mean Ill just idle around and let you girls do whatever you please..." Kalis words were ented by her releasing a small amount of her aura, causing the galley to feel ice-cold, even though the temperature hadnt changed at all... The rest of the evening was rather tense as the Amazonesses werent ustomed to the presence of Kali during their meals, causing them to remain rtively silent. Though Tiona and Tione didnt seem affected, happily trying to converse with Bache, this only made the difference in their status even more apparent. Kalis words were very clear and straightforward, essentially telling her Familia that, until they proved they were worthy, they had no right to evenpete. If even a goddess wasnt able to act without restraint, they had to show a bit of restraint until they had enough power to ignore such restrictions. This was Kalis way of making things easier for Vahn, as she knew he wasnt trying to arbitrarily increase the number of children he had without care or concern for their well-being... Even without Khodivas intervention, the evening meal ended rtively early since it was difficult to stay in the galley while Kali was sitting in Vahnsp. He was usually the center of attention but, now that their goddess had inserted herself into the picture, it was impossible for them to interact with Vahn without feeling as if their skin was crawling. Though most Amazonesses were rtively fearless, most living creatures had an instinctual fear of death and, unless they were fighting to protect themselves or the things they cared about, few would arbitrarily face death without anything to gain. Because of this, Vahn and Kali were left alone after less than half the time allotted for dinner had passed, with even Tiona and Tione parting with the rest of the crew after giving Vahn rather bold goodnight kisses... When they were finally alone, Kali released a heavy sigh before reclining against Vahns, peering up into his face as she asked, "So, what do you think? This is mepromising for you again, so feel free to show me your gratitude...Nn..." Even before Kali had finished her words, Vahn began to lightly stroke her abdomen through her smock, sending threads of energy into her petite body and causing her muscles to tense up as a result. Kali hadnt been a v.i.r.g.i.n, having had a very long rtionship with a god named Shiva in Heaven, so her body was extremely sensitive to his touch. They hadnt done anything more, but Vahn had been able to get Kali to submit to him after a few hours the previous night. She had tried to resist for a while but, after allowing him to get the advantage early on, there wasnt much she could do without activating her Arcanum to resist the tidal currents that had wracked her body until she hadpletely cked out... Kali inhaled a sharp breath and began to breathe heavily as she ced her hands on Vahns knees, almost as if she were trying to brace herself as she said, "For someone that had so many inhibitions before, youre pretty merciless when you get serious, arent you? Is this what you did to tame the other goddesses that pander to you...?" Kalis grip had turned so powerful that, not just her fingernails, but her actual fingers were beginning to sink into Vahns knees. Much like Ares, she had base parameters that could put her on part with a Level 5 Adventurer. When she was excited, however, Kali could easily reach the lower limits of a Level 7 and it was hard to restrain herselfpletely, even with Vahn holding back quite a bit... Vahns focus was a bit split at the moment as, back in Orario, he was actually spending some quality time with Anubis and Nanu. When he heard Kalis words, Vahn fell into a thoughtful silence before tracing his fingers around Kalis diaphragm, saying, "Freya could have been considered an exception in the past, but I didnt really tame any of the goddesses. I just did my best to try and empathize with them, keeping the promises I made, and trying to alleviate their loneliness. When our rtionsh.i.p.s developed past a certain point, there is a special technique I can perform that brings us much closer together. After that, even Freya and Loki had changed a lot since, for the short while we were together, we were able to fully understand each other..." Though he hadnt thought about it in such a way previously, Vahn realized that his melding with a goddess was actually a bit unfair to them. One of the biggest weaknesses of all gods was the simple fact that, as a result of their inordinately long lives, they simply couldnt truly empathize with mortals. Even after watching over ancient civilizations for more than two hundred thousand years, or even after descending to the mortal world a thousand years ago, they were never able to sincerely understand what it meant to live as a mortal. They obviously sought this understanding but, regardless of how big their Familia would grow, gods were still restricted by their Divinities and the vast knowledge and experience they had .u.mted, long before mortals even walked on the surface... Without exception, every time Vahn had melded with a goddess, they had experienced a rather drastic shift in their personality and perspective. After all, it was the first time in what could have amounted to hundreds-of-millions of years that they were able to truly see and understand the world from the perspective of another. The raw emotions were enough to even stir their Divinity to the point that it would begin to manifest in the mortal world, anchoring them to the same ne as mortals and severing their connection with Heaven. This gave them far greater freedom and allowed them to have ess to power that should have been restricted by the Worlds Laws, all while finally gaining something that most gods intuitively sought after...a true and meaningful connection with another being... Kali didnt know what Vahn was talking about, but she noticed there was something off about him after he had finished speaking. His hands still moved to various parts of her body, almost like muscle memory, but the potency had diminished a great deal and he had a distant look in his eyes. This caused Kali to frown slightly as she released her grip, watching as the indentations she had caused healed almost instantly. Even the blood on her fingers seemed to vanish into thin air, causing Kali to wonder just what limit, if any, Vahns regeneration might have. It wasnt her first time seeing someone regenerate, but his ability seemed far faster and more plete than any rare skill she had observed in the past... Vahns momentary daze hadntsted too long and, realizing Kali had also fallen silent, he gave a wry smile and said, "After all of this is over...when you are ready...Ill show you what I mean." To this, Kali snorted through her nose before saying, "That is one of the annoying things about you, Vahn. Even though you seem to empathize with others, youre always thinking about your own perspective of things. This whole plot of yours to be an Emperor, how hesitant you are to make a move on me, and now this vague promise youre making...who are you to decide when people are ready for something? I get the fact that you want to wait until you can keep your promise with those two, but you shouldnt say such insensitive things...its really annoying..." This time, it was Vahns turn to frown slightly, causing Kali to lean forward slightly before she thumped his chest with the back of her head, saying, "Stop thinking so much! There isnt anything I can do to force your hand and its normal for people to have different perspectives. Stop trying to make everything make sense inside that stupid little head of yours! Jeez, its no wonder Loki seems so stressed out after dealing with you..." Having never been fond of people that overthink things, Kali was annoyed that Vahns immediate reaction in most situations was to try and reason his way through something. He was one of the most impressionable people she had ever met, even though he was also incredibly hard-headed. Kali imagined it must have driven Loki mad just trying to teach Vahn to interact with others without suffering a disadvantage... Even back at the Manor, Vahn had felt taken aback by Kalis words, causing Anubis to break character and ask, "Is something wrong, Master...?" She was currently half-bound with Nanu so Vahn felt the atmosphere became awkward in an instant with Anubis suddenly turning calm and showing concern. If Nanu could have turned to face him, she probably would have had a simr expression on her face, causing Vahn to give a wry smile as he stroked thetters butt and said, "Everything is fine...I just got a little distracted with something on the other end..." At the same time, back on Kalis ship, Vahn pressed his index finger into a pressure point above Kalis navel, causing the diminutive goddess legs to tense up as her back became ramrod straight... In response to her earlier words, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Youre right, Kali...I always seem to be troubling those around me, especially Loki. She does so much just to make sure everything is running smoothly, even forcing me to take breaks so that I dont make things more problematic or break down. I wont deny I have a lot of weaknesses and, even when I do be an Emperor, this probably wont change. Its because of this that Im so reliant on other people, especially the goddesses that support me...I am just one person, with a perspective that is heavily skewed as a result of my rtively short life and a severeck of experience. I need strong and capable women to support me, just as I need my family to be happy so that I can also be happy..." Vahn knew he had more than his fair share of problems but they were mostly rted to the amount of knowledge he had that most others simply couldntprehend. His focus wasnt solely on the record he currently inhabited and, even though he still had the perspective of a mortal, Vahn had to tackle concepts that would even boggle the minds of gods. It was a lot to process and, even with Sub-Space and Space-Time orbs, he was barely able to cope with a lot of things that he needed to focus on. Moments like this just added to the problems he was already dealing with but, at the same time, it made him a more plete person when he was able to work through them. Kalis words, while harsh, helped him put things in perspective and, even for a brief moment, be more decisive and resolute... While pressing firmly into one of the more sensitive pressure points on Kalis body, Vahn brought his right hand above her heart, gently gripping her almost non-existent b.r.e.a.s.t as he said, "You are also someone I will need to rely on in the future, Kali, and not just because you will be the mother of one of my children. You provide a unique perspective that is necessary for me to make more informed decisions in the future and, even if you arent the type to think deeply about things, the insight you provide will help me make me a stronger person and a better Emperor..." Punctuating his words, Vahn pinched the small protrusion that had made its presence known through Kalis smock, causing her body to shake as she exhaled a hot sigh. For a brief moment, both Vahn and Kali were taken back to the previous night where, against her nature, Kali had broken down under Vahns caress. Though he would need to take far more decisive action in the future, she had already taken on a more submissive position in their rtionship, just as Tiona and Tione had in the past. This was why she had adopted her Chandi persona when leaving her cabin today as, even though it was the form she used to punish evil, it was also the form she took to appear weak and frail. It made it much easier for her to ept Vahns indecisive treatment and allowed her to repress her instincts, even though her body was screaming at her to take what she wanted... Vahn was very aware that Kali wasnt really satisfied, even if her body was going through all the motions and responding properly. Even now, her Affection for him was only at 94(Trust) and it would fluctuate up and down throughout the day, never exceeding 95. Though he tried not to rely on the values, Vahn still used it at times like this to try and spur himself onward. After telling her that she was necessary for him to be a moreplete person, Vahn suddenly felt that holding back was somewhat ridiculous. Thus, even though Kali was tolerating his actions while squirming around hisp, Vahns hands became idle once again. This caused her to frown deeply until he suddenly picked up her body and said, "Ill need your help when we arrive in Telskyura...I can at least do something for you before then..." While holding the somewhat surprised goddess in a bridal carry, Vahn transitioned from the galley and made his way towards Kalis cabin. After kicking the door shut behind him, Vahn matched Kalis amused gaze and produced a wry smile of his own, knowing that he was going to suffer a few grievances this time around. If he wanted to take things further with Kali, the only way for him to take control was to defeat her, just as he had done battle against Tiona and Tione previously. The only other route forward was to reverse their positions, letting Kali take control of the situation and putting himself on the receiving end. This was something that was generally very difficult for Vahn but, with Anubis and Nanu being very receptive to his advances back at the Manor, he figured he could let Kali have some leniency and always reverse things if she got out of hand... Much to Vahns surprise, though Kali very willingly took the lead, she didnt end up crossing the final line just yet. She had very different expectations for their first-time together and simply enjoyed teasing Vahn, knowing full well that he wasnt reallyfortable with her antics. This was her way of getting back at him for thest two months while showing that she wasnt just going to do as he expected every time he yed at being decisive. Knowing that Vahn had been willing made Kali feel less inclined to take what her body craved while the knowledge that she would get much moreter allowed her to remain rtively calm... The next morning, Vahn felt like his nerves had been stretched thin as he stared nkly towards the horizon with Kali sitting in hisp like a Queen upon her throne. This time, he was sitting on her cushioned tform while she was in her default persona, wearing her almost negligible divine raiment as she lounged against him. She would periodically release small peals ofughter and wiggle around in hisp, obviously taunting him while enjoying the mistakes her Familia were making since their focus was split between their tasks and observing the abnormal interaction between Vahn and Kali. This was because, unable to simply let Kali do whatever she wanted, Vahn would asionally return the favor, causing the small goddess to release loud and sensual m.o.a.ns, followed by even louder burstsughter... (A/N: I am aware I said no rest days, but Im down to thest two days before I need to leave and there are a lot of things I need to prepare before work officially starts. There will always be a chapter avable at the daily reset, but other chapters will appear at random times. While Im working, Ill try to do mass releases on the weekends, but there are some weeks where I work either Saturday or Sunday. Ill keep you posted as things change~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Square up, thots~!,Kali is going to have an aneurysm dealing with Vahn xD...,Vahn f.u.c.k.i.e.d up...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 941 - Changes, Inside and Out

Chapter 941 - Changes, Inside and Out

During thest leg of the seas voyage, as the atmosphere on the Kali Familia ship had been undergoing various changes, winter had quickly settled on Orario. Shakti had gone intobor without incident, giving birth to Vahns third son, a rather lumpy baby with a thin matte of deep blue downy hair on his head. Vahn felt just as proud as always while the exception to the event, Rufina, made ament about how his and Shaktis son looked like a potato. This had earned her a deadpan stare from Vahn while Shakti, having grown very close to Rufina, justughed it away in good humor. In truth, it was most of Vahns other children that were abnormal, as it was actually very strange for newborns to have fairplexions and pristine appearances... Shakti ended up deciding on the name Rud Mason, a rather peculiar name that had the meaning little storm and tiny howler in an ancientnguage. Vahn suspected this was because, until he had fallen asleep, Rud showed off his vitality by crying non-stop for around half an hour. It wasnt until Vahn had called out his Guardian, which ended up being a small Cobalt Monkey, that Rud finally calmed down. Shortly after that, Shakti herself ended up falling into a deep slumber, fatigued from theborious event and the over taxation of her emotional state. As was often the case, Vahn spent the following days watching over her and his newest child as both he and Shakti suffered the tireless presence of Rufina and her teasing... It was around this time that one of the HDF squads that had been conducting an investigation in the Land of no Sun returned, reporting on the location of Shiva. Vahnmented the timing, especially after learning that Shiva was the leader of one of the small insurgent groups seeding the civil war in her homnd. It had been her act of assassinating various n leaders that created a power vacuum, causing infighting amongst the tribes and leading to the long conflict that had been going on for nearly three years at this point. Because winter had already fallen over the continent, the fighting hade to a temporary stop so Vahn decided to put off their reunion until he could take care of other matters. He was only a few days away from Telskyura when he received the news and, with Shakti having just given birth, Vahn didnt really feel like getting embroiled in a civil war. He had already drafted missives and sent them out to the various Kingdoms, Nations, and Provinces, scheduling arge gathering that would take ce near the end of the spring. Even some of the most influential Chieftans within the Land of no Sun had been given an invitation so Vahn felt like he could deal with most problems after the event had concluded. The HDF had beenpiling a truly monstrous amount of information on the various regions of Eden, giving Vahn a much better understanding of the political situation of every major country. He wasnt surprised to learn that, other than a few Kingdoms that had originally sought alliances with Orario, many nations were governed rather poorly. Corruption was deeply rooted in almost every nation that had been founded by Humans, especially if there was an aristocracyprised of generational Nobles. Things got a little better with the other races, as most of the Beast Human tribes generally kept to themselves, but eachmunity had their fair share of problems as well. With this information, Vahns determination to do what was necessary in the future had been steadily growing. Though his journey with the Amazonesses had changed his perspective slightly, Vahn knew that most cultures were intrinsically different, on a very fundamental level. This was because, while some of the Beast Human tribes were undoubtedly influenced by their instincts, it wasnt nearly as prominent as the Amazonesses. They also proactively engaged in trade and sought prosperity, choosing nomadic lifestyles as a result of past tensions and fear they would suffer under the pre-existing systems, even in Orario. All of that was changing and, to smoothen the transition in the future, Vahn needed to get everyone on the same page... Vahn intended to implement his reforms on a muchrger scale by holding the various leaders that would attend his mandated gathering in the future. Though some exceptions would certainly be made, all those that sought to avoid adhering to the changes he wanted to introduce would be dealt with depending on the severity of associated crimes. Those that were willing to adapt to the changes and begin transitioning towards a more positive future for their nations would be given leniency, so long as they incorporated the necessary changes. This would undoubtedly be exploited by some of the more clever and insidious leaders, but Vahn had only intended the meeting to be a stop-gap measure that was meant to inform than anything else. By observing how the various nations acted after the meeting, Vahn would be able to determine how they should be treated in the future. Those that actively resisted the changes, trying to hold onto power that they had no right to im, would be removed entirely. As for the countries that tried to take advantage of the transition for their own benefits, Vahn would allow them to dig their own grave for a while until they could be publically exposed and held ountable for their crimester on. He knew it was impossible to bring about change quickly so, even if it took a few decades for a proper bnce to be achieved, it wouldnt matter that much. Eventually, every existing nation and culture would see what Orario had be and do their best to keep pace, fearing they would fade into obscurity if they failed to keep up... --- With thoughts of the future on his mind, Vahn had stopped by Spero to see how each of the Xenos was doing. Their numbers had crested over 500 members at this point and were steadily growing, each day seemingly giving rise to a new humanoid Xenos. Even the rtively weak Xenos, such as Goblins, Kobolds, Horned Rabbits, had pseudo-human forms. Their exposure to other humanoid Xenos had steadily been changing the perspective of the entiremunity, making it much easier for others to transform. Though it would take them a while to be fully humanoid, it was still easy to see the progress the entiremunity was making, especially those that closely associated with Vahn... Though he didnt try to show any preferential treatment, it was a simple truth that the fluffier Xenos were able to get much closer to Vahn. As a result, many of the Almiraj and Horned Rabbit Xenos now had faux-human forms, looking like young children that were still predominately covered in fur but bing progressively cuter as time passed. Fortunately, as a result of Rayne, Naho, and another Arachne-Xenos, Silky, many of the more humanoid Xenos had adopted the habit of wearing clothing. It wasnt really required just yet, but Ray and Lyd had been setting the trend that, if you wanted to be human, you needed to emte them when you could. By wearing clothes, their transformation could actually be sped up and, since Vahn would generally pay heavypliments to those with interesting outfits, it was bing more popr with every passing day. Long before his arrival in the vige proper, Vahn was crowded by a few figures that swooped down from the air,tching onto him without any regards for personal space. These were three Harpy-Type Xenos, one of the groups that had the most humanoid figures since their base form wasnt that dissimr from humans from the start. Vahn was pulled toward three different directions as the girls practically fought over him, saying things like, "Vahn,e y with me~." and, "No, I want to show him the new clothes Naho had sewn for me~." As much as he enjoyed their affections, Vahn used telekinesis to pull the three away from him, earning a few pouts andints until he said, "Ill stop by the nest a littleter, though only if you promise to behave..." Thest time Vahn had visited the domicile of the Harpy-Type Xenos, he felt like a henpecked rooster and had topletely dispose of the shredded clothes he had worn at the time. They still had a habit of getting carried away and, though nothing had happened just yet, Vahn knew there were many amongst the Xenos who had very high affections for him. Since he didnt want to treat Spero as his own personal yground, Vahn had put off doing any risque with most of the Xenos since their vige was founded... Just as one particr Xenos had crossed his mind, Vahn detected a fourth presence moving through the air and, after a sh of gold covered his vision, a pair of soft wings wrapped around his body. He was used to her greetings and, even though it would cause the other Harpy-Xenos to throw a fit andinter, Vahn allowed Ray to rather aggressively kiss his lips. At this point, her features were almost entirely human and, instead of being connected to her arms, Rays beautiful golden wings gave her the appearance of a beautiful golden-haired angel. Since the tips of her hair and feathers were still tinted blue, though not as striking as her eyes, she had a very unique and ephemeral beauty that was hard to ignore... After several long seconds, Ray finally extricated her tongue from Vahns mouth, a fervent and teasing look on her face as she said, "You should have told me you wereing by. I would havee to meet you at the gate..." Vahn had a smile on his face but didnt get to answer as the surrounding Harpy-Xenosined, "Ray, that isnt fair~! You cant keep Vahn to yourself...!" They issued several otherints but Ray simplyughed it off as she linked arms with Vahn and guided him toward the vige. As for the three Harpy-Xenos, they simply gave up after Ray ignored them and took to the skies, flying ahead to let everyone know that Vahn was on his way. Vahn and Ray watched the girls fly overhead, thettermenting, "There have been a lot of rumors back at the nest, using me of stealing you away from everyone. Even Naho has been giving me the stink eye as ofte~." Though they had done a lot of kissing, and a few more intimate things, Vahn had yet to have s.e.x with any of the Xenos. There were certainly more than a few who were willing but, in order to prevent anyrger issues from urring, he had never allowed things to progress to that extent. If there were just one or two, it wouldnt be that big of an issue, but the fact that arge portion of the female Xenos had their eye on him made Vahn exercise extreme caution... Fortunately, the time was fast approaching where Xenos would begin to mingle with other races, at least within Haven. Vahn hoped that their exposure to other surface dwellers would shift the focus of therger poption of Xenos, especially after having mild sess with his current experiment. With that thought in mind, Vahn and Ray approached a small cottage on the distant outskirts of Spero where he could sense the presence of three auras. This was outside of the primary barrier that would prevent ess to the main vige of Spero as, for the time being, thergermunity hadnt epted the presence of another human within their heart just yet. Without bothering to knock, as things like shame and privacy werent really centralponents of Xenos society, Vahn and Ray made their way inside the small cottage. Of the three presences inside, only one showed a panicked reaction as Bell quickly let go of the blue-skinned Xenos woman and hopped to his feet, hands raised as said, "Im not doing anything...!" in a fl.u.s.ter. Vahns expression didnt change at all from Bells outburst while Ray released his arm,menting, "Youre a strange one, Bell..." as she made her way over to therge bed where two Xenos girls were seated. The first was the same blue-skinned, amber-eyed, Xenos with silver-blue hair, sporadic scales, long pointy ears, and a red gemstone on her forehead. This was the Vouivre-Xenos, Wiene, that Bell had saved from pursuers in the past... Currently, Wiene was wearing clothing simr to an Amazonesses,prised of waterproof fabric that was dyed a deep blue. It had an appearance simr to a swimsuit with an Ability called Moisturize, as Wienes skin would be dry and cracked if she didnt moisten it periodically. As for herpanion, who was currently hiding behind Wienes long sapphire blue tail, it was a small Almiraj-Xenos who had the appearance of a very young girl with snow-white skin, red-eyes, and simrly white hair to Bell. Like all Almiraj-Type Xenos, she was incredibly petite, only 103cm tall, but most of her body was still covered in fur. She had two half-length rabbit ears on her head and a bushy tail, poking out the back of her frilly blue dress that was ented withce and ribbons. Vahn gave a smile towards the diminutive Xenos, causing her to hug Wienes tail tighter until thetter released a heart-tickling m.o.a.n and said, "Ca, please dont grab my tail so tightly..." This caused the small Almiraj-Xenos to release Wienes tail as she sheepishly grabbed the hem of her dress, saying, "Im sorry, Wiene...! Kyuuu..." Since she hadnt really been angry, Wiene reached out her hand, rubbing Cas head with a happy smile on her face while Ray sat on the bed next to them, asking, "Has Bell been bullying the two of you~?" This caused Bell to turn pale in an instant, at least until Wiene showed an embarrassed smile and said, "No, Bell has been very good to me..." There was a dark purple blush rising on her face as Wienes long scaled ears wobbled, much like an Elfs when they were embarrassed... Leaving the girls to talk, Vahn had dragged Bell outside before walking a bit away from the small cottage, the young hero trailing behind him. When they were a fair distance away, Vahn beganughing out loud, causing Bells expression to turn beet red as he began to stammer a wawawa at the side. What Vahn and Ray had walked in on was Bell holding the sides of Wienes face, gently stroking her ears with his thumbs as she blushed deeply and allowed him to do so. Ca had beenying on the bed next to them, her own face flushed as her ears were twitching about happily. Vahn knew that Bell had just been petting the two girls, a habit he had copied from Vahn, so it was a rather humorous situation to stumble in on. With a teasing smile on his face, Vahn asked, "I wonder if the other girls know about your private petting session~?" These words caused Bells face to go from scarlet to pale white in an instant, giving him a look as if he had just awoken from a nightmare. At this point, Vahn reached out his hand and flicked Bells forehead, sending thetter tumbling backward a few times before rubbing his head, a teary-eyed expression as he asked, "What was that for...?" Vahn just shook his head before walking over and helping Bell to his feet, dusting off the boys clothes as he said, "Remember what we talked aboutst time...? You need to be more decisive if you dont want to hurt the girls feelings. Theyre not idiots, so you shouldnt treat them like they have no idea what is going on...if you really care about them, you should be more forward. You know, the reason theysh out at you so often is precisely due to your indecisiveness..." Even without him extending the invitation personally, Welf had invited Bell to be a member of the Clubhouse, something Vahn had allowed without the necessary investigation. Though it had only been twice, Vahn had met up with the two for drinks, trying to counsel Bell a bit so the young hero would have more backbone. Even the arrangements with Wiene were so that the Xenos could get exposure to another human while the rtionship between him and the demure Vouivre continued to blossom. Things had been going rtively well thus far but, much to the chagrin of girls like Plum and Taliah, Bell hadnt taken more decisive action in their rtionsh.i.p.s just yet... Since this wasnt the first time he had heard such words from Vahn, Bell just released a long sigh, hanging his head as he exined, "I really did try, you know...?" These words piqued Vahns interest, causing his brows to rise slightly as he asked, "Oh? What happened...?" Though he wasnt the type to gossip, Vahn couldnt help but feel a slight intrigue when it came to Bell and his rather peculiar rtionsh.i.p.s with hispanions. Bell also looked up to him greatly and treated him as a confidant, unhesitantly answering, "Taliah and I had reserved a room at an Inn on the outskirts of the Red Light District. We went on a long date and had a lot of fun but, when we entered into the room..." At this point, Bells expression was a mixture of incredulity, confusion, and embarrassment as he exined in a quiet voice, "She attacked me very aggressively and I got a little panicked, falling backward out of the bed and knocking myself out...when I woke up, Line and Julienne were lecturing Taliah while I ended up being teased by Rana..." Rana was the name of the Cat Person within Bells group, a woman near the peak of Level 4 who Bell ended up saving after she got poisoned by a Voltimeria variant on the 27th Floor. Voltimera were a fish-type monster with purple bodies made of stone that was covered in sharp protrusions. Generally, they werent poisonous, so Rana had gotten caught off guard when one of the sharp spines cut her side, causing it to fester after only a few minutes. If not for the arrival of Bells party, she would have died then and there, even though her only reason for being in the Dungeon was simply to deliver a parcel to Lil Geirr... Vahn could imagine the rather mature Cat Personughing at Bell and understood why thetter would have been upset by the event. He had finally mustered up his courage but, unaware of the mating ritual of a v.i.r.g.i.n Amazoness, Bell had been wholly unprepared for the event. This was probably why he was here on the outskirts of Spero instead of venturing into the Dungeon. Usually, Bell would only visitte in the afternoon or on the weekends, making it exceptionally odd that he was here early in the morning on a weekday... After sorting his own thoughts, believing he had a decent understanding of the situation, Vahn said, "You cant let these kinds of things set you back, Bell. Those girls probably know you better than you know yourself so they wont really hold this kind of thing against you. If you pout and run away, that is how youll end up upsetting them...besides, dont you think it is a bit strange that the girls showed up after you got knocked out? How did they know you and Taliah were even at the Inn...?" If his intuition wasnt wrong, Vahn suspected that the event had been a setup of sorts to try and get Bell to act a little more decisively in the future. Their mistake was allowing an Amazoness to be the one to take the lead but, considering the makeup of girls, Vahn could understand why they would have chosen her. If Bell had known beforehand what to expect, things likely would have yed out very differently than they had, which is why Taliah ended up getting the lecture instead of Bell... Bell, with a confused expression on his face, tilted his head to the side with an, "Eh...?" This caused Vahn to also feel his own body tilt as he looked into Bells innocent eyes and saw genuine confusion within. Resisting the urge toment on Bells denseness, Vahn exined, "It is highly likely that the other girls had given Taliah permission to take action. You were just unprepared since you dont know the habits of Amazonesses and were caught by surprise. In the future, you should endeavor to get a better understanding of the racial traits and habits of the people you are involved with..." When these words left his mouth, Vahn brought his fist against his palm, realization hitting him as he smiled and said, "Actually, if youre not against it, I can give you some advice...?" Since Bell already had a habit of trying to emte him, Vahn figured he could give the young boy some useful advice that would aid him greatlyter on. Surprisingly, Bell shook his head as a strangely resolute light appeared in his red eyes, quickly turning into a zing fire as he said, "No, but thank you, Vahn. Now that you pointed it out for me, I believe youre right...if the girls are trying so hard because of my indecisiveness, I need to put in more effort on my own. I cant just rely on you for everything, especially when ites to dealing with the people Im supposed to care about...!" At this point, Bell had both of his fists tightly clenched, almost as if he were preparing to head into battle against a Monster Rex. Vahn was left feeling a strange emptiness as he stared nkly back at Bell before eventually smiling as he said, "That is probably for the best. Honestly, though Im confident in the advice I could give, it is also true that Ive made my fair share of mistakes. Everyones rtionsh.i.p.s are somethingpletely unique to themselves so Im happy you made this choice..." In hindsight, Vahn felt like it wouldnt have been appropriate if he started giving Bell s.e.x.u.a.l counsel, as it would have made the actual moment less real. If he was only able to seed because of a script written by someone else, Bell would never be able to have full confidence in his own actions. Though he would invariably fail a few times, there was nothing wrong with experiencing a few setbacks while you were young. In fact, Vahn felt like it was the fact that he didnt experience great failure early on that caused him to make as many mistakes as he had. If the girls hadnt worked so hard to make things work on their own, which should have been his responsibility, things would have turned out very differently... Realizing this, Vahns smile softened as he spent a few more minutes talking with Bell, this time from the perspective of a friend instead of a mentor. He knew there was a lot he could learn from talking with Bell and, hearing some of the simple insights the young boy had, Vahn couldnt help but feel as if he had made a mistake by not developing his other friendsh.i.p.s more proactively. Though he didnt regret the path he had walked, as that would be an insult to himself and the people that had walked alongside him, Vahn still wondered what it would have been like if he had focused more on his friendsh.i.p.s than his rtionsh.i.p.s... The conversation between Vahn and Bell continued until some of the Xenos from Spero, who had been waiting for Vahn to show up, came out to look for him. They also greeted Bell, albeit with far less fervor, before Vahn parted ways with the white-haired hero and reunited with Ray. There was arge crowd of Xenos waiting for him, even though there were no major events going on, causing Vahn to feel that his path had been fulfilling in its own ways. Though the Xenos were certainly some of the most dedicated and loyal towards him, Vahn now had over 15,000 people within his Unit Management while literal millions revered him. Though he had missed out on some of the simpler things in life, what he had experienced was something that most people could only dream of... Almost at the same moment that thought had passed through his mind, Vahn habitually opened up his arms as a petite girl with a very intricately designed dress practically tackled him. She had short white hair that had been styled into two small pigtails as she rubbed her face affectionately against his abdomen, blissfully ignoring thements from some of the other Xenos. Vahn allowed a smile to spread across his face as he reached down, picking up the small girl in his arms and allowing her to sneak a kiss on his cheek as he said, "Ime to visit, Naho..." After that, Vahn made his way towards the heart of the vige, the crowd of Xenos following along with him as a lively and festive atmosphere began to spread in his wake... (A/N: Ill try to get another chapter outter, but Ive already been up since around 10 PM the previous day and could use a nap. I made this chapter extra long topensate, even though it is somewhat fluffy in nature. I wanted to show that Vahn still has a lot to learn, even from people he sometimes looks down on~.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: I feel like Rufina wants her own potato (UwU)...,RIP Bell...,If you have an open mind, you will never stop learning and improving (^_^)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 942 - Peace And Quiet

Chapter 942 - Peace And Quiet

After a few hours of partying with the Xenos, Vahn was surrounded by several sleeping figures, many having passed out after having a little too much to drink. As for Vahn himself, his natural immunity to toxins prevented him from getting drunk so he was reclining against Ruby, a variant Bugbear-Xenos with white fur and ruby-red eyes. Her human transformation wascking but her fur had be very soft after Vahn introduced the concept of shampoo and conditioner to the Xenos. Ever since her arrival in the vige, Ruby had be the cuddle-buddy of most of the mammalian-type Xenos, such as the Kobold, Horned Rabbit, Almiraj, and Hellhound Xenos. Vahn also found her coat veryfortable and didnt refuse the offer to use her body as a pillow while his own body ended up being piled upon by several of the smaller Xenos sub-species... As much as he was enjoying thefortable and warm sensation of cuddling up with a horde of fluffy Xenos, Vahns day was far from over and he couldnt stick around for too long. Thus, after sending out calming energy and helping lull the surrounding Xenos into a deep slumber, Vahn extricated himself from the pile-up before stretching his body, sharing a few words with those who were still awake, and then leaving thergermunalpound. He made his way to a small white building that had a rounded dome-like structure and oblong holes for windows. It appeared to have been created from a type of y, like many of the buildings that were constructed in Spero but had arge conch-like protrusion sticking out of the top. Unlike the rest of the residences in Spero, Vahn stopped outside this one and passed his finger through a series of colored crystals that were simr to a wind chime. They were a little heavy to be moved by normal winds but, when impacting each other, resonated with a very pleasant and calming bell-like sound. Shortly after the sound began to echo through the area, Vahn could hear a bit of shuffling around and the movement of water before an inordinately charming and gentle voice sounded out, causing even the pleasant sound of the chime to seem rather dull. Vahn shook his head to clear his thoughts before passing through the barrier that had barred entry, finding two beautiful girls waiting for him in the buildings interior... The inside of the buildingcked furnishings, much like most of the Xenos residences, but there was arge pool that filled more than half the avable space. Within that pool, Marie wasying on her stomach atop arge red stone, a happy smile on her face as she eximed, "Vahn...! Wee~!." She hadnt been present during the impromptu party earlier because her tolerance towards alcohol was nonexistent, causing her to stir up trouble with her charm without intending to. Since she could even charm hostile monsters, Maries ability could easily influence her fellow Xenos, making it rather dangerous for her to be present when everyone was cutting loose. Vahn returned a natural smile to Marie,menting, "That new swimsuit looks very nice. Did Naho make it for you...?" Marie had gotten into the habit of wearing clothing to protect her dignity, even if it was only an emerald-green bikini top and a pareo tied firmly around her waist. This time, however, she was wearing a rather ornate top that looked like two starfish covering her b.r.e.a.s.ts, woven together in aplex arrangement that actually covered most of her upper body. She still had arge pareo, as it was very difficult for her to wear any other kind of bottoms, but it too seemed rather intricatepared to her previous garments... Marie beamed at thepliment, pushing away from the side of the pool and spinning around happily so Vahn could get a full view as she said, "Naho make fabric. Helen make swimsuit~!" After her outburst, Marie sunk into the water before making a loop underwater anding back up at the side, this time much closer to the second person within the room. Marie produced another happy smile, earning a very small smile in return from her rather demure and quietpanion, Helen. She was reclining on an ornate chaise lounge, the only piece of genuine furniture within the living area of the residence. Compared to the past, Helen no longer attempted to cover up her appearance, causing Vahns heart to twist in his chest every time they met each other. No matter how often he interacted with Helen, it was like he wasying eyes on her for the first time, requiring him to steady his heart and mind to avoid having to use [Will of the Emperor] just to converse with her. Somewhat annoyingly, however, Helen almost seemed like she was tempting him at times, even though he knew she wasnt trying to. After all, though his first impression told him that the thing clothing she was wearing was meant to entice him, Vahns discerning eye noticed that the exact opposite was true. Her clothing was worn in such a way that it didnt ent her beauty much and instead hid the curves of her body, even though her face, ankles, feet, and arms were bare... Taking a breath to calm himself, Vahn broke the tension that had started to build, asking, "How have you been Helen?" After the initial wave washed over him, Vahn was able to regain hisposure, returning to a calm mental state and adopting a natural smile. This caused Helens eyes to squint almost imperceptibly as she slowly adjusted her position, each minor movement appearing like aposition that had been carefully arranged by a master painter. She moved a few of her long white strands of hair to the side, ensuring that no loose strands spilled over onto the ground as she sat straight and responded, "It has been very pleasant, living here in this vige..." Vahn gave a small nod in response, urging Helen to continue with his eyes, matching her pinkish irises without being influenced by the powerful charm contained within. This was something that Helen always seemed to appreciate as it would often bring a small smile to her face, sometimes even reaching the edges of her mesmerizing eyes. Vahn didnt interact with her too often but he had slowly been learning how to identify how she was feeling based on the small changes in her aura and disposition. She wasnt very expressive at all, as it could be very dangerous if she showed genuine emotion over the previous eight hundred years, so Vahn had to pay close attention to know what she was thinking... Helen, as expected, gave an immacte and indescribably beautiful smile in response before saying, "I have been getting along well with all of the Xenos, especially Marie...she and I have be very close over thest few months..." These words caused Marie to beam while leaning against the side of her pool, a peal of pleasedughter escaping her lips. Helen gave her an affectionate smile before adding, "This ce is truly a small and unexpected paradise...one I fear I never would have found if not for the whims of fate. Thank you, Vahn Mason..." Beforeing to reside in Spero, Helen had to worry about both men and women being influenced by her Innates. The Xenos, however, including those with humanoid forms, had a natural resistance to her. They didnt have the same concept of beauty and aesthetic as normal people, finding Helen to simply be unique and interesting, not a possession worth fighting over... In response to Helens gratitude, Vahn waved his hand dismissively, earning a small squint from her as he said, "You dont have to thank me, Helen. Nobody should have had to go through what you went through. If I can give you some peace of mind by allowing you to reside here, that is something I ought to do, not something you should thank me for..." This wasnt even remotely close to the first time that Helen had thanked him so Vahn was starting to develop an immunity towards it. Even so, he still added simr words to what he almost always said, "Just remember to let me know if you need anything. Dont forget, you arent a prisoner here and I can always help you relocate if you grow weary of this kind of life..." As usual, Helen didnt have a response to this and just averted her eyes to the side in deep thought, nobody knowing what was on her mind. Vahn could see her aura waver for a brief moment before normalizing, causing him to turn away and say, "You can always contact me or Jeanne if you need anything...have a good evening, Helen..." After those parting words, Vahn cast a nce towards Marie, adding, "Ill see you at dinner, Marie~." She responded by happily swimming in a swift arc before diving down, disappearing into theplex corridors thatprised her personalwork of tunnels. Vahn had moved through them a few times himself but Marie could navigate them with extreme ease, moving about freely between Spero and the Hearth Manor. With Maries departure, Vahn didnt have any reason to stick around and was about to cross through the barrier when Helens voice reached his ears, asking, "Why do you not ask me about my secrets, Vahn? If you asked, I would tell you everything..." Though not quite in the same fashion, this was also a question Helen had posed to him in the past. He knew she wanted him to inquire about her past and the fate that had been assigned to her, likely to make that very fate a reality. Vahn, however, had no intention of going with the flow of things and allowing Helen to make excuses about how she would act in the future. Unless she told him about herself of her own volition, Vahn wasnt going to pry into her tragic past, bing the target of some prophecy or fate that Helen had convinced herself was inescapable... Vahn cast a nce back at Helen, the same casual smile on his face as they locked eyes for a few tense seconds before he once again turned away. This time, Helen didnt call out to him and just stood standing in her spot for more than a minute, the soft chime of crystals dancing in the wind. She knew Vahn had already long departed and, unlike her brothers, wasnt lingering around outside as he waited for her to call out to him a second time. As a result, Helen allowed a genuine expression to show on her face, causing her delicate and wless features to turn into a frown. If anyone had been around to witness this, they would have almost immediately taken up arms, demanding to know who had upset her and doing everything they could to make her smile again. Instead, Helen was left alone in the small and homely residence she shared with Marie, the ambient sounds of nature and the gentle ebb and flow of water the only things breaking the silence. It truly was a very peaceful ce to live but Helen hadnt been able topletely enjoy it as her thoughts were deeply rooted in pessimism. Though she hadnt seen a single sign of this being the case, Helen couldnt help but feel as if she were simply being fooled. Even though she had seen the truth herself, knowing full-well that Vahn had a general immunity to her abilities, a part of her couldntpletely ept the reality of her situation... Helen released a tired sigh before gingerlyying her body across the chaise lounge that Vahn had gifted to her in the past. Though he had just given it to her after asking what kind of furniture she preferred, the same part of Helen that made it impossible for her to ept reality told her that he had given the lounge as a gift to woo her. Even as she wouldy against it for hours, ying with the seams of between the cushions, Helen still felt very confused about her current situation. After all, she even made sure it was located in the very center of the room and would alwaysy across it every time Vahn made an appearance. Regardless, other than a small moment of shock and awe when he firstid eyes on her, Vahn would return to normal almost immediately, not even shying away when she looked directly at him... For the better part of an hour, Helen didnt move a muscle as her pointed ears were trained on her surroundings. She had even sent out her perception like a small echo, using her mana to individually check every inch of Spero and the viges periphery. Even Helen didnt know why she bothered looking around, knowing full well that what she was looking for wouldnt appear. Still, she couldnt help herself and continued to inspect every presence down to the smallest animals and insects before releasing another tired sigh and rolling onto her side. From this angle, she could see a small shelf-like section in Maries pool, filled with small trinkets and vials that Vahn had given her in the past. On the very edge of the shelf, there was a small waterproof doll that had aquamarine gems for eyes and a cross-shaped mouth. There was a very subtle area of darkness around this x from where Marie would kiss the doll before diving into her cove at night and resting for the evening... With nothing better to do, Helen yed with a few strands of her long white hair, aimlessly staring at the doll without any thoughts passing through her mind. She had gotten very ustomed to simply existing back at the City of Heroes so it wasnt difficult for her to spend entire days without a single actual thought passing through her mind. At times, she would even meditate for upwards of a month, only stirring when Jeanne woulde by to visit and tell her about events taking ce in the City. Now, Helen was once again left without anything to do as her purpose was to support the person that was able to resist her charms. She had thought Vahn would be this person but, even after nearly three months had passed, Helen wasnt sure what he wanted from her. It seemed like he had no expectations whatsoever, but this was something iprehensible to Helen, filling her with doubts and causing her extreme confusion... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fluffy Paradise...,Marie is adorable~,Helen has been pursued by everyone so she has no idea how to function when she isnt pursued (UwU)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 943 - Entry

Chapter 943 - Entry

After more than three months at sea, the Kali Familia ship was fast approaching its destination but, unlike previous journeys, things werent going as smoothly as anticipated. Usually, the ice buildup around the penins surrounding Telskyura wouldnt start to settle in until early January, meaning they should have had a two week period to enter into the country. Now, however, Vahn stood on the bow with Kali sitting on the ships railing, looking out over several kilometers of ice and snow. Because his senses were even more developed than Kallis, Vahn had been observing the flow of mana in the atmosphere for a while now, breaking through the silence by noting, "There is an abnormal amount of Ice Elemental energy that is mixed with a few other chaotic mana flows. I imagine arge winter storm swept through the area since there is a warm airflow retreating ind in the upper atmosphere..." With his domain able to stretch upwards of 3.7km, Vahn could sense changes high in the sky without any real difficulty. As for Kali, she just kept dangling her legs at the side while small plumes of condensation would build up every time she exhaled... Even though the temperature was around -3 degrees Celsius, Kali, and the rest of the crew aboard, hadnt put on a single extrayer of clothing. They had even gone fishing, diving into the freezing cold water below and swimming into the dark depths to catch prey. Though they werent really immune to the cold, their high resistance and general tolerance allowed them to resist the temperatures without any major difficulty. He noticed that they did, however, move around a lot more than normal while the appetite of even the tiny Myahi had more than doubled. As for Vahn, his tolerance bordered on genuine immunity so he stood casually near Kali in nothing but ck shorts and a ne formed of sharp teeth and shells that the crew had made for him. There was even a bit of steam rising from his body, the product of his naturally high internal temperature, courtesy of the [Heart of the Eternal me]... After thinking for a very short moment, Kali leaned back against the air and allowed her body to fall naturally. Vahn moved his hand to catch her, causing Kali to smile mischievously as she reclined against his warm palm and asked, "Can you clear the way for us? I dont really want to moor the ship out at sea and leave it at the mercy of mother nature. We can always build a new one, but that would be annoying..." This wasnt the first time the ship had been in this same situation so Kali hadnt really been bothered that much. In previous instances, the crew would just make sleds and begin transferring the cargo over the ice, abandoning the ship outright. If the ice hadnt built up too much, they would send people ahead to break up the ice so the ship could pass through, albeit slowly... Vahn tried helping Kali sit properly but she kept reclining back against his hand defiantly, causing him to eventually give up. His instincts wouldnt allow him to let her fall towards the ground so he became a makeshift recliner for her as he answered, "Yeah, it shouldnt be too much of an issue. How much longer until we reach Telskyura...?" Though he could already seend in the distance, Vahn wasnt able to discern the existence of a port or fishing vige. In fact, he mostly saw jagged outcrops of porous reddish-ck stone, indicating the area was rich in agate stone and iron deposits... Kali, after trying and failing to roll off of Vahns palm, eventually replied, saying, "Other than a few symbolic buildings and structures, the Amazonesses dont build for the sake of convenience. There are norge ports or docks where youll be able to moor the ship. Well sail to the side of the cliffs and then scale the rockface before pulling the ship up through sheer manualbor. It might seem inconvenient, but Amazonesses arent weak and frail like other races..." Though she didnt say it outright, Kali internally remarked that it also kept them from being invaded by both monsters and other surface dwellers who would try to approach their country through the sea. Though he wasnt really surprised by Kalis words, Vahn couldnt help feeling a little impressed that the Amazonesses were so dedicated to their way of life. He knew this perception of his would change very quickly once they entered the country proper, but it was still interesting to see how a culture treated life itself as a challenge. They made no major attempts to escape the trials of mother nature, nor did they create infrastructure for the sole purpose of making their lives easier. Since even their youth were likely able to dive into the sea to catch food before ascending the steep surrounding cliffs, he could understand why there had never been a need to create a port...it was simply unnecessary since their own bodies allowed them to seed unaided... After picking Kali up by her armpits and setting her onto the deck, Vahn made his way to the bowsprit with her staring daggers into his back. This brought a small smile to his face since he knew Kali hated when he treated her like a child. Though he would probably pay the priceter, it had be very normal for both of them to try and annoy the other. She took advantage of his nature and teased him incessantly while he would say or do things that he knew annoyed her. Kali never really took such things to heart though so, shortly after Vahn began shaping his domain, she simply returned to her seat to observe, much like the rest of her crew. There were several methods Vahn could use to clear away the ice but he decided to use the most direct one after inspecting the seabed and the subsurface rock structures. He slowly shaped a path with his domain before holding out his hand, transforming into his Zhuque form in the process. Since he had already constrained his domain into a specific shape, the fire elemental energy and the incredible heat from his body only affected the area he had designated. As a result, there was arge steam explosion and a thunderous shockwave, but it wasnt enough to cause any real harm to the ship and its crew. Since it was now very difficult to see, with arge and dense mist spreading through the area, Vahn adjusted the airflow through his domain after resuming his default appearance. From behind, he could hear Tiona bragging to Bache about the feat while some of the other crew members were sneaking heated nces at him. Ever since Kalis promation, they had been a lot more restrained and significantly less bold than the first two months of the journey. She would often join them for meals and, though they had adapted to her presence, it was very obvious that Kali was staking a im and wouldnt allow anyone to oppose her. Unless they were willing to literally fight for the right, there was no chance they would be allowed to approach Vahn under normal circ.u.mstances... With arge path, easily big enough for the ship to pass through, cleared out of the ice, Khodiva gave the orders to unfurl half of a single sail before she began to skillfully navigate through the channel Vahn had created. It was a little over three times the width of the ship itself, making navigation very difficult, but Khodiva managed to pull it off without a hitch. Her spatial awareness and depth perception were incredible, leading Vahn to believe there was more to her Innate than even she was aware. Though he had remained on the bowsprit to clear out any obstacles, further assistance had beenpletely unnecessary as Khodiva barely even scr.a.p.ed the surrounding ice on the sharper turns... Even before the ship reached the steep sea cliffs, Vahn, and some of the higher Level people on the ship, took notice of several figures located high atop the cliff face. There were around twenty Amazonesses that had gathered together after therge steam explosion. They were wearing the characteristically revealing clothes of most Amazonesses but Vahn noticed that many wore even more revealing outfits than normal. There were even a few rather bold amongst their group who didnt even bother wearing tops, letting their b.r.e.a.s.ts hang out against the cold and biting wind without a care in the world. Though he had already sensed her approach, Vahn let Kali sneak up on him and exin, "They arent from the warrior tribe, just a group of fisherman. You can tell by the markings on their bodies and the spears that they have bound up in the slings on their backs..." Within Telskyura, there were three different primary groups of people based on a variety of factors from birth. Those further ind were usually the hunter/gatherers, the weakest of the Amazonesses that specialized in procuring food from the natural wilds and offering it as a tribute to the warrior n. As for the group closest to the shore, they naturally became the fishing tribe, focused on hunting the seas bounty and monitoring the seas forrge monsters and merchant vessels... By the time the ship had reached the cliff face, the group of Amazonesses from the fishing n had already started lowering down ropes. These werent meant for the crew members of the vessel, but the ship itself. They quickly began tying the ropes to various anchor points on the ships foundational framework. Once everything was tied properly, using more than a hundred different ropes, the crew followed Khodivas orders and began to scale the cliff very quickly. Like almost everything, they treated it as apetition and raced to be the first to the top, all while Kali sat on her elevated pedestal and watched in amus.e.m.e.nt. Though she could easily scale the cliff on her own, the pride of the Amazonesses and their reverence toward her made it difficult for Kali to take proactive action. Vahn also remained onboard, for many of the same reasons as Kali herself, though his own intentions were very different. As the Amazonesses began to pull the ship up, Vahn used his telekinesis to prevent it from scraping against the cliff face. He didnt really do anything to make their job of pulling any easier, as they seemed very motivated to haul the ship up on their own, but it was still helpful. As for Kali, she chose this moment when they were alone to remind, "If youre not going to wear a disguise, youll end up making even more trouble for yourself in the future~." Previously, they had discussed having Vahn change form into an Amazoness since Kali was aware of his ability to change shape, race, and even gender. Hearing Kalis reminder, Vahn cast a nce toward her and said, "I wont be able to hide my identity if I want to deal with this matter in a forthright manner. Even if it causes problems, Ill just deal with them as theye..." There was a lot more he could say about the situation, but Vahn knew that Kali didnt really care about titudes at all. Just saying things simply was enough to earn a rather crooked smile from her. Whenever he said anything in a roundabout manner, she would often frown or even outwardly berate him for unnecessarilyplicating things. Though he did enjoy teasing her a bit, it wasnt as if he were proactively trying to anger her without any reason... It only took a few minutes for the group of around fifty Amazonesses to haul the forty-ton ship more than 60m up the side of the cliff before Vahn and Kali had to disembark. They would have to maneuver the ship at a rather steep angle to get it over the cliffs ledge and it wasnt ideal for any loose items and passengers to remain onboard. Vahns appearance had caused a slight stir amongst the group of Amazonesses from the fishing tribe but they didnt idle or make any outward remarks. Though the leader of the group was on the lower end of Level 3, there was a distinct difference in the status of someone from the fishing tribe and the warrior tribe. Even Myahi was treated with a bit of deference as being strong while young was something worthy of respect and reverence. It meant the Amazoness in question had a great deal of potential, especially if she was allowed to operate with the crew of the Kali Familia... Once the Brig Sloop was safely over the ledge, the Amazonesses coordinated with each other to pull it further ind before simply leaving it there. It would be recoveredter by a muchrger group of Amazonesses who would carry it all the way to Telskyura itself, more than 80km away. They would disassemble parts of the ship before carrying therger hull with more than a hundred people, making the entire journey in a single trip without rest. It was a rather ridiculous way of dealing with things but the Amazonesses themselves simply saw it as a challenge that could earn them a few choice pieces of meat and some other minor benefits during meal times... After the ship was situated, the group of Amazonesses from the fishing tribe gave respectful bows to Kali before making their way back to the cliff once again. They didnt stop to ask any questions whatsoever as it was the right of the strong to question the weak, not the other way around. Even if they knew Vahn wasnt supposed to be there, the fact that Kali, Bache, and Khodiva were present made it wrong for them to ask questions. This was a ce where strength and power were authority themselves, with only a few localws and traditions that acted as the framework for their culture. The members of the Kali Familia didnt even express their gratitude towards the members from the fishing tribe, allowing them to depart without paying any mind to them at all. For them, it was perfectly natural that you should help out if you see a situation where you can be of assistance. It was unlikely they would see the same fisherman again, at least in a short period of time, so there was no need to go out of their way to express gratitude and other unnecessary things. Instead, the only thing to take away from the situation was individual pride and a sense of aplishment for having been a member of the fishing tribe that had been able to provide service to the Kali Familia... Vahn found the interaction between groups of Amazonesses rather strange, at least until Bache mentioned, "If Argana had been here, things wouldnt have ended well for any idle group. It isnt umon for the strong to punish the weak if thetter group simply stood at the side and watched. In our society, it is expected that everyone does their best to improve so idleness is one of the cardinal sins you couldmit..." Tione, who was standing next to Tiona nearby, nodded her head and added, "This ce is super stuffy and annoying if you just want to rx but it is also true that things get done very quickly..." The only people in the Amazoness society that had the right to bezy were those who were already considered to be among the strongest. Though nobody wouldin if the strong helped out, it wasnt umon for those that were weaker to try andplete the task before someone stronger stepped in. Just like how the previous group took pride in helping out the Kali Familia, it was the pride of the younger generation to take on greater responsibilities. It was a sign that they were trying to ovee the previous generation, leading to an interesting situation where the strong generally helped out just to save face and show they werent going to be surpassed easily... In preparation for the journey to Telskyura, the Kali Familia had arranged arge pnquin using the same elevated tform that Kali had sat on throughout most of the sea voyage. The oars they had were fastened together withrge golden pins that now went through slots beneath Kalis seat. When the setup was finished, there were four handles adorned with gold sticking out while Kali sat atop her cushioned tform with a bored expression. Just as her Familia finished their arrangements, however, she looked towards Tiona and Tione, asking, "Will the two of you help to carry my pnquin...?" This was usually a great honor for most Amazonesses but, in this particr situation, it would have been demeaning for Tiona and Tione to agree. As Kali herself had expected, Tiona just began tough sheepishly while Tione crossed her arms and said, "Even if youre a goddess, your status is not above our own anymore, Kali..." With these words leaving Tiones lips, the entire Kali Familia seemed to tense up as they immediately shifted intobat-ready stances. Even this wouldnt be enough, however, as Tione alone would be able to defeat most members while Tiona would easily deal with Bache and Khodiva. This showed that Tiones im had some veracity to it as, unless Kali lowered herself to take action, essentially putting the two on the same level as her, there was no chance for victory... Kali gave a small snort before waving her hand dismissively and saying, "You all need to get a lot stronger in the future so I dont lose face like this...haaaa..." Toward the end of her words, Kaliid on her side and somewhat slovenly scratched around her navel before saying, "Bache, Ill leave it to you to select appropriate pnquin bearers..." This time, Kalis words trailed once again as she looked towards Vahn and added, "You should ride with me if you want to make a statement. If you walk within the formation, some might mistake you as a trophy..." Though thew prevented men from entering Telskyura, that didnt mean there werent any near the outskirts. These men were usually ves or tools that were intended to breed new Amazonesses, though they usually only bolstered the numbers of the hunting and gathering tribes... Since it wasnt the first time they had seen Vahn sit with Kali, her Familia didnt have an adverse reaction to the fact that they would now be carrying two people. Instead, nearly the entire crew volunteered to carry the pnquin, crowding around Bache and demanding to be given the right. As a result, an impromptupetition was arranged, quickly turning into a brawl where the Amazonesses outright started to beat each other rather brutally. Even Myahi, barely 2/3rds the size of other Amazonesses, actively tried to participate. She was one of the first eliminated, however, earning a solid and painful kick to the face that sent her rolling several meters across the ground before she lost consciousness... Vahn watched this petition y out with a rather grim expression, especially when Myahi was kicked away unceremoniously. He noticed that none of the Kali Familia seemed to care that one of their members just kicked a child in the face while the offending Amazoness simply continued to fight without a single break in her tempo. They were exceptionally brutal to each other, to the point that some would end up with broken bones after exposing a momentary gap in their defense. As for why he hadnt put a stop to the fight, it was due to the fact that Kali had whispered into his ear as he sat down, saying, "You should see it for yourself, the true nature of Amazonesses. No matter what happens, dont interfere until the fight is over unless youre willing to take responsibility..." If Vahn stepped in and interrupted the fight, he would be the mutual target of every participant. Though he would easily win, it was the same as cing himself directly above the entire crew. If he were an Amazoness, that wouldnt be a big issue, but Vahn was irrefutably a male. He would have to deal with the group of Amazonesses being in a perpetual state of heat whenever he was around. Stepping in to help Myahi would have even been worse, as she would likely spend several years after the fact trying to increase her strength in her pursuit for him, much like Tione had towards Finn... Vahn knew that Kali had wanted him to experience the culture of the Amazonesses before he entered Telskyura directly. This was only a small taste of what he would experience after entering into the country proper, especially since he would be entering the territory of the warrior tribe. There, month-old Amazonesses were actually pitted against groups of baby monsters that had been captured from the nearby swamps and jungles. Though it was rare, as even month-old Amazonesses began showingbat instincts and violent tendencies, there was a chance that these infants would lose their lives in such fights. Without even having the concept of object permanence or muttering their first words, Amazonesses of the warrior tribe would have already fought a monster to the death in order to survive... (A/N: A lot of this is actual canon, with some aspect of Amazoness culture being a lot worse than making newborns fight to the death. Also, as a reminder, Ive officially started work, meaning there will only be around 1 chapter per day. Ill try to make them longer than normal in order topensate, averaging around 3500-4000 words instead of a 2500 average.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Kali, iling like a disobedient child~,Heave, ho, heave, ho~!,A very brutal culture...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 944 - Bloody

Chapter 944 - Bloody

As could be expected, it was the highest Level Amazonesses within the Kali Familia that won the right to carry the pnquin. The battle royale had onlysted a little over fifteen before the final four remained yet, even though they had already won, the four victors continued fighting until only Khodiva was left standing. Her body had several bruises and still-bleeding cuts yet, as if she wasnt affected by her injuries at all, Khodiva tightly gripped her fists and released a feral and victorious war cry without any inhibitions. From the side, Tiona, Tione, and Bache had all be a little riled up and, if not for the fact they had been excluded from thepetition, Vahn wouldnt have been surprised if they wanted a piece of Khodiva themselves... Vahn had been watching the battle with a solemn expression on his face and, even though it was a morbid sight, he understood what Kali wanted him to see. This was the true nature of Amazonesses and, even though it was brutal and caused them extreme pain, all of the defeated had resolute lights still burning in their eyes. They looked toward Khodiva as if she were the goal they had set their sights no, no fear and hesitation contained within their expressions. Then, as soon as the battle hade to an end, Khodiva began helping to treat the injured so that they could at least stand on their feet once again. Those she helped did the same until, after a few short minutes, every Amazoness was back on their feet as they happily talked about the fight and yfully taunted each other... Kali had been casually using Vahns thigh as an elbow rest and, now that the battle was over, she gave him a sidelong nce, asking, "Well, what do you think? Are you going to admonish them and tell them to stop fighting each other...?" When he heard these words, Vahn frowned slightly without responding in any meaningful way. His eyes reflected the image of the young Myahi, cradling her bruised ribs as an older Amazoness reset her nose and applied an ointment that would encourage natural healing. Though they did use Elixirs, it was only during emergency situations, never to simply remove the pain their bodies were experiencing. Vahn could tell that Myahi had several fractured ribs and there was even a micro-fracture along her upper jaw while her nasal cavity had been shattered. Even so, she had a smile on her face as the very same Amazoness that had kicked her treated her wounds, exchanging a few yful barbs at the same time... It wasnt until the battered Amazonesses were preparing to lift the pnquin and set out that Vahn finally answered, "I have seen this kind of behavior in a lot of people, not just Amazonesses...during those times, I couldnt help but find their resolution and desire to grow strongermendable..." As these words left his mouth, images of Lili, Haruhime, Ais, Fenrir, Nanu...almost everyone he genuinely cared about and respected passed through his mind. At the end of this long image train, Vahn even saw visions of himself fighting against Tsubaki back when he had first set out on his journey. Though he resented the fact she had always defeated him, Vahn knew he enjoyed the battles greatly as both he and Tsubaki hadrge and excited grins on their faces... Vahn sighed through his nose, feeling a little exasperated as he said, "I wont say the way their way of life is wrong...but there are still changes that are necessary. Thews and traditions that allow most Amazonesses to prosper also bring great suffering to a unique minority. In the future, we should work to change the system in a way that allows them to continue developing their instincts without creating unnecessary tragedies..." Though he knew that Kali had alreadye up with several promises that were in line with his thoughts, Vahn felt that there had to be a better way that would allow the Amazonesses to prosper even more... This time it was Kalis turn to remain silent as she turned her body to the side andid down across Vahnsp, staring up into his face as her blood-red hair dr.a.p.ed across his legs. She had a yful smile on her face and just continued to stare into Vahns face for a while, even as the pnquin had already started its journey. It wasnt until a few minutes had passed that Kali closed her eyes slightly and muttered, "We..." in azy voice. When she saw Vahn blink in apparent confusion, Kali then began tough for a short while before saying, "I want you to pet my head..." After that, she closed her eyespletely while curling up her legs and turning towards Vahn without facing him any longer. Just as he was thinking that Kali was behaving strangely, Vahn was genuinely surprised by hertter statement. It would normally be him taking the initiative when it came to minor disys of affection and touching, never Kali asking. This made him feel a bit of incongruity in his heart but he still caved in, reaching out his hand to gently caress her head as several Amazonesses cast hungry looks in his direction. Two sets of these eyes belonged to Tiona and Tione, walking on the nks of the loose procession, so Vahn sent them a quick telepathic message promising to pamper them both plentilyter on... Because of their rtively slow pace, by the worlds standards, it took around two hours for the procession to reach the outskirts of an area that became increasingly more populous as they moved inwards. Vahn could already see a massive Coliseum in the distance but his focus was prioritized toward his surroundings. Kali had already sat up from hisp and waszily leaning against a small tform that supported her upper body while thousands of curious Amazonesses surrounded the procession like a veritable tide of healthy brown skin. On the surface, this ce could have easily been mistaken as a real paradise, at least from the perspective of any capable men... Vahn could see Amazonesses of all shapes and sizes, many wearing very little clothing while some, likely hunters bringing in their daily catch, only wore clothes around their waists. They each had red, ck, or brown hair though, every now and then, Vahn would catch sight of a peculiar white or blonde color that stood out like a sore thumb in the crowd. As for why he able to see so many different people, it was due to the fact that, other than a few tents and storehouses, there werent anyrge buildings and residences. There were small areas where nkets and cushions had been put down while a few loose belongings could be seen, many containing injured Amazonesses who were sleeping to recover their stamina and bolster their healing... Unless it was made from natural materials, such as mud, grass, and bamboo, there were no permanant constructs other than the massive Coliseum in the distance. It was a very peculiar sight yet, from what he could see, there werent any Amazonesses that were emaciated and showing signs of sickness and disease. He also noticed a distinctck of young Amazonesses, at least among the garbed warrior tribe members present. There were quite a few among the Hunters and Gatherers, but Vahn hadnt been paying too much attention to them since they were as n.a.k.e.d as their older counterparts... As if she had read his mind, Kali threw a gr.a.p.e into her mouth before exining, "For the warrior tribe, their young undergo the crucible within the Coliseum. Most young Amazonesses spend every day either fighting or hunting, so it isnt normal to see them out and about on the streets. Those brats on the edge are either those who had failed to be warriors or were unable to ovee one of their trials. They are not yet a.d.u.l.ts, but they are also not considered children..." There were a variety of different trials that were designed to bring out the instincts and potential of young Amazonesses. Some of these could cause small trauma and leave shadows in the hearts of some, making them unsuited to remaining in the warrior tribe. These failures would be sent to be hunters and gatherers while some would learn how to sew, cook, or perform other smallbors that allowed therge Amazonessmunity to continue functioning. With Kali exining things, Vahn paid better attention to his surroundings, noticing many of the young girls were still Level 1, even though some were nearing the age of a.d.u.l.thood for other races. He noticed that, though nobody outright treated them poorly, it was almost as if they were ignored outright. Unless it was someone telling them a task that needed to be performed, the girls would just wait around, constantly in a state of alert as they readily took to whatever job they were assigned. Vahn found their behavior a little confusing, as many didnt have negative auras and only a few of the much younger had muted greys flickering off their figures. He assumed these were the more recent dropouts and it was obvious they were heavily affected by their failure toplete their training... Just as he was observing the surrounding Amazonesses, they too were observing Vahn, some showing genuine confusion while others had cold expressions on their faces. Vahn noticed these particr Amazonesses all had the same mark tattoed on their foreheads, a tribal pattern that looked like the front view of an angered mare. He had never really seen someone tattoo an animal pattern on their face but, once again, Kali readily exined, "Those brats or Hippolytas royal guard troop. The golden mare is the mark of Hippolyta and all those bearing it have sworn life-long vows to protect thews and traditions of the country. Dont worry though, as they know things wouldnt end well for them if they tried to antagonize me, shishishi~." Though Hippolyta was the Queen of the Amazonesses, Kali was their primary spiritual leader and had the sincere respect and reverence of almost every Amazoness. Even if she disagreed with what Kali was doing, Hippolyta could only grit her teeth and try to resolve the matter in private. In this country, where the people were rtively simple, they wouldnt listen to reason, nor would they care about the fact she was in the right. The moment she publically opposed Kali was the same day a new Queen would take up the throne as all but her royal guards would turn against her... This didnt stop Hippolytas royal guards from ring daggers at Vahn while a few of their members were sent to deliver messages. They quickly made their way through the crowds, most Amazonesses parting to allow them unobstructed passage. Their destination was a small pce, though it wasnt entirely urate to ssify the peculiar building as anything particrly morous. Though it was a ratherrgepound, there was no real majesty to it and,pared to the massive Coliseum at the heart of the country, it could have been easily mistaken as a storage house. If not for the fact that it was easily several orders of magnituderger than other storehouses, with a few ceremonial decorations, totem poles, and the bones ofrge beasts on disy, few people would have ever believed the building could be the pce of a nations Queen... Vahn had watched a few of the messengers set out to inform Hippolyta of his arrival but his attention was quickly directed elsewhere. There was amotion taking ce on the periphery of the crowd as two Amazonesses had spontaneously started a battle, trading brutal bone-breaking blows without any restraint. The surrounding Amazonesses quickly formed into a circle, those of a higher status and Level making their way to the front as they formed a natural barrier. Vahn didnt know what was happening as there were almost no records at all doc.u.menting the Amazonesses people, even within the system shop. Seemingly intent on remaining on top of things, Kali brought feet together in a manner simr to Tiona, an eager smile on her face as she exined, "They are having an honorable battle to the death...!" She didnt know why the fight had started but Kali, being a Goddess with Divinities rted to ughter and Death, couldnt help but feel a little excited about a fight to the death. Even the procession hade to a stop while some of the stronger Amazonesses made their way through the crowd, joining the peripheral circle. As for the two Amazonesses within, they had temporarily stopped trading blows as they used the blood from their own wounds to begin drawing patterns on their skin... Kali, now leaning forward excitedly, exined, "The opening blows were just to feel each other out. Now that they are serious, both will be given time to prepare while the crowd stands witness to their battle to the death. Now that it hase to this point, one of them has to die or they will both be executed...!" At this point, Kalis blood-red eyes looked like actual blood, moving around behind the lens of her eye in an eerie manner that even unsettled Vahn a little. As for the Amazonesses in the surroundings, they were also getting riled up and Vahn could see all of their auras shifting towards the battlefield. At this moment, their focus was wholly on the battle that was about to being, showing honor and respect for the two warriors unhesitantly going towards one of their inevitable deaths... Vahn had to take a deep breath to remain calm, drawing Kalis bloody eyes towards him as she stated in the most serious tone he had ever heard from her, "You cant interfere. Even though you have the strength, it would be one of the most grievous offenses you could evermit. Not only would the two in the ring do everything in their power to kill you, but the entire crowd would do the same. Unless youre willing to ughter everyone here, just watch...do not dishonor their conviction." As much as she had grown closer to Vahn, it didnt mean Kali would tolerate him simply acting as he pleased. Even if he managed to defeat every Amazoness her without killing them, they wouldnt forgive him and, as a result of the shame and dishonor they had suffered, both warriors would be honor-bound to take their own lives in a very painful and visceral way... Before he could say anything in response to Kali, the battle in the ring had started with two momentous explosions. Both Amazonesses were around the lower end of Level 3 and, though this wasnt much in Vahns eyes, it was still very impressive. Their initial movements had cracked the ground but, as soon as the shockwaves spread to the Amazonesses barrier, it crashed powerlessly against their bodies without having much effect on the surroundings. Vahn was a little surprised to see this but he didnt have time to think about it since the bloody battle was now well underway... The red-haired Amazoness, slightly shorter than the mature ck-haired Amazoness she was fighting, managed to weave her head out of the trajectory of her opponents blow. Though her face distorted as a result of the ambient shockwave, she managed to bury her hand into the abdomen of the ck-haired Amazoness. This wasnt even remotely enough to end the fight, however, as the immediate response of the impaled Amazoness was to scrunch up her body, using the leverage of the very arm piercing her gut to knee towards her opponents elbow while jerking her head forward... With cat-like reflexes, the red-haired Amazoness stepped into her previous attack, bending her elbow out of the trajectory of the knee strike. The flexibility of her opponent was developed enough to allow her to reach the red-haired Amazonesses shoulder. Her teeth easily tore into the flesh of her opponent, biting more than 3cm deep as she attempted to sever the carotid artery in the neck. This ultimately ended in failure but she was still able to pull away arge piece of flesh and sinew that caused Vahn to frown deeply as Kali red at him. In the next instant, however, the red-haired Amazoness tried to use the angle of her bent arm to try and push her hand into the chest cavity of her opponent, pushing through muscles and organs in a truly gut-wrenching manner... This time, the ck-haired Amazoness couldnt ignore the attack, choosing to grab it with one hand while trying to kick off of her opponents thighs to create distance. Though she did manage to jump away, the red-haired Amazoness had clenched whatever her hand could get ahold of, pulling out arge portion of her opponents liver with a murderous grin on her face. ck blood began to flow from the lips of the more mature Amazoness but her eyes still showed a resolute glimmer as she wiped it away with the back of her hand. She had suffered a fatal blow but that didnt mean the fight was over... Completely ignoring therge volume of blood escaping the gaping hole in her stomach, the ck-haired Amazoness crouched down like a leopard that was about to leap. This contracting motion caused even more blood to pour out of her wound but she paid it no mind as her previously ck irises turned red. It was obvious that she was using the [Berserk] skill, a rathermon skill that many Amazonesses of the warrior tribe shared. The more damage she had taken, the greater her own power and agility would increase, giving her an edge while on the brink of death... Knowing this, the red-haired Amazoness used a strange skill of her own, pulling off a stray bone from her tribal garb and stabbing it into her own heart. Though it looked like she might be trying to injure herself to enter a berserk state of her own, Vahns [Eyes of Truth] saw red energy flow from the point of impact, something Kali seemed to notice as well since she smiled widely and said, "That brat is pretty good...!" As if her words were the starting bell, the two Amazonesses charged at each other once again, this time determined to bring an end to the battle in their next blow. Vahn could see a shockwavepressing itself around the berserk Amazonesses hand, a phenomenon that meant her power had likely broken through the 3,000 threshold... Against expectations, the red-haired Amazoness didnt make any attempt to dodge, facing the blow head-on with a crazed smile on her face, even as the fist tore through her head and burst it into small fleshy meat fragments. It wasnt just her head that broke apart, however, as her whole body seemed to liquidize in the next instant, turning into a blood red pool that sshed against the ck-haired Amazoness. This caused the ck-haired Amazoness to scream in pain for the first time as she wed away at the viscous blood that seemed to stick to her body like thick msses. It slowly began entering into her pores, causing the Amaonzess to seize up and spasm, no longer able to resist the unbelievable pain thatpletely ignored any form of resistance she could muster... At this point, the crowd of Amazonesses watching the fight showed simr faces of excitement, almost as if they wanted to enter the battle themselves. There were even some of the n.a.k.e.d girls that did the menial tasks of other Amazonesses, watching the battle with heated expressions alongside their kin. For these few moments, there were no status differences between any of the Amazonesses as they all reveled in the battle and bloodshed urring before their eyes. Vahn, however, had a stern and serious expression on his face as his eyes zed like two blue suns, watching intently at what was happening to the ck-haired Amazoness body... A few seconds after the blood hadpletely entered the body of the more mature Amazoness, her body came to aplete stop. Vahn could see the strange red energy moving through each part of her body, probing everything from the tips of her fingers to the individual strands of her hair. Shortly thereafter, her ck hair became blood red as the grievous wounds covering her body began to steam and rapidly regenerate. Less than a minuteter, her body began to twitch once again before she slowly raised her torso withbored and mechanical movements. Even so, she managed to climb to her feet, raising her arms in a loud war cry that was reciprocated by the crowd. None of them even questioned what had happened, only caring about the fact that one of the contenders had died while the other was still living... Kali was wiggling about excitedly, her breathing a little heated as she said, "Blood possession. That brat must be one of Rakts pups. Seems like they produced another prodigy, shishishi~." Just like the other Amazonesses watching, Kali was fully aware of the technique the red-haired Amazoness had used to end the fight. Even the ck-haired woman had known the oue that awaited her but, unable to retreat, she could only press forward and try to ovee her fate with desperate strength. After iming victory, the red-haired Amazoness looked toward Kali and gave a respectful bow before breaking free from the circle without anyone barring her passage. Vahn noticed that, instead of fear and disgust, almost every surrounding Amazoness watched her with mild reverence in their gazes. He, personally, felt like the technique was a little unfair but, at the same time, Vahn also knew that she had every right to use whatever technique she had avable to preserve her own life. Since he had his fair share of broken and unfair abilities, Vahn tightened his jaw a few times before letting the matter rest. He had promised not to make a big scene and cause more problems, at least for the time being... (A/N: This came out muchter than expected because I had to work nearly three hours longer than I was supposed to. Though I want to write another chapter for tomorrow, Im extremely exhausted and know I wont have the energy to do so. Dont worry though, as most of the annoying parts of my job will be taken care of by tomorrow and Ill have more opportunity to rest and writepared to now.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Endless Brown Sea...,Square up...!,There are no evil techniques, only evil people misusing their power selfishly (UwU)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 945 - Stance

Chapter 945 - Stance

After the bloody duel to the death, it was very obvious that the procession of the Kali Familia was just as riled up as the surrounding crowd. Everyone seemed to be in high spirits except for Tione and Tiona, one of the things that made them an exception amongst Amazonesses. Though they were both battle junkies, neither was the type that enjoyed killing and, after the high from the fight had faded away, both girls had solemn and thoughtful looks on their faces. Vahn had sent them a fewforting words through their [Pactio] link but it was obvious their mood had been ruined. The journey to Telskyura was enjoyable and fulfilling but, now that they were in the ce that had caused them no small amount of suffering, it was likely their memories of the past were ying through their minds... Kali had enough sense to leave Vahn alone for a while, deciding to sit quietly with a rather annoyed expression on her face as she periodically looked toward Tiona and Tione. Vahn knew she probably wanted to say something to her former Familia members but, so long as he was near, things wouldnt end well if she said something brash. This caused Kali to feel particrly annoyed since part of her regretted recognizing Vahn to have a simr status as her, even though he wasnt yet a god. Thus, while most Amazonesses were in high spirits, their goddess was tapping her knee with a frown on her face as the procession finally reached the grand Coliseum that represented the very heart of Telskyura. Waiting for the arrival of the Kali Familia were thousands of Amazonesses, each proud warriors and active members of the very same Familia. Since there were only four gods recognized within Telskyura, with Kali being far more influential than the other three, there was a great deal of prestige apanied with belonging to her Familia. As a result, most Amazonesses that had traveled out into the world would offer their children to the Familia, allowing them to go through the warrior crucible in order to be proper Amazonesses in the future. Vahn knew what awaited him inside would probably shake him a great deal but, knowing Kali was going to be implementing changes to appease him, he could only be patient... Though there was unconcealed intrigue written on the expressions of nearly every Amazoness in the Kali Familia, none of them barred the passage of the procession. Instead, they joined the group as it made its way towards the center of the Coliseum, entering into arge arena before passing into the opposite side where a staging area for the pnquin was located. Along the way, Vahn passed his perception over the entire Coliseum while using his [Eyes of Truth] to peer into areas that drew his attention. It didnt take him long to find what appeared to be a waiting room nearby, containing a group of twenty-seven young Amazonesses that aged between four and eight years old... With the exception of one of the young Amazonesses, every other child in the room had various bruises, abrasions, and cuts over theirrgely uncovered bodies. Other than a simple cloth to wrap around their chests and bottoms, they werepletely bereft of other kinds of clothing. It was only when a young Amazoness was growing into a.d.u.l.thood, or was apprenticing under an older Amazoness, that their outfits would begin to deviate. This was intended to remove their original identity entirely, forcing them to shape the person they would be through the efforts they put into growing stronger and surviving... Though there may be some repercussions for itter, Vahn had noticed some rather serious injuries in some of the girls sitting on the periphery of the group and used [Wound Transfer] to remove them. He didnt heal them fully, as that could cause problems of its own, but it would prevent the girls from suffering and potentially losing their lives as a result of deeply rooted injuries. This action hadnt escaped Kalis notice, however, causing her to frown deeply and clench her teeth a few times before ultimately remaining silent. She didnt know exactly what Vahn had done but, knowing he had done it without her consent grated on her nerves more than a little... When the pnquin was finally set down, Kali rose to her feet and, after waiting for each of the Amazonesses to turn their focus towards her, stated, "Make preparations for a feast. We will be celebrating our sessful voyage and honoring the achievements of those who contributed the most along the way. Until then, dont bother me unless its something important. I know you lot want to ask about our guest, but Ill get around to exining itter on. Now beat it...!" Kali had iled her arm in a somewhat dismissive manner, almost as if she were shooing away the crowd instead of properly dismissing them. Regardless, everyone began to walk away as if it were perfectly natural, many gathering around the Amazonesses who had apanied Kali on the voyage to make inquiries. The only people remaining in therge ceremonial room after Kali shooed everyone away was Vahn, Tiona, Tione, Bache, and Kali herself. Even Khodiva had obediently left the room while, unless told to leave directly, Bache still had her duties as Captain to perform. For the time being, however, she just moved to the side, sitting on a red and yellow mat while observing in silence. She could already tell how angry her goddess was and wondered how things would y out between her and Vahn now that they were alone... Vahn still had Tiona and Tione at his side when Kali turned toward him with a vicious expression, asking, "What did you do, Vahn...!?" There were few things as tantly rude and disrespectful as going into a gods domicile and acting without inhibitions, especially when they were supposed to be more than allies. It was only a few hours ago that Kali had been thinking about opening up a bit more to Vahn, only for him to do something unnecessary without even conferring with her beforehand. The main reason she was so pissed off was that they had already discussed the matter several times, with Vahn agreeing to behave and observe until she could introduce the necessary changes in a way her Amazonesses could ept. Without showing any discernable change in expression, Vahn withstood Kalis icy re and exined, "There was a young Amazoness who had a fragment of her rib poking into her lung. If it was left untreated, she would have died without even getting the chance to fight in the arena. I didnt do anything excessive and only treated those who had deeply rooted injuries that would prevent them from even having a chance to grow further. Most of it was internal, so they probably wont even notice the injury had been treated, other than simply feeling better..." Since he could have healed thempletely, Vahn didnt feel as though he had broken his promise with Kali. In fact, he had already made quite a fewpromises for her at this point, just as she had for him... Though she still had a fierce expression, Kalis eyes darted around a few times, representing the thoughts racing through her mind before she eventually snorted through her nose and said, "This is thest time Ill let you act however you please without consulting me first. If its something like that, Im not going to go out of my way to stop you. The crucible might be designed to put them through life and death struggles, but that isnt the intention behind the process. Next time you do something like that, at least give me the courtesy of even the most basic amount of respect. If were supposed to be equals, then f.u.c.k.i.n.g talk to me before you do shit that affects all of us...!" Vahn hadnt really felt guilty at first but, hearing the way Kali phrased things, he realized that he did overstep his bounds a bit. The girls he had treated werent in any danger of dying in a short period of time so he could have waited a bit before taking action. He just couldnt stand to see people suffering, especially when some of them were even smaller than his own children. Thus, though he didnt regret what he had done, Vahn lowered his head slightly and said, "Sorry, Kali, Ill try to do better. This ce...its a lot to take in so Im a little tense. Im trying my...I will try my best to be more considerate of the situation. Just...please, dont put me in a situation where I have to choose between saving a child and giving you the respect I ought to show you. If ites to that..." Kali didnt wait for Vahn to finish his words, snorting to interrupt his sentence before saying, "Yeah, yeah, I know you well enough at this point. Even Amazonesses treat their wounded after a battle so you can do whatever you want, so long as you dont take things too far. You already know that Amazonesses are very impressionable, even at a young age. If you do anything unnecessary, they will be your responsibility...dont forget that..." Though there were quite a few reasons why Amazonesses were required to be born in Telskyura, one of the most important was the fact that young Amazonesses could imprint onto male figures, even over rtively small things. These Amazonesses would be extremely dependent on the person they had imprinted on, leading to numerous tragedies over the course of Telskyuras history... Vahn was very aware of the problems associated with young Amazonesses, as he had to think about such things if they were going to be allowed to live within amunity inside of Orarios walls. This was one of the primary reasons why they would have their own territory, where men would outright be prevented from entering as it could negatively impact young Amazonesses and cut off their future. The second reason was simply that Amazonesses had rtively wild instincts and, even before they were able to walk and talk, their emotional states could cause them tosh out and attack others, sometimes long after their target was dead... With a solemn nod, Vahn took Kalis words to heart and, seemingly finding his response adequate, Kalis anger melted away as if it had never existed in the first ce. She pulled off her bone mask, which she had been wearing during the pnquin trip, tossing it to the side in the process. Afterward, Kali plopped onto her raised tform and rather slovenly stretched her body before asking, "Well, what do you n to do now? That horse brat already knows you want to duel her so she has probably been preparing for thest couple of months. Shell be waiting for you to issue the challenge and youll end up fighting here in the arena after the preparations are made. Until then, I dont really care what you choose to do, so long as you keep in mind what weve talked about previously..." Hearing Kalis words, Vahn had a thoughtful expression on his face as he recalled some of the important details of their past conversations. At the very beginning of the voyage, his purpose had been to both rx and observe, seeing for himself how the Amazonesses lived so he could make informed decisions in the future. His perspective had already changed a great deal during the voyage and, because of the rtively positive experience, Vahn had prepared himself to deal with some of the things he knew would bother him. Now, he needed to decide if he wanted to wrap things up quickly or if he wanted to continue to observe,ying the foundation for the change he wanted to see... Knowing Kali would be annoyed if he continued standing around for too long, Vahn released a small sigh before looking between Tiona and Tione to gauge their reactions. Both girls had been standing at his side ever since he descended the pnquin and stepped on this holynd where men were not allowed to tread. Their earlier mncholy hadpletely faded away, reced by serious and supportive expressions as they patiently awaited his decision. Even if he wanted to wage war against Telskyura, Vahn knew they would stand out his side without any hesitation whatsoever, leaving him to be the one that constantly had to think about things... Finding this thought someone amusing, Vahns expression softened a bit as a small smile spread across his face. It felt like a great amount of tension had been released from his body as he looked back at Kali and said, "I will have my duel with Hippolyta in a weeks time. Until then, I will continue to observe how Amazonesses live without directly interfering with their way of life." Though there were a lot of things he didnt really understand about Kalis character, Vahn knew she was someone that he could genuinely trust. Her character had a lot of ws, but she was very honest and straightforward, almost to a fault... Kali was stillzing about on her tform but her expression now showed an amused smile as she intoned a loud Hnnn before saying, "If that is what youve decided, then so be it. Ill have Bache, Tiona, and Tione exin the rules to you so, as long as you follow them, youll be able to move about freely. During the resting hours, however, youll be staying in my quarters. We dont have anything like a guest room and your only other option is sleeping on the floor with a few dozen voracious Amazonesses~." Even though Vahn didnt need to sleep, he wouldnt be allowed to roam around after hours as there was a very strict curfew in effect. Rest was equally as important as training hard and battling ferociously so there were heavy penalties for anyone found disturbing the peace within the Coliseum after night had fallen... Since he knew she wouldnt really take things too far, Vahn didnt think about Kalis words too much and simply nodded his head in response. Tiona and Tione, however, developed slight frowns as they knew what kind of ce Kalis quarters were. It wasnt a traditional room or chamber where others would sleep and was instead more like a massive canopy tent where Kali would typicallyze around while watching various forms of entertainment. Other than fighting, dancing and wrestling were the traditional past times of the Amazoness people and even Tiona had been selected to entertain Kali more than a few times in the past... Vahn, unaware of why Tiona and Tione had such a reaction, left the room with the three girls while Kali was cackling in the background. It wasnt until muchter that he woulde to regret his decision to ede to Kalis request and, after leaving Telskyura, Vahn would never speak of what he had seen during his week within that aromatic and stuffy ce... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Returning to a home that was never a home,Angry Obaachama~!,Who said Kali isnt mischevious...? She is also a Goddess of Entertainment, after all...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 946 - Shock

Chapter 946 - Shock

After leaving behind Kali, Vahn was escorted to one of the few furnished areas with the Coliseum so that he could receive a briefing from Bache, Tiona, and Tione. Though they had talked at length about things he needed to be concerned about previously, there were a few rules and regtions Vahn needed to keep in mind to avoid causing too many issues. Because of this, once they were in a rtively vacant area, Bache exined, "As long as you are in the Coliseum, there shouldnt be anyone causing trouble with you. Since you rode in on Kalis pnquin, everyone would either think you are her equal or her personal possession. Until things are rified at the feast, there shouldnt be anyone getting in your way..." From the side, Tione nodded her head and added, "The most important things to avoid should be bumping shoulders with someone, locking eyes with them for an extended period of time, or doing anything to help them in a direct manner. If you bump shoulders with someone, it is the same as telling them that they should have made way for you, leading to an inevitable duel to determine who is superior. If you lock eyes with someone, it is considered a direct challenge and, if they dont look away, youll end up having to fight them in the arena. As for helping, that is the more troublesome of the three as it is the same as saying, "You are mine now." It isnt that rare for older Amazonesses to take charge over the younglings but it will be a big problem since you are a man..." Though most Amazonesses were very straightforward and open about things, a veryrge part of their culture wasprised of non-verbalmunication. Everything from your expression to your bodynguage was constantly being read by everyone else since their battle instincts had them observing for even subtle changes in the muscles of potential enemies. Since even small misunderstandings could lead to battles, everyone was always in an alert state, especially within the Warrior tribe. Each of these things would only be exacerbated by the fact that Vahn was a male so he had to be extremely careful about the way he acted, even though he needed to be direct at the same time... Bache had given a curt nod in response to Tiones words before rifying, "It would probably be best if you went to the arena and fought a few times in public to avoid small mishaps. If they know how strong you are, they would likely give way to you while walking or lower their heads if you make eye contact. In this ce, strength is the most important factor and, before you fight with the Queen, it might not be a bad idea to show off your strength a bit..." Even as these words left her lips, Bache could feel a small heat rising up in her body. She didnt make any attempt to hide these feelings, causing Vahn to smile wryly in response as he said, "Ill think about it..." Vahn knew that, if he were to fight anyone, it would likely be Bache, if not Tiona and Tione after their own disys of power. After he defeats her in a direct battle, it would be much harder to prevent things from developing further between him and the mature Amazoness since her instincts would have been triggered by him. Though it was almost determined that they would have a rtionship in the future, Vahn knew that timing was important in this situation. After all, there was almost no real privacy in Telskyura, even in an actual building like the Coliseum. There were no real doors or soundproofing avable so Vahn would have to erect barriers to prevent people from walking in on him if he decided to partake of any sensual pleasures. If he neglected in his preparations, the chances they would draw a crowd of spectators was extremely high... After a few more minutes of briefing, generally warning Vahn about posturing and presenting behaviors, he had a good idea of what to be cautious of. When the exnation wasing to an end, he gave Tiona and Tione a concerned nce, asking, "What are the two of you going to do?" Though he didnt mind having them apany him, Vahn knew that both girls likely had a few things they wanted to tend to now that they had returned to their home country. As expected, Tione furrowed her brows slightly and said, "Im going to go fight in the arena before spending some time with the younglings. Ill probably leave the Coliseum for a bit as well, but Ill make sure to send a message before I go..." Vahn gave Tione an understanding nod, knowing that she needed to deal with some of her past traumas by confronting them directly. As for Tiona, she had been quiet while Bache and Tione had been exining things, choosing the current moment to frown in concern as she said, "Vahn, I dont think you should go to Kalis tent. Nothing bad will happen, but Im a little worried that you are underestimating Amazonesses a bit..." It wasnt often that Tiona felt as uneasy as her current appearance depicted. However, being one of Kalis favorites back in the day, she knew some of the things Vahn might witness if he followed through and decided to enter her chambers for the evening... Just as Vahn was about to ask why Tiona was so worried, Bache had given her former apprentice a deep frown before turning to Vahn and exining, "Kali-samas chambers are where she updates Status Boards and rests during the evening. Since they have to rely on her for the update, it requires Amazonesses to contribute to Kali-samas enjoyment in exchange. If you stay in her chambers, youll likely see a lot of wrestling, ceremonial dancing, or other kinds of traditional performances. Since it is a presentation and appeal, the girls will bepletely n.a.k.e.d and it isnt rare for...well..." Though she didnt think it was anything strange, Bache also found it somewhat difficult to narrate what was almost guaranteed to happen. The simple truth of the matter was that Amazonesses, from a very young age, were educated in ways to fulfill their purpose. Since they didnt have anyone else to practice on, this meant that Amazonesses that had yet to leave the country would practice on each other, often fighting for dominance and pinning their weaker kin into submission holds. In many events, when young Amazonesses got riled up, things could get out of hand very quickly... Now that even Bache was acting strangely, Vahn felt like there was something very wrong about the situation and he couldnt help but recall Kalis cackling as they left the room. Part of him felt strangely nervous, seeding a small notion of going to Kali and refusing to stay in her room. He could easily continue to stay awake until the duel with Hippolyta, meaning it wouldnt be that difficult to avoid whatever Tiona and Bache were eluding to. At the same time, however, Vahn felt like he would be acting in a cowardly manner if he refused after already agreeing to stay in Kalis chambers. Since he had already decided to observe the Amazoness culture directly for the next week, there was no better ce than witnessing it directly from the same perspective as their primary goddess... Though he wouldtere to regret the decision, Vahns expression softened a bit as he reached out and stroked Tionas hair. She had let it grow out a bit longer than in the past but it still had a wild and untamed feeling, especially whenever she would transform with her [Pactio]. Even so, it was still silky smooth and Vahn had never lost his fondness for rubbing her head, something Tiona also seemed to enjoy since she smiled happily in response. Tione, however, made a pouting expression that caused Vahn to have to cate her for a bit before they all went their separate ways. Tiona apanied Bache to where thetter had kept all of Tionas books while Tione headed straight for the arena to issue an open challenge to anyone who wanted to test themselves against her... With a few hours left until evening fell, Vahn decided to wander around the Coliseum while spreading his perception around the area and peeking into distant rooms with his [Eyes of Truth]. His main focus was on making sure there were no deeply rooted injuries in the bodies of the younger Amazonesses, even though he was also avoiding the areas where they congregated. Vahn was aware of the dangers of having them imprint on him so he wanted to avoid interacting with the younglings unless there was someone like Tione or Bache apanying him. As for the Amazonesses he met during his exploration, they all gave him intrigued looks while a few would stare directly at Vahn in an attempt to taunt him. Vahn kept his head raised and curtly greeted those who seemed amicable whilepletely ignoring the few that seemed to want to fight him. There were some who even tried to bump shoulders with him but Vahn stunned them by using [Shundo] topletely bypass them without breaking stride. This earned him a few appraising looks but there hadnt been anyone willing to attempt to bar his passage a second time after witnessing his movement ability. He did, however, earn himself a few stalkers who were curious about what he was up to and began to trail behind a short distance without making much of an attempt to actually hide their presences. For the time being, Vahn knew it wasnt really a good idea to interact directly with any of the Amazonesses so he ignored his instincts and chose to avoid initiating a conversation with anyone. There were some Amazonesses who were particrly eye-catching but Vahn had be very ustomed to the presence of beauties around him and didnt pay them too much attention, even if his senses did linger on them for a very short while longer than most. In this way, nearly three hours had passed, allowing Vahn to inspect the Coliseums structure and heal well over a hundred critically injured children without their knowledge... During his exploration, Vahn was able to learn many things about the Coliseum, including the number of people inside and many of the secret areas that were probably not meant to be discovered by outsiders. In total, he had counted around 47,000 people within the ratherrge and ancient structure, more than half of which were children. The Kali Familia itself had well over 50,000 members while the number of Amazonesses that had belonged to it, at least for a short while, was likely closer to 200,000. This was because they would have to leave the Familia, at least temporarily, whenever they became a.d.u.l.ts and wanted to seek out mates outside of the country. As a result, the Kali Familia wasrgelyprised of children that were undergoing the crucible and it was a little shocking to see them all residing in small rooms with up to fifty people clumped together. Even in this rtively cramped environment, they would keep a distance from each other and Vahn could feel the hostility radiating off of them, even though only a few of their auras were unstable... Seeing so many children living in such conditions pained Vahns heart more than a little but, at the same time, he knew that these conditions werent even as bad as some other countries. At least in Telskyura, all children were cared for by the entiremunity, even if their own mothers might not have cared for them directly. They also had food and, even though it was very normal for Amazonesses to simply sleep outside, shelter. Though they had to fight and undergo severe trials to temper themselves, they werent subjected to excessive cruelty, at least from the perspective of normal Amazonesses. The ones who suffered the most were the Amazonesses with unique dispositions, of which Vahn only found a few. They were the ones who showed genuine fear and trepidation about their circ.u.mstances while also disying clinginess as they attempted to get along with other children in their group, usually without any sess... Vahn knew he would need to remove these unique children from this kind of environment, or at least convince Kali to change things so they wouldnt be repressed and suffer as a result of their own culture. For the time being, however, he could only help by healing some of their deeper wounds while exploring the other aspects of the Coliseum. One of the most important discoveries he had made was the existence of an underground structure that seemed essible to only a few Amazonesses. It was here that many of the monsters bred for fighting in the Coliseum were kept while, at the very center of the structure, arge sacrificial altar could be found near what he could only liken to as a maternity ward. There were several dozen pregnant Amazonesses being cared for within while several hundred infants were waiting to receive their Familia crests... It was during his invasive nce into the underground structure of the Coliseum that Vahn got his first witness of the survival test of the Amazonesses. In a small arena that connected between where the monsters and children were kept, there were a few powerful Amazonesses holding infants in their arms as handlers released infant monsters like Goblins. They would ce one of the infants on the ground and, shaking Vahn to the very core, watched as the Amazoness and Goblin almost immediately fought against each other. Vahn had seen the moment when the Amazoness infant looked at the small Goblin, their aura immediately zing with an almost animalistic fervor as they crawled forward with surprising agility and began trying to rip the limbs from the almost defenseless monster... Though he knew that Amazonesses were supposed to have strong battle instincts and a natural desire to fight, Vahn hadnt expected it to be so extreme. He understood why they were kept in istion until they were around four years old, as the chance of infants fighting and killing each other was likely very high if they were left unattended. There were even some infants who seemed far more feral than others, being pitted against young Kobolds instead of Goblins. These infants were designated with small red markings on their bodies and their ferocity was far greater than those without. Vahn had watched one of these young Amazonesses, likely not even two months old, choke the life out of a Kobold whilepletely ignoring the cuts and abrasions she received from its ws and rounded fangs... After having witnessed a few of these battles, Vahn fell into deep reflection and couldnt continue watching the bloody scene directly. Part of him wanted to doc.u.ment the development of a young Amazoness from the moment of birth so that he could understand why they were as they were. Another part of him wanted to pretend as if he had never even seen the scene, wanting the reality of the situation to be different than what his own eyes had witnessed. However, because he had seen examples like Alexa and even Fenrir, Vahn knew that instinct was something that simply couldnt be ignored. He could probably forcibly change things, given enough time, but he also knew this wasnt right to do, even though he also knew many of his other actions were also wrong... It was in this conflicted state that Vahn found himself meeting back up with Tiona and Bache before they made their way to therge feast that Kali was hosting. They could both tell that something had happened, causing Tiona to hold Vahns arm gently and protect him from everyone else during the feast. She would normally happily join in on the festivities, especially when a few Amazonesses started a brawl, but decided her ce was at Vahns side for the moment. Even Kali seemed to respect this as, other than addressing Vahn as one of the talking points of the feast, she didnt even approach him until near the very end... Vahn had only been paying partial attention to what was going on during the feast as he had instinctually shifted his focus back to the Manor. He was currently snuggled up with Fenrir and, though he knew it was a little pathetic, Vahn couldnt help but seekfort after witnessing something that he couldnt really ept. Even though he knew it was natural, Vahn felt like the Amazonesses had been cursed with a cruel and unjust existence...even though they genuinely seemed to enjoy it. Vahn didnt know what the right answer in this situation was so so he could only continue to observe... It wasnt until the feast was being wrapped up and everyone was being sent away that Vahns focus shifted back to his avatar. Tiona had fallen asleep while still clinging to his arm as Kali walked over and said, "Im heading over to my chambers...youing...?" Since he had been acting strangely, Kali was a little annoyed but stillpromised a bit on Vahns behalf. If he wanted to just sit and brood, she would allow him to do so, even if her respect for him would diminish by a great deal. Vahn, however, nodded his head and released a heavy sigh before moving Tiona to the side and wrapping her up in a nket. There were quite a few Amazonesses simply cuddling together after passing out and, though it felt a little strange to separate from her at this moment, Vahn left Tiona amongst thepany of her kin as he followed along with Kali... Kalis face showed aplex expression as she led the way in silence, growing increasingly annoyed by how Vahn was behaving. She knew he must have seen something that upset him but, at least from her perspective, Vahn was far too sensitive. Though Loki had said he was highly empathetic, Kali sometimes felt that his behavior dropped the em part of the word on asion, especially if it was something he couldnt change easily. However, since she knew he had the power to change things and the only thing holding him back was his own sensibilities and the consideration he had for people like her, Kali felt conflicted and couldnt easily rebuke him for his behavior... Eventually, the duo reached Kalis chambers and, after passing by a few ceremoniously dressed Amazonesses, entered into a rathervish and fragrant circr room. There was a small fire that was perpetually burning in the center, the only illumination for the tent, while arge hole existed in the roof for air cirction. It was a very hot and muggy room that harshly contrasted the brisk and refreshing air that had permeated through the rest of the Coliseum. Even without relying on any of his enhanced senses, Vahn could smell a very heavy pheromone aroma that seemingly wafted from every surface present, the only exception being a small golden lounge with blood-red cushions. Kali had naturally made her way over to the lounge before patting the spot next to her, saying, "Come, sit with me. Even though the time for rest is quickly approaching, the night is forever young within these chambers, Shangri-La. I can tell you have been heavily affected by what youve seen so far, Vahn...and you will likely be influenced greatly by what you will continue to see. Just remember, unless you are willing to force change by acting like a child throwing a tantrum, you should withhold judgment and simply experience our culture. The changes you want to see are things that will take time to implement and unless you understand the very nature of our society, you have no right to interfere directly..." Vahn had already sat down next to Kali, listening to each of her words closely, even if he didnt wholly agree with them. The one thing she was right about was the implication that he simply didnt know enough and, keeping that in mind, Vahn nodded his head before reclining onto the lounge and releasing a heavy sigh. He didnt really have anything to say and just allowed Kali to lean against his side as she too showed an exasperated and tired expression. It wasnt until a few minutester, when a trio of young Amazonesses entered into the chamber, that Kali perked up and adopted her mischevious grin once again. She adjusted herself into afortable position, whispering, "Well, though you probably cant appreciate it, you should still enjoy the evenings entertainment. Just remember to keep your hands to yourself and there shouldnt be any problems~." Unlike Vahn, Kali was very quick to recover since she generally avoided thinking about things incessantly. She immediately transitioned from pouting to feeling slightly excited at the prospect of how Vahn might react after witnessing the performances that were about to begin. For some reason, she found his innocent and awkward reactions somewhat adorable, even though his usual behavior would often annoy her to death. As for Vahn himself, his eyes zed over slightly when he saw the three girls, none of which could remotely be considered a.d.u.l.ts, begin to dance around the fire in Kalis room,pletely bereft of clothing. His focus immediately shifted back to his main body, cuddling Fenrir a little closer as scenes he shouldnt be privy to were burned into his perpetual memory... (A/N: Vahn is going to break at this rate o_o...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: As long as you do nothing, everything is okay~!,Vahn is grossly unprepared for even crueler worlds x_x...,Kalicks sensitivity...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 947 - Introspection

Chapter 947 - Introspection

After the initial culture shock, a good amount of time talking things over with Loki, and a bit of time ying with his children, Vahn had calmed down a great deal. Though he felt a little shaken each time he peeked into the underground structure of the Coliseum, closer observation of events had allowed him to rationalize things a little better. He had seen more parts of the early cycle of an Amazonesses life and was gaining a better understanding of the situation, including the emotional, cultural, and biologicalponents. Vahn had seen that, shortly after an Amazoness gave birth, they would only spend a few hours with their daughters, usually for the purpose of naming them. After that, many of the new mothers would turn their children over to therger group of women who cared for all of the children. In some cases, these new mothers would then join therger group, caring for their new child while also tending to the needs of other infants. Other times, the mothers would leave to receive some healing before almost immediately beginning their training once again. Having carried a child for around nine months, many from the warrior tribe were determined to make up for lost time and worked hard to refine their bodies back into abat-ready state just hours after giving birth... Observing how several new mothers interacted with their daughters, Vahn was able to see that there wasnt a strong emotional attachment between most Amazonesses and their children. Even those that decided to help out in the maternity ward were on the older side and, after listening in on a few conversations, Vahn knew they considered it more of a duty than anything else. Since they were already passed their prime, they would spend a few years watching over the newborn Amazonesses before leaving Telskyura on their final journey. Their next time venturing out into the world would be to find powerful monsters, fighting to ovee their limits until inevitably dying after a few months. Because of factors like this, there were no Amazonesses in Telkyura that were over the age of fifty... This was a way in which the older generation always made way for the new generation, choosing to end their lives in honorable battle instead of fearing death and trying to hold onto life for a few more years. Unlike many other races, who expected the young to care for them as they aged, the Amazonesses of Telkyura knew that they would only burden younger generations, relying on the work and gains of their kind just to preserve their own lives for a few more years. This not only consumed precious resources that could have been used to nurture the next generation of Amazonesses but it also bred malcontent and led to bloody infighting and repression. In the distant past, the Amazonesses used to have a culture that respected Elders and deferred to them for decision making but this had resulted in deeply rooted corruption and internal wars between contending tribes... It only took a few generations of this kind of infighting before the then generation of Hippolyta changed thew to unify all of the lesser Amazoness tribes after eliminating all of the Elders. After that, fighting in a dishonorable manner, or scheming to exploit your fellow Amazonesses, was grounds for immediate execution. The Elderly were no longer allowed to exercise their influence over the younger generations as newborn Amazonesses could be highly impressionable and were easily exploited if the people they trusted had malicious intentions. As a result, it became less and less eptable for older Amazonesses to even remain in the tribe, causing them to venture out of the country after crossing a certain age threshold, a number that had decreased from around 70 during the inception of thew to around 55 after a few thousand years had passed. Bying to understand a bit of the History of the Amazonesses, Vahn had been able to slowly ept what he had been witnessing. He had already known that it would take a demonstration of extreme power and violence to even have a hope of changing how the Amazonesses lived while the only alternative was to essentially subordinate the entire race and tweak their biology to inhibit some of their more problematic traits. This was something entirely possible with The Paths Modify function, but Vahn knew it was also extremely wrong and selfish to do so. For well over ten-thousand years, the Amazonesses had actually put in a lot of effort to create a culture where their people could flourish without cing any heavy restrictions on themselves. Because of this, they had created a society that had withstood the test of time longer than any other civilization, almostpletely bereft of the concept of waste, exploitation, and corruption. They even avoided any major conflicts with other nations and countries, only taking action when one of their taboos had been vited. This had given them a very strong sense of unity and was the primary reason that most other countries didnt even try to antagonize the Amazonesses of Telskyura, regardless of how they viewed the tribal, savage, and uncivilized race... Because of the ongoing matters within the Iron Hills and Westport, Vahn felt it was confoundingly ridiculous that other societies considered the Amazonesses as an uncivilized race. Though theycked in technological development, it was a simple fact that their society functioned with almost none of the issues that gued the so-called civilized countries. Almost everywhere Vahn had gone, he could find examples of merchants taking advantage of people, self-proimed nobles exercising power over their people, and massive criminal organizations that performed various heinous acts. Though Telskyura also had its fair share of problems, they were all exposed on the surface and could be dealt with after a bit of time had passed. It was a far more honest and open example of society while arge majority of the poption seemed genuinely happy with how things were managed... These were the types of thoughts passing through Vahns mind as he sat upon a ledge at the very top of the Coliseum, looking down on therger mass of Amazonesses going about their day below. During the daylight hours, Telskyura always seemed alive as everyone was constantly moving about in order to contribute to therger society, all while making earnest efforts to try and improving themselves. There were constant small scuffles and disagreements but things were usually settled very quickly after a few exchanges of punches and kicks. These were almost always between Amazonesses of simr strength unless it was the lower Level Amazoness challenging someone at a higher Level. It was heavily frowned upon for the strong to try and oppress the weak, especially if it was over a minor matter. In the event that there was arge difference in strength between the two disputing Amazonesses, they would consult a third party, usually a member of the Kali Familia, to make a determination over who was in the right. This mediator would typically be around the same strength as the more powerful Amazoness and, in some cases, they would even fight on behalf of the weaker one if there were further disagreements... One of the only things Vahn consistently saw that was troubling to him were the younger Amazonesses that ran around n.a.k.e.d, performing various menial tasks after having failed to ovee their trials during the crucible. The reason for their failure was either rted to a deeply rooted injury, preventing them from keeping pace with simrly aged Amazonesses, or the fact that they had experienced severe trauma and couldnt ovee it. Vahn felt it was exceptionally tragic and cruel that they were then forced into a situation where they were constantly attending to others just to earn enough food and resources to continue surviving until the next day. Kali had exined to him the reason behind their existence, as it was something necessary to keep their society functioning, but Vahn didnt really agree with it since his sensibilities told him it was wrong to punish anyone in such an extreme manner... Kali had exined that, by being stripped bare and forced to listen to the whims of other Amazonesses, it was a way to stimte the dormant instincts within those that had failed to pass through the crucible and be proper Amazonesses. Eventually, they would grow dissatisfied with serving others and, knowing their own weakness, work even harder on their tasks so they could acquirerger servings and more training resources. They would then ovee their past trauma and, through constant effort and training, reach Level 2 and be proper a.d.u.l.ts that were readily epted into society. This would give them a sense of aplishment and pride at having ovee a very different kind of trial, even though they would normally end up as a member of the Fishing or Hunting tribes after the fact... Vahn understood the reasoning and, after witnessing several hard-working young girls doing exactly as Kali said, he knew the system worked. Even so, Vahn knew there were better ways for them to ovee their weakness without being backed into a corner and pressured so heavily. He also knew it was possible to implement a few small innovations that would greatly improve how every Amazoness lived, all while giving them even more ways to express themselves and increase their strength. Having literal children deal with all the menial tasks in society wasnt much better than the Elders exploiting the young for their own selfish purposes, even if the intentions behind the process were entirely different... The main reason behind Vahns thought process was the existence of the unique Amazonesses that were born within Telskyura, even if they only made up less than 1% of the poption. Even if it was difficult to ept some of the things he saw, Vahn could tell that the system implemented in Telkyura worked very well for the vast majority of Amazonesses. In a way, it worked better than pretty much every other system he had seen, including the one he was trying to build through a series of longsting reforms. However, this still didnt really justify the sacrifice of that small minority, especially since it wasnt even difficult to help them survive and prosper. Vahn didnt like the idea that, while almost every Amazonesses was allowed to thrive in a society catered to their instincts, these young girls were forced to either adapt, often deeply scarring them, or die. If theycked talent and willpower, something that shouldnt be outright expected from infants, their only fate was to end up as victims of the system. Girls like Tiona, Tione, Aisha, Lena, and Taliah were the exceptions, usually only because Kali had taken an interest in them. This was one of the things that Vahn hade to respect about her because, even though she was perfectly fine with allowing people to simply die, Kali still made small efforts to try and help those that went against the natural flow. She found them interesting and, though she didnt show them any preferential treatment, the way she awarded these unique Amazonesses varied from the norm... In Tionas case, though it was primarily because Bache had wanted to support her disciple, she had been awarded trantions of heroic tales and novels. As for Tione, who experienced quite a bit more suffering than her younger twin, she had been given a great deal of leniency, though this was mostly a result of Tionas efforts, not her own. Tione was an example of one of the victims within the system, as she had fallen under the mentorship of the extremely cruel and vicious Argana. This was entirely due to the fact that she was a twin, a very rare existence within the Amazonessmunity. Kali had wanted them to be her next Captains and had hoped that Tione would eventually ovee her own limitations with the assistance of Tiona... This was where Vahns agreement with Kali usually came to an end, as it had been very unfair of her to have such expectations, to begin with. It was obvious that Tiona and Tione were different from a very early age and, though they both had extreme levels of talent, it simply wasnt right to forcibly groom them into something that she had wanted to make use of. In a way, this was the very same thing as someone in another country taking in an infant Amazoness and grooming them to their preferences, something extremely frowned upon. If it had happened outside, the entire Amazonessmunity would have been up in arms, pursuing the offender until they werepletely annihted. Yet, because of her unique position as the primary goddess of the entire Amazoness people, Kali had been able to bend the rules without anyone even batting an eye... Vahn didnt outright resent Kali for what she had done, as he still wasnt in a position where he could truly understand the perspective of a god. He also knew that her actions werent inherently wrong as, without a doubt, she had tried to help both girls achieve their full potential. After Tione had failed to meet her expectations, Kali didnt punish her or hold the fact against her, allowing Tione to leave Telskyura along with Tiona after they had both reached Level 3. She had willingly allowed the two girls she had been grooming to be her future Captains to venture out into the outside world with no guarantees they would ever even return. This was because Kali knew that, even though Tiona was considered the perfect Amazoness by some, neither twin truly fit into therger Amazoness society... It was things like this that allowed Vahn to see Kalis wisdom and, though he felt like she could have done more to aid the growth and progress of her people, it wasnt really her responsibility to do so. If he truly believed that gods had to contribute to the proper development of the surface races, Vahn would be putting himself above them and forcing his perspective onto existences that were far older than he was. In a way, it would be the same as Kali imposing her perspective onto Tiona and Tione, trying to change them into something that was beneficial for herself. This would undoubtedly have severe negative consequences and Vahn was beginning to understand that his methods may not have been as correct as he had thought. As pure and righteous as his intentions may be, Vahns time amongst both the Xenos and the Amazonesses had started to make him better realize the necessary restrictions imposed on those with power. He previously felt like it was the obligation of those with power to essentially shepherd those that were weaker than themselves. This, however, was automatically cing himself above others and believing that his own sensibilities and perspective were simply broader and more right than those beneath him. It was this same mentality that allowed Nobles, who often rose to power through individual strength or authority, to im they were above themoners within their dominion. Vahn had developed an extreme distaste for most Nobles and the Aristocracy in general, finding their often deeply rooted corruption and the nation-wide exploitation to be disgusting. However, his own actions werent distinctly different from theirs, even though the choices he was trying to make were for the betterment of everyone. The main difference was the fact that he had an extreme amount of powerpared to most people and was proactively trying to make a world where everyone had the right to happiness. Even then, Vahn was still creating a merit-based society that would inevitably favor those that rose to prominence through their own efforts. They would find themselves in positions of power and authority and, after a while, it was guaranteed that some of these individuals would eventually be corrupt... In order to prevent himself from losing control of the situation, Vahn knew that he always needed to be the most powerful person within the record. Yet, by taking proactive actions and regting things himself, Vahn knew that he would be disrupting the bnce of the world and inviting greater threats into existence. The more he tried to make a perfect world, the more powerful the forces opposing him would be. Eventually, there could even be a singr entity that was more powerful than the entire organization he had structured, including a myriad of actual gods of creation and destruction. Though he would likely survive the battle, it wasnt impossible for the very record itself to be destabilized for a very long period of time... Vahn was beginning to understand that, the stronger he became, the less direct influence he would be allowed to have over the record. It was much the same for gods like Ouranos who,pared to almost every other god, had an extreme amount of power. If he wasnt created by the record as an objective force that observed the world, there would have been nothing to prevent him from shaping this world to his preference. He could have even killed most of the other gods and created a small paradise for himself, something that seemed peaceful and innocent from an inside perspective, but was morbid and terrifying from an external perspective. One day, Vahn knew he would have the power to create an entire universe if he wanted to while, at the same time, he could also create a small record that was entirely isted from others. This could be apletely peaceful world where only his family lived and he could even make all of them immortal. However, after enough time passed, Vahn knew there would be some who would be unhappy or depressed unless he went to even greater extremes and limited their ability to even feel such emotions. Though this would inarguably guarantee they were happy, Vahn couldnt help shuddering as the thought passed through his mind. He would essentially have to imprison and brainwash the people he loved, just to make sure they were always happy, robbing them of their freedom because of the choices he had made. Vahn knew this was extremely wrong and it was this same understanding that allowed him to rationalize that changing the Amazonesses, especially when they didnt want to change, was also wrong... (A/N: A lot of introspective stuff this chapter but I felt it was important to show the inner workings of Vahns mind while providing some insight into the past/present/future.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Not every species as strong maternal instincts...,The unique should be celebrated, not oppressed,Eternity is a long time...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 948 - Observation

Chapter 948 - Observation

On the morning of his fifth day in Telskyura, Vahn was within Kalis chambers, absentmindedly tracing his fingers through the sleeping goddess blood-red hair. Though she didnt really require sleep, Kali had beenying across hisp the previous night as she watched the performances of the various Amazonesses who came to update their status board. Shortly after midnight, she had gotten bored with the entertainment and decided to have Vahn spoil her a bit as the two talked about some of what he had seen during his observation of the Amazoness nation. Since he had been petting her head and feeding her small slices of fruit, Kali had passed out with a rtively rare contented expression on her face and had yet to awaken. Eventually, shortly after the sun had started to crest over the horizon, one of the Amazonesses who kept watch outside Kalis chambers peered into the inside to pass information. When she saw Kali curled up like a kitten in Vahnsp, the mature brte had a nk expression on her face before locking eyes with Vahn and falling silent for several seconds. Eventually, instead of reporting to Kali, the Amazoness kept her voice down and exined, "Banka-Mundi-sama hase to pay her respects to Kali-sama. Should we have her wait...?" Not wanting to be the one to bother her goddess when she seemed happy, the mature Amazoness decided to ce the responsibility and decision on Vahns shoulders... By now, Vahn knew that the three goddesses that generally resided within Telskyura were Kali, being the primary idol for worship amongst the Amazonesses, Banka-Mundi, a Goddess of Hunting, Fertility, and Nature that represented the Hunting Tribe, and Nanshe, Goddess of Fishing, Fertility, and Prophecy who represented the Fishing Tribe. There had been a time when Ishtar had also resided within the nation of Telskyura but, much like her jealousy towards Freya, she had also resented Kali for being the goddess that garnered the most respect amongst Amazonesses. She had also wanted to bring more men into the country, putting the two goddesses at odds until Ishtar had eventually moved to Orario before ultimately being in by Freya. Since Banka-Mundi was supposed to be rtively close with Kali, Vahn didnt want to keep her waiting for too long so he gave a curt nod to the informing Amazoness before sending a few threads of gentle, yet stimting, energy into Kalis mind. Her eyelids flickered a bit, showing that she was beginning to awaken before she slowly opened her eyes. Like a cat, she began stretching her body across Vahnsp before going limp, almost as if she were refusing to move as she said, "You know, I could get used to this...fuuu...." For a brief moment, Kali humored the idea of trying to conquer Vahn and have him wait on her for the rest of his life, something she knew was impossible but still found amusing... Kali had left herself a little too exposed but, at this point, Vahn had grown ustomed to her behavior and, as she had promised to behave if she ever visited the Manor in the future, he allowed her to act in her characteristically uncouth manner. He even extended out his index and middle fingers, pressing it into the tender skin beneath Kalis navel and causing her body to tense up like a bolt of electricity had run through her. Her eyes looked angry but there was a taunting smile on Kalis face as she stared back at Vahn for a few seconds before asking, "What did you wake me up for...?" Vahn returned a casual smile to Kalis rather fierce expression, exining, "Banka-Mundi hase to visit you." Upon hearing this, Kali immediately released an annoyed sigh as she curled up into a ball and eximed, "Wake me up when its something more important. She probably just wants to report about people trying to enter into the country through the jungle or about some beast that has popped up recently. Besides, itll probably be more annoying if you meet with a goddess like Banka-Mundi before you deal with Hippolyta and return to Orario...haaa..." Kali knew herpanion goddess nature well and, having observed Vahn for thest few months, she knew it could be problematic for them to meet so soon. Though it bothered Vahn that Kali was just ignoring someone that hade to visit her, especially since they should be friends, he also knew it wasnt really his ce to force their meeting. He did, however, annoy Kali a bit when he moved her body to the side, cing her gently on the cushions, before rising to his feet. She gave him an usatory re before asking, "Where are you going...?" Even though she had a good idea about what Vahn was intending, Kali was annoyed by the fact he was suddenly leaving her alone when they had been sofortable previously. As she had expected, Vahn gave her a casual smile before saying, "Im supposed to be fighting against Tiona this morning after she battles with Bache. Some of the Amazonesses have been pushing my boundariestely and they wanted to nip it in the bud before things got out of hand." Ever since Kali had exined the reason why Vahn was in Telskyura, he had be the central focus of many of the more powerful Amazonesses. He practically had to skulk around and linger around areas where people rarely visited just to avoid having some random Amazoness try to pester him. Since many of these girls were around Level 3-4, it wasnt that easy to avoid them and there had even been several who had been intending to challenge him. Even if they lost, that wasnt necessarily a bad thing, so some of the Amazonesses wanted to try their luck... Since he didnt surprise her by saying he would go visit Banka-Mundi on her behalf, Kali released a small sigh of relief before rolling onto her feet and saying, "Ille and watch. Some of those brats might think the whole event was staged unless Im there to officiate things." Because of theirws and traditions, any event that Kali witnessed had to be taken seriously. As a result, many of the more serious injuries that urred in the arena were the result of her showing up to view the fights. Vahn gave Kali a curt nod before having to correct his bnce when the diminutive goddess vaulted through the air and tried to sit on his shoulders. Since she was wearing her raiment, this could have caused a variety of issues so Vahn instead caught her out of the air and held her in a bridal carry. Kali issued a small cackle in response while linking her arms around his neck and cing her head against his chest. She spent a few seconds gettingfortable before saying in an overbearing and subtly mischevious tone, "Lets go~." The short journey to the arena felt a lot longer than usual since Vahn had to deal with the hot gazes of several hundred Amazonesses along the way. Since he was carrying Kali, they drew even more attention than normal, causing Vahn to regret the fact that he was only wearing very minimal clothing. His attempts to blend in with their culture had instead brought more attention to himself and he could now feel gazes lingering over his exposed flesh, many of which were focused on a very specific part of his body... Fortunately, Kalis chambers were rtively close to the arena so Vahn was able to quickly deposit the trouble-making goddess onto her viewing tform before preparing to make his way to the waiting area adjacent to the arena. He noticed his timing was a bit awkward since there were around thirty young Amazonesses waiting in the wings for their own chance to battle. This group didnt have any unique Amazonesses so they all had excited and expectant gazes as their small bodies shook with anticipation. Some of them looked toward Vahn with intrigue in their eyes, not even knowing what a male was just yet but still feeling a little bothered by his presence... Vahn didnt pay too much attention to the group of younglings since it could invite far too many problems for him to deal with in the future. Fortunately, they would be fighting before him and would have been moved out of the arena by the time his own battle was supposed to take ce. Even if he didnt bring it up, Vahn knew Kali would arrange things so that they werent present whenever he was disying his strength, infinitely more aware of how troublesome it would be since she was constantly pestering him about maintaining his own awareness. Vahn had sensed her call to an Amazoness around the peak of Level 4, likely exining the situation since thetter passed word to a couple of other Amazonesses who quickly began to send away the younglings who werent going to be fighting. As he took his own seat in the waiting area, it didnt take long before Tiona and Tione found their way to his side, following shortly thereafter by Bache. Tiona had an excited smile on her face, clinging to Vahns back in a yful manner while Tione, having calmed down a lot over thest few days, just sat snuggly at his side. Their antics drew the attention of thousands of Amazonesses but, knowing they had no chance against the two girls, many looked away as Tione passed her gaze around. As for Bache, she sat a small distance to the left after giving Vahn a short greeting, a serious and battle-hungry expression visible in her pale-gold eyes... For a little over an hour, Vahn watched with a slightly pained expression on his face as the group of younglings, many well under 100cm, began to brutalize each other with feral grins on their faces. Most of the battles were over in rtively short periods of time since both of the young Amazonesses would fearlessly charge at each other, both attacking with the intent to disable or incapacitate their enemy in the shortest period of time. It was obvious they had never received any real training as their forms and movements werepletely wild, wholly reliant on their instincts and natural battle prowess. When a victor was finally decided, the surrounding Amazonesses would cheer loudly for the victorious youngling, causing the smiles and excitement on their faces to blossom into over-eager smiles before they released high-pitched and happy war cries... Vahn felt that, even if he watched these battles for several years, he would never truly get used to witnessing them. It was distinctly different from the rtively safe battles that took ce between the children who were epted into the School. They underwent a great deal of training and had refined their skills over hundreds or even thousands of hours of practice before stepping into the Space-Time arena. Though they also fought intense and bloody battles, they did it in a guided and structured manner, not the wild and feral way in which the Amazonesses fought. With the crowd reaction being rtively simr, however, Vahn could see that the two, while inarguably different, werent that dissimr on a basic level... Releasing a small sigh, Vahn earned a curious look from Tiona who, at the same time, wrapped her arms around him a little tighter. Knowing she was trying tofort him, Vahn gave a wry smile in response before softly stating, "Im fine, Tiona...thank you." Vahn wanted to exin how difficult it was when trying topare things that werent necessarily the same. The simple truth of the matter was that the current structure of the Amazoness society worked and, though there were certainly a few things that could be implemented to make things better, he shouldnt treat them the same as other races. With a rtively nk expression on his face, Vahn continued to watch the battles between the younglings until the final fight was about to take ce. Because there had been an odd number of participants, thest match had three Amazonesses who seemed to be around the age of six or seven. The tallest girl was around 124cm while the shortest amongst them was only 103cm tall, making her appear much shorter than the other two. Irrespective of this disparity, it was actually the two taller younglings who showed a bit of hesitation as they got into their starting positions. Even without his [Eyes of Truth], Vahns perception was rtively high so he had already realized why the other two girls were slightly cautious of the red-haired youngling. She had red tribal markings on her body, denoting her as one of the more bloodthirsty and feral children. At the same time, her red-hair and dark-red eyes were rather intimidating as she looked toward her twopetitors with a toothy grin that showed off slightly overdeveloped canines. As for what Vahn was able to discern that most werepletely unaware of, it was the fact that this particr little Amazoness had far greater mana reserves than normal... Since he had been observing what urs in the underground of the Coliseum for the previous four days, Vahn knew that the infants who were pitted against Kobolds and stronger monsters had a lot more mana than normal. Though they werent able to use magic, at least without training, the excess mana stimted their instincts and caused them to be far more aggressive. This was a state that Eva had referred to as Mana High, the exact opposite of the nk state a person would experience when they werepletely drained of mana. Since the younglings had no way of controlling this excess energy in their bodies, it manifested as an inordinately high bloodthirst and a fervor for battle that few could match. This was because Magic could take the form of a persons intent and, as the undisciplined Amazonesses genuinely craved battle, it would greatly increase their battle capabilities... As soon as the Amazoness presiding over the match gave the signal to start, Vahn saw the red-haired younglings aura re up before an invisible membrane pulsed across her body. She was only Level 1 but moved with a swiftness that was approaching the edge of Level 2, even though it obviously strained her body to a dangerous extent. This was the reason why very few of the girls marked with the red tattoos survived to a.d.u.l.thood as, even if their battle prowess was much higher than normal, they destroyed their own bodies as a result of far exceeding their limits. With nearly 30,000 younglings residing in the Coliseum, there were less than one hundred who had survived until the age of eight after beingbeled as a Berserker. Without any ir, the smaller Amazoness took out one of her opponents after vaulting through the air and performing an ax kick on the older girls corbone. A sickening thud sounded out but it wasnt nearly as intense as the sound of shattered bones that caused the taller girl to scream out in pain. Her bones would need to be reset or her left arm would be useless for several months, at the very least. Fortunately, before the tiny Berserker could do even more damage, the Amazoness presiding over the match quickly stepped in and repelled the follow-up attack. This earned her a feral hiss from the Berserker as she scuttled away backward while on all fours. The remaining Amazoness tried to use the opportunity where the Berserker was distracted to attack her nk but, as if she had eyes in the back of her head, thetter twisted her body in an agile manner and deflected the kick upward. At the same time, she grabbed the older girls ankle and, instead of trying to pin one of the joints, pulled the limb toward her mouth and attempted to rip out the tendon connecting the calf and foot. Since the difference in their speed made it nigh-impossible for the older girl to react in time, she could only grit her teeth in preparation for the pain that would follow. Fortunately, before she ended up suffering an injury even more severe than having her corbone shattered, an oppressive aura descended upon the entire arena... Though she had been watching the matches with unveiled intrigue on her face, Kali had also been paying attention to Vahns reactions throughout. She could see that he was very close to interfering with the match and, though it caused her to feel frustrated, Kali decided to interfere herself instead. After allowing her Divinity to pressure everyone in the arena, Kalis blood-red eyes reflected the image of the young Berserker as she inly stated, "That is enough. Lets move on to the next match. Im bored with watching children maim each other instead of trying to learn anything from the battle..." Even though this wasnt the truth of the matter, Kali knew that she needed to start to show annoyance about the current state of things if she wanted to implement changes in the future... Since she had been the main focus of Kalis intent, the young Berserker immediately lost consciousness after Kali restrained her aura. She was collected by the Amazoness who had been presiding over the match while the youngling who had been spared a horrendous injury showed an expression as if she had swallowed a bug. This was abination of the fact that she felt embarrassed in front of her goddess while also feeling relief after avoiding a serious injury. The shame resulting from this conflict caused her to pale as she dragged her feet toward the rest of the younglings before being shepherded out of the arena. Even without her saying anything, Vahn knew that Kali had, once again,promised on his behalf. He gave her a grateful look that caused the small goddess to snort before averting her eyes and resting her cheek against the palm of her hand. Fortunately, as Tiona and Bache had already entered into the arena, the attention of almost every Amazoness present was focused on them. Though some felt it was odd that their goddess would have stopped a battle prematurely, they were equally as excited about theing match and quickly put it to the back of their minds. Amazonesses werent particrly known for mulling over matters and putting much thought into things so, even though Kali had been behaving very differentlytely, none of them had really noticed the change... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Kali, Cat Goddess...nya?,Berserker-chan has no chill...,Kali is still Tsun-Tsun, but growing progressively more Dere...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 949 - Momentum

Chapter 949 - Momentum

From the very moment Tiona and Bache both stepped into the arena, the atmosphere within the viewing stands had greatly increased in momentum. Even more than the duel Vahn had witnessed when first entering Telskyura, every Amazoness present had their auras ignited like mes as they looked forward to theing fight. Vahn was also affected by the atmosphere a bit, even though his mind was focused on a few other matters. Still, in an effort to support Tiona, Vahn rose to his feet with Tione at his side and leaned against the stone railing so he could get a better view of the battle toe... Tiona had an easygoing and infectious smile on her face as she stretched her body, proudly disying her flexibility and power by releasing a few quick strikes that caused waves of air pressure to disperse dust towards the periphery of the arena. Bache, standing around twenty meters away, had her veil lifted slightly but, with the small weights on the ends, it prevented anyone from getting a clear view of her ratherrge scar. She ignored Tionas disy and focused on her own stretching, twisting her body around to the point that she was nearly able to turn 180 degrees, effectively facing backward while her h.i.p.s were still oriented toward the front. Though it felt like an eternity, the actual warm-up took less than a minute before Tiona began bouncing on her feet, smiling as she said, "I always wanted to be stronger than you when I was younger. Let me show you how far Ivee..." Bache already knew the disparity in strength between her and Tiona but still smiled behind her veil before turning her body slightly, extending out her left hand while her left leg was bent at the knee. She made a taunting gesture as a battle-crazed light glimmered across her golden eyes, simply stating, "Come..." Seemingly without any time passing after the utterance of the word, Tiona had already vaulted forward with tremendous momentum, kicking against Baches guard with the heel of her right leg. The tension in the air felt like it was shattered by the resultant shockwave as, for a brief moment, there was the sound of shattering ss before Tiona had kicked against Baches guard, vaulting backward more than a hundred meters. To her credit, Bache had withstood the opening blow without any major difficulty but it was clear to those with higher perception that she had lost out in the exchange. Vahn had even seen a ripple pass through her arm, creating a peculiar sight where Baches arm seemed to lose its solidity... Not willing to let Tiona get enough momentum for another charge, Bache had immediately given chase, ignoring the fact that her left arm waspletely numb. Her eyes were already beginning to glimmer red as her medium-length sand-colored hair beat violently as a result of the aura that had begun to emanate from her body. It felt like a powerful bloodl.u.s.t had descended upon the entire arena, causing the spectating Amazonesses to begin breathing heavily as a fervent light burned in their eyes. Tiona hadnded near a massive stone pir, one of six that were interspaced in a hexagonal pattern. Her feet traced a strange rhythm that made her footwork almost impossible to follow before she eventually turned into a blurred after-image. Baches right hand had pierced through the area where Tiona had stood, her eyes already darting toward the right as a healthy-brown foot barreled towards her head. Vahn was briefly reminded of the first time he has sparred against Tiona but, unlike how she had stopped to tease him, this time shepletely followed through with her attack and sent Bache crashing through the 6m diameter stone pir before a cloud of dust and shrapnel emerged, pelting the surroundings as Baches body was sent careening across the arenas floor. The difference between someone around the mid-line of Level 7 and someone who was around the middle of Level 6 was a monstrous and seemingly insurmountable wall. If Tiona had been a normal warrior who reached her Level after several decades of effort, the match could have been a bit closer. The simple truth of the matter was that Tiona was truly prodigious when it came to battling and, even though she had yet to use her [Pactio], the fight was already extremely one-sided. This was something Tione had noticed as well, deciding to lean against Vahns shoulder with her arms crossed as she muttered, "I give up..." Over thest few days, Tione had started toe to terms with her past in the truest sense and, with more than three months to recover after her fight with Argana, she had already put much of her past behind her. Now, though it was still profoundly frustrating, Tione no longer felt the need to try andpete with her prodigious sister any longer. She had already found the happiness she had been seeking since childhood and, instead of stressing out over things that ultimately had no meaning, Tione decided to start going at her own pace and enjoying the rest of what life had to offer... Vahn habitually ced his hand around Tiones waist, holding her a little closer to him as they both continued to watch the match. Even though Bache had nearly no hope of gaining any real advantages against Tiona, the fire in her eyes hadnt dimmed in the slightest. After climbing out of the rubble, the ck veil covering the lower half of her face was noticeably suffused with blood as a line of the crimson red liquid was also running down her body. She didnt seem to notice or simply didnt care as she immediatelyunched herself with even greater momentum than before. Baches initial movement caused her body to blur and, at least from the perspective of most Amazonesses, she hadpletely disappeared from the arena. Tiona, however, wasnt most Amazonesses and, seemingly without any initial movement, her body vanished with an even smoother transition. The after-image she left behind had persisted for nearly a full second, during which time she and Bache had exchanged several heavy blows. Each strike caused a thunderous pulse to pass through the arena, further stimting the crowd of Amazonesses as their blood boiled in expectation. As the fight progressed, Baches attacks were bing faster and heavier, sending out spheres of air pressure that were almost like heavy cannonballs. Everywhere the spheres contacted turned into rubble after a loud explosion resounded out yet,pletely unaffected, Tiona simply danced around Bache without any major difficulty. She didnt even turn her head whenever a piece of shrapnel wouldunch toward her and instead made small movements,pletely evading the seemingly unseen projectile. As for Bache, her chest was heaving up and down noticeably as the momentum of her attacks continued to increase, a powerful light of determination burning in her crimson-red eyes... After a series of intense exchanges, Bache managed to close the distance between herself and Tiona but this resulted in her being in a bad range. Her only real choice of attack was using a quick elbow strike or a headbutt unless she wanted to try and grapple, something Baches instincts warned her wouldnt end well. Tiona had a happy and excited smile on her face as she made the decision for Bache, twisting her waist around quickly while tucking in her leg, fully prepared to release a spring-like whip kick into her former mentors waist. Bache had no choice but to close the gap even further, grabbing he pareo cloth around Tionas waist while her left hand sn.a.k.e.d towards her former proteges neck... The instant Bache grabbed the cloth around her waist, Tiona had moved both of them forward with [Shundo], causing a momentary gap in the mind of the sandy-haired Amazoness. Her kicking motion turned into her pushing off of the pir they had appeared next to, allowing her to m into Bache with her shoulder while moving her hand up and grabbing the extended left hand that had gone for her neck. Baches body tried to move backward with the momentum of Tionas blow but, with even greater force, thetter had jerked her arm forward with a slight twist. It felt like her arm was being wrenched out of her shoulder and, even though her muscles strained to resist it, Bache felt a pop before her arm was painfully dislocated. In a normal situation, Bache wouldnt have been caught so easily, even with the difference in stats, but her arm had still been numb since Tionas very first attack. By the time her mind processed what was happening, it was already toote to do anything about it so Bache chose to sacrifice her armpletely as she tightly gripped her right fist and struck towards the small of Tionas back. For the first time in the match, her blownded true but, from the eyes of those with high perception, the only result from this blow was sending a small ripple through Tionas flesh that was quickly dissipated by her inordinately high Endurance. Had Bache been able to throw a fully extended punch, the oue might have been different but, with her body experiencing conflicting forces and her proximity to Tiona being too close, the result wasckl.u.s.ter at best... Tiona felt a thump against her backside, causing her brows to perk up slightly in surprise before she quickly twisted her waist once again, this time using her h.i.p.s as a lever to flip Bache over her. Thetter tried to move with the motion, twisting around tond on her feet, but Tiona had long anticipated this, putting strength into her legs and feet as she pushed hard against the ground. Tiona released her grip on Baches wrist, causing thetter to fly up into the ground well over a hundred meters as a look of eptance slowly began to extinguish the fire in her eyes. When people were capable of moving at hypersonic speeds, being caught in the air without something to spring off of was a death sentence... Bache had nowhere to run and could only fall as slowly as gravity would allow her, leaving her unable to do anything but shore up her own defenses as Tiona adopted a proper stance on the ground below. She had stepped forward with her left foot slightly, opening up a bit of a gap between her legs as she lifted both hands like a boxer. As Bache was beginning her slow descent, Vahn was able to see the elemental energy in the atmosphere congregating towards Tiona as, even though she wasnt using a magic item, her body was channeling the mana into her physical attacks themselves... From Tionas right arm, jade-green runes began to spread across her skin starting from the back of her hand and extending up her arm. They were very simr to the markings that Tiona would have whenever she was in her [Pactio] form, indicating that her constant use of the ability had bee remembered by her body. Even without using Vahns own mana, Tiona was able to use the mana from the atmosphere to power her attack and, to the shock and awe of everyone present, this attack ended up being far outside their expectations... Long before Bache was anywhere near the ground, Tiona had shifted her weight slightly, using her knees, waist, abdomen, shoulders, and even wrist to create a rotational movement as her fist struck out with monumental force. Though it wasnt as extreme as when Lili would attack, Tionas singr blow had created a green pir that was a little more than three meters in diameter, instantly rising to meet the falling Bache. She had no choice but to try and defend it from her aerial position but, having no real resistance against magical attacks, even if they seemed purely physical in nature, things quickly took a turn for the worse... Baches clothing had practically disintegrated from her body, veil included, as parts of her skin and muscles began to crack at a visible rate. Even Tiona realized she had erred greatly as the attack sheunched out had been a critical strike, causing it topletely overwhelm what little defense Bache could muster. Fortunately, just as Baches body seemed like it was going to begin breaking apart, Vahn began using [Wound Transfer] to move most of the damage to his own body. As a result, Bache was able to withstand the blow but her consciousness had been robbed long before her bloody and maimed body was caught by Tiona. The moment Bache had touched down, the arena practically exploded in fervent cheers as each Amazoness in the crowd was extremely riled up by the spectacr disy of speed and power. The fact that their Captain had been defeated didnt seem to bother them much and, seemingly without any regards for her well-being, they were more focused on chanting Tionas name and releasing exciting war cries instead of moving to provide aid. Tiona simply ignored them and instead pulled some master-grade Elixirs out of her storage bracelet, quickly applying the vital liquid to the surface wounds lingering on Baches body... Tiones perception wasnt nearly as enhanced as anomalies like Vahn and Tiona, but she had still noticed the moment when Baches body stopped breaking down. She gave Vahn a questioning look that seemed to ask, Are you sure...?, earning her a small nod in return. Just as he had been cautioned about several times, there was a great price to pay for interfering with a match. Though it was obviously Baches loss, the fact the blow very likely would have killed her meant his actions were the same as saying, You are mine now. If Bache understood he was the one that saved her, it would be almost impossible to stop her from trying to pursue him without taking a hard stance. However, since she was supposed to be one of the women who he would have a rtionship with in the future, Vahn was willing to ept responsibility for his actions... Eventually, though the excitement hadnt even started to die down, a group of Amazonesses came into the arena to fetch Baches unconscious body and move her to one of the recovery areas. Her body was already in a stable condition but it would probably take her more than an hour just to regain consciousness after the strenuous battle. As for Tiona, she watched the group carry away her former mentor with an uncharacteristically stoic and measured smile. She then turned toward the direction of Vahn, allowing her smile to soften into something more natural before it practically blossomed on her face. Tiona felt like she had just settled the matters of her past and, though she still cared for her former mentor, now was the time to look toward the future... (A/N: Short chapter today since I worked from 7AM to 11PM yesterday without many breaks in between. I had to wake up at 5AM just to write this before going back to work once again xD.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tiona Hiryute, the Amazoness vs Bache Kalif, the Veiled Reaper,Tione is moving forward in her own way...,Tiona still takes center stage, however...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 950 - Vahn Vs. Tiona

Chapter 950 - Vahn Vs. Tiona

Amidst the excitement of the crowd, still high off of the battle between Tiona and Bache, Vahn slowly made his way into the arena. His presence had already been noticed in the waiting area but, now that he had officially stepped into the arena, the atmosphere began to bubble up and was quickly approaching a critical level. Even Kali had fixed her seated position, straightening out her back and leaning forward slightly so she could see the battle more clearly. A lot of the choices she would make in the future would be heavily influenced by the oue of theing fight... As if the crowd around them simply didnt exist, Vahn and Tiona had kept their gazes affixed to each other. Tionas battle-hungry nature seemed to be tempered, at least for the time being, as she happily smiled, saying, "I never really thought the day woulde where we would both stand in this arena together...thest few years have really changed the way I view the world..." She didnt think about it as often as some of the other girls, but Tiona knew the life she was living now was far from normal. Vahn had been slowly changing even themon sense of the world and now, even though it should have been impossible, he was now creating a world where she and her sister would be able to have children without worrying about losing them... The corners of Vahns mouth curled up even more after hearing Tionas words while his overall facial expression softened, clearly showing the love and affection he had for the generally lively Amazoness. He held up his right hand, clenching it into a fist as he said, "The world has only just begun to change, Tiona. Im d to have someone like you at my side. Without the steps you had taken those many years ago, things may have ended up very differently..." Though her actions were certainly troublesome, Tiona had been the catalyst for the rather peculiar situation Vahn had found himself in. Without her and Ais paving the way, and a lot of effort on behalf of girls like Hephaestus, Eina, and Loki, Vahns family would have been much smaller at this point... In response to Vahns words, Tiona practically beamed as she held her hand behind her and leaned forward, much like she would when they first met. The difference now was that she had to look up to him quite a bit and, instead of Tiona being his goal, they now tread the same path, side by side. Because of this, Vahn took a deep breath before saying, "We should go all out from the start..." Now, though she still seemed very happy, a small glimmer immediately appeared in Tionas eyes as she nodded her head with an Nn sound. She opened up a bit of distance with [Shundo], shouting, "Adeat~!" in a voice that showed her escting excitement. This was Tionas first time transforming in front of the crowd so it caused a great stir, especially when they saw her appearance. Though she was almost devoid of clothing, only covered in a few small pieces of fur and cloth, the tribal runes and Tionas long, wild, hair caused her to stand out greatly. At the same time, the instincts of almost every Amazoness present were screaming at them that they would never be able to defeat the animalistic-looking Tiona before them. Even though they didnt harbor much hope of victory before, her current presence was simply beyond their understanding... Vahn always found himself marveling at Tionas figure whenever she transformed, finding her lithe and flexible body extremely attractive. With the white tiger-like pattern on her body creating a contrast with her healthy brown skin, Vahn couldnt help but showing an appreciative expression before he opened his previously sped fist and revealed a miniature mountain. It was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand but, upon closer inspection, had an incredible amount of detail that made it appear real. This was yet another one of Terras breakthroughs in Magic and was entirelyprised of Earth Elemental energy that had beenpressed using Space Magic. As for the name, Terra had been rather whimsical at the time, calling the majestic yet diminutive, mountain as [Mt. Terra]. Though it may not have represented his strength, Vahn knew that the power of those who supported him was his greatest asset. Thus, without any hesitation, Vahn began to condense a massive amount of mana as he shouted, "Fixate. Seize. Load magic, Terra Ruler!" With a quick sp of his fist, Vahn crushed the massive amount of energy contained in the magical artifact, absorbing it into his own body with his [Magia Erebea]. Though the structure of [Mt. Terra] was different from normal Magic, it still had many uses in its seemingly inert state. Vahn wanted to avoid a situation where Tiona kept breaking his body apart so, even though he would have to pacify Terrater, he unhesitantly used her painstakingly created artifact as a consumable item... After a brilliant gold and green light faded away, Vahns figure had appeared within the arena once again. His tanned skin now appeared darker yet, at the same time, emitted a subtle green glow that seemed to radiate from his body. The sclera of his eyes had turned pitch ck while his irises were an emerald green colored with a single golden ring present in each. His hair had grown much longer than before, now extending past his shoulders, and had an earthen brown coloration with moss-like green towards the tips. As for his outfit, he was almostpletely bereft of clothing, fully disying his muscr body, while a green sash was wrapped around his h.i.p.s. The thing that stood out the most was therge golden disc behind his back while his wrists and ankles both had thick golden cuffs that each hadrge links of golden chains extending for a full meter from their connecting point... This was Vahns first time assuming this form and, for a brief moment, he felt as if he had be the earth itself. It felt like he could have just stood there for millennia without taking any action whatsoever,pletely content with simply allowing the passage of time to wash over him without regard for the lives living on his surface. Fortunately, he was brought back to his senses very quickly when Tiona hadunched herself toward him, a small fist with spines beginning to protrude from her knuckles as her body was already adapting to try and defeat him. The thing that surprised them both, Tiona especially, was the fact that Vahn hadnt actually made a move to counter or evade the attack... Vahn had instinctually transformed into his Xuanwu form while still maintaining his Terra Ruler transformation. As a result, Tionas momentous attack collided with his chest and sent a powerful shockwave into his body as a result of her [Fist Strike] Development Ability. However, as if his body had the literal depth of the earth, there were only a few small cracks on the very surface of his skin as the shockwave almost immediately dissipated before reaching his rtively soft internal organs. Then, before Tiona could even pull her fist away and attack a second time, the damage she had caused vanishedpletely, leaving Vahn standing like a veritable mountain as a thunderous shockwave, caused by Tionas initial movement, resonated throughout the arena... Even as Tiona leaped away from him, Vahn still had the urge to remain stationary and noticed that, where his bare feet contacted the ground, a phenomenal amount of Earth Elemental energy was surging into him. Since he already had experience manipting the earth, Vahn waved his hand towards Tiona and caused ripples to pass through the arenas floor that attempted to swirl around and engulf the rather surprised Amazoness. Vahn was making sure he wasnt harming the integrity of the Coliseum with his attacks, especially since there were thousands of infants in the underground chambers, but his attack still carried a terrifying momentum. Tiona managed to twist her body agilely, kicking against the encroaching earth to escape the range of Vahns attack with [Shundo]. She appeared next to him in the next moment, her fist now covered in dense ck scales while her knuckles had red gem-like protrusions sticking out. This time, Vahn brought up his left arm to receive the attack and felt arge amount of Fire Elemental energy try to invade his body. Though Tiona couldnt control it well on her own, her body seemed to have tried to adapt to the excess of Earth Elemental energy by countering it with Fire Elemental energy. Unfortunately, Vahn waspletely immune to its effects and managed to deflect the shockwave back at Tiona using his Xuanwus ability. With her own attack feeding back into her arm, Tionas fist and forearm practically exploded with a wide array of cracks. The dense scales on her arm had prevented the limb from being destroyed but there was still arge amount of strangely purple blood flowing from the rapidly regenerating wound. As for Tiona herself, shepletely ignored the pain as she attempted to sweep Vahns legs with a low kick, relying more on leverage than power to try and destabilize his stance. Vahn, however, remained unmoved as her foot hooked against the back of his ankle beforeing to aplete stop. Tiona felt like she was trying to move a literal mountain and, instead of pursuing her futile action, pressed off the ground and leaped backward to avoid Vahns counter. Both Vahn and Tiona noticed that his speed had been severely reduced after his transformation but, covering up for theck of mobility, his body was nigh-indestructible. Vahn could feel his defenses continuing to increase as the coloration of his body became a darker shade. Though it felt like his joints and muscles had also turned to stone, making it very difficult to move, the power contained within was something even Lili might not be able to achieve. The downside was that it would be nearly impossible to actually hit Tiona in this state so he could only rely on manipting the earth around them and simply withstanding each of her attacks, hoping she didntnd a critical... This seemed to be Tionas intention as her body was changing at a noticeable rate to make herself more agile while adding prative force to her attacks. She grew a denseyer of white fur on her arms and legs as a small nub of a tail protruded from her backside. At the same time, her hair became sleek as itpacted itself into a shape that would allow her to cut through wind resistance and maintain her bnce without interference. The most notable feature was how her right hand had not only healed but now had a vicious ck spike sticking nearly 25cm out of her forearm. It shimmered with a dangerous light while small spatial fluctuations could be seen every time Tiona moved around, even with the slightest bit of motion... Vahn prepared for the attack by channeling a veritable ocean of Earth Elemental energy from the ground and condensing it into his Xuanwu scales. At the same time, he supplemented the runes with his Source Energy, causing them to shimmer with a green light that emanated a rainbow hue. He brought his palms together at around the same time that Tiona had vanished, causing two dense walls of earth to m towards his position as Tiona reappeared, her spiked forearm tracing a lethal path towards his diaphragm. Her eyes had widened slightly upon sensing the attacking her way but she didnt try to flee, fearlessly charging forward without caring if she would win or lose... As a result of their actions, Vahn ended up with an exceedingly painful spike in his chest while Tiona, having curled up her body slightly, was beingpacted by earthen walls. They hadnt been able to overwhelm her defenses but, at least for a short moment, she had been contained in a defensive posture. Vahns body was naturally repelling whatever chemical Tionas spike was trying to insert into his bloodstream so he ignored it for the time being and made use of the opportunity to try and conclude things. If Tiona was left to continue adapting, she would eventually get to a point where he would need something like [Enkidu] just to keep her bound... There were a few ways Vahn knew to end the fight quickly but most of them would causeterplications. He decided to use the most direct method avable to him, cing his palm against Tionas almost exposed chest and earning a wry smile from her in response. In the next moment, Vahn flooded her body with his Source Energy, overloading her muscles and nerves with a type of energy that she simply couldnt adapt to. The mana she had been absorbing to maintain her [Pactio] was immediately forced out of her body, reverting Tiona back to her default state as each of her muscles seized up painfully in response. This was a technique derived from Vahns understanding of the physical structure of his target and his experience using [Hands or Nirvana]. It wasnt an actual extension of the ability, however, allowing him to avoid ruing any kind of negative karma, even if he decided to use it to cause lethal amounts of damage... While Tiona was unable to move, Vahn caused the super dense stone that had been keeping her in ce to dissolve away into sand. He then manipted the fine partictes of Earth Elemental energy to restrain her bodypletely, only leaving a small cavity so that she would be able to breathe without any obstruction while her head was poking out from the top. It was a rather anti-climactic way to end the fight but Tiona had an excited blush on her face while thousands of Amazonesses in the surrounded released loud war cries. They didnt really care about the means used, only that the battle had been brought to a decisive conclusion. Before things could even begin to get out of hand, Kali had stood atop her tform and allowed her aura to spread out, causing the excitement in the air to transition into confusion as a very tense atmosphere epassed everyone present. With her blood-red eyes glimmering with a cold light, Kali inly stated, "From now on, any Amazoness that isnt at Level 5 or higher will not be allowed to challenge Vahn to battle. If he challenges you or decides to help in your training, that is fine. However, I will not tolerate anyone going out of their way to cause trouble when theyck the capabilities to even stand on equal grounds with him. In two days time, Vahn will be having his official duel against Queen Hippolyta and there will likely be many changesing in the following months and years. Continue to work hard and temper yourselves further if you want to have any chance at pacifying those lingering desires welling up in your hearts..." With her words finished, Kali plopped down onto her pedestal once again and began to lounge about, even though her aura was still present within the arena. She knew that things could have taken a dangerous turn if she didnt address the crowd before the momentum shifted in a troublesome direction. Her own time with Vahn would be jeopardized if there were suddenly hundreds or even thousands of Amazonesses pestering him for a battle. Many knew they would lose and, much like her own Familia during their sea voyage, the Amazonesses themselves didnt consider this a bad thing. Since their instinctspelled them to try and secure the strongest mate, someone that could easily defeat a Level 7, an existence many of them couldnt truly fathom, was inarguably the best choice... Knowing that she was trying to cover for them, Vahn took the exhausted Tiona in his arms and exited the uncharacteristically quiet arena alongside Tione. Some of the stronger Amazonesses present had followed him with their eyes, many noticing that Vahn didnt even seem remotely affected by the aura of their goddess. He could feel their hungry gazes lingering on his body, still in its transformed state since he was actually having trouble expelling the excessive quantity of Earth Elemental energy still coursing into his body from the earth below. He had equipped a pair of thick-soled boots with Adamantine in them to stimy the flow, but it was still difficult to return to normal without leaving the ground for a short while. Once Vahn had left the arena, Kali let her aura begin to dissipate and suddenly felt extremely bored, even though another pair of Amazonesses had started a battle below. Since she was present, they were going all out against each other but, contrary to how she would normally behave, Kalis mind was wandering a bit. It was only now that Kali had noticed how much she had been fretting over Vahn as ofte and, trying to understand the reasons behind the change, memories of thest few months were ying across her mind. At the very end of this chain of images, Kali was able to recall the warmth andfort she was able to experience just by being around Vahn, even without doing anything. Then, for the first time in recent memory, Kali felt that watching the battles below was a waste of her time and a small desire to follow after Vahn was seeded in her heart... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Towards the future~!,Vahn is a cheater!!!,Doki-Doki Kali-sama...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 951 - Conflicting Emotions

Chapter 951 - Conflicting Emotions

Several hours after his battle against Tiona, just as the day had begun to transition into the afternoon, Vahn finally emerged from one of the few actual rooms within the Coliseum after removing the barrier he had erected. He was wearing nothing but a pair of brown shorts and because he had grown a bit weary of wandering eyes, a set of wolf furs around his waist like a pareo. Though he had exerted himself quite a bit over thest few hours, Vahn felt extremely refreshed and had a gratified smile on his face as Tiona and Tione unsteadily made their way out of the room behind him. Both girls affectionately clung to his body and, even though he had already tended to them plentily, it was never that easy to quell the fires within an Amazoness body. If not for the guests that had been lingering outside of his barrier for quite a while, Vahn would likely have spent the entire day alongside the two passionate Amazonesses, especially since it had been quite a while since they were together. This was a sentiment shared by both Tiona and Tione so, even though they were practically glowing as a result of Vahns affection, each had a dull and slightly annoyed expression as they looked towards the two who had interrupted their quality time with Vahn. The smaller of the two was, as could be expected, Kali; Her blood-red eyes were equally as dull while staring back at the three people who had decided to have a mid-morning tryst. Standing next to her, with a curious yet fierce expression, was a tall woman with simrly brown skin to most Amazonesses. She was around 171cm tall and, as a result of wearing very little clothing, her mature and shapely figure was on full disy. Vahns eyes had been drawn to her peculiar dark-brown hair since it was allowed to grow wildly, much like Tionas in her [Pactio] form, and had frosted white tips at the end of individual tufts that clumped together to give it a spikey appearance. Her eyes were a reddish-yellow, simr to a jaguars, and had an angr curve that gave her a perpetually fierce expression, even when she was rxed. Seeing herself scrutinized by the interesting boy before her, the womans smile curled up at the edges of her lips as she straightened out her back and puffed out her rather developed chest. Kali had been ring at Tiona and Tione but, sensing the movement of herpanion, looked to the side before raising up her hand in a swift motion. Immediately thereafter, a very loud and resonating smack was heard as Kali pped her hand across the nearly exposed bottom of the more mature goddess and eximed, "You supposed to be some kind of proud hen!? If you want to y, Im sure you can find a few men that have been collected by your brats, cant you!? This one is mine...!" Rubbing the quickly swelling handprint on her backside, the mature-looking goddess made a pitiful expression with slight tears in her eyes as sheined, "Kali, youre a big bully...! You always keep the-" Before she was able to finish, the goddess went silent as Kalis expression turned especially fierce, seemingly daring her to finish her sentence. Thus, after swallowing an audible gulp, the goddess immediately backed down before looking towards Vahn, Tiona, and Tione. She chose to focus on thetter two, showing a slightly pained smile as she said, "Its been a long time. The two of you have grown up a great deal in thest...few years...?" With her words trailing off, the goddess eyed Tiona and Tione up and down before giving an awkward smile and falling silent. Kali had noticed this as well, allowing a deep frown to mar her face before she looked toward Tiona and Tione with a scrutinizing gaze. Before things could get any more awkward, Vahn had reached his hands around both girls, holding them closely as he said, "Soon enough, Ill have to make good on my promises in order to facilitate a smooth transition in the future. Tiona and Tione will be the ones to help pave the way forward and Ive already made them both wait far longer than they should have..." This time, Kalis frown deepened to the extreme but, after a few seconds had passed, she simply released a heavy sigh and said, "Whatever...anyways, this dairy cow goddess is Banka-Mundi. She was lingering around even after waiting for a few hours so I decided to see what she wanted. Go ahead and say what you need to say and then get the hell out of my Coliseum..." Kali had turned away for thest few words, forming a purple sash with her Divinity that hugged her arms and waist as she made her way towards an adjacent corridor. She was obviously annoyed by how things had turned out and, unable to deal with it directly, decided to just go do something else instead of worrying about the affairs of others... With the departure of Kali, Banka-Mundi visible rxed before training her jaguar-like eyes on Tiona and Tione, smiling as she said, "Congrattions, you two. Im certain your daughters will be exceptional Amazonesses..." Having a Divinity rted to Fertility, it hadnt taken much time for Banka-Mundi to confirm the swirling mass of vitality within the bodies of both girls. Unless they took medicine to prevent it, the chance of them bearing a child was exceedingly close to 100%... Though Vahn had been intending to wait until they returned to the Manor, he had gotten a bit caught up in the momentum of things after carrying Tionas quickly recovering body away from the arena. With her energy returning, her body had started to burn up quite severely and, even though she had only watched the fight, it was obvious that Tione was also riled up quite a bit. As a result, Vahn had cordoned off one of the lesser traveled areas of the Coliseum and spent a few hours quenching the fires in both girls bodies. When they were getting dressed after the fact, Vahn had seen the longing looks in their eyes and mentioned allowing nature to take its course, leading to the scene of both girls practically fawning over him as they clung affectionately to his body... Tiona began tough sheepishly while hugging Vahns arm even tighter as Tione averted her eyes with a light blush on her cheeks. Neither really knew what to feel at this moment other than sheer happiness since, for the first time since they had met Vahn, their instincts had been fully pacified. They both felt a profound feeling of pletion that was hard to describe and, at least for the time being, the only thing they really cared about was being around Vahn and protecting the yet-to-exist life within their bodies. It would take several days before anything was confirmed but, unless something unexpected happened, the odds were heavily in their favor... Since he would also rather just spend some time with Tiona and Tione, Vahn gave a polite smile to Banka-Mundi, asking, "Is there something I can help you with...?" This brought the goddess focus back to him as her gaze lingered over his body for a few moments before she finally responded, saying, "I was simply curious about what kind of man would have been allowed within the heart of Telskyura. Given Kalis behavior, I can tell you arent simply a prize she had collected for herself...honestly, now Im feeling a little envious. Ive heard the rumors about you from those who pass through the jungle..." Instead of Vahn speaking out, it was Tione who raised her head, a small frown adorning her face as she eximed, "Stop having selfish expectations for Vahn! He is already dealing with enough problems without every goddess he meets trying to pester him. If you want a baby so badly, why dont you just go fall in love with a different man and then ask for assistance...!?" Though she didnt care that much previously, now Tione felt extremely annoyed by anyone outside of the Manor trying to approach Vahn. Even Tiona had stoppedughing and was now looking at Banka-Mundi with her brows slightly furrowed. In most cases, Banka-Mundi would have never allowed an Amazoness to talk to her in the way that Tione had just spoken. Since Kali had warned her beforehand, however, she tolerated the slight against herself and simply released a tired sigh before tracing her eyes over Vahn once again. This time, Vahns expression was the one to turn slightly serious as he said, "Sorry, but if Tiona and Tione arent okay with it, Ill have to refuse outright. If you do find someone you love in the future, please seek me out in Orario and I will help you find your own happiness..." Though Banka-Mundi was an exceptionally beautiful and shapely goddess, Vahn knew that she wouldnt really be able to leave Telskyura in the future and things were alreadyplicated enough with Kali... With Vahn making his own stance apparent, Banka-Mundi showed an expression of extreme regret as she mumbled, "That damned midget...this is unfair..." Her voice had been very quiet but it was easily picked up by Vahn, Tiona, and Tione, causing the mature goddess to pale slightly as she eximed, "Dont tell Kali I said that...!" Then, amidst an extremely awkward atmosphere, Banka-Mundi turned tail and exited the area with surprising agility. Vahns eyes, for a very brief moment, had wandered towards her nearly exposed rump, earning him a light jab from Tiones elbow as she gave him a ming look with her dull brown eyes... Vahn produced a wry and apologetic smile and withheld thement that nearly escaped his mouth before letting his hand trace down the line of Tiones body, resting his palm firmly on her own shapely backside. This caused Tione to raise her chin slightly, an approving smile spreading across her face as she said, "Just you wait, Vahn...one day, I will be a goddess myself. You shouldnt keep looking at other women all the time, even if you are just admiring their beauty. There are a lot of us who rely on you already and, until were able to stand on the same level as you, please dont run too far ahead..." Since she truly believed in Vahns words about mortals being able to ascend to godhood, Tione decided to make that her goal so that she could continue to stand at Vahns side far into the future... From the side, still clinging to Vahns arm, Tiona began to issue a yfulugh, adding, "I think Ill be a Goddess of the Wild! Maybe Ill be able to transform like Lili and Fenrir in the future, then we can do all kinds of fun things together~." As these words left her lips, Tionas eyes began to glitter with stars as a curious expression spread across her face. She tilted her head to the side in thought, asking, "I wonder...if I transformed into an animal and gave birth, would the babies be animals as well...?" Though it was a rather harmless question, Tiones expression darkened while Vahn became uncharacteristically pale. If he had to be honest, he had thought about simr things in the past but it was a very different thing hearing someone else talk about it openly... After giving her sister a look as if she had just said the most ridiculous thing in the world, Tione decided to lead the conversation back on track, stating, "Id like to think I could be a Goddess of War but I dont think things would go well with people like you, Ais, and Haruhime around. Maybe I should focus more on my Innates and [Pactio] so I can be a Goddess of the Sun, Moon, or maybe Beauty...?" Thest Divinity Tione had listed caused her to produce a very thoughtful expression on her face before she turned to Vahn and asked, "Youll help me, right...?" Vahn immediately nodded his head, a natural smile on his face as he confidently stated, "I cannot elevate you to godhood through my own but I can still help you reach the peak through your own efforts. Just make sure youre talking with the goddesses in the Manor before you decide that is the type of future you want for yourself. Ill be able to do something about thepulsion of Divinity at some point but eternal life isnt such an easy thing to tolerate with-" Tione had brought her hand up, cing it over Vahns mouth as she said, "Just say yes, you idiot..." Tiones action had caused a peculiar atmosphere to descend upon the three lovers for a short while before they all beganughing uninhibitedly. Vahn did have a tendency to overthink and overexin things, even though a simple answer was often best. Thus, afterughing his heart out for a while, Vahn hugged both girls firmly in his embrace before saying, "Yes...I will always be there for both of you. Ill be there for our daughters as well...always and forever..." In response, Tiona and Tione had hugged Vahn with a bit too much strength as thetter said, "Thats a little better..." before stealing a kiss. This caused Tiona to produce a pretend pout before immediately stealing one of her own after their lips had separated... --- Before things could get too out of hand, Vahn had eventually separated from Tiona and Tione after enjoying a long lunch together. Tiona had wanted to check on the status of Bache and, with nothing better to do, Tione decided to tag along with her. As for Vahn, he had made his way towards Kalis chamber, finding the diminutive goddessying on her side as she absentmindedly watched two oiled-up younglings wrestle about next to the first. They had stopped their actions when Vahn entered, causing Kali to train her blood-red eyes on him, a small frown on her face as she asked, "Oh, now that youve yed around on your own, youve decided to grace this goddess with your presence...?" Kali had waved her hand to dismiss the two younglings, earning worried and distraught looks from the two girls as they quickly scampered out of the chamber. The older of the two girls gave Vahn a resentful look as she ran by him, essentially ming him for interrupting since she might not be able to get her Status Board updated. There was a long queue to be able to enter Kalis chambers and, unless she had taken an interest in you, it could be months before your turn woulde up again. This was why so many of the younglings, other than when they were fighting in the arena, would spend hours practicing their dance moves and flexibility, all so that they could appeal to their goddess and increase their strength faster than their peers... Vahns expression hadnt changed under the re of the young girl as he continued to stare into Kalis eyes, confidently stating, "I love them...that is the simple truth of the matter." This caused Kali to snort in response as she waved her hand dismissively once again, obviously intending for Vahn to leave the room. Since he didnt immediately move, Kalis frown deepened before she red back at him and said, "Just leave, Vahn Mason...this ce was never somewhere you should have ventured. Dont worry, Ill keep my promise and work to change things ording to my agreement with Loki and Freya. It will take some time and the longer youre here, the more difficult it will be for me to do my own duties...!" Kali wasnt sure of the reason herself, but she felt extremely angry just seeing Vahn right now. Even though she didnt mean what she was saying, Kali still let the words leave her lips as a sour feeling spread through her nose. She closed her eyes and snorted once again before rolling over and showing her back to Vahn, refusing to look at him any longer. There was a small amount of moisture building on her eyes, causing Kali to feel even more frustrated as her breathing began to elerate. The only thing she truly knew right now was that she wanted Vahn to leave her alone, even though she also wanted him tofort her again...it was a very confusing feeling and Kali didnt like it one bit... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is a proficient firefighter,Since Vahns Source Energy essentially enhances the genes of the girls, does that mean it almost guarantees that Tiona and Tione would give birth to twins...?,I cant stop this feeling...deep inside of me...boy you just dont realize what you do to me...)(A/N: Kali doesnt know how to love...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 952 - Turmoil

Chapter 952 - Turmoil

Seeing Kali turning her back to him, Vahn was momentarily at a loss of how to act since he hadnt expected such behavior. All of a sudden, the overbearing, mischevious, and confident goddess seemed inordinately small, causing the image Vahn had been building up in his heart to break down. He had been trying to treat her as a capable and powerful goddess that could stand at his side but, seeing her curled up with her back to him, Vahn felt like she was an existence much smaller than his own. A sudden urge to protect her welled up inside him and, even though he knew she would probablysh out at him, much like Eva would in the past, Vahn decided a few small injuries were tolerable to alleviate her anxiety... As he approached her side, Vahn saw Kalis body tense up as her aura began to swell up like an all-consuming me. Her Divinity was activated and, even though he was confident in surviving a few exchanges against a god, Vahns instincts still warned him of impending death. After all, Kali had a major Divinity associated with the Law of Death and, even if he was immortal, the odds of her being able to kill him were much higher than most. Even so, Vahn ignored the feeling of pin needles poking into his skin as he made his way to Kalis side and unceremoniously sat next to her. The Divinity she was releasing made a sick feeling rise up in Vahns stomach but he stilly on the cushion next to Kali before hugging her closely against his bare chest while sending waves of calming energy through her body... Vahn could feel Kali flex her hands open and closed as her small frame trembled within his embrace, clearly ufortable with the situation but choosing to tolerate it. He knew she was dealing with things she didnt truly understand and, knowing she had never experienced such emotions over her extremely long existence, Vahn didnt me her for feeling confused. At the same time, Vahn knew that Kali wouldnt want his pity and, if he just held her in silence, the odds of her going into a rage would increase with the passage of time. Thus, before Kali could sort through her own chaotic thoughts, Vahn brought his hand under the fabric of her vest and stated firmly, "After Im finished with things here, Ill be taking you back to Orario with me. You can try to resist but Im more than willing to defeat you in a duel before dragging you along with me...after everything that has happened, Im not going to let you go so easily...Kali..." With his palm already glowing with a rainbow hue, Vahn traced his hand from Kalis chest before snaking it along her corbone and the curve of her neck. He nearly poked himself in the eye with one of the protrusions of Kalis bone mask but managed to navigate the hazard before stealing Kalis lips. She still had her eyes closed but, almost as soon as their mouths ovepped, a lot of the pressure Kali had been releasing diminished. Vahn continued to stroke the side of her face and head before gently removing the bone mask so that it wasnt in the way. He could feel her body begin to heat up noticeably and, even though feelings of uncertainty tickled his heart, Vahn ignored them as Kali shifted around until she was facing him, her actions bing increasingly more proactive as their long kissing session continued. Several minutes after they had started, Kali was taking deep breaths and had a slightly red hue covering much of her exposed flesh. She had opened her eyes at some point and was now staring into Vahns face in silence as her blood-red irises reflected his image. In response to this, Vahn traced his fingers through Kalis hair, musing, "It isnt like you to think about unnecessary things..." Since that was typically what she used him of, Vahn felt like the words were a small admonishment toward himself. Kali, however, frowned deeply and began to release her Divinity once again, seemingly finding Vahns words to be a great insult... Since it was rather unexpected, Vahn instinctually swallowed before trying to move his hand to Kalis waist in a stroking motion. This time, she quickly snatched his wrist with her vice-like grip, her youthful face gaining a stern look as she stated, "You cant win my affections that easily, brat...!" Unless Vahn had defeated her using more direct methods, Kali would never admit to the fact that she had been very relieved when he embraced her. It didnt matter if she had fallen into his momentum and allowed him to kiss her for several long minutes. Now that she had a moment to collect herself, Kali refused to be on the receiving end and was more inclined to take what she wanted instead. Knowing he had lost control over the situation, Vahns own expression hardened as, before Kali could react, he rather forcibly ced his hand on her waist and sent a massive wave of energy into her body. Though her hand had tightened enough to make his bones creak, Vahns defenses werent so easily ovee without her genuinely trying to harm him. As a result, Kali inhaled sharply with a trembling jaw as her legs shot out instinctually. She suddenly looked like someone who had been thrown out into the arctic without a single piece of clothing. Her trembling body curled up into Vahns chest, almost as if she were seeking out the heat radiating off him. However, throughout this entire process, Kalis expression didnt change much other than developing a more prominent scowl... For a brief moment, Vahn stopped to reflect on his actions and was caught wholly unprepared when Kali snapped her head forward, burying her overdeveloped canines deep into his bicep. She shook her head from side to side, almost as if she were trying to pull the flesh away, but Vahn noticed there wasnt actually that much strength in her actions. If she really wanted to, Kali would have been able to take a full bite out of him but, even if she wasnt aware of it herself, she didnt seem willing to go all out. Since he had already prepared himself for a few minor injuries, Vahns eyes squinted slightly as he moved his hand from Kalis waist, ignoring the fingers digging into his wrist. Though she didnt have much there, Kalis butt was still very soft and had a small amount of flesh that could easily fit into the palm of his hand. Vahn had gripped the small mound rather firmly while pressing his index finger into the pressure point near Kalis tailbone. This time, even though she likely hadnt intended to, Kalis teeth clenched and she identally bit arge chunk of flesh from Vahns arm. For a brief moment, Vahn saw concern and anxiety across Kalis expression until the piece she had bit away dissolved into nothing before Vahns wound waspletely healed. After she saw this, any concern Kali had vanished in its entirety and she instead red at Vahn with a look of profound me. Vahn responded to this by reminding her of the situation, tracing his index and middle finger along her spine and causing Kalis toes to curl in response... Kali seemed fed up with the way things were going and immediately pushed against Vahns chest to try and free herself from his incessant teasing. Her body was already in a heated state and it was getting hard to restrain herself as he inconsiderately did whatever he wanted. Since her attempt had been unsessful, the result of Vahn holding her rtively closely, Kalis expression turned dour as she said, "Get the hell out of my chambers...!" To emphasize her point, Kali began to wriggle around violently until she managed to curl her legs up between herself and Vahn, kicking against him with enough force to finally separate their bodies. Though he could have kept holding her, Vahn could feel his fingers sinking into parts of Kalis body and was worried he would injure her if he was too insistent. He managed to catch himself without tumbling into the fire and, looking back at Kali, saw a few dark bruises on her body, mostly the result of her actions but directly caused by his insistence. Feelings of guilt welled up inside of his heart but Vahn buried them as he decisively said, "After my duel with Hippolyta concludes, prepare yourself..." Knowing the state Kali was in, Vahn knew he needed to give her time to cool off before he returned to her chambers in the evening. At this rate, she might very well fight him to the death in order to take what she wanted from him... Kalis fingers were firmly anchored into the reinforced golden structure of her lounge as she watched Vahns retreated figure. It took all of the willpower she had to kick him away, ignoring the instincts she had allowed to take root in her body after descending into the mortal world. Though she was a goddess, Kali was still an Amazoness and, even as Vahn moved away, she had a strong desire to tackle him to the ground without caring about anything else. Her body currently felt like it was on fire while the hot and moist air within her chambers actually felt cool inparison. It wasnt until he waspletely gone that the tension in her body began to ease up, reced by a feeling of emptiness that she didnt really know how to deal with. After spending a few minutes trying to calm down, Kali noticed that her body, especially the areas that Vahn had touched, was still burning madly. There was always a group of Amazonesses near her chambers so Kali raised her head and called out, "Someone, get in here...!" Her call was immediately met with a response as the two Amazonesses that had been guarding the entrance to her chamber came inside. Kali desperately needed something to distract herself so she said, "Go get Khodiva and Mars. Ill be updating their Status Boards if they can keep me entertained. Also, gather up all the brats that are isted from the rest of the younglings...have them get some rest before preparing them for a presentation...!" Because Vahn had left her in this state, even though she was the one to drive him away, Kali felt it was only fair if she made him as ufortable as possible. Since he would always enter into a daze and lose focus whenever the younglings were doing their performance, Kali wanted to punish Vahn by using more direct means. The presenting behavior of an Amazoness was when a weaker Amazoness would appeal to a stronger one for some kind of benefit, usually in the form of training. This generally resulted in direct skinship, massages, and, depending on the nature of the stronger Amazoness, more intimate interactions. Since it was in his nature to allow her to get away with such things, especially since he would be trying to apologize to her, Kali fully intended to capitalize on Vahns weakness to get even with him. After a few minutes had passed, Khodiva, the young Berserker whom Kali had admonished earlier in the day, and Mars, another young Berserker that would have died without Vahns assistance, had arrived in her chambers. Neither girl was wearing clothing, allowing their blood-red tattoos to be fully visible while the only adornments they had were a few metallic rings, nes, and, in Mars case, a single golden earring. Most Amazonesses didnt wear piercings since they would be a detriment in a battle if the opponent decided to take advantage of them. As for why Mars only wore a single earring, it was because the lobe of her left ear waspletely missing after one of her opponents had done just that... Neither girl spoke as they stood ramrod straight under Kalis perusing gaze. There were two older Amazonesses behind them, each having been assigned as the keeper of the Berserkers to avoid situations where the bloodthirsty girls would indiscriminately attack the other younglings. They were never far from their charges side and, if necessary, would even put the girls down if they fully gave in to their instincts. This was something Vahn was unaware of and, had he known, he would have investigated the Status Boards of the Berserkers to determine the cause of their bloodl.u.s.t. He already suspected it was the result of an Innate and had even started thinking of countermeasures to keep it under control but, being focused on other things, Vahn hadnt taken any decisive action since he was still conflicted about interfering much with the Amazoness culture... Kali spent more than a minute perusing the scars and injuries on the girls bodies, much of her time focused on Mars since the girl was already ten years old and was one of the few Berserkers that had nearlypleted the crucible. She was already Level 2 but, as a result of being unable to pass the tests required of every Amazoness before being allowed into society, Mars was still be nurtured within the Coliseum. She would still be recognized as a proper Amazoness, even without passing the test, but her fate would be to be a permanant member of the Kali Familia since she simply couldnt be trusted to interact with other Amazonesses without causing harm. After letting her eyes linger on arge pale scar on Mars abdomen, the only remnant of the more serious injury that had been treated by Vahn, Kali matched gazes with the two girls and said, "If the two of you can keep me properly entertained, Ill update your Status Boards and consider allowing you to attend the next offshore hunt. Mars, youre already Level 2 so this will be another opportunity to prove yourself...as for you, Khodiva, I have something special in mind. Youll have to try really hard if you want me to arrange things for you...however, I can guarantee you will easily reach Level 2 if you manage to seed." Hearing their goddess words, both girls couldntpletely restrain their emotions and, being the younger and more inexperience of the two, Khodiva began to tremble with excitement. She was barely resisting the urge to tackle Mars and begin their match, enticed by the promise of greater strength. Thetter had balled her hands into fists but managed to remain rtively calm as she continued to show Kali proper respect. Unlike Khodiva, she had been invited to Kalis chambers a few times and it wasnt just the fight itself that would satisfy their goddess. Even as a Berserker, Mars knew there was a time and a ce to cut loose and she would have never lived to reach a.d.u.l.thood if she didnt have at least the smallest sense of propriety... Kalis body was still burning but she noticed it was a lot easier to deal with when she had something else to focus on. Her expression turned into a smile as the thought she hade up with previously was now finding its way to her lips. In most situations, she would have had the two girls simply wrestle until one was disabled or knocked unconscious. This time, however, Kali wanted to test the limits of what the girls were capable of so she said, "Because of your nature, Im well aware of the fact that you can both be extremely efficient and brutal when fighting. It hase to my notice over thest few months that there are other things a person needs in order to be aplete person and break through their limits. I want to see if the two of you have what it takes...I wonder, are you afraid...?" In response to Kalis question, Mars puffed out her budding chest and immediately shouted, "I am not afraid of anything, Kali-sama...!" Khodiva was too tensed up previously so her response came a bitter, causing the seven-year-old girl to falter slightly before a vicious look appeared on her face as she said, "Khodiva will be strongest...!" She then tried tounch herself toward Mars but was quickly reigned in by the Level 3 Amazoness who was assigned to look after her. For a brief moment, Khodiva thrashed about and even tried to attack her handler before she was promptly thrown into the ground with a loud thump as the older Amazoness eximed, "Kali-sama hasnt told you to do anything yet. Behave...!" Since she was often on the receiving end of beatings after losing control, Khodiva curled up in a defensive posture and listened to what her handler was saying. She realized that she did act before her goddess had told her so, without rising from the ground, Khodiva got into a low bow with her forehead pressed into the floor as she said, "Forgive me, Kali-sama..." As for the goddess in question, her brows were slightly furrowed as she already began to suspect that she was wasting her time. Even so, she still needed a way to alleviate her own problem so Kali resisted the urge to chase out the two girls and simply gestured for Khodiva to stand. The young Berserker now had a bit of dirt and blood on her knees but the wound was healing at a visible rate and was gone a few secondster... After remaining silent for a few seconds, Kali exined, "I want to see how well the two of you can restrain your emotions and resist your urges. If you can wrestle without losing control for twenty minutes, I will make good on my promises to you...however, Ill still reward the person that wins by updating their Status Board. If that ends up being the case though, youll have to wait six months before having your Board updated again..." Kali had the thought of machinating a scenario where victory was a bad thing, all while pitting two Amazonesses who had overdeveloped instincts against each other. She knew it was unfair to the two girls but, being the victim of unfairness herself, Kali felt like she needed to share the anguish. At the same time, she was genuinely curious if they would be able to subvert her expectations, just as the changes in her own nature hade as a great surprise... Mars showed an expression of concern but still bowed her head politely and said, "I understand, Kali-sama..." She had already failed her previous two challenges and, without Kali showing her leniency, it was almost impossible to gain another chance. Before now, Mars had already been thinking about her short life where she would be unable to fulfill her purpose since the only fate that awaited her if she roamed the world was death. She didnt have much confidence in holding back her urges, especially if the other party was also a Berserker, but she was determined to do her best... Khodiva had an expression of disbelief as herplexion became progressively more pale with the passage of time. Her mouth had been agape for several seconds as words, something she struggled with greatly,pletely escaped her. Though she was sometimes harshly reprimanded for going too far, Khodiva had never been told to try andpletely restrain her urges. Khodivas mind was telling her it waspletely impossible but, desiring the strength that Kali promised, she balled up her tiny fists and tried to bury the usual excitement deep inside of her as she mechanically turned to face Mars... Though she would normally rebuke Amazonesses for resisting their urges, Kali was currently resisting her own so she kept her words to herself and simply watched in interest as the two began their awkward disy. Things had started with Mars quickly closing the distance to Khodiva, ducking low and grabbing behind the knees of the smaller Amazoness before quickly moving into a mounting position after knocking her down. She almost moved to try and end the fight but, just as her hands neared Khodivas neck, Mars paused and instead tried to pin her wrists. Khodiva responded by wriggling about violently, all while biting her lip hard enough to cause a surprising amount of blood to begin flowing down her neck and face. She was desperately resisting her urges while Mars was trying to stay in a dominant position without actually ending the fight... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn wont even let the Lolis escape his clutches...!?,Kali isnt tamed so easily...!,So, when Kali begins restraining herself...she turns into Loki? This isnt healthy...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 953 - Anguish : Relenting

Chapter 953 - Anguish : Relenting

Contrasting the entertained feelings she would usually derive from observing others, Kalis expression had turned dull as she observed the awkward battle between Mars and Khodiva. They were both restraining themselves a great deal, far more than Kali herself had expected. Not only did this annoy her, as she disliked watching people hold back excessively, but the fact that they had so easily done as she stated caused Kali to feel deeply perturbed. She didnt think it was even possible for two Berserkers to repress their instincts, especially inbat. Now, Kali was starting to wonder if she had made a mistake in the words she had so confidently spouted towards Vahn over their long sea voyage... By the time the twenty minutes had transpired, both Mars and Khodiva were breathing heavily as arge amount of blood marred both of their bodies. Much of this came from Khodivas mouth, which was now gnawed apart by her own teeth, but there was a fair amounting from spots where the two girls had almost lost control. This resulted in deep bruises and a few areas where the skin had been torn but, much to Kalis ire, they had managed to restrain themselves without either side emerging victorious. Now, Mars fell limp against Khodivas body and, even though thetters instincts should have caused her to panic, she tolerated the weight of the slightly older Amazoness as the two of them focused solely on their breathing. Feeling extremely annoyed, Kalis face was fixed with a deep frown as she looked towards the two handlers and said, "Separate them. Make that whelp drink a low-quality Elixir so she doesnt get an infection in her mouth..." Kali noticed her words, even as she spoke them, seemed extremely venomous in nature. The only positive oue from this situation was the fact that her body had quickly cooled down as her annoyance continued to build. Now, her body felt cold while her brown skin felt both mmy and dry from the buildup of moisture and the oppressive heating from the small bonfire in the center of her chambers. The two Amazonesses that had been watching their charges fight also had conflicted expressions on their faces since they had both expected the girls to practically tear each other apart. Seeing their goddess expression only served to increase the incongruity they were feeling and, if not for the fact Kali had given them orders, at least Khodivas handler had nned to beat her since she also didnt know how to react to this situation. She had always looked at Khodiva like a wild animal that would tear out her throat if she ever dropped her guard so the fact she had managed to go twenty minutes, self-mutting in order to restrain herself, had caused the once-proud Amazoness to feel strangely unnerved... After having everyone else leave her tent, including Mars handler, Kali had the young girl sitting in front of her as she began to update her Status Board. She didnt know why the thought crossed her mind, but Kali felt a little annoyed by the fact that Mars, while only ten years old, was slightly taller than she was. Since she was n.a.k.e.d, Kali could even see that her secondary s.e.x.u.a.l traits were developing well, unlike her never-changing form. In the past, this never bothered her but, as if taking advantage of the strange state of her mind, Kali was inordinately perceptive about things she would have overlooked in the past... Mars remained absolutely silent as the slight burning sensation of her Status Board being activated spread across her back. She let out a sigh of relief when the familiar sensation presented itself and hoped that her strength might have increased even more in the four months since shest had the chance to get it updated. Bringing a small smile to her face, Khodiva felt her goddess fingers trace around her back before she inly stated, "You have grown a lot since thest time I saw you. Your Power and Agility both increased by more than a hundred points while your Magic parameter had gone up by seventy-three..." As she spoke, Kali wasnt entirely focused and was just going through the motions almost mechanically as she took out a piece of Status Paper and copied the information before cing it in arge pile near the side of her lounge. When the process waspleted, Kali lightly pat Mars back, causing the Status Board to slowly vanish as she asked, "Mars...do you have a dream...?" In the past, Kali wouldnt really care about this kind of thing since it was something that would generally require a lot of foresight and introspection toe up with a concise answer. Now, after watching the annoying wrestling match between the two Berserkers, Kali was reminded of the youngling versions of Tiona and Tione. She was also beginning to develop a few doubts about her understanding of the nature of Amazonesses and wondered if it was nurture that had caused their culture to develop this way. Though it was inarguable that the base instinct of Amazonesses made them prone to violence and bloodshed, a seed of doubt was now firmly nted in the diminutive goddess heart... Deciding she simply wasnt suited to thinking about such things, Kali shook her head slightly and patiently waited for the confused Mars toe up with an answer. Eventually, the young girl hung her head, almost as if she were ashamed, before saying, "I am afraid to say, Kali-sama..." These words caused Kalis eyes to widen slightly as it indicated that Mars not only had a dream but, because of the environment she had been raised in, was genuinely ashamed of it. Instead of living freely and uninhibitedly, she was another Amazoness who had been forced to live a life that was filled with restrictions, making it so that even a blood-crazed Berserker was too ashamed to even mention her dream... For several seconds, Kali fellpletely silent before squinting her eyes and saying, "An Amazoness shouldnt be so afraid of something so trivial. If you have a dream, you should be doing everything in your power to make ite true. Now, tell me what your dream is..." These words caused Mars to shrink her body while still hanging her head. She could tell that her goddess was upset and was afraid that her words could get her in even more trouble. Even so, Mars still obeyed Kalismand and muttered, "I heard in Orario there is something called Ser that made people respect and revere Amazonesses. I thought it might be nice to have arge crowd cheering for me...instead of looking at me like Im dangerous..." Kali visibly tilted to the right,pletely caught off guard by Mars answer, even though she knew about the growing poprity of sports within Telskyura. It wasnt often talked about, but the Fishing Tribe had even developed a version of the game where they yed with a makeshift ser ball within the turbulent sea. Up north, towards the swamps and jungles, it was one of the most popr ways to pass time when not hunting and gathering food. Even in the Warrior Tribe, there were many who were trying to pass strict tests to prepare themselves for venturing out of the country, many of them intending to head straight for Orario to get a taste of the growing sports culture... Aftering to her senses, Kali asked, "How did you learn about the existence of Ser...?" Even as the words left her lips, Kali already knew the answer. Though she wasnt allowed to leave the Coliseum yet, Mars was considered an a.d.u.l.t and had already started the training that would prepare her for living outside of the country. Thus, when Mars raised her head and exined, "Rudra taught me how to y...I...Ive been practicing...it helps me stay calm...", Kali wasnt too surprised. The thing that had caught her attention was the fact that Mars had imed it was ying sports that had allowed her to be as calm as she had. Since Kali had known the girl since she was an infant, she was very aware that Mars had only started to mellow out in thest year or so, just after bing an a.d.u.l.t... Once again, Kali fell into an uncharacteristic silence before noticing that Mars was resisting the urge to look back out of curiosity. This caused Kali to frown, not because of Mars reaction, but because she was reminded of Vahns remark about her thinking too much. She could even remember the way the light from the fire was silhouetting him and the warmth of his body against her skin. This caused a ticklish feeling in her lower body that caused her muscles to tense up slightly as an aching heat began to build within her abdomen. Kalis frown deepened even further but she quickly adopted a more neutral expression and said, "Ill be going to Orario in the future for personal reasons. As long as you continue to work hard, Ill make sure there is space for you on my ship when the timees..." Hearing her goddess words, Mars was shaken to the core, causing her eyes to widen in surprise as her mouth gaped open slightly. Kali snorted through her nose when she saw this, kicking Mars exposed rump and saying, "Get out of here you brat...!" Though she held back her strength, Mars still flew a few meters before deftlynding on her feet and quickly exiting the chamber. Just as she left, however, Mars looked back with a genuine smile on her face and muttered, "Thank you, Kali-sama...!" before running toward where her handler was waiting. Kali watched as the older Amazoness wrapped Mars in a cloth before cing restraints on her hands and neck, objects intended to keep Mars from attacking others if her instincts got triggered... Kali was left alone in her chambers as she frustratingly tapped the armrest of her lounge, this time resisting the urge to let her thoughts wander. She instead chose to focus on her conversation with Loki and Freya, including the benefits associated with joining the Alliance and the establishment of the Divine Council. Kali knew she would probably end up joining it in the future but hadnt really put any thought into it at the time. Now, she was seriously considering just letting Loki stress over these matters and just going with the flow of events, much like how she always had. All of the strange feelings and thoughts guing her in recent memory had caused her to feel anxious, yet another thing she wasnt ustomed to feeling... --- After spending much of his afternoon observing the various activities of Amazonesses going about their daily lives, Vahn knew it was about time for him to tend to Kali. He had felt guilty about leaving her earlier so his perception had allowed him to absentmindedly keep track of what she was doing after he left. Though he didnt watch every event y out, Vahn had witnessed part of the wrestling match between Khodiva and a slightly older Amazoness. His main focus was on Kalis fluctuating aura, especially after the match had ended and she spent some alone time with the two girls while updating their Status Boards. Kali had been in a chaotic state for quite a while and it was only around an hour prior that she had started to calm down and began lounging about once again. Knowing that Kali would try something to get even with him, Vahn had already steeled himself before making his way toward her chambers at a steady gait. He passed many Amazonesses along the way, many of which had seen his battle against Tiona earlier that morning. They all looked at him with heated expressions but made no attempt to get close to him. Instead, they kept a respectable distance while some of the weaker Amazonesses lowered their heads slightly and made way for him. Even the group of Amazonesses guarding Kalis chambers looked toward him with genuine appreciation and reverence in their eyes as they parted the thick curtains and allowed him to enter. Vahn had given the guards a polite nod while willfully ignoring the existence of the Amazoness who had left her post with umon speed, likely to instigate whatever Kali had nned for him. Though he would like to believe Kali wouldnt take things too far, Vahn had been surprised by her too often to convince himself she was outwardly considerate of others. Kali would certainly make concessions or even outrightpromise, but many of her actions were based on whims and wants, not logic and reasoning. If she had decided to get even with him, there were few limits to what Kali would do, even if she knew it would make him ufortable or outright upset him... Kali had beenying on her back, bncing a goblet of wine on her almost nonexistent chest as she absentmindedly stared towards the ceiling of her chambers. When Vahn entered, she was genuinely surprised and nearly spilled the goblet, dislodging a few droplets onto the lounge and her exposed skin in the process of catching it. Vahns steps had paused when he witnessed this, causing Kali to feel aggrieved as her earlier inhibitions vanished. She had been wondering if she should cancel her evening ns but, after having already made them, Kali simply refused to take a step back and try to set things right. Just as the heat in her body began to build once again, so too did Kalis desire to get even with Vahn for his earlier teasing... Seeing the swift transition of Kali, Vahn resisted the urge to produce a wry smile as he made his way over and casually used cleaning magic to remove the beads of wine from Kalis body. She might have appreciated it more if he removed them in a more intimate way, but Vahn had already seen the deep pink spreading through her aura. Fortunately, he already had a n that would allow her to calm down so before Kali could say anything to grate on his nerves, Vahn simply stated, "Come, Ill brush your hair for a bit and help you rx..." Though she would never admit it, Kali liked to sit on hisp and snuggle up with him, especially if he was pampering her. Knowing the trap Vahn was setting for her, Kali resisted the urge toply and instead smiled snidely as she said, "If you want me to sit on you so badly, why dont you get down on your hands and knees? Maybe if you apologize while letting me ride on you like a beast, I might forgive you for your earlier behavior..." Even Kali felt bothered by her own words so it was no surprise when Vahn frowned slightly before shaking his head. He didnt answer her question and simply sat on the lounge in silence, patiently waiting for whatever she had prepared for him. Kali felt a strange pain in her heart seeing Vahn act dismissively toward her but, at the same time, the recognition of this feeling caused her to feel angry once again. There had been a lot of things that had bothered her today and, though she simply couldnt admit it, Kali wanted to rx and have Vahn pamper her again. Even though this was the case, Kali still buried the feelings as she made her way over to the lounge,ying down on the cushions to Vahns right before cing her bare feet in hisp. She didnt say anything but, after a few seconds had passed without Vahn taking action, Kali began to flex her toes reflexively to get his attention... Resisting the urge to sigh, Vahn exhaled slowly through his nose before grabbing Kalis foot with his left hand and using his thumb to gently massage the smooth indentation under her ankle. He sent threads of calming energy into her body and, using his domain as a proxy, influenced the troubled areas so that Kali could begin to rx. She was making a show of ignoring him but couldnt help releasing a contented sigh as her body slouched against the soft cushions. Vahn felt like Kali was too ustomed to being pampered but, at the same time, he preferred when she was quietly epting his affections instead of being so aggressive. He wondered if beating her in a duel would simplify matters as both Tiona and Tione had mellowed out a great deal after he defeated them in directbat... While mulling over his thoughts, Vahn continued to absentmindedly massage Kalis feet before slowly moving up her calves. Around this time, his perception, which had been keeping track of most things within the Coliseum, snapped to focus on the group approaching Kalis chambers. His [Eyes of Truth] habitually activated as Vahn turned his gaze, peering through the obstructing walls to see first hand what Kali had arranged. He saw a group of nearly twenty younglings that were adorned in ceremonial attire that barely covered their tops and bottoms. They each had a series of jeweled ringlets and were carrying tall ss vials filled with a golden oil or trays with candled incense. Kali had started rxing to the point that her thighs were now resting atop Vahns as she had been habitually moving closer to his body. Sensing the arrival of other presences, Kalis eyes came back into focus as she pulled her legs free and sat in a more natural and presentable manner. She looked upwards at Vahn with her blood-red eyes and had an almost vicious smile on her face as she said, "I will teach you not to take your teasing too far. If you want to try and tame me, youll have to take more decisive actions than just a bit of touching. Let me show you that, as exciting as touching can be, it is the decision of the recipient how they choose to respond to it..." Almost in timing with Kalis words, the group of adorned Amazonesses were marched into her chambers and, under the direction of the older members, quickly prepared for their rarely practiced event. Some of the girls were eyeing Vahn with gazes that made his skin crawl as the rtively small auras present around their bodies was transitioning to a deep pink. As their bodies began to naturally heat up, Vahn noticed that the pale white cloth that was clinging to their skin started to turn transparent. At this point, Kali leaned towards him and whispered, "If you look away or show disinterest, they will be highly offended and resentful...I wonder, what will you do, Vahn Mason~?" Whenever Kali was distancing herself from him, she always called him but his full name, almost as if trying to clearly demonstrate there was a difference between them. Vahn looked down at her, seeing a challenge contained within her eyes as she waited for his response. He could either let Kali get her way, allowing her to feel appeased until the next time she was offended or, inversely, decide not to y along at all. Kali would probably grow increasingly frustrated with him as a result and, as she said, the girls that had been gathered for what he assumed to be a presenting ceremony would be adversely affected. She was essentially challenging his bottom line and seeing if he was willing topromise and treat her as an equal, at least until he truly imed her for himself... Vahn had been previously warned about presenting behaviors by Kali herself so he knew things would be awkward very quickly if he allowed the girls to act as they pleased. Depending on how he reacted to them, there was a chance some of the girls could outright imprint upon him, undergoing a subtle mental shift that became the driving force behind their desire to grow stronger. This was something they had been directly trying to avoid so having Kali put him on the spot like this caused Vahns mind to buzz. His indecision, the very thing Kali always rebuked him for, ended up dying his response until the oldest of the girls turned her dark brown eyes toward him and said, "Allow me, Vahn-sama..." in a demure yet excited voice. The moment he heard the girls words, Vahns body tensed up and he almost instinctually called out to put a stop to things. His actions caused many of the girls to stir as the one who had spoken showed a face of genuine worry and anxiety as she worried that her words had offended him. Vahn could see the panic in her face and it caused his heart to twist in his chest a bit as he swallowed his words and sat back against the lounge. This caused the young Amazoness to release a sigh of relief before she smiled radiantly and spread her arms and legs wide. The younger Amazonesses around her began to oil up her body, causing her healthy brown skin to have a slightly golden hue before she used measured yet excited steps to make her way to Vahns side... (A/N: For those expecting the scene to be described in detail, youll have to ept my apology this time around. Remember, these girls arent even technically a.d.u.l.ts so, even though Ive depicted it as part of their culture, Im notfortable with going into too many details about the presentation ceremony. As I said previously, it is a way for younger and weaker Amazonesses to appeal to stronger Amazonesses for a variety of benefits. There is nothing too risque going on in this scene but Im aware that it could make a lot of people, myself included, ufortable if I got into too many details.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nature vs. Nurture,I had a dream my life would be...so different from this hell Im living...so different now from what it seemed...,Kali has growncent, pushing the eptable limits, even though she knows she shouldnt...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 954 - Bottom Line

Chapter 954 - Bottom Line

Several hours after the presentation ceremony had begun, Vahns expression had be stone-faced, a sharp contrast to the masked smile he had worn throughout. He watched as the group of young Amazonesses happily made their way out of Kalis chambers, each having been promised extra portions during their meals and two semi-permanant marks on their hand which would allow them to update their Status Board whenever the opportunity presented itself. It was such a paltry prize that Vahn knew he could have afforded them, even without Kali having gone through so much efforts to try and bother him. Once the group had departed the chambers, Vahns mind continued to buzz as he nkly stared forward, few thoughts running through his tired mind. Kali had kept a slight distance from him during the ceremony but, even though it had finished, she hadnt made any attempt to try and get close to him. She could tell by Vahns reaction that she had gone too far and didnt know what to say as something like an apology, at least a genuine one, had never really left her lips. In the past, Kali never regretted the few actions she took as, even with a Divinity rted to Time, there was no way to change the past and undo things. Thus, after more than a minute of tense silence, Kali began to feel annoyed and wanted Vahn to at least be angry if he was bothered, not just silent... Sensing the change in Kalis aura, Vahns dull and tired eyes didnt change in the slightest as a small smile curled up at the sides of his mouth. It wasnt an expression of happiness but one of sheer incredulity as he mechanically intoned, "None of your Divinitiespel you to do things like this...you choose to bring harm because you dont know how to express yourself. Ive met people like you in the past..." As Vahn spoke, his mind was filled with the smiling face of Eva but, unlike Kali, Eva desperately soughtpanionship to escape her loneliness. Kali, because of her long life and her assigned Divinities, simply didnt care about such things from the start...even if the people close to her were to die, she would ept it as part of the natural cycle and move on without mourning, at least for very long... Realizing that Kalis Divinities had affected her in a way that he couldnt really do much about at the present, Vahn smile turned into a pained expression as he slowly rose to his feet. There was a lot he had wanted to say previously but, understanding Kali probably wouldnt even take his words seriously, Vahn just felt tired. She was constantly talking about them being equals and he had seen thepromises she had made on his behalf...however, in none of those situations did he ever force her into a situation where she had topromise. Her words no longer held any weight as, even though Kali had gone through the motions, she never truly treated him with dignity and respect... As he made his way towards the entrance to Kalis chambers, Vahn could feel her aura fluctuate greatly but she ultimately remained silent until just before he vanished behind the thick curtains. The words she chose to speak caused Vahn to feel a slight pain in his chest as the dull feeling in his mind spread even further, each word weighing heavily against his heart and mind. Without even turning to face her, or bothering to answer her question, Vahn exited the chambers as the words, "Is this how a man should behave...!?" echoed in his ears. Momentster, as he passed by the stunned and confused guards, Vahn could hear thrashing about in Kalis chambers as various items and pieces of furniture were destroyed by the raging goddess... --- After leaving behind Kalis chambers, Vahn had moved to an isted area near the top of the Coliseum and was currently waiting for the arrival of Tiona and Tione. He had sent them both telepathic messages so, after only a few minutes had passed, the two quickly made their way to his side. Tione showed a pained and empathetic look when she saw him sitting on a ledge that overlooked the silent country below but Tiona immediately closed the distance and gave Vahn a warm hug. He hadnt even realized that his body was cold previously so Vahn felt moreforted by this simple gesture than any otherplex disy of affection. Back at the Manor, he even set down the tools he had been using to practice forging and decided to go seek out Fenrir, Hestia, Eina, or anyone that would provide him with meaningfulpanionship for the night... As a result of Tionas actions, Vahn quickly found himself embraced by both sisters as his tired mind was slowly revitalized by their presence. Without them having to ask, Vahn inly stated, "You know, I really tried...even though there are so many things I dont agree with, I tried to be understanding and see things from the perspective of the Amazonesses. Even though there were so many cruelponents of this society, I can still see the fervor and happiness that many of your kind find through the simple enjoyment of battle. The fact that a society can exist for so long without the need for aplex political and economic structure is genuinely amazing..." Vahn truly had found many positiveponents of Amazoness society but, knowing there were innocent victims that were consumed by it,bined with the fact that the object of their worship simply didnt care about their lives...it was too much for him. Unable to finish his words, Vahn just shook his head and enjoyed the feeling of the wintery air against his skin while the warmth of the two girls flowed into his body. Neither said anything but Vahn could feel their support through their actions, slowly strengthening his own resolution to do what was necessary. In truth, the answer had been in front of him the entire time and, just as Kali had stated, Vahn had been overthinking things out of consideration and respect. Neither of these things was wholly necessary, however, especially if the other side didnt afford you the same basic respects in turn... --- Long after Vahn had left her chambers, Kali was still seething and anxious, having destroyed most of the furniture contained within and even going so far as to extinguish the fire that had been burning inside for more than five hundred years. He guards hade in to try and appease her but Kali had chased them all away with her Divinity and was currently curled up on the spot where Vahn had been sitting, the only undamaged part of the entire room. Though it had long faded, Kali felt like she could still feel a bit of his warmthing from the cushion and couldnt help trying to seekfort from it, even as the simple thought of her own weakness and reliance was driving her mad... In all her long existence, Kali had never felt like this before and, knowing that she had chased away the one thing that could give her a reprieve, she couldnt help but curse, "You sted brat, I cant believe you would just leave me here like this again. If you were so upset, you could have put an end to the entire situation with just a few words! Why do you have to be an idiot that lets people hurt him just to try and appease them...!?" Kali simply couldnt wrap her head around why Vahn would let her get away with so much, especially if it was going to do so much harm. She knew it was his greatest weakness but couldnt fathom why someone with so much power, to the point that even gods nearly treated him as their equal, would give others so much leniency and influence over him... With a torrent of thoughts racing through her mind, Kali tightly hugged her knees while curling up into the smallest shape she could manage. Just thinking about the situation was causing an intense pain in her chest and a buzzing feeling at her temples so she wanted nothing more than to simply stop thinking about it. For a brief moment, she even regretted setting her petty revenge into motion and, after squeezing her own legs hard enough to form light bruises, Kali couldnt help but mutter, "You idiot, all you have to do is whatever you want...even I couldnt go against you if you just beat me in a fight...idiot...stupid..." Following these words, for one of the few times in her long existence, Kali buried her face into knees and began to cry silently... --- After spending a long night with Hestia, as she had intercepted him on his way to find Fenrir, Vahn had recovered greatly by the time morning hade. He spent the morning talking things over with the goddesses residing with the Manor and received arge amount of support and advice for his next course of action. Vahn was often given a great deal of leniency in how he chose to act and this time wouldnt be an exception, even though the situation was arbitrarilyplicated by his own sensibilities. Even so, with the support of so many people, Vahn believed that, even if his course of action wasnt correct, he simply had to deal with the fallout and do his best to ensure the oue eventually became positive... Currently, Vahn was once again returning to Kalis chambers, the day having already transitioned into the early afternoon. He knew she had been confining herself inside alone and had sent away anyone that hade to visit her while, within his system interface, Vahn could see that her Affection for him had fallen from 99 down to 83 in less than a day. He had never been able to get her Affection to 100 through his past actions and knew it would take defeating her in a battle to finally get her across that threshold. Now, however, Vahn wasnt sure what direction the future would take, only that his actions would have a direct influence on the oue... The only Amazoness left to guard Kalis tent, at least for the time being, was Bache herself. Even then, she wasnt anywhere near the actual entrance and, after seeing Vahn appear, a mixture of emotions crossed her face before she eventually closed her eyes for a few seconds and said, "Kali-sama has always been good to us...even before she had descended into this world, it was her words of guidance that had helped the Amazonesses be what they are today. Her only requirement for us was to always strive for greater power and she even gave us the method to obtain it...Vahn, please dont hurt Kali-sama..." Knowing Vahns character and also understanding that there was nothing she could do to stop him, Bache could only appeal to him while repressing her own emotions and instincts... After giving Bache a curt nod, Vahn made his way into Kalis tent and found the diminutive goddess curled up in a ball, her blood-red eyes gazing back at him with a haggard look on her face. Vahn felt a tinge of guilt upon seeing her in this state but quickly dismissed it as he plopped down onto the ground without making any attempt to get closer. Her Affection dropped several points once again as Kalis brows furrowed into a deep frown. In response to this, Vahn inly stated, "I have noe here tofort and pander to you, Kali...not anymore. Up untilst night, I could have easily forgiven how youve behaved but you knowing crossed my bottom line and now we both have to live with the consequences..." Though she may not have intended it, Kalis Divinity had started to leak out a bit as her eyes became almost hollow in appearance. She was still hugging her own legs closely and Vahn could see her nails begin to dig into the side of her flesh as she waited for his next words. Resisting the urge to try and stop her, Vahn hardened his heart and stated, "You taught me a lot over thest three months and allowed me to see the world from a different perspective. Over time, I was even learning to love you, even if the form it had taken was somewhat abnormal and unhealthy at times...but now it is simply toote. You arent aware of it, but the path I walk isnt something simple and straight forward. What Im trying to aplish is something that most would say is impossible and-." Not allowing Vahn to continue his words, Kali let her Divinity spread out until it had nearly epassed the entire Coliseum as she shouted, "Leave...!" Though she had been listening at first, Kalis mind nked the moment Vahn said that it was toote. She had spent the entire night, and most of the morning, constantly thinking about what she could do to try and mend things between them. Even though she hated thinking about things excessively, Kali couldnt help trying toe up with a method that would make Vahn show her affection once again. But, much like the warmth she had sought from the long-inert cushion, everything had been a delusion, a false hope that caused her heart to twist painfully as tears began to pour from her eyes... Vahns instincts warned him of the impending danger but, seeing the state Kali was in,bined with his own convictions, he didnt move from his spot. Instead, Vahn looked directly into Kalis eyes and said, "I have tried doing things your way...now well do them mine..." Kali, as angry and hurt as she was, hadnt actually made any attempt to try and attack or harm Vahn. Though she might not admit it, Vahn was very aware of the fact that Kali had be dependent on him after the time they had spent together. As a result, he knew she was instinctually restraining herself, creating a gap that he could exploit, even though it felt wrong to do so... Kalis teary eyes widened into saucers as Vahn extended his hand toward her before nine golden chains spontaneously appeared within her chamber. She hadnt prepared herself at all and was caught unprepared when Vahns domain contracted around her like the heavy and dense water at the bottom of the sea. Kali felt a suffocating feeling for a brief moment before the golden chains sn.a.k.e.d around her body, holding her firmly in ce andpletely sealing away her Divinity. She was already aware of the existence of [Enkidu] but had never seen Vahn actually use it, believing it was more of a ceremonial tool instead of a weapon... Before their battle could even begin, Vahn had brought it to a decisive conclusion as he looked towards Kalis bound body and asked, "You wont use the excuse that you were unprepared, right? Even sneak attacks are allowed within thews and traditions of Telskyura, especially if the two sides are at odds with each other..." Though it was considered shameless and dishonorable, the only thing that truly mattered to most Amazonesses was the oue of the battle. The victor was almost always considered right while the loser, especially in death, was simplybeled as weak andcent. Though she felt an indignant rage after realizing what was happening, Kalis mind nked out after [Enkidu] was snuggly wrapped around her body. She noticed that the chains werent actually that hard and strangely made her feelfortable, almost like the times she was with Vahn. At the same time, it was almost as if the world hade into focus as even the turbulent waves in her mind were slowly settling. It took her a while to even register Vahns question but Kali eventually looked up at him with her face filled with confusion, at least until she looked directly into his eyes. For a brief moment, Kali was going to proim his words to be true and, even though she knew this was the case, she still couldnt ept it so easily. She had wanted a hard-fought battle where both of them tried to determine who had the dominant role in their future rtionship. This was far from the oue she had imagined and, even though it was strangely calming to be held by [Enkidu], Kali refused to lower her head so easily. Instead, even though part of her screamed out to hold her words, Kali peered up at Vahn and venomously stated, "Coward...is this the result of Lokis influence? You need to scheme against me, even with all the power you possess...!?" As the words left her mouth, Kali felt a great deal of hurt in her heart since she was very aware of the fact that Vahn always treated her well and in a forthright manner when they were together... Since he had already expected simr words, Vahn was able to keep his mask from cracking but, deep inside, he knew this wasnt very fair for her. However, much like his early rtionship with Freya, Vahn knew that Kali simply couldnt bepromised with early on. If he treated her as an equal, she would try to get away with all sorts of things, constantly distancing herself from him only to try and return to his side after the fact. This was an extremely unhealthy rtionship and, if she were ever to truly reside in Orario, Vahn knew there needed to be an established hierarchy between them. Though he would one day open his heart to her again, Vahn knew that Kali wasnt in a state where she could reside inside without wreaking havoc and harming his existing rtionsh.i.p.s... Swallowing his inhibitions, Vahn reached down and raised Kalis chin even further as he looked into her blood-red eyes and firmly stated, "We are not equals...I tried to treat you as an equal and you took advantage of it every chance you got. You expect respect and pandering yet cant give it out in kind, spoiled by the fact you are a goddess that has the reverence of an entire nation of proud warriors. Now, you are reduced to nothing more than a frail girl that is bound within my chains...if I wanted to, I could even seal you away and prevent your return to Heaven entirely. You may curse me all you want but we both know, deep down, this is your loss. Even if you try to hide it, your body and mind are already epting this reality, are they not...?" Even with all the rage and indignity that Kali was feeling, there was a painful and aching heat rising up in her body that was impossible to resist. The more overbearing Vahn was in this situation, the more her body was reacting, even though she tried to resist. It wouldnt have been that difficult if her Divinity wasnt bound but Kali was currently, as Vahn stated, just a frail mortal. Her soul may be immortal but, at least for the time being, she was just a normal Amazoness that was powerless against her opponent. Though part of her was stressing out from being bound in chains, it wasnt nearly as potent as the hormones wreaking havoc in her body... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Rage of a Goddess,Resolution of an Emperor,Fearsome [Enkidu]...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 955 - Comfort

Chapter 955 - Comfort

Though Kali fought hard to resist the changes in her body, there was little she could do after being stripped of her Divinity. It was the first time in her long existence that she had been truly vulnerable and, even though she shared the same racial traits as an Amazoness, Kali had never experienced the full effect of their bodys natural response. In many ways, it was almost as if she were feeling their influence for the first time and, after only a few minutes had passed, Kalis breathing had be somewhat ragged as she red back at Vahn. All the while this was going on, Vahn remained silent, staring down at the small figure of Kali with a stern expression as he ignored her barbs and insults... Feeling as if her insides were itching, but unable to do anything about it, Kalis anger was quickly turning into a profound frustration, unlike anything she had ever experienced before. She was unable to even rub her thighs together to relieve a bit of the difort since there were links of [Enkidu] wrapped around her legs that kept her immobile. Other than her head and neck, the rest of her body feltpletely powerless, yet another thing she had never experienced before. As a result, Kali was beginning to feel extremely anxious and was focusing less on Vahn and more on trying to proactively resist the rising tensions in her body. Once things reached a critical level, Vahn squinted his eyes and said, "There are Amazonesses who live their entire lives having to deal with the influence of their instincts and the hormonal imbnces in their bodies. You, as a goddess, havent even been able tost twenty minutes before you look like youre about to give up...it seems your understanding of what it means to truly be an Amazoness iscking, Kali. But, you never really tried to truly understand them, did you? Though you may have led them on a path that allowed them to deal with their urges, most of your decisions were simply so you could be entertained and pampered without having to make much of an effort on your own part..." Vahn knew that, though Telskyura was one of the more bnced and fair societies he had ever seen, there were still a plethora of issues. However, as a result of the culture they had established, there were no proactive measures being made to address them. Instead, their focus was almost entirely on keeping things the same, vehemently resisting most changes. Since they were entirely reliant on othermunities to even reproduce, Vahn knew this lifestyle would be an extreme detriment in the future he wanted to create. He needed to startying a foundation for a new path, one where all Amazonesses could continue to thrive, both without being exploited and allowing them to reach their full potential. With that in mind, Vahn lifted Kalis chin again, staring into her slightly zed eyes as he said, "I will not allow you to keep steering the Amazonesses onto a path that restricts their growth, all while purporting that it is for their own good. Im certain that I could create amunity of Amazonesses that, within two generations, wouldpletely overwhelm this entire society. You talk about Amazonesses constantly seeking power and doing their best to improve but, in all the thousands of years of their culture, have there been more than a handful of Level 7s? Have there been any Level 8s? The current methods keep them pacified and serve as a limiter, allowing only a few of the truly exceptional to shine as a result of the brutal methods that currently exist..." Though he didnt have the full picture just yet, Vahn had noticed that the Amazonesses with the highest potential generally died earlier than those with less. This was because they were generally the unique Amazonesses that possessed much higher mana reserves and special abilities. As a result, they were put through more rigorous training and, even though their society didnt really put a heavy focus on treating any individual special, it was easy to see that older Amazonesses had unfair expectations for these unique individuals. Without proper care, both physical and mental, these young girls would eventually break down, many times with their minds breaking long before their bodies... As much as she wanted to refute what Vahn was saying, Kali wasnt in the state to talk back and,bined with her own observations, she had no means to contradict his ims. Her biggest concern at the moment was resisting the urge to beg for leniency, something her pride would never allow, even while her body and mind both desperately sought it. Vahn seemed to key in on this and, just as it felt like the fires were going topletely consume her, he did something that made Kali nearly tear up as she clenched her teeth in resentment... Vahn noticed the sharp drop in Kalis Affection, causing his brows to twitch slightly. He still chose to ignore it, however, as he reached out his hand and began to stroke Kalis head. Though he had the option to take her by force, Vahn refused to be the type of person that would take someone against their will, even if he forced them into a situation where they wanted it. Even if Kali came to hate him because of his supposed indecisiveness, Vahn would tolerate her hatred since he knew she would eventuallye around. This memory would be something deeply embedded in her mind and, even if Kali never openly admitted it, Vahn knew she would never be able to escape from the memory and the subtle influence of her own instincts... It didnt take long for Kali, fully restrained by [Enkidu], to begin to calm down and rx under the influence of Vahns [Hands of Nirvana: SSS] and [Grooming: A]. She waspletely helpless and, even though Tiona and Tione would show a fair amount of resistance if he tried to forcibly rx their bodies, Kali was simply denied the opportunity. Vahn very rarely went all out against the girls that resided in the Manor since it could potentially traumatize or even cause them to develop a dependence on his touch. Kali wasnt afforded this luxury and, with Vahns understanding of the physiology of Amazonesses, it didnt take him too much effort to slow the release of chemicals in her body while simultaneously causing her extremefort. After a few minutes had passed, Kalis body had bepletely limp and, without the support of [Enkidu], she would have fallen to the ground. She didnt even have enough strength to raise her head and continue ring at Vahn, resulting in the once proud goddess to hang her head as a slight dribble of saliva would periodically find its way to the floor. With her in this state, Vahn gently supported Kalis head, still lightly caressing her neck and cheeks as he stared into her dazed eyes and said, "Stop trying to antagonize me. We can both see how much pain it causes you so just stop it. What is the point of having so much pride when you know it will cause you to experience regrets...?" Kali didnt have an answer to Vahns question but, in her current state of mind, she was extremely receptive to his words. Her body felt so fluffy and warm that it was almost as if she were stuck in an endless dream that brought a profound level offort. Vahns voice seemed to promise even morefort, causing Kali to listen closely to everything he was saying. She immediately recalled all of the times when she had tried to get even with Vahn, often pushing his limits in a petty and unreasonable fashion. In truth, she actually wanted him to stop letting her get away with such things and had hoped he would snap at some point before directly challenging her to a duel. This would have settled things from the very beginning and, even if she lost, Kali wouldnt have minded too much since she would still receive plenty of benefits... From the look in Kalis eyes,bined with her drooping blue aura, Vahn knew she was experiencing sadness and remorse. This whole event was to give Kali a deep mental impression, but it was also to allow her to reflect without the influence of her Divinity. She already proactively sought him out forfort before this so Vahn knew she wouldnt be able to take action that would endanger her chances of receiving it again. Since this was also a way in which he had defeated her, Kali would have plenty of excuses to change her behavior and, in time, it was possible that the two would have a positive and healthy rtionship in the future. Now, however, Vahn simply couldnt treat Kali as his equal since she simply didnt care enough before... After nearly two hours had passed, Vahn began to loosen [Enkidu] before picking up Kalis limp body into his arms. He sat on the undestroyed cushion where she had been curled up before settling her into hisp, allowing the small goddess to straddle his h.i.p.s. She didnt wear anything to cover her bottom so this would usually be a precarious position to be in but Vahn ignored it for the time being and just hugged her body tightly. Like this, he let Kali continue to experiencefort, now under the influence of her Divinity. A bit of her awareness hade back but, instead ofshing out at him, Kali simply wrapped her arms around Vahns body and buried her face into his chest without looking up at him... Throughout the entire evening, Vahn continued to embrace Kali while gently running his fingers through her long hair and along her back. He didnt allow her instincts to trigger at all, keeping her pacified on hisp instead of allowing the tensions in her body to increase. By the time morning hade, signifying that he would have to duel with Hippolyta, Kalis Affection had increased back to 95 from the startlingly low 41 it had dropped to. It would take her some time to adapt to the change in their rtionship but, without proactively defeating him, something Vahn would never allow, Kali wouldnt easily be able to go against his words. He was the only person in the world that could allow her to experience the liberating feeling of being free from her Divinity while also providing her a level offort that was simply impossible by any normal means. Since they both needed to make a few preparations for what was toe, Vahn put less strength into his embrace before gently pulling Kali away from him. Her arms had resisted for a brief moment, clearly wanting to stay together, but she quickly relented when Vahn put even a small amount of strength into his actions. She was still sitting on hisp but, now that there was a bit of distance between their faces, Vahn could easily see Kalis expression. There was the shadow of a pout on her face as her eyes were averted to the side, avoiding looking directly at him. Vahns own expression softened a bit when he saw this, causing Kali to give him a quick nce before her mouth formed a tiny frown. Knowing what was on her mind, Vahn brought his hands up, framing Kalis face and turning her to look directly at him as he said, "When we are alone like this, you are mine. I dont mind if you act a little brazenly on the outside, so long as you are proactively helping to fulfill my dream. From now on, we will work together to create a better future for all Amazonesses, even if it takes several long years to do so. You might not have had much of a vested interest in them before, but Ill have you take responsibility for the respect and adtion they have shown you. In exchange, I will still do my best to learn to love you until, one day, we can truly be equals. For now, you will have to be satisfied with the smallforts I can bring you...at least until you are ready for something more." Vahn knew that there was a fair chance that his melding with Kali could have fixed everything from the very beginning, but it could have also had disastrous consequences. With Kalis previous behavior, Vahn didnt really want to understand her perspectivepletely and, as powerful as Death and Time were, he didnt particrly need her help to develop them. With his Qinglong transformation, he was already beginning to understand the Laws of Space and Time while the concept of Death wasnt exactly difficult toprehend. He wanted to avoid experiencing them from Kalis perspective for a short while, at least until she was a more stable existence that actually cared about what was taking ce in the mortal world... Upon hearing Vahns words, Kali had felt a longing in her heart but it was overwhelmed by the sense offort that she had experienced over thest few hours. It almost felt like an extremely short period of time and, from a certain perspective, it truly was. That brief moment still left a deep impression on her, however, so Kali nodded her head in response to Vahns words before saying, "Fine...I have already lived for a very long time. Since I can experience so many new things through you, I will try to be more thoughtful in the future. You cant abandon me though...and even if I make mistakes, you have to help me..." With a natural smile, Vahn gently stroked Kalis cheek with his thumbs before saying, "I already told you before, Kali, youre already mine...unless you give me a reason to, I will never abandon you. You were already on thin ice before but I believe everyone has the potential for change, even the gods who have be stagnant andcent. Time is constantly moving forward and, as long as we never give up trying, it is possible to create a better future for everyone. There are other ways to keep the bnce of the world without simply allowing tragedies to continue when we have the power to prevent it..." There was a lot more Vahn could say but he allowed his words to trail off since he knew Kali still wasnt at the point where such things would matter to her. She might nod her head in agreement with him but it would only be because she didnt want to upset him. The only thing that really mattered to her was the fact that he said he would never abandon her, so long as she didnt do anything that would justify him doing so. This clearly established their rtionship as being one where Kali was a dependent that was being kept by Vahn, meaning they were no longer on equal footing. If he took advantage of the situation, it wouldnt be that difficult to even turn Kalipletely submissive, though Vahn didnt really need another goddess with such character traits under his umbre. He already had Anubis and, to a lesser extent, Nanu, Naaza, and even Lefiya... Instead of continuing his unnecessary speech, Vahn leaned forward and stunned Kali by giving her a brief kiss on the lips before smiling as he said, "Today is the first day of our new lives. Come, Kali, lets go create a new path for our people to walk..." Though it wasnt urate to call them his people, Vahn was already epting responsibility for the future of all Amazonesses. After his battle with Hippolyta, the nation of Telskyura would fall under his influence and, with things like sports and other cultural phenomena, Vahn knew he could bring about real andsting change. He would alsoe up with a more humane method to help the Amazonesses reach their full potential without having them undergo such brutal training from such a young age... Putting significantly less thought into things,pared to Vahn, Kali gave an almost demure smile in response before nodding her head and saying, "Ill do my best...make sure to treat me well in the future." This response was something that Vahn hadnt fully prepared himself for, as it was a stark contrast to Kalis behavior over thest three months. He experienced a sense of incongruity that caused his smile to turn awkward before he lightly stroked the confused Kalis head and exined, "You dont have to restrain yourself that much. I know you have a certain amount of intellect and wisdom so find amon ground between the goddess you were, and the goddess you will be. Even if you make a few mistakes, I can be pretty patient...so long as you never even get near my bottom line again..." With these words, Kali showed visible relief before releasing a long and heavy sigh. She had been worried about doing something to offend Vahn but, hearing his reassurance, Kali suddenly felt like a heavy weight had been removed from her heart and mind. Then, for the first time since they had started to interact with each other, Kali raised her head and showed a genuine smile as she eximed, "Make sure you teach that brat a lesson. Ill support you to the best of my ability, but Im not really suited for such delicate things. The other goddesses in the Alliance can worry about such things while you can leave the establishment of the Amazoness settlement to me. If you want to try and bring change without conflict, the best way would be to show the other Amazonesses proof of a path that is better than their current way of life. Creating amunity where they can thrive and grow beyond the restrictions of their current culture will be the best path forward." Vahn was genuinely taken aback by Kalis words, as they were in line with the very things he had discussed with Loki previously. She seemed to key in on the fact he was shocked, causing a small frown to appear on her face as she muttered, "Dont think you can get away with bullying me too easily...Ill really try my best, so you have to treat me well from now on..." There was a mixture of anger and anxiety in Kalis words as she looked towards Vahn with a plea in her eyes. In truth, she didnt know how toprise well so this was all rtively new to her. Vahn was well aware of this, causing him to give aforting and supportive smile before gently embracing Kali as he said, "Dont worry, Kali, I will also do my best...well slowly figure this out, together..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Commence the Petting into Oblivion strat...!,The Embrace of Death...,Plz, no bulli (T^T)...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 956 - Whim

Chapter 956 - Whim

The battle between Vahn and Hippolyta was scheduled for early in the morning, but there were still a few hours left before the fight would officially begin. Vahn spent much of the remaining time gently embracing Kali after she had changed into more appropriate clothing. Most of her outfits had been destroyed during her earlier tantrum so Vahn purchased an earth-green smock for her to wear for the time being. She would need a bit of time to adapt her mentality and return to normal before the fight would begin but, at least for the time being, reaffirming their current rtionship wasnt a bad way to spend time. With less than an hour before the duel was supposed to begin, Vahn gave Kali onest firm hug before separating from her and saying, "We should get ready. I probably wont stay in Telskyura for long after the battle ends but Ill leave you a means to contact me if there are any issues, or even if youre just feeling lonely. Weve already started expanding the area where many of the other Amazonesses had already taken up residence so things should be ready by the time Spring returns. Ill be waiting for you back in Orario..." Though he had the option to stay even longer, Vahn was beginning to grow restless with all of the new information he had been receiving through the Haven Defense Force. Over thest fourteen weeks, the HDF had still been gathering information as they went around the fringe territories to trade supplies and help smallermunities survive through the Winter season. The number of ves that had been brought back numbered over six-thousand people, many belonging to various Beast-Human tribes, while more than thirteen-thousand children were also escorted back. Many of these children were disseminated into the various Familia of the Alliance while those that were especially young would begin filling in the avable student slots at the Sage Aldrnari School. There were already expansion efforts to increase the capacity of the School and its dorms, but it would take a long time toplete the expansion, hire appropriate teachers, and reform the curriculum slightly to allow for arge influx of newer students. The most important information that the HDF had brought back, however, was information about the various tribes, ns, factions, provinces, and kingdoms. Though Vahn had sent teams of Valkyries out to deliver his invitation to the leaders of the split nations, having more information about the policies and practices of merchants, nobles, and royals within their respective countries was very important. He didnt have enough time to go around and see for himself how every society lived but, just knowing they had established things like a market, capital, and political status was enough to make a basic determination of the type of nation they were. Unsurprisingly, many of the nations that werent already involved in proactive trading rtions with Orario or, more specifically, the Alliance, were in desperate need of reforms. The so-called Nobles of various countries were simply merchants that had .u.mted enough wealth to break away from traditional markets and establish their own. With a few exceptions, most of these individuals were Humans who, at one point in their lineage, had truly capable people paving the way for the establishment of their nation. The adversities they had ovee werent inherited by those born after them, however, making each sessive generation more despotic than thest since every Noble was almost wholly focused on keeping their own power while reducing the power of others... Vahn knew things were going to get a bit hectic for a while, likely taking up several years of his time and focus, but it was necessary for the future he sought for all peoples. Kalis presence, and the presence of every god that would make up the Divine Council, would smoothen things over a great deal. He was even tempted to fill out the positions in the Divine Council before his meeting with the leaders of other nations since Loki had exined it was the best tform to dere himself as an Emperor. It was still far too early from Vahns perspective but Loki had exined that, with such a massive influx of people in Orario that supported him, it was best to capitalize on things before the people becamecent with the passage of time. The longer they had to adapt to the current way things were, the less open they would be when it came to drastic changes in the short-term. With many other goddesses sharing Lokis sentiment, knowing well the folly of civilization and its constituent races, Vahn inevitably agreed to their decision. There were still a few key gods Vahn would need to scout personally, but things were quickly progressing towards a future where he would rule over Eden as its Emperor. This would bring in a veritable wave of change as each country would begin to integrate into therger structure of the Empire but it was better to get things started earlier since there was the lingering danger of his high karma. It was constantly increasing and, so long as he was taking an active role in the worlds fate, Vahn knew there would inevitably be obstacles that could potentially even force him from the world. There were already Natural Disaster ss monsters like Charybdis in the world and, even though Vahn was confident he could kill the creature, there were still many unknown threats in this world that even the gods were not aware of... --- Vahn had been sitting at the highest area within the Coliseum, overlooking the chaotic arena below with Tiona at his side. He had previously separated with Kali and could now see her back in her risque divine raiment as she conversed with a fierce-looking woman. Thetter was standing below Kalis tform, clearly showing the difference in their status even though the Amazoness adorned in ceremonial battle attire was none other than the Queen of Telskyura, Hippolyta. She was currently in her mid-thirties but still had an awe-inspiring aura that caused many of the other Amazonesses to look toward her with reverence and genuine admiration. Even Tionas brows had perked up a bit when she saw Hippolyta, absentmindedly muttering, "She is strong..." Hippolyta was one of the few Level 7s that existed within Telskyura, with the proud warrior standing to her right, Myrina, being the only other Amazoness that even came close to her strength. Though Tiona would likely be able to defeat both of them, this didnt mean that Hippolyta and Myrina were weak. Without Vahns influence, Tiona would have very likely been around the age of both girls by the time she had the same amount of strength. This showed their monstrous potential which, whenpared to others, elevated them to a status most couldnt even hope to achieve through normal means... Vahn had noticed the arrival of Hippolyta and Myrina long before they came to stand before Kali, allowing him to peruse the two before their official meeting. After seeing them, Vahn had fallen silent for a short while and, even after hearing Tionasment, his gaze was fixed on the two powerful warriors. The reason for this wasnt because they were inordinately more beautiful than other Amazonesses but because, though nobody had mentioned it, there was a clear simrity between Hippolyta, Tiona, and Tione. Their facial structure was nearly identical and, even though Hippolyta was clearly more endowed and had matured in a different direction, even the feeling of her aura was simr. Though Tiona didnt have a color to her mana, Tiones was a rich earthen-gold with hints of vibrant green and gentle blues. This was almost identical to Hippolyta, making it very difficult for Vahn not to make a connection between the three of them... Having noticed Vahns abnormal behavior, Tiona had c.o.c.ked her head to the side, concernedly asking, "Is something wrong, Vahn...?" In response, Vahn lightly shook his head and calmly muttered, "Ill confirm itter, but I suppose it doesnt matter that much..." As these words left his mouth, Vahn couldnt help wonder if this was some kind of fated event or revtion that would have been made in the original manga at some point. Though Tiona and Tione may not be the actual children of Hippolyta, there was clearly a familial rtionship between the three of them. At the very least, they shared a very recent ancestor and shouldnt be more than a single tangential generation distant from each other... Resisting the urge to outwardlyment on the whims of fate, Vahn waited for the conversation between Hippolyta and Kali to finish before deciding it was time for his own appearance. Both he and Tiona leaned forward, nting their feet against the side of the wall they had been sitting on before disappearing in an instant. They reappeared a short distance away from Kali, earning a sidelong nce from the blood-eyed goddess while Hippolyta and Myrina both drew their weapons. The former had a golden sword that had strange runes carved into it that Vahn had never seen before. With his ability to trante pretty much anynguage, however, Vahn could guess their purpose since the literal meaning behind the runes was pierce all, sever all, resist all. As for Myrina, she had what appeared to be arge cudgel that was almost entirely carved from the thigh-bone of a Dragon. It also had runes adorning its surface, tranting in Vahns eyes to mean destroy all, small all, and cripple. With tensions immediately reaching a critical point, Kali released her Divinity and allowed her oppressive aura to spread through the Coliseum in an instant. She wasnt holding back this time, causing those around Level 2 and 3 to hold their breathes while even Amazonesses as strong as Hippolyta and Myra became slightly pale. The only people unaffected by the deathly aura were Vahn, Tiona, and, having joined them shortly after their appearance, Tione. This was something noted by many of the more perceptive Amazonesses, Hippolyta and Myrina included. Before they were able to make sense of the situation, however, Vahn released his own aura outward, causing an even greater pressure than Kalis to descend... Seizing the initiative, Vahn made direct eye contact with Hippolyta as he proimed, "I am Vahn Mason, Sage Aldrnari, Supreme Commander of the Alliance, and Captain of the Hestia Familia. Ie offering a better future for all Amazonesses, promising they will be able to grow far beyond their current limits. Since you stand in the way of that goal, Hippolyta, Queen of Telskyura, I will defeat you in honorablebat before showing everyone here that my way is the only means by which the Amazonesses will continue to prosper...!" With each syble Vahn spoke, the pressure weighing down on everyone present, Hippolyta and Myrina in particr, became increasingly heavy... Hippolyta was ring at Vahn but he hadnt missed when her eyes quickly passed over Tiona and Tione before she venomously stated, "Less talking, boy, its time to fight...!" She had been waiting a long time to fight against Vahn so even though her instincts warned her against it, Hippolyta still pressed forward. For a brief moment, she even ignored any sense of propriety and attempted to step onto the elevated tform where Kali was seated. The moment she did so, however, long before Vahn took action, Kali had appeared right in front of Hippolyta before kicking her square in the abdomen, sending her flying towards the center of the arena. Though Hippolyta was physically as strong as Kali, there was a marked difference in their speed and, even without her Arcanum, Kalis attacks still carried a hint of the Laws of Death. Hippolyta managed to twist in the air andnd on her feet but she bent over momentster, vomiting onto the ground with a pained expression as Kalis glimmering, blood-red, eyes reflected her sorry state. While Hippolyta was still trying to recover, Kalis icy voice rang out, resonating in the ears of every Amazoness, "I have already recognized Vahn Mason and those closely associated with him. They are able to stand on my altar because I have allowed it...I dont remember ever affording you that right, Hippolyta. Tell me, are you trying to oppose me, here, in my own Coliseum...?" After having cleared the contents of her stomach, Hippolyta rose to her feet with the slightest semnce of fear in her eyes as she bowed politely and said, "I would never oppose Kali-sama..." Though this wasnt the entire truth of the matter, Hippolyta knew the futility of actually trying to kill Kali. Not only would this ensure her own death but, after a few years passed, Kali would return to Telskyura and take her ce as their idol once again. Her rebellion would ultimately aplish nothing and, having been part of the Kali Familia herself in the past, the power of her goddess was deeply ingrained in the heart, mind, and body of Hippolyta. She wouldnt even be the Queen without Kalis support as it was ultimately up to theter to determine who was best suited for the position... Kali snorted through her nose before turning her back to Hippolyta and sending a small smile towards Vahn, her eyes practically screaming praise meter. Vahns expression hadnt changed throughout the incident but he was sweating on the inside as Kalis behavior was beyond any expectations he had. Now, even if he won, he would share part of the victory with her and it was clear to even the rather simple Amazonesses that Kali was elevating him above even the Queen. Instead of causing confusion, however, this only increased the fervor in the gazes of many Amazonesses within the crowd as they looked toward Vahn with hungry eyes... Tiona and Tione had both noticed how odd Kali was behaving but, knowing how capable Vahn was, neither was really that surprised. Instead, Tiona had an easygoing and excited smile on her face while Tione simply shook her head with a small smile adorning hers. At the same time, she was looking toward Hippolyta with aplex expression as, unlike Tiona, she was very aware that there was a connection between them and their countrys Queen. Most Amazonesses never knew their mothers and the members of their extended family but that didnt mean it was impossible to find out if you were rted to another Amazoness. Tione had used her time after first entering Telskyura to confirm a few things on her own, mainly by tracking down others with the Hiryute name to learn how she was rted to Hippolyta... Though it was taboo to talk about the life of a Hippolyta before they became Queen, that didnt mean everyone strictly adhered to tradition. It didnt take Tione long to find out that her family was originally part of the Fishing Tribe and that Hippolytas mother had been a rtively weak Amazoness who had vanished at sea nearly forty years prior. This would usually imply that the Amazoness had died but, after more than a month had passed, Hippolytas mother ended up returning, much stronger than when she had left. She was also with child and, eight months after her return, Hippolyta, then known as Toofan Hiryute, was born into the world. Much of Toofans early life was undoc.u.mented and, other than Kali showing an interest in her and the fact that she was eventually apprenticed to the previous generation Hippolyta, there was almost no information at all. One of the few things that Tione was able to uncover was that, nearly neen years ago, Toofan had left Telskyura to broaden her horizons. Nothing about her return was mentioned, nor what she aplished on her journey, but it was a fact that she had grown much stronger than before. She managed to defeat Argana and Bache, the two other prodigies that had Kali had taken an interest in, before finally taking down the Captain of the Kali Familia, Myrina. Since theter was several years older and had already made a name for herself, this cemented Toofans candidacy as the future Queen, at the rtively young age of fourteen... With how things lined up, Tione was almost positive that Toofan, before she became Hippolyta, had been their mother. The fact that she and Tiona had always been highly capable in the water, evenpared to normal Amazonesses, meant they had to have inherited the capability. Since there were clear simrities between Hippolyta and themselves, almost as if they were looking into a mirror that reflected their future selves, any other possibility seemed unlikely. This didnt bother Tione that much, as she had already put the past behind her, but seeing the woman that had essentially allowed them to be born into their cruel situation caused her to feel slightly conflicted. Though she knew that her mentality was different than a normal Amazoness, Tione couldnt imagine abandoning her child, especially after seeing how happy a child could be when their parents loved them... Amidst her confusion, Tione suddenly felt afortable warmth embrace her body and, even though Vahn hadnt turned to look at her, she knew it wasing from him. This caused the small smile she had been wearing as a mask to be genuine as the conflict in her eyes faded away. After the battle ended, there was plenty of time to learn the truth as she could always get Vahn to question Kali directly. There was even a chance that Hippolyta herself would openly admit to being their mother, at least in private. It was far toote for them to have a normal rtionship, but Tione felt like it would be nice to at least be on amicable terms with the person that had given birth to her... Seeing the light returning to Tiones eyes, Vahns own worries were alleviated as he stepped forward before jumping into the arena. Myrina had gone to Hippolytas side and, even though she didnt take any action to help her Queen recover, it was obvious that she took her duty as the Captain of the Royal Guard very seriously. She had adopted a low squatting position with her cudgel resting on her shoulder, clearly prepared to attack Vahn if he tried to take advantage of Hippolytas momentary weakness. He had every right to begin the fight on his own terms, as it was the fault of Hippolyta for breaking decorum, but he wasnt particrly in a hurry. Ignoring the icy res from both Myrina and the quickly recovering Hippolyta, Vahn slowly raised his arms to the side as a confident glimmer shimmered in his eyes. His domain was no longer spread out to its maximum and was instead confined to the arena, causing the air to feel heavy as thin strands of visible mana could be seen building up like a fog. As shy and awe-inspiring as [Magia Erebea] was, Vahn didnt want any question to remain in the minds of any spectators that it was his own capabilities that allowed him to achieve victory. His body became even more lean than normal as dense white hair slowly began to spread along his hands, feet, forearms, and calves. Aplex taiji diagram appeared on his exposed back as his hair, previously dark brown, became a mix of white and ck. Two rounded ears emerged from the top of his head as a long white tail covered in ck stripes sn.a.k.e.d out from an area above his backside... When Vahn opened his eyes, his previously aquamarine-green irises had turned stark blue as he got down into a unique stance that had never made an appearance outside of the Sub-Space orb and his own mind. With his slit-like irises contracting, Vahns confidence seemed to transition into pure ferocity as the surrounding mana began to coil around his arms. As if to exin to Hippolyta, and the rest of the crowd, Vahns voice resonated through space as he said, "Let me show you the power of my evolved Baihu form...its time to let the world experience the might of the Sacred White Tigers Heavenly Fist...!" (A/N: Though I wanted to write two this morning, I ended up having to deal with another work-rted issue and didnt have much time. I tried to make this one a bit longer and included some background details to expand upon the story. Dont worry though, as the chapter count wont be influenced by the time the weekly resetes around.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Emperor Riseth...,Princess Tiona and Tione...?,Meow...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 957 - Impact

Chapter 957 - Impact

Tensions in the arena had increased rapidly after Vahns transformation but Hippolyta and Myrina had remained almost entirely unaffected. Thetter looked toward her Queen with a questioning gaze and, seeing Hippolyta nod, moved to the viewing area. During the brief moment when Myrina was moving away, Hippolyta uncharacteristically decided to speak, ring at Vahn as she said, "Your interference will cause my Amazonesses to be weak andcent. After I defeat you, Ill have you father the next generation until you are no longer useful..." Though she had a lot of resentment towards Vahn, Hippolyta knew he was very powerful and his genes would be of great benefit to all Amazonesses. Vahn had kept his low stance and was waiting for Hippolyta to make the first move but, hearing the words escape her lips, he couldnt help but raise his brows slightly. Though Hippolyta had every right to be proud of her strength, he didnt know what made her so confident that she woulde out ahead in a battle between them. She had to know that Tiona was now Level 7 and, with her [Pactio], she could easily fight someone around Level 8. Hippolyta might not be aware of the benefits of a [Pactio] but there had to be people who would have informed her about how easily he had defeated Tiona... Deciding it wasnt really that important, Vahn lowered his head slightly before dashing forward with fierce momentum. He noticed Hippolyta raising her arm, causing a shield to form into existence out of a golden ring she had at her wrist. It wasnt a spatial artifact so Vahns interest was piqued as a small desire to inspect the wristlet was seeded in his heart. He buried it for the time being, however, as he sn.a.k.e.d his feet forward in a practiced motion before twisting his body like a whip. Hippolyta had an expression of mild shock upon witnessing his speed but she still managed to raise her shield and swipe forward while also backstepping to evade Vahns attack. Vahns expression became even fiercer when Hippolyta tried to evade him and, even though he didnt consider himself arrogant, a mocking light shed across his eyes. Whipping his waist had caused his tail to strike heavily against Hippolytas shield before his continued twist,bined with his agility and flexibility, allowed him to duck low and pass under her de. This brought him in close striking distance as Hippolytas dark-brown eyes looked down at him with shock, still in the movement of swinging her de. Though she had moved backward more than 30m in an instant, Vahn spacing had been impable and he hadnt allowed the distance between them to increase even a single millimeter... Though he didnt shout the name of the technique out, Vahn was using a skill called Pursuit of the Sacred White Tiger to keep Hippolyta in his range. His speed was nearly twice that of Hippolytas at the moment and the technique focused on staying below your opponents center since it made their own movement techniques and attacks harder to perform. Though people didnt have too much difficult striking downward, it wasnt easy to attack an opponent low to the ground without performing a downward swing or swipe, limiting their options and making it harder to follow-through with each sessive attack. Taking advantage of the sheer difference in their speed, Vahn brought up his left hand into a w shape, Wind Elemental energy twisting around his forearm and fingers as he obstructed Hippolytas vision. She had just started to change the direction of her strike and, out of instinct, tried to swipe away at the obstruction to her vision since the small des of wind were a serious threat. This allowed Vahn to read her movements as his right hand, also forming the shape of a w, shot forward from a position around his waist. Hippolyta had still be trying to create distance from him so Vahn had caught her in backward motion as his Sacred Tiger w Strike impacted the left side of her ribcage. Hippolytas attempt to cut off Vahns left hand resulted in failure as the flow of Wind Elemental energy around his forearms caused her de to pass around the limb as he nimbly twisted his wrist. This was simr to how Ais would use a barrier of wind to avoid most attacks, though Vahns was significantly weaker since it wasnt really his specialty. At the same time, the fingers of his right hand had deftly targeted the spacing between Hippolytas ribs as he tightened his w, hooking his fingers as his nails tore into the proud Queens flesh. Several things happened the instant he had dealt damage to Hippolyta, some of which had even caught Vahn off guard since it was impossible to know how a persons Innates would manifest... From the ground around Vahns position, several ck vines sprang out from the hard surface of the arena floor and tried to coil around his legs. At the same time, Hippolyta seemed to have given up on trying to evade and instead attempted to wrap Vahns right arm with her left as she raised her sword into the motion for a downward stab, aiming for the gap between Vahns neck and shoulder muscles. Vahn had maintained eye contact with her throughout their fight and could see the determination in her eyes as shepletely ignored the pain in her ribs and attempted to end the fight. Unfortunately for her, though he was indeed slightly surprised, Vahn had barely even scratched the surface of what his current Baihu form was capable of... Just as it had been coiling around his forearms and paws, there was a dense shroud of Wind Elemental energy around Vahns legs. It was one of the reasons he was so fast and could easily keep a fixed distance between Hippolyta and himself. When the ck vines tried to entangle his legs, the Wind Elemental energy around Vahns calves exploded outward before forming into a tempest that shredded the vines into fine fibrous particles. This also caused a cloud of dust to form in the arena as the rotational force of the wind began to emte a weak tornado that surrounded the twobatants. At the same time, Vahns left paw had once again sn.a.k.e.d upward as he pulled Hippolyta to her left by using the ws he had embedded into her side... To her credit, Hippolyta had been able to resist the pain once again as she tried to adjust the angle of her de, tilting it slightly to try and cut across Vahns wrist. She didnt think her stabbing action would prove fruitful but it still had a chance to cause Vahn to remove his ws and create a distance of his own. At this rate, there wasnt much she could do since, as much as she hated to admit it, Hippolyta realized that Vahn wasnt just much faster than her, but his Power easily rivaled her own. When his left hand continued forward undaunted, Hippolyta nearly smiled in tion, even as her instincts screamed at her to back away... Though it caused him a bit of pain, Vahnpletely ignored Hippolytas golden sword cutting through nearly half of his forearm and wrist since, even without transforming, he still had the benefit of [Magia Erebea]s regeneration. Almost immediately after the de had passed through his flesh, Vahns wound had mended. He quickly grabbed Hippolytas wrist this time, meaning he had locked down her effective means of attack for the moment since she was currently trying to prevent his ws from digging deeper into her side by using her vice-like grip to prevent the flexors of his right hand from closing... For a brief moment, it was almost as if the battle hade to an end, allowing the cheering of the crowd to wash over Vahn and Hippolyta as the two red at each other. Vahn was much taller than the proud Queen in most situations but many of the techniques he had performed thus far required him to have a lower center of gravity. This allowed Hippolyta to look down towards him as she attempted to wrest her wrist free from his grasp. Since their power was trulyparable to each other, this action was ultimately fruitless, causing Vahn to smile lightly as he said, "You have fought well, but I cant let this go on too long..." Knowing that he needed to disy his power, Vahn couldnt dally for too long just because he wanted to test his Baihu form against a real opponent. Hippolyta believed Vahn was just using words to taunt her but even that thought didnt have time to pass through her mind since the moment he finished speaking, Vahn rose far beyond his full height. Her head jerked back from the sudden eleration before, momentster, Hippolyta found herself high in the sky as a result of Vahns use of [Koku Shundo]. The wind around his arms and legs had also exploded outward, battering against her exposed body like a tempest as he pulled his wrist free from her lock without releasing her swordbearing arm. Hippolyta wanted to use this as an opportunity to strike back but was wholly unprepared for aerialbat as Vahn began to rapidly spin around faster than she could muster a reaction. Her body stretched outward from the intense centrifugal force as waves of hot energy flowed into Hippolytas arm from where Vahns hand was in contact with her wrist... What Vahn was doing wasnt exactly a technique that he had learned from observing Baihu, he simply wanted to move the battle into a domain where he had a supreme advantage. Unlike Hippolyta, he was able to fly to the sky with rtive ease and, by forcibly rxing the muscles in her arm, Vahn was able to prevent her from putting up any meaningful resistance as he spun around more than thirty times a second. This wasnt a speed that Hippolyta couldnt deal with but it was extremely disorienting for her while his domain was actively limiting the reactions from her body. She still managed to try and curl up in an attempt to kick him but Vahn used that exact timing to change his orientation as heunched the rapidly tumbling Hippolyta towards the ground. Long before Hippolyta impacted the surface, Vahn had brought both of his hands together, resting the base of his palms against each other as he formed a dual-w shape. The Wind Elemental energy around his body exploded outward once again, forming a massive green aura around his body that quickly coalesced into the shape of a tiger that was nearly 20m long. Since he wanted to end things in a sh manner, Vahn struck forward with his ws as his voice resonated through the air, easily reaching the ears of every Amazoness below as he eximed, "Sacred White Tiger Descends From Heaven...!" Far louder than Vahns own voice, a terrifying tiger roar echoes through the arena as the visage of the white tiger,prised of strands of green and silvery energy, barreled towards the earth below. It descended much faster than Hippolyta was falling, enveloping her body and further increasing the momentum of her fall before smashing into the arena below. Vahn made sure to control the energy to disperse outward instead of passing directly into the ground, but it still caused catastrophic damage to the arena as arge crater was left behind after the smoke and dust cleared away. In the exact center of the crater was the unconscious body of Hippolyta, the whites of her eyes showing while viciouscerations covered much of the surface of her body... Though he had held back a bit, Vahn was surprised by the amount of damage his attack had done to Hippolytas body since he had expected her to be more durable. He neglected the fact that, unlike most of the people he sparred against, Hippolyta couldnt use techniques like [Cantus Bex] to protect herself. She alsocked the anti-physical and anti-magical auras of most of the girls, meaning she needed to resist the attack with her physical body alone. Since flesh was generally weak against magical attacks, the amount of damage his technique had done was far beyond expectations... Vahnnded a short distance away from Hippolytas nearly n.a.k.e.d body, his expression stoic and unfl.u.s.tered as the fervent cries from the Amazonesses in the crowd reached his ears. Their auras had meshed together to form a veritable ocean of pink and red that caused Vahns scalp to tingle since their focus was almost entirely on a specific part of his body. He wondered if this was how the girls that wore rtively skimpy outfits during the sporting matches felt, especially since the event was generally attended by well over a hundred thousand people. Many of these would be men who wanted to witness the rather exciting scene up close, especially since there was the asional slip where one of the athletes would be exposed. Since many Amazonesses didnt care if they were seen n.a.k.e.d, Vahn had to implement rules that uniform malfunctions would result in a penalty if not addressed immediately... Breaking through the fervor of the crowd, an amusedugh spread through the arena that caused a few of the Amazonesses with higher willpower to look toward the source. Kali had arge grin on her face and was pping boisterously as she eximed, "Well done, Vahn, that was a great match! Now, what will you im as your prize~?" Since he had defeated Hippolyta in honorablebat, Vahn actually had the option of even bing the first King of the Amazonesses. This was ultimately a meaningless title, however, as he had even greater ambitions than building a harem paradise in this exotd. After all, unless he brought about several generations worth of changes, there wasnt much development to be made within Telskyura without taking drastic measures. In response to Kalis question, Vahn made eye-contact with the diminutive goddess before passing his eyes over the massive crowd of brown-skinned beauties. He also gave a quick nce towards Amazonesses like Bache and Myrina before resting his gaze upon the smiling faces of Tiona and Tione for a short moment. Then, after nearly a minute of silence, Vahn dered, "I will not be your King, but I will shepherd the Amazonesses towards a future where they can prosper without fully isting themselves from other societies. In the future, people will look towards the Amazonesses with respect and adtion, not as some species of savages who know nothing but violence and licentiousness..." Though Vahns words were measured, he quickly noticed that most of the Amazonesses didnt even seem to know what he was saying. His speech was automatically tranted into theirmon tongue but some of the words were a little too big for most of the girls in the crowd. Vahn could even see Kalis brow twitch slightly as her aura began to flicker, a sign that she was doing her best to keep herposure but desperately wanted to say something. This caused Vahn to withhold a wry smile as he shook his head lightly, spreading his arms wide as he shouted, "Ill make sure each of you knows how to have fun while also growing strong. Follow me and I promise that even flying through the sky wont be impossible...!" As Vahns words fell, he slowly began to rise into the sky while also extending his hand towards Hippolyta. Actions spoke much louder than words in situations like this so Vahn created a massive column of light that enveloped the unconscious Queens body as he added, "The Amazonesses have always been a race that sought to increase the power of future generations. I will create a world where each sessive generation of Amazonesses is far more powerful than thest. You will all do as I say and, if you have anyints, feel free to try and defeat me in battle. Youll have to go through the Amazonesses around me first, however...!" Though they hadnt rehearsed anything, Tiona and Tione also leaped into the sky and, even though they couldnt fly by their own means, Vahn was able to support them with his telekinesis. Form the perspective of normal Amazonesses, however, this looked like they were flying on their own while the white light that had epassed their Queen slowly faded away to reveal her pristine body, nowpletely healed. Vahn caught her in a bridal carry as he looked down at the surrounding Amazonesses and said, "If you want to set me as your goal, you will have to seek strength through the path I will open for you. Unless you think you can match up against proud warriors like these girls, do not waste my time..." The words were a bit harsh, but Vahn knew it was necessary to say them if he wanted to avoid nearly every Amazoness in the crown trying to seek him out in the future. Since strength was the most respected trait within Telskyura, none of the Amazonesses in the crowd were upset by Vahns words. They instead became even more excited and seemed to be looking forward to the opportunity to increase their own strength to try and approach Vahn in the future. Many had misconstrued his words as both a challenge and a promise, believing they could one day earn a ce at his side if they became strong enough. This wasnt exactly false but they would have a lot more than just Tiona and Tione to deal with if they wanted to try their luck at starting a rtionship with Vahn. He had already made far too many exceptions at this point and, now that things had developed to this extent, Vahn had a few more promises to keep before he was just about done with expanding his already ridiculous harem... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hippolytas Priorities xD...,Fights where one party severely outsses the other are rtively anti-climactic...,A thousand years from now, Vahn will look back on the harem he built in Danmachi with a tired expression and zed eyes...all with a small smile on his face) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 958 - Aftermath

Chapter 958 - Aftermath

Several hours after his battle with Hippolyta, Vahn was sitting alongside Tiona and Tione while Myrine looked toward him with a mixture of caution and reverence. Though she could have been misunderstood as looking towards the person sitting in hisp, Vahn was very aware of the red permeating through her aura as she remained near the unconscious Hippolyta. She had been given basic treatment by Vahn and they were currently waiting for her to awaken to settle important matters. Vahn could have forced her awake but the previous situation didnt make it conducive to his intentions since the presence of several thousand fiery-eyed Amazonesses made it difficult to converse. Not really caring about the conversation toe, Kali was wearing the same smock Vahn had gifted her as she snuggled up in Vahnsp. She might have taken her image into consideration around most Amazonesses but Myrina, Hippolyta, and even Bache were exceptions. Kali wanted them to know exactly what kind of rtionship she had with Vahn since it would force them to take measured action instead of just acting as they pleased. As it stood, Myrina couldnt even keep eye contact with her and was instead fully focused on Vahn, just as Kali had intended. Since she also got to receive some of Vahns pampering, it was an ideal situation from Kalis perspective... Eventually, as a result of her own natural recovery being exceptionally high, Hippolyta began to stir awake. She released a muffled and painful groan as she rolled onto her side before lifting her tired body into a seated position. Though it hadnt been his intention, Vahn had ruptured many of her organs and broken nearly half the bones in her body with his final attack. He had healed all of the life-threatening wounds but, so Hippolyta wouldnt be able to make excuses, he allowed most of the damage to remain. This would force Hippolyta to ept the reality of the situation and make theiring discussion much easier. There were several things Vahn needed her to do and, after a short conversation with Tione, he also had a few things to ask her before preparing to leave Telskyura. Even before opening her eyes, Hippolyta had sensed several presences around her so she wasnt surprised to find Vahn sitting at the side. Though her mind did dull a bit when she saw Kalii sitting in hisp, causing her to rub her head before taking a second look, she didnt make anyment about the arrangement. Instead, Hippolyta gave Tiona and Tione a once-over before training her eyes on Vahn as she said, "You are very powerful, Vahn Mason. Ill admit that I underestimated your strength and made light of a situation that I should have treated with full seriousness. I wont make any excuses though so my life is yours to do with as you please, at least until I manage to defeat you in turn..." Though there was a great deal of resentment in her heart, Hippolyta couldnt ignore the heat rising in her body just from being held under Vahns gaze so she ended up averting her eyes to try and stay calm... Vahn produced a small smile in response to Hippolytas words before saying, "I want you to remain as the Queen of the Telskyura and help pave the way towards a better future for all Amazonesses. Ive spent more than three months watching how your people live and understand that rapid change could be detrimental. That doesnt mean we cant startying the foundation-" Before Vahn was able to finish, Hippolyta began to massage her temples as she said, "Just tell me what I need to do, Vahn. You managed to defeat me in battle so I dont really need to hear your reasons and excuses..." Since she hadnt spent that much time around Vahn yet, Hippolyta wasnt ustomed to his habit of trying to exin and justify everything. Ignoring theughter from Kali, Tiona, and even Myrina, Vahn remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "We will change how Amazonesses are raised, allowing them to bnce their training with y. At the same time, I will install all of the necessary barriers, formations, and equipment to make it possible for you to do battle simtions. This will allow Amazonesses to fight to their hearts content without risk of serious injury or death. It doesnt really matter to me how a.d.u.l.t Amazonesses settle matters but I dont want to see children losing their lives unnecessarily. In exchange, I will also provide several other benefits that will allow all Amazonesses in the future to be far more powerful than the average member of the warrior tribe..." Hippolyta had a serious expression on her face when she heard all of the things Vahn wanted to change but, after hearing the final part of his statement, she couldnt help raising her brows slightly. This was something noted by Kali who immediately added, "I have seen for myself that he is telling the truth. Vahn has several methods that will allow Amazonesses to prosper without forcing us to change much about the way we live. In the future, we should treat it as a great failure if we allow younglings to lose their lives because of the rules we made. Though we will continue to use the crucible system, we will start to filter Amazonesses from a young age to make sure they dont end up as victims in a system that they are forced to adhere to. You shouldnt treat this as Vahn cing more restrictions on our people and instead look at it as if he were removing the ones we had ced without even noticing." Though it would be nearly impossible for her to outright admit it, Kali had started to notice that things werent as clear-cut as she had thought. Since even girls like Mars and Khodiva were able to resist their instincts through sheer willpower, Kali knew she couldnt use it as an excuse any longer. She knew the people around Vahn were able to be extremely powerful over a short period of time so it was inarguable that his methods would allow the Amazonesses to prosper. Just the tattoo he had ced on Tiones body was something that would revolutionize the way every Amazoness live in the future since it would allow those with naturally high mana to control themselves and be even stronger... With Kali adding her words into the mix, Hippolytas breathing became a little hot and ragged while Myrinas fingers were noticeably trembling. There were few things more important to an Amazoness than the promise of greater power and, being near the peak of where even historical Amazonesses would begin to decay, both powerful girls couldnt help but feel enticed by such words. It was at this moment that Vahn decided to exin a few things, but not before asking, "Hippolyta, are you the mother of Tiona and Tione...?" Though he could have easily gotten an answer from Kali, Vahn wanted to hear it from Hippolyta herself. He wanted to know what kind of reaction she would have, especially if she was aware of the rtionship between her and two of Vahns long-time friends and lovers... Hippolyta had already started thinking about how her country would begin to change in the future so she was a little surprised by Vahns words, causing a frown to adorn her face. She gave Tiona and Tione another nce, her eyesing to a stop when she met Tiones gaze. Eventually, her frown softened into a tired expression as she released a long sigh and admitted, "They are indeed my children..." There were a lot of emotions contained within Hippolytas sigh, everything from pain, longing, pride, and, most notably, regret. As for why she felt these emotions, Hippolyta didnt seem keen on exining since she quickly averted her eyes from Tione and added, "Blood rtions have no great significance other than ensuring that future Amazonesses have greater potential. As Queen, I must treat all Amazonesses as if they were my children so do not me me for treating my own children as something unique and special..." Because of the way their society was structured, Hippolyta was very aware of the fact that any special treatment she would have afforded her daughters would have been detrimental. Other Amazonesses would have treated them harshly if they were given preferencial treatment and, as had happened in the distant past, there was a high chance such actions would sow the seeds of corruption. If they had grown up thinking they were special, especially as the daughters of royalty, their nature could have been warped as they developed a sense of entitlement and self-importance. This was the exact reason why most other civilizations would stagnate, as those with great power and authority would try to pass it on to unworthy heirs for no other reason than they were rted... Knowing there was no way to argue against Hippolyta, Vahn simply closed his eyes for a few seconds as he allowed Tiona and Tione to take in their mothers words. Tione had lowered her head slightly after Hippolyta averted her eyes but Tiona showed genuine surprise as she eximed, "Youre my mom...!?" She was leaning far forward with an excited look on her face as a vibrant and innocent smile blossomed from her lips. Her reaction had caused Hippolytas frown to deepen but she still nodded her head in response, causing Tiona to beginughing happily. This made Hippolyta extremely confused, at least until Tione released a heavy sigh and exined, "You may nevere to understand it, but weve learned the importance of family. Also, if you had been a better parent, there is a chance we might have never met Vahn..." Though she felt great conflict in her heart, Tiones own words had brought herfort as she said thest few words while looking at Vahn. There was unconcealed love in her eyes, especially when Vahn turned to match her gaze and returned a loving smile of his own. Tiona also seemed intent on joining in on the emotional moment as she practically tackled Vahn, Kali, and Tione while eximing, "Thats right, isnt it!? Without having lived through the past, we never would have been able to get to this point! Ehehehehehe~." It hadnt really shown in her actions and responses, but Tiona had been a little hurt but the revtion that Hippolyta was her mother. She had yed it off well but hearing her own sisters words had also alleviated the momentary anxiety that she had felt... Seeing this y taking ce before her, Hippolytas eyes became dull since she didnt really know what to make of the situation. The fact her goddess was also tolerating her daughters actions was something that caused Hippolyta great confusion, enough for her to give Myrina a look that seemed to ask, what is going on here...?. Myrina just shook her head in response, not really knowing what to make of the awkward disy since it wasnt really something she had witnessed in the thirty-seven years of her life... After Tiona finally settled down, Vahn decided to advance the conversation forward once again, exining, "I wont me you for the decisions you made in the past but you should know that I care deeply for all of my children. Until you can mend your rtionship with your own daughters, please dont expect that I would afford you the opportunity to make another mistake. Also, though I dont have much grounds to stand on when saying such things, I wouldnt befortable with having a child with you while your daughters are already pregnant with my children. Wait until things settle down and, if you have made-." Vahns words were left trailing since Hippolyta looked toward him with a dull expression that he wasnt sure how to interpret. Shortly after Vahns words came to a stop, Hippolyta exined in an equally dull tone as the expression in her eyes, "The biological purpose of all Amazonesses is to ensure that the generation that follows is more powerful than thest. I already have two capable daughters and am already near the age when my final journey would begin. Though I will follow your orders and bring about the changes you desire, my only other focus is training a sessor. If you dont want to give me a child, I dont have the room to offer aint..." Even with her body burning in Vahns presence, Hippolyta wasnt a young Amazonesses that couldnt control her urges. Since she had already given birth to two capable daughters, one of which even caused warning signals to trigger in the back of her mind, Hippolyta didnt really care if she couldnt have another child. Vahn was momentarily at a loss since he had never actually thought about a future where Hippolyta wouldnt try to pressure him into having a child together. He also felt a great deal of relief since, as much as he loved and cared for his kids, Vahn knew things were going to grow increasinglyplex in the future. Having one fewer child wasnt a bad thing, especially since there was currently no real love between him and Hippolyta. The one thing that weighed most heavily on his heart was the fact that, without any leverage against her, there was a good chance Hippolyta would never reconcile with Tiona and Tione. Vahn knew that the bond between parent and child could be shakey at times but he also felt like it wasnt something so fragile that it couldnt be repaired with concerted effort... As if she could read his mind, Tione leaned into Vahns arm and whispered, "Its fine, Vahn...we should think about our own future from now on, not the past..." Even before she knew the whole truth, Tione had already decided to put the past behind her after returning to Telskyura. She didnt have any real feelings towards Hippolyta and, even if they didnt fix their rtionship in the future, it didnt matter that much. Her biggest concern was the rtionship she would have with her own daughter, causing Tione to even make a solemn promise in her heart to be a better mother than her own... Hippolyta watched the interaction between Vahn, Tione, and, refusing to be left out, Tiona with a small glimmer in her eyes. It was almost imperceptible, but the corner of her lips curled up slightly, causing Kali to produce a sly grin that caused Hippolyta to immediately fix her expression. Vahn had also noticed the change in her aura but chose to ignore it since there were no real benefits with putting Hippolyta on the spot. Just knowing she cared about Tiona and Tione, at least a little, was enough for him to ept how things had developed. Things were already a littleplicated with Mn and Tina so avoiding a simr situation would make his own life easier... For the better part of three hours, Vahn talked about the future with Kali and Hippolyta, including the fact that Kali would be migrating to Orario to establish amunity for the Amazonesses there. Since this would make it practically impossible for her to update Status Boards, Vahn would be establishing a teleportation ward in the Coliseums underground that would allow Kali to move between Orario and Telskyura with ease. As for Hippolyta, she would remain in Telskyura and begin training her sessor while Myrina, having never left the country previously, would be her official Envoy. Unlike Hippolyta, she genuinely desired a child and wanted to challenge Vahn to battle to determine the nature of their future rtionship... Ultimately, Vahn would be returning to Orario with Tiona and Tione while Kali would venture out with arge part of her Familia once Spring hade. Vahn would establish the teleportation ward before that, as there was no way Kali would want to spend more than six months apart, but the final journey would be made by her people on foot. She would be bringing with her most of the unique Amazonesses that didnt fit into the current system while the reforms Vahn wanted to introduce would slowly be introduced into Amazoness society. This ounted for more than three-hundred people and they would be the core for themunity that would be created within Orario in the future... --- Long after the discussion hade to an end, Vahn found himself in Kalis chambers once again, this time with some umon additions. Previously, nobody had been allowed to stay overnight in Kalis chambers, Vahn being the only exception, but he currently had Tiona, Tione, and even Bache alongside him as they all shared arge bed that had reced the fire at the center of the room. The area had been sealed off and, though they hadnt done anything that required greater privacy, the only person wearing anything clothing was Vahn. His body was entwined with the four girls as they all cuddled together, including the now veilless Bache. Vahn had healed the scar on her face since they had already broached the point of no return when he saved Bache during her duel with Tiona. Kali had been aware of this as well and, after dismissing everyone lingering around her chambers, allowed Bache to share a bed with her and Vahn in an obvious attempt to show that she was cing herself near the same level as other girls. If not for the fact that even Tiona and Tione had allowed Kali to steal the spot on Vahns stomach, something which Kali had dly taken, it might have been a convincing act. Even so, Vahn knew that Kali was making an effort so he spoiled her for a bit after giving each girl a rather deep full-body massage... Now, Vahn was the only one awake while the four brown-skinned beauties used his body as a pillow. There was a warm andfortable aura permeating through the room, courtesy of Vahns domain, and Vahn was enjoying the simplicity of the moment now that things were beginning to transition in the direction he wanted. He had learned a lot during this long excursion and, though it hasnt always been easy, Vahn knew it would make him a moreplete and capable person in the future. Since it had already been determined that he would be an Emperor in the near future, Vahn knew that experiences like this would be instrumental in ensuring the sess of his reign... --- (A/N: I have to push the 3-4 chapter releases to Monday since Im a lot more fatigued than I expected. Now that I have a long weekend, it seems like my body is allowing all the stress and tensions I have built over thest two weeks out and Im feeling a bit sick. There will still be 1-2 more chapters today but I got ate start after sleeping for eleven hours and Im currently writing them in sequence xD. This is the final chapter of this arc though and the next volume will be thest of Vahns adventures in Danmachi, at least until he returns in the future o3o~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns talks too much xD...,Even if parents are terrible, the bond between mother and child is not so easily broken...(A/N: Damn, typing this out actually made me have to take a moment),The simple things in life make the moreplicated things easier to tolerate) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 959 - Laying The Foundation

Chapter 959 - Laying The Foundation

A lot changed after Vahns return to Orario, even though the Winter season was usually a time where everything would slow to a halt. Contrary to the past, the atmosphere in Orario was extremely lively as the sounds of construction and the perpetually ongoing festivities continued to permeate through society. With Vahns reforms, the economy was flourishing and the means by which people could entertain themselves had increased greatly. Other than the introduction of sports, there had been a rapidly evolving entertainment culture where music and theater were bing increasingly popr. At the same time, Vahn had purchased a variety of different board games that had been introduced into the market while several other forms of simted events were bing popr in the Coliseums. One thing of note was the fact that many of the leaders he had contacted had already started to arrive in the city, even though there were still several weeks before the meeting was scheduled. They had been showing up at the Hearth Manor to try and have private meetings with Vahn, each trying to build an amicable rtionship with him to ensure they would have greater benefits in the future. Most of them were turned away long before they even came to the attention of Vahn but there were a few persons of interest he made an exception to meet with. These were dignitaries from some of the nations that Orario had already established trade rtions in the past while a few were leaders that Vahns informationwork made out to be capable or wise. Even without making the meeting public, there were already dozens of rumors circting within Orario about why Vahn had called so many people into the City. People had affectionately referred to him as the Emperor of Orario in the past but now that Vahn was in a position where he directly influenced other world leaders, it no longer sounded like a joke. This was especially true amongst the growingmunities of Pallums, Beast Humans, Elves, and anyone who had directly benefitted from Vahns assistance in the past. He also had an extreme level of influence with the sessful merchant Familias and, after providing support to the fringe territories during the harsh winter, his poprity had skyrocketed in a very short period of time. Much of this poprity was the result of the efforts of Loki, Hephaestus, Freya, Fortuna, and many of the other gods that would make up the Divine Council in the future. Loki, in particr, had been using the Hermes Familia to proactively spread rumors that painted Vahn in a positive light while Fortuna had been flexing the financial might of the Alliance to seize control of the entire market, both inside of Orario and outside. It was her efforts,bined with the assistance of the Valkyries, that had caused many of the nations leaders to arrive early. Since there were few nobles that wouldnt want to have a positive rtionship with the person that would control the markets in the future, they werepeting with each other behind the scenes to be the first to approach Vahn and the core members of the Alliance... Though not fully aware of what the goddesses had been doing on his behalf, Vahn knew they were taking actions to ensure that his rise had as few hups as possible. As a result, after returning from Telskyura with his avatar, Vahn had been spending a fair amount of time with Loki, Fortuna, and Freya every day. They rarely talked about serious issues, unless it was something pressing that Vahn needed to know about, and just spent the time lounging and discussing other matters. Vahns rtionship with Fortuna had been steadily improving as well, to the point that they eventually ended up sleeping with each other a few times. She wasnt ready to have a child just yet but that didnt mean they couldnt enjoy a bit of quality time together. It helped that Fortuna had a positive rtionship with most of the other goddesses and had even won over some of his children after bringing them a few exotic gifts that her Familia had acquired through trade. As for other goddesses that Vahn had a budding rtionship with, Kali hade to reside in Freyas Manor for a short while as the construction of the Amazonessmunity was still underway. Her Familia had yet to set out on their journey but it didnt stop her from having Vahn escort her over to spend time together beforehand. She wasnt allowed at the Manor just yet so she spent most of her time at the Coliseum with Ganesha, who hailed from the same Pantheon, whenever Vahn was busy. Seeing the various events taking ce firsthand had been an eye-opening experience for Kali and, after bringing Hippolyta over to experience one of the major tournaments, both seemed far more epting of the idea that it would be a national pastime for all Amazonesses in the future. Vahns main focus during these times, excluding his unavoidable responsibilities, was taking care of his present and future children. Artemis pregnancy had been rtively short since she had spent a fair amount of time within the Space-Time orb. She ended up giving birth to a healthy baby boy with uniquely pink hair and light-blue eyes. After a bit of discussion, they decided to name him Orion since, much like Vahn, he had be the object of Artemis love and affection. His Guardian ended up being a creature known as a Wandering Owl who, much like Orion, possessed abilities rted to Time. Vahn hadnt made the same mistake as before so he bestowed Orion with his artifact and [Heroic Tale] while his son had been napping in Artemis embrace. Orion ended up having pseudo-Divinities rted to Love, Animals, and, likely as a result of Artemis residing within the Sub-Space orb, Time. His artifact was a bow known as [Oebstus] that, like all artifacts, would grow along with Orion and help him strengthen his soul. It had the effect ofpletely ignoring all defenses and, ording to the description, could even target concepts like emotions. Vahn was curious about the functionality of the bow and wondered how powerful it could be if Orion developed it to an extreme. After all, being able to target concepts was almost like being able to influence thews themselves. So long as his understanding of the target was high enough, Orion could potentially even use his bow to damage a persons ego in the future... With the birth of another child,bined with his rtionship with his other children, Vahn spent most days with a contented smile on his face. Most of Vahns time with his main body was spent helping his children study, train their bodies, or simply ying around and having fun. This included girls like Yggy and, even though she was far older than he was, Diana. The former was exceptionally intelligent and had been studying with Terra to be an equally exceptional mage. As for Diana, she was given the important task of making sure Vahns room was cleaned every day since she would often get distracted with more detailed work. She still acted as a Maid, almost as if it were a matter of pride for her, but most of her time was spent just ying with the children who most closely matched her appearances age. --- Vahn was genuinely enjoying his rtively peaceful life at the moment, even though the looming threat of his high Karma constantly lurked in the back of his mind. Fortunately, even without him doing much, Vahn was earning well over a million OP per day while more concerted efforts could him over ten million. He was growing progressively closer to the requisite amount to purchase a dimensional anchor so the only things he had to genuinely concern himself with was uniting the Continent and conquering the Dungeon. The former was a foregone conclusion while thetter simply depended on when he could allocate the time to probe the Dungeons depths. It helped that the girls were constantly increasing their strength since Ais, Lili, Haruhime, and Lefiya had already been able to clear down to the 56th Floor through their own efforts. Vahns personal record was Floor 58 so he knew exactly how capable they had to be to reach that point without relying on his assistance. While thinking of the Dungeon and what awaited him in the deeper floors, Vahns perception became aware of the presence making its way toward his avatar. His main body was currently enjoying thepanionship of the Xenos back at Spero while he had been using his avatar had been meditating while in his Qinglong form. He was currently seated inside an empty stone chamber that had been created by Terra within the Sub-Space orb for his own personal use. Few people woulde to disturb him during his training so Vahns awareness had immediately taken note of the subtle fluctuations in the persons aura. The aura belonged to Mikoto and he could tell she was very apprehensive about interrupting his private training session so he quickly rose to his feet before teleporting behind her. Mikoto jumped nearly a meter off the ground when Vahn appeared right behind her but she quickly calmed down by patting her rather buxom chest and taking a few deep breaths. Vahns expression was exceptionally gentle as he said, "Good afternoon, Mikoto. I was just about to exit my meditation so youre timing is impable..." Since he didnt want her to fret over nothing, Vahn gave an easy excuse that would allow Mikoto to rx a bit. She may not have fully believed him, as Vahn seemed to be unable to genuinely lie to the girls around him, but Mikoto still smiled in return as a loving light shed across her eyes. Since she was wearing a loose purple kimono, Vahns heart palpitated a few times when he saw the look in her eyes, causing his own expression to soften greatly. With the atmosphere quickly bing warm between the two, Mikoto seemed to have calmed down a lot as her expression became more natural. She moved a few strands of stray hair before taking a deep breath and saying, "Vahn...I wanted to talk to you about something very important to me. I..." Vahn shook his head gently in response to Mikotos words while stepping closer to her body and pulling her into his embrace. He stroked her long and silky ck hair as he said, "Dont forget that Ive also read the [Flying Heavenly Sword Manual]. I know what you need to do and you have my blessing. If possible, Id like you to wait for a few months since I intend to go to the Far East myself after Tiona and Tione give birth..." Though Mikoto had been able to duel people within the Coliseums arena, it was hard to develop real sword intent without actual life and death battles against other capable swordsmen. Her skills had developed to an extreme, to the point that she was already rumored to be the most skilled swordswoman in Orario, but they both knew her development had reached a bottleneck. She could still continue to grow, without any real limits, but Mikoto genuinely wanted to master the [Flying Heavenly Sword Manual] to develop it into a true inheritance. Before her strength increased to the point where skill was nearly meaningless, Mikoto wanted to travel thend on her own and polish her skills against other swordsmen. Upon hearing Vahns words, Mikotos smile truly blossomed until it had reached her eyes. Their rtionship was at a point where Mikoto genuinely felt anxious just thinking about being away from Vahn for a long period of time. Her journey across the sea,bined with the time she would spend traveling thends, would likely take several years. With Vahn escorting her over, Mikoto would be able to save a lot of time and there was a good chance she would face many powerful foes since he always seemed to get entangled with the most powerful forces in a region. Though she would eventually journey out on her own, as Vahns presence could also be like a tree that caused other nts to starve for nutrients, Mikoto knew the first leg of her journey would be far more enjoyable with him apanying her... For the better part of an hour, Vahn and Mikoto discussed their intentions in going to the Far East, including Vahns intention to seek out Amaterasu while also escorting Tsubaki, Haruhime, and Shizune to their homnds. Girls like Kaguya obviously had things to take care of back in the Far East but, as their strength was still increasing, Vahn had set their matters aside for the time being. He didnt want to spend too much time in the Far East since his Empire was just about to begin real development, so his first journey to the exotd of swords and spirits would be rtively short. After their discussion had ended, Vahn and Mikoto spent a few hours just enjoying each otherspany since Vahn decided to treat hisment about being done with his training as the truth. Since Mikoto had a genuine love for hot springs, they moved to one of the private areas near the third spatial suppression area where a small hot spring was located. This was considered a part of Mikotos territory so, unless she had invited them, few would ever venture to this location. The few exceptions were girls like Haruhime, who Mikoto would often bathe with, and the other women who had grown close to her over the years. This included Tsubaki, Shizune, Tina, and, on asion, Artemis. Vahn was enjoying the hot and mineral-rich water while the Mikoto rested her rosy-cheeked face against his shoulder. She enjoyed the moments like this, where it was just the two of them, so Mikoto had been a bit more proactive than normal. Currently, she could feel Vahns warmth spreading through her lower body as she lightly kissed his neck in response. In this manner, the two reduced the distance between their hearts and bodies even further, to the point where they were almost inseparable from each other... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Divine Council is going to have a lot of bias...,Musashi vs. Mikoto, when!?,Quality Time with a demure swordmaiden...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 960 - Probe

Chapter 960 - Probe

Deep within the Dungeon, far further than anyone before him had ever tread, Vahn was currently pinned to a wall with a massive ck spear in his chest. There was blood pouring out from his mouth as intense pain radiated throughout his body. Even so, his expression remained focused as a powerful aura radiated from his body, all while the thing that had thrown the spear observed him with its head tilted to the side. It was a strange monster that looked like a slime that had beenprised of the fabric of space. There were swirls of magical energy and small star-like lights making up the inside of its vaguely humanoid figure that stood more than eight meters tall. At the center of what could be called its head, there was a swirling vortex of light that looked like a small gxy that lobbed to the side as it asked, "Who are you...?" Vahn was trying to remove the spear that was made out of the same material as the humanoid slimes body but it kept clinging to him as it slowly tried to devour his inside. It was, fortunately, making very slow progress since his own body was rejecting the foreign matter while the Source Energy contained within was simply beyond the scope of what the slime could have absorbed. This was the main reason behind why the monster was confused and curious, as it had expected Vahn to die after its first attack. The fact he had persisted was something it couldnt rationalize, causing it to wonder what kind of strange creature the small figure before him was. Hearing the monster speak, Vahn knew it was either a Xenos or something far more unique so, while still trying to wrest the spear from his body, he answered, "I am Vahn Mason...do you mind removing this spear so we can have a proper talk? I wont attack you if you show no animosity towards me but, if you keep trying to devour my body, I will have to destroy you..." As he spoke, Vahns aura became even denser, causing the humanoid slime to tremble like gtine before its arm morphed into another long spear as it said, "I am Umbra, Guardian of the 70th Floor. For trespassing my territory, you must pay with your life..." With a wry smile on his face, Vahn muttered, "This is only the 69th Floor..." as a second spear, this time aimed for his head, tore through the air with a vicious momentum. Vahn shook his head slowly, even though seemingly no time had passed, as his body transformed into his Qinglong form. He had probed into the 69th Floor after performing his daily check on Enyos seal. Since the girls had been steadily venturing deeper into the Dungeon, Vahn had been entering ahead of them to get a general feel of the area so they wouldnt be caught off guard. It was fortunate he had been the first to enter the 69th Floor as this strange monster was nearly impossible to detect, even with his senses. It had the exact same energy signature as the Dungeon itself and, though it seemed intelligent, itcked the aura that would have given away most truly sentient life. Now in his Qinglong transformation, Vahns grip on the ck spear tightened, causing stark blue tendrils to snake across its surface. Though they looked like lightning, this energy was actuallyprised of Space Elemental energy and couldnt be resisted through normal means. The spear was torn apart in an instant while the second spear collided with a barrier that had emerged in front of Vahns head. He could tank the spear if he wanted but suffering injuries to the head were always annoying since it would cause him to feel disoriented. As a result, the spear impacted against the barrier before the space around it copsed, causing a spiral to emerge behind the strange monster as its own spear pierced into its body. Though Vahn tried to respect sentience, it didnt mean he wouldpletely ignore those that were trying to proactively kill him. Just as he would deal with a human that harbored ill will towards him, Vahn turned his cold azure blue eyes on the strange monster as a small light of contempt shed across his slit-like pupils. As if emting the monster, Vahn formed a spear of his own but, instead of the space-like ooze thatprised his enemy, it was a vibrant blue that looked like azure lightning. It was extremely taxing on his reserves but Vahn ignored it as he spent the spear towards the concealed core near the base of its body. Whenever it came to Slime-Type monsters, the only practical way to deal with them was by destroying their cores so Vahn wasnt going to beat around the bush and waste his time breaking its malleable body. Having been distracted by its own spear, which dealt practically no damage to its body, the monster was unable to react to the impossibly fast spear of Space Elemental energy. It seemed to move faster than even time itself as an imperceptible amount of time had passed before the core it made sure to keep safe was already destroyed. The monster didnt even have time to issue any death howls as its body exploded into a veritable tidal way of purple and ck dust particles. After the dust dissipated into nothingness, the only thing that remained was arge ck gemstone that had starlight shining on its inside while tens of thousands of monster core fragments, each decently high quality, littered the surroundings. Vahn looked the unidentified gemstone before selling the monster cores for a startling 3,900,017 OP within his system. He currently had 2,493,551,892 OP making up his reserves, meaning he was already nearly a quarter of the required amount for purchasing a dimensional anchor. With the HDF and Alliance filtering magic cores and rare items into him, Vahn was passively gaining well over a million OP every day so the number had been steadily increasing. If he continued to encounter powerful monsters, which was guaranteed the deeper he went, the amount he could gain with each passing day would continue to increase. Removing his transformation, Vahn released a heavy sigh while stretching his tired muscles and popping his joints. Using the Qinglong transformation without his other body supplementing his reserves was extremely taxing and he could only keep it up for a few minutes before the pain grew too intense for his body and mind to tolerate. Fortunately, few enemies couldst against his Qinglong transformation and, even though the strange creature seemed to be around Level 7 in strength, it died like all the rest. Now, Vahn had to decide if he wanted to probe into the 70th Floor, which the creature seemed to be protecting, or if he wanted to return to the surface and call it a day... After thinking for a few minutes, Vahn shook his head before continuing deeper into the Dungeon. It was still early in the day and he had already cleared up his schedule so he would have time to go as far as possible before returning. Though he had grown ustomed to spending quality time with his family, Vahn knew it was necessary for him to conquer the Dungeon and he couldnt put it off indefinitely. Since he was an immortal, he had the responsibility of scouting ahead of those that would follow so that they wouldnt be the victims of monsters and traps that they werent prepared to deal with. Information, individualbat capabilities, and proper preparation were the keys to venturing beyond the 60th Floor and Vahn intended to reduce the chance of a tragedy urring. Because the Guardian had been near the entrance to the 70th Floor, it didnt take long for Vahn to find the massive crystalline staircase that spiraled downward well over a kilometer. Unlike the Floors before the 60th, the staircases in the Frontier Floors werent safe zones where you could easily rest. There were a variety of different traps you would have to deal with, such as stone steps giving way, spikes protruding from the walls, and even poisonous fogs that would linger about like mist. Vahn had been keeping a proper ount of everything he encountered along the way and intended to sell the information to prospective Adventurers that wanted to probe into the depths of the Dungeon in the future. During his descent to the 70th Floor, Vahn had to evade several rtively easy to evade traps before one particrly dangerous one finally caught him unprepared. He hadnt dropped his guard but, after evading a series of crystalline arrows that rained down on his position, Vahn felt his body pass through an invisible membrane that caused his skin to tingle. A momentter, a massive magical explosion consumed his body as it spread outward for more than 100m in an instant, copsing the staircase in the process. Vahn couldnt help but retort that the trap was a bit extreme as he extricated his undamaged body from the resultant rubble. Even his equipment was undamaged since the vast majority was S-Rank at this point, courtesy of Hephaestus, Tsubaki, Nanu, and his own memory fragment. Eventually, Vahn finally reached the 70th Floor, noticing that the crystalline structure was reced with nigh-absolute darkness. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all pitch ck and filled with small porous holes that seemed to be able to absorb light. Vahn created a fireball to try and light the way but, other than the light emitting in his immediate surrounding, it didnt cast its influence upon the structure of the Dungeon at all. Even his night vision capabilities and [Eyes of Truth] didnt allow him to see too far, forcing Vahn to have to rely on the information he was receiving through his domain to know which way to go. Experiencing this absolute darkness, Vahn couldnt help but feel more than a little unperturbed as he hesitated to venture forth. This was an environmental hazard that most parties would never be able to deal with since you would need incredible magic perception or a powerful Innate just to cope with the darkness. Vahn couldnt help wondering if this was why the party led by Bell hadnt been able to probe that much deeper into the Dungeon as traversing several hundred kilometers of pure darkness would be extremely taxing on the mind. He didnt sense any monsters just yet but, if there were enemies lurking within, Vahn felt like just the psychological effects of fighting unseen enemies would wear down even the most hardened veterans. At the same time, however, Vahn couldnt help wondering if the Dungeon was trying to hide something on the 70th Floor since this type ofyout didnt seem to make much sense otherwise... Oveing his momentary hesitation, Vahn focused his mind before infusing [Enkidu] into his domain. Since the light from [Enkidu] wasnt part of the electromaic spectrum and was closer to a Divine Phenomenon, Vahn could use it to illuminate the way with rtive ease. This would also allow him to deal with any particrly tricky enemies as he cataloged the inhabitants and structure of the 70th Floor. At least, that was what Vahn intended when he first allowed [Enkidu]s golden light to spread nearly 4km outward from his position. He quickly realized things wouldnt be quite that simple as, shortly after leaving the connecting tunnel between the 70th and 69th Floor staircase, Vahn found that the Floor itself was one expansive space. There was nothing at all within the influence of his domain as even the Floor below was almost perfectly t... Vahn wasnt quite sure what to make of the situation until Sis decided to chime in, exining, (*There are several powerful illusory wards built into the structure of the Dungeon that would cause people to wander aimlessly until their supplies ran out. If there were walls andndmarks to keep their orientation, it would theoretically be possible for people with high perception and patience to navigate the interior. I believe your intuition about there being something hidden on the 70th Floor is urate, though I cant say for certain until we reach the 71st...*) With Siss exnation, Vahn quickly understood why walls were simply unnecessary for the structure of this particr Floor. Now, he just needed to determine if there were any real enemies while trying toe up with methods to ensure safe passage through this incredibly unnerving terrain. Few had the means to pass through such an area on their own so Vahn wanted to test a few methods that could be used to help them navigate. The most obvious method would be to leave a trail of glowstones, using them like breadcrumbs to help keep his orientation. When Vahn tried this, however, he noticed that several other glowstones seemingly appeared out of nowhere. There seemed to be invisible barriers that would reflect and emte other areas of the Floor to ensure that people using such methods would never be able to progress very far... Shaking his head in vexation, Vahn began to make his way deeper into the Floor to personally experience what other hazards the darkness had to offer. He could easily keep his own orientation with the golden illumination in his domain while his Minimap was constantly updating within his system interface. Sis was marking the borders of each illusory barrier, allowing Vahn to navigate the terrain without any real issues. Though this Floor might have been a nightmare for most, even unnerving him a bit, Vahn was able to make quick progress with The Path and the ever-reliable Sis to help guide him forward. Using the Minimap and Map function, Vahn quickly noticed there was a pattern emerging within the barriers and decided it would be best to check on them periodically over the next few weeks to see if there were any changes in their orientation. Since magic formations werent easy to move around, there was a good chance that these were semi-permanant, meaning it would actually be much easier than anticipated to pass through the Floor if you had a proper map. Since there had yet to be a single monster showing up, even after more than two hours of walking, Vahn suspected this particr Floor was purely focused on taxing the intruders psyche... When he eventually reached a wall on the opposite side of the Floor, Vahn felt like that had confirmed things so he took to the sky and began to systematically map the entire area. Many of the illusory formations were shaped like bubbles and, though there were some formations that extended all the way to the roof, it was possible to navigate the area by flying if you had the confidence to do so. After all, it was nearly impossible to keep your orientation when there was literally nothing to see... In this manner, Vahn managed to map out much of the 370km wide Floor, noting that theyout of the illusory wards themselves actually made a muchrger magical formation. It covered the entirety of the Floor and was nearly indiscernible from the natural mana that permeated through the air so Vahn hadnt even noticed he was under its influence until he tranted therger formation. His eyes reflected a curious light as he mused, "Thou who seeketh the road to Origin, know that thine path forward is a spiritual journey. You can find the key at the spot where your physical journey ended, marking the transition from mortality to godhood..." Though it would have taken others years to decipher the meaning behind the intricate formation that spanned the entire 70th Floor, Vahn had managed toplete it in a single afternoon. He imagined how many decades Adventurers would have wandered aimlessly on this Floor without understanding that the hazards they sought to desperately avoid were actually just part of a message. As for where the keyy, that was something Vahn could determine with rtive ease since the core of the formation actually emted the structure of mana circuitry in the human body. The reason why he had quickly noticed the pattern when he started mapping the area was the result of his extensive knowledge of the human body and all aspects pertaining to it. Vahn flew to the area on his map that would have represented the location of the dantian, or the core where a persons mana emanated from. Before learning how to channel your mana, it wasnt incorrect to say you were extremely limited in your growth and would have to rely wholly on your physical strength to progress. Upon learning how to muster your mana, generally through intense training, focus, or even meditation, you would truly begin to walk an endless path that allowed for unlimited growth. Saying it was the transition from mortality to godhood wasnt incorrect either, as it would truly require intense spiritual development and a distinct change in perception to make true progress on this never-ending path... There was a small formation located at his destination but Vahn entered it without any hesitation since he doubted that whatever entity had developed the formation would have gone through so much effort just to mislead someone. Upon entering the formation, Vahn found himself in an area that, unlike the endless darkness outside, was pure white. At the very center of the area, Vahn saw the statue of a breathtakingly beautiful woman who looked eerily reminiscent of Helen. Though their features were actually very different from each other, they both had indescribable beauty that made Vahn instinctuallypare the two while being unable to decide which was truly the more beautiful woman... Shaking his head to clear stray thoughts, Vahn made his way over to the statue and peered into the small oval-shaped mirror held by its two pristine white hands. The surface of the mirror hadnt been reflecting anything and, even after peering into it, Vahn noticed that his own image was distinctly missing from the scene. He didnt know what to make of the mirror so Vahn decided to inspect the rest of the statue to see if there were any clues. Strangely, as he paced around the inordinately beautiful work of art, Vahn felt his heart begin to palpitate and, for a brief moment, he was certain the statue had moved slightly when he saw the rather pert rear sculpted on the backside... Vahn activated his [Eyes of Truth] and noticed that the statue, instead of being a singleyer of sculpted stone, was actuallyprised of severalyers. The clothing and essories were all unique pieces and, beneath the stony garments, Vahns eyes were able to discern the statues extremely realistic features. If not for the fact there was no aura at alling from the statue, regardless of how long he looked at it, Vahn would have thought she was like Gros, an entity that had beenprised of stone. He even suspected that, at one point, the figure holding the mirror had once been a biological entity that had been turned to stone at some point in the distant past... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Surprise...!,You think the darkness is your ally...?,Even statues arent safe from the piercing gaze of the Godhand...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 961 - Reflection

Chapter 961 - Reflection

Deciding it would be rude to continue gawking at the inordinately beautiful figure of the statue, Vahn began to inspect around the base until he found a few inscriptions carved into the surface. ording to the immactely chiseled text, the mirror held by the woman had the ability to show the user anything their heart desired. Vahn decided to test this by looking into the mirror once again and focusing his mind, only for the surface to remain unchanged. Suspecting that it may require voicemands, Vahn said, "Show me Hephaestus..." Though several other names crossed his mind, Vahn still decided to peek in on Hephaestus since he knew she was currently teaching Ina and Nanu a few tricks back in her workshop... For a brief moment, the surface of the mirror shed with a magical light before the reflective surface showed the image of Hephaestus watching over Ina and Nanu with an appreciative smile on her face. Vahn couldnt help smiling himself when he saw the image, especially since the quality of the reflection was almost as if he were there personally observing things. As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn noticed that the image in the mirror actually changed ording to his intentions and he was able to move around as if he was a disembodied phantom within the workshop. This was a very curious discovery and Vahn couldnt help but feel intrigued as he orbited Hephaestus body before testing how far he could zoom in on objects by peering into her face. The image in the mirror became progressively closer until it almost seemed as though the surface was about to contact Hephaestus cheek. Vahn made sure it wasnt going too fast, as he didnt want to surprise her if it ended up having a physicalponent, but something amazing happened just as the mirror nearly reached her skin. There had already been a mystical white light surrounding the periphery of the mirror but, after getting close enough to initiate contact, the light changed to a pink coloration as the surface of the mirror warped slightly. Vahn noticed the slight curvature as if it was part of Hephaestus face so he reached out to touch it by instinct... Vahn could feel warmth at his fingertip as he pressed into Hephaestus slightly squishy cheek and watched it deform. He could also feel her startle slightly so he pulled back the mirror to see if her reaction was based on his touch or something else. When Hephaestus brought her hand up to her cheek in confusion, Vahns eyed widened since the mirror seemed far more valuable than the rather in description below indicated. It seemed to act as a portal that connected two points and, though the radius of the mirror was quite small, Vahn could think of several potential uses for such a convenient artifact... After failing tomunicate with Hephaestus with words, Vahn tried to stick his hand into the mirror, only to notice that he was unable to actually pass through. It was at this point that he noticed there wasnt any sound passing through the image as he couldnt hear what Hephaestus and Ina were talking about as he floated around their periphery. Vahn didnt give up because of these small setbacks and instead moved the mirror over towards the worktable where several pieces of paper could be found. He made the mirror zoom in as close a possible until the border had lit up with a pink light once again. Pulling out a pen, Vahn made a few test strokes on the paper and was satisfied to see that the pen did indeed affect the paper on the other side. This showed that the artifact could influence objects through the surface, even though there were a few restrictions on its use. Once he had finished writing out his message, Vahn zoomed away from the piece of paper and tried to use telekinesis to manipte it. This ultimately ended in failure and, with the pink light having faded away from the mirrors periphery, Vahn suspected it needed to be in direct contact with whatever he was looking at in order to influence it. His next test was to see if he could pull things through the mirror or, more importantly, send things through it to the other side. Since the ink managed to imprint onto the paper, Vahn knew it was theoretically possible to send things through. The problem was finding a method of doing so as the mirror seemed to require contact with something before the link was established. Vahn had tried focusing the mirror onto a table and, after the pink border activated, he ced a magic core on the surface. After zooming out, the magic core simply fell from the surface of the mirror without any sess... Vahns next experiment was to pull out a glowstone to see if, at the very least, the girls were able to notice the items he ced in contact with the surface on the other side. After waiting for several minutes, however, there were no changes to the glowstone and, even though it illuminated the table from his perspective, Vahn wasnt sure if the girls could see it. He had even moved the mirror back over the Hephaestus and tried to light up her face with the glowstone while she and Ina were talking but there was no reaction from either of them. After this, Vahn decided it would be more productive to focus on himself so he said, "Show me my main body back at the Hearth Manor..." The image in the mirror quickly changed to show Vahn standing out in the hallway outside of the Library. He had been helping Erika with her studies and decided to excuse himself for a moment to conduct a few tests. Though she had given him a calcting look, Erika hadnt asked any questions as she watched his departure while ying with a loose strand of hair. She now looked like a woman in herte teens and had matured greatly in most aspect. Unfortunately, though she didnt seem to mind it, Erika took after her mother quite a bit. Other than their hairstyles and eye color, the two were almost a carbon copy of each other while Erika was slightly shorter and had a more intelligent look... Now that he had ess to himself, Vahn extended his palm back at the Manor while his avatar changed the focus of the mirror until the pink hue appeared. Vahn traced his finger around the surface of his own palm, noticing that he did indeed feel the touch with full rity. He then pulled out a small knife and tried cutting along his palm but the pink hue along the edges immediately vanished. It seemed to have a failsafe that prevented the user from causing harm to the other side so Vahn stowed away the knife and tried to change the focus once again. This time, it took several minutes before the pink hue returned, indicating that the mirror had some other use conditions that he would need to investigate in the future. With the connection re-established, Vahn pulled out a glowstone and ced it against his own palm through the mirror. On the other side, he noticed that there was indeed no light showing through, even though he could clearly see the illumination from the perspective of his avatar. There was, however, a slight warmth and, though it was almost imperceptible, Vahn could feel a bit of weight in his palm. This indicated there was indeed a connection between his two bodies, even though he was unable to see the glowstone and its influence from the perspective of his main body. As a final test, Vahn pulled out a pen and began writing on his palm this time, noticing that it did indeed update from both of his perspectives... Vahn was able to conclude that he could indeed influence objects on the other side of the mirror but there were several restrictions that prevented him from doing harm and sendingrge physical objects through. He was, however, able to send energy through direct contact with others, meaning he could potentially use the mirror to watch over the girls and heal their bodies if they were injured. That was, of course, assuming he was able to move the mirror from the 70th Floor and take it into his possession. This proved to be extremely problematic as the statue didnt seem to be made of any normal material and Vahn felt like he would be stealing the mirror if he seized it by force. After all, without breaking the fingers or cutting off the hands that were holding the small mirror, Vahn wouldnt be able to remove it. Since the statue almost felt real, and was breathtakingly beautiful, Vahn couldnt find it in himself to do something so cruel... After releasing a sigh, Vahn stared up into the beautiful face of the statue and almost felt like it was smiling back at him, even though the expression remained unchanged. He was positive there was something watching him through the statue or, at the very least, it had some form of intent attached to it. Much like how he was unable to sense Ouranos, Vahn suspected this statue was likely rted to one of the primordial gods and was probably indestructible by normal methods. It was far beyond the means of a mortal to create such a realistic statue and Vahn couldnt even see through the materialsposition, even with his [Eyes of Truth] and [Metalurgy]. There was even a chance that the statue was part of the mirror itself and, based on how it prevented him from cutting his own palm, the intent of the statue seemed to determine how the mirror was used... Recalling the inscriptions carved into the base, Vahns expression turned into a casual smile as he said, "Show me the person who created this mirror and this beautiful statue..." Since it professed to show him whatever his heart desired, Vahn wanted to test the limits of the mirror and see exactly what it was capable of. When the surface shed white, Vahns eyes widened greatly since he had never expected what was on the other side of the image. There,ying absentmindedly on an ornate lounge, Vahn could see the image of Helen staring up at the roof of her small residence. Her pink eyes were unfocused as her silvery-white hair fanned outward from her body like a masterwork painting. Vahn was more than a little confused by this revtion since it seemed to imply that Helen was the one who created this statue, even though it seemed extremely unlikely. The only way Vahn could rationalize it was if Helen was someone who had reincarnated, meaning she would have made the statue and the mirror in the distant past. This didnt seem that likely, however, as Helen had never shown any indication that she had memories of a past life. There was also no way that the gods who had been watching over mortals since the Progenitors still walked the surface would have been unaware of her existence. Vahn had no doubts that, with Helens beauty, many gods would have been paying very close attention to her every movement... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn blinked in realization as he looked at the small oval mirror in the statues hand and began to ruminate. He knew from the [Hearts Desire]s of various goddesses that they were able to peer into the mortal world through various means, mainly through the use of artifacts like this small mirror. They had also been able to influence people in the mortal world, sometimes giving them powerful blessings that would allow them to ovee adversity. Vahn wondered if this mirror was actually a simr grade to Hephaestus Eternal me or Freyas [Brsingamen]... With his thoughts racing, Vahn decided to try another experiment to confirm something that should have been impossible. Temporarily setting aside the matter of Helens existence, Vahn gazed into the mirror and said, "Show me whatys within the depths of the Dungeon...I want to see its creator...!" Once again, the surface of the mirror showed a vibrant white light that caused Vahns heart to begin racing. When the image rified, Vahns eyes becamepletely rounded as the surface, for the second time, showed Helens lounging figure in the reflection. This caused Vahns mind topletely nk as he absentmindedly said, "Show me the final Floor of the Dungeon..." Even though he wasnt thinking clearly, Vahn realized that his first question might have been confusing for the mirror so it might have shown him Helen after failing to show him the two things he had asked for... This time, the mystical light of the mirror faded to show a small room where nothing but a small stone table could be seen. Atop the table, there was an ornate crystal cup while much of the table was covered with various books and journals. There were absolutely no other features in the room other than a dark red candle that had a ghostly blue me illuminating the 5m wide space. It was hovering around the front of the desk but Vahn could tell it was slowly orbiting the area while its ghostly me seemed to pierce through the surrounding darkness. Using the illumination from the me, Vahn moved the mirrors perspective to try and read the surface and the spines of the books but found each of them unmarked. He ultimately gave up on trying to gain any new information from this small room and once again said, "Show me the owner of that room..." The surface of the mirror shed with a mystical light and, as it began to clear away, Vahn wasnt even surprised to see the image reflect Helens figure once again. He released a long sigh and knew he needed to have a talk with Helen in the near future, even though the chances she knew anything were extremely slim. There was a good chance she was a reincarnated entity or, more likely, an artificial entity that had been created for the sole purpose of helping others conquer the Dungeon. Vahn knew a bit about Helens power so it wasnt difficult to imagine that she was something like the Dungeons avatar, meaning there was a fair chance she was created by Tartarus or, as reason would lead him to believe, the Primordial Goddess, Nuwa... Vahn suspected that the origin mentioned in the previous formation was referring to the realm where the Primordial Gods once reigned, the ce now referred to as Hell. Nuwa and Tiamat had remained behind in the old realm, even though all of the other gods migrated to Heaven after bnce was restored to the three realms. Vahn didnt know why she had made such a decision but, knowing that Nuwa was the goddess who had first created sentient life that possessed a soul, she was undoubtedly a unique existence within the record. It was likely that she wanted to create a method by which her creations would be able to rise to her own standing, bing gods that were able to once again popte the Origin realm. This, however, was pure spection on Vahns part but, with an enigmatic existence like Helen at the center of everything, Vahn felt he was close to the truth... After calming his chaotic thoughts, Vahn looked into the face of the statue once again before saying, "Show me the Primordial Goddess, Nuwa..." He wanted to, at the very least, confirm that Helen wasnt the incarnation of Nuwa herself. Contrary to expectations, however, the image in the mirror simply faded without showing anything in the reflective surface. Vahn was confused but, upon returning his gaze to the statues eyes, his confusion was quickly cleared up when he saw that there was indeed a smile on its face now. It wasnt a smile of condescension but had a more yful and teasing vibe to it that made Vahns heart palpitate a few times in response. From this, he could confirm that the statue did indeed possess intent and his soul simply wasnt strong enough to allow him to see through its true nature. With the statue giving him a teasing smile, Vahn felt slightly indignant and wondered if he should tease her in return. It had first reacted when he took a nce at the statues butt so Vahn suspected it was, at the very least, conscious of its appearance and could feel slightly fl.u.s.tered. He was certain that he could get an advantage against the statue but, at the same time, feared that he would be unable to make use of the mirror if he upset whatever was linked with it. Thus, Vahn decided not to be too petty and simply reached out his hand to stroke the statues head as he said, "Thank you for your assistance. When I meet the real you, Ill make sure to express my gratitude in earnest..." Vahn spoke with a teasing undertone in his voice as he practically bombarded the statue with a mixture of petting energy and a veritable tidal wave of stimting energy. It didnt have any muscles and nerves, from what he could see, but Vahn believed his understanding of pettingws and [Hands of Nirvana] would allow him to even influence someone through a mental link. As a result, though he wasnt certain when it happened, the expression on the statues face appeared slightly fl.u.s.tered as her brows were furrowed almost imperceptibly. If she had a normalplexion, Vahn imagined it would be beet red as a result of his gentle teasing. Fortunately, it didnt seem like the person guiding the intent behind the statue was too upset with him since, after asking where the entrance to the 71st Floor was located, the mirror reflected a staircase within one of the illusory barriers where the heart would have been on a humans body... (A/N: There will be one more chapter today, but it wont be untilter in the afternoon. There will be three tomorrow as well, though I may do four if my focus doesnt break down.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: That is a dangerous mirror...,Helen really is the key to reaching godhood,Even statues are powerless against the Godhand...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 962 - 71st Floor

Chapter 962 - 71st Floor

Unable to take the mirror artifact from the statue, Vahn made a few more inquiries from it to test the limits of its functionality before heading towards the heart formation. As for what he asked the statue, it was to show him things like the location of Zeus, the appearance of Gilgamesh, and any powerful monsters he had to be aware of. Since it could show him things within the Dungeon, Vahn spent more than two hours cataloging every monster contained within using the mirror as a proxy. It was truly one of the most useful artifacts Vahn had evere across since it seemed to possess a scary degree of omniscience. Vahn had even asked about the location of any secret treasures that had been lost to time and was shown the location where they rested, waiting for someone fated to stumble across them... At this point, it was alreadyte in the afternoon but Vahn wanted to continue his exploration for a short while longer since he could always use his Qinglong form to exit the Dungeon. It took most of his reserves to do so but transitioning a few Floors to use the teleportation wards on the 60th Floor wasnt that difficult. So long as he didnt encounter some kind of spatial lock, Vahn wasnt worried that he wouldnt be able to return to the surface when he was ready to do so. Thus, without any further dy, Vahn arrived at therge illusory barrier that represented the heart before taking a step inside. He found arge temple contained within while the surroundings changed, making it appear as if he were atop a mountain outside of the Dungeon. After marveling at theplexity of the magic formation, Vahn made his way into the interior of the temple and quickly found the stairs leading into the 71st Floor. The fact that there hadnt been any enemies since his encounter with the Guardian was somewhat worrisome but Vahn knew there were threats lurking deeper within. After all, he now knew exactly what monsters were located on each Floor, including any Monster Rexes and unique variants he would have to be wary of. The only thing he didnt know were their strengths, weakness, and general ecology. He would have to discover these on his own since the information from the system shop may not pertain to the version of Danmachi he resided in. Upon reaching the 71st Floor, theyout of the Dungeon had changed once again, this time into an ashen-grey stone that emanated a peculiar magical glow. The density of mana at this level was far more powerful than the upper Floors, to the point that there was a thin mist consolidating in stagnant areas. This was a physical manifestation of mana, something that rarely appeared outside ofmunities where Great Spirits resided. Constant exposure to such high potency mana could lead to the evolution of animals into monsters while also providing great benefits to anyone that was able to absorb external energies into their bodies. Vahn suspected that, once he poprized Cultivation techniques in the future, there would be some bold practitioners that may use Floors like this to further advance their strength. With that thought in mind, Vahn created a sucking force with his domain and began to absorb the mana in the atmosphere to supplement his own reserves. The blessings from Yggy made such an action almost unnecessary, but Vahn was curious about the potency of the mana and if it contained any dangerous elements that could cause harm to the body. He quickly noticed something simr to a numbness spreading through his limbs before the malignant energy was naturally filtered from his body. Vahn wasnt surprised there were toxins contained within the mist as there were few instances where the Dungeon would outright reward its invaders without putting them through a trial... After traveling for a few minutes, Vahn came across a few vibrant blue lights that were fluttering around in the air, illuminating the cold grey walls with their magical light. It was a truly mesmerizing sight since there was a subtle hypnotic effect contained within the light, courtesy of the small pixie-like monsters at the center of the luminescence. They looked like tiny figures that were carved from wood, each possessing vaguely humanoid qualities while their eyes looked like tiny gemstones that glowed various shades of green and blue. Each had a pair of dragonfly-like wings that made high-pitched sounds as a result of how quickly they were moving about. Vahn spent a few moments staring at the rather beautiful sight before quickly extending his hand outward, catching one of the tiny pixies that attempted to ambush him. They had speed that could easily rival a Level 4 and, with their tiny and agile bodies, Vahn imagined it would be difficult to facerge groups of the pointy-toothed creatures. The one he had caught was trying to gnaw on his hand with sharp teeth that easily tore through the S-Ranked gloves he had been wearing. This caused Vahn to frown as he put a bit of strength into his hand, marveling at how durable the tiny creature was before its defenses were eventually ovee. Vahns hand came to aplete close before he opened it to reveal a tiny yet extremely high-quality magic core. As he marveled at the magic core that was barely bigger than a grain of rice, the other pixies in the surroundings began to make annoyingly high-pitched noises that sounded like a rudimentarynguage to Vahns ears. This wasnt necessarily a sign of true intelligence, however, as even Goblins and Kobolds were able tomunicate with each other. Since none of them had auras, and were proactively trying to attack him, Vahn didnt hold back as he sent a tidal wave of crimson-gold mes through the corridors, scorching most of the Pixies in an instant. None were killed by the attack but their fragile wings seemed exceptionally weak to high temperatures, forcing the 10cm tall monsters to rain down from the sky as they lost the ability to fly. Undaunted, and extremely angry, the Pixies began to leap at Vahn with their tiny legs, many targetting his face and throat. With Vahn having already erected a magical barrier, their attacks were ultimately futile. As a result, Vahn had ample time to observe them as he wondered how exactly such weak creatures were meant to pose a threat to Adventurers. He supposed that the toxins within the extremely dense mana were supposed to incapacitate intruders, leaving them helpless as the small Pixies tore their bodies to shreds. They also had high Endurance, making them somewhat difficult to kill, while their magical resistance also seemed rather high. Combined with the other monsters that should be present on the 71st Floor, Vahn was able to understand that they were more of an inconvenience that could overwhelm Mages than a genuine threat... Afterpleting his analysis, Vahn transformed into his Baihu form before creating tempestuous des of wind that cut through the surrounding Pixies with rtive ease. He confirmed that they were remarkably resilient as some continued trying to attack even after losing arms and legs. It wasnt until their small magic cores were damaged that they finally dispersed into motes of dust, leaving vibrant bluish-green cores in their stead. Vahn quickly looted these cores, selling them for a substantial 800-1100 OP each before turning his attention toward a particrly dense cloud of mana that had been skulking around in the periphery. Understanding it had been spotted, what appeared to be a rainbow colored snake shot out from the mist with a speed that caused Vahns eyes to widen, even in his Baihu form. It was practically like a bolt of lightning as it sn.a.k.e.d through the air and tried to bury its long fangs into his neck. Though it was only around 110cm long, Vahn imagined it would even be able to take out a Monster Rex with the speed it had disyed. Unfortunately, he was a particrly bad matchup for fast moving enemies as the monster, which Vahn decided to call a Rainbow Viper, mmed into his magical barrier. He used the momentary gap before it was able to react to catch the snake by its neck,pletely shattering its spine in the process. Though the Rainbow Viper had yet to die, it was no longer able to move on its own volition once Vahn had essentially severed the nerves between its brain and body. It twitched about like a whip, impacting Vahn a few times in the process, but each hit was absorbed by his secondary magical aura as he marveled at the surprising beauty of the snake. Its rainbow-colored scaled made a striking pattern that could put to shame most jewelry Vahn hadid eyes on. He imagined it would be an exceptional material for producing essories for the girls, particrly Anubis, Nanu, Tiona, and Tione. Vahn knew the rainbow-colored scales would ent their healthy brown skin and was already thinking about how he could acquire a few more Rainbow Vipers to collect enough materials... ------------------------------------------------------------------- //[Nameless] Wishes to be your subordinate. (Y/N?)// ------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn was snapped out of his momentary reverie by the system notification and, having epted several tens of thousands of subordinates over thest year, actually epted without even thinking about it. His eyes widened slightly as he stared down at the rather pitiful looking Rainbow Viper that was still twitching about in his grasp. A small feeling of guilt welled up in his heart when he saw its golden pupils beginning to lose their light, causing Vahn to send a wave of healing energy into the Rainbow Vipers body to preserve its life. It quickly regained its vitality and, though Vahn was still holding its neck, the snake coiled around his arm with gentle pressure as it happily flicked its tongue. Seeing how affectionate the Rainbow Viper was acting just moments after it tried to kill him, Vahn couldnt help but issue a wry smile as he stated, "Youre pretty clever, arent you? Well, well chalk this up to fate...so long as you obey my orders, I will help you be even stronger in the future." As if it truly understood his words, the Rainbow Viper flicked its tongue a few times as its Loyalty increased from 53 to 57. If his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] hadnt been on cooldown, Vahn would have named the clever little snake that had somehow weaseled its way into his life. For the time being, he simply let it coil around his neck like a scarf as it flicked its tongue near his ear and mirrored the movements of his head as he walked through the 71st Floor and continued to hunt more Pixies... With the evening deepening, Vahn was preparing to cut his adventure short after another hour of probing the 71st Floor. Most of the enemies he had encountered along the way were the rather annoying Pixies, which seemed to roam in groups of more than thirty at a time, while only a few Rainbow Vipers appeared. Whenever one showed up, the [Nameless] Rainbow Viper on his shoulders would immediately set into motion, coiling together with the opposing snake as they fought for dominance. Vahn wasnt sure if it was due to the influence of his Unit Management, but his Rainbow Viper always emerged victorious before slithering over with the paralyzed body of its prey,ying it at his feet before happily flickering its tongue. At times like this, Vahn would reach down and gently stroke [Nameless]s head before allowing it to resume its ce on his shoulders once again. During the moments when there werent any enemies present, Vahn was exining various things to the small snake since he could tell it was already growing attached to him. He couldnt easily walk around with it on his shoulders all the time and, knowing it would one day possess a humanoid form, Vahn didnt want it to develop any strange expectations like some of his earlier subordinates. Though it couldnt really understand his words, Vahn knew the Rainbow Viper could understand his intent as it bobbed its head as if nodding and stared back at him with its golden eyes that would often emanate a gentle light... While preparing for his return trip to the 60th Floor, Vahn had detected a muchrger presence than a Pixie or Rainbow Viper so he decided to investigate since it wouldnt take too much time. He already knew what to expect from the unseen entity so Vahn wasnt surprised when an emerald-colored tree entered his vision. It had vibrant blue leaves that rustled gently, even in the absence of wind, as microscopic spores spread from its canopy. Vahn found the aromaing from the spores rather pleasant but [Nameless] had snuck into his cor to avoid exposing itself since they were a lethal poison to most biological lifeforms. Vahn experienced his nerves seizing up painfully before his body filtered out the toxins, allowing him to confirm the potency of the spores before creating a barrier that prevented them from entering his body once again. The strange tree seemed to sense this as it began to tremble, causing the ground to quake asrge roots began to break through the floor. They attempted to coil around Vahn but he was much faster, allowing him to easily evade as hundreds of Pixies began to pour out from the trees canopy as they attempted to overwhelm him. Vahn decided to name the tree-like monster as a Pixie Colony as he stretched out his right arm. He focused his mind to the extreme as cracks began to emerge along his skin before Vermillion feathers began to sprout like tiny mes escaping the gaps of a st furnace... One of the things Vahn had been working on recently was partial transformations with his [Rakshasa Body] since he suspected it should be possible to make use of multiple transformations in the future. Currently, he could only transform a single arm with his Zhuque form, likely the result of his general affinity with Fire Elemental energy. As a result, Vahn was able to create a pir of vermillion mes that washed over the flock of Pixies, this time burning them to ashes as the pir collided with the Pixie Colonys emerald green trunk. A deep groan escaped from the monster, though Vahn wasnt quite sure where from, as it began to twist in a futile attempt to escape the mes. After a few minutes had passed, the only thing that remained of the Pixie Colony and its residents were a few Drop Items and enough rice-like magic cores to fill a five-ounce bag. Vahn sold the entire bag and was gobsmacked when he was awarded over 700,000 OP in a single go. He happily threw the other Drop Items into his Inventory as the Rainbow Viper poked its head out of his cor and licked the air a few times. Vahn was reminded of its existence, causing him to issue a wry smile as he said, "You better not develop the habit of trying to sneak into my clothes or Ill never allow you to have a human transformation..." He didnt know why, but Vahn felt like he had some kind of fate with this small snake, causing small warning signals to sound in his mind as a result of his extremely high karma... In response to his words, the small snake stared nkly with its golden eyes before flicking its purple tongue a few times. It then tried to sneak back into the depths of Vahns tunic but he quickly snatched it before tossing it up into the air. The Rainbow Viper showed a momentary panic as it flipped through the air but ultimatelynded without issue before quickly returning to Vahns side and coiling around his leg with a sorry expression on its face. Seeing this, Vahn shook his head while releasing a sigh as he wondered what name to grant the small snake in the future. He didnt have to grant it a human form but Vahn knew the small snake would likely want one at some point. Since he knew how unfair it could be for his subordinates to make decisions on their behalf, Vahn needed to seriously consider what was best for his new [Nameless]panion before picking its name... With several suitable names crossing his mind, Vahn had [Nameless] momentarily return to its core as he transformed into his Qinglong form and tore through space to reach the 61st Floor. Though he could enter the 60th Floor proper, Vahn liked to y it safe by not messing with the spatial fabric near Enyos seal. Thest thing he needed was the errant goddess breaking free from her seal just because he wanted to save a few minutes of time. As a result, Vahn had to kill a few Slimes and Berserker subspecies before he finally reached the secret area that connected with his most secure base. Gros had already been waiting for his arrival, as there was a team constantly monitoring the surroundings, so Vahn spent a few minutes discussing various matters before finally using the teleportation ward to return to the surface. Since the teleportation ward connected to the Xenos Vige, Vahns eyes instinctually focused on the small residence where Helen and Marie resided together. It was only a brief moment, however, as the two Xenos who had been watching over the teleportation ward happened to be Naho and Arles. The former was wearing a ck and white gothic style dress while thetter had a pristine blue dress with a white apron and frills that matched closely with Dianas outfit. Freya had called it an Alice-Style outfit, though even she didnt know the origin of the name. The only thing that really mattered was that both girls looked unbelievably cute, especially with Arles small white rabbit ears, so Vahn was prevented from going to meet with Helen since it would have broken the two girls hearts if he left just after arriving... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Squishing Intensifies*,Clever snek...!?,Arles wearing an Alice outfit with arge pocket watch nestled against her diminutive chest...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 963 - Acceptance

Chapter 963 - eptance

By the time Vahn deposited the peacefully sleeping Arles and Naho at their homes, the sun had long descended over the horizon. It was already after 9 PM, most of his children were asleep, and Vahn was currently spending time nestled between Hestia, Artemis, and Lante back at the Manor. With his avatar, Vahn found himself on the outside of Nahos shared residence with Rayne after politely declining the invitation to stay the night. There were still several things he needed to take care of and, having detected that Marie already descended into her underground cove for the night, Vahn decided to pay Helen a visit. He could tell that she was still awake and, though his questions could wait until the following day, Vahns instincts told him not to let the mattery. After passing his hand through the wind-chime on the outside of the residence, Vahn sensed Helen stirring and was left waiting for a little over a minute before her soft voice reached his ears, giving him permission to enter. He had used the small dy to make adequate mental preparations so, even though he instinctually held his breath upon seeing Helen again, Vahn calmed down much faster than normal as he smiled casually and said, "Sorry for disturbing you sote, Helen. If it wasnt an important matter, I wouldnt havee to bother you like this..." Hearing Vahns words, Helens expression didnt change much but she allowed an imperceptible sigh to escape through her nose. She wanted to make ament that he coulde and bother her whenever he wanted but withheld it, instead asking, "What matter is so important? Do you require something of me...?" Since Vahn had a serious expression, even with his smiling face, Helen was steeling her heart for whatever he wanted to talk about. At this point, she knew Vahn was different than the other men she had met in her life but Helen couldnt help but think the worst since he had waited until Marie had left. Strangely, instead of being bothered by the possibility of something happening, Helen felt slightly anxious and was experiencing shortness of breath... Vahns brows raised at Helens reaction as, even though it was extremely subtle, he could tell she was harboring some expectations about his visit. This caused his heart to flutter madly but he managed to keep his calm as he exined, "I managed to reach the 70th and 71st Floors of the Dungeon today. There was aplex magical formation present on the 70th Floor and, after deciphering the puzzle, I came across an unbelievably powerful artifact. It was a mirror that allowed the user to see almost anything their heart desired while also giving them the ability to interact with it, albeit with various restrictions..." Helen tilted her head to the side by a single degree as she experienced a momentary confusion, followed by the return of the empty feeling she had been troubled by as ofte. Understanding that Vahn came here simply to talk, Helen performed a slow blink while taking in a shallow breath before answering, "That sounds like a truly incredible artifact...I wonder what it would show me if I asked it to reveal my own hearts desire..." As the final few words escaped her lips, a few strands of Helens silvery-white hair decided to misbehave, falling from Helens ear and giving her a mncholic look that caused Vahns heart to seize up for a brief moment. After taking a moment to calm down, Vahn said, "With your strength, it wouldnt be difficult for you to reach the 70th Floor and make use of the mirror..." For some reason, Vahn felt extremely awkward as he said this and, as if she was in the same boat, Helens pink eyes gazed upon him with a slightly dull light emanating from the runes contained within. It almost felt like she was judging him but Vahn ignored the feeling as he quickly added, "Anyways, I used the mirror to obtain a great deal of information about the Dungeon and its inhabitants. I was able to learn that there were ny-nine Floors and was able to catalog every monster within after a few hours of select questions. However, the most important thing I came to learn was about the nature and origin of the Dungeon itself..." At this point, Helen was giving him her rapt attention since there were few people that werent interested in secrets that had eluded both mortals and gods since the foundation of the three realms. Though some may know the purpose of the Dungeon, such as Ouranos, Amenominakanushi, Ymir, and Brahma, they had never passed the secrets onto the generations that followed. As a result, Helen buried her mncholic feelings and was closely listening to each word Vahn said, even as he swallowed hard and asked, "Helen...are you a reincarnated individual...?" This had caused her to blink in confusion once again before tilting her head, this time an impressive three degrees. She had been expecting Vahn to tell her about the Dungeons secret, not ask about her identity... As this thought crossed her mind, Helen quickly understood the implication behind Vahns question, deciding to follow-up with a question of her own, even as her heart began to race for the first time in hundreds of years. She gazed into Vahns aquamarine eyes, something she genuinely avoided out of habit, asking, "Are you saying I have some rtion to the Dungeons origin...?" Several thoughts were racing through Helens mind at this point, simr to puzzle pieces that had been carefully organized in the past but had never been brought together. Her fate as the key to godhood now made a lot more sense, causing Helen to feel a mixture of emotions that she didnt know how to put into words. Since Helen didnt answer his question, Vahn felt slightly awkward but still nodded his head as he answered, "I asked the mirror several different questions to confirm it but, assuming the mirror isnt trying to mislead those that use it, there is a high chance you have some rtion to the Dungeon and the two Primordial Goddesses, Nuwa and Tiamat. If you arent a reincarnated individual, there is a high chance you were created by the Goddess Nuwa herself..." Nuwa, even till this day, was the only god that could proactively create life that possessed a soul. Though it would have taken her a long time, she had hundreds of millions of years to create something like Helen, all for a purpose that was bing increasingly clear with the passage of time... For several minutes after the revtion, Vahn stood awkwardly near the entrance while Helen tried to process this new information. He didnt know what she was thinking but there were a few strong fluctuations in her aura, a stark contrast to how peaceful and stagnant it was in the past. Though they werent nearly as active as a normal person, it was obvious to anyone that knew Helen well that she was experiencing tumultuous emotions. Vahn couldntfort her in the same way he would someone he was close to but he still reached out his hand and sent calming energy through his domain so she wouldnt overstress her heart and mind. Feeling the foreign energy enter her body, Helen was more surprised that worried, causing her to give Vahn a questioning look while her thoughts were still racing. She saw genuine concern in his expression and,bined with the calming effects of the energy, Helen quickly regained herposure as she said, "I have long thought about my purpose and wondered why I had been burdened with such a tragic power..." Though she had never met Nuwa, Helen was very aware of the prestige the Primordial Goddess held, as she was the true origin of sentient life within the three realms. Being created by such an entity gave her a small feeling of pride, even though it also cemented the purpose she had been given... Vahn couldnt help but furrow his brows when he saw the eptance in Helens eyes, almost as if she were given some inescapable fate. Though he had the benefit of knowing that such concepts werepletely asinine, at least when he was within a record, Vahn still felt troubled by the fact that someone he associated with felt as if they were limited in their choices. He believed that there were an infinite number of paths forward and, if she didnt want to be a victim of fate, the only thing Helen needed to do was ask for help. Instead, she acted as if she were a solitary existence in the world and, even though Vahn knew why she behaved that way, it still annoyed him since he had also lived with simr burdens in the past... Though he knew it wasnt really his ce to say, as Helen had lived a very different life than him, Vahn still squinted his eyes slightly and said, "From the moment you came under my protection, any fate you think you were burdened by has beenpletely removed. I cam here because I was curious and wanted to understand the truth of the matter, not because I wanted to make use of you. Even if you proactively wanted to use your power, I would exhaust every other option before evering to rely on something so contrived. And you can trust me when I say I have literally infinite options at my disposal..." Vahn didnt know why, but the emotion he hated the most when dealing with people, himself included, was eptance of fate they didnt orchestrate themselves... Helen had never seen Vahn angry before so she was taken aback by his behavior, causing her mouth to part slightly as her mind nked for a brief moment. She didnt know if she should apologize, as she didnt truly understand what had happened for Vahn to be so upset. As a result, Helen remained quiet and just mulled over his words while issuing a soft Nn.... Though Vahn had never shown any indication of wanting to use her, Helen still couldnt fully believe his words. She knew that, if he encountered a bottleneck that he was unable to ovee, the knowledge he had obtained would bring him back to her. Understanding that Helen didnt truly believe his words, Vahn furrowed his brows and asked rather pointedly, "What is your dream, Helen? Other than the purpose you seem to have epted for yourself, what do you desire out of life...?" This time, Helen gave him a gentle smile and exined, "After I have served my purpose, I imagine it would be up to my partner to decide how I will live from that point onward. I will do my best to support them, even though I dont have the heart to increase my strength a second time..." These words caused Vahns frown to deepen even further, causing him to shake his head while turning away from Helens gaze. He actually regretteding here to confirm his suspicions as they hadnt even talked about the Dungeon much since Helen seemed incapable of escaping the fate she had epted for herself... After reaching the doorknob, Vahn took a deep breath before saying in a stern tone, "If you think your fate it something inescapable, I maye to rob you of it one day. I would rather bear your hatred and resentment than see you ept a fate you have every opportunity to break free from." Since it wouldnt even take that much effort for him to seal away her power, even if it was the result of an Innate, Vahn was sincere when he spoke. Though it sounded like a threat, it was more of a promise that he wouldpletely destroy Helens expectations if she was unable to grow beyond the restrictions she had ced on herself. He wanted her to be truly free and, if she wasnt able to do it herself, Vahn would destroy the prison she had created through her eptance... Hearing Vahns words, Helens felt as if a hammer had smashed into her mind, causing all of the thoughts that had been present to shatterpletely. She was unable to form any thoughts at all as Vahn exited through the door without even sparing her another nce. Now, even more than before, Helens heart was thumping madly with emotions she didnt truly understand. Part of her denied the possibility that Vahn would be able to change her fate but, seeing how serious he was, Helen couldnt help feel there was just the smallest chance that his words were true. Since he had already done many things that should have been impossible, Helen, for the briefest of moments, thought about asking Vahn for help. This thought didntst too long, however, as Vahn was long gone from her residence, leaving Helen to deal with the encroaching loneliness once again as she stared at the spot where he had only recently stood... --- After leaving Spero Vige, Vahn felt as if his convictions about the future had be even more cemented than before as a powerful desire to shatter fate itself rose up within his heart. He had also been a victim of Fate, to the point that even now he wasnt truly free from its influence, but that was something of his own creation. It wasnt a Fate he had been assigned, but one he had taken upon himself willingly in the pursuit of the future he wanted to create for himself. This realization had been extremely liberating for him in the past and Vahn wanted everyone to be able to undergo the same realization in the future. The reason why he wanted to create a world where everyone could smile, all while helping them achieve their true potential, was for that exact purpose. Vahn ended up taking to the sky, flying high above the City until he could see the entirety of Orario in a single gaze. It was steadily growingrger and, though the massive external walls hadnt changed, there were already talks about created a secondary wall after the city-wide barrier waspleted. Orario would be the heart of his Empire and Vahn knew that the poption of the City would boom over the next couple of years, especially after he united all of the regions of Eden. Those that migrated here would bring with them the hope of a better future and, so long as it was within his power to grant it to them, Vahn would do everything possible to ensure that they had every opportunity all sentient life should be afforded... While thinking such thoughts, Vahn detected spatial fluctuations and wasnt surprised when Terra and Alexa appeared from the void at his side. He knew Terra would have been paying attention during his conversation with Helen and, as a result of the powerful bond they shared, she was also sensitive to his mood. As a result, Vahns momentary mncholy waspletely shattered, reced by a warmth in his heart as he smiled toward the two concerned True Dragons. It had been a while since thest time he stayed in Terras Garden so Vahn extended out his hands to the two, a loving smile on his face as he said, "Tonight, I think Ill stay in the Garden...will the two of you join me...?" Though he knew the answer, Vahn feltpelled to ask as a simple courtesy that didnt cost him anything. Terras eyes shed with a somewhat greedy light for a brief moment but she quickly quelled her urges and showed a genuine smile as she urged Alexa forward and said, "That sounds pleasant..." As for Alexa, she had calmed down a lot with the constant treatment from Vahn so she was able to stay rtively calm as she grabbed his outstretched hand and said, "Lets go, Papa. Tonight, I will take care of you, okay...?" Since he was always bringing herfort, Alexa wanted to at least support her Papa whenever he was feeling conflicted. Though she could also sense the resolution in his heart, causing her own to flutter excitedly, Alexa knew her Papa well enough to know he wasnt really the type to be overbearing. It gave her a small amount of pride, knowing she could have him rely on her during the moments when he soughtfort, even if there were limits to what she could do for him... (A/N: Sorry guys, but my Dad wanted to go out to eat since Ill be leaving for another eight weeks when I fly out tomorrow. There isnt much I can do about matters of life, just know I appreciate the constant support from each of you during these rather unstable times. When the Summer seasones to an end, I n to fullymit myself to EPIC until we are able to bring the story to a natural conclusion together. Hopefully, when I begin to work on my original, Ill be able to treat writing as my actual career and wont have work interfere with my releases anymore xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sometimes, even when there are a lot of people trying to help, people feel as if they are still alone...,Nuwas true intentions...?,*Casually Cuddles True Dragons As If They Were Service Animals*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 964 - Focus

Chapter 964 - Focus

Early the next morning, after enjoying a rather hearty breakfast alongside most of the Manors residents, Vahn was sitting in his study with Loki, Hephaestus, Hestia, Artemis, Eirene, Demeter, Eina, and Syr. With Winter descending upon thend, Demeter had a lot more free time so she had been staying at the Manor a lot more than in the past. She would often join Vahn in watching over the children whenever they would all go out to y in the clearing where Yggys main body was located. Though she would spend most of her time just smiling at the side, Vahn had the spent more than a single afternoon enjoying her rather plump thighs as a pillow... The reason Vahn had gathered everyone was to discuss what he had discovered in the Dungeon during his previous excursion and his short-term goals. Vahn knew he would need to get to the bottom of Tartarus at some point but he had been putting it off since there were often more pressing matters to attend to. Right now, they were less than two weeks away from the day he may very well be the Emperor of Orario, a matter that couldnt simply sit on the backburner since there were various preparations that needed to be dealt with. He was also nning for his trip to the Far East, though it would likely have to wait until Tiona and Tione had given birth since he didnt want to split his focus so much. During his almost daily discussions with Loki, Vahn hade to ept the fact that he didnt necessarily need all of the gods that would make up the Divine Council in order to establish it. So long as they kept an odd number of members, it was possible to announce their existence during the next Denatus in order to set the stage for his rise. It helped that, though Ouranos didnt directly support his establishment of an Empire, he made no attempts to oppose it either. Ever since the Fels incident and the sealing of Enyo, Ouranos had been allowing Vahn to act with impunity, so long as he didnt take any extreme actions that would cause great harm to the City and its people... After his discussion with the core members of the Manor, Vahn had decided to focus on hising inauguration instead of trying to conquer the Dungeon in one go. That would have to wait until he had consolidated his power and authority a bit, as there would likely be a few hups during his rise to power that would need to be addressed. This didnt mean Vahn wouldnt be delving into the Dungeon, however, as the mirror had provided the answer to several important questions. One of the things Vahn had used it for was to learn the location of the One-Eyed ck Dragon and its avatar, as he still wanted to help Ais gain some form of closure in regards to her past. Though she had put the matter behind her, Vahn knew that Ais would sometimes think about its existence since it had left arge shadow over her heart. Vahn wanted to help her remove that shadow and, once she was ready, build a family together with Ais that wouldnt rece the one she had lost, but allow her to honor their memory... As a result of the decisions made during the meeting, Vahn entered into the Sub-Space orb with his avatar to seek out Ais and discuss when, and if, she wanted to y the One-Eyed ck Dragon. Her strength wasnt at the point where she would be able to defeat the main body, but the avatar that Vahn had seen through the mirror didnt appear to be that strong. As for the main body, it was almost on the same level as Charybdis and, even though Vahn had only seen its visage through the mirror, it still caused goosebumps to run along his skin. Fortunately, it had made its nest far to the north of the Dark Continent and was in an inactive state, presumably attempting to break through the limit of its Soul Tier. Vahn knew that, just as he would feel difort when reaching the peak of his parameters at any given level, there would be a simr pain when nearing the threshold for a new Soul Tier. Being stuck at the bottleneck would cause your body to feel as if it was swollen as a deep pain continually built up from your very soul, something you could never adapt to. The One-Eyed ck Dragon had likely reached the pinnacle of Tier 3 nearly a thousand years prior and, in order to deal with the pain, split off a fragment of itself before entering into a deep state of meditative hibernation. As for where that fragment was located, Vahn had been able to deduce that it wandered between the 71st and 73rd Floors. Though the mirror wasnt able to answer questions directly, Vahn had still been able to ask it to show him what other monsters were located on the Floor where the One-Eyed ck Dragon was located. Using simple process of elimination, he managed to narrow down the search area and, once Ais was ready, they would leave to subjugate the phenomenally powerful monster. It would have to be dealt with at some point, regardless, so Vahn felt it wasnt a bad idea to leave it to the Ais and the other girls. They needed a powerful foe to stimte their growth once again and, with any luck, Ais may even be able to reach Level 8 in the process. She was currently only around the middle of Level 7 but, with how big of an impression the One-Eyed ck Dragon had left on her heart and mind, Vahn knew she would experience a monstrous boost after ying it. As was often the case as ofte, Vahn found Ais wearing a thin white robe as she meditated under the waterfall that Terra had constructed in the past. There was a green aura around her body that appeared to be nothing more than a gentle mist but was able to keep the water from directly contacting any part of the robe she was wearing. She had made startling progress on the path of Cultivation and, other than Fenrir and Alexa, Ais was the only one who had reached this point in her growth. Tiona had joked that it was because Ais didnt really think about anything, making it easy for her to enter into a meditative state, but Vahn knew it was Ais natural affinity with the Spirits that had led to her rampant growth... Having sensed Vahns presence, Ais slowly opened her eyes to reveal pristine golden irises that were easily visible, even through the screen of Wind Elemental energy and water. They possed a slight glimmer as Ais expression morphed into a gentle smile as she extricated herself from the waterfall and floated over to his side. As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Ais leaned into his embrace before asking, "You were looking for me...?" Since Vahn was generally very busy, even when he was spending a great deal of time simply rxing, he almost always had a reason for showing up and very rarely did so without purpose. Vahnbined his fingers through Ais hair, which had grown nearly to the back of her knees at this point, as he answered, "Yes...there is something I wanted to talk to you about. Would you like to have tea with me while we discuss things...?" Though it had only been around seventy minutes back in the real world since everyone ate breakfast together, that meant nearly seven hours had passed within the Sub-Space orb so there was a good chance Ais wouldnt mind eating. She wasnt as gluttonous as Lefiya, who still kept her habit even after upgrading to a stronger weapon, but Ais could be a heavy eater at times. Ais smile blossomed even more at the offer before she gently held Vahns arm and issued a happy Nn~! in response. Though she was a lot more open than in the past, Ais was still a taciturn girl whose words were nearly as precious as gold. She always spoke her mind and, contrary to Tionas teasing, Ais put a great deal of thought into almost everything she said. Her nature was intrinsically introspective, even though her facial expressions had developed to the point where it was possible to understand how she was feeling even without her explicitly saying anything. This was a trait Ais had developed even when she didnt know how to express herself, though it took a discerning eye to notice the small fluctuations in her previously doll-like expressions... After setting up a small pic near the top of the waterfall, Vahn and Ais were sitting shoulder to shoulder in intermittent silence as they yfully fed each other bits and pieces of food. Their discussion, while important, wasnt really a pressing matter so Vahn didnt mind enjoying a meal as he asked probing questions about Ais training. This wasnt the only training area where the girls would train, as it was often better the Cultivate in seclusion, so Ais had this particr waterfall all to herself most of the time. She exined that, if she increased her focus to the extreme, it was possible for her topletely bisect the 20m tall waterfall, even without activating her [Ariel]. This was a frightening degree of progress since it meant Ais natural aura was already at the point where she could probably kill monster around Level 3-4 without even having to move... Towards the end of their pic, Vahn decided it was an opportune time to broach the subject since Ais seemed to be in a particrly good mood while nibbling on a small bunny-shaped cookie. She turned her eyes to him out of curiosity almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind, seemingly able to read the small changes in his expression just as easily as the other girls. Since they had practically known each other for over a decade at this point, Vahn wasnt too surprised and simply exined, "I know the approximate location of the One-Eyed ck Dragons avatar. Though I could take care of it myself, I wanted to give you and the others an opportunity to elerate your growth. It will be a hard battle, but I believe you have already grown more than strong enough to defeat it..." Ais had been curious about what Vahn wanted to talk about but she hadnt expected him to suddenly bring up the One-Eyed ck Dragon all of a sudden. She had been wondering about its location ever since he had sealed Enyo but, with more than a year passing within the Sub-Space orb since then, Ais had started to let the mattery. Though one of the reasons she had been probing into the Dungeon was to potentially discover its whereabouts, it was no longer her primary concern since it was far more productive to train and simply spend time with everyone else. Now that Vahn had found its location, Ais mind nked for a moment since she didnt really know how to think or react given the sudden surprise. After taking a moment to collect herself, Ais expression turned serious as she nodded her head and said, "I will fight. Even if it is only a part of the real thing, even if my original body has long since faded into nothingness, the memory of what happened in the past has always remained inside of my heart. Though I no longer harbor as much resentment towards the One-Eyed ck Dragon, I still want to fight in order to ovee my past...!" At this point, Ais perspective had changed drasticallypared to her past self. She was no longer adamantly determined to ughter all monsters and, even though the One-Eyed ck Dragon had caused the death and disappearance of her parents, she was actually more curious about the creature than what it had done. Part of her even wanted to try and reconcile with it as, ording to one of the cultivation books she had read, hatred without making an effort to understand the other party just created an endless cycle that would consume you, preventing further growth... Vahn returned a nod of his own before smiling as he reached out and stroked Ais cheek in a supportive manner. She really had grown a lot and, after this matter was settled, Vahn believed that Ais might even step into a simr realm as Jeanne in the near future. Though he couldnt imagine anyone defeating Jeanne, as even he would have to use a few unfair methods just to keep her down, it wouldnt be nearly as one-sided as in the past. Coincidentally, as this thought crossed his mind, Vahn saw Jeanne sneeze from the perspective of his main body. She often followed him around and helped watch over the children when she wasnt training the Valkyries or visiting Helen. With a smile on both of his faces, earning a slightly embarrassed look from Jeanne as a result, Vahn brought Ais into his embrace and said, "When youre ready, well explore between the 71st and 73rd Floors until wee across the One-Eyed ck Dragons avatar. Since this is an important battle for you, make sure you prepare properly before we set out. Remember, there isnt any reason to rush things and the strength of yourrades is the same as your own strength. Even if you choose to rely on me, remember that it is a burden we have shared together since the promise we made long ago..." Hearing Vahns words, Ais was slightly surprised since she hadnt expected him to remember the promise from their first night together. In truth, she was rather embarrassed when recalling how brazen she acted in the past and sometimes even felt guilty since it seemed like she had pressured Vahn into epting her. Her long meditative sessions had caused her to think about many things, many of which were small heart demons that she had been trying to ovee in order to progress her Cultivation even further. Seeing that Vahn wasnt even remotely bothered by the past, and even seemed to fall into appreciative reminiscence, Ais couldnt help but smile as she nestled into his chest and enjoyed the sound of his heartbeat with nothing more than an Nn as her response. Since this wasnt the first time Ais had acted like this, Vahn habitually stroked her silky golden hair and just enjoyed the moment for as long as itsted. While this was going on, he also thought about who else he could potentially take along with him as the battle would undoubtedly be educational. The only problem was, he may have to use his Qinglong form if there were any idents, meaning Alexa would have to stay on the surface. Though it would potentially be a defining moment for her, as interacting with True Dragons more powerful than herself may even help her calm down a bit, Vahn didnt want to trigger thendmine that he himself had set. He knew that, at some point in the distant future, he would need to address the lingering issue of Alexa but that was a matter for another time, most likely after he had returned from his journey across other records... (A/N: As many have pointed out, Alexa and Vahn actually have no blood rtion to each other and it is somewhat unfair to her for Vahn to treat her as his daughter. However, just as many foster parents would never harbor those intentions towards their children, please dont expect Vahn, who genuinely cares for familial bonds, to do anything with his yet to mature daughter. After spending a few thousand years in other worlds, it is very likely that his perception would have changed greatly since his soul would also evolve several times in the process. When the timees, he may very well end up fulfilling Alexas desires, though it is even more likely that he would havee up with a simple solution to the problem since he would possess an extreme amount of power by then. Also, Im flying out in a few hours but Ill try to write another chapter on the ne since Ill be in the air for around three hours.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Setting the Stage,*sneezing intensifies*,RIP OEBD-Chan...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 965 - Report

Chapter 965 - Report

Taking Vahns advice rather seriously, Ais decided to put off fighting against the One-Eyed ck Dragon until she and the others had properly prepared themselves. At the very least, Vahn had estimated that the avatars strength was around the peak of Level 8, which was truly monstrous considering that monsters had much higher parameters than normal people. Their only major advantage was that the size of the One-Eyed ck Dragon would restrain its movements quite a bit, something many of the girls could take advantage of. After all, if Ais decided to enlist the help of Ryuu, whose bow could prate its thick hide rtively easily, they would be able to cripple it early in the fight. Currently, the people Ais had asked for assistance were Haruhime, Fenrir, Lili, Lefiya, and, though she wouldnt be participating in the battle itself, Shizune. At this point, she had a veritable shadow army under hermand and, after helping Chloe deal with matters in Westport, there were few people who could hope to contend against her ability to gather information. Since the Dungeon seemed to ignore normal animals, of which Shizune had a menagerie, she could send insects and small animals into the Dungeon to scout out ahead of her. Because of her propensity to over-n things, Shizunes capabilities as an assassin had reached a frightening degree in a very short period of time. She had essentially be a ninja at this point, as even her equipment wasprised of darker and non-reflective colors that allowed her to blend in even easier amongst her shadows. With Shizunes assistance, it shouldnt take the girls too long to find the location of the One-Eyed ck Dragon, even without Vahn leading the way. Since he had mentioned to Ais that it was a good opportunity for them to test themselves, she seemed to have conveyed that to the other girls and they had been treating it very seriously. Though Vahn would be apanying them, this time his role would be as nothing more than an observer. He would also be bringing Fafnir in his shadow, as it had expressed an interest in seeing how strong normal True Dragons could be, while the entire event would also be streamed to everyone back at the Manor and recorded. The One-Eyed ck Dragon subjugation was one of the Three Great Quests, the first two of which had beenpleted by the Zeus and Hera Familias. It was theirpletion of those seemingly impossible Quests that had allowed the two Familia to have such fame, even though they had also caused innumerable issues during their reign. After all, it was widely believed that Cmity-ss monsters like the Behemoth, Leviathan, and the One-Eyed ck Dragon could, quite literally, destroy all life on the Continent. If a Familia was able to subjugate one, this meant that they had a simr level of power, giving them an extreme amount of leeway with how they acted on the surface. Vahn intended to publicize the subjugation of the One-Eyed ck Dragon after he had risen to the position of Emperor, as it would further cement his im to power. He had no doubt there would be a fair amount of dissent when he first rose to the position so it was actually rather timely that he learned about the One-Eyed ck Dragon just as things wereing to a head. This very well could be the influence of Fate, a thought that often caused Vahn to fall into deep reflection, but it ultimately didnt matter. It was his decision to be an Emperor and, though it had been pushed up due to various events, Vahn was whollymitted to his vision of a better future. The foundation had already beenid and, though it was still unstable in some areas, Vahn believed in those that supported him just as much as he believed in himself. With so many capable women at his side, he really had no excuse for failure... In order to make sure things continued to run smoothly, Vahn spent the time during leading up to the One-Eyed ck Dragon doing the thing he hated most, dealing with Nobles and politicians. With his vast informationwork, he knew that most of the people who would attend his meeting had already arrived in the City and were simply awaiting the day. As for those who had refused his invitation, Vahn had already given his orders to Chloes ever-increasing Shadow Corps while Loki, Riveria, and Asfi had helped him draft an official missive as a response. Because he hadnt been raised within the Court, Vahn was still learning how to behave as a Noble and tend to other courtly affairs from Riveria and Asfi. Though he didnt really need to go to so much trouble, Vahn wanted to put on the airs of a proper Emperor so he had been doing a lot of private research while spending around two hours each day being lectured by the two taciturn and intelligent Princesses... As a result, whenever Vahn wasnt at the Manor, he could be seen walking around with his back straight and his chin slightly raised, even though there was almost always a kind smile on his face. He had been increasing his public appearance as ofte and made sure to patron various businesses, all while listening to the words of his future people. Since he already enjoyed a great deal of fame, this change in character was noted almost immediately, giving more fuel to the rumors that Vahn was going to rise as a genuine King or Emperor. Many of the Nobles, Famous Merchants, and other foreign dignitaries had been intercepting him during his daily excursions since Vahn was generally hard to get in touch with whenever he was inside the Manor. This led to many long meetings where he listened to the other party try to appeal to him, many simply trying to earn his favor since they were also very perceptive and knew what was at stake. Fortunately, Vahn didnt have any arrogant and abrasive Nobles seeking him out as the rumors about what he did to such people had already widely circted. It was people like that who had refused his invitation, something Vahn found both annoying and mildly humorous since they had effectively drawn a target on themselves in the process. When his missive reached them, after his rise to the seat of Emperor and the subjugation of the One-Eyed ck Dragon, Vahn could easily imagine their facial expressions growing pale while some may even choose to flee their nations and try toy roots elsewhere. Even that would be impossible, however, as Chloes Shadow Corps was constantly trailing them in order to doc.u.ment their crimes. The existence of Magical Items like the [Shadow Visor Mk. 3], thetest version created by Asfi, had truly turned the tide of any information wars in Vahns favor... It was with such thoughts in mind that Vahn found himself sitting in a Cafe with the leader of that very same Corps, Chloe. She had just returned from a secret mission he had assigned her, this time venturing across the sea with Fafnir to investigate the affairs of the Maritime Kingdom of Aethiopia. Vahn always made sure to meet with Chloe before and after every mission, partially due to the guilt he felt with entrusting such tasks to her, but mostly because Chloe imed she didnt feel at home until Vahn pampered her a bit. As a result, Chloe wasying across Vahnsp as he fed her strawberries with one hand and fiddled with her ears using his other. Even though there was some service staff that came by, she was happily purring away without regards to her surroundings as the two had a telepathic conversation with each other. Though it might hurt his image a bit to act this way in public, it was already widely epted by everyone, to an almost scary extent, that Vahn treated the women around him very well. Some looked at this as if it was a weakness but, if they were to every openly make such ims, others would look at them as if they had said something absolutely ridiculous. As for the reasons why, it was because even the weakest person that was officially recognized as part of Vahns Flower Garden was Level 4. The only exceptions were nonbatants like Syr and Eina but they almost always had an escort of powerful Valkyries following them whenever they were out in public. This meant that, if you actually dide across one of Vahns women without an escort, odds were they were far stronger than you and could easily take care of themselves. If that wasnt the case, it meant Vahn was either in close proximity to that person or they had the terrifying Fafnir lurking around in the shadows, both terrifying realities that few enemies wanted to face... After giving her official report, Chloe was nibbling on just the tip of a strawberry as she telepathicallymunicated, ("That mother of Asfis is a truly wicked woman..."). Though Asfis father, King Cepheus, had originally intended to ept Vahns invitation, her mother, Queen Cassiopeia, had convinced him otherwise. ording to Chloes report, Cassiopeia had already gained more power and authority within the Aethiopian Kingdom than its official Monarch. There were even some who imed her to be a Saintess as, after the disappearance of Asfi, she had apparently offered to sacrifice herself to pay for her daughters transgressions. As a result, the enraged Poseidon, finding Cassiopeias sacrifice as truly noble, decided not to destroy the ind and had allowed them to live in peace ever since... As a result of her twisted maniption of the true events, Cassiopeia had gained an incredible standing within their small country and there was little King Cepheus could do about it. He had always considered himself a fortunate man for marrying such a beautiful woman, as he himself had a rather sorry appearance, so he often gave way to his wifesmands instead of taking a stand. The truth of the matter, however, was that Cassiopeia simply married Cepheus because of her own vanity and desire for power, both having been developed to ghastly extremes. Chloes report showed that she wasnt simply a concubine to Poseidon but also had the habit of sleeping with many of the men that were supposed to be loyal to the King, all while collecting a small harem of her own amongst the servant boys that she fancied... Vahn was truly awed by how twisted Cassiopeia had be but, as this was his time to rx with Chloe, he pinched the white tuft hairs in her ears, causing them to twitch as he replied, ("The end of her tyranny is already in sight. Asfi will make a far better Queen and Ill personally deal with Poseidon if he refuses to see reason. For now, lets just enjoy this moment...tell me, how long will you stay this time...?") Even without him asking her to do anything, Chloe had installed herself as the Commander of the Shadow Corps and often took the initiative to deal with things that she didnt want to trouble him with. It was her way of taking responsibility for the life she had pulled the other members of the Shadow Corps into, something that made them extremely reverential towards their rather adorable and mischevious leader... In response to his inquiry, Chloe opened her mouth wide and took the entire strawberry into her mouth, her moist lips and characteristically rough tongue twinging around Vahns fingers as she answered, ("Ive seen the reports and know there are issues in the Land of no Sun so Ill be going there to deal with a few things after you be an Emperor. Until then, Ill just be helping to train the new recruits at Haven so youll have to spend a lot of money toe visit me, okay~?") Since not everyone treated money like air, most of the girls didnt exploit the teleportation wards to move in and out of the Dungeon daily as Vahn did. This was essentially Chloes way of teasing Vahn, roughly tranting to, If you want me,e and get me. Understanding Chloes intentions, Vahns eyes squinted as a result of his smile and, this time aloud, said, "I wonder if youll be able to keep your voice down this time..." These words caused Chloes face to turn slightly ruddy as she peered around to make sure there wasnt anyone who had heard what he said. Confirming they were indeed alone, Chloe lightly pawed Vahns face as she said, "Youre a real scoundrel these days, Vahn, nyafuu~." She could, very vividly, remember thest time Vahn had actually paid her a visit down at her impromptu headquarters. Even though they had installed soundproofing to the room, there were many in the Shadow Corps who had very sensitive ears, some even having Innates rted to them, so she had gotten strange looks from some of the members after the fact... Vahn found Chloes actions adorable so he sn.a.k.e.d his hand to her stomach, causing her to tense up for a bit before rxing. Cat People didnt like to have anyone touch their stomachs unless it was something they genuinely trusted. This was because it was one of the fastest methods to turn them docile, which could be extremely embarrassing in a public scenario. Vahn was very aware of this but, much like their earlier behavior, he didnt really care if anyone saw him and Chloe being affectionate with each other, so long as they didnt interrupt. Thus, for a few minutes after the fact, Vahn lightly rubbed Chloes stomach as a contended purr sounded out from her throat until she inhaled rather sharply and said, "Feed me, nya~!" --- After his rendezvous with Chloe, Vahn escorted her down to Haven and met with the current and future Shadow Corps members to see how they were progressing. Many of their core members were already Level 4, each bing Squad Captains, while the new recruits were all around the peak of Level 1 or low Level 2. Vahn noticed that, as was often the case, most of the members were Cat People, Pallums, or Dark Elves. The basic requirement of being a member of the Shadow Corps was either having an affinity with Darkness and Shadow magic or, at the very least, a natural talent towards Stealth, Concealment, or Information Gathering. It was thetter that allowed a few Chienthropes into the mix, as their hearing and sense of smell made them excellent additions to every squad. One other thing Vahn noticed was that most of the members of the Shadow Corps were almost all ufortably young. This was because, ording to Chloe, anyone that had the talent to be in the Shadow Corps would need to be developed before they became deviant. If she recruited people who were older, who already had a disposition towards assassination and the like, it meant they were almost undoubtedly criminals or outright murderers. She didnt want anyone that enjoyed killing to be part of their Corps as, even though they were often required to kill, it was because of the mission, not for entertainment. This ideology was much easier to instill in the minds of younger people and, as they were often isted from others because of various quirks, these same youths found a home amongst the Shadow Corps, filled with people that understood them. Knowing that every member scouted by Chloe had chosen to be part of the Shadow Corps of their own volition, Vahn didnt have much to say about how she ran things. After all, he also allowed Shizune, who he had then treated as a child, to undergo simr training. Even Tina, who was only eleven at the time, had studied under Chloe a bit while most of the girls at least knew enough to identify traps and assassins. Since there was a very high chance they would be targets in the future, Chloe had taught them how to stay safe and be a hard target for assassins, as strength didnt always matter when things like poison and stealth were involved. It only took one well-ced dagger to end the life of even someone as capable as Ais, though the odds of that dagger ever finding purchase were almost negligible... After parting ways with Chloe, though not before promising to pay her a visit the following evening, Vahn made his way over to Haven to meet up with Finn. He was also nning to head down to the 60th Floor to check on Enyos seal a bitter but, along the way, Vahn encountered someone rather unexpected. At this point, there were nearly 40,000 people living and working on the 50th Floor, many of which were his subordinates. Because of this, they often became something akin to background noise that Vahn didnt fully pay attention to. This time, however, Vahns awareness hadpletely shifted to the perspective of his avatar as he had just crossed paths with a rather fierce looking Aisha. She was wielding what looked like a giant cleaver that was made out of ckened wood, a weapon he had personally made for her in the past. Her eyes reflected a cold yet hungry light as she hunched down slightly, weapon resting on her shoulders as she said, "You finally show your face...let me punch it a few times...!" (A/N: Im back at work now, so there will only be 1 chapter a day unless I have free time. I noticed a lot of people pointing out that I shouldnt promise more chapters, as it can get peoples hopes up, so Ill try to keep that information to myself and simply post when I can. Keep in mind that Ill be working until around mid-August before returning to my full release schedule so please be patient with me. Know that Im doing my best and, if not for the need to have enough money to support my already frugal lifestyle, EPIC would always be my primary focus. It is because I need this money to support me for the next few months of writing that I have to treat my job as seriously as possible...!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Preparing to fight the Raid Boss,Shizune is a spooky girl...,Chloes Happy Mofu-Mofu Time~!,Oh shit, you better run, boi~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 966 - Bond

Chapter 966 - Bond

Seeing the rather disgruntled Amazoness before him, Vahns expression became odd as he wondered what exactly had happened to upset Aisha since theirst visit. This thought, however, served as the answer since Vahn realized it had been well over a month since he had stopped by to visit her. She spent most of her time within Haven, now heading more than six-hundred other Amazonesses in a smallmunity that was continuing to develop even now. Though she was able to return to the surface, as Vahn had given her a few high-grade magic cores to facilitate the transfer, Aisha wasnt the type to squander rare materials for her own convenience. Though he wasnt going to let her punch him in the face, Vahn understood Aishas frustration since she must have heard about the fact that Tiona and Tione were both pregnant while Kali had made a few appearances around Orario for personal exploration. There was a constant flow of information between the surface and Haven as a result of the HDFs operations so it wouldnt take long for such information to reach her. Understanding this, Vahn felt slightly guilty as he put his hands up in a loose grappling stance before sending a small nod in Aishas direction. She had been tightly gripping the handle of her massive cleaver while he put the pieces together in his min and Vahn knew she wouldnt wait much longer... Currently, Aisha had managed to break into Level 5 so her strength had increased drasticallypared to their first meeting. Vahns, however, had undergone monstrous growth that few could even hope to contend against. He was already stronger than she was in the past so the disparity between their strength and speed had only increased with the passage of time. Though Aisha kicked the hard bedrock surface with enough strength to leave footprints behind with her bare feet, Vahn was able to easily track her trajectory with his eyes. When she swung her massive cleaver towards him, Vahn performed a partial transformation with his left arm, growing dense ck scales thatpletely negated the force behind the blow. In the next instant, Vahn did a transition between his Xuanwu form, growing ck and white fur along his right arm as he palmed Aishas exposed abdomen with enough force to send a ripple through her entire body. Aisha shot back like a cannonball that had been fired from a magically empowered cannon but, before she was able to even travel one-hundred meters, Vahn had appeared within her flight path, diverting the force so she would fly upwards instead of into any of the surrounding structures. As a result, Aisha wasunched into the air like a rocket as her healthy brownplexion gained a slightly pale undertone. Vahn had carefully controlled his strength but Aisha was currently regretting therge breakfast she had eaten earlier in the day. There was a sickly feeling in her stomach as her nausea continued to rise from the rapid changes in direction... Just as Aisha felt as if she were about to evacuate the contents of her stomach, a pair of warm arms wrapped up her body, bringing with it a wave of calming energy. Aisha habitually released a sigh of relief before a deep frown marred her generally mature and seductive features as sheined, "I dont mind waiting for you, Vahn, but you should at leaste to visit more often. When I found out you came by to drop off supplies without evening to see me..." Using the opportunity when Vahn was listening closely to her words, Aisha elbowed him hard in the ribs while releasing a small hmph. Her mature and sisterly vibe had faded away for the time being as she looked down on the perpetually expanding Haven below, all while Vahn took a few sharp breaths through his nose before regeneratingpletely. Though a simple elbow strike normally wouldnt do much damage, Aisha had used the very edge of her elbow while sending a bit of energy into the blow with her [Fist Strike] ability. She hadnt broken any of his ribs, but Vahn felt a few fracture, sending a jolt of pain through his body that he simply tolerated. Aisha was one of the people who knew the extent of his immortality so he could give her a small amount of leeway if it would appease her anger. He knew she didnt want an apology from him so, after holding her from behind for a while, Vahn began to guide their descent towards Aishas residence, arge hemispherical structure that looked like a tent but was made out of polished ck bedrock. What followed was another small skirmish, this time as a ceremony where the two fought for the dominant position in their rtionship. Though Aisha knew she couldnt win the fight, it didnt stop her from doing her best to get a few advantages against Vahn before they both ended up entangled a few minutes after the battle had begun. It wasnt their first time together but this time their rtionship had experienced a drastic change while the meaning behind their union was distinctly different. Vahn savored every inch of Aishas charming and mature features as he pinned her to the thick mattress he hadid out to prevent damage to the floor. Aishapletely cut loose, allowing her instincts to run rampant so Vahn had to keep her wrists locked as she wrapped her firm yet supple thighs around his waist... After nearly two hours of pure mating, Vahn felt a contented feeling in his heart as Aishas tired bodynguidlyid against his chest. Her long dark brown hair waspletely disheveled as it clung to parts of her skin which, after their long union, seemed to be glowing in the low light of the room. As much as Vahn was feeling warm, Aisha was personally experiencing a tremendous heat in her body as a strange feeling of relief slowly settled over her mind. It was her first time getting pregnant and it caused her heart to flutter in a way she had never experienced before as Vahns hand gently stroked her backside while his powerful heartbeat pulsed in tune with her own... Eventually, Aisha ended up falling asleep with a satisfied smile on her face, causing a gentle look to develop across Vahns expression as he moved her bangs to the side and kissed her forehead. Though their rtionship had always been rather unique, Vahn had a lot of genuine respect for everything Aisha had done over the years. Not only had she resisted Ishtars influence and tried to protect Haruhime, but she was a responsible leader that had guided her people with a great deal of patience and understanding. If the circ.u.mstances had allowed him to ept the Amazonesses into his home in the past, Vahn imagined she would have been one of the girls he had relied on a great deal since, much like Eina, Aisha had a very sisterly vibe to her. Though she would often get a bit carried away in her rather sensual teasing, Vahn wasnt exactly against such disys of affection... --- Back at the Manor, while his avatar was undergoing a climactic battle, Vahn had been enjoying a light lunch with Hestia and Artemis while Lante and Bruna, looking less like a proud warrior and now a highly capable Maid, served them. Artemis would often nce at Lante with an amused smile on her face since she actually didnt have the confidence to wear such clothing herself. Lante was wearing a Maid outfit that had a slightly frilly design while her bushy blue tail poked out from a small opening that was tied together with a bow. She always seemed to be happy since her tail was perpetually moving from side to side, especially whenever Vahn would give her head pats or Artemis would ask her to try on new clothing. As Vahn was enjoying the affectionate interaction between Artemis and Lante, all while cradling his first-born Vanir son, Orion, in his arms, Hestia was yfully touching his calf with her bare feet. She seemed to think she was being sneaky, shing a mischevious smile at the corner of her lips while her leaning with both of her elbows on the table. This also meant her ratherrge b.r.e.a.s.ts were also nestled against the circr tabletop, giving Vahn an unobstructed view of Hestias cleavage. She was very aware of what was going on with his avatar, just like Artemis, so Vahn couldnt really me her for feeling a little excited herself. This was one of the few negative consequences of having powerful bonds with goddesses, though Hephaestus still had it worse as a result of their shared link through the eternal me. Vahn allowed Hestias antics with a softly smiling expression since he knew she wouldnt take things too far, at least while girls like Bruna were around. He had be an object of worship to the Valkyrie, causing Bruna to show a slightly vexed expression as she attempted to stand stoically at the side. Vahn actually found the slightly fl.u.s.tered appearance of serious women refreshing, though he still preferred teasing Elves for reasons he would never truly understand. With that thought in mind, Vahn decided he would pay a visit to Riveriater to express his gratitude for the lessons she had been giving him. For now, however, he pinched the sleeping Orions nose, causing the slumbering Vanir to make a frustrated expression for a brief moment that caused Vahn to feel as if his heart was going to melt... Artemis had seen Vahn teasing Orion, causing her to put on a yfully reproachful look as she said, "Dont tease our son too much, Vahn. You cant show preferential treatment between your sons and daughters or they maye to resent youter in life." Though she didnt say these words with any sense of severity, Vahn still nodded his head since he understood there was a great deal of truth to what Artemis was saying. He had actually been trying to improve how he treated his sons since it was obvious that Masonia had already deviated in a strange direction. Masonia was always very respectful and had been steadily increasing his knowledge in the hopes of one day bing King, but it was obvious that Masonia would be deferential to the influential women in his life. This was due to the fact that, being the eldest of Vahns sons, Masonia had be the focal point for a great deal of teasing from most of the girls in the Manor, not just his sisters. Vahn was partially to me for this, though it was primarily due to the fact that Masonia had inherited a lot of his mothers looks, making him appear somewhat feminine with his long jade-green hair and fairplexion. Ever since the first time Vahn had seen his son ying dress up with his sisters, the number of times he woulde across Masonia with light makeup or hair clips on had been steadily increasing. Though he still dressed like a boy, Masonia had adopted the habit of wearing shorts instead of trousers while he often wore white socks that seemed to be increasing in length with the passage of time... Thinking about his son, Vahns expression became slightly wry, earning augh from both Hestia and Artemis since they knew exactly what was on his mind. He decided to take Masonia with him on a journey in the near future to broaden his sons horizons and give him a short break away from the female-dominated Manor. There was also the option of sending Masonia to spend a bit of time with his Grandfather so he could interact with what would likely be his future people. Since he also needed to make good on his promise with Sylfia at some point, though there was no particr rush given how young she was, Vahn didnt think it was a bad idea. Hestia released another light chuckle as she said, "You seem to have made up your mind on something. Tell me, is it another woman...?" Though she said it with a yful voice, Vahn felt like thest word out of Hestias mouth was a little sharper than normal. This caused Vahn to release a small sigh as he nodded his head, unable to lie to Hestias face about the matter. Hestia bit her top lip for a brief moment but ultimately kept whateverment she wanted to say to herself when Artemis gave her an inquisitive look. She understood a few Hestias frustrations but had long epted that Vahns rtionsh.i.p.s were abnormal. In fact, she actually felt that the more people that were around him, therger and happier their family would be... Vahn always felt guilty during moments like this and couldnt help but wonder if there was something he could do to fix things in the future. His nature made it difficult for him to deny the genuine affections of others and he had already made more than a few exceptions when it came to his emotional attachments. Even women like Freya, who Vahn had been extremely guarded against in the past, now had a ce in his heart. Vahn knew the capacity for change that positive rtionsh.i.p.s could bring so it was difficult for him to refuse anyone that he also had an interest in. Because of this, there would undoubtedly be a few more women in his close circle before he exited the record, even though he knew it wasnt what he should be focusing on... Seeing that she had caused Vahn to fall into a period of reflection, it was Hestias turn to feel guilty since the main reason she was upset was that she actually wanted more of Vahns time for herself. When she had first epted that Vahn would have a lot of rtionsh.i.p.s, Hestia felt as though other girls were stealing him from her. Now that she had epted everyone around Vahn as part of their extended family, and genuinely enjoyed thepanionship of nearly everyone in the Hearth Manor, Hestias mentality had changed. It didnt mean she wasnt jealous, as seeing Vahn with some of the other girls still caused her heart to ache, but Hestia didnt truly me him for wanting to make others happy...she just wished he would make her happier more often... Understanding Hestias nature well, Artemis turned to Lante and said, "Lante, would you apany me to Spero Vige? There are a few dresses I had Miss Naho design that I wanted you to try on~." Lantes eyes practically had stars in them as she happily raised her hand in the air and shouted, "Yes, Artemis-sama~!" Since she had nearly the same appearance as Artemis, the only exception being the added dog ears and tail, it was always a peculiar sight, seeing Artemis acting so jubntly. Hestias momentary mncholy faded away as an expression of confusion appeared on her face for a brief moment. Vahn already understood Artemis intent so he handed the sleeping Orion over before giving her a short parting kiss after saying, "Ill make it up to you in the Sub-Space orbter..." This caused Artemis smile to broaden as she and Lante both departed for the underground passage that connected the Hearth Manor and Spero Vige. Even Bruna seemed to have understood what was going to happen since she gave a courteous bow before flicking her wings and taking to the sky. Vahn was tempted to turn his eyes skyward, as the skirts worn by the Maids seemed to grow progressively shorter with the passage of time. He managed to cull the instinct to do so, however, as Hestia was the more important matter at hand. Knowing she had been set up, Hestias face had already turned slightly flushed as she showed an expression of genuine embarrassment. She couldnt disguise the relief in her eyes though, especially when Vahn wrapped his arms around her petite body, stroking her long ck hair as hefortingly said, "If youre ever feeling lonely, Hestia, I can always make time for you. Though I may be busy at times, Id rather have the world waiting for me to take action than leaving you feeling as if I dont have time for you..." Though he genuinely wanted to make the world a better ce, it was because of the people he loved that Vahn was so driven... Hestias heart was racing even before Vahns words so it had practically popped out of her well-endowed chest after hearing what he had to say. Though they were the flowery words of promise that Vahn often spoke, Hestia knew they were Vahns genuine feelings on the matter. The biggest problem was the fact that Vahn was also very serious about almost everything he did, making it hard to fault him when he seemingly failed to keep his promises. For the time being, however, Hestia decided not to worry about such insignificant things as, at least for this singr moment, she could have Vahn all to herself... (A/N: Alternate Titles: "Vahn is a stronk boi...,RIP Masonia (U x U),Gimme gimme...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 967 - Precipice

Chapter 967 - Precipice

After what felt like an incredibly long period of blissful rxation, the first day of the Denatus had finallye so Vahn had escorted Hestia, Hephaestus, Loki, Anubis, Eirene, Demeter, Artemis, and the first time attendant, Kali to the base of Babel Tower. Today was an important step towards his goals as the framework for the Divine Council had already been established but would be a reality after these three days came to an end. Immediately following the formation of the Divine Council, Vahn would be meeting with all of the foreign leaders to discuss various policy changes while also issuing something akin to an ultimatum. However, even though things were rather serious, Vahn found himself in ackadaisical mood as he absentmindedly looked toward the massive tower where the goddesses would be spending the next three days... From a little ways behind him, five tails flickered about in a mesmerizing manner that drew the attention of almost everyone that walked by. This caused several people to end up walking into other pedestrians while those most heavily influenced would even collide with static objects like buildings and streetlights. Even Vahn wasnt entirely immune to this and he could only me others for their curiosity, as Haruhimes abilities may work passively but still required the other party to focus their intentions towards her. Still, Vahn found the slight chaos rather amusing as he turned his attention back towards Haruhime and asked, "Shall we go...?" This caused all of her tails to flicker simultaneously as a smile blossomed upon her increasingly enchanting face as she replied, "Certainly, Master~." With Haruhime holding his left arm, Vahn began escorting her along the more scenic route back to the Manor as the diminutive Shirohime hung from his head and secretly sniffed at his scalp. She had mellowed out a lot after exposure to all of his children, especially since she was able to interact with all of the Guardians. Of course, this didnt stop her from behaving rather spoiled at times, usually sneaking into his room or popping up whenever he wasnt busy to receive brushing and headpats for a few minutes, sometimes turning into hours. This didnt really bother Vahn, however, as Shiro was very cute and her presence helped him know the mood of Haruhime since the two were always in sync with each other... Along the way to the Manor, Vahn and Haruhime politely greeted most of the people they encountered along the way, primarily children and various businesses. As for most people, they knew to keep a distance whenever Vahn was escorting one of his women, which was actually the reason why Haruhime was following along with him this time around. Now that the Denatus had begun, Vahn wasnt intending to meet with any of the foreign dignitaries until the day of his scheduled meeting as he wanted to let the tension they were feeling increase a bit. Since they were too afraid to offend him, the presence of a woman at his side was a strong deterrent that also allowed Vahn to give an icy stare towards anyone that wanted to bother him incessantly. Of course, Vahn always had the option of flying through the sky to avoid dealing with people but that was simr to lowering his head or being roundabout, something that wasnt very Emperor-like. He would rather walk through the City streets with a beautiful woman at his side, knowing there were few who would dare impede his path, as it served to increase his own prestige and allowed him to posture for a bit. This was also a way where Vahn could continue to build rapport with themon citizens, as his presence and general amicability had been steadily increasing his poprity with the passage of time. In this manner, Vahn and Haruhime made their way down one of the few snaking roads in Orario that wereden with neatly arranged cobblestone streets. It was a shortcut that would put them on the main street to the Manor and was often used by Vahn whenever he was walking on foot. Though there was a certain danger involved with establishing a habit that could be exploited, Vahn senses extended outward far beyond the range of any would-be assassin. On this particr street, the duo, trio if including Shiro, saw a small Pallum girl wearing a frilly pink smock running along with a small bouquet of flowers in her arm. She was only around 74cm tall, making anyone that looked at her small figure feel as though their heart was dealt a critical amount of damage since her toothy smile was on full disy... Upon seeing Vahn and Haruhime, the young girl turned statuesque in the middle of her step, as even Pallum children were able to recognize Vahn. Therge statue that had been erected in Little Orario, which was located rtively close to the Manor, made him an everyday figure in the lives of many Pallum. Since many, even as young as the small girl before him, had been personally liberated as a result of his actions, it wasnt too surprising that a lone Pallum would get spooked upon witnessing the person they referred to as their Savior. As a result, the girl fell face forward and was on a crash-course with the ground before an invisible force wrapped around her body and prevented the fall outright. Unable to understand what had happened, the girl iled around awkwardly in a very fl.u.s.tered manner until Vahn and Haruhime appeared right before her, thetter bending down with a gentle smile on her face as she said, "Calm down, youre going to be okay..." This had the exact opposite effect, causing the young Pallums face to practically turn scarlet as she began to stammer, "I-I-I-I..." Haruhime issued an amusedugh upon witnessing this before helping the girl right herself so Vahn could liberate her from his telekic influence. With her feet firmly nted on the ground, the invisible force surrounding the girls body vanished in its entirety, allowing her to calm down a little, even though her face was still beet red. Haruhime gave the girl a light pat on the head before rising to her feet and saying, "You should be on your way. Isnt there somece you were in a hurry to reach...?" Since the young Pallum had turned into a statue again, Haruhime had no choice but to remind the girl about the situation. This caused her to startle to the point that she leaped off the ground a few centimeters while releasing a surprised yelp. It was Vahns turn to chuckle this time, even though he had been keeping acent smile during the previous incident. As a result, the girls eyes became round as the blush on her face seemed to transition towards a deep crimson that made it appear as if she would faint. Just as the dizzy feeling began to overwhelm her, the young Pallum felt a rather heavy palm on her head before a wave offortable heat spread through her body. The dizziness was whisked away as if it had never existed before as even her rising blood pressure was slowly ebbing until it reached a normal level. This didnt stop her from blushing rather furiously, however, as Vahns gentle smile caused her heart to flutter madly in her chest. From her perspective, he was as big as a mountain and seemed to tower above even the surrounding buildings. His palm against her head felt like an entire roof that would shield her from even the most tumultuous storms while the gentle smile on his face almost caused her to cry, though she wasnt entirely certain why. With the girl having calmed down, Vahn extracted his hand from her head before pulling out another small bouquet of flowers. The previous grouping had fallen to the ground when she was iling around earlier and, though he had saved most of them, some of the flowers were a bit worse for wear after being flung around chaotically. He handed the new bouquet over to the absentminded Pallum before pulling out a small bag of cookies and saying, "Share these with your friends, okay? They are very healthy for you and will help you grow up big and strong in the future..." Instead of regr cookies, Vahn had given her a dozen animal shaped crackers that were infused with arge amount of vitality. Since many Pallums still got sick, especially in their youth, Vahn had a habit of passing out small snacks whenever he encountered the almost scarily small Pallum children that would often run errands near the Manor. Knowing what was in the bag, the girl held them close to her chest and began bobbing her head like a chicken as she finally managed to exim, "Th-thank y-y-you, Vahn-shama...!" She ended up biting her tongue towards the end of her exmation, causing her eyes to tear up as another wave of red colored her delicate facial features. Vahns smile curled up a bit at the sides as he reached down and lightly poked against the girls nose while using his [Wounds Transfer] to alleviate the pain and difort she was feeling. From her perspective, it was like a magic trick that had made the pain go away, something incredible that she couldnt really wrap her head around. With the same smile on his face, Vahn gave the girl a small nod and said, "Well be on our way now, little one. Make sure to take care of yourself, your family, and your friends, okay~?" Since the Pallum had started to build a very close-knitmunity, Vahn often emphasized that aspect and encouraged their continued cooperation with each other. Being someone that had benefitted from the care of others, the girl nodded her head rapidly once again before running away with her cheeks still a ruddy red color. Vahn asked Fafnir to apany her safely to wherever she was head while extending his arm out for Haruhime to grab before they once again set out for the Manor... --- Around the same time that Vahn was leisurely making his way back to the Manor, the various gods and goddesses thatprised the Alliance were mingling together as they awaited the official start of the Denatus. This group consisted of the vast majority of gods within Orario while only a few outliers avoided therger agglomeration. There were almost no gods that were hostile towards the Alliance within the City as the Freya, Fortuna, and Eirene Familias had already dealt with most of them. Thetter only dealt with Familia that were known to operate in various grey areas, usually by arresting their members for crimes that they would have easily gotten away with in the past. As for Freya and Fortuna, they were far more direct in their approach as Fortuna would often purchase the debts of troublesome Familia before running them into the ground. Freyas approach was the most direct of all, however, as she had outright eliminated the Familia that were hostile towards the Alliance, often with the assistance of the Loki and Hermes Familias in the shadows. Compared to almost every previous Denatus, everyone could sense there was something off about the atmosphere this time around. As a result, even though things were still rtively lively, several gods and goddesses felt extremely tense as they noticed many of the more affluent and powerful gods were consolidated around the Triumvirate goddesses who, in turn, had Hestia at their center as they spoke amicably amongst themselves. Though it wasnt rare to see the most influential gods gathered together, seeing them all gathered at once was something that caused other gods to feel a great deal of pressure. With Hestia at the heart of everything, appearing far more serious than usual, it was hard to stay calm and pretend things were normal... In total, there were twenty-three primary deities that had gathered to establish the framework of the Divine Council while most of the core members of the Alliance already supported them. This meant more than three-hundred gods and goddesses were in favor of the Councils existence while those in direct opposition could be counted on a single hand. With goddess like Loki, Freya, and now Kali, there were few that would openly voice their displeasure, however. Just having Kali in attendance caused some gods to feel nervous as, even in Heaven, Kali was an especially vicious goddess if you offended her. After descending to the Mortal World, her Familia had actually crushed several other Familia that resided in small Cities and territories, often over petty disputes that could have easily been settled with words... Kali was one of the few goddesses that werent gathered around mingling with each other as she was currently lounging alongside Ioke as thetter quietly nibbled on a somewhat undercooked piece of meat. Though they had differing Divinities, Kali had developed a kinship with Ioke after finding out that the ughter Goddess was residing at the Hearth Manor. The feelings werent exactly mutual, as Ioke was a bit off-put by Kalis presence, but she never vocalized this openly since thetter had never antagonized her. Ioke was just happy to have a ce to stay where she wasnt treated like a tool, as Vahn had never actually required her to go out and deal with his enemies while many of the goddesses at the Hearth Manor took great care of her... Even though Ioke rarely ever responded to her, Kali didnt really mind since she knew that herpanion goddess simply didnt like speaking. However, Ioke was always listening to her, something Kali found refreshing since it felt like she could say whatever she wanted without having to worry. As ofte, she had been venting a lot with Ioke since Vahn, though still treating her well when they were together, had yet to cross the line. Though Kali understood his reasons, and even agreed with them a bit, she couldnt help but feel a little bothered since her instincts werent so easily pacified these days... After taking a sip from a goblet made of bone and gold, Kali exhaled a hot and slightly drunken sigh as she made eye contact with Ioke and asked, "Ioke, what do you think about Vahn...?" Even though she already knew the answer, Kali wanted to tease Ioke a bit with one of the few topics she knew could get a rise out of the demure goddess. As expected, Ioke lowered her head and, instead of takingrge bites out of her meal, began to nibble it very rapidly while refusing to answer the question. This caused Kali to snicker mischievously as she moved a bit closer to Ioke and whispered, "You know, if you wait too long, there may not be a ce left for you after someone else jumps in to fill it up~." These words brought Iokes rampant nibbling to a halt as her blood-red eyes looked up, matching Kalis own as she stated in an icy monotone, "Vahn isnt that kind of person...I believe in him...he wouldnt abandon me..." There was a firm conviction behind each of Iokes statements, even though she was, in truth, trying to convince herself this was the case. She had never met someone like Vahn who, even though he could do anything he wanted, showed a surprising amount of restraint. He also treated her well and, instead of thinking about how best to use her, was more concerned with her happiness and well-being. Ioke genuinely believed this would always be how things were...at least, that is what she told herself to remain calm during the moments when her Divinity weighed heavily on her heart... Though Kali wasnt intimidated by Iokes bloodl.u.s.t, as it paled inparison to her own, she still raised her brows in response while many other gods in the wide hall shuddered while looking over with confused expressions. They had drawn a lot of attention to themselves, something that caused Ioke to avert her eyes as she allowed her dense hair to hide her expression. Fortunately, they had also drawn the attention of the would-be Divine Council as Hestia had quickly appeared with an expression of concern on her face before sending Kali a small re with her crystalline blue eyes. This normally wouldnt have any effect, as Kali wasnt easily intimidated, but Hestia was an exception since she possessed an unfathomable amount of power that caused Kali to feel an instinctual panic for a brief moment. Repressing the urge to try and stir up her own Divinity in response, Kali snorted through her nose and said, "I didnt do anything wrong..." In response to this, however, Loki had appeared at her side, asking, "Oh, I wonder if you would be able to exin the situation to Vahn and still say something like that~?" Now, Kali felt as if her skin had be slightly mmy as she red towards Loki with a look that said, if you tell, I will end you. This caused Loki tough mischievously as her own eyes parted, revealing her ruby-like irises that werent remotely affected by Kalis threat. Realizing she wasnt going to get an advantage in this situation, Kali snorted once again before emptying the contents of her goblet in one go. She wanted to retort that it wasnt fair for them to always bully her but, understanding it was her own actions that led to this oue, Kali buried the resentment in her heart. Later, she would openly confess her wrongdoings to Vahn, knowing he would probablyfort her after understanding the situation. She had just been teasing Ioke and wasnt actually trying to upset her so Kali felt as though she hadnt actually done anything wrong. Even so, she would be the first to exin the situation to Vahn since she was afraid Loki would misconstrue the events in a way that would disadvantage her... (A/N: Sorry about yesterday but I got called in to work early to take charge of a shipment. I was dead tired by the end of the day and didnt want to leave a chapter as an excuse. Hope you enjoyed todays chapter~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Poor Haruhime, overshadowed by Vahns Papa aura,The Alliance is rather tyrannical xD...,Kali getting bullied (>,...,<)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 968 - Brevity

Chapter 968 - Brevity

While waiting for the Denatus to conclude, Vahn found himself with little to do so, as was often the case in such situations, he spent the majority of his free time with his children and his frighteningly expansive harem. They would officially be his actual harem in the future, something that caused Vahn to feel rather peculiar since he wouldnt have even imagined being something like an Emperor in his past life. Stranger still was the fact that, amongst the girls he had surrounded himself with, there were both goddesses and mortals, each having their own unique qualities and quirks. As a result, Vahn often found himself in rather strange situations, such as how he was currently walking through the illusory forest in the center of the Manor while holding a leash... Though he would often take Anubis on walks, it was rather rare that Vahn found himself wrangling a leash that belonged to Nanu. She was currently walking rather spiritedly with her tail waggling back and forward with incredible fervor, a happy smile affixed to her face. Seeing how happy she was, Vahn couldnt help but allow an affectionate smile to adorn his face, even though he still felt rather odd escorting any of his women in such a fashion. Still, so long as they took precautions to make sure none of the children would develop strange habits, Vahn didnt mind indulging any of the girls since it helped him deal with some of the guilt he had about keeping so many women at his side... Along the way through the forest, Nanus ears would constantly perk up at the slightest of sounds before she would turn in the direction of the noise with an excited look in her eyes. There were times when Vahn felt like she would chase after whatever had caught her attention but Nanu would never pull against the leash, always aware of the maximum range of movement she was allowed. It was ultimately his choice where they went and how fast their pace was, though Vahn often wandered without any particr destination in mind since he was often more focused on avoiding anyone else during such situations. There were times when Vana would, generally out of curiosity, try to follow along in secret but it wasnt difficult for Vahn to give her the slip, one of the many benefits of his domain and incredible perception. After around twenty minutes had passed, Vahn and Nanu ended up near the ratherrge clearing where Yggys main body was located. She had cleared out a bit of space for herself previously and there were now neatly arranged berry bushes and small orchards surrounding the periphery. This was where Vahn got many of the secondary ingredients that he would use to bake cookies and treats for the various children he woulde across on his excursions in Orario. They were all highly nutritious and contained an extreme amount of natural and vital energies. Each of these ingredients would easily sell for a rather ridiculous amount on the market, not that Vahn intended to exploit Yggy for something so petty. Before entering the clearing, Vahn loosened Nanus leash, causing her ears to droop for a moment before she almost immediately recovered after Vahn affectionately rubbed her head. He then pulled out a small golden ball which quickly unfurled four golden wings that began to beat rapidly, causing a high pitched whine to resonate through the area. Nanus pupils shrank as her ears and bushy tail became rigid, her entire body tense after seeing the small object Vahn had pulled out. She was very aware of its purpose and, as Vahns hand moved around with the tiny ball, Nanus eyes followed it without wavering in the slightest. This caused Vahn to release a light chuckle before he threw the small ball with a bit of force and said, "Nanu, fetch...!" The moment the small golden ball left his hand, it seemingly vanished into thin air and, if not for the high pitched whine, most would have assumed it teleported away. The truth of the matter was that the small golden ball, an item Vahn had purchased through the shop called a [Golden Snitch], was simply moving at an incredibly high speed. Its raw speed was only that of an Adventurer around the peak of Level 4, but its Agility and the rate at which it could spontaneously change direction were something only Agility-oriented Level 6s would be able to emte. This made it extremely difficult to catch and, without incredibly high perception or enhanced sense, it would be nearly impossible to even track the [Golden Snith] through normal means. Nanu was currently around the peak of Level 5 so her base speed was much higher than the small golden ball that she had quickly set about capturing. However, she wasnt focused so much on speed as a result of her training and profession, making her a somewhat bad matchup for the tiny [Golden Snitch]. Fortunately, she had incredible eyesight, an extremely powerful nose, enhanced hearing, and all of the other benefits that came with being a Chienthrope [Master Smith]. As a result, Nanu was moving around like a blur, nimbly twisting her body as she bounced off trees and vaulted across any obstacles in her way as she determinedly chased after the [Golden Snitch]. Vahn watched Nanus pursuit with an amused glimmer in his eyes as a shimmering mixture of gold and green light coalesced into the figure of Yggy. Instead of looking like a carbon copy of a young Ryuu, she now had light pink hair and, obviously emting him, aquamarine green eyes. Vahns expression softened when he saw her appear and, just as naturally as he would his actual children, picked up the tiny Yggy into his arms as he said, "Good morning, Yggy..." in a gentle tone. This earned him a happy chuckle from the young Spirit as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and said, "Good morning, Papa~." in a chipper tone. She was always happiest whenever he woulde to visit, especially if it was early in the morning when the Sun had just begun to crest over the horizon. While waiting for Nanu to catch the [Golden Snitch], Vahn prepared a light breakfast with Yggy bringing him various ingredients, often by having the nts themselves carry them over in a rather fantastical disy. She had the ability to manipte nature to an extreme degree and, though the nts around her werent sentient creatures, they acted as if they were when under Yggys influence. When she was expanding the clearing to amodate her personal garden, Vahn had watched as Yggy literallymanded the trees to uproot themselves and move off to the side before sinking their roots back into the ground. It was a strangely disconcerting yet awe-inspiring sight, something that had left a deep impression on Vahn since he was always excited to witness new and interesting things. In the midst of cutting a few fruits into the shape of various animals, Nanu came running over with both hands tightly sped in front of her chest. She was breathing heavily and there was a lightyer of sweat covering her olive-brown skin as she smiled happily and presented her catch with a prideful expression on her face, eximing, "Master, I caught it...!" Within the palm of her hands was a pacified [Golden Snitch] that was beating its wings rather slowly, seemingly just as exhausted as Nanu, even though it didnt actually have anything like stamina. Vahn picked it up with his thumb and index finger while stroking the fringe of Nanus hair, digging his fingers in a little roughly, just how most Chienthropes liked it. Nanus tail began to waggle furiously as a light cooing escaped from her lips, not even remotely feeling embarrassed at the disy. This caused Vahn to smile while Yggy giggled at the side, still peeling away the skin from a few golden apples with the ease that others would peel something like a banana. If you had adequately high perception and could sense mana, it was possible to see Yggys extreme degree of control as she cut through just enough of the peel to create a petal before separating the skin from the peel almost perfectly. Her control had already reached a point where she could even outperform Terra, even though thetter was still far more capable as a Mage, at least for the time being. Vahn always felt humbled by how skillful Yggy was, as his own control always seemed incrediblycking inparison. Though he knew the reasons for this, Vahn was determined to get to the point where he would be able to manifest spells without wasting arge amount of his Source Energy unnecessarily. The simplest method was to use the energy in the atmosphere, much like how Mages of Evas caliber would, but Vahn still had a ways to go before reaching that level. He had yet to even break into Tier 4, meaning the distance between him and the most powerful version of Eva was likeparing a droplet of rain to arge ocean. Though there were ways he coulde out ahead, the benefit of knowing almost everything there was to know about Eva, it wouldnt be his own skill that allowed him to emerge victoriously against her. Since the Mage of the Beginning was far more powerful than even Eva, Vahn knew he wasnt even remotely prepared to face against the ancient entity that had birthed Magic in Evas world... Sensing the small shift in her Master, Nanu focused less on the pleasant feelinging from Vahns palm as a concerned glint shed across her rose-pink pupils. Taking the initiative, Nanu wrapped her arms tightly around Vahns torso while nuzzling affectionately against his chest with her cheek as she said, "Master is the greatest. Im sure you can do it if you really try your hardest..." Though she didnt know what he was thinking about, Nanu was keenly aware of the small changes in her Masters facial expression that would give insight into what he was thinking. He had a look that told her that he was worrying about some distant threat and, even though she couldnt imagine what would trouble him so, it was obvious he wasnt confident in facing whatever awaited him. Vahn released a dry chuckle before stroking Nanus back as he said, "Youre right, Nanu. Dont worry, no matter how difficult it might be, I will never give up until I seed. My target is far beyond the enemy that I will have to defeat so I cant let their presence intimidate me...hahaha..." Since he needed to reach Tier 7 at some point, an existence that would make something like the Mage of the Beginning aplete non-factor, Vahn knew it wasnt impossible for him to defeat them. Just as he could defeat Eva, albeit with a bit of preparation, it would be possible to defeat the Mage of the Beginning if he was able to understand the nature of its existence. With the system shop, he could undoubtedly find historical ounts of how others might have defeated it and, though that wouldnt necessarily apply to the Mage he would have to face, it would still give him a bit of insight into the steps he should take... Understanding Vahns intentions, Sis began to purchase tens of thousands of historical texts that were rted to the record Eva had originated from. Though History and Fate would practically be broken when he entered the record, it didnt mean that entities who had always been present would suddenly cease to exist. However, as was often stated in the political texts of many worlds, History was often written by the winners and it was highly probably for the truth to be misconstrued for the benefit of those that held power in the aftermath of conflict. Just from the records she had purchased, Sis found more than a hundred different identities for the Mage of the Beginning, some of which were coincided with the identities of powerful historical figures, including even Eva herself... While Sis was analyzing all of the newly acquired data, Vahn had sat down to enjoy breakfast with Nanu and Yggy. He absentmindedly listened to Sis analysis while making casual conversation and enjoying thepany of the two adorable girls. Nanu was sitting at his side rather obediently while Yggy was seated a little too close to him since she was enjoying feeding small pieces of fruits to Vahn with a happy smile on her face. Vahn found her actions rather adorable and, with his mind focused on other things, it was very convenient to have someone feed him, even though it was also somewhat unnecessary. He would never say that to Yggy, however, as even the thought of upsetting the almost iparably adorable Spirit seeming wrong. --- After enjoying a rather long breakfast, Vahns attention shifted to his avatar since Brynhildr had shown up with a report for him. Since she had just returned from a mission, she was wearing her Valkyrian armor, battle harness, and the long white battle dress that made up theirmon outfit. She had removed her feathered helmet as a general courtesy and bowed low after being allowed to issue her report. Though Vahn would typically dismiss with such formalities, it was a fact that he was about to be an Emperor and he knew he needed to act the part, both for his sake and the sake of those who followed him. He stood with his back straight, chin slightly raised, and hands neatly arranged behind his back as he sternly intoned, "Speak, Brynhildr..." In response to hismand, Brynhildrs wings twitched slightly as she eximed, "Yes, my Master!" before going into details about her mission. She had been tasked with leading a group of Valkyries to investigate a few ces of interest that had many legends and rumors circting about the nature of their existence. The most important of these ces, one of the Three Unexplored Regions, was the Dragon Valley located at the northernmost point of Eden. It was rumored to be a ce where the One-Eyed ck Dragon had nested for a while in the distant past and, true to its name, was filled with various Dragons and Dragon Subspecies. Though Sigfried had actually culled arge part of their numbers in the past, there were a few powerful Dragon Lords present that had been expanding their brood over thest few hundred years. On the subject of the Dragon Lords, Brynhildr had exined, "The region seems to be split into five separate areas, each ruled by one of the Dragon Lords. As for their strength, we were able to subdue to Lord of the East, though it was a hard-fought victory. If not for the blessings that Master had bestowed upon us, it is likely we would have sustained more than simple injuries..." Though their equipment had already been some of the best on the Continent when they served Legend, the upgrades provided by Hephaestus for some of the core Valkyries were leagues above the weapons and armor they had prided themselves for in the past. As for the blessings Brynhildr was referring to, it was referring to the lessons in Evas magic system and the various essories Vahn had gifted the Valkyries after they officially became his subordinates and retainers. Now, almost every Valkyrie was able to use some kind of magic, including those who didnt have a particr talent towards using it. The basic choker Vahn had given them, as per their request, emted [Spirit Healing], allowing them to constantly replenish their mana, while also granting them the ability to use basic healing magic without a chant. As a result, the Valkyrie could not only heal themselves but, in the event that their stronger members would have to deal with powerful enemies, the weaker Valkyrie could quickly fall into a support role and allow them to ovee much stronger foes. This was how they had been able to defeat the Eastern Dragon Lord, Cypheon, a monster around Level 8, without losing any of their members... Vahn felt his brain buzz a bit as he listened to Brynhildrs report but he managed to keep a calm expression as he said, "You did well, Brynhildr..." Though he wanted to remark that they shouldnt have taken such a risk, Vahn knew how prideful the Valkyries were and he couldnt actually deny that they had performed their duty properly. If they had actually lost any of their members, he would have felt extremely guilty, but he also knew he couldnt be so overprotective of everyone he associated with. They were a warrior race that felt fulfilled when facing powerful foes so he couldnt exactly tell them they werent allowed to face danger, even though he did have the right to do so as their Lord and Master... Brynhildr raised her head for the first time after hearing Vahns praise, allowing a small smile to further enhance her already ethereal beauty. Vahn squinted his eyes slightly in response to this before giving himself a slight reprimand since he nearly fell into his bad habits again. Though he appreciated Brynhildrs beauty quite a bit, Vahn didnt want to take advantage of his status and make a thoughtless remark, as Brynhildr would undoubtedly take it very seriously. He knew that, with but a single order, the entire flock of Valkyrie would probably queue up to attend to him. As interesting a thought as that was, Vahn wasnt so desperate for thepany of women that he needed to give in to every small urge that arose in his heart. Though, as this thought crossed his mind, Vahn couldnt help but give a small nce at Nanu, causing the perceptive Chienthropes tail to begin waggling excitedly in response... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nanu loves walkies...! Nanu fetch good...!,Yggy is scary...,Vahn is a deviant xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 969 - Establishment

Chapter 969 - Establishment

While Vahn was enjoying a leisurely and fulfilling life, the Denatus was still underway and, after the first rtively tense day, things hade to a head after Ouranos opened the floor to discussion. This time, instead of a single god rising to their feet to bring a matter to attention, arge portion of the congregation rose, following after the entire table of the top 10 gods. At this point, each of the most influential gods were part of the Alliance and, after spending a great deal of time and effort, most gods stood in support of their cause. There were even some who were unaware of why they were standing but, not wanting to be the odd one out, ended up rising with expectant and confused looks on their faces. As the assembly slowly fell into silence, Ouranos eyes were fixed on the main table, his focus shifting between each god and goddess. His gaze lingered the longest on Hestia who, without any sign of wavering, showed a confident and supportive smile on her face as she fully supported Vahns rise. Though she wished he could just be happy and content without worrying about matters outside of the Manor, Hestia would never stand in the way of Vahns dream. However, whenever he was tired of dealing with politics and associating with other people, she swore that she would be there waiting for him. Even if he grew weary of the world itself, she wanted to make a safe ce where, at least for a brief moment, Vahn would be able to find peace andfort... Feeling a subtle pressure from Hestia, Ouranos almost allowed a smile to break his stone-faced expression but managed to remain unperturbed in the eyes of the congregation. Once silence hadpletely taken over the crowd, his thunderous voice echoed through the vast chamber as he asked, "Tell me, what matter would concern so many gods...?" He was fully aware of the Alliances intentions but, as was always the case, Ouranos had to go through the motions to officiate things to fulfill his role as mediator. In response to his question, Loki, being the primary representative of the Alliance, stepped forward and said, "Times are changing and, for the first time in History, the means for the entire Continent to prosper have been provided by a singr individual. As gods, we have an obligation to recognize the capabilities and contributions of mortals and provide adequate rewards to keep them moving in a direction that ensures the survival of all sentient species..." Even before the gods had descended to the Mortal World, they had watched over its inhabitants, often giving genuine blessings to those who had won their favor. Even the system of the Falna was designed around this principle as, without having an achievement to your name that had earned the recognition of the gods, it was impossible to Level. As Loki had stated, Vahns contributions to the world werent something they could overlook, especially after he had helped dozens of goddesses give birth to healthy Demigods. If it had been in the past, before gods had descended, there would have been nothing to stop Vahns rise as the genuine leader of the Continents peoples, something Loki intended to make sure every god was aware of... After giving arge speech, painting Vahn as the very image of a messiah figure, both to mortals and gods, Loki concluded by saying, "In truth, we gods have already gotten in the way of the worlds progress for our own selfish ends. It is time we start earning our keep and helping to regte how other gods live within this world instead of allowing the selfishness of a select few to lead the mortals astray. Though wee together like this to make decisions for our respective Familia, it has never been enough as therger poption of mortals still exists outside of our influence, often without us paying them any attention at all. As a result, there have been many travesties that have urred, even though we had the responsibility to try and prevent them from the outset..." Loki gauged the various reactions of her fellow gods, noticing that many didnt outright agree with her but could still understand the basic reasoning behind her words. Then, after a momentary pause, Loki added, "We had a thousand years to figure things out yet, even with hundreds of millions of years to prepare, we failed to guide mortals onto a path of true prosperity. Now that someone capable of guiding them has appeared, it is our responsibility to aid that person and guide their decisions so as not to allow our mistakes to be repeated. It is time for mortals to take responsibility for the lives of mortals while we gods, once again, support the development of civilization without directly interfering with its affairs..." At this point, Ouranos knew his own part in this little y so he asked, "Tell me, Loki, who do you believe is capable of guiding the surface world better than we gods? How will we guide the person you have recognized to avoid a catastrophe from urring...?" Without exception, every god within the room had seen the rise and fall of countless civilizations. However, that was before the direct interference of the gods so Loki smiled confidently and exined, "We will form a genuine council,prised of gods who possess a primary Divinity rted to specific elements, forces, and concepts. Our purpose will be as a purely regtory force, determining if the policies andws that are being implemented are truly for the benefit of the surface world. These gods will be known as the Divine Council and, as our first and only act of direct interference, we will recognize the person we believe to be capable of guiding the surface world to prosperity..." Those who werent in the know before showed expressions of genuine shock when they heard Lokis words but, seeing that the majority were silent, they too kept their opinions to themselves. Even if they were gods who ced a heavy emphasis on their own importance, the Alliance had already grown to the point where nothing could really derail its momentum. Unless they wanted to be forced back to Heaven, where a life of extreme boredom would be their norm once again, they would have to abide by the decisions made by the Alliance. Ultimately, even with the Divine Counciling into power, not much would change for many of them. As a result, only a few outliers were truly troubled by Lokis words and how things were progressing...they simply couldnt do anything about it. During the small chaos that followed her words, Lokis gazed passed over several key individuals before she focused her intent onto Ouranos once again. He gave an almost imperceptible nod in response before saying, "I know of the mortal you speak and, though there are some actions I would have advised against, it is certainly true that he is an exception amongst all mortals that havee before and, very likely, all who will follow. The world has always been in flux, cycling through a series of changes where true progress was often the exception, as mortals simply arent suited toing up with policies that will havesting benefits. With the existence of the Divine Council, so long as it has genuine power and authority over the person you have chosen, I believe this could be the first sign of true change..." Though he couldnt say he outright supported the idea, Ouranos words made his intentions clear to all but a few of the gathered gods in the congregation. To prevent naysayers from gaining any kind of advantage whatsoever, he then added, "In order to prevent the Divine Council and the person you have chosen from going astray, I will have you agree to allow the Guild to stand on equal footing with both parties. By having a system with three parts, we will be able to maintain a proper bnce instead of having two parties at loggerheads with each other. This will also allow those who wish to follow a different route a second option, though they will also be strictly regted, as has always been the case..." Since it had already been discussed that the Guild would be the third power in the world, at least for the time being, Ouranos readily offered his promise. This allowed him to continue serving as a mediator and, with his presence, there were few amongst the gods who could offer anyints. Like all of the Primordial Deities, he was simply on a different level than almost every god who hade after as, unlike the fractured gods that came into existence after the formation of the Three Realms, he had a whole and perfect Divinity. With nearly a billion years showing him as an impartial party that observed the world and helped maintain the bnce, nobody had grounds to call his motives into question, at least openly. Though she put on a show of being bothered by thepromise, Loki eventually nodded her head in agreement after conferring with the other gods that would make up the Divine Council. They then announced their candidacy to the Denatus before taking vows, Ouranos standing witness as they each came under the influence of the Worlds Laws. There were also a few gods who offered up their own names for candidacy, smelling an opportunity to garner greater power and authority during the inception phase of the Divine Council. Without exception, they were all shut down rather quickly after a quick tongueshing from Loki as she exined why they were unqualified for the role. Since even goddesses like Anubis and Artemis wouldnt be on the Divine Council, she had a lot of leeway in justifying what qualified others for the role... Though the Denatus was generally used to talk about various matters, the establishment of the Divine Council had taken center stage, eating up most of the second days time. Once everything was settled, a few servants were tasked with rearranging the seating within the chamber. Now, instead of there being a table for the top ten most influential gods, there was a muchrger table that could easily seat the thirty-nine potential members that would represent all gods in the Divine Council. More than a third of the table was empty, giving some of the gods present ideas about how they could gain a seat for themselves, but that was a matter forter. Currently, there was a bit of a festive atmosphere in the air as everyone discussed who the Divine Council would choose, even though everyone present was keenly aware of who the most likely candidate was... As the most senior member of the Divine Council, Hestia ended up bing the de facto leader, even though Loki was still the acting representative. The structure of the Council would have every member enjoy the same status but, at least for the time being, there was a basic hierarchy in y that depended on seniority and the purity of ones Divinity. Since these things were the basis for why the members were selected, it was important to make a point of this matter during the Councils creation. As a result, Hestia was seated closest to Ouranos and, looking decidedly less nervous than she would have in the past, she sat ramrod straight on an elevated chair as she said, "The first act of the Divine Council will be to recognize Vahn Mason as the Emperor of Eden. He has alreadyid a strong foundation that has the potential to lead the entire continent towards greater prosperity. He already has more followers than even the most prominent gods and, with his various contributions to both mortals and gods, I can see none better suited to the position...!" Hestia got a little too excited towards the end of her words, using the table to support her rather lively exmation. This caused a small bout ofughter among the other gods in the Divine Council, leading to Hestias face turning scarlet red as she struggled to keep herposure. Fortunately, Hephaestus quickly raised her hand, a cool smile on her face as she unhesitantly stated, "I support the election of Vahn Mason as the first Emperor seated by the Divine Council..." Her words expressly supported Vahns rise but, as many of the gods present noticed, they also left wiggle room for other potential Emperors in the future. Few knew that Vahn was genuinely immortal so, in the event that he lost interest in leading directly, the core members of the Divine Council had already created a way out for him... Following Hephaestus words, every other member of the Divine Council made their support for the decision known before turning to Ouranos, obviously intending for him to speak on the issue. As the third party in the situation, Ouranos also had the right to speak so he gave a simple nod before saying, "In recognition of his aplishments, I can see no reason to impede the decision of the Divine Council on this day. Henceforth, Vahn Mason will be known, not simply as the Sage Aldrnari, but the Sage-Emperor of Orario. His final title will be the decision of the Divine Council and the Sage-Emperor himself..." Ouranos actually found it rather fitting that the first Emperor was also widely recognized as both a Saint and a Sage. Though those titles would pale inparison to his position as a genuine Emperor, he felt it was only proper tobine the two since Vahn was a rather unique existence in the endless stream of time he had observed... Finding Ouranos rmendation rather appropriate, Loki looked towards Hestia and, seeing thetter nod, smiled rather wickedly as she said, "I vote that Vahns official title and name be Sage-Emperor, Aldrnari the First. His full name will be Vahn Aldrnari Mason...!" Though it would have been more appropriate to change hisst name to Aldrnari, Loki knew this probably wouldnt go over well with Vahn himself. He likely wouldntin about the decision but, knowing his past, there was a good chance Vahn wouldnt outright ept it either. None of them wanted to cause him to experience any great mncholy or sadness so, even though she was very tempted to tease him a bit, Loki quicklypromised in a way she knew Vahn would easily ept. With Lokis outburst, the second round of discussion began before it was ultimately decided that Vahn would officially be known as the Sage-Emperor, Aldrnari. He would no longer be the Captain of the Hestia Familia, as the position became somewhat irrelevant, but would remain as the Supreme Commander of the Alliance which, at least for the time being, wouldnt have its structure altered much. Ultimately, the Alliance would be the backbone of Vahns Empire but, on the surface, it would be considered the extension of the Divine Council. It was Vahns title as Supreme Commander that would grant him authority over the Alliance, something that was only allowed due to the discretion of the Divine Council itself. Like this, it would always appear as if the two were meant to bnce each other and, as that was Vahns actual intent, things would remain this way for an indeterminant amount of time. After Vahns title and name were deciding, the festive atmosphere that had been building up finally exploded into a full-scale celebration of sorts. Though there were many gods that experienced various levels of trepidation, Vahns poprity wasnt limited to other mortals. He had already enjoyed a great deal of fanfare from most goddesses while many gods who had joined the Alliance had also grown fond of him. They considered him a truly exceptional mortal and, without any real justification for opposing his rise to power, they quickly joined the celebratory atmosphere since it ultimately didnt matter to them who was in charge. They only thing they really cared about were their individual Familia and appeasing their Divinities, both things that had be much easier after joining the Alliance... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Politics are very boring...!,Fake it till you make it~!,Vahn is very popr with the goddesses o3o~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 970 - Rumors

Chapter 970 - Rumors

Even before the Denatus hade to an end, some of the more impatient gods had already left the assembly, spreading gossip about with an atmosphere of excitement about them. The fact that the Divine Council had been established was major news but it still paled inparison to the news that Vahn would be an actual Emperor. Some were unable to believe it, even though it had been a popr topic over thest few months, while others werepletely taken aback by feelings of incredulity. Many of the foreign dignitaries that had arrived within the City, some of which had expected things to turn out like this, were now feeling an even greater pressure than before. They had already prepared themselves for several different oues, including a situation where they would be forced to yield to Vahns demands, but now things had been elevated to another levelpletely... Vahn also heard the rumors being spread around the City as he had kept up with his habit of making public appearances even during the Denatus. The first time he heard the rumor was in one of Orariosrger market districts as he and Lili were enjoying a short date. They had juste out of a Cafe when a member of one of the smaller Familia within the Alliance waspletely awestruck after seeing Vahne out through the front door. The young man fell into a panic of sorts, seemingly unsure if he should bow or salute as he awkwardly gesticted before eventually apologizing, all while Vahn looked on with a slightly bemused look. It wasnt until the man had calmed down, exin that his god had already left the Denatus to spread the information, that Vahn understood the mans peculiar behavior. After allowing the man to leave, Vahn lightly shook his head while a small smile adorned his face, even as people looked towards him with mixed expressions of fear and reverence. As for Lili, she seemed rather proud that things had gone well, puffing out her more than modest chest with a happy smile on her face before grabbing Vahns arm affectionately. The top of her head barely reached his diaphragm so she had to crane her head quite a bit, hear hazel-brown eyes shimmering excitedly as she asked, "Does this mean I get to be an Empress if we get married~?" Vahn released a light-hearted chuckle in response before picking Lili up and ascending into the sky, much to the surprise of the gathering crowd. Lili herself wasnt surprised, however, and just casually nuzzled into Vahns chest while he carried her, bridal style, through the air. To answer her previous question, Vahn had a thoughtful look in his eyes as he said, "I think things will be a littleplicated if I have everyone be an Empress so it may be necessary toe up with a different title...if you want to get married, Id be more than happy to, Lili..." Realizing he was unnecessarilyplicating things, Vahn changed his tone as a gentle smile spread across his face. Lili hadnt particrly minded his words, as she was already fully aware of Vahns disposition, but she was still much happier when he said they could get married... While already imagining herself in a pristine white dress, Lili had her eyes closed for several seconds before releasing a small sigh. She might not be the smartest woman around Vahn, but Lili was rather prideful of her intelligence. Though Vahn had changed the topic a bit, she tried to imagine what it would be like if he had nearly thirty Empresses around him, something that didnt seem reasonable, no matter how she looked at it. If she truly wanted the title, Lili knew she would have to change the way she acted and, depending on the circ.u.mstances, she could even be wrapped up in the Empires politics. Since she would much rather just be someone close to Vahn, without having to worry about such troublesome things, Lili gave up on bing an Empress and began to wonder how she could make her own wedding more memorable... Holding Lilis small figure a little tighter, Vahn sent warm energy coursing through her body as they quickly zoomed through the sky, arriving at the Manor in just a few short minutes. They touched down in the Manors central courtyard but, instead of setting Lili on the ground, Vahn continued to carry her for a while as she was lost in thought. Since it was a good opportunity, he made his way to the western side of the Manor, following a few passages before arriving at arge room where two auras, and several life signs, were present. Vahn couldnt see the aura of his children and, for the time being, therge room served as a daycare for some of the younger children that were too old to stay in the maternity ward. Within the room, Vahn found Eina, Syr, Mona, and Lunoire all looking after several young children and a veritable menagerie of guardians. Amongst the group, there were three nearly identical young children that were wearing small smock-like dresses withrge embroidered flowers on the chest region. Each had a unique design, showing a rose, iris, and daisy, matching the names of the inordinately small Pallum children. Though they were very tiny, the girls were already very perceptive and were developing rather quickly, making them easily able to discern the presence of their Mama and Papa as eager and excited smiles adorned the girls faces. Vahn set Lili down on the ground before sitting down himself, fully aware of the fate he had invited upon himself as his sons and daughters began to congregate around him. Rose ended up falling prey to Lilis embrace while Vahn was practically piled on by Iris, Daisy, Eiko, Macht, and, though she was barely able to hobble about, his doll-like daughter, Natalie. The only child that didnt migrate over to him was the perpetually sleeping Lucas who now had a healthy coat of thin golden fur covering his body as he happily dozed in Monas embrace. As for Mona, she looked increasingly more vibrant with the passage of time, even though Vahn knew it had to be stressful looking after so many children all day... With Iris, Daisy, and Eiko sitting in hisp, Macht climbing on his shoulders, and Natalie clutching the fringe of his tunic, almost as if she was saying, dont go, Vahn epted his fate and decided tomit his afternoon to his children while talking with Eina, Syr, and Lili about the future. Mona and Lunoire werent left out of the conversation but, having never really interfered much in the matters and affairs of the Manor, they only offered small tidbits while listening in most of the time. It was Syr would gave Vahn the wisest counsel while Eina, though having one of the more influential positions in the Manor, simply expressed her concerns about Vahns, and the childrens, well being. As for Lili, she was a little preupied with her three rather clingy children who, for reasons unknown, had developed a climbing habit, much like Macht... Even with his hair being pulled on by Iris, Vahn kept a casual smile on his face without minding it too much as he would periodically rub the heads of his children or pinch their cheeks. He knew that his time with them would be cut down in the future so, at least for now, Vahn wanted to spend time with them so they didnt feel lonely. Though everyone in the Manor helped to look after the children, Vahn knew he was like the lynchpin of everything, as his children all seemed exceptionally fond of his presence. This wasnt just because of his [Hands of Nirvana] and [Grooming], which he rarely proactively used against them, but because of the strange link between him and all entities that had Source Energy contained within... Vahn had noticed this even before the birth of his first children, as he had seen the signs in his subordinates like Fafnir and Fenrir. Since The Path was the source of Source Energy itself, it wasnt incorrect to say that any entity with Source Energy flowing through them was almost like an extension of himself, the one who had fused together with The Path. This was an unbreakable bond as even Tier 9 energy systems would never be able to destroy Source Energy. As a result, Vahn had a close connection to every entity that had Source Energy flowing through its body and, in turn, they also seemed inextricably drawn to him with an impulse that even exceeded the bonds between close kin. Eventually, all of Vahns children, with the exception of Natalie, ended up falling asleep after lingering around him for a while. Vahn found the weight and presence of his children extremelyforting, a feeling they shared if their happy smiles were any indicator. Even Natalie, who almost seemedcking in expression, would allow a small smile to adorn her doll-like facial features as she gently stroked her Silvervine Python while Vahn tied up her silvery hair into two small pigtails. This was already the fourth hairstyle he had done for her, each causing Natalie to giggle happily whenever Syr would hold up a mirror for her use. Natalie didnt speak much, at least during normal circ.u.mstances, but it was obvious she was very aware of her surroundings since there was a glimmer of intelligence perpetually present in her silvery-blue eyes. Seeing her daughters hair done up by Vahn, Syr held up an ornate hand mirror for Natalie whilementing, "This daughter of ours is going to be a heartbreaker in the future...fufufu~." Since Natalie was purified as a result of the union between Vahn and Syr, she was actually a true Demigoddess, a simr existence to other Demigods but inordinately more refined. Instead of having a mixture between the two different races, which often caused a variety of issues, Natalies genes were wless as a result of the existence of Source Energy in her body and the perfect fusion of the two halves of her heritage. In a way, she was the first real Demigoddess that had ever existed, much like how Eina was the first true Half-Elf and Tsubaki was the first true Half-Dwarf. Vahn had even thought abouting up withpletely new names for the races they had be, though such discussions had never gone very far since it ultimately didnt matter... Natalie showed a thoughtful yet confused expression on her face while adorably tilting her head to the side after hearing her Mothers words. As for Vahn, he could only produce a wry smile since he was very aware that Natalie could certainly be a little dangerous depending on how she developed. Though they couldnt be sure as of yet, it was highly likely that Natalie had pseudo-divinities rted to Beauty and Love, as her appearance was simply too abnormal otherwise. Fortunately, she didnt seem to have an inherent charm, at least for the time being, though Vahn knew it was bound to pop up when she had matured a bit... Knowing that the only thing he could really do was try and guide Natalie down a path where she could find happiness, much like Syr, Vahn lightly poked his daughters soft cheeks as he said, "So long as it is someone she chose, Ill at least give them a chance...if anyone thinks they can pursue any of my daughters, theyll have to go through me first..." Though it wasnt really a threat, a small amount of pressure emanated from Vahns body as even the momentary thought of someone harboring intentions towards his children caused an intimidating light to sh across his eyes. This wentpletely unnoticed by his children, as most were sleeping, but Eina, Syr, Lili, Lunoire, and even Mona, all giggled in response. --- While Vahn was spending time with his children, he was also back on the 60th Floor of the Dungeon making sure Enyos seal was still secure. This time, he had Ais and Shizune at his side since he was going to escort the two down to the 70th Floor to help them familiarize themselves with the impossibly dark terrainsyout. Both had extremely high perception and could easily sense their surroundings without relying on sight, but Vahn wanted to make sure they were able to navigate theplex terrain without incident since he wouldnt always be apanying them on their path to greater strength. The more he protected them, the harder it would be for them to ovee their mental restrictions and further develop their soul, something that would be necessary if they truly seek to be immortals in the future... Shizune had been watching with intrigue as Vahn checked over the strength of Enyos seal and, unable to resist the urge, asked, "Is it okay if I try and send one of my Shadows into the seal...?" Since Shadow Elemental magic had the property of ignoring magical resistance, barriers, and evenplex wards, Shizune was a little curious about if she could send one of her familiars into Enyos seal. This caused Vahns brows to raise slightly, as he was also a little curious since he believed the seal used on Enyo was very likely near the peak of Tier 4 at this point. Shizune was, at best, around the middle of Tier 2 so he couldnt help but feel slightly curious by the prospect of her being able to simply ignore something far beyond her capabilities. Knowing that Shizune wouldnt be able to break the seal, even if she could probe into it, Vahn gave a small nod as he said, "Sure, but dont try to break it. Though I could probably reseal Enyo before she breaks free, it would be far more trouble than its worth..." Shizune hadnt actually expected Vahn to give her permission so she was a little taken aback before issuing an awkwardugh as she said, "Im not so foolish as to jeopardize everything over simple curiosity, Vahn...ufufu~." Since Vahn had given her permission to do something that most sensible people would have outright prevented, Shizune felt more than a little happy since she interpreted it as him being slightly deferential towards her out of respect and mutual love... To avoid any idents, Shizune summoned a tiny ck whisp at the tip of her finger that took on the shape of a simple housefly. It began to silently beat its wings as it careened through the air before disappearing into theplex seal surrounding Enyos enclosure. This wasnt too much of a surprise to anyone present, as Shadow magic simply had such properties, so Vahn continued to watch with intrigue until Shizune frowned deeply. Her connection with her familiar had been severed but she could still feel it, now stuck within the seal and unable to escape. It was a very annoying feeling as, even after trying to dismiss it several times, she found herself unable to exercise any influence over the small part of herself that was now stuck inside of Enyos seal. Vahn, understanding Shizunes difort, reached out his hand and began to lightly stroke her head as his eyes transitioned from aquamarine to a stark blue. He peered into the seal and saw Shizunes fly practically frozen in time, its wings beating so slowly it would likely take days before theypleted a cycle. With his [Eyes of Truth], he could tell that the mana contained within had actually started to disperse but would take several days before it managed to escape the seals influence, something that was fully expected since that was the purpose of the seal from the start. Still, in order to alleviate Shizunes difort, Vahn used Oblivion to create a small sphere thatpletely destroyed the fly and the contained mana. Though this would be a permanant loss to Shizunes base mana pool, it wouldnt even take her a day to replenish what was lost... Feeling relief, both from Vahns hand and the fact that her mana was no longer stuck in Enyos seal, Shizune released a sigh while leaning against Vahns shoulder. Ais had been watching at the side with a bit of intrigue of her own this entire time but, seeing Shizune snuggling up with Vahn, her brows raised slightly before she also made her way over to his other side. This brought a small smile to Vahns face as, for a few minutes thereafter, he simply stood with the two girls at his side as they enjoyed each otherspany. It was only after Gros showed up to pass a message that their small reverie was broken, causing the two girls to give the slightly pale titan an aggrieved look before they finally started their descent towards the 70th Floor... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gossiping Gods,Pile on the Papa~! *sleeping intensifies*,Some things never change...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 971 - Light

Chapter 971 - Light

Though they had never progressed beyond the 66th Floor, Ais and Shizune werent impeded by the new monsters they have never encountered. With the information Vahn had provided, added with the fact he was always actively assisting them, every enemy they came across was quickly dealt with. Shizune might have only been Level 5, but her [Pactio] and generalbat capabilities made her a nightmare for most monsters while Ais, with her Spirit-based magic, was a literal counter to any genuine monsters. Her [Avenger] gave her a massive boost to offensive power so, even after encountering the colossal turtles known as Adamantoise, Ais was able to pierce through their shell and subsequent hide as if she were tearing through wet paper. Vahn found that he didnt actually have that much to do since the girls were exerting themselves a bit more than normal, something he understood was the result of his presence. It made his heart feel warm, knowing they ced so much trust in him that they could continuously go all out, but it still left him feeling a little bored since he had been solo-diving as ofte. The only times he really entered the Dungeon with others was when escorting Vana, though she had never ventured beyond the 24th Floor at this point. She was also able to deal with almost any enemy that tried to bar her passage, though Vahn never felt bored watching her since he was always on high-alert to avoid any idents... Without any major incidents, Vahn, Ais, and Shizune managed to reach the 69th Floor, this time without encountering therge slime-like creature that served as the guardian of the 70th Floors secrets. Instead, the only enemies that appeared were monsters that Vahn had named Phantom Knights as, from appearances, they appeared to beprised almost entirely of pieces of twisted and unnatural looking armor that contained no living flesh. They were able to work together well, to the point of establishing formations, with Spearman leading the charge whilerger versions of the Phantom Knights wielded heavy weapons like battleaxes and ils. The most dangerous, of course, were the Phantom Knight Commanders, as they were nearly the equivalent of a decently powerful Level 6 Adventurer while often being capable of using powerful chantless magic. Upon encountering a small toon of around thirty Phantom Knights,manded by a single Commander, Ais took up her pristine white sword with a determined look in her eyes. Vahn gave a small nod in response to the nce she had sent his way, causing Ais to almost instantly vanish before tempestuous winds seemed to spread through the surroundings like an explosion. Vahn had shield his eyes for a brief moment while Shizune used his body as a shield while the sounds of shattering armor and several powerful shockwaves began to spread through the corridors. Ais had torn into the monsters formation without hesitation, cutting directly through both the weapons and armor of the Phantom Knights before bisecting the Phantom Knight Commander in a single blow. The difference between a monster that was only capable of fighting with the skill of a Level 6 and a prodigy at Level 7 who had nearly developed her sword intent was massive. In less than a minute, Ais brandished her sword, causing a pulse of wind to send away all the dust and debris away from her body, before turning back to Vahn and Shizune with a small smile on her face. Vahn returned a smile of his own,plimenting, "Very well done, as always..." in a gentle tone of voice. This caused Ais smile to increase marginally as Shizune came out from behind his back, lifting her chin slightly as she added, "You may be stronger than me, but Ill show you that I wont be left behind so easily, Ais...!" Though she had never cared that much about strength in the past, the years of training and her constant increase in strength had been slowly changing Shizunes perspective. She had started to develop a small amount of pride in her skills and no longer shied away frompeting with the other girls, though her main rivals were Tina and, to a lesser extent, Haruhime. The former was someone she treated with a fair amount of respect and kinship while thetter, hailing from the same homnd, was someone that Shizune had always gotten along with. They had simr personalities andparable pasts while, most importantly, the two seemed to enjoypeting to see which one had the softest tail. Though Haruhime had the advantage, having multiple tails, Shizune put a lot of care into her fur, giving it a glossy sheen and an immacte feel like fine satin silk... Ais didnt shy away from Shizunes words but, instead of rebuffing her due to the difference in their power, she nodded her head with apetitive glint in her eyes. Though she could defeat Shizune 99 times out of 100, Ais never looked down on her opponents since she knew that, in realbat, anything could happen. She also knew how fearsome Shizunes [Pactio] was, as thetter often helped in thebat training of the other girls while refining her control and mastery over her Shadow Summons. There were even a few Shadows amongst Shizunes collection that could genuinely pose a threat if you let your guard down, especially with their traits of ignoring magical defense and piercing through physical defense with ease... As if they hade to an agreement, even without openly exchanging terms, Ais and Shizune proceeded to engage in a smallpetition of sorts as they progressed through the 69th Floor. Vahn had an amused smile on his face as he observed their antics, especially since Shizune was heavily relying on his assistance to replenish her quickly diminishing reserves. Her Shadows didnt have much upkeep after being summoned but the mana required to manifest them could be very taxing on Shizunes rtively small reserves. Though she was far from the girl with the smallest mana pool, the sheer number of Shadows she could summon was a heavy drain that required Shizune to generally rely on her equipment and essories to supplement her mana capacity. Even with hundreds of indestructible monsters as her opponent, Ais momentum wasnt easily deterred as she was able to move with a speed and intensity that Shizune couldnt evenprehend at her current Level. Vahn also struggled with keeping track of Ais in his base state so he couldnt me Shizune for simply ignoring Ais as she closed her eyes and focused onmanding her Shadows. She hadpletely entrusted her protection to him and, even if he pinched her ears or poked her cheeks, Shizunes focus wouldnt break as her tidal-wave of Shadows overwhelmed most enemies that they encountered. At a moment when Vahn was partially focused on fluffing up Shizunes soft tail, his instincts triggered warning signals as his body immediately set into motion without the need forplex thought. His left arm became covered in ck scales that were adorned with small green runes as he intercepted an arrow that had moved silently through the air, tracing a direct path towards Shizunes head. Instead of shattering under the repulsive force of Vahns Xuanwu transformation, the arrow had turned into a malleable goo that attempted to twine itself around his arm, causing Vahns brows to rise slightly before he transitioned his left arm in his Zhuque form. The ck goo immediately evaporated with the sound of liquid touching hot stone as Vahns [Eyes of Truth] peered towards the location where their hidden enemy was located. Just as he had been ambushed before, unable to sense the enemy until it had already attacked, Vahn saw a ck slime that had the appearance of a night sky filled with stars. It was much smaller than the guardian he had encountered in the past but it wasnt difficult to deduce that the two were the same species, if not outright the same entity. The Dungeon could cycle the fragmentary souls of monsters, allowing them to eventually even reach Tier 1, so Vahn fully expected the encounter the strange creature in the future. He was even looking forward to his rematch against the Juggernaut as,pared to the past, Vahn wouldnt look down on its strength and speed in their next encounter... Since it was much smaller and weaker than the previous slime Vahn had encountered, he managed to subdue it rtively quickly after sending a pir of Zhuque mes into the small crevasse where it had been hiding. He knew it possessed a weakness, not necessarily to mes, but the Yang Elemental energy contained within his Zhuque fire. It began to scream and squeal while trying to extricate itself from the area of the mes effect, screaming, "Cuuuurse you...!" in a high-pitched voice. It was at the moment when the monster had managed to break free from his mes that Vahn blinked next to it, now fully in his Qinglong form since Ais had arrived to protect the now fully conscious Shizune. Seemingly tearing through Space and Time, Vahns w grasped the neck of the Slime, sending a powerful pulse of blue, lightning-like, Space Elemental energy into its body. This caused several parts of it to fracture, almost as if he had broken a ss statue, but it didntpletely break down as Vahn asked, "What are you, really? Who made you the guardian of the 70th Floor...?" Though Vahn had asked the mirror artifact to show him who had created the strange slime during hisst excursion, he was curious about the answer it would give. He wasnt foolish enough topletely believe the information provided to him by the mirror, especially since there was an intent attached to it, so it never hurt to try and measure the veracity of its ims whenever possible... Feeling its body be solid, as its individual cells had been locked into ce by Vahns spatial energy, the vaguely humanoid slime creature turned its gxy-like face towards its warden and begrudgingly replied, "No matter how many times you defeat me, I will always return. You are not allowed to trespass this area, even if you are-" Before the monster couldplete its threat, a massive amount of mana began to flow through the Dungeon, condensing beneath Vahn in what felt like a single instant. His instincts sounded warning bells in his mind as he tore through space to evade the sudden phenomenon, growing even more shocked when he was unable to move the creature along with him, momentarily forgetting that he was the one that locked the space around it to avoid having it run away... Where the monster had previously stood, there was now a pir of what seemed like a higher tier of Light Elemental energy. It had a diameter of nearly twenty meters, causing Vahns body to itch madly as he protected Shizunes trembling body. Since the pir of light was the direct counter to her Darkness and Shadow Elemental energy, she was feeling as if her body was going to be torn apart and purified in the presence of the light. Ais was seemingly unaffected, however, causing Shizune to make a pouting expression while Vahn could only produce a wry smile as he observed the massive pir of light with a thoughtful glint in his eyes. He could tell that the light was easily Tier 4, though he wasnt sure where on the spectrum of Tier 4 it would fall. Since it was formed by the Dungeon itself, Vahn couldnt help but wonder if it was due to the owner of the intent behind the mirror or if it was the Dungeon, Tartarus itself, that wanted to protect certain information... Knowing he would find the answers by delving deeper into the Dungeon, Vahn mentally moved up his timeline for conquering the Dungeon and learning its secrets. He decided that, after being crowned Emperor, he would help stabilize things within the Continent before escorting Mikoto, Shizune, Haruhime, and Tsubaki over to the Far East. Though Kali had yet to make a vow to him, Vahn believed she would do so if he put a bit more effort into their rtionship in the future. He still required a few other gods and goddesses to make Eternal Vows with him, however, meaning he would need to meet with Amaterasu at some point while helping Kaguya get her revenge. Once that was taken care of, hopefully within the next six months, Vahn fully intended to delve into the Dungeon to learn whatever secrets it was keeping. Though he would be able to discover them in the future, regardless of how he went about things, Vahn was too interested in the truth of the world to ignore the matter for much longer... While he was momentarily lost in his own thoughts, Vahn noticed that the pir of light had started to fade away rather quickly. In its wake, a perfect circle had been cut through the Dungeons floor and ceiling, seemingly stretching for several kilometers upward while pure darkness could be seen below. The pir of light had obviously prated several Floors of the Dungeon, leaving behind an almost mirror-like surface in the incredibly durable bedrock. Vahn coudnt help but admire the power required to perform such a feat as, even in his Lightning Emperor form, he knew it would be impossible for him to repeat without a great deal of time and effort. He could easily cut through several Floors of the Dungeon on his own efforts, but the area of effect would be much smaller than the 20m diameter hole that was left in the wake of the pir of light... After a moment of contemtion, Vahn turned back to Ais and Shizune, casually asking, "Shall we continue downward...?" He wasnt worried that another pir of light would appear since he had started to truly understand the nature of the Dungeon after the discovery of the mirror. Though it would test intruders, often to the point of breaking them, that wasnt the purpose behind the Dungeons existence. It was, in a way, a method in which mortals were able to ascend to higher soul tiers, even bing gods if they were able to ovee the various challenges that awaited them. As for why the Dungeon barred gods from descending too far into its depths, that was still up for debate but Vahn assumed it was simply to prevent gods from returning to the origin. He didnt know why Nuwa wanted to prevent this, but it didnt seem like she was too fond of the idea of having gods invade Hell, perhaps due to the preferential treatment she wanted to give her own creations...? This thought caused Vahn to smile somewhat amusedly since he wondered how Nuwa would react if she learned that he wasnt the product of something she had created. It would be rather ironic if she had gone through all of these efforts to help her children grow to the point they could break free from mortal constraints, only for an interloper from another world to seize the legacy she had left behind. Fortunately, she would have no way of knowing this and, even if she were somehow able to deduce the truth, it was far toote to take any proactive action about it. Unless she outright tried to kill him, something that seemed extremely out of character for the Primordial Goddess who had created sentient life, she would have to descend/ascend to the Mortal World to do so. The moment she came under the influence of the Worlds Laws, Vahn was confident he would be able to seal her away, even if for only the few years it would take him to leave the world and return as an unfathomable existence that she could never ovee... (A/N: Alternate Titles: This isnt even fair...!,*Petting intensifies*,Just imagine Nuwa being like, "My child, Im so proud of you..." while Vahn does his best to luffypokerface.jpg xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 972 - Reflection

Chapter 972 - Reflection

With the convenient hole that had been created for them, Vahn descended into the 70th Floor with Ais and Shizune at his side. They were both taken aback with the seemingly infinite darkness that existed below, causing Shizune to hold onto Vahns sleeve as Ais spread out a small tempest of air to feel her surroundings. Even Shizunes Shadows werent able to see within the darkness without a light to guide their way, making it very difficult for her to spread herwork outward without issue. She had tried to send out a few dozen small animals like rabbits and snakes to scout the area but, after entering into the various illusory barriers in the surroundings, she had to give up due to the mental strain and extreme nausea that began to rise up from her stomach. Vahn lightly stroked Shizunes head and ears to help her stay calm while infusing [Enkidu] into his domain to illuminate their surroundings. It was still unbelievably dark, as the floor and ceiling above absorbed all light, but Vahns domain caused a golden aura to spread through the area like a bubble. It was a strange sight to behold but it still allowed the girls to get their bearings, giving Shizune the leeway to murmur, "This ce...I dont like it..." Though she had affinities rted to Darkness and Shadow, Shizune had never experienced such absolute darkness before. It was incredibly unnerving and, without the presence of Vahn, she felt as if she could have gotten lost in the darkness for an eternity without ever being afforded the opportunity to escape... Ais was calmer than Shizune but there was a noticeable hint of fear in her eyes as she nodded her head in response to the formers words. Even with the ability to sense her surroundings through her strong connection with WInd Elemental energy, not being able to see even a few centimeters in front of her was more than a little terrifying. It was almost as if she had gone blind for a brief moment, causing Ais to feel an incredible feeling of relief when Vahn illuminated the area. She was now holding hands with him as the three of them slowly navigated through the pitch ck terrain, their destination the mirror artifact at the core of theplex formation. With Vahn leading the way, it didnt take that long for them to reach their destination, causing Ais and Shizune to both visibly rx after entering the well-lit area. He had Shizune leave a path of pheromones with a few snake and insectoid Shadows along the way, the primary reason for their dyed progress. Though the Dungeon would probably remove their existence after a few days, Vahn wanted to determine if it was a viable method to traverse through the darkness as others would likely need assistance in doing so. Since many Demi-Humans had extremely sensitive noses, especially when it came to certain types of pheromones, Vahn believed it would be the most reliable method avable to most Adventurers that would pass through the darkness in the future. After collecting themselves, Shizune and Ais began to look around the area, both spotting the statue located at the very center of the formation. Ais eyes widened slightly while Shizunes mouth hung agape as she eximed intermixed with incredulity and awe, "How beautiful..." Vahn couldnt really me him for their reaction as, without his [Will of the Emperor], he wasnt sure if he would be able to resist the nagging temptation to stay in this area, never leaving the statues side. It was very possible that, when other people found this ce in the future, some would bepletely enamored with the statue and refuse to leave the area, at least without trying everything in their power to remove the statue and im it for themselves... As they made their way over to the statue, both Ais and Shizune kept their gazes affixed to it, the light of admiration reflecting across their irises. Upon nearing the statue, Shizune couldnt help butment, "Ive never seen such a realistic statue...its almost like she is going toe to life at any moment..." Adding to this, Ais nodded her head before saying, "It feels like there is someone inside the statue..." These words had caused Vahns brows to raise as even he could barely feel the intent contained within the statue. He credited to the fact that Ais was one of the original heroines of the world and probably had some kind of connection with Nuwa. It was nearly impossible to deduce how far the version of Danmachi he was in would have progressed as even purchasing a manga that ounted for events in the far future, linking present and future events together served almost no purpose whatsoever. Outside of discovering the existence of a few key figures, there were no great benefits to such research as there wasnt a single version of the manga that ounted for his presence within the record. Vahn had even found several versions of the story that took events in apletely different direction, sometimes with other transmigrators living their own lives, often with even less restraint than he showed. With a literal infinite number of iterations of the same story, Vahn was better served to enjoy tea with girls like Sylphia or Cassandra. Both had rtively powerful irvoyance and he knew that they would appreciate hispany... Vahn was broken from his momentary reverie when Shizune did something rather shocking, causing him to pale slightly as she reached up and rubbed her palm across the chest of the statue. During hisst visit, Vahns instincts gave him the impression that it was extremely dangerous to touch the statue, especially knowing there was an intent contained within. Though he had been tempted on several asions, Vahn had managed to avoid giving in to his curiosity since it simply felt wrong to touch the statue, especially in such a bold manner. What surprised him even more, however, was when Shizunes eyes widened fully as she eximed, "Its warm...!" while wiggling her dexterous fingers along the delicate and unblemished stone surface... Feeling a peculiar sensation pass through his body, causing rm bells to ring in his mind, Vahn moved forward and snatched Shizunes hand as he exasperatedly stated, "Shizune, please dont touch this statue...it isnt a normal work of art and there is very likely a powerful entity linked to it. Besides, couldnt you have touched someone else...?" For the first time in a long while, Vahn felt his brain buzz with slight anxiety as his instincts were still sounding warning bells, even though they had slowly started to die down. Shizune also seemed to have finally sensed something, showing an apologetic expression on her face as she murmured, "Im sorry..." in a sheepish voice. She wasnt used to Vahn nearly shouting at her and felt her heart racing when he snatched her wrist with a little more force than was necessary... Vahn noticed the small bruise around Shizunes wrist and felt a bit of panic in his heart as he sent a wave of healing energy through his palm while bringing her into his embrace, repeating, "Im sorry..." in a simrly apologetic tone. At this time, the rms going off in his mind died down in an instant, reced by a strangely calm atmosphere as Vahn continued to console Shizune, even though it was her own actions that had nearly caused a catastrophe. He didnt know what would have happened but, for a brief moment, Vahn experienced an extreme amount of regret and nearly followed his instincts to try and escape with the two girls before whatever danger lurking made itself known. After things had settled down a bit, Vahn gave Shizune onest affectionate stroke through her silky hair before he began exining the use of the small oval hand mirror. Though he had tried several experiments himself, Vahn knew there were still secrets he had yet to uncover and wanted to have other people experience the uniqueness of the mirror artifact in order to verify his hypothesis. Since Shizune may have offended the entity that controlled the statue, Vahn had Ais peer into the mirror, causing thetter to surprisingly say, "Show me my mother, Aria..." He had expected her to ask about the One-Eyed ck Dragon, as it was pretty much guaranteed that Aria had already died, but Vahn could also understand if Ais wanted to make sure of the matter personally... Surprisingly, the surface of the mirror began to emanate a vibrant white light before it faded away, revealing a rather confusing scene to the three curious onlookers. Ais looked up into the air towards a ce that was seemingly devoid of any presence while Vahn continued to observe the mirror, moving his hand around to see the image of himself in its reflection. The mirror was currently showing the three of them standing next to the statue, with the main focal point being Ais herself. This caused her to feel an incredible amount of confusion as she turned back to the mirror, a small frown on her face as she asked, "What are you trying to tell me...?" Unlike Ais, Vahn had a few guesses at what the mirror was showing Ais and, knowing exactly how she had been created, it wasnt that much of a stretch to believe his posttion was correct. Though Ais certainly had her own soul, it was very likely that her several incarnations had left a few imprints on her ego, especially with the experiments that had been conducted during her creation. Vahn reached out his hand, cing it on Ais shoulder in a supporting gesture as he quietly exined, "Perhaps, because of her existence as a Great Spirit, your mother has been protecting you ever since you were separated in the past...it would make sense, considering the power of your Innates and the fate you had inherited as a result of your parents desire to protect you..." Though it wasnt the full truth, as Vahn didnt fully understand the nature of Great Spirits, he knew that Ais abilities werent entirely her own. They had been given to her when she was created and, with mana and Spirits almost being one and the same, there was a certain amount of truth behind his words. Though Aria had lost her ego, at least until she truly reincarnated in the future, part of it had left an impression on Ais soul, protecting it through the generations in the hopes of liberating her daughter from the dark fate that others had decided for her. The fact that Ais had managed to escape, being spawned in an unexpected area where the Loki Familia could protect her, could very well have been the result of Arias lingering will... Unable to make sense of what the mirror had shown her, Ais decided to believe in Vahns words, adorning a small smile on her face as she said, "Thank you, Vahn...Im certain your words are the truth..." Ais brought her hand over her heart as she spoke, feeling a small warmth flow through her chest as the perpetual wind that flowed around her body suddenly seemed more gentle than before. Neither of them was aware of it but, with the small change in her perspective, Ais [Child of Wind] Innate had upgraded, jumping from A-Rank to SS-Rank in an instant. The only thing she knew was that the wind surrounding her body suddenly seemed extremelyfortable, almost as if it had truly be a part of her body. Vahn had felt the slight change but put it to the back of his mind as he wrapped his arms around Ais andforted her for a short while, only separating when a sh of light caught their attention. With Vahn and Ais in their own little world, Shizune had decided to test her own luck, peering into the mirrors surface as she whispered, "Show me my surviving family members..." Since she had been orphaned after her vige was attacked long ago, Shizune had always been curious about any family she might have back in the Far East. She hadnt been as focused on revenge in thest few years, confident she could take it whenever she pleased, so Shizune was more curious about if she still had a family. Since she would be apanying Vahn to the Far East, Shizune wanted a reason other than revenge to visit her homnd... What appeared in the mirror had, once again, surprised all three people that had taken a peek at its contents. Shizunes surprise quickly transitioned into a cold and threatening look, however, as the person reflected in the mirror seemed to be a small girl of only 6-7 years old that was being kept in what looked like a small prison cell. She was wearing nothing but a tattered hempen kimono that had several stains and holes while curling up in a small ball as she resisted the lingering cold that sapped away the vitality of her fragile and malnourished body. Though it wasnt guaranteed that the girl in the mirror was truly one of Shizunes rtives, the fact they both had amethyst eyes and were members of the Kitsune race increased the odds quite a bit. Vahn withheld a sigh as he saw the fury that had seized Shizune, something he couldnt fault her for as his own blood was beginning to boil after seeing the rather sorry state of the girl in the mirror. He didnt know why she had been imprisoned but, considering how young she was, Vahn knew whoever threw her in the cold stone cell was a cruel and vicious person. Though Shizune wasnt controlling the mirror to look around, Vahn could see the tell-tale signs of other prisoners in the surroundings, some even younger than the young Kitsune in the focal point of the mirror. He didnt get that much time to observe the scene though as Shizunes icy voice sounded out, saying, "Show me another member of my family...show me that girls parents...!" Shizune felt a cold fury overwhelm her but, remembering her original purpose, she decided to see if she had any other family that was, hopefully, in a better situation. She didnt know why but Shizune felt like, regardless of the situation she found her other family members in, part of her would me them for the state of the young girl. When the mirrors surface began to shine again, her pupils turned into small dots as she focused intently on whatever would appear before her. Nothing could have prepared her for the scene that would be reflected and, if not for Vahns presence, Shizune felt like she would have gone on a rampage as she needed to destroy something, anything, just to deal with the overwhelming anger and anxiety she was feeling... Vahn held Shizunes trembling body as he stared coldly at the image reflected in the mirror, feelings of rage welling up in his own heart as he watched a woman who seemed vaguely rted to the young Kitsune lounging in a chair as servants waited on her hand and foot. She was adorned in a high-quality kimono while golden ornaments held her silky ck hair in aplex hairstyle that ented her two pointed fox-like ears. It was very obvious that she was extremely well off, causing several questions toe to mind since what should have been her daughter was, at this very moment, suffering. As if she waspletely unaware of this fact, the woman had a rather cold and sadistic smile on her face as she used her sharp fingernails to draw a thin line of blood along the bare chest of one of her male attendants... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Into the Darkest Dungeon...,Shameless...!,Hate...haaaaaate...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 973 - Fall

Chapter 973 - Fall

Vahn spent a fair amount of time helping Shizune regain herposure as the three of them sat near the vicinity of the statue and ate a light meal together. Surprisingly, Shizune hadnt asked him to head to the Far East any sooner than nned as, ording to her, there was no need to worry about people she had never met when there were plenty of people suffering in the world. Even Ais didnt believe this excuse, however, as she gave Shizune a contemtive look throughout the meal that said, I wont let you go alone. Vahn agreed with this sentiment, somewhat roughly stroking Shizunes head as he said, "I have the power of Space...if I cant use it during moments like this, what else is it good for...?" Shizune knew that Vahn was very busy in the present and didnt want to inconvenience him over her own personal matters. Still, hearing him console her and show genuine concern for people that were almost entirely unrted to her made Shizune want to cry. She managed to keep the waterworks at bay but still nuzzled against Vahns chest rather affectionately as she intoned a small Nn... in response. In truth, Vahn didnt really need to change his ns to visit the Far East on schedule as, if he used his Qinglong form effectively, it wouldnt necessarily take more than a few hours to find the suffering girl and liberate her. As for the woman that should be her mother, she was someone they could deal with at any time so Vahn intended to brand her with a tracking ward so that she wouldnt be able to escape. --- After exining the situation to the girls back at the daycare, Vahn managed to extricate himself from his children. He was thinking about the best course of action while Lili followed behind,pletely silent as she seemed to be trying to read his mind. Though he didnt need any help in rescuing a single person, Vahn was intending to ask Fenrir to apany him since it was often better to have more people in the event something unexpected happened. Lili didnt know exactly what Vahn was thinking but, as if to make her presence more obvious, she kept cycling through various forms in the periphery of his vision until Vahn released a small chuckle and asked, "Will you apany me, Lili...?" Lili had just adopted one of her more adorable forms, growing thin pink hair around her forearms and legs, matching the color atop her head and the cat-like tail poking out from the small fold that was present in most of her clothing. Since she had the habit of transforming quite a bit, while even her [Pactio] gave her a monkey-like tail, Lilis clothes were customized to allow for ease of movement in almost any form. This particr form was Lilis attempt to make a Cat Person that had some of the racial traits she had tried to copy from a Vanargandr, meaning she had an incredible sense of smell and excellent vision. As for why it was pink, that was just an aesthetic choice that Lili had made when she was trying to think of how to make herself more unique to suit Vahns preferences... Hearing Vahns question, Lili beamed a mischevious and excited smile as she pumped her fist victoriously and said, "Of course Ill go~!" She had, less than secretly, been wanting to apany Vahn on one of his missions, much like many of the girls. They would, at times, feel useless since he was constantly dealing with the more dangerous and troublesome affairs on his own. The matter with the One-Eyed ck Dragon had taken them by surprise, as they had expected Vahn to at least severely injuring it before giving Ais the chance to fight. He was overprotective, almost to an extreme, something that made the girls feel gratified but extremely self-conscious since they all worked hard to grow stronger to stand at his side... Vahn was slightly taken aback by how excited Lili was to simply apany him for a short trip but, instead of thinking about it too deeply, he just habitually began stroking her silky hair in an affectionate manner until Fenrir showed up a few momentster. Thetter gave Lili a nce, understanding she would also be apanying them, before fixing her gaze upon her Master and saying, "I am ready, Master. Lets go save Shizunes family...!" She had already intuited the details through her connection with Vahn, unlike Lili who was still waiting for a deeper exnation into what they would be doing. When she heard Fenrirs words, Lili produced and imperceptible frown, feeling slightly envious of the fact that Fenrirs bond with Vahn was strong enough that she could literally read his mind at times... Noticing the momentary shift in Lilis aura, Vahn gave the small Pallum a questioning look with his eyes before she immediately reverted back to normal with a sheepish grin on her face. He knew the girls would, at times, feel small bouts of envy or jealousy towards each other so it wasnt that much of a surprise, especially considering that Lili treated Fenrir as something akin to a rival. The two had grown much closer after Lili allowed Fenrir to learn her [Cinder*E], but that only served to increase theirpetitiveness since both would attempt to make the cutest, fluffiest, or most adorable form in an attempt to appeal to him. Because Fenrir had inherited Lilis experience with the skill, she had quickly caught up with thetters use of the skill and thepetition had been somewhat fierce, especially when the two were together... Without dallying too much, Vahn exined the situation while in his Qinglong transformation, his intent quickly moving across the vast and seemingly endless sea as he continued speaking to the two girls from the Manors courtyard. It hadnt taken long for him to discover that, instead of simply teleporting his intent to a specific point, Vahn was able to move it around at startling speeds without the need to move his actual body. Though this kind of irvoyance was rather taxing on the mind and his reserves, it would allow Vahn to map areas without actually visiting them while also giving him one of the most versatile methods to spy on any potential enemies. After a little under an hour, Vahns intent had traversed the Poseidon Sea and he quickly found himself passing over various mountain ranges and scendscapes, all while using clues provided by the mirror and Shizune to locate the approximate location of her family members. They had already concluded that, other than one other person, a middle-aged Kitsune woman who seemed to work at a small store in the Far East, the affluent woman and her horribly mistreated daughter were Shizunes only family. How they were rted was still a mystery, as families often grew estranged with each other and could even branch out to create new families, but that wasnt really a reason to ignore the younger Kitsunes plight. While he was searching around for therger residence that was used by Shizunes vicious rtive, Vahn was still back in the Dungeon helping to pacify Shizune. He couldnt teleport her out of the Dungeon quickly and then take her across the Sea with him in a timely manner so he had decided to keep her in the area for the time being as he dealt with things personally. When they finally returned to the surface, after scouting the location of the One-Eyed ck Dragon, Vahn promised that things would have already been dealt with and, if Shizune chose to, she could be the guardian of her young family member. This hade as a surprise to her as, even in her indignant rage, Shizune hadnt actually thought she might have to be the caretaker of the young girl as even thoughts of having children of her own were a distant issue in the future... Ultimately, it didnt matter where the young girl would end up as simply removing her from such a toxic situation would be infinitely better than what she was currently going through. If Shizune was unable to care for the girl, which waspletely reasonable given everything going on around the Manor, they could easily find someone willing to do so. Vahn was already considering having the young Kitsune attend the School as, not only would it increase her knowledge and power, it would provide her with a safe environment where she could make friends. He had no doubt she had experienced great trauma and it would only be through experiencing the kindness of others, in an environment where she could prosper, that she would be able to move on and ovee the past... With such thoughts in mind, Vahn found himself above a two-tiered building of Far Eastern design, having a gently sloping roof that came to a point that was extremely ornate. It was almost entirelyprised of wood, eachponent of the building meticulously carved to increase the aesthetic appeal of therge manor below. There were several posts and lintels supporting the overall structure while many of the walls, as wasmon in many Far Eastern concepts, were rtively thin and could easily be rearranged for various purposes. They werent designed to be load-bearing at all, making the true support for therge building the various reinforced pirs that held everything together. The only exception to this was the inner sanctum, the part of the building that was reserved as general living quarters and often housed various treasures and shrines. From the very moment Vahns intent arrived in the air above the Manor, ripples began to appear on Space itself before small fractures could be seen. An appendage with azure scales and golden ws broke through the void, causing Space to madly withdraw from the area as Vahn pulled Fenrir and Lili along with him. It wasnt that difficult to move through Space on his own, as his Qinglong form seemed almost immune to any detrimental effects, but Vahn had to take extra precautions when moving others. The unstable nothingness between Space could tear apart virtually anything, meaning he needed to protect the girls by having them as close to his body as possible when making the transfer. Even then, the cost for moving anyone other than himself was immense so Vahn found himself gasping for air as he quickly downed a [Turbo Ether] to replenish his reserves. Though few people could sense spatial fluctuations, Space being torn apart wasnt a very subtle act, causing extremely loud noises like ss shattering to echo throughout the area. The barriers surrounding the Manor also fractured as a result of Space trying to repair itself while areas of the ground below had been pulled up, distorting thend and disturbing the previously immactendscaping that decorated the manors surroundings. These were all significant events that drew a lot of attention, causing several guards that wielded Sasumata, a type of weapon used to capture criminals, began to appear. There were also several men that wielded katanas, spears, and naginata that came from the interior of the residence, turning their eyes skyward with tense looks adorning their otherwise fearless expressions. Vahn didnt consider himself too prideful in the past but, knowing he was already an Emperor, he was determined to y the part as he looked down on the men below with scorn and contempt. It helped that he was in his Qinglong form as, even with his [Will of the Emperor], Vahn noticed that it was very easy to feel such emotions in this particr transformation. As a result, some guards were unable to remain steady on their feet, even before Vahn actually allowed his aura to descend upon them like the Heavens themselves copsing. He even suspected that the SSS-Ranked magic ability he had possessed in the Divination, [Heavens Fall], was inspired by a simr concept, giving Vahn a bit of inspiration... --- Sano Tomonori was, by his own admission, a true prodigy with the sword. Even when he was growing up in an impoverished environment where others would have broken under the pressure and strain of their own hunger, he had been able to temper his body and mind, cultivating an unshakeable discipline and desire for strength. As a result, even as young as seven years old, he had managed to best a Ronin, a wandering or disgraced Samurai, taking his victims prided weapons as his own. Though the man had been drunk at the time, Tomonori was still proud to have defeated an enemy muchrger and more skilled than himself... From that moment onward, Tomonori became slightly famous in his small vige and quickly rose to power amongst the other downtrodden youths in the area. As weapons were very hard toe by, especially well-crafted katana, he was able to garner a great deal of respect and admiration just carrying them at his hip. Since people knew he had taken them from a Ronin, someone they couldnt see themselves defeating, nobody challenged his rise to greater power. This gave Tomonori enough time to cultivate his budding skills even further, to the point that he was actually able to defeat minor bandits and troublemaking Ronin, many much older than himself, with rtive ease. Remembering the respect his fellow vigers had shown him in the past, Tomonori felt a bit regretful that he had left them behind after bing an a.d.u.l.t, all in the pursuit of honor and supposed glory. He had once desired to be the greatest swordsman in thend, not because he truly cared for the title, but because it would have made the people in his vige feel prideful that they had produced such a prodigy. However, with the passage of time, Tomonori had abandoned such thoughts and, aftering to serve his current mistress, his skills with the sword had been stagnating while his personal pride, especially in the bedroom, had been growing... Realizing how far he had deviated from his original path, to the point that he had even stopped sending money back to help support his vige, Tomonori felt an overwhelming sense of shame. Unfortunately, such thoughts were entirely toote as, from the moment the god of death had appeared above his mistress manor, his journey hade to an end. Any pride he had in his own skill was crushed before the fight even began as, the moment Tomonori made eye contact with Vahn, it felt as if every bone in his body had turned to soft pudding. The sword that almost never left his side was instinctually dropped by his right hand, almost as if doing so might afford him some small hope that tragedy could be avoided... As if to refute this kindling hope, an oppressive aura descended upon, not just Tomonoris body, but everyone present within the Manors courtyard. It felt as if the weight of a mountain was pressing down on him as his knees buckled. Tomonori found himself forced into a deep bow with his forehead pressed to the ground, as if he was being forced to repent for all of his past actions. He even found himselfmenting the fact he had the audacity to look the god-like being before him in the eyes as tears began to build in his own. Then, a strange feeling of relief suddenly swallowed Tomonori, causing him to feel both confused and excited at the same time. He attempted to lift his head to express his gratitude to the divine being that had spared him, only to find the action impossible as darkness quickly overtook his vision. After that, the only thought that passed through his mind was simply, I miss the ramen that Kana used to make for me.... --- Following his instincts, Vahn extended his hand outward and allowed his domain to spread through the area, forcing an irresistible pressure to descend upon the gathered guards below. Even the strongest amongst them was merely Level 3, meaning they couldnt even offer a small amount of resistance against the pressure of his domain. Then, not content with this show of power, Vahn increased the pressure even more as he pushed forward with his palm. Space began topress within the area, much like the phenomenon he had created with the Sub-Space orb back at the Manor. This time, however, Vahn was condensing Space to an extreme and in a very short period of time, causing the ground below to begin to bend downward as he muttered, "Heavens Fall..." in a deep and resonating voice. Though the effect of the spell had already started to manifest themselves, a very different phenomenon urred when the words left Vahns mouth. He had already created a basic structure for the spell within his mind and, though it was only nameless magic at present, any Space Elemental offensive spell was truly monstrous. It wasnt one of the foundational elements for no reason, taking Vahn, Lili, and Fenrir by surprise as a second wave of pressure descended upon the designated area. In an instant, Space condensed to the point that it felt as if time itself had stopped, followed by what could only be described as a copse. The fabric of the void seemed to break down, causing chaotic fluctuations that began to rapidly devour everything within the targetted area, leaving behind literally nothing after Space had stabilized. The only indicator of the attack was the gaping hole that seemed to extend more than 100m into the earth without a single sign of debris where there had once been severalyers of subsurface soil and rock... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Fluffiest of all Rivalries,Vahn, Godhand, Sage-Emperor, and Ero-Sannin...? The ultimate peeking skill has been obtained...!,O________________O) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 974 - Confrontation

Chapter 974 - Confrontation

Seeing the devastation his attack had wrought, Vahn felt his temples buzzing and couldnt withdraw his hand, even after several seconds had passed. He knew that Space Elemental magic would be very powerful but had drastically underestimated both the cost and output of the impromptu ability that he had forced upon the group of soldiers and guards below. Though many had dark auras, there were some who had muted greys, meaning they werent people he should have killed outright. Yes, he had wanted to set an example that would be able to be a rumor throughout the Far East, but he hadnt intended to push it to such an extreme. If not for the fact he had made sure the younger Kitsune wasnt within the area of his attack, there was even a chance he would have identally killed the unfortunate young girl... With his mind racing, Vahn had be almost catatonic until he felt a soft and gentle touch against his hand, courtesy of a very worried looking Fenrir. She didnt particrly care about the loss of life below but, seeing her Master freeze in such a way made her feel extremely anxious for his well-being. This only made Vahn feel even more guilty, however, as he knew he had gone too far without actually confirming the situation. The more prudent action would have been to send Fenrir to retrieve the girl and liberate the other captives while he went to mark the older Kitsune woman with his ward. With the amount of power he had, and the vast disparity between him and the guards that had gathered, Vahn could have disabled the entire group without shedding a single drop of blood... Knowing there was nothing he could do about it at this point, Vahn took the only true course of action left to him and brought his palms together in prayer. He knew that they would return to the cycle of reincarnation and, hopefully, live a better life in their future incarnations. This didnt justify his actions but, at the very least, Vahn felt some small amount of relief as he also promised to make the world a safer and happier ce for when they inevitably returned. There wasnt anything he could do for them now but, by making the world into how he envisioned it, Vahn was certain they would not resent him, at least not for long... After releasing a long sigh, Vahn descended to the edge of the abyss he had created before slowly ambling towards the interior of the Manor. There were several servants cowering within rooms along the way but hepletely ignored them as he passed through several sliding doors until reaching a more secured structure near the buildings central area. Uponing across a barrier formation, Vahn simply raised his hand and pressed against the barrier, causing a loud crashing sound to echo about before he walked casually into the now unsecured room. Even therge locks keeping the door closed were unable to slow his progress as Vahn simply ripped the door free, reinforced metallic bolts and all. Even though the manor had been rtivelyrge, it was much smaller than the Hearth Manor so it hadnt taken long for Vahn, Fenrir, and Lili to make their way towards the most centralized region. Then, without even having to look around, Vahn pulled a hidden lever that caused a panel in the door to shift, revealing a small room on the other side where a panicked woman and two bare-chested male servants could be seen. They both had incredible physiques and were each around 180cm tall, a little shorter than Vahn but stillmendablepared to the average height of most people. Each had a stern and determined look on their faces as they shielded the rather petite woman behind them who,pared to the image he had seen reflected in the mirror, had be several shades lighter due to her face paling in an extreme manner. After having taken so many lives unintentionally, Vahn wasnt really in the mood to kill without it being absolutely necessary so he used [Shundo] to close the distance in an instant before firmly pressing into acupoints near the mens necks and shoulders. They didnt even have time to process what had happened before they were already falling limply to the ground, once again reminding Vahn of how unnecessary his earlier actions were. Since the entire purpose had been to leave a strong impression on the guards, the fact he had killed them all made the act extremely foolish. The only thing he could do about it now was promise to do better in the future as, from an objective viewpoint, Vahn could tell he had deviated a little too closely towards his apathetic Emperor self while transformed into his Qinglong form. He would need to practice controlling the form better in the future and had alreadye up with a training regimen that involved a lot of meditation and internal reflection... With such thoughts on his mind, Vahn turned his somewhat dull and tired eyes towards the cowering Kitsune woman and asked, "Do you know a Kitsune woman named Shizune...?" In response to this, the woman showed nothing but confusion as she tremblingly shook her head and said, "This esteemed Sir...I know not of the woman you are searching for...please..." Though he hadnt done anything to her, the woman had already started to plead for her life as a mask of fear had firmly overtaken her earlier expression of contempt and amus.e.m.e.nt. Vahn could see that she was the type that put self-preservation above almost everything and, even though she had a fretful and traumatized appearance, her aura told the truth of the matter... Vahn squinted his eyes, causing a genuine shudder to run through the womans body as she realized he wasnt so easily fooled by her act. The only thing she could do was bow low and hope he showed her some leniency as, even if she tried to appeal to him in other ways, her instincts told her such actions would be futile. Even without knowing the rtionship between the three people before her, she could easily smell that their scents were interlinked, meaning they had a very intimate rtionship. If she tried the normal means to appeal to the man that now held her life in his hands, reason told her that the only thing that awaited her was an even harsher end. Seeing that she had started to actually fear for her life, Vahn nearly gave a small nod in approval but kept it restrained as he said, "I havee to liberate the people you have imprisoned beneath this Manor and warn you that, should you continue to live in such a way, you will one day find yourself facing a nightmare you may never escape..." Though Vahn didnt know exactly how the woman had lived up until this point, the fact that her aura had thick strands of ck and sickly pink gave him some insight into the type of person she was. He unhesitantly held out his hand, sending forth a small golden ward that passed into the body of the woman with such speed that only Fenrir had been able to discern exactly what had happened. Holding her hands over her modestly endowed chest, the woman could feel her heart racing as she was unsure of what had just happened. Nothing felt different but, remembering the mans words, she knew that she had now been marked for a truly terrible end if she didnt try and change the way she lived, at least on the surface. She didnt know how much he knew about her, nor how he hade to know of those that had been isted in the prison below, but felt it wouldnt be wise to try and inquire. It currently felt like an irresistible chill was settling into her body while a heavy pressure was weighing her down, courtesy of Fenrir and Lili since Vahn was restraining his domain after the earlier incident. With no other options avable, the woman simply bowed her head low and demurely murmured, "I swear, I will be a better person. Thank you for your mercy and guidance...!" Though she didnt genuinely mean the words, the woman felt like it was best to at least speak them, almost as if saying things like mercy openly would guarantee her safety. In response to this, Vahn sighed through his nose while Lili outright snorted, a disgusted look on her face. As someone who had deceived several people in the past, she could easily see through the womans act, tempting her to give the Kitsune a few ps when Vahn wasnt looking... Since he didnt actually care about the rtionship between the woman and the girl below, Vahn decided it would be more prudent to ask the victims themselves instead of listening to the lies of such a deceitful woman. He didnt even bother to learn her name before stepping forward and pressing into a point below the center of her corbone. This caused her body to seize up painfully before she crashed to the floor, curling up into the fetal position as she gasped for air. Though he had decided not to kill her, as it should be left to Shizune and the younger Kitsune to decide her fate, that didnt mean he was going to let her walk away without some form of punishment. Thus, while she was gasping for air with lungs that never felt full, Vahn pressed his palm against the womans lower back and began nting seeds of Source Energy that would feed into a small runic formation that he hade up with on the spot. Since she seemed to enjoy engaging in the pleasure of the flesh, Vahn decided the harshest punishment for such a person would be making such acts either impossible or outright painful. He constructed a formation so that, any time her body released arge amount of oxytocin and endorphins, specifically rted to s.e.x.u.a.l pleasure, it would instead cause her extreme pain for a short period of time... Once he had finished the task, Vahn pulled his hand free from her back before leaving the room, never sparing a second nce towards the Kitsune woman. Then, when they had left the area, Lili suddenly asked, "Vahn, what did you do to her at the end...?" Though Lili suspected she didnt truly wish to know, it was the hope that she could share the burden with him that caused her to inquire. She knew that there was a chance that Vahn would feel guilty about any harsh actions he might have taken once things had calmed down and wanted to be able to alleviate some of the potential bacsh by having him open up to her. This was a technique she had learned from Syr so Lili had high expectations for its efficacy and wanted Vahn to befortable with sharing such things with her. Without thinking too much about why Lili would inquire about such things, Vahn released a small sigh before exining, "I made it so that s.e.x would be painful for her, at least for the time being. Since she is the type that derives pleasure from hurting others, I felt it was a just punishment that she would also experience suffering whenever she tried to pacify her urges. It wont trigger from general arousal, however, as the activator for the formation would require her to actively have s.e.x with someone before it would take effect..." Since feelings like love and excitement released simr chemical responses in the brain, Vahn thought it would be taking things too far if he made her suffer even when she felt happy... Lili was a little surprised that Vahn had punished the woman by making her unable to have s.e.x, causing her own lower body to tense up slightly since, by her own admission, she had grown rather fond of the act. She suddenly felt a little bad for the woman but, rationalizing things from Vahns perspective, Lili agreed that it was a rather suitable punishment. When Vahn gave her a questioning look, Lili mustered a sheepishugh and exined, "It serves her right...I just thought about what it would be like if I had to experience the same thing...haaaa..." Lili was reminded of the time when she had to wait before Vahn would finally have s.e.x with her, a period in her life that she would still have nightmares about on asion... Not really understanding theplexity of Lilis aura, Vahn decided to y it safe by extending his hand and rubbing her pink hair and adorable cat-like ears. Since he didnt want Fenrir to feel jealous, he did the same with her while a gentle smile spread across his previously stern and mncholic expression. In the softest tone he could manage, Vahn stated, "I would never go out of my way to punish those close to me, not unless they did something truly horrible. Even then, Im certain it is something we would be able to ovee together so please rely on me when the timees instead of letting negative emotions guide your actions..." Since he didnt really know what Lili was experiencing right now, Vahn decided to speak broadly in the hopes that he would hit the mark somehow. Lili felt slight incredulity as she heard Vahns words but, understanding his character, she couldnt help but giggle after the fact. Even if he was saying something rather nonsensical, she knew he was just doing it out of concern for her, causing Lili to forgive his strangeness as she wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled into his chest for a short while. They would have stayed together far longer in most circ.u.mstances, while there was a non-negligible chance something more would have happened, but Lili knew now was neither the time nor the ce. Thus, after a bit of skinship between the three, they all headed into the rather hot and muggy prison below... Vahn had previously assumed that the underground area would be cold, as the mirror showed the young Kitsune girl trembling as if she were freezing, but the reality was theplete opposite. Because of the poor air cirction, the air within the prison smelled of rot and refuse while the temperature easily exceeded 35 degrees Celsius. There was a high concentration of carbon dioxide in the air while the humidity felt as if it were in the upper eighties as Vahn could feel palpable moisture against his skin,parable to his time in the Amazoness country of Telskyura. Fenrir showed a frown on her face, as her nose was especially sensitive, while Lili would have gagged if not for the fact that she was intimately familiar with such smells. As for Vahn, he decided that everyone would benefit from some fresh air so he began to manipte the surrounding mana with his domain, causing cool and fresh air to stream into the dank prison while forcing the stagnant and humid air outside. This caused the manor above to begin smelling like sewage but Vahn didnt particrly care as he made his way towards the cells and began to inspect the people imprisoned within... As he had expected, most of the people within the cells were young children but, much to Vahns surprise, they were almost predominately Kitsune. As both Kitsune and Renard were rather rare, even in their homnd of the Far East, Vahn couldnt understand why seven young children hade to reside within this small prison. The only thing he knew, at least for the time being, was that the punishment he had bestowed upon the Kitsune woman above was rather light inparison to what these children had gone through. They were all extremely emaciated and, if not for the small store of spoiled rice and bread, each infested with small insects, Vahn would have assumed they were simply forced to starve... Since all of the children were unconscious, and far too young to provide any significant information, Vahn began healing everyone within the prison while having Fenrir and Lili collect the seven young girls and feed them a nutrient c.o.c.ktail made from ingredients harvested from Yggy and the honey-like sap that was produced by Terra. Though it might make some people feel nauseous to learn where the sap came from, it was extremely good for the body and Vahn knew there would also be some people that would get excited at the prospect of having a taste. This wasnt really relevant to the situation at hand but Vahn couldnt help allowing his thoughts to wander to such things at times... While Fenrir and Lili were taking care of the young Kitsune girls, Vahn found a middle-aged man in a nearby cell who,pared to the other prisoners, seemed in good health but poor shape. His body was covered in bruises and one of his eyes no longer had any light in it, even as the other iris showed a glimmer of resolve as he stared back at Vahn with an unwavering gaze. Though the man was only Level 2, Vahn could feel the smallest amount of pressureing off of his body, showing he had very strong willpower, making him suitable to, at the very least, answer a few questions. Pulling out a golden apple, Vahn tossed it to the man as he walked over and said, "I have a few questions that I would like you to answer. When were done here, I will guarantee your freedom and, if you are worried about being unable to escape the area, I can even escort you to a nearby town or vige aspensation for the information..." Since few things were free in life, Vahn had decided to give the man a bit of an incentive from the outset in order to loosen his lips. Though there was still a chance the man may refuse to answer his questions, the corners of Vahns mouth raised slightly as he watched the man bite into the apple, his eyes widening into circles after experiencing the extremely nutritious and delicious fruit... (A/N: Alternate Titles: "Vahns surprised Pikachu face...,I wonder if shell be a masochist now...?,Golden Apples OP) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 975 - Observation

Chapter 975 - Observation

Waiting just long enough for the man to voraciously devour the apple, Vahn proceeded to ask in a stern and questioning tone, "What exactly happened here? Why are you all imprisoned in this ce?" In response to this, the man used the grimy stained sleeve of his ashen-grey yukata to wipe his mouth before answering, "That vile woman was the epitome of vanity. Ever since she the Old Master passed away, she has grown out of control and has been slowly bleeding this vige dry. She forced many of the other Kitsune women away and imprisoned the children of those who refused before charging them with unsubstantiated crimes to set an example for the rest of the vigers. I dont know who you are, young man, but please take these children away from this hell hole before it is toote...!" Vahn listened intently to the mans words but, even though there was certainly some truth to what was said, he could tell there was something off about how the man phrased things. Ultimately, it didnt really matter what the truth of the matter was, however, so Vahn just shook his head before turning away and saying, "I would not havee here if that was not my intent. Dont worry, these girls will be safe under my care..." It wouldnt take many resources to take care of an additional seven children, especially since he could just install them into the School, so Vahn wasnt particrly worried about anything. He would have the girls monitored for any abnormalities but, from what he could see, they were just normal Kitsune girls with the only unique quality being that one of them had a simr affinity to Shizune, being Darkness(pure), Fire, and Lightning(lesser). Since this was likely her cousin, Vahn didnt find this odd as even the woman above had almost the exact same affinity, likely the result of some heritage their family possessed. After turning away from the middle-aged man, Vahn went to where Lili and Fenrir had collected the children while the man himself raised his body, surprised by how much his energy had recovered. He then proceeded to head towards the only door within the prison, obviously intent on leaving without further discussion. Since he was only Level 2 and didnt have any particrly dangerous qualities to him, even possessing a mellow blue aura, Vahn didnt see the need to stop him. This resulted in him missing the nce the man gave him just before he ascended the stairs leading towards the surface, his dark brown eyes turning into a frosty blue for a brief moment before he continued to ascend the steps. Vahn had noticed the abnormal pulse but, feeling nothing amiss, he allowed the man to continue acting mysterious as he performed a cursory examination of the sleeping girls bodies to make sure they wouldnt have any lingering health problems. With the medicine he had provided earlier, the chances of this being an issue were rtively slim but, being a practiced physician, Vahn wasnt going to take chances since he feltpelled to protect these girls until they could take care of themselves. The oldest seemed to be around eleven years old, based on the structure of her bones, while the youngest was around six or seven years old. They each had bristly fox-like tails which, after being exposed to the grim in the prison for a long period of time, had be oily and abrasive. Vahn found this rather sad since some of the more malnourished girls even had areas on their tails where the fur had started to fall out in clumps... After finishing the physical examination of the girls, Vahn had Lili bring them to a seated position while he ced his palm against their backs and began probing the interior of their body in a far more meticulous manner. He didnt want to overlook anything so he sent gentle waves of Source Energy through their bodies while inspecting the structure of their mana circuits and the condition of their organs. This caused the still-sleeping girls to wriggle about but Lili managed to keep them still long enough for Vahn toplete his secondary inspection. One had even awoken for a brief moment, just long enough for Lili to give her a waterskin full of a diluted version of Terras sap. She ended up falling asleep while desperately clinging to the waterskin, something that caused Lili, Fenrir, and Vahn to feel a deeply seeded resentment towards the woman above... Fenrir ended up rising to her feet but Vahn stopped her before she could proceed any further. Before he could say anything, however, Lili suddenly reminded him, "Did you already forget about what happened with Alosrin, Vahn...? The kind of punishment you bestowed upon that woman would only work if she truly intended to reflect. It is far more likely that, after realizing what you had done to her body, she would take it out on others since, as far as she knows, there are no practical means to cure her condition. Unless you n to bring Shizune over to deal with the situation soon, you shouldnt just let her wander around freely..." Knowing Vahn could be forgetful at times, Lili had made a point of doc.u.menting everything that happened during his exploits, all in the hopes of being a guiding voice whenever he made decisions that werent well thought out. Vahn was slightly taken aback by Lilis words but, realizing there was a great deal of truth to what she said, he nodded in response while a conflicted frown adorned his face. Back in the Dungeon, where he, Ais, and Shizune were still seated, Vahn turned to the silent Kitsune watching the events y out through the mirror and asked, "Do you mind if we deal with that woman now, or would you rather deal with her yourselfter? I can also bring her back to Orario if you want to-." Before Vahn could finish listing out her options, Shizune inly stated, "If it were up to me, I would cut off that vile womans arms and legs before turning her into a daruma..." Hearing Shizunes words, Vahn felt his mind nk and nearly took in a cold breath, knowing full well what a daruma referred to in this context. Fortunately, he didnt have to convince Shizune that such an extreme act was, inarguably, wrong, as she followed up by saying, "But...I dont really care for her. Honestly, I dont want to know why she did what she did; I dont really want to know anything about her, especially how we are rted...just kill her and be done with it, Vahn. There has been enough suffering today..." Towards the end of her words, Shizune leaned against his shoulder while gripping the fabric of his tunic with her delicate fingers. They were almostpletely white as a result of how tightly she was clenching them but Vahn pretended he didnt notice as he gently stroked her back tofort her vexed heart... With Shizunes consent, Vahn looked upwards before extending his finger in the direction of the still unconscious Kitsune woman. At the same time, Fenrir lifted her own hand, cing it above his as she said, "Master, let me...you cannot keep doing everything on your own. I intend to follow you forever and, even if just a little, I want to take away some of your burdens." In response to this, Lili nodded her head, expressing that she was in full agreement with Fenrir. This made Vahns own tensed heart rx a bit but, instead of smiling to show how grateful he was, he simply nodded his head and said, "Very well..." in a soft tone of voice. Without dying for even a moment, Fenrir gave a small nod of her own before her scarlet eyes began to shimmer like gemstones. In the next moment, she had already disappeared from the prison and Vahn could sense her quickly passing through the manors corridors before arriving at where the Kitsune woman was located. After that, the temperature in the surroundings seemed to drop a few degrees as Fenrir released a massive amount of Ice Elemental energy, freezing the central area of the manor after manifesting a giant pir of ice that was nearly 30m tall. It had crashed through the ornate roof, causing several areas of the manor to copse but ultimately leaving the underground prison unaffected. Lili showed a strangely envious expression on her face but remained silent as Vahn continued to observe Fenrir before starting on a long-distance teleportation ward. It was too dangerous to move the girls in his Qinglong form and, knowing there was a chance he woulde across Alexa on the return trip, Vahn decided to y it safe and use a more stable means of transferring the girls back to the City. It would take a massive amount of energy toplete the transfer but he had an excess of materials that had been stockpiling as a result of the time he spent traveling to Telskyura. Though he could only perform such a distant teleportation a few times, making a single trip wouldnt put much of a dent in his perpetually growing material reserves... With things wrapping up rather quickly back in the Far East, Vahn spent a bit of time consoling Shizune before inevitably asking, "Do you still want to search for the One-Eyed ck Dragon, or shall we return to the surface and take it easy for a little while...?" Though Shizunes magic was actually more powerful when she felt negative emotions, Vahn didnt want her to push herself since there was simply no need to do so. They had plenty of time to prepare for the battle against the One-Eyed ck Dragon and, even though he may be busy in the next few days, Vahn could still make time to apany them with one of his bodies. Not wanting to have wasted Vahns time, Shizune spent a few more seconds in silence before finally separating from him as she replied, "At the very least, we should map between the 71st and 73rd Floors before returning. Even if we dont find the One-Eyed ck Dragon, just knowing one path forward will save a lot of time in the future...besides, we can just find a safe area before sending my shadows out to search for us. As long as you can provide me with enough mana, I can easily create a few thousand shadows without having to take any risks..." Shizune almost added that she could even use her shadows to harvest magic cores to create new shadows, even stronger than her current ones, but Vahn was already aware of this simple fact. This was how she had increased her army to such an extreme size in a short period of time, to the point she had long exceeded the critical amount necessary to be a literal one-woman army... Understanding Shizunes intent, Vahn gave a small nod before picking up her rather light body into his arms. This caused Shizunes eyes to briefly widen before she smiled happily momentster and nuzzled her face against his chest. Ais gave a very small pout in response to this but, after sending her a short telepathic message, she also had a small smile on her face as the trio made their way towards the entrance to the 71st Floor. It didnt take long for them to leave the area containing the statue and its mirror artifact, causing Vahn andpany to miss the small smile that had appeared on the statues face as it seemed to follow their exit with its eyes. The surface of the mirror emanated a vibrant white light before showing a crystal clear image of Vahn back in the Far East, closely following his every action as he drew out the structure of the teleportation ward... --- (A/N: Todays chapter is very short due to time constraints. I almost didnt have time to write one but decided to pump one out quickly (53 mins) since I know that I missed a day only recently. If there are typos and errors, I will try to fix them when I can get back to myputer. Once again, thank you for your patience and I hope you can bear with me until the Summer season hase to an end. By the time Augustes around, EPIC will be my primary focus until it is COMPLETELY finished.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vile Vixen...!,Shizune can be a bit extreme at times...,Sneaky Statue OwO...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 976 - Treasure : Warmth

Chapter 976 - Treasure : Warmth

After passing through the darkness of the 70th Floor once again, Vahn, Ais, and Shizune found themselves at the heart of therge formation. They spent a short amount of time exploring the temple-like structure located at the center before descending therge spiral staircase that led to the 71st Floor. Even with his ability to trante anything, none of the murals and inscriptions found within the temple provided any important information other than stirring up a persons curiosity. If an Adventurer had no knowledge about the Dungeons true nature, they would have undoubtedly been shocked after witnessing what appeared to be man-made structures this deep within the Dungeon. Vahn, however, already had a working theory about the Dungeons true nature and, instead of feeling surprised, each new discovery only served to affirm his thoughts on the matter. Upon reaching the 71st Floor, Vahn kissed the top of Shizunes head before setting her down on the ground so she could walk on her own two feet. She gave him a yful pout as a result but didnt say a word ofint as she began looking towards therge ornate archway that led to a long corridor with lighting from the far end. Vahn knew she was trying to put the previous matters behind her, at least for the time being, so he gently stroked her head and said, "Well try and make a beeline for the 73rd Floor before returning to the surface. There shouldnt be any great dangers on these Floors so we can pick up the pace a bit..." With the information obtained from the mirror, Vahn had alreadypiled an urate ount of every monster in the Dungeon, giving each of the girls a study guide of sorts so they could properly prepare themselves as well. Later on, he intended to sell the information at different grades through the HDF so that other Adventurers would be able to benefit while the power and authority of his Empire would steadily grow. Ais and Shizune gave understanding nods to Vahn before thetter pulled out a wand simr to Tionas, allowing her to sprout two adorable little wings out from her lower back. Ais did much the same, but hers looked more mystical and angelic, especially with the pure white dress thatprised her [Pactio]s raiment. Like this, they began to elerate through the long corridor before finally entering the 71st Floor proper, avoiding many hazards along the way. Upon entering, the two girls were slightly startled by what they saw while Vahn simply had a small smile since he had already known what to expect after inquiring from the mirror previously... Unlike the Floors above, the 71st was rather unique in the fact that it had a sky-blue crystalline structure making up the walls and ceiling while the floor itself seemed to be full of nutrient-rich soil. In the sky above, there was a zing yellow crystal bed that emanated light that was extremely reminiscent of real sunlight, creating a natural illusion as if those entering the area had exited the Dungeon and arrived back on the surface. Toplete the illusion, there were a plethora of emerald-green forests while pristine bluekes dotted thendscape, creating a truly awe-inspiring sight for any who had managed to reach this far. If not for the existence of various dragon-like creatures flying towards them, many would have assumed this was a safe zone due to how natural the environment was, especially after escaping the darkness of the 70th Floor. Though she was momentarily awed by the beauty of the Floor, Ais focused quickly fell upon the Dragons making their way over at extreme speeds. Her eyes reflected a look of excitement as she tightened her grip upon [Gram] and prepared to elerate forward. She knew exactly what kind of Dragons these were and, much like Shizune, had several questions on her mind. After all, without a single exception, each of therge flock of Dragons was undoubtedly a Green Dragon, just like Terras base form. This meant that, at the very least, there were more than a hundred Treasure Trees located within the vast forests dotting thendscape... Instead of stopping Ais, Vahn and Shizune slowed their flying speed to allow the former to cut loose as, even thergest in the flock was only around the peak of Level 5. This ultimately didnt matter, however, as Ais very existence seemed to be the bane of Dragons, even before she had obtained the S-Ranked [Gram]. As expected, Ais became shrouded in a tempestuous green aura that was nearly 20m in diameter before she turned into a green streak that passed through thergest Green Dragon in a singr instant. Its body seemed to ripple outward as its insides were torn apart by the Spirit Wind apanying Ais charge. By the time the ripple hadpleted, nothing remained of the nearly Level 6 Green Dragon as the rest of the flock became chaotic as they attempted to attack an enemy they couldnt even see... Though it took nearly twenty minutes, Ais managed to defeat everyst Green Dragon, seemingly without breaking a sweat. She flew back over to Vahns side with a rtively expressionless face until he flew forward a bit and gave her a gentle embrace, sending waves of energy into her body to replenish her mana and remove some of the fatigue she had built up. This brought a small smile to Ais face, diminishing some of the envy she had felt as a result of Vahn carrying Shizune for such a long period of time earlier. Now it was the mature Kitsunes turn to show a small pout, causing Vahn to internally produce a wry smile since it felt like he was trapped in an endless cycle in situations like this. After topping off Ais reserves, they continued forward in hopes of finding the entrance to the 72nd Floor as expediently as possible. This Floor had been dominated by various nt-like monsters on the ground while the air had been the domain of the Green Dragons. With their ability to fly, Vahn, Ais, and Shizune were able to outright avoid the more annoying enemies while therge flock of Green Dragons had been the entirety of their forces on this Floor. Since they were rtively rare, even this far down, it would likely be a few months before another Green Dragon was produced by the Dungeon, especially since this meant the birth of another Treasure Tree. During their search, Vahn managed to catch sight of a shimmering green in the corner of his eye, immediately alerting him to the presence of a veritable grove of Treasure Trees. Since even a singr Treasure Tree was a major discovery, seeing a small forest of them was a truly awe-inspiring sight. Even Ais and Shizune were at a loss for words and, if not for the fact they had spent so much time around Yggy, they would have thought the small forest before them was the most beautiful in the entire world. After all, each Treasure Tree had a gem-like trunk while the fruits dotting therge canopy of trees were literally gemstones of the highest quality, each having a value around 10MV. With more than 10,000 Magic Treasure Stones present, this small grove of trees had a value greater than one-hundred billion Valis. While the Valis-value of the Magic Treasure Stones was monstrous, Vahn felt a little giddy at the prospect of how useful they would be in the creation of Magic Items while simultaneously feeling tempted to sell them to the system shop. At the very least, he would be able to earn nearly one-hundred million OP, a substantial boost to his reserves. Though he could already earn several million in a day,rge boons like this were very meaningful since there were actually a number of things Vahn had wanted to purchase but had been holding back from. Since it would ultimately be more prudent to convert them into equipment and items, however, Vahn held back as he began to uproot the inordinately beautiful forest. He didnt bother plucking any of the Magic Treasure Stones, as this would only hurt the Treasure Trees themselves, and was intending to give them to Terra and Yggy so that he could harvest more Treasure Stones in the future. Terra could already produce an extra stone in her garden every three months so Vahn had high expectations for the 107 additional trees he had just acquired. At the very least, this would be the equivalent of having a passive ie of 360MV, or 300-400k Origin Points, each month. After cing each tree into his Inventory, Vahn felt that the color of thendscape had been diminished, causing him to feel a momentary regret before shaking his head and flying off with Ais and Shizune following after him. It wasnt as if he had destroyed the Treasure Trees and, without anyone here to bear witness to the beauty of the forest, Vahn felt it was almost wasteful to leave such treasuresying around. Since it would allow Terra and Yggy to be stronger, all while increasing his passive ie and resources, there were seemingly infinite benefits to securing the Treasure Trees for himself... --- While proceeding further in the Dungeon with Ais and Shizune, Vahn had also wrapped things up in the Far East and was currently in a rather cozy room connected to the student dormitory at the Sage Aldrnari School. Vahn always felt extremelyfortable when entering this particr ce as it was the room where Anubis spent most of her time, at least when she wasnt at the Manor. It had a very homely feeling and, even though the temperature was actually rather cool, Vahn always felt as if it was much warmer due to the presence of the exceptionally motherly Anubis. Though she didnt have any of her own children just yet, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that many of the orphans in the School treated her as if she were their biological mother, something that seemed to make Anubis even more beautiful with every passing day... Currently, Vahn found himself with said motherly goddess snuggling up against him as he affectionately stroked her hair. Across from them, looking exceptionally nervous as they fidgetted about, were the seven Kitsune girls he had rescued from the Far East. They had all awoken soon after he had teleported them back to the City as the supplements he had given them already removed most of the detrimental effects of their malnourishment. Though it would take several weeks for them to make a full recovery, none of the girls were in danger any longer while Shizunes young cousin, as if her former state had been an illusion, looked like a demure and immactely carved doll instead of a weary and scarred young girl. She was the only one among them who could actually speak the nativenguage of Orario and had been serving as a trantor for the other six confused Kitsune girls, even though Vahn was capable of speaking to them directly. Having decided to leave most of the talking to Anubis, Vahn had remained rtively silent as he listened to the olive-skinned goddess praise him a little too heavily. He couldnt help but feel a little embarrassed as, from an outsiders perspective, it was almost as if he were the god while she was nothing more than a faithful devotee. Fortunately, she managed to convey to the girls that he was an Emperor while also managing to exin their current situation in a way even the youngest amongst them could easily understand. Vahn noticed that the two oldest girls had a distinct change in their auras upon the revtion of his status but he ignored it, even as their somewhat fervent gazes bored into the side of his head... As girls from the countryside, even though they were still rtively young, they already had hopes and ambitions that grew far beyond the small homes they were born into. For many in such circ.u.mstances, it was considered a great sess in life if you were able to be the servant or concubine of a local lord. Since Vahn was an Emperor, it was almost like winning the lottery if you managed to catch his fancy, even momentarily. Given the fact he had saved their lives, this already put the girls at an advantagepared to others, something they seemed to be keenly aware of since most of their fear subsided after Anubis exnation. The oldest of the girls even whispered a few questions to Shizunes cousin, Kiyone, that would have caused her to seiza if she knew Vahn was able to understand what she was saying... Deciding the spare the girl, Vahn allowed her antics since it would benefit her recovery and allow her to ovee the trauma they had faced much faster. He had no intentions of allowing any of them to even be his servants, at least in the near future, so it wasnt a problem letting them have hope. Since they were all rtively cute, especially with their fluffy tails and ears, Vahn didnt mind the matter too much and simply epted the fact he would be the target of their affection for a few years. Eventually, unless they made it their penultimate goal to be servants in his pce, they would move on and find someone they could truly love. If they kept at it for a decade or so, managing to reach a high enough Level to legitimately join the growing Maid Battalion, Vahn wouldnt have much to say on the matter... After the discussion hade to an end, Anubis range a small crystalline bell, causing a small knock to sound at the door a few momentster. She quickly gave her permission to enter, allowing a green-haired Pallum girl to enter into the room. Since he had personally evaluated everyone that came to work at the School, Vahn knew the girl was named Suna, one of the first wave of Pallum that had migrated to the City in the past. She was slightly startled upon seeing him in the room but, remembering her duties, quickly bowed to Anubis as she said, "Anubis-sama, I havee at your behest..." Anubis gave a soft smile in response, saying, "Suna, please show these younglings to the reserve rooms for special envoys. They will be students in the School after receiving a cursory education in Koine. Please inform Miyuki that she will be their personal caretaker for the next six months..." Since the girls would be unable to attend proper sses without learning thenguages used in official lessons, Anubis had decided to give them a crash course to prepare them for what was toe. With Miyuki as their tutor, one of the mothers that had migrated to Orario from the Far East, it wouldnt take that long for them to limate to living within the City. Suna gave another polite bow, saying, "Understood, Anubis-sama. I will see to it personally that they are well taken care of...!" Even without knowing all of the details, the fact that Vahn was present was noted by Suna, giving her much greater motivation in the task she had been assigned. Anubis hadnt said anything about her looking after the children but, correctly assuming that Vahn would be checking in on them periodically, Suna wanted to build rapport with the young Kitsune so she could leave even a small impression on the legendary hero of the Pallum. Though she may never earn his favor, Suna knew that Vahn was extremely benevolent and would heavily reward anyone that had, even momentarily, earned his appreciation... Understanding her young proteges intentions, Anubis giggled lightly before allowing Suna to depart with six of the Kitsune in tow. Vahn also had a small smile on his face, understanding the situation since he knew his status amongst the Pallum and could easily read the aura and intentions of the calcting Suna. Just as he didnt mind having the older Kitsune fawning over him, Vahn didnt mind having a few Pallum holding small aspirations as it was their own prerogative to do so. If it meant they were trying harder, Vahn actually encouraged them to aim high and, even if might not directly favor them, he could certainly reward them plentily if the situation afforded him the opportunity. With Suna leaving with the other girls, it was just Vahn, Anubis, and the young Kiyone left within the rather warm room. She became exceptionally nervous after being asked to stay behind but was doing her best to sit as neatly as possible, showing she had received lessons in etiquette at a very young age. Vahn couldnt help wonder why she had been thrown into the prison after already receiving a basic education but, remembering the one-eyed man mention that the old master had died, he assumed her father had doted on her until his death. This would have caused her an even greater trauma, making Vahn feel genuine pity towards the young Kitsune as he sent a wave of calming energy through the air while exining, "Do not worry, little one...after what youve gone through, I promise I will not allow any harm to befall you if it is within my power to prevent..." Kiyone was surprised by Vahns words, causing her eyes to widen into circles as she felt the warm energy spread across her body. Almost immediately thereafter, all of the tears she had been fighting back broke through her defenses, as if a dam had broken. Though she tried her best to sit still and behave, she couldnt help by cry increasingly louder after experiencing warmth for the first time in nearly half a year. It was at this time that Kiyone found herself embraced by an even greater warmth as Anubis wrapped her arms firmly around the young Kitsunes body while Vahn gently stroked her hair and attempted to console her. Even though this caused Kiyone to cry even harder, it was these very tears that showed there was hope for her recovery in the future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ais is a bully...!,Everyone is scheming to get closer to the Emperor xD...,Stay strong tiny fox girl (T ^ T)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 977 - Rise

Chapter 977 - Rise

After helping the young Kiyone to vent out all of her grievances, she had be extremely drowsy and had nearly fallen asleep in Anubis embrace. Vahn had wanted to let her sleep but, knowing that he would be particrly busy over the next few days, he still needed to exin the situation to her before returning to the Manor. To allow this, Vahn had sent a small tendril of stimting energy through her back, keeping Kiyone awake even though her eyes were heavily lidded and on the verge of closing. The fact that she tried to stay awake and pay attention, even as her head gently bobbed, caused Vahn and Anubis to practically melt as thetter gently exined, "For the time being, you will be staying with me and helping the other children adapt to this new environment. Later, I will introduce you to someone very important to you so look forward to it, okay~?" As she spoke, Anubis joined Vahn in stroking the sleepy Kiyones hair as thetter nodded her head in understanding. Vahn had wanted to exin things in greater detail but, realizing that Kiyone may not even fully understand her situation, he allowed Anubis to take the initiative. It was obvious she wanted to let the young Kitsune sleep so Vahn stopped keeping her awake, allowing Kiyone to doze off in an instant as her small body fell limply into Anubis arms. Her motherly instincts seemed to have been triggered as she embraced the sleeping girl tightly and kissed the top of her head before whispering, "Sleep well, Kiyone...until you wake up, I will stay with you..." Since she was afraid Kiyone would have nightmares, Anubis didnt want to leave her alone. She wanted to watch over her in order to determine if Preasia would be required to assist in the girls recovery... With Kiyone drifting off to thend of dreams, Anubis showed an apologetic expression as she bowed her head towards Vahn and stated, "Master, forgive me for my selfishness..." In response to this, Vahn produced a soft smile as he pinched the tip of Anubis ears and said, "If you consider this selfish, I dont mind if you be the most selfish person in the entire world...hahaha..." Vahn made sure hisughter was restrained, even though it wasnt likely that Kiyone would wake any time soon. As for Anubis, her tail began to gently wag from side-to-side after hearing Vahns praise while the ear he had pinched flickered yfully in response to his touch. If not for the presence of Kiyone, things likely would have developed even further but both understood that now was neither the time nor the ce for such things. After getting Kiyone situated in Anubis bed, Vahn tucked both girls in before making his way back to the Manor to enjoy the rest of the evening. It had been a very long day so Vahn found himself sharing a bed with Tsubaki and Eina that evening, simply enjoying theirpany as thetter demonstrated her progress in the [Hands of Nirvana] technique. She hadnt actually developed the skill just yet, but Eina had be adept at giving massages, even if the only recipient was Vahn himself. As for Tsubaki, she just hugged Vahn tightly as they were preparing for bed, allowing him to nestle his face into her rather buxom chest while gently stroking his hair. Every now and then, Vahn needed recharging of his own and Tsubaki was near the top of the list for women he would rely on during such circ.u.mstances... --- Back within the Dungeon, Vahn was in a simr situation, even if the recipient offort were the two girls cuddled up against him. Exploring the 71st Floor had taken a bit longer than expected so it was alreadyte in the evening by the time they reached the rtive safety of the corridors linking the two Floors. It had been an exceptionally trying day for Shizune so Vahn had pampered her a bit while also rewarding Ais for all the hard work she had done since their small excursion had begun. She was their primary vanguard, meaning she had dealt with far more than half the monsters on her own. As a result, both girls were in smallclothes with slightly flushed faces after Vahn had tended to their needs for the better part of two hours. He had even pulled out a makeshift hot tub of sorts, allowing them to soak in arge pool of essence as it revitalized their fatigued bodies and minds... In this manner, another day had passed in Vahns life and, while it had far more developments than the average day, it was simply a small event in the grand scheme of what was toe. With the conclusion of the Denatus, the Guild, Alliance, and the newly formed Divine Council had cleared out arge portion of the first floor of Babel for a public deration. A massive stage was prepared in the hours prior to the Denatus conclusion, drawing a fair amount of attention since many rumors had already circted throughout the City. By the time the event was underway, more than two-hundred thousand people had gathered in the area, many belonging to the various Alliance Familias while arge portion consisted of Pallums, Beast Humans, and Elves. Vahn had arrived early to receive the goddesses who had attended the Denatus, only to be collected by the event organizers in a highly respectful manner. They passed him a message from Loki which, after reading, allowed Vahn to make the event evenrger than before as he quickly sent notice to Brynhildr. As a result, every avable Valkyrie was present in full armor as they brandished polished halberds while standing in an organized and impressive formation. This caused most people to give the stage a wide berth as, regardless of how beautiful the Valkyrie were, they were also extremely intimidating in Maid attire, much less full battle gear. Since Terra, Fafnir, Khaos, and even Alexa were all present in their Dragon forms, it caused an oppressive yet awe-inspiring atmosphere to permeate through the area asrge groups of people continued to congregate. By the time the various gods had descended the tower, making their presence known to the massive crowd, the tension in the air had reached a point that even a small stimulus would cause it to explode. At this point, everyone knew exactly what was going on and, though there were a few in the crowd with dissatisfied expressions, most people couldnt help but feel excited since they were about to witness a historical event. Most of the Alliance Familias had even gathered into rtively neat groups, each holding their banners high in support of Vahn and his rise. Though not all of them truly wanted him to be an Emperor, they would rather stay on his good side and receive as many benefits as possible instead of being one of the few groups that didnt openly support him... Upon stepping off the elevator with Hephaestus, Hestia, Freya, Demeter, Eirene, Kali, Fortuna, Artemis, Bastet, Ioke, Takemikazuchi, Miach, Juno, and an assortment of other gods and goddesses in tow, Loki couldnt help but smile upon seeing the massive ocean of people. The only absentee in their group was Anubis who, after receiving a message from Vahn, had left the Denatus early in order to receive the young Kitsune from the Far East. This had caught Lokis attention at the time but she ultimately put the matter behind her after releasing a sigh. She knew Vahns habits better than most and, though she wanted him to sit still while they were already involved with major events, such words would never be able to restrict Vahns actions... While other gods were a bit awed by the size of the crowd, Hestiapletely ignored them all as she made a beeline towards the waiting area behind the stage. Vahn had already opened his arms to receive her, snatching the diminutive goddess out of the air, allowing her to tightly hug his body with her vice-like grip as she eximed, "Being cooped up with other gods for three days is too stressful! From now on, Im going to stay in the Manor unless you reeeeeally need me to do something...!" Hestia had never been the type to go around proactively and, if you allowed her to, she would stay in her own room without moving for days on end. Though she had curbed this habit a bit, at least when Vahn was around, it didnt mean that Hestias true nature, cultivated over nearly five-hundred million years, had changed all that much. Vahn issued a light chuckle while stroking Hestias hair, saying, "Yes, yes, I understand...thank you for your hard work, Hestia..." Having always allowed Hestia to continue acting zy, Vahn wasnt going to push her too hard since he knew Hestia would be the first to take action if she knew it would help their family. She was also one of the lynchpins that held everything together so Vahn didnt mind pampering her a bit, regardless of how her antics disrupted the building atmosphere. Fortunately, the waiting area was well out of sight of the crowd and, even though a few people suspected what was going on, nobody caused amotion over it. It didnt take long for the other gods to arrive, causing Loki to release a tired sigh while Kali took the initiative to approach Vahn, putting on the most disturbingly pitiful look she could manage as she muttered, "Vahn, before anyone else makes a mess of the situation, I wanted you to know my side of the story..." Though it wasnt really the proper time for such things, Kali was never the type to beat around the bush and wait to resolve things. Over thest few days of the Denatus, while everyone else was thinking about how best to capitalize on the situation, her primary concern had beening up with a viable excuse so that Vahn wouldnt rebuke her harshly for teasing Ioke a little too much... Vahn was confused by Kalis seemingly apologetic expression until she rapidly exined the details surrounding the first day of the Denatus, primarily focusing on her interactions with Ioke before trying to divert to more important matters that made her own actions seem insignificant byparison. During this brief exnation, Vahn had momentarily turned his eyes to Loki to get a better grasp of the situation, seeing a slightly yful and mischevious look on her face that she quickly tried to mask. This was all Vahn needed to know the truth of the matter so, before Kali was able to finish exining things, he simply plopped his hand down on her head and said, "I know youre making an effort Kali, so I wont punish you...so long as you apologize properly..." Having misunderstood Vahns gesture as forgiveness, Kali had been in the process of smiling victoriously before she heard his words. Her expression warped into abject shock before she sent a resentful look towards Loki, believing thetter had done something. Since Loki simply couldnt help but smile in response, Kali gnashed her teeth for a brief moment before ultimately turning back to Vahn with a pouting expression on her face. She didnt refute his words, however, and, even though the presence of other gods made her feel extremely embarrassed, Kali turned to Ioke and, as if a spear had been pierced into her abdomen, barely managed to say, "Ioke...Im sorry..." Without so much as a slight change in expression, Ioke gave a small nod in response to Kali before monotoning, "I forgive you, Kali..." Though she had been upset at the time, Ioke genuinely believed Vahn wasnt the type of person that Kali had described so she hadnt taken the matter to heart. This was something Kali was well aware of, which made her apology even harder since she believed there was no meaning in the act. The only reason she did so was that Vahn had required it of her, something he himself understood clearly since warm energy began flowing into Kalis head immediately after she apologized. He knew he had put her on the spot, especially with many other gods present, so Vahn showed leniency by allowing Kalis rather half-hearted apology, as even that took a lot of effort on her part... To clear up the atmosphere, or at least change it in a positive direction, Vahn removed his hand from Kalis head and said, "Though there isnt any time for it now, we should spend some time together in theing days. I believe you and Ioke could be much closer in the future if we enjoy a meal or two together..." As Vahn was very aware of the shift in how Ioke viewed him, considering that he had her [Hearts Desire] safely stowed within his Inventory, he knew the distance between them would continue to shrink with the passage of time. Since this method would be like killing two birds with one stone, Vahn wanted to close the distance between Ioke and Kali while also getting to know the two goddesses a little better himself. Kali snorted through her nose when Vahn pulled his hand away but still nodded her head in response before walking over to Iokes side and saying, "We should get along better from now on..." Though her tone was rather domineering, Ioke didnt show any sign of perturbance, so long as you ignored the small blush on her face as she absentmindedly thought about having lunch with Vahn. Even though it was a rtively small event, she felt extremely fl.u.s.tered at the prospect of spending more time with him and barely even processed Kalis words, simply choosing to nod her head in response. This annoyed the simrly blood-red-haired goddess but she could only swallow her frustration as some of the other goddesses giggled yfully in response to Kalis plight... With the mood now bing more mellow and pleasant, Loki seized the initiative to raise her hand as she said, "Okay, enough beating around the bush. We need to strike while the iron is hot and the day is cool. If youre in the Divine Council, stay behind for the ceremony. Everyone else, go back to your children and keep them in line so that things dont turn chaotic all of a sudden. There is always a chance something could go wrong so make sure you are on your toes...!" With the recent actions of the Alliance, there were numerous groups that would try to cause a disturbance in order to harm the face of the Alliance. There were even members of Enyos cult that had managed to escape their encirclement in the past who could appear at any moment with their ability to move around invisibly. Following Lokis words, most of the gods present began transitioning from the waiting area, each heading towards their respective banners. As for the gods making up the Divine Council, they began discussing the ceremony while moving to their own positions. In the end, the only people left waiting in the wings were Vahn, Hestia, and Artemis. Even Kali had taken to the stage, now wearing a ceremonial dress that covered much more than her normal raiment, while Ioke was rtively close at her side in a blood-red gown that matched her hair and eyes. Many of the gods present were in their best dress while each had a golden ring on the ring finger of their right hand, denoting their status as a member of the Divine Council with an intricate rune that had been personally carved by Hephaestus. Once everyone was in position, Loki, Hephaestus, and Freya stood at the front of the group while an empty space was left in the very center of therge stage. They were nked by eight gods on either side, each representing a Major Divinity, with Ioke being the only exception. Her ughter Divinity was rtively rare, but it didnt exactly constitute a primary Divinity, even though hers was extremely pure. She was only a temporary member that served to keep ensure that there was an odd number of gods on the Divine Council. As for the other gods, there was Kali, Demeter, Fortuna, Eirene, Minerva, Juno, and, after a few troublesome negotiations, Aphrodite. They were all standing on one side, with Ioke amongst them, while the opposite side had Ganesha, Hermes, Tenjin, Takemikazuchi, Baldr, Indra, Tapio, and Dian Cecht. In order to ensure that the Divine Council wasntprised entirely of goddesses, a little less than half their numbers had been filled with various influential gods, with Indra, Tapio, and Dian Cecht only bing members during the Denatus itself. Thetter simply couldnt ept that he was not part of such a prestigious organization and, having been at a lower position than his rival, Miach, Dian Cecht had capitalized on the opportunity to secure his own status. Fortunately, so long as he was provided with ess to rare materials, the once-errant god had be rather amenable after joining the Alliance a few years prior. The final member, and representative, of the Divine Council was Hestia herself who, after everyone else was ready, gave Vahn a firm hug before smiling radiantly as she made her way up the steps. She nearly tripped on the way but Vahn managed to stabilize her at thest moment, causing Hestia to flush slightly before she caught her bnce and proceeded onto therge stage. This left Vahn with Artemis while the atmosphere continued to build to a critical level. Thetter ced her hand supportively on his shoulder while confidently stating, "I believe in you, Vahn..." She could tell that, while Vahn wasnt exactly nervous, there was a small amount of doubt reflecting across his vibrant aquamarine green eyes... Vahn visibly rxed the moment Artemis spoke, causing him a small amount of surprise since he hadnt realized exactly how tense he was. Most of his focus had been on the 72nd Floor as the moment drew progressively closer so Vahn had been somewhat absentminded. Now that things wereing to a head, Vahn found a ce for him, Ais, and Shizune to rest while shifting his focus to the present as he nodded his head in response to Artemis words, saying, "Though Ive always been walking towards this moment, it is only now that Im able to take the first step forward...thank you for being here with me, Artemis. It is the presence of capable women like you that allows me to move forward without any real hesitation..." Artemis giggled upon hearing Vahns words before standing on her tip-toes and kissing the side of his cheek. After pulling away, she gave a sheepish grin as she stated, "Youre always such a smooth-talker, Vahn. My only genuine concern about the future is how many women will fall victim to your charms~." Though she said these words in a teasing voice, without any real intentions behind them, Vahn sharply inhaled through his nose, perfectly aware that things could be even more troublesome in the future if he didnt restrain himself better. He had made a few small steps in that regard but, considering how things would develop with some of the Valkyrie and many of the other women he associated with, Vahn knew he was sitting on a ticking time bomb... Seeing Vahns reaction, Artemis began tough openly this time before she gently urged him forward, saying, "Its toote to have regrets now, Vahn. Dont worry, as we will all work together to support you to the best of our ability~." Knowing full-well that Vahn would likely live forever, the goddesses surrounding him had already had numerous discussions about his, and theirbined, futures. Over the course of hundreds-of-millions of years, it wasnt that rare for gods and goddesses to have thousands of lovers and, though many of them were an exception to this simple truth, they werent going to resent Vahn for his nature. He would naturally mature with the passage of time and, even though he may have a lot of lovers now, they knew only a few of the truly dedicated would remain at his side indefinitely. They treated many of his current rtionsh.i.p.s like flings that would help him mature while they, as goddesses who had already lived for an incredibly long period of time, were already prepared for the eternity that would follow... Pushed forward by Artemis, Vahn had no choice but to collect himself very quickly as he ascended the steps and arrived on stage. Loki had just finished a rather bold speech and, with his presence revealed, the crowd had practically exploded in thunderous cheers that made the very stage below tremble. Vahn felt a surge of power flow into his body but managed to keep his calm as he made his way to Hestias side before taking a knee. Thetter was holding a pristine white crown that glowed with a subtle golden light, as it was entirely made out of materials that had been harvested from the throne in Freyas manor. It was a truly Divine-grade artifact that had been painstakingly forged by Hephaestus over a two-month period, making it one of the highest quality pieces of equipment in the entire world... After Hestia ced the rather heavy crown upon his head, Loki ced a cloak around Vahns shoulders while Hephaestus handed him a scepter made out of the same material as his crown. Thest addition to his attire was a pendant ced around his neck by Freya, giving him a truly regal appearance with the ornate clothing he had changed into while awaiting the girls arrival. Once he was fully attired, Vahn rose to his feet at the behest of Hestia, causing the crowd to cheer even louder as the Valkyrie raised their halberds high in salute. Though many simply called out his name, the most prominent call that resonated through the area was, "Long live Vahn, Long live the Emperor...!" This caused Vahn to feel an incredible surge of power, even though he internally mused, ("I wonder if they would shout these words if they knew I would live forever...?") (A/N: Alternate Titles: Anubis is a good girl,RIP Kali,The Rise of the Eternal Emperor) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 978 - Coronation

Chapter 978 - Coronation

Standing on therge stage that had been set for him, Vahn stared out over the massive crowd of people with a stoic gaze and a slight smile adorning his lips. He let the cheering wash over him while also keeping his senses honed to the surroundings to make sure there werent any dangers lurking in the shadows. If something did happen, it would be a serious loss of face if he wasnt able to deal with the situation as expediently as possible. Fortunately, it didnt seem like his enemies had the gall to try anything this time around, likely due to the presence of several hundred high-Level Adventurers and Valkyrie. This allowed him to bask in the glow of the crowd while the Divine Council congregated behind him, obviously showing their support for hising reign... Vahn allowed the surge of power to flow through his body for a while before squinting his eyes slightly as he prepared for his first speech as an Emperor. The moment this thought crossed his mind, Terra, Fafnir, Khaos, and Alexa all released earth-shaking roars towards the sky as their own auras spread through the crowd, quickly bringing the masses to silence. In response to this, as they had rehearsed it previously, Vahn allowed his own domain to flow outwards, suppressing the seemingly irrepressible auras of his True Dragons as they all quickly lowered their heads. His domain also washed over the crowd this time,pounding the energy he had received from them and causing the tension in the crowd to increase at a startling rate. This was one of the most powerfulponents of his [Will of the Emperor], the ability to draw power from his supporters and then return it to them in kind... Feeling the surge of energy flow through their bodies, all while bathing in the pressure from Vahns domain, the crowd seemed as if it would explode again at any moment. The only thing that kept them at bay was Vahn raising his hand in a silencing gesture, causing the vast majority of the crowd to tense up in silent expectation. Everyone was wondering what Vahns first words as an Emperor would be, even though many in the crowd hadnt actually rationalized what would change with his rise. Orario had always been a free ce, where members of any race could reside without issue, so having an Emperor ruling over it would be a drastic changepared to the past. Whether or not the future would be positive or negative would depend wholly on the decisions Vahn chose to make as, even if they fled the City to live elsewhere, his influence already covered much of the continent... With a startling amount of silence permeating through the atmosphere, enough to hear a person awkwardly cough every now and then, the corner of Vahns mouth curved upward slightly as his voice sounded out in a deep and resonating tone as he said, "I will make one simple promise to each and every person on this continent, including those who were unable to attend this sudden Coronation...so long as I draw breath, I will never give up on trying to make this world a better ce for each and every race. Together, we shall create a future where everyone can hold their heads up high as they strive to achieve greater heights. So long as you put in the effort, I will guarantee that every single person that lives honestly will be provided with ample opportunity to seed. You will no longer be looked down upon for your race, social status, or familial ties...I will create a world where everyone has the same basic rights and, only through concerted effort, will anyone ever be able to proim themselves the betters of others..." Vahns tone didnt change throughout his speech yet, even without fluctuations and changes in the tempo of his words, each bore into the minds and hearts of everyone gathered below. Many didnt understand the true meaning of his words but, hearing the promise of a better future for all races, those who hade from the lower rungs of society, including those who had been mistreated simply because of their race, exploded into loud cheering. They had already seen the steps Vahn had taken towards keeping his promise, even before he became Emperor, so knowing he would continue on the same path was enough for them. As for those who truly knew what Vahn was intending, specifically the foreign dignitaries that had shown up for the now Imperial Summons, many had cold sweat lining their palms and the backs of their heads... Since Vahn had been paying close attention to the various dignitaries and their emissaries, he had noticed the shift in many of their auras. Though his expression hadnt changed, Vahn updated the color of their icon within his mini-map to serve as a reminder so he would know who to ce his trust inter on. This only took a brief moment and, with the fervent cheering of the crowd, most hadnt noticed the almost imperceptible glint that shed across his eyes. Then, as if to sweep away any incongruous feelings that might be welling up, Vahn raised his hand once again to bring silence upon the crowd. The fact that he could bring more than two-hundred thousand people to silence in only a few seconds made Vahn feel strangely giddy, though he managed to hide it well enough... Once silence had descended upon the crowd, Vahns smile had faded away in its entirety, causing themon citizens below to tremble slightly in response. Even veteran Adventurers felt their instincts warning them while some even habitually move their hands to their weapons, almost as if they were preparing to charge into battle. This was due to the fact that Vahns own fighting spirit was, quite literally, flowing into the crowd as he solemnly stated, "There are some amongst you who may have doubts about my power...there may even be some who have already started to conspire in order to take advantage of my Empire in its budding stages..." Each word that left Vahns mouth increased the pressure felt by the crowd, especially on those who actually harbored such thoughts. Vahn paid close attention to each subtle change in the atmosphere before adding, "In order to quell such dissent, I will set an example that nobody would ever be able to refute. Within one weeks time, I swear that the third Great Quest posted by the Guild, the subjugation of the One-Eyed ck Dragon, will bepleted...!" This time, Vahn allowed his excitement to reach the crowd but, for several seconds after his exmation, silence dominated the surroundings. The One-Eyed ck Dragon had left a shadow in the hearts of every race, to the point that it even lingered in the minds of many who had never even seen it. Even powerful Familia, who seemed to have no match, was unable to defeat the One-Eyed ck Dragon after nearly a thousand years. Hearing Vahn promise to y it within one week was almost like hearing that there would be seventeen suns hovering in the sky with theing dawn. Fortunately, the silence was broken when words sounded through the area, causing the void to tremble slightly as a deep yet ancient voice reached everyones ears, saying, "The Guild recognizes the Sage Emperors im and looks forward to the sessful subjugation of the One-Eyed ck Dragon. May your hunt be fruitful, Vahn Mason..." As if emting a wave, the crowd began to shift as many looked towards the source of the voice, finding the 3m tall Ouranos standing with a few strangely dressed individuals. For many, this was their first time seeing the God who reigned over the former most powerful force on the Continent, the Guild. Even so, they were able to recognize him as a result of the dozens of Guild employees who stood at his side with highly reverential looks on their faces. As for the four strange individuals surrounding Ouranos, one of which was the enigmatic Fels, they caused everyone who looked upon them to feel an iprehensible threat. Even Vahn squinted his eyes slightly in response, causing them to sh with a stark blue for a brief moment before he gave a curt nod and replied, "To usher in this new Era, I willy to rest the threats from the prior Era...if I cannot do something so simple, I have no right to call myself Emperor..." In an almostedic fashion, the crowd now shifted back to Vahn, this time with a few people loudly cheering in response to his words. This was all it took for the masses to explode once again as the atmosphere had already been like a powder-keg even before Vahn mentioned killing the One-Eyed ck Dragon. The only ones who remained silent were the keen-eyed gods who noticed that Ouranos, someone who always looked down on others, was, for the first time, looking up towards the new Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. They knew Ouranos wasnt the type to overlook such things and, seeing him standing at a lower position than Vahn, caused the hearts of those gods who had yet to fully throw in their support for Vahn to tremble... --- Since the Coronation couldnt continue indefinitely, things were brought to an end of sorts when Vahn announced an impromptu banquet to celebrate the event. The Alliance had coordinated to prepare arge quantity of delicious food and alcohol, allowing everyone to eat and drink freely. So long as nobody caused amotion, minor offenses would be overlooked as even the members of the Eirene Familia were in high spirits as a result of Vahns ascension to the Throne. Even Eirene herself had a flushed face as she removed her armor for once and was heartily drinking in public without any shame whatsoever. Though some looked towards her withscivious eyes, few were bold enough to make a pass at one of the members of the Divine Council, especially since she was also one of Vahns known lovers... The only people who werent celebrating, at least amongst Vahns allies, were the members of the HDF, Chloes Shadow Corps, and the Valkyries. They were helping to provide security for the impromptu celebration and were dealing with any incidents as they urred. It was their presence that allowed goddesses like Eirene to cut loose as anyone with malicious intent simply disappeared before they were able to cause any trouble. Those who simply got caught up in the festivities wereter found in alleyways with hard bumps on their heads while those who had obviously been conspiring to cause trouble for Vahn were either thrown into prison or dealt with in the shadows... While all this was going on, Vahn was seated in the same banquet hall where the Denatus was usually held, being one of the few mortals who had ever been allowed inside without being a servant serving the Guild. He was seated at a private table with the members of his family, including many of his children that had been brought over under Terras protection. There was anotherrge table ced next to theirs where members of the Divine Council were supposed to be seated, half of which had found their way over to his table. Lastly, Ouranos was seated within his throne at the far end of the banquet hall yet, unlike the past, there were now three thrones present instead of just one. One had the emblem of the Divine Council engraved on it and served as an empty seat, emphasizing that everyone within the Divine Council was equal yet their authority was the same as the other two thrones belonging to Ouranos and, as one would expect, Vahn. Vahn couldnt help but muse about how quickly they had managed to prepare an impromptu throne for him and wondered what it would be like to attend the Denatus in the future. Since he was now the ruler of Orario, it was obvious that he would have a say during their future meetings as the decisions of the gods would undoubtedly impact the stability of his Empire. Though he could leave most things to the Divine Council in that regard, it was important that he made an appearance to observe things, even if he didnt directly participate. In time, it would be normal from the perspective of the gods to see Vahn, not only in their presence, but in a position of authority above them... Though such thoughts were running through his mind, Vahns actions seemed to contradict the image of himself that he wanted to present to others. Two of his daughters, Eiko and Natalie, were currently seated on hisp as he had a fatherly smile on his face while feeding the two girls. Many of the goddesses had shifted their chairs closer to his end of the table and things were more than a little chaotic with more than twenty children present. As a result, many members of the Divine Council had wry expressions on their faces and it was only goddesses like Aphrodite who threw aside propriety in order to try and take advantage of the situation. Fortunately, she had been quickly wrangled up by Freya and Fortuna and was currently ring at Vahn with amorous eyes from the opposite end of the table... In order to get Aphrodite on their side, a fewpromises were made by both parties, much to thementation of the goddess in question. She had to take a vow, swearing never to carry her girdle around in the presence of the Hearth Manor and its residents, while Vahn had to promise that he would allow her into his chambers at least once a month after bing an Emperor. If not for Freya privately pressuring Aphrodite, telling her how much she would regret missing the opportunity, things wouldnt have gone as smoothly as they had. The fact that one of her rival goddesses, someone that she considered almost on the same level as herself, had said such things was the final straw that caused Aphrodite to stop making trouble, at least openly... Vahn ignored the goddess fiery gaze as he wiped a bit of baby food from Natalies doll-like face, causing the young Demi-Goddess to giggle before she yfully spit the remainder of her food onto his ornamental robe. Seeing such an expensive piece of equipment spit upon by a child would have caused many to practically choke on their own blood in response. Vahn, however, simply smiled lovingly in response while suffering a few yful quips and barbs from the surrounding girls and goddesses. Syr, Natalies mother, was the worst as she began tough in a bell-like fashion rather loudly in response to her daughters antics... --- While the banquet was going on above, Vahn had already delved into the 73rd Floor with Ais and Shizune. He had acent smile on his face while entrusting the exploration of the Floor to the two girls, even if it was more urate to say Shizune was doing all the work. She was sending out a veritable horde of Shadows to scour the Floor while sitting snugly in Vahnsp as he fed a constant supply of Source Energy into her body, converting it into a seemingly endless supply of mana. Ais was watching over their surroundings, casting periodic nces towards Vahn and Shizune while killing any monster almost as soon as it had appeared. She knew Vahn would pamper her a lotter so, for the time being, kept quiet about the rtively intimate manner in which he was helping Shizune replenish her reserves. After the rtively open 71st Floor, the 72nd and 73rd had returned to the traditional Labyrinthine structure found in many of the Dungeons more troublesome Floors. The walls were a crystalline form of bedrock that had a slightly blue hue, giving it a density that would rival poorly processed mithril, while the overall structure of the Dungeon grew increasinglyplex as they proceeded further. Also, though there were very few enemies, much like the 60th Floor, those that did appear were, individually, very strong. They were a type of monster that Vahn had named Draconids as they had simr traits to Dragons while resembling an evolutionary form of Variant Lizardmen. On average, they were around 250cm tall and had the equivalent strength of a Level 5 Adventurer that had been properly equipped with high-quality weapons and armor. While gently rubbing Shizunes stomach, Vahn watched as Ais shed against one of the variant forms of a Draconid, a 3m tall monster with thick red scales and small wings and sharp pointy horns. It wasnt capable of flight but the ridges on the wings were capable of cutting through the Dungeons bedrock with ease, showing they were incredibly sharp. Every now and then, the monster would send out a breath of blue mes that would actually chase after Ais before her [Ariel] would break it apart with ease. As for why she hadnt in it just yet, it was because this particr variant actually had the strength of a Level 6 Adventurer and was fighting defensively with arge ck shield and a curved green spear that cast a dangerous light as it cut through the air... Fully intending to bisect Ais in half, the Variant Draconid spewed forth a mouthful of mes to obscure her vision before slicing forward with its whip-like tail in her blind spot. Ais no longer relied solely on her sight to detect an enemys movements, however, allowing her to nimbly twist her body under the tail before kicking off the ground with almost untraceable speed. This was one of the few times the monster had left a true opening but it was all Ais needed to end the fight in a single instant as her [Gram] cut through the thigh of the Draconid as if it was nonexistent. With a blood-curdling howl, the monster attempted to bash Ais with its shield but was only able to hit her afterimage as she had already appeared at its back with [Shundo] before slicing it from head to groin in a single decisive strike. After the Variant Draconid turned into dust, Ais released a small sigh before using [Gram] to support her tired body. It wasnt that the monster was actually a threat to her but, in order to temper herself further, she was trying to fight without relying too much on her [Ariel] and the explosive effect of her [Avenger]. Though she was already capable of fighting on par with someone like Ottar, at least for a short while, Ais knew she was actually far behind people like Mikoto in terms of swordsmanship. There was also the fact that, even though she hadnt witnessed it herself, Ais knew it was possible to reach such a high degree of mastery that you could cut through a persons ego, crippling even immortals for a short while... Upon catching her breath, Ais pulled her sword out of the ground before pulling out a cloth to habitually polish the unblemished de. Almost as soon as she sat down, however, Shizunes eyes opened in shock was the entire Dungeon seemed to pulse. Several secondster, a loud roar seemed to pass through the walls and floor of the Dungeon without any obstruction, almost as if the creature it had emanated from was right next to them. This caused the light in the surroundings to dim down as a powerful suppression began to spread through the surroundings, causing small fractures in the crystalline bedrock as the mana within the Dungeon began to pool towards a particr location within the 73rd Floor... (A/N: I wanted to rify something for those who are confused about the current release schedule. Just know that I will be finished with work around August the 16th where I will be releasing, at the very least, 3 chapters of EPIC and 2 chapters of FJ every day (though the FJ is more of a want than a guarantee). So long as I am earning a decent ie through *******, which I am forever grateful for, I should be able to have enough funds toplete EPIC within the next year or so, though Im prepared to continue for two years if necessary. In total, Im nning to write as much as 9m words toplete the series, though it can end in as few as 7m depending on circ.u.mstances.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: A simple promise...,Vahn was a Father long before he was an Emperor,Even if you climb to the highest peak, there is still a sky beyond and horizons yet unseen~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 979 - Collision : Compromise (1/2)

Chapter 979 - Collision : Compromise (1/2)

Though he had already assumed as much, the oppressive aura that had shrouded the entirety of the 73rd Floor was undoubtedly that of an entity at the peak of Level 8. The only reason it was able to influence such a wide area was due to the spiritual quality of the One-Eyed ck Dragons aura, something that apanied all species of Dragon descent. Even Vahn had his own Dragon Aura whenever he was using his Qinglong form so he was intimately familiar with the concept, though his was actually evenrger than the One-Eyed ck Dragons. There was even a part of Vahn, deep in the recesses of his soul, that wanted him to transform into his Qinglong form and fight against the One-Eyed ck Dragon for superiority... Shaking off the feeling, Vahn hugged the pale Shizune to help her keep calm while looking towards Ais and asking, "Well, what do you think...?" These words had snapped Ais out of the absentminded state she had fallen into, causing her to startle slightly as she turned around and said, "I will win...!" while grasping her [Gram]. She had been slightly overwhelmed by the aura of the One-Eyed ck Dragon but was quickly adapting to it, unlike the trembling Shizune who had experienced the aura through one of her Shadows. It had stumbled upon a vast chamber where the One-Eyed ck Dragon had been sleeping but, almost as soon as her Shadow trespassed the area, the Dragons aura had expanded outward in full force. Shizunes Shadow had been destroyed, causing her to experience a small bacsh as the intent contained within the aura tried to invade her mind. In response to Ais words, Vahn gave a simple nod before following it up with a gentle smile as he said, "I believe in you." Though the One-Eyed ck Dragons avatar was very powerful, Vahn truly believed the girls would be able to ovee it with all of their training and preparations. Ais, especially, was perfectly equipped to take on powerful Dragon-type enemies so, as long as the One-Eyed ck Dragon didnt have any tricks up its sleeve, they had a fair chance at sess. It would ultimatelye down to what kind of Innates the One-Eyed ck Dragon possessed and whether or not the girls had a way to circ.u.mvent some of the more troublesome ones. Fortunately, given what he knew of Innates thus far, the One-Eyed ck Dragon likely had one rted to its will, two specializing in offense or utility, and one almost purely defensive in nature... Though there were exceptions to everything, especially with how unique Innates could be, the pattern for the sessful evolution of the soul seemed to start with granting a person a unique ability that could grant them great power early on. This would start to change their perspective and would undoubtedly put them onto a path where they proactively sought greater heights. To reinforce this, the second Innate a person awakened almost always rted to their willpower, serving to expand their perspective and allow theprehension of some form of Law. From there, they either get an Innate that would further increase their offensive power or, if they had experienced setbacks, an Innate that provided great utility, mobility, or defensive power. If the Innate they had awakened was rted to offense, they would almost certainly awaken a defensive Innate as their fourth ability. Though it was possible for a person to outright have four Innates rted to offensive abilities,pletely contrary to Vahns research, it was far more likely that the pattern would show itself in some form as a soul containing purely offensive capabilities presumably had a high chance of dying before it could reach its full potential. While Vahn was thinking about what kind of Innates the One-Eyed ck Dragon had, the avatar in question seemed intent on showing itself as ripples began to appear in the fabric of Space-Time, drawing the attention of Vahn and Ais while Shizune was still trembling in his arms. Almost as soon as the ripples had appeared, there was the sound of ss breaking before cracks began to appear across the non-existent surface. From within these cracks, something outside of Vahns expectations appeared, causing his mind to be slightly dull while even Ais allowed an incredulous expression to mar her beautiful face... Though he should have known the possibility existed, as every True Dragon that had reached a certain amount of strength had shown the capability, Vahn hadnt been mentally prepared for what had appeared before him. Before his eyes, instead of the colossal figure of a Dragon, there was what appeared to be a rather petite young girl with wild ck hair that reached all the way to her ankles. Her only visible eye, as the other seemed unable to be opened due to arge scar, was a startling blue that emanated a cold light while a deep ck iris vertically parted the icy abyss, opening into a void of absolute darkness. The most distracting thing, however, was the fact that the girl waspletely bereft of clothing, allowing a strange runic pattern to be seen on her pale white skin that was only broken up by the ck scales on her arms and legs. There were also two wings poking out of her lower back, covered in the same pitch-ck scales as other parts of her body, while two scale-covered ears also poked through the wild ck hair at the sides of her head... As if she had intended to take advantage of this moment from the start, the One-Eyed ck Dragon immediately moved like a phantom towards Vahn and Shizune. Thetter was still despondent, despite Vahns best efforts to help her recover, but that didnt mean she was in any danger as Vahn hadnt truly dropped his guard, regardless of his momentary stupor. At the very instant that the One-Eyed ck Dragon moved, Vahn moved with such speed that, instead of simply leaving behind an afterimage, there was a ck blur due to theplete absence of matter within the given area. Even Space took a moment to correct itself, causing a thunderous p before a shockwave crashed into the petite One-Eyed ck Dragon, unfortunately without damaging it in the slightest. Surprised by the speed of its target, the One-Eyed ck Dragon allowed its sword-like brow to raise slightly as its stark-blue iris tracked Vahn through the void. It wasnt specialized in speed at all so, instead of trying to attack Vahn in an area that it wascking, the Dragon instead spread out its wings to reveal pulsing blue runes that seemed to move around on the thin membrane between the individual segments of bone. Many took on a shape reminiscent to eyes and, much like the One-Eyed ck Dragons own, they followed Vahns movement before severalser-like beams of mana began to tear towards him. Vahn produced a wry smile in response to this while outwardly musing, "Why are you so determined to attack me...?" Unexpectedly, the One-Eyed ck Dragon answered in a cold monotone, "I can tell you are the strongest here. If I defeat you first, the rest will fall quickly. Since you are protecting that one, you cant fight back with your full power." As if to punctuate this statement, the One-Eyed ck Dragon sent several more volleys of magical energy towards Vahn, causing him to have to dodge the sub-lightspeed attacks while protecting Shizunes figure with his own. He couldnt fault the logic of the One-Eyed ck Dragon but that didnt mean she would be allowed to do whatever she wanted while he was forced on the defensive... The moment such thoughts crossed his mind, the One-Eyed ck Dragons wings seemed to quiver slightly before Space around her fractured once again. She vanished from the area in an instant as a column of Spiritual Wind crashed into the spot where she had previously stood. This energy smashed through the Dungeons Floor as if it was nonexistent, causing a gaping hole to emerge before a figure revealed itself from within the columns center. Ais could be seen wearing her [Pactio] raiment while [Gram] was glowing with an almost divine light within her grasp. Even before the One-Eyed ck Dragon had reappeared, she was moving like an unstoppable tempest towards a location a few hundred meters away. This movement had taken less than a millisecond, catching the One-Eyed ck Dragon slightly by surprise as her figure broke out of the void, forcing her to defend against Ais attack. With rounded eyes, Ais watched as her [Gram] was received by the One-Eyed ck Dragon using nothing more than a single one of her scaled ws. Her palms had a pale, snake-like, membrane of skin covering them, contrary to the pitch-ck scales covering the back of her hand, but it was enough to stop the S-Ranked sword that was specialized in ying Dragons. Though a thin trail of blood began to drip away from the contact point, the wound waspletely healed a momentter when the One-Eyed ck Dragon threw [Gram] to the side with Ais still attached. She wasnt prepared for the sudden shift in momentum, causing her to crash into the hard bedrock wall more than a hundred meters away. Spiderweb cracks emerged from the area but Ais was ultimately undamaged, as the One-Eyed ck Dragon wasnt afforded the time or opportunity to take further action before her own body was sent skidding across the Dungeons floor. Vahn, wielding an ornate golden bow forged by Hephaestus and blessed by Artemis, could be seen at the opposite end of therge room. It was named [Khryskatos] and, much like the dagger that had been blessed by Hestia within the original manga, Vahns bow was a growth-type weapon that possessed a fragment of Artemis Divinity. He hadnt had much time to grow its power to an extreme but it was still an S-Rank weapon that was far more powerful than anything he could forge through his own skills. Even the system shop would have required upwards of one-hundred million OP to produce such a piece of equipment so he was more than satisfied by the result, something both Hephaestus and Artemis were intimately aware of... Without having to knock an arrow, Vahn pulled back the silvery string of [Khryskatos] as wispy strands of light quickly coalesced into a solid construct. This particr bow, with the blessing of Artemis, was able to convert mana from the surroundings into the pure Yin energy contained within the moonlight. Though it was far less effective within the depths of the Dungeon, as the bow was more powerful under direct moonlight, the abundance of mana more than made up for thecking celestial body. As a result, Vahn was able to activate one of the abilities that had been imprinted into the bow, silently murmuring, "Iokheira..." as his singr arrow turned into a veritable downpour against the One-Eyed ck Dragon who had been forced on the defensive. It was, quite literally, a case of one arrow turning into several thousand in an instant, each carrying overwhelming offensive might that caused a deep chill to settle into the bodies of anyone unfortunate enough to suffer under its barrage... ---------------------------------------------------- [Khryskatos] Rank: S [Divine] Slots: 1 P.Atk: 434 M.Atk: 1718 Abilities: Artemis Infatuation(-), Iokheira(SS), Impable Aim(S), Growth(-) A sacred bow that has been blessed by the Goddess Artemis for her beloved. Knowing she would not be able to stand at his side at all times, Artemis had bestowed this bow with her intent so that her most cherished person could always carry a memento of their love, no matter how far apart they were. It is rumored that, other than the Ichor of a Goddess, this bow contains yet another secret that will only reveal itself when the user is in dire straits. Restrictions: Vahn Mason ---------------------------------------------------- Though the arrows werent dealing any damage to it, the One-Eyed ck Dragon was surprised by the fact that it couldnt do anything other than defend itself against the torrential assault. It had no idea how Vahn was able to fire a single arrow, only for it to turn into a veritable wall of arrows that all seemed to target the softer spots on her body. It was extremely frustrating as she would feel a small aching sensation whenever one of the arrowsnded a critical hit. Though even this wasnt enough to overwhelm her defensive power, the fact that some of the areas the arrows were hitting were rather delicate had caused the One-Eyed ck Dragon to gnash her teeth before she spontaneously transitioned from her humanoid form out of sheer incredulity. Vahn was also aware of the peculiar path some of his arrows took, causing his temples to buzz as he did his best to ignore the wayward projectiles. His abilities made it so that his arrows would automatically target the weak spots of his enemies at times so he didnt have any control over them without changing his intent. Though he had tried to make the arrows behave, as it was rather embarrassing to see them snake their way through the One-Eyed ck Dragons guard, only to ripple against her exposed b.r.e.a.s.ts and other, more sensitive areas, Vahn was ultimately unsessful. He was suddenly d he decided not to record or stream this first battle as it would have been a rather shameful sight to behold... When the One-Eyed ck Dragon suddenly grew to a size more than 60m long, parts of it crashing into the walls and ceiling, Vahn issued a sigh of relief as he nocked another arrow of moonlight before sending it careening towards the Dragons right eye. The increase in size actually gave both him and Ais more targets while the Dungeons confines would restrict the One-Eyed ck Dragons movements, at least a little. As for Shizune, she had long since been removed from the battlefield after Vahn called Fafnir to his side with Unit Management before having it pull her into its shadow. She was one of the few that could transition through the shadow dimension without any major detriments so Vahn had allowed Fafnir to escort her to safety before he joined the fight. Perfectly aware of the fact that it had created bigger targets for its enemies to exploit, the One-Eyed ck Dragon felt slightly panicky and incredibly frustrated as it twisted its massive body with incredible momentum towards Ais location. She managed to easily evade the attack before vanishing from the area in an instant, causing the One-Eyed ck Dragon to flinch even before Ais sent a torrent of Spiritual Wind towards her blind right eye. It still didnt do much damage, as even the scar tissue was much harder than anything Ais had ever cut through before, but the One-Eyed ck Dragon felt a great deal of resentment since she was intimately familiar with the source of Ais power. She had long realized that Ais had some rtion to the people who had attacked her in the past and, if not for the fact her main body was located elsewhere, the One-Eyed ck Dragon would have unleashed its full power from the outset. With its rage boiling over, the One-Eyed ck Dragon released a powerful roar that caused Space to fracture in several locations, causing indefensible destruction throughout several parts of the Dungeon, not just the 73rd Floor. This caused Vahns previously confident expression to transition into a far more serious one as a certain realization reached him, specifically rted to Enyos seal. He had been intending to draw out the fight a bit before escaping alongside Ais so she could regroup and make preparations with the other girls. Since this was a battle that would allow them to break through their limits, Vahn didnt want to hog the glory and take down the One-Eyed ck Dragon himself. Now that it disyed the ability to tear through the void and cause spatial cracks, however, Vahn knew he couldnt leave it alone unless he wanted to risk damage to Enyos seal, potentially leading to her release... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Cliche Appears...!,*pelt* *pelt* *pelt*,Its almost like everything that happens from now on threatens Enyos seal...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 980 - Collision : Compromise (2/2)

Chapter 980 - Collision : Compromise (2/2)

While Space continued to fragment around them, Vahn expanded both hands as he stored away his [Khryskatos]. His domain, which had been contending against the One-Eyed ck Dragons aura from the very beginning, now began to glow with a golden resplendence that caused the previously overbearing Dragons aura to diminish in an instant. Since [Enkidu] could even seal away Divinity, restraining the aura of a Dragon was a simple feat while even the Spatial cracks began to stabilize as a result of Vahn locking down the area. This ended up being an exceptionally helpful urrence as Ais had just used [Shundo] into an area where Space had destabilized, causing her organs to shift slightly as a result. She ended up coughing up a bit of blood but was quickly regenerating under the influence of Vahns mana and the support of her [Pactio]. Feeling the power of its roar suddenly drop, the One-Eyed ck Dragon felt a seething rage even greater than when Albert had blinded her right eye in the past. As if to ovee the effect of [Enkidu] through raw power, she twisted her colossal body around chaotically, destroying the walls, ceiling, and floor of the Dungeon, all while attempting to crush Vahn and Ais. Instead of focusing directly on Vahn, the One-Eyed ck Dragon was directing most of her attacks towards Ais since she could tell thetter was slightly injured and also knew that Vahn would try to defend her. What she didnt expect, however, was that the suppressive force of [Enkidu] was only the beginning of Vahns attack as golden chains began to break through the void almost as soon as her rampage began. Vahn guided [Enkidu] to coil around the One-Eyed ck Dragons arms, legs, neck, and tail as quickly as he could manage, even though his body was literally jerked around as a result of her thrashing. Though [Enkidu] could certainly restrict the One-Eyed ck Dragons movements, once it managed to bind her, her strength and size made this difficult to achieve as Vahns reserves were quickly diminishing in the attempt. She seemed to understand that things woulde to an end if he managed to wrap her up in the chains so the One-Eyed ck Dragon was refusing to sit still as the floor below them copsed, causing them all to fall towards the 74th Floor as a result. In the next moment, a brilliant sh of light shrouded the One-Eyed ck Dragons body before her size decreased to a mere 153cm as she tore through the air and attempted to impale Vahn with a strange ck spear. Though he saw the attacking and could have easily dodged it, Vahn grit his teeth hard and opened his arms slightly instead of making any attempt to evade. This had caught the One-Eyed ck Dragon off guard, though not nearly as much as when he suddenly closed his arms around her after she had bored a hole straight through his body. Even before her brows could fully raise in surprise, Vahn had produced two links of [Enkidu] from his palms while transforming into his Qinglong form to grant him greater physical might. Though he wasnt even remotely as strong as the One-Eyed ck Dragon, her reaction was far too slow to the sudden changes as Vahn managed to snake [Enkidu] around her wings, tail, and thighs before she snapped back to her senses. He knew the real reason why she had been so distracted but threw that to the back of his mind for the time being since the One-Eyed ck Dragon, even partially bound, wasnt a foe that could be looked down on... Vahn felt a sickening nausea pass through his body as the One-Eyed ck Dragon twisted the jagged spear in his stomach before pulling it through the left side of his body, tearing away bone, flesh, and organs in the process. Though Vahn was able to regenerate rtively quickly, causing the already pale One-Eyed ck Dragon to turn stark white, it didnt mean the attack was something he could simply shrug off. Vahn had learned from personal experience that having your guts ripped out was one of the more painful injuries and, no matter how many times it happened, he would never get used to the feeling. As a result, his eyes zed with an azure light as he red at the One-Eyed ck Dragon with a visage or wrath clearly stered across his face. Surprisingly, she flinched as a result of this re, giving Vahn enough time to snake a link of [Enkidu] around her neck as he pulled the two chains in his hand, causing the golden chains around her legs and tail to tighten greatly as a result. The One-Eyed ck Dragon was now in full panic-mode as she attempted to use her free hands to pull at the chain around her neck. Though she didnt actually need air to survive, the chains of [Enkidu] was extremely ufortable and she could feel their suppressive power quickly sapping away at her own. Her instincts told her that it would spell her end if she was unable to escape quickly but an even more powerful instinct overwhelmed her when Vahn pulled the chains in his hands. She could feel the resplendent golden chains dig into her thighs while the one around her tail caused a shiver to run up her spine, forcing her wings to spread wide in response. For a brief moment, she didnt even try to remove the chains around her neck and, instead, adopted a rather pitiful expression as a gasping m.o.a.n escaped her mouth... Vahns eyes widened in response to the unexpected reaction from the One-Eyed ck Dragon but, remembering how Terra would behave in simr circ.u.mstances, realization dawned upon him in an instant. He had noticed the look the One-Eyed ck Dragon gave him when he assumed his Qinglong form but had buried it away at the time since there were more pressing matters to attend. Now that he had almostpletely bound her, however, Vahn was very aware of the rather devious methods he had been using to subjugate an enemy that should have been one of the more powerful he had ever faced. This caused a light blush to creep up his face as even Ais, who was surrounded by a veritable hurricane of Spiritual Winds at this point, averted her eyes as an even deeper shade of red touched her cheeks... The final straw was when the One-Eyed ck Dragon swallowed hard before looking directly at Vahn with her one remaining eye and said, "You...very well then..." As if she hade to a realization of her own, the One-Eyed ck Dragon stopped resisting against [Enkidu], causing the chains to dig deeply into her flesh and neck as she brought one hand to rest on her abdomen while the other found its way to a slightly glistening spot that Vahn had been doing his best to ignore. This caused him to feel a small amount of panic as he held up his hands to try and refute the One-Eyed ck Dragons assumption, even though it would have been simpler to just kill her while she was bound... As a result of his actions, Vahn caused [Enkidu] to tighten even further, forcing the One-Eyed ck Dragon to twitch with enough force to cause a small droplet to free itself from her body, miraculously making its way to a spot just under Vahns left eye. He felt like he had just been struck by lightning as the One-Eyed ck Dragon slightly parted her eye before musing, "You are still weak, but I will recognize your e..." Then, even with [Enkidu] supposedly restraining her movement, the One-Eyed ck Dragon slightly parted her legs as her stone-faced expression gained an almost indistinguishable shade of red. Even without all the physical signs, Vahn knew he had triggered the One-Eyed ck Dragons instincts since her aura, which had previously been burning like a small sun, was now a vibrant pinkish-red that was coiling around his body in an extremely possessive manner. His mind hadpletely nked at this point as he robotically turned his head to view the now scarlet-faced Ais. She caught his nce out of the corner of her eye and, though she didnt say anything, Vahn felt like Ais wanted to call him a pervert. Things had suddenly developed from a serious fight to the death to the One-Eyed ck Dragon seemingly misconstruing that he was trying to court her. Vahn didnt know what to think of this situation at all and, for what felt like the umpteenth time,mented the instincts of True Dragons... Seemingly growing impatient, the One-Eyed ck Dragon furrowed her brows in response to Vahns nk expression as she asked, "Are you trying to tease me...?" These words snapped Vahn out of his thoughts but he was still unable to find any words for several seconds before finally asking, "If I loosen the chains, are you going to attack us...?" Though the One-Eyed ck Dragon had seemingly stopped fighting back, Vahn needed to be sure that she wouldnt attack them if he decided to release her. Since the pride of True Dragons made it almost impossible for them to lie, he knew he would be able to trust her word but a part of him wished she would refute his words and insist on continuing the fight... Releasing a snort that produced a small wisp of blue mes, the One-Eyed ck Dragon stated in a matter-of-fact tone, "Dont worry, pup, I wont try to kill you anymore. Even if youre still weak, I will groom you to be a suitable mate for me. You will stay here with me for a few hundred years and Ill take care of you until you are strong enough to court my true self. Be grateful, pup, as you are the first this one has ever decided to treat as an equal..." Each word spoken by the One-Eyed ck Dragon held an extreme amount of confidence, leaning on borderline arrogance, almost as if there were absolutely no room for refusal. Even with [Enkidu] binding her, she didnt show any real concern and, knowing this wasnt her true body, Vahn could understand where her confidence came from. With a heavy sigh, Vahn began to loosen up [Enkidu] but still refuted, "I will not stay here, much less be your mate. Honestly, the reason we sought after you was to get revenge for Ais parents and the millions you have killed during your rampages. However, since I can tell you are a sentient creature that can be reasoned with, I see no purpose in continuing this fight..." Vahn didnt want to alert the One-Eyed ck Dragon to the fact that he knew about her main body so he deflected a bit in an attempt to distract her. She seemed to fall for it as, right after hearing Vahn refuse to stay with her, the One-Eyed ck Dragon showed a face of wrathful scorn as she lunged forward and punched him in the diaphragm. There wasnt any lethal force behind the blow but it still sent Vahn flying nearly thirty meters as his body tore through the hard bedrock of the Dungeons floor. Instead of continuing the assault, the One-Eyed ck Dragon eximed, "You do all of this and still try to pretend you arent trying to make this one yours...!?" Since her body was already in an excited state, the One-Eyed ck Dragon felt as if her thoughts were extremely jumbled as she recalled the instance of Vahn pelting her delicate areas before her overbearingly tried to bind her body. With her enhanced instincts, she understood that Vahn hadnt been trying to kill her from the start so the only logical conclusion she coulde to was the fact that he had be enamored with her and wanted to make her his own. Though she had thought little of him at first, her opinion changed the moment her aura was beaten back by his domain and he revealed his Qinglong form, causing her body to practically ignite with a passion she had never experienced before... Vahn slowly crawled out of the ditch his body had carved before staring at the One-Eyed ck Dragon with an incredulous expression. He couldnt really find the words to exin things as he was the most aware of how odd his actions had been during their fight. Part of him even knew that the One-Eyed ck Dragon wasnt exactly to me for the havoc it had caused in the past as it was simply the nature of True Dragons to ughter others to establish dominance. The fact that it had been slumbering for nearly a thousand years showed that it wasnt just going about wantonly destroying everything and, based on the rtively pure auraing off its body, it was highly likely that many of its most historical disys of power were the result of other people antagonizing it... At this point, Ais seemed to have understood that things had taken a strange turn so she was about to step in to try and support Vahn. This immediately caught the attention of the One-Eyed ck Dragon, however, as thetters nostrils suddenly twitched before her expression became even more fierce. She could smell the scent of Vahning from Ais and, even though they didnt actually have a rtionship, the One-Eyed ck Dragon felt as if he had betrayed her somehow as her rage instantly boiled over. Though she had said she wouldnt kill Vahn, this protection didnt extend to Ais at all so the One-Eyed ck Dragon didnt hesitate as she produced another ck spear before hurling it towards her with lethal momentum. Though she had been caught by surprise, Ais managed to easily evade the spear with [Shundo] before having to dodge several more times when simr spears tore through the void in an attempt to skewer her abdomen. Ais noticed the trajectory of the spears were a little low, causing her to feel a little panicky as she continued to move around with greater speed. The spears were moving faster and with greater uracy so Ais was forced to increase her own speed to avoid a rather tragic oue. Fortunately, the assault didntst too long before Vahn appeared, blocking the One-Eyed ck Dragons continued assault by spreading his arms wide and shouting, "Stop, now...!" Still in his Qinglong form, Vahns voice rumbled with an intensity that would even cause thunder to pale inparison as his words caused the void to ripple and fracture in response. Being a True Dragon that had a simr alignment to Vahns Qinglong form, the One-Eyed ck Dragon felt her heart palpitate a few times as she quickly threw aside her most recently conjured spear before sheepishly lowering her head while intoning a quiet Nn. This caused Vahn to nearly nk once again but, sensing the hostility that was still directed toward Ais, he managed to keep his wits as he said, "We are from two different worlds, you and I, and I cant abandon everything Ive built just because of a decision youve made. I understand that my actions have-" Vahn was unable to continue his words as, instead of listening obediently, the One-Eyed ck Dragons ears twitched slightly in response before she suddenly pushed him down. Her one remaining eye was glowing with a fierce light as she loudly eximed, "You, you, you, you...!" With each utterance of the word, the One-Eyed ck Dragon punched towards Vahns face with a carefully restrained amount of force that was slowly increasing as she began to understand the threshold of his defenses. As for why she was acting out in such a way, it was due to the fact that the One-Eyed ck Dragon knew that Vahn was trying to say everything was a misunderstanding, causing her to feel emotions she didnt really understand. The only thing she knew was that, over thest sixty-thousand years, she had never found someone that even came close to meeting her standards in a mate and, now that she finally found one, he was trying to avoid responsibility by using words to pacify her... Since he couldnt feel any malicious intent behind the strikes, Vahn was surprised to find that his body didnt even try to protect itself. He had been training to the point that most of his actions were almost entirely based on instinct, as there wasnt always time to think in a fight, so this was a new experience outside of his expectations. Until the One-Eyed ck Dragon had taken the initiative to stop punching him in the face, Vahn had been left on the receiving end of her fists without being able to do much other than twist his h.i.p.s to avoid the tail that attempted to snake its way between his thighs. Even in her rage, the One-Eyed ck Dragon was trying to get him excited so she had been grinding her tail against his lower body in an attempt to take what she wanted... Realizing the futility of her actions, the One-Eyed ck Dragon took a few deep breaths to try and calm down before her icy voice reached Vahns ears as she asked, "Are you impotent...?" Though she didnt know much about the surface races, the One-Eyed ck Dragon knew that it should have been the instinct of any creature to want to procreate if it felt threatened while being stimted. She even thought that Vahns twisting about was to avoid revealing an opening but, feeling the softness beneath her tail, the One-Eyed ck Dragon knew the truth of the matter. She suddenly felt like her most precious treasure had been taken away and, depending on Vahns words, well, she didnt know what she would do... Vahn, very briefly, humored the thought, ("I was not prepared for today...") as he rubbed some of the sore spots on his face and answered, "I am perfectly capable of doing the deed, but only with the people I care about. You cant force me to have s.e.x with you, even if you tried using all your might..." Though the peculiar exotess of the One-Eyed ck Dragon certainly interested him, at least a little, Vahn knew there were a few girls that would never forgive him if he suddenly added such a troublesome existence to his already expansive harem. Chief amongst them would be Alexa, closely followed by Terra, as the former would likely grow to resent him while thetter would probably outright kill the One-Eyed ck Dragon for encroaching on her territory. Though Terra was able to take a step back for the girls within the Manor, Vahn knew it would be a very different story if another female True Dragon stood up topete against her... The One-Eyed ck Dragon couldnt sense any lies in Vahns words so she honed in on the words he had said about only being able to have s.e.x with people he cared about. Though she didnt really understand what they meant, she knew they were very important since it was the key to getting what she wanted without having to awaken her main body and taking it by force. Since thetter action would likely result in Vahns death, guaranteeing she would likely never find a suitable mate, the One-Eyed ck Dragon was extremely hesitant to take such drastic steps. She was also at a very important phase of her development so awakening over such a matter wasnt worth the risk, at least for the time being... Without any other options avable to her, the One-Eyed ck Dragons eye moved around rapidly for a few seconds as thoughts raced through her mind. Eventually, it settled on Vahns own before her pupil shrank into a fine line as she tightly gripped his tunic and asked, "How can I be important to you...?" There was a great deal of frustration contained within her voice while an almost imperceptible plea had found its way into the final few words. Vahn had always been perceptive to such things and, with the One-Eyed ck Dragons Affection constantly ringing notifications within his mind, he felt a little guilty knowing he had seeded even a small amount of desperation in her. It almost felt cruel, telling her there was no way they could be together, so Vahn eventually sighed before saying, "If you follow me and behave, there will perhapse a time when you be someone important to me..." Though it annoyed her quite a bit, as it sounded like Vahn was telling her to be submissive to him, the One-Eyed ck Dragon still nodded her head in response. Since she had her main body, she wasnt that worried he would do anything to the fragment she had left to serve as an anchor within the Dungeon. For the time being, she had decided to observe this pup and see how he had lived before taking further action. He was different from any True Dragon she had ever met so she was also a little curious about what kind of environment had produced such an abnormal existence. Since there were also several scents lingering on his body, following him would also allow her to identify thepetition and, if the opportunity presented itself, eliminate or, at the very least, subjugate it... //[Nameless] Wishes to Be Your Subordinate: (Y/N?)// (A/N: These are the only two chapters since I decided to take the advice of thements section and take the full day off to recover from travel fatigue. I was originally only going to write one but it ended up being nearly 4.8k words so I just wrote two (nearly 6.5k words), instead.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: [Enkidu] must have been produced by the Swiss...it can literally be used for everything, even taming True Dragons!?,Take responsibility, baka...!,Are all female True Dragons this sneaky...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 981 - Troublesome

Chapter 981 - Troublesome

With a tired and despondent expression on his face, Vahn was making his way back towards the 60th Floor with two very contrasting characters following behind him. There was Ais, wearing her pristine white dress, possessingly beautiful golden hair, and having an appearance that could literally take the breath away from anyone who bore witness to her. Her expression was marred with one of slight incredulity and caution but, even with the crease of her brow, her beauty wasnt diminished in the slightest. As for the reason why she had such an expression, it was due to the petite young woman wearing a ck dress that was following closely behind Vahn, quite literally blocking Ais from getting any closer. Vahn had been surprised to discover that the One-Eyed ck Dragon was still nameless but his intrigue hadntsted that long since he noticed her Loyalty towards him was a measly 18 points. Since 50 was supposed to be neutral, this showed that the One-Eyed ck Dragon didnt truly consider him to be her Master, even if The Path recognized her as his subordinate. He didnt know if it was due to the fact that she had split her body, leaving on a fragment behind, or because of how she interpreted her own standing in their rtionship. Either way, things were beginning to be very troublesome and, knowing the promises he had just made as an Emperor, Vahn was lost in thought about the best course of action to take... Fortunately, the further upwards they went in the Dungeon, the morebored the One-Eyed ck Dragons breathing became and Vahn already knew why. He could see she was constantly pulling in a massive amount of mana from the Dungeon and sending it through a spatial link, likely towards her main body. He postted that she, like all monsters and Xenos, still needed the mana from the Dungeon to sustain herself. While her main body was in a state of deep meditation, her fragment had been left behind to serve as a tether that also provided her with ample mana reserves. As they went higher in the Dungeon, the avable mana continually decreased and, by the time they reached the 63rd Floor, it didnt look like the One-Eyed ck Dragon would be able to continue much further... As if she was unaware of the state of her body, the One-Eyed ck Dragon continued to push on with a glimmer of determination reflecting across her eyes. She didnt seem willing toin or give up and had instead taken to killing every monster they came across in order to devour its magic core. This made their progress much faster but it alsopletely killed Vahns Origin Point gain since the One-Eyed ck Dragon would snatch up any monster core and drop items in an instant before throwing it into her mouth in a rather slovenly manner. This couldnt continue indefinitely, however, as the mana density only decreased the further upwards they went... Eventually, around the same time that the sun was beginning to rise over the distant mountains on the surface, Vahn, Ais, and their new panion reached the entry point to the 60th Floor. At this point, the One-Eyed ck Dragon was standing on slightly wobbly legs while a frustrated expression marred her face. Her appearance wasnt much to look at, as she appeared rather inpared to many of the girls Vahn associated with, but it was a very peculiar sight to see such a prideful and powerful entity essentially pouting like a child that couldnt get its way. Vahn noticed she would periodically look towards him as if she wanted to say something but ultimately kept quiet, even as the strain on her body continued to grow... Before entering the 60th Floor, Vahn withheld a sigh as he turned to the One-Eyed ck Dragon and said, "Though I said you should follow me, it will cause problems for both of us if you require such a vast amount of mana just to maintain basic functions. I could help supply you with enough energy to keep you in a stable state, but I cant see any reason to go to such lengths given how things are at present. There are a lot of people I care about back on the surface and, with how youve been acting towards Ais, I cant take you into my home..." Even as these words left Vahns mouth, the image of an emerald-haired True Dragon was the predominant figure within his mind. Though Terra may not win against the One-Eyed ck Dragons true form, it was almost impossible for her to lose against it within her territory. The moment the One-Eyed ck Dragons avatar entered the Manor grounds, Vahn had no delusions that there wouldnt be some form of conflict between them. Hearing Vahns words, the One-Eyed ck Dragon showed a discontented expression as she gnashed her teeth and spat, "You told me to follow you and now you are telling me I cant follow you...? Are you trying my patience!?" Since she was unable to admit that she had overlooked the fact of her own energy consumption, the One-Eyed ck Dragon decided to shift the me to Vahn since he admitted to being able to help provide her with enough energy to sustain herself. She also wanted to see Vahns home and meet with the people he imed to care about as she was unable to ept that he had refused to stay with her and be stronger together. Since he had already expected the One-Eyed ck Dragons outburst, Vahns expression remained stoic as he quietly stared back at her until she fell silent once again. Though she was far from calm, Vahn knew she was waiting for an answer so he carefully exined, "Your existence is something that is universally feared on the surface world, to the point that millions of people dread the thought of ever encountering you. It was my duty to im your life so that they could live in peace, devoid of the fear that you would one day scorch the surface world during your rampage..." Hearing Vahns words, the One-Eyed ck Dragon puffed out her somewhat modest chest as if everything he said was something she took personal pride in. Because of this, Vahns words became rather solemn as he squinted his eyes and added, "Though I might be able to twist things in a favorable light if you behaved properly, I can already see that you will cause trouble within my home and for my Empire. I just became Emperor and I wont allow anyone to destroy what I have just created, especially some relic from an era that I have personally decided to end...!" Due to the fact that the One-Eyed ck Dragon didnt actually have a malicious aura, Vahn had been rtively lenient towards her up until now. Since she seemed to take pride in the people she had killed, however, what little positive rapport he had allowed her to build-up had been diminished in its entirety. His mind had even started to contemte how best to move her away from Enyos seal so they could finish the fight that had been started the prior evening... Sensing the shift in Vahns demeanor, the One-Eyed ck Dragon became much more serious as a grimace spread across her face. She wanted to outright refute his words as, if not for the fact so many had invaded her territory and tried to attack her, she wouldnt have even known they existed. Though her own power had increased after exposure to the strange creatures that dwell on the surface world, she still treated them as nothing more than annoying ants who failed to understand their ce. The only exceptions to this were those who had attacked her after the death of Echidna and the True Dragon pup that had tried to attack her after she razed the surface world to take revenge for her right eye... For several tense seconds, Vahn and the One-Eyed ck Dragon seemed to be having a staring contest of sorts where both parties refused to back down. The only thing breaking the silence was thebored breaths of the ck-clothed Dragoness, something she seemed to realize as her expression became progressively grimmer. It was at this point that Vahn raised his head slightly before saying, "I return to the Dungeon daily to harvest resources and strengthen a magical seal. Ill also be delving deeper into the Dungeon to explore its depths so Ill need powerful allies at my side in order to avoid setbacks. We both know that there isnt much for you on the surface in your current state of mind so the best path forward would be for you to stay within the Dungeon and await my return. Once you have be more open-minded, there is a chance I will be able to take you back to the surface world...however, you need to prepare yourself for when that day arrives. A lot has changed since youst appeared..." Vahn had nearly stated that she may not be the strongest True Dragon on the surface any longer but, considering the type of person the One-Eyed ck Dragon was, he decided against it. Thest thing he needed was her true body making an appearance at the Manor in an attempt to fight against Terra for dominance. Since she was likely on the cusp of breaching into Tier 4, Vahn knew she would jump at the chance to devour the Dragons Heart of another powerful True Dragon. This was one of the many reasons, on a list that would likely span several meters if put to paper, that he didnt really want to take her to the surface... As much as the words spoken by Vahn bothered her, the One-Eyed ck Dragon still listened quietly and seemed to be considering them seriously. In truth, she didnt want to be reliant on Vahn for energy, as it made her feel somewhat anxious just thinking about it. There was also the fact that, while she was somewhat interested in his home and the people living with him, the One-Eyed ck Dragon didnt actually care about them at all. From her perspective, they were just ignorant fools who had sought after a prize that should have been hers from the start. Once she was able to take Vahn for herself, she fully intended to chase away the other girls around Vahn since he didnt need anyone else after realizing she was the best choice for a mate. Only by working together would they both be able to rise above those hateful gods before taking their rightful ce at the apex of all creation. With this thought crossing her mind, the One-Eyed ck Dragon gave a small nod before turning her stark-blue eye towards Vahn and saying, "I will stay here, but I will not simply wait for your return like some pet. My nest is on the 73rd Floor and I expect you will show up within a few days time to pay me a visit. If you keep me waiting too long...dont me me foring to visit you, pup..." Though Vahn had exined to her that he was a Progenitus during their excursion towards the 60th Floor, the One-Eyed ck Dragon didnt really know, or care, what that was. He had the ability to transform into a True Dragon and, after imprinting his scent and energy signature into memory, she had started to realize he was actually iprehensible to her. His energy was unlike anything she had ever sensed before and, evenpared to her Mother and Father, Vahn seemed to be the most monstrous entity she ever encountered. This both excited the One-Eyed ck Dragon and confused her, as she was absolutely certain he was her best potential mate while a very small part of her was actually a little afraid of him... Without wasting any more time, the One-Eyed ck Dragon tore through the void before disappearing from the 61st Floor stairwell. She had already been pushing herself quite a bit and needed to replenish her reserves within her nest on the 73rd Floor. The reason she had told Vahn to appear in a few days, instead of demanding hee to visit her tomorrow, was due to the fact that she needed a lot more rest than she was willing to admit. Vahn was, of course, very aware of the state of her body but, not wanting to inte the issue, pretended as if he was unaware of the truth. He really didnt want to deal with such a troublesome existence right now and still needed toe up with a solution regarding the promise he had made. It actually wasnt that difficult to fabricate the death of the One-Eyed ck Dragon but, knowing it would be extremely troublesome if anyone learned the truth, Vahn was still considering other options... Once the surrounding Space had stabilized, Vahn released a heavy sigh before turning to the patiently waiting Ais and saying, "Im sorry you werent able to get your revenge..." Though Ais didnt seem that bothered by the reality of the situation, Vahn still feltpelled to apologize since she had, quite literally, lived for vengeance for several years of her life. In response to this, Ais simply smiled before walking over to his side and embracing him without another word on the matter. Instead, she rubbed her face against his chest and said, "Lets go home...I think Im ready now..." Though these words were rather vague, Vahn understood what Ais meant and it caused his heart to palpitate a few times as he habitually swallowed his saliva. Without tarrying too long, Vahn spent the necessary time to ensure that Enyos seal hadnt been damaged before he and Ais returned to the surface. He had already been dealing with some important matters with his main body, which had been designated as his Emperor self, so they almost immediately entered the Sub-Space orb for some privacy. Though they encountered a few hups along the way, mainly in the form of girls who somehow had intuited what was going on, Vahn and Ais eventually found some privacy within her personal training grounds. Since he had been ignoring her during the excursion towards the 60th Floor, as the One-Eyed ck Dragon was getting in the way, Vahn decided it was an opportune moment to spoil Ais as much as he could. He figured that a solid nine months of pampering would be enough of an apology... (A/N: Since I may not have exined it well enough, the One-Eyed ck Dragon is around 153cm tall with pert B-Cup b.r.e.a.s.ts. She has pale skin that is covered with a ck runic pattern while her forearms, calves, lower back, and ears are all covered in fine ck scales. Her hair reached precisely to her ankles and is rather unkempt as it has never beenbed in 60,000+ years. Her eyes fluctuate between red, gold, and blue depending on her mood though the primary hue is always a stark-blue in color. As for her facial features, she has a rtively in face that looks like the very definition of average, as she didnt really have anyone else to imprint on when choosing her human appearance. She also has arge scar over her right eye that extends past her cheekbone while her brows are somewhat angr, giving her a fierce expression by default (resting bitch face). Inside of her mouth, she has prominent canine teeth while her wings and tail are reptilian in nature, meaning her tail has small spines on it while her wings have thin membranes between segmented bones, much like a bat. Her most striking feature, other than her eyes, is the fact that the ck scales on her body will actually glow with small blue runes, much like Vahns own, whenever she is using her powers.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: What kind of personality is the OEBD? Yandere? Kuudere? Hinedere?,Vahn be like, "Aint nobody got time fo dat...!,Poor Ais xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 982 - Preparations

Chapter 982 - Preparations

Two days after his Coronation, Vahn found himself seated, once again, in the banquet hall within Babel Tower. This time, there was only the Divine Council and several of the more influential gods of the Alliance present as they were openly discussing the matter of the One-Eyed ck Dragon, his meeting with foreign dignitaries, and his uing visit to the Far East. Now that he was an Emperor, such things couldnt simply remain a secret as his affairs, especially in foreignnds, were now important matters of the Empire. This didnt mean Vahn was going out of his way to divulge his important ns and secrets but, as the Divine Council was literally supposed to help keep his Empire on the right track, they needed to be privy to certain information. Though he had already exined it to them previously, Vahn was doing his best to remain stone-faced as Loki and Kali snickered at him from the side. Many of the other gods present either had expressions of incredulity or bemus.e.m.e.nt as thest person Vahn wanted to hear weigh in on the matter, Dian Cecht, raised both brows high as he asked, "Did you really manage to win over that overgrown lizard? Good gracious, man, what is it with you and women...!?" Vahn furrowed his brows almost imperceptibly as he sent Dian Cecht a nce and inly stated, "If a timees when I require rtionship advice, Ill make sure you are at the top of the list, Dian Cecht. For the time being, however, Id ask that you show a basic level of decency and, instead of addressing me as man, you will refer to me as Sage Emperor. Though you may be a member of the Divine Council, it does not grant you the right to look down on my position and title without regards of propriety..." As he had never been a fan of Dian Cechts nature, Vahn didnt appreciate that the elderly looking god seemed to be looking down on him with his thoughtless remark. Fortunately, there were many in the Divine Council who also gave him judging looks so the old man simply gnashed his teeth before crossing his arms in silence. Shaking her head in admonition, Loki gave Dian Cecht a quick nce before turning her gaze towards Vahn and asking, "Well, what are you nning to do from now on...?" Though she already knew the answer, it was Loki who had advised Vahn toe forward with a few things so that the Divine Council was able to feel as if they had some say in matters. In response to this, Vahn gave a small nod before exining, "With very few exceptions, there are few alive today who have experienced the One-Eyed ck Dragons supposed tyranny. Though she is certainly a bit overbearing, I was able to determine it was due to the nature of True Dragons that she had taken action in the past. So long as nobody goes out of their way to antagonize her, the One-Eyed ck Dragon is rtively harmless. For the time being, I will continue to observe her in order to affirm my judgment and, if it turns out I was wrong, I intend to deal with her personally this time around..." She may have thought her intentions hadnt been seen through, but Vahn was constantly thinking about how best to protect the people he cared about. He could see the One-Eyed ck Dragons aura and knew she had intentions towards the other women around him. She simply couldnt allow anyone to directlypete against her and,cking the pacifistic nature of Terra, the odds of conflict arising between her and the other girls in the Manor wasnt something he could ignore. There were even texts mentioning that True Dragons would killpeting brood so that their own would be allowed to propagate, a notion that Vahn found appalling in the extreme. If things ever developed to the point that the One-Eyed ck Dragon, or anyone for that matter, tried to endanger his children...well, even Vahn didnt know how terrifying he could be... Sensing the change in the atmosphere, many of the gods looked toward Vahn with solemn yet inquisitive looks as they were wondering what he was thinking about to emanate such pressure. The only ones who truly understood were Hestia, Hephaestus, and Loki, each producing wry smiles as their eyes turned gentle. They knew Vahns mind would wander down dangerous tangents whenever he was thinking about how best to protect the people he cared about as, even with all the power in his possession, Vahn knew he wasnt omnipotent. It only took a series of small incidents for something truly tragic to ur, something they all strove to prevent by practicing extreme diligence when it came to the children... With his negative thoughts drifting away, Vahn opened his eyes and, as ifying the matter of the One-Eyed ck Dragon to rest, said, "Tomorrow morning, Ill be meeting with the dignitaries I had invited from outside the City. At present, the Empires territory is limited to Orario, The ins, and some fringe territories located near the northern and eastern mountain ranges. In theing days, I will add the territory of the Western Forests, Westport, and the Iron Hills to my dominion. This meeting will also determine which nations, countries, and ns will be joining the Empire and which will need to be dealt with after the fact. My penultimate goal is to unify the entire Continent as, with the present state of the world, the dream I have envisioned for the future will never be a reality..." Vahn knew he already had more than enough power to start forcibly recruiting other countries, if necessary, but his main focus, for the time being, would be on diplomacy and private affairs. Even if a country didnt want to be part of the Empire, he wasnt particrly troubled by their desire for independence and sovereignty. The only exceptions to this would be those supposed Nobles and Aristocrats who treat their country as their own personal yground, worrying more about consolidating and securing their own power than ensuring that their people are able to prosper. Even then, Vahn wouldnt outright force them to join the Empire, at least on the surface. Though it could be easily misconstrued as Tyranny, being that it wasnt far from the mark, Vahn intended to depose every corrupt Noble and, if necessary, rece them with a governing body that was more in line with his will. Since the people he would be dealing with were the type that had horrendous crimes to their names, to the point that simply listing out their crimes would take several hours, Vahn didnt feel as if his actions were unfair to any party involved. If not for their actions, he would have never been required to bring a reckoning upon them. Therefore, even if he earned the ire of the popce in that region for a short while, Vahn was prepared for a few rebel groups to pop up at the behest of anyone that escaped his and tried to undermine his rule from the shadows... In response to Vahns promation, the Divine Council entered a short period of discussion before ultimately deciding he was not deviating from the correct path. Though this wasnt something they would have been able to prevent, as Vahns position granted him the authority to make decisions in regards to foreign affairs, it never hurt to listen to their counsel. Among them, gods like Fortuna, Minerva, Takemikazuchi, and Indra were especially helpful. They either had a strong grasp on politics, possessed a Divinity directly rted to Wisdom, or were highly principled by nature. Since Vahn didnt believe that his logic and perspective were infallible, it was the counsel of wiser gods that he would rely upon before taking drastic action as an Emperor. Though this would likely change when he assigned Ministers in the future, Vahn wasnt shy when it came to asking for advice from people who had lived far longer than himself. Thest order of business, though there were some who still wanted to discuss the One-Eyed ck Dragon, was rted to Vahns visit to the Far East. It was at this point that gods like Takemikazuchi spoke out though not nearly as earnestly as Tenjin. His eyes glimmered with slight anticipation from the moment the discussion had started as, over the past year, his impression of Vahn had increased a great deal. When it was mentioned that he would be visiting in the near future, Tenjin had ced down his ceramic teacup with a bit more force than necessary before asking, "Do you intend to annex the Far East as a territory of the Aldrnari Empire...?" Hearing Tenjins question, Vahn paused for a brief moment before ultimately shaking his head and saying, "There maye a time when such action is necessary but, until I have managed to unify the Continent under a single banner, it would be irresponsible to try and meddle too much in affairs abroad. Instead, I will help to establish a more reliable means of transportation between Eden and the Far East while also building rapport with those capable of guiding our eastern neighbor along a path of mutual cooperation and benefit..." Though he had the option of interfering directly with the politics of the Far East, Vahn decided to leave the matter to the generation that was currently being trained for that exact purpose. He didnt want to change the culture of the Far East too much, as he was actually quite fond of it, so Vahn wanted to take a more roundabout approach in order to convert them into a powerful ally instead of a vassal state. Tenjin clearly understood Vahns intentions, causing the smile on his face to broaden slightly since he, at least for a moment, was worried about how he would exin things to the families that had followed him on the harsh voyage between the Far East and Eden. Many of the young hopefuls that were attending the Sage Aldrnari School were training diligently in order to reim their homnd and guide it towards a better future. Though Tenjin had no doubts Vahn could do much the same, he held a small amount of pride as a god from the Far East that made epting too much help uneptable. He firmly believed that it was the people, standing in unity, who had the responsibility to fix the problems of their homnd. If Vahn did everything himself, the people would be too dependent on him and, in turn, lose one of the most important motivating factors for real growth... Believing Vahn had thought things through to this point, Tenjin gave a polite bow to express his gratitude before releasing the tensions in his body. As for Vahn himself, he went on to exin the purpose behind his visit to the Far East and any potential actions he may take,rgely dependent on how he was received during his stay. There was a fair chance he woulde into contact with Inari, Fuujin, and Susanoo, as they undoubtedly knew of his existence at this point, but that was something that couldnt really be avoided. Vahn would try andpromise with them but, depending on the circ.u.mstances, he openly admitted that he may be forced to take action to avoid future troubles. In order to support Vahns decision, Tenjin had spoken up several times during the discussion before eventually suggesting, "I believe the most prudent course of action during your trip to the Far East would be to visit the Shrine of the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu. Though she has no standing military, Amaterasu enjoys a seat of almost untouchable power since she has the faith of manymoners supporting her. You can use her status as an intermediary to facilitatemunication with other gods in the Far East. There is even a fair chance her Ladyship is willing to meet with you personally, Vahn..." Though his words were serious throughout, Tenjin obviously ced a bit of emphasis on his final statement as he looked directly into Vahns eyes with a glimmer contained within. Knowing what the elderly god was intending, Vahn breathed in a little deeper than normal while resisting to urge to produce a wry and understanding smile. He was already going to meet with Amaterasu at some point, as she was both a goddess suitable for making an Eternal Vow as well as a goddess who had expressed interest in meeting him, but Vahns instincts had prevented him from making the trip thus far. For some reason, whenever he pictured the enigmatic goddess, what came to mind was a small girl that was trying too hard to be an a.d.u.l.t. He could imagine a petite figure enshrined behind a curtain that blocked the view of anyone she had an audience with. Her voice would undoubtedly be gentle and full of wisdom with the presence of the curtain but Vahn imagined she was the type to fl.u.s.ter if forced to meet someone face-to-face... It was ultimately decided that Vahn would be visiting the Far East within the next three months while his main focus needed to be on the development of the Empire, as the next decade or so would be paramount to ensuring there were no major issues that would crop up in the near future. As for the matter with the One-Eyed ck Dragon, the Divine Council had agreed to allow Vahn to handle things in the manner he had chosen, even if it meant he had to fool the public by staging an event. Since he was, in fact, capable of fighting against the One-Eyed ck Dragon, it didnt really matter all that much if he actually killed her or not. In fact, depending on how things were spun, it was actually a far more terrifying to know that Vahn had yet another True Dragon on his side, especially one that had be the very symbol of fear throughout the Continent... Even without anyone pointing it out, Vahn was very aware of what influence the One-Eyed ck Dragon would have if he publicized the fact she was his subordinate. This would undoubtedly lead to many countries outright surrendering to him without much of a fight but, instead of a foundation built on hope for the future, Vahns Empire would have the literal symbol of fear as its most predominant feature. No matter how benevolent he was, his actions would always be seen through a lens of bias where people would never fully be able to ce their trust in him. After all, they would see it as him obviously being able to do whatever he wanted as, if anyone went against him, the One-Eyed ck Dragon would undoubtedly be used to destroy his enemies... Imagining the trouble that the One-Eyed ck Dragon brought along with her, Vahn couldnt avoid releasing a tired sigh as he was flying through the air with seven goddesses in tow. The discussion hade to an end without any major hups and they were now on their way back to the Hearth Manor to enjoy an early dinner. Vahn was carrying Eirene in a bridal carry, as she had won the right after an intense round of rock-paper-scissors, so she had noticed his sigh the moment Vahn allowed it to escape his lips. This brought a gentle smile to her face as her blue eyes gained a touch of softness to them when she asked, "Are you really that worried, Vahn...?" Hearing this question, Vahn was silent for a few seconds before eventually shaking his head and saying, "No. If I wanted, I could have avoided this oue entirely. Though Ill have to deal with a few troublesome things along the way, Im confident that Ill be able to handle them all without any major difficulty. If nothing else, it is good to have a powerful ally at my side when Im venturing deeper into the Dungeon. With the One-Eyed ck Dragons aid, I may even be able to reach the bottom of the Dungeon before the year ends..." Because he had used the mirror, Vahn knew what enemies he would encounter within the Dungeon, some of which were likely stronger than the One-Eyed ck Dragons avatar. Still, if he went all out, Vahn knew it wouldnt actually be that difficult to breach into the 99th Floor of the Dungeon before essing the secret 100th Floor where the strange table and candle were located... Seeing the confidence return to Vahns eyes, Eirene gave a small nod before resting her head against his chest and enjoying the sound of his heartbeat. It had a slow and steady rhythm that seemed to resonate with invible power. Since she had melded with him a few times at this point, Eirene found that she had be exceptionally fond of simple intimacy and small disys of affection. Just listening to the sound of Vahns heartbeat brought her a sense of peace that she could have never imagined in the past, even as a literal Goddess of Peace. His embrace also made her feel warm and protected, almost as if there was nothing in the three realms that would be able to harm her while they were together... Though he didnt know exactly what she was thinking, Vahn had noticed the small shift in Eirenes aura so he held her a bit more firmly as he zed a trail through the sky. In the periphery, there was Hephaestus, Hestia, Loki, Freya, Demeter, and Fortuna sending small res towards their fellow goddess. This wasnt the result of the intimate disy between Vahn and Eirene, as such disys were extremelymonce around Vahn, but due to the fact that they had lost the previous game of rock-paper-scissors. Each of them, with the exception of Fortuna, had also melded with Vahn so, much like Eirene, they had also grown a little too fond of simply being in contact with him. As he was also very aware of this, Vahn had prepared himself for a rather long night as the cool afternoon air passed through his hair... (A/N: I wanted everyone to know that my time is even more stretch atm since Im now on the West Coast (2-hour difference than my previous time). This means that I have even less time to pump out a chapter before the daily reset so if there are days when chapterse out a bitte, please forgive me. All of this wille to an end around Mid-August so your patience during these trying times is greatly appreciated. Fortunately, depending on how things y out, I may be able to avoid having Vahns time in Danmachie to an end before I return. If that is the case, you can expect a lot of chapters of the new arc in sequence, making things feel exciting and refreshingpared to the current pace xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Dignity,Dont disrespect Amaterasu-chan...!,Dual Cultivation hassting effects xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 983 - Atmosphere

Chapter 983 - Atmosphere

With two sets of eyes, Vahn awakened to find himself staring at two distinctly different roofs. As was often the case, his body was surrounded by afortable warmth but, as was also often the case, the sources were very different from each other. Back in his own bedroom, Vahn had been spread out with his arms wide as Hestia, Eirene, and Artemis snuggled up against his body as if they were seeking out his warmth. Loki had also been present the previous night but had left shortly after their evening event hade to an end. As for what his other body was up to, Vahn had participated in an impromptu slumber party within Preasias room alongside many of his children. They had yed around in the Dreamscape for what felt like several days, enjoying the fantastical world created by Preasias Innate to the fullest extent. Feeling a wet spot on his arm, Vahn turned his head to see that his daughter, Meinya, had been openly drooling on his sleeve. Since he was used to more problematic waterworks, this small, albeit rather uncouth disy, simply brought a small smile to Vahns face. This didntst for too long, however, as a small figure lifted out from the area between two pillows, revealing a rounded head that was adorned with a vibrant pattern of scales. In the next moment, Vahn found a small tongue flickering against his cheek before a smooth yet slimy sensation passed across the area where the Rainbow Viper rubbed against him. Knowing what was about to happen, Vahn had a wry smile on his face since both of his arms were currently pinned by his children. As a result, he was unable to prevent the Rainbow Viper from taking her favorite spot within his tunic as she coiled her body into a bundle near his navel. To make matters worse, Vahn felt a ticklish flicker against his bellybutton momentster that made him sweatdrop before he unequipped his tunic to use telekinesis to remove the troublesome creature. She looked as if she wanted to resist but, knowing the oue of thrashing about when the children were around, the Rainbow Viper became limp as she made the closest expression to a pout that a snake could manage. As if to capitalize on the moment, Vahn caught a silver shimmer out of the corner of his eye that revealed the smiling face of the Silvervine Python as it enjoyed the suffering of its fellow reptile. The Rainbow Viper had noticed this immediately, ring at Natalies Guardian with eyes filled with me. In response to this, Vahn simply stated, "Get along..." in a low voice, causing both snakes to turn their gazes toward him as a result. The Silvervine Python immediately gave a small nod while putting on an apologetic expression as she curled up near the nook of Natalies neck. As for the Rainbow Viper, she didnt seem to have gotten over things just yet but, with Vahns eyes meeting her own, she gave a few small nods before yfully flicking out her tongue as if she had been ying around the entire time. Releasing a small sigh, Vahn lightly shook his head before deciding it was time for him to go through the arduous process of liberating himself from the veritable pile of tiny bodies clinging to him. He quickly equipped a new tunic while using his telekinesis to gently remove each sleeping girl, doing his best not to disturb them from their slumber. Unfortunately, either as a result of their instincts or the training they had been receiving, Vahn hadnt been able toplete the task without both Meinya and Sakuya waking. To her credit, Sakuya managed to stay rtively silent as she quietly muttered, "Good morning, Papa...". As for Meinya, however, she still had a half-awake expression on her face as she began tough happily, and loudly. This time, Vahn withheld a sigh as Meinyasughter stirred most of the children in the room awake. He knew he would probably be stuck in the room helping tob hair and brush teeth for well over an hour now but, if he were to be honest, Vahn didnt really mind all that much. A gentle smile spread across his face as he began to help his children prepare for the day while, back at his other body, Vahn was manually wearing his clothes with the assistance of Eirene and Artemis. Though he could easily just equip what he wanted to wear, they had developed a habit of taking care of him, much like he would take care of them after their long evening session hade to an end. It was a way for them to express their affection in their own way so Vahn had grown rather fond of the short few minutes where the girls would help him prepare for the day... --- After enjoying a lengthy breakfast, Vahn found himself away from thefort of the Hearth Manor as he made his way towards Babel Tower. He had been given the top floor of Babel by Freya so, with no better alternatives to serve as the center of his Empire, Vahn had epted her offer. Hephaestus and Hestia had previously talked about having an actual pce constructed but, given theyout of Orario, Vahn didnt think it would be a worthwhile endeavor since the Tower of Babel was andmark that would always overshadow other constructs. If anything, he would put in the effort to construct a floating pce once again as, even if the purpose wouldnt be the same, Vahn understood how useful it was to have a mobile teleportation tform. The most efficient methods of teleportation connected spatial coordinates without any obstructions so it was much easier to teleport from the ground to a ry point in the sky before continuing to your destination. With such thoughts on his mind, Vahnnded at an open balcony on the 50th floor of Babel before making his way through an incredibly thick membrane of magical barriers. As an artifact that had been created in Heaven, the Tower of Babel had many ancient arrays that gave it almost unbreakable defense and invible security. Though it wasnt impossible to break in, a persons location would constantly be tracked by the Guild while long-term exposure to the mana within would mark the person so they could be easily found even after leaving the tower. Fortunately, Vahn had been registered as the owner of the 50th floor so he wouldnt have to worry about such tedious affairs, not that the barrier would have actually been able to detect him if he chose to remain hidden. Unlike in the past, where there were very few people allowed within the confines of the 50th Floor, it was currently rife with movement as more than a hundred Valkyries moved around in their Maid attire. As they had taken to learning their new duty very seriously, most of the Valkyrie had be very serious about their role as Battle Maids after receiving a crash course from Syr, Emiru, and Maemi. Though some of them had been a little twisted by exposure to the two loveable Snow Leopard girls, gaining strange natures in the process, Vahn was happy to see that they had be a little more expressive... Almost as soon as he had arrived, Vahn was greeted by Brynhildr and Sigrun, both immediately bowing low as they greeted, "Wee, Master." in elegant and respectful tones. Vahn gave them a small nod before raising his hand, allowing the two Valkyries to raise their head as he asked, "Brynhildr...how many have shown up at this point?" In response to this, Brynhildrs wings flickered slightly as a small smile adorned her beautiful face. She seemed happy to have been addressed by name and, instead of the rtively cold tone most Valkyrie were known for, there was a bit of warmth mixed in as she replied, "My Master, everyone on the guest list is already in attendance. They have been gathered together in a small banquet hall where my sisters have been attending them." With their inherent pride, Valkyries would never serve anyone that didnt respect, the only exception being if they were given the duty to attend others by whomever they identified as their Master. Since Vahn hadnt told them to take care of the foreign dignitaries that would be attending his conference, the Valkyries had gathered everyone together before cing out a single barrel of wine that they could serve themselves. This wouldnt have been much of an issue, if not for the fact that the guests hadnt been provided with anything to hold their beverages. Since they also had the eyes of several powerful Valkyries watching their every move, the banquet hall had been extremely silent as everyone within awaited thete arrival of their new Emperor. Because he could sense what was happening within the banquet hall, Vahn produced a small smile before giving a small nod in response to Brynhildrs report. Though he wasnt against extending courtesies to guests, it wasnt necessarily a bad thing to create a tense atmosphere for what was toe. Since he didnt want to force the Valkyrie to serve other people, as it wasnt even their main duty, Vahn let the small disservice slide. He would hire a few normal servants that would attend to such matters in the future, though only after modifying the current status quo to make a clear separation between the Battle Maid Battalion that would serve as his Imperial Guard and the normal servants that would clean his residences, excluding the Hearth Manor. With Brynhildr and Sigrun following closely behind, Vahn made his way towards the central antechamber before entering into arge circr hall where an ornate throne now stood. Though the decor had previously been closer to that of an ancient temple, a few makeshift renovations had turned the area into a throne that was truly fit for someone with the status of an Emperor. Vahn even suspected that, until he had constructed his personalized floating pce, this ce had held his original throne in the Divination. It was certainly in Freyas nature to try and bestow upon him such things so Vahn was rtively certain this had been the case during both timelines. Without worrying about the simrities between his present and Divination self, Vahn sat upon his ratherfortable throne without hesitation. From the side, a Valkyrie named Skeggiold, gave a polite bow as she proferred forth a red embossed cushion that held his crown. Since only gods were allowed to ce it atop his head, a rule that had been created by the Divine Council, Vahn reached out to wear the crown with his own hands before epting the scepter offered to him by another Valkyrie, this one named Gis. She had a touch of gold to her wings, the result of her Innate, that set her apart from many of her sisters. Vahn gave her a small nod in response that caused Gis to nearly fl.u.s.ter as she backed away from the throne. Another rule that had been established was that, unless he had given them direct permission, nobody was allowed to turn their back to the Emperor within the throne room. Thest part of his getup was his mantle but, as it was an optional part of the attire, Vahn decided to forgo wearing it since it was ufortable to wear a thick cloak while seated. He also didnt want the fabric to get torn, apletely unnecessary concern as it would take a concerted effort from Vahn to even have a hope of damaging it. Regardless, it was his choice whether or not to wear it so Vahn continued sitting after gesturing towards the two Valkyries that were holding his cloak. They gave a polite bow in response before neatly folding the cloak and cing it into an ornate golden case that was embossed with various gemstones. His preparations nowplete, Vahn took a deep breath before sitting with his back absolutely straight and his head slightly raised. With practiced movements, Vahn turned his eyes towards Brynhildr without moving his head much before saying, "I will now grant an audience to our guests. Brynhildr, I will entrust you and your sisters with keeping order during theing conference." With each of his words causing the void to tremble slightly, even as he spoke rtively quietly, the atmosphere around Vahn had changed drastically in an instant. As a result, the present Valkyries all felt pride welling up inside themselves, Brynhildr being one of the proudest amongst them. Instead of bowing like a Maid, she gave a warriors salute by cing her fist over her heart and eximing, "This one shall personally see to it that there are no issues...!" Normally, this action would have been rather inspiring as the Valkyrie would be wearing metallic b.r.e.a.s.ttes and gauntlets. This time, however, Brynhildr was wearing a Maid outfit that was predominatelyprised of durable fabric so her fist impacted her left b.r.e.a.s.t, causing it to deform and shake slightly as a result... As if he didnt notice the red creeping up her face, Vahn gave a small nod before saying, "I will entrust this task to you. You may leave." In response to this, Brynhildr quickly performed an about-face before exiting the chamber with hasty steps. Since she had been given permission, Brynhildr was able to turn away to hide her shame, something Vahn had intended from the outset. When she had exited the chamber, Vahn was fighting back a smile but, seeing the usually proud Valkyries on the periphery unable to restrain themselves, he allowed the corners of his mouth to curl up slightly. It was very rare to see Brynhildr make such a mistake so Vahn was in a great mood, causing the rather solemn atmosphere to copse for a brief moment... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Living the good life,A Throne fit for an Emperor,RIP Brynhildr xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 984 - Audience

Chapter 984 - Audience

Not allowing her slight mishap to set her back, it took significantly less time than Vahn expected for Brynhildr to gather the majority of the dignitaries that he would be granting an audience. She had them all file up outside in an orderly fashion as a small squad of Valkyries kept everyone from acting out. Regardless of if they were Kings, Governors, Mayors, or n Chieftains, their status was not important as, in the present moment, the only titles that mattered were those that Vahn allowed others to keep. If they decided toe under the influence of his Empire, Vahn intended to treat those worthy of trust with the respect they were due, allowing them to manage their own affairs. So long as they implemented the changes he required of them, it didnt matter who was in charge of any given territory. For those who decided to either rebel or take a stand against his budding Empire, Vahn intended to expose all of their crimes publically before either eliminating or imprisoning them. He had long grown tired of the type of people who thought they had a right to rule over others by virtue of nothing more than the situation they were born into... In the span of a ten minute period, Brynhildr had gathered everyone together before giving them a very stern lecture on how they should behave in the presence of the Emperor. Though some didnt seem satisfied with the treatment they had received, there were none amongst those that had been gathered who were unable to understand the situation. Most of the truly troublesome individuals had forgone epting Vahns summons, making them easy to deal with at ater date. It was the calcting, moderately intelligent individuals, and cowards who had gathered together at Vahns behest. Since he had already met with many of them during the months prior to the meeting, backed by the information that had been provided to him by his ownwork of informants, Vahn already had a rtively decent understanding of each persons true nature. After her exnation had concluded, Vahn could sense Brynhildr press her palm against a small magical ward, causing a small hum to resonate through the throne room. With this signal, he fixed his slightlyx posture before hardening his face andmanding in a low rumble, "Enter." This caused the two doors at the far end of the throne room to open soundlessly, creating a tense atmosphere as the Valkyrie began to direct each person to their assigned position. Vahn had those he had evaluated as trustworthy ced closer to him while those he had already marked as ipetent were ced at the periphery. This was noticed almost immediately, causing those at the front to restrain exuberant smiles while those forced to the outside had ghastly and solemn visages... Without allowing his gaze to wander, Vahn waited patiently while exuding a subtle pressure that, with the passage of time, seemed to increase in intensity. This wasnt the result of any action on Vahns part but, from the perspective of those that were forced to stand before him, it felt as if they were standing at the base of a mountain that was even taller than the Tower of Babel. He may not be outwardly dangerous, as Vahns reputation painted him as a rather benevolent and amiable personage, but there was the lingering promise of a swift demise if you somehow managed to offend him. As a result, amidst a series of shuffling noises and some particrly audible heartbeats, there were absolutely no other sounds as everyone obediently took their assigned positions... Seeing that the strongest person present was only Level 3, belonging to the Chieftain of thergest Kyrie Tribe on the Continent, Beldum, Vahn couldnt help but internally shake his head at the tant audacity of those gathered to believe themselves above others. As for Beldum himself, he was a massive individual who stood at 264cm tall, towering over everyone else that had been gathered. His position within the group was near the center but, just to keep things from looking grossly imbnced, Vahn had him dividing the group by standing directly parallel to his throne. Beldum seemed to take pride in this fact as his rather fierce visage had softened slightly while a small smile was adorned on his lips. Vahn had a rtively good impression of the man so, even though it was somewhat rude to smile before the Emperor in such a fashion, he didnt particrly mind such a small sleight. Once everyone had assumed their positions, it was time for Vahn, as an Emperor, to speak his first words to those that would either be his vassals, allies, or enemies. Lifting his hand to prevent Brynhildr from trying to force everyone to kneel, Vahn waited for the Valkyrie to give a polite bow before shemanded everyone else to their own positions. As a result, the foreign dignitaries were nked on both sides by a total of twenty-four Valkyries, even though a single one of them would have been enough topletely devastate the entire group. This was something everyone gathered was very aware of and, feeling the pressure of the steely womens gaze, even proud warriors like Beldum had the hairs on the back of his neck standing straight. As soon as Brynhildr had taken her position near the base of his throne, Vahn inhaled a silent yet deep breath before his voice echoed through the chamber, sending ripples through the void in much the same fashion as Ouranos as he stated, "When I asked for your presence within the City, I was but the Supreme Commander of the Alliance. Many of you came here seeking power, opportunity, or, fearing an end to your line, absolution...now, as you are all undoubtedly aware, things have changed quite drastically. You are all aware of what I wish to achieve thus, without footing around the issue, I will ask you now...will you join me in uniting our peoples and creating a better future for everyone...?" Vahn didnt bother asking the second part of his question, which rted to whether or not they would rebel against him, as there was none present who were unaware of the consequences of such action. Almost as soon as his words had fallen upon them, those closest to Vahn took the opportunity to kneel in a respectful manner, regardless of their status and assumed Nobility. There were even some at the back of the group who had taken a knee, grasping at what little hope remained to them. Vahn found this strangely amusing, something he hadnt quite expected to feel while witnessing those he had already judged as ipetent trying to preserve themselves. He momentarily wondered if his nature was changing slightly with his rise to prominence but, having already made the decision, Vahn wasnt going to change his mind just because they had taken the knee. He would, however, show them some small amount of leniency by granting a reprieve to their children by having them attend the School to be evaluated for their candidacy as a ruler... Without waiting for the indecisive within the group to make up their mind, Vahn gave a curt and appreciative nod while passing his gaze over everyone that had taken a knee. This was immediately followed by his voice, once against echoing throughout the throne room, as he said, "The Empire, while having great power and wealth, will only truly prosper if there is unity between everyone within its borders. I have in mind a great many changes that must be implemented to ensure that, unlike the past, all those who reign over others will be highly qualified to take up the task. Each of you that have decided to pledge your loyalty to the Empire will be granted a grace period after taking your vows. I will allow you to bring forth your chosen descendants who, after graduating from the Academy on the 50th Floor, will be granted the title they have earned for themselves. If you truly believe your lineage to be unique, you must continue to put forth the effort to improve, all while holding yourselves to a higher standard than you would your own people. It is only through earning the right to rule that, in the future, such rights will be granted..." Though few understood the full meaning behind Vahns words, everyone that had taken a knee still lowered their heads in a respectful manner. The one thing they were all aware of was the fact that, if they intended to continue ruling over their own countries, they would be required to take even stricter vows than the members of the Civilian Legitive Branch. They knew their new Emperor wasnt the type to simply take people for their word as, in this world, where even Gods were bound by vows and Laws, talk was cheap. One of the reasons that corruption had be so deeply rooted in many cultures is that, instead of treating their position with the seriousness it deserved, many took advantage of the power they had inherited to simply act as they please without repercussions. This would no longer be the case in the world that Vahn wished to create, as only those who had earned the right to rule would be afforded the opportunity to even consider themselves Noble. Immediately shifting his focus to those still standing, Vahns gaze briefly passed over the mountain-like Beldum before a small smile appeared on his face as he stated, "I am not the type of person who is unable to understand the significance of cultural values, especially to an organized group that has persisted through the generations without causing great strife across thends. Just because you have not pledged your loyalty to me, you need not fear that I will arbitrarily seize your ancestralnds and subjugate your people. I truly desire a world where everyone is afforded the opportunity to prosper without fear that they would be looked down upon as a result of their origin. So long as you continue to govern your people justly, the Empire will always recognize such capable individuals as allies. I will, however, require that you make a simple vow before you leave this throne room today. Not everyone born into a particr tribe is able to prosper in the conditions that have been provided to them. There are always outliers who, for no other reason than because they are slightly different, will be ostracised by theirmunity and looked down upon for no justifiable reason. Do not misconstrue what Im saying as a request as, from henceforth, if anyone wishes to migrate from their homnd to seek a better life within the Empire, I will not allow even the King of a nation to oppose such a decision. Though there will be obvious exceptions in regards to criminals, they must have been found guilty in an established court ofw, not dered guilty at the behest of people who think themselves above thew..." In a world where individuals could gain enough power to even topple small mountains, Vahn knew that there would always be a few who rose to prominence that would try to repress others. It would take an even stronger power to keep such people in line which was why making it so that the Empire showed no tolerance towards such actions was very important. So long as he reigned, even the most arrogant individuals on the Continent would need to take measured action, lest they risk being outright eliminated as a result. After all, it wasnt necessarily power that made someone a good ruler, at least within a peaceful society. Vahn knew he couldnt eliminate evil, as there was always a need for a certain bnce within the world, but he could at least make it very difficult for anyone with oppressive personalities to rise to prominence... After letting his words settle for a few seconds, Vahn turned his attention to a few within the group that he knew would have to be removed from their positions. This included several people kneeling at the back who, after feeling Vahns gaze upon them, began trembling with a mixture ofplex emotions. Some knew the futility of trying to resist, holding onto the hope that they would be shown leniency, while others were shaking as a result of the incredulity and rage they were experiencing. Amongst this second group, even before Vahn could speak out, a woman with violet hair raised her lowered head to suddenly shout, "What right do you have to make such decisions!? You are nothing more than amoner that has been promoted to their position after bing the pawn of Gods...!" Without Vahn needing to say or do anything, the womans outburst was punctuated by a white light enveloping her body. Before she could even scream out in pain, her body was broken down into fine motes of light as a Valkyrie named Myst lowered her hand. There werent even ashes left in the wake of the powerful Light Elemental magic, causing those that had thought to makeints of their own to fall silent. The woman had been the Queen of a small country to the North-East, called the Rosemary Kingdom... Three generations prior, her family had been nothing more than wine merchants who, after finding a small territory that was highly suited to growing their precious strain of gr.a.p.es, founded a small kingdom as a result. She had been someone who had been given everything she had wanted from a young age, causing her to be spoiled to the point that many within her own country hated her vehemently. Even so, as a result of being the only child to a sickly King, she had been crowned as the reigning Queen after his death and a small power struggle between herself and the former Queen... The only reason she had been able to gain the throne, however, was due to the support of a rising faction within the Kingdom that had intended to use her as a puppet, pacifying her wants and needs while controlling the direction of the Kingdom to fill their coffers. After sending her to the meeting, these same individuals had outright disappeared from the Rosemary Kingdom afterpletely emptying the treasury. Vahn had been aware of all of this, as the Shadow Corps had already captured most of the traitorous Nobles, so he held no pity towards the misguided woman who, upon their first meeting, thought she could seduce him to secure a position for herself... After sending a small prayer, hoping the woman would live a better life in her future incarnation, Vahn passed his gaze over the now silent gathering before saying, "There are those amongst you who have looked down upon others your entire lives, treating those you should have been dedicating your lives to as nothing more than a source of ie. Now that I am Emperor, you will be held ountable for your actions, regardless of if you had manipted thews of your country to make your actions justifiable. If you have any real sense, you will face justice with the dignity of a genuine Noble and, so long as your progeny havent been corrupted by your influence, there is still a chance for your lineage to continue. Know that I am not a cruel person by any means and, if not for the acts you had perpetrated before this moment, you would have never been required to face my ire and scorn. I would encourage you to take the necessary time to reflect upon the life you have lived before preparing yourself for what is toe...!" Though he had been restraining his aura for much of the audience, Vahn chose this moment to allow his domain to weigh down with full force. With the upgrade he had received after bing a genuine Emperor, even people like Beldum were immediately brought to their knees as a result of the irresistible power radiating from Vahns body. It wasnt just them, either, as the surrounding Valkyries and the very foundation of Babel Tower seemed to tremble in response to Vahn unleashing the full power of his domain. If not for the fact he was trying to uniformly spread it outwards,bined with the sheer durability of the Tower of Babel, there was a very real chance that Vahn could have copsed the 50th floor in its entirety. Surprised by the power of his own domain, Vahn began to reign it back a bit since those he had directed his intent toward had all passed out. Only the Valkyries around him and those that had already taken a knee were spared any serious consequences, causing Vahn to gulp slightly in response to his own power. He hadnt noticed it much during the fight against the One-Eyed ck Dragon, as her existence wasnt so easily suppressed by simple pressure, but Vahn now realized that his [Will of the Emperor] had experienced a qualitative increase after officially gaining the title. He had certainly been feeling much stronger than in the past but, up until this very moment, Vahn hadnt realized just how powerful he had be... (A/N: Alternate Titles: New Emperor, who dis...?,You had your chance; now we do things my way...,Bruh...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 985 - Exploit

Chapter 985 - Exploit

Sitting in a now-empty throne room, Vahn was reflecting on the days events and the startling increase in his power. The moment when he had nearly crushed everyone in the room was very simr to how he had created a massive hole with his first use of [Heavens Fall]. His power had increased far more than he had imagined but, as a result of being rather busytely, he hadnt noticed the full extent of this increase. Though he still sparred with the girls, part of him was always holding back since, even with a [Effigy of the Hero], Vahn would always pull his punches at thest moment. He was afraid that with the inclusion of his Source Energy pervading through their body, with the intent to harm, even an [Effigy of the Hero] might not save them... As a result of his contemtion, Vahn was leaning sideways upon his throne, taping the armrest in a steady and rhythm that emphasized his inability to remain calm. The primary reason for this was due to the fact that, with the increase in his power, it was a major red g for what mighte. Though he could now likely reach the lowest Floor of the Dungeon with even greater ease than before, Vahn was worried about what the world might have created in an effort to bnce things. He already had a monstrous amount of karma and, now that his power had reached a point beyond his ownprehension, there was always a chance some horrifyingly powerful threat was now lurking in the shadows. Releasing a heavy sigh, Vahn stopped tapping his finger as a determined glint shed across his eyes. He felt as if he had been on an extended vacation ever since venturing to the Amazoness country of Telskyura and, now that things wereing to a head with him bing an Emperor, Vahn felt like he needed to make a mental checklist of things to do before he could truly rx. The longer he put offpleting his Main Quest, the greater the danger he, his family, and the world itself were in. His top priority needed to be conquering Tartarus while he still needed an actual Eternal Vow from Kali and, depending on the circ.u.mstances, Amaterasu. Since there was no way to know how things would develop between them in the future, it wasnt necessarily wise to continue putting things off for much longer... Vahn knew that, if he put a concerted effort into things, it likely wouldnt take much effort for him to get some form of Eternal Vow from the two Goddesses. In fact, if he really wanted to, Vahn was certain he could get Eternal Vows from more than just the two of them and, with how the systems rewards worked, he would likely benefit greatly from it. The only thing that ever really held him back was his own apprehensions and, if he simply focused on the goal, Vahn knew he couldplete the first stage of his Main Quest before the year ended. He could even meet the requirements for all the optional quests if he truly desired, as there was a veritable herd of women who would be more than willing to bear him a child... As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Vahn shook his head fervently to clear away such dangerous whims before sinking into his ratherfortable throne and muttering, "Sis, why does it feel like everything just became moreplicated when I became an Emperor...? I havent even done anything yet and it already feels like every decision I make needs to be considered with extreme caution..." Though Vahn had a bad habit of overthinking things at times, now that he was Emperor it felt as if everything had been exacerbated in the extreme. His decision now, quite literally, influenced the fate of the entire Continent. It wasnt wrong to say this had always been the case but, with the everpresent surge of power that was flowing through his body, Vahn felt the expectations of his people weighing down on him like a sword pressed to the back of his neck... In response to Vahns words, a soft and elegant voice sounded out within the deepest recesses of his mind as Sis remarked, (*This is the path you have chosen for yourself, Vahn...However, that does not mean it is the path you are bound to. If therees a time when you wish to leave this world behind, there is nothing within the vast infinite records that could prevent you from doing so. You do not need to feel as if you are anchored to this world, even if your concerns for your children and the love you share with everyone feels as if they are tethers binding you here...*) As if to emphasize this, Sis navigated through the system interface on Vahns behalf, showing that the Records function had long since been highlighted. When he had first entered the world, the icon had turned dark because he simplycked the power and preparation to make a trip to a second record so soon. Now that he had spent more than two-hundred years within the record, with the use of various orbs, he could leave with nothing more than a thought... After staring at the Records icon for a little longer than he should have, Vahn shook his head before a small smile appeared on his face. He sat a little straighter in his chair before musing, "I didnt think you were the type to y around in such a fashion, Sis. Though, I suppose you are just looking out for me, arent you...?" In response to this, Sis released a peal of lightughter before replying, (*My highest priority is your spiritual, mental, and physical wellness. Even though you would be devastated by guilt if you abandoned this world, such feelings would fade over the course of an eternity. I also believe that, even though there are negative consequences associated with failing toplete your Quest, there are a functionally infinite number of ways around them. As it is a part of you, intended to guide you down the path you have set for yourself, there is no way for it to truly limit your growth and actions...*) Vahns brows perked up as he listened to Siss words as, in the past, she was the very person who advised him to continue down the path he had chosen for himself. Though they had discussed, on more than one asion, how best to exploit the system functions, this was the first time where Sis was outright telling him that it didnt matter what decision he made. So long as he truly desired it, the path would correct itself to facilitate the new path he had set for himself. It had done so several times and, depending on the circ.u.mstances, Vahn postted that, by changing his goal, he couldpletely change how the system functions worked. Right now, he had set himself on the path of bing an Emperor and, as a result, he was now seated in a throne room brooding over the future. If he had changed his goal to be the greatest teacher in all records, or even something as simple as bing a god within the record, Vahn imagined it would have set him on the most efficient path to achieving both... Since she was perfectly capable of knowing everything he was thinking, Sis used the moment when Vahn had such a realization to respond in a gentle and guiding tone, (*That is correct, Vahn. Though it is far moreplicated existence, it is best to think of The Path as nothing more than a tool that, if used correctly, will set you on the fastest course to obtaining what you desire. Even if you changed your goal, deciding to focus on truly exploiting the functions of the system, Im certain you would get Quests pertaining to just that. The only real limit is yourprehension but, as you have experienced several times, the Quests it assigns you often help in that regard as well.*) As Sis had stated, The Path would almost always give him sub-missions rted to whatever his focus had been on at the time. A good example was how it had given him optional quests rted to his Unit Management as,pared to many of his other functions, Vahn was very interested in its use. On the contrary, the Upgrade system had gone rtively untouched within the system interface ever since he had obtained it. Though a 1% increase wasnt exactly terrible, if stacked multiple times, he simply never needed it since the power scaling in this world made it irrelevant. He had obtained it at a time when his weapons had failed him, likely as a means to supplement hisck of confidence at the time, but ultimately decided on apletely different path. As a result, The Path had never really given him any Quests pertaining to the Upgrade function, allowing it to remain idle within the system interface without ever having the opportunity to influence this world... Knowing that, once again, Sis had given him very helpful counsel, Vahn reclined his head against his throne before a genuine smile spread across his face. Even without saying anything, Sis was very aware of the gratitude he felt towards her. She didnt say anything in response to his silence but, for a brief moment, there was an almost inaudible peal of girlishughter in the back of Vahns mind. Vahn patiently waited for true silence to rece theughter before sitting up ramrod straight and adopting a serious and determined expression. With absolute confidence in both The Path and Siss guidance, Vahn raised his head slightly as he proimed, "I will master Space, Time, and Creation Laws. I also have no need for skills rted to courting women any longer as, if I am unable to win over the hearts of people after all this, I do not deserve their affection...!" For several seconds after his promation, there was absolute silence in the throne room, the only exception being the echo of his own words of the massive curved walls. Though some people might have felt unnerved by this, Vahn remained steadfast with nothing more than a simple squint of the eyes to show that he was still cognizant of the situation. Then, just as the echo began to fade away, a small window popped up within Vahns vision as a system notification sounded within his mind. This wasnt the first time he had essentially created a Quest so Vahn wasnt really that surprised and, instead, showed a genuine smile on his face as he read... //Main Quest Chain: [Genesis Path: Dawn of Creation] Unlocked// ------------------------------------------------ [Quest: Genesis Path: Dawn of Creation] Rank: Zenith Objective: Obtain Divinities rted to: Space[48%], Time[19%], Creation[92%] Optional Objectives: [Breath of Life] Sessfully bind a soul to an organic vessel: [0/1], [Beyond the Flesh] Sessfully bind a soul to an inorganic vessel: [0/1], [Divine Father] Create Unique lifeforms: [0/10], [Little Garden] Create a Personal Dimension using own power andprehension: [0/1] Rewards: 10,000,000,000OP, [Little Realm Guardian Contract]x1, [Book of the Dawn]x1, [Book of the Dusk]x1, [Book of the Twilight]x1 Failure Conditions: Forfeiture of Main Quest Chain Penalty: Spatial Copse of Inhabited Record Due to Instabilities in Space, Time, and Creation Laws ------------------------------------------------ Seeing the new Main Quest assigned to him by The Path, Vahn experienced a variety of different emotions, the most predominant being shock. He wasnt surprised that he had indeed received a new Main Quest, as that was the whole point of his exmation, but because he had nearlypleted one of the primary objectives already. Vahn sat in his throne simply staring at the third objective which, ording to logic and reasoning, meant that he had very nearly reached Tier 4, gaining a Divinity rted to Creation. Though many of the gods liked to talk about what pseudo-Divinities he might have, Vahn hadnt put that much thought into it himself and never realized exactly how close he was to almost bing Tier 4... Feeling his palms be slightly mmy, Vahn calmed his mind as much as possible before rising to his feet and saying, "I need to conquer the Dungeon sooner than expected..." Something had prevented even his Emperor-self in the Divination from conquering the Dungeon so Vahn assumed it was rted to his Divinity. If he wasnt able to probe the depths of the Dungeon before reaching Tier 4, there was a good chance he wouldnt be able to descend to the final Floor without getting near Tier 5. Since there was an unfathomably vast gulf between obtaining Tier 4 and nearly reaching Tier 5, Vahn knew it would take several decades, at the least, before he was able toe up with a means to circ.u.mvent whatever countermeasures the Dungeon had to prevent gods from descending too deep. Though he could will The Path to create a Quest that allowed him to reach the depths of Tartarus, regardless of if he was Tier 4 or not, Vahns intuition told him it wouldnt be that simple. After all, the Objectives he was given were things that he still needed to do, meaning nothing was outright handed to him without an extreme effort required on his part... Just as he was about to push open the doors of his throne room, Vahns hand stopped in the air before he turned his attention back to the system interface once again. His mastery over Space and Time were still a ways away from reaching the point where he could obtain a Divinity rted to him and, though there was nothing requiring him toplete the Quest any time soon, Vahn now felt like grinding the two until they were also nearly at 100%. Now that he had a visible metric to gauge his progress, Vahn suddenly felt a lot more motivated than he had in the past. After all, every percent he managed to increase the numerical value put him one step closer to literally reaching godhood... In response to Vahns stray thoughts, a second system notification sounded within his mind that caused him to blink several times before he turned his attention to the new string of text. His eyes widened in response to what he had read before he opened up his Status Board and pressed on one of the listed Skills. What he saw after that caused Vahn tough in a truly uninhibited manner, causing the nearby Valkyries, who had been waiting to escort him back to the Manor, to show faces of confusion. Amongst them, Brynhildr was equally as confused but didnt allow it to show on her face as she said, "Our Master may be nning to leave soon. Make sure you are properly prepared to receive him...!" In response to hermand, the other Valkyries became absolutely serious once again as the gave proper salutes and quickly set about preparing to receive the man they all referred to as Master. Back within the throne room, Vahns smile hadnt faded away in the slightest as he once again read the string of text that had greatly boosted his mood... //System Interface Updated to Reflect Mastery in all Skills and Abilities// //[Experience Tracking] Function has been unlocked// (A/N: I tried to release this one as soon as I could but Im still very tired. I only slept for 7 hours and feel a bit sick so I may not release a second chapter today. Writing this made me feel a little better but I think I could use another nap before making my decision xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns bad habit is back...,Sis saves the day!,You think this is some kind of game~!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 986 - Decision

Chapter 986 - Decision

After returning to the Manor, Vahn split his focus between two equally important tasks. Using his main body, he met up with many of the Manors residents while his avatar entered into the Sub-Space orb to experiment with his new system function. Now that he could see even small increases in his mastery of specific skills, Vahn felt as if his training would be exceptionally smoothpared to the past. Though he had never felt as if his strength had started to stagnate, there was a distinct difference between feeling as if youre growing stronger and knowing that you are growing stronger. The only real downside was that, as always, the new system function provided no real insight into any of his Innates. Unlike the rest of his skills, magic, and development abilities, each of Vahns Innates simply showed a (-) whenever he clicked on them. This was due to the fact that Innates themselves were without any inherent limits, at least as far as growth and potential were concerned. Though other skills would eventually reach a point where the only way they could be stronger was if the user themselves became stronger, Innates were, by their own virtue, the very source of a persons true power. Even if he decided to wholeheartedlymit himself to mastering just a single Innate, there was a very real chance it would be far more powerful than all of his other skills and abilitiesbined... Back within the Manor, after gathering nearly all of the permanant residents, Vahn found himself surrounded by a variety of multi-colored eyes, each having ced nearly their entire focus on him. Though it wasnt particrly rare for him to ask for a family meeting, the girls were always able to tell if the matter he wanted to discuss was important based on the subtle link they all shared. This was especially true for the goddesses and, as a matter of her own personal pride, Fenrir. Thetter had long ago developed a powerful link with him through the loyalty she possessed and, after knowing the value actually existing, Fenrir had cultivated her loyalty to the extreme in the hopes of one day overtaking the love value of goddesses like Hestia... With a small smile on his face after passing his gaze over Fenrir, Vahns eyes ultimately came to rest of the slit-like openings of Lokis, seated with two glimmering red irises that seemed to possess almost infinite intelligence. Over time,pletely contrary to their interactions during their first meeting, Loki had be one of the most important goddesses within his life. Vahn knew he was almost too reliant on her but, seeing how much effort she put into making everything run smoothly for him, he couldnt help but feel a soft spot for this goddess that he once scorned out of ignorance. This was something Loki seemed to pick up on as well since, even though everyone was present, a light flush covered her cheeks as she averted her eyes to the side with a smile. Now in an even better mood than before, Vahn cleared his throat to draw everyones attention away from Loki and back to himself, saying, "After my audience with the various dignitaries from around the Continent, I had a revtion of sorts that I needed everyone to be aware of..." In response to this, perhaps to get even with him for shifting the focus to her for a brief moment, Loki teasingly asked, "Oh, a revtion, was it~? I wonder how many new sisters well end up having to manage in the future...?" Though he knew she was only jesting, Vahn turned statuesque with his mouth slightly agape after hearing Lokis slight barb. Many of the girls snapped their heads toward her with disapproving expressions on their faces but, in that same moment, Vahn noticed that many of their auras had slightly flickered while some had even lost a single point of affection after realizing that Lokis words could very well be true. Everyone had already epted that Vahn would have multiple lovers but, with the passage of time and the expansion of their ratherrge family, Vahn could tell that some of the girls were no longer as enthused about the idea since he continued adding more girls instead of focusing on those he already had... Realizing she had stepped on andmine, Loki had also turned statuesque but, unlike Vahn, she was able to mask it exceptionally well without breaking her poker face at all. She did, however, feel extremely apologetic and, though she couldnt do much about it at the moment, Loki promised she would make it up to Vahntter while also reprimanding herself for letting her Divinity spoil the mood. Vahn had been rather jubnt when he had gathered them all together but now things would be rtively awkward, at least for a short while. Loki wanted to make this transition a little faster so, instead of allowing the silence to persist, she made a dismissive gesture that indicated they would talk about itter before asking, "So, what did you see this time, Vahn? Was it a vision, or something else...?" With Lokis question snapping him back to reality, Vahn closed his gaping mouth and swallowed before saying, "Just like what weve seen in the girls [Heroic Tale]s, I am now able to determine just how close I am to obtaining a Divinity. To my surprise, I discovered that I have very nearly obtained a Divinity rted to Creation and, for fear of losing the opportunity, I have decided to probe the depths of the Dungeon. After Ie up with a solution in regards to my promise about ying the One-Eyed ck Dragon, I intend to venture forth into Tartarus until I havepletely conquered it. If I go all out, there are very few things that would prevent me from reaching the lowest Floor in my current state..." Rather surprisingly, at least from Vahns perspective, none of the goddesses within the room showed even a hint of surprise after the revtion that he had nearly reached godhood. From their perspective, he had always been closer than most and, if anything, Vahns words actually proved to validate what they already knew. As for everyone else within the room, with a few exceptions, they had almost grown desensitized to the presence of gods after living alongside several for such an extended period of time. Thus, instead of making a big deal out of what should have been a monumental event, Hestia showed a genuinely happy smile as she brought her hands together and said, "Congrattions, Vahn!" Following Hestias congrattions, the room entered into a rtively festive state where everyone congratted Vahn for the progress he had made. The only real exception amongst them, though she also gave him a fair amount of praise, was Jeanne. When Vahn had revealed that he had nearly reached godhood, she felt as if a hammer had struck both her heart and mind. After all, it had been the goal of Legend for nearly a thousand years to produce a mortal that was capable of bing a god and, much like Helen, Jeanne had believed it was nearly impossible without certain developments. Now that Vahn had confidently dered he was nearing godhood, Jeanne couldnt help but think about Helen and wondered how her long-time friend would react when she heard the good news... For the rest of the afternoon, after allowing the children to invade the dining room, everyone celebrated Vahnsing ascension while discussion about their own potential ascension became one of the hottest topics. Everyone was talking about what kind of Divinity they would obtain in the future while the goddesses within the group provided counsel and insight into what they should expect if they truly walk down such a path. Other than that, the most popr conversation was the Dungeon itself as Fenrir, Ais, Tiona, Haruhime, Lili, Tina, Shizune, and many of the other girls, kept offering to apany Vahn on his journey into the heart of the Dungeon. Though he would have epted under normal circ.u.mstances, Vahn had to refuse them this time around since the pace he would be moving at wasnt something they would be able to keep up with. There were also enemies in the lower Floors that even Ais may not be able to defeat while the most troublesome existence would be the One-Eyed ck Dragon itself. Vahns instincts told him that she would be following him around for a bit as, every time he entered the 60th Floor to make sure Enyos seal wasnt damaged, he could feel an intent lingering around him. Her skills and abilities were very simr to his Qinglong transformation, meaning the One-Eyed ck Dragon had a high affinity with Space and, as a result, Time Laws. If she was a little smarter, Vahn felt that the One-Eyed ck Dragon would be one of the most terrifying enemies anyone could ever possibly face. Fortunately, she seemed closer to Kali in personality and, for better or worse, didnt seem too keen on the idea of spending much time and effort thinking about things... Deterred from following along at his side, many of the girls in the bat group ended up gathering at the side to discuss something in private while three particr women werent so easily pacified. Terra was very aware of the existence of the One-Eyed ck Dragon and, knowing that it sought her Master, she suddenly felt that protecting the Manor was no longer her highest priority. Though she was a pacifist by nature, knowing that another True Dragon was trying to encroach upon her territory, Terra, with a dangerous glimmer in her eyes, professed, "You know, Master, I would really like to meet this One-Eyed ck Dragon~." Standing at Terras side were Fenrir and, though she would never be allowed to apany him in her current state, Alexa. The former was adamant about following him, regardless of how dangerous it was for her safety, while thetter would be in a very different kind of danger if she tried to apany him. Vahn knew he would have to rely on his Qinglong form at times and, with Alexa present, that would either be impossible or outright problematic. She had barely recovered from thest incident and, regardless of how strong she was bing, Vahn didnt want to trigger her instincts a second time, especially so soon. With that thought in mind, Vahn proffered an apologetic smile as he stroked Alexas emerald green hair and said, "Please stay here and be a good girl, Alexa. If your mother ends up following after me, Ill need someone to look after Spero Vige while we are away..." In response to this, Alexa showed a slight pout but still nodded her head in agreement, saying, "Okay, Papa...but you have to promise to go flying with me every morning, okay...?" Though she couldnt get what she wanted, Alexa knew she could at least get something out of the situation, as her Papa was weakest when he was trying to make up for something. Vahn knew of his daughters scheme but didnt mind it too much as he ruffled her hair a bit roughly and said, "Sure, that sounds very pleasant..." in a gentle tone of voice. This was enough to get Alexa to obediently stay back at the Manor but, contrasting her, Fenrir was not so easily swayed. Vahn could only smile wryly towards the scarlet-eyed Vanargandr before finally releasing a sigh that was soon followed by a grateful smile as he nodded his head and said, "Lets go together, then..." These words immediately caused Fenrirs ears to perk up in a way Vahn hadnt seen in what felt like years as she happily threw herself into his embrace while eximing, "Yes, Fenrir will follow Master~!" Fenrirs outburst had caught the attention of the other girls but, without making a big deal out of things, they simply gave her somewhat envious smiles before returning to their conversation. This only left Terra for Vahn to deal with but, with Yggy protecting the Manor, Vahn didnt have any real grounds to deny her following along with him. Since it didnt seem like she would back out without at least meeting with the One-Eyed ck Dragon, Vahn eventually wavered under her persistently smiling gaze before nodding his head in approval. This caused Terra to produce an admittedly adorable fist pump as her wings fluttered about happily in response to her Masters assent. Vahns decision to allow Fenrir and Terra to follow him wasrgely due to the fact that, if something did happen, he could always return them to the surface with Unit Management in an instant. Since he didnt actually want to be alone with the One-Eyed ck Dragon, Vahn felt relieved knowing that he would have thepany of his two most trusted subordinates. Though Terra and the One-Eyed ck Dragon would undoubtedly butt heads with each other, Vahn was a little interested to see thetter would respond to the presence of a True Dragon that could rival her main body in strength. When she learned how young Terra was, Vahn suspected it might be much easier to get the One-Eyed ck Dragon to behave in the future... It was when he was thinking about such things, all while spoon-feeding his adorable son, Macht, that Jeanne had decided to interrupt his train of thought. While everyone was focused on the meal and having a good time, she had been rtively silent throughout the afternoon, even when pestered by Loki and Syr. Now, as if she was unable to hold herself back any longer, Jeanne bowed low enough that her head nearly mmed into the table as she interrupted every ongoing conversation to ask, "My Lord, please allow me to apany you into the Dungeon!" Vahn was more than a little surprised by Jeanne sudden outburst, as she wasnt the type to go against propriety and disturb others. He had expected her to speak with him privatelyter in the evening so, seeing her make a scene like this, Vahn was a little taken aback by the situation. This didntst for long, however, as Vahn quickly understood the most likely reason for why Jeanne wanted to apany him. She undoubtedly knew about the discussion between him and Helen and, as thetter likely would refuse any offer to venture into the Dungeons depths, Jeanne likely wanted to discover what connection, if any, her best friend had to both Tartarus and Nuwa. Though there was also a chance that she simply wanted to protect him, Vahn figured he could find out Jeannes true motivester so, without putting too much thought into it, he simply smiled and said, "Very well, Jeanne. I will allow you to apany me..." Seemingly unprepared for an affirmative response, Jeanne raised her head with slight desperation shing across her eyes as she eximed, "Please, my Lord, I..." It was only halfway through her words that Jeanne realized Vahn hadnt refused her offer, causing her fair skin to gain a ruddy hue as everyone gathered at therge table looked towards her with a mixture of emotions, the most predominant of which was amus.e.m.e.nt. Even some of the childrenughed at Jeannes expense, causing her to fl.u.s.ter slightly before she inevitably excused herself from the dining room after giving a polite bow. Vahn followed Jeannes back with his eyes before turning his attention to the various gazes that had shifted towards him in the aftermath of Jeannes outburst. Many of these gazes came from the girls he had denied the opportunity to apany him but there wasnt much he could do about it as,pared to Jeanne, the risk to their life was simply too high. Even in his current state, Vahn didnt feel as if he would be able to leave a mark on Jeannes seemingly indestructible body so it wasnt incorrect to say that her Innates had nearly pushed her into the range of Tier 4 as well. However, as could be seen with existences like Yggy, even being near the peak of Tier 3 meant you were still extremely far from actually reaching Tier 4. If Vahn had to make aparison, it was as if he had currently expanded to form a smallke while Jeanne was still around the size of arge pond. As for Yggy, it wasnt wrong topare her to a vast ocean as, even without having a Divinity of her own just yet, she had already broken into the realm of infinity with her ability to produce limitless energy... Realizing he still had a long way to go, Vahn spooned up another spoonful of liquidized baby food before absentmindedly cing it into his own mouth. This earned him a devastated expression from Macht who, prior to his Papa stealing his food, was looking forward to another mouthful of the delicious sustenance. Vahn realized his mistake just as the young Chienthrope was on the verge of tears, quickly pacifying the young toddler before the waterworks could officially begin... (A/N: Alternate Titles: If only real life had experience bars...,Terras Yandere is leaking out...,Poor Macht, betrayed by his own Papa...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 987 - Fate...?

Chapter 987 - Fate...?

Now that Vahn had ced conquering the Dungeon as his highest priority, there were several small matters he needed to attend before he could fully focus on the historic task. Fortunately, because of how young his Empire was, there werent any major events taking ce that required his full attention. Many of the dignitaries that had thrown their lot in with him had already left the City, this time under the protection of the HDF, while those who had been marked for removal were being shadowed by Chloes Shadow Corps. Only a few had actuallye forward to ept responsibility for their crimes while the majority of such people were still clinging to some small hope of taking advantage of the situation or avoiding repercussions. As for their ultimate fate, Vahn expected he would find a report on his desk at some point that detailed, very briefly, their execution or imprisonment... Fare more important, at least from Vahns perspective, were the matters rted to the existence of Shizunes cousin and, after having been informed of the situation by Jeanne, Helen. The former had been formally introduced to her distant rtive and, though things were a bit awkward between them, it didnt seem like Kiyone was in any real danger. Due to her age, there was a fair chance she would be able to forget the tragic experience she had been forced through without any significant aftereffects. With the assistance of Preasia, she wouldnt even have to worry about having nightmares in the future since everyone who received long-term treatment from the rtively famous Fluffy Saintess had reported a stark increase in their own ability to manipte their dreams, experiencing a lucidity that only those who had entered the Dreamscape could ever hope to achieve. With Shizune showing a great deal of concern for her young cousin,bined with the fact that Anubis seemed to have taken over the responsibility of raising Kiyone, Vahn knew he didnt have to worry too much about the young Kitsune. Infinitely more troublesome was the matter of Helen who, for the first time after settling in Spero, used the underground tunnels that connected to the Manor in order to pay a surprise visit. Vahn had been in the middle of listening to Ina give an exnation of hertest creation when he sensed two massive auras moving in the underground passages below. Though neither was hostile, it had still caught his attention since it was an abnormal situation that he hadnt been expecting to ur. Always paying close attention to her Papas reactions, as she had been trying to impress him, Ina noticed his focus shift away from her almost instantly. She set aside the ornate gauntlet in her hand, a slight frown on her face as she asked, "Are you leaving...?" Even as she asked the question, Inas eyes had already turned kaleidoscopic as she peered into her own future to see what would ur. Vahn gave a wry smile in response before pulled a thin cloak out of his Inventory and setting it around Inas shoulders before pulling her into a hug. She didnt put up any resistance at all and just enjoyed the moment for a few seconds before releasing a small sigh and saying, "Ill be in my workshop for the rest of the day so please stop by if youre not busy..." Vahn knew Inas words were her way of manipting the oue of her visions as, with the passage of time, she had be increasingly familiar with her rather unique Innate. Since he had every intention of returning to spend more time with this adorable daughter of his, Vahn had no inhibitions at all when he stroked her tinum blonde hair and said, "Of course. I already have a good idea about what Helen wants to discuss so it shouldnt take much time...You should-" Before he was able to continue his words, Helen snorted through her nose, breaking free from the hug as sheined, "Even if I look like this, Im not even four years old, Papa. You shouldnt be harping over such things so soon...!" Having been taught the unique forging techniques of Hephaestus and Tsubaki, Ina had long ago picked up the habits of thetter, much to Vahns increasing worry. She was already at the point where her physical appearance was nearing full maturity, giving her the appearance of a young woman around seventeen years of age. Though she hadnt taken after her motherpletely, unlike Vana, Ina still had more than enough charm to almost instantly captivate the heart of any sensible man thatid eyes on her. Vahn didnt have any such feelings but, seeing his daughter wearing nothing but a glorified sports bra and a pair of small shorts, especially when her slightly tanned skin was covered in sweat, always made him feel a mixture of awkwardness and concern. This was the reason why he had pulled out a cloak to cover her before they hugged as, even though he knew it wasnt something he should mind, Vahn wanted to avoid having Ina develop the personality trait of not minding her decency just because he was around... Without a retort to Inas words, Vahn just allowed his smile to be gentle as he crossed his arms and lightly shook his head. Ina produced a pouting expression when she saw this but, knowing he was about to leave, it didntst too long before she released a sigh and said, "I suppose Im not your average child..." As much as she wanted her Papa to spoil her, Ina knew he was just trying to do what he thought was best, even if she didnt outright agree with the methods he had chosen... Though she had been receiving an education from the women in the Manor, Ina never fully understood why she had to care about such things as, no matter how often she thought about leaving the Manor, there didnt seem to be anything for her in the outside world. The two people she cared about the most were here, most of the time, while everyone else in the Manor treated her with extreme kindness and understanding. Every time she had looked into the future to see what might await her, Ina would have a frown on her face since there seemed to be an endless number of frivolous and shallow men trying to mislead her with words and take advantage of her. As a result, Ina had actually started to harbor a small hatred for men in the outside as,pared to her Papa, everyone else seemed incredibly boorish. This was especially true for the few gods that had appeared within her vision, something that had disgusted her so much that Ina had no choice but to in to her Second Mother, Loki, about... Considering the matter settled, as he couldnt see the aura possessed by any of his children, Vahn lightly rubbed Inas head before giving her a small peck on the forehead and departing the workshop. Ina followed his departure with her eyes until he hadpletely exited the room before, momentster, the sound of a hammer could once again be heard echoing through the corridors. Once the door closed behind him, this sound vanished in its entirety but, knowing that his daughter was once again hard at work, Vahn felt strangely gratified and proud. If Hephaestus had been the one to hear the hammer strikes, however, her expression would have been one of exasperation and empathy for her daughters plight... Without making any detours, Vahn proceeded towards the central hub beneath the Manor, arge circr room that had several passages leading to different buildings that were of significance to the Alliance. Jeanne and Helen had been waiting there for him as, even though thetters understanding of Vahn was still rather shallow, Jeanne had been closely observing the man she called Lord. She knew he would be aware of their presence long before they even reached the Manor proper so, instead of causing an incident by escorting Helen upstairs, she had her friend wait on a small stone bench as the two awaited Vahns inevitable arrival. Upon entering into the heavily reinforced stone chamber, Vahn experienced a small shock as,pared to the past, he didnt feel any particr pause upon witnessing Helen. In fact, though she was still awe-inspiringly beautiful, Vahn felt like he had an extreme level of ritypared to the past as, even without activating his [Will of the Emperor], it seemed to be passively preventing any abnormal sway in his thoughts. With this, Vahn could conclude that the mental resistances granted to him by his most reliable Innate had also received arge increase, causing him to produce a casual and confident smile to took both beautiful women by surprise. This was especially true for Helen who, for the first time since meeting Vahn, felt strangely afraid after seeing him smile in such a manner... Jeanne snapped out of her momentary stupor much faster than Helen but, instead of bowing as she often would in the past, she instinctually took a knee while greeting, "Thank you for granting us with your presence, your Majesty..." The moment she realized what she was doing, Jeanne blinked in surprise but, feeling that her actions were actually very natural, she dismissed her slight unease in an instant upon hearing Vahn casually utter, "Rise, Helen...tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit...?" In response to this, almost as if she werepelled by some unseen force, Jeanne rose to her feet before immediately exining, "Your Majesty, due to the significance of your next venture, this one had wanted to-" Feeling slightly uneasy with Jeannes overly polite speech, Vahn raised his hand to interrupt her words before stating in a firm tone, "When we are not in an official setting, dismiss with such formalities. Though you may soon hold the status of the Imperial Shield, you do not need to lower yourself unnecessarily. After all, if there is to be true trust between us, I would rather practice mutual understanding and respect as,pared to subservience, it is infinitely more important that the people I entrust with the most important duties are those I genuinely respect." Since Jeanne was given the official duty of protecting his family, Vahn adamantly refused to treat her as some simple servant or knight. Though Terra and Yggy were perfectly capable of protecting the Manor on their own, Jeannes power would be instrumental in guaranteeing his children were safe when they decided to venture out into the City in the future... Taking a deep breath that caused her rtively modest b.r.e.a.s.ts to protrude outward pridefully, Jeanne allowed a smile to adorn her uniquely beautiful face. If not for the presence of Helen, Vahn felt he might even be charmed by such a pristine smiling expression but, even with his [Will of the Emperor] shielding him from Helenes influence, it was nearly impossible topare the two side-by-side. Though Helen had apleteck of expression, simply being in her presence made the rest of the world almost feel as though it had lost color. It was almost as if the world itself refused to even try andpete with her Innate beauty, giving way to her cold and apathetic visage without contest... Without waiting for Jeanne to fully recover her senses, Vahn gave her a small nod before turning his attention to Helen and asking, "I suppose you also wish to apany me when I enter into the Dungeon, yes...?" Though Jeanne had yet to exin the situation, Vahn could only imagine a few scenarios that would lead to Helening to him personally. Each of these rted to a request and, given her nature, Vahn knew any request of Helens would undoubtedly rte to the fate she had assigned herself. She was someone who had bound herself intrinsically with the fate she believed had been assigned to her, something Vahn simply couldnt understand since he often did his best to go directly against such concepts. Even though he had tried to free her on several asions, Jeanne had shielded both her heart and mind to outside assistance, to the point she didnt seem capable of ever moving forward. Having already recovered from her very momentary shock, Helen gave a small nod in response to Vahns question before bowing politely as she stated, "Though you may not believe my assistance is required, I believe my presence will be necessary if you wish to conquer the Dungeon..." Since she also had an interest in the mirror Vahn had discovered, Helen wanted to apany Vahn at least once. She had a lot of time to think after theirst meeting and, after considering each of his words seriously, Helen had convinced herself that her fate was entwined with the Dungeon. Each of the questions he had asked her had been, in her mind, distorted to reflect the inescapable fate she believed had been assigned to her from creation. Now that Vahn was going to be venturing into the lowest Floors of the Dungeon, Helen had convinced herself that it was her fate to apany him as, even though Vahn seemed to genuinely believe he didnt need her help, Helen knew her presence would be necessary if he wanted to ovee whatever trials awaited him... Though his first instinct was to shut down Helenpletely, as he was absolutely certain her presence wouldnt be required, Vahn eventually nodded his head in approval of Helens request. Since she hadnt listened to his words during their previous meetings, Vahn decided this would be a good opportunity to prove to her, without any shadow of a doubt, how foolish her mentality was. Even if Nuwa had orchestrated things to put Helen into a position where she would be the key to someone elses rise to godhood, Vahn had no such need for assistance. Nuwa, as powerful as she may be, could spend several iterations of eternity without ever reaching even a fraction of The Paths true power. She was easily one of the most powerful Goddesses within this world, if not the most powerful, but that still only made her the most powerful in a record that, in the grand scheme of things, was entirely inconsequential... Having expected Vahn to refuse her, Helen was slightly taken aback by his quick assent before the gears in her mind shifted to align things in ordance with her skewed perspective. She quickly convinced herself that he had seen reason and, as prideful as he may be, Vahn wasnt a fool that would refuse her assistance without due consideration for the negative consequences his hubris could bring. This caused Vahns impression upon her heart to transition towards a favorable direction, allowing Helen to profer forward a small smile in lieu of words. Seeing that Vahn was seemingly unaffected by her rare disy of emotion, Helens smile became even more natural before she gave a polite bow and said, "I will now go to make my preparations. Please inform me when you are ready to leave, Vahn..." Completely ignoring the small sh of white skin as Helen bowed, Vahn turned his attention back to Jeanne as he said, "Well likely be departing tomorrow morning. Now, as I have a prior arrangement, Ill be excusing myself. Please, take care of yourselves until our next meeting..." Though Vahn directed his words towards both girls, Jeanne misconstrued things to mean, protect Helen for me, while Helen had twisted them to mean, things will be inconvenient if something happens to you before the time arrives. As a result, Jeanne gave a full salute, eximing, "Leave it to me, your Majesty...!" while Helen gained a resolute light in her eyes as she gave a small yet determined nod in response. Vahn didnt really know what to make of their responses so he just shook his head with a bemused smile on his face before exiting the rather cold and dull chamber... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Preasia, the Fluffy Saintess (UwU)...!,RIP, Inas love life...,Helen is an eight-hundred-year-old Chuuni...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 988 - Tremor

Chapter 988 - Tremor

Now that he was an Emperor, there were several things Vahn needed to consider before he took any action, including venturing into the Dungeon. Though he could manage most affairs with one of his bodies, Vahn still spent the final days leading up to his expedition in several long meetings with the Divine Council. He was in the process of selected capable Ministers to help manage the affairs of the Empire as, instead of relying on the various goddesses around him, Vahn needed his own personnel to avoid ovep between his Court and the Divine Council. Fortunately, as they had long foreseen this moment, Loki and Fortuna hade forth with a list of potential candidates that could fill in the positions, both temporarily and long-term. Each candidate presented was either a sessful merchant, personally groomed by Fortuna herself, or an acting member of the Civilian Legitive Branch. Now that he was the Emperor, there was a need to shuffle around the organizational structure of the CLB so it was helpful to have core members of the organization be, even temporarily, his Imperial Ministers. Though there were a few rumors circting, especially since all but one of his Ministers ended up being a female, Vahn believed the candidates proferred forth by the two goddesses were excellent choices for the responsibilities required of them. Besides, though he wouldnt openly admit it to any naysayers, it was far more pleasant to spend his mornings in counsel with a group of rather attractive females than a bunch of old men... This was the thought going through Vahns mind as he sat at the head of an ornate metallic table and listened to the preliminary financial report of his new Minister, a woman so capable she held both the titles of Minster of Finance and Minister of the Treasury. Her name was Arethusa, a young Demigoddess that, simr to Asfi, was forced away from her homnd before finding sanctuary within Orario. She had an impably sharp mind and, before receiving her current position, her fate had her walking down the path of bing the Fortuna Familias next Captain. With her light blue hair, neatly arranged in a braided bun,bined with her icy blue eyes, Vahn felt as if the air in the chamber had be rather frigid. Regardless of this, he still found her presence rather refreshing when ounted for alongside the other exotic and unique women that had now be members of his Court. Having finished her report, Arethusa gave a polite bow before returning to her seat at Vahns behest. Each of the seven members that had been elected as his Ministers were polite to an extreme and, other than a few small noises from minor movements, there was absolutely no sound within the chamber after the report waspleted. Even as Vahn sorted information through his mind, primarily with the assistance of Sis, nobody uttered so much as a single word of cross-talk until he lightly tapped the table with his fingers and said, "It may not be much in the grand scheme of things, but I will use my personal finances as the foundation for the Empires Treasury. As for taxes, I will dy implementing anything for a period of three years...hmmm..." Vahn was trying to be considerate of the people and, as there was no great need to begin collecting taxes immediately, he didnt want to cause any unnecessary strain on people just as his reign had begun. This didnt mean he had the intention of bankrupting the Empire, however, as he immediately followed his words by adding, "Fortunately, we havent begun selling the higher-grade items that were intended to be passed through the Alliance. From now on, those items will be proprietary goods that are regted by the Empire. We will still allow the Alliance to auction off the goods, but the Empire will now be the sole source for items such as the [Interspatial Ring] and [Sage Aldrnaris Tears]..." Hearing Vahns words, the expressionless face of Arethusa turned into one of mild surprise as she had never expected Vahn to make such a decision, at least this early on. She had alreadye up with a transition n with Fortuna so that many of the Alliances finances would begin to ovep with the Empire, but that would have taken ce behind the scenes. Vahns method was almost like a power grab, at least from the perspective of the public. Though there were some small detriments involved, Arethusa knew that the positives would far outweigh the negatives as, in the future, this one precedent would give Vahn much greater power to act. After all, the Alliance was already considered the strongest power on the Continent and, though it was always nned to be the foundation for the Empire, the transition was, originally, going to be much slower... Believing that Arethusas small slip was the result of her finding his words eptable, Vahn gave a small nod before waving his hand to store away therge stack of doc.u.ments that had been set out for his perusal. This was noted by all seven Ministers who, without dy, rose to their feet and gave steep bows before Vahn was able to rise himself. With another wave of his hand, Vahn lightly uttered, "You are dismissed until our next meeting. If there are any other matters to attend, please send a notice through one of the Valkyries and I will schedule an audience at my earliest convenience. My focus will be on the Dungeon for the next few days, at the very least, so I would prefer that you deal with your own responsibilities without my guidance, so long as there are no issues..." Though he now held absolute power within his newly established Empire, Vahn had no intentions of being an overbearing Ruler that micromanaged everything. Many of the doc.u.ments he had read regarding how to properly rule over an Empire showed that the most sessful Empires were always helmed by an Emperor but were kept afloat by the capable Ministers beneath them. He needed to be able to trust them with their duties without them having to worry about him constantly breathing down his neck. This would give them the confidence to take future actions on their own and, though it also opened the route forward for corruption, such things could be prevented rather easily if he didnt becent... In response to his words, the seven Ministers gave a rather sonorous response, another benefit of having a predominately female Court, before quickly excusing themselves from the room. The only one to remain standing in their position was the only male with the chamber, excluding Vahn, which indicated there were matters he wished to discuss in private. Vahn waited until everyone else had exited the chamber before turning his attention to the silver-haired old man, smiling as he asked, "Is there something you wanted to bring to my attention, Sebas...?" Hearing Vahn address him, Sebas gave a respectful bow as he responded, "Your Majesty, no words can ever truly express how grateful I am for having been given this position and responsibility. However, I..." Without being able to finish his words, Sebas, the very same Bartender that had been managing the affairs of his Clubhouse, came to a solemn silence. Vahn had raised his hand slightly, indicating for silence, so there was nothing he could do but swallow the words he already found rather difficult to say aloud. Fortunately, things didnt progress in a negative manner as Vahn quickly rified things, saying, "I have already received a report about the situation of your vige. Though now is not the most ideal time, I will allow you a temporary leave so that you may manage your personal affairs. Im sure these recent changes have been difficult for you and, as I have my own matters to attend, I will not fault you for doing the same." Vahn had long developed an appreciation for Sebas talents and, though there were certainly better people suited to the position, none held the same wisdom and experience as the elderly gentlemen before him. As a result, Vahn had nominated Sebas as his Minister of the Interior, cing him in charge of managing all of the personnel that would work within his pce in the future. The only groups he would have no authority over were the Imperial Guards who, as one would expect, only took orders directly from the Emperor, Vahn himself. Even so, Sebas had found himself in a rather unexpected position where, instead of simply earning money to send back to his vige, he was now one of the most powerful people within Vahns Empire. Since Vahn had promised a stimulus of 100,000,000V,bined with a protection agreement that would allow his vige to prosper, Sebas had agreed to take up the responsibility after only a few days of consideration. Unfortunately, as Fate was ought to do, the moment things appeared to be irrefutably positive, Sebas received a missive from his vige that mentioned that his Granddaughter had be severely ill. The disease was supposedly incurable but, with one of the coveted [Sage Aldrnaris Tears] at his disposal, Sebas was confident his Granddaughter would make a full recovery. After all, the peculiar green potion could supposedly cure almost any ailment, regardless of severity, making it a highly sought after item after the Alliance had revealed its existence during the attack by Enyos forces... Bowing even lower than before, Sebas felt an extreme amount of gratitude toward Vahn as he quickly excused himself after thetter gave a small nod in response. As for Vahn, he had a small smile on his face as he wondered what Sebas reaction would be when he found out that his Granddaughter had already been treated. When Vahn had received the report, it only took a few minutes of his time to teleport over to the rather demure vige before personally healing the adorable little girl that Vahn knew Sebas was incredibly fond of. Since it would take several days, at the earliest, for the information to reach Sebas ears, Vahn felt pleased by the minor prank he had pulled on his most senior Minister. As for why he allowed Sebas to return, it was to ay the old mans worries and allow him to spend time with his family, something that Vahn believed would greatly benefit Sebas mental and physical wellness. With his duties tended to, Vahn stretched his body for a few moments before turning his gaze to the floor below. In an instant, Vahns intent began to probe through the Tower of Babel, almostpletely ignoring the various barriers that generally prevented such actions, before sinking into the Dungeon proper. Though it took incredible focus, Vahn was able to move his intent around freely and, after assuming his Qinglong form, teleport to any location in an instant. Even the Dungeon could do little to stop him from probing into its depths, though this was only true up until he reached the 73rd Floor. The same mechanism that prevented new Adventurers from immediately essing the 18th Floor also prevented Vahns intent from probing deeper than he had explored. It was a peculiar experience, crashing into an unseen barrier with something as abstract as his intent, but Vahn didnt really mind it too much since it would have been a little too easy if he could simply teleport to the lowest Floor in an instant... After entering the 73rd Floor with his intent, Vahn immediately sensed that he had been locked onto by a secondary force but, as this was not the first time he had taken a peek into the Dungeon like this, he wasnt too surprised when a spatial tear appeared near him. From within this tear, the One-Eyed ck Dragon emerged and, after looking around for a short while, she snorted a wisp of blue mes before loudly eximing, "Are you going toe out or not!?" Vahn couldnt help but lightly chuckle in response to this, something the One-Eyed Dragon seemed to take note of as her face furrowed into a deep frown momentster. Since she had gone out of her way toe to where he was located, the One-Eyed ck Dragon was very annoyed by the fact that Vahn hadnt actually appeared as, though she was able to sense his intent, she was actually unable to sense his exact location as it was impossible to trace Vahns origin through the spatial fluctuations caused by his Source Energy. Since he didnt want to transform into his Qinglong form right now, as he was nning to return home shortly, Vahn focused his mind before asking, "Can you hear me...?" Though he couldnt easily transfer matter through spatial tears, without turning into his Qinglong form, Vahn had been working on methods to send messages through the void. These messages couldpletely bypass most barriers and, as they were untraceable, Vahn had been able to y a few small pranks on the girls back at the Manor. The only people it didnt work against were the goddesses he had melded with and, as was often the case, Fenrir... With Vahns voice literally sounding out next to her ear, the One-Eyed ck Dragon showed a slightly startled expression as her scale-covered ear flickered in response. She nearly attacked the area out of habit but managed to restrain herself as her instincts told her it would be very troublesome if she were to identally injure Vahn. Since she had made a promise not to attack him during theirst meeting, the One-Eyed ck Dragon wouldnt easily go back on her word as it was simply beneath her to do so. However, in an attempt to hide the fact that she had been startled, the One-Eyed ck Dragon sent a small ripple through the void with her own power, attempting to punish Vahn as she replied, "I can hear you. Where are you...?" Vahn could sense the One-Eyed ck Dragons on intent try to pass along his own but, other than a strange tingling sensation in the back of his mind, there were no other significant effects. Even so, as it would be even more troublesome if he riled her up, Vahn decided not to tease the One-Eyed ck Dragon too much as he inly stated, "I am currently back on the Surface. Im just sending this message to inform you that Ill be bringing some of my allies along with me during my next visit into the Dungeon. I cant force you to behave yourself so Im letting you know in advance that, if you try to harm them..." Since he was able to imagine how he would react in such a situation with almost crystal rity, the spatial fluctuations caused by Vahn began to ripple violently in response to his own rising emotions. The One-Eyed ck Dragon made a show of not being intimidated in the slightest but, much like Terra, Vahn could see her wings twitch slightly in response to the pressure he had instinctually sent through the void. Before she could front, Vahn calmed his mind in an instant before adding, "Ill be bringing along another True Dragon with me. Though she is a fair bit younger than you are...well, Ill let you experience first hand that time is forever flowing forward." Though Terra wasnt nearly as powerful as the One-Eyed ck Dragon, Vahn was confident she would be able to emerge victoriously in seven-out-of-ten instances. Her Innates were much weaker than the One-Eyed ck Dragons but, unlike thetter, Terra has full mastery over her magical energy and, with the hundreds of years she had trained with Eva, there were very few existences in the record that could even hope to contend against her. After all, the magic system from a Tier 5 world was simply beyond anything that had previously existed in this world, Innates included... Sensing the challenge in Vahns words, the One-Eyed ck Dragon puffed out her rather modest chest while ring her wings outward in a domineering manner. Vahn made a mental note to train her to wear proper clothing in the future before severing the connection, leaving the One-Eyed ck Dragon making a promation to thin air. He knew this would make her very angry but, for reasons he didnt quite understand, Vahn feltpelled to annoy the One-Eyed ck Dragon at every instance. There was something about her that grated on his nerves and, considering how she behaved towards Ais and Shizune, Vahn knew her existence would be increasingly problematic unless she was reigned in rtively soon... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn felt small vibrations passing through his feet that caused his brows to rise slightly in response. He was currently on the 50th Floor of Babel Tower and, as there were no faultlines remotely close to Orario, it shouldnt be possible for him to feel any tremors when he was nearly 300km in the sky. To his surprise, the tremors actually continued to build until, momentster, Vahn felt a ripple of magical energy pass through the surrounding barriers before dissipating into the air above. This ripple caused his blood to boil while, at the same time, Vahn felt a chill run up his spine since he could sense the intent contained within the pulse. He turned his attention back to the floor below, this time without sending his intent into the Dungeon, while asking himself, "Did I push her too hard...?" --- Unlike the small tremors that Vahn was feeling, the people of Orario werent nearly as fortunate as, instead of small vibrations, it was as if the entire city was experiencing a high-magnitude earthquake. Though the buildings were incredibly durable, enough to resist random monster attacks and the asional brawl between High-Level Adventurers, they were not designed to resist sudden and intense earthquakes. As a result, several buildings that were under construction hadpletely capsized, primarily around Daedelus Street. The once quiet streets of Orario had immediately be chaotic as everyone trembled in fear and confusion, not as a result of the earthquake, but in response to the loud roar that had passed over the entire City. Even without seeing it directly, even children knew that the ripple that had caused several hundred thousand people to copse had originated from the living nightmare, the one and only One-Eyed ck Dragon... (A/N: Just a small update to let everyone know what is going on. I clocked in a whopping 93 hoursst week and am feeling incredibly burnt out as a result. The fact that I released less chaptersst week than when my own Mother died is something that kept me awake for quite a while after realizing the truth of the matter. Fortunately, now that my coworker is back in working order, I was able to negotiate having a bit of extra time off over the next two weeks until I am finally free from my responsibilities. Though I still have to work full days, Ill have most of my evenings free so there shouldnt be any issues in the release schedule in the days leading up to the 16th. After that, Ill probably transition to releasing three chapters a day once Im able to fly home and rx for a bit. Lets just say I am eagerly counting down each and every day before Im finally able to write full-time once again xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn, Emperor of the Flower Garden,Sebas getting pranked in the most wholesome way...this is how to breed loyalty amongst your Retainers xD...,You would think that Vahn would understand not to slight the pride of a True Dragon...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 989 - Final Preparations

Chapter 989 - Final Preparations

The days following the One-Eyed ck Dragons outburst were some of the most troublesome Vahn had ever dealt with but, knowing he held arge part of the me in instigating the event, he spared no expense when it came to stabilizing the populous once again. Fortunately, ever since the air raid that had originated from the Iron Hills, people had be more vignt while the Alliances forces had be much better prepared to deal with emergency situations. The hardest part of the whole situation was dealing with the loss of lives as, even though there were only a few people that had died as a result of the One-Eyed ck Dragons rage, Vahn felt personally responsible for them. Though he harbored no delusions that innocent lives hadnt been lost as a result of his actions, this was the first time Vahn was forced to face the reality of the situation directly. As a result of him unnecessarily teasing the One-Eyed ck Dragon, an entity he knew to be one of the most powerful in the entire record, he now had an additional 108 deaths weighing on his conscience... From the perspective of the people, they interpreted Vahns actions in the aftermath of the event as those of a truly benevolent and kind Emperor. Not only did he go around to help in the rescue efforts but, whenever he learned about the loss of life that had urred, he was visibly upset as a result. Seeing someone that held an unfathomable amount of power nearly brought to tears was a big impact on several people, especially those that were rted to the victims. This only made Vahn feel worse about the situation, however, as he was unable toe forward and take responsibility directly. He couldnt take any proactive action that would cause the people to lose faith in his leadership ability as, with how young the Empire was, even small incidents could significantly impact the stability of the entire Continent... Fortunately, though it didnt exactly make Vahn feel better about the situation, this most recent attack had reawakened the fear people held towards the One-Eyed ck Dragon. Though this alone wasnt necessarily a good thing, the unity it brought about was something that could easily be taken advantage of to make real andsting progress towards his goals. Since his coronation was still fresh on everyones mind, so too was his promise of dealing with the One-Eyed ck Dragon. Now, the entire poption of Orario had assumed an atmosphere of righteous indignation as the public consensus had them crying out for the subjugation of the One-Eyed ck Dragon. With so many people directing their focus and hope towards him, Vahn found that he couldnt even sleep as a result of the incredible power that was constantly pulsing through his body... On the eve of his sixth day as an Emperor, Vahn was seated beneath the canopy of Yggys branches as the young High Spirit curled up in hisp with a blissful smile on her sleeping face. Contrasting this, Vahn himself had a penitent expression, ented by a touch of remorse, as he had been unable to smile much after realizing the consequences of his mistake. With theing dawn, he would be descending into the Dungeon and, depending on the circ.u.mstances, he may very well have to kill the One-Eyed ck Dragon. He hadnt peeked into the 73rd Floor after the incident but, after taking a look at the Unit Management function of his system interface, he noticed that the One-Eyed ck Dragon was now missing from his list of Subordinates. She was obviously very upset after he had slighted her and, now that the people were crying out for her death, Vahn had to seriously consider what action he would be taking during their next encounter... As she was sensitive to negative emotions, Yggys eyes slowly opened in response to Vahns thoughts, causing herrge emerald green eyes to look toward him with concern clearly expressed on her childish face. Vahn forced a smile in an effort to ay her concerns but it didnt quite reach his eyes as he reached out his hand to gently stroke Yggys head. In response, Yggy grabbed his wrist with her tiny hands to prevent his actions while shifting around so that she could better face him. Then, without any words, Yggy released his hand before her body began to emanate a gentle glow as the runes on her body shimmered with emerald light. Vahn felt an incredible amount of warmth flow into his body before, momentster, the young and childish Yggy was soon reced by a much more mature version of herself. Since it wasnt the first time she had changed her body, Vahn wasnt too surprised by the sudden change. What did surprise him, however, was when Yggy pulled him into a gentle hug in a way that only women like Hestia and Tsubaki could manage before she began to stroke the back of his head with her hand. Vahns nose was tickled by an aroma that smelled of honey and flowers as his ruminating mind instantly became chaotic in response to the unexpected actions of this surrogate daughter of his. Though he knew she was just trying to help him calm down, Vahn felt incredibly fl.u.s.tered as a mixture of emotions suddenly overwhelmed as a result of the too intimate action that Yggy had obviously copied from the more mature girls in his life... Fortunately, Yggy quickly picked up on the fact that she had exacerbated the situation as her body quickly shrank back to normal, her mature features reced by her child-like proportions as she looked up at him with an apologetic expression. Vahn was able to calm down his tumultuous emotions rather quickly when he saw this, causing his smile to turn genuine as he gently pulled Yggy into his embrace and said, "Thank you for trying to help, Yggy, but Im okay. Besides, Im already plenty happy with your adorable child-form...sorry for making you worry..." This time, Yggy was unable to prevent him from rubbing her head and, as a result, a pacified smile slowly spread across her still-concerned face. It didnt take long for the ridiculously powerful High Spirit topletely submit under his touch as, even though she did not require it, Yggy was gently snoring mere moments after he had embraced her... Seeing his daughter fall back into a peaceful slumber, Vahns smile slowly faded away before he turned his head towards the vast canopy above and, once again, began his rumination. In a way, he was started to empathize more with his Emperor-self from the Divination as, now that he had just small taste of the responsibility he had acquired, Vahn knew it couldnt have been easy to shoulder such burdens over the course of a decade. Fortunately, unlike his counterpart, he had never even tried to sever the ties between him and his extended family. No matter how difficult things got, Vahn knew he could always rely on his loved ones for a momentary reprieve. There was even a chance that, in the far future, he would be able to surrender the mantle of Emperor to another before living a truly peaceful life, surrounded by the smiling faces of everyone he shared mutual love and affection with... With that thought in mind, Vahn ced the sleeping figure of Yggy into a small nook on the inside of her trunk that served as a ce where others could rest. Though it was a bit surreal, cing a Tree Spirit to sleep inside of itself, Vahn didnt put too much thought into it before he slowly made his way towards the rendezvous point near Spero Vige. His main body would be staying behind, as there were now endless duties that would require his presence, while he would be using his avatar to subjugate the Dungeon in its entirety. He didnt know how long it would take but, depending on the circ.u.mstances, Vahn was prepared to forcibly break through to the 99th Floor. It would ultimately depend on how the One-Eyed ck Dragon behaved and whether or not the girls wanted to advance forward in a more genuine way. After all, the Dungeon seemed to have been designed with the purpose of helping people rapidly increase their strength, testing their willpower in the hopes of helping mortals rise to godhood. Vahn was tempted to test to the veracity of his hypothesis and, with girls like Jeanne and Terra at his side, there was a fair chance he would be able to see someone else reach Tier 4 before him. Though Terra was still a ways away from reaching that point, Vahn knew what kinds of enemies she would have to face in the deepest Floors of the Dungeon and there was a fair chance she would be able to make rapid progress in her currently stagnant power. With an entity like the One-Eyed ck Dragon constantly pressuring her, there was no way Terra would simply be content with her current strength, pacifist or no. As for those like Fenrir and Helen, Vahn didnt believe thetter would be able to move forward with her current mentality while Fenrir, even without reaching Tier 4, could very well conquer the entire Dungeon if she began to ravenously devour every enemy she encountered... As if in response to his thoughts, Vahn felt a presence enter into the area of his domain before, less than a millisecondter, Fenrir had appeared with her arms wrapped around his body from behind. She was currently in her fluffy state and, even though Vahn couldnt feel the fur through his clothes, her tight embrace felt particrly plush as a result of the densely packed midnight blue fur. Though he couldnt see her face from his current vantage, Vahn knew that Fenrir had probably been worrying about him but, for fear of disturbing his mental state, forced herself to stay away. Since she had crossed his mind, however, Fenrir took that as a sign that he had needed her, causing the faithful Vanargandr to immediately rush to his side. Vahn felt extremely gratified to have such a reliable subordinate at his side, even though their rtionship had long progressed beyond the simple rtionship between a Master and his Subordinate. He tapped the back of her paw to get her to release him from her embrace before turning around to face the scarlet-eyed Vanargandr as he smiled and said, "Lets go, Fenrir..." As he had extended his hand while speaking, Fenrir had quickly linked the digits of her paw between Vahns fingers, allowing her plush paw pads to press against the palm of his hand. This always brought an even bigger smile to Vahns face as he had long-since developed an appreciation for the squishy pink bumps of tender flesh. As a result, Vahn found himself naturally shifting into his pseudo-Vanargandr form as the two of them quietly walked toward their destination in no particr hurry. Fenrir was quiet nearly the entire trip, having decided it was best to simply enjoy the moment in silence, but that changed rather quickly when the sound of fluttering wings could be heard from the surroundings. Some of the Harpy-Xenos that had been patrolling the area had caught sight of Vahn and,pletelycking the ability to read the atmosphere, the three nearly n.a.k.e.d Xenos quickly swooped down to greet him. As a result of their flexibility and the need for a full range of motion during flight, they dressed much like members of the Amazoness race, wearing mere scraps of clothing to cover their increasingly humanoid features. They also had aplete disregard for personal space so, without dallying at all, Vahn found himself quickly surrounded by the three girls as they clung to his arms, each expecting a bit of pampering in return for their hard work in patrolling so early in the morning... After separating from the group of Harpies near the rendezvous point, Vahn gave a wry smile to the pouting Fenrir as thetter stared daggers towards the retreating Xenos. One of them had nearly fallen from the sky as a result of Fenrirs bloodl.u.s.t, causing the other two tough and snicker at theirpanion, even as they deftly caught her out of the air. It wasnt until Vahn plopped his hand down on Fenrirs head that the offending Xenos was able to recover, causing thetter to stare back confusedly before resuming her morning patrol duties. As for Fenrir, she had a small frown on her face as her expression be increasinglyplicated before she lightly muttered, "Dumb birds..." under her breath. Vahn pretended not to hear Fenrirs remark and simply smiled as he ruffled her hair and said, "Come now, the others are already waiting for us." Before Fenrir could respond, Vahn picked her up into a bridal carry and proceeded towards the three ratherrge auras that had congregated near the teleportation ward nearby. In response to the sudden benefit, Fenrir buried her head into Vahns chest and began to breathe rather audibly through her nose while tightly hugging his neck. This kind of intimacy was something Vahn had long grown immune to so he didnt pay it any mind as he greeted several respectful Xenos before finally arriving at the chamber where Terra was seated across from Jeanne and Helen, a hint of derision on her face that quickly morphed into a smile as she turned her attention to Vahn and said, "Good morning, Master~." Knowing that Terra had never been fond of Helen, Vahn chose not to pry into the matter as he gave a small nod before saying, "Good morning, Terra. Im surprised that Alexa didnt follow along with you." Though she would never be able to enter into the Dungeon without his consent, Vahn had expected Alexa to make anotherst-minute attempt to convince him to allow her to follow along. In response to this, Terra issued a peal of sonorousughter before exining, "She has actually been spending a lot of time within some of the prototype Space-Time orbs Ive been working on. Ever since that roar sent a ripple through the city, Alexaspetitiveness has been stirred up...fufufufu~." Though Alexa had never shown any signs of wanting to overthrow her mother, she simply couldnt allow a second True Dragon to be more powerful than her. Now that she knew that the One-Eyed ck Dragon was much stronger than she was, Alexa was determined to grow much stronger as a result. There were several reasons for this but the biggest was simply the result of a True Dragons pride as, without being able to recognize Vahn as her King, Alexa needed to shift her focus to pacify other aspects of her base instincts. With the exception of Terra, who she knew would never actually be a threat, Alexa would never allow another True Dragon to be more powerful than she was, at least for a long period of time... Imagining his daughter curled up with a Space-Time orb as she diligently studied magic with her mothers memory fragment, Vahn couldnt help but issue a small yet concerned smile. He knew he hadplicated Alexas life a great deal as a result of decisions he had made so, while he was d she was so focused on a new goal, part of him was worried she would deviate down a dangerous path if she continued to seek power at such an early age. Not only would it make the matter of her finding a mate more difficult, as she would likely need to look towards other records just to find someone her equal, but Vahn was worried that Alexas pride would only grow as her strength increased. Though she wasnt currently hostile towards Terra, it didnt seem like True Dragons had the same feelings of love and attachment that he had grown to expect from sentient races... Shaking his head to clear away such negative thoughts, Vahn turned his attention to Jeanne and Helen as he gave a polite nod and said, "Good morning, Jeanne, Helen. Have you finished your preparations...?" Vahn made a point of saying Helens namest, causing the silvery-haired maiden to squint her eyes slightly as a result while Jeanne gave a respectful bow and replied, "My Lord, with the equipment you have provided, we were able toplete our preparations without issue...!" Since Jeanne held such an important position, she not only had equipment that had been personally forged by Hephaestus but, if you were to look beyond the armored cor of her silver b.r.e.a.s.tte, you would find a pristine white choker that also served as an interspatial storage device. Vahn gave another small nod in response to Jeannes overly polite response before changing into his own Adventurer garb for the first time in what felt like ages. Though the equipment was now almost entirelyprised of A and S-Rank items, Vahns overall appearance hadnt changed much from the time he had proactively ventured into the Dungeon. He still had the habit of wearing shin guards over a pair of ck trousers while his forearms were covered inyered metallic gauntlets. As for his tunic, it was woven with severalyers of Cadmus hide, each having awork of mana-circuits interwoven into the dyed-ck fabric. The biggest change to his outfit, which was designed for ease of movement and unarmedbat, was the inclusion of several ornate essories while his waist was fitted with a very peculiar belt. This was one of Inas inventions and, though Vahn could easily store things within his Inventory, his brilliant daughter hade up with a method that would allow a small number of physical objects to be stored within an interspatial artifact that could be propelled outward with a simple thought. Vahn had promised to field-test the item in the past and, now that he would be venturing into the Dungeons deepest depths, it was a good opportunity to see just how powerful Inas creation could truly be... With his own preparationspleted, Vahn gave a cursory nce at everyone to inspect their own equipment before giving a firm and satisfied nod. Though Terra chose to simply wear the dress he had gifted her long ago, as she was of a simr mentality to Eva, everyone else was fitted with equipment that smaller Kingdoms might literally wage war to obtain. This was especially true for Jeanne and Fenrir as, with the exception of a few A-Rank essories, they were both wearing a full assortment of S-Rank equipment. For Fenrir, this meant she was wearing the [Aegis Mk. 7] set of equipment while Jeanne, being one of the only heavy knights Vahn had ever encountered was wearing full-body armor,plete with a helmet that she was currently holding under her arm. He found it somewhat ironic that someone that was practically indestructible would wear so much armor but, as Jeanne seemed morefortable when fully covered, he didnt make anyments about it... After looking over Fenrir and Jeanne, Vahns eyes nced over Helens figure for a short moment before he locked eyes with the stone-faced demigoddess. Their gazes matched only briefly, however, before Vahn lightly shook his head and walked over toward the key of the teleportation ward. Helen was attired in the same equipment that she had arrived with, having refused any offers to have other equipment produced for her. Though her long white gown was still an S-Rank magic robe, Vahn knew itcked the functionality that many of the equipment produced in the Manor possessed. After all, Hephaestus was literally the greatest cksmith in both Heaven and the Mortal World so it was simply foolish to refuse the offer for basically free equipment... As if she could read his mind, Jeanne gave her friend a wry smile before staring towards Vahns back and saying, "Dont worry about Helen, Vahn. Ill do my best to protect her..." In response to this, Vahn just gave a small and dismissive nod while Helen, reading too much into what her friend had said, gained a slightly distant look in her eyes. Her mind wandered to create scenes of Vahn and Jeanne meeting in secret,ing up with a n that had eluded her ears. Though she trusted Jeannepletely, Helen knew that her friend had changed a lot over the past few months that they had been staying within the Manor. As a result, though she didnt allow it to show on her face, Helen suddenly felt incredibly lonely, believing that her only friend may have betrayed her... Sensing the fluctuations in Jeannes aura, Vahn shook his head in mild exasperation as he finished powering the teleportation ward. Then, after a brilliant light red within the room, five of the most powerful people in the world had vanished from their previous locations. Later historical ounts would mark this event, which took ce without public knowledge, as the pivotal moment in which Vahns reign as Emperor truly began... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is a big baby,Fenrir is still the Goodest girl,Helens delusions might as well be an Innate at this point...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 990 - Collision

Chapter 990 - Collision

Though the purpose of this particr expedition was for Vahn to reach the lowest Floor of the Dungeon, he once again found himself in a situation where he was watching others battle instead of taking up the vanguard himself. Jeanne and Fenrir had both wanted to lead the way, the former saying she would protect everyone while thetter simply wanted to test the limits of her own power. As a result, Vahn stood with Terra and Helen nking him as Fenrir dashed about, tearing apart any monsters unfortunate enough to cross her path. Other than Ais and Mikoto, she was the fastest amongst the girls that resided within the Manor and, with her ws that could literally cut through just about anything, most monsters didnt even know how they died before they had turned into fine partictes of purple dust. While Fenrir was cutting loose without inhibitions, Jeannebat style was markedly different than the rather wild and chaotic movements of Vahns most loyal subordinate. Though her own speed was remarkable in its own right, Jeanne fought in a manner very reminiscent of Tina and Mn. She used her shield to easily deflect every attack that came her way, knocking monsters ten times her size off bnce before her sword deftly cut through each and every one of them. Even when facing against one of the colossal Adamantoise Turtles, a monster that easily weighed over 300,000kg, Jeanne simply stood her ground as the titanic ck creature smashed into her kite shield. Though the charge sent out arge shockwave, Jeanne wasnt even pushed back a single centimeter before shifting her weight to bisect the massive monsters head in a single decisive blow. With Fenrir and Jeanne taking the vanguard position, Vahn found himself holding onto his [Khryskatos] with a loose hold, enjoying the performance without dropping his guard. As for Terra, she had never been fond of fighting so she was perfectly content just absentmindedly looking around the area. She would periodically make smallments about the ongoing battles and, whenever they would stop to take a small rest, Vahn would find himself being wrapped up by her wings as Fenrir curled up in hisp to replenish her energy reserves. During moments like this, Helen would sit a short distance away from the group as Jeanne, ever the faithful knight, stood with her sword and shield at the ready. Throughout the entire seven-hour journey thus far, Helen hadnt uttered so much as a word as she mechanically followed along with the group... Vahn knew that Helen was waiting for him to ask, or perhaps outright tell, her what to do but, after dealing with her delusions for thest couple of months, Vahn had grown somewhat tired of her behavior. Though he wanted to help break her away from the fate she clung to like a life vessel, there was nothing he could do without outright showing her that she was wrong. Everything he said to her seemed to be misconstrued within her mind and, even when it felt like he had made some progress in breaking through her shell, follow-up visits would prove this was false. During the time when he wasnt around, Helen would twist his words to have apletely different meaning and, even though she would sometimes appear to be genuinely considering what he said, she would revert back to her default self the moment you looked away. Even their short stop at the peculiar statue holding a mirror, a ce Vahn was certain held some significance to Helen, didnt seem to catch her interest too much and, other than ncing into the face of the statue for a short period of time, Helen didnt even make a single inquiry for the mirror... Sensing her Masters wayward thoughts, Fenrir rolled over in Vahnsp so that she could look up into his face with a questioning look of her own. Vahn returned a small smile to her in response before lightly pinching her rather adorable nose as he said, "Well be heading into the 73rd Floor pretty soon so make sure you are properly prepared. I have no idea how the One-Eyed ck Dragon will react when we enter into her territory once again..." Though she hadnt taken any action after her previous outburst, Vahn knew there was no way the One-Eyed ck Dragon would simply let the mattery. Even if there had been a small chance she would have done so, assuming he hade by alone, matters would undoubtedly inte when she encountered Terra. Vahn fully expected the two to fight for dominance and, depending on the circ.u.mstances, he would immediately side with Terra to guarantee that no harm would befall her. Though he hadnt addressed his words towards her, Helen decided to use this as an opportunity to make her presence known, her elegant voice resounding through the corridor as she inly asked, "Will you kill it...?" As someone who had experienced the tremor caused by the One-Eyed ck Dragons outburst, Helen was aware of the danger posed by a creature that possessed such arge degree of power. She was curious to know if, now that the One-Eyed ck Dragon had be an inconvenience to Vahn, whether or not he would simply remove it from the equation entirely. Being fully aware of how Helens thought process seemed to work, Vahn released a small sigh through his nose before responding, "The One-Eyed ck Dragon within the Dungeon is simply the avatar it uses to maintain a connection with the Dungeon. Killing it would either result in it sending a second avatar or, in the worst-case scenario, bringing its main body back to the Continent. Though I could probably stop its rampage, Id rather not deal with a colossal True Dragon that has nearly reached godhood unless it bes absolutely necessary..." Since he shared the me for the recent deaths caused by the One-Eyed ck Dragon, Vahn knew it would be an extremely selfish decision to y her in response. Ultimately, however, it would be up to the One-Eyed ck Dragon herself whether or not their battle would escte to the point where she would have to be put down. Vahn knew that the One-Eyed ck Dragon, while possessing an extremely pure Darkness Elemental Affinity, wasnt actually an evil tyrant that simply ughtered everything in its path. Most of her actions were in response to external stimuli and, though she was undoubtedly a very dangerous existence, Vahn couldnt outright use the existence of something as justification for whether or not it should be allowed to live. This was especially the case as, if she had been left alone, the odds of the One-Eyed ck Dragon going out of her way to kill lesser creatures was close to zero percent. Her biggest fault was that she simply didnt care about any existence that she deemed inconsequential to her own, a trait that was loosely shared by almost every True Dragon... In response to Vahns words, Helen just stared into his eyes for a few seconds before turning her head away with a thoughtful glint in her eyes. Vahn couldnt help but wonder how her mind would twist what he said to suit her own perspective as he lightly shook his head while stroking Fenrirs. In a way, Helen was infinitely more troublesome than the One-Eyed ck Dragon but, much like thetter, Vahn knew he could have avoided the trouble entirely if he chose to. The simple truth of the matter, however, was that he had a weakness for people that seemed broken in a way as, even though their situation was entirely different, Vahn was reminded of his past self when looking at them... Deciding it was time to face the consequences of his slight against the One-Eyed ck Dragon, Vahn ran his thumbs along the inside of Fenrirs ears, causing her body to tremble lightly, before he released a small sigh and said, "Okay, its time to go..." He then helped Fenrir rise to her feet while Terra removed her wing from around his shoulders and gently levitated back to her own. She had been closely observing the interactions between Helen and Vahn with slightly squinted eyes but, now that she knew they would be facing the One-Eyed ck Dragon, Terras expression had be uncharacteristically serious as she flicked her tail and said, "Master, please allow me to teach that little brat a proper lesson..." Sensing the peculiar bloodl.u.s.t contained within Terras words, Vahn raised his brow lightly in response before giving a small nod. He knew that, just as the One-Eyed ck Dragon would be unable to tolerate Terras presence, thetter felt much the same way. Until one of them had established dominance over the other, it would be impossible for two powerful True Dragons to coexist together. Since Terra should, theoretically, even be able to fend off the One-Eyed ck Dragons main body, Vahn knew she would undoubtedlye out on top in theing fight. The real question was whether or not the One-Eyed ck Dragon would ept her loss or, unable to ept losing with her avatar, bring her main body to contend against Terra. If she chose thetter course of action, Vahn knew he would need to intercept and, more than likely, strike her down permanently... Without dying any further, the group quickly made their way down the long spiraling staircase that connected the 72nd and 73rd Floors. At these depths, there was nearly a full kilometers distance that needed to be descended before you would finally reach the next Floor, not that it took the group very long. The only thing that slowed them down was the fact that, each sessive step caused an even greater pressure to descend upon everyone present, causing Vahns expression to turn slightly mncholic before a face of determination masked his hesitation. It was obvious that the One-Eyed ck Dragon was still angry with him and, now that they had entered into her territory, it was only a matter of time before things escted to violence. Almost immediately as that thought crossed his mind, Vahn could sense the pressure in the air increase exponentially as the intent contained within seemed to consolidate around Terra. In response to this, Terra red out her wings with a cold expression on her face as a powerful and domineering aura radiated out to contend against the tyrannical pressure emitted by the One-Eyed ck Dragon. As if a bomb had been set off, a loud rupture emerged within the surrounding void that sent a massive shockwave away from Terras location, forcing back even Vahn with the residual energy. Terra never really let all of her energy bear down on others, as she was simply too powerful to go all-out against even girls like Fenrir, so this was Vahns first time feeling just how strong she had be... With Jeanne protecting Helen, Vahn and Fenrir created footholds in the air while Space around Terra continued to fluctuate and fracture in response to the two powerful auras. Terras horns had grown slightly longer while the runic patterns on her arms and legs were glimmering with an emerald green light. Her nails had extended to form ws as her tail, instead of snaking low to the ground, protruded outwards to maintain her bnce as she leaned forward slightly with both wings extended. It was a version of Terra that Vahn had never seen before as, instead of a teasing and intelligent light contained within her captivating blue eyes, Terras pupils had turned into long slits as a cold light reflected across them. From within one of the cracks created in the very fabric of Space, a small ck w tore through the void as it veered towards a location nestled between Terras b.r.e.a.s.ts. Vahn knew this was where her reverse scale was located so he couldnt help but take in a sharp breath since he knew how vicious such an attack was for a True Dragon. Terra was also very aware of this and, even though the One-Eyed ck Dragons speed had slightly startled her, she simply snorted through her nose before curling in her wing to defend against the strike. Though this would have been a terrible idea under most circ.u.mstances, as any entity capable of manipting Time and Space generally couldnt be blocked, Terra didnt have to worry about such insignificant details as ayer of dense magical energy covered her wing. The One-Eyed ck Dragon was slightly surprised by the fact that the whelp before it was able to defend against its attack but, before it was able to make sense of the energy Terra had made use of, thetter red her wing to push the One-Eyed ck Dragon back before extending her palms outward. The runes on Terras arms began to glow with increasing intensity as a grey mist gathered around her ws before erupting outwards to form a pir of light. Even though it was the first time the One-Eyed ck Dragon had seen such an attack, her instincts told her she needed to evade the attack at all costs. As a result, the One-Eyed ck Dragon literally pulled the fabric of Space to cover her body as the near-lightspeed attack mmed into the nebulous membrane that was tearing apart the surroundings with increasing intensity... With her attack being scattered around indiscriminately, causingrge swaths of the Dungeon to immediately turn to ashen grey stone, Terra released another snort before bringing her palms together in a prayer gesture. The One-Eyed ck Dragon, believing this was a chance to counterattack, ignored the tingling feeling in the areas that had been hit by Terras magic as she condensed her own magical energy to form electricity simr to Vahns in his Qinglong form. Everywhere the bands of energy passed, Space in that area would be violently distorted, indicating that the lightning was formed, not of electrical current, but the amalgamation of pure Space Elemental energy. Knowing the danger that Terra possed, the One-Eyed ck Dragon didnt hesitate at all to release the condensed bolts of Space energy, ignoring the fact that Vahns cold eyes had locked onto her every action. Fortunately, Terra wasnt so easily caught off guard a second time so, as the phenomenal energy tore towards her, severalyers of magical barriers instantly emerged to protect her body. Since she had known of the One-Eyed ck Dragons affinities before the fight had begun, Terra had created a magical form that allowed her to deflect Space elemental energy instead of simply trying to defend against it. As a result, the lightning bounded off of the barriers before tearing through the Dungeon as if the super-dense bedrock was nothing more than an illusion. Terra had formed multiple barriers, just in case, but, seeing that the One-Eyed ck Dragon had only destroyed two, a mocking look stered itself upon her face as she intoned, "Ara, Ara, Ara~?" Hearing Terras Activation Key, Vahns previously serious expression broke as his left brow began to twitch in response to the rather casual utterance from Terras lips. Fortunately, she quickly followed up by adorning a serious expression as she loudly chanted, "Gaze into Eternity! See the passage of History before thine Eyes! Let Nature reim all things within its Motherly embrace! Pir of Eternity, Gaias Grace, Heavens Pir~!" Following Terras chant, the Space around the One-Eyed ck Dragon gained a misty white hue as thetter gared menacingly at Terra and eximed, "You want to contend against me in dominion over Space and Time, you whelp!?" Though she didnt understand what Terras magic was supposed to do, the One-Eyed ck Dragon could sense the familiar energy contained within and couldnt help but feel indignant as a result of her fellow True Dragons audacity. When she was about to tear through the surrounding Space to attack, however, the One-Eyed ck Dragon received a surprise that overshadowed anything she had ever experienced in her long life. As she brought her ws up to rip apart the fabric of Space, she noticed that her previously glossy ck scales had be a muted grey color that began to ke at the edges. Her eyes widened to formplete circles as, even though her instincts werent alerting her to any danger, the One-Eyed ck Dragon was certain being trapped within the peculiar white space was extremely dangerous. From the perspective of everyone outside of Terras barrier, they saw the One-Eyed ck Dragon turn into an untraceable blur before she shot out of the barrier with impossible speed. Even the One-Eyed ck Dragon seemed to have been caught off guard by her own momentum, causing her to smash into the Dungeons walls, resulting in a massive shockwave that causedrge sections of the surrounding ceiling to copse inward. In response to this, Terra raised her hand, sending a pulse of green energy into the surroundings that caused massive trees to begin sprouting from every exposed surface, stopping the copse and filling the previously barren area with greenery. The once dark Dungeon was now filled with an abundance of ntlife as Terra released a tired sigh and turned her attention back to the gaping hole that had been created by the One-Eyed ck Dragons charge. As for why her speed had been elevated to such an extreme, it was due to the fact that the barrier Terra had created was elerating the flow of time around the One-Eyed ck Dragons body, specifically targetting her limbs and wings. Though everyone, Terra included, had expected the One-Eyed ck Dragon to immediately return to the fight, it wasnt until nearly a full minuteter that therge pile of rubble began to stir. Some of the stones weighed thousands of kilograms but, as if their weight waspletely negligible, they were moved aside like pebbles by the small figure that crawled its way out of the pile of debris. Upon seeing the figure in its full glory, Vahn could hear Jeanne take in a sharp breath while his own mind was having trouble processing what he was witnessing. Though the One-Eyed ck Dragons basic features were exactly the same, proof that the transformation of a True Dragon was dependent on how they wanted to be seen, her scales were now a muted grey in color, covered in small cracks, while her left arm was nowpletely missing... With her one good eye, the One-Eyed ck Dragon red back at Terra as if she had met her most hated enemy as she icily stated, "That pup was right...I have been in this isted ce for far too long. It seems that, in my absence, other True Dragons have been able to rise to prominence..." Holding up the stub of her left arm, the One-Eyed ck Dragon stared at the fragmented pieces of her own scales as a peculiar energy began to form around the area, causing Terras eyes to widen this time as she quickly began to chant, "Basilisk, Lizard with Eight Legs and Evil Eyes-" She only managed to finish part of her chant, however, by the time the One-Eyed ck Dragon hadpletely disappeared from sight before reappearing in the void next to Terras left side. There was a vicious look in her eye as, almost as if time had reversed, the One-Eyed ck Dragons arm began growing back with an exceptional speed as it tore through the air, seemingly intent to cut off Terras in retribution... Terra was, by no means, fast. Though her reaction time allowed her to keep up with the movements of even the fastest girls within the Manor, she relied on her powerful defensive abilities to deal with attacks, not her ability to respond to the. This attack by the One-Eyed ck Dragon waspletely outside of her perception and, even though her defensive magic was still in effect, it was powerless against the peculiar energy that had formed around the vicious ck Dragons w as it tore towards her extended left arm. Just as it was about to cleave through Terras tender flesh, however, an oppressive force descended upon the One-Eyed ck Dragon, dwarfing the momentous force that had been created when she had previously shed auras against Terra. It was almost likeparing a single raindrop to a small basin of water, an analogy that didnt seem to match the situation but, when taking into consideration the oue, was remarkably close to the truth... Unable toplete her attack, the One-Eyed ck Dragon was pressed into the Dungeons Floor and, as if she was nothing more than a nail in the hands of a Master Artisan, she found herself nted into the durable bedrock as she was continuously forced downward by the irresistible pressure. It wasnt until she had beenunched into the confine of the 74th Floor that the pressure subsided a little, allowing the One-Eyed ck Dragons body to smash into the ground as she began to tremble slightly in response to the phenomenal power that she had just been subjected to. Though she wasnt injured in the slightest, her body felt as if it was filled with liquid metal that was burning her insides as she looked up into the sky to see Vahn, tearing through the void with his own azure ws, looking down on her... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Jeanne OP,Terra Vs. One-Eyed ck Dragon,The Emperor Descends...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 991 - Frustration

Chapter 991 - Frustration

Vahn had underestimated the battle prowess of the One-Eyed ck Dragon and, even though Terra should have had a distinct advantage, the fact she was fighting outside of her dominion meant her power was significantly reduced. Instead of drawing from an almost unlimited source of mana, with the support of Yggy, Terra waspletely dependent on her own reserves to contend against an entity who had far more powerful Innates. Though their battle experience shouldnt have been that different, as Terras training with Eva should have more than prepared her for a battle of this magnitude, it was a simple truth that Terra spent most of her days in peaceful observation, proactively avoiding battle... The moment Terras spell had hit the One-Eyed ck Dragon, Vahn had been quite surprised since there was a very real chance the fight could have ended then and there. Since the One-Eyed ck Dragon had been caught off guard, he watched as the l.u.s.ter from her scales quickly faded away but, just as he was about to stop Terra from taking things too far, the former was able to escape with her magnified speed. After that, Vahn could sense the tension in the air begin to build rapidly as, with his [Eyes of Truth], the surrounding mana was rapidly drained from the Dungeons mana circuits. When the One-Eyed ck Dragon crawled out of the rubble, he could see a peculiar grey aura mingling with her other energies, causing rm bells to sound within his mind since it was undoubtedly Time itself coiling around her body... Just as Vahn had started to analyze the peculiar nature of the Time Elemental energy, the One-Eyed ck Dragon had moved so quickly that he wasnt even able to perceive the transition in his base state. Fortunately, it seemed her movement was closer in nature to a [Shundo], meaning she wasnt able to executeplex movements during the motion itself. In order to attack Terra, she needed to stop and perform the attack, allowing Vahn to react quickly as his own perception of time was distorted to the point that everything around him, the One-Eyed ck Dragon included, seemed to stop in its tracks. In that same instant, Vahn willed himself to change into his Qinglong form as the full force of his empowered domain was brought down upon the One-Eyed ck Dragon like a hammer, smashing her through more than a kilometer of reinforced bedrock in an instant... With his own rage beginning to boil over, Vahn tore through the void with his ws as his body emerged from the spatial fabric above the One-Eyed ck Dragons impact point. She hadnt been injured by his domain but, as Vahn bore it down on her once again, it was obvious that the difference between their respective strengths was an order of magnitude beyond both their expectations. Vahn knew he needed to test the limits of his new powers and, finding the One-Eyed ck Dragon practically offering herself up on a silver tter, his draconic eyes shed with a cold light as he stated, "I do not wish to kill you...though you have caused harm to others, my people included, I understand you are not wholly to me for your actions. However, even if I cant ce the me squarely on your shoulders, that does not mean I will stand at the side and allow you to act as you please. If you intend to harm those close to me...I will destroy you..." To punctuate his words, Vahn gripped the w of his right hand tightly, causing the azure lightning dancing across his scales to increase in size as they tore through the surrounding void. While this was going on, he held eye contact with the stationary One-Eyed ck Dragon who, after being repressed by his domain, simply stared back at him with her one good eye. Herck of response was beginning to annoy him but, before he could act on the bubbling emotions, Vahn nearly fell from the sky when the One-Eyed ck Dragon just plopped to the ground and snorted with her arms closed. She twined her long tail around her waist, bringing it to rest in herp, as she began to systematically remove some of the greying scales that werent regaining their l.u.s.ter. After collecting himself, Vahn furrowed his brow as he asked, "What are you doing...?" in a rumbling voice that caused the surrounding void to tremble. In response to this, the One-Eyed ck Dragon raised her head up in a somewhat mocking manner as sheined, "That whelp isnt bad. If she trains seriously, she might even be able to threaten me in the future. Just look at this, even now some of her energy is lingering in my body like a maggot gnawing at a bone. So troublesome...!" Though she was able to remove the majority of Terras magical power from her body, there were traces of Source Energy contained within that, no matter how hard the One-Eyed ck Dragon tried, continued to persistently try and fulfill their purpose. Vahns mind was abuzz with conflicting emotions as, though he understood the One-Eyed ck Dragons answer, it didnt exin why she would suddenly sit down and start pruning herself when he was very obviously angry at her. Though she was being suppressed by his domain, something that couldnt have beenfortable, she just tolerated the pressure with a slight grimace as she seemingly ignored the lingering threat he posed. Realizing what must be going through her mind, Vahn inhaled through his nose before asking, "Do you think I will not-" Before he could finish his question, the One-Eyed ck Dragon looked up at him once again with a questioning gaze. Silence persisted for what felt like several seconds before she simply snorted through her nose and said, "Youre a weird one, pup..." in an admonishing tone. Hearing the One-Eyed ck Dragons words, Vahn didnt know what to say as anything that came to mind would make him sound like a child that wasshing out. He had wanted to use the One-Eyed ck Dragons avatar to test the limits of his power but, as she had likely sensed his intent, it didnt seem as if she was willing to y along. Though Vahn had been full of rage when she had tried to cut off Terras arm, he would have sounded like an indignant despot if he faulted her for wanting revenge after Terra had caused her own to break apart. Since Vahn had the bad habit of trying to understand everyone, his enemies included, his rage had quickly subsided when he knew the situation was under his control. Now that the One-Eyed ck Dragon showed no intention to fight back, Vahn felt like he had unfurled his sails with great vigor, only for the seas to profer forth absolutely no winds in response... Just as his confusion reached a dangerous level, causing Vahn to feel incredibly anxious,rge cracks began to emerge in a 90m tall wall nearby. The One-Eyed ck Dragon only spared the location a momentary nce before giving Vahn another questioning look that asked, What are you going to do?. Since he needed something to release his stored power against, the lightning around Vahns body began to dance madly as a very familiar visage appeared from within a vortex of rainbow-hued light. With how much damage the Dungeon had sustained, Vahn wasnt really surprised by the fact that a Juggernaut would be spawned to clean out the area. The moment he saw the familiar creature, however, Vahns rage seemed to boil over in an instant as he extended his palm forward and loudly intoned, "Heavens Fall...!" Recognizing Vahn, the Juggernaut had immediately entered into an enraged state but, just as it was preparing to liberate itself from the confines of the wall, an irresistible force collided against it. Its body, which was supposed to bepletely immune to magic, began to ke away like grains of sand that were being propelled by the wind. It didnt even have time to release its characteristic earth-shattering roar as darkness imed its vision, leaving the Juggernaut to wonder what exactly happened as its consciousness slowly faded away into nothingness. The only thing marking its existence was the sixty-meter wide hole that had cut through more than three kilometers of the Dungeons walls... Breathing heavily from the exertion, Vahn withdrew his hand and allowed his Qinglong form to naturally dissipate as he lowered himself to the ground. He had used far more than the necessary amount of energy required to dispatch the Juggernaut but, remembering hisst encounter with the beast, Vahn didnt take any chances. Seeing the devastation his attack had caused, Vahn knew that his power had indeed reached a point beyond his expectations as even the One-Eyed ck Dragon had a slightly shocked expression after witnessing the almost instant destruction wrought by the attack. She knew her own resilience better than most and, seeing the Juggernaut literally break apart into dust wasnt something that could be ignored. Realizing that Vahn may very well have used that attack against her, the One-Eyed ck Dragon felt its skin tingle with beads of cold sweat as she gazed toward Vahn out of the corner of her eye. Though she didnt believe he would be able to defeat her main body, as she simply couldnt ept such a thing, there was nothing she would be able to do against him in her current state. At the same time, the heat in her body had reached a dangerous point and, knowing she couldnt im Vahn for herself, the One-Eyed ck Dragon felt both anxious and frustrated as her mind raced with potential solutions. There was already an agonizingly painful pressure beginning to build within her body and, even though she had never produced an egg before, her instincts made her fully aware of the process her body was undergoing... After waiting for more than a minute, Vahn realized that the One-Eyed ck Dragon wasnt going to try and take advantage of his momentary weakness so, after releasing a small sigh, he downed the [Turbo Ether] in his hand,pletely replenishing his reserves. Looking back, he saw the One-Eyed ck Dragon still plucking away a few scales here and there before her natural regeneration quickly produced a new one in response. The only thing that hadnt healed was her left arm as, even with the dense mist-like energy around it, it was regrowing at a very slow rate. Based on what he could discern, it would take at least two days for the limb to fully regenerate, meaning the One-Eyed ck Dragon was considerably weakened in her current state... As if she could read his mind, the One-Eyed ck Dragon nced over at Vahn with her singr pupil glimmering as she stated, "If you n to do something, get on with it. This one wont even resist..." Though she was quickly learning a great deal about Vahn, including the fact that he didnt seem to know how to deal with her, the One-Eyed ck Dragon couldnt help but try and rile him up. She was hoping that, if he could be incensed enough, Vahns instincts would force him to try and dominate her. Though the idea of being submissive wasnt something she had ever even considered in the past, the One-Eyed ck Dragon had already determined that Vahn was her only suitable mate. Since he had been the only one to activate her own instincts in such a manner, she didnt mind ying the part if it meant she could fulfill her biological need... Understanding the intent behind the One-Eyed ck Dragons words, Vahn simply shook his head before whisking out a ck dress and tossing it at her. As if to prove that she was willing to let him do whatever he wanted, the One-Eyed ck Dragon didnt even make an attempt to grab the dress out of the air, allowing it to, instead, hit her square in the face without even flinching. When the fabric fell into herp, she picked it up with a curious expression on her face until Vahn exined, "If youre going to stay in a humanoid form, you need to wear clothing. Even children know better than to run around n.a.k.e.d..." Feeling as though he had lost something as a result of his interactions with the One-Eyed ck Dragon, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head in admonishment of his own actions. At the same time, however, Vahn was thinking about taking Fafnir and Khaos into a Space-Time orb in order to help them increase their power... Though she didnt see the point in wearing clothing, the One-Eyed ck Dragon still pulled the dress over her head since her own admission of not resisting whatever Vahn wanted was still fresh in her ears. Once she had, rather sloppily, managed to get the dress on her body, the One-Eyed ck Dragon realized the fabric was both soft yet highly durable as, instead of ripping against her ws, small white cuts were left instead. Upon closer inspection, she could see that even those small cuts were rapidly mending themselves at a visible rate. As for Vahn, he had watched her struggle to wear the dress with her one arm and, barely resisting the urge to help, managed to restrain himself as he exined, "My purpose here is to conquer the Dungeon, not to y around with you. If you swear to behave, I will allow you to apany me-" Before Vahn was able to finish, the One-Eyed ck Dragon had already started to shake her head as she inly stated, "It is impossible to conquer this ce. Besides, even if I wanted to follow you, I cant go beyond the 80th Floor. This ce has restrictions on the creatures born within, especially its Guardians. If I try to leave, the density of the mana wouldnt be able to sustain my form without causing me extreme pain. Going deeper would be even worse as, without adapting to the change in mana density, even creatures as powerful as I am would lose their minds..." Hearing the One-Eyed ck Dragon confidently state she was incapable of going deeper into the Dungeon had caught Vahn by surprise. He never expected such a prideful entity to openly admit that she was incapable of something but, considering she had spent nearly a thousand years just to reach the 73rd Floor, he quickly recovered and began to analyze the rest of the information she had revealed. Though her existence as a Guardian was known to him, the fact that the mentality of monsters was influenced by the mana density was new, even if it should have been apparent from the start. Several of the texts he had collected from Eins research into Enyos abilities were directly rted to controlling monsters using specific types of mana, after all... Seeing Vahn fall into a silent and contemtive state, the One-Eyed ck Dragon thought he was trying to think of a method to bring her along and, not wanting to be left behind, she too began thinking of possible solutions. Unfortunately, other than reverting back to her core state, nothing came to mind so she instead turned her attention back to the ck dress Vahn had given her, finding it increasingly charming as time passed. It wasnt until she caught Vahn shaking his head out of the corner of her eye that she began to pay attention to her surroundings again, asking, "Did you think of something...?" Having decided that it was a waste of time to think about such things in the present, Vahn made a few notes and put the matter to the back of his mind for the time being. If he were being honest, it was actually better for everyone if the One-Eyed ck Dragon wasnt able to follow along with them as she would undoubtedly cause problems along the way. Quite arge part of him actually wanted to set aside the matter of the One-Eyed ck Dragon indefinitely, pretending she didnt even exist. Thus, when Vahn saw the strangely hopeful expression in her eye, he was momentarily confused before absentmindedly responding, "I cante up with anything right now. Since Im in a hurry, Ill be going ahead with the others before looking into the matter when I return..." Though she wasnt surprised that Vahn couldnte up with a way to help her out, hearing him say he would continue into the depths of the Dungeon annoyed the One-Eyed ck Dragon a great deal. She had just told him it was impossible and, though she didnt doubt he had a few tricks up his sleeves, knowing he was ignoring her advice caused her to scowl as she reminded, "It is impossible for you to conquer the Dungeon. You shouldnt waste your life trying to do something that serves no purpose. Besides, that whelp and those brats would end up dying as well if you end up taking them along. You should stay here with me and train instead of throwing your life away over something pointless...!" Hearing the One-Eyed ck Dragons words, Vahn simply shook his head in response before saying, "I will conquer the Dungeon, regardless of whether or not you have determined it to be impossible. There are many things in this world you havent even made an effort to understand so dont preach to me about what is and isnt possible. Did you ever stop to consider that it is because of yourck of insight that youve been unable to break through for all of these years...?" Though he knew it was a dangerous topic to reveal that he knew about her main body, Vahn felt that it was necessary in order to avoid the One-Eyed ck Dragon getting in his way in the future. Without even considering that he was talking about her main body, the One-Eyed ck Dragon snorted through her nose while internally rebuking Vahn for his ownck of insight. At the same time, deciding it was a wasted effort in trying to convince him to stay back, she reached her remaining arm into the void before pulling out a pristine white sword that radiated a mystical light. Vahn had immediately be alert when she pulled out the sword but, instead of showing any hostility at all, the One-Eyed ck Dragon clenched her teeth tightly before holding it out as she said, "Take this with you. This is the same sword that managed to wound my eye. I dont know what it is made of but there shouldnt be anything it cant cut through. If you do manage to conquer the Dungeon..." Realizing what she was about to say, the One-Eyed ck Dragon allowed her words to trail as, no matter how strong Vahn was, he would still be unable to conquer the Dungeon. He would eventually reach a point where, even if he could continue forward, his otherpanions would be a liability. Two of hispanions were entities that should have originated from the Dungeon, meaning they would inevitably be obstacles, while the other two females didnt seem particrly special from her perspective. As the mana density continued to increase, not only would they find far more powerful monsters, but their own minds would be influenced by the pervasive energies. Eventually, they would reach a point where they would be forced to turn back or, far more likely, they would all lose their lives in the attempt... (A/N: Alternate Titles: This feels like a Joker vs. Batman situation...,RIP Juggernaut-chan,So many people telling Vahn what he can and cant do...#ThePathHasNoLimits) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 992 - Idle

Chapter 992 - Idle

While Vahn and the One-Eyed ck Dragon were idling around in the 74th Floor, the rest of his party had quickly passed through the 73rd and were well on their way to reaching his location. Though it would have been possible to pass through the hole Vahn had created with the One-Eyed ck Dragons body, they didnt know how things would progress and, considering that Vahn might fight all out, it had been much safer to move to another area of the Dungeon first. When they finally arrived, however, Jeanne released an exasperated sigh upon witnessing Vahn and the One-Eyed ck Dragon just talking casually while Terra and Fenrir both red towards their collective enemy. The One-Eyed ck Dragon had already noticed their presence, long before they actually reached the chamber, but she turned her head to match the gazes of the two girls upon realizing they were showing hostility towards her. Before the One-Eyed ck Dragon was able to say or do anything, Vahns domain had already spread throughout the chamber as he inly stated, "No more fighting. We have more important things to do than waste time on pointless conflict. The next time you want to battle against one of mypanions, Ill be at their side without hesitation..." Though Terra still had a fair chance at winning against the One-Eyed ck Dragon, Vahn knew she wasnt even at half of her full power while outside of her domain. The One-Eyed ck Dragon was also restrained by the fact that she was a far more inefficient avatar than the one he had produced, but that wasnt of particr concern to Vahn. He knew he was biased towards the people he cared about and, seeing the One-Eyed ck Dragon nearly cut off Terras arm had done away with any patience he had toward allowing them to settle things. Terra, hearing her Masters words, gave the One-Eyed ck Dragon onest nce before turning her head away and adopting a disinterested expression on her face. At the same time, however, she made her way to Vahns side before casually nuzzling against him in a disy that was obviously intended to mock the One-Eyed ck Dragon. Thetter deeply furrowed her brows but, having already passed over her hated treasure to Vahn, she no longer felt like squabbling with Terra. Instead, she spent a few moments looking between Vahns variouspanions before she had seemingly determined something. With everyones attention focused on the One-Eyed ck Dragon, they couldnt help wondering what she was up to until, aftering to her conclusion, the One-Eyed ck Dragon became shrouded in a magical light that illuminated the low-light of the 74th Floor. Recognizing the structure of the light, Vahn felt a strong urge to sigh but withheld it as he threw the sword he had received into his inventory. He already had some expectations about its origin but, seeing the name and description contained within the artifact-grade piece of equipment still came as a great shock to him. The fact that the One-Eyed ck Dragon had given him such a powerful piece of equipment had annoyed him, as it showed she had absolute confidence he wouldnt kill her, but seeing the stats pacified this frustration almostpletely. After all, he was about to conquer the Dungeon and, much like the One-Eyed ck Dragon had alluded to, there were quite a few powerful enemies that would bar his passage. Though his current power had reached limits he had yet to trulyprehend, it was never a bad thing to have a powerful and reliable weapon at his side... -------------------------------------------------------------------- [Sword of Evils Bane] Rank: SS (Artifact) P.Atk: 2000(+200) M.Atk: 3100 Abilities: Sword of Evils Bane(-), Indestructible(SS), Impable Edge(S), Magical Amplification{S), Last Breath(A) A sword bestowed upon a chosen Hero by a Primordial God who rules over the sky. Grants the weilder the ability to strike down all malevolent creatures that originated from the Dungeon, Tartarus. So long as the weilder is pure of heart, this sword grants them the ability to withstand otherwise lethal blows and, for a brief moment, greatly increase their potential. It is also rumored that any wound dealt by this weapon will never fully heal, regardless of the passage of time. Restrictions: Albert Waldstein -------------------------------------------------------------------- Upon reading the full details of the de he had just thrown into his Inventory, Vahns mood became somewhat conflicted as he realized he may not actually be able to use the sword, at least to its full potential. The moment this thought crossed his mind, however, Sis cleared up any doubt by stating, (*Unless it is Soulbound, you can theoretically use any kind of equipment, regardless of restriction and requirement. You have no inherent gic structure and, regardless of the craftsmanship of the sword, it has no way of disproving you are not Albert Waldstein. If it were sapient, there could be some issues, but it is currently nothing more than an inert sword that is restricted by the Tier of the record.*) Hearing Sis words, Vahn allowed a small smile to emerge on his face but it didntst long as the magical light surrounding the One-Eyed ck Dragon had just dissipated. Though her height hadnt changed that much, her ck hair now had a glossy sheen to it while the rest of her body had be somewhat streamlined. Instead of the rather in appearance she had possessed previously, it was obvious that the One-Eyed ck Dragon had put a great deal of care into her new appearance as her features had improved greatly. Vahn, however, didnt waste time gawking as he exhaled an imaginary sigh before saying, "We should be going now. Ill make sure to pay a visit in the future so dont cause any trouble while Im away..." Seeing Vahn give her new appearance a casual and dismissive nce, the One-Eyed ck Dragon felt moderately annoyed but, considering she didnt really understand the aesthetic of the surface races, she decided not to mind it too much. Instead, without minding the presence of Terra at Vahns side, she made her way over to Vahn before staring up into his face and saying, "You arent allowed to die without my permission. If you end up losing your life in the Dungeon, I will eventually seek you out in Heaven before dragging you back..." Being an entity that was infinitely close to bing a god herself, the One-Eyed ck Dragon reasoned that the loss of her mate might just be enough of a stimulus to allow her to breakthrough. If that was the case, even if it took several thousand years, she would guide Vahns soul back into the mortal world before raising him under her own protection and guidance... Though he was tempted to remark that he would never die, Vahn was more than a little tired of dealing with the One-Eyed ck Dragon so he simply shook his head and said, "You dont need to worry about me. As I said before, your understanding of the world is extremely limited...as long as you are stuck in the mentality that you are the only thing that matters in the world, you will never be able to reach the heights you aspire towards." Even knowing his words werent entirely true, Vahn felt that they werent wrong either. Though it was certainly possible to be the strongest by abandoning everything else, he couldnt see the purpose of pursuing strength if you didnt have anything you cared about. You would only be a progressively lonelier existence and, with the passage of time, the odds of you being surpassed became increasingly higher as your own disinterest in the world caused you to stagnate and regress. Hearing Vahns words, the One-Eyed ck Dragon scrunched up her nose in dissatisfaction but, instead of arguing, flicked her tail backward to create a tear in the fabric of Space. The chaotic forces within pulled her back and, as she hadnt made any effort to resist, it was only a singr moment before the One-Eyed ck Dragons presence had faded away. Vahn was slightly taken aback by the sudden departure but, as there were far more important matters to attend, he turned to the others only to pause when Terra sneakily sn.a.k.e.d her hand under his tunic. She had been using her wing to conceal the act while her facial expression had one of the most perfect examples of a poker face that Vahn had ever seen. Now that the One-Eyed ck Dragon had departed, Vahn was made very aware of the current state of Terras body and, remembering the fact that he had transformed into his Qinglong form previously, his scalp began to tingle as her rather smooth and cool palm traced his abdomen. Turning his head, Vahn saw the hunger contained within Terras eyes and, knowing what she wanted, Vahn couldnt help but release a sigh that immediately caused Terra to quickly remove her hand and behave. Knowing she had misunderstood his response, Vahn prevented Terra from stepping away from him as he pulled her into his embrace and kissed her forehead. To ay her confusion, he smiled gently and whispered, "I was worried about you...try not to do anything so reckless in the future, okay...? Terras body already felt like it was melting from the inside so, hearing her Masters words,bined with his warm embrace, quickly sent her over the edge. She was doing her best to control herself but it was simply impossible to remove the image of his Qinglong form from her memory. The momentary instant during which he had appeared to protect her was ruthlessly carved into the most sensitive and tender part of her heart and it was almost painful to resist the temptation to push him down, others be damned. Since Vahn was aware of this as well, he traced his fingers through her emerald green hair before whispering, "Return to the Manor. I can call you back to my side at a moments notice so you dont have to worry about our safety..." As if she had just heard a set of magical words, Terras wings flickered excitedly before, momentster, she vanished so quickly that it was almost as if she had never existed in the first ce. Vahn had called her to his side with Unit Management so the transfer had been instantaneous as, from the perspective of The Path, Space, Time, and distance, were entirely inconsequential. It didnt matter if he were a billion lightyears away from his other half and, regardless of what obstacles were in his way, transferring his allies with Unit Management didnt seem to have a limit outside of the marginal Source Energy cost. It was one of the simplest but, irrefutably, most powerful functions that he could currently make use of with The Paths grace... While tending to Terras instincts back at the Manor, Vahn turned his attention to the other girls present, only to find Jeannes face fully flushed while Fenrir had a small pout visible on her otherwise expressionless face. As for Helen, she showed absolutely no physical reaction at all and, if not for the fact her aura had flickered slightly, it would have been impossible to discern if she were affected. Even that wasnt entirely reliable, however, as Vahns perception of the auras around him had been diminishing rapidly ever since his promation about not needing to rely on such things. Since then, he could only see the auras of people if he were paying very close attention and, much to the surprise of the girls around him, his various charm rted abilities no longer existed at all. The only exception to this was the benefits he had received from Freyas blessing as he simply couldnt part ways with something he had received from a woman he cared about. Feeling the tension in the atmosphere, Vahn attempted to smoothen things over with a small cough before saying, "We should progress forward and see if we cant reach the 77th Floor before the day ends. Well make camp in one of the safer areas there before probing into the 78th Floor and facing its Guardian. Fenrir, youll take the lead for now while Jeanne will support you in the mid-line. Ill protect Helen in the rear and provide support with my archery and [Wound Transfer]. Helen...well, you can just continue watching until you feel your support is necessary..." Though he didnt want to rely on her at all, Vahn wasnt going to tell Helen not to help out if it meant her powers could be useful in helping Fenrir and Jeanne ovee danger. He wasnt even remotely worried about thetter, as even the [Sword of Evils Bane] probably couldnt injure her, but he wouldnt risk Fenrirs life by being obstinate. As she hadnt expected Vahns words, at least this early on, Helen was slightly taken aback but still nodded her head in response. Her mind then began to race about the meaning contained within Vahns words but, having long grown ustomed to Helens airheadedness, Vahn ignored her absentminded expression as he gave the order to head out. Helen obediently followed behind him as the group, once again, began their excursion into the Dungeons depths. There werent many enemies on the 73rd and 74th Floors, likely due to the One-Eyed ck Dragons presence, so it didnt take them that long to reach the stairs that led down to the 75th. The only enemies they encountered along the way were various types of Drakes and Wyverns, many residing alone in their own territory, so there was practically no danger along the way. Upon reaching the 75th Floor, Vahn reminded Jeanne and Fenrir of the enemies they would face and, after discussing potential weakness and countermeasures, the group proceeded forward without hesitation. Fenrir had been riled up ever since the encounter with the One-Eyed ck Dragon so, as soon as a peculiar Griffon-like creature made its appearance, she immediately sent out pir-sized spears of ice to impact its body before using [Shundo] to close the distance. It was a creature that was nearly 3m tall while possessing the fierce head of an eagle, the front ws of a dragon, and the back paws of a lion-like monster. As for why Vahn couldnt exactly call it as Griffin, it was due to the fact that the monster had scales covering most of its body and, though it wasnt wrong to call its head eagle-like, the predominant features of this particr monster made it appear almostpletely reptilian. Even the back half, which was reminiscent of the muscture of arge cat, was covered in fine brown scales while its wings were segmented with a thin membrane of skin covering them, much like a bat... Though it had managed to withstand the impact of Fenrirs barrage with its tough body, the Griffin-like creature, which Vahn had decided to name a Drakin, was taken byplete surprise when Fenrirs ws tore through its neck like paper mache. Even with its powerful regeneration and vitality, it was powerless to resist the frustrated Vanargandrs assault as Fenrir quickly followed up her initial attack with a series of vicious strikes that tore its body asunder. Her [Severing ws] allowed her to produce des that were longer than the Drakin was tall while her speed and agility made it impossible for the rather unfortunate monster to even follow her movements. As a result, the fight ended almost as soon as it had begun so Fenrir quickly looted the magical core before tossing it into her mouth with a loud crunch. She had been given leniency to eat any magic core she had obtained, as it was essential to her growth, so Fenrir didnt hesitate at all since her desire for strength had been stimted after seeing the skirmish between Terra and the One-Eyed ck Dragon. Seeing Fenrir make short work of what should have been a Level 5 monster, Vahn gave a small nod of approval that seemed to transmit directly to his voraciouspanion as her ears perked up in response. Vahn found this rather humorous but, before he was able toment on it, a loud explosion sounded through the area as a humanoid monster mmed a hammer-shaped natural weapon into Jeannes kite shield. It was only around 230cm tall but,pared to Jeanne, it seemed monstrously tall with itsnky yet muscr figure. As for its other characteristics, it had hoofed feet, much like a goat, while its head was vaguely humanoid, albeit coveredpletely in fur. The most prominent feature of the creature that Vahn had named as Silenos, were the two curved horns on its head and the peculiar braided beard that protruded out from its angr chin... While Fenrir had quickly dealt with the Drakin, Jeanne had unhesitantly moved to deal with the other three enemies that had been present within the room. They all had slightly unique features but it was easy to see that each of the monsters were Silenos based on their physique and other racial characteristics. As for theirposition, there was the one attacking Jeanne, wielding a ck stone hammer that was evenrger than its body, while the other two had produced spears from the Dungeons walls as they attempted to pierce Jeannes sides. The moment they initiated their attack, however, Jeanne slightly shifted the angle of her immovable kite shield, causing the straining Silenos to fall off bnce as she deftly cut through its waist. In the exact same strike, Jeanne traced her de through the impromptu guard of the second Silenos before twisting her body around like a ballet dancer and sending a de of light to bisect the body of the third. From start to finish, the battle had only taken eight seconds as Jeanne brandished her de to dispose of the nonexistent gore before sheathing it into a slot located within her kite shield. Even without being asked, Jeanne gave a small salute to acknowledge that Vahn was watching her before she reported, "The enemies here are quite strong but I do not foresee them being an issue in small groups." Vahn gave a nod in return beforeplimenting, "Good work, both of you. The only other monster we have to worry about on this Floor would be the Dungeon Maggots, but that shouldnt be an issue as long as we avoid the areas where the humidity increases drastically." Though he didnt know how strong they were, Vahn had seen in the mirror how thergervae-like creatures congregated in overwhelming numbers. They were very simr to the strange caterpirs that had been used by Enyos forces and, after cross-checking the research of Ein, Vahn knew the errant mage had used cells harvested from one of the Dungeon Maggots as the temte to create the acid-spewing monstrosities that had caused the Alliance so many issues in the past. Hearing Vahns words, Jeanne gave an affirmative nod while Fenrir chimed in, adding, "Even without encountering one of them, Ill be able to tell if we are near one of the colonies. With Masters guidance and my nose, we will not have to worry about getting caught off guard...!" Following her words, Fenrir gave an admittedly adorable pump of her paws in an obvious attempt to earn Vahns praise so he readily smiled beforementing, "Thats right; with Fenrir leading the way, we dont have to worry about anything. How reliable~." At the same time, as she had already walked over to his side, Vahn roughly stroked Fenrirs ears as, deep in the back of his mind, small rm bells began ringing in response to his own words... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn just got his first Orange drop (UwU)...!,Terra emerges victorious against the One-Eyed ck Dragon!?,Ringa-ding-ding, Vahn-boi~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 993 - Chill

Chapter 993 - Chill

Having learned to trust his instincts, Vahn entered into a state of passive alertness that, over time, spread to everyone else within the party. Fenrir had sensed the small shift early on so she had been paying even more attention to her surroundings than normal while Jeanne changed her tactic from fighting at close range to eliminating enemies in the mid-range with her light-based sword strikes. Though it used up a considerable amount of energypared to normal attacks, almost every monster within the Dungeon was weak to Light Elemental attacks, making each of Jeannes sword attacks highly effective against every enemy that crossed her path. She was only able to fight this way because of Vahns assistance, though he avoided direct contact with her body, resulting in their pace increasing nearly twice what it had been previously. In their heightened state of awareness, it didnt take long for the group to reach an area of the Dungeon where a massive set of stairs led even deeper into its depths. The problem was, instead of being an unupied set of stairs, the massive spiral chamber ended up being converted into a veritable colony of the same Dungeon Maggots the group wanted to avoid. Vahn had been inspecting the area with his ability to move his intent around, managing to probe deep into the colony without drawing attention, so he was able to confirm that their presence even extended partially into the 76th Floor. It seemed that the Queen of this specific colony was making use of the increased mana density of the lower Floor in order to further strengthen her evolution. After pulling back his intent, Vahn shook his head in mild exasperation before saying, "The way forward is blocked by an incalcble amount of Dungeon Maggots. They have rooted themselves deeply into the surrounding walls and even have a presence as far as the 76th Floor. Well need to break through by force or find an alternative way through..." Though it actually wasnt that difficult for them to reach the 76th Floor, regardless of how many Dungeon Maggots there were, it could still a troublesome affair in the event anything went wrong. As weak as they were individually, the Dungeon Maggots still posed a threat to even Level 7 and 8 Adventurers in great numbers. Unless you had an Innate that allowed you to resist the noxious fumes and the extremely potent acidic blood contained within their bodies, you would undoubtedly be overwhelmed if you tried to break through an entire colony. Undaunted by the enemies that barred their passage, Fenrir showed a decisive expression on her face as her ears pointed backward in an aggressive manner. With a small wisp of Ice Elemental energy coagting within her paws, she confidently stated, "I can freeze them all...!" She was still a bit fired up after the encounter with the One-Eyed ck Dragon, causing Vahn to produce a wry smile as he gave a small nod and turned to Jeanne for her opinion. Much like Fenrir, she had a resolute look on her face that showed absolutely no inhibitions about proceeding forward, irrespective of potential dangers. When he looked over at her, Jeanne gave a confident nod before hefting her sword and shield as she said, "If you will it, I will cut a path through the entire colony. I only ask that you protect Helen while I am away..." Though others might have to show caution when facing a colony of Dungeon Maggots, Jeanne was one of the few who actually possessed the capabilities to do so without concern. Even if she had to bathe in the acidic blood of her enemies until she waspletely submerged, she would inevitably emerge unscathed. The same couldnt be said for her armor but, now that she had the quick storage system that had be popr amongst the girls within the Manor, Jeanne could strip down to nothing more than her Aegis undergarments before cutting a path forward without having to worry about damaging her other equipment. Though theplex fabric couldnt without nearly as much abuse as actual armor, it provided more than enough protection against acid to guarantee that Jeannes dignity wouldnt bepromised. Just as Vahn was about to inform Jeanne that it would be unnecessary for her to break through on her own, Helen chose this moment to give her friend a slightly questionable look before simply stating, "Can Vahn not simply bore through the Dungeons Floor with his own power? Why do we need to use the stairs at all...?" Until now, Helen hadnt ced any real interest in the Dungeon and had simply been following along to observe what action Vahn would take. Since he had easily broken through the Dungeon with his Qinglong form, she knew he was more than capable of breaking through once again. Instead of fighting tens of thousands of troublesome enemies, she believed it was far more efficient to avoid conflict and simply take the most direct route. Since his intentions aligned with what Helen had in mind, Vahns open mouth came to a close as he sent a slightly annoyed look in the immacte beautys direction. Her own brows furrowed slightly in response to his look but she quickly returned to her default expression before averting her eyes, seemingly in disinterest. Vahn shook his head lightly upon seeing this before matching his gaze with Fenrir and Jeanne as he said, "Though I was going to suggest much the same, Helen is right in her analysis of the situation. I believe it is better to proceed through the Dungeon using the established paths but, as we have the power to avoid direct conflict, there shouldnt be anything wrong with breaking through troublesome situations like this without wasting our time>" Without any argument, though Fenrir seemed slightly downtrodden after having lost the chance to fight against arge number of enemies, both girls quickly agreed to Vahns decision. As a result, Vahn performed a partial transformation by converting his right arm into his Zhuque form and directing pure Yang Elemental mes towards the ground. Even though the bedrock was far more durable at these depths, it wasnt able to hold up against the purity of Vahns mes as they were the natural counter to the Dungeonsposition. The ground quickly turned into a white puddle of molten stone that became progressively brighter until, two minutes after his initiating his attack, the puddle began to sink inwards. Vahn had forcibly heated the bedrock in a cylindrical shape that reached all the way to the 76th Floor. As a result, once it hadpletely liquidized, the bedrock began to drain away into the Floor below before slowly cooling down and regaining its slightly crystalline look. After boring a hole through to the next Floor, Vahn focused his mind and began to manipte the ambient Fire Elemental energy to return to his body, causing the surrounding temperature to rapidly drop as a result. Though it wouldnt have any significant effects on anyone present, Vahn had noticed that Fenrir had grown ufortable with the increased presence of Fire Elemental energy, her primary affinitys natural counter. Jeanne and Helen also seemed to rx a great deal as the surrounding temperature reached a cool 10 degrees Celsius. There was even a breeze flowing through the normally stagnant Dungeon as the ratherrge hole he had formed caused a backdraft of sorts that continued to persist for several minutes after he had sessfully prated through the dense membrane of bedrock. Once it was safe to proceed, Vahn gave a small nod before unhesitantly jumping down the 740m deep hole he had created. Even before he had descended ten meters, Fenrir had leaped after him, hugging her paws around his neck as the two fell together into the Dungeons depths. As for Helen and Jeanne, thetter looked towards her long-time friend before shifting her kite shield to her back and holding out both arms. Helen gave a rare, albeit light, smile before allowing Jeanne to carry her in a princess hold before the two followed quickly in Vahns wake... After free-falling into the 76th Floor, Vahn quickly decelerated beforeing to a stop a few centimeters above the ground. Fenrir didnt immediately let go of him as the two waited for Jeanne and Helen to finish their own descent. When Vahn saw the rather chivalrous Jeanne carrying Helen in her arms, his brows naturally arced in surprise but he ultimately chose to remain silent since there were no real benefits frommenting on the rather peculiar scene. Once Helen was back on her own two feet, Vahn gave a light smile towards Jeanne before saying, "This Floor shouldnt be as difficult to pass through as the previous one. Lets see if we cant find a passage leading downwards in the next few hours. If it starts to get toote, Ill bore another hole to the 77th Floor so we can take a proper rest before moving on." In response to Vahns words, Jeanne unsheathed her sword and shield before confidently saying, "You can leave it to Fenrir and myself, Vahn. We wont let a single enemy through our vanguard!" For seemingly no reason, Jeanne was now even more fired up than before, causing Vahn to give Helen a questioning look that resulted in thetter immediately averting her eyes. On instinct, Vahn activated his [Eyes of Truth] to see if he could discern anything and, though it was only a very minuscule amount, he could see a small wisp of pale blue energy now circting through Jeannes body. This was undoubtedly the same energy that permeated through Helens entire body, causing Vahns eyes to flicker as his mind quickly made sense of the newly acquired information... Instead of pursuing the matter, Vahn gave a curt nod in response to Helens excitement before allowing her to take the lead this time while Fenrir continued to ride on his back for a short while. There werent any particrly dangerous enemies on this Floor so she was behaving a little more spoiled than normal, likely as a result of Vahns current physical state. Since he had been tending to Terra back at the Manor, Vahns avatar was also in a slightly more active state than normal. Though he wasnt producing any pheromones that could be picked up by a normal Demi-Human, Fenrir was always an exception to this. Her bond with him allowed her to be influenced by his mental and emotional state, even if it was only an echo of what his main body was experiencing. Without incident, it only took a little more than two hours before Vahns party managed to reach arge circr pond that became exponentially deeper just three meters away from the shore. Unlike the Floors above, which were either connected by rtively safe stairs or pathways, the Dungeon didnt seem to be willing to make things easy for its invaders in the deeper Floors. This was the thought that crossed Vahns mind as he observed the pristine blue water that extended nearly a kilometer downward before looping backward and connecting into arger chamber. The most peculiar feature of this corridor was the fact that the water would deposit them around the roof while the water itself seemed to defy thews of physics as it clung to the roof, mirroring the massive pond they were about to enter... Turning his eyes away fro the pond for a short while, Vahn observed the surroundings for a bit before eventually gathering up enough resolve to, quite literally, test the waters. He already knew there was something off with the crystal-clear liquid but, even after using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn wasnt able to discern exactly what was wrong with it. When his palm touched the surface, however, Vahn quickly got his answer as, instead of giving away like normal water, the surface tension seemed several times higher than normal while the temperature was well below what should have been considered the freezing point of actual water. Much like the small stars he would make, the water before him didnt actually give off any energy so it was impossible to discern just how cold it was without directlying into contact with it. This momentary contact provided Vahn with a great deal of insight into what the future of the Dungeon would hold for him as, even though he couldnt makeplete sense of the phenomenon, he understood that he was witnessing the pure manifestation of Water Elemental Laws. There was arge amount of what should have been Yin Elemental energy contained within, making it very difficult for his natural constitution to tolerate, but that wouldnt matter now that he understood what exactly was before him. As for the others, Jeanne showed a slightly concerned expression on her face as she said, "Please, my Lord, allow me to go first and test the water with my own body. I am confident I will be able to tolerate whatever awaits me on the other side...!" After having seen Vahns hand practically freeze over after contacting the water, Jeanne felt it was only right that she be the one to proceed forward so that it wouldnt trouble him further. She wasnt the only one with such a train of thought, however, as Fenrir didnt even bother to ask for permission as she quickly dove into the water. With her natural affinities for Yin, Ice, and Water Elemental energies, she was the most aware of the dangers contained within the water but, instead of fearing its effects, her blood practically boiled with excitement. Vahn, knowing it wouldnt have any detrimental effects on Fenrirs body, made no effort to stop her as he instead activated his [Eyes of Truth] to see what changes might ur now that a person had fully submerged in therge and pristine pond. Immediately after Fenrir had broken through the waters surface tension, the previously crystal clear pond seemed to rapidly ice over as a small amount of the Yin Elemental energy contained without spread through the surroundings. Jeanne and Helen both felt extremelyfortable, even though the temperature immediately descended to negative 5 degrees Celsius, while Vahns body felt like it had be suffused with lead. In response to this, the eternal me in his chest began to rage as it flickered about and caused the energy contained within his blood to increase several-fold in a short period of time. Vahn, however, ced his hand over his heart to calm the me down as he began to regte his breathing and absorb the Yin Elemental energy directly, his eyes never leaving the figure of Fenrir beneath the surface... Contrary to Vahn, Helen paid no attention to Fenrir as her runic eyes instead reflected the changes urring to Vahns body. Most of her attention in the Dungeon, even when she was ignoring him, had been directed towards Vahn. When he began to absorb the Yin Elemental energy, not that she knew what it was, Helen had noticed that hisplexion immediately shifted from a healthy tan into a pristine and unblemished white. His hair gained a light sheen, almost as if he had treated it with a small amount of rejuvenating oils, while even his eyshes seemed to extend slightly. Though he had always been rather handsome, Helen felt as if Vahn was beginning to be beautiful as the profile of his body seemed to shrink within his clothes... Though he hadnt directed the change, Vahn noticed how his body was reacting to the excessive Yin energy and was slightly taken aback by the fact that he couldnt maintain a proper bnce without dominating the energy with his own. Since it was the energy of Law,bined with the fact he hadnt resisted it, Vahn found that his body was adapting far too quickly to the invasive force and there wasnt too much he could do about it. Fortunately, just as he gained a few inhibitions about the changes happening, Vahn felt the Yin energy mellow out slightly before seemingly turning as calm as the pond before him. He noticed that his body had be decidedly more feminine in appearance but, fortunately, the effects hadntpletely taken hold so he was able to keep his dignity intact. Noticing Helens gaze, Vahn gave a wry smile in response that caught Jeannes attention. She had been watching Fenrir with a look of regret on her face but, after seeing what had happened to her Lord, Jeanne no longer cared about herpanions rtive safety as she quickly came to his side and, eximing, "My Lord, what happened to you...!?" Though she would normally never touch him, Jeanne, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, concernedly ced her hand on Vahns shoulder before concernedly patting around his body. Vahn quickly grabbed her errant hand, holding Jeanne by the wrist as he coughed embarrassedly and exined, "Rx, Jeanne. My body absorbed a bit too much of the energy contained within the pond and went through some small changes. Dont worry, I will return to normal after we pass through the pond..." Realizing how uncouth her actions had been, Jeannes face became beet red as she quickly pulled her hand free from Vahns grasp, fl.u.s.teredly stating, "My apologies...I...I..." Before she could get her excuse in order, Jeanne was disrupted when the ice covering of the pond broke, revealing a practically glowing Fenrir as thetter smiled and exined, "I found the way forward! This pond is really great! Master, can we take some back to the Manor with us!?" Fenrir had noticed that spending even a few moments in the water was like staying in the chamber her Master had made for her for several hours. Though her body felt like it was filled to the brim, she noticed that her capacity was never quite at the maximum, causing Fenrir to feel far more excited than normal as her breathing steadily increased in intensity. Vahn noticed Fenrirs abnormal state so he used his telekinesis to extricate her from the water as he exined, "We can take back a sample but I dont believe it will hold the same effect if it is removed from this spot. It would be better if we found the source behind this water, but I havent been able to detect anything no matter how much I look around. For now, focus on refining the energy that has already spread through your body while we eat a light dinner. When everyone is ready, well pass into the 77nd Floor together." Though she was slightly upset at having been separated from the frigid andfortable water, Fenrir quickly got over her momentary mncholy when Vahn brought her to rest in his embrace. As if the water was no longer a concern, she nuzzled into his chest as Vahn marveled at the excessive Yin energy radiating off her body. His skin became covered in fine ice particles and, if not for the fact that his body had already attuned to the intrusion of Yin Elemental energy, it wouldnt have been a surprise if even his bones froze after contacting Fenrir in her current state. Though this wouldnt have had asting effect, as his body was perfectly capable of adapting to such conditions, Vahn knew others wouldnt fare the same. If they were unprepared for what the water held, most male Adventurers would likely lose their lives if they attempted to reach the 77nd Floor through this particr entrance... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn activates no-clip~,Jeanne is so chivalrous (UwU)...,Could Dungeon-chan actually be s.e.xist...!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 994 - Pride

Chapter 994 - Pride

After extricating himself from the impossibly cold water, Vahn took a deep breath of warm air before inspecting the changes to his body. He had managed to prevent the majority of the energy from invading his body by using [Cantus Bex] to form a membrane over his skin. Since it was infused with Source Energy, only a fraction of the Yin Elemental energy managed to invade his body whenever the energy membrane became thin during movement. As a result, his skin had be even fairer than before while his previously muscr frame had shrunken down into a more lithe and flexible form. Fortunately, his preparations were enough to avoid the worst-case scenario so Vahn was in a pleasant mood as he allowed the Yin Elemental energy to slowly fade from his body after stirring up his own Yang to counteract it. While recovering, Vahn took a moment to inspect how the girls were doing and wasnt surprised to find that the water had also affected them slightly. Fenrir had actually be slightly taller while her body, which had already been rather thin, now looked soft and willowy. As for Jeanne, she almost lookedical in her armor as, instead of a chivalrous female knight, she almost looked like a model that had been done up with equipment that was one size too big. She was the most aware of the changes in her body so, upon noticing Vahns gaze, Jeannes face gained a healthy blush as she somewhat sheepishly hid behind her kite shield. Vahn couldnt help but release a small chuckle that caused the proud knight to turn a deep scarlet before he turned his attention to Helen... Unlike Fenrir and Jeanne, Helens appearance hadnt changed in the slightest. This confirmed a suspicion that Vahn had as, with his [Eyes of Truth] active, he could see the peculiar energy in her body had be even denser than before. It was almost as if her entire constitution wasprised of Yin Elemental energy which, considering the purpose of her Innate, made a lot of sense. With what he knew of dual-cultivation from reading several manuals, Vahn knew that the first person that slept with Helen would receive a remarkable increase in their strength. This was due to the fact that everyone, be they male or female, was born with a seed of either Yin or Yang in their body. During s.e.x.u.a.l intercourse, this seed would be transferred to the partner and, after situating itself in the body of the other person, it would empower and nourish them. Though discerning this seed was nigh impossible, Vahn felt like he was slowly beginning to learn how to distinguish them as his familiarity with various physiologies continued to build. One thing he was absolutely certain of was that, unlike other people, his body seemed tock this seed. Since neither Tiona or Ais seemed to have inherited it from him, Vahn suspected he may never have had one from the start... Noticing that Vahn was eyeing her with a curious expression on his face, Helen felt confused and ufortable. Though she was used to men ogling her body, as even her own siblings hadnt been an exception, the way Vahn looked at her was very different. Instead of having a possessive look in his eyes, there were times like this when there was nothing but curiosity and, even worse, a look of understanding contained within his gaze. Fortunately, just as the difort began to build, Vahn would always snap back to his senses before politely turning his head away. This was yet another thing that disturbed Helen, however, as the moment he looked away always made her feel a strange feeling of loss. Without letting the peculiarity of the moment dy their progress too much, Vahn changed into a set of equipment that had a size-changing feature before giving themand to resume their expedition. It was beginning to gette in the evening and, though sleep wasnt entirely necessary for this particr group, Vahn wanted to make sure they were well rested to face any unforeseen troubles that might bar their passage. As a result, the group quickly proceeded into the 77th Floor proper which, unlike the Floors above, had a very distinct change in structure. This was due to the fact that the walls, ceiling, and floor all had various motifs carved into them like massive unending ill.u.s.trations. It was as if thousands of skilled craftsman had spent hundreds of years painstakingly embellishing the 77th Floor, especially since each surface was rtively tpared to anything found above. If not for the random rocks and destroyed pirs, giving the Floor the appearance of a ruined temple, it wouldnt be difficult to imagine they had stumbled into the ruins of a long-lost civilization... After passing over seven kilometers along a single passageway, the party stepped through an ornate door that connected to a massive room whose roof was nearly 2km from the floor. Thus far, there hadnt been a single enemy barring their passage but, upon stepping through the threshold of the door, the reason as to why there had been no enemies was made apparent. Though Vahn already suspected things would turn out this way, he couldnt help but whistle in admiration as he looked out over therge formation of armored monsters. They had formed into fourrge battalions that held around 3,000 soldiers while an ornately armored Captain stood at the front of each individual grouping. At the very back, protected by four more Captains, Vahn could see a figure wearing rather in robes as it sat upon a highly embellished golden throne. While the rest of the army that had gathered seemed to be highly disciplined, the figure in the robes was leaning to the side with an arm supporting its veiled head, almost as if it was iparably bored of the situation... Standing to Vahns right, Jeanne had also been overlooking the army that had been gathered to repel them. Her usually stoic gaze showed a rare grimace as she tightly gripped the hilt of her sword in preparation for the battle toe. Her eyes locked upon the robed figure as she venomously stated, "Please leave that one to me, my Lord...I will never allow such a malevolent entity to continue existing...!" Hearing Jeannes uncharacteristic words, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head lightly before stating in amanding tone, "Though they are undoubtedly our enemy, you shouldnt take things so personally, Jeanne. I may not be the best person to give this kind of advice but I can still say that there is no such thing as an evil ability. It depends entirely upon how the ability is used..." Even as the words left his lips, Vahn felt a strange incongruity in his heart since he knew exactly why Jeanne was so upset. Though the army before them looked rather impressive, they were undoubtedly still monsters as, with the exception of the Captains, each soldier gathered revealed a skeletal visage instead of one adorned with flesh. Vahn could also tell that they werent the same kind of entity as Fels and Ein as there was a distinctck of vitality contained within their bones. Instead, there was an aura of death shrouding them that directly linked each soldier to the entity sitting in the back... Never one to argue, Jeanne loosened the grip she had ced on her sword as she issued a small nod in response. Though she didnt outright agree with what Vahn had said, Jeanne considered him far wiser than herself since many of the things surrounding Vahn were impossible if she held onto her previously held perspective. Though the robed figure seemed tomand the dead, something that seemed inherently wrong, Jeanne knew the way her Lord saw the world was far different than others. To aide in her efforts to match his line of reasoning, Jeanne considered for a moment how she would act if one of Vahns children was born with a simr ability. If it came down to it, she would do everything in her power to protect the child while Vahn, and everyone else in the Manor for that matter, would undoubtedly love them dearly... While Jeanne was lost in her own thoughts, thergest of the Captains raised a 4m long spear towards the sky as it released a shrill battle cry. In response, four thousand of the skeletal figures raised malevolent-looking ck bows before releasing stark ck arrows towards the location of Vahn and his party. Though this was impressive in its own right, Vahns eyes widened slightly as, upon reaching the apex of their trajectory, the in-flight arrows suddenly increased in number as each individual arrow seemed to split into five. He could even see a thin membrane of ck mana around the arrowheads that showed they were infused with magic that allowed them to prate armor, not that this would pose a threat to anyone in the party. Even without giving her themand, Jeanne hefted up her kite shield in the same instant that the arrows had left their bows. By the time the lethal projectiles reached their position, they shed harmlessly against a white dome that had been formed by Jeannes Innate. Though the arrows would have been able to prate normal magic barriers, the natural counter to such an ability was the very same Light Elemental energy that Jeanne naturallymanded. The arrowheads were rendered inert upon contact while the seemingly paper-thin membrane of light didnt even fluctuate in the slightest. By the time the light faded away, Vahn had knocked an arrow of his own which, much like the ck arrows, split apart upon reaching the apex of its trajectory. Unlike the ck arrows, however, Vahns split apart into a total of 99 beams of light that rained down upon the enemies with a far more devastating oue... At the same time that Vahn had started his bombardment, Fenrir hadunched herself forward with a fierce momentum that wasnt at all affected by the terrible might of the arrows raining down upon her enemies. She instinctually knew where her Masters arrows wouldnd and, knowing he would never harm her, Fenrir had no fear as she began to shred through the army with the same ease as a veteran farmer harvesting wheat. Though their armor was durable enough to be considered as B-Rank equipment by most Adventurers, it didnt matter at all when it came to Fenrirs unstoppable ws. A single swipe of her paw was able to cut through half a dozen closely arranged enemies without any resistance whatsoever. Keeping a close eye on Fenrirs movements, Vahn continued to rain arrows down upon his enemies with seemingly no effort. He knew each of his arrows would strike true and, as if responding to his confidence, there were instances where the beams of light would appear to miss an agile enemy before immediately bounding back and piercing through their backs. Simply dodging Vahns arrows served no purpose as, unless you had the ability to deal with them outright, they would continue to pursue their mark irrespective of distance. This was abination of his equipments effect and the boons he had gained after earning Artemis love. Since the potency of her blessing had only increased after the birth of their child, Vahn had absolute confidence that his archery was second only to Artemis herself... While themon soldiers were being ughtered, the Captains of the undead army hadnt been idling around. Two had tried to converge upon Fenrir with swords drawn but, as they only had the speed of an average Level 6, Fenrir had evaded the swipe of the first Captain by a hairs breadth before severing the mummified head from its shoulders. Then, as the second Captain attempted to stab her from behind, its sword ended up piercing through the abdomen of itsrade as Fenrirs figure faded from view. It had attacked her afterimage but, before it was able to process what had happened, a pair of icy ws tore through its functionally useless armor before sending its body flying apart in frozen chunks of decayed flesh... As if she hadnt just killed two Level 6 entities, Fenrir continued to ughter every undead that crossed her path, her scarlet eyes glimmering with an intense light that cut through the low-light of the room. Everywhere this light passed, causing angr streaks throughout the ranks of the undead, only destruction would remain. By the time ten minutes had passed, more than 20,000 undead had turned into dust while the only remaining Captains were the four guards surrounding the robed figure. Even as its army was being destroyed, the figure continued to look bored as it sat upon its throne with a disinterested permeating through the area. Deep within its veiled hood, however, two icy blue eyes were following Fenrirs figure with clear intrigue visible within its gaze. Vahn had been watching the robed figure through his domain and had even sent a few arrows toward its direction throughout the fight. Unfortunately, each of these arrows simply stopped after breaching an invisible membrane that created a 30m wide bubble around the robed figure. Since it should be impossible for something to affect his archery in such a way, Vahn credited the phenomenon to an Innate as, unlike its army, the figure was undoubtedly sentient. It wasnt the only one either as, unlike the other Captains in the area, the one wielding a spear had an oppressive air lingering about it while the ghostly green mes sporadically emitting from its eyes glistened with the light of intelligence. Not content to allow the robed figure to just sit idly by, Vahn knocked a [Yi] arrow before drawing his bow to the point that is arms formed a perfect circle. This caused the robed figure to pull its eyes away from Fenrir for a brief moment as it locked eyes with Vahn, ridicule and challenge contained within. Sensing this, Vahns expression didnt change in the slightest but there was an overwhelming feeling of contempt welling up in his heart as he readily epted the figures challenge. Just as Fenrir arrived at his side, as she had already sensed the danger present within the arrow, Vahn loosed the rtively in-looking arrow that had four vibrant suns glowing along its shaft. The fourth sun was slightly less vibrant than the other three, as Vahn was still limited by his own Tier, but the power contained within this single arrow wasnt something that could be looked down upon... Instead of aiming at the robed figure, Vahn set his target as the void itself, something that few would ever be able to emte. As a result, his arrow hit nothing before erupting into a spherical ck void that tore apart everything in the immediate surroundings with its irresistible gravitational pull. The robed figure, scorn no longer visible within its eyes, raised two gauntleted hands towards the gravity well as it desperately tried to resist the seemingly unstoppable phenomenon. It didnt care that most of its army was being devastated by the attack as it sent out massive golden runes that collided with the ck gravitational sphere. These runes persisted for several seconds and seemed to have a small effect on the [Yi] arrows gravitational pull but, much like everything else in the surroundings, they were ultimately destroyed. The robed figure didnt relent, however, buying it just enough time to avoid being consumed by the arrow before the gravitational well naturally receded... Just as relief seemed to spread across the robed figures visage, the two icy eyes contained within the hood became slightly dull as it looked towards the two arrows that impacted the void just outside of its area of nullification. As two gravitational spheres began to obscure its vision, thest thing it saw was the image of Vahns Qinglong form standing in the air on the opposite side of the vast chamber. The same ridicule it had directed towards him was now visible in Vahns azure-blue eyes as, seemingly finding two arrowscking, a third [Yi] arrow left his bow. Though this left Vahn with barely enough energy to resist the effects of the arrows himself, he simply tossed an undiluted emerald green gem into his mouth that caused his reserves to rapidly replenish. Unlike the [Sage Aldrnaris Tears] that she produced for general consumption, Terra had created a special candy for Vahns personal consumption after partnering with Yggy. It was suffused with enough life energy to practically revive someone on the brink of death but Vahn used it as nothing more than a supplement when he was unable to use a [Turbo Ether]... By the time the three [Yi] arrows lost their effect, much of the 20km wide chamber had beenpletely destroyed. If not for the strange energy membrane between the 76th and 77th Floor, the attack would have undoubtedly caused the former to copse as, in hindsight, Vahn knew he had once again gone overboard. As he stowed away his [Khryskatos], Vahn resumed his Progenitor form before releasing a heavy sigh. Ever since bing an Emperor, he had often taken things to an extreme, even that was not his intent from the start. If things kept up in such a fashion, Vahn was afraid he would be the same as his counterpart from the Divination and simply deal with all potential issues with overwhelming force... While lost in his own thoughts, Fenrir, Helen, and Jeanne approached Vahn from behind, thetter showing a vibrant smile on her face as sheplimented, "That was an incredible attack, my Lord. I fear that even my own defenses might not be able to contend against such a powerful gravitational well..." Though the truth of the matter was that Jeanne would have been able to tank the attack without much issue, it was still a testament to the [Yi] arrows power that it could cause her to make such a remark. As even Helen showed a momentary expression of awe on her face, Vahn allowed a small smile to spread across his own as he once again looked around at the devastation his attack had caused. Though he decided it was necessary to train and discipline himself further in the future, the part of him that enjoyed being praised had never fully faded away. With a smile on his face, Vahn turned to his threepanions and simply stated, "Lets go..." before once again stepping forward, this time leading the way himself... (A/N: I am officially home~! Though there were several issues that caused me to arrive more than nine hourster than nned, Im finally free from the work that has kept me busy. The downside to the situation is that Im still fatigued from the travel so this may be the only chapter for the day since I didnt really get a day off. There will probably be another in the afternoon, once I get some food in my belly, but the official start of my schedule will be tomorrow. Saturdays will be my day off but, as I wasnt really able to output the promised chapters for today, Ill end up posting 3 on the uing Saturday as well. Ill be slowly increasing the amount of content until Im back in the groove of writing 100k words a week so look forward to it~!) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Helens Mystery Revealed...?,Spooky, scary, skeletons...,Vahn is a Tsundere who likes being praised (UwU)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 995 - Calm

Chapter 995 - Calm

Unlike previous Floors, where monsters would spawn seemingly randomly, the 77th Floor was unique in more ways than its construction. The Floor was sectioned into various territories that fought for supremacy dominance. Some of these territories were ruled by solo entities who possessed extreme physical or magical might while the vast majority of territories were upied by colonies and armies of various sizes. The fact that these monsters would group together like hordes was of particr interest to Vahn, as it almost made them seem to be Xenos, but their antagonistic nature and general bloodl.u.s.t was more than enough evidence to prove this was a mistaken assumption. Though there were certainly a few who possessed a pseudo-sentience of sorts, they were generally the Chiefs and Commanders of each individual group. Since they were not open to dialogue, Vahn had been tearing his way through the 77th Floor with increasing efficiency in order to find a suitable ce to rest. In one of therge cavernous rooms that upied the 77th Floor, Vahn was currently facing against arge quadrupedal Dragon with a vicious maw andrge angr spikes covering the majority of its ckened body. The surrounding area seemed to have been terraformed to match the ecological requirements of the strange Dragonoid as, unlike much of the Floor he had trespassed, this particr room was filled with volcanic plumes and an overpowering smell of sulfur. As for the Dragon, it was the only entity residing within the region so Vahn had decided to face it alone in order to test his might. Unfortunately, though the thick hide of the Dragon seemed more than a meter thick, making its 40m long body inordinately hard, Vahn quickly found himself standing atop the unconscious creature after pounding its head in his Xinawu form a few times. Ignoring the fist-shaped indentations he had made, Vahn inspected the sleeping figure of the massive Dragon as the girls made their way over to his side. Fenrir had both paws covering her nose, a grimace marring her face as the smell of the region was a little too overbearing for her enhanced senses. Vahn gave a wry smile upon seeing this before waving his hand and causing the surrounding air to clear out. Though it still smelled heavily of sulfur, it was still a reprieve for the Fenrir who happily uncovered her nose before hopping onto the head of the Dragon alongside her Master. Jeanne and Helen remained on the ground, thetter showing an expression of disinterest while Jeanne poked the sleeping Dragon, inquiring, "Are you going to try and tame this monster, my Lord...?" Though the thought had indeed crossed his mind, Vahn shook his head in response while exining, "I could probably change its nature with time but it isnt a simple feat to manage a Dragon with affinities rted to Darkness, Fire, and Destruction. This one doesnt seem to be a True Dragon but I can tell it has a lot of pride while also possessing an inherently aggressive nature. For the time being, I have my hands full dealing with other True Dragons so Id like to avoid exacerbating the issue further..." With the matter of the One-Eyed ck Dragon, Terra, Alexa, and, to a lesser extent, Khaos, Vahn didnt really want to deal with yet another True Dragon. There was also the fact that he was saving his next use of [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] to name the Rainbow Viper so it simply wasnt feasible to try and tame a 40m long Dragon while trying to conquer the Dungeon. After pondering for a bit, Vahn ced his palm against the forehead of the slumbering Dragon before sending a thread of Source Energy into its brain stem. Dragons had powerful mana circuits, and even more impressive vitality, but it had no means of resisting the higher tiered energy as it quickly spread through its nervous system under Vahns guidance. After a little under a minute, Vahn hadpletely overloaded the Dragons neuralwork before severing each individual pain receptor at its source. This effectively paralyzed the Dragon while also guaranteeing that it wouldnt feel any pain during the harvesting process. Since its body was full of rare and valuable resources, enough to cost Vahn upwards of 100k OP, he couldnt simply let it dissipate into dust after fracturing its monster core. An hour after his endeavor had begun, Vahn had harvested two massive tusks from the Dragons Maw, the vast majority of its teeth, several sections of its hyperdense ting, and the talons from each of its massive ws. Lastly, Vahn drained 200 cubic meters of its blood before removing some of the more medicinally potent organs such as the liver, kidneys, and, most importantly, the heart. Vahn had saved the heart forst as it directly led to the death of the massive Dragon, causing several Drop Items to fall to the ground. Vahn looted the additional items, stowing them safely away in his Inventory, before cing his palm on the horse-sized magic core that shone with a brilliant red and ck light. Then, without harping over the issue for too long, Vahn turned to the patiently waiting Fenrir and smiled before saying, "You should eat this to increase your strength. Though the Fire Elemental energy may not be the best for you, your [Devour] should be able to process it without any major difficulties." Fenrir had been growing rather bored while watching her Master work, even though it was also one of her favorite pastimes. Hearing his words caused her slightly drooping ears to instantly perk up as she leaped from her spot on the ground and quickly approached the massive magic core. With a carnivorous smile on her face, Fenrir lightly licked her lips before turning to her Master as she said, "Thank you, Master. I promise to be even stronger~!" Knowing she was technically the weakest person present, Fenrirs desire to grow stronger had been steadily increasing the further they descended into the Dungeon. Though she had been eating thousands of magic cores during the descent, while also absorbing arge volume of the Dungeons mana, it never seemed to be enough as even normal monsters would sometimes take more than one attack before finally submitting. Vahn roughly pet Fenrirs head before leaving her to dispose of the massive magic core. Since it would take her a little while, he decided it was best to prepare dinner and, though the volcanic region wasnt exactly the best environment to camp in, the chance of any enemies invading the territory of a Dragon that was near Level 8 were slim to none. Vahn set out one of the magical cottages that Terra had created, allowing Helen to retire to one of the bedrooms while he and Jeanne prepared dinner. Fenrir showed up a few minutes into the preparation and helped dice up a few vegetables, a contented smile on her face as her power had noticeably increased. Though it was only about a 5% increase, Fenrirs magical power was already much higher than normal so it was a significant boost considering she only ate a single magic core. As strange as it seemed, Vahn found moments like meal preparation to be extremely calming and ther.a.p.eutic. He had always liked cooking, as seeing people smile after eating his food made him happy, so Vahn was in a good mood while seasoning arge steak made from Dragons meat. Not only was the meat highly nutritious, with an incredible amount of mana contained within, but the taste was iparable to most other foods that were avable. Vahn even suspected that Dragons might be hunted to extinction if not for their average strength often being near the peak of a Record. After all, if you could eat food that tasted delicious, while also increasing your strength slightly, there were very few people that would pass up the opportunity to indulge themselves... With an iparably savory smell pervading throughout the entire cottage, even someone as taciturn and withdrawn as Helen couldnt help but peek her head out to see what Vahn was cooking. Since she had made an effort to hide her presence, Vahn decided it was best to simply ignore her as he allowed himself to be enamored with the process of cooking the especially difficult meat. He often wondered why he had never developed a Development Ability rted to cooking but, perhaps a result of his unwillingness to consider the process as a skill that required development, The Path had allowed him to enjoy the action of Cooking without having to worry about if he were doing it correctly or not. Either way, Vahn didnt really mind as, evenpared to forging Masterpieces, there was beauty in simply being able to perfectly grill a steak for someone he cared about... --- After a pleasant evening, made even better by the enjoyable meal he had shared with everyone the previous night, Vahn slowly extricated himself from thefort of his nkets and the inexplicably soft paws of the n.a.k.e.d Fenrir. Though she had already awoken, she was pretending to be asleep while emting the characteristic clinginess of girls like Hestia. She had never gotten out of her habit of copying other people, even though her uniqueness made such actions unnecessary, but Vahn didnt hold it against her. Instead, he lifted her chin slightly and kissed the tip of her nose and the area around her lips until Fenrir got fed up and began yfully licking his in response. They rarely kissed, as the action was rtively tame since the inside of Fenrirs mouth was extremely dangerous, so Fenrir had developed a licking habit after witnessing Ais do something simr on asion. With his batteries charged for the day, Vahn quickly prepared to continue his conquest of the Dungeon before making his way downstairs to prepare breakfast. Fenrir, wearing nothing but the tunic he had worn the previous night, did her best to help out while Jeanne and Helen appeared shortly thereafter. Vahn refused Jeannes assistance and had her keep Helenpany since he was enjoying the moment with Fenrir and didnt want to spoil it by having Helens eyes boring a hole into the back of his head. Fenrir seemed gratified by the opportunity as her tail lightly wagged from side to side, asionally brushing Vahns leg due to their close proximity. Though Helen would asionally peer over at him, the rest of the morning proceeded in a pleasant fashion as, even back at the Manor, Vahn was idling about with thefortable weight of Terra resting against his chest. Though she had been activated by witnessing his unrestrained Qinglong form, Terra, fortunately, didnt produce a second egg. So long as she recognized Alexa as Vahns inheritor, it was borderline impossible for her body topletely awaken its reproductive functions. The downside to this was that Terra would be a little too aggressive and, even though his body was incredibly durable, experiencing the full power of an entity that exceeded Level 10 wasnt easy. If not for his ability to regenerate almost instantly, Vahn would have emerged from his nightly conquest with several broken bones, his waist being among them. Terras plump thighs turned into a veritable vice whenever she would climax and, even if he prepared for it, Vahn bones would creak when Terra wrapped her legs around his waist as if her life depended on it... Even though the evening had been intense, Vahn still felt as if it was extremely fulfilling since there was always a sense of aplishment whenever he managed to get Terra to concede. Though he didnt truly have a domination fetish, regardless of Anubis attempts to awaken it within him, Vahn wasnt beyond feeling a bit of pride after defeating Terra within her own nest. There was just something about seeing the pointy-eared True Dragon m.o.a.ning for a reprieve that riled up Vahns instincts. This was likely due to the influence of his Qinglong form but, as Terra seemed to really get off from it, Vahn didnt mind meeting her expectations every now and then. The only thing he had to be cautious of was Alexa but, fortunately, she had been within the Sub-Space orb trying to increase her strength and, even though she could blend into the void, it wasnt to the extent that he and Terra wouldnt be able to sense her. While ruminating, Vahn saw the tip of Terras tail begin to tap against the edge of her nest, alerting him to the fact that she was about to wake. Without the ability to read auras passively, Vahn had noticed it was a lot harder to determine whether or not people were awake. He actually had to pay closer attention to the bodynguage of those around him, making each moment feel more real than it had in the past. Though girls like Loki and Syr had reacted somewhat strangely after the revtion that he could no longer read them so easily, neither had an adverse reaction. Loki had warned him not topletely drop his guard around her but, after melding with her in the past, Vahn was no longer worried that she would betray him. She couldnt go against the Eternal Vow she had made and, regardless of how influential her Divinity was, Lokis motherly instincts seemed to keep it in check well enough. With her long eyshes flickering a few times, Terra slowly opened her emerald green eyes to reveal their slightly glistening surface. Vahn watched as her irises shrunk to adapt to the light before slowly expanding once again after meeting his gaze. Even without being able to see her aura, Vahn knew that the pupils would slightly dte whenever a person, even a True Dragon, looked at someone with love and affection. Since Terra was adept at masking her emotions, Vahn knew it was important to observe the minute changes in her eyes, tail, and wings if he wanted to know what she was thinking. Fortunately, their bond as Master and Subordinate also gave him a bit of assistance as, even without her saying anything, Vahn could feel Terras expectation as he bent down and kissed her honey-vored lips... After pampering Terra for the better part of twenty minutes, Vahn hesitantly left Terras garden before making his way over to the Manor. He had a full day of meetings and other duties to attend to so, even though he would much rather spend the whole day rxing, Vahn couldnt afford such luxuries without consequence. Since his Empire was still young, it was important that he resolved any issues before they got blown out of proportion. This sentiment wasnt his alone, either, as Loki, Fortuna, Minerva, and Riveria were all waiting for him at the Manors back entrance. Thetter was often busy with her duties as Headmaster but, being the Princess of the Elven Kingdom, Riveria would often provide him with counsel when she wasnt busy. Waiting for Vahn to approach within casual conversing distance, Loki showed a devilish grin as she asked, "Enjoy your evening? I swear, I could feel the reverberations all the way from my bedroom~." Though this wasnt exactly true, the bond between them more than allowed Loki to experience whatever Vahn was doing if she focused on it. Vahn was also aware of this and, knowing Loki was just teasing him, he returned a smile before focusing on the connection himself. As a result, Lokis mind was awash with various images that caused a small blush to touch her cheeks as the corner of her smile began to twitch. She quickly dashed the thoughts from her mind before giving Vahn the briefest look of me. This went unnoticed by the others present but Vahn knew he was in for a treat of sorts when Loki next got him to herself... For the second time in the same day, Vahn enjoyed a rtively peaceful breakfast as Loki briefed him on the Empires various affairs. Fortuna went on to exin the financial situation of the Alliance and the Empires territories while Minerva discussed various subjects, including civil unrest and potential uprisings that would need to be addressed. Not everyone was fond of the idea of an Emperor suddenly reigning over them, especially in the Northern Tundra, Land of No Sun, and Southern Sands. As the regions were dominated by ns that had withstood harsh environments for thousands of years, they were extremely steadfast yet obstinate people. Though he enjoyed a fair amount of poprity in certain subsections of the regions, Vahn knew he would need to personally address the issue if he wanted to avoid future troubles. Once breakfast hade to an end, Vahn escorted Riveria to the Sage Aldnari School before proceeding to the top floor of Babel Tower. There was something about being at the top of the Tower and in the depths of the Dungeon that caused a strange incongruity in Vahns heart but he didnt pay it much attention while listening to the reports of Brynhildr and other Valkyries. The information they had was often even more detailed than what was provided by Loki as, instead of hearing it from informants, the Valkyries often acquired the information themselves. Though there was a certain bias contained within their reports, the product of how they looked down upon other races, Vahn had already learned how to filter out their prejudice whenever they passed information to him. After finishing her report regarding the Aethiopian Kingdom, Brynhildr kept her head lowered with her onyx-ck wings spread outward, tips to the ground. Vahn didnt waste much time thinking about his decision before lightly tapping his throne as he said, "Rise." Without even a moments dy, Brynhildr rose to her feet with a fierce determination contained within her gaze. She had served Vahn long enough to know what his decision was and had already prepared herself to carry out his will. Vahn understood this, allowing a small smile to adorn his face as he gestured for her to rx while saying, "I will entrust this matter to you, Brynhildr. Take Asfi back to her homnd and put the errant Queen Cassiopeia on trial for her crimes. If Poseidon makes an appearance, activate your crest and I wille to deal with him personally..." Though Vahn wanted to help Asfi deal with the matters of her homnd personally, he knew such actions were more than a little extreme now that he was Emperor. He couldnt handle everything on his own and, now that he had a plethora of capable subordinates, it was time to allow them to settle matters on his behalf. Asfi was apetent woman and he had already discussed the matter with her previously so there were no issues. Since she hated her Mother with a passion, especially after what happened to her Father, Asfi was more than willing to personally deal with Cassiopeia in order to liberate her people from the path their errant Queen had set them on. Vahn had decided to entrust her protection to the Valkyries while allowing Asfi to act with impunity as an official Imperial Consort. Though they werent married, it ultimately didnt matter as there were simply none qualified to call into question Vahns rtionship status with other people... With her orders received, Brynhildr brought her right gauntlet to her b.r.e.a.s.tte in a full salute before confidently proiming, "As you will, so it shall be done...!" Then, after Vahn gave her permission to leave, Brynhildr, apanied by seven other Valkyrie, quickly made their way back to the Manor to retrieve Asfi. Vahn was left sitting on his throne, his focus primarily on what was happening within the Dungeon, while his right index finger caused an almost imperceptible indentation in the borderline indestructible throne. He didnt know why but, every step he took into the Dungeons depths made it feel as though his time was running out. Something deep within his soul told him that, if he didnt resolve everything he wanted to take care of in the shortest period of time, he woulde to regret it in the near future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn would do well in Toriko-verse,Terra isnt so easily tamed,Vahn is learning how to sense the plot!?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 996 - Mist

Chapter 996 - Mist

Because of the increased size of each sessive Floor, it took Vahns party nearly four hours to reach a surprisingly small chamber that seemed to connect to the 78th Floor. This was after traversing nearly 370km ofplex architecture and mowing down more than a dozen groups of powerful adversaries. Though none of them posed an actual threat to the party, there were a few troublesome enemies that Vahn would rather not face too often. This was especially true for any enemy that specialized in magic as, even though Vahn could cancel the spells used by people on the surface, the magic used at these depths was often instantaneous. There was even a feminine monster that looked like an Elf and, if not for her blue skin and white hair, she would have been indistinguishable from a High Elf. The biggest difference was the fact that her teeth were sharp, much like an animal, and, instead of trying to converse with them, she had barraged the party with powerful Ice Elemental magic from the very moment they entered her domain. Unfortunately for her, Vahns mes were a natural counter while Fenrir, seemingly offended by the Elven monsters use of Ice magic, personally dealt with her in a rather extreme fashion. Perhaps it was due to the fact that Evas magic system was from a Tier 5 Record but, regardless of the efforts put forth by the peculiar Elf, she was unable to match up to Fenrirs standard. The fight hadnt evensted three minutes before Fenrir had frozen the unfortunate Elf in a pir of ice that stretched nearly 200m into the air. Then, without any fanfare, Fenrir used her [Severing ws] to make a singr de that was nearly 30m long before cutting the frozen Elf into ribbons while she was unable to resist. Though there were other memorable moments, Vahn didnt particrly mind them as he inspected the strange runic patterns on the stone door barring their passage to the 78th Floor. Helen, seeing Vahn stand silent for more than a minute, misunderstood his actions to mean he was confounded by the runic inscriptions so she sonorously murmured, "It says that, to continue forward, you must face a trial of istion...it does not seem as if the Dungeon will allow us to continue as a group any longer..." Since she had more than a little time on her hands, Helen had often studied ancientnguages and, though she could only utter a few sybles, even understood thenguage of the gods to an extent. Hearing Helens words, Vahn gave a dismissive nod without turning to face her as he had already understood the passages meaning long before she made sense of the text. The Path provided him with an instant trantion feature and, though he probably should have thanked her for the assistance, Vahn found himself ignoring Helen more often as ofte. Upon realizing this, Vahn released a small sigh before sparing Helen a nce as he exined, "I appreciate your willingness to help, but I had already tranted the text with a single nce. One of my Innates allows me to trante anynguage instantly so you dont have to bother yourself over whether or not I understand the meaning behind any runes wee across..." In response to Vahns words, Helen simply averted her eyes in a seemingly disinterested manner but, even with her proficiency with masking her emotions, it was easy to see she was affected by what he had said. Vahn shook his head at this before returning his attention to the passage and wondering about his next course of action. Though he could break through into the 78th Floor by force, it was one of the few Floors before the 90th that he was genuinely concerned about. This was because, even after inquiring about its contents from the mirror, Vahn had been unable to glean any insight into the 78th Floors contents. There had been no enemies listed and, even after asking the mirror to show him the Floor directly, the only thing reflected in its surface was a hazy mist that was impossible to see through... While her Master was thinking about the best course of action, Fenrir had grown a bit absentminded so sheckadaisically traced one of her ws along the surface of the stone. Though it was several times harder than the surrounding bedrock, her w easily cut through the surface as if it were nothing more than a thick paste. Fenrir was slightly surprised by its resilience, as there was actually a little resistance whereas even Adamantine, one of the hardest materials known to man, was powerless against her ws. She didnt get to process the full extent of the stones durability, however, as a light quickly enveloped her body in response before she simply vanished from the area in an instant. Seeing Fenrir suddenly disappear, Vahn furrowed his brows before immediately using the Unit Management function of his system to call her back. Fenrir had been gone for less than a second but Vahn noticed that her scarlet eyes had zed over slightly as a thin mist slowly receded from their surface. She returned to normal a few secondster, a confused expression on her face as she looked around before fixing her gaze firmly on his face. Fenrirs confusion was reced by relief and affection as she leaped forward, tightly clinging to her Masters neck as she said, "Master, where did you go? Please dont leave Fenrir behind again..." Though she had been the one to leave, it was obvious that the mist that had covered Fenrirs eyes had affected her mind somehow, causing Vahns mind to race as he gently stroked the affectionate Vanargandrs head to console her. Since Fenrir was equipped with several essories that should have made it borderline impossible for her mind to be affected by external sources, Vahn knew that the mist contained on the 78th Floor wasnt simple. It likely had the ability to hypnotize trespassers and force them to see illusions that also influenced a persons perception of time. ording to Fenrir, she had been gone for several minutes after getting separated from the rest of the group. Though she had tried to find them by relying on her senses, she had been unable to make any headway as even Vahns scent, something she could never forget, seemed to have vanished from her sensitive nose. This was why, after embracing him, Fenrir took several deep and audible breaths of Vahns scruff to refresh her memory... After making sense of the information provided by Fenrir, Vahn turned to Helen and Jeanne to exin, "This stone seems to transport anyone who touches it to the 78th Floor. Im not sure if it will forcibly split us up but, going by what Fenrir had stated, there is a good chance the istion it speaks of is rted to the illusions. I dont know what you will see if you choose to proceed further but Im confident that I will be able to avoid being affected..." Though it may be better to send Jeanne and Helen back to the surface, Vahn knew neither girl would be dissuaded so easily. As for Fenrir, he could simply teleport her to his side after clearing the 78th Floor so she could either wait for his summons or return to her core form to temporarily reside within his Inventory. Since thetter option caused Fenrirs hair to stand on end, Vahn went with an even better solution, calling Fenrir to his side back in Babel Tower so she wouldnt face any unforeseen danger. In response to Vahns words, Jeanne hadnt wavered in the slightest as she proudly raised her chin and proimed, "Worry not, my Lord, I will not be bested by a simple illusion." Though not nearly as impressive as her physical and magical immunity, Jeannes resistance to illusions was very near the level of an Innate. This was the result of her Pure Light Affinity which, evenpared to Darkness, had the highestpatibility with Illusion-Based magic. At the same time, this meant that anyone with a Pure Light Affinity was almostpletely immune to the illusions of others, the only exception being illusions created by Innates and those conjured by those with a Pure Darkness Affinity. Even then, thetter could be broken out of with rtive ease while the former would depend almost entirely upon the victims willpower and the strength of their own Innates... Unlike Jeanne, Helens expression remained rtively unchanged but, simr to her counterpart, she exined, "I will be fine." There was absolute confidence contained within Helens words, almost as if she treated the thought of being affected by an illusion as inconsequential. Seeing this, Vahn gave a wry smile before cing his hand above the stone door and saying, "If we get separated, I wille to search for you. Lets regroup on the 79th Floor..." Without waiting any longer, Vahn ced his palm on the cold stone surface and allowed himself to be transported by whatever mechanism facilitated entrance into the 78th Floor. His vision was clouded by the strange mist almost instantly but, having already prepared himself, Vahn managed to shrug it off without any difficulty. Though his mind felt dull for a brief moment, it didnt seem like his mind had been captured in the illusion, something that Sis had confirmed for him. Even so, Vahn was unable to perceive his surroundings at all as even his domain didnt seem to provide him with proper feedback. Feeling rather annoyed by this, Vahn pushed his [Will of the Emperor] to the extreme in a single burst, causing the mist surrounding his body to retreat as a bubble formed around him. With the mist scattered, Vahn was able to sense his surroundings, allowing him to notice that the entire floor was filled with the bones of various different creatures. He hadnt even noticed it before but, now that the mist had been pushed away, there was a seemingly endless expanse of bones that had beenpacted together to form the floor. This wasnt an exaggeration either as, even after removing a section of the floor to inspect it further, Vahn noticed that the bones had beenpacted to the point of bing a single solitary mass after only 30cm. He couldnt help but wonder what kind of phenomenon would bring about such a result but, deciding it was best not to find out personally, he quickly set about looking for Helen and Jeanne. As expected, the stone door had ced him at apletely random spot on the 78th Floor and, even after creating a bubble more than a kilometer wide, Vahn was unable to see any sign of the two women. He wasnt particrly worried about them, as even Helen was more than capable of protecting herself, but it was still better to regroup as soon as possible. If this Floor was anything like the others, that meant its size was likely more than 500km in diameter while even the ceiling above was nearly 2 kilometers distance from the ground. The density of the mist even constricted his domain somewhat so he was unable to expand his perception even a third of the normal amount without taxing his reserves faster than he could replenish them. With few options avable, Vahn decided to pick up a wayward bone and, after marveling at the peculiar glow emanating from it, ced it joint-side down before releasing it. The bone fell slightly towards the right so Vahn chose that as his direction before throwing the glowing bone into his Inventory for identification. There were several unique bones located on the Floor and, though it was strange that all other remains were missing, Vahn could only specte the reasons as he looted anything that caught his eye. Bones, especially those belonging to high-leveled monsters, were exceptionally good materials so, after offering a prayer to the deceased, Vahn grabbed a few that would be particrly useful for creating spears, javelins, and other unique weapons... --- Unlike Vahn, who easily shrugged off the illusory mist, Jeanne hadnt been nearly as fortunate as her confidence would have made others believe. The moment she ced her palm against the stone, Jeanne found herself standing the middle of a battlefield as hundreds cried out for aid. Instead of her mature, albeit rather petite figure, she was now nothing more than a young girl whose sword was nearly as long as she was tall. The shield in her left hand felt far heavier than normal while the smoke rising up from the burnt corpses of her allies caused a nauseous feeling to rise up in her stomach. Jeanne tried to convince herself that this was simply an illusion but, almost as if to spite her attempt, the nauseous feeling overwhelmed her in an instant as she expelled the contents of her emptied stomach. Since her country was at war, and she was nothing more than amoner, rations had been tight for thest two weeks... As this thought crossed her mind, Jeannes eyes widened as she shook her head fervently to clear away the invasive memories from her past. She noticed that it was bing harder to think about her current Lord and the situation she had found herself in, almost as if the illusion was sending her back in time and forcing her to relive her worst nightmares. As if to respond to this line of thinking, Jeanne felt a strong grip around her left ankle as her body was pulled back with incredible force. She instinctually twisted her body and, though she was now much weaker than her future self, the heavy de in her hand moved as an extension of her body as it cut through the neck of a balding man with a hungry gaze. His expression turned into an abject stupor as he released her leg and tried to stimy the flow of blood before falling forward onto two other corpses. Using her gauntletted hand to wipe away the spittle from her mouth, Jeanne looked down into the face of the man as recognition shed across her eyes. She remembered things going far differently in the past as, instead of deftly killing the man, he had ripped off several pieces of her armor before an arrow had prated the side of his head. It was that moment that caused Jeanne to close off her heart to men as, even after hundreds of years passed, to the point that she couldnt even remember his face clearly, that same hungry gaze had always haunted her. Now that she could see his face clearly, Jeanne found herself breathing heavily as an overwhelming sense of relief reced the anxiety in her heart. Then, seemingly forgetting she was in an illusion, Jeanne picked up her sword with a fervent gaze on her face as she muttered, "This time will be different...I can change everything..." --- True to her words, Helen waspletely unaffected by the mist and, after cing her palm against the stone door, she found herself within the confines of a small shrine. With her hand still raised, she sent out a pulse of bluish-white light that caused the mist to slowly recede but, unlike the vastndscape of bones that Vahn had found himself in, Helen instead found that the shrine around her waspletely empty while every visible surface was a pure unblemished white marble. At the center of the shrine, a small pool of crystal clear water could be seen situated in a small curved basin. Finding herself drawn to the pool, Helen found that the surface was perfectly reflective and, though she had seen herself in mirrors several times, this particr image caught her eye as, instead of having pure white hair, Helen noticed that there was a subtle green glow present that had never been there before. Before she realized it, Helen had gently touched the surface of the water with her index finger, causing small ripples to expand outward. Curiously, however, her reflection seemed unaffected by these small ripples. Furrowing her brows slightly, Helen tapped against the surface of the water several times for reasons she herself didnt understand. No matter how many times she broke the surface of the water, however, the reflection in the pool remained unaffected and, though her own expression had turned dour, the image in the pool had a small smile on its face. Helen felt like the smile cut through her heart like a sharp knife and, though she was usually very calm, emotions she had kept at bay for hundreds of years seemed to break through their confines as she sent a ball of magical energy into the already chaotic pool. This caused the water within to immediately evaporate but, as if to mock her, Helen noticed that the thing that had been reflecting her image was the bottom of the pool and, though she had used a lot of her energy in the attack, it had beenpletely unaffected by her efforts. Instead, it continued to smile back at her while the peculiar green sheen of its hair became more prominent with the passage of time... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir wont let anyone copy her...!,*Casually loots bones*,Whatys within...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 997 - Illusion

Chapter 997 - Illusion

Relying on the directions he had received from the glowing bone, Vahn eventually found himself at the base of the 78th Floors wall. Much like the ground, the walls were alsoprised ofpacted bones which seemed to stretch upwards forever. Though the ceiling was only around 2km above him, seeing the wall disappear into the everpresent mist caused Vahn to feel as if any attempt to scale the wall would be an eternal endeavor. He didnt know why but the wall called out to him but, refusing to give in to such whims, Vahn shook his head to clear his thoughts as he asked, "What is going on, Sis? It feels like my mind is clouded, even though I shouldnt be affected by the illusion..." Vahn had already noticed that something was wrong about the 78th Floor but it wasnt until silence greeted him that he understood things had gone awry. His mind seemed to shrink at that very moment before, just as he had done before, Vahn sent out a powerful pulse with his [Will of the Emperor]. As a secondary measure, Vahn mustered up his Source Energy to create a membrane around his mind while covering his body with [Vis Maxima]. The moment he did so, Siss voice echoed within his mind as she worriedly stated, (*I thought you would never break out of it. This ce is more dangerous than we suspected, Vahn. You should find the others and leave as soon as possible.*) Hearing Siss voice caused Vahn to calm down considerably as he looked around and noticed that, instead of bones lining the floor and wall, there was nothing but simple bedrock in its ce. He didnt know what the illusion was supposed to represent but, now that he had broken free, Vahn felt as though a weight had been lifted off his mind as rity returned to him. The unfortunate oue of this rity was the realization that all of the bones he had collected were fake and, instead of having looted several precious materials, Vahn had simply been throwing stones into his Inventory. After tossing them aside, Vahn shook his head before transforming into his Qinglong form and taking to the sky. While searching for Jeanne and Helen, Vahn asked, ("Is this phenomenon the result of an Innate? I thought [Will of the Emperor] would protect my mind from normal illusions..."). In response to this, Sis exined in a patient tone, (*Though it isnt too dissimr, I believe this illusion is more the result of a Divinity rather than an Innate. You were able to resist it at the beginning but there was a gap created when you began to exercise your power directly. Since you believed you were in the clear, you fell victim to the effects of the illusion without even realizing it. Theck of any other dangers prevented you from realizing something was wrong until you finally reached the wall and tried to call out to me.*) Since the odds of Sis being wrong were minuscule, Vahn assumed her conjecture was correct and, considering that his soul was still only Tier 3, it wasnt too difficult to believe he had fallen victim to a Divinity. The question then became, which god had a Divinity rted to Illusions and how did theye to reside within the Dungeon. Though the simplest answer was that Nuwa was involved, which made sense considering that the mirror didnt give any information about the 78th Floor, none of the information he possessed associated Nuwa with a Divinity rted to Illusions. It was one of the more abstract Laws so, while some gods possessed minor Divinities rted to it, there were very few gods that had enough mastery over Illusion to exercise influence over him. With his mind wandering, Vahn found himself flying through the sky over a vast in where an incalcble number of soldiers were enthralled in an endless struggle. His flying speed slowed to a stop as Vahn looked out over the bloodshed, feeling of detachment and contempt welling up inside of him. Understanding this was yet another illusion, Vahn focused his mind once again, only to hear Sis loudly yelling, (*Damnit Vahn, stay focused...!*). Since she never cursed, or yelled for that matter, Vahn nearly fell out of the sky upon hearing Sis outburst resonate through his mind. Fortunately, he was able to catch himself quickly as Sis rather embarrassed voice sounded within the back of his mind like a tiny mouse squeak, (*Sorry, you started drifting so I...*) Shaking his head, Vahn allowed a smile to spread across his lips as he amusedly said, "You are bing more human every day, Sis. How cute..." Having long developed the habit of teasing girls, Vahn couldnt help but remark about how human Sis actions had been. This seemed to cause her even greater embarrassment as anxiety that wasnt his own seemed to spread through his mind before fading away into nothingness. Then, as if nothing had happened, Sis calm and cool voice exined, (*You should keep your focus from hereon, Vahn. Whoever is creating these illusions isnt to be trifled with. I couldnt even tell when you fell under its influence the second time...please, be careful.*) Hearing the concern in Sis voice, Vahn gave an understanding nod as he focused his mind to the extreme while, back within Babel Tower, he entered into a deep meditation with Fenrir sitting in hisp. With his main body listening to the indiscernible words uttered by the [Mantra of Eternity], Vahn found that his mind became infinitely more clear than before. He hadnt even noticed that his mind was so burdened until it had been removed entirely. Sis also seemed to notice this, remarking, ("The [Mantra of Eternity] seems to be far beyond the Tier of this Record...*) As she had spent several hundred years analyzing it at this point, without any progress, Sis was often surprised by the seemingly endless functionality contained by the mysterious mantra. With renewed confidence and a stark increase in his source energy replenishment, Vahn expanded his domain to nearly two kilometers as he streaked through the empty room. The room was remarkably bare so he was hopeful that finding Jeanne and Helen wouldnt be much of an issue, even if the surface area he would need to cover was quiterge. Hopefully, though he didnt hold out much hope this was the case, both girls would have been unaffected by the illusion. At the very least, it didnt seem as if the illusion was intended to cause harm so there was a fair chance he would find them somewhat shaken but otherwise okay. What he didnt ount for was the fact that, much like the several minutes Fenrir had experienced during the single second she was gone, the passage of time within an illusion was far beyond any expectations Vahn could have... --- Within a tent located near the frontlines of an ongoing battle, Jeanne was sitting with a wooden basin filled with murky water as she dressed a puncture wound on her abdomen. It had already been three years since she had started fighting and, though she was far from being considered an a.d.u.l.t, she had recently celebrated her eleventh birthday amidst thepany of a few trustedpanions. Though she would often feel that something was wrong, especially after receiving an injury, Jeanne now credited her knowledge of the future as a form of irvoyance, much like the upper echelons of the army. Unlike the strange memories she had of her past, where the same men treated her with scorn and contempt, they now treated her with respect. There were still some that looked at her developing body with eyes that caused her spine to tingle but,pared to what she remembered, things were much better than they had been previously... After cleaning her wound, Jeanne applied a balm made from herbs before dressing the wound with the cleanest bandages she could find. Around the same time, a brown-haired woman named Maya entered into the tent and, seeing the young girl failing to apply the bandages adequately, quickly made her way to Jeannes side to assist. Though thetter had panicked a little upon hearing someone enter her tent, seeing the smiling face of her trusted friend caused a small smile to spread across Jeannes face as she meekly replied, "Thank you, Maya..." This caused the far more mature woman to smile radiantly as she deftly tied the bandages while saying, "Think nothing of it, Jeanne. If not for you, I wouldnt even be here to help dress your wounds. Please, promise me youll take better care of yourself in the future...we all rely on you more than you know..." Hearing Mayas words, Jeanne felt a bit of warmth spread through her heart that caused the strange incongruity in her mind to fade away. She had been in a strange state ever since the tip of an enemys spear cut through her armor as, for reasons she was unaware, reason told her that such a thing should have been impossible. As this wasnt the first time such a thing had happened, Jeanne credited to battle fatigue as she internally reminded herself that, while some may jokingly refer to her as the Invincible Saintess, she was still just a human. She was just as susceptible to fatigue as anyone else and, if injured, she would bleed all the same... With the help of Maya, Jeannes wound was quickly dressed and, though it wasnt rmended to move around in armor with such injuries, thetter ignored her friends advice before dawning her armor once again. She didnt like to walk around the camp, where very few females were allowed to trespass, without wearing her armor. Though she had been epted as a soldier by most of her fellow countrymen, there were more than a few who believed that women shouldnt be allowed on the battlefield. Many of the exceptions to this rule were those with medical knowledge and, in nine out of ten cases, women of questionable morals who were intended to boost the morale ofmon soldiers. Even Maya was in thetter category and, if not for Jeannes intervention, she may have lost her life after a particrly brutal battle had caused some of the men to be unruly... Helping Jeanne into her armor, Maya absentmindedlymented, "You will be a beautiful woman in the future...its a shame you hide your figure behind so much armor. Though a battlefield may not be the ideal ce, young women are meant to blossom in the open, not be hidden away from sight..." With her own attire consisting of nothing more than a bodice, showing off her ample cleavage, and a tattered skirt, Maya couldnt fathom how Jeanne could wear armor over the majority of her body. Though she was arguably stronger than most of the male soldiers, much to their chagrin, seeing an eleven-year-old girl wearing full te armor was a peculiar sight for both allies and enemies alike. Without minding Mayas words, Jeanne picked up her beaten and battered kite shield before strapping it to her back. Lastly, she picked up a highly polished sword which, unlike the rest of her equipment, was exceptionally well maintained. It was her most important possession and, though itcked a sheath, Jeanne had a cksmith fabricate a slot in her kite shield where it could be seated outside ofbat. Though this made it harder to draw in an emergency situation, Jeanne rarely ever dropped her guard and, using her irvoyance, dealt with most enemies before they could present a real threat. Even amidst a group of seasoned warriors who were more than twice her age, there were none who were her equal with the de, something she often had to prove when some of the rowdier troops had too much liquor. After readying herself, Jeanne had Maya tie her ashen-hair up into a tight knot before stepping out of her tent which was located a fair distance away from the mens quarters. There was a seemingly invisible barrier surrounding her tent that nobody dared trespass as even the Commanders of the army knew better than to antagonize the young girl who had won them victory after victory. One had tried to force Jeanne to be his Paige, intending to raise up the girl as a young bride due to her already striking beauty, but the only thing he got for his troubles was the loss of both hands. Though this would have resulted in a heavy punishment for most other soldiers, the fact that Jeanne had in more than a hundred enemies in the previous battle caused the upper echelons to excuse her behavior. They would rather retire an errant Knight that had lost his hands than imprison a capable warrior that single-handedly outperformed most squadrons... From the moment Jeanne stepped out of her tent, the surrounding atmosphere seemed to change as, instead of the gloom of a battlefield, a slight fervor began to spread throughout the area. Though she wasnt preparing to enter the fray just yet, Jeannes presence seemed to inspire everyone in the vicinity as they all raised their heads just a bit higher as the youthful girl walked through their encampment. Many even had genuine respect visible in their gazes as they gave small nods to Jeanne in passing before making way so as not to impede her passage. To these men, Jeanne returned a courteous nod before continuing on her way, blue eyes fixed on the horizon where, just as it had for the previous three years, the sun was beginning to rise on yet another battlefield... --- With his speed, Vahn was quickly mappingrge sections of the 78th Floor before, after nearly two full hours had passed, he finally detected a second presence within his domain. Sensing the familiar fluctuations, Vahn released a small sigh before quickly beelining towards Helens location. He would have preferred to find Jeanne first but, considering the reality of their situation, Vahn knew it was likely far worse to leave Helen alone in such a situation. Upon reaching her location, however, Vahns mind almostpletely nked as, standing in the middle of a devastatedndscape, Helen could be seen with a dazed expression as tears poured down her face. Though this alone was a sight to behold, it was the fact that Helens clothes had been disintegrated that caused Vahns momentary stupor... Before he had realized it, Vahn found himself within the ruins of an ancient shrine that hadnt held up against the test of time. The surrounding stone pirs seemed to have suffered the effects of hundreds of years of weathering while several spots had outright decayed as a result of encroaching moss. There was a stagnant smell in the air that ovepped with a peculiar sweetness that caused his heart to itch madly after a brief inhtion. Fortunately, though his mind was influenced by the illusion, Vahns body quickly rejected the invasive aroma as he shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts. This time, however, the illusion seemed far more persistent and, before he could break free, Vahn was distracted when a familiar figure appeared before him. Though reason told him this was just part of the illusion, another part of Vahn recognized the entity before him as a real existence, even if he couldnt actually sense her. The reason for his distraction was because, though her hair was a different color, being a vibrant leafy green, the woman before him was a carbon copy of Kali. Much like her crimson-haired counterpart, the figure before him wore attire that couldnt be considered modest in the slightest. Unlike Kali, however, her clothes werent adorned with bones and silken fabric and were insteadprised of a peculiar cloth that seemed to be formed of the same mist that pervaded the entirety of the 78th Floor. It was for this reason that Vahn felt that the entity before him was real, even though the form she had taken was very likely just an extension of her Divinity... As if to answer his spection, the petite figure showed a mischevious smile before bringing her index finger to rest on her lower lip as she remarked, "How peculiar...you seem to recognize me? Tell me, boy, what exactly are you? Why have you trespassed my domain? What do you seek to gain from conquering the Dungeon...?" Though this was just the tip of the iceberg in regards to questions she wanted answering, they were the most important for the time being. Before Vahn could answer, however, the goddess seemed to realize something as she floated off her feet, closing the distance between herself and Vahn as she eximed, "Before you ask, my name is Maya. Now, dont want my time and answer my questions, okay~?" Unlike Kali, Maya seemed infinitely more child-like, causing Vahns stupor to persist for longer than he would have liked before he finally recovered his senses. Seeing Maya only a few centimeters away from his face, Vahn took a step back while raising his hand to prevent her from getting closer as he asked, "Are you the one who created the mist outside? What are your intentions...?" Though she had snickered yfully when Vahn backed away from her, Maya showed a deep frown after hearing Vahns questions. Still floating in the air, she pulled out arge body pillow from nowhere before hugging it tightly as sheined, "What kind of idiot answers questions with more questions? I already gave you the answer to one question so the least you could do is answer one of mine...!" Even though Vahn hadnt asked for her name, Maya knew it would be one of the first questions that came to mind so she had gotten it out of the way. At the same time, this gave her leverage to force Vahn into a disadvantage where she could get a better grasp of his character. Feeling that the situation would be far more troublesome if he offended what was very likely a powerful goddess, Vahn lowered his hand before giving an apologetic nod as he stated, "I did not mean to upset you...I am just worried about mypanions. To answer your questions, you have a simr appearance to another Goddess Ive met. As for what I am, my species qualifies me as a Progenitor. My purpose here is not to trespass your territory while my reason for conquering the Dungeon is out of necessity..." It wasnt urate to say he needed to conquer the Dungeon but, considering that he was nearing Tier 4 and would lose the opportunity soon, Vahn felt that it wasnt wrong to make such a im. While Vahn was speaking, Maya continued to hug her pillow as she rolled upside down and watched him with a curious expression on her face. She had the ability to discern all truths so, hearing Vahn im to know a Goddess that matched her appearance had caught her interest. At the same time, though there were some falsehoods within his words, she could tell that he wasnt exactly lying to her when he imed to be a Progenitor and wanted to conquer the Dungeon out of necessity. Though she had never seen a Progenitor before, Maya knew what they were and, if Vahn was truly a Progenitor, his chances of conquering the Dungeon were much higher than most. What she was most curious about, however, was why he believed conquering the Dungeon was a necessity, even though he didnt seem particrly interested in doing so. Though she hadnt been able to peer directly into his mind, as something prevented her from doing so, she had still been able to glean a few insights into the type of person he should be... Without hiding her curiosity at all, Maya continued to roll through the air while holding eye contact with Vahn the entire time. Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask her a few questions of his own, Mayas body began to blur away as a startled expression appeared on her face. She turned her head to look towards the interior of the shrine before quickly looking back at Vahn, an even more mischievous smile on her face as she said, "You know, at the rate things are going, that little one will breakpletely. I dont know why you brought her here but it is very dangerous if you allow her to be alone much longer...I wonder what you will do, fufufufu~." Then, without exining anything, the figure of Maya disappeared from the shrine as an ear-shattering scream echoed from the shrines interior. Hearing this, Vahns heart twisted in his chest as, even though he knew they were trapped in an illusion, hearing the pain in Helens voice was like having a dagger pierce his heart... (A/N: Alternate Titles: There are no absolutes,Jeanne :O...,The Mischevious Maya) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 998 - Release

Chapter 998 - Release

Following the scream to its source, Vahn found Helen at the very center of the ruined shrine. Fortunately, unlike her real-world counterpart, this version of Helen remained fully clothed as fragments of broken mirrors danced around her in a clear vition of gravitationalws. Reflected within these mirrors were various versions of Jeanne and, each possessing subtle differences, be it the color of their hair or something as simple as the expression on their faces. There were even some who seemed genuinely happy, casting radiant smiles from their faces that seemed to light up the surroundings. Strangely, though it didnt seem as if she were in any danger, Helen was curled up in a ball hugging her knees as these images danced around her... Releasing a sigh, Vahn attempted to make his way over to Helens side but he was quickly intercepted by a standing mirror that reflected, not Helen, but himself. This wasnt entirely urate, however, as, instead of a direct reflection, what Vahn saw in the mirror was himself strapped to a table as mechanisms cycled his blood. Upon seeing this, Vahn raised his left brow in mild surprise before a smile naturally spread itself across his face. Then, choosing not to waste his time, Vahn reached out his hand before muttering, "Sorry, but Ive already epted who I am..." Even without him having to destroy the mirror personally, Vahn watched as it began to dissolve into dust while the version of himself within the mirror returned a smile. Having received some insight as to the purpose of the illusions now, Vahn understood why someone like Helen would never be able to break free. She already lived a delusional existence and, regardless of whether or not you tried to make her see reality, she would deny it with every fiber of her being. He didnt know exactly what she saw, or how long she was trapped within the illusion, but it was obvious the experience hadnt been kind to her. Since there was little chance she would break free on her own, Vahn pulled out a mantle from his Inventory before sending a pulse of Source Energy through his domain to forcibly dissolve the illusion. The n.a.k.e.d Helen appeared before him just as he wrapped the mantle around her shoulders, the mist in her eyes slowly receding as awareness returned. Seeing Helens tear-stained face looking back at him in confusion, Vahns own expression softened a bit as he lightly whispered, "Sorry for beingte..." These words caused Helen to return to full rity as realization dawned upon her. She quickly inspected the state of her body before hugging the mantle tightly around her shoulders, a deep frown marring her face as she said, "That was no normal illusion...it must have been the trick of a god..." Since normal illusions would never have affected her, Helen knew the culprit behind her suffering, once again, had been a god. Remembering what she had to experience, Helen felt rage and shame bubbling up inside of her chest only to have it reced with shock when Vahn nodded his head and exined, "Yes, her name is Maya." Snapping her eyes back to Vahn, Helen asked, "You know her...?" To this, Vahn simply shook his head and exined, "She introduced herself when I came to help you. Earlier, when you screamed, she was ejected from the illusion somehow. Im not entirely sure what happened..." Since the illusion was a product of Mayas Divinity, Vahn didnt understand why her body had faded away in the middle of their conversation. There was a lot more going on than he was aware of and, knowing it was very dangerous to leave things as they were, he held up his hand to stop Helens inquiries, adding, "Jeanne is still in trouble. We can talk about what happened after reaching the 79th Floor..." Before Helen could issue aint, Vahn pulled out a pile of neatly folded clothes before separating himself from Helen with a partition. Then, amidst the silence that had settled between them, Vahn reminded, "Change quickly so we can be on our way. If you fall into another illusion..." Hearing the sound of clothes begin to rustle, Vahn allowed his words to trail and instead focused on their surroundings to see if he could sense Maya. Unlike other gods, who seemed extremely limited in the use of their power, Maya was unique in the fact that it didnt seem as if she were restricted at all. Much like Ouranos, he couldnt even sense her presence and, seeing how her Divinity affected a regionrger than 400km, it was impossible to consider this was her weakened state... After a few short minutes had passed, Helen moved aside the partition separating them, her expression already having returned to the cold and detached mask she had mastered. Vahn epted the folded mantle from her before throwing it into his Inventory without a second thought. Though Helens eyes seemed to flicker at this, Vahn wasnt too interested to know what delusion she had as he inly stated, "We need to find Jeanne as soon as possible." This earned a curt nod from Helen as the runes in her eyes began to radiate with increased intensity. Then, without exining what she was doing, Helen looked towards the East before extending out her finger and saying, "That way..." in her characteristically soft voice. With no other leads, Vahn chose to trust Helens judgment and began running at a pace that she would be able to match. Though it would have been faster to carry her, Vahn felt like it was very dangerous to show too much sympathy to Helen in her current state. His understanding of women had increased with the passage of time but, no matter how much effort he put into figuring them out, Vahn was often surprised by the reactions of even his closest lovers. The meaning behind Mayas words had also escaped him as, though he knew Helen was undoubtedly very lonely, he had no means of opening her heart without, theoretically, getting together with her. This made it almost seem as if Maya was pushing him towards Helen, something thetter would have undoubtedly credited to her fate... Thinking this far, a small frown adorned Vahns face as a very real urge to send Helen back to the surface emerged in his heart. He knew she genuinely had a fate rted to the Dungeon but, regardless of the machinations of gods and goddesses, he had no intention to fit into the mold they had formed. It was obvious that there was more going on in the Dungeon than he had expected and, though its purpose seemed to be the same as his expectations, it seemed like the opposite party was trying to make them follow a script of sorts. This annoyed Vahn a great deal as, though he was still affected by the Laws of Fate and Destiny at his current Soul Tier, the thought of anyone believing they could manipte him to such an extent grated on his nerves... Just as that thought crossed his mind, Vahn noticed his surroundings had changed once again, causing the frustration in his heart to bubble up and explode in an instant. The illusion around him shattered like a broken mirror as his feet slowed to a stop. Helen came to a stop at his side, mild confusion visible in her otherwise expressionless face. As for Vahn, his eyes had turned skyward for a brief moment before turning back to Helen, asking, "Which way...?" Seeing the seriousness and anger contained within Vahns gaze, Helen nearly took a step back by instinct but ultimately managed to resist the urge as she reached forward and pointed once again. Vahn gave a curt nod in response before she suddenly felt as if her stomach was being tugged by an invisible force. Before she was able to issue aint, Helen found her surroundings changing rapidly as Vahn used his telekinesis to pull her along at a much faster speed than she was capable of moving herself. Helens face morphed into a frown but she remained silent as, even more than Vahn, at least she would like to think, she was worried about her friend... --- Now twenty-two years old, Jeanne was no longer the same young girl that had stumbled onto a battlefield years prior. Not only had she physically matured a great deal, even more than the version of herself that haunted her dreams, but her armor was far more immacte than before. Instead of having to scr.a.p.e together pieces that she had looted from the battlefield, she now had a full set of custom-made armor that perfectly conformed to her body and allowed her to move without restrictions. Though it was somewhat heavy, Jeanne feltfortable in the armor, almost as if it was a second skin that she simply couldnt live without. Unlike the past, where the war had stopped after driving away the enemies from her homnd, this time things had been significantly different. Jeanne had proactively moved her way up the ranks instead of simply bing a symbol within the army that could be used at their leisure. She no longer took orders from others and was now in charge of a full regiment of her own that,pared to all others, was vaunted as the most elite within the region. With her trustedpanions at her side and capable soldiers under hermand, Jeannes Regiment had be simr to the spear she carried at her side, piercing into the enemies heart without mercy. Jeanne was currently sitting on the back of a grey stallion as she looked up at a massive ck fortress that had been built into the side of a mountain. She only had eighteen hundred men under hermand while the enemy vastly outnumbered them three-to-one. Since they were also in a fortified position, theing battle would be a hard-fought victory that would truly test whether or not her troops deserved to be called elites. If they emerged victoriously, there would be nothing to stop their conquest of the neighboring region that had greedily invaded their homnd more than a decade prior. Jeanne wanted them to pay for all the deaths they had caused and, now that she had a chance to fight back in a meaningful way, she hadnt wasted it. From Jeannes right, no longer wearing the outfit of a battlefield relief specialist, a mature beauty with curly green hair rode a red-haired mare. Like her Commander, she was wearing full-te armor except, contrasting the more conventional design, the b.r.e.a.s.tte had been constructed in such a way that it perfectly cradled her ample bosom. Jeanne oftenined about the design but, ording to its wearer, it distracted the enemies and provided her a slight edge against simrly skilled opponents. Though Jeanne would have rebutted almost anyone else as foolish, she invariably allowed this particr person to get away with a great deal as, over the years, they had be far closer than normal friends... Gently flicking the reins of her horse, the green-haired woman came to Jeannes side as she mused, "That is quite the wee they have prepared for us..." In response to this, Jeannes face adopted an eager smile before she turned to face the woman and said, "It would be a shame to keep them waiting, no? Come, Maya, let us away..." Though she was preparing to give a speech to her waiting troops, Jeannes words trailed off when she saw her closestpanion shake her head, an amused smile on her face. Just as her confusion began topound, Jeannes mind began to feel heavy as Maya asked, "Is this really what you want, Jeanne? Are you satisfied with being a spear instead of a shield...?" The moment she heard Mayas question, visions of all the people Jeanne had ever killed began to y within her mind all at once. She suddenly felt extremely nauseous as,pared to her past self, where she had disarmed her foes and left them alive, she had killed thousands of enemy soldiers this time around. Though it hadnt been easy, Jeanne had grown ustomed to death and, not wanting to be her weak self that was taken advantage of, she pushed on tirelessly until finally reaching the point where she could deal real andsting damage to her enemies. After nearly falling from her horse, Jeanne righted herself before looking into Mayas eyes, a look of disbelief clouding her own as she shouted, "Who are you? What did you do with Maya!?" Jeanne felt as though an enemy mage had invaded her ranks and reced her closest confidant but, seemingly unfl.u.s.tered by the usation, Mayas smile just softened slightly as she exined, "I would have liked to see how far your convictions could have taken you, Jeanne. It really is a shame that our time together hase to an end..." As she spoke, Maya looked towards the distance where a loudmotion had just started. Jeannes eyes followed Mayas, allowing her to see the image of a man breaking through the sky as the world began to shatter apart like fragments of a mirror... Seeing the once-familiar figure, Jeannes eyes widened in shock as she habitually muttered, "My Lord..." in a sheepish tone that barely reached her own ears. Then, far clearer than her own words, the voice of Maya echoed, "You are what you choose to be, Jeanne. If you wish to live without regrets, you must forge a path all your own. Few are afforded the opportunity to correct their past actions...but, are you satisfied with the person you have be...?" Snapping her head back to Mayas location, Jeanne noticed that the woman had simply vanished, much like the rest of the world around her. A powerful feeling of loss spread through her heart as even the horse she was saddled to ceased to exist, dropping her unceremoniously towards the ground. Before shended against the hard bedrock below, however, a pair of warm arms wrapped around her shoulders before gently lowering her onto a cushioned surface. Jeanne felt hot tears flowing from her eyes as she looked up into the same face that would often appear in the back of her mind whenever she did something she didnt truly believe just... Seeing Jeannes crying figure, Vahn felt her anguish as his own, causing his heart to twist painfully in his chest. Reaching out his hand, Vahn wiped away her tears with his finger before pulling Jeanne into a warm hug as he whispered, "Its okay, Jeanne...everything is okay now..." Though he wasnt exactly close enough to Jeanne to warrant such a response, Vahn could see the loss and confusion contained within her gaze. He had seen the two armies within the illusion she was trapped in and, noticing that even her appearance was drastically different from normal, it was obvious she had experienced something far different than Helen and himself... Having Vahn embrace her made Jeanne feel suffocated as tears continued to pour down her face in even greater volume. Her memories returned to her like an unrelenting tide, washing away the fourteen that she had spent within the illusion. It was already bing difficult to recall what had happened but, even if the memories faded, the emotions that had driven them still persisted. Jeanne felt incredible shame, not for having fallen into the illusions trap, but as a result of bing a person that was almost theplete opposite of everything she believed in. It felt as if her whole world hade crashing down and, instead of pride and dignity, the only things she felt right now were an overwhelming sense of shame, sadness, and, most heartbreakingly of all, warmth... --- Though Helen felt greatly relieved when she and Vahn had found Jeanne, these feelings quickly faded when she saw the genuine concern Vahn had for thetter. Unlike when he had saved her, Vahn had tightly embraced Jeanne and immediately began trying to console her without even a second thought. It wasnt the same unceremonious response he had given her, almost as if the fact she had been trapped in an illusion was an inconvenience to him. Seeing the stark contrast in how Vahn treated the two of them made Helen feel as though her spection about the rtionship between the two was undoubtedly true. Though her interactions with Jeanne over the past few days seemed to contradict this, Helen now felt as if she had been pped in the face as the truth was revealed before her very eyes. An overwhelming urge to shed tears welled up inside her fractured heart but, knowing there wouldnt be anyone to console her, Helen buried her emotions as deeply as possible before turning her eyes away from the scene of Vahn and Jeannes embrace... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is a bit of a butthole, even if he has reason to be,I dreamed a dream of time gone by...,Hearbreak...) (A/N: I have no idea what happened but I somehow ended up sleeping for 11 hours. Im not the type that ever uses an rm clock so I was genuinely shocked when I saw what time it was after sitting down at myputer. There will still be three chapters today but the release may be a few minutester than the standard two hour window.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 999 - Reality

Chapter 999 - Reality

It took a while for Jeanne to calm down but she eventuallyposed herself enough to proactively separate from Vahn and stand on her own. Though he encouraged her to take it easy, Jeanne shook her head with a tired look in her eyes as she muttered, "I dont want to stay in this ce...please, let us move on..." Unlike her chivalrous and too-polite self, Jeanne very clearlycked the confidence Vahn hade to expect from her. Seeing her like this caused him to feel a slight animosity towards the goddess Maya but, seeing as how the mist was proactively avoiding them now, he let the mattery and simply nodded his head, saying, "Lets find the entrance to the 79th Floor. If necessary, Ill even make one of my own..." As if in response to his words, the mist at the periphery of his domain parted to create arge path for them. Vahn and Helen both noticed this while Jeanne continued to hang her head, deep in her own thoughts. Noticing this, Vahn ced his hand on Jeannes shoulder and softly whispered, "Come, Jeanne...there will be plenty of time to think about what happened once we are away from this nightmarish ce..." Though his own illusion had been rtively tame, likely the result of Maya not being able to directly interfere with his mind, Vahn felt that this ce was extremely dangerous for anyone thatcked confidence and willpower. He had the benefit of his [Will of the Emperor] and the aid of his Source Energy so, even if Maya had tried her best to entrap him, the odds favored his quick escape. Without making eye contact with Vahn, Jeanne nodded her head but waited for him to take the lead before falling into step close behind. She would normally proactively point so it was easy to see that Jeanne had been heavily affected by whatever she had experienced in the illusion. Vahn wanted to inquire about what she had seen but, true to his prior words, wanted to leave the confines of the 78th Floor before asking. Fortunately, even though Jeanne was distracted, both she and Helen were able to keep pace without any issues as they followed the path that had been opened in the mist. It didnt even take them twenty minutes to reach a small staircase that was formed directly in the floor but, instead of immediately heading down, Vahns attention was brought to the statue that was overlooking the stairwell at the side... The statue was wearing a ceremonial dress that barely covered her figure while holding a massive book within her embrace. Unlike the rest of the statue, which was formed from a highly polished and smooth stone, the book was clearly another artifact as it appeared to be bound in a subtly glowing leather with ents of gold embellished into its surface. Even at a nce, it was easy to tell that the book was unbelievably ancient yet, at the same time, it appeared almost brand new as it, very literally, emanated a glow from its surface. There were runes dancing around where the title would usually appear, constantly shifting in a pattern that was indiscernible even to The Path. Though Vahn could read the words that appeared, they simply didnt have any structure and appeared to bepletely random, the same pattern never appearing twice. As it was possible that neither girl knew who the statue represented, Vahn exhaled a sigh through his nose before exining, "This is a statue of the goddess Maya. She seems to have dominion over illusions..." What Vahn didnt exin was that this statue was very likely Maya herself as, if his spection was correct, the secret of the Dungeon was even deeper than he imagined. If what he believed was true, which every sign seemed to indicate was the case, it meant that a god may very well be able to exist within the Dungeon with their real body. Vahn knew that gods were able to form avatars, sealing their Divine Body in stone before descending to the Mortal World. There was very obviously something off about the statue holding the mirror and, now that he found a statue that was a carbon copy of Maya, Vahn believed the indestructible statues were none other than the statuesque Divine Bodies of gods... Hearing Vahns words, Jeanne showed a clearly confused expression before muttering, "She looks exactly like Kali-sama..." With the exception of their clothing and facial expression, there were almost no other differences between Maya and Kali, to the point that they could very well be considered identical twins. Vahn was fully aware of this but, as if realization had dawned upon her, Jeannes eyes widened as she eximed, "Wait, Maya...!?" Jeanne then proceeded to clutch her head with a pained expression on her face that alerted both Vahn and Helen. Thetter, however, simply extended her arm slightly while Vahn directly moved to support Jeanne before she could copse to the ground. Seeing the pained look on Jeannes face, Vahns anger was beginning to boil over once again since it was very clear that Maya had done something to Jeanne for her to react in such a way. Before he could ask her to exin, however, Vahn caught a sh of light out of the corner of his eye as Jeannes body dissolved in his arms. Turning his head, Vahn saw that the statue had now assumed the form of the real Maya, even though her presence couldnt be felt. She was sitting on the edge of her stone pedestal, dangling her small legs in a yful manner as she exined, "You shouldnt break this one so quickly. I altered time so that every hour in here is one second in what you believe to be reality. There are a few things I wanted to talk with you about and this is the only way Im able to converse with you~." Though his rage hadnt faded away just yet, Vahn fought to keep his calm as he rose to his feet and confidently stated, "That isnt true, is it? If you wanted to, you could bring your avatar to meet with us, correct...?" In response to this, Maya lifted up her brows with an amused expression on her face but inevitably shook her head, exining, "That isnt entirely true, you know~? Though my avatar certainly exists, I dont have the ability to move around as easily as you seem to believe. I dont possess the means to move through the Dungeons restrictions, even if Im one of the...well, lets keep that part a secret~." As she spoke, Mayas expression turned into a teasing look that matched her childish appearance to a tee... Knowing it would be borderline impossible to get any information out of an illusion, Vahn took several deep breaths to remain calm before asking, "What did you do to Helen and Jeanne? What is the purpose of the 78th Floor...?" Even after havinge up with several guesses of his own, Vahn wanted to know the true answer. Unfortunately, Maya didnt seem willing to sate his curiosity as she stuck out her tongue before saying, "If you want to know the purpose of the 78th Floor, youd have to face the challenge directly. It is perhaps even more important for someone as powerful as you to undergo the trial I pose to anyone trying to venture into the Dungeons heart. As you are, it will be impossible for you to take the final step, even if you manage to reach the lowest part of the Dungeon..." Mayas expression turned from that of a mischevious child into one of absolute seriousness with her final words. Her green eyes shimmered with a mystical light as the surroundings quickly morphed, changing from the spacious bedrock chamber into a field of bones once again. Maya proceeded to look around at thisndscape, her expression unchanged before turning back to Vahn and asking, "What will you do...?" Seeing the familiarndscape, Vahn felt as though his suspicions were correct but, unwilling to y along with Mayas trial, he shook his head before confidently stating, "I know the path Im walking may not be the best path...Im even aware that, no matter how much effort I put in, I may never end creating a world where everyone can be happy. However, the trials I must face are not yours to decide. I will walk the path I created for myself, not the path Nuwa had decided. Tell her that, if she truly believes her creations can reach godhood, it will be through a path they have decided upon, not one she hadid out for them. " Though Vahn wasnt formed as a result of Nuwas machinations, he was annoyed by the fact that Jeanne and Helen had been forced to experience something so traumatic for no other reason than a goddess thought it her right to test them... Instead of being offended by Vahns words, Maya stuck out both her legs parallel to the ground with a bubbly smile on her face. Her green eyes shed once again, causing thendscape to revert back to normal, before happily exining, "That has always been the correct answer, Vahn Mason. The purpose of my trial is to make people realize that the only way forward is to live as you please. You must truly believe in the path you are walking, regardless of if reality deems it possible. It is the realization that there were never limits. to begin with, that will allow mankind to reach the same level as their creators. I pray that your convictions ring true, ufufufu~." Though there was still much to discuss, the tips of Mayas toes began to dissolve away as the seemingly young goddess continued tough without inhibitions. Vahns frown deepened in response, especially when she suddenly added, "If you truly manage to be a god, I will finally be free from the task that has been assigned to me. Id like to meet this Kali that shares my appearance. Make sure to introduce me properly when the timees, okay~?" With these parting words, Mayas bodypletely vanished, leaving Vahn holding Jeannes body as he stared up at the statue which, unlike before, now had a small smile on its face... Almost as soon as Vahn had returned to reality, Jeannes headache hadpletely faded away but, along with it, so too did her consciousness. She became limp in his arms but, instead of having a pained expression on her face, there was a light and contented smile as she curled up in his embrace, her left hand gripping the edge of his tunic. Vahn knew that Maya must have done something to her while he was in her illusion but, seeing that Jeanne was no longer in pain, he simply released a heavy sigh before picking her up and looking back at Helen. Thetter had been watching the events y out in silence but, seeing Vahn look in her direction, she quickly averted her eyes and deflected by asking, "What is the purpose of that book...?" Seeing how Helen was behaving, Vahn squinted his eyes slightly before turning his attention to the book and inspecting it once again. If it was anything like the mirror that was held by the previous statue, the book was likely a powerful artifact that could be extremely useful to anyone that managed to make it this far. Unlike the mirror, however, the book was held closed in the statues embrace and it didnt seem like there was any way to open it. Vahn cast his eyes towards the runes embedded into the foundation of the statue, reading, A dream indistinguishable from reality is often more real than any memory. Are humans the product of their past or their desire for a future that exists only within the mind?. After reading the words, Vahn blinked in both realization and confusion as, though he understood their meaning, it didnt really convey the purpose of the book. Since he didnt really want to mull over it for too long, especially while holding onto Jeannes unconscious body, Vahn turned his attention back to Helen and exined what the runes meant. She had been in the process of tranting them herself so, while she still listened to Vahns words, Helen lightly snorted through her nose beforepleting her own trantion shortly thereafter. Vahn withheld a sigh upon seeing this but kept to himself while inspecting Jeannes condition to make sure she wasnt suffering any abnormal side-effects from Mayas illusion. It seemed like she was having a pleasant dream so he allowed her to continue sleeping as, after what she experienced, Jeanne could undoubtedly use the rest. Helen had made her way over to the foot of the statue which, even after being elevated on a tform, was still shorter than she was tall. Though she also failed to understand the true meaning behind the tranted runes, Helen wasnt content with simply moving on after being forced to experience an illusion that she needed Vahns help to escape. Without anything else to go on, Helen trusted her instincts as she began tracing the edge of the book with her index finger. It felt strangely warm to the touch but, even after trying to remove it from the statues hands, the book remained firmly in its ce without budging even a single centimeter. Helen then tried to make sense of the runes on the books cover but, seeing them rapidly change, she quickly gave up while simultaneously refusing to ask Vahn for help... Seeing Helen have little sess with the book, Vahn wasnt too surprised since even he couldnt discern a method to extricate the book without damaging it. There was likely a key that they had overlooked, perhaps rted to Mayas illusions, but that wasnt of particr concern to Vahn at the moment. Since the book didnt seem necessary in conquering the Dungeon, Vahn decided he would investigate its functionster. The odds of him encountering Maya in the future were exceptionally high and, though she seemed somewhat troublesome to deal with, Vahn was confident she would reveal the books function after he reached godhood. She seemed to have epted the duty of testing anyone that was trying to reach the lowest Floor of the Dungeon so, after reaching that point in the near future, Vahn suspected she woulde to him on her own ord after her duty was fulfilled. Since it already felt as if he had spent a lifetime on the 78th Floor, Vahn held Jeannes sleeping figure close before saying, "Lets descend. We can investigate the bookter on. Im sure you could use some rest as well so lets not waste our time here..." In response to this, Helen looked toward Vahn with slightly squinted eyes as soundless words seemed to form on her lips. Ultimately, however, she simply closed her mouth and gave a small nod before walking towards the stairs without waiting for Vahn to lead the way. Seeing this, Vahn was slightly surprised as Helen was obviously acting very differentlypared to her past self. Much like Jeanne, she had likely experienced something extremely traumatic and it seemed to have asting impact on her behavior. This was slightly troubling as, even before being trapped in the illusion, Helen was already somewhat difficult to deal with... Deciding not to me Helen for something she had no control over, Vahn released a small sigh before following closely behind her. It wasnt her fault that she had be victim to Mayas illusion as, even with a ridiculous amount of benefits on his side, even he had fallen into her trap several times. If he treated Helens trauma as something that was troublesome, Vahn knew it would be extremely selfish as, even at this very moment, he was tending to Jeannes trauma as if it were his own problem. This realization caused Vahn to feel ashamed of himself as, from an outside perspective, it was clear as day that he was showing Jeanne preferential treatment while leaving Helen to suffer in silence. As he would never allow anyone else to go through the same thing without expressing his empathy, Vahn fell into step beside Helen, surprising her as she hadnt expected him to suddenly invade the invible personal space that naturally followed along with her. With his expression softening into an apologetic one, Vahn quietly muttered, "Once we get to a safe area...if you want to talk..." Even as the words left his lips, Vahn felt incredibly awkward as it had been a long time since he had trouble talking to a girl. Realizing this, Vahnughed at himself internally before straightening his back and saying, "Ill make you something warm to drink and cook you up a hearty meal if youre feeling hungry. Youve experienced something terrible and Im sorry if my actions have seemed unempathetic, Helen...please dont push yourself too hard. You may not consider me as such, but Id like to think of us as friends...if you need to talk, Ill always be around to listen. I may not be able to give the best advice but, even if I end up embarrassing myself, Id rather suffer your ire than see you go through this alone..." Having never expected Vahn to say such words, at least after her perception of him had changed, Helen was momentarily at a loss as to how she should respond. In the back of her mind, however, the little voice that always guided her actions suddenly whispered, He is trying to fool us. He sees the weakness in our heart and is trying to take advantage of us. We cannot allow him to trick us. He obviously cares about Jeanne more and is just trying to manipte us so that we can be useful in the future. With these words as a guide, Helens expression turned dour as she venomously stated, "Your consideration is not necessary...worry not, however, as Ive already made my convictions. Besides, your food...it isnt that good..." With herst words barely audible, Helen increased her gait to create some distance between herself and Vahn. Thetter was left looking at her back and, barely resisting the urge to allow his eyes to wander, Vahns expression turned into one of genuine concern and pity as, within his mind, Helens affection dropped from 78 down to 53 in an instant. The bracket parameter, which had always been (Trust) before, even transitioned to (Confused) before quickly turning into (Contempt) momentster... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Pieces of the truth...?,Mayas Duty,Helen has gone full-tilt (o_o)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1000 - Resolution

Chapter 1000 - Resolution

After reaching a rtively secure area on the 79th Floor, Vahn set out the same magical cottage that they had previously used for resting. Helen immediately retreated to her own room without a word while Jeanne wasid to rest on afortable sofa. She would have normally shared the same room as Helen but it didnt seem as if thetter had any interest in following conventions at the moment. Vahn didnt really know what to say to her so he instead set about cooking up some food in the hopes of either luring her out or, at the very least, making sure she had something to eat if she got hungry. At the same time, back on the surface, Vahn had returned to the Manor with Fenrir in order to update the girls and spend time with his children. Though the excursion in the Dungeon hadnt been going on that long, as less than three days had passed since his departure, things had already be far more troublesome than anticipated. Fortunately, at least for the time being, things were manageable and, for each problem he may face during the descent, there were a plethora of people he could talk to if things began weighing heavily on his heart. This time around, after enjoying a rather pleasant lunch with many of the Manors residents, Vahn had returned to a private study with Eina and their daughter, Eiko. Thetter was growing up healthily and was already capable of speaking broken sentences. As for her Guardian, the Gemcutter Squirrel, June, it was always very energetic as it climbed around on the furniture and explored the surroundings with a curious glint in its eyes. Vahn absentmindedly watched Eiko giggling happily as she chased around June while Eina gently ran her fingers through his hair. He had already exined the situation in the Dungeon and was now enjoying a bit of leisure time while waiting for Jeanne to wake up of her own volition. Food had already been prepared and stored in his Inventory so, back in the Dungeon, Vahn was meditating while keeping his attention focused on their surroundings. This freed up the majority of his focus, allowing him to fully enjoy the alwaysfortable sensation of having someone stroke his head. It was amazing how such a simple action could provide so muchfort but, remembering how the girls reacted when he stroked their heads, it wasnt that difficult to wrap his head around... While chasing after June, Eiko ended up stumbling over her own feet but, instead of falling to the ground and potentially injuring herself, a gentle pressure wrapped around her body before righting her once again. Then, without missing a beat, Eiko pped her hands happily before chasing after June once again. Thetter had stopped to make sure Eiko was okay and, seeing that she was uninjured, their game of tag proceeded without much dy. Eina saw this and smiled warmly before leaning down and kissing the top of Vahns head before lightly reprimanding him by saying, "You should allow her to fall every now and then or she will never learn to be cautious..." As he had heard simr things several times, Vahn just absentmindedly nodded his head without taking the words to heart. He knew he spoiled his children a bit but he simply couldnt harden his heart and allow them to experience suffering, at least when he was around. At the very least, he was always honest with them and made sure they were capable of thinking for themselves. This way, even if they were somewhat dependent on him at times, they would seriously consider their actions whenever he wasnt around. Since the rest of the girls in the Manor also took a part in making sure the children were prepared to face whatever the world threw at them, Vahn wasnt particrly concerned with them experiencing any setbacks as a result of his pampering nature... Seeing Vahns reaction, Eina giggled lightly before pinching the side of his cheek in mock protest to his haphazard way of raising his children. Since the older children hadnt shown any of the tell-tale signs of bing entitled wastrels, she also wasnt that concerned with how their daughter would end up. After all, she had a direct hand in Eikos education and, though their daughter was sometimes absentminded, she showed an appreciable level of intelligence for her age. Though not nearly as impressive as the standard Vanir, she shouldnt have any issues excelling amongst a group of her peers. Without minding Eina pulling on his cheek, Vahn continued to enjoy the momentary bliss that was often present whenever he spent time with this first wife of his. She was, in essence, the functional Empress of his Empire but, without minding such things in the least, Eina continued her work at the Guild Branch while spending much of her free time tending to the children or, in this case, Vahn himself. When Rose, Misha, or the other girls would tease her about being an Empress, she would simply shrug it off with a smile before asking them how their rtionship was developing. This was a good way to nip troublesome conversations in the bud as, though Misha was usually pretty open about her feelings, Rose had caused her to mellow out quite a bit with the passage of time... As much as he wished moments like this could persist forever, Vahn sensed movement within his domain, causing his eyes to open within the Dungeon just as Jeanne raised her body and released a tired yawn. She began to look around at her surroundings before absentmindedly returning Vahns gaze with her own. For several seconds, the air became strangely tense before Jeannes face became noticeably red from her neck. Vahn could practically see the blush rise until it reached the top of her head before Jeanne averted her eyes to the side before sheepishly asking, "My Lord...how long have I been asleep? I cant remember anything..." Hearing this, Vahns brows perked up in surprise before realization dawned upon him. Whatever Maya had done to Jeanne seemed to have erased whatever memories she had obtained during her time spent in the illusion. Vahn had wanted to ask about her experience at some point, as he was somewhat curious to know what Jeanne had gone through, but that didnt seem to be an option any longer. As this was probably for the best, Vahn decided not to force the issue but, in the back of his mind, he couldnt helpining about the fact that Maya hadnt undone whatever experience Helen had gone through. In a way, Jeanne losing her memories of the trauma she had experienced would just upset Helen even further as, from what he could see, she was projecting her troubles in a way that couldnt easily be addressed in short order. Deciding he would have to deal with the troubles as they came, Vahn forced a smile on his face as he gave a brief summary of what had transpired on the 78th Floor. Jeanne was fully aware of the fact that she had fallen into an illusion but, no matter how much she tried to recall the memories of that time, the only thing that appeared within her mind were glimpses of a woman with green hair. Even this didnt provide her with any clear information as any attempt to recall exactly what the woman looked like simply escaped her. This caused Jeanne to feel incredibly frustrated as, far more than Vahn, she was worried about Helens well-being. However, as thetter ignored her knocking, Jeanne didnt know what she should do to make amends for the fact that her trauma had been erased while her friend was forced to face it directly... Seeing Jeanne walking back from Helens room with a doleful expression on her face, Vahn closed his eyes while internally shaking his head. He had no way of rationalizing Helens behavior and, as their rtionship was never that close, attempting to enter her room may very well exacerbate the situation. The only viable solution seemed to be achieving godhood as soon as possible, allowing her to be free from the burden of her assumed fate. This, however, may cause the current Helen topletely break as, without a meaning in life, she may very well choose death. Though this wasnt necessarily a bad thing, at least from Vahns perspective as someone who had died previously, he felt it was exceptionally unfair to Helen that she had been given such a lot in life. Erecting a barrier around them that blocked out both sound and external magical probes, Vahn looked into Jeannes eyes with a severe expression visible in his own. This caused her to be serious and alert before asking, "What is it, my Lord?" In response, Vahn inhaled deeply through his nose before exining the rather terrible solution he hade up with, stating, "When all of this is over, I may have to erase Helens memories..." Hearing Vahns words, Jeannes eyes widened into full circles before her expression gradually warped into indignation and internal conflict. Though she almost habitually refuted him, Jeanne knew better than anyone that Helens life hadnt exactly been pleasant. She had been alone for a very long time and, as a result of the fate she had been given, it was impossible for her to move on without a drastic change in her mentality. Having her memories erased meant that she would lose a great deal of knowledge and experience but, at the same time, it opened up a way forward for her to live a life without the burdens that had weighed heavily on her heart for centuries. Seeing Jeanne go through the motions of epting his proposal, Vahn added in a solemn tone, "Im worried that, if I am able to achieve godhood without her assistance, Helens mind might break. If that happens, I will be forced to take action before she does something truly regretful...after that, I will no longer have any right to watch over her any longer. When the timees, please take care of Helen on my behalf, Jeanne. I know it is selfish to entrust you with this, as the guilt will undoubtedly weigh heavily on your heart, but I believe there are none better suited to the task..." Jeanne, in response to Vahns words, showed an expression of sheer disbelief on her face as she failed to fully process what he was asking of her. The confident light that was usually present in her eyes began to flicker like a candle being blown about by a tempestuous wind as she absentmindedly stated, "I am my Lords shield...I must protect you and the members of the Imperial Family..." Now that the conflict she had experienced from the illusion had faded away, Jeannes meaning in life were the convictions she had as a knight. She couldnt rationalize abandoning her duty to do something as selfish as taking care of her friend as, even though she was genuinely worried about Helens well-being, Jeannes image of the taciturn mage was of a highly capable woman that didnt require a caretaker... Instead of insisting, Vahn waved upon hearing Jeannes words, forcing his mind to quickly proffer potential solutions. This turned out to be unnecessary, however, as Sis quickly chimed in, saying, (*Vahn, we both know you would never be able to live with the regret of sending Jeanne and Helen away. You would constantly worry about whether or not you made the correct decision and, if something bad happened, it would be even more troublesome...*) As this wasnt exactly a solution, Vahn frowned deeply but, before he was able to ask, Sis quickly added, (*Helen is a woman who is obsessed with the idea of her life having meaning. Even if youre unwilling to give her meaning, you can help her find new meaning rather easily. After all, with what we know of the Dungeon, it shouldnt be that difficult to push Helen onto a different path, correct...?*) Even without Sis exining it directly, Vahns eyes widened in realization as he practically leaped from the sofa, startling Jeanne in the process. Seeing her confusion, Vahn smiled before bowing low and eximing, "Im sorry, Jeanne, it was irresponsible of me to ask such a thing from you. I may have a solution that will fix everything so please dont let my idiocy bother you too much." Though Vahn could feel his temples buzz in difort while lowering his head and admonishing himself, he ignored the sensation since he was the most aware of how foolish his suggestion had been. More than simply betraying Helens trust, Vahn felt like he had betrayed both Jeanne and himself aftering up with such a terrible means of dealing with the situation. Though his current solution wasnt much better, it was infinitely better than simply erasing Helens memories and leaving someone else to deal with the aftermath... Though she was taken aback by Vahns spontaneous actions, Jeanne felt a great deal of relief after hearing his words. For a moment, it felt like her world was crashing down so, even though she couldnt forget that Vahn had made such a suggestion, Jeanne ced a hand over her rapidly beating heart to calm down as she released a genuine sigh of relief. The me in her eyes quickly stabilized as she looked toward the man she recognized as her Lord, asking, "Is it beyond my standing to ask about the solution my Lord has conceived...?" Normally, Jeanne would never openly question the decisions made by those she served but, as the matter pertained to someone she held dearly, she couldnt help but break propriety just once. Without minding Jeannes faux pas, Vahn sat back down and, after calming himself down, exined, "Honestly, I hope that things donte to this but, if Helen does end up trying to take her life...I will not stop her." Since these words would undoubtedly upset Jeanne, Vahn had already raised his hand in a gesture to remain calm as he added, "So long as she is bound to her current life, Helen may never be able to escape her fate. If she cant even take her own life, can you imagine how she would behave after the fact...?" As someone that genuinely believed she had no sway over her own destiny, being able to take her own life was actually a step forward for someone like Helen. Vahn, however, knew that there was more to life than the singr existence you represented during the time you spent living. The soul would persist on and, depending on the circ.u.mstances, there were numerous ways in which someone could live on, even after death... Jeanne didnt understand the full context of what Vahn was talking about but, realizing the truth contained within his words, she decided to remain silent and allow him to continue. Vahn gave her an appreciative nod in response before pointing downwards, exining, "The Dungeon, Tartarus, is able to have some sway over the cycle of life and death. Though this is mostly rted to monsters, the fact that the Xenos exists at all shows that it is directly rted to the development and nurturing of the soul. Just as Ais had been reincarnated several times, I believe it is possible that we can guide Helens soul along the same paths, allowing her to one day be reborn as a Xenos. This way, she will retain parts of her memory but, at the very least, the life she will be living will no longer be bound to the same tragic fate as it is currently. Since she already lives amongst the Xenos, I believe Helen will be happiest if she truly has a ce to belong to for the first time..." More than any other race, Vahn saw the kinship that was shared amongst all Xenos and genuinely believed that there was no better oue for someone that has lived for centuries in imposed solitude. Even if she remained cold and taciturn, Vahn believed that Helen would eventually open her heart to her fellow Xenos and, in time, gain a chance at the happiness she deserved. She had lived a tragic existence where even her family looked at her as nothing more than an object to either be obtained or admired. Since Xenos werent attracted to others in a conventional manner, it wouldnt matter if Helens Innates remained unchanged during her reincarnation. She would be able to live amongst them as freely as any other Xenos and, after severing her fate with her own hands, it was likely she would readily ept the new fate that had been assigned to her... Though she was more than a little confused by Vahns words, Jeanne was aware that Ais had indeed been reborn through the Dungeon. She didnt share the same faith as he did that things would go smoothly but, seeing how much confidence he had, Jeanne couldnt help feeling that Vahns idea was the correct decision. It was certainly better than his suggestion of erasing Helens memories and having her take care of whatever remained after the process waspleted. Just imagining a life where she had to educate someone with the base intelligence and strength of Helen caused Jeannes brain to buzz with anxiety. Though they could have also reset her blessing, it wouldnt have done anything to the development of her unique abilities... Without a better suggestion, Jeanne inevitably nodded her head in agreement before asking, "Is there anything you require of me...?" To this, Vahn shook his head before looking towards the direction of Helens room and muttering, "I will not ask you to stand idly by while Helen continues to suffer. Do everything you can to help her but, if the timees, please prepare yourself...even if she will be reborn, Helen must genuinely die before then. I have experienced loss before...it isnt easy..." Even though he knew Jeanne had likely experienced loss of her own, Vahn couldnt help but give her advice that, at the same time, was meant for himself. He knew that it wouldnt be easy to watch Helen take her own life, no matter how much he prepared himself for the possibility. As for Jeanne, she adopted a solemn expression before nodding, a far firmer conviction in her eyes than the one Vahn felt in his heart... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Empress? Can it be eaten...( ? ?? ?)?,Vahn giving Jeanne a fresh trauma just as she had the previous one erased...,...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1001 - Slight Progress

Chapter 1001 - Slight Progress

After having cleared the troublesome 78th Floor and resting for a few hours, Vahn summoned Fenrir back into the Dungeon and, though she was refusing to speak, Helen from her room. Even Jeanne didnt have much luck in getting her to open up so Vahn had the party advance, allowing Fenrir and Jeanne to take the lead as he, once again, protected Helen. Fortunately, though each monster they came across at this point was, individually, very powerful, neither Fenrir, nor Jeanne, had any trouble dispatching them. With Vahn providing support using his bow, they quickly mowed through the 79th Floors residential monsters with ease. Upon reaching the 80th Floor, the point that the One-Eyed ck Dragon imed he would never be able to cross, things got moderately more difficult. This was a result of the fact that gravity, which had been rtively normal on prior floors, seemed to triple while descending the stairs down from the 79th... Though experiencing three times the normal gravity didnt have much of an impact on anyone in the party, there was a startling reduction in everyones maximum speed. Their muscles were certainly strong enough to resist the strain but, having no real means to strengthen individual cells, fast movements would cause a prickly and painful sensation in the limbs. The most problematic aspect was the fact that the eyes, which were often seated snuggly in the head, felt as if they werent moving as fast as the rest of the body. Even when elerating forward, Jeannemented that it felt like someone was pushing on her eyes with their fingers while Fenrir outright adopted a fighting style reliant on her sensitive nose and ears as a result of her difort. It was possible to use [Cantus Bex] and [Vis Maxima] to create a magical aura around the body, enhancing your parameters and providing a moderate resistance against the increased gravitational pull, but this was only a stop-gap measure. The drain of using such skills under the increased burden was a little extreme and, though Vahn was able to manage with rtive ease, even his reserves were beginning to dwindle when having to constantly replenish the reserves of three other people. If not for the fact that the only enemies on the Floor were strange, armored frog-like creatures, each possessing thick and robust legs while having squashed bodies, it would have been far more difficult to clear the 80th Floor. Fortunately, though their ability to shoot magical means from their mouths were more than a little annoying, their attacks werent able to break through the auras shrouding everyones bodies. Their biggest weakness, of course, was the fact that, much like the party, these Armored Frog Batterys were extremely slow. After eleven grueling hours, with night having already descended upon the surface world, the group finally reached the stairs leading down to the 81st Floor. The moment they set foot on the long spiraling stairwell, the increased gravity faded in its entirety, causing Fenrir to jump around excitedly while Jeanne began rubbing her tired joints after having to move around in heavy armor for an extended period of time. Since it hadnt been easy for him either, even with his ability to forcibly adapt his body, Vahn brought out the cottage without spending too much time checking the surroundings. Helen, just as she had done previously, retired to her room without a word while Vahn cooked dinner for everyone, refusing the offer of Fenrir and Jeanne to assist. He could see that they were tired while his body had already recoveredpletely. His [Magia Erebea] constitution meant that, as soon as the strain of the increased gravity had faded away, he was already back to 100% without any issues whatsoever. Fenrir ended up watching as Jeanne removed her armor and began performing routine maintenance, even though Vahn would ultimately end up having to touch-up the armor on his own. Her process included using one of the scent removal towels that had be rtivelymonce back at the Manor to remove, as much as possible, the smell of her sweat. Though she showed a great deal of confidence at most times, Jeanne would often be sheepish whenever it came to some of the smaller things, especially if it concerned embarrassing situations with her Lord. Fortunately, Fenrir readily assisted her by using her sensitive nose to confirm that her aroma wasnt clinging to the armor before it inevitably found its way into Vahns hands. As for thetter, he often found Jeannes actions rather adorable but, unlike many of the other girls in his life, chose not to tease her for it since it seemed like a dangerous weakness of hers. Thest thing he needed was his most capable Knight fumbling around whenever he was near her so, as much as he wanted to tease her, Vahn had resolved himself to avoid thatndmine for as long as possible... As was often the case, the food prepared by Vahn ended up being both delicious and nutritious. Jeanne gave a few heavypliments and, even though it tasted pretty much the same as everything she had ever eaten, Fenrir also enjoyed it a great deal. Vahn had developed a spice that was particrly useful for enhancing the vor of anything she ate so Fenrir often quickly gobbled down anything he handed her. Her tongue was sensitive to mana-rich ingredients so Vahn had a shaker that was filled with the powdered remains of several high-level Dragons. On asion, though only very rarely, Vahn would even mix a bit of his blood into any stock he used in preparing her meals. This would instantly cause Fenrirs ears to perk up since it was, by far, the tastiest thing that ever reached her palette. It had the unfortunate side-effect of over-exciting her, however, so Vahn had quickly learned to use such a special ingredient sparingly... With dinnerpleted, Jeanne retired to the room that Vahn would normally sleep in while he ended up taking the couch alongside Fenrir. This was after cing a covered tray containing warm food for Helens consumption, though the odds of her actually eating it seemed slim at best. Since she could easily go months without eating, Vahn wasnt expecting Helen to reflect on how she had been behaving and improve any time soon. Part of him wanted to just yell at her, in an attempt to break her free from her delusional state, but reason told him such actions were, ultimately, pointless. She seemed to have convinced herself that even Jeanne was somehow against her as, throughout the 79th and 80th Floors, she distanced herself from the downtrodden Knight, refusing to even make polite conversation with thetter. While thinking about what the future would hold, Vahn absentmindedly ran his fingers through Fenrirs hair, tracing down the line of her back before invariably stroking her bushy tail. This would cause her h.i.p.s to twitch slightly, something Vahn found both amusing and ther.a.p.eutic, as she neverined about any inconvenience caused by the involuntary movement. Fenrir had grown so ustomed to his touch, in fact, that she quickly fell into a light slumber, even has her body obediently responded to his touch. Vahn found this adorable and, though he was tempted to press into the sensitive spot above her tail to see how much he could get away with, he ultimately managed to resist the urge while focusing on other things. Fenrir only slept out of consideration for him so Vahn wasnt going to behave even more selfishly just to satiate every whim that crossed his mind... --- Waking early the next morning, Vahn began preparing himself for whatever the 81st Floor would throw at him by stretching his body and performing routine maintenance on everyones equipment. To his surprise, Vahn noticed a distinctck of a tray out of the corner of his eye, indicating that Helen had, at some point, done something with the food he had set out. Though she may very well have disposed of it out of spite, Vahn didnt think Helen was that petty. The fact that her Affection had gone up, even just a single point, seemed to indicate that she inevitably broke down after smelling the fragrant aroma wafting from the covered dish. Vahn had specifically used a cloche that had the added effect of enhancing the smell of whatever was beneath it. Since Helen also had a weakness for spicy food, which was naturally aromatic, Vahn made a few of her favorite dishes in an attempt to lure the icy queen out of her istion. By the time Jeanne had dawned her armor and everyone else was ready to go, Helen finally made her appearance. Fenrirs nose twitched slightly in response but, much like Vahn and Jeanne, she elected not to say anything to the still-quiet Helen. The fact that she had eaten the food was progress enough, for the time being, so there was no need to put her on the spot and cause her to retreat inside her own mind even further. Vahn, truthfully, would rather not have to watch Helen die after losing her purpose so, if at all possible, he wanted her to mellow out a bit by the time they reached the 99th Floor. Even if the odds were extremely slim, it was a far better oue as, regardless of how much time he had experienced chronologically, Vahn felt he wasnt prepared to watch someone that should be his ally kill themselves. Without dawdling for too long, the group proceeded into what should be a rtively easy Floor, at least with the information Vahn possessed. He knew what enemies to expect along the way but, much like how the 80th Floors gravity hade as a surprise, there were undoubtedly even more environmental hazards that would bar their passage. Fortunately, by analyzing what kinds of monsters had chosen the Floor as their habitat, it was possible to make a basic assumption about what they should expect. The 81st Floor was home to a group of vicious humanoid creatures who, seemingly possessing a small amount of intelligence, were attired in tribal equipmentprised of stone, bone, and pieces of roughly worked metal. They came in two varieties, a stout group with green skin who seemed capable of using powerful magical attacks and ranged weaponry while their muchrger kin, possessing blood-red skin, towered over them while wielding fierce-looking sword and axes. While the former was a modest 2m in height, thetter group seemed to easily reach 3m while, ording to the information Vahn had obtained from the mirror, there were even variants that could reach 5m. Though this wasnt particrlyrge for a monster, the densely packed muscles on even the smallest of the monster, covered in intricate tribal tattoos, made them seem far more intimidating than most enemies. Upon entering the 81st Floor proper, Vahn noticed that the air became extremely humid while the surrounding temperature instantly shot up to around 40 degrees Celsius. It was even possible to see a thin mist lingering around the floor which, in most situations, could have been misconstrued as condensation due to the increased humidity. The subtle glow contained within, however, alerted anyone with even moderately high perception that it was something far more dangerous. For the first time in more than a day, Helen broke her self-imposed silence by muttering, "Mana..." in a voice that even Fenrir had trouble hearing. Vahn didnt ask her to speak up, however, as he had already made a simr conclusion and didnt want to trigger Helen back into silence. After spending a few seconds in silent contemtion, Vahn turned to Jeanne and Helen to ask, "Will mana this concentrated be an issue for either of you...?" Though mana was generally good for the body, high concentrations could cause a variety of problems, especially if the contained element ran counter to your affinity. There was even a phenomenon known as Mana Sickness which, in some instances, could even prove fatal to those with a weaker constitution. Since Helen was a Half-Elf Demigoddess, Vahn didnt expect her to have any issues but, even with all of her resistances, Jeanne was still a normal Human. She may not die from overexposure to mana but it would quickly be a problem if they had to lug her around in a drunk and delirious state. Helens response was to slightly avert her eyes without answering while Jeanne gave a confident nod before stating, "Though it may not mean much after what happened on the 78th Floor, I can say with full confidence that this degree of mana shouldnt have any effect on me. My body should naturally filter out anything bad for me while the essories forged by my Lord should be more than enough to prevent any other status abnormalities...!" Since, even without her Innates, Jeanne possessed a Pure-Light Elemental Affinity, the odds of her being affected by anything other than Pure Darkness were slim to none. Even then, anyone trying to harm her would have to be far stronger than her which, considering that she was nearly Level 9, implied Jeanne was virtually immune to status abnormalities. This wasnt even ounting for the equipment Vahn provided to all the girls as part of their standard loadout which, as a result of his overprotective nature, had built-in redundancies that provided protection against most status ailments and mental control. Seeing Jeannes confidence,bined with his own as a [Master Smith], Vahn gave a small no in response before sparing Helen onest nce. She squinted her eyes without saying anything so Vahn decided not to press her as he turned to Fenrir and said, "Ill leave the vanguard to you again, Fenrir. Dont forget to show added caution when first encountering a new enemy. At this point, it wouldnt be a stretch to see monsters that are Level 7 and higher as the standard..." Though Fenrir wouldnt struggle against the average Level 7, Vahn couldnt help but worry about her since the predominant element contained within the surroundings was Fire. Her body could easily process it as nourishment, meaning she would almost never run out of energy by simply breathing, but this didnt apply to external attacks from increasingly powerful enemies. Though she didnt take her Masters words to heart, Fenrir still gave an understanding nod while increasing the tension in her body slightly. She knew that her strength was beginning to teaupared to Jeannes but, as the strength of the enemies increased, so too did her own power. By consuming the cores of more powerful enemies, she could marginally increase her power, literally without limits. Even if this came at the cost of destabilizing her mind a bit, Fenrir knew she had far more control over her emotions than she did in the past so she had a lot of leeway before having to worry about going berserk. If things got really bad, there was also the option of returning to the surface and entering closed cultivation for a time to stabilize her emotions once again... Once their preparations were finalized, the group began their excursion through the 81st Floor, once against reverting to their standard formation with Fenrir as the vanguard/scout, Jeanne as the mid-line defender/support, and Vahn as the rearguard/ranged specialist. Helen was technically qualified as both a healer and buffer, a covetedbination that would make her heavily sought at by other experienced parties, but Vahn ended up filling those roles in lieu of her. As tempted as he was to ask for her help, Vahn still felt it was better to simply have Helen observe. Unless it was an emergency, her skills were almost overkill as, evenpared to Haruhime, Helens ability to increase her allies parameters was truly monstrous. Helens standard Magic, a spell named [Oversoul], increased a single parameter by as much as 30% and, though it couldnt stack on the same attribute, Helen could use the buff multiple times to effectively increase a persons capabilities far more than a single level could ount for. This had the detrimental effect of causing intense strain on the body, however, requiring Helen to use her second Magic, [Ulma-Natis], which, for a short period of time, made someone practically immortal unless they had their head or heart destroyed. The regeneration provided by the spell wasparable to Tionas [Pactio] but, much like her [Oversoul], it carried the downside of literally overtaxing a persons vitality. Though this wouldnt mean much to the most powerful individuals, as their lifespan was far greater than that of a normal person, it would still shave away at their longevity. Though Helen knew far more Magic spells than were ounted for in her Status Board, as a result of centuries of study, each of her recorded spells were a bit too extreme for constant use. It was almost as if she had specifically chosen abilities that had determinants in order to dissuade anyone from trying to rely on her abilities to enhance their own. Since this was very likely the case, especially considering her situation prior to arriving at Spero, Vahn was content with having Helen act as a bystander. Even if she had to use her abilities, he would bear the consequences with his own body as, regardless of the detriments involved, they would ultimately have no effect, even without his [Magia Erebea] constitution. Fortunately, Jeanne was prodigious enough that, even though she only had a few months to learn, she could use [Cantus Bex] for short periods of time. Centuries of experience couldnt be looked down upon and, with her mastery over Light Elemental magic, Jeanne had a natural affinity with the buff magic taught by Evas magic system. Though she only used it to resist the gravity of the 80th Floor thus far, as none of the monsters they had crossed were her match, Jeanne would still be able to activate it at a moments notice in a sticky situation. As for what would have to ur for that to happen, even Vahn couldnt guess as, even if several Floors of the Dungeon copsed on her, Vahn felt that Jeanne would crawl out of the rubble unscathed... As if intending to put Jeannes durability to the test, an arrow that was muchrger than normal came barreling through the Dungeons corridor, its glistening head aiming directly toward Jeannes throat. Ultimately, the situation never devolved to the point that Jeannes defense was called into question, however, as she deftly angled her kite shield, deflecting the arrow with practiced ease. The green-skinned monster, which Vahn had dubbed as an Hypergoblin, the result of its green skin and vaguely simr appearance to Goblins and Hobgoblins, immediately fired another ballista sized arrow in response to its first having been deflected. At the same time, another green-skinned Hypergoblin began to blow on a curved horn, obviously intending to call for backup since they seemed to be nothing more than a patrol group. In the midst of calling for aid, the Hypergoblin was forced to abandon its horn by decisively, and surprisingly quickly, leaping back. Fenrirs ws had nearly severed its head when she performed a nking blow but, unwilling to allow her attack to be evaded so easily, Fenrir twisted her body using the momentum of her swipe to create a foothold in the air. Her body vanished from sight before reappearing right behind where the Hypergoblin had leaped to, even before it hadnded. Its eyes widened into saucers as it attempted to curl up in a defensive posture but, much like every other monster that had tasted Fenrirs ws, this was an ultimately futile effort. As if the ting provided absolutely no defense, the Hypergoblins body was cut into four distinctive chunks before bursting apart into a cloud of purple dust momentster. It was obvious from the small club-like staff that this particr Hypergoblin was a Mage so it was sorelycking in Agility, even though its reaction time had been remarkable. Immediately following Fenrirs victory over her opponent, she looked over to see Jeanne pulling her sword out of the rangers chest. It had already slumped over and, by the time Jeanne brandished her de, vanished into a second cloud of purple dust without any ir. As if they had beenpeting against each other, Fenrir gave a small snort through her nose since it seemed like their kills very close to each other this time around. Her only advantage against Jeanne was her speed, as thetter couldnt use [Shundo], so Fenrir didnt consider it a true victory since their battles had ended so close together. Fortunately, in response to the call for aid, arge group of Hypergoblins began to pour into the area and, much to Fenrirs personal glee, there were even two of the red-skinned warriors amongst them... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gravity imba, please nerf,For a brief moment, I imagined Helen as Erina eating Soumas cooking...,Fenrirspetitive nature) (A/N: For some reason, I keep waking up wayter so I may have to start setting an rm clock soon. There should still be three chapters today, though the second and third might not be until the afternoon. Sorry for the inconvenience ?R _ Q?...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1002 - Cut Through

Chapter 1002 - Cut Through

Though thirteen enemies werent considered arge group, the fact that even the weakest amongst the Hypergoblins was near the peak of Level 6,bined with the fact they worked together as a team, meant they werent easy pickings. Instead of charging into the fray against Fenrir and Jeanne, the two red-skinned Hypergoblins took the vanguard position for their group as the smaller green-skins began to fire volleys of massive arrows while maintaining a proper battle formation. There were even two Mages in the very back, identifiable by their club-like staffs, lighter armor, and densely arranged tattoos. Unwilling to simply watch the battle from the sidelines, Vahn had already drawn his [Khryskatos], firing it towards the Mages without a moments hesitation. The leading red-skinned Hypergoblin tried to use the ovepped tes of its gauntlet to intercept the arrow but, even with its surprising speed and presumed durability, Vahns magically enhanced arrow spiraled through both te and flesh before piercing the forehead of one unfortunate Mage. Two things happened in response to this, causing Vahns eyes to squint slightly as the hole on the red-skinned Hypergoblins arm immediately closed up. At the same time, the tattoos on its body began to glow red as the two fierce-looking eyes deeply set in its face began to emanate a malicious light that caused a suppressive force to spread through the area. Undaunted, Vahnmanded, "Fenrir, move out of my firing line. Jeanne, pull back and stick close to the group. Take care of any stray attacks that break through...!" Though it was obvious that Fenrir wanted to throw herself into the fray, Vahn felt that the two red-skinned Hypergoblins were too dangerous to confront directly. He could sense they were around the peak of Level 7, meaning each was a potential match for Fenrir if their base parameters were taken into consideration. Though her magical prowess and speed should give her the edge, Vahn wanted to at least thin the flock a bit since their natural Fire Elemental affinity would give them ample resistance to her Ice Elemental magic. As if using Vahnsmand as a signal for itself, the glowing red-skinned Hypergoblin leaned forward slightly, causing Vahns eyes to sharpen as the former elerated much faster than its size should have allowed. It moved so quickly that a red blur was left in its wake as it quickly moved to try and overtake Jeanne and Fenrirs position. Neither girl had dropped their guard, however, so, while Fenrir sent a spear of ice to intercept the Hypergoblin, Jeanne responded by raising her kite shield and bending her knees ever so slightly. In response, the Hypergobline allowed the spear of ice to prate its chest without even trying to evade while bending its back in a surprising arc before swinging downwards towards Jeanne with its massive cleaver. The force contained within the blow carried such momentum that it seemed nothing would be able to stop it but, just as she had always done, Jeanne took the blow head-on without flinching. An explosion rang through the area as what appeared to be a red electrical surge emanated outwards from the Hypergoblins body. This pulse carried dense Fire Elemental energy which, upon contacting the surrounding mist,pounded in intensity as it mmed into Vahns barrier while knocking all but the other red-skinned Hypergoblin to the ground. Fenrir and Helen were left unscathed by the attack and, after a second explosion cleared away the dust, it was obvious that Jeanne had been unaffected as her sword urately pierced through the throat of the Hypergoblin before a sh of brilliant white lightpletely severed it from the monsters body. Surprisingly, this didnt seem to be a fatal blow, at least in short order, as the Hypergoblin continued to move after losing its head. It attempted to grab Jeanne in a bear hug but, without missing a step, she used its broad chest as a foothold before performing an acrobatic flip through the air. In the middle of her arc, Jeanne sent a de of light that impacted the still-moving body of the Hypergoblin but, instead of cutting all the way through, it only cut a few centimeters deep before fading away. By the time Jeanne hadnded, the secondary wound she had created had already healedpletely but, after having lost its head, it didnt seem as if the Hypergoblin retained its motor functions. Its attempt to grab Jeanne seemed to have been powered by instinct as, after receiving her follow-up attack, it fell to the ground and began twitching about while the decapitated head continued to change expression, a furious and vengeful look in its eyes as it red towards Jeanne. As would be expected of a capable Knight, Jeanne showed no hesitation, even while having a decapitated head ring at her, quickly sending a third attack topletely eradicate the Hypergoblins severed head. This was finally enough to put down the monster whom, after having its head destroyed, burst into red and purple dust before leaving behind a rhombus-shaped monster core. In response to the death of their panion, the other Hypergoblins released loud war cries while releasing their attacks with even greater fervor than before. Unfortunately, even with one remaining red-skinned Hypergoblin acting as their vanguard, Vahn was quickly picking off the green-skinned backline who, even after trying desperately to dodge, ended up on the receiving end of an enchanted arrow. In less than a minute, there was only the red-skinned Hypergoblin remaining who, after failing to protect its allies, now glowed with such intensity that the entire cavern was suffused with a red hue. Then, just as Vahn was about to allow Fenrir to deal with it on her own, the red hide of the Hypergoblin began to turn ck as its size began to rapidly increase... Uttering a curious Hmm, as it was very rare to see a monster transform into a variant in the middle ofbat, Vahn nocked a [Yi] arrow before unceremoniously loosing it towards the Hypergoblin, mid-transformation. Though it bing a Level 8 didnt make it much of a threat, Vahn would rather not risk Fenrirs life on the assumption that she would still be able to contend against it. She may have the advantage as far as speed and magical power was concerned but, regardless of how much mana she pumped into her tiny arms, Fenrir would have no means of contending against the raw power of a normal red-skinned Hypergoblin, much less a ck-skinned one. Without any suspense, the transforming Hypergoblins flesh was ripped from its durable muscles before they too inevitably s.u.mbed to the powerful gravitational force contained within the [Yi] arrow. Impressively, the regeneration of the creature managed to keep up with the destruction wrought by the arrow for nearly its entire duration but, just as Vahn was prepared to fire a second arrow, the variant Hypergoblin exploded into dust before its monster core was crushed by the [Yi] arrows gravitational well. This was one of the downsides to relying on the seemingly unstoppable arrows as, if it was still active after the kill was secured, most of the loot would be destroyed as a result. With the final enemy s.u.mbing, an eerie silence spread through the area as the only audible sound came from Jeannes subtle breathing. She wasnt exhausted, not even remotely, but the exertion had caused her blood to pump a bit faster in response to the release of endorphins and her slightly elevated heart rate. As for Fenrir, she was pouting at the side with a discontented expression on her face that caused Vahn to issue forth a light chuckle before flipping his wrist and collecting the spoils. Pulling out one of the glimmering monster cores, Vahn tossed it over to the despondent Vanargandr before roughly stroking her head as he said, "You can have the next one. Now that we know their approximate strength, well be to increase our speed a bit. Leave any of the variants to me though, okay...?" Though she specifically wanted to fight one of the ck-skinned variants on her own, Fenrir still nodded her head in affirmation while happily squinting her eyes in response to her Masters petting. At the same time, she threw the monster core into her mouth, crunching down on its crystalline shell and savoring the energy-rich contents. After finishing, Fenrir wiped her mouth with the back of her paw before saying, "When we get near the end of the Floor, I want to try and fight one on my own. Though eating magic cores makes me stronger, fighting against powerful enemies makes me feel stronger. I cant just rely on my [Devour] alone if I want to develop a second Innate...!" Hearing this, Vahns brows perked up slightly and he couldnt help but allow a smile to spread across his face as he put more pressure into stroking Fenrirs head. He knew that her approach to growing stronger was indeed the correct route but, as a result of his overprotective nature, it wasnt easy for him to give those under his charge the room they needed to grow. Though it seemed like a lifetime ago, Vahn could still recall the time when he watched Fenrir fight to her limit on a daily basis, including allowing her to sustain injuries so that she could learn from her mistakes. Ever since his strength had increased to the point that he could proactively prevent harm from befalling the people he cared about, however, Vahn knew his overprotective nature had only be stronger... With more than a little reluctance, Vahn nodded his head while saying, "Very well then...show me how far you can go, Fenrir. Ill be watching closely..." As he said this, Vahn used his perception to make sure that Fenrirs [Effigy of the Hero] was safely stowed away in her pouch before retracting his hand and allowing her to lead the way once again. Before she fell into her own position in the formation, Jeanne came to his side and, in a low voice that Fenrir could still undoubtedly hear, whispered, "Shell do fine, my Lord. Fenrir is a capable warrior who has even greater potential than my own. If you let her spread her wings, Im certain she will not let you down." To this, Vahn returned a smile and, in a voice that was easily picked up by the distant Vanargandr, replied, "I know. She is my most reliablepanion, always and forever..." Though she was well over a hundred meters away at this point, Fenrirs ears twitched in response to her Masters words and, even without the ability to read auras easily, Vahn could see that Fenrir was in a good mood. His only hope was that she wouldnt let his words get to her head, even though he genuinely meant each and every one of them. As over-protective as he might be, Vahn truly trusted Fenrirs capabilities as, even without her monstrously high Loyalty parameter, she had be one of the foundational aspects of his existence. In the face of eternity, a concept that might break most people, Vahn was able to hold his head up without concern as, instead of walking his path alone, there were many willing to walk alongside him... With renewed vigor, the group began clearing the remainder of the 81st Floor without any major difficulties. After the initial battle, the capabilities of the Hypergoblins had already been noted by each member of the party and, so long as they were not allowed to enter the state where their tattoos began to glow, even the red-skinned species was rtively easy to deal with. The patterns carved into their flesh were the catalyst for their incredible regeneration and, though it seemed as if some were able to activate it willingly, the vast majority relied on their rage and bloodl.u.s.t to trigger the tattoos effect. The mostmon trigger was the death of their allies so, by focusing on the red-skinned Hypergoblins first, the rest were quick to fall in the aftermath. It wasnt until Vahn had detected a path that led down to the 82nd Floor that they came across a small hup in their expedition. Unlike the previous groups, which very rarely exceeded ten Hypergoblins, the entrance to the 82nd Floor was blockaded by an entire colony of the rtively powerful monsters. In fact, the entrance itself was hidden by a massive tent that wasprised of a type of leather that, as of the present moment, had no discernable source. Vahn knew that the 81st through the 83rd Floors all had Hypergoblin species and, ording to what he was able to learn from the mirror, they should be the only entities residing in this area of the Dungeon. This meant that,cking other materials, the most likely source of leather, bones, and other organics, was the Hypergoblins themselves. Though it would require a period of observation to prove, not that he had any interest in testing the theory, Vahn suspected they either fought amongst themselves for territory or outright cannibalized the weaker members of their society in order to harvest resources... Shaking the barbaric image from his mind, Vahn pulled back his intent after scouting the entire encampment before exining, "There are at least twenty of the red-skinned Hypergoblins while, at the very center, one of therger 5m tall variants exist. Though the green-skinned subspecies arent much of an issue, their numbers could be problematic if we allow ourselves to get boxed in. I can probably take out the entire encampment on my own but what do the three of you think...?" Even if Helen wasnt on speaking terms with the group at the moment, Vahn felt she would only use the fact he excluded her to fuel her current mentality further. By addressing the entire group, he could avoid her having any excusester on if she became confrontational... As hungry as she was for a climactic battle, quite literally, Fenrir wasnt foolish enough to throw herself into arge number of powerful enemies without proper consideration. She held up one of the digits on her paw before saying, "Its fine if you cull their numbers but I still want to fight against a powerful enemy. Leave the 5m tall one alive so I can tear it apart on my own..." Since a ck-skinned variant hadnt appeared after her Master had in the first one, Fenrir wanted a crack at what they were calling the Hypergoblin Chieftain. Though it may not be as strong as the ck-skinned variant, she assumed it was still far stronger than the rest of its race based off the fact that it was muchrger and obviously ruled over the other members of the tribe. Having already determined the approximate strength of the Chieftain during his investigation, Vahn nodded in affirmation to Fenrirs request before turning his gaze upon Jeanne. If it came down to it, she could easily take on the entire encampment on her own so, even though it would take more time, she resolutely stated, "I will draw their attention and deal with the majority of their numbers. So long as they dont have the means to bind me to a specific location, Ill be able to annihte a group of this size in under an hour. Please conserve your strength, my Lord, as it may be necessary for any unforeseen urrences." Understanding that Vahn was far more versatile than she was, Jeanne would rather increase the time in which it took the clear the Floor if it meant there was less chance of something going wrong in the long run. Since [Yi] arrows were rather expensive to use willy-nilly, Vahn gave a small nod in response since, much like Fenrir, he knew Jeanne needed opportunities to hone herself. His power was currently at a point in which everything almost seemed too easy so, even if he held back and fought with just his two hands and feet, Vahn felt like the Hypergoblins wouldnt be a challenge to him. Other than the brief bout against the One-Eyed ck Dragon, his parameters had hardly increased so, for the time being, Vahn felt the best course of action was to allow them some leeway in increasing their own. With how close he was to reaching godhood, empowering his allies to do the same would only provide even greater benefits in the future... Aftering up with a battle n, including countermeasures to any expected events, Jeanne hefted her sword and shield in a battle-ready stance before activating her Innate, [Child of the Light] to produce a holy shroud over her armor. With the low-light of the Dungeon, she stuck out like a sore thumb within the darkness, causing several battle trumpets to sound out from the Hypergoblin encampment as hundreds of their number mounted defensive positions. The green-skinned sub-species were smart enough to avoid direct confrontation, relying on rudimentary mechanical weapons and bows to strike from a distance while the red-skinned variety, without any hesitation, jumped over their stone walls as they charged toward Jeanne. Unlike her previous battles, where she would receive attacks before dealing lethal counters, this time Jeanne stood her ground with both eyes closed. Though her [Child of the Light] was only D-Rank, one of her most prolific Innates, [Voice of the World], had nearly reached the pinnacle of the record. Relying on it, Jeanne made slight movements to evade every arrowing her way while her de, almost as if driven by instinct, cut smooth arcs through the air that even cut down Lightning Magic with startling ease. Even when the first red-skinned Hypergoblin reached her, Jeanne kept her eyes closed shut as the light around her body more than doubled in intensity. Then, in a single swift motion, Jeanne passed by the Hypergoblin with the finesse of a gentle stream flowing around a rock. She didnt even stop to issue any follow-up strikes as, unlike during her first encounter against the surprisingly durable creatures, it only took a single blow for her to fell what others would consider a worthy opponent. As Jeanne moved on to the next enemy, carrying the same momentum from her original movement, the Hypergoblin she had passed by finally, as if released from a temporal lock, shattered into dust. Even with his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn hadnt actually seen what attack Jeanne had used to fell the creature and, if not for the fact that its internal mana had been split into two, he wouldnt have had any idea as to why it had died. Somehow, though not nearly as skilled as Musashi, Jeanne had cut through the red-skinned Hypergoblin without actually cutting through its flesh. Instead, her sword, contrary to Vahns currentprehension, ignored all physical obstructions to directly sever the mana circuits contained within the unfortunate creatures body... Watching from the side with an unerring gaze, Fenrir eyes flickered with a subtle glow as she murmured, "I will not be left behind..." in a voice that only she could hear. Around her paws, formless des of energy danced around and, though not nearly as polished as Jeannes swordsmanship, it seemed as though her Severing Laws, the energy that allowed her to cut through anything, was bing more prominent... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns archery is too op for this Record...,Fenrir will be the strongest...!,There is a reason Jeanne is one of the strongest in the world...RIP Hypergoblin-san) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1003 - Overcome

Chapter 1003 - Ovee

True to her words, Jeanne was able to systematically eliminate every Hypergoblin that entered within her range with rtive ease. As a result of her unstoppable advance, there were a few among the green-skinned variety who abandoned their colony and escaped into various side tunnels. Many who tried to flee were attacked by their ownpanions but, after a certain point, the tide of retreating Hypergoblins vastly exceeded those that remained to fight on. Among this group, all surviving red-skinned Hypergoblins remained while, after the battle had gone on for nearly twenty minutes, their Chieftain had also taken to the battlefield. It had yet to enter the fray directly, spending most of its efforts tossingrge stones to execute deserters, but it was easy to see that therge Hypergoblin was losing its patience. By the time a half-hour had passed, Jeanne had directly entered the encampment after lightly leaping over the tall wall and cutting down what remained of the forward defenders. It was at this point that the Chieftain finally took action against her, lifting up a stone that was around 20cm, the tattoos on its body already emzoned with a fervent red light. Almost in the exact instant that Jeannes feet touched down on its soil, it loosed the stone towards her with enough speed to cause a literal tear in the ground after forming a massive sonic boom in its wake. Jeannes eyes reflected the image of the stone as she dutifully lifted her shield in an attempt to deflect the momentum away from her body. Her attempts proved fruitful, causing the stone to bounce off her shield before annihting the wall behind her, but she wasnt able to deflect the entirety of its momentum as a result of the stones slight spin. Though she was forced off bnce momentarily, Jeanne caught herself almost immediately by nting her foot on the ground and using her toeas a pivot to spin around several times. At the end of her rather elegant movement, which would have surprised most professional dancers, Jeanne once again adopted her battle stance with natural grace. In response to this, the Hypergoblin Chieftain released a wrath-filled battlecry as the tattoos on its body more than doubled in intensity. The two surviving red-skinned Hypergoblins, thest of their lot, joined the cry alongside their Chieftain as they began to madly pepper Jeannes location with sections of the Dungeon flooring. Without suffering a second direct blow, Jeanne was able to easily mitigate these attacks by staying rtively low to the ground and allowing the stones the graze off her shield. Impressively, though her kite shield had a high ranked [Durandal] property, there were small pockmarks appearing along its previously unblemished surface. This showed that, even after deflecting the stones, the force they carried couldnt be looked down on. If not for her ridiculously high defensive capabilities, just the secondary shockwaves might have been enough to bruise Jeannes organs. Fortunately, though she still had to shrug off the forces passing into her body through her shield, Jeanne hardly even flinched in response as she continued her advance undaunted. Seeing that their attacks had little effect, the Chieftain stopped tossing stones as it lifted up a massive tree-sized club that looked like a gnarled piece of wood, even as it shone with a metallic sheen. It leaped forward, closing the 300m distance between itself and Jeanne in a single motion as it attempted to sweep her away with a nking blow. Her blue eyes, peeking over the side of her shield, squinted slightly as she performed an instep to evade the heaviest part of the club before striking upwards with her sword. As a result of their size disparity, the Hypergoblin Chieftainpletely missed its mark while, with the same dauntless momentum as her advance, Jeannes sword moved forward like a beam of light as it severed the tendons in the monsters wrist. Even with its nigh-instantaneous regeneration, the momentum of its own swing caused the Chieftain to release its grip on the massive club. As a result, several unfortunate green-skinned Hypergoblins were turned into a meaty pulp by the wayward weapon while their Chieftain had its zing red eyes fully focused on the petite figure of Jeanne. It was at this point that thetter activated her SS-Rank [Shield m], converting her monstrous resistances into raw physical power as she struck against the Chieftains abdomen. A sound reminiscent of metal striking against metal rang through the area as the muchrger Chieftain was forced back with even greater velocity than one of the thrown stones. It smashed through the rudimentary buildings of the encampment beforeing to a stop nearly a kilometer away from its starting point. Instead of pursuing the Chieftain, which had easily survived the blow, Jeanne turned her attention to the two surviving red-skinned Hypergoblins as, true to her word, she intended to give Fenrir the opportunity to finish it off. Seeing their Chieftain sent flying, the surviving Hypergoblins all paused simultaneously as, for a brief moment, a silent lull had settled on the battlefield. Due to the stun that apanied Jeannes [Shield m], the Chieftain didnt climb out of the rubble quickly so, even though they had held out until now, the few remaining green-skinned Hypergoblins all began fleeing in mass. Even the two red-skinned brutes had turned statuesque but, seeing their lesser kin fleeing, the tattoos on their body red up as they began ughtering any who were foolish enough to get close. Curiously, their path of destruction took them in the same direction as therger tide of green-skinned Hypergoblins instead of towards the waiting Jeanne... Witnessing the behavior of the shameless brutes, Jeannes face formed a small frown as she activated her SS-Rank [Chasing Strike]. Though her own Agility allowed her to easily catch up with most enemies, this technique allowed her to even contend against Heroes that were known for their swift nature. As a result, Jeanne moved so quickly that a pseudo-solid afterimage, persisting nearly an entire second, was left in her wake. By the time it had faded away, Jeanne was already pulling her sword free from one of the Hypergoblins backs before leaping towards the second one like a top loosed from its string. Her swipe cleaved through both of its muscr arms and torso, causing it to drop to the ground in four separate pieces before she deftly pierced the location of its monster core. This finally brought an end to the red-skinned tribe residing within the encampment and, with nothing left to keep them in line, almost every green-skinned Hypergoblin left began running for its life. Around the same time that the mass retreat had started, a pile of rubble in the distance exploded with arge red plume of the same red aura that clung to the bodies of the red-skinned Hypergoblins. This was the same location where the Chieftain had been buried previously so Jeanne wasnt surprised in the least while, even with their leader returning, the fleeing Hypergoblins responded by running away even faster. Recing them on the battlefield was a figure cloaked in a midnight blue aura that radiated icy white light on the ends as it appeared next to Jeanne like a phantom. As she had already sensed her arrival with the [Voice of the World], Jeanne dropped her battle-ready stance before looking towards the newly arrived Fenrir with a gentle look in her eyes. Allowing a smile to spread across her slightly tired face, Jeanne sheathed her sword within the slot of her kite shield before saying, "Ill leave the rest to you...haahaa..." As a result of fighting to meet her promised deadline, Jeanne was more tired than normal as, even without having sustained any actual injuries, it had been a long time since she went all-out against enemies. There was a reason why her [Child of Light] was only D-Rank as, even though her Magic parameter was quite high, Jeanne was unable to use mana efficiently. Much of her talent in the magical arts was a direct result of Helens assistance so it wasnt easy for her to maintain her holy shroud for over half an hour. In response to Jeannes words, Fenrir gave a curt nod as her voice raspily intoned, "You should return to Master..." Though she could temper her emotions easily enough outside ofbat, Fenrirs glowing red eyes showed that she was a little too eager to enter into the fray. Jeanne could only smile wryly at this as, instead of returning to Vahns side, she moved to a nearby wall to observe the battle directly. If things got out of hand, she would step in to protect Fenrir, even if it meant thetter would hold a grudge against her for months toe. With what she knew of her Lords disposition, the odds of Fenrir being in actual danger were slim but, having sworn to protect everything her Lord held dear, Jeanne couldnt be a simple bystander. Following Jeannes movements with her eyes, Fenrir adopted a small frown on her face before kicking against the ground and meeting the charge of the muchrger Chieftain. It had paused after seeing a second enemy appear but, now that Jeanne had moved off to the side, its fear had been tempered as it set its sights on the much weaker target that had reced her. Though its instincts caused its skin to crawl in response to the glimmering red eyes of Fenrir, a primal desire to crush the existence of Fenrir welled up within the heart of the Chieftain. All monsters fought for supremacy over each other so, even though it could sense that Fenrir was a higher-tiered existence, it refused to back down as, if it was able to devour her core, its strength would increase exponentially... Just as she was about to collide with the Chieftain, Fenrir curled her body up into a ball before kicking outward with both feet. She had created a foothold in the air right in front of the Hypergoblins charge, instantly changing the direction of her charge as itsrge body mmed into the area where they would have previously met. As if it were punching into paste, the Hypergoblin Chieftains arm sunk into the hard bedrock of the Dungeon as a ripple spread out from the point of contact. In the next instant, an explosion rang through the area at the same time that Fenrir reappeared, ws glimmering with a subtle silver glow. In most circ.u.mstances, catching an enemy by surprise would have brought a swift end to the fight but, in a manner simr to the first Hypergoblin the party had encountered, a second explosion began to spread outwards from the Hypergoblin Chieftains body. Fenrir was in the middle of her attack as the powerful me Elemental energy pulse collided with her body, carrying with it the peculiar electrical energy that naturally emanated from the aura of every red-skinned Hypergoblin. As a result, she was flung backward like a ragdoll before spinning through the air several times and kicking off another foothold she had created. By the time Fenrir appeared again, there were burns over each exposed area of her flesh which, considering she didnt like to wear much clothing inbat, meant her entire abdomen, arms, neck, legs, and face were burned. With an even fiercer glint in her eyes than before, Fenrir entered right into the Hypergoblin Chieftains range before unhinging her jaw and biting down on its neck in a single vicious movement. This caused a massive hole to appear before an almost solid stream of blood began to squirt out from the severed arteries, dousing Fenrirs badly burned body and exacerbating her already serious injuries. The blood of a normal red-skinned Hypergoblin carried a great deal of me Elemental energy whenever they were using their unique skill so, with the Chieftain already in an enraged state, its blood at away like an acid wherever it touched the equally enraged Vangargandr... Though he had promised not to intervene, both of Vahns hands had formed fists as he watched the battle with cold eyes. He managed to prevent himself from stepping, knowing that the [Effigy of the Hero] would protect her, but several regrets ran through Vahns mind as he watched Fenrir fight against a marginally stronger foe. At the very top of the list were the concessions he had made in the design of Fenrirsbat attire as, if she had been fully covered, she wouldnt have suffered an injury at the very beginning of the fight. Though this was primarily the result of the peculiar energy contained within the Chieftains pulse, seemingly able to ignore the magical aura protecting Fenrirs body, Vahn couldnt help but tightly clench his teeth as he watched their brutal fight continue to y out before him... Even in her enraged state, Fenrir didntpletely forgo thinking how to best her opponent as she began to dance around it using her superior speed to look for an opening. This was to buy her body time to regenerate as she sent spears of ice crashing into the Chieftains body to slow it down. Fortunately, even though it had a natural Fire Elemental Affinity, her attacks were still having an effect thanks to the presence of Source Energy contained within. As a result, the Chieftains speed was being drained by each sessive spear of ice as parts of its red flesh began to turn dark from frostbite. Its only means to counteract Fenrirs barrage was to adopt a defensive posture while periodically releasing pulses of electrical mes from its body. Unfortunately for the Chieftain, Fenrir wasnt foolish enough to get caught a second time. Using [Shundo], she was able to move outside of the pulses range in an instant before hitting the Chieftain with arge-scale magic attack. She had noticed that its resilience was weakened after using the pulse, taking advantage of the opportunity to dealsting damage to spite the Chieftains attempt to harm her. Realizing it was at a disadvantage, the Chieftain covered its head with both arms before charging into a nearby building to break Fenrirs line of sight. When she saw this, Fenrir snorted through her nose but, instead of pursuing directly, she instead created a foothold in the air before spreading both paws wide. The aura around her body increased in intensity as a series of magical circles began to form a few centimeters away from her fleshy paw pads. Though she wasnt nearly as prolific as Terra, Fenrir shared the same elemental affinities as Eva so, while her magical power wascking, she wasnt incapable of using the more powerful spells taught by her second Master. With a strangely prideful expression on her face, Fenrir shouted, "Master, give me strength~!" at the top of her lungs. This caused the magic circles around her to nearly double in size before she converged them together and began chanting, "Come, Spirits of Ice and Darkness! Bring Eternal Darkness to those who flee the Snowstorm! Nivis Tempestas Obscurans~!" Even before Fenrirs chant had finished, the surrounding temperature had started to rapidly decrease as the already low-lit Dungeon became progressively darker. The moment the final syble left her lips, a tempestuous wind began to converge upon the building where the Chieftain had fled. It didnt take long at all for this wind to turn into a literal tornado of ice but, unlike a regr Ice Elemental spell, there were threads of pure ck contained within the frosty white of the tornado. As Fenrir also had Affinities with Darkness and Yin Elemental energy, she could infuse it into her attacks, greatly increasing the potency of ice magic as a result. By the time Fenrirs attack hade to an end, the building containing the Chieftain had been reduced to nothingness as peculiar ck ice spread out for several hundred meters from the impact point. As for Fenrir herself, she was slowly descending from the sky while taking deep breaths, desperately fighting against unconsciousness after overtaxing her reserves. Fortunately, she had a habit of carrying around magic cores and high-quality potions within her pouch so Fenrir was able to crunch down a few cores to avoid copsing. She didnt know whether or not the Chieftain had actually been killed by her attack so, until its death could be confirmed, Fenrir remained on full-alert for any sign of movement. Without having to wait long, Vahn appeared in the area with a concerned look in his eyes and a proud smile on his face. With his presence, Fenrir knew she had won the fight so she allowed her wobbling legs to give out, trusting that her Master would catch her. She hadnt even fallen three centimeters before a pair of warm arms embraced her body and arge palm found its way to the back of her head. With her Masters fingers running through her hair, Fenrir allowed herself to fall asleep with a small smile on her quickly healing face. She had already been regenerating quickly so, after eating a few magic cores, her appearance had almost returned to normal by the time her Master had shown up to retrieve her. It was a secret that would be locked away deep within her heart that she had actually drawn out the fight a bit for that express purpose... Holding Fenrirs small figure in his arms, Vahn released a sigh of relief after seeing that she had no serious injuries. Other than overtaxing her mana-circuits, which would heal by the time she awoke, most of Fenrirs other injuries had vanished as a result of her bodys ability to always revert back to its default state. Though this had been a big problem in the past, before Lili had bestowed her [Cinder*E] upon her, it was at times like this that Vahn was grateful for nature of Fenrirs body. Thus, while cradling her body within his arms, Vahn descended next to Jeanne and Helen before uttering in a gentle tone, "Lets find a ce to rest. Jeanne, Ill have you cook this time..." With her A-Rank [Cooking] Development Ability, Jeanne was more than capable of taking up the task so she happily returned a smile before saying, "Leave it to me, my Lord. Ill make something nutritious that will help Lady Fenrir recover even faster...!" As her food literally carried several benefits, the least of which could temporarily boost the parameters of whoever ate it, Jeanne had full confidence that she could make good on her promise. Being fully aware of this, Vahn gave a nod in response before turning his attention towards the ground zero of Fenrirsst attack. There were small fragments of ckened ice that would likely persist for several months, each containing small chunks of what used to be the Level 8 Chieftain... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Indomitable Jeanne,Master, give me strength~!,Aint no kill quite like over-kill~!) (A/N: I think I figured out why Im waking up two hourster than normal. Its because I was on the west coast, which means that my body is waking up at the time it expects, around 5am, even though it is 7am CST xD. Once my bio-rhythm returns to normal, there shouldnt be any more dys ^_^...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1004 - Changing Tides

Chapter 1004 - Changing Tides

Though Vahn had never expected that conquering the Dungeon would be a simple feat, he had grossly underestimated the time it would take toplete. By the time the group had reached the 84th Floor, aplex maze that was more than 500km in diameter, the expedition had already been going on for an entire week. It was getting to the point that each Floor took up the better part of a full day and, though he could bore through forcefully in the upper Floors, everything after the 78th had been protected by a strange membrane. The only way to proceed was by using the established pathways which, more often than not, were heavily guarded byrge encampments of increasingly powerful monsters. After descending into the 84th Floor, the mana density had increased to the point that the fogprised of pure mana extended past their knees. This decreased visibility greatly, making the Floor one of the more difficult to traverse as the ground was full of holes that hid the small insectoid creatures that called it home. Unlike the 81st through 83rd Floors, where each individual monster was marginally powerful, the residents of the 84th through 88th Floors seemed to be the type to rely on numbers to overwhelm their enemies. Their exoskeletons also seemed to beprised of whatever materials they had devoured within the Dungeons structure as, even after yingrge groups of the insectoid monsters, their carapaces would remain behind in death. These were almost entirelyprised of rare minerals like Mithril, Adamantine, and, in the case of the wasp-like creatures that would spew viscous acid toward the party, Orichalc.u.m. With each individual insect being around the size of a washbasin, often traveling in groups of several hundred, this meant Vahns reserves of the rtively rare resources was rapidly increasing while his OP reserves were growing far faster than he had ever expected. Each of the strange metallic insects would nearly a hundred OP each, even without converting their drop items, so Vahn had been averaging an awe-inspiring 6.65 million OP every hour spent on the Floor. Since he was the one killing most of the insects, as Fenrirs and Jeannesbat styles werent suited to the task, Vahn was practically giddy with anticipation as he watched his reserves steadily climb. By his estimate, knowing that the creatures would persist until the 88th Floor, he would be able to earn an additional 470-500 million OP by the time they reached the 89th Floors entrance... Seeing how excited Vahn was to harvest the materials dropped by the insects, Fenrir and Jeanne wasnt in a hurry to progress while Helen, still giving the silent treatment, simply followed along under the protection of the two girls. She had started talking to Jeanne again, at least when they made camp, so Vahn was hopeful that she would recover enough by the time they reached the 99th Floor to avoid having to enact his n. At this point, he already had a decent understanding of the necessary process, the result of having all of Eins notes memorized, but Vahn really wanted to avoid having to rely on such drastic means. If Helen managed to bear having her world copse, Vahn believed she would be stronger for it after a few years of therapy and the guidance of people who cared about her... --- Though he had been busy in the Dungeon, much of Vahns focus was on matters back on the surface world. He hadnt exactly been able to make good on his promise to produce the One-Eyed ck Dragons head but, in an attempt to ay public concerns, Vahn had purchased a massive magic core from his Inventory to proffer forth as proof of its subjugation. Though Ouranos was aware of the truth of the matter, he wasnt the type that would get involved with such things so the general consensus was that Vahn had indeed in the One-Eyed ck Dragon. As a result, the people had been celebrating for thest three days as the information quickly spread throughout the continent like wildfire. Around the same time the news had reached the Southern Sands, awing the various tribes residing near The ins region of the continent, Asfi had arrived in her homnd, the Maritime Kingdom, Aetheopia. Compared to the past, where the people often had smiles on their faces as they went about their business as fishermen and traders, there was an obvious mncholy throughout the various port Cities as they mourned the death of their King, all while preparing for War. Though he had only been imprisoned at first, Asfis father had quickly s.u.mbed to the cold of the Pces deepest and darkest Dungeon. This was a ce many referred to as the Watery Abyss as, anyone confined there would find themselves partially submerged in chilled saltwater that constantly sapped their strength and exacerbated any injuries they had sustained... With eight Valkyries apanying her, Asfi flew over the heads of her people with the aid of her modified [Tria] and a full loadout of S-Ranked equipment. Her presence drew the attention of thousands but, amongst them, only a few seemed to realize the identity of the aqua-haired maiden that stood out, even amongst the eight otherworldly Valkyrie. Though her appearance hadnt changed much sinceing to reside within the Hearth Manor, Asfi still benefitted greatly from Vahns care. Though several years had passed within the Sub-Space orb at this point, she actually looked younger than before, her skin glistening with a healthy glow as her sharp and intelligent cyan-blue eyes reflected the image of her former home in their depths... Seeing what her home had be, Asfis resolve had been redoubled as she slightly increased her flying speed in order to expedite the restoration process. With the Pce walls quickly increasing in size, several arrows began to tear through the sky as, regardless of anything else, the Aetheiopian Kingdom had already dered open hostility against the Empire. Since the Valkyries were not only recognized as Vahns messengers, but the executors of his will, the Pce guards immediately opened fire once they were in range. This didnt end well for them, however, as even the Captain of the Royal Guard was only Level 3 while the weakest Valkyrie present was near the peak of Level 7. They immediately moved to counterattack the guards, tearing through the sky with a fierce momentum before harvesting the lives of any guards foolish enough to stand their ground... With dull eyes, Asfinded in the courtyard of her former home as death wails sounded from the surrounding walls. Six of the Valkyrie had started ughtering anyone that didnt immediately surrender while Byrnhildr and Bruna remained at Asfis side, assuring her safety. Though she had managed to reach Level 5 during her stay at the Manor, a Level that should have allowed her free reign almost anywhere outside of Orario, Asfi was still considered weak from the perspective of the Valkyrie. Since their Master had entrusted her safety to them, Asfi had no say in the measures they took to guarantee no harm befell her. During the journey to the Aetheopian Kingdom, Asfi had to tolerate the presence of at least one Valkyrie, even during the moments when she bathed or required relief. Having grown ustomed to the presence of Brynhildr and Bruna, Asfi moved forward without paying them much attention as she entered through the samerge coral doors that she had passed through thousands of times in the past. There were several guards stationed inside of the Pce but, fully aware of the ughter urring outside,bined with their knowledge of Asfis identity, many chose to stand down and bow instead of barring her passage. Only those that had been twisted by the Queens corruption made any attempt to prevent Asfis advance but, much like all those who hade before, they were mercilessly cut down by Brunas halberd. Their armor, regardless of its make and thickness, provided them absolutely no defense against the insurmountable might of the resolute Valkyrie. In this manner, Asfi quickly found her way into the already abandoned throne room before activating a mechanism that caused a false wall to copse inward. She had never expected her Mother to stand her ground so, after seeing the tell-tale signs that the hidden passage had already been used once, Asfi quickly gave pursuit. It was likely that, from the moment she received the report, Cassiopeia had already fled the Pce in an attempt to preserve her life. She had always been a vain, petty, scheming, and, most importantly, a cowardly woman. Instead of dirtying her own hands, Cassiopeia was the type that relied on others to carry out her will, usually after convincing them with her body... After following the hidden passage to its end, Asfi came out into a private sanctum that contained a deep pool of crystal clear water and a channel connecting to the sea. There would normally be a stealthy cutter docked within the channel but, after her speedy escape, Cassiopeia had already taken the vessel out to sea. In most cases, this would have guaranteed her safety but, with the ability to fly, Asfi quickly followed the channel out to sea before ascending into the air with Brynhildr and Bruna nking her. There had a been a metal gate intended to prevent pursuit but, even without Bruna cutting a path, Asfi had used a blood-red potion that instantly corroded the bars to grant them passage. Upon reaching open water, it didnt take long to spot the cutters off-blue sails that seemed to blend into the seawater below. Asfi adjusted her pose before doing a nose-dive towards the ship, a fierce glint in her eyes as she acrobatically flipped over at thest moment before gently touching down on the boats surface. Two robust-looking guards immediately charged at her but, without having to raise her own hand, Asfi continued forward while Brynhildr and Bruna descended upon them like the wrath of God, mercilessly piercing their bodies into the deck. Their blood quickly pooled across the painted surface of the cutter, creating a stark contrast against the backdrop of the sea as Asfi walked unhesitantly towards a cloaked figure trying to blend in with the ships supplies. Realizing she had been discovered, the cloaked figure tossed aside her garment, revealing a shapely body that seemed to ignore the passage of time. This was achieved with several extremely potent Elixirs and constant care as, regardless of the fact that she was in her fifties, Queen Cassiopeia couldnt tolerate having her appearance degrade with age. Now that she had been exposed, she stood with her head held high and a venomous look in her eyes as she spat, "You unfilial brat...not only did you betray your country, fleeing to that vile City, but you have the audacity to return after bedding that pretender!? What, are you going to kill your own Mother before offering your homnd as a sacrifice to that fools ambitions!? Having already closed the distance between them, Asfi responded to Cassiopeias words with a swift backhanded p. This caused the frail Queen to spin around with the momentum before falling to the deck, hard. An expression of disbelief appeared on her face as she brought her shaky hand up to her swollen cheek, tears welling up in her reddened eyes. As for Asfi, she had a frosty expression that could even turn magma to ice as she stared down at her Mother and stated, "You would use me of the same vicious acts as you,pletely ignoring your own depravity. How sickening..." Though her Mothers usations werent entirely false, as Asfi had indeed made herself a bargaining chip for her own revenge, hearing it directly felt like having someone spit into her open mouth... Resolving to never be like her Mother, regardless of usations that may be thrown her way, Asfi shook her head in exasperation before pulling out a rtively in-looking dagger. Seeing this, Cassiopeias open mouth immediately snapped shut as she held up both hands in a gesture of surrender. Her eyes were darting around in their sockets as she thought about a means to get out of this situation but, unwilling to stand idle, Asfi never afforded her the opportunity. Using the dagger, Asfi cut through her Mothers wrists before unceremoniously slicing the de across her neck. Curiously, if the casual observer were there to witness the event, they would have noticed that there were no visible injuries on the Queens body as she slumped onto the deck of the cutter. cing the dagger into her own personal storage bracelet, Asfi then bent down to check her Mothers pulse before turning thetters head to face her. Cassiopeias eyes were twitching slightly as she attempted to direct them toward her daughter but the shock of having the connection between her brain and body severed had forced her into a catatonic state. The dagger Asfi had used was not intended to cause physical damage but, much like Vahns [Mercy], it could directly sever the mana circuitry in a persons body. Asfi made sure that she didntpletely sever the connection, as this would have caused her Mothers death, as she intended to imprison her in the same Watery Abyss that her Father had been forced to suffer... After tying of Cassiopeias body, Asfi stowed her within the cutters cabin before helming the boat and sailing it back towards the Pces secret passage. She didnt make it very far, however, before the sea began to rapidly swell up in front of the cutter. Brynhildr immediately pressed a ck gemstone embedded into her gauntlet as she and Bruna moved to protect Asfi. The nose of the cutter began to be pushed up by the swelling water beforerge tentacles began to emerge, breaking the waters tension and revealing a monstrous ck creature. More noticeably, however, was the barechested man sitting on the creatures head as he tapped a glowing golden trident with his fingers. Aquamarine hair, as if he hadnt just exited the sea, fell into natural and wild curls around a handsome face as deep-blue eyes, set in an expression of contempt, reflected the image of the two Valkyries and their charge... With a deep baritone voice, the man ran his index finger along his trident as he stated, "All who have earned the ire of the sea are destined to be devoured by its fury...tell me, child, what have you done with my concu...bine...?" Though he had started off with an intimidating fervor, the man allowed his words to trail as he passed his gaze over Brynhildr, Bruna, and Asfi in session. He had already seen the previous two on several asions in the past, as he was closely affiliated with Zeus and Odin, but Asfis appearance caught his eye. He could vaguely remember the young girl that was ted to be his pets ything in the past but, now that she had matured, a slight regret had welled up inside of his heart as he suddenly felt it wasteful to simply kill her. Before he could issue another word, Brynhildr had stepped forward to protect Asfi as she broke convention and stated, "Lord Poseidon, this is a personal matter between mortals. As a god, you have no grounds to intervene in the affairs of any mortal Kingdom you do no directly preside over." Having followed her Father, Odin, for more than eight-hundred years, Brynhildr was intimately familiar with the vows gods had to take before descending into the mortal world. Though they could certainly build up Kingdoms, or even rule over vast Empires, Gods were prevented from using their power to intervene in the affairs of other Kingdoms directly, especially if there were no gods presiding over said Kingdom. Hearing Brynhildrs words, Poseidons face formed a deep frown before he stood atop his pet, Cetus, a cruel glimmer in his eyes as he asked, "You think yourself to be in a position where you can provide counsel to me...? Did you Father not educate you properly, you snot-nosed brat!?" With each word spoken by Poseidon, storm clouds began to gather as the sea became increasingly more tumultuous. Though Brynhildrs words were true, and he couldnt intervene directly, there was an infinite number of loopholes that could be exploited to get his way. Chief amongst them was to allow his pet to act freely, loosening the restraints that kept it bound to him and allowing Cetus toy waste to entire inds if necessary. Just as Poseidon was preparing to teach Brynhildr a lesson, his eyes snapped wide as he inclined his head back in response to a spatial fluctuation that had appeared right next to him. By instinct, Poseidon began to stir up his Arcanum in response but, before he was able to even release a fraction of his power, golden chains emerged from the void before tightly binding his body. Cetus, which had been towering over the cutter beneath his feet, began to sink into the sea as the surrounding water became suffused with a red hue. By the time Poseidon processed what was happening, a ceremonial dagger that shone with the same light as his trident passed through his neck. His head was sent twirling through the air as his deep blue eyes reflected the image of Vahn and, more importantly, Kali... Knowing that Poseidon hadnt lost consciousness just yet, Kali licked the golden blood from her dagger with a vicious light in her eyes as she mocked, "Arent you a bit old to get riled up over the words of a mortal? Though, I suppose the sea is known to be temperamental...? Kukukuku~." With her words finished, Kali dematerialized the dagger in her hands just as Poseidons body began to break down into particles of light. Vahn quickly stowed the corpse into his Inventory, as there was always a chance it could be useful in creating another divine-grade avatar in the future. The one he had produced with Artemis body had been a fluke but, now that he knew it was possible, Vahn had been intending to experiment with Apollos body when he got a chance... Carrying Kali down to the ship, Vahn looked at the kneeling Brynhildr and Bruna before saying, "Rise. The two of you have done well..." In response, the two Valkyrie showed prideful expressions before obediently rising to their feet and saluting, Brynhildr remarking, "We are unworthy of such kind words, Your Majesty. If not for the treasures you had bestowed unto us, we would have been powerless in the face of a God such as Poseidon..." With the best poker face he could manage, Vahn gave a curt nod in response to Brynhildrs words before giving up trying to set Kali down onto the ship. She was snickering in his arms while adamantly refusing to let go of his neck. With her small size, she could easily dangle without her feet touching the ground so Vahn just epted the awkwardness of the situation as he turned his eyes to Asfi and asked, "Do you want me to apany you...?" She had been standing with a nk expression of her own ever since he had arrived so Vahn was a little worried about her. Hearing Vahns words, Asfi allowed a small smile to spread across her lips before shaking her head and saying, "No, I will handle the rest. This is my homnd...it is up to me to restore it to its former glory. Please rest assured that, one day, the Aetheiopian Kingdom will be one of the Empires staunchest allies...!" Though it was more appropriate to call them a vassal state, Vahn had left the decision up to Asfi in regards to when her Kingdom would officially join the Empire. For the time being, the Alliance would be sending people over to help them rebuild while Asfi worked to consolidate power as the Kingdoms new Queen. Officially, she was considered his consort so, regardless of how long the transition took, the Aetheiopian Kingdom was already his by virtue of their rtionship... Though he would have normally parted with her after a long embrace, Vahn knew it would be impossible while Kali was clinging to his neck. This realization made him realize that Kali was behaving this way intentionally but, as she had been acting this way ever since he told her about the existence of Maya, Vahn had already gotten used to it. She was determined to get an advantage over this mysterious twin of hers so, while the rest of the City had been celebrating, Kali had been lingering around the Manor and bothering Vahn whenever she knew she could get away with it. Now that she had even helped him strike down a god, giving him the means to avoid having any naysayers in Heaven call him out, Kali was intending to capitalize on the opportunity as much as possible... With his presence no longer required, Vahn transformed into his Qinglong form once again before carrying Kali with him back to a transfer point he had set up at the distant Iron Hills Sanctuary. In order to avoid triggering Terra and Alexa, Vahn had decided to avoid using his Qingling form near the City, thus resulting in him using Yggys personalwork to get around on asion. Upon arriving within the verdant garden that now existed where atop what remained of the Mother Mountain, Vahn saw Yggy wearing a white floral dress as she tended to a small grove of golden peaches. Though she was more than aware of his presence, she pretended to be ignorant since Kali was still firmly clinging to his neck... This time, Vahn allowed a wry smile to appear on his lips as he gently pinched Kalis side and asked, "What do I have to do to get you to let go...?" Though he already had several ideas regarding what she would ask, Vahn allowed Kali some leeway to make her demands. He wanted to see how far she would push her luck but, knowing full-well that she still wasnt that close with Vahn, Kali surprised him by saying, "For now, lets just take a nap together...we still have a few hours before dinner time, right...?" Even though it wasnt even in the top ten things she wanted to do with Vahn, Kali knew better than to push him too hard as she rested her head against his chest and began listening to his heartbeat. As this was a simple enough request, Vahn acquiesced to Kalis demand before carrying her in a proper bridal hold and asking, "How long has it been since I gave you a massage? I fear my techniques have been getting rusty as ofte..." Since she had willinglypromised, Vahn decided to give Kali one of the actual rewards. There was even a chance that things could develop along an axis that she would undoubtedly benefit greatly from so, without any hesitation, Kali began to snicker before licking around Vahns neck. She made sure that her actions couldnt be seen by Yggy as she whispered, "Very well...if you want me to make sure your skills havent rusted, youll have to give me a full course this time around...ufufufu~." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn has already learned to lie, just like a good politician...,Its hard to tell if Asfi, or the Valkyrie, are more ruthless o_o...,Kali is learning to pull Vahns strings well...meanwhile, Yggy being a good daughter and ignoring her Fathers phndering xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1005 - Endless Moves Ahead, One Step Behind

Chapter 1005 - Endless Moves Ahead, One Step Behind

Standing atop a mountain that was nearly 7km tall, Vahn looked out over the vast stretch ofnd below with a ruminating gaze. It had already been twenty days since his journey into the Dungeon began and, after several small trials, the group had finally arrived on the 90th Floor. Things had developed to the point that, unless he began breaking down walls or yed an active role in clearing away the monsters, it now took between 2-3 days to reach the next Floor. The main reason for this was the sheer size of each Floor as, each level descended meant marked an almost exponential increase radius. As Vahn stood atop this mountain, there were still nearly 3km of open space above his head while, looking towards the horizon, it seemed to stretch out for more than a thousand kilometers in each direction... With nine Floors left to traverse, Vahn felt as if thest Floor may very well dwarf the size of the Continent. After all, upon clearing the 88th Floor, every sessive Floor seemed more than double the size of the previous. If this trend continued, the 99th Floor may very well be more than a hundred-thousand-kilometers across, more than ten timesrger than Eden. Though this hadnte as too much a surprise to Vahn, as he knew that Tartarus was supposed to be the bridge between the realms, it was quite the sight to behold in person. If he wanted to, Vahn felt as if he could create an entire world all his own within the Dungeon. This was especially the case as, after reaching the 90th Floor the previous day, the only monsters the group had encountered were small animals that could be hunted, even by normal people... Sensing a presence exit the cottage behind him, Vahn continued to gaze towards the horizon while muttering, "This ce makes Haven seem almost inconsequential inparison...". In response, the approaching figure came to a stop a few steps behind him as a soft voice reached his ears, saying, "If my Lord wishes it, even this ce cannot escape your influence. I would like to see it, you know, and untouched by war where people could genuinely live without worry..." Having seen what Yggys influence could do to an area, Jeanne could already imagine the forests below turning into verdant gardens where people, never knowing the cruelty of the world, were able to flourish in istion. With the mana-rich resources avable, a series of unique flora that prevented the mist from consolidating on the 90th Floor, they would likely live exceedingly long lives without having to rely on increasing their Level... Hearing Jeannes words, Vahn pulled out one of Yggys remaining seeds as a glint shed across his eyes. nting Yggy on the 90th Floor meant he would be able to move between the Dungeons depths and the surface with impunity. It could serve as a ry point for the future while also giving Jeanne and Helen a means to return to the surface. However, as he held one of Yggys hearts in his hand, Vahn felt as if this wasnt the correct decision to make. Though it was certainly possible to make a paradise on the 90th Floor, the people that woulde to reside here would inevitably begin to stagnate without knowing adversity. There was also the simple fact that, regardless of how fond he was of the races that thrived upon the surface, Vahn felt as though they would spoil this paradise if given enough time. At best, this ce could be a true home to the Xenos as, even with the efforts he had been making to ensure they would be able to live in peace, it was almost impossible to determine when everyone else was ready to receive them... Deciding it was best to leave thisnd untouched, so that future generations may explore it freely, Vahn ced Yggys seed back into his Inventory before turning to face the smiling Jeanne. She gave a small bow in response before standing to the side, gesturing to the cottage as she said, "My Lord, your meal has been prepared. Please enjoy it before it gets cold..." As ofte, Jeanne had been cooking every other meal as, even though Vahns food miraculously tasted better, hers was far more beneficial to the party. If she used high-quality ingredients, such as the Dragon meat Vahn kept in stock, Jeanne could even make a Dragon Steak that would increase Power by up to 5%. Though this may not seem like much, it was a truly monstrous amount when considering how much Power people had at higher Levels. After making his way into the cottage, Vahn found Fenrir sitting patiently at the dining table while a subtle aroma emanated from the direction of Helens room. She had been eating all of her meals in private but it was still an improvementpared to how she was acting after experiencing the illusion. It seemed that, given time to think about the events, Helen had been sorting through her emotions in order to reach the stability she had in the past. Though this wasnt necessarily a good thing, as she was likely convincing herself of things that may very well be devoid of truth, it was still a step forward for the taciturn beauty... Choosing not to fret over Helen too much, Vahn sat at the dining table and enjoyed a meal with Fenrir and Jeanne, even if thetter would periodically return to the kitchen to grab more dishes. It was a very pleasant experience as, even though there wasnt much to talk about, just eating good food and enjoying a peaceful atmosphere went a long way towards preparing themselves for theing days. Vahn was determined to find the entrance to the 91st Floor before sunset on the following day. He had already performed a cursory mapping of the entire Floor by flying around and, after finding nondmarks that would indicate a means of descent, he knew the entrance was likely hidden. His instincts also told him that, other than the entrance to the 91st Floor, there were other secrets hidden away within the expansive forest that surrounded the singr mountain that called the 90th Floor home. By the time night had descended, marked by the massive crystals on the ceiling turning dark, Vahn had alreadyid in bed with Fenrir cuddled up at his side. While her gentle breaths tickled his bare chest, Vahn held his left hand towards the ceiling of the cottage. The further they delved into the Dungeon, the closer he felt to grasping the final secret of Divinity. At this point, his Quest showed that his Creation Divinity had increased from 92% to 98%. Though he hadnt actually been creating much as ofte, at least in regards to forging, Vahn felt like hisprehension of the Laws was somehow influenced by the Dungeon. It wasnt just him, either, as both Jeanne and Fenrir had shown drastic changes over thest few days that couldnt be ignored... After being stuck a bottleneck for nearly twenty years, Jeannes [Child of Light] had increased from D-Rank, reaching a fortable C-Rank. The light constructs she could create were far more durable than before and, instead of having to rely on her shield as a medium, Jeanne could now form wings of light through her armor. This marked a qualitative increase in her strength, even if her reserves meant she couldnt maintain prolonged use of the versatile Innate. As for Fenrir, though she still possessed a Tier 1 Soul, there had been signs she would breakthrough any day now. This could be seen in how her body, whose base hadnt changed since the day of her evolution, had started to soften in some areas. Though she was still tter than even Loki, Fenrir had made Vahn very aware that they had increased in size, even if it was only five millimeters... The most notable change in Fenrirs appearance was the fact that her midnight blue hair started to turn a lighter shade on the fringes. Even more apparent was the fact that her eyes had started to transition from their traditional scarlet to a lighter shade of red. At the very center of her iris, surrounding her pupils, there was a very obvious gradient of pink that made Fenrirs eyes appear to shine, even in bright light. This seemed to indicate that her budding Innate was rted to her eyes or, at the very least, her body was adapting to the image she had desired for herself. As for why she had only changed in such small amounts, Vahn felt as if it was rted to the fact that Fenrir didnt want to change the appearance he had given her... As if she knew he was thinking about her, which was very likely the case, Fenrir wriggled about in Vahns arms before gently licking his neck a few times. It didnt seem as though she had awoken, at least from what Vahn could tell, so her behavior was driven purely by instinct. Vahn couldnt help but smile at this before pulling her body a little closer to his own and kissing her forehead. With the evolution of her Soul, Fenrir may very well lose her Ageless trait, meaning she may even be able to bear children in the future. Though this would be in the far future, Vahn felt like it wouldnt be all that bad to start a family with the lovable Vanargandr when he reached a different record. As for why he would wait until then, it was the result of Vahns personal realization that he had let things get out of hand during his time within Danmachi... Though he didnt regret his actions, even if he should, Vahn knew he had gone too far as a result of thex nature of his rtionsh.i.p.s with other women. He genuinely loved each of them but, after seeing the love shared by other couples, Vahn felt that he wascking something that they had found. His rtionsh.i.p.s were almost always pushed to various extremes while, in most other cases, people made simplepromises and simply enjoyed each otherspany. At times, they would have disagreements, fight, and even fall out of love with each other. Vahn, however, couldnt imagine losing his emotional attachment to others as, even with his already expansive harem, it never felt like he reached the maximum amount of people he could show affection to. Perhaps it was due to his realization that there were no limits after obtaining The Path, but that excuse wouldnt hold up indefinitely... After delving into the Dungeon this time around, Vahn had a lot of time to think about who he had be and, more importantly, who he would be. It was already toote to take a step back and live a more modest lifestyle but, at the very least, Vahn knew he had full control over how his rtionsh.i.p.s with others would develop. He didnt want any of the girls he was currently with to have regrets so, with the exception of Fortuna, Kali, and, potentially, Amaterasu, Vahn decided he would temper himself in order to avoid entering into a rtionship with other women, especially mortals. Though this would undoubtedly break the hearts of many women that had been eying him, especially girls like Bache and Renka, Vahn had to draw the line somewhere. As much as he wanted to, Vahn understood that he could not be held personally responsible for the happiness of everyone he came across...at least as far as rtionsh.i.p.s were concerned. While thinking about the peculiar Amazoness with sand-colored hair, Vahns mind wandered to another mature beauty who, around this time, was well into her pregnancy. He hadnt gone to visit Aisha in thest two weeks so, after morning came, Vahn intended to head over to the expanding Amazoness district with Haruhime to check on her. While he was there, Vahn intended to discuss matters of the future with Kali before having a private discussion with Bache. She was a beautiful woman, especially after he fixed the scar on her face, so it wouldnt be that difficult for her to find a capable suitor in the future. Though she was Level 6, something many could never hope to achieve, Vahn knew this wouldnt be the case in the future. If she were patient, there would be numerous men that would be able to meet her standards... Thinking till here, Vahns face morphed into a slight frown as, better than most, he knew it wouldnt actually be that easy. After witnessing his power, it would be hard for Baches body to react to another man. Unless they were able to defeat her in individualbat, something that wasnt likely to happen in a short period of time, Bache would never be able to move beyondparing every man she met to him. Since he was to me for this, especially since Bache had every expectation of bearing his child one day, Vahn made a slight change in his future ns. Bache would be thest mortal woman he entered into a rtionship with, even if it was merely for the purpose of making good on his promise and pacifying her instincts. Besides, she had a good rtionship with Tiona, Tione, and even Aisha, so Vahn expected they would have been upset with him if he had broken his promise in such a selfish fashion... After sorting through the scarilyrge number of women he associated with, Vahn lightly shook his head as a wry smile naturally spread across his lips. In the future, regardless of the situation, Vahn promised he would never actively seek a rtionship. Though this was simr to other promises he had made to himself, Vahn was now intending to keep himself in check by furthering his rtionship with Fenrir instead. As forgiving as she was towards the girls within the Manor, Vahn knew that Fenrir was borderline hostile towards other girls, the only exception being children. Since he had no intentions of craddle-robbing, as some referred to it, Vahn suspected this wouldnt be an issue when he traversed other records. The fact that many of the people he would interact with would be younger than his actual children, especially in records he was familiar with, went a long way into cementing his resolve... Thinking of children, though she would probably pummel him if she was aware of the connection, Vahns mind wandered to Eva. Her memory fragment was still safely locked away within the soul space of his main body, waiting for the day when he finally had enough strength to free her from the fate she had been cursed with. Unfortunately, regardless of how he looked at the situation, Vahn knew that his strength wouldnt be enough upon leaving the record of Danmachi. Though he could undoubtedly reach the point where he could contend against foes like the Mage of the Beginning after a bit of training, Vahn didnt want to simply idle about in Evas world as she continued to suffer. Because of this, Vahn was intending to make a side-trip before attempting to rescue Eva, essentially guaranteeing he would be able to save her without issue... With the Mage of the Beginning being an entity at the absolute peak of Tier 5, Vahn had an approximation of where his own Soul needed to be before contending against the vile Mage. Fortunately, with the aid of The Path, Vahn didnt actually need to be near the peak himself in order to get an advantage against the Mage of the Beginning. He had ess to a functionally infinite number of treasures that would aid him while also possessing the purest form of energy in all records, Source. Even if his own magic paled inparison to the Mage of the Beginnings, Vahn knew thetter wouldnt be able to outright defend against any attacks he managed tond. If he yed his cards smartly, Vahn would be able to dealsting damage to his foe without them even knowing what happened... In order to aplish this, Vahn was intending to familiarize himself with the most powerful tool he had at his disposal, [Enkidu]. The resplendent golden chains had not only changed the very nature of his existence within the record of Danmachi, but it was also the key to putting down the seemingly unkible Mage of the Beginning for good. Since it was already an item at the peak of Tier 5, Vahn nned to enter the Record it originated from in order to both test its increased functionality while also tempering his Soul in preparation for Evas world. Since an item like [Enkidu] could exist there, it meant that the world was undoubtedly a Tier 5 Record where, depending on his luck, Vahn may even be able to obtain other Tier 5 equipment without having to purchase it from the shop. This was, of course, just one of the ns Vahn hade up with as, even without relying on luck to get by, there were several other methods that would almost guarantee victory. Chief amongst these was the fact that, while he couldnt really afford them under normal circ.u.mstances, Vahn knew it wasnt impossible for him to purchase equipment and items that were even higher than Tier 5. With his own Soul being restricted to Tier 3, the price for even a single one of these items reached into the trillions but, considering how the price of items seemed to be determined by his Soul Tier, Vahn knew it would be affordable in time. So long as he reached Tier 5, Vahn was confident that almost any offensive or sealing-based Tier 6 item would be able to ruin the Mage of the Beginnings day. Since he would have a whole record to prepare for the battle, Vahn felt as if he was ying a game of chess where he was allowed to make as many moves as he wanted before the other yer even knew the game had started... Imagining what kind of face the Mage of the Beginning would make when he struck them down, Vahn allowed a smile to creep on his own as he hugged Fenrirs body a little tighter. Though it was dangerous to underestimate his enemy, Vahn knew he had a literal eternity to prepare for the event. He could even wait until he was near the peak of Tier 5, on the very cusp of reaching Tier 6, before entering into Evas record and outright destroying the Mage of the Beginning. With Tier 6, or even Tier 7 items, there wouldnt be much the errant Mage could do against him, regardless of how powerful they may be. After all, by pursuing the paths of Creation and Destruction, Vahn knew he was on a path that few would be able to impede once he gained enough momentum... Closing the hand he had extended towards the ceiling, Vahn felt as if everything was in his grasp as he finally allowed his eyelids to veil the subtle light emanating from the depths of his pupils. There, as if awaiting its moment of triumph, the image of an Emperor bided its time as a veritable ocean of followers stood at his back. Though silence dominated the atmosphere, unbeknownst to Vahn, the very edges of his soul had started to tremble at this exact moment... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A Land Untouched By Mortals...,Bache dodged a bullet...or was that Vahn?,At the precipice...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1006 - Intrigue

Chapter 1006 - Intrigue

Rising early the next morning, Vahn enjoyed a hearty breakfast before continuing his search for the entrance to the 91st. There were a few points of interest he had mapped the previous day, the first of which was a giantke located in the center of a forest to the West. It stood out from other areas of the Floor as theke itself was nearly 80km across and, ording to Vahns minimap, perfectly round. Since the Dungeon had already required them to pass through a waterway in order to reach one Floor, Vahn suspected that the entrance to the 91st mayy within thekes depths. There was also a chance that it held other secrets so, with few options avable to him, Vahn felt that starting with theke wasnt a bad idea. After arriving in the airspace above theke, Vahn began to probe its depths with his domain, taking notice of the fact that it was far deeper than his senses could extend. Next, Vahn adopted a meditative pose in mid-air before transforming into his Qinglong form and extending his intent into thekes depths. While his domain may be limited to the location of his main body and avatar, Vahn could move his intent, seemingly without restriction. As a result, Vahn quickly probed nearly 5km into thekes interior before reaching an almost perfectly t bottom. This was a depth no light could reach, causing what little light was present to stand out like a sore thumb. Vahn guided his intent, following the source of the light before finding a refractive bubble near thekes center. Entering this bubble revealed a temple-like structure, causing Vahn to tear through the fabric of Space in order to spread his finer senses through the area. Seeing the temple with his own two eyes, Vahn couldnt help but marvel at the immactely designed super-structure that was nearly 300m tall. The building was designed simr to a Pantheon of worship, possessing a total of thirty-nine massive pirs holding up appeared to be a marble roof carved from a singr b of stone. The fact that this stone was nearly a kilometer long was evidence that, regardless of the efforts of mortal men, they would never be able to construct a building of simr size and structure. With what he knew of architecture andpressive forces, Vahn couldnt even begin to fathom how the pirs were able to hold up so much weight, especially over what may have very well been the course of several eons. Ascending the stone stairs leading into the massive temple, Vahn passed through two of the massive pirs before entering into the inner sanctum. Here, amidst incalcble portraits of animals and nt life, a single statue stood at the very end of the chamber. Vahn would have liked to explore the intricately designed portraits in greater detail but, seeing the statue, he used [Shundo] to instantly close the distance. Having witnessed two statues prior to this one, Vahn wasnt surprised by the strange pressure emanating from the statue as he looked into its eyes. What did surprise him, however, was the fact that this statue was significantly different than anything that had preceded it... While the first statue had depicted a goddess with unquestionable beauty, one Vahn believed to be Nuwa, the second had represented the rather immature figure of Maya. Contrasting both, however, this third statue showed an exceptionally mature woman that, even at a nce, seemed to dominate her surroundings. Her body had filled out well in all the right spots but, contrary to how most goddesses appeared, she had visible muscles on her arms, legs, and abdomen. Even more noticeable was the fact that, instead of appearing fully human, this goddess had massive dragon-like wings, a long spined tail, and five horns poking through her sculpted hair, two of which were muchrger than the rest. Her ears were long and pointed while, much like Terra and Alexa, scales covered her forearms and calves, each ending in rather fierce-looking ws... From a distance, the statue had appeared rather small but, now that he was up close to it, Vahn noticed that it towered over him a great deal. The goddess enshrined in the statue was nearly 270cm tall and, using Terra as a basis forparison, likely weighed more than two tons in her flesh and blood form. Regardless of all of this, Vahn found her to be strikingly beautiful as, even with her more exotic features, her sharp eyes were set amongst facial features that would cause most men to gawk if she spared them even a passing nce. Considering that, unlike previous statues, she was almostpletely n.a.k.e.d, Vahn felt like he needed to keep his focus to avoid letting his eyes wander too much. Looking at the tform beneath the statue, Vahn began to read the inscription contained within as, even after inspecting the surroundings with his domain, there were no obvious paths leading to the 91st Floor. Unfortunately, instead of any hints, the statue merely stated the name of the enshrined goddess, followed by what appeared to be a challenge. Reading this, Vahns eyes perked up as, if the inscription was to be believed, this statue was none other than Tiamat, one of the Primordial Deities that had remained at Nuwas side when the Realms had been created. There were no ounts of her appearance but, going over the inscription a second time, Vahn wasnt that surprised to read, Tiamat, Goddess of the Sacred Sea, Mother of Dragons. If thou pursueth the path of strength, issue thine challenge in blood. If thy be worthy, the Blessing of Tiamat shall be thine." After going over the inscription several more times, Vahn turned his attention back to the statues face, feeling as if its eyes had turned to him while he was looking away. Even more than before, an overpowering aura had started to spread through the vast and otherwise empty chamber. Knowing the reason for this, Vahn produced a wry smile as he asked, "Are you interested in my Qinglong form...?" As he had yet to transform back into a Progenitor, Vahns current appearance wasnt all that dissimr to Tiamats. Though he had long ago learned how to hide his wings away, it had proved impossible to hide the horns atop his head and the tail protruding from his back. The light within the temple reflected off his densely arranged azure-golden scales, causing them to glimmer slightly with each of his movements... Though the statue didnt respond to his question, Vahn felt the pressure in the air continue to increase with the passage of time. It was almost as if Tiamat was about to break free from her statue and rip him to shreds, even if there wasnt any animosity contained within the pressure. Not wanting to try his luck, however, Vahn shook his head lightly before breaking through the void and vanishing from the temple. Thest thing he needed was a True Dragon Goddess taking an interest in him, especially since she would undoubtedly prove even more problematic than the One-Eyed ck Dragon. As close as he was to reaching Tier 4, Vahn wasnt quite at that Level just yet and, considering the disy of power shown by Maya, a goddess that wasnt even specialized inbat, Vahn felt that epting Tiamats challenge wouldnt end well for him. --- With Vahns exit from the temple, the mounting pressure rapidly subsided like a deting balloon. Momentster, a secondary spatial ripple appeared in the area but, instead of tearing through in a simr manner to Vahn, this one was far more gentle as a tall woman with dark red hair stepped into the space he had previously upied. If he had been present, Vahn would have directlypared her mastery over Space to be nearing the level of Evas as, without any discernable effort, she had been able to pass through the void with the same ease as a normal person walking down the street. As for the woman in question, she had the exact same appearance as the statue, albeit much smaller and in the form of a human with slightly pointed ears... Waving her hand through the air, another small spatial fluctuation appeared, this time showing the image of Vahns back before thetter turned around and vanished from view. The womanughed upon witnessing this before muttering, "How perceptive..." as she licked her lips. She was highly tempted to give chase but, remembering her own duties, Tiamat decided not to pursue Tartarus first challenger. With his current strength, she felt Vahn was at an awkward level where she would be required to go all out to keep up with him which, considering she was terrible at holding back, meant he would undoubtedly die. Though she could sense something unique about his body, it ultimately wouldnt matter since, much like the path Vahn was currently walking, Tiamats powers were aligned towards the Laws of Creation and Destruction. Having nothing better to do, Tiamat decided to spy on Vahns otherpanions to see if any of them were worthy of her attention. She quickly passed over Fenrir after a simple nce, finding her interesting but simply too weak, before setting her sights upon Jeanne. Seeing the Knight staring out over the 90th Floor with a steadfast gaze, Tiamats brows perked up in amus.e.m.e.nt as she sent a thread of energy through the void to see how Jeanne would react. In response, Jeanne spun around in an instant, materializing a sword and shield from thin air as her eyes began to scan the area. Tiamat was slightly surprised by Jeannes quick reaction time but, feeling that thetter wasnt the type that pursued strength, decided not to waste too much time teasing her. Leaving Jeanne in a battle-ready state, Tiamat moved her intent into Helens room beforeing to aplete stop, a look of surprise coloring her face. This onlysted for a moment, however, before Tiamat shook her head and muttered, "This one is too troublesome to get involved with..." She had been surprised by the purity and density of Helens mana as, by all rights, someone like Helen should have never survived to maturity. The fact that Helens scent had an aged aroma had been the primary reason for Tiamats shock as, from what she could recall, every former incarnation of Helen had died before they were even weened. There had even been a trend in the distant past where, whenever someone like Helen was born, she would be immediately sacrificed to the gods as her appearance seemed like a blessing that no mortal could behold... With Vahn, Jeanne, and Helen removed from consideration, Tiamat focused her attention on Fenrir once again. This was primarily the result of her boredom but, sensing that Fenrirs energy was almost identical to Vahns, a bit of intrigue was also contained within the primordial goddess gaze. She could also sense that, even more than Vahn, Fenrir seemed to be the type that desperately sought to increase her strength. This caused Tiamats intrigue to develop even further as a sudden realization hit her. She couldnt fathom how someone with an underdeveloped soul could have reached this far, nor how Fenrirs body could contain more magic power than most Demigods... Deciding the peculiar woman wasnt a lost cause, Tiamat allowed a smile to spread across her face as she sat down on the edge of her own statue and asked, "Tell me, child, do you desire strength...?" This caused Fenrir, who had been meditating, to immediately jump to her feet, ears perked up in response. Her eyes zed as she looked around the area for the source of the sound, causing Tiamat to giggle before adding, "Worry not, child, as I am not your enemy. In fact, depending on the circ.u.mstances, I could be your greatest ally..." Hearing the voice that seemed to echo around her, Fenrirs face formed into a frown before she stated in no uncertain terms, "My Master will always be my greatest ally. If you are not an enemy, you would show yourself instead of hiding in the shadows. I will never trust the voice of-" Before she was able to finish her words, Fenrirs eyes widened in shock as she realized her surroundings had changed. Instead of being within her Masters bedroom back at the cottage, she was now in arge temple as a red-haired woman looked at her with radiant blue eyes that seemed to cut through the darkness, even as they blotted out all other sources of light. Fenrir felt an oppressive aura that nearly forced her to the ground but, refusing to bend the knee to someone other than her Master, she tightly clenched her teeth while activating [Cantus Bex] and trying to escape away with [Shundo]. Instead of moving to the far side of the temple, however, Fenrir was surprised when she exited out of [Shundo] right next to the red-haired woman. Her mind couldnt grasp what was happening as a white palm had obstructed her vision, seemingly without any time having passed. Thest thing Fenrir heard before fading into unconsciousness was the yful words of Tiamat as she mused, "My, what an interesting child...worry not, I will not take you away from your Master. Instead, I will give you the power you seek so that you will never have to separate from him~." --- Unaware that Fenrir had been nabbed by Tiamat, as it had simply taken ce too quickly, Vahn had set foot near arge tree that stood out amongst all others on the Floor. It was nearly 500m tall, a size unfathomable in nature, while its canopy was so wide that an entire vige could easily be built beneath it. Instead of people, however, the only residents beneath the canopy were a species of grazing deer that had peculiar blue and grey pelts. Instead of antlers, it would have been more urate to describe the protrusions sticking out of their head horns, each curving into a point simr to an antelope. Curiously, even without hiding his presence, these grazing creatures showed no fear as Vahn walked amongst them, his target the base of the massive tree. Believing the tree to be simr to the one found on the 18th Floor, Vahn had decided it was the second most likely ce for the entrance to the 91st Floor. Since he could tell that the tree was indeed hollow, Vahn became slightly expectant as he sent his intent into the trees interior and began to look around. He quickly discovered that the tree was home to a species of strange caterpirs that were more than a meter long, each boring through the tree as they devoured the mana-rich fibers. Though this would have led to the death of most other trees, Vahn could see that this particr behemoth was in no danger of capsizing as, almost as quickly as the caterpirs devoured its flesh, the gaps were filled in by new and stronger fibers. The tree was absorbing an incredible amount of mana from the Dungeon to sustain itself, giving it regenerative properties that were only slightly slower than the consumption rate of the caterpirs... With the revtion that the trees hollow nature was the result of the caterpirs machinations, Vahn shook his head before lightly stroking the heads of a few deer. They had gathered around him out of curiosity, showing no aversion or fear whatsoever, so Vahn was rather fond of the unique creatures. This also reinforced the idea that this ce wasnt meant to be inhabited by people as, much like what happened in societies all throughout the Continent, people lived by consuming the natural resources of the environment. Without any dangers present, any poption that settled on the 90th Floor would quickly expand, primarily at the expense of everything else that existed within the 2,000km wide stretch ofnd... After handing out a few ruby-red apples, Vahn took to the sky once against to investigate the third point of interest recorded in his minimap. This took on the form of a rtively small chasm but, considering the rest of the Floor was rtively t, Vahn felt it wouldnt hurt to check the area. Upon reaching the chasm, Vahn noticed that there was a great deal of heat rising up from its depths which, even with his domain nearly reaching 3k, was too deep to probe. As a result, Vahn sent his intent down the chasm, descending nearly 8km before hitting an invisible membrane. This was only a momentary setback, however, as Vahn was able to force his way through by focusing his mind and consolidating his intent on a single point. Almost immediately after breaking through the invisible membrane, Vahn found his intent hovering near the roof of what appeared to be a vast cave system. The walls were almostpletely ck but, dotted throughout the surroundings, massive crystals cast blue light over their surroundings. Since this matched closely with images Vahn had seen of the 91st Floor, a smile adorned his face as he quickly retracted his intent and began heading back towards the mountain located at the center of the Floor. It was still early in the day so they still had time to enter into the 91st Floor, officially beginning their search for the 92nd. Vahn was also looking forward to the next batch of enemies as, ording to the information obtained from the mirror, the 91st Floor was popted byrge Golem-type creatures. The resources dropped from such creatures were often extremely useful for forging while, in Vahns experience, proved to be a plentiful source for increasing his OP reserves. With thoughts of his impending windfall, Vahnnded atop the mountain where the cottage was located before instantly realizing something was wrong. Without a moments dy, Vahn called Fenrir back to his side with the Unit Management function, causing her body to pop into existence right in front of him. Before she could fall to the ground, Vahn swooped her up in his arms before sending a pulse of Source Energy into her body, scanning for any sign of injury. He had already noticed something was wrong from the moment he saw Fenrirs appearance but, disregarding physical changes, Vahn wanted to make sure there were no abnormalities within her body. Almost as soon as Vahn began inspecting Fenrirs body, an amused voice reached his ears, saying, "Worry not, child, she has not been harmed. In fact, when she awakens, Im certain both of you will be thanking me. Well, until we meet again...good luck, Vahn Mason..." With these parting words, the voice faded from Vahns ears, severing the connection he had been backtracing with his Source Energy. He already had some idea about who the voice belonged to, especially since it originated from the direction of theke, but the highest priority right now was making sure Fenrir was okay. Even if Tiamat imed she hadnt been harmed, Vahns mind buzzed when he imagined a god toying with his subordinates body against their will... Though her appearance hadnt changed much, Fenrir now had a scarlet red seal on the left side of her abdomen in the shape of a dragon in profile. It radiated an incredible amount of energy which seemed to course into Fenrirs body, providing a phenomenal amount of power. Vahn could see threads of energy flowing out of the mark, intermixing with Fenrirs own mana circuits without harming them. Even this didnt ay his concerns, however, as the energy was simr in structure to the unique crimson found within Riverias mana. Vahn recognized this as manaprised of Destruction Laws, meaning it was a ticking time bomb if mishandled... Along with the mark on her abdomen, Vahn also noticed that there was now a strange seal on Fenrirs tongue that hadnt been there previously. This was even more troubling than the mark ced on her abdomen as, even with his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn couldnt discern the purpose of the circr imprint. It looked like a serpent that was biting its own tail but, unlike the symbol for the Ouroboros that he knew, the one on Fenrirs tongue appeared to have the head of a wolf. If not for the fact that he would lose his hand in the process, Vahn would have opened Fenrirs mouth to get a better look at the mark. For the time being, the best he could do for her was gently stroke her hair as, even with all his capabilities, there was currently nothing Vahn could do to drive away the invasive power of Destruction that had already fused with Fenrirs internal reserves... With his rage having already reached the pinnacle, Vahns expression had be the visage of an asura that seemed colder than the surrounding snow atop the mountains peak. He was already beginning to think about how to make Tiamat pay as Sis interrupted his thoughts, patiently remarking, (*Vahn, check Fenrirs status in your Unit Management. There is something you need to see...*). Even in his enraged state, Vahn habitually followed Sis words as he mechanically opened up the system interface to reflect Fenrirs status. When he saw the information present within, Vahn felt his mind nk for a brief moment as Sis added, (*It seems that the goddess Tiamat helped Fenrirs soul breakthrough to the next Tier. The mark on her tongue may be rted to the evolution of her Innate...you will have to wake her if you want to verify the truth of the matter.*) Vahns mind was still nk as he listened to Sis words, the image of Fenrirs status reflected within his gaze. Though he couldnt see her parameters without checking her Status Board, just the information reflected in Unit Management was enough to momentarily temper Vahns wrath. He couldnt forgive Tiamat for acting as she pleased but, considering the oue, Vahn knew he did, in fact, owe her a debt of gratitude... ------------------------------------------ Name: (Fenrir Mason) Age: 33 Race: Vanargandr, True Dragon(sealed) Level: 8 Loyalty: 80,493,601,925 Soul Tier: Tier 2 (Hero) Karma: - State: [Active], [Unconscious] Skills: [Insatiable Hunger:Innate(-)], [Devour:SS]->[Heaven Devouring Wolf:Innate(C)](new), [Lunar Cry:S], Freezing Roar:S], [Chainbreaker:A], [Huntress:SS], [Endeavor:S], [Severing ws:S->SS], [Chant Shortening:D], [Activation Key:C], [Cantus Bex:A], [Shundo:S], [Koku Shundo:A], [Facies Pallium:F], [Sagitta Magica:C->A], [Crystallitatio Tell.u.s.tris:B], [Reflexio:C], [Hroovitnir:D], [Cinder*E:A], [Chain Attack:A], [Mimickry:B], [Arch Mage:E], [Spirit Healing:A], [Blessing of Tiamat:SS](new) [Heaven Devouring Wolf] Rank: Innate(C) *Innate skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh* Passive: Allows the user to devour anything within theirprehension, increasing the potential of their own abilities. Active: Transforms the user into a Spiritual Avatar, greatly enhancing the efficacy of all skills and abilities. [Blessing of Tiamat] Rank: SS Use: Allows the user to infuse the power of Destruction into their attacks. Greatly increases offensive power at the cost of reducing natural healing capabilities. ------------------------------------------ (A/N: Alternate Titles: True Dragons, Endless Troubles,You bitch, leave Fenrir alone...!,This doesnt justify bullying Fenrir (>,...,<)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1007 - The Pain of Moving Forward

Chapter 1007 - The Pain of Moving Forward

After calming down an over apologetic Jeanne, Vahn set Fenrir to rest within the cottage and decided it was best to wait for her to wake naturally. Having experienced the awakening of his own Innates, Vahn knew it wasnt something the body and mind could simply adapt to in a short period of time. She was currently undergoing changes that couldnt be fullyprehended as, even looking at the cellr level wasnt enough to see the effect a persons Innates may have on their body. At the very least, the vortex in her stomach had undergone a qualitative change as, even though she could already convert pretty much anything into energy, Vahn felt that the number of things Fenrir was capable of eating had drastically increased. What little information the system provided seemed to indicate that she was capable of consuming anything she couldprehend, meaning that even the Laws themselves were theoretically on her palette... With Fenrir tucked into bed, Vahn exited the room to find Jeanne still kneeling in the corridor. She had been in his perception the entire time so Vahn wasnt surprised to find her like this, even as he lightly sighed in response. Jeanne had an extremely apologetic expression on her face as she kept her head lowered, refusing to look directly at him after having failed to even notice Fenrir was missing. After Tiamat had teased her, Jeanne had remained in abat-ready state for several minutes before eventually doubting her senses. Without an enemy in sight, she returned to her post with renewed vignce,pletely unaware that one of her charges had already been whisked away. Since he had already told her not to mind it, Vahn wasnt going to repeat himself as he walked by Jeannes side before softly saying, "Watch over her for me..." In response, Jeanne lowered her head even further before loudly eximing, "Haa!" in a solemn tone. Afterward, she rose to her feet before entering into the room, choosing to watch over Fenrir directly instead of guarding the outside of the door. As for Vahn, he took a seat on the living room sofa before quickly entering a meditative state, his intent quickly traversing the distance between the cottage and the underwater temple. The concept of distance was meaningless when using this particr ability but, instead of arriving at his destination, Vahn found his intent had been redirected elsewhere. After several failed attempts to probe the temple with his intent, as even sending it into the surrounding area seemed impossible, Vahn released a frustrated sigh before opening his eyes. Tiamats mastery over Space was far higher than his own and, now that she was aware he had simr abilities, she was proactively guiding his intent away from the temple. He could imagine her snickering at his futile attempts, taking pleasure in his frustrations. It would seem that, unless he went there personally, Tiamat wasnt going to allow him to enter the underwater temple. Even that wasnt a guarantee, though, as it was highly possible for her to send him away by stretching Space and making it impossible to get closer... Lamenting his own powerlessness, Vahn felt as if he was falling into Tiamats trap as, if the stone beneath the feet of her statue was to be believed, she was interested in those who pursued greater strength. Previously, he had a bit of confidence in his own power, especially after bing an Emperor, but it still seemed to fall short of the power possessed by Primordial Deities. Since they were all near the peak of Tier 4, Vahn wasnt too surprised by this, but that didnt make it any less frustrating. Knowing that there was an entity that could simply toy with him in such a fashion caused Vahns expression to harden as he rhythmically tapped the sofas armrest. Just one night prior, it felt as if everything was within his control yet, less than half a dayter, Vahn now found himself in a state of powerlessness where he couldnt even protect one of his closest allies... Not content to simply brood within the Dungeon, Vahn was also seated upon his throne within Babel Tower, his expression the same hardened guise as his avatars. Now, more than ever before, Vahn felt the need for a power thatpletely defied the limitations of the Record. His instincts had been telling him that, the further he descended into the Dungeons depths, the less time he had in the Record. Vahn had been keeping this a secret from everyone in the Manor but, now that an existence like Tiamat had made itself known, he found himself upon the precipice of a hard decision. This was only exacerbated by the fact that, even as he sat idle, Vahn was expecting four different children while, regardless of the time he spent with his current offspring, it never felt like enough. The fact that his Empire had onlye into existence recently was another reason for why Vahn wanted to take things slow but, now that he felt his own powerlessness, Vahns eyes had been opened to the reality of his situation. As powerful as he may be, everything he cared about was endangered so long as there was even a single whimsical entity more powerful than himself... With this realization, Vahn recalled the existence of the enigmatic and forever neutral Ouranos, the awe-inspiring power of other gods within Artemis [Hearts Desire], the nigh-omniscience of the goddess holding a mirror, the perplexing capabilities of Mayas Illusions, and, now at the forefront of his thoughts, the seemingly invible power of Tiamat and her control over Space. Even if he were twice as arrogant, Vahn couldnt envision a means to defeat Tiamat without somehow catching her off guard with his [Enkidu]. Since she seemed to have an evenrger domain than his own, however, the chances of this happened were astronomically small. As powerful as his chains were, they were ultimately useless if he wasnt actually able to bind his opponent... Feeling his temples pulse with frustration, Vahn used both hands to rub the sides of his head before releasing the deepest sigh of exasperation he had ever produced. Turning his gaze towards the East, Vahn muttered, "Things cannot continue to go on like this...I cannot gamble away the future of everything I care about by remainingcent..." So long as he hadntpleted his Main Quest, Vahn felt like everything he had worked to build was in danger of copsing. Only by having the means to put the Record into stasis could he guarantee that a tragedy would not befall this world as a result of his oversights. If he had the [Dimensional Anchor: Stasis], Vahn could leave the Record in an instant and, even if it took him thousands of years to return, not even gods presiding over Time would be aware of the discrepancy... Knowing what he needed to do, Vahn rose from his throne before taking off his crown and setting it unceremoniously to the side. He had already dismissed the Valkyries after the incident with Fenrir, as he wasnt in the mood for formalities, so there was nobody to receive it from him. Then, turning his eyes to the East once again, Vahn allowed his intent to traverse the vast expanse of sea surrounding Eden before nearly transitioning into his Qinglong form and tearing through Space. Remembering that Alexa was likely outside of the orb at this time, Vahn took a deep breath to calm himself down before deciding to return to the Manor. Though he felt anxious, Vahn knew traveling to the Far East without exining the situation would just cause unnecessary worry. Since his trip could take several days, it would be extremely irresponsible to leave his post without passing on his decree to the Divine Council... It was at times like this that Vahn felt his authority as an Emperor was actually a restraint that prevented him from taking action. Though this was a responsibility he had epted for himself, Vahn felt like he was trapped inside of a small room, even as he quickly flew to the Manor, the vibrant sun casting gentle rays on his body while nary a cloud dotted the sky. It was a beautiful day in Orario but, even as the citizens below continued to celebrate the subjugation of the One-Eyed ck Dragon, Vahn couldnt help but look down on them, not in contempt, but with genuine concern. They were such fragile creatures, prone to being misguided with simple words, so long as the person speaking was someone they believed above them. When he produced the giant monster core, iming it belonged to the One-Eyed ck Dragon, there wasnt a single person who publically questioned the veracity of his words... Knowing that these fragile people were the very foundation of his Empire, Vahns anxiety only increased by the time he reached the Manor. Fortunately, having detected the abnormality in his state of mind, Hestia, Hephaestus, Loki, and Artemis had all been waiting for his arrival. The chill that Vahn had been feeling along his spine receded slightly, causing a smile to spread across his face as an overwhelming desire to just take a nap in the girls arms rose up from the back of his mind. Just seeing them quelled arge portion of his anxiety, even if it did nothing to change the decision he had already made. This didnt stop Vahn from tightly embracing Hestia, however, even as she gasped for air in response to the unexpectedly firm embrace. After iling around for a short while, Hestia finally managed to extricate herself from Vahns bearhug but, instead of parting fully, she hugged his waist with her delicate arms, looking up into his face as she asked, "What happened, Vahn...?" Her crystalline blue eyes emanated a subtle glow from deep within that made it impossible for Vahn to hide the truth as he began exining the situation, though not before moving to a more secure location. The four goddesses listened in silence as Vahn recounted what had happened on the 90th Floor, the powerlessness he felt in the face of the Primordial Deities, and the decision he had made to alleviate his weakness. Though they had expressions of patience and understanding for the first two subjects, Lokis face had turned dour when she heard Vahns n, even if she didnt have one of her own. Instead of calling Vahn out on what she believed to be an absolutely foolish decision, Loki grit her teeth as she asked, "How soon until you leave...?" As they had already discussed the matter in the past, none of the girls were confused when Vahn exined to them that he would need to leave on his journey sooner than expected. They didnt know where he was going but, even though they knew no time would pass from their perspective, none of the goddesses present were okay with Vahn being alone for what could be centuries, if not longer. This was especially true for Hestia and Artemis as,pared to other Goddesses, Vahn had almost be the meaning for their existence. Just imagining him wandering through other worlds alone, all in the pursuit of power they couldnt evenprehend, broke their hearts... In response to Lokis question, Vahn hung his head in shame before hesitantly answering, "I will be increasing the pace in which I conquer the Dungeon...after that, I will likely leave as soon as possible. Even bing a god will not allow me to protect everything I care about...I cannot put the lives of everything I hold dear on the line just because of my selfish desire to be happy..." As the final word left his mouth, Vahn felt a potent sourness in his nose as his eyes began to rapidly heat up. It had been a long time since he shed tears but now, regardless of his attempts to keep them at bay, they were sneaking through his defenses with the same ease that someone like Tiamat could mow down everything he held dear. Even if the odds of her doing such a thing were infinitely close to zero, that minuscule possibility wasnt something Vahn was willing to gamble with, especially since it concerned the lives of his lovers and children. With Vahns emotions resonating within their own hearts, Hestia, Hephaestus, and Artemis began to tear up in response. The only exception amongst them was Loki who, after getting over her preliminary rage, adopted a serious and calm disposition. She decided that, especially at times like this, it was important that she remained calm and considered every detail. Everyone else was being too emotional and, even though she could feel Vahns pain as clearly as her own, Loki fought the urge to break by biting the inside of her cheek. The taste of fresh blood helped her regain a sense of rity as she nodded her head and said, "I understand...for the time being, you should keep this an absolute secret from everyone, even those within the Manor. Since they will be unaware of the passage of time, it will only be harder on everyone if they knew the truth. It may...it may be better for you to leave now..." Though she had tried to get out the words as seamlessly as possible, Lokis words got caught in her throat as a suffocating feeling began to overwhelm her. She was trying to tell Vahn to leave early, all so that he could return to them faster, but the words couldnt escape her mouth. Just imagining Vahn being gone for a long period of time, all while having no means to know what he was going through, caused Lokis heart to twist painfully in her chest. It was at this time that Vahn wrapped his arms around her and, even though his embrace was strong enough to force the air out of her lungs, it was only then that Loki felt like she could finally breathe again. Following that, the group shared a hug thatstedte into the afternoon, none mentioning the trip a second time... --- With his decision made, Vahn found himself standing on the mountains peak on the 90th Floor of the Dungeon. Finding an indentation in the stone, even though it was unnecessary, Vahn ced one of Yggys seeds into the small crevasse before backing away. A tree identical to the ones he had nted previous sprouted from the mountains peak before, momentster, the figure of his beloved surrogate daughter morphed into existence. Instead of having her normal cheery smile, however, Yggy had a mncholic expression on her face as, after giving her blessing to Vahn several times, Yggy was more than aware of his state of mind. She could feel the pain and anguish in his heart, causing the young Spirit to show an expression of concern as she asked, "Is there anything I can do, Papa...?" Seeing how worried Yggy was, Vahn extended out his hand and began stroking her head in a gentle fashion as he calmly stated, "You are already doing more than you know...just continue as you have been, Yggy, and that is more than enough. Thank you for being such an exceptional daughter...I am proud of you..." As he didnt often get to say such things, Vahn wanted Yggy to know that he was grateful for everything she had done for him. If not for her existence, many of the things he had wanted to aplish within the record would have been made far more difficult. She was, quite literally, the anchor that held many of his ns together... Feeling her Papas somewhat rough hand ruffling her hair, Yggy produced a smile that didnt quite reach her eyes. Though she knew he was being honest, Yggy always felt like she could do more, even if her Papa never asked her to do anything other than simply exist in certain areas. This was why she did her best to produce fruits, vegetables, and even various medicinal herbs, all so that he would praise her and be happy. Seeing him hiding his pain while trying to console her only made her feel as if she had failed him somehow, even as she felt happy in response to his concern... Though he hadnt intended to nt Yggy on the 90th Floor, Vahns newfound sense of urgency made it necessary to change his ns. So long as she was present, even someone like Tiamat shouldnt be able to exercise her power without restraint. At the same time, she would be able to transfer Jeanne and Helen back to the surface as, even though Vahn intended to continue his conquest of the Dungeon, he was no longer willing to put them at risk. This would undoubtedly cause Helen to react negatively but, as she wouldnt be there during the moment he became a god, Vahn didnt have to worry about her spontaneouslymitting suicide. So long as she was back within theforts of Spero, Vahn was confident that the presence of Marie and the other Xenos would prevent her from doing anything drastic. After spending a bit of time bonding with Yggy, Vahn made his way back to the cottage where Fenrir was still asleep under the protection of Jeanne. At this point, Vahn needed to make a serious decision about who would apany him when he transferred to a new record and, though he was worried that even more powerful forces may endanger Fenrirs life, he knew she would be devastated if he left her behind. Since they had already promised to traverse the myriad Records together, Vahn fully intended to take her along with him, even if she had to be put into stasis within the Unit Management function. This left Vahn having to choose whether or not any of his other subordinates would apany him but, as he fully intended to pass through future records as quickly as possible, he knew taking them along would only slow down his own growth. As Terra was limited by her ability to create a dominion to preside over, while also having a pacifist nature, she wouldnt prove too useful in more chaotic battlefields. Alexa was even more troublesome as, even if she apanied him, Vahn would constantly be concerned about her mental wellness and the progress of her own power. Distancing himself from her, especially since she wouldnt be aware of the passage of time, may very well provide him with some much-needed perspective in regards to their situation as parent and child... With Terra and Alexa removed from the running, Vahn considered whether or not he should bring Fafnir or Khaos along with him. The former had been one of his most steadfast allies but, considering the massive weakness located on Fafnirs chest, there was a chance he would be quickly eliminated in higher-tiered Records. Khaos had the benefit of possessing a Space attribute but, as this seemed to be remarkablymon amongst True Dragons, Vahn felt like thetter would end up getting itself killed as a result of his high pride. This only left the unnamed Rainbow Viper as a potential ally but, considering her limited strength, Vahn felt her presence wouldnt benefit him too much. There was also the fact that she seemed a little too fond of him and, considering things could beplicated if she assumed a human form in the future, Vahn wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble. The only reason he even considered her was the fact that her venom would actually be very useful in most Records while her small size meant she could easily hide within his equipment without drawing attention to herself. At the same time, he had yet to name her and, with his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]ing off cooldown in four days, it almost felt like fate that he give her a name that guaranteed her usefulness in future Records... Realizing he was talking around the issue, Vahn shook his head in self-admonition before opening the door to his room and looking towards the sleeping Fenrir. She had yet to awaken, even after sleeping for seven hours, but Vahn wasnt going to force the issue. Instead, he turned to Jeanne and stated in a calm tone, "Im sending you and Helen back to the Manor. I know you wish to apany me to the heart of the Dungeon, but things have changed...from here-onwards, this is a path I must walk alone." Surprising Vahn, Jeanne gave an understanding nod and, instead of arguing to remain at his side, she nced towards Fenrirs sleeping figure before ashamedly stating, "I will be stronger...I will never allow a repeat of what happened here..." Unlike in the past, where Jeanne was satisfied performing her duties as a Knight, her failure to protect Fenrir hit her like a ton of bricks. Though Vahn hadnt held her responsible, as even he had overlooked Fenrirs spontaneous disappearance, she held herself personally ountable. If she had noticed Fenrirs disappearance, she could have alerted Vahn much sooner and, though this may not have necessary produced a better oue, it was still better than having taken no action at all... With Jeannes assent, one of Vahns concerns had been dealt with as, regardless of Helens insistence, she wouldnt be able to force the issue if it was just the two of them. This meant Vahn would be taking on the final nine Floors of the Dungeon himself, vastly increasing the speed in which he cleared each sessive Floor and guaranteeing he would reach godhood in the shortest period of time. At the same time, back on the surface world, Vahn would head to the Far East in order to meet with Amaterasu, hopefully securing an Eternal Vow in the process. With Kali and Ouranos as potential candidates, thetter of which could pretty much be guaranteed, Vahn would be able to meet the requirements for his Main Quest by the time he conquered the Dungeon... This only left unifying the other regions of the Continent under his will but, after announcing the subjugation of the One-Eyed ck Dragon, that was already a foregone conclusion. Various gods and tribes from the Southern Sands had already expressed interest in joining the Empire, primarily as a result of Fortunas efforts, so that only left the Frozen Tundra and the Land of No Sun. The so-called Lords of the North had already made their demands known so, even though Vahn wasnt too fond of the terms they had listed, he could afford to make concessions since it ultimately wouldnt matter after he linked the Records. As for the Land of No Sun, there was currently a divide between ns who supported joining the Empire and those who wished to maintain their independence. Many of these ns had already been cklisted by Vahn so, now that things hade to a head like this, he only needed to speed up their removal before all seven regions of Orario were unified under his control... Though he realized his methods were a bit extreme, Vahns eyes solemnly reflected the peacefully sleeping Fenrir or, more specifically, the mark on her abdomen. By leaving the Record, Vahn knew that the [Blessing of Tiamat] would be removed, much like many of his own blessings, so he feltpelled to leave as soon as possible. Even if Fenrir might feel some small amount of gratitude towards Tiamat for helping her breakthrough, Vahn knew it would cause her a great deal of stress when she realized the mark of another had been ced on her body. She was surprisingly sensitive to such things and, even though she hadnt awakened yet, Vahn could already imagine Fenrir having a panic attack when she saw the dragon-shaped tattoo pulsing on her abdomen. It was because of this that, even though it pained his heart unimaginably, Vahn felt he needed to speed up his departure from the ce that had be his home... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Powerlessness,Hearbreak,An Affection Beyond Reason) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1008 - Breakthrough : An Overdue Visit

Chapter 1008 - Breakthrough : An Overdue Visit

Ever since her Master had given her a name, what now seemed like a lifetime ago, Fenrir had never once dreamed. Though her best friend, Preasia, had allowed her to experience what it was like to dream, Fenrir knew that the actual phenomenon was something she had never experienced. As a result of this quirk, Fenrir had also never had a genuine nightmare before as most of her time spent sleeping was at the side of her Master. This meant that Fenrir was generally very happy when sleeping as, regardless of how deeply she fell into unconsciousness, the bond she shared with her Master was everpresent. It provided her warmth, security, and, now that she understood moreplex emotions, Fenrir knew that she hade to love her Master dearly... Now, for what felt like the first time in her life, Fenrir was not enjoying a peaceful slumber as, instead of warmth and security, she felt fear and anxiety. More than anything else, Fenrir had an instinctual fear of being trapped and imprisoned against her will so, after being toyed with by Tiamat, a being she could do nothing to resist, something had snapped inside of her. It felt as if she broke through a ceiling that had been just above her head, causing Fenrirs heart to feel lighter, even as her mind retreated into a darkness she had never asked for. This realization, that she could do nothing, caused Fenrirs lightened heart to feel like it was gripped tightly in someone elses clutches as she reached out her paws towards a small light in the distance, praying that her Master would pull her free... From within the darkness that had been forced upon her, Fenrir could feel a phantom burning sensation that seemed to spread from her abdomen before extending its tendrils towards her heart and mind. As it was urring inside of her body, Fenrir could only writhe around in futile resistance as an insatiable desire to devour everything around her began to well up from where she had desperately fought to seal it away. It had been a long time since shest felt genuine hunger but, now that it had broken free, Fenrir felt as if she herself was being devoured as the energy gifted to her by Tiamat continued to mercilessly invade her body. By the time the burning sensation reached her heart, Fenrir felt as if she had been irrevocably tainted and, though her body seemed to be peacefully slumbering back in the real world, she began to thrash about as tears poured from her face like a leaking faucet... It was when the heat began to rise to her head that Fenrir was able to finally feel some relief as, instead of being imprisoned in absolute darkness, the light above began to shine with greater intensity all of a sudden. Though the pain in her body didnt go away, Fenrir felt a familiar warmth from the outside that made everything she was going through feel more tolerable. As this was a warmth she knew better than anything else, Fenrir forcibly calmed herself down as she knew that, at the very least, her Master had saved her. When she felt his familiar energy course through her body, the heat quickly began to fade away in response, bing a lukewarm sensation that made her limbs feel somewhat tingly... With much of her anxiety quelled, Fenrir quickly entered a state of increased rity as her mind reached a calm that she only rarely experienced during meditation. She fully trusted her Master to do everything in his power to help her and, believing he was capable of anything, Fenrir began to focus on the changes in her body from an introspective standpoint. Though the invasive energy was something she vehemently resisted on an instinctual level, Fenrir noticed that there was no animosity contained within. Instead, it felt as if her body was being filled with incredible power, far greater than anything she had ever personally manifested. Though this didnt do much to appease her, as it was not a power earned or granted to her by her Master, Fenrir knew it was only a matter of time before she either made the energy her own or it was removed permanently...this was her sincere belief...and determination. --- After entrusting Jeanne to escort the despondent Helen back to the surface, Vahn had been watching over Fenrir for the better part of two days. Though it felt like his eyes had be perpetually dry after overusing his [Eyes of the Truth], Vahn was watching for any unexpected changes in her body as he gently stroked the paw pads of her palm with his thumb. This was something that helped him remain calm and, as an especially sensitive area, he believed Fenrir would be able to feel his presence, even in her sleep. Since she had a calm and peaceful expression on her face, Vahn was hoping that she would wake soon so that he could continue his journey and set things into motion as soon as possible. As for why he hadnt moved her to the surface just yet, it was due to the fact that Vahns current ns were intended to be a secret, something that would be difficult to keep if he was constantly at Fenrirs side with his main body. He also felt that the increased mana within the Dungeon, especially with Yggys presence nearby, was beneficial for her body as it underwent subtle changes as a result of her new Innate... During the two days he had been watching over Fenrir, Yggy had taken up the responsibility of looking after her Papa. She adopted a slightly more mature appearance, giving her enough height to move about the cottage with ease, as she cooked up small meals. Though Vahn didnt actually need to eat, he couldnt very well ignore her efforts so, while making casual conversation, he dutifully ate the baked fruits and sweets that Yggy would bring him. She had a bit of a sweet tooth so most of the foods she prepared were pastries and sweets, not that Vahn had anyints. Her presence was calming to him so, even if she was just sitting quietly at the side, Vahn was grateful for the extrapany. Fortunately, perhaps the result of her sensing something was off, Tiamat hadnt made any attempts to contact him ever since that fateful day and, having no means to really tell her off, Vahn had given up the thought of visiting the underwater temple a second time... It wasnt until the eve of the second day that Fenrir began to stir awake, starting by her lightly closing her paw around Vahns hand. Since he had been closely observing her, Vahn had been aware of the moment her brain entered an active state, causing a smile to spread across his face as Fenrirs eyelids slowly peeled open. She seemed uncharacteristically tired, as if she had been sleeping for a very long time, but still managed a smile of her own before it quickly morphed into a frown. Before she could say anything, Vahn firmly held Fenrirs paw with his hand while running his fingers through her hair as he softly stated, "None of this can be med on you, Fenrir...dont worry, we will both be much stronger from here onwards..." Though he spoke very softly, there was an incredible amount of conviction within Vahns words that, even without their already strong bond, Fenrir would have been able to discern. Her apologetic expression turned into one of relief as she closed her eyes and slowly nodded her head, a single tear freeing itself from the corner of her eye. Now that she was awake, the power coursing through her body was far more apparent than it had been while she was trapped within the darkness. Even so, Fenrir felt wrong to have the foreign energy within her body, especially with her Master nearby. She felt incredibly ashamed regarding what had happened so, hearing him say they would both be stronger felt like having a heavy weight removed from her chest. --- After a long night of gentle caressing and serious conversation, Vahn had sent Fenrir back to the surface while he quickly made his way towards the crevasse leading to the 91st Floor. She would be apanying him to the Far East and, in preparation for their departure, stay at the side of his main body until it was time to go. As for his avatar, Vahn had something else in mind as he leaped down the crevasse with a fierce glint shing across his azure-blue eyes. A barrier appeared to block his passage but, as it couldnt even stop his intent from breaking through, there was little resistance as Vahn tore through it with his ws before crashing into the 91st Floor like a meteor. A massive shockwave tore through the area as bands of azure lightning seemingly disintegrated everything they came into contact with. Rising from the rubble, Vahn took in his surroundings before picking a direction and simply flying straight. Though there were certain sections of the Dungeon that even he couldnt breakthrough, it wasnt that difficult to fly around them as the rest of the walls gave way without any resistance whatsoever. As for the enemies that appeared along the way, Vahn would only spare his attention towards any variants that appeared, taking a few extra seconds out of his time to rip out their magic core before throwing their corpse into his Inventory and moving on. With their slow speeds and lumbering bodies, the only advantage the Golems had were their size and durability. As these things meant nothing to Vahn, even in his base state, it took next to no effort for him to crash through the body of a 40m tall Adamantine Golem before continuing his search for the next Floors entrance. In this manner, Vahn bore through the 91st Floor with a veracity that might cause the caterpirs he had observed on the previous Floor to blush in shame. Though the Dungeon repaired itself much faster in the deeper Floors, any damage caused by Vahns Qinglong form took a great deal of time to patch. It not only contained the chaotic energies of Space and Time, but the presence of Source Energy contained within wasnt something the Dungeon could simply filter out. A wound that would have only taken minutes to heal now took several hours, causing Vahn to actually encounter the same Juggernaut twice before finally reaching the entrance to the 92nd Floor. This time, its body seemed to be made of a ck crystalline material that provided a surprising amount of resistance to Space and Gravity Laws. Unfortunately, there was a difference between resistance and immunity so, with the inclusion of Vahns Source Energy, the Juggernauts body waspacted into a spherical shape around a fully charged [Yi] arrow before he used his [Longinus] to pierce its magic core. A journey that might have taken the better part of 2-3 days in a party only took Vahn seven hours, even with a massive red-hued Golem guarding the entrance to the 92nd Floor. It was able to produce dozens of red orbs around its body, each capable of firingser-like beams of pure Fire Elemental mana. When Vahn realized this, his expressionless face morphed into one of slight contempt as he made no attempts to dodge the beams before unceremoniously smashing the Golem with raw power. It took several hits before the Golem eventually began to glow an even more vibrant red, resulting in a massive explosion that seemed to rock the entire Floor. This too wasprised almost entirely of Fire Elemental energy, however, resulting in Vahn standing unscathed after the smoke cleared away... With the Guardian dealt with, Vahn proceeded into the 92nd Floor without much hesitation, only stopping to ingest one of Terras painstakingly concocted potions. Knowing that such items would be functionally useless when he transitioned between records, Vahn wasnt shy about consuming any resources that would shorten the time it took to conquer the Dungeon. When he linked the Records in the future, even Terras skills in Alchemy would likely fail to meet his standards. Even Vahn couldnt imagine how vast a gulf would have been created between them by the time he reached the level of existence that was required to link Records. He may even be able to create the same potions that Terra had to pour her literal blood, sweat, and tears into with nothing more than a thought... Shaking such thoughts from his head, Vahn focused his mind as that was such a distant event that there was simply no purpose in thinking about it. It was his focus on power that he would have that caused him to overlook the fact that, even within his own Tier, he wasnt the strongest. Though he was approaching godhood, that was only the first step into the realm of Tier 4. With gods and goddesses who had lived for nearly a billion years popting the Tier 4 within Danmachi, Vahn had grossly overestimated himself. Even if they werent antagonistic against him, there had once been enemies even the primordial gods couldnt defeat without nearly being wiped out. Since there were still two Realms within Danmachi that had never even been revealed, Vahn was no longer content to simply stand by ying at being an Emperor in a game designed by someone else... --- While his avatar was literally tearing its way through the Dungeon, Vahns main body had just set foot inside of a courtyard surrounded by various ornate shrines. There were nearly a thousand females, both girls and women, wearing the traditional Shrine Maiden garb that was popr in the Far East. Seeing the intruder, the older women within the group pulled out various charms and wooden weapons while the younger Shrine Maidens all retreated into the surrounding shrines in a surprisingly organized fashion. Throughout this process, Vahn remained stoic, at leastpared to the scarlet-eyed Vanargandr at his side. Fenrir wasnt afraid of any of the Shrine Maidens but, with most of their weapons suffused with powerful sealing energy, her instincts caused her hair to stand on end as she released a subtle threat that caused even the most senior Shrine Maidens to avoid viting a territoryrger than 100m surrounding Vahns location. Just as tensions had started to boil over, a piercing voice broke through the silence, yelling, "Stop-desu~!". This nearly caused Vahn to copse in exasperation while the surrounding Shrine Maidens all lowered their weapons, reverent looks on their faces. Vahns own expression was a stark contrast to this, his eyes zing over after directing them to the voices owner. From within thergest shrine, a girl that appeared no older than eight years old came running down the steps with ornate ptial robes covering her body. Her ck hair was done up in an almost ridiculous fashion, tied together in a bow that created the symbol for infinity while two long pigtails trailed behind her. The only thing that kept them from dragging across the ground were the oversized ceremonial robes but, even more ridiculous than that, Vahns eyes were drawn to the massive lotus flower sitting atop the girls head as she nearly stumbled several times in her attempt to safely descend the stairs... When she finally reached the bottom step, the young girl released a sigh of relief before looking up with her exceptionally childish face. Though she had a small amount of makeup, which was very rare for a goddess, it didnt do much to make her appear more mature as she waddled over to Vahn with a quick pitter-patter of steps. He made no efforts to close the distance between them, even though it would have eased the girls burdens a great deal, as the Shrine Maidens in the surrounding were still directing sideways nces in his direction. By the time she reached his, Vahn noticed she was even smaller than Lili while her facial features were closer to a first-year student at his School than a goddess who had lived for millions of years... After taking several deep breaths to calm her heart, the goddess raised her head with a happy smile on her face before politely crossing her hands in herp, bowing as she said, "Greetings, Emperor Vahn Aldrnari Mason~desu! Wee to the Shrine of the Sun Goddess~!" With her basic greetings out of the way, the goddess raised her head to reveal another childish smile as she added, "My name is Wakahirume, it is a pleasure to meet you~desu!" At the moment those words left her lips, Vahn felt as if a massive weight had been liberated from his stomach, causing a natural smile to spread across his face as he replied, "The pleasure is all mine, Goddess Wakahirume. I believe you know the purpose of my visit...?" Bobbing her head in affirmation, Wakahirume quickly moved in a ratherrge arc in order to turn around before gesturing towards thergest shrine and saying, "I will personally guide you~! Big Sis has been waiting for your visit~desu!" Without even waiting for Vahns response, Wakahirume began dragging her oversized robes along with her as she quickly moved towards the stairs leading up to the shrine. Vahn couldnt help wondering why she wore such long robes but, remembering that Wakahirume was supposed to be a Goddess of Weaving, it wasnt hard to guess that she had hand-made each of the intricate garments covering her body. Upon closer inspection, Vahn noticed that there were no discernible signs that the garment was handmade, even along the spots where seams would usually be located. This was something only a god could manage as creating seamless fabric would require an impossible mastery over the art of sewing and weaving... Without minding the eyes of the Shrine Maidens boring into the back of his head, Vahn took slow steps to follow after Wakahirume as each of his own matched three of hers. He honestly wanted to carry her along with his Telekinesis, as it was rather awkward to watch her struggle back up the steps, but that wouldnt have been appropriate considering they had just met. Though Wakahirume looked like a child, she was easily over three-hundred million years old so Vahn couldnt treat her the same way he would an actual child. He didnt know her disposition well but, considering that none of the respectful Shrine Maidens moved to help her, it was very likely that Wakahirume had what Syr referred to as childish pride. So long as it was something they could do themselves, there were some children who would adamantly refuse the help of a.d.u.l.ts, as they wanted to be taken more seriously instead of being looked down upon... Though it was thoughts like this that were ying through Vahns mind, he still instinctually reached out his hand when Wakahirume fell over and nearly copsed against the hard stone stairs. Her body stopped a few centimeters from the stone surface before Vahn quickly righted her, his expression never changing throughout the entire incident. This was for the best as Wakahirume looked back towards him with a pouting expression before turning away and doubling the speed in which she ascended the stairs. When she reached the top, however, the small goddess waited for Vahns arrival before politely bowing as she muttered, "Thank you for your assistance..." in a voice that barely reached his ears. In response to this, Vahn gave a curt nod before falling into step behind the small goddess as she quickly began leading the way into the shrines interior... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The bond between Vahn and Fenrir is quite something...,Dont bully Juggernaut-chan...!,Vahn nearly had a heart attack when Wakahirume appeared xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1009 - Towards The Light

Chapter 1009 - Towards The Light

Though the shrine looked spacious from the outside, Vahn quickly learned that the interior was a maze even moreplex than one of the Dungeons Floors. Many of the walls were set upon mechanisms that allowed them to be freely moved and rotated, causing theyout to constantly shift under the guidance of dozens of dedicated Priestesses. As if in response to his unasked question, Wakahirume had recovered her innocent and childish smile as she exined, "Big Sis doesnt like receiving guests so she tries to make it as inconvenient as possible for people to meet with her~desu! She is making a biiiiiiig exception for you, so feel grateful~desu!. Contrary to how polite she had been during their introductions, Wakahirumes tone had quickly broken into a more casual tone after Vahn helped her up the stairs. She no longer showed a pouting expression but it was easy to see that what little respect she had held towards him had now turned into a peculiar familiarity. Vahn had never been too fond of formalities, so he allowed her behavior to go unquestioned as he listened to her drone on about how amazing her Big Sis was. As the principal Goddess of the Dawn, at least in the Far East, Wakahirume seemed intent to hype up Amaterasu, the principal Goddess of the Sun. It was easy to see the admiration in her oversized eyes as she gestured excitedly during the surprisingly long walk towards the shrines inner sanctum. Upon reaching a pair of sliding wooden doors, upon which a golden sun motif had been set, two exceptionally beautiful Shrine Maidens, each with matching features, gave a polite bow before sonorously chiming, "Lady Amaterasu has been expecting you, Lady Wakahirume, Emperor Vahn Aldrnari Mason..." Finishing these words, the Shrine Maiden on the right nced towards Fenrir with slightly squinted eyes but, before she could say anything, a voice that seemed unbelievably soft, even as it easily reached the ears of everyone present, stated, "Allow her to enter. Anypanion of Vahn is to be treated with the same courtesy we would afford our most esteemed guests..." With their expressions morphing into one of sincere respect, the two Shrine Maidens bowed a second time before greeting, "Wee..." before pulling aside the doors and revealing their contents. The interior was noticeably simple, at leastpared to the rest of the shrines interior, as the only decorations present were a few neatly arranged velvet cushions, four pale-gold incensemps, and a simple bamboo screen dividing the room in two. Vahn could tell there was an elevated tform on the other side of the screen but, perhaps wishing to show her sincerity, Amaterasu had moved her screen to the lowest point of the room, directly opposite the velvet cushions. This was her way of treating Vahn as an equal, even though it was their first and, perhaps, final meeting. Even with his [Eyes of Truth] active, not that he had intended to peek, Vahns vision was dominated by an aura that was almost identical to the sun in its radiance. It felt like his retinas would burn if he kept his eyes active so, out of respect for the hidden goddess, Vahn obediently deactivated his eyes before sitting atop the cushion that had been set out for him. There were only two present but, even without words passing between them, Wakahirume stood at the side as if it were perfectly natural, allowing Fenrir to take the seat meant for herself. This was yet another way of expressing respect, causing Vahn to give the childish goddess a small nod, eliciting a happy giggle in response. From her veiled position on the other side of the screen, Amaterasu also released a peal of bell-likeughter before musing, "How peculiar...Wakahirume rarely takes to guests so quickly...tell us, have you seen something that requires our attention...?" There were teasing undertones contained in Amaterasus words that caused Wakahirumes face to turn beet red before waving her hands in a fl.u.s.tered manner as she said, "No, no, no, there is nothing~desu!" At the same time, Wakahirume looked towards Vahn, her face burning even brighter before she used, "Isnt Big Sis the one-" Before Wakahirume could finish her words, a cough sounded from the other side of the bamboo divider that caused the child-like goddess to cover her mouth with both hands. As if she were literally swallowing them, Vahn her an audible gulping sound but pretended it had escaped his notice as he politely stated, "I have looked forward to meeting you, Goddess Amaterasu. Tenjin has spoke highly of you ever since gracing Orario with his presence. I must express my most sincere gratitude that you had the foresight to send him to my side. He has been a true blessing to the Sage Aldnari School..." As this was their first meeting, Vahn was using the polite-form of speech that wasmon within the Far East. Ever since arriving, he had been using their native tongue, even though Wakahirume had spoken in Koine, the mostmonnguage in Eden. In response to Vahns words, silence persisted within the room for several long seconds before a small sigh could be heard from the opposite side of the partition. When Amaterasu finally spoke, there was a touch of regret coating her words as she muttered, "Though we had expected as much, it would seem the purpose of your visit is more diplomatic in nature...it is a shame, as we have few people that could be considered...friends..." Thest word spoken by Amaterasu had more emphasis ced on it than Vahn had expected as, even if he believed the unseen goddess had developed a fondness for him, they had still never met. Her actions were more than a little surprising but, considering her reputed intellect, granting her a irvoyance many prophets could never hope to achieve, it made sense that she hade to a few conclusions of her own. Deciding it was better to drop his polite speech, Vahn allowed an audible sigh to escape his lips before apologetically stating, "I had nned to visit a bitter...on better terms...recent events, however, have necessitated that I take more decisive action. Im sorry, Amaterasu...I hope your opinion of me will not be swayed by the haste of my actions." As he didnt have a grasp of her character just yet, Vahn gave an earnest apology as, much like Amaterasu, he had formed several expectations of his own. If Tiamat hadnt given him a wake-up call, it is very likely he would havee to visit Amaterasu on far more casual terms. They would have had plenty of time to associate with each other, nurturing their friendship until it eventually developed into something more... Much like Vahn, Amaterasu released a far more audible sigh than her first before asking, "What has happened to force you into such dire straits...can you tell us...?" There was more concern in Amaterasus voice than curiosity, causing Vahns opinion of her to improve slightly as he honestly exined, "Soon, I will ascend as the first mortal to achieve godhood...it as at the precipice of this aplishment that I havee to know of my own weakness. Compared to the gods that have existed since time immemorial, I am akin to a child stepping into the ocean for the first time,pletely unaware of the dangers lurking in its depths. To avoid losing everything I hold dear, I have been forced into a decision that I had intended to make far in the future...as for what that entails, I cannot answer without endangering everything, including this world. I believe that Loki has detected the truth of the matter but I cannot state exactly what it is I intend to do...Im sorry..." Vahn could only talk around the truth of the matter without revealing the truth as, even without going into details, the void around them had be tense with a lingering threat. Amaterasu had sensed this phenomenon from the very moment Vahn began speaking, alerting her to the severity of the situation while also allowing her to interpret Vahns words as the truth. As she felt a genuine threat to her own existence, Amaterasu chose not to press him on the issue and simply stated, "We understand...thank you for telling us this much..." in a quiet tone of voice. Any secret that would cause the Laws of the World to stir wasnt a simple matter that could be casually discussed. It took several minutes for the presence of Law to fade from the room, finally allowing everyone present to breathe easier. Wakahirume even plopped to the ground, an expression of relief on her face as fear lingered within her eyes while, sitting adjacent to Vahn, Fenrirs skin was glistening slightly with a freshyer of sweat. She had been caught in the focal point of the Laws alongside her Master so, while Wakahirume only felt the side-effects of the event, Fenrir felt as if each individual strand of her fur was being lightly tugged by an unseen force. It was almost as if her body was on the cusp of being pulled apart, causing Fenrir to shake slightly as her tail curled up in an uncharacteristically sheepish disy... Vahn gently stroked Fenrirs head to help her calm down, aforting smile on his face as he said, "It will be okay...one day, even the Laws will be unable to do anything to us..." Though he said this in a quiet voice that only Fenrir should have been able to hear, a barely audible gasp sounded from the other side of the partition that caught Vahns attention. Only goddesses like Anubis and Bast would have been able to hear his word, especially with a partition separating them, causing Vahn to wonder if Amaterasus chosen form was something other than a human. Since she was a goddess from the Far East, many of which chose more exotic forms as their vessel, the chances were rather high. Understanding that Vahn had heard her outburst, Amaterasu remained silent for several seconds longer before finally asking, "Were those words the truth...?" Though she had the ability to perceive truth from lies, Amaterasu denied what she had heard as it was simply impossible to believe Vahns words werent false. Contrary to her hopes, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation, this time speaking clearly as he stated, "Once I havepleted my task, there will be nothing that can bind me..." He didnt mention the Laws again, as Wakahirume was still present, but the meaning of his words was able to properly reach an awestruck Amaterasu. Her mind was trying to make sense of what Vahn had said but, no matter how quickly the wheels, she felt no closer to an answer that would satisfy the many questions she desired answers to. The worst part of it all was her awareness that she couldnt even ask Vahn to rify as, after witnessing how the Laws reacted to his words, such knowledge would undoubtedly lead to her death... By the time Amaterasu had collected herself, the atmosphere within the room had be a little awkward as Wakahirumes eyes danced around in their sockets, confusion clearly reflected on her face. She wasnt allowed the opportunity to ask her own questions, however, as Amaterasu suddenly stated in a voiceden with severity, "Wakahirume, please leave us. There are...important matters we must discuss with Vahn..." There was an uncharacteristic break in Amaterasus words but, like an obedient younger sibling, Wakahirume gave a polite bow before quickly exiting the chamber. Even the Shrine Maidens stationed outside had already left their posts as, regardless of the trust ced in them, they were not privy to listening in on the conversations their goddess had with guests. After the sound of Wakahirumes robe draping along the floor disappeared, the doors to the chamber closed of their own ord as movement sounded from the opposite side of the partition. Vahn was curious about what Amaterasu was up to but, remembering the zing sun beheld by his [Eyes of Truth], he elected not to peek. This quickly became a moot point, however, as the partition between them was quickly moved to the side, revealing the hidden figure he had been talking to thus far. Upon seeing Amaterasus true form, Vahns eyes widened in genuine surprise as his mouth hung open, words failing to escape the chaotic recesses of his mind. Seeing the stupor Vahn had fallen into, Amaterasu could feel her heart rate rapidly increasing as she hesitantly asked, "Are you...disappointed...?" She had expected Vahn to be surprised when she suddenly revealed herself to him, much like everyone was when they first saw her, but his expression seemed more like genuine shock than anything else. Her question seemingly caused the cogs in his brain to begin turning once again, fortunately, as he quickly adopted a more neutral expression before answering, "I wouldnt say Im disappointed...in fact, there...well...haaaa..." Vahn couldnt quite put into words how he felt right now as abination of validation, surprise, shock, exasperation, and eptance all hit him at the same time... Though not nearly as young as Wakahirume, Amaterasus figure was like a blend between Fenrir and Loki, giving her an extremely youthful appearance, even though she had a peculiar air of maturity about her. Like the two hepared her to, Amaterasu was distinctlycking when it came to the development of her chest but, answering Vahns earlier curiosity, there were two pointed ears standing perfectly upright from the top of her head. With white tufts of fur poking out from their base,bined with nine sleek tails protruding out of her backside, it was easy to see that Amaterasu had taken on the form of a nine-tailed Kitsune. The problem was that, though not nearly as small as Lili and Kali, Amaterasu was only around 130cm tall, making her even shorter than Hestia... Even though he had fully expected Amaterasu to fall into the more youthful category, as it seemed to be a trend when it came to almost every goddess from Hestias generation, Vahn still felt as if The Path had yed with his emotions a bit. Other than Ouranos, it seemed like every goddess that was qualified to pledge him an Eternal Vow, at least in regards to his Main Quest, was of a particr category. Vahn even expected Ouranos to go against his expectations and refuse the deal he hade up with, forcing Vahn to look for another elder god as a recement. With goddesses like Maya and Tiamat recently entering the picture, Vahn wasnt looking forward to any more unexpected changes within the Quests requirements... Fortunately, perhaps as a result of his unwillingness to deal with further changes, there were no new notifications from the system as he looked toward into Amaterasus worried and appraising gaze, seeing his own image reflected in her golden eyes. As if fragments of the sun themselves, Amaterasus eyes shone with a radiance that was hard to peer at directly. She also possessed fair white skin but,pared to the pure white of her garb, it was easy to see that there were pink undertones that made her seem less like a sculpture and more organic in nature. With her long ck hair,ing to an end at the small of her back,bined with the ornate design of her robes, Vahn couldnt help but admit that she was easily one of the most beautiful goddesses he had ever beheld. As if she could sense the shift in Vahns perspective, Amaterasu allowed a smile to adorn her face as her tails flickered around behind her. Then, remembering why she had removed the partition in the first ce, Amaterasu walked towards Vahn with a determined glow in her eyes before being intercepted by Fenrir. She was surprised by the unexpected obstruction, giving Fenrir a curious look as she asked, "Why are you standing in our way...?" Though she knew of Fenrirs existence, enough to understand the reason why she would block her ess to Vahn, Amaterasu couldnt help but ask directly. This was due to the fact that she also understood Vahn well and, expecting Fenrir to share a simr amount of knowledge, couldnt fathom why she would do something that was ultimately futile. Undaunted, Fenrirs face formed into a frown as, instead of answering Amaterasus question, she asked, "Do you n to follow my Master...?" Even without having Fenrir rify her meaning, it was easy enough for Amaterasu to intuit what she was really asking. With her smile blossoming even more than before, Amaterasu crossed her hands in a polite manner before bowing towards Fenrir as she confidently stated, "I sincerely believe in the future that Vahn has envisioned for this world. Even before I came to learn the truth, I had already made my decision. Though I may not be able to leave this ce, know that my heart will follow him, no matter how much time passes..." As she already knew about Vahns need for Eternal Vows, courtesy of Lokis and Tenjins efforts, Amaterasu had been awaiting the day Vahn would finally visit her shrine. She wanted to see the world that Loki had promised, a world where gods were no longer bound by their Divinity as they lived amongst others as equals... Just as she had tested the convictions of Tiona, Tione, Ais, Lefiya, and most of the other girls, Fenrir could see that Amaterasu wasnt trying to mislead her. Though she was more than a little annoyed that another girl would be lingering around her Master, especially since Amaterasu had very soft looking ears and a plethora of tails, Fenrir still moved aside to allow the petite goddess free passage. As for Vahn, he had been watching the event y out with the best poker face he could manage, even as Amaterasu seemed to dedicate her heart to him. If circ.u.mstances had been different, Vahn would have felt that Amaterasus confession was a blessing but, knowing the path he now tread, it was much harder to sort through his emotions... Even after arriving right in front of Vahn, Amaterasus smile hadnt faded in the slightest. Her smile was, quite literally, reminiscent of gentle rays of sunshine that warmed up the world below without prejudice. It didnt matter if you were the worst criminal or a perennial saint as the light of the sun would be cast upon everyone without distinction. Even Vahn felt as if the lingering chill that had infected his body days prior was being reduced slightly, something that only those closest to him could manage. As if she could sense this change, Amaterasus smile became even more radiant, to the point it reached her eyes and caused them to squint in an admittedly adorable fashion. Then, in an equally gentle tone of voice, Amaterasu confidently asked, "Can you stroke our head...? Tales of the legendary Godhand have even reached our ears..." Though they hadnt moved since the time of her reveal, Amaterasus long ears flickered in response to her words. They were much longer than a normal Kitsune, standing nearly 10cm from base to tip, so they stood out quite a bit atop Amaterasus head. Seeing them up close,bined with the petite goddess request, caused Vahns hand to twitch before he instinctually reached out. Though he managed to stop himself with his hand between the two pointed protrusions, Amaterasu took the initiative toplete the action by rubbing her head against his palm of her own ord. Vahn immediately took note of how soft her hair was and, though he would never say it out loud, even Haruhimes, Preasias, and Hestias softness couldntpare... Allowing a sonorous giggle to escape her lips, Amaterasu proudly stated, "We have lived for more than six hundred million years. In that time, few have been allowed to bear witness to our true form. You, however, are the first we have allowed to touch our ears...we trust you know what that means?" Though not nearly as intimate as allowing him to touch her tails, Amaterasus actions were the same as a basic courting ceremony. Vahn was intimately aware of this fact and, as it coincided with his intended purpose foring to the Far East, he ultimately took the initiative to continue stroking Amaterasus head as he said, "I know you deserve better than what I can give you right now...until I must leave, allow me to do my best to make it up to you..." Feeling the warm energy flowing from Vahns palm, Amaterasu was more than a little surprised as, even without her willing it, she couldnt help but rub her head against his palm. A blush had already crept upon her face so, by the time she heard what Vahn had said, Amaterasus heart was pounding furiously in her chest as she gave a bashful, Nn... in response. Following that, even though it felt like her heart was going to explode, Amaterasu buried her fast into Vahns chest, allowing herself to be embraced for the first time in her long existence. Though this was already too much for her heart, Amaterasu had underestimated Vahns prowess as his free hand sneakily found its way to her tails... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dont underestimate Big Sis~desu!,Inevitable,The Unstoppable Godhand...) (A/N: I know some wanted Amaterasu to be a busty Onee-san, but I had to go with her original design per request. For those unaware, she is based off the character Nagato from the Mobile Game, Azur Lane. Source: https://azune.koumakan.jp/Nagato#/media/File:Nagato.png ) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1010 - Wall

Chapter 1010 - Wall

Withbored breaths, Vahn crawled out from an abyssal crevasse more than a kilometer deep. After failing to find his footing, he instead took to the air, disappearing from the area like a phantom as a massive tail, nearly 50m in diameter, swept by his previous location. The owner of the tail craned its head towards Vahns emergence point, sending a ck-huedser that blotted out the sky towards his new location. As this wasnt the first time such an attack came his way, Vahn had already crossed his arms in a defensive posture as the ckser crashed into his body, fragmenting into several smaller beams that cut through the surroundings like a hot knife through butter. When the beam began to shrink in size, the rapidly regenerating figure of Vahn could be seen as he pulled out a pure ck spear and threw it towards the mountain-sized monsters maw. Instead of facing the tiny projectile directly, the beast tucked in its neck while using one of its six massive wings to protect its head. It had already made the mistake of underestimating Vahns attacks and wasnt willing to pay the price of hubris. This ended up being the correct decision as, upon contacting the monsters wing, the spear exploded into a sphere of simrly ck light that it quickly deflected while dodging to the side. With its size,plete evasion was impossible but it was still better than taking the attack directly. As a result, arge section of the Dungeon simply disappeared upon contact with the spheres ck light, taking several meters of the monsters scales along with it. Seeing his attack fail to make purchase, Vahn clicked his tongue before feeding another 10,000,000 OP into the system to purchase a second pure ck spear. The reason why he chose this particr weapon,pared to all others, was the fact that it shared a simr name to one of his most reliable tools, the [Yi] arrows. Vahn needed something to dealsting damage to the creature Vahn had dubbed Achron, the Mountain Dragon. With its size dwarfing actual mountains, Vahn felt it was a suitable name for the Guardian of the 98th Floor. Unfortunately, it was that same size,bined with its impossible regeneration, that was currently the bane of Vahns existence... After having failed to dealsting damage to each other, Vahn and Achron both came to a standstill, separated by nearly a hundred kilometers. Both were capable of dealing almost instantaneous damage at shorter distances and,bined with Achrons body being more than 5km long, it was one of the only ways in which Vahn could take in the entirety of its figure. It also didnt seem to have any trouble seeing him as its ten massive eyes held only Vahn in their focus. At this point, their battle had been doing on for forty hours and, though he wasnt far from exhaustion, Vahn was beginning to grow battle-weary after spending eight days to clear the previous six Floors. Though there were many other reasons leading to his fatigue this, many taking ce outside of the Dungeon, Vahn was beginning to feel the limits of his current power... With neither side willing to reinitiatebat, Vahn sat on the void itself as he propped the newly purchased [Yis Judgment] on hisp. For a whopping ten-million OP, the single-use projectile could create a gravitational well that dwarfed the malformed four-star [Yi] arrow by several orders of magnitude. Not only did it leave a 300m wide expanse of nothingness where it had struck the Dungeons Floor, but the surrounding area had been twisted to the point that the mountains that dotted thendscape of the 98th Floor were no longer recognizable. Some had been leveled to the point that nothing remained while others were missing huge circr sections of their peaks after a stray beam fired from Achrons mouth. Their battle had not been kind to the surroundings but, unlike the previous Floors, there werent any random Juggernauts appearing to prick at his side... For nearly an hour, there wasnt much movement between Vahn and Achron until thetter began to lift its colossal wings, covering arge section of the horizon from view. Vahn released a heavy sigh upon seeing this before transforming into his Qinglong form and disappearing from his resting ce within the void. This happened just as a torrential wind assaulted the area, twisting thendscape with air pressure that would have even torn Ais to shreds. On the low end, Vahn had estimated the wind to be moving at close to 37,000 kilometers per hour. Though this was slow,pared to the speeds he could achieve, it was an irresistible force if he tried to take it head-on. It was this same attack that had caused most of the surrounding mountains to slowly dissolve into t teaus... Appearing near the base of one of Achrons wings, Vahn pulled his [Longinus] out of his Inventory before attempting to sever the troublesome appendage for what felt like the hundredth time. As the golden de cut through the dense and muscr flesh, Vahn released a discontented sigh before vanishing from his location as a veritable tide of destructive mana washed over the area. His attack had only cut through eighteen meters of the thirty that would be necessary to actually separate the wing from Achrons body. By the time the mana tide had disappeared from the region, the gaping wound that had been left in his spears wake had already healed... Having exhausted his options several times at this point, including the vast majority of Stars within his Inventory, Vahn was beginning to feel numb in the face of his constant failures. One of the only things he hadnt tried at this point was calling Fenrir to his side and allowing her to try and bore into Achrons body, destroying him from the inside. If not for the fact that a shroud of mana, strong enough to even dissolve items with the [Durandal] trait, Vahn very well might have called her on the first day. Now, he was left trying to break through the limits of his mortality as, with everything else failing, Vahn felt like the purpose of Achron within the Dungeon was to serve as the final threshold that separated mortals and gods... Without affording Vahn much time to think, Achron used its tail like a whip, moving much faster than the colossal beast itself could manage. Vahn had tried, and failed, to cut it off previously so he simply evaded the attack at a minimal distance while ignoring the wind pressure that had apanied it. Then, using the small gap created by its movements, Vahn coated his hand in azure lightning before shouting, "Fixate. Seize. Load Magic, Azure Dragons Wrath...!" in a voice that shook the surrounding void. In an instant, his Qinglong form had partially fused with his [Magia Erebea], allowing Vahn to seemingly move outside the constraints of time as he flew forward and mmed his previously purchased [Yis Judgment] into Achrons eye. His own body had started to fragment apart but Vahn was able to teleport away by the time the spear had exploded into a ck sphere of immense gravitational pressure. Coughing up a mouthful of golden blood, Vahn copsed atop a shattered mountain as he watched the devastation of hisst attack with dull eyes. When the sphere finally faded into nothingness, Vahn saw that arge chunk of Achrons head was missing but, instead of turning to dust, it almost seemed as if time was reversing as millions of tons of flesh quickly came into existence to rece what it had lost. Vahn issued forth a burst of dryughter as he watched this process before downing a [Max Ether] to replenish half of his reserves. By the time twenty seconds had passed, Achron was back in full health as its ten eyes red towards him with endless menace. Each individual pupils shrunk to a house-sized point before ten cksers, this time giving off a subtle red glow, tore towards Vahn at the speed of light. Having already started to evade from the very moment Achrons pupils began to contract, Vahn managed to evade eight of the beams, losing a section of his left calf and right abdomen in the process. Much like Achron, Vahns wounds healed almost instantly as he charged towards the massive monstrosity with a momentum that wouldnt lose out to the impossiblyrge creature. The charge was neverpleted, however, as Vahn was forced to teleport a short distance to the side as thesers had doubled back, attempting the skewer him once again. Fortunately, or perhaps not, Acheron wasnt foolish enough to think it could continue relying on thesers as it craned its head towards Vahn and released a sonic wave attack in the form of a roar. With a fresh hole in his chest, courtesy of one of Achronssers, Vahn failed to inhale before releasing a shout of his own, this one less reliant on size and more on the power of his Innates. Vahn was still in his Qinglong form, giving his roar far greater power than it had any right to possess as it collided against the literal pir of hypersonic sound created by Achrons bellow. The void around them shattered like ss but, without any hesitation at all, Vahn threw himself into it before appearing above Achrons open snout. It had been forced back by the collision of the two sound waves, causing its flesh to peel and fragment as itcked the same resistances Vahn had to the gravitational forces contained within the copsing void. Though this ultimately didnt matter, as the wounds were healing just as quickly as the formed, Vahn summoned a single link of [Enkidu] from the center of his palm before striking down with as much force as he could manage. Like a meteor striking a head on, Vahns attack caused an impact crater atop Achrons head as it dropped, seemingly in slow motion, towards the ground. With gravity being the same as it was on the surface, it would literally take Acheron nearly a minute to fully copse, not that it was anywhere close to the point of staying down. As strong as Vahns attack was, especially when aided by the Tier 5 [Enkidu], it wasnt able to restrain the titanic creature. Though arge section of the crater Vahn had formed had yet to heal, the drain on his reserves was ridiculous. This wasnt the first time he had tried using [Enkidu] but, seeing his attack fail yet against caused Vahn to release another sigh as he vanished from the spot, this time retreating back to the 97th Floor... No longer sensing Vahns presence, Achron released another earth-shattering roar as it red out all size of its sky-covering wings in triumph. As a True Dragon itself, it had fought tooth and nail to defend its territory, even if the presence of Vahns Qinglong form caused its soul to tremble. Being able to defeat such a foe caused its pride to swell up like the tide pulled by the moon, rapidly increasing its power. It was this ability to grow that had been the true bane of Vahns existence as, every time he seemed to knock the mountain-sized Dragon down, it simply got back up stronger. Though this had also caused his own power to increase exponentially, Vahn felt like he was always one step behind the endlessly evolving True Dragon... After arriving on the 97th Floor, Vahn made no effort to hold his body up as he allowed the force of gravity to pull him down. Even as his face impacted the hard bedrock of the floor, Vahn didnt particrly care as he was too tired to even move at the moment. This wasnt tiredness derived from ack of stamina, something Vahn had to spare, but one that seemed to emanate from the deepest recesses of his soul. Knowing he was so close to breaking through the limits of mortality, only to fail at the finish line, was causing Vahn both mental and physical anguish. Fortunately, during the worst moments, Vahn could just allow his mind to nk out as his focus became centered on his main bodys antics... Rubbing his temples to alleviate a bit of his mental strain, Vahn felt a pair of small hands against his back before a soft sensation pressed into him. Immediately following that, a tongue found its way to the lobe of his left ear before the teasing voice of Kali asked, "Having performance issues...?" This caused Vahn to snort through his nose before pulling Kalis wrist and forcing her to the front of his body. She gave a fearless chuckle in response before rolling onto her back with the momentum as the yfully remarked, "Scary, scary. Protect me, Amaterasu-sama~." In response to Kalis words, a rather tired-looking figure curled up at the side released a light groan as her tails moved to cover her face. With an equally tired voice, Amaterasu muttered, "Let us sleep. Our body isnt as durable as an Amazoness..." Wearing nothing but a see-through babydoll garment and a pair of pure white panties, Amaterasu wasnt in much of a mood to y after the previous nights exertions. Vahn had been staying with her ever since arriving in the Far East and, though she had nned to put off the event until a bitter, the presence of Kali and Vahns growing anxieties caused her to lower her guard. After having lost the purity she kept for more than six hundred million years, Amaterasu felt as if her insides were still stuffed as she held her thighs glued shut, even as she refused to leave the bed... Aplete contrast to Amaterasu, Kali was in high spirits as she snuck up to the formers side and pinched the exposed part of her left butt cheek. Amaterasu released a groan before covering the area with one of her tails andining, "Dont bully us...we will not tolerate such indiscretions..." Thought he tiredness hadnt faded from her voice, Amaterasus golden eyes were releasing a subtle light that caused the hair on Kalis neck to stand on end. As a goddess purely aligned with the positive forces within the world, it made Kalis scalp tingle to have Amaterasu directing her gaze towards her. This wasnt enough to scare her away, however, as Kali simply licked her lips in response before extending her hands towards the inside of Amaterasus thigh this time... Before she could escte things any further, Vahn ced his hand rather roughly on Kalis head, nearly forcing her into the plush bed below. This caused Amaterasu to give an amused giggle as she tightly hugged her own tails and enjoyed the sounds of Kalis struggle. Eventually, Kali managed to free herself from Vahns grasp but, instead ofshing out at him, she had a somewhat vicious smile on her face as she said, "Good, you back to normal now...?" In response to this, Vahn gestured to Kali before reclining back as he exined, "Im fighting against a monster that could probably give the Charybdis a run for its money, at least onnd..." While listening to Vahns words, Kali climbed onto his body before unhesitantly straddling his h.i.p.s. Unlike Amaterasu, she had never bothered to wear clothes after their nightly activities had ended as, contrary to the v.i.r.g.i.n goddess, she was more than willing to continue where they had left off. Now that Vahn wasnt distracted by what was going on in the Dungeon, she wanted to keep his focus on her for a short while. Thus, while asking, "So youre just going to give up...?", Kali unceremoniously reached between her thighs before grabbing Vahns member in her hands. Other than inhaling a little through his nose, Vahn didnt stop her frisky hands and instead shook his head as he said, "I wanted to take a break and refresh my mind before returning for round two..." Hearing this, Kali began to cackle in a way that would have sounded wronging from almost any other woman or goddess. Then, after licking her lips, she mused, "I cant let a monster in the Dungeon steal the spotlight, can I? Every time you fail to defeat it from here onwards, youll have to defeat me at least twice...shishishishisi~." With those words having left her lips, Kali let her h.i.p.s drop as her body trembled in response to the invading object. Though Vahn had adapted its size several times, primarily out of consideration for the girls he often slept with, it was still on therger end of the spectrum. Though no longer giving Lilis forearm a run for its money, it was far more than someone the size of Kali should have been able to take... After adjusting her breathing a bit, Kali bit her lower lip before raising her body, a dauntless look in her eyes as she said, "This first one will be our warmup...haaafuuu..." This time, it was Vahns turn tough as he extended his hands out for Kali to keep her bnce. The first time they had s.e.x, she tried to use some of her dance techniques against him but, with the peculiar qualities his p.e.n.i.s had obtained after sleeping with Freya, such confidence hadntsted long. Though she would never admit it to anyone outside of the room, Kali hadnt been prepared for her first time with Vahn. She had suffered a humiliating defeat after just a few short minutes and it was for this reason that she was prone to teasing Amaterasu. The demure Sun Goddess was the only one to bear witness to her shame and, though Kali had no intentions of killing her, she couldnt simply let the Goddess off without causing her embarrassment greater than her own... Unaware of Kalis machinations, Amaterasus grip on her tails tightened as she peaked through the silken furs, golden eyes reflected the carnal act between Vahn and herpanion goddess. She could feel her body heating up as her heart, seemingly toorge for her chest, began beating rapidly in response. It felt hard to breathe, causing Amaterasus diminutive chest to heave up and down as she continued watching on without even taking the time to blink. This was all new to her and, though she didntck the required knowledge, witnessing Kalis frail and small body atop Vahns caused her heart to flutter in fear, trepidation, and expectation. Though she had already had s.e.x with Vahn once, Amaterasu still had no idea how her body had been able to take in something sorge. Seeing it mercilessly gouge out Kalis insides caused her lower body to feel ticklish as, under the concealment of her tails, Amaterasu allowed her fingers to sneak past silken white defensive barrier before she stealthily worked to relieve her bodys tensions. What she didnt take into ount was the fact that Vahns perception, even after losing the ability to read auras, wasnt something to be looked down upon. This,bined with the fact that her tails had betrayed her, three writhing around against her will, had exposed the truth. After that, though he didnt force her into anything she was against, Vahn ended up giving Amaterasu a heavy petting sessionter that caused her bond with Kali to further strengthen as, after seeing the puddle of malleable Kitsune Amaterasu had be after Vahns care, Kali had found it in her heart to forgive her... (A/N: Alternate Titles: BLAAAAAAAAAAAH---!,There must have been a sale on True Dragons,RIP Amaterasu-sama...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1011 - Comprehension

Chapter 1011 - Comprehension

After diverting his focus to the surface world for a few hours, Vahns avatar within the Dungeon, which hadnt moved since his rest began, now twitched into an active state. It felt like his limbs had been set with lead but, after rising to his feet, Vahn had recovered his full faculties once again. Even so, he began to stretch in order to better his cirction while musing, "Now I have even more reasons to leave this world...I must return as soon as possible..." As much as he was enjoying his time spent in the Far East, Vahn was already beginning to feel something akin to separation anxiety, even though he could easily return to the Manor at a moments notice. The only thing stopping him was his conversation with the goddesses who, knowing it would be easier for him, advised Vahn to strengthen his resolve and focus on the journey ahead instead of giving himself more reasons to hesitate... Only Hephaestus, Loki, Hestia, and Artemis knew the truth, at least to Vahns knowledge, and they were doing their best to keep it a secret themselves as they continued to go about their lives and duties without letting the matter distract them, at least openly. Vahn knew it wasnt easy for them to pretend nothing was wrong as, even without entering into the Manor, he had stopped by on asion to peek in on his children. During these visits, Vahn always found Hestia holed up in her room with Artemis while, spending most of her time away from the Manor, Loki had been rushing to take care of various tasks she knew Vahn required to ensure his trip was sessful. Seeing them like this made the time Vahn was spending within the Far East feel less real, even though he was doing his best to show his affection to Kali and Amaterasu... Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Vahn began focusing on theing fight and what he needed to do in order to defeat Achron. He had two trump cards that would almost certainly guarantee victory but, upon starting his descent on the 90th Floor, Vahn had decided that he would rely on his own capabilities to further hasten the strengthening of his Soul. This included using items form The Paths shop as, even though it could be misconstrued as outside help, Vahn knew The Path, and everything contained within, was a part of him. When he moved to other Records, The Path would forever apany him while, regardless of how powerful they were, Artifacts like the [Sword of Evils Bane] would be left behind. Even so, now that he had failed to defeat Achron after nearly two full days of fighting, Vahn was highly tempted to use the sword to at least deal somesting damage to it... After inspecting the immacte de for a few minutes, Vahn inevitably threw it into his Inventory once again before releasing a heavy sigh. He believed that Achrons purpose was to serve as the final push needed for someone to reach godhood. If he started treating the battle with contempt, Vahn felt it would be the same as limiting himself as,pared to anything he had evere across, Achron had fostered the most noticeable growth with him. Even though his parameters werent changing much, it almost felt as if the numbers meant nothing at this point. True power was embodied by a persons understanding of the Laws while, as useful as they were, parameters merely served as a crutch that allowed people to glean insight into them. This was why two people with the same Agility might have drastically different speeds, especially if one focused on the concept of Speed itself when delving into the Laws... Knowing his own specialty, Vahn held up his palm before activating his [Eyes of Truth] and condensing a cube of Pure Fire Elemental Energy. Though a sphere was the most stable form, Vahn liked how the cube would break at the points, dealing highly prative damage to anything that was unfortunate enough to get caught within its area of effect. He had even tried making a cross-shaped Star to deal even greater damage but, with how thin each segment was, Vahn ended up destroying part of the Dungeon and dealing a significant amount of damage to his own body for the effort. Though his instincts told him it wasnt impossible to make moreplex shapes, Vahn had defaulted to basic geometric shapes with an even number of faces and sides. These were the most stable forms energy could take when brought together, something many Mages quickly learned when they were delving into the craft... After preparing a few surprises for his next encounter with Achron, Vahns eyes sharpened as he brought both palms together and tried something a little more drastic. His arms naturally transitioned into his Zhuque form, vermillion feathers extending all the way to his elbows, as a small marble of Pure Yang began to condense in his palms. Vahn was far more attuned with the higher-tiered elemental force in his Zhuque form, allowing him to grow the star to the size of a walnut before it was on the verge of copse. As even this wouldnt be enough to deal any real damage to Achron, Vahn muttered, "With how much time Ive spent with the girls, there is no reason why I should fail..." As he spoke, Vahns body underwent a peculiar change that would have caused him to sweat bomb in almost any other situation. While maintaining the shape of the Yang Elemental Star, Vahns body became increasingly more feminine until, at the very end, one of the things he hade to pride himself in had simply ceased to be. This wasnt enough to distract him, however, as Vahn ignored his now slender and delicate arms as he began to infuse Pure Yin, intermixing it with the Yang contained within the Star. Though the two forces were natural counters to each other, Vahn knew, with absolute certainty, they were capable of existing in a perfect bnce. Not only that, they would further enhance what made each unique Element great, leading to a situation where their power waspounded several fold, not just arbitrarily doubled... Though he wasnt sure if it helped, Vahn focused on the time he melded with the goddesses as he infused the Yin Elemental Energy into the Yang Elemental Star. This caused his own body to heat up rapidly but, without losing focus, Vahn continued to fusion of the two elemental forces until, nearly twenty minutester, he held a peculiar violet sphere in hand that, while being a quarter the size of what he started with, held an unfathomable amount of power. Even though he had been the one to create it, Vahn sensed nothing from the tiny violet sphere other than an instinctual fear of letting it go. Since Yin Elemental Energy was considered the product of the Spirit, significant enough damage by anything suffused with enough energy could even damage the Ego, effectively destroying the Soul from some peoples perspectives. After tossing the small Star into his Inventory, Vahn breathed a sigh of relief as he used the back of his palm to wipe away ayer of glistening sweat from his forehead. Vahns eyes were drawn to the fairness of his own hand, causing him to pay attention to his body for the first time since the process had started. Immediate realization hit him as he saw the two budding mounds protruding from his chest, causing Vahns body to rapidly morph back into his default Progenitor state. Then, even though it was almost impossible that anyone had seen what had urred, Vahn turned his eyes to the surroundings. Fortunately, he had been in an isted area of the 97th Floor and, even with some of them having nigh-omniscience, Vahn was confident that his actions had gone unobserved... Just as he came to this conclusion, Vahn felt a tingle in the back of his mind that represented his instincts tell him he was wrong. This caused an exasperated sigh to escape his lips as he wondered which of the Primordial Deities was observing him. Upon considering he was the only challenger to make it this far into the Dungeon, it was highly possible that they were all observing him from somewhere. Vahn was even fully expecting that, upon clearing the 99th Floor, he would find the gods and goddesses waiting for him on the other side. This meant he may be having a reunion with Tiamat sooner than hed like, causing Vahns scalp to tingle slightly as he transformed into his Qinglong form and tore a path through to the 98th Floor... Though the 98th Floor was nearly 50,000km across, making the Continent of Eden seem small inparison, Vahn could sense an intent lock onto him the moment he entered the Floors airspace. He had chosen a ce that was far enough away from Achron that the massive True Dragon wouldnt be able to immediately attack him from, at least in any meaningful way. This didnt prevent Vahn from having to quickly begin dodging a fewsers, however, as their speed made it possible to attack anywhere on the Floor in an instant. Fortunately, Vahn had a fair amount of leeway to dodge as they lost a significant amount of power and uracy the further they traveled away from Achron. After using theser barrage as a means to warm himself up, Vahns l.u.s.t for battle had been stirred so, without further hesitation, he tore through the void before appearing above Achrons body once again. While muttering, "Still a big bastard, arent you...?", Vahn brought out arge cube before throwing it towards the base of Achrons wings. Though not as fast as the speed of light, the attack still traveled fast enough that it seemed to teleport the short distance before rapidly destabilizing. Vahn chose not to wait around to see the result, however, as he vanished from his location just as Achrons tail tore through the area with unstoppable momentum. This time, Vahn appeared near the base of Achrons tail but, seeing that it didnt possess the orifice he had expected, a new n quickly concocted itself within his mind as he was forced to dodge once again. Fortunately, he still had a surplus of OP avable after mowing through the previous Floors, giving him a bit of leeway in his options. As a result, Vahn purchased another [Yis Judgement] before appearing less than a meter away from one of Achrons oversized eyes. Its pupil contracted to a point that was stillrger than Vahns entire body as an intense amalgamation of mana began to form from its depths. This attack would never find purchase, however, as Vahn unceremoniously stabbed the ck spear into Achrons eyes before ejecting the star formed from Yin and Yang Elemental energies. With that taskpleted, Vahn moved so fast that time seemed to stop around him as his instincts warned him to clear the area as quickly as possible... Just as the gravitational well caused by [Yis Judgement] began to bloom, the ck sphere actually fractured into pieces as the oppressive gravitational surge was simply no match for thebined forces of Yin and Yang. The moment the tiny Star began to expand, it was as if the influence of other Laws was simply overwritten as, without even contacting any part of Achrons flesh, his head began to vanish as if it had been erased from reality. An area a thousand times the diameter of the Star had be empty as it continued to float in the air,pletely bereft from Gravitys pull. Curiously, instead of bing unstable and growing in size, the star kept its structural integrity with the only discernable change being the field surrounding it... After moving more than a thousand kilometers away, Vahn had used his intent to observe the after-effects of his [Yin-Yang Dual Elemental Star]. He watched with dull eyes as Achron quickly moved away from the Stars influence, arge section of its head now missing. Though this section wasnt growing back, it was able to outrun the influence of the Star as thetter, while unbelievably destructive, wasnt very fast. It made up for thisck of speed by deleting everything that came into contact with it, but Vahn couldnt understand why his instincts had reacted the way they did. It wasnt until nearly an hour had passed, with Achron fleeing in theplete opposite direction, that Vahn began to sweat a little... While the Stars influence continued to grow, the Star itself showed no signs of destabilizing or diminishing. Instead, it simply hovered in the exact spot that Vahn had released it, pulsing with a gentle violet light that was unceremoniously destroying everything around it. Though the rate of destruction was rather slow, it showed absolutely no signs of stopping whatsoever. Vahn was beginning to realize that merging two elements to the point that they had achieved bnce wasnt necessarily the best way to create a consumable weapon of mass destruction. Though the Yin and Yang Elemental energy were certainly enhancing each others aspects, they were simultaneously keeping each other in check, allowing for what seemed like infinite growth... Though it was hard to imagine, Vahn could visualize this small Star of his growing to the point that it would one day destroy the entirety of the 98th Floor. Then, though it would take an astronomical amount of time, its influence might even stretch to the entire Mortal World. Realizing this, Vahn released a self-deprecating sigh as his right arm morphed into his Zhuque form. If the Star existed in a perfect state of bnce, he needed to forcibly create an instability before it grew to the point that he could no longer take action. Though he could easily deal with it upon his return to the Record, Vahn felt like he was going to fail the Dungeons challenge if he simply chose to ignore it... Taking in a deep breath to prepare himself, Vahn leaned forward slightly before musing, "Well, at least I learned something new from this experiment..." Since Yin and Yang were able to exist in a perfect bnce like this, Vahns mind was buzzing with infinite possibilities for the future. He had failed to make a cross-shaped construct with unstable Elements but, seeing how the [Yin-Yang Dual Elemental Star] retained its shape, he was contemting making an actual weapon out of it. If he could control the area of its influence, there would be little that would be able to resist an arrow that could seemingly delete anything it came into contact with... Imagining the possibilities, Vahn allowed a smile to adorn his face as, unbeknownst to him, an invisible pulse radiated from his body. He was so focused on wrangling in the [Yin-Yang Dual Elemental Star] that he had missed the phenomenon entirely. Fortunately, Sis had doc.u.mented it, much like everything else that happened around Vahn. Though she didnt have a body to perform the action, she imagined a smile on her non-existent lips as she silently encouraged, (*You can do it Vahn...!*) in a voice that, even within his head, Vahn couldnt hear. This didnt stop him from instantly moving into action, however, as if the words gave him the power needed to do what his instincts screamed was an extremely foolish action. Unable to teleport within the area of the Stars influence, Vahn emerged just outside of the invisible aura before charging into it without any hesitation. Vahn could best describe what he felt as the same kind of feeling a person would have if they dropped from an incredible height and crashed into water. It felt like his body was being torn apart by an incalcble number of needles but, unlike everything else that came into contact with the Stars influence, his Source Energy wasnt so easily dealt with. At nearly the same speed that his body was being broken apart, Vahn was regenerating under thebined influence of his Qinglong, Zhuque, and [Magia Erebea] forms. It only took a single instant for him to reach the violet star at the very center of the phenomenon, causing Vahn to extend his vermillion hand forward to grasp it in his palm. Though not the result of his Yang Elemental Energy destabilizing the star, Vahn felt as if time hade to a stop the moment he formed his hand into a fist. He was vaguely aware of the fact that the star had tried to absorb some of his blood before, in less time than an instant, Vahns connection with his avatar had beenpletely severed. Back on the surface, Vahn had been in a meditative state with Amaterasu curled up in hisp while Kali was passed out at the side. Her tails were gently snaking about as a contented smile adorned her sleeping expression, something that would have caused Vahn to smile in almost any other situation. This time, however, he released a sigh before reaching out his hand and stroking her silky ck hair while thinking about what had happened... It was at this time that Siss voice echoed within his ears, causing Vahns brows to perk up as she said, (*Congrattions, Vahn, your Soul has finally reached Tier 4...!*). Then, understanding his confusion, Sis exined, (*Im not sure if it was yourprehension of bnce, or your willingness to stop the Stars destruction, but your Soul has undergone a qualitative change. Take a look...*) Following Siss advice, Vahn submerged his intent until he was outside of the rainbow-colored space that represented his Soul. He could see Evas memory fragment sleeping peacefully within but, instead of being cradled by his Soul, it was almost as if she was a tiny nucleus as,pared to before, Vahns Soul felt massive. Even [Enkidu], which seemed to take up arge portion of his Soul before, now coiled around in a muchrger arc that made it seem tinypared to the past. Most importantly, Vahn could sense something new within his Soul that hadnt existed before and, even though it was hard to understand what it was, he instinctually knew it was his own Divinity based on the connection they shared... Extending his hand outward, Vahn condensed the strange something within his Soul until it formed into a tiny white shard. Since Divinity within the Record of Danmachi was fragmented, Vahn wasnt that surprised by the fact that his own only seemed to be a piece of something greater. He would need to develop and nourish his Divinity further if he wanted to truly make it his own but, even this small fragment filled him with an overwhelming sense of pletion. Vahn couldnt really describe what he was feeling right now but, as if the destruction of his avatar had been a small matter, a feeling of supreme bliss welled up from within his heart before extending outwards to his surroundings... Though they were sensitive to Vahns emotions in his normal state, Amaterasu and Kali were both startled awake when they felt this particr pulse of energy. Amaterasu, who had been having one of the best dreams of her long existence, nearly hopped out of the bed in surprise as her golden eyes reflected the image of Vahn deep within. As for Kali, her eyes showed an extreme amount of excitement as her mouth formed into a vicious and predatory smile. Watching what was happening to Vahns body made her own feel like it was suffused with liquid magma and, if not for her unwillingness to disturb whatever process he was undergoing, she wouldnt have been able to contain herself. Sparing each other a quick nce, Amaterasu and Kali could see understanding in each others eyes as they both began to stir up their own Arcanum to mask the aura radiating from Vahns body. Then, with shimmering eyes, they continued to watch as light radiated from each of Vahns pores, casting his figure in a subtle blue glow. His hair, which had been moving as if a gentle wind was blowing it, changed from its traditional dark brown into a pure and untainted white. On his chest, in the same location as Freya and Artemis, a small glowing symbol emerged, this one emanating a radiance that even Amaterasu, a Goddess of the Sun, couldnt directly look at. It wasnt until the light began to fade, allowing Vahns floating body to gently lower to the bed, that both goddesses were able to see that the symbol on Vahns chest had taken the same appearance as his Makers Mark. The only difference was, instead of being ck, Vahns glowed a sky blue on the edges while pure white light shone from within its depths. Neither girl stared at it for too long, however, as Vahns eyes slowly peeled open to reveal a pair of zing blue eyes that caused Amaterasu to gasp while, diminishing the impact of the moment, Kali released a sensual m.o.a.n... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Preparing for a Raid be like...,Achron noped the f.u.c.k out,Kali, "My body is ready...!") (A/N: Sorry for thete chapter. Im a bit busy today, but Ill try to get out another when I can.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1012 - Final Preparations

Chapter 1012 - Final Preparations

After dealing with an overexcited Kali, Vahn was finally afforded a bit of time to think when Amaterasu, now fully clothed, asked, "What is it like, Vahn, bing the first mortal to ascend to godhood? How do you feel...?" These words caused Kali, who had been twitching nearby, to calm down a bit as she rolled over and began listening in on the conversation. Vahn gave her a brief nce to make sure she wasnt acting up again before turning his attention back to Amaterasu and saying, "Honestly...its a little hard to describe. It feels like Im more now, almost as if my previous existence was small and insignificant..." With his domain having jumped from around 3.3km to a monstrous 8.5km in an instant, Vahn felt like the entire world was in the palm of his hands, even if it was only a small portion of it. As for Kali and Amaterasu, they just gave a small nod in response before thetter showed a radiant smile, cing both hands on her cheeks as she mused, "To think that we would bear witness to your ascent so soon...ehehehe~." Though she didnt harbor any doubts about the path she had decided upon, Amaterasu felt more than a little vindicated seeing Vahn reach godhood in such a short period of time. Since it was something that had urred right in front of her, Amaterasu felt as if she was viewing the literal dawn of a new era, one in which Vahn would shine like the very sun she represented. Seeing that Amaterasu seemed even happier than he was, Vahns smile softened as he reached out his hand and began stroking her ears. This caused her face to quickly develop a blush before she grabbed his hand, moving it aside with a bit of reluctance visible on her face as she asked, "What Divinity have youe to possess? It feels very powerful..." Even though Vahns aura seemed small, Amaterasu felt as if the Divinity he possessed had a quality that couldnt be matched by other gods. As Kali had simr thoughts, she had sat upright with an expectant look on her face as Vahn tilted his head in contemtion before saying, "It feels as if my Divinity is rted to Creation, but my instincts tell me it is something a little different..." Within the system interface, Vahn was able to confirm that he did indeed possess a Divinity rted to Creation but, as Creation was actually somewhat abstract, it was hard to determine exactly what he was capable of. Awakening his Divinity had given him some insight into his purpose, as all gods within Danmachi seem to have been assigned a role, but even that took the form of vague images that were impossible to focus on. It was as if he were trying to recall a distant memory but, with his ability to remember everything, Vahn knew it was impossible for him to forget such a thing. This meant the Laws of the world were obscuring his ability to decipher his own Divinity as,pared to the precedent set by other gods, his was unique in the fact that it had no inherent limit. Following his instincts, Vahn extended his index finger as a lotus made of Pure Fire Elemental Energy blossomed almost instantly. Instead of having to use his Oblivion to shape the energy, Vahn felt as if it was a natural part of himself as he watched the Pure Elemental Energy emte life atop his finger. It was a strangely mesmerizing sight that caused Vahns mind to enter a state of nothingness as Amaterasu and Kali watched on with widened eyes. Though the lotus atop Vahns finger was beautiful in its own right, the fact that there was vitality contained within the energy was something that shook both goddesses to the core. After all, even if Vahn himself wasnt aware of it, they were very aware of the fact that his actions were akin to having created a lesser Spirit without any discernable effort... After watching the lotus reach full maturity, Vahn felt a connection to the tiny flower that caused a small smile to spread across his lips. Though itcked sentience and the presence of a Soul, Vahn could feel that the lotus was alive, even if it existed in a form that ran perpendicr to how most life was formed. Turning his eyes to the system interface, Vahn could see that there was a new [Nameless] entity within his Unit Management list. The system recorded this small lotus as a mana construct that, if named, had the potential of bing a creature that may even rival the gods one day. This thought caused Vahn to feel an overwhelming sense of pride,parable to the emotional upheaval he would feel when bearing witness to the birth of his children... Using his free hand to stroke one of the lotus petals, Vahn murmured, "It is a shame you were not born a littleter...I would have liked to see what you would have be if given a proper name. For now, I will call you Jade..." With the petals of the lotus looking like pale white jade, especially with how they possessed a slightly translucent sheen, Vahn felt the name was suitable. In the future, upon returning to the Record, Vahn promised that he would give his first genuine creation a real name. By then, his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] would be even more powerful, allowing the tiny lotus to truly blossom into an existence worthy of its own significance... Though itcked sentience, the lotus atop Vahns finger curled its petals inwards and, as if awaiting the day it would receive a proper name, entered into a budding state that seemed to be on the very cusp of blossoming once again. Since Vahn couldnt ce it into his Inventory, he used the Unit Management function to ce his newly named Jade into stasis before finally turning his attention back to the two gawking goddesses. Seeing as even Amaterasus mouth was slightly agape, Vahn felt more yful than normal as he extended his finger to her lips, surprising her back to awareness as a red hue quickly ascended her neck until overwhelming her fair disposition. With upturned eyes, Amaterasu stared back at him as she said, "You undoubtedly have a Divinity rted to Creation...it is a very rare ability, being able to create Spirits so freely..." Having regained her own senses, Kali nodded her head in response to Amaterasus words before adding, "Keep in mind that, while you may have no equals in the Mortal World, using your Arcanum without restraint will draw a lot of unnecessary attention towards you. Gods like Ouranos may be content with simply observing History, but there are many other gods who may try to intervene if they see you abusing your powers. Even without descending themselves, there are numerous ways in which gods can interact with the mortal world, some of which possess Creation Divinities far greater than your own. Though I dont imagine you will misuse your power, you should properly consider your actions from here onwards..." With a goddess like Kali warning him, Vahn was overtaken by a momentary surprise before he was able to make sense of her words. She was, after all, speaking an irrefutable truth as, with what he knew of the gods, Vahn was very aware of the fact that he was closer to the bottom of the pyramid than anywhere near the top. Though he could seemingly create Lesser Spirits with a bit of guided thought, there were gods residing in Heaven that were capable of creating Greater Spirits. These Greater Spirits were some of the most powerful existences within the Mortal World as they often embodied the purest form of a specific Elemental Law. Though Vahn would be able to move without being restrained like other gods, it didnt mean that there were no forces in the world that could oppose him. Chief amongst these were the gods enshrined within the Dungeon as, even though they were also bound in a statuesque shape, it was clear to see that the amount of power they possessed dwarfed anything he had observed in other gods... Nodding his head, Vahn alleviated Kalis concerns by exining, "I have no intention of letting this new power get to my head. Though I will be using it to conquer the Dungeon, that will be thest time I exercise my Divinity within this world in its current state..." Vahn chose not to mention that, by the time he returned to the Record, any of the gods that Kali was worried about wouldnt be able to do anything against him. Neither she nor Amaterasu knew that he would be leaving soon, even if thetter seemed to have sensed something with her uncharacteristically high perception. This was one of the things he had quicklye to appreciate about Amaterasu as, even though her status among gods was actually very high, she was an extremely modest and sensible goddess... Sensing that Vahn was thinking about her, Amaterasu adopted a small smile as she asked, "What will you do now...?" She knew that Vahn was probably going to leave them, even if she didnt know exactly what that detailed. Now that he had be a god, Amaterasu knew his focus was no longer with her and Kali. This made her feel a little lonely but, having already prepared herself to observe the world Vahn would create from the sidelines, she kept a gentle and unperturbed expression to alleviate any anxiety Vahn might have about his own actions. Responding to Amaterasus words, Vahn exined, "My avatar was destroyed on the 98th Floor of the Dungeon. For the time being, I intend to create a new avatar before continuing my conquest of the Dungeon. I will also return to Orario to resolve a few things that require my attention...after that, I wille back to retrieve the two of you. Though you may wish to stay in the Far East and watch over your people, you should still have a ce picked out at the Manor. Ill set up a teleportation ward so you can freely move between the Manor and the shrine whenever you please..." Though she knew Vahn wasnt being truthful with her, Amaterasu smiled in response before nodding her head in understanding. Her instincts told her that the whole reason Vahn had brought Kali over was to keep her from interacting with others, at least for the time being. By the time he returned to pick her up, Amaterasu felt as if Vahn would no longer be the same person. Though he would undoubtedly continue along the path their promise was based upon, Amaterasu felt mncholic knowing there wasnt anything she could do to help him. Fortunately, Vahn seemed too distracted to notice the mncholy she kept buried in her heart as she wore a mask that even Loki would struggle to read... --- After making arrangments with Amaterasu and Kali, Vahn quickly set about performing the actions he had decided were necessary toplete his Main Quest. First, even before he began to process of creating a new avatar, Vahn teleported to a small cave located a few kilometers away from Amaterasus shrine. Though the province located around the shrine was typically very warm, courtesy of the suns gracing thend with its presence throughout most of the year, the area he had teleported to was so cold that the perpetual Spring settled into the area had been, quite literally, frozen in time. The flora that wasmon in the surrounding mountains had been converted into beautiful ice sculptures by the overbearingly powerful Ice Elemental Energy contained within the air. Fortunately, most of the fauna within the area had fled by instinct so, other than the insects that resided deep within the earth, most creatures had evaded an icy fate. As for the cause of the tundra-like qualities of this particr mountain, Vahn found it located deep within the small cave. There, seated atop a bed of ice, Fenrir was in a deep state of meditation as a mystical blue aura radiated from her body. At the same time, the crest on her abdomen had turned from a vibrant crimson into a muted, blood-red color. She had been using her newly awakened Innate to slowly devour the Destructive energy within Tiamats blessing, literally converting the energy forced into her body into her own. Since she would lose it upon leaving the Record, something Vahn had exined to her, Fenrir had been training in earnest to absorb as much of the invasive energy as possible before it was time to leave. Sensing the presence of her Master, Fenrir exhaled a stagnant breath that caused a dense cloud of condensation to shroud her figure. When she inhaled inward, however, this cloud immediately dispersed as small ripples appeared within the void, almost like a vortex leading to the interior of Fenrirs delicate lips. It was only after this that Fenrir opened her eyes, asking, "Master...is it time to go...?" Though Vahns appearance had changed slightly, Fenrir wasnt even remotely concerned by the change as, regardless of what form he took, her Master was still her Master. If anything, she was happy that he had grown stronger, even if it made her feel a little bothered that she was falling even further behind... Shaking his head, Vahn quietly exined, "We may be leaving sooner than expected, but not just yet. I wanted to check in on you and make sure you were okay as I may be away for a few days..." Vahn suspected that creating a new avatar might not be possible in his current state, as his understanding of the process was still a bitcking. It was easy enough to make a new body, as he could literally grow one out of his own flesh, but ensuring it possessed a Divinity wasnt that simple. Much like Evas memory fragment, the shard of Vahns Divinity seemed to be a unique existence within his Soul. Though he may be able to fragment it even further, Vahn felt this would diminish his power greatly. This meant that, instead of conquering the Dungeon with his avatar, Vahn would have to enter the 99th Floor with his main body while his avatar was left to wrap things up on the surface... Hearing her Masters words, Fenrir adopted a small frown before hopping off from her icy tform and saying, "I wille with you." Even without Vahn exining that he would be entering into the Dungeon with his main body, Fenrir could sense something was wrong. She resolved herself to follow after him, even if he tried to refuse her assistance. If nothing else, she would forcibly return into her core state to force his hand on the issue. As Vahn could sense the resolve Fenrir had mustered up, he didnt even try to refute her and instead reached out his hand to stroke her head as he muttered, "This may be it, Fenrir...after I deal with Ouranos and finalize the treaty with the Land of No Sun, thest thing we have to do is conquer the Dungeon...are you ready?" Without any hesitation whatsoever, Fenrir nodded her head before adopting a serious expression as she said, "When wee back, I want to deal with that one personally..." Even without specifying who she was talking about, Vahn knew that Fenrir had a grudge with Tiamat after being taken against her will. Though she was more than a little happy to have awakened her new Innate, Fenrir hadnt been that far away from achieving it through her own methods. Having someone else forcibly push her down a path she hadnt chosen caused her hunger pangs in the middle of the night. It felt like the mark on her abdomen was a fiery brand that was constantly burning her skin as it continued to feed an incredible amount of mana into the vortex located in her stomach... As he also wanted to teach Tiamat a lesson, Vahn gave a nod in response to Fenrirs request, even if he knew there was a good chance neither of them would put her in their eyes upon returning. After all, even if she doesnt reach the peak of Tier 6, Vahn expected that Fenrir would be near the peak of Tier 5 by the time he linked the records. It was very difficult to increase the Tier of your Soul without having sealed Innates already embedded within it. He knew that there were several Innates slumbering within his own Soul, meaning it wasnt surprisingly easy to advance, but Fenrir would have to rely on her ownprehension to be stronger. Though he may be able to boost her with his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome], Vahn suspected that the path Fenrir wanted to walk was one of self-reliance... After leaving Fenrirs impromptu cultivation cave, Vahn spread his senses through the area before frowning slightly. Knowing what he was going to ask, Fenrir exined, "Medusa said she found something interesting to the South and left two days ago..." As she spoke, Fenrirs face formed a deep frown as she wasnt that fond of her newestpanion. This was abination of the fact that she had been looking forward to traveling to other Records with her Master, just the two of them. Though Eva would undoubtedly be a part of the question at some point, she had alreadye to respect thetter while, from the first moment she hadid eyes on it, Fenrir hadnt been fond of the Rainbow Viper. With a wry smile on his face, Vahn stroked Fenrirs head as he used his Unit Management to recall Medusa to his side. Though he could have gone to pick her up, Vahn felt he might get wrapped up in something problematic if he went to see what she found interesting. She seemed to have an instinctual draw to both treasures and troublesome things, something he was fully expecting to be both a boon and the cause of infinite troubles in other Records. As for why he had decided to take her along with him, it was due to the fact that he felt some fate with the small serpent, much like when he first stumbled across her in the Dungeon. He knew this was likely rted to an Innate that was slumbering within her then developing Soul but, after naming her, Vahn hadnt been able to glean any insights into what exactly was special about her... After being forcibly summoned, a petite girl with cascading silver hair and golden eyes appeared in the air before Vahn. He told himself it had nothing to do with him but, seeing Medusas figure caused Vahn to internally sigh as he wondered why she had chosen such a form. The only things he had desired upon naming Medusa was that she would be more powerful while at the same time being apanion that could work alongside Fenrir. As a result, Medusa took on the form of a petite young woman that was only 139cm tall. Though she had a golden tail protruding out of her backside, with a few rainbow-colored scales neatly arranged along the fringe, her base appearance was heart-wrenchingly youthful. This was even more apparent as, much like Fenrir in the early days, Medusa had a problem with wearing clothing that Vahn hadnt personally picked out for her... Seeing her Master, Medusas face warped into an excited smile as she spread her arms and unhesitantly leaped towards him. Her long silvery hair, as if possessing a life of its own, began to coil around him as she happily rubbed her cheek against his and eximed, "Master, lets y~! I found something really really cool~!" At the same time as she began clinging to Vahn, Medusas smiling face morphed into a slightly taunting look as she peaked over at Fenrir and poked out her bright red tongue. Fenrirs frown deepened upon seeing this before she unceremoniously grabbed Medusas golden tail, shouting, "Smelly snake...!" before she tossed her to the side. Medusa was currently much weaker than Fenrir so there wasnt much she could do besides allow herself to be thrown. This, however, didnt stop her from adopting a pitiful expression on her face as she plopped to the ground and began sniffling. Vahn knew she was only pretending but he still sent a warning look towards Fenrir that caused her to snort, even as her ears drooped ashamedly. Vahn habitually rubbed her head before lifting Medusa with his telekinesis and saying, "You shouldnt antagonize Fenrir so much, Medusa. It isnt toote for me to change my mind..." Though he would like to pretend he didnt y favorites, Vahn was very aware of the fact that Fenrir had cemented herself in an especially sensitive spot within his heart. Knowing her antics had gone too far, Medusa showed an apologetic expression as she lowered her head and muttered, "Im sorry, Big Sis..." in a demure tone. Though it sounded a little half-hearted to Vahns ears, he still set Medusa on the ground before exining, "We may be leaving sooner than expected so Ill have to ask you to either return to your core state or go into stasis for the time being. Dont worry, it should only be a few days this time around..." As he spoke, Vahn could see Medusa adopt a pouting expression on her still lowered face but, by the time she looked up, it had vanished entirely as she said, "I understand. I want to go with Master so I will behave..." Then, without any hesitation, Medusas body turned into rainbow-colored dust before a deep purple magic core, glowing with intense rainbow light, fell towards the ground. Vahn quickly snatched it out of the air, feeling the cores peculiar warmth before setting it within his Inventory. Once this was done, he turned towards Fenrir before extending his hand and saying, "Lets go..." in a gentle yet determined voice... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The birth of the Jade Lotus...,You think you can force me to use your energy? Good, good, good, Fenrir could use a snack...!,Medusa, Fenrirs rival...?) (A/N: It may note as a surprise to any of you that this Medusa shares the same design as the Primal Beast from Granblue Fantasy. Vahns desire for Fenrir to have apanion meant that the form Medusa took was from the same Record of origin as Fenrir herself. Like the matter with Nagato/Amaterasu, this was something that had been determined long ago when the Rainbow Viper was first introduced. By the way, I love Granblue fantasy xD (Rank 128)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1013 - Whim

Chapter 1013 - Whim

(A/N: I have no idea how this ended up at chapter 963 when I set a basic publish timer on it.) Though it took the better part of an hour, Vahns third avatar came into creation without any major hups. The expected difficulty of creating a body that could withstand his Tier 4 Soul never came and, though it didnt possess the fragment of Divinity, Vahns avatar had a phenomenal amount of energy contained within its body. Most importantly was, even without possessing the fragment of Creation, Vahn was still able to use his newfound powers without any issues. Though this would cause both of his bodies to enter into what he was referring to as Godmode,plete with glowing skin and white hair, it was still beneficial information since he wouldnt be required to use his main body to conquer the Dungeon. After dealing with the mild inconvenience of forming a new avatar, Vahn split from his main body to use Yggyswork to re-enter the Dungeon. He was hoping that whatever restriction prevented other gods from entering the Dungeon wouldnt be able to prevent his entry. If he was unable to conquer the Dungeon after reaching godhood, Vahn felt like something inside of him would snap as a result. Fortunately, Yggyswork seemed to ignore any such restrictions as, after spending a bit of time with his surrogate daughter, Vahn was able to teleport down to the 90th Floor without issue. This could be due to the fact that he reached Tier 4 within the Dungeon, making him an exception amongst other gods, but Vahn didnt particrly care as he focused his mind and prepared to teleport down to the 98th Floor. Having cleared each Floor previously, Vahn had noticed that the invisible membrane that prevented him from breaking through Floors previously had now vanished in its entirety. It was much like how the Dungeon restricted Adventurers from reaching the 18th Floor using the stairs that led directly to the 17th. There was an unsurpassable barrier that, regardless of Level, simply couldnt be passed through without clearing each respective Floor... As he was preparing to tear through space and begin his third battle against the Achron, Vahn sensed fluctuations in the surrounding space that immediately caused his eyes to open. If he were being honest, Vahn had been tempted to visit Tiamats underwater temple and collect the debt her avatar owed. Reason kept him from wasting his effort, however, as, even in her avatar state, Vahn felt that she wasnt an opponent he would be able to take out easily. Since defeating her wasnt a priority, Vahn had decided to leave her fate to Fenrir after his linked the Records. Tiamat, however, seemed to have slightly different ns as Vahn felt his connection to the 98th Floor severed as a surprisingly delicate hand created a ripple in the void before immediately being followed by a mature beauty with sharp eyes and an amused expression on her face... Even without her Draconic elements, Vahn recognized the woman as the same goddess who was enshrined within the underwater temple. What surprised him was her zing red hair, which extended to her lower back, and the fact that she was wearing casual clothes that might be found on any female Adventurer from the surface. This took on the form of tight ck shorts and an off-white tunic that exposed the developed muscles of her abdomen, leaving very little to the imagination. Even more surprising, though he understood the reasons for it, Tiamat walked out of the void with bare feet, drawing the eyes to her long and developed legs... Though he took in her full image andmitted it to memory, Vahns focus remained solely on Tiamats face as he preempted her by asking, "To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, Primordial Goddess, Tiamat...?" This seemed to annoy her a bit as her eyes squinted slightly in response, albeit very briefly. A smile quickly reced her previous expression as a teasing light shone within her radiant blue eyes, each containing a vertical slit that seemed to reflect everything contained within with the discerning eye of a predator. Even Vahn felt a small amount of pressure when making eye contact with her, causing his body to almost instinctually transform into his Qinglong form against his will... Instead of answering his question outright, Tiamat let her eyes wander around Vahns body without any semnce of restraint. Then, as if she was satisfied with what she had seen, Tiamat gave an approving nod before saying, "Not bad...not bad at all. I always wondered what the first mortal to be a god would be like. Its a shame youre not a genuine True Dragon, but...well, I suppose that is for the best." At the end of her sentence, Tiamat licked her lips as, for a brief moment, a possessive look shed across her eyes. Vahns own expression hardened when he saw this but, as if she wasnt even remotely bothered by his frustration, Tiamat followed up by saying, "Come, Ill take you to meet with the others." Without waiting for a response, Tiamat had extended her hand towards Vahn as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Following that, Vahn felt the void around him pulse in a way that he couldnt quite understand before he found that his surroundings had changed in their entirety. This showed that Tiamats understanding of Space Laws was far higher than he couldprehend, at least for the time being. It was very possible she even had a Major Divinity rted to Space but, remembering she was from the same generation as Ouranos, it didnt seem likely. It was far more likely that Tiamats mastery was something she had gained over her extremely long lifespan. She didnt seem bound by the same restrictions as many of the gods born after the creation of the three realms so it wouldnte as much of a surprise if this proved to be the case. As if answering Vahns questions preemptively, Tiamat gestured behind her with her thumb as she said, "This ce is the lowest point of the Dungeon, Tartarus Heart. Youre the first person that has been able to reach this point so congrattions. I wonder what expression that brat will make when he realizes someone beat him to the punch, wahahahaha~." Punctuating her words, Tiamat tried to strike Vahns shoulder in an amicable manner but he unceremoniously stepped to the side before asking, "Why have you brought me here? What about the book reflected in the mirror...?" Instead of the small room that Vahn had been shown previously, Tiamat had brought him to a circr chamber that had fourrge teleportation wards, one at each cardinal point. The fact that these used a simr form to he ones he had created within the Dungeon hadnt gone unnoticed but, for the time being, Vahn wanted to know why Tiamat had brought him to this location. She didnt seem willing to answer, however, instead electing to adopt a vicious glint in her eyes after he had evaded her hand. This caused the hair on Vahns neck to stand on end as his skin began to glow with a pale blue light in response to the animosity contained within Tiamats gaze. At the same time, his own domain began to contend against the invisible force created by Tiamats presence. This resulted in the void around them trembling, a phenomenon that quickly tranted to an audible vibration within the surrounding superstructure... Amidst the sh of wills, a sudden severing force appeared out of nowhere, apanied by words that caused Vahn to feel as if his Soul had taken a direct blow. Though the gentle voice simply said, "Stop this, please...", Vahn felt like his knees were going to buckle while Tiamat sneered in response before crowing her arms. Vahn, for the first time, felt as if his domain had been forced back into his body as a restrictive force unlike anything he had ever felt began to weigh down on him. In response to this, his [Chainbreaker] immediately activated but, as if the skill had offended the suppressive energy, Vahns body was crushed into the ground unceremoniously. This caused the previous voice to take on an apologetic undertone as its owner softly stated, "Please, calm your mind. None of us wish to harm you, my precious child..." Immediately following these words, Vahn felt the pressure on his body relent, allowing him to gasp for air as his natural regeneration repaired the damage he had sustained. In hid Godmode, Vahn was virtually immune to any form of damage within the Mortal World but the owner of the voice didnt seem to take this into consideration as her words alone were enough topletely restrain him. Upon seeing who the voice belonged to, Vahns expression morphed into one of momentary confusion as she was unlike any of the statues he hade across. Though she was obviously a goddess, Vahn found himself unable to find any words to describe her other than motherly. Seeing her looking at him caused Vahns heart to tense up, almost as if his own mother were reproaching him for his bad behavior... Having never felt anything like this before, Vahns face formed a deep frown as he stepped back and asked, "What are your intentions...?" Though he was almost certain the goddess before him was Nuwa, Vahns mind was currently in a chaotic state after the rapid changes in the situation. He found himself unable to keep up with everything that was urring, causing his desire to leave the Record topound. Since he was certain this was a spot located within the Mortal World, Vahns heart was beginning to race as, no matter how he looked at her, the goddess before him didnt seem to have any restrictions ced on her. If this actually was her restricted state, Vahn couldnt even fathom how powerful her real body was as, unlike before, he could feel the aura possessed by Tiamat and the goddess before him. It felt as if he were staring up at the stars, viewing the vastness of Space above...able to observe it but neverprehend its mysteries... Seeing Vahn step away, the motherly goddess showed a slightly hurt expression before averting her eyes to the side and exining, "My intentions...I have none. I only wanted to meet you...you have no idea how happy it makes me to see you reach this point. I have waited for so long..." Towards the end of her words, the yet unnamed goddess brought her hands together before closing her eyes, almost as if she were praying. Since she was likely one of the oldest gods in existence, Vahn couldnt help but wonder who, or what, a goddess like her would pray too. However, after seeing Hestia and Artemis perform the same action several times, Vahn decided not to inquire, instead saying, "I havee with the intention to conquer the living Dungeon, Tartarus. Though I wouldnt mind conversing with you in the future, there are other things that require my attention..." Setting aside the strange feeling of guilt that was welling up inside his heart, Vahn hardened his expression while ignoring the icy look Tiamat was sending his way. As for the goddess before him, she didnt seem to mind his words too much as she simply smiled in response before saying, "I understand. I too would like to converse with you when you have the time...there is so much I want to tell you...but I suppose there is no rush. Now that you have be a god, we have all the time in the world to chat. Tiamat, please escort our newest kin to his destination...and try to get along, for my sake." Though she didnt seem like the type to acquiesce to another, Tiamat released a sigh in response to the unnamed goddess words before saying, "Yeah, yeah, dont worry...Im not going to bully the newest member of our family..." With a bit of extra emphasis on the final word, Tiamat sent Vahn a nce that seemed to convey, Dont cause any trouble. The fact that she directed such a gaze towards him after causing him so many issues herself caused Vahns temples to buzz but, unwilling to remain within the Dungeon at the whims of these more powerful gods, Vahn gave a curt nod without wasting his words. This caused the motherly goddess to issue a gentle smile before, as if she had never been there in the first ce, Vahn was no longer able to perceive her presence... Without missing a beat, Tiamat used the gap in Vahns awareness to bring a heavy fist down upon his head before saying, "Listen up kid. You may be hot shit in the Mortal World, heck, you may even be the hottest shit. That isnt going to fly now that you became a god though, you hear? The world is a lot bigger than youre even qualified to know right now so dont let your ego get to your head. Im not exactly known for my patience so dont think I wont smack you around if you misbehave like this again. Nuwa might be willing to forgive you but dont think the rest of us will just watch as you trouble her...!" Nursing a bump that didnt seem to heal, even with his [Magia Erebea] active, Vahn red back at Tiamat before grinding his teeth as he stated, "Youre the one-" Before he was able to finish his words, Vahn noticed that his surroundings had changed while Tiamat was nowhere to be found. She had teleported him away mid-sentence, causing Vahns mouth to hang open for a few seconds before he mmed his hand against the nearby wall. Without holding anything back, Vahn half-expected the wall to explode into tiny fragments but, as if he had gently ced his hand upon the wall, there was only a light tap as a result of his full-force blow. This caused him to feel several things all at once, chief amongst them being relief, confusion, and intrigue. After all, if he had actually destroyed the rtively small room, it could have caused him any number of additional problems... Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, Vahn decided to deal with Tiamatter as he began looking around the area. He found himself in the same small room that had been reflected in the mirror,plete with the small desk, the floating blue me, and a closed book that had an indiscernible title. Upon arriving at the desk, Vahn noticed that the book, which he had previously thought to contain any number of secrets, was simply a logbook of sorts. After opening it, he found that all the pages were nk while, on the very first page, the header simply stated Names in pale golden ink. Right beneath that, Vahn watched as his own name wrote itself within the first slot, immediately followed up by a system notification stating that he had conquered the Dungeon... Feeling as if his grand aplishment had been anti-climactic, Vahn released a heavy sigh before cing the book back down on the table. Fortunately, just as he was preparing to leave the room behind, one of the drawers on the desk opened of its own ord. Inside, Vahn found what appeared to be a grimoire that was bound with the same kind of gold that could be observed in Divine-Grade Artifacts. This was proof enough that the Grimoire was something exceptional but, after reading the title, Vahns eyes became rounded as he muttered aloud, "This cant be real..." before tossing it into his Inventory. Immediately afterward, Vahn inspected the Grimoires description as a giddiness akin to a child walking into a candy store began to bubble up from his heart... --------------------------------------------- [Grimoire of Creation] Rank: SSS (Divine) Use: Increasesprehension of Creation Laws and provides insight into the development of sentient life. A Grimoire created by the Goddess Nuwa that details the methods she had used when creating the first vessel capable of hosting a soul. Though the method contained within is nearly impossible to replicate, it can still provide insight into the formation of new lifeforms for anyone capable ofprehending its contents. As this Grimoire also contains a fragment of the goddess Divinity, it is possible to use as a catalyst when trying to infuse a soul into a vessel. --------------------------------------------- Vahn didnt know if this was a prize that Nuwa had specifically prepared for him, or if it was intended for whoever first reached this point, but he was more than happy to add it to his collection. Fortunately, even without removing it from his Inventory, Vahn was able to record the contents of the Grimoire before storing them within the vast archives of his mind. Even if he lost it at some point in the near future, the knowledge contained within would persist within his mind and follow along with him regardless of how much time passed. At the same time, Vahn felt as if the knowledge had be a part of him and, though he couldnt make sense of principles contained within, he felt a little closer towards his goal of bing a true God of Creation and Destruction... Knowing that Nuwa likely had the means to observe him, especially within the Dungeon, Vahn gave a small bow towards the void as he said, "Thank you for this gift. I will do my best to not misuse it..." He didnt expect a reply so, even though silence persisted in response to his words, Vahn didnt mind it as he focused his mind and returned to the 90th Floor. In total, he had been gone for less than a half-hour so Yggy was surprised to see him, nearly dropping the basket of apples she had been carrying before running over to his side and asking, "Is everything okay, Papa...?" Vahn smiled in response before bending down and giving her a quick hug before following it up by caressing her head in a gentle manner as he said, "Everything is great..." Since it didnt seem like he was lying to her, Yggys smile immediately became more radiant than the sun itself as she happily giggled in response to his touch. Then, pulling a golden apple from her basket, Yggy asked, "Papa, will you have lunch with me today...?" Her emerald-green eyes were shimmering with expectation so, instead of immediately returning to the surface, Vahn produced a smile of his own before saying, "Of course. I can think of few better ways to spend my time than eating lunch with my adorable daughter~." Though these words caused a slight twinge in his heart, the result of Vahns awareness that he may not see his actual children again for thousands of years, it didnt show on his face. Yggy had sensed the slight mncholy contained within her Papas words but, knowing he was also being sincere, she pretended to not notice as she sat down in hisp and began to peel the golden apple with her tiny fingers. Vahn closed his eyes and patiently waited for her to finish, enjoying the peaceful moment and the pleasant smell that naturally apanied Yggys presence. He knew it was better for him to be away from his family right now as any time spent with them would only weaken his resolve to leave. Since he didnt want them to be affected by his mindset and infer something was wrong, Vahn hardened his heart as he solemnly swore to return as soon as possible... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Turns out that creating an Avatar is a lot easier after bing a God of Creation...?,Vahn is seriously outssed...,Dat Grimoire though...) *****(Link to Servant Poll: (poll.ly/#/G5KQjj8P) Some have already been ted to appear but I have a bit of leeway regarding any other that might show up. Feel free to add new options but, regardless of how many votes something gets, I may not pick it. The best example would be someone like Merlin as, even though they are an awesome character, their presence within the plot I have in mind makes it impossible to overlook their existence. This isnt set in stone, however, so feel free to vote for whatever you want and Ill do my best to make as many people happy as possible~!)***** bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1014 - Vow : Sadness

Chapter 1014 - Vow : Sadness

At the same time that he was enjoying a peaceful lunch with Yggy, Vahn, apanied by Fenrir, showed up within the Main Branch of Orarios Adventurers Guild. His presence immediately caused a stir amongst the other Adventurers present, as it had been several days since hisst public appearance, but the Guild managed to quickly restore order as the Guild Head, Royman Mardeel, quickly escorted Vahn to the elevator connecting to Ouranos throne room. As the elderly Elf seemed to be expecting his arrival, Vahns face had formed a mask of suspicion as he patiently waited for the elevator to reach its destination. Though he had been tempted to try and teleport to meet Ouranos directly, Vahn felt that it would cause unnecessary tension while ultimately proving futile. After all, Ouranos was one of the most powerful Sky gods in existence, giving him greater influence over Space than any other known gods... Once the elevator came to a rather loud stop, Vahn exited the tform with Fenrir following closely behind. This was only his third time entering Ouranos domain but,pared to his previous visits, Vahn noticed there was a distinctck of pressurepared to the past. Though he might have misunderstood this to be rted to his increased Soul Tier, Vahns encounter with Tiamat and Nuwa made him fully aware of the fact that his own aura couldnt contend against that of a Primordial God. The only reason he was able to walk with his head raised was due to Ouranos leniency, something that bothered Vahn more than he would openly admit. As for what had changed since his previous visit, it hadnt taken Vahn long to notice that the massive sealing array behind Ouranos had now be inert... With an uncharacteristic smile on his face, Ouranos nced down at the approaching Vahn as he said, "You have done well, Sage Emperor...or perhaps it would be more appropriate to call you God-Emperor now...?" There was a touch of amus.e.m.e.nt within Ouranos voice as his words caused the void between them to tremble. Vahns hardened expression slowly dissolved into one of eptance as he released a long sigh before asking, "Have you been aware of Nuwas intentions since the beginning? What was the purpose of the seal you had ced here? Was it not to keep the monsters within the Dungeon at bay...?" Though Vahn had long suspected that the purpose of Ouranos seal was distinctly different than advertised, he hadnt expected it to suddenly vanish now that he had conquered the Dungeon... In response to Vahns questions, Ouranos continued to smile as he gave a curt nod and exined, "Though I had not dedicated myself to the same pursuit, I have born witness to Nuwas efforts over the years. I have long awaited the day that a mortal would rise to join our ranks...as for the seal, its purpose is the same that has been publicized. The only difference is the fact that, instead of simply serving as a seal, it also served as a furnace of sorts. You may have guessed it, but the Dungeon serves the dual purpose of bridging the three realms while also acting as a means to control the bnce of mana within the Mortal World. Now that you have defeated the Guardians within the lower floors, the Dungeon will require time to recycle the mana it had expended to facilitate your ascension..." Hearing Ouranos exnation, Vahn knew the elderly god wasnt telling the full truth as, other than serving as a proving grounds for mortals reaching for godhood, it seemed like the Dungeon had several other purposes. Not only did it allow the gods the means to observe the evolution of monsters, but it also gave them the opportunity to experiment with the process of reincarnation. Since the gods controlling the Dungeon had stolen his method of creating teleportation wards, one of which was obviously connected to the Dark Continent, Vahn suspected they also used it as a means to observe and steal the unique techniques developed by mortals. Though most Magic was the result of a gods blessing, the form in which it took was unique to the individual based on their race andprehension. For reasons that they kept secret, the gods were obviously analyzing the effects of the Falna, something that was rtively newpared to the grand expanse of time that had transpired within the Record... Knowing that exposing Ouranos would serve no purpose, Vahn politely inclined his head in response before saying, "Thank you for the exnation..." This caused Ouranos sky-blue eyes to glimmer as, once again breaking from the character he upheld before others, he leaned forward on his throne and asked, "Now, I believe there is a greater purpose behind your visit today. Tell me, Vahn, is there something you require of this old man...?" Instead of talking down to Vahn, as was how he conversed with almost everyone else, Ouranos had temporarily dismissed with such formalities. Vahn found this somewhat disconcerting but, determined to fulfill the purpose of his visit, he gave a firm nod before exining, "Now that I have reached this point, I havee to you seeking a vow...in exchange for one of my own, I would ask that you swear an Eternal Vow with me." Ouranos smile faded away upon hearing Vahns words, followed by him sitting straight upon his throne as he asked, "What are the terms of this vow?" He didnt outright refuse, not that Vahn had expected him to, but it was still a good sign. Thus, with greater confidence, Vahn stated, "The vow I intend to make is one that aligns with how you have presented yourself throughout recorded History. In exchange for your Eternal Vow, promising never to directly interfere with my personal affairs, I will swear to watch over this world, forever attempting to guide its inhabitants towards a future where they are guaranteed the greatest chance at reaching their infinite potential. I will endeavor to break the boundaries that separate mortals and gods, opening the path towards a limitless future for all existences within the five realms..." Though Ouranos expression hadnt changed at all throughout much of Vahns speech, his eyes turned sharp when thetter mentioned five realms, not three. Immediately following Vahns proposition, Ouranos asked in a voice that caused the void to fracture, "How much do you know...?" However, instead of waiting for an answer, Ouranos shook his head, adding, "I suppose it doesnt matter. Your existence has always been anomalous but, after watching over your time within Orario, I choose to believe you bear no malice towards this worlds inhabitants. Very well, Vahn Mason, I will agree to your proposed terms, though not without a few addendums. Not only will you swear to serve as a guiding light for future mortals, but I will also have your promise that, no matter how much time passes, you will never betray the Mortal World in exchange for benefits promised to you from the outside..." As he had no idea what the outside was, Vahn gave a nod of affirmation before making his vow without any hesitation. In exchange, Ouranos swore an Eternal Vow of his own, verified by the Laws of the world as they formed thick chains that coiled around both Vahn and Ouranos respectively. With this finished, Vahn turned his attention to the system interface within his mind, watching as his Quest confirmed he had the requisite amount of Eternal Vows. Now, with the exception ofpleting two more [Origin of Heroes], Vahn had met all the requirements for his Optional Quest, [I Shall Return]. Fortunately, though it had originally required him toplete nine [Origin of Heroes], Vahns desire to leave the Record as quickly as possible had caused the Quest requirements to change slightly, reducing the requirement to seven. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- //Optional Quest Complete// [Quest: I Shall Return] Rank: SSS Objective: Complete [Quest: Origin of Heroes](7/9)->(7/7). Establish Eternal Bonds with gods that possess Divinities rted to Time, Space, Bonds, (and) Fate (4/4). Current: Kali, Ouranos, Hestia, Amaterasu Rewards: Reduction of requirements for [Quest: I Shall Seal The Heavens]. 10x->5x Reduction in necessary Origin Points. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Even with the reward being reduced considerably, Vahn was currently sitting on a monstrous 21,811,919,053OP after cannibalizing most of the resources he had gained within the Dungeon. Though this still put him a hefty number of OP from his goal, Vahn, knowing that the items would be lost upon his exit, unhesitantly sold the majority of his Inventory before unceremoniously selling the [Grimoire of Creation]. Its value within the system shop was listed as 50,000,000,000 OP and, even though Vahn could only get a tenth of the total in exchange, it still put him a bit closer to his goal. Now, he just needed to spend a few days within the 91st through 94th Floors, averaging around 300,000,000OP per day with monsters giving him upwards of 3-5k each. Though killing more than sixty thousand monsters a day might seem like a lot, there were monster parties that spawned well over a thousand of the mineral-based golems that now posed absolutely no threat to him... While quickly calcting how many Golems he would have to harvest in order to meet his Quest requirements, Vahn turned his attention to his primary objective, his Main Quest. The final requirement, ignoring optional objectives, was to unify the Continent of Eden. With one of the base rewards providing 10,000,000,000OP, Vahn could significantly reduce the time he would need to harvest Golems within the Dungeon. The best part was, even without him doing anything, the Quest was on the verge ofpleting itself as, after Chloes Shadow Corps took action, most of the opposition within the Land of No Sun had ceased to exist. All that remained was discussing trade agreements and the terms of their future treaty, matters being handled by his Ministers and the Divine Council... Seeing Vahn adopt a distant and calcting gaze, Ouranos furrowed his brows slightly before clearing his throat with a thunderous rumble. This snapped Vahn back to his senses, causing him to produce a wry smile as he apologetically stated, "Sorry, Ive had a lot on my tetely. Ill be excusing myself, as there are matters that require my attention. I look forward to working together with the Guild far into the future..." Defaulting to a polite form of speech, Vahn politely inclined his head without bowing before quickly alighting from Ouranos throne room. Thetter followed his movements in silence, waiting until Vahn had stepped on the elevator before saying, "Though I will not force your hand, it may be best that you find a suitable heir to serve as Emperor in your stead. Now that you have be a god, many will lose the faith they had previously ced in you, crediting your aplishments to your newfound Divinity instead of your sincere desire to create a better future. You should consider serving as a member of your own Divine Council, or perhaps take up the mantle of Headmaster within that Academy you intend to build..." Hearing Ouranos advice, Vahn stopped to reflect for a short while before giving a slight nod as he said, "I will consider your advice. For the time being, however, it is best that I stay the course and keep my Divinity a secret. I trust that you will not alert the greater godlymunity to my ascension...?" Though it ultimately wouldnt matter if others knew he was a god, Vahn would rather avoid any unexpected situations while he was preparing to depart the Record. Fortunately, Ouranos gave a curt nod in response before affirming, "Worry not, as, per our agreement, I have no intention of interfering with your affairs. I will not speak of the matter until you havee forth of your own ord to speak of it. However, know that I cannot help but discourage treating your Divinity as something you can simply keep hidden away. You are a God, Vahn Mason, wear your identity with pride...you have earned that right..." With another polite nod, Vahn pressed the button to the elevator without replying to Ouranos counsel. Though he understood the significance within the elderly gods words, Vahn knew that their true value would be lost once he left the Record. By the time he returned, the very nature of the world would have changed and, regardless of what secrets remained, nothing would be beyond his perception. It was an egotistical thought, something Vahn knew he should avoid, but it was also an irrefutable truth. Once he was freed from having to worry about the safety of his loved ones, Vahn felt as if there would be nothing in the way of his progress. Even if he ended up making mistakes that he would ultimately regret, Vahn would have the knowledge that his family was waiting for his return to serve as his guiding light. Once the elevator reached the surface, Vahn turned to the patiently waiting Fenrir before extending his hand and stroking her ears. She had been very obedient during the meeting with Ouranos so Vahn felt a reward was in order as he said, "Lets take a short break before entering into the Dungeon. It has been a long time since the two of us hunted together and I believe you will enjoy how crunchy the monsters on the 91st Floor can be..." Though she had already been enjoying her Masters caress, Fenrirs ears shot up when she heard what he had in mind. She still needed to spend a bit more time to devour the energy contained within Tiamats blessing, but that wasnt nearly as important as being able to spend time hunting with her Master. With an eager and expectant smile on her face, Fenrir tightly clenched her hands together, nodding her head fervently as she said, "Yes, that sounds amazing~!" She was even moving her h.i.p.s slightly, forcefully wagging her tail to emphasize how enthused she was at the idea. Vahn issued a light chuckle upon witnessing this before extending his hand and entwining his fingers with hers. Like this, the two left the Guilds Main Branch before flying towards the outskirts of Orario. Once they were a safe distance, Vahn transformed into his Qinglong form before teleporting them to Yggys Sanctuary atop the Mother Mountain. Upon arriving, though it was a bit odd considering he had just eaten with her in the Dungeon, Vahn and Fenrir enjoyed lunch alongside the adorable High Spirit before finally heading into the Dungeon. In this manner, Vahn would be able to half the amount of time it took to .u.mte OP as, with his main body and avatar both harvesting Golems, it was theoretically possible to earn upwards of 500,000,000OP per day... --- While Vahn was focused onpleting his preparations, the atmosphere around the Hearth Manor had be somewhat dour as, even though Loki hade up with an excuse for Vahns absence, many of the girls hadnt bought it. Though they didnt know exactly what was going on, it was easy to see from how Hestia was behaving that something had happened with Vahn. As a result, most of the girls had elected not to spend time within the Sub-Space orb, including the rarely seen Risna. Since she practically lived within the Sub-Space orb, she had been heavily impacted by Vahns long absence. After all, though it had been less than two weeks, this equated to several months from her perspective... With a tired expression on her face, Risna was spending some rare quality time with Eina and their mother, Aina, though none of them had their characteristic smiles. The only thing that kept Risna from outrightining about the situation was the presence of Eiko who, like the rest of the children, had felt the absence of their Papa more than anyone else. Even Ina, who spent the majority of her time cooped up in her workshop, now passed the days conversing with her sisters as they all discussed when their Papa would return. She didnt even have the energy to tinker with anything in thest two days, even after Hephaestus had tried to teach her a new technique she had been desperately wanting to learn. Seeing her sister in a borderline catatonic state, Vana released a frustrated sigh as she poked Inas cheek and said, "Papa wouldnt want to see you like this, you e on..." Since it was very rare for Ina not to have a smile on her face, Vana was beginning to feel increasingly ufortable keeping herpany. She had been able to deal with her own stress by training within the forest so it made her feel agitated to just sit around and brood with everyone else. Ina, however, didnt seem to care as she put her head down on the table before crossing her arms and muttering, "Papa..." in a voice that was tinged with sadness. Though she was able to see him at any time using her Innate, Ina would only get more depressed since she knew it would be several days before he finally returned to the Manor. This wasnt the worst part, however, as there were some tangents of the future where she simply couldnt see him at all, something that had caused her to stop using her abilitypletely. She had kept this from everyone else thus far but, as the days in continued to pass, Inas fear and apprehension continued to grow. Now, any time someone mentioned her Papa, she would be on the verge of tears as she tried desperately not to think about the worst possibilities. With her twin on the verge of tears, Vana felt extremely anxious within her heart as a strong desire to simply run out of the Manor to find her Papa burst forth from the back of her mind. Though reason told her not to do anything extreme, Vana felt that she could force her Papa to appear if she exposed herself to danger. Unfortunately, the one time she had tried to sneak out, Terra had immediately appeared before escorting her directly to Hephaestus. Before then, Vana had never seen her Mother get truly angry and, having experienced it once, she was determined not to go through it a second time. The worst part hadnt been the shouting, even though it was scary, but the pain and regret that she had been able to see within her mothers eyes. After that, the two hugged each other for a long time in order to make up so, even though Vana felt the urge to find her Papa, she buried it within her heart before cing her head on the table alongside Ina... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Secrets within secrets,RIP [Grimoire of Creation],Vahn needs to hurry up and return...) *****(Link to Servant Poll: (poll.ly/#/G5KQjj8P) Some have already been ted to appear but I have a bit of leeway regarding any other that might show up. Feel free to add new options but, regardless of how many votes something gets, I may not pick it. The best example would be someone like Merlin as, even though they are an awesome character, their presence within the plot I have in mind makes it impossible to overlook their existence. This isnt set in stone, however, so feel free to vote for whatever you want and Ill do my best to make as many people happy as possible~!)***** bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1015 - Departure : Impact

Chapter 1015 - Departure : Impact

Try as he might, Vahn hadnt been able topletely harden his heart as, the closer his departure came, the less willing he was to actually leave the Record behind. Though he had been able to avoid giving in to his desire to see his children onest time, Vahn now sat atop the Tower of Babel, three hundred kilometers above the expansive City below as he passed his intent over the Manors interior. Even without observing it directly, Vahn could feel the sadness that had permeated through the ce that, in the past, represented endless warmth andfort for him. Part of him wanted to reach out and embrace his children,forting them as best he could, but arger part of him warned that he might not be able to follow through with his decision if he began to hesitate. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Vahn absentmindedly muttered, "The pain and loneliness I experience during my time in other worlds will be my punishment for the sadness I have caused you all...though time will cease to pass in my wake, I pray that my unborn children will not resent me for my hasty actions...I swear, when I return to this world, I will never allow anything to threaten our happiness again..." Unlike the vows he knew would cease to influence him upon exiting the Record, this promise was one he had engraved into his very soul. It was the meaning he had given himself and, no matter how much time passed between now and his return, Vahn swore he would make good on his words one day. Though not exactly in response to her Masters words, Fenrir hugged him from behind as she nuzzled her nose into the nape of his neck before muttering, "I will not let Master be lonely, no matter how much pain I have to bear..." Knowing full well that she would lose her [Cinder*E] upon leaving the Record, Fenrir had been making the best use of her time whenever she wasnt focused on devouring Tiamats energy and hunting monsters. As a result, though they were atop the Tower of Babel, overlooking the City below, Fenrir was currently bereft of clothing as she pressed herself into his back and licked the side of her Masters neck. As tempted as he was to go for another round, Vahns mood had diminished greatly after peering into the Manors interior. He grabbed Fenrirs hand, linking his fingers with her soft paws as he apologetically stated, "It is time for us to go...I fear that the temptation to remain will overwhelm my resolve to depart if I stay any longer..." This was one of the few times Vahn had ever refused Fenrir, causing her to blink in confusion before finally nodding her head in understanding. Using her magic, Fenrir quickly wore a gothic-style dress before rising to her feet and saying, "Im ready...please dont make me wait too long, Master." Since she would need to enter into Stasis in order to apany him, Fenrir was a little worried about what she might experience during the time she was locked away. Though time shouldnt pass for her, the same principle was supposed to apply to anything ced within her Masters Inventory. Since she still had memories of her time within the magic core, Fenrir felt anxious knowing that it could take months, or even years, before she was able to stand at his side again... Knowing what she was worried about, Vahn tightly embraced Fenrirs delicate and light frame before kissing her deeply. Unlike before, where they had been unable to kiss as a result of her [Devour] skill, Fenrir had full control over when, and what, she was trying to consume. Over thest few days, they had both stress-tested this newfound functionality, confirming that it was now safe to kiss in a more intimate manner. This didnt stop Fenrir from licking Vahns lips as he attempted to separate from her, however, causing a smile to appear on his face as he rested his forehead against hers and said, "Once I am able to get my bearings, I will summon you at the earliest possible moment...I promise not to keep you waiting for too long." Though she didnt doubt his words, Fenrir spent a few more minutes after that enjoying her Masters warmth and aroma before finally separating from him, eximing, "Okay, Im ready...!" With this, Vahn extended his hand, activating the storage function of his Unit Management and cing Fenrir into stasis. This halved her total Loyalty but, considering she still had more than forty billion, Vahn wasnt particrly worried that she would be affected. Even with half the total amount, Fenrir dwarfed thepetition as even Anubis only had around 347m Loyalty towards him. Since Vahn knew Anubis would likely even sacrifice her Divinity for his sake, Fenrirs Loyalty was something he would never call into question... With Fenrir safely stowed away within The Path, Vahns focus shifted to events that were urring nearly three-thousand kilometers to the North. Currently, his avatar was seated at the center of a gathering where neen unique individuals, each representing the heads of various ns, were signing the treaty they had drafted. It was the nearpletion of this process that had led to Vahns momentary mncholy as, once the paperwork was finalized, he fully expected his Main Quest to bepleted. Coincidentally, as the new Twilight Countess, a title that had been bestowed to her by Vahn, the final member signing the doc.u.ment was none other than the Dark-Elf ve he had rescued several years prior, Shiva. She still had a mature and cold disposition but, unlike how she presented herself in the past, there was now a regal aura surrounding the dark-skinned beauty as she bowed her head low and pledged, "Henceforth, The Land of No Sun will share the same fate as the Empire..." Nodding his head, Vahn gestured with his right, his voice echoing through the chamber as he said, "Rise..." From the perspective of the various n leaders, there was a solemnity within Vahns words that caused most of them to hold their breaths as the void around them trembled ever so slightly. Though he was doing his best to remain calm, Vahn couldntpletely bury his emotions as his time within the Record was swiftly dwindling down. Fortunately, Shiva was unaffected by the pressure he was emanating as she easily rose to her feet, a fervent and loyal glint within her deep burgundy eyes. The madness that had been present within them had now turned into sheer adtion as she smiled towards her Master and swore, "I will never forgive the favor you have granted me...Master." With thest word spoken in a tone that only Vahn could hear, Shiva gave a final polite bow before exiting the chamber at Vahns behest. Though it wasnt wrong to consider their rtionship as Master and vassal, it was obvious that the Dark Elf was cing emphasis on their past rtionship, even though Vahn had freed her. Knowing this, Vahn followed her departure with his eyes but, instead of ruminating on the past, he immediately shifted his focus towards the future as a system notification sounded within his mind. Vahn didnt have much of a reaction upon seeing this, other than feeling a strange regret about having failed toplete all of the Optional Objectives... -------------------------------------------------------------- //Main Quest Completed// [Quest: The Path of an Emperor Begins With The First Step] Rank: Zenith Completion Grade: (-) Objectives: Unify the Continent of Eden(9/9), Conquer the Living Dungeon, Tartarus(1/1), Form a Divine Council with a God of every Major Divinity(31/30) Optional Objectives: [Curiosity] Form a Harem with at least one member of every race:(37/59), [Inspiration] Acquire 10,000 Followers, Subordinates, or Retainers(93,005/10,000), [Might] Ovee the restriction of Level 10: (10/10), [Virility] Sire 100 Children (24/100) Rewards: 10,000,000,000OP, Quest Creation System Function Unlocked, 1x[Innate Awakening Pill], 1x[Page of the Akashic Tome] Bonus Rewards: [Inspiration], [Might], 83,005,000OP [Innate Awakening Pill] Rank: Unique Use: Allows the user to promote an Innate one full grade at the cost of sealing that Innate for one year. In the event that the user has no active Innates, forcefully awakens a sealed Innate in exchange for sealing all sources of energy for ten years. [Page of the Akashic Tome] Rank: Unique Use: Allows the user to rewrite the fate of any named entity recorded within the Akashic Tome. **Warning: Use extreme caution as this item affects the causality of all Records essible to Host entity: Vahn Mason** [Inspiration] Rank: Unique Use: A Grimoire that bestows the user with the intrinsic ability to inspire their allies, greatly bolstering morale and temporarily increasing their base capabilities. At higher levels of Mastery, it is even possible to inspire targets to push beyond their limits, allowing a Miracle to ur. [Might] Rank: Unique Use: A Grimoire that allows the user to increase their raw physical power by a factor of ten without any extraneous consumption of energy. Be warned, however, as the strain this skill ces on the body has the potential of irreparably damaging weaker users. //Quest Function Unlocked// Allows the Host to browse through a list ofpatible quests directly tied to the fate of a Record. Quests depicted are limited by the Users understanding of the Record and their rapport with entities tied to the Records fate. -------------------------------------------------------------- Though the descriptions of his rewards had caused Vahns mood to improve a bit, it was only a temporary increase as the realization that he was about to leave the Record hit him like a truck. He suddenly felt an extreme amount of regret regarding how he had spent thest few weeks in the record but, having already made his resolve, Vahn allowed the emotions to wash over him as he opened the system shop and located the [Dimensional Anchor: Stasis]. Using fifty of his fifty-three billion OP, Vahn purchased the coveted item, causing another system notification to sound within his mind, this one far moreprehensive than his previous one... -------------------------------------------------------------- //Quest Completed// [Quest: I Shall Seal The Heavens] Rank: SSS Completion Grade: SSS Objective: Obtain 50,000,000,000 OP and purchase a [Dimensional Anchor: Stasis] from the system shop. pleted) Rewards: All system functions upgraded, 3x[Spirit Vessels], 1x[Enlightenment Stone] Grade Rewards: 500,000,000OP [Spirit Vessel] Rank: Unique Use: Serves as a catalyst that allows a soul to be bound to a temporary body. This faux body is capable of emting the capabilities of the original but is incapable of growing any stronger. [Enlightment Stone] Rank: Unique Use: Allows the user to enter a state of Enlightenment, granting insights into any singrpatible Law. //System Shop Upgraded to allow the purchase of Unique items obtained by Host.// //Records Function Upgraded to allow Host to trace the Origin of items obtained through The Path.// //Unit Management Function Upgraded to allow Host to share senses with Subordinates, Followers, and Retainers// //Gacha Function Upgraded to allow for one free Premium Gacha pull every 24H. The drop rate of Premium Gacha Tickets increased when defeating Unique enemies.// //Upgrade Function Upgraded to allow Host to temporarily infuse the power of equipment directly into another target. Duration dependent on the number of times the equipment has been sessfully upgraded.// //Minimap Function Upgraded to allow the user to inspect and track any target within territory designated as their own.// //Quest Function Upgraded to allow the user to assign Quests to Subordinates, Followers, and Retainers. Quest Rewards dependent on the capabilities of the target and the difficulty of the assigned Quest.// //Inventory Function Upgraded to allow for the storage of 16,384 unique items. Inventory slot size increased from 1,000m3 to 10,000m3.// -------------------------------------------------------------- Having each of his system functions upgraded caused Vahns depressive state to recede even further, reced by renewed confidence about what the future might hold. Reading what his system functions were capable of provided Vahn some smallfort in regards to how much time it would take him to return. This was especially true for the Quest Function as, previously, Vahn feared that hisck of knowledge regarding Records would be his weakness. Now, even without having studied the source material, Vahn at least had an idea about what course of action to take when appearing within the foreignnd for the first time. He could always just read through the list of avable Quests before deciding where to go from there while, after finding his footing, he could even assign hispanions toplete tasks for him... Now, feeling less lost than before, Vahn took in a deep breath as he severed his connection with his avatar and opened up the Records function of The Path. He had only ever used it once before but could still recall the times he would often read through the list of myriad Records during his idle time back in the Western Forest. That now felt like a lifetime ago and, though the memories were as vivid as the day he had obtained them, Vahn viewed them as if he were an outsider now. He noticed that he had been able to perceive many things around his body, allowing him to y through the memories in the third person as, much like the phenomenon people would experience at deaths door, Vahn watched silently as his entire time within the Record shed across his eyes... Seeing the many experiences he had obtained, Vahn allowed a small smile to spread across his lips as, though there were undoubtedly sad and trying times, much of his time within the Record was filled with happy memories. There were certainly a few things he would have liked to do differently but, knowing the folly of such ideas, Vahn allowed his regrets to fade away with the stream of memories as he turned his eyes skyward and muttered, "Eject..." in a somber tone of voice. Then, in an instant that couldnt be recorded by the passage of time, Vahns body had vanished from the Record in its entirety. Following this, all of the items that had been purchased through the use of his system shop began to destabilize but, long before they finished breaking apart, the entire Record slowed before, momentster,ing to aplete stop... --- Feeling himself passing through various viscous membranes, Vahn did his best to remain calm as an overwhelming sense of loss threatened to im his mind. He reminded himself that everyone he had parted with wouldnt even mark his disappearance and, though this was a somewhat saddening thought, Vahn foundfort in knowing he wouldnt be missed. Now, regardless of the passage of time, he had a literal eternity to be strong enough to link the Records and reunite with his family. When they were next together, Vahn swore that even the machinations of Fate wouldnt be able to separate them again. Even if he had to create severe restrictions on the Records that would fall under his influence, Vahn didnt mind if he had to spend the rest of his days bound to the body of a sealed avatar if it meant he could stay with his family... With such thoughts on his mind, Vahn found himself collide with something impossibly hard, even though he felt no pain in the collision. Upon taking in his surroundings, he noticed he had returned to the stone dais that had been present before he ventured forth into the Record of Danmachi. This was, as exined by Sis, his own personal Dimension that served as the resting ce of his actual Soul. It was through the stone dais that he was able to traverse the myriad Records and, once he was strong enough, it would be this same stone dais that allowed him to link the Records, even if the means of doing so currently escaped him. Releasing an emotional sigh, Vahn sat down with his legs crossed before pulling up the Records function once again. It was impossible to move from one Record directly to another, as there was simply nothing connecting them, so he was required to eject himself from the Record before moving to another one. This process resulted in the destruction of his physical body within records he no longer habitated, forcing his awareness back to his own personal Dimension as a result. Now, using the Trace function he had just unlocked, Vahn designated [Enkidu] as his target before widening his eyes as a massive map appeared before him. It looked like a series of points that were connected by small strings, leaving Vahn confused as to what they represented as the name Nasuverse: 2-5 reflected in his vision... Without having any other information to go on, Vahn mustered up his resolve as, instead of dawdling atop the stone dais that was surrounded by literal nothingness, he was determined to face the next Record immediately. He told himself that, the sooner he started his journey, the quicker it woulde to an end. Though his growth would depend heavily on his ability toprehend various concepts that currently escaped him, Vahn knew there were no limits to his growth. Regardless of the challenges, he would face, nothing would be able to forestall his return to the ce that had be his home...the ce where his family was waiting... --- Much like the first time he had entered into the Record of Danmachi, Vahn felt his body traverse through several indescribable membranes, each imprinting a bit of themselves upon the vessel that would serve as his new body. He knew these membranes were the restrictions of the Records Laws and, though he would invariably be able to bend them a bit, Vahn was subjected to their influence just like every other entity within the Record. At the same time, however, Vahn felt as if his presence sent something akin to an echo through the surrounding nothingness before a fierce tugging force originated from the ce where his stomach would generally be located. This was an unbelievably powerful force that Vahn could offer no resistance against as he felt his consciousness rapidly descend towards a destination outside of anything he could have imagined... With momentum beyond Vahns ability to fathom, his body descended towards what looked like a nebulous blob before he was unceremoniously brought to a stop just before mming into a strange ck tform. Carved into the surface, Vahn could see aplex arrangement of runes that were constantly changing shape and form, each tethered to angr lines that were interconnected to form argerwork. These lines seemed to extend outwards without end but, more important than the notion of where they led, Vahns attention was drawn to what appeared to be their origin. There, at the very center of the ck ne, the nebulous blob he had witnessed previously, albeit much smaller, was floating within the void. It seemed to contain an incalcble number of points that caused Vahns mind to feel a strange sense of copse when looking at it directly... Fighting against the desire to fade into unconsciousness, Vahn struggled to right himself before, seemingly appearing out of thin air, a strange-looking boy obscured his vision. He had pale white hair without any semnce of color while two red eyes were set within his expressionless face. Unlike the vast majority of humans Vahn hade across, the boy had solid ck sclera and, while he was bereft of a single piece of clothing, his flesh seemed almost metallic in structure, even as an unfathomable amount of vitality radiated off of him. With his flesh being an amalgamation of ck and white, looking decidedly alien in structure, Vahn knew that the entity before him wasnt a normal existence as, much like when he first met with Ouranos, he could only feel the aura radiating off the boy while his presence was something beyond Vahns perception... Observing the entity tilt its head to the side, Vahn noticed it didnt actually appear to have a gender, appearing more like a doll than anything else. He wasnt afforded any time to consider the peculiarity of the entity, however, as thetter stated in what could only be described as a purely synthetic voice, "State your designation and purpose. Failure toply will result in immediate termination." Then, without affording Vahn an actual chance to answer, the entity extended its hand forward, eyes shing with thousands of runes as it added, "Anamoly detected. Initiating operation: Expulsion From Eden. Requesting permission from Termina Nasu to remove Anomalous Factor: AF-002 from Root Designation: Akasha..." Before Vahn was even aware of his inability to form words, he watched in abject terror as his limbs began to break down into particles of ck dust, much like how a monster would vanish from the Dungeon. A sense of powerlessness far greater than what he had experienced when confronting Tiamat welled up inside him but, just as he felt as if something was about to break within his mind, another synthetic voice echoed through the void, stating, "Request Denied. Termina Nasu has given AF-002 the designation: Type Omega. Submit to Root Designation: Akasha/Central_Axis_Terminal for processing." With the second voiceing to a stop, so too did the destruction of Vahns body which, as if the previous phenomenon had been an illusion, had returned to normal. He was once again denied the opportunity to make sense of what had happened, however, as the entity in front of him waved its hand slightly, resulting in Vahns surroundings changingpletely. Instead of the vast ck ne he had found himself on previously, Vahn was now seated in a surprisinglyfortable chair across from three more distinctly inhuman entities. Like the one he had met previously, they didnt seem to have an actual gender but, just as the previous entity appeared to be male at a nce, Vahn felt that the one seated directly across from him was a female while the other two were almost identical to the one that had nearly deleted him. The only thing differentiating them was the fact that each of the male entities had different hairstyles while the female across from him had a dress that seemed to be part of her actual body. She also had hair that looked distinctly synthetic, shaped into a perfectly symmetrical bowl cut, even though the left half of her hair was blonde while the other side was pitch ck. Vahn couldnt even see light refracting off of the strands, almost as if he were looking into a void of nothingness that threatened to pull him without mercy... With an eerie smile on her almost featureless face, the woman spoke with a surprisingly soft voice as she said, "Greetings, Type Omega. My designation is Akasha, System Administrator of Root Designation: Akasha. Tell me, how have you found your way here? In 36,828,489,212,002,085,419 cycles, you are only the second anomaly to appear from beyond Termina Nasus scope. What is your purpose here? Depending on your answer, I may have to deny you passage through the Root before sending you to Termina Nasu itself for analysis." As these words left her lips without any emotion whatsoever, Vahn felt as if his heart had been tightly gripped in Akashas hand as he instinctually answered, "I havee seeking strength...so that I may return to my family and protect them..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrirs Resolve,Oh hey, its Shiva o_o...,Those are some hefty rewards...,It would seem that entering a multiverse isnt as easy as invading a lower-tiered Record xD...) (A/N: This is the final chapter of Volume 18 and the official end of Vahns journey through Danmachi. Though he will one day return, the next thousand or so chapters will detail his journey through 3-5 different Records, each with a subtly different writing style. Remember, Im writing this story for practice so there are a few things Id like to try out now that I have more freedom in the plots direction. There may be times when the story bes very dark, especially since he is in the Nasuverse, so please bear with me as I promise things will get better~! Also, make sure to vote for any Servants you would like to see appear as time is quickly running out before the poll will be closed! (poll.ly/#/G5KQjj8P)) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1016 - Analysis

Chapter 1016 - Analysis

With the exception of anything rted to The Path, Vahn recounted much of his experiences within the Record of Danmachi. Though it might have been possible to conceal the truth, his instincts told him that the entity known as Akasha wasnt someone he could fool with simple words. From the moment he found himself sitting in the chair, it felt as if even the individual particles of energy making up his body were seen through by her. He suspected that the only thing beyond her notice was the nature of his Soul itself which, thanks to the concealment of The Path, was effectively kept hidden from all prying eyes. Even if she had the means to analyze his ego with an Innate, Vahn suspected she would only be able to glean the most minuscule amount of information unless he willingly allowed her to snoop around... Once Vahn had finished his exnation, Akashas face remained a perfect mask, just as it had during the three-hour-long recounting. Vahn hadnt even seen her, nor the two at her side, perform so much as a single blink, much less any other biological process that would have made them appear to be genuinely alive. He even questioned why they had things like eyelids in the first ce as Akashas eyes never wavered from his face even a single millimeter, almost as if they had locked onto him. When he had finished speaking, however, she instantly followed up, saying, "You have been granted provisional ess to E-Ranked information. My analysis has determined that your story has a 93.20081% chance of pertaining to the truth. As the information you have provided will prove beneficial in our ongoing projects, Termina Nasu has provided you the minimum rank necessary to gain ess to Root Designation: Akasha." At the end of her statement, Akasha moved her hand in a precise and mechanical manner before a blue projection dominated Vahns vision. Without affording him the chance to ask any questions of his own, she exined, "My primary directive is to observe the cycle of Souls within the Akashic System in order to assess a viable means of recreating Proto Root: Project Eden. Though my ssification allows me administrative rights over Root Designation: Akasha, I am unable to directly intervene with ongoing experiments. In exchange for allowing you to pass through the Root, I have been granted the right to assign you temporary moderation rights to remove the variables that have prevented the current experiment from ending. Will you acknowledge the task that has been assigned to you?" Though he was tempted to outright refuse Akashas offer, as the thought of acting in the interest of a force he had no understanding of didnt sit well with him, Vahn had keyed in on the fact that she imed to be unable to interfere with the world on the other side of the Root. Prior to hearing her offer, he had been thinking of leaving the Record and trying his luck with a different version of the Nasuverse but, now that she was asking his opinion, Vahn couldnt help but ask, "What do I stand to gain from epting this task? I am obviously not from this world so I cant help but wonder why the entity you refer to as Termina Nasu would entrust me to interfere with an ongoing experiment?" For the first time since he had been forcefully teleported into the room, Vahn saw Akashas expression change slightly as an incalcble number of runes streamed across her eyes like lines of information. They were moving so fast he was unable to discern any of their meanings as, with the disparity between his strength and the three seated across from him, Vahn knew it wouldnt be wise to activate his [Eyes of Truth]. This was especially true when considering the fact that the two male entities nking Akasha had been watching him with a calcting gaze that caused Vahns instincts to scream of impending danger. He knew that, depending on the circ.u.mstances, it wouldnt take them much effort at all to remove him from the Record. Since they were, theoretically, weaker than the Mage of the Beginning, Vahn felt as if he had received a wake-up call in regards to what he should expect in the future... After a few seconds had passed, the lines of runes within Akashas eyes faded away, leading to her response of, "Entities that have been able to pass through the Root from within have been granted the privilege of presiding over their own experiments. Though you have arrived here from beyond Termina Nasus scope, you will be afforded the same opportunity while having your ssification upgraded to ess B-Rank information. As you havee to this world seeking strength, this should align with your own interests. Currently, your existence is limited to that of a Greater Divine Spirit. Once your task has beenpleted, your rank will allow you to strengthen your vessel to that of an Administrator, Lower-Grade." As if to make the offer even more enticing, Akasha gesticted towards the male entities at her sides as she exined, "These are my assistants, Designations: Alpha293 and Alpha294. Their vessels are ssified as Executors, Middle-Grade, a full three stages lower than the vessel you will be given ess to. Though you will be required to bath in the light of Termina Nasu to ensurepatibility, this should more thanpensate you for services rendered. Are you able toprehend these terms?" Though he was annoyed by Akashas final question, Vahn felt as if the offer they were making wasnt necessarily the worst. His decision would ultimately depend on what he experienced after passing through the so-called Root, but there didnt seem to be too many reasons to refuse their request. At the very least, he would have some direction about what course of action to take upon reaching the worldsprising Akashas experiment. Though the Quest Function would have given him a bit of guidance, it was helpful having an overarching directive of sorts to guide his actions. Thinking until this point, Vahn decided to agree to Termina Nasus request, so long as they didnt require him to do anything that ran counter to his morals... Seeing Vahn nod, Akasha brought her arms to the front before the full-body images of seven individuals formed atop her palms. Vahn was shocked upon witnessing this, not because any of the people within Akashas palms were particrly eye-catching, but because he could sense life within each of them. Any questions he had about them would have to wait untilter though, as Akasha immediately began exining, "The Root Designation: Akasha has been stuck in a loop after this man, Astario Vale Hoenheim managed to reach the Root during the 30,000,000,000,000,000,000th cycle. Unlike others, he chose not to pass through the Root and instead gleaned insights into the true nature of Akasha before returning to the experiment. Since then, the number of variable timelines has increased beyond the systems capacity to observe. Though I have devised countermeasures to cull any timeline that would lead to the experiments failure, it is estimated that the system will cease function before reaching the 39,000,000,000,000,000,000th cycle." Even if it might not be the best idea, Vahn raised his hand slightly after hearing Akasha mention the thirty-nine quintillionth cycle. This caused the two Alpha entities at her side to immediately stand up but they were prevented from taking action as Akasha held up her hand. Though it might have been misconstrued that they had stopped in response to the gesture, Vahn could see a subtle purple distortion around the two as both Space and Time seemed to freeze around them. Following this, Akasha asked, "Do you require rification regarding any of the disseminated information?" Feeling as if his nerves were exposed to the air, Vahn gave a nod in response to Akashas question before asking, "What exactly is a cycle? How long will I have after passing through the Root toplete my task?" As he currentlycked almost any information regarding the world beyond the Root, Vahn at least wanted to know if he needed to rush toplete his assignment. When Akasha inly stated, "One cycle ounts for a passage of time between seventeen and twenty-three billion years, enough time for each variable timeline to conclude in its entirety. As a result of Astario Vale Hoenheims interference, however, each cycle resets before the time designated by the system. This has allowed infinite iterations of variable timelines toe into existence, many running contrary to the purpose of the experiment." Hearing that he effectively had eight-hundred and fifty septillion years toplete his task, any apprehension Vahn had about epting Termina Nasus proposition flew out the window. He could barely even fathom such a number so, assuming he would experience the passage of time linearly, it seemed as if the task Akasha was giving him was something he couldplete at his leisure. Long before he was even required to take action, Vahn knew he would have reached a point where Akasha and the Termina Nasu would be unable to influence him. They had no means of restricting him to the Record so, after reaching afortable point as a Tier 5 entity, Vahn would be able to exit whenever he pleased. This didnt mean he wouldnt try to keep his promise, as he wasnt fond of reneging on his word, but Vahn wouldnt act blindly on behalf of an existence he couldnt evenprehend. Without interrupting her a second time, Vahn listened as Akasha went on to exin, "The location of Astario Vale Hoenheim can no longer be detected by the system in its current state. By allowing you to pass through the Root, there is a 67.31184% chance that a soft reset of the current temporal axis will ur. This will allow me to identify the location of Astario Vale Hoenheim before sending you the requisite date to locate him within the experiments boundaries. Upon being discovered, I expect the second target, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg to interfere. Like Astarior Vale Hoenheim, he is a Magus that was able to reach the Root, deciphering the Second Verse of Akasha and gaining ess to the Administrative Function: Operation of Parallel Worlds. Of your targets, he will prove the most troublesome as he is capable of existing in multiple axes of time simultaneously. You will have to lure him within an Imaginary Space that is separate from the primary axis of time." Though Vahn wanted to ask what an Imaginary Space was, Akasha had already moved on to the next target, this time showing the figures of three people simultaneously. The first was a young boy, seemingly no older than ten years old, while the other figures were both inordinately beautiful woman. Each of the three had snow-white hair, ruby-red eyes, and aplexion so fair it was almost indistinguishable from their hair. Curiously, even at a nce, Vahn felt the auraing from the three wasnt dissimr from the feeling he got from Akasha and the two Alphas. When she was talking about them, there was a modic.u.m of disgust visible within Akashas eyes as she exined, "Though less troublesome than your first two targets, you should prioritize returning these three to the Root before all else. They are the Great Sage, Kanada Vaisheshika, the Holy Maiden of Winter, Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern, and the Saintess of the End, Eruru Alexis Emiya. Their lineage had deciphered the Third Verse of Akasha, gaining ess to the Administrative Function: Heavens Feel. As the Magus responsible for deciphering the Verse, Kanada Vaisheshika was able to abandon his physical body before retreating to the reverse side of the world, bing an entity infinitely close to a Moderator. The other two, Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern and Eruru Alexis Emiya have inherited the magic within their timelines, perverting the Third Verse in a vain attempt to retrace their Ancestors steps. Upon passing through the Root, there is a 98.118% chance that your presence will be recognized by the Moon Cell as a participant in a cyclic ceremony known as the Holy Grail War." Vahn had been listening attentively to Akashas exnation thus far but, hearing he would have to participate in a war, he couldnt help but raise his brows in mild surprise. Seeing this, Akasha immediately exined, "The Holy Grail War is a ritual concocted by Kanada Vaisheshika to provide his descendants with the ability to retrace the path he used to reach the Root. Using the knowledge he gained from the Third Verse of Akasha, he was able to conceptualize a spiritual vessel capable of serving as an intermediary with the Moderation Terminal, Moon Cell. Because of the significance it represents, the Holy Grail War has be a central event within recent cycles, ounting for a total of 64% of all tangential timelines. Though I have taken steps to prevent the rituals sess, there is a .0000149% chance that a participant within the Holy Grail War will be able to reach the Root, greatly reducing the systems capacity to run future cycles. One of your secondary objectives will be to ensure that any Holy Grail Wars taking ce within a timeline you inhabit are unable to bepleted. Though it is not a high priority, you should always act in an effort to prevent any individual or organization from reaching the Root." Afterpleting her exnation of the Holy Grail War, even though it only created more questions within Vahns mind, Akasha brought the sixth figure to the forefront before exining, "This is your sixth target, the Dreamweaver, Kyrie Alternis. She is a Magus who was able to reach the Root, deciphering the Fourth Verse of Akasha and gaining ess to the Administrative Function: Origin Axis. Thus far, she has been unable to activate the Administrative Function as her mind has been unable to adapt to having direct ess to the Roots Archives, the Akashic Record. There is only a .000000000417% chance of her regaining her sense of self but it is best to return her to the Root as soon as possible. She is currently residing within the Reverse Side of the World, kept within the Moon God, Nannas, treasury. In your current state, you will struggle to deal with Nanna but I will provide support once you are able to ess the Reverse Side of the World and deal with Kanada Vaisheshika." Vahn had been staring at the figure within Akashas hands, noting that the woman named Kyrie Alternis actually had a simr appearance to Brynhildr. She even had a pair of wings but, unlike the steely ck possessed by a Valkyrie, Kyries were a pristine white that emanated a subtle golden glow. Her beauty had an ethereal quality to it and, after hearing Akasha mention the Akashic Record, Vahn couldnt help but feel a bit of intrigue towards the woman who had seemingly been slumbering for trillions of years. He had already made the connection between Akasha and his own Innate, [Keeper of the Akashic Tome], but chose not to pursue the matter as asking too many questions could jeopardize his chances of passing through the Root. Once he was on the other side, Vahn wouldnt have to worry too much about the peculiar existence of Akasha as there was a chance Kyrie would be able to provide the answer to literally everything... Finished with her exnation of Kyrie, Akasha brought the final figure forward, this time allowing her expression to morph into the closest thing to a genuine emotion that Vahn had seen from her. Unfortunately, with her peculiar appearance, the fact that Akashas expression was one of absolute disgust made it hard to appreciate the moment as he listened to her exin, "This is the Magus known as the Entropy, Aoko Aozaki. Though her Grandfather was the one to gain ess to the Root, deciphering the Fifth Verse of Akasha, she is the first to Master the magic within the original time axis. By borrowing the mana from variable timelines that have been cut off by the system, she is able to increase the total amount of mana within the original time axis. At the same time, her Magic, derived from the Administrative Function: Magic Blue, has the capacity of erasing futures that do not serve her interests. She had be the central figure within the main timeline and has partnered with Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg and Astario Vale Hoenheim to interfere with the experiments proceedings. She will be your final target as her ability to use Magic Blue will require you to deal with Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg if you are to have any chance at eliminating her." Seeing the hatred Akasha seemed to have towards what appeared to be a rtively normal girl from the Far East came as a shock to Vahn. Though he could understand her frustrations at having the experiment she was in charge of meddled with, this didnt exin why Akasha seemed to hold a grudge towards Aoko Aozaki. Deciding it was a question best left unasked, Vahn simply nodded his head in response to Akashas words before he watched the seven figures in her palms turn to dust. Since he felt the small figures had been alive, the corner of Vahns eyes twitched as he turned his attention to Akashas face, asking, "Is there anything else I need to be aware of?" As if her earlier expression had been an illusion, Akasha had already returned to what Vahn could now only describe as an eerie smile as she exined, "As a Moderator, you will not have to worry about being targeted by any of the systems automatic cleaning processes. So long as you do not interfere with their duties, they will proactively avoid taking action towards you in any of the timelines you cross through. You will be able to identify them by their designations as, under the influence of the systems maniption of causality, they have all been given simr ssifications, colloquially known as Types. They serve as a regting force to guarantee the experiments sess so it is imperative you avoid situations where your actions ovep with the execution of their directive." Hearing Akashas exnation, Vahn was able to glean a bit of insight into the meaning behind his ssification. He wondered what kind of entities the other Types were, especially since Akasha was going out of her way to advise him to stay out of their way. With the emotionless and utilitarian way in which Akasha behaved, Vahn felt that anything created by the Root in order to clean timelines wasnt something pleasant. If he interpreted the meaning of her words in a literal sense, the other Types were entities capable of wiping out entire realities, bringing an end to any timeline that didnt meet the experiments parameters. Depending on the methods they used, he wasnt so sure he would be able to just stand by, especially if any took action within a world that he resided. Even if he didnt intend to stay for long within the Record, Vahn harbored no delusions that he would be able to turn a blind eye to the suffering of others... With her exnationpleted, Akasha gestured with her hands, causing a hexagonal pattern to appear in the air in front of her. Her fingers began to tap the hexagons faster than Vahns eyes could perceive before, momentster, she tapped a small rune floating within the air before saying, "I have finished processing your information. With the analysis provided by Termina Nasu, this should provide an urate ounting of your current capabilities. Note that these parameters are taken from the averages recorded in all variable timelines. So long as you n ordingly, it should be possible for you to use this information when dealing with your targets. Do you have any final questions before I send your body through the Root?" Though Vahn had a plethora of questions he desired the answer to, he ultimately decided against relying on Akasha for the answers as it unnecessarily increased the chances of her deciding not to send him through the Root. As for the infographic she had provided him, Vahn wasnt surprised at all when a system notification sounded within his mind, altering theyout of his Status to reflect the parameters provided by Akashas analysis. Though it seemed somewhat arbitrarypared to the parameters of Danmachi, it was still useful to know how he matched up to others within the Record. It also helped that, along with information pertaining to his own Status, Akasha had provided seven ss-like cards that detailed the Status of each of his targets, even if many of their parameters outright showed question marks... Seeing that Vahn had no questions, Akashas eerie smile turned strangely gentle as she said, "You need not kill any of the targets directly. So long as you can forcibly pull them back to the Root and have them contact it, I will be able to extract them manually. Do not feel troubled as, even though they have caused me innumerable headaches, I do not intend to destroy their Souls. Like all entities that have crossed through the Root, they will be provided the opportunity to conduct experiments of their own under the guidance of Termina Nasu. I will not me them for their ignorance as one of the primary purposes of Root Designation: Akasha, was to encourage the development of unique individuals that would be able to aid in the creation of Proto Root: Project Eden. Your assistance will also prove useful in the future, so please do your best toplete the task assigned to you." With these words having barely reached his ears, Vahn awareness of his surroundings immediately faded away in a rather unceremonious fashion. He wanted to remark that, if she was even remotely sincere, she wouldnt just send him on his way immediately. It was obvious that Akasha wanted him to get started as soon as possible, likely the result of the vast difference in how they perceived the passage of time. Vahn felt as if he, quite literally, had an eternity toplete the task she had assigned him, even though Akashas actions implied that time was short. She didnt even exin to him how to traverse between variable timelines, perhaps misconstruing his ability to reach this ne of existence as the ability to freely travel between worlds... --- While Vahns body was being sent through the Root, Akashas eyes began to produce an incalcble number of runes. This was data pertaining to theposition of Vahns body as it was processed by the Root and adapted to the myriad worlds within. As she continued to interpret the data at a speed faster than the most powerful supeputers in existence, Akashas expression slowly morphed into one of abject shock as she intoned, "This is impossible. Termina Nasus analysis showed that Type Omega did not possess an Origin. Why is the Root treating him as if he is an entity with a Soul?" As these queries left her mouth, Akasha turned her attention to what Vahn had interpreted as a nebulous blob. This was, in actuality, an external view of the infinite number of variable timelines that existed as a part of Akashas experiment. Within this blob, seemingly norger than 10m across, there were an incalcble number of universes, each containing trillions of unique Souls and an unfathomable number ofs and stars... With her face now one of utter disbelief, the result of her inability toprehend what was happening, Akasha watched as the blob rapidly decreased in size until it was norger than a basketball. This was a phenomenon she had never even considered as, even with the records of Termina Nasu feeding her information, there was nothing even remotely simr to what she was currently bearing witness to. It was as if, upon injecting Type Omega into the Root, all variable timelines had ceased to exist. The only thing remaining were the primary timelines that had been created at the start of the experiment, ounting for a mere 68,719,475,726 universes in total. This caused her eyes to glimmer with excitement, as it meant Vahn would have a much easier timepleting his task. It wasnt until several other entities suddenly appeared, each more senior than herself, that Akasha finally returned to her senses... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Jiiiiiiiii-,Holy Mother of Info Dumps...,Thats a nice multi-verse you have there, would be a shame if someone were to destroy it by virtue of their very existence...) (A/N: For those wise guys who feel inclined to point out that Vahn should gain a functionally infinite amount of negative karma, as a result of effectively killing an infinite number of people, that isnt how Karma works. The intent of the person that is granted the karma matters a lot while, prior to entering the Root, it was actually impossible for Vahn to even .u.mte Karma. The scope of Termina Nasu doesnt actually upy real space, as it exists within an isted dimension governed by conceptual Laws, much like an advanced form of the Space-Time orbs. The cycle of reincarnation within the Nasuverse is handled by the Root, meaning that Vahn was outside the influence of both Karma and Fate during his discussion with Akasha. Also, dont forget to check myment and vote for any Servants you want to appear within the story...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1017 - Orientation

Chapter 1017 - Orientation

For what felt like several hours, Vahn continued to experience a sensation simr to free-falling except, instead of moving down, his orientation seemed to constantly shift. At times, he would feel a floaty feeling in his stomach, as if he was being lifted upward, while other moments caused him to feel as if he were flying sideways at a speed iprehensible to the mind. Throughout this entire process, the only thing within Vahns perception were bright blue lines that were simr in structure to those he had witnessed atop the infinite ck ne that likely represented Termina Nasu. With nothing better to do, Vahn was trying to make sense of their structure in order to decipher their rtionship with the Laws of Space and Time. Unfortunately, just as it felt like he was beginning to sense something, Vahn perception shifted once again, this time giving him the feeling as if he was literally free-falling due to the rapidly approaching below... Feeling his vision stretch, a phenomenon that urred when traveling near the speeds of light, Vahn suddenly felt an extreme nausea that caused him to retch forward by instinct. At the same time, he noticed that he was now standing on some kind of concrete while, dominating the surroundings, there were several simrly designed buildings built in close proximity to each other. It reminded Vahn a lot of the slums of Daedelus Street, even though the houses seemed far more high-quality than the decrepit structures that often housed ten times the number of people they should have... Just as he was about to look around to view his surroundings more clearly, Vahn heard an annoyingly loud sound st his ears, apanied by the screams of several girls from the surroundings. In that same instant, Vahn raised his head, no longer feeling nauseous, only to find his vision was dominated by what appeared to be a highly advanced wagon. He didnt have time to view it in greater detail, however, as the wagon unceremoniously smashed into him with a surprising amount of force. Vahn could feel the metal wrap around his body as an odorous smell of oil and gaseous fumes assaulted his senses. Though it didnt do any damage to him, Vahn felt annoyed that his first experience in a new world was being run over by a wagon so he kicked the offending transport backward before looking towards the coachman and yelling, "Watch where youre going next time...!" In response to his outburst, Vahns surroundings were dominated by silence for several seconds, at least until the driver seemed to return to their senses as they climbed out from their carriage and eximed, "W-what the f.u.c.k...are...are you okay!?" His words seemed to awaken the surroundings as, immediately following that, Vahn noticed several tens of people pull out small square tes before pointing them in his direction. He suddenly felt a mounting frustration at how rude their behavior was but, remembering he wasnt recognized as an Emperor in this world, Vahn remained calm as he looked toward the surprisingly fat Far Eastern man and said, "I will be fine. Now, tell me, why are you driving this...carriage...in such an enclosed area...?" From what Vahn could see, the path in which the carriage was trespassing was hardly wide enough for it to pass through without potentially damaging the surroundings. Though it seemed to rely on mechanical parts to function, giving it a higher degree of precision, the man before him didnt seem like the dexterous type that would be able to properly use such a machine. At a nce, he seemed even weaker than most of the children back in the Record of Danmachi, even though his build would indicate he was in his mid-tote forties. However, as even the younger people in the surroundings also had apletely negligible amount of mana flowing through their bodies, Vahn suspected he was in an area with a particrly low density of elemental energy. Seemingly having failed to process Vahns words, the man just kept gawking with a silly expression on his face as he muttered, "I...what...ah..." It was obvious he wasnt going to be much help, so Vahn just shook his head before turning his attention to his surroundings. Though he was used to being the center of attention, the behavior of the onlookers was distinctly different from how they ought to behave. Not only was it rude, but they seemingly ignored any potential dangers as they continued to shorten the distance, many holding up the rectangr tes in their hands, causing shes of light to ur before they would inspect whatever was on the surface. Vahn could hear what they were talking about, quickly alerting him to the fact that his ability to withstand being hit by a truck was abnormal... Deciding it was best to break away from the situation, Vahn ced his hand on the fumbling mans shoulder and said, "Dont worry about it. Sorry about your truck...drive safely from now on, okay?" Then, once the man slowly nodded in response, Vahn closed his eyes to focus before trying to use [Shundo] to move into a nearby alleyway. His domain had shrunken considerably, at leastpared to the maximum he had achieved upon reaching Tier 4, but it was still nearly 4km in diameter. Vahn found an empty area, which was a lot harder than he expected, before establishing a connection between his current location and his destination. A sudden pain wracked his body as, from the perspective on the onlookers, he simply vanished from sight. This left many to loudly exim, talking about the possibility of Vahn being some kind of alien, while the driver of the truck was left with an expression of utter confusion as he muttered, "My boss will never believe this..." in a sobbing voice. Upon reaching the alleyway, Vahn crashed to the ground rather hard, both of his legs feeling as if they had broken from the exertion. Fortunately, the bones had only fractured slightly so Vahn was quickly on his feet, even if his [Magia Erebea] was only functioning at a fraction of its full capabilities. Still, it was more pain than Vahn had expected to feel so he decided to sit within his back against the adjacent buildings side as he took a few breaths to get his bearings. It was at this point that Sis voice echoed within his mind, sounding decidedly annoyed as sheined, (*Vahn...did you lose your ability to think when you left the previous Record...?*) Vahn was startled by the tone in Sis voice, causing him to sheepishly ask, ("Did I make a mistake somewhere?") Since he had never expected to be intercepted by an Administrative force upon entering a new Record, Vahn suspected there was a very real chance he had erred somehow. He had just been in such a hurry to move on to the next Record that he had decided not to waste any time sitting atop the stone dais. Something about that area unnerved him, not because it was particrly scary, but due to the familiarity he felt within his personal Dimension. He felt like, if he lost focus, thousands of years would pass within that space without him even noticing it... In response to Vahns inquiry, Sis released an exasperated sigh before practically shouting, (*You didnt use your .u.mted Karma! After you selected a new Record, I barely had enough time to convert it into Origin Points for you before the transfer had begun. Vahn, I understand your desire to return as soon as possible but you cant simply stop thinking about the present moment. You wont get anywhere if your haste causes you to make such massive oversights...!*) As this was one of the few times Sis sounded heated, Vahn hung his head and seriously listened to everything she was saying. At the time, he hadnt even been thinking about how to use his Karma as, after living in Danmachi for what was literally hundreds of years, it had been virtually useless to him. It never even crossed his mind that the troublesome value that had caused him endless headaches would be useful once he was transferring between Records...even though he knew this was supposedly the case. Even without Vahn apologizing, Sis knew he was sorry so her voice quickly turned more gentle as she said, (*Dont let it bother you too much. I do not expect you to never make mistakes and it is partially my fault for not drawing your attention to it before you finalized your Record selection. Besides, there is nothing wrong with having a surplus of OP after entering into a new Record...*). Though the Karma to Origin Points conversion was terrible, making it a drop in the bucket for Vahns already expansive reserves, it was still better than nothing. Feeling better after Sis constion, Vahn raised his head and said, ("Thanks, Sis...") in a sincere tone of voice. Her response was an almost inaudible sigh before she gently stated, (*Of course, Vahn. Just make sure you are properly considering your actions from here onwards. You need to familiarize yourself with this new world as soon as possible. It is obvious that the people of this world live distinctly different lives from those within Danmachi. Even the make of their clothes is fundamentally different than the casual wear of civilians back in Orario. You should change clothing soon or youll continue to stand out like a sore thumb.*) Hearing Sis words, Vahn looked down and only just now noticed that he was wearing a strange bodysuit that clung to his skin and left little to the imagination. He obviously hadnt transferred into the Record wearing any clothes so Akasha must have done something when she sent him through the Root. Though he was thankful that he hadnt literally exposed himself in public, Vahn grimaced slightly since he recognized how strange his clothing waspared to what everyone else was wearing. Through his domain, he could see that most people wore surprisingly high-end clothing that wasprised of several different materials neatly sewn together with the precision only a god could manage. This was a bit surprising to Vahn as, even with thousands of people walking around nearby, he couldnt sense a single god amongst them... It was only now that Vahn truly realized he was in a new Record as even the mon sense he had obtained within Danmachi seemed functionally useless here. Just the fact that people walked around without any form of protection, be it weapons or armor, was enough to indicate that the ce he found himself in was very unique. If they were attacked, Vahn felt like thousands would die before anyone was even able to react as, regardless of where he looked, there was a distinctck of guards present within the City. Though there were some men dressed in blue uniforms posted at intervals, Vahn saw that they were only armed with batons and a strange device attached to their h.i.p.s. They werent even equipped with guns, the weapon he most associated with the setting he found himself in... Shaking his head, Vahn set the matter of this societys apparentcency aside as he focused on more important matters, primarily his current capabilities. He also needed to find shelter at some as, from what he could see, there were only small sections of forested areas within the City, none of which seemed adequate for making camp. Though there was plenty of open space, Vahn saw that people treated more like a pic area or a ce to rx than an area to make camp. The grounds were highly maintained while no visible areas had been ttened, indicating there hadnt been any tents set within the area in the past few weeks. Since most of the surrounding buildings were tightlypacted together, with an incredible volume of people moving about, Vahn suspected that this particr society ced a heavy emphasis on making sure everyone slept indoors. He would need to find an Inn before nightfall or risk drawing even more unnecessary attention to himself... After a quick change of clothes, electing to wear a ck undershirt, blue jeans, and a pair of robust boots, Vahn turned his attention to his Status, specifically what was reflected within the system. As detailed as the information provided by Akasha was, there was no way she would be able to see through all of his secrets under The Paths protection. Vahn imagined he might even be able to garner an emotional response from her if he were to detail each of his true capabilities. For now, however, even he didnt know the full extent of his power as even moving a few hundred meters with [Shundo] felt like it was going to rip his legs apart... ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 155 (Ageless) Race: Human, Progenitor(sealed), *sealed* Parameter: [Nasuverse: 1-5] Strength: 32C Endurance: Agility: 38C+ Magical Power: 44B+ Good Luck: 11E Circuit Quality: EX Soul Tier: 4 (Divine Soul) [Karma]: 100 [OP]: 3,141,903,713 Noble Phantasm: [Enkidu:SSS] Origin: [?] Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:B], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth:A], [Chainbreaker:SS->B], [Veil of the Traveler:S->SS], [Hands of Nirvana:SSS->S], [Type Omega:SSS](new), [Executor of Akashas Will:SS] Magic: [Magia Erebea:SS->A], [Administrative Function: Space Lock:SSS](new) Magecraft: [Shundo:E] [Enkidu] Rank: SSS (Anti-Divine Noble Phantasm) Passive: Greatly enhances the users physical and magical resistances. Active: Generate up to nine Chains of Heaven, allowing the user to bind a target, robbing them of their mobility and sealing all abilities. [Type Omega] Rank: SSS Passive: Any damage from B-Rank spells, and lower, ispletely nullified. Provide moderate resistance to all magical attacks. Active: Enables the user to temporarily override the directive of other Types. Restriction: Causes Anti-Divine magical spells to deal twice the amount of damage. [Executor of Akashas Will] Rank: SS Passive: Allows the user to draw power from the Root Designation: Akasha when encountering foes that havee into contact with the Root. Active: Enables the user to trace the Root of a target, gaining ess to any unique skills and abilities of the target for the duration of the skills use. Restriction: Skill is only active in worlds where a primary target has been identified. [Administrative Function: Space Lock] Rank: SSS Use: Allows the user to anchor a timeline to its Origin, preventing the use of any Magic rted to Time and Space. Restriction: This skill affects all entities within the timeline, including the user. Use with extreme caution. [Magia Erebea] Rank: A Passive: Greatly increases the passive regeneration of the user. User granted immortality equal to the level of a Greater Divine Spirit. Active: Able to absorb Magecraft equal to skills rank and below. Restriction: Resistances nullified in the presence of Light, Holy, and Divine Elemental Magecraft. Regeneration is nullified on sanctified ground. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Though he wasnt entirely sure what to make of his actual parameters, Vahn felt mncholic upon seeing the absence of many of his most familiar skills and abilities. Knowing he no longer had the eternal me, while also having lost the blessings of the goddesses he cared about, caused his heart to feel heavy. Fortunately, as a result of him developing the skills to an extreme on his own, Vahn still had ess to his [Hands or Nirvana] and [Magia Erebea]. He could also use his previously learned magics, even though they were far more taxing on his body than anything he had expected. Now that he had gotten a better feel for the surroundings, Vahn noticed that the mana density in the air was almost non-existent, meaning he had to rely almost entirely on his own weakened reserves to use magic. He had never realized how reliant he was on the extremely saturated air present within Danmachi when executing his mostmon skills and abilities... Fortunately, ording to the status cards Akasha had given him regarding his targets, Vahn understood that his Parameters werent actually that low. He had half expected to be as weak as a normal human once again but, considering he still had a Tier 4 Soul, it made sense his starting point wasnt that low. Parameters seemed to cap out at the surprisingly low value of 50, even though modifiers seemed to be able to push them beyond this restriction. The fact that his Magical Power was 44B+ meant that he was actually near the maximum base Magical Power that an entity could possess on this side of the Root. The + indicated that he actually had a modifier of 50 whole Magical Power, meaning his actual value was closer to 94, at least when pushing himself to the limits. What Vahn found most curious were the and EX designations, the first representing a value that couldnt be quantified while thetter indicated that his base parameters exceeded the limit of the system itself. Since Circuit Quality indicated the conductivity of a persons magic circuits, the pathways in which they used mana through, Vahn wasnt surprised that his value exceeded the systems ability toprehend. After all, his body wasprised of Source Energy and, even if he wasnt capable of using it efficiently, it was still far beyond the Records standard. He could, quite literally, learn any kind of Magic, irrespective of Elemental Affinity and other factors... Understanding that he actually had a pretty good starting point within this Record, Vahn felt more confident regarding the future. Though he would still need to gather information, this world didnt seem to be a particrly dangerous ce, at least on the surface. The people walking around had their guardspletely lowered, even without the presence of guards, indicating they had no fear of being attacked at any moment. They also seemed surprisingly healthy, even though theirck of mana and vitality would have indicated they were malnourished within a Record like Danmachi. Vahn could even see several overweight people while a surprising few seemed to ce an emphasis on physical fitness. Seeing how little muscle the average person had, including the more athletic and handsome-looking men, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head as he rose to his feet and pulled out a small gold bar from his Inventory. This was a bar he had forged from materials found within the Record of Danmachi so Vahn wasnt surprised as it instantly broke down into fine ck particles before vanishing into nothingness. He had already known that anything he obtained in other Records wouldnt function outside of the Record but he had wanted to confirm it with his own eyes. Now that he had confirmation that the majority of his items were useless, Vahn sold everything that didnt have sentimental value, even though his current Inventory was in no risk of being filled. Just seeing the number of empty slots he had was a bit shocking for Vahn as, previously, he only had 419 total slots. Now that he had 16,384, with each slot holding ten times the amount as they could previously, Vahn felt like it might turn into a depository for random items he came across in the future... After cleaning his Inventory, Vahn looked at his vast reserves of OP and was d he had put in the effort to obtain more than what was necessary for his Quest. It didnt seem like there would be many ways to obtain OP in this world, at least from what he could tell, so his current reserves could very well be all he had to rely on for a while. Fortunately, he still had all of his prior knowledge and experience so, after familiarizing himself with the Record a bit, Vahn was confident he would be able to forge items to supplement his reserves, assuming it was ever necessary. For the time being, he needed to prioritize finding a temporary residence to facilitate his need to acquire information. Thus, with that idea in mind, Vahn exited the alleyway and began looking around for a ce to stay for the night. It helped that he could understand the oral and writtennguage intuitively, as it didnt take long for him to find a number of ces that advertisedfort and various other amenities at what seemed to be an affordable price, at leastpared to some of the other good he had seen advertised along the way. As some of the foods he had seen were advertised to cost several thousand of the Citys currency, denoted as Yen, Vahn was surprised that a hotel would only cost 4500 for a nights stay... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns oblivious to what happened to the Root xD,Poor Sis has to put up with Vahn for all eternity...,Akashas gifts are a bitckl.u.s.ter...) (A/N: For those wondering about the janky release schedule, it is due to the fact that Ive been feeling sick since yesterday morning. Ive been sleeping most of the day while using the short period of time in which Im awake to write chapters xD. Im starting to feel better so things should be back to normal in another day or two~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1018 - Observation

Chapter 1018 - Observation

Though he hadnt noticed it at first, Vahn was able to sense there were various activities going on in the surrounding hotels. Unlike back when he was in the Record of Danmachi, there were no real security measures that could block detection abilities. With his domain, Vahn quickly intuited that the hotel he found himself outside of wasnt exactly normal. Realizing this, he turned his attention to the surroundings, noticing that people went about their business as normal, even though he half-believed he had wandered into this worlds version of a Red Light District. Based on how the pedestrians were acting, with even young children happily walking about, Vahn felt that the people either werent bothered by acts of intimacy, or he had found himself in a society that proactively encouraged them... As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn shook his head to refute his own wayward thoughts as, based on how people dressed, they actually seemed more reserved than what he was used to. Most people dressed in rtively neat garments, many even wearing simr uniforms that consisted of fitted long-sleeved shirts with muted grey and ck jackets. Vahn noticed that many even wore high-quality cks, banded socks, and neatly arranged ties. With their simple haircuts and highly polished dress shoes, Vahn didnt think these people were the types to openly disy affection, at least for others to bear witness to. The only exception to this seemed to be young a.d.u.l.ts, many wearing simr uniforms to each other, hanging around and enjoying each otherspany. In the midst of looking around, Vahn turned his attention to two young girls, both wearing matching uniforms with white blouses, pleated skirts, and stockings. Their garb was simr to the uniforms worn by other simrly aged people, leading Vahn to intuit that they must be students attending the same school. What set them apart was that they wore their uniforms somewhat slovenlypared to the norm while their skin and hair had been altered from their base color through apparent chemical means. The fact that they had light brown and blonde hair respectively, while almost everyone else in the area had dark brown and ck hair, caused them to stand out like a sore thumb amongst the densely crowded streets. After approaching rtively close to Vahns position, the taller of the two girls, though she was only around 158cm, gave Vahn a somewhat predatory gaze as she asked, "Hey, Mister, you a tourist or something? If you want, I can show you around. I can guarantee that its a lot more interesting on the inside~." Punctuating her words, the girl made a circr gesture with her index finger and thumb as she smiled in what Vahn assumed was her best attempt at appearing seductive. Her friend beganughing in an enthused manner before lightly elbowing herpanion and saying, "You doofus, look at his skin and face. Do you think he even knows what youre saying?" Though there were a few people with pale and fairerplexions in the surroundings, the vast majority of people present had rtively simr features, especially in regards to the basic structure of their faces and bodies. Vahn, however, currently stood around 185cm tall, towering over the vast majority of males present. His skin was the same healthy tanned color that he preferred for himself while his facial features were, from the perspective of everyone gawking at him, distinctly western. What set him apart even more, other than his angr jawline and generally handsome face, were his uncharacteristic spiky brown hair, which gave him a somewhat untamed appearance, and his stark aquamarine eyes. Though it was hard to determine his age at a nce, most would have estimated him to be in histe twenties. After watching the Vanir grow up rapidly,bined with his status as an Emperor, Vahn had taken on a more mature and, ording to most, intimidating appearance... When Vahn looked directly at the two girls, their eyes widened in surprise as, even without emanating any pressure, Vahns gaze made them feel as if they had just stepped into a room with an unleashed tiger. Though he didnt understand the meaning of the girls gesture, Vahn knew she was trying to solicit him so he adopted his characteristically polite smile as he said, "I am perfectly capable of understanding you. However, though I am ttered by the offer, Ill have to ask that the two of you excuse me..." Based on how their expressions had nked, Vahn wasnt sure if the two girls had even processed what he said. The taller of the two girls then adopted an unexpectedly bashful look as she moved a few loose strands of hair behind her ear and asked, "W-Whats the rush? Are you looking for something?" With her friends words breaking her free from the stupor she had found herself in, the shorter of the two girls quickly added, "Yeah, yeah, why not keep uspany for a bit, Mister? Dont worry, you wont even have to pay...!" As the final words left her mouth, the shorter girls face gained a ruddy hue as her friend looked towards her with an usatory gaze that seemed to scream, What are you saying!?. Seeing this, Vahn was beginning to feel that the situation was quickly turning into something troublesome, especially with the gazes passersby were giving him. Though he was ustomed to men directing envious gazes towards him, he could see the shadow of judgment and disgust in the eyes of some. This triggered a few red gs in Vahns mind as, without knowledge of this wordsws and customs, the chance that any small event could quickly escte out of control was high... Before the two could continue pestering him, Vahn held up his hand to catch the girls attention before adopting a more serious expression as he said, "Once again, Im ttered, but not interested. Please go about your own business as I have my own to attend..." With those parting words, Vahn walked passed the two stunned girls without sparing them a second nce. Through his domain, he could sense the taller of the two push the smaller girl, causing him to sigh as he shifted his focus elsewhere. He couldnt fathom how the two were actually able to consider each other friends if they would fight over something so inconsequential. Based on the reaction from the surroundings, their behavior was highly frowned upon yet, curiously, Vahn noticed that nobody took any proactive measures to put a stop to it. Some people even brought out the devices from their pockets, pointing them towards the two girls as they began spectating the event at a distance... After leaving the area, Vahn made sure there was no attention ced on him before turning his head skyward and leaping towards the top of a four-story building. In the region he was located, the buildings were not only tightly packed together but, with few exceptions, most were multiple stories tall. Even the various shops, of which there were numerous, often had several floors in which customers could browse neatly arranged and highly colorful products. Some were even live-in stores, often with the uppermost floor being designated as the residence of whoever ran the business. Vahn actually found theyout of this unique City rather charming as, even though there were still a few hours left in the day, the City seemed alive with various lights and sounds. With his higher vantage, Vahn watched as the vast majority of people moved about on foot while a few used mechanical means to traverse the City below. They had a surprisingly efficient system to regte both foot and mechanical traffic, using a series of lights to guide people while various other signs denoted the rules and regtions that the carriage drivers had to follow. It was a rather ingenious system and, if not for the fact that it seemed somewhat wasteful to rely on such means of transport, Vahn would havemended their ingenuity. From his perspective, the slow-moving mechanical carriages were just a means in which thezier,or perhaps more affluent, people got around. Instead of developing their bodies to the point that they could easily outmaneuver such contraptions, they seemed almost dependent on the machines they had created in order to prosper. Almost at the exact moment this thought crossed his mind, Vahns ears picked up the sound of a supersonic hum, drawing his attention towards the skies above. His eyes widened a bit as, several thousand meters in the sky, there was another mechanical contraption that was moving through the sky. Though it was hard to determine its exact size and shape, Vahn approximated the contraption to be more than 40m long,prised almost entirely of metal. What he found most surprising was the fact that it seemed to rely entirely on mechanicalponents to achieve flight as theck of mana within the environment would have made most forms of flight inefficient. Seeing the peculiar contraption flying through the sky, Vahn muttered in a voice mixed with awe and a bit of mncholy, "I shouldnt underestimate the people of this world. Any civilization capable of achieving flight through mechanical means is deserving of caution...its a shame Ina couldnt be here to see this..." Knowing that Ina would have loved to dismantle almost everything he hade across in this Record, Vahn felt a bit of homesickness as he began jumping between buildings. Though some people noticed his movements, Vahn had altered his appearance slightly to ensure they wouldnt be able to identify himter on. He didnt know the exact functions of the devices that almost everyone seemed to carry but, after observing several people using them, he had determined they were used to facilitatemunication. They appeared to use invisible fields located all throughout the City to connect the devices while also sending signals through fields that extended high into the skies above, far beyond Vahns perception... Aftering to a stop atop a fourteen-story building, Vahn remarked, "They have such an expansivework ofmunication yet seem to almost ignore each other as they go about their business..." Having observed passersby for a few hours now, Vahn felt it was strange that people would simply walk by each other, hardly sparing a nce for the other party. Just like many had ignored the two fighting girls, themon consensus seemed to be to mind your own business. This was especially true for the older generations who often looked towards those younger than themselves with borderline content and clear annoyance in their expressions. At the same time, most of the youths wouldpletely ignore their seniors, to the point that they would unceremoniously walk around old people that were crossing through thenes designated for mechanical carriages without providing aid. Some were even glued to the pocket devices that seemedmonce within this world,pletely ignoring their surroundings by wearing devices that were inserted into the ears... Vahn couldnt quite fathom how there could be such a high density of people in one ce, even as everyone seemed to act as individuals. Even in the tall buildings he had passed along the way, Vahn inspected their interior and saw many men and women sitting at desks that were closely surrounded by walls. Though everyone wore simr uniforms, they were literally divided on the most basic level as everyone kept their heads down and focused on their work. Everything seemed rigid and overly polite, to the point that Vahn felt suffocated watching as two men exchanged a total of eleven bows between themselves. Even though the disy seemed to be a respectful one, Vahn could tell that both men were doing it as part of a necessitated courtesy, not genuine respect... With a sigh escaping his lips, Vahn sat on the edge of the roof to ruminate but was almost immediately noticed by someone walking below. The moment they pointed towards him, Vahn swore that more than a hundred heads swiveled in direction at the same time while some almost instantly directed their pocket devices towards him. Seeing this, he rolled back onto the roof to evade their gazes before muttering, "This world is weird...Sis, do you have any ideas about how I can make some money?" During his search through the City, which he now knew to be called Fuyuki, Vahn had been considering a means to make some Yen to pay for temporary lodging. He quickly hit a wall, however, as there was nothing like a merchants association present while most of the stores he had inspected seemed to only sell items, not purchase them... Without any dy in her response, Sis quickly answered, (*I have been intercepting the data transmissions through the wirelesswork epassing the City. Without an Identification Card, it will be difficult for you to sell items, even if you did quickly forge something. For the time being, it may be best to move to the outskirts of the City or use one of the rooftops to rest. In the morning, I would suggest moving to the riverside as there is a fish market that opens around 2AM. Fish seems to be an exceptionally popr foodstuff in this region and you should be able to sell your catch to the local butchers there without any difficulties. For the time being, I would suggestying low until you get a better understanding of this worlds unique qualities. I suspect trouble wille looking for you, sooner orter, so it is best to use this time to collect as much information as possible. If you can gain direct ess to aputer, the object you saw those uniformed workers using, I will be able to ess a stream of information called the inte to quickly expand our knowledge base.*) Vahn hadnt been expected such aprehensive answer from Sis, as she had been rtively quiet during his observation of the City. Now, he realized she had been using the same invisiblework as the people below to ess information. Since this was all stored within his mind, Vahn closed his eyes and began pouring through the information contained within. Sis, understanding his intentions, sorted through the data she had been collecting, presenting it to Vahn in a cohesive format that he would be able to interpret without being confused by. At the same time, she purchased several texts and books through the system shop, based on texts referenced within the data she had collected, further increasing the amount of knowledge he possessed. After nearly five hours of sorting through the information organized by Sis, Vahn opened his eyes and observed the City below once again, this time with a significantly greater understanding of what he was looking at. Most importantly, he now knew he was on a called Earth, the third celestial body rotating around its parent star, generally referred to as the Sun. What hit him even harder than the truck from earlier, however, was the fact that Vahn knew his original was also called Earth. Even the name of the current country he found himself in, Japan, was something he was intimately familiar with after being a fan of anime and manga. It was a ce he had always dreamed about visiting in the past but, after reaching Danmachi, such desires had quickly faded. Now that he knew he was in a world that was even remotely simr to the one he originally hailed from, Vahn was experiencing a variety ofplex emotions that were hard to parse... Turning his attention to the East, even though residents of this world would refer to it as the West, Vahn felt as if he could see the United States across the vast Pacific Ocean. Though it wasnt the ce he had been born, Vahn felt a cold rage rising up in the back of his mind as he couldnt help butpare it to his original world. For a brief moment, he even contemting whether or not to cross the ocean and get revenge but, remembering that this was simply one United States in an infinite number of variable timelines, Vahn tempered his anger by taking several deep breaths. He couldnt hold the people of this world ountable for the actions of his original world, regardless of the fact that he actually recognized the names of some of their celebrities and politicians. Since many anime and manga could have been based on the world he originated from, it wasnt that surprising to find that some of the same names would appear... It took him a bit longer than he would have liked to admit, likely the result of his separation anxiety, but Vahn eventually managed to calm down enough to muse, "At least I finally got to visit Japan..." With those words departing his lips, Vahn jumped through the sky by creating a few loose footholds on the air. He currentlycked the ability to fly, as there simply wasnt enough mana within the atmosphere, but that didnt stop him from using his knowledge of [Koku Shundo] and hisprehension of the Space element to get by. Still, it was a lot harder than Vahn expected and, by the time he reached the nearby Mion River, he had to take a breather as he waited for his reserves to slowly replenish. Without abilities like [Yggdrasils Blessing] and [Spirit Healing], Vahn found that his replenishment of Source Energy had effectively been crippledpared to his past self... With the sun already setting on the horizon, Vahn deeply inhaled the crisp evening air before frowning slightly as his body naturally filtered out the chemicals that had be a part of the every-day life of the people in this world. Instead of feeling refreshed by the cool breeze washing over him, Vahn picked up a nearby stone before skipping it clear across the river. He wondered if he should take an active role in this world, slowly changing it into a more peaceful ce where people would be able to live happier lives. Though the Politics of this world seemed unnecessarilyplex, Vahn knew they were only the surface powers within the world as there were undoubtedly more powerful forces controlling things behind the scenes. After all, this Record had an even higher Tier than Danmachi so, even though the majority of people seemed almost ridiculously weak, there had to be a few individuals that could even decimate an existence like Tiamat with ease... After skipping a few stones, Vahn focused his eyes as he released another small pebble from his hands. This one didnt skip across the water and, instead, prated deep beneath the surface before piercing through the head of a ratherrge Bluefin Tuna. Vahn estimated its weight to be around 180kg, making it worth around 240,000 within the local market. Though it would usually require a license to fish for Bluefin, Vahn knew he would be able to sell it cheaply to one of the local fishermen without them asking too many questions. As they would be able to turn a muchrger profit for the fish than the price he would quote, Vahn intended to take advantage of the apparently ziness of people within the world to turn a quick profit... Using the same method, Vahn quickly harvested the lives of a dozenrge Bluefin Tuna before preserving them in his Inventory. With that out of the way, he chose the riverbed as his resting ce for the night, watching the stars overhead as the cool evening air nketed his body. Now that he no longer had the eternal me in his chest, Vahn could feel the chill far more clearly than before. This made him once again realize that he was no longer in the Record of Danmachi and, no matter how much he wanted to, he nowcked the means to retreat to thefort provided by the people he loved. He was now an impossible distance from them, one which he could never traverse without reaching a degree of power he couldnt evenprehend at this point... As the realization that he wouldnt see his family again for a long time began to settle in, Vahn closed his eyes in a vain attempt to keep his tears from falling. Worst of all, he couldnt even call Fenrir to his side as, with what he now knew of this world, it would be impossible for him to keep her a secret. She would draw far too much attention with her unique appearance and, without the means to use transformation magic due to the low density of mana avable in the atmosphere, she had no way of concealing her Vanargandr traits. Until he found a permanant residence and acquired a means to reliably replenish their reserves, she would have to remain in stasis within his Unit Managements storage. The only other option was to rely on items obtained through the shop to replenish her reserves but, at least for the time being, Vahn knew this wouldnt be a viable solution. Thus, for what felt like the first time in more than a hundred years, Vahn spent the evening in solitude as a degree of loneliness he hadnt fully prepared for hit him...like a truck... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Begone, THOT~!,Interconnected, but separate...,Homesickness...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1019 - First Step

Chapter 1019 - First Step

Three days after his arrival in Fuyuki, Vahns situation had changed greatlypared to when he had been unceremoniously dropped into the world by Akasha. Though theck of a proper identification was quickly bing a problem, Vahn at least managed to get a small apartment in one of the shadier sections of the City, located just on the outskirts of the fish markets. His illegal fishing had caught more attention than he would have liked but it had been surprisingly easy to secure a temporary residence after selling his catch to a middle-aged businessman named Kinoba Fujitora. He was a rtively affluent businessman who leased out a few of therger fishing vessels, making him one of the central figures within the region when it came to the acquisition and distribution of rarer fish. Unsurprisingly, he also dabbled in the ck Market and even had a few Enforcers staffed within the region who were rumored to be Yakuza, the most notorious gang within the region. Because he had decided to sell one of the rarer and more expensive types of fish, Vahn quickly caught the attention of one of Fujitoras Enforcers. After easily dealing with the scarred man and his cronies, who had tried to im his fish for themselves without forking over a single Yen, Vahn had been approached by Fujitora directly. Though he had arrived with the apparent intent to seek trouble, it didnt take long at all for Fujitoras disposition to change into a more amicable and reasonable one. This was due to the natural aura that Vahn emanated, something he only observed when dealing with clients who wielded extreme authority, often over thousands of lives. Since Vahn was also extremely fit and handsome, he assumed thetter was the son of a wealthy family who was just dabbling in yingmoner. With Vahns eyes constantly wandering around,bined with his apparentck ofmon sense, it wasnt difficult to make this assumption... Thinking he could curry some favor with the unknown foreigner, Fujitora had quickly helped Vahn arrange a ce to stay and even assigned a few people to take care of him. Vahn wasnt particrly fond of having people lingering around to observe his movements but, after making sure there were no cameras and audio devices within his room, he stopped minding it. He had a few million Yen within his Inventory and had been able to gain ess to aputer so it wouldnt be long before he left Fujitoras influence and moved on to bigger and better things... On the topic ofputers, Vahn was genuinely shocked to learn of the existence of the inte as, evenpared to the nes flying through the sky, it was an unbelievably advanced technology. The fact that the entire world was interconnected through a series of wired and wirelessworks hade as a great shock to him, especially since statistics purported that nearly three billion people proactively used thework on a daily basis. With such a vast number of people feeding information into the inte, the amount of information Sis had ess to gave Vahn a feeling as if he had gained borderline omniscience within the Record. Not only was he able to gain basic information about Fuyuki and the surrounding regions, he was able to learn a vast amount of information regarding the Political climate and the various powerful families within, not just Japan, but the entire world... There didnt seem to be any real limit to what he could find through the inte as, even without having to sit at aputer himself, Sis was able to scour the vastwork andpile information on his behalf. Though this required Vahn to literally plug an ethe cable into his own body, after creating an ess port for it, Sis had gone to town as she endeavored to literally download all of the intes information into the deepest recesses of his mind. She had to filter out quite a lot of unnecessary information, ounting for nearly 98% of everything recorded, but that 2% was still the c.u.mtive knowledge and wisdom of billions of people. Since she also gained ess to privateworks that were connected to therger worldwide web, Vahn even had ess to a great deal of information that was not meant for public consumption. The only real restriction Sis had when it came to the inte was that she could only collect information, not modify or interfere with it. If the security was advanced enough, she wasnt able to gain ess to thework and, in order to directly carry out her intentions, Vahn was required to act as her hands and eyes. Fortunately, the system interface he had be intimately familiar with also served as a user interface that Vahn was able to navigate with thought alone. Under Sis guidance, it only took him ten hours to gain ess to the Japanese Census Bureau, fabricating a birth certificate and establishing an identity for himself. Though it wouldnt take much effort for anyone performing an investigation to conclude that his identity was faked, as there were more than a century of paper records filed away in warehouses Vahn didnt have ess to, the odds anyone would investigate him to that extent were slim. By the time everything was taken care of, Vahn had the identity of a second-generation migrant who had been orphaned after both of his parents died in a car ident. As for other records, such as dental, medical, insurance, taxes, and educational, Vahnpletely ignored the first three, as it wasnt that umon for some a.d.u.l.ts his age to simplyck insurance, while the tax and educational records had been important for validating his identity. Though Vahn hadnt officially filed taxes, meaning he would have to get audited if he wanted to solidify his identity, it was important for him to at least exist within the system. As for his educational records, they seemed to be surprisingly important within Japan so Sis had guided him through the process of creating an education profile that stretched all the way from kindergarten to High School. Though any of his presumed ssmates could easily expose the truth of the matter, Vahn wasnt particrly worried about it since the odds of him ever meeting anyone from his hometown, a small fishing town called Ine. With his new identity, Vahn was able to feel more confident about his future actions, even though it resulted in Fujitoraing to his residence on the fifth day and kicking him out. After finding the identity Vahn had fabricated, the man no longer tried to pander to him but, after Vahn easily dealt with the toughs he had brought along to intimidate him, the chubby businessman made no further attempts to stop him from leaving. As for why Vahn didnt deal with the man himself, his new understanding of the world all included an awareness of the local and provincialws. He knew the methods he relied on in his previous world when dealing with criminals wouldnt exactly fly in a more modern setting, as he would quickly bebeled a criminal and murderer himself. Though he could always join, or even create a criminal organization, Vahn didnt consider himself a bad person so he wanted to avoid being publically, or internationally,beled as one... Leaving the temporary residence that had been provided to him, amidst the groans of pain from more than twenty men, Vahn headed into the downtown district of Fuyuki City once again. Since he wanted to avoid drawing attention to himself in the middle of the day, Vahn used the local train for the first time and, even though it was a bit slowpared to his own standards, Vahn felt it was surprisingly efficient. Not only had the train arrived almost exactly at the posted time, it also departed after idling for a mere two minutes. Though it felt a little suffocating to be packed into a small car with nearly a hundred other people, Vahn noticed that the majority kept to themselves while very few people even bothered to make sounds. Those who did were usually the younger members of society, resulting in them getting the stink eye from the surroundings... After reaching his destination, Vahn moved with the crowd this time, deciding to view the City from the same perspective as a resident in order to gain his bearings. His minimap had been partiallypleted during his first exploration of the City but it helped to see things up close for the sake of rity. Vahns domain still missed out on the finer details of things unless he guided his intent to inspect things more closely. Though he could sense the presence of individual des of grass within a field, it didnt mean he automatically knew how many there were, or if areas of the grass were damaged and rotting. Since Fuyuki, and Japan in general, seemed to rely heavily on auditory and visual stimuli tomunicate meaning, Vahn decided it was best to practice walking around the City so he wouldnt stand out as easily in the future. Not even ten minutes into his exploration of the City, Vahn had started to regret his decision as he still garnered a lot of attention from his surroundings. Men would give him annoyed looks in passing while women would give way to him before pulling out their phones and snapping pictures in secret. Whenever Vahn would politely greet them, they would act startled and confused before giving a too-polite response, often followed by them quickly leaving the area. Even women that were near the same age as his current appearance would act nervously around him before awkwardly following his back with their gazes. Vahn was beginning to feel as if he was an exotic animal that had been put on disy, especially when a smart-looking woman with round sses approached him with a business card before excitedly dering, "Youre an extremely handsome man! Have you ever thought about bing an Idol and getting into advertising? Mypany had been looking for a new Ace to represent foreign products and I think you would be able to do well in the industry!" With the woman presenting herpanys business card with both hands, politely bowing in the process, Vahn almost grabbed it on instinct before changing the motion at thest moment to hold up his hand and dere, "Im ttered, but I have no intention of bing an Idol. Thank you for the offer but I must be on my way..." After politely refusing, Vahn attempted to walk around the woman but she immediately moved to block his intended path as she fl.u.s.teredly stated, "Wait, wait, wait, hear me out, please! With your looks, you could easily be a legendary figure within the Industry. Even movie deals may not be off the table so please consider my offer. You could be Fuyukis, no, all of Japans Rising Star~!" Even though Vahn wasnt Japanese, the woman had actually forgotten to breath for a few seconds when she first caught sight of him. Even if hecked the star power she purported he had, it wouldnt take any effort at all to market him based on looks and disposition alone. Though Vahn liked to consider himself a patient person, he had been trained by Loki, Riveria, and Fortuna to never show leniency towards any party that attempted to pressure him. In an instant, Vahns amicable aura seemed to vanish before an oppressive atmosphere naturally radiated from his body. His expression hadnt changed at all but, from the perspective of observers, his eyes seemed sharper and borderline cold as he looked down at the woman and inly stated, "I have no interest in bing an Idol..." This time, when Vahn walked around her, the woman made no effort to stop him and, instead, quickly moved aside before nearly falling to the ground when her legs gave out. A middle-aged man in a business suit caught her by the arm before helping her find her footing but, by the time she looked towards where Vahn had been walking, he was no longer anywhere to be seen. Finding himself atop a building once again, Vahn was lightly tapping a signboard as he considered changing his appearance to better match his surroundings. He was trying toy low, at least for the time being, so there were few advantages to walking around with his default appearance. However, the idea of hiding himself in such a way caused Vahn to frown slightly as part of him hade to expect attention. The thing was,pared to the power and authority he possessed in Danmachi, Vahn was an external variable within the Nasuverse who, for the time being, had neither. This caused something inside of him to stir, likely rted to his Qinglong form and sense of identity, as Vahn knew he was one of the more powerful figures within the world. Allowing himself to be bound by the normal restrictions imposed upon this docile society, especially when there was arger hidden world he hadnt even seen yet, made Vahn feel as if he was walking further from his goal of reuniting with his family... Reaching this conclusion, Vahns eyes reflected the City of Fuyuki as he extended his hand outward, almost as if he could grasp the entire City in his palm. Then, with a solemn and determined voice, Vahn muttered, "There is no need to adapt to a world I have no intention of staying in...why should I be afraid of being exposed when there is literally nothing my enemies can use to threaten me...?" Right now, Vahn didnt even have Fenrir and Medusa at his side so, regardless of any setbacks he personally faced, it ultimately didnt matter. Even if he faced an enemy that had the means to kill his immortal body, which seemed to be an actual possibility within this world, it only meant he would be forced out of the Record. If he wanted to, Vahn could even enter another version of the Nasuverse, an infinite number of times if necessary... With that thought in mind, Vahn slowly closed his hand as his eyes turned towards one of the areas he had been proactively avoiding since arriving in the world. During his preliminary mapping of the City, Vahn had tried to avoid areas where the mana density was slightly higher than normal. There were a few locations that were interspaced throughout the City where barriers and other abnormal phenomena could be observed. He had originally concealed his presence, keeping away from these locations, but now Vahn was considering proactively exposing himself. Though it might render the efforts he had put into making an identity pointless, Vahn knew the only way to truly begin his rise to power was to understand exactly what power meant in the context of the Record. The inte hadnt provided him with any real information in regards to Magecraft, making it clear that it was a highly guarded secret that the people in power didnt want to expose... Vahn initially couldnt understand why entities with higher Soul Tiers would even bother to hide themselves away but, considering there were things like nuclear warheads and advanced weapons tforms in space, things he could hardly wrap his head around, it seemed to make a bit of sense. There were obviously forces at y he was simply unaware of as well, meaning he would need to experience them directly if he wanted to learn the truth. It was only by seeking the truth that he would be able to increase his ownprehension and, by virtue, his Tier. Stalling any longer would only increase the feeling of loneliness that had been guing his heart so Vahn affirmed his resolve as he leaped from the building and made a beeline towards a residence that stood out from the surroundings. While most buildings within the City were tightly packed together, there were a few regions near the periphery of the City where the wealthy, affluent, and traditional families lived. The building Vahn found himself outside of stood out, even amongst the otherrge Manors and Mansions in the surroundings. Instead of looking like a traditional Japanese Manor, it was arge Western-Style Manor with three stories set beneath an angr tiled roof. There was even a tower-like structure built into it while, below the ground, Vahn could roughly make out that there were two subterranean levels. It was hard to be certain, however, as there were several magical formations that made it hard for him to get a clear read on the Manors internal structure. Though he could still peer into the interior with his domain, it was almost as if the inside was shifting around, obscuring his perception and making it difficult to determine if what his senses were picking up was real... Vahn was beginning to miss his ability to transform into his Qinglong form as, with his current reserves, he couldnt easily send his intent into the Manors interior without being rewarded a powerful headache for his efforts. Though his Innates hadnt been weakened upon entry into the Record, Vahn simplycked the reserves to power them at the moment. This didnt mean he was without options, however, as Vahns eyes passed over a list of items within the system shop before he pulled out a literal [Mana Crystal]. Focusing his mind, Vahns skin tone began to slowly change as the outline of scales began to appear on his exposed forearms. From his head, apanied by an incredibly itchy feeling, golden antler-like horns began to reveal themselves as he sent his intent forward to confirm his suspicions... Regardless of howplex the magical formations were, Vahns intent was able to move without being restricted by things like distance. He didnt actually move it through things, as it was more urate to decribe the method in which his intent moved around as shifting between points. As a result, Vahn bypassed the formationspletely as he began to inspect the Manors interior. He quickly identified several rather dated pieces of furniture while many of the books present within looked to be hundreds of years old. All of this was preserved with a unique spell form that Vahn had never seen before, giving the interior of the Manor an aged, yet regal feel. It was obvious that the Manors residents were of a more Noble disposition, causing Vahns brow to furrow slightly as he had never been fond of most Nobles... After looking around the upper floors, Vahn was surprised to find that the Manor seemed to bepletely bereft of serving staff. He half-expected to find a few Maids or Butlers within but, after looking through all three floors, there wasnt a soul in sight. Vahn next passed through the far more advanced barriers that had been blocking his perception of the Manors underground before finding the first actual resident. Almost as soon as the woman came into his view, her head snapped around and as she held up a purple amethyst as she shouted, "Who is it!?" in a voice Vahn couldnt hear. He was, fortunately, able to read her lips, even if it hadnt been necessary to know what she had said to know he had been exposed. Though it may not have been the best choice, especially seeing as the woman was already in a battle-ready state, Vahn had detected no other presences within the bas.e.m.e.nt levels so he used the remainder of the [Mana Crystal]s mana to tear through Space. He was immediately greeted by what appeared to be several reddish-cksers but, sensing there was no danger contained within the spell, Vahn allowed it to strike his body without resisting. A numbing sensation quickly spread through his limbs before it waspletely nullified, causing the woman to mistake that he had counteracted the attack as she jumped back, blue runes covering her arms and legs. Vahn knew she had mistaken him as an enemy so, even though they may very well be actual enemies, he raised his hands in a gesture of surrender as he stated, "I do not bear any ill will towards you...!" The woman had just pulled out a small rainbow-colored gem but, upon hearing Vahns words, she kept it within her palm, remaining on guard as she asked, "Who are you? Why have youe here!?" She obviously wasnt going to take Vahn for his word so, even though he hadnt made any attempt to attack, the runes on her arms and legs hadnt faded away. Vahn could see that they greatly enhanced her physical capabilities but, no matter how he looked at her, she had the physique of a normal person. Though her internal mana was far higher than most people, possessing a few unique qualities within, Vahn felt she would have lost out against mostpetent Level 2 Adventurers... With his hands still raised, Vahn spoke in a clear and calm voice, "My name is Vahn Mason. I havee here seeking information, not conflict. I apologize for showing up unexpectedly but there are a few questions I would like to ask you. After you answer my questions, I will leave you in peace while also providing adequatepensation for your troubles..." Vahn was doing his best to appear as non-threatening as possible, even as his domain spread through the area, allowing him to analyze the surrounding spell form. With enough time, he was confident he could negate, or even reverse, the effect of this worlds Magecraft, just as he had been able to within the record of Danmachi... In response to Vahns words, the woman squinted her eyes as she whispered, "Vahn Mason...I have never heard of a Magus with that name..." She wasnt speaking directly to him so Vahn ignored her external monologue, continuing to appear as harmless as possible. Eventually, after nearly a full minute of awkward tension, the woman adopted a more casual stance as she asked, "What kind of information are you looking for? You should know that it is a terrible idea to enter into the territory of another Magus like this...what organization are you a part of?" Though she was putting on a show of acting casual, Vahn was very aware of the fact that the woman kept the gemstone tucked away in her palm while her heart rate hadnt even started to settle yet... Doing his best to adopt a disarming smile, Vahn exined, "I actually have no understanding of the etiquette practiced by other Magus. That is one of the things Id like to ask about, though, I suppose the most pressing question Id like an answer to is...who are you?" Vahn had expected his question to get a rise out of the girl but nothing could have prepared him for the look of sheer incredulity that appeared on her face as she eximed, "Hah? You snoop around my Manor and break in without even knowing whose territory youre invading? Are you some kind of idiot!?" For a brief moment, it even looked as if she was about to throw the gem in her hands toward him but, as if it was something she refused to part with easily, the woman quickly calmed down after seeing Vahns wry and apologetic smile. After calming herself down a bit, even though the expression in her eyes screamed, I dont believe this, the woman somewhat proudly stated, "My name is Rin Tohsaka, Sixth-Generation Head of the Tohsaka Magus family! Now, the more important question is, who, or, more specifically, what the hell are you...?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fishy Business,Vahn is beginning to grasp his situation...,Vahns first step into the Magus world is onto andmine...) (A/N: As there seems to be some confusion about the low mana density Vahn keeps mentioning, you need to keep in mind that he isparing it to Danmachi. That is a world where literal gods roam thend and, as a result of the mana in the environment, monsters, dragons, spirits, etc, are all extremelymon. Things that would be considered endangered and protected species in the Nasuverse wouldnt even be rare within the Record of Danmachi. So yes, while Fuyuki would have a decent amount of manapared to other Cities, it isplete shit-tierpared to even a frontier vige in Danmachi xD.) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1020 - Tea Time

Chapter 1020 - Tea Time

As he was still in his partial Qinglong transformation, Vahn understood why Rins first question directly rted to his species. Fortunately, even as he reverted to what appeared to be a genuine human form, Rin just watched the process with slightly intrigued eyes without reacting hostilely. At the same time, Vahn continued to smile in a disarming manner as he exined, "As I said before, my name is Vahn Mason. As for what I am...it would be most urate to refer to me as a Progenitor. Im not sure if that concept is a thing in your world, however, so you may not have heard of it..." With the Nasuverse having a multi-versal structure, Vahn wasnt too worried about alerting anyone within to the presence of other worlds. Though he still couldnt exin anything regarding the existence of The Path, the Laws wouldnt punish him for talking about the general multiverse as a whole. Rin didnt even seem surprised by the fact that he was from a different world, instead, seeming to focus on his race as she held her chin in thought, muttering, "Progenitor...how peculiar..." When she next turned her attention back to him, Rin asked, "What exactly are you the Progenitor of? Those horns...are you some kind of Daemon, or perhaps a Nature Spirit..?" Then, without actually waiting for his response, Rin shook her head, causing the two twin-tails framing her face to bob before she muttered to herself, "No, he seems to possess an actual physical form...but then how did he break through my barrier...?" Seeing Rin talk continually talk to herself, Vahn realized her personality wasnt all that dissimr from Lefiyas, especially when thetter was researching Magic. In a way, he had been fortunate that the first person he came across seemed rather serious about Magecraft, even if this also meant she could prove a bit troublesome to deal with in the future. If he were to reveal just a few of his secrets to her, Vahn could imagine her pestering him to the ends of the earth in order to learn the rest. She had a natural air of curiosity about her that,bined with the slight arrogance she had revealed during her introduction, indicated she wasnt the type to take no for an answer... Finished with her monologue, Rin walked a little closer to Vahn before leaning forward and looking directly into his face. She was only around 162cm tall so she was already looking up at him, even before she began to scrutinize him more closely. Fortunately, like most people he had seen thus far, Rin wore rather modest clothing, consisting of a long-sleeved red blouse,plete with a high cor, and a long skirt that extended past her knees. Overall, she had a very high-ss and mature appearance, even if her hairstyle, consisting of twin-tails tied up by ratherrge ribbons, was somewhat childish. Based on the structure of her body and the feeling of her mana, Vahn estimated she was around twenty-seven years old, give or take a few months. As if she had sensed his evaluation, Rin furrowed her brows before stepping back and crossing her arms, inadvertently pushing up her rather modest b.r.e.a.s.ts. Vahn felt as if she were testing him somehow so he continued to stare into her aqua-blue eyes, not too dissimr in color to his own. In response, her frown actually deepened as she squinted her eyes and asked, "Well, what exactly do you want to know? Dont think Ill just answer any question you want answered, though, as Im not a library that you can just ess at your convenience. If you want information from me, youll have to answer my questions in turn. I also want to know how you expect topensate me as, from what I can tell, you dont seem to have anything of value..." Finding it surprisingly hard to get a read on Rin, Vahn wondered if his sensibilities had been affected after traveling to a new record. After dealing with Loki, merchants, politicians, nobles, and foreign dignitaries, Vahn was a little surprised by the fact that he couldnt simply see through her intentions. She seemed to be constantly analyzing him while, at the same time, seemed to be prepared to dismiss anything he said. This,bined with the fact that she still hadnt truly dropped her guard, gave Vahn the impression that Rin was the type that lived at her own pace. She seemed like a solitary existence that worked independently of others, making it difficult for her tomunicate normally with people... Just as Rins frown began to deepen further, Vahn quickly answered, "I want to know about this world, including the organizations you mentioned. If possible, I would like to learn about Magecr-" Before Vahn could continue, Rin had already started shaking her head before stating, "There is no way Im going to teach you Magecraft. I might be able to exin the basics to you, but there isnt a Magus alive who will just teach strangers their techniques. I might make an exception if you were able to provide something useful in exchange, but I doubt you have anything that I need, regardless of if you are actually from another world." After havingpleted her studies at the Clock Tower, the most prominent Magus Academy and the Headquarters of the Magus Association, Rin was well aware of the existence of other worlds, including the existence of parallel and tangential timelines. Hearing Rins words, Vahn couldnt help but find her ims rather amusing as, regardless of the pride she possessed, he knew there were literally an infinite number of things he could provide her in exchange for information. He had already found several ounts of the Tohsaka Family, including their techniques, within the system shop. Though their more important secrets would be recorded in texts and grimoires that were considered Unique items, meaning he couldnt simply purchase them through the shop, there were numerous texts their family had published throughout history that he had ess to. Vahn even found a plethora of information on Rin herself, including the men she had married, the number of children she had, and even her future descendants. He was a little surprised to learn that she often became one of the most prolific Magus of her time, in far more than a few timelines, but that only made him more confident that she would value what he had to offer... Before Vahn could say anything, Rins expression had soured even more before she finally burst out, asking, "Okay, what the hell are you doing? Are you using some kind of technique to analyze me!?" Even though she couldnt understand why Vahns gaze annoyed her, Rin had the distinct impression that his eyes were able to see through her. Though she had certainly been evaluating him since the beginning of their discussion, it made her ufortable to feel so exposed, especially since she didnt understand what he was doing. She suddenly recalled how he had been able to sneak into her Manor without even setting off any rms, causing her pigtails to strangely levitate as her anger continued to build... Vahn once again raised his hands, this time in a cating gesture, as he quickly remarked, "Im not going to ask you to divulge any of your familys secrets. Even a basic exnation of Magecraft will be more than enough for my purposes. As for what Ill offer in exchange, will this suffice...?" As he spoke, Vahn quickly purchased a high-grade [Mana Crystal] from the system shop before manifesting it in his palm. Rin quickly adopted a pseudo-battle stance in response, as it was abnormal to see objects appear out of thin air, but she immediately dropped her guard, for real this time, momentster. Her eyes widened into full circles as she saw the crystal in Vahns hand, asking, "Where on earth did you get a catalyst like this? It almost has as much mana as a Brand..." Without asking for permission, Rin tried to grab the sky-blue crystal from Vahns hands but he quickly threw it back into his Inventory before inly stating, "I am confident that I can adequatelypensate you for your time, Miss Tohsaka. Now, perhaps you would like to move this discussion to a more appropriate venue...?" As it didnt seem conducive to the situation to stay within the rtively dark bas.e.m.e.nt, Vahn gestured upwards as he asked his question. This, somewhat amusedly, caused Rin to follow his finger with her eyes, temporarily confused after Vahn had exploited the gap in her awareness after stowing away the [Mana Crystal]. She had transitioned from expectant to annoyed before finally reaching a state of confusion, all within the period of a few seconds. Realizing her mistake, Rins face darkened slightly before she coughed a few times to cover up her embarrassment. Vahns expression remained unperturbed throughout, giving her all the time she needed before she eventually nodded her head and said, "Very well. For the time being, I will treat you as a guest. Allow me to prepare some tea and well have a proper discussion..." Though she had been on guard before, Rins desire for the [Mana Crystal],bined with the fact that Vahn didnt seem threatening in the least, had caused her to rx more than she normally would around strangers. He didnt seem like a normal existence so she had decided to treat him in the same way she would treat other Nature Spirits, what Rin believed to be his true identity. After moving upstairs, Vahn found himself seated within a study that wasnt unlike what he was ustomed to back in his own world. There were twofortable sofas at the center of the room, separated by a highly polished wooden table that was set with a vase. Since it was empty, Vahn ced some fresh flowers toplete the scene before turning his attention to the surroundings. There was a firece on the northern side of the room while, towards the western section, arge wooden desk upied the area before arge bookshelf. There was a standingmp that served the purpose of providing reading light as the chandelier hanging from the ceiling only cast a gentle light over the rooms upants. Curiously, there was a loft-like mezzanine on the east side of the room, essible by a woodendder. Vahn saw more bookshelves located at the top of the mezzanine while a lounge-type sofa, decorated with plenty of cushions, likely served as a ce where you could read while rxing... Resisting the urge to explore the room, Vahn remained patiently seated on the sofa until Rin returned with a silver tray,plete with a gooseneck tea kettle and two ceramic teacups, each adorned with a golden leaf pattern that screamed expensive. Rin set the tray down before turning her attention to the flowers Vahn had ced in the vase, asking, "What kind of flowers are these? Ive never seen anything like them..." As they were flowers he had obtained through the shop, even Vahn wouldnt have been able to answer her question a week ago. Now, however, he could trace the origin of items purchased through the shop so he smiled politely before exining, "They are known as [Winters Kiss], a breed of lilies that cannot be found in this world. I thought they would ent the browns and beiges in the room well. They also have the benefit of increasing the air quality without you having to worry about them wilting away like normal lilies..." Hearing Vahns words, Rins expression became a curious one as she leaned forward and smelled the [Winters Kiss], seemingly without any caution. It had a gentle smell, akin to vani mixed with citrus undertones, causing Rin to produce a smile as she remarked, "They smell pleasant. It is a shame they are from a different world, as I would have liked to procure some for myself periodically." As she could tell the flowers were abnormal at a nce, Rin harbored no illusions that they were easy toe across. She didnt know how Vahn was able to materialize items out of thin air but, as spatial magic wasnt unheard of, she also didnt question it. Just as she had secrets she wasnt willing to disclose, Rin assumed had more than his fair share if he was truly from a different world. After waiting for Rin to take her seat, Vahn took his own before grabbing the teapot and skillfully filling their cups. Rins brows perked up in response, especially when Vahn handed her the cup and saucer, but she still graciously epted it before saying, "Thank you." Vahn followed this up by taking his own cup and answering, "It is I who should be thanking you, Miss Tohsaka. I consider it my fortune to have met a capable and understanding Magus so soon after my search began. From what I know of this world, the odds hadnt been particrly in my favor..." Though he had little concrete information about the organizations within this world, as anything he obtained from the shop didnt necessarily rte to his timeline, what Vahn hade to know thus far didnt paint them in a positive light. With an understanding nod, Rin sampled her tea before releasing a tired sigh, followed by her adding, "Well, you arent wrong. Most Magus are a pain to deal with, especially if you get involved with any of therger organizations. Every time I have to meet with those smelly old men, I feel like Im going to suffocate...haaaaa..." As if her earlier caution had been an illusion, Rin no longer considered Vahn to be a threat, at least for the time being. Though she could tell he was taking measured actions when talking to her, this wasnt that abnormal, even between Magus who had known each other for years. Besides, like the vast majority of women he hade across, Rin seemed to be weak topliments, even indirect ones. Allowing a light-heartedugh to escape his lips, Vahn steered the conversation away from Rinsining as he asked, "What can you tell me about this worlds Magecraft and its Organizations? As an outsider, I want to avoid causing any misunderstandings that could be otherwise avoided..." Even if he wasnt afraid of any future enemies that would cross his path, Vahn didnt want to make enemies for no reason. He was already tasked with returning seven of the most troublesome existences in the Record back to the Root so it was best to avoid getting wrapped up in the affairs of extraneous organizations. Of course, if they dide seeking trouble with him, Vahn had no intentions of standing down without a fight... Though she could sense something wrong about the way Vahn phrased things, Rin still went on to exin, "In this world, there are three major factions you need to be cautious of. Among them, the most troublesome faction is the so-called Holy Church. They have been around since the Age of Gods came to an end, supposedly guiding humanity towards prosperity through faith. Over the course of History, they have systematically eliminated any factors they are not able to directly control. Though they have an active cease-fire agreement with the Mages Association, there are constant squabbles between the two forces while war usually breaks out every hundred years or so. As for the Mages Association, they are an organization that advocates the development of Magecraft and the study of Thaumaturgy. The most important thing you need to consider in regards to the Mages Association is that they have three official branches, the Clock Tower, which I am affiliated with, the As Academy, and the Wandering Sea. I cant go into too much information about them unless you join but I can warn you about some of the things you need to consider if you are acting as an independent Magus..." When she reached this point, Rin suddenly became a lot more serious as she added, "If it is true that you are from a different world, there is a high chance you would be given a Sealing Designation, even without joining the Mages Association. Though you seem to be pretty strong, that is the same as being given a death sentence, even if they wouldnt actually harm you. It is closer to being put under house arrest as they typically treat you well, even if youre not allowed to take action on your own. Depending on the circ.u.mstances, however, you would be required to assist in the Mage Associations experiments..." As these words left her mouth, Rins expression had be extremely dour as she tightly clenched her teeth. This onlysted for a moment, however, before she took another sip of her tea and exhaled a profound sigh... Vahn was tempted to ask if something had happened but, even without hearing it from her directly, some of the ounts of Rins life showed that she had been given a Sealing Designation at times. In one timeline, she even campaigned to have the system abolished in its entirety, only having sess after arge scale war broke out between the various Magus Factions. Vahn didnt think she had been given such a ssification in this timeline, as she wouldnt be sitting here with him, but that didnt mean she wasnt a candidate up for consideration. The Tohsaka family seemed to be one of the most prominent Magus families but, with the exception of Rin, and a girl named Sakura, there didnt seem to be any other descendants within the main family line. Since she was obviously a very talented Magus, it wasnt beyond reason to assume that she would be given a Sealing Designation after aplishing something that set her apart from other Magi... After collecting herself, Rins expression returned to rtive normalcy as she continued exining, "Thest organization you need to be wary of are a group of individuals known as the Dead Apostle Ancestors. Though there are exceptions, many are evil entities who have obtained some form of immortality that makes it difficult for both the Mages Association and the Holy Church to deal with them. They are associated with many underground organizations, with most of their members being ssified as Vampires, Ghouls, Necromancers, and other problematic existences. If you someone manage to get on their bad side, you may not even know how you died..." For a brief moment, a pained look shed across Rins eyes as she stared down into her tea, almost as if she was looking for something infinitely in the distance... Having seen and experienced loss himself, Vahn recognized the look in Rins eyes as the look one had after losing someone dear to them. As a member of the Mages Association, it wasnt hard to imagine that she had been involved in any conflicts between the Clock Tower and the Dead Apostle Ancestors. Perhaps the reason she lived alone in such arge Manor, without even a single servant, was due to the fact she had lost someone near and dear to her heart. Vahn, however, chose not to pry into her past as, while a part of him wanted to help ease her pain, he was currently dealing with his own separation anxiety and loneliness. He knew that, if he became too invested in helping her deal with her pain, there was a non-negligible chance he would begin to develop a dependence on her in an effort to alleviate his own. With an expression of sincere empathy on his face, Vahn silently sipped his tea withoutmenting on Rins current state. When her eyes finally came back into focus, she quickly showed an embarrassed expression but, after seeing Vahn sitting calmly across from her, she regained her ownposure rather quickly. Then, having answered one of Vahns questions, even though she failed to disclose anything rted to Magecraft, Rin showed an expression of intrigue as she asked, "Now, tell me about yourself. I want to know about the world you came from and what the significance of being a Progenitor is. If your answer satisfies me, I may find it in my expansive heart to give you a few introductory lessons in Magecraft..." As thest words left her lips, Rin showed a somewhat haughty expression as she puffed out her modest chest, confidence radiating from her body... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahnsmon sense is skewed,Rin is raising so many gs, just to have Vahn mercilessly break them xD,A game of twenty questions...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1021 - Compromise

Chapter 1021 - Compromise

Vahn couldnt help but feel that it was the correct decision to head out early in the morning as, much like his conversation with Akasha, it took him nearly three full hours to recount his story to Rin. He glossed over many things, especially if it was in regards to anything sensitive in nature, but she politely abstained from prying. Though her reaction when he revealed the number of lovers and children he had caused Vahns scalp to tingle, she seemed to ept it after he mentioned the fact that he was more than 150 years old and lived in a world where gods roamed amongst men. Before this revtion, Rin had thought his story was somewhat fantastical but hadnt made any connection between any of the mentioned parties and actual gods. When Vahn finally finished recounting his past, Rin remained silent for several minutes, an expression deep contemtion on her face. It wasnt until Vahn pulled a fresh pot of tea out of thin air that she turned her attention back to him, asking, "So, you im to be from a world that is still in the Age of Gods. Not only that, but your race, Progenitor, is the origin of every other sentient race, the only exception being Spirits and Gods themselves...?" Though it wasnt that difficult to believe Vahn had actuallye from a world where Gods still existed, as it wouldnt even be the first time someone like him had appeared in the world, Rin was more concerned about the fact he imed to be an existence that was akin to the Holy Churches ADAM. If he was what he imed to be, a Sealing Designation was the least of his concerns. His existence could very well lead to all-out war between all three factions as the Holy Church would never allow him to move freely while the Dead Apostle Ancestors would covet his blood. With this one revtion, assuming it was the truth, Vahn had be the highest priority target for all three organizations... Failing to understand the significance of his race, even though he could sense Rins apprehension, Vahn nodded his head and exined, "Yes. I am able to freely change my form, adapting my cells to perfectly emte any existing race. If I put in the effort, I can even emte fictional races by altering the structure of my magic circuits..." As even Eva had referred to the pathways used to channel mana as magic circuits, Vahn wasnt particrly worried about revealing his ability to change the internal structure of his circuits. This was a bombshell for Rin, however, who adopted an incredulous expression that clearly showed she either didnt, or refused, to believe him. As a result, Vahn produced a wry smile before his body rapidly changed, two pointed ears poking out from his head as a bushy tail made itself known from his lower back. He had taken on the form of a Chienthrope as the upkeep of maintaining something like a Vanargandr would be wasteful in his present state. Seeing Vahn change right before her eyes, Rins mouth gaped even more, at least until she got a clear look at him. He had already been unnervingly handsome before, to the point Rin assumed it was artificial, but the dog ears and tail actually made Vahn look somewhat cute. As this thought crossed her mind, Rin felt an increase in the tension of her cheeks, quickly apanied by a rising heat. Then, even though she knew it was a bad idea, Rins curiosity got the better of her as she hesitantly asked, "Can...can I check to see if they are real...?" Though she could easily discern they were real, based on the fact that Vahns human ears had receded into his head during the transformation, Rin feltpelled to verify the feel of his fluffy-looking dog ears with her own hands... As her question was within his expectations, Vahn gave a small nod before presenting his head forward. He had, for a brief moment, been tempted to warn her about the intimate nature of what she was asking but, realizing it wasnt exactly conducive to his situation, Vahn decided against it. This led to a peculiar scene, one where Vahn kept his eyes closed to avoid having to stare at Rins chest as she enthusiastically stroked his head and ears. Though she had only touched them gingerly at first, Rins face turned into a strange smile after a while, followed by her happily patting his head. In response, mostly due to his instincts as a Chienthrope, Vahns tail began to wag gently, regardless of his attempts to resist the building urge... Rins eyes began to ze in response to the movement of Vahns tail but he quickly put an end to it by pulling away and clearing his throat before saying, "I believe that is more than enough..." This sentiment didnt seem to be shared by Rin but she still reluctantly nodded her head before adopting a far more serious expression momentster. Following this, Rin went on to warn, "Vahn, you need to keep your existence as a Progenitor a secret. Even telling me was a big mistake, as I am officially a part of the Clock Tower. Though I have no intention of exposing your secret, there are numerous methods in which someone may be able to pry the information out of me. If the nature of your existence is exposed, you will have the Mages Association, the Holy Church, and the Dead Apostle Ancestors breathing down your neck..." Vahn wasnt all that surprised by Rins revtion, as being a Progenitor had been a big deal, even in his previous world. She could see that he wasnt taking her warning seriously but, before she was able to emphasize the importance of her words, Vahn smiled confidently as he said, "One of the reasons I came to you was to get a better grasp of this worlds power structure. However, though I would like to avoid unnecessary troubles, that doesnt mean I am afraid of a fight. Even if all of the organizations you mentionedbined forces, I would not shy away from them. In order to return to my world, to the family I have waiting for me, I must be stronger, stronger than anyone else...!" There was pure conviction contained within Vahns words and, after hearing him talk enthusiastically about his family, Rin knew he was serious. Though her own family was more than a little dysfunctional, even she would risk her life if it meant protecting the people she cared about... Releasing an exasperated sigh, followed by her rubbing her temples in frustration, Rin eventually turned her aqua-eyes back to Vahn, saying, "If youre half as strong as your stories make you out to be, you may not have anything to worry about...however, that doesnt mean you can move about with impunity. In order to return back to your family, you need to survive long enough toplete the trip. Dont go around risking your life and picking fights with people just because of your pride and desire to grow stronger...!" With Rins finger pointing in his face, much like how a teacher would lecture a child, Vahn smile began to twitch at the sides as he resisted the urge to correct her. He knew she was, in her own way, trying to be considerate of him. Since they had only known each other for a few hours, his impression of her had already increased considerably. The fact she went out of her way to warn him, even mentioning that she may be forced to reveal his secret, showed that she had a considerate and intrinsically kind personality. Since there were even subtle fluctuations of fate around her, implying that she was tied to the fate of the Record, Vahn felt he may have inadvertently stumbled upon one of the protagonists of the Nasuverse. It was the only way he could exin her going out on a limb for someone she just met, discounting the fact that she may just be attracted to his good looks... Just as Rin was thinking how best to lecture Vahn, her stomach suddenly began to grow, far more audibly than she would have liked. Vahns expression didnt change at all but she felt a strong urge to punch him in the face before burying herself in a hole in the back yard. It was even worse when he allowed a small smile to spread across his stupidly handsome face before asking, "Shall I prepare lunch? I am quite confident in my culinary skills...you can consider it an expression of my gratitude for the warning you have given me." Then, without waiting for a response, Vahn rose to his feet before pulling out the same [Mana Crystal] from earlier and setting it atop the table. To answer Rins confusion, he simply stated, "It will not take me long to prepare something. You can use that time to inspect this [Mana Crystal] to determine its worth. Even if you decide to withhold some information, I will still allow you to keep it for further study..." Finished stating his piece, Vahn left the study without even asking Rin for direction to the kitchen. He already had an in-depth understanding of the Manors structure so it wasnt really necessary for her to guide the way. Though it could be considered rude, or even inappropriate, for him to walk through her Manor alone, he had already invaded it previously. Compared to the invasion of privacy leading up to his meeting with Rin, simply walking to the Kitchen was iparable. This seemed to be the consensus Rin had reached as well, considering she made no attempts to stop him from leaving the study. Though this could have been due to the fact that she was distracted by the [Mana Crystal], Vahn was aware of the fact that she had followed his departure with her eyes. When he got further down the hallway, she even cracked up the door of the study as if to make sure he wasnt going to get lost... --- After reaching the fully stocked kitchen,plete with dozens of different pots, pans, and utensils, Vahn opened Rins fridge to find that it was almostpletely empty. Even the nearby pantry and cold storage nearly barren, causing him to wonder if she even used it for cooking. Without any servants in the house, it was a bit odd to find everything so clean, almost as if it had never been used before. Ignoring this, Vahn purchased some ingredients from the system shop while ignoring the singr aqua-blue eye peering at him through the crack in the door. Rin had followed behind him, either to make sure he wasnt doing something like poisoning the food or out of general curiosity. Vahn had talked up his cooking skills quite a bit so it wasnt out of the realm of possibility that she wanted to see his capabilities for herself. As he was used to having an audience whilst cooking, Vahn ignored Rins skulking about as he decided to make a light lunch. Ever since he lived with Tsubaki, Vahns tastebuds had been conditioned to match the Far Eastern pallet so he was more than limated in the preparation of traditional Japanese dishes. He figured that Rin, given her figure, probably wasnt a heavy eater, even though he could tell that she was actually very fit beneath her clothing. Since she used a type of magic that enhanced her physical capabilities, it was obvious that Rin took proper care of her body in order to further amplify the magics effects. Even with her dress and blouse properly concealing her figure from view, Vahns experience as a physician allowed him to see through herpletely, even without his [Eyes of Truth] active. Hearing the sound of something falling down, Vahn turned his head towards the door just in time to see it m shut. He was beginning to suspect that Rin genuinely had a method to understand what others were thinking about her as, each time his thoughts went wayward, she had shown a reaction. The question then became, how sensitive was her intuition and, if he let his mind wander even further, would she be able to sense it? This was the thought that crossed his mind as Vahn simultaneously cleaned a few vegetables while imagining Rin wearing one of the [Aegis Mk 4] outfits. Since he could perfectly envision such things, leaving no details glossed over, Vahn was able to witness a view that would cause Rins admirers to pursue him even more fervently than the three major organizations... This time, the door to the kitchen was kicked open as Rin, her face noticeably red, pointed towards Vahn and shouted, "You, just now, you were thinking something inappropriate, werent you!? Dont you lie to me!" Seeing Rin burst into the door, Vahn was content to have the answer to his question, even as he was confused as to why her reaction was so extreme. He wasnt the same dense individual he had been in the distant past so it wasnt difficult for him to interpret how a woman felt towards him. Rins reaction, however, was peculiarpared to how most women behaved as, even though she seemed to be the refined type, she was also prone topromising outbursts. In response to her usation, Vahn turned around and, with a straight face, shook his head before exining, "My thoughts were not inappropriate, even if they could be misconstrued as rude. I told you earlier that one of my primary professions was a cksmith. Im also skilled in the art of sewing, dressmaking, and...well...more refined practices. I assure you, the chances of me having any untoward thoughts regarding you are slim, Miss Tohsaka..." Though he knew his words were a bit harsh, Vahn wanted to make it clear from the start that he wasnt looking for any meaningful interactions between them. He had seen the borderline disgust she allowed to show when he talked about his rtionsh.i.p.s with other women and, unable to set aside his feelings for them, Vahn wasnt interested in anyone that was ufortable with him loving others. It didnt matter if they were separated by a vastness so great that it couldnt be measured by distance and time as they would always, forever, be his lovers... Feeling a bit saddened by his own thoughts, Vahn turned his attention away from the statue of Rin as he began skillfully dicing the vegetables into fine chunks. Since he didnt want to spend too much time cooking, he had settled on making a sd using kale, spinach, romaine, and a few chopped vegetables on the side that could be freely added. To apany the sd, he had prepared some pickled roe which, on its own, had a somewhat overbearing vor. However, when mixed together with lightly salted white rice and chives, it became a delicious blend of mellow, savory, and tart vors. It had been a favorite of Tsubaki, Mikoto, Haruhime, and Shizune so Vahn was confident Rin would also enjoy it. By the time he was finished preparing everything, Rin had moved to the nearby dining table, her expression a clear indicator she wasnt in the best of mood. As he carried the dishes over, she gave him a somewhat hateful look that Vahn elected to ignore as he set the te in front of her and said, "It is best eaten when warm..." Following that, he sat at theplete opposite end of the table, causing Rins frown to deepen as she muttered, "Stupid...what does he think Im going to do, bite him...?" Though she continued to curse him under her breath, Rin still went through the motions of unwrapping her tableware before picking up a fork that was specially crafted for the sole purpose of eating sds. She did her best to ignore Vahns presence as she unhesitantly took a bite of the sd, finding it to be of surprisingly high quality. The vegetables all tasked crip and fresh, almost as if they had been plucked mere minutes prior. Since she had seen him pull them out of thin air, something that was starting to seem like real Magic, Rin frowned, even as she enjoyed the taste. She really wanted to ask where he kept pulling items from but, fearing he would actually im to be creating them from scratch, she kept mum as she picked up a pair of ivory chopsticks and sampled the roe. Tasting the picked roe on her tongue, Rins brows perked up a bit as, though she was fond of sweets, she had always been particr when it came to pickled foods. The roe was not only crunchy, popping within her mouth, but the blend of the two contrasting vors was very pleasant. As it was even better with the rice Vahn had prepared, Rin had quickly forgotten her annoyance as her eating pace gradually increased. By the time the bowl waspletely finished, she had a satisfied smile on her face as she mused, "That was delicious! You know, if youre looking for a ce to stay, I dont mind hiring you on as my personal Chef. So long as you agree to prepare meals for me, I may even teach you the basics of Magecraft~." Seeing how quickly Rin bounced back, Vahn looked towards her with a borderline nk stare before slowly allowing a smile to spread across his face. This caused Rin to inhale sharply before, realizing what she was offering, she quickly stammered, "Wait, dont misunderstand! Didnt you say that you got kicked out of your ce this morning and was thinking about what to do in the future? If you stay here for a few months, you can learn more about this world and, though I may be too busy to attend you often, I can easily spare the time it takes to eat a meal in order to exin the basics. I can even introduce you to a...coworker of mine. She is a bit of a pain but she is trustworthy...!" Vahn resisted pointing out the fact that Rins behavior actually made her offer even more suspect. At the same time, he was actually considering her offer as, without any other ns, it wasnt the best course of action. Not only was she from a prestigious, albeit declining, Magus Family, but her future prospects also made her a reliable ally to have. Since she had an aura of fate around her, there was a good chance she was involved with a sequence of events that were directly tied to the fate of the world itself. Vahn had no prior understanding of this world and, though the History texts provided quite a bit of insight into what he could expect, the key details werent ounted for. By staying closer to her, he could pretty much guarantee his involvement in events that would shape this timeline while also having potential scapegoats with other fate-bound individuals nearby... After thinking of the possible benefits, Vahn closed his eyes before considering whether or not taking such a passive stance was the best option. Though it was true that Rin would certainly be a reliable ally, she still had a long way to go. Considering her age, she was already well beyond her developmental phase so, while the quality of her mana might improve, the quantity would only increase a marginal amount without the aid of external resources. If he had found her ten or so years prior, or even earlier, it might have been possible to groom her into a powerful Magus that could be an actual ally in his future battles. Now, however, she was an investment that might not have any payoff, at least without him treating the matter seriously... Breaking Vahn from his thoughts, Rin mmed her hands on the table suddenly before shouting, "You, you just thought something very rude, didnt you? Dont look down on me, Vahn. I dont care if you are some bullshit existence from the Age of Gods. Hell, I dont even care if youre able to use True Magic easier than a cow can produce methane! If you look down on me, prepare to get some sense knocked into you when I be stronger! Youre not the only one who is trying to reach the pinnacle of the world...!" At this point, Rin had risen to her feet as she leaned across the table, directing her finger, once again, towards Vahns face... As he had already exined the fact that he was previously an Emperor, Vahn was annoyed by the fact that Rin was pointing her finger in his face. Though he wasnt carrying himself as someone that should be respected, it was still an action that grated on his nerves, probably more than it should. As a result, even though he didnt fault Rin for her conviction, his expression became serious as he inly stated, "Everyone has the potential to be strong, Rin Tohsaka...it is not a special trait that only a few geniuses possess. However, at this moment, the difference in power between us is something you cant even fathom. If you continue shoving your finger in my face, dont me me for denying you the respect Ive been giving you until now. Even if you have every right to state your convictions, you need to seriously consider how your actions are interpreted by others..." For a moment, Rin felt as if she were receiving a stern lecture from her father, someone that had died nearly twenty years prior. Her heart seized up in her chest and, though she wanted to rebut what Vahn had said, the look on his face made her retract her hand in silence. She had even nearly bbed that nobody was allowed to talk to her like that but, recalling what kind of existence Vahn was, Rin knew he wasnt wrong to demand respect. However, just as this thought crossed her mind, Rin also remembered that he had snooped around her Manor before breaking in, all to have her answer his questions. Since then, she was certain he had several rude thoughts and, though he said he wouldnt have any untoward thoughts regarding her, Rin didnt believe his words were sincere... Choosing not to apologize, Rin crossed her arms before snorting through her nose and asking, "So, are you going to stay here? Ill make an exception and only ask you to prepare one meal a day, but youll have to cook for me more if you expect me to answer any more questions. I dont care if you have a thousand of those Mana Crystals, as I dont even have a use for them in their current state. If you cant agree to this, please leave my Manor and never return. I will keep your secret, as promised, but I dont want to involve myself with an abnormal element like you if I cant even expect to bepensated with something as simple as food." Though the words sounded silly leaving her mouth, Rin had already decided that Vahn would be her Chef, Emperor or not. Seeing the way Rin was behaving, Vahn actually found himself smiling as, though there were a lot of differences, she acted somewhat simr to Eva. She was certainly prideful, likely the result of her upbringing, but Vahn could also sense there was a deeply rooted pain that she had already shown glimpses of. Considering that there was fate lingering around her, Vahn knew she likely had some kind of past tragedy that hadnt made its way into the history books. If he decided to ept her offer, his own nature would make it almost impossible for him not to get involved when things begin to spiral downwards. Still, it was better than having no n at all so, even though Rin would be difficult to deal with at times, Vahn eventually released a sigh before musing, "I will only ept if you agree to learn how to cook. In exchange for teaching me the basics of Magecraft, I will teach you how to take care of yourself and cook delicious food so you dont starve yourself after I leave..." More-so than any of the previous times, Rins face became a deep shade of red as she listened to Vahns words. The moment he finished speaking, she mmed her hands on the table once again before shouting, "I know how to cook, you idiooooot...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Rin is judging Vahn so hard xD...,Stealth Operation,I wonder if a time wille when Rin calls Vahn Daddy...) (A/N: Today is thest day to vote for who youd like to see as a Servant in uing chapters~! If you havent already, follow the link I post in thements section to cast your votes!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1022 - Adapt

Chapter 1022 - Adapt

In what felt like the blink of an eye, Vahn had already been within the Nasuverse for two weeks. During the time he had been staying within the Tohsaka Manor, using one of the seemingly never used guest rooms, Vahn invariably ended up cooking most meals. Though he had tried to teach Rin how to cook, she was like a walking disaster within the kitchen. Currently, he only trusted her with basic tasks like washing the vegetables as there were only so many times he could watch her mishandle a knife before denying her the right to use it. This led to Rin insisting that she could actually cook on her own but, after giving her the benefit of the doubt, Vahn ultimately had to prepare their dinner a second time after Rin burned it. He didnt understand how a twenty-seven-year-old woman could be so ipetent within the kitchen as even girls like Tione had picked up on things rtively quickly... Fortunately, meal preparation for two people never took long, meaning Vahn had a great deal of free time to himself. Contrary to her ims of being busy, Rin seemed to spend the vast majority of her time within the workshop located in the second half of the bas.e.m.e.nt. This was an area that was off-limits to Vahn, as Rin emphasized that all Magus have their secrets, but he was still able to set up a small workshop of his own in the bas.e.m.e.nt itself. Previously, Rin seemed to be using it as a ce to train her body as, littered about the room, there were things like h-hoops, weights, a series of wooden dummies for practicing close-quartersbat, and tworge sandbags. At a nce, it was easy to see this equipment hadnt been used in several years, leading Vahn to believe that Rin had only just returned to Fuyuki recently... Unlike how she made her workshop off-limits to him, Rin had made a habit of periodicallying to see what he was working on. Vahn had made an off-hand remark about the hypocritical nature of her actions but she had rebuffed him by reminding that the entire Manor was her property. During moments like that, Vahn could only shake his head and sigh. Though he could easily move out and find a ce to stay on his own, Rin would always panic and convince him to stay at thest moment. She had even taught him a fair bit in regards to Magecraft, allowing Vahn to fill in the rest himself by relying on the system shop as his crutch. Though some of the notes and texts he purchased were very OP-intensive, Vahn currently had arge surplus to rely on as he continued to familiarize himself with this new world. During his lessons with Rin, Vahn quickly learned that Magecraft was fundamentally the same as using the Unnamed Magic taught to him by Eva. Since they were both Tier 5 worlds, Vahn wasnt surprised by this simrity but, seeing him seed instantly, Rins expression had been a sight to behold. She had given an arbitrary exnation on how to use basic Magecraft but, without asking even a single question, Vahn was able to activate his Magic Circuits immediately thereafter. This was the result of Vahns ability to perfectly imagine things, allowing him to create the necessary mental image in an instant before his entire body was covered in pale blue runes. That night, Rin spent a very long time holed up in her workshop, only appearing the next morning with bags under her eyes as she nursed a cup of ck coffee... Ultimately, Magical Circuits ended up being a projection of the same magical circuits Vahn was already familiar with. Instead of using the mana internally, however, the Magical Circuits within Nasuverse manifested themselves on the surface of a Magus skin. Their basic function was to serve as the pathways that allowed a Magus to use Magecraft but, even with every prolific Mage family having a unique crest, Rin had attested to the fact that many Magi were able to use the same spells, regardless of the structure of their Magic Circuits and the Incantation required to enact the spell. It was this revtion that allowed Vahn to directlypare it to Evas Magic System as, much like thetter, the former relied on the image a person created in their mind to give power to the Spell. In order to activate your Magic Circuits for the purpose of using Magecraft, it was necessary to create a triggger, usually a powerful mental image, that could directly resonate with your self-preservation instincts. For Rin, this took on the form of imagining a de piercing her heart while Vahns ended up being the memory of Musashi cutting through his ego and destroying his avatar. Since his image was an actual experience, Vahns activation trigger was far more powerful than Rins, even though thetter had been practicing Magecraft for more than twenty years. There was a reason why Magi who had experienced hardsh.i.p.s and trauma were often the most powerful as, instead of forming a simple image, they had very real experience with life and death scenarios. Though Rin wasnt an exception to this, having plenty of experience with such things herself, Vahn had literally died several times at this point, all while possessing a far more powerful Soul. Once his Magic Circuits had been activated, Vahn didnt waste much time before trying to familiarize and adapt his prior knowledge and experiences into functional skills within the Nasuverse. It was somewhat unfortunate that there werent correctional skills like Developmental Abilities within this world but Vahn was still able to determine that his forging skills and most of his Magics could be used without much difficulty. The biggest restriction he faced was his limited reserves but that would slowly be less of a factor as he continued to use Magecraft and the [Mantra of Eternity] to meditate. Just as Eva had taught him, Vahn could increase his reserves by stimting his internal mana and using it up every chance he got. This would strengthen his Magic Circuits, increasing the load they could bear, while also marginally increasing his base reserves. Surprisingly, though this seemed like mon sense from his perspective, Magus within the Nasuverse apparently hadnt put two-and-two together and had instead been fumbling around with theories for thest two thousand years... Vahn hade to learn of this when, apparently after thinking long and hard about things, Rin approached him to ask for advice in her own training. Since he had been considering helping groom Rin into a powerful Magus, Vahn didnt mind pushing her in the right direction to see where she could take things. When she learned that she had missed the best opportunity at increasing her reserves, Rin had actually headbutted the table before cursing at some man named Kirei under her breath. It was after this outburst when Vahn came to learn that, ever since she was around seven years old, Rin had essentially lived alone. Though there was a Gurdian that looked after her, helping her train her body and Magecraft, he would only ever assign her homework before leaving her to figure things out for herself. Fortunately, Rin was a rarely seen genius so, even without direct guidance, she had be a proficient Magus through self-teaching. Less fortunately, when Vahn asked about what happened to Kireiter on, Rin had be despondent before disappearing into her room for the rest of the evening... After triggering Rin several times, Vahn understood that her past hadnt been a pleasant one and, even though she put on a strong and confident front, there were a few deeply rooted traumas within Rins heart and mind. There were times when she would suddenly fall silent after he made herugh, a profound mncholy shing over her eyes that she would gloss over when questioned. Even so, Vahn was still able to piece together the fact that something had happened ten years prior which, thanks to the system shop, provided him with quite a bit of insight into several potential possibilities. After all, though it wasnt recorded in many texts dated to around his current timeline, there were several ounts of the Fuyuki City Fire and, in texts from the far future, the Holy Grail War. Since Akasha had said there was a 98% chance he would be involved with a Holy Grail War himself, Vahn wouldnt be surprised if Rins return to the City was rted to the legendary event. After all, in the same texts that discussed the existence of the War, many pointed out that it was Rin who had brought the bloody conflict to an end... Choosing to respect Rins privacy, Vahn didnt press her for any information about the Holy Grail War as he would inevitably receive his answer in due time. Instead, he was currently within his workshop trying to shape a piece of Mythril into a staff without using an actual forge. Since the venttion within the bas.e.m.e.nt wasnt suitable for setting up an actual forge, Vahn was shaping the metal using abination of Fire Elemental maniption and Magecraft. Even if his reserves were barely a fraction of what he was used to, Vahns skill as a [Master Smith] hadnt simply vanished. He was also intimately familiar with the maniption of Fire Elemental energy, to the point that some gods presiding over Fire, at least within Danmachi, may not be able to contend against him... It was in the middle of using Telekinesis to forcefully shape the piece of Mythril that Rin exited her own workshop before staring at him with the same suspicious gaze she often turned toward him. Fortunately, she had enough sense not to interrupt him while he was working with a piece of red-hot metal but, almost as soon as he set it into the quench tank, Rinmented, "Youre going to cause a lot of problems one day, Vahn. Though Im not going to pry into your secrets too much, it is obvious that you are capable of using True Magic. Even if youre an existence from the Era of Gods, what youre using isnt something that is possible, regardless of how proficient someone is with Thaumaturgy. You need to make sure you keep your true capabilities hidden, regardless of how much trust you ce in the other party..." Though Magecraft and Thaumaturgy were fundamentally the same thing, thetter was considered the foundational practice. It was used to describe the various different schools that Magecraft hadtter evolved into, including Astrology, Kabbh, Alchemy, Shinsendou, and several other Divergent Schools. At the most basic level, however, all Thaumaturlogical processes dealt with the conversion of Magical Energy within the body, shaping it in a way that allowed the user to produce the phenomenon of Magecraft within the external world. There were several rules that strictly governed what should be possible within each School and it was the research that went into bending these rules that often determined how proficient one was with Magecraft. What Vahn was doing, however, almostpletely ignored the rules as, instead of using the basic principle of equivalent exchange, he seemed to be creating from nothing. Understanding what Rin was trying to tell him, Vahn smiled in response before pulling out the cooled piece of Mythril and saying, "I consider myself a good judge of character. Even if your superiors within the Clock Tower pressured you, I dont believe you would willingly expose me. Though you may not see it yourself, I can tell youre a considerate person who cherishes the people you interact with..." Without waiting for Rins inevitable rebuttal, Vahn forced the Mythril staff into her hand, smiling even wider as he said, "It may not be a Masterpiece, but Im confident in the quality of my work. Instead of worrying about convincing me not to trust others, you should focus more on increasing your capabilities as a Magus. After all, if you be the strongest, I wont have to worry about anyone forcing you to expose my secrets." With those words, Vahnughed in a lighthearted manner before heading towards the stairs leading to the Manor above. To prevent Rin from following after him, he simply stated, "Im going to borrow the bath for a bit. Dont peek..." before disappearing through the door. Momentster, he heard something hard hit the door before Rin yelled, "Peek my ass! Who would peek on you...!?" Choosing not to respond, Vahn made his way to the bathroom before washing the soot and grime from his body. Regardless of what Rin had said, there had already been a few near incidents in the nine days he had resided in the Manor. He knew this was the influence of fate so he didnt hold it against her, even as he had to proactively measure his actions to avoid anypromising situations. At this point, he was certain the Rin would have had the [Luck] Development Ability if she were back in Danmachi. There was even a non-negligible chance that the entire reason he hade to the Tohsaka Residence before heading anywhere else was rted to her luck. Now that he was present, the chance she would seed in whatever her future ns were had increased exponentially. If he wanted to, he could even turn her into an enviable existence that would make other Magi go crazy... Though the functionality wouldnt be the same, Vahn was certain he would be able to give his Blessing to others. Even without the Fragment of Creation he had obtained within Danmachi, Vahn was still a Tier 4 existence and had a solid understanding of how the Familia Crests worked. Since the concept of a Blessing existed within this world, with Spirits, Daemons, Demons, and Gods all able to bestow it upon people, Vahn knew he could certainly do the same. If he was straightforward with her, Vahn knew it was even possible to make Rin into one of his Subordinates or Retainers, giving him the ability to literally change almost everything about her. She might not be at the most optimal age to increase her internal mana, but even that could be changed with the functionality provided by The Path... Even without relying on The Path, Vahn had several other options to help Rin be exponentially more powerful than she currently was. The problem with these methods, however, was that they were all a little more intimate than simply looking at a screen and making selections. Though it hadnt been his intention, Vahn now realized that the vast majority of methods he had developed to help people were more than a little inappropriate, at least by his current worlds standards. This included rather drastic actions, such as him using his [Hands of Nirvana] to help refine Rins body, while even rtively tame actions, such as using his Source Energy to nourish her Mana Circuits also required direct, and extended, physical contact... Vahn hadnt broached the subject thus far but, with what he knew of Rin after only nine days, he was certain she would be willing to do whatever it took to grow stronger. There were gaps within hermon sense that could be easily exploited if he had the intention of taking advantage of her. This was likely the very reason why she had experienced tragedies in the past as, even with her haughty nature, Rin seemed to throw herself head-first into danger on behalf of others. It was easy to see that she had few people she was close to, even though it was surprisingly easy to get in her good graces if you simply got to know her true self. Though this true self was somewhat troublesome, Vahn felt that she just desperately wanted to interact in a meaningful way with others and simplycked the knowledge required to do so without acting explosively... While enjoying the warm water of the bath, Vahn could her loud stomping in the corridor nearby. Rin wasnting towards the bath but, based on the way in which she was stomping around, it was obvious that she was reminding him that she knew he was thinking about her. Vahn could imagine her face turning slightly red when her own thoughts wandered in regards to why he was thinking about her in the bath. Of course, when this thought crossed his mind, the stomping became even louder than before. Vahn couldnt help but release a light chuckle before allowing himself to slide further into the bath, submerging his head... By the time Vahn exited the bath, Rin was already waiting for him in the kitchen since it was almost time to prepare dinner. Unlike the long skirt she had been wearing on the day they met, easily extending past her knees, Vahn hadnt seen her wear anything remotely simr since. Instead, she defaulted to wearing a red or white blouse, thetter of which she often covered with a brown vest, likely to keep her bra from being visible. As for her choice in skirts, Rin was currently wearing a ck skirt that only extended to her wrists, a far cry from the rather modest skirt she had previously worn. Though she wore something simr to spats underneath,bined with long thigh-high leggings, Vahn felt she was trying a little too hard to spite his im that he would never think uncouth thoughts about her... Knowing he was thinking something rude again, Rin gave Vahn a deadpan re before picking up the nearby kitchen knife and inspecting its edge. Vahn knew this was her way to seem intimidating but, instead of shying away, he smiled tauntingly before walking towards Rin without any fear. This startled her, causing her to step back subconsciously as Vahn grabbed her hand holding the knife and said, "You should know what youre getting yourself into if you intend to try and scare me..." Then, guiding Rins hand, Vahn brought the tip of the knife to his chest before she was able to make sense of what he was doing. This caused Rins eyes to widen as she eximed, "What are you doing!?" in a shocked voice. Vahn didnt immediately release her hand and instead, in a somewhat stern tone, said, "Watch..." This brought Rin to silence as she watched the tip of the de prate his shirt before stopping against a seemingly immovable force. Momentster, the de began to bend noticeably before the tip ultimately fractured and went flying off at high speeds. Vahn quickly moved to grab the piece of shrapnel before it could identally hurt anyone, snatching it out of the air with his index and middle fingers. With the fragmented de in hand, Vahn exined, "Dont use me of being unfair. Though I dont believe you would ever turn against me, make sure you are properly prepared when the timeses. I may be much weaker than I was in my previous world, but never forget what I told during our first meeting...my power is something the current you cant even begin toprehend. When you realize that...well, you might find a new way towards your goals..." With his words finished, Vahn threw the broken kitchen knife into his Inventory before purchasing a functionally simr one for five OP. Leaving Rin in a confused and contemtive state, Vahn began preparing dinner, though not beforementing, "Leave cutting things to me. Unlike someone, Im not going to identally cut myself...ufu..." These words caused Rins twin-tails to bob suddenly as she snapped her head towards him, ring with her aqua-blue eyes. Vahn, however, had already started dicing up daikon without paying any attention to her, causing Rin to grind her teeth as she muttered, "If I was knife proof, I wouldnt cut myself either...hmph, thinks he is so great just because he can cook...? I can cook too...just you wait and see...!" Like this, Rin started her usual soliloquy, serving as the background music apanying Vahns skillful performance as a Chef... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Poor Rin, trying topare herself to a literal god...,Womens Intuition,Vahn will never run out of salt with Rin nearby xD) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1023 - Overcome

Chapter 1023 - Ovee

As his familiarity with the world continued to grow, Vahn was quickly adapting to his new life and his new capabilities. Ultimately, the only thing that had changed since his time in Danmachi was the fact hecked the benefit of a Falna and the correctional effect of his Development Abilities. Everything else remained pretty much the same as, even though he had to adapt it to the new system, the basic premise behind the skills and abilities were fundamentally the same. This was the result of the Laws themselves having simr effects in most Records, especially those withparable Tiers. Even though the Nasuverse was Tier 5, Vahn suspected that the pinnacle most entities could achieve within the Root was near the peak of Tier 4, barely crossing the threshold into Tier 5. Akasha obviously wouldnt want any entity within the experiment to be stronger than the system itself allowed. Vahn intuited that the primary reason people were even able to gain ess to the Root was so that they could be removed from the system after reaching the pinnacle of a certain concept. This would make them viable candidates for assisting in other experiments while helping to ensure they wouldnt be a danger to the experiment being conducted within the Root system. Unfortunately, either out of greed, or perhaps fear of the unknown, there were entities that had gone against the grain to establish themselves as pseudo-Administrators within the system. With the power they had stolen from the Root, they were almost unrivaled within the system and, being unable to influence things directly, Akasha could only grit her teeth as she watched her experiment slowly fall apart... Now that he had a better understanding of his own power within the Root, Vahn found himself considering whether or not he should treat the task assigned to him by Akasha seriously. After looking through the avable quests within his Quest Function, it was at the very top of the list, possessing an SSS-Rank designation. Since Quests were graded based on the Records themselves, this meant Vahn would likely have to be near the peak of Tier 4 before he had any chance of actuallypleting the task. Though he would also have to determine whether or not the Seven were actually bad people, Vahn decided there wasnt any reason to outright refuse the Quest so, along with two others, he ultimately epted Akashas task. ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Quest: Return to the Root] Rank: SSS Objective(s): Ensure that Astario Vale Hoenheim(0/1), Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg(0/1), Kanada Vaisheshika(0/1), Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern(0/1), Eruru Alexis Emiya(0/1), Kyrie Alternis(0/1), and Aoko Aozaki(0/1) are returned to the Root Designation: Akasha. Optional Objective(s): Disrupt any Holy Grail Ritual(Current:0), Remove all traces of the Akashic Verses from variable timelines(Current:0), Assist in the execution of other Type Directives(Current:0) Rewards: 10,000,000,000OP, 1x(Proto-Archetype: ADAM), 1x(Proto-Archetype: EVE) Failure Condition(s): Expulsion from the Record, Failure to Complete Main Objectives Before Leaving the Record Penalty: N/A [Repeatable Quest: Cup of Heaven] Rank: S Objective(s): Be a Master within the Holy Grail War (0/1), Defeat the Servants of all Rival Masters(0/6), Obtain ess to the Greater Grail(0/1) Optional Objective(s): Obtain the Servant of a Rival Master(0/6), Destroy the Lesser Grail(0/1), Destroy the Greater Grail(0/1) Rewards: 1x[Grace of the Root], 20x[Artificial-Command Seal] Failure Condition(s): Expulsion from the Record, Death of Servant(Variable), Failure to Secure the Lesser and Greater Grails Penalty: 1,000 Karma, Curse: [Bearer of the Worlds Evil] [Repeatable Quest: The Title of Master] Rank: B Objective(s): Enter into a Master-Disciple rtionship with any individual tied to the Worlds Fate(0/-) Optional Objective(s): Convince your Disciple to be: Subordinate, Retainer, or Follower Rewards: 100,000OP Failure Condition(s): Expulsion from the Record Penalty: N/A ----------------------------------------------------------------- With the rewards for Akashas task showing a great deal of promise, Vahn felt he wouldnt lose out if he managed to somedayplete it. As for the other two Quests he had selected, they were both Repeatable and, though he wasnt sure how to travel to other timelines at the moment, Vahn was certain it would be possible in the future. Besides, with Akasha saying it was almost guaranteed that he would be involved in the Holy Grail War, Vahn figured it didnt hurt to get some extra benefits for his troubles. Even if he managed to get ess to the Greater Grail, he had no need to reach the Root so Akasha shouldnt care if he took advantage of the Ritual for his own ends. As for the final Quest, Vahn knew he would undoubtedly have allies at some point and, with Rin showing increased interest in his True Magic, the chances she would eventually be his protege were high. In preparation for the future, Vahn spent most of his free time meditating and creating granule-sized Elemental Stars. Since his Oblivion still used a ridiculous amount of Source Energy, it was his most reliable means of draining his reserves. While they were replenishing, Vahn would focus on the [Mantra of Eternity] in order to slowly, but surely, increase the capacity of his internal reserves. He wanted to get to the point where he could realistically maintain Fenrirs standard consumption. As for Medusa, he already had the means to summon her with the aid of external items but, knowing Fenrir would probably pout if he called upon Medusa, Vahn decided to avoid summoning Medusa, at least for the time being. There was also the fact that, even more so than Fenrir, she would stand out in this world due to her unique appearance and distinctck ofmon-sense... When Vahn wasnt working to increase his reserves, the rest of his time was spent training his body as, with his status as a guide, it was easy to see that he had room to improve. Since this world didnt have the concept of gaining experience from killing monsters, he had to rely on pushing his body to the limits and slowly increasing his overall output. This usually involved using [Cantus Bex], as he was currently incapable of using [Vis Maxima], to put an increased strain on his body as Vahn performed the same routine that Tsubaki had taught him many years prior. Though hemented theck of a sparring partner, it was still nice to work up a sweat in the early hours of the morning when Rin was still sleeping. He had tried to exercise during the day but she ended up yelling at him when he made an off-hand remark about her gawking at him through the window... With a subtle blue aura radiating off his body like an evaporating mist, Vahn finishedpleting a set of pushups before pushing against the ground and vaulting to his feet. Using the back of his arm, Vahn wiped the sweat from his brow before exhaling a tired sigh. In order to make any real progress in the development of his body, he needed to restrict the influence of [Magia Erebea] to the extreme. This required splitting his focus a bit more than his current mental power could support but, knowing it was for the best, Vahn continued to train every morning. As a result, even though it was a little hard to determine how quickly he was growing, Vahns status had changed quite a bit since he arrived in this world... ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 155 (Ageless) Race: Human, Progenitor(sealed), *sealed* Parameter: [Nasuverse: 1-5] Strength: 32->33C Endurance: Agility: 38C+ Magical Power: 44->45B+ Good Luck: 11->13E Circuit Quality: EX Soul Tier: 4 (Divine Soul) [Karma]: 100->119 [OP]: 3,141,903,713->3,141,419,213 Noble Phantasm: [Enkidu:SSS] Origin: [?] Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:B], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth:A], [Chainbreaker:B], [Veil of the Traveler:SS], [Hands of Nirvana:S], [Type Omega:SSS], [Executor of Akashas Will:SS] Magic: [Magia Erebea:A->S], [Administrative Function: Space Lock:SSS] Magecraft: [Magical Trigger:SSS](new), [Trace:SS](new), [Reinforce:B](new), [Gradiation Air:C](new), [Enchant:B](new), [Alchemy:E](new), [Shundo:E], [Cantus Bex:D], [Sagitta Magicka:E], [Od Conversion:E](new) [Magical Trigger] Rank: SSS Use: The activation speed of the users Magic Circuits. [Analyze] Rank: SS Use: The ability to interpret the internal structure of all constructs, including those that are Divine in origin. [Reinforce] Rank: B Use: The efficiency of converting Magical Power into a form that can increase the strength, durability, and maximum output of an object, person, or ce. [Gradiation Air](A/N: Should I call this Projection instead...?) Rank: C Use: The ability to project physical constructs using Magical Energy as a catalyst to give form to the imagination. [Alteration] Rank: B Use: The ability to infuse Magecraft into any object, person, or ce. Used in the construction of Ritual Spells. [Alchemy] Rank: E Use: Allows the user to use Magical Power to manipte the flow of and structure of matter. [Od Conversion] Rank: E Use: Aids in the replenishment of Od by converting external Mana into internal Magical Power. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Under the tutge of Rin,bined with his scouring of resources from the system shop, Vahn was able to get a basic foundation in many of the thaumaturgical processes, meaning he was able to use a variety of Magecraft at will. More importantly, he was able to learn why his own reserves were replenishing so slowly as, within the Record of the Nasuverse, there was a distinct disconnect between the Mana found within the environment and what existed within people. Though this shouldnt have been a restriction for him, it was the way in which his body was converting the energy that had been the problem. Vahn had always relied on the correctional aspect of his Development Abilities in his previous world while, here in the Nasuverse, he hadnt even been familiar with the concept of Od and its methods of replenishment. On average, a normal Magus would have around 25-40 Od, depending on their proficiency and how seriously they took their training during their formative years. Geniuses like Rin, owing to her lineage and upbringing, were capable of hosting several times this amount within their bodies. Compared to the average, Rin was anywhere between 25-30 times more powerful than other Magi. If she used her Crest to push beyond her limits, she was capable of outputting as much as 1400 Magical Power, though the strain on her mind and body could put her into aa. As for Vahn, his Magical Power parameter was actually his ability to convert his Od into useable Magical Power. The problem was, his Magical Power parameter was too high for his current Od which, somewhat surprisingly, was even less than Rins... Though Vahn was a Tier 4 being,prised entirely of Source Energy, his body was still bound by the restrictions of the Record he habitated. His Source Energy could certainly emte the effects of Od, but he still required developing his reserves from scratch. The only reason he had been able to get away with his rather haphazard use of spells prior to learning of this fatal w was due to the strength of his Soul and the ability of his body to instantly regenerate. With the [Will of the Emperor] also protecting his mind, Vahn was practically able to ignore the effects of Od depletion, something that could prove fatal to other Magi. After identifying the problem, it was only a matter of time before Vahn was able to increase his reserves to a point that other Magi could never hope to reach. Currently, his actual Od was only around 109, nearly ny points higher than what it had been upon discovering it even existed. With his Magical Power parameter, this meant Vahn could output as much as 10,355 Magical Power, dwarfing Rins by a great deal. Using the same means of conversion, this meant that Rins Magical Power, which was currently impossible to quantify through the means of irvoyance, was an admittedly ridiculous 2. Since she was considered a genius, Vahn felt that the standards of the Nasuverse were much lower than he expected, at least within the timeline he found himself in... Thus far, Vahn hadnt approached Rin in regards to training her, as this likely wouldnt end well, but he was already forming a n within his mind to rapidly increase her strength. Though he might not be able to get her into the B-Rank like himself, it shouldnt even be difficult to get her above E-Rank in Magical Power. This would increase her potential output to 2000+, all while removing the need for her to rely on the precious magic gemstones she used topensate for her ownck of power. It was this reliance on tools, which seemed to bemonce amongst Magi, that kept her from reaching her full potential. Since she spent a lot of her efforts on channeling her Magical Power into objects, forter use, she wasnt doing anything to actually increase her base parameters. This was why, when Vahn forged a staff for Rins personal use, he made sure it drew directly from her Od in order to increase the output of her actual spells. If she figured out how to use it properly, Rins Magical Power would slowly increase as her damage output skyrocketed... Popping his joints to release their tension, Vahn then proceeded to change into a jersey to cover his torso. Since he didnt want to trigger Rin by walking around without a shirt on, Vahn was trying to be considerate of his current proprietress. Though he could tell, at a nce, that she was no longer a v.i.r.g.i.n, it was obvious that Rins experience with men was limited. She was a little too conscious of the fact they lived on the same roof and, though there werent any feelings of genuine affection between them, Vahn was aware of the way she would view him at times. Though he could avoid this by changing his form into something less pleasing to look at, Vahn didnt mind the attention that much since it made her easier to tease. Within the Manor, Vahn could smell the scent of slightly burned eggs and an almost overwhelming fragrance of butter. Shaking his head, he went towards the bathroom to freshen up by taking a short shower, washing his face, and then finally brushing his teeth. As for his hair, Vahn never bothered tob it as, with his image always being how he saw himself, Vahns hair had a natural styled appearance. It was also extremely durable, to the point that the strongest winds and the hottest mes wouldnt be able to have much of an effect on it. Even if Vahn moved around at hypersonic speeds, it would only move as if touched by a gentle wind due to its inherent tendency to keep its shape in ordance with his image. After cleaning up, Vahn went into the dining room where Rin was already seated, this time at the side of the table. She had her eyes closed, refusing to look towards him, so Vahn gave a wry smile as he sat down on the opposite side. He always kept the table between them so it was obvious that Rin sat at the side of the table to reduce the distance, even a little. Since the table was much longer than it was wide, this put them in a distance where they could casually converse without issue. At the same time, however, it meant that their feet might identally touch if they were restless. Though this wouldnt be an issue for Vahn, he knew Rin moved around a little too much whenever she- "Stop. Whatever youre thinking right now, dont finish it..." In response to Rins sudden interjection, Vahn simply smiled before using his chopsticks to sample the tri-colored mess that represented Rins attempt to make scrambled eggs. The bnce between the butter, salt, pepper, and other spices, was all over the ce. Regardless of this, however, Vahn dutifully at everything on his te as Rin scrutinized him from across the table. When he was done, Vahn set his chopsticks at the side before softly stating, "Thank you for breakfast, Rin. You have improved a lot..." He couldnt outright say it was delicious, as that would have been a lie, but Vahn knew Rin would take what she could get in this situation. She knew better than anyone that it didnt taste good so it was more than enough to hear that she was improving. With a fresh smile on her face, Rin nodded happily before musing, "Of course, I am a genius after all. Just you wait, Vahn, soon enough even Master Chefs wont be able to match the quality of my dishes~." Though she said these words with confidence, Rin only just now took a bite of her own food. She had been watching Vahn eat previously so she now had to experience the taste of her own dish after it had grown cold. As a result, Rins eyes rounded slightly as her chopsticks froze in her hands, mid bite. Vahn couldnt help but smile when he saw this before casually pulling a freshly brewed pot of green tea out of his Inventory. He then ced a small tter of ginger and mint at the side before stepping up from the table and saying, "Ill take care of lunch, okay...?" Rin, having failed to swallow the food she had prepared, gave a mechanical nod in response before hiding her face and muttering, "Make a little more than normal..." as Vahn left the room. Since he knew she would be able to understand what he was thinking, Vahn imagined Rin happily eating a cheesecake, eliciting a contented hum from her in response. Then, as he entered into the bas.e.m.e.nt to conduct his next phase of training, Vahn tied a small bag of cookies to the door of Rins workshop before sitting down at his workbench and picking up a metal pipe. Using his left hand, Vahn set his palm around three centimeters from the pipes surface as he muttered, "[Analyze]..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dat Quest doe...,Vahn has around a fifth of Rins Od but can output nearly ten times the amount of Magical Power xD...,The taste of Hubris is surprisingly salty) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1024 - Rendezvous

Chapter 1024 - Rendezvous

Surprisingly, even after staying at the Tohsaka Manor for more than a month, Rin never came to him to ask for help with her own research. Vahn was actually a little surprised, causing him to feel somewhat awkward around her as he had been expecting her to ask for a while now. She seemed determined to conduct her research alone and, though she would often check on him to see what he was working on, that was the limit of their interactions regarding Magecraft. The only other times Vahn met with Rin were during their meal times but, as ofte, she had been rather quiet and dismissive... Knowing Rin had many secrets he wasnt privy to, Vahn could only continue his own training as her mood continued to decline. Any attempt he had made at broaching the subject often ended with Rin holing herself up in her room, only to reappear the next day as if nothing happened. It only took Vahn experiencing this twice to stop asking about it but, even after the fact, he was still a little worried about her. He wasnt sure if her mood was rted to the changing of the season, perhaps having lost someone she was close to around this time, or if it was the result of an uing event. Though they had be a little closer, Rin hadnt actually opened herself up to him and exined anything that happened in her troubled past. Vahn knew he could have given her a few pushes to improve their rtionship but, primarily as a result of his own inhibitions, he kept mum on the issue. It wasnt until the morning of Vahns thirty-ninth day in the Nasuverse that something changed, coinciding with the transition of the seasons between Fall and Winter. Vahn had been outside training his body when Rin, wearing a long jacket to protect against the cold, appeared outside before the sun and even risen. Bringing his routine to a stop, Vahn furrowed his brows slightly but was preempted from asking any questions as Rin said, "Ill be leaving to meet with an associate of mine from the Mages Association. While Im gone, you shouldnt leave the house. We cant be certain your presence hasnt already drawn the attention of some troublesome individuals..." Thest part of Rins statement was very quiet but, regardless of whether or not she had wanted him to hear it, Vahn understood there was something going on behind the scenes. He had detected a surge the Mana flowing through the earth as ofte and, even without Rin drawing his attention to them, Vahn was keenly aware of the fact that people with an abnormal amount of Od had been frequenting the area. Though his senses were somewhat limited within the Manor, the result of Rins barriers, that didnt apply when he was training in the grounds. Vahns domain was slightly over 4km in radius so he could sense the presence of any enemies within fifty square-kilometers. Choosing not to badger Rin, when she obviously wanted to keep things a secret, Vahn returned a casual smile to her before saying, "Take care of yourself, Rin. Ill make you something delicious when you get back..." This caused her to hide the lower half of her face within her scarf before she turned away and re-entered the Manor through the back door. As she turned away, however, Vahns smile faded away as he ced an [Effigy of the Hero] into her purse and began to focus his mind. One of the things Vahn had been developingtely, anticipating something like this would happen, were his stealth capabilities. If he were back in Danmachi, even gods would be hard-pressed to detect him without using the Arcanum. He used to be able to blend into the natural world, hiding his presence even from animals that were right in front of him... Waiting until Rin had left the Manors grounds, Vahns breathing slowed to the point that it had stoppedpletely. He didnt actually need to breathe but, as it would appear very odd to anyone viewing him, Vahn often went through the motion of breathing, even if his purpose was usually just to draw in Mana from the outsides. Now, however, he was removing any traces of his existence that could be detected, regardless of howplex the magical formation. Rin had activated a formation that normallyy dormant, likely meant to protect the Manor while she was away, but Vahn knew it also served the dual purpose of informing her if he left. Though she knew he was far more powerful than she could conceivably hope to be, Rin still worried about him in her own way... After a little under fifteen minutes, Vahn could sense Rin getting on a train so, even though he hadnt pletely erased his presence, he determined it was better to ask for forgiveness than wait around doing nothing. With that in mind, Vahn disappeared from the Tosahka Manors backyard like a phantom,pletely bypassing the proximity barrier. It wasnt until muchter that he would find out that the barrier only detected things that directly passed through it, making it functionally useless against his ability to teleport short distances... --- Not even a minute after she had left her house, Rin could sense that Vahn was up to something, causing her to release a sigh that kicked up arge cloud of condensation. Even in the short time she had known him, it was easy to see that he had an almost overbearing desire to protect others. This behavior continually reminded her of the one person she had been desperately trying to forget and, as her troubles were just around the corner, Rin couldnt help reminiscing about the past far more than she ought to. She knew this was only making Vahn even more worried about her but, as it had been some time since someone looked at her as someone needing protection, she also felt a little gratified by his concern... With her destination being on the far side of the City, Rin elected to take one of the earliest trains, even though she would be forced to wait a few hours once she arrived at her destination. If she waited until the early-morning rush, most of the cars would be filled to the brim, causing her to have to cram together like everyone else. As there had been a man foolish enough to try and grope her in the past, Rin preferred to avoid traveling by train when she could. Though he ended up with a broken arm and a police escort, she still felt he had deserved a heavier punishment for having the audacity to even attempt the crime... Shaking her head to clear the distasteful thought from her mind, Rin boarded the train before moving towards the front car and taking a seat close to the door. There were only a handful of people present so she had an entire bench to herself, a trait she shared with a few other lonesome passengers. Almost as immediately as she sat down, however, Rin felt something was wrong, causing her mind to wander to what Vahn must be doing. This thought ovepped with her prior memory, causing Rin to, for a brief moment, imagine what it would be like if Vahn was the one who tried to grope her... It was fortunate that she had decided to wear a scarf today as Rin was able to hide her face from the view of passengers, her twin tails concealing her profile from view. She knew Vahn didnt see her in that manner but, after living together for so long, Rin was actually a little surprised that she had even expected something to happen. Since the chance of him being what he imed to be was almost certainly true, Rin even felt a little guilty for even thinking he might be tempted by her passive attempt to draw his attention. It was obvious that he wasnt even considering such thoughts as, every time they interacted with each other, it was almost as if he saw her as nothing more than a child seeking attention. After calming herself down, Rin released another sigh before listlessly leaning her head against the cold metal pole at her side. Though she knew it was disgusting, and that she shouldnt be putting her face on it, Rin didnt really care about such things at the moment. She wasnt looking forward to the rest of her day, even though one of the people she would be meeting with could be considered her closest ally. They would be working together in the events to follow and, though his own power was even weaker than her own, his connections and influence would be necessary for the sess of their n. Thinking of the nigh-impossible task ahead of her, Rins focus became split between the past, memories that were engraved into the deepest and most sensitive area of her heart, and the future. She even humored the idea of asking Vahn for help as, with what little he had shown off, Rin knew his power would be the equivalent of a trump card in her future battles. This would, however, expose Vahns existence to the rest of the world, especially since there would be members from all three factions trying to intervene with the uing even, the Holy Grail War. When this thought crossed her mind, Rin couldnt help but quiet mutter, "Has it really been ten years...?" in a mncholic voice tinged with emotion. During the previous Holy Grail War, the fifth in a long history of bloodshed, she had barely managed to survive due to her failure to properly summon a Servant. To make matters worse, she ended up nearly losing her identity when the Archer-ss Servant, Ishtar, a literal Goddess, fused together with her body. Though this gave her an edge against most other Servant-Masterbinations, it was only due to the interference of her closestpanion, Shirou,bined with that of his Saber-ss Servant, Artoria, that she managed to escape her fate of dying alongside Ishtar. The foolish and licentious goddess had fallen into a rage after the appearance of a second Archer-ss Servant, Gilgamesh, the Legendary King of Heroes that had spurned Ishtars affections in the past. Even till this day, the hole in her abdomen, where Gilgamesh had pierced her body with his hateful de, served as a constant reminder of how close she had been to death... Suddenly feeling a searing pain in her abdomen, Rin habitually rubbed her wound as another woman aboard the train gave her a knowing look. Rin returned a polite, albeit embarrassed, smile before pulling out her phone and distracting herself with its contents. Unlike other Magi, she didntpletely shun technology as, from experience, it was easy to exploit the gaps in your opponents if you had more options avable. Though she still rarely used it, primarily as a result of having few people she actively talked to, it still came in handy when she had nothing better to do. She had even started ying one of the more famous gacha games that were on the market, using a bit of her vast fortune to get a few of the more adorable characters that others had to fight tooth and nail to obtain... Before she realized it, Rin heard the train announce her stop so she stowed away her phone into her purse, hearing it hit against something hard in the process. Curious, Rin opened her purse and began to check its contents, finding a strange human-shaped idol at the very bottom. As there was no way she would have forgotten purchasing such a strange object, Rin allowed a small smile to adorn her face as she wondered how Vahn had snuck it into her purse. She couldnt imagine him rummaging through it while she was distracted so it was more likely that he had the ability to create things at a distance. At this point, even if he tried to deny that he could use True Magic, Rin would have looked at him with an expression normally reserved for patients in a psychiatric ward... Choosing to believe that Vahn wouldnt do anything that would bring her harm, Rin put the strange doll back into her purse before exiting onto the tform. It was much colder outside than the heated interior of the train, causing Rin to rub her palms together before adorning a pair of red gloves. It had always been her favorite color, even when she was a child, so Rin tried to incorporate the color into most of her wardrobe. It helped that high-end tailors tended to stock the color as it was the habit of the upper-ss to wear colors that stood out amongst the crowd. Rin didnt particrly want to draw the attention of others, even though she had already be immune to having people idolize her, but she still wore predominately red clothing regardless. After walking a few blocks, Rin once again felt something was wrong, causing her to turn her attention towards one of the nearby roofs. Though there was nothing there, she still continued to stare towards the sky for several seconds before finally dismissing the idea that Vahn had followed her. Even if he was overprotective, she didnt think he would actually stalk her to the other side of the City just to make sure she was safe. Thus, ignoring her own intuition, Rin continued forward until finally arriving at her destination, a small Cafe called the Lux Ravs. The sign showed that it was closed but, without minding it in the least, Rin opened the door before stepping inside. When it closed behind her, a circle of blue runes shone around the knob as a muchrger formation, invisible to the n.a.k.e.d eye, activated. Though she had noticed the fluctuations of Mana around her, Rin could feel that there was no malicious intent contained within. This was actually the same method in which she was able to sense what Vahn was thinking as, like most prominent Magi, she was very sensitive to when someone was directing their intent towards her. If shecked this capability, she would have died like many of the lesser-Magi that often be the ingredients used in the experiments of rogue Magi. As Vahn was literally an existence that seemed to beprised of Mana, at least from her perspective, Rin was especially sensitive to his presence and thoughts, even whilst sleeping... After reaching the back of the Cafe, Rin set her purse on the floor before taking a seat at a circr table. She wasnt scheduled to meet with her allies until 8AM, so there was still well over an hour until either of them would show up. Since there werent any serving staff within the Cafe, almost as if it had beenpletely abandoned, Rin pulled out a thermos of hot cocoa and a small bag of cookies from her purse. When she saw the neatly wrapped package, Rins face naturally formed into a smile as Vahn had a habit of leaving them around for her to find. He also seemed to be able to determine if she liked something as, after a month of living together, most of the treats she found waiting for her were things she relished quite a bit... Just as Rin was beginning to regret showing up so early, a bell could be heard from the front of the Cafe as the magical formation in the surrounding shifted slightly. Rin rose to her feet, preparing to greet the middle-aged man who had just walked in. He was a rather tall man, standing at 186cm, with straight brown hair that extended beyond his shoulders. There were two distinctive bangs framing the sides of his face while, at the very center of his parted hair, a thick strand clumped together like a point that nearly extended past his nose. nking this wayward clump of hair, two piercing ck eyes, set within a face that had just started to wrinkle with the passage of time, looked back at Rin with a distinctiveck of emotion. Though their status wasnt all that dissimr within the Magus Community, Rin still bowed politely before greeting, "Wee to Fuyuki, Lord El-Melloi the Second. I hope your flight was a pleasant one..." This man, while having a slightly lower status than her as far as Family was concerned, as her Senior within the Mage Association and one of the more prestigious Lecturers within the Clock Tower. Though he was born with low status, being only a Third Generation Mage, he had worked his way up through diligent effort and, even withcking talent, his knowledge and resources were paramount to the sess of their uing mission. For the first time, Lord El-Melloi IIs expression changed, a small smile breaking through the facade he wore before most others, Mages and Civilians alike. In response to Rins greeting, he crossed his arm before cing his hand atop his heart, bowing in a gentlemanly fashion as his deep voice echoing, "Miss Tohsaka, it pleases me to see you in good health. Have you been enjoying your vacation while I was away in London?" Returning a smile of her own, Rin waved dismissively as sheined, "If I didnt have a deal with that Old Man, I wouldnt even bother returning to that dreary ce. Seriously, I have no idea what possessed you to be a tenured Professor at that ce that only smells like moldy books and iron." Though she said her wordsckadaisically, thest few to escape Rins mouth carried a heavier intonation that caused Lord El-Melloi II to sigh heavily before saying, "The Mages Association is necessary to maintain the bnce of the world...however, I do share your sentiment. It would be nice if someone were to breathe some fresh air into the Academy..." As there was always a chance their current conversation could be monitored, as neither Rin nor El-Melloi had set up the meeting spot, both were speaking in code to avoid any potential trouble that might arise from a simple slip of the tongue. In truth, both were part of a conspiracy of sorts that, depending on how things developed, would rece the current Administration with Magi that were more invested in Modernization and the future. Currently, most of the most Senior members of the Mages Association, including its affiliates, were several hundred years old. It was the consensus of many Fifth and Sixth Generation Magi that a change in the status-quo was long overdue. There were too many Magi who had failed to adapt to the times and, having amassed a ridiculous amount of wealth and power, it was almost impossible to implement any real change while they were still making the decisions... With their introductions barely having concluded, the door of the Cafe opened once again, this time allowing a woman who fit the designation extravagant to a tee. Not only was she wearing a luxurious dress that looked as if it had been stolen from the Victorian Era, she even had embroidered sleeve warmers and tall white riding boots that were adorned with solid gold buttons. Causing her to stand out even more, her hair was styled in the nigh-impossible drill-style that only the highest-paid hairdressers could pull off. She even hadrge blue ribbons tied at the sides of her hair, dwarfing Rins own particrlyrge ck ribbons in size. When sheid eyes on thetter, the woman held the back of her hand towards her chin in a condescending manner as she asked, "Oh? Im thest one to arrive? I half-expected Rin to sleep in...ohohohoho~." Seeing her nemesis, Rins face formed a deep scowl as her twin-tails seemed to move against the bounds of gravity. In a very udylike disy, she held up her right hand or, more specifically, her middle-finger as she said, "Screw you, Luvia. Youre thest to show up and are already picking a fight!?" This elicited a peal ofughter from Luvia that didnt sound all that amused as she haughtily murmured, "How barbaric..." In response, Rin looked like she was about to enter a battle stance but, before things could devolve any further, Lord El-Melloi II sternly interrupted, stating, "Enough of this farce. We have not gathered here for the sake of a petty squabble...!" This caused Rin to grit her teeth in an effort to calm down but, apparently unwilling to let thingsy, Luvia remarked, "Yes, Rin, please stop acting like a child so we can have an a.d.u.l.t conversation, mmkay~?" Immediately following Luvias words, an explosion sounded out within the Cafe that served as the signal to a catfight that Lord El-Melloi II wouldter describe as, an event worse than the fourth Holy Grail War... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I am one with the universe...,Surely he cant be that overprotective...,Like Water and Oil...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1025 - Tensions

Chapter 1025 - Tensions

After following Rin to her destination, Vahn was relieved to see that she seemed to be meeting up with people she knew, not enemies. Though the woman who entered the Cafe seemed to be on bad terms with Rin, it was easy to see that there was no real animosity between them based on the fact that neither was trying to seriously harm the other party. This left Vahnying on the opposite roof as he stared up towards the sky and considered if he was a little too overprotective. When Rin had nearly found him out, he barely managed to use [Shundo] to move outside of her perception radius just to avoid detection. Now that it was apparent she was just meeting up with other Magi, Vahn felt a little silly for having followed her all this way... With nothing better to do at the moment, Vahn began organizing his Inventory and sifting through items within the shop. He still had a surplus of OP and, after being separated from Fenrir for more than a month, it was beginning to weigh heavily on his heart. Though he didnt particrly crave the touch of another person, Vahn often felt lonely during his sleepless nights spent meditating. It felt like he was missing a part of himself and, instead of slowly adapting to her absence, the feeling had only gotten stronger with time. Since there were literally an infinite number of items within the shop, Vahn knew that there were undoubtedly an infinite number of solutions as well. Though he was of the mindset that it was necessary to preserve his OP, there was no sense in having it if he wasnt using it when he needed it... While sifting through his Inventory, Vahn came across a few of the items he had received from his daily Premium Gacha. Though the majority were only Red and Orange quality items, he had gotten a Green drop a few days prior that had some potential. It was a consumable item that took on the form of a small silver bell, curiously named [Keltzy]. Though Vahn had never met a real Demon before, this tiny bell had the apparent ability to temporarily pacify any Demon that hears its chime. Since there were actual Demons and Daemons recorded in some of the texts he had read, some possessing ridiculous levels of power, Vahn had held onto it. As for the other trinkets and baubles he had obtain, Vahn mostly cannibalized them for OP or gifted them to Rin to aid in her research. The only exceptions were any consumable items that could heal wounds, provide temporary buffs, or provide other useful abilities... After organizing his Inventory, Vahn began to seriously consider whether or not he should purchase something akin to a choker that would be able to supplement Fenrirs energy requirements. Though he was currently unable to make something that would be able to satiate her voracious appetite, that didnt mean the systemcked solutions. All he needed to do was look for an item that had a simr name as another item that matched his criteria. Since the system shop had ess to items from all Records, Vahn could find a choker that increased mana regeneration for 1,000OP before searching for the same item at a much higher price point. He didnt believe that a choker that cost 1,000,000,000OP wouldnt be able to provide Fenrir with the energy she needed, at least passively... As the thought of being reunited with Fenrir wasnt something that could actually be quantified by any expenditure of OP, Vahn ultimately decided to purchase the choker. He would test its efficacy himself before summoning Fenrir to his side once again. The sooner she began adapting to the world, the easier it would be to move around in the future without drawing too much attention to themselves. His own understanding of the world had reached the point that Vahn was confident in being able to get her up to speed in a few weeks time. Since it was likely that the Holy Grail War was right around the corner, it would be better for her to familiarize herself with the City sooner, rather thanter... Seeing his three billion OP suddenly drop to two billion caused Vahns heart to flutter as a slightly giddy sensation welled up from his stomach. There was no going back at this point so Vahn looked at the chokers description within his Inventory before pulling it out and inspecting it directly. He had picked a choker with the exact same name as a much cheaper version, hoping that it would have the same rtively simple design. What he instead got was a beautiful ck choker that had, when reflecting the light, seemed to glow with a subtly divine ambiance. There were ents of gold-embroidered into the surface which, even at a nce, Vahn could tell was some kind of goldenposite that was simr in quality to the Divine Gold that was used in the creation of Artifacts within the Record of Danmachi. Strangely, though they were undoubtedly metallic, the embroidery had the same basic shape and function of finely woven string... ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Spirit Choker] Rank: S P.Def: 0 M.Def: 410 Abilities: Indestructible(Divine), Mana Funneling(S), Binding(A), Auto-Sizing(C) Active: Overcharge A choker whose simplicity belies the masterful quality of its make. Made with the hide of an Atmos and threads woven from a Sky Whales whiskers, this choker drastically increases the users mana regeneration. When activated, this effect can be tripled for a short period of time at the cost of negating the passive generation for twenty-four hours. Restriction: Destroyed upon removal. ------------------------------------------------------------------- With a profound sigh, Vahn ced this [Spirit Choker] back into his Inventory as, even in his hands, it had been sucking in the surrounding Mana at an admittedly startling rate. Though this was a good sign, the restriction ced on the choker meant he wouldnt be able to try it for himself. He would have to give it directly to Fenrir after summoning her and hope that it was enough to at least supplement her energy enough that she wouldnt need to constantly consume his bodily fluids. Though Vahn didnt have much of an aversion towards giving Fenrir his blood, and other fluids, it wasnt practical when she was acting alone or inbat. Even if the chances of them acting independently were pretty slim, Vahn wanted to have all his bases covered since he never knew what was going to happen... As if driven by some kind of divine providence, Vahns instincts caused his body to move before his mind had even fully processed what was going on. His reaction was just in time to avoid a massive sasumata, a weapon with a y-shaped de that was used for capturing people. The weapons wielder was a petite woman with grey hair and striking blue eyes, adorned in a fur-cored mantle that extended to her calves. There were silverly runes embroidered in the fabric that made it difficult to discern her movements when looking directly at her, something Vahn quickly learned as her weapon suddenly changed form into a long polearm with a mace-like tip. Now that he had calmed down, however, Vahns expression hardened a bit as he caught the tip of the polearm with his palm and asked, "Why are you attacking me...?" Instead of answering, the grey-haired woman attempted to pull her polearm free but, failing to liberate it from Vahns vice-like grip, elected to change its shape once again. Even before the transformation had finished, however, Vahn had already stepped into the womans range before nting his hand atop her head. Her eyes widened in shock but, even with the apparent reduction in the skills capabilities, Vahn already sent a wave of energy through her body with his [Hands of Nirvana]. Since there had been a distinctck of killing intent in her attacks, he decided it was best to get answers so he had settled on paralyzing her instead of using more forceful means. Like a puppet with its strings cut, the woman fell towards the ground but, before she could facent against the surface of the roof, Vahn grabbed the back of her mantle before setting her down more gently. It was at this moment that the shapechanging weapon, which had fallen to the side, changed into a far more lethal-looking ive,plete with several eerie-looking eyes. As the de pierced towards his neck, Vahn swatted it aside with the back of his hand, sending it spiraling through the air before sticking into the far side of the roof. He noticed it was quickly trying to extricate itself to begin attacking again so Vahn pulled out a dagger of his own before kneeling next to the paralyzed woman... Watching the shape-changing weapon immediately stop its attempts at freeing itself, Vahn lightly shook his head before saying, "Rx, Im not going to harm her. I just wanted to know why she attacked me in the first ce..." Though he already had a few guesses, Vahn wanted to confirm the intentions of his would-be attacker before deciding what to do next. Unfortunately, just as he had feared, she eventually recovered enough faculties to answer, "You...were...spying...on...Master..." This was enough for Vahn to ascertain that she was either apanion of the drill-haired woman or the stylish middle-aged man. Since she didnt seem like the type ofpany the former would keep, Vahn assumed she was acquainted with the man who was currently conversing with Rin... Believing his deductions were correct, Vahn changed his line of questioning, though not before rifying, "First of all, I wasnt spying on their meeting. Im a friend of Rins and came here to make sure she was safe. Youre lucky Im not an actual enemy or this could have ended a lot worse for you...now, tell me, how were you able to sense me...?" As he had been concealing his presence the entire time he was following Rin, Vahn was curious how the strange woman had been able to detect him. Even more than that, however, he wanted to know how she had managed to avoid his own detection as, before she attacked, he hadnt sensed her at all. The chances she would reveal her own secret was rather slim, however, so Vahn settled on asking how his own position was exposed. Realizing that Vahn wasnt an enemy, the woman visibly rxed while her weapon changed forms into a surprisingly small cube and floated over to her side. Vahn helped her sit up before she finally answered, "Mana...spike...I could sense it...like the sky was falling..." Even before she finished her broken sentence, Vahn felt a strong urge to smack his own forehead. It was obvious that she was referring to the [Spirit Choker], meaning he had yet another thing to worry about even if it turned out to be enough to satisfy Fenrirs requirements. If it was constantly sucking away the Mana in the environment, any Magus within the vicinity would be drawn to the unnatural phenomenon. Since even beginner Magi were able to sense the flow of Mana in the environment, Fenrir would never be able to stealthily move about after equipping the [Spirit Choker]... Noticing that the woman was nkly staring at him, Vahn managed a wry smile before saying, "My name is Vahn Mason, by the way. May I ask what your name is? If Im not wrong, you must be thepanion of that man with the long hair, correct...?" Though she had rxed a bit previously, Vahns questions caused the womans eyes to sharpen as she replied, "If you are a friend of Rin Tohsaka, you should know her closest associates. Did you lie...?" As she asked this question, the woman discreetly moved her hand to the small cube, causing an almost imperceptible shift in the Mana flowing around them. Vahns brows perked up slightly as he saw the mana contained within the building begin to react to the womans mana. She seemed to have an ability that allowed her to shape the environment, at least a little bit. Now wasnt the type to observe and analyze the Magecraft of other people, however, so Vahn held up his hand before sternly reminding, "We both know how this will end if you try and attack me again. To answer your question, I only became affiliated with Rin around a month ago. Even though were friends, that doesnt mean Ill learn everything about her in such a short period of time. Stop jumping to conclusions; youre being troublesome to the normal citizens..." Even though there was some kind of invisible aura keeping people from wandering towards them, Vahn knew that the owner of the shop was going to be distraught when they found several holes in the roof. Even if his insurance covered it, just exining it to the authorities was going to be a major hassle for them. Since Vahn didnt like inconveniencing others over simple misunderstandings, his tone was a lot firmer than normal. He ced the girl in her thirties, even though she had the appearance of a woman barely in her twenties, so she should know better than to act without consideration for others... Surprisingly, almost as soon as Vahn reprimanded her, the gray-haired woman blushed furiously before bowing her head and muttering, "Im sorry..." in a voice that barely reached his ears. Then, even more surprisingly, the tiny cube in her hands suddenly said, "Please donty on the me on her. Gray was only trying to protect her Master. It is my fault for damaging the roof..." Following this, even though it was still in cube-form, the tiny thing bobbed forward in a somewhatedic attempt at a bow. Vahn felt like all the tension in the air disappeared with this disy, causing him to release a tired sigh before saying, "Dont mind it too much..." Following this exchange, Vahn watched as the woman named Gray used a form of Magecraft that was simr to Earth Elemental Maniption. This quickly patched up the hole in the roof before she used small stones, each engraved with a series of runes, to repair the remainder of the damage. With the repairspleted, she turned back to Vahn and bowed in an apologetic fashion, saying, "Im sorry for attacking you all of a sudden. If the opportunity presents itself, I will make sure to repay this debt..." With these words still lingering in the air, Gray quickly ced the small cube into a small cage before jumping off the roof without waiting for Vahns response. This didnt stop him from trying his luck, though, causing Vahn to remark, "You can pay me back by making sure Rin doesnt know about me following her. Id like to avoid having her lecture me if I can avoid it..." This caused Gray to stop in ce afternding on the ground, followed by her slowly turning with a confused expression on her face. Even though she didnt seem to understand the meaning behind his words, Gray eventually nodded her head before saying, "I will keep it a secret..." Then, just as she was about to turn around again, Gray added, "I will have to investigate you though...just in case you are an enemy..." With those final words, she dashed towards a nearby alleyway before disappearing from sight momentster. Vahn continued to follow her with his perception, still curious about how she had evaded his detection, but he never got an answer as she simply boarded a car parked a few blocks away and began looking something up on aptop. There was another man situated in the drivers seat but, deciding not to pry any further, Vahn began his return trip to the Tohsaka Manor. Though it had taken Rin nearly an hour to reach her destination by foot and train, Vahns return trip only took him seven minutes. If there werent any obstacles, he could easily reach speeds exceeding 900km/h. This was a far-cry of his speed in the Record of Danmachi but, seeing how slow the world around him seemed to move, Vahn felt like a veritable speed demon. When he passed the train, crammed full of people, Vahn couldnt help but feel that the technological advancements of this world had caused its people to stagnate. Though it might not be as easy to gain power in this world, at leastpared to Danmachi, it certainly wasnt impossible. Seeing such a vast number of people walking about, the majority of whichcked any distinguishable qualities, Vahn felt that the people in charge of this world had failed its inhabitants... After reaching the Tohsaka Manor, Vahn slipped past the proximity barrier undetected before returning to his previous location, the small courtyard situated behind the Manor. Once there, Vahn sat in a meditative pose as he considered whether or not he should go through with summoning Fenrir. Unlike what she had experienced within his Inventory, Vahn was almost certain that she didnt experience anything simr to the passage of time within his Unit Managements storage. If he did choose to summon her, it would be nearly impossible to avoid dragging her into the uing battles with him. Though she should be significantly stronger than most existences within this world, even after losing her Falna, Vahn couldnt help but worry about her. For more than two hours, Vahn seriously considered his decision before ultimately deciding that he had kept Fenrir waiting long enough. She disyed an unshakable conviction when choosing to follow him into future worlds so, regardless of the dangers they would face, Vahn knew Fenrir would have no regrets. If things got bad, he could always summon her to his side during an emergency and, if they got even worse, she could return to the safety of his Unit Managements storage. The transfer was practically instant, even from his perspective, so the odds of an enemy being able to deal fatal damage in that short period of time were negligible. With her current Loyalty, he could return her to the system a total of twenty-nine times without even having to worry about the expenditure... With his decision made, Vahn began to feel even giddier than he had earlier as he navigated to his Unit Management and selected Fenrirs name. Unlike all the greyed out names, which included his subordinates like Terra and Fafnir, Fenrirs and Medusas were the only ones that were highlighted. Vahn mentally selected the option to activate Fenrir, resulting in the giddy feeling welling up inside him to burst forward like an explosion. He even suspected that it was Fenrirs own excitement transfering over to him as, at the very moment she popped into existence, she instantly tackled him to the ground. It almost felt like an eternity since thest time he had experienced intimacy with a woman so Vahn was a little surprised when Fenrirs tongue deftly found its way inside his mouth like a homing spell... Nearly twenty minutester, Fenrir finally released him from her grasp, her face a deep shade of red as she mewled, "Master..." Vahn was also a bit caught up in the momentum of the moment so, even though Rin would probably rage at himter, he pulled Fenrirs n.a.k.e.d body, courtesy of the fact that clothing and equipment werent stored with her, into his arms. Using Rins own security barriers to his advantage, Vahn released tensions he hadnt even noticed he had been bearing onto her body, though not before giving her the [Spirit Choker]. At least in this fashion, he could get a clear understanding of how much effort he would need to put into Fenrirs upkeep... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Path always has a way...!,Sneaky sneaky...,For Science (UwU)!!!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1026 - Explanation

Chapter 1026 - Exnation

After a longer period of time than he had expected, Vahn found himself leaning against the external walls of the Tohsaka Manor as Fenrir, now adorned in a ck one-piece dressed, happily nuzzled in his arms. With a wry smile on his face, even as gentleness radiated from his eyes, Vahn kissed the top of Fenrirs head before whispering, "I didnt know how much I needed that...I missed you, Fenrir..." This caused her to hum in satisfaction before putting a bit more strength into the ongoing embrace as she replied, "I could feel it, as soon as I could feel anything...Master was calling me, so I came to you as quickly as I could." Following these words, Fenrir gave a few yful pecks around the base of Vahns neck and corbone as her tail gently moved the fabric of her dress from side-to-side... Though the urge to continue where they had left off began to build inside of Vahns heart, he managed to keep hisposure by reminding himself that Rin could return at any moment. There were a few pressing things he needed to take care of and, though he had already learned quite a bit about Fenrirs current state during their reunion, Vahn wanted to test one of his standing theories as soon as possible. Fenrir, understanding his thoughts, gave onest yful nibble of his corbone, something she wouldnt have been able to do in the past, before adjusting herself on hisp so they could talk more easily. This, of course, didnt stop Vahn from habitually stroking her hair and tail, watching his OP slowly increase alongside Fenrirs rapidly increasing Loyalty... As was to be expected, Fenrir had lost the benefits provided by her Falna but, unlike him, her internal energy hadnt been affected all that much. Due to her Innates, Fenrir was able to convert anything into a form of energy that was specially adapted to her body. It was this same energy that she had adapted to Evas Magical System, meaning she hadnt lost any of her learned Magic, the exception being the [Cinder*E] she had obtained from Lili. She could no longer freely adapt her shape and race, at least in the moreprehensive meaning of the world. Fenrir still her the ability to use her unnamed Magic to transform but,bined with the ability to manifest clothing, but this was just aplex illusion that drained her reserves rapidly, depending on how much she changed her body. What Vahn wanted to try was bestowing his Blessing unto Fenrirs body himself, seeing whether or not it could provide her any meaningful benefits other than making her excited at the prospect of bearing his mark. She, of course, happily granted him permission to apply his Blessing, leading to the scene of Vahn leaning over Fenrirs body, bereft of everything but a pair of panties, as he imprinted his Makers Mark in between her shoulders. The method he used was distinctly different from the one in Danmachi, as the corenguage was fundamentally different, but that wasnt much of a problem with his ability to automatically convert thenguage into a structure that matched his intentions. Vahn didnt know the exact origin of the runes he used as part of the marks foundation, but it ultimately didnt matter as he was able to read it simr to his own status... ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Fenrir Mason] Age: 33 Race: Vanargandr Strength: 25D Endurance: 20D+ Agility: 37C+ Magical Power: 41B+ Good Luck: 38C Circuit Quality: EX Soul Tier: 2 (Hero Soul) Noble Phantasm: ? Origin: Devour, Moon Skills: [Insatiable Hunger:(-)], [Heaven Devouring Wolf:C], [Lunar Cry:S], [Freezing Roar:S->A], [Chainbreaker:A->D], [Huntress: SS->S], [Severing ws:SS->A], Magic: [True Ice Magic:E](new) Magecraft: [Cantus Bex:A->E], [Shundo: S->D], [Koku Shundo:A->H], [Sagitta Magica: A->G], [Crystallitatio Tell.u.s.tris:B->D], [Reflexio:C], [Hroovitnir:D] [True Ice Magic] Rank: E Passive: Greatly empowers the users capabilities in areas filled with ice and snow. Active: Enemies will constantly bleed mana while having their mobility drained within range of the casters domain. Mana lost by enemies can be absorbed by the caster to supplement their own internal energy reserves. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn hadnt been particrly surprised by the fact that Fenrirs skills had been bnced to match the standards of the Record but, seeing she had gotten a True Magic by default, he couldnt help wondering if it was rted to her prior Cultivation efforts. If that were true, Cultivation might prove to be one of the most reliable means of increasing his strength in this Record. Depending on the circ.u.mstances, he may even be able to establish it as an entirely new form of thaumaturgy that didnt seem to exist within the Root at this time. Though there were a few ounts of practitioners in china appearing periodically throughout history, it seemed that much of the techniques that had been practiced were lost during the transition from the Era of Gods to the Era of Men... Now having proved that it was possible to give his Blessing to others, even if Fenrir was just an exception due to the nature of her body, Vahn was in the best mood he had been in since arriving in this new world. While waiting for Rins return, he sat on a carved wooden bench with Fenrir snuggly sitting in hisp as he, for what felt like the first time in far too long, brushed her hair. It was even more ther.a.p.eutic than he remembered, causing Vahn to fall into a dazed, almost meditative state as he absentmindedly ran the brush through her hair. Though her ears and tail would be a bit of an issue, it seemed that the [Spirit Choker] was more than enough to sustain her when she wasnt actively engaged inbat. This meant, so long as he supplemented her reserves with his blood and other consumable items, Fenrir was already at a pretty solid starting point for venturing into this world. Amidst the long brushing session, continuing even after the sun had started to descend the sky, Fenrirs ears perked up as she directed her attention towards the Manors front gates. Even her senses were obscured by the barriers littering the Tohsaka Manor so it wasnt until Rin had disabled the security formation that Fenrir became aware of her. Vahn rested his chin on the top of her head while hugging her waist tightly as he exined, "That is a Magus named Rin Tohsaka. She is akin to our benefactor so try to stay on amicable terms with her. Were staying in her house and there is a lot you can learn from her about this world if you can tolerate her presence..." Vahn knew Rin would freak out after seeing Fenrir but, remembering how she reacted upon seeing him transform into a Chienthrope, he didnt think she wouldin about Fenrir living within the Manor. Even if she did, that only meant he would have to find a new residence to stay at as, regardless of the circ.u.mstances, he wouldnt abandon Fenrir on behalf of anyone... Though she listened to what her Master was saying, Fenrir still silently sniffed the air before apparently realizing something as she hummed a happy affirmation. It didnt take being the worlds greatest detective to deduce that Fenrir had probably been smelling Rin to see if his scent mixed with her own. No matter how much effort you put into washing your body, there was always a bit of the other persons essence intermixed with your own after you became lovers. Vahn attested Fenrirs ability to detect this aroma as something akin to a seventh sense, using the connection they shared to affirm whether or not someone was involved with him. Since he had kept to his word, abstaining from any serious thoughts about Rin and himself, Fenrir was quickly able to identify that Rin wasnt a threat... Hand-in-hand, Vahn took Fenrir inside the Manor, just in time to here Rins voice echo, "Im home~. Is dinner prepared~?" It wasnt until he heard her mention it that Vahn realized he hadnt actually prepared any food, even after promising Rin he would make something she enjoyed. In response, Vahns mind worked faster than a superputer as he quickly purchased a few expensive dishes, even from the perspective of OP, to serve as an excuse for his oversight. He even ced them within the kitchen, making it appear as though they were freshly made as he shouted back, "Youre just in time. Before that, though, there is someone I want to introduce you to...!" Rin had beening toward the sound of his voice but, hearing what he said, the sound of footsteps quickly faded away. Vahn and Fenrir hadnt been that far away, however, so he brought thetter with him to intercept Rin within the hallway. Her eyes immediately snapped to Fenrir, clear suspicion present within before she instinctually looked between thetters ears and tail. Even without Vahn exining anything, Rin quickly made a few determinations of her own before looking towards Vahn with a piercing gaze and asking, "Is she from your world...?" Vahn immediately nodded in response to this, adding, "Her name is Fenrir Mason, my closest and most loyalpanion..." Recognizing the name as one of the people Vahn had talked about previously, Rin turned her attention back to Fenrir before releasing a long and exasperated sigh. With the aroma of food calling to her, Rin decided to set her building frustrations aside, instead,menting, "I want to hear a proper exnation during dinner. Next time, tell me beforehand if you suddenly n to have more freeloaders staying within my Manor. We only have so many rooms to go around..." As soon as these words left Rins lips, Fenrir raised her head slightly before saying, in a somewhat matter-of-factly manner, "I will stay in the same room as Master." Hearing Fenrirs proud deration, Rins brows immediately furrowed as she gave Fenrir another appraising look. With Fenrir standing at a petite 148cm tall,pared to Vahns above-average height of 185cm, there was a significant difference in their sizes. This,bined with the fact that Fenrir actually appeared both youthful and delicate caused Rins expression to sour as she looked at Vahn with daggers for eyes. Though this might have cowered lesser men, Vahns gaze remained steadfast as he inly stated, "Fenrir and I have known each other longer than you have been alive, Rin. As a Magus, you should know better than to make assumptions based on appearance..." Though they hadnt coordinated it, Fenrir punctuated Vahns words by using her transformation magic to assume a far more mature figurepared to her default appearance. Rin had been about to make a counter-argument against Vahn but, seeing the unbelievably advanced spell that Fenrir had cast without even chanting, her words got stuck in her throat. This reaction seemed to be in line with the one Fenrir wanted to see as, with a smile that was closer to a grin, she pressed her illusionary b.r.e.a.s.ts against Vahns arm while affectionately rubbing her head against his shoulder. Rins reaction to this disy was even more humorous than her shock, as her mouth immediately gaped open with a look of sheer incredulity overtaking her. Before Fenrir could make Rin explode, Vahn roughly stroked her head before half-heartedly saying, "Behave yourself, Fenrir. Remember what I told you, Rin is my friend and benefactor. You should do your best to get along with her, okay...?" Vahn intentionally ced more emphasis on the word benefactor, both as a reminder to Fenrir to behave while also reminding Rin of her status. This caused her to immediately default into her somewhat haughty and prideful self as she raised her head slightly before dering, "Thats right~! This is my house so youll have to follow the rules I set out if you intend to stay here. You and Vahn might have an ongoing rtionship, but that doesnt mean Im going to tolerate your bumping around in the middle of the night. If you want to do stuff like that, go to a love hotel or something...!" Fenrir seemed to want to argue against Rin but, before she could say anything to expose their earlier deed, Vahn gently pinched the tender flesh of her abdomen to silence her. Taking advantage of this, he gave a small nod in response to Rins demand before adopting a casual smile andmenting, "Well do that, then. I wouldnt want to trouble Miss Tohsaka in the middle of the night, after all..." Since they had been on a first-name basis for a few weeks now, Vahn intentionally called Rin as Miss Tohsaka in an attempt to tease her. As a result, her face became slightly red as she instinctually took a step back, even though nobody had moved toward her. When she realized her own reaction, Rins face became even redder as she adopted an expression of mock anger before shouting, "That is quite enough of that, Vahn! Now, let us go eat dinner. I skipped lunch entirely in preparation for the meal you promised so it better be damn good...!" Without waiting for their response, Rin walked by Vahn and Fenrir in a huff, passing right next thetter along the way. As a result, Fenrirs tail lightly thumped Rins side, causing thetters steps to slow slightly as she cast her gaze towards the oversized ears and bushy tail adorning Fenrirs body. She knew they were undoubtedly real but, as a result of her earlier shock, she hadnt paid much attention to them before. Now that she got a better look, Rin had the instinctual urge to try and pet Fenrirs head, much like she had seen Vahn do before. Fenrir, however, seemed to sense this as she immediately moved to ce her Master between herself and Vahn, ring back at Rin as she murmured, "Dont think my ears can be touched by just anyone. Only family and Master are allowed to pet me..." Rins face became red in response to Fenrirs words but, choosing not to argue over such a silly topic, she instead gave a small huff before heading towards the dining room. At the same time, however, Rin recalled the time when she had stroked Vahns ears, resulting in her face bing even redder as she hastened her steps. Vahn and Fenrir were left watching her retreating figure, both standing in silence until Fenrir looked up and asked, "Master, are you intending to take Rin as your lover...?" In response to this, Vahn immediately shook his head before lightly patting Fenrirs as he said, "I cant say for certain what the future will hold, but I have no intention of actively seeking rtionsh.i.p.s right now. It hasnt even been two months since I left everyone behind...I feel like I would be betraying them if I got together with someone so soon..." Fenrir, somewhat surprisingly, wasted no time in nodding her head before tightly hugging his body as she said, "If you feel lonely, pleasee to me before you go seeking out other women...I will do my best to make sure Master doesnt have to rely on others tofort his heart. I have learned lots from Haruhime and Loki so please dont get taken in by the wiles of other women..." As she spoke, Fenrirs put more strength into her arms as she nuzzled against his chest in an affectionate manner. Vahns focus, however, was on the revtion that Fenrir had gone to Haruhime and Loki, apparently for guidance on how to best take care of him. This came as an extreme shock was, even in the time leading up to his departure from the Danmachi Record, Vahn felt that the rtionship between Loki and Fenrir had always been a caustic one... While guiding Fenrir to the dining room, Vahn couldnt help but wonder what other secrets Fenrir had kept from him, even though her actions were undoubtedly out of concern for him. After all, Fenrir had a natural aversion towards Loki while, from the moment they met, an intense rivalry had been sparked between her and Haruhime. Though Fenrir inevitably won the petition by andslide, bing the one person that was rarely away from his side, it still came as a surprise to learn that she had sought guidance from Haruhime in secret. This wouldnt have been the first time Fenrir took such action but, now that he knew she had learned more, Vahn felt anticipation tickling his heart like a cat yfully pawing at it... Upon reaching the dining room, Vahn was surprised to find that Rin had not only started eating but was well into her second dish as a blissful and contented smile adorned her face. Seeing the two finally arrive, she pointed her chopsticks towards Vahn before shouting, "This is easily the best food youve ever made, Vahn! If you continue to cook like this, I might not even mind if you bring all of your ridiculously oversized family to stay here~." Though she didnt actually mean her words, Rin had been awed by just the smell wafting off the dishes that Vahn had left in the kitchen. She didnt know what kind of meat and vegetables they were but, trusting that Vahn wouldnt poison her, it quickly became impossible for her to resist sampling one of the dishes. After that, Rin only vaguely remembered the time between her starting the meal and Vahns arrival within the dining room... Seeing Rin in a much better mood, even though only a few minutes had passed, Vahn returned a smile to her before casually remarking, "At most, there will probably be one other that wille to stay here. For the time being, however, it will just be Fenrir and myself you have to worry about..." With how Rin had reacted to Fenrir, Vahn knew her reaction towards Medusa would be far more extreme. Her clingy nature and childish appearance would set off rms within her mind, even though Vahn had never actually done anything with Medusa. Most of his interactions with her had been rtively one-sided, even though he did asionally rub her head when she behaved. For the time being, Vahn had decided to put off summoning Medusa until the Holy Grail War hade to an end as, even though she shouldnt be considered weak, Medusa was a far greater liability than even Fenrirs appetite. Thinking about the childish Gorgon, Vahn felt a little guilty to leave her sitting in his Inventory but, especially when he remembered how Fenrir had described the experience. Though she didnt have the instinctual urge to avoid being sealed away, it couldnt be a pleasant experience to be locked away inside of an empty void for an impossible to determine amount of time. Vahn knew he would have to make it up to her once he was able to freely summon her with his own reserves. Currently, his Od was around 177 but, if his guesstimates were correct, it would take around 400 Od to manifest even Medusas weakened body. As for Fenrir, she would have taken a monstrous 30,000 Od to manifest as, even though their Soul Tiers were the same, Fenrirs unique constitution and massive mana pool made her far more difficult to summon. Though it was hard to be certain, Vahn estimated her inherent Od was between 5500-6000, meaning she could currently output far more Magical Power than himself... Knowing her Master was thinking ttering thoughts about her, Fenrir happily dangled her legs from the chair directly next to him as Rin stared at them both from across the table. It was obvious at a nce that Vahn and Fenrir were very close to each other and, even though Rin hadnt proactively tried to shorten the distance by much, it was slightly annoying to see them so chummy. Thus, after finishing anotherrge serving of what she wouldter learn was Dragons meat, Rin set aside her utensils before directly asking, "So, I assume youre going to exin how Fenrir ended up here, right? Just like when you first arrived here, I want to hear every detail...starting from where you were while I was away..." Though she didnt believe Vahn had actually followed her, Rin had sensed some of the magical fluctuations during the short skirmish between Vahn and Gray. It hadnt been a major interruption in her conversation with Luvia and Lord El-Melloi II, but it was still a matter worthy of notice... Hearing Rins question, Vahns expression remained a perfect mask of unperturbance as he calmly smiled and began recounting his normal training schedule. Rin frowned slightly in response but, as Vahn had actually done what he attested to, it was difficult for her to see through his misdirection. By the time he began talking about Fenrir, the less-significant details had no longer mattered as she listened closely to all of the details surrounding the Vanargandrs summoning. Rin already knew Vahn was capable of using True Magic but, hearing the exnation he hade up with,bined with the existence of the [Spirit Choker] and the overwall fantastical nature of the story was enough to keep her distracted from the inherent falsehoods contained within. Though Rin felt there was something off about the exnation, she simply credited to the fact that Vahn wanted to keep the more important details of the process a secret... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir has the seventh sense, thot detection,Fenrirs terrifying dedication,If only Rins intuition worked at times like this xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1027 - Acceptance

Chapter 1027 - eptance

With Vahn finishing his exnation of events, Rin immediately followed up with a few questions of her own, though not before summarizing, "So, youre telling me that Fenrir, the little girl sitting next to you, is not only a Phantasmal Beast from the Era of Gods, but the actual Fenrir from legends? If that is the case, how exactly did the two of you even meet? Why does she refer to you as Master...?" Once she had a proper grasp on what Vahn was trying to convince her of, Rin felt that there was a much bigger secret he hadnt revealed. The fact that he could not only use True Magic, but could summon being from the Age of Gods was a major g for her. Knowing he hade to a crossroads, Vahn unhesitantly decided to ce his trust in Rin, immediately answering, "It is not inurate to say that I created Fenrir, at least in the world I previously inhabited. Though our rtionship has evolved far beyond suchbels, she had always called me Master since the time of her creation. As for the answer to your other question, it isnt entirely dissimr from what youve already deduced. My true nature, other than being a Progenitor, is that of a former God of Creation. Though I currentlyck Divine Power, the Mages Association would likely ssify me as a Greater Divine Spirit by virtue of my existence alone..." Rin looked like a bomb had been set off in her mind, even if she had already harbored suspicions since the moment Vahn first began to inhabit her Manor. His original story mentioned being an Emperor but he hadpletely glossed over the fact that he was a literal God as well. When she considered that he was apparently involved with a plethora of goddess, however, Rin couldnt help but admonish herself for not making the connection instantly. It wasnt even a logical leap to realize that Vahn must have been a God himself to have possessed so much power, especially since his weakened state was still beyond her current capacity to understand. Without affording Rin the opportunity to recover, Vahn decided to strike while the iron was hot, adding, "Previously, I had been worried about Fenrirs insatiable appetite so I hadnt been able to summon her. Though it will still prove a bit troublesome, that is no longer a concern...as for why I summoned her now, it was abination of my loneliness and my desire to test a theory I had been forming over thest month..." As a prodigious Magus, Rins ears practically perked up in response to thest sentence Vahn had spoken. Since he seemed to be willing to share one of his secrets with her, she set aside her other chaotic thoughts and began to listen attentively to what he would say next... Deciding not to keep Rin in suspense, Vahn gave Fenrir a small nod, causing thetter to hop off her chair before turning her back to the table. Then, after a sh of magical blue light, her clothes had changed from a one-piece dress to a sports bra that left the back exposed. Rin had been stunned by Fenrirs ability to change her clothing with what appeared to be advanced Magecraft, but this faded quickly as her eyes were drawn to the strange crest on thetters back. Though her cheeks felt a bit warm when Vahn ran his finger down Fenrirs spine, Rin continued to listen in silence as he exined, "Im certain you are fully aware of the existence of a blessing, a power that gods passed down to mankind in order to help them thrive and prosper..." Even without Vahn going into greater detail, Rin already knew what he was implying as she watched the crest of Fenrirs back radiate a mystical light that was fundamentally different than Magecraft. She couldnt understand the principles behind it but Rin was absolutely certain that, even if the crest wasnt actually the blessing of a god, it was a form of True Magic she couldntprehend. Just looking at the runes made her head feel as if it was being split, causing Rin to avert her eyes as she listened to Vahn exin, "In my previous world, the blessings of gods weremonce, to the point that hundreds of thousands of people, calling themselves Adventurers, unhesitantly fought against the tides of vicious monsters with the crests of various gods upon their backs. When I came to this world, I had to leave behind my Divinity in the process...however, after learning the Magecraft you had shown me, I was recently able to develop a version of the blessing that functions, even under the restrictions ced on this world..." Though he didnt even know if the crest would have any effect on her, Vahn had already thought of a few methods to make it seem as if the crest was functional. He wanted to help her increase her strength as, even though he didnt feel any feelings of love and affection for her, Rin was his first friend within this foreign world. Not only had she provided him with much-needed information, but she had somewhat selflessly opened her home to him on the very same day of their first meeting. This had given him an overwhelmingly positive opinion of her so, even though Rin had a few quirks that needed ironing out, Vahn knew he would me himself if she died as a result of him selfishly denying her the ability to drastically increase her power... With her intellect, Rin had already seen through Vahns intentions after considering why he would bother to reveal such a significant matter to her. At the same time, she became positive that Vahn had followed her to the meeting as it almost felt like he was worried about her participation in the uing War. This made her heart palpitate in a way it hadnt in nearly three years, even though it was only a brief reaction that quickly faded away when she saw Fenrir standing at Vahns side. Still, understanding that Vahn was essentially offering to help increase her power, Rins expression became serious as she asked, "What are the requirements for that blessing of yours? Also, what actual benefits does it provide...?" Understanding Rin had willingly taken the bait, Vahns own expression turned serious, even if it was a simple matter. This caused Rin to tightly grip her hands beneath the table as Vahn inly stated, "Other than having to expose your back to me, there are no other requirements. I will be using what is essentially a higher form of Magical Power to carve the crest, allowing it to take immediate effect. As for the benefits, well, you can expect a qualitative increase in strength, endurance, agility, and even magical power. Though you may not be happy to learn this, your current Magical Power, as far as parameters are concerned, is ridiculously underdeveloped. If you choose to ept my blessing, I can essentially guarantee your magical power would have more than doubled by the end of the week..." Rin felt as if Vahn had snuck a cheap shot into his exnation but, hearing that she could double her power in less than a week, she was more than a little tempted to ept his offer. Still, reason told her that there were no free lunches in the world so she remained skeptical as she remarked, "You say there are no requirements, but that doesnt match what I know of other blessings. In all of recorded history, there are virtually no ounts of a god bestowing their blessing upon a mortal without some kind of tribute or sacrifice..." Though she hade to trust Vahn, Rin wasnt the type that would simply ept the words of another at face value. She had been betrayed several times in the past and, though Vahn seemed to be distinctly abnormalpared to anyone else she had met, Rin still hesitated to ept his offer, feeling it was too good to be true. Without minding Rins skepticism, Vahn adopted a gentle smile as he exined, "In my world, gods bestowed their blessings upon the various races for a variety of reasons. Mostmonly, however, was to experience what it was like to have a family. Unlike the legends you know, the gods from my world have no rtion to each other. They were uniquely individual existences that were incapable of reproducing through any means, normal or Divine. To experience the kinship they had observed in the other races, the gods chose to descend into the Mortal World to live amongst their creations, creating what became known as Familias, the literal families of the gods. In exchange for power, the children of a Familia would genuinely be as close as family to the gods, living and working alongside them withinrge residences where the entire Familia would reside..." Seeing the deep emotions contained within Vahns eyes as he spoke, Rin felt a lot of her own inhibitions fade away as shemented, "It sounds like a paradise..." If gods were truly able to live amongst people as Vahn described, Rin imagined it must have been a utopia of sorts. Though this was far from the truth, Vahn still smiled in response as he nodded his head. With the efforts he had made, it wasnt far from bing the ideal world that Rin must have been imagining within her mind. By the time he returned to the Record, it was entirely usible that he would shape the world into a ce where people could genuinely live happily amongst each others as equals. Those that sought strength would be able to rise up and experience a higher form of existence while those content with more normal existences would be allowed to live in peace... To end his exnation, Vahn looked directly into Rins eyes, smiling as he said, "My own family is an iprehensibly vast distance away from here. Even if I wanted to, I would not be able to return without bing far more powerful than I am at the present moment. While I am a resident of this world, I may not be able to create a new Familia, but that cant stop me from taking on Disciples. As my understanding of Magecraft continues to grow, the restrictions to my current form are rapidly being undone. When the timees, I will be able to teach you a form of Magecraft that only those from the Age of Gods would have been privy to. As for what I expect in return, I desire only that you continue being the kind and caring woman I have observed you to be..." Rin took in a deep breath when she heard the final part of Vahns statement, feelings of anxiety and other, moreplex, emotions welling up inside her. Though she felt like the distance between her and Vahn had increased drasticallypared to what it was before, Rin felt a greater sense of ease knowing that he thought so highly of her. This,bined with the fact that an increase in power would be extremely helpful in theing months, caused Rin to release a false sigh of exasperation before reluctantly saying, "Very well. However, if you try anything when applying the crest, dont me me for showing you how uncaring I can be...!" Since she knew it would require her to remove her blouse, Rin couldnt deny she was feeling a little giddy at the concept of having Vahn apply his blessing to her body... Instead of teasing her outright, Vahn released a light-hearted chuckle before asking, "When do you want to perform the ceremony? It will take around a half-hour, assuming there arent any incidents." Since it would only be his second time applying his newly structured crest, Vahn knew there was a chance he could make a mistake during the process. Though it wouldnt take much effort to fix, it could be the difference between a thirty-minute induction ceremony and an hour-long ceremony. When Rin heard his warning, however, she seemed to have a few wayward thoughts as a light blush touched her cheeks as she mmed the table and eximed, "I have to take a bath first...!" Though she had shouted outwards rather boldly, Rins face only became redder as a result while Vahn and Fenrir looked back at her with deadpan stares. She then tucked her head before exiting the dining room, shouting, "Wait for me in my room...!" on the way out. Vahn was tempted toment that her choice of words only exacerbated the already awkward situation but he knew Rin was the most aware of this fact. Thus, turning to Fenrir, Vahn noticed that she was still wearing nothing but a sports bra and spats as she stood idly at his side. Taking a close look at her, Vahn briefly recalled the inhibitions he had in the past, things that had been tossed to the side long ago. Though she was almost too petite, Vahn had experience with much smaller women and had be somewhat desensitized to the fact with the passage of time. Now that he was in a new world, he would have to be a little more considerate of his surroundings to avoid unnecessary troubles... Seeing her Master inspect her, Fenrir puffed out her modest b.r.e.a.s.ts with pride as she began to shimmy from side-to-side, counter to the movements of her tail. Vahns smile softened when he saw this, followed by a resolution not to care what other people thought. Then, knowing Rin would probably take a much longer bath than normal, Vahn pulled Fenrir to sit on hisp before running both of his hands through her dense matt of hair. Fenrir made no attempts to resist him at all, instead choosing to close her eyes and simply enjoy the moment to the fullest. Vahns smile continued to grow as a result, followed by him pulling Fenrirs face closer to his before stealing her lips. Her tongue yfully entwined with his and, even though it would probably cause Rin to explode, Vahn decided to make the most of his reunion with Fenrir... --- By the time Rin had finished her bath, nearly a full hour had passed. Vahn and Fenrir had eventually moved to Rins room, a ce he had only ever visited once before. The fact that she allowed him to enter without being present herself was a testament to the fact that Rins perception, at least in regards to their rtionship, was quickly changing. She would have never allowed a man into her room, regardless of whether or not they were on friendly terms, as it was something akin to a sanctuary for herself. Vahn, however, was no longer considered in the same regards as normal men as, from her perception, he was a Divine Spirit that would soon be her formal Master. At the same time, it was almost as if she were bing the first follower of a new religion as, even without his Divinity, Vahns status wasnt all that dissimr to an actual gods... When Rin appeared in the room, Vahn was surprised to see that she was only wearing a white blouse and a pair of ck panties. The blouse hadnt even been buttoned up, allowing her cleavage and navel to be exposed as a bit of moisture still clung to her hair. When she saw his eyes briefly flicker to her body, Rin pulled the front of her blouse closed, more out of habit than embarrassment. Vahn could see there was a circr scar located on the side of her abdomen, a clear indicator she had sustained a very serious injury in the past. Since the part she tried to cover up was this same side, Vahn intuited that she must be self-conscious about the scar. Once she opened up to him a bit more, he decided he would help her remove it, assuming it was something Rin herself wanted. Walking around to the side of the bed, which Vahn had enough wherewithal not to sit on, Rin had a determined expression rece the fretful look she had shown only moments before. Regardless of her resolve, however, she still red at Vahn as she said, "Turn away..." in a slightly demure tone. As he didnt want to cause her undue stress, Vahn turned away withoutment, followed by Fenrir doing the same. After that, there was the sound of clothes being shuffled before a muffled thump resonated through the room after Rin sat atop her bed. She had a mattress stuffed with the downy feathers of geese so it was much softer than a normal bed, cing it only a few tiers lower than Vahns own expectations for the quality of a mattress. After covering the lower half of her body with a nket, as the thought of Vahn staring at her backside caused her intuition to fire up, Rin eventually said, "You can look now. Lets get t his over with so I can go to sleep. Im tired after everything that has happened today." Vahn gave a simple nod, even though Rin wasnt even looking at him, before moving to the side of the bed and saying, "Just just to rx your body and stay as calm as possible. This process can feel very itchy but it will go much faster if you avoid unnecessary movements..." Though the actual process could even cause pain, Vahns mastery in the [Hands of Nirvana] allowed him to effectively mitigate any pain that Rin would have felt. As for the itchy sensation, that wasnt something he could do anything about as his blessing would literally be making changes to Rins body as a result of the runes being inscribed into it. If it didnt do this, the blessing wouldnt be able to increase her power, bing nothing more than a tattoo that she would bear on her back unless he himself removed it... Understanding that such rituals were often more than a little ufortable, Rin nodded her head before turning her face away from Vahn to try and rx. He gave her a bit of time to prepare herself before quietly stating, "Im beginning..." in a calming tone of voice. Following this, Vahn ced his index finger against Rins back, wasting no time as he immediately beganying the foundation for her crest. She had twitched upon first contact but, after calming down, the rest of the process went rtively smoothly. The only reason it took a bit longer than normal was that Vahn also sent a few strands of Source Energy into Rins body during the procedure. Even if his blessing didnt help to increase her parameters by much, having her internal magic circuits strengthened by his energy would havesting benefits. Fortunately, there was a distinguishable effect on Rins parameters after receiving his blessing as Vahn was able to interpret the increase as if he was updating the status board of another. It seemed that Rin had a lot oftent experience, or something simr, just waiting for something to make use of it... ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Rin Tohsaka] Age: 27 Race: Human, God(sealed) Strength: 2->4E Endurance: 3->6E Agility: 5->8E Magical Power: 2->13D Good Luck: 27C+ Circuit Quality: 22C Noble Phantasm: ? Origin: Divine, Quintessence, Gem Skills: [Child of Destiny:Innate:C], [Ishtars Heir:Innate:(sealed)], [Charisma:D], [Martial Arts:D], [Parallel Thinking:E] Magic: (-) Magecraft: [Od Conversion:B], [Conversion:A], [Catalyze:B], [Jewel:A], [Reinforce:B], [Mystic Code:D], [Magic Coat:C], [Gandr:C], [Restoration:D], [Familiar:E], [Projection:E], [Alchemy:E] [Charisma] Rank:D Passive: Moderately improves the way in which enemies and allies alike view the user. Active: Increases the parameters of allies during group battles. [Martial Arts] Rank: D Use: The culmination of all martial skills that have been learned by the user. Increases spatial awareness and enhances the efficacy of strikes. [Parallel Thinking] Rank: E Passive: Slightly increases the users mental capacity. Active: Allows the user to have two individual thought processes running simultaneously. [Conversion] Rank: A Use: Allows the user to infuse their magic into magically conductive objects. [Catalyze] Rank: B Use: Increases the magical conductivity of an object. [Jewel] Rank: A Use: Allows the user to store Magical Power into gemstones that can beter activated at near-instantaneous speeds, reducing the need for incantations. [Mystic Code] Rank: D Use: Increases the efficacy of magical weapons that the usermonly uses. [Gandr] Rank: C Use: A physical curse magic that takes on the form of a hazy ckser that can punch through reinforced concrete barriers. [Restoration] Rank: D Use: Allows the user to use Magical Power to mend the wounds of a target. Has minimal effect when applied to self. [Familiar] Rank: E Use: Allows the user to program artificial constructs to carry out simple tasks. [Projection] Rank: E Use: Allows the user to convert Magical Power into temporary physical constructs. [Alchemy] Rank: E Use: Allows the user to manipte the shape and form of matter. ------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "Yeah, Im kind of a big deal...",Rins Temptation...,I see you, Ishtar...you aint sneaky...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1028 - Push

Chapter 1028 - Push

Though he had fully expected her to have it, Vahn was surprised to see that Rins [Child of Destiny], the Innate that seemed to be possessed by all main characters, was already at C-Rank. This implied that she had already experienced several incidents that had a direct impact on the fate of her world. Since she carried herself as someone who had a few deeply ingrained traumas, Vahn assertion that her past hadnt been easy now held a great deal of veracity. Just the wound on her abdomen, which was far more serious than he had expected, showed that she had only barely survived whatever trial had been forced upon her in the past. Since he knew how troublesome fate could be, Vahn felt far more empathetic about Rins situation than before... Sensing the change in Vahns mood, Rin turned towards him with a curious glint in her aqua-blue eyes. Seeing her gaze, Vahns expression softened for a brief moment before he regained hisposure and exined, "The effect of the blessing was actually more impactful than I expected. Though your physical parameters arecking, your Magical Power is more than six times what it had been previously. Now, even without your Od changing, you should be capable of outputting around 7500-7800 units of Magic Power. This could be a double-edged sword with the durability of your body, however, so make sure you dont overexert yourself as a result of the unexpected increase." Hearing Vahns words, Rins eyes widened in shock as she asked in an incredulous tone, "Are you telling the truth? That is more Magical Power than most Brands can output...!" As a member of the Mages Association, Rin was intimately familiar with the ranking system used to categorize Mages. Her own rank was only that of a Cause, though she was expected to reach the same rank as Lord El-Melloi II, known as Fes, by the time she reached the age of thirty. This was considered an incredible talent so hearing Vahn suddenly im she was capable of outputting the same Magical Power as someone three full ranks higher than her was more than a little jarring... Understanding Rins confusion, Vahn smiled lightly as he exined, "Im not sure why, but there seems to be a fundamentalck of understanding regarding the development of parameters in this world. I imagine most Magi only have a base Magic Power between one and two, perhaps the result of a natural limiter that is intended to prevent people from harming themselves. Handling more Magical Power than your mental capacity would allow can have devastating consequences if you let your power run wild. Not only could your spells explode, but there is also a chance that your Magic Circuits could be irreparably damaged as a result. Though you wont have to worry about that while Im around, you will need to work on developing both your mind and body to avoid a mishap in the future." Though she was still struggling to believe Vahns words, Rin absentmindedly nodded her head, thoughts wandering to what she was now capable of. In the process, she sat up on her bed without thinking about her current wardrobe or, more specifically, herck of one. Vahn casually averted his eyes to the side as a result before pulling out a mantle and unceremoniously handing it to the slightly confused Magus. It was only when she looked down at herself that Rin remembered that she was only wearing a pair of panties. Though Vahn was already looking away, she hugged the mantle to her chest with a dark expression on her face as she asked, "Did you see...?" Instead of Vahn answering, Fenrir snorted through her nose before answering in his ce, stating, "Do not me my Master for your mistakes. You havent even thanked him for increasing your power and are already looking toy me on him for an incident you had caused...hmph!" Since Rin wasnt one of her Masters lovers, Fenrir wasnt shy about harshly reprimanding her. She had never gotten along with people outside of the Hearth Manor so, unless her Master epted them, she would proactively keep women from inconveniencing her Master over misunderstandings they had caused. Looking as if she had taken actual damage from Fenrirs words, Rin flinched a few times before holding the mantle even tighter to her chest. With her head hung, she remained silent for several long seconds before finally muttering, "Thank you...Master..." in a quiet tone of voice. This seemed to have set off a bomb in her mind, however, causing Rins face to immediately be red as she quickly added, "Now get out of my room! Im going to bed!" Without arguing the issue, Vahn sent a slightly reproachful look towards Fenrir before releasing a small sigh when she just huffed in response. On their way out of the room, Vahn kept his back to Rin as he calmly stated, "In order for your parameters to increase, I will need to periodically update your Status Board. By the time you wake up in the morning, Ill have aprehensive list of your current parameters and skills so you can have a better understanding of your growth...Goodnight, Rin..." With these parting words, Vahn exited through the door with Fenrir before allowing the door to close behind him. As for Rin, she had followed their retreat with her eyes, waiting for the door to closepletely before she threw herself back on her bed and began to il around in an attempt to ease her embarrassment... --- Out of consideration for Rin, Vahn and Fenrir spent much of the evening just cuddling without doing anything too intimate. He had vented a lot of his pent-up tensions during the hours they had spent together prior to Rins return to the Manor. Now, he was more than content with simply holding her in his embrace, enjoying the naturally cool feeling of her skin. Unlike other girls, who would heat up very quickly whenever he embraced them, Fenrirs body was like hugging soft andfortable mesh pillow filled with ice. It was one of the unique traits that was distinctly hers, causing Vahn to feel calm and rxed as he inhaled the natural aroma in her hair. Though she wasnt a Chienthrope, Fenrirs ears also had a pleasant and calming aroma that made Vahn feel as though he had finally regained something precious that he had previously lost... As much as Vahn enjoyed their time together, Fenrir felt everything he was going through and used it to feed into her own emotions. Though the thought of being bound still terrified her, Fenrir felt an extreme level offort wrapped in her Masters embrace, something she had convinced herself she simply couldnt live without. It didnt matter what he wanted her to do, just feeling how happy he was to be reunited with her caused Fenrir to feel an emotion within her heart that she could only describe as filling. It was like her existence was amplified when they were together, even though she felt small and contained within his embrace. This was a feeling of security that nothing else could provide, causing Fenrir to feel that she might lose herself if she was denied it for too long... --- After a night that seemed impossibly long, even though it also seemed to pass in the blink of an eye, Vahn and Fenrir arrived in the dining room to find that Rin was already present. She had slight bags under her eyes, evidence that she didnt sleep very well, as she nursed a cup of ck tea. Fenrirs face adopted a small frown when she saw Rin but, after Vahn gently touched the small of her back, she walked over to the table before muttering, "Good morning..." Though Rin had noticed their presence instantly, she had been trying to focus on her tea after stressing out a bit too much the previous night. With Fenrir suddenly greeting her, she was at a loss as to how she should respond, barely managing a simple, "Mornin..." before feeling a sudden urge to yawn. Leaving the two to talk, Vahn made his way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast, adding a few mana-rich fruits into the mix to give Rin a bit of extra energy. At the same time, Vahn went through his morning routine of using his free Premium Gacha pull before checking the status of his Quests. He had the option of submitting his [Repeatable Quest: The Title of Master], but wanted to see if any additional rewards could be obtained by convincing Rin to eventually be his Subordinate or Retainer. Since his View Affection was still inactive, by Vahns own choosing, he couldnt urately gauge how Rin felt towards him. He was certain there werent any feelings of love between them, at least as far as he could tell, but that didnt mean he affection was low. Shaking his head to clear the urge to activate his View Affection function, Vahn reminded himself that he wanted to have more meaningful rtionsh.i.p.s from now on. Ever since the birth of his children, it almost felt wrong to be able to know how people felt about him in a quantifiable way. It felt like he was always trying to measure his actions to meet their expectations, almost as if he was manipting them into falling in love with him. After bing an Emperor, Vahn had disabled the system function that had be one of his most powerful tools within the Record of Danmachi. Now, regardless of what happened, he was determined to use his own judgment when it came to dealing with people, refusing to rely on the system as a crutch for even basic interactions... After finishing the breakfast preparations, Vahn set a few dishes on the counter before cing them into his Inventory. When he entered into the dining room, a somewhat unbelievable scene entered his eyes as, contrary to what she had said the previous night, Fenrir was currently letting Rin gently touch her ears. Though she immediately turned away from Rin when he entered the room, causing thetter to make a pouting expression, it was obvious that Fenrir was making an effort to get along better. Even if Rin wasnt family, she had be one of Vahns official Disciples so Fenrir knew she shouldnt cause unnecessary tension between herself and someone that should be her ally. After being held by her Master for the entire night, she had calmed down a lotpared to the previous evening. As he had promised, Vahn provided Rin with an updated Status Sheet before exining the specifics of each parameter, at least ording to his current knowledge. She listened attentively to everything he exined, disying the serious and studious side that had allowed her to thrive within the Clock Tower. Each question she asked was clearly thought out, providing Vahn with a few extra insights due to him having to exin it in a way that Rin could understand. It was sometimes stated that a good student could make a great teacher and, after talking with Rin for the better part of an hour, Vahn was beginning to believe her im about being a genius was genuine. ording to her, she was already recognized within the Magus Society as having the potential to be one of the top 100 graduates that the Mage Association had ever produced. By the time breakfast hade to an end, Rin surprised Vahn a second time as she quickly rose from her chair and eximed, "Ill wash the dishes. Since Im supposed to be your Disciple, I need to start acting like it. You made breakfast so I can at least wash the dishes...!" Since she said this with a surprising amount of conviction, Vahn was slightly taken aback by Rins spontaneity. Fortunately, Fenrir also hopped out of her chair before adding, "I will help as well. Master should rx more often." With these parting words, Fenrir and Rin grabbed the dishes before alighting to the kitchen together. Vahn was beginning to wonder what they had talked about during the twenty minutes he had been cooking as it seemed like the distance between them had shrunk in an instant... Deciding it was best not to pry, as there was nothing wrong with Rin and Fenrir getting along, Vahn took thetters advice and just rxed for the few minutes it took them to clean the tes. When they next appeared, Rin was wiping her hands with a towel as she asked, "So, what kind of training are we going to do? You have the means to help me improve quickly, right?" Though she would usually spend most of her free time infusing her Magical Power into the gemstones she relied on inbat, Rin was now keenly aware of the fact that Vahns methods were the key to bing a far more powerful Magus than her own efforts would have allowed. The previous night, she had been able to fill a gemstone with nearly ten times the amount of mana that she would have been able to manage in a simr amount of time just one day prior... Having expected Rin to start asking for his advice at some point, Vahn didnt let her down as he smiled and answered, "Your parameters are useless without having a strong foundation. Right now, the most important thing you can do is work on improving your physique and mental power. With your increased Magical Power, the strain your body and mind will experience has increased exponentially. Though it wont be much of a problem if youre satisfied with your current status, youll need to continually break down and rebuild your body if you want to truly reach the top. If you train seriously, the day in which you break the sound barrier without even having to rely on Magecraft would only be a few years down the line." Though this wasnt much of an achievement in a world like Danmachi, Vahn felt this would be quite the feat from Rins perspective. Imagining herself moving at such ridiculous speeds, Rin felt a little dizzy so she ced her hand against her forehead before groaning as she asked, "Youre serious, arent you...?" Vahn, thinking she was worried about bing super muscr, chuckled amusedly before gesturing to Fenrir as he said, "Fenrir can easily move several times the speed of sound without damaging her muscles and tendons. You dont have to worry about bing some super-human bodybuilder, as your parameters alone will help fill in the gaps. It is more important to focus on bnce and, as your parameters are all equally low, you actually have a pretty good starting point to build upon. Also, there is onest thing I need to talk to you about before we advance your training..." Seeing Vahn get serious, Rins eyes turned sharp as she asked, "What is it? Dont tell me there is actually a downside after you said there wouldnt be..." To this, Vahn just waved his hand dismissively before exining, "Right now, we are officially Master and Disciple. Though this rtionship alone has quite the bit of significance, I want to make you aware that there are other paths avable to you. Just like how the gods prior to the Age of Men were able to draw power from the beliefs of their followers, the rtionship we share affords me a few unique abilities. Once the bond between us bes strong enough, even helping you change your age, race, gender wouldnt be that difficult to achieve. Though Im not asking you to suddenly start fervently believing in me, I wanted you to be aware that the limits you currently have as a human are functionally meaningless if you choose to pursue a path beyond this singr world." Though Vahn didnt intend to take Rin with him to other Records, as it would be impossible, that didnt mean she couldnt potentially apany him through alternate timelines. He hadnt been able to see the full extent of Bells capabilities with the [Child of Destiny] Innate so it would be extremely helpful to see what Rin is able to achieve with it. Now that he had decided to invest his efforts into helping her grow stronger, almost as a way of sticking it to fate, Vahn wanted to see just how far she could go. Fortunately, Rin was the type that seriously considered things so, instead of outright refusing, she gave a contemtive nod before answering, "Ill need to know more about exactly what these abilities of yours are able to achieve. For now, I want to focus on familiarizing myself with my increased Magical Power while following the training schedule youe up with." Vahn gave an understanding nod of his own before looking through the system shop and purchasing an item he was intimately familiar with, the [Aegis Mk 5]. Though the shop didnt generally stock items he had produced, Inas, Asfis, and Hephaestus involvement in the production oftter iterations were recognized as products of the Record. As a result, everything after the [Aegis Mk 4] was essible through the system shop. Though some of its functions would be changed to adapt them to the current Record, Vahn was confident in the design he had invested several years of his life improving upon. Rin, however, didnt seem too keen on epting the predominately white undergarments as she gave Vahn a deadpan stare and asked, "What are these supposed to be...?" Because the [Aegis Mk 5] had been designed to be worn under other equipment, it wasnt inurate to consider them undergarments. They were both stic andfortable and, though Vahn would never tell Rin, they even had a shaping function built into them, like many of theter pieces of equipment he had designed for the girls. As a Japanese woman, Rin had somewhat modest b.r.e.a.s.ts and, though her thighs seemed strangely plush, she was distinctlycking an asset Vahn hade to appreciate like a fine connoisseur. Since she obviously had the potential, Vahn felt that the [Aegis Mk 5] would be a qualitative improvement to her current equipment, even without being obvious. Since Rin seemed to have misconstrued that he wanted her to wear the [Aegis Mk 5] by itself, he calmly rified, "Youll notice when you get used to using them, but these garments will greatly increase your capabilities. Not only that, you can be sure that not even a tank would be able to easily damage you while wearing them. They also have rtively high magic resistance, to the point it wouldnt be difficult to imagine the entire Magemunity going to war just to obtain them..." Though it might seem like an exaggeration, the [Aegis Mk 5] was still graded as an S-Rank item, meaning it was very near the pinnacle of what mortals could achieve. So long as Rin was wearing them, she wouldnt have to worry about things like bullets, assuming they werent magically empowered to have an extreme level of prative power... Rin still didnt seem fully convinced so Vahnughed before adding, "These are designed to be worn under other clothes. You can even wear them under your normal underwear if you want to keep them concealed so dont overthink it and just ept them..." Without waiting for her to take them, Vahn ced the soft shite garments into Rins hands. She still didnt seem to believe they were as powerful as he imed but, after training with them, Vahn knew she would quicklye around. As for Fenrir, she unhesitantly changed into a set of the [Aegis Mk 5] for herself, electing to forego other garments since she could just manifest them with magic. This gave her the appearance of a scantily d young woman wearing nothing but a sports bra and a pair of shorts that were closer in form to actual panties than spats. She wasnt bothered by this, however, as, even after wearing growing used to wearing clothes, Fenrir still wasnt that fond of how restrictive they felt... When Rin returned, wearing what appeared to be a red and ck bodysuit, she looked at Fenrirs appearance with dull eyes before ring towards Vahn. Since this was par for the course, Vahn chose to ignore her prating gaze as he firmly stated, "Now, it is time for our morning training. From now on, so long as the circ.u.mstances allow, you will follow the schedule I set for you every single day. It wont be easy but, if you work through the pain, I can guarantee that youll look back on your past self, wondering how you ever tolerated how weak you were." Though he said these words to encourage Rin, Vahn noticed that she flinched a few times at certain parts of his statement. Before she could say anything, however, he smiled snidely, much like how Tsubaki acted when he trained under her, saying, "If you have a problem with my words, prove to me that you can get stronger. Talk is cheap, Rin, now is the time for action...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: All ording to cake...,I swear, even if it doesnt cover much, youll be bullet proof...!,Vahn is the culmination of all his experiences with the women who helped to shape him) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1029 - Flexibility

Chapter 1029 - Flexibility

Though Vahn had wanted to start Rins training in earnest, they hit a snag almost immediately as, even though Rin was already in decent shape, her conditioning was geared towards very specific movements. The martial arts she had learned,bined with thebat style she had developed as a Magus, caused certain muscle groups to develop more than others. This meant the bnce of her body needed a lot of work as, even for a woman, Rins flexibility left something to be desired. Vahn had grown ustomed to the fluid, borderline formless styles that were used back in the Record of Danmachi. There were few actual schools of martial arts so everyone refined their own style from scratch, often focusing on flexibility and speed as the core of their fighting techniques... While guiding Rin through some simple stretching exercises, she ended up giving him one of the more incredulous looks he had seen on her face when he performed a simple split and extended his body parallel to the ground. This wasnt even close to the limit of Vahns own flexibility so he was a little surprised when Rin openly admitted, "There is no way my body can bend like that. Im not a gymnast or an acrobat, Im a Magus...!" When he heard this, Vahn countered Rins exmation with a hard gaze before simply stating, "Bnce and flexibility, both in body and mind, are the most basic foundation for martial arts and magic. Unless you think youre going to suddenly start throwing around True Magic without following my menu, you will perform the exercises I expect of you." To punctuate his words, Vahn rolled forward before lifting his body with nothing more than the index, middle, and thumbs of his hands. Then, causing Rins face to pale, he twisted just his h.i.p.s around until his backside was facing her, all while he maintaining direct eye contact. If he pushed himself, Vahn could even go beyond a 180-degree rotation so it was quite the sight to behold, even if it also looked wrong from Rins perspective. Pushing off from the ground, Vahn twisted nimbly through the air beforending almost soundlessly on his feet. Then, before Rin could find any words to argue, he adopted a serious expression before saying, "Watch closely. I will move slowly so you can follow my movements." Rin swallowed whatever words she was about to say before watching in shock and awe as Vahn began to shift around the area, leaving behind subtle afterimages. From her perspective, it was almost like he was appearing in multiple ces at once, each version of himself in an athletic pose that helped to emphasize the credibility of his statement. Though [Shundo] didnt actually require much flexibility, one of the key aspects to executing it was having impable bnce. Without it, there was a chance you would slip in between the two points, causing you to go tumbling painfully several tens of meters. As for the benefits flexibility would provide, at least in regards to [Shundo], it allowed the user to exploit the gaps in an opponents defense by appearing in their blind spots more easily. After keeping up his pace for around a minute, Vahn came to a stop right in front of Rin before exhaling a muted sigh. His legs and the core muscles of his abdomen felt like they were on fire but it was a good burn that meant he was making progress in his own physical development. He didnt let the pain show on his face, however, as he looked directly into Rins hesitant eyes and stated, "No matter how long it takes, I will make sure your understanding of the basics reaches the point that, no matter what heights you seek, you foundation will never fail you." Then, causing Rin to fl.u.s.ter, Vahn turned to Fenrir, who had been showing off her own flexibility at the side, saying, "Fenrir, I will give you the task of helping Rin improve her bodys flexibility. She doesnt need to be at the level of Tiona, but I expect her to at least reach Lefiyas standard..." With a thump of her chest, Fenrir stated, "Leave it to me...!" before moving towards Rin with a somewhat mischevious glint in her eyes. Rin held up both hands, waving them from side-to-side as she said, "Wait, wait, wait. I can do it myself. There is no need for Fenrir to assist me!" To this, Vahn just shook his head and said, "There are a lot of tensions in your muscles and joints. It is obvious that you dont properly stretch before you train so Fenrir will make sure your body remembers how it ought to move. I would do it myself but...well..." Since Rin was wearing a skin-tight bodysuit that exposed her navel, it left little to the imagination when she stretched. Vahn didnt mind the sight but, deciding it was best he conducts his own training regimen, he left Rins care to Fenrir since thetter would treat it very seriously. Not affording Rin the chance to refuse, she and Fenrir ended up moving into the bas.e.m.e.nt to use the yoga mats there. Vahn could swear he heard Rins voice was echoing through the entire Manor, prating soundproof barriers, as Fenrir forced her body into positions she never thought possible. Fortunately, though Rin had beenx in her prior training, she still had the inherent flexibility of a woman,bined with the fact she actually did take care of her physique. This meant that, while it was certainly painful, Fenrir was able to help her perform the entire routine without too many issues. It helped that Rin was able to use [Restoration] Magecraft as it relied on increasing the bodys natural regeneration, meaning it was repairing and rebuilding the damaged muscles quickly. Vahn wondered why Magi didnt use abination of [Restoration] and intense physical training to build up their bodies but, much like many of the things he had observed in this world, there seemed to be a distinctck of awareness about how to reach the pinnacle... By the time lunchtime came around, Rin was walking on shaky legs as Fenrir helped to support her body. When she plopped down in her chair, she nearly missed her mark and fell over but Fenrir quickly snatched her up as if she were wrangling a child. Vahn couldnt helpughing out loud at this because Rin, intuiting what he had been thinking, showed an embarrassed blushed as she red back at him. This faded quickly when she began eating, however, as Vahn was using ingredients that contained a fair amount of mana to further promote her growth. Rin was perfectly aware of this, as she was sensitive to the existence of mana, so she savored each bite without leaving any scraps. After all, trying to procure produce that had mana contained within would cost a small fortune on the market so she wasnt willing to refuse food that was both ridiculously delicious and extremely nourishing. When lunch came to an end, Vahn was preparing Rins second training menu when she preempted him by saying, "I have somewhere to be this afternoon. Dont forget that Im still an active member of the Clock Tower so I have my own duties to attend. Your arrival here just happened to coincide with the start of something akin to a vacation for me. Pretty soon, Ill be busy doing my job so youll have to stay here with Fenrir while I return to work." Though she recognized Vahn as her Master, at least as far as Magecraft was concerned, Rin still hadnt talked to him about the Holy Grail War. She was even intending to have him and Fenrir stay with a friend just before the event officially took ce as, even though Vahns assistance would be extremely helpful, Rin didnt want to expose him and Fenrir to therger Magus Community, at least for the time being. Though Vahns expression didnt change much, Fenrir furrowed her brows in response to Rins words since she knew thetter was trying to fool her Master. Fortunately, Rin had averted her eyes as a result of her own guilt, making it even more apparent that she wasnt quite sure about her actions. Since it was ultimately her choice, as Vahn was just a single new variable in her life, he lightly stroked Fenrirs back to keep her calm before saying, "I expect youll put twice the effort into your trainingter on. Right now, your increased Magical Power could result in a serious bacsh so make sure you avoid dangerous situations, at least for the time being..." Even though Rin likely wouldnt be fighting any time soon, as Vahn suspected there was no way he would miss the start of the Holy Grail War, there was no way of knowing what would happen. In response to Vahns concerns, Rin crossed her arms while continuing to avoid eye contact, saying, "Im perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Vahn. Dont worry about me, Im a big girl who knows what Im doing." No sooner had Rin finished saying this line that Fenrir added, "More like a big baby who whines over just a little bit of pain..." As the one who had born witness to how whiny Rin could be, Fenrir wasnt at all convinced by her attempts to put on a strong front. This caused Rin to react as if she had been struck by lightning, causing a strange expression to appear on her face before she eventually eximed, "How can you be so cute, yet so vicious at the same time...!?" Without missing a beat, Fenrir puffed out her chest with pride, a haughty smile on her face as she proimed, "I am my Masters first creation, thepanion that has stood at his side longer than anyone else! No matter what I do, I always put in the maximum amount of effort to make sure I can be helpful to Master~!" Though these words flowed from Fenrirs mouth without any hesitation, even Vahn felt a little strange hearing her proim them in such a way. He was starting to wonder if his education of Fenrir had been a little skewed, especially as Rin look towards him with a deadpan expression, usation clearly visible in her eyes. This wasnt well-received by Fenrir but Vahn had brought her to silence by cing his hand atop her head, smiling wryly towards Rin as he said, "You should understand the significance of context, Rin. Dont make assumptions that could cause any misunderstandings...now, how soon until you need to be leaving?" With Vahns reminder, Rin looked towards a nearby grandfather clock, releasing a sigh as she said, "I should have already left twenty minutes ago. Now Im going to have to listen..." Towards the end of her sentence, Rins words trailed as a scheming look adorned her face. She began tough in a manner that was eerily reminiscent of Loki before running upstairs to change without another word. Vahn and Fenrir were left in the dining room, thetter showing a pouting expression while Vahn had a wry smile on his face. He had seen the small skirmish between Rin and the blonde-haired girl, one where they were almost equally matched, so it was obvious to him that Rin was intending to teach her friend a lesson... For the rest of the afternoon, Vahn and Fenrir continued their own training in earnest, even though their breaks often involved thetter curling up in hisp. Overall, it was a very pleasant way to pass the time, leading Vahn to curse his past self for failing to be more decisive. Though he knew his decision wasnt wrong, as it perfectly ovepped with the moment that Rin would be actively seeking to increase her strength, Vahn didnt know how he had functioned without Fenrir at his side. Her presence alone made it feel as if his training was twice as effective, even though the number of breaks they took was far more than he would have otherwise. This was the result of his body and mind being in the state of bnce that he mentioned to Rin as, before Fenrirs summoning, Vahns heart and mind were obviouslycking focus... Around the time Vahn was expecting Rin to return, he was instead alerted to the presence of another Magus that had a distinctly different signature. Not only was it evenrger than Rins, but there was also a malicious and heavy feeling present within, constrained by a terrible darkness. As he knew that having a Darkness Affinity didnt necessarily make a person evil, Vahn didnt immediately take action as he sent his intent outside the walls to observe their guest. He was no longer as easy to detect as when he had first spied on Rin but this didnt seem to matter at all as the visitor looked towards him with what could only be described as lifeless purple eyes. For a brief moment, there was a look of genuine confusion on the womans face as she tilted her head to the side and asked, "Are you supposed to be Tohsakas hidden card...?" At this point, Vahn could tell that the woman, while showing no open hostility, harbored a deeply rooted resentment towards Rin. Though her facecked even a hint of emotion, Vahn could feel the mana in her body swirl about chaotically after identifying his presence. Even worse was the fact that, after getting a better look at her, Vahn could see several ovepping mana signatures within her body that, at a nce, caused a sick feeling to rise up in his stomach. She may look rtively normal on the outside, but it was almost as if the interior of her body was crawling with dozens of grotesque worm-like creatures. Though she seemed to have obtained some form of symbiosis with them, Vahn could tell that the creatures writhing about under her skin werent designed with benevolent intentions... Previously, it looked as if the woman was here to visit Rin, as she had walked up to the front gate without any discernable hesitation, but now Vahn couldnt help but feel that her intentions werent pure. Though he didnt tear through the void with his Qinglong form, Vahn used [Shundo] to appear next to the woman like a phantom as he asked, "What are you doing here?" Unlike how he would normally appear, Vahn currently had ashen-grey hair and sharper facial features, given him an older and battle-hardened appearance. He didnt want to expose his actual identity as, even though Rin knew he could change forms, she seemed to determined to keep him hidden. Vahn wanted to respect this sentiment so he had even changed his race and the internal structure of his mana to make it impossible to distinguish him from his true self. As if she wasnt even remotely surprised by Vahns sudden appearance, the woman turned towards him with a smile on her face that seemed extensively practiced. Vahns brows furrowed in response to this before he unhesitantly stated, "If you are an enemy, know that the only thing that awaits you is a bad end if you attempt to harm Rin." These words caused the woman tough in a somewhat dry manner before she muttered, "Rin always gets everything...hahaha...." After these words left her mouth, the woman acted as if she hadnt just shown a dark expression, smiling even more so than before, saying, "It is nice to meet you...ah, I didnt catch your name?" Then, as if realizing her own faux pas, the girl crossed her hands in an overly polite manner before bowing slightly and saying, "My name is Sakura Matou, the acting Head of the Matou family. Miss Tohsaka and I, we must discuss a matter of great importance. Tell me, Sir, would you happen to know if she is in...?" Hearing the woman mention the Matou family, Vahns expression didnt soften in the slightest as, from the texts he had within his memory, he knew exactly who Sakura Matou was. She was the biological sister of Rin who had been adopted by the Matou family when she was only six years old. Though most of the details regarding her were vague, almost every ount that mentioned Sakura presented her as an antagonistic force within Rins life. Even though the Tohsaka and Matou families were supposed to be close allies, working alongside the Einzburn Magus family in order to establish the Holy Grail War, this didnt seem to be the actual case in reality. Not only were the often reputed to use vicious means but, even without knowing what the entities inside of Sakura were, Vahn could tell they were evil in nature... Seeing that Vahn had no intention of answering her questions, Sakura moved her bangs aside so that they fell behind her ear. She had a peculiar hairstyle where one side was neatly tied with a small red ribbon. This gave her a somewhat innocent and youthful appeal, even though Vahn felt that letting your bangs hang on one side would just unnecessarily obscure your vision. He had never understood the draw to such a hairstyle, even if it seemed to suit Sakuras peculiar purple hair. Of course, no matter how innocent she tried to act, Vahn could literally sees several of the eyeless worms looking toward him beneath her skin. Their standard appearance was grotesque enough but it made his skin feel like it was covered in grease as they followed his every movement... After more than a minute of awkward silence, Sakuras eyes sharpened ever so slightly as she mused, "Ive never seen a Servant like you...I wonder how strong you are? Well, not that it matters...please tell Rin that I stopped by, would you? Regardless of what happened in the past, I would sincerely like to reconnect with her at some point...we have so much to discuss." Though her expression conveyed no sincere emotions, Vahn could feel murderous intention in Sakuras final words. She seemed to have mistaken him as a Servant, however, as she tried to walk by him with her over-practiced smile. For a brief moment, Vahn considered whether or not he should kill her but, as she was undoubtedly Rins kin, thetter mighte to resent him if she learned of the truth. Though Vahn could bear her ire if it meant saving her life, he didnt know the full story so it would be hasty to eliminate Sakura outright... (A/N: Alternate Titles: What do you mean you cant do a 270-degree split...?,Fenrir is very prideful,I wonder how the other Masters will feel when they realize Vahn isnt a Servant...quality prank) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1030 - History

Chapter 1030 - History

When Rin finally returned home, she was in much higher spirits than when she had left earlier in the day. As she entered the dining room, she had arge grin on her face while humming a happy tune to herself. Upon seeing Vahn, Rin gave him a sudden thumbs-up before saying, "Thanks for the boost, Vahn. You should have seen the look on that hateful womans face when she realized the difference in our power~." Though she recognized her actions were a bit petty, Rin had always been on rocky terms with Luvia, primarily due to their intense rivalry that had been present since they were both young. They had always proactivelypeted against each other, something that had persisted through their days in the Clock Tower and even further beyond. Vahn returned a smile to Rin before waving his hand and setting out a few light dishes for her consumption. He knew she wouldnt be in the mood to eatter so, before breaking the news, Vahn wanted Rin to enjoy her dinner. Though she seemed to sense something, Rin was in a great mood so she decided to let Vahn think whatever he wanted as she happily chowed down on her food. It wasnt until she was nearly finished eating that she looked around at the table and asked, "Where is Fenrir...?", her voice mixed with confusion and just a tinge of concern. In response, Vahn casually replied, "She is currently practicing a unique technique in order to refine the Water, Ice, and Yin Elemental Energy in her body. With her constitution, she needs to spend a few hours meditating each day to make sure her hunger doesnt act up..." Rin listened to Vahns exnation with her fork dangling from her mouth, savoring a small piece of foreign fish she didnt even know the name of. She couldnt tell if Vahn was telling her the truth or not but, considering he had never shown any signs of trying to harm her, she gave him the benefit of the doubt. Part of her was happy to have a bit of time with just the two of them as, even though Fenrir had only been around for a little more than a day, Rin found it hard to be around her at times. Seeing her cling to Vahn was a serious mood killer and, though she had used her Magecraft to deal with most of the pain, her thighs and legs were still sore from the morning. Strangely, Rin also felt as if her butt was a bit tender, almost as if there was a phantom sensation pressing into her muscles. She exined this away as simply being unustomed to the undergarments Vahn had given her... Once Rin was finished eating, Vahn gestured to stop her from clearing away the tes before saying, "You had a visitor today...a woman by the name of Sakura Matou." Rin had been wondering why Vahn had been acting so strangely but, hearing the name of her estranged sister, her mood instantly did a 180 as aplex frown marred her face. In a voice filled the deep emotions, sounding dry and pained, Rin asked, "What did she want..." Even though she already had several ideas, Rin wanted to know what Vahn had heard as, based on the fact he knew her name, they had obviously talked. Seeing theplex emotions Rin was showing, Vahn knew that something serious had happened between the two sisters in the past. Instead of prying into it directly, however, Vahn answered, "She imed the reason for her visit was to discuss an important matter and try to reconnect with you..." These words were outside of Rins expectations, causing a glimmer of hope to sh across her aqua-blue eyes until Vahn added, "She then called me a Servant, asking for my name and trying to inquire about my strength..." As if she was riding an intense rollercoaster of emotions, Rins expression changed with almost everything Vahn said. Though she knew the game was up, she tried to y things off by saying, "She must have thought I hired you to look after the house..." Since Vahns expression didnt change in the slightest, Rin followed her words with a long and tired sigh. Vahn used this opportunity to squint his eyes, adopting a serious tone as he said, "You arent a foolish woman, Rin. Even if you came up with a multiyered scheme to try and divert my attention elsewhere, you cant honestly expect that I would just ignore the rapidly changing situation outside the Manor. Ive been able to sense a shift in the flow of Fuyukis Mana and, though they have been careful to avoid getting too close, there have been numerous Magi lingering around the area recently..." Knowing full-well how overprotective Vahn could be, Rin knew she would no longer be able to convince him to go stay with her friend, especially after epting his crest to grow stronger. Though it felt like there was a vast gulf between them, she also knew that their rtionship was actually much closer than simple acquaintances. Vahn would never allow anyone he cared about to be in danger, especially since he had such an extreme amount of power at his disposal. Even if she tried to cut ties with him, Rin knew he was the type of idiot that would still linger around to make sure she was able to tide through theing dangers... Supporting her forehead with her left hand, as she suddenly felt extremely tired, Rin muttered, "You know, you can be a pain in the ass, Vahn..." In response to this, though it may not have been the best time, Vahn offhandedly remarked, "If you continue to stretch on a daily basis, you wont have to worry about things like that..." This caused Rin to look up at him with a profoundly confused expression, mouth slightly agape as a result of her inability to find words. Vahn just smiled in turn, adding, "You dont have to tell me everything, but I want to know the basics. With my ability to change shape and form, you wont find a better ally in whatever you have nned. Besides, even if Im no longer a god, you cant expect me to just sit on my hands as my one and only Disciple goes off to battle...right?" Though she continued to look at him with a befuddled expression for several seconds, Rin eventually smiled before crossing her arms and releasing yet another sigh. Then, tilting her head back to look up at the roof, Rin said, "Sakura and I...we are sisters. When she was just a little girl, she was adopted by another Magus family, the Matous, as a result of themcking a sessor of their own. With how much time has passed, she is probably the Head of the family by now..." As she spoke, Vahn could hear mncholy, frustration, and even a bit of envy contained within Rins voice. This came as a surprise to him as, regardless of how he looked at Sakura, she didnt seem to be in an enviable situation at all... As if to exin away his confusion, Rin added, "Our father died shortly after Sakura was adopted by the Matous. After that...well, our mother also ended up dying. I was left under the guardianship of a member of the Holy Church, a reprehensible man named Kirei Kotomine..." When she mentioned the named Kirei Kotomine, Vahn could practically feel the rage radiating off Rins body. However, she didnt let the emotions persist too long, taking a deep breath before saying, "While I was left alone in thisrge Manor, Sakura was given the chance to live in arge family, treated like a princess that would eventually the Patriarch, Zouken Matou, as the family Head..." Hearing what she had said, Vahn was able to understand why Rin might have felt envy towards Sakura, at least if he ignored the fact that those evil worms resided in thetters body. He couldnt imagine Rin would have wanted to trade ces with her, meaning there was a good chance she was unaware of Sakuras actual situation. Since now wasnt the best time to broach the subject, Vahn decided to remain silent as he listened to Rin hesitantly exin, "She and I...we both ended up falling in love with the same boy...an idiotic boy named Shirou Emiya. You see...I..." When she got to this point, Rins expression became a mask of pain before she finally squeezed out, "Emiya and I eventually became lovers. Sakura was devastated, using me of stealing the only thing she ever cared about. After that, Emiya and I became members of the Clock Tower before he..." With tears beginning to build in her eyes, Rin wasnt able to finish her words before hanging her head and falling silent. When she finally spoke once again, she hadpletely glossed over the topic, moving on to the more important issue, the Holy Grail War. With a flicker of determination in her eyes, Rin looked directly at him as she said, "I once participated in a massive ritual known as the Holy Grail War. One of the longest-held desires that has been passed down through the Tohsaka family line for generations is the goal of reaching the Root. In order to meet that goal, my family allied with other prestigious Magus families to conduct a ritual called Heavens Feel. Do to greed and infighting, however, it quickly evolved into an even that is currently known within Magus society as the Holy Grail War..." Pulling out a few gemstones from her purse, Rin ced fifteen on the table as she exined, "The Holy Grail War is a battle that is fought betweenpeting Masters, each being assigned a Servant through the power of the Grail itself. These Servants each have a unique designation, consisting of the Saber, Archer, Lancer, Caster, Assasin, Rider, and Berserker sses. As for the form these Servants take, they most often take on the appearance of various Heroics Spirits that have been recorded on what Magi refer to as the Throne of Heroes. It records the various tales and legends for all Heroic figures that have existed in the past. On asion, there are exceptions to this rule...but they are very rare..." Not wanting to recount her experience sharing a body with Ishtar, Rin did her best to clear her thoughts before exining, "I was a participant in the Fifth Holy Grail War nearly ten years ago. Though it normally takes a period between fifty and sixty years for the ritual to cycle, the previous two Holy Grail Wars have concluded before anyone was able to reach the Greater Grail and have their wish granted. I was able to get close but there was external interference that nearly resulted in me losing my life. Ultimately, the Lesser Grail managed to appear but, without any Servants left to im it, the ritualpleted without anyone gaining ess to the Greater Grail..." Though he could tell there was a lot that Rin wasnt telling him, Vahn knew it couldnt be easy for her to recall her past trauma. With how peaceful this world seemed, it must have been difficult for her to fight for her life against other powerful Magi that wanted to im the Grail for themselves. Since she had grown up alone, envying the lives of others, Rins personal trial in obtaining the Grail meant she would have had to make several sacrifices along the way. Though it seemed she had allies of her own, most likely in the form of the boy named Shirou Emiya, she had now lost even him. Vahn didnt know exactly when Emiya had died but, based on how Rin behaved, it wasnt a distant memory... After exining the basics of the Holy Grail War, Rins mood had improved considerably, taking the form of a confident and determined gaze as she exined, "With thest Holy Grail War ending without a victor, the cycle was reduced to just under ten years. Now, the Sixth Holy Grail War is about to begin, causing another barbaric struggle between Magi to have their wishes granted. This time around, however, myself and several former Masters, each having personally experienced the horrors of the Holy Grail War, intend to ally together to bring an end to it. My goal this time around is to reach the Greater Grail, not to make my wish, but to dismantle it in its entirety...!" Rins eyes were zing with resolve by the end of exmation, causing Vahn to nod in appreciation before saying, "No matter how powerful the other Masters and their Servants end up being, theyre in for a surprise if they think Ill just watch from the sidelines. Now that you have told me your wish, it is my duty as your Master to make sure you are able to achieve your goals." Though hecked even a fragment of Rins resolve, primarily due to the fact he fully expected to participate in several Holy Grail Wars, Vahn was more than willing to help her out. After all, one of his optional objectives actually involved interfering with the ritual so, by helping Rin, he was alsopleting one of his own tasks... Hearing Vahns words, Rin managed a gratified smile, even though it faded away rather quickly when she muttered, "The problem is Sakura...if she came here, there is a good chance she intends to participate in the Holy Grail War this time around. Though we havent been on speaking terms for several years, Id rather not have to fight her...even if she is an adopted daughter of the Matou family, she is also my only living rtive. Damn it all..." Though her desire to bring an end to the Holy Grail War was still burning strong, Rin didnt want to face her own sister on the field of battle. If possible, she too would like to reconnect with Sakura, even though she knew thetter probably hated her even more after Shirous death... Seeing the conflict in Rins eyes, Vahn was positive that she wasnt actually aware of the kind of life that Sakura had lived at the Matous. Compared to Rins sincere desire to rekindle her rtionship with Sakura, Vahn could only see negative emotions swirling around within thetter. If she was afforded the opportunity, it was easy to imagine there would be little hesitation on Sakuras part if she was given the chance to make Rin suffer. Now, Vahn had to make a choice about whether or not he should divulge Sakuras secret, cing even more stress on Rin, or if he should deal with the matter without her knowledge. This was turning into the type of situation where it might be better for Rins mental wellness if she was never made aware of what her sister was forced to suffer through... Aware that Vahn was thinking something regarding her, Rin gave him a questioning gaze that caused an awkward tension to permeate through the atmosphere. This caused Vahn to release a muted sigh before he looked directly into Rins eyes and asked, "If you could..." Even without asking his question, Vahns smile widened because he knew, without a doubt, Rin was the type that would do whatever it took to help friends and family. Though her disposition caused her to act in a peculiar manner, she was, at the very core of her existence, a girl who simply wanted a family. She had been alone for arge portion of her life and, though he had read several versions of History where she was happily married, there was no way of knowing if her current path led towards a happy end. After all, not every story that managed to be a Record was even intended to have a fairy tale ending... Before Rin could question him, Vahn stood up from the table and said, "Make sure you rest properly, Rin. Tomorrows training will be far more intense than what you experienced this morning. Also, though I wont interfere with what youre currently doing, Ill be taking a few actions of my own in the following days. If anything important happens, Ill make sure to bring it to your attention immediately. For the time being, my priority will simply be scouting around the City and trying to determine the power andposition of enemy forces. I imagine your group is already working on something simr, but I doubt they have means that can match my own..." With this said, Vahn turned around and began walking towards the hallway without furtherment. Rini was left with a confused expression on her face, knowing Vahn was up to something while also being aware that there was little she could do to stop him... Once Vahn had left the dining roompletely, Rin rested her head on the table before falling into a long period of silence. Now that she had exposed her intentions, it suddenly felt like a heavy weight had been removed from her heart. With Vahns power, any doubt she had about the sess of her mission seemed to fly out the window. At the same time, however, Rin felt that she had now be the bystander that Vahn intended to avoid bing. With him taking action, Rin felt that she would be relegated to a support role by default. After all, regardless of her prior experience with the Holy Grail War, Rin couldnt imagine anything truly getting in Vahns way. If she helped him be a Master, it was almost guaranteed that the final victor would be Vahn and his Servant... Though the thought of gaining an easy victory was rather pleasant, as it was always better than a hard-fought battle where sacrifices were required, Rin felt a strange emptiness where her convictions had previously resided. The situation was quickly developing into one where Vahn was doing several things for her, all while she barely managed to provide support in the rear. Though she could be much stronger under his tutge, Rin felt variousplex emotions knowing that, one day, perhaps in the near future, Vahn would move beyond her. Even though she harbored no desire to keep him anchored to her, Rin felt small when she thought about therger stage Vahn would one day tread, all while she continued to fumble around amongst amunity she hated interacting with... As her thoughts continued to spiral around within her chaotic mind, Rinmented the fact that she couldnt helpparing Vahn to Shirou, the only man she had ever loved. They both had the type of personality that made them give their all to others, rarely expecting anything in return. Also, just like Shirou, Rin knew that Vahn wasnt the type to just sit around for long periods of time without taking action. Her intuition told her that, when he finally started moving, there would be few things that could ever stop Vahns momentum. Though it was almost impossible to imagine him dying off in some foreign country, Rin knew that even the most powerful people could be a victim of circ.u.mstances. Just as Shirou had been betrayed by people that were supposed to be hisrades, there was a non-negligible chance that Vahn would share the same fate. Imagining this, Rin clenched her teeth as she buried her face into her arms and muttered, "Why do I waste my time with idiots like this...dammit..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Thats a nice day youre having there...would be a shame if...,I wonder how Rin would react if she knew the truth about Sakura at this point...?,Some say that the tears of a Tsundere are a rare and preciousmodity for Magecraft...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1031 - Will

Chapter 1031 - Will

Early the next morning, around two hours before the sun was expected to rise, Vahn sensed Rin step into the backyard. Since he was in a state of passive alertness, her exiting the Manor caused his second thought process to immediately begin observing her actions. Without manifesting an avatar, Vahn had regained the ability to have two, nearly three, conscious thoughts. He could stay asleep with Fenrir in his arms while simultaneous shifting his intent to Rins location, finding her wearing simr training garments to the previous day. She wasted no time starting the stretching exercises Fenrir had taught her the day prior, even if her body still wasnt adapted to them just yet. No matter how much pain and difort it brought her, however, Rin continued to push through the pain with a determined expression on her face... Understanding that Rin wasnt trying to wander off, Vahn stopped focusing on her directly to avoid detection. She obviously wanted to work through some things on her own so Vahn left Rin to her own devices for the time being. Then, with little else to do, Vahn went over his n within his mind, having Sis offer her advice to help improve the chance of sess. His current intentions were to allow Sakura, if she actually did intend to participate within the Holy Grail War, the opportunity to be a Master. This would allow him to eliminate several birds with a single stone, as it would give him the justification to take action against her as an enemy Master. Though he currently had no intentions to kill her, as it shouldnt prove difficult to purge the worm-like creatures from her body, Sakuras ultimate fate would depend on the choices she would make in theing weeks... Knowing that Sakura was only six years old when she was taken out of the Tohsaka household, Vahn knew she was a victim of circ.u.mstances beyond her control. So long as she wasnt proactively trying to harm people after being eliminated from the Holy Grail War, Vahn would leave her be. It was the Matou family, and the Makiri family behind them, that would ultimately pay the price for what had happened to Sakura. Even without knowing the full details of what had transpired, Vahn knew that Sakura had been made to experience something beyond normal suffering. Though only a small subsection of the family may have been responsible, Vahn had no qualms about abolishing them entirely to avoid their knowledge and crest from ever being passed down to future generations. It didnt matter if his actions would earn the ire and attention of other Magus families, as Vahn was perfectly willing to send the way of the Matou if they wanted to defend such reprehensible actions. At the present moment, Vahn had no intention of trying to repeat his actions of guiding the world towards a better future. With the level of technology present within the world,bined with the ridiculous political climate of the various nations around the world, Vahn felt like it would be a futile endeavor unless he had the resolve to destroy everything. With how people had been pacified by the existing system, the only way they would truly be able to move forward was if they received a wake-up call, forcing them to face the future instead of focusing solely on indulging themselves in the present. This, however, didnt mean he wasnt willing to shatter the backbone of the powers that had led to the stagnation of the world behind the scenes. If they were willing to let humanity degrade to this point, all while desperately clinging to their own power, Vahn would remove them just as he had the Nobles in Danmachi... After enjoying his final half-hour of rest, Vahn and Fenrir awoke simultaneously to head down and conduct their own training. By this point, Rin already had a fineyer of sweat on her body as a thin mist rose as a result of the difference in her body temperature and the cool morning air. When she saw Vahn and Fenrir arrive, Rin showed a vibrant smile that didnt quite reach her eyes before saying, "I was beginning to think the two of you were going to sleep in until noon. Come on, Im already warmed up and ready for whatever you want to throw at me...!" Raising his left brow, Vahn issued an amused Oh? before vanishing from view in almost the exact same instant. To her credit, Rin actually tried to dodge forward, attempting abat roll of sorts, but her reaction was almostughably slow from Vahns perspective. Without any suspense, he appeared behind her before extending his index finger forward and pressing into one of her nerves. Rin released a pained grown as it felt like a surge of electricity ran through her left shoulder, numbing her entire arm in the process. Before she was able toin, Vahn sternly exined, "Focus your Od to clear your inner pathways. One of the biggest weaknesses Ive seen in your Magecraft is that you are too reliant on your external Magic Circuits and the structure of your Family Crest. Since your internal Magical Power is something that is constantly active within your body, you need to get used to controlling it. You might not be able to increase your reserves much at the present moment, but you can still greatly improve the quality and activation rate..." Though Vahn was making it out to sound as if the process depending solely on Rins efforts, he had sent a thread of Source Energy into her body with his [Hands of Nirvana]. It would cause her a fair amount of pain and difort, but the mana within her body would slowly be refined under the influence of his Source Energy. Though Rin actually had six different elemental affinities within her body, once again attesting to her status as a genius, it was obvoius that she didnt use them to the fullest effect. She was almost entirely reliant on her [Jewel] Magecraft, meaning each battle she fought would cost a small fortune. Vahn knew her capabilities would be crippled if her finances were drained so he wanted Rin to focus on refining her internal reserves so she could begin learning Evas Magic System... Rins expression still showed a bit of dissatisfaction but, instead of arguing outright, she began channeling her Od through her arm while quietly muttering, "How did someone so insensitive win the hearts of so many women...haaaa..." As she pushed her mana through the pinch present within her shoulder, Rin noticed that the pain faded away quickly. Just as she was about to express her relief, however, Vahns index finger pressed into a nerve below her vicle before she was prepared. This caused Rin to painfully exim, "Mother f.u.c.ker...! as she jumped back and began rubbing the area with slightly teary eyes. Vahn followed Rins retreat with his eyes, wearing a mask of calm as he inly stated, "It is only going to get harder from here onwards, Rin. Until you reach the point where your body instantly reacts to clear any blockages, we will continue this training on a daily basis. This could very well be one of the most important kinds of training you can experience right now, as it will rapidly improve your control, both actively and passively." Since the speed at which people seemed to think in this world was demonstrably slower than the reaction times of Adventurers, Vahn wanted Rin to be able to continue fighting, even if she got surprised. He knew she had the [Parallel Thinking] skill, so it should be possible for her to clear the blockages while focusing on the fight. Through clenched teeth, Rin red back at Vahn while slowly channeling her mana to clear the blockage. She was taking it a bit slower this time to avoid another sudden and unexpected surge of pain. Unfortunately, Vahn saw through this so, before Rin had even caught her breath, he vanished from view, appearing at her nk this time. Rins only reaction was to widen her eyes before her entire body curled up after Vahn pressed a pressure point on the left side of her abdomen. This new pain seemed to ovep with the previous one in her chest, causing Rin to retreat into the fetal position as she quickly tried to clear the searing pain in her abdomen. When she finally managed to rise to her feet, she looked towards Vahn with reddened eyes as she said, "You...you...asshole..." Understanding Rins anger, Vahns expression softened a bit as he exined, "Your enemies will not be shy about striking your weak points..." His previous attack had ovepped with the circle-shaped scar on Rins abdomen, causing her ten times the pain of the previous two strikes. Vahn wanted her to take this seriously as, even with his overprotective nature, it wasnt always possible for him to protect her. Fortunately, Rin didnt seem to resent him too much as she rubbed her side and dropped into abat stance. It seemed like she was tired of being on the receiving end as she quickly dashed forward before trying to kick the outside of his left thigh. Though he could allow her strike tond, Vahn deftly snatched Rins ankle with his hand before cautioning, "It is dangerous for you to try and strike my body without protecting your limbs. Dont forget that my body is simr in nature to that of a Greater Divine Spirit. If I let your kicknd, you might have fractured your shin in the process..." Even though he felt much weaker than he did in Danmachi, the way this world treated beings of a certain Tier afforded Vahn a lot of benefits. Unless it was an attack that was anti-divine in nature, he was virtually immune to any kind of physical damage. He even had immunity to Magecraft that was graded as B-Rank and lower, making it possible for him to walk through an army of a million average Magi without even needing to defend himself. Since Rins attack was the equivalent of kicking an immovable object with full-force, Vahn had to interrupt it to prevent injury. This led to the awkward scene of him holding her extended leg upwards, but it was better than watching Rins leg snap due to her oversight. Pulling her leg free from Vahns grasp, Rins cheeks were tinged with a bit of red as sheined, "It is a little unfair that you expect me to just receive your attacks without even being able to do anything about it..." To this, Vahn nodded in agreement, exining, "That is the nature of the world at times, Rin. Depending on the differences between you and your opponents, it can certainly seem unfair...however, when you live to be more than a hundred years old and have fought through entire armies on your own, only then will I humor such remarks. If you want to get revenge against me for any perceived injustices, feel free to be strong enough to aplish it..." As he spoke, Vahn lifted his right index finger to remind Rin that they were still in the middle of her training. With her brow twitching, Rin gnashed her teeth before muttering, "Just you wait..." under her breath. Vahn, however, didnt wait and instead chose to go on the offensive once again, this time pressing into a pressure point near the connecting point of Rins corbone and right shoulder. In truth, he had to resist pressing into more sensitive areas, as Rin wasnt prepared for real training just yet, so Vahn was limited in targettingrger nerve cl.u.s.ters. This meant that Rin was experiencing pain that verteran soldiers would havepared to being shot with a bullet. The impact was focused on a single point, causing an intense and searing pain that persisted until Rin finally managed to clear the blockage. After only ten minutes, Rin was desperately biting her lower lip as she fought hard against the tears trying to escape her eyes. She actually had much greater resistance than Vahn had expected, taking nearly forty attacks before she could no longer hold in her anguish. Seeing this, Vahn dropped his hand before walking over to Rin, standing above her as he said, "You did well, Rin. I only expected you tost the first ten attacks...your willpower is incredible." Though he had nearly rubbed her head whileplimenting her, Vahn managed to resist the urge since Rin, regardless of how she acted at times, wasnt a child. He wanted her to avoid developing any tender emotions during their training, as the chance she would develop some kind of deviancy was remarkably high, at least ording to what Anubis had taught him... Though her body was still wracked with the echoes of Vahns attacks, Rin managed to smile in response to his praise. She still had tears in her eyes but, as if she wasnt crouched down on the ground, Rin confidently stated, "Of course...Im a genius..." in a slightly sobbing voice. In response, Vahn nodded his head before allowing a proud smile to spear across his face. This was something usually reserved for his actual children but, seeing Rin put on a strong front, Vahn couldnt help but feel a little proud of his student. Rin seemed especially sensitive to this, causing her face to blush as she hung her head, a surprisingly sincere smile recing the one she often forced... Leaving Rin to recover at the side, Vahn and Fenrir conducted their own training, even though they were severely limited by the size of the yard. This didnt stop them from making the most of things, however, as Vahn desperately evaded Fenrirs pursuit in an attempt to increase his proficiency with [Shundo]. She was currently much faster than his base speed, however, resulting in Fenrir happily tackling him to the ground every few minutes. Rin seemed to enjoy this the first time she witnessed it, producing arge grin as she prepared to make a snide remark at Vahns expense. Her words ended up getting stuck in her throat, however, when Fenrir happily pinned Vahn to the ground before iming his lips as her prize... In this manner, Vahns speed was gradually improving while Fenrirs was exponentially increasing. He simply couldnt evade her through normal means as, due to the borderline instinctual focus she ced on their bond, Fenrir could, quite literally, predict his movements. She also had strong chase instincts, causing Fenrir to treat their little game very seriously as her eyes glimmered with a fervent and decisive light. Each time she would tackle him, Vahn felt like a mouse that had been caught by a kitten as Fenrir wouldugh mischievously before cing her soft paws on both sides of his face and invading his mouth with her tongue. When the training session finally came to an end, Fenrir was in an exceptionally bubbly mood as she contentedly hummed the same song that Tiona would sing whenever she was happy. Vahn, looking a bit worse for wear, could only produce a wry smile on his face as he walked by Rin, thetter crossing her arms as she said, "Serves you right..." This might have been more impactful if she didnt have a red hue to her face, causing Vahn to feel a strong urge to tease her as he lifted his index finger. Rin immediately flinched before instinctually taking a step back, her body remembering the training that her mind seemed to have temporarily forgotten. Vahn smiled in response, even as he internally remarked about how quickly things could change. Previously, depending on the person, Vahn could garner expectant and excited looks from women if he held up just a single finger. Seeing Rin spooked was surprisingly refreshing, as he knew she actually had no idea how terrifying his finger could be... Deciding not to tease Rin too much, Vahn dropped his hand before saying, "You should go ahead and use the bath first. Ill get started on breakfast...youll be leaving around lunchtime I presume?" Surprisingly, Rin shook her head in response before exining, "I already exined the situation to our coborators. In order to put up a united front, theyll be leasing a nearby Manor before we regroup tomorrow. Im going to introduce you to everyone so we can use today to discuss your cover story. Though the people well be meeting are trustworthy, I think you underestimate the impact your existence will have on the world. Even if you might not be directly threatened by any of the three major Organizations, dont forget that were not at your level..." As he had essentially been forced to leave his previous world for the exact same reasons Rin was alluded to, Vahn gave an understanding nod as his brows lightly furrowed. Rin, understanding what he was thinking, gave an admonishing smile before lightly punching his arm and saying, "Unless you n to live detached from others, the only thing you can do is your best, Vahn. I can tell that youre not the type to just sit by and watch people suffer so dont pretend otherwise. Im fully aware of the fact that I could be hurt by people trying to get to you but that is a danger Im willing to face. Dont look down on my resolve...Im stronger than you think, okay?" Hearing Rins words, which echoed simr words spoken to him by most of the girls he was closest to, Vahn smiled as various scenes yed across his mind. He knew that Rins words were the truth and, though it had always been his biggest weakness, Vahn simply couldnt stand by and do nothing. Even if he didnt intend to be an Emperor and rule this world, that didnt mean he would ignore the corruption and cruelty that seemed to make up the backbone of the powers in this world. Though he couldnt save everyone, that didnt mean he couldnt eliminate arge portion of the forces that caused suffering in the world. If society was content with living a pacified existence, he would remove the darkness lingering beneath society to ensure that they could live in peace... After opening his eye, Vahn saw Rin looking at him with concern so he smiled even wider before extending his hand and plopping it down on her head. This surprised her more than a little but Vahn didnt really mind it much as he sent petting energy into her head and mused, "Youre a good woman, Rin. Thank you for your words..." Since Rin wasnt ustomed to such interactions, she quickly pulled away from Vahns hand with a fl.u.s.tered expression on her face as she stammered, "Wh-what are you trying to do? Im not someone you can just..." Though she wanted to continue on, Rin felt as if the aura around Vahn had changed drasticallypared to what she had experienced over thest month. There was a resolute light in his eyes that seemed to be looking towards a fixed point in the future, something only he had any say in... Having made his decision, Vahn inclined his head towards the sky before muttering, "The time to pass on the torch has long since passed...I wonder how desperately you will cling to it..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Poking Intensifies*,Fenrirs favorite game,The shadow of the Emperor...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1032 - Investigation

Chapter 1032 - Investigation

For the rest of the day, Vahn sat across from Rin in her study while Fenririd across hisp and dozed off. At this point, Rin seemed to have given upmenting on the way Fenrir behaved and instead showed an envious glint in her eyes as she watched Vahn gently scratch around the base of Fenrirs ears. This would cause her to show a contented smile as she snuggled up even closer to him, inhaling in an audible fashion that caused Rins face to show a light blush. As for Vahn, he had long since adapted to Fenrirs habits so he showed no discernible change in expression while guiding the conversation forward. In this manner, the day proceeded without incident before Vahn and Fenrir retired to their own room, leaving Rin to fall exasperatedly into her bed. Her body was still sore from the mornings exertions so she didnt even change into her sleepwear before retreating to thefort of her nkets... While Rin faded into the abyss of unconsciousness, Vahn and Fenrir were both wide awake as they spent their time together in silence. The reasons Fenrir had been sleeping during the day was to conserve her energy as, even though he wasnt required to act immediately, there were a few things Vahn wanted to look into. His instincts, honed over years of associating with people who possessed a powerful fate, told him that there was more afoot than Rin was aware. If the Holy Grail War was only supposed to have seven total Masters, it didnt make sense for there to be as much activity as he had observed. Though it wasnt hard to believe that everypeting Master had their own support group, the War was supposed to be a highly regted event that disallowed external interference. Rin and herpanions were obviously intending to break the rules but, as could be observed from the failure of the previous two Wars, she wasnt the only one with such intentions... Once Rin had fallen into a deep state of unconsciousness, Vahn tilted Fenrirs chin towards him before giving her a short peck on the lips. This caused her to immediately smile, though not nearly as much as when Vahn asked, "Shall we go hunting...?" As a being with affinities rted to Water, Ice, and Yin, Fenrirs dominion was the veil of night, especially when there was a full moon. Though theycked thetter, there were few who could ever hope to achieve Fenrirs proficiency when it came to tracking down prey. Without any fear visible within her subtly glowing eyes, Fenrir used one of her nails, tracing ita long Vahns chest as she answered, "With only two exceptions, there is nothing I would enjoy more...Master..." Knowing exactly what Fenrir was implying, Vahn released a light chuckle before letting his hand trace the line of her back. This caused her to exhale a hot sigh as, even with its reduced efficacy, Vahns [Hands or Nirvana],bined with hisprehension of Petting Laws made even a simple caress something that prated into the very core of a persons body... After warming up their bodies a bit, Vahn and Fenrir dawned cloaks that had been purchased from the system shop for 500,000OP each. They allowed the wearer to move undetected within the shadows, increasing the efficacy of all stealth-rted abilities by 300%. Though Vahn and Fenrir bothcked actual skills and abilities rted to stealth at the moment, the former could match his presence to the surrounding Mana while thetter could use the same magic that allowed her to change form like an optical camouge. Fenrir could bend the light around her body to be nothing more than a hazy blur that was nearly unnoticeable unless you looked directly at her. Though this would be useless in areas of heavy fog and rain, it was when the sky was clear of everything but the moon and a few stars... Like shadows, Vahn and Fenrir quickly moved through the surrounding suburban residences before reaching their first mark only five blocks from the Tohsaka Manor. Vahn had detected the Magus that was staying here lingering around Rins house several times over the past couple of days. Since he hadnt tried to establish contact, it was almost guaranteed that the Magus within an enemy or a spy. Thus, after confirming the presence of two people within, Vahn moved undetected through the surrounding magic barrier as Fenrir kept watch outside. Upon entering the main bedroom of the rather homely residence, Vahn found a man a woman, both in their mid-twenties, sharing the same bed. He had already peered into the room previously so he wasnt at all surprised, quickly setting to his task of sorting through the Magus personal effects. It didnt take long for Vahn to find a leatherbound folder that contained information on not only Rin, but the twopanions she had met with at the Cafe. There were several other people mentioned, leading Vahn to believe they were either other potential Masters or co-conspirators in Rins n. Since there was also a log that showed Rins movements over thest few days, including timestamps, Vahns eyes immediately sharpened as he looked towards the sleeping couple. The man didnt have a powerful presence but hispanion had a few dense threads of mana running through her internal circuits. Vahn didnt know if she was a prospective Master, or if she was simply the muscle on the mans investigation team. None of the doc.u.ments, other than their passports, gave Vahn any information about the two so it was hard to determine if they were enemies he ought to kill... Ultimately, Vahn decided to use a method he wasnt actually that fond of, causing him to release a muted sigh that didnt escape the thin membrane he created with his domain. Without wasting too much time, he appeared at the womans side before pressing his index finger against her forehead. Though this might have awakened her in any other circ.u.mstances, Vahns touch could gopletely unnoticed if he chose. Without her ever knowing something was wrong, the woman fell into a deep abyss of unconsciousness that she wouldnt wake from with outside intervention or the passage of a full day. After this waspleted, Vahn moved to the opposite side of the bed before cing two fingers at the center of the mans chest. He made no attempt to conceal his presence this time, causing the Magus eyes to snap open, though not before he had already lost control over his motor functions... Vahn watched as the man activated his Magic Circuits and tried to force his body to move but, with Source Energy coursing through his nervous system, it was far beyond his means to resist. Even so, Vahn waited patiently for the man to cease his struggling before staring directly into his eyes and saying, "This is not a negotiation. You will tell me what I wish to know, or you will die. There are no other oues to this situation. Though you may not trust that I will release you after the fact, I can promise you that there are far worse things in life than a swift death..." Even without a sadistic nature, Vahn still had more than a few means at his disposal if he needed his enemies to talk. If the man failed toply, the next step would involve putting him into a deep state of hypnosis that he may never fully recover from... Since the man couldnt talk at the moment, he used his eyes to look at this sleepingpanion without uttering so much as a grunt. After seeing that she was sleeping peacefully, he seemed to calm down a bit before blinking his eyes in understanding. Vahn returned a small nod of his own before cing his index finger below the mansryngeal prominence, slowly restoring his ability to speak. Once this task waspleted, Vahn picked up the folder containing the mans investigation notes before asking, "What is your purpose here? Why are you investigating these people...?" Vahn noticed there was no information on himself within the mans records so he didnt ask about Rin and her associates directly. As for the man, he seemed to put deep consideration into his answer before saying, "Im just a simple Private Investigator that was hired to collect information on any prominent Mages moving around the Miyama region. I cant give you any information about the identity of my client, though I know they have connections to the Holy Church..." As he had only gotten notice regarding the job through an anonymous source, the unfortunate private investigator could only pray that Vahn believed his words... With an approving nod, Vahn looked between the man and hispanion before asking, "And what is the identity of yourpanion? Are the two of you partners...?" This line of questioning caused the mans expression to turn desperate as he said, "Please, dont hurt my Ayoko...if you want to hurt me, I dont care, just please leave her out of this..." Seeing the sincerity in the mans eyes, Vahn squinted his eyes slightly, even as he internally released an exasperated sigh. Before aying the mans concerns, he repeated, "I asked you her identity and the nature of your rtionship. If your concern is genuine, you will answer my questions directly instead of wasting my time..." Using his domain to put some pressure on the mans mind, something that was very easy with how weak most people in this world were, Vahns words were like massive weights ced on the private investigators heart. Fearing what would happen if he failed toply, the man answered, "Her name is Ayoko Fujima...we have been partners for thest seven years..." Discerning not falsehood in the mans words, Vahn gave another small nod before pulling out a thin bar of gold and setting it on the bedside table. Without leaving any room for discussion, he stated, "Your paralysis will wear off in around an hour...I would encourage you to use this time to think about what you should do after you regain your mobility. A warzone is no ce to take your lover..." With these parting words, Vahn vanished like a phantom from the mans room, leaving him in a cold sweat that seemed to soak through to his bones. Following Vahns advice, not that he had any other choice, he spent the full hour contemting his travel itinerary... --- Throughout the rest of the night, Vahn visited several other marks, many of which were just investigators that had been hired to gather information. It didnt take much effort for him to realize that their presence was actually meant to serve as a distraction, drawing attention away from real threats, but it was still better to have determined this early on. He was able to gain a fair amount of information about various persons of interest so Vahn didnt feel as if his time had been wasted in clearing out the surroundings. Though he ultimately only ended up eliminating one Magus that had obviously evil intentions, based on the half-dozen human hearts he kept under his bedside, it was still a productive evening... By the time Rin had awoken for their morning training, her body aching even more than the previous day, Vahn and Fenrir were already waiting patiently within the backyard. When thetter dragged her aching body outside, Vahn smiled in a teasing fashion as he mused, "I was beginning to think you were going to sleep in until noon..." Knowing these were the same words she had used the day prior, Rin red towards Vahn and said, "Bite me..." in a tired voice. This caused him to raise his brow as Fenrir, apparently deciding to get in on the exchange, opened her mouth to reveal much sharper than normal teeth. Rin inhaled audibly when she saw this, quickly adding, "Its just an expression...!" Vahnughed out loud when he saw this interaction before lightly tapping Fenrirs back and saying, "Make sure she does her stretches properly. Im going to warm up on the side to give you a bit of privacy." Though Rin would probably im to not care if he stayed around, Vahn made a point of minding the matter so that their status as a proper Master and Disciple wouldnt be skewed. Even if the distance between them continued to shorten, Vahn wanted to establish a few clear boundaries early on so that Rin wouldnt get any strange ideas. Though he wasnt against the idea of a temporarily fling, depending on the circ.u.mstances, Vahn wasnt in the mindset of having any permanant rtionsh.i.p.s within this world... Though Rin frowned as she watched Vahn walk off to the other side of a shrub, she didnt say anything until Fenrir unceremoniously appeared behind her and pped the insides of her thighs. Against her will, Rin found herself falling into a painful split that caused tears to build up in the corner of her eyes as she eximed, "You...!" Before Rin could say anything more, Fenrir began to push down on her shoulders as she said, "Quiet. Stretch." in a cold tone. With the difference in their power, Rin didnt actually have any choice but toply as she quickly found her chest pressed into the cold stone below. Fenrir felt the resistance, causing her eyes to sharpen slightly as she began to push Rin with varying degrees of force to make her squash into the ground. Rin, after their first session together, knew it was better to just get it over with so she grit her teeth, withholding further remarks... With Rin cooperating, it only took them around twenty minutes toplete all of the required stretches that Vahn had assigned her. When she was finally liberated from Fenrirs paws, Rins eyes seemed to have lost a bit of their light as she gasped for air, huge plumes of condensation apanying each breath. She didnt get much time to recover, however, when Vahn suddenly appeared above her with an amused smile on his face. Rin instantly groaned upon seeing him before rolling onto her side and muttering, "I dont care anymore, do whatever you want..." Her body was sorer than anything she had ever experienced, even under the intense and borderline sadistic training she went through in her childhood... Even though he knew Rin was just pouting, Vahn nodded his head in response to her words before using telekinesis to lift her body. This caused her to freak out, as the sudden weightlessness was simr to the feeling of falling backward in a chair. Before she was even afforded the opportunity toin, Vahn had already set out a wooden barrel that was filled with a steamy green liquid. Rin hadnt even processed what was happening before she suddenly found herself dropped into the warm liquid, causing the chill that had settled in her body to immediately fade. Instead, the sudden change in temperature made the lukewarm liquid feel as if it was scaldingly hot, causing Rin to practically jump out of the water, shouting, "What the hell are you doing!?" Without a single change in expression, Vahn casually answered, "Whatever I want. Fortunately for you, what I want is to help your body recover so you dont have to spend the rest of the day moving around like a grandma..." Though he couldnt buy potions for Rins consumption, Vahn could exploit a bit of a loophole within the system by purchasing medicinal herbs and mixing concoctions himself. His alchemical knowledge had a few massive gaps, but this didnt stop him from acquiring a list of ingredients to make an herbal bath that would remove Rins fatigue and help to refine her body. It was simr to how he had trained himself after first entering the Record of Danmachi, a form of training he knew would have demonstrable benefits to the current Rin. Hearing Vahns words, Rin noticed that the pain in her body had actually faded by arge amount, a surprising feat since she hadnt even been soaking for a full minute. Now that she was beginning to adapt to the heat, Rin noticed it was actually prettyfortablepared to the frigid morning air... Just as Rin was working through the process of epting Vahns rough treatment, Fenrirs face formed a frown as she pointed towards her and said, "Shameless..." in a tone colder than the surrounding air. At the same time, Rin noticed that Vahn was nkly staring towards a flock of birds flying through the sky, causing a dreadful feeling to rise up from her stomach. Looking down, Rin noticed that her rtively thin workout clothes, while not transparent, hadnt done their job. Since she was dropped into warm water before being exposed to the cold air one again, her n.i.p.p.l.es had be just as frigid as the surroundings. Rin quickly covered her chest before sinking into the water until it reached her nose. Like this, she began to blow bubbles while looking towards Vahn with me and discontent... Seeing that Rin was covering herself, Vahn turned to face her with a smile before saying, "Today, you will stay inside this barrel until the water gains enough transparency that you can see your feet. It should only take a half-hour and, after youre done, your body will be full of energy for the rest of the day." Vahn didnt bother to exin the other benefits of the herbal bath as it wasnt his intention to teach her to be reliant on external items to increase her strength. If she believed the only purpose of the bath was to help remove her fatigue, that was more than enough for the time being. With that in mind, Vahn picked up the despondent Fenrir, immediately causing her mood to improve. Then, giving Rin onest nce, Vahn said, "Fenrir and I will use the shower before preparing breakfast. Remember, dont leave the water until you can see your feet...okay?" Rins only response was to poke her tongue out before turning around in the barrel and facing away from them. Then, as if to escape the cold air, she submerged up to her nose and continued to blow bubbles in silent protest as Vahn and Fenrir went indoors. It wasnt until the sound of the backdoor closing reached her ears that Rinined, "Idiot...jerk...asshole..." If others were to see her, it would have looked like a vengeful spirit muttering a malicious curse that would bring harm to whoever was unfortunate enough to suffer their ire... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Let the hunt begin...,Poor PI-san...,It seems that Rins fate is to get bullied... bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1033 - Meeting

Chapter 1033 - Meeting

After breakfast and another short discussion about how they would exin his existence, Vahn and Rin made their way toward a rendezvous point within the downtown district, the Shinto region, of Fuyuki. Unlike Miyama town, on the West side of the Mion River, Shinto was filled with tall and densely packed buildings the represented the rapid modernization of thend after it had been reimed in the early 1990s. With more than twenty-four years of development, the region had be a highly developed metropolitan area where the vast majority of peoplemuted to work. Everywhere you looked, there were colorful lights and signs that were made necessary by the tens-of-thousands of pedestrians that constantly flowed through the City streets like the blood in a persons body, breathing life into Fuyuki and its surrounding regions. While walking through the densely packed streets, Rin kept close to Vahn as she muttered, "I hate this ce. It feels like a failed attempt to forcefully repress the past as an excuse to drive people towards an uncertain future..." As the Shinto region had been destroyed during the Fourth Holy Grail War, much of the buildings present had been hastily built over a short ten year period. The City nners had rushed the job, leading to the current situation where the City now looked clumped together after newer buildings rose up aside those that had been built previously. Now that twenty years had passed since the Fuyuki City Disaster, the area had been converted into a central hub where people congregated,pletely ignorant to the fact they walked upon grounds that were stained with both the literal corpses of thousands of victims, all tainted by the worlds evil... Since Fuyuki was Vahns only real exposure to a modern City, he didnt really share Rins opinion, even though he also found the way people lived in the present cking. The City itself seemed rather charming, with most of the buildings having simr design andyout that made them mesh together, even if they were ced haphazardly. Everywhere he looked, there always seemed to be something new and interesting, giving him the feeling that, even if he explored aimlessly, there would always be something new to find. This was somewhat different from how Orario had been constructed as, though there were some pretty fantastical ces to visit, the vast majority of shops and restaurants were simr. Even the way business was conducted was fundamentally different, though Vahn had already seen several ovepping practices that he had considered exploiting in the future... As they got closer to their destination, Vahn noticed that Rin was now practically bumpings arms with him as she grew increasingly annoyed with the people who had been gawking at them. Since Rin was quite the beauty in her own right, she generally garnered a fair amount of attention wherever she went. Standing next to Vahn, however, the two looked like a pair of Idols making their way to a movie shooting, a scenepleted by the fact they both wore high-end clothing while carrying themselves with a natural dignity normal citizens couldnt match. As a result, they had created a curious phenomenon where peoples heads turned like a wave to catch sight of them, many rudely taking pictures andmenting about the celebrity pairing that seemed to be trying to remain incognito. By the time Vahn and Rin stepped into the Fuyuki City Hyatt Hotel, thergest and most extravagant hotel within the Shinto district, they actually had a small group of people following after them from a distance. Fortunately, though Vahn didnt exactly agree with the rather high-profile arrangement, the entire Hotel had been reserved while a private security firm kept normal people out. This caused people to specte that the Hotel had been booked for a movie shooting, causing a group of bored pedestrians to congregate outside as they blindly spected on the matter. Seeing so many people, seemingly without anything better to do, caused Vahn to shake his head in admonishment once he and Rin passed through the magic formation at the front door... Rin, sharing many of the same sentiments, released a tired sigh as her shoulders slumped almost as soon as they were out of view. She then looked towards Vahns face, almost as if she were appraising him, before saying, "You might want to consider adopting a form that doesnt stand out so much in the future. I didnt think about it much before, but it will be difficult for us to walk through the City together with your stupidly handsome face..." Though Vahn had altered his appearance to remain untraceable, he still defaulted into a form that was like eye-candy to thedies of the modern era. Instead of humoring Rins slightly usatory statement, Vahn adopted a teasing smile before remarking, "Ill change when you stop wearing makeup and spending a half-hour on your hair before leaving the Manor..." This caused Rin to immediately adopt a pouting expression but, unlike how she would act when they were alone, she kept mum since there were others present. Vahn wanted to point out that this was another way she paid attention to how other people perceived her, as it was obvious her upbringing had ustomed her to expecting attention. She didnt want to stand out but, so long as she was out and about in public, Rin acted prim and proper while going through all the necessary steps to appear like the high-ss woman her heritage made her out to be... After riding the elevator to the penthouse suite located at the very top of the hotel, essible only by having a special keycard, Vahn and Rin stepped out into avish foyer where someone Vahn had previously met awaited. Wearing the same muted grey and ck clothing as their first encounter, the ashen-haired woman, named Gray, looked back at Vahn and Rin with her striking blue eyes. When she saw Vahn, Gray gave a small nod, as if to say she now genuinely believed his words about being Rinspanion. As for Rin, her face formed into aplex expression that was hard to read, causing Vahn to wonder if there were some tensions between her and Gray. Since thetter had almost no reaction to Rins presence, other than hanging her head slightly, Vahn felt like it had less to do with her than Rin herself... With none of the posted security preventing their ess, Vahn and Rin entered into the penthouse proper, finding three people seated around an expensive-looking table. In fact, everything in the room seemed ridiculously expensive, causing Vahn to shake his head slightly as, from amongst the group of seated individuals, one showed extreme shock while the other two had curious gazes. Rin seized the initiative while she still could, casually gesturing to Vahn with her thumb before saying, "This is the guy I told you about, Vahn Mason. I know it might be a littlete to change our ns at this stage, but I think his support will be instrumental to the sess of our mission." While the two men seemed to be treating Rins words seriously, the drill-haired woman, Luviagelita, who Rin not-so-affectionately referred to as just Luvia, had already risen to her feet as she walked over with hastened steps. Rin curiously took a defensive posture in front of Vahn before reminding, "Are you looking to taste another loss so soon after thest one...?" In response to this, Luvia gave a haughty hmph before crossing her arms to entuate her ratherrge b.r.e.a.s.ts, saying, "I swear, Rin, you be more barbaric every time we see each other. Worry not, however, as my heart is more than big enough to tolerate your childishness. Now, if you would allow me..." Rin interrupted Luvias words by holding up her index finger, forming a small orb of water at the very tip as she muttered, "If youre that thirsty, I dont mind help you out, Lu-vi-a~." This behavior of Rins caused Luvia to instinctually take a step back as,pared to their prior meeting, she was currently wearing a white blouse, ented by flowers, atop a long blue dress that extended to her calves. If she ended up getting wet, it could plicate things, requiring her to alight to her room for a quick change of clothes to avoid embarrassment. Though he didnt mind the ongoing rivalry between Rin and Luvia, Vahns expression remained calm and imcable as he sternly reminded, "Rin, do not forget our purpose. We are here to discuss our future cooperation, not pick a fight...besides..." As everyone in the room was listening closely to what he was saying, Vahn gave a polite nod before erecting a soundproof barrier and adding, "I dont think Fenrir would appreciate it if we kept her waiting back home by herself." These words were all it took to send a shiver up Rins spine, followed by her crossing her arms in a huff and saying, "I know, I know! Jeez...try to see things from my perspective, would you...?" Rin said thest part of her sentence as a soliloquy so Vahn chose to pretend he hadnt heard it as he waved away the soundproof barrier. The casual nature of his actions had caught the attention of everyone in the room, causing the atmosphere to immediately be more serious. Deciding to take advantage of this, Vahn ced his hand atop his heart before giving a polite bow as he said, "Miss Luviagelita Edelfelt, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. As Rin had previously stated, my name is Vahn Mason. For the period of our cooperation, feel free to refer to me by name." Vahns formal introduction had caused Luvia to use her gloved hand to touch her lower lip as she remarked, "My, such a gentleman. How ever did such a high-ss mane across my dear friend, Rin...?" As soon as these words left Luvias lips, Vahn slightly squinted his eyes as an overbearing pressure suddenly weighed down on everyone within the room. With the same smile he had used to introduce himself, Vahn casually answered, "Miss Edelfelt, the words I had directed towards Rin were intended for your ears as well. Surely, someone as noble as you seem to be would not pollute the purpose of this meeting with her own personal affairs...?" As Vahn was more than ustomed to dealing with Nobledies, he had decided to make certain that Luvia knew he wasnt here to pander to her whims... Feeling the overbearingly powerful aura radiating off of Vahns body, Luvia felt her entire body break out in a cold sweat as she barely managed a sheepish, "Yes...you are correct..." At the same time, the two men, who Vahn knew as Lord El-Melloi II and t Escardos, had adopted a pseudo-battle ready stance. From behind, Gray and several private security guards entered into the room, creating a tense atmosphere that was on the verge of breaking at any moment. In response to this, Vahn continued to steadily increase the pressure he was emitting until it reached the point that the entire penthouse had started vibrating. The only reason anyone was even able to remain standing was due to the fact he wasnt targeting any of them directly, knowing full-well that the weaker security forces may not be able to survive the experience. It was at this point that Rin, seemingly unaffected by Vahns aura, lightly elbowed him in the ribs before saying, "Cut it out. Youre making everyone nervous." Then, as if it had never existed in the first ce, the pressurepletely disappeared in an instant. Vahn returned a small nod to Rin before smiling as he said, "It seems I got wrapped up in the moment and caused one of the very same issues I had wanted to avoid. Please forgive myck of decorum...this worlds customs are still foreign to me." Making sure to emphasize thest sentence a little more than his excuse, Vahn garnered a few confused expressions from everyone present before Lord El-Melloi II looked towards the security forces andmanded, "Return to your posts. Gray, you may stay." Waiting for everyone else to leave the room, Lord El-Melloi II then turned his gaze upon Rin, asking, "What is this about, Rin? You have some exining to do..." Immediately following this statement, t, Lord El-Melloi IIs rather handsome blond-haired-blue-eyed Magus Apprentice remarked, "I didnt think wed have a BOSS-ss ally in our party at this stage of the game. Things are really starting to look up, ahahaha~." This remark earned him a re from Lord El-Melloi II, something that t justughed off in good spirits before raising his hand and saying, "Hey there, my name is t Escardos. Ill be in your care and look forward to working with you, Vahn." Lord El-Melloi II just sighed at his protegesck of tension before shaking his head and returning a polite bow of his own before saying, "Greetings, Vahn Mason. I am Lord El-Melloi the Second, a Fes-ss Lecturer within the Clock Tower. I pray my students do not cause you too much trouble in theing days..." With his own introduction done, Lord El-Melloi II gestured towards Gray but, much to his surprise, she simply stated, "We have already met previously. Vahn is very powerful...I couldnt do anything at all." This statement alone caused Lord El-Melloi II, t, and Luvia all to express shock as they were all aware of how powerful Gray was. Though not quite at the level of a Heroic Spirit, the only thing shecked to qualify for the title was a legend of her own. Piggybacking off of Grays words, t smiled even bigger than before as he said, "Nice. If Gray says youre strong, that makes you more of a Raid-BOSS. Im starting to look forward this~!" Seemingly sharing this sentiment, Luvia nodded her head before looking at Vahn with an appraising gaze and remarking, "Rare as it may be, I cant help but agree with t. What were trying to aplish here wont be well-received by those who desire the Holy Grail for themselves. The more powerful allies we have, the better. To that end, I will be in your care, Vahn. Please take care of me..." Punctuating her sentence with a wink, Luvia then retreated to the nearby sofa under the close scrutiny of Rins piercing gaze. Following Luvias example, everyone else took a seat around the table, leading to the situation where Vahn was nked by the two beauties as Lord El-Melloi II and t sat opposite them. Gray took up a position standing behind the sofa, causing Vahn to wonder whether or not she was treated fairly by the group since she seemed a little too demure for someone possessing the power she had at her disposal. Now wasnt the time to look into such things, however, as the purpose of this meeting was to discuss their future cooperation. To that end, Vahn preempted the obvious questions by inly stating, "I will not keep it a secret. As we will be allies in the future, you should have at least a basic understanding of my capabilities. Though I will not go into too many details, it is enough for you to know that I have the power to rival a Pseudo-Divine Spirit. As for my identity, I will allow you to know that I originate from another world, one on apletely separate time axis than your own. How I came to reside in this world is unimportant, as the less you know regarding the truth, the better off everyone will be." Vahn and Rin had decided to nerf his capabilities a fair amount as, if his true power were known, there was no guarantee that the situation wouldnt escte faster than they could control. Even beingpared to a Pseudo-Divine Spirit elevated him to a point most people couldnt even fathom, however, resulting in everyone else showing expressions of shock and disbelief. Gray was actually the first to speak, providing some unexpected support as she said, "That is how you were able to block Add with your bare hand...you possess an immortal body?" As it was nearly impossible to harm a Divine Spirit, regardless of how powerful an individual may be, Vahns revtion provided an answer to the matter that had been concerning Gray since their previous meeting. Using Grays words to his advantage, Vahn gave a curt nod before adding, "My reason for helping you, as Im certain you are curious, is because Rin helped me when I first fell into this world. In order to repay the debt I owe her, you can count on my support inpleting the task you have set out to aplish. Know that, while I harbor the desire to return to my world, I am already aware that the Greater Grailcks the power to grant my wish. As the thought of people squabbling like children to have their wish granted displeases me, I am more than willing to ensure the Grails destruction." To avoid any kind of misunderstandings, Vahn had decided to be forthright about his feelings regarding the Grail. Everything he said was very close to the truth so, even if they might suspect something, it was impossible to see through the story he had concocted with Rin beforehand. Hearing Vahns words, Lord El-Melloi II gave an understanding nod before saying, "I wont deny that I have some misgivings about working alongside someone who purports toe from another world. However, as there are several historical ounts of simr incidents, I will choose to trust in Rins judgment. Having someone with your power on our side will greatly increase our chances of sessfully destroying the Grail. Though I am a bitter than the others, allow me to express my appreciation for your assistance. I look forward to working alongside you, Vahn Mason. Perhaps, once this incident is behind us, you will be more willing to divulge the finer details of your situation. Though I may not have means beyond even the power of the Greater Grail, I will do my best to help you return to your world after weplete our current mission." Of everything Vahn had said, the most obvious truth mentioned, something everyone had picked up on, was that he wished to return home. Even though Vahn had be exceedingly proficient at masking his emotions, it was hard to hide the longing contained within his eyes when he briefly mentioned home. It was primarily because of this that Lord El-Melloi II chose to trust Vahn, even if he still had several concerns regarding what exactly could have happened to allow a Pseudo-Divine Spirit to be thrown into their world. After all, this meant Vahns existence was near the same level as a True Ancestor, cing him very near the pinnacle of power ording to his current understanding of the world... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn got that celebrity swagger,How big is your power level? Cause mines pretty big...,Imagine if Vahn introduced himself as Type Omega xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1034 - Plan

Chapter 1034 - n

After a short discussion about the basic capabilities of everyone present, the conversation quickly transitioned to the more important discussion they had originally gathered for. Lord El-Melloi II, who hade up with the original n to destroy the Greater Grail, gave a surprisingly well-informed ounting of the previous two Holy Grail Wars and their projections for what to expect this time around. From him, Vahn learned that the Servants who participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War were the Heroic Spirits of Iskandar, King of Conquers, Lancelot, Knight of the Round Table, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne, Arturia Pendragon, King of Knights, Gilgamesh, King of Heroes, Hassan-I-Sabbah, and Gilles De Rais. Though Vahns wasnt too surprised that Lord El-Melloi II had been the Master of Iskandar, the revtion that Arturia, derived from the legendary King Arthur, was actually a female. Even more surprising were the revtions that Gray, who essentially acted as the protege and knight of Lord El-Melloi II was descended from the Line of Kings, a descendent of Arturia herself. When she was introduced as such, Gray seemed somewhat ufortable with the attention, pulling her hood to hide her face for reasons Vahn wasnt aware of. It was obvious that she also had a past shrouded in darkness but, as now was not the time to probe into such things, Vahn continued to listen to Lord El-Melloi IIs exnation. With the Fourth Holy Grail War ending without a decisive victor, primarily as the result of the Lesser Grails destruction, the Fifth Holy Grail War took ce only a decade after its conclusion. Much like the Fourth, the Saber-ss Servant ended up being the King of Knights, Arturia, once again. This time around, she was the Servant of Rins deceased friend, Shirou Emiya, the adopted son of Sabers former Master, Kiritsugu Emiya. As for the other Servants, there was Rins Archer-ss, Ishtar, the Assasin-ss, Sasaki Kojirou, the Lancer-ss, Cu Chinn, the Caster-ss, Medea, the Berseker-ss, Heracles, and the Rider-ss, Medusa. Vahn was more than a little surprised that the names Heracles and Medusa both appeared, but he quickly set wayward thoughts aside since he knew they were fundamentally different existences. During the discussion regarding the Fifth Holy Grail War, Lord El-Melloi II went out of his way to talk about various theories that weremon within the Magus Community. This was primarily rted to the unstable nature of the fifth ritual as, for the first time since the Grail Wars had started, a Goddess had manifested. Now, as a result of external interference from Masters and Servants that had bided their time since thepletion of the Fourth War, the Fifth had also ended without a victor. With how quickly information traveled in the current age, it was impossible to keep this fact hidden from the rest of the world so, unlike past Grail Wars, the number of people expected to try and participate had increased exponentially. Not only that but, due to the growing instability within the Grails mana, it was expected that other gods could manifest, furtherplicating things... The primary reason behind Lord El-Melloi IIs and Rins decision to destroy the Greater Grail, other than the trauma they had both experienced, was out of concern for the Worlds safety. With the Grail now having increased its internal mana to an unfathomable extent, the power gained by whoever managed toplete the ritual would be monstrous. If they actually managed to have their wish granted, while happening to have malicious intentions, there was a very real chance the entire world could be thrown into chaos. After all, the only restriction of the Greater Grail was the fact it could only grant wishes that were within the scope and power of the World itself. Though this seemed like an arbitrary concept, those that knew what resided at the pinnacle were very aware of how dire things coulde if such individuals got their hands on the Greater Grail. Transitioning from the discussion of the Fifth Holy Grail War, Lord El-Melloi II went on to exin, "This time around, the Mages Association has ced the significance of securing the Greater Grail as one of their highest priorities. Unfortunately, after the failure of the previous two wars, it is expected that the Einzbern family, the creators of the Lesser Grail, have tweaked the ritual to benefit their side. At the same time, Magi from all over the world have begun to flock to Fuyuki and its surrounding territories in order to try their luck at gaining ess to the Grail. Since the previous War manifested Sasaki Kojirou, a fictional Hero from an eastern legend, and the Goddess, Ishtar, it is obvious that the rules presiding over the ceremony have be discordant. Previously, the Grail was only supposed to be capable of summoning Heroes from western legends, so as to even the ying field for participating Masters..." At this point, Lord El-Melloi II opened a briefcase full of doc.u.ments, each detailing a potential Master and the expected catalysts within their possession. This allowed them to predict which Servants may appear, effectively giving them ample opportunity toe up with countermeasures. One of the most important factors of every Grail War was secrecy, not only from the public, but from the participating Masters themselves. Having your Servants name and legend known could provide a significant disadvantage as, depending on their legends, they could have easily exploited weaknesses. Now that the world was in the Era of Information, the avability of information, primarily as a result of the inte and telmunications, made it much easier to research and counteract your opponents Servants... After passing around the doc.u.ments, Lord El-Melloi II exined, "Much like previous Grail Wars, the families involved in the establishment of the ritual have priority when ites to participating as Masters. The Einzberns have given their privilege of participation to a foreign Magus named Alex Everdale. He is a mercenary who made a name for himself killing high-profile Mages, making him one of the more dangerous Masters that will be participating. As for the representative of the Tohsaka and Makiri families, they will be Rin and, if the information you have provided proves urate, the current head of the Matou family, Sakura Matou..." When Lord El-Melloi II mentioned Sakuras name, Rins expression turned dour but, as there was nothing she could do to change the reality of the situation, she remained silent. Seeing this, Lord El-Melloi IIs expression turned empathetic but, as now wasnt the time for such things, he quickly moved on, exining, "Unlike past Grail Wars, the Einzberns havent been too cooperative with the Mages Association. They me the Mages Association and the Holy Church for the failure of the previous two wars, even though it was their own agent, Kiritsugu Emiya, who ordered his Servant to destroy the Lesser Grail. Regardless, the other participating Masters could be any of the Magi currently located within Fuyuki. So long as they have a proper catalyst and ess to the ritual required to summon a Servant, practically anyone has a chance at participation..." Without wasting any time, Luvia leaned a little closer to Vahn as she added, "Regardless of if a Magus gets selected as a Master at the start of the War, you can be sure that this wont stop others from trying to get in on the action. It ismon knowledge now that the theft of a Masters Command Seals, the crest used topel a Servants loyalty, would grant you the right to im the Grail for yourself. As a result, there are more than a hundred sharks swimming around, each waiting to step in at the moment an active Master shows any sign of weakness. Were not the only group that is nning to game the system but, fortunately, the vast majority are just ignorant fools trying to fish in troubled waters." Piggybacking off Luvias words, tughed in an easygoing manner before saying, "Its like watching a bunch of noobs trying to steal a rare drop while more skilled yers are distracted. This is turning out to be the bloodiest Holy Grail War ever, hahahaha~." Earning a re from both Rin and Luvia, tughed it off while rubbing the back of his head, giving Lord El-Melloi II the chance to sigh before going on to exin, "Originally, our goal was to secure the position of Master for each of us, even if it required stealing Command Seals from others. However, I cant help but feel that your presence, especially at such a sensitive time, has greater significance than even you yourself are aware. You are something the other factions couldnt have possibly factored into the equation...tell me, Vahn, are you willing to y the part of an extra Servant to sow discord amongst the other Masters?" With Vahns power already being at a level above many Heroid Spirits, Lord El-Melloi II felt they could use that to their advantage to fool the other Masters. Vahn, however, instantly shook his head before exining, "It is impossible for me to y such a part, even if I were willing. Instead, I have every intention of being one of the participating Masters. Even if my Servant ends up being on the weaker end, I am certain I would be able to empower them to the point that other Masters have no chance at victory." Following this, Rin also added, "Even if Vahn is unable to be a Master through the normal method, I intend to transfer my Command Seals and Servant to him. I have a better understanding of his power and character than everyone else so trust me when I say this is the best chance we have at victory." As Rin hadnt discussed this with him previously, Vahn was a little surprised by the fact that she instantly supported him, even at the expense of being a Master herself. He couldnt help giving her a small smile in return before saying, "The moment I learn the identities of the other Masters, I will move to secure their Command Seals for our faction. It is my intention to move independently for much of the Holy Grail War, so I can still achieve the purpose of being an unexpected variable for the other Masters. I also have a method of allowing Rin to appear as a Master, though it will be up to her if she is willing to go through with it..." To this, Rin gave a nod of approval as everyone else present showed faces of confusion in response to the twos selfish antics. From Vahns right, Luvia had the most extreme expression as she muttered, in much the same way as Rin, "How does Rin keep getting all the good ones...am I doing something wrong...?" Following this, Luvia looked down at her rather buxom b.r.e.a.s.ts before using her arms to press them together. This caused her to immediately shake her head before whispering, "There is no way Imcking in charmpared to that gori girl..." Though these words were spoke to herself, everyone present could hear Luvias soliloquy, Rin included. Her twin-tails were beginning to ripple as her anger continued to rise but, not wanting to spend his whole afternoon discussing ns that may not even matter after first contact, Vahn leaned his body forward to obscure each girls view before saying, "If there are no other pressing concerns, I would like to discuss when the summoning ritual is to take ce. Based on Sakuras words, am I wrong to assume it is already possible to summon a Servant?" Understanding Vahns intentions, Lord El-Melloi II cleared his throat before answering, "The official start of the Holy Grail War is scheduled to begin in ten days. Before the three families summon their Servants, others will be unable to conduct their own rituals. Because of this, there are arge number of Magus who have been lingering around in an attempt to gather information. Everyone wants to be the first to summon a Servant so they do not lose the chance. Since many catalysts can only be used one time, they are forced to wait until Rin, Sakura, and Alex summon their Servants. Though there are some advantages to summoning a Servant early, the Overseers of the Holy Grail War could enact a severe punishment on anyone that exposes the existence of the event to the public..." As the Holy Grail War made use of a City-wide formation that would basically hypnotize people to retiring indoors early in the evening, keeping the streets clear for any conflict that would ur, it was highly frowned upon to begin fighting early. Without taking these measures, the death toll during the Holy Grail War could easily extend into the tens of thousands given how powerful some Servants could be. Though this had the downside of making it easy for disreputable Mages to take advantage of themon citizens during the events duration, they were considered eptable sacrifices for an event as major as the Holy Grail War... After hearing what he wanted to know, Vahn then asked, "Do we know if the other two families have summoned their Servants?" In response to this, it was Gray who shook her head lightly before answering, "At the end of thest Holy Grail War, the Einzberns managed to recover the stone earrings of Cu Chinn aftering to an agreement with the Mages Association and the Holy Church. We dont know if they used them as a catalyst to summon Cu Chinn as a Lancer-ss Servant, but we know they have alreadypleted the ceremony. As for Sakura Matou, it is almost impossible to determine if she haspleted the ceremony due to the secrecy surrounding the Makiri family..." With her sister being mentioned once again, Rin released an audible sigh that caused a small lull in the conversation. When she saw everyone was focused on her, she showed a resolute expression on her face before saying, "Well know once I summon my own Servant. If she genuinely mistook Vahn as a Servant, there is a good chance she had already summoned one for herself. If that is the case, we may be able to get away with several summonings before anyone realizes the battle has already begun." Following up Rins words, Gray once again spoke out, drawing attention to herself as she said, "Now is the best time to move forward with that n. Last night, many of the Mages that had been sent to investigate Miyama Town quickly left the City. Something must have happened behind the scenes that spooked them all..." As she spoke, Grays eyes were locked on Vahn, even as she shrunk away under thebined gazes of everyone else present. This caused them to also turn their heads to Vahn, resulting in thetter smiling as he said, "I may have gone for a walkst night..." Since she hadnt known about this previously, Rin showed a dissatisfied expression on her face but, choosing not to discuss it in front of everyone else, she kept mum. This didnt stop her from using her heel to dig into Vahns foot though, even if it had absolutely no effect on him. As for the rest of the people present, Gray gave an approving nod to Vahn while t justughed in an easy-going manner before remarking, "Your actions have probably caused others to think that the Assassin-ss Servant is already in y. Nice going, hahahaha~." As the Assassin-ss Servant was often the weakest amongst the other Heroic Spirits, it was far moremon for their Masters to have them target other Masters while acting from the shadows. After t, Luvia held her chin with her index finger in thumb, smiling with a thoughtful look on her face as she mused, "Knowing the Makiri family, there is a good chance their Servant is actually of the Assassin-ss. This is something most people should be aware of so there is a good chance most of the focus of other potential Masters is ced on them at the moment. With the precedent set by the Einzbern family, we can assume they have either summoned the Berserker-ss, Heracles, or the Lancer-ss, Cu Chinn. There is a good chance their move to secure Cus catalyst was a misdirection, especially when considering they hired a Mage-Killer. Logic would indicate they once again summoned the Hero fo the Twelve Labors, Heracles..." Agreeing with Luvias conjecture, Rin nodded her head, even as a fearful look passed across her eyes. Having born witness to the awesome might of Heracles with her own two eyes, Rin cautioned, "With Heracles charing from the front, it would create an easily exploitable gap for Alex Everdale to take out enemy Masters. Heracles has the ability to resurrect eleven times after death, all while gaining immunity to almost anything that previously killed him. With a skilled Mastermanding him, theirbination would be one of the hardest to deal with..." As she knew this information was well-known by everyone else present, Rins words were primarily intended for Vahn. Even if she knew his own existence was greater than Heracles, she harbored no illusion that it was impossible for him to die... Knowing Rin was worry about him, Vahn adopted a gentle smile before saying, "If Heracles is truly who the Einzberns have summoned, I already have the means to deal with him outright. Please trust me Rin..." After fighting a previous Heracles, with surprisingly simr abilities, Vahn knew what he should expect going into the fight. If he used [Enkidu] from the start, it should be possible to bing a Heracles that has been blinded by the Mad Enhancement. Then, regardless of if he had twelve, or even twelve-thousand lives, Vahn was confident he could kill the enraged Demigod. As for his Master, Vahn didnt think the Einzberns would have hired him if he didnt possess quite a bit of skill. Vahn wouldnt underestimate him but, at the same time, he also didnt believe the purported Mage-Killer would be a threat without his Servant. With the atmosphere suddenly bing a little awkward, Lord El-Melloi II made a show of clearing his throat before saying, "Well leave the decision of when you want to summon your Servant to you, Rin. Once the ceremony haspleted, make sure to update us before informing the Overseer at the Fuyuki Church. Up until the official start of the Holy Grail War, well be keeping an eye out for any Masters that appear in the area. If we get any news about any Servants who have appeared, we will contact you immediately." As there was little they could do other than provide support indirectly, much of the fighting would be left to Vahn and Rin unless they could keep their involvement a secret from the Overseer assigned by the Holy Church. Though other, lesser-known Magi might be able to simplyy low for a while, even if they got caught breaking the rules, Lord El-Melloi IIs status made it much harder to take a more proactive role. Nodding her head in understanding, Rin radiated confidence as she stated, "No matter what it takes, lets make sure this is thest time this bloody ceremony ever urs...!" In response to her outburst, Lord El-Melloi II gave a decisive nod of his own while t, once again, justughed in a light-hearted manner. As for Gray, she gave a curt nod without uttering a single syble while Luvia, not wanting to be outshone by Rin, raised her head high before saying, "Using something like the Greater Grail to have there wishes granted is an action only cowards would seek out. If they have the power to obtain the Grail, they might as well use the same resolve to improve themselves. There are no limits to a persons growth so relying on such shady methods is simply irreprehensible...!" Surprisingly, of the two arguments, Vahn actually found Luvias to align closer to his own thoughts on the matter. He might not be the best person to speak on the subject, as having ess to The Path afforded him opportunities others couldnt even imagine, but Vahn genuinely believed that people should always put in the effort to grow stronger. If they relied on their family, background, or external resources, it would never be their power. Since so many disreputable types relied on power they had recieved,pared to power they had obtained for themselves, Vahns impression was that power you didnt earn was often what led to corruption. There was an incalcble number of examples to pull from, each seeming to affirm this theory, so Vahn had a bit of confidence in his conjecture... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, Why not da Queen of Knights...?,Rematch of the Ages, the Emperor vs. The Strongest Hero...!,Standing at the precipice...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1035 - Ritual

Chapter 1035 - Ritual

After a seated discussionsting more than three hours, extending to the point that the group nearly took a break for lunch, Vahn and Rin were finally preparing to return to the Tohsaka Manor. Almost as soon as the meeting had ended, however, Luvia blocked their, or, more specifically, Rins path before saying, "It pains my heart that you kept Vahn to yourself for thest month, Rin. Tell me, is he the reason for your sudden increase in power?" As she had known Rin for nearly twenty years at this point, Luvia was very aware of her Rivals strength. They both used a simr fighting style, including a reliance on [Jewel] Magecraft, so she had often been able to gain a small advantage as a result of her more developed physique. Since Rin had been able tond a few solid hits on her thest time they met, something which had never happened before, Luvia believed it was the result of Vahns interference. In response to Luvias usation, Rin crossed her arms, adorning an annoyed expression as she answered, "I wasnt keeping anyone to myself, Luvia. Vahn is his own person...besides..." When she got this far, Rin shook her head suddenly before changing her words, adding, "It is true that he is helping me grow stronger, but that has nothing to do with you. You wouldnt be able tost two days under Vahns training regimen so dont even think about pestering me during the Holy Grail War...!" Though Luvias eyes gained a curious glint when Rin fell into a sudden silence, thetters words caught her interest even more so she looked towards Vahn and uttered, "Oh~?", before following it up by asking, "You are helping Rin with her training, Vahn? I wonder what kind of intense physical workout would take ce between a fine man like you and this...well, I digress. I must admit that Im curious about your methods so, if you find yourself wanting to expand your familiarity with this world, please give me a call~." At the end of her words, Luvia snapped her fingers with a seductive smile on her face, resulting in a burly man wearing sunsses to seemingly appear out of nowhere before handing over a gold-encrusted cell phone. Vahn received the device with a somewhat skeptical look, causing Luvia to step a little closer as she whispered, "It isnt fair if you give Rin all of your attention...that cell phone is pre-programmed with my phone number. Even if its the middle of the night, it should still get through to me. Call me if you ever-" As Luvia had attempted to walk her fingers up his chest, Vahn moved faster than she could even perceive as he snatched her wrist and answered, "It has been a pleasure, Miss Edelfelt. Thank you for your consideration..." Vahn could tell that Luvia wasnt actually a bad person, as she had a mellow and calm Earth Elemental mana flowing through her body. There was even a strand of gentle green that ran through her mana circuits, showing that Luvia had an extremely rare Life affinity as well. Though it wasnt impossible for there to be evil and cruel people capable of using the element, the color would be distinctly different, almost as if their nature had polluted their Affinity irreversibly. However, even if Luvias true nature made her out to be a gentle and kind soul, Vahn had a practiced resistance against anyone with her outward, highly entitled, personality. Feeling the strength in Vahns grip, even though he wasnt putting enough pressure to hurt her, Luvia didnt show any difort at all. She didnt seem to mind his dismissive attitude either, maintaining her seductive smile as she giggled and said, "The pleasure is mine, Vahn. I look forward to our lonsting friendship..." With this said, Luvia pulled back her hand before retreating to her room at the penthouses far end. Along the way, she put a little bit of effort into her gait, causing her waist to snake noticeably, even though Vahn had already turned away. Surprisingly, instead of being allowed to leave outright, their path was blocked yet again, this time by Gray. This caused Rin to produce a deep frown but, before she was able to make anyments, Gray simply said, "I hope you are able to return home one day..." before bowing politely and walking off. This time, Vahn followed Grays retreat with his eyes for a few seconds, an appreciative smile on his face as he muttered, "Thank you..." in a voice he was certain could reach her ears. With that said, he and Rin finally left the hotel before venturing back to the Tohsaka Manor. Along the way, she had attempted to confiscate the phone Luvia had given him but, even if he found her charactercking, Vahn wasnt going to let Rin dispose of a gift. Ultimately, she settled on having him program her own number into the phone, teaching Vahn how to use the phone in the process. As they had gone back using the train, there was plenty of time for Rin to teach him all of the basics as Vahn kept people from bothering them by releasing a subtle threat through his domain... Upon arriving at the Manor, Rin disabled the proximity barrier surrounding the property as Vahn, already prepared, opened his arms to receive Fenrir. She made sure to properly conceal her ears and tail with transformation magic so, even though there were a few people walking around, none paid too much attention to the Fenrir other than noting how cute she was. After settling back into the Manor, Vahn prepared lunch for everyone before sitting down with Fenrir and Rin to discuss when she would perform the ritual to summon her Servant. Rin had already been considering the matter since the previous discussion so she quickly answered, "There are still ten days until the Holy Grail War officially begins. I think it would be better to wait until the day leading up to the event so that other Masters arent able to build any momentum. Since they will be waiting for the opportunity to summon Servants of their own, it might disrupt the ns of our enemies if we force them topete amongst themselves. There is also a chance that we will be targetted once the War begins so Id like to improve my parameters as much as possible before then." Agreeing with Rins decision, as it was the suggestion he was intending to make, Vahn smiled approvingly as he said, "Youve put a lot of thought into this. Im impressed, Rin." This caused Rins face to form an awkward smile as, even though she wanted to y off his praise as unnecessary, her nature made it impossible for her to let such apliment just roll off her. Seeing this, Vahns own smile broadened before they spent the rest of the meal making casual conversation and simply enjoying the food. After this, Rin and Fenrir took care of the dishes as Vahn pulled out a piece of paper and began writing down a far more intense training menu to match Rins convictions... --- Eight days after the original n had been discussed, Rin found herselfying in bed with her entire body feeling as though it was swollen. She had quicklye to regret the strong front she waspelled to maintain as, without showing any form of leniency at all, Vahn had practically turned into a demon during their training. Worst of all was the fact that, instead of simply training in the morning, Rin had a menu thatsted the entire day. Her only breaks were during the five scheduled meal times, something she wouldnt have even considered in the past. Now, however, Rin felt like her stomach was always empty as the training intensity only seemed to increase without ever getting easier... Rolling over with a groan, Rin looked down at her exposed abdomen before muttering, "Well, I guess it hasnt been all that bad..." Though she had always been fit before, she found the subtle lines forming her abdominal muscles to be strangely appealing. As even Vahn hadplimented her on the development of her body, Rin, who hadmented the idea of bing a muscle-woman, was slowly opening up to the idea of pushing her physique to the next level. Vahn assured her that she wouldnt start to look like a bodybuilder and, as even Luvias figure maintained its appeal with her slightly developed muscles, Rin figured she would be able to pull it off without a hitch. Lifting her head forward a bit, Rin saw her muscles tighten up in response, causing a small smile to spread across her face. This persisted until she rxed, causing her smile to immediately fade when another wave of pain washed over her body. Following this, Rin quickly corrected her previous thought, muttering aloud, "I take it back...tssss...Vahn needs to learn to treat women with some delicacy..." Almost immediately following herint, Rin was startled by a surprisingly loud knock on her bedroom door. Following this, an ice-cold voice that sent a shiver up her spine inly stated, "Rin, Master wanted to know if you n to eat breakfast this morning..." Based on the sound alone, Rin was able to determine that Fenrir had heard her prior words. Thetter was always hyper-defensive of her Master, something Rin was keenly aware of, even though it never seemed to stick within the forefront of her mind. Releasing an exasperated sigh, Rin rolled to the side of her bed before answering, "Ill be down in a moment..." in a tired voice. Following this, she could hear the pitter-patter of footsteps as Fenrir left without affirming she had heard her words. Rin produced a wry smile as a result before unsteadily leaving thefort of her bed and going through the arduous process of dressing herself. It was at times like this that she envied Luvia a bit as, from what she had observed, thetter had an entire wardrobe team to help her prepare for the day. Though they both used [Jewel] Magecraft, which was enough to bankrupt most Magus families, the Edelfelts actually had a surface business that served as a major yer in the trade of precious gemstones. The main reason her rtionship with Luvia had always been rocky was due to the fact that, as much as she hated the reality, Rin was reliant on her connections with the Edelfelt family to procure more than half her stock of jewels... After dragging herself all the way to the dining room, Rin found a te already awaiting her, its contents seeming to be a golden apple that had been arranged like a flower before being baked. The aroma alone was enough to make Rins stomach growl audibly, causing a ruddy blush to appear on her face as Vahn stared back at her with an amused smile. It was at moments like this that Rin felt Vahn was a hateful existence as she was almost certain he was trying to make her dependent on his delicious food. At this point, she couldnt even remember what normal food tasted like as her tastebuds had already been conquered by the meals Vahn prepared, even before her training had begun... While shaking her head to clear such thoughts, Rin walked over to the table before plopping down in her usual chair. She told herself that she could stop eating his food whenever she wanted, even as her body moved on pure muscle memory as she unhesitantly bit into a slice of the baked apple. The moment the vor spread across her tongue, Rin cupped her cheek with a blissful smile on her face as she intoned a satisfied, Mmmm~. Any thoughts about the danger of Vahns food immediately faded from her mind as she quickly finished of the delicious apple, relishing the perfect bnce between sweetness, tartness, crunchiness, and juiciness... Waiting for Rin to finish annihting the breakfast he had prepared for her, as her eating habits had be somewhat uncouth over thest few days, Vahn then asked, "When do you n to perform the ritual? Though waiting until thest moment might sound like a good idea, the chances of something going wrong increase the longer we wait." At this point, Vahn was a little bored with just simply clearing out any Magi that were lurking within the Miyama district. After wiping out a group that had set an ambush for him three nights ago, there hadnt been any other incidents so he was growing a little restless. Now feelingpletely reinvigorated, Rin smiled radiantly as she nodded her head in agreement and said, "We can perform the ritual whenever youre ready. Ive been preparing a catalyst over thest ten years so there shouldnt be any problems with the summoning itself. Just promise me that you wont do anything reckless as soon as the ceremony is over." With how strenuous her training had been over thest eight days, Rin was more than ready for the reprieve that the Holy Grail War would provide. Though her strength and speed had increased by a truly shocking amount over thest few days, causing Rin to wonder if she was bing something other than human, there was also a fair amount of stress building up inside of her as a result. Knowing what Rin must be thinking, Vahn issued a light chuckle before rising to his feet and saying, "Very well, then. We should get it over with so we can begin preparing for the official start two days from now. Depending on which Servant you acquire, it could impact the ns I have moving forward." Though this wasnt guaranteed to be the case, Vahn knew there was a non-negligible chance that actual gods would be summoned during this Holy Grail War. As this would put them at Tier 4, even if they were restricted by the rules of the War itself, Vahn knew they wouldnt be simple opponents. He was very confident in his own strength, enough that most restricted Gods didnt concern him, but that could change very quickly depending on the circ.u.mstances... Without dying the event any further, Vahn found himself standing alongside Fenrir as they watched Rin conduct the summoning ritual within her workshop. Over thest few days, Rin had allowed him to enter the area freely so Vahn wasnt surprised by theplex magic circle that had been inscribed on the workshops floor. He had alreadypletely analyzed its structure and, if necessary, had the potential of recreating the entire thing in a short period of time. Though he no longer had the [Pactio] reflected in his status, Vahns skill and dexterity made him capable of forming Tier 5 magic circles without any real difficulty. Once everything was prepared, Rin began a long chant that, while not necessary for the ritual, increased the connection between Master and Servant. For her catalyst, she used the same rainbow-colored gemstone she had nearly thrown at him during their first meeting. ording to Rin, it had nearly ten years of her .u.mted magic power. Since it was also crystallized using aplex process and several rare materials, it was the most powerful jewel in her possession. If ced on the market, it was even purported to be worth more than thirty-two-billion Japanese Yen, an impressive fortune going by this worlds standards. It also served as Rins trump card, capable of rivaling an S-Ranked Magic Spell, meaning even he wouldnt havee out unscathed if she had used it against him... While watching the ritual, Vahn kept his [Eyes of Truth] active, doing his best to try andprehend exactly how Heroic Spirits were manifested. Unfortunately, though he was able to see the flow of Mana, Vahn wasnt able to make any sense of the ritual other than the fact it seemed to bend Time and Fate within the confines of the magic circle. Since there wasnt anything within the form that should have allowed such functionality, Vahn ultimately ended up more confused by the time Rin hadpleted her incantation than he had been before she started. Even so, now that he had witnessed it, Vahn had all the time in the world to study the phenomenon within his mind to try and make sense of what exactly went into making the summoning ritual function... Thest part of Rins incantation had her loudly exim, "Come forth, my Servant. Be my de so that I may cut down my enemies...!" Since Rin specifically wanted to summon the Saber-ss Servant, as it was purported to be the strongest of them all, she had included several verses rted to des, knights, and chivalry. In response to herpleted incantation, the magic circle beneath her feet began to radiate an intense magical light as the various ovepping energies began to intertwine into a single stream. Vahn found this phenomenon rather curious but Rin, having experienced this anamoly once before, showed a fretful expression as she cursed, "Youve got to be kidding me...!" Hearing Rins exmation, Vahn knew something had gone wrong so he immediately moved to protect Rin while using [Enkidu] in an attempt to prevent the ritualspletion. Though he had moved almost instantly after Rins shout, this ultimately proved too slow as Rins body had started to radiate with a pink light that spread from her heart and quickly epassed her from head to toe. At the same time, her clothes literally exploded as a red crest, forming a circr shape with three distinct segments appeared beneath her vicle. Then, just as Vahn had begun to probe Rins body for further anomalies, her ck hair began to change color, starting from the roots. Like a gradient shift, it quickly transitioned into a natural-looking blond as mystical light began to wrap around Rins body in several ck bands... Though it felt like the process had taken a long time, Rins transformation had actually only taken ten seconds before she looked like an almostpletely different person. Instead of her former casual clothes, she now had a skin-tight ck bodysuit that was ented with actual gold. Overtop this, she had what looked like the upper half of a dress that had the actual dress part removed, revealing Rins soft thighs and long legs ending in two ornate shoes that, much like the rest of her outfit, were adorned with gold. Her right leg had a peculiar ck legging of the same design as a maroon tattoo, shaped like two teardrops, glimmered like gemstones above her knee. Completing the outfit, Rin had a maroon mantle that was covered with ayer of fur that had a texture simr to velvet. Atop her head, a ck crown seemed to grow from her skull while her previously ck ribbons had now turned the same maroon as her mantle. With various other golden essoriesplimenting her appearance, Vahn couldnt help but sigh as he was already aware of what had happened based on the familiar aura radiating from Rins body... Afterying still for an additional twenty seconds, Rins eyelids began to twitch before slowly opening. Instead of their original aqua-blue, her eyes were now a few shades lighter than wine-red while a subtle golden light radiated from their depths. For several seconds after she opened her eyes, she just stared back at Vahn in silence before drawing a slow and audible breath. Vahn already knew what was about to happen so he covered his ears with a soundproof barrier just as Rin shouted, "Unhand me, you scoundrel! You darey your hands upon this Goddess!? I will ensure that your soul is imprisoned for all eternity within the deepest depths of the Underworld...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Rin is not simply RIP, but RIPPED,Its toote girl, your stomach is already within Vahns grasp...,A Goddess descends...!) (A/N: Some people already know whats going on but, for the unitiated, this is Rins current appearance: bit.ly/2MMypDq) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1036 - Tensions

Chapter 1036 - Tensions

As much of a surprise as Rins transformation had been, Vahn wasnt just going to sit idly by as a wave of Mana spread through the surroundings. He could feel what could only be described as Death encroaching upon Rins workshop so Vahn used his already manifested [Enkidu] to unceremoniously bind the Goddess residing in Rins body. Shock immediately found its way to her face before realization dawned upon her as [Enkidu] reflected within her pupils. Though she was virtually powerless under the effect of the chains, she still furrowed her brows deeply while whimpering, "You dog...what are you going to do...?" Vahn was a little surprised to see the haughty Goddess on the verge of tears, causing him to feel slightly apologetic as he calmly stated, "Rx. It is not my intention to harm you. The body you are inhabiting belongs to my friend. Try to stay calm and see if you can remember why youre here..." Since Servants were supposed to be supplied with information about the modern era as part of the summoning ritual, Vahn was confident she would calm down after sorting through her memories... Though she didnt seem to ce much value in his words, the Goddess residing within Rins body began to look towards nothing, the same gaze others would use when recalling distant memories. This continued for several minutes before the tension in her body slowly started to ease up, followed by the Goddess looking towards Vahn with a more confident expression as she said, "You are Vahn Mason, my kin..." Though she seemed to have calmed down a fair amount, just as things were beginning to be less tense, she eximed, "Undo these foul chains at once...if...if you dont, I will..." Whatever threat was about to leave her lips ultimately fell by the wayside as, just as quickly as her first transformation had been, Rins body began to change once again. Seeing Rins hair transition from blond back to its original ck color, Vahn might have been fooled into thinking she was returning to normal. However, even under the bindings of [Enkidu], he could senes the Divinity of a god within Rins body as her hair became suffused with a deep purple hue. The previous clothing adorning her body evaporated into nothingness, reced by garments that would have hardly qualified as underwear. This took on the form of a white cloth, barely covering Rins chest, and a pair of ck, thong-like, bottoms. Both were adorned with gold, the only thing indicating their intended purpose wasnt as undergarments, while the crown atop her head changed from having three prongs to a total of seven, each interspaced an even distance as they cascaded outwards like a fan. When Rin opened her eyes this time, they had be several shades darker than the previous Goddess, this time looking like a red wine of the highest quality. The moment sheid eyes on Vahn, this new Goddess showed a slightly excited smile as she asked, "Do you make a habit of binding women youve only just met~? I dont particrly mind, but you had better be prepared for the consequences if you fail to satisfy me." As these words left her mouth, the goddess tried to link her left leg with Vahns as, prior to Rins transformation, Vahn had moved to support her body. Though she could hardly move even a single centimeter, this didnt stop the newly appeared Goddess from breathing a little heavily as she tried to pull him closer to her body... Instead of outright resisting, Vahn allowed himself to be drawn closer to the unnamed Goddess but, just as she attempted to seal his lips with a kiss, his right hand touched her exposed abdomen before sending a flood of Source Energy into her body. With eyes as round as saucers, the goddess began to shake violently within [Enkidu]s embrace as Vahn forcefully repressed the invasive energy flowing through Rins body. Realizing what was happening, the Goddess strained her throat, shouting, "What do you think youre doing!? Ahhhn, you bastard. Stooooooooooop iiiiiit~!" Using the same leg she had wrapped around Vahns, the Goddess attempted to get into a position to kick him away but was ultimately unable to manage the feat with her limited movement. Just as the purple began to fade away from Rins hair, the wine-red eyes of the Goddess locked gazes with Vahn as she confidently stated, "You...nobody is allowed to treat me in this fashion. Even if youre a God, Ill make you beg for my forgiveness before making you into my eternal ve. When Im done with you, you wont even be able to breathe without my permission. I swear this oath on my True Name, Ishtar Anu Inanna...you will be mine, Vahn Mason." With these parting words, Ishtars consciousness retreated into the deepest recesses of Rins Ego, a ce where Vahn had no means to influence her. At the same time, Rins hair and eyes regained their natural color while the previous raiment that protected her dignity faded into nothingness... With a profoundly tired look in her aqua-blue eyes, Rin rested her head against Vahns arm as she muttered, "To think Id be reunited with this vixen a second time...haaaa..." Then, noticing the state of her body, Rins face became beet red as she sheepishly said, "Please release me..." while closing her thighs in a desperate attempt at modesty. Vahn loosened the chains around her body before pulling out a mantle and a spare change of clothing before turning his back and asking, "Do you know what happened? The second Goddess introduced herself as Ishtar but I never got the name of the first one..." Even with her body aching all over, Rin managed to dawn the panties Vahn had handed to her in record time, all while using the cloak to cover herself. In response to Vahns question, she answered, "The Grail seems to be more unstable than we expected. Instead of a single Heroic Spirit, I somehow managed to summon the Goddess Ereshkigal as my Servant. As for how Ishtar came attached, I feel like she has some kind of personal grudge against me after what happenedst time. Though most Servants dont retain their memories, even if they are summoned multiple times, that isnt the case for Ishtar. Both she and Ereshkigal have ess to my own memories, just as they are able to use my body as a vessel as a means to manifest themselves..." Rin seemed more than a little depressed at being reunited with Ishtar, causing Vahn to remain silent for a few seconds before asking, "How were you able to separate from her during the previous Holy Grail War? If her existence is going to cause you to suffer, cant we reverse the summoning and just have you sit out?" Vahn was almost tempted to offer his services as Rins unofficial Servant, but his mind began to emit a cold sensation almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind. Though it wasnt impossible for him to y the part, it didnt seem as if his [Will of the Emperor] was too fond of the idea, even if he was only pretending... Unexpectedly, Rin shook her head before regaining a bit of confidence in her expression as she exined, "This situation may not be all that bad. Though Ishtar is an Archer-ss Servant, Ereshkigal is a Lancer-ss. Theyre both Goddesses as well, meaning I wont have to just stand on the sidelines while you battle against everyone on your own. Besides, there are very few ways to separate Ereshkigal and Ishtar from my body withoutpleting the Holy Grail War or making use of Noble Phantasms like Medeas Rule Breaker. I cant even transfer my Command Seals over to others as that would only put me in a position where I may be forced to abide by the orders of someone else..." As thest sentence left Rins lips, her face became a deep shade of red as she nced over her shoulder to make sure Vahn was still turned away. Since the original n was to transfer her Command Seals to him, this would put her in a position where he could, quite literally, order her to do anything. Regardless of her own will, she would bepletely powerless to resist as even Goddesses like Ishtar were bound by the restrictions of the system. Though she knew Vahn wouldnt ask her to do anything perverse, Rins heart began beating fast just knowing it was a possibility. This was also the main reason she hated being Ishtars host as, regardless of how much willpower she possessed, it was impossible to ignore the increased impulses within her body... Remembering how much she had gone through as a result of Ishtars nature, Rins face was a mix between a deep shade of red and a sickly white. Last time, though she had hated it at first, the only reason she avoided an even worse situation was due to the willingness of Shirou to help her out. Since this was no longer the case, Rins body began trembling slightly as she began to imagine her future, emotions of fear, trepidation, and excitement boiling up from her abdomen. Fortunately, it seemed that Vahn had the means to temporarily seal away Ishtar as, during the previous Holy Grail War, Rin had been forced to watch as the rampant Goddess did whatever she wanted unlesspelled to behave with the use of a Command Seal... Unaware of the internal struggle Rin was facing, Vahns mind was racing with potential solutions that could help prevent Ishtar froming forward. Ereshkigal seemed a lot easier to deal with so, with Rin wanting to participate, Vahn wanted to provide her with the means of reigning in Ishtar, if not both Goddesses. Unfortunately, the only means he had of constraining Divinity was his [Enkidu] and, if not for the face that Ishtar and Ereshkigal were foreign entities within Rins body, he wouldnt have even been able to temporarily bottle them up with his Source Energy. It was only a matter of time until they broke free and, with Ishtar obviously being the more dominant existence, Vahn had no doubt she would make her presence known once again... With a sudden burst of inspiration, Vahn blinked in surprise before asking, ("Sis, can I use one of the [Spirit Vessel]s to serve as a faux-body for Ishtar and Erishkigal?") As he had previously humored the idea of lending a [Spirit Vessel] to his own Servant, Vahn was hopeful that he could do the same for Rins. Unfortunately, Sis immediately answered, (*It would only be possible if the entity you wish to ce into the [Spirit Vessel] was willing. Even if Rin used a Command Seal, that would not change the inner thoughts of Ishtar and Ereshkigal. Unless you convince them to habitate them willingly, there is no means of forcing them into the [Spirit Vessel]s. After all, the Soul cannot be forcibly bound, regardless of how powerful you may be...*) Though it was a different matter of binding the Ego, the Soul was something that was beyond the Tier system as, without the Soul to serve as a basis, Tiers would even exist. Vahn could force the Ego of Ishtar and Ereshkigal to submit to him but, even if they outwardly appeared loyal to him, their Souls may resist any attempts at being bound to a vessel they hadnt chosen for themselves. As Goddesses like Ishtar had existed for an exorbitant amount of time, the only way she could be convinced to enter a [Spirit Vessel] was if you managed to win her trust. Even then, there was still a chance of failure since she may not truly mean it, regardless of how she feels in the moment... As Vahns mind continued mulling over various ideas, Rin had finished changing into her new clothes, surprised that they fit her body perfectly. Since she could feel that Vahn was thinking about how best to help her, Rin managed a genuine smile before saying, "Dont worry about it too much, Vahn. The Holy Grail War usually doesnt evenst more than a week so Ill be fine, even if Ishtar ends up taking over my body. She still has to follow the rules set by the Greater Grail so she wont be that easy for her to cause trouble. If she does something too ridiculous, I can use one of my Command Spells to reign her in. Fortunately, Ereshkigal seems far more agreeable than her sister so I wont be powerless, even if Ishtar gets put in time out..." Just as they had ess to her memories, Rin was given brief tidbits of information pertaining to Ishtar and Ereshkigal as, even though they would be in full control during battles, she was still their Master. During the previous Holy Grail War, she had managed to prevent Ishtar from trying to use her body to sample the men of the current era. Though this caused her own urges to eventually reach a point where she needed assistance, Shirous overbearing desire to save everyone meant he was easy to convince. This eventually blossomed into a far more intimate rtionship as they continued to fight as allies, at least up until Gilgamesh appeared and ruined everything with his plot to secure the Grail and steal Shirous Servant, Artoria, in an effort to make her into his bride... Seeing the conviction in Rins eyes, Vahn gave an approving nod before saying, "I will look into solutions to help your control Ishtar, even without having to use a Command Seal. For the time being, I can keep her suppressed so we can still move forward with our n to make others think Fenrir is your Servant." As there was no way Fenrir would be satisfied with sitting out during the fighting, Vahn had convinced her to y the part of Rins Servant. This was aplished by having Rin promise she would never require Fenrir to refer to her as Master,bined with a promise to grant Fenrirs wish when the Holy Grail War came to a conclusion. Since this was likely something he would have to give her directly, Vahn was actually looking forward to wrapping things up to see what Fenrir had in mind... As her own thoughts were in line with Vahns proposition, Rin nodded her head before almost immediately asking, "Are you going to try and summon a Servant now? If we wait too long, there is a chance the other Masters will beat you to it. Though Im cerrtain you would be able to acquire a set of Command Seals for yourself, being forced to rely on the Servant summoned by another is never a good thing. The Grail tries to make sure every Servant summoned has a matching affinity with their respective Master. Shitty people usually end up with equally shitty Servants so I would rmend securing one of your own as soon as possible..." Vahn was a little surprised with how quickly Rin had recovered, especially since she had seemed so depressed before getting dressed. However, he couldnt help but agree with her assessment of the situation so, cing the issue of Ishtar on the back-burner, Vahn nodded his head before saying, "Ill go ahead and summon my Servant now. If your words are true, Im curious to know what kind of Servant the Holy Grail has determined is suitable for me..." As these words left his lips, a premonition overcame Vahn that caused a sinking feeling in his stomach. This was simr to the feeling he had when imagining what kind of Goddess Amaterasu would be, causing Vahn a sense of impending dread, even as he epted what seemed to be a quirk of his fate... Without brooding over the issue, Vahn set about conducting his own summoning ceremony, choosing to forgo an incantation since he was fully prepared to fight without relying on his Servant at all. As for a catalyst, Vahn surprised Rin a bit by cutting a thin line across his wrist and allowing his blood to drip onto the magic circle. Since the Servant was supposed to be tied to the Master, Vahn was curious about how the system would interpret his blood. He didnt believe it would be able to sense the Source Energy contained within, but that wouldnt stop it from misconstruing the energy as Divine in origin, as the Record seemed to jump to the conclusion that his energy was the highest possible form within the Record itself. Unlike how Rins light had invaded her body, Vahn watched as Fate and Time danced around each other before coalescing into a small figure. He inhaled deeply before deciding that he wouldnt me his Servant, regardless of what form they took. At least, this was the manta Vahn told himself as he watched a figure adorned in red rise to its feet. By the time his Servant was standing at their full height, the chrysanthemum crest on their hat barely reached Vahns vicle. Since it was a rather tall and broad hat, Vahn guessed their height was around 153cm tall, giving them a petite figure that caused him to sigh internally... Looking up with blood-red eyes, set in a confident expression that seemed to pierce through everything, Vahns Servant asked, "Are you the fool who thinks himself worthy of being my Master...?" Then, without waiting for an answer, Vahns Servant showed an expression of mild surprise before answering their own question, musing, "Oh? Not bad. I thought you sleight-of-hand types were all weak and schrly. This is starting to look pretty exciting...!" With this said, Vahns servant suddenly unsheathed their sword before stabbing towards his neck with lethal intent. With his tired expression immediately transitioning into a cold and serious look, Vahn deflected the de with the back of his hand before instinctually striking forward with his right fist. Though this wasnt his maximum speed, it still caught his Servant by surprise as his fist stopped only one centimeter from her face, blowing her hat away in the process. This caused a veritable torrent of hair to fall from the womans head, followed by herughing loudly before shouting, "Nice! Even if I still need to observe you for a while, I can tell youve got some backbone, kid. You wont find me calling you Master, but I dont mind following your orders...assuming youre not some kind of idiot, that is." Seeing that his Servant didnt show any discernible signs of fear after nearly taking a strike to the face,bined with their manner of speaking, Vahn figured they were the type to fearlessly throw themselves into battle without a second thought. This made him feel embarrassed internally as, even if he didnt want to admit it, his personality wasnt all that dissimr. With that in mind, Vahn got a better look at his Servant, noticing she was wearing ck military garb that didnt seem to hail from the distant past. Completing the outfit, she had a blood-red cloak that cascaded down to her ankles while her calves and feet were adorned with peculiar golden greaves that had ck gemstones embedded into the knees. Much like the cap she had worn, these gemstones were surrounded by a chrysanthemum motif that was evidence that she had close ties to Japan, even though that could have been easily ascertained by her basic build and face structure. She also had long ck hair, which extended past her h.i.p.s, possessing a somewhat wild quality to it, even though it seemed sleek at the same time. At the same time, it glowed with a subtle red sheen, almost as if it had been washed with blood if the aura radiating from her was to be believed. This,bined with her sharp eyes that practically screamed confidence, gave Vahn the impression that his Servant was a force to be reckoned with. His only realint, not that it mattered in the grand scheme of things, was that she had the appearance of a young woman, even if her figure was marginally more developed than Fenrir... Much like he was evaluating her, Vahns Servant continued to eye him with an appraising gaze that seemed to prate deep into his flesh. The longer she looked at him, therger her grin grew, causing two prominent canines to appear when she showed her teeth. Then, at a speed much faster than she had drawn her sword, Vahns Servant pulled out what appeared to be a musket-pistol before pointing it towards his head and pulling the trigger. Instead of a normal bullet, a reddish-ckser, much like Rins [Gandr], attempted to pierce through Vahns skull before he casually moved his head aside to evade. In the same motion, Vahn stepped forward before flicking his Servant directly on her forehead and saying, "Stop trying to test me..." in a stern tone. While rubbing her forehead with a gloved hand, his Servantughed in a tone eerily reminiscent of Kali before saying, "Rx, Im just trying to keep you on your toes. If you couldnt dodge attacks like this, you wouldnt be qualified to be my Master. I dont give a damn about the Holy Grail so it doesnt matter to me if I get sent back because you were too weak to pass muster. If my actions upset you, feel free to use a Command Seal to force me to abide by your will. Until then, Ill act as I please, thanks." With that said, Vahns Servant disappeared into thin air, turning into her Spirit form that was able to pass through all obstacles unimpeded. This was a way Servants could conserve their Mana when outside ofbat or, in this example, a means in which they could move about when and wherever they pleased... As the presence of his Servant disappeared from Rins workshop, Vahn heard her voice within his mind, almost like a darker version of Sis as she mused, ("By the way, kid. The names Oda Nobunaga, the Devil King of the Sixth Heaven. Looks like you summoned me as an Archer-ss Servant so dont expect me to fight on the frontlines unless youre there alongside me. Dont worry, Ill make sure not to shoot you in the back if you want to take to the frontlines yourself, kukukuku~.") (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vessel of the Twin Goddesses...!,Rins best quality is her ability to bounce back almost instantly from anything...,So Vahns Servant is an Archer that specializes in Anti-Divinebat, all while having the heart of a conquer who pushes the world towards their version of a better future...xD) (A/N: Vahns Servant in a swimsuit: https://bit.ly/32nONOy ) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1037 - Intent : Lull

Chapter 1037 - Intent : Lull

Not long after Nobunaga had wandered off on her own, Rin produced a dryugh while Fenrir adopted an admittedly adorable pouting expression as sheined, "I dont like her." Though she hadnt been worried that her Master would be harmed, just the fact that Nobunaga had attacked him twice was enough to put her at the top of Fenrirs list of hated individuals. As for Rin, she actually found the situation somewhat humorous as, given what she knew of Vahn, the fact he had summoned such a Servant almost seemed like just desserts. He had been like a demon during her training and, now that he had summoned a Servant of his own, it seemed like she represented many of the traits he generally kept hidden. Curious about the identity of Vahns Servant, Rin asked, "So, did she end up introducing herself? Based on the fact she used a pistol, I imagine her ssification is an Archer-ss Servant, right?" Even though Nobunaga had also used her sword, Rin didnt find it particrly impressive, especially whenpared to the fact she could manifest a pistol out of then air before firing magical bullets. Unsurprisingly, Vahn nodded his head in response to her words before saying, "She said her name was Oda Nobunaga, the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. It doesnt seem like she will be easy to deal with unless I use a Command Spell..." Since Masters were able to sense the presence of their Servants, Vahn could sense that Nobunaga had already left the Tohsaka Manor before wandering off on her own. Hearing Vahns words, Rin showed mild surprise on her face as she asked, "Oda Nobunaga? To think that yet another Heroic Spirit is actually a woman...hell, the real Oda Nobunaga was actually born after the Holy Grail War had already begun. Its pretty rare for someone born sote into the Age of Men to be a Heroic Spirit. At least this confirms our suspicions that the Grail is seriously messed up. Not only did I end up with two different Servants from the Mesopotamian Era, but your Servant is eastern in origin, meaning the Grails previous restrictions pretty much arent applicable anymore." Nodding his head, Vahn then took a quick nce at his Command Spells which, curiously, took on the shape of a bow with a cross-shaped arrow running through it. He didnt know if this was the result of summoning an Archer-ss Servant, or if whatever method the Grail used to scan potential Masters had somehow detected his own skill with the bow. Since the magic circle hadnt done anything to his body, Vahn suspected that scan that Akasha had performed was also stored within the Root when she transferred his body over... Deciding not to force Nobunaga to follow his orders, Vahn instead turned his attention to Fenrir before heavily stroking her head. She wasnt in the best of moods so he yed with her ears as he said, "We wont have much free time once the Holy Grail War starts so Ill make sure to pamper you plentily tonight." Fenrirs mood immediately improved when she heard her Masters words while, at the side, Rins expression became much redder than usual. Noticing this, Vahn gave her a concerned look that caused her to shake her head lightly before saying, "Ill be fine. Just for tonight, I dont mind if you and Fenrir make a bit of noise..." As these words left her mouth, Rins red became two shades darker since it almost sounded like she didnt mind listening in on them. At the same time, her heart was starting to beat like a drum within her chest as, even deeper within her chest, a presence began to spread from an area beyond her ability to discern. Noticing Rins abnormal state, Vahns [Eyes of Truth] activated, allowing him to see a foreign mana expanding outward, slowly encroaching Rins own. What he didnt expect was, from the moment he activated his [Eyes of Truth], Rin felt like her body was burning wherever Vahn passed his gaze. She had the distinct impression that he could see through herpletely, causing Rin intense feelings of shame and, more frustratingly, excitement. She barely even heard Vahns words as he exined, "It seems like Ishtar isnt content with staying cooped up. What a troublesome woman..." Even with his aversion to forcefully imprisoning anything, Vahn knew that Ishtar was essentially an unwanted invader within Rins body. Herfort wasnt that important to him since she showed no regard for Rins, her host and Masters, feelings... Deactivating his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn gestured for Rin to turn around and, somewhat surprisingly, sheplied without a word. He then proceeded to ce an even stronger seal to prevent Ishtar from emerging while, at the side, Fenrir looked toward Rin with squinted eyes. Even if her Master seemed to be willfully ignoring it, her nose couldnt be fooled. She could smell the peculiar aroma of a woman wafting from Rins body, causing her to feel a strong desire to protect her Master from Rins inevitable attempt to seduce him. She had learned a lot from Loki, Syr, and Haruhime so, unless her Master was seeking Rin out on his own volition, Fenrir wouldnt let her get close to him without a good reason. It didnt matter to her if Rin was being influenced by a god as, ultimately, that was her problem, not something her Master should have to concern himself with... Feeling Fenrirs gaze on her back, Rin felt as if her entire body was covered in a thinyer of ice which, surprisingly, helped her calm down quite a bit. If the influence of Ishtar was like a tiny me that continued to grow in intensity, Fenrirs re was like a bucket of ice water that doused it almost instantly. As a result, by the time Vahn had finished sealing away Ishtar once again, Rin had managed to regain enoughposure to appear rtively unfl.u.s.tered as she said, "Im going to inform the others that we both managed to summon Servants. Ill be going with the story that my Servant is the Lancer-ss, Fenrir, so youll have to provide her with a spear..." Though Fenrir had never actually fought with a spear before, her natural dexterity and agility would allow her to y the part without too much difficulty. She may not be able to contend against the more powerful Servants, especially since the Grail was being finicky, but neither she nor Rin had to worry about acting alone. Fenrir was essentially just Rins bodyguard, at least until thetter was forced to take action and reveal the existence of her actual Servants. Most of the fighting would still be handled by him, insofar as taking the fight to enemies was concerned. With Rins condition stabilized for the time being, Vahn and Fenrir retired to the study to lounge about while Rin went off to call Lord El-Melloi II. Vahn used this time to y with Fenrirs tail for a bit as he looked through his Unit Management which, even though she wasnt actually his Subordinate, listed Nobunagas status. It showed her Loyalty value as (-), meaning the number was null from The Paths perspective. Fortunately, it didnt matter that much if Nobunaga was truly loyal to him as, even if she had a high level of [Independent Action], she still had to follow the rules of the Holy Grail War. He hadnt given her any orders so she couldnt attack normal civilians and, unless they attacked her, even other Masters and Servants were off-limits. ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Oda Nobunaga] Age: Ageless Race: Human Strength: 30C Endurance: 43B Agility: 33C Magical Power: 41B+ Good Luck: 47B++ Soul Tier: 3 (Fragmented Lord) Noble Phantasm: [Three Thousand Worlds: Three Line Formation:E~A] Origin: Anti-Divine, Purpose Skills: [Loved by Fate:Innate:SS], [Child of the Stars:Innate:B], [Conquerers Oath:Innate:B], [Tenka Fubu:A], [Demon King:A], [Strategy:B], [Magic Resistance:B], [Independent Action:B] Magic: (-) Magecraft: (-) [Tenka Fubu] Rank: A Passive: User bes stronger in the presence of any entity of Divine origin. Active: Attacks against entities of Divine origin have a high chance of ignoring resistances. [Demon King] Rank: A Passive: Recognized as an evil entity by the world, regardless of alignment. Active: Increases parameters based on the amount of malice targetted towards the user. [Strategy] Rank: B Use: The users ability to n and make sound decisions under pressure. [Magic Resistance] Rank: B Use: The users ability to resist magic attacks equal to the skills rating and lower. [Independent Action] Rank: B Use: The users ability to act independently without relying on a Masters support. Significantly reduces mana consumption when outside ofbat. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn was rather impressed with Nobunagas status but, considering she was a Heroic Spirit that had been recognized by the Throne of Heroes, it wasnt too difficult to believe she should have been very powerful during her time alive. Though the legend surrounding a person could actually make their Heroic Spirit more powerful than the original, especially for more recent Heroes, that didnt really matter to Vahn. Just the fact that Nobunagas [Good Luck] had nearly broken through the limit set by the Root showed a great deal of promise. It shouldnt be easy for Nobunaga to promote her strength further but, with the supplement of his Source Energy, Vahn felt like she would be a nightmare for other Servants at her preferred range... What Vahn was curious about was the power of Nobunagas Noble Phantasm as, unlike other skills and abilities, there was no information on its function within her Status. Since each Servants Noble Phantasm was usually their strongest means of attack or defense, Vahn couldnt help wondering what Nobunagas did. The fact that it showed a never before seen variable like E~A seemed to indicate that it either had a variable efficacy or was entirely dependent on luck. Vahn assumed it was the former as it would be a significant weakness if Nobunagas Noble Phantasm was solely based on her Good Luck parameter... Deciding it was best to ask directly, Vahn focused his mind before sending his thoughts to Nobunaga, asking, ("Nobunaga, can you exin to me the functionality of your Noble Phantasm? I need to know exactly what youre capable of if I want to incorporate you into my ns.") Even if he ultimately handled the battles himself, Vahn still wanted to know if Nobunaga might be useful for providing support fire. The only problem was, even if he would normally be immune to her attacks, Nobunaga actually dealt significantly more damage to beings of Divine origin. Since he had two active skills that made him even weaker against such attacks, there was a chance a stray shot of hers could actually injure him pretty severely. This wouldnt kill him, by a long shot, but it had been a while since his body was destroyed and Vahn wasnt in a hurry to experience it again... In response to his telepathic message, Nobunagas voice sounded as if it were spoken directly into his ears as she mused, ("I was wondering how far you were going to let me wander off before sending me a message. Ive already made it from one coast to the other and was just on my way to check out the northern part of the ind. Youre lucky I didnt just run off on you, boy.") There was a bit of excitement contained within Nobunagas voice that, even without knowing what she was up to, it was easy to intuit that she was enjoying herself. Releasing a light chuckle, Vahn yed with Fenrirs floppy ears as he said, ("I dont think youre the type that would just wander off and abandon your duty. Since you already imed to recognize me, I dont mind letting you explore the area on your own. I trust your judgment, Miss Demon King...") With what he had learned about Nobunaga over thest few hours, Vahn knew she was the type that dedicated herself to whatever she decided upon. She was a great revolutionary during her times and, even though her reputation painted her out to be an evil and malicious force, Vahn felt that this was more along the lines of historical embellishment. After all, the policies Nobunaga enacted during her time,bined with the efforts she put into trying to help her people prosper, painted a different picture from how she wasmonly portrayed in media... Though he didnt hear herugh through their telepathic link, Vahn could imagine Nobunaga standing atop a building, gazing out over the horizon as she answered, ("My Noble Phantasm allows me to summon as few as a single matchlock, or as many as three-thousand. So long as you can provide me with an adequate amount of mana, I can even wipe out entire armies on your behalf. Though, if you expect me to work that hard for you, expect that youll owe me quite the debt after the fact. You had better prepare some strong sake and a full banquet if you want me to defeat your enemies on your behalf.") As he was starting to feel like he had a grasp on Nobunagas nature, Vahns expression became more resolute as he replied, ("I do not require others to fight my battles for me. If you want to sit in the back and watch me do all the work, be my guest. Im not after the Greater Grail to have something like a wish granted, as Im perfectly capable of achieving my goals without such things. Our goal is to destroy the Grail and bring this whole farce to an end, nothing more, nothing less.") Though Vahn obviously didnt include the fact that The Path already provided him with infinite possibilities, including having wishes granted, that didnt make his words any less true. For several seconds after he finished his words there was only silence in response, even though Vahn could sense that he was still linked telepathically with Nobunaga. When she finally responded, there was a slightly teasing tone to her voice as she stated, ("You wont catch me idling, Vahn. If that is your true desire, dont think Im going to miss out on the fireworks. Stay alert though, or I might send one flying up your ass...!") Following this, Vahn could swear that Nobunaga wasughing boisterously on the other side, even though it didnt leak through their connection. Since this seemed to be a quirk of her nature, he decided to ignore it and simply replied, ("Make sure you return by nightfall. You dont seem like the type to get caught off guard, but its better to be safe than sorry. Even if I dont need your help to achieve my goals, losing someone that is supposed to be my ally would leave a bad taste in my mouth.") This time, Vahn could imagine Nobunaga waving her hand in a dismissive manner as she half-heartedly answered, ("Yeah, yeah, dont worry. Contrary to what my appearance might lead you to believe, Im a big girl. Just make sure to summon me if you get into some trouble you cant handle. If you call me Big Sis, I might lend you a hand.") With these parting words, the connection Vahn had established with Nobunaga was severed rather unceremoniously. As this was within his expectations, he didnt let it bother him and instead shifted hisplete focus to Fenrir before tracing his index finger around her navel. This caused her jaw to tremble slightly as she opened her eyes just enough to let her scarlet red irises shine through... Since Nobunaga would almost certainly return before nightfall, Vahn knew his time to pamper Fenrir woulde to an end a bit earlier than expected. Though it was somewhat embarrassing, Vahn actually couldnt send mana directly to Nobunaga through the mana pathways that were supposed to exist between Master and Servant. As the Grail was incapable of altering his body, Vahnpletelycked the capability to efficiently send Nobunaga mana without direct contact. Though he could get around this if she was inside of his domain, it was a problem if she encountered an opponent on her own. Nobunaga was obviously cognizant of the fact that she wasnt receiving any mana from him so, even if they footed around the issue, she would obediently return in the evening. Then, either through the use of [Hands of Nirvana] or feeding her mana-rich foods, Nobunaga would be able to replenish her reserves. There were also a few more intimate methods in which to transfer mana, such as the exchange of bodily fluids and life essence, but Vahn had no intentions of even broaching the subject. If it came down to it, at least during an emergency situation, he would allow her to directly consume his blood. This would undoubtedly provide her with more than enough energy to keep going, just as the Tier 5 Eva had been able to persist for years after feeding for a little over an hour. With his mind wandering slightly, Vahn leaned down, kissing Fenrirs corbone before moving his way up her neck. She responded by cing her paw against the back of his head while stretching her neck to increase the avable surface area. Vahn found this rather adorable so he made sure to move nice and slow to savor the moment. It wasnt until he could feel Fenrirs ws begin to poke through his hair that he released a light chuckle and moved to her lips. At the same time, his right hand sn.a.k.e.d down her abdomen, sending electrical surges through her body before he invaded the fabric of her shorts. She was wearing a light T-shirt and a pair of denim shorts that matched the style of the modern era. Though they were made from magic, they had the textile sensation and functionality of actual fabric, making it so that the stic band allowed Vahn ess to the treasure concealed within... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nobu-chan is super lucky o_o...,yful Banter,(U,...,U)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1038 - Hypocrisy

Chapter 1038 - Hypocrisy

As the day extended, preparing to transition into the cold descent of night, Vahn and a decidedly refreshed looking Fenrir were sitting at the dining table together. Since she hadnte down yet, Vahn was keeping tabs on her through his domain but, seeing that Ishtar hadnt shown up, he credited her absence to the fact that she was just tired from the events earlier in the day. This left Vahn and Fenrir alone for the meal so thetter was sitting on hisps as Vahn continued his pampering by transferring pieces of food to her mouth-to-mouth. It was when Vahn was passing a small blue gemstone from his mouth to Fenrirs that thetters ears stood on end, slightly before even he sensed the new presence that had just appeared in the room. Turning his focus towards apparently empty space, the sound of a tongue clicking could be heard before Nobunaga appeared out of thin air, apanied by a fluctuation of mana particles. Turning her gaze upon Fenrir, Nobunaga remarked, "Youre a sensitive one, aint ya? Those ears and tail...you some kind of Yokai or Shikigami?" Though Nobunagas arrival hadnte as much of a surprise, what caught Vahn off guard was the fact she had ditched her previous attire and had donned what looked like business casual,plete with an unbuttoned zer, cks, and expensive-looking dress shoes. It was simr in color to her previous garb, being predominately ck, while a blood-red tie had found its way around her neck. Even more surprising was the fact that she had tied her hair up into a long ponytail that cascaded past her h.i.p.s, giving her a sharp and somewhat masculine appearance. This was made even more apparent by the fact that, even though she had changed clothing, Nobunaga still had her sword tied around her hip... Instead of letting Fenrir spoil her mood, Vahn kissed her forehead before saying, "Wait for me in our room." This caused her to nod before sending a re towards Nobunaga as she trotted upstairs with a quick pitter-patter of steps. Nobunaga followed her with an amused smile on her face, waiting until Fenrir had ascended the stairs before turning to Vahn and teasing, "Dont tell me Im going to have to worry about you crawling into my futon at night. Youre a hundred years too young to think you can share a bed with this Demon King. Dont worry though, Ill give you a fighting chance...how about I allow you to massage my feet? If youre skilled, I might let you move your way a bit further up, kukukuku..." Vahn hadnt been intending to humor Nobunaga at first but, hearing her essentially call his massage skills into question, he adopted a teasing look of his own before saying, "You should measure your words more carefully, Nobunaga. Even more than the gods themselves, there are some things you should never challenge haphazardly, lest you lose the ability to even regret your decisions." As he spoke, Vahn channeled Source Energy into his fingertip and, even though his [Hands of Nirvana] were much weaker at the moment, he was confident it was enough to get even a Demon King to concede defeat. With a sh of light flickering across her blood-red eyes, Nobunagas expression suddenly became extremely serious. Her eyes appeared twice as sharp as normal as a borderline murderous smile spread across her face as she warned, "Perhaps you have the right to make such ims...however, boy, you should consider that it is you who should measure their words carefully. I fear you havent considered the consequences of challenging this Demon King and losing." As Nobunaga continued to speak, a powerful bloodl.u.s.t began to radiate off of her, something only one who had in an incalcble number of lives would be able to possess. Instead of shying away, Vahns own expression turned serious as his own aura began to spread through the room, forcing back Nobunagas almost instantly. At the same time, he leaned forward with both arms on the table, crossing his hands under his chin as he said, "Though you may have fought toy gods low with military might, I was able to aplish far more with just these two hands of mine. I wont deny that Im overconfident at times, but this is the one thing I can assure you of, Nobunaga. If you continue down this path, your pride may not be able tost the night, much less the entire Holy Grail War..." As soon as Vahns words fell, Nobunaga dropped low before dashing forward like a phantom, instantly reaching a speed close to 800km/h. Even faster than that, a ck projectile flew towards Vahns face that he was able to easily catch out of the air, revealing its identity as a dress shoe. Following this, Nobunagas ck-socked foot tried to nt into his face but, with much the same ease, Vahn caught her by the ankle while squinting his eyes. At this point, Nobunaga had an expression that seemed like it could cause ice to frost over as she icily stated, "Ill take you up on your challenge, brat. If you think you can cower this Demon King, you have severely underestimated me." With Nobunaga having nted her other foot in a dangerous position between his legs, an impressive feat considering she had crossed the tabletop without even knocking over the vase in the center, Vahn could feel the promise of violence contained within her words. He didnt know why himself but, having her continually talk down to him since her summoning made it almost impossible for him not to antagonize her a bit. It was simr to his almost instinctual need to tease serious and intelligent girls, especially if they were the strong-willed types... The moment that train of thought crossed his mind, realization donned upon Vahn, bringing a stop to his actions just before he removed Nobunagas sock. It was only now that he realized where thispulsion came from as, though they were remarkably different, Vahn briefly ovepped Nobunagas image with that of Kali and, to a lesser extent, Loki. Not only did she have the aura of blood and death that often followed Kali around, Nobunaga also had a sharp mind that allowed her to verbally spar with him without a moments hesitation. Her unwillingness to back down was simr to both Goddesses but, instead of having an almost overwhelming presence, something that could only be achieved with an almost iprehensible amount of time, Nobunaga seemed distinctly human in how she carried herself... Sensing the shift in Vahns state, Nobunagas expression became even icier, apleteck of empathy contained within her now glowing red eyes. Before she was able to get any words out, however, Vahns chuckled in what sounded like an admonishing tone before his left hand grabbed her calf with a bit of force. Though this meant little to Nobunaga, as she wasnt even remotely bashful, the jolt that apanied Vahns touch had caught her by surprise. In the next moment, Vahn, seemingly having returned to normal, stated in a teasing tone, "I wonder how long youll be able to stand in this awkward position..." Currently, Nobunaga was bncing on one foot, located between Vahns thighs, as thetter kept her from falling over with the hold he had on her leg. It was a testament to her bnce that she was able to maintain the pose without even shaking but Vahn knew this wouldntst long as he slowly rolled her sock down to the heel of her foot. This caused Nobunagas brows to furrow but, instead of showing any trepidation, she confidently stated, "The time for talk has already expired. Now, this has be a battle of wills. If you drop your guard for even a moment, dont think I wont take your head..." No sooner had these words left her mouth, Nobunaga had already unsheathed her sword as it drew a sh-like arc through empty space. Vahn had inclined his head backward to evade the blow, all while simultaneously sending a veritable flood of Source Energy through Nobunagas calf. Though he was tempted to hasten her defeat by sending a few choice threads to the more sensitive nerves in her body, Vahn wasnt quite sure he wanted to egg Nobunaga on in such a way. For the time being, he targetted some of the less sensitive nerve cl.u.s.ters as he liberated her sock and pressed his thumb into her heel before pushing deeper into the soft tissue of her arch. Nobunaga showed a surprisingck of response but Vahn wasnt too worried as he pushed off the ground, sending the chair crashing towards the floor to evade Nobunagas follow-up attack. Though his actions nearly ended up forcing Vahn into a rather awkward position, where Nobunaga was essentially standing on him, he rolled with the momentum before genuinely surprising his errant Servant when they flipped over in mid-air. Vahn had used his Telekinesis to anchor himself, changing their center of gravity to a fixed point that allowed just enough room for them to rotate in the air. As a result, Vahn found himself sitting on Nobunagas back as he pulled her leg up at an awkward angle and continued to massage her foot. Though she released a grunt when he sat on her, Nobunaga quickly recovered as she attempted to twist her torso around, this time holding a matchlock pistol in hand. Without flinching, Vahn casually remarked, "Here I am using nothing but my hands while the Great Demon King has to result to using her trump card at the beginning of the battle..." This remark caused Nobunagas trigger finger to pause for a brief moment, but only just. She showed next to no hesitation at all, remarking in a confident tone, "If you think this is really my trump card, you deserve to take a few bullets for your ignorance." Though she managed to get these words out, Nobunaga found herself unable to fire a second shot as Vahn sat further up her back before tapping several points along her spine. Even though Servants were made manifest through mana, they still had bones, organs, tendons, and, most importantly, nerves... Nobunagas expression didnt change much as she watched her arm fall powerlessly to the wayside but, after having her face forced into the ground as a result of Vahn pulling her legs further back, she finally seemed to realize she had made a mistake. She futilely tried to lift her body using nothing but her neck muscles but Vahn was relentless as he moved her cks up to expose her calfpletely before gently massaging her surprisingly tender legs. It was hard to tell, as Nobunaga seemed to prefer to wear mens clothing, but her figure actually wasnt as underdeveloped as he expected. Though she was somewhat petite, like most Japanese women, Nobunaga was only around 5cm below the national average while her h.i.p.s and thighs were plusher than expected as they stretched the fabric of her cks... Contrary to the bravado she had shown from the start, it hadnt even taken three minutes for Nobunaga to fallpletely silent as she clenched her teeth and exhaled through her nose. She couldnt tolerate the idea of surrendering so, even as the effects of Vahns massage continued to increase in intensity, the Source Energy within her body ovepping and amplifying itself, she refused to admit defeat. This only egged Vahn onward, even though he was fully aware of the fact that Rin had awoken after hearing the chair crashed to the ground. When Nobunaga fired off her pistol, Rin had started to get dressed and seemed to be preparing toe downstairs at any moment... Knowing things would be unnecessarilyplicated if Rin walked in on him practically pinning Nobunaga to the floor, Vahn ced his right hand on the outside of her thigh, just a few centimeters below her butt. He had avoided touching any inappropriate areas, as there was a chance it could set Nobunaga offter, but that didnt mean he couldnt get close. Vahn pressed his thumb into her skin enough to make an indentation that was nearly a full centimeter deep as a rainbow hue flickered across his palm. Though Nobunaga had been quiet before, a resistant grunt escaped her throat as Vahn began to slowly move his thumb up and down her leg. He made sure never to cross the halfway point leading to her inner thigh but that didnt prevent a powerful stimtion from causing Nobunagas leg to twitch violently with his gentle movements... With his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn was very aware of the state of Nobunagas body so, just as it seemed as if she was about to suffer a defeat, he immediately released her foot before rising to his feet. Pulling out a towel, Vahn began to wipe down his hands whilementing, "Youre one of the toughest women Ive ever met. Since were limited by the situation, how about we call this one a draw? Its a shame, really, I feel like I wasnt that far away from iming victory..." With that said, Vahn leaned down over Nobunagas body, ignoring the resentful re she was sending his way as he tapped a few points along her spine, effectively restoring her mobility. Though she really wanted to attack Vahn right now, Nobunaga felt weak in the knees as she pped aside the hand he had offered to help her up. She made a show of rising on her own power before turning her eyes towards the corridor and muttering, "It seems your judgment is correct..." With those parting words, Nobunaga disappeared into her Spirit form but, much to her surprise, she noticed that the sensations Vahn had imprinted in her body hadnt faded. Assuming this form was supposed to be a method that would allow Servants to purge things like toxins and other abnormal status effects. Whatever Vahn had done, however, seemed to linger within her body like a tenacious parasite that burrowed directly into the more sensitive areas of her body... Unaware of what Nobunaga was thinking, Vahn picked up the chair only moments before Rin entered into the dining room. When she saw it was only Vahn present, it didnt take being a genius to understand that his Servant had been the one to cause trouble. Though the sound of gunfire was proof enough of this, the fact that Fenrir was absent meant it was a personal matter between Vahn and Nobunaga themselves. Thus, with a skeptical expression on her face, Rin looked around the area as she asked, "What was that all about?" In response to this, Vahn produced a wry smile as he answered, "Call it a difference in opinion between Master and Servant. Nobunaga and I both have our pride and it doesnt seem like well be able to coordinate properly until the status quo has been established..." Though he was saying these words to Rin, Vahn knew that Nobunaga was listening in as well. Because of the very same pride he mentioned, she wouldnt be able to talk about her near-defeat, especially since he had effectively spared her. Vahn knew this was effectively cing a proximity mine that only he could set off but, feeling that teasing Nobunaga was surprisingly refreshing, he was prepared for whatever form of revenge she had in mind. Rin knew there was more to the situation than Vahn was exining but, at the same time, she had her own troubles to worry about at the moment. Even though Ishtar was sealed away, her body had been burning up since earlier in the afternoon. Her desire to return to bed was stronger than her desire to press Vahn for information he would never give without having a good reason. She knew he was creating a wall between them, so Rin just shook her head before saying, "Other people are trying to sleep. You shouldnt be making noise thiste..." With those words, she turned her back and was preparing to head back to bed before Vahn said, "Rin...", resulting in her turning back around a little faster than she had intended. Vahn had a gentle smile on his face as he walked over, causing Rins heart to begin beating rapidly, at least until he handed her a small bag of cookies and said, "You should eat something light before going to bed. These are made with lemon and vani so the mild tartness you seem to enjoy...make sure you get some proper rest once you return, okay?" Though Vahn hadnt directly peeked into Rins room, he was aware of the fact that she had been moving around restlessly all afternoon. He wasnt foolish enough to misunderstand what was wrong with her but, as he would like to avoidplicating their rtionship, Vahn trusted Rin to take care of herself until things got too bad. If she could ept that his help was just to make sure she was able to function normally, that would be one thing, but Vahn knew that Rins affections for him had started to blossom in recent days... After hearing Vahns words, Rins face became beet red as she quickly turned around and ran down the corridor. Towards the end of the hallway, Vahn could hear her mutter, "Idiot...!" in a fl.u.s.tered voice before hastily making her way up the stairs. It was only then that Nobunaga manifested again, now with a faint of a blush on her own face as she gave Vahn an usatory look andmented, "That is pretty cold of you, dont you think? I get that you might not be romantically interested in her, but its pretty cruel to y around while someone that is supposed to be yourpanion suffers. Even Im not that evil.." Vahn was a little surprised by the impact of Nobunagas words, causing his mood to quickly sour as he matched her gaze with his own and exined, "There is much about this situation that youre unaware of, Nobunaga. I have-" Before he could finish his sentence, Nobunaga crossed her arms with a look of ridicule on her face as she said, "Dont even try to bullshit me, boy. After the stunt you just pulled, do you really think I would believe half of whatever excuse you were about to pull out of your ass? You know full-well what you were doing to my body so dont pretend to be a righteous saint when the scent of two different women is still fresh on your hands. If this is your true nature, I seriously misjudged you, brat..." With her admonishment apparently finished, Nobunaga snorted before turning around and walking through the closest wall, vanishing in a sh of magical light. Vahn had replenished her reserves, and then some, with his earlier actions so she could easily wander around for 2-3 days without issue. Since she was now pissed off, on top of feeling frustrated, Nobunaga didnt want to humor Vahn in the present moment as, instead of exiting the Manor, she moved towards Rins room in her Spirit form. If Vahn wasnt willing to take responsibility for what he had done, she figured it wouldnt be a wasted attempt to try and findfort with her fellow victim... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Demon King Vs. Godhand,An indecisive victory...?,That awkward moment when your pseudo-loli female Servant is more of a man than you are...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1039 - Self Loathing

Chapter 1039 - Self Loathing

After Nobunagas departure, Vahn sat at the dining room table alone, his mind in a state of deep contemtion. The most troubling thing was the fact that he knew Nobunaga was right and, even if he had been back in the Record of Danmachi, Vahn was certain many of the girls would agree with her. His mind had recorded all of his previous conversations with girls like Hephaestus, Loki, Tsubaki, Hestia, Artemis, Ryuu, Eina, and pretty much every girl he associated with. Because of their care and guidance, he had lived a rtively uninhibited life that few people could even imagine, much less make a reality. Though this had forced him to bear a burden that even he couldnt withstand in the end, now Vahn found himself in a world where the only limiting factor that remained were his own inhibitions... The crux of the issue was that, even with Fenrirs presence, Vahn still felt homesick more often than he would like to admit. Even if he ced most of his focus on his interactions with her, his other sub-processes would find him aimlessly thinking about everyone he had left behind. At the same time, Vahn remembered all of the promises and oaths he had made to himself, each serving as a link in the chains that currently prevented him from taking more decisive action. Unlike other bindings, however, Vahn didnt want to break these chains because it felt like one of the few things that kept him bound to his previous world. Though he told himself that his feelings for the girls wouldnt change, regardless of the passage of time, Vahn was afraid that his own weakness, his inability to be alone, would cause these emotions to slowly fade away within the vast stream of eternity... With dark thoughts clouding his mind, the emotions Vahn fought hard to keep restrained were slowly beginning to break through the carefully constructed container he had constructed to repress them. He even started to feel a boiling rage surfacing within his mind as part of him wanted to me Rin and Nobunaga for forcing himself into a situation that he simply didnt want to face. Though he hade to care about Rins well being, the efforts Vahn had put into making sure there was an appropriate distance between them existed for a reason. He just didnt want to have s.e.x with a random woman, regardless of how well he hade to know her, so soon after leaving behind the people he cared more about than his own life. The fact that it felt like he was being forced to do so, regardless of his feelings on the matter, even gave Vahn the thought of bringing the Grail War to a conclusion and simply leaving before anyone realized what had happened... Vahn knew it would be so easy to simply leave and do, essentially, anything he wanted to do. At the same time, however, one of the things Vahn wanted to do was protect and help Rin. He even knew that, if the circ.u.mstances had been different, he wouldnt even mind having a temporary rtionship with her. There was even a chance that he coulde to genuinely love her, as her kind, caring, and steadfast personality were some of his favorite qualities in a woman. This was one of the problems with getting involved with anyone that had any form of fate within their Record as, with his nature, Vahn found himself inexorably drawn to them. They almost always had a tragic backstory that would weigh heavily on his heart, inevitably causing him to drop his guard around them until things developed to the point that he would practically fight a war on his own if it meant they would be happy... Knowing this was undoubtedly their fate itself at work, as they were often simply too likable to ignore, Vahn could onlyment that he would likely be a victim to its influence for a very long time. It would take him several hundred, perhaps even thousands, of years to grow beyond the point that fate would no longer have an influence on him. This awareness was also another factor that caused Vahn to waver as, knowing he was barely at the start of a very long journey, he would constantly find himself feeling uncertain every time he began enjoying life. He was worried that he would be too attached to each world he visited, getting involved with every significant person he met along the way. This would invariably lead to the terrifying reality that, by the time he finally returned home, he might have to link tens of records, bringing hundreds of star-crossed lovers back with him... Even with the truly unbelievable tolerance the girls within the Record of Danmachi had shown him, Vahn didnt delude himself into thinking they would be okay with him bringing back hundreds of extra lovers with him. Just the fact that he would eventually be traveling with Eva, who Vahn knew wasnt the type to appreciate the presence of other women, already nipped that possibility in the bud. This meant that, the only real option avable to him, as he still intended to travel through several worlds before his inevitable return, was to forgo rtionsh.i.p.s entirely. He would have to iste himself from pretty much everything within the worlds he would visit, focusing solely on his desire to grow stronger so that he could shorten the interval between now and his return... Knowing that such a thing was simply impossible for him, as he was unable to turn a blind eye to the suffering of others, Vahn let his head drop to the table in exasperation. The only thing it would take to break his resolve, unless he changed himself on a fundamental level, was finding a single child that needed his help. If he became the type of person that turned a blind eye to the suffering of a child, Vahn knew he woulde to deeply hate himself. Though this would ultimately fade with time, the thought that he would be desensitized to his own self-loathing was even more terrifying... As this wasnt even remotely the first time Vahn had these kinds of thoughts, he already knew the supposed solution to all of his problems. Ultimately, just as his desire had been before he even descended into Danmachi, Vahn needed to live freely. Not only would he be happier, but there was a good chance his strength would increase demonstrably while trying to protect others than if he were to seclude himself from the world. The moment he began distancing himself from the very moralpass he had created for himself, turning his back on people he could easily have saved, was the same moment the person known as Vahn would die. He had put in so much effort into bing a person that several people loved, that all of his kids looked up to, that entire nations aspired to be like. If he turned his back on all of that, it wouldnt even matter if he was finally able to return home as, by then, he would have be apletely different person from the man he had painstakingly forged himself into... While these thoughts continued to haunt him, Vahn raised his head to stare into the glowing red eyes of Fenrir who, for quite some time now, had been watching him from the doors threshold. She was one of the people that, regardless of the decisions he made, would inevitably support him. Even if he became an evil tyrant that destroyed millions of worlds to increase his power, Fenrir would still stand at his side without even questioning it. This knowledge would, on asion, fill Vahn with a pang of deep guilt that was only lessened when Fenrir would express her resolve to stay at his side for all eternity. Even if he tried to push her away, to the point that it drove her crazy, Vahn knew she would never stop appearing at his side to try and be of use to him... Releasing a deep sigh that actually caused the void around him to tremble slightly, Vahn produced a wry smile as he said, "Your Master is a terrible person, Fenrir..." In response to this, she firmly shook her head in denial before saying, "Master is a big person. Bigger than anyone else...you have so much to give to everyone and, even if it hurts you, you never stop giving. Since you only rarely take what others want to give you, I do not believe you are a bad person, no matter what you say. Not just me, everyone back at the Hearth Manor knows this to be true...it is why, even if you make mistakes, everyone still loves you..." Allowing a dryugh to escape his throat, Vahn ruminated over Fenrirs words and knew they werent false. Even if he felt like a pathetic sc.u.mbag that couldnt even be faithful to the women he loved, they still forgave him for it and tried to help him be the best version of himself he could be. This was especially true for all of the Goddesses as, even if he made mistakes that would lead him down a path of ruin, they had literally made Eternal Vows trusting that he would always find his way back into the light... Turning his eyes towards the roof, Vahn allowed his perception to peer into Rins room where, more than an hour prior, he had detected Nobunagas presence. With hos close they were, it didnt take any imagination at all to know what was happening, all because he had been too much of a coward to do what was necessary to help the person he cared about. He had simultaneously forced Rin to face a difficult situation alone, something she had constantly been forced to do throughout her life, all while losing the trust of his newly gained Servant. Just as Nobunaga had implied, he had been the textbook example of a hypocrite, all because he simply didnt want to bother facing Rins problems alongside her... It was at this point that Fenrir, having fallen into an observant silence once again, carefully exined, "Before we left, I talked a lot with everyone about how best to take care of you. Knowing that you would be alone on such a long journey, everybody was worried that you would break without their support. I wanted to try and make up for everyone else but I now understand that Loki was right...no matter how hard I try, Ick the stability for Master to truly rely on me. Even if I do my best tofort you, youll always turn things around until the only thoughts on my mind are thefort Master brings me..." Seeing Fenrir trying to me herself for his weakness, Vahns expression hardened as he said, "You havent done anything wrong, Fen-." The moment these words began to leave his lips, Fenrirs eyes began to glow like hot coals, a look of pain and anguish on her expression as she shouted, "That isnt right! Ive done so many things that Master should have punished me for, but you always take it upon yourself without ever truly punishing me. Youre so afraid that I will be even more unstable that you are constantly bearing Fenrirs burdens...!" At this point, Fenrir had tears welling up inside her eyes as her body began trembling beyond her means to constrain it. Vahn found himself forced into silence by Fenrirs words as it had never even crossed his mind that Fenrir had bottled up such thoughts in her heart. She always acted openly, rarely filtering what she said or did unless she was expected to. Vahn felt that she had made a lot of progress since her feral days, causing him to feel genuinely proud of how far she hade. Now, however, it seemed like Fenrir had actually wanted him to be more stern with her, causing Vahns heart to feel a pang of guilt that made her give a frustrated whine when she sensed it. Then, clutching her head with her wed hands, Fenrir groaned, "Master...Fenrir doesnt want to be the thing that holds you back...Fenrir wants to be by Masters side, always. Not just as someone Master needs to take care of, but someone Master can rely on when things get tough. Fenrir doesnt want to be Masters subordinate forever...Fenrir wants to be Masters partner...Masters equal..." With the chaotic state of her mind, Fenrirs speech patterns were beginning to revert back to how she would speak prior to their promise under the moonlight, what now felt like eons ago. It was then that they had decided to walk this path together but, at almost every possible moment, Vahn usually only considered what he could do. Fenrir was included in many of his ns but was almost always relegated to a support role since he didnt want her getting hurt. He was so afraid something would happen to her outside of his control that Vahn had been cing increasingly heavy restrictions on everything she did. This was the main reason he would pamper her when they were alone as, while it was highly ther.a.p.eutic for him, Vahn was of the mind that he needed to make it up to Fenrir for how he treated her... Before he had instructed his body to move, Vahn was already tightly embracing Fenrirs body, finding she now felt particrly frail within his arms. In response, she was lightly headbutting his chest while sobbing, one of the few times she ever allowed tears to escape her eyes. Seeing this was thest straw for Vahn as,pared to almost anyone else, Fenrir was a central part of his life that he couldnt stand to see suffering. Just as she would do anything for him, there were no lengths Vahn wasnt willing to go to in order to ensure she was happy. Even if it meant he would have to let her be free to act as she pleased, something that had rarely crossed his mind before, Vahn would rather regret when something did happen than stand by and watch her suffer because of the restrictions he had ced on her... In the most gentle tone he could manage, Vahn whispered, "Im sorry..." while stroking Fenrirs had and rubbing her back in a small circle. Then, so she wouldnt misunderstand his meaning, Vahn reluctantly added, "From now on...I wont hold you back anymore. You are free to do whatever you want, even without asking my permission...if you make mistakes, I will make sure to lecture and punish you properly from now on...please dont be sad, Fenrir. It breaks my heart to see you cry..." Though the moment was more than a little ruined by the fact that Nobunaga was now spying on them, Vahn decided he would deal with herter as Fenrir was infinitely more important right now... Though her face was still stained with tears, Fenrir used her Masters T-shirt to wipe them away before nodding her head in understanding. Then, as if she were determined to shatter what remained of his grasp on reality, Fenrir showed a resolute look in her eyes as she said, "I will go into the City and hunt on my own tonight. Watching Master fight alone is very frustrating...I want to prove that I can move around on my own, just like Nobunaga. Since Master always says you trust me the most, you cant let others do whatever they want without supervising them if you refuse to let me do the same. I wont ept it any longer...!" Each word spoken by Fenrir felt like a hammer striking the back of his mind but, after just promising to let her do as she pleased, Vahn could only nod his head in response. This caused Fenrirs sad and demure expression to immediately transition into a radiant smile, something she used to struggle with in the past. Seeing the freshly dried tear stains, ovepped with her happy expression, caused Vahns heart to twitch as he instinctually pulled her closer into his embrace and said, "Promise me that you will stay safe. Im not going to follow you, so you have to swear that you will alert me as soon as something happens. If I lost you, I dont think I would be able to-." Without letting her Master finish, Fenrir covered his mouth with her paw as she confidently stated, "There is nothing Master cant do. Even if it is painful, you are stronger than anyone. You will be able to return to everyone one day, even if Fenrir isnt strong enough to apany you the entire way. No matter what happens, though, I will never stop trying to return to Masters side. Even if my body breaks and my memories fade, my soul will never forget the mark you have left on it. Till the ends of time, always and forever, I will be the person most loyal to Master...this is my way of expressing my love..." With that said, Fenrir moved her paw aside before standing on her tip-toes and kissing Vahns lips. Though it was only a small peck, there were more emotions contained within that expression of intimacy than most of their more passionate exchanges... After giving onest smile, Fenrirs clothes magically changed into a dark bodysuit that was adorned with small ents of white and gold. Then, pulling out a spear that her Master had previously prepared for her, Fenrir wore a hooded cloak to conceal her face as she quickly left the Manor. This was the first time she was being allowed to hunt on her own and, even without the ability to see auras, Vahn knew that Fenrir was excited. He had done everything he could to make sure she didnt develop the habit of killing indiscriminately so, now that she was left to her own devices, he could only pray that the lessons had stuck... Shortly after Fenrir left the Tohsaka Manor, Vahn turned his attention to the empty space where Nobunaga had been spying on them ever since Fenrirs outburst. His expression had now be almost scarily calm, even as Nobunaga revealed herself wearing nothing but a pair of blood-red lingerie that was far more a.d.u.l.t than he would have expected. Since Nobunaga seemed to prefer mens clothing, Vahn had never expected her to wear such intricately designed lingerie, nor had he imagined her figure to be even more mature than he had initially believed it to be... As if understanding his thoughts, Nobunaga gave a somewhat taunting smile as she said, "Oh? Youre only just noticing this now? Dont tell me youre beginning to have regrets only now, kiddo..." What she didnt say, even though Vahn had already began to piece things together, was that Nobunagas body seemed to adapt and change depending on the amount of energy she had in her body. Though the container for most Servants had a fixed size, there were numerous ways in which their growth could be promoted to allow them topete against more powerful Servants. These were often heinous practices, such as having the Servant consume the mana and souls of normal citizens, but that wasnt a restriction Vahn had to face. His Source Energy was like pure nourishment for her body, giving Nobunaga a new height of 155cm while her b.r.e.a.s.ts, h.i.p.s, and waist were all more pronounced than before... With a condescending snort, Nobunaga manifested a set of clothes to conceal her figure as she stated, "Even with a woman standing in front of you wearing nothing but her undergarments, you just stand there gawking. Well, not that it really matters, does it? Anyways, I already dealt with your little girlfriend upstairs so you owe me one, brat." As thest sentence left her lips, Nobunagas expression became even more condescending than before, almost as if she were daring Vahn to take action. His reaction surprised her, however, as he simply looked towards the direction of Rins room before saying, "Ill deal with youter, Nobunaga. There are more important things I have to deal with than stand here and listen to your lies..." Though something had obviously happened between Nobunaga and Rin,sting for quite a while, it was obvious by the aura radiating from thetters body that Nobunagas imcked credibility. Rather than help Rin, it looked like she had only made matters worse as all three presences within her body were currently vying for control. Though Rin could use her Command Spells to reign in the two errant Goddesses, she seemed to be holding back on their use, likely due to the fact that the Holy Grail War hadnt even started. If she used two of her Command Spell from the outset, she would have no contingencies when an emergency situation required the use of a Command Spell... Without waiting for Nobunagas response, Vahn passed her by before determinately making his way up the stairs. He knew that the reason why Fenrir had wanted to go out hunting was due to the fact that she simply didnt want to be present for what he needed to do. As she wasnt particrly close to Rin, at least for the time being, Fenrir would much rather hunt down any errant Mages lingering in the Miyama district than wait quietly in their room for his return. As for Nobunaga, she just followed his retreat with her eyes, an expressionless mask recing her usual confidence. It wasnt until Vahns footsteps had faded that a smile slowly grew on her lips, followed by Nobunaga vanishing into thin air... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hello Darkness my old friend...,Fenrir is too good for Vahn (T_T),Nobunaga is a very forward person...)(Reference for Nobu appearance: https://bit.ly/2Um2t9T ) (A/N: Vahn is essentially having a Superman dilemma. He has so much power, enough to practically do anything he wants, but forces himself to behave a certain way so that he doesntpromise the person he has be for the sake of others. I have never intended to present him as a wless character and, even though it feels like he periodically has these little breakdowns, you have to remember what kind of life he lives. Isekai novels that present their MC as some kind of non-feeling machines that, for reasons that are never exined, have the self-confidence and determination to turn an entire world upside down, even though theycked the motivation to even seed back in their former world are full of shit xD. Those MCs always seem like psychopaths that treat others as if they are an integral part of their story, rarely hesitating to do morally reprehensible things because there are no consequences. Vahns problem is, even though he knows his involvement isnt required, he simply cant treat people as if they are essentially NPCs in a game that revolves entirely around him. It is his inherent desire to be good, using his power responsibly, that consistently leads him into this cyclic state of anxiety and self-loathing.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1040 - Honesty

Chapter 1040 - Honesty

Having sensed the disappearance of Nobunaga, Vahn squinted his eyes slightly, even as he continued towards Rins room with a steadfast gait. If he wasnt wrong, she was probably going to follow after Fenrir to make sure thetter didnt find herself in a situation she couldnt deal with. Though the odds seemed equally as high that she was just going out to y for the evening, Vahn didnt think Nobunaga was that loose of a woman. In fact, if his intuition wasnt wrong, she seemed to have a preference for other women since she dressed like a man and acted in an overbearing manner. At the very least, she seemed to be a very open-minded person who showed no discernible signs of shame or modesty... Deciding he would follow his own words and deal with Nobunagater, Vahn quickly found himself standing outside of Rins door. Unlike how it normally ought to be, as Rin was fond of her privacy, there was a line of light cutting through the dark hallway, the source belonging to themps within Rins room. Since there was no way Rin would have made such a mistake, Vahn concluded that Nobunaga had gone out of her way to crack the door on her way out. This allowed a few agonized m.o.a.ns to carry into the corridor, each sounding like muted whimpers that caused Vahn to feel like an even bigger asshole than before... Knowing Rin would probably refuse to let him in if he knocked, Vahn ran his hand along his forehead before running his fingers through his own hair in a self-calming gesture. Then, reminding himself that Rin was not only his friend, but the first person he hade to care about in this foreign world, Vahn pushed open the door before stepping across its threshold. This didnt go unnoticed by Rin as, even though she had been more than a little distracted, that didnt mean she wasnt paying attention to her surroundings. Seeing who had entered into her room this time around, Rins already flushed face turned a sickly shade of red as she hid her body under the nkets and said, "Donte in...go away..." Hearing her words, Vahns feet came to a sudden stop as he gently stated, "Rin...Im sorry. The way Ive treated you...it wasnt right. You may never forgive me, but I am determined to help you get through this. Please, let me help you..." At the end of his words, Vahn tried to take another step forward but Rin instantly brought him to a stop as she suddenly sat up on her bed and shouted, "Get out of my room! I dont need your help, you stupid jerk! Why dont you send your stupid Servant back up instead...you...you bastard...!" Though the intensity of her outburst had started off strong, Rins eyes began to tear up in thetter half. Then, as if she didnt want her face to be seen, she hugged her knees tightly before hanging her head to conceal her expression. Vahn felt even worse after seeing Rin like this, cursing his past self for once again bringing harm to someone he had cared about. This wasnt the first time something like this had happened yet, no matter how much Vahn swore he would never allow another repeat of the same kind of incident, Rin was only thetest in a long line of his mistakes. Unfortunately, it didnt seem as if she were willing to talk through things as, shortly after she hid her face, Rins hair began to change colors at the roots. From atop her head, a ck crown that had three curved prongs cut through her hair before her clothes dissolved away, this time forming into Ereshkigals raiment nigh-instantaneously. When Rin, now Ereshkigal, looked back up at him, her eyes were still red with tears as she coldly stated, "Rin doesnt want to see you right now...she says not to worry though, as she will feel better by morning. Make sure to prepare a big meal as an apology..." Each sentence that left Eereshkigas lips was concise and to the point, showing that she was simply conveying Rins message and had no intentions to converse with him. Vahn, however, wasnt willing to just leave things as they were so he hardened his expression, asking, "Why are you and Ishtar even participating within the Holy Grail War? What wish could two Goddesses, daughters of one of the most powerful Gods, have?" In response to this, Ereshkigal remained silent and just continued to stare back at him with her maroon-red eyes. It wasnt until nearly a full minute had passed, causing Vahn to nearly demand an answer that she finally answered, "I just wanted to see...the world beyond the reverse side. I hear the cries of the dead, calling out, grasping at a life that has already been extinguished...if possible...I want...to..." This was as far as Ereshkigal got before closing her eyes and beginning her transformation into Ishtar. Before this process couldplete, however, Ereshkigal began shaking her head a little violently before opening her eyes and revealing an aqua-blue coloration. Looking back at Vahn, Rins brows furrowed deeply as she anxiously muttered, "I told you to leave. Your presence is only making things worse! Dont you understand, Ishtar is a Goddess of War, L.u.s.t, S.e.x, and Beauty. I cant resist her influence if youre still around...!" Then, before Vahn could get out a word of his own, Rin added, "Vahn, Im not angry at you anymore. Just give me a bit of time to cool my head and things will go back to normal. You dont have to do something youre not willing to do just because you pity me. Just...just go away..." Following these words, Rin put her head down again but Vahn could hear her breaths, each containing a muffled sob that she tried to suppress. Knowing he was in a very precarious position, one which may even result in Rin hating him, Vahn found it nearly impossible to say anything. However, remembering the convictions that had taken him a little too long to gather, Vahn knew he couldnt just run away again. Taking another step forward, an action that caused Rins frown to deepen even further, Vahn did his best to remain calm as he stated, "Rin...I wont lie to you. Im...terrified..." Hearing Vahns words, Rins eyes began to well up with even more tears but, before she could misunderstand any further, Vahns expression became serious as he added, "Not of being with you. Im terrified of all of this...! This, this world, being separated from my home, not knowing when Ill ever reunite with my family! Im horrified at the prospect that, by the time Im finally able to return, I wont even be the same person they loved anymore! It feels like, at any given moment, everything Im trying to aplish is just going to break, shattering into tiny pieces that I can never put back together...!" Vahns outburst hadnt stopped Rins tears but they had managed to stymy the flow a bit as she sheepishly muttered, "You dont-." Without waiting for her to finish her sentence, Vahn shook his head fervently before saying, "Youre wrong, Rin. Because, no matter how scared I am of losing everything, the thing Im scared about the most right now is watching you break down because of a mistake I made. Even if youe to hate and resent me, I could never live with myself if I just pretended nothing was wrong...!" At this point, even Vahns eyes had started to tear up so, even though Rin wanted to tell him to leave, she found the words stuck in her throat... For several long seconds, silence dominated the room as the tensions within began to increase to the point any sudden shock could cause everything to shatter apart. Fortunately, just as Vahns own anxiety was about to reach a critical point, Rin muttered under her breath in a voice that she likely didnt intend for him to hear. She sounded exceptionally tired, even though her voice was tinged with the peculiar hotness that only a woman in a deep state of arousal could manage. As to the purpose behind her soliloquy, Vahn knew exactly who she was talking about when Rin muttered, "Why am I always drawn to the idiotic hero types...haaaaaaa..." After her self-admonishment, Rin squeezed her legs a little tighter as she looked back up at Vahn and barely squeaked out, "You can stay..." With these words still lingering in the air, Vahn wasted no time in taking several steps forward, only stopping when he was at the side of Rins bed. She had been following his approach with her eyes, apprehension and expectation visible within as herplexion became progressively ruddy. At this point, her neck and shoulders also had the subtle hint of blush present, the result of Rins fairplexion betraying her... Seeing that she made no attempt to stop his advance, Vahn reached out with his hand, cupping Rins cheek with his palm as he said, "I do not love you...but, I will make you feel loved to the point that you will be patient with me as I learn to love you for real. Im sorry for being such an asshole, but I need time..." Rin gave an unexpectedugh in response to his words, sounding almost like an involuntary spit take before she rested her cheek again his hand andined, "There is such a thing as being too honest, Vahn...you doofus..." Then, after extending her hand forward and cing it atop his chest, she showed a genuine smile before adding, "Your heart is racing almost as fast as mine...at least you arentpletely hopeless..." Though he didnt know what she meant by her words, Vahn took them as permission as he leaned forward and gave Rin an exploratory kiss to gauge her reaction... Without missing a beat, Rin deftly linked both of her arms around his neck before continuing the kiss of her own volition. In truth, she knew that Vahn didnt love her as, over the time they had spent together, it was easy to see that his mind was constantly focused on memories of his home. Though he had gotten better after Fenrirs arrival, it was more like he used her as a means to project his tensions without facing them directly. Since she also knew that he had a plethora of women, including goddesses, it would be impossible for them to have amitted rtionship. His existence was simply too big for her to even begin harboring the intention of keeping him to herself. However, even if it was for a short while, Rin wanted to be a part of his existence...knowing full well it would never bring back what she had lost. After a long and passionate kiss, ending with Vahn leaning over apletely n.a.k.e.d Rin, thetter was left breathing heavily as she bashfully moved her hands to cover her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Since they werent all that small, Vahn found this reaction of hers both adorable and confusing at the same time. However, as it seemed to be amon concern for many of the women he had met, Vahn traced his right palm along the left side of Rins body before bending down and peppering the tender region beneath her vicle. Then, slowly but surely, Vahn worked his way down until Rin naturally moved aside her hand and allowed him ess to the small rose-bud she had previously concealed. Though he didnt bite down on it, Vahn lightly nibbled the sensitive spot, eliciting a twitching groan from Rin as she tightly clenched his hair... Since she was already more than ready, either as the result of Nobunagas or Ishtars efforts, Vahn didnt want to leave Rin hanging for much longer. As he continued to push her towards even greater heights, causing the confused Magus to enter a state of panic and confusion, Vahn quickly removed his clothes using the equip function of his Inventory. This was something that wentpletely unnoticed by Rin as her toes curled up, even as her legs pushed against the covers as if she were trying to kick them away. By the time she wasing down and feeling a state of moderate bliss, Vahn was already prying open her rather plump thighs and taking in the sight of her messy garden. It might have been pure coincidence, but it was easy to see that Rin either shaved recently or made a habit of properly grooming the thin mat of hair that grew in a neat clump above her palpitating entrance... Coming back to her senses, Rin wiped away the sweat from her brow before turning her eyes downward in what could only be described as a haphazzard manner. This was due to the fact that, regardless of the image she had formed in her mind, nothing could have prepared her for the reality of her current situation. Though Vahn had reduced his previously monstrous size to a modest 25cm, it was still a terrifying sight for the rather petite Rin to behold. This was due to the fact that, not only was itrger than she had expected, but the overall thickness gave her the impression it would tear her apart if he tried to wedge in into her... Since Rin wasnt a v.i.r.g.i.n, and her entrance was pulsing hungrily, Vahn didnt waste much time with additional forey, cing the tip of his ns against her steamy cavern without much thought. This sent Rin into panic mode, however, as she somehow managed to put strength into her exhausted body, quickly shrinking away as she eximed, "What do you think youre doing!? Use a condom...!" in a shrill squeak. This reaction of hers caught Vahn by surprise as, though he knew what a condom was, he had never actually worn one before. He had the ability to choose when he wanted to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e someone so it had never been something the girls around him required before... Seeing Vans expression, Rin misconstrued it as disappointment, causing her heart to throb painfully within her chest since Vahn, as she often described him, was stupidly handsome. His expression made her heart feeling like it was going to break so, before Vahn even had to exin the unique qualities of his s.e.m.e.n, Rin swallowed hard before saying, "Fine...but if I get pregnant, you cant make any more excuses. Even if you run around the world causing trouble, you have to promise you will take care of me and...and our child..." Though there was no way he would i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e Rin, at least at this point in time, Vahn gave an understanding nod before saying, "One of the most important things to me is being a good father. There isnt a force in existence that could stand in the way of me taking care of my kids..." As these words left his mouth, Vahn felt a small twinge of pain in his chest as, even though he meant every word, the truth of the matter was that he couldnt see his other children right now. Though they wouldnt even register that he had been gone, it was an undeniable truth that his own weakness prevented him from being the father he wanted to be... As she had heard both the sincerity in Vahns words, followed by the pain in his gaze, Rin knew that he must be thinking about the family he left behind in his previous world. She chose not to point out the inherent w in his im, however, and instead inched a bit closer to him before taking a deep breath and leaning back. This immediately brought Vahns focus back to her, something that caused Rin to smile as it was strangely fulfilling to have him actually pay attention to her for once. At least for this one moment, she was important enough to dominate his attention, allowing her to be the central focus of his overbearinglyrge existence... Without any further dys, Vahns ns once again found their way to Rins steamy entrance, now producing an even greater volume of love juices than before she had pulled away. It was easy to see that the excitement, or perhaps worry, associated with getting pregnant was making Rins body react even more. Thus, without any major difficulties, Vahn sank his h.i.p.s forward as Rin released sharply inhaled a breath that didnt seem quite enough as her body became rigid due to the unexpectedly hot member invading her depths. It quickly passed her most sensitive spots before, in a manner that Rin could only describe as ruthless, hammering into the deepest parts of her forbidden cave... With her legs trembling and an overwhelming wave of pleasure spreading through her body, Rin crossed her arms over her eyes and focused on her breathing as Vahn patiently waited for her to rx. At the same time, however, he used his hands to trace the sides of Rins abdomen, sending gentle waves of Source Energy into her body. Not only was he increasing her sensitivity but, as it would be a waste to pass up the opportunity, Vahn used the short intermission to help refine Rins magic circuits further. As these were closely rted to the various nerve cl.u.s.ters within the body, Rin only felt an increase in her bodys tensions as afortable, yet all-epassing pleasure filled her up as if she were previously an empty container... Though he had been paying close attention to the state of her body, Vahn noticed that Rin was giving into her blissful state a little too much. This immediately caused an rm bell to go off in the back of his mind but, before he could take any action to prevent it, Rins hair immediately transitioned from ck to blond. The trembling in her body almost immediately ceased, though this proved to be a momentary reprieve as a much more powerful and violent shaking reced it. When she moved her arms away from her eyes, Vahn resisted the urge to produce a wry smile s a pair of maroon eyes stared back at him. He had no idea how the senses between Rin, Ishtar, and Ereshkigal were shared but it was obvious by thetters expression she had been taken by surprise... As a dreadful aura began to spread through the room, Ereshkigal surprised Vahn as, instead of throwing curses at him, she actually wrapped her legs around his waist before staring nkly into space and muttering, "How dare you do this to me, Sister...very well, if this is how it is to be, I will not falter. Come, my kin, now we shall be together until our deaths..." As these words left her lips, Ereshkigals eyes regained a bit of their rity as she gazed down at where they were connected before sheepishly adding, "Please be gentle..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Baka, baka, baaaaakaaaa...!,The f.u.c.ks a condom...!? -Some Unimportant Prince,This is clearly entrapment of the highest degree...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1041 - Uncanny

Chapter 1041 - Uncanny

After the emotional moment he had shared with Rin,bined with all the build-up to them actually having s.e.x, Vahn couldnt prevent his expression from turning dour as he asked, "What game are you and Ishtar ying at? My patience is not without limit, Ereshkigal..." As he had previously been caressing Rins sides, Vahn began to send a tidal wave of Source Energy into her body, preparing to once again seal away the two troublesome Goddesses. Before hepleted the process, however, Ereshkigal shook her head and cautioned, "You should not make an enemy out of Ishtar...she is a petty a vile woman who will only bring you greater suffering if you try and resist. The more you try to seal her away, the more malicious her treatment of our host will be..." Vahns eyes sharpened like daggers upon hearing this, causing him to have to take deep breaths to avoid putting strength into his hands. Though Rins body was much stronger during the state of her possession, Vahn had no intentions of harming her. Instead, he looked into Ereshkigals eyes and asked, "And? What role do you y in all of this...?" To this, Ereshkigal averted her eyes to the side before answering, "Ishtar says she will never allow you and our vessel to be together...Since you denied her, she will not allow the girl named Rin to have you either. As we are two parts of the same whole, I was forced toe forward to prevent our vessel from wasting her Command Spells..." Hearing Ereshkigals words, Vahn felt as if a gong within his mind had been struck by a heavy mallet. Though it was ultimately Rins body, there was a very different meaning in making love to her when someone else was in the drivers seat. If anything, he was quickly developing a strong dislike for the two Goddesses as, even though Ereshkigal seemed more agreeable, the fact she listened to Ishtars whims put her in the enemy camp. This caused his mind to race with possible solutions as Ereshkigal put a bit of strength into her legs and said, "You should move...Ishtar wants to make our vessel watch...she says all men are ves to carnal pleasure, even Gods..." These words were thest straw from Vahns perspective, causing his eyes to emanate a subtle divine glow as he cautioned, "This is now the Era of Men...Ishtar, if you do not stop ying these games, you cannot even begin to fathom the consequences..." Vahn wouldnt appreciate a Goddess threatening him personally but, now that she was essentially holding Rin hostage and trying to proactively torment her, Ishtar had officially gone way too far. He didnt know if it was a quirk rted to the Akashic Record, the real one, not the farce that presided over this world, but it was starting to seem like Goddesses named Ishtar were never pleasant to deal with... In response to his threat, Ereshkigals face formed a frown before she slowly closed her eyes. Though others might have been caught off guard, due to their inability to sense the changes in Rins body, Vahn was more than prepared as he summoned [Enkidu] faster than Ishtar could take over. Any power that she had been trying to muster was immediately suppressed but, as if that hadnt been her primary objective, Ishtar wiggled her h.i.p.s before saying, "It was only a matter of time until we shared a bed together. Come now, if you really care about the girl you should service this Goddess well..." As she finished her sentence, Ishtar began breathing in a strange rhythm before mping down around Vahns member like a vice... Without deigning to humor her with a response, Vahn pulled out an item he would have much rather kept for a more important situation. Ishtars eyes widened slightly in response but, before she was able to say anything else to grate on his nerves, Vahn ced what looked like a teal sheet of paper on her abdomen. Then, wasting no time, Vahn ced his hand atop the paper, saying, "Rewrite..." in a somber tone. In the next moment, the world around him copsed inward before he found himself surrounded by darkness... As this wasnt his first time within a seemingly infinite expanse of darkness, Vahn remained calm and focused as what appeared to be a green pir of light began to slowly descend from a point within the void. In the next moment, however, far faster than even Vahn could perceive, the pir had already extended past him before continuing downward a distance further than the eye could see. Knowing it was futile to even try, as only his [Will of the Emperor] seemed active, Vahn made no effort to try andprehend what was happening as a wispy tether extended from his navel and linked itself with the green pir of light... From the very moment his tether linked with the pir, Vahn felt as if his awareness had expanded outward, almost as if his domain had grown several thousand timesrger in an instant. Vahn was overwhelmed by a feeling of omnipotence but, before he could grasp the sensation directly, it had already faded away, leaving only an echo of a memory in its wake. The only other thing remaining was a feeling of loss that almost rivaled that lonely night after he first descended into the Record of the Nasuverse. Fortunately, this emotion also faded away rather quickly as, before he had even realized it, Vahn found himself surrounded by various windows that were simr in structure to his own system interface. Instinctually understanding that he should not peer into the other windows, Vahn focused on the one directly in front of him, his eyes tracing over the name [Ishtar] at the very top. He was a little surprised that it didnt list her full name but, considering he had also bined Records when naming some of his subordinates, it made sense that he could only change a single one. The thing that most confused him was the fact that, other than the name [Ishtar], everything else on the system window was nk. There didnt seem to be any hints as to what he was supposed to do and, as this was a unique space where even the vast majority of his Innates didnt work, Vahn was unable to seek Sis for advice... With nothing else to go on, her tried to vocalize what he wanted to change about Ishtars Record but, failing to utter even a single syble, Vahn noticed his body hadpletely vanished. This realization caused him to feel dizzy but, just as a feeling of dread began to wash over him, Vahn saw a word appear on the screen before him. Now, under Ishtars name, a small rune had formed which, from Vahns perspective, formed the word dizzy in tiny letters. As this wasnt what he had in mind when it came to changing Ishtars Record, Vahn tried to focus his mind and, much to his glee, the word vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. Understanding that it was his intent that allowed him to interface with Ishtars Record, Vahn began to steadily calm his mind before adding the lines, A kind and benevolent goddess who cares deeply for all sentient life, especially humans that share a fragment of her Record. Though a Goddess presiding over beauty, good harvests, war, l.u.s.t, discord, and fertility, she never allows her Divinities to influence her treatment of others. Even when engaged in acts of carnal pleasure, she always takes into consideration the needs of her par... When Vahn was writing thest line, his head suddenly felt as if a red hot ax had just cleaved it in two, causing him to immediately fade into darkness once again. In the next moment, he once again found himself within the Nasuverse as the green sheet of paper simply vanished into nothingness. In order to obtain a second [Page of the Akashic Tome], he would have to fork over a monstrous one-hundred-billion Origin Points, the same price as a [Dimensional Anchor]. In a way, though it was shameless to admit, this caused Vahns feelings towards Rin to blossom a great deal as he would have never used it under any normal circ.u.mstances... Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Vahn reminded himself to check Rins Good Luck parameter and [Child of Desinty] Innatester on. He was genuinely surprised at himself for unhesitantly throwing away an actual [Page of the Akashic Tome] just because a Goddess had annoyed him. Curiously, that very same Goddess was now nkly staring up at the ceiling while, now that he was paying closer attention, Vahn noticed that Time around him had yet to resume its flow. He didnt know what this meant as, even with his own ability to emte the phenomenon, albeit to a much lesser extent, this was something far beyond his means to do anything about... Fortunately, Vahn didnt have to worry about the issue for too long as, at least from his perspective, it only took a few minutes before color was restored to the world. This was followed by Ishtar blinking a few times before she looked around at the chains binding her and said, "Vahn, you know I dont like being bound up like this. If you want to try experimenting, can we maybe try something less intense first? Im worried I might develop strange tendencies if we immediately move to such hardcore ys..." Apanying Ishtars words, she released her leglock in a perfectly natural manner while simultaneously averting her eyes and adopting an expression that could only be interpreted as a plea. Though he had expected results, Vahns mind nked for a moment since it now seemed like Ishtar was apletely different person. Since he had been building up a fair amount of resentment towards her previously, Vahn suddenly felt incredibly deted as he cautiously removed [Enkidu]. Ishtar released a sigh of relief before rubbing her arms, a gentle smile on her face as she said, "Thank you." in a soft voice. This had an even greater impact on Vahns mind as, with only a single piece of paper, it felt like he had just overwritten reality, not just Ishtars Record. Though he knew Time and Space werent actually real, meaning events only took ce when someone was directly observing them, suddenly finding himself in a reality where Ishtar was no longer trying to threaten him felt uncanny... With an expression of concern on her face, Ishtar stroked Vahns cheek in aforting manner before saying, "I suppose it was cruel of me to interrupt things between you and Rin. Please forgive me, Vahn, as I did not mean to hurt you so..." After these words left her lips, Ishtars smile grew marginally before the purple hue faded from her hair nigh-instantaneously. At the same time, her wine-red eyes turned into Rins aqua-blues, shaking Vahn to his very core as she asked, "Whats wrong? If youre having misgivings about sleeping with me...I..." Before Rin could finish her statement, Vahn masked his shock with a gentle smile as he reached forward and stroked her cheek. Rin released a small sigh in response before matching his smile with one of her own. All of the fear and apprehension that had been present within her eyes previously was now nowhere to be seen, causing Vahn to wonder if even the memories of their earlier conversation had vanished. Since he had modified Ishtars Record, it was possible that the Nasuverse itself interpreted this as meaning Ishtar had always been as she currently was. This meant that, by modifying the Record of a single person, he had irreversibly changed the history of all timelines... --- A little more than an hourter, Vahn was pretending to sleep as Rin, with a light flush still coloring her cheeks, had dozed off happily with his chest serving as her pillow. As he had promised, not that he was sure such memories still existed within her mind, Vahn made sure that Rin was more than satisfied. Though shecked the stamina he hade to expect from girls in the Record of Danmachi, Rin was a very earnest girl whosted around forty minutes before muscles spasms in her legs and abdomen caused her to ask for a reprieve. During that time, Vahn had shocked her quite a bit when he came inside her but, as if giving up, she didnt offer anyints during any of the sessive climaxes... With Rin having drifted off into thend of dreams, Vahn focused his mind in order to establish a connection between himself and Nobunaga. The very instant they were linked together, he asked, ("Nobunaga, can you tell me what happened with Rin before I came to her room? I feel that an enemy may have used some kind of technique to re-write causality and want topare my memories to another persons...") Though this wasnt even remotely true, Vahn couldnt think up a better excuse to get Nobunaga to answer his question without using a Command Spell, at least at the moment. Imagining a shocked expression on Nobunagas face, Vahn waited for her to finally answer, ("That sounds like a troublesome ability...very well, Ill exin once so listen closely. After that girl became the vessel for two Goddesses, her internal mana was going haywire. Because of your indecisiveness, I had to be the man between us and try to help her out on behalf of your impotent ass. Then your little pup finally knocked some sense into you, causing your balls to spontaneously drop and allowing you to at least act like a man. Does that match up with your recollection of events, brat~?") Though his left eye was twitching violently as he listened to Nobunagas harsh words, Vahn also felt a great deal of relief since it didnt seem as if things had changed too drastically. Since Rin still had the circr scar on her abdomen, this implied that many of the same events had transpired, just with a slight variation. He would need to stay on his toes in the days, or even weeks, toe, but that was a small price to pay now that Rin didnt have to worry about Ishtar. Things were still a bit hazy in regards to Ereshkigal but, based on how she had acted previously, Vahn didnt think she would pose much of a problem... With the connection between them still live, Nobunaga didnt seem to be finished speaking as she mused, ("Did you reallyst over an hour? That isnt bad for a brat...well, I imagine you spent the first half an hour crying before blowing your full load in a single shot, right?" Following this, Vahn could feel Nobunagaughing, causing a light to flicker across his eyes as he reminded, ("I still owe you a debt, dont I...look forward to it...") With that said, Vahn severed the connection before exhaling a tired sigh and sinking his head into Rins pillows. Things had be a lot more confusing after he used the [Page of the Akashic Tome] but, at the same time, Vahn felt as if a weight had been removed from his shoulders. Knowing such a simple action on his part had altered the history and fate of the entire Record gave him a strange boost in confidence, making the world feel as though it held fewer uncertainties... Just as Vahn decided to get some sleep, using such thoughts as a means to rx his mind, he felt a subtle shift in Rins mana before she began to move about on his chest. Opening his left eye, he saw that her hair had be blond and, even though the majority of her raiment was missing, several gold essories and a ck crown now adorned her body. Seeing this, Vahn became a little more alert than before, at least until Ereshkigal turned her maroon eyes towards him and asked in a somewhat shy and reserved tone, "Is it...my turn...?" At a nce, it didnt seem as if her personality had changed all that much so Vahn immediately felt a great deal of relief as he considered how best to answer her question... Though she had misinterpreted his silence to mean something else, Ereshkigals next words gave Vahn the answer he was searching for as she said, "Dont worry...even if Ishtar and I control the vessels body while she rests...it will not cause her to feel fatiguedter. We only use a little bit of her mana to sustain ourselves...the restes from the Grail...and our Divine Power..." Then, without waiting for Vahns answer, Ereshkigal gingerly touched his slumbering dragon, showing a fair amount of curiosity in her eyes as she muttered, "This is the p.e.n.i.s of my lover...is it sleeping?" Vahn felt like he had taken a critical hit from Ereshkigals words but, before he was able to answer with a few of his own, an unexpected phenomenon urred. For a brief moment, Ereshkigals eyes lost their light before half of her hair,bined with her left eye, spontaneously changed color. She now had blond hair on the right side of her head while the left was colored a sleek ck that had a touch of purple. Her eye also became a wine-red in color, alerting Vahn to what had happened without needing to ask. This notion ultimately proved even more unnecessary, however, as both eyes fixed themselves upon him as Ishtar exined, "Sorry, Vahn...my sister had two consorts but has very little experience when ites to associating with the opposite s.e.x. If you dont mind, Ill guide her through the steps so she doesnt end up harming herself..." Though Ishtar seemed to be in control, Vahn knew that Ereshkigal was essentially riding in the passengers seat as they shared Rins body, quite literally. Then, as Rin had already given him permission earlier, Vahn decided it wouldnt be a terrible idea to increase his rapport with the two Goddesses. In a way, they reminded him of Emiru and Maemi, especially with their fused state, so Vahn was feeling a little reminiscent as he ran his fingers through the blond section of their hair and answered, "Dont worry, Ill be gentle.." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ishtar is ying with fire,What is this mind-f.u.c.kery!?,The moment Vahn removes his leash, he instantly sleeps with three women at the same time xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1042 - Perspective

Chapter 1042 - Perspective

Vahn once again found himself on the verge of falling asleep once again, even though there was only an hour or so left before he was supposed to be waking up. It was a curious impulse as, though he had the habit of sleeping, Vahn knew he didnt actually require it. Though this would have caused him to feel that something was wrong in most circ.u.mstances, the link between him and Nobunaga seemed on the verge of activating every time he was near the brink of unconsciousness. Ultimately, sensing no danger, Vahn allowed his main process to fall asleep as he sub-process mind retreated to an area where he would view and sort through his memories... Soon after he had fallen asleep, Vahn sensed something other than a simple telepathic message flowing into his mind through the connection he shared with Nobunaga. It was like a data transfer was urring between them, providing audio and visual stimuli in the form of a lucid dream. Vahn was left watching these events y out, much like when he would view one of the [Hearts Desire]s from the past. In these images, Vahn could see a young girl with striking red eyes wearing a muted grey kimono as her long, unkempt, ck hair flowed behind her. She had a smile that, while missing a few teeth, disyed a childish wanderl.u.s.t that showed a limitless intrigue in the world around her... While watching these events quickly y across his vision, Sis voice reached Vahns ears, asking, (*What do you wish to show Nobunaga? This connection goes both ways so I can send visions about your past that can help shape her perception of you.") Though the mechanism that had linked them together seemed to be nigh-irresistible, that didnt mean it had the means to probe Vahns mind for information. Even Akashas scan wasnt able to pry into his memories, resulting in her having to rely on the information provided by Vahn,bined with a biometric analysis, to determine if he were telling the truth. Since it didnt really feel fair to Nobunaga if she was the only one forced to share her past, Vahn didnt spend too much time thinking about it before answering, ("Ill trust you to select memories that wont expose the existence of The Path. Since there is a good chance that the Root might be trying to use Nobunaga in order to gain ess to my memories, make sure you obscure anything that might create a vulnerability they can exploit...") Though he already had numerous weaknesses, Vahn wanted to avoid having them all recorded within the system as data that anyone on Akashas side could view at their leisure... Soon after he had given Sis his permission, Vahn saw another screen appear within his mind, this one showing a visually jarring image as it had him strapped to ab table with his arms and legs missing. It seemed like she was going to emphasize his tragedy before showing Nobunaga the person he had be through his various trials and efforts. Since it wasnt a secret he came from another world, even if they had no idea how to reach beyond the scope of Termina Nasu, there werent any real issues with revealing this information. In fact, with some of the people in his dream having simr identities to people living in his current world, Akasha might misconstrue things in a manner he could exploitter on... Being intimately familiar with his own past, Vahns main focus was on the memories transfering into his mind from Nobunaga. He slowly watched her grow from a troublemaker that, against her Fathers wishes, spent most of her time running around with a small gang of civilians that had naturally gathered around her. While other girls her age seemed to be delicate and reserved, Nobunaga was like a typhoon that drew in everything to her with her natural charisma and earnest nature. Though this caused the upper-ss of society to admonish her, to the point they had nicknamed her the Great Fool of Owari, Nobunaga never showed any sign that she cared about their opinions... Oda Nobunaga had been born as the second child of a Military Governor named Oda Nobuhide during Japans warring states period. Her home was situated within the Owari province, a region that wouldter be the western half of the Aichi Prefecture, located very close to the central axis of Japans mainndmass. It was almost equidistant from the furthest northern, and furtherst southern points of Japan, making it a prime location to serve as the origin point of one of Japans greatest revolutionary minds... From a very young age, Nobunaga had already developed a vision for the future that she wanted to bring into fruition through her own efforts. She thought it was senseless for there to be ss divides as, after interacting as equals with the people she was supposed to rule, Nobunaga recognized their capacity for greatness. The only thing most people needed to seed was the opportunity thus, as she developed into a young woman, the thing that changed the most about Nobunaga were her ambitions and the lengths she was willing to go to see them be a reality... After the death of her eldest sibling, Oda Nobuhiro, Nobunaga was no longer content with just helping her hometown of Owari prosper. Now that she was the leading sessor of the Oda n, her father pressured her to adopt the identity of a man and learn to govern properly. Though she abided his decision, this was only because Nobunaga knew she needed to consolidate her own powerbase if she wanted to extend her influence to surrounding regions. She took to her new role like a fish in the water, absorbing knowledge like a sponge as she quickly led her people towards even greater prosperity. Due to her interactions with the youth of her own generation, Nobunaga enjoyed an extreme degree of poprity amongst her people, something few other rules could im during the chaotic times surrounding her life... For four years, Nobunaga did her best to learn everything she could but, just as her father was nning to step down from his post and allow her to be the acting Shugo, the title given to Military Governors of the time, he was found dead in his room before the session ceremony could take ce. Since Nobunaga knew it was her own younger brother Oda Nobuyuki, who had orchestrated the incident, she waspletely incensed. Though she was very aware of the fact that many members of the Oda n were against her bing the sessor, due to their traditional views that women should be seen, not heard, the fact they were willing to go to such extremes caused her to swear and curse during her fathers funeral, calling them hypocrites as she bombarded them with containers of incense... It wasnt until one of her fathers most trusted vassals, Hirate Masahide, performed seppuku, the ritual cutting of ones own gut, that Nobunagas mind was brought back to rity. Seeing the blood pooling beneath his body, something had broken inside of Nobunagas mind as she simply couldnt fathom how their system was designed so that honorable men would willingly give up their lives as a disy of fealty while, behind the scenes, would-be politicians and merchants skulked about in the darkness and exploited the system with impunity. The fact that her own family would talk about traditionalist views in regard to her, while simultaneously plotting the murder of their own lord, had opened her eyes to the fact that the patience she had cultivated was simply a means by which her enemies could exploit her... Thest straw for Nobunaga was when some of the elders within the Oda n had tried to arrange a marriage for her without even bringing the matter to her attention until they had already given her dowry to the other family. Even though she was supposed to be the next head of the Oda n, they were trying to get rid of her by giving her to a fat merchant that was more than twice her age. As an even bigger p to her face, she wasnt even intended to be the head wife, merely the concubine of a man who already had four children. Since mistresses and concubines were not afforded the right to have children of their own, the Oda n Elders were effectively trying to cull the continuation of her own blood, something they imed to be the product of her motherying with a demon... Unable to tolerate these sleights against her, Nobunaga led more than a thousand men to Nagoya Castle, culling the majority of the Oda n elders in cold blood before failing to capture her brother, the dissident Oda Nobuyuki. With this single move, Nobunaga had forcefully seized her birthright before beginning a rapid militarization of the Owari Province. Since she had always treated them fairly, the majority of her people ignored the vile rumors spread by the surviving members of the Oda n, knowing full well the treachery they had used to try and remove Nobunaga from power. As a result, Nobunagas army began to grow at a monstrous rate before, at the age of twenty-two, she led her first sessful campaign to destroy a budding rival branch of the Oda n at their seat of power, Kiyosu Castle. By relying on technological blueprints acquired through illegal channels, Nobunaga was one of the first lords to adopt the usage of Tanegashima, a type of matchlock gun that could fire spheres of lead with enough force to put down even the most skilled Samurai. She also focused on the modernization of her territory, introducing new and revolutionary ideas that further increased her poprity amongst the people. While others began referring to her as a Demon King that was without honor and filial piety, Nobunaga was practically worshipped within her own region as a wise and capable lord... At the rtively young age of twenty-six, Nobunaga already had a standing army numbering more than 25,000 men. She had secured her ce as one of the most powerful feudal lords within Japan due to her early eptance of the technological marvels slowly filtering in from supposed enemy nations. While others clung to their roots and backward principles, Nobunaga looked towards the possibility of a future where, not just her people, all people could thrive and prosper. Seeing the majority of people forced into service of various Lords, many of which wrung their people dry without a second thought, Nobunaga was determined to liberate Japan, even if it meant destroying the corrupt government and flipping the entire country upside down... Leading her army from the forefront of a three-thousand man matchlock brigade, Nobunaga dominated almost every battle she participated in by relying on the ideology that, only a strong offensive policy could make up for the superior numbers of an enemy. By relying on small strike teams that could outmaneuver and nk their enemies, Nobunaga could split her forces on multiple fronts as she slowly expanded her territories outward. Around this time, Nobunaga began to build a strong inner-circle of her own vassals that had sworn fealty to her cause of unifying the Japanese people in order to usher in a more prosperous future... --- Around the time when the Nobunaga in his memories was about to lead an army against another rival Daimyo, a man by the name of Takeda Shingen, the vision slowly turned into a blur before dissipating entirely. The connection he had with Nobunaga fizzled out on its own, leaving Vahn a little annoyed since it was actually very interesting to see what kind of person Nobunaga had been during her life. Seeing her cut a path through her enemies with unfettered determination in her eyes, all while her men followed after her without any hesitation, was an inspiring sight to behold. This was made even more epic due to the fact that, while standard historical texts either glossed over it or simply found the ims ridiculous, there were numerous individuals in Nobunagas memories that could have qualified as Heroic Spirits. Unlike the boring history that was recorded in texts, Vahn got to watch as powerful Samurai fought against hundreds of men without issue while Nobunaga herself literally tore through battlefields like a typhoon. She used a custom rotary matchlock that was forged by a team of skilled cksmiths over the course of three months. It had a dark ck sheen that was ented in gold, bearing the crest of the Oda n embedded into its side. What made this matchlock even more impressive was the fact that, instead of shooting normal bullets, the inner rifling was reced with artificial magic circuits that allowed Nobunaga to fire a functionally infinite number of magical bullets that could tear through thick armor as if it were paper... Feeling as though he had been denied the opportunity to witness the climax of an epic saga, Vahn released an internal sigh before looking over the information Sis had sent to Nobunaga. Events had proceeded until around the point that he began to introduce his educational and social reforms in Orario. Vahn hadnt realized it before, but he actually had more parallels with Nobunaga than he had expected, almost to a scary degree. They had both done what they believed was necessary to create a better future for everyone, not just a select few nobles that seemed determined to keep people from prospering, fearing they would rise up against them if given the opportunity. Vahn found this mentalityughable as, due to the way ther lords treated them, that was the guaranteed reaction people would have after someone finally showed up to liberate them from tyranny... Just as Vahn was feeling a little closer to Nobunaga, she must have been feeling much the same way as, before the connection had severedpletely, she stated in what sounded like a sincere tone of voice, ("Looks like I need to reflect a bit...youre not bad at all, Vahn.") With this said, Nobunaga broke the link from her end without giving Vahn the opportunity to respond. This caused him to issue a light chuckle, followed by him muttering, "This doesnt change the fact that I owe you a great deal..." in a humorous tone. Though his impression of Nobunaga had improved a great deal, that didnt make her previous words and actions suddenly justified. It was clear that they both had their own way of doing things and, though they were remarkably simr in nature, that only fueled Vahns desire to get even with Nobunaga for her previous remarks. While Vahn was thinking about how he ought to repay Nobunaga, a small prick in his side caught his attention. Seeing the sleeping figure of Ereshkigal lightly breathing through her nose, Vahn allowed a small smile to adorn his face as he gently caressed the side of her face. This caused her to produce a smile of her own as Vahn turned her head slightly to stop her crown from poking his ribs. She was curled up his side after a very long and educational lesson in the rtions between men and women, courtesy of Ishtars careful guidance. Though Vahn was forced to take a more passive role, he had greatly enjoyed watching the surprisingly naive Ereshkigal listen to everything her older sister said without question. She was a surprisingly earnest girl who never gave up after she started something, allowing Vahn to see why she had been able to synchronize with Rin... Vahn began to wonder if Rin and the two Goddesses had shared a simr experience as his dream exchange with Nobunaga but, remembering they already shared memories before that, this likely wasnt the case. Unlike him and Nobunaga, Rin was fused together with her two Servants so it was unnecessary for a data transfer to ur between them. Though they might not be able to peer into the deepest secrets each of them kept close at heart, Vahn correctly assumed their bond was far deeper than his temporary exchange with Nobunaga... As if she knew he was thinking about her, Ereshkigals hair began a gradual shift into Rins characteristic ck as thetter slowly opened her eyes. For several long seconds, she just stared off into space while releasing gentle breaths that tickled his side. Then, as if recalling everything that happened the previous night, Rin shrunk into the smallest form she could manage, covering her face with both hands as she released a shrill and muffled whine. This caused Vahn tough, immediately resulting in Rin ring at him as she shouted, "Dont you dareugh...you...you....graaaaaah...!" Apparently failing to find any words to throw his way, Rin settled on pping Vahns chest with the palm of her hand, eliciting a loud sound that echoed through the room. Now cradling the hand she had used to smack him, Rin had a look of me in her eyes as sheined, "You and your stupidly hard body...". There was slight moisture building up at the edge of her eyes but Rin seemed determined to prevent herself from crying as she crawled the long way out of bed before scampering over to a walk-in closest and disappearing within. It didnt take a genius to realize that Rin, now having regained some rity, was very embarrassed about the previous night. As this was already within Vahns expectations, he didnt hold it against her as he too changed into a fresh set of clothes after using nameless cleaning magic to wash his body. Surprisingly, when Rin appeared from the closets interior, she was wearing her training clothes while trying to appear as unfl.u.s.tered as possible as she said, "Ill be doing my stretches in the bas.e.m.e.nt today..." As she couldnt prevent her face from bing a little red, Rin ultimately pped her cheeks with both hands before storming out of her room without waiting for Vahns response. He didnt know if she wanted him to follow after her, or if she was telling him to leave her alone for a bit. If it was the former, there was a fair chance their future training would be a little more intimate than normal. If it was thetter, however, Rin might feel as if he were being too insistent, refusing to give her the space she needed to calm down and clear her head... Lamenting the guessing game that women always seemed to expect him to y, Vahn looked towards his shared room with Fenrir and wondered if he should spend the rest of the morning with her. She had returned around 3 AM before spending around half an hour in the bath, likely washing blood from her hair and fur since Vahn could feel that she had sessfully hunted some prey. He intended to ask her about itter but, considering the fact that Nobunagas presence reappeared shortly after, it might be better to ask her instead. Fenrir, even more than Rin, needed a bit of space to herself as she was currently going through a phase where she desired independence and personal growth... Realizing that even Fenrir wasnt an exception when it came to theplexity of women, Vahn ran his fingers through his own hair as a wry smile formed on his lips. Ultimately, he decided it was best to apologize rather than having to deal with a pouting Rin, upset that he failed to notice whatever cue she had sent his way. With that in mind, Vahn soon found himself in the bas.e.m.e.nt, allowing him to witness Rin performing a split as she leaned forward and extended her arms as far as she could. Since she was wearing skin-tight training wear and had her back facing the stairs, Vahn got quite the view from his perspective. Feeling Vahns gaze,bined with her intuitive understanding of what he was thinking, Rins expression became a deep shade of red. Instead of shouting at him and telling Vahn to leave, however, she bit her bottom lip for a few seconds before eventually asking, "Can you help me with my stretches...? There are a few that I cant do on my own..." With these bashful words leaving her lips, the distance between her and Vahn shortened considerablypared to the past... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns over here watching Nobunagas past in IMAX...,No matter the world, Nobles and Elders in power always seem to be cunts xD...,Tsunderes are powerless once you break down their defenses (UwU)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1043 - Dusk

Chapter 1043 - Dusk

As was often the case, Vahn found himself preparing breakfast, this time including portions for Nobunaga and, though they likely didnt need it, Ishtar and Ereshkigal. Vahn knew that, while they used Rins body, it wasnt exactly urate to say they were mortal during the times she took a back seat. It was almost as if she shifted between the three existences, using her main body simply as the framework that gave form to the two goddesses. What led Vahn to this determination was the fact that, depending on who was active, several of Rins internals would changepletely, including the arrangement of her mana circuits. Since he could always put the extra dishes in his Inventory, Vahn felt the two Goddesses would, at the very least, appreciate the gesture... By the time breakfast was ready, Fenrir, Rin, and Nobunaga were already seated around the dining room table, thetter sitting close to Rin as she proactively teased her. Vahn wasnt entirely sure what had happened between them but, based on Rins beet-red face and apparent inability to tell Nobunaga to leave her alone, it seemed that he wasnt the only one to break through the wall surrounding her heart. This left Fenrir sitting alone at the other end of the table but, after setting out the dishes, Vahn sat down next to her as if it were the most natural position he ought to hold. Fenrirs face formed into a smile as a result, followed by her leaning against his side without seeming to care about the food set out before her. From across the table, Nobunaga whistled with an amused expression on her face before stunning Rin when she ced her arm around thetters hip and said, "Look at how affectionate they are. Im honestly a little jealous, ufufufu~." Towards the end of her words, Nobunaga blew gently into Rins ear, causing her to finally explode as she quickly hopped out of her seat and shouted, "D-D-Dont act so familiarly with me...!" Nobunaga held up both of her hands in a gesture of surrender before shaking her head without furtherment. Then, without showing any signs of being affected by Rins outburst, Nobunaga ced one of her elbows on the table, supporting her head in ackadaisical manner as she used a fork to sample Vahns cooking. Her brows shot up in mild surprise after the first taste, causing her to send a nce of her own towards Vahn before smiling when she saw he was staring back at her. As for Rin, she retreated to Vahns side of the table before sitting down on his left side. Though she wasnt sitting close enough that their chairs were practically touching, much like Vahns and Fenrirs, it was still a statement of sorts that left nothing up for debate. Vahn gestured with his index finger to make Rins tes slide across the table, as she hadnt moved them herself. This caused Rin to release a muted sigh of relief as her mood seemed to improve markedly after taking a single bite of Vahns increasingly delicious food. As a result, the atmosphere became somewhat warm, causing Vahns expression to turn gentle as he quietly at the food on his own te. With even Nobunaga more focused on eating than running her mouth, it was a peaceful way to spend the morning, making the chaos and tensions of the previous night seem like nothing more than an illusion... With breakfasting to an end, marked by Rins transformation into both Ereshkidal and Ishtar as she finished all three portions of food, Vahn found himself seated next to Nobunaga as thetter showed an annoyed expression. When Fenrir and Rin had gone to wash dishes, thetter had told Nobunaga toe help but, with an incredulous look on her face, Nobunaga immediately refused. After that, she vanished into thin air before leaving the dining room in a rather unceremonious and rude disy. The only reason she was seated next to him at the present moment was due to the fact that Vahn had used her of running away and taking advantage of others due to her assumed status. Since he had seen her memories the previous night, just as she had seen some of his, Nobunaga looked as if she had swallowed a bug as she sat with her arms crossed at his side... Finding Nobunaga surprisingly easy to tease, Vahn filled arge red cup with sake before passing it in her direction as he teased, "Oh Great Demon King, please ept this little ones offering..." This caused Nobunagas brow to twitch but, instead of refusing the drink, she epted it with her gloved hand before downing its contents, nearly 200ml of high-quality sake. Since Vahn had made a point of using a red sakazuki cup, her refusal would have been the same as denying they were allies. Thus, after releasing a hot sigh, Nobunaga remarked, "That is quite the sake you have there. Did you use your ability to create that as well...?" Though Nobunaga wasnt aware of The Path itself, she had seen Vahn using his various abilities over the years she had witnessed from his perspective. This not only included major revtions, such as the existence of his Inventory and ability to convert energy into any object he could conceive, but it also included his more refined abilities, such as his forging skills and his development of the [Hands of Nirvana] skill. Unlike Nobunaga, who had rtively tame rtionsh.i.p.s due to her focus on her ambitions, Vahns memories had been littered with his interactions with his various lovers. Even if Nobunaga wanted to try and tease him, she would have felt like a fool trying to convince the sky it was purple if she tried to call Vahns capacity as a man into question again... Without the need for Vahn to actually answer her question, Nobunaga grabbed the sake bottle with her own hands before filling a second cup. This wasnt intended for herself, however, as she instead passed it toward Vahn while directing her piercing red eyes towards his face. Vahn gave a small nod before epting the cup and, much like Nobunaga, downing its contents in a single consistent swig. With this exchange, it was effectively a means of saying, from now on, we are equals, effectively resetting their rtionship out of recognition and mutual respect. Nobunaga, seeing Vahn finish his cup in a single go, gave a small nod of approval before, rather spontaneously, asking, "Exactly how old are you?" In response to this, Vahn gave a light chuckle before answering, "Ill be turning 156 years old next month. If you were to consider other factors, though, even I wouldnt be able to urately gauge how long Ive lived..." This seemed to bother Nobunaga a bit as she released an exasperated sigh before saying, "Youve lived that long and still act like a child that needs pampering? You should carry yourself with more dignity, Vahn, or youll only cause trouble for those that will inevitably follow you..." Feeling that Nobunagas personality was ovepping with Lokis once again, Vahn nodded in understanding, answering, "I was fortunate enough to have a lot of people who cared about me as I fought to influence the world around me. More than anyone else, I understand that I was spoiled by their care and concern..." Since their leniency towards him had actually be one of the primary sources of his guilt, Vahn had no means of denying the truth of the matter without deluding himselfpletely. Seeing Vahn agree with her, Nobunaga shook her head lightly before filling up another cup of sake, this time for herself. She seemed to want toment on what he had said but, knowing Vahn had seen her memories, Nobunaga didnt really want to get too deeply into either of their lives. Though she genuinely had few regrets about her own end, the fact that she had fallen before her ambitions could be fulfilled was a w that was easy to pick apart. If she were given the chance to change things, Nobunaga would outright refuse the offer, to the point of drawing her sword on whoever was foolish enough to even tempt her...but that didnt mean she was incapable of humoring the thought. Even more than that, however, she was more interested in this current era, even though it seemed to have many of the same pitfalls she had endeavored to remove... For the better part of twenty minutes, Vahn and Nobunaga were left to their own devices as they enjoyed the warming sensation of alcohol while the cool morning air washed over them. It wasnt until Nobunaga, with a slightly red face,ined, "That tolerance of yours is bullshit..." that the silence was finally broken. She had seen him practically drink even gods under the table in his memories but, experiencing it herself, Nobunaga felt a bit of resentment since there were few people with greater tolerance than her own. With Vahn sitting in silence, casually outdrinking her, she was quickly beginning to lose her temper because of how unexciting the moment was. As he had been intentionally matching Nobunaga drink for drink, Vahns eyes had an amused glimmer as hemented, "Feel free to throw in the towel whenever youd like. It will be much easier for you when you realize that you cant beat me. Be it age, marksmanship, drinking, or even the scope of our ambitions...you simply arent on my level..." With Nobunaga failing to even unite a small country like Japan,pared against his sess in unifying a massive Continent, there really was noparing their ambitions. Though this was primarily due to a simple difference in perspective, as Vahn had the guidance of literal gods at his back, that didnt change the reality of the situation. While he and Nobunaga had several parallels, their simrity was the onlymon denominator as, if you looked at the scale of what they had aplished, Vahn won out in every category... Throwing up both of her hands in frustration, Nobunaga then proceeded to cross her legs and arms, her expression turning into one of deep contemtion as she tried to consider what advantages she had against Vahn. Though she might have previously been tempted to use her womanly wiles as a sort of trump card, what Nobunaga now knew of Vahn made her very aware that this would end in absolute defeat on her part. She saw what those hands of his were truly capable of and,paring it to her powerlessness when he gave her a simple foot massage, Nobunaga was secretly terrified of what would be of her if she foolishly chose to y with fire... Before Nobunaga was able toe up with anything, Rin appeared in the garden, giving the two of them a strange look as shemented, "Drinking so early in the morning..." Then, shaking her head, Rin allowed her words to trail off before adding, "Lord El-Melloi II called. Though the Holy Grail War has yet to start, there have already been a few troubling incidents. An entire apartmentplex worth of people was found dead by police investigators this morning. The news is iming it to be some kind of freak gas leak but Gray was able to find the lingering influence of a magic circle that hda been activated in the area. It seems that one of our opponents intends to try and increase the power of their Servant by victimizing normal people..." Hearing Rins words, Vahns eyes sharpened as he rose to his feet and asked, "Do we know anything about the culprit and their Servant?" If they had any leads, Vahn was confident he would be able to hunt down the enemy Master and make them pay for their vile deeds. Even if he couldnt pick up the trail himself, Fenrir shouldnt have any problems at all if they went to the apartment and followed the trail. This seemed to align with Rins intentions as, with a resolute look in her eyes, she said, "This evening, the two of us will go to the Fuyuki Church to certify our participation in the Holy Grail War. After that, well investigate the crime scene and determine what kind of despicable Master were up against. Once midnight passes, the Holy Grail War will officially begin...after that, I would like to use Fenrir to hunt down the enemy Master while you and Nobunaga provide support. Until a real threat appears, it will give us an advantage if you hide your true capabilities." Though Vahn intended to move on his own in the future, he still nodded his head in agreement with Rins n. Until she was forced to reveal her actual Servants, Fenrir would be ying the role of a Lancer-ss Servant to misdirect their enemies. Vahn had intended to follow them from the start so this coincided with his own intentions, at least for the time being. Once he knew the identities of each Master-Servant pairing, Vahn would be able to bring the Holy Grail War to a swift end. If he took decisive action too early, it could cause the other Masters to go into hiding, drawing things out far longer than they needed to be... With that in mind, Vahn spent the rest of the day with Fenrir, Rin, and Nobunaga as they did their best to rx while casually discussing the uing war. Since the war was only allowed to be fought between the hours of sunset and sunrise, they would need to adjust their sleep schedule a bit to avoid feeling exhausted in the middle of the night. Though this had no meaning to Vahn, Fenrir, and Nobunaga, as none of them required sleep, they decided to pass the afternoon quietly out of respect for Rins needs. This took on the form of a second drinkingpetition, this time between Fenrir and Nobunaga, causing thetter to quietly storm off after realizing that Fenrir was alost immune to the effects of alcohol. After, that Vahn and Fenrir enjoyed some intimacy as she told him about the group of Magi she had killed the previous night... Regardless of how much effort her prey put into trying to conceal their presence, Fenrirs senses couldnt be deterred through most readily-avable means. The moment she locked on to the scent of blood and foreign mana, it was only a matter of time until she tracked down whoever was unfortunate enough to be her target. During her previous nights excursion, Fenrir had found a group of three Magi who, based on the description she provided, were likely from European descent. They had been in the process of trying to summon a Servant of their own, using corpses of seven human children as a catalyst. Fenrir wasted no time in butchering the entire group before having the wherewithal to set fire to the building to cover up her tracks... Knowing that, while it was frowned upon, most Magi didnt even care about the lengths other Magi went to for their Magecraft, Vahn was quickly growing tired of the current system. He had already decided to flip the bnce of power upside down after the Holy Grail War waspleted so Fenrirs recounting of events served to fuel Vahns desires further. Since it was possible to keep Servants manifested after the War came to an end, Vahn was even considering the more useful Servants after he dealt with their Masters. Though many would oppose his decision to destroy the Greater Grail, the truly heroic amongst them could be convinced to help him topple the dark powers that ruled from the shadows... --- After sleeping for a little over five hours, Rin exited her room around 6 PM. She was wearing a cashmere sweater with a red overcoat the extended to her knees. Curiously, even though it was cold outside and she knew there was a good chance they would be fighting, Rin still elected to wear a ck skirt that barely extended halfway down her thighs. Though she was wearing twoyers of undergarments, including the [Aegis Mk 5], Vahn found her choice of battle garb a little strange. When he asked her about it, Rin looked at him like he was an idiot before exining, "If I went outside in thick armor covered in talismans, people would look at me like Im some kind of freak. Most Magi do their best to blend into society as being branded with the stigma of exposing the existence of Magecraft is the same as getting an express ticket to your own funeral..." Even with the City-wide formation that would activate at the start of the Holy Grail War, there were always a few people that werentpletely affected. Streets that should be clear would still have a few vehicles present, the vast majority being trucks and otherrge transports. The strict adherence to a set schedule,bined with various drugs and high amounts of caffeine, would give some truck drivers the ability to resist the effects of the formation. Though they would still be hypnotized into pretty much ignoring their surroundings, it was a persistent problem that had been present during the previous two Grail Wars as well... Deciding to follow Rins example, Vahn wore casual clothes as well before they proceeded towards the Fuyuki City Church to confirm their participation with the Holy Churchs representative. They were supposed to act as neutral observers for the event but, after one of their had gone rogue, effectively throwing a wrench into the previous two Grail Wars, there were representatives from the Mages Association present as well. This was actually the role of Lord El-Melloi II, once again showing that humans were incapable of being truly impartial. Even though he was supposed to objectively watch over the Grail Wars proceedings, he was actively involved in a conspiracy to destroy the Greater Grail and bring an end to the event in its entirety. With Fenrir walking between them, wearing a bright yellow raincoat, the three proceeded to the Church grounds, home to arge chapel that had had a towering steeple more than 30m tall. Though it was significantly less impressive than some of the Churches he had seen within the record of Danmachi, much like most of the buildings he hade across, it was still pretty impressive. It was a little annoying to feel his skin tingling after he stepped onto the Church grounds but Vahn quickly adapted to the ufortable sensation as they passed through the main archway before crossing the threshold of a thick wooden door. Vahn noticed there were intricately carved depictions of angels and crosses on almost every visible pir, causing his skin to crawl as if he were being judged by whatever forces provided power to the Holy Church... Sensing Vahns difort, Rin showed a rather peculiar expression but ultimately decided not to pry into why he would react in such a way. With Ereshkigal in her body, even she felt a little uneasy as they walked passed each pue beforeing to a stop beneath arge altar. For a brief moment, Rin humored the idea of walking down an aisle with Vahn forpletely different reasons but, before she could even blush in embarrassment, a door at the side opened up before revealing someone she really didnt want to see... With umon light-gray hair forming gentle curls that cascaded down her back, a woman wearing traditional nuns garb, minus a habit, stared back at Vahn, Rin, and Fenrir with peculiar golden eyes. Though she showed a gentle smile when looking towards Vahn, this immediately morphed into a distasteful frown as she nced towards Rin and said, "So you have decided to participate in another bloodbath, Rin Tohsaka. I would have thought that, with your past trauma, you would have wisened up and adopted a non-secr lifestyle. Can you not see that your current path will only end in even greater tragedies...!?" As if admonishing a child, the Nun appeared to adopt a holier-than-thou attitude but, without affording her the opportunity to drone on, Rin practically spat, "Put a sock in it, Caren. We came here to announce our participation in the Holy Grail War, not listen to you drone about your cult of hypocrites." This didnt seem to be well-received by Caren as she lifted her hands, revealing they were both covered in bandages. Rin immediately pulled out a set of gemstones but, even without Vahn stepping in, neither moved to attack the other. Since Caren was in charge of moderating the Holy Grail War and providing shelter to participants, attacking Rin would be the same as going against the sacred duty she had been assigned. As for Rin, she was essentially making a statement that Carens methods couldnt intimidate her... After the tense air persisted for a short while longer, it was Caren who dropped her hands before almost immediately adopting a concerned expression as she turned to Vahn and asked, "Have you been led astray by this womans wickedness? Know that, as long as you ask for forgiveness, our Father will bestow his Grace upon even the most wayward of lost sheep. If you truly desire the truth, it is not found in the practice of profane ck magic, but under the guidance of our Lord..." Not expecting to suddenly receive an invitation to join the Holy Church, Vahns felt a little taken aback as he lightly shook his head before answering, "The path I walk is one of my own choosing. I do not need guidance, but thank you for your offer..." In response to this, Caren seemed to express true regret as she mournfully stated, "Then you will continue to wander lost and blind for the rest of your days...I pray that you realize the error of your ways before the time of your judgment..." With these final words, Caren brought her hands together in a gesture of prayer that actually caused Vahns skin to tingle even more... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nobunaga trying to be smooth...,Get on my level, scrub...!,Fenrir, moonlight huntress...!,Vahn refuses to be a sheep (o 3 o)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1044 - Before the Dawn

Chapter 1044 - Before the Dawn

After leaving the Church, and its rather zealous Nun behind, Vahn and Rin were walking towards downtown Shinto as he asked, "So, what was that all about?" Rin had been a foul mood ever since she saw the grey-haired woman so it was easy to see there was history between them. With her expression turning even sourer, at least for a moment, Rin exined, "After thest Holy Grail War, she was selected as the representative of the Holy Church in Fuyuki. It could be the result of the Churchs teachings, but it feels like she has always had it out for me. Before I left for the Clock Tower, we hade into conflict several times...she..." Choosing not to finish her words, Rin instead turned her eyes towards Vahn before furrowing her brows. He didnt really know what to make of her expression, only that it made him feel an awkward sense of guilt... Shaking her head, Rin muttered something under her breath that Vahn wasnt able to hear with her scarf further muffling the sound. Momentster, she had seemingly returned to normal, showing a resolute expression as she said, "It isnt important right now. Just...promise me that you wont start sleeping with any random woman that crosses your path. I dont really understand what kind of rtionship we have right now...and I know there isnt anything I can do to stop you...but that woman isnt someone you should try to save..." Hearing Rin specifically mention saving Caren, Vahns brows furrowed slightly but, as Rin was supposed to be something of an exception, he had no qualms about nodding his head. With Rin setting the precedent, he didnt delude himself into thinking she would be the only exception during his journey through various Records. Even if his feelings didnt evolve into love, there was a sense offort and intimacy that could be experienced whenying with a woman. He would do his best to care for Rin as much as possible but, depending on the situation, Vahn knew their paths may diverge at any moment. This situation may not even be that unique as, depending on the Record and people he interacted with, Vahns intuition told him that his weakness for girls with a tragic past woulde into y more often than hed like to admit... Seeing Rin fall into silence after he nodded, Vahns expression softened a bit as he lightly touched Fenrirs back. Even without words, she understood his intentions so Fenrir moved to his right side, allowing Vahn to grab Rins hand. She was surprised by Fenrirs sudden movement but, having Vahn suddenly grab her hand, Rins confusion was quickly reced by a blush that she quickly tried to hide in her scarf. It didnt take a system notification to see that Rin had developed tender feelings for him so, even if what he felt might not beparable to the feelings he had towards those he had left behind, Vahn would make good on his promise to make her feel loved... Holding the hands of two girls in public drew a lot of attention in normal circ.u.mstances but, with the Holy Grail War beginning in just a few hours, the streets were surprisingly empty already. The sun had already descended over the horizon, allowing darkness that seemed deeper than normal to cover the city. The vibrant lights advertising a seemingly infinite number of products seemed to have lost a bit of their color as the sounds of life within the city were reced by a silence that seemed to linger around the few people still walking the streets. These were the type of people that treated the night as their most active time of day, making them slightly resistant to the effects of the city-wide formation. This didnt mean they were immune to it, however, as everyone Vahn passed had a glossed-over look in their eyes as they went about their business without looking towards the group of three... Understanding what Vahn must be thinking, Rin put a bit of strength into her linked hand before exining, "It was like this during the previous war as well. I can still remember how weird it felt seeing all of the after school clubs breaking early as everyone walked back home like zombies..." As she had been in High School during the events of the Fourth Holy Grail War, Rins personal trials had been made even more difficult since she was trying to bnce her normal life with a literal war that could im her own at any moment. Fortunately, though it made her feel more than a little guilty, she once again had someone to share the burden with... --- By the time they reached the location of the apartment where the gas leak had urred, it was already after 11 PM. There were various warning signs present while hazard tape had cordoned off the entire building to outsiders. These werent deterrets for Vahn and his group, however, as they quickly made a gap in the tape before stepping into the apartment to conduct their own investigation. At the same time, Vahn was essentially serving the purpose of a radar, sending pulses through his domain to detect if there were any Magi active within his range. If he found a target, Nobunaga would begin to ghost them in her Spirit form, keeping a fair distance until they could be identified as friend or foe. As an Archer-ss Servant, her effective range was around 4km, while she could guarantee a hit at 2.5km. Though Vahns senses were far sharper than hers, Rin pulled out a dowsing crystal and began chanting a short incantation that sent a pulse of magical energy through the surroundings. Vahn chose to let her do as she pleased, as he was supposed to be keeping his capabilities a secret, while Fenrir immediately began checking the perimeter of the building for any signs of a trail. As was to be expected, though Rin still showed a pouting expression, Fenrir picked up the trail a lot faster than her search magic. It hadnt even taken thetter more than a minute before she entered the building through a window and whispered, "I memorized the scent..." Deciding thatpeting against Fenrir would only end in tragedy, Rin nodded her head before turning her attention to Vahn and saying, "Well split up from here. If we continue traveling together, other Masters will probably hole themselves up to avoid being teamed up on. Dont worry, Lancer and I can handle ourselves..." This sentiment seemed to be shared by Fenrir as, upon hearing Rins words, she lightly tapped the pommel of her spear against the floor and said, "I will protect Rin." in a voice filled with determination. Though she didnt appreciate thetter speaking on her behalf, Fenrir knew that Rin was supposed to be her Master right now so she was ying the part to the utmost of her capabilities. Nodding his head, Vahn gave Fenrir a few head pats for motivation before seeing the two off into the night. He had tried to give Rin a caress as well but she had swatted his hand away, causing Vahns face to form a small smile as he waited for their silhouettes to shrink. They were still well within the range of his domain so Vahn could track them from a fair distance without drawing too much attention. With this being his intent, Vahn donned a [Cloak of Shadows] before blending himself into the surroundings. At the same time, he established a connection with Nobunaga, saying, ("Ill follow from the West. Stay within my range and update me if you find anything abnormal.") In response to his telepathic message, Nobunaga teasingly answered, ("You know, Ive always been fond of the West, personally...") Her words seemed to indicate that she wasnt intending to follow Vahns orders but, regardless of how she presented herself to others, Vahn knew Nobunaga wasnt the type to abandon her duties. Since they hade to an ord earlier, she was just trying to get a rise out of him by pretending to be insubordinate. Knowing this, Vahn shook his head before saying, ("They say the sake in the East is plentiful...are you sure you want to stray away...?") Understanding the implication in Vahns words, Nobunaga, who was currently standing atop a tall high-rise building, allowed a smile to spread across her face as she answered, ("Though the liquor imported from the West had a rich fragrance, there is nothing quite like the taste of home. I suppose Ill head East in the hopes of finding the plentiful harvest youve promised...") Since she was a little too fond of Sake, Nobunaga was willing to y along with Vahn since she knew he could create higher quality stuff than anything she had tasted, both in life and as a Heroic Spirit. With Nobunaga cooperating, Vahn traveled a parallel path to Rin and Fenrir as they slowly made their way in the direction Fenrirs nose indicated. Vahn was honestly a little troubled to be walking so slowly but, understanding the need to remain low-key, he matched his pace with Rins while using the surrounding buildings as cover. Much like Nobunaga, he was acting as a ranged support ss but, instead of using a magical matchlock, Vahn had his [Yoichis Bow] in hand. Though it wasnt nearly as powerful as his [Khryskatos], Vahn had embarrassedly discovered that he was unable to draw thetter with his current strength. Fortunately, his [Yoichis Bow] wasnt all that dissimr from a normal bow and, at least against moving targets, he would be able to almost guarantee a hit at even greater ranges than Nobunaga... While stealthily following after Rin and Fenrir, nearly a full hour had passed by the time they reached their presumed destination. It was now 12:03AM, meaning that the Holy Grail War had officially begun, so all gloves hade off. From this moment onward, Vahn was wrapped up in a game that would determine the life and death of numerous Magi. With Fenrir having tracked the scent to an abandoned building near the outskirts of the city, it was looking like the Sixth Holy Grail War would be especially bloody as there was a good chance the first death would ur not even ten minutes into the event... --- As this wasnt her first Holy Grail War, nor was it the first time she had tracked an enemy Magus into their territory, Rins expression showed no signs of fear. Her aqua-blue eyes passed over every likely location where traps could be hidden while she was in a constantly state of alertness that would allow her to react in an instant. At her side, Fenrir had her spear at the ready as she sniffed the air before nodding her head. This was all Rin needed to know to understand the target was inside but, not know which Servant they had summoned, she knew better than to charge in directly. Instead, using a much higher tier searching spell, Rin purposely alerted the enemy Magus to their presence in order to lure out their Servant... For several minutes, silence was the only response to Rins activation of magic but, just as she was thinking of her next course of action, Fenrir dropped into a low stance before leaping faster than the eye could follow. Rin wasted no time in pulling out a sapphire infused with Magical Power, jumping back a few steps to get a better vantage of the battlefield as Fenrirs figure appeared fifteen meters away, followed by a shockwave and an intense sh of magical energy. Seeing the opponent she had collided with, Rins mind nked for a moment before she shouted, "Pull back...!" at the top of her voice. Even before she heard Rins words, Fenrir already knew her opponent wasnt someone she would be able to defeat while pretending to be a Lancer-ss Servant. This was because, against all any of their expectations, the woman that just sent her back several meters also wielded a spear. Even though they had only exchanged blows once, Fenrirs hands felt numb from the exchange while the blood-red glow in her opponents eyes seemed to have already marked her for death. Stepping back as quickly as she could, Fenrir barely evaded the follow-up strike of the enemy Servant before creating some distance with [Shundo]. Instead of pursuing, the enemy Servant brandished her spear, spinning it around her body a few times before dropping into a low stance. In a monotonous and detached voice, she softly stated, "Know that I harbor no ill will towards you. If you must me anyone, me the people who created this system and the Master who had you pretend to be a Lancer..." With these words leaving her mouth, the womans spear shed with a lethal glimmer as she moved forward at nearly the exact same moment that Fenrirpleted another [Shundo]. Her long purple hair trailed behind her, blurring together with her full-bodybat suit,plete with metallic shoulder protectors. Though she had a curvaceous body, she had the nimbleness and flexibility of a cat that had been elevated to the level of a god as her red spear pierced towards Fenrirs heart like a beam of light... Though it seemed like nothing could stop the Lancers attack, she brought it to an end herself before dodging backward, deflecting two arrows that carried enough momentum to force her back several meters. At the same time, a veritable rain of projectiles struck towards the location she had been pushed back to, causing the Lancer to turn her eyes skyward. Instead of any discernible emotions, the only thing reflected in her eyes was an unerring certainty that seemedpletely invible. Without evading a second time, she began to trace her spear in precise arks that cut down each of the reddish-ck beams that struck towards her. It was impossible to even see the trajectory of her spear but, even without knowing where it was, seeing each beam of magical energy being deflected, even though there didnt seem to be any gaps to exploit, made it very apparent that she was urately knocking them aside... In the midst of this seemingly impossible feat, the Lancers eyes sharpened as her body turned to the side, leaving a distinct trail with her spear as it was temporarily stopped by another heavy projectile. With her stance broken, the remaining projectiles rained down on her, causingrge explosions that continued to build atop each other until an 80m wide sphere of death and destruction had formed. Nobunagas Noble Phantasm was also her primary form of attack so, while standing atop a building a little more than 2km away, sixty matchlocks hovered in the air behind her as they continually barraged the enemy Lancer without cessation. She had an annoyed expression on her face as, instead of breaking the enemys defense on her own, Nobunaga knew it was Vahns arrow that had done what she couldnt... While Nobunaga continued to pepper the area, Rin had retreated to a safe distance while Fenrir had disappeared into the nearby building to deal with the enemy Master. Rins spell hadnt discovered any traps that would be able to threaten Fenrirs safety so, while using herself as bait for the enemy Lancer, she had Fenrir move to deal with the Magus hiding inside the building. They needed only to buy a bit of time, something Nobunaga seemed to be managing on her own, before Fenrir was able to take out the enemy Master and bring the fight to an end... Just as things seemed to be progressing towards their victory, a muchrger shockwave than any of the smaller ones caused by Nobunagas attacks spread through the area. Theyered explosions were cleared away in an instant as, seemingly having suffered no damage at all, the enemy Lancer directed the tip of her spear towards Rin and uttered two words she never thought she would hear again, "Gae Bolg..." Before those words actually reached Rins ears, she already felt a hot sensation in her chest before her body was moved back with an amount of force that even a semi-truck couldnt manage. She couldnt even form any words as darkness encroached on her vision from all sides... --- Seeing that her attack had struck true, the Lancer Servant gave a small bow towards Rins body before muttering, "Forgive me. If it were up to me, I would have preferred to defeat your Servant without having to im your life..." Since she had determined that Fenrir would be able to reach her Master before the barrage came to an end, the enemy Lancer changed her target to Rin in order to conclude the fight. Since Servants would have no reason to fight after their Masters death, in most circ.u.mstances, she believed this would be the best course of action. Unfortunately, things werent going as expected as a phantom appeared in front of her that forced her to leap back with her fastest speed... With her brows raising, the first discernable expression she had shown thus far, the enemy Lancer inly stated, "Another false Lancer...pleasey down your weapon. There is no meaning in our battle..." As her new enemy didnt appear to be a Servant, Lancer wanted to avoid having to take more unnecessary lives. This wasnt a sentiment shared by her opponent, however, as he stabbed forward with a rtively in-looking spear. She could tell that the movement was extremely precise, indicating her opponent had amendable mastery over his own body, but their spearmanship itselfcked the quality of a true master... --- Having his attack deflected to the side with extreme ease, Vahns eyes zed with fiery blue light as he stepped into the enemy Lancers attack range. Her expression didnt change at all as she muttered, "Please forgive me..." in a monotonous tone of voice. Vahn had forgone defense so the enemy Lancer was intending to end the fight in an instant, only to find that her spear impacted against Vahns body before rebounding. To her credit, she immediately stepped back just far enough to evade his spear before stabbing forward with a speed that seemed to be beyond perception. Her spear drew an unbroken trail of red light, much like aser beam, as it struck urately at Vahns throat and sent him tumbling back several meters before rising to his feet, seemingly uninjured. Touching the point where the womans spear had stuck, Vahn felt an itchy sensation that was quickly filtered out by his body. This seemed to genuinely surprise her as she tilted her head to the side before asking, "You are invulnerable...and immune to curses...?" Though she seemed to find this somewhat interesting, Lancer looked away from Vahn in the next moment before releasing a small sigh. She had just felt the link between her and the hateful woman that had be her Master get severed, courtesy of Fenrirs spear. Her Master had used two of her Command Seals in order to force her to consume the energy from living humans and force obedience. Though she could have used her final Command Spell to forcibly summon her, that would have required her Master to give up the opportunity to have her wish granted by the Greater Grail... Looking back at Vahn, the Lancer seemed sincere as she softly stated, "I am sorry if that woman was yourpanion. I am not fond of taking lives unnecessarily...if you have the means, I will not stop you from trying to kill me." Showing no intent to continue the fight, Lancers spear turned into particles of red light as she stood still like a statue and waited for Vahns decision. When he saw this, Vahn just shook his head before saying, "I will not me you for doing your duty, Lancer...besides, you dont need to worry about Rin. She is a bit shaken but it will take more than a single attack to take her out..." Hearing Vahns words, Lancer looked towards where Rins corpse was supposed to be, finding that the locationcked even a small amount of blood. This caused her to tilt her head in confusion once again, asking, "How...?" In response to this, Vahn just shook his head again before saying, "Unless you are willing to join us, you cant expect me to divulge that kind of information. If you ended uping to serve under another Master, that would be the same as exposing one of our trump cards to the enemy." Though Vahn hadnt fully calmed down after seeing Rin stabbed through the heart, he could tell that Lancer wasnt acting with malicious intent. She seemed to have an honorable nature, bringing into question how a Magus that used human sacrifices was even able to summon her... Though she found Vahns words difficult to believe, Lancer seemed to seriously consider the matter before giving a small nod a few secondster. Then, cing her hand atop her heart, deforming her ratherrge b.r.e.a.s.ts in the process, Lancer softly stated, "If you can help grant my wish, I will pledge my spear to your cause..." Wondering what kind of wish such a powerful spearwoman could have, Vahn gave an affirming nod before asking, "What is your wish? Though I mayck the means to grant it now, I will do my best to help you achieve it, even without the Greater Grail." Since he was nning to destroy the Greater Grail and had no intentions of treating any Servants that followed him as disposable tools, Vahn wanted to be forthright with Lancer from the start. This seemed to get across to Lancer as a smile that seemed to brighten the surroundings spread across her lips, elevating her from beautiful to breathtaking in an instant... Just as Vahn was beginning to recover from the shock of seeing Lancers smile, she sincerely stated, "I am the Lancer-ss Servant, Scthach, Queen of the Land of Shadows. My only desire is that someone capable of taking my life would appear...in exchange for the promise of death, I will grant you the victory you seek..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nobunaga slowly getting tamed...,Gae Bolg never kills anyone...,It is nice to meet you. Please kill me.) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1045 - Hindsight

Chapter 1045 - Hindsight

Hearing Scthachs words, Vahn found himself at a loss but, as this wasnt really the best time to stand around talking, he adopted a serious and confident expression before saying, "I am sure you have your reasons. Very well, Scthach, If death is truly your end goal, I have the means to grant it to you..." As he already knew several ways that he could im Scathachs life, even without having to purchase items from the system shop, Vahn was confident he could grant her wish. He didnt know why a Heroic Spirit would have such a peculiar desire but that was something he could unearth after getting Rin safely back to the Manor. With her ability to see through all things and determine their value, Scthach was able to discern the inherent truth contained within Vahns words. At the same time, more than anyone else she had ever seen prior, Vahns potential seemed beyond her ability to quantify. She could neither determine his limits, nor see any lines of fate that would lead to his death. As even Gods were not beyond the ebb and flow of fate, this was of particr interest to her. Thus, finding a strange sce in Vahns words, Scthach surprised Vahn by taking a knee and proiming, "I will keep your words as a precious treasure, Master..." Even with Scthach bowing before him, Vahn didnt receive a notification through The Path so, before things grew too awkward, he asked, ("Sis, how do I contract additional Servants?") Her response, given just as quickly, came as something of a surprise, even though he might have been able to intuit it with a bit more time. Just as when he had contracted Nobunaga, Sis exined, (*You can establish a link by having her ingest your blood directly.*) As blood contracts werent even a rare thing in the Record of Danmachi, Vahn unhesitantly sliced the tip of his finger with a [Sacred Duplex Nail], one of the very means at his disposal if he intended to kill Scthach... Before Vahn even exined, Scthach already seemed to understand his intentions, even if she took it much further than he had expected. Without any hesitation at all, Scthach opened her mouth before closing her lips around his finger, licking the tip with her tongue as she dutifully sucked his blood. Though he had grown ustomed to beauties, there were few women that Vahn had ever met that even came close to Scthach in terms of appearance and sheer presence. Vahn suddenly felt like his neck and cheeks were growing hot as, instead of pulling away, he found himself transfixed by the sight of Scthach drawing his blood. Fortunately, he had a virtually infinite amount avable as, much like Eva, Scthach had a surprisingly voracious appetite... If not for Fenrirs sudden appearance from the nearbypound, Vahn wasnt sure if Scthach would have ever stopped sucking his blood. When she opened her eyes, it became readily apparent that she had benefitted a great deal from his energy-rich blood as, instead of glowing a subtle crimson color, Scthachs eyes were now like glimmering rubies that cut through the darkness. If not for her distinctck of fangs, Vahn would have believed it if Scthach told him she was a Vampire... After rising to her feet, Scthach flexed her hands while turning them around a few times as if inspecting for any change. She then turned her eyes towards Fenrir, causing thetter to stare back as their two sets of scarlet red eyes became locked in an impromptu staring contest. Scthach didnt really seem like the expressive andpetitive type but, without any change in expression, she unerringly stared back at Fenrir without her eyelids so much as flickering a single time. Knowing this could take a while if he left them to their own devices, Vahn gestured to Fenrir, saying, "We need to head back. The appearance of a second Lancer-ss Servant is a greater anomaly than we expected." Though she was unwilling to forfeit the challenge of her own ord, Fenrir immediately broke eye contact with Scthach after hearing her Masters words. She gave an understanding nod before walking over to his side, ring at Scthach the entire way. This seemed to intrigue Scthach a bit but she was more focused on what Vahn had said prior, asking, "You said there is a second Lancer? From what I can tell...though this one has a lot of talent, shecks even a basic foundation with the spear..." Using the same advanced [irvoyance] that she had used to appraise Vahn, Scthach was able to see through Fenrirs lesser, but still limitless potential... Knowing full-well he would have to discuss the topic at length after returning, Vahn just pointed towards a building in the distance instead of answering Scthachs question. This caused her to turn around, the pupils of her eyes contracting to points as she gazed into the gem-like maroon eyes of Ereshkigal in the distance. As someone who had killed several Gods in her time, Scthach was able to immediately understand the nature of Ereshkigals existence. Though she didnt have a spear in hand, her intuition told her that Ereshkigal would not be a simple opponent. This was even more so because, to a degree much greater than her own affinity, Ereshkigal seemed to rule over the very concept of Death... Suddenly feeling as if she had missed her opportunity to die, Scthach lightly shook her head to clear such thoughts before turning back to Vahn and saying, "I can tell that you do not wish to squander time here. Forgive my forestalling our departure. Let us alight, my Master..." Mistaking Ereshkigal to be Vahns means of ensuring her death, Scthach mentally resolved herself to protect the former at all costs. There was nothing more she could ask for than the opportunity to die a warriors death, even if Ereshkigal ultimately proved weaker in spearmanship. The fact that there was a chance that thetter could kill her caused a small stirring in Scthachs heart, much like kindling that was on the verge of bing an inferno with a simple spark... With Scthach turning into a Spirit, Vahn and Fenrir reunited with Ereshkigal while Nobunaga, who had been lounging on a rooftop a few kilometers away, also vanished into magic particles. When they reached her side, Ereshkigal quietly stated, "That woman is abnormal...her body lives, but she has be one with death...my kin, you must exercise caution. To be such an existence, even this Goddess cannot fathom how much death she must have wrought..." As the Goddess of the Underworld, presiding over death since the very moment of her creation, Ereshkigal was genuinely awed by the anomalous existence of Scthach. Most humans would be phantoms, wraiths, or demons after being exposed to death for a long period of time. Scthach, however, had be something bordering on the iprehensible, even for a goddess who presided over the very thing that Scthach seemed to represent... Vahn gave an understanding nod in response to Ereshkigals concerns before asking in a voice of concern, "How is Rin...?" This caused Ereshkigal to ce her hand atop her heart, closing her eyes as she answered, "She is shaken, but otherwise okay. I believe it is more so rted to her inability to act that has her upset than the fact she had almost lost her life..." From the moment Rins heart had been pierced by the Gae Bolg, the [Effigy of the Hero] Vahn forced her to carry activated. Though there was a powerful curse contained within the strike, it had been purged from Rins body in an instant before doubling her capabilities. Instead of allowing her to fight, however, Vahn forced Rin to retreat as, even with her increased power, there was no way she would survive a second blow from Scthach. After the duration of [Effigy of the Hero] had expired, she lost control over all of her bodily functions but, fortunately, this had no effect on Ishtars and Ereshkigals ability to possess her for themselves. Vahn even suspected that she might even be able to make use of up to three [Effigy of the Hero]s at once, something even he couldnt aplish without the use of even more treasures obtained from the shop. This caused him to theorize whether or not it would be possible to change the structure of his body to allow each of his processes to essentially pilot his body, allowing him to bypass some of the restrictions and cooldowns of various items... Deciding to leave such matters untiltter, Vahn surprised Ereshkigal a bit by stroking the top of her head and saying, "You can return Rins body. She might feel better if I carry her back to the Manor..." Though Rin would probably deny his words if she were awake, Vahn knew that her heart would feel very different about the matter. Even girls like Tiona and, though she would never admit it, proud women like Riveria were weak to being carried by the person they cared about. Since there likely wouldnt be many opportunities to experience such a thing, Vahn wanted to give Rin a good excuse to make the most of the moment. Ereshkigal stared nkly for a few seconds, likely listening to something Rin or Ishtar was saying, before ultimately nodding her head and saying, "I leave it to you..." After that, the blond faded from her hair in an instant before Rins body copsed like a marite with its strings cut. Vahn deftly snatched her up before supporting her body in the traditional princess carry. He knew this would be the most effective means of attack and, even though she couldnt move at all, Vahn could feel Rins heart begin to beat furiously in her chest. This caused him to smile before holding her a little closer, an action simr to a hug, before nting a kiss on her forehead and saying, "When you wake up, Ill make you your favorite cheesecake...dont let this set you back too much, okay...?" Though Rin couldnt answer him, Vahn imagined she would have nodded her head if she were able to. She was a strong woman who had faced death several times so, even though this would have resulted in her death under normal circ.u.mstances, the fact she had survived it had the potential of bing either a limiter, or a source for motivation in the future. In truth, once Rin got a bit stronger, Vahn would have incorporated real life and death fights into her training as, even though the [Effigy of the Hero] might teach bad habits, it was still better to adapt your mentality to the concept of death so that, in a situation where it is your final trump card, you will be able to use it properly... Carrying Rin in his arms, Vahn made sure the memory was even more exhrating for her by jumping through the sky, using the buildings as his preferred mode of travel. At the same time, Vahn made sure he was constantly nourishing Rins body with his Source Energy while protecting her against the cold with his domain. He wanted to shorten the interval in which it took for her to be stronger as, after what happened tonight, Vahn was even more aware of the fragility of the people he cared about. Since he wanted to avoid bing overbearingly overprotective once again, Vahn was determined to help, not just Rin, but Fenrir to be much stronger. Thetter could receive a pretty substantial boost through the consumption of various treasures but, based on what Scthach had said, Vahn knew that the best method to increase Fenrirs strength was moreprehensive battle training... After only twenty minutes, made longer by Vahn reducing his speed so as not to harm Rins body, Vahn touched down in front of the Tohsaka Manor withpletely muffled steps. At this point, Rins hair gained a slight purple hue as her eyes opened to reveal the characteristic wine-red of Ishtar. She immediately produced a smile beforementing, "When time allows, I too would like to be carried through the sky in your arms. The veil of moonlight certainly adds to the romanticism and impact of the moment, ufufufu~." At the same time as she said this, Ishtar rested her ear against Vahns heart for a short while before motioning for him to let her down. The whole reason she had ruined the moment between Vahn and Rin was because theter had asked her to deactivate the proximity barrier since she had never gone over the process with Vahn... Though Vahn was perfectly capable of modifying even the basic structure of Rins formation, he kept mum on the matter as Ishtar quickly unlocked the Manors gate. She then looked back, a yful look on her face before ultimately bending over slightly as she backed herself through the gate. Since she was wearing her raiment, which barely served the function of lingerie, Vahn knew that Ishtar was trying to seduce him as the fabric covering her b.r.e.a.s.ts fell under the influence of gravity and allowed full view of her dainty b.r.e.a.s.ts. Even if they hadnt shared a bed together the previous night, Vahn would have found the sight more than a little tantalizing. However, as there were more pressing matters to attend, he reluctantly shook his head before saying, "Make sure to wash her body and get her into bed soon after. I need to contact Luvia and exin the situation before any more surprises ur..." Ishtarughed lightly in response to Vahns words before saying, "Even if it iste in the evening, our door will be open to you. Im certain Rin will recover even faster if she has a warm body toy next to..." With these parting words, Ishtar waved her fingers in a yful manner before skipping to the Manors front door. This was Vahns first time seeing how Ishtar acted outside of the bedroom and, even though it wasnt all that different, seeing how much she enjoyed the simple act of being was rather refreshing. It still felt rather uncanny, borderline wrong, but he was quickly adapting to the new reality he had found himself in after using the [Page of the Akashic Tome]. --- With Rins care being entrusted to Ishtar, something he never would have even imagined pre-page, Vahn found himself in the study with three red-eyed beauties staring at him. As it was an umon eye color, Vahn actually felt his skin tingle with the gazes of Fenrir, Nobunaga, and Scthach all focused on him. This was especially awkward as he was currently talking on the phone with Luvia who, upon picking up the phone, immediately began asking a host of questions that werent rted to the purpose of his call. It wasnt until he released a small sigh and sternly said, "Luvia, focus..." that she finally stopped rambling on and started listening to his report. Unsurprisingly, as she was part of the team investigating other Masters, Luvia had a fair amount of information to provide after Vahn exined the situation. ording to her, outside of five Masters, the others had gone to neither the Mages Association nor the Holy Church to dere they would be participating. Though this wasnt particrly surprising, it was the fact that battles had already urred at several ces throughout the city. From the information they had been able to gather, there were at least eight unidentified Servants that had been involved in the skirmishes, not even counting Scthach. This implied that, at the very least, there were twelve Masters participating in the Holy Grail War... Though this was the conclusion Vahn hade to, Luvia surprised him by rifying, "During the Fifth Holy Grail War, the Assassin ss had actually been summoned by another Servant. After his death, another Assassin had appeared before losing its life against Rin and her Ishtar. Before that, in the Fourth Holy Grail War, the Rider-ss Servant, Iskandar, was able to use a Reality Marble to summon an entire legion of entities that were near the standard of Heroic Spirits. Though it is not the incorrect mentality to assume there are more enemies, it is just as possible that a unique Heroic Spirit is creating fake Heroic Spirits to serve as a distraction. We wont know the true answer until the existence of a Ruler-ss can be verified..." Whenever there was an anomaly that seemed to break the established rules of the Holy Grail War, it was possible that a Rule-ss Servant would be manifested to help keep order. Their purpose was to ensure the Heavens Feel ritual was able to bepleted. Since Rins entourage was determined to destroy the Greater Grail, it was highly possible that the same system that scanned the Masters was able to determine their true intentions. In order to protect itself, or perhaps guarantee there wasnt a third failure, Lord El-Melloi II and Rin had already ounted for the possibility that a Ruler would appear. The biggest problem this posed was the fact that, when summoned, a Ruler-ss was often far stronger than the vast majority of summoned Servants. Since there were literal Gods being manifested, the odds of the summoned Ruler-ss being a more powerful entity were extremely high... As much as he was loathed to admit it, Vahn realized he had underestimated the seriousness of the Holy Grail War. Though Scthach was still unable to harm him, she was far stronger than he had expected any of the enemy Servants to be. His willingness to allow Fenrir and Rin to take a proactive role in the event was quickly beginning to fizzle out and, if not for the former watching him with her unwavering gaze, Vahn felt like he might havee to the decision to deny them participation. Instead, he decided he would just take a more proactive role during the moments he moved alone, entrusting Rin and Fenrir to deal with other matters under the protection of Nobunaga and Scthach. With theirbined prowess in ranged and meleebat, Vahn knew they would be a truly terrifying duo in most situations... Towards the end of his conversation with Luvia, immediately following him wishing Luvia a good night, thetter quickly eximed, "Wait! Dont hang up just yet...!" Though Vahn was tempted to do just that, Luvia had provided him with quite a bit of information so he reluctantly asked, "What is it, Miss Edelgard...?" When she had been given the opportunity to speak, Luvias voice sounded a little happy through the speaker as she said, "Please call me Luvia from now on. Go ahead, try saying, "Goodnight, Luvia~"." Feeling his mind nk for a brief moment, Vahn then shook his head before deciding to humor Luvia as he inly stated, "Goodnight, Luvia..." This elicited a happy squeal from the other end of the phone, causing Vahn to immediately hang up before holding down the power button. His intuition told him that he would have a veritable wall of texts to read in the morning but that would have to wait until then. For the time being, Vahn turned his attention to the three red-eyes girls before taking a deep breath and saying, "Lets talk about our battle strategy for the future. Things are going to get a lot more hectic from this moment onward..." (A/N: [Effigy of the Hero] is the real MC,Ishtars peculiarity...,Luvias persistence...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1046 - Pragmatism

Chapter 1046 - Pragmatism

With three shades of crimson reflected in his view, Vahn locked gazes with the one in the center, causing Fenrirs eyes to droop as she already knew what he was going to say. Surprising her, however, Vahn didnt mention how she had lost directly, stating, "I have underestimated the strength, speed, and skill of our opponents. To prepare for uing battles, Im going to set up a formation in the bas.e.m.e.nt to house a Sub-Space Orb..." After saying this much, Vahn turned his gaze upon Scthach before pausing for a brief moment when her eyes pierced through him. For a brief moment, his heart involuntarily sped up a bit, something she seemed to notice since an almost imperceptible smile spread across her otherwise expressionless face... After having researched Scthachs legend, Vahn believed he had a good understanding of her character so, garnering no surprise from her, he asked, "Can you help Fenrir and I with our training? Irish legend speaks highly of your skills as a Mentor..." Though there were quite a few things that the legends didnt speak highly of, Vahn wasnt going to pass judgment on Scthach for events he had only read about, not witnessed. The only thing that really mattered was, much like Musashi had in the Record of Danmachi, Scthach had pushed her skill to a point that it transcendedmon-sensepletely. It was almost as if, so long as she believed it to be possible, Scthach was able to perform nigh-any feat with her legendary set of spears, the [Gae Bolg]s that she seemed able to manifest as a pure concentration of her intent... Not disappointing Vahn, Scthach gave a small nod before answering, "I have determined that both you and yourpanion are worth teaching. If it is your will, my Master, I would deign to instruct you in your pursuits. So long as it is not a unique skill or ability, I am able to conduct myself as a master in any form of fighting. Know that I will not hold back once we begin so prepare yourself well..." Hearing Scthach speak several sentences in sequence, Vahn didnt know why but he felt as if she were somehow pushing herself. Because she spoke in a cold monotone, it was strange hearing her speak full sentences, much less several simultaneously. In a way, she had a simr vibe to Ais but, contrarily, had no problems with making her opinion known in a surprisingly direct manner. Still, he appreciated her willingness to participate in their training, even if he severely underestimated the menu she put her students through. Unless you were someone truly exceptional, it was the fate of almost all who sought Scthachs guidance to die as a result of their mediocrity... Having keyed in on what Scthach had said, Fenrir surprisingly spoke out of turn, gazing towards the taciturn beauty as she asked, "You can teach all weapons...?" To this, Scthach immediately nodded her head, exining, "If not for the knowledge of the abyss, I would not know how many I have fought and in. The spear has be an expression of my existence but my path has been one that pursues the mastery of all things. To master oneself is to be without weakness...opening the path towards a future of limitless possibilities..." With her skill [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground] granting her a form of omniscience,bined with her [irevoyance] providing her insight into both her opponents and the future, Scthach was just as capable of using a weapon she had never picked up before as some Servants that had imed to master them... While Fenrir seemed satisfied with Scthachs answer, Vahn was more than a little surprised that the first Servant he ended up recruiting ended up being exactly what they needed right now. Though the odds of him using a Sub-Space Orb after receiving a setback was par for the course, it almost seemed like the product of fate that they ended up encountering the one Servant who seemed capable of increasing their strength in the shortest period of time. Though this wasnt entirely urate, as Scthach would be honing their skills, not actual power, there was a point where skill actually overtook strength and became something beyondstandard concepts. As he looked over Scthachs status, Vahn couldnt help wondering what other monsters they would encounter during this corrupt Holy Grail War... ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Scthach] Age: Ageless Race: Human, Divine Spirit Strength: 44B+ Endurance: Agility: 50A++ Magical Power: 37C Good Luck: 20D Soul Tier: 4 (Fragmented Divine) Noble Phantasm: [Ge Bolg Alternative: Myriad Spears of ughter:B~A ], [Gate of Skye:SS] Origin: Spear, ughter, Divine, Bestow Skills: [Blood-Stained Phantasm:Innate:SS], [Pathfinder:Innate:SS], [Scthach:Innate:S], [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground:Innate:(-)], [irvoyance:SS], [Magic Resistance:A], [God yer:B] Magic: (-) Magecraft: [Primordial Rune:SSS], [Overload:SS] [irvoyance] Rank: SS Passive: Allows the user to determine the strengths, weaknesses, and value of all objects. Active: Allows the user to read the flow of a battle, determining the most likely oue. With a special ceremony, this efficacy of this skill can be pushed to the level of prophecy. [Magic Resistance] Rank: A Use: The users ability to resist all magic of equal rank and lower. Provides moderate resistance to higher-ranked magics. [God yer] Rank: B Use: The culmination of the users mastery, pushed to such extremes that even Gods and Divine Spirits are not beyond the ability of the user to kill. So long as there is the intent to kill, provides a massive increase to parameters against entities of Divine origin. [Primordial Rune] Rank: SSS Use: The precursor to [Rune Magic], dating far back to the Age of Gods. Consists of a series of thirty-nine runes that allow the user to use B~S-Ranked Magecraft without the need for chants. True mastery has allowed the user to reach the point that runes need not be inscribed on any surface as even the void itself will suffice. [Overload] Rank: SS Use: The users ability to expel Magical Power before reabsorbing into the body. Upon taking in external Magical Power, all of the users parameters are increased depending on the quality and quantity of the consumed energy. ------------------------------------------------------------------- If not for his ssification as a Greater Divine Spirit, Vahn felt that he would have few advantages against someone of Scthachs caliber. As a human who had reached Tier 4 through her skill alone, Vahn was actually far more afraid of her than he was most Gods. Since they were often born with their abilities, or relied entirely upon their Divinity, few Gods pushed their skills to the extreme. In a way, they were much like him, possessing an incredible amount of power without having the means to use it to its full potential. Scthach, however, pushed her skill beyondprehension, reaching Tier 4 and almost immediately overtaking most Gods from the very moment of her ascent... Since Scthach might not even be the most powerful entity summoned by the Holy Grail, he was once again reminded that he had been arrogant and overconfident. Just reading her [God yer] skill was enough to make Vahns skin crawl as, if she really wanted him dead, Vahn felt she would be able to achieve the feat. Fortunately, knowing that such skills existed gave Vahn a greater sense of relief as, had he been taken by surprise, there was a non-negligible chance he might have been ejected from the Record. Though he should be contained within the Root, for the time being, meaning even death theoretically had no sway over him. Still, Vahn would have to rely on Akasha to reunite with Fenrir, once again assuming he wasnt outright forced out of the Record. The thought of leaving her behind sobered him up a great deal, opening Vahns eyes to the severity of the situation he now found himself in... Shaking away negative thoughts, Vahn turned his attention to Nobunaga who, for thest couple of minutes, had been silently working down the contents of a bottle of sake he had provided. When she saw him looking her way, Nobunaga hugged the bottle to her chest in a protective manner before saying, "Hey now, you gave this to me. I might share it with you if you ask nicely, but dont expect any handouts." This immediately caused Fenrirs ears to stand on end as she red at Nobunaga and growled, "You should be grateful to Master for giving you a gift after your attack failed to even buy enough time for me to kill the enemy..." Hearing Fenrirs words, Nobunagas eyes squinted into fierce lines as she raised her head, uttering, "Ooooh...? Thising from the girl who was immediately sent running after the first contact with the enemy? If your Master-." Before Nobunaga couldplete her sentence, Vahn began to emit a powerful pressure through the room as his eyes locked onto her. Fenrir was the most aware of her failure, to the point that she would probably beat herself over it for days toe, so he found it reprehensible that Nobunaga would use such harsh words, even if Fenrir had picked the fight. Clenching her teeth in response to the mountain-like pressure that had descended upon her, Nobunaga soon dispersed into magical energy as her voice echoed in his ears, ("My words may be harsh, but you are only reinforcing the safety bubble you built around your little pet. I get it, Vahn, I really do. You want to protect the people closest to you, especially after whatever happened prior to youing to this world. If you keep coddling her like this, though, youre only going to turn her into a spoiled brat that relies on her Master to bail her out each and every time. You ever think about what will happen when you arent there...?") With herst few words fading, so too did Nobunagas presence within the room. Though Nobunagas words were more than a little harsh, Vahn noticed that Fenrir had perked up a bit after he reprimanded Nobunaga on her behalf. She even smiled back at him when they locked eyes, something that would have normally made Vahns heart gently palpitate a few times. This time, however, Vahn caused Fenrirs pupils to shrink when he released a heavy sigh and said, "Tonight, you will have to sleep at the foot of the bed. No brushing. Though Nobunagas words were unnecessarily harsh, you shouldnt have picked a fight with her from the start. If she and I hadnt provided support, you know better than anyone how things would have developed...please be more considerate..." For a brief moment, Fenrir had a look of absolute betrayal on her face as her ears lost all their power to remain upright. Vahns heart twisted painfully in his chest when he saw this but, as if realizing something, Fenrirs expression became serious as she nodded her head and said, "I understand, Master. I will take your words to heart and be better in the future..." As the person who had wanted her Master to be harsher with her, Fenrir bounded back almost immediately. Though she still felt sad and anxious, there was also a strange fort knowing that her Master was willing to punish her. In a way, though she wasnt quite sure how to describe it, Fenrir felt as if she was finally beginning to close the distance between them... Vahn had no words to describe how he felt after seeing Fenrirs resolute look. Ultimately, he settled on pride and, if not for the fact he had just said she was going to be punished, Vahn would have reached his hand over to pat her head. She caught onto this fact quite quickly, leading to the rather peculiar sight of Fenrir patting her own head with a happy smile on her face. Vahn could onlyugh wryly upon seeing this, at least until Scthach suddenlymented, "The bond shared between the two of you is something rarely seen within the world. Vahn, as Fenrir is willing to call you Master, you must never betray her trust by giving her more leeway than you would grant yourself. Fenrir, if you wish to make your Master proud, hold onto that feeling inside your heart. The journey may be long but, so long as you never stop walking forward, you will eventually reach your destination..." Hearing Scthachs words, both Vahn and Fenrir had nk expressions on their faces before ultimately nodding their head in understanding. Fenrir seemed to treat this advice especially serious, balling both of her paws into tight fists as a resolute light glowed within her eyes. As for Vahn, his face had formed a smile while, internally, he was asking, ("Are all Heroic Spirits going to end up shaking my world view in such a way? First Nobunaga, now Scthach...the quality of Heroes in this world is much higher than those found in Danmachi...") In response to this, Sisughed from the back of his mind before remarking, (*Perhaps there are greater benefits to visiting this world than simply growing stronger. If you want to return to everyone without worrying them, experiencing some emotional growth will help you a great deal.*) With even Sis making such remarks, Vahn felt a little more determined than before, causing him to match gazes with Scthach before saying, "We will both be in your care for a time. I will do my best to meet your expectations..." Though it sounded like he was talking about just being her student, Scthach knew the greater implication behind Vahns words. A small smile spread across her lips as she tilted her head to the side slightly and said, "Yes...I have no doubt your words are the truth..." As she still couldnt see through him, after watching Vahn for several hours, Scthachs impression had only increased with the passage of time. Though she had to constantly break through her limits in the past, forever aspiring towards greater heights, Scthach couldnt sense any limits within Vahn from the very start... Coming to an understanding with Scthach, Vahn was thinking about the matter of the Sub-Space orb when she suddenly sent an arrow into his heart by mentioning, "I will train both of you to the fullest extent of my abilities. In order to do so, I will be relying on Master to provide me with Mana. I do not possess the ability to act independently so I will have to inconvenience you often..." Each of Scthachs sentences were direct and to the point, causing Vahn to take damage every time she punctuated a sentence. He didnt understand it himself, but Scthachs presence and beauty were nearly as iprehensible as her spearmanship, causing Vahn to feel strangely fl.u.s.tered when she looked at him and said such things with an entirely expressionless face... After recovering from his momentary stupor, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Whenever you are low on mana, just let me know...I have a few methods to help replenish your reserves." Though she seemed to ept his statement, Scthach seemed determined to shatter Vahns psyche as she spontaneously ced her hand atop her stomach before emotionlessly stating, "If it would ease your burden, do not hesitate to use my body to ease your tensions. You are my student from this point onward. I will not ept you using the excuse that you are feeling anemic to perform beneath my expectations of you. Taking a source of mana directly into my body will allow me to continue fighting for longer periods of time." Each sentence leaving Scthachs mouth, while pragmatic, resounded in both Vahns and Fenrirs ears like bombs erupting right next to them. Vahn was perfectly aware of what Scthach was implying as, even during his discussions with Rin about the Holy Grail War, she had attested to the need of using such means on asion. It was even spected that, the reason the vast majority of Servants appeared as women was due to most Masters being men. The Grail seemed to use this as a means of bncing things so that Masters with weaker Magical Power, or an inability to transfer Mana through their Magical Pathways, were able to ensure their Servants could keep fighting. After all, even if they were against the idea, a single use of a Command Spell wouldpel the Servant to follow their Mastersmand... For a brief moment, Vahn imagined himself ordering Scthach to service him, resulting in yet another blush touching his cheeks. Since he had endeavored to improve his control in the past, Vahn had no idea why Scthach was able to influence him so much. It could be due to the fact that her bodysuit left nothing to the imagination, further enting her already ephemeral beauty, but Vahn spected it had more to do with her presence. It wasnt a secret, even back in the Record of Danmachi, that Vahn had a weakness for women that had tragic pasts. Some women had tried to use this to get into his good graces, to the point of fabricating stories that could be written into books ssified under the Horror genre. Scthach, however, while simultaneously being a powerful warrior with few equals, had an unbelievably tragic past. Though Vahn didnt know all the details, just the fact that she sincerely desired death to the point that she wanted to use the Grails power to wish for it, seemed to resonate with whatever part of him was drawn to tragic women... Though not quite a sigh, Vahn exhaled long and slowly while supporting his head with his right hand. He noticed that his breath was tinged with warmth while, resisting all his efforts to keep it steady, his heart was pulsing in a chaotic rhythm within his chest. Ultimately, however, Vahn reigned in the temptation swelling up inside of him, making eye contact with the seeming unperturbable Scthach as he said, "My constitution allows me to replenish my blood endlessly...dont worry, I wont make excuses during our training..." Scthach tilted her head to the side in response, showing a sh of confusion across her eyes as she could, even without her ability to see through people, tell that Vahn desired her body. With the tone of a lecturer, she inly stated, "If you hold back your urges, you will cause instability within your mind. A warrior that is unable to control their emotions leaves gaps that the enemy can exploit if they are clever. In my time, before I was forced to the outside, it was not umon for men to fight to the death to obtain the wives and daughters of others. I havein with many of my students in order to promote their growth. You need not restrain yourself, Master, as I too desire the touch of a man..." Vahn felt like his brain was being overloaded by Scthachs words, nearly causing him toment that they were no longer in her homnd. At the same time, he wondered what kind of ce Irnd had been to cause even someone like Scthach to simply ept such things asmonce. As a result, Vahns head was filled with a flood of information so that he might make some sense of the current situation. Reading through Scthachs legend in particr, Vahn found that her words were indeed credible, not that he doubted her. There was even a ridiculous ounting of her giving her daughter to the man who had broken her finger and in her husband. Apparently, in order to take responsibility, he assumed the role of her deceased husband after unceremoniously skewering him with a spear... Realizing that Scthachs perspective was extremely skewed, Vahn knew he wouldnt be able to convince her otherwise. Now, even without her previous words, Vahn knew he would find himself thinking ofying with her whenever his mind wandered. It was like she had ensnared him in an inescapable trap, oneprised of her willingness and his knowledge of her tragic existence. It now felt like a matter of time before they had s.e.x, the only thing dying the affair being his quickly crumbling apprehensions... While her Master seemed to have retreated into his own mind, Fenrir red at the imcable Scthach with glowing red eyes. She knew this kind of woman was the most dangerous to her Master because, on top of having looks that made Fenrir feel incredibly envious, Scthach was a strong and capable woman who knew exactly what she wanted. Her Master would inevitably break around women like her and, even though he would get better soon after, Fenrir didnt like how it felt like he was being manipted. In her mind, her Master was someone who should always be taking the lead, not someone who was led around by the nose with questionable justifications... Scthach, feeling Fenrirs gaze on her, smoothly pivoted her head before staring back with her vibrant crimson eyes. Even though she knew Fenrir was far from her match, she could feel a lingering threat that radiated from the deepest depths of the petite Vanargandrs scarlet eyes. Feeling the promise contained within that gaze, Scthach showed a genuine smile that made Fenrirs expression harden when she said, "You are too possessive...but I do not hate that frankness. If you can convert those feelings into power, you will be truly strong." Then, causing Fenrir to jump back with enough force to tear apart the sofa, Scthachs hand had reached her head before she even noticed it, gently stroking her ears... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A talkative Kuudere...,Scthach is a little too OP...?,Vahns kryptonite) (A/N: Seriously though, if you start reading some of the old Irish myths, youll quickly learn that what Scthach says is just the tip of the iceberg. By the time I finished my research, my respect for Cu Chinn had all but vanished as, other than a few boss moments, the man was a monster. There are so many inconsistencies in his legends but, the one thing that rings true throughout is that almost every woman he had a child with was through force and coercion. Hell, the man even killed his own son by ident, skewering him with his Gae Bolg just because he was struggling in what was supposed to be an honorable duel...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1047 - Focus

Chapter 1047 - Focus

With the dawn of a new day, the Holy Grail War entered into a temporary cease-fire of sorts, giving any Masters and Servants who had struggled the previous night a momentary reprieve. Though it was not impossible for conflict to take ce during the day, the chances were slim as, unless they were supremely confident in their ability to secure the Grail, few would risk bing the target of Executors from the Holy Church and Mages Association. Conversely, if you actually had enough power that you neednt fear these two forces, there was no real need for you to even obtain the Grail. Once you reached the pinnacle of the world, having wishes that could only be granted within the limit of the World itself lost its meaning. Deciding to use his day as productively as possible, Vahn had ultimately extricated himself from the tense atmosphere created by Scthachs direct nature. She was currently conserving her energy be lingering about in her Spirit form while Fenrir, having been triggered by Scthachs actions, could be found practicing her [Shundo] ceaselessly within the garden. As for Nobunaga, Vahn wasnt quite sure where she had run off to but, considering her personality, Vahn imagined she was interacting with the people of the modern era to pass the time. He wasnt entirely sure why, but Vahn could imagine Nobunaga walking around town with a girl on each arm, even though she herself was a woman... In order to gain as much additional time as possible, Vahn was currently within the bas.e.m.e.nt setting up a formation that was likely to blow Rins mind when she saw it. Not only did it use runes that even Vahn didnt know the origin of, as he just wrote them out second-naturedly, but the basic principles that made the formation function were fundamentally different than modern Magecraft. Though the formations basic purpose was to gather Elemental Energy, this was apletely different concept to formations that would indiscriminately draw in Mana. After all, even in theplete absence of Mana, Elemental Energy could be drawn from the very void itself, a process that modern Magi would interpret as True Magic. By the time he had finished his task, the entire bas.e.m.e.nt was covered in severalyers ofplex runes while, located on the floor and ceiling, two simple squares formed the only gaps within the formation. This was the concept of using a ward, the core of Evas Magic System, to serve as a gate that would consolidate each of the four basic elements at each corner before converting them, albeit inefficiently, into the far moreplex structure of the Space and Time elements. Vahn didnt have Terras dominion to rely on anymore and, as he couldnt be around to maintain the formation at all times, he needed to have a constant supply of moreplex energies to power the Sub-Space orb... Vahn, now havingpleted the formation, began preparing the materials that would be necessary to produce a Sub-Space. Before he could even begin forming the orb, however, a ripple of magical energy caught his attention as Scthach appeared with her characteristically expressionless face. As a Heroic Spirit whose skill in Magecraft was nearly the equal of her skill as a warrior, Scthach found the structure of Vahns magic circle, which even her [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground]cked details about, particrly interesting. As for Vahn, he had taken in a sharper-than-normal breath before rxing as it seemed Scthach was more interested in the formation than focused on him... Though he was tempted to exin the logic behind the magic circle, Vahn could see that Scthach was determined to figure it out on her own. Deciding to continue with the production of the Sub-Space Orb, Vahn did his best to ignore her presence as she walked around the room, tracing her fingers over various spots within the formation. Fortunately, as was often the case, Vahn found himself immersed in his work after mentally blocking Scthachs movements from his perception. He wasnt unaware of her location, as he passively regarding everything within his domain, but Vahn was able to increase his focus to an extreme level as he began channeling his Source Energy into the Sub-Space Orb to form its inner world... As much as she had been interested in the formation, Scthach immediately turned her attention to Vahn when she detected the unique fluctuations of his mana. Every time she sensed it, Scthach found herself profoundly confused as, no matter what she tried to make of it, her mind and senses seemed unable toprehend its structure. In a way, Vahns mana felt simr to Divine Energy but, as this was something she was easily able to discern, the fact that there was uncertainty within her assessment caused Scthach to observe Vahn even closer. Without him seeming to pay any attention to her, Scthach had approached close enough that her b.r.e.a.s.ts were nearly touching his back as she peered into the developing Sub-Space Orb with her crimson eyes glimmering with a mystical light. In his state of intense focus, Vahn concentration was mildly affected by the fact that beads of sweat had started to consolidate on his brow and nose before dripping onto the rainbow-hued surface of the otherwise clear-as-crystal sphere. Just as he was preparing to wipe his brow to eliminate the distraction, Vahns mind nked a bit when a towel entered the periphery of his vision before almost imperceptibly wiping the pooling sweat. The action was so swift and deft that Vahns actual vision hadnt been obscured in the slightest, even as the towel gently removed the drop of sweat that had been about to fall from his nose. Ultimately, however, Vahn focus ended up being destroyedpletely as he couldnt help but turn his attention to the source of the towel, Scthach... Surprisingly, instead of apologizing for breaking his focus, Scthach took on a slightly stern tone as she said, "Stay focused. Do not let outside distractions prevent you frompleting what you set out to do." Though they hadnt started training yet, Scthach was already acting in the capacity of a Teacher who had just found her student cking off. Vahn, however, wasnt quick to abide by her words as he frowned slightly before saying, "Im too conscious of your presence at the moment. You might be right about it being a fault all my own, but I need you to leave so I can finish working in peace." In response to his words, Scthach squinted her eyes slightly before asking, "Is this your true desire?" To this, Vahn once again shook his head before turning his attention to the Sub-Space Orb and saying, "Wants, needs, desires, these are things that people cant really escape. That doesnt mean I need to be a ve to them, though...leave me, Scthach, I have made my decision." Vahn was the most aware of how tempted he was around Scthach and, while he knew a time woulde where he gave in to such urges, he had no intentions of doing so in the present. If he just gave in to every urge as it appeared, Vahn felt he would be no better than an animal. From the very moment he gave up his dignity in exchange for a fleeting moment of pleasure, Vahn knew he would have stepped onto a path different than the one he intended to walk... Sensing the conviction in Vahns words and actions, Scthach gave an approving nod before vanishing into thin air. This didnt stop her words from reaching him, however, as she stated, ("So long as you are honest with yourself, I will not deny there is value in your way of doing things. Even if I am to be your Teacher, the path you ultimately walk is something only you can decide. Take care, my Master...") With these fleeting words, Scthachs presence disappeared from the bas.e.m.e.nt like nothing more than a stray thought. Though Vahnmitted her words to memory, finding a fragment of wisdom contained within, he wasted no time before immediately returning to his work on the Sub-Space Orb... --- As a result of his tireless efforts, Vahn had managed toplete his work on the Sub-Space Orb with two hours to spare before dusk descended upon them. He had been aware of the small events urring within the Manor, including the awakening of Rin and Scthachs refusal to allow her to enter the bas.e.m.e.nt, but they hadnt distracted him frompleting his task. The only thing that remained was providing it without enough energy to jump start the activation of the Orb. Under normal circ.u.mstances, it would take a few days for the formation to take effect but, as the Holy Grail War could be over by then, Vahn didnt have time to spare. In fact, the whole reason he had spent the day developing the Orb was specifically due to hisck of time... Purchasing around 43,000,000 OP worth of supplies, Vahn ced what appeared to be several crystalline pirs throughout the bas.e.m.e.nt. Each had a different color, red representing fire, blue representing water, green representing wind, and yellow representing earth. These pirs alone cost 10,000,000 OP each but, so long as they were not damaged, they would provide a constant trickle of their respective Elemental Energies into the formation. Though the formation could eventually sustain itself using the Elemental Energy drawn from the void, Vahn was artificially elerating the process to avoid having to wait around. It was for this purpose that he spent the remaining three-million OP to purchase consumables to help replenish his Source Energy reserves. Even more than the Elemental Energy itself, the more important part of the activation process was ensuring the Laws programmed into the Orb were stable... With less difficulty than he had expected, Vahn ultimately ended up releasing a heavy sigh of relief as he looked down at the now crystal clear Sub-Space Orb. If you looked closely, it was possible to see a t white ne that represented the floor as, unlike the Sub-Space Orb designed for constant use back in the Hearth Manor, Vahns only intention for this particr orb was for training purposes. Though he would still install a bathroom and arge bath, as these were always a necessity, the rest of the space within the orb was leftpletely nk. The only thing that broke up the seemingly endless expanse of white wererge concentric rings, each interspaced with a 10km distance between each other, that designated the pression ratio of Space. Vahn had designed it with no upper limit so, theoretically, it was possible to move away from the center of the Sub-Space Orb until you reached a point where Space became solid... As his currentprehension didnt allow him to fully understand what this phenomenon would be like, Vahn decided he would just have to experience it directly when he got strong enough. The important thing was that he now had a Sub-Space Orb with a dtion ratio of 7:1, a marked improvement from the 6:1 ratio he had managed in his previous world. Fortunately, though his power had been reduced significantly, his understanding of the Laws had only improved with the passage of time. Though he had to adapt his mindset to the logic of the Record he inhabited, that was only in-so-far as he was unable toprehend why he couldnt ignore those rulespletely... Without him noticing when she had arrived, Vahn felt like his subprocess nearly jumped out of his body when Scthach suddenly asked, "What is this sphere?" Since she had detected that Vahn was no longer focused on his work, Scthach had wasted no time in appearing at his side once again. As the [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground] was supposed to provide her with all knowledge, she couldnt help feeling intrigued at things she had no knowledge of, as they simply shouldnt exist. Though she could recount a time before she knew everything, down to the microsecond, Scthach had lost her motivation to care about such things long ago. What she observed of Vahn, however, stirred the small part of her humanity that had neverpletely faded away, the intrinsic desire to know whatys beneath the surface, what made something tick... Shaking his head in mild exasperation, Vahn ced his hand on the Sub-Space Orb before inly stating, "Do as I do..." before vanishing immediately thereafter. Scthach tilted her head slightly upon seeing this, her expression otherwise unchanged as she ced her palm on the orb and vanished in much the same manner. As there were few things beyond her perception, Scthach was surprised by her failure to understand how she had been transported. The concepts of Space and Time were very familiar to her but, even as a resident of the Shadow Lands, a dimension that previously existed outside the standard axis of time, the Sub-Space Orbs structure eluded her. Though it was almost impossible to tell, given that her expression remained unchanged, Vahn could feel that Scthach was drawing a nk as to how she should react. Using this as an opportunity to lead the conversation in a controble direction, Vahn exined, "Within this space, time flows seven times faster than on the outside. As to how it works...well, just consider that a secret of mine that Im not at liberty to disclose. From now on, we will use this ce as our training ground so were not limited by the constraints of space and time. In order to leave, you need only focus on or say the word Totum..." The moment the keyword left his lips, Vahn vanished from the Sub-Space Orb in a sh of light that was gone in an instant. Scthach, upon hearing the word and processing its meaning, also ended up being ejected soon thereafter. Before she could even process her reaction to the event, Scthach was already back within the bas.e.m.e.nt while Vahn looked towards her with what she saw as a teasing smile on his face. This caused realization to sh across her eyes as she began to better understand the nature of her new student. As someone who aspired to master all things, even though she had long felt the task itself mundane and pointless, Scthachs thought process began to shift slightly to better facilitate her future interactions with Vahn. Unaware that he had effectively executed a line of programming within Scthachsputer-like thought process, Vahn turned his attention towards the ceiling as he said, "I imagine Rin isnt all that happy to have been denied ess to her own bas.e.m.e.nt and workshop. If I dont make her the cheesecake I had promised her, shell probably never let me hear the end of it..." With that said, Vahn began to make his way towards the stairs before ultimately finding his advanced halted as Scthach ced her hand on his shoulder and said, "Before that, I must ask that you help me replenish my reserves. Though I do not mind others witnessing the process, I imagine it will make things difficult for you if others observe." Hearing Scthachs words, Vahn internally sighed as his sub-process mind almost immediately imagined more intimate acts than she was even implying at the moment. Setting these thoughts aside, Vahn once more cut open his finger, this time saying, "I dont mind if you drain my blood...just dont be weird about it..." Even if he was the one that was actually being weird about the act, Vahn felt that Scthachs behavior wasnt exactly helping the situation any. She had nearly taken his finger in her mouth again, extending her dainty red tongue in what he felt was an overly seductive manner, so Vahn had spoken without even thinking about the words themselves. Scthach just gave an understanding nod in response before closing her eyes and cing her lips around the very tip of his finger. Though the suction force was still very powerful, she wasnt creating additional suction with her tongue this time so it felt significantly less intimate. She also avoided staring back at him with her crimson-red eyes, choosing to keep them closed for the few minutes necessary topletely recover her mana. Upon finishing, she very casually pulled her lips away before giving a small nod and vanishing into particles of mana. This was her way of conveying that she intended to preserve her energy as, with theing of night, the second day of the Holy Grail War was already upon them... Vahn found himself looking forward to a hard fight in the evening as, though it hadnt even been two days since he had s.e.x, there was a lot of tension in his body. Seeing Fenrir and Rin exposed to danger had impacted him quite a bit so, with thebination of Scthachs presence and the focus required to produce a Sub-Space Orb, Vahn needed the means to vent. As having s.e.x would only exacerbate the issue, unless he went all-out, Vahn wanted to fight against a strong enemy to alleviate his building urges. Since Scthach ended up being far more powerful than expected, he was hoping a capable enemy would appear as, unlike the previous night, he had no intentions of simply hiding in the back. That n had nearly gotten Fenrir and Rin both seriously injured, with thetter nearly dying, so Vahn had thrown such roundabout methods to the wind... With that in mind, Vahn gave onest look at the Sub-Space Orb before cing his palm on a seemingly inconspicuous spot on the wall. This caused all of the runes making of therger formation to dim slightly as, instead of being clear, the Sub-Space Orb began to radiate a rainbow hue as a thick fog obscured its insides. Vahn wasnt just going to leave such an advanced piece of Magecraftying around for anyone to have ess to. Though the Tohsaka Manor seemed rtively secure, Vahn didnt believe for a moment that there werent more than a few enemies capable of breaking in while they were away. As the Sub-Space Orb itself was even more advanced than the concept of a Reality Marble, Vahn knew it would cause all of the ancient monsters leading the three factions to take action. Now, even if they did gain ess to the bas.e.m.e.nt, the only thing touching the orb would aplish was having nearly all of your mana drained in an instant. Any attempt to force your way inside, or steal the Orb itself, would cause the surrounding formation to reverse the flow of mana, effectively destroying the entire Tohsaka Manor along with the Orb and the surrounding formation. Though Rin would probably go on a tirade as a result, Vahn was confident he would be able to pacify her with a bit of magical knowledge and a few cating gestures... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Focus...,BEGONE THOT...!,Scthach is like an advanced AI...be careful, Vahn!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1048 - Prelude

Chapter 1048 - Prelude

Though it was alreadyter than they would normally eat dinner, Vahn found a rather disgruntled Rinying listlessly with her head against the dining room table. She had eaten a light lunch but, due to her increased activity over thest week or so, Rins appetite had increased greatly. Now, she was grumbling nearly as much as her stomach as sheined, "Gnnuuu...if he doesnt show up soon, I swear Ill take a bite out of him instead...fuuu...." Unaware of the fact Vahn had just entered the room, Rin was partaking in one of the little soliloquys she was known for. Vahn felt like this was another expression of her fate or luck, as the fact she murmured such a thing now seemed rather conveniently timed... Deciding to y along, Vahn approached Rin inplete silence before pulling a slice of her favorite cheesecake from his Inventory sliding it in front of her face. Suddenly having something enter the periphery of her vision, Rin startled like a frightened rabbit as she jumped up from her chair, nearly headbutting Vahns chin in the process. Vahn easily evaded the surprise attack before cing his hands on Rins shoulder to keep her from falling backward as he softly whispered, "Its okay, Rin...its just me..." This caused her to immediately release a heavy sigh before leaning back against his chest andining, "Now isnt really the best time to try and spook me..." in a monotone voice. Knowing she was right, Vahn felt apologetic but, understanding she would recover faster if he gave her a few small pushes, he responded by kissing the top of her head wrapping his arms around her body. This caused Rins face to form a frown as her cheeks quickly began shifted from her usual fairplexion into a deep, ruddy, color. Since she had fallen silent, Vahn started to gently rock her body in his arms while asking, "Are you okay...?" in an even softer tone than before. Staying silent for several seconds longer, Rin finally responded by ovepping his hands with her own as she somberly stated, "I would be dead if not for you...thank you, Vahn..." As shaken as she was from her experience, Rin was surprised that she seemed to care more about his state of mind than her own. Since she had been the one to insist on their n, knowing full well Vahn didnt want them exposed to danger, Rin felt extremely apologetic but had no way of expressing it. Fortunately, while Vahn had been busy throughout the day, she had a lot of time to talk with Ereshkigal and Ishtar to get her thoughts in order. This was why she chose to thank Vahn as soon as possible, hoping it would prevent him from ming himself too much for what had happened... As she had expected, Vahn did indeed feel a little relieved when he heard the gentleness contained within Rins expression of gratitude. He knew she hadnt recovered from the near-death experience, especially since the culprit was now lingering around the Manor, but it was a testament to Rins steadfastness that she was already walking towards the road to recovery. This caused Vahn to hug her a little more firmly before slowly releasing her body as he said, "Come, lets get you something to eat. There is no rush to head out...Ill cook you up something nutritious while you work away at this cheesecake..." With that said, Vahn rubbed Rins shoulder onest time before making his way to the kitchen to prepare something fresh. Even though he could just purchase a meal from the system shop, he knew Rin would appreciate it a lot more if he prepared it manually... --- Following Vahn with her eyes until he had vanished into the kitchen, Rin then proceeded to slouch like a deting balloon as she absentmindedly muttered, "He is impossible to keep up with...I dont even know what kind of rtionship we have right now..." Since she had known the resolute and serious Vahn a lot longer than this gentle side to him, Rin felt like she was steadily sinking into a swamp of her own emotions. Not only did hee to her side, albeit a little slowly, when she needed him the most, but he had now even saved her life. With how he treated her like something fragile, which wasnt wrongpared to him, Rin felt simultaneously blessed and frustrated at the same time. Though the swamp she found herself in was warm and surprisinglyfortable, she was afraid that, at any given moment, she might sink into it and suffocatepletely... Managing to sit upright in her chair, Rin picked up her fork before staring nkly at the perfectly crafted cheesecake Vahn had set out for her. This immediately caused her stomach to release a loud grumble, announcing its presence to the world as it demanded satiation. Rins cheeks became red as she forked up a small piece of fluffy white pastry and ced it in her mouth. She was nearly overtaken by the urge to squeal in satisfaction but managed to keep it contained by pinching the outside of her thigh. Even if she had a full stomach, Rin always had extra room for the sweets prepared by Vahn... After releasing a small sigh, Rin looked down at her own stomach before muttering, "You traitor...if you dont fix your attitude, what am I going to do if Vahn actually leaves in the future...?" Though she had been the one to invite Vahn to be her chef, Rin hadnt expected a day woulde when just the thought of eating food prepared by someone else caused her to grimace. She had eaten a small cup of in rice earlier, one of the few things she could prepare without burning, and it had tasted so nd that she barely managed to keep it down. By the time she was done eating, she was actually even hungrier than before... Just as she was having her existential food crisis, Rin felt another hand on her shoulder that caused her body to jolt for the second time tonight. Instead of Vahn, Rin was able to immediately identify the intruder based on the white glove adorning the hand. With her expression souring, Rin was about toin before Nobunaga preempted her by teasing, "Aww, is the princess disappointed that the Knight she had been expecting is busy elsewhere? Youre going to break my heart..." Before Nobunaga had finished her words, Rin had swatted her hand away before following up by saying, "Im really not in the mood to deal with you right now..." Hearing Rins words, Nobunaga rolled her eyes before taking the seat next to her and saying, "Youre not as bad as Vahn, but you have a lot of baggage, dont ya? If you really want to follow him, that idiot wouldnt be able to stop you. The only thing you have to worry about is what you want to pack before you chase after him. If you want my advice..." At this point, Nobunaga was leaning forward so much that she was well within Rins personal space as she added, "You shouldnt waste time packing at all. Im sure youve sensed it as well, right? The longer you wait, the further down on his list of priorities youll be...that brat, I dont even think he knows how to love just one woman..." Though she wanted to rebuff Nobunaga, Rin found herself unable to offer any resistance as she averted her eyes to the side, struggle clearly visible within. This seemed to amuse Nobunaga as an evil smile spread across her lips as she moved her hand to grab Rins chin before saying, "You have the gall to destroy the Grail with this kind of conviction? You and your little friends y at being resolute and prepared but you cant even bear the burden of your own emotions, much less the pressure of the numerous enemies you will make if your n seeds. Well, I suppose it doesnt really matter..." Letting her fingers trace across Rins chin as she pulled them away, Nobunagas expression became absolutely serious as she said, "Unless he meets an early end, I cant imagine what kind of monster would be able to slow that man down. I want to see what he is capable of with my own eyes so dont me me for taking the lead if you continue to remain indecisive. Now that you broke down his defenses, Im confident in my chances...consider this a deration of war, Rin Tohsaka. Let this Demon King show you the meaning of an aggressive offensive..." Without being afforded the opportunity to respond, Rin was left gawking as Nobunaga vanished into motes of light. Asscivious as Nobunaga seemed, Rin never pegged her as a rival she needed to concern herself with. She was pretty sure the former even liked women but, now that she had been dered war upon, Rin realized that Nobunaga was far more open-minded than she had realized. Now, instead of just having to worry about Fenrir, she had an evil and charismatic tyrant to contend with. Since Scthach also seemed like a ticking time bomb, Rin suddenly felt a lot more pressure than before... Realizing her own thought process, Rins eyes widened in shock as, without even noticing it beforehand, it seemed that she already treated Fenrir as her rival. Though she knew it wasnt possible to get between her and Vahn, Rin had been subconsciously thinking about how she could garner more of Vahns attention. Just as Nobunaga implied, it would depend on her decisiveness whether or not she was ced highly within Vahns expanding list of priorities. If she managed to earn his affections early on, Vahns sense of pride and responsibility would guarantee that he showed her more affection than other girls...inversely, if she allowed his attention to wander, Rin was positive Vahns attention would be captured by others. At the moment her anxiety reached its peak, Rins eyes lost their light as her consciousness was pulled into a small ck and white room that was perfectly divided down the center. Sitting on a small golden altar, affixed with thick red cushions, Ishtar was leaning on her side as she mused, "It seems you have forgotten about us in your chaotic state of mind...did you forget what Divinities this Goddess possessed? The boy may not have realized it himself, but we can sense the feelings he directs towards you. More than carnal desires, there is genuine affection and love contained within. You need only trust in your own feelings and the rest will take care of itself. As for other things, that is something we can help you with, right, Eres~?" Unlike Ishtar, seated upon hervish throne, Ereshkigal was sitting in the corner on her side of the room as she pieced together bones to form a make-shift human doll. There was a dreary and dark atmosphere surrounding her but, strangely, the figure of Ereshkigal seemed to blend in perfectly with this scene, almost as if to prove that there was beauty, even within death. When she heard her sisters words, Ereshkigal held up the bone-doll in her hands before softly stating, "I want to stay here a bit longer...this is my first time seeing the surface world..." Then, stroking the dolls head, which had a few patches of dark brown hair, Ereshkigal smiled as she added, "We will help...to separate with our kin...I do not desire this..." Though Rin was more than a little weirded out by Ereshkigals behavior, Ishtar showed a radiant smile as she stated, "Well, that settles it then. Were also rather fond of Vahn so lets do our best to keep his focus on us for as long as possible. With the three of us working together, this Goddess refuses to believe we cant keep him grounded for at least a few centuries. So long as we reside within your body, you need not worry about age and illness...now go, knowing you carry with you the blessing of the Goddess of Love..." As if she was rising to the surface of a deep pool, Rins consciousness was returned without even ten seconds passing in reality. She had missed her opportunity to even argue against Ishtar as thetter simply left no room for a counter-argument. Now, as if her decision had been made for her, Rin ced her forehead against the table and released a frustrated whine. This coincided with Vahn stepping into the dining room, carrying with him an aroma so fragrant it could only be described as heavenly. Rin was briefly tempted to ignore him but, as soon as the aroma tickled her nose, an even louder rumble than any of the previous once escaped her stomach... --- After spending quite a while trying to pacify Rin, Vahn found himself standing at the highest building within Fuyuki City, the Center Building. Vahn questioned why it was given such a name, as it was located four kilometers away from the actual center of the city, the Fuyuki Bridge spanning the Mion River. As this ultimately didnt matter, Vahn set the matter aside forter consideration as he tapped his finger against the railing that prevented normal citizens from identally falling to their deaths. It had been an uneventful night thus far as, after a chaotic first evening, many of the participating Masters were likely focused on gathering information. The majority should know that this particr Holy Grail War was different than those that had taken ce previously so none of them were extending their necks out, fearing they would be among the first to be eliminated... Further than his domain could extend, Vahn saw a sh of light in the distance that, even with the various lights polluting the city, stood out. A few secondster, a ripple of mana reached the periphery of his domain, allowing Vahn to determine the approximate distance and the strength of the attack based on its fallout. He immediately determined that the enemies were weaker than Scathach, causing Vahn to lift a small radio to his mouth, saying, "Battle in area C-7. Unknown number ofbatants. Threat level: Minor..." It wasnt exactly code, but Rin hade up with the idea of using radios that had been tuned to carry signals, even with the interference of the city-wide formation. They could only transmit messages directly, meaning buildings could still block the signal, but everyone had taken posts on some of the tallest buildings to make sure the signal would get through. Shortly after he sent his message, Rins voice came through from the other end, saying, "Make sure you say Ove at the end of transmissions...over..." This caused Vahn to roll his eyes before jumping from the building andnding almost silently on the ground twenty stories below. While dashing down the freeway at a casual 600km/h, Vahn brought the radio back to his mouth, saying, "Im going to engage. Stand by for Orioles...over..." Though it wasnt particrly hard to infer what he meant, assuming any Magus even bothered to try and intercept their transmissions, Vahn was sticking with their agreed-upon jargon. Without waiting for Rins return message, Vahn established a connection with Scthach, saying, ("I will entrust Rin and Fenrir to you. If they get into a fight, Ill leave it up to your judgment whether or not you need to intervene.") Then, establishing a connection with Nobunaga, Vahns tone became stern as he said, ("If you get a shot, feel free to eliminate the enemy Masters. Dont expose your position trying to support me...") Vahn had the distinct feeling that Nobunaga was trying to make him feel indebted to her so, while he also trusted her judgment, he feltpelled to tell her not to intervene. His urge to vent on a strong opponent had only grown stronger over thest few hours so Vahn didnt want toplicate things by having to chase down enemies that discovered her location. Once a Servant engaged in activebat, they couldnt revert back to their Spirit form for a full hour so Nobunaga would be forced to run away if the enemy was powerful... With their connection still established, Vahn could imagine Nobunaga snorting through her nose before she answered, ("Yes, moooom...dont worry, your little Nobu-chan will be a good girl.") As soon as she said this, Vahn felt their connection was severed from her end. Shaking his head, Vahn kicked against the ground, spontaneously doubling his speed to just under the speed of sound. It was around this time that Rins message came to him, albeit a little broken up as she said, "Ma...sure no...to...nderestimate...enemies." Since she had seen how riled up Vahn was prior to heading out, he wasnt too surprised that she was worried about him... Though Vahn didnt know the precise location of his enemy, it didnt matter all that much once he managed to get near their battlefield. There were sonic booms and explosions resonating off the concrete superstructure of the surrounding buildings while, on the very edge of his domain, Vahn sensed three presences. Two were muchrger and, based on the speed at which they were moving around, it was easy to determine who were the Servants and who was the Master. It bothered him that there was only one Master present but, after thinking about it for a brief moment, Vahn realized that one of the Servants may be the Assasin-ss. The most likely scenario was that thetter had tried to eliminate one of the Masters before they were intercepted by the Servant... Coming to a stop a few blocks away from the conflict, Vahn found himself at a crossroads as he had to decide whether or not to confront the Servants or take the more direct route of eliminating the Master. If he did thetter, it might be possible to recruit a third Servant, further strengthening their side in preparation for future battles. This was the most prudent course of action, as it also reduced the chances of his hubrising back to bite them if he failed to take down the enemy Servants before their Master could either support them or escape the battlefield... Raking a deep breath, Vahns eyes shed with a subtle blue light as he muttered, "Im not suited to skulking around in the shadows...an Emperor should stand tall for the entire world to bear witness to..." Even if he wasnt an Emperor within this world, Vahn still held the title and identity of the man who had led to the formation of the Alliance and the unification of all Eden under the banner of his Empire. Though his arrogance had been shattered by the existence of a force he could not oppose, Vahn knew it ran counter to his nature to hide from his enemies. If he started fearing conflict, it would be much harder for him to grow stronger in the face of any future setbacks... With this conviction in mind, Vahn removed the [Cloak of Shadows] he had been wearing before donning armor simr in form and function to his Imperial Regalia. Since they had yet to make their appearance thus far, Vahn decided he would throw the Holy Grail War into even greater chaos as, instead of a Master, he intended to reveal himself as a rogue Ruler. In the blink of an eye, Vahns hair shifted as if it were blown by the wind before fixing itself into position. Instead of growing loose and wild around his face, it now spiked backward like a lions mane as his eyes zed like blue mes in the night. Then, while channeling [Enkidu] into his domain to cause a golden radiance to spread through the surroundings, Vahn tore through the void and entered the fray... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Traitorous Stomach,Nobunagas Battle Strategy!?,The Emperor Takes To The Battlefield) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1049 - Sage Emperor

Chapter 1049 - Sage Emperor

With the appearance of a sudden sh of golden light, the two Servants who had been enthralled in an intense collision immediately created a distance from each other to observe the interloper to their battle. Amongst the two, there was a man with pitch-ck skin, garbed in shadowy cloth that loosely flowed around his waist. Affixed to his face, seemingly sewn into the skin, a bone-white mask that was obviously intended to emte a skull obscured their true face. Even without the two ck dii wielded in each of his hands, it was easy to see at a nce that this was undoubtedly an Assassin-ss Servant. With the information on Assassins being surprisingly detailed, as there was one servant that simply suited the role unlike any other, Vahn was able to identify the ck-skinned Servant as none other than one of the variations of Hassan. A stark contrast to one of Historys greatest Assassins, his opponent had the appearance of a young woman dressed in a ck tabard adorned with ents of red leather and gold embroidery. There was a small b.r.e.a.s.tte covering their chest while, affixed to their h.i.p.s, sectioned tes formed ornate tassets that seemed to emphasize form over function. Instead of wearing more conventional leggings, they had forgone trousers and greaves in exchange for a short skirt, long ck stockings, and a pair of ornate white boots adorned with gold. Completing the outfit, they had a mantle form of a pristine white fabric that was dualyered with a passionate red on the inside. Around the cor of the mantle, thick fur framed a face that was the perfect blend between cute and handsome. When Vahn saw this peculiar knight, pale pink hair braided into a long ponytail andvender eyes that seemed to radiate mischievousness, he couldnt help frowning slightly since, even with his understanding of the human body, he momentarily found it hard to ce their gender... Deciding to take advantage of his own intrusion, Vahn slowly descended from the sky as he introduced, "You stand in the presence of the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, Ruler-ss Servant..." Though he had been tempted to borrow the identity of another historical figure, Vahn knew there was a minuscule chance he might actually meet the actual person he was pretending to be. As this would be more than a little embarrassing, Vahn decided that he would sow discord by simply being himself as, regardless of how they might search, none of the enemy Masters would ever find any information pertaining to his legend. Without sticking around to hear what Vahn was going to say, the Assassin-ss Servant immediately jumped into the shadows without a word. He seemed intent on running away, causing Vahns eyes to squint before he used his domain as a medium to send several of the granule-sized Elemental Stars he had painstakingly made as a part of his training. Their small size shouldnt be underestimated, however, as an [Elemental Star] the size of a piece of rice was enough to cause an explosion that could level a small high-rise. The supposed Hassan was ill-equipped to deal with the fact that it was spontaneously surrounded by various different colored granules of pure-elemental energy. Though he threw a series of hidden daggers to try and break through the weaker part of the offensivework, this only resulted in the des being cut through like a piece of dark metal under the intense focus of a sma cutter... A rainbow-colored explosion spread through the area, producing several powerful shockwaves that caused the windows in the surrounding buildings to all shatter. Vahn felt a little guilty about the coteral damage but prevented his expression from revealing his inner turmoil as he turned his attention to the remaining Servant. He could tell that his attack hadnt killed Hassan but, as his current purpose was more so to secure allies, Vahn allowed him to y dead as he literally melted into the shadows. Though Vahn didnt know how many Hassans had been summoned, he could tell by the almost indiscernable tethers flowing out from Hassans body that they were only a single part of a muchrger whole... To their credit, the remaining Servant didnt seem too affected by the disy of power, even though they put on a mask of nervousness as they said, "Well, this doesnt look good for me, ahahaha...hey, why is a Ruler interfering in the battles between other Servants? Arent you supposed to, you know, be impartial and stuff...?" As these words left their lips, the unnamed Servant tightened their grip on their sword, awaiting the moment Vahn might attack. Even though it seemed like they had dropped their guard, even a normal person would have been able to see through their act. Because of this, Vahn couldnt help butpare this peculiar Servant to Tiona, even though she might punch him if she knew hepared her to someone that seemed to be the textbook definition of a fool... Standing with his chin slightly raised, the pressure from Vahns aura continued to build as he asked, "Who are you to question this Emperor without even introducing yourself? Do not try my patience, boy..." Borrowing a page out of Nobunagas book, Vahn figured calling the Servant before him a boy could have a particrly devastating effect. He wasnt sure if they identified as female but, based on their attire and the small ck ribbons tied in their hair, he believed they at least wanted people to assume they were a girl. Puffing out their cheeks in what Vahn saw as an obvious attempt to appear cute, the Servant red back at him before shouting, "My name is Astolfo, one of the Twelve Pdins of Charlemagne. As for my ss, cant you see that Im obviously the Saber-ss Servant!?" As they shouted, Astolfo iled their thin sword around in a haphazard manner. Vahn, however, squinted his eyes with doubt clear for the world to see as he coldly stated, "You would attempt to fool this Emperor...?" Though Astolfo was undoubtedly skilled with a sword, even Vahn could see they were far from the point of mastery. Since they were even struggling against an Assassin-ss Servant, statistically one of the weakest sses. In response to Vahns words, Astolfo crossed their arms with a huff before stating in their somewhat annoyingly high-pitched voice, "Youre one to talk! I dont know what you are, but you sure as heck arent a Servant! Dont go trying to fool others and expect them to just y along and give you all the information you want! Seriously, are you some kind of idiot~?" As thest words sounded more like yful teasing than an actual insult, Vahn was surprised by the fact he felt even more insulted. His first impression of Astolfo made them appear to be a little daft but, now that he was obviously trying to rile him up, Vahn was absolutely sure the boy eithercked fear or waspletely unaware of the vast gulf between them... Pulling out a sword from his Inventory, Vahn pointed it toward Astolfo, his eyes fixed in solemnity as he stated, "Come, Saber...you are supposed to be one of the more powerful Servant-sses so Im looking forward to our battle..." As the purpose of Vahn targetting the Servants instead of the Master was to release his rising tensions, he was eager to begin the fight. Though he had no intention of killing Astolfo, Vahn still wanted to test the limit of their capabilities against his own. Thus far, with the exception of his brief conflict with Scthach, Vahn hadnt been able to test his power within this world. Since Astolfo seemed a bit weaker than normal Servants, Vahn felt he had a bit of leeway to familiarize himself with his current capabilities... Having stopped waving around his sword, Astolfo released an exaggerated sigh as heined, "Man, this just isnt my night. Why is everyone bullying me...is it because Astolfo is so cute?" These words were never given an answer as, without stalling any longer, Vahn had already appeared before Astolfo with a nk expression as he swung his sword in a smooth arc. To his credit, Astolfo was able to receive the blow with ease as he jumped back in a surprising burst of speed. Vahn immediately pursued, trying to ensure that the distance between them was in his favor, but Astolfo quickly opened even more distance after lightly stepping on the ground. His footwork seemed to increase his base speed with each step, causing Vahn to eventually frown as he brought out a link of [Enkidu] in the path of Astolfos foot... With his eyes focused on Vahn, Astolfo hadnt even processed what had happened until they were already rolling backward. Though he managed to recover almost instantly, Vahn had already closed the gap between them before the mboyant Pdin could utter aint. While Vahns Agility seemedcking inparison to Astolfos, the difference in their Strength heavily favored him. With his own sword being several timesrger and heavier than Astolfos, Vahn sent the Pdin flying like a bullet as he skipped and bounded off the asphalt of the road like a stone skirting across the surface of the water. Vahn was actually a little surprised with how far Astolfo went before crashing into a light post, effectively causing the tall metal structure to form a shape simr to a question mark. When he rose to his feet, Astolfo was holding his side as he muttered, "Atta...that really smarts. You really have no sense of delicacy..." To this, Vahn lightly shook his head before replying, "I may not be a propagator of true gender equality, but Im usually more lenient against women. Even if you doll yourself up like that, however, you cant hide the truth from these eyes. If you want to identify as a female, I can respect that, but dont expect Ill change my own views to conform with your apparent desire for recognition..." Without needing to be told, Vahn knew that he gave females, especially cute and attractive women, preferential treatment. This was, however, well within his right as, much like everyone else, he was the one who determined how he wanted to act in any given circ.u.mstance. He saw no need to adhere to the expectations of others for how they wanted to be treated as, even as senseless as he could be at times, such a roundabout means of socializing would only lead to confusion and pointless debate. This didnt stop him from respecting Astolfos intentions, as he actually pulled off the look better than some actual females, but that was beside the point... Astolfo seemed a bit surprised to hear Vahns words before they confusedly asked, "What are you talking about? Im not trying to look like a girl. I just want to look cute. Whats wrong with that...?" As his face formed into a deep frown at the end of his question, Vahn was a bit taken aback as to how he should respond. Ultimately, he released a sigh before adopting a thrusting stance as he said, "If it is any constion, I wont deny that you look cute. If my words offended you, Im not too proud that I cant apologize. Sorry..." With that said, Vahn kicked off against the ground with enough force to fracture the road, affording Astolfo no time to really process his apology at all. With an expression simr to a startled rabbit, Astolfo dodged to the side before tracing a zig-zag path to evade Vahns follow up strikes. This movement pattern allowed Vahn to keep pace, as he was using more direct charges while waiting for Astolfo to trigger whatever trap they were trying to bait him into. Unfortunately, things didnt seem to be going as either of them nned as Vahn sensed the arrival of a new presence around the same time that Astolfos eyes widened in shock. Just as he had pulled out a strangence, Astolfo vanished into thin air, leaving nothing but a few motes of magical energy in his wake. Now feeling even more annoyed than before the fight had begun, as Vahn wasnt fond of interruptions, he was even faster to react than Astolfo as, the moment the presence appeared within his domain, Vahn had used [Enkidu] in an attempt to bind them. In the next moment, shortly after Astolfos own appearance within a small room, Vahn tore through the void, now appearing even more like an Emperor with his subtle dragonic features. Upon arriving, Vahn saw Astolfo with his spear piercing the abdomen of a distinctly different Hassan as thetter failed to dodge with one of his arms bound by [Enkidu]. Pulling his spear free, resulting in Hassan melting into a pool of ck liquid, Astolfos expression had now bepletely serious as he got into a low stance with his eyes focused on Vahn. The only thing that kept him from attacking was the fact that Vahn was standing tall behind Astolfos Master who, surprisingly, was a young woman in a wheelchair. Not only that but, based on her pale-grey eyes and milky white pupils, it was easy to see that she was blinded with cataracts. At the same time, she had a frail and thin appearance,plete with a paleplexion, a slightly gaut face, and long grey hair that formed slightly unkempt curls. Though she was undoubtedly a Magus, Vahn felt the more urate description for her would be akin to a wilting flower in thest stages of its inevitable decay... As if she could somehow see what was taking ce within the room, the woman gave an apologetic smile towards Astolfo as she weakly stated, "Forgive me, Astolfo...it seems that I will not be able to view the world you spoke so fervently about..." These words caused Astolfo to appear as if he was on the verge of tears as he passionately answered, "No, you cant give up. Never, ever give up...!" At the same time, Astolfo looked like he was waiting for Vahn to create a single exploitable gap, appearing much like a spring that waspressed under an intense amount of pressure. Seeing this, Vahn raised his brow before asking, "Do you seriously take me as the type to take advantage of someone so frail? If I had wanted to take out your Master, I wouldnt have even bothered picking a fight with you. Try using that head of yours for a moment..." As he spoke to Astolfo, thetter didnt seem to actually hear his words as his face formed an even deeper frown as Vahn ced his hand atop the womans head. Her sightless eyes flickered in response as a solemn aura seemed to radiate from her body as she anticipated her inevitable demise... Vahn felt that this Master-Servant duo was truly helpless as he continued to stare down Astolfo while sending threads of energy into the womans head. Though direct contact would be easier, Vahn assumed Astolfo would freak out if he suddenly moved his hands towards the womans eyes. Since there was no real danger with simply cing his hand atop her head, Astolfos tensions continued to rise without actually exploding. Vahns own anticipation was beginning to build as well since, based on his short interaction with Astolfo, he could imagine thetters reaction when he finally realized what was happening... Though it would take a more intensive treatment topletely repair the womans vision, Vahn was more than capable of restoring it to the extent that it wouldnt interfere with everyday life. At the same time, he was revitalizing some of the damaged muscles and organs within her body, even if this was only a stop-gap measure. If he wanted to heal herpletely, Vahn would have tobine his [Hands of Nirvana] with a treatment using his blood as, even with a cursory inspection, Vahn could tell there were several malignant foreign bodies within her. They had spread into most of her major organs, causing severe deterioration and atrophy, while the highest concentration of cells could be found in her lung. Vahn estimated that, without intervention, she probably wouldnt havested more than a month... Suddenly feeling an unbearably itchy feeling in her lungs and throat, the woman began a coughing fit as she lurched her body forward and began spewing ckened blood into her dainty hands. This resulted in Astolfo shouting, "You monster...!" before attempting to leap forward with hisnce. Vahn, having already anticipated this reaction, immediately barred Astolfos advanced with five links of [Enkidu] as he inly stated, "How about you try asking her how she feels instead of jumping to conclusions...?" As he had been the one to force the dead cells up the womans throat, Vahn knew that she would be feeling a lot more energetic once the foreign substance was expelled from her body. Though he had a fretful and teary-eyed expression, Astolfo still looked towards his Master as he sobbingly uttered, "Catherine...?" This inquiry was met with silence, however, not because Catherine was unable to reply, but because she was in a state of absolute shock as she stared at the ckened blood on her hands. Though it might have been a scary sight for others, the fact that she could see at all made Catherine fall into a dazed state where she was unable to hear Astolfos words. Even without her response, however, Astolfo could tell that she seemed to be in a much better state than before as a smidgeon of color had returned to her deathly pale face. He also noticed that the milky-gray coloration in her eyes had lessened greatly, even if it hadnt been removed... Seeing that Astolfo had calmed down, Vahn allowed his [Enkidu] to disperse, nearlyughing as a result since Astolfo fell to the ground like a ragdoll after losing the chains support. Rubbing his reddened nose with a look of me on his face, Astolfo shakily rose to his feet, asking, "Why did you treat my Master? Arent we enemies...?" After asking these questions, however, Astolfo seemed to realize something as, instead of awaiting an answer, he gave a proper bow, surprising Vahn as he sincerely stated, "Thank you." Vahn couldnt help rolling his eyes after seeing how quickly Astolfo changed tones, followed by him simply answering, "Whether or not we are enemies will ultimately depend on you and your Master. As for your gratitude...I will ept it, even though it was my own prerogative that led to me treating your Master. Though my highest title remains Sage Emperor, I have also been known by two other names..." This seemed to catch Astolfos attention as a curious and attentive glimmer reflected across hisvender eyes. Vahn smiled upon seeing this, adding, "To those I am closest to, I am known as the Godhand...for others, I am known as the Great Sage, Aldrnari, the Hand of Miracles..." Though thest title was only something that Vahn had been called during the events following his actions in the Elven Kingdom, there was a good chance it would have taken off if not for the fact heter became an Emperor... Astolfo seemed to have taken the words a bit more seriously than Vahn had expected as hisvender eyes seemed awash with stars as he brought his hands together and eximed, "So cool...!" This was a bit unexpected for Vahn, causing him to feel a little embarrassed as he scratched the side of his nose in response. Fortunately, Astolfos attention was immediately diverted elsewhere as, with a confused intonation, Catherine asked, "Ano...what is going on...?" This caused Aastolfo to literally explode into tears as he kneeled down and hugged Catherines waist, sobbing like a baby as he eximed, "Catherine, Im so happy youre okay. I was so scared...!" In response to this, Catherines expression turned gentle as she began stroking the top of Astolfos head, softly muttering, "There, there, my dear Astolfo, do not cry for me..." Following this, she turned her pale-gray eyes towards Vahn, her momentary confusion quickly turning to realization as she smiled in a way that only someone that had been given a second chance at life could manage. Even without saying it directly, Vahn knew the amount of gratitude she had wasnt something that could be properly conveyed, no matter how eloquent a person might be... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Breh, you aint even a Servant (UwU)~!,Vahns mighty sword versus Astolfos nimble saber...,Inb4 Astolfo asks why the people closest to Vahn call him the Godhand...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1050 - Allegiance

Chapter 1050 - Allegiance

After things had settled down a bit, Vahn listened as Catherine and Astolfo both exined their reasons for participating in the Holy Grail War. The former had been born into a declining Magus family who, other than Catherine herself,cked a fifth-generation sessor. This wouldnt have been the worst thing if not for the fact that Catherine, due to her weak constitution, could hardly use Magecraft without injuring her body. What made matters worse was that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer in her teens, leading to a situation where her family had tried to arrange a marriage with another Magus family in order to obtain an heir. This endeavor ultimately proved fruitless, however, as the number of Magi in the world was already low and, seeing no benefits in helping a family on the decline, Catherine had ultimately been abandoned after the family finally fell apart due to a struggle over what little wealth and property they owned. The one thing Catherine wished for was to, for the first time in her life, have a healthy body that was not gued by sickness and disease. She wanted to travel around the world and experience all of the things in life she had missed out on due to her heritage. After learning about the Holy Grail War, she had used what remained of her personal savings to secure a ne ticket to Fuyuki to try her luck. When she managed to actually summon a Servant, Catherine had been extremely grateful as, not only did she get a kindhearted soul like Astolfo, but she was able to free herself from the feeling that she was incapable of seeding. Though she harbored little hope of actually obtaining the Holy Grail, she was happy just to have experienced even a small amount of sess before the end of her life... Astolfos reason for participating in the Holy Grail War drew a few parallels with Catherines, even if the nature of their upbringing was decidedly different. His wish, if it could even be called as such, was to be allowed to continue his many adventures into the present. He was endlessly intrigued by the world and, even though there were many sad and heartbreaking things present within, Astolfo saw the potential beauty in all things. When he had been summoned by Catherine, he wasted no time in promising to fulfill her wish, even going so far as to swear he would escort her on a journey to visit all of the most beautiful sights and scenes the world had to offer. His own dream didnt matter nearly as much as his simple desire to make her smile, even as they both knew it was a reality bordering on the impossible... All the while Astolfo and Catherine were recounting their stories, Vahn was seated on avish leather sofa as he absentmindedly worked away at the contents of a wine ss. He was honestly more than a little upset about how Catherine had been treated and, if such a thing had happened in front of him, Vahn knew he would have stepped in. Since Astolfo had already saved her from the darkness she had fallen into, however, he felt a little awkward before ultimately deciding to adopt a somewhat dismissive attitude. Though he was still intending to have Astolfo be his Servant, Vahn had no intention of interrupting their rather unique rtionship. With that in mind, Vahn waited until Astolfo had finally finished rambling on about the various ces they would go sightseeing before saying, "As your wishes are something that can be obtained without the Holy Grail, I would like for you, Catherine, to remove yourself from thepetition. In exchange, I will swear topletely heal your body before restoring its damaged vitality. Forget about having just a month left to live, youd be hard-pressed to die before youre one-hundred once Ivepleted the operation. As for you, Astolfo, I will require your assistance during the remainder of the Holy Grail War. There are several ways in which I can guarantee you will be able to remain in this world after the conclusion of the Heavens Feel ritual, effectively granting both of your wishes in exchange for your service." Catherine had started to tremble before Vahn had even finished his words while Astolfo, showing confusion at first, practically exploded into a vibrant smile as he jumped forward and tried to grab Vahns hands. Using an instinct he didnt know he possessed, Vahn lifted his foot at the same time that Astolfo jumped towards him, effectively kicking the peculiar boy in the gut as a result. He then fell to the floor, arms supporting his abdomen as an umon amount of drool poured from the side of his mouth as he released a dry and painedugh... After Astolfo finally recovered, Vahn found himself in a situation where the youthful Pdin was kneeling solemnly before him as he pledged, "Henceforth, I, Duke Astolfo Ada Mercia swear, so long as these lungs draw breath, my allegiance will belong to the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason." As a True Knight and Pdin, Astolfo was very aware that he owed Vahn a great debt for saving the life of his charge, not once, but thrice. Not only did he prevent Assassin from seeding in his task, but Vahn had also started healing Catherines various ailments. If he truly managed to emerge victorious in the Holy Grail War, Astolfo believed he would do everything within his power to make good on his promises. Even for someone as whimsical in nature as him, he knew what he ought to do in exchange for the favor Vahn had already paid them... Vahn didnt really know how to feel about the fact that a man that was prettier than most women was currently kneeling before him. The fact that he wore a skirt only exacerbated the situation as, if he looked just a bit lower, Vahn was certain he would be able to see something he did not wish to bear witness to. Fortunately, Astolfo was close enough to him that it would require craning his neck a great deal to identally expose the Pdins secret. For reasons he would never fully understand, Vahns mind was filled with a powerful sense of incongruity as, even though he didnt want to look, he was simultaneously curious to know if Astolfo wore normal underwear, or if he pushed his peculiarity to the extreme and dawned panties... Hearing Astolfoplete his oath, Vahn used the formers sword to tap both of his shoulders before saying, "Rise..." in his Emperor voice. As if being liberated from a great pressure, Astolfo bounded up to his feet fast enough that both of his feet left the ground for a brief moment. He had a radiant smile on his face,ughing in an easy-going manner as he said, "So long as someone didnt end up summoning Chamagne as their Servant, there shouldnt be any issues. I always was an outlier among the other Pdins so I dont think they would freak out too badly knowing I pledge my allegiance to another Lord, ahahaha~." With Astolfos words ringing in his ears, Vahn furrowed his brows slightly since it almost felt like the whimsical Pdin had just set in motion something that would trouble him in the near future. This was a sense he had been honing since his time in Danmachi, making Vahn keenly aware whenever something had been set in motion. As a result, Vahn pinched the bridge of his nose before shaking his head in exasperation as he said, "Just make sure you dont run off without conferring with myself and our otherpanions. Even if your speed is bolstered as a Rider-ss Servant, well all be troubled, Catherine included, if you end up falling into the enemys trap." In response to Vahns words, Astolfo gave an exaggerated salute as he loudly eximed, "As you will, my Lord~!" Immediately following this, Astolfo turned to Catherine and appeared to be on the verge of asking a question before Vahn preempted him by exining, "She can seek refuge at the Fuyuki City Hyatt Hotel. The Mages Association has established the entire building as a neutral territory where conflict is strictly forbidden. The representative, Lord El-Melloi II, will see that she is well protected until the Holy Grail War hase to an end. After that, both of you will be free to move about at your leisure. Though you will obviously need to n ordingly, that is something to worry about once the War has drawn to a conclusion." Understanding that Astolfo was still concerned about her, even though she had already relinquished her Command Spells, Catherine gave a gentle smile before stroking his cheek and saying, "Your care has already saved me...now go, be the Hero I know you can be. I will wait for you..." By the time she had finished her words, Astolfo had ovepped her hand with his own, solemnly nodding his head. From Vahns perspective, it almost appeared as if the two were deeply infatuated with each other. Observing more closely, however, would reveal that Catherine obviously didnt think herself worthy of Astolfos concern while, as much as he genuinely seemed to care about Catherines well-being, she was not someone he could dedicate himself to... Knowing it wasnt his ce to intervene, Vahn gave them some privacy as he moved to the roof, pulling out his radio before turning it to the proper frequency and saying, "One more Master has been removed from contention. We now have a Rider-ss Servant to provide support...over." While waiting for Rins response, Vahn slowly ascended to the sky to both increase the reception and get a better vantage over the City. Even if he drew attention towards himself in the process, Vahns urge to experience a real fight had reached a critical point. If he couldnt find someone to vent on, Vahn felt like he might not be able to resist Scthachs direct nature if the two of them were to do battle against each other. His instincts told her that she would be even more overbearing than Tsubaki during their training, almost guaranteeing that his habit would act up as a result. He had an instinct bordering on apulsion that, whenever a strong woman put him through the wringer a few times, Vahn needed to tease them in return... Amidst his straying thoughts, Vahn heard Rins words over the radio, exining, "We managed to track down a Master-Servant pair in section D-11. Theyre currently holed up in a warehouse that has been surrounded by a few powerful trap spells. As some are a little tooplex, there is a good chance the enemy Servant is a Caster-ss...over." Hearing Rins words, Vahn released an involuntary sigh as, regardless of hower powerful the enemy Caster might be, it wouldnt be much of a fight once he managed to close the distance. Unless they could pepper him with A-Rank Spells and higher, which was extremely unlikely, he wouldnt even need to worry about taking damage. This was one of the things he was struggling to adapt to as, evenpared to his high durability in the Record of Danmachi, the protection granted to him as a result of his ssification as a Greater Divine Spirit made him almost invulnerable. Even someone as powerful as Scthach, striking him directly in the neck, was only able to make his skin itch a bit... Deciding to give Rin and Fenrir a chance at personal-redemption, as they were undoubtedly still thinking about the previous night, Vahn held up his radio to say, "Ill move to support from a distance. This is yours and Fenrirs time to shine...over..." Even without hearing Rins response, Vahn could feel excitement in his heart, not due to his own emotions, but the direct result of how excited Fenrir was at the prospect of getting a second chance to fight. She had been excessively frustrated after Scthach dealt with her with extreme ease so Fenrir needed a battle just as much as Vahn did. He even credited some of his building urges to what she was going through, a testament to how synchronized their emotions were at times... --- Having heard her Masters voice over the radio, Fenrirs ears immediately angled backward as her hair began to stand on end. She turned her glowing red eyes towards Rin, causing thetter to produce a wry smile before saying, "I can create a hole in the formation surrounding the warehouse, but there is no guarantee this will provide you any advantages. Many Caster-ss Servants are capable of a phenomenon known as Territory Creation. The moment you step into their territory, you will already be put into a disadvantageous position..." As Fenrir was familiar with the concept, the result of her eternal rivalry with Terra, she knew better than most how troublesome such an ability could be. However, knowing that she should have the edge against most real Mages, Fenrir wasnt afraid. The Magecraft she had seen after being summoned by her Master was nothingpared to the magic system she had studied under Eva. Even if the Caster-ss Heroic Spirit was capable of using Magecraft that bordered on True Magic, Fenrir was confident she could evade evenrge-scale anti-army abilities before severely injuring them with her ws... After her embarrassing failure with a spear, Fenrir was now equipped with a pair of sleek ck gauntlets that had A-Rank [Magic Resistance] and [Shock Resistance] as their primary boons. She should be fast enough to evade most spells but having the means to defend against any stray spells sent her way was never a bad thing. Seeing that Fenrir was a little too eager to battle, Rin released a tired sigh as she muttered, "You and your Master are both battle junkies..." Though she had gotten this impression after seeing how serious Vahn took training, Rin constantly found herself being surprised with how attuned to battle Fenrir and Vahn were. She knew that battles were a daily urrence in the world they had originated, but it was still a little abnormal from the perspective of someone that lived in the modern era. Most Mages proactively avoided directbat, choosing to hole themselves up in their workshops as they performed their research in secret. The only time Mages would proactively seek conflict was if both sides coveted the same resource or wanted to steal the research of the other party... As beingpared to her Master could only be a good thing, Fenrir ignored the frustration in Rins voice as she said, "Master will probably be close by, but you should transform when the battle begins. There is no point in trying to conceal a secret if it will result in your death..." Though she wasnt trying to be harsh, Fenrir had felt her Masters anxiety when Rin was pierced through the heart. This was apanied by a profound sense of failure, a feeling far more prominent than the frustration she felt after being tossed aside by Scthach... Feeling a shiver run along her spine, not because of Fenrirs words but because she could still remember the sudden and intense heat that had spread through her body the previous night. If not for the [Effigy of the Hero], Rin knew that would have been her unceremonious end. Even though she had two Goddesses within her body, she had almost been eliminated without even having the chance to show her hand. Thus, understanding the inherent truth contained within Fenrirs words, Rin opened up therge carrying tote she had brought along with her and said, "Give me a moment..." After having a few sets of clothing destroyed, including a set of [Aegis Mk 5], Rin was better prepared for Ishtar and Ereshkigal taking control of her body. Using a cashmere poncho to cover her figure, she quickly stripped down until she was standing n.a.k.e.d as the day she was born. With this finished, Rin closed her eyes as a purple hue spread across her ck hair. In less than two seconds, Ishtar hadpletely taken over her body before she effortlessly lifted from the roof and began floating in the air as if it was perfectly natural. While Ereshkigal was a Goddess presiding over the Earth, her fundamental purpose was as one of the Goddesses presiding over Heaven. Though she made an exception when it came to being indoors, Ishtar refused to tread upon any grounds that had not been sanctified in her name... Seeing Fenrir staring at her, Ishtar giggled yfully before muttering, "Boat of Heaven Maanna..." in the Language of the Gods. As a result, Fenrir winced as both of her earsid t against the top of her head, all whilst an enormous bow formed from the void before floating alongside Ishtar. It had two distinct arcs, the first of which curved like a blue serpent adorned with gold, while the second looked like half of a circr gateway. The two sections were linked together, not by a bowstring, but a braid made from the hairs of a Celestial Stallion. Instead of firing normal arrows, though it also possessed that functionality, Ishtars bow had the ability to open a gate between the two aligned circles located at the very center of each arc. If she was serious, even wiping out entire mountains was not beyond her ability as an Archer second only to Artemis herself... Fenrir didnt like feeling beneath anyone except for her Master so, from the moment Ishtars bow manifested, she began to feel an itchy feeling over her entire body. She knew, on an instinctual level, that Ishtar would be able to kill her with great ease. Now, even though she was the one to tell Rin to transform, Fenrir was regretting it a little as she gave a curt nod and said, "Im going..." This caused Ishtar tough in mild amus.e.m.e.nt beforeying down on the arch of her bow and saying, "You are that mans most precious person. Have more confidence in yourself, dear Fenrir..." Having Ishtar suddenly trying to encourage her, the hair on Fenrirs tail became slightly pointy as she leaped from her perch withoutment. Ishtar didnt seem to mind this much as she leaned her arms against the second arch of her bow and began to yfully dangle her legs. She had been tempted to just destroy the entire warehouse but, remembering that Vahn wanted to try and recruit the enemy Servants, Ishtar felt it would upset him if she did something so selfish. For reasons she didnt quite understand herself, Ishtar felt intrinsically drawn to Vahn as, for the first time in her long existence, he felt bigger than even she was. This was a feeling she only ever experienced with her Father, the King of the Highest Heaven, Anu... Thinking of her Father, Ishtar ran her finger along one of the golden lines of her bow before staring off into the distance. Just as she was in his range, Vahn was well within her own. As a Goddess that ruled from the Heavens, Ishtar had a natural awareness of all things beneath the infinitely vast sky. Though she, like most other Gods,pletely ignored this awareness at most times, Ishtar was now using this ability to locate Vahn atop a roof a little under 4km away. He almost immediately looked back at her, causing Ishtar to giggle yfully before licking her lips in an overtly seductive manner... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I cant help but imagine a Vanargandr version of Astolfo...,Fenrirs desire to prove herself is like a constant g (O,...,O)...,Some things change, others stay the same...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1051 - Frustration

Chapter 1051 - Frustration

Without even waiting for Rin to create a gap for her to use, Fenrir relied on her keen instincts to navigate the traps surrounding the warehouse before jumping through a window with a dark-blue shroud of mana covering her body. Her priority was eliminating the enemy Master as quickly as possible, only fighting the Servant if they tried to get in her way. Since her Master wanted to recruit Servants, as they were often good by virtue of being Heroic Spirits, Fenrir wanted to avoid getting into a battle against a potential ally. At the same time however, she had the contradictory desire that sought out a battle against the enemy Caster, regardless of her Masters intentions. Fenrirs instincts told her that most Servants would be drawn to her Masters charisma and ideals while, at the same time, he would also be interested in their various techniques and abilities. This would decrease the amount of time she got to spend with him as, with numerous Servants proving to be females with strong characters, Fenrir felt it was only a matter of time until she was not the only one sharing her Masters bed... With her mind straying a bit, Fenrir stepped on an invisible magic circle that quickly grew to around 5m in size beneath her feet. At the same time, she used [Shundo] to move outside of its effective range a small explosion resounded behind her. This brought her mind to a focused state as her ears set at a 30-degree angle as she bounded through the unexpectedbyrinth she had found herself in. Using her powerful sense of smell and her inherent sensitivity to magic, Fenrir was able to quickly progressed through the corridors using the walls, floor, and ceiling as navigable terrain... Kicking off a corner, Fenrir bounded to the wall in an extreme disy of acrobatics before twisting her body mid-leap as she arced over a purple de of magical energy that had manifested from the wall. She could feel a few of the hairs from her tail get singed by the de, causing Fenrirs eyes to glow with greater intensity as the shroud of mana around her body more than doubled in size. When shended on the ground at the end of her arc, several magical arrows shot from the wall in an instant before bounding off her aura with a sound simr to metal colliding at his speeds. Then, using the increased defense and speed provided by her activation of [Melodia Be], Fenrir moved like a blur through the corridors without even relying on [Shundo]. Since activating her shroud at full capacity already ate a lot of mana, Fenrir didnt want to expend even more just to move around shily... After a few minutes of traversing the maze-like structure found within the warehouse, Fenrir eventually felt that she was near the source, leading to her to use a more direct means of attack by cutting through the final few walls instead of going the intended route. Upon breaking through, her scarlet eyes reflected a mature woman wearing ab coat and red-rimmed sses. The moment Fenrir saw her, especially with her dark purple hair and pale-yellow eyes, she immediately designated the woman as a danger. As for the other presence within the room, it belonged to a tall man with a slender build and a delicate appearance. He also had ab coat, much like the woman, but there were several embellishments that made it stand out from the norm. These included a raised cor that extended into a deep v-neck that came to a stop around his navel. Within the fabric, there were ck epaulets and small red gemstones that radiated an extreme amount of Magical Power that caused Fenrirs hairs to stand on end. Unlike most of the annoying men Fenrir hade across, this powerful entity had an aura that wasnt all that dissimr from her Master, including an uncealed gentleness in his hazel-brown eyes. With his long ck hair forming into a braid that rested against his shoulder, even Fenrir felt he was a man who could qualify as beautiful ording to the standards of normal people... Though she had been intending to attack immediately after entering the room, Fenrirs instincts screamed at her to retreat from the very moment the mans eyes gazed towards her. He had a soft smile on his face as he politely muttered, "Youngdy, you should not involve yourself with this matter. Please return...I am not fond of battle..." There was a lot of sincerity in the mans voice but, apparently not sharing the sentiment, his Master showed an expression of distaste as she eximed, "Caster! If you cant even eliminate enemies that have invaded our territory, how do you n on helping me secure the Holy Grail!?" Unlike the gentle and delicate man, the female Magus had eyes that barely contained a glimmer of light, almost as if she held the entire world in contempt. Though she had a shapely figure and a well-structured face, Fenrir could tell she was rotten at a nce. As she retreated back through the same hole she had created, Fenrir sent a wave of ice spears towards the woman without a moments hesitation. This caused her eyes to widen in shock before, in a manner simr to Rin, she threw out a dark blue gemstone that exploded into a gaseous cloud of mana that instantly evaporated her ice spears. At the same time, the man in theb coat released a tired sigh before a rather in but masterfully crafted sword manifested in his hand. From around his body, five flowers seemed to bloom into existence before a series of crystallized orbs, each a different color, began orbiting around his body... As Fenrir used the shortest route, literally cutting a path through the surrounding walls, her mind was abuzz while an agonizing frustration was rising in her heart. The fact she had to flee for a second time made her nose turn sour as her vision was obscured by a developingyer of moisture. She was going through the painful realization that, while she believed herself to be powerful, the absence of her Master in close proximity made anypetent enemies too dangerous to fight. Her highest priority was making sure she didnt end up losing her life, knowing full well it would devastate her Master, so any real threats would instantly trigger of fight or flight response. In a way, this was a shadow that had been carved deeply into Fenrirs mind as a result of her Masters overprotective nature... After cutting her way through thest wall, Fenrir immediately ascended to the sky by creating several footholds in a zig-zag pattern. Then, with tears building at the corner of her eyes, she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Master, give me strength...!" Following this, several magic circles began to form around Fenrir before sheyered them together in front of her body and began chanting, "Heed the Contract and Serve me, oh Queen of Ice! Come, Unending-" Without being afforded the opportunity toplete her chant, Fenrir crossed her arms in front of her body as a blue beam of pure Magical Energy mmed into her body, destroying her multiyered magic circle in the process. Though she ultimately emerged unscathed, Fenrirs eyes were now bright enough to obscure the features of her face as they created long trailing arcs as she moved at a speed far greater than what she could manage indoors... Though it was difficult to tell, due to how quickly she was moving, Fenrir had a far more feral appearance than normal as her hair spiked outwards in a wild and chaotic fashion. Even her mouth, which looked small and delicate in normal situations, had stretched in a wide and uncanny manner as her teeth formed sharp and angr protrusions. As she dodged around, evading a series of magical beams targetting her, Fenrir was maxing full use of her agility as she vaulted around, twisting her body and even moving on all fours at times. Instead of trying to create more distance, however, her aggressive movements were taking her closer to the warehouse she had only recently escaped. As Fenrir neared the building once again, several figures seemed to manifest from the walls themselves, each having vaguely humanoid appearances with a y-like structure. They were wielding swords and spears of the same material as they threw themselves into Fenrirs path without any semnce of self-preservation instincts. Fenrir didnt even put any of these entities in her eyes, tearing through them with extreme ease as their weapons broke apart after striking her chaotically ring mana shroud. They were, however, slowing her down a great deal since there seemed to be a night infinite number of enemies to rece those she struck down... Slowly but surely, the warehouse began to change shape as it seemed to be using the materials used in the production of thebyrinth to create the golem-like entities blocking Fenrirs path. To make matters even worse, every enemy she struck down seemed to melt into the ground before reforming as apleted golem momentster. Vahn was watching all of this transpire from a much closer distance than he had previously stood. A few hundred meters away, Ishtar had also stopped curling up on her bow like a cat, deciding instead to channel a truly phenomenal amount of mana from the atmosphere. She hadnt attacked yet, but it was easy to see that she was preparing to annihte the entire warehouse when Fenrir was no longer in the target zone... Seeing Fenrir tear through what should have been her two-hundredth golem, Vahn released a tired sigh since she seemed to quickly be losing her rationality. She was no longer even heading deeper into the warehouse, choosing to instead tear apart each new golem that appeared as if she had a personal grudge against them. Exacerbating the situation was the fact that, instead of using up her internal reserves, Fenrir actually seemed to be getting stronger as the fight progressed. The [Spirit Choker] around her neck seemed to have kicked into high-gear, indicating that she was using the active ability in her berserk state... Deciding it would be best for Fenrir to tucker herself out, Vahn was watching the fight closely as he wondered why the enemy Servant wasnt trying to attack using more direct means. Other than the seemingly infinite stream of rtively weak golems, neither Master nor Servant had appeared to put pressure on Fenrir. If theybined powerful Magecraft with the constant waves of golems, it wouldnt be that difficult to take down Fenrir in her enraged state. This indicated that their enemy was either the type to exercise extreme caution against during battle or that they were simply trying to chase off Fenrir without killing her... Though there were exceptions, the Holy Grail primarily summoned Heroic Spirits that were either good or neutral in their moral alignment. It would sometimes allow for what Rin referred to as Anti-Heroes and, in even rarer cases, actual Viins, but these were extremely umon. This was the reason why Vahn would rather recruit the Servants as even those who performed evil deeds often did so because their Master forced them to act with a Command Spell. If not for the forcedpulsion of the Command Spells, there was no way to force someone like Scthach to harvest the life energy from nearly two-hundred people. It was the existence of this kind of system, almostpletely centered around the selfish greed of a few errant Mages, that fueled Rins and Lord El-Melloi IIs desire to abolish the entire ritual... With her extreme energy expenditure, Fenrir eventually started to slow down after fighting for around twenty minutes. At this point, the entire battlefield had be a frozen wastnd while the warehouse, previously appearing like a normal building, now formed a multiyered dome that would repair any damage it sustained almost instantly. Though Fenrir would undoubtedly be able to break through it in a calmer state of mind, she had reached the point where the hair on her head now extended to the small of her back while, on her arms and legs, it now nearly covered the entire limb. This was a state Vahn had never observed before, especially with how Fenrirs adorable appearance had morphed into a maddened visage as she stopped using her ws and began biting through the enemies as part of an instinctual effort to replenish her reserves... Realizing that Fenrir would probably never stop fighting in her current state, Vahns expression revealedplex emotions as he sent an order, directly telling Fenrir, ("Fall back. Focus on retreating to a safe area and let your energy deplete..") This immediately caused Fenrir to freeze after just tearing apart a golem, a huge chunk of its head hanging from her mouth. Within Vahns Unit Management, he could see Fenrirs Loyalty drop by a few hundred points but,pared to the billions she possessed, the was only a drop in a vast ocean. When the value stopped decreasing, Fenrir immediately stopped her endless ughter as she moved like a phantom, apparently determining the safest area was at his side since she was moving toward him like a homing missile. Vahn habitually opened his arms, just as Fenrir tackled him with enough force to trigger his nullification. The fact she collided against a seemingly immovable wall didnt deter Fenrir, however, as she began panting like an animal out of breath while tightly clinging to his body. Vahn pulled her into a tight embrace and began to gently stroke her bristly fur to help her calm down. Her eyes were glowing so intensely that, even when she blinked, the vibrancy could be seen through her eyelids. In order to expedite the process, Vahn used another order to say, "Calm down...sleep...Im here..." This caused another drop in Fenrirs Loyalty value as her eyes began to dim before finally losing their light, coinciding with Fenrir fading into a deep state of unconsciousness... Near the same time that Fenrir had passed out, Vahn felt a pulse pass through his body that even caused his instincts to signal danger so he immediately moved back just as a massive purple explosion expanded outward, the small dome at the very center of its focus. Ishtar had ascended high into the sky before releasing a single arrow which, like a small-scale nuclear explosion, caused a massive shockwave to spread out faster than the speed of sound. Fortunately, though Vahn wasnt sure of the principle behind it, the energy seemed to bend curve upwards after spreading 500m, forming what appeared to be a deep purple sun that lit up the entire city with its radiance... As Vahn stared at the devastation with a nk expression, Ishtar slowly descended next to him, having resumed using her bow as a perch as shezily watched the sun continue to burn alongside him. Though Vahn felt it was overkill in the extreme, as there was no way such devastation could be covered up under normal circ.u.mstances, Ishtar seemed to enjoy the result of her attack as she hummed a happy tune. It wasnt until nearly three minutes had passed that the explosion began to flicker out of existence, leaving an almost perfectly spherical crater that would have caused Vahn to facepalm if not for the fact that, the only blemish within the crater was a crystalline sphere that had undoubtedly been formed by their enemy... Seeing that her attack fail, even though it easily fit the ssification of an Anti-Mountain grade attack, Ishtars expression turned into a pout as she slid off her bow and prepared to fire a second volley. This time, however, Vahn held up his hand to stop her, saying, "Large-scale attacks like this are too high-profile, Ishtar. For now, well pull back and recuperate...this doesnt seem like an enemy who will go out of their way to counterattack. Since we dont know the limit of their abilities, it is safer to pull back and strategize..." Though Vahn felt he could probably break through the pristine blue crystalline structure, he didnt feel like the Caster within the sphere was an enemy. If possible, he wanted to recruit them to his side as they would undoubtedly prove to be a powerful ally with this level of defense... With her expression still forming an admittedly adorable pout, Ishtar flew over to his side before casually wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing her b.r.e.a.s.ts into his upper back. With her lips right next to his ear, sheined, "Well fall back, but only if you promise to give us a reward when we return...we went all out in our attack to try and avenge your little ymate. Dont we deserve at least some gratitude~?" At the end of her question, Ishtar gently bit the tip of Vahns ear before tracing her tongue along its curve. Vahn moved his head to the side but, as if gravity and momentum didnt apply to her, Ishtar moved smoothly with the motion before giggling as she tried to lick the inside of his ear. Feeling a little annoyed at Ishtars behavior, Vahn was about to reprimand her but, before the words could form on his lips, she spontaneously stopped as they both watched as the ground had started repairing itself at a rate visible to the n.a.k.e.d eye. Almost as if time was being reversed, the ground began to fill itself in as soil and gravel quickly formed a foundation to support the various pipes which formed to rece the damaged sewer system and underground substructure of the surrounding area. Evenplexponents, such as electrical cables and brass pipes were not exempt from therge-scale restorative Magecraft. Though it would obviously take a bit of time, Vahn estimated the damage would have beenpletely repaired in less than two hours... Seeing this, Vahn was absolutely certain that the Caster-Servant within the crystalline sphere was not a real enemy. With the trend of other Servants he had seen, there was a good chance they may not even harbor the intention to obtain the Holy Grail. Though their Master was obviously of a different mindset, they didnt seem foolish enough to waste their Command Spells topel their already powerful Servant to do their bidding, at least in a way that would expose themselves to danger. If the Caster-Servant was sensitive to the surroundings, they would have informed their Master of the several powerful presences within the area, especially since Ishtar made no effort to conceal herself. Her presence was proud and haughty, even though her nature had been changed greatly by the [Page of the Akashic Tome]. It was almost like she needed to be seen which, considering she was a Goddess of Beauty, may very well be the case... Holding Fenrir in a princess carry, Vahn surprised Ishtar a bit as he also began to ascend into the sky while she was still clinging to him. Though he couldnt fly for extended periods of time, it wasnt a great distance to the Tohsaka Manor from their current location. At this point, Vahn had no doubt that most of the enemy Masters knew their identities as, even though Ishtars appearance had a few differences, she looked almost identical to Rin. As one of the main contenders for the Holy Grail, Vahn didnt fool himself into believing their enemies werent aware of her appearance. However, after seeing the devastation of Rins attack, the odds of anyone going out of their way to target here were slim, albeit not negligible. Deciding to y it safe, Vahn did take a few detours before finally arriving back at the Tohsaka Manor via spatial teleportation. It took a heavy toll on his reserves to move three people but, considering the sun would be rising rtively soon, Vahn had more than enough time to recuperate within the Sub-Space Orb. With that thought in mind, Vahn wasted no time in entering the bas.e.m.e.nt while still carrying Fenrirs now normal figure in his arms. Ishtar had stopped clinging to him earlier but, now that they were indoors, she deigned to ce her feet on the ground as she curiously inspected the formation he had created earlier in the day. Soon after Vahn had deactivated the trapponent of the formation, Scthach and Nobunaga both appeared nearly simultaneously. They actually hadnt been able to enter the bas.e.m.e.nt, even in their Spirit forms, as the formation was nigh-impregnable, even in an immaterial state. The only ways to get inside were through the door leading to the bas.e.m.e.nt or from Rins workshop. Nobunaga seemed more than a little surprised by theplex formation covering all the walls but, before she could inquire about its purpose, Ishtar had suddenly appeared at her side. She was about to say a teasing remark but, long before the words formed on her lips, Ishtar showed a radiant smile before pping Nobunaga hard enough to create a loud and audible smack. This caused Nobunaga to take a few steps back as she rubbed her cheek, eyes formed into a fierce re as she eximed, "What the hell was that for!?" In response to this, Ishtar crossed her arms in a huff before stating, "This Goddess has never desired toy with a woman before. Even if it was only our vessel, you still defiled this Goddess body with your greedy hands. We were going to let it go, out of respect for our kin, but, now that you have dered War upon us, do not expect any leniency...!" Though she was bothered by Ishtars words at first, Nobunagas eyes widened a bit when the Goddess unceremoniously mentioned the matter of War. For one of the few times in her life, Nobunaga felt her heart palpitate a few times as she found herself at aplete loss for words. Fortunately, Scthach intervened at the best moment, emotionlessly stating, "Do not fight amongst yourselves. The transition to Dawn, just as you begin to drop your guard, is the most dangerous interval during the Holy Grail War. I will not stop you from settling your differences, but I will not tolerate your behavior when there is an actual war going on outside." Ishtar frowned deeply when she heard Scthachs words but, realizing there was truth contained within, she gave Nobunaga onest re before closing her eyes. Vahn noticed this, pulling out a cloak in a single swift motion and cing around Isthars shoulders just as her raiment dissolved into nothingness. When her eyes opened, they had transitioned into an aqua-blue color, indicating that Rin was now in the drivers seat. Seeing that Vahn had used his telekinesis to support Fenrirs body in order to put a cloak around her body, Rins expression formed into a surprisingly shy smile as her cheeks quickly became suffused with a ruddy glow. She knew that Ishtar had, forck of a better phrase, thrown her under the bus in the heat of the moment so Vahns care felt especially touching at the moment. Even though she was normally very intelligent, Rin had failed to realize that this was just one of the ways in which Ishtar intended to get small victories in the ongoing war for Vahns affection... (A/N: Alternate Titles: "Shaaaaaa~!!! You interrupt Fenrir!?,Ishtar still has a few character ws...,The war has already begun (>,...,<)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1052 - Larval

Chapter 1052 - Larval

After getting everyone up to speed on the function of the Sub-Space Orb, Vahn found himself excavating the surprisingly durable white flooring in order to install arge bath. Due to his focus on stability and the tiered separation of Space, the ground was far more durable than he expected. Though this would prove to be a boon during their intense training sessions, it made his job a lot more difficult as there was no Earth Elemental Energy within the ground in which to manipte. Since it was an opportunity to exercise his body a bit, Vahn had elected to purchase a durable pickaxe from the system shop and was currently working tirelessly as a denseyer of sweat formed across his body. Since he had failed to find an opponent to vent his frustrations on, Vahn was exerting his muscles to their limits, creating small fissures in the super-dense white material with each strike. Contrasting Vahns serious efforts, Nobunaga and Rin both sat at the sides of a low wooden table, cushions between them and the hard ground below. It was clear there was a bit of distance between them, both literally and metaphorically, as Nobunaga had a bored expression on her face as she pretended to ignore Rins presence. As for thetter, she had originally been watching the rather exciting training session between Scthach and Fenrir urring a few hundred meters away. With the passage of time, however, Rins attention had shifted periodically until she now found herself supporting her head with one hand, watching Vahn work with an absentminded expression on her face... --- By the time five hours had passed, Vahn stretched his back before releasing a contented sigh as he looked around at the muchrger than anticipated hole. He had practically made a medium-sizedke without even realizing it as, after getting in the groove, Vahn just kept going until his pickaxe fragmented. Considering it had a low-grade Indestructible quality, this was both a testament to how much he was putting it through and the durability of the floor material. Almost as soon as Vahn had stopped causing microexplosions with his now broken pickaxe, Nobunaga tapped the table hard enough to draw Rins attention before jumping to her feet. Before thetter could react to what she was doing, Nobunaga jumped down the slope of the bath beforending next to Vahn and asking, "Think you mightve overdone it a bit?" At the same time as she asked the question, Nobunaga came very close to Vahn, making no attempt to hide her gaze as she eyed up and down his body before remarking, "Not bad...feel any better?" Vahn gave a muted chuckle after hearing Nobunagas words, tossing the remnant of the pickaxe into his Inventory as he answered, "At least until you, Scthach, or Ishtar set me off again. You know, you should get along better with Rin, she-" As she listened to Vahns words, Nobunaga crossed her arms before interrupting as she inly stated, "You do you, Vahn. Us women, well, we have our own way of doing things. Until you decide to be more decisive, its best you just keep being eye candy to keep us motivated." Towards the end of her words, Nobunaga tried to touch Vahns abs with her index finger but quickly found her wrist within his grasp as he exasperatedly said, "Dont. Im trying to rx and work off stress, not build up even more..." As if to punctuate his words, a loud explosion sounded from beyond the ridge that denoted the side of Vahns 8m deep bath. This caused him to release Nobunagas wrist before using [Shundo] to appear at the side just in time to see Fenrir skidding across the white terrain beforeing to a stop. She didnt immediately bound to her feet and instead stayed on the ground for several seconds, her chest heaving noticeably, even from a distance. At this time, Nobunaga had already appeared at his side once again,menting, "Youre not the only one stressed out. That kid, she hasnt experienced many setbacks, has she...?" Hearing Nobunagas question, Vahn released a heavy sigh before exining, "A long time ago, I had entrusted Fenrirs care to one of my lovers, an Elven woman named Ryuu. Back then, she was a lot more independent than she was now, even though her stress levels were all over the ce. When we began facing powerful enemies...well, there is a reason why my archery was able to overtake most of my other skills. In order to let the girls around me grow, I relegated myself into a support position where, even if the battle seemed dangerous, I would always be there to protect them the moment things got out of hand..." Nobunagaughed in a borderline mocking manner, causing Vahns brow to twitch slightly when she said, "Im not even surprised to know you coddled others, not just Fenrir. Let me guess, even when the girls became powerful, you still fought all the difficult enemies yourself, right?" As she had seen first hand how Vahn guided the girls during their time within the Dungeon, Nobunagas question was more of a condescending statement than anything. She didnt really expect an answer, nor did Vahn intend to provide one as he sent a look her way before vanishing from the spot with [Shundo]. Nobunagas expression didnt change throughout though, after Vahn used his movement technique to leave her behind, she mused, "If you look at me like that, dont me me for wanting to tease you even more...hahahaha~." Without hearing Nobunagas parting remark, Vahn appeared at Fenrirs side, causing thetter to twitch before weakly raising her body. At this time, Scthach appeared like a shadowy phantom, her red eyes glimmering as she said, "She can keep fighting. Do not interfere." This caused Vahn to frown but, before he could say anything, a thin mana shroud surrounded Fenrirs body as she rose to her feet. She coughed a few times, nearly falling back down in the process, before showing a resolute expression as she said, "I will fight. I must...!" With this said, Fenrir leaped past Vahn as she attempted to tear into Scthachs body with her ws. Thetter moved back at the exact same speed, using one of the moments where Fenrir had to step forward to create a gap in thetters form. Fenrirs body tensed up in preparation for theing blow but, instead of an impact, she found her body pulled forward by Scthach, throwing her off bnce and causing her to fall face-first into the ground again... Showing apleteck of emotions, Scthach silently watched Fenrir slowly rise to her feet, using the moment when she recovered her bnce to immediately begin her attack. Currently, she was only using her bare hands to battle against Fenrir, defeating thetter with her own style and techniques. Fenrir tried to roll to the side, feeling intense pain in her ribs, but was ultimately unable to escape as Scthach, even without willing it, was able to predict all of her opponents moves by instinct and the passive functionality of her [irvoyance]. The moment Fenrir was twisting her body around to try and defend, her opened hand, forming the shape of a w, hit the much smaller Vanargandr in her already bruised ribs before sending her careening across the ground like a projectile fired from a canon. With the durability of the floor material, Fenrirs momentum didnt easily transfer into the ground as she skid much further than normal, this timeing to aplete stop... With an approving nod, Scthach began to make her way over to Fenrirs side before, as if she had just remembered his presence, turning her gaze towards Vahn. In her characteristic monotone voice, she warned, "When I am teaching, you will not intervene. Your methods will only bring greater hardsh.i.p.s to both of you. If you do not agree with my way of doing things, you may try to change my mind when our training begins..." With this said, she vanished with a natural speed that could even rival [Shundo] before appearing at Fenrirs side. Thetter had lost consciousness with nearly half the bones on the left side of her body being broken. During the battle, Scthach had continued to target Fenrirs left side due to her bnce, seemingly perfect from the perspective of others, leaving a lot to be desired from her point of view... As he watched Scthach gingerly pick up Fenrirs body, Vahn kept himself calm by gripping his fists tight enough to caused blood to drips from his knuckles. Though it turned into small particles soon after, returning to his body due to the influence of [Magia Erebea], the pain was enough to keep him fromshing out. He knew Scthach was right and, based on how determined Fenrir was, thetter likely agreed with the rather foreceful methods. The one thing that worried Vahn to no end was the fact that Scthach had refused to allow for anyone participating in her training to use an [Effigy of the Hero]. She cautioned that, while the artifact was quite powerful, relying on such methods was a mental crutch that would prevent true growth. As Vahn had often hidden the effigys on the girls during their earlier training, for the very same reasons, he could only watch Fenrir desperately trying to increase her strength in silence... Somewhat unexpectedly, Scthach had carried Fenrir over to his side, something that had been rather awkward due to how Vahn was ring at her. Her calm made him feel an incredible feeling of perturbance, causing him to eventually avert his eyes until she was right in front of him. Without leaving any room for argument, Scthach pushed Fenrirs unconscious body toward him, saying, "She worked hard. Take care of her until she wakes up." Then, just as Vahns expression softened a bit, Scthach added, "My mana is low. When you get a chance, I will require your assistance in replenishing it. This ce has more mana than the outside world, but I am unable to absorb it into my body without Magic Circuits. If you do not want to use the previous method, fill a bowl and Ill take it off to the side..." Though she might have put it off untilter under other circ.u.mstances, Scthach could see the blood on Vahns hands, even though it was evaporting at a discernable rate. She had never particrly liked the taste of blood in the past but, after sampling Vahns a few times, Scthach found that she had be somewhat fond of its peculiar and sweet vor. Since it also made her feel alive after the fact, a feeling she had all but forgotten to the sands of time, it was somewhat frustrating to see it wasted due to his misguided anger. For a brief moment, Vahn was tempted to hold out his palm and have Scthachp up his blood like a dog. Immediately following this thought, however, Vahn felt shocked by his own thoughts, finding them uncalled for, regardless of his current state of mind. As he used his sub-processes to try and figure out if anything was wrong, assisted by Sis, Vahns expression on the outside became calm and imcable as he answered, "When it is time for my training to begin, Ill make sure to top you off. For now, return to the outside and revert back to your Spirit form. Im expecting Astolfo to show up any time now, so it will be helpful if there is someone to receive him..." Vahn had given Astolfo the task of escorting Catherine to the Fuyuki City Hyatt Hotel previously but, now that a little more than an hour had passed in the real world, he expected the mboyant Pdin would probably be showing up soon... Showing no discernable change in her expression, Scthach gave an understanding nod before saying, "I will carry out your orders." In the next moment, her body vanished without any form of argument, showing how she effortlessly transitioned between her Teacher and Servant personas. This left Vahn holding Fenrirs body as his own face maintained an expressionless visage, contrary to the chaotic state of his mind. Then, pulling out a thick cushion,parable to a modern beanbag, Vahn plopped down into its plush embrace while holding Fenrir close to his body. Since Scthach wanted her to recover on her own, apparently to train Fenrirs regeneration, he settled on trying to bring her as muchfort as possible so that she could rest easy... --- With the time dtion of the Sub-Space Orb, something that had blown Rins mind when Vahn exined the process, it was another five hours before Scthach eventually appeared within the orb. At this point, Fenrir had already recovered, instantly resuming her training as Vahn meditated at the side with an intense aura surrounding his body. Since she didnt want to interrupt either of them, Scthach made her way over to where Rin was sleeping before squatting down next to her body and poking her cheek. This caused Rins eyes to snap open, resulting in her nearly falling off of the small bed Vahn had brought out for her use. As if she hadnt just startled Rin awake, Scthach inly stated, "Ourpanion has arrived. They are skulking around the Manors perimeter with a terrible disguise on. You should let them in before any of our enemies decide to eliminate him." Though Astolfo was perfectly capable of entering the Tohsaka Manor without assistance, especially with the ability to revert to Spirit form, he wasnt fond of the idea of hiding away. Unless he was forced to do so against his will, Astolfo preferred being the center of attention whenever he could get away with it. He wouldnt dress up in cute clothing while styling his hair simr to a Princess if he wanted to skulk around in the shadows. Having recovered from her initial shock, Rinzily rolled out of bed whilementing, "You know, Scthach, you could show a little bit of tact after what you did to me..." In response to this, Scthach lightly shook her head and, as if correcting Rins misguided views, stated, "You will recover faster by facing your fears head-on. I am not your enemy; this is something you are aware of. I do not believe you would react positively if I treated you with unnecessary kindness." With this said, Scthach turned her attention back to Vahn and Fenrir before walking away from Rin without sparing her a second nce. Thetter was just left nkly staring at Scthachs back, at least until Nobunagamented, "If you work hard, Im sure your ass with develop nicely. Dont gawk too much or you might develop strange tendencies..." With a light flush, Rin red towards Nobunaga, shouting, "Youre one to talk...you...you...rrrrgh...!" Deciding there were no benefits in even humoring Nobunaga with a response, Rin departed the orb in a huff. This left Nobunagaughing in a boisterous manner before picking up one of the small animal-shaped crackers Vahn had given them and biting its head off. She then directed her gaze towards Scthach but, as much as she wanted to try and tease the cold beauty, Nobunaga felt that she would be the one to suffer. The only reason she was spared from having to participate in any training was due to the fact that a container couldnt be any stronger without absorbing the life essence of living humans. Since there was little chance of Vahn using such methods, Nobunaga was wearing blood-red pajamas as shezily watched other people working hard. --- Having detected Scthachs return to the orb, Vahns focus shifted back to reality as he peeled open his eyes and saw her staring at him in the distance. In the next moment, Scthach was standing right in front of him, temporarily creating the illusion there were two of her as the one in the distance faded away soon after. Vahn had no idea how she was able to move at such speeds as, even though he could see her, for some reason it felt like he was never looking at her directly when she moved at high speeds. Understanding what she would inevitably ask, Vahn rose to his feet before unhesitantly cutting his finger. This elicited a rare smile from Scthach as she used her left hand to move aside her hair before bending forward slightly and suckling on his finger. Much like Scthach herself, Vahn chose to close his eyes during the process as it was too easy to let his eyes wander when she was draining his blood. Even if it wasnt intended to be intimate, it undeniably felt that way so, with Scthachs attire essentiallyprised of a purple leotard, Vahn felt it was easier to just focus on the indiscernible sounds caused by the [Mantra of Eternity]... After a few minutes had passed, Scthach released his finger with a light pa sound that made Vahns heart twitch as he dropped his hand to the side and allowed the wound to close up. Then, as if she could not tolerate dying the matter, Scthach asked, "What do you want to learn...?" As there was, quite literally, nothing she couldnt teach, Scthach left it up to her students to choose their own discipline. Even if they pursued a specific kind of magic or skill, she would help them master it with a proficiency rating between B~A. This would ultimately depend on their potential but, seeing that Vahn had no limits, Scthach was admittedly a little excited to see how far he could go. Feeling a strange pressure radiating from Scthachs gaze, Vahn had to fight the urge to take a step back as he decisively answered, "Everything. I want to know what it means to truly master oneself...I want to see the pinnacle that you were able to reach." As Scthach had reached Tier 4 through pure skill, even if her Innates helped, Vahn felt she would help himy a strong foundation that he could rely on in all Records, not just the Nasuverse. For the first time since they had met, Scthachs face showed an expression of genuine surprise, to the point her brows raised and she drew in an audible breath. Immediately following this, Vahn felt a dreadful shiver pass through his body as a determination even greater than his own was reflected in Scthachs eyes. Without mixing her words, Scthachs weight began to shift slightly as she used her characteristically monotone voice to state, "So be it..." Following this, Vahn tried to jerk his head to the side but, even though he was sure he had dodged the attack, Scthachs fist still hit him squarely in the face before sending him flying backward. For a brief moment, Vahns vision was obscured by a sh of light, leaving him to rely on his external senses and domain to evade Scthachs follow-up attack with [Shundo]. When his vision had recovered, Vahns eyes widened in shock as he found his view obscured by Scthachs hand before it tightly gripped his face and mmed him into the hard white floor. It was only at this moment, when a searing pain ran through his head, that Vahn realized that Scthach was able to damage his body. Since he should be outright immune to most attacks, this meant that she was either using her [God yer] from the outset, or her raw power had reached the A-Rank. As some Noble Phantasms didnt even reach this point, Vahn knew that his training with Scthach wasnt something that Tsubakis could evene close to... --- Appearing within the Sub-Space Orb with a confused-looking Rin standing at his side, Astolfo used his hand as a visor as he excitedly eximed, "Woooow~! I never expected a ce like this to exist! Does it really go out-." Without finishing his question, Astolfo was brought to silence in an instant as, in the distance, he watched as a purple-haired woman moved like a machine with infinite precision as she hammered Vahn with heavy blows. His face had swollen up like a pigs, blood dripping from various parts of his body as he was continually pushed back by her seemingly unstoppable rush. Since Astolfo had, technically, lost to Vahn, his mind currently drew a nk as he internally eximed, ("What the heck did I just get myself into!?") (A/N: Alternate Titles: Diggy diggy hole...,Fenrir is the goodest girl (TT ^ TT)...,I feel like there is some kind of catharsis to be had in knowing that Vahn is taking a beating...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1053 - Nightmare

Chapter 1053 - Nightmare

After being folded by Scthachs fist, Vahns legs felt like they were about to give out as, by attempting to stand upright, overwhelming nausea overtook him. If not for the fact he hadnt eaten anything recently, Vahn had no doubt he would have been forced to greet his lunch. Instead, he preferred forth stomach acid and spittle as he released a pained groan, even before Scthachs next hitnded. This time, even with both arms crossed, Vahn failed to defend against the attack at all when Scthach moved her h.i.p.s with the litheness of a snake, changing the angle of her kick like a whip as it bypassed his guard and caught him in the side of the neck. Vahn felt the sickening sensation of her boot sinking into his flesh, breaking bones and rupturing arteries before therger impact force sent him careening across thendscape... It hadnt even taken five minutes before Vahn realized there was almost no resistance he could provide against Scthachs attacks. She never even seemed to blink as she watched for even the most minute movements of his body, seeing through them immediately thereafter. He couldnt even fool her with a feint as, with her speed and strength, both of which were beyond his expectations, Vahn was simply too slow to keep up. The worst part of it all, serving as irrefutable proof of her absolute mastery of all skills and abilities, Scthach had immediately shrouded herself in a red aura after he tried to match her pace with [Cantus Bex]. Not only did she instantly copy the skill for her own use, but Scthachs seemed muchrger and more stable than his. Instead of matching his C-Rank version, Scthach was using a form that was near mastery from the getgo... Vahn felt he would never quite regret anything as much as trying to use an unmastered ability against Scthach. There was few thingsparable to the nothingness that Vahn experienced whenever he would try to hit her with a surprise attack using one of his skills. Not only would she evade it with ease, but the follow-up attack would undoubtedly be his own skill thrown back at him with far greater proficiency. Immediately following that, her beatdown would continue without a single break while, on asion, she wouldnt even let him fall to the ground after starting a series of chained attacks that forced him to stay upright. The one time he had tried toin about it, Scthach had inly answered, "You can still fight." before hitting him in the diaphragm hard enough to leave an indentation of her foot in his body... Now, if not for his ability to keep track of time using the system interface, Vahn felt that he wouldnt be able to urately measure how much time had passed. It felt like there had never been a time before Scthach had started beating him and, with her mechanical movements andpleteck of expression, it felt like a time when he was free from her beating would nevere. It wasnt until she led with her right foot, shattering his left kneecap before stepping in faster than Vahns eyes could follow as she formed a knife with her left hand and pierced his torso, right below his heart. To her credit, Scthach had never dealt potentially fatal damage to him, even knowing such attacks wouldnt actually kill him. Her reasoning for this was that, regardless of how unique his body was, he should never be ustomed to having his vitals struck. If an enemy happened to have a skill that could override his immortality, the only reward for his hubris would be death... Unceremoniously pulling her hand free from his chest, Scthach allowed Vahn to fall to the ground as she stared at her blood-covered hand. Then, sending shivers down his spine, she began to lick her palm and fingers clean before looking down and saying, "You are improving." After this, she rolled his body over so that he was facing towards the endless sky above before squatting down at his side. Vahn mustered what remained of his strength, elerating his healing with [Magia Erebea] as his depleted reserves failed to support the action. This caused Scthach to remark, "You have amazing willpower. Even though you arepletely drained, you still fight...or is it fear...?" As if to confirm her suspicions, Scthach pushed down Vahns shoulder before moving partway across his body and sitting on his stomach. This immediately caused a powerful pressure to radiate outward from Vahns body as he gnashed his teeth before asking, "What are you doing...?" Before she answered, Scthach cupped the sides of his face with both of her hands, answering, "You do not like to be in a submissive position. If you fear being dominated by others, you should improve more quickly. As your Teacher, I am inclined to help you ovee this fear..." Having removed her hands from Vahns face, Scthach traced her finger over one of the holes in Vahns clothing, a ce where she had pierced him in the past. Vahn felt like he was on the verge of exploding, causing strength he didnt know he had to rise up as he struck aside Scthachs hand before trying to headbutt her in the chin. In response to this, she simply leaned forward slightly and, instead of hitting her chin, Vahns face found itself snuggly between her tworge b.r.e.a.s.ts, immediately followed by her hugging his head and saying, "It is not my intention to break you. I cant see it, the heights you can reach...use this power to ovee yourself. You are already very powerful but your mind is filled with hesitation and doubt. You must learn to move without thought, act without hesitation, and follow-through with conviction. The first step on the path to self-mastery is the mastery of the mind..." After finishing her lecture, Scthach released Vahn from her embrace before rising to her feet. There was a bit of blood staining her skintight bodysuit but, much like the blood Vahn had littered about the battlefield, it was already beginning to evaporate into nothingness. Scthach then turned to Fenrir who, from the time the battle hade to an end, had been taking deep breaths at the side to prevent herself from attacking. When Vahn had felt fear, frustration, and rage, Fenrir had felt each of them alongside him, amplified by her own emotions. As Scthach could sense this unique bond they shared, she gave Fenrir a light nod before saying, "I will entrust him to you. Take care of him properly." With these parting words, Scthach closed her eyes before disappearing to conserve her magical power. She had wanted to replenish her reserves at the end of the battle but, seeing the state Vahn was in, she changed her mind. This wasnt because shecked the resolve to take what she wanted, but because it seemed as if Vahn was experiencing an internal struggle, one which threatened to break him if she exacerbated it further. By allowing Fenrir to take care of him, his mind would regain its rity and, by the time he had recovered his energy, Scthach believed Vahn would already have be much stronger. The amount he had improved in just four hours was far beyond her most optimistic estimates, even though it was simply him familiarizing himself with his own body. She could tell, even without Vahn expressly exining the situation, he had experience wielding even greater power. Right now, it was almost as if he was trying to learn how to use his own body, an intriguing thought that only added to his seemingly endless mysteries... The moment Scthach had vanished into thin air, Vahn felt all of his muscles rx as he sprawled himself out on the hard ground with a nk expression on his face. Towards the very end, Vahn had nearly used one of his Command Spells to order Scthach to stop. He was pretty sure this was the only reason she decided not to have her way with him, causing Vahn to feel conflicting emotions of shame, fear, and relief. When Fenrir moved to sit next to his body, these emotions were amplified for a brief moment, only fading when she began to gently stroke his head. This single calming action caused his heart, which felt like it had been gripped by a vice, topletely rx. A warm sensation washed over him as Vahn managed to roll onto his side. Fenrir, understanding his intentions, snuggled up with her back against his chest, allowing them both to experience thefort they hade to expect from each other... --- At this point, nearly fourteen hours had passed within the Sub-Space Orb, giving Rin enough time to take a nap and eat two full meals. Watching Vahn fight against Scthach had shaken her more than she expected, causing even delicious food to taste surprisingly nd. Any feelings of resentment she harbored towards Vahn regarding the severity of his training had disappeared within the first half and hour. Since he seemed like an unstoppable existence within her mind, Rin had been shocked into subdued silence as she watched him get thrashed like a ragdoll. The worst part of it was, when the beating first began, Rin felt like Vahn was finally getting hiseuppance. Now, she felt an extreme level of guilt as she watched him and Fenriry down together, not even bothering to use a bed for additionalfort... Sitting near Rin, though not exactly with her, Astolfo and Nobunaga were actually in high spirits as the former happily poured drinks for thetter. Nobunaga found Astolfos existence interesting as, unlike how she had worn mens clothing to fit in, Astolfo wore womens clothing to stand out. This actually made Nobunaga feel both envious and appreciative of Astolfos existence, especially since thetter seemed weak topliments. If not for the fact that she had set her sights on Vahn, Nobunaga felt it wouldnt have been beneath her toy with Astolfo a few times. Though it would undoubtedly lose its novelty very quickly, it was still an interesting, albeit whimsical, notion... After having adapted to the background noise of Vahns beating, Astolfo had kicked it off with Nobunaga very quickly. He felt as if she were something along the lines of a kindred spirit, even if their reasons were aplete contrast to each other. She reminded him a lot of her formerrade, Rnd who, after being rejected by the woman he had fallen in love with, threw off all his clothes in a mad fit before rampaging around town. He went from being one of the most well-liked and noble amongst the Pdins to a man who would unashamedly engage in ys which, at the time, were highly scandalous. Before Astolfo had managed to restore Rnds sanity by obtaining a [Bottle of Reason] from the moon, he had actuallyin with him several times, the incident which caused him to begin dressing as a woman in the first ce. Though they didnt actually have s.e.x, Rnds possessive nature and greediness in the bedroom were memories that brought a smile to Astolfos face whenever he saw his reflection in the mirror. The hair ornaments he was so fond of had been a gift from Rnd during the time of his madness, something that had be the irresistible proof of their friendship after the fact... With two very different reasons for enjoying each otherspany, Nobunaga and Astolfo both had ruddy faces as a result of their heavy drinking. Astolfo was even leaning against Nobunagas shoulder,ughing effeminately as Nobunaga, perhaps due to muscle memory, had her arm around his shoulder as he groped Astolfos non-existent chest. It was around the time that Astolfo released an audible m.o.a.n that Rin, twin-tails ring, jumped to her feet and shouted, "Can the two of you cut it out!? I cant even form a coherent thought with the two of you acting so...so shamelessly!" Rins interruption caused Astolfo to make a pouting expression as he brought both of his index fingers together, a powerful disy of cuteness that even caused Rin to feel apologetic. As for Nobunaga, she just craned her head back to give Rin a deadpan stare before remarking, "How is it that a man had more feminine charm than an actual woman? You should take some lessons from that Goddess of Beauty hiding in your tits. She might be able to teach you a few things...fuuuu..." Since she wasnt even remotely intimidated by Rin, Nobunaga felt like getting even with her for the p Ishtar had bestowed upon her previously. Feeling Nobunagas words like a hammer on her heart, Rin began to grind her teeth in frustration before deciding to just move to a different location herself. After throwing a few snacks onto herforter, Rin rolled it into a ball and tied off the end before storming off to the other side of the crater Vahn had dug. Nobunaga followed her with an incredulous look on her face while Astolfo, having sobered up a bit, issued an awkwardugh as he rubbed the back of his head. Rising to his feet, Astolfo patted imaginary dust off his skirt before saying, "Im going to go patrol around the Manor to get some fresh air. It feels weird to be in here for too long, almost like the real world is actually the fake..." Waving her hand in a dismissive manner, Nobunaga inly stated, "Do whatever you want, brat. Im going to stay in here and keep an eye on our would-be Master. When you finish up ying around, lets have another drink or two. There isnt much better to do while we wait for the Holy Grail War to start again." Since only fourteen of the one-hundred-twelve hours period Vahn had said they would stay in here had passed, Nobunaga was already beginning to feel bored. Though it was extremely useful to have the Sub-Space Orb to make their preparations, she wished there were more ways to pass the time than just eat snacks and drink sake alone. Astolfo had alleviated a bit of her boredom but, now that he would be going to patrol for a while, Nobunaga knew she would probably be stuck doing nothing for around two-to-three hours... In response to Nobunagas words, Astolfo justughed in an easy-going manner before the casual wear he had been wearing, consisting of tight shorts and a thin blouse with ribbons, changed into his Pdins attire. As Servants summoned to participate in the Holy Grail War, they were all given the intrinsic ability to manifest any clothes they could conceptualize with a simple thought. This hade as a great surprise to Astolfo during the hours immediately following his summoning as he had spent quite a few of them dressing himself up in front of a mirror. With Astolfo vanishing from within the orb, Nobunagaid on her side in a somewhat slovenly manner before unceremoniously scratching around her exposed navel. Following this, she gave a bored yawn before rolling onto her back and sprawling out in much the same way as Vahn had earlier. Then, though Servants couldnt experience true sleep, Nobunaga decided to rx her mind and take a short nap to pass the time. She wondered if her dreams might ovep with Vahns again, allowing her to alleviate her boredom by observing what he had been up to in his previous world. It had been very entertaining to see the efforts he put into bing strong, eventually reaching a point where few could match him... Thinking of her thrashed Master, Nobunaga sighed through her nose before getting a somewhat mischevious idea. Since they were already in a rtively private area, Nobunaga formed a mental image that caused her pajamas to change into a set of blood-red silk lingerie. Though the chances of Vahn doing anything to her while she was asleep were infinitely close to zero, Nobunaga felt like she would have pulled off a sessful prank if he showed even a small reaction to her sleeping figure. This was enough to cause her to snicker a bit as darkness unlike normal unconsciousness slowly descended upon her mind. Towards the end, just as she began to lose awareness, Nobunaga saw the familiar image of a workshop as a boy tirelessly worked away with a look of absolute focus upon his face... --- It took the better part of three hours, even with the increased mana density within the orb, but Vahn eventually replenished his reserves naturally. Neither he nor Fenrir had been sleeping while theyy together as their focus had been on experiencing thefort, not falling prey to it. Now that Vahn had recovered, he felt a lot better than before as he gently inhaled the fragrance of Fenrirs hair before saying, "That woman doesnt know the meaning of the word restraint..." To this, Fenrir nodded her head beforeining, "It is even worse than when I fought life and death battles with Tiona and Ais..." Since death would normally lead to a quick recovery with an [Effigy of the Hero], it wasnt nearly as scary as being beaten to the point that you want to quit but, so long as you have even a small amount of strength left, are unable to... As odd as it might seem, at least from the perspective of a normal person, Vahn couldnt help but agree with Fenrirs assessment. Even so, as he had spent thest three hours deeply considering things, Vahn lightly rubbed the inside of Fenrirs paws as he said, "But we can both be much stronger if we listen to her. Though it was impossible to notice while I was getting beaten, I feel like Ive improved a lot in a short period of time. At this rate, I feel like I may even be able to reach my previous level of power in less than a years time..." At the rate his reserves had been increasing, Vahns initial estimates indicated he would take around three years to even stabilize his power. Now, it was actually hard to urately determine how much he would grow as,pared to any of his previous training, Vahn felt significantly stronger after just one sparring session with Scthach. Once again, Fenrir nodded her head in agreement before saying, "It is painful...but not nearly as painful as the frustration I felt having to run away. I want to be much stronger so, no matter how much it hurts, I will keep standing back up. One day...one day I will surpass her..." Since she knew that the power she and her Master sought was something far beyond Scthach, Fenrir felt that she would never be able to keep pace with him if she couldnt even beat a single woman. She could also tell that Scthachs skill in close-quartersbat was quickly refining her own techniques. This was due to the fact that, while Fenrirs fighting style was somewhat unorthodox, Scthach was able to emte the nearly perfected form of the style when she was beating her... Havinge to an ord, Vahn and Fenrir both tensed up a little before moving to a seated position. The reason why they would have such a reaction was, almost as if she had known they were prepared to begin anew, Scthach had appeared like a phantom right next to them. Her crimson eyes had a slightly dull color, the result of her diminished reserves, but she still emitted pressure like an indomitable mountain as she looked down at them with her expressionless face. Then, like a Judge passing a sentence upon convicted criminals, Scthach looked to Fenrir before saying, "I will have you fight against Astolfo. You need to fight against people that are only a bit stronger than you in order to stabilize your current progress. This will also allow you to familiarize yourself with thebat style of your allies so make sure you pay attention." Fenrirs faced formed a frown but, having experienced the detriments to trying to argue with Scthach, she reluctantly rose to her feet before running over to where Nobunaga and Astolfo had resumed their drinking. At the same time, Scthach had turned her attention to Vahn, saying, "You need to replenish my magical power. Fenrir is only trying to master a single style so she can gain much from fighting simrly skilled opponents. Since you are greedy and want to master everything, I will be giving you the special attention you require. Until you reach the point where nothing can shake you, I will continue to break you down over and over again...prepare yourself." Since Vahn hadnt stood up yet, Scthach punctuated her words by suddenly materializing her [Gae Bolg] and striking towards his shoulder. At first, the spear bounced off an invisible membrane but, before Vahn was able to roll to the side and leap to his feet, Scathach had struck a second time with even greater force. It felt like the de literally curved to match his trajectory, piercing Vahn in the shoulder regardless of his efforts. Following this, Scthach twisted the spear while pulling it towards her, jerking his body forward at the same time as she kicked him in the stomach. This, once again, sent Vahn flying a great deal but, instead of chasing him directly, Scthach had stopped in ce before licking the edge of her spear with the same nk expression that was beginning to imprint itself deep within Vahns psyche... As if to exin her purpose, Scthach stated, "You are not through with the first lesson, but I will begin teaching you the second starting now..." In the midst of saying this, Scthach pulled out a second spear before vanishing like a phantom from view. Vahn felt two sources of incredible heat, one in his back and the other across his leg as Scthach added, "Once you have mastered the mind, the next step is mastering the heart. You must reach a point beyond instincts, using your feelings to guide your actions without requiring excess thought. If you can maintain a clear mind and a serene heart, it wont matter what your enemies throw at you..." At the very end of her words, Scthach actually skewered Vahn through the chest using a spear that had a rounded disk at the base of the de. As a result, Vahns heart was ripped from his chest, allowing him to see it still pulsating at the end of her spear... Even though he had be ustomed to extreme levels of pain, there was always a powerful sense of incongruity whenever he saw scenes like this. Vahn wasnt afforded any time to contemte how absolutely nightmarish his current situation was, however, as Scthach unceremoniously pulled her spear free, taking his heart with it. Then, in a voice that caused Vahn to once again experience a profound nothingness, Scathach calmly stated, "You have a powerful heart..." before cing her lips over one of the valves and sucking the blood from within. It was at this moment, much like before, that Vahn felt his convictions slipping away as, even if he managed tost through Scthachs training, would he even be the same person...? (A/N: Alternate Titles: It turns out Scthachs red eyes are actually...the Mangekyou Sharingan!?,Two abnormal Servants...,Dayum, Scthach, you scary (O______O)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1054 - Information

Chapter 1054 - Information

Though it had not been long, less than five days, Vahn felt as if thest hundred hours or so could be directlypared to a several-year period. Currently, he wasying at the bottom of the now filled miniatureke, enjoying the pressure of the water and the cool sensation against his skin. Almost as if he were meditating, his mind was in a state where the only thought gracing his consciousness were the nigh-imperceptible sounds from the [Mantra of Eternity]. He did not move, not even to breathe, while his heart rate had slowed so considerably that it would have been more conducive to measure its rhythm in beats-per-hour than beats-per-minute... In this state, where he simply existed, Vahn could feel every subtle vibration from the surroundings, including the gentle ebb and flow of the water, the distant echo of voices, the sound of water being disced as people swam through it. If he chose to focus, in this state of borderline nothingness, Vahn could even perceive the heartbeats of others, a gentle yet consistent vibration that seemed to spread through his body like a healing wave. In a way, these vibrations were very simr to the [Manta of Eternity], as it would seem to not exist the moment you truly tried to focus on it. The only way to experience it was to let things go, freeing your mind from all other distractions so that you could simply be as one with the natural and gentle rhythm of the universe... Even Vahn wasnt quite sure how long he had beenying at the bottom of theke, at least not before his finger twitched slightly when the sound of water breaking echoed through the water. This brought his awareness back from the nothingness, causing Vahns eyes to slowly open as the swift figure of Fenrir, wearing what appeared to be a traditional school swimsuit, appeared in his vision. For a brief moment after their gazes ovepped, neither Vahn nor Fenrir made any attempts to move as they simply understood each otherpletely in a single instant. Vahn then proceeded to nod before rolling to position his feet under himself in order to gentle kick off from thekebed and ascend to the surface. Breaking through the surface of the water, Vahn suddenly felt the world was a lot warmer than before as he took in his first breath over thest six hours. It tasted crisp and refreshing, causing him to issue a natural and gentle smile as he extricated himself from the water, directing his gaze to the nearby Rin before his words got caught in his throat. Though this could have been misconstrued as shock, due to how Rin was wearing an intricate red bikini, it was the fact that someone Vahn hadnt expected to see was standing next to her. During the moment when he wasying at the bottom of theke, Vahn hadpletely turned off his domain to cut himself off from outside distractions. Rin seemed mildly surprised by his confusion at first, as it always felt like Vahn knew everything, but she quickly exined, "Gray came to pass information directly to prevent any information from leaking. Since you said this is essentially an isted space, I thought it would be best to bring her inside so she could report directly..." Vahn had already assumed much the same so he wasnt surprised by Rins words in the least. What he really wanted to know was how Gray had the time to change into an off-ck swimsuit. Deciding to let the mattery, Vahn just gave Gray, who was still wearing her hooded cloak, a curt nod before saying, "Your swimsuit suits you well." Then, without missing a step, Vahn cast his nce over Rins body in an obvious manner before smiling as he said, "You look amazing, Rin." Since he had little doubt that Rin would have worn something more conservative at a beach or pool, Vahn knew that she had specifically worn a bikini to catch his attention. Though he wasnt quite at the level Scthach wanted him to be at, not by a longshot, Vahn decided it was a lot easier to just say whatever was on his mind without worrying about the potential ramifications. Rins face turned slightly red while, somewhat unexpectedly, Gray pulled her hood down to cover her face before closing her mantle in an apparent attempt to hide her body. Vahn withheldment about her peculiar actions as he had some idea as to the reason why she was acting bashfully. To make things easier for them both, Vahn changed from wearing nothing but a pair of tight swimwear, not all that dissimr from a professional swimmer, into a set of casual clothing. He then gestured to the side, where a series of furniture was loosely arranged to amodate anyone wanting to rx within the Orbs confines. In passing, Vahn spooked Rin a bit by snaking his hand around her waist and leading her along with him as if it were the most natural thing to do... --- Gray, hugging a penguin-shaped pillow to hide the front of her body, was seated across from Vahn, Rin, and Fenrir as she exined, "Last night, a Magus hailing from China, named Wu Lim Shi, was eliminated from the Holy Grail War. His Servant was the Assassin-ss, a Heroic Spirit named Yan Qing. We are unsure of what happened with Assassin, but it is almost guaranteed that he has been contracted to the Master of the second Assassin-ss Servant, Hassan I Sabbah. Like you, some of the enemy Masters seem to be trying to expand their forces...there is a good chance alliances have already been made as well." Hearing Grays report, Vahn realized that the Grail War was bing even more twisted andplex than ever before. Though it wasnt unheard of for Masters to take in additional Servants, it was counterintuitive to thepletion of the Heavens Feel ritual. At the same time, unless they had means he was unaware of, it was nearly impossible for other Masters to manifest more than a single Servant. They could certainly have more than one bound to them, but they were unable to establish an active link with two manifested Servants without overburdening themselves. This was one of the mechanisms that Holy Grail used to ensure that situations like Vahns, where he was hoarding multiple Servants, wouldnt provide an even more ridiculous advantage... Without thinking too deeply into it, Vahn gave a curt nod before exining, "We can deduce that these changes are either caused by the Einzberns modifications to the ritual...or due to the current abnormalities within the Grail itself. Now that the trend has been established, there is a good chance this Grail War will be apetition to see which Master can consolidate the greatest number of Servants under their influence...even then, I imagine they will still have multiple Masters on their side. We will have to prepare to fight against teams and alliances in the future..." Vahn knew that, unlike him, even if a Master could cheat the system by manifesting a second Servant, it wouldnt be easy. He could mitigate the negative influences without any effort at all, either due to the nature of his own body and mind or as a hidden benefit provided due to his status as a Moderator. Even when he had Nobunaga, Scthach, and Astolfo all manifested at the same time, Vahn didnt feel even the smallest burden on his mind and body. To make matters even more advantageous for himself, Nobunaga, Astolfo, and, using her ability to make use of any skill, Scthach; all three of them had the [Independent Action] skill. So long as they avoidedbat, they would be able to stay manifested for well over a day without having to resupply, an affair that Vahn was bing increasingly desensitized to... In response to Vahns words, Rin had a thoughtful expression on her face as she suggested, "Maybe it would be best toy low and let the other Masters take each other out. There still hasnt been any sign of the Ruler-ss Servant appearing and, other than both Assassins, we dont really know the identities of the other Servants." Rin felt a strange incongruity in her own words as, going bymon sense, the Assassin-ss Servants should have been the hardest to identify since they would rarely fight directly. Shaking her head, Gray quickly corrected, "We know the identities of several other Servants now. It is one of the things I came to report..." These inly stated words caused Rin to startle slightly, followed by her eximing, "Come on, Gray, that is the kind of thing you mention earlier...!" This outburst caused Gray to bury her face into the top of the penguin-shaped pillow, resulting in Rin bing slightly fretful as she waved her hands and said, "Hey, Im not ming you or anything. I..." Before Rin could continue, Vahn ced his hand on her shoulder before lightly shaking his head to get her to quiet down. With Rin falling silent, Vahn looked towards Gray before gently asking, "Gray, can you please tell us about the other Servants? It will be very helpful..." In response to these words, Gray peered back with her stark blue eyes before nodding her head and somewhat sheepishly exining, "We have been able to confirm the identities of one of the Saber-ss Servants, the second Rider-ss Servant, and one of the Berserkers...also, based on the information you provided, there is a good chance that the Caster you encountered previously is someone the Mages Association has an interest in..." Though he was a little bothered by the fact that Gray hadnt actually named any of the Servants when she was speaking, Vahn remained patient and simply nodded his head in response. This seemed to get Gray to rx a little more as she sat a little straighter before exining, "The Saber-ss is a Servant by the name of Lakshmibai, also known as the Jeanne dArc of India. She had fought against the Berserker weve identified, a troublesome Servant identified as Asterios, the Minotaur. From what weve been able to collect, it seemed that Lakshmibai was seriously injured in their battle before ultimately managing to escape. Thest Servant, the Rider-ss, could prove even more troublesome...he is a Servant named Ozymandias, the man known as Ramesses II, or the God-King..." As Gray was giving her exnation, Vahn was already sorting through the information on all the named Servants with the assistance of Sis. Lakshmibai seemed like she would probably join their side if he managed to encounter her Master, but the other two would undoubtedly prove troublesome. Asterios legend already made him out to be a monstrously powerful figure so, with the [Mad Enhancement] of being a Berserker-ss, he would be difficult to deal with head-on. As for Ozymandias, it wouldnt really matter all that much if the man himself hadnt been that powerful in life. With titles like God-King, the Heroic Spirit manifested by the Grail would undoubtedly be on a level all his own. While his subprocess mind was sifting through the legends to try and discern any exploitable weaknesses the three might have, Vahn kept his attention on Gray as he asked, "What can you tell us about the Caster we encountered? He doesnt seem like an evil individual, so I n to try and recruit him to our side." Though they were quickly running out of ally slots, as they still needed to sacrifice six Servants in order to summon the Greater Grail, Vahn felt like the Caster that had bested Fenrir would be a powerful ally. At the same time, Vahn had already realized that things were developing in a simr way to his experience within Danmachi. It hadnt been his intention outright, by he quickly found himself surrounded by girls and, though Astolfo was technically a male, Vahn felt he didnt serve the role of a stop-gap in the least... In response to Vahns question, Gray showed a rare smile before exining, "If his appearance is as Rin previously described, that Caster-ss Servant should be a man by the name of Paracelsus Von Hoenheim. When he was alive, he was one of the most prominent Alchemist and Magecraft researchers in the entire world. Some even credit him as being the Father of Modern Alchemy, due to the vast knowledge he freely shared with everyone. Even the production of modern [Philosophers Stone]s uses the form he had provided, requiring no sacrifices in order to achieve a simr result to the original...!" Vahn was a little surprised by Grays enthusiasm as, other than when they fought, she seemed like a quiet and demure girl. Knowing that revealing his surprise would cause her to fall silent, Vahn kept a gentle smile on his face as hemented, "He sounds like an amazing person. Now I have even more of a reason to try and recruit him..." This sentiment seemed to be shared by Gray who, since the moment she began talking about Paracelsus, had an expression of adtion on her face. As for Rin, she had apletely nk expression at the moment as she looked between Vahn and Gray, internally asking herself, ("What the heck is going on here? Ive never seen Gray talk so much before...") For a few minutes straight, Gray continued to talk somewhat enthusiastically about all the aplishments that Paracelsus had .u.mted in life. As Vahn had already sorted through the mans information in his mind, her actions were more than a little redundant, but he decided it wouldnt hurt to humor her. By the end of her story, which made Paracelsus out to be a figure that even gods show bow before, Gray wasnt even using the penguin to hide anymore. Since she had a youthful figure, even while being in herte twenties, Vahn felt this was the best way for her to be. Seeing a woman walk around in a solemn and demure state was a little saddening as,pared to almost anything else, nothing quite added to the natural beauty of the world quite like the sincere expression of happiness people were capable of showing. It was the kind of thing that people would fight tooth and nail to protect, regardless of the nightmares they might have to face... Unfortunately, Grays smile didntst for too much longer as, much like the legend of other Heroes, Paracelsus didnt have a good end. Because he had been publishing his research freely, both within the Magus, Church, and Civilianmunities, he caused a lot of the traditionalists who believed that Magecraft should be kept a secret to turn against him. Paracelsus seemed to genuinely believe that Magecraft, if freely propagated, would allow humanity to reach true prosperity. He ignored the warnings and threats, all the way until the very moment the Mages Association sent its Executors to assassinate him. ording to Gray, he offered no resistance to the very end, even saying to his murderers, "When all of you return to each of your homes, please be affectionate to your children. Even showing it to your neighbors kids is fine. As the light that I sought, is in them..." Vahn had to admit that he was a bit shaken by Grays words as, if they were true, the people in power had essentially killed one of the kindest and most noble people he had ever heard of...all to protect their secrets and secure their own power. He even suspected that the only reason they allowed Paracelsus to live as long as he had was to benefit from his research for themselves. The order to kill him must havee from someone who had learned about a recent breakthrough that Paracelsus had made and, not wanting it to be freely shared with other members of the Magus Community, ordered his murder before stealing the research for themselves... Seeing Gray suddenly drop into low spirits, Vahns own smile grew topensate as he stated in a calm and serious tone, "I will make sure that Paracelsus is able to achieve his dream this time around. In this modern era, the Mages Association and the Holy Church would be hard-pressed to suppress information spread through the inte. I can help Paracelsus establish a workshop in secret, using this Sub-Space Orb to keep his presence concealed from the rest of the world. Every breakthrough he makes, I will make sure it spreads to each end of the globe...though his dream may not be the most realistic, I cant help but want to believe that the path he saw was the correct one..." As Vahns most sincere desire, other than returned home, was to help people that were suffering, he found Paracelsus ideals worthy of his envy. Unlike the path he had chosen, which seemed to be one filled with bloodshed and ughter, Paracelsus had walked the path of a true pacifist. He seemed to sincerely believe in the goodness of mankind, even if it didnt exist in the present. By focusing his efforts on making the world a better ce for the generations to follow, Paracelsus believed that the world would eventually be a ce where everyone could be happy, much the same as Vahn himself believed. Though their means were nearly pr opposites of each other, as Vahn believed in merit, effort, and bnce, their end desire wasnt all that dissimr... Though not nearly as vibrant as before, Gray returned a gratified smile in response to Vahns im before saying, "I will choose to believe you..." As these words left her lips, however, Gray seemed startled by herself as practically jumped to her feet before asking, "How do I leave this ce...?" in a hurried tone. Vahn did his best to prevent his expression from changing in the slightest as he wrote the word in the air, doing his best not to focus on it. As a result, Gray, Fenrir, Rin, and even Nobunaga all vanished from within the Orb. This caused Vahn to instantly burst outughing, even when all three returned a few secondster with slightly reddened faces... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Man, Scthach f.u.c.k.i.e.d Vahns shit up xD...,Paracelsus is bae,Ha, gotem...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1055 - Radiance

Chapter 1055 - Radiance

With evening quickly descending upon the outside world, Vahn and Rin had gathered everyone together to discuss their n of action for the third night of the Holy Grail War. Rin had started things off by giving her opinion, stating, "I think its a bad idea to go out tonight. Though we have more information about our enemies, this has only revealed that they are more powerful than we expected. Since we have this Sub-Space, I think it would be a better idea to focus on increasing ourbat strength further. Giving up more than two days worth of time just to idle about waiting for an enemy to appear doesnt make any sense." As Rin had also been steadily increasing her own power, though not nearly as much as Fenrir and Vahn, she wanted to continue focusing on her progress. Scthach was a veritable treasure trove of information so Rin had beenpiling thick notebooks detailing everything she had inquired about. It wasnt often a Magus would have ess to someone with limitless knowledge so it almost seemed wasteful to go outside and search for enemies when most Masters were just hiding away. Searching around the city would just expose them to whatever their enemies had nned while remaining back at her Manor allowed them to be more reactive. Though this also meant it would be possible for some Servants to use their Noble Phantasms to try and destroy the whole building, few Masters would have their Servants take such action. The amount of magical power such attacks required could severely reduce their power, meaning any failed attempt to take out an enemy almost guaranteed your own defeat... Hearing Rins reasoning, Vahn was actually in agreement with her, though for decidedly different reasons. With his ability to quantify his progress with the Experience function of the system, Vahn could tell he was on the verge of a minor breakthrough in several skills. It would only take a few hours of a concerted effort for him to potentially reach the next rank, qualitatively increasing his strength. Though others had to dedicate themselves toprehending things in a slow and methodical fashion, he could bypass this requirement by simply acting with intent. The amount of experience he got for each action varied greatly, depending on his efforts, but it still gave Vahn an edge over almost everyone else. Piggybacking off Rins words, Vahn gave a small nod before saying, "I agree with Rin. However, I also think it is too risky to simply hole ourselves up without making an appearance. I believe our enemies have been observing our movements so, if we suddenly go on the defensive, they may assume there is something happening internally that requires our focus. This could let us bait out any of the less cautious enemies, but Id rather not get Rins Manor destroyed just to lure a Servant or two." After seeing how much devastation Ishtars arrow had caused, Vahn didnt share the same confidence Rin possessed in the enemy Masters restraint. If one of their enemies had a long-ranged, Anti-Mountain Noble Phantasm, the only thing that would remain of Rins house would be the bas.e.m.e.nt and workshop. Somewhat unexpectedly, Scthach immediately gave her view on things, adding to what Vahn said in a cold and monotone voice. She even seemed to be shutting down any arguments Rin might make as she looked directly at her while saying, "Stillness leads to stagnation. We must constantly be in motion to prevent our enemies from getting the advantage. They may be biding their time in order toplete various rituals andrge-scale magic formations. If we cannot interrupt their efforts, it will be much harder to deal with themter." As only eight Servants had been identified, of a possible fifteen, Scthach was of the mind that it was necessary to take action immediately, both to avoid having their own base attacked and to prevent the enemies from having time to finish their preparations. Rin felt incredibly tiny with Scthachs gaze focused on her, even though she had already started to get over her trauma from what was now nearly a week prior. Seeing Vahn and Fenrir tirelessly work to improve,bined with her own requests of Scthach for information, had helped a great deal. Still, having someone that had an iprehensible number of deaths on her hands staring directly at her wasnt something that Rin could bear withposure. This,bined with the fact that she trusted Scthachs judgment, caused Rin to say, "Then we should move as a group before having Vahn teleport back with those who arent going to participate in the fighting. Though I want to help, I feel it is more important that I do everything I can to increase my strength for therger battles that will ur in the future. Even if Ishtar and Ereshkigal are both very powerful, my Od isnt enough to support them for extended battles. I will continue to train here in order to squeeze out every little bit of potential I can manage..." With Rin voicing her own opinion, the floor was open for everyone else to do the same, leading to Fenrir surprisingly saying, "I am not strong enough to fight. I will stay with Rin to keep her safe and continue training. Unless Master calls me, I will keep training without stopping...I will get stronger, stronger than anyone...!" As she already felt much stronger, after just a few days of training, Fenrir wanted to capitalize on her current momentum. The fact she had grown so quickly was the only proof she needed to understand how weak she had been previously. After training with Eva and reaching a point where most enemies couldnt fight against her, she had be nearly ascent as her Master. Now that she had seen several enemies that she was borderline powerless against, Fenrir was determined to train until she either hit a wall...or broke through itpletely... Following Fenrirs words, Astolfo was the next to speak, adding in a boisterous and high-pitched tone of voice, "Ill go fight~! If I keept sitting around in this ce for much longer, I might just lose my mind, ahahahaha~!" Though it was interesting at first, Astolfo had been spending more time outside of the orb than inside of it. There wasnt really anything to do within the infinite white space other than hanging out with Nobunaga. Though thetter was funpany, Astolfo felt like things would be plicated between them if he kept messing around. He didnt want tomit any acts that would lose his credibility with Vahn before he had even aplished anything in the Holy Grail War... Astolfos words seemed to have been a trendsetter as, immediately following them, Nobunaga showed a somewhat vicious expression as she said, "Im also beginning to grow impatient. Even the finest sake begins to lose its charm if you arent working hard to earn it. Since Ive .u.mted a bit of debt, Ill put in some effort if wee across any enemies." This was followed by Scthach giving a curt nod before she also added, "I must uphold my dignity as a Teacher. If you face an enemy that you cannot defeat, I will bear the burden for you. In exchange, you will continue to work just as hard as you have been. My expectations for you have only increased, Vahn. Do not disappoint me." With how her words always sounded stern and to the point, Vahn formed a wry smile before saying, "Sure...Ill be in your care." Though it was already his intention, Vahn could understand from this Teacher of his that she fully intended to have him fight without her help. She would only step in if he couldnt handle it, much like how he had behaved to the girls in the past. Being in the receiving end of things made Vahn feel a little awkward but, having Scthachs lessons literally beaten into him prevented him from allowing it to show through prominently. At the same time, Vahn resolved himself to put in his maximum effort, knowing full-well that Scthach would only be harsher in his training if he was defeated in battle... Once everyone had made their intentions clear, Vahn lead the conversation towards their n of action for the evening. They would all leave together before he used his Qinglong form to bring Fenrir and Rin back to the Manor. After that, Vahn wanted to return to the area where Caster had previously been located. He harbored little hope that the Master-Servant duo would still be in the area but it didnt hurt to check. Depending on whether or not he was able to meet with Paracelsus, Vahn would either return to the Manor or search the area to the West of the city, an area restricted to the public known as the Einzbern Forest. With the Holy Grail War already in full-swing, Vahn was curious about what one of the three major yers in the event was up to. Thus far, they had beenying low so, if his intuition proved correct, Vahn felt like they may have already thrown a wrench into things. Since the Ruler-ss Servant had yet to appear, he suspected they may have done something to either interfere, if not outright im the Ruler for themselves... Though their discussionsted for a somewhat tiring two hours, this only ounted for the passage of seventeen minutes in the outside world. By the time Vahn, Rin, and Fenrir were leaving the Tohsaka Manor, it was only a little after 6 PM, the very edge of the horizon still tinged orange and purple with the setting sun. This would have been quite the sight under normal circ.u.mstances but, with the city-wide formation in effect, all the natural colors of the world seemed muted. Regardless, Vahn led Fenrir and Rin by hand until they had traveled a fair distance from the Tohsaka Manor. Then, after teleporting them back to the interior, Vahn shared a moderately affectionate moment with the two girls before he ultimately set out under the veil of the night... --- With the cool evening air gently rustly his hair, Vahn stared out over Fuyuki City or, more specifically, an area in the Shinto District that was around 7km away from the Fuyuki Bridge. This was where Caster had been located the previous night but, now that Vahn was seeing the sight for the second time, there wasnt even a warehouse present. Even with his domain, Vahn could hardly discern the smallest ripple of foreign mana, something that wasnt too surprising considering how fine-tuned Paracelsus control seemed to be. Though there was still a chance he could follow these minute traces to their origin, Vahn suspected it would be an ultimately fruitless endeavor since Paracelsus would have taken steps to cover his tracks and mislead anyone trying to follow him... Around the time when Vahn was considering whether or not to immediately head to the Einzbern Forest, a small ripple of mana appeared next to him before Scthach manifested herself at his side. Vahn looked back at her with a questioning stare, followed by Scthach saying, "When treated seriously, there is no difference between training and battle. Your pride and arrogance are poor excuses for negligence. When you fight, you should not y with your enemies. Even if they must fall to your de, it is better to have died an honorable death than to be pitied for their weakness..." With this said, Scthach vanished from view once again, leaving Vahn nkly staring at the empty space she had previously upied... For a moment, Vahn considered asking why Scthach would choose to say such a thing but, almost as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he had received his answer. From high above, like a star being born into existence, a golden radiance began to shine down before the figure of a handsome man with dark-brown hair, golden eyes, and a tanned body came into existence. For a brief moment, Vahn was a little surprised as, with the exception of a few subtle variations, the man wasnt all that dissimr to himself. This wasnt just their appearance, either, but the aura emanating from the man that practically screamed, King. Vahn didnt even need to guess who this Servant was as, based on the ck fabrics, golden essories, and blue ents, it was easy to see the man was Egyptian in origin. Though Vahn felt apulsion to swap positions with the Servant he believed to be Ozymandias, an evenrger part of him wanted to knock the so-called God-King from the sky. When this thought crossed his mind, Vahn recalled Scthachs words and couldnt help internally rebuking himself, even as he externally smiled while saying, "Ozymandias, God-King of Egypt...I wonder, what are your intentions for appearing here? How did you find me...?" Though Vahn assumed thetter had been courtesy of Scthach, he still wanted to see how Ozymandias would respond. At the same time, Vahn was going over his information once again, a peculiar incongruity rising in his heart due to the simrities he shared with this man known as the God-King. Not only had Ozymandias brought great prosperity to his people, he also married numerous beauties, including the most beautiful woman in the world. During his reign, he was reputed to have sired more than a hundred children, and those were only the ones that had been recorded in the royal annals... As if Vahns recognition of his identity was pleasant to the ears, Ozymandias gave an approving yet egotistical smile as he said, "It is good that you recognize this King of Kings, knave. In recognition for your aplishment, We will allow you the opportunity to state your name. Though We will not trouble ourselves to grant you full honors, know that your name will be immemorialized in this God-Kings heart, at least for a time." With his deep voice enting almost every single one of his words, Vahn barely managed to avoid frowning in annoyance with Ozymandias haughty attitude. At the same time, he realized that his act when first confronting Astolfo wasnt all that dissimr, causing Vahn to feel the need to reflect on how he presented himself as an Emperor in the future... Pulling out a set of nondescript ck des, and act that caused Ozymandias eyes to sharpen considerably, Vahn smiled as hepressed his domain to only 2km, drastically increasing the pressure. At the same time, in response to Ozymandias words, Vahn inly, yet confidently stated, "I am Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Emperor. Come, God-King, I will test your mettle...!" At the end of his statement, Vahn moved like a phantom with [Koku Shundo] and his telekinesis. Ozymandias seemed to be able to stand in the sky with the same ease as others would walk onnd so it looked like the battle would be fought amongst the heavens. With a contemptuous expression on his face, Ozymandias crossed his arms and muttered, "Foolish..." in a somber tone. At the same time, as if manifested from nothingness, a golden bowsprit emerged in front of Ozymandias on a crash course with Vahn. Thetter twisted his body in mid-air to evade it but, even after avoiding it by several centimeters, Vahn felt a searing heat on his back as his flesh peeled away before instantly turning to ashes. This wasnt enough to deter his attack, however, as Vahn transitioned into his Zhuque form after sensing the golden arc contained almost pure Yang Elemental Energy. Seeing Vahn suddenly burst into vermillion mes, Ozymandias actually began retreating backward as he asked, "Are you descended from a God of the Sun? This is starting to be interesting..." Now taking the battle a little more seriously, Ozymandias pulled out a long staff that was simr to an Egyptian Crook. He used this to try and deflect Vahns swords, which were now burning white-hot, but thetter simply ced them back into his Inventory. This caused Ozymandias strike to hit empty air as a slightly surprised looked adorned his previously arrogant expression. Attempting to strike Ozymandias chest with his hands, Vahn reached forward with enough speed to create a ck blur along the trajectory of his movement. However, in a manner simr to how Astolfo had been able to evade him, Ozymandias moved back with slightly faster speed than Vahns strike. This caused him to overextend a bit, resulting in Vahn twisted his body by instinct as he kicked skyward to deflect Ozymandias blow. In the same motion, Vahn fired a pir of me towards Ozymandias, once again surprising the man as he manifested a golden mirror that simply absorbed the attack. Now it was Vahns turn to be surprised, especially when the mirror began to glow like an actual sun before reflecting his own attack back at him... Knowing his mes couldnt be used to him his Zhuque form, Vahn chose to meet the attack head-on, absorbing the expended energy back into his body while spreading his wings in a wide arc. The tips of each feather began to glow with an intense light but, instead of firing off his attack, Vahn immediately retreated with [Koku Shundo] as an even greater radiance expanded below the periphery of his vision. Before Vahn even observed the origin of the golden radiance, he pulled out his [Yoichi Bow] before losing a [Yi] arrow towards Ozymandias face. Thetter had just been about to take a stand on a 30m long golden arc that had sails that seemed to be made of pure Yang Elemental Energy. Sensing the danger contained within the arrow, Ozymandius raised his staff high, causing arge pir of golden-white light to rise from the deck of the golden arc. This didnt outright destroy the [Yi] arrow, however, and instead caused it to take effect upon contact with the pir of light. Immediately following this, Vahn realized he had erred slightly as, while he had been able to resist the effects of a 3-Star [Yi] rtively easily in the past, the current him had no such luxury. In an instant, he found himself pulled towards the ck sphere of gravity that had formed above the arc, barely managing to break away from the gravitational pull with his Qinglong form. Lacking the means to teleport through space as easily as Vahn, Ozymandias face formed a deep grimace as golden light shrouded his body, anchoring him to the arc. Even with the intense gravitational pull, the arc itself remained stable within the air without showing signs of copse. It, along with Ozymandias himself, was able to tide through the worst part of the arrows effect as the ck sphere of death began to shrink at a discernable rate. Just as he was about to rx, however, Ozymandias turned his eyes skyward to where he had sensed the approach of impending danger. There, as if mirroring their first meeting, Vahn was standing in the sky as he shot several ck arrows towards the golden arc, each having three small sun-shaped runes glowing on their side... Without wasting a single moment, Ozymandias immediately raised his staff once again, erecting a massive golden barrier to protect the arc as he incanted "I shall give you a reward, lightless one." "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and bow down! My infinite brilliance. The sun descends here! Ramesseum Tentyris...!" With this incantation finished, the golden arc beneath Ozymandias body began shining with a radiance far greater than the sun as it sent out a wave of pure golden light to seemed to encroach upon reality itself. Even with his best attempts at evading the light, Vahn soon found himself in apletely differentndscape than the Fuyuki City skies. In the distance, there was a vast and seemingly infinite desert while, nearly as far as the eye could see, Vahns vision was dominated by an incalcble amount ofplex and ornate temples... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I imagine it is beneficial to have ess to unlimited knowledge as a Magus....,Scthachs foresight (O_O)...,Emperor vs. God-King) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1056 - Sunset

Chapter 1056 - Sunset

With his surroundings suddenly changing so drastically, it didnt take a grand feat of deduction to conclude that Vahn had found himself within a Reality Marble. Vahn could remember Rin describing it as a phenomenon that centers around the materialization and projection of ones inner world, often taking a form and function that provided the user an almost insurmountable advantage. In legend, Ozymandias was known to have built several grand Temples, many dedicated to the various gods that supposedly inhabited his body. Because of his ambitions, it was recorded that Ozymandias had dered, "all temples of past, present, and future exists for my divine purpose". As a result, it seemed like every temple, regardless of when, where, and for whatever purpose, had found itself within this infinitely vast space... Instead of moving to attack, both Vahn and Ozymandias stared at each other from a distance, thetter now having a far more serious expression as he said, "Imend you, Sage Emperor. To force me to this extent, know that you have earned the right to raise your head high in the afterlife. I will have your body enshrined within my grandest mausoleum, a resting ground reserved for only the greatest Pharaohs recorded in the annals of history. Now, quake in awe at the might of all the Gods of Egypt...!" With his words echoing through the area, each of the temples in the surroundings seemed toe alive with an overwhelming magical aura. Vahn could see seven giant Sphinxes ascend towards the sky while, from the ground below, green tendrils coiled towards him at an almost imperceptible speed. Vahn, still in his Qinglong form, attempted to teleport in an effort to evade but, much to his surprise, the fabric of Space-Time in the surroundings seemed immovable. As a result, his only option was to abandon his Qinglong form and attempt to evade using the enhanced agility of his Baihu form. This ultimately proved a futile effort, however, as the tendrils of green energy moved close to 30,000kmh without being affected by rapid changes in trajectory. Vahnmented more in this one moment than ever before that he was unable to use Lightning and Light Elemental Magic without a lot of preparation. The only thing he could do was tuck in his arms and legs, shrinking his body as much as possible as the green energy mmed into his body before, as if containing a mind of its own, it attempted to enter through his ears, nose, and mouth... With the foreign energy invading his body, Vahn was beginning to panic before, nearly causing him tough out loud, the energy was broken down far faster than it could invade him. Understanding that the sentient green energy was just an advanced poison containing a curse, Vahn rxed and just let the tendrils coil around his body as he leaped through the sky to attack Ozymandias. Thetter was slightly surprised that Vahn hadnt immediately died, as even Servants would eventually s.u.mb to his curse rather quickly. Even the most powerful would be severely weakened so he misconstrued Vahns attack as thest-ditch efforts of a dying man as hemanded, "Go. Give him the honorable death he seeks..." Six of the seven Sphinxes that had formed a defensive formation around Ozymandias immediately moved to intercept Vahn the moment they heard their God-Kings order. The one at the very front, seemingly made of aposite of bronze and marble, attacked Vahn with its golden teeth and ws. As the creature was more than 10m long, and rtively slow, Vahn spun through the air like apetition flier before scraping his ws along the underside of the Sphinxs stoney torso. He was a little taken aback that his ws were only able to form thin lines on the stone but, instead of going for a second strike, Vahn slipped through the gap in the Sphinxs legs before targetting the next one. Seeing Vahn unhesitantly charge at it, the second Sphinx, this time covered from head to w in golden mes, released a loud roar that carried with it a heatwave easily reaching more than 3,000 degrees celsius. Vahn, however, waspletely undeterred by this as his body became shrouded in vermillion mes while both forearms were covered in ck scales. As the heatwave mmed into his body, Vahn created another foothold before twisting jumping headfirst into the pressure while forming a prative membrane with his [Cantus Bex] magical shroud. This gave him more than enough momentum to ovee the powerful roar, allowing Vahn to uppercut the bellowing Sphinx, forcing its mouth shut in the process. Though Vahn was able to send it flying back several meters, he realized that his attacks werent actually doing damage, at least to the two Sphinxes he had attacked. While doing his best to dodge theirbined attacks, Vahns second process was quickly sorting through the information stored within his mind while trying toe up with a solution. It was possible that the other six were tied to the oneying next to Ozymandias, meaning he would need to kill it in order to deal with the other seven. The next most likely scenario was that they were the manifestations of specific Temple Spirits, requiring Vahn to destroy their temples in order to defeat their avatars. Lastly, though this was a terrifying prospect, it could be the Noble Phantasm itself that granted them their immortality. This would require Vahn to destroy a seemingly infinite space, or at least force Ozymandias to use up his reserves so that it would naturally dissolve... Even if his second process wasnt providing any real distractions to Vahns main process, one of the Sphinxes finallynded a clean hit on his body. It had a long tail that was nearly 15m long and covered from base to tip in ck scales. At the very end, instead of barbs or hair, the tail formed into the head of a massive cobra that had a golden pattern on its cloak, forming the shape of two eyes that had caused Vahns mind to nk for a brief moment when looking at them. He was already colliding with one of the surrounding temples when he realized something had happened, a gap that wasnt missed by one of the other Sphinxes within the group. This one had sapphire-like fur with amethyst eyes and a maneprised of mystical blue energy. Using the momentary gap in Vahns focus, it opened its maw wide before biting down, taking his entire torso in its mouth due to the difference in size. Fortunately, while a mechanism seemed to make them impervious to damage, it didnt seem to provide them any offensive power. Though Vahn was being shaken around like a chew toy, the Sphinxs teeth were unable to prate his flesh. The only worrisome factor was the icy energy trying to invade his body but, as Vahns Source Energy could adapt to any form of energy, he was able to guide it along his mana circuits without taking any damage. Instead, Vahn was using the Sphinxs attack as a means to recover his severely diminished reserves. It took several long seconds before the creature realized something was wrong, throwing Vahn from its mouth to be dealt with by its kin. Using the momentum of the Ice Sphinxs toss, Vahn faced down the same Stone Sphinx that had started the attack, a resolute light in his eyes as he pulled out a small nail. As the Stone Sphinx tried to crush him with its massive muscr maw, Vahn stabbed upward with the [Sacred Duplex Nail], sessfully stabbing the roof of the Sphinxs mouth. At the same time, Vahn, already in his pseudo-Xuanwu form, directed the entire force of his attack at the very tip of the nail. This created allowed him to experience the surprisingly satisfying phenomenon of watching the Stone Sphinxs head exploding. Though it didnt shed any blood at all, the explosive crunch of stone being fractured apart caused Vahn to smile excitedly as he faced down the other five Sphinxes. Instead of moving to attack again, the remaining Sphinxes circled around Vahn with greater caution as, high in the skies above, Ozymandias watched the battle with a casual smile on his face. Though Vahn couldnt hear him, Ozymandias stroked the head of the Sphinx at his side, the one seeminglyprised of the very fabric of Space. It had an ephemeral ck body that was filled with an incalcble number of stars and spiraling gxies. The only physicalponents, as everything else appeared nebulous and almost liquid in structure, were its solid gold wings, shimmering with a metallic sheen, and the ornate goldzuli Pharoahs crown that served as its mane. To this most trustedpanion of his, Ozymandias lightly stated, "He is quite something, isnt he?" Without making a single sound, a ripple began to spread across the Sphinxs nebulous face that seemed tomunicate its intent as Ozymandias began tough in a boisterous manner. Once he had finished, Ozymandias nodded his head and said, "If that is your desire, I will not hold you back. It seems I will need to bestow even greater honors upon him when he dies...fuuu..." With that said, Ozymandias began to contemte how best to immortalize his battle with Vahn while, at his side, the peculiar Sphinx rose to its feet before bing absolutely still. Then, several parts of its body began to expand before, simr to an amoeba, it began to split into smaller versions of itself. By the time it was done, its 15m long body had shrunken down to 4m in size as twenty simrly sized clones leaped into the fray alongside the, now four, Sphinxes... Vahn had just gotten his revenge against the Sphinx with the snake tail when he sensed an amount of energy that created an illusion as if the sky was falling. Looking up, Vahn saw the twenty Sphinxes, each appearing as if they were cut from the night sky, descending towards him. The moment he saw this sight, Vahns second and third processespletely ceased functioning as his mind simply nked, once again experiencing the peculiar nothingness that had been hispanion as ofte. In this state of mind, Vahn felt like a passenger in his own body as he began to move like a high-precision machine. It wasnt nearly at the same level as Scthach, but Vahn felt like he had turned his brain off, his sole focus the annihtion of his enemies... From atop his golden throne, Ozymandias felt the change in Vahn as small instabilities began appearing in the spaceprising his Noble Phantasm, Ramesseum Tentyris. This caused him to click his tongue as it indicated his Reality Marble wouldnt hold up for much longer. He had to expend a lot of energy to allow hispanion, the Wehem-Mesut Sphinx, to split so many times. It was a Noble Phantasm all its own so, in order to keep it manifested, Ozymandias needed to supply his own magical power. Though he was receiving a fair amount from his would-be Master, even that was quickly drying up as Vahn simply refused to die... Seeing Vahn pull out a rather in-looking spear that could apparently even cut through the flesh of his pseudo-immortal Sphinxes, Ozymandias released a sigh as the gold making up his Arc, another Noble Phantasm named Mesektet, The Sr Ship of the Dark Night, began to liquidize. Near his feet, a pir began to emerge before forming into a lever when it reached the same level as his armrest. Though he was reluctant to use his final card against the same opponent, as it felt like a pyrrhic victory at best, Ozymandias saw Vahn absorb the attack from one of his Sphinxes, converting it into his own Od. This was all Ozymandias needed to see as hismanding voice echoed, "Suns wrath, serpent that devours serpents, light of judgment, Uraeus...!" The moment Ozymandias finished his words, he pulled the golden lever without hesitation, causing the front of his arc to open. Located within his arc, serving the function of its core and engine, a massive emerald-green crystal could be seen. There were several rings of gold, each covered with thousands of small runes, fixing it in ce. The ring towards the very tip of the massive crystal began to flicker before they eventually turned dark momentster. These rings usually served the purpose of a stabilizing the cosmic energy contained within the crystal. With the one at the end no longer active, a massive beam of green energy, tinged with a golden radiance, rained down on Vahns location at the speed of light... Vahn had sensed the massive buildup of energy but, even before his brain could probablymunicate with his muscles, his vision was alreadypleted shrouded by emerald green light. Almost instantly thereafter, Vahn could no longer see anything at all as his eyes were liquidized from their sockets as his body, his body following course soon after. He didnt know it at the time but Ozymandias Uraeus could, for a brief moment, reach the EX ssification for a Noble Phantasm while within his Reality Marble. It was a degree of power that wasnt even quantifiable within the Root, serving the purpose of an Anti-Fortress level attack that simply couldnt be blocked without an even more ridiculous Noble Phantasm... --- The beam from Ozymandias arc continued to fire for a full thirty seconds before his own expression began to pale. At this point, the surrounding space was filled with spatial fissures while, caught in the crossfire of their own Masters attack, the Sphinxes that had been engaging Vahn were all destroyed along with him. This was extremely taxing on Ozymandias but, at the very least, it seemed his final card had managed to finish the job. Thus, with a tired yet appreciative expression, Ozymandias muttered, "You were a far more worthy opponent than I could have ever anticipated. I wonder what kind of Servant such a capable Master was able to summon...?" At the same time that these words were leaving his lips, Ozymandias allowed his Reality Marble to break apart naturally as he released a tired sigh. In this exact moment, just as he had dropped his guard the most, Ozymandias eyes widened in shock as the words, "Gae Bolg" reached his ears... Like a bolt of red lightning, Ozymandias body was ripped from his arc before he was unceremoniously mmed into the ground momentster. On contact with the asphalt, he coughed up a mouth of blood before clutching his chest with a pained expression on his face. Brackish-Red energy had started to spread from where his heart had been pierced, carrying with it malicious energy that felt like thorns spreading through his body. These thorns pierced all of his organs as they quickly spread through his body, even reaching his mind. If not for the fact that Servants were made up of mana, he would have died almost instantly from the unexpected attack from Scthachs Noble Phantasm. With what remained of his strength, Ozymandias red up at Scthach, his gold eyes locking with her crimson red gaze as he spat, "You mongrel...you dare sneak attack...this...God-King...?" To this, Scthach inly stated in her usual monotone, "There are no such things as sneak attacks. You were caught unprepared. If you are so quick to seek someone to me for your own folly, you will never be a true King." Even before she finished her words, Scthach had started to look around the area, no longer paying attention to the dying Ozymandias. This caused him tough, not because she was looking down on him, but because her words held a grain of truth within. They were currently at War and, with Servants often having distinctly different strengths, the fault of being caught off guardy squarely on his shoulders. Even though it felt like there was no power in his body, Ozymandias began to rise to his feet with an extreme amount of effort. Scthach turned her attention back to him but made no attempt to stop his actions as, with her eyes, she knew what he was doing. Thus, even as Ozymandias pulled out a golden ne, Scthach just watched him with her expressionless face as he said, "That man, the Sage Emperor, was annihted by myst attack. If he has anyone that was close to him, give them this ne...it is my most precious treasure in all Creation. It may not hold value to them, but I would rather they keep it than entrust it to the hands of some random Magus..." Much like every other Servant, Ozymandias had required a catalyst in order to manifest ording to the Grails requirements. His took on the form of a partially shattered golden ne that had belonged to his one and only wife, Nefertari. Though he hadin with hundreds of women in his time and had more than thirty concubines, the only woman he had ever loved was Nefertari herself. He had lived a life without any regrets but, if given the chance, he would have liked to walk thisnd once again with her at his side... With that thought ying through his mind, Ozymandius began to dissolve away into particles of golden light as a contented expression adorned his face. The ne in his hand began to fall under the pull of gravity but Scthach deftly caught it out of the air before muttering, "That man would not die so easily. I am not sorry to have defeated you, but I will apologize for interrupting your battle. Thank you for taking care of my student..." Though he may not have heard her words, Scthach felt like the God-King, who died standing on his feet, deserved to know the truth. Then, when his body hadpletely vanished, so too did hers, though for decidedly different reasons... --- Appearing like a phantom near the edge of a parking lot, Scthach squatted down to pick up a small rainbow-colored gemstone that was only around the size of her thumb. Even then, it seemed to possess limitless vitality as a powerful energy that she couldnt evenprehend radiated from within. Though she didnt know exactly what had happened, Scthach was able to intuit that this tiny gemstone was none other than Vahn. When he had been attacked by Ozymandias, something that also could have qualified as a sneak attack, Vahn hadpressed a part of his body before surrounding it with as much Source Energy as he could muster. This had coalesced into the nigh-indestructible gemstone within Scthachs hand and, as his reserves gradually recovered, so too would his body... Knowing how close her student hade to death, Scthach, for the first time in a very long period of time, felt slightly annoyed. Her expression didnt change but, once he managed to regenerate, Scthach swore that she would give Vahn twice the thrashing as he had previously received. For now, however, she decided to both punish and reward him at the same time, taking the rainbow gemstone in her palm before cing it snuggly between her cleavage. Her instincts told her that Vahn was still aware of what was going on around him so, as punishment for having to clean up after him, Scthach wanted him to reflect on his actions while growing ustomed to situations he had no control over. When he finally relinquished control and focused on his actions themselves, she believed he would be a truly powerful warrior... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wee to the Desert of the Real,Ozymandias would be unstoppable if Vahn was his Master...,( Y )~*angry emperor noises*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1057 - Ruthless

Chapter 1057 - Ruthless

(A/N: Im going to go ahead and give a warning in advance for anyone with weak sensitivities. This chapter is important forying down the foundation for future events, but there are no major detriments to skipping it. Youll probably be a little confusedter on, but I know for a fact that a fair number of people will be upset after reading this chapter. After all, I was more than a little ufortable writing it but, as I originally intended for this arc to be on the darker side, I cant keep limiting the direction of the story by worrying about whether or not what Im writing is going to upset someone...once again, sorry in advance...) --- While Vahn was having a unique crisis, there was one person going through something significantly worse as, far to the west of the city, a young aristocratic-looking man watched with an incredulous expression as his Command Spells lost their color. Though this didnt eliminate him from the Holy Grail War, as there was a chance he could obtain a new Servant, that would require that he survive the night. With that intention in mind, the man tried his best to remain calm as he walked through what appeared to be an old, western-style, castle. It had a total of four floors, excluding the observatory, attic, and the underground levels he had never been allowed ess to. The floors were all adorned with thick red carpets while, located at almost every observable point of the castle, rare and precious works of art decorated the interior... This man, with neatlybed blond hair, stark blue eyes, and features that appeared to have been sculpted by a master craftsman, was a young noble from an Aristocratic Family of Magus hailing from Russia. Amongst his peers, there were few that couldpete against him as a result of his inherited magic crest and inordinately high talent. As a result, Lyasin Karl Afanasievich had favored his chances of obtaining the Holy Grail. After learning about the event at a dinner party more than two years prior, he had put most of his efforts into preparing for the opportunity to have his wish granted. Even his Grandfather, the current Patriarch of the Afanasievich family, had been supportive of his efforts... Lyasin could still remember the exact moment when everything came crashing down around him. In order to gurantee his protection, his Grandfather had reached out to an old acquaintance who, by virtue of a cooperative alliance formed during the Second World War, was owed a favor by the Einzbern family. Lyasin had been more than a little ecstatic to have the opportunity to cooperate with one of the major families hosting the event as, even if he ultimately failed to obtain the Grail, having an in with such a reputable family was already a great boon. Unfortunately, from the moment he arrived at the Einzbern Castle, Lyasin learned they didnt even put him in their eyes. If not for their pride, preventing them from staying indebted to others, Lyasin had the distinct impression he would have been killed to use as material for their alchemical experiments... This all started when Lyasin met the current Head of the Einzbern family, an intimidating Magus named Jubstacheit von Einzbern, colloquially known within the Magus Community as Old Man Acht. Lyasin could tell at a nce that the man wasnt normal, almost as if he was a being that transcended humanity and disdained having to associate with lesser creatures. In exchange for their protection, Lyasin had to forfeit two of his Command Seals and subject himself to a magical contract that, if reneged on, would result in his heart exploding in his chest. After the betrayal of theirst representing Master, they were not fond of simply trusting others to their word... Now that Lyasin had lost his Servant, something he still couldnt wrap his head around, his instincts told him that his presence within the Einzbern Castle was now an inconvenience. Their contract had specifically stipted the terms to hold only as long as he used his Servant to aid their interests. With Ozymandias having been defeated, Jubstacheit would undoubtedly hold him in even higher contempt than before. Depending on the circ.u.mstances, he may even determine that it was more efficient to steal his final Command Spell before disposing of him entirely. The man seemed closer to aputer than a genuine human being, especially with those cold and lightless eyes... As Lyasin descended to the first floor, he found his path blocked by two nearly identical maids, each possessing white maid garb that was simr in style to a nuns habit. They both had emotionless red eyes that, as if possessing no will, contained not even the smallest semnce of the vibrancy expected of living humans. Though some might consider them beautiful, with their perfect, doll-like faces, Lyasin couldnt help but feel they were disgusting abominations. Even without having to be told, he knew both of these maids were undoubtedly Homunculi created by the Einzbern family. With a nk expression and cold tone, the woman on the right asked, "Master Afanasievich, might I inquire as to where you intend to go at this hour? The Castle has been locked down for the evening to prevent enemy attacked. If you wander outside now, your safety cannot be guaranteed." Though she said these words, seemingly without any intent contained within, Lyasin felt as if she werent cautioning him, but threatening him. She seemed to be implying that, if he tried to leave without their permission, they wouldnt hesitate to kill him... Just as Lyasin was considering his odds of victory against the two homunculi, another man entered into the room at the critical moment, asking in an even colder voice than the two maids, "What is going on here...?" The speaker was a man that stood an above-average 195cm tall, possessing a figure that emphasized an extreme level of discipline when it came to managing his physique. He was built like an Olympic Athlete and, though he was now well into his thirties, age showed no signs of catching up to him any time soon. He also had short hair, cut in a neat and tight fade that looked almost meticulously groomed without a single stray hair. This made him stand out a great deal, even though his eyes always seemed to be obscured by a pair of expensive sunsses that were literally enchanted to make it harder for people to describe him, even when looking directly at his face... Though this man, the Mage-Killer known as Alex Everdale, drew an imposing figure, it was in fact the rather petite figure behind him that drew attention. As gratified as he was that Alex had shown up at this moment, as they had gotten along well during their previous interactions, Lyasin couldnt help casting a nce towards his Servant, a Saber-ss with a slender physique, fair skin, and green eyes. She had a natural elegance about her while, rather than normal hair, it would be more urate to describe each individual strand as having a quality simr to silk that had been set upon a bed of golden dust. Though her petite figure made her appear younger than most of the women Lyasin favored, he couldnt help but be drawn to this inordinately beautiful young woman... Lamenting the fact he hadnt been the one to summon Saber, as he wouldnt have minded using his final Command Spell topel her obedience, Lyasin smiled toward Alex as he exined, "I was actuallying to look for you, Alex. My prospects in this War are rather dire so it was my intention to give you my final Command Spell before returning to my homnd. As I am expected to be the next Head of my family, it is time I start treating my responsibilities with the attention they deserve." Believing there was a fair chance he could pull Alex to his side, at least long enough for him to leave, Lyasin decided to barter his final Command Spell in exchange for his safety. Surprising Lyasin a great deal, Alex burst into a heartyugh, arms akimbo as he guffawed at the top of his voice. Before he could process what was happening, the color of Lyasins face drained away when Alex suddenly stoppedughing and said, "Saber, bring me his arm." In the next moment, the woman he had been developing tender affections for had already appeared like a tempest as she unceremoniously cut of his arm. Lyasin felt a searing pain as he tightly clutched the new stump and tried to stymy the flow of blood, shouting, "Why are you doing this!? I was going to give you-" Before he was able to finish his words, Lyasin felt a hard impact in his chest as his words were drowned out by the thunderous p of Alexs pistol. Lyasin fell to the ground with a face full of confusion as the blood quickly drained from his body. Then, as if taking pity on him, Alex showed a crude smile as he exined, "You idiot...did you think my nickname, Mage-Killer, was just a joke? I cant stand you blue-blood types who look down on everyone. Though you werent nearly as bad as some of the assholes Ivee across, dont think Im unaware of the shit your family is up to..." Then, letting the apologetic expression melt away from his face, Alex smiled tauntingly as he added, "Besides, you think I havent seen the way you look at my girl? Every time you eyed my Servant, I wanted to pluck your eyes out and shove them up your ass...hahahahahaha-!" With that said, Alexa wrapped his hand around the thin waist of the youthful-looking Servant who, much like the maids of the Einzbern family, hadpletely nk eyes. Though he had already known about it, Lyasins face formed into a deep scowl as he fell face-first into a pool of his own blood. With a powerful resentment, multiplied by his feelings of envy, Lyasin attempted to draw a magic circle using his blood. In response to this, Alexaughed snidely before tapping the backside of his Servant and saying, "I guess hed probably want to reverse roles but, why dont you send our friend off by sticking your sword deep inside his guts, babe...?" Without so much as a single word, the Saber-ss servant used her invisible de to stab it into the lower back of Lyasin, right where his intestines were located. This put an end to his attempt at forming a magic circle as his body began to twitch in response to the sudden impalement. To make matters even worse, Alex beganughing as he shouted, "Thats great! Now go ahead and stir him up nice and good, ahahahahaha-!" Seeing people like Lyasin bleeding out as his body was in its final death throes was one of the main reasons that Alex had be a Mage-Killer. There was nothing evenparable to the rush he would get seeing some high-born Magus writhing about on the floor, his blue-blood the same red as everyone elses... When Lyasins body finally ceased its movements, Alex walked over to give him a quick nudge with his foot to make sure he had finally kicked the bucket. After confirming he was indeed dead, Alex looked at the two maids, neither of which had moved throughout the entire event, saying, "Take this flesh bag to the old man and see if he might actually be of use this time around. If an enemy shows up, Ill be in my room if its something that the big f.u.c.ker cant take care of. Dont bother me if it isnt anything important, got it...?" With that said, Alex didnt even wait for the two to respond as he turned to his Servant and saw her dim green eyes staring back at him. For a brief moment, Alex felt a small tinge of fear that he quickly dismissed with an aggressive snort. Walking over until he was staring down at her, an easy feat considering 41cm difference in their height, Alex roughly grabbed Sabers face with his right hand, digging his fingers and thumb into her cheeks as he asked, "Do you still look down on me, you bitch? Well see how long that pride of yourssts when I have you begging for my mana..." With that said, Alex moved his hand down to grab a small chain that was tied to a ck leather choker around his Servants neck. Yanking it in a rough manner, he then dragged her off with an enraged expression on his face as, without uttering a word, the two maids began to move the corpse of Lyasin in order to clean up the blood staining the carpet... --- With Vahn out ofmission, Scthach exined the situation to Astolfo and Nobunaga before they all moved to a more secure area to wait for his recovery. Though it might have been better to return to the Tohsaka Manor, Scthach was trying to be, at least a little, considerate of Vahns feelings. At the same time, if their movements were being monitored around the Manor, it would potentially lead to disastrous consequences if they returned so early in the evening. It wasnt difficult to deduce that something had gone wrong if they all suddenly returned together. Thus, after refusing to let Nobunaga y with Vahns gemstone, Scthach had her provide overwatch near the Manor while Astolfo would be the first to return after a few hours had passed. Ultimately, Scthach found herself alone as she sat by a creekbed located around 30km north of Fuyuki City, well outside the standard battlefield of the Holy Grail War. With nothing better to do, she wasying against the cool grass while flipping Vahns gemstone around in her fingers. It was an inordinately beautiful gemstone which was growing increasingly more radiant with the passage of time. At first, its glow had barely been enough to read by but, now that a few hours had passed, it had a radiance that cut through the night like a powerful LED light. Though others might have to squint their eyes to behold it directly, Scthach seemed to be an exception to this as she observed each change in the gemstone with intrigue. Though she wasnt sure if Vahn could hear her, due to hisck of the required organs, Scthach flipped his gemstone so that the t side was facing her as she said, "You are the foundation that others stand on in order to achieve feats far greater than they otherwise would have been able to aplish. There is nothing wrong with desiring a good fight...but that is not the reason why you fight, correct? Your nature is to protect others, not seek out battle for glory and entertainment. When you get lost in the moment and act out of character, you create exploitable gaps that anypetent enemy would be able to exploit..." Shaking her head in mild admonishment, Scthach brought Vahns gem closer to her face before saying, "This time, I will keep your punishment light. However, our training will be even more intense from now on. I would not be able to raise my head up as a Teacher ever again if you were to fall at the very start of your journey. That one would never forgive me either..." Even though Fenrir was currently much weaker than she was, Scthach could feel the girls desire to surpass her. It wasnt a simple dream, either, more like an inevitability within the mind of the petite Vanargandr. Scthach didnt know where she drew such confidence but, one day in the far future, instincts told her that the currently weak Fenrir would eventually surpass her... As it had been a very long time since she looked forward toward an uncertain future, Scthach felt as if the small kindling in her heart was being fed by a gentle breeze, providing it with the oxygen it needed to avoid extinguishingpletely. From the moment she had obtained the knowledge of the abyss, courtesy of her [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground], Scthach felt as if all her emotions and drive had died. Though she had pursued her path without any hesitation prior to that moment, the awareness of knowing everything had caused her to stop moving forward at that exact point in time. Everything she had been aspiring towards seemed inconsequential in the face of infinite knowledge, causing her to wander aimlessly until, before she even realized it, her existence had already be separated from the world... Thinking about the many new things she was experiencing with Vahn, something that, logically, shouldnt even be possible, Scthach found the glimmer of his gemstone almost imperceptibly more appealing. With every passing moment, it felt as if she were getting ever-so-slightly closer to her dream of finally bringing her eternal life to an end. She had no doubts that, so long as he lived, Vahn would eventually be able to make good on his promise. To express her gratitude and experience just a few more new things, Scthach had made it her final task to teach him everything she knew. This was something she had decided even before he asked so, hearing Vahn bring it up himself, she had felt genuine excitement for the first time in eons... Letting a hot sigh escape her lips, Scthach then brought Vahns gemstone to rest against them before, causing the person within to fl.u.s.ter, slowly moving it from her lips to her chin. This was only the beginning of the journey, however, as Scthach seemed to enter into an absentminded state as she traced the sharpest edge of the gemstone along the fabric of her bodysuit. She could feel a ticklish sensation and, even though her expression didnt change throughout, there was a bit of warmth flowing into her body wherever the gemstone touched. This was due to the unbelievably potent life energy that, as if it couldnt be contained by the gemstone, bled into the surroundings. For a brief moment, Scthach was even tempted to put the gemstone into her mouth but, fearing she might identally swallow it, she elected to continue Vahns punishment in a less dangerous manner... (A/N: No alternate titles this time. Just a reminder that there is a reason to this madness, one which has nothing to do with trying to get my reader base to hate me. If you made it this far, I hope you do not hold it against me too much for the direction I took things. Just know that the indignation and anger you might be feeling are emotions I myself share. Ultimately, however, this novel is supposed to be practice so, if I begin restricting myself here, I would be no better than Vahn making one of his resolute promises to himself x_x...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1058 - Internal

Chapter 1058 - Internal

Vahn didnt quite know what he should feel as he experienced the punishment Scthach had decided to bestow upon him. Though it was a very troubling matter, he had slowly been growing ustomed to her nature during the previous training sessions. In a way, it felt like he was bing desensitized to her overtly s.e.x.u.a.l actions, primarily as a result of how she had no discernable reaction while, at the same time, he was almost certain she would deny him if he actually did choose toy with her. The intent behind her actions seemed to frustrate and egg him on, giving him the motivation to improve even faster in order to take what he wanted. It was an extreme method but, more than ever before, Vahns realized that his power wasnt all that impressivepared to the upper limits of this world. The worst part was the fact that he knew this before even descending but, after being given the same ssification as some of the strongest forces in this Record,bined with how weak geniuses like Rin were, Vahn realized, quite clearly, he had indeed been arrogant and hubristic... As Scthach had pointed out, his most base desire was to gain strength in order to protect others, not to show off in front of opponents he rarely cared about. Though ying the part of a tyrant might dissuade some people from trying to attack him, it served no purpose when his repute wasnt even enough to draw attention in the first ce. If the only person he was showing off to was one he had either marked for death or recruitment, it was honestly more than a little vain. To make things worse, he even had a somewhat haughty attitude towards his actualpanions, initially treating Rin as someone that he could just set aside whenever he was ready to move on. Though he had his own reasons, ones which still held some amount of value to him, Vahn knew that he had been acting in a way that might outright cause the girls back at the Hearth Manor to admonish him... Without a mouth to sigh, Vahn did so internally as he asked, ("Sis, do you think my mental instability is tied to my overreliance on the [Will of the Emperor]? My convictions seem to fluctuate, sometimes feeling strong enough to be unshakeable...while other times I feel weak and pathetic. Even I can tell that there is something wrong with me but I dont know how to fix it without just letting it go as Scthach puts it...") Though this wasnt the first time Vahn had asked Sis such things, yet another sign of his cyclic thought process, he still needed to hear her advice. At times like this, Vahn knew he relied more on the perspective of others than his own opinion, almost as if hecked any real direction and needed the guidance of others to function... Knowing full well what Vahn wanted to hear, Sis actually chose to remain silent this time as she sorted through his thoughts and tried to make sense of them. While he was genuinely asking her for advice, she could tell that he wanted something different from her, something he himself didnt understand. Since she relied on his thoughts and experiences to rationalize her own thoughts, Sis felt always felt unprepared whenever Vahn would drop bombshell questions that were existential in nature. It wasnt until she could feel Vahns anxiety beginning to grow that she answered, (*It seems that your consideration and empathy for others has caused an overreliance on their input in order o establish a baseline for how you should act. I believe the thing that Scthach wants you to let go of is the expectations of others, acting as you yourself have decided. Even if you make mistakes, so long as it is a decision you decided upon yourself, you will be able to take responsibility and grow as a person. If the mistake is made as a result of someone elses input, it allows you to shift the me to them, regardless of what you might say or do to ept the me unto yourself...*) Hearing Sis words, Vahn began reflecting on his past actions to determine their veracity, an action that Sis had performed before him to confirm this was the most likely cause of Vahns current state of mind. Because he was always worried about others, especially when they started pressuring him with their expectations, he would get overly stressed out trying to act ordingly. Even if everyone around him usually followed his lead, Vahn would constantly be looking towards them for input on what he should do. If he just continued forward on the path he decided, the only people that kept following him were those that genuinely sought to stay at his side. As for everyone else, once they realized that Vahn couldnt be contained, they would either strive to improve themselves or fall to the wayside. When this happened, however, Vahn would almost immediately stop what he was doing in order to let them catch up with him, constantly increasing the number of people he had to worry about... While watching Vahn sort through his own thoughts, Sis tried piecing together what decision he wasing through in order to prepare her own response. She could tell that Vahn, once again, seemed to be going through the motions of affirming his resolve based on various justifications he had found within his memories. This gave Sis a strong desire to sigh, as it increased the probability of Vahn having a rpse in the future to around 93.172%. Whenever he affirmed his resolve like this, it was almost guaranteed that he would immediately do something extreme, riding the high of his own actions for a few months before finallying back down. When that happened, he would start to reflect on what he had be, often mulling over thoughts that werent even directly rted to whatever trouble was weighing heavily on his mind. In a way, it was amazing to see how much effort a person could go through to convince themselves something was wrong, even though there was rarely anyone around Vahn that genuinely questioned his decisions... Deciding to reduce the probability a bit, Sis interrupted Vahns thought process, exining, (*If you want to avoid bing a prizing existence, it may be best to follow the lead of Scthach and work towards achieving bnce of the heart and mind. Stop acting in an extreme manner and just focus on building yourself up in preparation for whatever challenges you may face in the future. The more unnecessary thought you put into things, the greater the bacsh you will experience when facing a setback.*) As she spoke, Sis could feel the probability of Vahn having a rpse fluctuate greatly, nearly reaching one-hundred percent at one point before sharply dropping to 47% in the next. This was another example of how extreme Vahns shifts could be, something Sis had been seeking a solution to for more than 150 years now... Feeling that Sis words were rather convincing, Vahn gave a mental nod before musing, ("Unless I used a Command Spell, I dont think Scthach would show me any leniency. Though it is hard to tell from her rarely changing expression, she seems remarkably dedicated to teaching both Fenrir and myself...") As Vahn thought of his errant Teacher, a feeling of numbness spread through his mind as, currently, she was tracing the sharpest end of his core around her navel. She seemed to be considering whether or not to go further, causing Vahns brain to buzz in both frustration and expectation. Before Sis words, he had been considering whether or not he should test the theory that Scthach would refuse his advances if he actually did try to have s.e.x with her. Now, he realized this was a little extreme and, as everyone back at the Manor was probably worried, it would be best to return home and restart his training anew. With that in mind, Vahn began to focus on the image of his body, expanding his energy outward to give form to himself once again. He wondered if this was the same as what Fenrir and the others experienced when they went from their core states to their manifested forms. Since he had used his understanding of a magic cores structure when trying to protect himself, Vahn assumed this wasnt far from the truth. When he had the opportunity in the future, Vahn felt it wouldnt be a waste of time to pursue this method to an even further extreme, potentially to the point that he could even store his avatars in cores he had structured for himself. Part of him even humored the thought of trying to infuse his own magic core into a piece of weapon or armor to see if his consciousness could be transferred into objects, something that seemed rather simple when he considered the fact that he had just existed as a gemstone for nearly five hours... When Vahns body hadplete reformed, he had Scthachying below him with her characteristic expressionless gaze focused on him. Since he was n.a.k.e.d, Vahn was more than a little tempted to try and get even with her for how she had been treating his gemstone while in her possession. Having already decided against this course of action, however, Vahn instead equipped some clothes before rising to his feet and extending a hand to Scthach. She tilted her head slightly to the side in but, without wasting much time, epted his assistance in rising to her feet. After this, Vahn looked towards the south and said, "Let us return to the Tohsaka Manor. There are some things I want to look into and well need to restart my training before I lose the sensation from the previous battle." As if she hadnt been ying with him for thest couple of hours, Scthach simply nodded her head in response before vanishing in a sh of magical light. Vahn shook his head lightly as a result before focusing his mind and shifting his intent to the Manors interior. He found Astolfo reading a book within Rins study while Nobunaga sitting on the roof as she listlessly tapped her foot while an ornate ck and gold matchlock rifley across herp. As for Fenrir and Rin, Vahn assumed they were inside of the Sub-Space Orb since he couldnt detect their presence after looking in both the bas.e.m.e.nt and the workshop. Feeling a small urge to tease someone, Vahn settled on appearing next to Nobunaga to see if he could spook her. Contrary to his expectations, however, she simply gave him a mildly annoyed look before using a grey cloth to wipe down her rife as she said, "Youll need another hundred years if you want to try and startle me. Instead of messing around here, you should go see those two before your pup gets separation anxiety..." Towards the end of her words, Nobunaga held up her rifle with the stock near her cheek as she looked down the sights to make sure they were properly calibrated. Though this was an ultimately pointless action, as the weapons of Heroic Spirits were always in perfect condition, it was a habit she had carried over from her past life, a means of calming herself whenever she was bothered by something. While spooking Nobunaga had certainly been one of his intentions, the reason Vahn had decided upon her was because of her abnormal state. He could tell she wasnt in the best of moods and, considering the circ.u.mstances, he was the most probable cause. Thus, while it was better to enter the Orb and begin his training as soon as possible, Vahn instead plopped down next to Nobunaga and asked, "Can I see your rife...?" This caused her to release a long sigh before lowering the rifle and saying, "You really f.u.c.k.i.e.d up this time..." with a frustrated grimace on her face. Then, even though it looked like she had something more to say, Nobunaga rather unceremoniously threw her rifle at Vahn before suddenly jumping off the rooftop andnding soundlessly in the garden below. Seeing the usually confident and snide Nobunaga act in such a way brought Vahn to silence. If not for the cold and heavy rifle in his hands, weighing significantly more than he expected, Vahn might have thought this was an illusion. It was obvious she was more than a little bothered by the fact he had almost died, causing Vahns mind to nearly fall into a period of reflection before Sis interrupted, reminding, ("Fenrir and Rin are likely waiting for you within the Sub-Space Orb. You have even more time to reflect after you enter so dont dawdle for too long, Vahn. Nobunaga is a strong and prideful woman, Vahn. She will recover quickly only her own so, unless you intend to push her, any attempt you make to help will probably exacerbate the situation...") Though she didnt say anything explicit, Vahn knew what Sis meant by pushing Nobunaga, causing him to take a deep breath before teleporting into the bas.e.m.e.nt. He was surprised by the realization that he was okay with the thought but, understanding there were higher priorities at the moment, Vahn made the decision to return to the Sub-Space Orb. Just as Sis pointed out, Nobunaga wasnt the type to brood over things so she would undoubtedly recover, likely after watching him get a beating or two. When he was restingter, Vahn decided he would purchase some high-quality sake from the system shop before apologizing in a more meaningful manner. Though the chance things would develop beyond that were slim, at least for the time being, Vahn felt it was better for the both of them if they took whatever was going on between them in a slower and more natural manner... After cing his hand on the Orb, Vahn felt the world around him shift before he found himself standing next to the smallke he had dug previously. It was a little strange, seeing a pure white hole filled with crystal clear water, but it was something he would get used to. What he never seemed to get used to, however, was how Rin was floating on an airbed in the middle of the water, wearing sunsses to cover her eyes as she lounged about in a red bikini. Vahn could tell she was taking a nap and, as tempting as it was to flip her float, he ultimately decided against it as he looked around for Fenrirs figure. She had moved a considerable distance away, likely out of consideration for Rin, and was currently training her body in the third level of increased spatial density. Though Fenrir was simply running around normally, wearing what appeared to be modern spandex, the increased pressure ensured that the training wasnt pointless. Given how Fenrirs body was covered in a denseyer of sweat, whilst seemingly on the verge of copse, it was easy to see that she had been going at it for a while. Vahn almost felt a little apologetic for interrupting but, knowing he would probably get a thrashing from Scthach soon, now was the only time they would be able to spend together before their training became even more intense. After taking a few more steps, mostly in an effort to slow her momentum, Fenrir turned her eyes towards her Master as she heaved a few deep breaths in an effort to collect herself. In this time, Vahn walked over to her side before pulling out a white towel, using it to wipe down her face and neck as if it were the most natural thing in the world. This caused Fenrir to adopt a small smile on her face as she closed her eyes and raised her chin slightly to make it easier. It wasnt until he had finished wiping the fringe of Fenrirs scalp that Vahn calmly stated, "I lost a battle tonight..." This immediately caused Fenrirs eyes to snap open but, before she could get too stressed out, Vahn smiled while stroking the sides of her face, exining, "Dont worry. In a way, this has been a good experience for me. Now, just like you, I have a much stronger desire to increase my strength..." Though she was happy for her Master, Fenrirs heart began beating faster when she heard his words. She already had trouble shortening the distance between them when he wasnt wholly focused on his training so, if he really did get serious, Fenrir was afraid she would be left even further behind. As this was something Vahn knew she would fret over, he affectionately stroked her head before saying, "You are already doing amazingly, Fenrir. The only thing you need to focus on is increasing your strength to the point that nobody is able to pose a threat to you. Even if I do be stronger, you know better than anyone that I simply cant leave you behind. While I may be focused on increasing my own strength, I will always be considering methods to help you improve as well. Now, raise your head up...I want to see you smile..." Since it was far more important to Fenrir that her Master was safe, meaning he needed to be stronger than everyone else, she ultimately lifted her head and did her best to smile as sincerely as possible. Vahn already had one of his own and, after giving her a light peck, Fenrirs mood instantly improved a bubbly and exciting feeling swelled up from her heart whenever her Master kissed her. When he saw her improved mood, Vahn gave an amused chuckle before giving her a few more gentle kisses to bolster her mood even further. Then, just as Fenrir and Vahn both started to feel a little too excited, Scthach appeared next to them like a phantom, asking, "Are you ready?" Knowing she had likely timed her appearance in an attempt to make him frustrated, Vahn looked towards Scthach with slightly dull eyes before giving Fenrir onest kiss, this time on her forehead. The moment he separated from her, Fenrir immediately used [Shundo] to create some distance as, without any dy at all, Scthach spun towards Vahn, delivering a high kick towards his head. He was actually able to receive it by guarding with his right arm but, with the amount of force behind the blow, Vahns bnce was still disturbed by the attack. In the next instant, Scthach was already spinning in the opposite direction as she lowered her body to the ground. Using the momentum of her pivot, she nted her fist squarely within his diaphragm before stepping inward and unching Vahns body with her fist. In this manner, Vahns increased training regimen began, starting with him spitting up a mouthful of blood... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Even Sis is getting tired of Vahns shit xD...,Nobu-chama is not happy,I feel like Scthach is like an analogy for life. The moment you get distracted by happy feelings, she shows up to remind you of your responsibilities (^_^)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1059 - Relax

Chapter 1059 - Rx

Though he had realized it as early as his first beating, Vahn noticed that his state of mind was always much calmer after the fact. He wasnt sure if it was Scthachs intent, but there was a strange feeling of release whenever the pains and aches reached a critical level. It was almost as if his brain shut off, forcing Vahn into a state of rity where everything just was. In those moments, he was able to offer the most basic amount of resistance to Scthachs attacks and, even though he had yet to aplish anything with it, Vahn felt like he was getting closer to something... The most useful part of this was that, even after he was in a recovery phase, Vahns rity would persist for several hours longer, allowing him to focus on tasks such as building a house within the Sub-Space Orb. Though it didnt bother him that much, Vahn knew it could be stressful for others if they were stuck in the infinite white space of the orb without anything to serve as a central hub for their focus. This was one of the reasons why he had created the smallke first and, now that he had a bit of time in between training sessions, Vahn had started making the Sub-Space Orb into more of a second home, even if he originally wanted to avoid having people lounge around when he had first created it... With every strike of his hammer, Vahn felt a vibration pass through his body that bounced around his organs and bones before spreading through his mind, bringing with it a strangely satisfying sensation as each nail was driven into ce. He almost felt like a machine that had been given purpose as he moved used abilities like telekinesis and Elemental Maniption to quickly give form to the design he had in mind. Vahn had purchased a few schematics and blueprints from the system shop before settling on a more traditional eastern-style residence. He hade to prefer this style of architecture long ago so, if given the choice, Vahn would always default to such a style as it always made him feel more at ease than the somewhat in and spartan designs found in western architecture... After finishing another line of reinforcement, Vahn nodded in approval at his own work before hopping off the wooden beam he had been sitting on. The flooring and foundation had already beenpleted so he was now working on the sub-structure that would serve as the supports for the walls and roofter on. Currently, the house was nothing more than a series of neatly arranged red beams and struts that was reminiscent to a skeleton, albeit one belonging to a building. Though there werent any pipes and electrical wiring, Vahn didnt particrly mind such things since even the Tohsaka Manor only had gas and a few electrical appliances. Most Magus families shunned the advancement of Science and Technology, choosing to instead use Magecraft to create things like perpetually burning candles in lieu of using lightbulbs. The only reason the Tohsaka Manor had electrical wiring and the like was due to the fact that it had been required during the construction process forpliance purposes. Almost as soon as Vahn had stored away his hammer, a presence appeared at his side that caused him to lightly chuckle before asking, "Is it already that time...?" To this, Scthach surprisingly shook her head, followed by her exining, "You have been working hard. For the next couple of hours, I want you to take a proper break. It has been three days since you rested and, even though you may not require it, rxation is an important part of any training regimen." With that said, Scthach gave a small nod before vanishing once again. Unless she was helping them train, or answering Rins questions, Scthach spent most of her time in her Spiritual form. This was both to conserve energy and, even if she didnt exin it as such, Vahn believed she was trying to be considerate of others. Whenever she was around, people would be more tense than normal so, in order to allow them to rx, Scthach simply removed herself from the area before concealing her presencepletely... With his newfound free time, Vahn momentarily considered returning to work on the house before ultimately deciding against it. Scthach had very clearly told him to rx and, though it felt rather refreshing to work hard on the temporary home everyone would be using, Vahn understood she actually wanted him to interact with the others. With this in mind, Vahn made his way out of the nascent building before turning his eyes towards the ke located to the east. He could see Fenrir swimming around like a dolphin as she dove in and out of the water while,ying near the shore, Nobunaga and Astolfo were both wearing swimsuits. Since thetter was wearing a pink bikini with a pareo, Vahn felt as if he had subtly tilted a few degrees before quickly setting aside the incongruous feelings spread through his mind. Noticing that Rin wasnt present, Vahn extended his domain in a pulse to see if she was anywhere within the immediate vicinity. Since this proved fruitless, Vahn assumed she had gone out of the Sub-Space Orb, likely to make a call or prepare a few things before night fell on the outside world. They still had a little under two days left within the orb before the sun set outside but that didnt mean they couldpletely ignore the passage of time in the real world. Rin was still, technically, the leader of their group. She was also the best candidate for exchanging messages with Lord El-Melloi II and Luvia as, for the time being, Vahn would rather not have to worry about such things. His role was that of an activebatant and, though he was probably the best at gathering information individually, thework of the Mages Association was still leagues above his own capabilities. Even if they were bothzing about, Nobunaga and Astolfo both noticed Vahns approach while Fenrir reacted by dipping deep beneath the waters surface before shooting out like a salmon. Her motion carried small particte of frigid water which, hitting the two sunbathing Servants, caused Astolfo to loudly exim while Nobunaga furrowed her brows and said, "Hey, think about what youre doing, you brat...!" In response to this, Fenrir snorted through her nose before, simr to a dog, shaking her body from head to tail to dislodge the water soaking into her fur. This made Astolfo protect his face as heughed in a good-natured manner while eximing, "Ah, its so cold~!" in his characteristically high-pitched voice. Vahn joined Astolfo inughing while Nobunaga produced a smile that didnt quite reach her eyes as she seemed to contemte her next action. Before she could start a fight, Vahn ceasedughing before shaking his head and saying, "Fenrir, you know better than to go out of your way to pick a fight. You didnt have to jump out near Astolfo and Nobunaga, even if I was over here. If you cant be considerate of others, you lose the right toin when they show little consideration for your feelings in turn." This was enough to get Fenrirs ears to droop somewhat pitifully while, at the side, Nobunagas smile turned a little more genuine, even if there were mocking undertones visible in her eyes. In the momentary lull in the conversation, Vahn gave a brief nce at Astolfo before asking, "Do you really prefer womens clothes to the point that you even wear them when swimming? Though your other outfits look cute, I feel that this one is a little...extreme?" Though Astolfo had a very thin and lithe body, his body structure was still distinctly masculine in structure. This could be hidden when he wore frilly clothes that broke the lines of his body but, now that he was only wearing a thin swimsuit top, it was very easy to tell that he was male. In response to his question, however, Astolfo yfully pulled the fabric of his top before saying in a mischevious voice, "If I just wore the bottoms, it would look even stranger, dont you think~?" Finding Astolfos words held a surprising amount of credibility, Vahn gave a light chuckle before casually remarking, "You know, if you wanted toplete the appearance, I could probably help you. Though I may not be able to alter your gender through the normal methods, I can lend you an item that would allow you to pull off a more feminine look." To this, Astolfos eyes began to glimmer before immediately causing Vahn a bit of awkwardness when he teased, "Oh~? Does Master want to see Astolfo-chan as a girl~?" This immediately nipped Vahns suggestion in the bud as, instead of responding to Astolfos words, he sat down on one of the pool lounges before gesturing for Fenrir to sit at his side. When she happily took the spot next to him, Vahn took her hand into his own, stroking hers with his thumb as he looked towards Nobunaga andmented, "That swimsuit suits you more than the bikini you were wearingst time. Sometimes showing less if even more impactful than putting everything on disy..." Previously, Nobunaga had the habit of wearing what could only be described as a string, T-back, bikini. Now, however, she wore a top that properly hugged her chest and waist, enting her figure without screaming for attention. This was ultimately for the best as, with her previous swimwear, Nobunagas tendency to shrink over time could easily cause a wardrobe malfunction. Her physical appearance seemed to fluctuate between a girl in herte teens to a woman in her mid-twenties depending on how much mana she had stored up. On the night she had used her Noble Phantasm, she had even shrunken down from 153cm to a disconcerting 135cm, looking more like a child soldier than a proud warrior... Never one to deny apliment, Nobunagas mood seemed to improve a bit as she leaned forward and asked, "Are you starting to realize my charms? Or do I need to wear a school swimsuit like your little pet to get your attention?" As she spoke, Nobunaga looked Fenrir up and down with her blood-red eyes. Her gaze ultimately came to rest on the formers chest where, for reasons Vahn himself wasnt aware, Fenrir had decided to inscribe her name on the white section of fabric located in the center. She had spent a bit of time browsing the inte on Rinsptop to research various clothing designs, picking out plenty of cute and frilly outfits that allowed her to masquerade as a cosyer if she wanted to walk around town. It was likely that, during her research into cosy, Fenrir had stumbled upon the traditional school swimsuit, keying in on the fact it was her favorite color, dark blue. Since she was only bad terms with Nobunaga, Fenrir just snorted in response to her words before leaning her head against her Masters arms. This caused the smile on Nobunagas face to fade a bit, at least until Vahn mused, "In your small state, I think it might suit you surprisingly well. Still, your current swimwear is probably the most ideal form I can imagine. The only suggestion Id made is to change from a shiny fabric to something more matte and natural. You might be trying to draw attention, but it looks a little weird seeing light refract off a swimsuit..." Right now, if Vahn got close enough, he was sure he would be able to see his actual reflection in the fabric of Nobunagas swimsuit. Taking his advice quite literally, Nobunagas swimsuit immediately transitioned into a more neutral appearance, giving her greater appeal than before. Vahn gave an approving nod that seemed to satisfy her as she rolled over on her stomach andmented, "You should create something like an artificial sun in here. It is super dreary seeing white in every direction. If you can pull that off, Ill allow you to apply sunscreen on my back, ufuu..." Towards the end of her sentence, Nobunaga flexed her butt while watching Vahns face with a taunting expression on her own. Vahn rolled his eyes when he saw this before remarking, "I might be tempted to do it just to channel some extra mana into your body. Watching you try to unt your t butt is a strangely heartbreaking..." The moment these words left his mouth, Vahn had to angle his head to the side as a reddish-ck beam of light passed through where his face had been previously. Making matters even worse, though they were all just messing around, Astolfo fed Nobunagas frustration bymenting, "Vahn is right, you know? You need to eat more if you want to grow up big and strong. I think even my butt is plumper than yours, Nobu-chan~." To emphasize this, Astolfo turned sideways before pinching the unnecessarily plump flesh of his rear end. This caused Nobunagas face to pale as, emerging from the void behind her, several vicious ck matchlock rifles slowly took form. Wasting no time at all, Astolfo changed into his Pdins attire before kicking off the ground with enough force to crush his pool lounge with the resultant shockwave. Nobunaga, with the expression of a hunter that had just found its prey, quickly jumped after him as she screamed, "Its toote to run now you brat...!" Following Nobunagas outburst, she began to pepper the area with her matchlocks as Astolfo dodged around rather deftly with his superior speed. During an especially close shave, his face became even more yful than before as hemented, "Ara? Isnt your butt shrinking even more?" Since Nobunaga was using up her mana, her body was, ever so slightly, beginning to regress in age. She had originally started off with a moderately shapely appearance, standing around 157cm and looking to be around 18-19 years old. After firing a few barrages, however, Nobunaga had already reduced to 155cm as her b.r.e.a.s.ts and butt, at a rate only those with a discerning eye would be able to notice, were surely shrinking along with her. With her expression now forming into one that most would only use to look at their mortal nemesis, Nobunaga swiped her arm across the front of her body before extending it outward to the side. In response to her action, a total of one-hundred matchlocks formed in the air before priming simultaneously. This caused Astolfo to pale a bit, realizing he had gone a little too far as he waved his hands and said, "Wait, wait, wait, I was just kidding~!" Though he could easily dodge a few shots with rtive ease, it was apletely different thing to try and evade a hundred shots all fired simultaneously. Astolfo would be forced to seriously go on the defensive just to avoid being injured by any of the stray shots fired from Nobunagas Noble Phantasm. Just as Nobunaga seemed to be considering whether or not to let Astolfo off, an unexpected urrence happened that caused everyone present to fall silent. Due to her body shrinking in size, Nobunagas bottoms were no longer clinging to her h.i.p.s. Instead, in the midst of her battle pose, the red fabric unceremoniously slipped down her legs beforeing to a stop near her ankles. Immediately following this, Nobunagas expression darkened as, even though she knew her Master would reprimand her, Fenrir couldnt help snickering. As a result, half of the matchlocks reversed direction, pointing towards Vahn and Fenrir, while the other fifty all opened fire on Astolfo... --- Unaware of the chaos urring within the Sub-Space Orb, Rin had indeed been in the process of contacting Lord El-Melloi II. They couldnt exchange any sensitive information, as there was a chance theirmunications could be intercepted, but Rin could still issue reports about the war and ask if there were any major developments. Though the Overseers couldnt directly tell Masters where the others were located, at least publically, that didnt stop them from sharing news about battles that had urred and whether or not any Masters had been eliminated. This was how Rin came to learn that the third Master, a man named Lyasin Karl Afanasievich, had been eliminated. As he was never seen with his Servant, it was impossible to know for certain but, given the circ.u.mstances, it was highly like he had been the Master of Ozymandias. Though Vahn, Scthach, Nobunaga, and Astolfo hadnt gone into all the details, they made it very clear that Ozymandias had been killed by Scthach. Vahn had even given her a small golden ne after returning, something that Rin now kept in a small jewelry box located by her bedside. ording to what little they had revealed, causing Rin endless frustrations, Ozymandias had been a phenomenally powerful Servant. Though he had an arrogant nature, it didnt seem as if he was a bad guy so, unless they had pulled something, it meant their Master must not have been that bad either. The fact they had been killed, even after their Servant had been eliminated, pointed towards arger conspiracy of sorts that was happening behind the scenes. It was most likely that, whoever Lyasin had been allied with, decided to steal his Command Spells through the use of lethal force... Putting together the information she had, it wasnt difficult to discern that the most likely culprits were the Einzbern family. The only other family that would have gone out of their way to kill the son of an Aristocratic Magus family were the Makiri or, more specifically, the Matou family. Since Rin was almost certain that the Assassin-ss Servant had been summoned by the Sakura, as the Makiri almost always summoned one of the variations of Hassan, it almost guaranteed that the group involved in Lyasins death were the Einzberns. As it wasnt in their nature to take actions that would draw unnecessary attention to themselves, this meant the person who had killed Lyasin must have been the Magus-Killer, Alex Everdale... Knowing that one of their enemies had a professional Magus-Killer, while another now had two Assasin-ss Servants, Rin felt a strong headacheing her way. She really didnt want to have to confront her own sister as, after their awkward parting ten years ago, the idea of robbing Sakura of her wish filled Rin with apprehension. Even now, she could remember Sakuras teary indignation as she used her of stealing the one thing she ever cared about, Shirou. Though Rin didnt know what Sakura wanted with the Holy Grail, that didnt make it any easier knowing that her actions would ultimately guarantee Sakura was denied the chance to obtain her wish. As for the matter with the Einzberns, that was perhaps even more troublesome as, more than almost any other Servant, Rin hade to fear the destructive might of Heracles in his Berserker state... Though she had lost her life to Gilgamesh ten years ago, Rin recalled her first meeting with the Ultimate Homunculus, Illyasviel Von Einzbern. She had been elected as the 9th Head of the Einzberns and was a unique existence whose entire body wasprised of magic circuits. If not for her untimely demise at the hands of the Hero-King, she may have gone on to be one of the most prolific Magus in history. With Berserker at her side, seemingly without any equals, it was almost guaranteed that she would be the final victory in the Grail War. If not for the cheat-like existence of Gilgamesh, who was only defeated due to thebined efforts of Caster and Saber, there wouldnt have been anything standing in the way of Illyasviel obtaining the Grail... Imagining the seemingly unstoppable Heracles allied with a notorious mercenary who had made a name for himself killing Magi, Rin couldnt help feeling a little nervous. Even though their side had numerous advantages, including the almost ridiculously strong Scthach, Rin felt it wasnt enough to emerge victoriously. Her intuition, which was often proven correct, told her that the real battles hadnt even started yet. If not for the existence of the Sub-Space Orb, Rin felt they wouldnt even have the time to recuperate properly before being worn down by their enemies. Fortunately, more than anything else, their side had the anomalous existence of Vahn to rely on. Without his presence, Rin wasnt sure she would be able to bear the burden of the mission she had epted for herself... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Hamming Intensifies*,RIP Astolfo-chan...,Rins Innate, [Type-Moon Heroine] seems to be in full effect xD...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1060 - Concern

Chapter 1060 - Concern

With night descending upon the outside world, Vahn was discussing the evenings ns with Rin. As he had expected, she was busy gathering information, including the troubling news that more than a handful of normal humans had been simply disappearingtely. Since the disappearances had been taking ce all over the city, it was difficult to pin the incident on any specific Servant. In order to find and deal with whoever was responsible, Rin suggested investigating some of the areas where people had disappeared before tracking down the Master or Servant responsible. Though Vahn was still of the mindset of trying to find and recruit Paracelsus, he didnt mind going along with Rins n as, at least for the time being, he had no leads on the formers location. When it came time to allocate their forces, Vahn had taken lead by suggesting, "Rin, I want you to see if Ereshkigal is willing to take to the battlefield tonight. If you can get her permission, well split into two groups with Fenrir, Astolfo, Nobunaga, and her in the search group. Ill-." Vahn only got around this far before Nobunaga, who had been sitting quietly at the side immediately answered, "No. You can have Scthach take the lead in the search party. Rin can transform into Ishtar and provided ranged fire from the sky. Im going to follow you tonight, unless, of course, youre willing to force me to obey with a Command Spell." Hearing Nobunagas impromptu changing of his ns, Vahn couldnt help but frown slightly but, before he was able to rebuff her, Scthach added, "I will go with the first group. Rin and I have already discussed Ereshkigals capabilities. She is far better suited to defensive battles and would provide few benefits to her allies. I can use my [Primordial Rune] magic to increase everyones offense, defense, and, if necessary, tend to wounds. Fenrir and I will take to the frontlines while Rin, Ishtar, and Astolfo will provide support on an as-needed basis. Master, you and Nobunaga should focus on collecting information and trying to track down Paracelsus. It is unwise to try and involve yourself inrge-scale battles every night as it will draw too much attention to our group during the recess periods of the War." Anything Vahn wanted to say failed to reach his lips after hearing Scthachs words as, alongside Nobunaga giving a nod of approval, nobody else seemed to have any arguments to make. Rin even added, "Ereshkigal said she would be better suited to protecting the Manor, not fighting in enemy territory. As for Ishtar...she said she is willing to help track down the enemy in exchange for a rewardter on. So long as she understands what she is searching for, she says she can locate anything under the Heavens that isnt obscured by a powerful concealment spell." This was a bit of a bombshell drop from Rin, causing Vahn to ck for a brief moment before asking, "Can she tell us where Paracelsus is...?" In response to Vahns question, Rin closed her eyes for several moments, her cheeks turning slightly red in the process. When she opened her eyes, she seemed somewhat hesitant to speak, answering, "She said...it should be possible..." As it didnt take a powerful intuition to see that Ishtar had made some demands of her own, Vahns face formed the semnce of a wry smile as he calmly asked, "And, what would she like in exchange for her assistance...?" This question only causes Rins face to be a deeper shade of red as she shook her head, apparently unwilling to answer. Unfortunately, Ishtar didnt seem to be in an agreeable mood as, shortly thereafter, Rins eyes drooped before her hair gained a purple hue, followed by her previous outfit dissolving away to allow Ishtars raiment to form in its stead. Since they were not indoors, Ishtar elevated off of the small sofa Rin had been sitting on before hoving towards Vahn as she exined, "You have been traipsing about and training almost every day. Since our first night together, you have not shown us the attention we are deserving. In exchange for our help, you will tend to the three of us until we arepletely satisfied..." At this point, Ishtar was hovering directly in front of Vahn, bent over at the waist with her face only a few centimeters separate from his own. Instead of being afforded the opportunity to answer on his own, Scthach was the one to say, "That is a good idea. Though there is nothing wrong with training seriously, it is important to build rapport with your allies. This ce provides you the unique opportunity to make the most of your time between battles. In order to avoid having any kind of regrets, you should spend more time with the people you care about, Vahn." As she was saying these things, Scthach alternated her gaze between Ishtar and Fenrir before,stly, casting a nce at Nobunaga. Though it was only for a very brief moment, it was enough to convey Scthachs intentions clearly. She knew full-well why Nobunaga had wanted to partner up with Vahn for the evening and, with how she had been acting during thest few days, Vahn wasnt oblivious either... Ishtar seemed satisfied with Scthachs arrangement, giggling happily as she said, "Then well make a sport of it. Whoever is able to earn the most merit will-." This was where Vahn decided to draw the line, shaking his head to interrupt Ishtars words before saying, "Listen, Ishtar. Im not some prize to be won, nor am I reward to be obtained. If this were a more peaceful time, that kind of thing might be okay. Right now, were involved in an ever-escting war. If people lose their focus by treating this even like a game, the chances of someone getting hurt in the process are unnecessarily increased. I would rather reward everyone foring back safely than exchange my affections as some prize you can arbitrarily decide to obtain at a whim..." As it didnt take much of an imagination to imagine Fenrir or Nobunaga doing something foolish in order to win the prize Ishtar was talking about, Vahn wanted to nip that thought in the bud from the start. Since it was obvious what their desires were, he would take it upon himself to rewrad them at his leisure, not when they decided he was avable. Since it had indeed been a while since he spent time with Rin, Vahn had no problems tending to her needs when they returned. As for Fenrir and Nobunaga, the former was a foregone conclusion while, so long as she didnt try to antagonize him in order to rile him up, Vahn didnt mind pacifying whatever urges had been building within Nobunaga over the past two weeks. Without missing a step, Scthach gave an approving nod at the end of Vahns statement, adding, "That is how it should be. One of your biggest problems is that you are constantly thinking about meeting the expectations of others. However, if you only wait for them to make the intentions known, you will lose the initiative and feel pressured. In order to avoid falling into a self-destructive cycle, you should be more resolute in your rtionsh.i.p.s with others. Even if things dont work out, that is the fault of both parties, not just your own. If a rtionship involves one side giving more than the other, it is an unhealthy rtionship that is fated to end prematurely." This time, Scthachs words had the apparent effect of a bombshell as Ishtar, Fenrir, and Nobunaga all showed dour expressions in response. The only one with a different expression was Astolfo who, for thest few minutes, was awkwardly smiling at the side as he suddenly felt like an outsider who had no ce in the current conversation. Though he honestly wouldnt mind having some of Vahns affections for himself, Astolfo knew the chances of such a thing happening were infinitely close to zero. Unless he epted Vahns offer to be a female, a thought that actually made him feel a little giddy, it might be for the best if he avoids the Sub-Space Orb when they return in the morning. With Vahns and Scthachs words bringing an end to the discussion, they spent another half hour or so fleshing out their ns for the evening before finally returning to the outside world. As had been discussed, Scthach, Fenrir, Ishtar, and Astolfo would be part of the group investigating the Master-Servant pair responsible for the disappearances within the City. Vahn and Nobunaga would be exploring the periphery of the City and investigating any areas of interest, especially in low-poption zones. At the same time, however, Vahn had a secret objective which, after everyone left, he turned to Nobunaga to exin, "Well be investigating the Einzbern Forest tonight. My intuition tells me there is something there...something I should have looked into long ago..." Nobunaga formed a sly smile on her face in response to his words, saying, "Oho, I knew you were up to something. You really dont learn, do you? Just one night after nearly losing your life, you send everyone else away to go face the more serious threats on your own. Thats why you wanted that purple-monster toe with you, huh, so she could clean up after your mess if things went south?" Never being the type to mix her words, Nobunaga didnt miss the opportunity to throw usations and insults now that she and Vahn were alone. After all, the fact she had been one of the people he had tried to send off caused her to feel more than a little annoyed. She was his summoned Servant and, even if they didnt have the normal Master-Servant rtionship, the fact he relied more on one he had obtained from an enemy bothered her... Hearing Nobunagas words, Vahn looked into her blood-red eyes, falling silent for several seconds before asking, "Youve been seeing more of my memories, havent you? Thats why youve changed so much in thest two weeks..." This was less of a question than a statement, as Sis made him aware of the when and what Nobunaga was allowed to see. Because of how busy he had been, Vahn hadnt put much thought into how Nobunaga would react to his memories but, now that they were alone like this, he realized she had been affected more than he thought. His near-death experience had hit her surprisingly hard, to the point that she only began to return to her normal self in thest 2~3 days within the Orb. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Nobunaga kept eye contact with Vahn as she answered, "I saw everything, all the way up until the moment you were forced to leave your world. I never expected you to be the cowardly type, Vahn..." Though she didnt mean these words, Nobunaga was feeling a little nervous with Vahn staring down at her. She was only around 153cm tall at the moment so Vahn cast arge shadow over her with his 185cm tall frame. This would have never intimidated her in the past, but Nobunagas perspective had shifted a great deal after she saw the types of enemies Vahn had faced within the dream. His battles with Heracles and Achron had been at a level beyond anything she had even thought possible previously, opening Nobunagas eyes to the fact that she was much weaker than she arrogantly believed herself to be. Ignoring Nobunagas hurtful barb, Vahn was quickly beginning to understand what must have been going through her mind the past few days. Since she was his summoned Servant, it undoubtedly bothered her a great deal knowing that she was effectively useless against the stronger enemies in the Holy Grail War. Even if she had been present during the battle with Ozymandias, it was almost guaranteed that Nobunaga would have lost her life to his Noble Phantasm. Now, seemingly in an effort to prevent him from doing something dangerous a second time, Nobunaga was choosing to stay close to him so he would have to take more measured action to avoid endangering her. This was somethingpletely contrary to her character, as Nobunaga was the exact type to throw herself at enemies without thinking excessively, so it was easy to see why she had been frustrated... As appreciative as he was of Nobunagas concerns, Vahns expression turned resolute as he asked, "You know what I desire, dont you...?" To this, Nobunagas own expression hardened as she answered, "You seek a strength beyondprehension in order to protect the things you care about...and, because youre an idiot, you care about too many things. Even in a world far removed from your own, you cant but throw yourself headfirst into a situation that, otherwise, has nothing to do with you. The moment you begin to feel even the smallest amount of pity and empathy, you begin dedicating yourself to fixing whatever you think is broken...it is frustrating..." Vahn nodded his head, understanding the true meaning behind Nobunagas words as he muttered, "Yes, not having the power to help the people you care about is indeed frustrating...to think that I would have the Great Demon King herself worrying about my safety." These words didnt seem to sit well with Nobunaga as her faced immediately formed into a scowl. Before she could say anything, however, her words got stuck in her throat as Vahn casually reached out and poked her left b.r.e.a.s.t through her military-style blouse. Immediately following this, Vahn smiled as he exined, "You have a lot of heart, Nobunaga, one that is far too big for its own good. Just like me, you try to take on the burdens of others and guide them towards a better future. When all of this is over...would you like to join me in conquering this world...?" Nobunagas expression changed from confusion to mncholy after hearing Vahns words, shaking her head as she said, "Even if you can keep me anchored to this world after the Holy Grail Wares to an end, it is unlikely I would be able to help you. Without the governance of the Grail, the upkeep cost for even a single Servant is greater than most Mages can manage. Since Im certain youll be wanting to keep around Scthach, Paracelsus, and Astolfo, Id rather save myself the frustration of being a liability that will prevent you from focusing on what is more important..." Towards the end of her words, Nobunaga removed the glove of her right hand before cing overtop Vahns, adding, "Even if I will forget everything, I am content just having some of your affections to myself while Im still here. Thats why I need to make sure your stupid ass doesnt end up keeling over before I can sample the goods...shishishishi~." At the very end of her statement, Nobunaga pulled Vahns hand forward so that he was no longer poking her b.r.e.a.s.t, but grabbing it in his palm. Vahn felt a bit of tenderness from Nobunagas actions, especially when considering the rather selfless words she had spoken previously. She was essentially saying she would give up her ability to stay within this world to others, knowing full well her memories would be wiped after she vanishes from the world. Even if she were summoned in another Holy Grail War in the far future, or perhaps in a variable timeline, the memories they forged together would no longer remain. Though he had known this from the start, Vahn now found this reality uneptable so, even if Nobunaga didnt seek it herself, he had, at this very moment, decided to take matters into his own hands. With that thought in mind, Vahn ced a bit of force into his right hand before sending a few threads of Source Energy into Nobunagas chest, causing her to startle before instinctually pulling away. Finding her reaction cute, Vahn smiled affecionately as he said, "I still intend to search around the Einzbern Forest, but well just stick to the periphery instead of probing deeper within. Though we shouldnt rush, we can either head back to the Manor early or find a ce to rx while waiting for the others to return. I would almost suggest we go into the Sub-Space Orb together, but I dont want to be cut off from the outside world in the vent something happens..." While thinking he should make the most of what Nobunaga considered her final few days within this world, Vahn was also considering the possibility something could go wrong while he was distracted. He didnt mind pampering this supposed Demon King for a bit before surprising herter on by disallowing her to escape his grasp so easily... Feeling the possessiveness in Vahns gaze, Nobunaga frowned before cautioning, "Dont think Im some maiden you can just do with as you please, Vahn. Ive seen some of the shit you pulled on girls in your past. The moment you try something like that on me, Ill cut it off. Even if it grows back, Ill make sure you never forget to afford me the basic dignities of a woman." Though she had a brash and overbearing nature by default, Nobunagas views, while open-minded, were a bit on the traditional side. She was fond of the idea of simply enjoying thepany of the person you held affections for, not engaging in excessive carnality. Since she had no confidence in being able to resist Vahns [Hands of Nirvana], she wanted to make it clear from the start that she wasnt to be trifled with at his leisure. Knowing she had misunderstood his intentions, Vahn gave an understanding nod in response to Nobunagas demands. He knew better than anyone that he had been a little extreme in some of his past rtionsh.i.p.s so, unless it was something they themselves sought, Vahn had no desire to test the limits of his lovers in the future. It was far more interesting to simply tease them a bit, as there were always feelings of guilt whenever he pushed someone beyond their limits, even a little. Loki and Anubis had helped to curb this habit of his while Lefiya and Fenrir had taught Vahn how to treat women delicately, even when they proactively sought to be pushed. The woman with the biggest influence, however, was Eina as, up until the very end, she and Vahn only ever had very gentle and loving s.e.x with each other... With the sun already set beyond the horizon, Vahn knew he and Nobunaga shouldnt keep idling around talking about topics that were better discussed in private. Since she was keeping a short distance away from him, Vahn decided against trying to tease her again as he looked towards the south and said, "Well start from the southern mouth of the Mion River, following its flow for a few kilometers outside of the city. Since the others should be searching around the northeast, well work our way towards them by passing through the rural districts on the outskirts of the city. Depending on the situation, we may join with them for a short while before making our way to the Einzbern Forest in the west. All-in-all, it shouldnt take us more than five hours toplete a full circle so well have plenty of time to talk about these kinds of things when we double back to the Manor." Seeing Nobunaga nod her head in agreement, Vahn smiled somewhat mischievously before closing the distance between them. Nobunaga stood her ground, refusing to back down even though her face formed a frown. Before she could ask what he was up to, Vahn brought his index finger to his mouth, biting into it hard enough to draw blood. His resistance didnt apply to any self-inflicted wounds so it didnt take much force before a steady flow of blood began dripping from his finger. This was enough for Nobunaga to understand his intentions, causing her heart to beat rapidly in her chest, even though her expression remained dour. Then, as Vahn held his hand out toward her, Nobunaga took things even further, attempting to bite him even harder in retaliation. Unlike Vahn, however, she felt like her teeth were trying to bite through granite so, after failing for a few seconds, Nobunaga eventually snorted through her nose before vigorously sucking his blood. At the same time, her height began to slowly increase until, around seven minutester, Nobunaga reached 161cm tall and had the appearance of a woman in her mid-twenties. Since her clothing didnt change to match her size, unless she did so manually, her military-style garb now strained under the sizable mounds that were on the verge of snapping Nobunagas bra. When she finally released his fingers, Vahn saw that they were slightly pruned from her rather forceful suction, causing him to lightly chuckle as they quickly returned to normal, Then, before they set out into the night, Vahn lightly spanked Nobunagas now plump backside, startling her into anger as she watched his figure vanish like a phantom... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "You think this is a game!?",Nobunagas self-awareness...,Vahn will forever be an ass-man. I me Hephaestus and Tsubaki (UwU)...) (A/N: The link depicting Nobunagas mature form can be found in thements section.) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1061 - Intent

Chapter 1061 - Intent

While periodically dodging sneak attacks from Nobunaga, Vahn had extended his search for Paracelsus to the south of Fuyuki city. ording to Ishtar, there was a high chance he was located in the region but, even with her abilities, the various magical formations and concealment barriers made it impossible to know for certain. Since Paracelsus was one of the most well-known Alchemists in history, his Master shouldnt be someone ipetent. After they had been discovered the first time, Vahn didnt think they would be easy to locate until they were making their y for the Holy Grail. With his ability to produce golems, homunculi, and an apparently infinite number of Philosophers Stones, Vahn wouldnt be surprised if they showed up with an entire army by the time the war was reaching its climax... After around an hour, Vahn found himself staring out over a rural farming district, admiring the rather homely domiciles. Suddenly, feeling a tingling sensation on the back of his neck, Vahn side-stepped another one of the reddish-cksers fired from Nobunaga more than 2km away. He could see her standing atop a cellphone tower that was around 70m tall, using the vantage to get a better view of the surroundings. With her red mantle and long ck hair ring about with the powerful wings, she created quite the sight to behold as she manually operated one of her Noble Phantasms, the Tanegashima-style arquebus. Though she could summon up to three-thousand at once, assuming he provided her with a direct line of mana, the unique matchlock rifle was far more powerful when she operated it manually. Since she could hit him if she put in a serious effort, Vahn knew that Nobunaga was just reminding him that she didnt forgive him for grabbing her butt and running. This didnt stop her from doing her job though, even if she would periodically take potshots at him whenever he stared too long at once of the unique statues littering the rural area. Vahns behavior was simr to that of a tourist and, though they were supposed to be seriously investigating the area, Nobunaga didnt want to dally too long. Though Vahn was tempted to tease her a bit, as it was almost as if she were rushing him, he ultimately decided against it since now wasnt the time for such things. Finding nothing amiss, Vahnsst stop was at a small temple where residents of the small town would go to pray for health, wealth, and fortune in their love lives. It had a small shrine at the back of the temple where a bell, fixed with a thick ceremonial rope, hung over a small wooden donation box. There was an air of mysticism surrounding the small temple and, though there didnt seem to be any Magus nearby, Vahn could feel the spirituality contained within thend itself. Though this world was currently in the Era of Men, with most of the Gods, Spirits, and Lesser Deities retreating to the Reverse Side of the World, their presence could still be felt when enough believers frequented the same area. With his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn could see the almost imperceptible silhouette of a foxying atop the donation box. Since it reminded him a bit of Shirohime and Tsukyuu, Vahn dropped a solid gold coin into the donation box, catching the ghostly entitys attention. Then, after filling up a cup with some high-quality sake, Vahn set it next to the nascent spirit, smiling as he said, "Take care of the people here, okay...?" His words and actions seemed to surprise the small spirit but, as itcked the ability to speak in its nascent state, it simply nodded its head before using its tiny tongue top at the cup of sake. Sensing nothing else worthy of his attention, Vahn began heading north towards Fuyuki City as Nobunaga reverted back to her Spirit form to keep pace. Their next destination, after skirting around the periphery of the city, would be near therge beach located on the eastern side of the ind. This was where, during the Summer, most of the younger residents of the ind would spend their recreational time. Since the Record of Danmachi didnt really have the concept of beach faring, Vahn was interested to see the sigh of hundreds of people dotting the white sands as they socialized and generally enjoyed each otherspany. After traveling a little under 800km, Vahn found himself at the furthest eastern part of the ind, an area spanning around 22,838km2, ording to the information stored in his mind. ording to legends, which always had some basic foundation of truth in the Nasuverse, Japan had been the culmination of the efforts of Izanagi and Izanami. The ind where Fuyuki City was located was supposed to have been one of their offspring, named Kyushu, bing the fourth of Japans eight principal inds. It formed the southernmost tip of the main chain of inds, having the highest concentration of mana and spirit energy due to the still active leylines running under Fuyuki City itself... Staring out over the slightly tumultuous ocean, dark due to the waning moon overheard, Vahn felt some of the saltwater spritz against his face. It surprisingly smelled worse than he expected, the product of its high salt concentration and the presence of malignant elements such as waste runoff and pollution. This was one of the things that annoyed Vahn the most about this world as, even though there was much beauty to behold, it was spoiled by the inconsiderate nature of humans in their pacified states. Though there were undoubtedly many exceptions, Vahn had observed that the vast majority of humans were wasteful and self-indulgent. This wasnt necessary wrong, as everyone was entitled to live as they please, but that was only insofar as their actions didnt negatively impact others. Since humanity as a whole was rampantly polluting the, solely for the sake of wealth, Vahn felt as if the only reason they produced such beautiful and vibrant structures was to distract from the destruction their errant habits had wrought upon the world... Appearing in a sh of light at Vahns side, Nobunaga joined him staring out over the sea, absentmindedly stating, "In the past, my only ambition was to unite the people of Japan...even though I knew there was a muchrger world outside my countrys borders, my efforts ultimately proved meaningless as humanity has continued along its path, the many propping up the few. I would have liked to see it, you know, the world you had aspired to create before stepping foot on thisnd." As she was speaking, Nobunaga held her hand out, fingers spread wide as if she could grab the horizon and im it for herself. Hearing the mncholy contained within her voice, Vahn used his hand to pat Nobunagas shoulder as he inly stated, "Regardless of the oue of the Holy Grail War, I can promise you that, one day, you will be able to experience the world I envisioned. Concepts like Space and Time lose their meaning once you obtain adequate strength. Even if I have to track down and steal away the real you one day, that time will inevitablye..." Though he didnt intend to let Nobunaga disappear at the end of the War, Vahn didnt mind making such a promise. Since she was only a fragment of her real self, it would ultimately be necessary to unify the two if he intended to keep Nobunaga as his ally andpanion in the future... In response to Vahns words, Nobunaga began tough boisterously before teasingly stating, "I think you might be a little disappointed to see the real me. I was going on 48 years old when I died. I even had one of my retainersb through my hair every morning to make sure there werent any gray hairs visible. Any sign of weakness would have empowered my enemies so I had to put a lot of effort into fighting against the tireless advance of aging..." With the Holy Grail restoring a Heroic Spirit to their prime, Nobunaga looked much younger in the present than she had in the past. As for why her appearance would change depending on the amount of energy she possessed, this was due to the rapid increase in her strength after reaching puberty. Though she hadnt been a Magus, Nobunaga had been born with a anti-spiritual body, the very thing that led to her being dered a Demon King by propagators of the myriad Shinto religions... Surprising Nobunaga, Vahn immediatelyughed in response to herints about being old. This caused her to frown, at least until he pointed out, "Didnt you see my memories? If you think things like age matter to me, how would I have ended up with Tsubaki? Hell, most of the goddesses I was with were several-hundred million years old. Youll need a better excuse than that if you think you can keep me away, Nobu." Vahn made sure to ce extra emphasis on Nobunagas pet name, essentially calling her simrly to how her childhood friends would refer to her. Though she required them to call her full name when she got older, Vahn wanted to emphasize the fact that Nobunagas age didnt matter to him in the least...so long as she leaned towards the mature side. As expected, Nobunaga didnt seem to enjoy the sudden shortening of her name,menting, "I dont care if you are over 150 years old, Vahn. If you think you can get away with treating me like a child, Ill make you suffer for it." With an absolutely serious expression on her face, Nobunaga ced just as much emphasis on the word suffer as Vahn had on the name Nobu. In response, Vahn had a teasing expression on his face as he asked, "What are you going to do, start calling me Old Man Mason...?" Since this was a rather amusing thought Vahn couldnt help but smile, something he immediately came to regret when Nobunaga seriously stated, "I will use up all of my mana until I am mana starved. Then, using thest bit of my power, I will wear a sailors uniform and a bright red randoseru before climbing into your bed in the middle of the night..." Any desire to tease Nobunaga was immediately exorcised from Vahns body, followed by the smile on his face forming an expression that would give Scthach a run for her money. Seeing this, Nobunagas eyes squinted before an evil grin spread across her face. Vahn knew this was her way of expressing that she had just found his weakness. Knowing such information was in the hands of a Demon King, Vahn felt like his future had just be more troublesome. At the same time, he internally swore that, if Nobunaga ever tried such a thing, Vahn would pet her into oblivion. He could tell she was genuinely fearful of the experience so, if she tried such a thing against him, all gloves woulde off... Feeling a shiver run through her body, Nobunagas smile faded in much the same way as Vahns. For several long seconds after that, they both stared at each other, slowlying to an understanding that pushing things too far would benefit neither of them. Then, as if to make peace, Nobunaga took in an audible breath before saying, "When were alone like this, I will permit you to call me Nobu. Just know that Ill be counting each time, so be prepared to pay for itter on." Though she didnt mention how Vahn would have to pay, he already had an idea of what she might request of him. Since this was another way in which someone else was deciding how he would act, Vahn felt a little annoyed but, remembering it was his decision to call her Nobu, he let the mattery for the time being. --- Finding nothing of interest on the coast, Vahn moved towards the northern region of Fuyuki to see how the others were doing. Along the way, he established a connection with Scthach, asking ("Have you been able to locate the enemy?"). To this, she almost immediately responded, answering, ("We have not been able to identify if they are the cause, but we are currently tracking the Berserker-ss Servant, Asterios. Fenrir was able to detect his aura before Ishtar managed to pinpoint his location. Currently, they seemed to be engaging the Saber-ss Servant, Lakshmibai. We are waiting to see how the fight progresses before deciding whether to intervene.") Hearing Scthachs words, Vahns brows perked up slightly as, among the Servants he intended to recruit, Lakshmibai was just under Paracelsus. Her title as the Jeanne dArc of India wasnt for show as, during the 1850s, she had led an uprising and rebellion against thebined might of the East India Company and the British Empire. Leading a force that was predominatelyprised of females, she was able to rally arge amount of support as she fought for her homnd against the tyranny of expansionism and capitalist ideologies. Though she ultimately lost her life in the Battle of Gwalior, she was celebrated as a modern Hero whose efforts were paramount in weakening the influence of the British Empire in India before the Industrial Revolution. Not wanting to leave anything to chance, Vahn quickly added, ("Do not allow Lakshmibai and her Master to perish. To be able to summon someone on the level of a Saint, Lakshmibais Master cant be a simple person. If you cant deal with-.") Before Vahn could finish his words, Scthach inly stated, ("It will not be a problem.") This had surprised him a bit as, given what he knew of Scthach, she wasnt the type to simply interrupt people without reason. It wasnt until her voice came back a few momentster that Vahn realized she had already entered the fight and wanted to avoid the distraction... --- With their connection still live, Scthach had sensed Vahns intentions before he even put them into thought. Since Lakshmibai had already been injured the previous night, she was already on the verge of losing the fight as Asterios strength was nothing to be scoffed at. Knowing a single mishap could result in the defeat of a potential ally, Scthach moved like a blur, somehow moving in such a way that she didnt even create a shockwave after breaking the sound barrier. Then, as the enraged Asterios, standing a monstrous 298cm tall, tried to use its massive ax to cleave into Lakshmibais sword guard, Scthach fell into a stance where her b.r.e.a.s.ts nearly caressed the ground as she muttered, "Gae Bolg~!" Moving with a speedparable to lightning, Scthachs [Gae Bolg] traced a direct path towards Asterios heart. However, as the skill was only B-Ranked by default, the only thing Scthachs attack had aplished was knocking Asterios off bnce. This didnt influence her decision to engage, however, as Scthach, now wielding two spears, began a dance of death as she urately pierced the gaps between Asterios thick muscles with the tip of her spear. With the aid of her [God yer], it didnt matter if Asterios natural resistance would have allowed him to ignore any attacks under A-Rank. She might not be able to deal arge amount of damage at once, but wounds dealt by her [Gae Bolg] couldnt be healed, instantly eliminating one of Asterios only advantages. With a loud roar, Asterios used one of its twin axes to try and dissect Scthachs body but, almost like a spring catapult, she simply bent backward before immediatelyunching herself forward once again. It was around this time when Lakshmibai realized that Scthach hade to her aid but, without knowing her true purpose, she chose to create a bit of distance from the fight before pulling out an ornate musket rifle. She began firing towards Asterios eyes, aiming for the gaps in its bull-like helmet. This seemed to only make Asterios even madder, causing his body to glow with a red aura as he snorted out a dense cloud of vapor. As even a normal human would be able to see that Asterios was powering up, Scthach and Lakshmibai both decided on a temporary retreat. It was impossible for Servants to fight without rest so it was often the wiser choice to pull back whenever they used mana-intensive skills. Scthach, however, had a slightly different reason for pulling back as, even if Asterios were to go all out, she could already see its defeat in her eyes. Without needing tomunicate anything at all, Scthach retreated towards the same direction as Lakshmibai as a massive purple projectile mmed into Asterios face, courtesy of Ishtar floating in the sky above. Surprising even Scthach, however, the mad Minotauros vanished in a small explosion of magical energy, indicating that his Master had used a Command Spell to forcefully summon him away. Though she did not know the exact timing of Asterios death, Scthach had clearly seen one of Ishtars arrows finishing the monstrous Berserker off. This seemed to be Ishtars intent as well, considering that she began charging another arrow while taking aim at the distance. Seeing this, Scthach understood that Asterios would still meet its end, just at its Masters side. Even if Ishtar couldnt urately locate Paracelsus position, that was due to the preparations he had made to avoid discovery. For a Magus that had exposed themselves in the pursuit of an enemy Master, they could not hide from her eyes without a powerful artifact. Entrusting the task to Ishtar, as thetters pride would never allow her to let an enemy simply run away, Scthach intercepted Lakshmibais path before holding up her spear to bar her passage. This caused Lakshmibai, who was nursing a serious wound on her abdomen, to hold up a thin saber that glimmered with a subtle silver glow. As a Saber-ss Servant, her parameters were supposed to be on the higher end of the spectrum. Scthach, however, simply shook her head and said, "I would rather not strike you down. My Master wishes to meet with yours, desiring a peaceful agreement that will benefit all parties. If you choose to battle against me, your pseudo-Divine nature has already guaranteed your loss. I am Scthach, the Queen of the Land of Shadows. Stand down, inheritor of kshmi..." Hearing Scthachs introduction, Lakshmibai despaired internally, even as her expression remained stoic and determined. What confused her was the fact that Scthach had referred to her as the inheritor of kshmi, even though she was possessed by the Goddess, Lakshmi. It was almost as if Scthach was indicating she had terrible luck which, considering her encounters with Servants much stronger than herself, didnt appear far from the truth. Since Scthach was a true counter to her, leaving almost no chance for victory, Lakshmibai could only pray that their intentions were truly pure as she slowly lowered her saber. Seeing Lakshmibai acquiescing, Scthach gave an appreciative nod as she too lowered her spears. Now, they needed only wait for the arrival of Lakshmibais Master and Vahn, thetter of which was moving at a startling speed towards their location. Though Scthach couldnt see much value in having Lakshmibai as an ally, considering thetter was shrouded in a Divinity that guaranteed misfortune, there was no way of knowing Vahns means. He seemed to be able to produce a plethora of items that didnt exist within her infinitely expansive knowledge base so Scthach wouldnt discount the possibility that he could find some use for the brown-skinned beauty... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Sniping Intensifies*,MILF Nobunaga stressing about gray hairs makes me smile...,TFW you think you are the avatar of the Goddess of Luck when its actually her sister, the Goddess of Misfortune...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1062 - Conviction

Chapter 1062 - Conviction

Using his current speed, it only took Vahn eighteen minutes to cover the 840km distance between his starting point and the location where the battle had taken ce. Though he had been capable of making the distance in a much shorter period of time, most of the tension had drained away when, less than two minutes after the fight had started, Scthach informed him that it was over. This hadnt been too surprising, as the presence of Scthach and Ishtar on the same battlefield would generally mean certain doom for whoever was unfortunate enough to face him, but it had still helped to put things into perspective for Vahn. As they were not even close to the pinnacle of power within the Record of the Nasuverse, he knew the distance between the current him and the top was a vast gulf he would need to tirelessly pursue if he wanted to have any chance of reaching it in a short period of time... Upon arriving at the destination, Vahn found himself stumbling into a rather awkward scene where Rin, Scthach, Fenrir, and Astolfo had all practically surrounded who Vahn intuited to be Lakshmibai and her Master. The former stood around 159cm tall, possessing dark brown skin, sand-colored hair, and pale pink eyes. Her hair easily extended past her waist while two thick braids nked both sides, flowing down her shoulders beforeing to an end with two silver bands. She also had uniquely styled bangs, two perfectly arranged fringe bangs that broke into three separate pieces while, covering her ears, tworge clumps forming what almost appeared to be droopy ears could be seen. Most notable, however, wasnt the womans unique and exotic beauty, but the fact that Vahn could see the presence of fate around her... Though she might have misinterpreted his gaze, Vahn gave Lakshmibais body a once over, observing her white, military-style garb that had been structured in a way that the back and shoulders werepletely exposed. This waspleted with a pair of white, borderline skin-tight pants that were somehow tucked into form-fit boots that miraculously extended up to her thighs. Swirling around her body, however, was a powerful flow of fate that, no matter how Vahn looked at it, seemed to be lingering around her body simr to an evil aura than anything beneficial. More troublesome was the fact that her aura seemed to be flowing into the young boy that undoubtedly served the role of her Master... Seeing that Lakshmibais Master only appeared to be around 13-14 years old, possessing light-brown hair, piercing green eyes, and a slightly lighter skin tone than Lakshmibais; Vahn couldnt help wondering how they had gotten wrapped up in the Holy Grail War. What bothered him the most was how the boy was practically hiding behind Lakshmibai as if she were a human shield, cowering under the gaze of Scthach with his frail and surprisingly delicate features. Though not nearly as bad as Catherine, this boy seemed more than a little ill based on the thick bags under his eyes and the fact that his breathing was audible, even though he didnt appear to be exerting himself... With Vahns arrival, the tensions in the air shifted slightly, primarily the result of how everyones focus seemed to be directed towards him. Thus, without missing a beat, Vahn put on his best smile before greeting, "Good morning. I am the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. May I ask, what are your names...?" Though he still introduced himself as an Emperor, Vahn decided to go with a polite approach as Lakshmibai seemed like a serious woman while her Master would likely respond better to kindness than any form of pressure. Then, as expected, the former gave a polite bow before saying, "My name is Rani Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi. Thank you for your assistance in dealing with Berserker." Returning a polite nod to Lakshmibai, Vahns gaze then fell upon the youth who, also as expected, barely managed to stammer out, "My name is Vihaan Reddi...why...why did you want to meet with us...?" Though it wouldnt have been impossible to avoid having to meet with Vahns group, the fact that Vihaan only had a single Command Spell remaining had essentially forced his hand. Due to a constant stream of bad luck, they had been targetted several times by other Masters and Servants since the very start of the Holy Grail War. To prevent Lakshmibais defeat, he had been forced to use one Command Spell to empower her for a short period of time while, during the first battle with Asterios, the second had been used to teleport her to safety. Understanding the boys apprehensions, Vahn maintained his smile and simply asked, "Tell me, Vihaan, Lakshmibai, what is the wish you desired to make upon the Holy Grail?" Though it didnt appear as if the former was that thrilled to answer, the pressureing from Scthachs perpetual gaze eventuallypelled him to answer, "Im tired of the broken system in my homnd that treats certain people as if they are untouchable...like they are less than human...! My wish was to truly abolish the caste system that is still in ce to this day, even though the rest of the world pretends everything is okay...!" Though hecked confidence at first, Vihaans convictions showed through by the time he had finished revealing his wish. Smiling gently towards her Master, Lakshmibai used her white-gloved hand to stroke his head as she softly answered, "My wish in life was for the independence and prosperity of my people. Now, my most sincere desire is to see the world of equality that my Master wishes for." It was obvious at a nce that Lakshmibai was very considerate towards her young Master, even though Vahn could see her aura practically invading his body, something he intuited would have dire consequences if he was continually exposed to such a thing. Since he found this strange flow of fate confusing, Vahn established a connection with Scthach, asking, ("Do you know what the strange energy around her body is? It doesnt appear to be evil, but...") Without showing no discernible signs of surprise in the real world, Scthach continued to stare unerringly at Lakshmibai and Vihaan as she answered, ("Though not to the same extent as Rin, Lakshmibais body is possessed by a Goddess. Hers, however, is the Goddess of Misfortune, kshmi, even though she herself seems to believe it is the Goddess of Luck, Lakshmi. As a result, her fate is tied to the misfortune of herself and others, making her a potentially dangerous ally to keep around. Unless you have a use for her, Master, I would suggest we avoid bing involved with these two. The boy is already on a downward spiral so it would take a miracle to even guarantee he was able to live another five years.") Hearing Scthachs exnation, Vahn took in an audible breath through his nose, feeling more than a little shocked that someone known as a borderline Saintess carried a literal aura of misfortune around with her. He had already experienced the influence of fate in two different Records, finding it to be an extremely troublesome existence to deal with. This made him extremely apprehensive to even approach Lakshmibai as, unlike normal fate, the energy around her seemed to guarantee that misfortune woulde their way. Doing his best to prevent a frown from forming on his face, Vahn answered the Master-Servant duos convictions by saying, "You have a very noble dream. However, using the power of the Holy Grail in its current state would not be able to grant such a wish. Forcibly changing the minds of hundreds-of-millions of people could only have disastrous consequences. The change you seek is something that can only be brought about through policy changes and a shift in how people are educated from a young age. Though I have yet to visit India myself, I am certain the social and political climate would only be more difficult to manage if you tried to introduce spontaneous change. At the same time, your actions would draw the attention of the entire world due to their nature, meaning you would be targetted by the Mages Association and the Holy Church for a swift elimination if you try to follow through on such a wish..." The Holy Grail, while possessing a phenomenal amount of power,cked the ability to alter the way in which such a massive group of people thought. Though it could alter causality, to an extent, what Vihaan was trying to aplish was a nigh-impossible feat as the bacsh from introducing such a massive change would echo throughout the world. If one of thergest countries in the entire world suddenly had a shift in perspective, it would catch a lot of attention in the media, something all three of the major powers seemed to want to avoid. This sudden shift would also severely impact the bnce of power in a country that had over a billion people, exposing them to groups that would jump at the chance to secure power within India for their own selfish ends... Finding Vahns words uneptable, Vihaan balled his hands into fists as he shouted, "Youre wrong! You can only say things like that because you didnt have to grow up there...! If someone doesnt change things, more and more people will continue to suffer. Even if I have to die in exchange, I would rather live life as a piece of grass to be trampled on than watch as my people continue to suffer due to their idiotic focus on traditional and religious views...!" At this point, Vihaan was no longer standing behind Lakshmibai and, as if she was inplete agreement with him, she had a determined expression in her eyes and a gentle smile on her face as she looked towards her Master from behind. Vahn now understood how these two had be Master and Servant as, regardless of whether or not others were in agreement, they unhesitantly looked towards the most ideal future that they sought for their people. Since this wasnt all that dissimr to how he had acted at times, Vahn could appreciate what Vihaan was trying to aplish. However, Vahn knew it would be infinitely better if Vihaan just wished for something along the lines of absolute power. If he worked to change the system by influencing those at the top, there was a chance that things could improve considerably after a generation or two. Using the Grail to essentially brainwash a billion people was an extreme method that would only have disastrous consequences, perhaps wrought by the aura of misfortune that flowed around the twos bodies... Releasing a small sigh, Vahn stared into the young boys green eyes before saying, "There are no shortcuts to bringing aboutsting change. Your dream will not unite your people, it will undermine your entire country. If you cannot handle the aftermath and cleanup, your dream is nothing but the selfish desires of a child who fundamentally misunderstands how the world works. Though I will not admonish you for desiring a better life for your people, your method simply creates another problem to rece the current system. The sad truth of the matter is, people have probably adapted to the current system so they can function within it without much trouble. In the world you would usher them into, tens-of-millions might die in the transition alone..." Though he wasnt intending to put too much pressure on the boy, Vahn couldntpletely restrain his aura as he simply couldnt agree with Vihaans zy methods. Then, before she could speak on his behalf, Vahn stared down Lakshmibai, sternly stating, "There is nothing wrong with supporting the dreams of the younger generation, but it is extremely foolish to push them down a path that will inevitably lead to tragedy. You are poorly equipped to understand theplexity of the modern world, yet you would spur your Master to follow through with his misguided actions without giving him proper counsel. I did not expect you to ce more emphasis on the goal than the people who were supposed to benefit from the changes you would force upon them..." Vahns words seemed to have some degree of influence on both Vihaan and Lakshmibai as, even though thetter didnt seem to outright agree with him, her brows furrowed in reflection instead of showing a desire to pointlessly argue the issue. This moderately improved Vahns opinion of the two so, to make matters easier for them to ept, he added, "Im sure you are the most aware of your current situation. Regardless of howpetent Lakshmibai is as a Saber-ss Servant, you cannot hope to obtain victory in the Holy Grail War in your current state. There are at least three powerful factions still atrge and, even if you used your final Command Spell to empower her, Lakshmibai would not be able to defeat the more powerful Servants that have been summoned." Just as Vahns rebuke had torn apart their dream, his recounting of the most basic fact of the matter was what really struck at the very heart of the matter. Even if they tried to insist they were correct, they had virtually no hope of actually obtaining the Holy Grail. If things continued as they were, the only thing awaiting this idealistic Master-Servant pair was the formers death and thetters return to the Holy Grail. They would be the stepping stones for another persons dream, dying so far from their country that they couldnt even be considered true martyrs, just fools. Seeing that they understood his words, Vahn eased up the pressure a bit, regaining his smile as he said, "So long as you still hold life within, there is hope for the future you wish to see. You will undoubtedly find like-minded people that agree with your views so, instead of foolishly chasing something like the Holy Grail, you would be better suited to leading a revolution internally. Focus on changing the hearts and minds of the people at the lowest rungs of society before working your way up to those who purport themselves to be their betters. Without a foundation to stand on, the so-called wealthy elites are only capable of thering and resulting to military force in order to deal with their problems. If you control the people, however, even the military would be hard-pressed to take action against their own family members..." With the current political climate of the world, it wasnt all that impossible for someone with Vihaans ideals to garner a lot of attention. Though there was a chance he would be targetted for elimination by those in power, he had an advantage in the fact that he was a Magus. Even if he ultimately lost his life, at least he would have died for his cause and, depending on the people he had drawn to his side, there was a fair chance his legacy would outlive him. Since Vahn also intended to introduce great changes to the world, the status quo of most countries would be altered significantly by the time he was done. If Vihaan took advantage of the situation, the revolution he desired had a better chance at sess than their odds of iming the Holy Grail... After hearing Vahns words, the light in Vihaans eyes had returned, even if it wasnt as intense as the zing conviction he held previously. Then, in a slightly somber tone, he asked, "What would you have me do...?" To this, Vahn actually paused for a brief moment because he still had apprehensions about inviting someone who literally brought misfortune with them onto their team. Though The Path would undoubtedly have a solution, now was a critical time within the progression of the war. If Lakshmibais presence immediately brought trouble to their doorstep, it would cause them more than a few troubles in both the short and long-term. However, at the same time, Vahn felt like he needed to confront things like fate directly, or he would always be at its whims in the future... Though Scthach and Rin would likely rebuke him for itter, Vahn ultimately decided to see if he could alter Lakshmibais imposed misfortune. It was an opportunity to see if he could put in a more concerted effort into manipting the influence of fate. Since he already had a few ideas about how to change the aura around Lakshmibai, Vahn wanted to put them to the test in order to gain even a small advantage against the concept of fate in the future. With that in mind, he looked into the womans pale-pink eyes and said, "I will have you join our group in exchange for guaranteeing your Masters safety and ensuring he will have a better chance at fulfilling his dream. As he currently seems tock connections, we can put him into contact with people that would allow him to grow his ownwork of support back in India. It will not be easy, but if he truly believes in his dream, hope will never fade." Since there wasnt much meaning in convincing Vihaan, as he was simply too young to fully understand the situation, Vahn decided that addressing Lakshmibai directly would have the desired result. She was a dutiful woman who was considerate of others so, using both her Masters life and dream as leverage werent things she could simply ignore. Though Vahn wasnt threatening them, his involvement in the war itself was a constant threat to both his life and dream, things she had proven incapable of protecting. It was this awareness of her inadequacies,bined with the fragments of hope contained within Vahns words, that ultimately caused Lakshmibai to nod her head in agreement. Though it wasnt her decision to make, this small nod was enough to give Vihaan a slightly deted appearance, leading to his own agreement shortly thereafter... --- After transferring Vihaans Command Spells, bringing Vahns count to six in total, they made sure he was safely escorted to the Fuyuki City Hyatt Hotel so that he could be ced under the protection of the Mages Association. Rin used the opportunity to directly discuss what Vahn had promised with Lord El-Melloi II, taking it upon herself to get the boy an in so that he could be a student at the Clock Tower. Any Magus capable of summoning a powerful Servant at such a young age had a lot of promise for the future so it wouldnt take much to get him epted into the prestigious academy. At the same time, Astolfo went to spend some time with his former Master, Catherine. Even without Vahn healing her himself, she had been able to receive treatment from the Mages Association or, more specifically, Luvias personal team of Doctors. With their efforts, she was currently going through physical rehabilitation in the hopes of recovering her ability to walk in order to make her journey around the world easier... On the subject of Luvia, Vahn felt rather fortunate that she had actually flown back to London in order to manage some of the affairs of her family, leaving him free to focus on other things during their visit to the Hyatt Hotel. This took the form of a short discussion with Gray, primarily involving the information their team had secured about the Grail War thus far. They also talked a bit about Paracelsus, ending with Vahn promising to find him before thepletion of the ritual. Though it was hard to determine how things would progress, Vahn knew they still had the leeway to recruit two more Servants withoutpromising thepletion of the ritual, at least in ordance with the avable information. With Lakshmibai, they now had one Saber, two Lancers, one Rider, and one Archer within their ranks. Vahn could recruit a total of seven Servants to their cause, though, considering the assortment of Servants that remained, it didnt seem all that likely anyone but Paracelsus could be convinced to join them. The Servants remaining were the remaining Berserker, likely under the influence of the Einzberns, a yet-unseen Archer, Saber, and Caster, likely all belonging to the same faction, followed by the two Assassins and the as-yet-to-be-revealed Ruler-ss. With the war being nearly halfway done, at leastpared to past wars, theck of a Ruler appearing was bing more troubling by the day. Since there was more than seven Servant, there essentially had to be a Ruler in order to make sure the destruction of the Grail War was kept to a minimum. They also had the responsibility of making sure the Heavens Feel ritual could bepleted but, even after Ishtars attacks had done a little too much coteral damage, there has yet to be a single sign of the Ruler-ss appearing... As was often the case in such situations, Vahn knew that there was something afoot behind the scenes. There were three major forces still in y, coincidentally belonging to the three main families that had created the ritual in the first ce. The fact that the Einzberns hadnt sent their Master and Servant into the battlefield yet seemed to imply they were waiting for the other forces to weaken each other, or they had something greater nned. As for the Matous, Vahn had no doubt that Sakura was the Master of Assassin given the strange vibe she had given off during their first encounter. In order to prevent Rin from having to confront her sister directly, he needed to find an opportunity to confront Sakura before her two Assassins came to them. Though this had always been his intention, Vahn felt as if the inclusion of Lakshmibai in their ranks almost guaranteed that things were going to explode at any moment... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Poor Vihaan xD...,Vahn decides to confront fate directly...!? More like his tragedy detector is going off the charts...,Only three factions remain...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1063 - Ally

Chapter 1063 - Ally

Without getting the opportunity to investigate the periphery of the Einzbern Forest, Vahn and co returned to the Tohsaka Manor a bit earlier than intended. Their n would change slightly with the inclusion of Lakshmi, even though the person in question imed she was okay with being treated as an expendable pawn. Since she was one of the weakest Servants within the group, Lakshmibai seemed to have little confidence that her presence would prove useful ining battles. At the same time, however, she vowed that, if her sacrifice could secure their victory, she wouldnt hesitate in her duties, even if it was solely to serve as bait to draw out hidden enemies... Vahn didnt even know where to start with trying to address Lakshmibais character but, once they had all returned to the Sub-Space Orb, this didnt prevent him from saying, "Now that you are our ally, everyone here will do their best to make sure such sacrifices are never necessary. Im not fond of such discussion so Id rather you focus on what you can do in any given moment, not what you ought to do ording to your presumptions." Since there were few things that annoyed him as much as people who seemed to be aware of their fate, especially after Helen, Vahn didnt like the implications and intent contained within Lakshmibais words. In response to Vahns words, Lakshmibai didnt attempt to argue and instead gave a polite smile as she said, "If that is your will, I shall do my best to abide. However, please prioritize resources on our stronger allies, as supplies should not be squandered unnecessarily. I do not know how you are able to allow all of us to manifest like this, but I imagine it cannot be easy on your body. Please do not overburden yourself on my behalf, Master." Though she was a Queen(Rani) during her life, Lakshmibais long rebellion had long dissolved any unnecessary pride she had in her status. Just as she had referred to Vihaan and Master, regardless of the difference in their age and status, she was unhesitant to refer to Vahn with the same title. Shaking his head, Vahn inly stated, "I will not conceal my intentions. The main reason I brought you to our side is that I can sense your fate or, more specifically, the misfortune surrounding you. You wille to know my reasons in time, but the most important thing you need to be aware of is that Im not fond of simply following the flow of seemingly pre-determined events. So long as you are not against it, I intend to research and resolve the aura of misfortune surrounding your body. If Im able to understand the mechanism that determines if someone has either good or bad fortune, I believe I will be able to help a great many people in the future." For a brief moment, Lakshmibais face formed a frown when she heard Vahn mention that he had a different reason for bringing her into his fold. When she heard the actual details, however, her impression of him improved slightly, resulting in her giving another polite nod before saying, "As I may not be of much help in theing battles, assisting in your research is the least I can do. This is not my original body so, even if you treat it a little roughly, I will not begrudge you. All I ask is that you not forget that I am a woman deserving of dignity..." Since her former Master had told her much of the global Magus Community, Lakshmibai expected that some of Vahns experiments might put her in promising positions. As she had nearly had to rely on her young Master to supplement her mana, however, Lakshmibai already felt as if she didnt have much dignity left to cling to... Failing to restrain a sigh, Vahn internally mused, ("These types are the most troublesome to deal with. Why is it that every woman I interact with seems to automatically assume Im going to do something inappropriate with their bodies...?") Though he didnt directly intend for Sis to answer his question, she quickly exined, (*Women are perceptive creatures, at least when ites to things like intuition. From what I can tell, it is the presence of other women around you that is the primary issue. Since you naturally draw others to your side, you be the central focus of almost any group you are a part of. With all of the other women focus on you, it bes the expectation of anyone that shows up after the fact that they are also in your scope. If you want to avoid exacerbating the situation, it would be necessary to have more malepanions at your side. Though you might get stressed out, thinking they will steal one of the girls you are interested in, that possessiveness of yours is actually one of your bigger ws, Vahn...*) Hearing Sis words, Vahn was more than a little taken aback, even if he could see the logic behind her ims. It wasnt a lie to say that his interactions with other men had left something to be desired. Rather than calling his actions possessive, however, Vahn felt that it would be more urate to call him overprotective. This was due to the fact that, with very few exceptions, it always felt like men were targeting the people close to him. It was the possessiveness and greed he saw in the eyes of others that caused Vahn to almost instinctually scare away any potential male allies. He didnt like seeing how others looked at the girls around him as if they were some kind of trophy, or prize, to be imed. Back in the Record of Danmachi, there were even some, during his earlier days, who boasted that they would steal the girls out from under his nose... Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Vahn noticed everyone was staring at him so he adopted a casual smile before saying, "The first thing I want to try is seeing if your misfortune can be brought to bnce through the use of items and equipment. Here, try this on..." Towards the end of his words, Vahn pulled out a small charm that looked like a small rabbits foot. It had the effect of increasing a persons Luck and, though it wasnt a quantifiable value in the Record of Danmachi, that wasnt the case in the Nasuverse. What he found interesting was the fact that, even though the lowest parameter value was supposed to be E-Rank, Lakshmibais Good Luck] had a Value of E-. ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Rani Lakshmibai] Age: Ageless Race: Human, Goddess(sealed) Strength: 40B Endurance: 43B+ Agility: 42B+ Magical Power: 30C Good Luck: (-7)E- Soul Tier: 4 (Fragmented Divine) Noble Phantasm: [Nahin Denge: B] Skills: [Blessed by Misfortune:Innate:(-)], [Dawn Echo:Innate:A], [ksmis Heir:Innate:A], [Charisma of the Rani:Innate:B+], [Assault on Sipahi:B], [Resistance of Gwalior:A], [Magic Resistance: A], [Riding: B], [Goddesss Divine Core:C], [Marksmanship:C] Magic: (-) Magecraft: (-) [Assault on Sipahi] Rank: B Active: Empowers allies for a short period of time at the cost of massive stamina consumption. [Resistance of Gwalior] Rank: A Active: Allows the user and allies to survive otherwise fatal blows with a low probability. Greatly increases the chance of critical blows triggering on self and allies. [Magic Resistance] Rank: A Use: The users ability to resist all magic of equal rank and lower. Provides moderate resistance to higher-ranked magics. [Riding] Rank: B Use: The users ability to use any type of animal or vehicle as a mount, guaranteeing proficiency equivalent to the skills rank and lower. [Goddess Divine Core] Rank: C Use: Allows attacks to ignore defense whennding direct blows. Greatly increases resistance to all forms of debuffs. [Marksmanship] Rank: C Use: The users ability to use ranged weapons, guaranteeing proficiency with all ranged weapons equal to the skills rank and lower. ----------------------------------------------------------------- It didnt take much to see how Lakshmibai could be a liability, especially in a group fight where a single unexpected critical blow could spell disaster for her allies. Fortunately, it seemed as if the charm Vahn had given her had at least a small impact, modifying her -7 Luck parameter to a positive value of 3. This indicated that the charm could increase a persons luck by ten which, considering the base limit was 50, was quite a bit more than Vahn had expected. Along with this realization, Vahns expression became a mask ofment as he now recognized that he had overlooked one of the easiest methods of increasing his Servants strength. Even if there was some arbitrary limitation that made it so that a parameter could only be influenced by a single modifier, there was such a drastic difference between a parameter of 40 and 50 that Vahn felt like a genuine idiot for having ignored it. Seeing Vahns strange expression, Lakshmibai frowned as she asked, "Did something happen...?" This brought Vahn back to his senses, causing him to smile wryly before exining, "It actually worked without a hitch. Though it might not be much, that charm was able to increase your Luck enough to give it a positive value. Even the aura around your body seems less prominent so the experiment is aplete sess..." Before he had even finished his words, Vahn saw the realization sh across Rins eyes as she almost immediately followed up by asking, "If those trinkets and essories can increase even a Servants parameters, shouldnt they work on the rest of us as well...?" Following Rins question, and Vahns admission, they entered a rather heated discussion where Vahn purchased enough essories from the system shop to boost everyones parameters a marginal amount. Through this, he learned that the +10 was a unique case, the product of Lakshmibais horrendous Luck parameter. For higher values, simrly tiered essories would only give between 1~3 stats, based on the value the parameter was at before being modified. In the example of Scthach, this increased her Strength from 44->45, her Magical Power from 37->39, and her Good Luck from 20->23. As for her Endurance and Agility, they were already beyond the limitations of the system or had already reached the limit, leading to no discernible changes. The person to benefit the most from her brand new essories was Rin as, with her abysmal parameters, most of her values had increased by more than five. She was the weakest person present and, though she had been working hard to improve, it would take years before she reached the extent of beingparable to something like a Heroic Spirit. Even so, this didnt stop her from running around at high speeds as she tested the limits of her body under the effects of the essories. The fact such simple ornaments were able to have such a drastic effect had been rather eye-opening for her, as it implied that each of the essories Vahn could produce were on the level of artifacts that the Mages Association would put under heavy lock and key... ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Rin Tohsaka] Age: 27 Race: Human, God(sealed) Strength: 4->9E Endurance: 6->11D Agility: 8->13D Magical Power: 13->16D Good Luck: 27->29C+ Circuit Quality: 22C Noble Phantasm: ? Origin: Divine, Quintessence, Gem Skills: [Child of Destiny:Innate:C], [Ishtars Heir:Innate:(sealed)], [Ereshkigals Heir:Innate:(sealed)], [Charisma:D], [Martial Arts:D], [Parallel Thinking:E->D] Magic: (-) Magecraft: [Od Conversion:B], [Conversion:A], [Catalyze:B], [Jewel:A], [Reinforce:B], [Mystic Code:D], [Magic Coat:C], [Gandr:C], [Restoration:D], [Familiar:E], [Projection:E], [Alchemy:E->D], [Primordial Rune:E](new) ------------------------------------------------------------------- Now that he realized he had overlooked the importance of equipment, to the point that he had pretty muchpletely ignored his Upgrade function, Vahn considered whether or not it would be prudent to focus on forging, crafting, and upgrading items. Before he could linger on such thoughts for long, however, Scthach, while looking at the small wristlet Vahn had given her, stated, "If you rely on external items to increase your strength, your foundation will bepromised. Though it is fine to use them in order to secure an edge against a difficult opponent, you should never develop the mindset that a piece of equipment represents your actual power." Just as she had forbidden the use of effigies during training, it didnt seem as if Scthach was willing to let Vahn wander down a different path when he had the option of improving his base capabilities without relying on external assistance... As if to emphasize Scthachs point, Astolfo, yfully tugging at the choker around his neck, exined, "I can feel this thing draining my mana pretty quickly. It is almost like a tiny Noble Phantasm, ahahaha~." Since they were items that literally increased a persons parameters, it wasnt much of a surprise that they were also mana intensive. Though it was almost negligible, there was a big difference between being almost and being negligible. While Rin and Fenrir could get around the issue by using equipment that allowed them to absorb mana from the outside world, Servants were almost entirely reliant on their Masters to replenish their magical power. This meant, if Vahn wanted to have them use a full load of essories, he would be required to resupply them with mana far more often than he would have otherwise... With his grand ambition of trying to upgrade one of the essories to an extreme, Vahn stared at the veritable pile of upgrade stones in his Inventory, promising to eventually use them at some point. After that, he looked to Lakshmibai, seeing that she was ying with the tiny rabbits foot with a small smile on her face. Upon noticing his gaze, however, she resumed a more stoic disposition before bowing politely as she said, "Thank you for the gift, Master. I will cherish it every time something good happens to me in the future." As she had been the most aware of her bad luck, Lakshmibai felt a little fluttery knowing that, while her luck was still abysmal, at least it wasnt negative any longer. Seeing the surprisingly genuine glimmer of happiness in Lakshmibais eyes, Vahn was a little surprised but ultimately smiled in response before saying, "Dont mention it. Like I said before, were already allies. Ill do my best to help you out, so dont think for a moment you are someone that can be disposed of at our convenience. I would no sooner sacrifice you than one of the people closest to me. Youd do well to remember that in the future, Rani of Jhansi." Using her title to ce even more emphasis on his words, Vahn felt gratified when he saw her eyes sharpen with a resolute look in response. After that, Vahn exined a few more ideas he had in mind, even going so far as to transcribe the notes he had taken in regards to Bells and Tinas [Luck] Development Ability. Though such a concept didnt exist in the Nasuverse, Vahn knew the Laws that governed things like Luck and Fate couldnt be all that dissimr... Leaving Lakshmibai to pour over nearly a dozen research journals, Vahn released a sigh of relief as he considered how best to spend his time. It was at this point, almost as if she were waiting for him to drop his guard, Scthach appeared like a phantom before saying, "We returned early tonight. You should use the time gained in a productive manner. Do not forget your words to the others, even if you have other matters on your mind. Though you may be trying to change how others pressure you into things, making promises you cannot keep will negatively impact your moral alignment. Women are sensitive to things like promises so you will have to prepare yourself if you intend to renege on your own word." With that said, Scthach surprisingly reached out her hand to pat Vahns shoulder before adding, "You are quite the man, Vahn. Have confidence in yourself." After she had finished her words, Scthach disappeared from view, leaving Vahn with a stupefied expression on his face. It almost felt like she was implying that he had troubles in the bedroom, something so far removed from the truth that Vahn had to genuinely worry about breaking more normal girls. She must have misconstrued his worries as a sign of ipetence, making Vahns brain buzz far more than he had expected. It could have been the result of his rtionship with Goddesses like Loki, Freya, and Kali, but Vahn had developed a bit of pride when it came to nightly rtions. Having it suddenly called into question, by Scthach of all people, made Vahn feel a strong desire to correct her misunderstanding. If not for the fact he knew she had likely orchestrated things to cause these exact emotions, there was a very real chance that he would have done just that... Shaking such negative thoughts from his mind, Vahn looked around to see what everyone else had been up to while he was talking with Lakshmibai. Fenrir was dutifully continuing her training, even though it looked like she was just ying tag with Astolfo in one of the areas where the fabric of Space was denser. As for Rin and Nobunaga, thetter was looking bored while sitting at the edge of theke while Rin was taking a nap on one of the small beds that had been set out. She had been having difficulties adapting to the extra seven days that had been added to her schedule. Since he didnt want to disturb her, Vahn decided it was time to make good on his promise with Nobunaga. The problem was, with thekeside residence being iplete, there wasnt really any ce for them to enjoy some private time within the Sub-Space Orb... Considering that there were still two hours until sunrise, Vahn decided it wouldnt hurt to leave the orb, even if it meant he lost fourteen hours of time. The only other option was to try and purchase something like a [Tent] from the system shop, an item that would create a small barrier that allowed those camping within to avoid the attention of most animals and monsters. This idea made Vahn feel a bit of anxiety, however, as it would be clear to anyone nearby exactly what he and Nobunaga were doing inside of the tent. Even if they wouldnt be able to see him directly, Vahn felt strangely nervous just thinking about someone like Rin and Fenrir just staring at the tent from a distance... (A/N: Today is supposed to be my rest day, but I felt like releasing a second chapter. Im enjoying the Nasuverse more than expected ^_^...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sis hittin Vahn with that knowledge a lottely...,RIP Upgrade-chan,Vahn needs a second Sub-Space Orb to serve as a love nest xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1064 - Intimacy

Chapter 1064 - Intimacy

With a slightly distant look in her eyes, Nobunaga was listlessly soaking her feet into the cold water of theke, using the natural incline to avoid getting the rest of her body wet. Due to the nature of Sub-Space Orbs, they were often a little on the cold side, ensuring that the water always had a fresh and crisp feel. With arge magic circle carved into the white stone below, there was no need to worry about the perpetual pool ever stagnating, yet another simple technology that would improve the lives of an incalcble number of people. Knowing that food, clean water, and electricity, all things that could be remedied rtively easily with magic, were some of thergest issues guing the world, Nobunaga couldnt help but feel a little dissatisfied with the greedy nature of those shepherding the world behind the scenes... Landing almost silently at Nobunagas side, Vahn took the seat on her right before allowing his feet to soak in alongside hers. She didnt show a surprised expression at his sudden appearance and, if not for the momentary nce she spared him, Vahn would have thought she was ignoring him. Then, as if to seize the initiative for herself, Nobunaga adorned a teasing smile as she spontaneously asked, "Oh~? Have youe to solicit me for s.e.x? I half-expected you to spend the evening with that dark-skinned one. She certainly possesses the assets you seem to enjoy...ufuuu..." Towards the end of her words, Nobunaga extended her legs, kicking water a short distance, before crossing them. Nodding his head in agreement with Nobunagas assessment, Vahn added, "Those pants of hers ent her figure well. Though not as extreme as Scthach, I wont deny that her choice of clothing makes it hard not to notice how plump her butt is..." These words caused Nobunaga to instantly burst intoughter, continuing for several long seconds before she was able to calm herself. After she was able to collecter herself, she casually asked, "So, what did you have in mind? I wouldnt mind getting straight down to business, but I feel the build-up is just as important as the event itself. How about we get a drink first? You may be immune to the influence of alcohol, but I could use some liquid courage after seeing some of the things you did in your memories..." This time it was Vahns turn tough, followed by him remarking, "I would never have pegged the Demon King as the type to require help before facing down her enemies. If thats what you want, though, I dont mind opening up something special, just for the two of us..." To this, Nobunaga surprisingly shook her head before calmly stating, "I already have a specific kind of sake in mind. If you can pull it out of the air like everything else, well...I wouldnt mind dedicating myself to you for a short while..." Though these words rolled off her tongue with ease, Vahn could feel the significance Nobunaga had assigned them. She was acting more than a little strange, at leastpared to normal, but Vahn still asked, "What would the Demon King ask as a tribute for her-." Shaking her head to interrupt his words, Nobunaga adjusted her position so that she was facing Vahn before saying, "Cut the theatrics, Vahn...I want a specific sake that was only produced during the year following the overthrowing of the Ashikaga Shogunate. Following several years of battle, the country was bleeding resources and suffering through food shortages throughout thend. To fill their bellies, manymoners supplemented their diets with a special shch named Shri-Imo-sake...can you produce it...?" Understanding that Nobunaga ced more than a little significance on the peculiar brand of sake, Vahn was already scouring through the system shop from the moment she mentioned the name. He assumed that it would be a rtively inexpensive brand so, after restricting the shops disy to only show sake that originated from the Nasuverse, Vahn still had a functionally infinite list. With no better options, Vahn began to purchase brands starting from the bottom while having Sis help him analyze the descriptions. Fortunately, Nobunaga didnt seem to be in a particr hurry as she just watched him with her blood-red eyes in silence... After recycling several thousand different bottles of sake, Sis finally said, (*This may be what you are looking for, Vahn.*) The sake she brought his attention to was stored in a simple y pot but, after reading the description himself, Vahn believed that, at the very least, one of the Nobunagas in the Nasuverse would be seeking this specific sake. It was depicted as being a sake of promise, used by Nobunaga during a private banquet held with her closest vassals. It represented the present during one of the most discordant times Nobunagas life. However, it wasnt a focus on the present that was important, but the infinite potential for the future that the present represented if you were willing to face it with your head held high... Pulling out the small y container, Vahn watched as a flicker passed through Nobunagas eyes, followed by a nostalgic smile as she reached out to take the container into her hands. Then, after removing the small cork, Nobunaga deeply inhaled the fragrance of the sake before releasing a long sigh. When she opened her eyes again, she looked directly at Vahn before smiling mischeviously as she stated, "Looks like you just made a deal with the Devil...ufuuu..." To this, Vahn just returned a smile as he resisted the urge to call Nobunaga out for her own theatrics. This ended up being the correct decision as, shortly thereafter, Nobunagas smile melted away as she leaned against him before resting her head on his shoulder. --- Without broaching the subject of alighting the Sub-Space Orb, Vahn and Nobunaga just sat drinking by thekeside, slowly working down the contents of the [Shri-Imo-Sake]. Vahn found its somewhat foul aftertaste,bined with the burning sensation it left on the way down, to be surprisingly fitting for a sake named after a pyrrhic victory. Even with these shorings, however, the fact it was nearly 70% alcohol meant that, by consuming just a small amount, most people would feel their bodies had warmed considerably as their mind began to wander under the alcohols influence. In this state, the struggles of the present would fade away, reced by memories of the past and visions of the future. Though Vahn was unable to experience these things, the red-faced Nobunaga, who had entered into a daze shortly after they started drinking, conveyed everything Vahn needed to know. Attempting to pour another cup for herself, Nobunaga noticed that only a few small drops were left, causing her to release a hot sigh as she said, "Looks like its time to face the music...ufufu..." With that said, Nobunaga licked the remnant sake from her cup before unceremoniously tossing it to the side as she tried to shift into Vahnsp. In response to this, Vahn wrapped his hands around Nobunagas waist, cing his forehead against hers to prevent her from trying to steal his lips. This resulted in Nobunaga frowning, at least until Vahn shifted his hands down to her butt and reminded, "Were out in the open. Im not particrly fond of the idea of an audience..." Producing a somewhat sinister-soundingugh, Nobunaga wrapped her arms around Vahns neck before looking directly into his eyes and saying, "Let them watch. If theyck the wherewithal to mind their own business, that is their own problem..." Knowing the alcohol might be speaking for her, Vahn leaned in to kiss the nape of Nobunagas neck before slowly working his way up to her ear. She began to breath loudly through her nose, especially with the electrifying sensation spreading through her lower body, even without Vahn needing to use [Hands of Nirvana]. Though he had lost the [Petting] Development Ability, Vahns understanding of Petting Laws were one of the things he had a strange amount of confidence in. Nobunaga certainly seemed to be enjoying it, at least until he gently kissed her ear lobe before asking, "Whats the word to leave the Orb again...?" Almost as soon as the words left his ears, Nobunagas surprisingly light 39kg weight vanished from Vahnsp. Then, knowing she would probably be raging on the other side, Vahn departed the orb under the notice of both Fenrir and Rin, thetter of which had been silently watching Nobunaga and Vahn drinking at thekeside. Now that he had departed the orb, she released a sight before moving to a seated position, muttering, "Why did I have to fall for an idiot that cant love just one woman..." Though she hadnt expected an answer to her question, Rin was startled to the point that she fell out of her bed when Scthach answered, "It is the instinct of any capable woman who is not content with their current lifestyle." While rubbing her nose, tears on the corner of her eyes, Rinined, "Someone needs to put a bell on you..." This, however, didnt seem to bother Scthach at all as she simply added, "You ce too much emphasis on your emotions, letting them delude you into having thoughts and aspirations that are not founded in reality. Though your feelings cannot be discredited, your attraction to Vahn is predicated on his looks and capabilities. As a woman who wants to bring about great change in the world, you will always be intrinsically drawn to anyone that can share that burden with you. The sooner you ept that you just want Vahn to take care of and have s.e.x with you, the easier it will be for both of you. There doesnt need to be feelings of love present at all times, as that is something that can be cultivated over time. That Goddess of yours should be able to exin it better, but love isnt a persistent force that you need to shape your life around. It exists only when you wish to express it, changing forms to suit the situation and needs of the parties experiencing it..." Hearing Scthachs words, Rins face had formed an extremely skeptical expression as she stared back at the purple-haired beauty. Though there was certainly some truth contained within her words, Rin didnt feel as if a woman who seemed tock even the most basic emotions was the highest authority on the subject. To put the matter to the test, Rin raised her chin slightly before asking, "So, have you ever loved anyone, Scthach? There are some things you have to experience before you can counsel others on them..." Since she knew Scthach had the [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground], Rin didnt doubt she had a lot of second hand knowledge regarding the subject. Some things simply couldnt be forced through a filter of objectivity, however, especially when it concerned emotions like love... In response to Rins words, Scthach slowly nodded her head, surprising the former a bit, at least until she said, "When I was a young girl, long ago, I loved my father. He taught me many things, including how to survive in the unforgiving wilderness. If not for his guidance, I likely would have died at a very young age, long before I ever became a warrior. It was his eventual death that led me to the Land of Shadows. I believe that, if I grew strong enough, I would be able to pull him from thend of the dead and live at his side once again..." At this point, Scthach showed a rare disy of emotion as she released a somber sigh that caused Rin to feel extremely guilty. For a moment, she had been tempted to tell Scthach that what she had experienced was simply Familial Love, an emotion that was certainlyparable, albeit remarkably dissimr to the love between two people... Deciding not to pry any further, Rin just shook her head before falling silent, not really knowing what to say. Fortunately, Scthach seemed to have something in mind as she calmly spoke, now back to her normal self, "Come. I will have you spend your time more productively. Though you are making good progress, you dont even have enough knowledge to im a basic understanding of my [Primordial Rune] Magecraft. If you focus on increasing your strength and knowledge, your doubts about the future will be gradually cleared up. After all, it is the privilege of the weak to worry about things that the strong need not consider..." --- As he had expected, Nobunaga was more than a little angry when Vahn exited the Orb behind her. The moment he appeared, she sword her saber in a silvery arc towards Vahns neck. Since he could see through the trajectory, however, Vahn made no attempt to dodge as the very tip of the de barely traced across the surface of his skin. Her sword attacks wouldnt be able to harm him under normal circ.u.mstances anyway, so Vahn held his hands up in a cating gesture while stating in a firm tone, "Even if youre okay with it, Nobu, that doesnt mean Im just going to go along with your whims. You can me me for being considerate of others, but the simple truth of the matter is that I dont like putting on a show for people. Besides..." Stepping into Nobunagas personal space, causing her to nearly stumble backward, Vahn deftly sn.a.k.e.d his hands around her h.i.p.s before whispering, "We both know you would be embarrassed to be seen if I got serious..." As these words left his lips, Vahn briefly channeled his [Hands of Nirvana] to send a wave of electrifying pleasure through Nobunagas body. Somewhat surprisingly, she didnt actually exim or m.o.a.n ording to expectations. Instead, her face reddened slightly as her eyes sharpened into daggers before asking, "Do I need to teach you a lesson about taking things too far, Vahn...?" Removing his hands from her backside, Vahn released a sigh before saying, "Sorry, I got a little carried away. Come...Ill make it up to you..." Since it felt like he was going to lose the momentum at any moment, Vahn lightly pulled Nobunagas hand without forcing her along. Eventually, she rolled her eyes before following along with him, their final destination being one of the unused guest rooms on the second floor. Though Rin mightin about itter, Vahn knew it wasnt exactly a good idea to drag Nobunaga out to a love hotel in the middle of the Holy Grail War. At least, if an enemy were to attack the Manor, he would be able to react to the attack instead of arriving after the fact... After reaching the room, Nobunaga pulled her hand free from Vahns grasp before walking over to the bed and immediately plopping down on its surface. Her clothes effectively dissolved, being reced by a pair of intricate silk lingerie which, like the rest of Nobunagas preferred garb, were blood-red in color. She then propped herself up on her elbows before opening her legs and saying, "Show me what youve got. Just this once, Ill let you take the lead. Know that Im normally on top in situations like this so make sure you express your gratitude properly..." Though she was speaking in an overly casual manner, both Vahn and Nobunaga were aware that her heart was actually racing far faster than shed ever admit. Taking after Nobunaga, Vahn allowed his shirt to pop out of existence, allowing his tanned and muscr body toe into view. Every time he took a breath, his muscles would flex slightly, causing Nobunaga to turn a little absentminded before licking her bottom lip and biting it. Though he noticed this amusing reaction, Vahn maintained an unperturbed expression as he stared back at Nobunaga, systematically removing each piece of his clothing. The tension in the air began to gradually build, all the way up until Vahn removed his boxer-briefs. Immediately following this, Vahn felt like a small bomb had been set off in his mind as Nobunaga showed an expression of confusion beforementing, "Isnt it smaller than normal...?" Understanding what she actually meant, Vahn coughed once to clear his throat before saying, "The women in this world arent as...durable as the women in my previous world. I decided to reduce the size out of consideration for others..." This seemed to make sense to Nobunaga as she nodded her head in understanding before lightly patting her lower abdomen and saying, "Well, lets give it a try. Im pretty sure I would have been fine with your normal size, but this will likely be more enjoyable. I wasnt fond of the idea of being split open like log in the first ce." Vahn issued an awkward chuckle in response to Nobunagas words before crawling into the bed and closing the distance between them. She was obviously making an effort to hide her nervousness and Vahn wasnt in a particr rush to break her facade. He did, however, gently trace his hands down her sides before hooking the band of her panties and removing them by pulling them along her long and slender legs. Though she wasnt in her most mature form, Nobunaga was around 159cm tall right now, possessing a shapely yet slender figure that cast a striking sight in the low light of the room. Vahn couldnt help admiring her for a short while, causing Nobunaga to swallow hard before muttering, "Get on with it..." Hearing Nobunagas words, Vahns expression melted into a passionate yet amused gaze as he answered, "We have plenty of time. Since youve allowed me to take the lead, I intend to service youpletely this time around. Just sit back and focus on your breathing so you dont pass out..." With that said, Vahn shifted his h.i.p.s back before lifting Nobunagas towards his face. This caused her to inhale sharply as she moved her hands to support herself, even if Vahn was more than capable of keeping her stable. Then, ignoring the slightly sour smell tickling his nose, Vahn began to delicately lick around Nobunagas surprisingly swollen entrance. She was obviously looking forward to this a lot more than she was letting on... Though it wasnt the first time she had experienced cunnilingus, Nobunaga quickly found her nails digging into the mattress below as Vahns tongue seemed to quickly map her insides before targeting all of her most sensitive spots. His tongue was also ridiculously long, causing Nobunaga to inhale out of shock when she felt it reach a ce that should have been impossible with a human tongue. As if he was trying to test of she was sensitive in that spot, Vahns tongue flicked against the deepest part of her insides, making Nobunaga feel a sudden panic as she stopped trying to support herself and instead pressed against Vahns head. This only seemed to egg him on, however, causing Nobunagas back to arch in under three minutes... Feeling as if someone had just sprayed him in the face with a bottle of water, Vahn closed his eyes and continued his efforts, despite the fact that Nobunaga seemed intent on pulling out his hair. She had been surprisingly quiet thus far so Vahn was intent on getting a more satisfying response out of her before they moved on. To this end, he had practically buried himself down to to the nose as his tongue changed into one more reminiscent of a Cat Person. He knew from experience not to make it like sandpaper, but that didnt stop him from adding a bit of texture that would oftene as a surprise to whoever was on the receiving end of his service. In response to this sudden change, Nobunagas h.i.p.s bucked violently as she shouted, "What the f.u.c.k are you doing!?" Ignoring her outburst, Vahn dutifully kept at his assigned task, causing Nobunaga to smack the top of his head a few times, panic in her voice as she stated, "No, seriously, this isnt...funny! Stop it...stop it now..!" Towards the end of her words, Vahn slowly ran his tongue slowly along the upper folds of Nobunagas v.a.g.i.n.a, timing it with a powerful climax that was rocking her body. It took him a full twenty seconds to extricate his tongue, an inexorably long period of time for Nobunaga as she tightly clenched both her teeth and eyes shut. When Vahn let her h.i.p.se to rest on the bed, she released a sigh of profound relief as her blood-red eyes aimlessly wandering around their sockets. It was a strange time to think about such things but, as Vahn looked at the proud Nobunaga absentminded staring into space, he briefly wished that Scthach had been here to bear witness to his capabilities. This thought quickly faded, however, as Vahn lift Nobunagas right leg before positioning his ns at her entrance. Though she herself didnt respond, Nobunagasbia twitched in response before Vahn felt a gentle suction against his ns, almost as if she were begging for it. Not one to refuse such a tantalizing offer, Vahn slowly sunk himself into Nobunagas surprisingly hot andfortable cavern. She had afortable amount of tightness that,bined with the small yet intense contracting, caused Vahn to release a contented sigh at the same time that Nobunaga issued a nasally m.o.a.n. Having been caught off guard by Nobunagas surprisingly adorable reaction, Vahn looked into her eyes with a bit of amus.e.m.e.nt visible within his expression. As for Nobunaga, she had a shocked expression on her face as she stared back at him like a startled rabbit. Choosing not to make things difficult for her, Vahn tucked his head into the nape of Nobunagas neck instead of staring directly at her. He began to suckle and kiss her tender skin before hooking his hand under her left knee this time. Though she didnt seem particrly flexible at first, Vahn was able to lift both of Nobunagas legs without much resistance as he began a slow and steady piston, lightly pressing against her cervix with each movement... As if she had only just now decided to treat his advice seriously, Nobunaga hooked her arms around his ribs and neck as she drew deep breaths in timing with his movements. It was surprisingly less stimting than when Vahn had been using his tongue but there was a steadily increasing tension in her body that caused Nobunagas stomach to feel fluttery with each of Vahns movements. She was more than a little surprised with how things were ying out as, if things really did go on for two hours, Nobunaga wasnt sure if she would be the same woman after the fact. Vahns gentle yet effective lovemaking was unlike anything she had experienced before, especially with how he seemed to alter his actions depending on the responses of her own body... Even without using his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could feel the subtle changes in Nobunagas body as a result of their direct contact. He wasnt simply timing his movements with her breathing but instead chose to match the natural rhthym of her body. This was the so-called ultimate technique he had learned from Freya, something that had proven effective against everyone woman he ever slept with. Though it wasnt as intense as what they would experience if he used his [Hands of Nirvana], Vahn knew that most woman would actually prefer to be treated in a delicate and sincere manner. Even Anubis, possessing tendencies that would stun most people, would be surprisingly obedient whenever he used this technique against her... Feeling Nobunagas body on the verge of what he knew would be a gentle yet lonsting climax, Vahn changed his angle slightly so that his ns were scraping across the upper folds of her v.a.g.i.n.a. He would almost imperceptibly increase the pressure of his thrust whenever he passed over the location of Nobunagas G-Spot, the ce where the nerves of her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s passed under her dder. It was fortunate that Servants didnt pass waste through their bodies as, whenever Vahn would do this to other girls, they would rarely be able to hold the contents of their dder. Nobunaga got off rtively easily given how there was only a slight change in the pitch of her breathing... ording to Vahns guidance, Nobunagas body began to produce a slow vibration that began to steadily build with his movements. She seemed to realize what was happening, causing her to hug him a little tighter as she took in a long breath before exhaling in an extremely contented manner. Vahn used the moment when she was breathing in again to slightly increase her speed, waiting until the vibration had reached its gentle peak before holding his breath as he released a much heavier load than normal into the deepest part of Nobunagas v.a.g.i.n.a. Faster than either of them could react, Nobunaga suddenly felt as if lightning had struck her insides as she released a loud and pained yelp while kicking Vahn with enough force to send him crashing into the far wall. Though she might have felt apologetic in more normal circ.u.mstances, Nobunaga had a panicked expression on her face as she keeled over, clutching her abdomen while breathing rapidly. Instead of fading away, she was experiencing an overwhelming sensation, unlike anything she had ever experienced. It wasnt exactly painful, but more like an extreme difort that was ovepped with an iprehensible amount of pleasure that caused Nobunaga to curl up into a small ball as she eximed, "Vahn...what...what did you do to me...Hnnnnnnnngh!?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: A Demon King in exchange for some cheap sake...,Never underestimate a man who can humble a Goddess of S.e.x,Whatdidyoudotomeyoustupidlyhandsomepieceofshit) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1065 - Support

Chapter 1065 - Support

Seeing Nobunagas unexpectedly pained state, Vahn had instantly activated his [Eyes of Truth] before quickly appearing at her side in support. Fortunately, she didntsh out at him a second time as she understood he was only trying to help her tide through whatever was happening. From what Vahn was able to discern, it seemed like Nobunaga was experiencing something simr to what would happen whenever he had s.e.x with girls like Riveria, Ryuu, and Lefiya. Her body had activated in response to the presence of his s.e.m.e.n as it desperately tried to process the higher tiered energy. Since a Servants body wasprised entirely of magical energy, one of the most efficient methods to upkeep them was through the willful, or forceful, intake of a Magus s.e.m.e.n. Due to the nature of Laws within the Nasuverse, the efficacy of s.e.m.e.n as a mana container was almost ridiculous. Since Vahns Source Energy was always interpreted by the Record as the highest form of energy avable, this meant that Nobunagas body was trying to process something that was essentially near the peak of Tier 5. Though his blood wasnt all that dissimr, possessing an adequate amount of Source Energy in its own right, the nature of s.e.m.e.n was fundamentally different. Ingesting small amounts of blood over a few minutes was enough to greatly empower his Servants but, now that he had emptied an arguably ridiculous load into Nobunagas body, it was using a star to power a lightbulb... Understanding the problem, Vahn ced his hand on Nobunagas lower back and began to guide the energy contained within s.e.m.e.n through her body, helping her process it much faster than she seemed capable of herself. This caused her face to be beet red but, as it also provided an extreme amount of relief, Nobunaga focused on herbored breathing as Vahn eased the energy into her body. Ultimately, Vahn ended up using his [Hands of Nirvana] to massage Nobunagas tense body until the Source Energy, previously existing in a condensed form that caused her extreme pain and difort, had spread through her entire body. Now, though it was likely only temporary, there was a subtle rainbow hue to the energy within Nobunagas surprisingly mature body. She had grown beyond her previous maximum height of 161cm tall, now appearing closer to 165cm as both her b.r.e.a.s.ts and butt had grown considerably... Opening her now glowing red eyes, Nobunaga struggled to lift her body until Vahn helped support her. She could see that her ck hair now had a red sheen to it as it poured around her shoulders like a voluminous waterfall. At the same time, she saw her b.r.e.a.s.ts dangling considerably more than they ought to, almost as if they were on the cusp of reaching sizeable Ds. This caused Nobunaga to produce a wry smile that slowly turned into a teasing one as she weakly elbowed Vahn and said, "A heads up would have been nice. Seriously, I never thought Id experience a phenomenon like having my w.o.m.b struck by lightning. Im guessing that doesnt normally happen...?" As she had seen Vahns earlier surprise, now reced by care and understanding, Nobunaga knew he had been caught off guard in much the same way. Now that she had calmed down, she wanted to apologize since Rin would undoubtedly give him hell once she saw the crack that ran the entire length of the wall after she kicked Vahn into it... While running his fingers through Nobunagas hair, which now seemed to extend to the back of her knees, Vahn softly exined, "Sorry...given the nature of a Heroic Spirits body, I should have taken such a possibility into consideration...are you okay...?" In response to this Nobunaga just rested her forehead against Vahns chest while exhaling a tired sigh. She was honestly better than okay but, even though it was just the two of them, Nobunaga couldnt openly say how pleasant the aftertaste of Vahns actions was. It currently felt as if her body was radiating far more magical power than she should normally have ess to, giving Nobunaga a strong desire to battle opponents she would have otherwise avoided... Since Nobunaga chose to remain silent, Vahn held her gently in his embrace and just continued tob his fingers through her hair in a calming gesture. Curiously, they were both having a simr thought around this time, Vahns thoughts bringing a bit of anxiety while Nobunaga was considering whether or not she should tease him. After all, once Scthach found out the side-effects of taking in Vahns s.e.m.e.n, there was no way she would allow him to withhold it. It would inarguably bring them an advantage in future battles and, unless Vahn refused through the use of a Command Spell, she was likely to be very insistent on the matter. At the same time, causing Nobunaga tough like a madman inside, she could see Scthach using forceful means to convince Lakshmibai and, even more hriously, Astolfo to ingest it. With what she knew of Vahn, he would probably have a small mental breakdown at the prospect, even if it was inarguably true that it would greatly empower them... Though not going down the same tangent as Nobunaga, Vahn felt a cold sweat when he thought about Scthach eyeing his lower body with her cold and emotionless eyes after one of their training sessions. She would probably continue to use the potential reward of s.e.x as a means to motivate him but, even without using her lower mouth to take in the energy-rich supplement, that wouldnt stop her from using her mouth. Just imagining Scthach bobbing her head up and down his member as she used the ridiculous suction she often used on his fingers caused Vahns brain to buzz. She undoubtedly had knowledge of every technique, past, present, and future, potentially to the point of being able to treat the affair like a skill that was pushed to an A-Rank level of mastery... After sitting in silence for the better part of ten minutes, Nobunaga seemed to have collected herself enough as she suddenly pushed against his chest. Vahn thought she just wanted to separate from him but, almost as soon as he released her from his embrace, Nobunaga put more force into her movement so that his back ended up against the mattress. Then, with her eyes zing with a subtle red light, Nobunaga licked her lips seductively as she said, "From now on, Ill be on top. If I leave things to you, I may be a corrupted existence...seriously, you were a lot better than I could have imagined. Good job, Vahn..." As she spoke, Nobunaga mounted herself on Vahns h.i.p.s before yfully bouncing on his abdomen with her plump butt. Then, without much more discussion, Vahn and Nobunaga both tested the limits of how much energy a Servants body could hold... --- By the time the sun had risen, nearly two hours had passed since the time Vahn and Nobunaga had first arrived in the guest bedroom. At this point, her hair was almost blood-red in color while her eyes were vibrant enough to be slightly discernable, even with her lids veiling them. Most notably, at least from the perspective of Vahn, Nobunagas earlier bravado hadpletely vanished as she allowed him to support her from behind as he continued to slowly piston into her body. Her mind had effectively shut off more than an hour prior as a perpetual blush and zed eyes were now the most prominent features of her face. Even her height had continued to change, now reaching 171cm while her b.r.e.a.s.ts, waist, and h.i.p.s had all changed noticeably in size, shape, and feel... Knowing their time was quicklying to an end, Vahn left another dark red hickey on Nobunagas neck as she leaned her head back without making any effort to support it. At the same time, his right hand sunk into her left b.r.e.a.s.t, now measuring a sizeable 89cm if considering cup size. She didnt have much response to his movements around her chest but, down below, a very different story was transpiring as a veritable flood of steaming hot nectar flowed from Nobunagas body every time he gently caressed the deepest part of her inside with the tip of his ns. Then, though her body had been in a perpetual climax for a while now, her back and h.i.p.s began to tremble considerably as Vahn released another unbelievable load into her body. No matter how many times they had gone at it, there was functionally no difference in his output due to the influence of [Magia Erebea], a truth that had been carved deeply into Nobunagas body... Unlike her first reaction, Nobunaga seemed to have limated herself to the sudden and intense wave of pleasure that apanied the sudden and overwhelming surge of energy. At the same time, Vahn had already connected that pathways in Nobunagas body to her w.o.m.b, allowing the Source Energy to quickly permeate through her body as, in a strange disy, his s.e.m.e.n seemed to evaporate as a result. By the time the energy had pervading throughout her entire body, Vahn could feel an almost imperceptible increase in the softness of Nobunagas skin, even if she hadnt changed much appearance-wise. With this, Vahn felt they had already been going at it long enough, even if he was still good to go for days, if necessary... Lowering Nobunagas somewhat limply to the bed, Vahn couldnt help but allow a moderately licentious smile to adorn his lips as her now shapely butt was raised up while her torso was leaning into the mattress. For a moment, he was tempted to give Nobunaga a light spanking but ultimately decided against it as he gently rolled her body onto its side. If he teased her now, while she was on a journey of self-discovery, Vahn knew she would be more than a little upset. He would rather things end on a high note with Nobunaga slowlying back to her senses on her own than through any action on his part. With that in mind, Vahny his own body behind Nobunagas before hugging her firmly in his embrace so they could snuggle until it was time to clean up and return to the Orb. To Nobunagas credit, she returned to her senses after a short seven minutes, less than half the time Vahn had expected for the echo in her body to fade. When she came back to awareness, however, Nobunaga kept silent for several minutes longer before finally saying, "You are a danger to any woman foolish enough toy with you. I cant even remember clearly what happened over thest half hour...my body, though, it remembers almost too clearly..." To this, Vahn lightly chuckled before kissing the back of Nobunagas head and saying, "If I couldnt do this much, I would have never been able to manage my admittedly oversized harem..." Hearing Vahns words, Nobunaga managed augh of her own before breaking free from his embrace and stretching her simultaneously tired and energetic body. When he sat up next to her, she asked, "Does this make me one of your Imperial Concubines...? Cant say Im fond of the title, but the treatment isnt all that bad, ufuuu..." As she spoke, Nobunaga was inspecting the current state of her body with mild shock visible in her eyes. She had never been this developed, even during her actual life, so it almost felt as if she was in the body of another. At the same time, she couldnt help but feel as if Vahn had shaped her to his preferences, especially with how tender and plump her thighs and butt felt... Though he knew she was only joking, Vahn decided to y along with Nobunagas words, showing a thoughtful expression as he added, "Since you had the title of Demon King, I believe it would be more urate to say you were an Imperial Consort. Dont worry though, I wont force you to call me Highness or Darling..." Thest word seemed particrly effective against Nobunaga as she almost instinctually elbowed him with a dour expression on her face. After what she had experienced, she felt that giving Vahn any leeway would lead her down a path where she wouldnt even know what happened before she was already affectionately calling him Master. Thus, to put their rtionship into perspective, Nobunagas expression became serious as she said, "Unless you be an actual Emperor in this world, never talk down to me, even in jest. Ive already given you more leeway than I ever should have...dont push it too far..." Raising his hands in a gesture of surrender, Vahn kept any furtherments to himself before scooting to the side of the bed and using cleaning magic to cleanse his body. Nobunaga dealt with her own disheveled state by simply returning to her Spirit form before reappearing a few secondster, now fully clothed. With her matured appearance, she actually looked far more intimidating than before, especially with her blood-colored hair and vicious glowing eyes. Vahn couldnt help but give an approving nod that caused Nobunaga to smile haughtily as shemented, "Oh~? See something you like, Vahn...? Now fully clothed, Vahn returned a smile to Nobunaga before saying, "I wont deny it. Even if your aura feels a little bloody, youre able to pull it off..." This caused Nobunaga tough loudly as she walked by him, giving Vahns butt a firm pinch in passing while winking with her right eye. After that, Nobunaga vanished into a slightly rainbow-hued mist as her words reached his mind, saying, ("Im going to go give the others a surprise. I would suggest you prepare yourself for having to deal with that purple monster, ufufufu~.") With that said, the connection between Nobunaga and Vahn was severed, leaving thetter behind with a slightly dull expression on his face... Shortly after Nobunaga disappeared, affording Vahn no time to really mull over the problem, Sis took the opportunity to chime in, reminding, (*There really arent any problems that would arise because of this, Vahn. With your ability to alter the form and function of your cells, you could just as easily convert the blood in your finger into...well, Im sure you understand my meaning. If you wanted to, you could even make use of that method you had thought of previously and split your body into several cores. By cing your core into their bodies, you could theoretically supply a Servant with limitless Magical Power in exchange for having your focus split. You might not have the mental power to maintain an actual avatar right now, but it shouldnt be an issue if you put yourself into a deep state of unconsciousness after cing your core into their body.") Hearing Sis words in his mind, Vahns brows perked up a bit as, was often the case, there was a great deal of truth in what she had said. Though it was a peculiar though, Vahn knew he could freely change the shape of his body, almost without limit. Even something as extreme as extending an artery to the point it poked out of his skin, creating a constant flow of blood, wasnt beyond his means. He could even create entirely new organs that didnt exist in the bodies of others, producing chemicals, minerals, and even elixirs within his body itself. During select times in his previous world, Vahn would even treat his body as a factory of sorts in an effort to cut down on his OP expenditure. While thinking about what it would be like to essentially live inside of one of his Servants, Vahn felt a strange sense of incongruity as it seemed like an action far beyond intimacy. Just the thought of Nobunaga having his core located somewhere in her body caused Vahns heart to race a bit faster. Sis seemed to pick up on this as she quickly added, (*It is just one potential solution to the problem youre creating for yourself. The simplest solution would be to just store your s.p.e.r.m in a container before handing it over for them to deal with. It might seem impersonal, but you dont have to make it into a problem you need to deal with personally, Vahn. If you cant tolerate that idea, you should just stop footing around the issue and have s.e.x with them.*) Vahn was genuinely surprised to hear the sterness contained with Sis words as, other than when he made a big mistake, she was usually very patient with him. In response to this thought crossing his mind, Sis released a sigh in the back of his mind before saying, (*Im worried about you, Vahn. I dont want to see you making the same mistakes you did in your previous world but, because of your nature, it is almost guaranteed you will go through the same process anew. In a way, I agree with Scthachs assessment that you shouldnt ce so much emphasis on your feelings. You are a being that will exist so far into the future that you will outlive the creation and destruction of entire Universes. The power youre striving to obtain would put you at a level so far above anything even that woman Akasha would be able toprehend...haaa...*) Hearing the admonition and borderline disappointment in Sis words, Vahn suddenly felt very ashamed of himself as he looked toward his feet and remained silent. He knew she was right and, more than anyone else, Sis had been looking after his well-being since before he even entered his first Record. No matter what path he decided upon, she would always do her best to support him in the pursuit of his goals. Since he was constantly diverting from the path due to his own internal conflicts, Vahn couldnt really me her for using such a tone against him. Thus, like a child that had just received a scolding from their parent, Vahn muttered a silent, "Im sorry..." As soon as the words left his mouth, Vahn felt a warmth flow through his mind as Sis voice, now far more gentle than before, whispered, (*Oh, Vahn...I just want you to be happy. Watching you create more problems for yourself...well, if I had a heart, I think it might break...hahahaha...*) These words weighed even heavier on Vahns heart, causing him to immediately state, ("I may be uncertain about many things, Sis, but I know for certain you have a heart. It may not be a physical construct that can be seen and felt, but I refuse to believe you are some heartless entity that only exists within my mind. Even more so than the heart beating in my chest...I believe this to be true...") In response to his words, Vahn could hear Sisughing like a bell in the back of his mind, followed by her teasing, (*You should save words like those for other girls. Were already inextricably linked in a way that I imagine would cause Fenrir great envy. You dont have to use fancy words to win over my heart, Vahn...*) Though she may not have intended her words to be intimate, Vahn could feel his own heart palpitate a few times in response to Sis words. This sent her into another bout of yfulughter that resonated through Vahns mind in a way that not even the [Mantra of Eternity] could manage... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn mastery of S.e.m.e.n Laws ising along nicely...xD,Nobunaga fears being tamed (o,...,o)...,Sis is low-key best girl...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1066 - Rush

Chapter 1066 - Rush

Though it had only been a few minutes since he had parted with Nobunaga, more than an hour had passed within the Sub Space Orb in that same span of time. By the time Vahn finally appeared, he immediately sensed several gazes shift towards him for a brief moment. At the same time, as she was ought to do, Scthach appeared right next to him with her characteristic expressionless face. Before she could say anything, Vahn held up his hand to silence her, exining, "I already have my own thoughts on the matter. Im not going to force the issue on anyone who is unwilling, regardless of whether or not it is the most efficient method to guarantee victory." Since he fully expected Scthach to try and force the issue by pressuring the other Servants, Vahn wanted to make it clear from the start that he wouldnt ept such methods. In response to his words, Scthach nodded her head in understanding before saying, "I understand. Victory is often not as important as the means used to obtain it. If you were willing topromise your own integrity and morals so easily, people wouldnt be willing to follow you. I will respect your decision on the matter, Vahn. Know, however, that I would prefer being able to operate at my full potential for theing battles..." With that said, Scthach squinted her eyes pointedly before vanishing from sight once again. Seeing Scthach vanish, Vahn was a little surprised, not that she didnt try to convince him to take action, but because she didnt immediately pull him aside for training. With this, it was easy to see that Scthach was giving him the opportunity to interact with the others before she began beating him once again. To that end, Vahn made it way over to where Rin was sitting at a wooden desk, pouring over several stacks of doc.u.ments rted to [Primordial Runes]. Shecked the natural talent to understand the startlingplexity of the rtively simple-looking runes so Rin had taken a lot of notes regarding everything Scthach had taught her. Even if it took her a bit of time, she was determined to master the unique form of Magecraft so she could incorporate it into her own [Jewel] Magecraft. Having been one of the gazes directed towards Vahn shortly after his entry into the Orb, Rin wasnt surprised by his presence, causing her to release a tired sigh as she ced down her pen. Before Vahn could even greet her, Rin looked up at him with her aqua-blue eyes, asking, "What is our current rtionship, Vahn?" Even with Scthach trying to help guide her towards an answer, Rin simply couldnt put the matter aside and just ept the way things were. She had no expectation that she would be able to reign Vahn in, but that didnt remove the need to hear what he thought about her in his own words. Hearing Rins question, Vahn resigned himself before pulling out a chair and sitting opposite to her at the same desk. This caused Rin to frown but, still waiting for his answer, she kept silent as Vahn carefully exined, "I dont think our rtionship is something that can be exined simply. I care for you dearly, enough that I would put my life on the line to protect you. At the same time, even though the concept of a Familia doesnt exist in this world, you are my second family member in this world. I will do my best to make you happy..." Instead of waiting for him to finish, Rin added, "But you still dont really love me, at least not right now. Since you said as much during...well, I dont really know what I expected to change since then. Very well...thank you for being honest with me." As if the conversation was finished, Rin picked up her pen and began focusing on the doc.u.ment she had been going over before Vahns arrival. This caused Vahn to release a small sigh through his nose before rising to his feet and giving Rin the space she seemed to need. When he began to walk away, however, Rin suddenly spoke in a serious voice, "There are several things I need to take care of in my personal life right now. Dont think Ive given up, Vahn...once Ive finished with everything I need to deal with, you wont be able to get rid of me so easily..." This caused Vahn to stop in his steps before turning around to see that Rin had already returned to her work. Knowing that she was still listening, however, Vahn smiled appreciatively before saying, "I look forward to that day...if there is anything I can do to reduce the time it takes, you need only ask..." --- After parting ways with Rin, Vahn made the rounds to see how Fenrir, Astolfo, and Lakshmibai were doing. The former was still fixated on her training while Astolfo and Lakshmibai, both having heard about what had happened with Nobunaga, had very different reactions. Astolfo seemed strangely nervous about the prospect, even though Vahn told him he didnt have anything to worry about, while Lakshmibais reaction caused Vahn to shake his head internally. She reacted as if she had been expecting such an oue, showing a determined and resolute expression as she resigned herself to her fate. Though he was honestly more than a little interested in Lakshmibais appearance, the shadow of Helen within her made Vahn quickly extricate himself from that situation until it became more pertinent to the ongoing Grail War. Shortly after Vahn hadpleted his rounds, ending with a short conversation with an even more mischevious Nobunaga, Scthach had appeared once again. Vahn was already prepared so, without needing her to say anything, he kicked off the ground with enough force to cause small fractures in the white stone. Though others might have been caught off guard, Scthach easily traced her hand along a trajectory under Vahns striking hand, hooking her hand around his joint before throwing him off bnce in a single swift movement. Like this, another long session of training began, resulting in Vahn getting thrashed even more than normal. Following this, during the period which was supposed to be his rest phase, Vahn endeavored toplete thekeside residence so people wouldnt have to continue sitting around on random pieces of furniture... In this manner, Vahns days within the Orb began to quickly blend together, interspaced with periods of nothigness, a state he actively pursued under Scthachs guidance. She had also taken up the task of working on thekeside residence in his stead whenever he would meditate at the bottom of theke or venture into the denser sections of the Sub-Space Orb to train with Fenrir. As a result, by the end of the fourth day, the residence was already nearingpletion. Vahn helped Rin move all of her stuff into one of therger rooms that had been constructed specifically for her use. His own room ended up being on the smaller side but, as Vahn only had two real uses for it, he felt anythingrger would just be wasteful... Since there were a lot of things that needed to be added to the residence to make it livable, Vahn was installing various formations all over the premises while Scthach did much the same with her [Primordial Runes]. Whenever he saw what she was working on, Vahn couldnt help but feel that Scthachs skill was beyond masterful. There was a reason why she had been able to obtain SSS-Rank in the skill as, even with his ability to interpret their meaning, Vahnsck ofprehension behind the logic that gave the runes their effects meant he could only use them in their simplest form. As for Scthach, she seemed to be able to do literaly anything, almost as if she were using her [Primordial Runes] to bend the Laws to her will, recreating and altering phenomena that Vahn couldnt wrap his head around... It was during one of the instances in which Vahn was watching Scthach write thousands of runes into interior walls of the residence, essentially altering the fundamental nature of the materials used in its construction, that an unexpected incident urred. Rin had gone out of the Sub-Space Orb to touch base with Lord El-Melloi II before returning a few hourster, immediately shouting, "Vahn, we have an emergency...!" the moment she entered the Orb. This caused Scthach to cease writing before instantly turning into her Spirit form to conserve energy. As for Vahn, he quickly made his way outside while everyone else within the Orb arrived to hear what the emergency was. Seeing Vahn appear only seconds after she had shouted, Rin lightly pat her chest to calm down as she hurriedly exined, "Gray was attacked while trying to investigate the various disappearances throughout the City. The number of victims has already exceeded a thousand people so both the Mages Association and the Holy Church are up in arms trying to find out who is brazen enough tomit such a high-profile act..." Before Rin could go on a diatribe trying to exin less-significant details, Vahn raised his hand and said, "You said Gray was attacked...is she okay?" Though he hadnt interacted with her too much, Vahn had a good impression of the unique gray-haired woman. Even though she seemed to have a tragic past of her own, Gray remained rtively positive and sincerely hoped that the world would one day be a better ce for all people to live... Remembering the reason why she had rushed over, Rin adopted a serious expression as she exined, "Its bad. Grays Mystic Code took an extreme amount of damage trying to protect her. Even then, she wasnt able to escape without losing an arm and sustaining serious injuries..." As she spoke, Rin could vividly recall the distress in Lord El-Melloi IIs voice as he mournfully exined the situation. Whatever had attacked Gray was beyond any of their expectations as it didnt appear to be the actions of a Servant. Instead, she described her attacker as a ck-cloaked figure that was able to freely manipte its cloak, destroying almost everything that came into contact with it. Instead of being moved away and used as sacrifices, it was now apparent that the shadowy entity had been devouring hundreds, now thousands, of people during the hours prior to the resumption of the Holy Grail War. Hearing Rins exnation, Vahn flexed his jaw a bit as, during his discussion with Gray the previous night, she had been in high spirits as they talked about Paracelsus together. Imagining that same smiling woman, now on a stretcher with an arm missing, Vahn felt a seething rage bubbling up within him. Though the other Masters and Servants had always technically been his enemies, it now felt a lot more personal since they had hurt someone he had a good impression of. Without wasting any time, Vahn gave a curt nod before decisively saying, "I will go and heal Gray. Tonight, we will hunt down this bastard...if they think they can get away with involving innocent lives in order to fulfill their greed, they have another thinging to them. Come, lets move quickly...!" Though Rin had a few things she wanted to say, she ultimately decided to follow along with Vahn since they could always talk on the way to the Fuyuki City Hyatt Hotel. As a result, the group quickly made its way over to where Gray was being kept, her condition serious yet stable. Even after losing an arm, her vitality wasnt something to be looked down upon. If anything, Gray was more worried about the condition of Add, her shape-changing weapon, as its consciousness had faded along with it entering into a self-preservation state. Instead of looking like a cube, it now appeared simr to a burnt spheroid, almost as if it was a piece of metal that had been dropped in a vat of acid. Finding Lord El-Melloi II and t waiting outside of a makeshift ICU, Vahn dismissed with formalities as he inly stated, "Let me see her. I will be able to help her a lot more than any of the Doctors and Magi you have on hand." Though this might have sounded somewhat presumptuous, Vahn had just as much confidence in his medical skills as he did in his ability to satisfy women. Since he could even lead around Goddesses of S.e.x, Vahn believed there was very little he couldnt treat with his unique understanding of the bodys internal structure. Lord El-Melloi II frowned when he heard Vahns words, as the Doctors Vahn had just insulted were people he would trust with his own life, were it in danger. Before things could devolve into an awkward situation, however, Rin quickly stepped in, exining, "You can trust Vahns skills. Ill exin the detailster, but I doubt there are many people in the world who would be able to treat a patient if he were unable to do so..." Rin didnt actually know about the limit of Vahns medical expertise but, seeing how confident he was, she had no doubt that he would be able to help Gray. Even if he was unable to do so himself, Scthach would undoubtedly be able to use her [Primeval Runes] to perform the task in his stead... Though he still seemed reluctant, Lord El-Melloi II ultimately gave in when even t added, "Teach...shouldnt we be doing everything we can to help Gray? If Vahn says he can help, we owe it to her to let him try..." Even if he and Gray didnt particrly get along, primarily as a result of hisckadaisical nature, t still considered his fellow apprentice a good friend. It pained him a great deal to see her in such a sorry state, especially since there was nothing he could do for her... Understanding that ts words struck at the heart of the matter, Lord El-Melloi II stared directly at Vahn with a stern expression on his face as he said, "I will entrust my apprentice to you...if I find out you did anything uncouth-." Before Lord El-Melloi II could finish his words, Rin surprised everyone by suddenly pping him and eximing, "Enough!" before turning to Vahn and adding, "Go help her!" in amanding tone. She was more than a little annoyed that it had taken ts support to get Lord El-Melloi II to acquiesce so, when she heard what he was saying, Rin felt like an exposed nerve had been touched. Without sticking around to see the aftermath of Rins actions, Vahn passed by the two security guards who had previously been blocking the way. He found himself passing through a few stic curtains that had been hung on a corridor before arriving in a room that had a sterile appearance, so long as you ignored the ckened blood that had stained a few areas of the floor. Within the room, there was what appeared to be an operating table that was surrounded by five individuals, two men and three women. Even at a nce, it was easy to tell that they were either Doctors or Nurses but, if you looked closer, you would find that their tools were far from the standard used bymon Surgeons. There were several scalpels that had runes carved into them while various nts and vials were neatly arranged on metal shelves surrounding the operating table. Having some random person entering their operating room, it wasnt all that surprising when the younger of the two males grimaced before shouting, "You shouldnt be in here! What are those guards doing out there!?" Hispanion, however, remained calm as he cut away a piece of ckened tissue before looking towards Vahn and asking, "Did Lord El-Melloi II allow you to enter...?" As there hadnt been anymotion prior to Vahns arrival, he had correctly deduced that thetter had permission to enter. With a curt nod, Vahn walked over to the operating table while exining, "There are few Doctors in the world that would be able toe close to my abilities. I will not discredit your efforts, but please allow me to step in from here. I have already received permission from Lord El-Melloi II, so please do not cause trouble." Though Vahn said his words calmly, his expression turned dour as he inspected Grays unconscious body. Her right arm was missing using under the shoulder while the skin in the surrounding area seemed to be necrotizing at a rate faster than the Doctors could deal with it. He could tell they had tried various different alchemical mixtures to slow the process while, as could be seen during his entrance, they were cutting out sections of the rot while one of the female Nurses was analyzing theposition at the side... The younger of the two men seemed to want to argue but he was quickly shut down by the Senior Attending who set aside his tools, saying, "There isnt much more we can do besides slow the progress of the infection. We have been unable to analyze what exactly is causing the rot but, based on its tenacity, it seems to be some kind of malignant curse. However, even Holy Water was only able to slow the progress, not prevent it. We even amputated several centimeters above the original site, but it has still persisted regardless of our efforts..." Instead of wasting time arguing, the middle-aged man kept his sensibilities about him as he began exining everything they had tried thus far. Having already activated his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could see a ck aura that had already extended beyond Grays shoulder, encroaching down her chest and up her neck. This seemed to be the cause of the spreading rot, meaning it would be necessary to cut off nearly a third of Grays torso if he wanted to use the same methods as these supposed Doctors. He didnt doubt they were skilled and highly educated but, at times like this, such things werent enough if youcked the means to identify the cause of the ailment. Vahn could even see the ck aura lingering around the middle-aged Doctors hands, meaning he would probably begin to suffer the same effects as Gray if left unattended. Causing the younger man and all three women to give him an usatory re, Vahn removed the sheet covering Grays chest before closely scrutinizing the encroaching darkness. At the same time, he exined, "If you have any to spare, you need to douse your hands in Holy Water soon. You might not be able to see it, but the same thing eating away at Grays body has already extended into your hands. That nurse that has been handling the necrotic tissue needs to do the same..." These words caused the older Doctors brows to raise before he looked towards one of the other nurses and said, "Help Samantha wash her hands with Holy Water. Make sure not to touch her hands directly..." To her credit, the woman named Samantha didnt panic in response to hearing that she was infected with the same thing eating away at Grays body. Instead, she simply held out her hands so that she wouldnt identally touch anything while her fellow Nurses poured a vial of crystal clear water over them. Vahn could see a glimmer of white light contained within the water with his [Eyes of Truth], allowing him to understand the rtively simple solution was indeed sanctified water. What he found most curious, however, was the fact that the older Doctor simply removed his gloves before cing them on a sterile tray and holding them out without washing them in Holy Water. As if to answer Vahns curiosity, the man smiled through his facemask before exining, "I want to see if your words hold true. Holy Water didnt work on the youngdy so I doubt it would be very effective, even if I doused my entire body in the substance. Just focus on doing what you can. If you can find a solution for her, it shouldnt take much effort to help treat us, correct...?" To this, Vahn gave a nod beforeplimenting, "You are a good Doctor..." before cing his full focus on Grays body. Then, under the scrutinizing eyes of everyone present within the room, Vahn held out his right hand as a rainbow hue began to suffuse through it. In absolute silence, everyone watched as Vahn slowly traced his palm over various areas of Grays body, primarily focusing on her right nk, b.r.e.a.s.t, neck, and shoulder. Though the younger male Doctor looked more than a little annoyed when he watched Vahn grab Grays right b.r.e.a.s.t, his attention was quickly brought away from the fact as one of the Nurses whispered, "Doctor, your hands..." As the older Doctor had been holding his exposed hands up for everyone to see, it was clear to anyone looking that the tips of his fingers had started to turn ck. At the same time, his expression began to pale slightly before he walked over the sink and rinsed his hands with the help of the Nurses. From this, it was clear that Vahn could see something they were unable to discern, lending veracity to his ims and leniency towards his actions... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Scthach really needs a bell...,Two uses for the room, neither involving sleep...,Gray (TT ^ TT)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1067 - Nirvana

Chapter 1067 - Nirvana

With the room having turned into a scene of absolute silence, Vahn continued his analysis of Grays affliction, finding it to be abination of several different troublesome factors. The malignant ck aura seemed to possess something akin to a rudimentary self-preservation function whereby, the more effort you put into trying to remove it, the faster it would spread. Even more troublesome was the fact that the energy didnt simply invade the cells of the body, it targetted the flow of mana itself. Small particles of pure ck mana would infest the individual particte of mana, self-propagating and spreading in a flow that was the opposite of how mana was supposed to behave. This hade as a big surprise to Vahn as, even in the presence of Death and Decay Laws, only the form of the mana changed, not its fundamentalposition... To test his theory, Vahn surprised everyone present by cing his hand near the tourniquet tied around Grays stump, effectively guaranteeing that he was also infected. This was, however, his actual intent as, even with the ability to see the changes in Grays body, it would be far faster to test theories using his own. As a result, the malignant ck energy spread into his hand before bringing a small smile to Vahns face when it suddenly became even more chaotic. Momentster, in much the same ways as a normal toxin or curse, Vahns body hadpletely dispersed the malicious energy. He hadnt believed for a moment that it would be able to cannibalize his Source Energy infused blood, but seeing it practically writhe around was surprisingly satisfying. After confirming his suspicions, Vahn looked towards the older Doctor and exined, "I can treat this. Ill need absolute silence and no distractions. If your people dont think they can manage that, they will need to leave. Once Ive healed Gray, I will help you and that Nurse remove the curse from your bodies as well." These words seemed toe as a great relief to the woman who had been growing steadily more anxious at the side. As for the Doctor, he gave an understanding nod before looking towards his younger protege and saying, "Thomas, you need to leave. You have been too emotional since thess was dragged in. Dont worry, this man seems to bepetent enough to make good on his word." In response to the senior Doctors words, the man named Thomas showed a dour expression before finally nodding his head and quickly leaving the operating room. Then, as if to exin why the man was so upset, the older Doctor smiled as he exined, "Miss Gray had saved his life around three years ago. Though nothing hase of it, you cant really me the man for being upset when the person he cares about is brought in with such severe injuries." As this was something Vahn could understand, he gave a curt nod in response before unceremoniously cing his palm on Grays abdomen. It didnt really matter to him what the mans reasons were, as everyone had some form of justification for their actions. Vahn just wanted to make sure that Gray wasnt forced to spend the rest of her life missing an arm just because her primary caretakers werent able to treat the affliction she was burdened with... Seeing that Vahn wasnt in a talking mood, the older Doctor made no further attempts to converse as he, along with the three Nurses, closely monitored everything Vahn was doing. When they saw Grays body steadily be suffused with a rainbow hue, followed by Vahns hand sinking into her abdomen, they were more than a little surprised. This was only the beginning, however, as they watched Vahn slowly guide his hand through Grays body as a surprising amount of ckened blood began to flow from her arm. Things reached an extreme when Vahn removed the tourniquetpletely, causing a potentially fatal amount of blood to flow from Grays amputated arm... Ignoring the stunned gasp of one of the nurses, Vahn furrowed his brows slightly as, from the hand he had ced in Grays body, he was directly sending his own blood from through the major arteries around her heart. He had essentially extended one of his own arteries through his finger, allowing his blood to transfuse into Grays body as it quickly expelled the malignant energy that was grossly unprepared to contaminate his blood. At the same time, Vahn held his left hand over Grays arm, isting the malignant cells and ripping them from her body. Fortunately, even if she hadnt already been sedated, Vahn had put her into a pseudo-nirvana state, cutting off all sensations of pain. It took much longer than Vahn had expected but, after a period of around 33 minutes, the ck aura trying to spread through Grays body had been removed down to the smallest particte of ck mana. Once this waspleted, he slowly pulled his hand from Grays body before applying a fresh tourniquet to her arm, exining, "Ive sessfully removed the malignancy. After I treat you and the Nurse, everyone present will need to leave before I can begin the next phase of treatment. I only allowed you to witness the first part since you would experience it yourselfter on. Everything that will follow is a secret Im unwilling to disclose..." As it wasnt umon for Magi to want to protect their secrets, both the Doctor and the three Nurses all nodded their heads in understanding. Just the technique Vahn had used to remove the malignancy in Grays body was something that would cause a stir within the Magus Community. If he wanted to keep his other methods a secret, they knew better than to try and insist, especially when two of them still needed treatment of their own. With that in mind, Vahn had the older Doctor and the Nurse named Samantha remove all the clothes from their upper bodies before going through the arduous process of treating them as well. It wasnt a simple process of targeting the malignancy directly, meaning he could just sink his hands into their arms, Vahn was forced to work from the core, the source of mana even in the Nasuverse, before working is way through the major organs like the heart. This seemed particrly awkward for the young Nurse as, after removing her green medical garments, her rather buxom b.r.e.a.s.ts wereid bare for the whole room to see... With their own afflictions significantly weaker than what had been affecting Gray, treating the two only took Vahn abined forty minutes. To make things easier, Samantha had gone first while the Doctor, surnamed McKeh, politely sat with his back to the room. Though he had seen more than his fair share of b.r.e.a.s.ts over the years, he understood there was a basic professional courtesy involved when taking into consideration the wellness of his staff. Even as his fingertips began to slowly necrotize, his only reaction was to self-administer a shot of morphine before meditating at the side to resist the building pain. Vahn had to admit that, even if the man hadnt been able to help Gray, he had amendable work ethic and an even more impressive nature. Once Doctor McKeh had finished his treatment, he quickly ushered everyone out of the room in order to receive follow-up treatment for his own wounds. The encroachment of necrotic tissue on his right pinky and ring fingers had been especially severe, as they were the closest digits to Grays wounds while he had been treating her. Though he didnt say anything at the moment, Vahn made a mental note to make sure the mans hands were able to regainplete functionality if they were unable to treat it themselves. It would be a terrible travesty for a Doctor with McKehs level of professionalism to have their career ended in such a fashion. Shortly after the room had been cleared, Scthach slowly manifested her body within the room, likely to avoid startling Vahn unnecessarily. She, along with Nobunaga and Lakshmibai, had been observing the operation from start to finish. Since it seemed like Vahn was bing fatigued, Scthach asked, "Do you want me to restore her lost limb...?" To this, Vahn pulled out a tiny vial of blue liquid before downing it in one go. In an instant, his internal reserves hadpletely restored, followed by him smiling as he said, "I dont leave things like this unfinished." This elicited a rare smile from Scthach before, choosing to withhold furtherments, she once again returned to her Spirit form. Though Vahns words to Scthach were certainly the truth, it wasnt the only reason he had decided to treat Gray personally. During the time he had interfaced with her body, Vahn had noticed several other abnormalities present, many of which had likely been there since her birth. It was as if she was spliced together from two different people and, though her mana circuits had harmonized over the years, Vahn could tell that Grays potential had been severely limited by the two conflictingworks of mana. In a way, her body was simr to those of the Half-Races found within Danmachi, meaning she was not only severely handicapped by her gic abnormality, but the chances she would ever have children of her own were near zero. Since he had the opportunity, Vahn figured he might as well repair and fuse the two differentworks, greatly increasing Grays power and making her morefortable in her own body. This might even cause her to smile more often in the future, something she seemed to reserve due to a trauma Vahn was currently unaware of... Before beginning the process of Nirvana Rebirth, Vahn pulled out a [Hea] from his Inventory, a nostalgic item that would likely cause the entire Magus Community to flip on their heads if they knew of its existence. After Vahn channeled his mana into the staff, arge andplex magic circle came into view, discernably different from the one he had seen within Danmachi. This wasnt too much of a surprise, as the magic systems used differing logic, but that didnt make it any less interesting. Vahn figured, once he had more free time, he would study these differences more closely so that his understanding of Magic and Magecraft more closely matched his previous knowledge. At a rate visible to the eye, Grays bones began to quickly regrow as new arteries, veins, muscles, and flesh grew to cover them. It ultimately ate up nearly a third of Vahns internal reserves, but Grays arm had beenpletely regrown in less than a minute. Now that she was plete, Vahn felt a little awkward staring at her defenseless body before quickly shaking away the errant thought. Then, after ingesting a [Hi-Ether], the weaker version of the [Turbo Ether], Vahn ced his right hand above Grays navel while his left hand hovered over her heart. Rainbow hued energy began to flow from his hands into her body before Vahns hands, once again, began to sink into her flesh... Though he had considerably improved within the Record of Danmachi, Vahns development of the [Hands of Nirvana] was a bitcking in the Nasuverse. As it was one of his most used skills, he decided to put a concerted effort into developing it further as, even though it hadnt been that difficult, spending seven hours in a state of absolute focus weighed heavily on the mind. By the time he waspleting the process, there were only a few hours left before sunrise. In order to help Gray, Vahn had essentially abandoned participating in the Holy Grail War for the evening. In hindsight, he realized that he could have probably convinced Gray to allow him to treat her body at ater date but, considering there was a good chance she would refuse out of embarrassment, he didnt regret taking the opportunity in the present. Having flipped Gray over onto her stomach, Vahn lightly muttered, "Sorry about this..." as he ced his fingers at the base of her neck and spine. This was undoubtedly the most awkward part of the entire process but, knowing it was necessary to restore the connection between Grays mind and body, Vahn performed the Convergence of Heaven and Earth without any real hesitation. As a result, Grays stark blue eyes snapped open as her back arched, Vahns hand the only thing keeping her from thrashing about. At the same time, she released a surprisingly high pitched m.o.a.n as a great deal of confusion and fear shed across her eyes, persisting even as Vahn eased the tensions from her body by pressing into various pressure points on her back... --- After calming Gray down, something that had been made much easier after providing her a mantle and a change of clothes, Vahn exined the situation, leaving out no details, before asking, "How do you feel...?" In response to this, Gray, who had been somewhat absentmindedly listening to Vahn exin her treatment, blinked into focus before staring at her hands and answering, "I feel...a lot better...but different...it is a veryfortable feeling, but it doesnt feel like me any longer..." As she had lived her entire life with the mild difort that had always persisted within her body, Gray felt a strange sense of congruity now that it had disappeared. It was almost like trying on a pair of brand new clothes for the first time, ones that fit your entire body... Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn then exined, "It may take some getting used to, but you will be a lot more powerful in the future. I know this may not have been what you wanted, but I couldnt just ignore such irregrities in the body of a person I consider a friend. Even if we havent known each other all that long, I can tell you are a kind-hearted person. Though you may find being around me somewhat difficult in the future, try to remember that I conducted myself professionally." Though Grays body and responses had been carved into his mind for perpetuity, Vahn had enough confidence that his mind wouldnt wander too often... Though she nodded her head in response, Gray still pulled at the fabric of her mantle as she hid her furiously blushing face. Even if he hadnt said anything about it directly, Gray felt an extreme level of embarrassment knowing that Vahn had seen her in such a state. Regardless of whether or not it was supposed to be an intimate act, the fact he had been operating on her n.a.k.e.d body for more than seven hours wasnt something she could simply ignore. This was only exacerbated when she thought about the method he had used to bring her back to consciousness, causing Grays face to be so red that she began to feel dizzy. Seeing how Gray was reacting, Vahn was d he didnt mention the fact that he had transfused nearly 3.5 liters of his own blood into her body, effectively recing therge majority of her own. If she knew the blood flowing through her body was almost entirely his, Vahn imagined that Gray would have already passed out long ago. Thus, just as he kept the information about her newfound fertility to himself, at least for the time being, Vahn chose to withhold the truth of the matter. When Gray had calmed down and gottenfortable with the changes in her body, he would broach the subject on an as-needed basis. He imagined that, by the time she had her first menstrual cycle, Gray would probably reach out to him in order to better understand the changes in her body... Setting aside the matter until the future, Vahn gave a cating and gentle smile as he exined, "Im certain everyone would like to see that youve recovered. Scthach had to keep them at bay when you shouted earlier..." As these words left his mouth, Vahn slightly regretted them as Grey instantly pulled down the hood of her mantle while releasing a shrill whine of embarrassment. The memory of her loud and uninhibited m.o.a.n was the most embarrassing part of the entire situation, something Vahn should have considered before speaking. Now, when people asked her why she shouted so loudly in the future, Gray didnt know how she would respond without immediately bing red in the face. In hindsight, Vahn realized that he should have put up a barrier to prevent sounds from traveling outside of the operation room but, as he had already been rather exhausted at the time, it wasnt entirely his fault. The state of Grays body had shaken him a bit so, even if he had made a few errors in judgment, Vahn didnt regret the course of action he had taken. Even if she med and resented him for what he had done, Vahn was content knowing she would be healthy for the rest of her long life. She had an incredible amount of vitality present within her body, especially after he repaired her mana circuits, so it wouldnt be surprising if Gray lived for a few hundred years without further intervention... After Gray had calmed down enough to face others, Vahn escorted her out of the ICU where Scthach was still guarding the entrance like an immovable statue. The moment they appeared, everyones eyes immediately focused on Gray, seeing that she appeared to have already recovered. As it usually took a few days to make a full recovery, it was obvious that Vahns methods had been beyond the means of most medical treatments and Magecraft. When they saw her hang her face, a poor attempt to hide the blush staining her cheeks, a lot of the gazes turned to Vahn. Some of these gazes were especially sharp, including the one belonging younger of the two Doctors who had been waiting outside since being ejected from the operation room earlier. Fortunately, before the man could make a scene, Doctor McKeh gave an appreciative nod towards Vahn, saying, "Regrowing a limb and restoring a body to perfect health in only a few hours. Ill admit your earlier bravado wasnt without merit. Good work." With that said, Doctor McKeh pulled aside his young protege, whispering in a voice that others werent intended to hear, "That hot-headed nature of yours will lead to a tragedy one day. If you cannot remain calm at all times, you do not deserve to be a Doctor..." These words seemed to impact the young Doctor named Thomas, causing him to show a remorseful expression as he answered, "Sorry, Doctor...I will be better..." This elicited a nod from Doctor McKeh as he firmly struck his proteges shoulder, answering, "Youre right. I wouldnt have wasted my time teaching you if Icked faith in your abilities..." With that said, the two walked off without causing arger scene as the eyes of everyone present briefly followed their exit. Gray even seemed a little apologetic but, withoutmenting on the matter, she remained silent until Lord El-Melloi II, now with bags under his eyes, asked, "How are you feeling, Gray?" Though he could see that she appeared to be okay, that didnt remove the worry he had towards this apprentice of his. She had been at his side for nearly twelve years at this point and, as he had been protecting her from the Mages Association all that time, anything concerning her weighed heavily on his heart and mind. Hearing the concern in Lord El-Melloi IIs voice, Gray hung her head even lower as she sheepishly answered, "I am okay...Vahn even helped me fix some of the other issues in my body...Im stronger now than ever before..." These words came as a surprise to almost everyone present, though thergest reaction came from Rin as she immediately began pouting with a hint of me in her eyes. Remembering Grays scream,bined with the fact that Vahn had only recently empowered Nobunaga, Rins mind immediately jumped to a logical, albeit incredibly incorrect, conclusion. The fact that Gray was actively avoiding eye contact with people,bined with how Scthach had blocked entry into the ICU only seemed to confirm her suspicions... As Rin wasnt the only one to jump to conclusions, t managed to deal critical damage to Grays psyche by suddenly asking, "What kind of treatment did he use? I get that its supposed to be a secret, but that shout a few minutes ago..." Instead of affording Gray the chance to answer, Lord El-Melloi II immediately red at t before inly stating, "We will not discuss such sensitive matters any further. I trust that Vahn had enough professionalism to avoid doing anything uncouth during the operation..." Though he said this, Vahn got the distinct impression that Lord El-Melloi II didnt mean what he was saying, not in the least. Since he hadnt really done anything wrong, Vahns own expression hardened as he answered, "You can be absolutely certain the reality is far different than any assumptions that have been made." With a heavy pressure apanying Vahns words, Lord El-Melloi II was forced to take a step back while, at the side, Rin suddenly felt apologetic. She could tell from Vahns reaction that he didnt do anything to Gray, at least to the extent she had assumed. At the same time, Scthach seemed intent to take Vahns side as she inly exined, "I observed the process from start to finish. Vahn was professional throughout the entire operation. He even went out of his way to help fix some of the deeply rooted issues in Grays body. Do not make assumptions that will onlyplicate matters further, especially when you do not understand the truth of the matter." Though not nearly as heavy as the pressure that had emanated from Vahn, Scthachs seemed to cut through people like a sharp knife. Thus, much to the relief of Gray, the matter of her scream wasid to rest as Lord El-Melloi II and t both expressed their sincere gratitude, though not before apologizing in a formal manner. Afterward, Vahn exined the basics of what he had done without going into too many details, followed by a short discussion about anything that had happened while he was operating. As could be expected, there were several hundred more disappearances within the City while, during the evening, arge-scale battle had been fought near the outskirts of the Einzbern Forest. Though details were sparse, the fact nearly a third of the forest had been set ame, regardless of the powerful formations present within, showed that the battle had been extremely intense... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Thomas,*Casually Restructures Body*,Poor Gray. More tragic than Jiren...xD) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1068 - Release

Chapter 1068 - Release

After hearing about therge-scale battle in the Einzbern Forest, it was obvious that the Holy Grail War was beginning to enter its final phase. Though it wasnt impossible for other Masters to have been involved, it was more than likely that the conflict had been between the Einzbern and Matou family. Any solo Masters remaining in the War were far more likely to target the Tohsaka or Matou family residences than they were to seek trouble with the Einzbers, especially at this stage. Since Paracelsus and his Master were still in hiding, the likely culprits were either Sakura or the unnamed Master-Servant pairings of the final Caster and Archer-ss Servants. Setting fire to the forest would indicate that a Caster had been involved but it was impossible to be sure with what they knew thus far... With the discussion quickly reaching a dead end, the only thing that could reasonably be discussed were potential countermeasures against the shadow that had attacked Gray. Since he had been the one to break down the function of the malignancy, Vahn took the lead in the conversation by exining, "Though I cannot say for absolutely certain that my conjecture is correct, it shouldnt be that far removed from the truth. The shadows that Gray described seem to be a type of curse that has the properties of reversing the inherent properties of mana. This simple change is enough to interfere with the structure of constituent particles at the subatomic level. When these bonds break down, the majority of the energy contained within the atoms bleeds back into the void while a small fraction of the converted mana is used to propagate the cycle anew." Though others might have some difficultyprehending what Vahn was talking about, Lord El-Melloi II had one of the strongest foundations in conceptual and theoretical Magecraft amongst the Clock Towers Lecturers. Immediately following Vahns exnation, he asked, "Were you able to infer that it was a curse do to its self-preservationponent? Also, if it truly affects matter at the sub-atomic level, why does it only target organic material...?" To this, Vahn shook his head before adding, "It doesnt just target inorganic materials. If that were the case, Grays Mystic Codex wouldnt have been damaged so severely. I would argue that there is a lingering intent contained within the curse that makes it specifically target anything that the shadow had wanted to destroy. As for why it affects others by proximity, this is most likely a means to discourage outside interference to ensure that the target is ultimately devoured by the curse..." Hearing Vahn mention Add, Grays mood immediately reached rock bottom, drawing a lot of attention to herself as she forlornly asked, "Is there anything that can be done for Add? He has been a Mystic Code passed through my family for tens of generations...he is also my first and oldest friend..." Remembering the state that Add had been in after trying to protect her, Grays face formed a deep frown as a thin mist quickly spread across her stark blue eyes. Unfortunately, as the method to produce each Mystic Code was usually a closely guarded, if not outright forgotten, secret, the only response Gray received from most people present were apologetic looks. Just as Gray seemed on the verge of tears, Vahn raised his hand before casually remarking, "I can fix him. Even if my method doesnt work, Im certain that Scthach would know the method used to produce Add. I may not look like it, but my skill as a cksmith would be able to humble most purported Masters." As someone who had been a [Master Smith] within the Record of Danmachi,bined with the fact that he had the guidance of Hephaestus herself, Vahn was confident that he could repair Add. This was assuming that a simple [Whetstone] wasnt able to repair him in an instant... As if she hadnt quite heard him correctly, Grays expression turned into one of confusion as a small glimmer of hope reflected in the depths of her eyes. Lord El-Melloi II also seemed more than a little skeptical but, after Vahn made good on his promise to heal Gray, he knew better than to discount the increasingly mysterious mans capabilities. He was quickly beginning to regret having failed to get Rin to reveal the information pertaining to Vahn and his true identity. Though he knew that Vahnpared himself to a Pseudo-Divine Spirit, apparently hailing from another world, that was near the limit of what Lord El-Melloi II knew about him... Knowing he was being doubted, Vahn rolled his eyes before looking directly at Gray and repeating, "I can repair Add for you. All I need is Add himself and a room where I can enjoy some privacy." Since he stated it very clearly this time, Grays eyes began to water even more than before as she used the sleeves of her jacket to hide her face. Though he hadnt even helped yet, she stammered in a sobbing voice, "Uuuee...thank you...", punctuating her words with a sniffle. This made Vahn feel a little awkward as it suddenly felt like there were far more expectations on him based on the looks everyone was giving him... --- Without much of a dy, it wasnt long before Vahn found himself in one of the hotels rooms with Rin, Gray, and Fenrir present. The others were also in the room but, to avoid any trouble, they remained as Spirits and simply observed the process from somewhere in the room. Since there werent really any preparations to be made, Gray handed over the malformed Add with a pleading look in her eyes as she said, "Please, Vahn...if you can help Add, I will owe you-" Before she could finish her words, Vahn released a sigh before flicking Grays head. At the same time, he snatched Add out of her hands and said, "Ive seen this trend before...your gratitude is enough for me, Gray. Were friends, after all..." Since it seemed like Gray was going down a foreseeable route, a concept Vahn hade toprehend after some anime-style games caught his eye, Vahn wanted to nip it in the bud from the start. He was getting a little tired of women thinking they owed him something or needed to repay some kind of arbitrary debt. This almost always led to romantic tensions developing as, even without using the View Affection function of The Path, Vahn still had a habit of empathizing with girls. If it got to the point that Gray started talking about her past, Vahn knew it was only a matter of time before things developed even further between them. It almost felt that, if they werent already taken, a lot of women were predisposed to fall in love with him... Ignoring the slightly pouting expression on Grays face, Vahn pulled out a in-looking [Whetstone] before scraping it across Adds surface three times. Even with the first stroke, it was easy to see that a lot of the damage done to Adds body had simply vanished. Since [Whetstone]s even worked on S-Ranked equipment and artifacts in the Record of Danmachi, Vahn wasnt that surprised that it was just as effective on Add. Though it seemed to possess a spirit, Adds personality was just an artificial construct and, no matter howplex its structure, it was still just a piece of equipment. As a result, by the time Vahn had performed the third stroke, Add shed a mystical white light before it had been restoredpletely. With everyone looking at him as if he had done the most ridiculous thing in the entire world, Vahn just cracked a smile before unceremoniously tossing Add over to Gray. Though he had repaired it, the artificial personality was still in self-preservation mode and would need to be awakened by Gray herself. She seemed to understand this as well so, even while feeling rather incredulous at the moment, Gray held add between her palms before muttering in a surprisingly cold monotone, "Gray. Rave. Crave. Deprave. Grave me. Grave for you. Awaken. Mystic Codex. Add." With each word she spoke, Add began to glow with an increasingly intense golden light before the dark holes where its eyes were located suddenly opened as it answered, "Pseudo-Personality Awakened. Performing structural analysis. Confirmed restoration of damaged internals. Reboot Confirmed. Good morning, Gray." Hearing the familiar voice of Add, Gray looked like she was on the verge of tears once again, at least until Vahnmented, "Youre more of a crybaby than I would have taken you for..." This caused her face to turn beet red before she turned aroundpletely to avoid eye contact with anyone in the room. At the same time, apparently unwilling to overlook the fact that Vahn had just restored a Mystic Code with a rock, Rin asked, "What on earth was that stone? How did you repair something asplex as a Mystic Code with something that looks like it could be found in a riverbed..." To this, Vahn shrugged his shoulders and answered, "It is an item simply referred to as a [Whetstone]. I dontpletely understand its properties myself...it just works that way." Rins expression only became even more incredulous when she heard Vahns words, a feeling he actually shared since there were actually a number of items he had obtained through the system that didnt make much sense. The most obvious examples were the [Whetstone]s and the [Effigy of the Hero], both things that were rtively inexpensive regardless of how they seemed to operate on Laws that even Gods in the Record of Danmachi couldnt understand. Vahn sometimes felt like The Path had included them in his early drops so that he would have a crutch to rely on during the most difficult periods of his life. After all, being able to heal most wounds with a [Senzu Bean], using [Whetstone]s to repair practically any weapon, and having a life-saving item like the [Effigy of the Hero] gave him a huge edge in pretty much every Record... --- After promising to let Rin research the [Whetstone] at ater date, the atmosphere had started to shift to a point where it was bing awkward just staying around. It wasnt as if Lord El-Melloi II and t didnt wee them, but it was obvious that the formers suspicions of Vahn were steadily increasing while thetter kept pestering him about all kinds of questions, even after Vahn had refused toment several times. As for Gray, she had be unnecessarily bashful and, though she didnt say much, just the fact she was lingering was causing Vahn some difort. This wasnt due to Gray herself, however, but more so due to the fact that Rins mood had been on the decline since early in the morning. Ultimately, Vahn promised to meet up with Graytter, even though she stated she would stop by the Tohsaka Manor of her own ord when there was new information. After that, the group finally began their return to the Manor with Rin burying half her face in her scarf, remaining silent almost the entire return trip. Since she had shrugged off his attempt to hold her hand, Vahn was left trailing slightly behind her while Fenrir happily walked alongside him. She was already ustomed to how her Master seemed to draw people towards him and, even if it was more than a little frustrating at times, she wasnt going to beat herself up over it when the opportunity to have his affection for herself appeared. As the distance to the Tohsaka Manor began to shorten, Rin finally released a sigh before turning back to face Vahn, asking, "Do you like Gray...?" In response to this, Vahn released a tired sigh of his own before answering, "Rin, you arent a foolish woman. Even if you tried to pretend ignorance, I dont believe for a moment that you arent aware of the type of person I am. My only intentions were to help Gray...how she feels about things is something almost entirely centered around her perspective of events. At the same time, however, I cant deny that I have an inherent weakness when ites to women who express their affections for me..." Hearing Vahns words, Rins brows furrowed a bit beforementing to herself, "I guess I fall into that category as well..." Though she was fully aware of the fact that Vahn initially only reciprocated her feelings due to the circ.u.mstances, Rin still felt as if her pride had been wounded a bit. At times like this, she wished that she could simply follow the advice of Ishtar and Scthach, knowing full-well that she would never be able to keep Vahn to herself. With that in mind, Rin somewhat hesitantly walked to Vahns side before linking her hand with his, a pouting expression still visible on her face throughout the whole process. She honestly med herself for falling for yet another guy that seemed to draw the attention of almost every woman around him, even if he was an idiot... Though he didnt really know what to make of Rins behavior, Vahn rubbed her hand with his thumb before leading both her and Fenrir the rest of the way to the Manor. What followed was another period of intensive training within the Sub-Space Orb as Rin kept herself distracted with her studies. Vahn made good on his promise to give her a [Whestone], something Rin would have to make sense of on her own since not even Scthach could see through what made it function. As for Nobunaga, Astolfo, and Lakshmibai, the first two continued to lounge aboutckadaisically while thetter, in much the same way as Gray, would periodically linger around Vahn when he wasnt training. Vahn used this as an opportunity to learn more about her past, even though he knew she had developed the expectation that, at any moment, he might broach the subject of bolstering her magical power... After what had happened with Gray,bined with therge-scale battle that had urred within the Einzbern Forest, it now seemed like a foolish idea not to follow through on the act. The thing that bothered Vahn was the fact that he still disliked when people expected him to act in such a way, even if their reasons for making such conclusions were founded ording to contextual evidence. What made matters even worse was how Scthach, at the end of each training session, had been pinning him to the ground as if she were trying to rile him up even further. Vahn knew he was nearing a breaking pont of sorts and, as even Sis counseled him against creating undue stress for himself, Vahn felt as if all of his inhibitions were slipping away... For these reasons, during the period where Vahn was supposed to be resting in preparation for the resumption of the Holy Grail War, he eventually snapped. Lakshmibai had shown up to talk once again and, though he humored her for around half an hour, Vahn was essentially in a hyperaware state as she sat next to him. He could smell the fragrance wafting from her body, a curious mixture of honey, butter, and saffron. When she noticed his gaze, Lakshmibai fell silent before simply staring back at him with her pale-pink eyes. This impromptu staring contest caused the tensions in the room to steadily increase and, before Vahn even realized what had happened, he already had Lakshmibai on her back... With her right arm pinned above her head, Lakshmibai had a slight frown on her face as sheined, "Please dont be so rough...my heart is already prepared, but Im still apprehensive. I have only everin with one other man before..." Vahn didnt really need to ask who Lakshmibai was referring to as, even without them having discussed her past previously, he had an almostplete biography of her life memorized within his mind. He knew she had married a man named Raja Gangadhar Newalkar before giving birth to a son shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, due to the damage she had sustained during the delivery, Lakshmibai had been left unable to bear additional children. Then, as if to capitalize on her tragedy, her newborn son had died after only four months, the cause being a fever gained after a servant had left the window open during a particrly cold evening... Having calmed down a considerable amount after hearing Lakshmibais words, Vahns expression turned gentle as he said, "You need not worry...this is one of the things I have supreme confidence in. I wont make things difficult for you..." Though he had every intention of giving Lakshmibai a simr experience as Nobunaga, meaning she might not even be the same person by the time he was done, that didnt mean he needed to treat her roughly. Him pushing her down was the result of the fact she almost seemed to be challenging him to take action with how she stared back at him. Since she had been lingering around him with this very oue in mind, Vahn had temporarily let his rationale slip under the focus of her pale-pink irises... Nodding her head in understanding, Lakshmibai seemed to rx considerably as the white military-style garb dissolved from her body. When Vahn saw what she was wearing underneath, his mind genuinely nked as, even though he already felt Lakshmibai was an incredibly beautiful woman, her appearance in lingerie dealt more damage than her Noble Phantasm. Not only did she have an almost perfect figure, at least as far as bnce and appeal was concerned, but the lingerie she had chosen was a simr sandy-white color to her hair, ented with ckce embroidery that had a flower-motif design. This created a truly perfect contrast with her healthy brown skin, causing Vahn to enter into a daze as he noticed her panties were anything but saintly. The front barely concealed Lakshmibais secret garden and, though he hadnt seen the back with his own eyes, Vahn was certain the panties she had decided upon were a thong... Though it wasnt that obvious, Lakshmibai had started to blush under Vahns intense gaze, causing her to instinctually cover her shapely b.r.e.a.s.ts with her hands. Then, though he had probably said the same words too often, Vahn couldnt prevent himself from uttering, "Beautiful..." in a sincere tone of voice. This caused the blush on Lakshmibais face to be more prominent as, for the first time, she seemed to show genuine reluctance by looking away andmenting, "You need not use such flowery words to ease my burdens...I have already prepared myself..." In response to this, Vahn lightly shook his head as he began to trace his palm across Lakshmibais soft and supple skin. Then, in a voice that left no room for argumentation, Vahn affirmed, "Even if the feeling does not currently exist between us, I would nevery with a woman who Im unwilling to cultivate genuine affections for..." Hearing the serious undertones contained within Vahns words, Lakshmibai showed an awkward smile before sheepishly iming, "That would be troubling..." This caused Vahn to lightly chuckle as thin strands of energy began to flow from his fingers into Lakshmibais body. He was only using his understanding of Petting Laws as he gently caressed her rapidly warming body. It didnt take long at all for Lakshmibai to close her eyes, seemingly refusing to stare back at him as her breathing rapidly elerated. Then, at the same time as a contented sigh escaped her lips, Vahn internally remarked, ("If it is always going to be like this, Im not going to keep holding myself back...by the time Im done, the reason you seek me out wont just be for mana...") As that thought formed in his mind, Vahn traced his fingers under the band of Lakshmibais bra, freeing the two voluminous mountains, each peaked with pale pink protrusions, from their restraints... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I can fix it...,Poor Rin xD...,RIP Lakshmibai. She ded.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1069 - Preparation

Chapter 1069 - Preparation

In a surprisingly short period of time, without even thirty minutes having passed, Vahn had a rather awkward smile on his face as Lakshmibai clung to his body, whimpering in a voice that was barely a squeak, "Nooo more...I dont want no more..." Though she said this, Lakshmibai was squeezing his body tightly with her legs locked around his h.i.p.s as Vahn gently rocked her in hisp. Her actions seemed to be an attempt to stop him from moving but, even if Vahn put no strength into his hands, Lakshmibais h.i.p.s moved in a small circle regardless. At the same time, her pale-pink eyes had lost focus as she stared towards nothing in particr behind him... Though her appearance hadnt changed, as Nobunagas transformation seemed to be derived from her [Demon King], Lakshmibais eyes now glowed with a gentle radiance as her bronzed skin had a slightly golden l.u.s.ter to it. Most notably, however, was the fact that her sand-white hair had now gained a slightly translucent quality that allowed light to pass through it, creating the illusion of a halo around the silhouette of her head. At the same time, Vahn felt as if the natural aroma wafting from her body had more than tripled in intensity, giving him a strong urge to deeply inhale her fragrance as he peppered her neck with dozens of kisses... With her lower jaw quivering slightly, Lakshmibai greatly increased the strength she was putting into her legs before whining, "Noooo...." once again. Apanying this mewling sound, her body began to tremble a great deal as she did her best to hold onto Vahns body, almost as if her life depended on it. The curious thing about this situation was the fact that, while Vahn certainly did his best to ease Lakshmibai into things, she had almost be drunk off the energy in her body after he ejacted a single time. Unlike Nobunaga, who had described the experience as something simr to having her w.o.m.b struck by lightning, Lakshmibai had turned statuesque for nearly a full minute without even breathing. By the time Vahn helped restore her senses, she had already started clinging to his body, moving on her own despite her whimperingints... As much as he was enjoying the sensation of Lakshmibai writhing around atop his h.i.p.s, Vahn was beginning to lose his earlier fervor since her behavior was more than a little awkward. Whenever he tried to lift her h.i.p.s away from him, however, Lakshmibai would cling to him even tighter than when he let her move as she pleased. Not really understanding what he had done to cause her apparent mental regression, Vahn used the opportunity when Lakshmibai was enjoying the echo of her climax to try and separate from her. Though she seemed toe back to awareness towards the end, trying to lock her legs once again, Vahn managed to sessfully liberate himself from her as she plopped onto the mattress like a ragdoll. In her half-awake state, Lakshmibai stared back at him with her glowing eyes, her mouth slightly agape as she drew in deep and rhythmic breaths. Vahn couldnt deny that she drew quite the figure as shey on her side, especially with the steep curve of her h.i.p.s and her perfectly sculpted butt. Though he didnt have any intentions of continuing any further, Vahn still extended out his hand before pressing it into the plump yet pliant cheek, sinking nearly half a centimeter into her tantalizing brown flesh before there was any real resistance. Then, using his understanding of Petting Laws, Vahn slowly began to move his hand in a small looping motion as he asked, "How are you feeling, Lakshmibai...?" Hearing Vahns words, Lakshmibai closed her mouth, swallowing a bit of saliva before answering in a dreamy tone, "I feel good...nnnfuuu..." Punctuating her words, Lakshmibai released a hot sigh while continuing to stare back at him with her same dazed expression. Vahn returned a smile before saying, "Well, I suppose that is all that really matters. Well have to work on your endurance a bit in the future..." With that said, Vahn put a bit of strength into his palm, eliciting a quiet and startled m.o.a.n from Lakshmibai before pulling his hand away. Though Vahn had the strange urge to have Lakshmibaiy across his body so he could y with her butt for a few minutes, he ultimately decided to bring an end to this rather unique experience. There were other things he needed to tend to in order to prepare for the evenings battles... As if she understood his intentions, Lakshmibai gave an admittedly adorable pouting sound before curling her legs inward and closing her eyes. It was almost as if she were protesting having to leave his bedroom, causing Vahn to release a light chuckle before pulling the covers over her body. Even if Servants didnt require sleep, that didnt mean they werent able to. Lakshmibais body had more energy in this one moment than at any time prior. However, at the same time, it felt like she had used up the majority of her mental energy trying to process what had happened to her body. Vahn felt like she could use a bit of rest and, apparently agreeing, Lakshmibai pulled the covers around herself like a cocooning caterpir while taking up the very center of his bed... --- Shortly after stepping out of his room, Vahn wasnt at all surprised to see Scthach leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. She still had an expressionless face and deep red eyes that seemed to both absorb light and see through all things. Even as he stood right in front of her, Scthach just stared back at him with an unblinking expression as Vahn tilted her chin before stealing her lips for himself. Her response was to immediately entangle her tongue with his but, while she undoubtedly possessed an almost unbelievable amount of proficiency with her tongue, it almost felt fake. Each of Scthachs responses almost felt automated, as if she put no emotions at all into them... After parting ways with her lips, Vahn lifted his right hand, grasping Scthachs left b.r.e.a.s.t with a bit more strength than he would normally use. At the same time, he sent a veritable wave of Source Energy into her body using his [Hands of Nirvana]. Vahn even went so far as to send a strand directly into her heart, an action that would cause most women to feel panicky and anxious. As for Scthach, she just continued to stare back at him nkly, her expression not changing in the slightest. Though Vahn could tell her body was reacting, the signal seemed to disappear into Scthachs mind, leaving the areas that would normally light up during s.e.x.u.a.l excitement almostpletely inert. Releasing a sigh that caused Scthachs hair to sway slightly, Vahn then looked into her eyes as he asked, "If I wanted to take you right now, what would you say...?" In response to this, Scthach didnt hesitate at all before answering, "If you desire this body, I will not allow you to have it. If you still showed fear, I would take you myself. So long as I do not break you, I know you will be much stronger in the future. If you want to im my body for yourself, you must be able to defeat me in battle. Otherwise, I will take the lead without leaving you the chance to retaliate..." Though Vahn was confident against almost all other women, be they mortal or god, he felt helpless against someone like Scthach. Unless he tried to directly manipte her brain, she seemed immune to stimulus, at least as far as her reactions to them were concerned. He even spected that, instead of letting her body react on its own, Scthach was controlling her reactions. She had pursued the concept of self-mastery to such an extreme that she had far surpassed what most people, gods included, could even conceptualize. He imagined that, if he were to allow her to take the lead, there wasnt anything he could do to make her climax. Though she wouldnt be able to get him to climax either, just the thought of such a frustrating experience was enough to cow Vahns desires a great deal... Knowing that she would still demand his s.e.m.e.n, Vahn shook his head to clear his thoughts before asking, "So, what do you want to do?" In response to this, Scthachs once again answered without any dy, saying, "I can tell that you do not desire me right now. However, if I try to take you myself, you will be unable to fight to your fullest capabilities due to your inability to let such mattersy. The only solution is topromise, allowing me to either service your with my mouth or obtain your s.e.m.e.n artificially. Since the efficacy will be reduced with the former method, thetter is preferred." As he had already expected such a response, Vahn wasnt at all surprised by the somewhat cold nature of Scthachs words. He knew she wasnt actually trying to be cold, as her base nature was actually that of a rather kind person, she just came off that way due to her almostpleteck of emotions. However, as he didnt want tomit to something so impersonal, Vahn moved his fingers so that they were in contact with Scthachs abdomen before slowly moving them lower. This caused Scthach to blink once before she tilted her head slightly to the side, a sign that Vahn interpreted as curiosity. She had already revealed to him that she was unable to see his future so Vahn felt he might be able to get at least a small response from her if he acted outside of her expectations... Slipping his fingers through the band of her v-type panties, Vahn traced over the line of Scthachs v.a.g.i.n.a while staring back into her unblinking eyes with an unwavering expression of his own. So long as he didnt try to have s.e.x with her, Vahn correctly assumed that Scthach wouldnt really care what he did. Unless she interpreted his actions as desire to possess, he could probably strip her down bare and pose her however he liked without her making any attempt to stop him. This was because, without knowing what or why he was doing something, Scthach seemed fundamentally incapable of reacting. Any new experience was something precious to her as, with the exception of Fenrir and himself, Scthach was able to know the reasons why others took action, knowing what they would do before the thought even crossed their minds... After sinking three of his fingers into the stic fabric of her bodysuit, Vahn spread his fingers wide enough that the fabric tore open. Then, rather unceremoniously, he stuck his middle finger directly into Scthachs v.a.g.i.n.a. Though it was exceptionally hot, there was almost no moisture at all, even after he ced his finger deep inside her entrance. At best, there was an almost imperceptible slipperiness from the mucous membranes contained within. Since she didnt know what he was doing, Scthach wasnt making her body react so, as Vahn had expected, she simply didnt react. As his finger began to increase in length, Vahn smiled somewhat sadly before giving Scthach another gentle kiss on the lips and saying, "You make me want to tear through the border between worlds so that I can rip your real self free from the Land of Shadow. I dont know if Ive ever met someone that has frustrated me as much as you...I want to see real emotion on your face, even if it means potentially breaking you in the process..." Though Helen was a close second, Vahn felt that Scthachs unresponsiveness, the result of a tragic past beyondprehension, was endlessly more infuriating. He wasnt mad at her persay, but the fact that she had essentially been punished for desiring nothing more than increasing her strength and reuniting with her only family member... Though they both knew she didnt mean it, Scthach returned a smile in response to Vahns words before inly stating, "I cannot see your future, Vahn. If that is the path you have decided for yourself, I will notin if youre able to break me. So long as I am able to one day depart from this life, I would not mind spending my final days at your behest. Other than my father, there has never been a man able to make me do his bidding. I will do my best to make sure you are able to reach the level required...ah..." Towards the end of her words, Scthach blinked several times as Vahns finger had long extended directly into her w.o.m.b before an intense heat began to spread through her body. Since she had seen him change shape, even to the point of being able to regenerate from a gemstone, Scthach knew Vahn was able to freely alter his body. The revtion that he could send s.e.m.e.n through his fingers, however, waspletely outside her expectations... Outside of her initial confusion, Vahn saw that Scthach didnt really have a reaction, even as he continued to pump a truly phenomenal amount of s.e.m.e.n directly into her w.o.m.b. Her stomach had even started to inte slightly during her momentary distraction but, even without him needing to help guide the energy directly, Scthach began to bleed of small amounts of Source Energy while staring back at him with her same nk expression. This gave Vahn a somewhat dangerous desire to keep inting her w.o.m.b until she looked like a pregnant woman. However, he quickly set that thought aside after he heard what sounded like a small sigh in the back of his mind. Instead, Vahn removed his finger from within Scthachs body, returning it to normal in a single motion. After that, as Scthach couldnt process the Source Energy efficiently on her own, Vahn helped guide it through her magic circuits until her purple hair gained a slightly metallic sheen. Much like how her eyes would glow after drinking his blood, Scthachs red irises looked like luminescent bulbs while the bloody and cold aura that usually lingered around her body seemed far more prominent than before... Feeling the changes in her body, followed by a cursory examination of her appearance, Scthach gave an approving nod before saying, "In this state, mybat abilities should be increased by around 23%. I should also be able to fight actively for around twelve hours without needing to recharge a second time. From now on, well use this method before and after our training." With that said, Scthachs outfit changed slightly as the damage Vahn had caused was undone in an instant. Now, however, there was a thin zipper running down the length of Scthachs panties, an alteration she had obviously made to make the process more efficient. Vahn, however, shook his head and said, "There has to be some meaning in the process from my end. If I cant at least rip open your bodysuit, I feel that my motivation would only decrease with the passage of time..." Though Vahn wasnt sincere when he was speaking, he was seeing if he could trick Scthachs senses by cing the majority of his focus on one of his subprocesses. As a result, his expression wasnt all that dissimr from Scthachs as he stared back at her and spoke in a monotonous voice. In response to this, Scthach stared directly at him for several seconds, obviously trying to see through his intentions. Instead of keeping up his facade, however, Vahn knew it would seem more natural if he didnt insist on staring her down. Instead, he released a genuinely tired sigh that caused Scthach to eventually answer, "You are trying to fool me. It is a passable effort, however, so I will tolerate your antics this time. If you ck off during our training, I will not hesitate to rob you of this privilege." Hearing Scthachs words, Vahn nodded his head before casually reaching out with his left index finger and poking her right b.r.e.a.s.t. This caused Scthach to tilt her head to the side but, before she had too much time to analyze the intent behind his actions, Vahn ced his hands in his pockets and began walking down the corridor towards the exit. Scthach followed his retreat with her eyes before ultimately vanishing into thin air without a word. She had neither been able to determine if Vahn was happy for her leniency or if he was beginning to desire her body in a way she could use to increase the efficacy of his training. Hisst random touch would imply thetter but, as Vahn didnt really seem to enjoy the act, she could note to a decisive conclusion on the matter. --- By the time he had exited thekeside residence, Vahn had finished wiping his hand clean as, even though Scthach hadnt reacted to his touch, her aroma lingered on his fingers. After this action waspleted, he set his eyes on his next target, though it would have been more urate to say targets. Astolfo and Fenrir had actually been getting along rather well, the result of the fact that Fenrir couldnt sense any kind of hostility or ill-intentions from Astolfo at all. Since he had an easy-going and fun personality, it was hard not to get along with him, even if his behavior could be annoying at times. As a result, Fenrir had actually started to get a little closer with Nobunaga as well, even though this was primarily the result of the fact she had epted Nobunaga as one of her Masters lovers. Even if it was someone she didnt like, Fenrir always made an effort to at least be on neutral terms with anyone that was part of the family. Seeing Vahn approach, Astolfo waved his hand exaggeratedly while Nobunaga, now closer in appearance to her normal form, gave him a sideways nce. She hadnt been recharged since the night they had s.e.x but, considering she hadnt really returned to Spirit form that often, it was impressive that she hadsted more than four days in her physical form. Previously, she would have struggled to even a single day with her B-Ranked [Independent Action]. This was another testament to the efficacy of his s.e.m.e.n, at least as far as Heroic Spirits were concerned. Once Vahn had gotten withinfortable conversation distance, Nobunaga smiled mischeviously as shemented, "Good timing, Vahn. We were just talking about what kind of women you preferred. Come on, give us a decisive answer~!" Then, without waiting for a response, she quickly added, "Oh, we already know you like butts so you can leave that part out." These words were said as Nobunaga lightly tapped her backside, eliciting augh from Astolfo who unhesitantly imed, "You dont have much of a rear-end to speak of at the moment, Nobu-chan~." Though he had been told several times to call her full name, Astolfo had eventually worn down Nobunagas defenses by simply dismissing her every time she reproached him. Even threats and actual violence didnt seem to have any effect on Astolfo so Nobunaga eventually just gave up. Her only response was to re at Astolfo before adjusting her position so that she was sitting straight instead ofying on her side. Since it was a rtively harmless question, Vahn didnt put too much thought into it before saying, "I would say I prefer women with mature, strong, or caring personalities. From personal experience, I would also say that women with exotic features and tanned skin are able to excite me a lot more than normal. However, the most important thing I look for in a woman is that we are both able to befortable around each other. Though it can be very fun to spend time fooling around with others, I always feel the most content when Im with someone that can allow me to just let go..." As Vahn said these things, he looked towards Fenrir with a gentle and affectionate expression clearly visible on his face. As she hadnt expected Vahn to give such a detailed response, Nobunaga was looking at him like he was an idiot while Astolfo, seemingly impressed, whistled in appreciation before saying, "It looks like you just cantpete with Fen-Fen, Nobu-chan..." This time, Nobunaga seemed to suffer a critical blow from Astolfos words, causing her to instantly pull out one of her matchlocks and pointing it towards his face. Surprising them both, however, Vahn ced his hand over the end of Nobunagas barrel nigh-instantaneously before saying, "Youre an amazing woman, Nobu...but that temper of yours could really use some work." While speaking, Vahn diverted the barrel away from Astolfo before sitting down next to Nobunaga before she couldin. At the same time, he gestured to Fenrir so she could sit in hisp. Her eyes were practically filled with stars after his earlier words so Vahn knew she was just waiting for permission... While ying with Fenrirs ears, Vahn exined, "Though we still have around twelve hours before nightfall, Im trying to finish all our war preparations so that I can rx a bit before we leave. Ive already dealt with Lakshmibai and Scthach, so my question is, what do you intend to do, Astolfo?" This was one of the more awkward topics that Vahn honestly didnt want to broach if he could avoid it. It was already more than a little awkward for him to help Astolfo replenish his mana but, as it was infinitely better than losing an ally due to his apprehensions, Vahn decided to leave the final decision to the person in question. Though Nobunaga looked like she was about to have an aneurism trying to hold in herughter, Astolfo was surprisingly serious as he answered, "I dont think I would be of much help, even if my magical power was increased. Since I can tell it bothers you, please dont push yourself on my behalf, Vahn." Hearing the sincerity in Astolfos words, Vahn couldnt help but sigh, both in exasperation and relief as he said, "For the rest of the Holy Grail War, it may be best for you to sit out. If you want, I will even allow you to go spend time with Catherine, so long as you keep your presence concealed. Since I have a feeling that the Fuyuki City Hyatt Hotel might be attacked in the near future, Ill have you watch over it for me." As this was a genuine concern of his, Vahn wasnt simply trying to get rid of Astolfo. Whatever had attacked Gray obviously didnt care about the fact she was part of the team assigned to oversee the Grail War. There was a chance they would want to finish what they started, something Vahn had few doubts they would be able to aplish after dealing with Gray so easily the first time... Though he felt a little ashamed, Astolfo managed a radiant smile before happily saluting as he eximed, "You can leave it to me, Vahn~! If an enemy does attack, I can at least buy time for you to arrive, ahahahaha~." Knowing his own strength better than anyone, Astolfo didnt try to insist that he should be part of the mainbat force. Since he always wanted to talk more with Catherine, he suppressed his apprehensions and epted the task Vahn had assigned. In response, Vahn gave him an appreciative nod before handing over a second [Effigy of the Hero], exining, "Make sure Catherine carries that with her at all times. If things do get dangerous, make sure to get her to safety before doing anything rash..." Astolfo epted the small effigy with both hands beforepletely shattering the tension by stuffing it down his b.r.e.a.s.tte with a bit of effort. This caused Vahn to feel like he was tilting while Nobunaga, no longer able to contain herughter, fell back on the pool lounge, cackling madly all the while. Since she was the next things on his to-do list, Vahn gave Astolfo a wry smile before passing him a small crystalline vial containing eight ounces of his blood. Before Astolfo could ask any questions, Vahn said, "Go ahead and head over now. Im worried our enemies could try to attack the hotel while they think Gray is weakened..." Vahns words had the unintentional side-effect of making Astolfo smile in an understanding manner while giving him a thumbs up. After that, he vanished into thin air without another word, causing Nobunaga to sit back up and asked, "Are you going f.u.c.k that little monochrome brat too?" This caused Vahns brow to twitch, followed by him taking a deep breath. At the same time, Fenrir hopped out of hisp, causing Nobunaga to blink in confusion before she found herself suddenly lifted from the lounge. Before she could fullyprehend what was going on, Vahn looked into her blood-red eyes, his own zing with a subtle blue light as he said, "I have something else in mind right now..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lakshmibai is a clinger xD...,Scthachs Unshakeable Demeanor,RIP Nobu-chan...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1070 - Haunt

Chapter 1070 - Haunt

With only five hours left until evening fell, Vahn found himself outside of Rins room as he gently rattled on her door. Since he was really the only one who would bother to knock, Rin could be heard sighing inside as she had yet to ce any formations or barriers to prevent sound from leaking out. Following this, subtle vibrations could be felt through the floor before Rin ultimately opened the door and asked, "Are we going to discuss strategy?" In response to this, Vahn shook his head before taking a step into the room as he said, "There isnt much to discuss at this point. Well need to go on the offensive sooner orter so tonight we will go to the Einzbern Castle. The only other ce I can think to check is the Ryuudou Temple..." Since the Holy Grail was supposed to manifest at one of four locations in a loose sequence, the most likely ces for it to appear this time around were Ryuudou Temple or the Tohsaka Manor. As there had been so signs of it appearing anywhere near Rins house, this implied that it would either appear at Ryuudou Temple or that the Einzberns had messed with the system even more than expected. With how things had been going thus far, there was little doubt they had done something drastic to try and gain an edge in the current war. Just the fact that they hadnt sent out their Master-Servant pair until now, even though the war was nearing its end, seemed to indicate that they were holding out for something to ur... Hearing Vahns words, Rin gave a subdued sigh before asking, "If were not going to talk about our n of action, then why have youe here? Dont you have more important things to deal with right now...?" Since Vahn had been missing when she was looking for him earlier, Rin already knew what he had been up to during the time he was supposed to be resting. Though this didnte as too much of a surprise, the fact he was only just now showing up at her room caused her to feel a sour feeling in her heart. The fact he hade to herst made it seem as if he treated her as something troublesome or, at the very least, a lower priority. Looking back at Rin, Vahns expression softened a bit as he said, "If you really want me to leave, I will not trouble you, Rin. However, Id like to stay..." In response to this, Rin crossed her arms in a huff before muttering, "Wont trouble me? All you do is bring me trouble...!" under her breath. However, she didnt outright tell him to leave so Vahn took it as permission to stay as he made his way over to her desk and perused the papers she had been glossing over. Rin followed his movements with her eyes, feeling a mixture of frustration and anxiety since she was pretty sure Vahn hade here for a specific reason, even if he hadnt made a move just yet. Around this time, Rin felt her consciousness sinking into her body until she found herself in the small room with Ereshkigal and Ishtar. Before the lounging Goddess could say anything, Rin stamped her foot and shouted, "I know, okay!? Cant I at least pretend to be upset for a bit? Jeez...!" This little outburst caused Ishtar tough in amus.e.m.e.nt while Ereshkigal stared back at rin, adorably tilting her head to the side in moderate confusion. Then, exacerbating Rins frustrations even further, she innocently stated, "I want to spend more time with Vahn...if you dont want to, please trade ces with me..." Now, Ishtar wasughing even harder while Rin, red in the face, bit her lip a little forcefully as sheined, "I dont want to y second fiddle to my own Servants...even if the two of you are Goddesses who live inside my body, I dont want to lose out to even you...!" By the time her words had finished, Rin found herself back in reality with Vahn staring back at her, his brows slightly raised. Thest part of her words had been shouted in reality, causing Rins face to be several shades redder as she averted her eyes and asking in aining voice, "Are we going to do it or not...? Isnt that what you came here for?" To this, Vahn surprised Rin a bit by giving a small nod in response. She had expected him to foot around the issue for a bit, trying to butter her up to the idea with fancy words. Now, her heart began to race even faster as, unlike thest time they were together, she was in full control of her faculties... Closing the distance between himself and Rin before she could run away, Vahn proceeded to pull her gently into his embrace before whispering, "I know you feel I havent been fair to you, Rin. With everything that has been going on with the Holy Grail War, my focus has been all over the ce. But, regardless of all that, I know you know that I do care about you. I may not be able to give you all my affection, but I can promise you my full focus when we are together like this..." Vahn knew that Rins main struggle right now was the fact that, immediately following their first time together, he had been very busy with all kinds of things. Since his rtionship with other people was developing, all while she was left unattended, it wasnt difficult to understand why she had been growing more frustrated with the passage of time. It probably didnt help that she had two voices inside her head and the random tidbits of advice Scthach would dish out... In response to Vahns words, Rin released a hot sigh against his chest before muttering, "Youre an asshole...you know that?" Though Vahn was almost tempted tough, as Nobunaga had called him as such several times, he resisted the urge and just held Rins body a little more firmly. Then, feeling her begin to steadily rx, Vahn slowly progressed things in the direction she had expected. Though Ishtar and Ereshkigal couldnt benefit directly from his mana, that didnt mean he couldnt nourish Rins body. Since it was guaranteed they would be apart for a time, Vahn wanted to make sure that Rin was able to be as strong as possible before their separation... --- With the sun having descended over the horizon, Vahn, Rin, and Fenrir were slowly making their way towards the Einzbern Forests. Compared to before, Rin was in a much better mood while, at the side, Fenrir also had a bit of pep in her step as she looked around the area, sniffing about for any signs of trouble. The only one who didnt seem to be in a good mood was Nobunaga who, every few minutes, would establish a mental link with him to say, ("Asshole...") before cutting it off again. As part of her punishment earlier, Vahn had pushed Nobunaga a little harder than he probably should have. This was one of the problems with him letting go as, even though Vahn wasnt a sadist, he did have the propensity to take things too far at times. For strong women like Nobunaga, she practically painted a target on herself to be teased when he was riled up... After two hours of travel, during which no enemies had shown up, the group arrived at the periphery of the Einzbern Forest. Unlike other wooded areas, whose leaves had long started to develop the characteristic browns, reds, and yellows that apanied Fall, the Einzbern forest had more of an ashen-gray appearance. There was a dense fog that rolled through the area, giving the whole area a distinctly haunted fealing, especially with several posted signs with the words do not enter printed in several differentnguages. As this was hardly enough to dissuade the more couragous sort, there were several warnings posted about the presence of toxic fumes, many adorned with a skull and crossbones motif... Though Vahn hadnt asked, Rin took it upon herself to exin, "Though they are foreigners, the Einzberns had strong ties with several daimyos before the establishment of the Heavens Feel Ritual more than six-hundred years ago. They own arge section ofnd that is considered sovereign territory where the Japanese Government doesnt have any jurisdiction. Because of this, there have been several crimesmitted in the area by idiots who thought they could get away with crimes just because they took ce on foreign soil..." Shortly after Rin finished speaking, Nobunaga suddenly manifested with a skeptical look on her face as she said, "I do not recall the presence of any foreign families during my lifetime. I died less than five hundred years ago and there is no way in hell I would have just ignored foreigners owningnd on Japanese soil." In response to this, Rin just shook her head before exining, "Nobody has a full understanding of how the Holy Grail Works, nor how people get their names inscribed on the so-called Throne of Heroes. One thing we know for certain is that it can call a Heroic Spirit from any world or timeline, not just the one we find ourselves in. Though you can guarantee the Heroic Spirit summoned is from your timeline by using a catalyst from the present world, Vahn had used his own blood to summon you. There is a good chance you are from the Era of Men after the end of the Age of Gods within Vahns future..." Nobunaga didnt seem to fully understand Rins words but she still nodded her head before ring at Vahn andining, "To think I share the same blood as an idiot..." With that said, Nobunaga vanished into thin air once again, leaving Vahn shaking his head while Rin, apparently agreeing with Nobunaga, gave him a look of me. Knowing better than to stir up the hos nest, Vahn began heading deeper into the Einzbern Forest instead of idling around in the open. Though there were undoubtedly various traps within, it would, at the very least, provide them with a form of cover due to the thick fog, dense shrubbery, and therge variety of different trees present. Without harping on the subject, Rin also followed along in short order while Fenrir, knowing her own role, was walking a little ahead of the group without her cloak obstructing her ears. With Vahns domain,bined with her sharp senses, there were few things that could get the drop on them. This was especially true since Fenrir could sense anything Vahn was able to detect through his domain, making her the ultimate scout whenever they were paired together. As a result, she deftly navigated even the most indiscernible magical traps until, after traveling for a few minutes, the group arrived at arge swath of devastatedndscape... Vahn had seen what forest fires were capable of so he wasnt that surprised by the devastation as he focused his senses to search for abnormalities. It didnt take him long to detect the presence ofndmines nted in the ground, each having a high enough yield to take out a tank with theirbined explosives and the magic circle drawn on the top. If not for the presence of magical energy, Vahn might not have noticed them so easily without looking into the ground with his [Eyes of Truth]. Gesturing for Rin to slow down, Vahn whispered, "Im not sure if he was involved in the previous battle, but this ce has been rigged with severalndmines, presumably by Alex Everdale. You should swap out with Ereshkigal for the time being..." Since Rin wasnt even remotely explosive resistant in her base state, Vahn would rather have Ereshkigal take to the field since there was always a chance they would get separated. Though he would do everything in his power to protect Rin, it would be a lot easier if he didnt have to worry about her getting killed by a stray sniper bullet or a randomly cedndmine... Choosing not to argue, Rin released a tired sigh before opening up her bag and pulling out arge mantle to cover herself with. She went through the awkward process of removing all of her clothing while Vahn and Fenrir continued to watch the surroundings for any sign of the enemy. Then, once she was down to nothing more than the mantle, Rins hair quickly shifted into the characteristic blond of Ereshkigal before her eyes opened, revealing a maroon color with an appearance that could humble the highest quality gemstones. Seeing Vahn looking at her, Ereshkigal surprised him slightly by bashfully averting her eyes and muttering, "Vahn...I am happy you wanted me..." in a soft tone of voice. This caused him to nk for a moment before realizing that, in almost every prior circ.u.mstance, it had been Ishtar that had manifested for battle. The only times Ereshkigal had appeared outside of that was during an emergency, or when he was off exploring elsewhere. Realizing this, Vahn felt a little apologetic so he reached out his hand and lightly caressed Ereshkigals face. Her expression didnt change all that much, but she still leaned into his hand with a small smile on her face... At the very instant Vahn seemed to have dropped his guard, he lifted his right hand without even diverting his gaze. The bullet that had struck his hand exploded into red fragments as a small electrical surge spread harmlessly across his arm. At almost the exactly same moment, Vahn muttered, "Fenrir, prey..." in a cold tone of voice. Then, like a midnight blue blur, Fenrir vanished from where she had been standing as Vahn moved to block Ereshkigal from the line of sight. The bullet that had been fired actually caused his arm to go numb, even if it was ultimately unable to deal any damage to his body. This meant that the round either had an Anti-Divine property, which was the more likely case, or possessed the Holy attribute. Both of these would be effective against Ereshkigal as she was not only a Goddess but a Goddess of Death. Though she wasnt even remotely afraid, Ereshkigal still gripped Vahns cloak while hiding behind his body. The feeling of being protected was something she only ever got to experience with him and, even if her expression didnt show it all that much, she was happy for his consideration. With Fenrir giving chase to their attacker, however, his protection was ultimately unneeded as the sniper, who Vahn assumed to be Alex, wasnt afforded the opportunity to fire a second time. Even if he waspetent enough to take out normal Magi, that didnt mean his senses were beyond superhuman. With Fenrirs speed and the cover of the surrounding trees, his only option was to call out his Servant for protection while trying to retreat to a safe distance... There were few things that Fenrir excelled at more than catching prey so, after hearing her Masters orders, she was bounding around off trees and through shrubs with startling speed. Though Alex was using something like a ghillie suit that could hide his presence, he had already shown his hand after the first shot. Now Vahn had already locked onto his position, meaning Fenrir knew exactly where he was trying to run to while trying to escape. She didnt drop her guard, however, as the prior encounters with Scthach and Paracelsus had humbled her a bit. This ended up being the correct course of action as, detecting Fenrir hot on his trail, Alex suddenly shouted, "Damnit! Get out here you bitch...!" In a sh of golden light, a woman wearing a highly revealing maid outfit,plete with cuffs around her wrists and ankles, appeared out of nowhere. She had a mask covering her eyes but, as if this did not interfere with her vision in the least, she immediately engaged Fenrir with a de that seemed to be formed out of air. To her credit, Fenrir used the gauntlets she was wearing to grab at the de in an attempt to divert its trajectory to the side. This was surprisingly effective but, in the same motion of her first strike, the scantily dressed maid stepped inward before impacting Fenrirs face with her shoulder. Though this didnt deal that much damage, it was enough to cause most people to flinch but, instead of being caughtpletely by surprise, Fenrir used [Shundo] to create some distance as the invisible de cut through where her neck had previously been located. From a bit of a distance behind his Servant, Alex shouted, "F.u.c.k her up, Saber. If you cant even take out one f.u.c.k.i.n.g Servant, what use do you have other than a meat hole!?" Though he was shouting vile curses, Alex was actually lingering close to Saber as he pulled out arge-caliber handgun while observing his surroundings. At the same time, he used his unique Magecraft, causing his eyes to gain a blue hue as phantom images appeared within his vision. Though not even remotely close to the level of Scthach, he had a basic amount of foresight that would allow him to read the movements of his enemies. This gave him an edge against most opponents since most Magi were far below the speed required to dodge bullets... While Alex was waiting for an inevitable attack, Fenrir was ring with burning scarlet eyes at the Saber-ss Servant standing before her. The surrounding temperature was rapidly decreasing as ice began to build upon every exposed surface. Though she could sense an impending dangering from the strangely dressed Servant, Fenrir actually felt that she was much weaker than normal. It was almost as if there was something holding her back, a disadvantage Fenrir intended to exploit to the fullest. She was getting really tired of losing every battle so, now that she was against a Servant who couldnt even fight back at full strength, Fenrir refused to back down... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Resistance is Futile (O___O)...,Spooky Forest,Is it finally Fenrirs time to shine!?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1071 - Overwhelming

Chapter 1071 - Overwhelming

Though it wouldnt have taken much effort to capture Alex, Vahn noticed that the strength disparity between Fenrir and the Saber-ss Servant was negligible, at best. Given the outfit thetter was wearing, Vahn could guess what had been going on prior to their arrival in the Einzbern Forest. When the Saber moved around at high speeds, her short skirt was unable to hide the fact that she wasnt even wearing panties. With the cuffs, cor, and blindfold, it didnt take much imagination to guess that the Saber was either a pervert or had been seriously mistreated by her Master. Since she seemed much weaker than a normal Servant, Vahn assumed it was thetter. This moved Alex to the very top of his shit list as, even at a nce, Vahn felt like the Saber-ss Servant was only around 14-15 years old. She had a petite and lithe body, standing only a single centimeter taller than Nobunaga in her default form... While putting pressure on Alex from a distance, Vahn watched as Fenrir sent a massive volley of ice spears towards the Saber-ss Servant. Thetter deflected the two that were aimed towards her heart and head before dashing towards Fenrir in a burst of speed approaching 6,000km/h. Fenrirs own speed could easily rival this, however, allowing her to nimbly evade the series of swift strikes issued by Saber before twisted her h.i.p.s like a bow and kicking thetter in the stomach. Since the maid outfit Saber was wearing left the stomach exposed, it was easy to see that her skin was bing pale at the point of contact as ayer of ice began to spread over her abdomen... Since Fenrir had also deduced that her enemy was a victim, she was using non-lethal force to put pressure on her opponent. With the intention of subduing Saber, Fenrir continued to deflect the invisible de of wind as the temperature in the surrounding area continued to drop even further. By now, the surrounding temperature had already dropped from 13 degrees Celsius to a sub-zero temperature of -18 degrees in a short period of time. At the same time, Fenrir was continuing to build up her magical power as a thick magical shroud protected her body. In one instance, when she had failed topletely redirect Sabers attack, the invisible de was actually brought to a stop a few centimeters away from her skin before being rebounded by the anti-physical properties of the shroud. This gave Fenrir a lot more confidence as she began to pepper Saber with swift blows that steadily drained the mobility of the scantily-d Servant. Seeing how things were developing, Alex has a vicious expression on his face as he cursed, "This useless f.u.c.k.i.n.g bitch..." before holding up his hand and shouting, "By my name, Alex Everdale, I grant you the strength to vanquish your foe...!" With this exmation, one of the Command Spells on Alexs forearm faded, coinciding with a powerful golden aura exploding out from Sabers body. It was possible to give a temporary boost to a Servantsbat capabilities through the use of Command Spells, to the point that it could even turn the tide of battle if used properly. As a result, the ice that had been building up on Sabers body was immediately evaporated as her clothes dissolved away into more proper battle attire. Now, instead of a skimpy maid outfit, she was adorned in an old-fashioned dress formed from royal blue and pristine white fabric,plete with an ornate white b.r.e.a.s.tte, tworge gauntlets, a pair of greaves, and ovepping tes of metal that guarded her nks. From behind Vahns back, Ereshkigal pulled on Vahns cloak to get his attention before saying, "Rin says to save her. She is a friend..." The moment Vahn heard that this Saber was someone Rin knew, his anger immediately turned frostier than Fenrirs ice as he vanished like a phantom. At the same time, Ereshkigal pulled out a reddish-ck spear that had a vicious and malformed ded edge on one end and a peculiar coiling structure on the other. It radiated a ghostly aura and, though she knew Vahn wouldnt need her help, this didnt stop her from holding out her left hand as she whispered in a voice that would cause ghosts to shiver, "I am the Queen of the Dead, Ruler of the Underworld, Harbinger of Death. Come forth, domain of the dead. Grant my allies protection and mine enemies a ce to rest. Protection of the Underworld...!" Even faster than Vahn had closed the distance to Alex, the surrounding forest had instantly changed into what appeared to be arge graveyard filled with cages of various sizes. He felt his speed increase even further as he easily deflected the bullets fired toward him before mming his hand into Alexsrynx. In a single swift motion, Vahn was holding the taller man several centimeters off the ground, ignoring his iling attempts at escape. At the same time, golden chains were already keeping Saber from taking any action, even if she was actually able to shake them more than Vahn had anticipated. If not for the fact that her blue eyes were zed over, showing that she was still under control, Vahn imagined she may even be able to break free with the surprising amount of power her small body was able to muster... As Vahn was about to threaten Alex, thetter attempted to throw a vial of red liquid with his left hand while another Command Spell on his right dissolved. Vahn responded by unceremoniously crushing the mans neck while snatching the vial before it could break against him. There wasnt much he could do about the Command Spell being used but, if Alex was taken out ofmission, he wouldnt have to worry about them any longer. At least, this was the thought going through Vahns mind before a mountain-like forced mmed into him from the side. His body was sent crashing through several of the metallic cages dotting the area while, standing in his previous location, a 253cm tall man shrouded in a malicious red aura could be seen. What stood out, even more, was the fact that, appearing next to the tall man, a doll-like girl with red irises was kneeling next to Alex as she muttered in an ice-cold voice, "Garbage..." Though Vahn had previously broken Alexs neck, the young girl unceremoniously pulled off his arm with the same ease a child would use to remove a toys. Alex couldnt even scream, reddish froth bubbling from his mouth as he seized in pain. Before he could die, the girl began transfering his Command Spells while muttering, "Berserker, kill them all..." This caused the monstrously tall man to release a cloud of steam from his mouth as he used a massive cleaver as if it waspletely weightless. Since he had already sent Vahn flying, the Berserker settled on the next closest target as he moved with surprising agility towards Fenrir. She knew better than to try and fight him head-on and, fortunately, was never forced to as Scthach appeared out of thin air before shing explosively with Berserker... Pulling himself out of a deep crater, Vahn coughed up a mouthful of blood before grimacing as he regenerated much slower than normal. He already identified the enemy Berserker as Heracles but none of the information they had included that his weapon had the Anti-Divine property. As a result, Vahn ended up taking nearly six times the amount of damage from Heracles already monstrous strength. By the time he had extricated himself from the crater, Vahn could see Scthach going blow-for-blow with Heracles, neither able to get an edge against each other due to thetter surprisingly outpacing Scthach. This didnt allow him tond any blows on her, however, as the difference in their skill, especially with Heracles under the Mad Enhacement, gave Scthach an almost insurmountable advantage. Seemingly understanding that things werent going in her favor, the young girl made a pouting expression as she turned her attention towards the still-bound Saber. Even when Vahn was sent flying, he didnt let his [Enkidu] vanish since it would take more than a single surprise attack topletely break his focus. What he didnt expect was to hear the little girl shout, "These chains again...how do you have these chains!?" At the same time, her eyes began to flicker with a chaotic light as her body began to tremble, an expression of profound fear visible on her face. Following this outburst, aplex series of magic circuits became visible, covering the girls entire body before a phenomenal amount of magical power began to radiate from her tiny frame. In response to his Masters stressed state, Heracles released an earth-shattering roar as he cleaved towards Scthach with enough speed and force to distort space. She used two spears to intercept the blow but was still sent backward, her feet dragging through the ground for several meters as she tried to bleed off the force of the blow. Though she had been able to read the move, Scthach was forced to defend due to the fact that it was a blow beyond her ability to evade normally. Before she even slid to a stop, however, Scthach pointed both of her spears towards Heracles as she uttered in a cold monotone, "Ge Bolg, Dance of ughter..." Adding to the two spears already in hand, a total of twenty red spears, each possessing a slightly different shape, appeared around Scthach. The moment her words finished, each of the twenty-two spears turned into a phenomenon resembling red lightning as they instantly impacted Heracles body. The vast majority simply deflected off of him but, with her [God yer] in effect, a Demi-God like Heracles couldntpletely withstand the assault of a person who had even in actual Gods before she even reached the peak of her power. As a result, Heracles had three spears skewer his body, leaving a gaping hole in his heart, abdomen, and head. The little girl, seeing her Servant injured in such a fashion, screamed out in a panicked voice, "No, I dont want to lose anything anymore!" Apanying this shout, part of the surrounding graveyard seemed toe under the girls control asrge Golems began to take shape. Before they were able to fully form, however, Ereshkigal appeared with an expression not all that dissimr to Scthachs as she said, "This is my domain..." With that said, Ereshkigals peculiar spear mowed down the nascent Golems, simr to a Grim Reaper harvesting souls. Though it was more than a little impressive that the young girl had wrested part of a Goddess domain for herself, that wasnt even remotely enough to guarantee victory. Now looking far more panicked than before, the little girl screamed, "Why are you bullying us!? I hate, hate, hate you...!" At the same time as her shouts, the young girl pulled out several small animal-shaped talismans before throwing them towards Ereshkigal. These rapidly grew in size before elerating to a speed nearing 12,000km/h nigh-instantaneously. In response to this, Ereshkigal just held out her hand before sending a pulse of reddish-blue energy colliding with the bird-shaped projectiles. As a result, arge explosion spread through the area that caused the young girl to tumble backward a bit before curling up into a fetal position. Her own magical power protected her body but that didnt make the scene any less heartbreaking, at least from Vahns point of view... Though Heracles appeared to have been killed by Scthachs attack, his body emitted a powerful aura in response to the explosion and, by the time it had faded away, his figure could be seen protecting the young girl like an immovable fortress. His eyes zed like hot coals as he red at Ereshkigal but, unlike before, he made no attempt to attack as Scthach, Ereshkigal, and Fenrir were all surrounding him. Nobunaga had yet to make an appearance, as Vahn had given her the order to remain in hiding, but Heracles instincts made him aware that she was near. With Sabers attempts to break free being the only real sounds in the area, things instantly became tense as Vahn walked over to stare at the turtling Heracles. Unlike the one he had encountered in his world, the legendary feats of Heracles in the Nasuverse made him worthy of the title of True Hero. The fact that he was protecting his Master, even though he was a Berseker, caused Vahn to feel a great deal of respect for the man. Since he didnt actually want to make an enemy out of a little girl, Vahn held up both hands in a cating gesture as he said, "Were not trying to bully you...so long as you dont make yourself into our enemy, we would rather resolve this as peacefully as possible." Instead of getting an answer from the little girl hiding beneath Heracles, Ereshkigal suddenly pointed out, "Vahn...Rin says this girl shouldnt be alive. She was supposed to have died ten years ago..." As soon as these words left Ereshkigals lips, a truly monstrous tide of mana erupted outwards from beneath Heracles. Then, instead of a young girl with long white hair and ruby-red eyes, a dark-skinned little girl with runes covering her entire body appeared. Much like Rin, the overcoat she had been wearing dissolved away into nothingness, revealing an outfit that could hardly even qualify as undergarments. At the same time, her hair, which had previously been rtively straight, now became wild while tworge white ears, not all that dissimr to Fenrir, popped out from her head. If not for the two bull-like horns protruding from the sides of her head,bined with the bushy white tail poking out of her backside, Vahn might have mistaken her as a Vanargandr... With her ruby-red eyes having now turned purple, the young girl snapped her head towards Vahn before releasing a feral growl as sheunched herself toward him. Vahns eyes widened in genuine surprise as he found himself unable to move, almost as if the space around his body had been locked down. He hadnt noticed this until he made an effort to move, creating a small gap which allowed the feral little girl to open her mouth wide, revealing two rows of sharp teeth before she bit unhesitantly into his throat. At the same time, Heracles had moved to engage Scthach once again while Ereshkigal and Fenrir both moved to try and aid Vahn. It was never a pleasant experience to have your throat ripped out, causing Vahn to feel a stange empathy towards Alex as, only a few minutes prior, he had crushed the mans throat. This thought didntst, however, as he recovered his ability to move around the same time that the girls teeth bit into his flesh. Vahn ignored the peculiar awkwardness associated with having to grab a little girls nearly n.a.k.e.d body as he hooked his hands under her armpits and yanked her away from him. This resulted in him losing arge chunk of his throat, followed by a gratuitous amount of blood, but the wound quickly healed only momentster. Even the chunk that the girl had swallowed dissolved before it even reached her stomach while the blood around her face vanished just as quickly. Though she responded by kicking him with her little paws, Vahn bore the brunt of her assault with a grimace while pulling out three links of [Enkidu] to lock down her movements. Almost as soon as the chains began appearing, a loud explosion spread through the area as Heracles had broken free from his battle with Scthach and charged towards him with a phenomenal momentum. Before he could get anywhere close to Vahn, however, a pinpoint beam of reddish-ck light mmed into Heracles temple and sent him stumbling off course. Immediately following that, Ereshkigal stabbed the coiled end of her spear into Heracles body, causing it to extend in a helical pattern that corkscrewed through his body before piercing into the ground below. With Heracles strength being absorbed by Ereshkigals domain, the red light surrounding his body began to die down as he tightly gripped the spear in an attempt to shatter it with brute strength. This attempt didntst too long, however, as Vahn, in a rather exasperated voice, said, "If you dont want your Master to be harmed, stop trying to fight..." By now, Vahn had one long link of [Enkidu] wrapping up the little girls body as she writhed around, teeth snapping at the air as she never gave up trying to attack him. Since the chain was protruding from his palm, Vahn was holding her up by what could have been considered her scruff so that Heracles could see clearly. As a result, the giant Servants movements immediately ceased as he stared back at Vahn with fiery red eyes... Now that Heracles had stopped fighting, Vahn released a sigh of relief as he dangled the little girl at his side, looking towards Ereshkigal as he asked, "Does Rin know anything about this...?" Though he could tell that the little girl was possessed by a Servant, much the same as Rin, she almost seemed like a Berserker-ss herself. The animalistic traits indicated there was something special about her transformation but, as Asterios also had simr traits, Vahn didnt want to make any assumptions. In order to stop her from trying to bite into his side, however, Vahn ignored this awkward feeling in his heart as he used [Enkidu] to gag the thrashing little girl. Even though shecked the ability to break free from the chains, just the fact she was able to move at all made Vahn feel that his [Enkidu] was losing its effectiveness... In response to Vahns inquiry, Ereshkigal closed her eyes for a few seconds before answering, "Rin says her name is Illyasviel von Einzbern, the former head of the Einzbern family. She had lost her life in the previous war after the King of Heroes slew her...Rin does not know how she is still alive, nor what being has possessed her..." After saying this, Ereshkigal opened her eyes before directing them towards Scthach, much like Vahn. Seeing everyone looking at her, Scthach answered, there is a veil of mystery surrounding this girl that makes it impossible to see through her identity. All I can say for certain is that she is still in a sealed state, or else even ourbined power may not be enough to restrain her..." Since Scthach wasnt the type to embellish things, Vahn suddenly felt like the little girl thrashing around at his side was far more dangerous than he expected. He didnt doubt that she was the same Illya that Rin mentioned as, across her eyes and chest, there were two serious scars present. The first looked as if a de had cut through her eyes, including the bridge of her nose, while thetter was a messy scar that extended all the way through her body. It was obvious that something had pierced her heart in the past but, much like Scthach couldnt see through her, even Vahns [Eyes of Truth] could only see an amalgamation of mana obscuring the girls internals. It was almost like she was one giant magic circuit and, if not for the ridiculous amount of vitality radiating from around her chest, Vahn would have assumed she was an artificial existence, not a living being... As Vahn was thinking about what they ought to do with Illya, Heracles, and Saber, a soft voice suddenly spread through the area as a massive wave of pressure washed over everyone present. Vahn hadnt even sensed the arrival of the voices owner before the words, "Im afraid I will have to ask you to release that girl..." reached his ears. By the time Vahn had even processed these words, he, and everyone else present, found themselves bound in silvery-white chains. It felt like the majority of his power was instantly suppressed, to the point that the [Enkidu] binding Saber and Illya vanished entirely. This caused the former to immediately lunge towards the bound Fenrir while thetter, as if to get revenge for being tied up, took a huge chunk out of Vahns thigh as she clung to his leg like a ko. The same voice that had sounded out previously, now sounding somewhat amused, stated, "Now, now, lets all get along..." As these words fell, Saber was sent flying upward as if she was no longer bound by gravity while Illya was pulled free from Vahns leg, left to dangle in the air as she reached out her hands in an attempt to grab him once again. It seemed as if she had developed a bit of resentment towards him but, after a small white light entered into her head, the young girl passed out in an instant before limply floating next to a man wearing flowing white robes, a white mantle, and ck pants. He had one of the mostplex staves Vahn had ever seen,plete with a dozen different trinkets and baubles that had been precariously attached to a twisted piece of wood that had been dyed ck by means he was unable to deduce... With everyone else bound, unable to even utter a word, the floating man allowed an amused smile to adorn his surprisingly handsome face, set with a pair of amethyst eyes that were framed by windswept white hair. He didnt give off the aura of an enemy but, as if everything in the world was beneath him, the man held almost absolute disregard in his gaze as it passed over everyone present. When he looked at Vahn, he suddenly asked, "Are you the anomaly...? How very curious...hmmm, I suppose I owe you a minor debt of gratitude. Seeing as this should have been your victory, I will allow you to take that girl with you. When shees back to her senses, tell her I am sorry for what she had to experience..." Before the mans words even finished, he had already vanished into thin air, taking Illya and Heracles with him. At the same time, Sabers body was just now on its downward arc as the chains that had bound everyone dissolved into nothingness. Since thetter was unconscious, Vahn reached out to try and use telekinesis to grab her, only to realize that her [Magic Resistance] negated itpletely. As a result, Vahn used [Shundo] to catch her surprisingly light body just before she mmed into the ground. It was only when he had the surprisingly beautiful Knight in his arms that Vahn had started to recover his senses enough to mutter, "What the f.u.c.k just happened...?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir gets a minor victory?,*Bullying Intensifies*,Vahn gets a taste of his own medicine...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1072 - Return

Chapter 1072 - Return

With everything that had happened, Vahn made the executive decision to return to the Tohsaka Manor in order to get their bearings. Before that, however, he had noticed several things that were worthy of attention, even if they caused even more questions. The most notable amongst these was the fact he now had an additional Command Spell, bringing his total to seven. Though he didnt have much use for Command Spells, it never hurt to have extra in the event that he would need to empower or teleport one of his Servants. As for other things that had caught his attention, Vahn noticed that the Saber in his arms was almost identical to Gray. The only thing that differentiated them was that Saber looked much younger while the color of her hair and eyes were different. However, the internal structure of their body was more simr than even twins like Tiona and Tione, the only major difference being that Sabers heart was set with a powerful gemstone, much like a True Dragon. Even with this, however, it was easy to see that the two had some rtion to each other, a fact that provided some insight into Grays tragic past. Vahn felt she was either a clone or, based on the dualworks that previously existed in her body, a girl that had been modified to emte Sabers body... Without making his spection known, Vahn actually got a surplus of information that seemed to verify his conjecture as, after returning to her human form, Rin looked at the sleeping Saber with a pained expression as she muttered, "It looks like our fates are still intertwined..." Then, seeing Vahn looking at her, Rin furrowed her brows deeply before exining, "This Saber-ss Servant is the same Artoria Pendragon that I told you about previously. She has been summoned during the previous two Holy Grail Wars and served as the Servant of Shirou during the Fifth. I should have known she would have been summoned this time around as well...haaaaa..." After her preliminary exnation, Rin went into much greater details as she recounted some of the events she had kept secret regarding the previous Holy Grail War. This included the fact that Artoria was a living Servant, meaning she had a real body that was unable to assume a Spirit form. At the same time, this meant that she had a distinct advantage over almost every other Servant as, instead of having her memories erased, Artoria retained her memories from previous Wars. This would have been a blessing in most other circ.u.mstances but, after having failed to obtain the Holy Grail twice, Artoria had apparently given up on her dream. Rin revealed, somewhat apprehensively, that Artoria had previously developed feelings for her former Master, Shirou Emiya. She had died putting her life on the line to take out Gilgamesh at the end of the Fifth Holy Grail War so it was rather tragic for her to be brought back to fight in the Sixth... With her exnation finished, Rin stared listlessly at Artorias sleeping face, apprehension clearly visible deep within her eyes. She didnt delude herself into believing that Artoria hadnt been forced into a difficult situation during the weeks leading up to, and following the start of the Grail War. The way she had been dressed when Alex summoned her spoke volumes about her treatment, including the fact she had been forcibly manipted with Command Spells. When Artoria learned that Shirou was already dead, betrayed by his own allies, Rin imagined that the proud King of Knights would not be very enthused... Unlike Rin, Vahns own anger had subsided a great deal at this point as, after inspecting Artorias body very closely, he noticed that she was still a v.i.r.g.i.n. He had no idea how this was possible but, remembering the mystical silver chains that bound them previously, Vahn felt it had something to do with the strange man who had put a taken Illya and Berserker away. He seemed to have some kind of rtionship with Artoria and, as Vahn could sense no malice at all from the man, it didnt seem as if he was an actual enemy. If anything, Vahn got the same impression from the white-haired man that he got from Scthach, minus the aura of death. After mulling over his words for a few minutes, Vahn decided to try and console Rin by cing his hand on her shoulder and exining, "I dont think things are as bad as you are assuming. Unless Artoria has the ability to regenerate back to a default state, I dont think she experienced what you may be imagining. Though I dont doubt that she was treated terribly, I think that man may have intervened somehow..." These words only seemed to confuse Rin so Vahn gave a wry smile before rifying in a low voice, "She is still a v.i.r.g.i.n..." Hearing Vahns words, Rin issued a confused Eh? before furrowing her brows and saying, "That is impossible...unless...?" Perhaps it was her desire to find a silver lining in the situation but Rins mind instantly jumped to a possibility. She knew that Artoria certainly had the means topletely heal any wound, but that was only if she possessed Avalon. Since shecked it at the time she lost her v.i.r.g.i.nity to Shirou, Artoria should no longer be a v.i.r.g.i.n. Though not as big as Vahn, Shirou was far beyond average in size, a thought that caused Rins cheeks to tinge red for a brief moment in recollection. Feeling a strange twinge in his brows, Vahn frowned slightly until Rin exined, "Artorias body is preserved in a state just before her death. When she is summoned to take ce in the Holy Grail War, it transfers her mind into a body that matches her state prior to being summoned. Since Saber is a v.i.r.g.i.n back in her halted timeline..." Without needing Rin to exin further, Vahn finished her sentence, adding, "She is always a v.i.r.g.i.n after being summoned anew...that is a bit..." In a way, if Artoria hadnt been protected by the white-haired man, her fate would have been inarguably more tragic. If she had to deal with the thought of losing her v.i.r.g.i.nity to a despot like Alex, any trauma she may have developed would be amplified considerably... Now in a much better mood, Rin released a sigh of relief before almost immediately furrowing her brows once again, directing an usatory gaze at Vahn as she asked, "How did you know that Saber was a v.i.r.g.i.n...?" This caused Vahn to shake his head in mild exasperation before exining, "My eyes can even see the structure of mana in a persons body, do you think I cant see other things? Besides, just by being in contact with a person I can pretty much understand the structure of their body in an instant. My words about being a capable physician with few equals werent just me trying to brag..." Rin blinked a few times as she tried to make sense of what Vahn was saying, the implications of which were a little frightening. It meant he had a better understanding of her own body than even she did, causing Rins face to be ruddy when she remembered their time together just a few hours prior. Vahn certainly seemed to know how to handle her, giving a frightening amount of credibility to his words. Still, knowing he could essentially see through her clothing whenever he wanted, Rin couldnt help but ask, "Is that when youre eyes turn blue and start glowing...?" In response to Rins question, Vahn activated his [Eyes of Truth] before making a point of eyeing her up and down. This caused her face to turn even redder as she pointlessly covered herself, eximing, "Now isnt the time for things like that...!" To this, Vahn stroked his chin thoughtfully before saying, "I dont know about that...I dont imagine Artoria would be waking up in the next hour or two. If you wanted, we could head into the Sub-Space Orb and-." Before Vahn was able to finish, Rin pulled out one of her jewels before lobbing it towards his head like a baseball pitcher. She didnt empower it with her magic so Vahn made no attempt to dodge, frustrating Rin further when it just rebounded off his head without actuallying into contact with his skin... Releasing an amused chuckle, Vahn rose to his feet and said, "We should head into the Sub-Space Orb regardless. Staying outside is a literal waste of time..." Then, turning towards the air, Vahn said, "Scthach, I want you to guard the Manor and inform me if anything happens. Well resume our normal schedule once the sunes up. Since there are still a few hours until then, give us some time to settle Artoria in before she has to witness watching me get my head blown off..." With his new Command Spell, Vahn knew that he had been made the Master of Artoria. The troubling part of this revtion, however, was that Artorias body seemed to consume energy nearly as quickly as Fenrir. Though the core in her heart actually provided slightly more than she naturally consumed, meaning she could almost stay manifested indefinitely, Artoria was a major liability if her reserves dipped below a certain threshold... Since their training was supposed to take ce after the sun came up anyways, Scthach didnt offer any argument against Vahns words. If nothing else, she was reliable when it came to doing what one should. As they were still during the active hours of the Holy Grail War, she would follow his orders, assuming she hadnt determined it would be a good training opportunity to do otherwise. Thus, without even bothering to appear before them, Scthach moved through the Manor like a ghost beforeing out on the roof in her Spirit form and taking a seat. Assuming Scthach had listened to his orders, Vahn picked up the sleeping Artoria, eliciting a small frown from Rin. This caused Vahn to give her a nce out of the corner of his eye while making a mental note to remind Rin that her jealousy was somewhat ridiculous. She knew he didnt belong to her and, regardless of her efforts, it was impossible for her to ever monopolize him with the presence of Fenrir and knowledge he would one day return to his world. Vahn felt her anxiety was a bit senseless as, unless she herself wanted to leave his side, it was pretty much a guarantee he would always treat her well. When they got to the Sub-Space Orb, he was going to cook her up some delicious food and, once she dropped her guard, deal with her properly... In response to Vahns thoughts, Sis chimed in with her own, saying, (*Though I cant help but feel youre getting a little out of hand, it is much better to see you like this, Vahn. Still, you should know better than to bully girls too much. Rin is still just a normal human, with modern sensibilities, so dont take things too far. If you put too much pressure on her, you cant be surprised when she breaks...*) Though she spoke inly, it was clear that, while she wasnt exactly telling him to restrain himself, Sis was cautioning him against taking things too far. At the same time, her reminder about Rin being a normal human seemed to indicate that, if he did intend to push her, it should only be after changing her into something more... --- After entering the Sub-Space Orb, Vahn made good on his intentions to cook up a feast after setting Artoria to rest inside of Lakshmibais room. Though Rin had wanted to use her own room at first, she was very aware of the smell lingering in the air as the cirction inside of thekeside residence wasnt the greatest. As a result, Lakshmibai offered up her as-of-yet unused room while Vahn pulled out an entire kitchens worth of appliances to prepare their meal. He hadnt been cooking much ever since they started using the Sub-Space Orb so Vahn felt that Rins poutiness might be due to the fact he wasnt sating the beast within her stomach any longer. As a result, he spent nearly two full hours preparing a meal, creating more than a dozen mana-rich dishes that even the Servants would be able to enjoy. As expected, Rin was in a much better mood after sitting down at the low dining table that Vahn had brought out for their use. She had also been able to secure the spot to his left while, as usual, Fenrir sat on his right. The other side of the table was upied by Nobunaga and Lakshmibai, both still glowing after the time they had spent together prior to the evenings events. Nobunaga seemed to be in high spirits as she filled her gullet with delicious food and alcohol while, almost theplete opposite, Lakshmibai sat rather quietly with her head slightly lowered. Whenever Vahn would look directly at her, she would lower her face even further, a pink hue touching her cheeks as if she had yet to recover from the state he had left her in previously... With how Lakshmibai was acting, Vahn felt as if the tensions in his body were steadily beginning to build since there was just something about a strong woman acting bashfully that riled him up. There were still close to twenty-six hours until his thrashing was scheduled so Vahn had a lot of free time to use if he chose to spend it in that manner. Though it made him feel a little shameless to think about such things at a time like this, Vahn felt he wasnt entirely to me. Due to the expectations and willingness of the girls around him, Vahn believed that any man in his position would fail to show even half the restraint he had imposed upon himself. He knew that, with just a few words, almost any of the girls in the room, Rin included, would whisk away with him without any real resistance... As if to volunteer herself, Fenrir leaned into his side, staring up at him with her scarlet-red eyes glimmering in the rooms lighting. This brought a smile to Vahns face and, for a brief moment, he was very tempted to excuse himself from the meal to go spend some quality time with Fenrir. One of the things that kept him from doing so was the fact that Nobunaga had a vengeful look in her eyes, clearly intending to get even with him after what he had done to her earlier. At the same time, Rin had gently elbowed him a few times before reminding in a stern tone, "Saber should be waking up soon..." Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn decided to distract himself by asking, "So, what do you think about that Illya girl? Even if she died in the previous war, I think its pretty obvious that she has been resurrected. I could sense a powerful vitality in her body while her internal structure was actually impossible to discern..." In response to Vahns words, Rin frowned deeply as she thought about Vahn inspecting Illyas body. Though thetter was actually older than she was, the fact she seemingly hadnt aged a day in thest ten years gave her a very youthful appearance. Since she had also seen the scars on Illyas face and chest, Rin knew it was undoubtedly the same person she nearly allied with during the Fifth Holy Grail War... To answer Vahns question, Rin took a few more bites of her meal to calm down before answering, "The Einzberns have always excelled at creating Homunculi, Golems, and other Artificial Humans. In fact,pared to any other known family within the Magus Community, they have attained the highest mastery in their form of Magecraft. A long time ago, their ancestors had been able to reach the Root, the origin of all things, obtaining what is colloquially known as the Third Magic. Since they have allied with several other families, it is known that the Third Magic, whose true name is Heavens Feel, has the ability to allow the soul to survive outside of the body. Though they currentlyck the ability to realize the Third Magic, it is possible their research had allowed them to preserve Illyas soul after her death. As for acquiring a new heart and repairing the damage to her body, those are a simple matter for a family specializing in the production of Homunculi..." As she spoke about Illya, Rin began to feel somewhat heartbroken as she imagined what kind of life the girl must have been living over thest decade. She was actually the half-sister of Shirou but, just as they were going to ally together during the previous war, Illya had been brutally murdered by Gilgamesh after thetter took down Heracles. Remembering how panicked Illya had be after seeing [Enkidu], something that had surprised her as well, Rin felt even more heartbroken than Vahn. She knew exactly why Illya had gone into an enraged state after that strange transformation as, from Illyas perspective, [Enkidu] was the most precious belonging of her most hated enemy. Not only had Gilgamesh ruined her chance at a happy life with her only surviving family member, but he had also killed her cherished Heracles before ultimately robbing her own life shortly thereafter... Remembering Gilgamesh, Rin felt the scar on her abdomen begin to burn painfully as a deep and throbbing heat spread through her body. Fortunately, almost as soon as the pain appeared, Vahns hand had sn.a.k.e.d around her side beforeing to rest right above her scar. The heat was reced by a gentle and rxing warmth that caused Rin to release a contented sigh as she leaned against him without even thinking about it. It wasnt until she saw Lakshmibai staring at her with unblinking pale-pink eyes that Rin realized what she was doing, pping Vahns hand away from her waist in the process. Though Vahn was tempted to tease Rin for her behavior, he instead turned his head towards the wall, facing the direction of Lakshmibais room. It didnt take Rin any time at all to guess why he would do such a thing, asking, "Is she awake?" To this, Vahn gave a small nod before rising to his feet and saying, "Shall we go meet our newpanion?" Though he said these words harmlessly, Rins face became serious as she said, "Vahn, if things are taking ce chronologically from Sabers point of view, it wouldnt have even been a month since she separated from Shirou. Once she finds out about Shirous death, I know she will be pained...even if she is the one to ask, please, make sure you consider the matter properly before doing anything. Saber is the type that epts heavy burdens on herself, even if it brings her great pain as a result..." Knowing what Rin was implying, Vahn released a tired sigh before helping her rise to her feet. Once she was standing, Vahn raised her chin with his hand before gently caressing the side of her face and neck. These actions seemed to confuse her a great deal, especially after what she just said, so Rin felt more awkward than anything, at least until Vahn said in a calm tone, "Im not going to make a promise I may not be able to keep. Your worry for Artoria shows that the two of you must have had a strong bond...however, if she decides for herself to follow that path, I will support her. If she is half the person youve made her out to be, I can guarantee she would be far more stressed out if I had her wait here while we fought without her." Hearing Vahns words, it was Rins turn to sigh as, even without Vahn pointing it out, there was nobody as aware of Sabers personality than she was. In fact, during the previous Holy Grail War, she had been the one to essentially force the rtionship between Saber and Shirou. Before that, she actually had s.e.x with Saber herself while, after things developed further, all three of them shared the same bed numerous times. Since all of this took ce over an extremely short period of time, barely covering two weeks, Rin could still vividly recall the unstable nature of her heart during the Fifth Holy Grail War. Even if she tried to insist against it, there was no way Saber would take her words at face value after what they had both experienced together... Seeing the conflict in Rins eyes, Vahn decided to bring her back to the present by giving her a gentle yet extended kiss on the lips. They actually hadnt kissed all that often, a strange thing to consider since they have already had some long and intense s.e.x sessions. This was abination of the fact that Rin actually seemed to feel a little guilty when they kissed while, even more than s.e.x, Vahn felt the act was particrly intimate. S.e.x was a way to link hearts and bodies, yes, but a kiss was akin to a pure expression of affection and, when the emotions were strong enough, love. As a result, Rin seemed to calm down considerably as Vahn pulled her into his embrace until she was standing on the tips of her toes. After nearly three full minutes had passed, Vahn loosened his grip a bit, allowing their lips to separate before he ced his forehead against Rins and said, "Lets go...I imagine Artoria will feel a little better after seeing someone she recognizes..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Secrets Revealed...?,Poor Illya o_o...,Never underestimate the suspension bridge effect...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1073 - Reveal

Chapter 1073 - Reveal

Though it may have been unnecessary, Vahn lightly knocked against the door of Lakshmibais room before waiting for a soft and mncholic voice to answer, "Come in..." This caused Rin to sigh from the side but, without allowing his expression to change, Vahn slid open the sliding partition before making his way into the room. Artoria was sitting on the twoyered futon that could, if she ever chose to use it, serve as Lakshimbais bed. She was no longer wearing her armor, allowing Vahn to glimpse her old-fashioned but stylish dress in its full glory. Though the puffy shoulders looked a bit strange, he felt that the bnce between the royal blues, pristine whites, and gold ents were all exceptional. Even though Vahns eyes didnt even flicker, Artorias intuition told her that he was evaluating her, though in what way she could not discern. Thus, in the brief moments before Vahn sat down on a square cushion, Artoria was also evaluating him. She had already formed an initial impression after seeing him take action, as she was still aware of everything going on at the time, but it was a very different feeling seeing him now. Previously, Artoria felt as if Vahn was a bit too overconfident and, after seeing how he used [Enkidu], he seemed like the type to try and control the situation without taking decisive action. Now, however, the pressure he had emanated during the brief battle had all but faded, leaving a peculiar and gentle aura lingering around his body that seemed to both calm and inspire those around him. As a King herself, she recognized this as being an aura not all that dissimr to the one people with high [Charisma] would possess... Artoria ultimately decided that she had a rtively neutral impression that leaned more towards a favorable one when looking at Vahn. Thus, without spending too much time focusing on him, she quickly shifted her focus to someone she had recognized from the start. Since it hadnt been that long since their parting, Artoria was surprised to see how much Rin had changed. Not only was she slightly taller, but she had be significantly more mature than the rather rash young girl she had been in the past. Though it wasnt entirely her fault, as she had been possessed by the Goddess Ishtar at the time, Artoria still hadnt quite gotten over the many embarrassing things they had done together... Once everyone had taken a seat, Artoria decided to take the initiative as, once the conversation developed to the events over thest few weeks, she wasnt sure her mood would hold out for very long. As there were a few things of a higher priority she wanted answers to, Artoria started by staring at Rin and asking, "Is Shirou participating in the War this time?" This immediately caused Rin to flinch before an apologetic and mournful expression appeared in her eyes. Since Artoria was not unfamiliar with loss, she simply closed her eyes before Rin even answered, muttering, "I see..." in a somber tone. Though the pain in her heart wasnt something she could simply get over, Saber did her best to bury the emotion deep inside of her before opening her eyes again and staring between both Vahn and Rin. Thetter may not have intended to make it obvious, but she had sat a little closer to Vahn than simple associates would have, to the point that their shoulders would touch if either leaned a little bit towards the other. This allowed Artoria to deduce that Shirou had likely been dead for a few years and, given his heroic tendencies, sheforted herself by choosing to believe he had died trying to help people. With Artoria falling into a temporary silence, Vahn decided to guide the conversation himself now, starting by asking one of the questions she would have liked to dy, "I know this may not be the best time, but we need to know how long ago you were summoned. If you have any information on our enemies and their ns, it would help our cause greatly. Rin and I have set out to put an end to the Holy Grail War for good this time so we could use all the help we can get..." Vahn felt that it would expedite things if he made their goal clear from the start. Based on what Rin had said, Artoria had a selfless and dutiful personality so it was almost impossible for her to refuse a sincere request for help. Blinking in surprise, Artoria answered Vahns question with one of her own, asking, "You have no wish you would like granted by the Grail?" Though she could understand why Rin would want to bring an end to the Holy Grail War, Artoria was curious about Vahns reasons. Few people would pass on the opportunity to have one of their wishes granted and, based on her discernment of Vahn, he didnt seem like the typecking in ambition and desire. At a nce, his eyes seemed to be fully focused on the present moment but, much like earlier, Artorias intuition told her that he was unerringly moving towards the future. She even had the distinct impression that, if she were to bar his passage toward his goals, Vahn wouldpletely destroy her... As her question wasnt all that unexpected, Vahn smiled as, from Artorias perspective, an air of absolute confidence began radiating from his body as he inly stated, "I do not require an object like the Holy Grail to make my wishes a reality. Even if it takes many years, I will take hold of the future with my own two hands..." Towards the end of his statement, Vahn envisioned the moment when he would reunite with his family, a vision that caused his smile to turn gentle in reflection. This was only for a brief moment, however, before he blinked and resumed his focus on Artorias crystal clear green eyes. Artoria was slightly taken aback by Vahns conviction but, seeing Rin at his side, she wasnt all that surprised he had such a nature. For better or worse, Rin seemed to be drawn to men who would go to great lengths to make their dreams a reality. As this was a trait she also respected a great deal, Artoria returned a small smile over her own before, much like Vahns, it faded away a momentter. Then, without footing around the issue, she adopted a dour expression before exining, "I was summoned twenty-three days ago within the bas.e.m.e.nt of the Einzbern Castle. They used a fragment of the original Lesser Grail and a blue charm that I was unable to identify..." Reaching this point, Saber released a sigh before adding, "My original Master seemed to be a Homunculus created by the Einzberns for the sole purpose of having an affinity with me...almost immediately after I was called, that vile man was given my Masters Command Spells before those fiends simply disposed of my Master..." Though she was a King, Artoria was first and foremost a Knight. Even if her Master had not been a natural-born human, her sense of duty and the code of chivalry dictated she do her best to support him. Seeing him unceremoniously stripped of his Command Spells and put to death was yet another failure that would weigh heavily on her heart. Because of this, even when she was being tormented by Alex Everdale, Artoria felt it was a just punishment for her failure. This didnt mean her resentment towards her false Master was any lesser, however, as he seemed to be an irredeemable reprobate with qualities beneath those of the worms that made the soil their home... With her expression having turned cold, Saber exined, "Due to the strain most Magus would experience as my Master, Alex Everdale was poor suited to the task of taking to the front lines. He was a scoundrel who lived in the dark and, after realizing I would not willingly follow his orders, his so-called pride was wounded. Instead of trying to obtain the Grail, he was more focused on trying to get me to submit to him, even going so far as to use two Command Spells to forcibly suppress my ego and greatly enhance my...sensitivity." As the rather awkward word left her mouth, Artoria gave a small cough before continuing where she left off, adding, "I had prepared myself for even greater shame and humiliation but, after being bound by a pillory and forced into apromising position, that man just stood there in a daze for several hours..." Artoria could vividly remember being forced to bend over without being given any freedom of movement at all. However, after Alex had touched her for a bit, his hands stopped and he just stood there. This happened every time it seemed as if he were going to shame herpletely, causing Artoria to quickly reason that someone was interfering with his attempts. It wasnt until tonight that she understood what was going on, causing her expression to darken as she exined, "It was only during our previous battle that I came to understand what was going on. That man who appeared in the sky was my former caretaker and Mentor, the so-called Magus of Flowers, Merlin." Hearing Sabers words, Rin showed genuine shock on her face as she asked, "That man was Merlin? How is he able to be summoned for the Holy Grail War? Thest time you were summoned, you said that he was still alive..." As these words left her mouth, Rin realized that, other than Merlin, the same could be said for Ishtar, Ereshkigal, Scthach, and, now, Saber. She knew that thetter two should have never been recorded on the Throne of Heroes as, regardless of the passage of time, they would never die through normal means. Both Ishtar and Ereshkigal existed on the Reverse Side of the World as well, meaning that the restriction of the Grail only being able to summon Heroic Spirits was obviously outdated information... Without pressing for more information, Rin just gestured for Saber to continue, thetter obliging by exining, "Merlin is no mere man, but the product of forbidden love between an Incubus and a Witch hailing from a Kingdom in Wales. As a result, he has dominion over Dreams and Illusions, to the point that he could even create an entire vige whose inhabitants believe they are actually alive. He must have used his magic to beguile that wicked man into believing he was actually doing all the twisted and disgusting things he had intended. As a result, my mana has constantly been draining since the start of the Holy Grail War, forcing my false Master to spend his time tormenting me and trying to replenish my mana..." Though Merlin had prevented her from beingpletely defiled, Artoria didnt feel all that grateful to him as, if he was already interfering with Alex, he could have prevented all the s.e.x.u.a.l harassment and other shameful acts he had forced upon her. At the same time, due to the increased sensitivity of her body and the urges that came when a person was mana deprived, Artoria felt like she was on the verge of having a mental breakdown until Alex had used one of his Command Spells to replenish her depleted reserves. Fortunately, now that she had been freed from his control, the spell increasing her sensitivity was no longer in effect, even if the nightmare of thest twenty-three days was still fresh on her mind... With Artorias exnation closely matching the assumptions he had already drawn, Vahn wasnt all that surprised. He had experienced the power of Dreams and Illusions within Danmachi, including the terrifying power of the Goddess Maya. What he was most concerned about was the question he asked almost as soon as Artoria seemed to recover herposure, "Is he our enemy...?" To this, Artoria frowned slightly before shaking her head and answering, "Merlin may be an unreliable and licentious Magus, but he is undoubtedly an ally to humanity. Even if all the Masters participating in the Holy Grail Warbined their Command Spells, I would not believe for a moment that man was under their control. When he is involved, dream and reality be almost indiscernible from each other...however, the fact remains that I cannot evenprehend an existence beyond Merlins..." Since Vahn also got the impression that Merlin bore no ill-will towards them, he didnt doubt Artorias words, concluding, "That means there is a good chance he has been summoned as the Ruler-ss Servant." The moment these words left his mouth, Artoria surprised everyone by suddenly bursting intoughter. Then, when she saw the looks Vahn and Rin were giving her, a brief hint of a blush colored her cheeks as she said, "Sorry, I couldnt help thinking how ridiculous the thought of Merlin as any kind of Ruler was. However, I do not doubt that your intuition is correct. That girl, Ilya, is undoubtedly the vessel for the Lesser Grail once again. She also has a non-standard Spirit summoned into her body, though I am unaware of its identity." Hearing Sabers words, Rin released a profound sigh while supporting her head with her hand. Then, with an empathetic yet frustrated voice, she muttered, "That girl just cant catch a break." Following this, Rin raised her head and, seeing the confusion in Vahns eyes, exined, "Illya had been the vessel for the Lesser Grail during the previous war as well. She was intended to be the Einzberns trump card as, using normal means, no other Master would have a chance at victory if they went out of their way to kill her. If not for Gilgamesh appearing and throwing a wrench into everything, there is a good chance that Ilya would have been the final victor of the Fifth Holy Grail War..." Even without Rin going into too many details, Vahn could fill in the rest of the nks on his own. Since Illya had been the Einzberns trump card previously, there was no reason they wouldnt try the same tactic. They even took it a step further by making her into the vessel for a non-standard Servant while, if his intuition proved correct, there were other secrets contained within her body. There werent too many things his [Eyes of Truth] were unable to see through and, considering that Merlin hade to her aid, his intuition had a high chance of being vindicatedter. The problem was, much like Rin stated, Illya really couldnt seem to catch a break. Vahn felt terrible to see such a small girl suffering through such tragedies, regardless of her actual age... Since mulling over such things was a fruitless endeavor, Vahn set aside the matter of Illyas tragic fate before stating, "If we are afforded the opportunity, we can try to help Illya. For now, we need to focus on our primary objective and thinking about our next course of action. Tonight has revealed a great many things and, with the exception of the final Caster and Archer-ss Servants, we now know the identities of every participant within the war..." Though Vahn had more to say, he saw Arotria furrow her brows in response to his words, followed by her iming, "I know the identities of the final enemy Archer and Caster..." Though Vahn was pleased by this revtion, Rin seemed to understand the meaning behind Artorias expression as she practically jumped up from her cushion and eximed, "Is it that arrogant asshole...!?" To this, Artoria nodded, her own expression just as fierce as Rins as she exined, "Last night, the Einzbern Forest was invaded by the Archer-ss, Gilgamesh, and the Caster-ss, Circe. Thetter was the one to set the forest aze but, after I was sent to repel them, Gilgamesh forced her to pull back. When he saw me...that reprobate said he would be back to collect me at ater date. After that, they disappeared into the sky with Circe clinging to his arm like a nymph..." Rin seemed to take Artorias words hard as, shortly after rising to her feet, she clutched her side as a pained expression contended against her anger. This was enough to make Vahns decision for him so, even though Artoria looked at him with an usatory gaze, Vahn guided Rin to hisp before slipping his hand under her shirt. Before she could have a panic attack, he exined, "I am going to heal your scar. Sit still and behave..." Though he had intended to heal her scar after she asked, Vahn felt like that notion was rather silly after seeing Rin suffer from its existence. Thus, after a little under three minutes, he hadpletely repaired the damaged nerves in the area, leaving behind nothing but a slightly paler white spot on Rins smooth abdomen. Since she didnt seem capable of moving on her own ord, Vahn lifted Rins body by hooking his hands under her armpits, lifting her as if she were weightless before nting her on the square cushion to his right. Her face was already red before but, after being manhandled, Rinsplexion had be scarlet as her eyes darted around in their sockets, wordspletely failing her. At this time, Vahn turned his attention to Artoria and said, "Wee to the team, Artoria. It may be a littlete for introductions, but my name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, known better by my former title as the Sage Emperor of the Aldrnari Empire. You need not call me Master, but know that I have high expectations for the famed King of Knights. For the time being, you should catch up with Rin so she can get you up to speed on our operations. There are many things Im not suited toment on, so I will excuse myself for the time being..." As Artoria had even greater bearing than many of the other Kings and Queens he had met, Vahn felt the need to speak politely now that the conversation hade to an end. He knew that, after seeing what he had done to Rin, such words would make her feel a little conflicted in regards to how she should treat him. It wasnt his intention to exploit her, especially after what she had experienced, but Vahn knew it was to all of their benefits if things were smoothened over a bit. By entrusting her to Rin, at least for the time being, Vahn intended to cultivate Artorias intrigued by having her hear about him from the others instead of revealing everything himself. At the same time, he intended to do much the same when he was alone with Rin, at least until Artoria herself began to speak on the matters of her past... With that in mind, Vahn didnt wait for Artorias response as he quickly, but calmly, exited the room It felt a little strange, using the techniques Loki had practically forced into his brain, but Vahn was already feeling as though he had passed beyond the point of no return. Now, he was focused on forging powerful bonds with the people that would likely be his allies over the next few years. He stillcked the method to travel to another timeline and, though the wish granted to him after destroying the Grail might facilitate the transfer, Vahn had no intention of using it. He had barely gotten his feet wet in this new world and, until he was absolutely confident in his capabilities once again, Vahn intended to bide his time and endeavor to increase his strength as much as possible over the next few years. To facilitate his growth, Vahn was already formting a n within his mind to create a small organizationprised of the Servants he was able to obtain during the Holy Grail War. With individuals like Scthach, Paracelsus, Artoria, and potentially even Merlin, Vahn believed he could create an organization that could shake the foundation that had corrupted this world with its greed... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP little homunculus bro...,Merlin half-assing things...,The moment Vahn starts getting his d*ck wet, he immediately starts plotting world domination...Sis, where you at!?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1074 - Values

Chapter 1074 - Values

As all good things were ought to do, Vahns free time quickly came to an end and, though it was difficult to recall when it had started, he was currently on the receiving end of one of Scthachs beatings. Because she still had the energy he had charged her with earlier in the evening, it had already been ten hours since they had started. Though he didnt realize it at the time, due to the persistent feeling of nothingness, this actually represented a marked improvement in Vahns growth since the start of their training. Originally, Vahn had only been able to persist for around four hours before beingpletely drained of his energy. Though his reserves had increased a fair amount since then, so too had the intensity of Scthachs training. The fact he had been able to draw things out more than twice the duration actually put a small amount of strain on Scthach as her own reserves would be on the verge of depleting, denoted by how she would start consuming his blood in the midst ofbat... While this was urring, Vahn and Scthach had a small audience in the distance as, much like he had expected, Artoria had been observing him after talking with Rin for a few hours. Thetter had exined what she knew of Vahns past as an Emperor, how he had been forced out of his world, his ratherrge family, and his desire to increase his strength to one day reunite with his family. These types of things werent all that beneficial to his purposes, especially the mention of hisrge family, but Rin also mentioned the fact that he went out of his way to help people. As someone who had given her all to the people, only to believe she had failed them, it was especially pertinent that Artoria was able to drawparisons between herself and him. The key difference is, Vahn had been rtively sessful as an Emperor, to the point that even Gods and Goddesses willingly followed him... With her intrigue sessfully stirred, Artoria had set out to obtain information from others and to personally observe Vahns actions for herself. Seeing the intensity of his training, she was more than a little shocked, both at Scthachs strength and Vahns resolve. What she found strange, however, was that Nobunaga and Lakshmibai were just watching from the side, the former with a bored expression on her face while thetter seemed somewhat listless. As they were sitting at a low table drinking tea, Artoria had elected to join them in order to get to know herpanions better and see if they were willing to discuss their own impressions of Vahn. Now wearing a white blouse and a neat blue skirt that extended past her knees, Artoria smiled toward her twopanions, asking, "May I sit here?" Though both girls had noticed her approach, it was Nobunaga who smiled before patting the seat next to her and saying, "You can take the seat right here, littledy. Come, Ill pour you some tea and we can get to know each other better~." Even though she was steadily being tamed by Vahn, something she would never admit, Nobunaga found Artoria the textbook definition of beautiful. Since she had high bearing and a regal disposition, an irresistible urge to tease Artoria stirred within her heart the moment thetter asked for permission to sit down at an open table. Immediately cing Nobunaga into the troublesome woman category, Artoria took the seat almost directly opposite the one she had been offered, politely stating, "Thank you for the offer, but I will have to politely decline." This caused Nobunaga to stick her tongue out in a yful manner before almost immediately turning her attention away from Artoria when a sickening crack resounded in the distance. Vahn had just been nted into the ground like a daikon, causing a huge fracture in the white stone near where they were fighting. Seeing this, Nobunaga frowned slightly,ining under her breath, "That purple monster doesnt know how to hold back..." Artoria, keying in on what Nobunaga had said, was intending to broach the subject and ask if Vahn always trained in this manner. Before the words could form on her lips, however, she saw the sad and concerned expression in Lakshmibais eyes as she closely observed the battle between Vahn and Scthach. Nobunaga, catching Artorias movements out of the corner of her eye, cast her nce over before shifting her gaze to Lakshmibai. A mischevious smile formed on her face when she saw the confusion in Artorias eyes, leading her to exin, "You dont have to mind her too much. She has been hopeless ever since Vahn gave her some special attention. The girl can hardly even look him in the eye anymore, shishishishi~." Hearing Nobunagas words, Lakshmibais face turned red almost instantly as she quickly stammered, "It isnt that serious...! I just...I..." To this, Nobunaga just waved her hand dismissively before turning to face Artoria and warning, "You seem a little uptight so let me give you a warning, girlie. If you intend to try and muddy the waters over something like duty, youd better properly prepare your heart and mind. There is nothing you could have experienced that can prepare you for what Vahn will do to you once youre alone in a room with him..." Though she tried to say this casually, even Nobunagas face became a bit red when she remembered her most recent affair with Vahn. As for why she chose to give Artoria a warning, she had already seen through Vahns intentions a bit and knew that challenging a proud Knight was the quickest way to make them do something stupid. As even Rin had warned her, Artoria furrowed her brows slightly before saying, "Surely, you must be exaggerating things..." In response to this, it was Lakshmibai who answered, her face a ruddy shade of pink as she shook her head and exined, "No, she is being serious. I had originally gone to our Master in order to have my strength bolstered for future battles. Though I knew my actions were troubling him, he still treated me so gently...Ive never experienced anything like that before. During the time we were together, it was like nothing else in the world mattered at all..." Piggybacking off what Lakshmibai was saying, Nobunaga gave an understanding nod before adding, "She isnt exaggerating at all. I even have nicknames like the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven and the Conqueror of the Warring States. Once that man gets his hands on me...it feels like all of my ambitions and aplishments lose their meaning. For the few hours we are together, the only thing that seems to matter is that singr moment..." Though this was something she would never say in front of Vahn, Nobunaga felt safe to mention it since Lakshmibai had already described what was on her mind. After all, this was the main cause for her current stress as Nobunaga slowly felt like she was losing the image she had created for herself by associating with Vahn... Though Artoria had already head about the various Servants Vahn had recruited thus far, she stillcked the specific knowledge of their legends, aplishments, and personalities. If Nobunaga was recognized as a Demon King and Conquerer by the Holy Grail, this meant she must have a strong personality. As for Lakshmibai, Rin had told her that the former was a Queen who had led a long revolution against a much stronger power in order to secure her peoples independence. Neither girl had a weak personality so, seeing them act like maidens as they talked about the same man, Artoria felt a little more apprehensive about her own future. She knew that Vahn had the apparent ability to greatly empower his Servants and, believing her heart would not waver, she had intended to have her own strength increased as well. Now, however, her conviction was quickly dwindling in the face of Lakshmibais and Nobunagas seriousness... In an effort to guide the conversation away from bedroom talk, Artoria looked towards Vahn fighting in the distance as she asked, "Where do you think his strength and convictione from? What drives him forward through so much pain and suffering...?" Seeing Vahn get his elbow inverted in the distance, Artorias brow twitched almost imperceptibly as she imagined how painful such a thing would be. At the same time, Nobunaga answered, "Anyone that has known Vahn for more than a day would be able to answer that...its because he is a hopeless idiot." Surprising Artoria, Lakshmibai nodded in response to Nobunagas insult with an affectionate smile on her face. As even Rin had referred to Vahn as a hopeless idiot, Artoria couldnt help asking, "Why would you say such a thing...?" This time, Nobunaga gave her a skeptical look before answering, "You must have sensed it yourself, at least a little bit. That man has no idea how to reach his goals but, no matter what he has to go through, he keeps moving towards the future without any hesitation. The thing that makes him an idiot is the fact that he could probably get there much faster if he focused on himself. Instead, he lets himself get sidetracked every time he sees someone that needs help...by the time that man reaches his goals, I imagine the whole f.u.c.k.i.n.g world would have been changed as a result..." Agreeing with Nobunagas words, Lakshmibais smile turned more radiant as she added, "For Heroic Spirits like us who had failed to reach out goals...seeing him endeavor tirelessly towards making the world a better ce is inspiring. He doesnt even have to make it his primary objective...the world is changed by his presence alone..." Though she did not doubt her own cause, Lakshmibai felt a little silly when thinking about how much effort she had put into trying to protect a single Kingdom. She didnt even care about the rest of the world, choosing to focus on the people she had been charged to protect. Vahn, however, simply couldnt ignore the suffering of others once it had reached his ears. Even if he couldnt do anything at the moment, he would tirelessly endeavor to improve his own strength until he reached a point where saving everyone was a possibility... Having failed to protect her own Kingdom and guide its people towards the better future she had promised, Artoria was more impacted by Lakshmibais words than all those preceding them. Since Vahn was supposed to hail from the Age of Gods, the scope of everything he did made her greatest efforts seem like those of a child ying at being King. She couldnt even manage the affairs of her own family while Vahn, seemingly without limit, extended his influence over actual Gods. Trying topare their aplishments made Artoria feel strangely insecure, especially since she hadnt even been able to keep order within her singr Kingdom... Seeing the reminiscent state Artoria had fallen into, Nobunagas expression became somewhat severe as she said, "Hey now, youre not doing something pointless like regretting your life, are you? Tales of your aplishments were even able to reach Japan more than a thousand years after you kicked the bucket. Sure, you mightve f.u.c.k.i.e.d up a few times, but you shame everyone who believed in you by having that kind of mentality. I dont care how depressed you feel, you had better not let Vahn ever see that kind of expression on your face..." Shaking her head in response to Nobunagas words, Artoria exined with a sad smile, "Do not worry. I have alreadye to terms with my failure and no longer seek to change the past. You are not the first to say such words to me, Nobunaga-dono, but I am grateful for the reminder." Though a time when she was truly without regrets would nevere, Artoria had received two hard lessons in the form of the previous two Holy Grail Wars. She even treated the current and future Grail Wars as a punishment for her folly of ever harboring the intention of altering the past. Even if she was to be used as nothing more than a tool to fulfill other peoples dreams and desires, Artoria had hardened her heart to bear her punishment. Regardless of how resolutely Artoria made her im, both Nobunaga and Lakshmibai were looking at her with skepticism clear on their expressions. Artoria might not be aware of it herself, but it was her mindset of epting an arbitrary punishment that Vahn would undoubtedly key in on. As a result, Nobunaga shook her head before releasing a tired sigh and muttering, "This one is going to be trouble..." Though she didnt say anything out loud, Lakshmibai was also in agreement with Nobunagas words as, regardless of what Artoria said, even she could see thebination of sadness and eptance within her eyes. These were two emotions that should almost never ovep, especially when it came to discussions regarding the future... Feeling that she had made the atmosphere awkward, Artoria showed an apologetic expression but, before she was able to say anything, Nobunaga interrupted by ring at her and saying, "Dont waste our time with your apologies, brat. Id rather talk about something more interesting and just let Vahn deal with your uptight asster on. If you dont have anything fun to talk about, just keep your mouth shut and sip on your tea like a good little girl..." Though her impression of Artoria hadnt been all that bad at first, Nobunaga now felt that she was an unbelievably troublesome girl. Knowing that Vahn would be a bleeding heart that tried to help Artoria was more than a little annoying, especially since it would eat into her own limited time with him... With that thought crossing her mind, Nobunaga sat up straight before looking at Lakshmibai and saying, "If youre gonna keep fl.u.s.tering about, you mind if I keep Vahn to myself for a bit?" This question caused Lakshmibais face to turn redder, giving Nobunaga the answer she wanted. After that, she just supported her head with her elbow,pletely ignoring the now-silent Artoria. It was obvious she was more than a little offended by the words Nobunaga had used previously but, as Nobunaga was even more offended by the unexpectedly selfish person Artoria turned out to be, it didnt bother her at all to be hated. --- By the time their training had crossed into the twelfth hour, Vahn was running on empty as his fatigued body fell forward like a marite with its strings cut. Even going down, however, Vahn struck forward with his left hand on pure instinct, nearly impacting Scthachs abdomen before she casually stepped to avoid it. She had originally been intending to catch him so Vahns final attack, issued when he was already unconscious, had been a surprise for even her. As a result of his actions, however, Vahn fell face-first against the hard white floor. Though this did absolutely no damage to him, hearing the heavy thump was enough to make most normal people flinch. Unfortunately for Vahn, Scthach was far removed from any semnce of the word normal, resulting in her picking him up by the cor of his shirt and dragging him over to where the others were seated. She quickly nced over Nobunaga, Lakshmibai, and Artoria, reading through each of their intentions before tossing Vahn in front of Nobunaga and saying, "He worked hard so make sure to reward him properly." As she was used to seeing how Scthach treated Vahn, Nobunaga barely even had a reaction to her words as she prepared to pick up her beaten Masters body. Artoria, however, took exception to such uncouth actions, causing her to immediately rise up and exim, "Training is one thing! How can you treat the body of your Master in such a disrespectful way while still pretending to praise him!?" In response to Artorias outburst, Nobunaga and even Lakshmibai looked at her as if she had lost her mind. As for Scthach, her expression remained entirely unperturbed as she inly stated, "Youck the qualifications to speak on the matter. If you intend to insult my student by insinuating he needs to be coddled, you will find I am unwilling to humor you. This is a path Vahn has set himself upon. It is not your ce to speak for him, King of Knights." With that said, Scthach wasted no time arguing with Artoria and simply vanished by returning to her Spirit form. This caused Artoria to frown even more but, as she looked around for support from the two girls that seemed infatuated with Vahn, the only thing she saw in their expressions was mild contempt and exasperation... Taking pity on Artoria, Lakshmibai exined, "This is one of the reasons why people like us are not able to achieve the things Vahn sets out to do. Almost everything he does, he does to an extreme most people cant evenprehend. Though Scthachs methods seem ruthless, Vahn had grown much stronger over a short period of time. At the same time, his stress has eased considerably while his focus on progress has been steadily improving. He knew beforehand that Scthachs methods were unbelievably fierce but, from the very beginning, he has never onceined at all..." Deciding to hammer the point home, Nobunaga nodded her head as she picked up Vahns body in a princess carry and added, "If you had seen Vahns growth with your own eyes, you would not be so quick to anger. Your words and actions are driven by pure ignorance, based solely on assumptions. Even though you have just be a part of something bigger than yourself, you are already trying to assume a position of authority that you have yet to earn. Perhaps that is why you are so filled with regrets...you are just a pretentious little princess who had everything handed to her from the start." Hearing Nobunagas words, Artorias expression became one of abject shock as, regardless of how desperately she wanted to refute them, she found herself unable to. Visions of her past failures yed through her mind, memories that also ounted for several people saying almost the exact same words as Nobunaga. Even her own foster brother, Sir Kay, a man she had treated more dearly than most real kin, had uttered such words. She had wanted to know why he was always so brash and argumentative, leading to the man sighing deeply as he answered, "You an existence blessed from birth, forced onto a path that had been cleared by others. From the very beginning, you were intended to be a King beyond the capabilities of any King past, present, or future. One day, all of this wille crashing down around you because the ideal you pursue was never possible from the beginning...you needed to earn your position, not be handed it..." By the time Artoria came back to her senses, both Lakshmibai and Nobunaga had vanished, thetter taking Vahns body along with her. Then, much as Vahn was often inclined to do, Artoria found herself questioning the path she had walked once again... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn has be twice as good at receiving beatings~!,Nobunaga would make a good wingman xD...,Artoria is just a cyclic as Vahn (x _ x)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1075 - Nothing : Everything

Chapter 1075 - Nothing : Everything

With the ability to sense his surroundings even while unconscious, Vahn had been vaguely aware of the small argument between Nobunaga and Artoria. He was even aware of how Nobunaga lingered over his body for an awkwardly long period of time before ultimately deciding to drink alone at the side. She seemed to have been considering whether or not to do anything to him while he slept but, other than a few curious touches, Nobunaga behaved herself properly. Vahn made a mental note to reward her patienceter on before deciding to use the present opportunity to sort through his Inventory and go over a few options he had been considering for the future. Before any of that, however, Vahn turned his attention to his status and couldnt help but smile, albeit only in his mind. ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 155 (Ageless) Race: Human, Progenitor(sealed), *sealed* Parameter: [Nasuverse: 1-5] Strength: 33->35C Endurance: Agility: 38->39C+ Magical Power: 45->48B+ Good Luck: 13E Circuit Quality: EX Soul Tier: 4 (Divine Soul) [Karma]: 119->1,309 [OP]: 3,141,419,213->2,978,400,125 Noble Phantasm: [Enkidu:SSS] Origin: [?] Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:B], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth:A], [Chainbreaker:B], [Veil of the Traveler:SS], [Hands of Nirvana:S], [Type Omega:SSS], [Executor of Akashas Will:SS], [Martial Arts:C](new), [Instinct:D](new) Magic: [Magia Erebea:S], [Administrative Function: Space Lock:SSS] Magecraft: [Magical Trigger:SSS], [Trace:SS], [Reinforce:B], [Gradiation Air:C], [Enchant:B], [Alchemy:E], [Shundo:E->C], [Cantus Bex:D->C], [Sagitta Magicka:E], [Od Conversion:E->D], [Primordial Rune:B](new) [Martial Arts] Rank: C Use: The users proficiency with all close-quartersbat techniques. [Instinct] Rank: D Use: The users ability to intuit the most optimal course of action inbat. [Primordial Rune] Rank: B Use: The precursor to [Rune Magic], dating far back to the Age of Gods. Consist of a series of thirty-nine runes that allow the user to use B~S-Ranked Magecraft without the need for chants. Currentprehension limits the user from bringing out the full potential of each rune. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Though his parameters hadnt changed all that much, Vahn knew that he wasnt even using his current capabilities to their fullest extent. Even though his Strength had only gone up by a value of two, Vahn felt like he was several times stronger than before just because the increased efficiency in how he moved his body. He felt both faster and responsive as well which, whenbined with the [Instinct] skill, made it almost seem as if he was closing the gap between Scthach and himself. If not for the fact she could use the same skill at the A-Rank, Vahn felt that it would only take a few months before he was able to startnding blows on her... With that in mind, Vahn turned his attention to some of the items he had been saving since the very start of his journey in the Nasuverse. He still had an [Innate Awakening Pill], the grimoires for [Inspiration] and [Might], an [Enlightenment Stone], and his trump card, the [Skill Advancement Scroll: SSS]. Though unique items like the [Innate Awakening Pill] and [Enlightenment Stone] were undoubtedly in a league of their own, Vahn could use the [Skill Advancement Scroll: SSS] to elevate any single skill to the maximum potential within the Record. If he used it on something like [Instinct], Vahn knew he would immediately be a force to be reckoned with as, ording to Scthach, it was one of the most powerful passive skills a person could have. As even Artoria only had A-Rank [Instinct] as one of her core skills, Vahn knew the SSS-Ranked version would be truly monstrous... ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Artoria Pendragon] Age: 15, Chrono-Dissia Race: Human, True Dragon(sealed) Strength: 43A Endurance: 36B Agility: 39B Magical Power: 48A+ Good Luck: 50A++ Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) Noble Phantasm: [Excalibur:A~EX] Skills: [Child of Destiny:Innate:SSS], [Red Dragons Descendant:Innate:SS], [Chivalrous Heart:Innate:S], [Charisma:B], [Instinct:A], [Mana Burst:A], [Magic Resistance:A], [Riding:B] Magic: (-) Magecraft: [Wind Maniption:D] [Charisma] Rank: B Use: The natural ability tomand an army and inspire allies. At this rank, the user is qualified enough to lead a country. [Instinct] Rank: A Use: The users ability to intuit the most optimal action inbat. At this rank, the user is not restricted by the five senses when engaged in battle. [Mana Burst] Rank: A Use: The ability to infuse the weapons and body of the user with Magical Energy before forcefully expelling it. Explosively increases offensive and defensive capabilities, creating a focused burst of magical energy that ignores most defenses. [Magic Resistance] Rank: A Use: The users ability to resist all magic of equal rank and lower. Provides moderate resistance to higher-ranked magics. [Riding] Rank: B Use: The users ability to use any type of animal or vehicle as a mount, guaranteeing proficiency equivalent to the skills rank and lower. [Wind Maniption] Rank: D Use: Allows the user to enchant the weapons, armor, and body with Wind Elemental magic. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Perusing over Artorias status, it was easy to see that she was one of the most important characters within the story surrounding the Nasuverse. Though Rin also had the [Child of Destiny] Innate, the fact that Sabers was SSS-Rank implied that she was either the main character or closely associated with them. What he found most peculiar was the fact that, instead of being Ageless like other Servants, she had the unique status of Chrono-Dissia. This,bined with the fact that she wasnt a Fragmented Soul was proof enough that she was a unique existence. After all, even Scthach, who was also still alive back in the Shadow Lands, only had a Fragmented Divine Soul after she had been summoned by the Holy Grail. While thinking about what he should do to increase his strength, Vahn couldnt help but humor the idea that, depending on the situation, Artoria might even be able to defeat Scthach. Her fate made it almost impossible for her to actually experience a real setback, assuming it wasnt one imposed on her by the original creator of this Record. Since the flow of fate around her body wasnt of the negative variety, Vahn felt it was safe to assume that Artoria could probably bring an end to the Holy Grail War herself. She could very likely go far beyond the limits of her recorded parameters, taking down opponents that simrly skilled Servants would have no hopes of besting... Once again feeling that people with a strong fate were troublesome, Vahn set aside how broken Artoria was and instead focused on his own cheat-like capabilities. Though they may not face against Gilgamesh and Circe in a short period of time, as their current location was unknown, Vahn didnt want to be fodder in theing conflict. There was also the presence of Merlin, the existence of the shadow entity, and the peculiar Servant inhabiting Illya. All of these things had the chance of bing a legitimate threat to himself and the people he wanted to protect, something Vahn was made keenly aware of after Merlin easily dealt with even Scthach. To avoid having to drift along in the wake of Artorias powerful fate, Vahn decided to bite the bullet as he looked between his [Martial Arts] and [Instinct] skills before ultimately deciding thetter was far more versatile. Then, after an extreme amount of hesitation, Vahn bid farewell to ten-billion potential OP as he used the [Skill Advancement Scroll:SSS] on his [Instinct]. At the very instant that Vahn used the scroll, it felt as if his mind hadpletely shut off. He was hyperaware of everything around him but, as if nothing mattered at all, he just allowed existence itself to wash over him... Sensing the peculiar state Vahn had fallen into, Sis almost immediately asked, (*Vahn, are you still with me...?*). Though she had experienced the same nothingness that Vahn had been developingtely, this was the first time Sis had seen him actually turn off everything. Even when Vahn was in a deep state of meditation, there would always be some kind of intent contained within his actions. Now, however, it was as if all his thoughts had ceased in their entirety, causing her to feel more than a little worried, even as he immediately answered, ("I am fine.") The very same instant he said this, Sis could sense a massive flow of sensory information filling Vahns mind until, almost as quickly as it had started, the phenomenon hade to a stop... Vahn wasnt really sure what he was feeling right now as,pared to the pleasant nothingness, his current experience was, forck of a better descriptive, absolute apathy. Until he heard Sis question, it felt like nothing had mattered at all. Now that he was brought back to awareness, Vahn quickly decided on his next course of action before immediately stopping once again. If someone were to ask what he was experiencing in these few moments, Vahns only words would be silence as, no matter how he tried to describe the state he was in, it would be far removed from the truth. It was as if he was simultaneously experiencing nothing, even as an awareness of everything existed within his mind... Now, instead of feeling just a little worried, Sis was genuinely concerned so she did something she would almost never do without Vahns consent. She began to bring memories to the forefront of his mind, many showing the more unpleasant moments of Vahns life. This caused his stagnant brain to immediately begin to cycle as, from depths even she could not probe, a cool sensation began to spread through his mind. At the same time, Vahn was brought back to a more solitary awareness, more focused on his own thoughts than everything else. With the rity brought by his [Will of the Emperor], Vahn realized the state he had been in and, even though she had forced him to relive the memory of Mns kidnapping, he eventually managed to say, ("Thank you for bringing me back...") Sis knew that Vahn wasnt all that happy so, even though he had thanked her, she still said, (*Im sorry for doing something so extreme. I was worried you had gotten lost and couldnt find your way back without a powerful stimulus...*). Though she knew Vahn was already aware of this, Sis felt extremely apologetic and needed to apologize directly. In response, Vahn fell silent for several long seconds before eventually saying, ("I forgive you..."). Since this wasnt just him trying to console her, as Vahn was slowly sorting through his actual thoughts on the matter, Sis felt a great deal of relief before answering somewhat sheepishly, (*I am always here for you...*). --- Now in a semi-permanant [Will of the Emperor] state, Vahn looked at the description of his new skill with abination of excitement and genuine shock. Instead of bing an SSS-Ranked [Instinct], it seemed that the skill actually had evolutions further beyond. Now, following right behind his Innates, Vahn had a skill called [Laces Key:SSS]. When used, it would force him into a state of absolute awareness of all things within a 50m space around him. It was almost like the ultimate expression of his usual domain and, in abat situation, this meant he wouldnt even need to rely on his senses at all in order to know how he should react. If the skill worked in the way it seemed to work, Vahn shuddered at the thought he could simply turn off his mind in the middle of a battle, bing a perfect machine that took down his enemies... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn couldnt help but wonder if that was how Scthach felt when she was battling against opponents whocked the means to obscure her [irvoyance]. In a way, it almost made the act of fighting feel pointless, as there was a guaranteed oue against all but the most powerful opponents. Since Vahn was, technically, an existence without a fate, there should be no means for any of his enemies to counter such a ridiculous ability. Even he needed to rely on his most powerful Innate just to keep his sense of self, and that was only after Sis brought him back using extreme means... With Vahn thinking about her chosen action again, Sis gave a wry smile with non-existent lips before saying, (*There are a lot of positives associated with this skill. You have rarely fought solely for the purpose of enjoying a fight. If you are against an enemy that you otherwise would have struggled with, you now have the ability to use [Laces Key] to turn the tide. I do not believe you would reserve the skill if it meant you could have protected the people you care about.*). As she had the best understanding of Vahns character, Sis knew her words would directly strike at the truth of the matter. Finding Sis wordspelling, Vahn rxed a great deal before replying, ("Youre right, Sis. The whole reason I used the scroll was to give me an advantage in the uing fights. If Iin about having an absolute advantage, I would be contradicting myself...hahaha...") Though Vahn still felt awkward to have such a powerful skill in his arsenal now, it was irrefutably better than not having it. Since he could still learn from himself through observing the memories of his battles, Vahn knew that [Laces Key] had the potential of being a powerful blessing, not a curse. Even if he got lost in the moment, Sis would always reliably bring him back. There was a chance he would even be able to master the skill through persistent efforts, making it just another part of his standard skillset in the future... Feeling far more hopeful about the future, Vahn decided he had been sleeping more than long enough. Though it had only been around half an hour, he knew that Nobunaga wasnt going to contentedly keep drinking sake at the side. He knew she was just trying to give herself a bit of courage and, after activating [Laces Key] for just a few seconds earlier, Vahn knew everything about the current state of her body. Thus, after sitting up and rubbing his head for a short while, Vahn turned his eyes to Nobunaga who, surprising him, dropped her cup of sake and asked, "What the hell happened to you...?" Since she was looking directly at his face, Vahn pulled out a hand mirror before experiencing a small shock of his own after seeing his eyes. Though they were still the same aquamarine-green color as normal, his pupils now formed cat-like slits. Since he could normally control his appearance, Vahn stared at his own image until the pupils dted into the form of a circle once again. He chalked it up to a side-effect of awakening his [Laces Key] but, as there was no skill in existence that could force him to keep a certain change, Vahn simply undid it. Now, with normal eyes, Vahn smiled at Nobunaga before saying, "I can change my form however I like. When I was passed out earlier, I must have had a strange dream that caused them to change like that." As this wasnt new information to Nobunaga, she just nodded her head in turn, even though she knew there was something more that Vahn hadnt alluded to. When he looked at her previously, she felt like a small child staring up at arge stranger for the first time. For a brief moment, she felt like Vahn couldpletely crush her without requiring any effort on his part. Now, even though he had returned to normal, Nobunaga could feel a subtle pressure lingering around his body that made her feel strangely nervous just to be around. This was mostly due to the fact he had his [Will of the Emperor] active but, after the shock she had experienced previously, Nobunaga now felt fragile with Vahn closer to the door than she was... Seeing the state Nobunaga was in, Vahns expression softened a great deal as he asked in a quiet tone, "May I join you for a drink...?" He had been intending to take the lead and have a bit of fun with Nobunaga but, seeing the usually overbearing woman appear genuinely afraid, Vahn now just wanted to spend some time with her. The moment his intentions changed, Nobunaga seemed to visibly rx as an awkward but sly smile adorned her face when she said, "Sure, but youll need to bring out a new bottle. This one is running a little low and I was starting to get a little tired of the taste anyways." Understanding that Nobunaga was doing her best to resume her normal behavior, Vahn released a light chuckle before pulling out a small ck bottle with gold lettering. This was another version of the [Emperors Blood], the type of sake that hadpletely dominated Tsubaki, Harhime, Mikoto, Shizune, and Amaterasu. So long as you were of eastern descent, hailing from a country even remotely simr to Japan, this was one of the most effective sake in his endless repertoire. Even without knowing what was inside, Nobunagas eyes showed a glimmer of expectation from the very moment Vahn produced the bottle. It was a reaction bordering on instinct as, with the exception of other types of [Emperors Blood], there were no higher quality sakes in existence. Vahn filled a small ceramic cup with the crystal clear liquid which, in the right light, refracted a slight golden hue. Though there was no discernable aroma, Nobunaga inhaled audibly after picking up the cup, almost as if her nose was able to detect something his simply wasnt capable of. Then, after savoring the aroma for a few seconds, Nobunaga downed the entire contents of her cup in a single swig. When she had finished, Nobunaga mmed the cup down on the small wooden table next to them before releasing a contented and slightly girlish, Phaaaa~. Even if she didnt intend to, her eyes were slightly squinted with a happy smile on her face, something that was rare since she would normally have a more sly, snide, or mischevious look... Seeing Vahn staring at her with an amused smile on his face, Nobunaga gave a curt hmph before robbing the bottle of sake from his hands. Vahn knew better than to try and keep it from her as, back in the Record of Danmachi, Tsubaki had nearly broken his arm after he tried teasing her. The only thing that mattered right now was that Nobunaga was in a much better mood than she was a few minutes ago. With that in mind, Vahn pulled out a bottle of expensive sake for himself, making sure not to pick another type of [Emperors Blood], before the two spent a few hours just drinking, talking, and, for the first time, simply cuddling together... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Saber is a leet haxor,Vahn like a kid taking his first hit...,Nobunaga, conquered by a single bottle of sake xD. Must have been a +50 gift item...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1076 - Release Restraint

Chapter 1076 - Release Restraint

Though he wasnt supposed to have to train again for a few more hours, Vahn had cut his time with Nobunaga short after she drank herself into a stupor. She could easily cleanse the alcohol from her system by returning to her Spirit form but, as the drunkenness associated with [Emperors Blood] was quite pleasant, he didnt me her for indulging in the moment. After setting her into the bed and tucking her in properly, Vahn made his way outside thekeside residence to see that Scthach and Fenrir were training in the distance. If he were being honest, watching the two train always made him feel a little frustrated so Vahn normally kept himself busy to avoid having to watch Fenrir get a beating. Her awareness of his presence actually caused her to make more mistakes so it was better for everyone if he didnt pay close attention to her progress... Since he didnt want to interrupt Fenrirs own training for his selfish reasons, Vahn turned his attention to the only other person present, Artoria. She seemed to detect his presence as well, causing her to rise to her feet and bow politely before saying, "I hope you were able to rest well, Master." Giving a curt nod in response, Vahn ignored correcting the way Artoria referred to him as, much like Lakshmibai, it was simply her nature as a Saber-ss Servant and Knight. Instead, he gestured for Artoria to take a seat before sitting opposite of her and asking, "How are you feeling after having time to adapt? Are you interested in Fenrirs training?" Since Artoria had been silently watching Scthach and Fenrir in the distance, Vahn figured she was either still bothered by the former or interested in thetter. When she answered, however, it seemed to be both as Artoria exined, "I do not agree with the methods employed by Scthach-dono. She seems unnecessarily harsh and, though I can understand the justification, I believe there are better methods. As for Lady Fenrir, I can see that she is earnestly trying to improve...it is quite admirable." Without anything else to really talk about, Vahn decided to continue the conversational line, asking, "Oh? What kind of training did you do when you were younger? I imagine it couldnt have been all that easy considering how powerful you were able to be..." Though he had said these words in a casual manner, Vahn saw Artoria flinch in response. When she finally answered, Vahn did his best to avoid giving her a deadpan stare as she reluctantly exined, "Since before I was even self-aware, I have always been training to be a worthy King. I endeavored tirelessly to reach that aspiration, to the point that I even used the period of time designated for rest to receive an education. With Merlins ability to enter dreams, he would teach me things like etiquette, strategy, negotiation, and anything else that would have made my duties easier..." Vahn knew that Artoria was leaving out a lot of details but even hearing the basic summary was a bit surreal. He remembered how upset the girls were when they learned about him using Evas orb back in the day but, at least when he was relying on that, Vahn was still sleeping when he was tired. The fact that Artoria spent her entire day training, including when she was supposed to be sleeping, caused Vahn to shake his head. Before he said anything, however, Artoria gave a wry smile before adding, "Do not trouble yourself, Master. Even during my lifetime, there were people who pointed out the faults in how I was raised. I do not me Merlin, however, as he merely endeavored to help me be the best King I could be. Had I refused the training, things would have been very different..." Even without him needing to point it out, Saber realized howparable her own situation waspared to the ints she had towards Vahn and Fenrirs. If they refused the training, it would be impossible for Scthach to insist upon it. Yet, much like she had refused the counsel of others during her lifetime, there was nothing disallowing them from doing the same. Realizing this, Artoria released a small sigh before hanging her head slightly, both hands neatly folded in herp. even when she was brooding, Artoria had perfect posture and presented no ws, at least from Vahns perspective as an Emperor interacting with his Court... Contrary to how Artoria carried herself, Vahn unceremoniously leaned forward before using his hand as a perch with his elbow atop the table. Since he was looking at her, Artoria straightened herself before politely asking, "Is there a matter you require me to attend, Master?" To this, Vahn nodded with the same casual demeanor before saying, "I wish to spar with you. Other than our Strength and Luck values, our parameters areparable to each other. I believe you will be able to ept the efficacy of Scthachs training if you experience how capabilities yourself. Watching me get beat for a few hours is probably weighing heavily on your mind, no...?" Having never expected Vahn to ask her for a spar, at least this early on, Artoria was genuinely surprised by his request. He also seemed sincere when iming their parameters wereparable, something that was even more difficult to believe than the fact he had been an Emperor above Gods. ording to Rin, he had been significantly weakened after being thrown into this world but, as she herself had seen, Vahn was certainly abnormal. The fact he generated from wounds that would have killed most Heroic Spirits was evidence enough for this so, without much extraneous thought on the matter, Artoria nodded her head and said, "I understand. It would be my pleasure to spar with you, Master." Vahn returned a smile before rising to his feet and making a mental note to apologize to Artoriater on. In truth, he had wanted to try his newfound [Laces Key] against Scthach but, after considering that it could give Artoria a better impression of him, Vahn was willing to gamble. Since she had a powerful fate surrounding her body,bined with the SSS-Ranked [Child of Destiny], there was a good chance their spar would be eventful. Just by interacting with Artoria in meaningful ways, Vahn knew that her fate would begin to incorporate his existence into it. There was even a chance, depending on how she felt about him, that Artorias fate could protect him and the people around them in dire circ.u.mstances... --- After moving to the opposite side of where Scthach and Fenrir were training, so as not to distract them, Vahn and Artoria ended up standing a rtively short 20m apart from each other. She had immediately changed into her armored state while, in her right hand, Vahn could actually feel his skin burning slightly as a result of the gentle light radiating from her pristine white de. It had a blue handle that was the same royal blue as her dress while a semi-crescent guard fed into the motif of a crucifix at the des base. Even at a nce, Vahn could tell he would not be able to forge such a weapon, even with his previous skill. It was like the embodiment of the Holy Element, meaning any blows Artoria managed tond on his body would deal upwards of six times the damage... As Artoria got into position, awaiting the start of the fight, Vahn decided to gain a few more future benefits as, if his n backfired, any single attack from Artoria would cause him to suffer. With that in mind, Vahn smiled disarmingly before asking, "How about we spice things up with a bet...?" In response to this, Artorias expression didnt wave in the slightest as she quickly replied, "It is ill manners to treat a spar as a game. Unless it is absolutely necessary, I would ask you to treat our spar seriously, Master." Hearing Artorias words, Vahn felt more than a little awkward but, nheless, pointed out, "This battle would be meaningless if you didnt use your Excalibur. However, because of the constitution of my body, any attack yound on me is going to do way more damage than you might expect. In order to give myself a bit of extra motivation, I wanted to make a friendly bet to make up for any losses I may suffer. You can look down on me for it if you want but, even if this is going to be a serious spar, it doesnt mean we have to treat the matters outside of it with the same severity. Since we havent even started, there is no reason to be so fierce..." Instead of acquiescing, Artoria looked a little annoyed as shemented, "Your way with words reminds me of my foster brother, Sir Kay. Though I bested him in all of our duels, I cannot im to have won a single bout if his words were to be believed. Very well, Master, if that is how you wish to handle things, I will abide by your words. Make the stakes known...!" Towards the end of her words, Artoria held up her [Excalibur] in a ready-position that caused the burning sensation against Vahns skin to more than double in intensity. Even if she wasnt actually threatening him in such a manner, Vahn felt as if Artoria was warning him not to make any uncouth demands of her. It could be due to the holy light radiating from her [Excalibur], but it almost felt like he was being judged by her crystal clear green eyes. Regardless of his apprehensions, however, Vahn retained a calm smile before saying, "If you defeat me, I will take to heart any suggestions you have regarding my future training methods. Should I win, however, I will have you copy the outfits Fenrir wears for the rest of our time within the Sub Space Orb..." Since Fenrir often wore frilly and girly clothing, almost the pr opposite of the prim and proper clothes worn by Artoria, Vahn felt this would be a push in the right direction without being too forceful... Having expected something much worse, a lot of the tension Artoria had been building up almost immediately copsed in response to Vahns words. For several seconds after the fact, she didnt move a single muscle. When she finally processed his request, Artoria released an exasperated sigh before her gaze be sharp once again. Without a single semnce of doubt contained within her gaze, Artoria confidently stated, "Very well. Even if I must train you myself, it is still better than entrusting you with that cruel woman. Draw your weapon, Master...!" Since he didnt actually trust himself with a weapon right now, Vahn shook his head before a pair of thin metallic gauntlets covered his hands and forearms. Then, just as he began deactivating his [Will of the Emperor], Vahn stated in a calm monotone, "You will look adorable in Fenrirs clothing..." With that said, Vahn felt like he took a backseat to his own consciousness, fully aware of everything going on around him but unwilling to do anything at all. This didnt stop him from taking action, however, even if it didnt feel like he had any control over his own actions... The moment Vahn finished his words, Artoria felt as if his entire disposition had changed in an instant. In one moment, he seemed rather casual and easy-going but, now that leaned toward her slightly, Artoria felt as if she werent simply standing beneath a mountain, but looking up at one that was falling atop her head. The moment her finger twitched, Vahns figure had already vanished from her perception, causing Artorias eyes to widen as she parried to the right. Instead of trying to strike her, however, Vahns hand slipped in the gap between her own swift strike before his fingers hooked into the te protecting her neck. At the same time, his left hand pushed up the hilt of [Excalibur] with a sudden and spontaneous force that caused both of her hands to raise above her head. With Artoria losing her bnce, Vahn, even if he wasnt directing his own movements, began to intermittently use [Shundo] in a way he had never even fathomed before. By using [Shundo] without creating a connecting point, his body and Artorias flew forward with an incredible momentum before he actually used her foot as a marker and vanished once again. With her already intense momentum, Vahn appeared in Artorias trajectory before holding out his hand. At the exact moment she came into contact with his palm, Vahn used [Shundo] in the opposite direction, once again without creating anding point. With her momentum spontaneously arrested, before being reversed, Artorias body experienced an intense whish as two contrasting shockwaves mmed into her body. She was sandwiched by the pressure before immediately being tossed along the white floor like a ragdoll after Vahns third [Shundo]. Her eyes were wide with shock as she attempted to rise to her feet but, the moment she looked up to try and track Vahns location, the only thing Artoria could see was a ck fist filling her entire vision. It stopped less than a millimeter in front of her nose, causing her hair to blow backward from the wind pressure that apanied the fists original momentum. In the next moment, Vahn stepped back with what could only be seen as apletely emotionless expression beforeing to a stop once again... Artoria didnt know if this was his way of saying the spar was over but, realizing the ridiculous series of events that took ce, she was unwilling to back down just yet. However, just as she put strength into her arms and tried to lift her body, Vahn was already within her personal space, his fist forming a two-knuckled punch that directly impacted the center of her b.r.e.a.s.tte. Artoria felt a wave of hot and intense pressure pass through her body, lifting her slightly off the ground against the pull of gravity. Then, as if time had just restarted, a thunderp sounded in her ears as she was sent flying away from [Excalibur] with nearly as much speed and force as the blow that had brought her to her knees previously... This time, Artoria didnt feel that rising to her feet was a good idea, even as her unwillingness to surrender zed like a me inside her chest. Even if this was supposed to be a spar, Artoria felt like her life was on the line so, after spitting up a mouthful of blood, she began to rise to her feet before extending her hand. The expected purchase she sought never came, however, causing Artoria to fall hard as an expression of profound confusion shed across her green eyes. Throughout her life, any time she had called [Excalibur] to her side, it had always faithfully appeared. This time, instead of returning to her hand, she was left grasping at the air before no longer being able to support her aching body... --- Under the guidance of Sis, Vahn slowly regained his senses, feeling just as shocked as Artoria after what had happened. It wasnt the fact that he had defeated her with much greater ease than he had expected that had Vahn shaken, however, but the fact that there was a foreign weight in his hand that shouldnt be there. Though it should have burned him on contact, Vahn was holding a perfectly tame [Excalibur] in his hands as it radiated a gentle light that no longer affected his body. He quickly released the royal blue handle, causing the de to disappear in motes of white light before taking form in Artorias hands once again. This allowed him to release a sigh of relief as, if he had actually managed to steal Artorias [Excalibur], Vahn wouldnt really know how to act around her... In order to help Vahn understand the situation, Sis suddenly muttered, ("Vahn, your body...") in a guiding tone. Following her lead, Vahn looked down and saw two things that shouldnt have been there, immediately alerting him to the reality of the situation. Now that he inspected himself, he looked exactly like Artoria, matching her almost perfectly down to the structure of their magic circuits. After acquiring [Excalibur], his body seemed to have determined that the most efficient way to end the fight was to take Artorias weapon. To facilitate this, he became an existence nigh-indiscernible from Artoria herself. It wasnt until he released [Excalibur]s handle that the sword seemed to realize that he wasnt actually its owner... After taking a few moments to restore his body to normal, Vahn [Shundo]d next to the copse Artoria and took in a sharp breath. She wasying on her stomach so Vahn was able to see the perfectly formed palm-print he had left on the back of her b.r.e.a.s.tte. He hadnt simply hit her hard, but with extreme precision. If not for her [Mana Burst] enhancing her durability, Vahn imagined that his [Shundo] stunt might have actually broken her back. Considering that this was nothingpared to the strike he had used to finish the fight, Vahn redoubled his intentions to make it up to Artoriater on... Though Artoria hadntpletely lost consciousness, Vahn could tell she was on the verge as he gently rolled her onto her back. Her b.r.e.a.s.tte had five hairline fractures expanding out from a singr contact point that was supposed to be the thickest part of the metal. From the thin red lines running from the cracks, Vahn didnt even have to use his [Eyes of Truth] to know that his attack had done far more damage than he ever would have intentionally inflicted on an ally. There was even a pool of Artorias blood on the ground from when she had been lying face down... Knowing that she needed his mana to recover her injuries, Vahn bit the bullet by cutting vertically along his index finger before sticking it int Artorias mouth. He even forcefully elerated the rate at which the blood was flowing, to the point that Artoria briefly coughed up a mouthful when it identally went down the wrong pipe. Fortunately, she quickly recovered her senses with the heavy flow of mana entering her body. As a result, Vahn found himself awkwardly sitting at her side as Artoria suckled on his finger with an increasingly red face. Then, though it was probably thest thing she wanted to hear right now, Vahn felt like it wasnt a bad moment to say, "Sorry about that. I treated the battle more seriously than I should have...it was never my intention to injure you..." Hearing Vahns words, Artoria furrowed her brows as, even if he didnt intend them in such a way, it made her sound much weaker than he was. However, remembering how swiftly he had taken her down, Artoria realized this may not be far from the truth. Though he had certainly caught her by surprise, she couldnt even react to his movements after the battle had begun. It was almost as if he was able to use her own [Instinct] against her, slipping into the impossibly small gaps in her attacks. Then, after hended the first hit, the rest of the battle was a foregone conclusion as she was never even allowed a moments reprieve other than when Vahn had stopped his fist short of striking her face... Suddenly feeling a bit ashamed of her own performance, Artoria became hyperaware of Vahns finger in her mouth, doing her best to avoid touching it with her tongue, even though it made draining his blood harder. He seemed to notice her struggle, pulling his finger from her lips with a fwip before cutting his middle finger as well. Before Artoria could argue that she was already okay, Vahn had stuck both of his fingers in her mouth, inly stating, "Drink..." in amanding tone. Though this hadnt been the terms of their bet, Artoria still feltpelled to listen since she had been defeated in such a decisive manner. Now, instead of looking down on Scthachs training, she wondered if it would be prudent to participate herself... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Target acquired...,Saber in cute clothes...kuwaii-desu~! (UwU)...,One-hundred percent maximum no-chill...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1077 - Scheme

Chapter 1077 - Scheme

After a much longer period of time than Vahn had expected, abination of Artorias massive reserves and poor efficiency, Vahn finally plucked his fingers from her lips. It had taken a total of twenty-three minutes, leaving his index and middle finger slightly pruned while Artorias expression now had a ruddy hue that had diffused down to her neck. Vahn gave her a wry smile in response before pulling out a towel to wipe down his hand as mused, "Youre quite the glutton..." This caused Artoria to immediately have a coughing fit as she quickly rolled to the side before smoothly transitioning into a seated position with her feet tucked beneath her. The most remarkable part of this maneuver was that she transitioned into casual wear with practiced ease, discarding her broken armor in a single motion. Finishing things by giving another light cough, Artoria proceeded to smooth out the crease of her skirt before cing her hands neatly in herp and adopting the most serious expression she could manage at the moment. Vahn wasnt going to let her recoverpletely, however, as it would make things a lot easier if he kept Artoria slightly off bnce. To facilitate this, he inclined his head towards where Scthach and Fenrir were still battling in the distance. Artoria followed his gaze, a confused look upon her face until she finally remembered their wager. This caused her face to turn practically crimson as, presently, Fenrir was only wearing what amounted to skin-tight shorts and a top visually simr to those worn by female Sprinters in the Olympics. She didnt even wear anything on her hands and feet as she relied on her ws to gain traction forplex movements... Finding Artorias reaction amusing, Vahn pushed her a little further bymenting, "It still covers more than a swimsuit..." Then, to more or less guarantee that Artoria would relent, Vahn added in an apologetic tone, "Well, you dont have to worry about it. With how I behaved earlier, it felt less like a spar than a full-on assault. Consider our wager forfeit since I took things too far..." This had the result of Artoria immediately frowning, regaining much of herposure in the process before saying, "I was the one who told you to take the battle seriously. With how things turned out, I can only me myck of awareness and skill..." With that said, Artoria scrutinized Fenrir for a few seconds before her outfit changed from a prim and proper blouse and skirt to a far more revealing skin-tight singlet and short-shorts. Seeing Artorias unblemished and smooth skin, perpetually locked in the transition between being a youngdy and a proper a.d.u.l.t, Vahn couldnt hide his appreciation. She was genuinely one of the most beautiful women he had seen, even if shecked the charm of more mature women. If not for the fact she had a serious expression on her face, Vahn felt few would be able to contend against her appearance without heavy makeup and professional care. Since it was better to say such things out loud, consequences be damned, Vahn gave an appreciative nod before saying, "You have a lean and bnced figure. It is obvious you were diligent in your training from an early age...very nice." Since using more flowery words would probably have less of an impact, Vahn chose more objective and neutral words whenplimenting a woman like Artoria. Artoria didnt seem to know how to take such apliment as, even though she had opened up to her femininity during the Fifth Holy Grail War, she was still inexperienced with such things. Both Rin and Shirou were essentially children back then and, due to their chaotic circ.u.mstances, neither were acting in a manner that could be considered normal. The only thing she could rely on when dealing with Vahn was her experience in observing Merlin flirt with various women. She had no personal experience with courtship as even her wife had been arranged for her... Remembering a few dark thoughts, Artorias embarrassment quickly died down as she straightened her back and simply answered, "Thank you for thepliment..." This caused Vahns brows to raise in suspicion but, knowing it probably wasnt the best time to ask, he chose to let the mattery. It was a good opportunity to break free from the rather awkward atmosphere they had cultivated so Vahn rose to his feet before politely extending his hand to Artoria. Instead of epting it, however, she leaned forward slightly before rising to her feet in a single smooth movement that Vahn knew would actually be very difficult to pull off without impable bnce and leg strength... Though Artorias figure while standing was even more phenomenal than when she was seated, Vahn made a point not to gawk as he started leading the way back to the smallke. Along the way, Artoria dutifully kept pace with him, even though she had be silent after whatever memories guing her heart had resurfaced. Vahn was genuinely curious how long she would be able to keep up her mncholy while wearing a royal-blue and white version of Fenrirs training garb... With that in mind, Vahn gestured for Artoria to take a seat at the low table located a short distance from theke. He was tempted to sit next to her but, deciding against it, moved to the opposite side before asking, "So, what are your intentions? I already informed you earlier than Rin and I intend to destroy the Holy Grail permanently this time. I imagine you will want to provide assistance though, as you can see, it isnt necessarily required. Your help would undoubtedly prove useful, but we will not be powerless if you want to act as a reserve force." Hearing Vahns words, Artoria produced a small frown before staring directly at him and saying, "I will fight. Even if I no longer seek my own wish, I will fulfill the duty I have been assigned. If it is your desire to destroy the Grail, so too shall it be my own...!" The tone of her voice didnt leave much room for argument but that didnt stop Vahn from shaking his head and saying, "You should choose your words more carefully, Artoria. I can appreciate your willingness to assist in the Holy Grail War, but I can almost guarantee you are incapable of helping fulfill my desire. You will do your duty, certainly, but that will be where our paths diverge...isnt that correct?" Artoria seemed to understand the falsity contained within her words, causing her expression to turn slightly apologetic as she corrected her previous statement, saying, "I misspoke. You are indeed correct in your ascertaions, Master. Were it within my power-." Before Artoria could finish her words, Vahn held up his hand and said, "I just told you to choose your words carefully. As the King who had formed the Code of Chivalry, do not think I will excuse you from duty so easily if you make arbitrary promises. I will say it now, so there is no room forter argumentation, but I am more than capable of allowing you to stay within this world. Even more than other Servants, the fact that you are still alive would let me anchor you to the current time axis..." Seeing that Artoria was failing to understand himpletely, Vahn inly stated, "If you truly wish to begin moving forward, I would not mind your presence at my side. You may have guessed it, but I intend to make this world a better ce before I finally move on. I cannot simply watch as the world is led to ruin for the benefit of a few greedy individuals consolidating power behind the scenes. Even if the whole world turns against me as a result, I will bear that burden knowing that my efforts will create a better future for those that follow...so, once again, King of Knights, Artoria Pendragon, you will choose your words carefully. Do I make myself clear...?" Given how Vahn needed to maintain his [Will of the Emperor] just to keep [Laces Key] at bay, each of his words had apulsion effect that carried a great deal of pressure when spoken seriously. As a result, Artorias expression had be serious as her back was ramrod straight, even if it made her chest stand on disy. She didnt seem to consider how she was dressed, evidence that her habits and manners were deeply ingrained into the very core of her being. When she finally responded, Artoria did not answer his question directly and, instead, asked, "How do you know the path you are walking is what the world needs? Will you insist on your ways, even if hundreds of millions need to die...?" Though he hadnt prepared an answer, Vahn didnt hesitate at all when it came to exining, "I do not know if the path I have decided upon is for the best. However, that does not mean I will stop trying to make the world a better ce. It is because I am uncertain about many things that I choose to surround myself with people who share simr ideals. When I lose my way, I never hesitate to rely on the advice and input of those Ive given my trust...I believe, whenparing the two of us, that is our biggest difference, Artoria." Even before Vahn had finished his words, Artoria had already been taking in an audible breath through her nose. From Vahns perspective, this was a good thing as it almost undoubtedly ended with a person making a firm resolve. Thus, Vahn wasnt even surprised when Artoria balled her hands into fists and said, "I will follow you. I am also unable to stand by and watch as the innocents of the world suffer. Though I may not have made a proper King, I can still fulfill my duties as a Knight...!" While allowing a genuine smile to spread across his lips, Vahn couldnt help but close his eyes and internally remark, ("She is too ustomed to other people deciding a path for her. Im not sure if I should be grateful to Merlin or if it would be more appropriate to lecture him...") Though Artoria undoubtedly came with a lot of baggage, Vahn knew she would be extremely useful with her powerful fate and cheat-like skills. There was even a chance that her SSS-Ranked [Child of Destiny] is what led him to pressure her as much as he had. Though he existed outside the natural flow of fate, that didnt mean he was immune to its effects. Just as Tinas [Luck] had often caused him to act in an uncharacteristic manner, there was a very real chance that Artorias maxed out Luck had a simr effect. With that in mind, Vahn internally mused, ("Well, if thats how it is going to be, dont me me for taking advantage of the situation.") Opening his eyes, Vahn stared back at Artoria before adamantly stating, "Then from this moment onward, you will be my first Knight within this world. I will hold you to the same virtues you had expected of others in life, those of Honor, Honesty, Valor, and Loyalty. In exchange, I will swear to never deviate far from the path we have decided upon together. I may make mistakes, but I will trust that you will always be at my side to help guide me back to the correct path. From now, until our final parting, this is my pledge, my promise...do you ept?" Though Vahn had skewed the words a great deal, he was very aware that his words almost sounded like wedding vows. When Artoria looked back on this day in the future, he wondered if she would feel bittersweet, or resentful for his ploy... Apparently failing to see through Vahns scheme, Artoria raised her head with a determined and resolute gaze as she answered, "I do...!" The moment these two words left her mouth, however, Artoria had a reaction not all that dissimr to Lefiyas. Though the process only took around two seconds, a line of red could be seen rising from her neck before disappearing beneath her bangs. At the same time, Vahn had an amused smile on his face as he mused, "How reliable...well then, I will be in your care..." As he said this, Vahn pulled out what looked like glowing ss doll before handing it over to Artoria and exining, "If your words carry true conviction, you will be able to use that item by simply desiring it..." Vahn was forced to let his words trail as, even though Artoria still seemed unbelievably embarrassed by her own fervent exmation, she immediately vanished into thin air after taking hold of the [Spirit Vessel]. Then, with his [Eyes of Truth] active, Vahn watched as the glowing ss doll took on the shape of a miniature Artoria,pletely bereft of clothing. As the light within grew in intensity, so too did her body until, less than a minuteter, Artoria was sitting n.a.k.e.d on the table while hugging her knees. Her eyes were closed for several seconds longer, remaining as such until the light from her bodypletely faded away. After this, her eyelids began to slowly open, making Vahn the first thing she saw in her brand new faux-body... Understanding that Artoria probably lost her ability to manifest clothing, Vahn gave a light cough before pulling out a change of clothing and saying, "You should use these for the time being..." Until he had said this, Artoria seemed to be in a state of processing what she had just experienced. After hearing his words, however, she looked down at her body with a fretful expression before muttering, "Why does it feel like I just sold myself to something even worse than the World...?" In response to this, Vahn snorted through his nose before saying in a firmer tone, "Artoria, unless we need to have a serious talk about your exhibitionist tendencies, you need to get off that table and wear the clothing I have provided for you. That is, of course, assuming you cant still manifest clothes...?" As soon as these words left his lips, Vahn produced a wry smile as a set of high-coverage clothes formed around Artorias body. Though he was tempted to point out their earlier deal, Vahn no longer cared about that since he had essentially secured one of the strongest anchors of fate that he had ever encountered. So long as he didnt somehow be her enemy, Artorias presence would be a powerful shield that also allowed him to study how fate could be manipted to his advantage. Thus, without harping over the matter, Vahn rose to his feet before extending his hand to Artoria once again, this time saying, "My Knight, Artoria...give me your hand..." Though she had an unbelievablyplex expression on her face, Artoria still reached out to grasp Vahns hand, allowing him to pull her up and off of the table. Then, as he was certain she had a lot of questions, Vahn guided Artoria to take a seat, this time next to his own. She didnt have any reaction to this so Vahn just exined, "That item is something hailing from the Age of Gods. It is known as a [Spirit Vessel], a faux body that allows a willing soul to inhabit it. You may find it hard to believe, but trust me when I say that deception cannot be used to trick someone into entering a [Spirit Vessel]. As for what you should expect, well, it isnt all that dissimr from being a Servant from what I can tell. The biggest difference is you are no longer considered an active participant within the Holy Grail War while your soul, which had been stuck in a status known as Chrono-Dissia is now rooted in the current timeline..." After his initial exnation, Vahn went on to detail all of the benefits and detriments to inhabiting a [Spirit Vessel], courtesy of information provided by Sis. The biggest con was the fact that Artorias strength could not increase beyond her current base parameters, no matter how much she trained. As this wasnt all the different from a Servant, however, it ultimately didnt make much of a difference. In that same vein, she still needed to take in mana from external sources as, much like a Servant, shecked skills like [Od Conversion] and other means to replenish her reserves. However, considering that she got to keep the knowledge obtained from the Holy Grail,bined with the intrinsic ability to create clothes with a thought, it wasnt all that bad. The most important matter Vahn discussed was the fact that he would be able to prepare a more suitable body for her, one without the limits of a [Spirit Vessel]. Though they were undoubtedly very useful items, Vahn felt they were better served as temporary containers to host a soul and its ego while he prepared a vessel without restrictions. Since this world had the concept of things like Homunculus and Artificial Humans, Vahn knew he could create a body for Artoria from scratch. The possibility of forming one for her out of himself also existed, though Vahn was uncertain whether or not the form would hold if he wasnt the one piloting it. Fortunately, even without going to that extreme, Vahn felt there were plenty of options avable to them. He could even talk with Lord El-Melloi II or Gray about her past as, now that Vahn had seen Artoria, he was absolutely certain that Gray was something akin to a clone or an experiment in recreating Artoria in the present. Though he would never be insensitive enough to simply ask her about such things, Vahn felt it wasnt beyond his means to obtain the information. It seemed like Gray only needed a small push before she was swept up by his momentum, something Vahn was bing increasingly aware of as the days passed. Ever since he had given up on restraining himself, things had been bing progressively easier as not only had his drive increased but so too had his confidence. Vahn hadnt realized how big of a confidence booster it was to spend his rest periods making love to strong and capable women who, in his hands, became like pure maidens... As these types of thoughts hade to him towards the end of their discussion, Vahn sent a nce towards Artoria before smiling in response to her confusion. There was one thing he hadnt told her about her [Spirit Vessel] but, until she stumbled across the subject on her own, Vahn would leave it be. That didnt mean he couldnt think about the possibilities however as, until this moment, he had yet to use his Unit Managements Modify feature within this Record. Now that Artoria was no longer a Servant, but had been reborn within a [Spirit Vessel], she was reflected in the system as a Unit that could be Modified. Though he could have determined them without the aid of the system, Vahns smile increased marginally as he looked at the detailed information on Artorias various sizes, weight, and preferences. The only limit, besides her required consent, was the fact that her Loyalty was still rtively low at 84 points... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Just imagine Fenrir bullying Artoria by wearing a bikini xD...or maybe a school swimsuit!?,Lokis Influence has made itself known O_O...,Someone stop this man before he grows even more out of control...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1078 - Variable Paths

Chapter 1078 - Variable Paths

Now that he had Artoria as his first long-termpanion within the Nasuverse, Vahn decided it was time to begin forming his ideas into words. He had already been thinking about what he would do following the Holy Grail War so, now that he had someone to bounce the ideas off of, Vahn set out some fresh and fragrant mint tea as he exined, "Though my n will change depending on who else we are able to recruit, there are two courses of action I have plotted out. The first is a lot more high-profile than the second option, as it would entail us traveling around the world to help people in ways that couldnt easily be covered up by the Clock Tower and the Holy Church. There are a lot of major illnesses within this world, several of which can millions of lives every single year. If we begin curing people on a global scale, while performing acts like terraforming desserts and detoxing the atmosphere, there are few ways they would be able to spin the information away from magic." Though what Vahn was proposing sounded like a wonderful idea, as it would essentially put him in the role of a savior, Artoria showed aplicated expression as she cautioned, "I am not against such methods, but they could have disastrous consequences if we are unable to build the proper momentum before our enemies respond. There is a chance that they could even release gues and other cmities in order toy the me on your head and turn public opinion against you. Over the course of history, the two things that have proactively killed thergest number of people have always been politics and religion..." As someone who had been betrayed in several different ways throughout her life, Artoria was well aware of how extreme the death toll could get when the people were manipted for someone elses ends... As he could understand Artorias concerns, Vahn nodded his head before ultimately saying, "One of the things you might not have considered properly is how interconnected people are in the current Era. Depending on how we chose to y our hand, it isnt impossible for upwards of a billion people to instantly learn of the existence of magic. Though there would be a public outcry, followed byrge-scale protests, that would have always happened, regardless of our efforts. The people of this world have been pacified to such an extent that they will flock together and protest before taking any truly decisive action. Anyone that tries to lead something like a revolution in a so-called first world country is almost always assassinated and suppressed long before they can gain even a small following..." Vahn knew hecked aplete understanding of the current world, as he had only researched it sparingly at best, but one of the things he had noticed throughout was that people only decisively acted through means of protesting and riots. These would always get suppressed rtively quickly, as the current Era made it impossible for people tomit to such actions withoutpromising their livelihoods. The vast majority of people around the world had to rely on their minimal wages just to make a living, meaning they could never just stop working and be proactively involved in protesting. Though some couldst for weeks, people would inevitably move on after feeling their actions were fruitless, falling back into the trap that had been set for them by the very people they were trying to protest against. In a battle of attrition, it was the wealthy and affluent who were the victors, the only exception being when those of simr wealth and power were the ones trying to rile people up... Keying in on what Vahn was saying, Artoria furrowed her brows as she asked, "Then what would be the point of riling people up?" To this, Vahn just smiled as he exined, "It is a lot harder to control people when you introduce metaphysical and spiritual concepts into the equation. As a result of being forced into passivity, there are a phenomenal number of people who are simply waiting for an excuse to rise up in a more meaningful way. If you could decisively prove the existence of things like Magecraft, there would be no end to the number of people that would rise up to defend the concept. Though the powers-that-be may use extreme methods to try and suppress the information, or eveny me on us, we need only keep creating miracles in order to have the public demanding the truth from their would-be leaders..." Though she could understand what Vahn was trying to say, Artoria once again pointed out, "That kind of method would lead to wide-scale chaos, costing the lives of hundreds-of-millions in the long run. I am not the kind of person who believes the end justifies the means..." Before Artoria could go down a non-conducive route where they would simply argue, Vahn raised his hand in a cating gesture before adding, "I would never desire such an oue, Artoria. The simple truth of the matter is that the current system is intentionally designed to cause that kind of reaction. The powers ruling behind the scenes have designed it that way in order to guarantee they can always control the public, even when they are riled up. Since it ultimately does not affect them, they have no problem with increasing the amount of chaos so that they are able to step in and guide the survivors back to the intended path..." With her hands forming into fists, Artoria eximed, "Then we should be targetting the powers behind the scenes! If we know they are just going to manipte people to their own ends, they should be out first targets!" As this was Vahns own intentions, he simply nodded in response, casually smiling in a way that made Artoria swallow her words before sitting back down. When she had settled down, Vahn exined, "That is why, from the very start, I said there were two methods I had thought of. The first method would undoubtedly have the fastest results, but the consequences could be disastrous depending on the response from the powers behind the scenes. In order to avoid such an oue, the second option is to be a global power that can directly contend against those lurking within the dark..." Even if it would undoubtedly have him ssified as a Dead Apostle Ancestor, Vahn went on to detail the n he hade up with to see what Artoria thought. Though he hadnt worked out all the wrinkles just yet, Vahn was intending to either secure an ind or a mountain as his base once the Holy Grail War hade to an end. He needed time to consolidate his power but, with the existence of the Sub-Space Orbs, time was a luxury he could, quite literally, purchase. So long as he had time, Vahn was confident they could all greatly increase their power, all whileing up with a far moreprehensive solution. Then, be it through negotiation or more direct means, their organization could slowly dig up the roots of the other major powers until they were forced topromise. This would guarantee their status as an enemy to both the Mages Association and the Holy Church, but that was always going to be the oue if they wanted to bring about real andsting change... Finding it far more eptable to be in the line of fire herself, Artoria had a resolute expression on her face by the end of Vahns long exnation. Even her Loyalty had jumped up to 92 points, making it very clear which of the two options she preferred. Before she could go off on some grandiose speech, however, Vahn tempered her fervor by reminding, "If we are going to use the second method, it will likely take years before we are even ready to begin moving. We also need to acquire allies to aid in our endeavor, and not just in the form of powerhouses that can fight against our foes directly. If we were a force solely focused onbat, our purpose would be skewed with the passage of time..." Since it was obvious that Artoria preferred the second method, Vahn went on to exin how he intended to keep every willing Servant manifested, even after the Grail War came to an end. Though there were undoubtedly reliable allies to be found in the present, there was a reason why very few modern people ever became Heroic Spirits. The current state of the world,bined with how information was strictly controlled, meant it was almost impossible for new legends to form. Few people could hold up under the scrutiny of the modern era where, instead of inting stories and giving power to the legends, people were more than likely to call into question the validity of such ims. There would be an incalcble number of naysayers that would flock to disprove anything miraculous had ever urred, some of which belonged to groups that were payrolled by the Mages Association and Holy Church... Towards the end of his exnation, Vahn allowed a confident smile to adorn his face as he finished up by saying, "Ultimately, we will endeavor to be an unshakeable existence that has enough power to reform and regte the other organizations. I expect the opposition will not sit idly by, but there are few legends where the bad guys dont y a proactive role in the heros story, right...?" No matter how he tried to spin it, Vahns proposition was essentially creating an organization of heroes that was determined to root out evil. He harbored no delusions that evil could be, or even should be, eliminated. But the future of the world shouldnt be solely determined by a few tens of thousands of people while literally billions endeavored to support their errant lifestyles. With her Loyalty now amendable 107, Artoria returned an affirmative nod before allowing a somewhat excited smile to spread across her face. Vahn blinked in genuine surprise with how her beauty seemed to double with such a simple action, but he otherwise managed to control himself as Artoria proimed, "I will do my best to make our shared dream a reality, Master. I may becking in various regards, but I will endeavor to be much stronger if it can increase our chances by even a single percent...!" Since it was too good an opportunity to pass up, Vahn smiled teasingly before musing, "Our shared dream...well put, Artoria..." This,bined with the very fresh memory of her practically shouting, I do caused Artorias face to immediately puff into apletely reddened state. Then, though it was inarguably maniptive, Vahn reminded in a calm and gentle tone, "Do not forget themitment you had shown as a Servant. Though the fundamental nature of our rtionship has changed, there are some things that simply cant be glossed over. However, regardless of how you feel about the matter, know that I have no intention of making things difficult for you, Artoria...when you have truly prepared your heart, know that I have already prepared a ce for you within mine." Even without every other Servant already receiving his mana, it was never truly a question whether or not Artoria would partake in the exchange. So long as her Masters wish wasnt against her Cod of Chivalry, Artoria almost defaulted to the mentality that she was simply a tool to be used. If she could rationalize that it would increase their chances of victory, something like a Command Spell wasnt necessary to sway Artorias actions. If you tried to force the matter, it would be next to impossible to break through her defenses. Inversely, however, you only needed to present things in a way that she could justify ording to her preformed biases in order to have the woman known as the King of Knights wrapped around your finger. Though this was a massive g showing how she had been manipted her entire life, Vahn would not allow her to be sad in the future... Knowing what Vahn was getting at, as there wasnt really anything left open for interpretation, Artoria hung her head slightly as she answered, "I am still inexperienced in matters of the heart. However, I shared a promise with my former Master that I do not desire to break. I will do my duty, regardless of what you require of me...but please do not expect my heart to be so easily swayed..." From her perspective, it hadnt even been a full month since her broken body was dissipating into small particles of light. At that time, she had promised her former Master, Shirou, that she would continue to love him until they one day reunited. Though she knew such promises were foolish, especially with how inexperienced she was in such matters, Artoria didnt want to believe her heart was so weak that she would set aside her promise just because she knew Shirou had died... As Artorias response was well within his expectations, Vahn gave an understanding nod in response, even though he knew her resolve likely wouldntst. With what he knew of reincarnation, even with a contained system like the Root, the chances she would ever reunite with the same Shirou were infinitesimally small. Though meeting one with the exact same thoughts and memories wasnt too much of a stretch, it would inarguably be a different person on the most fundamental level. This was one of the reasons why he hadnt wanted to get too close to Rin from the start as, with the intention of traversing various timelines, Vahn knew he would meet near-identical versions of her along the way. He was afraid that falling in love with one of them wouldpel him toe to the aid of every Rin he encountered across the multiverse... Deciding he would put off talking about suchplicated things until Artoria had truly opened her heart to him, Vahn guided the conversation into a more positive direction. This primarily revolved around him talking about his past, the monsters in the Tower of Babel, the various gods he had interacted with, and the basic way of life people lived on the Continent of Eden. He knew Artorias past was essentially a giant minefield so Vahn figured he could earn some points with her by talking about things she would undoubtedly be interested in. He still intended to have her figure out most of the details on her own, primarily through conversation with Nobunaga, but that didnt prevent him from giving an embellished summary in the form of a story. Given how her Loyalty would slowly tick up every few minutes, Vahn assumed she had enjoyed it a great deal... --- With time forever flowing forward, it wasnt all that long before Vahn found himself staring into the crimson-red eyes of Scthach as the two moved much further away from theke than normal. As for why they were just staring at each other, this was due to the fact that Vahn had thought to get a small victory against his Teacher by using [Laces Key]. The moment he activated it, however, Scthach just tilted her head to the side and began watching him in silence. This had already been going on for ten minutes, neither side moving a muscle until Sis began helping him regain his senses. Vahn would soonment this, however, as Scthach immediately vanished like a phantom from his vision before he felt her metallic heel sinking into his cheek, crushing the bones in his jaw and fracturing his spine in the process... This time around, Vahn onlysted seven hours before he was unable to support himself any longer. Throughout the thrashing, he had tried multiple time to use his [Laces Key] but, much like during the first instance, Scthach would just slow to a stop before staring nkly at him until he released it. Then, as if to make up for the lost time, she would hit him far harder and faster than during their previous training sessions. It wasnt until Vahn was a borderline amorphous blob on the ground that he learned what had gone wrong. While he still had his consciousness, Scthach squatted down next to him with a modic.u.m of confusion in her eyes as she inly asked, "How are you able to enter that state? I could not feel any intentions from you at all..." Though Scthach couldnt see into Vahns future, herbat style was fundamentally focused on taking advantage of the actions and intentions of her opponent. The moment they began to move, she would already know exactly what they were trying to do and could instantly counter it with the vast difference in knowledge and experience. When Vahn used [Laces Key], however, he just stood there without any discernable intentions to be read. Since there was no optimal course of action to take, Scthach could only continue watching Vahn until something changed to disrupt the spontaneous equilibrium they had found. As soon as the light returned to his eyes, the rxed state of her body would immediately explode outwards like a spring that had been coiled under pressure. She didnt know what Vahn had done, but intuition told her she had been in a precarious position that required an immediate and decisive response... Having heard Scthachs question, Vahn was quickly able to discern one of the major ws of his [Laces Key]. There was no intention driving it so, as long as his opponent was not taking action that could endanger him, he would simply stand there like an idiot. This was why he had stopped short from attacking Artoria when it looked like she was considering her surrender. Then, after disarming her of [Excalibur] shortly after, Vahn had just stood there without following up. Though this was highly beneficial in instances where he didnt actually want to kill his opponent, it meant that [Laces Key] was almost impossible to use offensively without drawing focus to himself. If he ever found himself in a team battle against multiple opponents, it was even possible that he would just stand idly at the side the moment his enemies stopped targetting him... Just as he had been required to put in a lot of effort to understand his [cksmith] Development Ability in the past, Vahn realized there were no truly free lunches in the world. Though he had gotten ess to an unbelievably powerful skill, he would never be able to achieve its full potential without putting in the effort to truly master it. After all, it was a skill that should qualify as being near the peak of Tier 5, based on the fact that the scroll was supposed to push it to the limits of the Record. Since he was only Tier 4,cking the power of an actual Tier 4, Vahn knew he had an incredibly long journey ahead of him if he wanted to master [Laces Key]. At the same time, however, Vahn knew that his attempts would bear fruit and, almost as if he now had a guideline, the path to Tier 5 felt like it had opened itself to him... Seeing that Vahn had fallen into unconscious without answering her question, Scthach poked his cheek a few times as she wondered whether or not she should punish him. Because of that strange phenomenon, it felt like he hadnt made much progress in his training this time around. Though she knew he was trying something new, that was no excuse to ck off and produce less than expected results. With that in mind, instead of turning Vahn over to the other girls to be tended to, Scthach picked up his body before carrying him deeper into the high-pressure zones on the periphery of the Sub-Space Orb. Then, after creating an illusory barrier that would cause any observers to think they were still training, Scthach reached into Vahns chest before pulling out a familiar rainbow jewel. Ever since his encounter with Ozymandias, Vahn had made a habit of keeping an indestructible core within his body to avoid the worst possible oue. This, however, proved to be his undoing this time around as Scthach rolled him between her fingers before doing things Vahn would never speak of to others... (A/N: Alternate Titles: This conversation is too meta...,Vahn, dont bully Artoria...!,This has to be some kind ofeuppance...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1079 - Decisive

Chapter 1079 - Decisive

With time counting down towards the start of another evening of conflict, everyone had gathered together to enjoy a meal prepared by Vahn and discuss their next n of action. Rin, having already discussed matters with Lord El-Melloi II, started off by exining, "Things are quickly getting out of hand outside. The Shadow has continued its senseless ughter of innocents and has now even defeated the team of Exorcists sent by the Holy Church. If the Holy Grail War isnt brought to an end soon, Fuyuki will likely be the target of a purge or an artificially created natural disaster. The public is already terrified by the rampant disappearances and, even with the Mages Association sending teams to wipe memories, it is impossible topletely control the spread of information." Hearing the severity of Rins words, Vahns face was set with a deep frown as he said, "Then we need to bring this farce to an end as soon as possible. Do we have any information regarding the location of Gilgamesh and Circe...?" Since it was probably impossible to deal with Illya and Heracles, at least for the time being, Vahn wanted to eliminate the source of trouble that has now gued three Holy Grail Wars. With how he was maneuvering,bined with his recognition of Artoria, it was clear that the so-called King of Heroes retained his memories of prior wars. As for why Circe was partnered up with him, that could be the result of their Masters whims or, given that Circe was a Demigoddess of Love and Magic, she may have simply fallen for the arrogant Kings nearly maxed [Charisma]. Unfortunately, Rin shook her head in response to Vahns question, answering, "We cant be certain, but there is a good chance they have made their base beneath Mount Enzou. That is the location where the Greater Grail will manifest after the Lesser Grail has .u.mted enough mana. Given his personality, his only reason for appearing at the Einzbern Forest was either rted to his boredom or at the behest of his Master. Now that he has made an appearance, it is likely that Mount Enzou has be a fortress for Circe while Gilgamesh will be moving to eliminate the other Master-Servant pairings in order to try and obtain Artoria once again..." Hearing Rins words, Artoria tightly clenched her fists while, having never encountered Gilgamesh, Nobunaga asked, "So, how strong is this guy supposed to be? Youre acting like were up against insurmountable odds or something." Though the Throne of Heroes provided all Servants with basic information pertaining to all other Heroes, that didnt mean they had an understanding of the power their opponents wielded without facing it directly. Instead of getting an answer from Rin directly, thetters hair gained a purple hue as her clothes burst apart to reveal the raiment associated with Ishtar. Then, with a particrly fierce expression on her face, Ishtar venomously spat, "That man is a traitor who bared his fangs towards the very gods who granted him power. He is a cancerous existence that has embedded himself like a malignant tumor within the flow of history. Make no mistake, though, as he would not be able to achieve such a feat without possessing incredible power. If that man got serious, even thebined efforts of every other Servant will not be able to best him..." Though everyone was surprised by Ishtars words, Vahn was sweating internally as he still didnt know what all had changed after he used the [Page of the Akashic Tome]. Even within the system shop, there were almost no records dating back to the Era of the Gods as the Gods themselves had no need to keep an ounting. Since the information he had ess to might not even pertain to the timeline he found himself in, Vahn hadnt worried about it all that much since the current Ishtar was still infinitely easier to deal with than her previous self. Now, however, it seemed like she had a more antagonistic rtionship with Gilgamesh than the petty and jealous Goddess that had nearly gotten Rin killed in the previous Grail War... Apparently not taking Ishtars warning to heart, Nobunaga began to stroke her chin in a sagely manner, a sly smile on her face as she said, "Oho...I wonder how strong someone who has been defeated in the previous two wars really is..? He sounds like a pretentious oaf that could use an express package to the dome, courtesy of my Noble Phantasm~." Since her attacks were stronger against Servants with Divinity, Nobunaga was less afraid of existences like Gilgamesh and Circe than she would be of someone like Artoria and Scthach. Nothing she did would be effective against them but, so long as she could guarantee a hit, Gilgamesh and Circe would undoubtedly take severe damage under her barrage. With that in mind, she gave Vahn a knowing look while licking her lips in a less-than-subtle seductive manner... With Nobunaga destroying the tension, even Ishtar could only form a dour expression as she warned, "Gilgameshs greatest weakness is that he simply cannot ce others on the same level as him. If you can defeat him before he gets serious, there is a good chance at victory. However, now that he is trying to add that girl to his collection, you shouldnt underestimate his power. If you let your guard down, just like him, you wont even know how you died..." Though she said these words with full seriousness, the impact was greatly lessened when Ishtar smoothly flew across the table before plopping down in Vahnsp. Then, having said what she wanted to say, Ishtar returned control to a very red-faced Rin... --- After getting Rin a fresh change of clothes, the group began to discuss whether or not they should attack Mount Enzou or deal with the other Masters before the Mages Association and Holy Church took even more drastic action. Though they had skirted around the issue till now, it was clear as day that Sakuras faction had the highest chance of being associated with the Shadow. The only other option was that Merlin was involved but, considering the fact that the Shadow now had a death toll of more than three-thousand people, that didnt seem all that likely. Since all the other Servants were ounted for, the time to confront Sakura hade before Vahn had been able to implement the measures he had intended... With that in mind, Vahn made no effort to hide his intentions as he looked directly at Rin and said, "I will confront the Makiris representative Masters and Servants tonight. Since they will have multiple Assassins, I want you to stay here with Fenrir, Lakshmibai, and Nobunaga. I will only take Scthach and Artoria along with me as they will be more than a match for any Assassin, even someone like Hassan. This time around, I do not want you to be involved Rin...even as an observer." Though Ereshkigal would probably be just as proficient at dealing with Hassan and Yan Qing, Vahn knew that she already had a strained rtionship with her sister. If she learned about what had truly happened to Sakura after their falling-out, Vahn didnt even need to imagine how devastated she would be... Frowning deeply in response to Vahns words, Rin resolutely imed, "I am prepared to fight, even against my own sister. Do not-." Before she could continue any further, Vahns own expression hardened as he interrupted, saying, "Nobody here is going to question your resolve. However, there are more important things in the world than simple determination, Rin! I will not stand by and watch two sisters try and tear each other apart due to misunderstandings, especially for some trinket like the Holy Grail. No matter what happens, you will me yourself for taking away Sakuras wish, just as she would me you for being selfish for wanting to destroy the grail. Since you cant see eye-to-eye, I will resolve the problem for both of you. In the future, you should use some of that resolve of yours to reestablish your familial bonds so that this type of thing doesnt happen again...!" One of the foundational concepts that served as the basis for Vahns thought process was a heavy focus on family. Knowing the tensions between Rin and Sakura were due to a misunderstanding, Vahn refused to watch the two sisters try to kill each other. Though Rin might not have that desire, he could still remember the murderous intentions contained within Sakuras eyes during theirst meeting. Even if he had to be hated by Rin, Vahn would rather carry that regret with him for the rest of eternity than watch her anguish and me herself for whatever Sakura had to go through. She might be a strong woman, but Rin had a few vulnerabilities that would outright break her if given the opportunity. Having Vahn suddenly explode at her, Rins eyes had widened as her heart began beating furiously in her chest. She suddenly felt anxious and scared, like a child who had identally broken their parents favorite vase and now had to face the consequences. As a result, Rin bit her lower lip before finally hanging her head and saying, "Okay..." in a sheepish voice. Her previous bravado had detedpletely, leaving Vahn to feel extremely apologetic as he released a heavy sigh and said, "Dont worry, Rin. I promise that no harm wille to Sakura under my watch...when all of this is over, the two of you really should reconnect. There are many unstable factors in life but, the one thing that never changes is family...though circ.u.mstances may cause your paths to diverge, there is nothing to stop you from being sisters again...if that is truly what you both want..." Though Sakura and Rin were forced apart at an early age, being made to live very different lifestyles, there truly was little preventing them from interacting like sisters now that they were both the Heads of their respective families. He would undoubtedly need to fix whatever had been done to Sakura, but the foundation already existed since they were still sisters. Rins kind and caring nature would not allow her to ignore Sakura if thetter sincerely wanted to reconnect. Now, Vahn just needed to undo the damage to Sakuras mind and body in order to pave the way for the two sisters to finally be a true family once again... --- Regardless of the fact that he only intended to take Scthach and Artoria with him to confront Sakura, it wasnt long after the conversation came to an end that Vahn found himself keeping Nobunagapany. She had been riled up a bit after the short spat with Ishtar and, even though they would be staying at the Tohsaka Manor, that didnt mean there wouldnt be an enemy attack while their strongest forces were away. With Gilgamesh skulking about, there was a chance the King of Heroes might target himself and Rin in order to eliminate them from thepetition. Equally as likely, however, was that he would target Sakura or Paracelsus Master since they were, arguably, weaker... With Nobunaga face-down in a pillow, Vahn affectionately massaged her backside while periodically changing the angle of his thrusts to keep her from adapting to his rhythm. He found it more than a little adorable that she had decided the best course of action avable to her was to simply hide her face so that he couldnt see her expression directly. Though it was only their third time, there were no secrets contained within Nobunagas body that he didnt intimately understand. After promising to never talk about their s.e.x life to others, she had even stopped trying to insist on taking control as, regardless of her efforts, she simply couldnt reach the same threshold of pleasure without his cooperation... While releasing a heavy sigh through pursed lips, Vahn leaned over Nobunagas body before pressing himself into the deepest part of her insides. Her response to this was to dig her fingernails deeply into the mattresses material, tearing through it without much resistance. Vahn was used to this happening, however, so he purchased a type of memory mattress that would repair itself over time. Fenrir had a habit of kneading the bed like a cat whenever she was especially excited so it had been a necessary purchase even back in the Record of Danmachi. After helping Nobunaga cycle the energy through her body, Vahn extricated himself from her with an always amusing plop before sitting down near her feet. She was still awash in the echoes of her own climax so Vahn could see her slightly swollen vulva expand and contract hungrily just a few tens of centimeters away from him. If not for the fact they had already been doing at it for more than two hours, Vahn wouldnt have been able to refuse the gluttonous organs temptation as, much like how Nobunaga changed form depending on her energy, so too did the feel of her insides. Though she wasnt exactly tight, she had a firm sticity and a pleasant heat that amplified the pleasure he got from simply seeing her behave shyly... Deciding to tease her a bit, Vahn gently pushed Nobunagas h.i.p.s until she plopped over on her side with an annoyed groan. With her face partially visible, Vahn could see her blood-red eyes glowing through her hair as she stared daggers thatcked any edge toward him. This brought a small smile to his face as he gently rubbed Nobunagas legs and said, "Dont worry. Im too selfish to share this with anyone else. Even if you only act like this when were alone, that is enough for me, No-bu~." Though the final two sybles earned him a weak kick in response, Nobunaga followed up by lifting her tired body and moving her dampened hair away from her face. She had an amazing figure in her mature form, something Vahn made no attempt to hide his appreciation for. When she had fixed herself adequately, Nobunaga rolled her eyes in an exaggerated fashion beforeining, "You wont be content until youpletely destroy my resistances against you, huh...?" In response to her words, Vahn gave a dismissive shrug before answering, "There are few things that excite me as much as a powerful and strong woman turning docile in the bedroom. If youre against it, I dont mind changing things up so your pride isnt wounded..." As these words left his mouth, Vahn already knew how Nobunaga would answer as she deeply furrowed her brows and said, "If you hadnt said that, I might have been for the idea. See, that is what Im talking about, you already know me too well at this point...haaaa..." Though she knew as much during their first time together, it was quickly bing apparent that she would never get the edge against Vahn in the bedroom. Unless she stopped caring about her own pleasure and focused on some kind of pyrrhic victory, there didnt seem to be any means to turn the tides. After all, things were already heavily swayed in her favor, making it very difficult to mount any real resistance... Thinking he might have gone a little too far, Vahn tried to give Nobunaga a way out by saying, "The better allies understand each other, the greater their cooperation in real battles, right? If we were back in feudal Japan, Im certain we would dominate the battlefield together as an unstoppable duo..." At the end of his statement, Vahn gave a yful wink while gently massaging Nobunagas feet with his hands. This seemed especially effective as, instead of looking somewhat mncholic, Nobunaga tilted her head down slightly while looking up at him with her blood-red eyes, a contented smile visible on her face even as she snorted through her nose... --- Leaving Nobunagas room, Vahn elected to walk around without a shirt on since it already felt like he was on the prowl. Even if Rin were to show up and attempt to reprimand him, Vahn felt like it would only require a silent stare on his behalf before things quickly devolved into something more intimate than a lecture. In a way, perhaps due to the absence of Astolfo, Vahn felt as if he could freely walk about within this smallkeside residence with impunity. Though it was far from the truth, it almost felt like he was an Emperor visiting his inner sanctum, a ce where only consorts and concubines were allowed to tread. Any upied room could quickly be his nest of love with whoever resided within, seemingly without exception... Feeling strangely elevated, Vahn gently rattled on the door located at the opposite end of the corridor from where Nobunagas room was located. Since the soundproof barrier wasnt active, he could hear an adorable yelp from the inside before a loud thump echoed momentster. When the rooms upant finally answered the door, Vahn got to see Lakshmibais furiously blushing face as a small trickle of blood flowed from her left nostril. It wasnt hard to imagine that she had fallen on her face in a hurry to answer the door, something evidenced by the fact that half her bedspread had been dragged free from the bed and was currently spread across the floor... Though it was a good opportunity for some flowery words, Vahn was well aware of how Lakshmibai had been looking at him ever since their first time together. Deciding to give her a bit of an extra push, Vahn slowly brought his hands to frame her face, causing Lakshmibai to tremble with her eyes as wide as saucers. Then, causing her legs to instantly turn to jelly, Vahn leaned his head inward as if he were going to give her a kiss before ultimately licking the small trickle of blood clean. This caused Lakshmibai to release a startled, "Fuwaaa...!?" before she nearly fell onto her plump butt. Since Vahn had been holding her head though, this led to an awkward situation where he guided her to lean against his chest before pulling her into a firm embrace and kicking the door closed behind him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gilgameshs greatest achievement is making other characters look strong for having defeated him xD,Conquering the Conquerer,*Licking Intensifies*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1080 - Duty

Chapter 1080 - Duty

As he had decided to afford Lakshmibai a simr amount of time as Nobunaga, Vahn had shown up fully intending to spend more than two hours with the dark-skinned beauty. It turned out that he had once again overestimated her stamina as, even faster than thest time they were together, Lakshmibai actually started crying midway through as she clung tightly to his body. Since he was certain she wasnt in any pain, Vahn had been caught off guard by her reaction, leading him to fretfully ask, "Whats wrong...?" while gently stroking her head. In response to this, Lakshmibai only cried even harder before surprising Vahn even further when she whimpered, "I dont want to be a weird girl...I dont want to..." in a pitiful tone of voice. No longer in the mood to continue, Vahn ended up spending nearly twenty minutes consoling Lakshmibai as she sobbed in his arms. This was a first, even for him, so he could only do his best tofort her, gently stroking her hair while whispering, "Its okay...youre not going to be a weird girl...youre an amazing woman..." He was saying anything that came to his mind, trying to console a woman that most people would have thought was serious and resolute if they interacted with her under normal circ.u.mstances. Though she had been behaving demurely over thest couple of days, Vahn hadnt expected her to have an emotional breakdown in the middle of having s.e.x... When Lakshmibai had finally calmed down to the point she was justying in his arms, Vahn picked a few strands of her sandy white hair from her face before wiping her cheek with his thumb and asking, "Are you feeling better now...?" In response to this, Lakshmibai nodded her head, even as she tried to avert her eyes so they werent staring directly at each other. Then, in a voice that sounded like the buildup to another sobbing fit, Lakshmibai muttered, "Im sorry..." This made Vahn feel even more guilty as he didnt really understand why she had such a drastic reaction. Since she obviously wasnt ustomed to the act, he had been especially gentle and delicate with her so that it would be easier for her to tolerate. Seeing her like this, he felt as if he had done something wrong bying to her in such high spirits... Contrary to any of the expectations he had formed, Lakshmibai shook Vahn to the core when she spontaneously exined in a voice that barely reached his ears, "This is supposed to just be another one of my duties...but...even if I tell myself that, I cant help but feel there is more to it. I feel like...I feel..." This was rtively tame, something well within Vahns expectations, but it was when Lakshmibai added, "I feel like I want you to treat me roughly..." that all of the blocks fell into ce. She apparently wasnt content with leaving things vague either, adding, "I keep telling myself not to want even more, but I just cant help it...I feel something burning deep within my body every time you treat me gently. I want more and more...to the point that my brain feels fuzzy just thinking about it..." With Lakshmibais admission, Vahn realized that all the times she kept whimpering, No more... werent directed at him...she had been talking to herself. The reason she had kept moving, even while saying such things, was due to the fact she was craving something more intense but trying to keep the urge buried deep within her heart. With this realization, a new thought emerged within Vahns mind and, given how open Lakshmibai was being right now, he couldnt help but ask, "Could it be...you actually really like having s.e.x...?" Though Vahn had nearly asked if she was afraid of bing a nymphomaniac, he felt like this word would have been like setting off andmine within Lakshmibais mind... Without looking at his face, Lakshmibais body began to steadily tremble before she ultimately nodded her head in affirmation. Then, in an even quieter voice than before, she whispered, "I dont want to be a weird woman...but my heart aches when were together, Master..." Towards the end of her words, Vahn was forced to swallow audibly as Lakshmibai slowly reached out her hands and gingerly poked his slumbering dragon with her fingers. Not wanting to disappoint, Vahn let himself immediately be erect, eliciting a small yelp from Lakshmibai as she turned away from it in shock. Since she would struggle on her own, Vahn decided to take matters into his own hands as he ran his fingers through Lakshmibais hair before putting in a bit of effort to have her face him. Her pale-pink eyes were already covered in a fresh mist but, instead of being afraid he had done something wrong, Vahn smiled as he whispered, "So long as you do not be addicted, there is nothing wrong with enjoying s.e.x. When were together like this, you dont have to hold yourself back...no matter what happens, I wont think of you as a weird woman. If you knew half the things Ive done with my other lovers, you would probably look at me as If Im the strange one...." Seemingly confused, Lakshmibai blinked a few times before surprising Vahn a little when she asked, "Eh? Do you consider me your lover...?" She seemed genuinely confused by this admission, causing Vahn to produce a wry smile before answering her question with a sudden kiss. Though it was only a gentle peck, Lakshmibais face became dark red as she began to stammer, "I...I...I dont...I..." Before she could fumble any further, Vahn made Lakshmibai look into his eyes again before inly stating, "I would never sleep with a woman simply out of duty. If I didnt believe you were a good woman that I could shower in affection, there isnt anything you could do to make me sleep with you. The moment I pushed you down that night, you already became my woman...my lover..." Lakshmibais expression after hearing Vahns words could only be described asical as, not only were her eyes as round as saucers, her mouth was floundering like a fish starved for water. Though he could have given her more time to think of a reply, Vahn decided to cement his im by showing her exactly what he meant. Since she was alreadyying against him, it only took Vahn rolling to his side a bit to have Lakshmibaiying against the bed as he lumbered over her from above. Then, as her already chaotic mind struggled to process what was going on, Lakshmibai suddenly arched back as Vahn slowly buried himself inside of her. She began to breathe rapidly with shock and confusion on her face until Vahn, without moving his h.i.p.s further, gently cradled her face with his hands before saying, "If you only want to have s.e.x with me out of duty, tell me right now...if that is the case, I have other ways of making sure you have mana. I wonty with a woman that does not desire toy with me..." Though she didnt answer immediately, Lakshmibai slowly got her breathing under control as the conflict in her gaze slowly melted away with the rising heat of her body. Then, after swallowing the knot in her throat, she sheepishly muttered, "I want it...I want to be your lover...Master..." With those few words, Vahns inhibitions were gone and, instead of the gentle love he had bestowed upon her previously, Lakshmibai was able to fully experience what Vahn was capable of. It wasnt until five hourster, an amount of time that had even surprised Vahn, that he finally liberated her from the endless wave of pleasure. At the very end, after lightly tapping Lakshmibais face to draw her focus, Vahn asked, "Any regrets...?" only for Lakshmibai to gingerly lick his hand in response... --- By the time Vahn had left Lakshmibais room, even he was feeling a little fatigued, at least mentally. He originally had around fifteen hours to make preparations but, after dealing with Nobunaga and Lakshmibai, he was already down to seven. Though he could keep going without any real difficulty, Vahn felt awkward having to think about rushing through the process. Scthach would be easy to deal with but Fenrir and thebined Rin, Ishtar, and Ereshkigal would easily eat up seven hours worth of time. Even if the Holy Rinity didnt really benefit from the act, Vahn knew Rin herself would be upset if he decided to leave her out, especially since he was forcing her to stay behind. This meant he would need to deal with Saber in a shorter period of time than he would have liked, or else he would have to make Fenrir wait until he returned... Deciding that brooding over the matter was an even bigger waste of time, Vahn made his way to Fenrirs room only to find that she actually wasnt alone. He hadnt been using his domain actively whenever he was in thekeside residence as it was a little awkward to know what the others were doing whenever he was having s.e.x with someone else. That didnt mean he was unable to sense the presence of people when he was in close proximity to them, especially since both girls on the other side of the door had a closer connection to him than normal. Because of this, even without Vahn having to knock, Fenrir had opened the door before he had even reached it, a smile on her face as she said, "Come in, Master~!" Without refusing the offer, Vahn roughly stroked the top of Fenrirs head in passing before taking a seat on the floor at a distance that made the rooms other upant flinch as she greeted, "Wee, Master..." in a demure tone. In response to this, Vahn smiled in the most casual manner he could manage before greeting, "Good evening, Artoria...tell me, what brings you to Fenrirs room at this time...?" Though he already had numerous guesses in his mind, Vahn wanted to see how Artoria would answer his question. At the same time, he gave an appreciative nod while looking over the matching outfits the two girls were wearing. Though it covered their figures, seeing two adorable girls wearing frilly one-piece pajamas was quite the sight to behold... Coughing to cover her embarrassment, Artoria quickly exined, "I heard that Lady Fenrir was your oldest and closestpanion. Since we are going to be...together from now on, I wanted to try and get to know her better." In response to this, Fenrir snickered before unhesitantly sitting down in her Mastersp and adding, "She wanted to know about Master beforeing to this world so Ive been telling her all the stories of how amazing Master is~." Since Fenrir could sense that Artoria was one of Vahns subordinates, she had already been preparing to get along with her as well. After talking with Artoria for a short period of time, however, Fenrir quickly started seeing her in a positive light. This was abination of Artorias non-threatening vibe and her high [Charisma], something Fenrir might have been immune to if not for the fact she already recognized her as an ally. Though Artoria seemed a little troubled by Fenrirs behavior and words, Vahn shot down anyints she might have by musing, "That outfit suits you, Artoria. Its much better than the in clothing you wore previously. Maybe I should have you always wear the same outfits as Fenrir..." This caused her to immediately shake her head before stammering, "Thank you for thepliment, but I believe Lady Fenrir and I have different styles. Though I will do my best to wear less in clothing, I am morefortable when my appearance is neat and proper. It helps me stay calm..." While listening to Artorias words, Vahn was stroking the white hairs on the inside of Fenrirs ears as she happily wiggled around in hisp. When she finished speaking, he casuallymented, "Then I suppose I will have to enjoy the final few hours of our wager..." With this said, Vahn looked directly at Artoria and, without rifying his meaning, asked, "Have you prepared yourself...?" Though it may not have been Artorias intentions when she came to Fenrirs room, the fact she lingered around and was even wearing a nightgown was enough for Vahn to understand her intentions. Even so, he felt the need to ask since, depending on her answer, things could be more interesting than he had originally anticipated... In response to Vahns words, Artoria took in a deep breath before ultimately nodding her head without asking for the meaning behind his words. Using that as the starting signal, Vahn nestled his face between Fenrirsrge ears before focusing on their shared link. Though her brows furrowed for a brief moment, Fenrir instantly decided to be her Masters aplice as she wiggled out of hisp beforeughing in a mischevious manner as she pulled a confused Artoria to her feet. Then, after standing a little bit away from Artoria, Fenrir stood with her arms akimbo, a prideful smile on her face as she said, "If you are going to follow Master, you must be more confident in your body! He doesnt care if you have big b.r.e.a.s.ts or anything like that. So long as you take care of yourself and exercise your butt, Master will treat you well~!" Hearing Fenrirs words, Artoria wasnt the only one confused as Vahn also had an awkward smile on his face as he wondered what she was up to. This confusion didntst long, however, as Fenrir gave a curt nod in response to her own words before saying, "Do as I do, okay? Master will not just have s.e.x with any girl that wants him. You must convince him you are serious...!" With that said, Fenrir raised her pseudo-paws high, striking a pose simr to the one used by Tiona as her outfit burst apart in magical light before revealing a pair of pumpkin pants and a thin camisole with, of all things, a small cartoonish version of his face sewn into the chest. Even if she had trouble following Fenrirs momentum, Artoria knew what she meant when she clearly stated, Do as I do. What had her heart racing, however, was the fact that Fenrir was implying that she needed to seduce Vahn before he would give her mana. When she turned toward him, seeking confirmation, Artoria saw that Vahn wasnt even paying attention to her as he looked towards Fenrir with an affectionate smile on his face. Then, as if she were growing impatient, Fenrir stepped close enough that their b.r.e.a.s.ts bumped together, a serious expression on her face as she said, "You are supposed to wear what Im wearing. Come, do as I do..." With Fenrir standing at 153cm tall,pared to Artorias 154cm, the two were almost the exact same height if you discounted Fenrirs ears. Vahn hadnt expected her to suddenly press herself against Artoria but, when Fenrir began to yfully pose in front of him, that didnt really matter much anymore. Though Fenrir might not have the most mature body, she had a refined exotic appeal and knew exactly how to push his buttons. When she yfully pivoted her h.i.p.s toward him, Fenrir let the very tip of her tail pass across his nose beforeughing in a mischevious shishishi. When she finished her little presentation, Fenrir looked towards Artoria with a somewhat fierce expression and asked, "What are you waiting for? If you dont do this now, you will feel guilty when Master treats you gentlyter on...!" Hearing Fenrirs words, Artoria was briefly reminded of the warnings that Nobunaga, Lakshmibai, and Rin had given her. She was starting to feel a little worried about what Vahns gentleness entailed, especially since even Fenrir gave her such a peculiar warning. Since the event was quickly approaching, Artoria tried to calm her heart before giving an understanding nod, even though she really had no idea if this was what she should be doing. By reminding herself of the promise she had made with Vahn during their earlier spar, Artoria managed to keep enoughposure to inspect Fenrirs outfit before changing her own to match. She noticed that, almost instantly, Vahn had turned his green eyes toward her, causing a fluttery feeling in her stomach as she stepped forward... Vahn knew that Artoria would eventually get swept along with Fenrirs momentum, but he was still surprised when she stopped only 20cm from him before taking small and bashful steps as she spun her body around. When her back was facing him, Vahn noticed that Artoria had actually substituted Fenrirs tail with a royal blue ribbon. She obviously didnt have one for herself but that didnt stop the red-faced Artoria from ring her h.i.p.s almost identically to Fenrir as the blue ribbon gently passed across the tip of his nose. By the time she turned to look back at him, Vahn had a genuine gawking expression on his face as an irrepressible red hue colored his cheeks. Artoria hadnt expected such an innocent reaction from Vahn, nearly causing her to smile until Fenrir approvingly pat her shoulder and said, "Good job, Artoria. See, if you try hard enough, it is easy to make Master happy. Now, do as I do...!" Having failed to read the mood, Fenrir was starting to feel a littlepetitive after seeing how her Master reacted to Artorias ribbon y. Fortunately, she still had a trump card that she was certain Artoria wouldnt be able to pull off without messing up. With that in mind, Fenrir changed into a pair of skin-tone hotpants that werent even a single palms length. Covering her modest b.r.e.a.s.ts, she wore a simrly colored piece of fabric but, as if she wasnt wearing a ridiculous outfit, Fenrir raised her chin before gently stroking the [Spirit Choker] around her neck... Seeing the outfit Fenrir expected her to wear, Artorias face actually became pale instead of one of the various shades of red. The amount of fabric wasnt the problem, as she had actually seen Rin and Nobunaga wear even more revealing clothing over thest few days. What Artoria couldnt agree with was the fact that the clothes were skin-tone in color. Though she was aware that she and Vahn would be having s.e.x soon, Artoria felt that wearing such clothing was actually worse. This was only the beginning, however, as Fenrir gave what she could only interpret as a c.o.c.kyugh before she unceremoniously plopped down in Vahnsp. As if they had coordinated things from the start, Vahn began to casually y with Fenrirs hair as she leaned against his chest with her legs making an M-shape as she rested her feet on his knees with her tail curled up to cover her privates. This made it look like Fenrir was sitting in Vahnsppletely n.a.k.e.d as he casually yed with her hair, a small and contented smile on his face... After only thirty seconds, Fenrir eventually hopped up before patting her chest, an excited smile on her face as she remarked, "My heart is beating so fast...! Now, its your turn, Artoria. Dont worry, you might not be able topete with me, but Master will still shower you with affection~." With that said, Fenrir moved over before plopping down on her bed and sitting with her feet pressed against each other, another habit she had copied from Tiona. As for Artoria, her face had regained much of its color as she watched Fenrirs demonstration of what she was supposed to do. Now that it hade to this, Artoria clenched her hands into fists as her outfit changed to match Fenrirs, the only difference being that hers was the fair-skinned tone as her own body... Though Vahn knew this would only make things hard for Artoria, he had a yful smile on his face as he mused, "This reminds me of when you were sitting on the table a few days ago..." This words seemed to go over Artorias head at first but, remembering the fact that Vahn had already seen her n.a.k.e.d, she actually calmed down a considerable amount. She almost felt silly to harp over wearing clothes like this, as they were already in private and the only people to witness her shame were her twopanions. Though she was beginning to feel like that word was beginning to be slightly distorted, Artoria made her way over to Vahn before muttering, "Excuse me..." as she sat down in hisp... Several thoughts crossed Artorias mind the moment she sat down, the first amongst them being a feeling of regret. Immediately recing this, however, she felt Vahns body heat flowing into her body as she internally remarked, ("I didnt realize how big he was before..."). Since the only man she had ever known was better suited to being called a boy, Artoria never realized how muchrger a real man waspared to her. She felt unbelievably small sitting in Vahnsp, something that had seemed cramped when she watched Fenrir sit earlier. Now, however, it felt like she had a lot of room to move around while, looking up, Artoria could see Vahn looking down at her with a gentle smile that caused her heart to flutter more than she would like to admit... With Artoria already sitting in hisp, Vahn leaned back a little so that she was reclining against him in the same way that Fenrir had previously. He waited for her to sheepishly maneuver her feet to rest against the side of his knees, something she now realized meant her butt was pressed against a hard and hot object concealed within Vahns pants. What she didnt know was that he wasnt even erect yet, as that might have genuinely spooked her into hopping out of hisp. Before she could escape, however, Vahn brought his hands to the scruff of Artorias hair before using his understanding of Petting Laws and the weakest strength [Hands of Nirvana] he could manage. He then began giving her scalp a gentle massage while doing his best to ignore the mellow fragrance wafting up from her slightly perspirating body... Without realizing it, three minutes had already passed but, just as Artoria was beginning to feel veryfortable, she snapped her thighs closed after seeing Fenrirs face suddenly looking up at her. Fortunately, due to the position her legs had been in, Artoria bringing her knees together didnt impact Fenrir at all as nimbly reached right beneath where the former had just raised her butt. Then, using her teeth, something she would have never been able to manage in the past, Fenrir bit the zipper of her Masters pants before tugging her head a few times to pull it downpletely. When she brought her head up to start at Artoria, she tilted her head to the side as if she were confused by thetters sheepish behavior, saying, "The whole point of this was to make Master excited, not just sit in hisp and enjoy getting your head rubbed all night..." Hearing Fenrirs words, Artorias eyes widened in shock as she realized she had actually started to enjoy sitting in Vahnsp. This realization caused her to feel a bout of panic as the warnings given to her by pretty much everyone else yed across her mind. However, she simply wasnt able to take a step back after already resolving herself to the act. Even when Vahn lightly kissed her shoulder, causing her heart to begin racing even faster, Artoria did her best to bear it as she watched Fenrir liberate the hot object that had been pressing against her butt. When it had finally been released, Artoria was momentarily reminded of the spell that Merlin had cast on her to ensure she was able to sire an heir to the throne. However, unlike her rather modest size, Artoria watched with growing trepidation as Vahns member seemed to expand without limit... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Instant Waifu Status,Artoria is like a kid being forced to y truth or dare for the first time...in high school xD,Merlins D.i.c.k-Wizardry needs to level up if he wants topete with Dragon Emperor Vahn) (A/N: Ill be honest, the original chapter I was writing ended up getting lost when I was at 2900+ words. What it evolved into after the fact is more of a representation of my frustration than anything else. Instead of just writing a normal s.e.x chapter, I decided to make something more unique that would help serve as a basis for future interactions. I hope it turned out better than what I had originally intended as my frustration had faded about halfway through the rewrite. Also, the part with Lakshmibai is actually a shortened version of what happened in the original chapter so dont think I just felt like bullying her in my own frustration xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1081 - Matters of the Heart

Chapter 1081 - Matters of the Heart

Though Artorias thoughts were already filled with incredulity, she practically nked when Fenrir rubbed the tip of Vahns member with a yful smile on her face as shemented, "It looks like Master ns to go easy on you, Artoria. It looks cutepared to how big it can get~." At the end of her words, Fenrir could feel her Masters annoyance, causing her to snicker before sneaking a final lick and moving back a bit to observe. She didnt mind if Artoria got the first turn or two as, if she was eliminated early on, that meant she would be able to monopolize their Master for even longer. Fenrir was even hoped that Artoria tried to insist that their Master not hold, effectively guaranteeing she would be dealt with in short order... Matching Fenrirs expectations, Artoria did feel a little bothered by the fact that Vahn was going easy on her. However, as she saw his erect member between her own legs, she found herselfcking the courage to insist that he treat her just as he would the others. Since the same warnings shed across her mind shortly afterward, Artoria literally swallowed her words with an audible gulp in reality. This seemed to spur Vahn to action though, instead of immediately going for her b.r.e.a.s.ts, Artoria felt her back tremble as he began to gently caress her abdomen and the area around her diaphragm. Unlike almost every other woman he had been with, Vahn knew that Artorias heart still belonged to someone else. With his own being shared with so many people, he didnt really have any room to try and pressure her into forgetting the person she had wanted to dedicate herself to. That didnt mean he wouldnt endeavor to shift her hearts priorities, however, resulting in Vahn using his [Hands of Nirvana] on a mild setting as he continued to caress Artorias body. At the same time, he began to lightly nibble on her ear, enjoying her surprisingly innocent responses as she attempted to bear the rising pleasure with clenched teeth. Knowing he was already controlling the tempo, Vahn wanted to lead Artoria even further so, as her body temperature began to rise, he whispered in a hot and husky voice, "It now feels like a lifetime ago...but I was once a broken boy...far removed from any semnce of normalcy. In those days, for better or worse, I learned about the unique bond a man and woman could share. Though it would have been more urate to call me a boy back then...I still did my best to be a man..." As Vahn spoke, his voice became even deeper as it began to resonate in Artorias ear. At the same time, his hands never ceased their actions though, seemingly without her even realizing it, Vahn was now tracing the band of Artorias top as he drew small circled around her navel with his fingers... Taking her silence as a desire to know more, Vahn gently rubbed his head against Artorias before saying, "Back when I was still broken, I developed the habit of giving without restraint...Im sure that is something you can also understand..." With the precision of a machine, Vahns finger began to emit a small blue light that slowly cut through the fabric of Artorias top as he continued, saying, "I gave and gave and gave, believing that, so long as I kept giving, I would be able to receive the affection of others in turn. Things got so bad that, before I even realized it, I had surrounded myself with several women that I endeavored to always make happy..." Instead of cutting all the way through, Vahn decided to keep Artoria in a tense state so he stopped halfway before lightly stroking the almost indiscernible line of her abdominal muscles. She had a lithe and petite figure that seemed tock even the smallest semnce of fat. In a way, she wasnt all that dissimr to Fenrir, though herplexion and softness were something thetter could only manage with magic. It was obvious that Artoria was loved by whoever had created the Nasuverse as, even after only knowing her for a few days, Vahn could feel her influence on him growing as the flow of fate around her washed over him, flowing through his body and leaving subtle changes in its wake. Even the fact that he was spontaneously telling her his story was out of character for him, at least under these circ.u.mstances... Since her fate seemed to bind them together, matching Vahns own intentions, he decided to see how things yed out by snaking his hand ever closer to her skin-tone bottoms as he added, "It was fortunate that I had surrounded myself with amazing women who were equally as concerned about my wellbeing as I was with making them happy. Though I had to learn a lot of hard lessons along the way, they were always patient with me, even after several years of having to put up with my broken personality. Throughout that entire time, I never stopped trying to improve the methods in which I could use to make them happy, mastering techniques that were able to humble goddesses that were considered unrivaled in the bedroom..." Vahn knew that, though Artoria had some experience with matters between men and women, there was nothing that could prepare her for the moment they were sharing together. She was already breathing deeply with her eyes closed, slowly reaching a height few people would be able to experience through simple touching. Even if Shirou had been some kind of paragon, he had only been a boy that was sorelycking experience. As for Rin, though she had the Goddess Ishtar to help guide things along, Vahn imagined she was actually the one in control most of the time. If Shirou was anything more than a participant, Vahn would be extremely surprised. Because of this, he intended to show Artoria a level of passion and connection that she simply couldnt experience with another person... After slowly snaking his fingers up Artorias chest, passing through the valley of her modest b.r.e.a.s.ts along the way, Vahn gently stroked her neck before bringing his fingers to her lips. She didnt react much at first but, after a few seconds, Artoria gave his fingers a probing lick, causing Vahn to smile as he continued, saying, "After the birth of my children, I finally became a plete person for the first time. Nothing can everpare to the emotions I felt each time one of my children was born...it was their birth that cemented my resolve to make the world a better ce. Though I cannot be at their sides right now, they dominate thergest part of my heart...it is for them that I will endeavor to help this world as well...knowing they would expect me to do my best in everything I set my mind to..." Feeling that his own thoughts had run away from him, Vahn felt a little awkward so he simply embraced Artorias body for a few minutes so they could both calm down a little. When he was able to better organize what he wanted to say, Vahn peppered Artorias shoulder a few times with gentle kisses before saying, "A lot has changed over thest one hundred and forty years, but the one thing that has remained consistent is my giving nature. I want you to be prepared, Artoria...I will not hold it against you for having another man in your heart...what I refuse to see is you wallowing in guilt when I do my best to make a ce for myself. If you do not believe your heart is big enough to amodate my affection and love, we shouldnt do this..." Vahn wasnt even sure if his words were his own at this point as, just like Artoria was in a bit of a daze while listening to his deep voice, so too was he. It felt like the words were just flowing from his mouth naturally while, at the very end of his warning to Artoria, Vahn found his index and middle finger slipping into the band of Artorias hotpants before freezing the moment he stopped talking. He currently had two fingers in her mouth while his right hand was on the very verge of breaching her defenses below. Even he felt like this was an unfair situation to put her in as, worst of all, Artoria had just neared the peak of an intense climax that was now denied to her... Though she had been listening closely to all of Vahns words, Artoria felt her body tremble madly when he suddenly stopped moving. A lot of the things he had said had a bigger impact on her than she would like to admit, especially with how his hands seemed to know exactly how to handle her body. He would gentle press into pressure points around her chest, ribs, and abdomen, sending a warm flow of energy into her body that caused her to feel giddy inside. All of her past experiences were akin to getting the deed done, so this was apletely new situation she had found herself in. Since Vahn felt so much bigger than her, Artoria felt a strange feeling of security leaning against his chest and just entrusting herself to him... While drawingbored breaths, Artoria began to fidget about in Vahnsp but, no matter how much she moved, his hands remained idle. Eventually, after failing to aplish anything on her own, she began to calm down a bit and consider what Vahn was asking of her. Her reasoning told her that it was impossible to have two people within her heart. Yet, when she thought about how mon it had been for other Kings and Emperors to have multiple lovers, Artoria felt a strange incongruity building within her. She had only ever married out of obligation, never giving much thought to the matter since she had been focused on keeping her Kingdom from falling apart. Now that she heard everything Vahn had to say, Artorias heart was beating madly in her chest as she wondered if it was her misunderstanding of the heart that had caused her to fail as a King. Since even her most trusted Knight had an affair with her Wife, Artoria suddenly felt as if her dedication towards Shirou was just another misguided decision she had made under circ.u.mstances beyond her control... Uncertain as to how Artoria would respond to him, Vahn decided to help her shaking body calm down a bit by gently wrapping his arms around her body. This, however, caused her to tremble even more as she hung her head and curled in her feet. Though she had originally done this due to her sudden feelings of insecurity, Artorias eyes widened when she saw that Vahns member was still waiting patiently between her thighs. Her lithe figure and inability to gain weight ensured there was a perpetual gap in her thighs but, due to the almost ridiculous thickness of Vahns member, Artoria felt its heat against her inner thighs, immediately followed by an idental release that made her face instantly turn crimson... Just as Vahn was about to ask if she was okay, Artoria hung her head even further as she murmured, "I am inexperienced in matters of the heart...I will only know the answer in hindsight..." Though this was an extremely roundabout way to give her consent, Vahn gave a sigh of relief that had the unexpected consequence of sending a shiver along Artorias spine as his hot breath flowed across her neck. This caused Vahns heart to itch and, though he had originally intended to take Artoria from behind to make things easier for her, that thought immediately faded from his mind after her adorable reaction. With his mind made, Vahn sent a few threads of energy into Artorias body as he leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "I want to see your face as we make love...if you confront the matter directly, you may be able to find the answer youre looking for..." These words caused Artoria to shake in his arms but, after he eased her out of his embrace, she went through the awkward process of crawling out of hisp and turning around to face him directly. Since he was still sitting, this had Artoria looking down at him with her previously crystal-clear green eyes, now tinged with a passionate light and a thinyer of mist. Before she could sit down, however, Fenrirs arms wrapped around Artorias body, startling her more than a little bit. Then, in one swift motion, Fenrir cut through the final half of Artorias top before whispering in her ear, "Clothes will get in the way at this point..." Fenrir felt like things were taking way too long and, though she knew it wasnt necessarily Artorias fault, it was easier toy the me on her than their Master. In response to this, Vahn gave a wry smile before making a mental note to give Fenrir some special service once he had finished with Artoria. Seeing thetter panic when Fenrir gave her butt a light tap, Vahn had to resist the urge tough since it was supposed to be a serious moment. Fortunately, Artoria didnt seem to realize his struggle as she bashfully fumbled forward before muttering almost inaudibly, "Excuse me..." To make things easier for her, Vahn extended his hands to serve as a support, causing Artoria to blush madly as she ced her hands in his before stepping forward enough that Vahn would have been able to lick her sacred garden just by extending his tongue... After setting her feet so that they were nking Vahns legs, Artoria slowly lowered her trembling h.i.p.s until she was sitting in the gap between his legs. This had her looking up at him, causing Artoria to feel even smaller than when she had been cradled in his arms. There was a big difference between being hugged from behind and having to stare directly into the face of a man wrought with desire. Artoria was unable to prevent herself from swallowing hard, causing Vahns smile to soften as he reached out his hand and stroked her left cheek. This caused Artorias face to be even redder as she averted her eyes to the side and shrunk her shoulders inward. Vahn was a little surprised with how insecure she seemed so, instead of dying things further, he hooked his left hand around her waist before lifting her body gently with his right hand under her armpit... Knowing the time hade, Artoria closed her eyes tightly as she linked her arms around Vahns neck and allowed him to take the lead. It felt like he had been in control from the start so, trusting in his experience, Artoria did her best to steady her rampant heart as Vahn pulled her close enough that her chest was resting against his. Immediately following this, Artorias body trembled when she felt something unbelievably hot press against her lower body. The worst part of it all was the wet sounded that apanied the contact, making her feel even more embarrassed than everything else leading up to it... Since he knew someone like Artoria had a high tolerance for pain, Vahn didnt make things even more difficult for her by asking her to prepare herself. She knew that her body had been reverted to its v.i.r.g.i.n state so, before they had even started, Artoria must have prepared herself. Since he had warmed up her body to the point that she was only a few small pushes from climaxing, Vahn felt she was more than ready as he slowly guided her h.i.p.s downward. Feeling the sudden tight and tingling sensation against his ns, Vahn was forced to inhale sharply as he hadnt actually expected such an intense stimtion from the start. This didnt stop his movements, however, as he didnt want to bully Artoria any further than he already had. Thus, after tearing through a surprisingly thin membrane, Artorias h.i.p.s came to rest against his as, instead of a pained groan, she released a hot and agonized sigh that only more mature women could manage... For a brief moment, Vahn wondered what kind of person Artorias creator had been to give her such a unique constitution. Deciding that it ultimately didnt matter, however, he wrapped his arms around her body and gave her a bit of time to adapt to the sudden intrusion, even if it didnt seem like she actually needed it. Her body was on the verge of a powerful climax but, knowing she would probably feel ashamed about orgasming at the loss of her v.i.r.g.i.nity, Vahn decided not to push her too hard. He waited until her breathing had calmed down considerably and for Artoria herself to say, "Im fine...thank you..." before he began moving again. Though he had adjusted his size out of consideration for Artoria, Vahn was surprised by the fact that she had taken his full length without much difficulty. He kept this to himself, however, and just kept holding Artoria in his embrace while slowly rocking her h.i.p.s in a small circle. She was clinging to him pretty firmly so it would take him practically ripping her from his body in order to manage anyrger movements. Since he knew this was due to her building climax, Vahn remained patient as he focused on his own breathing, something that was actually necessary due to how pleasant Artorias insides felt. It could be due to her inherent Holy Elemental Affinity, but Vahn felt an unbelievable tingle running through his entire length as Arotoria squeezed down on him with an amount of pressure few other v.i.r.g.i.ns could match. Though she could never force him to ejacte, Vahn felt like he wouldnt havested long if he was a normal person... A few minutes after they had started, Artorias grip around his neck more than doubled in intensity as she released a suppressed whine and buried her face his neck. At the same time, Vahn alternated slowly running his fingers along the line of Artorias back, effectively spreading the pleasure across her body instead of having it concentrated around where they were connected. When she began climaxing, Vahn actually had to cut off his ability to ejacte as Artorias w.o.m.b descended slightly as her insides squirmed around with an intensity that caused Vahn genuine surprise. It could be due to the fact he had no resistances against her, but Artorias insides were even starting to ovep with his memories of Freya, Syr, and Lefiya... With his assistance, Artoria gently eased out of her climax as a pleasant andfortable sensation spread through her whole body. She felt like she was starting to understand what the others were talking about,pletely ignorant of the fact that Vahn hadnt even started treating her gently just yet. Thus, after gaining a bit of confidence after her first climax, Artoria released a hot sigh against Vahns neck before cing her lips against it and suckling. This caused Vahn to blink in mild surprise but, realizing this was essentially Artorias way of showing she was now in the mood, he decided to start making good on his earlier promise... Grabbing Artorias small but supple butt, Vahn pressed his fingers firmly into her flesh while hooking his thumbs near her h.i.p.s bones. This gave him a good grip and allowed him to move around her center of gravity easily, meaning he had full control over the movements of her lower body. At the same time, he began to wiggle his fingers with varying degrees of pressure, sending small waves of Source Energy into her body, carrying with it a small amount of stimtion that would continue to build without leaking for several hours. Since this waspletely undetectable, it was only a matter of time until Artoria was awash in the chaotic ocean of pleasure that Vahn was able to fearlessly guide his partners through without them having to fear drowning... Though she felt that Vahns movements brought her both stimtion and release, Artoria began to feel a bit of panic in her heart after her body was quickly brought to an even more powerful climax only ten minutes after the first. The troublesome thing was, even after the numbing sensation washed over her mind, causing her vision to be obscured with white light, the pleasure never fully faded away when she came back down. She found herself leaning against Vahn as he moved around inside her body as if he had known it for years, skillfully navigating even the most minutely sensitive parts buried deep within. This was well beyond her expectations, causing Artoria to wish he would ejacte soon for fear that she might pass out, causing an extreme feeling of shame to well up inside of her... Feeling Artoria suddenly mp down on him, Vahn had to clench his teeth before a sudden realization hit him like a truck. She may not realize it herself, but Artoria was flexing her abdominal muscles as she tilted her h.i.p.s forward in an almost greedy manner. Since it didnt take a genius to understand her intentions, Vahn felt as if his heart was being yed with by a kitten as he began exploiting the angle Artoria had forced herself into to scr.a.p.e against the top of her already writhing v.a.g.i.n.a. This caused her to release an extended m.o.a.n that almost sounded like she was in pain, even though Vahn was well aware that was theplete opposite of what she was experiencing... Deciding not to keep Artoria in suspense any longer, Vahn waited until her nervous system began to light up like a fireworks disy before spontaneously flipping her onto her back and pressing himself into her depths. She didnt even seem to notice the position change as a loud shout escaped her lips, followed by Vahn releasing himself almost directly into her w.o.m.b. Though she probably couldnt get pregnant, the fact her w.o.m.b had descended and was slightly open made him feel more excited than normal as he pumped her with more than the necessary amount. As a result, Artorias legs were twitching like a frogs that had been soaked in soy sauce as she kept her eyes tightly closed in a vain attempt to bear the sensations that had long overwhelmed her senses... For a surprising seven minutes, Artorias body continued to twitch as Vahn released a slow yet steady stream into her body. He kept his release rate almost identical to the rate in which her body was processing the energy, something he was helping to facilitate as he hugged her still trembling body until she slowly opened her hazy green eyes. After opening her eyes, Artoria just focused on her breathing without even looking directly at Vahn, almost as if she wasnt even aware of his presence. It wasnt until she had moved to wipe the sweat from her brow, hitting the side of Vahns head in the process, that Artorias eyes blinked back into awareness. After seeing Vahns face at a near-zero distance to her, Artoria felt a blush quickly creep on her face before practically exploding when Vahn smiled teasingly and asked, "Ready for round two...?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns SSS-Ranked [Cassanova] skill...,TFW the girl youre f*cking is trying to purify your d*ck...,Vahn is a bully) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1082 - The Descent of Darkness

Chapter 1082 - The Descent of Darkness

Without knowing how long she had been asleep, Artoria awoke to feel afortable lethargy epassing her entire body. Instead of the dirty and ufortable feeling of dried sweat, she noticed a subtlevender smell wafting from her body. At the same time, Artoria realized she was wearing light blue pajamas that she didnt remember creating while, instead of being left to sprawl at the side, a pair of thick nkets covered her shoulders while her head rested snugly within afortable pillow. All of these were new experiences for Artoria as, after having s.e.x in the past, there was always a feeling of mild shame and difort that would require her to bathe shortly after the fact... Understanding this was another extension of Vahns experience, Artoria pulled the nkets a little closer as her green eyes came into focus on the scene urring only two meters away from her. She was a little confused about how no vibrations were transferred through thefortable mattress but that seemed inconsequential as she looked into the blissful face of Fenrir as thetter tore out pieces of the mattress in timing with Vahns movements. She was momentarily reminded of how a cat would behave but, almost as though she were able to read her mind, Fenrirs scarlet red eyes met her gaze at the same time such thoughts crossed her mind. This left Artoria awkwardly staring at Fenrir, using her nkets as a protective barrier as she saw a sh of mild frustration briefly pass across Fenrirs eyes as she muttered, "Master..." Vahn had already noticed Artoria stirring awake so he lightly caressed Fenrirs backside as he replied, "I know..." without stopping his movements. This instantly put Fenrir in a better mood, causing her to taunt Artoria with her eyes before ultimately ignoring herpletely. Now, feeling even more awkward, Artoria pulled the nkets over her head, noticing the sound of Fenrirs mewling m.o.a.ns no longer reached her. Not only did the mattresspletely mitigate vibrations, but the nkets Vahn had given her were both extremelyfortable while also beingpletely sound absorbent. This allowed Artoria to understand how she had even been able to sleep with the two of them going at it right next to her... --- After making sure Fenrir was momentarily satiated, as her hunger in the bedroom was equal to her appetite, Vahn heavily pet her head as he said, "You did very well. Make sure you and Artoria get along in the future, okay? She will be with us for a long time..." In response to this, Fenrir yfully stuck out her tongue, surprising Vahn a bit when she said, "Dont worry, Master. I can tell she is different from normal girls so I will do my best to get along with her. Now that we are sisters, I can do all kinds of things to break through her meaningless resistance..." As she had been taught by Loki and Syr that women became sisters if they weremitted to the same man, Fenrir was intending to teach Artoria some of the things that had been bestowed to her for this exact purpose... Knowing that Fenrir was probably cooking up a scheme of her own, Vahn gave a light chuckle before ruffling her hair even more than before. This caused her to snicker before she eventually wriggled free from his hand and jumped onto the lump that represented Artorias fortress. Though the bed might prevent vibrations from passing through the unique material, that didnt mean the nket had the same properties. As a result, Artoria was startled by the sudden attack, causing her to quickly move the nkets aside and send Fenrir tumbling along the bed,ughing all the while. This behavior confused Artoria a great deal, causing her to look questioningly at Vahn before realizing he was still n.a.k.e.d and averting her eyes... Seeing her bashful behavior, Vahn smiled teasingly before pulling out a towel and asking, "Will you help wipe me down?" Since she was undoubtedly aware that he had done the same for her, Vahn didnt imagine Artoria would be able to refuse a direct request. As expected, she gave him a sidelong nce before awkwardly crawling to his side and epting the towel. Then, without so much as a single word, Artoria began to dab his body with the towel in an awkward and inexperienced manner. It took her a full five minutes to even finish the front side of his body, primarily as a result of her inhibitions about wiping down a specific part of his body, now lying dormant until the time of its next conquest... Deciding to give Artoria some leniency, Vahn equipped a fresh set of clothing before lightly stroking the top of her head and saying, "Thank you, Artoria." This only caused her face to turn even redder, leading to the biting of her lower lip before she eventually said, "I wish you wouldnt try and tease me, Master..." Though she made no attempt to escape his hand, it was obvious that Artoria wasnt fond of the idea of having her head stroked. Since he didnt want her to think she had no say in how she was treated, Vahn pulled his hand away from her head before lightly stating, "Sorry..." in an apologetic tone. After that, he turned his back and slid off the bed, saying, "You should rest for now. Well be leaving in around three hours so rx while you can..." With that said, Vahn stood up from the bed and stretched his body in an exaggerated fashion before leaving behind the silent Artoria and the listless Fenrir thumping her tail at the side. She waited until her Master had left the room before looking over at Artoria and remarking, "You dont need to worry so much. Master isnt going to force you to do anything you arent willing to do. If you start putting yourself beneath him unnecessarily, it will only trouble him..." Since she could tell that Artoria was feeling guilty about asking their Master not to bully her, Fenrir felt she needed to carefully instruct her junior so that she didnt make the same mistakes as her predecessors. Thest thing their Master needed was another dependent that was trying too hard to please him in the most awkward ways imaginable... Artoria frowned after hearing Fenrirs words, mixed feelings welling up in her heart as she looked towards the blue-haired Vanargandr with a lost expression and asked, "Can you help me to better understand our Master? I want to know even more about his past, but Im afraid to ask him directly." As she could no longer simply look at Vahn objectively, Artoria felt that any attempt to try and talk with Vahn would almoste off as a desperate attempt to get his attention. She couldnt shake the feeling that had been deeply ingrained into her body as, even now, she felt a disturbing amount of relief that made her just want to lounge around for the rest of the night... In response to Artorias words, Fenrir rolled into a sitting position before nodding her head and saying, "I will tell you everything you want to know. You are now one of Masters important people so I will trust you as well. In exchange, you will have to pay close attention...then, when you have no more questions, I will begin to teach you. You did well for your first time, but Master gave you a lot more than you gave him, you know? I feel bad watching Master do his best only to see his partner worrying about themselves..." Seeing Artoria fl.u.s.ter in response to her words, Fenrir knew she had taken the bait but she kept the smile from her face as she inly stated, "Here, do as I do..." --- With less than half an hour until he was supposed to be heading out, Vahn released a contented sigh as a pair of blond pigtails tickled his waist, apanied by a powerful suction and a few audible gulping sounds. When he waspletely empty, Vahn had to inhale sharply as Ereshkigal gave him a few more probing licks before slowly ascending his length and releasing him with a pah sound. After he had tended to Rin and the ever-voracious Ishtar, Ereshkigal had fused with her sister in order to learn how to give a blowjob. When she had gotten the hang of things, Vahn had to be her experimental dummy as she spent a good twenty minutes trying different techniques to try and get a rise out of him. After releasing a hot sigh of her own, Ereshkigal turned her maroon eyes up at Vahn before asking in her cold monotone, "Was it good...?" Without needing to embellish anything at all, Vahn gave an approving smile that seemed to satisfy Ereshkigal as she returned one in kind. After that, she crawled up his body before trying to rest her head against his chest, an action that caused her crown to poke into his corbone. Vahns brow twitched in response to the unexpected puncture but he prevented Ereshkigal from seeing it as he prevented her apology with a kiss. Though others might be afraid of identally tasting themselves, Vahn was confident she hadnt left any lingering surprises for him within her mouth... With time quickly counting down, Vahn separated from Ereshkigal before stroking her chin with his thumb and saying, "I need to get going. The four of us can have more funter on..." This earned him a small nod from Ereshkigal in response before she reluctantly separated from him, muttering, "You must take care of yourself...there is no Underworld in this ce so I cannot guide you back if you die...do not leave us alone..." Though she was less expressive than Rin and Ishtar, Vahn was well aware of the fact that Ereshkigal had the most tender feelings towards him. In a way, he was her first love and, though she still didnt fully understand these feelings, he knew better than to y with such a delicate maidens heart. Even the inexperienced Artoria wasnt nearly as vulnerable as a woman like Ereshkigal who, before being summoned for the Holy Grail War, had never even left the Underworld a single time... After spending more time than he probably should have promising Ereshkigal his safe return, Vahn found himself face to face with Scthach just outside of Rins bedroom. This immediately killed his mood, causing Vahn to release a tired sigh before shaking his head and choosing to get it over with. He didnt even choose to fool around this time, cutting through the fabric of Scthachs bodysuit with a single swift motion before hooking his finger inside her hot yet barely moist v.a.g.i.n.a. This didnt so much as cause Scthachs brow to twitch as she casually asked, "Are you feeling better?" in her usual monotone. Vahn knew she was just trying to rile him up so that he would put more effort into his trainingter, causing him to roll his eyes in response to her question. He still hadnt gotten over what she had done to him four days prior, especially since he knew it would only get worse now that she had once again confirmed the methods effectiveness. Vahn would never forget the unnerving sense of shame andfort he had experienced when Scthach had slipped his jewel inside her body, letting it be warmed by her furnace-like insides for several hours. It had taken even longer than normal to reform himself as her body had been siphoning off parts of the Source Energy he radiated, absorbing it into her w.o.m.b before disseminating into the rest of her body... Once Scthachs eyes were glowing with sufficient intensity, Vahn pulled his finger free before cing it against her lips. As this wasnt the first time he had done such a thing, Scthach remained expressionless as she unhesitantly suckled on the finger that had been inside of her moments prior. Though this was an ultimately pointless act, Vahn felt like he needed to do something after what she had put him through. After all, while he was actually grateful for her assistance in bing stronger, Vahn felt like he would break before actually learning everything she had to teach. He pitied her circ.u.mstances a great deal, especially after experiencing [Laces Key], but his one-sided concern was hard to maintain since Scthach herself was simply incapable of expressing any sign that she cared at all... When Vahn plucked his finger from her lips, Scthach didnt even bother to wipe the line of mucus dribbling down her lips and simply stated, "Channel your frustrations against your enemies. Take care not to let them control you..." With that said, Scthach vanished from the corridor, leaving Vahn standing alone with a slightly dampened finger being the only sign she had ever been there in the first ce. Then, after reminding himself that Scthach was just a victim of her circ.u.mstances, Vahn shook his head before psyching himself up for theing battles. He knew she couldnt truly be med for her actions as, just like he was helpless in his [Laces Key] state, Scthach was essentially forced to behave like an emotionless machine whose only sincere desires seemed to be training him and dying... By the time Vahn reached the outside of the residence, he found Scthach and Artoria both waiting for him, thetter apanied by Fenrir. They were both wearing matching gothic dresses, causing Vahns mood to improve considerably as he gave a sincere smile and stated, "Those clothes suit you well...you both look adorable." As even Artoria could sense the sincere emotions contained within Vahns words, she gave an awkward smile in return as a slight blush crept up her face. Fenrir had a far more honest reaction, however, leaping through the air to hug her Masters waist without inhibition. She could sense his earlier frustration and was more than willing to help improve his mood before he set out into the night without her... With his mood sessfully recovered, Vahn gave Fenrirs body a firm hug before ruffling her hair, knowing thanks wasnt necessary to express how he felt. In response, Fenrir snickered happily before making Artoria sweat bomb when she tiptoed to whisper into their Masters ear, "Artoria is a good girl. When you get back, she will show you want I taught her previously, shishishi~." Since she made no effort to actually keep her words private, everyone present heard Fenrirs words clearly. Artoria suddenly felt a little betrayed but, knowing it would only exacerbate her embarrassment, she kept mum and simply changed into her battle attire to help focus her mind. As for Scthach, she just stared at Fenrir for a few seconds before silently returning to her Spirit form to conserve mana. --- Aftering up with a simple battle strategy, primarily revolving around Artoria dealing with Hassan and Scthach dealing with Yan Qing, Vahn and Saber were making their way toward the Matou Mansion under the cover of a light fog. Even for a rtively normal human, it was only around a 30-40 minute sprint between the Tohsaka and Matous residences, meaning it had taken them less than five minutes at a casual pace to reach an area only two blocks distant from their target. At this distance, it was easy to see the protective magical array protecting the fortress-like mansion. With Vahns domain, he was able to sense far more than that, however, causing his face to darken as he regretted noting to deal with Sakura sooner... Noticing the look on Vahns face, Saber asked in a concerned tone, "Is there something wrong, Master?" In response to this question, it was Scthach who emotionlessly answered, "This ce is a breeding ground for Crest Worms. There are more than a dozen children imprisoned within an area beneath the Mansion..." Before Scthach could say any more, Vahns re brought her to silence, causing her to change tune and say, "We should move quickly. The only other presence within the Mansion should be Sakura Matou herself. Be careful, Master, as I can sense something wrong with her body..." The whole reason she had appeared from the start was to warn Vahn about the fact that she couldnt fully see through the girl. Her vision was blocked by an anomalous aura and, even though she didnt feel any dangering from it, there was something she couldnt quite put into words lingering around the girls body... With Scthach disappearing once again, Vahn hardened his resolve and, even though he abhorred what Sakura had done, he reminded himself that she had been twisted by the same process. Though he may not ever truly forgive her for what she had done, Vahn was determined to save both Sakura and her victims from their suffering. When he was done, Vahn intended to crush the Makiri family for ever daring toe up with such a despicable method. Though he wouldnt ruthlessly ughter all of them, Vahn would personally im the heads of everyone who was involved with perpetuating this cycle of suffering... As the knowledge she had obtained included the existence of Crest Worms, Artoria knew well why her Master was so angry. She felt righteous indignation in her own heart as shefortingly ced her hand on his shoulder and said, "We will save them all." This earned her a nod from Vahn who, with just as much confidence, stated, "These are the things we will fight to prevent, Artoria. Thank you for being here with me...now, lets go...!" With that said, Vahn leaped into the air before vaulting off a roof and easily clearing the walls surrounding the Matou Mansion. As for Artoria, she tightly gripped her fist with a resolute look in her eyes before following shortly thereafter. A lot of her uncertainty had been swept away by Vahnsment, allowing her to view things from a different perspective...one where she knew victims all over the world were waiting to be saved... (A/N: Alternate Titles: After-care is important,Vahn isnt worthy of Ereshkigal (T ^ T),F.u.c.k the Makiri, seriously...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1083 - Malignant

Chapter 1083 - Malignant

Before Vahn even touched down on the Matou Mansions grounds, the magical array surrounding the entire property had already signaled his arrival. Though he could have used a more roundabout method to resolve things, Vahn didnt want to dy things any further. With that in mind, Vahn used [Enkidu] from the very start, attempting to bind Sakura as she sat down at a table within the Mansions interior. Though a malevolent energy swelled up from her body just before the golden chains bound her, it was able to suppress her before whatever she was attempting could take form. At the same time as this was urring, a total of seventeen figures appeared like phantoms in the surroundings, their white skull-like masks and ck skins the onlymon feature between them. Vahn could even see old men, young children, and seductive women among the group of Hassans, making it very clear they were dealing with the Hundred Faced Hassan variant. While Vahn began to hover in the air, tearing apart the Mansions exterior to gain ess to the bound Sakura, Artoria had already kicked off from the ground, creating a powerful vortex at her feet that sent herunching forward at a nigh-instantaneous 6400kmh. This put her into range of one of the Hassans who, despite their best efforts to evade backward, ended up being cut down almost instantly. Several things happened simultaneously following the death of the first Hassan, including twelve of the remaining Hassans all throwing lethal ck daggers towards Artoria while the other four moved in concert as they attempted to eliminate Vahn. Though Vahn didnt particrly care that the Hassans had targetted him, the fact that the younger Hassans, including a young girl that appeared no older than six or seven, annoyed him a great deal. Even if it was a Servant, Vahn wasnt particrly fond of the idea of injuring children, much less cutting them down. As her dagger pierced toward his abdomen, Vahn released a tired sigh as he grabbed it with his hand and used his forearm to deflect the attack of another Hassan. Their offense wasnt enough to have even a remote chance of breaking through his passive mitigation. Even when a third Hassan, looking like an old man in his eighties, breathed a cloud of purple fog into his face, Vahn just frowned slightly before pulling out a silvery-white de and cutting off his head in a single swift stroke. In this manner, the battlefield became extremely chaotic as Artoria dashed around at high speeds, using a powerful offense in lieu of any kind of defense, while Vahn just stood in the air with one Hassan dangling in [Enkidu] as he dealt with any foolish enough to attack him. There was already a lot of information on this version of Hassan so it was only a matter of time until the battle was brought to an end. As for the child-like Hassan, Vahn was slowly draining the mana within her body so that she would dissipate painlessly. Both Assassin Servants had been marked for elimination as part of their original n so, while he couldnt bring himself to ruthless cut down a little girl, Vahn still needed to eliminate Hassan in its entirety... When he felt the chains cken, following by motes of ckish-blue light, Vahn released a heavy sigh before pulling out a pale-gold spear and tossing it with enough momentum to create small ripples in space as it pierced through another Hassan trying to ambush Artoria. With this action, there were only five Hassan remaining so Vahn began tearing apart the Mansion once again using his telekinesis. He didnt rush the process too much, as he was trying to conserve energy, but it still looked like the Mansion was being ripped apart by a tornado until the upper floor viewing room, where Sakura had been sitting, was fully exposed. Vahn slowly descended toward her, ignoring the sudden presence appearing in his blindspot... From an area of seemingly empty space, a handsome man with silky ck hair had emerged from the void wearing a unique outfit the would immediately identify him as a martial artist. He had ck bands wrapped around his arms, much like bandages, while a pair of purple-gold gauntlets covered his forearms and fists. With an exposed torso, revealing an incredibly fit body covered in flower-like tattoos, he charged toward Vahn with a murderous glimmer in his pitch-ck eyes, set in a face that would have caused models the world over to reconsider their own appeal. Unfortunately, while most women would have swooned just catching sight of this man, he soon found himself face-to-face with one who didnt even put him in her eyes as she brandished a red spear and sent him crashing into the ground below. To Yan-Qings credit, he managed to vault away from the small crater his body had formed without even flinching. Before he evennded, however, two different spears were aimed toward his neck and navel and, regardless of hisst-ditch effort to twist his nimble and agile body, they seemed to follow him like serpents before piercing through despite his best efforts. Painful thorns spread through his body, exacerbating his already lethal wounds before Scthach skewered his heart for good measure, leaving the proud and noble-looking Assassin dangling lifelessly on the edge of her [Gae Bolg]. Regardless of how skilled Yan Qing might have been in his legends, the fact that he was just a fictional Heroic Spirit meant there was little chance he could provide a genuine threat to an unshakeable legend like Scthach. Since she was both faster and could read through his movements with her [irvoyance], there was no suspense to the oue. While Scthach and Artoria were cleaning up in the courtyard, Vahn lightly touched down on the hardwood flooring, staring at a hyperventting Sakura who, after ring into his eyes, screamed, "What did you do to me!?" Vahns only response to this, however, was to simply shake his head and answer, "I will not ask why you have done all of these terrible things...I know you are just another victim...though I would have killed almost anyone else, regardless of their circ.u.mstances, I believe there is hope for you to live happily in the future..." At this point, Vahn was standing right over Sakura as she looked up at him, her purple eyes being encroached by a red light that was unable to permeate through her entire iris before being suppressed... Squatting down next to the bound girl, Vahn had an almost overwhelming urge just to end her life but, remembering his own words, buried the notion deep in his heart as he extended his hand to Sakuras head. Though she did her best to break free, surprising Vahn more than a little by her ability to actually shake [Enkidu], Sakura ultimatelycked the strength as a tidal wave of purifying Source Energy began to pervade through her body. This caused her to scream in excruciating pain as, all throughout her body, the disgusting worm-like creatures began to writhe about madly in a vain attempt to try and devour the invasive energy. As they were unable to even interact with it in the slightest, the only thing they got for their troubles were tiny beads of source energy creating micro-explosions in their rudimentary nervous systems, effectively killing them instantly. Though she didnt fully understand what was happening to her body, the pain she was experiencing caused Sakura to thrash within the bindings of [Enkidu] as froth and blood began to pool from her mouth. Compared to most people, she had an unbelievable pain tolerance after more than a decade of being tormented in the most horrifying ways imaginable. However, as if everything she had ever experienced before was just a prelude to true pain, Sakura was putting so much effort into breaking free that her flesh was being gouged as she attempted to free herself from [Enkidu]s bindings. To prevent her from hurting herself even more, Vahn caused Sakura an extreme level of confusion as he began to gently stroke her head amidst her pained thrashing... As Sakura was slowly slipping into a deep level of unconsciousness, Vahn whispered in a soft and guiding tone, "When you wake up, this nightmare will finally be over...I am sorry that I had not arrived to save you sooner..." Before his words had even finished, the light had faded from Sakuras eyes, taking with it the red glow that had been trying to encroach upon them. Then, using runes with the meanings, Two-Tens-Memory-Erase, courtesy of Scthachs [Primordial Rune] Magecraft, Vahn nted them into Sakuras mind and hoped it had the intended effect. Memory erasure magic was actually one of the mostmon and easiest to learn within the entire Nasuverse, something that was taught to apprentices and first-year students at every Mage Academy. This was to ensure that they would be able to erase the memories of anyone who had witnessed Magecraft without having to kill them. Though this was often exploited heavily by the more despicable Mages throughout the world, including bored students who decided to take advantage of normal civilians, it was still useful for situations like this... WIth Sakura unconscious and her memory of thest twenty years most-certainly erased, Vahn loosened [Enkidu] before rolling her onto her back. Though they were all dead, he still needed to extract the Crest Worms from Sakuras body to prevent them from bing malignant and damaging her organs. The fact that her w.o.m.b was currently filled with a massive clump of dead worms gave Vahn a strong urge to vomit but, ignoring his own apprehensions on the matter, he adopted his persona of a Physician as he cut open Sakuras blouse before snapping the band of her bra. She actually hadrge and shapely b.r.e.a.s.ts,plete with fair and soft skin, but Vahn only noticed these things as a sign of good nutritional bnce before cing his palm against her abdomen and causing a rainbow hue to slowly spread through her body... Just as Vahn was preparing to perform Nirvana Rebirth on Sakura, the sound of battle had just faded, only to be reced by a metallic pping sound that caused Vahn to frown deeply as he turned his eyes skyward. There, as if more proud than the sun itself, a man wearing resplendent golden armor could be seen levitating in the air. At first nce, he had a dignified appearance with golden hair that stood up like zing mes,plimenting his well-structured face that was set with two ruby-red pupils. Seeing this, Vahn was beginning to feel that it was an extremelymon theme in the Nasuverse for anyone that had a reasonable degree of power to be identifiable by their red eyes as, without exception, anyone with red eyes seemed to fit that description thus far... As if he had been watching a performance staged entirely for his own entertainment, Gilgamesh continued to p with the most haughty and arrogant expression Vahn had ever seen on another person adorning his face. However, just as he was about to address Gilgamesh and begin their battle, Vahns instincts began screaming at him to evade as, from the unconscious Sakuras body, a ck mud-like substance began to pour from her mouth, nose, ears, and an area within her skirt that he didnt want to imagine. Then, as if it had a mind of its own, tendrils of ck energy coiled toward him with surprising speed before trying to wrap around his left arm and leg as Vahn shifted away with [Shundo]. This incident caught Gilgameshs attention, causing him to mutter an amused, "Oh~? The pretender cant even deal with a single woman...? Pathetic..." With that said, several golden ripples began to emerge behind Gilgameshs body as he crossed his arms and said, "Witness, mongrel, the true power of the person you would deign to emte...!" Immediately following Gilgameshs words, several weapons, each apanied by an oppressive aura, began to protrude from the golden ripples behind him. Then, traveling at an instantaneous speed greater than 12,000kmh, the various weapons, be they sword, spears, axes, or even bows, all rained towards the ck mass that now surrounded Sakuras body. As Vahnnded on the ground below, he saw that the tendrils that had wrapped around his arm and leg bore into his flesh before almost immediately dissipating after contacting his blood. Even without this urrence, however, he had already identified the energy as the same malignant energy that had injured Gray. Though this wasnt outside of his expectations, as he actually harbored a suspicion that Sakura was rted to the Shadow, it was never pleasant to realize the worst-case scenario was the truth. He already had a n that should separate the malignant entity from Sakuras body but, knowing it would cost him more than a third of his OP reserves, Vahn couldnt help feeling a little reluctant as he watched the weapons fired by Gilgamesh pierce into the nebulous ck ooze... Though one of the swords seemed surprisingly effective, cutting a swath clear through the ck blob, the rest of the weapons were simply absorbed like stones dropped into the ocean. Other than a single explosion, taking out arge section of the Mansion, every other weapon used by Gilgamesh had beenpletely ineffective before, momentster, simr versions of those weapons began to protrude out from the malignant mass of darkness. They had now been dyed ck with red runes burned into their surface, causing Gilgamesh to sneer as he admonished, "You would attempt to steal the possessions of this King...? Know your ce, sow...!" This time, twice the number of golden ripples appeared behind Gilgamesh as the Shadow sent his previous weapons back at him withparable speed. At this point, it was clear that Gilgamesh and the Shadow were nning to fight it out so, while Vahn was intending to deal with bothter, he turned to Scthach and said, "Go rescue the children in the bas.e.m.e.nt. Dont leave a single one of those f.u.c.k.i.n.g worms alive...!" Without a word in response, Scthach instantly moved like a phantom, breaking directly into the Mansion as she tore a direct path towards the bas.e.m.e.nt. As for Vahn and Artoria, he could tell thetter wanted to throw herself into the fray but, as now wasnt the best time, Vahn ced his hand on her shoulder and said, "We should fall back for now. Let Scthach save the children while we observe the battle between Gilgamesh and the Shadow. I have a bad feeling about thetter so I dont want you going anywhere near her for the time being...!" As she had seen the various Noble Phantasms fired by Gilgamesh unceremoniously absorbed by the ck ooze, Artoria resisted the urge to argue and instead nodded her head, saying, "I understand, Master..." through slightly clenched teeth. She had a personal grudge to settle with Gilgamesh but that wouldnt cause Artoria to go against orders, especially after recognizing Vahn as her Lord in the capacity of a Knight. Though she was filled with reluctance, she moved off to the side with Vahn, causing Gilgamesh to cast them a nce before ignoring them after realizing they werent intending to flee. If they had attempted to run away while he was dealing with Sakura, he would have included them in his barrage as well... With Vahn and Artoria being obedient, Gilgamesh turned his attention back to the growing ck mass that seemed capable of absorbing most of the Noble Phantasms he could throw at it. Though his [Gate of Babylon] had every treasure within existence, seeing his property get stolen over and over was beginning to grate on his nerves a great deal. He had noticed that certain weapons were effective against the ck mass so, while hemented having to make even a small amount of effort against some mindless monstrosity, Gilgamesh clicked his tongue before saying, "Very well then. Try eating this, you dog...!" With golden ripples forming a circr shape behind his body, several weapons suffused with a subtle white or gold aura began to emerge. Vahn could feel his skin begin to tingle slightly just by looking at these weapons, immediately understanding that they were Light and Holy Elemental armaments. Since [Holy Water] had been effective in slowing down the effects of the malignant energy, it wasnt an incorrect decision to use weapons with a much higher concentration of Holy Elemental Energy to attack the Shadow. The problem was, as Vahn was intending to save Sakura, this kind of attack would probably be a little too effective... Before Vahn was afforded the time to intervene, Gilgamesh had already released his volley of Holy Noble Phantasms towards Sakura, this time reaching speed nearing 18,000kmh. They looked like illusory golden bullets that tore through the mass of malignant energy before causing massive explosions that ripped the Mansion apart like paper mache. Though the effects didnt reach the bas.e.m.e.nt, where Scthach had alreadypleted most of her assigned mission, Vahn knew he couldnt let things continue progressing in this manner. This became even more apparent when, after the smoke cleared away, a beaten and bloody Sakura, missing everything from her left shoulder onward, was standing like a poorly posed mannequin with glowing red eyes radiant a malevolent and murderous light... High in the sky, Gilgamesh began tough in response to Sakuras disheveled state, made even worse by the fact that Vahn had cut apart her blouse and bra previously. However, hisughter was brought to a stop soon thereafter as ck markings spread across Sakuras fair skin, coalescing near her otherwise fatal wound before a ck ooze began to bubble in ce of blood. Then, in a manner not all that dissimr from Vahns [Magia Erebea] regeneration, Sakuras arm had grown back in less than three seconds as she stared up at Gilgamesh with her b.r.e.a.s.ts, now covered in sickly ck markings, exposed for the world to see. She was still wearing a full-length purple skirt but, seeing a woman with ghostly pale skin covered in ck markings was quite the unnerving sight when taking into consideration her glowing red eyes... With a disgusted scowl on his face, Gilgamesh created golden ripples at his back that were reminiscent of majestic wings as he venomously stated, "I see what you are now...you are an abomination corrupted by that thing...very well, lets see how long you canst in that mindless state...!" Though it likely wasnt in response to anything Gilgamesh had said, Sakuras lips suddenly formed a creepy smile before her throat began to swell up. Then, as the mass continued to rise, she spat out arge volume of ck mud that began to burn everything it came into contact with before slowly rising to form an evenrger blob than before. This one had a vaguely humanoid appearance,plete with bulbous arms that immediately extended towards Gilgamesh in an obvious attempt to consume him. Instead of dodging, Gilgameshs brows furrowed as a series of golden cubes exited the portals behind him, forming a defensivework that began to destroy any of the ck tendrils that got even remotely close to his body. At the same time, something very different to all his previous weapons began to exit the gold ripples, each taking on the form of what appeared to be massive gun barrels. Then, waving his hand in amanding manner, Gilgamesh shouted, "Eat this you disgusting swine...!" This was followed by a mass of light forming at the ends of each barrel, causing the hair to raise on Vahns neck and arms as he instantly transformed into his Xuanwu form and shielded Artoria in his arms... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is developing the habit of binding Lolis...,Justice for Yan Qing...!,King of Heroes vs. The Shadow) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1084 - Instant

Chapter 1084 - Instant

With an impactparable to a small-scale nuclear warhead, an area of 700m had been turned into a small sun that illuminated the dark night of Fuyuki City. Apanying this light, a powerful shockwave spread through the area and, even with the city-wide formation limiting its destructive capabilities, several blocks surrounding the Matou Mansion were effectively leveled as a result of Gilgameshs attack. If not for the fact they were in an area where only a few affluent families lived, the death total would have easily reached in the tens of thousands as, by the time the golden sun had vanished, the only thing still standing within the area was a ck shield covered with the emerald green motif of a turtle. Feeling that his reserves had been overtaxed, Vahn resisted the urge to pass out as he released Artorias body and downed a [Turbo Ether]. He had put his all into defending against the strike, only realizingter that he could have actually held back. This was a small revtion, allowing Vahn to understand that his durability was even higher than expected, but that was something that could be looked intoter. From the area where the Matou Mansion had previously stood, there was a malignant ck and red puddle that was slowly forming into the familiar figure of Sakura, now covered from neck to toe in ck markings. Her hair had reformed into translucent white strands as the glow of her eyes had more than doubled in intensitypared to before. High in the sky, a visible vein had now appeared at Gilgameshs temple as he frustratedly tapped his gauntleted finger against his own bicep. He had crossed his arms, assured of his own victory, only to see Sakura rise up without being any worse for wear. Feeling slighted by her mere presence, the proud King of Heroes stared into her blood-red eyes with his crimson gaze as he coldly stated, "Very well then...though you are unworthy, allow me to show you true despair...!" At this point, Gilgamesh pulled a strange golden key from a golden ripple in space but, before he was able to cause even greater devastation, the golden cubes protecting his body were forced to defend him against a series of ck arrows. With an enraged expression, Gilgamesh shouted, "You dare try and sneak attack this King!?" Even with his bl.u.s.tering, however, Gilgamesh was forced to retreat backward as the [Yi] arrows exploded into dense and all-consuming gravitational wells. Surprisingly, he seemed to be able to ignore gravity in its entirety as he ascended higher into the sky and attempted to use the key in his hands. Once again, Gilgamesh was not afforded the opportunity to execute his n as, appearing like a phantom, a version of Vahn with an expressionless face appeared right behind him. With a spear not all that dissimr to Scthachs, but possessing a silver hue, Vahn mmed the tip directly into Gilgameshs elbow, denting the golden tes protecting the vulnerable joint inside. Feeling the bones in his left arm break, Gilgameshs expression turned fierce as more than a hundred golden ripples surrounded him and Vahn as he shouted, "Die, you pretender...!" As if these words had no impact on him at all, Vahn continued to stare nkly at Gilgamesh, his spear snaking forward at an almost impossible angle as it stabbed into thetters right wrist. Immediately following this, Vahn vanished like a phantom as more than ten hypersonic projectiles pierced his previous location, skewing the afterimage he had left behind. With this taking ce, Gilgameshs expression became that of a crazed madman as, instead of continuing his bombardment, all the golden ripples around his body vanished in an instant. Though it was only a single moment in time, Gilgamesh felt as if he was experiencing the passage of eternity as his brain simply refused to process what was happening. He watched in slow motion as golden gates began to open in the air, not behind his back, but behind the figure standing in the air across from him. This most iprehensible aspect of what he was bearing witness to was the fact that the Pretender had now even copied his appearance. The only difference between them was theck of armor and the impossible cold green eyes that reflected no light. Then, as if to spite him even further, Gilgamesh felt his arms and legs bound by an immovable force that caused his brain to buzz with madness as the resplendent light of [Enkidu] filled his vision... Since Gilgamesh was showing an unbelievable amount of hostility towards him, Vahn, under the influence of [Laces Key] unhesitantly sent several projectiles from the hijacked [Gate of Babylon]. Since Gilgamesh had no treasures to protect him, the only thing keeping him in the sky [Enkidu], he was unceremoniously torn apart as more than ten Anti-Divine Noble Phantasms shredded his body to pieces. His head was severed from its body, an incredulous expression on his face that simply refused to believe what was happening, even as a speared pierced through the bridge of his nose, causing his entire head to explode in a cloud of red mist. In total, Vahn had eliminated Gilgamesh in only seventeen seconds, including the time it took for his brain to process how to use the key he had robbed from the Hero Kings grasp. Unfortunately, now that Gilgamesh had been eliminated, Vahn stood in the air like an emotionless automaton as the key in his hands dissolved into golden specs, vanishing from the world. Though he could have continued using the key while Gilgamesh was manifested, there was nothing anchoring the incredibly powerful artifact to this timeline after the Holy Grail absorbed Gilgameshs mana. Had he still been aware, Vahn might have cared a lot more but, now that it had already escaped his grasp, he would have to be content with the vast amount of knowledge he had obtained just by owning the key for a few seconds... Now that her primary target had vanished, Sakura had turned her gaze towards Vahn as a Shadow Giant more than 30m tall extended its arm in an attempt to knock him out of the sky. The only thing it got for its trouble, however, was Vahn turning into his Zhuque form, giving him a true counter to the ck mud with his Yang Elemental mes. At the same time, nine links of [Enkidu] burst into existence around Sakuras body before tightly binding her in ce momentster. This caused the Shadow Giant to lose its structure, plopping to the ground with a force akin to seven hundred-thousand gallons of thick and destructive mud. It quickly spread through the area and began to corrode the surroundings but, for better or worse, Gilgameshs earlier attack ensured there was nothing to affect. It was around the time that Vahn was being brought back to awareness by Sis that Scthach appeared next to Artoria, two children tucked under her arms as she looked up at Vahn and muttered, "That is a dangerous power he has obtained. We must both do our best to make sure it does not consume him." In response to this, Artoria, who had been feeling strangely anxious due to her inability to actively participate in the fight, nodded her head firmly in response. She recognized Vahns state as the same thing he had used against her during their spar. It gave him a level of power that was beyondprehension, meaning the chances of it corrupting him were extremely high. Since she had promised to always be there to guide him back on the right path, Artoria tightly gripped [Excalibur]s handle as she redoubled her resolve... --- After regaining his senses, Vahn felt a strange incongruity as he reyed the scene of his surprisingly short battle with Gilgamesh. Though he had certainly sneak attacked the King of Heroes, he hadnt expected thetter to go down so quickly. What he didnt know was, much like Scthach, Gilgamesh relied on a powerful form of [irvoyance] to know how to deal with most enemies. Since Vahn was inherently immune to such abilities, Gilgamesh fundamentallycked the means to see through Vahns sudden attacks. This,bined with the face he had already used up arge amount of mana to bombard Sakura, meant Gilgamesh was in a severely weakened state at the time his key had been stolen. From that point onward, the fight had already irreversibly shifted in Vahns favor... By the time Vahn touched down on the ground, Sakuras hair and eyes had returned to normal as shey limply within the immovable embrace of [Enkidu]. Though the mud in the area was still damaging the surroundings, it was quickly beginning to turn into an inert ck sludge since there was no intent guiding it after Sakuras powers were sealed. So long as nothing entered the area of influence for the next hour or two, it should die outpletely before either dissolving away or fusing with the soil below. How the Mages Association and Holy Church intended to cover up such devastation was something Vahn didnt really care about though, after what had happened, he was tempted to use his own wish to restore the lives that had been lost... Deciding to worry about such things when the Holy Grail War had been concluded, Vahn ced his palm atop Sakuras head and began to systematically seal each of her mana circuits before cing a thick membrane of Source Energy around her core. In a way, it was fortunate that Gilgamesh had shown up when he did as, if Vahn had started to use Nirvana Rebirth on Sakura, she undoubtedly would have caught him off guard with her Shadow. Though it likely wouldnt be able to kill him, Vahn didnt imagine it would be very pleasant to have much of his body dissolved as she desperately tried to break him down and consume him... Once Sakura was adequately sealed, Vahn removed one of the links of [Enkidu] before anchoring it to his hand and coiling it around her body. After she was wrapped up snugly, Vahn dismissed the other eight chains before wrapping arge nket around Sakuras body. He needed to move her to a secure location in order to perform the Nirvana Rebirth, especially since the Mages Association and Holy Church were undoubtedly flocking to the area. With Gilgamesh destroyed, Vahn knew the Holy Church would be quick toy the me on him, regardless of whether or not he told them the truth of the matter. Since telling the truth would undoubtedly lead to them demanding he hand over Sakura, Vahn would rather leave the area and deal with them on his own termster on... After throwing Sakura over his shoulder, Vahn floated through the area towards where Scthach and Artoria were waiting for him. Without him needed to ask, the former immediately exined, "I was only able to save two of the children after the unexpected explosion that urred." Since he had already sensed this, Vahn wasnt all that surprised by Scthachs emotionless words. Still, hearing her say them directly caused him to wince as he looked down at the two sleeping girls hanging limply in Scthachs embrace. Vahn hoped that the Mages Association would be able to track down their families but, considering that Sakura was the primary culprit in the disappearance of more than three thousand people, he assumed their families were amongst that number. Shaking his head to clear negative thoughts, Vahn hardened his expression as he said, "We should move to the Fuyuki City Hyatt Hotel to exin our side of events before they get twisted out of proportion. Well leave those two girls in the custody of the Mages Association while I use their medical facilities to treat Sakuras body." Contrary to expectations, neither Scthach nor Artoria seemed to fully agree with him, thetter outright saying, "It would be better to attack while our enemies are off-kilter. After dropping off these two girls, I believe it would be best to ce Sakura in a safe location before heading to Mount Enzou and dealing with Circe before they are able toe up with any countermeasures." Though Artoria took pity on the two orphaned girls, she knew there would only be more victims if they didnt bring the Holy Grail War to an end. The fact that arge section of the Miyama Town Foreign Residential District had been destroyed all but guaranteed that the Mages Association and Holy Church would begin interfering proactively. Their window of opportunity was rapidly shrinking as, even if they werent the primary culprits behind the devastation, the me would undoubtedly lie on all participants of the war. There was a good chance that Executors of the Mages Association would appear at the Tohsaka Manor in an attempt to reign in Rin and Vahn, even though this would undoubtedly just be a power y on their part to obtain the grail for themselves... Understanding Artorias concerns, Vahn gave a curt not before saying, "We will return to the Tohsaka Manor for the time being. We can buy time with the Sub-Space Orb while Astolfoes over to pick up the two girls. After I treat Sakura, she can be left in the care of Rin while we go and storm Mount Enzou and try to bring this all to an end. There have already been too many victims...lets do our best to ensure there arent any more added to the count..." As this was a far more agreeable n, both girls nodded in response before the entire group ran back on foot. Since she had been engaged in battle, Scthach was unable to assume her Spirit form for the time being. This meant she was carrying the two unconscious girls under her arms as she ran through the streets in her characteristic skin-tight bodysuit. Vahn was tempted to tell her to wear something that didnt stand out but, considering they were carrying three unconscious bodies, it wouldnt really matter how they were dressed. He even had Rin wrapped up in a nket while, with the exception of some foul brown clothes, neither young girl in Scthachs arms were wearing anything that remotely resembled clothes... --- Though the distance between the Matou and Tohsaka residences were something that could quickly be traversed by the group, Vahn wasnt at all surprised when a pulse of magical energy spread over the area. Immediately following this, he could sense several figures rushing towards them with amendable pace of around 310kmh. Though this was unbelievably slow inparison to the speed of mostbatants he associated with, Vahn could tell these four people were normal humans. One of them even seemed vaguely familiar, causing Vahn to feel an extreme amount of exasperation when a white-haired, golden-eyed beauty appeared to block their way. He was almost tempted to ask how a skintight leotard and a half-dress that didnt even cover her lower body was considered suitable attire for a Nun but Vahn didnt think Caren would appreciate thement... Contrary to expectations, Caren was actually standing at the back of a group consisting of two other women and a tall man that reached 194cm with his thick-soled shoes. Unlike Caren, the other two women were wearing clothes that were simr in structure to business suits,plete with pants, while the man leading the group had a clerical cor designating his status as an ordained priest within the Holy Church. He even carried an archaic-looking bible in his hands that made Vahns skin feel like it was turning inside-out just by being near it. Because of this, he was starting to feel more than a little bothered by the existence of the Holy Church and their various troublesome artifacts. With a smile that didnt quite reach his eyes, the man leading the group passed his gaze over the two girls in Scthachs arms before resting his dark brown eyes on Sakura. Then, in a deep voice that didnt leave any room for argument, he inly stated, "I am afraid you will have to be detained until an Inquisitor of the Holy Church is able to determine your involvement with that st. This is a clear vition of the restrictions that you had agreed to after making your participation in the Holy Grail War known. Do not resist or we will be forced to apprehend you through methods I am certain you will find far less agreeable..." Refusing to simply bow down to the whims of an organization that was quick toy me on others, Vahn fixed his gaze on the man as he answered, "Without any conclusive evidence, youck the right to hold us at your convenience. Do not pretend that the Holy Church has jurisdiction to act however they please without any evidence to support your ims. We are the ones who put an end to the Servant who had caused the devastation, not the culprits behind it. You are more than wee to seek out the master of the Archer-ss Servant Gilgamesh if you want to seek some form of rpense." As if Vahns words were inconsequential, the man inclined his head towards the unconscious girls before saying, "You are fleeing through the night with three unconscious victims yet insist on your innocence...? Very well then..." Though his tone had started off stern, the man suddenly put on a more agreeable expression before adding, "You need only turn those girls over to us and we will let you be on your way. Depending on the information they reveal, however, we may be forced to seek you out for an exnationter..." Without Vahn needed to answer, Scthach suddenly stated, "Father Alexander Crowley, 2nd ss Executor of the Holy Church. Specializations include Exorcism, Sealing Scriptures, and Memory Alteration. We will not trust you to do as you please behind the scenes. If the Holy Church intends to make a y for the Holy Grail once again, pleasee to an ord with the Mages Association first." Though she said these words in her characteristic emotionless tone, Scthach had already pulled out two shortened versions of her [Gae Bolg], making it clear that she knew these people couldnt be trusted. With a stern expression on his face, the man named Father Crowley looked at Scthach, eyeing her up and down as he asked, "Which Master managed to summon a harlot as a Servant? If you wish to nder the Holy Church, do not think we will stand idly by and watch as you carry out your evil deeds..." In response to this, Artoria seemed like she could no longer contain herself, pointing her [Excalibur] directly at Father Crowley as she eximed, "Insolence! You would y at righteousness, knowing full well your own sins!? Has the Holy Church truly fallen so far...!?" As a King who had been bestowed her title by providence, Artoria hated false priests more than anything else. Since she was well aware of how their actions had negatively impacted the previous two Grail Wars, she was less than enthused to hear another pretender speak righteous titudes while literally plotting toy false me on them... Though he hadnt been that perturbed by Scthach, courtesy of not knowing who she was, Father Crowley was very aware of Artorias identity. Since she would likely be able to take out their entire group on her own, he was considering whether or not he should antagonize Vahn further. Their only actual advantage was the knowledge that Vahn and his cohorts werent actually responsible for the devastation. They were also the strongest party remaining in the Holy Grail War, putting an end to the schemes of several other Masters through rtively peaceful methods. On the surface, this made it appear as if they could be exploited rather easily but, with the purple-haired woman apparently able to see through peoples identities, things had be far more troublesome... Deciding that a tactical retreat was the best course of action, at least until they could receive backup in a few hours time, Father Crowley gave an overly polite bow that was repeated by his two female associates and Caren. When he raised his head, an amicable smile was present on his face as he said, "Seeing as how the legendary King of Knights is willing to speak for you, I can only assume that this was a case of mistaken identity. It was not our intention toy me on an innocent party for the atrocities of another. However, please be aware that we will be by to question you about the specifics of the incident at ater date..." With that said, Father Crowley nodded towards his group before squeezing a silver cross around his neck, dissolving the istion barrier they had created to try and entrap Vahns party. Without sticking around to make small talk, Father Crowley and his two associates began to make their way towards the sight of Gilgameshs attack, leaving behind a lingering Caren who looked at Vahn with a sad expression as she said, "If you continue to lead such a sinful life, the judgment of our Heavenly Father will undoubtedly be brought down upon you. Please reconsider the life you have chosen, Vahn Mason...I do not wish to see you destroyed due to your ignorance..." With that said, Caren gave a much lower bow than the false politeness her group had expressed previously. Then, with a mournful expression on her face, she struggled to try and catch up with the group of Exorcists that had left her behind. Unlike them, shecked active magic circuits, meaning she had to rely on artificial circuits engraved into her outfit just to keep pace. This was undoubtedly a heavy strain on her body, causing Vahn to shake his head as, contrary to Carens expression, he could tell she seemed to enjoy the pain her body was experiencing... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Surprise, Mud-F.u.c.ker...!,It is impossible to save everyone (T ^ T)...,The Holy Churchs schemes...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1085 - Investment...

Chapter 1085 - Investment...

Without further dys, Vahn, Scthach, and Artoria quickly found themselves back at the Tohsaka Manor. Since the active hours for the Holy Grail War had already begun, Rin, Fenrir, Lakshmibai, and Nobunaga were all in an alert state as they waited for any potential attacks. They had felt the effects of the battle between Gilgamesh and Sakura so Vahn wasnt all that surprised when Nobunaga jumped down to meet them before they entered the Manors grounds. She gave an annoyed look at the sleeping Sakura before passing her eyes over the unconscious girls in Scthachs arms and saying, "There are a lot of eyes on us right now. What do you want to do...?" Since Vahn could also sense several presences within the 4km range of his domain, he knew exactly what Nobunaga was talking about. Just as Rin had warned earlier, it was obvious that the Mages Association and Holy Church were beginning to move. Though they had a justifiable reason to intervene, especially with the death toll rising, nobody present was foolish enough to not understand this had been the n of several parties from the start. With the Holy Grail War quickly moving into its final phase, there were several organizations and families who would want to make a y for the wish-granting item that could elevate their entire family to a privileged status with but a single well-versed sentence... Shaking his head in mild annoyance, Vahn inly stated, "They are just a bunch of fools trying to fish in murky water. The only real threat should be the Holy Church, so long as Lord El-Melloi II is able to keep the Mages Association pacified. As for the rest, we just need to stay on our toes and they are effectively powerless. Without a Command Spell and a Servant, they have no means to interact with the Holy Grail and have their wish granted. Their only chance would be to track down Paracelsus and his Master, but I doubt they will be easy targets with the defensive prowess of Paracelsus golems." Though Nobunaga didnt disagree with Vahn, she still cautioned, "Never underestimate the greed and ingenuity of humans. The Mages Association and Holy Church wouldnt have been able to rule the world from the shadows if they didnt have the means to skew the odds in their favor. Until the Holy Grail has beenpletely destroyed, we cannot truly trust anyone..." As someone who had been betrayed by her own vassal, even though she felt it couldnt be helped, Nobunaga knew better than most that certainty could only be observed in events that have alreadye to pass. When you assumed everything would go ording to expectations, that is exactly when your enemies would strike... After giving an understanding nod of his own, Vahn carried Sakura into the Tohsaka Manor, a ce that may feel surprisingly familiar to her when she finally woke up. He had alreadye up with an excuse to tell Rin as, even with a bit of embellishment, it wasnt wrong to say the Makiri had been brainwashing her from the start. Long term captivity and torment were effective means of controlling almost anyone, including Gods. When she finds out that Sakuras memories have been erased, Vahn anticipated she would probably be Sakuras caretaker until she was limated to her situation. If necessary, he was even prepared to regress Sakuras physical age so that she was synchronized with her mental age. Scthach had a functionally infinite number of methods to grant people a form of immortality, including the use of [Primordial Runes] to reverse the age of the body without any real difficulty. This was yet another one of the incalcble number of boons she brought to their group, making it difficult for Vahn to ever trulysh out at her for how she mistreated him... Having been waiting for Vahn at the door, Rins face furrowed with worry as she saw Sakura unceremoniously tossed over Vahns shoulder. She wanted toment that he should have at least given her a princess carry until, just as the words were about to leave her lips, she saw the golden chains flowing from Vahns hands that flowed into the nket around Sakuras body. She was very aware of [Enkidu]s effects, asking, "Is she going to be okay...?" instead of badgering him. In response to this, Vahn gave aforting smile, saying, "With time, she will be better than okay. Things may be a little difficult for the two of you in the future, but Ill do my best to help out however I can." Feelingforted by Vahns words, Rin released a sigh of relief before their entire group, bar Nobunaga and Scthach entered into the Sub-Space Orb. Thetter was left to look over the two sleeping girls until Astolfo arrived to pick them up. She would then assist in transporting them to the Fuyuki City Hyatt Hotel while Nobunaga continued to watch over the groups skulking about the area. If any of them were to try and attack, she would either deal with them directly or alert the group inside the Orb so that they could deal with them together. Fortunately, so long as it wasnt a high-ranked Servant like Heracles, there werent really any threats that Nobunaga couldnt handle on her own... --- With Rin lumbering over his shoulder throughout the entire process, Vahn spent nearly eleven hours performing Nirvana Rebirth on Sakuras body. Since he couldnt simply pull out the Crest Worms, exposing the truth to Rin before things had settled down, Vahn went through the arduous process of eliminating them while they were still in her body. This wasnt even the most troublesome factor, however, as Sakuras magic circuits, core, and potentially even her ego, were all tainted by the same malignant energy that had manifested during her previous outburst. It had irreversibly fused with her own mana, meaning the only way to remove it was to either flush her entire system, meaning she would have inert magic circuits for the rest of her life or use something like the [Fate Severing Knife] topletely separate them... Because Sakura was still the Head of the Matou family, even though Vahn was intending to destroy it within the next forty-eight hours, she needed to have active Magic Circuits. If she were to suddenly lose them, her status would be revoked and, though Rin would undoubtedly want to care for her, it may not be up to her. Rin had previously told him a bit about her past, something that was rathermon whenever he would make love with her, so he knew about the protected status of the Tohsakas. The entire reason Sakura had been sent to the Matou family for adoption was due to the fact that, after Rin became the next head of the Tohsakas, it was Sakuras fate to either be part of an experiment or be given a Sealing Designation. As the lineage and Magecraft of the Tohsaka family were on the verge of extinction, the Mages Association wouldnt easily let her slip through the system if she lost her status as the Matou family Head... Though he had finished the process of Nirvana Rebirth, Vahn had yet to bring Sakura back with the Convergence of Heaven and Earth. As a result, Rin began showing a fretful expression and, though she had promised not to interrupt, she couldnt help but ask, "Is everything okay...?" Seeing Vahn sit still for more than five minutes felt more abnormal than the impossible situation she had watched y out over thest eleven hours so Rin was beginning to feel anxious as the time continued to tick forever forward. Fortunately, Vahn had alreadypleted the mostplicated processes so he wasnt actually disturbed by Rins question and simply gave a tired smile in response before saying, "Your sister has something deeply ingrained upon the very surface of her soul. Though I can remove it, more than a third of my reserve energy will be lost in the process..." As Rin had eventually asked about his ability to create items, Vahn had exined things in a simr manner to how he had exined the process in Danmachi. Essentially, by converting precious items and materials into reserve energy, he could use his fragmented Creation Divinity to produce almost any item he could conceive of. Vahn had proven this by creating a fictional item from one of the manga that Rin kept on a small shelf within her room, a rather ironic choice on her part considering the nature of system shop and its connect to Records... Knowing that Vahn had descended into the world with a rtively fixed amount of reserve energy, Rin knew it was a big deal for him to suddenly give up more than a third of it. In a way, it was one of his most powerful abilities and, without it, Rin knew it would be much harder for him to eventually return home in the distant future. However, though she felt extremely guilty about asking him to do so much for her and Sakura, Rin tightly gripped her skirt before spontaneously saying, "If you do this for us, I swear, no matter what it takes, I will do everything in my power to pay back this debt. Even if you-" Before Rin could say anything inappropriate, Vahn gave her a hard stare that brought her to silence. Once Rin had swallowed her words, Vahn inly stated, "So long as you bear that mark on your back, Rin, we share a bond even closer than family. Rather than have you pay me back, Id rather you just do your best to be stronger and take care of your sister. Everything else, well, you can just act in the manner you think most appropriate. Just know that Id rather have apanion I can trust than a ve who thinks she owes me an unpayable debt..." With that said, Vahn didnt wait for Rins response as he sunk a billion Origin Points into a single [Fate Severing Knife]. This brought his reserves down to around 1.9b, less than half of what he had brought with him only three months prior... Choosing Sakura as his target, Vahn waved the rather in-looking knife above her rather buxom chest, watching as the de sunk into a thin golden membrane before an aura appeared around Sakuras body. Fortunately, due to the state her body was currently in, Vahn had a lot of control over how the energy was directed so he sucked it directly into his body, allowing it to be purged upon contact with his blood and source energy. Less than a minuteter, Sakuras magic circuits had been restored to normal, even though there was a rather peculiar invisible color to some of the strands. He knew she had the so-called Hollow element after talking with Rin so, with the other elements in her body being Water and, somewhat ironically, Light, Vahn assumed this invisible energy was the Hollow Element. Even without asking if Vahn had seeded, Rin knew the answer as she saw Sakuras hair change from its purple color to the same soft and rich brown she had when they were little girls. Seeing this made Rin suddenly feel extremely guilty as, for thest twenty years, she and Sakura had hardly interacted with each other. They were extremely close before she was adopted into the Matou family, something Rin felt like she had forgotten after the deaths of their parents and her hellish training with Kotomine Kirei. Now, though it wouldnt be easy, she had a chance to reconnect with her sister and build up their rtionship anew... After purging the malignant energypletely, Vahn released a heavy sigh that caused Rin to flinch apologetically, at least until she saw him rolling Sakura onto her stomach. It had been more than a little surreal, watching Vahn operate on her sister for nearly half a day while she was sleeping n.a.k.e.d atop a table. Seeing him move Sakura while she was unconscious made Rin feel strangely perturbed, especially when Vahn ced his fingers near the base of her neck and the area right above her intergluteal crease. She actually felt a little insecure seeing how developed Sakuras body was, as her own had been refined over a long life of physical training and a strictly regted diet. Sakura had a mature appeal that she would never be able to match, especially with her muchrger than average b.r.e.a.s.ts and almost unbelievably plump butt... As Rin allowed her mind to wander down a strange tangent, Vahn rather unceremoniously performed the Convergence of Heaven and Earth. He was hoping it wouldnt leave a strange trauma in her as, even though Sakura currently had the mature figure of a twenty-six-year-old woman, she only had the mental faculties of a six-year-old. Since this was the only way to bring her out of the state of Nirvana Rebirth, however, Vahn had to bite the bullet as he pressed down gently on her back to prevent her from thrashing around as she released a startled, "Fuwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!?" that droned for a full twenty seconds before she lost strength and began twitching atop the table. Since Rin was giving him a rather cold look, Vahn rolled his eyes and exined, "This is a technique known as the Convergence of Heaven and Earth. Without it, anyone that has experienced Nirvana Rebirth will literally turn into fragmentary particles of mana before vanishing into nothingness. I dont suppose you would want me to just let Sakura vanish into particles, right...?" This was enough to make Rin immediately show a far more apologetic expression, followed by a look of realization as she asked, "This is what you did to Gray, isnt it?" Since he had no reason to deny it, Vahn simply nodded his head withoutmenting on the rather awkward subject. What was far more important in the present moment was making sure Sakura was properly clothed before she realized what was going on... After putting Sakuras into a state of deep unconsciousness, Vahn had Rin assist him in dressing Sakura as, even though he was a professional, he knew she wouldnt just want to watch him do everything on his own. As a result, Rin helped to shimmy a pair of white panties up Sakuras legs, requiring a little more effort than she had expected since the fabric was hard to arrange neatly with her sisters well-developed assets. She then went through the surprisingly arduous process of trying to get a bra onto Sakuras body before ultimately giving up and asking for Vahns help, something she wished she had asked for sooner since he very deftlypleted the process. After that, they fitted Sakura with a pair of animal pajamas, fully aware of the fact that she would be extremely confused after waking up. When it was nearing time to wake Sakura up, Vahn decided to bite the bullet and mention, "It might be cruel to have her awaken in this state. If she has the mind of a six-year-old while possessing the body of a grown woman, there are likely to be numerous issues you may not be able to address that easily. Im sure you dont need me to exin how dangerous that kind of state could be if the Mages Association decides to try and intervene..." Though Sakura was the current Head of the Matou, that might not be the case after he annihted the family. Even if there are survivors, there was little chance they would support a woman who had regressed to the mind of a child as their actual Head. Some of the senior officials in the Mages Association, many having disreputable characters, would quickly move to try and secure Sakura for themselves. Not only did she have a unique constitution, but the fact that she could be easily exploited, all while having an admittedly amazing body, would spell tragedy if Rin wasnt able to protect her... Rin knew better than even Vahn how seriously twisted the Mages Association could be, especially when it came to some of the old monsters that ran things behind the scenes. She was intending to take Sakura as her active protege and apprentice, using her current standing within the Clock Tower to be an active Lecturer. Though Sakura would technically be an active participant in her own experiments, Rin had no intentions of harming her sister. If it came down to it, she was fully prepared to butt heads and even go to war with anyone who had such intentions, regardless of their power and authority. Now that she had finally been reunited with Sakura, she wasnt going to let anyone get in the way of them being sisters a second time. After thinking over the matter for a few minutes, Rin ultimately nodded her head and said, "If you can help her, please do. Even if I have to adopt her as my own daughter, that is better than having her return to the care of the Makiri family." As she was unaware of the fact that Vahn had already marked the Makiri for extermination, Rin was already beginning to n how she would pressure them into relinquishing Sakura. She was even considering covering up Sakuras existence and changing her name as, once her appearance was reverted to match her mental age, there would be few means to directly link her to the Sakura Matou that had disappeared after Gilgamesh nuked the Miyama City Residential District... As he really didnt want to spend even more OP trying to help the two sisters, Vahn exited the Sub Space Orb for a few minutes before returning with Scthach. Though she had required him to agree to a few rather unreasonable demands in exchange, mostly pertaining to studying his abilities, Scthach ultimately agreed to help him reverse the effects of aging on Sakuras body. He could have used a Command Spell to force the issue but, as he was intending to have Scthach help him deal with the Makiri, Vahn expected he might need the spares. Seemingly without any difficulty, Scthach stood over Sakuras sleeping body for a few minutes, a stream of hundreds of runes flowing from her dexterous fingers before flowing into the sleeping girls chest. From the side, Vahn and Rin watched with varying degrees of surprise and intrigue as Sakura slowly shrank in size until she had reduced from 161cm to a minuscule 120cm by the time Scthach had finished the process. Her borderline E-Cup b.r.e.a.s.ts were now non-existent while any sign of other secondary s.e.x.u.a.l characteristics had faded in their entirety. She was now no longer discernable from any other six-year-old,plete with short bobbed hair that didnt even reach her shoulders... Though it might not have been the best time for suchments, Rin was feeling a little awkward so she absentmindedly muttered, "I wonder if I can convince her to help improve my figure a bit..." This was just her mumbling to herself but, as Vahn was standing right next to her, he was easily able to pick up on her silent utterance. Deciding he also needed to do something to break the tension, Vahn casually reached his hand around Rins waist before gently squeezing her left butt cheek and saying, "You dont have to worry too much. I can tell you still have room to grow..." Though her back had straightened at the unexpected harassment, Rins face turned beet red a momentter as she swat his hand away and said, "Youre hopeless...!" in a voice thatcked sternness... --- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Trust No-one,The Mages Association is full of Old Perverts...,Sakuras fate is to always be in a state of unpayable debt xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1086 - Before Sunrise

Chapter 1086 - Before Sunrise

After helping Rin put Sakura into bed and having a very long discussion about what to tell the young girl when she awoke, Vahn found himself outside the Sub-Space Orb once again. At this point, it was only a little after 10 PM so there were still around seven and a half hours until the sun would begin peaking over the horizon. Vahn was seriously considering trying to bring the Holy Grail War to and end before then but, as there were other pressing matters to attend, he ended up standing in the garden with Fenrir, Scthach, Artoria, Lakshmibai, and Nobunaga. His n was rtively simple, though it would require them to stretch their forces rtively thin in order to aplish... Having already made up his mind on the matter, Vahn turned to Scthach, a resolute light burning within his eyes as he said, "I know you do not find enjoyment in taking the lives of others. However, you are the only one I can entrust the task of dealing with the Makiri family. I would do it myself, but it will be better for everyone if I go to Mount Enzou and try to put an end to this war. So long as I have a Command Spell, I would be able to recall you if there is any danger. Until then, I want you to use your ability to see through people to determine who within the Makiri Family deserves death. I will not ask you to wipe them out, but I do not want them to be able to recover and make use of their disgusting methods ever again..." Surprising Vahn more than a little, Scthach didnt even offer any form of argument, simply nodding her head as she said, "I will go." With those three words, she had already vanished from the garden, leaving Vahn at a little bit of a loss. Then, as if she found his reaction amusing, Nobunaga began tough before snidely saying, "That woman may be harsh during training, but she never pushes her students beyond their breaking point. Seeing the methods used by the Makiri, I cant imagine she is all that happy with them. Even if she is an emotionless purple monster, that doesnt mean she had abandoned her humanity...umuu..." Though Vahn didnt think Nobunagas words hit the truth of the matter, he still nodded his head before saying, "With Scthach taking care of the Makiri and Rin looking after Sakura, itll be up to the rest of us to bring an end to the Holy Grail War. Nobunaga, Lakshmibai, I know you may resent me a bit for having you wait here, but I want the two of you to protect the Tohsaka Manor. There are too many rats skulking about for me to leave Rin and Sakura here by themselves." Vahn knew that, as his main Servant, Nobunaga was more than a little annoyed that he relied on others more than her. If not for the fact she was the most aware of how she matched up against existences like Artoria and Scthach, it was highly unlikely she would have been content to just stay put. Releasing an annoyed grumble, Nobunaga took a page out of Scthachs book as she turned her back and jumped to the top of the roof in a single bound. Then, as she often did whenever she was annoyed, Vahn watched her pull out one of her matchlock rifles and begin polishing it. Fortunately, Lakshmibai was far more agreeable as she gave an affirmative nod before boldly stating, "Leave it to me, Master. Even if it costs me my life, I will not let a single enemy through...!" After she epted the type of woman she was, Lakshmibai had regained her previous bravado and was no longer dragging her feet around in a demure manner. Though this gave Vahn a strong desire to tease her, for the time being he just settled with reaching out his hand and rubbing her head. He found it interesting how the small tuft that stuck out from above her bangs, something Rin referred to as an ahoge, would move about happily whenever he rubbed her head. With how Rins twin tails would also defy gravity at times, Vahn felt like there was some strange Law at work within the Nasuverse that governed how hair behaved in ordance with a persons emotions... With Nobunaga and Lakshmibai watching after the Manor, Vahn turned to the somewhat giddy Fenrir before nodding his head. Without needing to say anything, she knew this meant her Master would be bringing her along for the final battle. Unable to contain her excitement, Fenrir pounced on Vahn and began peppering his face with machine-gun kisses as her tail waggled happily from side to side. As this was going on, Artoria just watched with a spaced-out look in her eyes before turning her head towards the sky and deciding to stare at the moon until it was time for them to head out... --- While running towards Mount Enzou at a steady pace, Vahn was exining his n to Fenrir and Artoria, starting by rifying the reason he was bringing Fenrir along. Though she would be given the chance to fight if it seemed like there were enemies she could take on, her true purpose was to devour the Greater Grail. Vahn felt it would be an incredible boost to her power if she were able to consume the phenomenal mana contained within the wish-granting device. Since he didnt really have a reliable means to destroy the grail without seeing it first, Vahn felt that her ability to more or less eat anything would suffice. Even if the Greater Grail ended up being an SSS-Rank item, the fact that there were some timelines where Rin and Co had been able to destroy it would indicate it wasnt that durable... As she was just happy to be brought along, Fenrir didnt mind that she was essentially relegated to the role of support while her Master and Artoria handled most of the fighting. Her strength was quickly improving under Scthachs tutge so she was actually looking forward to increasing her capacity in order to power up even further. Then, one day, she would no longer have to run away from any enemy, regardless of how powerful they were. So long as she could beat Scthach, Fenrir believed that there would be few enemies within this world that would pose a threat to her. She even intended to learn how to use [Primordial Rune]s after being shocked to witness the seemingly endless functionality they contained... With her mind wandering to the future, Fenrir nearly slipped on a loose tile before adjusting her bnce slightly to avoid drawing attention to her mistake. Unfortunately for her, both Vahn and Artoria were very perceptive, even if they did their best to appear as if they had missed it. This would have worked in most situations but, considering the strength of their bond, Fenrirs face became beet red as she sensed the amus.e.m.e.nt that briefly shed across her Masters mind. Fortunately, they wereing up on their destination so she didnt have to bear her embarrassment for very long before her Master said, "This is it..." in a serious tone of voice. Surrounded by a slopping autumn forest, a traditional Shinto-style temple could be seen at the top of a long set of stairs that ascended the entirety of the small mountain. Though it couldntpare to even the smallest mountains in Danmachi, Vahn wasnt going to question why the people of Japan felt that a small hill next to a river qualified as a mountain. The only thing that really mattered right now was the pink barrier that surrounded the entire temple, something he was only able to see with his [Eyes of Truth]. Vahn recognized this as a domain, not one manifested by magic, but the product of a Gods Divinity. Though Circe was only a Demi-Goddess, it didnt seem like they couldpletely underestimate her... Before ascending the mountain steps, Vahn spread his senses through the area to make sure there werent any hidden enemies they needed to be wary of. Strangely, other than a single presence at the very heart of the temple, known as Ryuudou to the locals, there were only animals present. This didnt slip by Vahn, however, as he had already done his research on Circe after learning she was one of their enemies. Realizing what was going on, Vahn released an exasperated sigh before inly stating, "Lets just walk up...I dont even think well have to fight. Dont drop your guards though, as there is a chance Paracelsus or Berserker could appear..." Though Vahn had serious doubts either man would show up, it was better to be prepared than suffer due tocency. Curious about what Vahn meant by not having to fight, Artoria asked, "Do you not believe Circe to be our enemy...?" To this, Vahn just shrugged his shoulders before exining, "In her legend, Circe is more of a trickster than a truly malicious existence. Other than a propensity for turning people into animals, she is known to be hospitable. Even if she was fond of Gilgamesh, her nature should be the whimsical sort who falls in love quickly and gets jealous easily...if Im not wrong, she has probably prepared a feast to wee us...haaaa..." Since Circes feast should only work on men, Vahn wasnt worried that Fenrir or Artoria would fall victim to Circes plot. The thing he was most worried about was, now that she had lost the object of her affection, Circe would be quick to imprint on him after he undoubtedly proved immune as well... Vahnforted himself by remembering that Circe, while known to be fickle and yful in love, was an eternal maiden. Her power was drawn from Hecate and Artemis which, in this world, meant she would lose her magic power if she lost her chastity. Thus, other than her acting like a yful nymph, Vahn wasnt worried that Circe would be another woman he needed to worry about. If she really did decide toe to their side, the most he would have to worry about is her periodically butting heads with Fenrir. In exchange, he would have an immortal Demi-Goddess on his side that should be able to create items and mixtures that could mutate even normal animals into powerful magical creatures... Without him noticing it, both Fenrir and Artoria were giving Vahn a deadpan look as they followed slightly behind him. Fenrir knew exactly what her Master was thinking, causing her to immediately identify Circe as an enemy while, even though she had only known Vahn for around five days, Artoria was quickly beginning to understand the type of person he was. In a way, he reminded her a lot of Merlin except, instead of being an airheaded and unreliable idiot, Vahn was almost too reliable, willing to do whatever it took to try and make others happy. Even now, though nearly a full day had passed, Artoria could still feel a pleasant heat running through her body that she had to make a concerted effort to ignore, courtesy of Vahns Source Energy. Matching Vahns expectations, their surroundings changedpletely from the moment the group passed through the invisible pink membrane. Vahn had sensed the fluctuation of Spatial Laws from the start, the primary reason why he assumed Circe was manifesting her legend. She seemed to have a Reality Marble, much like Ozymandias. Unlike the infinite Temples of Ozymandias, Circes took on the form of a vast banquet hall that was made of pure gold and ornate wooden carvings. There were wisps of clouds floating around the area while, spanning the length of the massive hall, long tabled adorned with a plethora of delicious food seemed to stretch towards the horizon. If not for the fact that he could sense a room full of fat pigs on the other side of the cloud coverage, many still wearing parts of human clothing, Vahn would have been far more enamored by the sight... From the moment they had entered into the banquet hall, the sound of ruffling feathers could be heard before, in a shroud of pink light, a small girl with obvious inhuman features dropped down around fifty meters from their position. She was only around 147cm tall, adorned in what appeared to be a thin white cloth that hooked around her neck and h.i.p.s like a sheet. This left her back, shoulders, navel, and a dangerous amount of exposed skin between her two modest b.r.e.a.s.ts. If she moved just a little bit to either side, Vahn was certain he would be able to see her exposed b.r.e.a.s.ts, even if they were rather small. As for her bottoms, she had a skirt that didnt follow any kind of logic as, though it wasnt even a palms length, it red out slightly while hanging from a pale gold band around her h.i.p.s. If Circe was at any elevation at all, it would have been possible for anyone to see up her skirt but, as if protecting some great secret, the cloth actually seemed to move around as it actively blocked the view of whaty beneath. Even with his [Eyes of Truth] active, the only thing Vahn was able to discern was that she wasnt wearing panties, even if what should be beneath them was obscured. Completing her outfit, she had several pale gold essories, a strange wing-like ornament that actually seemed to grow out of her body, two tall clogs that formed a peculiar pir shape, and a tiara that seemed fixed to her head. Two wing-like ornaments adorned the sides of the tiara while, just below those, a pair of extremely long ears, both around 10cm long, poked out from a face that could only be described as a perfect blend between cute and beautiful. With her peculiar pink hair, matching the hue of expensive Ros wine, and her peculiar blue-green eyes, Vahn had to admit she was a rare and exotic beauty not all the dissimr to Lefiya after her transformation... Though Vahns eyes didnt break from her face, Circes intuition told her that he was sneakily taking liberties. This caused her to tease Vahn a bit, spinning around in a small circle to make her skirt re out even more yet, against all rhyme and reason, it still obscured whaty beneath. At this point, however, Vahn was more interested in the wing-like mantle that snugly wrapped her shoulders, much like an actual pair of birds wings. They had the golden-brown hue of a falcon, making them surprisingly attractive to look at. What caught his eyes, however, was therger-than-average Magic Circuits flowing from Circes body and into the wings. She was obviously concealing their interior but, with the brief nces he could get during her spin, Vahn saw a sh or reddish-pink set within a subtle golden hue that was decidedly more artificial than the external appearance of the feathers... Sensing that Vahn wasnt trying to see under her skirt anymore, Circe covered her mouth with her dainty little fingers before giggling yfully. At the same time, she frolicked over without even the smallest hint of hostility until she came to a stop right in front of Vahn. As if she couldnt even see Fenrir and Artoria, Circle began to fidget from side-to-side, making the thin fabric covering her chest sway with her motions, Much like her skirt, however, the fabric always covered what it needed to, a fact Circe was well aware of as she began to happilyugh before saying, "Come, I have prepared a banquet to celebrate your aplishments in the war thus far~! Since you are a special guest, Ill even make a suuuuuuper exception and hand-feed you myself! I want you to tell me all about yourself until you have eaten your fill! If you are able to eat enough to satisfy me...I may even let you take a peek~?" When she said thest sentence, Circe grabbed the edges of her short skirt and pulled them up slightly in a teasing manner. As this was well within his expectations, Vahn nodded his head without hesitation before saying, "We have limited time, so Ill only stay until midnight at thetest. After that, youll have to answer my questions...deal?" Though Loki had taught him to never underestimate people, especially when they appeared simple, Vahn had a distinct impression that Circe wasnt trying to trick them, at least outside of her main trick. She obviously wanted to feed him her legendary wheat porridge while shoving all kinds of other delicacies down his throat. For most people, this would guarantee they became some kind of animal, usually representing their character. Powerful and heroic figures would be lions while those of lesser status would be sheep,mbs, or pigs. Then, if they had slighted her, Circe would let the banquete to an end, causing the animals to enter into a frenzy that usually ended with the leader of the group ughtering and devouring everyone else... Never suspecting that she was walking into a trap herself, Circe smiled so radiantly that Vahn felt like a gentle pulse passed through his body. At the same time, she stepped close enough that she was nearly looking directly up at his face as she said, "Okaaay~! You have to eat everything I give you though, no exceptions~! I dont like picky eaters!" With that said, Circe fearlessly grabbed Vahns hand and began pulling him along like a child wanting to show their parents something interesting they had found. As for Artoria and Fenrir, they just gave each other helpless stares before following after the two at a much slower pace than Circe was dragging Vahn. Though it felt like the banquet hall stretched out forward, it actually took them less than a minute to reach what appeared to be the far end of the room. There was a pale golden throne situated at the very center of the far wall, various dishes surrounding it at arms length. Circe guided Vahn to sit in the throne before happily pping her hands and picking up a small pot filled with a subtle-green wheat porridge. Then, as if it was her right to do so, Circe flitted up before softly plopping down on Vahnsp as if she had no weight whatsoever. Then, using a silver spoon, Circe scooped up a mouthful of porridge before teasingly intoning, "Aaaaaaahn~." Following this, Vahn made her smile grow even wider when he unhesitantly leaned forward and bit down on every offered spoonful... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nobunaga is not pleased...!,Stay strong, Fenrir. Fight on...!,A Unique Form of Hospitality) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1087 - Glutton

Chapter 1087 - Glutton

Though her wheat porridge wasnt supposed to take effect immediately, it didnt take long for Circe to realize that Vahn wasnt normal. Almost an hour after she had started feeding him, making fun small talk and flirting all the while, he was showing no signs of slowing down or transforming. Since her ability required the other person to get full before it took effect, even if Circes magic had even the smallest chance of working it would have been ultimately useless. Every time she gave him more to eat, Vahns body would immediately break it down and convert it into energy. Vahns constitution didnt require him to eat at all but, inversely, he could eat as much as he wanted without having to worry about overstuffing himself. At this point, Circe was straddling Vahns h.i.p.s with arge leg ofmb in her hands, closely watching him take pieces into his mouth before swallowing them down. Her peculiar eyes, which were pink on top and green on the bottom, were glimmering with intrigue and excitement every time he took a bite. Though their faces were only around 10cm apart, she didnt seem to have any understanding of personal space at all as she curiously peeked into his mouth. Vahn even suspected that she would try to wedge his mouth open to make sure he was swallowing properly if he didnt reign her in at some point. With that in mind, Vahn chose the lesser of several evils as he used his fingers to lightly pinch to incredibly long ears poking out from the side of Circes head. In response to being touched, Circes ears actually flicked to avoid contact before she gave him a coy look andined, "Touching wasnt part of our deal. Behave yourself and eat obediently, okay~?" Though Vahn was going to say something in response, Circe shoved arge and ky biscuit into his mouth, holding it there until he started chewing on it. When he started eating again, her smile returned, followed by herckadaisically adding, "My favorite kinds of people are those who can eat a lot of my food and those who pamper me plentily. If you promise to only look at me...hnnn, lets see, I will let you touch my ears to your hearts content~? You cant do anything else though, or Ill be super mad...!" Instead of responding to Circes words, Vahn just took a bigger bite of food before looking toward where Fenrir and Artoria were seated. Thetter wasnt really eating anything but, knowing there was a lot of mana contained within the food, Fenrir wasnt shy in the least. Of course, when he turned his eyes away from her, Circe made a pouting expression before grabbing the sides of his face and making him look back at her. Since she wasnt shoving food into his mouth at the moment, Vahn inly stated, "There probably isnt anyone who would be able to pamper you as I can. No matter what, though, Im not going to turn my back on the people I care about just to y with a Nymph. You may be prettier than a fairy, but I wouldnt be much of a man if I threw aside everything else just to y with a mischievous Demi-Goddess..." At the end of his words, Vahn sneakily ran his index finger around the line of Circes lower back, causing her to straighten in hisp as her wings slightly unfurled... Circes pout hadnt gone away, but the red hue to her face showed the little electrical stimtion from his [Hands of Nirvana] had been effective. Before she could offer any kind ofint, Vahn picked up an apple from the side table, which seemed to never run out of food, and crunched down on it in a casual manner. Though he was willing to y Circes little game for a short while, he had no intentions of letting the peculiar Demi-Goddess get her way. She ultimatelycked the courage to use any decisive means to try and persuade him and, knowing she had fawned on Gilgamesh, Vahn expected she had a weakness against men who werent dependent on her. Seeing Vahn start to eat on his own, Circes eyes widened as she grabbed his hand and said, "No, no, let me feed you! Dont be a boar...!" As these words left her mouth, Circe suddenly startedughing after realizing that, depending on the circ.u.mstances, that may very well be what Vahn became. The chances seemed negligible at this point, but she was suddenly in a much better mood after thinking about Vahns handsome face having a pigs snout. She thought her little piglets were super adorable, especially with their little pot bellies and how they would pile up together when sleeping... Not really knowing what Circe was thinking, Vahn began a small contest with her where he would try to feed himself before she tried to shove something else in his mouth. Though it was actually a little annoying to have someone hover a few centimeters away from him with another piece of food, Vahn knew it would being to an end soon. If he tried to recruit Circe in a more forcible way, the odds of her agreeing werent actually that slim. The problem was, Circe was known to be somewhat petty so,bined with her natural jealousy of other women, she would probably cause even more troubleter on. He suspected that she actually envied the rtionsh.i.p.s other women could have, as her own power would be lost if she took the final step, but that was something he could look into at ater date... Without much suspense, Vahns meal came to an end with Circe holding a bowl of porridge that was more than 15cm across as she slowly poured it down his gullet. This was herst-ditch effort to try and gain a victory but, even though there was far more porridge in the bowl than any stomach should be able to retain, Vahn gulped it down without any difficulty. To add insult to injury, he even licked the bowl clean as, though it was starting to get a little boring having to eat so much, the food itself was actually delicious. If Circe did end up joining their group, Vahn had decided that her main duties would include preparing meals for everyone, especially since she seemed to genuinely enjoy watching others eat. Instead of seeming upset, Circe linked her fingers together happily and showed a radiant smile on her face when she saw Vahn cleaning the bowl. When he set it down at the side, she didnt try to shove any more food into his face, instead, leaning forward until she was barely a centimeter away from pressing against him. There was a yful glimmer in her eyes when she bit her lower lip before asking, "Did you really want to see it so badly~?" Since she had promised to let Vahn have a peek if he managed to eat enough food to satisfy her, Circe wanted to tease him a bit. When he suddenly showed a thoughtful expression, she turned her eyes up at him with a mock look of me before eventually saying, "Mooou, youre a big bully, you know that~?" After her falseint, Circe lightly pushed against Vahns body, once again gaining a weightless quality as she gentlynded around a meter away from the throne. Then, after turning her back to him, Circe peeked over her own shoulder with a red face as she pressed down the front of her skirt and bent forward slightly. Though Vahn hadnt intended to insist on the matter, his eyes reflexively looked down to see a pair of snow-white cheeks, confirming that Circe didnt actually wear panties. What he didnt see, however, was what the small garment was supposed to conceal as Circe had cupped her hands together over the fabric of her skirt to keep herself from being fully exposed... Almost as soon as she had poked her butt out, Circe had jumped up like a skittish cat,pletely red in the face as she asked, "Are you satisfied~?" Vahn was tempted toment that, while her butt had a delicate and almost wless appearance, she was severelycking in size. However, as Fenrir and Artoria were both present, he simply gave an appreciative smile before saying, "Now, I want you to answer my questions. Im certain that should be easy for you after that little disy, right...?" Though she wasnt fully satisfied by Vahnsck of a response, Circe nodded her head in affirmation before trotting forward and trying to sit in Vahnsp again. Before she couldplete the action, however, a strong wind passed by her body before a blue blur appeared in Vahnsp. She had been ignoring her previously, but now Circes face formed an extreme pout,plete with her puffing out her cheeks. Seemingly unconcerned, Fenrir inly stated, "If you want Masters affection, you will have to wait in line or do something deserving of praise. Master doesnt like girls who are insistent without having anything to offer in return..." While she was saying these things, Fenrir had a mildly contented expression as her Master had started digging his fingers into the side of her head and neck, scratching her just the way she liked... Adding onto what Fenrir had said, Vahn looked directly into Circes eyes as he said, "Our agreement was that you would answer my questions, not y around and act selfishly. I already gave you more time than I should have, especially with how chaotic things are outside. You seem like a smart girl, Circe, Im certain you can understand how pressed for time we already are..." Though Circe actually seemed more on the bird-brained side of the spectrum, Vahn felt that giving her smallpliments would be effective. At the same time, he could show her what was considered a normal level of pampering by skillfully stroking the sensitive areas around Fenrirs head, neck, and ears. Without needing to pretend, Fenrir already had her eyes closed with afortable smile on her face as she enjoyed his touch withoutint... As expected, Circe beamed when she heard Vahn call her a smart girl, even though her eyes were almost fully focused on Fenrir sitting in hisp. It wasnt until Vahn asked, "What happened to your Master?" that she finally looked into his face, sticking out her tongue as she said, "That dummy was some kind of cult leader who gave me a super creepy vibe! I dont know what would have happened to me if not for Gil-sama and his Master, you know~?" Then, as if remembering the question Vahn had actually asked her, Circe pped her hands a few times before turning her head toward a small group of miniature pigs walking out from a door that hadnt previously existed. Two of the piglets gathered around Circes feet while the rest began fumbling about in an attempt to climb the benches. Those that were able to jump up began immediately devouring the food atop the tables, to the point that they were even moving about through the mountain of food without regard. While this was going on, Circe picked up one of the piglets near her feet, exposing its belly to reveal a crest formed of three red markings. Even without her exining in greater detail, Vahn knew that Circe had turned hers and Gilgameshs Masters into piglets to avoid having to listen to them. This caused him to lightly shake his head before asking, "Will you join our side? If you choose, I can even make it so that you will be able to persist in this world after the Ho-" Before Vahn even finished his words, Circe performed a happy pirouette before doing a little stamp-dance with her feet. Then, without any hesitation at all, she gave a double-peace sign with her hands before saying, "Of course Im going to stay with you~! You seem a lot nicer than that cold-hearted Gil-sama. Just dont expect me to fight, okaaaay~?" With that said, Circe levitated the two piglets before presenting them to Vahn with a big smile on her face that practically screamed, praise me. Though she had been resistant to the idea of letting him touch her previously, watching Fenrir get her head rubbed seemed to have changed Circes perspective slightly. As a result, she presented her head forward, immediately followed by Vahn lightly rubbing her pink hair while making full use of his Petting Laws and [Hands of Nirvana]. Almost immediately after he had contacted her head, Circe eyes began to glimmer as she eximed, "Oh, wow~!" before rubbing her head against his palm on her own. Even her wings were twitching happily, giving small glimpses at theplex magical circuits hidden within. Vahn imagined Circe would actually be a horrifyingly powerful Magus if she took things seriously. She had a tiny sun-like ball of energy near her core that radiated with a light pink, sky blue, and pure golden mana. Since she was supposed to be the daughter of the Sun God, Helios, Vahn wasnt all that surprised to see that she had inherited a great deal of power from her father. To see how strong she truly was, however, Vahn unceremoniously robbed the five Command Spells from the two piglets before looking at Circes status... ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Circe] Age: Ageless Race: Nymph, God(sealed) Strength: 2E Endurance: 31B Agility: 16D Magical Power: 50A++ Good Luck: 49A+ Soul Tier: 3 Noble Phantasm: [Metabo Piglets: C] Skills: [Phantasmal Chef:Innate:SS], [Sun Gods Descendant:Innate:A], [Blood Moons Curse:Innate:D], [High-Speed Divine Words:B], [Poisoned Meal:A], [Advice for Sailing:A], [Territory Creation:B], [Item Construction:A] Magic: [Helioss Divine Protection:SS] Magecraft: [Mutagen:S], [Alchemy:B], [Herbology:B], [Refiining:B], [Addiction Enchantment:B] [High-Speed Divine Words] Rank: B Use: Due to the fluent use of Divine Words, the user is able to significantly reduce the casting time for spells while greatly increasing their efficacy. The power of this skill is significantly reduced outside of own territory. [Poisoned Meal] Rank: A Use: Mastery in poisoning meals has made it almost impossible for targets to detect any abnormalities in the food cooked by the user. [Advice for Sailing] Rank: A Use: Allows the user to manipte causality by an almost negligible amount when giving advice to others. Even if false, the users words may be interpreted as the truth by all but the most perceptive individuals. [Territory Creation] Rank: B Use: Allows the user to build a special terrain that is advantageous to oneself as a magus, such as for the purpose of collecting mana and enhancing spell efficacy. [Item Construction] Rank: A Use: Allows the user to manufacture magical items, from implements of war to items for daily use by gathering the constituent materials. At this level of mastery, the user is capable of producing almost anything they are capable ofprehending. [Helioss Divine Protection] Rank: SS Passive: When the weilder of this magic is in danger, the wrath of the Sun God Helios will descend from the skies to strike down their opponent. Efficacy significantly reduced at night. [Mutagen] Rank: S Use: Allows the user to produce mutagens with magical power. Requires an in-depth understanding of the intended target and the intended mutations. [Alchemy] Rank: B Use: Allows the user to use Magical Power to manipte the flow and structure of matter. [Herbology] Rank: B Use: Allows the user to intuit the use of various nts and extract their essence for use in mixing potions. [Refining] Rank: B Use: Allows the user to refine any material ingredients using Magical Power, strengthening their potency considerably. [Addiction Enchantment] Rank: B Use: A simple enchantment which, when mastered, could cause a target to feel a dependency towards even sand. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Though Vahn was impressed with Circes capabilities, the thing that came as the biggest shock to him was the fact that her Strength meant she was only twice as strong as the average human. She could undoubtedly perform superhuman feats with her Magecraft but seeing a Heroic Spirit with such low Strength, especially a Demi-Goddess, was a little weird. She suddenly seemed a lot frailer and delicate than before, even though Vahn could tell from her various skills and abilities that Circe could be a terrifying foe in an indirect conflict. He would need to make sure she wasnt trying to use her abilities to try and get the girls addicted to something strange out of jealousy and spite... Feeling that the innocent and mischevious smile on Circes face suddenly felt a little distorted, Vahn internally sighed before pulling his hand away from her head. She immediately gave him a pretend pout in response, though it faded almost instantly as Vahn proceeded to ask, "Since you and Gilgamesh have been here at Mount Enzou, have you been able to locate the Greater Grail?" As this was an easy question to answer, Circe didnt even need to put too much thought into it as she exined, "There is a gate of sorts located within the caverns beneath the temple. The Greater Grail is in an isted spatial dimension that is halfway between the Root and the real world. essing it without the key is pretty much impossible, as any attempt to break into the chamber would require you to pass through an area where matter simply cant exist. You would turn into teenie-tiny bits of nothingness, so please dont do anything rash~." In response to Circes words, it wasnt Vahn who answered as a soft and whimsical voice suddenly stated, "That isnt entirely true. There are plenty of ways to reach the Greater Grail, though the majority would certainly end in permanant death or, at the very least, disfiguration~?" From the moment these words sounded throughout the area, everyone within Circes Reality Marble looked toward a thin man with wispy white hair and purple eyes. He was sitting at one of the tables, poking the snout of one of Circes piglets with a small smile on his face. Then, as if he were surprised by everyone elses surprise, the man showed a slightly startled expression as he said, "Oh, I wish you would not look at me like that...Im actually quite shy, you know...?" Immediately following this series of words, Artoria stood up before forcefully mming her palms against the table and shouting, "Merlin! You flowery white buffoon! What kind of game are you ying!?" Even more so than before, Merlin seemed genuinely shocked by Artorias outburst, his brows raised high as he stated, "My dear Artoria, please, tell me what is troubling you. Though I may not be able to call myself your Magus of the Crown any longer, know that you will always have my support. Here, sit down and tell me what the problem is..." At the end of his words, Merlin lightly pat hisp as if he were talking to a child that was having a rough day. This caused Artorias face to turn slightly red before sitting down in a huff and saying, "Im not going to sit on yourp...Im not a little girl..." Hearing Artorias words, Merlin showed a genuinely sad expression on his face as he lightly uttered, "Yes, I suppose that is true...isnt it? That is yet another one of my regrets..." After saying this, Merlin turned his eyes towards Vahn, a small smile appearing on his face as he said, "You never cease to surprise me...though it may mean little to you, know that I am grateful for what you have done for Artoria. Though it has only been a few days, I can tell she is much happier now than before. Since she was unable to experience true happiness in the capacity of a King, perhaps she will find it in the capacity of a woman..." Now it was Vahns turn to be surprised as, from what he could tell, Merlin was actually being very sincere. There were no strange energy fluctuations around his body and, as far as Vahn could tell, he had no active illusions other than the fact that he himself was a projected illusion. In response to the whimsical Magus words, Vahn preempted any response Artoria might have by solemnly stating, "We now walk the same path in life. Even if she doesnt seek it for herself, I will make sure that Artoria is able to find the happiness she deserves..." While Artoria looked like she was having a meltdown at the side, Merlin issued augh that sounded a little too pleasant to the ears. When he regained hisposure, Merlin had a mischievous look in his eyes as he said, "I must admit, I am curious to see how that path of yours ys out. It is rare to meet someone who has resistance to my prophetic abilities, but I have never encountered a person who is immune to them...tell me, what is your true desire? At the very least, I may be able to offer you some advice...though, I suppose my advice may not have much weight given my track record, ahahaha~." With that said, Merlin lightly tapped his staff against the ground, causing Circes Reality Marble to copse in an instant, even though he wasnt even present... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Damn Nymphs...,That Strength though...,The D.i.c.k Wizard Descends) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1088 - Choice

Chapter 1088 - Choice

With the copse of Circes Reality Marble, apletely new reality emerged to take its ce. This caused Circe to behave like a cat that had its tail stepped on, flittering into the air as she screamed, "Hey! What do you think youre doing!?" Though she had pulled out a staff like she was intending to attack, Merlin simply smiled in response before raising his hand and saying, "Go to sleep for a short while. Have a nice dream..." With that said, one part of theplex red seal on the back of his hand vanished, causing Circe to fall powerlessly from the air as a result. Since it didnt seem like Merlin was going to prevent her crash, Vahn, carrying Fenrir under his left arm, appeared to catch Circe before she could collide with the hard ground. Then, after setting her to rest on a smallforter, Vahn apologetically rubbed Fenrirs head while looking at Merlin and asking, "What kind of illusion is this?" Merlin gave a lightugh in response to Vahns words before musing, "Though I already said you are full of surprises, it seems I need to seriously consider how to interact with you in the future. Umu...if I had to define it...well, I dont really want to. The only thing that really matters is that you see what I want to show you, at least for now." As he spoke, Merlin would tilt his head, eyes wandering around as if he wasnt quite sure what to say. Eventually, he just pointed with his staff towards the center of the space, causing a twenty-meter tall tower-like structure to burst into existence. Even though it was just an illusion, Vahn immediately frowned as the energy radiating from the tower wasnt all that dissimr to the presence of the Shadow that had existed within Sakura... As if to answer Vahns thoughts, Merlin slowly levitated in the air as he exined, "This is what the people of this world refer to as the Greater Grail. Its true purpose is to merely serve as a system that allows a person to interface with the Root located outside the axis of reality. I never thought I would see a family that carries the Origin of Wish-Granting, but the Einzberns are a truly unique existence. It is a shame their fate makes it so they can never be the beneficiaries of their own power. Though, I suppose that is for the best, no? To be able to grant your own wishes without having to make any effort...hmmm, that sounds like a rather lonely existence." Showing no signs that he was even paying attention to anyone else present, Merlin made a small circle with his staff before a small burst of light exploded near the base of the Greater Grail. Vahn could see the illusion he had created looked exactly like Illya, curled up in the fetal position as she lightly breathed through her nose. Even though it wasnt real, she seemed to be having a pleasant dream as a small smile was spread across her face as she hugged what looked like a miniature-sized Heracles plushie. Though Vahn felt it wasnt really a doll suitable for what looked like a small girl, it seemed that Illya was quite fond of the legendary hero... Without exining anything, Merlin slowly turned in the air as he looked back at Vahn and once again asked, "Tell me...what is your true desire? Depending on your answer, well, I suppose that isnt important. I would like to hear what you have to say without understanding the repercussions your actions may have..." These words made it sound like Vahn didnt put any thought into his actions, causing him to give Merlin a slightly annoyed look before taking a deep breath and saying, "My true desire is to one day return to my family...I will continue to increase my strength so that, one day, I will be able to stay at their side once again...at the same time-" As if he had lost interest in what Vahn was saying, Merlins eyes began to wander towards nothing in particr until he heard Vahn stop speaking. After that, he smiled in a way that didnt quite reach his eyes as he exined, "It is a dangerous thing, seeking power as a means to an end. Your desire to return to your family is only a small part of aplex puzzle that you will need to figure out should you want to truly protect the things you care about. You wille to understand this one day...or perhaps not? Regardless, know that power is a corrupting force so long as the person wielding it has any form of selfish intentions. Even if youe to wield it selflessly, however, you must understand that the world must constantly exist in a state of equilibrium. If you aspire to obtain power above all, there will always be something with an equivalent amount of power to oppose you..." With his lecture finished, Merlins figure vanished from where he had been floating in the air. When he reappeared, he was right next to Artoria, a gentle smile on his face as he looked between her and then back at Vahn before saying, "I have entrusted you with my most precious treasure. In truth, I cannot truly understand the nature of humans, no matter how much I observe them. You, however...I feel there is something different about you. I am an entity that is fated to never cease, much like that peculiar friend of yours...ah, Scthach, yes...truly an unfortunate woman, that one..." As if he had been looking toward something only he could see, Merlin shook his head before smiling once again and adding, "I would like to see what a man without fate is able to aplish. With that in mind, I want you to see what is required if you want to obtain the Greater Grail for yourself..." Before Merlins words had even finished, the surroundings began to rapidly change before, momentster, the dissipating bodies of almost every Servant still participating in the war could be seen. Even though he didnt really need to exin, Merlin inly stated, "In order to awaken the Lesser Grail, every other Servant needs to be eliminated. Due to the Einzberns unwillingness to ept their fate, they have machinated to have one of the Servants ced within the vessel for the Lesser Grail. They originally tried to fuse me into the youngdys body but, perhaps due to other anomalous factors, a very unique entity was sealed within her instead..." While Merlin was speaking, the particlesprising the other Servants bodies all flowed into the sleeping Illya before, as if she had always been present, a strange woman with white hair and red eyes crouched down next to Illyas body. To everyones surprise, her body quickly broke down into fragments of light before, momentster, Illy was wearing a strange ceremonial dress,plete with a peculiar white crown ented in gold. The sleeves seemed to extend far past her hands while the dress itself was rather short, exposing a little too much skin with the various circr sections formed by golden rings. At the hem of the dress, several arrow-shaped ents pointed towards a pair of stockings which ran halfway up Illyas thighs before breaking off into inverted arrows that were simr in structure to those found on her dress. Overall, it was a regal, but strangely inappropriate garment to be worn for a ceremony... After floating in the air for a few seconds, radiating a divine white light, Illya touched down gently on the ground before looking back at Vahn with red eyes that possessed no sign of consciousness. She seemed like a machine thatpletelycked emotions, to the point that Scthach would have appeared expressive inparison. Then, as if she hadnt actually been looking at Vahn from the start, Illya turned towards the Greater Grail behind her before extending her arms. The moment she did this, the Greater Grail released a pulse which, immediately thereafter, began to sound like a heart beating in a steady and powerful rhythm. Instead of looking like an ornate ck spire, the Greater Grail began to emit a heavy flow of reddish-ck mud as it gained eldritch qualities, including massive eyes and thick tendrils that slowly began to unfurl toward Illya... As if he could sense Vahn was about to break the illusion, Merlin preempted him by calmly stating, "You see, as far back as the Third Holy Grail War, the Greater Grail had already been tainted by an amalgamation of All the Worlds Evil. In their misguided attempts to break free from their fate, the Einzberns summoned the evilest conceptual existence within all timelines, an entity known as Angra Mainiiu. Though itcks any actual power, its ability to corrupt is invible as, so long as a single evil thought remains in the hearts and minds of men, it can never be destroyed...Now, any attempt to make a wish through the Greater Grail will invariably result in the wish being twisted into something far more horrible than intended..." Hearing Merlins exnation, Vahn couldnt help but wonder if this was one of the safety measures that Akasha had implemented to prevent anyone from reaching the Root through the Heavens Feel ritual. Since she seemed to harbor some kind of grudge against the Einzbern Ancestor and his descendants, it wasnt a stretch to think she had manipted the system to make things more difficult for the Einzberns. What he couldnt understand is how anyone could be foolish enough to think it was a viable method to obtain victory by summoning All the Worlds Evils. Even if the entity they summoned had been powerful, it would have still been an inherently evil existence by virtue of their intentions. As the Heavens Feel ritual was originally intended to summon only Heroic Spirits from around Europe, Irnd, and Germany, it didnt make sense that they would want to pollute their own ritual by summoning something other than a Heroic Spirit... Before Vahn could think of an answer, Merlins expression suddenly turned serious as he said, "It is my duty to ensure that the Holy Grail War is able to reach a conclusion. As things stand, however, this will only result in a tragedy. Not only would you have to part with your carefully gathered allies, but this tragic youngdy would once again experience something truly terrible. In the state where she is the awakened vessel of the Lesser Grail, Im afraid her ego is excised entirely. As a result, the entity within her will integrate with the Greater Grail, potentially leading to the death of all humans." As these words left his lips, Vahn saw the mind-numbing sight of Illyas chest exploding as a small white creature, covered in fresh blood, jumped into the mud pouring out from the Greater Grail. In the next moment, the sound of the beating heart ceased in its entirety, followed by the mud slowing to a crawl... As the illusory Illyas body copsed lifelessly on the ground, her blood began to spread out rapidly across the perfectly level floor beforeing into contact with one of the tendrils. The moment this happened, the tendril lifted itself up before mming down on Illyas location, crushing half her body before the rest was sucked in momentster. Then, as if to build upon the growing madness, a blood-red monstrosity began to emerge from the Greater Grail itself, appearing much like a giant wolf but, instead of fur, it had strands of bloody flesh while its head had malformed to have an indeterminate number of eyes and a vicious maw that had rows of crooked teeth. Around this time, the scenery changed once again, this time showing the surrounding Fuyuki City as the wolf break free from Mount Enzou and ascended into the sky using bat-like wings form of flesh and gore... After reaching a few hundred meters in the sky, each individual strand of the wolfs fleshy hair began to spread a thin red mist that began to build like a cloud around its body. Once it had formed a veritable ocean of red vapor, the monstrous creature began to release a panting sound before arcing its head back and releasing a blood-curdling howl that immediately sent the cloud bursting apart like a tumultuous explosion. Then, moving at several times the speed of sound, the bloody mist began to spread through the City below, each individual particle small enough to slip through solid matter as it passed through all obstructions and entered the bodies of sleeping humans. Vahn was able to see all of this as, with each stage of the event, Merlin would change his illusion so they could view the nightmarish scene from the most optimal perspective... Every human that was touched by the red mist would immediately open their eyes in shock but, before they could even release a scream due to the overwhelming pain they were experiencing, their bodies would turn into a puddle of bubbling red liquid that, momentster, became even more red mist as it continued to spread across the city. As if it could sense where humans were located, the mist would always follow the shortest path to its target, passing through physical obstructions and magical barriers as if they didnt even exist. In this manner, only five minutes had passed before all of Fuyuki City was shrouded in a blood-red mist that was denser than the fog on a cold and humid morning... At this point, Merlin began to exin, "The entity that currently inhabits the youngdy is a Beast of Gaia known as Primate Murder. Though I had tried to give it a different perspective on humans, the nightmarish experience of that girl has caused him to view humanity in a negative light. Now, my faithful Cath Palug sincerely desires to fulfill its purpose, annihting the vast majority of humanity. The only ones he intends to spare are the children but, in a world without a.d.u.l.ts and structure, I need not tell you how that will end..." As Merlin was speaking, Vahn, Artoria, and Fenrir were all watching a zoomed-out perspective of the world as the tiny red dot located on Japans southern tip continued to grow and expand. By the time the hadpletely three revolutions, the mist had covered nearly the entire, iming billions of lives in less than seventy-two hours... After the sapphire blue had be almost blood-red in color, Merlin waved his staff and allowed the illusion to disperse. To answer the question he knew Vahn would ask, Merlin shook his head and exin, "Though it may not be impossible to kill him after he has awakened, Cath Palug is an indestructible existence that is not bound by the conventional rules of this world. Much like Angra Mainiiu, he will continue to exist so long as there are any living humans within the world. Unless you intend to wipe out humanity to expunge him from the world, I would advise a far more practical approach...besides, he is actually quite cute when he isnt trying to kill all of humanity. His fur is very soft to the touch and he knows plenty of tricks..." Seeing the deadpan stares he was receiving, Merlin let his words trail off before exining, "I have been looking for potential solutions but, as the entity known as Shirou Emiya is no longer within this timeline, my options have been rather limited. More than anything else, that youngdy desires a family that will look after and loves her with sincerity. Though she has already lived for nearly thirty sr cycles, her closest family has been a berserk Heroic Spirit. When she was just a child, her mother became the vessel for the Lesser Grail while, having betrayed the Einzberns, her father was prevented from ever seeing her. She spent ten years training in istion, surrounded by frigid temperatures and even colder inhuman existences. By the time she had a chance at happiness, her life had been robbed while, what little hope she had found, was crushedpletely. Imagine how she must have felt when, after spending years recuperating in a vat of fluid, the first thing she hears upon awakening is that she must be a sacrifice once again? Even worse, the only family she had left was already dead...truly, I cannot fathom the depravity of the Einzberns...forcing so much on such a small child..." Hearing Merlins long exnation, Vahns own expression had hardened as, though he knew Illyas life had been rough, it seemed his imagination had beencking. He could tell that Merlin wasnt even giving the full story, causing Vahn to ask, "How did youe to know of these things...?" Even though he already had a guess, Vahn wanted to confirm if his suspicions were urate. As expected, Merlin gave a whimsical smile in return, as if he hadnt been upset moments before, answering, "I am blessed to be able to interact with the dreams of others. In order to try and convince Cath Palug not to wipe out humanity, I have been trying to counsel the youngdy in her dreams. She is currently having a long and pleasant dream but...well, there is a very big difference between dream and reality. Though the mind can be tricked easily enough, the soul is much harder to fool...without experiencing genuine happiness, the feelings buried deep within her heart will continue to corrupt my adorable Cath Palug..." Shaking his head, Merlin pointed towards Vahn before saying, "That is where youe in, young man. You may be an anomalous existence, but I can see you have a unique quality that allows you to draw others to you. I will not fault you for begrudging me, but I have been following your exploits since leaving Artoria in your care. If it is you, I believe the youngdy may be able to find her own happiness in the future. If you can promise me that, I will help you reach the Greater Grail without having to use the Lesser Grail as a key. Though I may have to face a few troublesome consequences for bending the rules a bit, I believe that is a small price to pay in order to prevent the destruction of the world...wouldnt you agree~?" Though he already understood what Merlin was aking him to do, Vahn still asked, "So, you want me to take Illya into my care? If you havent noticed, she doesnt seem too fond of me..." Even if it didnt really affect him, the fact that Illya had bitten out his throat was still a fresh memory. In response to this, however, Merlin justughed in a light-hearted manner before musing, "Though it may note as a surprise to someone with your amount of experience, trust me when I say that biting isnt always an expression of hatred. From my personal experience, it is something that youngdies do when they are feeling frustrated..." When he said thest part, Merlin looked toward Artoria and gave her a small wave that caused the usually prideful Knight to flush deeply. She had been rather passive since the moment Merlin had arrived, something Vahn had been growing steadily curious about. In a way, they seemed to have a very simr rtionship to parent and child. If he didnt already know that Merlin had done a poor job in helping raise Artoria into a King, Vahn would have thought their interactions were pleasant. Because of this, it was easy to see that Merlincked a great deal in themon sense department, even if his parental affection towards Artoria was genuine... As if to clear up any doubts, Merlin waved his staff and changed the surroundings once again, this time showing a very recent memory. After hearing Merlin say he had been watching them, Vahn knew the man had probably seen way more than he wasfortable with. Now that he was seeing the Matou Mansion in full detail, including the individual des of grass, Vahn could feel his brow twitching a little. If Merlin had peeked in on him when he was having s.e.x, which seemed to be the case, he would have to have a very long and potentially violent talk with the whimsical Maguster on. For the time being, however, he looked towards the only anomaly within the illusion, seeing Illya sitting on a bed wearing cute purple pajamas as she watched the battle between Sakura, Gilgamesh, and, eventually, himself. When it got to the part where he had stolen Gilgameshs key, Illya was happily cheering for his victory... After letting the illusion dissipate, Merlin exined, "Do not fret. I only showed her things that would improve her impression of you. She has seen how well you treat not only your friends but people who should have been your enemies. So long as you do not treat her as if she is a monster, I believe there is nothing to worry about...hopefully...maybe? Well, even if the worst-case scenario happens, Ill do my best to try and mitigate the damage...hmmm..." At this point, Merlin was speaking to himself more than anyone else. Eventually, he shook his head before smiling once again and saying, "I do not know enough about humans to determine how things will turn out. I entrust her to you as, in all other scenarios, the world wille to an end. Your future is something I cannot see...since you seem to affect those around you in unpredictable ways, I will once again ce my trust in you. Well, what say you, Mr. Sage Emperor~?" Until this point, Merlin hadnt even so much as called Vahn by name so, suddenly hearing him say the words Sage Emperor, Vahn couldnt help but frown as he said, "I have promised to make this world a better ce with Fenrir, Artoria, and all my otherpanions. Since Illya is just another victim of a broken world, I will do my best to make sure she can find happiness in the future. That doesnt mean I will absolve you from any responsibility, though...I may not have the means to keep you under control, but I will ce my trust you in as well, Merlin. Until the time of my departure, I will have you at least help out whenever you can..." Without showing any sign of fretfulness, Merlin simplyughed in response to Vahns words before answering, "I am originally not supposed to be active in this timeline. So long as you do not require me to be directly involved in world-changing events, I can at least make an appearance every now and then. Even if you hadnt asked, I cant very well ignore my dear Artoria and my faithfulpanion. Until that youngdy has stabilized, you should expect that I will be nearby to prevent the manifestation of Primate Murder. I would hate to see my friend lose himself and do something regrettable..." By the time Merlin had finished his words, the surroundings had returned to normal, cing Vahn, Artoria, Fenrir, and the sleeping Circe inside of Ryuudou Temple. There were a few pigletsying on the floor in a hypnotic daze, something which seemed to amuse Merlin as hemented, "It is amusing to see interlopers reduced to the state of piglets...if only Lady Circe had not turned the members of the Temple itself into piglets as well...hmm, I suppose it doesnt really matter. Wait here for a short while, would you? My main body is quite a distance from here so it will take a few minutes for me to arrive. I trust you already have a n for destroying the Greater Grail so I will leave you to discuss matters in private for the time being~." With his wordspleted, Merlin vanished from sight, only moments before a metallic gauntlet flew through where his face had been located. It was only now that Artoria realized that Merlin had been peeking on her when she and Vahn were together. She had been so distracted by other things to realize it beforehand, causing her face to flush bright red as she shouted, "You depraved old fool! When I get my hands on you....!" Though his body had already vanished, this didnt stop Merlins voice from echoing through the area, carrying amused undertones as he said, "You have gotten rather lucky, my dear Artoria. There are few men who focus on giving more than taking in a rtionship...do not worry, I promise not to pry any further. This is the first time I have lived in suspense of the future...I would rather see where this goes without interfering further..." By the time Merlins words had faded away, Artorias face was scarlet to the point that it looked like she would pass out. As for Vahn, he had a hardened expression on his face as he popped each of his knuckles in expectation for his actual meeting with Merlin. This wasnt unique to him, either, as Fenrir was currently flexing her ws as she thought about the fact that some random flowery man had watched her making love with her Master. In much the same way as Merlin had alluded, she was fully intending on taking a few bites out of him to ease the frustrations in her heart... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A Phenomenal Disy of Power by the D.i.c.k Wizard...,TFW a tiny loli has a world-ending beast sealed in their chest...they sat t chests are supposed to represent hope for the future, not the end of days xD...,Merlin is a perverted voyeur...Fenrir, prey...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1089 - Accompaniment

Chapter 1089 - Apaniment

Though Merlin imed it would only take a few minutes, Vahn and Co had already been waiting for more than twenty as a rather awkward atmosphere permeated through the area. Fenrir kept herself distracted by ying with the dozen or so piglets running around in the room while, near the center, Vahn satzily next to Circe while Artoria sat in a far more proper manner at his side. The sleeping Demi-Goddess had yet to wake up but, as a result of her rtively defenseless state, Vahn was able to see the strangely arranged Magic Circuits on the inside of her wings. Though he could understand their structure, there were a few principles that he wasnt able toprehend at his current level. As he couldnt even figure out the mechanic that made her thin tunic and skirt automatically obscure the vision of others, however, this wasnt all that surprising... Artoria was usually a very patient woman but, as if Merlin was her natural weakness, she eventually muttered, "That fool probably got sidetracked by a stray cat or something..." This caused Vahn tough in a lighthearted manner, resulting in Artoria showing a slightly embarrassed expression since she had been talking to herself. To keep the conversation flowing, Vahn leaned back so that he was supporting himself on his palms as he mused, "This all feels a little anti-climactic, doesnt it? Im half expecting an army of golems or something to show up at any moment..." With a curt nod of affirmation, Artoria quickly responded by saying, "That would be nice. Though I do not wish for any innocents to be harmed, the fact I have barely even fought during this Holy Grail War leaves me feeling uneasy. It felt like I was the central figure in the previous two instances...haa..." Remembering how chaotic things had been previously, Artoria felt like something was wrong with how smoothly this Holy Grail War had been. Though she knew this had a lot to do with Vahn and the various anomalies that had been present this time around, it felt strange to simply be waiting for the arrival of Merlin and Illya. Even if she knew there had been a very real possibility the world could have been destroyed, Artoria had the impression that would never happen with Vahn around... Turning her head, Artoria found that Vahn had been watching her with half-lidded eyes and a small smile on his face, causing her to swallow instinctually before asking, "Is there something, Master...?" In response to this, Vahn yfully mused, "To think my King of Knights is sad that she wasnt able to be the center of attention...dont worry, Ill make sure to pay lots of attention to youter." At the end of his words, Vahn gave a small wink that caused Artoria to inhale a deep breath before saying, "You...you should discipline yourself better...this is neither the time nor the ce for such remarks..." Giving a small shrug in response, Vahn thenid back against the floor with his hands behind his head as he stated, "Unless youre someone like Merlin or Scthach, you never know what the future might hold. Leaving things unsaid will just lead to regrets if something did happen...besides, other than a few piglets, there isnt anyone here toin about a few flirtatious remarks..." Since he was currently monitoring everything in an 8km diameter, doing his best to try and detect Merlin, Vahn wasnt worried about being caught off guard. Even if he was in a rxed state, he was fully prepared to engage any enemies that might appear before them. Though she had a look of conflict on her face, Artoria eventually released a sigh before saying, "It is important to rest when one can...even during long campaigns, I always tried to encourage my men to rx between battles. I suppose this is just another example of the same principle..." As someone who had lost to Vahn in an extremely short period of time, Artoria realized she didnt have too much room to criticize him. She was very aware of how powerful his senses were so, if an enemy were to attack, he would be prepared to engage them even before she was. With that in mind, Artoria let her shoulders sloop a bit as she allowed her armor to dissipate. Seeing Artoria rx, Vahns smile increased in size as he remarked, "Though you cut a striking figure in armor, I still think you look far more elegant in that dress...hahaha..." Since he had seen her flinch at hispliment, Vahn felt an irresistible urge tough. Then, as he was genuinely curious, Vahn sat up before asking, "By the way, Artoria, can you tell me what kind of battles you fought during your time? Since you were born during the Era of Man, I find it difficult to conceive what kind of enemies would have required you to lead an army against. If the Knights of the Round table were even half as strong as you are, I cant help but wonder what kind of enemies you had faced..." Even though Nobunagas memories had cleared up a bit of his confusion, the fact that powerful figures seemed to all but disappear from history bothered Vahn. He knew the powers behind the scenes had been altering events to make them seem less fantastical, but the fact that such battles had been forgotten to time didnt make that much sense to him. After all, there were millions of people who had been there to witness events like Lakshmibais revolution while the entire country of Japan had been subjected to Nobunagas conquest. The fact they became rtively weak in the history books, even though word of mouth alone should have been enough to carry their legacy, was something that genuinely confused Vahn... As a result of Vahns inquiries, Artoria began detailing some of the battles she had participated in to try and unite the British Isles. Though she wasnt particrly fond of talking about the past, the fact she had spent thest few days trying to learn about Vahn made it hard to refuse. If nothing else, it was a better way to pass the time than simply watching Circe sleep. Since it also prevented Vahn from randomly flirting with her, Artoria decided to keep him distracted by answering his questions without embellishing too many details. Surprisingly, after around half an hour, Artoria found it was strangely ther.a.p.eutic to talk with him, almost like she was releasing tensions that were deeply ingrained into her body... --- By the time Vahn sensed an almost imperceptible fluctuation within his domain, it was near 3 AM. He was starting to get worried whether or not Merlin was even going to show up. Though listening to Artoria talk about her past was rather insightful, tonight was supposed to be thest night of the Holy Grail War. If they continued dying things, the involvement of the Holy Church would only increase, making it far more difficult to end the war on their terms. Fortunately, with a little under three hours left before sunrise, Merlin appeared out of thin air, the sleeping Illya curled up in his arms. She was only around 135cm tall so, while Merlin wasnt all that tall himself, she looked like a small child when wrapped up in a nket... As if to answer an unasked question, Merlin showed a slightly awkward expression as he exined, "I have been dealing with other small issues so I never had the opportunity to secure any clothes for the youngdy. Im certain you can help to facilitate, yes...?" Since Illyas clothing had been destroyed during her transformation, the best Merlin had been able to do was provide a nket to wrap her body. As he technically existed as a Ruler-ss Servant right now, hecked the [Item Construction] ability so, unless he went out and stole some clothing for her, something he literally couldnt do, Merlin was rather helpless to deal with her situation. Artoria quickly took Illya from Merlins arms before moving her far away like a mother fleeing with her child from a criminal. At the same time, Vahn handed over a change of clothes to Fenrir before looking Merlin directly in his eyes and saying, "Try not to peek this time, Perverted Old Man..." Since now wasnt the time to get even with Merlin, Vahn was allowing his rage to mature within his heart until they were in a less tense situation. Though he might not even be able to do anything against Merlin, at least under normal circ.u.mstances, Vahn felt like it wouldnt be all that difficult to ensnare him in a trap before exactly vengeance against the so-called Magus of Flowers. Feeling as if he was currently the target of everyones ire, Merlin awkwardly scratched his cheek with both eyes closed and an awkward smile on his face. Then, while Fenrir and Artoria were helping Illya get dressed, he turned his attention to Circe and saying, "She should not have slept this long. Maybe the dream I gave her was too pleasant...?" When he asked this question, Merlins eyes began to glow with a subtle pink and purple hue, something Vahn saw flowing around in Circes head a momentter. As he had seen how Preasias abilities affected other people, Vahn could confirm without any doubt that Merlin had the ability to manipte peoples dreams. Unlike Preasia, however, he was an extremely powerful Illusionist who could even drain energy from people while they slept as a result of being Half-Incubus... Though he wasnt sure if Merlin could hear him right now, Vahn warned in a serious voice, "If I ever find you sneaking into any of mypanions dreams without their permission, do not think I will let you off. Had the circ.u.mstances been even slightly different, there is a good chance we would have already be enemies after what you pulled. Even if you think you are unkible, I can promise you that there are worse things than death in this world..." With his eyes still glowing, Merlin looked at Vahn with a slight smile on his face as he remarked in a somewhat hazy tone of voice, "That is good...and yes, I am very aware of that fact...I will take your..." As if he forgot what he was going to say, Merlins eyes lost focus towards the end of his words as an amused smile quickly spread across his lips. Then, before Vahn could inquire, Merlin suddenly said, "I almost feel guilty about having to wake you up...now, now, all good things muste to an end my dear. If you spend all your happiness in memories and dreams, the vor of life will be nd..." Vahn had no idea what Merlin was talking about but he was able to deduce his words were directed towards Circe. Thetter had started to roll around as if she were ufortable, a frown on her face as she apparently refused to wake up. Unfortunately for her, Merlin wasnt a novice in his profession, resulting in Circe releasing a frustrated groan before lifting her bodyzily and rubbing her eyes. Her ears drooped somewhat adorably and, after rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Vahn got to see the sight of Circe yawning with both arms outstretched before she began to stretch her body, seemingly without regard to her surroundings. If not for her clothes working in overdrive to protect her dignity, both Vahn and Merlin would have gotten quite the view by the time Circe turned her pink-green to her surroundings. When she saw Merlin standing on the side, Circes face formed into a pout but, no matter how hard she tried to ce who he was, she had no memories of ever meeting him. The only thing she knew was that he was annoying, resulting in Circe quickly ignoring him as she beamed towards Vahn and mischievously inquired, "Did you do anything to me while I was sleeping? Ill know if youre lying~." With a clean conscience, Vahn shook his head but, after remembering this wasnt entirely true, he quickly exined, "Your wings were sprawled open while you were sleeping so I studied them a bit. I didnt touch you though, at least afterying you down on that futon..." Following Vahns finger with her entire head, Circe saw she wasying on a surprisinglyfortable ck mat that was far softer than any bed she had ever slept on. Though she was a little troubled that Vahn had peeked at one of her most sensitive secrets, she instantly decided to forgive him, though not before saying, "Since you peeked, Im going to take this futon aspensation. But really, Vahn, you shouldnt pry into adys secrets without her permission...Im a...maiden..." As these words left her mouth, Circe blinked in confusion before a rosy blush crept up on her cheeks. Vahn was about to ask what was wrong but, before the words left his mouth, he heard a voice echo in his mind, ("My...you are hard to contact...fumuu...well, anyways. If you are willing to hear it, I would advise that you not pry into what Lady Circe is thinking about. She is a delicate woman so it may not end well if you pressure her too hard...") Then, before Vahn could send a telepathic message of his own, Merlin brought him to stunned silence by exining, ("I felt bad for her so I allowed her to have a dream where she was able to experience the happiness of a woman. Since she seemed fond of you, I decided to have you be her partner. So long as you dont mention it, everything should be fine...") Hearing what Merlin had said, Vahn didnt know whether tough or cry as he stared back at the man with an incredulous light in his eyes. He couldnt fathom how Merlin thought it would be a good idea to allow Circe to have such an experience, even in her dreams. The fact she had been unwilling to wake up was like seeing an entire army of gbearers marching across an open in. Because of this, Vahn was almost certain that Merlin was messing with him, even if he didnt really understand the mans reasons for doing so. It could be a way to test him but, considering his actions thus far, Vahn couldnt even fathom why the errant Magus would do such a thing. The only thing that seemed to make sense, at least from a certain perspective, was that Merlin was being passive-aggressive toward him after he slept with Artoria. Though he would probably do the same towards any boy that wanted to get with one of his daughters, Vahn never expected to be on the receiving end of such treatment out of the blue... Uncertain if he should even follow Merlins advice, as the Magus could just be setting him up even further, Vahn repressed a sigh before reaching out his hand and just patting Circes head. This made her ears twitch adorably but, instead of focusing his attention on her, Vahn continued to stare at Merlin as he asked, "When will we be entering the territory of the Greater Grail?" As a result of him ignoring her, Circe began to re at Merlin with an usatory look, even as her ears waggled up and down. This caused Merlin to blink in surprise before allowing his characteristic smile to appear as he replied, "We can go after the littledy wakes up. You still need to transfer her Command Spells over to your body. Though you may be intending to destroy the Greater Grail, having more Command Spells could prove useful if there are any unforeseen incidents." After hearing Merlins exnation, Vahn gave Circes head onest rub before rising to his feet and saying, "Lets get this over with. The sooner everything is resolved, the faster we can move on to more important matters." With that said, Vahn helped the pouting Circe rise to her feet as, regardless of whether or not he was trying to divert her hatred towards Merlin, it would be rude if he just left her seated before walking off. This brought a happy smile to her face as she flittered behind him, a little too close forfort but not really in the way. Seeing Illya wearing a pair of animal pajamas, Vahn felt a brief twinge of pain in his chest before suppressing it momentster. Though she wasnt one of his children, seeing a small girl that he knew had struggled her entire life was enough to break Vahns heart. Just the fact that she had a scar running across both eyes and the bridge of her nose, even though it was faded, made him wish he could kill Gilgamesh a second time. With that in mind, Vahn slowly traced his thumb across the scar on Illyas eyes, a gentle rainbow light flowing from the tip and into her skin. By the time he had swept his thumb across her face, Illyas scar was nowhere to be seen. Later, depending on howfortable she was with it, Vahn intended to heal the scar on her chest as well... From the side, where he had been watching with a surprisingly serious expression, Merlin suddenly muttered, "That energy...you are capable of using True Magic in its purest form...how peculiar..." As his Source Energy was always interpreted as the highest form within a Record, Vahn wasnt surprised that Merlin would also misidentify it. Since there was no reason to correct him, Vahn ignored his remark before stealing the Command Spells on Illyas arm. This brought his total to seventeen, a somewhat ridiculous amount from any normal standpoint. If he used them all, Vahn felt that even Circe would be able to beat down someone like Berserker with her bare hands... With that in mind, Vahn focused on two new connections that had appeared, one belonging to Heracles and the other, muchrger presence, belonging to Illya. Though it was technically Cath Palug that was supposed to be under his control, they were essentially one and the same unless he intended to use yet another [Fate Severing Knife]. Since this would have the effect of releasing the currently genocidal Primate Murder on the world, however, Vahn elected to save his billion OP for more pressing matters. His current priority was destroying the Greater Grail,pleting his Quest, [Cup of Heaven] in the process. He had actually fulfilled most of the objectives already so, after gaining ess to the Greater Grail, Vahn would be able to earn a few additional rewards. After picking up Illyas exceptionally light body in his arms, Vahn focused his mind and used two of his Command Spells to summon Scthach and Heracles to his side. Scthach had informed him several hours ago that she hadpleted her mission so Vahn had her guard the Manor with Nobu and Lakshmibai while they were waiting on Merlin. Now that they would be entering the space of the Greater Grail, he figured it was best to have their strongest fighting potential avable. After all, with the form the Greater Grail had taken in Merlins illusion, Vahn didnt expect it would willingly allow itself to be destroyed. With the sound of a small thunderp, the colossal Berserker and theparably petite Scthach appeared right in front of him. The former had a steamy red aura flowing around his body as he stared down at Vahn, almost as if he were trying to intimidate him. As for Scthach, she turned her head to look at Merlin before wordlessly pulling out a weapon Vahn had never seen before, even if it was simr in form to her [Gae Bolg]. Instead of being red, however, it was a deep purple color that caused Merlin to frown slightly as he held his staff in a slightly defensive posture and said, "Now, now, there is no need for such hostility...I assure you..." Without returning a word of her own, Scthach continued to stare directly at Merlin, making it very apparent she was prepared to strike him down if he tried anything. Though she had been caught off guard previously, that wouldnt happen a second time. To Merlins credit, he seemed to quickly intuit that Scthach wasnt going to suddenly skewer his body. Though it wouldnt have been able to kill him, it was hard to stay calm in the face of the legendary [Gungnir]. Now that Scthach had set him as her target, there were no actions he could take to evade her blow. Even if he teleported to the other side of the world in another dimension, the spear would still find purchase and cause him an extreme level of pain... Deciding it was best to hurry things along, Merlin gave a wry smile before tapping his staff on the ground a few times and saying, "Well now, shall we move on to the final act? I wonder if this will be the overture to a new heroic tale...or the symphony apanying the end of the world~?" With that said, Merlin tapped the ground onest time, causing a massive spell circle to epass the entire room for a brief moment. Then, in a sh of light, the only people left within the room were a group of piglets piled up around Circes futon as they silently snoozed without regard to the severity of Merlins words... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Knowing Merlin, he probably rode the train...,Never underestimate the petty nature of a Father when ites to their Daughter...,Scthach be like, "Try me, bitch...") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1090 - Reunion

Chapter 1090 - Reunion

Located at the heart of the Fuyuki City Leyline, the vein that allowed mana and spirit energy from the to bleed out into the atmosphere, a massive ck spire stood, crested by six spined points curved inward like a crown. Though this was an a sub-dimension isted from the outside world, it still had a foundation in reality, being located a few hundred meters below the Ryuudou Temple and engraved into a circr stone pedestal that was precisely 50m in diameter down to the atom. As it was impossible to create a permanant connection to the Root, the Einzbern, Tohsaka, and Makiri families had all worked together in order to develop this isted space more than two-hundred years prior. It had even taken the sacrifice of the then head of the Einzbern family, one of the iterations of Justeaze Von Einzbern, toplete. In almost every other circ.u.mstance, it was nearly impossible to reach the location of the Greater Grail without severely damaging the Leyline and somehow slipping into the interior through a crack formed in non-existent space. Merlin, however, had such a mastery of [Illusionism] that he was even able to fool reality, the environment, and even fate itself. For a brief moment, he was able to create an illusion that was entirely indistinguishable from reality, even from the perspective of the World itself. In that singr instance, by making it so that Vahn and his group had already essed the Greater Grail, he was able to slip through the surrounding nothingness, cutting through the fabric of nonexistence and cementing their presence within the Greater Grails isted sub-dimension. From the perspective of everyone who had been teleported, they simply shifted locations in an instant but, in that same period of time, Vahn at least sensed something that Merlin had been concealing. Turning to face the white-haired Magus, Vahn saw the man produce a wry smile as he hid his hand in his sleeve. Other than Scthach, who had been watching Merlin with an unwavering gaze, he was the only one to see the errant Mages hand gain a transparent quality. However, as now was not the time to discuss the matter, Vahn just gave him a curt nod before handing Illyas body over to Heracles. In hindsight, he realized bringing her along might not have been the best choice but, considering she had an immortal existence capable of destroying the world inside her chest, which was technically under his control, Vahn didnt think about it too much. After having Heracles move away, Vahn turned to look up at the ck spire that, for the time being, seemed like a stone obelisk with an incredibly intricate internal systemprised of tens of thousands of integrated magic circles. Behind it, a solid pir of pure mana was flowing from one area of the void into another, reminding Vahn of the phenomenon he had observed when using the [Page of the Akashic Tome]. Since the pir was likely what allowed the Greater Grail to ess the Root, something that obvious emted the real Akashic Record, Vahn wasnt too surprised to see there were simrities between them. Now that it hade to this point, Vahn gave a small nod before turning to Artoria, saying, "Since your [Excalibur] uses the Holy Element, it may be best to use your Noble Phantasm to try and break apart the Greater Grail...what do you think, Scthach?" Since thetter should be able to discern even more than he could, Vahn wanted to see if Scthachs [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground] could give them any insights into a better course of action. He was already prepared to try and seal the area with [Enkidu], all so that he could potentially absorb the energy into his own body, but that would be ast resort. Without taking her eyes of Merlin, Scthach answered, "The Greater Grail itself should be simple to destroy. Angra Mainiuu, however, is a conceptual existence that should have never been allowed to exist as a physical or spiritual entity. After destroying the Greater Grail, it would be prudent to leave this ce as soon as possible before cing a powerful seal in the real world. Though it would be impossible for the majority of people, there is always a chance someone could gain ess to this ce without using the key. If Angra Mainiiu is able to escape, its corruption could spread through the entire world if there is nothing to contain it..." Hearing what Scthach had to say, Vahn shook his head with a wry smile before cing his hand on Artorias shoulder and saying, "Sorry, looks like I might have to steal the spotlight from you again..." Since it was apparent that destroying the Greater Grail wasnt necessarily the smartest decision, at least for the time being, Vahn had to pour cold water over Artorias convictions once again. To her credit, she just gave a nod in response before holding [Excalibur] at the side once again... Curious about what Vahn was thinking, Merlin inclined his head to the side and asked, "Have you alreadye up with a solution?" As even he didnt have a permanant solution to the problem of Angra Mainiiu, Merlin was curious what an anomaly like Vahn might havee up with. What he never expected was for thetter to look back at him, shrugging as he said, "Im going to let it try and absorb me..." This immediately caused Merlins brows to furrow while Artoria, who had just decided to trust Vahn, instantly shouted, "What are you thinking!?" Even Circe didnt seem to think this was a good idea, flittering a few centimeters off the ground as she whined, "No, you cant do something like that...!" In response to the two girls shouting, Vahn winced slightly before holding up his hand and saying, "Youre misunderstanding my intentions and looking down on me. Even if its something like All the Worlds Evils, Im confident that Ille out rtively unscathed. Besides, do you really think Im going to do something like sacrifice myself when my ultimate goal is to return to my original world and reunite with my family and children? Rx and trust me..." Though Vahn was asking them to trust him, he allowed his Command Spells to glow in order to remind them that he would make them listen if necessary. He genuinely wasnt worried about what Angra Mainiiu might do to him as, even though it would undoubtedly cause him extreme pain, there was ultimately nothing the entity could do to corrupt The Path and his Source Energy. Without allowing any argument, Vahn turned to look back at the Greater Grail before saying, "Once I sublimate the Greater Grail, wait for my signal before using your [Excalibur] to hit it with full force. I imagine this space will begin to break down pretty quickly after that, so make sure youre ready for a second jump, Old Man..." Vahnsst words were directed towards Merlin who, regardless of the fact that it might further fracture his existence, simply returned a smile in return before saying, "Do not worry, I am already prepared to alight at the first sign of trouble. Go, Vahn Mason...I am curious to see if you are truly capable of doing something that should be impossible..." Surprising almost everyone present, Vahn began tough after hearing Merlins words, followed by him inly stating, "Ive been doing the impossible for years. This might as well just be another Monday for me..." With that said, Vahn stepped forward before cing his hand against the hard surface of the Greater Grail. This caused a simr pulse to what had urred in the illusion created by Merlin, followed by the steady beating of a heart. Slowly but surely, the grail began to morph into a far more evil form before Vahns hand began to sink into the previously hard surface. Almost as soon as he sank in just a little bit, a powerful suction jerked his body forward before fully enveloping him within the surprisingly viscous and foul-smelling internal structure of the Greater Grail... A few things happened after Vahns body was pulled into the Greater Grail, the first among them being a powerful pressure that seemed intent onpressing his body into its small form. At the same time, however, Vahns sense of touch began to rapidly fade before, instead of pure darkness, he found himself in an empty space. The pressure on his body faded away, taking with it the burning sensation of his skin melting away as hended soundlessly on a blue-ck ne. When his feet touched the surface, a pulse of runes spread through the area like ripples in a pool before a figure formed a few meters away from him. When Vahn saw who it was, he couldnt help but release a dryugh before greeting, "Long time no see, Akasha..." Looking as distinctly synthetic and alien as he remembered, Akasha had formed wearing the same grey-ck dress that seemed to be part of her actual body. This was the first time he had seen her standing so Vahn was a little surprised to notice she was actually a little taller than him, a perfect 200cm. Though she had the semnce of what could be called b.r.e.a.s.ts,bined with the curves you would expect from a woman, he had the distinct impression gender wasnt really a factor to the existences beyond the Root. Her dress actually left her abdomen and pelvic mound visible, showing that Akashas body was more like a doll than anything more biological. This,bined with her neat bob-cut hairstyle, bisected down the middle with a non-refractive ck and light blond only further added to her alien appeal. Of course, the thing that stood out the most was her eerie smile and her vibrant red eyes that had small lines of runes running through their depths... Apparently choosing to ignore Vahns greeting, Akasha tapped the empty air in front of her as she exined, "My superiors have been closely observing your activities after entering the experiment. The power you have disyed is beyond our initial ssification. In order to ascertain the nature of your existence, my experiment and ssification have both been upgraded to grant me greater authority. For this, you have my gratitude..." Though she said she was grateful, Vahn felt that even Scthach was more expressive than Akasha as she continued to tap on various different windows that had appeared before her. She seemed to be analyzing a great deal of information, likely pertaining to him. He wasnt even remotely surprised to know they had been observing him, especially since they could probably use the same skills he had been gifted as a tracking beacon. Since they needed to be able to determine when he was actually up against one of his targets, it was obvious his actions were being heavily monitored. Because of this, Vahn had been careful never to mention anything rted to The Path, even though he also made no real efforts to keep its functions hidden. This was likely what had caught their attention as, no matter what kind of scan Akasha had used on him, there was no way they would be able to probe The Path and its functions... After sorting through whatever information she was going over, Akasha swiped her hand across the air, dismissing all the windows before saying, "Your primary objective has not changed. However, as the parameters of the experiment have evolved, I have been tasked with updating you on your own status. Termina Nasua has given you a Priority ssification of [A]. You are now able to act freely within the Root without restriction. Currently, identifying you has be the highest priority of Root Designation: Akasha. To facilitate this, the Heavens Feel ritual has been modified so that you can contact me bying into contact with the Greater Grail. I have been authorized to assist you to the fullest extent of my abilities. Keep in mind, however, that I cannot use power greater than what is contained within the Greater Grail at the time of contact." Vahn had been silently listening to Akasha drone on with his focus split between listening to her and trying to analyze the surroundings. When he heard she was going to be helping him, however, his attention shifted back to her as he asked, "Are you saying I can essentially make a wish?" This caused a few runes to sh across Akashas eyes before she nodded her head and answered, "ording to the information I have ess to, I believe this would be an urate interpretation. However, I have been expressly prohibited from granting you ess to anything that could modify your existence. The purpose of the experiment is to observe your natural evolution so I am unable to provide the means to increase your strength outside the bounds of our initial agreement." As he had never expected Akasha to be able to help him do something like increasing his power to Tier 5 in a single leap, Vahn wasnt all that disappointed to hear her rification. Just knowing he could ask for almost anything else was more than enough, especially since there were plenty of means to increase his strength within the Root itself. To better understand what he could request, Vahn pulled a table and a set of chairs out of his Inventory, causing a massive volume of runes to sh across Akashas eyes as he asked, "Mind answering a few questions for me...?" This was met by an immediate nod by the alienesque woman before, without even moving from where she had been standing previously, she appeared sitting in the chair in an instant. With his own understanding of Space and Time being far inferior to Akashas, Vahn decided to just walk over and sit down nstead of pointlessly trying to show off. After taking a seat, he pulled out some tea and snacks, pouring a cup for himself and Akasha as he asked, "Can you exin any other restrictions I need to be aware of? Like, if I asked you something crazy like giving me ess to the Throne of Heroes, would that be allowed?" Though she had been attentively watching each of his actions, Akasha didnt even waste a single microsecond before answering, "It has been observed that you are able to alter causality and fate bying into contact with the variables that had been assigned to help regte the system. Providing ess to the Throne of Heroes is within my authority to approve. In order to ess it, however, you will need to establish an Anchor and a System on the same scale as the Greater Grail." Seeing how she didnt even hesitate to answer in the affirmative, Vahns brain was abuzz with thoughts of how he could use this to advantage. He was already intending to make an organization to rival the three major powers in the world. Though the assistance of his current Servants would be extremely useful, he knew it probably wouldnt be enough topletely unroot the darkness that existed behind society. If he could potentially summon a limitless number of Servants, however, it became a far more practical goal. From the moment he was able to establish a base of operations and establish a System, he would already be well on his way to achieving his goals... With thoughts of the future in mind, Vahn was almost tempted to ask if they could grant power to someone like Fenrir but, as soon as that thought crossed his mind, Vahn just as quickly dismissed it. Even if they could make her an all-powerful existence, he didnt want anyone messing around with one of his Subordinates, especially one as irreceable as Fenrir. This also meant he couldnt really ask her to empower any of his other Servants as, without asking for their consent beforehand, Vahn didnt want to make such decisions for them. What this didnt prevent him from doing, however, was asking, "The existence known as Primate Murder...is it possible to separate him from Illya and keep him sealed away?" Once again, Akasha immediately answered, "It should not have been possible for a human or a homunculus to be the vessel of Primate Murder. As this is an anomaly within the system, I am not authorized to separate the two. It is the decision of my superiors that such cases are meant to be observed from start to finish without interference. This same principle applies all anomalies that havee into existence as a result of your inclusion within the experimental field." Based on Akashas words, Vahn was able to conclude that it was his existence that had led to Illya and Cath Palug being fused. Now he felt guilty about her situation and, even though he had already decided to help make her happy, Illya had been elevated on his list of priorities. With that in mind, Vahn decided to clear some things up, asking, "The Holy Grail War...was it affected by my presence?" Since there were a lot of abnormal urrences, including the participation of several still-living entities, Vahn felt the need to hear it directly from Akasha. As she was ought to do, Akasha immediately answered, Yes. Before your entrance into the timeline, the Sixth Fuyuki Holy Grail War would have been intervened by the Holy Church on the eleventh day. This would have caused open conflict between the Mages Association and the Holy Church, the final result being the dismantling of the Greater Grail after the Fuyuki City Leyline was partially destroyed in the final sh between Artoria Pendragon and Gilgamesh. Initially, there were only seven Servants, consisting of the Goddess Ishtar, C Chinn, Medea, Heracles, and Hassan-i-Sabbah." Feeling that his tea suddenly became rather stale, Vahn released a sigh as he set the cup down on the table and reflected over the past couple of days. Though he knew his presence could greatly affect events that would take ce in a Record, he hadnt expected his rtively small Karma to have such far-reaching effects. At the same time, however, Vahn felt this was only natural as, even before he had truly decided to help out Rin, he already expected to have a significant impact on the world. He was even nning on uprooting the organizations that have kept humanity pacified, essentially changing the fundamental nature of how the world was run. It was a given that the flow of fate in the world would react in ordance with his intentions... Deciding he would think more deeply about his future requests to Akasha, Vahn kept it rtively simple this time around by asking, "Though you might not be willing to intervene, can you do things like reviving all the people that had be innocent victims during this Holy Grail War? If you can undo the damage to the City, that would also be extremely helpful." This, however, was immediately denied by Akasha, exining, "It would be possible to create artificial lifeforms that would be able to emte the existence of the lives that had been lost, but there is no way to guarantee the same soul would be imnted within an active timeline. Without any fate, each of them would die within a few months time. It would match your intentions better if the existence of those who were killed is erased from the timeline entirely. This will erase any memories pertaining to their existence from the minds of everyone inhabiting the timeline." With what he knew of the soul, Vahn was able to understand the inherent truth within Akashas words. Thus, even though he felt extremely apologetic to the people who had lost their lives, Vahn released a tired sigh before saying, "Do it..." This caused Akasha to lift her hand, tapping a few runes that had appeared within the air on a monitor that seemed to appear at her convenience. When she was finished, without skipping a beat, Akasha stated, "This action did not require any power. You may make another request." Vahn didnt know if he should be happy or sad with Akasha essentially admitting that she had erased the existence of thousands of people without any effort at all. Knowing he couldnt really change the facts, however, Vahn gave a small nod before asking, "Can you return Angra Mainiiu to wherever he came from before the Einzberns summoned him? Also, since youre supposed to be helping me, how about giving me a catalyst to serve as the core of my own Systemter on? Though I could eventually collect the required materials myself, it would save a lot of time to have something on the level of the Greater Grail without having to produce it. Since Im certain your superiors want to see what Im capable of as soon as possible, I imagine they wouldnt be too interested in watching me waste time collecting simple materials..." This time, Akasha didnt answer immediately as, deep within her red eyes, seemingly infinite strings of runes began to pour down like rain. A few secondster, she answered, "Angra Mainiiu is one of the mon factors that cannot be erased. Sealing him away is not an issue but my superiors want to see if you are able to destroy him through your own efforts. You will be afforded a ten year period to make preparations before he will be released upon the world. Topensate, your request for a catalyst has been granted. Since your failure would result in the destruction of mankind, the Counter Force, ya, has been assigned to assist you. Your ssification and Priority have been upgraded to supersede the objectives of other regtory entities." As she spoke, Akashas hands moved around at speeds faster than even Vahns eyes could follow, her fingers seeming to tap every rune on her keyboard simultaneously. By the time she was finished speaking, she blinked for the first time Vahn had ever witnessed before saying, "This request has consumed 94.71853% of avable reserves. Is there something else?" Vahns mind had nked after hearing Akasha mention he only had ten years until the world would essentially be forced to face its doomsday. He wasnt even given the time to alter the nature of his request, emphasizing the fact that Akashas superiors had truly changed the focus of the experiment to observing him. Now, in a single instant, Vahn felt like he had the weight of the entire world on his shoulders. This caused a profound chill to spread through his mind, followed by an extreme level of frustration knowing that there was virtually nothing he could do to prevent the Administrators from messing with him. If they were willing to let entire worlds be destroyed just to see how he would act, Vahn knew there was little else they wouldnt do just to see how he would react... After suppressing the urge to simply eject from the Record, Vahn released a heavy sigh before doing his best to muster as much resolve as possible. He had already fled his home and, as Record Tiers had a lot of simrities, Vahn knew he would probably face simr difficulties in other Records. Since he had already made several promises, he decided to simply do his best to face whatever Akashas superiors threw at him. At the very least, this would serve as a powerful stimulus to help his strength increase. Since Sub-Space Orbs would practically increase the time he had to around 60-70 years, Vahn believed he would be more than prepared to face Angra Mainiiu and whatever followed him... Feeling marginally more determined, Vahn looked into Akashas emotionless red eyes and asked, "Can you convert the remaining energy into something like magical cores and gemstones? Im sure your records show that I require precious resources to supplement my abilities. Im already at less than half the reserves I had upon entering the Root..." Vahn let his words trail off as, even before he had finished his question, Akasha simply waved her hand. This simple motion caused a massive gemstone the size of a small hill to appear right next to where they were seated. It had a subtle blue glow and, even at a nce, Vahn was able to tell that it was almost a pure amalgamation of mana. While Vahn was staring at the giant gemstone, Akashas eyes changed to a golden color as she stated, "We will observe the conversion process directly this time. Please proceed." This snapped Vahn out of his stupor, causing him to issue a wry smile before he went through the process of breaking the hill into smaller fragments that could be thrown into his Inventory. Akasha didnt say anything throughout the entire process which, by the time it had beenpleted, afforded Vahn amendable 473 million OP. Since he assumed she would want some data that could actually be used, Vahn exined, "This was enough to rece about a quarter of what I have used thus far..." As if she hadnt expected him to be cooperative, Akasha blinked a second time before nodding her head and tapping a few runes on her screen. When she was done, Akasha dismissed the interface before giving her unnatural smile and saying, "Your cooperation is appreciated. When you next need my assistance, please contact me through the Root once again." Then, with her businesspleted, Akasha closed her eyes before sinking into the bluish-ck floor once again. After this, Vahn found himself back within the confines of the Greater Grail but, the moment he was aware of the burning pressure once again, it faded away immediately thereafter. From a strange golden rune that had appeared on the back of his hand, a singr pulse of energy passed through the Greater Grail as if it had erased the corruption of Angra Mainiiu in an instant. At the same time, now drained of its energy, the Greater Grail began to crack and fracture around him...allowing Vahn to see the shocked and confused faces of hispanions... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Look at me...Im the MC now,Not sure if gusta...,This is what is colloquially known as a Bruh moment) (A/N: I wasnt going to write any more this week, as this chapter bring me up to 116k words, but I got bored and couldnt resist xD.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1091 - Building Tensions

Chapter 1091 - Building Tensions

Having never really cared about the Greater Grail in the first ce, Fenrir was the first to recover from her momentary shock. While everyone else was gawking, she happily pounced forward, shouting, "Master is the best~!" in a happy tune. Vahn caught her out of the air with ease, a wry smile on his face as he said, "Well, things didnt go as nned, but this isnt the worst oue..." At the same time, Vahn ran his fingers along the inside of Fenrirs ears, rubbing the most sensitive part and sending shivers running up her spine. Akasha had left him feeling a little shaken, something Fenrir was obviously aware of, so it wasforting to have her at his side... With Fenrir destroying the tension in the atmosphere, Artoria released a tired sounding sigh while Circe, with a pouting expression, flitted forward and asked, "What happened? Could it be that youre super amazing~?" As she asked this, Circe inched closer toward Vahn and Fenrir, leaning her head in as if she expected to be pet as well. Though this caused Fenrir to use her tail like a horse trying to smack away a fly, Circe didnt seem to notice her, a sure sign that she was willfully ignoring Fenrirs existence. Since Vahn wasnt really in much of a mood to humor her right now, he plopped his hand rather heavily on her head and ruffled her silky pink hair as she said, "If you dont want to return to the other side, behave yourself for the time being..." Though Circe obviously wasnt inscribed on the Throne of Heroes, as she had never died, Vahn knew that she would dissipate and return to the Reverse Side of the World without him serving as an anchor to keep her here. In response to Vahns words, Circes expression became like a bullied child as her big eyes began to water slightly, apanied by deeply set brows and a frown so pronounced her chin wrinkled in an adorable manner. Vahn felt like she was using a mental attack against him, even if there werent any ripples within his heart or mind indicating foul y. As a result, he began to gently stroke her head as he softly said, "Dont cry...sorry..." Since it was rather mean to threaten her with banishment just because he wasnt in a good mood, Vahn felt a little guilty for bullying this tiny Demi-Goddess. Of course, when her frown immediately turned into a cated smile, these feelings lessened a great deal... Though he decided it was necessary toe up with a means to discipline Circe in the future, Vahn set aside that matter for the time being as he looked towards Merlin. Before any words could form on his mouth, however, a blinding sh of light appeared in the air where the Greater Grail had stood previously. All of the surrounding space became tinged with a bluish-ck color as time seemed to slow to a crawl. Surprisingly, Vahn noticed that neither Scthach nor Merlin was affected by this phenomenon, both merely showing mild surprise as they looked towards the course of the blue light. There, hovering right behind Vahn, what appeared to be a nascent blue star with two orbital discs revolving around it had appeared. While everything else seemed to be moving several hundred times slower than normal, Vahn easily turned his head towards this new entity, asking, "Are you supposed to be ya...?" Though he had never seen it before, the golden rune on his left hand was currently glowing with greater intensity than before. Given the circ.u.mstances, especially with how his troubles seemed to bepounding, Vahn felt like this could be none other than his new assistant, the Counter Force assigned the task of ensuring humanitys survival, ya. Since it was radiating an iprehensible amount of energy, even though he couldnt actually sense anything, Vahn knew it was a force that he could never oppose in normal circ.u.mstances... In response to his question, the peculiar blue star answered in a distinctly synthetic voice that sounded like several men and women speaking softly in concert. There was even a feeling of awe that apanied the voice as it answered, "I am the manifestation of humanitys collection desire to avoid extinction. You are my Master, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, designated Type Omega. What are yourmands, my Master?" Though the voice sounded emotionless, Vahn had the strange impression that ya wasnt all that fond of him. It could be due to its awareness that he was the reason why humanity was in danger but, as it was unable to go against its programming, ya was now stuck listening to his whims. In a way, this made Vahn the most powerful entity within the world, even though he expected that ya wouldnt exactly jump at the opportunity to obey him... Having heard the way ya addressed Vahn, both Merlin and Scthach showed different degrees of surprise on their faces. This was quickly followed by realization, causing Scthach to produce a rare smile as she muttered in a voice that only Merlin could hear, "He must havee from beyond the Root. This is why my [Wisdome of the Haunted Ground] is unable to see through him." In response to this, Merlin gave an affirmative nod before smiling as he added, "Truly an existence outside the flow of fate. Ive always wanted to see what an unknown future was like...ufufu..." While Merlin and Scthach were having a conversation of their own, Vahn continued to stare up at ya in deep thought before asking, "What exactly can you do for me? Your ability to influence time will undoubtedlye in handy, but I cant exactly bring you around with me in that state. Wont your presence cause all of the old monsters hiding in the shadows toe out of the woodworks?" As Vahn had already discussed the existence of ya and Gaia with Rin in the past, he was aware that most prominent Magus were aware of them. In fact, other than tirelessly attempting to reach the Root, the most important task of any Magus was concealing themselves from ya. Since one of its primary functions was to prevent humans from gaining enough power to potentially wipe each other out, ya took exception to any Magus trying to gain ess to Administrative Functions not intended for their use... In response to Vahns words, ya shed with a brilliant blue light, causing Vahns brain to buzz when the light faded away to reveal a petite blue-skinned girl with white hair, violet eyes, and a simr style of clothing to what was worn by Akasha and other Administrators. She looked like a doll that had been mass-produced on a factory line, even though her expressionless face was almost wless in its structure. What stood out the most, evenpared to the strange sight of seeing clothes formed from flesh, were her two pointed ears, both close to 15cm tall, poking out from the top of her head. Though they werent covered in hair, giving them a sleek and almost jade-like quality, theyplimented the slender, cat-like tail that was poking out from the back of her dress. Like the ears, her tail almost seemed like a perfect blend between flesh and metal while, at the very end, there were even two small white prongs, much like a plug... As if to answer the question on Vahns mind, ya stated in a cold, now feminine, tone, "The data provided by the Root indicates you have an interest in the structure of Executor and Administrator vessels. In recognition of your willingness to fulfill your duty, I have been granted ess to the vessel of an Executor, Lower-Grade. As for the assistance I can provide Master; I am able to perform Administrative functions in exchange for mana and other resources that are of equivalent value. It is possible to enter into a contract in exchange for immediate assistance, but I am prohibited to take any action that would directly grant you an increase in power." Hearing yas exnation, Vahn realized that Akasha had noticed when he had inspected her body within the intermediary space of the Root. Though it was certainly helpful to be able to investigate a physical vessel that qualified as a Tier 5 item, the fact it was even vaguely feminine made him feel as though he was being bullied. Since Akasha and her superiors would undoubtedly want to analyze his mana and blood directly, he expected they were trying to entice him by giving ya ess to a female form. This wouldnt have been too much of an issue, especially in exchange for having an unbeatable ally, but the fact she was a loli made Vahn want to crawl into a hole and just reflect on his past actions... There was a good chance that she was just trying to be cute right now, as a Tier 5 should be able to easily change their form, but it was still a troubling thought to consider that Akasha and her superiors thought his preferences were in young girls. This was likely due to his intimate rtionship with Fenrir, Nobunaga, and, most recently, Artoria. They were all around 150-154cm in height, possessing lithe figures with modest b.r.e.a.s.ts, exactly the same as the current ya. The biggest problem was the fact that 15cm of yas height came from her biometallic rabbit-like ears, making her actual height seven centimeters shorter than Circe, a mere140cm... Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Vahn gave ya a final nce from top to bottom before saying, "That appearance will attract attention in the real world. Can you not stay invisible and carry out your other duties until I call you?" Knowing that ya was virtually omniscient, Vahn figured he could just call her in the moments he actually required her presence. ya, however, seemed to have different orders as she shook her head in a mechanical fashion before answering, "Unless I reveal myself to them directly, normal humans, Magus included, cannot perceive my existence. Only entities that exist outside the standard axis of time would be able to sense me..." When she was saying thest part, ya stared towards Scthach and Merlin, eliciting a smile and a wave from thetter. Since both were inarguably beneficial to the survival of mankind, ya chose to ignore their existence instead of trying to eject them back to their prisons. Even if she wanted to, however, ya was prevented from taking action against the anomalous entities brought into the timeline by her new Master. Since they would need the help of powerful allies to have any hope against theing crisis, as she was also prevented from calling her Counter Guardians, ya was helpless to do much beyond following her Masters whims. Her onlyforts were the knowledge that her Master seemed intent on ensuring the survival of humanity. At the same time, the vessel that had been given to her would allow her to persist even after humanity was destroyed. As it was preloaded with the gic material for all humans born after the Era of Gods, she could always recreate humanity if it was annihted. Even with functionally limitless power, one of the few abilities she did not possess had been the creation of life. With this newfound capability, ya was able to begrudgingly ept the task she had been assigned... Understanding yas words to mean she would practically be following him around, most likely to observe him even closer than the system could normally, Vahn released a heavy sigh. Just as yaforted herself, he too found some smallfort by reminding himself that ya was almost like a weaker version of the system shop that also had nigh-omniscience within the Nasuverse. Since she would probably have to listen to any orders he gave her, Vahn figured he hadnt actually gotten all that bad a deal. After all, ya was genuinely feared by both the Mages Association and the Holy Church. Thetter even worshipped her to an extent, considering her akin to the Will of God within the mortal world... With that in mind, Vahn felt more hopeful of the future as he gave a small nod towards ya and said, "For the time being, just tend to your other duties. Until I have a better understanding of your nature and abilities, it would be best for you to observe for the time being. My otherpanions would probably have a heart attack if they knew I had such a powerful existence subordinated to me..." Though it wasnt urate to call ya his subordinate, as he had never gotten a notification from the system, it wasnt far from the truth. Unless Akashas superiors intervened again, she was unable to go against the directive that had been assigned to her. A concept like loyalty had no meaning to an existence that only lived to serve a specific purpose which, in this case, was to follow his orders... Showing no sign of perturbation at essentially being told to stay out of the way, ya gave a small nod before time seemed to begin flowing at the standard pace. This was immediately followed by everyone except Circe looking at ya with shock and borderline hostility. Before things could get out of hand, however, Vahn gestured for them to remain calm and quiet, saying, "I will exinter." This caused Circe to tilt her head adorably, her face filled to the brim with confusion, while Artoria gave a reluctant nod in response. As for Fenrir, she just red at ya until Vahn gently guided her to look away to avoid drawing attention to the peculiar blue-skinned girl hovering behind him. Taking this as his cue, Merlin had a pleasant smile on his face as he asked, "Shall we~?", his staff already tapping the ground. Since the Greater Grail had already been destroyed, though not before losing all its power, there was no need to stick around any longer. Vahn swept up the fragments into his Inventory it one smooth motion before nodding his head in response to Merlins question. With that, the entire group vanished from the sub-dimension which,cking its connection to both the Root and the real world, quickly copsed behind them. Not even Angra Mainiiu had remained inside as, likely to ensure he would have to face the entity directly, it had been removed from the Greater Grail before he had the opportunity to try and destroy it... --- After arriving back at the Ryuudou Temple, the first thing Vahn did was give a brief summary of what had happened after entering the Greater Grail. Since Akasha and her superiors would probably be annoyed with him if he mentioned their existence, Vahn exined that he had essentiallye into contact with the Root. He described the strange space that he had visited, detailing his encounter with an unnamed entity that seemed to represent the will of the Root itself. As this was actually the truth, just without naming Akasha, Vahn didnt feel too guilty about manipting the information a bit. To exin how he had acquired the assistance of ya, he revealed that Angra Mainiiu could only be sealed away for a maximum period of ten years before being loosed upon the world. With that in mind, their highest priority was obviously preparing for the manifestation of Angra Mainiuu by establishing a force that would be able to directly oppose him... With both Merlin and Scthach surprisingly supporting his version of events, Artoria and, though she couldnt see ya, Circe both epted Vahns words at face value. Artoria had already agreed to help him make the world a better ce so it was a given she would stand at his side in the battle against Angra Mainiiu. As for Circe, she just wanted to remain in the current time axis and have fun since, back in her own timeline, the only thing she did to pass the time was lounge about on her ind waiting for sailors to randomly appear. The present was far more interesting to her, especially since Vahn was her currently the object of her rather peculiar affection... Since he wanted to avoid having the same discussion several times, Vahn shelved most of the issues untilter. The most important things right now were making sure each Servant that wanted to stay in the modern world had the means to anchor themselves as, without mana pathways linking them, there was a real chance they could dissipate if he didnt give them mana in time. Vahn was intending to give [Spirit Choker]s to everyone who decided to stay as, even if it wasnt enough to power them through an intense battle, it would allow them to stay manifested without needing him to recharge them as often. Vahn was beginning to feel that things were quickly developing in a simr manner to how they had in Danmachi as, even though he technically didnt have any active rtionsh.i.p.s right now, he was still sleeping with five different women...seven if counting Ishtar and Ereshkigal within Rins body... Setting aside that matter as well, Vahn turned his attention towards the most mana-heavy existence present, Heracles. He was currently holding Illyas sleeping body with just his massive hands, almost as if he were presenting her, not carrying her like a princess. Vahn wanted to ensure he was able to stay manifested as it would be much easier to keep Illya happy if she wasnt forced to separate from one of the few positive influences she had in her life. The problem was, Heracles ate up a massive amount of mana and, now that he didnt even have Command Spells, Vahn would be hard-pressed to replenish the massive heros reserves without preparing a veritable tub of his blood... After the matter of Command Spells crossed his mind, Vahn blinked in remembrance before looking through his Quest List and checking the status of his Repeatable Quest: [Cup of Heaven]. He had more than met the requirements toplete the Quest so, without hesitating on the matter, Vahn quickly submitted the Quest before epting it anew. Not only did this give him twenty of a unique item called [Artificial-Command Seal], something he assumed would be extremely helpful, but the second item Vahn was given caused his eyes to widen in shock. Since he also got a nice boon of OP, Vahn couldnt stop a smile from spreading across his face as his eyes passed over the description of the [Grace of the Root] a second time... ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Repeatable Quest: Cup of Heaven] Rank: S Completion Grade: SS Objective(s): Be a Master within the Holy Grail War (1/1), Defeat the Servants of all Rival Masters(10/6), Obtain ess to the Greater Grail(1/1) Optional Objective(s): Obtain the Servant of a Rival Master(6/6), Destroy the Lesser Grail(0/1), Destroy the Greater Grail(1/1) Rewards: 10,000,000OP, 1x[Grace of the Root], 20x[Artificial-Command Seal] Grade Rewards: 60,000,000OP, 6x[Seal of Binding] [Grace of the Root] Rank: Unique Use: Allows the user to make any wish within the worlds power to grant. Restriction: Vahn Aldrnari Mason [Artificial Command Seal] Rank: Unique Use: Allows the user to gain an additional Command Spell. Restriction: Only Servants originally summoned by the user can be affected. [Seal of Binding] Rank: Unique Use: A consumable item that changes the status of a Servant to reflect the user as their original Master. Range: 10m ----------------------------------------------------------------- With the [Grace of the Root] and the [Seal of Binding], Vahn now had multiple solutions to a problem that had genuinely concerned him only a few moments prior. By making Illya the Master of Heracles again, she could use her monstrous magical power to easily keep him bound to the present. He could even give her a few [Artificial Command Seal]s to make sure she could summon him during an emergency situation. Though she was functionally immortal at the present moment, Vahn knew there were bound to be powerful individuals that would desperately want to get their hands on Illya. In the event she was somehow captured by someone who could seal her, even temporarily, her immortality would quickly be another source of suffering... Deciding to hold on to the [Grace of the Root], as having an extra wishying around was extremely useful, Vahn pulled out a [Seal of Binding] before turning his attention to Merlin and asking, "Can you wake up Illya? I think our sleeping princess has gotten enough rest at this point..." Since she had been asleep since Merlin saved her the previous day, it had been well over twenty-four hours since Illya had opened her eyes. Now that he knew he was one of the factors that had led to her current situation, Vahn was determined to try and help Illya find happiness. If she wanted a family, that was something he could easily provide her until she was stable enough to be separated from Cath Palug. Without trying to talk him out of it, Merlin smiled in response to Vahns words as his eyes shed with pink and purple light. From within Heracles palms, Illya began to stir awake much faster than Circe had, a good sign from Vahns perspective. The first thing she did was touch the area around her eyes, an action Vahn quickly interpreted to mean she was curious if her scar had been healed. Deciding it was best not to show any apprehension towards her, Vahn pulled out an ornate hand mirror before handing it over to Illya with a smile. Though she was somewhat hesitant at first, Illya eventually reached out with her tiny hands, gingerly epting the mirror as she muttered, "Thank you..." in a demure tone of voice. After epting the mirror, Illya quickly confirmed that her face no longer had a rather vicious scar running across it. This caused her eyes to mist over, immediately followed by a few sniffles as she fought back tears. Though she was ultimately sessful in keeping them at bay, it was easy to see she was extremely relieved to have her face healed. Even though she had a young appearance, Illya was still a girl and, though she had never had much of a reason to appeal to others, she still felt better now that her scar was gone. Though Vahn was tempted to mention he could heal the one on her chest, he decided to leave that until muchter. For the time being, he figured it would be more than enough to mention, "Im going to make you the Master of Heracles again. I do not have the mana to keep him manifested and I figured you would be happier with him at your side." As if her healed face was no longer a pressing concern, Illya showed an expression of surprise and uncontainable excitement as she asked, "Is that true!? Can you really give Berserker back to me!?" Though her expression became dour when Vahn immediately shook his head, this was only until he smiled and exined, "From now on, you should call him Heracles. To answer your question, yes, I do have the power to make you a Master again." As he said this, Vahn handed over the [Seal of Binding] before exining its use. Not just Illya, but Merlin seemed genuinely surprised by the fact that the small ck stamp Vahn had handed Illya had the power to subjugate Servants. They were even more surprised when he pulled out what looked like temporary tattoos, each with a small red symbol on them that looked like a part of a Command Spell... Following Vahns instructions, Illya was able to sessfully im ownership of Heracles before having three [Artificial Command Seal]s ced on her hand. When all of this waspleted, she was no longer able to keep back her tears as, even though Heracles had no real reaction to it, she threw her arms around his neck and began to sob loudly. Since crying was usually a positive sign, Vahn watched Illya and Heracles with a gentle smile on his face as, from the side, Artoria had a simr smile on her face as she whispered, "You did the right thing, Master. That girl deserves a little bit of happiness for once..." To this, Vahn gave an affirmative nod before casting a nce toward Fenrir, one which she immediately understood. Until Illya was a stable existence, she would do her best to protect and care for the girl, just as she had done for Preasia in the past... (A/N: Alternate Titles: It seems like History is beginning to repeat itself!?,TFW even an emotionless and hyper-rational system thinks you are a lolicon...,Fenrir will Protec the smol floof) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1092 - Comparing Information

Chapter 1092 - Comparing Information

Though they were slightly pressed for time, Vahn wanted to wait until Illya had calmed down a bit before they returned to the Manor. He would need to discuss things with Rin a bit before reporting thepletion of the Holy Grail War and the destruction of the Greater Grail. Originally, Rin would have been the one taking the fall for the grails destruction as, even if the Mages Association was upset by the event, there wasnt too much they could do to her as one of the three families involved in the creation of the Heavens Feel ritual. With the destruction of the Makiri and the fact that Illya could make a strong case for bing the Einzberns Head once again, they simply had no grounds to stand on if they wanted to try any of the involved parties. There was also the fact that Luvia and Lord El-Melloi II had already been intending to support Rin in the event of any trouble, putting the Mage Association in a difficult position if they wanted to try and throw around false usations... While thinking about the future, Vahns hands hadnt been idle as both Fenrir and Circe had been receiving his affection in the form of head pats. It seemed like Circe was quickly bing fond of them after a short period of time, especially with how her ears would waggle adorably as she shifted her weight from side-to-side happily. Since now was the most convenient time to deal with it, Vahn caused her eyes to snap open when he removed his hand and said, "You need to turn everyone here back into a human. It will cause unnecessary antagonism towards our group if you transform normal civilians into animals. Youve had your fun so its time to change them back..." Though it didnt seem like Circe was fond of the idea, given that she seemed to consider it deeply for several long seconds, she eventually nodded her head before answering, "Okay, but, in exchange, youll have to shower me with a whoooole lot more affectionter~." In response to this, Vahn gave a small nod of his own before inly stating, "So long as you dont go around causing trouble for others, I dont mind pampering you every now and again. You should also keep in mind that I may punish you if you act out though..." Even if he hadnte up with a suitable punishment for Circe just yet, Vahn knew he would need something to reign her in. She seemed a bit scatter-brained but Vahn figured she would learn quickly if he treated the matter seriously... Without taking Vahns warning to heart, Circe went out picking up each piglet before kissing their foreheads in turn. This caused the small animals to quickly begin morphing back into humans who, as Vahn should have anticipated, were all n.a.k.e.d. Circe didnt seem to care about this at all but, while Illya might not exactly look her age, Vahn felt it wasnt a suitable sight for a youngdy. Thus, after entrusting the task of taking care of the girls to Artoria and Fenrir, Vahn went through the process of helping change the Ryuudou Temple residents and visitors into more suitable attire. Fortunately, their memories during their transformation wouldnt carry over as their ego and personalities were suppressed by Circes magic. To make sure there were no negative side-effects, however, Vahn had Merlin look around inside their minds and make the whole ordeal seem like nothing more than a strange dream... By the time all of Circes victims had been tended to, including a fat and despotic individual who Circe begrudgingly pointed out as her former Master, Illya had finally calmed down enough to be able to hold a conversation. Though she had red and swollen eyes, there was a big smile on her face as she bowed in an overly polite manner and said, "Thank you...I am sorry for attacking you before. As I will be in your care from now on...if it pleases you, I would like it if you call me Illya." Though he had actually been referring to her as Illya this entire time, as that is how Rin and Artoria referred to her, Vahn knew it was significant that Illya herself was giving him permission to. As a result, he gave a warm smile as he reached out his hand and began to stroke her surprisingly soft white hair. This initially caused her to flinch but, a few seconds after Vahns hand came into contact with her head, Illyas face had morphed into a contented smile. Then, though it may not be the best way to phrase things, Vahn expression softened even further upon seeing her smile, followed by him stating in a gentle tone of voice, "I will do my best to make you happy, Illya..." Hearing Vahns words, Illya opened her big eyes and stared up at him as if she were able to see through whether or not he was telling the truth. Then, feeling the warm and inexplicablyfortable feelinging from Vahns palm, Illyas smile turned even more radiant as she gave an adorable "Nn!" Following this, Vahn felt like his heartstrings were being tugged on when Illya suddenly asked, "Is it okay if I call you...Onii-sama...?" Though she was going on thirty years old, Vahn was well over 150 and had intended to treat Illya almost like a surrogate daughter. If she wanted to be his little sister instead, however, he didnt mind all that much. As a result, Vahn sent a wave of calming energy into her head as he answered, "Of course you can...Illya..." --- With Illya in a state where moving around wouldnt be troublesome for her, Vahn and co quickly returned to the Tohsaka Manor to avoid having to deal with the Holy Church and any other enemies that might appear. It was hard to know how people would be moving, especially after Akasha erased the memories associated with most of the Holy Grail Wars deaths. He was more than a little curious how something like Gilgamesh destroying a small part of the City would be exined away now that there werent any victims of the event. At the same time, Vahn wondered whether or not the attack against the Makiri would have been included in the scope of Akashas memory erasure. If that were the case, Sakuras position might be a little strange since there was a very real chance that any memory of the Makiris horrible Magecraft had also been erased... Just as she had before, Nobunaga leaped down from her roost atop the Manor before Vahn was able to pass through the gate. She passed her blood-red eyes across Circe and Illya for a brief moment before looking at Vahn with a taunting smile. This made it apparent that she was unable to see ya but, as that wasnt all that important, Vahns expression hardened a bit as he said, "Dont even start, e, lets go inside. Ill exin everything once were all gathered together." Since he knew Nobunaga was going to try and tease him about being a lolicon, Vahn tried to nip her expected reaction in the bud. Now was neither the time nor the ce for such remarks as, if possible, he would rather Illya actually fall into the persona of a child instead of developing any strange thoughts... Giving a dismissive shrug in response, Nobunaga then began tapping her matchlock on her shoulder as she did an about-face and led the way through the gate. She knew there was always some kind of reason behind everything Vahn did, even if it almost seemed nonsensical at times. Since he said he would exin things, Nobunaga was interested to hear what kind of fantastical story he woulde up with this time around. Little did she know that, while her imagination had already gone to a few extremes, her wildest imagination was actually far tamer than what had actually happened... As everyone else was heading into the Manor, Merlin came to a stop outside before tapping the ground to draw Vahns attention. When thetter looked back with a questioning look in his eyes, Merlin exined, "There are matters I must attend. Worry not, as I will find you when the times allow. The future you will create, I intend to see it with my own eyes. Until then, farewell, Vahn, Artoria, Illyasviel..." Though it looked like he was about to make the rounds and call everyone by name, Merlins body had vanished by the time he mentioned Illya. In a way, this made it clear that he was only interested in a few members of their group. Since Circe and Fenrir didnt particrly care about him either, they, fortunately, didnt seem to mind the small slight in the least... After entering into the Manor proper, Rin was waiting for them in what looked like a sleeping robe as she nursed a cup of hot coffee. The light from sunrise was slowly beginning to brighten the horizon so it wasnt all the difficult to imagine why Rin was tired after everything that happened the previous night. Though she hadnt been involved in the fighting, it couldnt be easy coping with the idea of suddenly having to raise your sister as if she were your daughter. Rin was probably thinking about all the hassles she would have to deal with, not because of Sakura, but due to the nature of the Mages Association and the Magus Community in general. This,bined with the fact that several enemies were lurking about, only added to her rising stress levels... With a tired smile on her face, Rin supported her coffee cup with both hands as she said, "Wee home..." In response to this, Vahn surprised her a great deal by casually walking forward and giving her a light kiss on her forehead before answering, "Were home..." in a slightly teasing voice. This seemed to help Rin wake up a great deal, as her fatigued expression melted away into a far more bashful one as she turned away from Vahn andined, "Not in front of everyone..." in a demure manner. Though Vahn had kept his actions rtively tame, Rin could see Illya standing next to Fenrir, something that made her feel more than a little ufortable since the young girl was actually her senior... Once Rin had calmed down a bit, Vahn spent the better part of two hours exining the situation to her, including the details surrounding his contact with the Root, the fact that ya was now assisting him, and his intentions for creating an organization to oppose Angra Mainiiu in the future. Each of these revtions garnered an almostical response from Rin who, by the time Vahn had finished, couldnt help releasing a tired sigh as sheined, "I swear, everything you do is so extreme..." Though Rin had thought she was beginning to get used to how chaotic things around Vahn seemed to get during the Holy Grail War, these new revtions reinforced the idea that she was a much smaller existence than he was. These emotions, however, werent enough to stop her from lightly pping her own cheeks before saying, "Yosh! I might not be able to do much right now, but Ill do my best to help find support within the Mages Association. Once Ive sorted out all the things I need to take care of, Ille and help you out directly...just make sure there is still a ce for me, okay?" If not for the fact they were seated across from each other, Vahn would have run his hand along Rins back to remind her of the fact she had his crest permanently embedded there. Since this wasnt an option, he instead smiled affectionately before stating in a sincere tone, "Always." Though he could have used more flowery words, Vahn figured keeping it simple was more than enough to get his point across. Given how Rin showed a genuine smile,plete with a small blush, Vahn figured it had been effective. --- With therger exnationspleted, Vahn and Rin had started to discuss how they would deal with the Mages Association in the future, specifically what they would tell Lord El-Melloi II. With the Greater Grail having been destroyed, there was bound to be a few issues that would need to be addressed in the short term. To make things a little easier, Vahn agreed to turn over a few fragments of the Greater Grail so smoothen things over as, with something to gain from the situation, it would be much easier to pacify the Mages Association. Following this, they also discussed how Sakura was faring, a topic that brought a conflicted smile to Rins face as she exined, "Im not quite sure what to make of the situation, honestly... Understanding that the topic was probably going to get sensitive, Vahn had Fenrir go get Illya situated in one of the guest bedrooms while Scthachs gaze was enough to get Circe to behave and grant them some privacy. Since Nobunaga had already left after listening to Vahns exnation, this only left him, Rin, and the silent ya in the room after Artoria politely excused herself. As ya would still be present, even if he asked her to leave, Vahn decided it was best to simply ignore her for the time being as he asked, "Did something happen...?" It was easy to see from Rins behavior that something unexpected had urred, perhaps due to the fact the Makiri had been eliminated and potentially erased from memory... Now that Vahn was seated next to her, Rin had already started leaning into his shoulder as she released a tired sigh and answered, "Her memories seem wrong...the first thing she called me after waking up was Okaa-chan..." After this, Rin went into great detail about how Sakura seemed to genuinely believe that Rin was her mother, even though her appearance wasnt all that simr to their actual mother, Aoi Tohsaka. By the time she was finished exining everything, Vahn already had a good idea what had happened as, during that time, Merlin had undoubtedly been spying on them. Though he had likely intended it as an act of good faith, the fact he had essentially re-written Sakuras memories was a marginally ufortable thought. It wasnt all that dissimr to what he had done, however, so Vahn couldnt exactly me the errant Magus for wanting to help... With that in mind, Vahn discussed his thoughts with Rin, causing her to actually show a bit of relief as, before then, she thought Sakura was just projecting after experiencing a deep trauma. Though it was more than a little heartbreaking to imagine that Sakura had forgotten their actual mother, she felt it might be the best, at least for the time being. What had happened to their mother was a tragic event that Sakura was, perhaps, better off never learning of. At the same time, however, Rin couldnt help producing a wry smile as she leaned against Vahns shoulder and muttered, "To think I suddenly have a six-year-old daughter at only twenty-seven...I wonder how Im supposed to exin this to everyone back at the Clock Tower..." Though there werent all that many people that knew about her actual family situation, Rin knew that the higher-ups within the Mages Association would be able to put the pieces together quickly. This ultimately didnt change her ns but, knowing there was a chance one of her enemies would try to reveal the truth to Sakura, Rin couldnt help feel a little apprehensive. The next few years were going to be especially difficult as, with the fallout of the Holy Grail War, all of her actions would be heavily scrutinized. For a brief moment, she even thought about entrusting Sakura to Vahn as, no matter how she looked at it, it felt like he would be a better Guardian than she could be a Mother. However, remembering how much she already owed Vahn, regardless of how he saw things, Rin didnt want to trouble him with her familys issues... Regardless of Rins own intentions, Vahn could feel her apprehension and had already decided he would get involved with the two sisters turned Mother-Daughter. In response to Rins concerns about the Clock Tower, Vahn inly stated, "I know you have a few things to take care of within your own faction and alliance. You should consider entrusting Sakura to the care of the Edelfelt or El-Melloi families until you are able to stabilize. After that, I cane retrieve the two of you once I have established the roots of my organization. With your knowledge of the inner workings of the Mages Association and the Magus Community, there is a chance we can avoid troublesome conflicts before the emergence of Angra Mainiiu in ten years time..." Hearing Vahn essentially telling her toe and live with him in the future, Rin felt her heart begin to speed up a bit, even though she was already intending to join his organization in the future. The only thing that could have made her happier right now is if he suddenly imed that he would no longer freely hand out his love like pieces of candy that seemingly anyone could grab. She could only imagine how many strong and capable Heroic Spirits he would have surrounded himself with by the time she and Sakura went to stay with him. Even though Vahn had shown great restraint in the past, something that had frustrated her greatly, Rin was very aware that this was no longer the case. Since many female Heroic Spirits had strong personalities and very skewed perceptions of the rtionsh.i.p.s between men and women, Rin was afraid there would literally be more than twenty women surrounding Vahn in just a few years time... Releasing a heavy sigh, Rin once again admonished herself for falling in love with a man who had no restraint when it came to interacting with powerful women. Since Ereshkigal and Ishtar were also fond of him, on top of making her body their permanant vessel, there wasnt much she could do about the situation. After all, Vahn was a very capable man and, even with all his failings, he would still make a good father to Sakura. Of course, when this thought crossed her mind, Rins face turned scarlet as she began to pinch Vahns side, even if it waspletely ineffective against him. This futile action only put an affectionate smile on thetters face, exacerbating Rins embarrassment a great deal... After collecting herself a bit, Rin decided to get even with Vahn, even if it was actually just a poor excuse to see how he would respond. With that in mind, Rin looked directly at him with a serious expression on her face as she asked, "Will you be Sakuras father? Im not sure if Merlin gave her any memories rted to a secondary parental figure. If..." Before Rin could stammer on any further, Vahn quickly settled the turmoil in her heart by showing an equally serious expression as he answered, "Of course. Though our familial situation will undoubtedly be a little strange, I have no problem fulfilling the responsibilities as Sakuras father..." As he said this, Vahn slipped his hand around Rins waist, an action that made her heart begin to beat even faster since it almost felt like he wasying im to her. However, when she thought about all the things she owed Vahn, Rin felt this was a surprisingly appropriate way to view the situation... Though Vahn hadnt exactly implied that they were married, Rin knew they would still have to fill out a family registry together as Sakuras parents. This caused her face to turn beet red as she began to breathe audibly through her nose. Since it felt like she was expecting it, Vahn used this opportunity to lean in and give Rin a probing kiss, one that almost immediately turned into something far more passionate. If not for the fact they were in the study, and there were other pressing matters to attend, things very well might have developed even further. At the same time, at least from Vahns perspective, the mood was somewhat ruined by the fact that ya was hovering over them as she closely observed their actions with her emotionless purple eyes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Emperor, Onii-sama, Father, Master...what a day...,RIP Rinsmon sense,*Data Collection Intensifies*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1093 - Meeting

Chapter 1093 - Meeting

After helping Illya get situated and making sure that Sakura was still sleeping, Vahn, Rin, Fenrir, Artoria, and the lingering presence of ya all made their way towards the Fuyuki City Hyatt Hotel. Though it was very early in the morning, with a chilly air passing through the City, Vahn and co still drew a lot of attention to themselves. Artoria and Fenrir were both wearing casual clothing as thetter used her transformation magic to conceal her ears and tail. With Rins beauty also being rather exceptional, Vahn was garnering a lot of hateful stares from the men rushing to their jobs while the girls themselves were earning simr stares from other women. Since Vahn was umonly handsome, while also having a natural aura due to his [Will of the Emperor], many girls assumed he was an extremely wealthy CEO or, at the very least, a profligate man with a greedy nature they would have liked to exploit for themselves... Fortunately, even without Vahn needing to keep them away, the slight bloodl.u.s.t that lingered around Fenrir was more than enough to cause most people to give them a wide berth. Even a group of street punks, who seemed to have taken an interest in the girls surrounding Vahn, immediately retreated into an alleyway after Fenrir passed her gaze over them for just a moment. Since they had probably troubled other people in the past, Vahn also didnt let them off too easily. When they had vanished from the main throughways, he sent a little pulse of condensed killing intent that caused the men to immediately copse on the spot. The one that appeared to be their leader even lost control over his dder, releasing a foul-smelling liquid that caused steam to rise from his pants... By the time Vahn and co reached the Fuyuki City Hyatt Hotel, it was a little after 7 AM but, with a number of people from the Mages Association and Holy Church moving about, it was obvious that Lord El-Melloi II wasnt able to rest peacefully. Before Vahn was even able to meet the baggy-eyed Magus, however, he encountered someone brand new within the lobby that caused Rins expression to immediately sour. This wasnt just her reaction, though, as Vahn also felt an unnatural level of hostility radiating from this woman from the moment his eyes met hers. Though her appearance was almost wless, as it was very clear she put a lot of effort into maintaining her image, there was an extreme level of hostility contained within her hazel-brown eyes. Since she also had a haughty expression that appeared to have been fixed into a contemptuous re, Vahns impression of her was rapidly on the decline. Even with her well-tended brown hair, set in a neat ponytail, Vahn could tell by her pseudo-military style garb and the small metal baton she kept at her hip that she was likely a violent woman by nature. She even had aplex metal gauntlet on her right hand which, at a nce, made Vahns skin tingle due to the Holy Element radiating off of it... Almost as soon as Vahn and co had made their appearance, the woman fixed her gaze on Vahn before turning her cold eyes towards Rin and saying, "Miss Tohsaka...I was wondering when you would finally show your face here. To think the Head of the Tohsaka family needs to rely on the grace of Lord El-Melloi II to cover for your shamelessness. Do not think I will allow that old fool to protect you this time around..." After saying these harsh words to Rin, the brown-haired woman then turned her attention to Vahn. Before she was able to say anything to him, however, Vahn had activated his [Will of the Emperor]pletely, causing a building-shaking pressure to radiate from his body as he coldly stated, "How uncouth..." At the same time, he infused [Enkidu] into his domain, giving it a suppressive golden aura that would interfere with any attacks she might try to use against him... Having already unfurled her baton in the same instant that Vahn released his domain, the woman was ring at him with equally cold eyes. If not for the fact that Artoria had already transformed into her battle-ready form and was standing between them, she would have already attacked. Though she didnt know Vahns true identity, she was very aware of who the swordsman protecting him was. Since most of her abilities wouldnt be able to affect an entityprised almost entirely of Holy Elemental energy like Artoria, the woman decided not to immediately attack. Instead, she stared back at Vahn, asking, "What are you...?" It was at this point that a familiar baritone voice answered out from the corridor connecting to the elevators, "I have already given my report to the Clock Tower. He is not the type of enemy you make sport of, Madam Barthomeloi. Now, as I am certain Miss Tohsaka hase here to exin tonights events, I would ask that you not impede my duties further." Though his status was insignificantpared to the woman before him, as she was actually the Vice-Director of the entire Clock Tower, the Magus known as The Queen, Barthomeloi Lorelei, Lord El-Melloi II knew she would never besmirch her familys dignity by impeding official business. After all, she was the Head of one of the Clock Towers three most prestigious families, thetest in a long line of Magus Nobility that has existed for nearly two-thousand years. Raising her head, almost as if she were pointing her nose up at Lord El-Melloi II, Madam Barthomeloi coldly stated, "It is beneath you to stick your neck out on behalf of fallen families. Though, perhaps it is the nature of failures to seekfort in each otherspany? Well, I suppose there is still hope for both of your families if you produce a suitable heir. And to think, I had mistakenly believed that little pet of yours had been enough to keep you satiated..." With these harsh and abrasive words, implying that Lord El-Melloi II and Rin were more than simple associates, Madam Barthomeloi made her way towards the exit. In passing, she red at Vahn with her cold brown eyes, lightly tapping her baton against her leg as if she were considering whether or not to attack him... Understanding she wasnt worth the trouble of associating with, Vahn made a point of rolling his eyes in response to her cold re. This caused her brows to furrow but, already on her way out, Madam Barthomeloi just raised her head a little more before ignoring him. If not for the fact that he could tell she was a very powerful Magus, Vahn would have pulled a bit of a prank on her by using [Enkidu] as a tripwire. With her head raised, he figured she would be unable to react in time if he brought out the chains just as she was about to descend the steps. Though she would probably be able to right herself without actually tripping, it was a very tempting thought nheless... Though he couldnt be med for Barthomeloi Loreleis behavior, Lord El-Melloi II gave a polite bow almost as soon as her entourage had left the building. His long ck hair fell forward like curtains as he sincerely stated, "Allow me to apologize for my superiors behavior. I had hoped she would have left before your arrival but I believe she was waiting around just to see you for yourself..." When he said this, Lord El-Melloi II was staring at Vahn, making it clear that Madam Barthomeloi had likely been sent here in response to his actions in the Holy Grail War. Before he could ask what the Mages Association was up to, Lord El-Melloi II gave another bow towards Rin, saying, "Her words toward you and Gray were unnecessarily harsh. Please do not take them to heart..." As this wasnt the first time she had been on the receiving end of a tongueshing by the Vice-Director, Rin just crossed her arms before shaking her head in an exasperated manner and saying, "Her words toward you were equally as harsh. Do not apologize on behalf of that vile woman..." These words elicited an understanding nod from Lord El-Melloi II but, as he couldnt simply allow Rin to badmouth her superiors, he lightly reprimanded, even though there was a smile on his face. After this, the group made their way to the penthouse which, even after Luvia had returned to London, served as the Command Center for the Mages Association. It was here that Vahn learned the reason for Madam Barthomelois appearance. Even with the thousands of disappearances forgotten, Akasha had allowed the annihtion of the Makiri family and the deaths of the Holy Churchs Exorcists to remain. In response, the Holy Church had sent some of its heavy hitters, eliciting a simr response from the Mages Association as, no matter how they tried to spin it, even a blind man could see that the Holy Church was making a y for the Holy Grail. As they would never allow such a powerful object to fall into the Holy Churchs hands, especially since it belonged to three prominent families belonging to the Mages Association, they had sent Madam Barthomeloi and her forces to keep order. She was apparently strong enough to even fight against Dead Apostle Ancestors on her own and, though there were a few naysayers, she was officially recognized as the most powerful female Magus in the present era... Without needing to ask why she would harbor animosity towards him, Lord El-Melloi II took it upon himself to exin, "Madam Barthomeloi has a propensity towards hunting down and eliminating Vampires. As you appeared out of nowhere, the Mages Association sent her to ascertain whether or not you were someone who had been given power by a Dead Apostle Ancestor as, with very few exceptions, incredibly powerful individuals are usually well known before they gain power. Since you had even summoned Nobunaga, someone known as a Demon King, the Mages Association fears that you may be a thorn in their side in the future..." Vahn was tempted tough at Lord El-Melloi IIs words but, understanding the man wasnt entirely on his side, he decided against it and asked, "What is her issue with Rin and Gray...?" Though it might not have been his ce to ask, especially with Rin sitting right next to him, it was also true that they were a little more than simple friends now. Until the truth came forward, he was Sakuras father and, though they werent married, Rin would be ying the part of her mother. Perhaps it was because of this but, even though she might have taken offense in normal circ.u.mstances, Rin didnt interrupt even when Lord El-Melloi II cast his gaze towards her. Taking Rins silence as consent, Lord El-Melloi II slightly furrowed his brows as he answered, "Though the Tohsaka family has been a part of the Mages Association for generations, their affiliation with the Clock Tower is still very recent. Before then, they were known to have ties with the Holy Church and, though it had little to do with Rin, there are many who hold her ountable for the failure in the previous Holy Grail Wars. As for the hostility towards Gray..." When he got to this point, Lord El-Melloi II looked at Artoria, his expression paling slightly as he took a deep breath through his nose to stay calm. Artoria blinked in surprise at Lord El-Melloi IIs response as, from her perspective, it had only been around three months since she saw the boy who had participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War. She was unable to ce him with the weak and frail child that had barely scr.a.p.ed by on theurels of the powerful Iskandar. This didnt go both ways, however, as Lord El-Melloi II knew exactly who Artoria was and, though he had developed his confidence greatly over the past twenty years, his trauma from that time was rising to the surface as he saw her face up close. It was due to the memories her face brought to his mind that Lord El-Melloi II required Gray to wear a hood, even though he knew it was unfair to the poor girl... After collecting himself, Lord El-Melloi II answered, "I will not speak on Grays behalf. However, as Im sure you have noticed, she bears a striking resemnce to Artoria. It is due to the circ.u.mstances surrounding her development that Madam Barthomeloi chooses to disdain my protege...if you want more details, I am afraid you would have to ask Gray directly..." Though these words were indeed not a surprise to Vahn and Rin, Artorias brows shot up a great deal as she immediately asked, "You im this woman named Gray shares my appearance?" As she had never thought to encounter someone like Gray, Artoria was interested to see what kind of person she was. In response to Artorias words, Lord El-Melloi II had to take a few deep breaths to calm himself before exining, "Gray is part of the investigation team looking into the destruction of the Makiri family. Of the one-hundred-fourteen members that inhabited the main estate, only a few servants had been spared during the massacre. The Patriarch of the family, Zouken Matou, known within private circles as Zouken Makiri, had even beenpletely eviscerated. His body was found in such a wretched state that the only way he could be identified was by the ring he kept on his left hand..." As Lord El-Melloi II was speaking, he cast his eyes towards Vahn, almost as if to say that he was aware of the role he yed in the massacre. This, however, didnt phase Vahn in the slightest as he asked in genuine curiosity, "Have the investigation teams been able to identify why they were attacked? There must have been something for an entire family to be pushed to the brink of extinction like that..." Since he had entrusted the task to Scthach, Vahn was confident there would be no signs that Crest Worms ever existed in association with the Makiri family. Though this made them seem innocent on the surface, he didnt mind if the few survivors Scthach had spared were treated as victims deserving empathy. The more important thing to him was that Sakuras past would never be exposed to Rin before their surrogate daughter grew happily into a young woman... Seeing how Vahn reacted, Lord El-Melloi II experienced a small amount of shock as, unless Vahns acting skill was far beyond his ability to see through, it appeared as though he had no involvement in the massacre. Since his impression of Vahn actually made him into a somewhat transparent and honest man, Lord El-Melloi II now felt a little ufortable since this would imply that there was another force at work behind the scenes, one that could wipe out an established Magus family in a short few hours. He didnt allow his concerns to show on his face, however, smoothly answering, "It is because they have been unable to ascertain why an enemy would wipe out the Makiris that the investigations are ongoing..." The entire time he was speaking, Lord El-Melloi II looked for any changes in Vahns expression but, other than a mild curiosity, he couldnt see anything else contained within his eyes. This caused Lord El-Melloi II to shake his head slightly before saying, "I believe this line of conversation has already drawn on long enough. Now, Rin, please exin what you know about what happened during the previous evening. How close are we topleting our objective...?" Since Vahn had Artoria and Fenrir with him, Lord El-Melloi II had mistakenly believed that the Holy Grail War was still ongoing. This caused Rin to produce a wry smile while, sitting next to her, Vahn couldnt help butugh in a lighthearted and amused manner. Taking pity on Lord El-Melloi II, Rin gave a brief summary exining that the Greater Grail had already been destroyed. She didnt mention anything about the emergence of Angra Mainiiu in ten years, as that would undoubtedly be prophesied at some point in the near future. Though she trusted Lord El-Melloi II, Rin was already in the mindset of helping Vahn keep his secrets. Since she was intending to join his faction in the future, there were no benefits in exposing his hand before he had already cemented his position somewhere. When the time came, she would try and bring Lord El-Melloi II and Luvia into an alliance with Vahns emergent faction, as it would be almost impossible for them to join it due to their familial circ.u.mstances... Hearing that the Holy Grail War had alreadye to an end, Lord El-Melloi II didnt know whether tough or cry since both the Mages Association and the Holy Church had literally just started trying to intervene. Though this was the best possible oue, he knew the next couple of days were going to be extremely stressful as he tried to exin to the higher-ups why he learned about the fact sote. Fortunately, Vahn and Rin gave him severalrge sections of the Greater Grail to serve as a chip in his favor, making things marginally easier for him. His only concerns after that was why Vahn had decided to keep Artoria manifested, even though the Grail War hade to an end. It wouldnt be the first time a Servant had been kept around after thepletion of a war but, as Vahn wasnt a simple existence, Lord El-Melloi II couldnt help feeling that a headache wasing his way. Though he could tell Vahn would probably never expose his hand, Lord El-Melloi II decided to try his luck by asking, "How long do you intend to keep Artoria manifested?" As he did not know that Vahn was able to ess the Greater Grail using a non-standard method, Lord El-Melloi II assumed that Artoria was the only remaining Servant in Vahns arsenal. Vahn didnt bother to go into such details, though he did smile as he answered, "Artoria is here to stay indefinitely." This caused Lord El-Melloi II to release a heavy sigh in response, even though he suspected that would be the case. At the same time, however, he felt a little apologetic towards Gray since he knew the girl had be more than a little fond of Vahn as ofte. He had even been thinking of giving her a long vacation since, over thest ten years, she had almost always been guarding his side and carrying out her duties with diligence... Vahn noticed the judgmental glint in Lord El-Melloi IIs eyes, causing him to frown slightly since he didnt like the way the man looked at him. The only thing that kept him frommenting further was due to the fact that the elevator was currentlying to a stop. Then, as if driven by some divine cue, Gray appeared in her usual getup, something that never seemed to change. Now that Vahn could see that Lord El-Melloi IIs trauma was likely the reason why she kept herself hidden away, he suddenly felt slightly antagonistic towards the man. People that expected others to adapt to their sensitivities, just because they couldnt get over themselves, were some of the worst types, at least in Vahns opinion. Because of his behavior over several years, it was easy to see that Gray had be increasingly self-conscious about her appearance, even though she was actually a very beautiful woman... Seeing everyone in the room looking at her, Gray shrunk back instinctually until she noticed that one of the people present was Vahn. This caused a small smile to spread across her lips, at least until she saw what looked like a mirror-image of her past self staring back at her. Though she had known that Artoria was one of the summoned Servants, Gray had never expected to suddenly meet her like this. Her heart began to beat rapidly in her chest but, as if to clear away all her nerves in an instant, Vahn looked toward her with a gentle smile before saying, "Gray, it is good to see you up and about so soon. I was worried your trauma might have affected your mentality and affected your behavior..." As Vahn said thest few words, he turned an usatory stare towards Lord El-Melloi II that made the man frown deeply... Though she could sense the strange tension between Vahn and Lord El-Melloi II, Gray felt a lot better when Vahn expressed his concern with a smile. Her heart was still beating a little quickly, but it was for very different reasons as she walked towards the two sofas, gravitating towards Vahns side as if it were natural. She noticed that Artoria was looking at her with an intrigued glimmer in her green eyes, a stark contrast to the proud and noble woman she had heard so much about. Instead of the air of a King, Artoria seemed to radiate purity and innocence as she tilted her head somewhat adorably and said, "You really do look very simr to me. Though our hair and eyes are a different color, it is almost like looking into a mirror of my future self..." If Artorias body wasnt fixed at the age of fifteen, it wasnt wrong to assume she would look almost identical to Grays current appearance. Even then, however, the two werent all that different from each other from the start. Gray was only a single centimeter taller than Artoria and, unless you were looking very closely, even her physical proportions were almost exactly the same. Only someone like Vahn, who knew both womens bodies even better than they knew themselves, could see that Grays b.r.e.a.s.ts were around 76cm,pared to Artorias 73cm. Their waist was exactly the same, both at a lithe 53cm, while Gray once again won out in the development of her butt. Artorias was very soft, but it was rather small at 76cm while Grays was a perky 80cm after the Nirvana Rebirth. Though Vahn hadnt focused on the area, there were some things that had simply be a part of the process he had developed. Vahn was currently unaware of the fact that Gray had actually interpreted the subtle changes in hip size as Vahns way of showing interest in her. She had tried to wear a pair of her old panties and noticed the band was a little ufortablepared to the past, something that had caused her to have a small fl.u.s.tered fit at the time. As a result, she had to wash the panties that Vahn had given her after his operation before deviating from her usual duties to go buy some new underwear. Previously, her hip size had only ben 77cm so it was quite noticeable now that there was 3cm difference. When she saw her own butt in a standing mirror, it even looked considerably perkypared to the past. Unaware of how her words had caused peoples thoughts to be wandering, Artoria gave Gray an appreciative nod before extending her hand and saying, "It may be a littlete, but my name is Artoria Pendragon. If possible, I would like us to be friends in the future, Gray...?" Since it was umon for people in this era to only have a single name, Artoria was curious about Grays surname. In response to her implied question, Gray gave an awkward smile as she gingerly epted Artorias hand and said, "Just Gray...if you are Vahns friend, you are my friend as well. If possible...I would like to get to know you better in the future..." As Artoria was literally the person she was made to emte, Gray was more than a little curious about the real King Arthur, the person people had tried to force her to be. She felt that getting to know Artoria better would finally give her the answers to many questions she had long ago given up on finding the answers to... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Oh look, Nobility acting like a cunt. How rare...,Lord El-Melloi II is getting yed pretty hard...,Poor Gray, she is already within the palm of the Godhand, just like her Ancestor...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1094 - Adapt

Chapter 1094 - Adapt

Though she would have liked to give Artoria and Gray the opportunity to continue talking, Rin apologetically nipped that possibility in the bud by stating, "Sakura could be waking up soon. I dont want her to panic if Im not there when she wakes up..." Since Sakura was just a six-year-old girl at the moment, it would certainly be diforting for her to wake up to an empty house. Even if Illya, Circe, Nobunaga, Lakshmibai, and Scthach were all nearby, they would currently be strangers to the young and confused Sakura. Having people she didnt know in her house, especially while her Okaa-chan was missing, would probably cause her to cry her eyes out. Illya might be able to wrangle her in pretty easily, but she was also in a rather peculiar state of mind right now so it wasnt necessarily the best idea to rely on her... Gray seemed saddened by Rins words while Artoria, understanding the sensitive nature of Sakuras situation, gave a polite bow before saying, "Some other time." This was immediately followed up by Vahn, however, smiling as he said, "You are free to stop by the Tohsaka Manor whenever youd like Gray. Artoria and I will still be staying there until Rin returns to London..." With thepletion of the Holy Grail War, Vahn knew that Rins time before having to return was already limited. This was even more so for people like Lord El-Melloi II and Gray as, now that their duty waspleted, they could be back in London before sunrise of the following day. Since it would probably be difficult for her and Artoria to contact each otherter on, Vahn felt it was better the two talked about whatever was on Grays mind before their separation. With a sudden hopeful expression on her face, Gray looked toward Lord El-Melloi II with big eyes, eliciting a sigh from the middle-aged Magus before he said, "It would be better if you arent here when Madam Barthomeloi is around. At this point, Id argue that you have a few months of vacation days if you want to take them. I understand how important an existence Artoria is to you...take your time, Gray..." Then, after saying that, Lord El-Melloi II alternated his gaze between Vahn and Rin before adding, "I trust you will better exin the situation before we have to face the Tribunal back in London. For the time being, I will entrust Gray to your care..." Thest few words were directed to Vahn, causing Lord El-Melloi II to have an ufortable feeling in his heart as his intuition told him this might not actually be the best idea. His intentions were to have Gray collect information on Vahn before flying back to London with Rin but, seeing the casual smile on Vahns face, Lord El-Melloi II slumbering paternal instincts, even though he wasnt Grays father, began acting up... Unaware of the sudden internal struggle of her Mentor, Gray had one of thergest smiles Vahn had ever seen on her face as she brought her hands together and eximed, "Thank you~!" This seemed to actually impact Lord El-Melloi II as, though it wasnt by much, his whole body flinched when Gray directed her lethal smile towards him. Now, even if he wanted to change his mind, the thought of seeing her suddenly heartbroken forced him to bury the words deep in his heart. He did, however, re at Vahn in some vain attempt to keep the man from doing anything suspect towards his protege. The only thing he got in response, unfortunately, was a confused blink, followed by Vahn tilting his head slightly as if to ask, Was there something?. --- Now with a plus-one apanying them, the group was drawing even more attention as, even though there were differences in their appearance, seeing two ethereal qualities western beauties walking side-by-side had quite the impact on the average Japanese person. Gray had lowered her hood after Artoria had asked, showing that they even had simr hairstyles, both with long fringe bangs framing their youthful and doll-like faces. Instead of letting their hair hang naturally, as it would get in the way duringbat, both girls had neat french-style braided buns that Vahn had yet to identify how Artoria was able to style on her own. What stood out the most, at least to him, was the fact that both girls had a prominent ahoge, a tuft of hair that poked out from the tops of their head in defiance of thews of gravity. When they excitedly talked to each other, Vahn could see how the ahoge moved about as if they had minds of their own, much like how a Chienthropes tail would wag when they were happy... After deciding he would need to explore this peculiarity at some point, as there were obviously some Laws at y he didnt understand, Vahn left the two to their own devices. They were walking a little bit behind the rest of the group but, if something did happen, Vahn could tell that both girls were still paying close attention to their surroundings and would be ready to react on a moments notice. With that assurance, Vahn escorted Rin through the cold morning traffic by holding her arm as, on his right side, Fenrir held his hand without minding the looks of passersby in the least. Other than ya, who she would periodically stare at for long periods of time, Fenrir didnt particrly care about the pedestrian traffic walking about. So long as they did not direct any disgust or hostility towards the group, which she was extremely perceptive to, she wouldnt bother with them... Though the entire trip took more than an hour, including a rather awkward train ride, Sakura was still sleeping soundly in her actual bedroom from childhood. Rin went to check on her immediately after they returned while Vahn went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for everyone. Though Gray tried to offer her assistance, even Artoria prevented her from interfering in Vahns creative process. She had been genuinely shocked by Vahns cooking skills and, as meal preparation had always been one of her pet peeves, Artorias opinion of him had improved by leaps and bounds since she first tasted his highly nutritious food. One person that couldnt be kept out of the kitchen, however, despite Artorias insistence, was none other than Circe. As if she had sensed that Vahn was cooking, she had quickly appeared at the door of the kitchen before immediately joining in. It wasnt until Vahn asked Artoria to go keep Graypany that the fretful Knight left them to take care of breakfast. This obviously made Circe very happy as, with it being just the two of them in the kitchen, she misconstrued Vahns dismissal of Artoria as special treatment. The truth of the matter was, as he intended to have Circe essentially be their organizations Chef, he merely wanted to see her cooking process up close... With Vahn peeking over her shoulder, Circe was in a great mood as her wings flitted about happily while she used abination of various spells to expedite the cooking process. Even at a nce, it was easy to see that she was far morefortable in the kitchen than even Vahn was. He relied on extremely high-quality ingredients and a heavy focus on each phase of the meal preparation while Circe, as if it was easier for her than breathing, would handle dozens of ingredients at the same time. She skillfully handled most things with her telekic abilities while the surrounding tools and appliances literally seemed to gain life as they began processing things for her. Vahn never realized how magical making breakfast could be, causing him to watch in fascination as Circepleted a meal that could easily feed ten people in less than seven minutes... Being especially sensitive to others giving her attention, Circe was in an even better mood by the time she had finished cooking everything. With a yful smile on her face, Circe tossed the frilly apron she had been wearing toward Vahn, giggling as she said, "I normally dont let people watch me cook, so be grateful, okay~?" After finishing these words, Circe waited for Vahn to remove the apron from his face before jumping up and sneaking a kiss on his left cheek. Then, like a child who had sessfullypleted a prank, Circe quickly alighted from the kitchen,ughing like the Nymph she was all the while. This left Vahn the duty of carrying the surprising volume of food but, with a simple hand gesture, he easily stored it within his Inventory to make sure there were no tricks hidden within the foods description... By the time Vahn reached the dining room, almost everyone was present, including Rin and a very sleepy-looking Sakura. She was still wearing the animal pajamas from the previous night, looking like an adorable tanuki as she bobbed her head without seeming to mind the presence of everyone else in the room. This all changed when she looked toward him, however, her big blue eyes showing a small amount of intrigue and confusion until Rin gave a somewhat awkward smile and whispered, "That is your Otou-sama..." Though Rin allowed Sakura to call her Okaa-chan, she knew it would be easier to exin Vahns rtionship with other women if Sakura was already used to addressing him with honorifics. In time, she intended to exin that Vahn was an Emperor, though she was still working out the details of that particr conversation in the back of her mind... As her memories of her father had effectively been erased after Merlins intervention, Sakura seemed genuinely surprised by what her Okaa-chan had said. She suddenly became extremely bashful, hugging Rins waist and burying her face into her abdomen without looking directly at Vahn. This caused Rin to look at Vahn for help, causing his own smile to soften as he made his way over and knelt down next to the two before stroking Sakuras back. The unfamiliar contact caused Sakura to peek out of the corner of her eye, seeing Vahns face in close proximity with a gentle smile spread across his kindly expression. Eventually, Sakura seemed to summon up a bit of courage as, while still hugging Rins waist, she sheepishly asked, "Are you really my Otou-sama...?" Without letting any hesitation or apprehension show on his face, Vahn nodded his head in response before gently rubbing Sakuras head as he answered, "Of course, my precious little cherry blossom..." Though showing her too much affection would probably cause Sakura to feel a bit of separation anxiety when she flew off to London, Vahn still wanted her to open up to him before then. Thus, after watching Sakura look to Rin for confirmation once again, Vahn gently pulled the small girl in his embrace, hugging her frail body in much the same way he would his own children. This seemed to be all the confirmation she needed, causing Sakura to rest her head against his shoulder as she somewhat sleepily muttered, "Otou-sama...my Otou-sama..." ---- Using Sakura as a natural barrier to prevent Circe from trying to forcefeed him breakfast, Vahn enjoyed having his new surrogate daughter sit in hisp as she somewhat messily ate her meal. Though Illya seemed to envy Sakura somewhat, the fact she had already called Vahn her Onii-sama made it hard for her to try and steal the position from his daughter. She knew he and Sakura werent actually rted but, as her own situation was already more than a little peculiar, she elected not to cause any drama for the impromptu family. This wasrgely due to the fact that she knew Rin and Sakura would be leaving for London in a few days, but that was beside the point. For now, she enjoyed the unexpectedpanionship of Fenrir who, for reasons she couldnt quite ascertain, was very kind to her... Though everyone had their own thoughts on various matters, breakfast proceeded in a rtively festive manner with everyone in high spirits by the mealspletion. Gray had originally just wanted to get along with Artoria but, after seeing the two of them talking amicably, most of the other Servants quickly joined the conversation. Nobunaga made a few less-than-appropriatements but, understanding Vahn would probably be annoyed with her if she took things too far in front of Sakura, she made sure they were heavilyyered in innuendo. This was still enough to get a bashful response from Gray while Artoria, having already gotten used to Nobunagas uncouth behavior, lightly reprimanded her in response. As for Lakshmibai and Circe, the former also got along well with Gray and Artoria while thetter, finding herself seated next to Scthach, was on her best behavior as she tried to make polite conversation with Fenrir and Illya. The only person who wasnt present was Heracles but, as he took a monstrous amount of mana to keep manifested, he would spend most of his time as a Spirit when Illya wasnt in danger... In this manner, breakfast proceeded without incident, punctuated by Vahn giving Sakura a kiss on her forehead before entrusting her to Rin once again. Afterward, he went into the Sub-Space Orb with everyone except Fenrir and Illya, as thetter would probably have a bad reaction to seeing him get brutalized by Scthach. To her credit, Illya didnt make any attempts to argue against her staying outside the Orb, something Vahn wouldter learn was due to her desire to separate from Sakura and Rin sooner. Though she didnt fully me the two sisters for what she had experienced in the past, it was a simple fact that Rin had not only failed to prevent Gilgamesh from murdering her, when they were supposed to be allies, but she had also let Shirou, herst real family, die as well. As a result, the shorter the interval before she no longer had to see them, the better... Unaware of Illyas surprisingly level-headed analysis of her own trauma, Vahn was more focused on evading each of Scthachs seemingly undodgeable thrusts. Unless he prioritized running, it was virtually impossible to avoid having her [Gae Bolg] pierce into his body. Since she knew it wouldnt actually kill, Scthach wasnt shy when it came to using a weakened form of her Noble Phantasm to try and encourage Vahn to dodge better. Since it would feel like hot thorns would branch through his body with even a light wound, Vahn really was pretty desperate in trying to evade her blows... Stepping back on his left foot, Vahn managed to avoid one thrust with Scthachs spear only grazing against his cheek. At the exact same instant, however, a second spear cut through his Achilles tendon, sending him tumbling to the ground before Scthach quickly followed it up by stabbing him through the chest. This was far from the first time Vahn had been skewered by Scthach, but this time she added insult to injury by saying, "Stay focused. Do not pay attention to her." With this said, she flicked her wrist and, as if Vahns weight waspletely negligible, sent him flying several tens of meters through the air before mming hard into the ground. Knowing that staying down would afford him no reprieve, Vahn instantly bounded back to his feet as heined, "Yeah, Im trying..." in an exasperated and pained tone. At the same time, he gave an annoyed nce toward ya who, from the start of the training session, had been hovering around like an annoying fly. Not only was she able to easily keep pace with his and Scthachs movements, but even powerful shockwaves seemed to have virtually no effect on ya as she continued to stare unblinkingly at him getting thrashed by Scthach. Thetter didnt seem to appreciate the fact he had turned his attention away once again, breaking into Vahns range in an instant as she stabbed both spears mercilessly into his abdomen... At the very same instant that Scthach stabbed him, Vahn severed his connection with [Will of the Emperor], somewhat excited at the prospect he had ensnared his Teacher in a trap. To Scthachs credit, she immediately let go of her spears but, as Vahn obviously associated her as the reason there were two spears in his gut, his automated defenses had been activated. As a result, Vahns pupils shrank to small points as he pulled out both [Gae Bolg] and almost instantly transformed into an exact replica of Scthach. This caused yas purple eyes to begin glowing, an obvious indication that she was both recording and analyzing the battle with even more scrutiny than before. Like a mechanical whirlwind of death, Vahn used smooth and precise movements that he couldnt evene close to emting under normal circ.u.mstances. Scthac, for the first time, was almost purely focused on defense as she used two short spears to deflect the majority of Vahns blows. This wasnt enough topletely stop Vahns assault, however, causing a few nicks and tears in the fabric of her bodysuit when he struck from a particrly difficult angle. Unfortunately for Vahn, this was an ultimately futile effort as, instead of piercing flesh, the spears passed across Scthachs skin like a gentle caress without even leaving the shallowest of injuries... When Vahn performed a low sweeping spin, his body so low that his face nearly touched the ground, Scthach seemed to have lost her patience with his little stunt. Though he wasnt able to appreciate it untilter, a small smile spread across the cold beautys face as time around them seemed to slow to a crawl. Immediately following this, Scthach stabbed towards Vahns chest with the most basic thrust imaginable, something even a novice would be able to perform. As he naturally moved to try and deflect it, however, [Laces Key] seemed to fail him as Scthachs spear continued forward undaunted as his own parry struck empty air. When he viewed the memorytter, Vahn experienced one of the most severe shocks of his life as, every time he looked at the memory, the trajectory of Scthachs spear would change. The only thing that didnt change was the oue, resulting in her simple stab entering into his chest before fading into a deep state of unconsciousness... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sending a littlemb into the wolfs den...,Otou-sama...?,What it means to have spearmanship beyondprehension...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1095 - Bond

Chapter 1095 - Bond

Unlike how he would normally be aware while unconscious, Vahn found himself floating in darkness for what felt like years before he finally began to return to his senses. In a way, Scthachs final attack was simr to when Musashi had cut him apart back in the Record of Danmachi. It was a strike that was close to the truest representation of Spear Laws. Scthach had developed her understanding of the Spear to the point that, unless you had aparable understanding of a simrly tiered Law, there was no way to even understand how you were defeated. Even with his immortal body and three processes, Vahn had experienced a state where, even though he wasnt actually dead, it was almost impossible for him toprehend still being alive... Contrary to expectations, Vahn felt something soft against the back of his head and neck as he slowly opened his eyes to see Scthach staring down at him. She was gently stroking her fingers through his hair, causing afortable tingling sensation to spread through Vahns mind as she gave him ap pillow with her plump thighs. He immediately recognized the energy from her palm as Petting energy, causing Vahn to released a sigh mixed withfort and exasperation. It felt like there were no limits to what Scthach was able to do, even copying one of the abilities he thought unique to himself without any difficulty. Still, it was undeniable that this situation was far more pleasant than he had expected, especially given Scthachs track record... As if she had read his mind, Scthach gently moved her fingers around Vahns scalp while exining, "Though your training ended much sooner than expected, it is also true that you caused me to get serious. The way you used your preupation with ya to set a trap against me was brilliantly executed, even if your use of that ability is horrendous. In the future, we will end your training by having you enter into that state when you are near exhaustion. You should never be reliant on that kind of skill, but I will help you try and master it after you finish your other training..." With that said, Scthach ran her finger along Vahns cheek before she rather unceremoniously rose to her feet. Going from a state offort to suddenly bumping the back of his head against the hard ground, Vahn released a groan before rising to his feet shortly thereafter. He knew better than to try and use words to in as, unless you had an actual point, it seemed like they just went in one ear and out the other. This didnt mean there werent other ways in which Vahn could rebel against this cold Teacher of his as, after stepping only a few centimeters away from Scthach, he began tracing his thumb over one of the holes he had made on the fabric of her bodysuit. At the same time, his right hand sn.a.k.e.d its way into the fabric of her undergarments before, using a practiced motion, Vahn tore through the fabric in one swift motion. Throughout this entire process, Scthach just stared back at him with her nk red eyes as, even from Vahns perspective, he wasnt really thinking about his actions and just doing whatever he felt like doing... Now that Scthach no longer had the support of the Greater Grail, her cost efficiency was even worse than before. Though Vahn had given her a 200,000,000OP [Spirit Choker] to help ease the burden, it took an awkward twenty minutes before the glow in her eyes reached an intensity that showed she was full. This made him realize he would need toe up with a more effective means of sustaining her, inadvertently bringing his mind back to Sis mention of imnting one of his cores into a Servants body. Since he had three processes, Vahn could easily produce two backup cores to serve as a failsafe if his body was unexpectedly destroyed. With Scthach being an almost unbeatable existence, it wasnt exactly the worst ce to store one of his backups... Deciding he wasnt in the best state of mind to make such decisions, Vahn lightly pinched Scthachs right n.i.p.p.l.e through the fabric of her bodysuit before asking, "How long until our next training session?" This almost immediately let to Scthach answering, "With this amount of energy, I can sustain myself for around eleven hours if I spend five training Fenrir. So long as you prepare yourself for a more intense training session, you can use the next fifteen hours to recuperate. Since you seem a bit restless, make sure to release your tensions so you arent distracted during our training." Since she wasnt able topletely understand Vahns random actions, Scthach made the assumption it was Vahns instinctual draw towards powerful women that led to his aimless exploration of her body when supplying her with mana... With her words finished, Scthach immediately exited the Sub-Space Orb to go and retrieve Fenrir while Vahn, having already intended to do what she had suggested, made his way towards thekeside residence. There was nothing quite likeying with a woman after hard work and training, especially knowing that the girls essentially expected him to seek them out after the fact. Though they used to watch his training from start to finish, most of the girls would end up leaving when it looked like Vahn was about to fall. They would either go to take care of their own business or wait in their rooms, wondering when he mighte knocking on their door. The only exception to this was Artoria and, when she felt like picking him up, Nobunaga. This time, however, Artoria wasnt alone as she sat at the small pic area near the almost pristine blueke. Seeing Artoria and Gray sitting next to each other, even Vahn would feel as if he was strangely unworthy to stand in theirbined presence. Their uncanny resemnce,bined with Artorias perfect mannerisms and Grays somewhat unapproachable aura made it feel like there was an invisible barrier around the table that he shouldnt enter. This, of course, had no real effect on Vahns decision, however. Though he didnt delude himself into thinking he could convince both girls to alight with him, just spending a few minutes talking with them would be a refreshing experience. As there was a very real chance they could actually get in the mood during the conversation, Vahn didnt feel it was a waste of time to join them for tea, even in his somewhat high-tension state. With Artoria rising to greet him, Gray quickly followed suit after fl.u.s.tering slightly at the unexpected interaction. She didnt know why, but she felt pelled to emte Artorias behavior as, the longer they talked, the more she genuine aspired to be like her. Though she resented this idea in the past, Artoria seemed like a far more down-to-earth person than she expected, even if it was hard to keep pace with her sudden polite behavior and seemingly immutable bearing. Thus, when Artoria stopped speaking almost mid-sentence to rise up and greet Vahn, she did the same in a rather awkward manner with her hands neatly folded. She was just short of calling Vahn Master, a thought that turned her face scarlet when the word nearly left her mouth... Feeling that the odds were leaning in his favor, Vahn gestured for the two to sit as he mused, "The two of you seem to be getting along rather well. It is refreshing to see you in such high spirits, Gray. Thank you for treating her well, Artoria..." In response to this, Artoria had a natural smile on her face as she gave a curt nod before saying, "I am proud to have such an outstanding descendent. I had never expected my genealogy to have persisted for more than fourteen hundred years. Though I feel troubled thinking about how this was managed, it still pleases me to interact with one of my own kin in the present..." Hearing Artorias words, Vahn couldnt help but perk up his brows as he asked, "Is it so difficult to believe that one of the most legendary historical Kings would have a lineage passed down through the ages?" Though Vahn also wasnt sure how Artorias genes were passed down, as it was rumored that Queen Guinevere was barren, the fact Merlin had been present in her Era meant it shouldnt have been that difficult for him to find a solution. At the same time, her father, Uther Pendragon, had an extended family line that even the most determined enemies would be hard-pressed to eliminate. He even found a few ratherplicated family trees rted to Arthur* within the system shop, some of which even included Grays name in them, a full thirty-seven generations descended... What Vahn found troublesome was the fact that in most of the lineages he observed, Grays name was only ever attributed to a mother, never a father. Since he didnt want to pry too much without her first revealing things on her own, Vahn didnt look too deeply into it as he listened to Artoria somewhat awkwardly exin, "Though it is not difficult to imagine that my extended family was able to persist through the generations...I...my own descendant should not have been able to pass on their genes." At this point, Artoria had a conflicted expression on her face but, whilst she may have kept the matter private in the past, this time she mustered up the resolve to exin, "Due to the machinations of fate...I was required to put the one person who could be considered my descendent to death..." Artoria released a tired sigh before noticing that neither Gray nor Vahn was looking at her with eyes filled with judgment. Instead, Gray seemed to empathize with her while Vahns eyes immediately softened, his silence encouraging her to continue. Though it was a bit of a mood killer, Vahns interest in Artorias past far outweighed his libido. They would be together for upwards of sixty years, at the very least, so it was better to learn things like this early on. If he could, Vahn would help her find closure as it was clear for anyone to see that Artoria had a lot of regrets about her past... Feeling a close kinship with Gray, and a deepening affection with Vahn, Artoria eventually hardened her heart as she exined, "I will not go into too many details of my struggles to produce an heir to inherit the throne...the only thing that ultimately matters was that I failed in my duty. This didnt stop others from conspiring to seize the throne, however. In myter years, one of my own knights came forward iming to be my legitimate son, a woman named Mordred. I do not know how she came to be, but she certainly inherited my looks andbat prowess...however, she did not possess the qualities of a King so I was forced to deny her im as my heir. Later, after I had to deal with a civil uprising, Mordred led a rebellion in order to forcibly seize the throne. This was the same Battle of Cann where I was supposed to have fallen...struck down by the de of my former Knight and my only potential descendant..." If Vahn were being honest, he hadnt quite expected things to have yed out in the way that Artoria had described them. There were certainly historical ounts of Mordred and the Battle of Cann but, much like Artorias own gender, it was obvious things had been skewed greatly from the truth of the matter. Mordred was described as being a handsome and manly knight who swept through the battlefield with an almost unrivaled amount of skill. Hearing Artoria description of events, it was apparent that, while the rumors of his skills were undoubtedly true, it was far more like that Mordred was a beautiful and petite woman instead of a burly and dominating man... As if to try and console Artoria, Gray reached out her hand before hesitantly cing it on her shoulder as she exined, "I do not know what it is like to have to fight against your own child...but I understand how family can be aplicated mess...In order to make me more like you, I was treated as some kind of sacred idol that represented your physical rebirth. After that, my vige even made several attempts to try and call your spirit into the present world to inhabit my body...killing my own ego and personality in the process. There are several times I should have died...even I do not know how I was able to remain myself...if I am even the same person I was back then..." With Gray also dropping quite the bombshell, Vahn was beginning to feel as if the air within their bubble was bing increasingly tense. Since it seemed like the thing to do, he decided it was his turn to open up, releasing a heavy sigh before giving a barebones summary of his past, before his rise to bing an Emperor. This seemed to catch yas attention as well but, as there wasnt really anything he could do about her, Vahn chose to ignore her. Even if Akashas superiors tried to replicate the experiment that they might misconstrue as the catalyst to produce another person like him, they were missing the most fundamental ingredient, his blood. He had no doubt they had been analyzing it during his battles with Scthach but, no matter how they endeavored to try and crack its secrets, it was simply beyond the means of a Tier 5 entity. Hearing Vahn recount his past, both Artoria and Gray were stunned into silence as, no matter how they looked at him, Vahn didnt seem like someone who had undergone such a terrible experience. At the same time, however, they could tell he wasnt trying to deceive them as it would have taken an almost impossible level of acting to fool their intuition. The realization that he was telling the truth shook both girls to the core as, even though their pasts were also filled with tragedy, it was also true that Artorias path had been cleared for her since birth. Even Gray, after being identified as Artorias seconding, spent much of her life essentially being worshipped by her entire vige. Though their attempts to imnt Artorias soul into her body had left her with deep and permanant mental scars, she couldnt even imagine being crippled and imprisoned as people harvested her blood for fourteen years straight... Seeing that his story had been a little too effective on Artoria and Gray, Vahn managed a wry smile before quickly regaining his confidence as he exined, "So long as there is life, there is the chance to make a better future for yourself and others. It is just like I told you during our first time together, Artoria...I am constantly moving forward. Im not just looking for my own happiness either, but the happiness of everyone around me. I believe, if you really made the effort, you could even reconcile with Modred. She might not have had the qualities of a King, but that doesnt mean the two of you couldnt be parent and child here in the present. Instead of living with your regrets, you should look towards the infinite possibilities the future holds...there are no limits to any path, so long as you pick yourself back up each time you stumble..." With Vahn suddenly mentioning their first time, Artorias face became somewhat humorous as she awkwardly smiled, even as her brows were furrowed slightly. The red hue on her face, however, was the only evidence required to understand she was feeling bashful. This was noticed by Gray who, before seeing Artorias reaction, hadnt really connected the dots before now. Realizing that Vahn and Artoria had already had s.e.x, she felt her heart begin to beat rapidly as a variety of tumultuous emotions intermingled within her mind. She could easily imagine Vahn and Artoria together but, instead of a woman with blond hair and green eyes, the version her mind defaulted to had gray hair and blue eyes... As if to hide her embarrassment, Artoria released a few coughs before straightening her back and asking, "Do you really think I can make amends so easily...?" In response to this, Vahn immediately shook his head before correcting, "It isnt supposed to be easy. At times, it might even be the hardest thing in the world to aplish...however, if you manage to persist until the end, I can assure you there is are few things that could rival the sense of fulfillment that apanies such sess. The only thing I can imagine that outright beats it is watching your child take their first breath..." Seeing the deep affection within Vahns eyes, Artoria couldnt help but return a smile of her own while, at her side, Gray looked like her mind had stopped working. She had been willfully ignoring the awkwardness that was present during breakfast, where she watched Rin and Vahn behave rather lovey-dovey while treating Sakura as their daughter. Hearing him now mention other children made her mental faculties slow to a crawl, causing her to somewhat awkwardly ask, "Vahn, exactly how old are you...?" Though she almost asked how many children he had, Gray felt like she actually didnt want to know the answer. She now recalled that Vahns goal was to return to his family, something she had overlooked as her emotions continued to build over the past few days... In response to Grays sudden question, Vahn cast his eyes across his own status, his brows rising slightly as he answered, "I actually just turned 156 today. If you hadnt asked, I may not have even realized it..." Though Vahn said these words aloud, Sis was aware they were directed toward her and not the two girls he was talking to. Since Vahn had a lot of other things going on, she had decided against telling him it was his birthday. It would onlyplicate matters even further as, from past observations, things always got chaotic whenever Vahn told the people around him that it was his birthday... For entirely different reasons, Artoria and Gray were both surprised by Vahns admission that it was his birthday. Artoria recovered much faster, a radiant smile on her face as she sincerely stated, "Happy Birthday, Master. We should inform the others and celebrate the event properly." As for Gray, she was experiencing a bit of inner turmoil as Vahn was actually much older than she expected. Though it wasnt impossible for some people to even live for thousands of years, the Director of the Clock Tower being a good example, she had thought he was closer in age to her. He didnt act like one of the old monsters that spared no expense when it came to preserving their youth through the ages, once again reminding her that Vahn imed to be a Pseudo-Divine Spirit... With how awkward Gray was acting, Vahn gestured for Artoria to calm down as he softly asked, "Are you okay, Gray...?" This caused her shoulders to slump a bit before she began taking several deep breaths to work up her resolve. Then, even more spontaneous than her previous actions, Gray made a strange expression as she quickly asked, "Do you like me...?" Figuring she could figure out other thingster on, Gray wanted to rify whether or not Vahn even liked her. She had felt that his actions indicated he had some affection towards her but, after seeing how he acted with Rin,bined with the revtion that he had slept with Artoria, she was no longer sure. Knowing that she was actually wearing panties she thought he might like, Gray was beginning to feel nervous as sitting down suddenly became ufortable... Though he was a little surprised at Grays spontaneity, Vahn didnt overthink things too much as he nodded his head before confidently saying, "Of course. Though I thought we could be friends at first, I wont deny that Ive developed tender feelings for you over thest few days. When I heard about you getting injured, I had been-." Instead of letting him continue any further, Gray began to quickly shake her head as she eximed, "No, you dont have to go into details...!" She felt Vahn might even mention the treatment he had given her body, a memory that often gued her mind when she was trying to rx. Since she already had an answer to the most important question, Grays heart felt like it was going to explode as she quickly added, "I...I like you too...!" with a red face. The moment Gray made her confession, she actually turned her eyes towards Artoria to see how she would react. When she saw thetter was rtively calm, even though she still had a light blush from earlier, Gray felt strangely relieved as she slumped even further in her seat. It was only now that she looked back at Vahn, seeing him smiling back at her with what she could only construe as a teasing smile and visible amus.e.m.e.nt in his eyes. This was already enough to make her feel giddy but, when Vahn suddenly said, "This is quite the birthday present...to think a beautiful girl would confess to me so suddenly...", Gray felt like her head was going to overheat. Even Artorias face developed a deeper blush as, though his words werent directed toward her, the fact that she and Gray shared an almost identical appearance meant he thought she was beautiful as well. Though he had actually said these words directly to her before, Artoria felt strangely embarrassed to hear him call someone identical to her beautiful... While Vahn was enjoying the reactions of the two unique beauties, his mood was immediately killed when ya suddenly asked, "Is this the kind of appearance you prefer?" Then, without waiting for a response, yas form instantly changed into a version of Artoria and Gray with peculiarly fair blue skin, neat white hair, and the same purple eyes. Though this confirmed she could freely change her form, the fact he now had a nearly n.a.k.e.d and infinitely more exotic version of the two girls hovering next to him caused Vahn to release a tired sigh. As for Artoria and Gray, the former had a troubled look on her face as she stared silently at ya while thetter was simply confused about how the tensions had shifted so suddenly. She felt like she had done something wrong, at least until Vahn returned a gentle smile toward her before blowing Grays mind as he expressed his trust toward her by revealing the existence of ya at his side... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gentle Scthach is surprisingly nice...?,*insert my pain is far greater than yours gif here*,RIP Gray, it is already toote to escape now...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1096 - Awkward

Chapter 1096 - Awkward

After proving the existence of ya by forcing her to appear before Gray, thetter entered a long period of silence as her brain processed all of the new information Vahn had provided. Knowing the world facing a crisis in just ten years time, it suddenly felt like she was wedged between a rock and a hard ce. If Vahn had revealed this information to her by itself, she would have beenpelled to report to Lord El-Melloi II so that the Mages Association could begin its own preparations. Knowing he had ya at his side, however, Gray worried that he would be a target for elimination by almost every existing organization. ya might be a necessary existence to the world, but she was still a force that caused both fear and intrigue within the Magus Community. If it could be proven that Vahn was directly tied to ya, there would always be people that would want to secure him for their own experiments. Equally as problematic would be the people who sought to destroy or study ya through trying to manipte or entrap Vahn within their schemes... Turning her head to look at ya, Gray could understand why both Vahn and Artoria had been taken aback as, though she looked distinctly alien, her appearance was almost identical to her own. This caused several questions to pop up in her mind but, as there were inarguably more important things at hand, Gray turned to Vahn as she asked, "Why did you tell me all of this...?" Though she already knew this was Vahns way of showing that he trusted her, Gray suddenly felt burdened by the truth. She had just confessed her feelings to Vahn, but she couldnt simply set aside her loyalty towards Lord El-Melloi II. He may not have been the best Mentor at all times, but he protected her from getting a Sealing Designation and has taught her many things over thest few years... In response to Grays words, Vahn gave her an unnerving smile, even though it was just his normal gentle smile. This smile felt like it was quickly bing her weakness, causing Grays heart to beat faster as he inly stated, "I do not believe you are the type of girl who would betray the trust people ce in you. You have enough wherewithal to understand that the matter of Angra Mainyu wille to light without you needing to draw attention to yourself and others by revealing it..." If Gray truly did inform Lord El-Melloi II about Angra Mainyu and ya, it was guaranteed that he, Gray, Rin, and pretty much everyone in their faction would be ced under heavy scrutiny. He didnt believe for a moment that Gray would endanger all of her friends, regardless of her loyalty towards Lord El-Melloi II... Even without Vahn pointing it out, the main reason for Grays conflict is that she was more aware of the situation than he was. She knew that Lord El-Melloi II would undoubtedlye forth with the information as, regardless of his own feelings on the matter, he would prioritize the safety of the world. There is no way he would be able to gamble billions of lives by entrusting the fate of the world to Vahn, regardless of whether or not Vahn had the literal World supporting him. Until Vahn had been able to cement himself as a world power, there were no grounds for negotiation as the risks currently outweighed the potential gains, at least from a rational standpoint... Gray understood that Vahn was anything but normal, even before he had ya lingering around him like a ghost haunting its victim. However, she had imagined a scenario where he eventually joined the Clock Tower and aligned himself with the Archisorte and Edelfelt families. Then, because he was the type that seemed to fight on the frontlines, she imagined they would take on jobs together before steadily growing closer. It had never crossed her mind that she would suddenly find herself at a crossroads where she needed to choose between her own happiness and her duty. Now, though she knew they werent trying to mislead her, it felt like all of her discussions with Artoria and Vahn about their pasts were weighing heavily on her heart... As if to nail the point home, Artoria could see the struggle in Grays eyes so she tried to show her support by saying, "One of my greatest regrets in life was never pursuing my own happiness. I lived my entire life trying to fulfill my duty, only to feel an extreme amount of regret at the very end. Now, here in the present, I want to live truer to my own wants and desires...this time around, I will do my best to help as many people as possible, not as a King, but as a Knight..." Towards thest half of her statement, Artoria looked towards Vahn with the smallest hint of a blush on her face. This brought a genuine and appreciative smile to his face because, whether she realized it or not, Vahn knew that her words had essentially made up Grays mind... Hearing the words of the woman she had started to develop a strong aspiration towards, Gray felt her own resolve building. With each loud throb of her heart, she felt her determination growing to the point that it felt like she could do anything. At the same time, her face became a deep shade of red as she looked towards Vahn, making his own heart begin racing as she asked, "Is it really okay to seek my own happiness...?" Since it was very clear what she believed her happiness to be, Vahn felt strangely nervous as he nodded his head, a confident and supportive smile on his face. Though it felt like he was making a lot of the same mistakes as he had in Danmachi, Vahn knew he needed all the help he could get if he wanted to contend against whatever the Administrators would throw at him. There was also the simple fact that he thought Gray was a good girl and, though he hadnt abused her, Vahn felt that Lord El-Melloi IIs treatment of her was almost cruel... In response to Vahns words, Grays face was almost glowing due to how red it was, something that had a powerful impact with the ahoge on her head twitching from side to side in an unbelievably adorable manner. He was highly tempted to reach out and grab the peculiar tuft of hair but, fearing it might be like pulling the pin from a grenade, Vahn elected not to. Instead, he waited patiently for Gray to collect herself, watching as she seemed to steadily work up her courage while Artoria, seated at her side, actually began to fidget ufortably. The way Gray was behaving made her feel like she was intruding on a special moment between the two. The troublesome part was, if she were to actually try and leave, Artoria felt like this would only make the situation even more awkward since she could tell that Gray seemed to genuinely idolize her... Surprisingly, more than a minute had passed as illusory steam began to rise up from Grays head. It didnt seem like she could actually bring herself to say what was on her mind, causing the tension in the air to steadily be more awkward as time passed. This caused Vahn to choose and take pity on her, lightly tapping the table to draw her attention before saying in a gentle tone, "You shouldnt force yourself too much, Gray. There is plenty of time to sort out your feelings. You dont need to..." As Vahn was speaking, Gray began to shake her head before sheepishly answering, "There isnt a lot of time. If I cant make a decision now, I feel that I will lose the chancepletely..." Though she had ignored it earlier, Grays mind was now able to realize that the behavior of the other girls during breakfast as abnormal. She felt that, if she were to return to London for a few years, Vahn would have already moved on to several other women by then...even if he said he still liked her, she wasnt sure she had a big enough heart to believe him... Deciding to bite the bullet once again, Gray followed up her words by asking, "Do you sleep with all your Servants...?" Though he didnt seem like an inherently licentious man, as Vahn had never looked at her with greedy eyes before, Gray felt she needed to hear the truth. To her relief, Vahn shook his head to refute her question before immediately bringing her tensions back up as he exined, "I do not simply sleep with anyone, Gray. Though it may seem like I do at times, it is important to me that both sides are consenting. I would never force anyone into doing something they didnt want to do, just as I would never subject myself to the whims and desires of another arbitrarily. To answer your question better, I have never slept with Circe or Scthach, nor do I have any intention to make a move on Illya..." Using Vahns words as a basis, Gray quickly deduced that he had slept with Fenrir, Rin, Nobunaga, Lakshmibai, and Artoria. She was most surprised by the fact Lakshmibai, a woman some considered a Saint, and Artoria, a proud King of Knights, both seemed okay with this. Even the fact Rin, someone she believed to be a strong woman with even stronger sensibilities, seemed perfectly fine with the fact that Vahn was sleeping with other girls. Since the thought of him being with another girl actually caused her heart to ache a bit, Gray didnt understand how they could be okay with it. Since she was unable to rationalize it herself, she turned to Artoria, a hopeful look in her eyes as she asked, "Are you really okay with this...? As she was quickly beginning to realize that Gray was relying on her to make decisions, Artoria released a subdued sigh before seriously answering, "I am not the best person to give advice on the rtions between men and women. However, even during my time, I was under constant pressure to take multiple wives in order to produce an heir. Even members of my own Round Table had multiple mistresses and lovers while, after particrly fierce battles, some would even patron brothels and harlots. I have never considered it my ce to speak out against such actions as even my marriage was a matter of obligation...what I can say for sure is that, after experiencing it for myself...I dont believe Vahn is a bad person..." Though she had started off with good momentum, Artorias face became progressively redder as she remembered her first time with Vahn... Seeing Artoria suddenly turn into a bashful maiden, Gray felt simultaneously lost and intrigued by her words. Since she couldnt really understand how women with such strong personalities could allow Vahn to act with impunity, it meant he must be capable of something amazing when they were together. This caused her face to rapidly heat up as, though she wasnt a v.i.r.g.i.n, Gray hadnt really enjoyed her previous experiences all that much. Those had all been the result of misguided curiosity and the simple desire to connect in a more meaningful way with another human. This was the first time she had ever experienced these types of emotions and, remembering what Vahn had done to her at the end of his operation, Gray was actually a little afraid to take that final step... Realizing the conversation had taken a somewhat awkward turn towards his s.e.x.u.a.l prowess, Vahn scratched his cheek as he considered whether or not to say something. Both Artoria and Gray had red faces and, depending on his choice of words, there was a fair chance he might be able to guide the conversation in an interesting direction. Though he had tempered himself a bit to converse with them, Vahn was still in a high-tension state ever since his training with Scthach hadpleted. This conversation had already been going on for more than two hours so he was beginning to feel his tensions increase with things taking such an unexpected turn. As if it was her purpose in life to cause him stress, ya decided to use this moment to say, "If you desire to copte, I have been given the task of tending to your needs. This body is capable of-." Before ya could continue any further, Vahn mmed his hand on the table with enough force to cause fractures to spread across its surface. Then, looking directly into her purple eyes, Vahn took a deep breath before firmly stating, "ya, I am ordering you to leave us alone for the time being. You have no understanding of the social interactions between humans...haaaa..." Vahn wanted to say a lot more but ya nodded her head in the middle of his sentence before instantly imploding into motes of blue light. This caused his words to trail off before he turned to Artoria and Gray, bowing his head low as he said, "Im sorry for my outburst...yas presence isnt exactly easy to cope with." With an understanding look in her eyes, Artoria nodded her head before trying to console Vahn by adding, "I can understand that. Had I known the consequences of my actions back then, I would have never made a contract with ya. That is another thing I owe you a debt of gratitude for..." As each sessive Holy Grail War had made it crystal clear that her actions were naive and childish, Artoria was growing steadily more grateful towards Vahn now that she had been liberated from that endless cycle. She had been prepared to ept her punishment, even if it meant serving as the tool of other people for the rest of time. Instead of allowing her to wallow in her own personal hell, Vahn unceremoniously pulled her out of it before giving her life new purpose... Realizing this, Artoria felt her own beginning to beat with a quickened pace as she realized there was actually something she could do to repay him. Since it was obvious that Gray was interested in it, but couldnt muster up enough courage to broach the subject, Artoria was considering whether or not to give her distant descendant a small push. However, the moment she internalized that Gray was her actual descendant, Artoria felt aplex series of emotions and a few budding apprehensions. She knew that even things like i.n.c.e.s.t werent exactly all that rare in her time, as her family tree had a few looping branches itself, but the thought of sharing the same man as her distant rtive seemed rather awkward... Before Artoria could make up her mind, Vahn released a tired sigh before producing an apologetic smile as he said, "Maybe it would be best if we all took a break. How about the two you return to the outside and exin to Rin and others that well be holding a small banquet this evening? Ill spread the word to Lakshmibai and Nobunaga before heading over myself in a few hours..." Feeling that things had quickly be a little too awkward, Vahn was giving the two girls an easy way out of the conversation. At the same time, however, it was easy for them both to intuit why it would take him several hours before returning to the outside. Though some might misconstrue Vahns words to mean he was giving them time to make preparations, yas words were still fresh on their minds. It was obvious that she wasnt talking to them when she mentioned the desire to copte, making it transparently clear that Vahn was in the mood... Seeing Artoria and Gray behaving even more awkwardly than before, Vahn lightly shook his head before rising to his feet and saying, "Ill see the two of youter..." Since they didnt seem able to extricate themselves from the tension that had built up, he feltpelled to make the decision for them. He had a lot of frustrations to get out of his system right now so it was almost unbearable to be in the presence of two beautiful girls that were both thinking about having s.e.x but unwilling to move forward out of consideration for each other. Though he could try to convince them both to alight with him, Vahn felt that Gray hadnt properly prepared herself for something like a three-person y with her own Ancestor. It probably wouldnt have been that difficult to whisk her away if she were alone, but the presence of Artoria made that borderline impossible... With Vahn suddenly leaving, Gray felt a sudden panic in her heart as she quickly eximed, "Wait...!" As the word left her lips, she felt like a swarm of butterflies was about to tear its way out from her abdomen, especially when Vahn looked back at her with a tired yet indulgent smile. Her eyes almost immediately darted to Artoria, as if the silent Knight would be able to provide her some kind of support. In a way, she actually regretting calling out to Vahn because, if she let him walk away now, Gray was certain she wouldnt be able to sleep peacefully in the future. When Artoria suddenly gave her a resolute look, followed by an affirmative nod, Gray almost wanted to ask, Am I supposed to understand what that nod means?. As if they had reached a mutual agreement, Artoria took it upon herself to raise her head slightly, looking into Vahns eyes as she said, "If you are not against it...we will be your partners..." These words seemed to deal critical damage to Gray as, the moment Artoria finished stating them, her ahoge stuck up like a needle as she buried her face into her hands. Now that it had been thrown out there, she felt like it was toote to take a step back and correct things. She wasnt even sure if what Artoria had stated even counted as a misunderstanding as, when she called out to Vahn, even Gray didnt know what she wanted. Though part of her had considered the possibility, having the reality presented before her seemed overwhelming... Though he could feel Artorias resolve, Vahn noticed that Gray wasnt really on the same wavelength as her distant Ancestor. He knew he had the option of guiding things in a different direction but, knowing things would probably be even moreplicated in the future, Vahn buried his own rising anxiety as he softly stated, "I never force anyone to do something they are unwilling to do..." These words were both intended to give Gray a small push while also leaving her a way out if she decided to take a step back. If she felt like she was being forced along with the momentum, there was a good chance Gray would be overwhelmed by the situation and do something she coulde to regretter on. By pointing out that it was ultimately her decision, this meant whatever would happen in the future was because she had epted it herself. Though this wouldnt absolve her from having any regrets, it would at least alter her perspective of the events slightly so she could more easily cope with them... Hearing Vahns words, the fluttering feeling in Grays stomach felt like it had spread upward, reaching her heart and causing a ticklish feeling to spread through her body with each sporadic pulse. Though he may have intended his words to give her a way out, Gray felt like they actually forced her back onto a crossroads. If she decided to give in to her feelings, it may be toote to back peddle and change her mindter on. Inversely, if she decided to back away now, Gray felt like she would have missed out on the greatest source of happiness that had ever presented itself to her. Not only did she like Vahn, as he was fun to be around, but he had even expressed his support for her own dreams and aspirations. At the same time, Vahn had saved her from having to spend the rest of her life as a cripple...or worse. She had a lot of tender feelings toward him so, if she backed out now, Gray felt like she would never have the heart to face him again in the future... As if she couldnt help herself, Vahn watched in silence as Artoria naturally brought her hand to Grays shoulder in a supportive manner. At the same time, their two fates seemed to intermingle for a short moment, something that caused Vahns eyes to sh with subtle blue light. Though Grays was significantly smaller than both Rins and Artorias, there was a small aura of fate that lingered around her body at all times. Now that it came into contact with Artorias, Vahn could see the volume of Grays increase discernably as she looked towards her Ancestor for strength. Then, as if their fates were now irreversibly intertwined, Gray looked towards him and said, "I want...to do it..." with a scarlet red face... (A/N: Alternate Titles: This whole chapter is a Bruh moment) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1097 - Monochrome

Chapter 1097 - Monochrome

After changing location to Vahns room within thekeside residence, the atmosphere had be even tenser than it had been outside. Though she didnt know the function of every formation within the room, Grays intuition made her feel extremely nervous when Vahn activated the soundproofing function. As for Artoria, she seemed surprisingly calm about the whole thing as this was neither her first time with Vahn nor her first experience with another woman. Out of consideration for Gray, she was putting on a strong front even though, more than ever before, Artoria was also feeling rather nervous due to the expectations she had about what was toe. Vahn had treated her extremely gentlyst time and, though it had been well over a day since then, Artoria could still feel the echo of their time together stirring within her heart... To try and ease Grays nervousness, and provide a distraction to herself, Artoria gingerly ced her hand on the formers shoulder before whispering, "You do not need to be afraid. Vahn understands how to treat women...just entrust yourself to him and this will be a memorable experience that you can fondly look back on..." Intending these words for herself just as much as they were meant for Gray, Artoria was trying to psyche herself up. She actually didnt want to be on the receiving end of Vahns affection too much as, if things continued as they had been, Artoria wasnt confident she would be able to maintain her dignity around him in the future. Even if this was exactly what Merlin meant by experiencing the happiness unique to women, Artoria felt she was changing faster than she could readily adapt to... Hearing Artoria endorse him, Vahn allowed a smile to spread across his face as he took her words to heart, fully intending to give her an even more memorable experience than before. Before that, he needed to make sure Gray was in the proper mindset as, even with Artoria at her side, she seemed like she might bolt for the door at a pin drop. He knew she would calm down a lot once they began so, after setting everything up, Vahn decided to take the lead this time around. Though Artoria had probably intended to y in an effort to excite him, just as she and Fenrir had done previously, this wouldnt end well with someone like Gray. Such things might be possible after she was in the proper mood, but that would depend on his efforts, not Artorias... Though she looked like she wanted to retreat, Gray stood her ground as Vahn slowly closed the distance, her body shrinking slightly as her legs shivered like a newborn fawn. Knowing she would only struggle even more if he dyed things, Vahn stopped a few centimeters outside of Grays personal space, adopting the most gentle smile he could manage as he slowly extended his hand out and said, "I swear...I will not hurt you, Gray..." Then, at a speed she could easily evade if she chose to, Vahn slowly extended his hand until his fingers came into contact with her cheek. Following this, Vahn moved his palm across her soft and tender skin, gently stroking her face and running his fingers through her hair... On first contact, Gray had flinched in response to his touch but, after allowing him to begin caressing her face, she began to noticeably rx. This was one of the greatest benefits of his Petting Laws as his intent was easily able to reach the recipient, allowing them to understand he simply wanted to bring themfort. Even Scthach wasnt able to emte this as, unlike Vahn, there was no sincerity within her actions. Because of this, he would always be far more proficient than she was, even if their basicprehension wasparable. There were some things that relied more on experience and the emotions involved in the act, not the efficacy in which it was executed... Artoria felt a little giddy watching Vahn suddenly caressing Grays face and neck but, after thinking about it from a more rational standpoint, she could understand his intentions. As a result, she moved to the side and began the process of slowly undressing, understanding that Vahn was still observing her, even if he was focused on Gray. It made her feel strangely secure knowing that Gray would be going first, giving her time to prepare herself as her body slowly heated up. By the time Artoria was preparing to remove her white panties,plete withpiszuli colored strings, she noticed her body was actually a little more than ready. Deciding it was best to leave them as they were, even though it made her body heat up much faster, Artoria sat on the edge of the bed and watched the scene y out between Vahn and Gray... Since Gray had her eyes closed shut, Vahn had watched Artoria undress out of the corner of his eye, matching gazes with her several times throughout the process. The fact she was coordinating with him so easily brought a smile to Vahns face as it was only a day ago that Fenrir had needed to lead Artoria along. He didnt know if she was simply a fast learner, or if that initial incident was all it took to shore up her mental resistance against these kinds of situations. As it ultimately didnt matter, Vahn invested most of his focus on Gray, now using two hands to gently massage her face and neck as it steadily gained a natural blush that permeated through her skin. Though she had removed her hood, Gray was still wearing her fur-cored mantle,plete with a dualyered cloak that was covered in silvery-gray runes. The one thing that had changed since she arrived at the Tohsaka Manor was that, at some point, Gray had slipped off her ck windbreaker, revealing a thin, sleeveless, ck blouse underneath. He could tell the synthetic fibers were actually made of very high-quality materials, even if he couldnt identify what they were at a nce. What he was able to determine was that they should be fire-resistant and, though it was likely negligible, provided enhanced magical resistance. Most importantly, at least for this situation, was that the blouse ented Grays lithe figure well since it hugged her body like a second skin... Through the gap in her mantle, Vahn was able to see two little beads poking the fabric of Grays blouse, seemingly without her notice as she continued to enjoy his caress. Since he had already gotten to the point that he was running his fingers through the hair on the back of her head, Vahn felt like it was a good time to move things to the next level. Moving his fingers slowly along Grays neck, Vahn brought his index fingers and thumbs to the small bow-knot that kept her mantle snugly around her shoulders. Gray opened her eyes in response to the sudden decrease in stimulus, staring with slightly hazy blue eyes as Vahn slowly pulled apart the strings of her bow. When the ribbons separated, she felt her mantle ck a bit as Vahn sn.a.k.e.d his hands across her neck and corbone before running them along her shoulders. This caused her mantle to drop heavily to the ground, a few metallic sounds and a muffled grunt sounding out from the cage she kept Add secured in... With Gray only wearing a thin blouse, a pleated skirt, ck stockings, and ck gloves on both her hands, Vahn felt her appeal had jumped up a few notches in an instant. Seeing her bare shoulders and arms gave her a strange sense of bnce with the long ck stockings running up to the midway point of her thighs. He felt like the only thing that could have improved her appearance in this state was if she were wearing form-hugging shorts to further add to her athletic and slightly boyish look. Though it might be inappropriate to refer to some girls in such a way, Vahn found this quality of Grays to only increase her charm as his hands continued to massage around her neck and shoulders... Seeing the appreciation and care in Vahns expression as he steadily removed the tensions from her body, Gray found herself feeling far more rxed than before. At the same time, however, this was far different than any of her previous experiences with men. Though she only had a few partners over the years, they always had a greedy and possessive look in their eyes from the start. They would almost always try and force her to kiss them as they selfishly did whatever they wanted. There was even one person who tried to get her to call him Daddy, something that had gotten the man put into the hospital since that particr subject was andmine to her. As far as Gray knew, she didnt have a father so having some greedy idiot trying to force her to address him in such a way touched a sensitive nerve she hadnt even been aware of... Feeling as if things were a little too strange, Gray brought her hands to Vahns, something that immediately caused him to stop moving. This was also something that would have never worked on most men, causing Gray to feel that Vahn was far more considerate than normal. With somewhat hastened breaths causing her words to carry a bit of warmth, Gray somewhat sheepishly asked, "You dont want me...to use my mouth...?" With her limited knowledge, Gray believed it was normal to lead up to s.e.x by taking turns servicing each other. Though she hated the process, it was a simple fact that it made what followed easier to tolerate... Though he was more than a little surprised by the offer, Vahn felt more annoyed than anything since he could tell that Gray didnt even want to do what she was suggesting. Someone must have taught her something unnecessary, likely to service their own selfish desires, so Vahn was even more determined to make sure she left feelingpletely satisfied. This would also serve to guarantee that Gray wouldnt end up spilling his secrets in a moment of weakness. The stronger her feelings became, the less likely she was to even humor such thoughts as, with perhaps the exception of girls like Fenrir and Anubis, Love far outweighed feelings of Loyalty... Instead of making Gray feel embarrassed by asking where she had learned such strange things, Vahn just framed the sides of her face before giving her a small heart attack when he closed the distance and sealed her lips with his own. Since he actually hadnt even kissed Artoria yet, Vahn was surprised by how sweet Grays saliva tasted as he led her tongue around like a seasoned dancer, matching her own natural tempo and breathing so she wouldnt suffocate. Though some girls liked the feeling of being starved for air during a kiss, Vahn had long ago learned to never assume this was the case from the start. He would always change his intensity based on how passionate his partners reactions were, this case taking things rather slow since Gray was almost entirelycking experience... Though she felt that Vahn had misunderstood her meaning, she dismissed the idea of correcting him as her body was rapidly heating up after he started kissing her. She felt like her tongue was a rabbit being chased around by a fox but, every time it seemed ready to pounce on her, Vahn would change course, giving her the ability to escape as many times as she wanted. After a few seconds of this, Gray found her tongue naturally entwining with his, causing her thoughts to turn hazy as she felt the passage of time slip away from her. She hadnt even noticed Vahns hands rubbing up and down the sides of her body until his fingers passed over two especially sensitive spots on her chest. This caused an instinctual tremble to run through her body as she somewhat reluctantly separated from their long kiss to focus on her breathing... With Gray leaning into his chest, her bodys natural response to try and prevent further stimtion, Vahn ran his hands down her back, sending gentle electrical surges into each of the nerves he passed along the way. This caused Grays muscles to twitch lightly in response as she leaned more of her weight against his chest, her hot breath tickling his pectoral muscles since he had removed his shirt long ago. She was a little bit behind what was happening but, by the time she realized that Vahn was bare-chested, it didnt particrly matter any longer. The heat from his body seemed to intermingle with her own, making Gray feel a little distracted as her skirt fell to the ground after a deft and almost indiscernible movement from Vahns dexterous fingers... Thest time Vahn had seen her, Gray was wearing a pair of spats under her skirt, a nessary garment for any women who preferred to fight in a skirt. She apparently had no intention of fighting any normal battles today as, instead of an stic form-fitting fabric covering her h.i.p.s, Vahns eyes widened in surprise when he saw both a lot more and a lot less than he expected. Gray was wearing a pair of side-tiece panties that were predominately gray with ckce forming a rather mature and intricate design that he hadnt quite expected from such a shy and bashful girl. He was once again reminded of the words Loki had spoken to him long ago, particrly those informing him that it was the quiet and shy girls he needed to be wary of. Though they might not say much outwardly, they could be having full conversations with themselves in their minds, many deviating on tangents most people would never expect... Realizing that Gray had been harboring some expectations that something would happen since the time he used Nirvana Rebirth on her, Vahn felt an itch in his heart as he ran his left hand along the line of her back while using his right hand to gently massage her left butt cheek. This caused Gray to rest her forehead against his chest, the most natural location with their 30cm difference in height. She seemed to be trying to hide her face away from him as she focused on the sensations in her back and butt, special attention ced on thetter. Since he could feel her breathing be much hotter than before, causing a small amount of moisture to build upon his chest, Vahn spent a bit of time alternating his hands until Gray was more or less relying on him just to remain standing. Understanding she was already more than ready to move on, Vahn slowly ran his hands up Grays side, rolling up the stic fabric of her thin blouse. He was already very aware of how her body was perspiring, causing the fabric to feel damp to the touch. When he peeled it free from her modest b.r.e.a.s.ts, there was even a small spritz of vapor that caused Gray to spontaneously release a mewling whine as she lightly headbutted his chest. Unfortunately for her, the time to hide away had passed as Vahn quickly rolled the fabric until it reached her armpits. Though she was somewhat hesitant, Gray eventually raised her arms, linking them around Vahns neck as she looked up at him with a melted expression. Her eyes werepletely covered in ayer of moisture as her cheeks were almost a sickening shade of red that flowed into her neck and ears... Since he had already been working away at her for nearly thirty minutes, Vahn wasnt too surprised by the state Gray was in. This didnt mean it wasnt impactful, however, causing him to take in a sharp breath before sincerely stating, "You look beautiful..." before helping to remove her blouse the rest of the way. At this point, Gray didnt have it in her heart to resist anything Vahn wanted to do to her but, after hearing his words, she managed a bashful smile before wrapping her arms around his body once again. They hadnt even started having s.e.x yet and she was already at a point that she wouldnt have even been able toprehend previously. Instead of feeling afraid of what was toe, however, Gray felt more secure leaning into Vahns embrace than when she had been held by her own mother in the past... Though he wouldnt mind standing up, Vahn figured that Gray wasnt prepared for such exciting experiences just yet. He still ended up lifting her body, but it was only to carry her over to the bed in a princess carry as he tucked her head into the nook of his neck. She had be very passive for the time being but, from prior experience, Vahn knew it wouldnt be long before Gray became far more proactive. Thus far, she had just been enjoying the pleasurablefort of his caress but, once things finally reached the point of no return, her switch was almost guaranteed to be flipped. He had experienced this with girls like Lefiya, Preasia, Amaterasu, and, most recently, Lakshmibai... Afterying Gray down on the bed, she released a tired sigh without making any attempt to move on her own. Her lips were slightly parted and, with nothing butce panties, ck stockings, and the curious addition of ck gloves, Grays s.e.x appeal had reached a critically effective level. Before his restraints could bepletely destroyed, however, Vahn felt guilty having Artoria just sitting on the bed with her legs crossed as she watched in silence. He also wanted to increase the bond between the two girls as, in the future, Vahn would like to repeat this particr y several times. Though they were both unbelievably beautiful girls, seeing almost identical twins, their only discernible differences being their hair and color, more than doubled their individual appeal... Seeing Vahn suddenly gesture for her toe over, Artoria was slightly startled as she almost felt like he had forgotten about her. Though her body was still warm, her panties had be somewhat cold several minutes ago due to the build-up of tension and having no means to release them. She had never masturbated before so Artoria was clueless when it came to dealing with her feminine urges without someone guiding her through the process. Due to Merlins assistance, she had far more experience dealing with her tensions as a man instead of seeking relief as a woman. In total, she had only had s.e.x seven times as a woman while the vast majority of her experience was trying and failing to please her wife... Before she realized she had even moved, Artoria was already awkwardly at Vahns side, following his instructions as he had hery down next to Gray. Seeing her expression up close, Artorias became increasingly redder as she couldnt help but wonder if this is what she looked like during s.e.x. Gray had a somewhat sloppy expression with a heated look in her eyes, something that unnerved Artoria when she turned her stark blue eyes toward. When Vahn suddenly said, "Lay down and hold her hand for now...Ill deal with the both of you soon enough...", Artoria couldnt help butply as she awkwardly watched Grays expression as Vahn peeled off her stockings one at a time. She could feel Gray put more strength into her grip as her body tensed up in response to Vahn spreading her legs wide and shifting the angle of her h.i.p.s. Artoria felt her own anxiety lessen when she noticed this, causing aforting smile to appear on her face as she tightly squeezed Grays hand and said, "Dont worry, everything will be fine..." Though it wasnt Grays first time, Vahn knew she wasnt really prepared for someone with his size and girth, regardless of his efforts. Unless he eased up the tension in her muscles, it would still be like prying her open so he wanted Artoria to support her through the preliminary stages. This would greatly reduce the distance between the two girls as, ording to what he had been taught, there was a unique bond established when women overcame the same struggle together. With that in mind, Vahn rubbed his ns along the slippery and hot flesh lining the inside of Grays somewhat small vulva. Though she was in herte twenties, her body aged slower than normal, giving her an appearance only vaguely more mature than Artorias fifteen-year-old figure. She was still more developed than Fenrir, however, so Vahn didnt feel the same kind of guilt he would sometimes experience with smaller women... Timing his movements with Grays breathing and rhythm, Vahn waited until her body was in the ebb of a long orgasm to slowly force his way inside of her. This caused her to hold her breath, both eyes opening wide as she looked towards the ceiling with an iprehensible expression of shock on her face. With the extremely long build-up, Grays insides had be malleable from arousal so, even though he wasnt able to press his waist against hers, Vahn was able to knock against a firm yet flexible membrane at the very back of Grays steamy cavern. The moment he touched the area, Gray released a short gasp as her legs snapped shut by instinct. Since he had already secured his position in her deepest parts, however, Grays instincts provided her no relief as Vahn made a small effort to part her knees, using a guiding tone as he said, "Rx your body...remember, Im not going to hurt you..." Though it took her a bit of effort, Gray managed to let her legs spread limply like a frog as she focused on her breathing. Vahn could see that she was tightly squeezing Artorias hand, bringing a smile to his face as he began to gently rub Grays abdomen while massaging Artorias butt with his right hand. He was confident to im mastery in his ability to deal with three women, so handling two was well within Vahns capabilities. Remarkably, though Grays insides writhed about in apletely different way than Artorias, Vahn experienced the same tingling phenomenon from both girls. Though Gray also had strands of grey and ck mana within her circuits, showing an affinity with Death and Darkness, therger flow of her mana was a pale gold that radiated like divine light. Her primary attribute, Holy, was the same as Artorias so, with his weakness against such girls, Vahn had to regte his own breathing just to avoid finishing unexpectedly... Around the same time that Grays body had adapted to his size, indicated by the zero-distance between their h.i.p.s, Gray suddenly wiped away the sweat from her brow before looking into Vahns eyes and saying, "Im okay now. You have already done more than enough...please, I want you to enjoy yourself as well...dont hold back..." At the end of her words, Gray wiggled her own h.i.p.s a bit, even though it caused her to release a hot sigh in response. Vahn could tell she was only a few moments away from having her switchpletely flipped as, instead of apprehension in her eyes, there was only expectation and building excitement... Understanding that Gray wasnt actually prepared for everything he could give, Vahn decided to ease her into things, even though he gave an understanding nod in response to her words. He lifted her right leg to make her h.i.p.s twist slightly, something most people wouldnt be able to manage but Vahn could easily hold her like this for hours if necessary. As for why he chose to adjust her angle like this, Vahn felt a genttle pulse against the left side of his ns from deep inside Grays interior. This was the characteristic twitching of an especially sensitive spot so Vahn began to slowly piston as he scr.a.p.ed his ns across the small clump of nerves. This caused Grays h.i.p.s to spasm slightly with each of his movements as her eyes began to wandering around in their sockets before she ultimately closed her eyes. To match her conviction, Vahn began to steadily increase his pace until he was attacking Gray with a full-length piston, each movement punctuated by a direct attack to her sweet spot. It didnt even take a full minute before Gray twisted her body towards Artoria, surprising the somewhat distracted Knight by tightly hugging her body as she released a high-pitched m.o.a.n, followed by Vahns right thigh getting drenched in a warm and slightly viscous liquid... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Artorias skewed perspective...,RIP Grays sensibilities...,Vahn is a bully) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1098 - Acceptance

Chapter 1098 - eptance

Laying back with his hands behind his head, Vahn was enjoying the peaceful afterglow of his time together with Gray and Artoria as the two girls used his biceps as pillows. He could feel their warm breath tickling his face and neck as their own bodies were still awash in a long, seemingly never-ending climax. Fortunately, it was only a gentle and persistent amount of pleasure as, nearing the four-hour mark, Grays body was no longer able to keep up with her own excitement, causing her insides to be somewhat dry and on the verge of chaffing. Though Artoria could have kept going for much longer, due to the nature of her body converting his mana into everything she needed to continue functioning, he decided it would have been unfair to Gray if he suddenly left her alone this far into things... As they used his arms as a pillow, Artoria and Gray could see each others faces across Vahns body, a mutual understanding now present as the looked into each others eyes. Though things had started off rtively slow and tame, that onlysted until the first time Gray squirted under Vahns precision attacks. After that, Gray was made toy atop Artorias body and, even though thetter refused to kiss her lips until the very end, it didnt stop the two from bing intimately familiar with each others bodies as time passed. Gray ended up peppering her distant Ancestor with kisses around her neck and chest as Vahn would slightly adjust their bodies and guide them to greater heights. By the time the seemingly endless session hade to an end, they had swapped positions several times but, in each instance, Gray and Artoria were almost always able to see the other persons face. They were able to see how the other person reacted which, in their case, was almost like looking into a trick mirror. This greatly amplified their experience and, though it didnt necessarily bring them as close as Vahn intended, both girls now had a greater understanding and appreciation for each other than before... With the trembling in their bodies slowly ebbing, Vahn looked toward Gray with a smile, asking, "Are you feeling better...?" Since Gray had been pushing herself before they started, Vahn wanted her to be able to reflect on how she currently feltpared to then. Her reaction hadnt been as extreme as other docile girls, but her switch had certainly been flipped early on. Vahn almost felt like he had been bullying Artoria a bit as, for the first hour or so, Gray kept trying to kiss her lips with little to no sess. She seemed to equate kissing to be even more intimate than having s.e.x, causing Vahn to spend the better half of their time together giving Artoria plenty of deep and passionate kisses. The fact she didnt resist his attempts made it clear that she, at the very least, had already started to truly ept him into her heart... In response to Vahns question, Gray released a hot sigh as she began to slowly move her hand around his chest, answering, "It was...far beyond my expectations. I never knew an orgasm could go on for so long...it almost feels like what I had experienced in the past wasnt even s.e.x...haaaaa..." Even if it might be awkward to talk about past s.e.x.u.a.l experiences, especially while her body was still awash in a persistent afterglow, Gray felt a lot morefortable around Vahn right now. She didnt feel as if he would judge her for anything, almost like she could pour herself out before him without having to worry about him disdaining her in the slightest. As if to emphasize this point, Vahn issued a lighthearted chuckle before saying, "I would almost feel bad for your past partners if not for the fact they had given you some strange ideas...Gray, never let people pressure you one-sidedly in the pursuit of their own desires..." To punctuate his words, Vahn kissed the top of Grays head, causing her to feel fluttery and mildly apologetic... As if Vahn was ying the part of an impromptu therapist, Gray curled herself up at his side before exining, "I was younger and felt a little lonely back then...there was a boy, a fellow student who had helped me a lot in the past. I always knew he liked me so....after we both managed to survive a dangerous mission, things just got out of control. I think things would have gone better if we took things slowly, but I underestimated his affections, misconstruing love with obsession...we havent talked much in thest few years and Ive only had been with two other men since then..." Though she almost went into details about her other partners as well, Gray felt it would be unfair to them since Vahn might behave differently if he knew the truth. Since Grays past lovers were inconsequential, unless they ended uping after him in the future, Vahn didnt mind how open she was being. If he was the kind of person that only epted v.i.r.g.i.ns as women worthy of love, more than half of his rtionsh.i.p.s would have never worked. After all, Nobu, Artoria, Lakshmibai, and even Scthach were all experienced women. Though Artoria hadnt given birth herself, all four women actually had former spouses, lovers, and even children. If he ever tried to pass judgment against them, when he himself had slept with dozens of women, siring numerous children in the process, he would have been a massive hypocrite... Understanding that Gray had beenying herself bare before him, Vahn pulled both her and Artoria closer to him, gently embracing the two girls as he whispered, "The past is important, but only when we use it to build a better future...there is nothing wrong with seeking happiness..." Though he knew these types of words were a bit unfair against the two, Vahn had no qualms about making good on his promise of trying to help them find happiness. He could tell they both had a lot of deeply rooted issues but, with upwards of sixty years to prepare for Angra Mainyu, he had plenty of time to help them work through it. --- Getting dressed and moving on from the atmosphere that had been built up was always one of the more awkward moments as, at times, it was very difficult to leave behind the security and warmth of a post-s.e.x room. After calming down, Gray had started acting bashfully once again and, even though Vahn didnt gawk as she was getting dressed, she had nearly fallen over after trying to slip on her panties. She was still a bit unstable on her feet and, even though Vahn had helped wipe down her body and provided a change of clothes for her, Gray was still struggling a bit. Fortunately, Artoria had quickly moved to prevent her fall, giving Vahn the urge to give her a thumbs-up. She might not be aware of the role she now yed in Grays life, but Vahn was very aware of Artorias significance from Grays perspective... Though he didnt know all that much about Gray, Vahn could tell that she was a woman who had been starved for meaningful interactions with other humans. Based on how she interacted with Lord El-Melloi II and t, two of the people she was closest to, it was easy to imagine she didnt have many people she could talk to outside of work. Vahn even suspected that most of Grays past experiences had been with the few men she was close to in her life as, with her personality, it was highly unlikely she would trust a stranger. Though this wasnt inherently a bad thing, the fact that Gray was starved for affection meant most of her rtionsh.i.p.s would be toxic. She didnt know how to take from people, so she could only give herself to whoever she decided to let into her heart. It was in to see that Gray had a service-oriented mentality that meant, even if the other party was truly fond of her, they would inadvertently take advantage of her nature without showing great care... It was because of reasons like this that Vahn felt antagonistic towards Lord El-Melloi II as, no matter how he looked at it, the middle-aged Magus was the primary reason why Gray had never grown past her trauma. Because of his own trauma, Lord El-Melloi II forced Gray into a situation where it became normal for her to hide her face away and iste herself from others. At the same time, due to her need for affection and meaningful human interaction, Gray had likely spent the years following Lord El-Melloi IIs rescuing of her trying to pay him back for a debt she never owed. Since he had his own trauma to deal with, Lord El-Melloi II likely allowed Gray to do whatever she wanted, reinforcing an inherently negative behavior until it became second-nature to her. He could even see guilt in Lord El-Melloi IIs eyes whenever he looked towards Gray, hinting that something more had happened between them at some point, something Vahn imagined would cause him to blow his top when he finally learned the truth... When Gray had finally finished getting dressed, she calmed down enough that a small smile adorned her face as she said, "All of this has helped me make up my mind...I will follow Lord El-Melloi II and Rin back to London. When she finishes closing out her ounts and wrapping up her duties, I will return with Rin and Sakura to help you prepare for the emergence of Angra Mainyu...is that okay?" Though she actually wanted to stay with Vahn and Artoria starting now, Gray felt she still owed a debt to the Mentor she had served under for thest twelve years. She was actually a little afraid that he would be angry at her for betraying him but, taking Vahns and Artorias words to heart, Gray felt like she needed to seek her own happiness instead of waiting for it to find her... Since this was within his expectations, Vahn nodded his head in understanding before causing Gray to fl.u.s.ter when he suddenly hugged her. For well over a minute, he just held her in his arms without kissing or allowing his hands to wander. Her body began to gradually rx as a result, the tension slowly draining away until she had be almostpletely calm. It was only at this point that Vahn softly stated, If that is what you want, Gray...we will always be here for you..." Vahn made sure to say we as, in the future, he intended to have Gray open up to most of the Servants and people who would be working under the banner of his organization. He didnt want her to start dedicating herself to him as, even if he treated her well, this would only be another toxic rtionship. Vahn wanted Gray to be able to grow as a person through interacting with other powerful women, to the point that she could confidently interact with others instead of hiding herself away from the world... In response to Vahns words, Gray just uttered a silent Nn as she rested her head against his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat. She had never been simply held like this before, even when she was just a little girl, so Gray was enjoying the moment as much as she could. Vahns body was extremely warm and, with their difference in size, it felt like he could easily protect her from anything that would try to harm her. This made Gray just want to stay wrapped in his embrace without having to worry about anything else but, like all good things, Vahns arms began to ck before he released her waist. This caused Gray to feel that the room was somewhat cold, even though it was a rather steamy 31 degrees Celcius after their long session of lovemaking... --- After separating from Gray and Artoria, who both went to inform everyone outside that it was his birthday, Vahn made the rounds to visit Nobunaga and Lakshmibai. He had been able to sense that both girls were waiting rather patiently and, not wanting to disappoint, Vahn made sure to spend plenty of time with both of them before preparing to return to the outside world. Nobunaga had been somewhat annoyed with him after everything that had happened recently so Vahn had to tend to her quite a bit before she was satisfied. As for Lakshmibai, she was an easy girl to deal with since she would quickly get drunk off the pleasure beforepletely immersing herself into things. Her stamina was a bitcking, as she pushed herself quite a bit, but Vahn felt like she would be a monster in the bedroom when she gained a bit more experience... By the time Vahn had left the Sub-Space Orb, only two and a half hours had passed in the real world, meaning it wasnt even time for lunch. This didnt mean the kitchen was empty, however, as Vahn could sense Circe happily moving about while Rin and Sakura seemed to be baking a cake for him. This brought a smile to his face while, at his side, Nobunaga stretched her now matured body before giving him a surprise kiss on the cheek and saying, "If that girl wants to do anything special for your birthday, you had better not leave me out. Im still pissed off that you ended the war without even relying on me so dont expect me to just sit by as you gvant around with other women. You cant get rid of me so easily after the crap youve pulled..." Though Nobunaga had originally been prepared to return to the Throne of Heroes after the Holy Grail War hade to an end, that sentiment had changed with the passage of time. Even before the matter of Angra Mainyu had been brought to light, she had been intending to talk with Vahn about joining him on his mission to essentially conquer the world. Since she hadnt been able to help him much during the war itself, Nobunaga wanted to at least prove her worth by helping him achieve his dreams in the present. At the same time, though she would never admit it, Nobunaga felt mncholic whenever she thought about not only separating from him, but forgetting their time together. After experiencing his memories and getting to know Vahns nature, Nobunaga simply couldnt let him go so easily... Watching Nobunaga disappear into motes of magical light, Vahn couldnt prevent himself from smiling as, even with troublesome matters like Akasha and ya, he knew he lived a blessed life. Setting aside his inhibitions and just moving forward was a very fulfilling way to live and, though there were bound to be issuester on, Vahn epted that he would simply have to deal with them when the time came. He had no idea how many years it would take him to return home as, even with sixty years to prepare, Vahn couldnt even guarantee he would be able to contend against Angra Mainyu and his forces... The difference between introductory Tier 4 and peak Tier 4 was a massive gulf that could take decades to attain while reaching Tier 5 was something he couldnt evenprehend fully. Going even further beyond that, reaching the peak of Tier 5, seemed like a distant goal that could take him centuries, even if he made a concerted effort to reach it. Since this wasnt even a fraction of the power he would need to link the Records, Vahn knew the journey ahead was far too long to hold himself back the entire time. The primary difference between the Nasuverse and Danmachi was that, regardless of the number of women he ended up sleeping with, Vahn never intended to have anymitted rtionsh.i.p.s. The matter with Rin and Sakura was a bit of an exception, but the rest of Vahns rtionsh.i.p.s would be in an open state, even if he never directly rified that. If any of the women, including his Servants, decided they no longer desired a physical rtionship with him, Vahn wouldnt pressure them into it. Though this awareness made him feel a little sc.u.mmy, Vahn intended to make any woman he was with fully aware of the fact he had a family waiting for him in a world impossibly far away. He wouldnt mind staying with them for even hundreds of years, but there would inevitablye a time when he would need to leave this world. Though he was already beginning to think about linking this Record as well, it was important to Vahn that they knew what they were getting into. Even if he one day ended up marrying or impregnating some of the girls, that would be predicated on the fact that it was something they genuinely wanted. So long as they understood that his main priority was always bing strong enough to one day return home, Vahn was quickly opening up to the idea of having a second life within the Nasuverse. If he had to spend hundreds of years passing through various timelines, it would be exceptionally lonely if he didnt have emotional anchors, plural, to keep him grounded... With that in mind, it wasnt long before Vahn found himself in the rather lively kitchen where Circe was actually cooking normally while Rin guided Sakura,plete with a frilly apron, through the process of mixing cake batter. Seeing that thetter now had her hair done up in tiny pigtails, each tied with small ribbons, Vahn couldnt help smile affectionately as he leaned against the frame of the door. Though Sakura might not be his own flesh and blood, seeing the girl seriously stirring up a bowl of cake batter, even though she was making a mess in the process, warmed his heart a great deal. When she finally noticed his presence and shouted, "Otou-sama, you cant peek...!", Vahn felt like he had taken critical damage as heughed in a light-hearted manner before waving as he left them to their own devices... (A/N: Alternate Titles: S.e.x can be ther.a.p.eutic, so long as that isnt the intent from the start xD...,For real though, Lord El-Melloi II is a bit of a cunt,Vahn might be good at taming women, but he is a big softy when ites to children...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1099 - Celebration

Chapter 1099 - Celebration

After getting kicked out of the kitchen, Vahn decided to pass the time in Rins Study with Fenrir. She had already finished her training with for the day and, knowing it was her Masters birthday, Fenrir immediately changed her priorities to spend more time with him. Because of this, Vahn ended up reclining on the small bed located on the mezzanine, enjoying reading a book for the first time in a surprisingly long period of time. Hezily flipped through the pages while absentmindedly stroking Fenrirs soft fur with his left hand as she curled up next to him. In a way, it was more fulfilling to spend his time like this as the opportunity to truly rx was surprisingly rare these days... By the time Vahn had flipped through half the pages of thick grimoire on magical theory, a knock could be heard on the Studys door. Though Vahn already knew who it was, he lightly asked, "Yes, is there something...?" In response to this, Lakshmibai opened the door before answering, "Master, the preparations for lunch have beenpleted. Everyone is waiting for your arrival..." This caused Fenrir to stretch her body in an adorable manner before hopping off the bed and jumping over the small handrail meant to prevent people from falling down to the lower floor. Vahn also rose to his feet, casually using telekinesis to put away the book as he stated, "Thank you foring to inform us, Lakshmibai." Returning a polite bow in response, Lakshmibai had a small smile on her face as she said, "It is my pleasure to be of service..." This caused Vahn to chuckle as he reached out his hand, stroking Lakshmibais head while she was still in the midst of her bow. Like Artoria and Gray, she also had a prominent ahoge on the top of her head so, after the mischevious little tuft began to dance around happily, Vahn pinched it with his fingers. Then, even though there were no actual nerves within the clump of peculiar hair, Vahn watched with an amused glimmer in his eyes as Lakshmibais body tensed up, her expression bing fl.u.s.tered as she muttered, "Master, please do not tease me..." Knowing it would cause problems if he took things too far, Vahn released Lakshmibais ahoge before running his fingers through her silky white hair as he said, "You are bing more beautiful each day..." With that said, Vahn pulled his hand away before walking past Lakshmibai, earning a look of me from her in the process as she lightly stroked her chest to calm down. Though it was only several small things, Vahn had been teasing her a lot moretely. She understood the reasons but, as the Holy Grail War had alreadye to an end, Lakshmibai felt a little awkward staying around him. Though she shared his dream of a better future, it sometimes felt like she was bing more and more dependent on him, all while her resistances against his actions were steadily decreasing... As she hadnt left the room yet, Fenrir just stared at Lakshmibai for several seconds before sneaking up on her and lightly pawing the brown-skinned beautys backside. This caused Lakshmibai to startle greatly as she hadnt actually noticed Fenrir was still present. She covered her backside with her hands, a pouting expression on her face as she asked, "Lady Fenrir, what is the meaning of this?" Like Artoria, she had the habit of referring to Fenrir and Rin both with Lady as, even though their status was technically lower than her own, she simply couldnt treat the real women around Vahn without a certain level of respect. After all, they were the two closest women to Vahn and,pared to her title as Jhansi, Vahns status as an Emperor was iparably higher... Since she could tell that Lakshmibai was simr to her, Fenrir felt like she needed to look after this junior of hers, exining, "You should not worry so much. Master will be troubled if you let yourself fall into a negative mentality. Just be honest with him and do what you think is best...Master will not make things difficult for you if you are ufortable. If you stay silent, you will both be troubled if things get out of hand..." With this said, Fenrir lightly pat Lakshmibais shoulder before heading through the door, adding, "Master already thinks highly of you. Do not be afraid to speak your mind. He will undoubtedly listen...even if you want to do something naughty..." Fenrir ced a little extra emphasis on thest word as, regardless of how apprehensive Lakshmibai seemed, her nose couldnt be fooled so easily... Hearing Fenrirs words, Lakshmibai felt her heart rate quicken as she looked towards the empty door for several seconds after the sound of footsteps had faded away. She eventually released a heavy sigh, tinged with a bit of warmth as she said, "She takes after Master quite a bit...but she is probably right...haaaaa...it looks like Im going to be even stranger in the future..." When these words left her mouth, Lakshmibais eyes lost a bit of their focus as a subtle red hue colored her skin. Since all of this was only a temporary arrangement, almost like an extended dream, Lakshmibai felt it wouldnt be so bad to enjoy things for a little longer. She had already lived her life through to its natural end so, while she would have never had the courage to do such things in life, Lakshmibai wanted to try and experience the full effects of her newfound luck... --- Though Lakshmibai had said everyone was waiting, Vahn noticed that Rin and Sakura were still in the kitchen, likely waiting for him to sit down before bringing out the cake they had prepared. When he entered into the dining room, however, Vahn had to bring up both hands to form a barrier of wind as Circe had suddenly pounced on him as soon as he stepped through the door. This caused her hair, wings, and clothes to flutter a bit as she released a yful giggle and said, "So shy~." Then, oveing the wind pressure with a flick of her wings, Circe came to a stop right before Vahn, her hands linked behind her back as she looked up at his face with her peculiar pink and green eyes. She just stared at him for a few seconds until, just as Vahn was about to say something, Circe threw her arms around him before loudly shouting, "Happy birthday, Vahn~!" as she pressed her b.r.e.a.s.ts into his abdomen. Knowing Circe meant well, even if her actions were a bit mischevious, Vahn kissed the top of her forehead before saying, "Thank you, Circe. Youve been working hard..." This was the limit to his reward for her, however, as petting in thepany of others would only make things awkward. Fortunately, Circe released her hug before skipping around happily with her hands on her cheeks, an adorable squeal escaping her lips after Vahn kissed the top of her head. It was things like this that reminded Vahn a lot of the Harpy-Xenos from his previous world as they too would often overreact to everything. Since Circe also had her strange wing-like attachment, her status as a birdbrained girl was quickly being cemented in his mind... Unlike Circe, everyone else knew how to be patient as they waited for Fenrir and Lakshmibai to show up before Artoria alighted to the kitchen to let Rin and Sakura know everyone was present. Momentster, Vahn had to take a deep breath as Rin held open the door so that Sakura, holding a cake with a super serious expression on her face, made her way towards the table. She had to lean back slightly to support the weight of the cake but Sakura persisted all the way until reaching the table. When she finally managed to get the cake safely atop the table, Sakura released a sigh of relief before looking towards Vahn and immediately adopting a radiant smile as she said, "Happy Birthday, Otou-sama~!" Understanding that Sakura was putting in her maximum effort in order to appeal to him, Vahn returned an affectionate smile as he said, "Thank you, Sakura-chan...did you and your Okaa-chan makes these cake together~?" Though he already knew the answer, Vahn wanted to give Sakura the chance to rify it for herself, as it would be good for her confidence going forward. In response, she nodded her head furiously before happily eximing, "Yes~! Okaa-chan and me, we worked super hard for Otou-sama! Make sure to eat lots and lots, okay~!?" Though Sakura didnt have any memories of her Otou-sama, she knew that everyone had a mommy and a daddy. Since her Okaa-chan had said that Vahn was her Otou-sama, Sakura was doing her best to be a good daughter so that he wouldnt leave them. She knew it was strange for so many strange people to be in their house but, seeing how well her Okaa-chan and Otou-sama got along, Sakura wanted to do her best to make sure they stayed together as a family. Though she couldnt understand where her Otou-sama had been her entire life, it was fine as long as he was with them now. Thus, even without her Okaa-chan asking her to, Sakura was determined to make a good impression on her Otou-sama so they could all be happy together... With even Circe being able to read the mood, Vahn pandered to Sakura as much as possible, eating nearly half the cake himself after everyone sang a birthday tune. This was a new custom but Vahn thought it was surprisingly suitable for the situation since it made everything feel marginally more festive. The inclusion of a veritable feast, courtesy of Circe, and a few unexpected presents, including a small pendant that could support two tiny pictures, turned the event into a pleasant memory that Vahn securely locked away in his mind. Though there was an awkward moment when Sakura asked how old he was, Vahn managed to y it off with augh before throwing out thirty on a whim. This would make him three years older than Rin, but that was still much easier to understand for a young girl than him trying to exin that he was nearly 130 years older... After the rtively impromptu celebration, Vahn found himself in Rins room, not for any extra presents, but to discuss her travel arrangements. As they had both anticipated, there were several people within the Mages Association demanding her quick return. She, Lord El-Melloi II, t, and even Luvia would all be appearing before a Tribunal before being subjected to several months of inquiries. Though there had also been a few people calling for his inclusion in the trial, the fact he didnt actually belong to the Mages Association made it difficult for them to force the issue. There were currently a lot of unknowns surrounding Vahn but, no matter what angle you looked at things from, it was easy to see he was a powerful individual. This caused most factions to believe he had a strong supporter behind the scenes, making it difficult for them to antagonize him before they were able toplete their investigations. When the conversation came to a lull, Vahn gently rubbed Rins hand with his thumb as she leaned against his shoulder with her head hanging a bit. She took in a deep breath in response, followed by Vahn asking, "How soon until you leave...?" Though he wanted to go with her, they both knew this was counterintuitive to resolving the situation. London was essentially the heart of the Magus Community as many of their Noble families had been around for more than 1500-2000 years. The moment he was within their scope of influence, it would be impossible to extricate himself without making his allegiences clear. Even the Holy Church knew better than to send any of their important figureheads into London without having alreadye to an agreement with the Mages Association for safe passage... In response to Vahns question, Rin squeezed his hand a little as she answered, "Lord El-Melloi II says it will take them around two or three days to break down theirmand center and return the hotel to its previous state. I dont need to head back at the same time as them, but it would be better if we all moved as part of the same faction. It would be easier for our enemies to take action against us if our travel ns are split too far apart from each other...what Im most worried about is Sakura. She is going to be heartbroken when I tell her were going to London without you..." Since today was the first time Sakura was meeting her Otou-sama, she would obviously be devastated that he would be apart from them so soon. She was working harder than either of them expected to try and appeal to him, making both Rin and Vahn feel guilty about theplex reality of Sakuras situation... Understanding Rins concerns, Vahns mind instantly came up with several potential solutions, even if none couldpare to him going along with them. However, as he had no intention of joining any faction, Vahns hands were tied on the matter so he exined, "I will make an artifact known as a Space-Time Orb for you and Sakura to use while were apart. It is different from a Sub-Space Orb in that only your mind is able to enter the space. However, because of this quality, I am able to create something called a Memory Fragment to inhabit the Orb. If I adjust the time dtion to a 1:1 ratio, Sakura could visit my Memory Fragment whenever she is feeling lonely. Since it will have all my memories, it will be able to take care of both of you until we can be together again...when that timees, I can download the Memory Fragment, inheriting its memories and preventing awkward misunderstandings from urring..." Hearing Vahns words, Rin felt a slight pain in her heart as, even though she would refuse Vahns offer toe with them, she still kind of wanted him to insist. Him having a solution made her feel a little lonely as, even though something like the Space-Time Orb was useful, she knew it wouldnt be the real Vahn. However, it was still a better solution than anything she coulde up with so Rin released a tired sigh before raising her face to look at his, saying, "I understand...thank you..." These words hadnt even left her mouth for a single second, however, before Vahn gave her a gentle yet long kiss, only stopping when her breathing had be audible. When he separated from her, Vahn affectionately stroked her chin as he said, "If it would make you happy, I wouldnt mind confronting the entire Clock Tower until they eventually broke down and left us alone..." Rin couldnt help smiling when she heard Vahns words, even though she lightly knocked him on the head and said, "Dont say such stupid things, Vahn. We both know it is better for this world if you have time to prepare your forces before taking action. Just dont think you need to do everything yourself, okay? When the timees, dont forget that there are allies who would stand at your side if you approach them. As for Sakura and myself...we will be okay for a few months without you. It shouldnt take me more than a year to get everything wrapped up and then welle and stay with you from then on...is that okay?" Without even having to consider it, Vahn nodded his head before gently pulling Rin into his embrace and stroking her hair with his fingers. He knew there was a battle waiting for her back in London that he couldnt really do anything about with his current power and authority. At the same time, Rin was well aware of the fact that Illya needed some space as, even during the birthday celebration, she had shown a troubled expression when Sakura tried to be friendly with her. A year might not seem like a long period of time, but that could easily trante to six years if Vahn created a Sub-Space Orb at his base of operations. Though this thought was also somewhat troubling, as it meant Vahn would be around 162 by the time they were reunited, Rinforted herself adopting the perspective that things like age, and time itself, simply lost their meaning around Vahn... --- After a long conversation discussing the specifics of their intended movements, including Vahns intention to establish his base either on an ind in the Pacific or the mountains of Germany, the atmosphere began to be noticeably tense as time droned onward. Though it was still early in the afternoon, entering into the Sub-Space Orb would give them well over a days worth of time to make use of for Vahns actual present. Scthach had decided to give him the rest of the day in the outside world off, including the time spent within the Sub-Space Orb. Because of this, most of the girls who had slept with Vahn had some expectations of their own, the only exception being Artoria and Gray since they were content with what had happened earlier. Knowing that it had somehow fallen on her shoulders to make the final decision, Rin had a deep shade of red coloring her cheeks as she asked, "Is there anything youd like for your present...? Just for today, I will make a special exception and let you make as many requests as youd like..." With Ishtar and Ereshkigal both expressing their intention of ying along, Rin knew she was in for something she probably wasnt wholly prepared for. As for Vahn, he had already put a bit of thought into the matter, almost immediately answering, "If youre not against it, I wanted to have you, Nobu, and Lakshmibai wear a few outfits I had picked out...after that, well see where things go. Ill also be spending some alone time with Fenrir before the evening...however, when wee out from the Orb, I think it would be nice if you, me, and Sakura just sleep together as a family. I think she will be happy with both of her parents at her sides..." Vahn knew he was being a bit sneaky by making a difficult demand, followed by something Rin simply couldnt refuse, but it was, after all, his birthday. He also wanted to expose Lakshmibai to group y as, with her unique temperament, it was only a matter of time until she became a mainstay in the bedroom. Her presence would also manage to keep Nobunaga in check as, without leading her like when they were alone, she would undoubtedly act out a bit. If she and Ishtar began butting heads, it would make the entire situation more awkward than necessary. Since Lakshmibai and Ereshkigal could serve as a counterbnce for the two strong personalities, Vahn figured things were likely to be very interesting in a short period of time. With a tired sigh escaping her lips, Rin ultimately bit the bullet by saying, "If that is what you want. Dont me me for making unreasonable demands on my birthday..." Though she had meant to say the second half of her statement within her mind, Rins bad habit of talking to herself had betrayed her. She didnt even seem to realize the slip, something Vahn found particrly amusing as he came up with a few ns of his own to make Rin feel special. His Memory Fragment would retain these thoughts so, once Rins birthday came around, Vahn didnt mind if she made as many unreasonable demands as she wanted. With that in mind, he intended to procure a bunch of different fabrics and materials to store within the Space-Time Orb so that his Memory Fragment could handcraft a few unique articles of clothing and essories for Rins benefit... Thinking until this point, Vahns smile gained the characteristic curve of amus.e.m.e.nt as he purchased a few outfits for Rin to wear. The other girls could change their clothing on a whim so Vahn beganying out tens of different outfits, causing Rins eyes to steadily widen when she saw how little some of the clothes covered. To answer her question before she could form her thoughts, Vahn continued to pile up clothes as he exined, "I want you to be able to experience my culture a bit. These are all designs that you would have been able to find back in my world. Believe it or not, there was an entire race of people that used these kinds of clothing to battle against ferocious monsters." As Vahn spoke, he held up what looked like a tan g-string and a simrly colored b.r.e.a.s.t strap that barely covered the chest. Since these were literally the same kinds of clothes worn by some Amazonesses, Vahns words contained no falsehoods. With her strong intuition, Rin knew he wasnt trying to deceive her and, even though she couldnt help but question what kind ofmon sense the people of Vahns world had, she still hesitantly reached out her hands to ept the offered garment. Then, with a red face, Rin began to unbutton her blouse while Vahn watched her attentively from his spot on the bed. Though they would need to move to the Sub-Space Orb soon, that didnt mean there wasnt time to enjoy a sample of what was toe... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lakshmibai be like, "Well, Im already dead...",Sakura, fighto~!,Its like being able to demo all the DLC costumes of your favorite game...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1100 - Tracking

Chapter 1100 - Tracking

As much as he would like to just enjoy his time just gvanting around with the girls, Vahn knew there were pressing matters to attend to without much time to get them resolved. After spending the rest of his birthday in a memorable way, punctuated by his family time with Rin and Sakura, Vahn found himself in the Sub-Space Orb making preparations for their separation. It would take him a few hours to make a small-scale Space-Time Orb, around the size of a golf ball, and this was only the first task on his agenda. Fortunately, Scthach was being lenient with him, so long as he was focused on work, while ya had yet to reappear since the time he dismissed her. Vahn knew she was still around but, not having her lingering over him allowed him to remain focused on more important tasks... Since the Space-Time Orb only needed to serve the function as a means to spend time with Rin and Sakura, Vahn made the inside only around 500m in diameter while using his understanding of Laws and the benefit of his Source Energy to make the inner world as real as possible. He didnt want Sakura to stay in a ce with an empty white sky as, even if she only used the Space-Time Orb to spend time with him, it would pollute the experience with each incongruity. At her age, she had yet to start training seriously in Magecraft so there was a lot for Sakura to learn, all things that could be worried about when she got a bit older. Though she might not have a normal education, interacting with children her own age, Vahn believed there would be a few capable mentors and young Servants within the Throne of Heroes that would make a good impression on her. Once she understood her own situation better, Vahn was even intending to treat Sakura like a legitimate Princess as Rin fully intended to reveal that he was an Emperor once she had stabilized... With Sakuras future in mind, Vahn spent around five hours producing the smallest and most stable Space-Time Orb he could manage. It only had a time dtion ratio of 1:1 so it was much easier to produce than any other Orb he had developed before. Using the extra time, as he had afforded himself ten hours to take care of it, Vahn entered into the Space-Time Orb to form his Memory Fragment and purchase the materials he would need to build a house and decorate the area. He nned to build a small vi-style house with two floors, the second floor belonging entirely to Sakura. With arge room filled with books, toys, and a few instruments, Vahn was intended to home school her whenever she wasnt busy in the real world. Rin had already told him that she would be staying with the Edelfelt family while she was in London so it shouldnt be too difficult to make arrangements for Sakura to have free time... After filling a small underground warehouse with materials, Vahn partnered up with his Memory Fragment to build a stone wall around the spaces perimeter before going through the rather arduous process ofying down tiles of grass and flowers. Though there was soil within the Space-Time Orb, it would take several days for it to absorb enough power to start emting real soil in the outside world. Previously, Terra was able to prevent this from being an issue but Vahn was far from her level when it came to spreading Life, Vital, and Nature energy into the surroundings. He could emte it with his domain, but the efficacy left a lot to be desired since his understanding of the Laws wasnt developed enough. Still, by the time four hours had passed, the ground had a grid-like plot of grass dotting the entire space that, after a few days, would begin looking like perfectly normal terrain... Entrusting the Space-Time Orbs management to his Memory Fragment, Vahn exited out into the real world, only to discover that he was no longer alone in his bedroom. Even more worrisome was the fact that he had an almost negligible weight straddling his h.i.p.s as a pair of lips ovepped his own, forcing chewed up food down his throat before the small tongue yfully danced around in his mouth. It didnt take him any time at all to discern this was Circe, causing Vahn to hook his hands under her arms beforeing to a seated position as she startled in his clutches. Before he could say anything, she began tough in a coy manner before saying, "You look cute when you sleep, ehehehe~." Understanding that Circe had essentially been trying to poison him while he slept, even though there was only a small amount of magical power in the food she was feeding him, Vahn had a stern expression on his face as he inly asked, "How should I punish you...?" This caused Circe to writhe around in his hands but, with her measly 2 Strength, it was fundamentally impossible for her to get him to budge in the slightest. Though her squirming atop hisp was a mild distraction, Vahn had no reaction to her movements, even she began to shimmy in hisp while saying, "Come now, I didnt do anything that bad. You were ignoring me and didnt respond to my calls so I just wanted to tease you a bit..." At this point, Circe was beginning to get a little nervous since she knew, if Vahn wanted to do something to her, there was little she could do to prevent it... Without his expression changing in the slightest, Vahn gave a small nod before asking, "What did you mix into the food? If you lie, expect your punishment to be much worse..." As he spoke, Vahns activated his [Eyes of Truth], causing Circes long ears to droop pathetically as she answered, "It was a herb that would have thickened the blood a bit, making it impossible for you to get an erection...I also mixed in a powerful aphrodisiac so you would have the urge to breed without being able to get it up..." As these words left her mouth, Circe shrunk her shoulders, her wings forming a protective barrier to obscure Vahns vision of her body... Hearing what kind of prank Circe had tried against him, Vahn felt his brain buzz a bit as, even if she didnt have any malicious intent, her idea of a prank was obviously skewed greatly from the norm. It was easy to see that she had wanted to rile him up so that he would attack her but, as she had no intention of giving up her v.i.r.g.i.nity, she had wanted to cripple his functionality for the time being. At the same time, due to her birdbrained nature, Vahn could tell that Circes own body had been affected by her own poison, causing a fragrant aroma to rise up from her body as, even while acting sheepishly, she wiggled her h.i.p.s against his waist... Knowing that the worst punishment he could use against Circe was to ignore her, Vahn released his grasp on her body before adopting a kind smile as he said, "Since you were honest with me Ill let you off with just a light punishment this time. You really shouldnt go around causing trouble, Circe, or else I wont pamper you even when you behave..." As he said this, Vahn lightly cupped the sides of Circes face before running his thumbs along the inside of her 10cm long elf-like ears. This caused Circe to make a mewling sound as a girlish awaaaaaaa~ escaped her lips. Then, after he lightly pinched the very tips of her ears, Vahn moved to stand after lifting her body from his and nting her squarely on the ground. She seemed confused by this action, at least until Vahn said, "That is enough for now..." and began walking towards the entrance of his room. Acting like a bird that had been sshed by water, Circe immediately red up her wings as she bounced a few centimeters off the ground and eximed, "Hey! You cant just...Vahn...!" Instead of turning around to listen to her, Vahn closed the door behind him before using a [Primordial Rune] to lock the door and rebound magecraft. It wouldnt take Circe long to break through, as she was a far more skilled Magus than he was, but it gave him more than enough time to leave the premises and exist the Orb. Even she knew better than to destroy the small house they all stayed in so Circe would have to backward engineer theplex runes structure, by which time Vahn was already long gone. She could still track him down but, knowing there were numerous obstacles surrounding Vahn, Circe could only grit her teeth before taking a dip in the coldke to cool down her body... --- After giving the Space-Time Orb to Rin and having her test its functions, Vahn needed to move on to his next set of priorities. Though he did make time to see how Sakura was doing, Vahn knew she was in good hands since Gray was reading together with her in the Study. With her taken care of, Vahn had Artoria and Nobunaga apany him as he set out into the City. Though Nobunaga acted like his sudden request was troublesome, by the time they were outside her mood had instantly done a one-eighty. She had donned a punk-rock t-shirt that slightly exposed her navel, a pair of frayed short-shorts, and two tall military-style boot that covered half her calf. Though they had gone out for a reason, Nobunaga quickly coopted their mission as an opportunity for a date as she dragged Vahn around for nearly an hour before they finally got serious... Choosing a small cafe to take a break, Vahn sat in a booth with Nobunaga cing her arm around his back and leaning against him without minding the stares of other patrons. Though she didnt have the same ethereal beauty as a girl like Artoria, Nobunaga had a very obvious cool beauty vibe that made her seem almost like a female rock star. She had tied her long ck hair with a small ribbon to prevent it from swaying around in the wind and was currently using the tuft at the end to lightly batter Vahns face as she teased Artoria on the other side of the booth. Fortunately, by the time their milkshakes had arrived, Nobunaga had stopped ying around, even though it took Vahn tightly gripping her right thigh to get her to straighten out... With Nobunaga nursing her milkshake, a slight blush on her face, Vahn put his assumption to the test by saying, "ya,e out..." In an instant, a sh of blue light that wentpletely unnoticed by everyone else in the cafe appeared right next to Vahn. ya had apparently decided the most optimal seat was next to Vahn, creating an almost zero-distance between them as she asked, "Do you have orders for me, Master?" Before Vahn answered her question, however, Nobunaga peeked around Vahns body, an annoyed expression on her face as sheined, "I still cant see her. Cant you make her show herself? It is annoying being the only one left out of the conversation." In response to Nobunagas words, Vahn gave a small nod to ya that seemed to get his point across as, even though there was no actual sign of change, Nobunaga suddenly muttered, "What the heck? Nobody told me she was blue...hahahahaha~." This caused Vahn to squeeze his left hand, immediately causing Nobunasughing to cease as she closed her thighs in response. From across the table, Artoria shook her head in mild exasperation before gently sucking on her straw, enjoying the sweet taste of her chocte milkshake as if they werent the center of attention in the small cafe. Before Nobunaga could interject again, Vahn turned to ya and said, "I want you to locate the Servant named Paracelsus for me. You should be able to sense anything that doesnt belong in the current time axis, right?" Since ya was part of the Counter-Force, meaning she would have nigh omniscience regarding anything on the, he expected she would be able to locate Paracelsus, even though Ishtar had failed to do the same. Vahn credited this to the fact that her powers were severely restricted within the surface world, as her main body should still be back on the Reverse Side, a restriction that had absolutely no effect on ya. Without any suspense, ya answered, "I have located him. What do you intend to exchange for this information?" Though she was supposed to be his assistant, ya had already made it clear from the start that she required equivalent exchange to take any meaningful action. Since locating someone that wanted to remain hidden took a proactive effort on her part, she would not give answer Vahn without a form of payment. As this was already within his expectations, Vahn asked, "You should have the data from my interaction with the Root, correct? Quantify the worth of the information and I will give you an adequate amount ofpensation. Do not try to skew the numbers..." After hearing Vahns words, yas purple eyes began to disy countless lines of runes before she eventually answered, "This information requires an exchange for 1,318 units of Magical Power." As the average Magus only had around 40-50 Od, this was the same as ya saying he needed to give her Magical Power equal to the maximum output of 25-30 Magi. With his own Od only at 493 points, Vahns reserves were tens times greater than the average, but apparently too low to make casual requests to ya. Still, knowing she could actually quantify the value for her services, Vahn had a good idea of how that could be converted into OP. He also knew it would be possible to game the system she had established by providing new information as her highest priority was undoubtedly observing him... Knowing his blood actually carried far greater Magical Power than his internal reserves reflected, Vahn made a small prick on his index finger before using creating a bubble of Source Energy as he spun a small sphere of blood at the end of his finger. This was a rather peculiar sight to behold so Vahn made sure his hand was out of sight from the casual observer to avoid making a scene. When it had reached the size of a small marble, Vahn looked at ya before inly stating, "Open your mouth." As she had seen him cut his finger to feed others already, ya didnt bother questioning him as she opened her mouth and extended her pale purple tongue. Vahn tossed the small marble of blood into her mouth, causing ya to instantly gulp it down as runes began dancing in her violet purple eyes... For the first time, Vahn got to see an actual expression on yas face as her brows furrowed slightly in response to the data she had received. She already knew how much Od Vahn had, as he made no attempt to keep it concealed within the Sub-Space Orb, so it didnt make any sense for his blood to contradict her observations. Though there were all kinds of Laws that made it possible to store energy within blood, none of these were at y around Vahns body so ya failed to understand how a small bead of blood could have almost a thousand units of Magical Power. By volume, this meant Vahns body should have around 1,733,333 units of Magical Power, a phenomenal amount that should be impossible to simply keep hidden. Coming to the conclusion that she would need to increase the parameters of her observation of Vahn, ya looked into his eyes and exined, "That amount of blood was equivalent to 998 units of Magical Power. I will need 320 additional units in exchange for the information regarding Paracelsus location." This seemed to be within Vahns expectations, as he gave a small nod in response before creating a much smaller sphere of blood. Her eyes closely observed this process, measuring the volume of the sphere while also monitoring Vahns Od fluctuations. He seemed to use absolutely none of his own power to feed energy into the blood, leading ya to deduce that he was pulling from his hidden reserves, a massive volume of energy that was even able to evade a precision scan down to the sub-atomic level... Using the information provided by ya, Vahn made a sphere that held precisely 320 units of Magical Power before tossing it into her mouth. At this point, he had be ustomed to the idea that his blood had several exploitable benefits. This was a stark contrast to how he treated it in the past but, after using it to power things like teleportation formation and to simply upkeep Fenrir, Vahn had befortable with the idea that his blood was something he had every right to use as he pleased. There was nothing he could do about people coveting the things he had so, instead of limiting himself by concealing one of his most versatile assets, Vahn didnt mind using his blood to save potentially hundreds of thousands of OP in the short term... With Vahn providing the requisite amount of energy, ya surprised the group by extending a tendril of bluish-white light that touched the back of Vahns hand. After she extracted the light, a thin strand of energy that drew a straight line between Vahns finger and a distant location. This light passed through obstacles as if they didnt exist and, whenever Vahn moved his hand around, the angle of the string would change marginally. At the same time, ya exined, "I have determined that it is your intention to seek out Paracelsus, not simply determine his location. This is known as a string of fate. It will connect you and Paracelsus for the next ten hours, allowing you to locate his position regardless of his efforts to evade detection. Is there anything else you require, Master?" Realizing how terrifyingly effective the string of fate was, Vahn couldnt help wondering how anything managed to escape yas detection. However, when he considered the fact that only seven people had ever reached the Root, even with an incalcble number of worlds and timelines, it was easy to understand that most people didnt escape her detection. The only reason they were still alive was that she had either determined their chances of reaching the Root were negligible or that their attempt to reach the Root would end in self-destruction. Since there were no reliable means of reaching the Root, most efforts ended in catastrophic failure, often causing the errant Magus the lives of themselves and their assistants in the process... Deciding to put yas capabilities to the test, Vahn ruminated for a few moments before asking, "How much would it cost in order for you to guarantee the protection of Rin, Sakura, and Gray while they are in London...?" With ya disying she could easily influence fate, Vahn knew she would be able to protect the lives of three people with rtive ease. At the same time, however, he knew it would probably cause an astronomical amount of Magical Power since his terms were to guarantee their protection. As he expected, ya spent a few seconds calcting before answering, "To ensure the protection of Rin Tohsaka, Sakura Tohsaka, and Arthur Pendragon, it will require an estimated 1,019,443 units of Magical Power." Though Vahn wasnt all that surprised by the massive cost, his eyes still opened in surprise as he asked, "Arthur Pendragon...?" At the same time, he cast a nce towards Artoria who, much like him, had a confused expression on her face. They had both jumped to the same conclusion, something ya quickly confirmed when she exined, "The woman you refer to as Gray possesses the True Name, Arthur Pendragon. Her existence is a misguided attempt by humans to recreate the original King Arthur, mistakenly believing the original had already died." As the very same person who had isted Artoria from the time axis, ya was the most aware of the two girls situation. When Vahn had broken her contract with Artoria, ya had actually marked him for elimination before Akasha had changed the fundamental nature of her mission... Understanding that ya would be a wealth of information, so long as he was willing to pay the price, Vahn nodded his head in understanding before saying, "When we return, I wille up with a method to produce the required amount of Magical Power. You also ept unique information and items that dont exist naturally within this world, right?" In response to this, ya surprisingly shook her head before saying, "I have determined it is necessary to analyze the structure of your body in greater detail. For the time being, I will only ept exchanges involving bodily fluids and other gic material. I would like to analyze your blood, marrow, cerebrospinal fluid, urine, s.e.m.e.n, saliva, and sweat. The concentration of Magical Power without your blood defies observable parameters so I need to perform a more detailed analysis of your bodys makeup to increase the uracy of future observations." As Vahn had already expected ya to say something like this at some point, as it was likely the very reason Akasha and her superiors allowed her to have a physical vessel, he just nodded his head in response. Fortunately, just like he had been doing with Scthach, it wouldnt really require him to do anything intimate with ya in order to meet her demands. Since he was also curious about the difference between his blood and other bodily fluids, even though they were allprised of Source Energy, Vahn felt yas analysis would provide several benefits for himself. He expected that his s.e.m.e.n probably had the highest concentration of Magical Power, as this was even the case back in Danmachi, but Vahn had no idea how effective things like his cerebrospinal fluid and sweat were... Seeing how cooperative Vahn was being, ya gave a small nod with her head before asking, "Is there anything else, Master?" Since he didnt actually need her to stick around any longer, at least for the time being, Vahn shook his head, answering, "For now, just keep yourself out of sight. Until I call you out again, you should continue to focus on your other duties and responsibilities." Though these words gave ya an urge to retort, as she was actually very limited in what she could due now that she would bound to Vahn, she still obeyed hismand. At the same time, however, ya looked forward to Vahns reaction when he realized how his actions were already causing massive ripples in the world. Since she couldnt use her Counter Guardians to deal with potential threats, there were numerous individuals and organizations moving now that they realized she couldnt proactively do anything to stop them. Unless Vahn gave her a truly monstrous amount of Magical Power, all these people would eventually be his responsibility to deal with. This knowledge gave ya a feeling of vindictive catharsis as, if Vahn had been paying proper attention to his newfound importance, he might have had the foresight to ask her about such things... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns Memory Fragments are always working hard xD,Nobunaga just wants to go on a date. Vahn is a bully...!,ya is surprisingly vindictive...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1101 - Depth

Chapter 1101 - Depth

Deciding to track down Paracelsus before the Thread of Fate expired, Vahn, Artoria, and Nobunaga began heading towards the coast following the Mion River to the east. Unfortunately, due to the fact that Magecraft and superpowers were a closely guarded secret within this world, Vahn was forced to move at a leisurely pace since Artoria was unable to use [Shundo] and would draw too much attention running at high speeds. If not for the fact that it was actually fun to walk around with the two beautiful girls, even if Nobunaga tried to push him into the river by surprise, Vahn would have felt like they were wasting time. He knew his sensibilities were a bit strange, as part of him actually wanted to enjoy a normal life for a while, but that simply wasnt an option... While Nobunaga would asionally pick up stones to toss into the River, pelting a few unfortunate fish with impable uracy, Artoria seemed to be enjoying the peaceful moment in silence. She was wearing casual clothes, including a pair of form-fitting blue jeans, riding boots, and a rather expensive looking winter coat she had seen in a shop along the way. She looked like a very high-ss youngdy as she walked slightly behind Vahn with her hands crossed over herp. Whenever he would look back at her, Artoria would return a small smile, causing Vahn to feel that spending time like this wasnt all that bad. Of course, any time it felt like he was having a moment with Artoria, Nobunaga would gently elbow his side or pull him along to look at something she had taken an interest in. After being dragged off by Nobunaga once again, they both noticed a group of youths, all young men around 14-16 years old, messing with something near the riverbank. Though Vahn had already sensed them in his domain, he hadnt been paying much attention to them until he noticed what they were doing. Before he even took action, however, Nobunaga practically flew through the air, nting her military-style boots into one boys face and sending him flying into the river. Though she held back a lot of her strength, as it would have otherwise killed the youth, it was a pretty vicious strike. In response to this, the boys friends all freaked out as one, having dyed blonde hair and an earring, shouted, "Who the f.u.c.k is this crazy bitch!?" Before anyone could answer his question, Nobunagas foot drew a perfect arc into the boys testicles before she threw a precise punch into another boys face. By the time any of them really understood what was happening, all five members of their little posse were on the ground with various injuries, some far more serious than others. At this point, Vahn had already arrived at the scene, ignoring the boys almostpletely as he bent down and ced his palm against a ragged cats body. The group had been torturing the unfortunate animal, leading to several of its ribs being broken as it twitched about against the embankment releasing small and wheezy mewls of pain... Nobunaga didnt look like she was anywhere near satisfied with the punishment she had dished out but, before she could break one of the boys legs, Vahn shook his head and said, "Stop...they may have done something cruel, but they are still just children. With those injuries, it will be their parents who have to pay the price for their hospital bills. Though they bear some responsibility for what their children have done, there is no need to take things too far..." As he was speaking, Vahn quickly set the broken bones within the cats body before drawing a few [Primordial Rune]s to heal it. He might not specialize in animals, but Vahns medical skills were more than enough to treat a juvenile ck cat, even if it was on the verge of death... Though Nobunaga looked like she wanted to argue, Vahn picked up the cats body before handing it over to her and saying, "She should be fine..." Since the cat was otherwise healthy, even though it seemed to be a stray, Vahn knew it just needed a bit of rest to recoverpletely. To aid in this, he purchased a small fish from the system shop that had a small amount of mana in it. Though the cat was still in Nobunagas arms, Vahn wiggled the fish in front of its nose while she watched his actions with her blood-red eyes. The moment the cat smelled the unnaturally fragrant fish, its eyelids peeled open, revealing a pair of sapphire blue eyes that immediately came into focus as it eyed the fish in Vahns hands. With a smile on his face, Vahn gently stroked the cats body as he held the fish close enough for it to quickly nom down on it as if it hadnt eaten in days. Though it should have developed a trauma from being tortured by humans, the cat seemed to understand they werent a threat to it as, shortly after it finished eating the fish, it began to pur under Vahns caress. This caused Nobunaga to give Vahn a teasing look as she muttered, "You dont even spare animals with those evil hands of yours..." In response to this, as Nobunaga was holding the cat right in front of her chest, Vahn used the back of his hand to stroke her b.r.e.a.s.t, sending a small jolt through his knuckle as he passed over the area where her n.i.p.p.l.e was located. Startled by the unexpected stimulus, Nobunaga quickly turned away from Vahn as if she hugged the cat, both shielding it with her body and using it to shield her chest. Seeing this, Vahn released a soft chuckle before pulling out his cell phone and calling an ambnce. At the same time, Artoria had already fetched the boy that Nobunaga had kicked into the river. He had lost consciousness and, though Vahn was going to pull him out before he drowned, Artoria had beaten him to it as she pulled the boy by his cor before throwing him onto the embankment. His nose and left corbone had been broken by Nobunagas sudden attack but, as Artoria was quite fond of cats, she didnt feel too guilty tossing him aside like trash... Deciding not to stick around and be questioned by the police, Vahn, Artoria, and Nobunaga quickly left the scene, now with a plus-one in the form of a ck cat. It seemed like Nobunaga had decided to make the six or seven-month-old cat her pet, letting it rest in her embrace as she stroked its ck fur with her right hand. As if it understood its position, the cat obediently purred in ordance with its new Masters caress, resting its head against her arm as it went with the flow of the situation. By the time they reached the coast, Vahn even heard Nobunaga calling it by the name Susu as she lightly poked its nose, much to the cats frustration... Upon reaching the sea, Vahn held out his hand and saw that the thin blue strand continued forward at a slight angle towards the wintery water that seemed to stretch out into infinity. Nobunaga saw this and, understanding its meaning, remarked, "Im going to return to the Manor with Susu. If you need my help, you can summon me with one of those Command Spells." Since she didnt want to leave it on the shoreline, Nobunaga was intending to take her newfound pet back to the Manor so it couldnt wander off. If Paracelsus and his Master had made a base underwater, she wouldnt be much help anyway since her matchlocks had a trait that made them impossible to use when wet... Since he wasnt nning on starting a fight in the first ce, Vahn nodded his head before saying, "Tell everyone that we should be back before nightfall." With a nod of her own, Nobunaga changed her outfit into a neutral gray coat before hugging Susu tightly in her embrace and bolting across the sand. With the speed of a Servant, it wasnt difficult to travel alone as they would often be mistaken for a strong breeze by all but the most perceptive humans. With clothes that didnt stand out that much, at leastpared to the general color of buildings, Nobunaga quickly approached a low-rise building before leaping directly to the roof. From there, she began to leap from roof to roof like a phantom, the cries of a cat echoing in the wake of her high-speed movements... Shaking his head in mild exasperation and amus.e.m.e.nt, Vahn then proceeded to quick-change into what looked like a diving suit. Only his face, hands, and feet were left bare while his muscr body was perfectly ented by the dark-grey, skin-tight, fabric. He didnt miss the fact that Artorias eyes nced over his body, causing Vahn to smile as he asked, "What will you do?" In response to this, Artoria looked around to make sure there were no people paying attention to them. It waste Fall at the moment so the only beachgoers were those who ran along the beach for the purpose of physical fitness. Since there werent any onlookers, Artoria closed her eyes before her clothes burst apart with magical energy before reforming into a diving suit not all that dissimr to Vahns. Instead of dark-grey, however, Artorias was a royal blue color with ents of white and gold, almost as if she simply couldnt help but stick to her base color pallet... Admiring Artorias figure without making any effort to appear discreet, the proud Knight sheepishly covered her b.r.e.a.s.ts and crotch with her hands as she mumbled, "We should be going..." Since she had a point, Vahn simply nodded his head in response before taking a deep breath and saying, "I dont know how far away they went, so well have to pick up the pace a bit. Here, this will help..." Though the form was a bit different, Vahn was able to cast an unnamed spell that allowed a person to breathe underwater for a few hours. There was a good chance that Paracelsus had made his workshop on the seabed so they would likely have to dive pretty deep to be able to reach him. Though it felt like she was breathing through some kind of filter, Artoria quickly adapted to the strange sensation before taking a few steps forward and diving into the sea. Vahn had followed her back with his eyes for a few moments before quickly diving in after her, knowing he would need to lead the way. Fortunately, though there was a bit of silt obscuring their vision near the shoreline, the water quickly cleared up after a few hundred meters as it transitioned into a pristine blue color. Vahn was momentarily distracted by how pronounced Artorias figure had be after exposure to the cold water, but the look of me in her green eyes made him regain his focus. Then, at a speed that would put most submarines to shame, Vahn began to follow the glowing blue string attached to his hand... The fact the String of Fate glowed ended up being a huge boon as, after traveling a few hundred meters into the sea, there was a steep dropoff where the water quickly became dark. After diving down nearly eight-hundred meters, there was absolutely no sunlight as Vahn had to use his [Eyes of Truth] to see ahead of him. Strangely, Artoria didnt seem to suffer from theck of light either but, remembering she had even been able to fight against Fenrir with a blindfold, it wasnt all that surprising. She was likely following him by feeling the vibrations in the water, a fact made apparent by how she had closed the distance between them considerablypared to when they could still see. As they continued to dive deeper, Vahn knew that Artoria wouldnt be able to keep up with him for much longer as, even for him, it was getting difficult to pull air into his lungs. At a thousand meters, they were experiencing an atmospheric pressure of nearly a hundred bar, or 10,000kPa of pressure over every centimeter of their body. Though Artoria had persisted with her Mana Burt and her super-human levels of Endurance, she eventually exhaled arge plume of bubbles before struggling in the water. Vahn immediately doubled back to guide her to an area where she would be able to breathe again, sending waves of Source Energy into her body to help her stay calm. It was clear he would need to proceed alone so, after reaching around 800m, Vahn ced his forehead against Artorias while holding her body in his embrace for a few minutes. They couldntmunicate at this depth and, as Artoria was too strong for him to give a [Pactio] at his current level, he could only express his intentions through actions... Once Artoria had calmed down considerably, Vahn slowly separated from her before pulling out arge and radiant mana crystal. This caused a blue glow to light up the endless darkness around them, allowing Vahn and Artoria to see each other clearly. He then handed it over to her, pointing towards the surface before tapping the back of his hand to remind her not to ascend too quickly. Though she couldnt really suffer from something like dpression sickness, it was still better to be safe than sorry when it came to such things. Since his spell wouldst for ten hours, Artoria had plenty of time to make her way back to the surface as he continued the search for Paracelsus. Nodding her head in understanding, even though there was a conflicted expression on her face, Artoria eventually turned around as she began to slowly rise toward the surface. Vahn felt a little guilty that she couldnte along with him but there wasnt much he could about it since her existence as a [Spirit Vessel] made it impossible for Artoria to learn new skills. If she could use [Cantus Bex] in conjunction with her [Mana Burst], she would have experienced a qualitative increase in strength. This was yet another reason justifying the recruitment of Paracelsus as, with his and Illyasbined assistance, it wouldnt be difficult to make extremely high-quality Homunculi in the future... After watching Artoria for a while, Vahn eventually turned his attention toward the darkness below before following the thin blue string even deeper. Ironically, after continuing to around 1300m, Vahn found that the string passed through the seabed, continuing into the deep and slimy mud that dotted the entirendscape around him. Though his domain could extend far into the surroundings, it was decided less effective when it came to prating solid objects. Vahns senses only allowed him to see at inconsistent depths, the deepest not extending more than 150m into the subsurface soot that seemed like it could easily swallow up an entire ship if they were unfortunate enough to sink into the area. Since he didnt feel like diving blindly into the thick mud below, Vahn thought about the best course of action before ultimately deciding to make ya do some work. Though he would be hesitant to interact with her around the others, there was nobody to see what he might do at the bottom of the sea. With that in mind, Vahn called out, "ya,e out." even though his voice didnt really carry underwater. This didnt stop her from appearing, however, illuminating the area for a brief moment as she popped up right in front of him. As if the water had absolutely no effect on her, ya asked in her cold monotone, "Do you have orders for me, Master?" Her voice reached his ears without any difficulty, causing Vahn to release a curious hnn since it seemed like a useful ability to master. Setting aside other matters, Vahn asked through a plume of bubbles, "How much Magical Power would it take for you to either teleport me into Paracelsusb or expose it so I can ess it more easily...?" This question caused yas eyes to sh with lines of runes before she answered, "There is a spatial lock around the structure that would cost 4,107 units of Magical Power to breach without destroying it outright. To remove the pgic sediments obscuring the structure, it would cost between 323,412 and 419,221 units of Magical Power." Hearing yas words, Vahn briefly imagined her shifting the entire seafloor aside to expose Paracelsus base, an almost iprehensible disy of power. Though he was capable of attacks that would devastate several kilometers back in Danmachi, the way ya talked about performing incredible feats as if it required no effort was strangely unnerving. He knew she was well over Tier 5, making her one of the strongest entities he had ever met, but that didnt make him feel any better about the situation. Vahn hated feeling inconsequentialpared to the greatest powers in the world, to the point he had even fled the Record of Danmachi just to avoid potential danger to his family. Now, he was slowly starting to develop bonds with several people in the Nasuverse so Vahn felt nervous around being like ya since the level of power she wielded was simply beyond his current ability toprehend... Shaking his head to clear such negative thoughts, Vahn moved closer to ya before asking, "You know what a Shinso Vampire is, right? I heard this world has something called True Ancestors so you should be able to transform into one. Come, Ill let you suck my blood until youre able to stockpile a few thousand units of Magical Power. You can use that power to help me out if anything unexpected happens that Im unable to deal with due to circ.u.mstances beyond my control." Since ya would eventually sample most of his bodily fluids, Vahn felt it would save a lot of time if he just let her suck his blood like Eva often did. If he let her drain him for a good hour or so, this would equate to a few hundred thousand units of Magical Power without even causing him to feel anemic. Contrary to Vahns expectations, ya shook her head before rifying, "I am unable to alter my race, even if I can change my features. True Ancestors are closer in nature to Creatures of Gaia so I am unable to emte their capabilities through normal methods. I can still suck your blood, however, so that will not be an issue." As she finished saying this, ya opened her mouth to reveal two sharp canines that extended to well over a centimeter in length. Vahn gave her a wry smile in response as, seeing a blue-skinned Artoria baring her fangs at him at the bottom of the sea was a rather peculiar sight... So she wouldnt get carried away, Vahn said, "If I tap your back twice, it means you can speed up your suction. If I press into your spine you need to slow down...when I want you to stop, Ill push your sides so make sure you are paying attention. If you try to take more than I allow, dont expect me to cooperate in your data collection in the future..." With that said, Vahn closed the distance between himself and ya, pulling him into her embrace as her teeth sank into the flesh between his neck and shoulder. At the same time, her hands grabbed his ribs with an ufortable amount of strength that showed ya had probably never touched anyone before. Fortunately, she adjusted her strength almost instantly, letting Vahn exhale a few bubbles in relief before double-tapping her back a few times... While ya was draining his blood at a rate just a bit slower than his regeneration, Vahn was feeling a strange twinge in his heart due to the contact between their bodies. The moment he embraced ya, Vahn could feel a warm andfortable pulsing sensation spreading through his body that made the surrounding pressure and coldness disappear entirely. It didnt even feel like he was in a body of water anymore as a perfectly weightless feeling apanied the warmth emanating from her body. At the same time, he could feel a powerful heartbeat that resonated through her chest and into his, causing Vahns to slowly synchronize with yas as she continued to persistently suck his blood. If not for the fact he didnt feel any intent from her at all, Vahn would have believed that ya was trying to rile him up... Unbeknownst to Vahn, the vessel that ya had been given was perfectly synchronized with his natural biorhythm at all times. Even the smell that emanated from her body was something that only he could sense, perfectly engineered to entice him in order to facilitate smoother data collection. They didnt want to force him, however, so the engineers that had produced yas body only reduced the effectiveness to the point that it wouldnt interfere with Vahns free will. Against their expectations, however, Vahn had been able to show a surprising amount of restraint, at leastpared to their preliminary analysis of his nature. From what they had observed, Vahn should have already had s.e.x with ya during the first night she had been assigned to him. What they could not ount for was the fact that Vahn was constantly channeling his [Will of the Emperor] and, as a result of how perturbing yas disposition was, Vahns inhibitions towards her were stronger than his instincts to seek her out... Now that Vahn was holding ya in his arms, he had a feeling that theirpatibility was much higher than it should be, alerting him to the fact that something was wrong. The longer they were in contact, the harder it was to prevent his hands from wanting to explore her body. Though he certainly had the bad habit of petting and touching, the fact he had no such intentions toward ya raised a few red gs within his mind. As a result, Vahn put more focus into his [Will of the Emperor], allowing himself to remain rtively calm for a full half-hour before he began to feel his tensions reaching a dangerous level. He actually had to cut off the connection between his brain and p.e.n.i.s as, regardless of his intentions, it seemed to be reacting in response to yas body... Feeling that she had absorbed around 200,000 units of Magical Power, Vahn ced his hands on yas sides, feeling strangely giddy as he gently pushed her body away from his. She made no efforts to resist the movement, separating from him without issue before exining, "I was able to process 203,663 units of Magical Power. Would you like to transfer now, Master?" Though she spoke inly, ya was analyzing the state of Vahns body, monitoring his heart rate and measuring the release of chemicals in his brain. His ability to retain his focus and willpower was something she needed to doc.u.ment as his resistance to her body was beyond expected parameters. Making a mental note that he shouldnt let ya suck his blood too often, Vahn nodded his head in response to her question. Then, in much the same way that Tiamat had been able to forcibly teleport him, Vahns surroundings changed in an instant. He found himself in a well-litboratory that had the distinctive appearance of a chemistryb with theplex arrangement of beakers, sks, and tools for refining materials. Standing at the table was a handsome man, bordering on beautiful who had long ck hair and brown eyes with a golden hue. With a sk in his hand, the man who Vahn assumed to be Paracelsus looked up at him with a curious expression on his face before smiling as he asked, "Greetings...May I ask what brings you to my Atelier? I had not expected any guests, at least not so soon after the Holy Grail War hade to an end..." Just as Vahn was about to return a greeting of his own, a woman wearing nothing but expensive-looking lingerie and ab coat walked in, yawning in a rather uncouth disy as she asked, "You talking to yourself again...?" As these words left her mouth, the woman looked toward Vahn with a nk expression, her body turning statuesque in an instant. At the same time, Vahn briefly scanned her body, internally noting that her figure would make most models green with envy. She had a pair of shapely b.r.e.a.s.ts, bordering on an E-Cup, while the line of her waist leading into her wide h.i.p.s would have caused most men to gawk. With her peculiar dark-purple hair, pale-yellow eyes, and red-rimmed sses, Vahn had the impression she was a mature and intelligent beauty. The only thing that shattered this image, not that he wasining, was the fact she hadcey ck lingerie that didnt leave much to the imagination, even if she was still wearing a whiteb coat... At the point when things were beginning to reach their tensest state, ya seemed determined to give Vahn an aneurysm as she asked, "Is this the type of woman you prefer?" Apanying her question, yas body changed into that of a far more mature version of Artoria, having shapely b.r.e.a.s.ts, a tight waist, perfectly shaped buttocks, and plump thighs. Even her height had increased from around 154cm to a rather tall 170cm as she gentlynded on the ground next to him. At this point, Vahn was one-hundred percent certain that ya was trying to get him to have s.e.x with her but, as the purple-haired woman had just grabbed a sk of green liquid to throw at him, he didnt have time to address the errant World-Tier Spirit... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Susu means Soot,ya is super dangerous...,I just imagine Paracelsus watching from the side with a perpetual smile on his face...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1102 - For the Future

Chapter 1102 - For the Future

By creating a wind barrier, Vahn was able to prevent the green liquid from reaching his face. This resulted in the chemical to ssh across the floor, quickly eating through the stone tiles of the otherwise pristine Atelier. In the next instant, faster than the female Magus could perceive, Vahn used [Shundo] to appear behind her. To her credit, she tried to turn around and defend herself but, as she had not been expecting an enemy, she had no artifacts or Mystic Codexes located on her body at the moment. As a result, Vahn pressed his index and middle finger into the pressure point at the base of her neck, causing the womans body to immediately go limp as she crashed down onto a thick mattress Vahn had set out to catch her. Since she was still conscious, Vahn stated in a calm tone of voice, "I have note here seeking conflict. However, if you insist on attacking me, I will be forced to defend myself..." As he said this, Vahn had to avert his eyes since the woman hadnded rather awkwardly, her butt sticking up in the air without herb coat offering any protection. He decided that the best ce to look was towards Paracelsus who, throughout the small skirmish, just continued watching with a natural smile on his face. When Vahn looked toward him, he tilted his head to the side slightly, politely stating, "Please do not me her. Neither of us was expecting guests so Im sure you can understand her reasons for panicking..." While throwing a nket over the womans body, Vahn nodded his head but asked, "Im surprised how calm you are...were you not worried I would harm her?" From start to finish, Paracelsus had made no attempt to intervene, even though the woman should have been his former Master. She had lost her Command Spells after the Holy Grail War hade to an end, meaning she had no way of controlling him any longer, so the only reason they were still together is that both parties hade to an agreement. In response to his question, Paracelsus looked down at the nket-covered woman with gentle eyes as he answered, "I could tell that you had no malicious intentions. Aside from that, I am a pacifist by nature...if you hade here to im my life, I only ask that you not bury my research. With the knowledge I obtained through the Holy Grail, I can tell that this world is on the verge of copse...I do not wish to see the children of tomorrow suffer for the mistakes of their parents and Ancestors..." Vahn felt like the room became a little brighter as Paracelsus spoke, almost as if the man radiated a pure and holy light that made others ashamed to be in his presence. He seemed exactly like the kind of person Gray had described him as, causing Vahn to feel hopeful for the future as he rified, "I have actuallye here to offer you protection. You may not have a reason to trust me, but know that I intend to do my best to protect this world and its inhabitants. Though I would ask you to show a bit of patience, I intend to disclose everything you intend to publish without censoring any of it. My organization could use a man with your skills, Paracelsus...will you join me?" Without much of a change in expression, Paracelsus simply asked, "Are you the one who imed the Holy Grail...?" To this, Vahn shook his head without fear for being seen through, answering, "I joined in the Holy Grail War to make sure the Greater Grail was destroyed for good. An artifact that only existed to cause conflict between the Holy Church and the Mages Association, all for something like having their wishes granted...I could not simply ignore it. There had already been too many innocent lives lost by virtue of nothing more than the greed of a few individuals..." Paracelsus nodded his head in response but, as if he wasnt fully convinced, he then stated, "The greed of man is something intrinsic to their nature...just as others sought the grail to have their wishes granted, you sought it for your own personal reasons as well. Though your reasons may have been virtuous byparison, it is also true that you are too willing to result to violence in order to shape the reality you wish to see...I do not wish to be involved with an organization that takes the lives of others. If you cannot promise me that, please do not try and force my hand...it would be better for the world if I continued my research in istion. When my objectives areplete, I will send my work to as many people as possible, even if it costs me my life a second time..." Realizing that it was actually going to be a lot harder to convince Paracelsus than he thought, Vahn released a tired sigh. He didnt really have any ground to stand on if he wanted to lecture the man as, instead of being ignorant of the truth, it was obvious he had already epted his fate. Even if his research was stolen a second time, so long as a bit of it reached the public domain, he would be content with the life he had lived. He simply wished to make the world a better ce without adding to the overall negativity in the world, even if it cost him his life each and every time... Casting a soundproof barrier around the slightly twitching female Magus, who was quickly regaining control over her bodily functions, Vahn looked into Paracelsus gold-brown eyes before saying, "I can only admire the type of person you are, even if I cannot agree with your methods. However, what is at stake is something far bigger than our individual ideals. In ten years time, the world itself may be destroyed, including those precious future generations you dream of protecting. I am not asking you to fight, Paracelsus, as it would only shame both of us if I tried to insist on such a thing. What I am asking you to do is use your knowledge to help ensure the survival of mankind beyond the time limit we have been given. With your guidance and assistance, our chances increase exponentially...though it is true that I would like to learn from you as well, my highest priority is ensuring this world isnt destroyed due to the whims of a few monstrously powerful entities..." Hearing Vahn mentioned the destruction of all mankind, Paracelsus smile faded away for the first time as he asked, "What do you know that makes you so certain that mankind will cease to be in ten years time?" In response to this, Vahn gave a nod toward ya that caused her to squint her eyes slightly before a surprised glint reflected across Paracelsus eyes. Before he could ask the question himself, Vahn exined, "This is ya, the manifestation of humanitys will to survive. You may find it difficult to believe, but the truth of the matter is that a powerful and malignant force will be loosed on the world in ten years time. If we are unable to stop it, the corruption it brings will epass the entire world, wiping out humanity everywhere its influence reaches. There wont be any children to benefit from your research if we dont do everything in our power to prevent Angra Mainyu from destroying humanity...!" Though Paracelsus was intending to ask why Vahn considered himself the authority to speak on such things, the existence of the peculiar blue woman made him feel a sense of crisis in his heart. He had the ability to see through the truth of all things but, looking at the entity Vahn had dered to be ya, Paracelsus felt a sensation that he could only describe as unfathomable. Though he couldnt sense her power, the one thing he could be certain of was that it was so vast that he wasnt even capable ofprehending it. For ya to be following Vahn, even if she wasnt truly who he imed to be, Paracelsus knew things werent simple. As for why Vahn didnt go to the Mages Association and Holy Church with this information, Paracelsus was very aware of how they would react if they knew someone was directly affiliated with one of the Worlds Counter Forces... After collecting his thoughts, Paracelsus had regained his calm, asking, "If this peculiar youngdy is who you im her to be, why would you need the help of a simple Alchemist like myself? Can you not simply ask for her to provide the same benefits my existence in your organizations would have provided? I dare notpare myself to one of the Counter Forces..." Since ya should also be the repository for all human knowledge, Paracelsus believed she was more than capable of providing Vahn the answer to any question he might have. The only benefit he would provide would be as a standalone researcher, something he would like to avoid since he was already doing that here at the bottom of the sea... In response to Paracelsus question, Vahn produced a wry smile as he asked, "Do you really think one of the Counter Forces is so easy to deal with? ya operates on the premise of equivalent exchange so there is a price for her assistance. Also...haaaaa..." At this point, Vahn suddenly gained a sincere look that caused Paracelsus brows to raise slightly. Then, surprising him even further, Vahn said, "Truth be told, the organization Im creating consists almost entirely of female Servants. The only exceptions to this are Merlin and Heracles, the former being whimsical in nature while thetter is still under the effects of [Mad Enhancement]. I honestly just want another man around that I can talk to and research alongside...I might not be as prolific as you, but I am an adequate Alchemist myself. Im also a master level cksmith and an experienced researcher..." Though it was somewhat awkward to admit, Vahn was genuinely worried that things would spiral out of control if he got his own ind and filled it with strong female personalities like Heroic Spirits. The reason he wanted to research Homunculi over almost everything else was so that he could help the Heroic Spirits he summons manifest in real bodies. If he had to deal with the upkeep of every Servant he summoned, Vahn knew things would get out of hand very quickly. Due to the nature of Heroic Spirits, almost every single one of them had a tragic past and, from what he could tell, the vast majority of them seemed to be female. By the time Angra Mainyu appeared, Vahn could actually imagine himself being surrounded by tens of powerful female Servants, the majority of which he would almost certainly have slept with... Not expecting Vahns sudden admission, Paracelsus almost immediately released a ligh-heartedugh that caused his peculiar visitor to turn slightly red. He suddenly felt like Vahn was more honest than he had expected, causing Paracelsus impression of him to improve considerably. Most of his apprehensions evaporated away in an instant once he realized that Vahn really just wanted some malepanionship. Since he could always leave or take his own life if it turned out Vahn was trying to deceive him, Paracelsus eventually stoppedughing before saying, "Very well. I cannot deny that research is far more entertaining when conducted alongside likeminded individuals. So long as you do not renege on your words, I will join your organization...?" Realizing he didnt even know Vahns name yet, Paracelsus tilted his head to the side in curiosity at the end of his statement. Hearing Paracelsus agree to join him, Vahn gave an awkward yet sincere smile as he said, "It is a littlete, but my name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason. I will exin in greater detailter, but you should know that I held the status of Sage Emperor in a world far away from this one. Until I have the means of returning to my own world, I intend to do everything I can to make this world a better ce. At the very least, I will not leave before making sure this world is safe from Angra Mainyus influence..." Since Paracelsus would undoubtedly be one of his most trusted allies, Vahn wanted to be forthright with him from the start. Unless yas allegiances suddenly changed, which didnt seem all that likely when considering the time scales used by Akasha and her Superiors, Vahn knew he could also rely on her to avoid any lingering dangers from other forces in the world until he was ready to face them directly. This meant he didnt have to worry too much about having his secrets exposed, not that he intended to go around telling the whole world who he was just yet... In response to Vahns introduction and statement, Paracelsus crossed his hand over his heart, bowing politely as he said, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sage Emperor. Though it seems you are already aware of my identity, please allow me the privilege of introducing myself. My name is Paracelsus Von Hohenheim. Though I am certain she would prefer to introduce herself, that woman there is my partner, Tristana Valentinus. She can be a little hot-headed at times, but she is a good woman..." Though he had a slightly amused smile as he watched Tristanas butt wiggle around under the nket, it was easy to hear the sincerity in Paracelsus words. This came as a mild surprise to Vahn, leading him to ask, "Partner...?" With the same kind smile on his face, Paracelsus nodded his head before exining, "Though we had different viewpoints at first, Tristana and I came to an ord after we were attacked by that admittedly terrifying ability. Since her wish merely for her family to experience a change in fortunes, I had decided to take her on as a student. After that...well, she can be rather persuasive when she puts her heart into it..." Though he didnt say anything explicit, it could be inferred from Paracelsus words that Tristana had managed to woo him. This made Vahn feel a bit awkward as, not only had he seen Tristana in her lingerie, he had even paralyzed her before putting her into a ratherpromising position... As if he could read Vahns mind, Paracelsus lightly shook his head before saying, "You need not worry. Tristana would have been angry at you regardless of when and how you showed up. This could be an opportunity for her to grow...maybe? I must admit, my understanding of the opposite s.e.x has always been at an elementary level at best, ahahahaha~." At this moment, Paracelsus smile had be slightly awkward as he scratched his cheek. Now that he thought about it more clearly, it was almost guaranteed that Tristana would be upset with him for noting to her aid. He would probably have to listen to her yell all night, doing his best to pacify her anger by simply listening to her ministrations in silence... Though it looked like she would recover on her own soon enough, Vahn reached down before deftly tapping a few pressure points around Tristanas neck. She immediately inhaled deeply as, previously, it had been somewhat difficult to breathe with her body paralyzed in an awkward position. Then, as she hadnt been privy to the conversation between Paracelsus and Vahn, Tristana rolled across the mattress before bounding to her feet and assuming abat stance. Her sses had fallen off during the moment but, based on the focused anger in her eyes, it was likely she didnt actually need them. At the same time, she seemed to have forgotten her sense of shame as she made no efforts to conceal her body, instead shouting, "Who the f.u.c.k are you!?" Knowing Tristana would probably be another one of his allies, albeit unwillingly, Vahn retained hisposure as he answered, "My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, Sage Emperor and Master of the Heroic Spirits Artoria, Nobunaga, Scthach, Lakshmibai, and Astolfo. Im also the one who brought an end to the Holy Grail War, destroying the Greater Grail in the process. Now, I understand why you would be angry, but I would advise you to consider your actions carefully. In the future, we will be allies who are working towards the same goal. I would suggest you prioritize wearing proper clothes so we can discuss things under lesspromising circ.u.mstances. I cant imagine you enjoy having a man other than your lover see your figure in lingerie..." Hearing Vahns words, Tristanas eyes widened as she quickly pulled together the front of herb coat and eximed, "What do you mean we will be allies? Paracelsus, what is this...this idiot talking about!?" Now that she got a better look at Vahn, Tristana actually felt her heart twist as seeing him and Paracelsus side-by-side was quite the sight. Since he was still wearing a diving suit, there wasnt much left to the imagination as his figure was perfectly outlined for the world to see. She could even see a rather unnerving bulge on his lower body that made her feel nervous as she instinctually inched towards Paracelsus for protection. Though it didnt seem like he had that intention, Tristana knew there wasnt anything she could do to stop Vahn if he suddenly decided to sample her... Seeing Tristana suddenly shrinking away from him, Vahn couldnt help but frown slightly while, in response to her questions, Paracelsus answered, "Though our ns havent changed all that much, we will now be joining the Sage Emperors organization. The fate of the world is at stake so please do not try and refuse due to a bout of emotions, Tristana. You should have already realized that the Sage Emperor meant no harm...if he had wanted to harm either of us, there would be nothing I could do to stop him. Do not cause too much trouble, please..." Since Tristana had reached his side at this point, Paracelsus reached his hand out, gently caressing her shoulder in a cating gesture... Though she was missing a lot of context, Tristana knew the matter must be serious if Paracelsus was saying such things. He wasnt the type that could easily be fooled nor convinced to take action as, even with the use of two Command Spells, she had failed to get him to act ording to her wishes. This had frustrated her to no end at first, as she had sincerely wanted to obtain the Holy Grail, but her frustrations quickly turned into affection after she saw Paracelsus memories. Only two days after their base had been moved, she asked him to teach her how to be a better Alchemist before, one day after that, managing to take advantage of his passive nature toy a im on him. Since it had only been the two of them here beneath the seabed, she had been enjoying their time researching and, even though all the flirting was done on her part, it was interesting to see his awkward and innocent reactions... Deciding to trust in her Mentor/Lover, Tristana nodded her head before saying, "I need to change. When I get back, I want to hear all the details...and you, I dont care if you are an Emperor or even a God. Dont think Ill forgive you so easily for embarrassing me like that. You seriously need to learn how to treat a woman...hmph!" With these words said, Tristana stopped hiding behind Paracelsus as she walked confidently without making any effort to conceal her body. She even raised her head in a haughty manner, looking at Vahn as if she were daring him to say or do something. Now that she knew they were going to be allies, Tristana was significantly less afraid of Vahn as there was no way Paracelsus would agree to work with him if he wasnt a good person. Since she had an extreme level of confidence in her own looks, Tristana felt like she could get away with teasing him a bit without having to face any consequences... Realizing that Paracelsus and Tristana werent even remotely close to being a normal couple, Vahn furrowed his brows slightly in response to her teasing. This seemed to egg her own but, before she could unt herself any further, Vahn looked at Paracelsus before saying, "She certainly could use a bit of punishing...youll have to excuse me this time around." With that said, Vahn sent a few threads of Source Energy through his domain, causing Tristanas eyes to widen in surprise as she jumped forward, yelping as she covered her butt. Vahn had sent a few persistent shocks into her butt before inly stating, "I am already more than satisfied with the women I have. Do not try to unt yourself before me, especially in front of your current lover. Paracelsus might humor your haughty behavior, but I specialize in breaking the pride of Nobles..." With her butt still twitching from the suddenly electrical surge, Tristana rubbed her butt with a deeply set frown on her face as sheined, "Youre an asshole..." However, instead of trying to unt herself before Vahn a second time, she pulled together the front of herb coat before walking by him with quickened steps. When she finally left the room, Vahn shook his head before looking at Paracelsus and saying, "Sorry. I know it isnt really my ce to deal with her..." Perhaps due to his pacifistic nature, Paracelsus didnt seem at all upset by what had happened, actually going so far as to give Vahn an apologetic smile as he exined, "She is honestly a good girl at heart. The way she was raised has given her a...unique perspective on life. Perhaps these ten years will help her learn how to interact with people without looking down on them..." Hearing Paracelsus words, Vahn could only shrug nomitally as he couldnt really empathize with the Alchemists reaction. Though his words certainly hit the truth of the matter, Vahn knew he would probably lose it if a man had the audacity to shock the butt of one of his women. Even he felt his actions were too much but, as Tristana really did need to change how she acted, it seemed like the correct thing to do at the time. Though he knew her figure had influenced his reaction a bit, Vahn felt he wasnt entirely to me as he turned his eyes toward the silently staring ya. She had been watching him without blinking since the start and, after her sucking his blood previously, Vahn hadnt fully calmed down. When he got back to the Tohsaka Manor, he would need to seek out Fenrir or Ishtar, as they were the only two that would be able to deal with him in his current state... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A Pacifist that would even make Gandhi bow his head...,Vahn needs male friends xD,RIP Tristana. Trying to act haughty in the same room as the Godhand...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1103 - Tensions

Chapter 1103 - Tensions

After waiting for Tristanas return, Vahn spent a short while exining just the basics of what they would be facing in ten years time. Since she was a Magus of the modern era, there was always a chance she would go forward within the Magus Community and expose his secrets too soon so Vahn only told her what she needed to know. As for Paracelsus, he understood better than most how the Mages Association could negatively affect its members so, instead of borating on what had told Tristana, he actually affirmed many of the details Vahn mentioned. Because of this, Tristana had aplex expression on her face as, towards the end of the discussion, she asked, "The two of you are serious, arent you? Ten years...damn..." Though ten years wasnt exactly a short period of time, it seemed extremely short when talking about the potential extinction of mankind... In response to Tritanas utterance, Vahn nodded his head, adding, "Though we do not necessarily require your assistance, I do not mind if you want to apany Paracelsus. So long as you do not try and betray our organization, you will receive the same benefits as any Magus or Researcher that joins our cause. I can assure you that our ability to obtain rare and precious resources is unrivaled in the entire world. Assuming we are able to defeat Angra Mainyu, isnt a stretch to say you would be able to call yourself one of the most proficient and wealthy Alchemists in the entire world...consider your decision carefully, Tristana." With Paracelsus and Illya in his camp, Vahn knew there werent any great benefits to having someone like Tristana around. However, as she had an ongoing rtionship with Paracelsus, he wasnt going to split them apart and potentially risk having her expose his ns to the world in their nascent stage... Hearing Vahns words, Tristana showed a mildly contemptuous expression as she eximed, "What are you, some kind of..." Though she had almost reflexively insulted Vahn, the hardened look in thetters eyes immediately caused Tristanas tone to chance as she quickly added, "Of course I will help out. What the hell am I supposed to do if the world suddenlyes to an end? Im part of humanity too, you know...?" With an approving nod, Vahn then looked away from Tristana, matching gazes with Paracelsus as he exined, "Im not sure how the organization will be structured just yet, but you will be the Director of the Alchemical Research Department. Though I may ultimately choose to rely on a few elites, it is currently just as likely that we may expand to amodate other Magi and support personnel. The way I do things have always been a little different from the norm, but that doesnt mean there wont be plenty of benefits. Just let me know what you and Tristana need and Ill do my best to facilitate you...also, before you get any ideas, Trist...Paracelsus will be the Head Director but the position of Deputy Director will belong to a woman named Illyasviel Von Einzbern. Do not go seeking trouble with her, understood...?" Though she was tempted to rebut from the start, Tristanas words got caught in her throat when she heard Vahn mention the name Illyasviel Von Einzbern. In the modern era, there were no families more prodigious in the art of Alchemy than the Einzberns. Even the members of the As academy, who specialized in Alchemy for thousands of years, ultimately failed to pass muster when directlypared to the Einzberns. With the rumors that most of there members were immortal Artifical Humans and Homunculi now, it was unlikely that anyone would overtake them in the future. They had a vast amount of knowledge rted to Alchemy and, even though Paracelsus skills were almost unmatchable, that didnt mean he was all-knowing in the myriad branches of Alchemy. Taking Tristanas silence as understanding, Vahn gave another approving nod before saying, "Well be moving locations in a few days time. This ce is rtively secure so I will leave you be until I have found a suitable location for our base of operations. Your ability to modify thend with your [Territory Creation] skill with be very useful since I intend for our base to be built on an ind or within the mountains of Germany." Though Vahn was also tempted to build at the bottom of the sea or ocean, he knew this would probably be a terrible idea if they ever had to fend off an actual attack. Picking a terrain where even powerful Servants wouldnt be able to fight seemed like an extremely foolish idea, even though the thought of having an underwater base was strangely exciting... With little left to discuss, Vahn talked a bit more with Paracelsus before deciding it was about time for him to head back. Artoria was likely waiting for him on the shore, assuming she hadnt decided to simply tread water while waiting for him above. Thus, even though it seemed like Tristana had plenty of questions she would like to ask, many pertaining to materials and finances, Vahn brought an end to the discussion by holding up his hand and saying, "We have plenty of time to discuss these kinds of things in the future. As you might expect, things are a bit hectic above, especially with the Greater Grail being destroyed. I have other things to take care of so I will return when were ready to set up the base. As for your questions rted to payment, Tristana...well, we can work out an actual contractter. Just know that I have no problems with you ruing wealth for yourself, so long as it does not interfere with the operations of other Departments in the future..." Even if her own skills werecking inparison to people like Paracelsus and Illya, Vahn imagined that Tristana would be increasingly capable as time passed. He didnt mind if she used some of the materials provided to produce a few Magical Patents or disseminate some of her products into therger market. Even Rin wasrgely dependent on her inherited patents for her wealth, disclosing to Vahn that she had actually struggled with debt for a few years before making arrangements with Luvia. She wasnt particrly well off now either, but that would change very quickly now that she had studied under Scthach and had two goddesses residing within her body. Vahn imagined the Tohsaka family estate would grow exponentially over the next few years, an option that existed for Tristanas Valentinus family as well... Having nothing left to discuss, Vahn created a small soundproof barrier around himself as he turned to ya and said, "Teleport me to where Artoria is." Since he knew she would be able to hear him, even if he was in a vacuum, Vahns soundproofing was primarily to prevent Tristana from hearing what he was saying. She didnt know about the existence of ya just yet as, once his organization was established, there was a good chance Paracelsus Atelier would be located in its own annex, away from thergerpound that would represent their base. Only the central figures in the organization, including trustworthy Heroic Spirits, would be privy to yas existence. Without missing a beat, ya immediately shifted Vahn to an area in the middle of the cold and salty sea. Though it was a bit jarring to go from a warmb to a frigid sea, Vahn didnt mind it that much since he had already prepared for this potentiality. He quickly found where Artoria was treading water, causing Vahn to shake his head in mild exasperation because of how dutiful she was as a Knight. It would have made a lot more sense for her to just wait for him on the shore but, as long as Vahns status was unknown, Artoria would never leave the area near where they had parted. If something happened, she would undoubtedly do her best toe to his aid, pressure and cold be damned... Though he was tempted to try and sneak up on Artoria, Vahn knew the attempt would ultimately be in vain so he simply swam toward he without making any effort to conceal himself. She had quickly noticed his approach, shortening the distance with a few strokes that cause them to get wrapped up in each others counter currents once they were near each other. Neither Vahn nor Artoria were all that experienced in the water so they nearly collided with each other after trying toe to a stop, the momentum of the water carrying them forward. Both were able to easily avoid a direct collision, however, even if Vahn wouldnt have been all that against it with the current state of his body and mind... After getting close enough for casual conversation, Vahn gave a concise exnation to Artoria about the missions sess before they both swam towards the distant shore. They couldnt even see the coast with their current orientation, but Vahn was still able to backtrack towardsnd by relying on his Minimap. As a result, they both moved like torpedos through the water, even passing a fishing vessel that was also heading ind. Less than a minuteter, it was barely a dot on the horizon as Vahn and Artoria were traveling around 160km/h, much slower than their average speed onnd but considerably faster than mostmon vessels and sh.i.p.s. As a result of their superhuman pacing, it only took around three minutes for Vahn and Artoria to reach the shore, extricating themselves from the cold water and climbing onto the sandy beach. Vahn cast a nce towards Artorias figure when she pulled herself from the wake, noticing her diving suit was thick enough to prevent her image from being promised. Regardless, she was still an ethereal beauty who could even pull off a diving suit as if it was high-fashion. The icing on the cake was how she slightly turned her face away, even though her eyes were locked with his. It was almost the same as her saying it was okay if he wanted to do something, even if she wasnt the type to overtly flirt and show affection in public... Feeling that he was acting abnormally, Vahn looked towards the spot where ya was lingering, saying, "You should conceal yourself for the time being." This was immediately answered by ya imploding in a burst of blue light, apanied by a feeling of relief that made it clear to Vahn that she was indeed the cause for his abnormal state. He would need to make sure she kept herself away from him unless he needed her assistance. When giving her samples of his bodily fluids, he would also need someone like Fenrir around to make sure things dont suddenly get out of hand. Vahn suspected that ya couldnt influence the people around him in the same way as, ording to his own observations, the primary reacting of most people around her was apprehension and a small amount of fear... --- After changing into casual clothes, Vahn and Artoria made their way back to the Tohsaka Manor using public transport. He figured it wouldnt be a bad idea to just enjoy a short date with Artoria while also seeing how long it took his body to calm down after yas presence had disappeared. Since Artoria was a lot more open to things like handholding and sitting together on the train, now that it was just the two of them, Vahn enjoyed the hour-long trip quite a bit. Though they drew a lot of attention to themselves, looking like a couple of European models, most people had enough sense to leave them in peace. Compared to the average Japanese man, standing around 171cm tall, Vahns 185cm made him tower over most people. Since he was wearing casual yet fashionable clothes, his muscr figure was a deterrent to anyone that wanted to gawk at Artoria, especially with the natural aura that persisted around his body due to [Will of the Emperor]. Completing thest leg of their journey hand-in-hand, Artorias feet began to drag until they had bothe to a stop around one block away from the Tohsaka Manor. She didnt seem to be in a bad mood so Vahn adopted a gentle smile on his face before asking, "Is there something...?" In response to this, Artoria gave a slightly awkward smile before saying, "I can tell you have been acting strangely since earlier...if youre fine with me, I will do what I can..." The moment these words his ears, the list within Vahns mind suddenly had Artorias and Fenrirs names at the top, pushing Ishtar down to the third position among candidates he intended to spend time with after returning. Knowing Artoria was pushing herself to make an effort in their budding rtionship, Vahn lightly touched her chin with his index finger and thumb before giving her a short and rather tame kiss. This caused her face to sh as her eyes darted to the surroundings, even though the streets were more or less empty around this region in thete afternoon. Only the wealthy and affluent lived in this area so, other than the asional expensive-looking car, the streets and sidewalks were almostpletely empty. Still, her reaction made Vahns heart soften a great deal as he lightly guided her to look back at him, saying, "It would be my honor, Artoria...thank you..." --- Awakening from a rtively rare seven hours of sleep, Vahn released a contented sigh as he enjoyed the warmth of the three girls curled up in his embrace. Fenrir had been a necessary inclusion into his ns but, after returning with Artoria, Gray ended up getting wrapped up in the momentum as well. She would be returning to London with Rin and Sakura in a few days time so, even though she was usually more demure and reserved, it didnt take much to trigger her at the moment. It was obvious she was worried the distance apart might make her feelings change slightly so Vahn made sure to carve a few tender memories deep into her heart, mind, and body. As a result, even though the spot would normally have been upied by Fenrir under such circ.u.mstances, Vahn had Gray sleeping against his chest with her legs straddling his waist as she had rolled over onto Fenrir in the middle of the night after curling up atop his body and failing to keep her orientation while asleep... Though Fenrir awoke almost at the exact same moment as him, Vahn smiled affectionately while looking at the sleeping faces of Gray and Artoria at his side. Gray had a contented and natural smile on her face as she gently exhaled ticklish breaths against his chest. As for Artoria, she barely moved at all while she slept while her expression wasrgely neutral as she clung to his bicep with her left hand. This didnt make her look any less beautiful, however, as Vahn knew he could make her smile whenever he wanted. When she woke up, Vahn intended to do just that but, for the time being, he shifted his focus onto the only awake girl, asking, "How are you feeling...?" In response to this question, Fenrir gave a mock bashful look before lightly licking Vahns shoulder with her ruby-red tongue. This told Vahn that she was perfectly prepared to continue, something she was subtly aware he was thinking about. Though Vahn had pushed himself and the girls a bit more than normal the previous night, his tensions hadnt been fully released. The only reason things hade to an end was due to the fact that Gray had started chaffing a bit since her body wasnt yet ustomed to long sessions of lovemaking. Fenrir tried to teach her a few techniques to help herst longer in the bedroom, turning the entire session into an impromptu lesson where Vahn served as her partner for some rtively intense ys. Artoria had mistakenly attempted one herself but, even with her flexible body, she began to cramp up quickly when Vahn had her right foot practically behind her head as he raised her h.i.p.s in a rather awkward, but highly effective position... As tempted as he was to go for a seventeenth round, Vahn lightly shook his head since he didnt want Gray and Artoria to develop the mentality that they couldnt just rx when sharing a bed with him. Though Gray would probably get into the mood pretty quickly, Vahn didnt want the first thing she experienced gettingfortable on his chest to be Fenrir suddenly licking her exposed lower body. If they wanted to continue on their own, Vahn would be more than happy to oblige, but there were still other matters he needed to attend. Thus, with a bit of reluctance, Vahn gently stroked Grays back until her eyelids slowly peeled open, revealing the stark blue gems within. She seemed a little confused at first but, after Vahn tilted her chin and began kissing her, Gray began to reciprocate almost immediately. He didnt push her too much, however, pulling away shortly after they had begun to smile and say, "Good morning..." With a sincerely bashful smile on her face, Gray moved her h.i.p.s somewhat ufortably as she answered, "Good morning, Vahn..." This was the first time Gray had slept n.a.k.e.d atop a man so, now that she had awoken, her heart was beginning to beat madly in her chest. Vahns body had an almost addictive warmth that, after experiencing, Gray wasnt sure she would ever be able to sleepfortably on a normal bed. She actually didnt like being n.a.k.e.d all that much, as she had grown ustomed to wearing severalyers of clothing, but all of that faded away as she felt Vahns body heat feeding into her own. This made Gray feel slightly feverish as a simultaneously cool yet hot sensation embarrassingly persisted around her exposed lower body... Understanding that Gray was the type that got into the mood almost as soon as her switch was flipped, Vahn couldnt help smiling before cing another tame kiss on her lips and saying, "I have some things to take care of. If youre not against it, Id like to spend more time with you before you have to return to London..." Though he didnt expressly say they would have s.e.x, Grays current state made her instantly infer that was his intention. As a result, a small trickle of moisture tickled Vahns lower abdomen as she nodded her head in response. Seeing her like this made Vahn consider if it would be prudent to make another Space-Time Orb for Grays personal use. However, fearing what she might be if she were alone with his Memory Fragment, Vahn ultimately decided it wasnt the best idea... After helping the girls wipe down their bodies and watching them get dressed, something that made Gray even more embarrassed than when they had s.e.x, Vahn reluctantly parted ways with the three dutiful girls. He had promised Illya before entering into the Sub-Space Orb that he would spend some time with her this evening. She had been showing a lot of patience and maturity with her current situation but, viewing things objectively, Vahn knew he hadnt been giving her the attention he ought to. Though she would most likely be a central figure in his life while Rin, Sakura, and Gray were in London, that didnt mean he should be ignoring her right now. After all, she literally had a world-ending beast inhabiting her body that he was supposed to be helping tame by making Illya happy... With that in mind, Vahn checked the system to see that it was only 7:06 PM in the outside world, meaning he could still tuck Sakura into bed if Illya didnt keep him too long. Though he knew she was something of a ticking time bomb, for various reasons, Vahn decided he shouldnt let Illya see any of his apprehensions unless she tried to pressure him into something. Since she called him Onii-sama, Vahn intended to treat her like a little sister, even though their rtionship would likely have more skinship than normal. After all, with Cath Palug inside of her, Vahn imagined Illya would be especially sensitive to petting and, as she seemed starved for human contact even more than Gray, he already prepared himself for the inevitability that she would push his boundaries a bit... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Paracelsus plus-one xD,Gray and Artoria are adorable,Godhand vs. Primate Murder...with the fate of the world on the line!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1104 - Forcing Ones Hand

Chapter 1104 - Forcing One''s Hand

Upon exiting the Sub-Space Orb, Vahn nearly bumped into Nobunaga, still carrying a rather tired looking Susu in her embrace. She gave him a slightly annoyed look, eximing, "Hey, be more careful...!" before almost immediately following up with asking, "So, are done ying around for the night or can I expect a visitter on...?" Though she was ying with Susus paws as she asked this, Vahn knew that Nobunaga was being serious. With the [Independent Action] skill, she could actually sustain herself almost indefinitely with the [Spirit Choker] he had given her. However, even if neither of them had ever mentioned being in a permanant rtionship, Vahn knew that was a bridge he had already crossed long ago... After organizing his thoughts, Vahn honestly answered, "I was going to spend some time with Illya before going to sleep with Rin and Sakura again. When-." Without waiting for Vahn to continue any further, Nobunaga nodded her head a few times before saying, "Im gonna go out and explore the City tonight. If you want, I can take a [Spirit Choker] and one of those [Seal of Binding]s to Astolfo and Catherine. I cant imagine its been easy on her trying to keep Astolfo manifested for you..." When she said thest part, Nobunaga gave a slightly usatory look at Vahn since it was one of the things he should have already addressed. This caused him to release a sigh before pulling out the two items and saying, "Thank you...can you exin the situation to them and see what they want to do moving forward...?" In response to Vahns words, Nobunaga held out Susu in front of his face, eliciting a mewl from the juvenile cat as she said, "Take care of Susu for me. If you harm even a hair on her head, Ill pull out your eyshes when I get back..." With that said, Nobunaga turned on her heel before making her way toward the door without another word. Vahn knew this was her way of trying to be helpful to him so, when he wasnt busy with his other responsibilities, he intended to take care of her when she got back. Even if they just sat on the porch and drank sake for a few hours, it was always a pleasant experience to spend time with Nobunaga. She was an ambitious woman but, rather than insist on her own vision of the future, Nobunaga liked to get him talking about his own dreams before expressing her opinion and support, even if herments could be a bit sly... Making his way past the kitchen, where Circe always seemed to be cooking something up, Vahn then proceeded upstairs to the second floor, turning down the corner at the end of the hallway where the guest bedrooms were located. Since none of the Servants really required sleep, only two of the guest rooms were actually upied, being the one he shared with Fenrir and the one located right across the hallway. After lightly knocking on the door, Vahn waited for the pitter-patter of footsteps before looking down into the red eyes of the young girl that peeked up at him through the crack. With her height of 135cm, it was impossible for Illya to look through the peephole in the door without using a stepping stool so she had to open the door to see who was outside. Seeing that it was Vahn, Illya quickly undid the chain lock before opening the door wide and saying, "Wee to my room, Onii-sama. Come, make yourself at home." As she said this, Illya ran over to the bed, jumping up to sit down before patting the spot beside her with an inviting smile. Vahn shut the door behind him before smiling as he said, "Thanks for inviting me. I had wanted to talk to you about the future..." These words caused Illya to puff out her cheeks a bit before muttering, "I dont care about things like that, Onii-sama. No matter what, the future will alwayse. I want to focus on the present and enjoy life...I dont want to think about the past and the future anymore..." With an understanding nod, Vahn sat down on the bed next to Illya, sinking into the plush mattress a bit more than expected. He had purchased her something nice and soft from the system but it was different from the one he normally used. Then, almost as soon as he sat down, Illya scootched over with a slight Yosha~ before sitting in hisp and giving a smile that didnt seem nearly as innocent as she might have intended. Things were only exacerbated by the fact she had straddled his waist, facing toward him before linking her arms around his back and leaning her head against his chest. As for Vahn, he just loosely held Illyas shoulder with his left hand while using his right to gently stroke her head... In response to Vahns petting, Illya released a girlish Munya... sound before hugging him a little tighter and saying, "Merlin told me that you would be able to help me find happiness...honestly, I dont know what that really means anymore. I thought I used to know but that is something that I can never have now. Since I cant find it on my own anymore, I decided to leave it to you...I know it may be selfish of me, but Im tired of trying only to lose everything I care about..." As she said this, Illya tightly gripped the fabric of his t-shirt, burying her face into Vahns chest as he began to gently stroke her back in a soothing manner. He knew he had a pretty big responsibility in dealing with Ilya and, as she said, it was ultimately up to him to help her find the happiness she had all but given up on obtaining... With that in mind, Vahn hugged Illyas tiny body while cradling her head into his chest as he softly exined, "I will need your and Paracelsus help in order to make perfect Homunculi for the Heroic Spirits to inhabit. However, it is ultimately up to you if you want to help...I will never force you to do anything you dont want to do, Illya. Even if you lock yourself away in your room and only want to be pampered when were together, that is enough for now. Though I would like for you to open up to the others and make friends with Fenrir, there is no rush...from now on, I will do my best to take care of and make you happy, even if I cant always make it my highest priority..." Somewhat unexpectedly, Illya shook her head in response to his words before peeking up at him and reminding, "You have to take care of Cath Palug as well...even if I try to convince him not to hate humanity, the trauma in my heart is something that cant be removed. Unless you can overwrite our hatred..." Though Illya wasnt exactly trying to threaten him, she knew that her situation was actually far moreplicated than Vahn made it out to be. If not for the fact that she didnt want to destroy the world that her brother wanted to protect, Illya felt she would have killed herself the moment she learned about his death. Merlin had spent a long time trying to convince her to give Vahn a chance so, even if it was a bit mean-spirited of her, she intended to make him take her matter seriously... Vahn was thinking about how he should respond to Illya when, apparently making the decision for him, her nightgown dissolved in a cloud of magical particles as two fluffy ears popped out from the top of her head while an equally fluffy tail manifested out of her lower back. Other than a small white mantle, tied together with a pink ribbon, the only other garment on Illyas body was closer in form and function to the tape used by female Adventurers in Danmachi. It was a paper-thin fabric that did next to nothing to conceal Illyas dignity as he could feel her body heat almost directly pass into him. Then, with purple eyes and a mat of messy white hair, Cath Palug looked up at Vahn with a nk expression before revealing two rows of sharp teeth. Small ck horns began to poke through her hair as her ws began to dig into his back with a steadily increasing amount of strength... As he had already expected Illya to do something like this, Vahn remained rtively calm, ignoring Cath Palugs ws as he began rubbing both of his hands up and down her back, making full use of his [Hands of Nirvana] and Petting Laws. This caused Cath Palug to blink in confusion, the pressure in its ws steadily easing up as the ck horns on its head slowly began to recede into its dense and shaggy white hair. After around a minute or so, Cath Palugs mouth had formed a small frown as its eyelids began to gradually shut in response to thefortable sensation spreading through its body. Though Vahn knew it would eventually transform back into Illya, meaning she would be staddling his h.i.p.s with her n.a.k.e.d body, he already had a spare nightgown and a pair of panties waiting for her in his Inventory... After a few minutes had passed, Cath Palug had its face buried in Vahns chest as its long and fluffy ears folded backward like a rabbit, periodically twitching. At the same time, its tail was tucked into Vahns thighs, almost as if it wanted to curl up and protect itself but was prevented from doing so by the fact that Illya had already straddled hisp from the start. Fortunately, it never got to the point where it was getting too excited, courtesy of the fact that Illya was still a v.i.r.g.i.n. His [Hands of Nirvana] brought an extreme level offort and a moderate level of pleasant sensations to v.i.r.g.i.n girls, a stark contrast to the danger it posed to more mature women. Since his Petting Laws also had a calm and pacifying effect, it didnt take long to get Cath Palug resting its head against his chest as its paws, whose ws had previously been digging into his back, were loosely holding his waist... Much like Fenrir, Illyas Cath Palug form had fur covering her forearms, hands, calves, and feet. She even had adorable, subtle pink paw pads on the inside of her palm while, at the ends of her now transformed hands, violet purple ws poked out in a simr manner to a cat. Vahn couldnt help wondering what Cath Palugs true form looked like but, seeing it fused together with Illya resulted in a rather adorable creature not all that dissimr to Fenrir. The biggest differences between them were their fur color and, though Fenrir was certainly petite, Illya was a good twenty centimeters shorter and only weighed a diminutive 34kg. Her weight was almost entirely negligible to him, even though it also caused Vahn to feel pressured when Cath Palug would twitch its h.i.p.s atop his waist... Ignoring the increasing heat pressing against his lower body, Vahn eventually hooked his hands under Cath Palugs armpits before picking it up from his body. Seeing the nearly n.a.k.e.d frame up close caused Vahn to shake his head beforeying the troublesome duo on the bed. Cath Palug hadnt passed out, peering at him with its violet eyes, but Vahn could tell it had been pacified for the time being. He didnt want to take things too far as the though of Cath Palug suddenly became clingy toward him seemed like it would bring with it infinite troubles. Thest thing he needed was for the destructive Beast of Gaia shifting its resentment onto girls like Fenrir and Circe, believing they had taken away something that belonged to it. Vahn had the distinct impression that Cath Palug was far more childish than Illya as even Merlin, the person it was closest to, hadnt been able to convince it not to destroy humanity... After stroking Cath Palugs stomach and calves for a short while, Vahn eventually managed to get a pair of panties onto its body, covering the thin strip that almost served no purpose. Then, after bringing it to a seated position and massaging its head and ears for a few minutes, Vahn managed to pull a light-blue nightgown over Cath Palugs head. Since this seemed to upset it a bit, at least until he fixed its mantle and cor, Vahn spent a solid half-hour with Cath Palug sitting in hisp, this time with having it face away from him as he lightly rubbed its stomach and head. By the time he had been in Illyas room for around an hour, Cath Palug had turnedpletely docile in his hands, making no attempt to resist anything he was doing to it. Then, after gently massaging its neck and shoulders for a bit, the destructive beast finally closed its eyes before falling into a deep state of unconsciousness. Its tail and ears slowly shrank away as its hair became silky and straight once again, indicating it had returned control over the body to Illya. Bringing his message to an end around the same time that the transformation had broken, Vahn just gently hugged Illya from behind before kissing the back of her head and saying, "It is starting to gette...you should sleep soon..." Though she hadnt experienced everything Cath Palug had gone through, Illyas body still felt extremelyfortable, even as the heating from where her back contacted Vahns chest made her feel short of breath. She allowed him to guide her to the bed before, without even asking if he would stay with her, Vahn wrapped her up in his embrace until she had fallen asleep almost a full hourter. There was a lot that Illya wanted to say but, every time the words nearly escaped her lips, Vahn would gently squeeze her hand and bring her to silence. Then, though her mind was extremely chaotic, thefortable feelings persisting in her body were too much for her to resist any longer. For the first time, at least without the assistance of Merlin, she felt into a peaceful slumber while feeling a strong sense of security due to Vahns presence... When Illya had finally fallen asleep, Vahn released a sigh of relief before kissing the top of her head once again and sinking his face into thefortable pillow. At this point, he could sense that Rin and Sakura had already gone to bed so unless he intended to crawl in with them, it was probably a better idea to just apany Illya until she woke up in the morning. She would undoubtedly feel a lot better if he wasnt just gone if she woke up in the middle of the night so Vahn decided to bite the bullet as he enjoyed the subtle smell of Illyas shampoo. It was the same kind that he had given Rin, meaning she had sneakily tried it herself after taking a bath earlier in the afternoon... With nothing better to do, as he wasnt even remotely tired due to having slept for seven hours just recently, Vahn began sorting through his Inventory and browsing the constantly updating Quest list. Depending on the decisions he made, there were dozens of Quests that would cycle through the list each day, some more suited to being given to his Subordinates than taking himself. There was even a strange one called [Repeatable Quest: Serving Master] that actually rewarded Loyalty based on various interesting parameters. The only thing that prevented him from giving it to Fenrir was the fact that her Loyalty wouldnt benefit all that much from a small boost. At the same time, making her work even harder to try and satisfy him seemed almost cruel to her considering how quickly he had be involved with other women. Toward the bottom of the list, Vahn saw another new Quest that caught his eye, this one causing him to frown slightly since it was rted to Cath Palug and Illya. It was actually an SS-Ranked Quest which, if hepleted, implied he wouldnt have to worry about Cath Palug turning into Primate Murder and wiping out humanity. However, reading the Objectives, Vahn set the Quest aside for future consideration since he wasnt quite sure how things would develop between him and Illya in the future. He felt it would be better for her if she didnt end up developing a physical dependency on him but, after his prior experiences with girls like Liliruca, Shizune, and Tina, Vahn knew it would be somewhat cruel if he began building walls around his heart to prevent her from getting to him. With that in mind, Vahn looked over the term of the Quest once again, this time putting a little more consideration into it... ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Optional Quest: Taming the Beast] Rank: SS Objective(s): Reach 100 Love with [Illyasviel Von Einzbern](52/100), Reach 100 Love with [Cath Palug](17/100), Synchronize the Magic Circuits of [Illyasviel Von Einzbern] and [Cath Palug](0/1), Gain the recognition of both [Illyasviel Von Einzbern] and [Cath Palug] as an authority figure(0/2). Optional Objective(s): (Beastly Passion): Have S.e.x with the fused form of [Illyasviel Von Einzbern] and [Cath Palug](0/10), (Progenitor Genes): I.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e the fused form of [Illyasviel Von Einzbern] and [Cath Palug](0/1), (Master of Beasts): Reach 100,000 Loyalty with [Cath Palug]. Rewards: 500,000,000OP, 1x[Cor of Sealing], 1x[Brand of the Beast] Failure Condition(s): Ejection from the Record, Love Parameter of [Illyasviel Von Einzbern] or [Cath Palug] reaches 0 Penalties: 10,000 Karma, [Primate Murder] released into the world, Death of [Illyasviel Von Einzbern] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn hadnt been relying on the View Affection function for a while now so it was a little unnerving to see the Love Parameter within a Quest Objective. Other than a bit of awkwardness when it came to thinking about making a male Beast fall in love with him, Vahn felt that the other objectives werent all the difficult to achieve. At the same time, however, Vahn knew that taking this route would essentially guarantee that the two remained fused together almost indefinitely as fusing together their Magic Circuits would undoubtedly result in them being in a permanently transformed state. This wasnt necessarily a problem in and of itself, but the fact the only options beyond that point were to either subordinate or be genuine lovers with their fused form made Vahn have doubts. If not for the fact he understood Illya would probably push for that kind of rtionship after a few years, if not sooner, he would have once again dismissed it entirely... Realizing there were no actual demerits to epting the Quest, as he didnt actually need toplete it, Vahn eventually epted it. At the very least, if things went as he expected, it would be possible to avoid a bad end outright. As he had no intention of taking advantage of Illya and Cath Palug, Vahn couldpletely disregard most of the Optional Objectives unless it was something they actively pursued. Though the odds of him ever impregnating Illya were extremely slim, at least in the near future, he realized he didnt have to worry excessively. Even if things went in apletely different direction than he anticipated, Vahn didnt mind treating Illya like his actually little sister or even a second surrogate daughter. The only thing that really mattered was that she was happy as,pared to most people, Illya really did deserve a little bit of happiness in her life... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nobu is best friend/wife material,*Petting Intensifies*,Vahn Protec until Illya Attac...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1105 - Testy

Chapter 1105 - Testy

With time counting down until Rin, Sakura, and Grays departure, Vahn was spending most of the day outside of the Space-Time Orb just interacting and ying with Sakura. She had a small tea set within her room and a few stuffed animals that he had reced with new versions since the old ones had rued a bit of a smell with nearly twenty years of aging. Currently, Vahn sat was sitting on a small chair while Fenrir, Circe, and the tiny Susu had all been wrangled in alongside him. Vahn had left the tiny kitten asleep on a small cushion in the hallway before entering into Illyas room and, by the time she had finally woken up, Sakura had already snatched up the sleeping kitten as if it were the most natural thing in the world. As for how Fenrir and Circe got roped in by her, Sakura liked how they had strange features, such as long ears, wings, and fur, so she was quite fond of the two... While making sure Circe was on her best behavior with a rather stern gaze, Vahn was enjoying the final few hours he would be spending with his surrogate daughter. They would be flying out in the evening before separating for a minimum of six months since there were quite a few ounts and duties Rin needed to take care of. He knew she would be upset by the fact they had to separate but, as Sakura was ted to begin learning about Magecraft while staying with the Edelfelts, she should have plenty of distractions to prevent her from feeling too lonely. Since she would also have ess to the Space-Time Orb, Vahn believed she would be able to tide through without too many issues. Seeing that the snacks were running low, Vahn reced the tray with a new te of animal-shaped cookies, each covered in a thinyer of strawberry vored ze. This caused Sakuras teal-blue eyes to turn star-struck as she asked, "Otou-sama, how did you do that?" In response to this, Vahn lightly chuckled as he gently rubbed her head and answered, "You will learn about these things very soon, Sakura. If you work hard, I promise you will be able to all kinds of wondrous things in the future. Your Okaa-chan and I believe in you..." Since Sakuras Magic Circuits were far stronger than a normal Magi, while also possessing several times the normal amount of Od, Vahn knew she would actually overtake Rin when she matured, primarily due to the fact that this maturation process would further increase the size of her reserves with concerted effort... Though she didnt understand what her Otou-sama was talking about, Sakura giggled happily in response to having her head rubbed before saying, "I will do my best to make Otou-sama and Okaa-chan proud~!" When she said this, Sakura held up one of her tiny fists in a determined disy that caused Fenrir to give an appreciative nod while Circe just blew bubbles into her tea. She knew better than to cause trouble around Sakura but, even if she was Vahns actual child, Circe was a little jealous that his attention wasnt on her. The only thing that prevented her from talking about her boredom was the fact that Vahn would probably punish her if she was mean to Sakura. This morning, when she had been cleaning her feathers, Circe noticed that they were a bit more oily than normal, a sign that her stress levels were increasing... --- After his long tea party with Sakura, brought to an end by Rining to pick her up, Vahn carried Susu with him while Circe followed close behind with a small pouting expression on her face. As for Fenrir, she had gone to keep Illyapany in her room as thetter rarely left it, even to eat meals. When she had woken up this morning, Illya had been very quiet as she pretended to sleep in his embrace for nearly a full hour until he eventually broke the silence. He promised to spend more time with her in the future and, though she seemed to want and keep him there, Illya ultimately allowed him to leave without a fuss. She was a smart girl and, though she could potentially pressure Vahn to pamper her even more, the fear she might drive him away kept her from acting out too much. With Circe lingering behind him like a vengeful spirit, Vahn eventually stopped his feet, resulting in her nearly bumping into his back as a result. When she quickly flitted a short distance away, Vahn turned around and said, "Circe, you will need to ept the fact that I cant make you the focus of my attention. I will do my best to treat you well, even pampering you a bit, but that is predicated on the fact that you arent causing trouble for the others. You need to realize they arent proactively trying to take me away from you...once you realize that it is smarter to make friends and ally yourself with others, the happier you will be. Tonight, well be moving locations and living in apletely different kind of environment as we build an organization for the purpose of protecting this world. You need to make a decision about what you want to contribute...I dont mind keep you as a Chef or a private Maid, but you will have to start acting the part unless you want to be isted by the others..." Though she didnt spend that much time within the Sub-Space Orb, it had been over a week since Circe had joined their group. However, other than talking with Fenrir on a few asions, she acted like most of the other girls within the Tohsaka Manor didnt even exist. She was very cautious around Scthach, but that was due to the fact that thetter practically spread out an aura that promised violence if you opposed her. Circe had watched one of the training sessions between her and Vahn, culling any rebellious intentions that might have been rising up in her heart towards Scthach. In response to Vahns words, Circe puffed out her cheeks even more, holding it for several seconds before releasing her breath with a pa and asking, "Do you hate me?" This caused Vahn to roll his eyes before answering inly, "Unless you give me a reason to hate you, I would never hate you, Circe. If anything, you could say Im more worried about you than anything...at this rate, youll end up sad and frustrated once you force me to make a decision I really dont want to make...haaaa..." At the end of his words, Vahn cradled Susu in his left arm while reaching out his right hand and stroking Circes silky pink hair as he added, "I promise you will be happier if you open your heart to others...in exchange, I will make sure to pamper you as much as you want when there is time, okay?" Though she put on a slightly annoyed expression in response to Vahns words, Circe didnt try to pull away from his hand as her wings twitched slightly. Then, as if having made her decision, Circe finally swat away his hand, giving a small nod before saying, "I will give you a test. I can tell, you know, that you have untoward thoughts toward me at times. Ever since I was a child, I have always been able to sense when men are directing their attention toward me. Even if you are good at keeping your eyes from wandering, you cant fool my senses so easily, Vahn. If you can bathe my body without having any untoward thoughts, I will trust that you wont take things too far if I let you pamper me freely..." Vahn was a little surprised by Circes words, especially since he hadnt actually harbored the intention of doing anything to her. Though he had certainly let his thoughts wander in that direction, Vahn had understood from the start that they wouldnt have that kind of rtionship. Circes special sense certainly seemed powerful, but it didnt provide her full context and allow her to understand the true intentions of those around her. Vahn could also now understand why she didnt like being around other females that often as, having an ability that allowed her to know when men were paying attention to her also meant she knew exactly when they were focused elsewhere. If she had this type of ability since birth, it was easy to understand how her perspective could have been skewed with time... In response to Circes proposed test, Vahn gave a confident nod before answering, "You shouldnt underestimate my willpower and professionalism. Like I keep saying...I will never force anyone to do something they are unwilling to do. Even if you were in a strange state and tried to seek me out, I would never take advantage of you, Circe. When I prove this to you, I hope you will treat my words seriously and try to open your heart to others...as for everything else, you can leave that to me." With Circes words essentially being an admission that she was afraid he would do something to her if she got in the mood, Vahn didnt mind embedding it into his heart not to cross that final line. Since he already had more than enough ongoing rtionsh.i.p.s, each having their own uniqueplications, thest thing he needed was a powerless Circe who either resented or became fully reliant on him... Feeling the sincerity in Vahns words, Circe gave a small nod beforeing to stand right in front of him, looking up with herrge pink-green eyes. This was a peculiar habit of hers, almost as if she enjoyed the difference in their height or simply knew how adorable it made her look. Then, with a straight-face that caused Vahns mind to temporarily nk, Circe said, "The truth is, I really want to do naughty things. Im constantly thinking about doing naughty things, Vahn...in all my thoughts, I imagine how you would push me down and ravish me, turning me into your ything and never letting me go. It makes me feel excited..." As she spoke, Circe swallowed hard as a very fragrant aroma began to rise up from her body, tickling Vahns nose in the process... Understanding this was likely part of Circes test, even though she seemed almost scarily sincere about it, Vahn took a deep breath to remain calm. It was fortunate he constantly channeled his [Will of the Emperor] these days or he might have failed from the start. Since Circe had a Pseudo-Divinity rted to Love, it obviously meant she had the means to make people infatuated with her if she put in the effort. Vahn had seen this particr Divinity manifest in the eyes, such as in the case of Syr and Freya, or in the natural pheromones their body released, a phenomenon he had observed in Artemis. Since there was a sickly sweet aroma wafting from Circes body could even make him feel a little warm, it was obvious she was in the category of Demi-Goddesses that relied on pheromones. This was perhaps the origin of why she used fragrant and delicious food, likely as a means to distract her guests from realizing what was going on... In response to Circes words, Vahn adopted a wry smile as he said, "I dont mind keeping you...but Im afraid ravishing you if off the table, at least for the time being. I must admit though, it makes me feel honored that such a beautiful girl has such passionate thoughts about me..." Though she didnt react much to the first part of his words, Circes ears waggled a little when Vahn called her beautiful. She was weak topliments and, even if she was trying to push his limits a bit, Circes nature had been cemented of centuries of self-imposed istion and her peculiar way of life. As a result, she moved just a half-step closer, pressing her chest into his abdomen with a rosy flush spreading across her face in an instant as she asked, "You wont ravish Circe...really~?" At the very end of her question, Circe snuck her hand between his thighs as a seductive glint shed across her eyes... Taking a deep breath, Vahn proceeded to use his right hand to lightly flick the pale-gold tiara atop her head, causing a small whish effect that immediately changed her disposition from being seductive to pouting as she eximed, "Hey! I dont condone violence...!" In response to this, Vahn inly stated, "I dont condone acting like a nymph in the middle of a hallway. If you want to test me, feel free to do so in the bath. Also, dont forget that I can sense everything around me for more than four kilometers...if things really had gone south, the only person that would havee to your aid is little Susu..." It was obvious that Circe was trying to rile him up in a throughway as, if he did something to her, she could always make a loud noise that would draw attention to them. However, with Rin and Sakura in the bath, Fenrir and Illya in thetters room, and everyone else inside of the Sub-Space Orb, things wouldnt have gone as she expected... Paling slightly at Vahns words, Circe then proceeded to snatch Susu from his arm, hugging the juvenile cat in her embrace as she said, "Susu will certainly protect Circe from the big bully, right?" With that said, Circe flitted her wings and created a bit of distance from Vahn, almost as if she wanted him to give chase. Knowing this was the actual case, Vahn lightly chuckled before saying, "The bath is being used by Rin and Sakura right now." This caused Circe to trip over her tform sandals but, instead of falling onto her butt, she spontaneously seemed to be immune to gravity as she quickly righted herself. In her arms, Susu had an aggrieved expression as it extended its paws towards Vahn, the only one who didnt shake it around and behave violently... Vahn was unable to prevent himself from breaking into a boisterousugh that caused Circes face to turnpletely red as her ears drooped. She wasnt even remotely known for her patience so, after telling Vahn that she would test him, Circe was determined to make him take action. In a way, it was a matter of pride to get him to go against his word and try to push her down, an action that would immediately cause her Fathers Divine Protection to strike Vahn. She didnt believe this would kill him, as it was hard to imagine anything being able to kill a person who seemed to regenerate from nothing, but it would certainly bring him back to his senses. After that, Circe would know that Vahn was just like all other men and, depending on how she took advantage of the situation, it wasnt impossible to get him to treat her like a Queen from that moment onwards... Unaware of the specifics of Circes n, Vahn saved Susu from her embrace, running his hand along the cats back and eliciting a contented purr almost instantly. This caused Circe to scrunch up her nose before asking, "Youre even going to give a cat more attention than me? Big meanie..." As she said these words, Circe looked toward Susu like it had betrayed her, causing Vahn to roll his eyes as he said, "Susu is nice and obedient so she gets special treatment. If you behave yourself for the rest of the day, Ill brush your feathers for you. Im actually pretty good at it..." Since both Terra and Alexa were very fond of him cleaning and brushing their wings, Vahn knew Circe would probably enjoy it a great deal as well. She didnt seem to have nerves in the wing-like attachment on her back, but the Mana Circuits were connected directly to her body and Vahn knew they were just as sensitive as actual nerves if he used the right methods... As if Vahn had said something obvious, Circe made her wings ruffle as she exined, "Of course you will clean my feathers! Im expecting full service when we take a bath together. Youll also have to clean under my nails and brush my hair after were done. Since youll get to see my immacte body up close, the least you can do is properly express your gratitude~!" With that said, Circe produced a coy smile before shifting aside the fabric of her thin tunic, though not enough to actually reveal anything. Since he knew she was probably going to be testing him often in the near future, Vahn just gave a wry smile before saying, "Im going to return Susu to Nobunaga. Well probably be drinking for a few hours so youll have to be patient. You should use this time to prepare yourself, though, as Im a master at most spa and beauty treatments...Im not sure youre ready to experience just how much I can pamper someone..." Hearing no falsehoods in Vahns words, Circe began to feel a little giddy as she quickly scampered away towards the kitchen, her heart racing as errant thoughts shed across her mind. Though her words might have been misconstrued by Vahn as a simple test, many of the things she had said previously were the truth. Since she could never be with a man, Circes thoughts were constantly gued with the various possibilities of the future. Merlin messing with her dreams, allowing her to get a taste of something that had been denied to her for centuries, was just the icing on the cake. Because of this, the truth of the matter was that she wished Vahn really would push her down as, with his nature, she knew he would take responsibility for the rest of his life. Even if he failed to get her a few times, due to her Fathers Divine Protection, Circe believed he wouldnt give up so easily after almost getting a taste of the forbidden fruit... Smelling a far more powerful fragrance on the air, Vahn had to shake his head to clear his thoughts. Susu released a quiet mewl in his arms, causing Vahn to smile as he began stroking her somewhat rough ck fur. It was apparent she could use a bath as well,bined with a few nutritious meals and a lot of rxation. After a few days had passed, Vahn was confident that Susus coat would be sleek and shiny, assuming she wasnt constantly stressed out by being handled. Fortunately, it didnt seem like she minded the attention all that much, so long as the person wasnt moving around at super-sonic speeds or shaking her about like a ragdoll. --- After entering the Sub-Space Orb, Vahn turned his attention towards theke where Artoria, Gray, and Lakshmibai were all swimming around in rather tantalizing swimsuits. Though Gray wore a dark gray one-piece swimsuit, it had a higher cut on the h.i.p.s than normal, enting her lithe and petite body and giving her the appeal of an Olympic swimmer. As for Artoria, she wore a white bikini that exposed a lot more than he would have expected from the proud King of Knights. Like almost all of her outfits, however, there were royal blue ents, this time taking on the form ofrge ribbons at the sides of her h.i.p.s and back. This matched the color of the ribbon in her hair, giving Artoria a lively and youthful appeal as she happily had a rather conservative ssh battle with Gray. A stark contrast to the almost identical girls, Lakshmibai was wearing aplex swimsuit that looked like a one-piece with a deep cut for the b.r.e.a.s.ts and back. Instead of being a normal one-piece, the sides were strung up with interwoven strings that left bits of her healthy brown skin exposed, adding a s.e.xy appeal with her mature and athletic figure. Though her figure might beckingpared to someone like Scthach, the bnce of Lakshmibais body was almost perfect, especially with her pert butt and plump thighs. In her swimsuit, her legs seemed longer than normal and, if not for the fact he had already made ns with Nobunaga, Vahn knew he wouldnt be able to resist joining the girls fun. Comforting himself with the knowledge that he could probably get Lakshmibai to wear anythingter on, Vahn carried Susu over to thekeside residence. The girls had noticed his presence but, seeing that he wasnt walking towards them, they understood he had different intentions. This didnt stop Lakshmibai from releasing a somewhat warm sigh, drawing the attention of Gray who asked, "You really love him, dont you...?" In response to this, Lakshmibai gave a conflicted smile as she answered, "Im not sure if I am the best to speak on such matters. My life prior to being summoned by Vahn was gued by misfortune...I lost my mother when I was four, my son died shortly after he was born, and my husband died not all that long after. Then my country was torn apart by the greed of the British Empire and the East India Trading Company before I ultimately lost my life due to a stray bullet..." Hearing Lakshmibais words, Gray began to fl.u.s.ter as she sheepishly said, "Im sorry, I didnt..." In response to this stammering, Lakshmibai shook her head, her smile bing lessplicated as she added, "Vahn has allowed me to experience many things in such a short period of time...not only did he change my fortunes for the better, but he set my former Master on a better path. I want to do my best to support him moving forward...even if..." At this point, Lakshmibais face began to gain a red hue while, unbeknownst to her, two small buds made themselves apparent through the fabric of her swimsuit. Seeing this, Gray felt a little giddy herself as she squatted down in the water to cool off, internally remarking, ("She definitely loves him...") as she blew bubbles with a red flush coloring her own cheeks. At the side, Artoria was the only one to remain rtively calm as she looked toward thekeside residence with a small smile on her face, her thoughts indiscernible to Lakshmibai and Gray... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sakura, sugoi~! Kuwaii~!,My Test will be your Trial...umuu...,Lakshmibai is too far gone xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1106 - Tantalizing

Chapter 1106 - Tantalizing

After passing a few hours just lounging on a sofa with his arm around Nobunagas shoulder, mainly listening to her talk about what she had been up to the previous evening, Vahn knew he would need to head out pretty soon. He enjoyed the time they spent together but, now that Nobunaga had a bit too much to drink he knew it wouldnt be long before she either passed out, assuming she didnt have other intentions. With that in mind, Vahn lifted Nobunagas chin, looking into her deep red eyes with a hint of a smile on his face. In response to this, Nobunaga squinted slightly before closing the distance until she was only a few centimeters away from ovepping her lips with his. At this point, however, Nobunaga released a hot and rather foul-smelling breath right into his face before falling back on the sofa and cackling. Snorting through his nose to clear the lingering smell, Vahn then lightly smacked Nobunagas rump, causing her to roll so that her backside wasnt exposed before she began poking his face with her socked foot. She was obviously very drunk at the moment, causing Vahn to feel like he was taking care of a mischevious child as he guided Nobunagas foot away from his face before snatching her other foot and holding them in hisp. This caused her to wriggle around for a while before finallyining, "Youre sho stronk Vahn...muuu...what ish Nobu-chan to doooo~?" Hearing Nobu refer to herself as chan, even though she looked like she was in herte twenties, Vahn felt a strong desire to tease her. As a result, Vahn began to gently rub up and down her legs, bringing Nobunaga to silence as she looked toward him with slightly hazy red eyes. Since it had just been the two of them, the only pieces of clothing Nobunaga was wearing was a ck tank top, rather s.e.xy, blood-red, panties, and a pair of ck stockings that ran up to her thighs. Though she still preferred to wear mens clothes, Vahn knew Nobunaga went out of her way to dress up a bit for his benefit. Even if she never fully vocalized her intentions, it was clear that Nobunaga treated their rtionship as something more than intimatepanionship... With her breathing bing somewhatbored, Nobunaga silently rolled onto her side without trying to free her legs from Vahns captivity. He took this as permission to slide his hand up the back of her thigh before gently rubbing her rather plump butt. At the same time, Vahn ran his right hand between her two legs, stroking Nobunagas inner thigh as a gentle stimtion flowed from his palm, spreading into her body along with the rxing energy of his Petting Laws. In this manner, Vahn let his hands wander around freely for the better part of ten minutes before Nobunaga released a hot sigh andmented, "You really like butts...fumuuu...." Though Vahns right hand had been rather mischevious, his left hand had almost never left her backside since the moment she turned over. In response to this, Vahn lightly tapped Nobunagas rear end without putting any strength into the action, answering, "Though I feel everyone has their own unique appeal, I wont deny there is more than a little truth in that im...still, even in your default state, you wouldnt find me shying away from showing a simr level of care..." Even if it was a smaller rump, like what Artoria, Fenrir, or even Circe possessed, Vahn simply liked to touch butts. He enjoyed the springy sensation and the feel of the soft flesh as it deformed under his touch. It seemed more intimate than fondling b.r.e.a.s.ts as he would either have the woman sitting in hisp orying down like what Nobunaga was doing. In the previous example, Vahn would often make out with his partner while, in thetter, he got to enjoy their bashful response as they peered at him with zed and heated expressions... After hearing Vahns words, Nobunaga seemed to fall into thought for a brief moment before a veritable pile of matchlock rifles began to appear before crashing to the floor. At the same time, though they never fired, Nobunaga began charging them up before dismissing them, cycling through this same process several tens of times per second as her body rapidly decreased in size. It didnt take a master detective to understand what she was up to but, other than slipping his fingers under her now loosened panties, Vahn made no attempt to stop her. Fortunately, she didnt take things too far and stopped on her own after shrinking to around 152cm, her default height. This made her butt considerably smaller, to the point that it wasnt evenparable to her mature form, but Vahn kept true to his word as he lightly fondled the mochi-like mound of flesh that fit pretty snuggly in his palm... Without saying anything to try and justify her actions, Nobunaga just rxed her head against the sofas cushions, letting Vahn do whatever he wanted. She didnt even bother to adjust her clothing to something that fit her new form better, causing her tank-top to be several sizes toorge while even her stockings became baggy and easy to slide up and down. Her h.i.p.s had decreased by more than ten centimeters, going from a rather plump 86cm down to a modest 75cm, around the same size as Artoria. As a result, her blood-red panties seemed far too big for her, even though the stic band prevented from sliding off too easily. Regardless, Vahn was able to slide his hand under the fabric with ease, massaging Nobunagas butt directly until she eventually dozed off nearly twenty minutester... --- After making sure Nobunaga was snuggly wrapped up in a nket, a process that caused her wake up and roll her eyes, Vahn left her room behind, her unique fragrance and warmth still lingering on his hands. He didnt want their rtionship to reach the point where being alone together equated to them having s.e.x with each other. Before their first time together, Vahn had been more interested in being Nobunagas friend than ever bing her lover. Though he enjoyed the way she behaved when they were alone, he wanted her to keep her strong and independent personality without being pletely tamed by his actions. With that in mind, Vahn wondered if it would be better for theirsting partnership if he summoned a Heroic Spirit that Nobunaga was familiar with. This would give her someone to talk to as, after Astolfo left the Manor, Nobunaga had be a bit of a loner since she didnt mesh well with the other girls. Sensing that Artoria, Gray, and Lakshmibai were all still together, this time in thetters room, Vahn was once again tempted to go spend time with them. He had already told Gray that Paracelsus had agreed to join his organization so they had plenty to talk about without things having to devolve into having s.e.x. At the same time, however, Vahn felt like he would be impeding on their girl time, something he had learned was very important even in the Record of Danmachi. Loki had taught him that it was inconsiderate to just show up when girls he had slept with were talking in private. The moment he entered the room, most conversations would immediately derail, essentially making him the center of attention since all the girls would automatically assume he hade there for a very specific reason. Not wanting toplicate their growing friendship, as it was sometimes necessary to have a bit of distance from each other, Vahn decided to act on his original intentions by leaving the Sub-Space Orb entirely. Though only around fifty minutes had passed in the real world, that was more than enough time for Rin and Sakura to have vacated the bath. He could imagine that Circe was either keeping herself busy in the kitchen or lingering around in the hallway, literally waiting for him to make an appearance. When he appeared in the bas.e.m.e.nt, Vahn could even sense a small magical formation trigger while, through his domain, he was aware of Circe moving around quickly through the Manors interior... Seeing how she was behaving, Vahn felt it was about time for him to treat her matter seriously in order to avoid future troubles. It had been a long time since he went all-out in providing his services so this was a good opportunity to test the limits of his abilities. She was a Demi-Goddess so, even with her joke-like Strength, Circe should be able to tolerate things well beyond the limit of normal humans. Even if she practically pounced on him as a result, Vahn was already prepared to make good on his promise to prevent things from crossing the line. Hopefully, once she realized exactly what he could do for her, Circe would calm down considerably and actually start trying to get along with the others. Shortly after leaving the bas.e.m.e.nt, Vahn held up his hand to create a small wind barrier that caused Circe to giggle yfully as she let it push her back. She had been waiting around the corner to try and surprise him, concealing her presence to test the limits of Vahns perception. His im of being able to sense everything going on within 4km was something she wanted to put to the test in the near future. She wanted to know if he could see everything within that radius, or if he was just vaguely aware of things like magical power and the presence of living creatures. There were all kinds of different ways people could sense their surroundings, including her own method of tracing life without her established territory. Knowing that Circe was analyzing him, Vahn produced a wry smile but, as he was already under heavy surveince by ya, Akasha, and her unnamed subordinates, it didnt matter all that much that a Demi-Goddess was doing the same. Instead of letting it bother him too much, Vahn caused Circe to backstep a few times as she evaded his attempt to touch her waist and pick her up. She had a yful look on her face as she stuck out her tongue and said, "You cant just touch me whenever youd like, you know~? It is the duty of men to pander to cute women, but it is our unique privilege to decide who can pamper us, and when...now, shall we put your mettle to the test, V-ahn~." cing a heavy emphasis on the ahn part of his name, resulting in it sounding like a sensual m.o.a.n, Circe then turned around, shaking her tail feathers toward him before bolting through the hallway. Shaking his head, Vahn slowly followed after her while taking note of where everyone else in the Manor was and what they were up to. He let his intent shift to Illyas room in the process, seeing the peculiar sight of Fenrir and a transformed Illya with their paws together, legs tucked underneath their bodies in a seiza position. His peeping didnt go unnoticed by them, causing both girls ears to twitch as Fenrir turned her head towards where his intent was located, asking, "Master~?" Though this wasnt a unique urrence, the fact that Cath Palug tilted its head to the side and repeated, "Master...?" was a bit of a surprise. He couldnt actually hear what they were saying, but the mouth movements were identical and he could easily read both girls lips. In response to this, Fenrir turned her attention back to Cath Palug, saying something Vahn couldnt interpret as he moved his intent away from the room to leave the two to their own devices... After finding Rin and Sakura reading together in the study, bringing a smile to his face since the two were seated together on the sofa, Vahn stopped peeking around as he tried to open the door to the bathroom. A small magical formation glowed on the handle, causing a small electrical shock to pass through his hand but, after having his body literally torn apart by Scthach, such things had virtually no effect on him. He knew this was just another way in which Circe was trying to rile him up, taking advantage of the fact that most men would want to get even in response to such pranks. This was also her way of getting revenge against him for the fact he had locked her in the room previously, causing Vahn to smile as he quickly erased the magical circle with rtive ease. Hearing the door open much sooner than she expected, Circe turned to look over her shoulder, mild surprise in her eyes as shemented, "I didnt think you would be able to break through so soon. Did you really want to watch me undress so badly...?" Circe had been in the process of removing the pale-gold essories that decorated her arms, neck, and her left thigh. Though she could remove them with her ability to change her outfit in an instant, her reasoning wasnt all that dissimr to why Vahn would sometimes undress normally. It was a sensual and intimate way to appeal to the other party, something Vahn appreciated greatly whenever the girls would give him a strip-tease or let him watch them dress... Stroking his chin, Vahn made no attempt to conceal his intrigue as he answered, "Ill admit that Im curious how your clothes are able to automatically obstruct a persons view...as for the contents, well, I wont say Im not interested...hmmm..." Though he was intending to show Circe how professional he could be, they hadnt officially started so Vahn felt like teasing her a bit. She seemed to be willing to y along, wiggling her butt toward him as she asked, "Do you really want to see~? I might let you if you get down on all fours and try to take a peek..." In response to this, Vahn just crossed his arms before leaning back against the door and watching in silence, an appreciative smile on his face. Allowing a small blush to touch her cheeks, Circe wiggled her ears towards Vahn before making a show of removing each of her essories as slow as possible. Without her tform-sandals, Circe looked significantly more petite than normal as her wings tucked inward to block the view of her backside. Though she had tail feathers that extended from the winged attachment, they didnt extend past her h.i.p.s so Circe had to rely on the tips of her wings as she peeled away her short skirt and peek back at Vahn withrge eyes and a coquettish smile. When he made eye contact with her, Circe shifted her wings slightly, briefly revealing her pert white butt for only a fraction of a second. Vahn, however, kept looking into her eyes without letting his gaze wander as, within his mind, he could already perfectly imagine Circes body without having to gawk... Seeing that Vahn had been able to resist her small test, Circe bashfully batted her eyes a few times before unfastening the golden sp that kept her thin tunic in ce. Then, by simply slumping her shoulders slightly, the fabric fell to the ground after sliding down her arms in a smooth motion. With this, Circe waspletely n.a.k.e.d, bar the exception of her winged tiara and attachment that seemed permanently affixed to her body. Now bereft of clothing, Circe opened her eyes to stare back at Vahn once again, this time causing him to squint slightly since her irises, which had previously been a perfect division between pink and green, were now entirely suffused with a deep and captivatingly pink. At the same moment their eyes met, an intoxicatingly sweet aroma spread throughout the room in an instant as Circe asked, "Do. You. Want. To. See~?" Then, without waiting for Vahns answer, Circe slowly turned her body around, using her wings to conceal her shoulders and b.r.e.a.s.ts while her hands were the only thing concealing her secret garden, the source of the smell that made Vahn body steadily heat up, at least until his bodypletely filtered the effect... Instead of answering Circe with words, Vahn simply smiled to her in response, a reaction that caused her to blink in surprise as her ears waggled slightly. Then, as a smile spread across her face, Circe slowly opened her wings to reveal two snowy white mounds that could easily fit into the palm of ones hand. There were two pale pink protrusions at the very center, only a few shades darker than Circes fair skin. Vahns smile widened in response to this, causing Circes ears to begin a steady metronome as she removed one of her hands aside before taking nearly a full minute to slowly move aside the other. The moment Vahn caught sight of the delicate peach-like mound, his brows furrowed slightly as he noticed the small mark glowing right above the tightly closed and tender looking slit... Understanding that Vahn had seen her secret, even though his eyes hadnt looked directly toward it, Circe exined in a voice that seemed to directly tickle his brain, "This teenie-tiny mark is the core of my Magical Power. Its cute, isnt it~?" As she said this, Circe used her index finger to trace around the mark which, from Vahns perspective, wasnt all that dissimr to the crest he had carved into thousands of Elves. Circe actually seemed to refine Magical Power within her w.o.m.b, serving as a secondary reserve tank that was far purer than the normal mana flowing through her Magic Circuits. What confused Vahn was how he had nerved noticed the tiny pink sun located within her w.o.m.b as it contained a phenomenal amount of mana that even made him feel slightly threatened. The fact that the crest on the outside took the shape of an intricately designed pink heart didnt to much to abate the mild shock he felt knowing Circe hid so much power in her tiny frame... As if to further entice him, Circes finger continued lower until she was less than a centimeter from touching the pristine and tightly closed divide of her vulva. She knew Vahn was paying attention as she licked her lips and stated in an almost hypnotic voice, "For the descendents of Hecate, we are not only fated to lose our powers during intercourse...but we are also guaranteed to get pregnant. At the same time, our lives be bound to our partner, granting them our lost power in exchange for giving us the right to take their lives whenever we wish...haaaa..." At the very end of her words, Circe let her finger descend just a bit lower before pressing it, ever so slowly, into herself... Though it was certainly a sight to behold, Vahn actually recovered his senses faster the more Circe tried to entice him. The more effort she put into trying to charm him, the greater his resistance to the attempt became as both his mind and body adapted to the invasive energy. This didnt seem to deter Circe all that much, however, as her face had a rather excited smile as she looked directly at him while touching herself. Her ears had peculiarly pointed upward at a thirty-degree angle as she leaned forward slightly and began to breathe heavily through her button-like nose. Vahn knew she was getting off on being watched, knowing he wouldnt do anything to her, or at least confident she could stop him if he tried... Deciding things would go on forever if he let Circe just do whatever she wanted, Vahn pulled out a massage table from his Inventory, startling her slightly as she released a tiny Eep~! in response. Her hand immediately retracted from fiddling with herself as she flitted a few centimeters off the ground before realizing Vahn wasnt trying anything. Then, after patting her own chest to calm down, Circeined, "You shouldnt startle a girl like that...!" In response to this, Vahn gave a light chuckle before adding in an amused tone, "And you shouldnt be ying with yourself while someone is watching...nowe, hop up on this table. From here on, Ill give you a taste of what you can expect if you behave properly in the future..." Hearing Vahns words and seeing how quickly he had recovered caused Circe to puff out her cheeks adorably as she red back at him with a look of me in her pink eyes. As always, however, this didntst long before she made a buuuu~ sound and shimmied over to the massage table. She titled her head a few times to observe it, wiggling her butt around to try and draw Vahns eye before ultimately climbing on as instructed. Since there were small indentations for her face and b.r.e.a.s.ts, Circeid down on her stomach before noticing that the small stands that folded up from the sides were used to prop up her wings. Vahn had quickly set up a few things while she couldnt really see what he was doing, causing Circes heart to beat rapidly in her chest as her tail feathers and butt twitched about in expectation... Seeing Circes actions, Vahn was momentarily reminded of Nobunagas small butt, an errant thought that didnt escape Circes notice as her body almost immediately turned statuesque. Then, as if her head was on a mechanical pivot, Circe looked back at him and asked, "You are thinking about other girls when Imying on a table n.a.k.e.d in front of you...?" As she asked this, the color in her eyes shifted from pink to solid green, allowing Vahn to understand he could probably determine her mood based on the color of her eyes. At the same time, understanding he couldnt really gloss over the matter, Vahn nodded his head before unceremoniously resting his hand on her backside as he answered, "Dont worry, your butt is more adorable...its shape and feel are quite nice as well..." Like a gradient switch had been flipped, Circes eyes shifted back to pink but, at the very bottom, there was still a hint of green as she asked, "Who were you thinking about~?" This time, Vahn didnt bother to answer her question since he knew it was andmine to humor that line of discussion. She wasnt even paying attention to the fact that he had been fondling her butt so Vahn set his right hand on her back and said, "You should stay focused as well. Dont worry, I wont let my mind stay a second time..." With that said, Vahn began to send threads of Source Energy into Circes body as his hands danced across her back, lightly pressing each of her pressure points along the way. Though she still seemed to want an answer from him, Circe eventually put her face back into the hole on the table, setting aside the matter untilter. What she didnt expect was, by the time Vahn was finished with her, thoughts of vengeance would be thest thing on her mind... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nobu-chan has fallen harder than Lakshmibai xD,Fenrirs educational methods...?,Omae Wa Mou Kawaigatta...!!!*You are already petted*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1107 - Astute, Amorous, Awakening, Attendant

Chapter 1107 - Astute, Amorous, Awakening, Attendant

After spending an hour on each of her backside and frontside, massaging virtually every centimeter of her body minus two extra sensitive spots, Vahn picked up the limp Circe by hooking his hands under her armpits. She had a negligible amount of weight and, due to their difference in height, Vahn was able to easily pick her up before moving to the shower area. Throughout this process, Circe just stared at him with almost sickly pink eyes as her ears and wings drooped powerlessly. She didnt even know how to think at the moment as there was a tingly sensation that filled her entire body, including her brain. The only thing she knew at the moment was that Vahn was the source of the seemingly endless pleasure andfort she was feeling. Not wanting to lose this precious treasure she had obtained, Circe had be almost unnaturally docile. Ignoring the warmth in his body, and the intoxicatingly sweet aroma that seemed to invade his mind, ever after removing his ability to smell, Vahn sat Circe down on a small wooden bench used to aid in washing the body. Though she slouched forward powerlessly the moment he let her go, Vahn was eventually able to keep her upright with abination of telekinesis and pressing a few points around Circes h.i.p.s and back to keep her back straight. With his almost perfect understanding of her body, Vahn was even able to insert his Source Energy into Circes Magic Circuits, guiding her to open her wingspletely and hold them open as he used the lowest setting on the showerhead to begin grooming her wings. Since he had the opportunity, Vahn counted each of her feathers while observing every minute aspect of the wings, down to the microscopicwork of barbules that had minute amounts of mana flowing through them. Though her wings werent especially sensitive, Circe felt an ever-increasing feeling offort, even though she could feel that Vahn was exposing all of her secrets. She didnt even mind that he had infinitely more control over her own body than she did at the moment. There was a strange fort that came with relinquishing control and, though part of her desperately craved the moment when Vahn would lose restraint, Circe was beginning to understand that he truly wasnt like other men. Even the most Heroic individuals wouldnt have been able to keep their senses after seeing her n.a.k.e.d, but Vahn was able to handle her body expertly without showing any signs of losing himself to passion. This awareness made Circes heart feel fluttery as she closed her eyes and just allowed the pleasant feelings to wash over her, much like the warm water from the showerhead... Vahn was somewhat surprised by the fact that Circe had exactly 100 feathers on each of her wings while the rest of her winged attachment only brought the total count to 312 if counting the feathers on her tiara. In exchange for having significantly fewer feathers than an actual bird, each individual feather had a mana conductivity that far outstripped materials like Mythril. They were also extremely soft to the touch on the outside while the interior, which had a smooth metallic golden sheen, was almost hot to the touch as subtle vibrations passed into his fingers when he traced the massive magic circuits that wereprised of hundreds of small circuits arranged in aplex manner that would take him months, or even years, of research to emte... After finishing with her wings, Vahn gently eased the tension in Circes body while guiding her wings to rest on two white towels he had spread across the floor. They had be steamy and wet from the hot water, but Circe would probablyin if he just let her precious wings dr.a.p.e across the floor. She might not be reacting much, but Vahn knew she was paying close attention to everything he was doing since her brain was glowing like a lightbulb with activity. When he moved around to the front of her body, her eyelids slowly peeled open to show a deep pink bordering on red as she stared back at him with zed, yet strangely focused, eyes. Vahn returned a smile to her before gingerly picking up her right foot, pulling out a small golden file to clean under her already pristine toenails... When Vahn finished with each of the delicate and moderately adorable digits, he gave Circes feet an oil rub before wiping them down with a steamed towel. From there, he used the same oil and began massaging it into her calves before slowly moving up to her knees and the soft depression behind. From there, Vahn spread Circes legs open wide, noticing the color of her eyes deepen, before slowly applying the oil to her thigh, all the way down to her pectineus and adductor muscles. Though he was close enough to feel an almost burning heat on his hand whenever he went to the base of her thighs, Vahn made sure not to vite Circes sacred area, even by ident. It was a little difficult to wipe around the area with a towel but, by paying close attention to his actions, Vahn managed to wash Circes legs without any major issues. After applying arge amount of oil to his hands, Vahn moved on from Circes legs before usingrge caressing motions spread the oil over her abdomen, sides, back, b.r.e.a.s.ts, and shoulders. She had an unbelievably soft body, at leastpared to how tender and thin she appeared at a nce, but Vahn didnt lose his focus even as he cleaned around her b.r.e.a.s.ts that, as expected, almost fit perfectly within his palm. Once he had applied the oil to almost every nook and cranny of her torso, Vahn used another steamed towel to wipe her down before folding across herp in a vain attempt to prevent the ever-increasing potency of Circes aroma from spreading into his body. Though this wasnt the first time he was in such a situation, Vahnsck of inhibitionstely made it surprisingly difficult to restrain himself with a willing participant right in front of him... Releasing a hot sigh to ease his tensions a bit, Vahn picked up Circes hand and began to file and polish each of her nails, though not before cleaning underneath the tips and around the cuticles. Then, after applying a small amount of oil to his fingers, Vahn gingerly rubbed the length of each of Circes digits, finding her dainty fingers even more adorable than her tiny toes. Then, much like he had done for her legs, Vahn rubbed down the length of Circes forearms, elbow, and upper arms, massaging the delicate and soft tissue for a few minutes before ultimately wiping her down with a steamed towel. With this, thest thing to clean was Circes head, ears, and hair before giving her body onest rinse and bringing their already three-hour-long spa session to an end with a soak in the bath. After folding another towel across Circesp, Vahn released another hot sigh before looking into her reddish-pink eyes, smiling as he said, "I hope this makes you properly consider your future actions...I dont give this level of service to girls who dont behave themselves..." Though she didnt answer him, Vahn could see the activity in Circes mind, hopefully indicating she was seriously considering what he had said. Her eye color raised a few gs but, as his instincts werent warning him of any impending danger, Vahn just redited the change to Circes heightened state of pleasure. With that in mind, Vahn applied a small amount of oil to his hands as he began to massage her neck and cheeks, finding thetter strangely pliant. This reminded him of how Circe would often puff out her cheeks, bringing a smile to Vahns face as he moved on to her extra sensitive and super long ears... Though they had been drooping somewhat pitifully for a while now, Circes ears twitched to a sharp angle the moment he touched them. Since they would twitch wildly at even the smallest caress, Vahn had to keep a small pressure point near Circes jawline pressed to cken it before using his other hand to gingerly clean it, using extreme care as Circes face became a deep shade of red in response to his actions. The moment he stopped pressing into the pressure point, Circes now cleaned ear began to waggle madly, suffused with the same red hue as her face. By the time Vahn cleaned her other ear, Circe looked like she was on the verge of having a nosebleed and passing out, even though the entire process had only taken around three minutes. It was obvious that her ears were just as sensitive as a High Elfs, something Vahn had already expected due to how expressive they were... While Circes ears continued to twitch sporadically, Vahn moved behind her before changing to an expensive bottle of conditioner that he had purchased through the system shop for 40,000 OP. This was supposed to be a full-service experience so Vahn decided not to spare any expenses this time around to ensure that Circe wouldnt be able to fault any of his treatments. Even the oil he had been using to clean her body was valued at 28,000OP, possessing the function of revitalizing the skin and giving it a slight gloss. The best part was that it was ultimately scentless, meaning it wouldnt bother girls with sensitive noses. Back in the Record of Danmachi, it was the mostmonly used oil by the girls within the Manor, the Goddesses being no exception... As he washed Circes long pink hair, Vahn noticed that its quality would even put fine satin to shame as, even while wet, his fingers glided through it without encountering any tangles or resistance. He had noticed this previously while patting her head, but this was Vahns first time washing Circes hair since she joined them. In fact, with the exception of Fenrir, he hadnt taken a bath with any of the other girls yet, though Rin had asked if he wanted to join her and Sakura earlier in the morning. With how young Sakura was, it wasnt too strange for her to still bathe with her parents, at least ording to the sensibilities of the Japanese. It wasmon for children, especially daughters, to bathe with their parents until around the age of 8-9, something that didnt particrly bother Vahn since he was used to moremunal bathing due to his experience in Danmachi. With Circes long hair reaching down near her h.i.p.s, creating a peculiar crescent shape even when wet, Vahn had to spend nearly twenty minutes making sure it was properly suffused with the conditioner. Then, using a specialized brush that wouldnt damage her silky hair, Vahn spent another twenty minutes brushing out the conditioner while using the showerhead on the lowest setting to make sure there was nothing left behind. He knew this was always a pleasant andfortable experience for girls so Vahn made sure to take his time in order to give Circe the maximum amount offort. He made sure to periodically use the showerhead to keep her body warm so Circe was practically putty by the time he had finished. Releasing yet another hot sigh, Vahn wiped the sweat from his brow as he looked around at the cloud of steam that now permeated through the entire room. There was a subtle pink hue that only his [Eyes of Truth] could see, causing him to periodically feel absentminded until his body would filter it out once again. At this point, Vahn imagined that any man who stepped into this room would immediately lose their minds before trying to attack the nearest woman, Circe. The pheromones produced by her body were one of the most potent aphrodisiacs he had ever observed, making the viscous liquid staining the wooden bench she had been sitting on seem especially dangerous. Vahn was slightly worried about what would happen once she soaked in the bath as his intuition told him the water itself would be an equally powerful aphrodisiac... Deciding to trust in his bodys natural resistances, Vahn lifted Circes head by gently tilting her chin, asking, "Are you ready to take a bath...?" Then, after Circe bobbed her head in azy nod, Vahn picked up her body, holding her straight out since it was almost impossible to give her a bridal carry with her wings being uncooperative. This was a little awkward but Vahn managed by unequipping his shorts, the only piece of clothing he had been wearing since the start. He knew Circe would fault him if he wasnt n.a.k.e.d so, gambling on his ability to even resist Angra Mainyus corruption, Vahn stepped into therge bath before lowering Circes body into the hot water. Though he had nearly gone the route of letting her sit in hisp, Vahn ultimately decided against it since he knew direct contact between his member and the viscous fluid leaking from her lower body wouldnt end well. Even with his resistances, his body still needed to take in the foreign substance before repelling it, just like how his flesh had been corroded by Sakuras Shadow in the past. This was why he would periodically experience bouts of absentmindedness while his body had gradually be warm from exposure to Circes pheromones. If she were to grind against him directly, Vahn had no confidence he would be able to prevent his body from reacting, even if he knew things would end there. Since he didnt want to cause unnecessary suffering for himself, Vahn let Circe sit between the gap in his legs before releasing a hot sigh as he reclined against the side of the tub... While Vahn was enjoying the hot water, Circes eyes were focused beneath its surface as she saw his unresponsive member lurking beneath. She had never felt so tempted to try and get a rise out of someone but, after experiencing Vahns care for such a long period of time, she had absolutely no resolve when it came to taking any action that might annoy him. Since she had recovered most of her ability to move while he had been washing her body, Circe just slumped into the water until half her face was submerged. When Vahn smiled toward her, she began blowing bubbles, even though her ears betrayed that she felt happy to have even a little bit of his attention... This seemed to be the best way to get Vahn to show her increased affection as, after sinking his body into the water, bringing them dangerously close together, he then came to a seated position that had him towering over her due to their difference in size. Then, causing Circes ears to stand at a sharp angle, Vahn gently embraced her body, bringing her head to rest on his chest as he stroked her back and said, "I dont mind girls with strong personalities...I dont even mind girls that want to act like spoiled Princesses...the only kind of girl I cant show affection towards are those who treat others as if they are beneath them. Try to get along with the others in the future...I promise you will be much happier if you surround yourself with friends instead of enemies..." Hearing Vahns words, Circe felt a bit of resentment rise up in her heart as she believed it was unfair for him to use such words after everything he had done to her. Now that she had experienced the liberating feeling of entrusting her body to him, Circe felt like he was bullying her by essentially threatening to take it away if she didnt behave. She wished he would just give in to her charms and push her down in the bath as, after what he had done to her, Circe didnt even care if she lost her powers. She could potentially have Vahns life in her hands and, with the focus he ced on family, Circe didnt believe he would be able to hate her after she got pregnant with his child. Then she could have all of his affections to herself, living like a pampered Queen that passed each day in endlessfort... Putting what little strength she could muster into her hands, Circe pushed against Vahns chest in a vain attempt to force him down. Fortunately, he misconstrued this as her wanting to break free from his embrace, allowing her to look up at him with her now deep red eyes. Circe felt like she needed to make Vahn her own but, after seeing the calm yet intense look on his face, she found her body tense up as she watched him recline against the tub once again. At this moment, Circe regained a bit of rity, recalling that Vahn was different than any other man she had ever encountered. Even if she could somehow force him to take her v.i.r.g.i.nity, the chances of her actually being able to control him after the fact were infinitesimally small. She even doubted the curse that would bind their lives together would have any effect on him as, no matter how much she tried to force him to obey, Circe knew she wouldnt have the heart to actually kill him. The only thing her action would aplish would be betraying Vahn and earning his ire. Though he would undoubtedly take care of her and their child, Circe knew she would always be kept at arms length from that moment onward... Before she realized what was happening, Circe began to cry pitifully like a child, balling her tiny hands into fists as she covered her eyes and loudly sobbed. This caused Vahn to panic a bit, making Circe feel even sadder when he tightly embraced her and began apologizing while lightly patting her back. The color in her eyes flickered before changing from a deep red to a sickly pink once again as she just sobbed into his chest and lightly beat against his body with her fists. Even though he tried asking what was wrong, Circe fundamentallycked the ability to describe how she was feeling right now. She felt as if she had suffered the greatest grievance imaginable, even though she knew it was ultimately her fault things were soplicated. All she wanted was to feel good and have someone take care of her so it felt like Vahn was bullying her by making her take responsibility for how she treated others... --- Though it took quite some time, Circe eventually stopped bawling and simply returned his embrace in silence for several minutes before muttering, "I will try..." in a voice still tinged with a sob. Vahn had been feeling guilty from the moment she started crying so, hearing her words, he released a sigh of relief before patting her back and answering, "You are an amazing woman...I know you can do it..." He didnt quite know what Circes thought process was that caused her to suddenly break down into tears but, feeling the energy in her body mellow out considerably, he felt she had undergone a positive change. When they finally separated, her eyes even had a color he hadnt seen before, the top still containing a pure pink color while the bottom was a soft blue. He would need to pay close attention to the changes in her eyes to know what she was feeling but,pared to the green he assumed was envy, the gentle blue seemed less worrisome at a nce... With her hands still resting against Vahns chest, Circe gave a small smile that made the room seem slightly brighter. She began to move her hands, rubbing his body and tracing the lines of his muscles in a way that made Vahn feel perturbed since she had been crying her eyes out moments before. He could see the blue in her eyes recede, the pink bing more prominent as she asked, "Can we do this again if Im a good girl...?" This question made Vahn feel another pang of guilt but, remembering this was the desired oue, he nodded his head and said, "Of course..." His affirmation caused the pink in Circes eyes to fade away a bit, reced by the gentle blue color this time as she nodded her head and said, "Ive decided. I will be your personal attendant from now on. I cant imagine getting along with other girls, but I feel I might be able to do it if its for you..." Feeling that this was Circes way of saying she would follow him around, Vahns smile became a little awkward as he gently grabbed her wrists and was about to exin that he didnt want someone at his side at all times. He already had enough trouble with ya as, even if she wasnt visible, Vahn knew she was always watching everything he did. Circe following him around would only cause the other girls to feel awkward, especially since she wasnt the most adept when it came to interacting with other girls. Before he could make his case, however, Circe smiled even more radiantly as she said, "Dont worry. Im not going to follow you around. I will just stay in your room and make sure it is clean and orderly. I will also cook all of your meals and even do yourundry if you want me to. In exchange, I just want to spend more time with you, even if you bring other girls around. I will do my best to get along without feeling jealous..." As Circe spoke, Vahn saw a tiny amount of green rise up from the bottom of her eyes before fading away momentster. The smile on her face was filled with expectations so, after considering things for a brief moment, Vahn ultimately returned a smile of his own before saying, "I understand...Ill be in your care from now on..." Though Fenrir would probably butt heads with Circe a bit in the near future, Vahn figured she would be able to quickly reign in the little Nymph and establish herself as the highest authority in his bedroom. If Circe was sincere in her willingness to open up to others, Fenrir would be the first major threshold she would need to ovee. After that, interacting with other girls should be rtively easy since everyone except Nobunaga got along well with her. With Vahn agreeing with her, Circe smiled so radiantly that he almost instinctively averted his eyes due to a strange feeling of guilty guing his heart. This didnt persist for too long, however, as Circe caused Vahns mind to nk for a moment when she suddenly leaned forward and said, "I want to service you..." with the same hopeful expression from earlier. Though this could mean almost anything, Vahn correctly guessed what Circe had in mind, even before she rified, "I have always wanted to try it. Please sit on the edge of the bath and leave everything to me, okay~? This is my first time but Ill try my best to make you c.u.m lots and lots~!" Vahn didnt know if Circe was still trying to test him but, after watching her cry earlier, he assumed she was serious about her desire to fete him. Her bing his attendant suddenly gained a whole new meaning as Vahn realized she would likely want to try a number of things other than outright having s.e.x. Since he was confident in his skill, this didnt bother him all that much since her curiosity reminded him a lot of Lefiya and Ais. Thus, even though he felt like there was something slightly off about the situation, Vahn ultimately nodded his head before rubbing Circes. Afterward, he sat on the edge of the tub, watching as Circes eyes became almostpletely pink as she began ying out the fantasies that had only existed in her mind previously... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Circe,Vahn is a big bully...!,He ded) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1108 - Foundation

Chapter 1108 - Foundation

After a series of events, some unique, some peculiar, and some intimate, Vahn found himself holding the crying Sakura in his arms as Rin watched on with an apologetic smile. They were currently at the airport, just before the security checkpoint, when Sakura finally learned that her Otou-sama wouldnt being on the trip with them. As a result, Vahn was cradling her in his arms, lightly patting her back so she would stop crying. Though they had only spent a few days together, with him being elsewhere for most of that time, Sakura had already grown attached to him. The moments they were together as a family were some of her most precious memories and, knowing that they would be apart, Sakura felt like she had done something wrong as she wet the left side of his chest with her snot and tears... Ignoring a few empathetic looks from the surroundings, Vahn continued to pat Sakuras back as he whispered, "Everything is going to be okay...calm down now...your Otou-sama wont just leave you and your Okaa-chan. He has some important stuff to take care of, but that doesnt mean he will be leaving Sakura-chans side..." Though it probably would have been better to tell her about the Space-Time Orb earlier, Sakura simply wouldnt understand its function until Rin taught her how to use it. They would be flying on a private jet, courtesy of the Edelfelt family, so Sakura would have plenty of time to learn how to use it during the twelve-hour flight to London. With an expression that showed doubt and sadness, Sakura sniffled a few times as she asked, "You promise...?" In response to this, Vahn showed an affectionate smile, cing his forehead against Sakuras as he answered, "The world your Otou-sama and Okaa-chan live in is different from normal. You will learn quickly that you are someone very special, my little cherry blossom...I would not lie to you so just listen to your Okaa-chan and you will understand that I am never apart from you...okay?" Since he couldnt exactly talk to her about Magecraft in the middle of a crowded airport, Vahn could only be vague as he tried to console this precious surrogate daughter of his... Though she didnt seem convinced, Sakura still nodded her head before holding up her tiny hand and saying, "Promise..." This caused Vahn to smile as he brought his own hand up, seeming massive byparison, linking his pinky with hers as he said, "I promise..." As if he had said the magical words, Sakuras face formed a small smile that didnt quite reach her eyes and she wiped away her tears an intoned an affirmative Nn~!. Then, after a bit more coaxing, Sakura returned to Rins embrace as the two proceeded through the security checkpoint, annoying a few people since they were allowed to skip the line due to their VIP status. In the distance, Vahn gave a nod towards Gray, earning a small smile from her through the veil of her hood as she stood behind the waiting Lord El-Melloi II, t, and a few other people from their faction... For a solid ten minutes after everyone had vanished beyond his sight, Vahn followed them through his domain until they boarded a small private jet on a smaller runway. Though most people would have some issues trying to get flight clearance, high ranking members of the Magus Community were able to bypass such things with extreme ease. Since their travel was often spontaneous and off the books, mostly to avoid having curses and attacks nned against them, the time between boarding to takeoff was only thirteen minutes total. By then, Vahn was walking out of the airport with ya floating at his side, nodding her head in response to him saying, "Do not hesitate to use your stored Magical Power to protect them. If it isnt something you can resolve in ordance with the restrictions you are ced under, just teleport them back to my side. Ill deal with the aftermath myself..." Anticipating something to go wrong while he was apart from Rin and Sakura, Vahn had spent a full seven hours meditating while ya drained his blood under the watchful eyes of Fenrir and Circe. As a result, she had a store of nearly three-million units of Magical Power when added to what she had previously drained from him. Though this actually wasnt all that much, as she had revealed that the Greater Grail had upwards of a five-quintillion units stored within the system for the purpose of granting wishes. This was a bit of a shock as, with how powerful his Source Energy was supposed to be, Vahn never expected the Greater Grail to store so much energy in only a sixty year time period. After all, if he let ya drain him at the same rate as his replenishment, this meant it take him nearly four-hundred years to provide her as much energy as a Greater Grail... Though it was a little foolish of him topare himself to something like as Leyline, Vahn felt that there must be some loss due to yas inability to actually process his Source Energy. She was likely only processing the unique energy that was always present within his blood, something that Vahn still didnt fully understand. He knew it wasnt theponent of Source Energy, as it had been a part of him prior to obtaining The Path. At the same time, regardless of the form and race he took, to the point of changing the basicposition of his blood and molecr structure, Vahn knew he couldnt remove the unique qualities from his blood. He really needed to spend some more time trying to understand exactly what his blood was as, even after reaching the age of 156, he still had a *sealed* race within his status that even Sis had no understanding of... Now that he no longer had any reason to stay in Fuyuki, Vahns mind was racing with thoughts of what he needed to aplish over the next ten years. The highest priority would be increasing his own strength and knowledge but, in order to aplish this, he needed a ce where he could train and conduct his research in peace. Fortunately, he had a Teacher like Scthach on his side and, even though Paracelsus would probably never make any true breakthroughs into unlocking the secrets contained within his blood, Vahn believed the legendary Alchemist would be able to at least match Terras aplishments. As for everything else, he could fill in the nks by summoning other Heroic Spirits by taking into consideration the needs of his yet to exist organization... Thinking of the future, Vahn quickly moved through the crowded streets, quickly breaking from the pursuit of a few members of the Holy Church that had been following them to the airport. When he entered into a side alley, Vahn vanished by having ya teleport him as his own means would leave traces that could be followed. As a result, a man and a woman appeared in the alleyway a few seconds after he had vanished before pulling out their cell phones and immediately reporting their failure to track him. With thisst sighting, Vahn vanished from Fuyuki City entirely, sending a few ripples through the upper echelons of the Holy Church and the Mages Association who had been intending to pull him into their ranks... --- Appearing within the underwaterpound that had been created by Paracelsus, Vahn looked around to see that everyone was already gathered. Tristana was standing at the side of Paracelsus, using his body as a meatshield against the gazes of the other girls in the room. To his credit, the handsome Alchemist continued to show a calming smile, even though Fenrir had been ring at him for some time now. Fortunately, things werent that tense elsewhere in the room as Astolfo, Catherine, Nobuna, and Lakshmibai were having a lively conversation at the side. When Vahn appeared, Astolfo was the second person after Fenrir to notice him, immediately raising his gloved hand and eximing, "Yo! Vahn is here everyone~!" Though they had noticed Vahn shortly after Astolfo, everyone still turned their attention towards him after thetters outburst. Artoria and Lakshmibai almost synchronously greeted, "Wee back, Master." while Fenrir and Circe naturally gravitated to his side. Nobunaga also walked over, asking, "So, got any ideas about where to build our base? This ce doesnt seem all that bad." With her moving over, Vahn quickly found himself surrounded by everyone, including a now able Catherine who was walking around with an ornate cane. She gave a polite nod after reaching afortable speaking distance, saying, "It is good to see you, Sage Emperor..." in a soft tone. Of everyone present, the only groups that didnt move to surround Vahn were the duos of Tristana, Paracelsus, and Illya, Heracles. Thetter had Illya sitting on Heracles shoulders as he towered over everyone else in the room with an intimidating aura. When she saw Vahn, Illya gave a small wave but, not fond of being around others all that much, she made no effort to join the small crowd gathered around him. Vahn gave her an acknowledging nod and a calm smile before turning his attention to Catherine and saying, "It is good to see you. After we move, Ill finish treating your condition." Then, in response to Nobunagas question, Vahn answered, "I have a few ces in mind but Im open to ideas if anyone has a special need or preference..." In preparation for the move, Vahn had asked ya for information regarding potential locations for establishing a base. She had quickly informed him that almost every Spiritual Land and Leyline had already been imed by the Mages Association and Holy Church. Though it was possible to take one by force, this would be the same as dering war on whichever organization hadid im to the area. Since that was counter-intuitive to his intentions, at least for the time being, Vahn had asked about other potential locations. As a result, his current intention was to take over a small ind off the west coast of Africa. It had previously had a smallmunity of around 2300 residents but, due to overfishing and the expanse of arge algae colony, the area had be a dead zone where fish and other marine life had virtually been wiped out. As the knowledge provided by the Holy Grail didnt exactly include detailed geological information and the current political climate of the worlds countries, the only person to answer Vahn was Astolfo, boldly stating, "I think it would be best to establish a base around the British Isles or Irnd~! With the exception of Nobu-chan, most of our origins can be traced to that area. Who knows, we might get some kind of super amazing benefits from being near our homnd~? Also, I really want to see how the world has changed over thest twelve-hundred years. At the very least, I want to visit France~! Also, also, wont you feel better if youre closer to Sakura-chan and Rin~?" Vahn was a little taken aback by how excited Astolfo was but, before he could answer, a soft voice spread through the room, saying, "I believe Duke Astolfo is correct. Both Artoria and I would be able to draw power from Britain as it is the closest physical location to Avalon. The same should be true for Lady Scthach if you decide on Irnd as the location for your base..." Following the voice to its source, Vahn saw Merlin standing next to Paracelsus workstation, a gentle smile on his face as he poked a vial full of purple liquid. This caused Tristana to startle, eximing, "How the hell is everyone able to just teleport into our base without setting off the rms...!?" Since she had double-checked all of the magical rys after Vahn previous visit, Tristana was frustrated to know that her best efforts meant nothing before people like Vahn and this new arrival. As if he hadnt even heard Tristanas outburst, Merlin continued to stare at Vahn, adding, "I know a good spot, if youre willing to trust me. It gets a bit chilly this time of year, but I believe it will be an excellent choice for a base. Spiritual Lands and Leylines are not the only suitable locations to build a stronghold...sometimes a location with a bit of mystery is the most ideal~." Though he was being roundabout, the fact that Merlin specifically used the word mystery immediately made up Vahns mind. This implied that the ce Merlin had in mind had been around since the Age of Gods or, at the very least, represented the burial grounds of where a Phantasmal Species had died. In the Common Era, dating back two-thousand-fourteen years to the present, the most powerful influence in the world were Laws rted to the Physical and Quantum realms. Prior to the Era of Man, the true name of the Common Era, the most powerful Laws at y were those rted to Mystery and the Primary Elemental Forces. When the Gods were forced to retreat to the Reverse Side of the World at the end of the Era of Gods, most Mystery in the world had vanished with them. As all Magecraft and Thaumaturgy relied on aspects of Mystery and their constituent Laws to manifest, any ce where Mystery was strong served as perfect grounds to build a stronghold. After all, with few exceptions, using True Magic wasnt even possible outside of an area where the Laws of Physics were more influential than the Laws of Mystery. It was for this reason that most Magi disdained Science and Technology as, with time, it would lead to the inevitable decline and death of Magecraft. Though the odds of the powers behind the scenes allowing that to happen were negligible at best, Vahn knew it was undoubtedly the future of some timelines. As for his own, his path would likely lead to the increase of Mystery in the world, something Merlin was undoubtedly aware of. After all, he would be summoning Heroic Spirits from History to be permanant residents in the world, many bringing with them fragments of Mystery. Since thend he builds his base on would also be closely tied to the Root, Vahn knew that his presence in the world all but guaranteed it was on a path where Magecraft would bemonce. One of the major tasks ahead of him was introducing it in such a way that people didnt outright destroy themselves during the transition... Without overthinking matters, Vahn nodded in affirmation toward Merlin, asking, "Can you take us there...?" This was something Merlin had already prepared for, causing him to tap his staff on the ground in response. A massive, bluish-white formation appeared in the area and, without giving anyone time to prepare, the entire room was emptied a momentter. The only person who wasnt transferred was ya, leaving her hovering in the air next to where Vahn had been standing. At the same time, however, a version of her was already standing at Vahns side more than ten-thousand kilometers away. Using this opportunity, she created a small blue star at the tip of her index finger that, momentster, exploded with enough force to make the nearby coastal cities experience a Magnitude 6.4 earthquake... --- Feeling a tugging sensation in his stomach, though only for a brief moment, Vahn felt slightly nauseous due to the quick transfer. He wasnt the only one either as Catherine stumbled into Astolfos embrace before vacating the contents of her stomach onto the poor Pdin who, to his credit, tolerated the mess while lightly patting his former Masters back. As for the other affected parties, they included Tristana, who had plopped to the floor, and Illya who red at Merlin, her eyes gaining a slightly purple hue that caused the Magus to smile in return. At the same time, he hid his palms in his sleeves though, due to the slightly transparent quality of his ears and neck, it was obvious that the transfer had taken its toll. Others might not be able to see through it, due to the powerful illusion surrounding Merlins body, but Vahn had been paying close attention during the transfer to confirm his suspicions... While others were collecting themselves, one person in the room had a very different reaction as she looked around the area withplex emotions visible on her face. Then, turning to Merlin, Artoria asked, "This is where you want Vahn to build his base? Here, of all ces...?" They were currently located in a small stone chamber that looked like it hadnt withstood the test of time all that well. Even at a nce, however, it was easy to see that this was a room in a muchrger structure, something not even Vahns senses could fully map out. There were several areas that his perception couldnt even pierce, showing up as empty blotches on his Minimap, now dominated by what looked like the blueprint of a massive fortress-type castle. In response to Artorias words, Merlin kept his usual smile as he answered, "This ce is not your burden to bear any longer, my dear Artoria. However, Im certain you would prefer to see it prosper once again...yes...of course...after all, this is your home." With that said, Merlin tapped his staff a few more times, each motion sending a blue pulse through the room that seemed to vanish into the walls before spreading further beyond. As this urred, the surrounding structure looked like it was going back in time, including dust and debris returning to their original location as decayed stone quickly turned back into smooth and polished surfaces. Though Merlins presence seemed to be fading with every tap of his staff, his expression didnt change much until he had apparently finished his task, punctuated by a tired sigh. Now, instead of a decrepit stone room, the group found themselves in an ornate antechamber,plete with suits of armor, various pieces of art, and a thick red carpet beneath their feet. Then, without exining anything further, Merlin opened a set of massive reinforced wooden doors that had the figures of twelve people carved into them. The other side of the doors opened up to a massive throne room that was supported by pirs that stretched all the way to the roof more than 30m overhead. It almost looked like the inside of a massive cathedral with the arched roof and stained ss murals that dotted the upper half of the walls. At the very center, surrounded on both side by twelve ornate thrones, a surprisingly simple wooden throne stood out amongst them... Even without needing a history lesson, everyone in the room knew exactly where it was they had been transported to by Merlin. Based on Artorias reaction alone, it was obvious they had found themselves in the legendary castle of King Arthur, a ce that had disappeared long ago and was suspected by some to have never existed from the start. Though he was certain to find out the whole story,ter on, Vahn could feel the history of the ce as if it were palpable, causing him to look around with visible awe on his face as he muttered, "Camelot..." in a respectful tone. This utterance earned a nod from Merlin who, using his staff as a walking stick, made his way over to the wooden throne before caressing his hand over the surface and asking, "Well, want to try it out...?" Understanding Merlins intentions, Vahns expression and disposition almost instantly changed, causing the surroundings to tremble slightly as he looked toward Artoria. Though she still had a fewplex emotions visible in her eyes, Artoria had already made her decision when she and Vahn shared vows previously. She intended to wring Merlins neckter but, for the time being, Artoria took a knee, lowering her head toward Vahn as she muttered in a firm tone, "My Emperor...!" This was the same as giving Vahn her consent, causing the aura surrounding his body to more than double in intensity as he made his way over to the wooden throne and sat down without hesitation. Though the throne was rtively in, Vahn felt as if his power had increased qualitatively the very instant he sat down, an overwhelming sense of pride welling up inside of his chest as Merlin mused, "All hail the Emperor..." in a light tone. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sakura is too precious (T ^ T),Mystery has no chance against Physics and the Scientific Method...! Question everything, define everything, know everything...!,The Rise of the Sage Emperor of Camelot (O o O)...!!!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1109 - Secrets

Chapter 1109 - Secrets

Following the rather auspicious moment when Vahn first sat upon the Throne of Camelot, he got to experience Astolfo renewing his pledge as a Knight, making the androgynous pretty boy his second official Knight. After this, everyone was pretty much given free rein to pick their rooms, so long as they selected an area in the residential quarters and stayed out of the Inner Sanctum. Though things became a little awkward in the group after Vahn sat upon the throne, it wasnt that big of a change in how things would be run. If Camelot was truly to be the heart of an Empire in the future, it would take years so there was no particr rush to make sure a specific kind of order was kept... Though the Ivory Castle, the official name of the residence Vahn had coopted for himself, had been restored to its former glory, it was still grossly understaffed. There was also nothing like a power grid present so the majority of the building was dark, the only light presenting in from the various stained-ss murals and a few open windows. To help restructure a few things and tend to the basic maintenance of the castle, Paracelsus was given the task of creating golems to tend to the grounds before creating a service staff of Artificial Humans and Homunculi. Though there would undoubtedly be Heroic Spirits and other people wandering the halls in the future, they obviously couldnt be given the task of simple Maids, Servants, and Groundskeepers. Since various Automatons could handle most menial tasks, it was best to leave such things to them while a few key individuals took charge of each Orders personnel. Things would undoubtedly be more cohesive with the passage of time but the basic structure of Vahns organization, now simply named Avalon, would beprised of four departments, named Orders since he wanted to go with the theme of Knights. The main Order would be headed by Vahn himself, known as the Imperial Order: Aldrnari. His primary responsibility was overseeing the other three Orders, essentially ying the part of an actual Emperor since he would have the final say regarding the allocation of resources and personnel. Beneath his Imperial Order, there would be the Alchemical Order, headed by Paracelsus, the Order of Imperial Knights, headed by Artorias, and the Order of Mystery, for the moment headed by Merlin himself. Soon after Vahn had taken his ce upon the Throne, Merlin surprised everyone by pledging an oath of his own, officially bing Vahns Magus of the Court. Since there were few people who could even hope to contend against Merlin in the realm of Magecraft, including those that could use True Magic, he was the best candidate for the position. There was also the simple fact that, even more so than Artoria herself, the only person who knew all of Camelots secrets was Merlin. Thus, once everyone else had been released to explore the castle, Vahn found himself deep within the Inner Sanctum with Artoria at his side. Though Fenrir and Circe had wanted toe along, Merlin was surprisingly insistent that the only people allowed within the heart of the Inner Sanctum were the past and present rulers of Camelot. Anyone else that entered was bound to be stricken with a vicious curse and, though Vahn could probablye up with a solution, it simply wasnt worth burdening hispanions with such things in the present. As for why Merlin was able to enter, he simply smiled in response without giving a clear answer... After passing into a room that would serve as Vahns bedchamber in the future, a fact that made Artoria pale slightly since it had previously been where she and her own wife slept. Though Vahn would rece everything within, it was still awkward to have people inside a room that had only been frequented by Artoria, Guinevere, and, though she didnt discover this untilter, her Head Knight, Lancelot. She had forgiven him for his sins, not wanting to interfere in the happiness of two of her closest confidants, but her encounter with him during the Fourth Holy Grail War had proven this was another one of her mistakes. Seeking redemption for his actions after her presumed death, he roamed thends before eventually losing his mind, something she believed was redited to a curse that had been ced on him... As if he didnt care for Artorias reminiscence at all, Merlin tapped his staff against a small diamond-shaped tile, triggering a mechanism that Artoria herself didnt know existed. This caused her to stare daggers at him, something the flowery magus just shrugged off before saying, "Had you known whaty beneath Camelot, your burdens would have been greatly magnified. You should not worry so much about the past, my dear Artoria, as the only thing that awaits you from here onwards is the future..." With that said, Merlin made a small orb of light before leading the way down a dark and spiraling corridor. Compared to the ivory-like stone of the rest of the castle, the interior walls of the corridor seemed far more ancient, to an extent that not even Merlins magic would be able to restore them to their true glory... Since he was curious about whaty below, Vahn ced his hand on Artorias shoulder, giving her a small nod before following behind Merlin. She interpreted this as him agreeing with Merlin, causing Artoria to release a sigh before quickly falling into step behind the Emperor she had pledged more than just her sword to. Though there was nothing official between them as of yet, Artoria had prepared her heart to ept any status Vahn intended to give her. She was still inexperienced in matters of the heart, still firmly clinging to her feelings toward Shirou, but Artoria believed in the future that Vahn saw. Now that the world itself was in danger, she would do whatever it took to make sure he wouldnt have to shoulder the burden himself...she did not wish to see him make the same mistakes, even though he had already seeded once before while she herself had failed... After descending for nearly half an hour, to a depth of around 700m, Vahn followed Merlin through a stone archway that opened up into arge cavern. Artoria was following close behind him, her mind wandering, so she had nearly bumped into him when Vahn suddenly stopped in his tracks. Her reaction time gave her more than enough leeway to change her course at thest moment before, much like Vahn, Artoria gawked at the unexpected sight before her. There, in the middle of the cavern, a massive red dragon was bound by silver chains as pirs of luminescent crystal pinned it to the ground like spears of light... Before either Vahn or Artoria could ask, Merlin created several more spheres of light as he exined, "This is the Welsh Dragon...long ago, in a time long before Artoria had been born, this True Dragon served as the principal protector of the British Isles. It was one of the few Phantasmal Species that decided to remain on this side of the world during the Great Migration. Due to a pact it had formed with a member of the Volcaeic Tribe, themon ancestor of most of Britains Royalty...one hundred years before Artorias birth, the Welsh Dragon had prophesied her birth on the brink of Britains ruin. She was meant to be a beacon of hope that would raise Britain from the ashes, ushering it into a new era of prosperity by serving as a living anchor between the Surface and the Reverse Side of the World..." As she had once wielded the Holy Spear, Rhongomyniad, Artoria wasnt unfamiliar with the majority of Merlins words. What she couldnt understand was how the Welsh Dragon, known as a benevolent and wise creature, hade to be imprisoned beneath the Ivory Castle. Even her own war standard had born the symbol of the dragon while, beating within her chest, the blessing it had bestowed upon her lineage gave her the power that had allowed her to be King. Seeing it pinned down caused Artoria to feel as if she had a heavy weight ced on her chest, making it difficult to breathe even as Vahn lightly stroked her back. Understanding what Artoria wanted to ask, Merlin had a sad smile on his face as he exined, "Your birth was not the only thing prophesied by the Welsh Dragon. It also foresaw a terrible cmity that threatened to bring, not only Britain to ruin, but the surrounding countries as well. This cmity presented itself in the form of a White Dragon, a Beast of Gaia that served as the manifestation of the Saxtons desire for conquest. After the Age of Gods hade to an end, Gaia, the other half of the Counter-Force, was far more proactive in her desire to see humans fight amongst themselves. Her efforts arergely to me for the decline of Magecraft and the depletion of mana over thest two-thousand-fourteen years..." As Merlin said this, he looked at a small blue squirrel-like creature that was clinging to Vahns shoulder, its teeth buried into the base of his neck. This was a form ya had taken per Vahns request, giving her permission to suck his blood, increasing the reserves of Magical Energy he could use to make her take action. In her current state, she was actively concealed from the perception of most people, the only exceptions being entities like Vahn, Merlin, and Scthach. Since she understood that Merlin was looking at her, ya looked back at him with her violet eyes shing lines of runes, mouth never leaving Vahns neck... Continuing where he left off, Merlin added, "The Welsh Dragon knew it would emerge victoriously but it would be a pyrrhic victory as, due to the toxins contained within the White Dragons fangs and ws, it was fated to be corrupted, bringing the very destruction it had vowed to prevent. Thus, after fighting against the malevolent White Dragon and obtaining victory, the Welsh Dragon entrusted its fate to the people it had sworn to protect. Its body became the foundation for the Ind of Avalon, serving as the physical bridge that would allow others to reach the Reverse Side of the World and reach the true Avalon. At the same time, its heart was removed, serving to nourish the bodies of the Pendragon family until the prophesied King had been born. After that, it vanished from the world, bing the heart beating within Artorias chest..." At this point, Merlin was standing near the snout of the Welsh Dragon, rubbing his hand across the ruby-red scales of the 20m long winged creature. Then, as if to exin the purpose for revealing such a secret, Merlin exined, "Of the many prophecies surrounding the Welsh Dragon, the most important was the final words it spoke before being sealed away. Though it had foreseen the fall of King Arthur in the Battle of Cann, it also saw visions of a far future where, after gaining power in the True Avalon, King Arthur would return to usher in the Third Era. During that time, Avalon would be the foundation for a Utopia where all races would be able to prosper, turning the tides of destruction and bringing an Age of Wonder..." When he finished speaking, Merlin looked towards Vahn before squinting his eyes as he added, "That was the future I had seen as well...at least until you descended upon this world, Sage Emperor Aldrnari. Though I had been powerless to help her due to my own imprisonment, I knew that Artoria would one day be the King she always aspired to be. She was fated to lead, not as the King of Britain, but the Wise King of Avalon. In that vision of the future, it was not you at her side, but another man..." Even without exining further, Vahn and Artoria both thought about Shirou, thetter adopting aplex expression while the former just squinted his eye slightly and said, "Those who wait for fate to y out would excuse all tragedies as inevitabilities. So long as people have free will, there is no such thing as an invible prophecy. Regardless of the future you had seen, the only future that has ever mattered was the one people forged in the present. There are so many factors in y that even you would never be able toprehend, Merlin, so please do not make things difficult for Artoria by saying such careless words..." In response to Vahns words, Merlin actually nodded his head in affirmation, a smile on his face as he said, "Yes, I believe that is how it ought to be. Had I note to that same conclusion, I never would have entrusted my most precious treasure to you. Truth be told, I was never fond of the fate that had been decided, not just for Artoria, but all of the people I have encountered. The burden of knowing when and how those close to you will die, never being able to take action to prevent it, is one of the things I abhor about my own existence. When I saw what would be of Artoria while I wasted away in a prison for all eternity...well, let us not talk about such dreary subjects. The only thing that matters is, as you said, the future you two are building in the present..." After he had finished speaking, Merlin removed his hand from the Welsh Dragons snout, saying, "There is one final thing you should know...so long as the Welsh Dragons body is sealed here, this Ind of Avalon serves a simr function to a Leyline. I believe that little squirrel of yours will be able to create a system that allows you tomunicate with the Throne of Heroes without any issues. However, what you need to know is the purpose that the Welsh Dragons sealed body serves...that littledy, Gray, is in possession of the Holy Spear, Rhongomyniad. As the spear serves as one of the anchors of the World itself, it was not able to split from the time axis when Artoria made her pact. This caused the spear to eventually fall into the hands of her foster brother, Sir Kay, who desired to bring his sister back to life, not as the King of Britain, but a simple woman who did not need to bear such burdens. Now, thirty-seven generationster, the spear has fallen into the hands of thatss and, should you wish to use it, there is one important function it possesses..." Though Merlin had just dropped a bombshell on Artoria, caused her to nearly copse on the spot, he entrusted her care to Vahn without showing even a small change in expression as he stated, "By using the Holy Spear on the Welsh Dragon, it is possible to create a gateway between the Avalon in the Surface World, and the True Avalon located on the Reverse Side of the World. Though the mana on the other side would be enough to kill a normal person just by being exposed to it, I believe you may very well be an exception to this rule, Vahn. At the same time, there is the potential of using the mana contained within Avalon as a weapon of mass destruction, saturating the world-" Before Merlin could continue any further, Vahn held up his hand and asked, "And what will happen to the Welsh Dragon...?" Though it was sealed away, Vahn could tell that the monstrously powerful Welsh Dragon was still alive. Even without a heart, and with most of its organs and wings skewered with spears of luminescent crystal, it was still filled to the brim with vitality. He might currentlyck the means to fully heal it, but Vahn was confident he could expel the corruption within its body before restoring it to full health one day. It wasnt right for a creature that had dutifully carried out the terms of its oath to suffer such a tragic fate in exchange for its loyalty. Even if it meant losing the catalyst that gave the Ind of Avalon its power, Vahn would rather have a powerful and loyal ally on his side than treat its sealed body like a battery... Without waiting for Merlins answer, as he could already guess it, Vahn plucked ya from his shoulder, asking, "How much Magical Energy would it take to remove this dragons corruption?" In response to this, ya licked the excess blood from her lips before answering, "The Welsh Dragons corruption is the Will of Gaia. No amount of Magical Energy would allow me to take action that ran directly counter to an action of my counterpart. If you seek to heal the Welsh Dragon, you would have to make an arrangement with Gaia. At your current level of power, you would lose your life instantly if you attempted to confront her directly." In response to yas words, Merlin showed a mncholic expression before rubbing the Welsh Dragons snout again and muttering, "I had hoped against all odds that you would be able toe up with a solution...well, not that you need to do so now. Im certain you will endeavor to save even the Welsh Dragon...that is your nature, after all...isnt that correct, Sage Emperor Aldrnari~?" With these words leaving his mouth, Merlin gave a knowing smile that conveyed to Vahn that this had been his intention from the start. Though this was a little annoying, Vahns determination to heal the Welsh Dragon wasnt affected in the slightest. With that in mind, he walked over to its side before cing his hand against its chest to get a better understanding of the malignancy... Though Vahn had been thinking about using his blood to essentially cycle out the Welsh Dragons, this thought was immediately put on the backburner after he touched it directly. Much like Sakura, it had malignant ck energy that had perfectly fused with its own internal mana. Though the blood in its veins was no longer pumping, even that had been turned into a ckened substance not all that dissimr to the mud that had been produced by the Greater Grail. Most troubling of all, however, was that the Magic Circuits of the Welsh Dragon had warped into a form that would cause it intense pain while using its power, further adding to its madness. Though Vahn could use a [Fate Severing Knife] to separate the malignancy from its body, he was grossly unprepared for fixing the damage to its organs and reshaping its Magic Circuits into the correct shape. It seemed easier to make a new body for it, transferring the soul of the Welsh Dragon into a new vessel since its current one was almost irreparably twisted... Shaking his head, Vahn felt that his mentality was developing in the wrong direction as, even back in Danmachi, he often told others that anything was possible. Just because he couldnt repair the damage easily, didnt mean he couldnt do it if given enough time. His skill with [Hands of Nirvana] would only grow stronger and, even if ya refused to help him, that didnt mean he couldnt find Gaia and make her provide assistance. Even if her presence would kill the current him, the words of Akasha indicated that even Gaia wouldnt be able to take direct action against him. If he could reach a point where he could approach her directly, Vahn knew he should be able to order Gaia to undo the corruption of her Beast and potentially even heal the Welsh Dragonpletely... With his mind made up, Vahn sent waves of Source Energy into the Welsh Dragons body, seeing if he could even influence its damaged Magic Circuits. Though it felt like he was trying to shape steal with a piece of wool, the nature of his Source Energy meant there was, at the very least, a small effect. The problem was that the Welsh Dragon seemed to be near the peak of Tier 4 so, with his current level of strength, it felt like it would take decades to beat its Magic Circuits into shape. Vahn knew he would need to increase his strength considerably if he wanted to expedite the process as, even with his previous reserves back in the Record of Danmachi, Vahn wasnt confident he could use Nirvana Rebirth on a creature more than 20m in length. After pulling his hand away, Vahn confidently stated, "I will be able to help it if given enough time. For now, we should focus on consolidating our power and increasing the strength of our forces. I do not believe for a moment that nothing would happen between now and the emergences of Angra Mainyu. You still need to exin to me exactly how Camelot and Avalon are able to remain hidden from the world...after that, well need toe up with a system of governance if we intend to truly make this the heart of my Empire..." Though it hadnt been his intention to be an Emperor in every Record he visited, Vahn knew arge part of his power was dependant on his followers. Since the fate of the world was on the line, he didnt mind expanding Camelot until its influence actually began to reach out into the real world. The current path, where mankind was manipted by figures in the shadows, would only end in ultimate destruction. As he did not intend to allow such a thing to happen, Vahn knew he would have to take more decisive actions if he wanted to prevent theing destruction... Turning to ya, Vahn gave a small nod before saying, "Withoutpromising the seal or injuring the Welsh Dragon, this is the ce where I will establish the system tomunicate with the Throne of Heroes. Do it..." Though ya had only been given the task of creating a catalyst for Vahns use, he had already asked her how much Magical Energy it would take to create the entire system. Since he already had several of therger fragment of the Greater Grail in his possession, it surprisingly only took around 3,000,000 units of Magical Energy to patch everything together. Since ya had been constantly sucking his blood for thest six hours, she had a stockpile of around 4.4m units of Magical Energy, more than enough toplete the task in his stead. In response to Vahns words, ya spread her arms wide, a rather peculiar action since she was only around 10cm long and looked a lot like a flying squirrel. Vahn had told her to turn into something cute that wouldnt distract him when he was focused on other things. Though he had to deal with a persistent pinching sensation in his neck, he actually preferred seeing ya in this kind of form. His body still warmed up just by being in contact with her, but it was a lot easier to ignore when the contact surface had been reduced to the size of a small rodent. Now that he got to see the rather peculiar sight of an adorable blue squirrel manipting a phenomenal amount of mana, Vahn couldnt help smiling... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Where the Grand Order though...?,Welsh Dragon is a True Bro,Vahn is making ya work hard xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1110 - Awareness

Chapter 1110 - Awareness

Somewhat unexpectedly, it took a little more than ten minutes for ya to finally finishing altering the structure of the cavern to contain one of the most intricate andplex magic circles Vahn had ever seen. It not only covered the floor, walls, and ceiling, but even took the position of the Welsh Dragon and the thirteen pirs of luminescent crystal into ount, creating a secondary magic circle around its body that allowed its mana to naturally spread into the surroundings without interfering directly with the system. Vahn intended to study the makeup of this formation in great detailter on as, even if he couldnt recreate it with his currentprehension, the future was without limit. While ya was busy performing her task, Merlin hade to stand next to Vahn and Artoria, asking, "Have you considered which Heroic Spirits would best suit your cause? With the nascent state of the Empire, it may be best to request the aid of a Heroic Spirit specializing in Innovation, Counter-Curses, or any who can bolster our forces in a short period of time. I do not know the limit of the system created by ya...perhaps you will be able to summon as many Heroic Spirits as you want? Regardless, it is important you select individuals that will not disrupt the order you have yet to establish. Im certain you can understand, my wise Sage Emperor, how some Heroic Spirits could be more troublesome than others..." With the matter of Circe fresh on his mind,bined with the fact he hadnt even liberated Medusa from her Magic Core, Vahn nodded his head in understanding. After all, he could even potentially summon a Heroic Spirit as powerful as Gilgamesh, an existence that would greatly increase their power, assuming he could ever be reined in. Sometimes, it was better to secure weaker Heroic Spirits with a lot of potential as, with the help of Paracelsus and Illya, Vahn was nning to allow them to incarnate in the present. With the ability to learn and grow, even midling Heroic Spirits would be able to greatly increase their strength by the time Angra Mainyu manifested into the world. The only problems with this was, until he had a means for them to stabilize their existence, Vahn didnt have the OP reserves to sustain too many Heroic Spirits... For better or worse, he could actually deal with most female Heroic Spirits as,pared to their male counterparts, their ability to take in and store mana within their bodies was far more efficient. Even Homunculi were predominately created as females as, with the way the Magic Circuits of the w.o.m.b interfaced with the rest of the body, it was possible to use the organ as a battery, much like Circe. He didnt even need to really have s.e.x with them directly as, with a bit of effort, Vahn knew he could be able to catalyze his blood or s.e.m.e.n before either having them imnt it into their bodies or consuming it directly. He didnt have to personally be involved in the process, even for gluttons like Scthach... After thinking for a while, Vahn was unable toe up with an answer as it was impossible to determine the gender, much less the true nature of a Heroic Spirit. Even some of the most famous male figures that existed in the Age of Man, King Arthur and Oda Nobunaga, both ended up being cute girls. If the Throne of Heroes allowed him to somehow call upon Gods, Phantasmal Species, and Anti-Heroes, there was a chance he would be able to reap some serious benefits. However, as even Artoria and Scthach werent supposed to be embedded into the Throne of Heroes, as they had never died, Vahn was skeptical. It was unlikely he would be able to summon any Heroic Spirit that didnt exist within his current time axis unless Akasha had given him Administrative ess to the real Throne... This was the problem with having ya create the system as, if he had taken upon himself to spend a few months forming one for himself, it might have been possible to exploit things quite a bit. It was still possible, and highly likely, that he would be able to modify and upgrade the system in the future but, at least for the time being, Vahn didnt know much about its capabilities. With that in mind, he decided to go with one of his previous intentions, turning to Artoria to ask, "If you had the option, is there anyone you would like to reunite with? Were going to be fighting together for many years and, as much as I believe we can all get along together, I know it would make things easier if everyone had someone they knew from their own timeline here in the present." As Vahn had already talked to Nobunaga, Lakshmibai, and Artoria about their pasts, he knew all three girls had important people they would undoubtedly enjoy reconnecting with... Unexpectedly finding herself put on the spot, Artoria was slightly startled since she had still been in the middle of processing everything Merlin had said. If not for the fact her Round Table had been torn apart by civil war and strife, she was tempted to throw out the names of almost any of her formerpanions. At the same time, however, Artoria felt like it would make things awkward within the castle if she summoned her most loyal Knights, only to have them bend the knee to another. She was no longer the King and, knowing what some of her Knights thought about her toward the end of their lives, Artoria wasnt confident they would be happy to be called upon her in such a selfish manner. The only ones she knew would answer the call willingly were Ghad and her niece, Gareth... Remembering how Lancelot had crushed the skull of her innocent and honorable niece, Artoria felt a twinge of pain within her heart. Though she had already pardoned Lancelot for his crimes, resulting in the copse of the Round Table, the memory of watching her kin unceremoniously ughtered was not something that could be forgotten easily. Since she never had the chance to live a full life, Artoria was tempted to ask Vahn to bring Gareth to her side as, with the exception of Ghad, she was someone that would greatly benefit their cause. At the same time, however, Artoria felt a little anxious as she was afraid that Gareth would fall to Vahns wiles, just as she had... Seeing Artoria in deep thought, Vahn smiled thoughtfully before asking, "How about we call upon Mordred? It wouldnt be easy, but Im certain the both of you would be much stronger people if you can set aside your differences and be a real parent and child. If you can make up with her, summoning the other Knights of the Round shouldnt be all that difficult. When I have a better understanding of how the system works, we may even be able to summon groups at a time, trying to bnce things out to avoid any major issues...hmmm..." Vahn knew it wasnt going to be easy to keep the bnce while the majority of individuals in his organization were Heroic Spirits. Though Knights were a little easier to deal with, as their sense of duty made it almost impossible for them to turn their back on a world facing destruction, even they had their issues... Recalling the conversation she had with Vahn in the past, Artoria furrowed her brows slightly since, as much as she would like toe to an ord with Mordred, it didnt seem like the time or ce to do so. Before she could make a decision on the matter, Merlin rubbed his chin with an amused smile on his face as he remarked, "That may not be such a bad idea....yes, the existence of Mordred is something unique, even amongst Homunculi. She was the product of powerful Magecraft and a forbidden tryst, born into this world through deceit and wicked enchantments..." Though he was going to say more, Merlin saw the razor-sharp re that Artoria was giving him, ultimately causing him to change the subject slightly, adding, "If give powerful parental figures and guided onto a more righteous path, I believe Mordred could be a powerful ally. The main source of her rebellious nature is due to her small age and the fact she was manipted by others...you would not fault a child for wanting their fathers attention, would you...?" Artorias face formed into a frown when she heard Merlins words, causing her to retort, "A child should have never been given power and authority in the first ce. I understand there was more going on than I was made aware...perhaps you will actually exin things to me now that I am no longer a King bound by fate...?" Since Merlin had kept many things from her in life, Artoria felt very frustrated since he seemed to know everything that was happening behind the scenes. She didnt me him for her failures as a King but being kept in the dark, even now, wasnt something that sat well with her. With an understanding nod, Merlin surprised Artoria by saying, "Of course, my dear Artoria...now that you have set upon this path, it is only right that I reveal to you the matters of the past. However, I will only do so when you have truly started walking toward the future...one day, I hope you will be able to truly ovee the burdens of the past. After all, isnt that your own conviction as well...?" It had only been a few minutes ago that Vahn made his bold ims about the only important matters being the present and how they shape the future. Artoria had seemed resolute when she heard this but, as she was ought to do, it didnt take long before she let her apprehensions and failuree back to the surface. It was because of this that Merlin felt it was actually a good idea to summon Mordred as the thing he desired more than anything right now was to see Artoria forged a path beyond the fate that had been decided for her... Amidst the awkward silence following Merlins question, ya broke from her pose, drawing the eyes of everyone in the room as she hovered over to Vahns side and said, "It isplete." At the same time, she pulled out a hexagonal key with thousands of shifting runes on its surface, handing it over to Vahn before exining, "You are the only person who can activate the system to interface with the Throne of Heroes. Any attempt by others to do so will result in immediate destruction so please keep that in mind, Master." With that said, ya turned her eyes towards Vahns neck as if she were waiting for permission. This elicited a wry smile from Vahn as he asked, "How do I use the system...?" Turning her violet eyes to meet his gaze, ya inly stated, "You put in the key..." in a cold monotone. Fortunately, she also pointed towards a section of the massive magic circle where a small hexagonal outline existed within a nine-tiered magic circle, something that would require a person to be very near the peak of Tier 5 to even produce. Vahn realized he could have intuited where the key needed to be inserted without asking but, choosing to ignore the matter, he just gave a small nod in response to ya, saying, "Thank you..." Following this, shetched onto his neck once again, causing a small pinching feeling that was almost immediately followed by a steady flow of warmth into his body. Holding the strange purple key in hand, Vahn looked at Artoria and said, "Though you are already an amazing woman, I believe you can be even more so in the future. So long as you continue to strive towards a better future, it will eventuallye to pass...ultimately, the decision is yours to make, Artoria. You will have my support, regardless of the path you wish to walk..." Though he was trying to give Artoria a small push, his words didnt seem to be as impactful as intended. Artoria gave a tired sigh in response before surprising Vahn as she asked, "What will you do when Mordred tries to make a move on you? That girl has a strong personality and cannot be controlled so easily. I do not believe we cant reconcile but, until then, I know she will continue to pester you just to spite me..." Vahn was slightly taken aback by Artorias words but, even more unexpectedly, Merlin came to his aid, pointing out, "Mordred should be easier to deal with than you imagine. If you want to avoid her taking such actions, you need only have Scthach revert her physical body to match her age. cing a temporary seal on her power, making it so that she can only use it under certain conditions, is also a rtively easy feat to perform. Are you intending to convince me that you cant deal with a child that just wants her fathers attention...? Perhaps that necessitates the summoning of Mordred even more...hmm, like father, like son...?" Though she was on following along with Merlins words at first, Artoria flinched when he added thest unnecessary remark. She knew he was implying that she was just as immature as Mordred... Finding some truth in Merlins words, Vahn nodded his head before cing his hand on Artorias shoulder and saying, "It will be fine. You have anywhere between ten and seventy years to make amends with each other. Dont forget that I will be there to help you as well..." Toward the end of his words, Vahn moved his hand to gently stroke Artorias chin with an affectionate smile on his face. This caused Artorias expression to turnplicated until, in a surprisingly adorable manner, she eventually stamped her feet a few times before shouting, "Fine then...! Ill do it, okay!?" Since she said these words with a red face and slightly teary eyes, both Vahn and Merlin looked at Artoria like she were an adorable and rare creature. This caused her to cross her arms in a huff before saying, "Get on with it...the others are probably waiting for us to return..." Though he was tempted to ask if she needed time to collect herself, so as not to present an embarrassing sight to Mordred, Vahn figured this might actually be a good thing. With that in mind, he walked over to the hexagonal gap in the magic circle before cing the key into a small slot that was almost perfectly flush with the keys outline. This caused the entire formation to sh with a brilliant blue light before, in the next moment, Vahn found himself alone in a bluish-ck space once again. Even ya was no longer present on his shoulder, alerting Vahn to the fact that he had likely been removed from the time axis, at least temporarily. This meant that, no matter how much time he spent in this space, no time would pass back in the real world... With no tutorial to exin what he ought to do, Vahn made his way towards the onlyndmark in the space, a massive sphere that was hovering in the void above. Beneath it, there were a few ck pirs that came up to around chest level, each appearing like aputer terminal of sorts. Though others might not be able to read the information shing across the surfaces, Vahn had no such handicap. Following the instructions on the main panel, Vahn ced his palm against the smooth stone surface before feeling his hand sink into the material slightly. Aplexwork of what appeared to be magic circuits extended outward from his hand like a pulse before, momentster, a synthetic voice echoed, "Authorized ess by Entity ssification: Type Omega. Please input the parameters and restrictions of your summoning." After the voice sounded out, Vahn noticed the panels in front of him restructure themselves to show a numerical value at the top of the screen while a seemingly infinite list of options popted the panels to the left and right. The left side showed modifiable parameters, meaning he could alter the base parameters of the summoned Heroic Spirit in exchange for reducing the numerical value at the top. On the right side, there were various skills and abilities listed, things Vahn understood to be restrictions since they would be the only abilities usable by the summoned Heroic Spirit. The only exception would be their unique Noble Phantasms and any skills derived from their Innates. It even seemed possible to give skills and abilities belonging to a specific ss to any other ss, even though this caused the number at the top of the screen to steeply decline... Since he seemed to have a limitless amount of time, Vahn continued scrolling through all the options without even turning his attention to the list of Heroic Spirits just yet. He had tried speaking with the voice to ask for assistance but the only thing he got in response was absolute silence. As a result, Vahn had to sort through the list manually, looking for a specific function that he hoped existed within the endless stream of options. Fortunately, after what felt like ten hours, Vahn saw an option that was functionally simr to what he had in mind, simply listed as Transmigrator. Clicking on the ability, Vahns face warped into an excited smile since this was exactly what he had hoped for... Though the Throne of Heroes was understood as being a mechanism to record the feats of Heroic Spirits throughout history, Vahn knew it wasnt as simple as the Magus Community believed it to be. The fact that the Greater Grail had been able to summon Anti-Heroes, Gods, and even living beings showed that it was a far moreplex system than what was currently understood. The fact there was a [Transmigrator] skill at all was the only proof Vahn needed as, after clicking on its description, the skill ate the entire value listed at the top of the screen. In exchange, at least ording to the skills description, it would literally pull the living person from their timeline, meaning they would not be a fragmented soul and would have all their potential and abilities returned to them... Vahn had been a little worried that the Throne of Heroes would only be able to transnt the Ego onto a vessel, meaning it would, at best, be a copy of a previously existing person. The soul was not something that could be transnted easily, something Vahn had been concerned about since the present Nobunaga, Lakshmibai, and Astolfo were all fragmented souls. Though Vahn knew it was possible to strengthen their current fragment to the point it became aplete soul, he couldnt help worrying about them. If they suddenly lost their lives, even summoning them a second time would only give him another copy, not the same versions he hade to care about... Shaking his head to clear negative thoughts, Vahn began to peruse the list of Heroic Spirits before only just now realizing there was a small space at the side that he could use to filter results. Since he had only used aputer a few times, Vahn wasnt that savvy when it came to handling systems other than his own. Even then, he was incredibly reliant on Sis help to manage most functions so Vahn didnt let it bother him too much that he had missed something as simple as a search box. When he saw there were actually several Mordreds listed, however, Vahns face formed into a small frown before he changed the search parameter to Artoria Pendragon this time. Though Artoria wasnt supposed to be inscribed on the Throne of Heroes, this didnt seem to matter at all as he got a massive list of results after inputting her name into the search box. Following this, Vahn input the names of Merlin, Scthach, and even Ishtar. Every time he inputs a name, Vahn would get a variable list of results, the fewest hits being when he searched for Merlins name. Ishtar had even more results that Artoria, allowing Vahn to understand that the Throne of Heroes didnt just record the feats of Heroes but more so served as a repository for every entity that had lived within the Root. There was an Ishtar for pretty much every timeline present within the system, as she was part of the natural order during the Age of Gods, while existences like Artoria only appeared in a few timelines. For being like Scthach and Merlin, who were isted from the time axis, they only appeared a few times since they were on a level that even distinguished them from the Gods... Releasing a heavy sigh, Vahn then proceeded to rub his temples to ease the tension headache that was threatening to overwhelm him. Though he had known there were functionally infinite timelines, many only having small differences from their parallel counterparts, it was still a bit overwhelming to see the names of people he cared about listed billions of times. With this information, Vahn knew it would even be possible to extract several Artorias from their timelines, having functionally identical versions of the same person, each with their own unique souls but nearly identical memories. They would even have their own [Excalibur]s, an item that was only supposed to exist as a singrity of sorts within their respective timelines... Realizing that he had undoubtedly been given ess to the real Throne of Heroes, Vahn had to spend a few hours just sorting through his thoughts. After all, if he truly wanted to guarantee victory against Angra Mainyu, it wasnt impossible to just mass summon the same powerful Heroic Spirit, pulling them from their respective timelines to aid him in his own. If he didnt want to have them transmigrate, Vahn could be content with knowing that their Ego was enough for the time being as, with a bit of effort, he knew their souls would beplete. This would make them a unique existence, one which would undoubtedly appear on the Throne of Heroes from the very moment they obtained aplete soul... After sitting with his back against the cold stone for an indeterminant amount of time, Vahn once again released a heavy sigh before rising to his feet. He knew things like this would be normal for him when he had enough power to regte his own Records. Still, it was a difficult reality to face at his current Tier since the concepts at y were simply beyond his ability to fullyprehend. With this being the case, Vahn input Mordreds name again before adding extra search parameters to try and limit the variance down to the original Mordred hailing from Artorias timeline. This, however, still gave him several tens of thousands of options, each having nearly the exact same description, skills, abilities, and base parameters. Since he didnt know the Space-Time coordinates of his own timeline, Vahn had no way of guaranteeing the Mordred he summoned was the one hailing from his timeline. Though it might not matter in the grand scheme of things, as they would have the exact same memories, Vahn felt incredibly perturbed justifying things in such a manner. After all, this would be the same as him believing a copy of one of his lovers, so long as they had the same thoughts and memories, was the same as the original... Though there was a fair chance she couldnt answer him while he was in the Throne of Heroes, Vahn turned his head towards the void and shouted, "Akasha! I only want to summon the Modred from my current timeline! I will exchange unique methods to strengthen the soul if you and your superiors allow me to designate specific individuals within the Throne of Heroes...!" Since Vahn assumed one of the main research subjects of Termina Nasu was the strengthening of the soul, he didnt imagine they would be able to refuse. Any random cultivation method he purchased from the system shop would suffice to allow them to start apletely new experiment that had fundamentally no impact on things within the Root. Since they had lived for an iprehensibly long period of time already, Vahn didnt imagine they would be able to reach Tier 6 so easily, regardless of the techniques he gave them... Only a few seconds after his spontaneous shout, aplex pulse of runes shed across the ground before the body of Akasha came into existence from the bluish-ck stone below. She wasted no time in answering, "Your terms have been epted. If your words are true, giving you higher ess rights to the Throne of Heroes can be immediately approved." With a nod, Vahn spent 500,000,000OP to purchase one of the known Cultivation Techniques that had been referenced in some of the doc.u.ments he had perused during his research. It was known as the [Nine Yang Dragon] cultivation method, allowing normal humans to train their souls to the level of Gods and obtain immortal souls. Though such things werent impossible within the Nasuverse, it was usually due to the fate certain individuals had been assigned, not because of their own efforts. A Record could never grow beyond its designated limit until something like Vahn entered within, irreversibly breaking everything by his and The Paths existence... Akasha didnt even move from where she was standing, teleporting the scroll Vahn had produced directly into her hand before an incalcble number of runes shed across her eyes. This process took much longer than Vahn expected, making him feel somewhat nervous, but Akasha eventually nodded her head before tossing the scroll into the void. Following this, she inly stated, "The Throne of Heroes has been altered to allow for greater ease of ess. You will not have any issues with designating specific timelines any further. Are there any other arrangements you would like to make?" Shaking his head, Vahn gave a wry smile before exining, "Producing that scroll actually took up a fifth of my total reserves. They are a little moreplicated to manufacture than other items due to theplexity and significance of their existence..." Though Vahn had been intending to provide a bit of information for potential future benefits, Akasha caused his words to trail as she created a small transparent golden cube before levitating it toward him and saying, "This is an enriched cube of pure Divine Energy. ording to our data, it will allow you to replenish your reserves to the point they had been at upon entering into the Root. My Superiors expected great things from you, Type Omega." With that said, Akasha sunk into the ground once again since she had determined that Vahn had nothing else to request... Choosing to keep the [Divine Energy Cube] instead of cannibalizing it for OP, Vahn ced it into his Inventory with a straight face before turning his attention back to the stones panels beneath the Throne of Heroes. There was now an extra parameter listed next to each of the listed Mordred, appearing simr to a serial number that was sixty digits long. At the top of the screen, he could see a simr number listed within the main interface, allowing Vahn to select the matching Mordred, implying that she should be the one he was looking for. It was possible that Akasha was trying to fool him but, taking into ount how long they had lived, Vahn didnt even know if they were capable of trying to deceive people. Deceit was something that short-lived entities used to gain temporary benefits, not something that external existences that made Ouranos look like a child would rely on... Deciding it would only lead to a negative train of thought if he chose to believe Akasha and her Superiors were ying him, Vahn set the matter aside as he selected Mordreds name and the [Transmigrator] skill. Though she would probably be a little difficult to deal with, the exnation for the Thrones use detailed that the summoned entity hadpulsory loyalty towards the summoner. Even though he wasnt intending to host something like a Holy Grail War, Mordred would still fall under the ssification of a Saber-ss Servant ording to the parameters defined by the Throne of Heroes itself. This implied that he would be able to view her memories, and vice versa, while his Command Spells would be able to prevent her from going berserk and trying to kill Artoria... With his mind made up, Vahn pressed his palm against the panel once again to confirm his decision, an action that immediately caused his surroundings to change as the nine-tiered magic circle around his body began to glow with an even more intense light... (A/N: Alternate Titles: He should have summoned Solomon or Ghad, tbh...,Poor Artoria, getting forced to face her past traumas directly xD...,Vahn is literally exploiting reality at this point...,Mega Chapter Madness) (A/N: Im not sure what the heck is wrong with these days, but they actually changed the main webpage to filter out any non-standard/non-premium content from the power rankings. Even though EPIC is ranked 6 in poprity, it doesnt show up on the lists at all. You have to scroll past 154 other premium titles, trantions, and originals to even find it right now. Though the phone app still shows it in the rankings, that is super busted right now because they are constantly changing things. In other words, they are crippling fanfiction and making them more obscure than ever, all to give more exposure to their cash cows...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1111 - Status

Chapter 1111 - Status

With Merlin and Artoria watching from the side, a figure wearing silvery-steel armor with red ents flickered into existence, the sign of a spatial transfer. The moment the figure touched the magic circle, a ripple spread through the area before, catching Vahn by surprise, they fell forward as if there was no strength in their body. He managed to support them by the shoulder, an action that brought a second surprise to Vahn as he wasnt able to sense the internal structure of their body after contact. The armor seemed to block his ability to intuit the figures structure, a problem since they had lost consciousness immediately after the summon waspleted. Upon closer inspection, he noticed there was arge hole where the metal of the armor curved outward on their back, looking much like an exit wound that exposed fair and unblemished skin below... Realizing that the Throne of Heroes may have transferred Mordred at the moment just before her death, Vahn was sweating internally since this meant the battle with Artoria would be fresh on her mind. Fortunately, her body didnt seem to be injured any so, other than having to perform some repairs on her armorter, there shouldnt be any issues with her physique. He confirmed there was indeed arge hole in the front of her armor which, due to the fact some of the metal curved inward, had cut her abdomen when she fell forward. This told Vahn that the material making up the armor was of extremely high quality as, with Mordreds A-Rank Endurance parameter, she shouldnt be cut so easily but a few jagged pieces of metal. As Vahn was using a pair of durable pliers to bend the metal away from Mordreds body, as he figured it wouldnt be appropriate to try and remove the armor while she was unconscious, Merlins eyes were glowing with a subtle pink hue. Though Vahn had already thought about the possibility, Mordred was currently experiencing his past within her dream, something Merlin himself was very interested in. With his ability to peek into the dreams of others being easier than breathing for him, Merlin couldnt help piggybacking the exchange of information. He could tell there were a few inconsistencies but, never experiencing the dream exchange between a Master and Servant, Merlin didnt assume there was any foul y going on as he maintained acent smile and enjoyed the rather peculiar show... Unaware that Merlin was spying on him in an even more extreme manner, Vahn continued to break off a few fragments of Mordreds armor before healing the scr.a.p.es on her abdomen. Throughout this entire process, Artoria had been standing at his side, staring down at her would-be son withplex emotions visible on her face. Even without Vahn exining the situation, she could tell by the state of Mordreds body that she wasnt a Heroic Spirit. There was always a sense of instability whenever looking at a Heroic Spirit, something iparable to the powerful vitality radiating from Mordreds body. The fact her armor was damaged in such a way instantly reminded Artoria of their final moments in the Battle of Cann when she had used the Holy Spear Rhongomyniad to pierce Mordred through the abdomen... Sensing that Mordred wasnt going to wake up any time soon, confirmed by Sis exnation that she was experiencing his memories, Vahn picked up her armored body without any difficulty. Currently, therge magic circle that allowed him to contact the Throne of Heroes had gone almost entirely inert. It was obvious that it would take a bit of time to replenish its energy reserves, much like the Greater Grail had taken a period of 60 years. Hopefully, as he had no way of acquiring quintillions of units of Magical Energy, this system would have a much shorter cooldown. If not, he may need to find a way to connect to the True Avalon mentioned by Merlin or else this summoning formation might not even prove all that useful. It would be somewhat counterintuitive if he could only summon a second Heroic Spirit 50 years after Angra Mainyu appeared... --- After ascending the long flight of stairs, as the strange materials built into the walls made standard space transfers impossible, Vahn continued to carry Mordred while Artoria and Merlin followed close behind. While walking through the corridors of the Inner Sanctum, Vahn asked, "Are we certain it is a good idea to revert Mordreds physical age to match her mental age? She wont be like Sakura with her memories erased..." Though there was a chance they could actually erase Mordreds memories, Vahn felt this would have gone against their intended purpose in summoning her in the first ce. This might prevent a few problems in the interim but it wouldnt help Artoria ovee the past trauma she still carried deep within her heart and mind. He didnt mind having a miniature Artoria running around, as just thinking about such a thing made Vahn want to smile, but it almost felt wrong to regress Mordreds age and seal her power... In response to his words, it was Merlin who answered, "I will not make the decision for you, my Emperor...know that my advice is the result of my own understanding of events. Also, though a certain someone might begrudge me for it, I cant help but want to see Mordred running around as a child. I had mentioned previously that Mordred was a Homunculus but, in ordance with more modern interpretations, she would be closer to a clone of Artoria. They are virtually identical to each other, the only difference being their disposition and hairstyle. You wouldnt believe how adorable my precious Artoria was when she was a young girl~." True to Merlins preliminary statement, Artorias face formed into a slight pout as she red at him from the corner of her eyes. Then, to give her own opinion on Vahns question, Artoria answered, "I do not know how to be a father, but I can try being a mother..." The moment these words left her lips, Artorias face became slightly red as a conflicted feeling spread through her heart. Vahn looked back at her with a gentle smile on his face, deciding to tease Artoria a bit by adding, "Im not without my ws, but Im confident I can be a good father..." This was enough to make Artoria avert her eyes with an even redder face than before, eliciting an amused chuckle from Merlin as a result. After exiting out into the Throne Room, Vahns senses blossomed outward as, while inside the Inner Sanctum, his domain could hardly spread more than 10m before being cut off. Though his domain actually stretched much further than this, Vahns ability to sense things was blocked by powerful security wards that blocked things like detection magic, spatial transfers, and other means enemies might be able to use in order to attack the Royal Family. He would need to limate to the new environment, something Vahn looked forward to since it would make his sensory abilities far more powerful in the future. Before then, however, he would need to explore all of the rooms of the Inner Sanctum to update his Minimap in order to avoid having blindspots during his training... Using their telepathic link, Vahn asked Scthach toe back to the Throne Room. While waiting for her, he went through the rather awkward process of removing Mordreds armor, as it would quickly get in the way of her age regression and sealing. Though Vahn was interested in how the helmet was a series of segmented pieces of metal that became a part of her armor after activating a small magic formation, what he was most surprised by was the fact that Mordreds face was uncannily simr to Artorias. Her hairstyle was somewhat wildpared to Artorias neat and proper style, but it was a unique and refreshing look that gave Mordred a more youthful appeal as she continued to drift in thend of dreams. As he had made several suits of armor himself, it didnt take long for Vahn to essentially dismantle the full-te mail covering Mordreds body, revealing a lithe and petite figure that was almost the exact same as Artoria. Without her armor, Vahn had been able to map Mordreds entire body with a simple touch, confirming that even their three sizes were exactly the same down to the micrometer. If not for the fact that Mordreds muscles seemed slightly more developed, giving her almost visible abs and back muscles, it would have been nearly impossible to tell them apart. This,bined with the fact that Mordred actually wore some rather risque cloth armor under her temail caused Artoria to have a somewhat paleplexion as she watched from the side... Seeing that Mordred didnt even wear panties, relying on a simple red loincloth to cover her groin, Vahn looked at Artoria before inly stating, "I will entrust you with making sure she understands it isnt appropriate for a young woman to run around without panties on...also, though I wont say her choice in clothing is improper, we should consider raising her to show a bit less skin..." Though not nearly as bad as herck of panties, the fact Mordred wore a thin tube top that would even cause Tiona to raise her brows was slightly troublesome. Even though Vahn knew that Knights and Soldiers back in Artorias time would often forgo undergarments, primarily due to the fact that such social constructs were even a thing back then, it was a bit of an eye-opener to see such a thing in the present... If not for her knowledge of modern sensibilities, granted by the Holy Grail, Artoria wouldnt have understood why Vahn was bothered by such things. Even she didnt wear underwear under her armor, at least until it had been pointed out by Irisviel, her proxy-Master in the Fourth Grail War, that it was improper for ady. Though Artoria had argued that she wasnt a Lady, but a King, Irisviel hadnt humored her, unceremoniously pointing out that she was irrefutably a female. It wasnt until the Fifth Holy Grail War that Artoria began to truly ept this, resulting in her going out of her way to pick out a suitable pair of undergarments on the off-chance someone managed to see under her battledress... After a few minutes had passed, Scthach showed up in the Throne Room wearing her normal outfit, something Vahn wouldnt have batted an eye at previously. Now that he was thinking about having Mordred dress like a littledy,bined with the fact Sakura would one day be running around the Castle, Vahn realized he would need to establish something akin to a dress code. With that in mind, he turned to Scthach with a wry smile on his face before exining the situation. Though he hadnt expected her to argue against it from the start, the fact that Scthach instantly changed into a purple gown that looked extremely high quality caused Vahns brows to rise. It was considerably less risque than her skin-tight bodysuit, but the deep cut of her cleavage strangely drew attention to the choker around her neck, assuming you had the ability to avoid gawking at the deep and tantalizing valley... Shaking his head to regain focus, Vahn exined, "I want you to reverse the elerated growth her body was forced to undergo. If you find any abnormalities I havent been able to sense, let me know before you mess with anything..." Vahn had been able to tell there were a few things wrong with Mordreds body, including the fact that she had aplex seal ced on her heart and mind that likely served as a means of manipting or controlling her in the past. Though they were currently inert, Vahn intended to remove thempletely in the hopes that Mordred would be able to stabilize faster. As for the other problem he had found, it was that her body had an incredible vitality but it was burning much faster than normal. In order to have enough power to rival her father, Mordreds vitality was being overtaxed at nearly ten times the rate of a normal person. If left alone, she likely wouldnt even live past twenty years of age while her body would likely begin to break down in around 5-7 years time. It was obvious that whoever had manipted Mordred to rebel against Artoria had no intention of keeping her around very long... As expected, Scthach noticed these problems almost immediately after looking at Mordred, asking if Vahn wanted her to remove them. Though he had been intending to do it himself, Vahn nodded his head in response while watching the entire process with his [Eyes of Truth] active. Scthach was almost mechanical in her movements but they were all highly refined and extremely efficient. Just as he could learn a lot through battling her, Vahn knew she would be able to teach him proficiently in just about everything else. When their physical training waspleted, Scthach had already agreed to bestow her knowledge unto him, inly stating that it was part of the everything he had asked her to teach him previously. Because of this, Vahn figured Scthach might be a good teacher for any Heroic Spirits they summoned in the future, though he couldnt force the issue as she only taught those she recognized as true heroes or had unknown potential... By the time Scthach had finished her treatment of Mordred, thetter had shrunk from 154cm down to 123cm tall. She lost virtually all of her secondary s.e.x.u.a.l characteristics, bing a young child of around 6-7 years of age. Though she was a little on the thin side, with a small crease on her belly denoting her still-visible abdominal muscles, she looked like a rtively normal young girl with no discernable health issues, Scthach had even dealt with Mordreds overtaxed vitality by creating a feedback loop within the flow of her mana, forcing it back into the core around her navel. This would theoretically grant Mordred biological immortality, though the truth of the matter was that her vitality would be permanently expended when she battled. However, so long as she had the means to replenish her vitality, it would never be an issue. Vahn could even carve a simr seal as the ones used by the Elves back in Danmachi, allowing her to absorb vitality from the atmosphere to extend her life almost indefinitely... After forcing a pair of in panties onto Mordreds body, as having a young childying n.a.k.e.d on a table in the middle of his Throne Room was rather awkward, Vahn rolled her over onto her stomach. From now on, even if she resented him a bit for it, Mordred would essentially be his foster daughter and charge. She might identify as male but, with the style of clothing she had chosen to wear under her armor, Vahn didnt buy that for a moment. The way in which she identified was the product of someone elses maniption, not her own decision. She wasnt old enough to decide such things and, to make sure she wasnt a danger to herself and others, Vahn ced his Familia Crest on her back before applying a seal on Mordred under the guidance of Merlin. The seal took on the form of a hexagram that was ced on Mordreds navel, limiting the maximum output of her magical power. With the seal fully active, Mordred was essentially nothing more than a child that had significantly more power than most grown a.d.u.l.ts. However, she was a far cry from reaching her full potential, something made very apparent by her status... ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Mordred] Age: 6 Race: Human, Homunculus Strength: 11D (38B+) Endurance: 19D (47A) Agility: 10D (35B) Magical Power: 8E (31B) Good Luck: 26C Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) Circuit Quality: 43A++ Noble Phantasm: [Secret of Pedigree:C], [rent:C], [rent Blood Arthur:A+] Origin: King, Vengeance Skills: [King Arthurs False Heir:Innate:B], [Morgans Corrupted Seed:Innate:B], [Wrath of the Berserker:Innate:C], [Instinct:B], [Mana Burst:A], [Battle Continuation:B], [Charisma:C] Magic: (-) Magecraft: [Wind Maniption:E] [Instinct] Rank: B Use: The users ability to intuit the most optimal action inbat. At this rank, the user is not restricted by the five senses when engaged in battle. [Mana Burst] Rank: A Use: The ability to infuse the weapons and body of the user with Magical Energy before forcefully expelling it. Explosively increases offensive and defensive capabilities, creating a focused burst of magical energy that ignores most defenses. [Battle Continuation] Rank: B Use: Allows for the continuation ofbat after sustaining mortal wounds. It will also reduce the mortality rate from injury. Best whenbined with a powerful body and high-speed regeneration. [Charisma] Rank: C The natural ability tomand an army and inspire allies. At this rank, the user is qualified enough to lead an army to rebel against those of higher [Charisma]. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Based on Mordreds status, it was easy to see that she was meant to be a carbon-copy of Artoria that could be controlled by others. Though shecked the ss-Skills of [Riding] and [Magic Resistance] that most Sabe-ss Servants would have, that wouldnt be that much of an issue since she would be able to learn other abilities with training. The most troubling matter was, even without knowing what they did, Vahn could understand that Mordreds Innates were of the problematic variety. Her fate had essentially been decided as a result of her Mothers machinations and the fact that Artoria had never recognized her. Though it should be possible to change the nature of her Innates if they took proper care of her, the one Vahn was most worried about was the [Wrath of the Berserker]. It wouldnt be all that difficult to change [King Arthurs False Heir] into something like [King Arthurs Heir], but altering an Innate that was strongly tied to a persons nature was exceedingly difficult without years of concerted effort. Vahn wasnt even entirely sure if Innates could be changed but, based on what he had observed with Helen and Circe, Vahn refused to believe that Innates rted to fate were set in stone... Staring down at Mordreds body, Vahn felt a little guilty seeing the seal ced on her abdomen but, as even Fenrir had a phase where she needed to restrain herself, it was likely for the best. She was still very young and impressionable so, as long as they treated her well, Vahn was confident that Mordred would grow up into a splendid youngdy. With that in mind, he stopped gawking at her sleeping figure before having Artoria help dress her in proper clothing. Though Mordreds nature seemed to prefer somewhat revealing clothes, likely due to herbat style, Vahn had Artoria dress her up in a royal blue smock that had his crest and Artorias coat of arms sewn into the fabric. Since she would probably be rather boisterous upon waking, Vahn also gave Artoria a pair of spats to put on Mordreds body for the inevitability that she would be running around or even attacking them... When Mordred was fully dressed up, Vahn felt like his heart was gripped by her tiny hands since she looked absolutely adorable with her tiny wild-style ponytail. Her chubby cheeks and small nose only added to her charm, giving her the appeal of an immactely crafted doll. From the corner of his eyes, Vahn could see Merlins smile had softened greatly as he looked at the sleeping figure of Mordred with a reminiscent expression. When he saw Vahn looked at him, Merlin caused Vahn to release a light chuckle when the airy Magus gave him a small thumbs up out of Artorias view. In a way, Merlin would be Modreds grandfather, something Vahn intended to lord over the rather youthful-looking fellow when he got the opportunity... As if he had sensed Vahns intentions, Merlin suddenly tilted his head before adopting an expression of deep thought as he asked, "What will the status of Mordred be? Also, even if it might not bother you all that much, it is my advice that you consider the matters of your court seriously, His Majesty, the Sage Emperor. Keeping order within the Inner Sanctum and the Court will be imperative to prevent future issues from arising..." Since Mordreds dream had alreadye to an end, Merlin was aware that Vahn knew how to perform in the capacity of an Emperor. With that being the case, he intended to insist that Vahn treat his status seriously if he wanted others in the future to do the same... In response to Merlins words, Vahn took a deep breath while seriously considering the matter as, even if he would rather just go with the flow, it was true that this would cause problems in the future. As their numbers continued to increase, he obviously couldnt just let people wander around the castle without boundaries, especially when it came to the Inner Sanctum. Since it was actually a good thing to have a private area where his inevitable family would be able to reside, Vahn needed to make the divide clear early on. Nobunaga had joked about being his Imperial Consort in the past but, with how things were beginning to develop, that may no longer be a joke in the near future... Since he had already decided to adopt Mordred previously, Vahn gave a small nod to himself before turning to Artoria and rifying, "I intend to make Modred my foster daughter. However, the status you hold is ultimately up to you, Artoria. My promise to help you find happiness still stands but I cannot decide your happiness for you..." As an Emperor, Vahn knew he would need an official Empress at his side to manage the affairs of the Court. He would also need to appoint Ministers in the future, most of which would be the various leaders of his Orders. Though these were matters that might not be important for several years, as the Ind of Avalon was currently isted from the real world, it was still important to beginying the foundation now. Knowing what Vahn was asking her, Artoria closed her eyes for several seconds, seriously considering the matter before opening her eyes and answering, "I failed in my capacity as a King...I also fear that Mordred may try toy im to the Throne in the future if my own status was elevated too highly. With Lady Fenrir being yourpanion from the previous world, I believe it is only right she takes on the status of your Empress. If you wish to bestow me a Court Rank equivalent to a Queen or a Dutchess, I will proudly bear that title alongside the status of your Knight Commander..." As it wasnt all that umon for an Emperor to have multiple Queens as Imperial Consorts, Artoria figured that it was a title suitable to her previous status. This way, Mordred would have no legitimate im to the throne since she would not be a main member of the Imperial Family. If she raised Mordred properly, thetter might set her sights on simply bing the Knight Commander as, for reasons she wasnt fully aware, Mordred seemed primarily focused on oveing her own rank and status as a means of proving her worth. Though shecked the capacity of a King, Artoria felt that Mordred would be suited to the role of leading her own Order of Knights in the future...hopefully in something other than a rebellion this time. After ruminating over Artorias words for a few minutes, Vahn ultimately shook his head before saying, "I will give you the status of Queen-Empress-Consort, granting you nearly equal status to myself without the sovereignty to govern. If Mordred goes through another rebellious phase, Ill make sure to discipline her properly without letting things get out of hand. Since weve already ced a seal on her, Id rather she have some kind of goal to strive towards instead of feeling like she is being denied the chance to reach her full potential. Dont worry, Artoria, Im confident in my ability to be a good father...you just focus on being the parental figure she needed you to be..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Holey Mordred Batman...!,Those Innates though...,Merlin and Vahn are both doting parents xD,Da Queen...Empress-Consort!) (A/N: Though it would have been more technically correct to grant Artoria the title of King-Empress-Consort, as those would be the official titles she held, I figured it would justplicate things if Vahn were to introduce her as such. Also, for those that are confused, Lakshmibai, Nobu, and Scthach would also fall into a simr category if they entered a permanant rtionship with Vahn. As they are all Kings/Queens in their own right, their official status would be Queen-Consort or Imperial Consort depending on the amount of authority Vahn wanted to grant them. As for his actual Empress, she would obviously have the highest status, though there would likely be a suffix attached to the title like Sage Empress to match Vahns status xD...shit beplicated, yo.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1112 - Exploration : Acceptance

Chapter 1112 - Exploration : eptance

While waiting for Mordred to wake up naturally, Vahn broke most conventions by pulling out a small dining table in the middle of the Throne Room and bringing out a light meal for everyone. Though he certainly needed to work on developing his image in the future, Vahn was still the Emperor so it was ultimately up to him what conventions should be followed. In some extreme cases, there had been Kings like Gilgamesh who imposed Prima Nocta, a tradition that allowed him to sleep with any female before their husbands were allowed toy with them. If the woman didnt suit his taste, they werent even allowed to be married in the first ce. For those that broke thew, the punishment was to throw the woman into a pen with ravenous pigs while the offending man had his arms, legs, and p.e.n.i.s cut off, having the wounds cauterized before being nailed to a post to serve as a warning for those who defied Gilgameshs will. In another extreme case, the Roman Emperor Calig had collected the young sons and daughters of his rivals, imprisoning them on seafaring vessels where he would invite those of his faction to engage in long and bloody orgies that often left his victims crippled and horribly disfigured. Compared to such individuals, Vahn didnt think his faux pas of eating a light meal within the Throne Room was all that extreme. After all, with people gradually showing up from their exploration, it gave Vahn the opportunity to talk with everyone without pretenses. Those present were all the core that would make up the foundation of his future Empire so Vahn didnt mind treating them as equals, especially since there werent even any officials, with the exception of Merlin, to nag him... As it was a good opportunity to make things more transparent, Vahn had guided the conversation towards the direction of official Court Ranks and Titles for everyone present. Since Nobunaga, Lakshmibai, and Scthach all had the official titles of King, Jhansi, and Queen, Vahn gave them the opportunity to decide if they wanted to officially be made Imperial Consorts or have detached ranks such as Dutchess, Marquess, or Countess. He didnt want to force them into epting a role in his Imperial Harem, especially in the case of Scthach, but the choice was ultimately theirs to make. He was rather fond of Nobunaga and, though she had a few quirks, Vahn knew his rtionship with Lakshmibai would probably develop quickly if given attention... After a great deal of crosstalk, including instances such as Tristana trying to squeeze out a higher rank for herself and Catherine outright refusing a rank, Vahn finally had a nascent structure for his Court. Nobunaga had unashamedly taken a rather high position, putting herself as the equal of Artoria by bing a Queen-Empress-Consort. As for Lakshmibai, she settled on being a simple Imperial Consort with the official rank of Dutchess. Scthach refused an official rank but epted a unique Title of Queen Marshall, with the role of educating Vahn and other members of the Imperial Family that she took a fancy to. She was perfectly aware that her endeavor to teach him everything could take hundreds of years but, as it was all but guaranteed that she would be able to finally die one day, Scthach didnt mind... With his consorts decided upon, Astolfo had been given the official title of Count as, even with the previous title of Duke to his name, that would not trante to a simr position in an Empire. He had been born as the son of Otto, the King of Ennd at the time of Chamagnes reign. Since his title would afford him no rights in modern times, bing a Count within the Empire was actually a significant status upgrade. As for Catherine, though she had initially refused a title, Vahn managed to convince her to ept the status of a Baroness just so people wouldnt be able toin about her attending the Court with Astolfo in the future. Though they both wanted to travel the world, both she and Astolfo had set aside their travel arrangements for the time being in recognition of the fact that the world was currently in danger. Stirring up trouble and drawing attention to themselves in the present wouldnt end well, something Catherine had been lecturing Astolfo ever since Vahn allowed thetter to go and protect her... Much like Catherine, Tristana had also been given the status of a Baroness, even though she had tried to insist that she deserved a higher rank. However, after threatening to remove her rankpletely, she quickly shut up and hid behind the perpetually smiling Paracelsus as if he could protect her. As the Head of the Alchemical Order, he had been given the same rank as Astolfo, making him a Count with slightly higher authority than the mboyant former-Pdin. He was actually the main reason Tristana was even given a rank of Nobility as, much like Catherine, Vahn expected things to progress between them and their respective partners. Even if he had to give Paracelsus a small push, Vahn wanted at least one malepanion that was married so that he would be able to vent some of his own frustrations every now and then... With pretty much everyone being granted some form of title or status, this obviously included Fenrir, Circe, Illya, and, once he summoned her, Medusa. He couldnt keep dying her summoning much longer and, though hecked the requisite reserves to manage the feat easily, it wasnt impossible to bring her into the world. Since he wanted her to limate to others before Rin and Sakura came to stay with him, Vahn was intending to summon Medusa early the following morning. With her childish and mischevious nature, it was possible she could actually be good friends with Mordred if his intuition was reliable. He wouldnt have aplete understanding of Mordreds character until he dreamed about herter in the evening so it was hard to be certain... As for the titles granted to the new youth troupe, Fenrir refused any type of official status, iming she was always and forever his number one subordinate. Status meant nothing to her as, regardless of theints of others, she knew her ce was at her Masters side. Thus, much like Scthach, Fenrir was given a unique Title by rmendation of Merlin, bing the Guardian of the Inner Sanctum. Though it didnte with a status of Nobility, the name alone implied that Fenrir had free reign within the Inner Sanctum, putting her on the same level, or even higher, than the Imperial Family. Even Fenrir found this arrangement agreeable as it meant she wouldnt have to deal with politics and could continue serving the role of her Masters most preciouspanion... Much like Fenrir, Circe also refused the status of a Noble as, ording to her, such things have never mattered. She had given herself the role as Vahns personal Chef and Attendant, not caring about how others saw her in the least. As a result of her insistence, Merlin gave his opinion on the matter once again, ultimately managing to convince Circe to ept the Title of Imperial Chambermaid to the Sage Emperor. Since he knew better than most how troublesome and insistent some officials could be, he wanted to avoid the situation where anyone could say libelous things about Vahn as, in this world, such things could actually be a curse that results in various troubles. Fortunately, Circes impression of Merlin wasrgely positive as he had allowed her to have a pleasant dream in the past. Thus, without causing too much of a scene, she ultimately epted the Title since it more or less described the role she had decided for herself... With pretty much everyone else having been assigned a Rank or Title, Illya didnt have much ground to stand on if she wanted to refuse. Since she was, in a way, Vahns adopted younger sister, Illya had decided to ept the status of Grand Dutchess, even if she never intended to manage any territory and would spend most of her time cooped up in the Inner Sanctum. She ultimately didnt care about the title at all, knowing there was a high chance that her status would change in the future unless she changed her mind. Currently, the only thing that Illya really cared about was that Vahn at least made an attempt to keep his promise to make her happy. If he was sincere in his efforts, Illya fully intended to be something more than just siblings... After Illya epted her position as Grand Dutchess, it was decided that Heracles would be given the Title of Imperial Protector of the Grand Dutchess. Though it wasnt impossible to remove the [Mad Enhancement] and restore Heracles rationality, his status as one of Illyas emotional anchors made it difficult to arbitrarily decide such things. Once she was more stable, restoring his Ego and allowing the two to interact in a more meaningful way would be ther.a.p.eutic for Illya. Rushing the process, only to find out that Heracles wasnt fond of simply being a girls guardian, would only cause her extreme mental duress during a time in her life when she was already extremely unstable. Since it seemed that Berserker was surprisingly okay with the current status quo, Vahn had no intention of breaking the illusion any time soon... --- Once everyone had officially be some sort of Noble or Title-Bearer, the conversation became rather lively as each person exined what they had found during their exploration of the castle. With only a few hours to explore, there were many rooms in the purportedly 980 room castle that had still gone untouched. As for the most interesting discoveries, Fenrir had discovered the room where Artoria would hold counsel with the Knights of the Round Table. Though the legendary table itself wasnt present any longer, she said the room felt heavy just be in, something that earned a nod from Artoria when she brought it up. Other than that, she found arge banquet hall that could also serve as a ballroom, though it had never been used for that function during Artorias time... After Fenrir, the most enthused to talk about what they had discovered was Astolfo as, unlike everyone else, he instantly went to explore the area outside of the massive Ivory Castle. His tales included mention of a ghost city that had fallen to the test of time, an abandoned port that used to serve as the primary trade hub for the timeworn city, and a massive stone bridge that was more than 20m wide and 300m long beforeing to an end as if the other half had been destroyed. Merlin used this as an opportunity to exin how the Ind of Avalon, located just off the coast of present-day Wales, existed in an isted dimensional space. After the Battle of Cann, the British Isles entered into a long period of civil strife and political restructuring. At the same time, a phenomenon known as the Dragons Breath, something ultimately redited to Merlin, began to force people away from Avalon before the ind was sealed off and lost to time. Understanding he had a lot to learn about Avalon and the history of Camelot, Vahn intended to have Merlin either exin things in detail or put his ounting into text so he could sort it into the great library of his mind. He wanted to know everything, including the true history behind legendary items like Caliburn, Excalibur, Avalon, and the Round Table. At the same time, all knowledge pertaining to significant people and ces would be of extreme importance as, much like Merlin, Vahn suspected there were other entities that had persisted since Artorias time. Even the Director of the Clock Tower was supposedly near two-thousand years old so he had no doubt some historical figures, long forgotten to time, would make an appearance. Thest thing he needed was someone like Morgan le Fay appearing out of nowhere to continue enacting her grudge against Artoria... --- During the discussion about exploration, which also ounted for the existence of arge barracks, abandoned stables, and empty armory, Mordred began to stir at the side. Since Vahn and Artoria had both been paying close attention to her, they immediately noticed this change. As a result of them both looking towards the bed where Mordred wasying, everyone else became silent and looked over as well. The atmosphere suddenly became rather tense but, as if to dash it apartpletely, Mordred made an admittedly adorable Munya... sound before rolling onto her side and trying to scratch her belly in a rather uncouth disy. Since her endeavor ultimately ended in failure, due to the presence of her smock, Mordreds tiny face scrunched in annoyance as her eyes slowly peeled open. Vahn immediately noticed her eyes were a darker shade of green than Artorias but, instead of possessing no light like many evil individuals, Mordreds seemed to possess the same innocence her stature would suggest... For several seconds, causing the tension to build once again, Mordred just stared back at everyone seated at the table with a nk expression on her face. Her gaze had been fixed predominately on Vahn, as she just had just experienced a fractured 140 years of his life, so it took a bit of time for her to process that Artoria was sitting next to him. This wasrgely due to the fact that, unlike the cold and dutiful Father she remembered from her memories, the current Artoria had a more demure aura that didnt stand out when she was next to Vahn. Though this would change almost instantly when Vahn was absent, her recognition of Vahn as the Emperor she served caused Artorias [Charisma:B] to deactivate in his presence. Finally realizing that the small girl next to Vahn was her Father, Mordreds disposition immediately changed as her expression turned fierce, even though it actually just looked adorable. She bounded backward on the bed as if creating distance between her enemy before swiping her hand across empty space, an obvious attempt to summon her Noble Phantasm as she shouted, "Father...!" in a rather high-pitched tone of voice. This utterance,bined with her inability to call out her Noble Phantasm, seemed to alert Mordred to the fact that something abnormal was going on. It was only at this point that she finally looked down at her own body, noticing it had shrunk considerably from what she was familiar with... Feeling a profound level of confusion that temporarily overtook her rage, Mordred nearly caused Vahn to facepalm as she unceremoniously began fondling her now non-existent b.r.e.a.s.ts before lifting up her smock and frowning at the unfamiliar garments she had been made to wear. These behaviors made the atmosphere suddenly turn extremely awkward, causing Vahn to cough loudly to get Mordreds attention. This ultimately proved sessful, even though the end result had Mordred shouting, "What the hell is all this!? You...you...!" Since she could only imagine that Vahn was the one to put her in this state, as she knew he was capable of all kinds of impossible things, Mordred was pointing directly at him with rage-filled eyes and a shaky hand. Though he actually thought Mordred was rather adorable, Vahns expression hardened when she pointed at him. As if his earlier casual appearance had been a facade, a somewhat overbearing aura immediately filled the entire room as, even though it had only recently be his, this Throne Room was his territory. Vahn hade to understand this when he was in the Babel Tower but, after bing an Emperor, his Throne Room was the ce where his power was the strongest. It was likely due to this observation that his Emperor self from the Divination had developed the SSS-Ranked [Throne] Magic. Now, even though he was much weaker than he was back in the Record of Danmachi, Vahn was able to experience the unique boost that he could only describe as authority. Like her body had been turned into a statue, Mordred became absolutely stiff as Vahn stared directly into her deep green eyes and stated, "Mordred...you will not refer to me as you. From now on, you may address me as His Majesty or My Emperor..." Since she knew his status better than most, the only exceptions being Fenrir, Nobunaga, and now Merlin, Mordred pulled her hand back as if she had just touched a hot te. She looked like she wanted to say something but, with the powerful aura pelling absolute silence, there were no words or sounds present within the room other than the chaotic sound of her heart thumping madly in her chest. Since she had be more obedient, Vahns stern expression melted into a gentle smile that caused the suppressive atmosphere to almost instantly vanish. Then, adding onto his previous words, Vahn calmly stated, "However, so long as you wish for it, you also have the right to refer to me as Chichiue, Otou-sama, or Father...isnt that right, Artoria?" With the summoning system also granting basic mastery over allnguages to Servants, pretty much everyone present spoke fluent Japanese. Medusa would take some time limating to thenguage but, with how things were going, it was likely that his Empires native tongue would be a variant of Japanese in the future. This wasrgely due to the fact that Sakura only spoke Japanese and, with everyone pretty much already speaking it, Vahn was simply toozy to insist on anything else... In response to Vahns question, Artoria nodded her head while continuing to stare back at Mordred as she exined, "I was not able to be the Father you needed, Mordred...however, if youll give me the chance, I would like to try and be your Mother. My official status is Queen-Empress Consort to the Sage Emperor...if you are willing, you have the option of being...our daughter..." As was often the case with Artoria these days, she started off rather strong but, by the time she realized what she was saying, her face became slightly red. This caused Mordred to gawk like she couldnt believe what she was seeing as, for her entire short life, Artoria had essentially been a Perfect King. Her rebellion wasrgely due to the fact she believed it was her right to rule and, failing to gain her Fathers recognition, the only way Mordred could prove herself was by overthrowing Artoria with her own power... Understanding Mordreds confusion, Vahn helped give her a push by calmly stating, "You have seen my past, Mordred. You understand the kind of person I am and the type of world I wish to create. I recognize that it is unfair to you, bringing you into this world without asking for consent, but I also believe you are not the Treacherous Knight that history has made you out to be. This is your chance to finally be parent and child with the person you have looked up to your entire life...can you ept this second chance?" Since Mordreds mental age was literally that of a child, Vahn knew he was being a little maniptive with his choice of words. However, much like Artoria, Mordred had lived ording to the expectations of others for a very long time. Her only real desire was for Artorias recognition and, now that she could receive it, Vahn hoped that Mordred would ept the second chance she had been given... As if to hammer the final nail in the coffin, another trait that Artoria had seemed to develop around him, she actually managed a somewhat awkward smile before adding, "Please, Mordred...I only ask that you give me the chance to make amends for what I have done...or failed to do..." Though she was still filled with doubts, Artoria felt empowered to try harder when she heard Vahns words. She also sought a second chance and, now that she was slowly moving toward her happiness, Artoria felt she might be able to obtain it quicker if she managed to reconcile with this daughter of hers. After having witnessed Vahns life, at least a censored version of it, Mordred knew he wasnt the type to just say things on a whim. Knowing an Emperor that could even sway Gods wanted to adopt her, she felt a bit of anxiety within her heart. At the same time, a lot of her anger and hatred melted away when she saw how her father was acting. She could feel the sincerity in Artorias words and, as herst thoughts before death was simply for her father to acknowledge her, Mordreds face gained a tiny pout as she crossed her arms in a huff. For several long seconds, she averted her eyes from everyone else present within the room before finally muttering, "Fine then..." in a voice that was barely a whisper... (A/N: Alternate Titles: You get a title, you get a title, everyone gets a title...!,Exploration is a mans romance~!,Tiny Mordred is a Big Tsundere) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1113 - Lesson

Chapter 1113 - Lesson

With the awakening of Mordred, the impromptu lunch was brought to an end. Fenrir and Illya went off to pick rooms for themselves, apanied by a reluctant Circe, while Paracelsus and Catherine apanied Merlin so he could show them an area to set up an Atelier. There were several tall spires in the Ivory Castle, many serving as Magus Towers during the heyday of Artoria and her Knights of the Round Table. Though Paracelsus main workshop would be located underground, as the production of golems and things like the [Philosophers Stone] were much easier to produce when surrounded by the Earth Element, he would be using the Magus Tower to produce Homunculi. When Vahn had asked about their production, Paracelsus mentioned it would take a few weeks to get everything set up before moving on to actually creating Homunculi. At that point, it could take anywhere between several months to several years to produce a single Homunculus, depending almost entirely on the requirements of the body. Though Vahn had mentioned the existence of Sub-Space Orbs and their time-dtion effects, Paracelsus had surprisingly refused to use such things as he argued his methods relied heavily on the natural energy in the surroundings and even aspects like Astrology and Divining to produce a high-quality Homunculus. As the Laws that govern a Sub-Space Orb were fundamentally different from those in the outside world, he felt obligated to put in the requisite amount of effort in reality instead of potentially making a mistake that could cost him the life of one of his creations. As for the vessels that Vahn had proposed, Paracelsus outright refused to assist so Vahn would have to rely on either Scthach or Illya if he wanted to make any headway on producing bodies for Nobunaga, Lakshmibai, and Astolfo. Though none of them particrly seemed to mind the fact they were still Heroic Spirits, Vahn pointed out that it was necessary if they wanted to increase their strength and learn new abilities... As most of the things he needed to deal with would take ce after he created a Sub-Space Orb, Vahn was currently focused on matters pertaining to the present. Chief amongst these was trying to deal with a rambunctious Mordred as, soon after everyone else went to pick out their rooms, she hadid im to the one immediately next to Vahns. This had been a highly contentious location but, unting her status as the Imperial Princess, most people just rolled their eyes at her and gave up arguing. As a result, Mordred let her victory go to her head, leading to the current scene where Vahn had her sitting in seiza as he gave her a light lecture about how a Princess ought to act. After all, everyone in the castle, with the exception of perhaps Tristana, was an important member of their faction, not a servant that Mordred could boss around. Surprisingly, Mordred was rather well-behaved as she listened to him speaking, perhaps due to the fact that Artoria was seated next to her and sharing responsibility for her behavior. Since she hadnt been able to educate and raise Mordred just yet, Artoria lumped herself together with her daughter in an attempt to strengthen their bond by sharing the same burdens. From Vahns perspective, it was hard to avoid smiling as he saw the mother-daughter pair attentively listening to everything he said. There was even a small glimmer of happiness and excitement in Mordreds eyes, persisting until he finally released a small sigh and said, "Well, thats it for now. If you want people to treat you with respect, you must first carry yourself with dignity and earn their trust. If you misbehave and try to bully others, well..." As he let his words linger in the air, Vahn dispersed a bit of his aura through the room, causing Mordreds back to straighten as a result... With the lectureing to an end, Mordred sprung up like a cat with its tail stepped on before asking, "By the way, Chichiue, whats with these clothes? Are you trying to dress me up like a doll or something?" Since she still identified as male, to the point that she had grimaced when told how cute she was, Mordred felt ufortable in the clothes she had been given. In response to her questions, Vahn inly stated, "If you want to wear more boyish clothing, that is fine with me. However, you need to pay more attention to how you present yourself to others in the future. So long as you properly wear your underwear and dont show off too much skin to people, everything else is okay." Now that she was no longer being lectured, Mordred was sitting in a manner not all that dissimr to Tiona, holding her ankles as she bobbed listlessly from side to side. It was obvious she wasnt the type that liked to sit around and, as adorable as her current clothes were, Vahn imagined she would probably default to wearing shorts and t-shirts in the future. So long as she wasnt trying to run around in a tube top that barely covered her chest and a loincloth, he didnt particrly mind if her fashion sense was a little strange. He expected she would probably wear simr clothes to Fenrirsbat attire, potentially even developing the habit of dressing up if he pampered her enough... Imagining a tiny Mordred running around in gothic-style clothing, Vahn couldnt help but smile as he reached out his hand and surprised his newest daughter by rubbing her head. The moment his hand contacted the top of her head, she almost immediately rolled backward before hopping to her feet in a defensive stance as she said, "Chichiue! Dont treat me like a child...!" This caused Vahn to raise his brow but, before he could tease her any further, Artoria inly stated, "Mordred, consider your age and appearance and then answer truthfully. Are you not a child...?" Unlike how she had been actingtely, there was a bit of sternness in Artorias tone as she continued to sit in a perfect seiza while watching Mordreds disy with a troubled expression. Hearing her mothers tone, Mordreds face formed into a slightly hurt expression as she muttered, "Hahaue..." For a brief moment, it looked like Mordred mightsh out but, after balling her hands into fists for a few seconds, she ultimately slumped her shoulders and walked over to Vahn with a reluctant look on her face. Though it actually did feel like they were bullying her a bit, as Mordred was only a six-year-old girl, Vahn maintained a gentle smile on his face as he lightly rubbed her head. She still seemed reluctant at first but, as was often the case, Mordreds face melted into a calm and rxed expression after a few seconds of contact. She even blinked in confusion when he pulled his had away, nearly saying a few words of protest before adopting a pouting expression once again and wiping the top of her head with both hands like she had been dirtied. Vahn knew Mordred was just putting on a front so heughed uninhibitedly, much to the girls chagrin, before saying, "From now on, Mordred, your mother will be in charge of your upbringing. However, if you ever want to talk with me or spend time together, know that I am never too busy to make time for my children. You have seen my memories so you know how precious your existence has be to me...no matter what you choose to do, you will have my support so long as it does not endanger yourself and the lives of others. Even if you want to rise up and be the Emperor in my stead, I will not suppress you...just be prepared to work extra hard since I will make you train with Scthach when you are older. You might not be scared of her now but...well, youll see..." Somewhat surprisingly, Artoria shook her head before firmly stating, "Mordred will not be allowed to observe your normal training regimen until she has finished her education and passed my standards. If you are not against it, I would like to request the assistance of Fenrir...I believe she and Mordred may get along..." Though Fenrir was considerably more tame than Mordred, she still had a bit of a wild side to her, especially inbat. Mordreds own techniques relied on her explosive speed and strength to overwhelm her foes, relying less on skill than sheer brutality. Though this had been eptable on the battlefields of their time, enemies in the present required a certain amount of finesse to deal with. Artoria was nning to train her for the next couple of years, at least until Mordred matured fully, in order to beat out some of her bad habits... Though she was a little annoyed that she was unable to even view her fathers training, Mordred was actually a little happy that she and her mother would be training together. This was apparent to both Artoria and Vahn as, even though she had crossed her arms in a huff, there was a small smile on Mordreds face. It could be due to the fact that she hid her face most of her life but Mordred was terrible at concealing how she really felt due to her extremely easy to read expression. However, so as not to lose out against Artorias poprity in Mordreds heart, Vahn pulled out a few catalogs of various different childrens fashions, stacking them in a neat pile as he exined, "Ill personally craft you some equipment for battle but you can choose other clothing you like from these catalogs. Just remember my earlier words and try to pick something sensible or youll end up forcing my hand. If you leave it up to me, youll be forced to wear frilly dresses all day before changing into animal pajamas at 6 PM. Dont tempt me, Mordred..." Remembering how Vahn had forced all of his other children into animal pajamas, Mordred knew he was being serious with his threat. Though she actually thought the dragon and lion pajamas were kind of cool, she would never admit such a thing as, even if she was a child, she didnt want to be treated like one. After all, she had spent years fighting on actual battlefields and had even tasted alcohol on several asions after particrly fierce battles. She had even visited a brothel once but, after the p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es realized that she was neither a man nor had the means to pay, Mordred was forced to leave with a red face. If not for the fact they had to move early the next morning, she would have burned the brothel to the ground for refusing to service the future king... Understanding that such dark thoughts would probably get her into trouble from now on, Mordred just nodded her head seriously in response to Vahns words before picking up one of the magazines. Seeing a rather stylish looking girl around her own age wearing ck shorts and a hooded jacket with a fur cor, Mordred was slightly surprised at the quality of the garments. The summoning system didnt actually provide much information on things like fashion, especially for children, so Mordred had no idea about the clothing standards of this world. As a result, each page she flipped through was a small surprise as Vahn had specifically selected a few catalogs that were oriented towards girls with more boyish tastes... After browsing for a while, Mordred eventually found a page showing a girl with more of a punk-rock style, vaguely simr to what Nobunaga would wear since it was toned down quite a bit. Then, pointed to the girl on the page, Mordred shouted, "I want this~!" in an excited tone. This resulted in her getting a swift chop to the head from Artoria, surprising Vahn a bit since he hadnt expected her to resort to physical discipline so soon. However, considering the era in which the two girls had lived, it wasnt all that surprising since corporal punishment was stillmon in most present-day countries. Vahn wasnt particrly fond of such methods himself but, understanding how rebellious Mordred could be if left unchecked, he had already prepared for the inevitability that he would have to spank her a few times when she misbehaved. With Mordred rubbing her head and muttering a slightly teary-eyed, "Sorry, Chichiue...", Vahn responded with an approving nod and a smile before pulling out the clothes she had requested. Sis had purchased them for him for a measly 17OP, making it tens of times cheaper than even the tea they would drink. This wasrgely due to the fact that, while they looked extremely high quality and fashionable, most modern clothing was functionally useless for anything other than simply covering the body. The most expensive part of the outfit Mordred had chosen was the pair of ck leather boots that would extend halfway up her calves, amounting to 8OP on their own. Everything else, consisting of a pair of stylish ck shorts, a white leather belt, a red t-shirt, and a ck hooded jacket, only amounted to 9 measly OP, providing functionally no defensive capabilities. Though Vahn felt he would need to somehow secure a Heroic Spirit that could design practical clothing for everyones use, Mordred didnt seem to mind at all as she almost instantly threw off her smock as if it were a cage keeping her imprisoned. This immediately resulted in Artoria rising to her feet and frowning deeply as she said, "Mordred, have you already forgotten what your father told you? You should not undress in front of people, as it is very udylike..." Though this was certainly true, Mordred looked up at Artoria with a skeptical expression on her face as she said, "But I have seen Chichiue dressing and bathing his other daughters. Why do they not have to act likedies when our positions are the same...?" Since she hadnt seen Vahns memories, Artoria wasnt entirely aware of how he had interacted with his other children. As a result, she looked toward him with a skeptical expression not all that different from Mordreds, clearly wanting him to rify matters. In response to this, Vahn nodded his head but rified, "Back in my previous world, we had a policy ofmunal bathing as a family. This world is not the same as my previous one, Mordred. You must also remember that I ced your mother in charge of your care so, if she says not to undress like this in front of me, you should be a good girl and listen." As he finished saying this, Vahn rose to his feet before pulling out a chair and turning his back to the girls so Mordred could change. She had just been standing there topless in nothing but her ck spats and, while this didnt really bother Vahn all that much, he will still defer to Artorias decisions when it came to raising Mordred. Following up on what Vahn said, Artoria put on a stern expression as she said, "You are at a delicate age where you should be more considerate of such things. Regardless of what you had seen in your Fathers memories, the fact remains that this world and that world are two different ces. Other than handmaidens and personal attendants, you should never allow anyone to see your n.a.k.e.d body other than the man you intend to marry. You must protect your dignity and honor as a Lady or your status as a Princess will never be treated seriously by others." Though she was giving her a lecture, Artoria was also helping Mordred wear her clothes as thetter still had a few difficulties in her current form. When she was finally dressed, she looked even more like a model for the clothes than the girl in the catalog, causing Mordred tough in a somewhat haughty manner as she looked at herself in the mirror. Seeing that Mordred was happy, even if the clothing didnt quite suit an Imperial Princess, Vahn tapped the catalogs and said, "Feel free to circle as many outfits from these catalogs as you like. So long as you dont go overboard and ask for everything, Ill make sure you have plenty of outfits to choose from. Youll be in your growth phase for the next couple of years so dont pick out too many things since they might not even fit you a few months from now. As for your equipment, Ill be keeping track of your growth and making things that fit your body without causing any difort. Since you have only just been summoned, Im not going to force you to start training any time soon but that will ultimately be up to your mother..." In response to Vahns lead-in, Artoria gave a small nod before saying, "Most aspiring Knights would begin their apprenticesh.i.p.s as a Squire starting between ages seven and eight. Though Mordred has already gained experience on the battlefield, I believe her foundation had never been solidified since shecked the same degree of training as most other Knights. She has a prodigious amount of talent and impable instincts, however, so I believe she will be ready to train once the Sub-Space Orb has been established. For the time being, I will have her focus on physical training and stretches so she does not injure herself while adapting to her reduced size and capabilities..." Hearing that she would be going through basic training, Mordred had a deeply set frown on her face, at least until Vahn looked towards her and said, "Mordred, even if you are the Imperial Princess, I believe you have enough talent to be one of the most powerful Knight Commanders in our Empire in the future. Prove to me that you are capable of rising to the top and I will help you gain power that could even make the Gods tremble in your presence..." Since he knew Mordred had an almost intrinsic desire to reach the pinnacle of things, even if her true desire had only been for recognition, Vahn figured she would be highly motivated if he dangled a bit of bait in front of her nose. Striking a pose with her chin raised slightly and both arms crossed, Mordred boldly dered, "Just you watch, Chichiue! I wont just be one of the most powerful Knight Commanders, I will be the most powerful! Then, when I get near your level, I want you to teach me everything you know. I also want to fight against powerful monsters and enter that Dungeon you had conquered...!" With the image of Vahn fighting against foes like Heracles and the Mountain Dragon Achron now carved deeply into her mind, Mordred knew the power she had reached was iparable to true power. She knew that Vahn would be able to elevate her to heights that she may have never achieved on her own and then, once she knew the methods to grow even stronger, Mordred was determined to overtake him and be the Emperor he promised she could be if she made the effort... Without intuiting that Mordred was already intended to usurp his Throne in the future, Vahn gave an approving nod in response to her bold im before stating, "So long as you do not be the type of person that victimizes others in the pursuit of power, I will take you across the Universe to explore distance gxies if that is your wish. As my daughter, the only limits that exist are those you set upon yourself. However, because of this, you must also consider how your actions impact the world around you. Never be the type of person that is unable to empathize with others or, no matter how much effort you put into something, you will never reach your full potential...of course, even if you stray from the path a bit, your mother and I will both be here to guide you back..." With his words finished, Vahn reached out his hand and began stroking Mordreds head once again, this time without her trying to instinctually pull away. Though she didnt truly understand everything he wanted her to take to heart, Mordred gave arge toothy grin in response to his words. Since she had two adorable little canines, one of her few differences from Artoria, Vahns own smile softened considerably as he bent down, surprising Mordred by giving her a firm embrace. She had actually never been hugged before so it made her feel giddy to suddenly be wrapped up by a pair of warm yet immovable arms. Then, sending her mind into a chaotic mess, Vahn held her head against his chest, lightly patting her back as he said, "Thank you for bing my daughter...I am proud to have such an adorable little princess to call my own. From now on, if you ever have any doubts, never forget this one invible truth...your father loves you, Mordred..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Paracelsus is a man of unwavering principle,Mordreds Mixed Emotions,The words Mordred always longed for...spoken by someone else...yet still meaningful) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1114 - My Beautiful Father

Chapter 1114 - My Beautiful Father

For what felt like several long months, experienced the phenomenon of being surrounded by a warm pressure, the only distinct soundsing from the two heartbeats and the subtle echoes of bodily functions. However, though it was far less clear, there was a persistent muffled sound that constantly droned on for hours at a time, each word ingrained deeply into the heart and mind of the infant he was observing from a third-person perspective. These words contained hatred, promises, and bloody conviction towards the childs father, the one true King, Arthur. The owner of the voice was none other than the childs mother, possessing a hatred so fervent that, when Artoria was given the means to produce an heir, she bewitched her own kin to steal the seeds of life for nothing more than petty revenge and overwhelming jealousy... Though Mordred wasnt even able to understand what her mother, Morgan le Fay, was saying, the words were still deeply ingrained into her body like a curse. Thus, before she was even born, the seed of, not only her fathers downfall, but her own had already been nted. To emphasize this further, from the very moment of her birth, Mordreds body was soaked in enchanted snake venom to greatly enhance her strength and physique, at the cost of reducing her life to only a fraction of what it should have been. By the time seven days had passed, she had grown from a mere infant to a young woman, her body shaped to her Mother to be an almost perfect replica of her fathers. During this seven day process, Mordred experienced a painful burning sensation in her mind that, no matter how she cried out, never ebbed in the slightest. Knowledge and memories were being forced into her rapidly developing mind, many rting to the most terrible aspects of humanity. Before she even knew how to think for herself, Mordred witnessed humans fighting against each other over petty disputes, terrible crimes of both greed and passion, torture and murder to a sickening degree, and, worst of all, the unwillingness of others to act against great evil for nothing more than their own desire to avoid trouble. She saw how they embraced the mundane and wasted away during times of prosperity, putting on a pretense of civility and humanity yet, the moment poverty reared its head, humans be extremely self-centered and wouldmit horrible atrocities against each other to gain small advantages. Instead of uniting together to ovee their struggles, they would be less than beasts by stealing, killing, and worse. Yet, when things once against transitioned in the direction of prosperity, they would pretend to be righteous once again, ming the times and situation for how they had acted as if it were someone elses problem... Seeing the way in which humans lived, while being aware that her own foundation was that of a human, Mordreds developing mind began to greatly resent them. It wasnt until, when things got especially bad, the first ray of light appeared within her cold and dreary world. She witnessed, on the edge of ruin, humans banding together, hope and expectation clearly visible in their eyes as they looked toward a tform upon which a sword and a stone rested. At first, a tall and sharp-eyed man had tried to release the sword from its purchase, earning a dreary sigh from the crowd in response to his failure. The fact some besmirched him for even trying caused Mordred to feel a seething rage, at least until the next person came up to the tform. Unlike the tall man, it would have been more urate to call the second person nothing more than a fair and youthful boy. It looked like he didnt have even the smallest amount of power contained within his thin body but, with each and every step the young boy took towards the sword, anticipation began to build within the crowd. Then, even though it seemed to defy all logic, the young boy pulled the sword free before raising it high into the sky. The grey clouds overhead parted to reveal rays of sunshine, bringing warmth to the cold and cruel world as everyone shouted, "All hail King Arthur! Long live the King!" Starting from the moment King Arthur liberated the sword from the stone, the visions forced into Mordreds mind became filled with warmth. She saw how the previously divided humans would band together under the direction of their King, aplishing feats they would never have even strived for on their own. Instead of living as individuals, everyone began to work together towards a shared goal, slowly ushering in an era of prosperity under theirbined efforts. Instead of stagnating and simply reacting to whatever life threw at them, ming the times for how they acted, they began looking towards a brighter future. Though they were unable to envision it themselves, they trusted their King to guide them in the right direction with unwavering determination and foresight they themselvescked. Mordred watched as King Arthur slowly brought his country back from the brink of ruin, tirelessly endeavoring for his people withoutint, no matter how bad things got for him. He devoted his everything to his subjects and, even against seemingly insurmountable odds, imed an endless string of victories in order to ensure greater prosperity for the Kingdom. However, as their prosperity was secured, the nature of humanity reared its ugly head once again. Their expectations for the King steadily grew and, even though they were more prosperous than ever before, those that sought to take advantage of the situation crawled out of the woodworks like termites that threatened the very foundation of the Kingdom. Even this wasnt enough to deter the King, however, as he continued to tirelessly endeavor to improve the public order and guide the people back to the proper path... It was with thoughts of wanting to help this great and noble King that Mordred first opened her eyes to the world, not as an infant, but as a youngdy on the cusp of bing a woman. However, she would quickly learn that it was not the fate of a woman that awaited her as, with a crazed light in her muted silver eyes, Mordreds mother, Morgan le Fay, stated, "My precious Mordred...my son..." From that day forward, Mordred was given another crash-course education directly from his mother. She had him shadow her around everywhere, allowing Mordred to experience the cruelties of the world directly. When Mordred saw things like this, the rage that had been embedded deep within his heart and mind would immediately break free from its restraints. Over the first three years of his life, the number of criminal sc.u.m that had died at Modreds hands numbered in the thousands. He gradually built up his proficiency in livebat, making a name for himself as a hero that fought against the tyranny of those who would oppress others... However, what made Mordred even more famous was the suit of armor and the helmet his mother had forced him to wear, exining that he was to never remove it in the presence of another. As there was always a powerfulpulsion within each of Morgans words, something that caused great turmoil in Mordreds heart, he was forced to obey. It had only taken him a few months to understand that his own mother was one of the despicable people that he would normally kill but, no matter how much rage disdain he held towards her, Mordred was never able to raise his hand against his own mother. Like this, tales of a silver-armored hero who never revealed their face began to spread all throughout thend. When asked why he never removed his helmet, Mordred used the excuse that his mother had given him, iming that the armor bore a powerful curse that even the most powerful Magi within the Kingdom could not remove... After a little more than three and a half years, Mordred found himself in the fablednd of the great King Arthur himself, the Castle City Camelot. He could see the massive Ivory Castle in the distance, filling him with great pride and expectation as, ording to his mother, the Knights of the Round Table, the Kingdoms greatest military force, had been asking around about him. Though some had taken to calling him a mass murderer in recent months, it seemed that the Knights of the Round Table had an appreciation for his strength. As a result, Mordred attended a military parade on the eve of yet another sessful campaign by King Arthur and his Knights. With high-quality weapons and armor being things that even Knights struggled to afford, Mordred stood out from the rabble gathered to wee their Kings triumphant return. It wasnt long before he had been approached by a robust man with a stern face and deep purple hair. At his side, a rather petite young woman who had tomboyish traits and an innocent glow in her green eyes asked if Mordred was the Knight rumored to roam thends and help the innocent. Though this wasnt the truth, as Mordred only fought for himself and his desire to purge the leeches that clung to the underbelly of society, he still nodded his head in response to the question. His mother had already taught him everything he needed to say and do before bringing him to the capital. She had even chosen the spot where he was to wait, drawing the attention of Lancelot and his esquire, Gareth. Following the confirmation of Mordreds identity, he was given the chance to disy his abilities in a spar against Lancelot himself. The two fought for nearly a full hour before the fight was brought to an end by none other than Arthur himself. When Mordred finally saw the King he had respected dearly his entire life, it was almost as if he had be one of the peasants standing beneath the tform on the day Arthur loosed the sword from the stone. The moment Arthur gave him the chance to be a member of his Round Table, Mordred did not hesitate to bend the knee, feeling as if his life could be given greater purpose if he followed this perfect King. Though he would never lump himself together with the disreputable humans that lived lives no more fulfilling than cattle, Mordred believed he could also move towards a better future under his Kings guidance... It wasnt long before Mordred began to distinguish himself in actual battles, tearing through scores of enemies with the force of a natural disaster. This terrified most of themon soldiers but, with their own power not all that dissimr to Mordreds, the Knight of the Round Table did not hide their appreciation for his power. Though he was eventually relegated to the role of a Gueri Knight, tasked with hitting the enemys nks and harassing their encampments, Mordred happily epted his duty since it brought even greater prestige to his King. From the time he had pledged his fealty to Arthur, Mordreds mentality had changed greatlypared to the past. So as not to tarnish his Kings honor, he endeavored to improve his disposition and fit in better with themon soldiers. Though he would quickly lose his temper whenever someone ndered his King, often with deadly consequences for the offender, nobodyined as he was just executing people for the crime of Lse-majest, wronging the Kings dignity. For more than a year and a half, Mordred dutifully served as a member of the Knights of the Round Table, greatly increasing his fame as a result of his battle prowess and his natural charisma. From the moment Mordred made an effort to get closer with the other soldiers, his poprity skyrocketed as, even though his actions were sometimes extreme, there were few as outgoing as Mordred within the Kings army. He even turned the tide of battle several times by going against his standing orders and arriving to aid troops who were on the verge of copsing under the enemys forces. Though these actions were only motivated by his desire to ease his Kings burden, as thetter med himself for each fallen soldier, public opinion painted Mordred as a selfless hero of the people, a rumor made stronger by his past exploits traveling around the country and eliminating evil at its roots... When Mordreds poprity was at its peak, it was then that his mother finally revealed to him the truth that he had always known deep in his heart. Though he had spent nearly his entire life wearing a suit of armor, there were times when Mordred had to clean and relieve himself. He had seen his own reflection in a mirror, one so simr to his Kings that it was almost uncanny. When his Mother revealed that he was actually the son of King Arthur and the rightful heir to the Kingdom, Mordred felt an unbelievable sense of pride well up inside his chest. Since there were rumors circting that the King had failed to produce an heir, making him unworthy of his position, Mordred felt like he would be able to bury such nderous ims bying forward and revealing the truth. Shortly after learning the truth, Mordred requested a private audience with his father, something rarely granted even to the Kings closest aides. It was then, after bending the knee for what felt like the thousandth time, that Mordred finally removed his helmet. To his exuberance, the King didnt even seem surprised by the fact that Mordred shared his face. However, these feelings of joy didntst for long as, after revealing his identity the only question Arthur asked of him was the name of his mother. Since he had not been forbidden to speak of such things, Mordred felt it was his duty to be truthful to his King and Father, dering Morgan le Fay to be his mother. This immediately caused the Kings expression to darken as, though it wasnt well-known to the public, Morgan was his sister, sharing both parents with each other. As this wasnt the first time he had been gued by Morgans meddlesome ways, Arthur didntsh out at Mordred, nor did he me him for being a pawn in the treachery of another. However, regardless of whether or not Mordred was his actual son, Arthur denied him any right of session, iming he was unsuitable to be a King. Feeling as if his entire world hade crashing down, Mordred, for the first time in his life, ended up spending the entire evening thrashing his small estate and crying tears of rage and frustration. He couldnt believe that his father had refused to acknowledge him, especially after everything he had done to protect his reputation and win glory for him on the battlefield. He suddenly felt that his position as the twelfth seat of the Knights of the Round Table, something that had been a mark of pride for him in the past, was a great smear on his pride. Though the rankings were not determined by strength, the higher seated members were given greater prestige and authoritypared to the other members. Since Gareth, the Kings niece, a person Mordred could easily defeat in battle, was ranked as the 7th seat, it felt like he had been betrayed and used as nothing more than a tool. Theck of surprise on Arthurs face now made it apparent that he had already known the truth but allowed Mordred to serve him just so he could make use of his power... From the moment he was denied his fathers acknowledgment, Mordred became a bitter and silent person. Though he still carried out his duties, his change in disposition had a big impact on the morale of the soldiers that hade to rely on his boisterous and courageous nature. They still followed him into battle without fear and hesitation, but it was clear to everyone that something drastic had changed. Soon after, as if to validate these fears, a great chasm formed within the Knights of the Round Table as it was revealed to the public that Queen Guinevere, Arthurs wife, and his most trusted Knight, Sir Lancelot, had a forbidden tryst. In ordance with the Kingdomsws, Guinevere was tried and found guilty for the heinous crime of a.d.u.l.tery. She was set to be publically hanged while Artoria was still away on a campaign, a matter he learned about far toote to directly intervene with. When the day of the execution came, there were several Knights of the Round Table standing witness, including those who opposed the hanging of their Queen while the King was away. This included Gareth who, in protest of what was urring, had forgone bringing her weapons and armor to the event. Most people didnt even know she was a girl but, as if such things never mattered to her, Gareth stood as solemn witness,pelled to due so as a result of her duty. The only thing she was rewarded for her honor and loyalty was having Lancelot, the person Gareth respected more than anyone else, even more than her King-Uncle, arrived in a crazed fit as he attempted to rescue Queen Guinevere from her fate. Without any hesitation at all, regardless of the fact that Gareth made no attempt to defend herself, Lancelot unceremoniously crushed the young girls head amidst the shocked cries of the crowd. Gareth had been one of the most beloved of the Knights of the Round Table so seeing such a young and innocent girl ughtered by her own teacher shook the entire crowd to its core. Following the death of Gareth, Sir Lancelot and Sir Agravain, the very Knight of the Round Table who had exposed the tryst and rushed the trial, became locked in a long and arduous battle. During this battle, Sir Lancelot, purported to be even more skilled than King Arthur himself, fought like a crazed beast to protect the Queens life. By the time Arthur arrived, nearly three dayster, three Knights loyal to the Crown had lost their lives at Lancelots hands. Apanying them to the afterlife were hundreds of soldiers that had tried to capture the mad Knight who, even with Queen Guinevere begging him to calm his rage, continued to strike down anyone who attempted to approach the Queen. It was almost as if he had been inflicted with a curse of madness as, regardless of how close they had been to him previously, Lancelot brutally ughtered friends and kin alike... When Arthur saw what had be of his most loyal Knight, a rare pained expression could be seen on his face. Mordred remembered seeing this look at the time and sneering beneath his helmet, believing Arthur had wrought this tragedy upon himself. What happened after that, however, caused Mordred to nearly have a mental breakdown as, after Lancelot was finally apprehended and imprisoned, Arthurter pardoned himpletely. Even after he had killed three other members of the Round Table, including Arthurs own kin...even though he had been sleeping with Arthurs own Queen behind his back, seemingly for several years, Arthur surprised the entire Kingdom by granting Lancelot a pardon. As a result of Arthurs decision, the Knights of the Round Table were split into two and, as a result of his behavior leading up to Lancelots betrayal, many believed Mordred had foreseen this oue. With his mother manipting information behind the scenes in Mordreds favor, he became the de facto leader of his own growing faction, all while still performing his duties as a loyal Knight in the service of King Arthur. When Lancelot fled shortly after his pardon, unable to continue serving as a Knight after having betrayed his King, Arthur denied the cries of one of his few remaining Knights, Gawain, to pursue the traitorous ingrate who had killed their kin. This inaction by Arthur only created an even greater wedge in the Knights of the Round Table, to the point that civil unrest broke out into actual war a few monthster. During this inner turmoil, the Saxxon armies managed to get a foothold in the Kingdoms territory, razing and piging on their conquest ind. Arthur was forced to meet his enemies in battle, leaving Camelot in a severely weakened state that allowed Mordred to break into the armory of Camelot and stealing rent, the sword of session and Kingship. With rent in hand, Mordred became even more powerful while his Charisma was also considerably bolstered. Around this time, he also revealed to the people that he was the rightful heir to the throne, revealing his face to the public and iming he would strike down Arthur to im his birthright. Though he did this for entirely selfish reasons, and simply wanted people to know why he acted as he did, the repute Mordred had built up caused many to gather at his side. He didnt understand why so many would turn against the King that was, even now, fighting for their prosperity but, after witnessing the true nature of mankind from a young age, Mordred simply didnt care. Finding himself suddenly surrounded by thousands of soldiers that believed they were fighting for a better future against a King that had failed them, Mordred carried rent into battle against his Father on the fields of Cann. After surprising Arthurs forces after a long and tiresome battle to repel the Saxon invaders, Mordreds forces quickly overwhelmed her fathers. However, with some members of the Knights of the Round Table still loyal to the King, this was only a small victory as the tides of battle quickly shifted in Arthurs favor. He had never known defeat on any battlefield so, after several hours of gruesome and gory battle, both armies had been reduced to only a fraction of their initial numbers. Toward the end, Mordred had ughtered nearly six-hundred soldiers on her own. He had even seriously injuring Gawain, elder brother to the brutally murdered Gareth, in singlebat before moving on to face a battle-weary Arthur. Seeing the calm expression on his fathers face, even after several grueling hours of battle, Mordred removed his helmet as he held up rent, shouting that he was there to im his birthright. In response to this, Arthur simply shook his head before angling the Holy Spear, Rhongomyniad towards Mordred. Before Mordred even knew what was happening, a painful and hot feeling ran through his entire body as a beam of light pierced his abdomen. In the next moment, Arthur appeared right in front of him, skewering Mordred along the same trajectory as the beam of light. This caused Mordred to vomit up a mouthful of blood, marring Artorias almost expressionless face as thetter inly stated, "Not once did I despise you. There was only one reason I would not give you the throne...you simplycked the capacity to be a King..." With those parting words, Arthur pulled Rhongomyniad free from Mordreds abdomen, causing intense pain and an incredible amount of blood to pour out over the already blood-saturated ground. Mordred lost all feeling in his legs, falling to his knees before his King onest time as thetter turned his back, eyes looking for the next enemy as if the final moments of his son meant nothing to him. As darkness began to encroach on his vision, Mordred muttered, "Father..." with a tear-stained face. This seemed to catch Arthurs attention as he turned to look back at Mordred just as thetter felt an intense rush of power that caused his body to regain its strength for a brief moment. Without guiding his own actions, Mordred and Arthur both observed in shock as the former ran his rent through thetters abdomen. Since the Holy Scabbard, Avalon, had been stolen from Arthur during the battle on the border, his purported invulnerability was no longer in effect. Mordredsst moments before fading into ckness was pulling his sword free from Arthurs abdomen before watching his father drop to the ground. Then, for the first time in his life, Mordred saw Arthur turn his face toward the sky as tears began to pour down from his eyes. At this moment, a sh of blue light seemed to rece the darkness in his vision before, momentster, Mordred began to experience a long dream...just as his first life had begun with witnessing a series of memories, so too did Mordreds second life...this time, however, he saw a dream of hope instead of despair... --- Around the time when Mordred likely started dreaming about his past life, Vahns eyes opened back in the real world. His body felt strangely cold, even though he had Fenrir and Circe warming his body from both sides. Though thetter still restained her chastity, she had still been very proactive during the hours preceding their sleep. Now, much like Fenrir, she was curled up against his body without a single piece of clothing covering her soft and surprisingly hot body. Because of this, the chill Vahn had been feeling was slowly melted away as he hugged the two girls against his body. As Fenrir had awoken around the same time as him, she made Vahn feel even better by gently licking around his neck and jawline. This helped Vahn rx considerably as he ruminated over the dream he had just witnessed. Though it wasnt beyond his expectations, Mordreds life was still a shocking series of events to witness, even from the perspective of an observer. She had been manipted by Morgan until the very end, even losing control over her own body at the very end, forced to stab the person she had wanted nothing more than acknowledgment from. Vahn had felt the anguish in Mordreds heart as her sword pierced through Artorias abdomen, especially when she saw thetter fall to her knees. It made the cold mncholy she felt upon seeing Gareths death seem negligible inparison. She had actually been rather fond of the young female Knight, at least until Morgans curse twisted Mordreds mind to resent everyone Artoria. If she had taken action, it wouldnt have been difficult for Mordred to save Gareths life, something he knew she deeply regretted in her heart in the months leading up to her rebellion... Remembering the face of Artorias niece as her own beloved mentor grasped her head in his hands, Vahn felt slightly nauseous. Even when Lancelot had begun to put pressure into his hands, Gareth had smiled with tears in her eyes, fully believing in the person she trusted more than anyone else in the entire world. The only thing she was awarded for her loyalty was the grissly sight of her face being deformed into mush as her brain and eyes were squeezed from her skull like a child kneading mashed potatoes. Though Vahn had seen a lot of terrible things, the look of betrayal in Gareths eyes at the very end was deeply ingrained into, not just his mind, but Mordreds. Now, Vahn felt like he needed to summon Gareth in the future while any intention he had of calling upon Lancelot, even though he knew the man was under someone elses control, was set aside almost indefinitely... For the rest of the night, Vahn ruminated on how he could help Mordred find happiness as, even with their current actions, he wasnt quite sure it would be enough. She had gone through far more than he expected and, though her kill count wasnt nearly as high as his, Vahn knew she had a lot of blood on her hands. Though it would be best if she could put these things behind her, Vahn knew that such things would eventuallye to haunt Mordred as she grew happier. The more human she became, the more her past actions would weigh heavily on her heart. To avoid prevent this, Vahn knew he would need to take a far more proactive role in Mordreds life. Since he also needed to do the same for Illya, Vahn knew his greatest challenge in the future wasnt Angra Mainyu, but helping ensure these damaged and traumatized girls were able to find happiness... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Morgan is a cunt,Poor Gareth...Lancelot is also a cunt...!,RIP Angra Mainyu, get relegated kid) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1115 - Similarities

Chapter 1115 - Simrities

As much as he wanted to act on his sentiments, Vahn knew there were other important things he needed to take care of, not just the girls themselves. After spending a few hours collecting his thoughts, Vahn reminded himself that his whole reason foring to the Nasuverse was to increase his strength. If he put that on the back burner and spent all his time and energy on helping the girls find happiness, it was the same as inviting tragedy into all of their lives. The closer he was to the people around him, the more pressure he would feel when danger reared its ugly head. Fleeing a second world, just because he wanted to avoid putting the people he cared about in danger, would just be repeating his past mistakes. Even if he had such intentions, it would amount to nothing more than wishful thinking if he didnt even have the means to earn enough OP for purchasing a second [Dimensional Anchor: Stasis]. Though it was possible to will a Quest into existence pertaining to its acquisition, Vahn knew the Objectives would be difficult to achieve and, much like his previous Quest, they would loom over him for the entire time he was in the Nasuverse... Just as Vahn had previously decided not to use the View Affection Function, he was now beginning to feel that the Quest Function was equally as troublesome. Though it was certainly nice to have a means of replenishing his OP and earning rewards, it made his actions seem less real since he was always basing his choices on the Objectives he had yet toplete. If he had a Quest that required him to do something ridiculous like build another expansive harem with every race, Vahn felt like it would pollute his rtionsh.i.p.s since it was almost like crossing out items on a checklist. It hadnt bothered him that much in the Record of Danmachi, as it seemed like an interesting thing at the time, but now Vahn had a new perspective after leaving his previous world behind. Ultimately, Vahn knew he would need to focus on achieving some kind of bnce in his life, even if his main priority was still growing stronger. The more power he had, especially while his karma was still rtively low, the less likely any real threats would reach the people he cared about. Though he certainly wouldnt ignore his rtionsh.i.p.s, Vahn knew the only way he would make real progress was if he kept focused on his goals and just did his best to reach an ord with everyone he was involved with. So long as he didnt find himself makingpromises that endangered everything they were trying to achieve, Vahn believed it would work out... With that in mind, Vahn lightly stroked Circes side until her eyelids peeled open, revealing a soft blue color with only a tinge of pink. When she looked back at him, however, the blue slowly receded until around three-quarters of her irises had be pink. On his other side, Fenrir had already sat up and started stretching her body, making no pretense of shyness even as she extended both of her arms out across the surface of the bed with her butt poking up in the air. Circe noticed that Vahns eyes wandered away from her own, causing a small frown to adorn her otherwise wless features as she lightly pinched his side. Vahn, however,rgely ignored this as he also came to a seated position and said, "Im going to summon Medusa. Fenrir, I will be entrusting her to you. If possible, Id like for her to be friends with Illya and Mordred. Just make sure she doesnt try and pull any clever pranks on anyone..." After moving to a seated position herself, Fenrir nodded her head in understanding, saying, "I will make sure she behaves. Master has to be stern with her as well, though, or she will quickly get out of control..." As she said this, Fenrir looked toward Circe with an usatory look that caused the petite Demi-Goddess to hmph as she leaned against Vahn, rubbing her cheek against his arm. In response to this, Vahn slid his hand between Circes thighs, startling her a bit as he began rubbing her right leg while saying, "Medusa is a lot like you, Circe. She is one of mypanions from my previous world so I expect the two of you to get along. Even if you butt heads against each other, Ill punish both of you if I catch wind of it..." Since he knew it was practically impossible to force Circe to change quickly, Vahn just wanted to remind her that he was paying attention to her behavior. In response to Vahns words, Circe lightly clung to his arm with her hands as she released a hot sigh and answered, "Ill be a good girl..." At the same time, she seemingly attempted to trap his hand between her thighs but, with her meager strength, Vahn moved uninhibitedly as her body began to gradually heat up. Following this, Vahn decided to release some of his tensions that had built up after viewing Mordreds memories, primarily relying on Fenrir who, being the reliable woman she was, even taught Circe a few things. Thetter was still very awkward but, due to her uninhibited curiosity, it was a refreshing experience watching her fumble about and get excited at every little thing... --- With their morning exercisepleted, Vahn had the two dress themselves as he set up a small magic formation within the room. Though he could just ingest a bunch of consumable items in order to summon Medusa, Vahn also knew it wasnt necessary to do so. When he had been thinking deeply about the future, Vahn realized he had probably been a little too eager to use up his OP. There was a fair chance he would be able to get Akasha to provide him arge number of materials in the future but, as he didnt even understand how his own summoning system worked, contacting her was easier said than done. Thus, with the assistance of Sis, Vahn drafted a n to limit his use of OP by setting a daily cap on what he could spend. Though he would undoubtedly invest arge amount of OP towards materials for Paracelsus, Merlin, and his own production lines, that would always have some kind of return while also greatly strengthening his Empires foundation. In order to save on a few thousand OP, Vahn drew out a formation that allowed him to gather mana from the surroundings, even going as far as linking it to the inscribed defensive formations already present within the room. When he was done, Vahn sat down within the primary ward and began to focus his mind while holding Medusas Magic Core within his hands. Fenrir and Circe watched on silently from the side as the density of mana in the surroundings quickly began to dry up as it flowed into the formation around Vahn. Though Medusa was considerably weaker than many of the girls back in Danmachi, she was still a monster that had been on the verge of reaching Level 6. Since the power of monsters wasnt derived from a Falna, it meant she would still inherit most of her strength and abilities even after being summoned... After a few minutes had passed, the Magic Core in Vahns hand lost its structure as it broke down into particles of purple and rainbow-colored dust. Momentster, a petite girl, even smaller than Circe, popped into existence without a lick of clothing on her tiny frame. She had long silver hair, growing past her feet, and a pair of golden eyes that could, quite literally, petrify anyone looking into them. As for the rest of her appearance, she wasnt all that dissimr to girls like Fenrir and Circe, meaning she was very thin while having almost nothing in the b.r.e.a.s.t department. Contrary to expectations, however, Medusa actually had a well-shaped and firm bottom with a thin waist that almost had the same flexibility as her previous Rainbow Viper form. Since there was a segmented golden tail, ented with a few rainbow-hued scales, it was difficult not to notice her pert rear even when she was wearing clothing... As if she had just awoken from a very long sleep, Medusa blinked a few times while looking at Vahn with drooping eyes. Though Vahn knew she was only pretending, Medusa tried to sell things even further by releasing a cute yawn and muttering, "Master came to me in my dreams again...ufufu~." While saying this, Medusas hair sn.a.k.e.d towards Vahn as she tried to crawl into hisp and snuggle up without any regards to the two pairs of eyes locked onto her from behind. Since he felt a little guilty to have her sitting inside her Magic Core for a few months, Vahn lightly stroked Medusas head and allowed her to cling to him, though not before saying, "Wear your clothing properly or youll have to spend the whole day training with Fenrir..." Knowing her trickery had been exposed, Medusa lightly bonked her head with her right hand before saying, "Ehehe, Master is so perceptive~." Then, after picking up the neatly folded clothes that Vahn had already set out for her, Medusa looked at Fenrir with slightly furrowed brows before turning her attention to Circe with mild confusion. Since thetter had wings on her back, Medusa figured she was another petitor for her Masters affection, instantly reducing her opinion of Circe before they had even spoken to each other. When Vahn had likened the two girls to each other, it wasnt an exaggeration as, much like Circe, Medusa was somewhat haughty, airheaded, and prone to petty jealousy. After spending a few minutes slinking into her skintight snake-skin bodysuit, Medusa went through the somewhat arduous process of wearing her gauntlets, greaves, b.r.e.a.s.tte, and helmet. When she had first assumed her human form, Medusa had been attired in golden armor that was naturally produced by her body. Though she was unable to manifest it like Fenrir, it was still considered a part of her so Vahn had been able to keep it in his Inventory. Unfortunately, due to theplex nature of their design, Medusa actually had to rely on Fenrirs assistance a bit. When she was fully dressed, Medusa tugged at the skin-tight fabric around her butt while turning to her Master and asking, "Did my butt get bigger...?" Since he was already familiar with Medusas antics, Vahn looked directly at her butt before reaching out and stroking it lightly. The fabric was very smooth to the touch and, with the fact it clung to her without leaving anything to the imagination, Vahn knew she would need to wear shorts or skirt in the future. She actually hated wearing any kind of clothing at all but, so long as he was just a little firm with her, Medusa would always listen to hismands. In exchange, he just needed to give her a bit of attention every now and then, yet another trait she shared with Circe. Thus, after stroking her pliant butt for a few minutes, Vahn answered, "It feels the same to me..." This caused Medusa to pretend pout before flicking her tail towards his face in a yful gesture. Though she was only 139cm tall, her tail actually extended around 80cm in length and, as she had lived her life as a snake previously, Medusa was even more adept at using it than Haruhime. With their yful exchange out of the way, Medusa adopted a genuinely troubled expression as she asked, "Master, what took so long? Medusa was very lonely..." Since he had already expected this, Vahn just bit the bullet and said, "I know...I should have called you sooner. Sorry, Medusa. Later on, Ill make sure to make it up to you. For now, youll have to follow Fenrir so she can teach you how to read, write, and speak thenguage youll need to converse with people in this world. I have high expectations for you, so please work hard...also, try to get along with everyone since we have a big threat to face in the future. Well need all the help we can get so dont go making enemies out of people, okay...?" Though she didnt seem all that interested in making new friends, Medusa still gave a small nod before saying, "I will always do my best for Master. In exchange, make sure to pamper me lots and lots so I know Im doing well~." Since the only two things she cared about in life were her Master and being pampered by her Master, Medusa would do whatever it took to get what she wanted. Even though she liked snakes and reptiles far more than all the annoying and smelly people that surrounded him, she still did her best to meet her Masters expectations. Ever since he had beaten her and spared her life, Medusa had decided she would follow her Master forever. As a result, though it was nowhere near Fenrirs, her Loyalty was amendable 127,091 points, even though he never seemed to have time for her... Knowing that Medusa would certainly make an effort, Vahn gave an approving nod before gesturing towards Circe and saying, "This is Circe. She is a Demi-Goddess of the Moon, Magic, and Love. She is simr to you so I know the two of you could get along, even if you butt heads with each other." Then, looking toward Circe, Vahn changed to Japanese as he said, "Fenrir wont be able to have Medusa shadow her at all times. When she isnt training her learning, please take care of her to the best of your ability. I know you may not like associating with other women, but Medusa has a very potent poison that I think you might be interested in. Please do this for me, Circe..." If Vahn had asked her such a thing earlier, Circe would have been far more reluctant to agree. This was why he had spent the better part of an hour tending to her and Fenrir before the summoning. As a result, Circe put on a slightly annoyed expression but ultimately said, "Fine. I will teach her a few things if she isnt too troublesome. I am a little curious about her poison..." At the end of her words, Circe gave Vahn a look that pretty much screamed, pamper me, causing him to smile in return before saying, "I have some things to take care of but I should be back early in the evening. If things go well, Ill show you something new when I get back..." Though he had already given Circe a Full-Service before, that didnt mean he had used all his techniques on her. In fact, due to how curious she had be since then, there were a lot of things he could teach her. Feeling her body warm up after understanding Vahns intentions, Circe was in a much better mood. Even if she had to spend her day doing something she didnt really feel like doing, it would all be worth it in the end. In a way, though for entirely different reasons, Circe felt like her life suddenly revolved around Vahn and the moments they could share together. This was why she had wanted to be his personal attendant and, no matter how troublesome other things were, she didnt mind them nearly as much as she would have in the past. After all, so long as she put in just a bit of effort, Vahn could make her feel better than she had even thought possible in the past. Even though she had to share him with Fenrir the previous night and this morning, Circe didnt care since she got to experience a floaty feeling that even actual flight and weightlessness couldnt match... --- After leaving his bedchamber, Vahn made his way outside of the Inner Sanctum to one of the small dining rooms located nearby. Other than the main banquet hall, there were several smaller dining halls where residents of the castle and its staff would have been able to enjoy meals in the past. Originally, the Ivory Castle had more than four-thousand staff, even though many of the 980 rooms were left unupied. Most of them would have lived in the nearby castle town before spending a few days inside the castle performing their duties. While staying there, they would reside in servants quarters that were almost all located on the western side, right next to the Knights barracks and training field. The fact that such a massive castle had a mere fifteen people in it was actually rather eerie, as there was a persistent and solemn atmosphere present in this borderline sacred ce... Because of how few people there were, the only other person present within the dining hall was Astolfo, wearing what appeared to be a pink pajama top that loosely hugged his torso and a pair of simrly colored short-shorts that had frills on them. He was even wearing a pair of white stockings that ran up to the middle of his thighs, each having small ears pointed ears and a small cat-like face. When he saw Vahn arrive with Fenrir, Circe, and apletely new girl, Astolfo stretched his body while sticking up one hand in a salute, eximing a high-pitched, "Yooosh~! Good morning, Vahn! Who is this cute little girl you picked up in the middle of the night~?" Though Medusa couldnt understand what Astolfo was saying, she furrowed her brows before standing a bit behind her Master since she couldnt read this strange creature that had appeared before her. This behavior caused Astolfo to snicker amusedly before saying, "She is adorable. It doesnt seem like she likes me all that much though. Unlucky~." With that said, Astolfo once again yawned, allowing his snaggletooth to be on full disy before muttering a munyaa sound and swallowing. Vahn just shook his head when he witnessed this, choosing to ignore Astolfos entric behavior as he sat down and exined the Medusas situation. At the same time, Circe wandered off the kitchen where Catherine was already busy preparing breakfast. It wasnt long before she had kicked the demure woman out but, considering the difference in their cooking ability, Catherine didnt mind that much as she came out to join the conversation, albeit with very little to say. After talking for a while, Catherine, not all that surprisingly, volunteered to help Medusa study as, unlike most of the people in the castle, she felt out of ce. She wasnt a superior Magus and, even if she trained hard over the next ten years, this wasnt likely to change all that much. Since she had spent most of her life gued by sickness, Catherine was just happy to be able to function and walk around without experiencing endless aches and pains. She had no drive to grow stronger and, as long as she could be of just a little help to others, that was the limit of her ambition. Thus, Vahn exined the situation to Medusa who, knowing it would be much easier to interact with a docile woman than her Big Sis, readily agreed to learn from Catherine... In record time, Circe poked her head out of the kitchen to exin that breakfast was ready but, before anyone dug in, Vahn excused himself from the table to go pick up Illya and Mordred. He had actually expected thetter to have been awoken by Artoria but, remembering the rather trying day they both had, it wasnt too surprising if they had slept in. When he reached their rooms, however, neither answered and, after checking inside, Vahn saw they were both absent. Even without thinking too deeply, Vahn realized that Artoria had probably woken up Mordred early in the morning to start their training. They had most likely gone to the western side of the castle to use the training field so Vahn decided to leave them to their own devices as he made his way to Illyas room. Fortunately, as she rarely left her room these days, Illya answered rtively quickly. As she had done several times before, she looked up at him with herrge, ruby-red, eyes and said, "Good morning Onii-sama. Do you want toe inside...?" Though he was certain she would be happiest if he decided to spend the morning lounging in her room, Vahn gave an apologetic smile as she shook his head and answered, "I want you toe and eat breakfast with everyone. Come, I know you like the taste of Circes cooking, even if you wont admit it..." As he spoke, Vahn picked Illya up into a princess carry, eliciting a small groan from her, even as she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck. While he carried her to the dining hall, Illya rested her head against his shoulder, lightly clinging to his tunic with her right hand as she asked, "Do you think I will be happy if I spend more time with the others...?" Though she already knew what Vahn would answer, Illya still felt the need to ask. She wasnt certain about anything when it came to her own happiness so, in a manner not all that dissimr to Medusa and Circe, she entrusted it to Vahn... In response to Illyas question, Vahns expression morphed into a confident and supportive smile as he nodded his head and answered, "Of course. Dont you feel a little happier whenever you spend time with Fenrir...?" To his surprise, Illyas body tensed up slightly when he asked this, causing Vahn to feel a bit anxious until she eventually nodded her head before muttering, "Fenrir is very nice to me. She isnt like normal people either so I feel less anxiety when Im around her...however..." When she got this far, Illyas face actually gained a slight blush as she added, "I think Cath Palug really likes her...a whole lot...it feels awkward when they interact with each other because I can feel my body heat up..." Hearing Illyas words, Vahn recalled the rather peculiar sight of Fenrir and Cath Palug cing their paws against each other and simply staring into each others eyes. In a way, they were both Beasts of Destruction as, without a lot of people helping to raise her, Fenrir would still be gued by her insatiable hunger. Maybe Cath Palug could sense that Fenrir had a simr nature to it and, as it had no other kin, the two might be bonding a little bit more than Vahn had anticipated. This could be a good or a bad thing, depending on how Cath Palug reacted to the situation, but Vahn trusted that Fenrir had a rough idea of what she was doing. Even so, since it seemed to make Illya ufortable, Vahn asked, "Should I ask Fenrir not to interact with Cath Palug that much in the future...?" Almost as soon as she heard what he said, Illya shook her head before saying, "No. I just said it was awkward, not that it was a bad thing. Fenrir seems to understand Cath Palug much better than me and I think she is trying to teach him not to be so aggressive. Besides..." When she got to this point, Illya extended her neck until she was just a few centimeters away from Vahns ear, adding, "Fenrir is always talking about her precious Master. Ever since thest time, Cath Palug has really wanted to y with Onii-sama again...Illya too...ufuu~" At the end of her sentence, Illya blew into Vahns ear with a slightly warm voice that caused him to produce a wry smile in response. He knew something like this would happen sooner orter so, to keep things under control, he answered, "So long as you are making an effort to open up to the others, I dont mind stopping by and spending time with you when I have the opportunity..." This seemed to be the answer that Ilya was looking for as, immediately thereafter, she gave him a kiss on the cheek before happily kicking her legs as he continued to carry her through the halls... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Earning morning exercise (UwU)...,So many girls are reliant on Vahn...,Not sure if Fenrir is the best wingman or biggest g-setter...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1116 - Tensions : Alliance

Chapter 1116 - Tensions : Alliance

Located only 434km away from the isted Ind of Avalon was the City of London, a city with a long and proud history that could be seen in everything from theyout of its streets to the design of its buildings. Though it had not fallen behind in the times, even many of the newer buildings were designed to emte older styles of architecture to make the entire city appear as a marvel that had withstood the test of time. Millions of people would flock to London every year and, even though the air was thick with the lingering miasma of pollution, much like all modern cities, there was always a sense of awe and wonder that washed over anyone who visited. However, this was only the city as it appeared on the surface as, deep beneath the surface of the earth, located directly beneath an aged museum, a world of mysticism, wonder, and darkness existed just outside the view ofmon men and women... The Clock Tower was one of the three principal branches of the Mages Association and, for several hundred years now, had served as the very heart of the Magus Community. Its history spanned back more than two-thousand years, coinciding with the establishment of London itself, back when it was merely called Londinium by the Romans. Though it had originally been founded as nothing more than an institution for philosophy, astrology, and alchemy, the progression of time had turned it into an organization that dabbled in the fields of all ancient and modern thaumaturgy. As a result, it had several different departments within, the most prominent being, General Fundamentals, Individual Fundamentals, Evocation, Mineralogy, Lore, Zoology, Botany, Astrology, Creation, Curses, Archeology, Alchemy, Law, and Lord El-Melloi IIs department, the Faculty of Modern Magecraft Theory. Though thergest number of students belonged tot he General and Individual Fundamentals, as it was required for all prospective Magi to attend, at least, five years worth of sses, the Faculty of Modern Magecraft Theory had grown exponentially since the time Lord El-Melloi II had taken up the position of Department Head more than seventeen years prior. He had only been twenty-two at the time but, due to his steadfast nature and handsome appearance, enough to have himbeled as the fourth most handsome member of the Clock Tower that girls wanted to date, Lord El-Melloi II had raised up the almost destitute department to one of the more influential branches. Since he did not discriminate against any student, something that was a very serious issue in the Clock Tower, the number of prospective students had only increased as the years passed, making Lord El-Melloi II the hero of themoners while many within the Aristocratic Faction, one of the three major factions of the Clock Tower, greatly resented him. Even though there were thirteen primary departments within the Clock Tower, ounting for more than twenty-thousand students, the vast majority, between 15-16,000, belonged to one of the three major factions. The smallest number, while possessing the greatest amount of power and authority, belonged to the Aristocratic Faction headed by the Barthomeloi family. Only members from affluent Magus families and those that had pledged loyalty to them were able to consider themselves a part of this faction. As for the other two, having a near-even split between them, they were the Neutral faction, wanting nothing more than to focus on the advancement of Magecraft, and the Democratic Faction, trying to impose more equitable regtions in order to seize power from the Aristocratic faction and make the lives of all students easier... As much as he was loathed to admit it, Lord El-Melloi II belonged to the Aristocratic faction by default after being granted the title of his younger-sister-turned-wife, Reines El-Melloi Archisorte, forced it upon him seventeen years prior. Though he was only supposed to have the title of Lord until she became an a.d.u.l.t, as she was only six years old at the time, Lord El-Melloi II had been made to officially marry into the family to hold the title of Lord while she tended to matters behind the scenes. As he had never been able to go against the younger sister who had adopted him into her family through somewhat forceful means, Lord El-Melloi II could only continue to do his best to live ording to his ideals, even if he didnt always agree with the methods... Now, after returning from Japan, before he could even be brought to trail by the Mages Association, Waver found himself wearing nothing but his boxers as she was tied to a wooden chair. In front of him, looking particrly non-plussed, was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair that extended past her waist and icy blue eyes that could even make a Basilisk turn away in fear. She was currently wearing a dark blue c.o.c.ktail dress,plete with a flower ornament on the sides, while holding a riding whip in her hands. Using her left foot, covered with ck hose that ran up the length of her long legs, she pressed into the area of Lord El-Melloi IIs groin while asking, "Tell me, dear brother, why are you so determined to ruin our family...?" Doing his best to maintain a calm expression, Lord El-Melloi II matched Reines gaze as he answered, "It was not my intention for things to take such a strange turn. I could not have predicted the arrival of a foreign power from another world. At least we were able toplete our objective and destroy the Greater Grail..." Though he knew these werent the words she wanted to hear, Lord El-Melloi II could only speak the truth of the matter. Vahn had literallye out of nowhere but, with how things yed out, he felt things would have been even worse if Vahn hadnt shown up. Not only would they have lost Gray, but the odds of them destroying the Greater Grail with forces like Gilgamesh and the Holy Church at y were infinitely close to zero. Hearing her husbands words, Reines expression turned even frostier as she lightly whipped the inside of his thigh, causing a loud smacking sound to resonate through the dark room. Since Lord El-Melloi II was used to this kind of treatment, he just flinched slightly without uttering so much as a simple grunt. As a result, Reines whipped him a little harder before saying, "That crazy woman wont let this matter rest so easily. You are lucky that man, Vahn Mason, was it? If he hadnt handed over pieces of the Greater Grail, we would have no leverage against our enemies...haaa...You were supposed to have used the Greater Grail to wish for prosperity for our family before destroying it. Now I have to clean up another one of your messes..." As she said thisst line, Reines put more pressure into her heel, this time causing Lord El-Melloi II to grit his teeth as his left eye twitched. Seeing his reaction, Reines had a visibly sadistic smile on her face as she continued increasing the pressure until, against his will, Lord El-Melloi II began to react in the way she desired. This caused him to release a heavy sigh, momentarily ignoring the pain as Reines expression became a little strange. She then removed her feet, asking, "What has it been, seven, eight months~? I might listen to your excuses if you can serve me well. I think Ridley could use a younger sibling...ufufufu..." With that said, Reines kicked over the chair, causing Lord El-Melloi II to crash against the floor rather hard before she cut the ropes around his hands and legs using a knife given to her by a maid. After that, Reines spent a few hours tormenting her husband, enjoying herself to the fullest in an attempt to ease her own frustrations over the fallout his actions would cause for their family... --- Unlike the peculiar atmosphere at the El-Melloi estate, things were rtively peaceful only a few kilometers away at a massive mansion that made even the surrounding estates and manors seem small byparison. This was none other than the primary residence of the Edelfelt family, looking more like a pce than a standard mansion with its highly embellished and ornate appearance. Even though they were a rtively young aristocratic family, only dating back to the midte Renaissance Period, they were one of the most famous in recent history. This wasrgely due to the fact that they made their fortunes as an aristocratic family of mercenaries that had traveled all throughout the world, intervening in conflicts entirely unrted to them to secure wealth and power for their descendants. As a result, they were considered the most elegant hyenas above the ground by the Magus Community, a barb they wore with pride as they unhesitantly threw themselves into conflicts even to this day. The current head of the Edelfelt family, Luviagelita Edelfelt, was considered the most prodigious descendant of the family in thest hundred years. Not only had she taken the reins from her father at the young age of seventeen, but she had considerably increased their wealth since then through smart investing and securing several mines, many containing precious ore and considerably more precious gemstones. If not for the fact that many Magus families hid their wealth from the public, her endeavors would have easily put her into the upper echelons of the fortune-five hundred, grossing nearly 152 billion Pound sterlings per year. With her family also possessing its own military and engineer forces, they were one of the most powerful Magus families in the entire world. Though their prestige was a bit lower than some, even the oldernded Nobles werent able to make too big a fuss for fear of bringing the Edelfelt families economic and military might down upon themselves. Currently, rather than a highly capable Magus who was the bane of other aristocrats the world over, Luvia looked rather foolish as she tightly squeezed Sakuras body, squealing like a schoolgirl who had just found an adorable puppy. She had already heard about the situation from Rin and, though they were considered rivals, Luvia was one of her most powerful and reliable allies. Though there was little that she enjoyed more than affectionately tormenting Rin, she wasnt going to try and expose one of the few actual friends she had. As a result, Luvia happily epted Sakura into her home and, after witnessing the adorable little girl, snatched her up with stars in her eyes as she exined, "Dont worry, little Sakura. Big sister Luvia will take good care of you until your mommy has finished her business~." With a polite yet awkward smile on her face, Sakura tried to avoid being bured in Luvias chest as she answered, "Thank you, Aunty Luvia..." This word caused Luvia to instantly tense up as she looked over at the snickering Rin before staring down at Sakura, smiling radiantly as she said, "My, my, your big sister is too young to be called an aunty. Dont let your mother go nting strange ideas into your head, okay~?" Though she had a smile on her face, it didnt quite reach Luvias eyes as she continued to hug Sakura. This caused the young girl to fl.u.s.ter a bit but, fortunately, Rin stepped in to provide assistance, saying, "Its okay, Sakura-chan. Even if it is a little sad to see an a.d.u.l.t bully a child, you can call Luvia Onee-chan if she wants to insist upon it..." Hearing Rins remark, the vein on Luvias temple began to pulse a bit as she let go of Sakuras body and asked, "Oh my...it seems my dear Rin has grown overconfident since we let met...I wonder if a certain someone had anything to do with this~?" Since Rin had kept mum regarding most of the matters surrounding Vahn, Luvia was still highly interested in the man from another world. The fact he had ended the Holy Grail War in record time, even with a few ridiculously powerful forces showing up, only increased her intrigue in him. She also gave him the credit for Rins sudden spike in power as, for thest decade or so, the majority of their battles had always ended as a draw or in her favor... Clicking her tongue in response to Luvias question, Rin then muttered under her breath, "Dont go converting others men just because you scare off all your suitors..." Though this mark actually made Rins face heat up a bit, as she realized she was taking ownership of Vahn again, Luvias expression had turned rather serious as a result. As the Head of the Edelfelt family, it was actually bing an increasinglyrger problem that she hadnt found a husband and produced an heir. Though she was only twenty-seven years old, marrying at this point was considered te in high-society, especially for the Head of a Magus family. However, as she didnt want to treat her own marriage as a political tool, especially just to establish ties with a family that they would have otherwise been enemies with, Luvia had brutally beaten nearly all of her would-be suitors. If they couldnt even defeat her in battle, she wouldnt even give them the time of day, much less her hand in marriage. She didnt want a pet husband just to produce an heir as, much like the previous Heads of the Edelfelt family, she chose her partner almost entirely based on strength, not status. Crossing her arms, Luvia continued to stare back at Rin as she ordered, "Please show Sakura to the room she will be staying in. As she is an important guest, make sure there are at least two attendants to care for her at all times." In response to hermand, several well-dressed maids and a butler quickly alighted Sakura to her room, shepherding the young and confused girl away as sparks began to collide between Rins and Luvias gazes. Once Sakura was out of the room, Luvia inly asked, "Is he really just your man?" in a tone that didnt leave room for falsehoods. This question caused Rin to immediately frown as, even if she wanted to insist that was the case, it was so far removed from the truth that she actually felt guilty trying to take ownership of Vahn... Even without Rin answering directly, Luvia could tell from her reaction that her intuition was correct. As a result, she shook her head before saying, "I knew it...there is undoubtedly something going on between the two of you, but I could tell he was serious when he imed to be an Emperor. He didnt seem like the type of man that would dedicate himself to just one woman, or else I wouldnt have even bothered trying to get in his good books. Tell me, how many girls is he involved with now...?" Since she had known Rin for nearly twenty years, Luvia could understand from her facial expression that there had to be more women around Vahn. Releasing a tired and annoyed sigh, Rin ultimately answered, "I dont know for certain...probably seven or eight at this point..." Since she knew that Vahn was intending to summon more Heroic Spirits, Rin fully expected that their reunion was going to be a little difficult for her. However, she had already made up her mind and, with Ereshkigal and Ishtar both having chosen Vahn, their fate was now tied together. At the very least, she knew he would take good care of Sakura and, even if their rtionship was a little awkward, Vahn made her feel like wanted in ways she had never thought possible when they were alone together... As if she fully expected such an answer, Luvia nodded her head several times in affirmation before saying, "Good. The Edelfelts have always looked for the best possible candidate to produce the next generation of heirs. Besides, I imagine his status as an Emperor isnt something he is simply going to give up just because he came to a new world. If he needs an Empress on his arms, I imagine I am more than qualified for the position, wouldnt you say...?" With the wealth of her family,bined with the apparent might possessed by Vahn, Luvia felt like it wouldnt be remiss for him to im himself an Emperor in the modern world. It certainly would upset a lot of the other families but, based on how Vahn had treated her when she stepped out of line, Luvia knew he was bound to upset the bnce at some point. It was merely a matter of when it would happen, never if. Rubbing her head to ease her oing headache, Rin answered, "I dont think anyone could be his Empress other than that girl named Fenrir. Even Artoria has just be a simple Knight for him and I dont think you can im your own pedigree is higher than the principal Royal Line of Britain. Since he has people like Merlin and Paracelsus on his side, the best status you can hope for is an Imperial Consort or a Concubine..." Though thest word was intended as an insult, Luvia didnt seem to mind at all as she raised her brow and asked, "Oh? Youre not going to tell me to give up? You really have changed, Rin..." Since this wouldnt have been the first man they fought over, Luvia was somewhat surprised by how much Rin had changed in only a few months time. This improved her impression of Vahn a great deal as, someone who could tame a woman as wild as Rin wasnt normal in the least... Understanding the futility of trying to prevent Luvia from pursuing Vahn, as the literal fate of the world was on the line, Rin shook her head and answered, "I am just grateful that he is willing to be Sakuras father and take care of her. I understand that he will never have just one woman as my own body contains three...there is a lot we need to talk about, Luvia. If you still want to pursue Vahn after hearing what I have to say, I have no right to stand in between the two of you...just promise you will not make things difficult for Sakura. I know something terrible must have happened for Vahn to have gone to such lengths but Im afraid to ask him the details...please, dont ruin that girls happiness." As she believed her understanding of Vahn wasnt bad, Rin had known from the very moment that Vahn refused to let her fight Sakura that something was wrong. The fact the Matou Residence and Makiri Family were destroyed in the same night just cemented the idea that he was keeping a secret from her. However, knowing the type of man he was, Rin believed he had done what he thought was best for both her and Sakura. Now, she had a debt toward him that she could never repay so if she could ease his own burdens by pretending to be ignorant, that was the least she could do... Seeing how deeply Rin cared for Sakura, Luvias expression became serious once again as she said, "I do not know what happened, and I wont ask for the details. Since we may both end up in a simr position in the future, I will treat Sakura as my own daughter. So long as you are in London, there isnt a force within the Mages Association that would be able to harm a hair on her head. Since you are supporting me, even indirectly, you can expect that I wont let my future family be brought low by the schemes and machinations of a few arrogant fools. When you go to trial, the Edelfelt family will not make its support of your cause unknown..." Though she had always intended to help Rin, as this was part of their n from the start, Luvia had even more motivation to do so now. She could tell there was something pretty serious going on behind the scenes as, even if Vahn was an Emperor, Luvia couldnt see Rin bending the knee so easily unless there was something bigger than her going on. She had the type of personality that, when many lives were at stake, Rin would almost always put herself in the line of fire to try and help, one of the things Luvia genuinely respected about her. Managing an awkward smile, Rin nodded her head and said, "We need to have a long talk...but first, how about a spar?" Since she had a pretty strong urge to punch Luvia, even though she was actually grateful for thetters help, Rin wasnt shy about using her increased power to bully her rival. This didnt seem to intimidate Luvia at all, however, as she raised her head in a haughty manner and asked, "Oooh~? Do you truly believe things will always go your way? Very well, my dear Rin, allow me to show you that you arent the only one who can get a sudden power-up...!" With that said, the atmosphere between the two girls became somewhat chaotic once again as they both alighted to a nearby training room, a rathermon sight within the Edelfelt household, to begin their 571st battle... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Lord El-Melloi II...,The Edelfelts have no chill xD...,Eternal Rivals make the most reliable friends...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1117 - Establishing a Foundation

Chapter 1117 - Establishing a Foundation

Shortly after breakfast hade to an end, Vahn went towards the direction of the Knights training field after Merlin had confirmed that Artoria and Mordred were indeed there. It took a surprisingly long amount of time to reach his destination as, even by using one of the main ess corridors that passed through the castle, there were various twists and turns that were supposed to make invasion more difficult. As a result, Vahn took nearly twenty minutes to reach the training field where he found Mordred and Artoria, both wearing rather in clothes consisting of simple trousers and tunics, were fighting with reinforced wooden swords. Since they had already been going at it for nearly three hours, Mordreds clothes were soaked through with sweat as she breathedboriously while fending off the blows of an almost entirely unfl.u.s.tered Artoria. With Vahn appearing in the periphery, Mordred briefly turned her eyes toward him, an act that got her rewarded with a sharp thwack atop her head. Surprisingly, instead of dropping her sword and rubbing her head, Mordred adopted an aggressive pout before trying to step into Artorias guard and counterattack. Though she might have been able to pull this maneuver off in her unsealed state, Mordreds instep and follow-up strike was met with empty air as Artoria spun around her body with the grace of a dancer before tapping her sword across Mordreds backside. Once again, Mordred only pouted a little more as she twisted her body around, swinging wide before stepping back to create distance. Now that there was a brief intermission in their exchange, Artoria gave a curt nod before lowering her sword. However, even when she ced it at her side, it was easy to tell that she hadnt dropped her guard for even a moment. Mordred was perfectly aware of this as she slowly lowered her sword, taking a few steps back before rubbing her butt andining, "Hahaue...do you really have to tenderize my backside in front of Chichiue...?" All she got in response to this was a stern expression from Artoria before thetter said, "Your movements leave you wide open. I never said anything in the past, but your fighting style is too wild and unrestrained. Having your power sealed will allow you to strengthen your foundation from scratch. If you want to catch up to and surpass your father, you cant take shortcuts." Though Mordred didnt seem to agree with her mother, Vahn had seen into her past and knew she had never received any formal training. Morgan had made her fight and kill people only a few days after she had been born, forcing Mordred to cultivate her own style through bloodshed. Because of this, Vahn nodded his head in agreement with Artoria, adding, "Listen to your mother, Mordred. Im one-hundred-and-fifty-six years old and am still building my foundation. It is pointless to focus on developing skills and abilities when you havent consolidated a strong foundation." As he said this, Vahn walked over to Mordreds side and began habitually stroking her head, following up by saying, "Work hard and Ill take you flying through the skyter on..." Hearing Vahns words, Mordreds sour face turned into one of surprise and expectation as she asked, "Will you really take me flying!?" Though she could easily leap to the top of a high rise in a single bound, there was a big difference when it came to jumping high and flying through the sky. Since she had seen his memories, Mordred knew Vahn was more than capable of achieving flight. She actually wanted to have him teach her in the future but, fearing he would say no, she hadnt even though to bring it up any time soon. Hearing him broach the subject himself, Mordred felt her frustrations melt away as she gave a toothy grin and enjoyed having her head pat. Since he had every intention of making good on his promise, Vahn ruffled Mordreds hair a bit as he said, "I will never make a promise to you that I dont intend to keep, Mordred. If your mother gives her consent, well both fly over the Kingdom to see how it looks from above..." As he had already been intending to map the area when he got the chance, Vahn figured it would be a good bonding experience if he took Mordred along with him. He wanted her to have more happy memories to try and mitigate some of the negative emotions she had buried deep within her heart. Fortunately, even though she had already experienced several terrible things in life, Mordred was still very young. So long as she had people to care for her, she would one day ovee her past and live the happy life she deserved... --- After sending Mordred off to wash up and eat breakfast, something she could handle on her own due to her familiarity with the castle, Vahn sat with Artoria and talked about Mordreds past. He had intended to have Merlin share Mordreds memories with Artoria but the airy Magus had told him it would be better if she simply heard an ounting instead of witnessing the events directly. Thest thing Artoria needed right now was seeing someone elevate her to the status of a god before having her devotion turned into rage as a result of her mistakes as a King. As a result, Vahn gave a summary of events, leaving out some of the darker details of Mordreds past and making clear his intentions to summon Gareth at some point in the future... Throughout the conversation, Artoria had remained silent with a contemtive expression on her face. She realized from his words that Mordred really did deserve a second chance as, from the very beginning, she had lived at the behest of another as nothing more than a pawn. Now that shecked a title and a Kingdom to pass down to Mordred, the least she could do was be a good mother. Since Vahn had experienced Mordreds memories directly, she had no doubt he would do his best to be a good father so Artoria was determined to do her best as well. Though she would still be rough with Mordred during their training, that was merely to make sure the girl was able to cultivate discipline, just like any other esquire that aspired to be a Knight... When the conversation came to an end, Artorias first words to Vahn, said with a determined look, were, "Thank you for telling me...I will do my best. As for Gareth, there is no rush to call her into this world. Though I also grieved for her death, I believe it would be best for Mordred and Illya if you put off summoning her untilter. You should talk with Nobunaga or Scthach to see if they have any ideas on who you should summon. Im certain the former had plenty of vassals under hermand while Scthach should know exactly which Heroic Spirits would be able to aid our cause right now." As enthused as she was to reunite with her niece, someone that had lost her life far too soon, Artoria had the distinct impression it was better to wait. She could only imagine what Gareths first thoughts would be after getting summoned to this world, especially when herst memory was having her head crushed by the person she respected the most. As he had already expected Artoria to say something simr, Vahn had no qualms about waiting as, much like she had pointed out, there was no particr rush. When it came to pulling people from the past, there was no difference between summoning them now, or summoning them a thousand years in the future. To them, it would always take ce instantly so there was nothing wrong with letting Mordred and Illya stabilize before bringing another damaged girl into their midst. There was also his previous promise with Nobunaga as, during their discussions in the past, she had quite a few people she would like to reconnect with. She even wanted to try and reconcile with her younger brother, the traitorous Oda Nobukatsu. Though they had been forced to butt heads against each other due to the machinations of the Oda n Elders, Nobunaga had never resented him for falling prey to the ambitions of others... After spending the better part of an hour just spending time with Artoria and enjoying the nice morning breeze together, Vahn eventually made his way towards an underground training area that had been brought to his attention by Merlin. He needed to create a Sub-Space Orb where everyone could train while,ter on, Merlin had mentioned helping him create a projection of Camelot within a secondary Sub-Space Orb. ording to the errant Magus, it should be possible to link the spatial coordinates of a Sub-Space Orb to a fixed point in reality as it already drew from the mana in the surrounding environment. Since that samework was tied to thend itself, and everything atop it, Vahn had the option of projecting all of Camelot into a Sub-Space Orb without having to build anything. This would make it as if the entire Ind of Avalon was within the Sub-Space Orb, meaning everyone that came to reside here in the future would experience time at a rate of five-to-seven times the norm. When Vahn had heard Merlin exin the principles behind what he had in mind, he was once again reminded that his own understanding of the world was extremely limited. Though he had a rtively decent understanding of a few Laws, people like Merlin and Scthach were still leagues ahead of him in terms ofprehension. Fortunately, they both seemed more than willing to answer his questions and teach him anything he was interested in. Scthach could even teach him [Alchemy] up to the A-Rank and knew the methods of producing various types of homunculi that even Paracelsus couldnt emte. This didnt necessarily make her methods better, as Paracelsus was still in a league of his own, but it was still infinitely better than Vahns current understanding of such things... Knowing he would need to study hard in the future, Vahn needed to develop the two Sub-Space Orbs and a few Space-Time Orbs just to manage everything he needed to take care of. He was even considering making an avatar rtively soon but, remembering how chaotic his life had gotten previously, Vahn was hesitant to jump the gun on that idea. It was more efficient to create memory fragments that could work on the production of items and research things on his behalf. As for his avatars, Vahn had two crystal cores that would allow him to reform his body if he was unexpectedly defeated by an enemy. He had reluctantly entrusted one to Scthach, as she simply didnt seem to have any weaknesses at all, while the other had been left behind in the Welsh Dragons cavern so that he could keep an eye on the system and its constituent magic formation at all times... While thinking of Scthach, Vahns mind wandered a bit as he found himself surrounded by an all-epassing warmth that sent a shiver up his spine. He quickly cut the connection by having his subprocess mind enter into a deep meditative state while, on his shoulder, ya tilted her head in confusion at his unexpected reaction. She knew that Vahn had adapted to her presence at this point, something that should have been impossible, so she wondered what had happened to make his body suddenly heat up while his brain produced a small amount of dopamine in response. If she could find out what he was thinking about, ya believed she might be able to collect more data in the near future. Though she was still trying to analyze his blood, without any real progress, that didnt mean she wasnt going to analyze his other bodily fluids as well. She had already separated his red and white blood cells and absorbed a bit of his sweat through her skin in an effort to better understand hisposition and makeup. Now, she just needed a sample of everything else that constituted Vahns body. She had tried to collect samples when he was fighting against Scthach but, as if he knew she was trying to take them, Vahns biomass would simply vanish momentster. Even isting it within the time axis had proved futile so ya could only wait for him to give her samples willingly... Since he needed to focus and replenish his reserves quickly, Vahn picked ya up by her scruff and said, "You can watch from the side for now. If you think there are any ways in which the formation could be improved, let me know..." Though he was tempted to just have ya make the formation for him, Vahn knew he was developing a strange dependency on her as ofte. To avoid bingcent andzy, one of the things he had decided upon after setting OP limits was to be less reliant on ya. He would rather she just stockpile Magical Energy to keep Rin, Sakura, and Gray safe while he focused on managing the affairs of the Empire. At least this way, if he desperately needed her to take action, ya would have plentiful reserves to help on the spot. Without arguing, ya just floated into the air before adopting a form that made Vahns brows twitch madly since she looked like a mature form of Illya, just marginally taller and with a plump butt and thick thighs. Her b.r.e.a.s.ts were rtively small, giving her an almost unbnced look, but therge ears and the fluffy tail sticking out of her backside fixed this incongruity. Though he knew she was observing and analyzing everything he did, Vahn always felt a little annoyed when ya took the form of whatever she thought his preferences reflected. She certainly looked cute, while he was actually tempted to give her butt a feel, but Vahn still felt more annoyed than anything else since he had work to focus on and didnt need distractions... Deciding to ignore her, Vahn began the long process of setting up a formation to sustain the Sub-Space Orb that people would use for training in the future. Without his notice, Merlin had also appeared within the area shortly after he started, watching with his soft-purple eyes as Vahn spent several hours just building the formations basic structure. Fortunately, as thend and air within this isted space had more than twenty times the mana density of Fuyuki, Vahn didnt even need to set up Elemental Pirs. Since Avalon was linked to the True Avalon on the Reverse Side of the World, it had a mana density that wasnt all that dissimr to the levels present during the Age of Gods, albeit with significantly less Mystery. After a little more than seven hours, during which time even Scthach had shown up to observe, Vahn finally finished setting up a Sub-Space Orb with a time dtion of 6:1. It turned out that, while the abundance of mana made setting up the formation easier, theck of Elemental Pirs, which were meant to stabilize the Orb, made the time dtion slightly weaker than intended. It was still better than nothing so Vahn would leave it as is and just consider it a lesson learned for when he worked on the main Sub-Space Orb with Merlins assistance. With that in mind, he turned his attention toward the two peculiar individuals who, at present, were sitting at a low table and drinking tea as they watched him work in silence. Seeing that Vahn was finally paying attention to them, Merlin returned a smile beforementing, "This is some impressive work. Though it is unlike anything I have seen before, it uses the logic of this world splendidly to create something rather unique...my, I believe you may actually have more of a talent for Magecraft thanbat arts. What do you think, Lady Scthach~?" Without humoring Merlin at all, Scthach shook her head and stated, "Vahns control makes no sense. Though he is obviously very skilled, I can sense that most of the energy he is manifested is lost. He is far more proficient at using his power internally so I will continue to help him master his body to cover up for his inability to properly use magic." Even if she couldnt see Vahns future, Scthachs understanding of his body and capabilities made it so that he had almost no secrets from her, simr to how Vahn could touch someones body and understand its structure in an instant. She could sense great power manifested whenever he was drawing the magic formation but, seeing the formation itself, it was nothing exceptional. This meant he was wasting his energy but, as she wasnt able to understand what was going on, Scthach could only say it didnt make any sense... Scratching the back of his head, Vahn ignored Merlinsughter and simply stated, "Well begin our training after I finish developing the second Sub-Space Orb tomorrow. I already promised my daughter to take her flying around the castle so that I can map the area. After that, Ill be spending some time with Illya before retiring to my room for the evening." Since he assumed Scthach had arrived to drag him off for training, Vahn wanted to make it clear he already had ns. She didnt require him to give her energy any longer, courtesy of the crystal she had nted within her body, so Vahn knew she wasnt here to go through that troublesome ritual. With an understanding nod, Scthach turned her back and began moving to exit the underground chamber, though not before saying, "Our training will be more intense in the future." Since he had been cking off a lottely, Vahn wasnt all that surprised by her rather cold words. All he could do was withhold a tired sigh as, unless he outright refused to train with her in the future, there was no way to avoid a thrashing. She would always make good on her promises so Vahn was fully expecting their next training session to be another living nightmare. On the plus side, he was improving quickly and, even if he had to face an enemy that could rend him to pieces in an instant, no amount of pain could cause him to flinch after experiencing her training... When Scthach had left the room, Merlin gave a somewhat teasing smile as he remarked, "My, you certainly have a way with women, Majesty..." This earned him a re but, instead of trying to get even, Vahn simply asked, "So, do you still think it is possible to create a projection?" In response to this, Merlin gave a simple nod before exining, "If we tie the Sub-Space Orb into the formation that keeps Avalon isted from the rest of the world, it should be possible to create a projection without issue. This might alert some of the more perceptive individuals in the world but they arent the type to take action without properly understanding the situation. Even then, they will not be able to find Avalon so easily...there is a reason it has been able to remain hidden for more than fifteen hundred years, ohohoho~." Vahn knew it was only a matter of time before their enemies eventually learned about the existence of Avalon, as they were less than five-hundred kilometers away from the very heart of the Magus Community, so he wasnt surprised by Merlins words. He wouldnt be surprised if his enemies had already sensed their movements when Merlin had used his restoration magic to practically reverse time for the entire castle,rge-scale magic that would be impossible with modern Magecraft. At the same time, however, magic of this scale would serve as a powerful deterrent as there were few who would simply throw themselves unprepared against a Magus that could wield such power without caring about how their actions could upset the other powerhouses in the world... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A Tiger Mom and a Petting Demon for parents...,ya never gives up,The deterrent of power...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1118 - Magnetism

Chapter 1118 - Maism

Shortly after parting with Merlin, Vahn made his way back to the Knights training field since he had sensed Artoria and Mordred resume their training, likely after eating lunch. It was already going on 5 PM so Vahn wanted to make good on his promise before the sun went down. When he arrived at the training field, it was obviously that Mordred had been working even harder than before as she could barely hold her sword but still stood her grown with conviction in her eyes. Though she was only going on seven years old, she had fought on actual battlefields so fatigue wasnt something that could take her out of the fight. So long as she was still conscious, Mordred would never admit defeat, even against considerably more powerful opponents. This time, Mordred didnt look toward him, instead, keeping an eye on her mother without breaking focus for a single moment. As a result, the two kept staring at each other for several seconds before Artoria finally smiled and said, "Very good, Mordred. Clean yourself up and go spend some time with your father. You worked hard today...Im proud of you." Though thest words were followed up by Artoria giving a small cough, Mordreds fatigue seemed to vanish away in an instant as she jumped well over three meters off the ground, shouting, "Yoshaa~!" When shended, however, Mordreds legs gave out on her so she plopped down to the ground, seemingly without minding it since she justid sprawled out with a happy smile. Artoria shook her head when she saw this but there was a small smile on her face when she turned to Vahn and gave a polite bow before excusing herself. She had upied Mordreds time for nearly the entire day and, though it would be good for them to spend time as a family, Artoria knew it was father-daughter bonding time now. Vahn understood this as well,ing to stand over Mordreds body as he looked down at her with a smile of his own, saying, "Come, lets get you cleaned up before taking off. I need to get you back before dinner. I imagine youre pretty hungry after a hard day of training, right?" Rolling to a seated position, Mordred wiped away the sweat from her brow before nodding her head and saying, "Yeah, the food here is great. Though I dont like that Circe girl all that much, she is weak if you mention a certain someone..." As she said this, Mordred had a sly smile on her face that wasnt suitable for a child, causing Vahn to roughly ruffle her hair before pulling her to her feet. Then, with Mordred watching with a curious glint in her eyes, Vahn pulled the sweat and grime from her body before using a [Scent Removal Towel] to wipe down her face. She was resistant to having him do it for her but, to reinforce the idea that she was a child, Vahn acted as all fathers should, pampering his daughter even if it embarrassed her... After she was cleaned up a bit, Vahn grabbed Mordreds tiny hand in his own, marveling at how small it was, before asking, "Are you ready...?" To his mild surprise, Mordred shook her head before pulling her hand free and raising both arms high up as she said, "I want to ride on your back or have you carry me. Since youre going to treat me like a child, dont me me for taking advantage of you in return, Chichihue...!" This little outburst just caused Vahns smile to soften a bit as he thought about the logistics. He had given plenty of people a ride on his back in the past but it wasnt exactly the best position for sight-seeing. However, considering that Mordred just wanted to be a spoiled a bit, Vahn decided it didnt matter all that much as he squatted down and let her climb on his back. Mordred had a toothy grin on her face that showed her pronounced canines off as, even though she was a little embarrassed, today had been one of the best days of her life. If every day was like this in the future, she didnt mind bing a child and getting pampered by her parents for a few years. Thus, even though she had never even touched a man directly before, as she never removed her armor, Mordred tightly wrapped her arms around Vahns neck, marveling at how big his back was. She identified as a man but, no matter how she looked at her own bodypared to Vahns, it was obvious that shecked the qualifications to make such a im... After hooking his hands under Mordreds knees, Vahn turned his head skyward before flexing his legs to the extreme and leaping into the sky with full power. Fortunately, as the training field was used by even the Knights of the Round Table in the past, it was heavily reinforced so his actions didnt even leave a small indentation in thepacted stone floor. As he leaped, Mordred began tough while clinging a little tighter to his neck, something that encouraged Vahn to pick up his speed as he began to zoom higher into the sky at amendable 400km/h. At this speed, he could reach Rin and Sakura in around an hour and, if he was serious, Vahn could make the trip in less than ten minutes if it was an emergency. This was, unfortunately, around the maximum amount of flight time he could manage with his current reserves. Even with his two crystals constantly replenishing his reserves, it was at a much slower rate thanpleted avatars so he limited by his own [Od Conversion]. At times like this, where he had virtually no use for his [Laces Key], Vahn almost wished he had used the [Skill Enhancement Scroll:SSS] on his [Od Conversion]. If he had obtained its evolved form, to the peak of the Record, he might have a functionally infinite amount of energy to make use of. At the very least, the replenishment of his reserves would be truly monstrous... Deciding to focus more on his flight, Vahn began to spin around and rapidly change direction a few times, each action eliciting a girlish squee or a peal of childishughter from Mordred. Her normal voice was simr to Artorias, albeit slightly huskier and brash, but that just made her sound adorable in her current form. She hadnt reached the age of puberty so her voice was much higher, matching her child-like figure and actual age well. Though it seemed to trouble her a bit when she was talking to other people, as she proactively tried to make her voice sound deeper, Mordred didnt seem to care about such things right now. She had even let go of his neck at one point but, as Vahn was flying parallel to the ground, she was able to sit up without too many problems as she spread her arms wide and pretended she was the one flying... With Avalon only being around 20km long and 17km wide, it didnt take all that long for Vahn to map out the entire Ind from above. He confirmed all of the things Astolfo had talked about and, after flying close to the periphery, Vahn was able to see an illusory barrier of sorts. Since he knew better than to try and pass through it directly, Vahn just flew around the periphery with Mordred sitting on his back with her palms ced against his shoulders. She had gotten tired of flying with her arms spread outward so she was just enjoying the view as the wind swept through her hair. He made sure to block most of the wind with his domain and, though she probably wouldnt care all that much, Vahn made sure the air around them was warm. It was currently around -3.5 degrees Celsius at ground level while the air temperature at an elevation of 500m decreased to an average of -8 degrees Celsius with a wind chill closer to -14 degrees. As a result, Mordred was enjoying the flight a lot more than she should have as, from personal experience, Vahn knew it wasnt all that pleasant to have your hair smacking you in the face and eyes when flying at high speeds... Since she had never flown before, Mordred wasnt considering any of the things that Vahn was doing to make the experience more pleasant for her. She was just wrapped up in the moment, doing her best to resist the strange urge to jump that would periodically appear within her mind. The ground seemed super far away but, at the same time, Mordreds intuition told her she would be okay even if she fell. She didnt know if this was because Vahn would catch her, or if she was simply durable enough to withstand the impact, but it gave her an almost overwhelming urge to just jump when she looked down for a few seconds. If not for the fact that Vahn was holding her ankles to prevent her from wiggling around too much, she very well might have, just to see what would happen... Unfortunately for Mordred, she was never afforded the opportunity to put her intuition to the test as, after flying around for around twenty minutes, Vahn changed course and began flying back towards the Ivory Castle. Even though he was controlling his speed, his reserves were starting to deplete and, even if they would both be fine if he transformed into his Xuanwu form, he didnt really want Mordred to get in the habit of thrill-seeking just yet. He could feel her wiggle around and bounce on his back periodically, almost as if she were trying to jump off, so he knew she would probably like skydiving in the future. Once she was more stable, he would reduce or even remove her seal outright and they could go y all over the world if she wanted to. As they neared the castle, Mordred leaned back against Vahns back and wrapped her arms around his neck once again, nuzzling against him a little more than he expected. When hended softly on the ground, she didnt immediately jump off his back and instead squeezed him a little tighter as she said, "Thank you, Chichihue..." After this, Mordred finally separated from him after Vahn kneeled down and let her free from his grasp. When he turned to look at her, Mordred was looking up at him with herrge green eyes as she asked, "You saw them, didnt you...?" Since he didnt even have to guess what she was talking about, Vahn simply nodded his head in response before reaching out his hand and gently stroking Mordreds head. Though she was about to ask what he thought about her past, Mordred could tell by the warm andfortable feelings flowing into her head what his answer would be. She felt a little choked up but, fortunately, managed to prevent any tears from surfacing. There had only been one time when she had cried in her entire life and, now that she had a chance to live for the first time, Mordred didnt want to waste her time crying. Instead, she looked around the area, even though they were in an isted part of the castle, before pouncing on Vahn and giving him the strongest embrace her little arms could manage. When he returned her embrace with his big and warm arms, Mordred had to bite her lower lip a little harder than she expected... --- After a lively meal with everyone but Scthach, Illya, and Heracles present, Vahn parted ways with everyone to go seek out his troublesome little sister. She had apparently been with Fenrir, Medusa, Circe, and Catherine for most of the day while Astolfo continued his exploration of the ind. When dinner was approaching, however, Illya ended up retreating back to her room once again. There was a chance she had wanted him toe pick her up again but, considering what little he knew of Illyas personality, it was more likely that she simply wasnt that hungry and wanted to take a nap before he showed up. He knew the probability of him sleeping in her room tonight was rtively high so Vahn exined the matter to Fenrir, Circe, and Medusa since they had undoubtedly nned to sleep in his room for the night. Having spent his day in a rather productive manner, even though he hadnt done any actual training, Vahn was in a pretty good mood when he lightly knocked on Illyas door. He actually had a n this time around and was curious to see how things would y out. Thus, when she opened the door and turned her ruby-red eyes up at him, Vahn smiled and said, "Good evening, Illya. May Ie in?" Though it would usually be her inviting him in, Vahn decided to take a bit of initiative since it would probably make her feel better. He could tell she was more than a little apprehensive and, though she put on a very strong front at times, Vahn knew it would make things easier for Illya if he took the lead and gave her less to worry about. After blinking a few times in surprise, Illya eventually returned a smile before opening her door and answering, "Please,e inside. I have been anticipating your arrival..." Though she had wanted to say more, Illya felt a little awkward since Vahn had taken the initiative from her. He even walked in without any hesitation, passing his eyes over the inside of her room in one motion before staring back at her and saying, "Sorry to keep you waiting. Ill try and make it up to you..." When he said, this, Vahn reached out his hand and lightly stroked Illyas head while she was still standing at the door. This caused her to flush slightly before quickly shutting the door and locking it behind her after a few fumbling attempts. She didnt know what Vahn had in mind but her heart was beating rapidly in her chest as she slowly turned around to stare into his smiling face... Somewhat against Illyas expectations, Vahn spent a bit of time helping her decorate and purchasing her a few nice outfits before they ultimately ended up on a sofa he had pulled out from thin air. She was leaning against his chest while Vahn, somewhat embarrassingly, was reading her a storybook that was floating in mid-air. At the same time, he held her in his embrace while lightly stroking her hands with his thumbs. Illya had a light blush on her face since this wasnt what she had in mind. However, as it was still a very pleasant experience, she didnt really want it to end either so she just rxed against Vahns warm body, allowing his heat to flow into her small and cold frame... This went on for more than two hours, to the point that Illya was beginning to get sleepy, even though she had taken a nap in order to stay upter. She didnt realize that Vahn had been slowly lulling her to sleep since, as much as he wanted to try something with Cath Palug, just spending time with Illya in peace and quiet would be ther.a.p.eutic for her. If he didnt take control of the situation, it probably wouldnt be long before Illya escted things to a dangerous point. He would rather dy that for as long as possible so, until she lost her patience, Vahn felt it was infinitely better for them to just bond like this. Eventually, Illyas head began to bob a bit, causing her to straighten out her body and p her own cheeks in an attempt to fight off the sleepiness. With this, Vahn knew that Illya already had ns of her own, causing him to produce a wry smile while she was still looking away. Much to his surprise, however, Illya jumped off the sofa before scampering over to a partition and disappearing on the opposite side. He could see she had a somewhat embarrassed expression on her face before but, just as he was beginning to wonder what she was up to, Vahns senses began sending off subtle rms in the back of his mind. Then, instead of Illya appearing, a shaggy-haired little girl withrge fluffy ears and purple eyes peeked around the partition. Realizing that Illya had only used the partition to strip down before transforming, much like Rin, Vahn couldnt help but release a light chuckle as he gestured for Cath Palug toe over. Before it moved from behind the partition, however, Cath Palug tilted its head to the side, ears flopping, as it asked, "Master...?" Understanding that it was acting on whatever Fenrir had taught it, Vahn just gave a small nod before patting the area next to him on the sofa. At the same time, he pulled out a small bead of crystallized blood since, for better or worse, Vahn knew that his blood was strangely sweet and delicious for others. This seemed to catch Cath Palugs attention as it stepped out from behind the partition. Instead of walking over, however, it had squatted down before bouncing over on all fours in an admittedly adorable manner that made Vahn feel all kinds ofplex emotions... Holding out the bead of blood without moving his hand, Vahn watched as Cath Palug sniffed it for a few seconds before opening its mouth to reveal sharp teeth. In an instant, the blood bead vanished from his hand as Cath Palug quickly chewed it up before swallowing it. Afterward, it held both of its cheeks with its fur-covered paws, a somewhat awkward smile on its face as it said, "Master~." Then, without any further hesitation, Cath Palug pounced onto hisp, confusing Vahn when it ced its paws on his chest and began moving them up and down without using its ws. It didnt take him long to realize that Cath Palug was asking him to pet it, causing Vahn to smile as he began to stroke its head and ears. In response to Vahn doing what it wanted, Cath Palug produced another awkward smile that Vahn was certain it had learned from Fenrir. He would talk to Fenrir about teaching it how to wear clothes in the future as, the sooner he didnt have to worry about a nearly n.a.k.e.d little girl pouncing on him, the better. Since there was a chance he could speed up the process, Vahn continued to dig into the area at the base of Cath Palugs ears, causing it to squint its eyes with a contented expression. At the same time, Vahn inspected Cath Palugs Magic Circuits and memorized the flow of its energy before changing his own race and appearance to emte its own. This caused Cath Palugs eyes to instantly open wide before tilting its head adorably to the side in confusion. Since Vahn didnt know if it could understand him, he just held up his own paw in a simr manner to Fenrir, an action it seemed to understand since it quickly mirrored him. Vahn remembered how happy Fenrir had been when he transformed into a Vanargandr so, if Cath Palug really wanted kin of its own, he could help to fulfill that role. Thus, though it was a little awkward, he sat with his paws linked with Cath Palugs as the adorable creature stared back with glittering purple eyes and a smile on its face. Its fluffy tail, which normally curled in a manner simr to a squirrel, began to flicker in periodically, causing Vahns smile to soften as his own as he flexed his paws a bit to squeeze Cath Palugs. Vahn was doing his best to understand Cath Palugs bodynguage but, just as he felt things were going rather well, it surprised him by opening its mouth wide and revealing its sharp teeth. Since it didnt have an aggressive look in its eyes, Vahn didnt know what to make of this behavior. He would quickly learn that Cath Palugs tail flickering wasnt exactly a good sign, however, as it suddenly brought its face closer to his body and began doing what Vahn could only construe as y biting. The bad thing about this action, which didnt seem intentionally malicious, was that Cath Palugs teeth were very sharp, much like Fenrirs had been in the past. It didnt take long for him to have a few puncture wounds on his chest and stomach and, feeling that it was a bad idea to outright stop him, Vahn caused Cath Palugs tail to waggle somewhat wildly as he followed his own instincts and lightly bit down on thetters shoulder. This caused Cath Palug to begin to wiggle around on his h.i.p.s excitedly before rubbing its face into his chest with a Fou~! Fou~! sound. Though he was somewhat remised about doing such things, Vahn opened up his Quest log before bringing up the [Taming the Beast] Optional Quest. Cath Palugs Love Parameter had increased from 17 to 73 since thest time he saw it so it was clear he had done something that it liked. Thus, as awkward as it was, Vahn gave another y bite on Cath Palugs shoulder, causing it to release another Fou~!" sound as its affection value jumped up to 75. It was clear that Cath Palug though that y biting was a good thing, causing Vahn to feel a little awkward since it almost felt like he was courting the small creature. When he pulled his mouth away, however, Cath Palugs expression turned somewhat fierce as it suddenly leaned forward and took an actual bite out of him this time. Fortunately, Scthachs training came in handy at times like this as, even though there was a sudden and intense searing sensation in his abdomen, Vahns expression didnt even flinch. Momentster, the wound hadpletely healed as he tried to calm down Cath Palug by petting it again. Instead of behaving, its only response was to flick its tail wildly as it batted away his hands and tried to bite him over and over. Vahn knew things had gotten out of hand as, within the Quest log, Cath Palugs affection was steadily reducing every time he blocked its attempt to bite him. With this being the case, Vahn grabbed its shoulders once again before y biting around its neck. This immediately caused Cath Palug to stop thrashing about as it released a mewling Fou~" sound. Vahn didnt really know whether tough or cry at this development but he found himself leaning towards thetter when Cath Palug wiggled its shoulder in his mouth as if it expected something. When he didntply, it seemed to understand his confusion as, without any hesitation, Cath Palug sunk its teeth into Vahns shoulder and took a sizeable chunk out in a single swift motion. Though he healed instantly, Vahn understood that Cath Palug seemed to want him to bite it for real, not just y biting. Though it made his stomach feel a bit queasy, Vahn bit down a little harder, causing Cath Palug to release a happy Fou~! in response. Since his intuition told him it would be very bad if he stopped now, Vahn literally gnashed his teeth as she took a very small bite out of Cath Palugs shoulder. This was met with Cath Palug trembling atop hisp as it nuzzled against his chest with a long and extended, Fooooou~ sound. Then, in the next moment, Vahn saw that the wound had instantly healed, bringing him both relief and a great deal of duress at the same time... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I believe I can fly~,Mordreds happiest day...,Fou-kun be like, "Eat me! I want you to do it...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1119 - Projection

Chapter 1119 - Projection

In an effort to keep Cath Palug from throwing a tantrum, Vahn was forced to go all-out against it while alternating to different sides of its shoulder and taking small nibbles. This was enough to keep it happily calling out Fou~ as he ran his hands up and down its sides with [Hands of Nirvana] in full effect. As a result, Cath Palug gradually stopped caring about being bitten as the amount offort and gradually building pleasure it was experiencing slowly became its main focus. As for Vahn, he was doing his best toe up with an excuse to give Illya when she finally took back control. She wouldnt have experienced it directly, and may not even understand what happened, but Vahn knew she would eventually figure it out based on context clues. He didnt even know exactly why Cath Palug had acted as it did, only that it seemed to really enjoy it... After a little more than ten minutes, Cath Palug had be like putty within Vahns hands, eyes drooping heavily with a contented look on its face. Though there was a mind-numbing heating from where their bodies ovepped, Vahn was able torgely ignore it as he picked Cath Palug up and dressed it in a nightgown and a pair of panties. This time, it actually raised its legs on its own, showing that Cath Palug was actually paying attention and learning, even in its absentminded state. Since it was likely near the peak of Tier 4, even in its sealed state, it wouldnt be too surprising for it to have some form of extra awareness, as that simply seemed toe with the territory of beings at their level. This realization allowed Vahn to understand that he needed to give proper aftercare, as Cath Palug would learn and imprint on his behavior, just as it emted Fenrir. Once Cath Palug was properly dressed, Vahn decided to reinforce the idea that wearing clothing was a good thing. Instead of lulling it into a deep slumber, he ced Cath Palugs head on hisp and began stroking its head and ears with his left hand while rubbing its back, side, and waist with his right,plete with sending thin strands of Source Energy into its body to stimte its Magic Circuits and cause it small amounts of pleasure. He knew better than to take things too far, especially after the unexpected and marginally traumatizing experience he just went through, but it would help Cath Palug learn quickly if it was rewarded for good behavior. At this point, Vahn was more or less trying to tame the problematic Beast of Gaia as, the quicker it stabilized and beganmunicating properly, the better it would be for everyone. Eventually, though Vahn eased it in several times slower than normal, Cath Palug eventually fell asleep while stretched across hisp, its belly turned up since it seemed especially fond of having it stomach rubbed. When its ears began to shrink away, apanied by its hair losing its shaggy quality, Vahn knew that Illya was regaining control so he stopped rubbing her belly and waited for her to collect herself. Her eyelids slowly peeled open to reveal their ruby-red color, zed over slightly since she was awash in the afterglow of Cath Palugs own pleasant feelings. He had never brought the creature to the breaking point, but thebination offort and pleasure was something few people ever got to experience. Though she was only experiencing what remained, Illya wasnt familiar with these types of feelings so there was visible confusion in her watery eyes, the only sound in the rooming from her slightlybored breathing. Since he knew it was unavoidable, Vahn released a small sigh before adopting an apologetic smile as he said, "Sorry, Illya...even I dont know what Cath Palug was thinking. I did what I could to keep it fromshing out..." These words seemed to stir Illyas memories as, the moment she processed what Vahn had said, her face became scarlet as she covered her face with both hands. This was a slightly different reaction than he anticipated, as it would have been perfectly normal for Illya to be a little freaked out by the fact he had literally bitten her a few times. He could tell by Cath Palugs reaction that it didnt actually experience pain from the biting but that didnt mean that Illya would be as enthused as the peculiar creature... After a while, though she still kept her face covered, Illya asked, "You really are willing to do almost anything to make Cath and me happy...arent you...?" This was also somewhat unexpected, causing a few warning signals to sound within Vahns mind as he bit the bullet and answered, "So long as you do not end up going down a dangerous path...happiness and indulgence are two different things. If you end up hating me for a short while, I would rather shoulder your ire for a few years if it meant you would be happyter in life..." Since he was a little worried that Illya might deviate in a strange direction, Vahn wanted to remind her that he was willing to be hated for a while if it would be better for her in the long run. As if she vehemently disagreed with something he said, Illya shook her head in denial, followed by her mumbling, "I cant hate you anymore..." Though she had been intending to exploit Vahns nature previously, Illya now realized he waspletely serious in trying to make her happy. This knowledge alone was enough to make a lot of her intentions fall to the wayside as most of the things she had in mind were just ways of testing him. Now, as shey across hisp, it felt like her body was burning up as all kinds of emotions she didnt know how to deal with were overwhelming her. She couldnt even look at him right now, the thought of making simple eye contact suddenly making her feel extremely giddy... Since he had gotten used to being able to sense the internal structure of Illyas body at this point, Vahn was aware of what she was going through as her brain lit up like a bunch of fireworks going off. He could feel her heartbeat going wild in her chest, causing his smile to soften as he began to lightly stroke her head while sending waves of calming energy into her body. Though she flinched at the unexpected contact, Illya made no attempt to stop him as she quickly realized what the invasive energy was doing. As a result, her breathing steadily calmed down and, as the red in her face faded away, Illya peeked through the gaps in her fingers to stare back at him. Vahn returned a gentle smile in response, causing her fingers to close up against as she released a light groan of embarrassment. --- Though it took quite some time, Illya had eventually calmed down enough to collect herself and behave rtively normally. After that, she asked him to stay with her and, after what he had done, Vahn knew he didnt really have much of a choice. Thus, while hugging Illya from behind, the twoid in her bed as thetter took nearly two hours to actually fall asleep. Vahn didnt actually require sleep, under most circ.u.mstances, so he just continued to hold Illya in his embrace while sending a subtle stream and undetectable energy into her abdomen. This is what ultimately helped her fall asleep as,pared to before, Illya was hyperaware of his presence and simply couldnt calm down on her own. He knew this was a sign that she was crushing on him pretty hard, a stark contrast to her previous behavior when she felt like she had control of the situation... When Illya awoke early the next morning, she spent a few minutes in silence, her heart rate slowly began to climb even without Vahn doing anything. Eventually, he decided to make the fact he was awake known to her, lightly kissing the top of Illyas head as he said, "Good morning, Illya." This was enough to get her to curl up and bury her face in her hands once again as she sheepishly answered, "Good morning, Onii-sama..." With that, Vahn released her from his embrace before sitting on the bed and making a point of stretching his body and yawning. Then, taking advantage of the fact the momentum was heavily in his favor right now, Vahn casually stated, "Its pretty early...how about we go and watch the sunrise together before breakfast? I have yet to see what the sunrise in Camelot is like...seems rather fantastical just thinking about it..." It seemed to take her a brief moment to understand what Vahn was suggesting but Illya eventually managed an awkward smile before answering, "Id like that..." Then, even though she wouldnt have chased him out previously, Illya made Vahn leave her bedroom while she got changed. In a way, it was a good sign that she was suddenly more bashful around him as anything that could dy their physical rtionship was a positive oue from Vahns perspective. Though Illya was twenty-eight years old, he would rather she mature a bit more physically before they do anything together. Since she had a greater sense of awareness after what happened the previous night, he was hoping she would open up more and start actually moving towards her happiness from now on. After a surprisingly long period of time, enough that they would have missed the sunrise in other areas of the world, Illya finally opened the door to her room, albeit just a crack. When Vahn looked back at her, she made a shy pouting expression before finally opening the door to reveal that she was wearing one of the outfits he had purchased for her the previous night. Since she an appearance like a masterfully crafted doll, indicating she would be an unbelievable beauty if she matured, Vahn had picked out a few outfits he thought would suit her. Illy seemed to have taken hispliments to heart as, instead of a thick coat and a scarf, as she always seemed to be cold, she was wearing a sleeveless white blouse with pink ents and ribbons on both her sides and around her neck. Toplement this, she wore a dark purple skirt that had a few extrayers, some for warmth, others for modesty as it ended a few centimeters above the knees. Beneath that, she had pink stockings that were a simr shade to the pink on her blouse and a pair of red shoes covering her rather small feet. It was obvious that Illya had a unique but stylish fashion sense, even though Vahn could see nearly every outfit he previously bought for her syed out over the bed... Deciding not to expose her, Vahn just smiled in response to Illys behavior as heplimented, "You look adorable. I think those clothes and that hairstyle suit you...it almost feels like youre a different person." Since Illya had tied up part of her hair with dark purple ribbons, creating two small twin-tails topliment her otherwise long and straight white hair, Vahn couldnt help butpliment her. He knew girls liked anypliments pertaining to their hair, especially when they went out of their way to style it before heading out. As a result, Illyas face beamed with a happy smile as she nodded her head in response before grabbing his hand and stammering, "L-lets go...we dont want to bete..." in a far more lively voice than in the past. --- Though watching the sunrise from one of the castles battlements would have been more than adequate, Vahn took things a step further by picking Illya up in a princess carry and ascending to the top of one of the Magus Towers. This gave them a view of the entire ind as the sun slowly crested over the horizon, breathing life into the previous cold and dark world. It was rather breathtaking and, as if it breathed life into her own small body, chasing away just a bit of the darkness shrouding her heart and mind, Illya managed a genuine smile as she held his hand, leaning against his shoulder until the sun had fully risen over the horizon. Afterward, without too many words passing between them, Vahn carried Illya down from the tall tower before they both went to breakfast, holding hands the entire way... --- After enjoying a breakfast that ran on a lot longer than normal, Vahn found himself in a secure room located next to the emptied Armory of Camelot, a ce that once held various treasures that would have easily qualified as Noble Phantasms. Though the ind had eventually forced everyone away with the Dragons Breath, that didnt prevent several individuals from cleaning out the castle of its treasures immediately following the Battle of Cann. Since Britain was already in a state of civil discord leading up to the final moments of King Arthur, it practically tore itself apart after the fact. If Mordred had been there to stand witness, she undoubtedly would have credited it to what she believed was the true nature of man. She believed that, without a leader, people were no better than cattle and sheep that needed to be shepherded just to avoid having them destroy themselves. Sadly, though Vahn didnt agree with her, it was hard not to form a simr conclusion when he saw the current state of the world... Since he would be one of the few shepherds in the future, Vahn knew he needed to consolidate his own power and enact policies that would allow people to thrive without leading to stagnation. His methods would have to be slightly different from those in Danmachi but, after butting heads with the other world powers for a few years, Vahn felt he would have a better idea of how he should proceed. For the time being, he needed to focus on creating the second Sub-Space Orb so, under the guidance of Merlin and the observation of Scthach, Vahn made small changes to the massive formation that used the Welsh Dragon as its core. Since it only used the ambient Mystery that leaked from the dragons body as a source, without draining the vitality and mana from it, Vahn didnt have any qualms about tying the formation of a Sub-Space Orb into it. With two semi-perfect and peerless individuals assisting him, Vahn was able toplete the process without a hitch before moving on to the production of the Orb itself. Fortunately, this part was much easier than normal as, after creating the basic structure of the Sub-Space Orb, Merlin took care of the rest himself. Reality projections were a derivative branch of [Illusionism] that could even be used to develop Reality Marbles if the person had a strong enough connection to their Origin. Since there were unlikely any beings aspetent with illusions as Merlin, who himself existed as a physical projection, Vahn was confident he would be able to manage without any issues... While watching Merlin work, Vahn recalled one of his previous conversations with the errant Magus, specifically the one where he had confronted him about the transluscency of his body at times. As he had expected, Merlin revealed that he wasnt actually manifested in the world as, even though he was able to exploit the gap created by Vahns arrival in the world, his body was still imprisoned back in the Reverse Side of the World. This was why, shortly after the Holy Grail War was brought to an end, Merlin had to leave their side temporarily. He had returned here to Camelot in order to establish an anchor to the world after the Greater Grail had been destroyed. Though he could still leave for a few days at a time, Merlin was currently bound to thisnd in much the same way as the Welsh Dragon... In a surprisingly short period of time, only twelve minutes, Merlin eventually removed his hand from the Sub-Space Orb, exining with a casual smile on his face, "It is done. Do you wish to try it out, Your Majesty~?" Since Vahn was actually very interested in what a projected reality was like, as his battle with Ozymandias was still fresh in his memory, he gave a curt nod before cing his hand on the Orb. In the next moment, Merlin and Scthach vanished from the surroundings while everything else remained virtually the same. Vahn understood it was actually him that vanished, as he could feel an incongruous feeling in his mind since his two jewels were still outside experiencing a much slower flow of time. After around half a minute had passed, Scthach and Merlin both appeared next to the projection of the Sub-Space Orb. Under normal circ.u.mstances, there wouldnt be a physical representation of a Sub-Space Orb within itself but, due to how this world was an almost perfect replica of the outside world it wasnt difficult to intuit that this second Orb would serve as the gate that allowed passage back to the outside. This waster confirmed by Merlin who exined that, with the exception of the summoning system, the Welsh Dragon, the flow of time, and a few other unique aspects that simply couldnt be formed by a projection, virtually everything else was the same. There was even a sun in the sky while the temperature of the outside air matched what was present back in the outside world. Though it would be a little strange seeing the sun take seven full days for a single day and night cycle within the Sub-Space Orb, Vahn was still truly awed by the amazing disy of Magecraft. Merlin even informed him that he would be able to interface with the ind-wide magic formation to essentially transfer between the real world and the protection at will... With the Sub-Space Orb finallypleted, serving as a near-perfect emtion of reality, the only people who didnt move inside were Paracelsus and Catherine. Though Vahn would make a gate in their shared Magus Tower, as it would still be extremely useful for them to grow herbs and other ingredients within the Sub-Space Orb, most of their time would be spent outside. Catherine wasnt in a hurry to age faster while Paracelsus was a man of unwavering principles that couldnt really be swayed without an extremely convincing argument. He treated the process of creating Homunculi with an extreme amount of reverence, knowing full-well he was creating a life, not a tool to be used. Vahn couldnt fault him for this, as he fully intended to treat the Homunculus with the same respect as other sentient creatures, so Paracelsus was left to his own devices as the Head of the Alchemist Order. --- As the creation of what Vahn was calling the Sub-Space Projection Orb took more than eleven hours, it was already after 7 PM in the outside world by the time everyone had moved in. With night falling upon the Sub-Space Projection Orb, a phenomenon that would persist for nearly three full days due to the seasons, Vahn found himself inside of Lakshmibais room. Nobunaga had also apanied him and, after she went out of her way to track him down, Circe showed up after he didnt return to his bed. They would need to install a few clocks around the castle that ran at seven-times the normal speed so everyone would be able to adjust to the time-dtion but Vahn didnt mind spending a long night together with the girls. He knew his training with Scthach was going to be particrly fierce so Vahn spent the better part of seven hours tending to Lakshmibai and Nobunaga, though not before sending Circe on her way after a long session of pampering and a bit of yful teasing from Nobunaga... With two buxom women ovepping his body, Vahn felt a feeling of contentment and release that was hard toe by. Though his most intimate moments were shared with Fenrir, that wasrgely due to their extreme familiarity and trust in each other. Vahn and Fenrir always knew how to make each other feel the best, something other girls couldnt really match. However, just like he would rx with Tsubaki and Hephaestus, Vahn always felt a sense offort when he was wrapped in the embrace of a woman withrge b.r.e.a.s.ts and a shapely figure. Their softness and warmth was simply something more petite girls couldnt match, allowing Vahn to rx more than he normally would. For smaller girls, it felt like he needed to restrain himself and take care of them while having Nobus and Lakshmibais bodies curling up against him made Vahn feel like he had few legitimate worries in the world... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Breaking down the barriers of the heart,The difference between skill and mastery,Vahn is slowly being traumatized by excessive exposure to lolis xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1120 - Balance

Chapter 1120 - Bnce

With the Sub-Space Projection Orb established, the only way Vahn could bnce his life was toe up with, at the very least, a loose schedule to follow. He needed to spend time being a good father to Mordred, taking care of Illya, and splitting himself between the girls based on the situation. Fortunately, with how the day/night cycle was split within the Orb, Vahn could split his focus so that he was training and spending time with Mordred and Illya during the day while, once night fell upon the Orb, Vahn would focus on learning and getting intimate with the girls. Though this wasnt set in stone, as it would obviously depend on the situation, it was the easiest temte to work from since the atmosphere within the castle varied greatly between day and night. When it came to his training, Vahn spent the majority of his time learning from Scthach, often spending upwards of ten hours at a time being beaten by her as, after his sess with [Laces Key], she never showed any openings. Now, though she had alternated between using her fists and spears int he past, Scthachpletely changed up her fighting style at times. She would use bows, scythes, ils, bo staffs, swords, daggers, and even katars to cut his body into ribbons. This was to ensure he was used to fighting against all kinds of different opponents instead of unterally getting used to being beaten in a specific way. On one asion, she had even used a set of ded pistols at close range to break through his guard before firing spherical bullets that had various effects into his body. The purpose behind this training was to allow him to counter different kinds of Magecraft on the spot as, much like Illya, Vahn had the ability to deconstruct Magecraft and prevent its activation. As a result, Scthach would embed various different spells into the bullets, giving Vahn only microseconds to react before his body would be torn apart by explosions, shocked to a charred state, or even frozen solid in an instant. She never once gave him any quarter and, the worst part of it all, Vahn knew she still wasnt going all out. Since he had believed her thrashing him in the past was her being serious, when it wasnt even a tenth of his current beatings, Vahn knew she was increasing her strength to prevent him from ever adapting to her current level... Fortunately, Mordred was never allowed to watch his training as it always took ce in a third Sub-Space Orb that had been created. In total, there were now three Sub-Space Orbs and seven Space-Time Orbs present around Avalon. The third Sub-Space Orb had been created specifically for training with Scthach, existing as another empty white space where there was no danger of damaging the surroundings. As for the Space-Time Orbs, five of these were used almost entirely for growing herbs and other useful ingredients, each having a dtion ratio of 100:1. Thesecked Memory Fragments to regte the space, meaning they were anchored using a five-elements formation, while the other two Space-Time Orbs had time dtion effects of 50:1, each with a version of Vahn and Fenrir within. Since Fenrir did a lot for him in the real world, she was the first person that crossed Vahns mind when it came to having apanion Memory Fragment. Though the purpose of the orb was for research and production, Vahn fully intended to download and update the Memory Fragments periodically so that he could expand his knowledge further. Since he wanted to avoid losing himself to feelings of loneliness and apathy, Vahn needed apanion to keep him focussed and allow him to rx. This would allow him to spend a lot of time with Fenrir and, even though it might not be the same quality as reality, they would eventually share thousands of years between the two of them... As a result of these changes, Vahn didnt spend nearly as much time with Fenrir in reality as, the more focused he was, the more emphasis she ced on her own duties. Unless he wanted to see her, she would always be off training, ying with Mordred, or spending time with Illya and Cath Palug. She also acted as a Big Sister to Medusa who, somewhat against expectations, became really good friends with Astolfo since she spent most of her time with Catherine. Though Medusa wanted to get stronger as well, she was going down apletely different route than Fenrir as, instead of pursuing the path of a Magic-Knight, she was focused entirely on being a True Mage. As a result, Medusa spent a lot of time studying with Catherine before expanding her circle to include Circe and Merlin. One of the things Vahn appreciated the most about his current situation was that everyone, for the most part, helped each other out. Though it was extremelymon for Magi to keep secrets and only care about themselves, even Tristana had exchanged knowledge with Medusa and Circe, albeit rarely. Of course, the two people literally everyone sought out for advice and knowledge were the duo of Merlin and Scthach. The former could be extremely roundabout, talking circles around the questions you wanted answers to, but he would eventually help you understand if you continued making an effort. As for Scthach, she was marginally more difficult to approach unless she thought you were worth teaching. For the Heroic Spirits, as they couldnt really increase their parameters and obtain new skills, she had no interest in even sparring with them. The only people she showed an interest in were Vahn, Fenrir, Medusa, Mordred, and, as a member of the Imperial Family, Illya. With her [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground], Scthach was suitable for teaching practically anything, including the method to obtain skills she herself couldnt emte. The only pre-requisite for learning from her was that, once you be her student, she had borderline sovereignty over your actions. If she wanted you to have a specific diet, or wake up at specific times, there was absolutely no room for debate. Though you were allowed to quit whenever you like, that would be the same as losing your value in the eyes of Scthach since it showed you simplycked the willpower to reach your full potential. After all, though she pushed you far beyond what you believed your limits to be, Scthach never pushed you beyond the breaking point. Thus, so long as you had enough willpower, there was no limit to the amount of growth you could achieve by studying under her... Of the people that Scthach was willing to teach, Medusa had onlysted a few hours before she ultimately quit. She had been given the task of inscribing a magical formation either one-thousand times or within five seconds. Though this in itself wasnt that difficult, Scthach would periodically flick you with a thin red switch, often drawing blood as a result. This was enough to break the focus of most people, especially someone whocked patience like Medusa. After that, Vahn was forced to console the pouting Gorgon, both after the lesson had ended and when Scthach refused to teach her a second time. Even if Medusa also had limitless potential, it didnt matter to her at all since she ced more focus on her own emotions than her desire to improve... Fortunately, Merlin was far more agreeable so, even after losing Scthach as a teacher, Medusa was able to pester him to teach her every now and then. Since the airy Magus had a penchant for cute things, he wasnt able to hold out long whenever Medusa invaded his tower and refused to leave without learning something new. As a result, though her progress wasnt all that remarkable, Medusa was steadily growing stronger in her own way. The most important thing was that she was learning and having fun, at least from Vahns perspective. Though he might need Medusa to increase her strength at some point, the main reason Vahn had brought her with him was to observe her hidden Innate. He still had the distinct impression that Medusas fate was somehow linked to him through an Innate, even though there wasnt even the subtlest fluctuation of Fate around her body... When it came to Innates, Vahn knew there was no end to the amount of research he could put into them without fullyprehending them. The only thing that was absolute was that they were linked to the soul yet, even if there were infinite instances of a person with the same Innate, each could have subtle differences. Ultimately, the only thing that seemed to matter was the individuals understanding of their Innate as, so long as it was within theirprehension, there were seemingly infinite ways in which Innates could manifest. As even The Path wasnt able to see through them, even though it was an existence beyond Tier 9, Vahn could intuit that Innates were the product of something on the same level as The Path itself... With that in mind, Vahn actually spent a great deal of effort on training his own Innates, using his [Will of the Emperor] and [Eyes of Truth] almost constantly throughout the day. As for things like [Rakshasa Body] and [Keeper of the Akashic Tome], Vahns reserves couldnt sustain prolonged use of the former while thetter had only been useful for test-naming a pendant he had forged back when he was working Rins bas.e.m.e.nt. Since it was actually his most Source Energy-intensive skill, Vahn had only been able to elevate the pendant to the B-Rank, meaning it was around A-Rank if going by the standards of Danmachi. Though this wasnt that bad, Vahn had been going for S-Rank yet had ultimately failed to achieve it. Now, his Od was steadily increasing and, with the time dtion of the Sub-Space Projection Orb, Vahn was intending to get some use out of it when he tries to produce equipment of simr grade and quality to a Noble Phantasm. One of the things Vahn wanted to try was reproducing Artorias [Excalibur] and, though it was a bit ambitious, the key that was used to ess the [Gate of Babylon]. Even if he couldnt steal Gilgameshs [Gate of Babylon] itself, having ess to a simr ability to essentially weaponize his Inventory was something that fascinated Vahn more than a little. Though the speed left something to be desired, Vahn felt he would be able to improve upon this weakness by using [Primordial Rune] Magecraft to multiply the speed and momentum of objects in motion. He already had some marginal sess by pulling swords out of his Inventory but it was difficult to control the orientation of items ced into his Inventory without setting them in certain positions when he ced them inside. It was significantly different from the golden spatial gates that were produced by the [Gate of Babylon] so Vahn knew he had a bit of work ahead of him. Fortunately, with the knowledge he had obtained just by having ess to the key for a short period of time, Vahn was confident he would be able to pull it off if given enough time... --- In what felt like the blink of an eye, nearly three months had passed within the Sub-Space Projection Orb, equating to just over two weeks since the end of the Holy Grail War. Vahn found himselfying on a slopped hill beneath the canopy of an apple tree, one of the mostmon types of trees on the ind of Avalon. He was rxing with his hands behind his head, enjoying the warm rays of the sun shining down from above, even though the air temperature made it very clear that it was Winter. This didnt really bother him at all and, based on how she was drooling on his chest with a silly smile on her face, it didnt seem to bother Mordred either. She had really embraced being a child over thest couple of months and, though she trained hard every day to be a Knight, the times they spent together as father and daughter had been increasingtely. Though she still had a slight preference for her mother, the fact that thetter always forced her to train hard, while Vahn often yed with her, had slowly been shifting the odds in his favor... Seeing the happy face of his sleeping daughter as she lightly clung to his tunic, Vahn couldnt help but smile as he allowed the gentle breeze, made warmer by his domain, to wash over them. The only int he had about Mordred was, after realizing she could get away with quite a bit, she had defaulted to wearing form-fitting shorts, often with a cut, punk-rock style, while her tops usually consisted of a loose camisole or a tank-top. Though he had convinced her to wear sports bras and tube tops underneath, Mordred never liked wearing restrictive clothing and even ran around without shoes on more often than not. She reminded him a lot of how Fenrir used to behave in the past, a fact that brought the two wild girls together as Mordred considered Fenrir her best friend. They would even take naps together, cuddled up in a sunny area within the castle, much like what he and Mordred were doing right now... There were only two things that could make Vahn happier right now, excluding having Rin, Sakura, and Graying to stay with him. He finally had an understanding of how often the Summoning System could be used, at least without a catalyst to reduce the interval. The standard cooldown was a startling three years in real-time, meaning twenty-one years within the Sub-Space Projection Orb, while the only reliable means to reduce the amount of time was to use something on the leve of the [Divine Energy Cube] he had been given by Akasha. This could instantly reduce the amount of time, something she had likely taken into consideration when giving it to him in the past. Because of this, Vahn was able to quantify how much a Heroic Spirit cost from the perspective of OP, making a single summon worth around 2,000,000,000OP. One of the things Vahn needed more than anything right now was a means to increase the amount of OP he was able to earn, something that was surprisingly difficult even though he was in a Tier 5 Record. The only reliable means seemed to be striking a deal with Akasha and her superiors or, acting as the second biggest issue he was facing in the present, getting the help of ya. After a series of rather peculiar events, Vahn now had a good idea of how much each of his body parts and their constituent biomass were worth. He also knew that his s.e.m.e.n had a startling 300 times the amount of manapared to his blood, making it only marginally less valuable than outright exchanging his heart or brain to ya for Magical Energy. His heart had been worth around 400 times the amount of his blood, by volume, while his brain had beaten it out by having an exchange rate of 418 times blood alone. Since it wasnt exactly viable to continually produce brains and hearts for ya to process, the most cost-effective and efficient means was to give ya his s.e.m.e.n. Using a manner simr to what he had previously used with Scthach, however, proved that there was a significant reduction in the energy contained within the vital fluid. His mentality and intentions seemed to considerably affect the potency of his s.e.m.e.n, much like how his blood was more effective when he was happy during the time he was still imprisoned in his first life. With ya taking in concentrated spheres of s.e.m.e.n or sucking on his finger, the ratio was reduced to between 60-100, making it three-to-five times less efficient than more direct means. However, this was still far more efficient than having her suck his blood so Vahn had created a specialized pouch with a vein that ran near his neck. ya wouldtch onto his neck in much the same way as before, sucking a c.o.c.ktail of blood and s.e.m.e.n from his shoulder with a persistence that would make a leech blush... Though he had gotten used to her presence, Vahn was also troubled by ya as it almost felt like she was slowly bing a part of him after more than three months together. During the moments they were separated, Vahn would have the strangest feeling that something was wrong as he rolled his shoulder to release tension that didnt go away until shetched onto him again. Even now, as he looked down at Mordreds sleeping face with a smile, Vahn had a small blue furball tucked into the nape of his neck, even smaller than she had been in the past. She looked like a baby squirrel that wastched onto his neck like a pup suckling a teet. Her eyes were closed as if she was very focused on the process, at least until she knew Vahn was paying attention to her. During moments like this, Vahn could see her glowing violet eyes silently asking, Do you need something? as if he was the one bothering her... Of the two things Vahn needed a solution to, dealing with ya was a slightly higher priority as he had a growing urge to just be separated from her again. Even if he knew it was for the best that she continued to drain his bodily fluids, as more Magical Energy meant more potential uses, Vahn felt like he was developing a strange dependency on her. His body would feel colder when she wasnt near and he was always aware of his movements so as not to disturb her too much or dislodge her from her perch. The only asion in which this incongruity went away was whenever he was training with Scthach as, during moments like that, he simply had no time to think about such things... The worst part of his current situation was that Vahn could rationalize things in a way that had him having s.e.x with ya, potentially increasing the efficacy of his s.e.m.e.n beyond 300:1. Since he could extend his ejaction virtually without end, having her intake his s.e.m.e.n directly for a few hours each night would be the same as having hertched to his shoulder for the whole day. He had even suspected that she had skewed the numbers a bit to make this apparent but, as his own analysis with Sis had confirmed things, Vahn knew it was the truth. Unless he could alter his mentality to ce just as much emphasis on having s.e.x as having her suck fluid from his neck, it was impossible to bring the potency to the same level. It was all a mental thing but, as Vahn simply couldnt ce the two on the same level, for various reasons, there was no simple solution to the problem... Though Vahn had increased the rate of Magical Energy transferred to ya from around 200,000 per hour to around 12,000,000 per hour, it was still a far cry from the potential 60,000,000 he could be transferring. As he grew stronger, this number would increase and, if he ced more emphasis on the exchange, it was possible to greatly increase the exchange rate. This would, however, require him to actually develop feelings for ya but, as she fundamentallycked the means to reciprocate such things, it would always be a one-sided dependency on his part. He had even tried to use his [Hands of Nirvana] on her previously but, unless she let him affect her, ya had no reaction at all. Then, just as quickly, she could dismiss what little progress he had made the moment she determined there was no longer any value in continuing. As a result of yas unique nature and constitution, Vahn knew that anything between them would almost be akin to him having emotionless s.e.x with a doll. He felt this would pervert his experiences with the other girls, especially if he was sacrificing time that could have been spent with them just for the sake of efficiency. Since ya already had now stored around 22 billion units of Magical Energy on his behalf, a number that was both massive and infinitesimally too small, Vahn found himself unable to make a decision. As a result, ya continued to leech off his shoulder while, as much as possible, Vahn pretended she didnt exist. Though this reduced the efficacy of the transfer even further, he would rather focus on his happiness rather than dealing with a source of potentially infinite stress. Fortunately, Vahn had plenty of sources for happiness and, even though twenty-one years was a long time, it wasnt as if he needed to summon more Heroic Spirits. Increasing his power and spending time with everyone he was currently involved with was more than enough for the present. As he began to get involved with the affairs of the Mages Association and the Holy Church, Vahn felt that most of his problems surrounding the Summoning System and ya would gradually resolve themselves. The Clock Tower was apparently built atop the corpse of a mountain-sized True Dragon that had tried to dig its way through to the Reverse Side of the World in the past. As a result, there was a structure not all that dissimr to the Dungeon of Orario located beneath the Clock Tower, filled to the brim with progressively more powerful monsters the deeper you went... In much the same way, the Holy Church had a trial ground that was used to help train prospective members of their Exorcism department. By sealing away powerful Daemons throughout history, regardless of whether or not they were good or bad, there were a lot of deeply rooted grudges and living curses located in their trial grounds. As a result, various demons and other forms of pseudo-spirits like ghosts would manifest in the area, allowing Exorcists to practice their Sacraments, the most powerful form of Thaumaturgy in the world due to the Holy Churchs influence. By using verses that were powerful by faith and conviction, they were able to kill demons and spiritual entities using nothing more than words and holy-elemental Magecraft that they imed to be divine providence. Vahn knew there were several Spiritual Lands located all over the world so, once he entered open conflict with the current powers of the world, it would be possible to secure a few for himself. He had no doubt that things like monsters, demons, and spirits would be able to grant him OP while also providing him a means to gather resources and train. Since he had been able to bestow his blessing on Rin, Fenrir, Medusa, Mordred, and even Illya, Vahn knew they would be able to increase their strength considerably if they fought against enemies and gained experience. Even though he was in a different world, the blessing should work in a rtively simr way as, much like all forms of thaumaturgy, such things were strengthened by belief. Since Vahn knew his blessing worked, there was absolutely nothing to prevent anyone with his blessing from bing much stronger than normal, in a significantly reduced time. After all, even more so than something like the Welsh Dragon, he could be considered his own source of Mystery, rivaling other gods even without an active Divinity... (A/N: Alternate Titles: This chapter feels like a fever dream) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1121 - Productivity

Chapter 1121 - Productivity

Due to the fact that Paracelsus spent most of his time outside of the Sub-Space Projection Orb, the only time Vahn ever saw the pacifistic Magus was when he directly went to visit. Since every second spent with Paracelsus was an investment of seven seconds, things had never developed to the point that Vahn could truly consider the man his friend. His dream of having a guy friend he could just hang out with still seemed to be a far off goal as both Merlin and Astolfo had more than their fair share of quirks. As a result, Nobunaga could be considered his closest malepanion yet, more often than not, that atmosphere would change between them toward the very end when she ended up getting triggered and wanting a bit of affection... Vahn currently found himself following behind Tristana as thetter led him up the Magus Tower she and Paracelsus had imed for themselves. Along the way, they passed several rather stylish looking golems that had a glossy ck sheen with ents of gold. Though they were far removed from the appearance of humans, it didnt seem strange for them to be wandering the castles grounds as they went about the process of cleaning every nook and cranny with precision and focus humans simply couldnt manage unless they somehow had an Innate rted to cleaning. With Paracelsus creating upwards of twenty per day, so long as he had the requisite materials, there were already close to 150 stylish golems that had been programmed to upkeep the castle. After passing through a heavily enchanted wooded door, Vahn found himself inside the top of the tower, a room almost precisely 10m in diameter. Paracelsus was nowhere to be seen but, if you were to observe the corner of the room, you could see a mirror that was covered in runes. Instead of reflecting their image, however, Vahn could see the profile of a man with long ck hair standing in front of arge tank of emerald green liquid as he periodically twitched, appearing to moving several times faster than normal, even as he performed casual movements. Since this was indeed the case, and Vahn had seen it before, he wasnt all that surprised when Tristina walked through the mirror, sending ripples across its silvery surface as if it was more of a liquid than a solid. Mirrors were one of the oldest Magical Tools that had ever been created, making them one of the most stable means of creating portals to link sub-spaces and other dimensions. Since even normal people believed that mirrors were somewhat mystical, to the point that it wasmon for children to y games with them, they were the first option when Merlin wanted to establish gateways between reality and the Sub-Space Projection Orb. Now, so long as it was inscribed with the proper sequence of runes, it was theoretically possible to ess the Orb from anywhere on Avalon, so long as there was a matching mirror on the other side. Following closely behind Tristana, feeling as though he was passing through a thinyer of ice, Vahn found himself in Paracelsus Atelier as the Alchemist turned to him and gave a polite bow, stating, "Wee, Your Majesty. It is my honor to see you in good health." Vahn gave him leave to raise his head with a hand gesture before looking at the three tanks that Paracelsus had lined up side-to-side. Currently, suspended within the very center of the tanks, there were microscopic sources of vitality that were wrapped up in a thin membrane of organic matter that was linked to several tubes at the base of the tank. The process for creating a Homunculus was very simr to gestating an actual human being, at least using the method that Paracelsus incorporated. It was easy to see why he would treat them as precious lives that deserved his full attention as, in more ways that one, Paracelsus was essentially the father of the developing Homunculi... Seeing Vahns attention drawn to the tanks, Paracelsus had his usual smile on his face as he ced his palm against the center tank and exined, "They are still in a nascent and highly malleable state but they are already alive. Everything from their s.e.x, appearance, and the structure of their Magic Circuits can still be decided but everything else is up to their fate. I hope these three will be my assistants so that I might ease Tristanas burdens a little..." These words caused Tristana to avert her eyes with a light blush on her face as she muttered, "Idiot..." in a low voice. She had offered her own eggs as a catalyst, one of the reasons many Alchemists kept female assistants, so it wasnt a stretch to say the three in the tanks were her children. Though she would have never seen them as such in the past, Paracelsus had been rubbing off on her in various ways... Understanding that the two hadnt just been focusing on their research during the previous two weeks, Vahn had a smile on his face as he stated, "If you need anything at all, just let me know and Ill try and provide it." Though the Homunculi were already going to be of a much higher quality than normal, as they would use [Philosophers Stone]s as their core, Vahn couldnt deny that he was more than a little interested in helping out where he could. Since he even had an active Quest to create life himself, something that seemed surprisingly easy in the Nasuverse, he was intending to make Homunculi of his own in the future. This could make his life a little moreplicated, as they would, in a way, be his own children, but Vahn was prepared to treat them well, even if they were born with a purpose. If he didnt intend to make them for such things, it would be better to simply have actual children with the girls he was slowly but surely falling deeply in love with... --- After listening to Paracelsus talk about the Homunculi for a little over an hour, Vahn gave him all the materials he would need to help them fully develop before returning back through the mirror. This trip and been very informative but had ultimately eaten up an additional six hours of his time, one of the few troublesome things he would have to get used to when dealing with Paracelsus. Since the man didnt care about his title of Count at all, it was impossible to pressure him with Vahns own status as an Emperor. People that were fullymitted to their ideals, to the point they were fully willing to face death, were bothmendable but extremely troublesome to deal with. This little trip had eaten into Vahns own rxation time so, with a heavy heart, he made his way to the small room that housed his own Sub-Space Orb. Even before Vahn entered inside, his eyes had already sharpened as, from the very moment his feet touched down in the empty white space, his training had begun. His focus reached a point where even the subtle fluctuations of mana couldnt escape his perception. At the same time, his domain shrunk down to around 50m in diameter, the space within bingpressed in a way that would make it extremely difficult for anyone but himself to move. As all this happened, a red shell, equivalent to a 22mm anti-tank round bore through his domain at close to ten times the speed of sound. This wasnt too impressive a speed, meaning Vahn could easily dodge it, but that kind of mentality often ended badly for him in previous instances... Instead of dodging, Vahn extended his palm outward and made a fiveyer [Reflexio] magic barrier while, at the same time, analyzing the runes covering the surface of the projectile. By the time it mmed into his first barrier, Vahn knew it had prative properties so he twisted his body as the shell broke through all fiveyers with extreme ease. In the same motion, he grabbed the projectile out of the air before tossing it to the side, now inert since he had stripped away the runes that would have served as the trigger for a pyrostic explosion. While the shell was still in mid-air, several more rounds had broken into his domain, this time having a variety of different colors, some going for him while two were obviously intended to strike the shell he had tossed aside. Knowing it was a bad idea to stay in the area, Vahn blinked away with [Shundo] as several magical explosions rippled through the space he had previously upied. Then, like an immaterial phantom, Vahn zig-zagged along the ground and through the air as he closed the distance between him and the distant Scthach. She was using a massive rifle that was more than 3m in length from a distance of more than 10km away while supporting herself in mid-air with reddish-purple chains that came out of the void in a simr way to his [Enkidu]. Though she couldnt copy his Noble Phantasm, she was capable of producing functionally anything through the use of her [Gae Bolg Alternative] and the [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground] skills. It might only have a rank between B+ and A, but that was more than enough when it was Scthach using the weapon... As Vahn drew closer to Scthachs location, his body instinctually tensed up as a massive array seemed toe into existence just as his foot touched down around 3km from her location. In less than a microsecond a 500m wide formation that had several massive [Primordial Runes] serving as the basis for its structure lit up with a blood-red light beneath him. Immediately following this, Vahn was smashed into the ground as the surrounding gravity increased by around three-hundred times in an instant. It felt as if each blood cell in his body became like a small boringser as it ripped through his crumbling flesh and bones in an instant before spreading out across the ground. Then, punctuating the fact he had fallen for her trap, several shells rained down from the sky as the tore apart both Vahn and the massive formation without discriminating between the two... With a multi-colored mushroom cloud in the distance, sending out several shockwaves that passed over her body without even causing her to flinch, Scthach dismissed therge rifle she had been using before pulling out two hand sickles that were linked together by a red chain. They had nearly ten meters of ck between them, making it almost impossible for a normal person to use, but Scthach just swiped with one sickle, causing the chain to seemingly levitate around her body as she threw the second one outward with enough force to cut through the air, leaving a red and ck streak in its wake. From the edge of the massive explosion, Vahn had burst out of the cloud of debris wearing nothing but a pair of ragged shorts and wielding two ck gauntlets on his forearms. The sickle intercepted his rush just outside of its effective range but Vahn was able to deflect it to the side without much difficulty. This wasnt the end of the attack, however, as there was already a small ripple passing along the length of the chain that made the sickle curve back, tracing an arc towards Vahns neck from behind. He had already seen through this attack, flipping forward to kick the sickle high in the sky as he pressed off the ground with both hands, twisting through the air as he attempted to kick Scthach in the face. She almost casually stepped to the side, using the curved de of the sickle to hook around the top of Vahns foot, cutting half of it off in the process. He outright didnt react to this at all as, by the time his foot reached the ground to serve as a pivot, it had already regrown as he twisted his h.i.p.s like a whip in an attempt to sweep Scthachs legs. Jumping back just outside of Vahns range, Scthach then stepped back in with the motion of his attack, nting her foot on the side of his leg and pressing her weight down in and attempt to snap it. Vahn flowed with the momentum of his own attack, changing the angle of his knee slightly so that Scthach was stepping into the soft tissue instead of the side of the joint. This was answered by her stepping in and trying to cut his head off with her sickle but Vahn managed to push her back by sending ck spikes out from his back, using his ability to change the shape and structure of his body as a weapon. Though he might not be able to upkeep his [Rakshasa Body] for very long inbat, there was almost nothing preventing him from changing his appearance to suit the situation since the only thing it required was an image. As this wasnt the first Vahn had changed form against her, Scthach managed to step back with only one of the spikes lightly grazing her bodysuit. This was, in a way, a small victory for Vahn so, when she was done thrashing him, Scthach would undoubtedly give him something like ap pillow or tightly embrace him as he recovered. This was infinitely better than the punishments she woulde up with so, even though Vahn was still perturbed by her behavior, he hade to appreciate her gentle moments when he performed well. He knew this was her intention from the start, serving as a means to motivate him further, but that didnt really alter his perception of the events all that much... --- For the better part of ten hours, Vahn fought a futile but ultimately productive battles against Scthach as he was inarguably more powerful now than when he first arrived in the Record. Not only had his Od increased to a value of 7,590, but his parameters had all increased marginally while his skills and magecraft were steadily improving. It felt like the day when he might actually be able to fight as equals against Scthach wasnt all that far away, even though he also couldnt really imagine ever reaching that point. All he could do right now was enjoy the feeling of her cleaning his ears as he used her plump and warm thighs as a pillow. He had managed to singe her a bit with a close-range explosion so,bined with the small cut he had left on her bodysuit, Vahn had done very well ording to this peculiar Teacher of his. As a result, he was getting a bonus reward by having herb through his hair with her hand while using a soft and flexible brush to clean the inside of his ears... After spending about ten minutes cleaning both of his ears, Scthach lightly tapped Vahns shoulder, causing him to almost immediately jump to his feet before she could unceremoniously toss him aside or drop his head against the ground. Following this, Scthach rose to her own feet before lightly wiping her thighs as she said, "Keep working hard." With that said, Scthach vanished from the Sub-Space Orb without another word, leaving Vahn alone as ya came down to hover next to him. In the past, she had asked if he liked being beaten up by women and offered her services in that regard, the very same incident that had resulted in his failure to use [Hands of Nirvana] against her. At the time, he had been tempted to tell her that he would have been happier if she reacted better but, knowing she would just be pretending, Vahn opted to remain silent... With ya now firmlytched onto his shoulder, Vahn left the Sub-Space Orb behind to enjoy his eight hours of rxation. During his day cycle, Vahn would spend around fifty hours training and forty hours either rxing, ying with his daughter, or spending time with Illya. Since he had lost the opportunity earlier, Vahn made his way over to Mordreds room as, ording to the actual time, both she and Illya were likely sleeping. This didnt really matter all that much, however, as Vahn had free ess to their rooms, both as an Emperor and because they had given him permission. After traveling for a short while, Vahn opened the door to Mordreds room, seeing her oversized bed and the little girl rubbing her eyes sleepily as she sat up to see who was entering her room. When she saw it was her father, Mordred knew that he hade to pick her up so her sleepiness had been dashed away in an instant as she crawled out of her bed and slipped into the same clothes she had been wearing before going to bed. She had a habit of sleeping n.a.k.e.d so Vahn had turned his head until she had jumped on his back from behind and said, "Lets go~!" in an excited voice. Though he was tempted to tell her to change into a cleaner set of clothes, disciplining Mordred was something expected of him only when she did something especially naughty. The rest of the time, it was Artoria who lectured and tried to correct her rather uncouth and udylike mannerisms. Carrying Mordred piggyback for a few meters, Vahn lightly knocked on the door located a little further down the hallway. It didnt take long before Artoria opened the door, revealing her figure in a long and rather tame white nightgown,plete with blue ribbons. A light blush had already spread across her face, as Vahn was the only one who would knock on her door during resting hours, but it faded away quickly when she saw Mordred with him. Instead, Artoria gave an affectionate smile as she opened up the door and said, "Please,e in." Vahn gave her a polite nod while Mordredughed mischievously from his back. Matters between men and women werent remotely unfamiliar to her, even though she had never experienced them directly, so she understood that her mother essentially had cold water poured over her head. This made it feel like she had pulled a sessful prank on her, something Mordred had been attempting rather often as ofte... Though she hadnt minded Mordredsughter all that much, it still caused Artoria to scrutinize her a little more than she otherwise would have. She noticed that Mordred was wearing the same clothes as before she went to bed, causing Artorias face to sour as she snatched the rambunctious girl kicking and screaming from Vahns shoulders. This wasnt even remotely the first time such an event had happened, allowing Mordred to understand that the jig was up. She was dragged back to her room by Artoria for a good twenty minutes, likely receiving a lecture, before appearing back wearing a very familiar set of pajamas. Vahn couldnt help but smile with a somewhat silly expression on his face as he mused, "What an adorable little tiger cub~." Ever since Nobunaga had made thement about Artoria being a tiger mom, Vahn had given her the idea of punishing Mordred by having her wear a set of animal pajamas that made her look like a tiger. It even came with a hood that had two rounded ears and a long plush tail that drooped almost pathetically from the fabric around Mordreds backside. She had a deeply set frown on her red face but, after being pushed forward by Artoria, Mordred crawled into bed before pouncing on Vahn with an admittedly adorable Rawr~! sound. The moment she was outside of her mothers domain, Mordred seemed to transform into a yful child that wanted her fathers affection. Seeing this, Artoria shook her head in mild exasperation before walking around to the side of the bed and crawling in alongside them. Vahn had made a habit of sleeping with the two of them if his own break coincided with the time they would normally be resting. This had brought the three of them much closer together as, after a bit of ying, Mordred sprawled out between them as Vahn and Artoria nked her from the sides. Then, when she finally fell asleep, Vahn decided to tease Artoria a bit by mentioning, "Id like to see what you like in tiger pajamas...seeing a tiger mom and her cub cuddling up might just cause my heart to explode..." This immediately caused Artorias face to turn red but, instead of refusing, she bashfully averted her eyes and muttered an almost silent yet affirmative Nn.... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is cursed to never have bros (T ^ T)...,Yes, I managed to barely nick her bodysuit! Progress...!,Tiger mom approves) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1122 - Trying Times

Chapter 1122 - Trying Times

A stark contrast to the warm andfortable atmosphere that permeated the almost empty Ivory Castle, a cold and stuffy atmosphere was present within arge forum filled to the brim with various affluent and reputable Magi. Only those of a certain amount of status were able to upy the long rows of seats that surrounded a set of low chairs and podiums at the center of the chamber. They would stand as witness to the trials held by a Tribunal of Magi selected from the various Department Heads through what was supposed to be a random selection. However, fairness was thest thing on the mind of the woman sitting at the very center of an elevated tform that was raised even higher than the viewing stands. She had sleek brown hair, styled in a neat ponytail, and cold brown eyes that showed absolute contempt for the people gathered below... Fortunately, even for someone as influential and haughty as Barthomeloi Lorelei, the woman presiding over the trial of Lord El-Melloi and Rin, she wasnt able to strongarm the system to get the other two Judges on her side. Though she had been able to pressure the Director to get her own name confirmed as a Judge, her two counterparts had been selected from the Democratic and Neutral Factions respectively. She had originally tried to get Lord Sophia-Ri on her side, as he held a deep resentment towards Lord El-Melloi II after thetter married his arranged fiance, Reines El-Melloi Archisorte. The original purpose of their engagement was only meant to further cripple the young Heiress but, after seeing the young girl slowly transform into a beautiful woman, Lord Sophia-Ri had developed a possessive mentality toward her. As he was also considered one of the most coveted and handsome men within the Clock Tower, the fact she had slighted him to marry her own adoptive brother was a smear on his honor he would not soon forget. Instead of her desired ally, Barthomeloi Lorelei now had to put up with the troublesome Ro Belfaban, a member of the Neutral Faction and the Head of the Department of Summoning. He was an entric and carefree man who had been the Department Head for over sixty years at this point, leading many to refer to him as the remnant of the old guard. From all ounts, he had been an old man even before his tenure at the Clock Tower but, as he had collected several hundred Mystic Codexes and Summoning Catalysts over the decades, many simply assumed he had one that allowed him to persevere despite rumors iming he was well over one-hundred years old. To make matters even worse, he was a known associate of Lord El-Melloi II, even though there were few who would im them to be more than simple acquaintances... Adding to her headaches, and the primary reason things had been drawn out for nearly two weeks at this point, was the identity of the third Judge. He was a handsome man with soft-blond hair that bordered on being white, possessing clear and gentle eyes of simr color and quality. There was always a smile stered on his face, even though the Department he Headed, Astronomy, was considered one of the dying Thaumaturlogical principles. This didnt stop him from enjoying a powerful status, however, as he was both the Lord of the Animusphere family and the leader of the Democratic Faction. As a result, he was the man Barthomeloi Lorelei hated more than anyone else, to the point she would often curse his name, Marisbury Animusphere, when she was frustrated. Since he just took this in stride, maintaining his smile through any kind of trouble, Barthomeloi Lorelei hated him even more... When the trial had first begun, Barthomeloi Lorelei had wanted to have Lord El-Melloi II stripped from his title, as she believed a moner should have never been granted such an honor, while Rin was to be ced in confinement and given a Sealing Designation. Though there were rumors that Sakura Matou had survived the destruction of the Makiri, these were mostly unsubstantiated ims that were hard to verify. As a result, Rin was considered thest surviving Tohsaka and, as both she and Sakura had been candidates for a Sealing Designation in the past, her recent high-profile actions could be used as a justification to keep her from drawing even more attention to the existence of Magecraft... Unfortunately, all of the crimes she attempted toy at Rins feet had been counter-argued by Lord Animusphere each and every time. When asked to provide credible evidence that could be used to justify any punishments against Rin, everything had been proven circ.u.mstantial at best. Since Rin had actually remained rtively low-key during the Holy Grail War, with Vahn doing most of the actual fighting, there wasnt really anything they could pin on her besides being associated with a high-interest target who, in much the same way, had no actual crimes pinned on him just yet. As a result, Barthomeloi Lorelei had been trying to sway the audience in her favor by making a few promises behind the scenes but, as Lord Animusphere cited their ownws, followed by asking if the Barthomeloi family no longer regarded such things as sacred, she could only grit her teeth while trying to draw things out. Ultimately, the only person that could truly be held ountable for what had happened during the Holy Grail War was Lord El-Melloi II himself. However, as there was an extreme amount of evidence showing that the Holy Church had intervened,bined with the fact several unexpected variables had appeared during the ritual, there were unable to punish him too severely. This wasrgely due to the fact that he had reported the incidents as they urred and doc.u.mented all of the attempts made by his group to maintain order. He had carried out his duties diligently and even brought back severalrge fragments of the destroyed Greater Grail, something that earned him considerable favor with Ro Belfaban as the Head of the Summoning Department. He hadnt been all that vocal during the proceedings but, whenever Barthomeloi Lorelei thought she had gained an advantage, he would say a few words that made it apparent he agreed with Lord Animusphere... Understanding she wasnt going to be able to get her way without forcing the issue, something that would potentially harm the prestige of her family, Barthomeloi Loreleis gaze could make a demon shudder as she looked down at Lore El-Melloi II and stated, "Though it cannot be denied that you attempted to perform your duties, this incident has made it apparent you are simply unqualified to have such authority in the future. Were it up to me, you would have already been stripped of your title and sentenced to acting as an experimental subject. At least then you may be of some use to real Magi..." As Lord El-Melloi II, despite his best efforts, was only considered a Second-Rate Magus who would never rise beyond the rank of Fes, there were more than a few within the viewing stands who agreed with her sentiment. In response to Barthomeloi Loreleis harsh words, Lord Animusphere, the smile never leaving his face, politely stated, "Madam Barthomeloi, I do not believe such words are appropriate given the achievements Lord El-Melloi II has rued over the years. Though his talent may becking whenpared to the prestigious lineage of the Barthomeloi, there is none present who would be able to refute that Lord El-Melloi II had aplished many things that even Magi of higher rank have struggled with. If we cannot appreciate the phenomenon of a person performing above their given rank, would that not make us appear petty in the eyes of our peers...?" Hearing Lord Animuspheres words, Bathomeloi Lorelei felt like she was going to have an aneurysm, especially when Ro Belfeban stroked his chin and added, "Well said, Lord Animusphere. As the purpose of the Clock Tower has always been to preserve and advance Magecraft, it would be counterintuitive for us to suppress our those making an effort to do the impossible. The moment we purport the idea that those of lesser talent are unable to rise above their standing in life, the decline of Magecraft will be irreversible. Im certain most of the fine Gentlemen and Ladies present have benefitted from making promises to aspiring Magi, regardless of their low status. I find it difficult to believe they wille forward and argue that Lord El-Melloi II is in the wrong for no other reason than his status and talent are beneath that of a family with thousands of years of history. Many would even argue that suchparisons alone would harm the prestige of such families, wouldnt you agree, Madam...?" While swearing she would personally witness the final moments of these two men, Barthomeloi Lorelei begrudgingly nodded her head before answering, "I cannot argue that there is simply no grounds topare a talentlessmoner who borrows the status of others to an established Magus family. However, regardless of how you try to twist the facts, the truth remains that someone must be held ountable for the failures in Fuyuki City. The destruction of the Greater Grail, the annihtion of the Makiri family, the devastation of the Einzbern Forest, and the powerful quake that had shaken the city after the disappearance of the anomaly, Vahn Mason; these arent things that can simply be overlooked...!" To punctuate her words, Barthomeloi Lorelei mmed her fist on the table, causing most of the people in the room to flinch due to the loud noise and the pulse of magical energy that had spread through the surroundings. Without shying away from the pressure emitted by Barthomeloi Lorelei, even though she red at him with venomous eyes, Lord Animusphere politely exined, "Though the Greater Grail had been destroyed, it was never the property of the Mages Association. The fact that Lady Tohsaka was even willing to turn over the fragments she had been able to recover more than makes up for the fact something that didnt even belong to us was destroyed. As for the annihtion of the Makiri family, though it is an irrefutable tragedy, our investigations have shown this to be an event unrted to the Holy Grail War. We cannot expect Lord El-Melloi II to somehow predict conflict between Magus families that are entirely unrted to his own duties. If he had such a power, Im certain his status within the Mages Association would be much higher..." When he said thest remark, Lord Animusphere smiled in a good-natured manner toward Lord El-Melloi II before turning his attention back to Barthomeloi Lorelei and adding, "Regarding the fire and devastation of the Einzbern Forest, this event has already been confirmed to have been the result of a battle between the Einzberns representative Master and the Hero King, Gilgamesh. Thetter was also tied to the destruction of the Matou Residence, making the ountable party not Lord El-Melloi II, but Gilgameshs Master. Lastly, unless you hold Lord El-Melloi II in much higher regard than I was aware, do you mean to fault him for a natural disaster that urred after he had already left Fuyuki City? Though I will not deny that the event was rtively close to Lord El-Melloi IIs departure time, Japan is host to an average of 1,500 earthquakes every year. This year alone, there have been five earthquakes of simr size to hit the Japanese Archipgo. Are we going to try Lord El-Melloi II for these as well...?" By the time Lord Animusphere was done speaking, Barthomeloi Lorelei had decided that she would never sleep peacefully again before she found the means to seek revenge against the Animusphere family. This wasnt the first time she had held such conviction but, now that Marisbury, the true name of Lord Animusphere, was continuously rebutting everything she said, Barthomeloi Lorelei wouldnt be satisfied just ignoring him any longer. The Aristocratic and Democratic Factions had been at odds with each other for decades, for a multitude of reasons, but now things felt more personal than they had been before. What made matters worse was, as if he wasnt troubled by her ire and indignation, Lord Animusphere just returned a polite smile in response to her re... --- After several more hours of deliberation, punctuated by a recess until the following day, Rin, Lord El-Melloi II, t, and Gray all exited the Tribunal chamber with tired expressions. The least affected was t, as he had avoided any real usations against him, so he had a somewhat easy-going smile on his face as he lingered near Gray and asked, "Gray, how about grabbing a bite to eat now that were free from that freezer~? I could use some fresh air, delicious food, and goodpany!" In response to this, Gray shrunk away from t before shaking her head and answering, "Sorry, but I will follow Rin back to the Edelfelt Mansion..." Though she and t were still good friends, Gray felt awkward around him ever since separating from Vahn. Since they had history, she was a little insecure about being alone with other men after deciding to pursue her happiness at Vahns side... With an amiable yet sad smile on his face, t rubbed the back of his head while saying, "Aww, Gray has been so distanttely. I wonder if I did something to lower my Affection Points~?" As he treated life almost like an actual game, t would sometimes say senseless things that caused the people closely associated with him an endless number of headaches. This time, however, Gray furrowed her brows since she felt like t was implying there was actual affection between them. Since he had been engaged for thest three years, it felt especially awkward to hear him make such thoughtless remarks in the current situation. He actually seemed to realize this after seeing Grays reaction as, after cing both palms together and bowing almostically low, t shouted, "Im sorry, Gray! I was only trying to crack a joke to lighten the mood!" Uponpleting his apology, t had the distinct impression that he wasnt as wee as before so, after a few parting words, he walked away with a quickened pace to go grab a bite to eat. At the same time, however, he was somewhat happy that Gray had refused his invitation as there was a slightly troublesome individual who had been pestering him to meet her, their shared acquaintance, Svin scheit. He was steadily reaching the point of bing a Brand, the second-highest rank a Magus could have within the Mages Association. Though they had all been students together, Svin had quickly surpassed Lord El-Melloi IIs and Rins rank of Fes, rising to the rank of Pride at the impressively young age of neen. In the past, he had a somewhat unhealthy obsession with Gray and, though she had given him a chance, things had reached an almost dangerous point that required outside intervention. Since then, Svin had apologized for his behavior several times and had kept a respectable distance from Gray. However, as he began looking towards the future andying his own roots, Svin had been making a few attempts to rekindle things between him and Gray. Even without having met Vahn, Gray had no intention of ever getting back together with Svin,rgely due his possessive nature and the way in which he tried to control every aspect of her life. Towards the end of their rtionship, he even refused to let her leave the house for nearly a month, the same act that had drawn the attention of their friends. Since he used Beast Magecraft,bined with Reinforcement, Svins senses and instincts were far more developed than most humans. As a result, his passion and obsession quickly reached dangerous levels, to the point he would yell at her when she had talked to other men. He had even confiscated her cell phone and locked Add away in a magical vault during her confinement, something Gray was not willing to go through a second time... While thinking about how his friend had strayed onto a path that could only lead to a Bad End, t released a tired sigh while running his fingers through his hair. He had actually been Grays rebound at the time and, though he tried to treat her well, they simply werent suited for each other. Svin had also been less than enthused about the development so, after only a few weeks together, t had ended things on rather amicable terms. Now, he was essentially the only link between Svin and Gray as thetter simply refused to answer Svins calls, going as far as changing her number periodically and never setting up a voice mail. It was a troublesome situation since, even though he knew Svin was in the wrong, t wished things could go back to the way they were between the three of them. Unfortunately, unlike the games he habitually yed, there were no save points in real life and, as people were so fond of telling him, t knew he could only grow up and move on... After reaching a small burger joint a few blocks away from the Clock Tower, t pped himself on the cheeks before adopting his usual smile. Then, even though there was a bit of cold sweat on his back, he opened the door to find a pair of predatory blue eyes focused on him. Though it was only there for a brief moment, t had felt a small amount of killing intenting from his friend, something that had been there ever since his short rtionship with Gray. It had faded away in an instant, revealing a handsome man with an amicable smile that didnt quite reach his eyes. This was something he and Svin had inmon as, regardless of his efforts to patch things up, t knew the tall and muscr man, dressed in expensive and stylish garments, would never forgive him... --- Though it took more than an hour by car, Rin and Gray managed to reach the Edelfelt Mansion without encountering any difficulties. The ride had been rather awkward, as Gray had fallen silent due to her guilt of refusing something as simple as a light lunch with a friend. Her intention to join Vahns side had even caused her to gradually iste herself from Lord El-Melloi II. Though she was never his official personal attendant, Gray had been following as his shadow for nearly half her life so she felt a little insecure being away from his side for a long period of time. However, as Lord El-Melloi II himself had told her there was nothing wrong with seeking her own happiness, Gray had continued to protect Rin and Sakura as promised... Shortly after entering the Mansion, guided by four Maids, Rin and Gray ended up in a small room that was decorated from top to bottom with cute things. There, curled up on the stomach of a giant teddy bear, a small girl with short brown hair was holding a golfball-sized rainbow-hued sphere in her hands, seemingly asleep. Rin released an exasperated sigh when she saw this, even though there was a smile on her face as she muttered, "This girl is going to develop a fatherplex at this rate..." Then, turning to Gray, Rin asked, "Do you want to go inside this time? I have a few things to talk with Luvia about so I dont mind." Since she could tell Gray was in need of some attention, even though she didnt actually have anything to discuss with Luvia, she was more than willing to upy Vahnter in the evening. Hearing Rins words, Grays somewhat paleplexion gained a light blush as, if not for the fact she had been allowed to use the Space-Time Orb on asion, she might have already broken down. The trial had been troubling her more than she imagined, especially since it felt awkward to be around others at the moment, so she had been seeking refuge in the Orb periodically to spend time with Vahns Memory Fragment. Though she knew it wasnt the real him, the experiences they had shared were precious treasures that also served as an emotional anchor during these trying times. Thus, even though she felt a little apologetic to Sakura, Gray nodded her head and muttered, "Thanks..." Following this, Rin ced her index finger on the Space-Time Orb, activating its safety measure that ejected whoever was using it whenever it was removed from someones hands. As a result, Sakuras eyes widened in an instant as her face immediately formed into a sad pout. Before she could cry, Rin lightly pinched Sakuras nose and said, "It is time for lunch. You know your Otou-sama would tell you toe eat like a good girl..." This was enough to prevent Sakura from crying but it did nothing to stop her from sniffling a few times as she answered, "Okay, Okaa-chan..." Then, after being picked up in Rins arms, thetter handed the Space-Time Orb over to Gray before carrying Sakura to go eat lunch and kill a few hours of time. As for Gray, she had a red face as she alighted from the room, moving next door where her own room was located. Since Rin had a key, Gray locked it behind her before diving into her own bed and, perhaps a little too eager to make her bad thoughts go away, she sunk her consciousness into the Space-Time Orb to experience Vahns care and concern for a few hours... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Loreleis a cunt,Marisbury used Logic and Reasoning...Critical Hit! Its not very effective...opposing Lorelei has flinched!,Dependency is a dangerous thing o_o...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1123 - Expectation

Chapter 1123 - Expectation

Though there were a few detriments, such as aging several times faster than people in the outside world, the number of benefits that came from using a Sub-Space Orb more than made up for it. Chief amongst these, at least in the present moment, was that Vahns cooldowns were affected by the flow of time just as much as his body itself was. As a result, he was earning seven times the amount of Daily Premium Gacha while the cooldown on his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] was considerably reduced. The former hadnt been all that important previously, as it often gave items that Vahn simply back to the system, but today proved to be an exception to the norm. Like most other days, Vahn had decided to use his Premium Gacha while his body slept, as it gave him plenty of time to think and n for the future. This time, however, when the giant wheel spun around, it spat out something that caused Vahns mind topletely nk as he looked at the violet orb that was covered in a slight rainbow hue. Since the rarity of items was based on the Record he was in, the fact he had gotten a Violet orb meant there was a good chance the item within was Tier 5 or higher. Thus, feeling like a giddy child that had just found a pile of presents, Vahn opened the orb with his mind, marveling at how it shook wildly before releasing a rainbow-hued explosion of light. Then, when it faded away, he looked with glimmering eyes at the description of his new prize... ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Ethereal Queens Grace] Rank: SSS (Celestial Treasure) Origin: Record of the Star Ocean (1-5) Use: Allows the user to create a gateway by which the Ethereal Queen may be summoned. It is said that those who can win her favor will be without equal under the Heavens. **Use With Extreme Caution! The Ethereal Queen summoned is not a product of the system and cannot be regted by system restrictions!*** ----------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn had been excited when he saw the rank of the small gold coin that was produced from the violet sphere but, after reading the use and attached warning, he couldnt help releasing a heavy sigh within his mind. Immediately following this, Sis emphasized, (*I do not believe it is a good idea to use this item until you reach Tier 5 or encounter an enemy that you otherwise couldnt defeat. She doesnt seem to be a normal existence...*). For The Path to include a warning saying that the Ethereal Queen couldnt be regted by the system, it seemed like a very bad idea to summon her without taking precautions. Since the description of an items usage were rarely exaggerated, the fact her grace could make someone without equal showed that she was not a simple being. At the same time, it revealed that you werent automatically guaranteed to receive her favor and, depending on the circ.u.mstances, could even be a victim if you managed to offend her... Even without Sis reminder, Vahn had already determined that it wasnt a good idea to summon a Tier 5 entity that was beyond his control. Fortunately, he could trace back the origin of the item to do a bit of research on the type of existence she was. This quickly proved that it was a very bad idea to summon her as, while there was a functionally infinite number of texts describing her, there was actually almost no information about the Ethereal Queen other than the fact she was the strongest. She was an existence the represented the absolute pinnacle of power, serving as the final challenge for anyone that desired to reach the peak themselves. Though he certainly desired such power, Vahn didnt miss the implication that he would need to defeat the Ethereal Queen to gain it. If he already had the power to defeat her, there was virtually no reason to summon her other than to prove that he was the strongest...at least within a Tier 5 Record. At the very least, though the item seemed useless right now, Vahn could use it as a measuring stick of sorts before he entered into Evas Record. If he was able to defeat an existence that embodied the pinnacle of a Tier 5 Record, there was a good chance he would be able to defeat the Mage of the Beginning as well. Depending on the circ.u.mstances, he might even be able to gain another powerful ally, albeit one that would undoubtedly bring a lot of trouble as well. He didnt imagine that a Queen who stood above all would be too fond of others, especially anyone close to the person she granted her favor to. Though the word had any number of meanings, Vahns intuition warned him that the Ethereal Queen wasnt simply looking for someone stronger than her without a reason... After deciding to ce the [Ethereal Queens Grace] in the veryst slot of his Inventory, while also giving Sis the express order not to let him identally use it, Vahn decided to get some rest. He had gotten a little too excited to win a jackpot gacha item only to have cold water poured on his head the moment he learned what it was capable of. At times, Vahn wondered if he should use all of his OP on gacha just to see if he might get an item that could prove useful in the future. This actually guaranteed that he would get greater value out of his OP than he otherwise would have, as the value of items often greatly exceeded the input, but it was just as likely he would end up with a bunch of rtively useless items, regardless of whether or not they were worth a fair amount of OP. As this was obviously a terrible idea, Vahn managed to rein in the urge whenever it presented itself... --- Without any major incidents urring, Vahn was enjoying the rtively peaceful lifestyle he enjoyed while still doing his best in both his training and studies. His bonds with everyone were progressively growing stronger while Lakshmibai had actually developed in a peculiar, albeit expected, direction. During one of the moments when it was just the two of them, she had asked him to be a bit rougher than normal, as being treated gently all the time seemed to weigh heavily on her heart and mind. As a result, through her own insistence, Vahn ended up introducing Lakshmibai to a world he had only ever explored with Anubis, Loki, and a few times with Fenrir. Though things had only developed to the point that he tied up Lakshmibais arms to the headboard, she had a rather extreme reaction that implied she would undoubtedly seek even greater stimulus in the future... Inversely, Vahns rtionship with Nobunaga had be rtively tame yet extremely intimate as, without Paracelsus to share his burdens with, she was the next closest thing to a male friend that he had. They would often spend hours talking about their pasts as, even though they had seen each others memories, it wasnt as if it showed them everything. Much like the [Hearts Desire]s Vahn had viewed in the past, the memories shared through the memory link were only the more important moments in a persons life. Because of this, Nobunaga could be considered Vahns closest friend and, even though he couldnt get drunk, that didnt prevent him from apanying her until she waspletely wasted. As for their s.e.x life, it was a lot more lovey-dovey than most of Vahns other rtionsh.i.p.s as there were times when he and Nobunaga would just embrace each other in long kissing sessions without even having s.e.x... That was how Vahn was currently spending his time as, though she wasnt drunk, Nobunaga was straddling his h.i.p.s while wearing nothing but a pair of panties and a loose dress shirt as the two continued to just kiss and hold each other for more than twenty minutes. At the same time, Vahn took advantage of their positions to gently massage Nobunagas plump butt while periodically tracing the line between fabric and flesh to tease her. This would usually cause Nobunaga to bite his bottom lip or tongue in protest though, unlike the past, she made no actual attempt to stop him. Out of respect, however, Vahn knew not to take things too far as Nobunaga, regardless of how bold she could be at times, wasnt actually all that interested in having s.e.x. She certainly enjoyed teasing others but, the feeling of vulnerability she experienced with Vahn had made her rather passive in the bedroom when it was just the two of them. It was for this reason that Vahn had been tempted to use his [Divine Energy Cube] to summon a Heroic Spirit that Nobunaga was familiar with. Though he enjoyed the time they spent together, it was very apparent that she could use someone else to confide in other than him. She got along with everyone well enough, to the point of even bing something of a big sister to Mordred, but Nobunaga also spent a fair amount of time drinking alone. Vahn felt that summoning one of her former vassals to serve as something of apanion to her would be better for Nobunaga in the long run. Though she would probably be happier when they started taking action in the outside world, it was a fact that Nobunaga would probably be sticking around for a few decades, if not longer. Having more people to talk to would be good for her mental wellness as, even though she didnt seem to be in the danger of falling into depression, it was still a little troubling knowing that most of her recreational time was spent drinking alcohol and lounging about... With that in mind, Vahn gave Nobunagas butt a firm squeeze, eliciting a subdued m.o.a.n from the cool beauty that caused her eyelids to peel open in response. She knew Vahn well enough to know he wanted to say something so Nobunaga licked her lips clean before asking, "What is it? Im not really in the mood to have s.e.x right now..." Though she liked kissing and spending time together, Nobunaga would rather avoid having s.e.x too often with Vahn as, immediately following that, she would need a few hours of rest that was often followed by a long period of reflection. She didnt hate it, as that didnt really seem possible when it came to him, but Nobunaga felt like she was beginning to lose her edge as Vahns care slowly caused her heart to desire the life of a simple housewife at times... Vahn couldnt help chuckling at Nobunagas remark, causing her brows to furrow slightly until he exined, "Rx. I was just thinking about whether or not to summon one of your vassals again. Since there is something I wanted to try, Ive been thinking about using the system more oftentely." As he wanted to try and make another exchange with Akasha, one which would make the system much easier to use in the future, Vahn had been seriously considering the matter. Though now wasnt a good time to summon someone like Gareth, that didnt mean there werent other viable Heroic Spirits to call upon. Merlin had proposed the idea of summoning people like Leonardo Da Vinci or Daedelus so that he could either innovate or restructure the surroundings to make them more suitable for the future inhabitants of Avalon. ording to Merlin, Da Vinci had the highest possible ranking of the unfathomably rare skill, [Pioneer of the Stars]. This was a unique skill that allowed the user to turn the impossible into events that can be realized. All those who had the skill were individuals who had brought about great changes in history, often serving at the catalyst for civilizations makings leaps and bounds in the progression of technological innovation. Though Vahn agreed it was a good idea to summon someone with such a skill, he felt it was a little too early as he didnt necessarily have the resources to allow them to reach their full potential. There was also the simple fact that such people often had very strong personalities as, regardless of what others told them was possible, they followed their ideals through to the point they had changed the course of history itself. Even someone as prodigious as Paracelsus, considered the Father of Modern Alchemy,cked the [Pioneer of the Stars] skill. This wasrgely due to his pacifist nature, at least in Vahns opinion, but that didnt diminish the fact that anyone possessing the skill would be very difficult to deal with. Because of this, Vahn would rather summon someone that could help one of his most important allies achieve mental and emotional stability... As this wasnt the first time they had discussed the matter of summoning someone she was familiar with, Nobunaga gave a wry smile in response to Vahns words. She knew he was just worried about her, one of the very things that troubled her heart over thest few months. Because of this, she was tempted to tease him about summoning her vassal, Mori Ranmaru, a boy she had been rather fond of in her past life. However, as Vahn would likely seriously consider the matter, Nobunaga decided to avoid that triggering thatndmine as she answered, "If you really want to summon someone from my era, you should consider Uesugi Kenshin. That battle junkie might actually be able to put up a fight against the purple demon. She is a bit of an idiot, but that makes her fun to tease..." Though Nobunaga had only met Kenshin a few times during her lifetime, the memories she had of thetters exploits on the battlefield were deeply carved into her mind. Even when she had gathered together more than 50,000 men, led by several of her best generals, Kenshin had routed her forces with only 30,000 strong, sustaining fewer than six thousand casualties in a battle that cost her more than twenty-thousand lives. Even if she hadnt been the one leading the assault, the fact that Kenshin had won so decisively, going on to be a thorn in her side until thetters death from sickness, had earned Nobunagas respect and admiration. If she had the chance to have Kenshin on her side this time around, Nobunaga felt they could be very good friends since thetter was an idiot when it came to everything but fighting... Since Vahn had expected Nobunaga to ask him to summoner her younger brother or one of her children, he was slightly taken aback by the fact she wanted an enemy instead. She had actuallyined about Kenshin several times during their discussions so Vahn hadnt expected that the first person toe to Nobunagas mind when summoning a future ally would be one of her greatest enemies. However, considering that Nobunaga hadnt even resented the vassals that betrayed her in life, it made sense that she didnt hold any hatred toward her enemies either. She had simply lived as they thought best, doing everything she could to ensure that her people were able to move towards a better future. Since Kenshin was rumored to have never lost a battle, even again seemingly impossible odds, Vahn was also somewhat interested to meet someone that could potentially rival Scthach... Before moving forward with the decision, Vahn adopted a serious expression as he asked, "Do you not want to reconcile with your brother or any of your other vassals? You dont have to think about what you think is best for us, Nobunaga...it is important to me that you are able to be happy, even if-." Knowing Vahn was about to say something very annoying, Nobunaga reached up with her hands and began pulling his cheeks with as much force as she could manage, saying, "Just go summon Kenshin you dumbass. Besides, more than anyone I have ever met, that woman could use a good f.u.c.k. Maybe itll knock some sense into her if she gets defeated in the bedroom, ufufufu~." Hearing Nobunagas words, Vahn stopped her from pulling his cheeks as he asked, "Kenshin is a woman? How is it that every powerful male figure in history somehow ends up actually being a woman? I swear, the next thing I know, someone is going to tell me that even people like Ati the Hun and Genghis Kahn were actually females..." At this point, Vahn wouldnt even be surprised if he summoned a female version of Gilgamesh that somehow turned out to also be a little girl. Though his reaction caused Nobunaga to cackle at his expense, Vahn was genuinely a little annoyed. From Nobunagas words, he could assume that there was something about Kenshin that would invariably draw him to her, even if it was just a direct result of Nobunaga teasing the girl... In response to Vahns int, Nobunaga eventually managed to calm down enough to answer, "It probably has something to do with the powers in the shadows wanting to suppress women or something. A lot of the oldest societies are Patriarchal in nature and it wasnt even umon in my time for a man to take credit for a womans aplishments. I even encountered a Father-Daughter duo where the father collected the bounties for the criminals his daughter had in. I eventually had him executed after it was discovered...well, lets not talk about such dark subjects. Just know that people can be pretty f.u.c.k.i.e.d up and its obvious to anyone that knows the true history of the world that a few entitled twats have been changing things for their own benefit. Didnt you say that old bastard in the Clock Tower was more than two-thousand years old? I cant imagine he has been sitting on his ass doing nothing that entire time...hmm..." Understanding Nobunagas point, Vahn could only lean back against the sofa as he released a tired sigh. He was very aware that history had been heavily censored in an attempt to ensure Magecraft would never propagate to the public. Those that currently held power went to extreme lengths to make sure there were no threats to theirsting rule over mankind. Even though things had reached a point where many thaumaturgical principles were being weakened by the progress of Science and Technology, so long as it didnt hurt their own powerbase it didnt matter to them how much the rest of the Magus Community suffered. This was made apparent by how many factions existed, both within the Mages Association and within each individual branch. Since Vahn was intending to oppose these deeply rooted powers, he knew it would be necessary to have powerful allies on his side. Though it almost felt like a better idea to summon someone like Leonardo Da Vinci now, someone who Vahn knew was male based on the various portraits that had been published, he didnt want to take a step back after asking for Nobunagas opinion. Having one more woman to worry about wouldnt add all that much stress to his current lifestyle, especially with Nobunaga obviously intending to mess with Kenshin, so Vahn ultimately decided she would be the next person he summoned. Though he might have to treat her cancer, that wasnt all that difficult with his current skills. Thus, after discussing the type of person Kenshin was for around half an hour, Vahn took Nobunaga with him to discuss the matter with the others before leaving the Sub-Space Projection Orb and sacrificing the [Divine Energy Cube] to the summoning system... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Get Prankd boi,Vahn is about to learn the difference between good and bad civilization...?,Gaining an unbeatable ally for the low-low price of 2 billion OP and a few s.e.x.u.a.l favors (U w U)...Vahns pay-to-win lifestyle) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1124 - Compromise : Memory

Chapter 1124 - Compromise : Memory

In seemingly no time at all, Vahn found himself standing atop the bluish-ck tform, surrounded by an endless expanse of darkness that was only broken by the massive sphere representing the Throne of Heroes. Before he even moved toward it, Vahn turned his head skyward and said, "I would like to discuss the terms of a deal." Even though this space wasnt directly connected to the Root, Vahn had correctly inferred that it was connected directly to the Administrative systems that helped govern the experimental environment. This allowed Akasha to appear without too many difficulties, something that was made easier for her now that she expected to be called. As a result, Vahn once again found himself face-to-face with the emotionless alien woman who promptly asked, "What are your terms?" Though he knew it should be possible to bait them with other items purchased from the system, Vahn didnt want sink a bunch of his OP right now. Instead, he inly stated, "I wanted to inquire about what it would take to either secure more of those [Divine Energy Cube]s or make the system I used for summoning more efficient. Waiting three years between each summon makes it functionally useless in preparing for what is toe." Even though this wasnt entirely the case, as each Heroic Spirit he summoned had the potential of giving him an extreme advantage, Vahn knew he wasnt exactly using it like that just yet. If he really wanted to exploit the system, he could summon several versions of Gilgamesh from different timelines. There had to be a handful Gilgamesh that werent absolute jerks like the one from his own timeline, even if they did somehow end up being female... In response to Vahns inquiry, Akasha seemed strangely prepared for the question as she appeared right in front of Vahn faster than he could perceive. Then, with an absolutely straight face, she said, "I will exchange a single [Divine Energy Cube] for a direct sample of your s.e.m.e.n. The data provided by ya has been less than satisfactory to my superiors so I will take one for myself. Is this agreeable?" With a face that made it very clear she was going to bite him the moment he gave his permission, Vahn produced a wry smile as he answered, "I was hoping for a more permanant or reliable means to manage the system or to supplement my own energy reserves. Though I do not mind giving you a sample, it inconveniences-" Almost as soon as Vahn said he didnt mind giving a sample, one of Akashas hands grabbed the side of his neck while her other palm rested on his ribs. Then, without allowing him to continue footing around the issue, she bit into his neck while allowing her surprisingly hot body to press against his. Vahn felt an almost overwhelming heat pass into him but, immediately following that, his body just as quickly filtered it out as Akasha practically emptied the special sack he had made for yas consumption. When she got what she wanted, Akasha released his body from her vice-like grip before pulling out another one of the translucent golden cubes and handing it over to Vahn. With his brow twitching, Vahn tossed the [Divine Energy Cube] into his Inventory while resisting the urge to grind his teeth. After a few seconds had passed, Akasha produced a rare frown as, even though her own analytical functions were infinitely more powerful than yas, she was unable to fully analyze the mysterious energy in Vahns blood and s.e.m.e.n. The one thing they were able to confirm was that yas sensors werent faulty so, other than taking master samples for future observation, they wouldnt have to go directly to Vahn to continue analyzing his body. With this in mind, Akasha inly stated, "have not been given permission to modify your current system to make things easier for you. From now on, I will be taking master samples in exchange for one [Divine Energy Cube] each time you enter this ce. These are the terms I have been authorized to put forth." Though it was even more annoying than when he had to deal with ya, as she at least listened to him, Vahn still nodded his head in agreement. He had already given up samples to ya with the expectation that they would be analyzing it from the start. Giving up master samples in exchange for what would amount to around ten extra Heroic Spirits wasnt a bad trade from his perspective. This would save him around twenty-billion OP, more than ten times his current reserves, while also allowing him to get a better understanding of Akasha and her superiors. The thing about exchanges like this was that it set a precedent for future exchanges and allowed him to leverage things in his favor if handled properly. With Akasha sinking into the floor after the deal had been struck, Vahn made his way over to the stone pirs while doing his best to ignore the fact he was selling himself for benefits. Since he was getting legendary heroes in exchange, Vahn didnt think the conditions were all that unfavorable to him. With his peculiar luck, it meant he would also potentially gain a new lover or, at the very least, a powerful ally. This would greatly increase the power of his Empire and make his future endeavors easier, all while making Avalon and the people he wanted to protect safer. With that in mind, Vahn began sorting through the filters on the stone disys, selecting the Uesugi Kenshin from his own timeline before hovering over the list of skills on the right. He was intending to give her the [Transmigrator] skill, especially after noticing that Kenshin qualified for several different Servant sses, but pulling her from the time just prior to her death might not be the best idea. She was forty-nine when she died, not that it really mattered, and had been gued by various health issues in the months leading up to her death. Nobunaga had also revealed that Kenshin had been on a final campaign against her, intending toy Nobunaga low at the very end of her life. It wasnt very likely she carried any resentment for having failed to achieve her final conquest but Vahn couldnt help thinking about it for a few minutes before ultimately just summoning her anyways. After making his selection, Vahn reappeared back in the outside world as the summoning formation below his feet glowed with vibrant blue light. This light actually took on a liquid form that quickly coalesced into the figure of a woman with one of the most peculiar hairstyles Vahn had ever seen. At a nce, it seemed like the underside of her hair was almost pitch ck while the outside was solid white,cking any hue. The only thing that broke up this white were three strands of ck, creating three diamond shapes, one located in the center of her bangs while the other two were part of the long fringe bangs framing her face. Since her hair was rather long, extending nearly to her feet, it was easily her most noticeable treat, even drawing attention away from her rather mature and well-developed body. As she had just died back in her own world, Kenshin immediately copsed as her feet grazed the floor of the summoning tform. She was only wearing a thin kimono so Vahn could feel the warmth of her paradoxically soft yet firm body as he caught her in his arms. At the same time, he was able to tell that her body actually had no lingering injuries or illnesses, just like how Mordreds had been healedpletely during her own summoning. This inspection also allowed Vahn to more or less understand the internal structure of Kenshins bodypletely, creating a perfect temte of her figure within his mind. She was surprisingly tall at 170cm, well over the average height of most Japanese women, and had fair skin to go with her peculiar white and ck hair. As for her three sizes, she had moderately developed b.r.e.a.s.ts that were around 88cm while her waist and h.i.p.s were 56 and 84cm respectively. Overall, she was another rare beauty with an even rarer constitution as her internal mana was entirely neutral while a subtle feeling of Divinity radiated from the core around her navel... ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Uesugi Kenshin] Age: 49 Race: Human, God(sealed) Strength: 29C Endurance: 25C Agility: 48A Magical Power: 18D+ Good Luck: 35B+ Soul Tier: 4 (Divine Soul) Circuit Quality: 41A++ Noble Phantasm: (Biten-Hass Kuruma Gakari no Jin:B) Origin: War, Divine, Fate Skills: [Bishamontens Favorite Child:Innate:A], [Blessing of Heaven:Innate:A], [Pride of the Untouchable:Innate:A], [Maiden of the Battlefield:Innate:A], [Master of Arms:SS], [Divinity:C] Magic: (-) Magecraft: (-) [Master of Arms] Rank: SS Use: A skill representing the users ability to use all forms of weaponry with proficiency equal to the skills rank. At this rank, merely touching a weapon for the first time would grant the user the same familiarity of someone that had been using it their entire life. [Divinity] Rank: C Use: Denotes the rating of the users Divinity. Grants a variety of benefits against any entity without Divinity but greatly reduces resistance to all Anti-Divine weapons and skills. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Though he had already noticed it before summoning her, Kenshins parameters actually werent all that high for someone purported to be unbeatable in battle. Though her lowest parameter was still eighteen times higher than an average person, it didnt seem like she would be a match for Scthach unless her Innates were a lot stronger than he thought. He had to admit that having four Innates, all at A-Rank, was actually kind of scary. However, the most eye-opening skill was her [Master of Arms] as he was simply unable to obtain any information about her Innates. Vahn could imagine how she would be a true monster inbat if every weapon she picked up could be used with a proficiency nearing the peak of the Record. The SS-Rank denoted it might as well be a Tier 5 skill, even though she was only Tier 4. Against the Heroes of her time, who would have been around Tier 2 or 3, she had an absolute advantage that easily justified why none had been able to best her... Knowing that Kenshin was experiencing the memory link, Vahn carried her body up the long flight of stairs before carrying her to a nearby unused room andying her in a bed he brought out from his Inventory. It wasnt possible to take someone that was unconscious into a Sub-Space Orb so he had to wait for her to wake up naturally. With that in mind, though she may not have been the best choice to watch over the sleeping Kenshin, Vahn went to grab Nobunaga so that she could inform him when Kenshin awoke. To prevent things from going south, he also instructed Sis to include his memories from this world, including the fact that Nobunaga was going to be one of her allies, not an enemy. Thest thing he needed was Kenshin attacking Nobunaga just after awakening, even though thetter didnt seem all that worried about it happening... After entering into the Sub-Space Projection Orb, Vahn decided to forge some equipment for Kenshin since she didnt seem to possess the ability to produce weapons from thin air and hadnte equipped with anything. One of the downsides to using the [Transmigrator] perk was that it only summoned the Heroic Spirit in their physical form at the time of death. If they didnt have their most powerful weapons and armor on them at the time, they would be bereft of them after being summoned. Though it was possible to pull them from a point in history where they were their strongest, this would have potentially devastating consequences since it would potentially alter the flow of history in a manner not all that dissimr to using a [Page of the Akashic Tome]. Since Artoria wascking one of her most powerful items, the scabbard known as [Avalon], Vahn had put a lot of thought into whether or not he should try to recover it. Though this idea was nipped in the bud when he discovered it was Morgan le Fay who stole it from her, it didnt prevent Vahn from thinking about the potential consequences of summoning an earlier version of certain historical figures. This included things like potentially summoning Gareth before she had been betrayed by Sir Lancelot, meaning she would have never experienced her unbelievably tragic fate. At the same time, he could even summon Lancelot before he began his tryst with Guinevere, or even Guinevere herself. The only limit of the Throne of Heroes seemed to be that it could only summon one version of a person from each timeline, meaning he couldnt summon an earlier version of Artoria who was still in possession of Avalon and hadnt be jaded with being a King... These were the thoughts going through Vahns mind as he entered into a Space-Time Orb and began forging alongside his Memory Fragment. Though it was impossible to stack the effects of a Sub-Space and Space-Time Orb, as they were both linked to the original flow of time, that didnt stop Vahn from exploiting the 50:1 time dtion while his body experienced the 7:1 flow of the Sub-Space Projection Orb. He didnt exploit it too much, as it would unnecessarily increase his stress, but it was useful for times like this where he wanted to take care of several things simultaneously. Thus, after forging a few different B-Rank weapons that could serve as temporary armaments for Kenshins training, Vahn retired to the small cabin attached to his Memory Fragments workshop and allowed the memory link with Kenshin to affect him. --- The first thing Vahn saw when viewing Kenshins memories was a young girl, around six or seven years old, standing in front of a mirror. She had clear ck eyes and short ck hair that was neatly tied into a bun held together by two small golden ornaments. This wouldnt have been all that strange a sight but, as the girl was standing with her kimono open as she inspected her own body, Vahn felt more than a little awkward since he couldnt turn away. Just as he was thinking about why this was an important memory for Kenshin, thetter muttered, "From now on, I am no longer a woman..." Following this, she used a ceremonial de topletely shave off her own hair, cutting her scalp a few times due to her inexperience. After this, Kenshin tightly bound her chest and h.i.p.s before wearing a mens fundoshi with a front-facing cloth. As he watched her memories continue to y out, it became clear that Vahn was witnessing a time before Kenshin had assumed her identity as many referred to her as Nagao Kagetora. She hade to stay at the Rinsen-ji Temple after her father died in battle and her older brother, Nagao Harukage, seized power. The resultant struggle had resulted in the death of another one of her brothers, Nagao Kageyasu, while Kenshin had only escaped due to her fathers vassals sneaking her away. This lead to Kenshin developing a sense of powerlessness as a woman, leading to the scene of her taking on the identity of a man to study Zen and Martial Arts within the temple. Unlike the undefeatable warrior she would beter in life, Kenshin started off much weaker than the other disciples due to her rtively privileged upbringing as the only daughter of Nagao Tamekage, a reputable warrior serving under the Yamanouchi branch of the Uesugi n. As a result, she was often beaten up by the other disciples during spars and was criticized by the other children for her small frame and delicate features. This, however, changed very quickly as Kenshin worked several times harder than normal to ovee her former weakness, aspiring to be an even greater warrior than her father had been. By the time she was nine years old, she was already an official disciple of the temple, setting a precedent that her peers were unable to match as even much older disciples were unable to defeat her. With a few more years of training, bringing her to fourteen years of age, Kenshin had be a Junior Master at the temple without equal. The only thing that prevented from rising higher was the fact that, regardless of if she identified as a man, the Elders of the temple were very aware that she was a woman. Though she kept her b.r.e.a.s.ts and body wrapped, it was clear for all to see that Kenshin was a female, especially after she hit puberty. Many of the male disciples were a little too interested in her, detracting from their focus andplicating the affairs of the temple as Kenshins beauty only developed further. Thus, in an effort to be rid of her, the Elders contacted the vassals of the Nagao family to convince them to take Kenshin back now that she had reached marriageable age. Since Echigo, the province managed by her older brother, had been in dire straits due to his poor health and various policy failures, it wasnt long before Kenshin was contacted by Usami Sadamitsu and several other acquaintances of her father. She was eventually convinced to confront her brother so that her fathers legacy wasnt dragged through the mud as their people continued to suffer. Thus, by the age of fifteen, Kenshin had been ced in jointmand of an army and given the task of defending Tochio Castle from rebels. She was able to sessfully drive back the rebels and, by the time she was neen, Kenshin had taken control of the Nagao n from her brother Harukage. This seemed to be a turning point in Kenshins legend as, though shecked the formal education required to be a proper administrator, Kenshin was able to understand the character of other people and intuit whether or not their intentions were pure. By cing several capable vassals in charge of managing the province, all while leading her own forces around to enforce order, made Kenshin into a regional hero due to her tireless efforts to bring prosperity to her people. Though she faced a few issues as a result of her gender, this never stopped Kenshin from doing her best, even as she was pressured by the Elders of the Nagao n to marry herself into another family to secure an alliance. Ignoring the advice of others, as she had be a warrior who refused to simply marry herself off to be nothing more than a housewife raising another mans children, Kenshin continued to lead her people until eventually exiling the Elders for their incessant demands. Around this time, when Kenshin had just turned twenty-two, she was asked to provide refuge to her nominal lord, Uesugi Norimasa after he was forced to flee after a failed campaign. Since this would put her entire province in danger, Kenshin only agreed to shelter Norimasa if he would agree to several of her terms. As she was tired of being treated as a woman without say or status, Kenshin had Norimasa adopt her as his son and heir, as his own child had died in battle. She also managed to secure the official title of Lord of Echigo and the post of Kant Kanrei, making her an official deputy to the Shgun. With official status, Kenshins rise could no longer be halted as she continued to build her prestige upon the battlefield while entrusting the affairs of Echigo to her vassals. Her name had been changed to Uesugi Kagetora and, for a time, the biggest trouble she faced was whether or not the sword or the spear was the superior weapon to take into battle. She had an umon proficiency with all weapons but, of the myriad tools of war, Kenshin had a fondness for the two weapons consider the kings in their respective uses. Even though guns were bing moremon on the battlefield, she had no interest in such things as they were awkward and clunky. They were also nearly impossible to aim, to the point that Kenshin would walk through battlefields with no fear of even being grazed by her enemys rounds. This fearlessness made her seem like a goddess to her vassals as, ording to some of the rumors going around at the time, bullets would literally curve away from her as she sipped wine from atop her horse. Around the time when she was beginning to wage war against the Hj n, her adoptive fathers enemies, Kenshin was praying in the mountains near her estate when she happened across an unexpected sight. There was a white tiger than was more than ten meters in length battling against the inhuman figure of a woman with eight arms, each wielding a different weapon. Without leaving any gaps in her assault, she was pressuring the muchrger tiger until it was eventually forced to flee for fear of losing its life. To her surprise, the woman turned to look at her with a face not all that dissimr to her own, smiling as she introduced herself as the Goddess Bishamonten. Kenshin spent the afternoon conversing with the lively goddess, asking for her opinion on the issue that she had been struggling with for years. In response to her inquiry, Bishamonten simplyughed before answering, "Why not use both?" From that point onward, though she had awoken atop the mountain as if waking from a fever dream, Kenshin had be a devout believer of Bishamonten. As if a reward for her devotion, Kenshin noticed her hair had gained an otherworldly appearance while her previously ck eyes had be gold. This caused her already fervent vassals to begin worshipping her as the Avatar of Bishamonten while also assigning her the moniker of God of War. Though her enemies tried to use this as a means of insulting her as a fanatic, it became very apparent on the various battlefields that Kenshin frequented that it wasnt far from the truth. She had already been peerless in battle before but, after adopting a style that used both the sword and the spear, the only fate that awaited most of her opponents was a swift end. In this manner, Kenshin waged several sessful campaigns, winning glory on several fronts while her only real rivals were Takeda Shingen and Oda Nobunaga. She engaged the two in severalrge-scale battles, winning each engagement but ultimately failing to stop their expanse and conquest. Her focus had always been on protecting her people and ensuring they could prosper, even if she herself was a warrior by nature. It was frustrating but Kenshin could only do her best fighting on several fronts, racing from battlefield to battlefield to prevent the lines from copsing. Then, much like her elder brother and even her father, Kenshin began to be gued by health issues during the Spring and Summer seasons. This never stopped her from appearing on the battlefield, however, shing against Takeda Shingen in several climactic battles over a twenty-one year period. At this point in her memories, Kenshins life became somewhat of a blur as most of her waking moments were spent training fervently, racing between battlefields, or recovering in her bed. Some still pressured her to leave behind an heir but, refusing to abandon the battlefield just to waste what remained of her vitality trying to bear a child was not the end Kenshin desired. Though it was a bit selfish of her as a Daimyo, she was first and foremost a warrior before she was a leader or a woman. The only incidents that affected her during these years were the death of Takeda Shingen, something that had caused her to fall into depression for several months, and the secret meeting she had with Oda Nobunaga in the pursuit of peace. Though Vahn had assumed something had happened between the two, he could only watch on in silence as Nobunaga yed with Kenshins body after the two got drunk together. It seemed to be a pretty meaningful memory for Kenshin as, unlike the blur of other memories, he got to watch the several hour-long session between the two women in crystal clear quality. This ultimately failed to establish peaceful rtions between the two but it did lead to a small ceasefire of sorts as Nobunaga avoided antagonizing Kenshin for a few hours. It wasnt until Kenshin herself routed some of the Demon Kings forces that the entered into open conflict once again, something that persisted until Kenshins ultimate end. At the age of forty-nine, wracked with pain that made even small movements difficult for her, Kenshin died within her bed before a gathering of more than five-thousand weeping followers, smiling tiredly as she stated, "Even a life-long prosperity is but one cup of sake; A life of forty-nine years is passed in a dream; I know not what life is, nor death. Year in year out-all but a dream. Both Heaven and Hell are left behind; I stand in the moonlit dawn, Free from clouds of attachment..." With these parting words, Kenshin closed her eyes to the world but, just as darkness began to im her thoughts, a series of memories not her own began to y within her mind... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Akasha aggro af,Why not both~?,No wonder Nobunaga wanted to summon Kenshin xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1125 - Existential

Chapter 1125 - Existential

Though she had never doubted Vahn would be able to pull it off, it was a bit surreal for Nobunaga to see the unconscious Kenshin sleeping before her. She wasnt even a Heroic Spirit, but the actual flesh and blood person that she had known well over a hundred years prior. The fact Vahn was able to pull people through time to have them exist in the present was something so far beyond her ability to grasp that Nobunaga felt like she was in a long and extended dream. He had grown so far beyond the man that had summoned her only a few months prior and, while he may be weaker than he was back in his previous world, Nobunaga knew Vahns current strength would have a far more powerful foundation than before. Since she didnt change, while he kept moving forward, Nobunaga felt like she was slowly being left behind, even though she was supposed to have been the Heroic Spirit with the highestpatibility with him... For different reasons that Vahn might expect, Nobunaga crawled into bed next to Kenshin before poking her sleeping face. This caused her favorite idiot to make a small pouting expression but, as the memory link wasnt something that could be broken so easily, she ultimately remained sleeping. Nobunaga was actually tempted to tease her a bit but, as this could unnecessarilyplicate things, she kept her hands mostly to herself. Currently, the thing that weighed most heavily on her mind was whether or not she should convince Vahn to summon her real self. She knew about his memory fragments so, if she made a copy of her current self before he summoned her main body, Nobunaga knew she would be able to at least preserve her current memories and experiences. Like this, she would be able to increase her strength once more instead of just sitting around all day and having Vahn worry about her... When Vahn had asked her who to summon, Nobunaga had very seriously considered mentioning her own name. The only thing that stopped her was that, without having Vahn use Nirvana Rebirth or wasting treasures on her, she was already past her prime. She had given birth to several children and hadnt taken the best care of her body during herter years. To suddenly be flesh and blood again, while relying on Vahn just to live until their battle against Angra Mainyu, scared her more than just a little. It seemed unnatural and, though he might not mind it, Nobunaga was worried she wouldnt be worth all of Vahns efforts. There was also her deeply rooted fear that, if he summoned her real body, Nobunaga didnt think she would be able to keep her pretense much longer. If she couldnt serve at Vahns side herself, she sometimes thought it wouldnt be all that bad if she bore him a son or a daughter to fight in her stead...she had seen how well he treated Mordred and, though she never thought it possible, Nobunaga was seriously considering just being a housewife... The main reason Nobunaga ultimately decided upon Kenshin is because she wanted to see how someone she had treated as her equal would get along with Vahn. She felt that, if Kenshin was able to ovee her own inhibitions then she might be able to do the same. If she had someone she knew to share the burden with, Nobunaga felt she would be able to tolerate such an existence. She honestly hadnt been the best mother to her other children and, now that she had an isted space like the Sub-Space Projection Orb, it felt like she had all the time in the world to do better. This was why she hadnt summoned any of her own children or family as, depending on how things develop, Nobunaga knew she may be starting a new one in the present... While thinking about the future, Nobunaga continued to poke Kenshins cheek as she muttered, "Sorry, Ken-chan...I need you to take the fall with me this time around. You mightugh at me if I told you the truth, but Im too afraid to go alone..." Though she said it in this manner, one of the things that also scared Nobunaga a bit was disappearing as her present self. Even if her memories were preserved and passed on to her real self, it felt like she was standing at the precipice of a cliff, contemting taking her own life. It wasnt impossible for her to just exist alongside her real self but, just thinking about such a thing made Nobunaga feel a bit of an existential crisis since she wouldnt be the real her, just a copy that refused to return to wherever she had been prior to Vahn calling her... Laying down next to Kenshin, Nobunaga used her fingers to move aside some of her former rivals peculiar hair as she muttered, "This isnt like me...that damn brat has messed me up...haaaa..." Then, confident it would take a few hours for Kenshin to awaken, Nobunaga cuddled up next to her to share warmth. She had suddenly started to feel very cold and, though Vahn would undoubtedly be willing to stay at her side, Nobunaga didnt want him to see her like this. He always seemed to be worrying about her, even though she told herself she wasnt a frail woman than needed a man tofort her heart. However, at least for the moment, Nobunaga felt like she could show her frailty as she rested her head against Kenshins shoulder and released a single tear from her closed eyes... --- After experiencing a sequence of memories that made her own experiences seem inconsequential byparison, Kenshin opened her eyelids to reveal a pair of faded gold irises. Immediately following this, she looked to her left and saw the sleeping face of Nobunaga, someone she had seen within the memories but hadnt expected to be right next to her when she woke up. Strangely, instead of the confident woman she had been campaigning against in her final moments, this Nobunaga gave off a vibe that utterlycked the aura of a conquerer. Since she knew that Nobunaga had requested her by name, Kenshin felt like this former rival of hers was going through a few things she couldnt even begin to understand... Deciding it was best to just trust her intuition, as it had never let her down before, Kenshin just rolled to the side and loosely hugged Nobunagas body. This immediately caused thetter to wake up, blood-red eyesing into focus to gaze back at her. At the same time, a bit of Nobunagas aura came back, bringing a smile to Kenshins face as she teased, "I never expected Nobunaga-dono to think so highly of me...you wont even let me rest after I already died?" Though she knew this might not end well for her, Kenshin felt that teasing Nobunaga was the fastest way to get her to return to normal. Other than Takeda Shingen, Nobunaga was one of the few people she genuinely respected so it made Kenshin feel a strange incongruity to see hercking her usual demeanor. In response to Kenshins words, Nobunaga gave a sly smile before licking her lips and saying, "Oh...I simply couldnt imagine life without my precious Ken-chan. Come, let Big Sis see how much you have grown in our time apart..." Since Kenshin was only wearing a kimono, it took next to no effort for Nobunaga to slip her hand through the gap in the fabric. This caused Kenshin to squeeze her thighs together as sheined, "Nobunaga-dono, this isnt the time or the ce..." The only thing this remark got her, however, was Nobunaga lightly biting her corbone as she pinned down Kenshins left wrist. At the same time, her left hand had already found its prize, causing Kenshins h.i.p.s to twitch and writhe in response... --- With their roles now reversed, Nobunagaid back with her arms behind her head as Kenshin curled up at her side, releasing hot breaths that tickled her neck. Though Kenshin may be peerless in battle, she was very weak when it came to both alcohol and nightly activities. It didnt take much effort to lead her around like a lost puppy, a gap that Nobunaga had enjoyed greatly the night they shared together in her previous life. Since she could never defeat Kenshin through normal means, it gave her a feeling of aplishment to have the powerful warrior panting her name and begging for forgiveness. Though she knew that Kenshin had actually been asking for it this time around, it didnt change the fact that Nobunaga felt a lot better after the deed had been done... After calming down a bit, Kenshin raised her head from Nobunagas shoulder,ining, "I never thought my afterlife would be as the Demon Kings ything...muuu..." In response to this remark, Nobunaga sat up next to Kenshin, a teasing smile on her face as she asked, "Are you upset it isnt your precious Bishamonten~? Im certain that man could pull it off if you think she would be a good ally to have..." Though she wasnt entirely sure how the summoning system worked, Nobunaga felt like it wasnt beyond Vahns means to summon even the gods. They would undoubtedly bring more than a few problems with them but, at the very least, there were very few Heroic Spirits that would be able to contend against actual Deities. Since she had also seen Vahns memories, Kenshin didnt doubt there was a grain of truth contained within Nobunagas words. However, as she loosely understood what her own future held, she didnt want her Goddess getting wrapped up in things. After all, though she had never married in her past life, it was one of the regrets that Kenshin had towards the very end. Since most of her actual family had been killed during her short forty-nine years, she almost feltpelled to have children in the present era. She currently had no battlefields to run to, nor any diseases wracking her body, so it didnt seem like a bad time to bear the child of an Emperor. Then, when Angra Mainyu appeared in the world, she would no longer have any regrets remaining. This time around, she was determined to meet her end as a warrior, not as a frail woman on her sickbed... In response to Nobunagas teasing remark, Kenshin shook her head before showing an expression filled with conviction as she said, "I would dishonor my Goddess by having here to fight battles in my stead. Even if I must face a hail of bullets and an infinite tide of Demons, I will fight my own battles. Since His Majesty saw fit to call me into the present, I will do my best as his vassal..." Though she knew there was a chance she would be more than a simple vassal, Kenshin didnt want to say anything presumptuous about her Lord. From the memories she had seen, it seemed as if it was the fate of the women around Vahn to be his lovers. There had even been women who she would have liked to have known as their nature wasnt that dissimr to hers, specifically the two named Tsubaki and Mikoto. Hearing Kenshins statement, Nobunaga felt a little annoyed since she had essentially called Kenshin to help her fight a battle she was too scared to face alone. This caused her to stretch her arm around thetters shoulders, pulling her close enough that she could easily grope Kenshins b.r.e.a.s.ts while muttering in a stern tone, "Hey, now, we need all the help we can get. Vahn will probably ask if there is anyone you want to summon so you should consider it seriously. He wont make you do anything you arent willing to do so, if you had something like a secret lover, dont be afraid to mention it when you get the chance. Seriously, you cant be half-hearted about this or youll end up in an even worse situation than me..." As a result of Kenshins remark, Nobunaga now felt more than a little annoyed by the n she had concocted in her vulnerable state of mind. She also didnt really want to force someone that had persevered for forty-nine years to give up something they had protected to a person they didnt really love... Grabbing Nobunagas errant hand with her own, Kenshin gave her a pouting re as she said, "I never had anything like that. Not everyone kept around-." Before she could say anything more, Nobunaga cupped her hand over Kenshins mouth and said, "Hey, make sure not to say remarks like that in the future. Were no longer in the past...leave that kind of thing behind..." Though she was far from the best person to make such remarks, especially after calling Kenshin in the world, Nobunaga didnt want any extraneous reminders of the past. She was currently thinking about the future in a way she had never worried about before so having people bring up such things was very troubling. Fortunately, Kenshin nodded her head in understanding so Nobunaga removed her hand while releasing a tired sigh and releasing the former from her clutches. After fixing her hair and clothes, Nobunaga turned back to see Kenshin getting dressed as well, remarking, "I was supposed to go get Vahn as soon as you woke up. Lets not talk about what happened here, okay? Well have plenty of time for things like that in the future. What I really want you to focus on is beating this purple monster for me. When you meet her, youll understand what Im talking about...fuuuu..." Though she didnt particrly care about Scthach, nor her methods, it was still troubling to know that someone like Vahn, who seemed so far above her, was basically toyed with. There was nothing she could do to really change the situation withoutining so Nobunaga was hoping that Kenshin would at least be able to get a few blows in before losing... Knowing Nobunaga was talking about Scthach, someone else that had appeared within Vahns memories, she frowned slightly before saying, "I do not believe I would lose within ten minutes, but I cannot imagine winning either. Sorry, Nobunaga-dono, I dont think I can meet your expectations..." Even though she had only seen glimpses of Scthachs skill, Kenshin had a strong impression of her since Vahns memories were always sharp when he was inbat. She felt that things would favor her from the beginning but, from what she had observed from Vahns memories, it didnt seem like Scthach had an upper limit to her abilities. After their first battle, it was unlikely that she would ever have an advantage in any of their future fights... Hearing Kenshins words, Nobunaga wasnt all that surprised since even she couldnt really fathom how someone like Scthach even came into existence. Everything about her was simply broken, defying allmon sense and logic. Still, hearing Kenshin say she should be able tost ten minutes, Nobunaga showed a sly smile, saying, "That is more than enough. As long as you cannd a good hit on that emotionless face of hers, I think I might be able to die happy. Kukukukuku...!" Though this remark hit a little bit too close to home, Nobunaga was serious about wanting to see Scthach suffer at least one setback. She couldnt pull it off herself but it was a close second to have someone she was familiar with give Scthach a good smack in her stead... --- Using the mirror on Nobunagas room, Kenshin apanied her as they set out to track down Vahn. As luck would have it, he was in the final few hours of his rest time before going off to train with Scthach. Though this ounted for around half of Vahns day time, it brought a smile to Nobunagas face knowing she might actually see the scene of Scthach getting hit sooner than expected. With that in mind, she and Kenshin went to Illyas room where Vahn was supposed to be located. It was generally considered rude to interrupt Vahns time with others, especially when he was resting, but Nobunaga knew he would want to meet with Kenshin for a bit now that she had awoken. As she was about to knock on the door, Kenshin grabbed Nobunagas hand and said, "We shoulde backter. I sense something very dangerous behind this door..." Since she said these words with a serious expression, Nobunaga came back to her senses, remembering that Illya had a beast capable of destroying the world sealed away inside of her. Though she seemed like just a normal little girl, especially in the past few months, it probably wasnt a good idea to test the waters for sharks by diving straight in. This ended up being a very wise decision as, on the other side of the door, Vahn and Cath Palug had both turned their eyes toward the door while thetter was kept from moving about by Vahns embrace. Other than Fenrir, the only person that Cath Palug tolerated was Mordred. If someone else invaded its territory, especially when it was ying with Vahn, the petite Beast of Gaia wouldnt have taken kindly to the intrusion. As for Vahn, he knew Nobunaga and Kenshin were the ones waiting outside so he put a bit more effort into his pampering in order to hasten the change back to Illya. Though this took on the form of him nibbling on Cath Palugs ears with more than a yful amount of force, this only made the small beast more excited as his hands worked their magic... By the time an hour had passed, Vahn managed to lull Cath Palug into a contented sleep, recing it with the red-faced Illya. Fortunately, Cath Palug had learned how to wear clothing a few weeks back so she was wearing a white nightgown as she sat with her back to Vahn. Since he knew this situation was a bit unfair to Illya, Vahn gently wrapped his arms around her before kissing the top of her head and saying, "Ille backter tonight with Fenrir and we can all sleep together...okay?" In response to this, Illya nodded her head in affirmation but kept her face hidden as, right now, she could make a tomato envious with herplexion. Vahn carried her over to the bed before tucking her in, all while Illya continued to cover her face with both hands. Then, just as he was exiting the door, Vahn could hear Illya releasing an adorable and frustrated whine that he knew wasnt meant for his ears... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nobu-chan, stay strong (T ^ T)...,The n to make Scthach suffer...!,Poor Illya, getting bullied by her Onii-sama...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1126 - Love of Battle

Chapter 1126 - Love of Battle

Though he still had a fair amount of trouble with it, Vahns efforts over thest three months hadnt been without result. He needed to focus, and could only vaguely sense the mana signatures of the people within, but Vahn had a loose grasp on the structure of the Inner Sanctum and its residents. As a result, it didnt take him long to discover that Nobunaga and Kenshin had alighted to the formers room. Thus, rattling his knuckles across the reinforced wooden door, Vahn entered after waiting for a few seconds. He found the two sitting on the sofa but, unlike Nobunaga, Kenshin rose to her feet and gave a proper bow as she said, "Uesugi Kenshin greets her Master, the Sage Emperor!" Though she had been a practitioner of Zen Buddhism, Kenshin had first and foremost been a warrior during an era where honor and respect were at their heights. Since she had been called upon to help stop a world-ending threat, it almost felt like she was on a holy mission of sorts, one that would bring great honor to both her Goddess and Master. While raising his hand to give Kenshin permission to rise, Vahn smiled casually as he said, "That kind of behavior is only necessary when we hold Court in the future. Though it is a little troublesome for you to be within the Inner Sanctum, Ill make an exception since you are a friend to Nobunaga..." As she had just been summoned, Kenshin technicallycked the qualifications to stay within the Inner Sanctum as she was neither a member of the Imperial Family or an official member of his Harem. This didnt matter all that much to Vahn but it would be important in the future to observe proper protocol when it came to things like this. He had kept his family and duty separate in the Record of Danmachi but, here in the Ivory Castle, the two would inhabit the same space. As it was impossible to let just anyone wander around the Inner Sanctum, even if they were personally summoned by him, Vahn needed to be more strict in the future... Kenshin seemed like she was about to apologize but Nobunaga beat her to it by pushing forward the white-haired warrior by kicking her butt. At the same time, she had a teasing look on her face as she said, "There is an easy solution, isnt there? Im certain Ken-chan wont say no, ufufufu~." Though Nobunaga had tried to kick Kenshin toward Vahn, thetter had easily regained her bnce before she had even taken three steps. This put her nowhere near Vahn, giving Nobunaga the desire to bothugh andin at the same time. She had wanted Kenshin to crash into Vahn since there was a chance somethingical might happen knowing her luck from their previous life. In response to Nobunagas bold assertion, Kenshin ced her right hand over her heart and, with a serious expression, stated, "I am unfamiliar with the duties expected of me, but I am not unwilling. If His Majesty does not find this body distasteful, please do with me what you will." Since Nobunaga didnt seem worried about offending Vahn, Kenshin felt that it wasnt a bad opportunity to express her own intentions. She had let go of everything at the time of her death so, in this new life she had been granted, there were many things she wanted to experience. This kind of development wasntpletely outside of Vahns expectations, as he knew Nobunaga had such intentions from the start, but it still felt more than a little rushed. The way Kenshin was acting wasnt all that dissimr to Lakshmibai and Artoria when they first joined, meaning she was simply doing a self-assigned duty that she thought was necessary. Though he would quickly be able to change her tune, it was still a little awkward for her to be so direct about things, especially since they hadnt even had a proper conversation yet. However, they had both seen the others memories so it wasnt as if they wereplete strangers to each other. With that in mind, Vahn prevented his smile from turning wry as hemented, "You should have more confidence in yourself. Id have to be a great fool to find your body distasteful..." Kenshin might be forty-nine years old but it certainly didnt seem that way if you were looking at her surface appearance. Being [Bishamontens Favorite Child] and having a Divinity sleeping within her body had been very kind to her as she aged. Though she wasnt at the point of bing immortal and ageless just yet, it was easy to see from the vitality radiating from Kenshins body that she could easily live for a few hundred years. Vahn was actually very curious about what kind of sickness could have imed someone that had essentially had the Divine Protection of a Goddess. It seemed more likely that she had either been poisoned or cursed but, considering sickness seemed to run in her family, it was hard to be certain without seeing it directly. While Nobunaga was cackling in the back, Kenshin seemed to interpret Vahns words as his intention to do something with her body. With deft movements that here hard to follow with the eye, she had already loosed her kimono, revealing the fact she wore nothing beneath it. As she was preparing to die, Kenshin had been wearingfortable and loose clothing as her ailment made it hard for her to breath. She had unbound her chest more than a year prior and didnt even wear an obi around her kimono, making it closer in function to a yukata that was only fashioned together with a small cloth belt. As a result, Vahn was able to see Kenshins fit and athletic figure in its full glory,plete with impossible fair skin and the subtle hint of powerful muscles lingering just beneath the surface. The only thing that seemed out of ce, at least until he considered how Divinity usually influenced the body, was that Kenshin was impably smooth in a way that grooming could never manage... Though he was admittedly tempted, Vahn had less than two hours before his training was supposed to begin and Scthach wasnt the most understanding when it came to beingte. Others might be able to finish the deed in less time but Vahn liked to extend things a bit to make the moment more memorable for the women he was with, especially if it was their first time. Kenshin seemed like the type that could tolerate a lot of pain but Vahn had no intention of mistreating her just because she didnt know any better. He knew from experience with other warrior women, especially those with a traditional mentality, that it wasnt always the best idea to let them get caught up in the momentum. Without hiding the appreciation in his eyes, Vahn politely smiled as he said, "There is an order to everything, Kenshin. Lets get you situated properly before moving on to things like that. Come, well find a room for you and get you some clothing. I also forged you some weapons that youll be able to use for training purposes. When there is time, you can let me know about your preferences and Ill try to make you some to-order equipment." Believing it would be easier for her to take a step back if he shifted the topic towards weapons and armor, Vahn pulled out one of the katanas he had forged for Kenshins personal use. Though she epted it with a glimmer in her eyes, she also failed to fix her kimono before eyeing the des edge and giving it a few swings. Vahn could only maintain a polite smile as he saw this, all while Nobunaga was dying fromughter in the background... --- Vahn had been correct to use equipment as a distraction but he had severely underestimated how easily side-tracked Kenshin could get when it came to the thing she was most interested in. Though he managed to get her into an [Aegis Mk 5] and some more casual clothing, consisting of a pair of tight white shorts and a form-fitting ck shirt, she had hardly been able to contain herself when it came to trying out her new weapons. She had never forged in her lifetime but Kenshin could feel the smallest imperfections in a weapons craft, paying Vahn quite a few heavypliments as she held the weapons in her hands with a fervent light in her eyes. Watching Kenshin polish the spear he had given her with a somewhat silly smile on her face, Vahn couldnt help smiling himself as Nobunaga whispered, "When ites to fighting, this girl is the biggest idiot youll ever meet. Just wait and see her battle against Scthach...kukukuku~." As this was his first time hearing that Kenshin would be fighting Scthach, not that it was much of a surprise, Vahn tilted his head to urge Nobunaga to exin. Then, seemingly without any shame whatsoever, Nobunaga exined, "Since you cant seem to pull it off, I want to see at least one person cause that purple monster to change expressions. Kenshin might not be able to win, but Id be willing to bet an entire province that shell be able to give that woman a few surprises." Since the conversation rted to her fighting a strong opponent, Kenshins ears had perked up in response, causing her to confidently nod her head and say, "With these gifts provided by Master, I will be able to pressure her for at least ten, no, twenty minutes...!" Though they werent the weapons she had used in her previous life, Kenshin wasfortable with any weapon that she got her hands on. Even if they werent masterpieces, the weapons produced by Vahn had an almost perfect bnce and a simplified design that any Master martial artist could appreciate. She felt particrly blessed by the fact that her Emperor, someone she should be dedicating herself to, actually went out of his way to personally forge weapons for her use... With Kenshin staring at him with stars in her eyes, Vahn returned a polite smile before saying, "If you intend to have a spar against Scthach, we should head out pretty soon. It would be very dangerous to enter into the training Orb when it is time for my own training to begin. Some of the preliminary attacks Scthach uses against me could level city blocks so it would be best to arrive early." Though a single attack wouldnt even be enough to take out Nobunaga, in most circ.u.mstances, Vahn would rather not risk either of their lives just because they underestimated Scthach. Vahn felt that, more than anyone else in history, he knew the terror of Scthach better than most couldprehend. If given the chance to fight or not fight, Kenshin would always lean towards the former, much to the frustration of both her allies and enemies. The moment she heard Vahns words, she gripped the spear in her hands a little tighter as she eximed, "I relish this opportunity! Thank you, Master!" Then, grabbing literally all of the weapons Vahn had prepared for her, eight in total, Kenshin rose to her feet with eyes that said, Im ready, lets go, quickly. This caused Nobunaga to shake her head in false exasperation as Vahns smile became somewhat wry, even though he rose to his feet as well. Before she could get ahead of herself, however, Vahn asked, "Do you not need any other equipment before we leave? Are you fine with fighting barefooted...?" Since he had only given her clothes to wear in lieu of her loose kimono, Kenshins long legs and small feet were both bare. Her boyish style,bined with her mature figure, creating a rather unique gap that was distinctly different from Nobunagas punk style. He also expected her to tie up her ankle-length hair but, after recalling the scenes of battle from her memories, it didnt seem like Kenshin cared about such things. He had no idea how some women could have unbelievably long hair without it getting in the way, especially when moving around at supersonic speeds, but that was just perhaps another expression of their skill... With Vahns reminder, and offer to help gear her out, Kenshin actually had quite a few demands about her loadout since she knew her opponent was someone like Scthach. When her outfit waspleted, she had a hardened leather b.r.e.a.s.tte,yered leather pauldrons, a tight corset with metal ting, thigh-high boots with tall heels, a long-sleeved mantle, vambraces on both hands, and a waistcloth overtop the pair of shorts he had given her earlier. Vahn had done his best to pick out colors that would match Kenshins peculiar beauty, choosing white fabric with regal red trim and ck leather with golden ents thatplimented her eyes. Since he had her memories stored away within his own mind, he made sure to pick designs she would befortable with, something that Kenshin seemed to appreciate greatly as she looked at herself in front of a mirror with arge grin on her face. Before heading out to meet up with Scthach, Vahn helped Kenshin bind her weapons together in a modified cloth sheath that would allow her to draw them at her leisure. She seemed fully intent on using all eight of them, including a seven pronged spear, ck katana, silver long sword, weighted nodachi, monkey staff, ringed naginata, curved nagamaki, and a two-meter long tetsubo. These were all traditional Japanese weapons, the only exceptions being the monkey staff, one of the weapons she had been fond of in her youth, and the uniquely designed spear. Most spears were designed with a focus on function, meaning they were rtively simple in design with their sole purpose being to prate an enemys armor. Kenshin, however, preferred a spear that had a tip reminiscent of a seven-branched sword. While most functional spears only had a tip averaging between 15~20cm in length, the tip of Kenshins unique weapon of choice was 75cm in length, bringing the total length of the spear to nearly three meters. This, however, wasnt actually as surprising as when she hefted up the two-meter long tetsubo, a weapon designed like a massive lump of metal with several spiked studs, weighing around 70kg. Though her parameters showed she had a base strength of twenty-nine average humans, it was always an odd sight to see a woman lift a metal rod that weighed more than they did without any effort at all... By the time Kenshin had finished her preparations, there was only around twenty minutes left before Vahns training was supposed to begin. Based on her own estimates, this was about the amount of time she expected herself tost so it was more than adequate. With that in mind, Vahn, Nobunaga, and Kenshin made their way over to the training orb reserved for Scthachs lessons. Around the same time that they appeared within the infinite white space, Scthach popped up right in front of the trio, passing her eyes over the group before locking gazes with Kenshin. This was their first time meeting but Scthach knew everything about Kenshin from the moment their eyes met, instantly understanding the reason why thetter had apanied Vahn into the Orb. Though he knew it wasnt really necessary, Vahn gestured to Kenshin, exining, "Scthach, this is our newestpanion, Uesugi Kenshin. She would like to spar with you in order to-." Before he could finish, Scthach showed a rare smile that caused Vahns words to get caught in his throat as she mused, "In order to wipe the cold and expressionless look on my face, was it? Very well, I will ept your challenge, Avatar of Bishamonten. In exchange, I will require that you assist me with a few things in the future." Since she already knew Kenshin would agree, Scthach didnt bother asking as she pulled out a scarlet spear and a dark red short-sword. The moment Scthach pulled out her weapons, Kenshin kicked off the ground with enough force to send out a powerful shockwave as she mmed down with the heavy tetsubo. Vahn had barely been able to react to her initial movements, evidence that Kenshins 48A Agility was far from the limit of her speed. As for Scthach, she managed to deflect the tetsubo by thrusting forward with her spear at the central focus of the heavy weapons momentum, causing it to change course irreversibly. This would have left most people open to a counterattack but, before Scthach had even deflected her strike, Kenshin was already stabbing forward with her own spear, exploiting the gap in her own parried attack to try and gain an advantage. With machine-like precision, Scthach used her short-sword to stab between one of the branches of Kenshins spear, twisting her wrist counter to thetters movement as they both tried to disarm each other. At this point, Kenshin had already let go of her tetsubo, drawing the katana from her peculiar sheath in a reverse grip to slice up towards Scthachs left shoulder. Though she moved to deflect it with the shaft of her spear, something that caused Vahns brows to raise and Nobunagas face to morph into a smile happened in the same instance. The tetsubo had only now mmed into the ground, carrying a monstrous amount of momentum that caused spiderweb cracks to spread out from the point of impact. This caused Kenshins footing to slip, slightly changing the course of her katana strike just out of the path of Scthachs parry. As a result, the ck de cut across thetters shoulder, tearing through the fabric of her bodysuit and knocking her off bnce. A glimmer shed across Kenshins eyes as she literally shouted, "Chance..!" in an excited voice. Following this, she kicked towards Scthachs left knee while using the swing of her h.i.p.s to put more force into her spear, sessfully sending the red short-sword flying away. Though Scthach was able to deal with the kick by pulling up her own leg and using the momentum of Kenshins attack to leap backward, she was temporarily bereft of weapons as thetter temporarily abandoned her katana and began swinging her spear in smooth and soundless arcs that didnt even cause shockwaves. Though not as much as Scthachs mastery with the spear, Kenshins mastery with all weapons had transcendedmon sense, allowing her to ignore friction and wind resistance as her spear cut through several sections of Scthachs purple bodysuit. By the time Scthach was able tond, she had nearly a dozen red lines on her usually unblemished skin but, contrary to Nobunagas expectation, her expression remained unchanged. Then, as Kenshin pulled out her nodachi, swinging it in a downward cleaving motion, Scthach pulled out two spears this time, using a pinpoint strike topletely shatter the de of the nodachi while the other spear, even without her making any motion whatsoever, extended toward Kenshins shoulder as if it had a mind of its own. This caused thetters eyes to widen as she eximed, "Attacks without motion!? You are truly an awe-inspiring opponent...!" These words escaped her lips as she created a small amount of distance in an attempt to evade the attack. Then, as Scthach followed up with a secondary strike, Kenshin smiled as she said, "But you arent the only one...!" When Kenshin had leaped backward, she angled her spear at a downward angle that was aimed toward Scthachs right thigh. This would normally prevent an enemy from following the same path, as they would skewer themselves on the spear, but Scthach wasnt an ordinary enemy. She had twisted her body as she leaped forward, easily outside of the spears normal trajectory as she aimed for Kenshins left shoulder and right calf. However, even though she had clearly moved outside of the trajectory of the seven-branched spear, Scthach found her course changed mid-leap as Kenshin was able to put the force of a full swing into the simple movement of flicking her wrist. Immediately following this, Kenshin tried to exploit the gap in Scthachs destabilized state to knee her in the chin, an action both intended to cause thetter to flinch and give her enough time to perform follow-up strikes. Though Kenshins attack would have seeded uninhibited in almost every other circ.u.mstance, Scthach moved her own wrists in a subtle motion that seemed tock any power. At the same time, she released her spears which, instead of continuing on their original trajectory, suddenly spun sideways with their ded points aimed toward Kenshins left wrist and right thigh. Against her expectation, however, both spears seemed to change course on their own as Kenshins knee mmed hard into her nose. Though it ultimately dealt no damage, Scthach experienced a very brief sh of light as the impact passed through her head. Immediately following this, a hard impact mmed into her chest as Kenshin attempted to skewer her body with the seven-branched spear, another action that ultimately had nost effect. With Scthach being sent back several meters, Kenshin produced a wry smile as she remarked, "I have never fought against an opponent who cant be damaged. Its a little disheartening, ahahaha." Though she said this, the conviction in Kenshins eyes hadnt diminished in the slightest as she leaned forward and held the tip of her spear a few centimeters above the ground. As for Scthach, she hadnded without any difficulties while two new spears had already found their way into her hands. She gave a brief nce towards the cross-shaped red marks on her now exposed chest before remarking, "You are exceptionally skilled. With a more powerful weapon, you may have been able to kill me before I went all out..." Hearing Scthachs words, Kenshins smile became even wrier since she knew the former was just being polite. If she had the ability to kill her, the fight likely wouldnt have gone on for as long as it had. Though it was somewhat frustrating, she knew Scthach was going easy on her as, if she had followed up on herst strike, Kenshin knew it would have cost her a limb or two. Unlike when the fight had begun, where it felt like Scthach had a few openings she could exploit, those had all vanished after she kneed her in the face. This didnt mean she couldnt make openings however so, in order to enjoy the fight for as long as possible, Kenshin muttered, "Biten-Hass Kuruma Gakari no Jin: Bishamontens Eight Phases Wheel Charge Formation~!" Out of nowhere, a fully armored white horse with a long mane and ance-like horn on its head appeared. Kenshin mounted it in one swift motion before brandishing her spear, each motion leaving behind a trail of white light that persisted long after her movement. Then, to Vahns surprise, he watched as seven other mounted Kenshins came into existence, each wielding different weapons as they all began charging towards Scthach in a staggered line formation. These obviously werent normal horses either as their initial charge cracked the hard white surface of the floor, sending shockwaves spreading through the area as they moved like phantoms towards their foe. In response to this, Scthatch jumped backward with significantly less speed but, at the same time, produced eight spears around her body as she inly stated, "Gae Bolg...Myriad Spears of ughter..." Though it seemed like nothing would be able to stop the momentum of Kenshins charge, each of the eight horses were instantly skewered by Scthachs Noble Phantasm. This didnt stop the eight Kenshins, however, as they all leaped from their horses and began an assault on Scthach that was almost entirely prevented by the spears dancing around her body. It was an impressive disy from both sides but, as the fight continued, it became increasingly apparent that Scthach had seized the momentum. She was able to fight eight-on-one without showing any gaps, even when random things like one of the Kenshins slipping in a puddle of her own blood urred. Eventually, there were only three Kenshins remaining as the other five were spread out over the ground, slowly dissipating into small particles of golden light... From start to finish, Kenshin never backed down from the fight, even as Scthach skewered her two remaining clones and returned a heeled kick to her diaphragm. This caused Kenshin to go tumbling across the ground, bouncing several times like a rock thrown across the surface of the water. Her body had been sent flying towards Vahn so, understanding Scthachs intent, he arrested Kenshins momentum with his own body before lowering her to the ground. Her neck was straining greatly as she tried to draw in a breath but, after having her diaphragm ruptured, it was impossible for Kenshin to breathe through her own efforts. Vahn alleviated her pain as much as he could by stroking her head while using his right hand to repair the damage to her diaphragm. Even if she was suffocating, someone like Kenshin could persist for several minutes before there was any permanant damage to their brain from oxygen deprivation. This gave Vahn more than enough time to restore her breathing without having to give her CPR or using one of his Command Spells to heal the damage instantly... While Vahn was healing Kenshin, Nobunaga had a deadpan expression as she looked at Scthach, muttering, "You didnt have to go so far. I didnt think you were the petty type..." As she already knew what Nobunaga was going to say, Scthach just ignored her as she made her way over to the side of Vahn and Kenshin, saying to thetter, "You fought well." This elicited a painedugh from Kenshin as she raspily stated, "I will get stronger...please fight me again...when the timees..." In response to this, Scthach gave an affirmative nod before moving off to the side and sitting down in a meditative pose. Vahn could feel her siphoning the Source Energy from his jewel to supplement her reserves, something she had held back on during her battle with Kenshin. If thetter had been able to pressure her for another half hour or so, it wasnt impossible that she could have clinched a victory through attrition. Of course, the closer you were to a potential victory, the likelihood of your defeat increased exponentially as Scthach would get progressively more serious... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Some say the quickest way to a girls heart is with a finely crafted sword...,You did your best, Ken-chan (T ^ T)...!,Scthach is a very tall wall...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1127 - Observation

Chapter 1127 - Observation

After having her injuries healed by Vahn, Kenshin sat beside Nobunaga as the two watched Scthach thrash him, seemingly without end. In a way, it was impressive that any person could tolerate such punishment, even if it was somewhat disturbing at the same time. Since her own fight hadsted only twelve minutes, watching Vahn continue standing back up even after two hours caused Kenshin to adopt a serious expression as she sat in seiza atop the cushion that Vahn had provided. When she saw Scthach vault over Vahns charge, skewering him from his right shoulder to his left thigh with a long spear, she couldnt help flinching slightly. At her side, Nobunaga had an even worse reaction,ining, "Even though she doesnt have to put him through such punishment, she always goes too far. Watching this is starting to piss me off..." Though Kenshin wasnt enjoying the show any more than Nobunaga, she actually shook her head in response before saying, "I will continue to watch. My Master is doing his best without giving up...I cant just leave when the pain Im feeling is nothingpared to what he is going through..." Even though she knew Vahn was different after experiencing the memory link, the fact he had gone out of his way to forge her equipment, help her move in, provide her clothes, and even humor her desire to fight Scthach had elevated his status in Kenshins mind. Since he had even shown restraint after she bared herself to him, it was hard not to see him as a worthwhile Lord to serve. Releasing an annoyed groan in response to Kenshins words, Nobunaga leaned to the side until she came to rest on the formers thighs. This brought a wry smile to Kenshins face but, instead of having Nobunaga remove her head, she picked out a few strands of ck hair from thetters face before gently running her fingers through her long hair. As a result, Nobunaga released a rxed sigh as sheined, "If I had been a man, I would have made you mine a long time ago Ken-chan. All I can do now is leave you to the man who stole my heart...he will be good to you..." After saying this, Nobunaga closed her eyes and did her best to ignore the sounds of fighting in the distance. She had a simr mentality to Kenshin previously but watching Vahn get thrashed every day had caused her to start drinking a lot more than normal. Now, though she would wait for him to finish, Nobunaga didnt have the heart to watch him get torn apart over and over... Not missing the fact that Nobunaga had just professed her love for Vahn, Kenshins smile turned gentle as she continued stroking the head of her times greatest Conqueror. She had noticed it since the moment she firstid eyes on Nobunaga but thetter had changed a great deal from the strong and confident woman she knew. Though her habit of teasing was still there, Kenshin noticed that the number of vulnerabilities in her heart and mind had increased greatly. This actually made Nobunaga seem a little cute, something Kenshin wanted to say but ultimately held back on. Regardless, it felt like a small blessing that she and Nobunaga were no longer enemies as, even though they were far from their home, it didnt seem all that difficult to create one in the present... --- With one final suplex, nting Vahn in the ground headfirst like a bamboo shoot, Scthach rolled off to the side, regaining her bnce as she said, "You are distracted today. I will not punish you this time but expect our next training session to be more intense." As Vahn was still nted in the hard white floor, Scthach grabbed his ankle before dragging him towards the location of Kenshin and Nobunaga. A few of his bone broke as a result of her forcibly pulling him at an awkward angle, but Vahn didnt really care about much right now as he was simply too tired to even groan. This time around, Scthach had used two serrated hatchets that had an Anti-Divine property, something he had no resistance against. As a result, his regeneration had been significantly reduced while an intense burning sensation had pervaded his entire body by the end of the seven-hour training session. After reaching the location of Kenshin and the now awake Nobunaga, Scthach passed her eyes over the two before saying, "In the future, I will have you train with Vahn. He needs a rival to ovee and you are the only person within the castle that meets this criterion. If you hold back against him, I will not allow you to enter this ce in the future." With her words finished, Scthach tossed Vahn towards Kenshin before vanishing from the Sub-Space Orb. She already knew Kenshin would agree as this was the follow-up to their agreement before the duel. Scthach could tell that Kenshin wasnt someone that Vahn would be able to defeat, at least for a few months, so it would be ther.a.p.eutic for him to have a strong rival that he can eventually ovee. She didnt care if the two of them had s.e.x, so long as she never caught Kenshin holding back when they were training... Now that it was just the three of them left within the Sub-Space Orb, Nobunaga jumped up to her feet, pointing her middle finger skyward as she screamed, "You are sooooooo f.u.c.k.i.n.g annoying~!" Then, after throwing her hands up in exasperation, Nobunaga looked down at Kenshin cradling Vahns body as she said, "Lets get out of this empty white hell. Come on, well head to your room and get it broken in." Now that Vahn was on his break, Nobunaga wanted to spend some time with him since she needed to do something to ease her tensions after hearing him get beaten for thest couple of hours. Since it would be the three of them, Nobunaga had a little more confidence about having s.e.x since Vahn wouldnt be able to focus on just her... Though it felt a little awkward to carry her unconscious Master in her arms, Kenshin nodded her head in response to Nobunagas words before lifting him up like a princess. This caused Vahn, who had been loosely paying attention to what they were talking about, toe back to his senses and say, "You can let me down...I can still walk." In response to this, Nobunaga was the one to answer, "Just let her carry you and focus on recovering..." With that said, Nobunaga vanished from the space, leaving a somewhat troubled Kenshin still holding a wryly smiling Vahn. Since it was easy to see that Nobunaga wasnt in the best mood, he just weaklyughed, saying, "Ill leave it to you then..." before resting his head on Kenshins shoulder and shrinking his body a bit. This caught her by surprise but she managed to avoid dropping him before nodding her head and answering, "I will not fail...!" in a too serious manner... --- Fortunately, Kenshin and Vahn encountered none of the Ivory Castles few residents on the way back to her room. If they hade across someone like Mordred, Vahn would have felt awkward trying to exin to his daughter why a woman she had never met was carrying him like a bride. Though it had only been a little more than three months, she already looked up to him quite a bit more than either he or Artoria had expected. Whenever she managed to learn something new or performed a task well, Mordred would seek him out to tell him about it. This was time together Vahn hade to appreciate as it made him happy to see her happy, something she seemed to be keenly aware of since there was always a toothy grin on her face even when talking about rtively menial things... Nobunaga was already waiting for them in Kenshins room, this time wearing blood-red silk lingerie with a ck pattern that looked like thorns. There was even a small skull on the front of her panties, set over a ck ribbon, small rubies where its eyes would have been. This made her intentions very apparent, causing Kenshin to produce a wry smile as she carried Vahn over to the sofa and sat him down. It was only at this moment that Nobunaga noticed he was actually shorter than she was, reduced from his normal 185cm down to a mere 160cm to make it easier for Kenshin to carry him. This caused Nobunagas eyes to glimmer but, before she could get a word in, Vahn inly stated, "Im not going to do anything that would make it weird for Kenshin. If you want to y around, leave that for the future." Hearing Vahns words, Nobunaga reached out with her hands and tried to pinch his cheeks but he managed to catch her wrists before pulling her forward. She could have avoided it, especially in Vahns weakened state, but Nobunaga let herself be pulled atop Vahn as he had beenying down. His body steadily increased in size, expanding from being a small figure that she could wrap in her embrace to a wide and firm chest that she could lean against like a stable rock. At the same time, however, Nobunaga was determined to have Vahn shrink his body down in the future as it would be nice if their roles were reversed for once. She felt like it might be possible for her to get an advantage against him if she was in her most matured form while he was in a shrunken state... Though others might feel awkward or apprehensive witnessing two people suddenly making out, Kenshin just sat at the side with her cheek resting against her knee as she watched the scene with a casual smile on her face. There were exceptions but, unless she was on the battlefield, Kenshin never really understood why humans, even those as powerful and Nobunaga and Vahn, acted the way they did. Unlike other people, she rarely felt any significant emotions and, other than a few regrets, things like hatred, anger, sadness, and even love had always escaped her. Though there sometimes be soft stirrings in her heart, the only time she had wept was over the death of Shingen while the one time she felt like a woman wasying in the bed of Nobunaga. It was for reasons like this that Kenshin didnt really mind if Vahn used her as he pleased as, seeing the changes in Nobunaga, she was curious if he would be able to awaken her slumbering emotions as well. Several minutes after Vahn and Nobunaga had started making out with each other, thetter pulled her lips free, hot breaths escaping her lips as she whispered, "We shouldnt leave Kenshin alone..." As she was the most aware of what kind of person Kenshin was, Nobunaga was equally as hopeful that Vahn would be able to change the unshakeable warrior woman into something more homely. It was Kenshins peculiarck of emotions that had caused Nobunaga to push her down in both their past and present lives. This was also why Nobunaga had told Vahn that Kenshin needed a good f.u.c.k.i.n.g as, if he couldnt reach her heart, it was likely that nobody else would be able to either. Since she wanted a panion on her descent into a more demure lifestyle, Nobunaga had decided there was none better than a woman who only showed real emotion on the battlefield. Aftering to a seated position with Nobunaga at his side, Vahn looked over at Kenshin to see thetter just absentmindedly watching them with a smile that never seemed to quite reach her eyes. He had noticed this peculiar trait of hers from the very beginning and, after witnessing her memories, Vahn knew that Kenshins emotions had died around the same time she stood in front of that mirror as a little girl. Though she had a significantly easier life than some of the more tragic girls he had met, the fact she had killed her own emotions when she was only seven years old was a tragedy all its own. Even now, he could tell that Kenshin didnt really care about having s.e.x and, even if he asked her to do something strange, she would undoubtedly agree without any real resistance... With Vahn looked at her, Kenshin raised her head and sat in a more proper manner as she asked, "Is it my turn now? I may be inexperienced, but I will do my best. Please teach me well, Master." At the end of her statement, Kenshin gave a polite and respectful bow, simr to how a student would greet their teacher. It bothered Vahn to see anyone acting like this but, after viewing Kenshins memories, he at least had some perspective to exin why she behaved in this manner. With that in mind, Vahn didnt hold it against her in the slightest and just replied, "I will be in your care a lot from now on, Kenshin. Do not hesitate to tell me if you are ufortable with something, regardless of the difference in our status. If you cant easily set that aside, consider it my order as your Lord..." Understanding that Vahn was worried about her, a curious thing that she didnt really understand all that well, Kenshin nodded her head and answered, "I understand, Master. If there is anything, I will be sure to speak up." With that said, she rose to her feet and began to process of removing her armor as, unlike Nobunaga, she couldnt just change outfits with a thought. As for Vahn, he watched her for a few moments, something Kenshin had taken notice of as she moved in a way that made it easy for him to see anywhere his eyes wandered. Vahn wanted to remark that it was not being able to see things clearly that made a strip-tease tantalizing but it was too soon for Kenshin to learn such things. The moment he started actually teaching her things, Kenshin would undoubtedly take his words very seriously as, in her current state, she was more malleable than soft y... As he didnt really know what to do in order to stir Kenshins heart, Vahn decided to try something a little different than normal. Though it was her first time, Vahn could tell that her h.y.m.e.n had partially torn and atrophied, likely due to overtraining, so she wouldnt be in much pain from the start. With that in mind, a strange thought crossed his mind as he stopped watching Kenshin undress, moving to the corner of the room instead. This caused Nobunaga to ask, "What the hell are you doing?" while Kenshin only watched him for a brief moment before continuing to undress. She interpreted Vahns reaction as her failure to please him but, as he didnt seem upset, Kenshin continued to undress since he hadnt told her to stop. With Nobunaga following close behind with an annoyed expression on her face, Vahn just shook his head before pulling out arge full-body mirror. This only added to Nobunagas confusion until Vahn grabbed her wrist and brought her to stand in front of him before wrapping his hands around her waist and looking over her shoulder. Nobunaga could see him staring into her eyes through the mirror, causing her heart to begin thumping powerfully in her chest as he began tracing his fingers up her abdomen. Though the sensation wasnt different than what she was used to experiencing, she felt far more sensitive than normal as she could now see what Vahn was doing to her. What made matters significantly worse was that Nobunaga could see her own expression, causing her to quickly escape from Vahns clutches with a redder face than normal. She didnt have to ask what he had in mind any longer and instead fled to the sofa to observe for the time being... Kenshin had watched the interaction between Vahn and Nobunaga with curious eyes, blinking in surprise when she saw how quickly thetter became fl.u.s.tered. Then, when Vahn gestured for her toe over, Kenshin felt a small fluctuation in her heart as she watched Nobunaga plop down on the sofa with a red face. This didnt stop her from walking over to Vahns side, however, even though she was still wearing her top, shorts, and underwear. Vahn guided her to stand in front of him, allowing Kenshin to see her own reflection in the mirror while he stood behind her with a small smile on his face. Though it was a little strange to have someone stand so close to her while looking into a mirror, Kenshin didnt understand Nobunagas reaction. Instead, she looked back at Vahn through the mirror, asking, "Should I continue undressing...?" Shaking his head in response, Vahn ced his hands on Kenshins waist and said, "Until I tell you to look away, I want you to silently stare into the mirror. You can watch my hands if you want but avoid looking into my face or eyes until I give you permission..." Even before he had finished his words, Kenshin stopped looking into his eyes and simply nodded her in response. Following this, Vahn began to lightly stroke Kenshins sides, using only his understanding of Petting Laws since it would defeat the purpose of his experiment if he used something like [Hands of Nirvana]. Since Kenshin had killed her emotions through a mirror, one of the most ancient tools used in Magecraft, Vahn felt like it would be possible to awaken her using a simr method. There were many cultures that imed a mirror was a gateway that allowed a person to view their true selves as, with people being unable to visualize how others viewed them, the false reflection in the mirror was the truth to the observer... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Tosses Emperor like loose garbage*,Kenshin low-key sociopath o3o,What do you see...?) (A/N: Hey guys, I know there is a bunch of crap going on with right now but please dont stop voting with powerstones. Hopefully, they get all this stuff sorted out in the next few days and well be able to either take our ce on the power rankings once again or rise to the top of the Fan Fiction rankings when they are finally live. Please dont think your PS have lost their meaning as, if nothing else, I appreciate them quite a bit xD.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1128 - Truth

Chapter 1128 - Truth

Though she did not understand what Vahn was trying to do, the one thing Kenshin knew for sure was that it was surprisinglyfortable. She had expected the intimacy between men and women to be more fluttery and startling as, from the few female vassals she was close to, they had often told her how pleasant and exciting the event could be. From her experiences with Nobunaga, where it felt like fireworks were going off in her mind, her expectations had actually been rather high. Now that Vahns wandering hands only brought herfort and a bit of warmth, Kenshin wasnt quite sure what to make of the situation as the red face of Nobunaga made considerably less sense to her. As a result, she could only focus on what Vahn had told her to do, watching her own reflection and following his hands as they slowly moved about her body in slow and practiced movements... Seeing Kenshin slowly enter a dazed state, Vahn continued his actions with a slow and unhurried rhythm. Though he rarely used such skills on the people he was closest to, Vahn was trying to lull Kenshin into a more receptive hypnotic state, something made easier than expected by herpleteck of inhibitions. She followed everything he said and did very closely, meaning Kenshin was easier to hypnotize than most people, especially since shepletely lowered her guard around him. Vahn felt a little guilty about what he was intending to do but, as it was the only thing that came to mind when he was thinking of ways to help her, he pushed forward regardless. The only thing that getting in the way was Kenshins ankle-length hair, cascading down from her head like a waterfall of white and ck strands that had a satin-like quality to them... After running his hands slowly up her sides, Vahn slowly slid his hands toward her back, running them up her surprisingly firm shoulder and neck muscles before scooping her hair in his hands. Since it really was getting in the way, Vahn kept in mind that there was no need to rush the process at all. As a result, he began the long process of methodically braiding Kenshins inordinately long hair, a ther.a.p.eutic experience for both of them. Grooming was one of the most instinctually calming and subtly intimate behaviors that seemed to apply to most species, especially mammals. Whenever he would help one of the girls by brushing or styling their hair, Vahn noticed they would always be very rxed and, so long as he was careful with his actions, any tensions they had in their body would slowly fade away into nothingness. When Vahn was finished with the forty-minute long process, Kenshin had a rather uniquely styled braid that actually suited her far more than he expected. Seeing the mix of ck and white hair interlinking was certainly abnormal but, with Kenshins tall and subtly muscr body, she pulled it off as if it was perfectly natural. He could even imagine her using it as a weapon in the future, much like how he would use his tiger-like tail whenever he was in his Baihu form. With Kenshins level of skill, she would undoubtedly be able to pull it off without any significant difficulty. During her fight with Scthach, her hair had flowed smoothly behind her with every movement she made so it was obvious at a nce that she was very proficient at maneuvering it in a way that would never inhibit her fighting style... Setting aside such discussions untilter, Vahn stared at Kenshin through the mirror and saw that her golden eyes hadpletely lost their focus. Unless they had something protecting their mind, even powerful humans were susceptible to hypnosis if they were in a deep state of rxation. Though the smallest fluctuation of malicious intentions would cause her to snap out of it, Vahn knew he was a little too good at putting people in such a state. Even they were his enemies, he could eventually force them to answer his questions if he exploited his Petting Laws seriously. The hardest part of the process wasnt their resistance against his attempts but adopting a mentality where he no longer wished to hurt them. Fortunately, he was far more attuned to the idea of bringingfort to others than forcing pain upon them, making the process one of the few things Vahn had an extreme degree of proficiency at... Since this was a good opportunity, Vahn was intending to exin his intentions to Nobunaga but, after looking over at her on the sofa, even she had an absentminded look on her face. It could have been the result of her boredom but Nobunaga had fallen into an associative hypnotic state just by watching him put Kenshin under. In the books Vahn had researched on the topic, this wasnt all that rare so he wasnt too surprised since Nobunaga had been in an unstable emotional statetely. This was one of the reasons he had been so worried about her and, while he could have gone to almost anyone else, Vahn had chosen Nobunaga for his most recent summon. Asking her directly what the problem was hadnt yielded any results so he figured having someone else she could confide in would be the best way to tackle the issue... Deciding to follow up with Nobunaga a bitter, Vahn turned his focus back to Kenshin, whispering, "Raise your arms..." in a soft voice that had a slight reverberation to it. Since she would have listened to him even in her normal state, Kenshin raised her arms without any discernable hesitation as Vahn rolled up her shirt, pulling it past her head and down her long braided ponytail. This was enough for him to decide on making all of Kenshins future outfits the type that zipped up or could be tied together as pulling her hair through a t-shirt was surprisingly troublesome. Fortunately, removing the [Aegis Mk 5] top was much easier as, much like a bra, it had a sp on the back that could be undone before sliding it off the arms. This left Kenshin standing in nothing but a pair of tight white shorts, allowing her lean and athletic figure to be reflected in the mirror with all its glory. Using slow and easy to follow movements, Vahn wrapped his arms around Kenshins body without too much contact, the only exceptions being the fingers of his left hand pressing into the connecting point of her vicles while his right hands middle finger slowly traced up the line of her body from navel the diaphragm. His caress was so gentle that, other than feelings of generalfort, even the sensation of being touched would escape the awareness of his patient unless they could see what he was doing. The idea behind this was to make Kenshins imagination produce phantom sensations that matched his hand movements as it was possible to greatly increase a persons sensitivity when they were their mind was already focused on enhancing non-existant sensations. To make sure his method was working, Vahn eventually removed his fingers from Kenshins body, watching as her muscles still twitched in a subtle way wherever his hands moved, even without direct contact. With Kenshin being in an extremely deep state of hypnosis, Vahn asked, "What do you see...?" in the same dreamy tone as before. In response to his question, Kenshin took a few seconds before finally answering in a dull tone, "I see myself...and my Master..." Vahn lightly shook his head in response to this, passing his hands over various spots of Kenshins body without touching her as he whispered, "Even though you may be able to see my hands and sense my presence, I want your awareness of these things to slowly fade away, reced only by the sound of my voice and the sensations your body is experiencing..." Since telling her she couldnt see or sense him would potentially break the hypnosis, as this would be a contradiction of truth, Vahn knew it was better to use her receptive state to make suggestions that she could follow without noticing any incongruities. After waiting for several minutes, Vahn once again asked, "What do you see...?" This time, Kenshin took even longer to answer but eventually stated, "I see myself..." Since there were no major signals firing off within her mind, nor did her heart rhythm change in the slightest, Vahn knew that Kenshin was still in her hypnotic trance. This caused him to release a small sigh, tinged with a bit of warmth since this process wasnt exactly easy for him. Each and every one of his movements had to be measured in ordance with the subtle reactions of Kenshins body, all while observing her with his [Eyes of Truth] and an intense degree of focus. Though his [Will of the Emperor] would protect him somewhat, it was possible to even hypnotize himself if he got too into the procedure... Now that Kenshin was deep enough, Vahn figured it was time to begin his actual treatment, tracing his hands less than half a centimeter above her skin as he said, "You are currently Uesugi Kenshin, a forty-nine-year-old warrior maiden who has never known defeat in battle..." Then, after snaking his right hand to just above her heart, Vahn added, "From this moment onward, my voice will take you back in time. Though your physical body will remain unchanged, your image within the mirror will reflect your true self in ordance with my words. Every time Iplete a cycle and bring my hand over your heart, you will have stepped back in time a full year..." Since he could even pull her from the past to the presence, it actually wasnt a stretch to convince the current Kenshin that he could reverse time all the same. In fact, if he had waited for her Loyalty to increase a bit more, it would have actually been possible to reduce her physical age through the Modify function... Following his own words, Vahn began moving his hands around Kenshins body, almost as if he was physically shaping it which, from her perspective, wasnt far from the truth. When his hand came to a stop over her heart again, Vahn asked, "Who are you...? What is your name and age...?" In response to this, Kenshin remained silent for an expected amount of time before answering, "I am Uesugi Kenshin...age forty-eight..." Then, for a brief moment, her head began to slowly tilt to the side until Vahns reverberating voice manded, "Make sure you stand up properly...trust in my words..." Since most people would be confused if they were suddenly a year younger, Vahn wasnt all that surprised that Kenshin had almost slipped out of his control. Fortunately, she was a dutiful and loyal woman so, after hearing his order, she stopped questioning him and just went along with the flow of events once again... Over the process of nearly an hour and a half, Vahn slowly rewound the clock for Kenshin who, at least from her perspective, seemed to get progressively younger in her reflection. After twenty-five cycles had passed, Vahn once again asked, "Who are you...? What is your name and age...?" This time, Kenshins response had been different as, instead of answering Uesugi Kenshin, shezily stated, "I am Uesugi Terutora...age twenty-three..." At this point, Vahn could feel Kenshins heart begin to beat a little faster, not because she was at risk of breaking the hypnosis, but due to the emotions the name and identity brought her. Kenshin had adopted the name Terutora in honor of the 13th Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru. During that year of her life, she had led several campaigns to clear bandits from the region and had even led a troop of five-thousand men just to pay homage to the reigning shogunate... With one more cycle, Kenshins name had changed from Uesugi Terutora to Uesugi Masatora, the name she had taken upon herself after being adopted by Uesugi Masatora and obtaining the title of Kant Kanrei, the deputy-shogun of the Kant region. Going back even further, Kenshins name became that of her original identity, Nagao Kagetora, the fourth child and first daughter to Nagao Tamekage. At this point in her memories, Kenshin was steeped in the affairs of the Echigo Province after assuming the position of n Head from her brother, Nagao Harukage. Around this time, Kenshins expression became serious as she stared at the image of herself in the mirror, her eyes lowered slightly as she looked into the dark ck irises of her past self, a young boyish woman who was several centimeters shorter than her present self... Vahn knew he was getting to the formative years in Kenshins life so he made his actions even slower and more deliberate than before. These were some of the most important years in Kenshins life as, after bing the Lord of Echigo, even the memories of her various battles were more of a haze that blended together and became almost indiscernible from each other. It took him a full twenty minutes to go back five more cycles, to the point where Kenshin was still a Junior Master at the Rinsen-ji Temple. When she saw her past self in the mirror, Kenshins eyes became even duller than before as, during her final year at the temple, she had been growing weary and resentful of the fact that she was prevented from being a Master solely as a result of her gender. Since her reflection was nearly n.a.k.e.d, Kenshin could clearly see two of the physical representations of her gender, something she had kept painfully bound in a vain attempt to appear more masculine... Sensing theplex emotions Kenshin was experiencing, Vahn used a guiding tone as he said, "You wanted others to recognize your efforts...you wanted them to judge you based on your capabilities, not your gender...isnt that right?" In response to this, Kenshin had the usual pause before answering with a bit of emotion in her voice, "I memorized every scripture...every verse...even Masters three times my age...were unable to best me...it isnt fair..." Though she wasnt supposed to be able to see him right now, Vahn nodded his head in understanding but, instead of outright agreeing with her, he asked, "What are the qualities of a Master...? What is it that Zen Buddhists seek...?" This time, it took much longer for Kenshin to answer as, while staring at herself in the mirror, herplexion paled slightly as she sheepishly answered, "The quality of a Master is the ability to pass on their teachings to others...the pursuit of Zen Buddhism is Enlightenment...the perfection of personhood...unity with all things..." As this was the answer he wanted to hear, Vahn couldnt help producing a small smile as he asked, "If that is the case...how can someone who hasnt epted themselves be a Master...? How will you teach others how to seek Enlightenment by hiding from the truth and burying everything beneath things like aplishments and capabilities?" As she was in a state where falsehoods were almost impossible to form, Kenshin was forced to face the truth contained within Vahns words directly. She had actually heard simr words from the other Masters but, as a result of her own mentality, she had believed they were just suppressing her. This wasnt actually far from the truth, as her presence within the Temple was the source of many issues, but they had still made her a Junior Master at a very young age and never exiled her, regardless of the fact that she was a woman. It was hard to see things from the perspective of others but, now that Vahn was guiding her towards the truth, Kenshin felt an extreme amount of guilt that caused her to pity the reflection of herself in the mirror... With things proceeding even better than expected, Vahn continued the process of slowly guiding Kenshin further back in time. At this point, her head was tilted downward quite a bit, staring into the eyes of her past self when she was only around 115cm tall. Since Vahn knew he was getting close to the most important memory in Kenshins mind, he spoke in the same guiding tone, "When you reach the point just before you cut your hair, you will no longer be able to go any further in time. This is the memory that formed the very core of your being, the anchor of your true self...though you had been unable to be a Masterter in life, even a child is capable of reaching Enlightenment if they ept themselves..." By the time he was finished with his words, Vahn knew that Kenshin was staring at her seven-year-old self, the little girl who had abandoned her femininity, not in the pursuit of strength, but to escape her weakness... After letting her ruminate over her own memories, Vahn brought his lips close to Kenshins ears, asking in a warm voice that seemed to reach directly into her mind, "What do you feel...?" As she was already trembling slightly, Vahn knew the answer without asking but it was important for to admit it of her own volition. Thus, after several seconds passed, he gave a small nod when she stammered, "I am afraid..." Following this, Vahn asked in a gentle and guiding tone, "Why are you afraid...?" while cing his hand just above Kenshins abdomen. He still wasnt touching her, as any contact at this point could break the hypnosis, but that didnt stop Kenshin from imagining his touch. As a result, she flinched a little before eventually answering, "I miss my father...I dont want to be here...why did my Onii-sama kill Onii-chan...I dont understand..." With another understanding nod, Vahn answered Kenshins concerns, stating, "People can be veryplex creatures. They sometimes act in iprehensible ways that even they themselves are unable to understand. Some people simply cant deal with pressure and responsibility well, causing them to act in ways they never would have under normal circ.u.mstances. If they feel their status is threatened, even siblings could turn against each other for no greater reason than to have control over an already chaotic situation. This is not your fault, Kage-chan...you did nothing wrong..." Knowing it was the death of her father and the actions of her siblings that served as the catalyst for Kenshin sealing away her emotions, Vahn wanted her seven-year-old self to realize it wasnt her fault that everything had happened. The fact her memory of standing in front of the mirror was the clearest, while everything proceeding it seemed to be outright repressed, was all the proof Vahn needed to know he was very near the heart of Kenshins trauma. Since she couldnt even understand her own family, Kenshin convinced herself that she was unable to understand other people as well. The only thing that mattered from then onward was escaping her weakness, a vain attempt to gain some semnce of control in her own life when she lived at the mercy of others... Hearing Vahns words, Kenshins body began to tremble even more as a fair amount of moisture began to build on her eyes. She was currently in the mentality of her younger self, before covering her body and killing her emotions. Hearing someone tell her that it wasnt her fault, Kenshin felt a strong urge to cry but, after crying almost every night for thest month, she tried suppressing the tears before they could fall. She might have seeded if not for the fact that Vahn very gently embraced her as he whispered in aforting tone, "It is okay to cry, Kage-chan...emotions, even sadness, are what give people the strength to ovee themselves. True Enlightenment isnt the denial of your humanity, but the eptance of everything you are...opening the way towards a future of limitless potential...so cry, Kage-chan, so that you can be even stronger from now on..." Though the sudden contact was enough to break the hypnosis, it wasnt as if her brain would rectify all incongruities instantaneously. Vahn was using a shock treatment method to connect the seven-year-old Kagetora and the forty-nine-year-old warrior Kenshin. By reminding her of the person she was before, all while guiding her with his words, Vahn hoped to reconcile the two and reawaken the emotions she had buried deep within her heart and mind. The chance of sess wasnt all that high, especially with Kenshins strong personality, but Vahn was actually banking on her dutiful nature and her awareness of his desire to reconcile her past and present selves to greatly increase the odds... For several long seconds, there was only silence within the room but, hopefully indicating at least a small amount of sess, Kenshins body had continued to tremble slightly even after the hypnosis had been broken. He knew she must be thinking about everything that had happened, trying to sort her disorderly mind that was currently lit up like a billion fireworks being set off all at once. Then, just as it seemed like she might be on the verge of recovering herposure, Vahn embraced Kenshin with a bit more strength as he could see a crystal clear drop of liquid fall from her veiled face. Since she had leaned forward slightly, her bands had obscured her eyes but, with that one drop, Vahn knew he had seeded, at least a little bit. When several more began to drop immediately following the first, he couldnt help but hug her body tightly in his embrace as he used the same guiding tone to repeat, "It is okay to cry, Kage-chan..." (A/N: No alternate titles this time. Id like for this chapter to speak for itself since I put a lot of effort into it xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1129 - Wants

Chapter 1129 - Wants

As Vahn tightly embraced her body, Kenshin didnt really understand what she was feeling right now but, following his words, she allowed herself to cry in his arms. Feelings she hadnt experienced for more than forty years were washing over her like a turbulent tide and, without someone to keep her ground, Kenshin felt like she might be carried away when the tide of emotions receded. Fortunately, Vahn held her tightly and, as his warmth flowed into her body, Kenshin found herself crying harder than she ever had in her entire life. This was enough to awaken Nobunaga from her own stupor but, seeing the sight of Vahn holding the sobbing Kenshin, she couldnt help but internally remark, ("That was a lot faster than expected..."). Then, feeling rather awkward, Nobunaga did her best to ignore the two as she uncorked a bottle of expensive sake, inhaling its fragrance before taking a small sip and enjoying how it burned her throat and warmed up her cold body... --- Though she had decades of repressed emotions, Kenshins crying didntst as long as Vahn had expected. She stopped sobbing after around twenty minutes and, by the time a half-hour had passed, she had stopped shaking in his arms. He didnt expect her to let everything out all at once but, so long as she didnt try to repress herself in the future, there was plenty of time to reconnect with her past self. At the very least, she could no longer delude herself into thinking shecked emotion and, so long as she made an effort to connect with other people, Vahn believed Kenshin would be able to express herself properly in the future. He even suspected that the whole reason she was okay with having a child was her desire to feel a real attachment once again, something she had lost long ago after being separated from her family. After all, the fact her three clearest memories after that were her meeting with Bishamonten, the evening she learned of Shingens death, and the night she spent with Nobunaga had to mean something. Vahn knew there was a lot he could do for Kenshin in the future and, as they would be together for a few decades, at the very least, now was as good a time as any to get started. With that in mind, he loosened his embrace just a little as he asked, "What is it you want, Kenshin? You should understand that I dont just want a weapon or a vassal who will dedicate themselves to me. The more dutiful you act towards me, the harder I will work to break you down and expose the truth until you can no longer escape it anymore..." Since he had more than enough trouble with Scthach, Vahn didnt want another emotionless woman in his life, especially one that only interacted with him because of things like duty and obligation... As she had seen more than one-hundred-and-forty years of Vahns memories, Kenshin knew what he meant when he said he didnt want someone to dedicate themselves to him. With his capabilities and the status he had gained, there was no end to the number of people who were willing to ce themselves in such a position. Vahn had been respected by millions, to an extent that entire races would rally under his banner if he gave the call to arms. Instead, he faced most foes on his own and, instead of cing his allies in the line of fire, Vahn had literally be immortal in an effort to bear the burden for them. Though he did not push away those who wanted to stand at his side, they had to want to be there as anything less than a genuine desire for the strength to follow behind him would guarantee you just became another one of the burdens he had to bear... Refusing to be a burden, even though she didnt truly understand what she wanted, Kenshin peered through her bangs with pale golden eyes, staring into Vahns through the mirror as she answered, "I want to be broken down and exposed...I want to be stronger..." Though this was a rather awkward way of putting it, Vahn understood what Kenshin was trying to convey to him. She knew better than anyone that it would take a long time for her to find what she was looking for and, as shecked the strength to do it herself, Kenshin was willing to expose herself so that Vahn could show her the way forward. This caused her to stand up straighter so that her body was revealed in all its glory as she added, "I want to be a woman..." In response to Kenshins words, Vahn smiled from his ce behind her shoulder, bringing his hand up to lightly cup her right b.r.e.a.s.t as he whispered in a hot voice, "You have always been a woman..." With that said, Vahn lightly pinched Kenshins almost flesh tone n.i.p.p.l.e, a color so fair it blended almost seamlessly into her skin. He had noticed this peculiarity earlier but, now that Kenshin had entrusted herself to him, Vahn was now keenly aware of all her unique qualities. The most notable thing, however, was not their color but, due to the fact Kenshin had kept her b.r.e.a.s.ts bound nearly her entire life, she actually had inverted n.i.p.p.l.es, something Vahn had never seen in a mature woman before... Inhaling sharply in response to Vahns touch, Kenshin admitted with a red face, "I dont know what to do...will you teach me?" This question caused Vahn to lightly shake his head before kissing her neck and exining, "Though there is certainly much to learn, the most important thing you need to realize is that s.e.x is an emotional union between two people. Both sides need to want it or else it will turn into something toxic that can seed a trauma deep within the heart and mind. The more positive emotions you put into intercourse, the more meaningful the act bes...this isnt something that can be taught...it is something you must decide upon yourself. I can bring you great pleasure and euphoria, but that is meaningless if you seek it selfishly without giving anything in return..." Though Kenshin was tempted to say she was willing to give her everything, the words never left her lips because she wasnt sure if this was the truth. Things seemed a lot easier when she didnt put any extraneous thought into the process and simply intended to let Vahn do whatever he wanted. Since she didnt understand her own emotions, Kenshin didnt know what she could give him in return for his care. If he wasnt willing to teach her what he wanted her to do, the only way forward was to learn through experience and try to figure it out on her own. She wondered if this was what Vahn intended for her to realize as, though it caused her to feel an indescribable emotion, Kenshin felt like she really wanted to learn together with him... While watching Vahns hands trace her body in the mirror, Kenshin began to feel a slight fluttery feeling in her stomach, especially when his fingers would trace around her navel. Even his kisses on her neck felt like they were sending small waves of heat into her body in a way that Nobunaga had never been able to manage. He wasnt trying to tease her, nor was he trying to rile her up at all...the only thing Vahn seemed to care about was appreciating her body and bringing herfort. As a result, the fluttery feeling in her abdomen continued to rise until Kenshin noticed her breathing had turned slightlybored. Then, deciding to trust her instincts, she ced her hand atop Vahns before guiding it lower. Her abdominal muscles tensed up as she guided his hand past her navel, bringing his fingers to the band of her shorts as a tingling sensation began to tickle something deep within her body... Realizing Kenshins intentions, Vahn smiled at her through the mirror before moving his hands to the sides of her shorts and slowly pulling them, along with the [Aegis Mk 5], down. As this motion had him kneel down, Vahns face was only a few centimeters away from Kenshins perfectly round, albeit small, rump. He felt like there was infinite potential contained in those two snowy white cheeks that looked a little adorable when Kenshin tensed up slightly in response to his breath. Before rising to his feet, Vahn felt like teasing her a bit so he gently grabbed her h.i.p.s before lightly kissing both cheeks on his way back up. This caused Nobunaga to snicker at the side but Vahn ignored her for the time being as he looked at Kenshins slightly red face through the mirror. Though it didnt really need to be stated, Vahn pressed his fingers in the area below Kenshins navel, whispering, "In here is something precious that all men seek, something only a woman can grant them. It is the cradle of life that bears the responsibility of all future generations..." Since he knew Kenshin wanted to bear a child, he felt the need to point it out since, with very few exceptions, that was a thought that only a woman could have. She had said the words, I want to be a woman..., but Vahn knew what she actually meant was a little different. Kenshin wanted to be desired and cared for in a way that she could never experience as a warrior on the battlefield. Then, if fate allowed, she wanted to bear a child to experience what it meant to be a mother, something she hadcked since her own had never even been revealed to her... It was a little unorthodox, but Vahn still intended to use the mirror as a means for Kenshin to see the truth so, while it would have been a lot easier to move things to the bed, he continued to rub her lower abdomen while saying, "Bend over and ce your hands on the side of the mirror..." He had made sure to pig a heavy mirror outlined with gold that was supported by the wall behind it. This allowed Kenshin to ce her hands at the sides of the mirror while, at the side, Nobunaga had shifted around on the sofa to watch things from a better vantage point. As for Vahn, he intended to give Kenshin a memorable first experience so he squatted down behind her as Kenshin fretfully stared at herself in the mirror. Then, spreading apart her springy and somewhat firm vulva, Vahn proceeded to help her prepare to ept himpletely... Though she had been teased by Nobunaga before, Kenshin wasnt prepared in the least when Vahn began to lightly massage herbia while probing way deeper than she had expected into her insides. She instinctually clenched down but, instead of being forced out, Vahns tongue was just slightly squashed before it beganpping at her insides in a way that made shivers run up her spine as her body involuntarily spasmed in response. Then, just as she thought it couldnt get any more intense, Vahn began to gently trace his thumb around her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s after it peeked out to see what all the fuss was about. Since she could see her pained expression in the mirror, Kenshin began to feel a mixture of emotions she didnt know how to deal with as she held her breath in a vain attempt to repress the swelling pleasure. Every time he lightly pinched her sensitive little bead, Kenshin felt like small white explosions were erupting in her mind before, a few minutester, she had to cling desperately to the mirror when her h.i.p.s gave out... With the lower half of his face covered in moisture, Vahn licked his lips before wiping away the excess with the back of his arm. Since he could feel Nobunagas gaze, Vahn looked toward her before giving a yful wink, something that caused her legs to snap shut on instinct. He would need to deal with herter but, as this was an important moment for Kenshin, Vahn needed to make the most of it. Since she was unfamiliar with this level of pleasure, shecked the wherewithal to assist properly so Vahn had to take matters into his own hands, quite literally. Using her bent over posture, Vahn discarded his clothing by unequipping it. Her entrance was actually further back than normal so they would probably do it from behind a lot in the future since the angle would be morefortable for her. With what he had in mind, this would be to Kenshins benefit as, after burying himself slowly into her insides, Vahn reached down before pulling her legs up by the pits of her knees... Before she even had time to adapt to the startlingly hot pressure invading her insides, Kenshin found herself flipping backward beforeing to rest against Vahns warm chest. She had hung her head after experiencing thergest orgasm of her life so this was the first time she was able to see herself after the pleasure had washed over her. Kenshin noticed her face looked somewhat sloven, a deep shade of red coloring her cheeks as ayer of moisture covered her eyes. Even her mouth had been slightly agape, causing her to snap her lips shut as she pointlessly covered the ce where she and Vahn were connected. It surprisingly hadnt hurt at all, making Kenshin feel like her body was a bit naughtier than other women... Seeing Kenshin cover herself up, Vahn resisted the urge to chuckle as he jerked his h.i.p.s a bit and said, "Watch closely...you should also bring your arms up to hold my head so you dont lose your bnce..." This wasnt the first time he had used this rtively advanced position but, unlike most normal men, Vahn could easily support Kenshins almost negligible 51kg weight. With a Strength of 37C, he could easily lift more than 2500kg without straining himself. Since his muscles never got fatigued, as they would instantly repair any damage he sustained, Vahn could hold Kenshin like this all day if necessary. Fortunately, she listened to his words and, though she had a clearly embarrassed expression on her face, she wrapped her arms around his head while staring at where they were connected through the mirror... WIth Kenshin cooperating, Vahn began a slow and deep piston that caused a shiver to run up her back with each movement. Since she was pressed against him, Vahn could feel her body twitching while her insides tightened around him with firm pressure. She hadnt been the tightest v.i.r.g.i.n but, just as her vulva themselves were springy and firm, so too was the inside of Kenshins v.a.g.i.n.a. Every time her abdominal muscles would flex, there would be an all-epassing pressure that showed she had a lot of potential for nightly activities. It was a very satisfying sensation so Vahn quickly got into a steady rhythm using Kenshins own biorhythm as a baseline. Though it was a little painful when she began to wring his hair, to the point of pulling out a fewrge clumps, Vahn didnt hold it against her since he thought it was cute how her legs would straighten out slightly when his ns kissed against her cervix... Though she had already climaxed several times, Vahn could feel what most girls called a big oneing so he leaned back slightly, holding her at a better angle as he said, "Get ready...Im going to show you something that only a woman can experience..." After whispering these words directly in her ear, Vahn began to bounce Kenshin a little roughly against his h.i.p.s, causing a loud smacking sound to resonate through the room as he gradually sped up to keep pace with her own rising tensions. Then, just as she mped down around him like a vice, Vahn knocked against the deepest part of Kenshins insides as he released a heavy stream of s.e.m.e.n against the small opening of her cervix. Though the vast majority of the thick white liquid erupted from their connecting point, spilling out onto the floor below, a fair amount invaded directly into Kenshins w.o.m.b. If she had been ovting, there was a good chance she would have gotten pregnant from this alone... Feeling as if her brain had exploded with a sh of white light, Kenshin could only twitch and spasm in Vahns embrace as a wave of pleasure continued to crash around her body with destructive force. She could also feel something hot filling her up from below, causing a giddy sensation to rise up with the pleasure before spreading through her mind in a manner reminiscent of the emotions she would feel when a bullet would whiz past her face. It was a very exciting feeling that,bined with the pleasure wracking her body, made Kenshins face form into a rather awkward smile. When she wasing down from her powerful climax, the first thing Kenshin saw was that smile stered upon her ruddy face,plete with zed eyes and a thinyer of sweat that caused her bangs to stick sloppily to her skin. Then, turning her eyes lower, Kenshin noticed her whole body seemed to have gained a ruddy glow, made more intense when she saw the mess where she and Vahn were connected. Though it was a futile endeavor, Kenshin had a strong urge to close her legs since it was an extremely embarrassing sight to behold... With the amount of strength Kenshin had put into her legs, Vahn assumed she would be able to stand without much issue so he said, "Im going to lower you..." before allowing her to step foot on the ground once again. He then liberated himself from her steamy insides, eliciting a sigh of relief from Kenshin as she took a step forward to more easily turn around. When she looked down at Vahns lower body, however, there was a mild surprise visible in her eyes as she asked, "That went inside me...?" Though she had seen it several times in the memory link, this was the first time that Kenshin had looked at it directly. It seemed a little smaller than she remembered but, having seen Vahn shrink and grow his body, Kenshin assumed he had full control over its length and thickness... Seeing how quickly Kenshin had recovered after her first time, Vahn had a wry smile on his face as he asked, "How are you feeling?" This caused Kenshin to look directly into his eyes, falling silent for several seconds, her red face gaining a deeper hue as she said, "Like a woman..." This response was met with an immediate burst ofughter from Nobunaga who, no longer able to keep silent, held up a cup of sake, shouting, "Cheers to being a woman~! Hahahahahaha~." She had felt things between Vahn and Kenshin had gotten unexpectedly intense but, seeing the aftermath, Nobunagas worries were cast aside in an instant. Kenshin still seemed like the idiot she had always known but, instead ofcking any form of emotions, Vahn had clearly weasled his way into her heart. Now, Nobunagas own inhibitions about the future had been cleared up as, at the very least, she now had arade to apany her during their fall. With that in mind, Nobunaga drank straight from the sake bottle before releasing a loud and contented sigh. Then, cing the bottle on the table, Nobunaga rose somewhat unsteadily to her feet as she said, "Let your Big Sis show you how its done..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Drinking Intensifies*,An unforgettable first time xD...,She ded...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1130 - Trust : Er

Chapter 1130 - Trust : Er

After giving Kenshin a kiss atop her forehead, Vahn stroking his fingers through her fringe bangs as he said, "Take care of your Big Sis for me, okay...?" Though she was exhausted herself, Kenshin gave a small nod in affirmation as she continued to cradle the unconscious Nobunaga in her arms. She had taken in so much mana at this point that her hair had gained a bloody-crimson hue but, after pushing herself a little too hard, she would easily be out for a few hours. Fortunately, Kenshin hadnt followed her example so, while she was able to learn quite a bit, she hadnt bitten off more than she could chew just to set an example. Now, she had the n.a.k.e.d and red-faced Nobunaga curled up in her embrace, aplete reversal of their previous experiences together... --- Since it had taken much longer than he had intended, as he simply wasnt able to leave the two girls behind in the middle of their fun, Vahn left behind Kenshins room before pulling out his Space-Time Orb and considering the best way to make use of it. It was currently the night cycle of his seven-day-long schedule so he was supposed to be researching something or studying with Merlin, Scthach, or Illya. The former had been teaching him about dreams and illusion magecraft while thetter two had been helping Vahn get a better grasp of Alchemy, specifically rted to the creation of Homunculi. Though Illya hadnt been all that interested in sharing her knowledge at first, she had changed greatly in thest few months. She had even be good friends with Fenrir, Medusa, and, to a lesser extent, Mordred. The only thing that kept her from getting closer to thetter was Mordreds wild and outgoing personality, something Illya envied a little more than she ought to. Recalling that he promised to visit Illyater anyways, Vahn decided it would be best to go study with her for a bit before spending some quality time together. At the same time, he tossed the Space-Time Orb back into his Inventory because, if he actually used it with Illya to increase their time together, he could imagine Cath Palug doing any number of things to his body while he was inside. The Beast of Gaia had be extremely clingy towards him ever since that eventful night three months ago, to the point that its Affection was a stable 99 without fluctuating in the slightest. Vahn wasnt quite sure he wanted to know what he needed to do in order to earn thatst point but, if he left things up to Cath Palug, he could easily imagine waking up to find himself in apromising position if he wasnt there to actively rein in the curious beasts behavior... After reaching Illyas door, Vahn knocked in the secret pattern he hade up with to alert Illya to his presence, something she hade up with herself in the past. As a result, he could feel subtle vibrations through the floor that indicated Illya had run over to the door before stopping on the other side to catch her breath. When she finally opened the door, Vahn felt like his legs had turned soft since Illya was wearing arge t-shirt that obviously belonged to him. She had a beet-red face as well, grabbing his wrist to pull him inside since she didnt want anyone else to see. Fortunately, even if her current attire was questionable, Illya was wearing a pair of frilly pink pajama shorts underneath so it wasnt as bad as it could have been. Once Illya pulled Vahn inside, she closed the door with a bit of force before ring at him and saying, "Onii-sama...what are you doing here at this time?" Since she knew Vahns schedule by heart, Illya knew he should have already been off studying elsewhere since he was currently more than two hours into his first evening block. He rarely deviated from his schedule so she hadnt expected him to suddenly show up, even though she was hoping he would use his first rest period toe visit her. As a result, she had actually thought that Fenrir was the one knocking on her door as, even though she had taught Vahn a secret knock for just the two of them, Fenrir had figured it out very quickly and used it to tease her... Choosing not to even mention the fact she was wearing a likely stolen shirt, Vahn sat down on the sofa before pulling out a set of tea and snacks as he exined, "I had to deal with something that took up a lot more time than I had anticipated. Sorry for showing up at an odd time, Illya..." Using his characteristic gentle smile against her, Illya released an embarrassed groan but ultimately came over to sit next to him on the sofa. She actually looked very adorable wearing a long-sleeved shirt that was far too big for her but Vahn kept that to himself as he poured a cup of tea and handed it over to the still red-faced girl. After finishing half the contents of her cup, she seemed unable to keep silent about it herself so, after mustering up a bit of courage, Illya muttered, "Fenrir gave it to me...Im sorry..." Though he had already assumed Fenrir had something to do with Illyas acquisition of his clothing, as only she and Circe really had ess to hisundry, Vahn hadnt expected Illya to expose her so quickly. This caused his smile to turn into an obviously amused expression, something that caused Illyas face to turn even redder as she averted her eyes and sipped her tea to avoid having to look directly at him. As Vahn wasnt in a particr hurry to start studying, he waited for Illya to slowly regain herposure while enjoying his own tea, a bold tasting ck tea with mana-rich honey to give it an extra kick. Illya surprisingly liked bitter drinks like coffee and ck tea so Vahn often pulled it out for her whenever he visited without the intention to rx. After silence dominated the atmosphere for a few minutes, Vahn was beginning to realize that Illya was too embarrassed to start a conversation of her own. Since she was still wearing his shirt, which hadnt even been washed, she was too distracted to even look at him, much less make conversation. Vahn found this rather adorable but chose to focus on a different topic, one that hade to mind a few times when he was forging within the Space-Time Orb and waiting for Kenshin to awaken. He could theoretically summon an additional ten Heroes without too many issues so Vahn asked, "If you had the opportunity to choose any figure throughout History to summon, who would you choose...?" Though she had flinched skittishly when Vahn suddenly broke the silence, Illya still listened closely to his question. She had actually put a lot of thought into ittely since Vahn had been asking simr questions to everyone else within the Castle. Thus, without having to ruminate for too long, Illya answered, "If you can summon Gods without any restrictions, any that arepassionate towards humanity would be beneficial allies. As for Heroes...I know you have been wanting friends since the number of women in the Castle has been increasing. As it may be necessary to summon Gilgamesh at some point, you should consider calling upon the Nature Spirit, Enkidu first. Though there are no official ounts of their gender, Enkidu should be a male based on Gilgameshs behavior during the Fourth Holy Grail War." As even Merlin had suggested summoning Enkidu, Vahn couldnt help wondering what kind of entity could have been considered Gilgameshs one true friend. ording to Merlin and Scthach, Enkidu was a tool created by the Babylonian Gods, formed from mud with the sole purpose of killing Gilgamesh before he could be corrupt. Unfortunately for the people of the time, Enkidu had been apassionate entity who had been unwilling to kill Gilgamesh as, at the time, he was only a child. When Gilgamesh finally matured, they engaged in a battle that spanned several days and changed thendscape within hundreds of kilometers before Enkidu was ultimately defeated. From that moment onward, for reasons on Enkidu would know the answer to, he became Gilgameshs one and only friend within all avable historical ounts... Tempting as it might be, Vahn wasnt entirely sure summoning a being that had been able to fight on par with Gilgamesh was such a good idea. His own power was significantlycking so, if Enkidu ended up being hostile towards them, it would invariably result in a minor disaster. Though he could use Command Spells to rein in any discordant Servants, there was any number of skills that could allow them to break free and wreak havoc. If they had strong enough willpower, and were forced to do something that contradicted their nature, the number of Servants that could resist a Command Spell were actually quite high. Even Artoria mentioned how she had been forced through the use of two Command Spells when Kiritsuga Emiya had made her destroy the Lesser Grail during the Third Holy Grail War... Ultimately choosing to put off summoning Tier 4 entities he might not be able to control, Vahn shook his head before asking, "What about someone like Heracles? Or maybe one of the other Greek or Roman Heroes...?" In response to this, Illya gave an awkward smile before exining, "Summoning any noteworthy Hero from that Era may not be the best decision. If nothing else, most male Heroes from that time period are known for their borderline arrogant and haughty natures. It may not end well if they disagree with your policies or begin fancying any of the women within the castle. There are as many tales of a.d.u.l.tery and significantly worse acts as there are of heroic feats during that time period. The only exception might be if you summon someone like Achilles, but I cant imagine such a prideful man following orders without anything to gain..." While listening to Illyas words, Vahn was cycling through the data he had collected on various heroes with the support of Sis. He had to admit that there was a fair amount of truth to what Illya was saying, something that Vahn found extremely troubling since it implied summoning any male Hero would invite drama into his encampment. The only viable choices seemed to be members of the Round Table or, if he wanted to y things safe, he could summon Heroes along with their own wives or lovers. There could also be value in summoning anyone recognized as a Saint as, with the fate of the world on the line, they would undoubtedly follow his orders. Since ya had revealed that many historical Saints were actually her Champions, her presence alone couldpel them to follow him fervently... Understanding that Vahn was ruminating over the information he had archived within his mind, Illya eventually swallowed nervously before grabbing his sleeve and asking, "If I asked you to summon my mother or my brother...would you?" These words caused Vahn to blink in mild surprise as he had never expected Illya to make such a request. However, even though he knew her brother was the same Shirou that Artoria and Rin had previously fallen in love with, he still nodded without any real hesitation, smiling as he said, "Of course. Your happiness is one of my highest priorities, Illya...if you think that would make you happy, I would do my best to summon both of them if youd like..." Even if it made things more than a little awkward in his own interpersonal rtionsh.i.p.s, Vahn was actually more than a little interested in meeting the man named Shirou Emiya. He had apparently spent his final years traveling around the world helping people in various countries, doing his best to save everyone he could... Knowing Vahn wasnt trying to deceive her, Illyas body began to tremble slightly since she knew he would say yes, something that was actually quite terrifying. She actually hadnt been all that close with her brother but, during the days leading up to her death, Illya had reconciled with him and was looking forward to being a family. However, if she really asked Vahn to summon her brother, Illya knew it would cause him a lot of trouble that she didnt wish to force upon him. As for her mother, Illya could hardly even remember anything about her, only that she had been a very kind and docile woman. Summoning her could actually be very helpful to Vahn as, unlike her own hybrid body, her mother was aplete and highly advanced homunculus that had even served as the vessel for the Holy Grail. The only thing that kept her from asking Vahn to immediately summon her was Illyas fear that her mother, like all Einzbern Homunculi, should be extremely impressionable. Illya was afraid that her mother might imprint on Vahn, meaning she might have topete with her own mother for his affections in the future. Seeing Illya unexpectedly struggling with his response, Vahn reached out his hand and began to lightly stroke her head as he said, "Some of the people I respect the most often told me that it isnt good to overthink things. Since Irisviel had been close with Artoria as well, I dont think it would be a bad idea to summon her. As for what you might be worrying would happen...well, I can understand why you would harbor such thoughts. Just dont forget that my priority is your happiness...I wont do anything to intentionally make you sad..." It wasnt all that hard to imagine what was troubling Illya so Vahn tried his best to console her, even if he knew his argument might not be all the convincing. His experience with Mn and Tina had broken the part of him that was worried about how others saw his rtionsh.i.p.s, even if he ultimately ended up with a mother-daughter pair... Vahn knew that, even if he did his best to resist, things would undoubtedly be awkward since his close rtionship with Illya would be of great concern to her mother. As for why he couldnt summon Kiritsugu, Illyas father and Irisviels lover, Vahn hadnt heard any good things about the man. ording to Artoria, he had even been having an affair with his partner, all while Irisviel waspletely prepared to die in order to make his dreame true. Vahn might not be the best person to speak about such things but none of his rtionsh.i.p.s could really qualify as affairs. He would also never shun any of the women he was involved with, especially if they were close to death. Until the very end, he would do everything in his power to save them, as no dream was worth the arbitrary sacrifice of someone you were supposed to love... Though Vahns words didnt exactly inspire confidence, Illya knew it was her own desire to test him that had led to this awkward situation. She actually just wanted to see how willing Vahn was to put himself in a potentiallypromising situation on her behalf. Since he didnt even hesitate, Illya felt both happy and conflicted at the same time. However, remembering that she was also teaching Vahn about Einzbern Homunculi, Illya knew it was actually best if she called her mother into the present. She had been considered the most perfect Justeaze-Type Homunculi and had all of the alchemical knowledge of the Einzbern family recorded in her mind. Illya was considered a prodigy but, as she had been conceived and born naturally, she had to learn everything manually while someone like her mother simply knew every technique passed down their lineage for thest two-hundred years. With the only better choices being to summon Justeaze directly or raiding the Einzbern Estate in Germany, Illya ultimately made up her mind as she said, "I will let you summon my mom..." As these words left her lips, Illya began to feel giddy and scared at the same time as a mixture of excitement and concern mingled between her stomach and heart. She really wanted to have a real member of her family and, with Kiritsugu and Shirou bringing too many problems with them, Illya knew her mother was the only real choice. Fortunately, she was actually a great deal older than her own mother who, at the time of her death, had only been around nine years old. Illya was confident that she would be able to subtly shape her moms perception of Vahn so that she didnt imprint on him, at least before she could find enough resolve to move forward in her own rtionship... Seeing that Illya had found her own resolve, Vahn nodded his head in understanding before giving her a firm hug. This caused her face to turn beet red but she didnt make any attempt to escape as he lightly stroked her back and said, "Everything will be okay..." For better or worse, Vahn knew that Irisviel should actually be very loyal towards Kiritsugu so, even if they did eventually develop a rtionship, it would likely only be after several years and numerous small events. His rtionship with Illya would probably expedite things a bit but it was just as likely that Irisviel might treat him more like family than a potential love interest. He imagined that most of his interactions with the famously beautiful woman would be with Illya around, acting more like a family than anything more intimate. After having decided to summon Irisviel, Vahn and Illya spent a few minutes discussing the finer details of her mothers future arrangements. It was slightly problematic that Illya already had the status of Grand-Dutchess but, as ranks and titles didnt really mean much at the moment, having Irisviel take on a title of her own wasnt too much of an issue. Since she had a wealth of knowledge, and apparently spent most of her recreational time reading, Vahn decided to make her the Keeper of the Imperial Library. This would give Irisviel something to do when she wasnt looking after Illya as, even if they were mother and daughter, it wasnt as if they could always be together. Irisviel might jump at the idea but Illya would undoubtedly want some private time to herself... Once everything had been decided, Vahn went to seek out Merlin to exin the situation while Illya waited in his room. She wasnt allowed to enter the secret chamber beyond but, considering he would be summoning her mother, Vahn correctly assumed she would want to be nearby. There was also a mirror within his room that would connect back to the real world so Illya could watch over her while he took care of other things. Thus, after having a lengthy conversation with Merlin about which Heroes would benefit their cause the most, as he still technically had nine summons, Vahn entered into the Welsh Dragons chamber and essed the summoning system once again. This time around, he had a list of Heroes to look into, including Merlins rmendations of Leonardo da Vinci, Karna, Siegfried, Ozymandius, Ghad, Gawain, Bedivere, and who he had specifically designated as The First Hassan-i-Sabbah. When it came to Leonardo da Vinci, Merlin was surprisingly insistent on summoning him as soon as possible as, ording to him, there was no greater genius in human history. It didnt matter which field of study it was, both scientific and thaumaturgical, Da Vinci was considered nigh omnipotent,pletely without equal. Even better than himself and Scthach, Merlin believed Da Vinci would irrefutably be the best possible teacher as he could also innovate off the many unknown elements Vahn introduced into the world. As for his other rmendations, Karna was considered the Child of the Sun God who, due to his upbringing, had a strongpassion towards humanity and a loyal heart. The same could be said for Siegfried as, during his lifetime, the man had helped everyone he ever met, never refusing a request. As for Ghad, Gawain, and Bedivere, they were all Knights of the Round Table who had been loyal to the very end. Ghad could apparently even use a technique that allowed him to protect an entire fortress from harm, even against tactical ss weapons and anti-mountain attacks... The only two rmendations that Merlin wasnt entirely confident about was Ozymandius and the First Hassan as, even though the former should prove extremely beneficial to their cause, this would require the summoning of Nefertiti as well. As for the First Hassan, he was even more enigmatic as neither Merlin nor Scthach was able to see anything about him other than his existence itself. The one thing they both agreed upon was, even if she were to go all out against him, Scthach would be unable to win against the First Hassan. He was, in many ways, one of the ultimate trump cards Vahn, though this assumed that the First Hassan could be controlled from the outset. Assuming he could be brought to their side, however, the First Hassan would undoubtedly be one of their strongest allies, someone Vahn should always keep in mind if he ever felt pressured. With these things in mind, Vahn activated the summoning system once again, this time intending to summon Irisviel and, as they both seemed like interesting people, Leonardo Da Vinci and Siegfried. Since had known a Siegfried of his own back in the Record of Danmachi, Vahn was curious what the Dragon Knight of the Nasuverse was like... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Press F to Pay Respects,Illya setting upndmines for herself...,Gotta be careful if you want to summon Grandpa Mountain...you might just lose your head (O - o)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1131 - Inescapable Fate

Chapter 1131 - Inescapable Fate

Finding himself in the bluish-ck space once again, Vahn wasnt at all surprised to find that Akasha was already waiting for him. Before she could take a sample from him, Vahn held out his hand to produce a small, crystal clear ball of liquid that had a subtle silver hue to it. Without needing to ask what he was doing, Akasha extended her hand, recing the small sphere of liquid with yet another [Divine Energy Cube]. Then, before she could leave, Vahn quickly produced an extra heart from his chest before holding out a second liquid sphere, this one having a milky-pink color. In response to this, Akasha inly stated, "I have only been given permission to ept one sample at a time. Please return hereter if you would like to carry out another exchange." With that said, she vanished into the ground without another word, leaving Vahn sighing as he allowed the bone marrow sphere and still-beating heart to dissipate, returning them to his body. Since he had already anticipated Akashas response, as their initial agreement had him carrying out only a single exchange at a time, Vahn didnt let it bother him too much. It was obvious that her superiors wanted to prevent him from having too much power without observing how he gains his own. If he carried out all of the transactions, this would give him nearly twenty-five billion OP, an amount that he would be able to exploit quite a bit if given the opportunity. This current agreement allowed them to ce a limiter of sorts on his growth, forcing him to put in more effort instead of just relying on what they could provide him. Since he still had ess to the Throne of Heroes, however, Vahn didnt really care all that much since the [Divine Energy Cube]s were just a means to an end for him. Deciding to focus on why he hade here in the first ce, Vahn walked over to the ck stone tforms and began sifting through the three different screens. It didnt take him long to locate Irisviels name but, unlike the other Irisviels from other timelines, there were two names associated with his timelines version. Even stranger still was that both names were greyed out, causing Vahn to frown as he asked the Throne of Heroes, "What is going on?". This was the first time Vahn saw such a phenomenon but, fortunately, a synthetic voice answered, *The entity known as Irisviel von Einzbern current exists within your present timeline. Her physical body had been converted into the Third Holy Grail before ultimately being destroyed by the entity known as Artoria Pendragon. To summon this entity, you need to either summon her as a Heroic Spirit or provide a suitable vessel for her soul to inhabit.* Vahn wasnt too surprised by the fact that Irisviels soul still persisted in his current timeline, as she was closely associated with the Heavens Feel Ritual, so he didnt bother asking questions he knew the Throne wouldnt answer. Instead, he asked, "What constitutes a suitable vessel?" In response to this, the synthetic voice answered, *There would be issues withpatibility, but it is possible to use any spiritual object or significantly advanced homunculus as a vessel. It is also possible for the entity known as Irisviel von Einzbern to possess the body of a living human, though they would have to be willing." With the Thrones answer, Vahn knew it was essentially saying that Irisviel could be sealed within a Mystic Codex, turning it into a sentient treasure much like Grays Add. This was actually something he was very interested in but, imagining the look Illya would give him if he brought her mother back as a sword or a staff prevented him from giving in to his curiosity. Thus, while thinking about the type of vessel he should prepare, Vahn looked through the disys to see Irisviels parameters and skills. Somewhat surprisingly, she qualified for the Caster, Lancer, and Avenger Servant sses. He knew the Avenger version of Irisviel would probably be very troublesome but the other two seemed rather interesting. The only downside was that her parameters were even lower than Circes, even with the correction provided by being summoned as a Heroic Spirit. This was because, while she was indeed present on the Throne of Heroes, Irisviel had no legend whatsoever, meaning she was significantly weaker than the standard Heroic Spirit... Knowing that Irisviel was supposed to be based on the same type of homunculus as Justeaze, Vahn recalled thetters appearance as he removed his shirt and focused his mind. Then, in a disy that would cause a number of people to feel nauseous, Vahns back began to bubble as the body of a fully formed woman began to emerge from his back, supported by his telekinesis until she had beenpletely separated a few minutester. Without his soul inside of it, the body was bound to turn to dust after around twenty-four hours but, as existences like Fenrir and Medusa were able to exist as pure Source Energy, Vahn felt that infusing Irisviels soul into the faux body he had produced would be possible. This was an idea he hade up with after Paracelsus, Illya, and Scthach all exined that it was impossible to create a Homunculus without binding a soul to it from the start. Since Vahn wasnt willing to overwrite the existence of another person, even though theycked a developed Ego, he had needed toe up with a different solution if he wanted to create bodies for his current Heroic Spirits. Seeing the n.a.k.e.d body he had produced, Vahn had to admit that the ancestors of the Einzberns certainly had good taste. Though it might be a little shameless of him to say, the body he had produced for Irisviel was almost wless in every way. She had well-developed proportions, giving her a shapely and mature figure, while her long white hair cascaded down like a waterfall as Vahn slowly turned her through the air. The only thing he wasnt sure about was whether or not Irisviel would have had pubic hair but, considering she was a homunculus, this didnt seem all that likely. Just in case, however, he left roots within the area that could be developed if Irisviel pointed out the discrepancy to him in the future. Besides this, the one thing Vahn was slightly worried about was whether or not he had made her butt too big as, even with the small hologram as a reference, it was hard to tell if Justeazes butt had been big. The only thing he had to go on was Irisviels chest which, when considering she was only 158cm tall, was ratherrge at 85cm. Since she was supposed to be wless, Vahn bnced her body out by giving her a waistline of 55cm and full h.i.p.s that matched her bust size at 85cm. Overall, she had an appearance that models could only ever dream of without even reaching the point that they could be directlypared to Irisviels beauty... More than satisfied with his handiwork, Vahn performed a detailed examination of Irisviels body, including the structure of her internal organs. He had nothing to go on when it came to her Magic Circuits so he gave her a simr structure to Illya, assuming thetter had inherited her own from her mother. In theory, this meant that Irisviel should be even more powerful in the future, even though she would also need to develop her Od from scratch. With a bodyprised of Source Energy, however, she would never have an upward limit on her reserves so Vahn was hopeful she would serve as the first example of a sessful transnt into a body he had formed for someone elses use. This was very important as, before he saved Eva, Vahn needed toe up with a method that allowed people to follow him from their Record of Origin. If Irisviel was actually able to inhabit a body he had made for her, there was a good chance she would even be able to apany him to future Records, not that he had such intentions for her... After dressing Irisviel in a set of lingerie and a nightgown, as it would be somewhat awkward to carry her back to Illya n.a.k.e.d, Vahn operated the Throne of Heroes once again, specifying, "I will be using the prepared vessel to house the soul of Irisviel von Einzbern." As soon as he said these words, Vahn noticed the two names were no longer greyed out so he selected the one that couldnt be an Avenger-ss Servant, hoping this meant he would get the good version of Irisviel. It would be best if he was able to rectify the two halves but, considering the other part had likely been corrupted by Angra Mainyu, Vahn would only look into a solution if it turned out to be a problem. Given what he had heard about Irisviel, it was more than a little likely she would be perfectly content working as his Librarian without ever fighting on the frontlines... When Vahn finalized his selection, he once again found himself standing in the summoning circle with Irisviels bodyying next to him. Since he still had a connection with the body, Vahn knew that Akasha and her superiors hadnt tried to pull a fast one on him. Unless they could replicate his Source Energy, something that was entirely beyond their means, the vesselying on the ground was the same one he had prepared within the Throne of Heroes. Now, however, Vahn could see the same bluish-white energy that normally formed the body of a Hero flowing into Irisviels body, causing a powerful vitality to begin emanating from within. At the same time that her heart began beating, Vahns connecting with the body waspletely severed, meaning it was no longer a part of him. This was a good sign and, so long as Irisviel didnt vanish after twenty-four hours, a rather terrifying thought, he could interpret this as a sess. Since it would be awkward to carry multiple people upstairs at the same time, Vahn picked up Irisviels body before ascending the long flight of stairs connecting to his bedroom. Along the way, he made sure there were no abnormalities within Irisviels body which, even at this moment, still had a slightly rainbow hue from Vahns perspective. Though her mana was predominately gold and silver, there was a discernable rainbow coloration mixed in that showed that Irisviel was undoubtedly still a product of his Source Energy. This was very exciting for Vahn as he couldnt observe any instabilities within her body whatsoever, something that would be apparent if he severed his connection with his blood under normal circ.u.mstances. At the same time, he smiled when he considered that he and Illya were now truly family through her mother, even though this also made it seem like he was her Grandfather given that Irisviel had been created from his own flesh and blood. By the time the secret passage had opened up, Illya was already standing on the opposite side with a nervous expression. When she saw her mother in Vahns arms, her face formed into a whimpering frown as tears began to well up in her eyes. Vahns own expression softened when he saw this but, as his hands were full at the moment, he walked over to the bed toy Irisviel down before rubbing Illyas head as she jumped into the bed and began crying next to her mothers unconscious body. Though she was going on twenty-nine years old, Illya became like the child she appeared to be as she tightly hugged Irisviels body, rubbing her face against the mother she hadnt seen for twenty years... --- After Illya calmed down a bit, Vahn exined the situation to her, including the possibility that Irisviels current body might break down. To her credit, she took this information very well and, instead of ming him for his failure, she began offering potential solutions. If Irisviels soul could be bound to a Mystic Codex, it wasnt impossible to transnt it into a synthetic bodytter on. cing her into the body of a homunculus would pose various problems but that didnt mean they were unable to give her a bio-mechanical form, much like a Sentient Golem or an Artificial Human. Since Vahn was intending to summon Da Vinci next, the chances of producing a high-quality body for Irisviel, assuming her current one broke down, were extremely high. Merlin talked about the man as if he could weave gold from thin air and pull clouds from the sky to create massive skyscr.a.p.ers. For someone with a ridiculous powerset like Merlin to speak so highly of another person, they had to be extremely abnormal... With that in mind, Vahn went down the long flight of stairs for the second time in a single day before pulling out a [Divine Energy Cube] and using it as a catalyst to power the summoning system. In the next moment, he was within the Throne of Heroes once again, greeted by the presence of Akasha who was already waiting toplete their exchange. Vahn turned over a liquid sphere of his bone marrow before stowing his new [Divine Energy Cube] into his Inventory. When Akasha vanished, he made his way over to the stone pirs before searching for Leonardo da Vincis name. He was a little curious about what kind of man Da Vinci was but, more than anything else, Vahn was just happy to have a fellow researcher that he could just talk with without having to worry about developing an intimate rtionship with them... As Vahn was looking forward to meeting Da Vinci, he isted the search parameters to only include the version from his own timeline. When he did this, however, Vahns face formed into a deep frown as, even after designating his own timeline, there were tens of thousands of people named Leonardo da Vinci within the list. Though he was able to narrow things down by selecting the [Pioneer of the Stars:EX] skill but there were still more than a hundred people withparable parameters and skills. This was rather confusing as one person shouldnt be able to exist as multiple people within the same timeline. However, considering that even Irisviel had been split into two, Vahn found it strangely easy to believe that someone touted as an omnipotent genius by Merlin would be able to do something others couldnt evenprehend... Since he couldnt know which Da Vinci was the correct one, Vahn picked the one with the highest rank of [Item Construction] and an EX-Ranked Noble Phantasm. This actually meant Leonardos Noble Phantasm was stronger than Scthachs but, considering his parameters were some of the lowest Vahn had ever seen, the only exception being his Magic Power and Luck, he had no delusions that the Genius Innovator would be able to defeat Nobunagas feared Purple Monster. Though he might be able to invent something that was capable of defeating Scthach, it wasnt actually all that difficult to create powerful weapons that could even skill gods. This wasnt the actual skill of the user, however, so Vahn discredited such things since the reliance on such weapons would always prevent people from growing beyond their current Soul Tier... After confirming his selection, Vahn found himself within the Welsh Dragons chamber once again as the bluish-white light from the summoning circle began to coalesce into a body. In hindsight, he realized summoning Da Vinci around the time of his death may not have been the wisest decision as, ording to the history books, he had been sixty-seven years old at the time of death. Though he would be able to preserve his life with rtive ease, Vahn felt somewhat apologetic knowing that he had pulled Historys Greatest Genius from his death bed before bringing him into the present. This sentiment almost immediately vanished, however, as Vahns expression formed into aplex frown as he watched the light coalesce into the very obvious figure of a woman. With a very strong urge to punch Merlin when he got back, Vahn watched as the old man he had expected formed into the body of a 160cm tall woman with one of the most perfectly bnced bodies he had ever seen. He had thought that Irisviel was a rare beauty but, even though this current woman seemed a little plump around the b.r.e.a.s.ts, butt, and thighs, they all came together to form a breathtaking image that even caused Vahn to feel somewhat lucky. Since he had studied quite a bit about Da Vinci prior to this summoning, Vahn was able to tell that the woman present before him was actually the same Mona Lisa that Leonardo Da Vinci had painted in the past. History recorded her as a mystery woman who some imed to be La Gioconda, the wife of Francesco del Giocondo who had been an associate of Da Vincis. Now, however, it seemed like Da Vinci had been painting a self-portrait as there was literally nothing inmon between this inordinately beautiful woman and the old man in Da Vincis biography... Since Vahn had chosen the [Transmigrator] perk after selecting what he believed to be the correct Leonardo Da Vinci, he knew the woman before him was a flesh and blood body. When he activated his [Eyes of Truth], however, Vahns face formed into one of genuine confusion as he was unable to see anything within Da Vincis body. Though he could feel a powerful vitality radiating from her body, there seemed to be something blocking his view as it appeared like a void within his vision. The only thing he knew was that her face was a perfect bnce between beauty, motherly appeal, and seductiveness. It almost felt like you could measure her features and they would all be the ideal size and shape, making other beauties seem like a pale imitation, the only exception perhaps being goddesses. Her glossy, dark brown hair, tinged with a slight maroon hue, fell around her neck and shoulders in gentle curls that seemed to be in the peak of health due to the natural gloss present. As for her body, Vahn found it hard not to gawk so he chose not to look directly at her figure that was covered in a loose ck gown and a blue shawl that had the patterns of stars sewn into it... Unlike the others he had summoned at the time of their death, Da Vinci seemed to be the picture of perfect health and, instead of toppling over after being summoned, she just stood there like a statue that was to be admired. Then, just as Vahn was thinking about carrying her up stairs to rest, Da Vinci slowly peeled open her eyelids to reveal a pair of eyes that looked like a masterpiece that had been painstakingly painted by the most skilled painter in the world with all their passion. Though they had a base color that was resplendent like sapphires, there was a mix of subtle greens, purples, and just the smallest touch of pink that seemed to swirl around in her fiercely intelligent eyes. Vahn felt like he had beenpletely seen through the moment she looked at him, making him tense up like a deer caught under the unwavering gaze of a Master Huntsman... As if she found his reaction amusing, Da Vinci smiled in a subtle yet expressive way that caused Vahns mind to momentarily nk as she stated in a soft voice tinged with intrigue, "How curious. I never expected to be transported through time at the moment I shut down my consciousness. What a peculiar phenomenon..." Then, taking slow and measured steps that left no room to even question whether or not the person in front of him was a Lady, Da Vinci walked until she was right in front of Vahn, her eyes reflecting his image in their depths. Her eyes began to glimmer slightly as she mused, "I never thought I would meet an existence I could notprehend. So, what shall I call you then? I do not mind calling you Master...or Husband? I will not fault you for being attracted to this body; just know that I was originally a man. If you believe the soul is a genderless construct, however, I do not mind ying the part of a maiden..." Since one of the things she could understand from seeing Vahn was that he was very interested in her body, Da Vinci reached out her hands to frame his face with the same gentle smile on her face. She already understood the situation just from seeing the summoning formation beneath her so the only things left to uncover was the purpose behind why this unfathomable man had summoned her. He obviously had a reason to allocate a small nations worth of mana just to pull her through time so, believing there was a chance that he had discovered her secret, Da Vinci didnt mind humoring him for a bit. She was interested in trying out this bodys reproductive functions so this was a good opportunity to confirm whether or not she was capable of bringing a child to term. (A/N: Alternate Titles: I made this so its okay to look...right?,A mother and daughter reunited,Vahn broke) (A/N: Da Vinci, the perfect MILF: /a/mnTOZV5) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1132 - Peerless

Chapter 1132 - Peerless

After returning to his senses, Vahn grabbed Da Vincis wrists before gently pulling her hands away from his face as he said, "I must admit...I wasnt expecting the Mona Lisa to appear before me. Did you create this body to house your soul...?" Since creating Artificial Humans had been a practice for well over a thousand years, Vahn wasnt surprised that Da Vinci had created a new body for himself. Once the original shock wore off, he was more interested in the process used to create a body that was obviously capable of transnting the soul as, with the number of Da Vincis recorded on the Throne of Heroes, it was obvious that this wasnt his first creation. At least, this was Vahns belief until Da Vinci smiled and exined, "I certainly designed this body, but I did not choose it for myself. Dont let it bother you, though, as age and gender have no effect on a true genius. Now, tell me, why have you summoned me...?" Since Vahn momentarily showed no interest in trying to sleep with her, Da Vinci was more interested in the reason why he had called upon her. Other things could wait untilter as the presence of therge dragon and the man peculiar sights she had never seen before were making her body heat up just thinking about studying them. If not for the link she could feel between herself and Vahn, Da Vinci would have already started analyzing each of these unknown things, breaking them down until she had aplete grasp of their most fundamental concepts. Then, to prove she understood them, she would create an invention that utilized these concepts and pushed them to their fullest extent. Thest time, she had made a flying machine modeled after a bird but, seeing therge wings of the red dragon, Da Vinci was curious about the mechanism that allowed such arge creature to fly... With Da Vinci not insisting on taking things in the direction she had obviously intended, Vahn was able to rx a bit as he exined, "When you next sleep, most of the questions you have would be answered by the memory link we will both experience. Ill be able to see the important moments in your life while you will be able to experience my long history for yourself. To give you a general idea of the situation...I essentially summoned you following the advice of my Magus of the Court, Merlin. My identity is that of the Sage Emperor of the Aldrnari Empire, currently upying the Ivory Castle of Camelot, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. As for the reason why I have summoned you, there is a threat known as Angra Mainyu that has the potential of wiping out all of humanity. Though I do not expect you to fight on the front lines, my Empire needs a capable mind to help develop technologies that will allow, not just our residents, but people the whole world over to prosper..." While listening to Vahn speak, Da Vinci had pursed her lips while holding her index finger to her mouth, a contemtive look on her face. When he finished speaking, she immediately followed up by saying, "So you are essentially an Emperor that has been disced, either from your own timeline or a different world altogether. For reasons you havent revealed, it has fallen on your shoulders to save the world from theing threat and, after seeking counsel from your Magus of the Court, he threw my name into the mix as a potential solution, not to ovee the threat, but guaranteeing your Empire would prosper. That means you already have several powerful cards in hand and simply need my Genius intellect to ensure you are able to stay relevant in the current era...interesting, Im in~!" At the very end of her analysis, Da Vinci happily pped her hands together before interrupting Vahns response by adding, "I look forward to the memory link. I wonder if you will actually be able to see any of my memories? I dont think I have many memories of importance so you may be disappointed...hmm...well, we can always make some important memories together from now on. You still havent told me how I should address you. Im not really familiar with things like Court Eitquette but I should be able to master it if you give me a day or two~." Though it felt like Da Vinci was being sincere when she spoke, Vahn could only smile wryly as he watched her being to inspect her own body without any semnce of decency at all. He could tell she was going to be trouble but, at the same time, Vahn also felt he could quickly be friends with her. She had the type of personality that meant she would get along with pretty much everyone within the castle, even if she would also annoy them at the same time... Since Da Vinci was able to stand on her own two feet, Vahn gestured so she would stop investigating her own body, saying, "Im intending to summon another person before we head to the surface. If possible, Id like you to observe things from your end and see if you cante up with a solution to the heavy mana requirement of the summoning system. One of the biggest issues currently guing me ising up with enough mana toplete a summon. It would take three years under normal circ.u.mstances so Ive been using something called a [Divine Energy Cube] to supplement thecking reserves." As he spoke, Vahn pulled out the [Divine Energy Cube], something Da Vinci immediately snatched out of his hands before turning it over a few times with a curious glimmer in her eyes. So long as Da Vinci didnt try to chip a piece off of the cube, Vahn didnt mind if she analyzed it for a short while. He could see what appeared to be small golden runes flowing from the [Divine Energy Cube] and into her eyes so it was clear she had some kind of Innate rted to analyzing things. It was somewhat unfortunate that she lost the [Item Construction] and [Territory Creation] ss skills when gaining the [Transmigrator] perk but, as her other skills were rather eye-opening, Vahn knew that Da Vinci would probably be one of the pirs of his Empire in the future. His only regret was not paying attention to one of her more unique skills as, if he had noticed it earlier, there was a good chance he would have gotten the male version of Da Vinci instead of this perfect version of the Mona Lisa... ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Leonardo Da Vinci] Age: 198 days (Ageless) Race: Human Strength: 3E Endurance: 8E Agility: 21C Magical Power: 50A+ Good Luck: 39B Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) Circuit Quality: EX Noble Phantasm: [Uomo Universale:EX] Origin: Golden Rule, Innovation Skills: [Natural Born Genius:Innate:EX], [Pioneer of the Stars:Innate:EX], [False Eye of God:Innate:A], [Mind Workshop:S], [Eidetic Memory:S], [Parallel Thinking:B], [Golden Rule:B] Magic: [Soul Anchor:EX] Magecraft: [Grand Unified Thaumaturgical Theory:S] [Mind Workshop] Rank: S Use: Allows the user to form clear mental images with precision matching reality. [Eidetic Memory] Rank: S Use: Allows the user to memorize andpartmentalize everything they see. [Parallel Thinking] Rank: B Use: Allows the user to hold up to sixteen thought processes simultaneously. [Golden Rule] Rank: B (Body) Use: Denotes the possession of a natural and perfect goddess-like body. Immune to the effects of aging. [Soul Anchor] Rank: EX Use: Allows the user to create a spiritual imprint on any self-created body. Upon death, the users soul will be transferred to the nearest avable body with a spiritual imprint. [Grand Unified Thaumaturgical Theory] Rank: S Use: The belief that all Thaumaturgical Principles stem from a single school of thought that can be used to understand all mysteries within the world. Allows the user to use all forms of Magecraft up to the skills rank. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Though all of Da Vincis skills and abilities were rather shocking, Vahn didnt know how he had missed the unique quality of her [Golden Rule]. Unlike the normal skill, which he had assumed it to be, Da Vincis simply made her an unrivaled beauty that infringed upon the realm of the Gods. The normal [Golden Rule] allowed for a user to .u.mte wealth, greatly increasing their fortunes to the point that they would never want for material goods. At high enough ranks, even aplete ipetent with the [Golden Rule] skill would be able to be one of the wealthiest people in the world. Even if your personal finances werecking, fate would allow you to easily .u.mte more without little to no effort on your part. Vahn had expected Da Vinci to have this same version of [Golden Rule] and was actually a little curious to see it at y. Now, however, Vahn was once again reminded that people could have the same skill, yet with apletely different effect. He would need to pay more attention in the future, lest even people like the Son of the Sun God might end up somehow being female... Apparently havingpleted her analysis, Da Vinci handed the [Divine Energy Cube] back to Vahn, smiling as she exined, "This cube of yours is certainlyprised of the so-called Divine Energy. It has a unit value of 500,000,000, tranting into around 575,000,000,000 units of Magical Energy. I will need to perform and survey but based on your im that it would normally take three years to recharge the summoning system, I am confident in my assertion that we can reduce the time to between ny and one-hundred-twenty-seven days. I do not imagine you wish to cause permanant damage to the environment so I will need to periodically measure the mana in both the atmosphere and within the soil at various points around the castle." Since Da Vinci hade up with all of this in less than three minutes, Vahns brain was buzzing as a result, something she seemed to take great pleasure in as she giggled, hand covering her mouth. It was beginning to seem that summoning Da Vinci would have immediate benefits as she was able to seeminglye up with a solution to his biggest problem without any effort at all. Just by analyzing the structure of the [Divine Energy Cube] and using the context he had provided, she had formed a n to reduce the time between summoning rituals by more than ten times. If he gave her more time, providing ess to his wealth of information, Vahn felt that Da Vinci might even be able to reduce the time to just a few days real-time... Though he still intended to give Merlin a gentle thrashing, any regrets Vahn had about summoning Da Vinci had quickly fallen to the side in awe of her genius. Now, he was even more interested in the information provided by the memory link as it would undoubtedly be very insightful. Before he could bother with that, however, Vahn needed to perform onest summon. It sounded a bit pathetic to say aloud but, if he couldnt get at least one malepanion, Vahn felt like a repeat of the Hearth Manor might happen. He needed more couples outside of his own pairings and, as much as he liked to spend time with girls like Nobunaga, Vahn wanted to just chill with another guy, cutting loose in a way he simply couldnt with the women he was involved with... With that in mind, Vahn used the [Divine Energy Cube] as a catalyst while Da Vinci closely observed the entire process with her mesmerizing eyes. These were thest two things he saw before finding himself back in the bluish-ck space for the third time in a single day. Then, after trading his heart for another [Divine Energy Cube], Vahn made his way over to the stone tforms and began to flip through the names, parameters, and skills for Karna, Siegfried, Ghad, Gawain, and Bedivere. He had tried to find the First Hassan but, even after filtering the names to his own world, the only one that stood out wasnt named Hassan-i-Sabbah, but The Old Man of the Mountain. Though Vahn was able to intuit this was the person he was looking for, the synthetic voice of the Throne immediately stated, *Youck the qualifications to summon this Heroic Spirit.* Since he could even summon gods, so long as he prepared a vessel for them, Vahn was surprised that the Throne outright stated hecked the qualifications to summon the First Hassan. When he tried asking about it, the Throne didnt even glorify him with a response until he tried to select the name a second time. This prompted it to repeat that hecked the qualifications, causing Vahn to sigh since this indicated that the First Hassan was likely even more powerful than spected. The next time he bargained with Akasha, Vahn intended to directly inquire about the method to summon the First Hassan as, even if he didnt intend to call upon him any time soon, it was better to know the method just in case the situation necessitated relying on the powerful Assassin. After sorting through all of their information, Vahn determined that the two best candidates for his purposes were Karna and Siegfried. The Knight of the Round Table would likely have a few issues with bing truly loyal to him, especially with Artoria around. He also didnt imagine they would be too fond of Mordred, the person who had killed their King, so Vahn intended to wait until she had grown up a bit more before summoning any of them. Thus, after careful deliberation, Vahn decided to summon Siegfried as, while Karna seemed far more powerful, his existence as a Demi-God with A-Rank [Divinity] meant his sensibilities might not adapt to the present too easily. Vahn could also imagine Karna trying to fight against Scthach or Kenshin to test his own capabilities which, when looking at his status, actually made him a challenge for both women. Though Scthach would almost certainly emerge victoriously, the fact Karna had Anti-Country and Anti-Divine Noble Phantasms made him into a veritable weapon of mass destruction that could push things to the extreme if not reined in properly... With his mind made up, Vahn confirmed Siegfrieds name and, like those before him, gave him the [Transmigrator] perk to pull him from the past and into the present. After confirming his selection, Vahns awareness returned to the real world as the same bluish-white light began to form the figure of a rather tall and muscr man. The moment Vahn saw the silhouette form, he breathed a sigh of relief that caused Da Vinci to raise her brow with a curious expression on her face. This onlysted for a brief moment, however, as she was more interested in watching the process of energy being converted into physical flesh and blood. When Siegfrieds body formedpletely only a few secondster, Da Vinci made a small pout by pursuing out her lips and making a mental note to have Vahn allow her to watch all future summons as well. Unlike Da Vinci, Siegfried had undoubtedly been summoned at the instant just before his death so his body was in a tensed state as he copsed forward. Since Vahn wouldnt allow a woman to fall on her face, he also caught Siegfrieds body before he hit the ground. He noticed the mans body was as firm as hardened steel while, on his chest, a massive glowing green scar created a strange cross pattern that extended up his neck and part of his admittedly handsome and heroic-looking visage. He had an angr jawline and chiseled features while, even though he was unconscious, Vahn could see striking blue eyes that had emanated an aura of intimidation and dignity. Then, after inspecting Siegfrieds internal structure, Vahn could tell that he actually had a simr Dragons Heart to Artoria, just a lower grade than the Welsh Dragons. At the same time, however, his energy seemed chaotic as it spread through his body, greatly strengthening every cell but also linking them all together to a massive weak spot on the very center of his back... From the way the energy in his body was linked together, Vahn understood that Siegfrieds body functioned in much the same was as Fafnir. Though he was wearing a thin ck tunic that was open at the front, revealing Siegfrieds massive scar and incredibly developed physique, it was obvious that even a light wound to his weak spot would be fatal. The moment he was hit in that area, the rest of his cells would practically explode, causing him intense pain and ultimately leading to his death. Beyond that, however, Siegfrieds body seemed as durable as Adamantine while the powerful heart beating in his chest would provide him with nigh-limitless stamina. All of this,bined with his silvery-gray mane of hair and his tall and muscr body gave Siegrief a truly heroic appearance that Vahn considered adopting for himself in the future. Though his physique certainly wasntcking, Vahn was on the thinner and athletic side, much like Gilgamesh and Ozymandius, while Siegfried looked like someone you would never want to cross... Since Siegfried was holding a massive ymore in his right hand, Vahn imagined his final moments might have been inbat. He knew how Siegfried had died ording to the legends but, seeing his parameters, Vahn felt it was rather difficult to believe he could be assassinated. A human with the senses of a True Dragon would obviously never get caught off guard so easily and, with this powerful physique and high physical parameters, it was easy to intuit there was more to the story. He would hopefully be able to learn the truth from the memory link but, considering how even Nobungas had been iplete, Vahns intuition told him that summoning three people at once would interfere with the process. Sis had informed him that Irisviel was still undergoing the memory link while Siegfried, even though he was also unconscious, had yet to start his. This indicated that only one link could be established at a time but, even if that was the case, Vahn felt it wasnt all that bad getting to know them the good old fashioned way. He could also ask for Merlins assistance in sharing his memories with them so it wasnt all that big an issue if he had overtaxed the system a bit. With that in mind, Vahn lifted up Siegfrieds rather robust body, standing at 190cm tall and weighing 80kg, before looking toward Da Vinci and saying, "Well head up and get you situated in a room. After that, Ill take you with me to meet Merlin and he can help you pick a suitable location for your workshop. Im certain youll have a lot of questions but I would advise you to get some rest to activate the memory link before wandering around too much..." Tilting her head to the side in response to Vahns words, Da Vinci caused his mind to nk as she seemed genuinely confused while asking, "Will I not be sharing a room with you? You seem to be very interested in this body and I am more than a little interested in yours as well. I can tell by the time frame you had previously mentioned that it will likely be several decades before the threat you mentioned appears. Before then, I would like to test the capabilities of this body and study yours to the best of my ability. I have never encountered someone who I was unable to analyze so I will never be able to sleep peacefully unless I can see you with my own eyes. Since you will already be keeping me up at night, surely it would be beneficial for both our purposes to simply share the same room?" Since Da Vinci seemed like the type to use the avable information to the fullest extent, Vahn kept his calm as he inly exined, "My rtionsh.i.p.s are alreadyplicated as they are. For now, it would be best if you just experienced the memory link before making such assertions. Well likely be working together a lot in the future so there is plenty of time for things like that once you get settled in." Though Vahn was somewhat resistant to the idea right now, he knew that it was only a matter of time before he and Da Vinci ended up experimenting. Her nature,bined with her goddess-like appearance were a lethalbination he wouldnt be able to resist for very long. It didnt matter all that much if she had originally been a man as the soul and ego were both genderless things that could inhabit both male and female bodies between incarnations. Even the Unit Management function listed her as a female so, unless she insisted otherwise and assumed the form of a man, Vahn had no real reason to avoid his own intrigue in Da Vincis enigmatic body. Though there was much Da Vinci wanted to inquire about, she ultimately decided to follow Vahns instructions to undergo the memory link before pestering him too much. She could tell that he had his mind focused on other things right now and, hating to be interrupted during her own work, she decided it was only proper to respect his own thought process. Thus, while looking around at every little thing that caught her attention, Da Vinci followed behind Vahn as he carried Siegfried as if thetter weighed absolutely nothing. He also had quite the interesting body but, after observing him for a few minutes, Da Vinci quickly lost her interest as she created the blueprint of a Dragons Heart within her mind. By analyzing its structure and output, she was confident it would only take her around forty days to create an artificial one for her next body... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dont try to be roundabout with a Genius...!,Holy EX (O___O)...,Finally, a man...! <---Vahn sounding like a desperate housewife over here (>,...,<)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1133 - Settling In

Chapter 1133 - Settling In

After ascending the long staircase connecting to his room, Vahn carried Siegfried inside while looking over at Illya. She had sat up when the mechanism triggered, eyeing Siegfried and Da Vinci with a questioning look in her eyes. Vahn returned a somewhat awkward smile as he exined, "This unconscious man is Siegfried, the Dragon Knight, while that woman who looks like the Mona Lisa is the Omnipotent Genius, Leonardo Da Vinci." These words prompted Da Vinci to raise her hand in a small salutation as she chimed in, "Nice to meet you, young miss. My, you have quite an interesting body, dont you~?" Then, turning her eyes to the sleeping Irisviel, Da Vinci had an intrigued look on her face until Vahn inly stated, "Drop it for the time being. There are other things that youll be able to research without identally offending people..." Da Vincis only response to Vahns words was to show a gentle smile, even as her eyes were still trying to analyze the structure of Illyas and Irisviels bodies. Vahn was very aware of this so he shook his head in an exasperated manner before turning to Illya and saying, "Im going to get these two settled in. There is no rush for you to hurry back so feel free to stay with your mother for as long as youd like. If there are any issues with your friend, make sure to use the mirror before returning to your room. Ill stop by to check on you as soon as I get some time freed up." Since she was bothered by Da Vincis gaze, to the point of covering her chest, Illya nodded her head without trying to keep Vahn any longer. Then, when thetter stepped out into the hallway with Da Vinci and Siegfried, he turned to the inordinately beautiful woman and asked, "Do you have any intention on assuming the identity of a man in the future...?" Understanding why Vahn would ask such a thing, Da Vinci kept her perpetual smile as she stated in a calm tone, "I will never deny that I was originally a male, but I have no intention of abandoning my new identity. The Mona Lisa is the ideal personification of beauty that I pursued throughout my entire lifetime. Unless I am required to change back, I would never willingly do so. I would rather be a beautiful woman appreciated by all than return to being a man shunned for his brilliance. I will not deny that I may have a slightly perverse nature, but you do not have to worry about me making a move on any of yourpanions. My interests are purely scientific, I assure you..." Though she was also tempted to point out that her primary interest right now was Vahn, Da Vinci felt his current state of mind wasnt receptive to such remarks. Though he raised his brow in response to the fact that Da Vinci had called herself a pervert, Vahn ultimately just shook his head in mild exasperation when she began to giggle in turn. He didnt know if she always had it active but it would be very frustrating trying to keep up with a Genius who could maintain sixteen thought processes. So long as Da Vinci didnt start experimenting on the girls, he wouldnt worry let her quirks bother him. In fact, her nature actually made her easy to get along with so Vahn expected they might be able to be good friends in the future. Though her body was irrefutably female, the fact that Da Vinci had lived as a man meant he could potentially treat her like one of his malepanions, albeit with extra benefits... Since he couldnt take Siegfried into the Sub-Space Projection Orb while thetter was unconscious, Vahn carried him to the physical location of Merlins Magus Tower. By the time they got there, Merlin was already waiting with a smile on his face but, even without observing him too closely, Vahn could tell he was just a projection of his illusory self. It was obvious that Merlin was temporarily trying to avoid him, causing Vahn to release a tired sigh before exining, "I do not have anyone that can watch over Siegfried for me while Im dealing with other things. Im also worried that the memory link might not be functioning properly due to summoning multiple people simultaneously. Can you watch his dreams for me to see if anything triggers? Also, where did you intend to have Da Vinci set up her workshop...?" As if he found something Vahn said strange, Merlin showed a face of confusion as he asked, "I was certain you would have Da Vinci set up in the same workshop as you? Even more than Scthach and myself, she will be able to help you learn anything you are interested in. All we can do is provide you with answers rted to existing knowledge, not help you innovate on things that never existed in this world. Since everything you do goes against the original flow of fate, there is only so much we can do to help you. That is why I wanted you to summon Da Vinci as soon as possible. Instead of trying to build a foundation in old techniques, I believe you are better suited to creating techniques that suit your interests. Im certain Da Vinci doesnt mind helping you experiment with anything you might request of her, isnt that right my dear~?" In response to Merlins words, Da Vincis eyes were glimmering as she said, "It seems I have you to thank for allowing me to exist in the present. Even if your intentions were only to mess with your Emperor, I will not deny that he is the most intriguing existence I have ever observed. So long as I am allowed to take a few samples and research the things Im interested in, I dont mind teaching anything you wish to know. If you are curious about anything, anything at all, you need only let me know~." As she said thest sentence, Da Vinci brought her arms forward a little, squeezing her b.r.e.a.s.ts together with a yful smile on her face. Vahn realized that she and Merlin had a few similiarities that would prove troublesome in the future but, as Da Vinci was still the best possible teacher, Vahn could only ept that he had yed into Merlins hand this time around... --- After leaving Siegfried in Vahns care, Vahn took Da Vinci into the Sub-Space Projection, something that caught her interest almost immediately as she looked around with glimmering eyes and stated, "How intriguing. This ce seems to operate on apletely different set of principles than the real world, all why using those very same principles as a temte. Tell me, does the orientation of objects within this space directly coincide with those in reality? If you change the location of one, would the other update in ordance with its new location?" Since everything she was experiencing thus far was something new to her, Da Vinci had an almost child-like wonder about her. It was almost as if she hadcked stimulus for a long time and, now that she had things that interested her again, she was eager to learn everything about the new world she had found herself in. Vahn did his best to exin the principles that allowed the Sub-Space Projection Orb to work, even though his own understanding was still a bitcking. Da Vinci listened on with glimmering eyes the entire time and, by the time he had finished, she confidently nodded her head and said, "I will make this one of my current projects. I want to recreate a Sub-Space Orb to put the theory to the test. If Space and Time bend in the ways you mentioned, it should be possible to create an isted space within the Sub-Space Projection that uses the current time dtion while allowing for the existence of a second Orb within. I will need to study the Space-Time Orb as well but, as you mentioned it is possible to have physical objects within a metaphysical space, I do not believe it is as impossible to achieve as you stated." Though it sounded like Da Vinci was iming she would do the impossible, Vahn knew that there was actually no such thing as impossible from the start. Since she even had the [Pioneer of the Stars] Innate, literally allowing her to make the impossible possible, Vahn had no doubt she would eventually be able to pull it off. By researching things alongside her, Vahn knew his own knowledge andprehension would increase exponentially, something Merlin no doubt intended when he kept insisting that he summon Da Vinci. Since developing the Soul relied onprehending Laws and increasing the rank of your Innates, Vahn knew that Da Vinci was essentially the key to his own power increasing greatly in the future. This,bined with Scthach helping him master his physical body andbat abilities would significantly reduce the time it took for him to reach Tier 5... Following Merlins advice, Vahn brought Da Vinci to his ownb located beneath the Armory of Camelot, one of the most secure ces within the entire Ivory Castle. Even if he went all out, the surrounding walls would even be able to tank the destructive power of his [Magia Erebea], at least for a while. This was the location of his primary forge and workshop as, even with the Space-Time Orbs, the memory fragments were always limited since theycked the ability to use Innates. Though they could eventually reach the point of being able to produce masterpieces through pure skill, Vahn could greatly outperform them in the real world by relying on the increased focus and elemental maniption his [Will of the Emperor] granted him. Thus, instead of just leaving everything to his memory fragments, Vahn still had a workshop where he would experiment with new concepts in a controlled environment. Da Vinci looked around the area with a great deal of intrigue visible in her expression, taking note of the fact that Vahn had an Atelier, Forge, and a workstation for treating materials and fabrics to turn into clothing. It was all neatly organized, elevating Vahns status within Da Vincis mind since it was evident he took his research very seriously. Many of the materials present were things she had never even seen before, including some of the fabrics, so she was very interested in analyzing everything the first chance she got. Before that, she turned to Vahn with sparkling eyes as she asked with a bit of excitement in her voice, "Is this going to be my workshop in the future? Am I allowed to use all of the tools here~?" In almost every other circ.u.mstance, Vahn would have immediately denied such a request, even to a God, but Da Vinci would be one of the future pirs of his Empire and his own strength. With that in mind, he gave a curt not but exined, "So long as you do not modify anything I am working on, I do not mind if you treat this workshop as your own. If you want to expand or change anything, feel free to do so as long as it does notpromise the structural integrity of the castle. Your title will be decided uponter, but you essentially have free reign to research anything, so long as it does not invade the privacy of the castles residents and put them in danger. Forrge projects, you will have to pass them by me for approval but I will not refuse so long as you have a reasonable justification for whatever you intend to implement." While nodding her head in understanding, Da Vinci followed up Vahns words by asking, "How do I go about requestion research materials? Does your Empire already have a system for allocating resources?" In response to this, Vahn pulled a chunk of Mithril out of his Inventory, causing Da Vincis eyes to sh in excitement as she stated, "My, you get more interesting by the moment. Did you create that from nothing? I did not sense even the smallest fluctuation of mana..." As she was speaking, Da Vinci walked over and grabbed the mystical ore from Vahns hand without any sense of propriety at all. The only thing that mattered to her was the answers to her questions while things like status and titles were only troublesome matters that other people relied on to flex their power over others. As he had mentioned several times before, Vahn inly stated, "Most of your questions would be answered by the memory link. The simplest way to exin it is that I have a form of energy that does not exist within this world. You can think of it as using the Laws that govern Creation to shape the energy contained within my body into a physical form that is entirely indistinguishable from the actual material. I am also not limited to things like raw ore either, as I can even create conceptual items that have never existed so long as I have enough reserve energy. This is the main reason for Merlins earlier words as there is a woman named Scthach who knows everything within our group. Her ability is absolutely useless when ites to the items I produce, however, so it isnt wrong to say I am creating what does not exist, even though this isnt exactly the truth of the matter." The entire time Vahn was speaking, Da Vinci was looking at him as if he were the most interesting specimen in existence. Since even Akasha and her superiors treated him as such, this wasnt far from the truth, especially for those who sought to know and understand everything. She was beginning to look forward to the future as,pared to the boring existence she had been forced into during her lifetime, it seemed far more interesting to research alongside Vahn. Even if he was beginning to hide it well, she could tell that he was still very interested in her body and, though it might only be a fraction of her interest in his, Da Vinci was already thinking of several methods to convince him to allow her to study him. With that in mind, she gave a small nod in response to his words before asking, "Is there any ce to sleep in here? Ive always treated my workshop and my room as one and the same. I cant stay calm if Im away from my research for too long..." Having already expected her to say such a thing, Vahn brought Da Vinci to an adjacent room where arge magic circle was present on the floor. He was intending to use this room for the production of Homunculi in the future but, if the experiement with Irisviel proved to be a sess, that may no longer be necessary. As for the magic circle on the ground, its only purpose was to increase the mana density within the room, making it an ideal ce to meditate and rx if you knew how to make use of it. Though Da Vincis eyes were drawn to this formation at first, she quickly lost interest in it before answering Vahns questions about where she wanted everything arranged. He brought out a small butfortable bed for her before setting out arge wardrobe and allowing her to pick out a few outfits. She ultimately only decided on a few simple changes of clothes, asking instead for a few roles of fabric since she intended to make her own outfits. As a result, Vahn also gave her a set of the [Aegis Mk 5] and [Aegis Mk 6] before entrusting some of the outfit temtes that he had been working on. Some of this included lingerie, a topic that Da Vinci seemed a little too interested in since it hadnt been prevalent during his time. Other than some simple knickers and cloth breeches, synthetic fabrics were exceedingly rare while acquiring fine silks was something only the rich and affluent could afford. Somewhat unexpectedly, Vahn ended up talking about the significance and function of lingerie with Da Vinci for the better part of an hour. He watched as thetter drew up several designs that made his own seem rather amateurish but, instead of being annoyed, Vahn was more interested in seeing the masterful designs brought to fruition. The fact that Da Vinci actually began to lecture him on why certain designs were important was rather eye-opening, especially since she hadnt even known anything about the subject just an hour prior. This didnt seem to matter, however, as Da Vinci was even able to design unique seam patterns that would amplify the aesthetic quality of the lingerie while also making it easier to move in. From this, It was clear that her could learn a lot from studying under Da Vinci in the future... Before he could get side-tracked too far, Vahn brought an early end to Da Vincis excitement by remarking, "Im going to go check on Illya and her mother. This conversation has been fun but I have other things I need to take care of. Ill probably be spending a lot of my time here in the future so we have plenty of time to discuss such things in greater detailter. For now, I could take you to meet with some of the other castle residents or you can stay here and continue working on your own projects while Im away." Though she had been moderately annoyed that Vahn had interrupted her when she was in the middle of designing a masterpiece, Da Vinci still listened attentively to his words. When given the option to choose how she would spend her time, she unhesitantly stated, "I will leave it to you to introduce me to the otherster. For now, Ill stay here and familiarize myself with the workshop. Im not that interested in socializing so unless theye to me, I wont be spending too much time outside of our workshop. It isnt an exaggeration to say that every minute I am distracted from my work, humanity has been set back by several days in whichever field I am working on. Though I will make an exception for things that interest me, please do not expect me to attend any kind of formal social situations in the future. My time is better spent here, not wasted on maintaining pretenses~." Hearing Da Vincis words, Vahn felt an urge to furrow his brows but managed to keep a straight face as he nodded his head and said, "Ill see you in a few hours then." It was clear that something had happened to Da Vinci to make her unfond of people but, considering her peerless genius, it was very likely that it was the resentment of others that turned her off to such things. If he didnt know there were heights even further above anything Da Vinci could reasonablyprehend, Vahn might be put off by the fact she managed to design better lingerie than him in a single hour, even though he had spent what amounted to years on it. If you tried topare your aplishments side-by-side with Da Vincis, you would alwayse up short since things that you had to make an extreme effort to aplish seemed almost second nature to her. Depending on the situation, she would have been isted from most people as, more often than not, humans couldnt tolerate being made to feel inconsequentialpared to another human... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bruh, have you seen this body? Im good (U w U)...,Merlin is a troll,Humans hate geniuses, even though they are also extremely reliant on them xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1134 - Happiness

Chapter 1134 - Happiness

While making his way back to his own room, intending to use the mirror within to return to Illyas side, Vahn also took the opportunity to talk to Sis about what she should show Siegfried and Da Vinci. Though she usually had more than enough wherewithal to make such decisions on her own, Vahn felt like he should rify it so there werent any issues in the future. The only real change he made was ensuring that Da Vinci got the same treatment as Siegfried, meaning she wouldnt really see too many intimate moments between him and the girls within Danmachi. Vahn would rather have the focus be more on his social interactions with the girls, as that would potentially be good for someone like Da Vinci, instead of giving her excess information on his preferences and stuff. Though he could respect that she was now a female, Vahn didnt really want his s.e.x life to be observed by someone that used to be a man. He already had enough problems with one pervert within the castle so he didnt really need a second person to worry about... After reaching his room, Vahn stepped through therge mirror at the side of the room, alerting Illya to his presence since this action was always apanied by a small sh of light. She sat up on the bed and, seeing him alone now, smiled as she exined, "She hasnt shown any signs of waking up yet. Do you know how long it will take for the memory link to finish...?" Since she really wanted to have a long talk with her mother, Illya was feeling a little impatient, even though there was a lot of anxiety in her heart at the same time. Though their physical development was theplete opposite of each others, she was actually more than three times her own mothers age. Because of this, Illya was a little afraid that their rtionship with each other would be polluted by her circ.u.mstances. Making his way over to the bedside, Vahn reached out his hand and began to gently stroke Illyas head as he answered, "It usually takes around four hours so she should be waking up in the next hours or so." As the information in the memory link could only be processed at a certain speed, regardless of whether or not he was inside the Sub-Space Projection Orb, it always took around the same amount of time. Though it was possible to significantly reduce this, there were a few defining moments in Vahns life that were important for anyone he summoned to experience. If they could not understand his convictions and what he had experienced to reach this point, it wouldplicate things in the future if they began questioning his decisions on principle alone... --- With Illya worrying about her mother, Vahn kept herpany by pulling out a chair and taking a seat next to the bed. Though he would have climbed in alongside her under normal circ.u.mstances, that kind of behavior would have to be measured in the future now that Illya had another parental figure in her life. Even if Irisviel had his memories, she might not be so receptive to the idea that he shared the same bed with Illya every few days. He just hoped that Illya didnt give her mom too much trouble if thetter was a little overprotective of her little girl after waking up. Though it was just as likely that Irisviel would allow him to share the same bed as them, Vahn wasnt going to put any pressure on the situation and just watch it develop from the side. Cath Palug would undoubtedlyplicate things but Vahn could only y the situation by ear since Sis told him that the memory link this time around only seemed to be one-way due to the conflict of summoning three people so close together... After a little more than an hour had passed, with Illya now having calmed down a great deal, Irisviels eyelids began to flutter. The memory link had just ended, leading Sis to mention that a second link with Siegfried had been started, implying that Da Vinci had been either skipped or was still awake back inside the orb. What was more important right now was Irisviel, however, so Vahn inclined his head towards the dazed-looking woman to alert Illya to the fact she was waking up. Prior to this, she had been happilyying against his palm while he stroked the side of her head and face with his other hand. Though this made her seem almost like a puppy, Vahn kept such thoughts to himself since it would cause Illya to fl.u.s.ter a great deal if she were to know what he was thinking... For several tense seconds, Vahn and Illya just stared at the awakening Irisviel until shezily turned her head to the side, her ruby red eyes staring directly at them. There was familiarity in her gaze when she looked at Vahn but, the moment her eyesnded on Illya, Irisviels eyes seemed to light up in an instant as she sat up in the bed like a spring and pounced on her daughter, shouting, "Illya-chaaaaan~!" Following this, Irisviel hugged Illya tightly in her embrace while rocking thetter from side to side as tears began to build up in her eyes. After this went on for nearly thirty seconds straight, Irisviel loosened her hold on the shaken Illya, looking into thetters face with teary eyes as she asked, "Is this real? Im not dreaming anymore, am I...?" Staring into her mothers face, Illyas own turned into a sour pout as a veil of moisture quickly spread across her eyes as she answered, "Kaa-chan..." This time, Illya was the one to hug Irisviel, her tiny arms wrapping around her mothers thin body as she sobbed loudly against her chest. Though this might not have been the answer she was looking for, it was all Irisviel needed to know this wasnt just a happy dream. Like Illya, she began to cry but, instead of sobbing pitifully, she looked towards Vahn before mouthing the words, thank you as she tightly hugged her daughter once again. Vahn just gave a small nod in response before trying to excuse himself from the room to allow the two to speak privately for a while. This was their important reunion so, while there was much to discuss, Vahn knew it could wait untilter... Almost as soon as Vahn stood up from his seat, Irisviel blinked in surprise before saying, "Wait. You do not need to leave." This alerted Illya to the fact he was trying to escape, momentarily causing her crying to stop as she looked back at him with a tear-stained face and added, "Please stay. Were all a family now...right?" Since her face looked extremely pitiable, Vahn quickly found himself seated once again as, even during normal circ.u.mstances, he found it difficult to refuse Illya. Three months of looking after her had conditioned him to pamper her quite a bit, so long as she didnt try and take things too far. Now that she was no longer bawling her eyes out, Illya was quickly regaining her calm as she wiped her nose, sniffling a few times before asking, "Kaa-chan, how much did you see in Vahns memories?" Though this seemed like a rtively innocent question, Vahn noticed that Illya had referred to him as Vahn instead of Onii-sama. Irisviel didnt seem to catch on to this incongruity as she just gently stroked Illyas hair and answered, "I was able to see and experience many wonderous things. I have always known there were other worlds but seeing one for myself was a very pleasant experience..." As these words left her mouth, Irisviel looked towards Vahn, her smile turning slightly awkward as she added, "There were some things I probably shouldnt have seen though...forgive me...I did not mean to pry into your private life..." Knowing she was talking about his rtionsh.i.p.s with other women, Vahn felt a little awkward but wasnt really upset about it. He was far more lenient towards women in this type of situation and, though Sis did filter quite a bit, it was good for Irisviel to have an understanding of his character. Though there was a fair chance she would pardon herself from getting involved with him in the future, the odds of him and Illya developing a rtionship was still extremely high. It was better for her to be aware of his nature earlier so that she would be able to adapt to the rather peculiar reality she had found herself in. Thus, after shaking his head slightly, Vahn produced a casual smile as he said, "The memory link provided by the summoning system prevents a lot of future issues from arising. Though you may not have been summoned for the purpose of participating in theing battles, it is better for you to be up to speed to prevent conflict and misunderstandings." Though she was aware the only reason she was summoned was because of Illya, Irisviel wasnt the least bit troubled by what Vahn had said. As the person who had reunited her with her daughter, it was fundamentally impossible for her to hate him. After experiencing the memory link, during which she saw Vahn turn from a troubled boy into a powerful Emperor, Irisviel actually wanted to tell him he had done well. The only thing that prevented her from saying such things was were awareness that they might not even have any meaning to someone as powerful as Vahn. He hadnt performed all his feats to bemended by an inconsequentially small existence like her, a tool that had only existed to serve as the vessel for the Holy Grail. Her greatest achievement, other than fulfilling her purpose, was giving birth to Illya... While Vahn and her mother had entered a somewhat awkward lull, Illyas mind was sorting through the information she had just obtained. Over thest three months, she had learned quite a bit about Vahn and, from what her mother had said, it seemed like the memory link had shown her his past rtionsh.i.p.s. What she really wanted to know was whether or not the memory link had included anything about her and Vahn as, depending on what she already knew, that would drastically change how the interacted with each other in the future. Ultimately, Illya decided it was just best to make her own feelings clear so, as her face began to rapidly gain a ruddy hue, she tugged on her mothers nightgown and stated, "Kaa-chan...I...I like Vahn...he promised to make me happy..." Hearing Illyas sudden confession, Vahn felt his own face warm up a bit as, seemingly unperturbed by what her daughter had said, Irisviel hugged her tightly and said, "I know. Towards the very end of the memory link, I saw lots of scenes between you and Vahn...dont worry, Illya, I would never separate you from your Onii-sama. Your happiness is my happiness..." Though her final words caused Irisviel to blush slightly, as it was almost like saying that Vahn would be making them both happy, it was only for a brief moment. Kiritsugu might not have treated her as well as he could have, but she never once resented him since, before he entered her life, Irisviel didnt even have an ego. He had be the very core of her existence so, even though it was heartbreaking to separate from her daughter, she had willingly given her life up for his dream. The long dream she had following the Holy Grails destruction had caused her feelings to mellow a bit, but she still genuinely loved her husband as, if nothing else, he gave her Illya... Though she was extremely embarrassed by her mothers words, Illya was more focused on Vahns reaction as she stared back at him while biting her bottom lip. It wasnt a secret that she had feelings for him but, saying them openly like this wasnt an easy feat. There had even been a point in the past where she felt guilty for ever thinking about taking advantage of Vahns willingness to make her happy. She knew better than anyone how selfish she had been, using Cath Palug as a means to get her way, but Vahn had never shown that it bothered him. He would still treat her well whenever they were together and, though it was extremely embarrassing to see him and Cath Palug y, Illya still enjoyed the time they spent together. Knowing that Illya was looking to him for affirmation, Vahn ignored the awkward feeling of having Irisviel present as he smiled in response, saying, "I like Illya as well...well always be together from now on." Though he nearly said they would be like family, Vahn felt this wasnt the answer that Illya was looking for. He had already bitten the bullet more than three months ago so he wasnt going to backpedal now that Illya was being forthright with her emotions. His onlyint was that she used the moment just after her mother awoke to confess to him as, from now on, things would be even more awkward. Though he could understand her reasoning for doing so, as it would make Irisviel less inclined to intervene, that didnt make her smile any easier to tolerate. Though there was no me in her eyes at all, eptance was actually scarier in this situation... As if to hammer another nail into the coffin, Irisviel used the silence following their exchange to smile even more radiantly as she said, "If youd like, you can also call me Kaa-chan in the future. Even if you and Illya are going to be married, Ill still be your Mother-in-Law. Ive always wanted a son so please dont hold back~." Though she had never had a dream, the one whimsical thought Irisviel had humored in the past was having a big family. She never liked how cold and distant everyone in the Einzbern family was so, had the fates been kinder to her, she would have liked to live in a small house with arge family. Even if she might not have any other children of her own, she was rather fond of the idea of being a grandmother... In response to her mothers words, Illyas face became scarlet as she looked back at Vahn and asked, "Does this mean were engaged now...?" Though the Heroic Spirits Vahn had summoned might not care about the proper sequence of events, Illya was a girl of the modern era. If she was going to be Vahns future wife, there would have to be arge reception and a fancy wedding to apany it. Her current physique was a slight issue but it wasnt that difficult for her to elerate the aging of her body if she set up ab. Even if it was a little troublesome for him, Illya knew that Vahn would help her if she really wanted to advance their rtionship forward. She knew he was troubled by her current size and, though Cath Palug mightplicate things, Illya felt it would be worth it in the end. Knowing he had been backed into a corner by the unexpected teamwork of the mother-daughter pair, Vahn lightly chuckled before saying, "Now isnt the best time for a wedding but it shouldnt be difficult to arrange one for the future. The Empire is still in its inception so it will probably be a few years before we can move forward with that idea. I want to wait for Mordred to grow up a bit and for Rin and Sakura to move in. If I married someone while she and Sakura were away, I dont think Rin would be too pleased..." Though it was a little dangerous to mention another woman during such discussions, Vahn needed to remind the two ruby-eyed girls that he couldnt arbitrarily shift his focus to just Illya. He would do his best to make her happy but, if they were to officially wed, that would automatically elevate her to the status of Empress, potentiallyplicating matters in the future. Somewhat surprisingly, Illya beganughing in response to Vahns words while Irisviel also had a pleasant smile on her face. Then, even though there was nothing to exin their synergy, Illya adopted a smr smile to her mother as she stated, "You said it yourself in the past. There is no need to rush anything...so long as we keep striving for it, happiness is something everyone can obtain. Im already happier now than Ive ever been before so Ill wait patiently...no matter how long it takes..." Immediately following this, Irisviel nodded her head, hugging Illya from behind as she added, "We are already a family...everything else is just a formality." Though the thought of seeing her daughter in a wedding dress made Irisviel giddy, she knew there was a time and ce for everything. There were a lot of women around Vahn so, if he suddenly decided to marry a girl he wasnt even in a rtionship with, it might be a source of resentment for some. Illya would need to get closer to everyone, all while showing her developing rtionship with Vahn, so that they wouldnt think she had pressured him into it as a result of her unique situation... --- In the hours following Irisviels awakening, the three passed through the mirror to continue their conversation within the Sub-Space Projection. Vahn also used this as an opportunity to get Iris, the name Illyas mother had asked him to call her in lieu of Kaa-chan, situated in her own room. She couldnt share the same room with her daughter as, even though they would likely be spending a lot of time together, the fact remained that Cath Palug was sealed within Illyas body. Since she would also want some privacy in order to spend time together with Vahn, it was necessary for Illya to keep her own room while Iris was located further down the hall. After allowing her to pick some clothes for her wardrobe, Vahn escorted the two girls to the Library which, other than when Vahn went to rx, often went unused. As books were how she viewed the world, Iris was happy to be given the responsibility of taking care of the Imperial Library, a ce which had only been tended by a single golem previously. Vahn told her that he would allow her to travel around the world in the future but, with a kind smile on her face, Iris exined that such consideration was unnecessary. She was more than happy just being reunited with her daughter and, though it wasnt thergest Ind in the world, Avalon was a very beautiful ce. Being able to wander about the fantastical castle and its grounds was already more than Iris could have ever hoped for when she was merely a Homunculus of the Einzbern family. To that end, Vahn had carefully exined Iris current situation to her, including the fact that she might vanish soon. This didnt seem to bother her at all but, knowing Vahn had created her from his own body, she did take the opportunity to tease him by calling him Papa once. Since she had been created, not born, Iris had always wanted to have parents of her own. Even if it was just once, she wanted to say such words and, deciding to humor her, Vahn had called her Iris-chan in response. This had earned him a strange look from Illya but, as if she had received an extremepliment, Iris reacted by cupping her face with one hand and smiling radiantly in response. Following this, Vahn escorted the two girls around the castle and its grounds, showing Iris all of the interesting sights and introducing her to everyone. With the exception of Circe, everyone had a very positive reception to Iris and, by the time they had returned to her room, the smile on her face had already persisted for several hours... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Two many perverts (o 3 o)...,Illya is quite sneaky...,Irisviel is adorable (^ x ^)) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1135 - Omnipotent Genius

Chapter 1135 - Omnipotent Genius

As much as Vahn was enjoying spending time with everyone, as walking around with Illya and Iris turned most situations into a pleasant experience, he still needed to pay attention to his schedule as much as possible. Thus, while waiting for Siegfried to awaken, Vahn went to meet with Da Vinci in their shared workshop so he could tell her to get some sleep at some point. Taking into ount the time he had spent in the real world, it had already been around ten hours since he had left her alone. Because of this, Vahn had the very real expectation that he would see something risque the moment he stepped into the workshop. As Da Vinci was a pervert by her own admission, and had even been working on lingerie prior to him leaving, Vahn had already prepared himself for whatever she would surprise him with... Against his expectations, as if to emphasize she was an iprehensible existence, Vahn found Da Vinci wearing some rather stylish renaissance style clothing,plete with a short pleated skirt. Even at a nce, he could tell that the clothes she had made for herself were of an extremely high quality while also being practical. Though he would have to inspect them more closely to be sure, it looked like even the pair of blue leggings she had made for herself were at least upper B-Rank, qualifying them as A-Rank items in the Record of Danmachi. He doubted she was able to infuse any abilities into them, as theycked the aura that would usually apany such things, but just their make alone nearly qualified as a masterpiece. As she had noticed his arrival, Da Vinci removed a set of goggles from her face that Vahn hadnt given her, meaning she made them herself, to stare back at him with her peculiar eyes. She had been using a series of uniquely designed tools unlike anything Vahn had ever seen before as she carved a small an intricate series of runes on the outside of a lens. Then, as if to answer his unasked question, Da Vinci exined, "Even an Omniscient Genius requires the proper tools toplete their work. Im currently about to finish my third iteration of lenses for my ocr device. When I am finished, I will be able to see reality, even while inside of this Sub-Space Projection. I figured it may be necessary to make an observation system that allows you to easily see what is taking ce in the real world for any potential invasions." Hearing Da Vincis exnation, Vahn found himself spontaneously breaking out into a short bout of light-heartedughter. He actually wasnt all that surprised by the fact that she was already working on solutions to some of the Empires most pertinent issues but, as it was such a distinct gap from what he had expected upon arriving, he couldnt help butugh at the reality of the situation. This changed very quickly, however, when Da Vinci gave a knowing smile and said, "I already finished working on a few different types of lingerie as well. I have already prepared a presentation once Iplete these lenses so please be patient. If you have nothing to keep yourself busy, you can find a few pairs of panties that I had wornying on the bed in the other room. Please try not to spoil them too much since Ill need to wear them during the presentation~." Though he knew Da Vinci was teasing him, it was also very apparent that she was being serious at the same time. Because of this, Vahn realized that the gap he thought existed had been nothing more than another misunderstanding on his part. Da Vinci wasnt constrained by what he thought she would do as, with her omnipotent genius, she could be both serious and perverted at the same time. It was very likely that, even now, some of her thought processes were still designing new types of lingerie. She likely intended to use her presentation as a means to collect data by observing his reaction to each type of garment she had produced. Since Da Vinci always innovated off the data she was provided with, she would continue to modify her designs until they were the pinnacle of the concept of lingerie, at least lingerie that could be used to appeal to him... Since Da Vinci had already returned to her work, clearly not wanting to be disturbed a second time, Vahn just shook his head before looking around the workshop at various other small projects she had started. He found that his Atelier was filled with various different tools that hadnt been present a few hours prior. Da Vinci had used transmutation to shape precious metals intoplex tools that would take extreme dexterity to be able to use. There were even a few precision instruments that had des and tips so fine that they were only a single atoms thickness. The one thing these toolscked were abilities infused into them but, using small runes and reinforcement magecraft, Da Vinci was able to circ.u.mvent this with ease. She had even embedded small gemstones into the structure of the tools, giving them the appearance of fine works of art, that served as a means to power the intricate magic formation and prevent the tools from breaking. As interesting as her tools were, Vahns attention was only drawn to them for a brief moment as, on the adjacent table, the basic framework of an extremelyplex, albeit iplete, staff had already beenid out. There were also blueprints that had been drawn with machine-like precision next to it, allowing Vahn to get an understanding of what Da Vinci was trying to create. Using transmutation and the tools she had made herself, Da Vinci had been making small parts simr to what you might find in something like an expensive pocket watch. There were literally thousands of small pieces that had been carved with even smaller runes and magic formations that would be linked together into a staff that was as much mechanical as it was magical. When it waspleted, Vahn could tell it would be around A-Rank, if for no other reason than the fact that Da Vincicked higher quality materials. The fact she was capable of making a high-ranking staff with rtively simple materials was one of the most shocking things Vahn had observed from Da Vinci thus far. Though Vahn already had high expectations for Da Vinci, to the point he put her on the same level as Scthach, it almost felt like she was doing everything in her power to make his prior expectations seem inconsequentially foolish in the face of her genius. At the same time, however, Vahn was more than a little excited about future prospects as, if he were able to work alongside and learn from Da Vinci, hisprehension could reach extremes that might have taken him hundreds of years on his own. He relied on very expensive and rare materials to do what Da Vinci could aplish withparably in materials. If he could reach her level, Vahn felt that making SS-Rank, or higher, equipment would be well within his reach... While Vahn had been captivated by her work, Da Vinci quickly finished up the set of lenses she was working on. Seeing that he was distracted, she removed her goggles before slotting the lenses into one of the prepared rings. Her ocr device allowed lenses to be ovepped so their effects could be stacked together and toggled by tapping small gemstones on the side. When she slotted in the third and final set of lenses, Da Vinci couldnt help but smile as she ced the visor over her eyes and tapped the tiny white peridot that was arranged in a triangr formation with a ruby and a sapphire. This caused everything within her vision to appear as though a film had been ced over it, one which allowed all objects to be viewed with a variable amount of transparency based on the focal point of the users eyes. With her goggles donned, Da Vinci cast her gaze over Vahns back, a glimmer in her eyes as she looked him up and down without triggering his perception. The main function of this set of lenses was to allow her to see the internal structure of materials but, if the settings were tweaked just a little bit, it also allowed her to see through clothes just as easily. She could see that Vahn had a very athletic body that, while not on the same level as her Mona Lisa Prototype, was almost wless in its structure. What troubled her was the fact that, even if she upped the settings, she still couldnt make sense of Vahns internal structure, almost as if he was a unique existence that simply didnt follow the same rules as the rest of the world... After ogling Vahns butt for a few seconds, Da Vinci pressed the small sapphire gemstone to active the second set of lenses, this one allowing her to see the flow and structure of magical energy with extreme precision. She used these lenses to make sure there were no leaks when she was carving runes as many of her inventions would break down if there was even the smallest defect within theplextticework of magic formations she painstakingly carved. Though she only made mistakes if there were external factors beyond her control, that was no excuse to cut corners and suffer as a victim of hubris. Unfortunately, even with this second set of lenses, Da Vinci could only see Vahns body as an enigma that would require extensive research. She did not believe for a moment that she would be unable to crack what made him function as, regardless of what secrets his body held, it was only a matter of time until she knew everything there was to know about Vahn... Though it would be useless in this situation, Da Vinci wasnt the type of person that lived by pure assumptions so, as a matter of course, she used the third lens to observe Vahns body. As expected, he simply vanished from view when the third lens was the only one active while, in conjunction with the other two, it showed what appeared to be a hologram of Vahn since he appeared as a semi-transparent figure within her vision. To make sure they were working properly, Da Vinci also looked around her workshop, observing that all of the tables were more or less empty back within the real world. This allowed her to conclusively affirm that objects within the Sub-Space Projection and the real world werent necessarily interrted with each other. Though it was possible to link a physical object with its projection by having it interface with the ind-wide magic formation present all throughout Avalon, it was also possible to iste objects if you created an inverse-magic formation, effectively forming a gap in the projection that could be exploited by enemies... After writing down her observations, Da Vinci deactivated everything but the transparency function of her goggles as it was quite entertaining to see Vahn walking around n.a.k.e.d. The most important part of this was that, unless he tried them on himself, Vahn would be unaware that the goggles even had such a function. The very core of the magic formation made it so that anything being observed would be unable to perceive that they were being observed. Since this would serve as the basis for the inds observationwork in the future, making it counterintuitive if enemies were able to sense they were being observed, Da Vinci decided to keep it a secret for the time being. Though she was almost exposed when Vahn turned around, as she got an eye full of something very surprising, she ultimately managed to keep herposure by simply smiling. Seeing that Da Vinci was finished working on her rather stylish and ornate-looking goggles, Vahn also smiled as he asked, "Is this the prototype for your own weapon? Are you intending to join the fight in the future?" In response to this, Da Vinci giggled in an elegant manner before exining, "I would rather have a powerful weapon without needing to use it rather than be caught unprepared and left wanting. When I am finished with the final version, that staff will serve as the key to control the defenses of the Ivory Castle in the future. I have a few ideas about how we can prepare against enemy attacks, including an observationwork and an automated defense system. " Since Vahn could understand the logic behind Da Vincis words, he nodded his head in affirmation before remarking, "Just make sure you rest properly when you can. You dont need to right now but, once Siegfried has finished experiencing the memory link, you should retire for the night. Going by the time within the Sub-Space Projection Orb, there is still around neen hours until he awakens so there is no rush." As he didnt know if the current Da Vinci even needed sleep, Vahn could only advise her to rest at her convenience. It was obvious by the enigmatic structure of her body that, while she was listed as a human within the Unit Management function, the fact she was listed as only 200 days old implied she certainly wasnt normal. In response to Vahns words, Da Vinci used her now gloved hand, cing her index finger against her lips as she asked, "So we have neen hours to get to know each other? Perhaps we can use that time to decide how I should address you in the future? You never did tell me if you wanted me to call you Master, Darling, or maybe even something more intimate~?" At the end of her sentence, Da Vince poked through her full and soft-looking lips with the tip of her finger, the glimmer in her eyes changing to a slightly more seductive light. This caused Vahn to smile wryling in response as he inly answered, "I have no problem with getting to know you better, but Im not really in the mood for what you might have in mind. As for how you should address me...well, well be colleagues of sorts in the future so just Vahn will do for now. If we are ever in a public or formal setting, however, you will need to address me as Sage Emperor or Majesty..." Though she nodded her head in understanding, Da Vinci clearly had very different intentions as she said, "Very well then, I will call you Master from now on. You can call me Da Vinci, Vin, Lisa, Leo-chan, or anything else you feel like calling me~." Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, Da Vinci began to strip off her gloves and stockings, leaving them littered on the ground as she added, "Shall we start the presentation? Feel free to let me know your honest opinion as I will be taking detailed notes to improve upon the quality of future products. Im intending to make a full line of womens lingerie for all the girls in the castle so all feedback is appreciated. Of course, if you want to try some on for yourself, it will be just our little secret~." By the time Da Vinci reached the corridor leading to her room, she looked back at Vahn with her characteristic smile and a glimmer in her eyes as she loosened the band holding up her skirt. This caused the red pleated garment to drop to the ground, revealing Da Vincis plump butt, slightly deformed by the intricately designed flesh-tonece lingerie. There were several semi-transparent sections that caused thecework to stand out, even more, drawing the eye around the pattern of the fabric as if you were exploring the intricacies of a painting. This seemed to be Da Vincis desired reaction as her smile blossomed even further as she began to undo the strings of her corset while walking further down the corridor. It was obvious by the trail of clothing she was leaving behind that Da Vinci wanted Vahn to follow behind her... Feeling his heart racing a bit, Vahn shook his head in mock exasperation as it was beginning to seem like Da Vincis Omnipotent Genius wasnt just restricted to her craft. Though he didnt think he was giving her much to work with, it was clear that Da Vinci was beginning to figure him out very quickly. Her seduction techniques were improving at a demonstrably monstrous rate and, even though he was certain he hadnt looked too much, the fact that Da Vinci wore flesh-tone lingerie to further ent her wless rump implied she understood his preferences well. He knew she was only doing this because she was interested in his body but this meant that her interest would actually never be curbed as, even if she studied him to the point of ascending to Tier 5 herself, she would be no closer to unveiling the truth she sought from him. In a way, this meant Da Vinci would be an extremely reliable ally but, at the same time, her curiosity could deviate down any number of random paths in the future... Since the summoning system also showed the alignment of Servants, Vahn knew that Da Vinci was ssified as Chaotic-Good. This meant she was always acting ording to her interests, limited only by her consideration of the status quo and the avability of resources. If left to act as she pleased, with unlimited resources, Da Vinci was the type of person that would shape the entire world around her. Though this would invariably be a good thing, as she was benevolent and considerate enough to avoid causing unnecessary harm, it could also be rather oppressive at the same time. She needed someone to rein her in and, based on how she called him Master, it was obvious that Da Vinci herself had decided to ce him in that role. She didnt leave any room for him to allow them to be equals and, though she would undoubtedly tempt him every chance she got, Da Vinci would ultimately leave it up to him to decide how their rtionship developed... Vahn felt strangely pressured by the knowledge that he had the responsibility of reining in historys most prodigious genius but, considering he also had to deal with two existences that could wipe out all of humanity, it was surprisingly a light burden to bear. Depending on what he wanted her to do, Da Vinci could advance humanity by centuries over the course of just a few decades. Since he was intending to change the status quo of the entire world in the future, there was literally no better ally to have on his side. Merlin had obviously seen through this and, though he undoubtedly knew that the Da Vinci he would summon had a high chance of being a female, this was actually a good thing as he was far more proficient in handling women than trying to work alongside men. Had Da Vinci been a male with the same attributes, showing his perversion towards the girls or even possessing homos.e.x.u.a.l interest in Vahn, that would have led to a far moreplicated situation. Though he was already very aware of the fact he had yed into Merlins hand, Vahn couldnt help but feel that his Magus of the Court had actually made the right decision. For the future of the Empire, and the world itself, he would be Da Vincis Master, fellow researcher, teacher, student, research specimen, and, as she seemed intent on arranging, lover. He doubted she was even capable of experiencing such aplex emotion, as her mind would undoubtedly analyze and break down everything to its most basic state, but that wouldnt change their status. So long as she could never understand him, Da Vinci would never lose her interest in studying him. To that end, they would have a longsting and unshakeable rtionship that would never be on the level of actual lovers, even if it was considerably more developed than even married couples. With that in mind, Vahn took a deep breath as he picked up each piece of clothing and followed behind Da Vinci, curious to see what kind of presentation she had prepared for him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Endless Innovation,Da Vinci with her goggles, "Ara, ara~?",Vahn is like a single note reed, getting yed super easily xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu Chapter 1136 - Duty

Chapter 1136 - Duty

While waiting for Siegfried to awaken, Vahn eventually found himself listening in on Catherins attempts to help Medusa learn to speak, read, and write. She wasnt the only one attending ss, however, as Mordred had a bored expression on her face as she squirmed around atop the cushions they used at seats. When Vahn showed up, she had sat still for a few minutes but, as if she simply couldnt sit still for a long period of time, it wasnt long before she began to shake her legs while sitting cross-legged. As for Medusa, she was surprisingly well behaved and had even asked a few well thought out questions in broken Japanese in an attempt to show off to her Master. This was noted by Catherine but, as she found Medusas desire for attention somewhat adorable, she just smiled and answered every question in stride. When the lessons finally came to an end, Modred acted like she had been freed from an oppressive burden as she bounced up from her chair, both fists raised high as she shouted, "Yes! Thank you for the lessons, Lady Catherine!" Then, without waiting for a response, Mordred looked toward Vahn with gleaming green eyes before pouncing toward him, eximing, "Chichiue~!" Vahn managed to catch her out of the air with rtive ease, holding her with one arm and carrying her like the child she was as he looked toward Catherine and gave an appreciative nod, saying, "Ill take her back to her mother. Thank you for your continued efforts." Hearing Vahns words, Mordred gave a restrained groan as she slouched to the side, using Vahns arm like a pole as she hung upside down andined, "I wanna go y~! Hahaue is just going to make me go to sleep..." In response to this, Vahn flipped Modred over, eliciting a giggle from his tomboyish daughter before pinching her nose as he said, "Be a good girl, Mordred. When it is day time, we can go to the beach or visit the old docks to go fishing. Night time is for study and rest, not ying around while others are trying to enjoy some peace and quiet." Though these words caused Mordred to puff up her cheeks, it was easy to see that she wasnt actually upset. Thus, when Vahn poked her cheeks, she just blew a breath of air into his face beforeughing as he scrunched up his nose and said, "Well need to brush your teeth when we get back..." Before carrying Mordred off, Vahn made sure to turn to Medusa who, after finishing her lessons, was looking toward him with her golden eyes. She had been doing well in her studiestely so Vahn had no qualms about promising, "When I have time tomorrow morning, Ill brush your hair for you. Youll have me to yourself for a few hours and Ill use the special oil you like..." As he was speaking, Vahn couldnt help but smile as he watched Medusa hair begin to snake around happily while the very tip of her golden tail began to flicker. She had always been able to use her hair as if it was an extra limb and, more so than anyone else, it took a phenomenal amount of time to help her brush it. Since it would move around a lot and was even longer than she was tall, Vahn had to wrangle with it for the better part of three hours, a process that would have been impossible if not for his grooming and petting skills... --- While letting Mordred ride on his shoulders, even though she kept leaning from side to side to try and make him lose bnce, Vahn made his way back to her shared room with Artoria. Thetter could almost always be found within her room around this time, usually reading a book as she patiently awaited their arrival. Tonight was no exception as, after opening the door, Vahn saw Artoria ce a blue hardback book on the stand next to the sofa as she rose to her feet with a smile and said, "Wee back, Vahn, Mordred..." Lately, even during her training with Mordred, Artoria could often be found with a smile on her face, at least when Vahn was around. In response to her greeting, Mordred raised her right hand high and eximed, "Hahaue, were back~!" while Vahn gave a polite nod and said, "You look just as beautiful as always, Artoria..." Having gotten used to Vahnsplementary nature, Artoria gave him a slightly wry smile in response as she walked over and pulled Mordred from his shoulders, asking, "Are you going to stay for a while? I can make tea if you give me a few minutes..." As a full tea set came into existence as she was speaking, Artoria allowed her words to trail off as she sat Mordred on the ground and said, "I thought I told you to dress properly when you attend lessons, Mordred..." Though her daughter was still wearing the same denim shorts she had been wearing previously, the blouse she had worn out had now been reced by crop top that exposed her navel with the A-Rank fur-trimmed leather jacket Vahn had gifted her for behaving in the past. Though she knew better than to talk back to her mother, especially when Vahn was around, Mordred still furrowed her brows slightly as sheined, "But it feels annoying. Come on, Hahaue, cant you lighten up a bit? You would look good if you showed off a bit more skin as well. Chichiue would certainly enjoy it, you know~?" Toward the end of her words, Mordred as a sly smile on her face as she lightly nudged her mothers side with her elbow. This resulted in Artoria taking in a deep breath through her nose with her eyes closed, an action that caused Mordreds wild and unkempt hair to stand on ends as she quickly stated, "I was just joking...!" while covering her head. Before Artoria could blow a gasket, Vahn decided toe to his daughters aid by smiling as he said, "She does have a point. Why dont youe down to the beach with us in the morning? It is a little too cold for swimming but we can still enjoy the sunshine if I warm up the area with my domain. Getting a bit of sun would be good for yourplexion..." Though she had given him a stern re for taking Mordreds side, Artorias face gained a ruddy hue when Vahn leaned in and whispered directly into her ear, "I can apply the lotion for you..." Immediately following this, Artoria reached up and yanked on Vahns ear as she eximed, "Vahn Aldrnari Mason! Youre setting a bad example for our daughter...!" While Vahn had a pained smile on his face, he gestured for Mordred to go get changed and brush her teeth while he had her mother distracted. Though Artoria was aware of this, it wasnt the first time Vahn had taken the fall on Mordreds behalf. She was very aware of the fact that her daughters favor had quickly shifted towards Vahn but, as it made her heart feel warm to see them interacting together, Artoria didnt mind ying the role of the big bad. When she and Mordred were training, thetter would work a lot harder than she expected, never onceining about anything even with her power sealed away. Ever since the time Mordred became their daughter, she had never once even mentioned the seal ced around her navel, even though Artoria suspected she wore clothes that showed the mark off as a silent protest of sorts. After Mordred disappeared into the connected bathroom, something all rooms within the Inner Sanctum had inmon, Artoria let go of Vahns ear before rolling her eyes when she saw his smiling face. Then, as a punishment to her daughter, she walked over to therge dresser that had all of Mordreds clothes, pulling out a pair of animal pajamas that caused Vahns eyes to light up. As punishment for him, however, Artoria tossed Mordreds onto the bed before opening up another drawer in her own wardrobe and pulling out a muchrger pair and tossing it to Vahn. Since he had worn them before, Vahn just chuckled in response to Artorias re as he began to change into his own set of Tiger Pajamas. He didnt even care that he had to wear such a thing while it was just the three of them, especially since Artoria had a pair of her own that she reluctantly pulled out. Since she was still punishing Vahn, however, she picked up Mordreds before disappearing into the bathroom instead of changing in front of him... Shortly after Artoria stepped into the bathroom, Vahn heard Mordred exim, "Ah, nooooooo~!" in a high-pitched voice that was followed by a few loud thumps and the sound of something breaking. When they both emerged a few minutester, Artoria was carrying Mordred under her arm as thetter had a defeated expression on her face as she looked towards Vahn with a pleading look in her eyes. This immediately changed into a look of absolute defeat, however, when she saw that even Vahn had been forced to wear the punishment pajamas. Though he was undoubtedly the man of the house, even Vahn was helpless when Artoria made up her mind about something. Thus, after making sure Mordred had brushed her teeth properly by having her open her mouth as wide as she could, the three cuddled up in bed and went to sleep... --- After being alerted by Sis that Siegfrieds memory link wasing to an end, Vahn parted ways with Mordred and Artoria before making his way towards Merlins Tower. Just as he was getting ready to pass through the mirror, Siegfrieds time ended and, likely remembering the time frame he had given her earlier, Da Vincis began. She wasnt really the type of woman that would overlook such things as, even if seventeen of her thought processes were distracted by other tasks, Vahn believed at least one of them had been dedicated to the things he told her to keep in mind. Even though she had been extremely excited to pour through the hundreds of different materials and ores he had brought out for her to research, Vahn suspected Da Vinci had gone to sleep mere moments before Siegfried was scheduled to awaken. Now, he imagined each of her thought processes analyzing every memory Sis allowed her to see, something that could potentially have terrifying consequences in the near future... Deciding to worry about Da Vincitter, Vahn stepped out into the real world just as Siegfrieds eyes, which had been open even as he slept, regained their light. Merlins illusion was no longer present so he had either known Vahn was going to appear on time or had simply wandered off to follow one of his whims. If his suspicions proved correct, there was a good chance Merlin was now watching over Da Vincis dreams, likely searching for any discrepancies in the memories Vahn shared with the Heroes he summoned. Fortunately, as the significance of memories could change a lot when taking into consideration the target, Merlin wouldnt really determine if the information was being actively manipted by Sis so long as all the key moments remained unchanged. Since he had seen more than one-hundred-and-forty years of Vahns life, Siegfriedsposure hadnt been shaken in the slightest as he climbed down from the table he had been resting on, bowing low as he said in a deep and surprisingly easy on the ears voice, "Your Highness. I do not believe myself worthy of this second chance at life. However, I will do my best to help you defeat the evil that threatens to destroy this world. So long as my lungs draw breath, I will be the sword and shield that protects the Empire." With Siegfried speaking without any discernable emotions, Vahn couldnt help restraining a sigh as he produced a casual smile and said, "I may have wronged you by pulling you into this conflict without your consent. The truth is, Seigfried, that my intentions for bringing you into this present timeline were not simply to use you as a tool to fight my enemies. You witnessed it yourself in my memories, but Ive been sorely needing a malepanion that I can confide and share my burdens with. You may not consider yourself worthy, but I would be honored if you would one day consider me your friend." Without his expression changing all that much, Siegfried nodded his head before answering, "If that is your wish, I will do my best to meet your expectations. So long as you remain true to your cause, it would be my honor to serve as your friend." At the very end of his statement, though it didnt quite reach his eyes, Siegfried gave a somewhat awkward smile. Things hadnt worked out so well thest time he had a monarch as a friend. As someone who had beenbeled as a Hero by society, bearing overwhelmingly immense power, Siegfrieds principle belief was that he existed to fulfill the wishes of others. This belief, however, had spurned his wife, lost him the favor of his King, and caused a civil dispute that threatened to throw the entire Kingdom into turmoil. To prevent a disaster, Siegfried had conspired with one of his former friends to have them assassinate him, intending to put the matter to rest by sacrificing his own life. Unfortunately, as a result of the knowledge provided by the summoning system, Siegfried knew his actions were in vain. Now, believing even his death had failed to serve any purpose, Siegfried wanted to ce his trust in this man who, an Emperor even the Gods paid homage to. This time, instead of fulfilling the wishes of everyone who requested his aid, Siegfried decided to treat Vahns wishes as his own, bing the friend thetter sought while forsaking everything else but his pride... --- After talking with Siegfried for a bit, Vahn showed him how to enter into the Sub-Space Projection before helping him get situated within the castle. As Siegfried would be joining the Imperial Knights, Vahn introduced him to Artoria before he ultimately decided on a room in the Knights Quarters. He wasnt a member of the Imperial Family and, though he had been given the rank of Baron, Siegfried had no interest in such things. When Vahn helped him set up his room, the only things he requested were a few of the same sets of clothing, a firm bed, a single wardrobe, and some weights to assist in his training. He didnt even ask for a washbasin or soap as, during Siegfrieds time, such things were an extremely raremodity, to the point that most people would only bathe in streams every few days, often ignoring other hygienic practices. Understanding Siegfried lived a rtively spartan existence before he had been summoned, Vahn spent a few hours helping him pick out some more stylish clothing and fixing up his room to have some more character to it. Since one of Siegfrieds most notable feats was ying the evil True Dragon, Fafnir, Vahn found a painting ill.u.s.trating the legendary feat, hanging it up on Siegfrieds wall to break the monotony of the room. Throughout this entire process, Siegfried remained mostly silent, only really answering when spoken to directly. It was clear at a nce that his mind was still preupied with various things, likely rting to the circ.u.mstances leading up to his death, so Vahn didnt pressure him too much. He did, however, pull out some strong alcohol after showing the taciturn Knight around the training field, sitting down on one of the wooden benches in the area as they both just lounged about, chatting about the future instead of focusing on the past... When Vahn had finished talking about his vision of the future, Siegfrieds expression had softened almost indiscernibly as he asked, "May I ask you a question?" In response to this, Vahn raised his cup slightly, answering, "It would be hard to call us friends if I wont even let you ask me questions. Know that I would never speak about anything you entrust to me, Siegfried. As for any questions youd like to ask...well, so long as it doesnt infringe upon the privacy of the other castle residents, I dont mind answering." With an understanding nod, Siegfried seemed to contemte his question for a short while before asking, "What qualifies you to be the person to lead humanity towards a better future? How can you be certain that the future you envision for others is the correct path? What will you do when people resist the future you have decided for them?" Since friends were supposed to be the type of people that would call you out when you were doing things that could be called into question, even if it was only to help you affirm your own conviction, Siegfried feltpelled to question why Vahn chose this kind of path. He knew thetter was from apletely different world and, though his vision was certainly noble, that didnt necessarily mean it was the best course for this current world. Surprising Siegfried, Vahn smiled with an amused expression on his face as he honestly admitted, "I can only do my best, Siegfried. There is no way to know for certain if the path any of us decide upon is the best one but, so long as we do not give up, it is better to have tried and failed than to fear walking the path in the first ce. I have a lot of power and, though it might be smarter to simply hide away and try to protect the happiness I have found for myself, I would never be content with the knowledge that the world could have been bettered by my efforts. Yes, there is a chance that my actions could bring about the very destruction I wish to avoid, but I would never stop trying to pick up the pieces and build a better future from them...it may be selfish, but that is the mentality that separates an Emperor from other sentient creatures. We exist to try and elevate everything within our dominion to a higher level, doing everything in our power to avoid stagnation and decay..." As a result of Vahns strong convictions,bined with his [Will of the Emperor] being constantly active, Siegfried could feel the pressure in the atmosphere increase as the former continued to speak. Though he could not imagine living the same kind of life as Vahn, Siegfried considered this was not unexpected as, unlike Vahn, he was not an Emperor. He had performed his duty as a Hero to the best of his abilities so, hearing Vahn speak of his own duty as an Emperor, Siegfried couldnt help smiling more sincerely as he took a small gulp of the dark brown alcohol in his cup. As the cold liquid quickly warmed up his throat and chest, Siegfried released a contented sigh that caused Vahn to adopt arge grin as he raised his own cup and said, "Cheers. To good alcohol and even betterpany...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mordred is a little monkey,If they are a family of tigers, why do they sleep at night?,Vahn finally got a male friend (U w U)...praise gomenosai-sama~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu Chapter 1137 - Tensions

Chapter 1137 - Tensions

With the Trial moving into its third week of deliberation, Barthomeloi Lorelei could no longer continue to press the matter as,pared to the first two weeks of proceedings, the chamber was decidedly empty. Within the stands, only seven people were present, five consisting of old men with sharps gazes while the other two were beautiful females that wouldnt lose out to them in aura and presence. Even Bathomeloi Lorelei herself was feeling a bit pressured, though she never doubted for a single moment she would be more than a match for any one of the audience members. This wasnt a sentiment shared by normal Magi within the Clock Tower, however, so, once the most elderly man present, named Eischen Musik, the former head of the Policies Department of the Clock Tower. At one point, he had even been Bathomeloi Loreleis Senior before he had stepped down from the position when she rose to power... Loathe as she was to admit it, Bathomeloi Lorelei knew things had already gone on far longer than they should have, to the point it had started to interfere with her own duties as Wizard Marshal. The only thing that had kept her going this long was the presence of the lesser Magi who had been present as she simply couldnt allow herself to lose face in front of a crowd. Though it wasnt much better to take a step back in front of people deserving of her respect, their presence alone gave her a bit of leeway to skew the final ruling a bit. This could cause some tensions within the current power structure of the Clock Tower but, as she was already at the apex, Bathomeloi Lorelei was confident she could manage any dissidence by making a few deals and promises outside of public scrutiny. Though it was undoubtedly her petty nature that had drawn out things this long, Bathomeloi Lorelei red down at Lord El-Melloi II with a vicious gaze as she venomously stated, "Your stubbornness has wasted the time of everyone present, each a Magus with greater responsibility and status than you can even hope to aspire towards. As amoner who has been allowed the privilege of holding the title of Lord, you, of all people, should have known better than to draw things out like this. Your unwillingness to ept responsibility, even as a courtesy, shows that you are not worthy of the title you borrow. Were it up to me, you should have long been stripped from title and ss as the Clock Tower does not need fools who overreach without paying attention to the natural order of things..." Understanding what Barthomeloi Lorelei was trying to do, Marisbury Animuspheres brows furrowed ever so slightly as he made a polite motion to speak. This, however, was immediately shot down by Barthomeloi Lorelei as she looked towards him with a gaze that could turn a person to stone as she said, "Your attempts at covering for the defendant throughout the duration of these proceedings is proof enough that you should have recused yourself from the responsibility of Judge from the start. One would think the Head of the Animusphere family had even the most basic sense of propriety when it came to matters such as this. Even if your family is on the decline, you should hold up your head with dignity until the end, lowering it only to your betters when asking for help. When your obstinance destroys your family, do not me the history books for painting you as a the fool you have made yourself into..." After berating Lord Animusphere, mixing in a threat for good measure, Barthomeloi Lorelei looked down at Lord El-Melloi II once again. She knew there was a limit to the punishment she could assign him without causing too much fallout so, while she earnestly desired to see him be nothing more than a tool used for experimentation, she reluctantly decreed, "The budget for the Faculty of Modern Magecraft Theory will be suspended for the period of three years. However, as Im certain your intimate rtionship with the Edelfelt family will make them more than willing to support your burdens, I will pass down a personal punishment to you directly, Lord El-Melloi II. To ascertain if there is even the smallest amount of significance that can be assigned to your blood, you will be required to pay a portion of the fees by donating your blood to the Mages Association." Though Barthomeloi Loreleis decision was incredibly petty, Lord El-Melloi II was not unustomed to things like pain. Before she could inte matters even further, he lowered his head while she was mulling over her own thoughts, answering, "I understand. The wisdom of the Barthomeloi family has always been without equal. I will ept this punishment and do my best to make up for my mistake in Fuyuki City. Thank you for your lenience..." These words caused Bathomeloi Lorelei to frown but, not missing the opportunity, Lord Animusphere and Ro Belfeban both added, "I believe this has concluded the matter of this Trial then?" and "Indeed. I cannot imagine anyone wanting to continue this farce for even a moment longer." This was their way of saying they would not tolerate any more of Bathomeloi Loreleis selfishness while, in the viewing stands, some of the attendants had already started to take their leave. As much as she wanted to hand out punishments to the members of Lord El-Melloi IIs entourage, Bathomeloi Lorelei had more pressing matters to attend that had been put off for far too long. If she tried to take further action, things would only be drawn out even longer, potentially to the point that she would need to do damage control if things got out of hand. Thus, while affirming her intention to destabilize the foundation of the Animusphere family in the future, Bathomeloi Lorelei used her own gavel to smack the sound block atop the tribunals podium. This didnt prevent her from leaving a few parting words, however, as she added, "I would advise you and yourpanions to properly consider your future course. Now that this matter has been concluded, I will leave the matterying. Know that, as the Head of the Barthomeloi family, I find your behavior over the course of this trial to be disreputable. If you do not correct your course and show a sense of propriety in the future, do not believe for a moment that the Edelfelt family will be able to shield you..." Having already expected such words, as Barthomeloi Lorelei was considered to be petty without equal, Lord El-Melloi II just gave a polite bow in response to her threat. This caused her to snort through her nose before leaving through the door at the back of the podium. In her wake, Lord Animusphere gave an apologetic smile to everyone gathered below while Ro Belfeban just shook his head with a tired expression on his face. If not for the fact that the fragments of the Greater Grail were the greatest contributions to the Department of Spirit Evocation in thest five-hundred years, he would have never even considered butting heads with such a stubborn woman. The thoughts of Lord Animusphere seemed a bit different, however, as he had willingly put himself in the line of fire, something that had baffled most of the members of the Magus Community, including the members of his own family... --- With the Trial officially concluded, everyone that had been part of the defense seemed extremely tired as they walked down the stone steps of the Clock Towers front entrance. Now that it was over, Lord El-Melloi II looked between Rin and Gray, asking, "What will the two of you do from now on?" As Gray had already exined the situation to him in the past, Lord El-Melloi II had already epted the fact he had lost his protege and personal attendant. This was, however, for the best as, ever since the incident in the past, Reines had never been fond of her presence. If not for the fact that Gray was far stronger than him, essentially delegating her to the role of his bodyguard, it was likely his Wife never would have tolerated her presence. In response to Lord El-Melloi IIs question, Rin released a frustrated sigh as she answered, "I still have a lot of things to take care of but I will be taking a long vacation to focus on my own research after all of this blows over. Ive already made some arrangements with Luvia so I may drop off the radar for a bit in order to prepare for any other issues that might appear in the future." Since they were likely under surveince right now, Rin knew better than to say anything concrete about her future ns. If the Mages Association knew she and Gray were going to meet with Vahn, who had be increasingly sought after by some of the higher-ups, the chances of them causing problems for her and Sakura would increase exponentially. As for Gray, she gave a polite bow before saying, "I will continue to provide my services to the Tohsaka family. Thank you for taking care of me until now, Master..." Hearing Grays words, Lord El-Melloi II couldnt restrain his sigh as, before this incident urred, he had actually stopped thinking about the possibility of her leaving his side, at least in the near future. Now that he was losing her, his own actions would need to be more measured in the future or there was a very real chance he could lose his life. Throughout the years, Gray had saved him well over a hundred times and, though it might have been unfair to her, Lord El-Melloi II had gotten in the habit of treating her power as his own. At least now he would have the opportunity to prove to the other Lords that he was capable of standing on his own, albeit with the support of three different Magus families... As t hadnt been kept in the loop, he was a little surprised by the fact that Gray seemed to have changed allegiances. His impression of her was that of a support character that would always follow around Lord El-Melloi II like a loyal puppy. Since he was the first to show any amount of kindness to her, it was somewhat unexpected to hear her state she would essentially be abandoning the Master she had cherished for nearly twenty years. Though he knew this was probably for the best, especially with how Svin had been actingtely, t was still a little saddened to know he likely wouldnt be working alongside Gray in the future. It felt like he was losing one of the carries in his party, one of the primary sources of DPS against their more troublesome foes... Shaking such thoughts from his mind, t managed a genuine smile as he looked into Grays stark blue eyes and stated, "I wish you the best, Gray. If this is what you have decided for yourself, I have no right to interfere...also, until you and Rin leave London, please stay on your guard. Recently, there have been reports of wild dogs roaming throughout the City...stay safe..." Though he knew his words would be construed as him betraying Svin, t felt the need to warn Gray since it was very unlikely the emergent Brand would be enthused to learn the object of his obsession was moving outside of his sphere of influence. A Brand had a lot of sway within the Association, as the number of people capable of reaching that point ounted for less than .001% of all Mages. Svin had already decided that Gray would be the one to bear his heir as, with the progression of his power and the elevation of his status, he now held the belief that only someone with the bloodline of kings was worthy of his affection... Hearing ts words, Grays face became slightly pale as the sound of metal-against-metal echoed from her sleeve. She had instinctually grabbed Add as just the thought of meeting Svin again made her feel on edge. There was such a stark contrast between him and Vahn that Gray now believed her past self had been a fool to ever give the obsessive man a chance to win her heart. What he had to give certainly wasnt love as,pared to the tender care and affection that Vahn had shown her, Svins behavior could only be considered extremely toxic and unhealthy. Unless she was essentially willing to be his pet, locked away from the rest of the world due to his jealous nature, there was no way they could ever have asting rtionship. As the thought of being imprisoned for the rest of her life wasnt all that pleasant, Gray resolved herself to fight against Svin directly if he tried to pressure her. Even if he had already reached the level of a Brand, that didnt mean he was her equal if she went all out from the start. If it came down to it, she would rather kill her former friend than ever go back to her life in that muggy and dark room... It wasnt just Gray who had a bad reaction to ts words as Rin and Lord El-Melloi II both adopted troubled expressions, thetter saying, "I want you to exin to me what has been going on. Rin, please take Gray with you back to the Edelfelt estate and exin the situation to Luvia. If possible, she should increase the amount of security around you and the young miss without leaving the matter to Gray alone...thest thing we need is a wild dog injuring one of ourpanions." Since he had more or less cut ties with Svin after intervening in the rtionship between him and Gray, Lord El-Melloi II didnt have a clear idea of what his former student had been up to. Though he had heard the rumor of Svin being nominated for the position of Brand, that matter had been shelved due to the ongoing Trial... As she had met Svin in the past a few times, Rin knew the man was a ticking time bomb so, though she was no longer under the authority of Lord El-Melloi II, she still nodded her head and said, "Leave it to me. If necessary, Ill start carrying around a hard cane and deal with the matter myself..." Though it would cause a major stir if it was revealed that she had two Goddesses within her body, Rin would never stand idle if one of her friends was in danger. No matter how prodigious Svin had be, he would be hard-pressedst even a few minutes against someone like Ereshkigal while Ishtar was simply beyond his means to even reach. Since she could freely fly through the sky without restraint, there was little someone earth-bound could do against her... With Rins words, Lord El-Melloi II felt as if a weight had been removed from his heart as, while he may have been kept in the dark on many things, the existence of Ereshkigal and Ishtar was known to him. He had a lot of questions about how Rin was able to keep them manifested without the Greater Grails support but, considering the many enigmas surrounding Vahn, he correctly assumed that the otherworldly Emperor had something to do with it. Regardless, it was a great relief to know that Rin would be willing to reveal her hand if it came down to protecting Gray. Though Svin shouldnt have any leeway to take action against a family like the Edelfelts, it was better to be safe than sorry. With that in mind, though it wasrgely unnecessary, Lord El-Melloi II and t apanied both of the girls to the Edelfelt Mansion before alighting to discuss the matter at a nearby restaurant. This left Rin to exin the situation to Luvia while Gray went to spend time with Vahn in thefort of the Space-Time Orb. Now, more than ever before, she just wanted to be in thepany of someone who seemed to care about her deeply, not someone who saw her as a trophy or possession. Vahns memory fragment didnt even need to ask if there was anything wrong as he gave her an empathetic look before gently wrapping her in his embrace. Like this, they spent several hours together just sharing each others warmth, something she couldnt even imagine with a wild animal like Svin... --- While Lord El-Melloi II, t, and Rin were moving to try and control the situation, the man they were troubled by just so happened to be kneeling before a woman with neat brown hair and cold brown eyes. There was a deeply set and hate-filled frown on her face as she stated, "I will not ask that you assassinate a Lord. My only expectation is that your rising family will continue to stand with my own in theing conflicts. To that end, you can prove your loyalty by causing as much trouble for the Archisorte and Animusphere families. Do this for me and I can guarantee that Lord El-Melloi IIs little pet is given a proper Sealing Designation. If she is who you im her to be, even those idiots in the Kalion Observatory will not deliberate too long beforeing to a decision. When that timees, I will use my authority to guarantee that you are the one assigned to her care. I doubt there would be any resistance to the idea of a Brand being selected a Sealing Designations partner. To avoid having to share her with others, however, you will need to continue making an earnest effort, Lord scheit..." Though he was not yet a Lord, a shiver ran along Svins spine when he heard Barthomeloi Lorelei address him as such. His own family could barely be considered a true member of the aristocracy so it was a significant boost in status if he was able to secure the title of Lord. He currently carried the burden of his entire familys rise and, even if he had to lower his head to the Barthomelois, they were indisputably the most powerful Magus family within the Association. Not only was their current Head one of only three Wizard Marshals in the entire world, but her Ancestor, the Barthomeloi Lord, was considered to be a Magus so powerful that only the practitioner of the First Magic could hope to rival them. It was for this reason that, even though Barthomeloi Lorelei often acted with a holier-than-though attitude, few dared to directly antagonize her. After all, while the Barthomeloi family could pester anyone they wanted, there were none who could pester and attack the Bathomelois without potentially inviting extinction upon themselves... With the promise of his desired future being dangled right in front of his nose, Svin, like an obedient dog, returned an excited smile as he eximed, "I will not fail...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Petty Without Equal,Feral dogs needs to be put down,The only thing this scene needed was Lorelei making Svin lick her feet...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu Chapter 1138 - The Passage of Time

Chapter 1138 - The Passage of Time

With each day in the real world constituting an entire week within the Sub-Space Projection, more than a month and a half had passed since the arrival of Irisviel, Da Vinci, Kenshin, and Siegfried. In that time, the most notable presence within the castle was Iris as, without exception, everyone was rather fond of the innocent and gentle woman who treated everyone in a friendly and sincere manner. Because of her efforts, even Nobunaga had stopped holing herself up in the room while Artoria, having been close with Iris in the past, had be even happier than before. When she wasnt training Mordred or trying to keep her out of trouble, Artoria could be found escorting Iris around the castle grounds or sitting quietly within the Library enjoying tea together. Catherine and Astolfo would often join them as well, bringing Kenshin, Nobunaga, Medusa, and even Illya into the mix as she enjoyed spending time with her mother whenever possible... As for Da Vinci, Kenshin, and Siegfried, thetter got along well with everyone but couldnt be considered close to anyone. He spent most of his time training his body or solemnly sitting atop the castle walls as he looked out across the currently empty Empire. During the evenings, he could most often be found drinking with Vahn and, on asion, Astolfo, Nobunaga, and Kenshin. Thetter was a bit of a lightweight when it came to alcohol, but could almost always be found following behind Nobunaga around, the only exception being when she was helping Vahn train. Though she was improving steadily, having no problems with anyone in the castle, Kenshin was very reliant on following the social cues of others to determine how she would act. It was easy to see that she was making a sincere effort, however, so Vahn would often spend time with her and Nobunaga after his training hadpleted... The one person who didnt really fit in with any of the other social groups, not that she had caused any problems, was Da Vinci. She very rarely left their shared workshop, the only exceptions being when Vahn took her around to do and survey and when she needed to be on-site for one of her projects. Her body apparently didnt even need to eat anything, as she could subsist entirely off of mana, and, no matter how hard she worked, Da Vinci actually smelled better if she didnt bathe for a few days. When Vahn had asked about the secrets of her body, Da Vinci had teased him about needing to discover them on his own, all while going out of her way to point out that she didnt need to poop... Since it was almost impossible to tear Da Vinci away from the workshop, most of the other castle residents had only seen her a handful of times. However, due to the fact that she had left for a specific reason, Da Vinci wouldnt spend much time talking to them as, more than anything else, she didnt like to waste time. The only exception to this rule seemed to be whenever she was interacting with Vahn and, after seeing them for the first time, Fenrir and Medusa. She showed a great deal of interest in Fenrirs Devouring Laws and had tried to ask Medusa for a sample of her hair. Neither girl was fond of the idea of being an experimental test subject, however, so they less than politely made it clear they had no intentions of helping her research without Vahn asking directly. After that, Da Vinci didnt bother the two girls any further, nor did she try and pressure Vahn on the matter as, with thetter being both more interesting and far more willing, she was already content with her current research material. Vahn had been learning a great deal from Da Vinci, to the point that it felt like his prior efforts had been the aimless floundering of a child, but his focus had actually been on other things as ofte. Ever since Scthach had ced Kenshin in charge of helping him train, it felt like he was making real progress once again. Though he never doubted for a moment he was getting much stronger, it was difficult to feel strong when you were fighting against someone like Scthach. As for Kenshin, she would always get very excited during a fight, to the point she seemed simply incapable of holding back after realizing that Vahn could essentially take any kind of punishment she could dish out. She never went as far as Scthach, as it wasnt her intention to torture Vahn, but their battles were often rather bloody for both parties. This didnt deter either of them, however, as, much like when he would fight against another battle junky like Tiona, Vahn would get just as excited as Kenshin during their training... To that end, Vahn found himself wielding a ck katana as his arms, neck, calves, and parts of his face were covered in ck scales. There were several wounds on his body that, even with his regeneration, were slowly mending themselves as he stared down at an equally ragged-looking Kenshin. She had a wound on her abdomen that looked rather visceral while several small cuts were present all over her body. Though she was far more skilled than he was, Kenshincked high-speed regeneration of her own and, as the fight progressed into the fifth hour, she was breathing heavily while wielding a jitte and medival looking mace that Vahn had been batted around with a few times at this point. Things were just now progressing into their final stages, as Kenshin was simply too tired to try and keep up with Vahns seemingly endless stamina... Regardless of her fatigue, Kenshin had an excited smile on her face as she pointed her jitte towards Vahn and said, "This will settle it, Master. Lets see if you can take out more than two of me today...!" With that said, a massive tidal wave of mana exploded outward from Kenshin as she shouted, "Biten-Hass Kuruma Gakari no Jin~!" Following this, seven more versions of Kenshin appeared behind her, each wielding different sets of weapons as they all eyed Vahn with the same excited smile. This was how most of their battles ended so Vahn could now be considered intimately familiar with Kenshins Noble Phantasm. Not only did it give her a set of armor that was impervious to anything beneath A-Rank, but each of the clones was a real version of herself that was capable of independent action. There was no true body and, so long as there was at least one survivor, Kenshin herself was not in danger of being killed. Without being afforded any opportunity to make his own preparations, Vahn instantly created a barrier around his body using the active effect of his Xuanwu form. This coincided with the exact moment that the leading Kenshin stabbed her spear towards him, impacting the barrier and causing it to ripple slightly. Right behind her, another Kenshin used a heavy tetsubo to smash the end of the spear, causing the shield around Vahns body to fracture slightly. He wasnt simply turtling idly, however, so, by the time his shield had been broken open, Vahn had opened his hands to reveal small particles of sand, each a different color as they glimmered and pulsed with elemental energy. When Kenshin saw this, her eyes widened slightly but, instead of backing away, three of her attacked with fierce momentum as they cut Vahns body into several pieces. Another Kenshin actually used her body to directly receive the small particles of sand before tucking her body into a fetal position in a vain attempt to stifle the resultant explosion... Though it could be considered more than a little unfair, Vahn knew his immortality was one of his strengths, something both Scthach and Kenshin had taught him to actively exploit. Thus, he had no qualms about throwing out several small granule-sized [Elemental Star]s, each capable of rivaling a B-Rank magic spell in destructive power. As a result, nearly a hundred small explosions wrought havoc on the surroundings, consuming Vahns body and a total of five Kenshins in a surprisingly beautiful disy of destruction. The other three Kenshins had already vacated the area and were currently waiting a few hundred meters away with bows at the ready. When she used her Noble Phantasm, the fight wasnt over until there was only one of her bodies remaining. With that in mind, the three surviving Kenshins began to loose arrows towards the pieces of Vahn at the very instant the explosive plumes disappeared. With Kenshins understanding of Laws rted to pretty much every weapon, Vahns regeneration was significantly weakened whenever they fought. Even small wounds would take several seconds to heal while, having parts of his body pierced by her arrows, Vahn felt as if each of his individual cells was made of lead as he essentially turned his body into a liquid state just to try and hasten his regeneration. Unfortunately for Kenshin, she had no reliable means to deal with an Immortal and, so long as Vahn didnt believe she had killed him, he was able to avoid a repeat of what happened with Musashi in the past. Now, if he were to face against the Master Swordsman once again, Vahn believed he would be able to tank several blows without losing himself a second time... As this wasnt the first time she had seen Vahn turn into a form akin to a metallic ck goo, Kenshin could only release a tired sigh as her fatigue had long-since caught up to her. Though she came out ahead in virtually every exchange, it was simply impossible for her to keep Vahn down without using weapons specially designed for that purpose. She had never lost against him outright but, at the same time, she had also never been able to win against him either. In a way, all of their fights ended in a draw as she would tire out and, though this could be considered her loss, the fact she had struck down Vahn 147 times over thest five hours more than justified calling their battle a tie. Now that Kenshin had stopped pelting him with arrows, Vahn slowly reformed his body into a seated position, making sure to properly wear clothes before he took on a human form. She had dismissed her two remaining clones and was walking over to his position with a tired expression that failed to diminish the fire in her eyes even a little. After helping him to his feet, Kenshin smiled radiantly as she said, "Youre always improving, Master. At this rate, it will only be a few years before I am no longer a match for you..." Though this was intended as apliment, Kenshin realized her words could be misconstrued as boasting. Vahn, however, justughed light-heartedly in response before pointing out, "You are also improving, Kenshin. If possible, Id like for you to be even stronger so that, instead of a few years, it takes me a few decades to surpass you..." Since Vahn had needed a rival to hone himself against, and Kenshin fit the bill surprisingly well, he wanted to see her be even stronger so that he could further refine his own skills. Though it was frustrating to fight against Scthach, Vahn actually felt that it was a little lonely to be peerless within the world. He had never truly reached that point but, after bing stronger than most mortals and gods back in the Record of Danmachi, Vahn could tell there was an invisible gulf between him and most people. Though Fenrir was doing her best to breach the gap, Vahn felt it was refreshing to have someone like Kenshin who he could strive to surpass without suddenly growing far beyond her own strength... Hearing Vahns words, Kenshins fighting spirit could be seen burning in her eyes but, after a few seconds, it had died down a bit as she pointed out, "My strength may stagnate a bit in the near future. However, I will do my best to be even stronger after the fact...!" As she had already discussed the matter at great lengths with Nobunaga, Kenshin was fully intending to bear a child at some point over the next few years. Since she would never abandon fighting on the battlefield, she needed to have a child during peaceful times to avoid any unnecessaryplications. Since the flow of time within the Sub-Space Projection was seven times the norm, she could easily raise a son or daughter to be self-sufficient long before the battle with Angra Mainyu took ce. It was even possible for her to leave behind several descendants as, with Vahns capabilities, Kenshin knew it was possible for her to live for hundreds of years without issue... Knowing what Kenshin was referring to, Vahn gave a light-hearted sigh as he shook his head with a smile and stated, "Once Rin, Sakura, and Gray show up, well talk about this matter in greater detail. I want Sakura to befortable within the castle before I suddenly start giving her younger siblings to worry about." Though there wasnt anything he could do about Mordred, who had already been made aware of her younger sister, Vahn wanted to avoid having additional children until Sakura had moved into the castle. Since it could potentially take more than a year in the outside world for her and Rin to finish wrapping up everything, that meant any siblings he created for her would be around her own age by the time she moved in. Though this wasnt necessarily a bad thing, as she would have a group of children her own age to y with, Sakura seemed like the type that would be happier as a big sister instead of trying to fit in with children her own age. As she wasnt in a particr hurry to get pregnant right now, Kenshin gave an understanding nod withoutmenting further on the matter. Instead, she moved off to the side after wishing Vahn well, knowing full well nothing she said could help him ovee what he was about to face. As for Vahn, he gave a wry smile before rising to his feet and increasing the density of his body withoutpromising his mobility. He was given a ten minute rest period after his training with Kenshin and, with less than twenty seconds left, he wanted to at least make some preparations against the expressionless Purple Monster staring at him from fifty meters away. She already had a set of spears in hand, one short, one long, both glimmering with a subtle light that made his skin tingle. Then, the moment his ten-minute break hade to an end, Scthach turned into a phantom as Vahn did his best to survive her onught for another three hours... --- Following several more thrashings and a few other small developments, Vahn managed to survive another day cycle within the Sub Space Projection. He wrapped things up by ying hide and seek with Mordred, Medusa, Fenrir, and Circe within the massive apple orchards present on the ind so Vahn was in a good mood by the time he entered into the workshop located beneath the Amory of Camelot. As was exclusively the case thus far, Vahn found Da Vinci had at work, this time trying to synthesizepletely newpounds by mixing together elements and ores that, under normal circ.u.mstances, could never be fused together. Fortunately, though he had no doubt she would be able to pull it off in the future, Da Vinci hadnt been able to make too much progress, only creating three newpounds of the thousands of potentialbinations she had tried. As Vahn entered into the workshop, a small mechanical sparrow flitted over before perching on his shoulder, its eyes opening and closing like the shutter of a camera as Da Vinci, without looking back at him, stated, "I will be finished in approximately seventeen minutes. I dont mind if you gawk, but please do not distract me for the time being." When these words left her mouth, Da Vinci tapped the gemstone around her neck, causing her outfit to dissipate into particles of mana that retreated into therge ruby present on her ne. Vahn had allowed her to research the process of storing physical objects as energy, a technology Da Vinci had already innovated on several times at this point. Da Vinci now had a ne that had seven different gemstones present, each representing a slot on her own body that worked in much the same way as his Equipment Function. Each gemstone had a specific type of clothing that coincided with a certain part of her body, allowing Da Vinci to freely modify her outfit at her leisure. She had even made a temte style lingerie that, by tracing your finger along the stic band of the bra and panties, could adjust the density of the fabric in real-time, to the point it would dissipate entirely if necessary. It even had a small gemstone on the very front which, when tapped,pletely changed the style of lingerie in much the same way as her ne. At this point, Vahn had no idea how many different outfits Da Vinci had programmed into her gemstones as, instead of making the outfits first, she had modified the technology to simply store a certain amount of magical energy instead. So long as you could imagine the outfit you wanted to create, you needed only tap the respective gemstone to change your attire however you pleased. Though this required you to be able to form an actual mental image, Da Vinci was working on a version that could be used by others that they could pre-load with various outfits that could be downloaded from a terminal she intended to ce inside the mens and womens baths. Fortunately, Vahn managed to avoid the situation reaching the point where there wasmunal bathing this time around, even though he sometimes found himself sharing the bath in his own room with one of the girls on asion... Since he didnt want to interrupt Da Vincis work, Vahn took her advice and just sat down in a recliner that he pulled out from his Inventory. He didnt exactly gawk but, having her permission to look, Vahn would asionally spare a nce at Da Vincis silhouette and backside. She really did have an immacte body and, though they hadnt done anything too intimate just yet, Vahn was beginning to grow rather fond of the time they spent together. Though she had no sense of boundaries, and would often do things like this, he just considered it another one of her quirks. With that in mind, Vahn fed a fragment of a magical core to the small mechanical sparrow as it used mana to keep itself running. The fact that Da Vinci could make artificial entities such as birds and other small animals, each capable of emting their living kin without any variance, had been yet another example of her unrivaled genius. She hadnt even been able to get ess to aputer just yet but, using his own memories and the knowledge she had obtained through the summoning system, Da Vinci now had small mechanical golems implementing awork throughout the castle, intending for it to expand throughout the entire Ind in the future. Da Vinci had even hollowed out a secret chamber that she openly admitted existed but asked that he never enter without her permission. This was supposed to serve as the central nexus of thework while also allowing her to work on a few projects without his scrutiny. Since everyone needed a bit of freedom to keep secrets, Vahn had no problem with Da Vinci having a few private projects, so long as she followed the rules he hadid out for her. This included respecting the decision of the other castle residents and never invading their privacy, two things that Da Vinci had readily agreed to as she wasnt all that interested in them from the start. She had even gone out of her way to inform him that, once she had finished working on her secret project, she would allow him to periodically ess the room, promising he would greatly appreciate what she had been working on... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Irisviel is impossible to hate,A Healthy Rivalry,Da Vinci-chan is even sneakier than Fenrir~!?) (A/N: Guys, Im dealing with a lot of stuff IRL at the moment but I will try to continue publishing chapters when I can. There should still be 2-3 per day but the hours will be even weirder than normal for a few days. Pretty soon, I n to fix the schedule once again so reading andmenting will be easier for those that like to try and get firstment and such. Thank you for your patience and please dont forget to vote with Power Stones xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu Chapter 1139 - Paradise : Prophecy

Chapter 1139 - Paradise : Prophecy

As the days passed, some more meaningful than others, Vahn found himself hanging out with Siegfried as they both sat atop the castles battlements. Since the Ivory Castle was built into an artificial mountain that had been constructed as the sealing grounds for the Welsh Dragon, it was easy to see all of Avalon from where they were seated. Since it was just about to turn January in the real world, the whole ind had a deeply set chill that had caused the thousands of apple trees to frost over slightly due to the inds humidity. This had no effect on Vahn and Siegfried, however, as thetter was sitting with an open tunic while Vahn was wearing a thin dress shirt and a beige vest. Unlike a normal garment, however, there was a fashionable emerald gemstone near the cor that would allow him to adjust the color and tensile density of the fabric at will. Since there had been a long lull in the conversation, as Siegfried was a man of few words, Vahn broke the silence by asking, "So, how are you settling in?" In response to this, Seigfried kept calm as the cool wind blew through his long silvery-white hair, an appreciative glimmer in his blue eyes as he answered, "This ce is like a paradise. Everything is so calm and peaceful...had I not experienced the memory link and gained knowledge from the summoning system, I would have thought this ce was the paradise promised to warriors after their death..." Though each day seemed to blend into the rest, Siegfried had found this kind of lifestyle preferable to the one where he had spent every waking moment granting the wishes of everyone who happened upon him. Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn added, "It almost makes me not want to invite people to live here in the future. However, an Empire is nothing without its people and I cant just sit here idly as the rest of the world continues to spiral towards their inevitable destruction. There are days when I just want to go out into the world and visit a few hospitals, curing every patient Ie across while the Doctors who had failed them watch on in awe. However, the moment I do something like this, the powers that have been biding their time in the shadows would immediately move to try and eliminate us. It is such a farce...we live in a world where things like food, clean water, and medical treatments are a luxury that only a few countries can afford. With things like Magecraft, all of these things could be resolved without any difficulty whatsoever but, instead of trying to help, the people that have all the wealth and power bide their time in the shadows without caring about the suffering their inaction begets..." As this wasnt even remotely the first time Vahn hadined about such things, Siegfried gave a polite smile in response withoutmenting. He already knew Vahns own inaction was driven by his desire to protect the people he cared about. Though this could be the same reason as some of the more powerful families in the world, it was also true that they had allowed the world to stagnate for their own benefits. Siegfried still didnt understand if the future Vahn sought for everyone was the best path to walk. However, so long as thetter did not be a despot or a tyrant, Siegfried had decided to walk the same path to its end. At the very least, Vahn seemed to genuinely believe that he could make the world a better ce, something few had the power and conviction to see through... From where they were seated, Vahn and Siegfried both caught sight of a small figure wearing a red leather jacket running down the long road connecting the Ivory Castle and the Castle Town below. Right behind the red figure, one with midnight blue hair exited behind her before turning back and waving at them. This caused the red figure to stop in its tracks, removing the golden-fur trimmed hood it had been wearing to reveal tinum blond hair with a slightly golden hue. Then, cupping her hands around her mouth, Mordred shouted in a voice that was only audible due to Vahns enhanced hearing, "Chichiue~! Come fishing with us...!" At his side, Siegfriedughed in a light-hearted manner beforementing, "I can understand why you want to protect this ce...go, Ill be fine on my own." With that said, Siegfried shook his wineskin to indicate it was still full before jumping off the battlement, dropping 30m without needing to worry about injury. As for Vahn, he lightly pushed off the white stone surface as if he waspletely weightless, flying through the air towards Fenrir, Mordred, and Susu. Thetter had more or less been catnapped by Mordred after the mischievous young girl discovered its existence. Vahn had seen his daughter chasing after the cat on all fours through the hallways, often with Susu finding sanctuary by fleeing into his arms. Currently, it was tucked into Mordreds coat, mewling pitifully when Vahn touched down nearby... After saving Susu from Mordred, Vahn apanied the two girls down to the repaired docks after passing through the rather lively ghost town. Though there werent any people living there just yet, there were dozens of humanoid golems tirelessly working to repair all of the houses while, in the alleyways and beneath the streets, smaller, animal-like golems were repairing the sewer system andying down the framework for Da Vincis futurework. Avalon could easily support upwards of 200,000 residents using the avablend but Vahn actually had no intention of just letting anyone move here in the future. He was intending to turn Avalon into the heart of his Empire, making it into an academy-like city where people would tirelessly work to improve upon the concepts of Magecraft and what Da Vinci referred to as Magi-Science. The only permanant residents would be those given leeway to reside in the castle while everyone else would either be part of the staff or a student that would be required to leave after graduation... Upon reaching the docks, Vahn sat Susu down to let her explore the beach while Fenrir and Mordred stripped down into their swimwear, consisting of Da Vincis take on the Aegis Set, which she had taken to calling [Aegis Type D-001]. Though it actually lost some of its defensive capabilities, they were extremelyfortable to wear and were basically living garments. Innovating off the concept of shaping energy into matter, and vice-versa, Da Vinci had designed an undergarment that could adapt to the needs of the user. If they felt cold, the fabric would move to cover more skin before generating a small amount of heat. Though this could actually lead to somepromising situations in the inverse situation, as the garments would basically shrink when you were overheating, that was easily avoided by making a small change in the magic formation sewn into the fabric. Fenrirs Aegis took on the form of an athletic swimsuit that was cut a little high on the h.i.p.s while Mordred, knowing she would get in trouble otherwise, wore an almost proper one-piece. The only peculiarity was that there was a gap around her navel that allowed her seal to be visible, something Vahn had confronted her about in the past. ording to Mordred, she didnt like wearing anything around her midriff and, whenever the seal was covered, it would be unbearably itchy. Since he had confirmed this with his [Eyes of Truth] by having her wear a t-shirt, Vahn allowed her to keep it exposed during times like this. When she was walking around normally, however, he made sure she either wore loose clothing that wouldnt irritate her too much or, as she often preferred, Mordred would need to wear her jacket and have it zipped up. Since it was a size or tworger than it needed to be, Mordred didnt have to worry about the fabric touching her seal which, as the days passed, seemed like something that should be removed rtively soon. The only reason he hadnt was due to Mordreds own admission that it made her feel calm to have it... Since they were going to be fishing in the cold waters, Vahn changed into a swimsuit that looked like a diving suit that didnt fully cover the arms and legs. Though it still showed off his figure, which had be slightly more burly over thest few months, it was apromise Vahn made so that Mordred would not deviate in the same way that Tina had. Fortunately, at least for the time being, this surrogate daughter of his treated him as if he were her biological father. Though she had gotten a spanking for trying to sneak into the mens bath when he was using it, that was just Mordreds innocent desire to wash his back and spend time together. Even so, Vahn was still cautious around her as, with the things she had seen and experienced in her past life, there was always a chance she would have some strange thoughts once she matured once again. Fortunately, for better or worse, she actually seemed to have a bit of puppy-love for Fenrir, something Vahn had already discussed at length with his most trustedpanion. Without waiting for permission, Mordred dove into the water before disappearing into the depths without any fear or hesitation. Vahn gave a small nod to Fenrir, sending her to look after Mordred as he walked into the water without hurrying. It was so cold that, if not for the salt content and the fact that the seas were rather rough around this time of year, it would have frozen over. This didnt really affect him all that much but it still caused his own Aegis to thicken before the cold was reced by a warm sensation. Vahn was often amazed by Da Vincis creations and, as he had just been talking to Siegfried about the future, he wondered if it wouldnt be better to start spreading her innovations and Paracelsus research into the wider world... While Vahn was thinking about leaving Avalon for a short while, a plump of water erupted around thirty meters away. Following this, Mordred could be seen bobbing in the water as she lifted up arge Smoothound Shark that was even bigger than she was. Judging by the trail of blood leading from its mouth and nose, it was easy to see that Mordred had killed the shark as she happily swam towards him with a face that practically screamed, Praise me. Vahn ced therge catch into his Inventory before rubbing Mordreds head and saying, "Well done. When we get back, Ill help you brush the salt out of your hair." Though it didnt seem to bother her at all, there were small icy salt crystals forming in Mordreds hair from the cold air and the water molecules instantly freezing over. With an even bigger smile than before, Mordred eximed, "Ill catch an even bigger one this time! I saw a fat tuna swimming around, shishishishi~." As she said this, another plume of water shot up in the distance, catching both Vahns and Mordreds attention. Then, as if to spite the little Knights im, Fenrir could be seen paddling towards them while carrying a massive tuna through the water. This caused Mordred to tilt a few degrees to the side, at least until Vahn ruffled her hair and said, "Sharks are a lot harder to catch than Tuna." Though thetter could be much faster, they didnt have the same means to protect themselves that small schools of sharks had. Smoothounds could often be found traveling in packs so Mordred must have fended off a few of them before she came back with her prize. They werent aggressive by nature but, if you antagonized their pack, they would try to help out their kin by ramming their foes... Since she hadnt been all that upset in the first ce, Mordred nodded her head before raising her nose high and proiming, "Of course~! If not for this seal, I would be even stronger than Aneue!" As she had a habit of using formal addresses, Mordred referred to both Nobunaga and Fenrir with the term Aneue, meaning Big, or Older, Sister. This was a way of showing respect as, even though she was the Imperial Princess, Mordred still had a wild and tomboyish nature while cing a heavy emphasis on things like respect. Since Nobunaga was someone she aspired to be like, and Fenrir was more or less her best friend, they were both worthy of being Mordreds Aneues, at least in her mind. While Fenrir brought her catch over to Vahn in exchange for a few head pats, Mordred had already dived back into the water, though not before shouting, "Im going to catch a whale...!". Though her strength was only around eight times stronger than a normal human, Mordred had proven in the past that such things didnt matter to her. A few weeks prior, during their first fishing expedition, she had attacked a pod of Killer Whales, taking out three of them on her own while Fenrir had dealt with the rest. It was for this reason that Vahn essentially had Fenrir babysit Mordred while, after being saved, thetter had been crushing on the former ever since. --- After scaring off every fish for a few kilometers, Vahn used a bash of warm and clean water to help Mordred and Fenrir clean themselves before they changed back into their casual wear. While they did that, Vahn went to fetch Susu, luring it out of a small seaside cave with some fragrant baked fish. It sometimes felt like the ck cat, now fully grown, was trying to escape the castle but, as Vahn often treated it well, it hadnt run away just yet. To give it the strength to keep up with his daughter, Vahn fed it some mana-rich fish while using his pettingws to lightly stroke its fur. When it got a bit stronger, Vahn was going to teach Mordred how to perform a Familiar contract, greatly increasing Susus lifespan and allowing them to share their vision with each other. Depending on how well Mordred cared for her, Susu could even be a Magical Beast in the future, a term given to any Familiar that had reached an intelligenceparable to humans. With a pacified Susu curled up and purring in his arms, Vahn returned to the docks where Fenrir and Mordred were already waiting for him. He returned the extremely reluctant Susu back to Mordred before handing thetter a few dried anchovies to keep the cat from running away. Thus, after tucking Susu into her coat, Mordred hugged the cat from behind while feeding it small fishes as they leisurely returned back to the castle. When they made it inside, Vahn made good on his promise to brush Mordreds hair, though not before she and Fenrir went off to take a warm bath. He spent the time while they were away talking with Artoria about preparing arge fish-themed feast while drinking some ck tea. Like this, anotherfortable rest period came to an end, making Vahn feel that Siegfrieds remark about this ce being a paradise was very close to the truth... --- Several hundred kilometers away from the secret location of Avalon, a man with pale hair and dull-gold eyes sat in a steeply reclined chair as he looked through arge telescope that dominated the space within his observatory. With the New Year only a few days away, it was one of the best times to read the stars as the hopes and dreams of mankind made such forms of Thaumaturgy more powerful during the holiday season. He had a perpetual smile on his face as he recorded his findings on his terminal while, a little bit away from the main telescopic array, a young woman with simrly colored hair sat nursing a cup of hot cocoa as she watched her father work. She had a peculiar side-braided hairstyle with the left side of her hair tied up while her bangs partly covered her right eye. Most would consider a very beautiful woman but, a stark contrast to her father, she had a perpetual scowl as, being the next Head of the Animusphere family, she knew the dire straits they were in... Once he hadpleted his measurements, the man in the telescopes chair began stroking his chin in a thoughtful manner as he muttered, "This is my tenth time confirming the same things. If events proceed as they are scheduled, there is a good chance the world will experience a cataclysm in the next ten years...how curious that the signs for great fortune also seem to apany it..." In response to this mumble, the young woman at the side released a tired sigh as sheined, "Knowing the future doesnt help us if we cant even do anything about the present. Father, have you reconsidered trying to ally with the Edelfelt family? The Barthomeloi family has been putting increased pressure on our creditors ever since you defended Lord El-Melloi II. Were already shouldering more than seven million pounds in debt...we cant continue like this..." Though he knew the matter was even more serious than his daughter was aware, Marisbury didnt allow it to show on his face as he looked over and said, "Olga...Madam Edelfelt is still a member of the Aristocratic Faction. Though she may be willing to help us on ount of our defense of Lord El-Melloi II, our opposition would not hesitate to point out a conflict of interest to destabilize our position within the Democratic Faction. Unless we had proper coteral to exchange, there is no way we would be able to survive under such scrutiny. Do not worry, as the readings still show that our family is on the path towards Great Fortune. For now, we must simply do our best to tide through these matters and trust that our methods are not the farce other members of the Mages Association consider it to be..." Having grown up hearing the mockery of her peers and contemporaries, Olga shared her fathers determination to prove that Astronomy and Divination were still just as relevant today as they had been during the Age of Gods. However, some things in life couldnt simply be dealt with by sitting idle and trusting in prophecies. As it had been her own field of study since she was a young girl, Olga knew any significant event set in motion by a person with enough power could drastically alter the uracy of predictions based on the stars. The very reason their Animusphere family was in such dire straits was due to her Grandfather insisting on the uracy of his own prediction. As a result, their family had been saddled with a phenomenal debt that, through her fathers efforts, had beenrgely reduced. Now that their creditors were growing impatient, however, time was quickly running out for their family while, instead of taking any proactive action, her father was repeating the same mistakes as his own... With a tired sigh, Olga looked into her fathers eyes with a determined expression, saying, "I have been in contact with the Trambellio family. Their-." Before she could continue any further, her father showed a rare grimace as he inly stated, "Olgamally Marie Asmleit Animusphere, I will not hear you speak on that matter a second time. Though I do my best to respect your decisions, I will not have my daughter be the ything of that despot just to gain protection from the Barthomeloi family. You are to be the next Head of the family and sincerely believe marrying that man would provide us any meaningful benefits? Our whole family would be a branch of the Trambellio family while you would effectively be nothing more than a pet of aman nearly twice your age. If you intend to try and go through with this, I will not hesitate to remove your right of session..." As she didnt like the thought of bing a middle-aged mans wife any more than her father, Olgas face formed into a sour and angry expression as she shouted, "Im trying to prevent our family from being ruined! We cant just keep sitting around and hoping things will go well for us when the Bathomeloi family is breathing down our neck! The Trambellio family is one of the Three Great Magus families so even that arrogant Queen will have to hesitate if she wants to act against us in the future! It is better to be a branch family than watch our entire lineage and hundreds of years of research destroyed just because you saw a pattern in the stars...!" By the time she was finished yelling, Olga had tears in her eyes as there were few things more painful for a Magus than basically admitting their research was unreliable. Seeing the sadness in his daughters eyes, Marisbury showed aplex expression before closing his own in deep thought. When he finally looked back at his daughter, there was a slightly defeated look contained within his dull-gold irises as he smiled and said, "Very well...I will try and contact the Edelfelt family ande to an ord. I would rather lose my status as the leader of the Democratic faction than see my daughter forced to suffer indignation at the hands of a despot." With that said, Marisbury gently caressed the right side of Olgas face as he added, "I want you to be happy. I still believe that my prophecy is true but I will not gamble your happiness on that fact..." Then, using his thumb, Marisbury wiped away a stray tear from his daughters eye before heading to his study to make a phone call... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Siegfried is just like, "Okay then...",Mordreds puppy love,Its in the stars man...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu Chapter 1140 - Vessel

Chapter 1140 - Vessel

Though it had started to get very cold during the evenings, the only people who were really affected by this were Catherine and Tristana. As for the two walking hand-in-hand under the light of the full moon, Vahn and Lakshmibai, they could wear light clothing even without Vahn using his domain to warm up the air around them. Lakshmibai, in particr, preferred to wear clothing that exposed her upper back, relying on her long sandy-white hair to protect her from the elements. When Vahn had asked about it, she exined that it was nothing more than personal preference as she enjoyed feeling the breeze against her back and shoulders. Since it gave her a unique appeal, especially with her healthy brown skin, borderline white hair, and pink irises, Vahn had noints whatsoever... As they continued walking without any destination in mind, Lakshmibai seemed to muster up the courage to speak. She had been the one to hesitantly ask him to apany her as, over thest few weeks within the Orb, their rtionship had taken a few interesting turns. This caused Lakshmibai to spend a lot of time reflecting after the fact as, for the time being, she simply had no other responsibilities. Though she would sometimes practice her marksmanship alongside Nobunaga, there was little she could do as a Heroic Spirit to increase her strength. Other than siphoning the energy contained within the Ego of living human beings, the only way she could reliably increase her strength was with Vahns assistance but this was ultimately just a temporary boost that would fade away with the passage of time. After bringing Vahn to a stop, Lakshmibai looked up into his face and said, "I have been thinking about my ce as ofte. Ick the strength to protect you and, though I may be able to strike down some of your enemies, it is likely I would be a burden against any powerful foes..." Though she was by no means weak, having an average of forty times the Strength and Agility of other humans, it was hard to remain confident with monsters like Scthach, Kenshin, Artoria, and Siegfried around. If there were subjects and personnel to manage, Lakshmibai knew she could be of assistance, as her enhanced [Charisma of the Rani] would be extremely useful, but that was a matter far in the future. Adding on to her words, though not before taking Vahns hands into her own, Lakshmibai smiled as she said, "I want a real body. Though I may be weak now, I believe I can be stronger if I make an effort. I do not believe this is the limit of my potential..." As she had a Goddess sealed inside of her, even if it was a Goddess of Misfortune, Lakshmibai believed she could be much stronger. Though it was very pleasant to continue living this peaceful lifestyle, especially when she and Vahn were alone together, Lakshmibai had been feeling an increasing amount of guilt since she was almost always on the receiving end. Even if she tried to be more proactive, Vahns experience meant there was almost nothing she could do to surprise him, regardless of how embarrassing she thought her own actions were... Hearing Lakshmibais words, Vahn smiled affectionately, stroking the side of her face as he said, "Ill make the arrangements. When youre ready, Ill prepare a flesh and blood body for you to inhabit..." After the sess of Irisviel, Vahn was confident he could use his modified Avatar creation technique to transfer Lakshmibais fragmented soul into a body he produced from his own. Though it would be an uphill battle for her at first, Vahn was confident that Lakshmibai could use a cultivation method to increase the strength of her soul and unlock her potential. It was his theory that Heroic Spirits were only prevented from growing stronger as a result of their fragmented soul. It was for this reason that they got more powerful by consuming the energy contained within the Ego of humans as, though it didnt exactly strengthen their soul, it filled in the gaps to make their fragmented soulplete. Having already prepared herself from the moment she learned that Irisviels body had been created by Vahn, Lakshmibai nodded her head with a firm resolution in her eyes as she said, "I am ready. If I continue living without giving anything in return, I feel I may lose myself long before the battle with Angra Mainyu. Please, Master, grant me a real body..." Though it was a bit awkward to meet her demands in the present moment, Vahn issued a wry smile while rubbing Lakshmibais silky soft hair. After that, he brought her to a scenic area near theke where, in the distant past, Merlins student, the fairy Vivian, had granted Artoria Excalibur. There were small ruins located at the bottom of theke which once served as Vivians residence, now appearing much like a ruined castle-like shrine. Merlin had mentioned that Vivian was undoubtedly still alive but, as even powerful existences like the Knights of the Round Table and Morgan le Fay had been forced away by the Dragons Breath, so too had she. Now, with the future being almost impossible to ascertain clearly, he was unable to locate her in the present time but assumed she had retreated somewhere near the bottom of the ocean to avoid having to interact with humanity... After picking out an area, Vahn exined the process to Lakshmibai, including the fact that she would be formed of his own flesh and blood. Though this gave him no real power over her, it was important that she knew the various pros and cons of having a body created by him. As could be seen in Irisviels case, her magic circuits were of a much higher quality than the ones she had in life while her Magecraft itself had be much stronger than before. Since her body was made of Source Energy, even though she had no means to make use of it, the mana conductivity of her circuits was inherently EX-Rank. She used a type of high-speed transmutation that allowed her to manipte precious metals into extremely thin and flexible strings, a surprisingly effective means of attack and defense since she could make various golems and familiars in an instant. Vahn had given her a literal cubic meter of gold, as it was the easiest metal for her to shape, before watching her turn it into the shape of a bear. The most interesting part, for both him and Da Vinci, was the fact that the wire-golems she produced were capable of some basic autonomy based on the intentions of the user when they were created. It was by observing Irisviels Alchemy that Da Vinci had gotten her idea for the various mechanical animals that now roamed all over the Ind of Avalon... Though her face had turned bright red at the thought that her body was going to be formed from Vahns own, Lakshmibai didnt change her mind at thest minute. Instead, she wanted to witness the creation of her new form from start to finish, even though Vahn had advised her it could be a rather nauseating sight. Her reasons for wanting to witness this was Vahns admission that he could change both the internal and external structure of her body, even altering her race if she wanted to try something new. Ultimately, Lakshmibai decided to remain human, at least for the time being, though she did give Vahn permission to alter her b.r.e.a.s.ts and butt to his preferences. This resulted in him honestly admitting that her body was already perfect, causing Lakshmibais face to turn even redder, at least until she saw a version of herself pulling itself free from Vahns back... With a slightly pale face, Lakshmibai inspected her new body from the perspective of an outsider, finding the experience rather uncanny. There was a big difference between seeing yourself in a mirror and seeing a flesh and blood version of your own body from the outside. Lakshmibai felt embarrassed to see her own n.a.k.e.dness, something Vahn had taken note of as he covered her new body with a nket before he went through the long process of setting up two magic formations. Since he didnt really need to use this technique to split his own soul anymore, as he had been able to do so by his own volition after reaching Tier 4, Vahn spent nearly an hour making sure there were no issues. Fortunately, even though it was fragmented, Lakshmibai also had a Tier 4 soul so, while she was a little weak in the present, Vahn knew she theoretically had more potential than even the current Kenshin... Once the two magic formations werepleted, Vahn had Lakshmibaiy down in the transfer circle while her new body was located within the receiving circle. Then, while holding her hand to assure her everything would be okay, Vahn activated the transfer. This was an extremely important moment as, if this method worked, he wouldnt even need something like a [Spirit Vessel]. So long as it was by their own will, there should be nothing preventing Lakshmibais Heroic Spirit self from inhabiting his body as, with the nature of Source Energy, they should be perfectlypatible with each other. Soon after the transfer had begun, Lakshmibai outright vanished from where she had beenying, much like when a Heroic Spirit would assume their immaterial spirit form. Then, the body he had prepared for her began to glow with a vibrant magical light as her eyes shot open and she took a gasping breath to fill her lungs for the first time. Lakshmibais first impression of her new body was that it was veryfortable but, feeling this was too embarrassing to admit, she continued to cover herself with the nket before trying to create clothes with her magical power. Fortunately, just like Artoria, she was still able to use the skills and abilities granted to her by the Greater Grail. This made Lakshmibai feel a great deal of relief, not because she had been n.a.k.e.d in front of Vahn, but because she had grown fond of being able to change clothes on the fly... Vahn had Lakshmibai perform some routine stretches, both as a means to ease her tensions and test out her new body. He observed from the side with an appreciative look in his eyes, something she was very aware of as her cheeks became progressively more ruddy. Then, after finishing with her stretches, Lakshmibai surprised him by sheepishly asking, "There is one thing Im curious about...is this body technically considered a v.i.r.g.i.n...?" As she had felt strangely guilty about not being able to give her v.i.r.g.i.nity to Vahn, Lakshmibai wondered if he had modified her body a bit when he created it. It wasnt that she had stopped caring about her past life but, now that she was alive in the present, Lakshmibai wanted to live in the moment instead of worrying about a past where she had already died... Though he had admittedly considered it, Vahn shook his head in response to Lakshmibais question, answering, "Other than giving you a set of magic circuits that should allow you to use a skill simr to [Mana Burst] in the future, I didnt change anything about your body. Since you want to try and awaken kshmi at some point, it was better that I left your body as it was..." As this surprisingly caused Lakshmibais smile to turn somewhat mncholic, Vahn gave a wry smile before adding, "I already exined in the past that I can Modify the attributes of those who have pledged their loyalty to me. We have been together for over five months at this point so I have more than enough leeway to make you into a v.i.r.g.i.n if that is what you desire..." Hearing Vahns words, Lakshmibais face became scarlet in an instant as, though she had certainly wanted it, at least a little bit, hearing him put it in such a way was extremely embarrassing. This, however, wasnt enough to stop her from cing her hand over her heart and stating, "Master...I want it..." Since their rtionship had already developed to the point where she had recognized him as her true Master, Lakshmibai knew how to appeal to Vahn, even if it made her heart feel like it was going to explode. When she saw his eyes widen and noticed him taking in a deep breath through his nose, it made her feel giddy with excitement, now more than ever before... --- With Lakshmibai clearing the twenty-four-hour contention period without having any trouble, Vahn found himself being pestered by Da Vinci to produce a body for her personal study while Nobunaga, having been on the fence for the past few months, had also tracked him down soon after. She had been seriously contemting her own death before the summoning of Kenshin, all so that the real her could be of assistance to Vahn, she was quick to ask for a body of her own. Vahn had already expected this so he spent the better part of four hours helping Nobunaga tweak her new body in ordance with her own preferences. Though this ultimately proved pointless, as her unique skill, [Demon King], was the source of her body changing shape and size, it still meant her default state was now a far more mature version than it had been as a Heroic Spirit. Now, so long as she wasnt drained of mana, Nobunaga stood at a rather tall 180cm while her b.r.e.a.s.ts and butt were 88cm and 87cm respectively. It had been a little strange to watch her fondle herself to make sure everything felt right but, so long as she was happy, Vahn didnt have anyints. When she immediately wanted to stress test her new body after the fact, Vahn had been a willing participant, ultimately proving to Nobunaga that it didnt matter what form she took when it was just the two of them together... In this manner, the hot topic within the castle was the discussion of the bodies Vahn had produced as, in all instances, it was very apparent that the bodies Irisviel, Lakshmibai, and Nobunaga had received were far better than normal. Not only were they incredibly resistant to most sicknesses and poisons, something Nobunaga had learned very quickly as it took her much longer than normal to get drunk, but even Irisviel only needed to sleep for 2-3 hours to make a full recovery. Their natural regeneration was much higher than normal and, by Vahns own admission, there was a good chance they might not even age like normal people. Since their magic circuits could be shaped by him at the time of the bodys creation, it became a matter worthy of consideration for almost everyone within the castle, especially Artoria and Astolfo. Though the first person to try ande forward was none other than Tristana, as she was more than a little interested in having an eternally young body, Paracelsus had convinced her to stay as she was since he could easily grant such a request without her having to abandon her current body. This still served as the catalyst for Astolfo bringing Catherine by and, after a long discussion, Vahn ultimately made bodies for both of them. Though Catherine had already made a full recovery, and very likely wouldnt be part of theirbat forces, it was still moreforting to her if she were able to have a body that never had to worry about disease and sickness. She had actually been considering the topic of children in the future, as she and Astolfo now had a far more intimate rtionship, but was hesitant since she didnt want to burden her children with her hereditary illness. As for Astolfo, he was surprisingly manly about the whole situation, not even hesitating to ept responsibility for Catherines happiness. Though he did ask Vahn to tweak a few things to make him look even cuter, this was something Catherine also allowed so he had no reason to refuse. By the time he was done, Astolfos body was far more androgenous than before as, instead of the same muscle structure as a normal male, Vahn had modified some of his muscle groups to look distinctly feminine. Afterward, Astolfo could be found wearing even cuter clothes than before, taking full advantage of his modified figure as he and Catherine sometimes wore matching outfits... Thest person toe forward, though even Circe had joked around about gaining a new body, was Artoria. Much like Lakshmibai, she wanted to be able to increase her strength but, instead of simply keeping her current form, Artoria had asked him to give her a more mature appearance. As her actual age was closer to fifty years old, Artoria had be self-conscious about her appearance ever since the Fourth Holy Grail War when she became friends with Irisviel. Though it was useful to retain her youthful and somewhat boyish appearance when she was masquerading as a male, she now wanted to be a better mother for Mordred. Unfortunately, though Vahn obliged her request, increasing her height from 154cm to 165cm while adjusting her bust and h.i.p.s sizes ordingly, Artorias body actually reverted back to its fifteen-year-old appearance the moment the transfer waspleted. It seemed that, so long as she had the Chrono-Dissia status, Artorias form would always revert back to its default appearance, much like Fenrirs. There was a silver lining, however, as Vahn did manage to help Artoria bnce out her appearance a bit by using his Modify function. Though she didnt have a lot of mass to work with, being only 42kg with a BWH ratio of 73/53/76, Vahn managed to adjust her sizes to 75/52/77 while softening up the appearance of her body. Regardless, this was still a very noticeable change from Artorias perspective so she had gained enough confidence to wear a moredy-like dress around, at least until Mordred made an off-hand remark about her being weird... Though Artoria seemed to have epted her fate of being perpetually youthful, Vahn followed up the incident by discussing the matter with Merlin. By his admission, the only thing keeping Artoria in her current form was the fact that she had bonded with the Holy Sword, Excalibur. If she relinquished its ownership and returned it to its proper resting ground at the bottom of theke, the matter of her Chrono-Dissia would no longer be a concern. However, from that moment onward, Artoria would never be able to use Excalibur again while her fate as King Arthur would cease to be a reality. Though this wasnt necessarily a bad thing, Merlin warned Vahn that it was a very dangerous thing to have no fate, especially when your existence was essentially one of the anchors of the world. Even though it was currently in Grays possession, the Holy Spear Rhongomyniad was actually a part of Artoria. It was for this reason that Gray had to use Add to keep the spear sealed away as, without residing within Artoria, it would continually lose its mystery. If this happened, the boundary between the Surface World and the Reverse Side of the World would no longer exist, once again returning the world to the Age of Gods. This would functionally result in the end of the world, meaning it was very important to recover the Holy Spear at some point. The only thing that kept it from being an issue was the powerful fate surrounding Artoria and those that descended from the Line of Kings. Unless there was a force that could somehow sever fate entirely, the Holy Spear would ultimately return to Artorias grasp in order to ensure the stability of the world... From what Merlin had revealed, the only way to break Artorias Chrono-Dissia was to essentially return the Holy Spear to her body while sealing Excalibur back in theke to the west. Without the swords protection, however, Artoria would essentially be an existence closer to a Divine Spirit, undoubtedly gaining a more mature form but potentially losing parts of herself in the process. There was even a chance she would be a simr existence to Scthach, burdened by knowledge and truth while her body, from that moment onward, would truly rival that of the gods. Excalibur actually worked as one of the seals on Artorias power, serving as one of thirteen seals that kept the Holy Spear, Rhongomyniad, functioning as the anchor of the world. This had all been rather surprising but, considering that Artoria had been fated to one day lead the world towards prosperity on the brink of destruction, she would undoubtedly need such power. Even Avalon, which existed on the Reverse Side of the World, was supposed to one day exist on the surface. Essentially, by releasing the seals on her power, Artoria acted as the bridge between the Surface and Reverse Sides of the world. One day, she would unify the two and, much like how things were in Danmachi, the world would be a ce where Mortals and Gods lived and worked alongside each other. This would exin why,pared to anyone else, the flow of fate around Artoria even made someone like Bell, the original protagonist of Danmachi, look rtively in... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I want it...,RIP Nobu-chan,Poor Artoria. She just wanted to be a busty MILF to suffocate her daughter (T ^ T)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu Chapter 1141 - Mystery : Law

Chapter 1141 - Mystery : Law

With all of the Heroic Spirits gaining physical bodies, new life had been breathed into the Sub Space Projection as, instead of spending their days idly, everyone was now training in earnest. This actually made the castle seem rather empty as, with everyone spending most of their day inside the Training Orb, the Ivory Castle had moments when the only people present were Catherine, Merlin, Iris, Illya, Da Vinci, and Circe. Iris was another example of a pure mage so, while her strength was gradually increasing, she did not need to engage in livebat to benefit. Instead, Iris spent most of her day alongside Illya, helping thetter with her studies and bestowing their familys techniques to her. She also spent a lot of time cataloging her knowledge as, without the restraints that prevented her from sharing the secrets of their former family, there was nothing to stop her from passing it along to others. As for why she would do such a thing, this was her way of taking revenge on the Einzbern family for their failure to protect Illya, the only actual descendant they had remaining. As for everyone else, at least if they intended to take part in the future battles, they would spend long periods of time within the Sub-Space Orb designated as the Training Orb. When Fenrir wasnt training with Scthach, even she could be found within the Training Orb just observing thebat styles of the others. Scthach had told her something she already knew, something her Master had already brought up in the past, so she was doing her best to polish this ability further. This was her ability to mimic almost anything she saw, so long as it waspatible with her current form. Though she obviously couldnt do something like bulk up to the size of Siegfried, Fenrir could read the flow of mana in their attacks and was slowly memorizing all of their movements. With this kind of ability, so long as she was even remotelyparable with her opponent, Fenrir would be able to be stronger than them before the fight inevitably resulted in her victory... Vahn suspected that Fenrirs mimicry was rted to a developing Innate as, after leaving the Record of Danmachi, she no longer had the Development Ability. The fact she had been able to develop such an ability in the first ce was the only proof he needed to know she was umonly gifted at copying the speaking habits, mannerisms,bat techniques, and even a few unique skills of other people. Now that she was focused on developing it, as Scthach had given her the homework of copying Artorias fighting style, it was bing increasingly obvious that Fenrir had a vast and untapped reservoir of potential just waiting to burst forth onto the surface. One of the most interesting developments was how, once night fell, everyone would gather together a lot more than before. Vahn enjoyed seeing everyone together so he was very appreciative of this fact, even though their primary reason for doing so was the practice the Meditation and Cultivation Techniques he had passed around. It was necessary for the former Heroic Spirits to strengthen their soul as, though there werent any issues thus far, it was better to be safe than sorry. As the potential of a person was directly tied to the strength of their Soul, Vahn had pointed out the approximate levels of everyone at present. This served as a powerful motivator for those with Tier 3 Souls while girls like Lakshmibai, who hadnt even known they were already treading in the realm of the Gods, redoubled their efforts with renewed confidence. To aid in everyones growth, Vahn had already given his Familia Crest to everyone within the castle, the only exceptions being Paracelsus and Da Vinci. Thetter believed her current appearance was already close to perfect and, while she was interested in strengthening her own Soul, she intended to pioneer a method through innovation and research. As every major Magus family in the world was trying to reach the pinnacle of any single ideal, knowing full-well it would inevitably lead them to the Root, Da Vincis logic wasnt actually misced. None of her Innates seemed rted tobat so, as long as she continued her research without ceasing, it was certainly possible for her to reach Tier 4 and higher. After all, some Gods had Divinities such as Trickery, Peace, and Music, meaning the methods to reach Tier 4 were functionally without limit... The only thing any person needed to break into the realm of Tier 4 was enough understanding of any specific Law that it became an actual part of them. Instead of manipting the Law, they were able to manifest it to an extent that wasnt regted in the same way as other forms of Magecraft. In a way, it was like reaching the realm of True Magic as the power you were capable of using at Tier 4 was undoubtedly the product of Mystery. At this point, Vahn was fully aware that Mystery was just the term that had been colloquialized when discussing anything that people couldnt easily make sense. In that vein, Myster was the same concept as the Laws themselves and the reason most Magus never reached that point is because they were focused on observation and affecting the external world. They put such a heavy focus on their research, intending from the start that it was something that would be passed down to their descendants to be further refined. Instead of strengthening themselves internally and pursuing the Laws themselves, they were trying toprehend them ording to a fundamentally wed set of principles from the start. Unless the Law they were trying toprehend was Research or Innovation, the chances they would ever seed in reaching the Root or bing Tier 4 were infinitesimally small at best... When Vahn was exining the concept of Laws to everyone, he encourage them to either polish their current Innates to the extreme, picking a concept they could dedicate themselves to as, so long as they continued to strive towards that concept, it was only a matter of time until they began toprehend the Laws rted to it. He demonstrated this with his understanding of Petting Laws, prompting Mordred to ask him if he would one day be a God of Petting. She had asked this as a result of her curiosity but it still got a round ofughter from everyone that had been present at the time, causing Mordreds face to be red, even though they were actuallyughing at Vahn. In response to her question, Vahn decisively answered that, so long as you pushed any concept to its most extreme limits, you could literally be a God at anything... After his long exnation on Laws and the nature of the Soul, everyone had picked a concept they believed represented themselves, many choosing their actual Origins as a temte. Artoria, though she was no longer a King, wanted to understand what it meant to be a true King as, if she was able toprehend this, she believed her past regrets would no longer burden her. At the same time, though Vahn felt a small headache as a result, she intended to delve into her Dragon Origin. If she managed to seed, which was only a matter of time given her ridiculous fate, Artoria would almost certainly awaken her currently sealed True Dragon Race, bing an existence even the One-Eyed ck Dragon couldnt match. Since she already had a skill literally named [Instinct], which she had relied on her entire life, Vahn could only steel himself for the future that awaited him once she awakened the instincts of a True Dragon. Fortunately, Mordred didnt take after that aspect of her mother so Vahn would only have to worry about a single blond-haired True Dragon running around. As for what she had decided to focus on, Mordred wanted to be a Goddess of War, much like Kenshin. To that end, she spent a lot of her study time leaning Zen Buddhism from Kenshin and training in the same methods that thetter had used for her own rise to pseudo-godhood. The only reason Kenshin wasnt considered an actual god was due to the fact that she had borrowed the power of Bishamonten, even though she had more or less made it her own at this point. So long as she realized the power she wielded was her own, instead of rediting it almost wholly to Bishamonten, it was only a matter of time before she became an actual Goddess of War. Since her training Mordred would actually be very good for thetters mentality, both Vahn and Artoria had agreed to her training their daughter during the evening hours... As for the others within the castle, Fenrir had obviously decided to pursue the Elemental Laws of Water, Ice, and Yin, as these were the things she already focused on, while also trying to refine her understanding of Devouring Laws. She had the ability to literally eat anything she was capable ofprehending so, with that in mind, Fenrir also intended to push her mimicry to the point that she could intuitivelyprehend anything she saw. She had a unique perspective on thingspared to almost everyone else as, while they had only been focused on their own lives in a single Record, Fenrir had been intending to walk alongside her Master through thousands. The power she sought for herself was far beyond theprehension of even someone like Da Vinci, assuming thetter was not brought with them to future Records... Medusa had a simr perspective to Fenrir, albeit less devout, as her only interest was really staying at her Masters side and avoiding death. Much like her Master, she felt a powerful connection to him that made her feel almost empty whenever she thought about not being able to stay at his side. To that end, she wanted to pursue Magic, Summoning, and Time as her focuses. At the same time, she wanted to be the Goddess of Snakes as, even though she had a humanoid form, Medusa was more empathetic to her not-so-distant kin than she was towards humans. Though she felt closer to everyone that had a body created by her Master, Medusa could often be found near thekeside surrounded by snakes when she was bored... Though Vahn was a little worried about Medusa detachment to people, he didnt believe it would be an issue as, in ordance with his expectations, she had actually be good friends with Circe. Thetter had made good on her promise to open up to others and, after realizing they were all rtively friendly, she stopped looking down on them. She was still prone to bouts of jealousy, especially if he didnt give her attention at least a few hours a day, but she now cooked for everyone in the castle, even when he wasnt present. As a Demi-Goddess, she obviously didnt care all that much about learning any other Laws, intending to focus on her current pseudo-Divinities rted to Magic and Love. There had already been several close calls where she was very tempted to give up her current power but, keeping his own promise, Vahn had prevented her from taking things too far... Circe was one of the few remaining troubles he had to deal with in the castle, the only other factors being Cath Palug and his training sessions with Scthach. She obviously had no need to study any particr Law, as she had a basic understanding of all Laws, so she spent more time teaching what she knew to others rather than developing her ownprehension further. To that end, though it took a fair amount of convincing, Scthach had been transcribing a training manual for everyone that would potentially help them advance their understanding of the Laws. She had no intention of teaching them directly but, as even people like Siegfried didnt make the cut from her perspective, but it didnt take her much effort to put pen to paper after Vahn performed exceptionally well in a few training sessions... As a result of Scthachs efforts, everyone spent long hours every single day talking about their own progress and their developing understanding of the Laws. Even concepts such as being a Hero, the path Siegfried had intended to pursue, had been exined in great detail by Scthach. This was very fortunate as, if Siegfried had also pursued the path of a Dragon, Vahn knew he would once again have to rise up as the Alpha in order to prevent issues from arising. Fortunately, though Siegfried had gained several attributes of True Dragons, this was only the result of him ying Fafnir and not his primary interest. He only wanted to be a reliable friend while trying to understand if the path he had walked in his previous life was the correct one, much like how Artoria sought freedom from her own burdens as a King by understanding the very concept of Kingship... Amongst everyone else in the castle, the strangest pursuits that people had decided upon were Astolfos pursuit of Adventure, Speed, and Cuteness, Nobunagas focus on her Anti-Divin Origin, and Lakshmibai deciding upon the concepts of Fortune, Misfortune, and Fate itself. Astolfo had never cared that much about battle so, as long as he could travel wherever he pleased, that was the only thing that mattered. He had even traveled to the Moon in the past so his next goal was to reach the point where he could even travel to other stars, venturing out into the cosmos to see what wonders were just waiting for someone to discover. As for Nobunaga, she decided that Conquest might not exactly be the best choice so, understanding there always needed to be a force toy Gods low, she wanted to pursue the path of killing the unkible. The thought alone was enough to excite her so she had actually started to study various legends rted to the death of gods and the myriad weaknesses of every Hero that had been recorded in history. Fortunately, or perhaps not, she had managed to make acquaintances with Da Vinci as thetter had been very interested in her ability to freely change her age based on her Od reserves. They couldnt be considered friends, not by a long shot, but Nobunaga had always had a lot of appreciation for Innovation and the like, making Da Vinci tolerate her presence within the workshop on a few asions... Lakshmibai was, by far, the strangest character in the bunch as she had actually contemted making S.e.x one of her main focuses, a thought that had nearly caused her to pass out as she imagined all the things she and Vahn could do together. Fortunately, as she was already the vessel of the Goddess kshmi, Lakshmibai had a fair amount of leeway in deciding what she wanted to focus on. To that end, she intended to awaken and fuse together with the slumbering Ego of kshmi in an attempt to understand the concept of Misfortune. As a true understanding of this concept would also give her an understanding of Fortune, Lakshmibai believed she would one day be the vessel for the Goddess Lakshmi as well. Then, like Kenshin, she would make both powers her own and, for the first time, take charge of her own Fate in a moreprehensive way than most... In support of Lakshmibais pursuit, Vahn spent a lot of their time together talking about the concept of Karma, the bnce of the world, and the influence Fate had on both its user and the people around them. As the person with the greatest amount of Fate within the castle, Vahn had Artoria attend the same discussions as she needed to understand her own influence better. This would also help her understand her own path as many of the bad things that had happened to her were the result of her own fate and how she had interacted with others. By trying to be a perfect King to her people, distancing herself from most emotions and unnecessarily empathizing with people who did not necessarily deserve her forgiveness, she had been the catalyst for her own demise. Though this was something she technically had no control over, as Fate had a powerful influence on people, that would no longer be the case now that Vahn was present. He was intrinsically an entity without fate, meaning he was also the most vulnerable to things like Karma as there was nothing to protect him against its influence. As a foreign entity in the world, he was like a nk te that could drastically alter the fate of others, albeit at the cost of exposing himself to the powerful fate of other entities in the world. Because of his nature to change fate, those with strong fate were almost always drawn to him, both as a means to exploit the nature of his existence and to bnce the anomalous force that now existed in the world. This meant Vahns actions almost always set some event or other in motion as, without a fate, Karma itself was proactively taking steps to restore the imbnces he caused. Fortunately, he now had the protection of Akasha, her superiors, and ya, all entities that were not bound by the system of Karma present within the Root. Since he was also perceptive enough to sense the flow of Fate itself, Vahn also had the option of choosing whether or not he wanted to be directly involved with the events and trials that would be faced by others. Previously, he had avoided letting Bell influence him too much but, as a test to see how things would turn out, Vahn had been allowing Artoria to freely influence him. This came as quite a surprise to her but, as they had already made promises to each other, Artoria felt more warmth than guilt at the thought she had been influencing Vahn without even knowing it... As people couldnt be med for their own Fate, and Vahn himself was the one who epted it, he told Artoria not to mind such things. The moment she started trying to escape her fate, without something like the [Fate Severing Knife], things would be increasingly more chaotic. Though she didnt know the full truth, Artoria was aware of the importance of things like the Holy Spear and its connection to her so, even though it was troubling to know she shouldnt even try to escape her fate, she was resolute in bearing the burden. Since it wasnt hers alone to bear, it made her feel a lot closer to Vahn, in a way her budding affections couldnt quite match. As a result, the rest session following their discussion actually had Artoria taking the offensive for the first time, something Vahn had enjoyed quite a bit... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir, Goddess of Mimicry, Devourer of Reality, Goodest Girl,I like how Nobunaga is like, "I want to kill the unkible" instead of just focusing on Death xD...,Is this a sign that Artorias True Dragon instincts are already awakening!?) (A/N: As Im certain everyone has noticed, the chapters I write be info dumps when Im busy. Dont worry, as there should be action rtively soon, something a few of you have desperately been anticipating xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu Chapter 1142 - Prophecy

Chapter 1142 - Prophecy

As nobody wanted to be the person who predicted the end of the world, the impending threat of Angra Mainyu had not yet be public knowledge within the Magus Community. This changed rather quickly when Marisbury Animusphere, the current Head of the Animusphere family, one of the ten most powerful families associated with the Clock Tower came forward and published his findings. When he had contacted the Edelfelt family, they had surprisingly been the ones to mention going public with the information, catching Lord Animusphere somewhat off guard. Though he suspected that Rin and Lord El-Melloi II were aware of theing danger, as it was the Sixth Holy Grail War that served as the catalyst for the current changes, he hadnt expected the Edelfelts to be forthright about the matter when he had met with Luviagelita to discuss their alliance. Knowing that the world was at stake, Luvia wasnt as quick to push away potential allies as Rin was. She knew that, even if Vahn was able to ovee Angra Mainyu in ten years time, that would only be one part of the drastic changes that wereing to the world. Since she knew Lord Animusphere had already predicted theing disaster, she wasnt worried about him knowing that she was also aware of the truth. Though she did not outright shoulder the debts of the Animusphere family, she decided to act the role of their new creditor, financing them with total of three-hundred million pounds with little to no interest. The only thing she asked in exchange was for Lord Animusphere to be the voice of reason that called for unity between the various factions of the Mages Association. She harbored no hopes that they would see reason and try to work together, as this was a great opportunity for major shifts in power, but having a proxy to muddle the waters was beneficial for her own ns. Even if there were naysayers who tried to skew the facts to make Lord Animusphere out to be a pawn, the truth would eventuallye forward as Magus families all over the world made predictions of their own. At that point, the Animusphere family could be credited with trying to circ.u.mvent the danger from the start, earning them a bit of prestige that their family could sorely benefit from. As this was a better arrangement than he had hoped for, Lord Animusphere hadnt hesitated to announce his findings after publishing the data through the proper channels. Fortunately, as the Head of the Astronomy Department, he had the authority to publish his findings without needed to have them vetted by others. Since he had already verified the same prophecy ten times, leaving only the information pertaining to the Animusphere familys fortune undoc.u.mented, there were few who had enough status to call his findings into question. As a result, there was a major wave within the Clock Tower as every Department, including those who were skeptical of the situation, moved to verify the information through their own means. Before any attempt to censor his findings could be made, Lord Animusphere escted matters even further by directly bringing it to the attention of the student body. He had scheduled an assembly of the Democratic faction, thergest collection of students within the entire Clock Tower, exining they had just as much a right as the established Magus families to prepare for theing threat. As he had always been a calm voice of reason, earning the respect of many students, his words had a devastating effect on the entire student body. Like an unstoppable wave, most students contacted their families while some, fearing what action the Clock Tower might take if the fate of the world was on the line, outright left the campus. Commoner students were already required to do things such as donate their blood periodically so, in order to prepare for theing threat, there were no limits to what the higher ups in the Clock Tower might do to gain victory at the smallest cost to themselves... In response to the actions taken by Lord Animusphere, the Aristocratic faction immediately moved to try and lock down the information. Bathomeloi Lorelei had recently left London to hunt down a Vampire that had appeared in eastern Germany so it fell upon Lord Sophia-Ri, a first-ss instructor and one of the most prominent members of the Aristocratic faction that was active within the Clock Tower. He was a tall man with medium-length red hair, a high-minded gaze that looked down on all others, and refined features that made him the second most sought after Instructor in the annual poprity poll amongst female students. Not only was he Head of the Department of Evocation, but he was one of the most prodigious Lords in the present generation of Aristocratic Magus families. Though he was already engaged, begrugingly for the second time, there were many female students who wouldnt mind being the mistress of such a handsome man. Though he did not outright deny Lord Animuspheres ims, Lord Sophia-Ri decried the methods he had used to disemminate the information. He did not try to argue that the students did not have the right to know the truth but, with the resultant chaos, it was clear for all to see that it could have been handled in a less direct manner. Unfortunately, his attempts to get the Enforcement Division to take action ended in failure and, as even the students of the Aristocratic faction had already started to contact their families, the best he could do wasmbast Lord Animusphere while trying to bend the information to benefit his own faction until Bathomeloi Lorelei returned. This wasnt the kind of thing that could simply be swept under the rug as, with the massive divide that always existed within the Clock Tower, any major news like this could lead in an instantaneous rift that could take months just to get under control... It was with this knowledge that Lord Animusphere had used such methods, even going so far as to set off magical explosion at several facilities belonging to his family to make it appear that the other families were trying to force him into silence. Most of these facilities were in desperate need of refurbishing so, with the Edelfeltsrge contribution, he figured now was a good opportunity to do so. Money would lose its meaning if the world ended so, in preparation for what was toe, he had few qualms about using the familys finances to purchase new and updated equipment. Since these actions also made him into something of a Martyr in the eyes of the student body, even though he wasnt even dead, it was an extremely advantageous position to be in, so long as none of the major families took drastic action... To avoid having his family potentially wiped out, Lord Animusphere had arranged things with Luvia to allow his daughter to stay with her family for the time being. Since thetter believed she was the coteral for therge loan that had been given her family, Olga willingly allowed herself to be set up within the Edelfelt mansion. Though the people assigned to her were literally for her protection, she believed they had been there to make sure she didnt try to escape. As it was actually beneficial for her to have this misunderstanding, as it made her much easier to control during these chaotic times, Lord Animusphere had exined to Luvia how best to deal with his daughter. Though the Edelfelts were known to be a rather troublesome family, they had no track record of performing inhumane experiments and were known as a rtively righteous family. It was for this reason that Lord Animusphere could entrust his daughter, the literal future of his entire family, into the care of Luvia. --- Having brought nothing but arge suitcase along with her, Olga wasying on the bed within her gaudily designed room with a bored expression on her face. Even themp at her bedside looked like it would be worth more than a hundred thousand pounds as it was made almost entirely of ivory, gold, and a few precious gemstones. Her bed was carved from a magically conducive wood that had various runes carved into the posts, making it possible to iste the sounds within the confines of the bed while also regting the temperature. These were luxuries she could never experience back at her own Manor as, even though she had a rtivelyfortable bed, there was no way she could spend millions of pounds on personalfort. It was only as shey in thisvish andfortable bed that Olga realized the prestige of her family was iparable to the Magus families that had branched out and consolidated their wealth, unlike her own which had squandered it on research that provided few mary benefits. A few hundred years ago, the heads of various families would rely on her family to predict their future. They would spend small fortunes to know what the future held, a sentiment that had faded with the passage of time due to the decreased Mystery contained within the stars. Now that powerful telescopes existed, to the point that even normal people could discover newary bodies with personally financed equipment, the way people viewed the night sky had fundamentally changed. Though humans had always looked toward the night sky for answers, the very sentiment that gave the Thaumaturgical study of Astronomy meaning, that had faded significantly as Scient continued to reveal the secrets of the Universe. Even if most of their theories were extremely foolish, often far removed from the truth of things, people were too easily deceived by those with authority in the Scientificmunity. Now, it only took some big named Physicist to say somethingpletely groundless, sometimes even bordering on the metaphysical, for people to eat it up like freshly baked pastries. Then, a few monthster, they would immediatelytch on to some new idea randomly thrown out by some celebrity that was trending on Tweeter. Thus, even though they actually had no idea what secrets the Universe actually held, there was an established mon sense amongst people who considered themselves informed. This had greatly weakened all Magecraft rting to Astronomy, the only exceptions being the techniques passed down through the main family line of various Magus families, her own included. Her family actually had the rare ability to see, not just the future, but into the past as well. Though this might seem pointless to most people, there were some truths that could only be ascertained by looking directly at events that had already transpired. The founding members of the Animusphere family had made their name and fortune by using an advanced form of Psychometry, the ability to ascertain the past of objects through touch, to discover the location of several lost treasures. This ability hadter been modified to allow for a projection of a locations past to be viewed in the present, a technique only she and her father were privy to. Unfortunately, performing it required an incredible amount of wealth and resources, two things her familycked after the failures of her Grandfather... While curling up atop the extremelyfortable bedding, Olga absentmindedly stared towards a crystal mirror in the corner of the room as sheined, "If my family had this kind of wealth, we would be able to be one of the Three Great Families during my generation..." Though this was a rather extreme exaggeration, as her family severelycked military might, it wouldnt be impossible if they allied with the right families. In the past, they had more than ten branch families to act as their arms and legs and, though that number had now decreased to only three, it was possible for them to regain their former glory if they made the right promises to the right people. The problem was aplishing this without getting assimted by arger family once it was noted they were on the rise once again... With that thought in mind, Olgas mind wandered to the Trambelio family, the second strongest family beneath only the Bathomelois. Specifically, she pictured the image of Ard Trambelio, the second son of the former Head of the Trambelio family. He was a tall man, standing nearly 190cm tall, with a burly build and short hair that wasbed over in a stylish manner. Unfortunately, his face was something of a tragedy as, when he was young, Ard had gotten into dozens of drunken fistfights and had fought more than a hundred duels against other Magi. Though he obviously put effort into his appearance, he did nothing to cover up his proof of honor, resulting in his face having several scars while his left ear even looked like a head of cauliflower. Instead of trying to oppose his older brothers right to session, Ard had supported him since they were both young boys. Now, though he was not the Head of the family, he had a lot of sway in their internal affairs and was considered the fixer for his brother, Alexander Trambelio. In the past, Olga had met him at a dinner party and, even though she was only fifteen at the time, Ard had gone to her father to try and arrange their marriage, an affair that would have made her his third wife. Now, she was twenty-two years old while Ard had just celebrated his forty-seventh birthday two months prior. The moment the Bathomeloi family started putting pressure on her family, even before the Trial hade to an end, he had already contacted her to try and make arrangements, this time without going through her father directly... Though the idea of marrying a man who was even older than her father left a bad taste in her mouth, the contract Ard had given her meant she only needed to be married to him for ten years. As temporary marriages werent all that rare between Magus families, generally as a means to secure an heir and establish familial ties between two families, Olga had seriously considered the idea as a means to uplift her family from the ashes. Ten years hadnt seemed like an unbearable period of time and, as Ards genes would undoubtedly be very beneficial for their future descendants, there were numerous benefits she stood to gain. Though it would be almost impossible to escape the shadow of the Trambelio family from that point onwards, it was infinitely better than being brought to ruin and cannibalized by the other families within the Mages Association when they were bankrupted. Before she knew there was a ten-year deadline before the potential end of the world, Olga had been leaning more towards epting Ards proposal. Now, however, she was extremely grateful that her father had taken a step back ande to an ord with the Edelfelt family. In hindsight, Olga realized that her future sons or daughters would have suffered as a result of her decision to marry Ard, even temporarily. This would make the next Head of the family the direct descendant of the second son of the Trambelio family, meaning they would have grounds to potentially assimte the entire Animusphere family if they ever truly began to rise again. Instead of being able to hold their head up amongst their peers, they would have been forced to lower it to the younger members of the Trambelio family, potentially even bing nothing more thanpdogs for the wastrels that often emerged in powerful Magus families. Her father had enough sense to understand this was the case and, as he would rather see their family ruined by his hands than allow his daughter to experience that kind of tragedy, he was now doing everything he could to gain as much leverage as possible without exposing her to danger. With a lot of time on her hands to do little more than think, it was only now that Olga realized how immature and foolish she had been. Any man who would try to arrange a marriage with a fifteen-year-old when they were already forty years old obviously wasnt someone that could be trusted. He treated her as nothing more than a prize to be savored for a few years while his older brother, Alexander, had likely put him up to the task just to gain the assets of the Animusphere family before the other families could get their hands on them... Realizing she had almost made a terrible mistake, Olga released a tired sigh as she rolled over to her back, staring up at the richly colored canopy above. If she were allowed to be honest, the thing she had the most in the world was politics, especially those between Magus families seeking to benefit from the suffering of others. She just wanted to do her best to push the idea of Astronomy to the extreme, reaching the Root and earning the recognition of the entire Magusmunity. Throughout Olgas entire life, there had been so few instances of her being praised for her talents that she had even started to resent her father a bit. Though she was a prodigious Magus when it came to theoy and research, her talent in Magecraft was severelycking since her family had never developed methods to groom their descendants. All she had done ever since she could remember was dedicate herself to study, doing everything she could to learn their familys techniques so she would not fail as the next Head of the family. In the past, she had respected her father greatly for his stoic and unfaltering disposition but, as she grew older, this sentiment had lost its vor as she was required to interact with other members of high society. Not only did her father rarely praise her efforts, but she had received the scorn of her peers due to her form of Magecraft being on the decline, much like her family itself... As she was lost in her thoughts, praying that her fathers prediction proved true, Olga was startled by a knock at the door. It was a little strange how polite her guards had been to her, even allowing her to walk around the premises with an escort when she had asked. Though this made it seem like they werent even remotely worried about her escaping, Olga preferred this kind of treatment as it was far better than being locked away in some dark room or passed around by members of the Edelfelts mercenary forces. There were few ways to discern the true face of a Magus family until you were already in their grasp so Olga hadnt known what to expect when her father informed her she would be staying here in the future. Now, seeing the wealth and courtesy disyed by the Edelfelts, it was clear that they treated their reputation as a righteous Magus family very seriously, even though it earned them more than a few enemies amongst the other families... After making her way over to the door, Olga partially opened it, finding herself face-to-face with none other than Luviagelita herself. This caused Olga to swallow nervously as she opened up the door and greeted, "Good afternoon, Madam Edelfelt..." Though Luviagelita was the current Head of the family, she had never assumed the title of Lord, an honor that still belonged to her Grandmother, the Matriarch of the Edelfelt family. She was a woman rumored to be more than ny years old but, when she hadst made a public appearance, it was the general consensus that she didnt even look older than forty. As there was an incalcble number of methods to preserve ones youth, especially in abat-oriented family like the Edelfelts, this hade as a surprise to none of the established families. What shocked the entire Magus Community was the fact that Luviagelitas Grandmother had made an appearance in response to a marriage proposal from the Archibald family after it had just undergone its split due to the death of Kah El-Melloi Archibald. Luviva had only been seven years old at the time but, in order to try and secure the finances of the Edelfelt family for themselves, a few of the more high-nosed members of the family actually tried to put pressure on her father. He hadnt budged in the slightest, of course, but the matter had beid to rest before open conflict could even begin when Luviagelitas Grandmother made a public appearance, using a simple Gandr spell to wipe out an entire annex of the Archibald familys estate as a warning... Knowing the kind of support Luviagelita had at her back, though her own power was nothing to scoff at, Olga couldnt help feeling nervous in her presence. As for Luvia herself, she had her characteristic elegant smile as she answered, "Good afternoon, Olgamally. I trust my people have been treating you well?" Though there wasnt even a hint of a veiled threat in Luvias words, Olga felt like she was being tested so she gave an awkward smile as she replied, "They have treated me with every courtesy. Thank you for your hospitality..." In response to this, Luvia nodded her head with an as expected look on her face before following it up by asking, "Will you join us for dinner this evening? There are some people I would like to introduce you to and Im certain you have a number of questions you would like answered." As it didnt really feel like she had any leeway to refuse, Olga nodded her head in affirmation before saying, "I will need to freshen up a bit...when is dinner scheduled to take ce?" Any people that Luviagelita wanted to introduce her to could potentially have arge impact on her future situation within the Mansion. If nothing else, Olga wanted to avoid offending anyone by arriving with an unkempt appearance as, for thest few hours, she had just been lounging in her bed. Her clothes had a few wrinkles and, though it wasnt too messy, she needed to brush and rebraid her hair. Seeing how formal Olgamally was being, Luvia felt a strong desire to tease her but ultimately kept it under control as she answered, "We have someone with an early bedtime so dinner will be at 5:30 PM and will conclude by 6:00 PM. After that, we will move the actual discussion to my personal study so please wear something you will befortable in a few hours from now. It isnt a formal dinner so try not to dress up too much..." Since she knew Olga believed herself to be a hostage, Luvia was wondering what kind of outfit she would ultimately wear to dinner. On her way out of the room, she made sure to tell the Maids and the guards who had been assigned to protect Olga not to let her out wearing something that would cause misunderstandings in polite society... (A/N: Alternate Titles: THE END IS NEAR...!,Olga is rather naive...,Bookworms can be rather delusional at times xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu Chapter 1143 - Dinner : Discussion

Chapter 1143 - Dinner : Discussion

A few minutes before dinner was scheduled to begin, Olga entered into the almosticallyrge dining hall, set with a table that could easily seat a hundred people with ease. With only four people present, excluding the various staff located in the surroundings, it caused incongruous feelings in the hearts of anyone seeing such a scene for the first time. Olga wasnt entirely sure how she should act but, seeing the young child seated at the table, she was able to calm down a great deal. Though the presence of Rin and Gray made her feel tense, as she had some less-than-positive experiences with both women in the past, Olga still moved to the seat she had been assigned under the guidance of her two apanying Maids. This had her seated next to Gray who, contrasting Olgas memories of the woman, was wearing rtively casual clothespared to the dreary gray-colored garb she had always worn in the past... As there had been a lull in the conversation with the arrival of Olga, Gray gave her a polite smile as she greeted, "Good evening..." in a soft tone of voice. This earned her an awkward smile in response from Olga as, during theirst meeting, she hadnt been all that kind to Gray. Now, however, it felt as if their positions had beenpletely reversed and, knowing how strong Gray was, Olga felt more than a little ufortable being seated next to her. Regardless, before she actually sat down, Olga gave a polite bow toward everyone at the table, saying, "Thank you for the dinner invitation." Then, as she was preparing to sit, Olga was caught by surprise as the little girl with brown hair and teal eyes happily shouted, "Good evening, Onee-san! You have beautiful hair and eyes~!" Being weak topliments and praise, something Ard had taken advantage of in the past, Olga had aplex and embarrassed expression on her face as she ran her fingers through her hair and said, "Thank you for thepliment..." She felt silly to be happy that a little girl had said her hair and eyes were beautiful but, as she could tell the girl was sincere, unlike most members of High Society, Olga still epted thepliment. Then, under the amused gaze of Luvia, she sat down in her chair with a slightly reddened face. Following this, Luvia rang a small bell to indicate the start of dinner, an action that set dozens of different staff into motion as they brought out tes of appetizers and small menus for everyone present. Since Olga seemed a little confused about what to order, Luvia had lightly stirred the contents of her teacup as she exined, "My family employs a team of five-star chefs, each proficient with preparing different types of food that you may order at your leisure. I would personally suggest the wild boar as it is in season right now. Pierre prepares it with a broth of mushrooms, sweet-scented marigold, and an ent of juniper berries. With a ss of Chateau Domaine, I can assure you it is a dining experience youll not soon forget~." With that said, Luvia handed her own menu back to the waiting Maid, eliciting a polite bow from the petite purple-haired woman as she stepped off to the side to wait for everyone else to order. All of the food would be prepared and served together so as to avoid any awkward tensions at dinner. As it was considered very rude not to follow the rmendations of the host, Olga ced a simr order before cing her hands neatly in herp and falling silent. She didnt really have much to say to anyone at the table and, remembering that Luviagelita had exined the actual discussion woulde after dinner, Olga just wanted to avoid embarrassing herself. Unfortunately for her, Sakura had taken an interest in this new onee-san with peculiar hair and eyes, staring at her with an curious expression as she asked in a chipper tone, "Onee-san, are you also a Magus? What kind of magic can you use?" As her training in Magecraft had officially started a few weeks prior, Sakura had quickly immersed herself in the grand and fantastical world she had found herself in. Feeling as if she was being put on the spot, Olga felt slightly fl.u.s.tered as she hesitantly answered, "My family specializes in the use of Magecraft under the Thaumaturgical school of Astronomy. As for magic, I am incapable of performing such a thing..." As only the five True Magics were considered actual magic within the Magusmunity, Olga knew it would be extremely hubristic of her to try and fool the excited little girl seated across from her. Fortunately, Rin lightly patted Sakuras hand and exined, "Sakura, even your Kaa-chan and Luvia-nee are unable to use real magic. Remember your lessons, sweetheart..." In response to her Kaa-chans reminder, Sakura gave a yful ehehe before asking a bombshell of a question, "Cant Otou-sama use magic?" This caused Rins eyes to widen as Luvia beganughing at the side in her characteristic ohohoho~ manner. As for Olga, her expression turned into a frown as she almost corrected the young girl before her. She didnt know who her father was supposed to be but there was no way he could use something like True Magic. To her surprise, however, Rin gave an exasperated sigh before nodding her head and answering, "Of course...there is nothing your Otou-sama cant do." Though this could be misconstrued as her just trying to pacify her daughter, Olga felt that Rin was actually telling the truth as even Luvia nodded her head in agreement. Since the topic had shifted to True Magic, Olga couldnt easily stay quiet as she turned her attention towards Luvia and asked, "Is there a sixth person who can use True Magic now? How has this been kept a secret from the Mages Association?" As this question left her lips, Olga was reminded of the rumors concerning the man who had won the Sixth Holy Grail War. There was very little information about him but, at least within the upper echelons of the Magus Community, he was a highly sought after individual. If it was true that he could use True Magic, this would exin why so many people were interested in trying to contact him. With the revtion of the worlds end seemingly tied to the events that took ce during the Sixth Holy Grail War, it seemed highly likely this mystery individual had something to do with it... Before the conversation could continue any further, Luvia exined with a smile that didnt quite reach her eyes, "Please consider where you are right now, Miss Olga Marie. As much as I would like to discuss Sakuras Otou-sama, now is neither the time nor the ce..." Though her staff was heavily vetted, Luvia didnt appreciate that Olga was trying to ask such sensitive questions while so many servants were present. Her tone seemed to convey her dissatisfaction as Olga became pale, doing her best to shrink into her chair as she replied, "Please forgive my indiscretion..." Seeing how tense things had be, Sakura showed a fretful expression on her face until Rin lightly stroked her hair and whispered, "You must not forget that your Otou-samas identity is supposed to be a secret, Sakura. Dont worry, the day wille when you are able to shout to the whole world whose daughter you are..." Though she had already exined to Sakura that Vahns identity was a secret, children werent always considerate of such things. Now, after being reminded, Sakura used both hands to cover her mouth, both eyes widening as it was only now that she remembered her Okaa-chan telling her not to talk about her Otou-sama... As none of the girls present really med Sakura for her mistake, Luvia giggled in response to her behavior before guiding the conversation in a more positive direction as she asked, "Tell me, Sakura, how have your lessons been going? Are you learning a lot?" This question immediately shattered the tensions at the table, causing Sakura to beam as she answered, "I have been learning lots! Miss Gen said I have a natural talent for Binding and Sealing Magecraft~!" Though she was not yet capable of using proper Magecraft just yet, Sakuras potential even dwarfed her mothers by a great deal. Even after Vahn used the [Fate Severing Knife] on her, it hadnt significantly reduced her potential reserves by much. In the few weeks since their separation, Sakuras Od had increased to around 7000 units of Magical Energy, with no signs of slowing down any time soon. --- With the conversation changing to the topic of Sakuras studies, things became rtively lively at the table, especially once the food arrived. Though Olga was predominately silent throughout the meal, even she couldnt deny that the wild boar had been cooked to perfection. It had almost no gaminess at all while the apanying broth was savory with a touch of sweetness. Even though the portion was a little heavy for her, she had missed out on lunch and, afraid to leave anything behind, Olga made sure to clear her te with the aid of the delicious red wine. Since a single cup of the fragrant alcohol was worth almost 14,000, she savored every single drop until her crystalline wine ss waspletely empty... When dinner hade to an end, Sakura was whisked away by an entourage of Maids while Luvia had Rin, Gray, and Olga apany her to arge study that looked more like a library than an office. There were four expensive looking sofas around an ornate wooden table while the entire floor was covered in an imperial red velvet carpet. The two walls adjacent to the entrance were lined from floor to ceiling with bookshelves, each holding countless expensive books that would have been rare finds in most familys libraries. At the very end of the chamber, there was a wide wooden desk that looked like it had been carved by an entire team of master carpenters. To the left of this masterwork table, a white grand piano that seemed to be made from a type of rosewood and ivory served to draw the eye of anyone stepping into the room for the first time. While everyone else was taking their seats, Luvia moved over to an expensive-looking crystal chess set before arranging the pieces in a particr order. When she was finished, a magical field spread through the room that Olga recognized as her own private study used a simr mechanism. Magi were not fond of being spied upon and, as there were numerous spells specifically for that purpose, people were always developing new countermeasures to avoid having their secrets stolen. Though the barriers around the Mansion were more than enough to prevent more than 99% of attempts, there were never any guarantees in the world. If one of the servants within the Mansion ended up bing brainwashed to carry a snooping device, a rtively easy to achieve feat, there were any number of ways in which their conversation could be listened in on... As an extra countermeasure, Luvia pulled out a strange ck box that, once activated, caused a low humming and a high-pitched whine that was almost inaudible to the human ear to sound within the room. Unlike most Magus families, the Edelfelts had little aversion to using advanced technologies, especially since most families fundamentallycked the means to circ.u.mvent such measures. The device she had set upon the table blocked all electronicmunications within a 10m radius while also dampening sounds by scattering other frequencies. Even if you were standing a few centimeters outside of the invisible bubble with a recording device, the only thing you would be able to pick up was pure static while even the voices of the people inside would sound muffled, almost as if they were talking through water. Once all her preparations wereplete, Luvia took her own seat next to Rin, looking across at Gray and Olga as she opened the conversation by exining, "Your father and I had talked about many things during our previous meeting. You seem to be under the impression that you are being kept here as our hostage but the truth of the matter is you have been left under my protection. Even if you believe such action is unnecessary, your father and I are both aware of how cruel the other Magus families can be when they feel threatened. After your little stunt, he realized you are not of sound mind to deal with the other families during such chaotic times..." When she had heard from Lord Animusphere that Olga had actually considered marrying someone like Ard Trambelio, she had been genuinely taken aback. The man had a reputation for recycling wives, picking out young and beautiful women to essentially serve as his ythings for a few years before relegating them to the position of servants, or worse... Now that she had been afforded the time to think more clearly on the matter, Olga knew she didnt have a lot of room to refute Luvias biting words. What she didnt expect was for Luvia to almost immediately follow things up by adding, "Well, it was actually rather fortunate that you forced him to contact me. Ever since his defense of Lord El-Melloi II and mypanions, I had intended to ask him directly why he went out of his way to butt heads so fervently against Madam Barthomeloi. Though he had always been a very principled man, it was obvious to everyone that there had to be a greater reason behind his borderline madness. Imagine my surprise when he revealed the matter of his prophecy to me after only a few guiding questions..." Though theycked the same prestige they had several hundred years prior, the Animusphere family was still one of the ten most powerful Magus families associated with the Clock Tower. Since Rin had already exined to her the matter of Angra Mainyu, and many other interesting things rted to Vahn, Luvia had correctly assumed Lord Animusphere had deduced something. His prophecy didnt mention anything directly rted to Vahn but, after a bit of coaxing, he did turn over the actual findings of his research, not the altered doc.u.ment that had been disseminated through the Clock Tower. It was the promise of Great Fortune in the Animuspheres future that ultimately led to her agreeing to their alliance, especially since she knew the entire world would be thrown into turmoil as a result of Vahns future actions. With the bnce of power about to undergo several drastic changes, allying with families that had the promise of good fortune could provide numerous benefits. She and Rin also suspected that the Animuspheres future was directly tied to Vahn and, considering the fact that Olga was a beautiful and unmarried woman, it was easy to intuit what could happen. Since she was a very naive girl who seemed extremely weak againstpliments and praise, it was easy to imagine how she might react around someone with a strong character like Vahns. Even if she wasnt really a contender for Vahns future Empress, Olga would likely develop a rather potent crush on him if he were to say a few kind words and provide her with the opportunity to grow beyond her current status... In response to Luvias words, Olga showed aplex expression on her face as she tried to deflect, saying, "The Animusphere family had nearly been brought to ruin as a result of our prophecies. You should not-." Before she could continue any further, Luvia shook her head and exined, "Words like that will undermine everything your family has worked for over the centuries. Besides, we are very aware of the actual danger that will present itself in less than ten years time. This conversation is to discuss exactly that before allowing you to choose which side you intend to stand on in the future. Depending on the choices you make this evening, your family may not just be one of the ten most powerful within the Clock Tower, but one of the most powerful in the entire world..." Hearing the confidence in Luvias words, Olga couldnt help but frown as she asked, "What kind of threat could endanger the entire world? Why have you kept silent about this until now?" Instead of Luvia answering, it was Rin who exined, "The Greater Grail had been corrupted by Angra Mainyu , an entity that represents All the Worlds Evils. It was already a great threat to the world and, after the Greater Grail was destroyed, it was barely sealed away by the power of ya, the Manifestation of Humanitys Will to Survive. In order to prevent the extinction of mankind, she had given her power to Vahn, the man the Mages Association and Holy Church have been searching for..." The moment she heard Rin mentioned ya, Olgas face became somewhat pale as, even if she didnt intend to ally with them, the chances they would let her escape with such information was slim at best. As if to confirm this, Luviaughed in an amused manner before adding, "It is important that you know these things in order to make your decision. However, to avoid a catastrophe, you will have to keep quiet about everything you hear here. The only reason you are allowed to learn about the connection between Vahn and ya is due to the fact that your father and I discussed funding your familys secret project..." With Luvias words serving as the final nail in the coffin, Olga knew there was no way for her to avoid allying herself with the Edelfelt family in the future. Their family had been working on a system that was meant to interface directly with ya, a means of forecasting the future and peering into the past of the entire. It was the ultimate form of their familys magic and, ifpleted, could very well give them ess to the Root. Even if it failed to achieve this, just being able to observe the past, present, and future of the entire could potentially guarantee them limitless wealth. The only thing that prevented thepletion of the project was a severeck of funds as the prototype had already beenpleted in 1990, two years before she was born. They needed an astronomical amount of funding to kickstart the project while the power necessary to even trigger the activation of the system they referred to as CHALDEAS could power an entire country for around half a year. Since they couldnt exin every use for the system without having it immediately stolen from them, there was no way to convince sponsors to fork over 302B every year to fund the project of apeting Magus family. As a result, CHALDEAS currently ran dark, bleeding most of the resources of the Animusphere without generating any profits. Though this could change very quickly if the Edelfelt family decided to finance the project, there is no way they would simply let the Animusphere family reap all the benefits without even asking questions about what the system was capable of... Much to Olgas surprise, Luvias next words were almost iprehensible to her as she smiled while exining, "Your organization, Chaldea, wille under the jurisdiction of Vahn Mason and ya herself in the future. However, after discussing the matter with your father, you will be ced as the Director of the project while the Edelfelt family will provide financial backing. However, this is all predicated on the fact that Vahn himself intends to make use of your research. If it is capable of what your father imed, I imagine he will be more than willing to make use of your system to prevent the world from being destroyed in theing conflict. At the same time, however, Im certain you can understand that the Mages Association and the Holy Church would never simply allow such a system to exist without being able to benefit themselves. In order to prevent a hostile takeover, the Edelfelt family and Vahns private forces will be charged with the protection of your Antarctica facility. This is, once again, assuming you are able to convince Vahn that the project has any merit at all..." If not for the ridiculously useful nature of a system like CHALDEAS, Luvia and Rin wouldnt even be having this conversation with Olga in the first ce. Though she had no problem just protecting the woman from harm, as that seemed to be what her family specialized in these days, the matter of the worlds destruction couldnt exactly be ignored. Since Vahn would likely expand his Empire through the entire world in the future, assuming his efforts were not undermined by the Mages Association, Holy Church, and the Dead Apostle Ancestors, having a system to view the past, present, and future of the entire world would be extremely useful. As she was intending to be the Empress of that very Empire, Luvia was already doing what she could to guarantee the greatest chance of sess as, if her efforts ended in failure, the world would end regardless. With that in mind, Luvia looked between Rin and Gray, earning a sigh from the former and a polite nod from thetter before she smiled toward Olga and stated, "Now, before we move the discussion towards the preservation of humanity, shall we discuss the most important matter? Im sure you are curious about the kind of man Vahn is so let your big sisters exin a few things for your benefit, ohohohoho~." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hungry for wild boar, hungrier for praise,Security is very important,Luvia is literally, figuratively, and financially flexing on the other girls at this point xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu Chapter 1144 - Oppressive Atmosphere

Chapter 1144 - Oppressive Atmosphere

In the days following the announcement of Lord Animusphere, several other Magus families were able to verify his ims through a variety of different methods. Though the Aristocratic faction had been striving to maintain control, it was impossible to keep the matter under wraps with students spreading the information around like wildfire. Without shutting down the School and forcing everyone to stay quietly in the dorms, an action they were not authorized to take, they could only watch the chaos unfold while trying to reap as many benefits as possible. Since many students were afraid of what was toe, the number of potentiates seeking to fall under the banner of powerful Aristocratic families had increased. Though they would have normally refused such rabble, it never hurt to have more hands, feet, and organsying around... Fortunately, as it was alreadyte December, the number of students that left the Clock Tower on holiday leave far outweighed those who chose to stay behind. The normal ss schedule was just about to go on a two-week break so, in order to prevent the Aristocratic faction from snatching up too many panicking students, most sses had been let out early after long discussions on what each student could do to prepare for the future. Lord Animusphere did not outright encourage any students to leave the Clock Tower, as learning more would allow them to tide through future threats, but he did advise them not to make rash decisions. After all, it would take abined effort from all factions to avoid theing threat so, if they chose to ally themselves with the Aristocratic faction, the chances of them be disposable pawns would increase exponentially. Since few rational people wanted to spend thest decade of their life ving away from a group that didnt respect them, he managed to convince many fence-sitters to exercise patience and band together. Only by remaining united, just as they always had, could they avoid being used to buy time for individuals who could potentially avoid such sacrifices if they were to take proactive action. It was a known fact that the greater the number of Magi in the world, the weaker each individual form of Thaumaturgy became. This was the primary reason why the powers ruling the Magus Community tried to prevent the secrets of Magecraft from proliferating out into the real world as, with the perception of people shifting to make Magecraft monce, it would lose much of its power. By ensuring Magecraft was a rare ability that only a chosen few were able to use would it retain the inherent Mystery contained within. As a result, if there was a dangerous threat on the horizon, history had shown time and again that the Aristocrats and Nobles would first sacrifice their lessers before taking any action themselves. Not only did this help to cull the number of Magi in the world but, when things became particrly dire, it was this same faith that allowed already powerful Magi to be even more powerful. The worse the situation got, the stronger the belief that only such and such powerful Magus from such and such family would be able to ovee it. As a result, this became the actual truth, something that the oldest Magus families had exploited for thest 2700 years... --- With most of the student body shaken by the news of the worlds potential end, a phenomenon that quickly spread through their families, a faculty meeting was called by none other than the Director of the Clock Tower himself. The vast majority of staff had never even met the man rumored to be the most powerful Magus within the Clock Tower, one who had lived for more than two-thousand years with his only peer being the Wizard Marshal, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg. He was such an enigma that, other than simply being referred to as the Association Direction and The Strongest Magus, only those within the inner circle of the Mages Association even knew his identity. If not for the threat of the worlds destruction, many believed they would have gone their entire lives without ever seeing him even a single time... Though there was more than two-hundred prestigious Magi present within a single Auditorium, only a few of the most senior members of the Aristocratic faction dared speak a single word. As if this was a privilege they wanted to unt, even some of the younger members of the faction tried to join in on the conversation but, regardless of whether it would cost them face, the more senior members had them immediately silence themselves. This might have earned them the snickering of their so-called peers in normal circ.u.mstances but, as everyone was awaiting the arrival of the Director, most people kept quiet. Some even stayed near the periphery of the room, their bodies tense as they expected something terrible to ur. One of the most rxed people present, even though he had several pairs of eyes trying to burn holes through him, was Lord Animusphere. As the Head of one of the ten most influential families associated with the Clock Tower, he had more than enough grounds to speak. Instead of wasting his time with idle conversation, however, he stood near the prepared stage with a stoic expression on his face and a calcting light in his eyes. Even he hadnt expected the Association Director to make an appearance, meaning thetter must have seen something even he had overlooked. As a result, though his expression was entirely unperturbed, Lord Animusphere alone was aware of how cool and mmy his palms felt... Fortunately, or perhaps not, there had been no other members of the senior Aristocracy who sought him out to cause trouble. Nobody wanted to be the one to cause a scene at the gathering mandated by the Association Director. Even Lord Barthomeloi, a man rumored to be so powerful that his only rival was the practitioner of the First Magic, had never contested the Association Directors rule. This alone was enough to show the invible prestige of the Director, especially since he was even able to keep Barthomeloi Lorelei under control. As a result, Lord Animusphere was left on his own little ind of emptiness, making him stand out like a sore thumb within the crowd of prestigious Magi... Nearly an hour after the time everyone had been asked to gather, not that anyoneined, a peculiar tension began to spread through the crowd. As ifpelled by instinct, everyone present became absolutely silent, allowing the sound of wood lightly tapping against wood to resonate through the Auditorium. This was apanied by the sound of shuffling footsteps, each increasing the tension in the atmosphere by a palpable amount as two figures walked out onto the stage. The first to appear was an ancient-looking old man with silvery-white hair that was spiked back like a lions mane. His face was deeply set with wrinkles while a rather stylish beard ran from his ears to his chin, framing his striking visage that was set with two crimson-red eyes. He was attired in a ck cloak that was iid with nearly indiscernible golden runes while wearing a vest adorned with jewels beneath. In his right hand, an ornate wooden scepter served the purpose of a walking stick, even though many Magi present had glimmering eyes when they saw theplex rainbow-hued crystal decorating the head of the scepter. Even if they had ten times the courage, none would ever try to take the incredibly precious jewel as, even though this was the first time many of the Magi present had seen the 185cm tall man, everyone knew his identity. This was none other than the practitioner of the Second Magic, the man known as the Wizard Marshall, Zelretch of the Jewels. His most well-known moniker, however, was the same as the name of the Second Magic itself, Kaleidoscope. None knew how he had obtained the Second Magic, being that the Operation of Parallel Worlds was something most people couldnt even begin toprehend. The only thing that was known was that, by bing the Kaleidoscope, Zelretch had the ability to see into, and draw power from, alternate worlds within simr, tangential, and divergent time axes. There were none more capable of seeing through time as he was, to the point that anything he said pertaining to prophecy could be taken as an inherent, borderline inescapable truth... With Zelretch being so famous that everyone within the Magus Community knew who he was, that meant the person at his side must be the Association Director. Other than a few of the older faculty members, everyone else in the crowd waspletely gobsmacked as, instead of another wrinkly old man, an androgynous youth with peculiar green hair, extending to the small of their back, and a ck visor covering their eyes stood next to Zelretch. They were garbed in a ceremonial white robe that was several sizes toorge for their rtively petite body, ented by dozens of powerful artifacts that could serve as the heirloom of a powerful Magus family. The most notable of these items was the ck visor covering their eyes, disying the Eye of Horus in golden engraving. Other than this, both of their ears were pierced with ratherplex golden earrings while each of their fingers had unique rings. This apparently wasnt enough, however, as there were several rings of gold around their wrists while arge ne hung around their neck. There was a giant golden medallion on the end of the ne that looked like it could serve as a dinner te, engraved with the Seal of Yggdrasil. Overall, this figure everyone assumed to be the Association Director looked like a walking treasury that caused a few lesser disciplined individuals in the crowd to have stray thoughts. The moment they even thought about taking the treasures for themselves, several people in the crowd began bleeding from their seven orifices as they dropped down to their knees, clutching desperately at their heads while the other Magi in the surroundings looked at them with scorn. One of the first things any capable Magus learned was how to sense the intentions of others, as curses were the mostmon form of Thaumaturgy, it was a given that the Association Director would be able to see through their errant thoughts. Fortunately, just as it seemed the afflicted Magi would be killed for their indiscretion, Zelretch made a show of clearing his throat. This caused the people clutching their heads to pass out, their pain temporarily relieved as they sprawled about on the ground with none foolish enough to try and help them. The only exception to this was a red-faced man within the Aristocratic faction, supporting a young man that had a simr facial structure and hair color. Though the Association Director had been lenient, the man currently wished to cane his own offspring as he had never suffered such an embarrassing faux pas. When they returned home, he intended to ce his son under house arrest before teaching him the fundamentals from scratch once again... Once things had settled back down, the visored figure stepped forward as if they were about to address the crowd but, instead of moving their mouth, an echoing whisper that sounded like a mixture of different people, each having different age and gender, stated, "Humanity currently faces a crisis unlike anything that has ever appeared in recorded history. Worse yet, even my friend here is unable to clearly see what the future holds..." These words caused many in the crowd to take in a sharp breath as the Second Magic was known to trespass upon the mysteries of Time and Space themselves. It was rumored that Zelretch even obtained nigh-omniscience after obtaining the Second Magic, making him all-knowing so long as he took the initiative to simply look at any particr future... Unlike the Association Director, Zelretch spoke in a deep and wisened voice immediately following the formers words, "The existence that threatens the world is an entity known as Angra Mainyu, the manifestation of All the Worlds Evils. However, there is a far more dangerous threat lurking in the shadows. I did not note the exact time it had urred, but our world has been trapped along a singr time axis since approximately four months ago. My power allows me to freely travel through the time axis yet, the further point I can travel back is the current moment. There is an entity within our world that currently serves as the lynchpin of all realities moving forward. This means, depending on the actions of this singr individual, the fate of the entire world can be changed on a whim..." As he had never even though such a thing was possible, Zelretch had been caughtpletely by surprise by the fact he could no longer travel to the past, even through parallel timelines. It was like time itself, which had previously been woven together like aplexwork of strings, was now being filtered through a singr point, interwoven into a singr stable thread. This alone wasnt necessarily a bad thing, as tampering with the past was very dangerous, but the problem was there was a second convergence point in ten years time, the day Angra Mainyu descended into the world. No matter how many parallel and divergent times he passed through, each led to the emergence of Angra Mainyu, an event that preceded the end of humanity on the Surface. Though there were always survivors that retreated to the Reverse Side of the World, it was still a global extinction event as the Surface would be uninhabitable for an indeterminate period of time after the fact... Adding to what Zelretch had stated, the Association Director exined, "It is our belief that the emergence of Angra Mainyu is directly tied to Will of the, Gaia, and the anomalous entity known as Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Emperor. Our investigation indicates that Gaia itself has gone into self-preservation mode after the emergence of the Sage Emperor. His capabilities and intentions are currently unknown but, as Zelretch is unable to observe him in any of the parallel timelines, there is a 99.417% chance he is directly involved. The two most important missions of the Mages Association at present are to prepare for the emergence of Angra Mainyu and discovering the location of the Sage Emperor. His existence itself may be the key to preventing the tragedy so it is imperative that he is found before it is toote. To that end, he has been given the highest Sealing Designation, 001. As the death of the Sage Emperor may mean the extinction of the human race, the highest priority is on capturing and discerning the true nature of the target." Towards the end of his words, the Association Director tilted their head towards Lord Animusphere before adding, "If not for Zelretch convincing me that you have always acted in the interest of preserving humanity, I would have held you ountable for the chaos you have caused, Lord Animusphere. For the time being, I would have you shelve your dissatisfaction with the Aristocratic faction as well need the full cooperation of the entire Mages Association to prepare for what is toe. That applies to everyone here as well, regardless of their previous affiliation. With the fate of the world on the line, inclusion into the Mages Association is no longer optional. Those that try to cut ties with the association to preserve their own resources will be treated as traitors of the human race, pawns of Gaias will. Know that I already know what some of you have in mind for the future and, should you attempt it, do not me me for the destruction you invite upon yourselves..." With Zelretch at the Association Directors side, it meant they had the ability to look into every variable and parallel timeline, including those where people had betrayed the Mages Association. Only the three most powerful families would have any hope of escaping the influence of the Mage Association which, given the circ.u.mstances, would also result in a significant loss of face. As they relied on the belief of others, that they were the most powerful families, they needed to constantly reinforce this idea to prevent their own power from dissipating. The moment people began looking towards them as traitors, their family would begin a rapid decline that could only be prevented if they either aligned themselves with Gaia or used a scapegoat to redirect me away from the family itself... --- After a few more cautionary words, the Association Director and Zelretch left the stage, leaving behind a crowd of gobsmacked Magi in their wake. What surprised most people, other than the revtion that the world was moving towards an almost guaranteed end, was the fact that Lord Animusphere hadnt been punished. Those that had seen his stoic smile and mocked him before now looked at him with a slight bit of fear present within their gazes. It was obvious from the Association Directors words that they had looked into the actions he would take in the future before determining whether or not he could be trusted. Since he had been given an extreme amount of leeway, to the point that the Association Director even pointed out that he acted in the interest of humanitys survival, made many of his former enemies reconsider their stance... The most surprised person in the entire room was none other than Lord Animusphere himself who, from the moment the Association Director looked toward him, hadnt been able to move. Though he now had a lot more confident about his future actions, that momentary nce made it feel as though his soul had almost been ripped from his body. It wasnt until someone rather unexpected came up to him that Lord Animusphere was able to recover. Then, turning his head with a polite smile, Lord Animusphere asked, "My apologies, Mr. scheit, could you please repeat what you had just said?" Standing just to Lord Animuspheres left were two men, one standing at amendable 182cm with somewhat wild golden-blond hair and sharp blue eyes. He had a handsome face and an extremely athletic figure that could even be seen through his formal attire. As for the other man, he was rather short, standing only 162cm, possessing sleek ck hair that had been neatlybed over to frame his almost sickly looking visage. His eyes were an unnatural ck that made it almost impossible to discern his pupils from his irises as he stared nkly at Lord Animusphere from the handsome mans side. These were two rtively famous up anding members of the Mages Association as the first was none other than Svin scheit, a man on the very cusp of bing a Brand, while the other was his protege, a boy he had encountered on a mission named Bradley Sylvester. Though not as prodigious as Svin, he was another Pride that was famed for his Mystic Eyes, aptly named the Mystic Eyes of ck Jade. In response to Lord Animuspheres words, Svin gave a polite bow before repeating, "I had intended to congratte you on your exoneration, Lord Animusphere. I am certain Madam Bathomeloi will show you more leniency in the future after this incident. Some of us within the younger generation had been very worried about the Animusphere family, especially after your daughter became captive to the Edelfelt family. I pray she is able to return to your side soon so we can all begin cooperating together in order to ovee the threat of this Angra Mainyu..." With his words finished, Svin raised his head and gave an amicable smile before excusing himself to go converse with other members of the Aristocracy. As for Bradley, he gave a polite bow of his own but, with the dead look in his eyes, Lord Animusphere felt a chill run along his spine, even though his smile was entirely unaffected. While watching the two young men walk away, Lord Animusphere felt there was something amiss as, other than the cold look in thetters eyes, Svin wasnt able to hide his own animosity. It almost felt like he was trying to walk up behind a dog that was eating, only to have it stare at him from the side as a low growl escaped its throat. As he was very ustomed to hostility being directed to him, even if it was well concealed, Lord Animusphere could only shake his head at the naivete of Svin. Now that he was aware that thetter held animosity towards him, Lord Animusphere would obviously key in on the things he had mentioned during their short exchange. Fortunately, even if Svin had intentions towards his daughter, it was already toote for him to get his hands on her. He had entrusted her care to Luvia. Though it baffled him that the Association Director and Zelretch hadnt immediately given the order to seize Rin, Gray, and Lord El-Melloi II, Lord Animusphere credited this to the fact that the man named Vahn obscured their perception. He hadnt met the man in question but it was pretty obvious to the astute that Vahn had something to do with the three individuals in question. It was likely that Zelretch had looked into the future of all three girls to see what action they would take but, as Vahn seemed to fundamentally change the timeline based on his present actions, it was borderline impossible to associate anyone with him... --- Around the same time that Lord Animusphere was harboring such suspicions, the Association Director looked towards Zelretch with a frown visible on their face, this time speaking in a low yet feminine voice using their actual lips, "Your suspicion that Lord Animusphere knew something was correct. That girl, Rin Tohsaka, is undoubtedly still linked with the Sage Emperor." This didnt seem to surprise Zelretch at all as, contrary to hispanions frown, he had a slight smile on his face as he ruminatingly stroked his beard before saying, "This was something we both knew. Do not let such things upset you, Solon, it is unbefitting of your age. What matters is that we were able to confirm that the Sage Emperor is indeed the singrity point. However, without meeting him in the present, it is simply impossible for me to locate his position within the time axis. I would advise we continue to observe for the time being...my intuition tells me that something very troublesome is protecting those girls..." Hearing Zelretchs words, the Association Director, Solon, had an even deeper frown as they reached up to remove the visor from their face. Even with the visor removed, it was almost impossible to determine their gender based solely on their facial structure as, other than describing it as young, there were no distinctly male or female characteristics. What did stand out, however, were the pair of icy blue eyes which, even with the light from the surroundingsmps, glowed with vibrant magical light. Within the very center, surrounding a pair of pitch-ck pupils that seemed like they could devour anything, were two pink rings of light that caused even someone as powerful as Zelretch to feel the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. Then, without even a single fluctuation in their voice, Solon stated in apletely serious tone, "If I determine they are a threat, there is nothing in this world that can prevent their death at my hands..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: The rich making the poor suffer so they can appear as messiahs just by giving a pittance xD...,Old Man Gemstone has appeared (O o O)...!,Solon is a bit of an edge lord...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu Chapter 1145 - Terrifying Genius

Chapter 1145 - Terrifying Genius

Unaware of the fact he had been given a sealing designation, Vahn was currently standing next to Da Vinci as they watched a veritable horde of golems install a ck pylon that was cover in several lines of azure blue runes. While this was urring, Vahn had his [Eyes of Truth] active as he watched micro-golems norger than ants creating awork simr in structure to magic circuits leading from deep within the earth to the location of the pylons base. Da Vinci had recently been pushing the concept of golems to an extreme limit, creating incrementally smaller golems that were even able to self replicate if given ess to material reservoirs. This had been aplished when she synthesized apletely new element using some of the mana-conducive ores he had given her from the system shop. She had named the element Zenustherium and, evenpared to something like Mithril, it was more than seventy times more conductive to mana. Though it also had the property of being extreme brittle, to the point that a simple strong shockwave could incapacitate arge colony of her micro-golems, she had developed a series of majors that were far more durable than their smaller counterparts. These majors were given an atomically fixed structure, making them virtually indestructible by physical means. Even if the rest of the colony was destroyed, they could recycle the materials in the dead micro-golems to slowly jumpstart the entire colony once again. It was both a marvelous example of Golemancy taken to the extremes while also being more than a little terrifying when you considered ways in which it could be misused. If not for the fact they required an element that didnt ur in the natural world, something Da Vinci would undoubtedly find a work-around for, there would be no way to stop their propagation as normal Magi were simply unable to sense them... From the side, Da Vinci tapped her visor a few times before smiling as shemented, "At this rate, the instation process for the Atmospheric Mana Gathering Array will be finished in around eleven days, thirteen hours. Though it will take a few hours to calibrate after the fact, there shouldnt be any issues in the short term. Ill need to observe the array holds up against the elements but, so long as it doesnt suffer catastrophic damage from an external source, the micro-golems will be able to maintain it indefinitely. When people live here in the future, well need to restrict ess to the areas in the real world where the mana is being gathered to avoid having people siphon off the energy of the array." Hearing Da Vincis words, Vahn nodded his head in understanding, remembering the project details she had given him before he even approved the creation of the Atmosphere Mana Gathering Array. To give it increased protection, Da Vinci had suggested anchoring the pylon within the Sub-Space Projection, effectively decreasing the amount of time it would take to absorb mana by the interval of time-dtion within the Orb. Though they would have to closely monitor the levels of mana within the environment, the system could be adjusted in real-time if there were any observable issues. It was for this reason that Da Vincis micro-golems had been burrowing into the ground as, instead of relying almost entirely on the mana from the atmosphere, which was rtively thin considering all mana originated from the itself, she was determined to siphon directly from the Earth in the future. The only downside to this was the fact that thework being engineered by the micro golems was extremely fragile, making it impractical to set up in reality as even a small tremor in the earth could cripple the entire system. There was also the simple fact that the increased pressure and temperature made it nearly impossible for the micro-golems to function but, considering it was Da Vinci who engineered them, it was only a matter of time until she created a version of the micro golems that had no such restrictions. Since she hadnt heard Vahn say anything, Da Vinci tilted her head to look at him, the same smile still present on her face. Vahn caught her movement out of the corner of his eyes and, realizing his small slip, gave an awkward smile as he stated, "Sorry, Da Vinci, my intuition has been acting up as ofte. Ive been a little distracted whenever Im not training. Thank you for all of your hard work..." As each of Da Vincis inventions had drastically changed how the Empire would function in the future, Vahn knew he actually owed her a great deal more than simple gratitude. Fortunately, the only thing that remotely mattered to her was having more stimulus to continue innovating, much like how a God within the Record of Danmachi waspelled to fulfill their purpose. Da Vinci genuinely considered each of the inventions she had developed as belonging to him, not just because he was the Emperor, but because they never would have existed in the current time axis if he hadnt summoned her and provided the necessary resources. Once she had finished working on a project, she would no longer care about it at all, considering it obsolete form the time ofpletion as it only served the purpose of future innovation. The only exception to this was her own body, something she genuinely wanted to perfect as, after learning her [Golden Rule] was only B-Rank, she was determined to push it to the EX-Rank in the future. She had previously considered her body perfect ording to the logic of her time but, now that she understood how the world itself judged her work, Da Vinci was determined to make the ultimate masteripiece by innovating upon herself in the future... In response to Vahns words, Da Vinci covered her mouth and gave an elegant giggle before saying, "You know how you can show me your gratitude~." in a sultry voice. This earned dryughter from Vahn in return as, though her words implied something different, he knew she just wanted to take a sample of his blood. One of her pet projects was trying to create a container that was able to keep his blood for more than twenty-four hours. She was also trying to understand the mechanism behind its copse into sub-atomic dust as, ording to Da Vinci, there was always a reason. Vahn didnt doubt her words but, considering the fact that even a membrane of Source Energy couldnt stop it from dissipating, he knew it would take a very long period of time before she made any real progress into cracking its secrets. Still, having an Omnipotent Genius working to understand something he had cked on was rather encouraging as she would intuit things in a few days that might have taken him years to understand. Though he knew this was him developing something of a dependence on Da Vincis presence, Vahn knew the pitfalls of trying to split his focus too much as it had been one of his greatest weaknesses in both Danmachi and the Nasuverse. Having people to fill in the gaps in his own capabilities was the mark of a capable Emperor as, regardless of how powerful he became, he wouldnt be much of an Emperor without any Ministers and subjects... --- After making their way back to the workshop, Vahn filled a series of containers that Da Vinci had prepared, several of which had been painstakingly transmuted by her for this sole purpose. As none of her equipment was capable of analyzing his blood, she was currently focused on testing how it interacted with a variety of different materials and stimuli. In the past, she had even tasted it herself,menting that it was somewhat sweet, something Vahn had grown ustomed to hearing. Even he found his own blood to be uncharacteristically sweet and, though he only had a few sample sizes topare it to, this seemed to be a rather unique trait that only applied to him. Since he could even crystallize his blood into something like a candied form, something Fenrir was rather fond of, it often felt as if his blood was intended to be consumed from the start... Though he had gotten used to ignoring her as ofte, Vahn became vaguely more aware of the presence of ya on his shoulder as that thought crossed his mind. In response, her small blue body twitched as if she was sensitive to the fact he was thinking about her. At this point, it almost felt like she was just another part of him, something Vahn had slowly started to ept after realizing they would likely be together, not just the next sixty years, but until he finally left the Nasuverse. When he first had this thought, Vahn humored the idea of trying to tame ya as, regardless of how emotionless she seemed, it was undoubtedly possible. He might currentlyck the means but, if he were a Tier 6 entity that had continued to polish his understanding of Petting Laws, Vahn had no doubt he would be able to pull it off. In the past, he had even been able to tame the mechanical owl that Da Vinci had created, nowplete with the ability to camouge itself like a real owl in much the same way that the residents of the castle were able to change their clothes on the fly. Much to Vahns and Da Vincis surprise, it had only taken him around an hour of ying around with the mechanical golem before it no longer obeyed its original programming. This had been a matter of extreme interest to Da Vinci, resulting in a heavy petting session between her and Vahn as she attempted to directly collect data. Unfortunately, though he could have used [Hands of Nirvana] to give himself an edge, Da Vincis body seemed extremely resistant to petting. Though there was an obvious effect, it was significantly weaker than what he would experience with other women while, even in direct contact with her, Da Vincis body proactively resisted his attempts to probe its internal structure. Based on these observations, Vahn knew it was possible for his Petting Laws to influence just about anything, so long as it was capable of processing. It didnt even need to be self-aware as, regardless of how well they were programmed, none of Da Vincis golems had reached the point of sentience or sapience. Though the possibility of them developing it existed, this would require them to break through the limitations of their programming, something that required external stimulus and a series of nigh-impossible coincidences to ur. The only way around this was to directly imnt a soul from the start, either by coaxing it into the artificial body or using one of theplex formations used during the production of Homunculi. Without a biological anchor, however, it was extremely difficult to pull off such a feat, to the point that there were only a handful of sentient Mystic Codexes in all of history... The problem was convincing ya to let him try and tame her as, unless she believed there was a purpose behind their interactions, shergely ignored him as well. Though she was undoubtedly paying attention to everything he did, their interactions werergely fruitless unless he was willingly providing information to her. She would allow him to move her around a bit but, once he began to pet or handle her as he pleased, ya would be like an unstoppable force as she easily liberated herself from his grasp. He knew she was just trying to bait him into having s.e.x with her but, as the days turned into long months, Vahn had been increasingly attempted to give it a try. As Da Vincis mechanical owl was able to break free from her control, Vahn was very curious to see what would happen if he managed to somehow win ya over from the Roots management. To that end, once Vahn had finished filling the containers Da Vinci had set out for him, he waited until she had finished setting up her experiment before walking up behind her. The best time to target her was when she was transitioning from one experiment to another as, being her highest priority, Da Vinci would immediately change focus if he took advantage of these moments. This time was no exception as, from the moment she sensed Vahns proximity to her, Da Vinci gave a knowing smile before closing her eyes and allowing everything but her lingerie to melt away into a mist of magical particles. Following this, Vahn reached around from behind her, hefting her plump and impossibly soft b.r.e.a.s.ts with his hands. They conformed to his hands in a way that most b.r.e.a.s.ts had no hope of matching, to the point that Vahn felt like he could even close his hand while the flesh would give like a fluid that escaped through the gaps in his fingers. He would never put this theory of his to the test but, given how light Da Vincis ratherrge b.r.e.a.s.ts were, he knew there was more to them than he was made aware of... Given her height and proportions, Da Vincis weight should have been around 51kg but, after picking her up several times in the past, Vahn knew she was exactly 40kg. He had no idea where the extra 11kg had gone, adding yet another enigmatic quality to Da Vincis body that he was would have to endeavor to discover. She had made it very clear from the start that, if there was something he was curious about, he would have to figure it out on his own. To that end, she allowed him to do almost anything he wanted to her, so long as he remembered that she would take the same liberties in turn. They still hadnt had s.e.x yet, though she was by her own admission willing, making her a contender for the woman he had known for the longest period of time. As for why he had never crossed that line, Vahn felt a strange kinship towards Da Vinci and, though they didnt hang out in the same way he and Siegfried did, she felt like one of his closest friends. Sleeping with her felt like it would pollute that somewhat as, evenpared to Lakshmibai, Vahn knew Da Vinci would be interested in trying pretty much everything at least once... While enjoying the fragrant aroma that naturally wafted from Da Vincis body, Vahn began to trace his hands around her body while making full use of his Petting Laws. He was determined to reach the point that she was just as susceptible to his petting as other girls as, much like how he advised others, Vahn knew it was possible. If he pushed the concept to the extreme, even bing a God of Petting was possible and, though he still prioritized Creation, Destruction, Time, and Space Laws, Vahn was determined to awaken a Divinity rted to Petting in the future. Not only would this allow him to bring greatfort to the people he cared about but, in certain situations, it would even be possible topletely avoid unnecessary battles if he could pacify his enemies. The targets he was most interested in affecting were Da Vinci, followed by Scthach, and then ultimately moving on to ya when he had gained enough confidence. This was the same as moving from a Tier 3 entity that had a strong resistance before moving on to a Tier 4 and Tier 5 entity with borderline immunity... As he traced the line of her abdomen, Da Vinci released a contented sigh beforementing, "This really isfortable. I believe the only reason it isntpletely effective against me is due to the unique qualities of my body and the fact that Im working on several different projects within my mind. If youre willing to let me try something after the fact, I can verify this by shifting my focus solely to your actions...how about it~?" Though she didnt mind allowing Vahn to do as he pleased, Da Vinci had already experienced his Petting Laws a few times by now. She was very interested in its usefulness but, as there were other things she considered a higher priority, Vahn keeping her from working was slightly troublesome. It was clear that he was making progress, as he was able to affect two of her sub-processes, but this actually doubled how troublesome the process was as it meant she was unable to focus on other things while he was touching her... Though it felt like she was taking pity on him, Vahn was also curious about what would happen if Da Vinci shifted her focus entirely to him, at least for a short while. Since he trusted her not to ask him to do anything too extreme, Vahn nodded his head in response to her proposition. As a result, Da Vincis face almost immediately developed a subtle pink hue as she leaned back against his chest with a hot sigh escaping her throat. Now, when his hands moved around her body, Vahn could feel Da Vincis muscle groups reacting in much the same way as a normal womans. This showed that it wasnt just his own actions that gave his Petting Laws power and, even though he had already known this from seeing how Beast Humans reacted to his touch, it was still an important thing to verify since it meant he could increase the potency by changing his targets perception of the process... After fondling Da Vincis almost limp body for a few minutes, Vahn was satisfied with the data he had collected so he helped her stand as she shifted her focus back to other matters. This process didnt seem to go entirely ording to n, however, as Da Vinci admitted, "Fuuu...it seems like it will take a bit of time to recoverpletely. I can barely even form more than five different thoughts right now. That is quite a terrifying ability you have there...hmmm..." Though it looked like she was about to start ruminating over the usefulness of Petting Laws for her own work, Da Vinci must have unlocked a sixth sub-process as she immediately regained herposure in the real world. This was an ability Vahn was slightly envious of, even though he knew the burdens of such a mental capacity were actually rather extreme. Now that she had fulfilled her part of the deal, Da Vinci smiled towards Vahn as she said, "Follow me. It is time to show you what Ive been working on while you are away." As more than half of Vahns day cycle was spent training and away from the workshop, Da Vinci had ample time to work on a host of projects he was entirely unaware of. Now, for the first time, she was allowing him into the secretb that also served as both the nexus and server for her own personalwork. Vahn was very interested in learning more about the peculiar blue cube that seemed to float in the middle of an isted spatial field but that would have to wait untilter as he was far more distracted by the three figures in ss containers along the far side of Da Vincis private workshop... As this was what she had brought Vahn to see, Da Vinci giggled in response to his surprised reaction before exining, "These are my backup bodies. In the event that my current body is destroyed, I will be able to reincarnate so long as at least one of these remains undamaged. To answer your question, they do not have a soul contained within them as they are fundamentally different from Homunculi. They do, however, have what I refer to as a Soul Anchor, an imprint of sorts that allows my own soul to transfer to them in the event my untimely demise. I would like to test if it is possible for you to use one of these bodies as a vessel in the future, but that is not an imperative matter as Im currently more interested in developing a more perfect body. To that end, I would like you to inscribe your crest on these bodies and tell me if any have a higher grade of [Golden Rule] than my current form." With Da Vincis exnation, Vahn understood exactly what she expected of him but, more than that, he was still shocked by the fact she had created three different versions of herself in such a short period of time. From left to right, there was a version of herself that seemed no older than thirteen years old while the one in the center and far-right seemed around sixteen and twenty respectively. If they did have the [Golden Rule] that Da Vinci was researching, it meant this was their final form so Vahn was a little troubled by what it would mean if the version on the far left had the highest grade of the skill. Though it wouldnt take any effort at all to convince Da Vinci that it was possible to reach the EX-Grade for any age, Vahn had a sinking suspicion that the petite figure on the left was of a significantly higher quality than the other two since it had even more presence than Circe... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Da Vinci-chan could destroy the whole world with this kind of tech O_O...,The pursuit of Petting is an Endless Path (o,...,o)...,RIP Vahn, can never catch a break) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1146 - Conceptual

Chapter 1146 - Conceptual

While waiting for the crystalline solution sealing the bodies to slowly liquidize, Vahn decided to ask the most pressing question on his mind, turning to Da Vinci to inquire, "How exactly were you able to make three bodies in such a short period of time?" Though he had certainly given her enough materials to form a few homunculi, Da Vinci herself had said they were fundamentally different. He knew she was capable of doing many inexplicable things but, even knowing she had something like the [Soul Anchor: EX] Magic, this was slightly outside of his expectations. The only evidence he needed to know they were abnormal was, much like Da Vincis current body, Vahn was unable to discern anything from the three bodies she had created. As she had already expected Vahn to ask such a question, Da Vinci gave him a teasing look as she reminded, "If you want to learn the secrets of my bodies, youll have to discover them on your own. What I can tell you, however, is that these are Conceptual Vessels, a Manifestation of Ideals that have been given physical form. In life, I had no such thing as a Noble Phantasm yet, now that I have been formed as the Mona Lisa, I have a unique ability that allows me to manifest my Omnipotence. By supplying nothing more than Magical Energy, my Noble Phantasm is able to instantaneously analyze a target before changing into a form that perfectly counters their existence. I can even break apart other Noble Phantasms without having to make any effort...ufufufu~." Since Vahn only seemed more confused by her words, Da Vinci issued a sonorous giggle before adding, "These bodies function on a simr principle to Spirits such as Ghosts, Faeries, and Demons. Instead of being the amalgamation of a group of people, however, the forms of the Mona Lisa rely solely on my own pursuit of Idealized Beauty. By providing pure Magical Energy in a form infinitely close to Ether itself, it is possible to actualize concepts and manifest them in the physical world. To make it easier to understand, you can consider your inability to grasp the true nature of this body as another way my own beliefs had manifested. Though beauty is an entirely subjective concept, the Mona Lisa represented what idealized beauty was to me, something only I was able to understand ording to a very strict set of principles. With that being the case, you would never be able toprehend the structure of this body as it uses a set of logic that is entirely alien to you..." Hearing Da Vincis exnation, Vahn was still more than a little lost, even though he also had a loose understanding of what she was trying to convey. After all, his own body functioned on a simr set of principles as, even though he had taken physical form, he was irrefutably an entityprised of Source Energy. In fact, all forms of matter were actually just aplex arrangement of particles that were constrained by a series of Laws to be given physical form. He also knew the reference she had made to Ghosts as, even though most people considered them to be fictional existences, the failure of Science to prove this left the lingering thought in the minds of people all of the world that they might exist. As a result, Ghosts were a very real thing, just like Cath Palug, Angra Mainyu, and even ya herself. They were all the manifestation of concepts given sentience by a set of beliefs that, so long as a single person acknowledged the principle that governed them, guaranteed they would exist into perpetuity... With the first tank drained, the most mature version of Da Vinci was supported by a series of padded mechanical arms that lowered her into a hunched-over position. Though there was a chance his crest would have no effect on them, Vahn didnt think it would be an issue since, even if she wasnt using them, he knew these bodies were still a part of Da Vinci. They may be Conceptual Vessels, but they were still given form as a result of her singr belief in the Idealized Beauty while the [Soul Anchor] quite literally anchored them to existence. Though she had used the strange crystalline substance to put them in stasis prior to his arrival, Vahn suspected they wouldnt even degrade so long as they were properly cared for. While observing Vahn form his Familia Crest, making sure to analyze every step of the process, Da Vinci also exined of her own volition, "These three bodies each represent a different approach towards the same concept. I have named this one after my previous work, Benois Madonna, using my analysis of Uesugi Kenshin and Rani Lakshmibai as a temte. My goal was to create a body that waspatible with Divine Energy, even without having what you call a Divine Soul. Unfortunately, it does not seem possible to borrow the power of a God without their permission. Still, I believe I had some small sess since this body still uses Divine Energy as a power source instead of Magical Energy." ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Benois Madonna] Age: 17 days (Ageless) Race: Human Strength: 5E Endurance: 14D Agility: 24C Magical Power: 50A+ Good Luck: 19D Soul Tier: (-) Circuit Quality: EX Noble Phantasm: (-) Origin: (-) Skills: [Mind Workshop:S], [Eidetic Memory:S], [Parallel Thinking:B], [Golden Rule:B], [False Divine Core:C], [sphemer:B] Magic: (-) Magecraft: (-) [False Divine Core] Rank: C Use: Grants the user [Divinity] at the same rank as this skill but triples the amount of damage taken from both Divine and Anti-Divine attacks. [sphemer] Rank: B Use: Decreases luck by two grades. ----------------------------------------------------------------- When she saw the parameters and Skills of her Benois Madonna, Da Vinci snorted through her nose beforementing, "How petty. Now I feel even more determined to make a body that can emte a Gods." After these words left her lips, Da Vinci adopted a thoughtful expression while, right before Vahns eyes, he watched as the body being supported by the mechanical arms simply dissipated into particles of mana that were absorbed by the holes in the bottom of the container. Though he had seen simr sights during his own experiments in the past, it was a little unnerving to see the body of another person vanish right in front of him. However, as it wouldnt make any sense for him to try and insist Da Vinci keep every Conceptual Vessel she makes, there wasnt anything he could about it. Since she was able to read him very easily, Da Vinci noticed Vahns difort even while she had been thinking about other things. Then, after palming her fist, she decided to tease him a bit by asking, "Did you want me to let you research that body? Do not worry, Vahn, as I can make any number of such forms in the future. Even if you get carried away with them, I dont mind what you decide to do. I was nning on making a version to help you train your Petting Laws in the future so let me know if there is a particr version you are fond of~." Though she was just ying with him, Vahn knew that Da Vinci was actually very serious about her words. Even when she was teasing people, it didnt seem as if she was capable of lying to others as, from her perspective, it was merely a waste of time and brainpower. The most effective forms of teasing were things grounded in truth which, if the circ.u.mstances allowed, could be made a reality with only a marginal amount of effort. Thus, even though it was more than a little uncanny, Vahn couldnt help considering the matter since, if he left it to Da Vinci, there was a good chance he could increase his understanding of Petting Laws even further, all while allowing her to collect data... Seeing that Vahn was in a better mood than before, Da Vinci finished preparing her second body, allowing Vahn to inscribe his Familia Crest as she exined, "I have higher expectations for this body, as I used my analysis of Artoria Pendragon and Siegfried as a basis when creating it. After analyzing the True Dragon materials you gave me, I was able to create a body that should be able to rival the power of Artoria herself if the power is able to mature properly. The only downside is, while I believe the body itself is of a higher quality than my current form, there is a very real chance that the limbs could explode if improperly used. Ive never been too fond of physical exertion so this form is more of a failsafe than something I would typically inhabit..." ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Maiden of Dragons Descent] Age: 22 days (Ageless) Race: Human, True Dragon(sealed) Strength: 34B Endurance: 37B Agility: 28C Magical Power: 50A+ Good Luck: 39B Soul Tier: (-) Circuit Quality: EX Noble Phantasm: (-) Origin: (-) Skills: [Mind Workshop:S], [Eidetic Memory:S], [Parallel Thinking:B], [Golden Rule:A], [False Dragons Heir:A], [Mana Burst:D] Magic: (-) Magecraft: (-) [False Dragons Heir] Rank: A Use: Allows the user to emte the properties of a True Dragon due to possessing the heart, bones, blood, marrow, and essence of a True Dragon. Grants a functionally limitless reserve of mana, albeit with severe restrictions on the amount that can be used without severely damaging the body. [Mana Burst] Rank: D Use: The ability to infuse the weapons and body of the user with Magical Energy before forcefully expelling it. Marginally increases offensive and defensive capabilities, creating a focused burst of magical energy that ignores some defense. ----------------------------------------------------------------- While Da Vinci was rtively pleased with the results, especially with the [Golden Rule] having been increased to A-Rank, Vahn was genuinely surprised she had made such a powerful vessel. Going by her own admission, this wasnt even the limit of the body as, with a bit of training, it would be even stronger. The most surprising element was that, much like Artoria herself, the body looked rather petite and powerless yet, as if this was nothing more than an illusion, it held several tens of times the power of a normal human being. It was only a few parameters weaker than he was, a fact that made Vahn feel somewhat embarrassed as he watched Da Vinci reseal the body in the stasis container. Though she was tempted to change bodies, she had higher hopes for the third and final body she had made as, even though it was the smallest of the group, it was the one she spent the most time on. As Vahn waited for the furthest-left tank to drain out, he was still considering whether or not to ask Da Vinci to prepare an extra body he could conduct tests on. He could always just make one himself, using a simr method to how he had produced the vessels for everyone else, but Da Vinci would be able to build in all kinds of resistances that he could not emte. His own body would be too easily manipted due to his awareness of it, something that couldnt be changed unless he bound a soul to the vessel to detach it from himself. The one thing he was absolutely certain of, especially while watching the little girl in the tank slowly be lowered to her knees, was that he would make sure the version she prepared for him was a mature form. Though the 144cm tall version of the Mona Lisa was only 3cm shorter than Circe, while having slightly more developed features, Vahn could imagine the deadpan stares the other girls would give him if they discovered he spent time in the workshop with the body of an unconscious young girl to hone his Petting Laws... Once again, while watching Vahn apply the Familia Crest, Da Vinci took it upon herself to exin, "I have the highest hopes for this body as I used the data I had collected from analyzing Circe, Fenrir, and Medusa. Though it looks a bit young, I am confident that it has the most potential of any of the other designs I hade up with. The best feature is that, due to my inability toprehend the structure of two of the existences it is based on, there is an air of Mystery inherently attached to this body. At the same time, I believe it has the highestpatibility with you, even if not used for the purpose of s.e.x.u.a.l intercourse and reproduction. You have a weakness against young girls so I should be able to tease you and focus on my work more easily in the future~." ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Sage Emperors Bane] Age: 29 days (Ageless) Race: Human Strength: 11D Endurance: 14D Agility: 38B Magical Power: 50A++ Good Luck: 40A Soul Tier: (-) Circuit Quality: EX Noble Phantasm: (-) Origin: (-) Skills: [Mind Workshop:S], [Eidetic Memory:S], [Parallel Thinking:B], [Golden Rule:EX], [Aura of the Protected:EX], [Fragrant Aroma:B] Magic: (-) Magecraft: (-) [Aura of the Protected] Rank: EX Use: Compels those with a positive impression of the user to protect them, even at the risk of great physical harm to themselves. Reduces all Parameters by one grade when in the presence of those who have a desire to protect the user. [Fragrant Aroma] Rank: B Use: Pheromones emitted by the user smell pleasant to both males and females, regardless of age, race, and personal preferences. Reduces the ability of opponents to focus on the user with malicious intentions. ----------------------------------------------------------------- As he had been able to read the runes as he formed the Familia Crest, Vahns own expression became a nk mask that caused Da Vinci to giggle at his side. The name of this body alone was enough to make him want to facepalm but it was the fact that it actually had the [Golden Rule:EX] skill that caused Vahns brain topletely nk. He had actually avoided looking directly at the younger of the three bodies because, even in his periphery, its presence was almost intimidating. It gave off a simr impression to Circe, making you want to look while also making even the thought of looking seem improper. Given the fact it even had another ridiculous EX-Ranked skill, it was clear as crystal to see that Da Vinci had put a little too much effort into its creation. He knew there was nothing he could do to stop her from teasing him incessantly in the future, especially when the Da Vinci he had known up until this point spontaneously sat down on the ground beforeying down and closer her eyes. In the next moment, the younger body being supported by the padded arms twitched with the signs of life, eliciting a sigh from Vahn as he helped her stand. Fortunately, she had enough wherewithal to cover each of the three bodies with a flesh-tone set of silicone undergarments so he didnt have to worry too much about seeing something he would rather avoid having to worry about for the time being. Feeling Da Vincis soft, seemingly boneless fingers,bined with the strange maism her shoulder seemed to have when his hand touched it, Vahn knew the next sixty years were going to be extremely troublesome. The one thing he was grateful for was that Da Vinci herself seemed to have no intention of using this body for anything too intimate. At the same time, it was clear that she had always expected this body to be her new vessel as, after steading herself, she gave Vahn a smile before walking over to a mechanical cube and cing her palm on a small terminal. The cube opened to reveal a strange mechanical device that Da Vinci attempted to heft onto her back with a bit of difficulty. Due to Vahns presence, her Strength was only that of a normal person but, once she had properly worn it, the device seemed to lose its weight as it began to glow with magical blue light. There was the sound of a mechanical whirring as, from within the cube, a set of two stylish gauntlets formed around her forearms while a set of massive mechanical arms attached themselves to her backpack. Then, as Da Vincis hands moved around, therger mechanical arms mirrored her movements as she quickly calibrated them while exining, "I had a feeling that anything I made in an attempt to counter your impossible existence would be of a much higher quality than normal. As these bodies are just Conceptual Vessels before my Soul inhabits them, they are able to carry my intentions and beliefs. Now that Ive confirmed this, Ill be able to make a more powerful form in the future. Can you put that old body of mine into the stasis container for me~?" While shaking his head in an exasperated manner, Vahn removed the gemstone ne from Da Vincis [Mona Lisa] before handing it over to the lingerie-d young girl she now inhabited. As he ced her former body into the container, Da Vinci continued to calibrate the exoskeleton she had prepared to facilitate her smaller body,plete with a series of interchangeable arms, some of which seemed to be powered by nothing more than her thoughts. After she was finished trying out eachponent, Da Vinci settled on a pair of thin, multi-segmented, mechanical arms that would allow her to work with the same machine precision she required for her work. They were formed of ck and gold metal, artistically designed to match many of Da Vincis other masterpieces. Now that she was wearing proper clothing, Vahn could finally look directly at Da Vincis new body, now fit with royal blue goves and stocking that ran past her elbows and halfway up her thighs. The rest of her outfit consisted of a red dress that was lined with frills along the hem. Underneath were severalyers of pristine white fabric that were equally as frilly which,bined with the sparrow-like doublet and frilled choker, gave her a youthful yet stylish appearance. Vahn never understood why she liked to have puffy fabric around her shoulders and upper arms but, as it made the outfit look strangely bnced, he couldnt reallyment on it. Then, toplete her the entire outfit, Da Vinci looked at herself in arge mirror for a few moments before tying her hair up in a loose ponytail, using a ck bow that she requisitioned from Vahn. After she was satisfied with her appearance and the function of her assistant exoskeleton, Da Vinci turned her attention to Vahn before swaying her h.i.p.s, making her dress spin back and forth a few times as she asked, "So, what do you think? Am I the most adorable youngdy youve everid eyes on? Be honest, as Ill be able to tell if youre lying~." Since her features were still almost the exact same as the Mona Lisas, albeit much more youthful, Vahn could only give a wry smile in response before surprising her slightly when hemented, "You are indeed adorable, but the title of most adorable will always belong to my daughter, Ina." Hearing Vahns words, on of Da Vincis sub-processes imagined a young woman with tinum blond hair and striking blue eyes that could see the future. One of Vahns most prominent memories was seeing her smile toward him for the very first time while each of his sessive memories regarding her actually served as the stimulus for some of Da Vincis own innovations. As a result, though she was slightly dissatisfied that Vahn imed Ina was more adorable than she was, Da Vinci couldnt really fault him. Even her own views of beauty were biased so, unless she was willing to admit her own logic was wrong, Vahns words were the truth, at least from his perspective. With an understanding nod, Da Vinci didnt show any signs of being bothered as she smiled in a teasing manner andmented, "There are things I can get away with that your daughter would be admonished for. Observer~." As she said this, Da Vinci lifted up the edges of her dress, causing Vahn to roll his eyes as he asked, "Who was it that said that the mystery of whaty beneath clothing was one of the most charming aspects of it...?" This caused Da Vinci to immediately giggle like a young girl as trotted over to his side and reminded, "I could take them offpletely if youd like? It would be rather inconvenient, but even this body is perfectly capable of bearing children. Im certain you would be able to manage the delivery without any major issues, ufufufufu~." As he had already expected Da Vinci to behave like this, Vahn wasnt fl.u.s.tered by her words as he reached out his hand to rub her head, exining, "This form might provide you numerous benefits, but it also has a pretty drastic weakness...my skills are far more effective when I think the target is adorable." Though this wasnt entirely true, Vahn wanted to experiment with the concept of trying to change the perception of the target. If Da Vinci believed his words were true, something she could loosely verify from his memories, it would be true. As Vahn himself chose to believe it, he could feel the peculiar energy of Petting Laws flow into Da Vincis head as it spread a calming wave through her entire body. After blinking a few times in surprise, Da Vinci smiled before pulling Vahns hand away, seemingly undaunted as she teased, "Perhaps the body I prepare for you will look even younger? I can even give her a pair of fluffy ears and a tail, ufufufu~." Thisment was enough for Vahn to concede defeat as he took in a deep breath with a warning look in his eyes. Though this caused Da Vinci to giggle, she was also very aware that Vahn was serious and that she shouldnt take things too far. She did, however, intend to make a version of herself that was resistant to his Petting Laws since she was also curious about how far he could push the peculiar energy that was currently difficult to even analyze. If he could show its usefulness in a more cohesive manner, she might find a use for it herself in a future invention... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Belief is a powerful thing,The Sage Emperors Bane xD...,Vahn about to give Da Vinci a spanking...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1147 - Quick Update

Chapter 1147 - Quick Update

Guys, I am not feeling well today so I have no motivation to write any chapters. I may write some FJ or somethingter but the only thing I really want to do right now it off. If I can, I''ll try to get out around five chapters for tomorrow. See you then. Chapter 1148 - Trap

Chapter 1148 - Trap

Though everything had been going rtively smoothly, especially with the assistance of Luvia, Rin quickly found herself hitting a wall after Lord Animuspheres announcement. One of the only reasons she had been stuck in London was due to pre-existing contracts she had, both with private Magi and the Mages Association. She also had properties of her own and various physical assets that required a lot of paperwork and bureaucratic hoops to jump through if she wanted to avoid being cklistedpletely by the Association. Rin had been intending to cut ties with the Association but there was a significant difference between leaving on good terms and bing a target for removal if she stepped on the wrong peoples toes. Now, however, Rin found that her special passport had been voided while the Mages Association had essentially drafted all current and former members into the war effort. Until she had met a specific quota of magical gems, which she herself had to provide and enchant, it was almost impossible for her to leave London without being captured and imprisoned by the Associations Enforcement Division. Currently, any attempts to distance yourself from the Association was the same as beingbeled a traitor as, with the fate of the world on the line, the powers-that-be had be decidedly less lenient... With an annoyed expression on her face, Rin sat in the back of a heavily reinforced ck car, one of several in a motorcade that was intended to make it harder to pinpoint her location. Not just her own, but Luvias intuition told her that someone was pulling the strings to force them into a difficult position. This was, while most Magi were able to just turn over the requisite materials, she had been asked to report to the Department of Mineralogy to enchant some of the jewels they had prepared for her. It was obvious to anyone with half a brain that this was an attempt to lure her away from the Edelfelt Mansion but, as shecked the status to outright refuse, Rin, apanied by Gray and an entire team of Edelfelt Mercenaries, made their way to the Clock Tower. While sitting across from Rin, Gray had a serious expression on her face as she held Add in her right hand and observed their surroundings through the window. She had also been given a quota of her own but, as shecked any significant achievements in Magecraft, her task was to donate a portion of her blood on a monthly basis. Though this was obviously another trap, as she had previously been exempted from such things due to the unique qualities of her blood, Gray was apanying Rin to the Clock Tower in order to avoid having a battle take ce at the Edelfelt Manor. For the time being, they needed to y the part of Magi loyal to the Association as the time Rin had set to rendezvous with Vahn still nearly five months out. They didnt even know his current location and, much like the various Magus Families and Departments of the Clock Tower, their attempts to try and discern his location had all met with failure. Though they had the means to contact him during an emergency they were unable to ovee themselves, calling him to London was something each of them wanted to avoid now that the Mages Association had ced a Sealing Designation on him. Suddenly, the silence between Rin and Gray was interrupted by a small paper talisman erupting into green mes. This was a charm used to counter direct curses, meaning they were already under attack by an enemy that yet to reveal themselves. Rin released a tired sigh when she saw this before pulling out a pendant and chanting a tracking spell using the ambient magical energy created by the talisman. At the same time, Gray wasmunicating with the rest of the motorcade through a small phonograph that was set with an amethyst. The Tohsaka family had secret techniques that had been passed down through the generations, allowing nearly impossible to detectmunication with any party that had the paired gemstone. Though she had made her own version, the same method she had used tomunicate with Vahn via radio, that was only a prototype that likely wouldnt be of much use here in the heart of the Mages Association. After her spell hadpleted, several small strings of light began to flow from the pendant in Rins hand, causing her to frown deeply as each of these strings indicated an enemy. Even at a nce, it was easy to see there were more than a dozen people directly hostility towards them. Then, just as the motorcade was about to split up to make it harder for the enemy to pinpoint which vehicle she and Gray were in, several reddish-cksers struck the doors and windows hard enough to crack the magic resistant ss. Though it was still daylight outside, this didnt seem to deter their enemies much as there were several follow-upsers striking the car and knocking it off course with their impacts. To her credit, the driver was able to keep the vehicle under control while a few of the other vehicles in the motorcade moved to nk and protect them. Seeing what was going on, Grays eyes turned sharp as she muttered, "They are trying to make us group up. Those spells were not intended to disable the vehicle outright..." As she said this, Gray activated Add, turning it into a metal gauntlet with extremely sharp ws. She pulled her hood around her head and was preparing to jump out of the sunroof as Rin reached out to stop her, saying, "There is a good chance you are their main target. Since they are obviously trying to capture us, splitting apart would onlyplicate matters. Lets entrust Luvias guards to move us to a secure location before we take action." Though she didnt agree with Rins n of action, as following protocol left you open to being lured even deeper into a trap, Gray still elected to stay behind. If Rin transformed and fought alongside her, there were very few enemies that would be able to contend against them. There was a limit to the level of attack their enemies could use without drawing too much attention so they werent in dire straits just yet. After all, using Magecraft publically like this wasnt something that could easily be swept aside, especially if it involved high-profile characters within the Association, so, unless their enemies intended to cut ties with the Mages Association while in the middle of London, the chances of them using any high-rank Magecraft was slim. --- As expected, even after an additional ten minutes, there were only a few pot-shots fired at the motorcade while the Edelfelt security forces had already destroyed several golems and familiars. The fact that there werent any Magi intercepted showed that this attack had been more of a means to shepherd them and discover which vehicle Rin and Gray were located in. To avoid ying into the enemys hand, as there was a chance they were familiar with the various safehouses the Edelfelt family had prepared, the motorcade instead opted to use the alleyways on popted streets to transfer Gray and Rin to a new vehicle. Having a car driving around with several dents and holes in it was an easy way to get pulled over by the police so the Edelfelt security forces, seemingly having vehicles staged all throughout the city, were quickly recing the damaged cars with new ones. When asked to change cars, Rin shook her head in response to the tall man wearing a ck suit and shades, exining, "The Clock Tower cannot ignore this incident, nor can they force us to try and fulfill our nonsensical duties after being attacked like this. Gray and I will blend into the surroundings while the Enforcement Division converges on this location." As they were currently on a busy street that had a lot of pedestrian foot traffic, as London was very popr around the new year, it made more sense to Rin to break off from the security detail without leaving the areapletely. Her intuition also told her that moving vehicles wasnt a good idea and, as it had never let her down before, Rin wasnt going to ignore her hunch just because it allowed the security detail to do their job more easily... Therge mans expression didnt change much at all when he heard Rins exnation, remainingpletely professional as he quietly spoke into his headset before nodding his head and saying, "We will leave some of our forces here while moving the rest into the surrounding city blocks. If an enemy tries to target you and Miss Gray, we will be able to box them in." Though this man was the current leader of the motorcade, hecked the authority to force Rin and Gray to follow his orders. Even if he didnt agree with what Rin wanted to do, Luvia had given her the highest authority when it came to her own safety. As she was known for wearing vibrant red clothing, Rin changed into a beige-colored coat before undoing her ribbons and allowing her hair to flow freely. Then, after borrowing a pair of sunsses from one of the security detail, she and Gray joined the foot traffic while thetter covered her arm with her mantle. Though she stood out like a sore thumb with her peculiar garb, surprisingly few people paid attention to them as Rin was currently using a spell to obscure the perception of others to make it harder to track them. This required them to have to dodge around a few people that nearly walked directly into them but Rin and Gray were able to reach the rtive safety of a rather high-end department store without anyone sparing them so much as a direct nce. After stepping into the warmth of the well-lit showroom, Rin rubbed her forehead with a tired expression,ining, "That idiot should have left us a means to contact him directly...haaaaa..." Though Rin also wanted toin about Luvia having Lord Animusphere publish his findings so soon, it was only a matter of time before the Mages Association learned the truth. It was better if they deal with things on their own terms and try to reap benefits than being caught off guard by the movements of others. This matter was undoubtedly rted to Svin as, with Bathomeloi Lorelei still away from London, Rin had serious doubts about any of her forces moving without her leading them directly. Hearing Rin call Vahn an idiot, Gray lightly giggled while keeping her right arm hidden from view, even though they were standing out of sight from most other people within the store. She knew Rin just missed the real Vahn as, even though the memory fragment was pleasant to interact with, it became increasingly clear that there was something different about him. The real Vahn had a very distinct presence surrounding him and, though their actions and mannerisms were identical to each other, Gray felt the time she spent with the memory fragment wasnt as meaningful as the short time she had spent at Vahns side. It could be due to the fact that the memory fragment was always very rxed while the actual Vahn always invested himself wholly in every moment, even though he was also very busy... To get a better vantage out onto the streets, Rin and Gray moved to the second floor of the store so they could view the pedestrian traffic from above. From this location, it was easy to see the Edelfelt security forces and, though Rin assumed they had already exined the situation, she decided to go ahead and contact Luvia directly. Since the was almost guaranteed that their enemies had watched them walk into the department store, Rin didnt bother using magical means and just pulled out her cell phone before turning it on. Once it had booted up, she dialed Luvias number from memory as none of the temporary phones they had were updated with any contact lists. It didnt take long for Luvia herself to pick up, answering the phone by asking, "Are you and Gray safe?" In response to this, Rin had a wry smile on her face as she answered, "Yes. How is the little one? Has anything happened at the Mansion?" Though it was extremely unlikely anyone would try to attack the Edelfelt Mansion directly, Rin couldnt help worry about Sakura during an emergency like this. Fortunately, Luvia immediately answered, "She is currently holed up in her room after eating lunch. You should hurry back so she doesnt have to worry about you too much. If you need me to, I can send a helicopter to your location..." Even if the consequences would be a little bit troublesome to deal with, Luvia wasnt too worried about any fines she would incur from the government as she had more than a few connections within Parliament who would cover for her. While thinking about whether or not to alight to the roof and have Luvia pick them up, Rin felt a tingling sensation in her temples just moments before Gray pulled her aside. Immediately after this, the ss they had been looking through was shattered into an incalcble number of pieces as a pale golden beam passed right where Rins abdomen had been previously. Then, several seconds after the projectile had already pierced through the second floor and into the first, the sound of a loud rifle echoed through the area. This caused the pedestrians below to begin scrambling about like startled ants as several more rounds were fired into the second floor of the department store, trailing behind Rins and Grays evasive actions. As the projectile being fired toward them were able to easily pierce through the second floor, the two girls did not rely on standard cover to protect themselves and instead moved deeper into the buildings interior. Rin cast a physical barrier around them that would be able to shield from even high-caliber rounds before relinquishing her body over to Ereshkigal once they reached sufficient cover. Though another round pierced through the walls, this time targetting Rins head, it was intercepted by the barrier before thetter outright shattered. A ttened golden projectile fell to the ground immediately thereafter and, though it wasrgely destroyed in the collision, it was easy to sense the ambient Magical Energy radiating off of it. While Gray ced the bullet into a small container, Ereshkigal used her peculiar spear to easily intercept a few more rounds that had been fired towards them. This seemed to deter their attacker from wasting more precious ammo as they actually couldnt see where Rin and Gray were located. They had no way of knowing that Rin had transferred control to Ereshkigal and, though thettercked in Agilitypared to most Lancer-ss Servants, her perception as a Goddess granted her the same limited omniscience as her sister. Unless the rounds fired were anti-divine in nature, they wouldnt even be able to harm her from the start but, as it was better to be safe than sorry, she had no intention of tanking one directly. After several long seconds of silence, Ereshkigal looked towards Gray and said, "Rin wants you to try and contact Luvia again..." is a somber monotone. She had never been very sociable and, now that her host was endangered, Ereshkigal was more than a little upset. Though she could preserve Rins life, even if thetter suffered fatal damage, this would require the use of her Death Divinity, an act that would require her to enter a deep slumber as she slowly recovered. Without the Greater Grail, she and Ishtar were extremely limited in the amount of power they could use so Ereshkigal deeply resented the person who tried to fatally wound Rin... Since it was hard to refuse the words of a Goddess, Gray nodded her head in response before trying to use her own cell phone to contact Luvia. Before she could even type three digits, however, the power within the department store was cut while even the screen of her phone cut out. This caused Gray to frown as it implied their enemy had either used an EMP or had activated a powerful barrier to try and trap them. There were muffled sounds of explosions outside so she assumed it was thetter as this kind of attack simply defied logic otherwise. It was clear to see that their enemy had a lot of sway within the Mages Association, but that didnt mean they could just act with impunity, especially after the announcement of Angra Mainyus emergence... Though it was dark within the department store, the area was lit up by the glowing red aura around Ereshkigals spear while her two maroon eyes cut through the darkness with a cold light. Grays own stark blue eyes also glowed slightly in the darkness, especially when she unveiled her gauntlet and began channeling her own magical energy. She was capable of using [Mana Burst], just like Artoria and Mordred, so her body was shrouded in a blue aura that functioned almost identically to [Cantus Bex], the only major difference being that [Mana Burst] added an explosive effect to attacks that could ignore defense. Amidst the sound of muffled explosions, a loud crashing sound could be heard as part of the ceiling copsed. From the debris, a vibrant bluish-white light could be seen, illuminating the surroundings like a high-oxygen me. It was because she sensed this presence that Gray had activated her [Mana Burst] and, now that the person she least wanted to see had appeared before her, she instantly kicked off the ground with enough force to leave a crater that nearly copsed the second floor as she charged the figure before it could get its bearings. In response to this, the figure dashed back with swiftness few Servants could manage, breaking through the cloud of debris to reveal a form reminiscent to a Werewolf that wasprised almost entirely of bluish-white mes. At the same time that the figure dashed back, it released a feral howling sound,bined with the words, "Gray, stop...!" This caused a soundwave to spread through the department store, destroying disys and knocking over products before passing through Gray and causing her [Mana Burst] to dissipate. Without missing a step, however, Gray just reactivated her skill as she kicked off the ground once again, changing Add into the form of a long spear as she shouted, "Ill never go back to you, Svin! Leave me alone...!" As she shouted, there was a veil of moisture over Grays eyes but it paled inparison to the amount of conviction contained within as she attempted to stab Svin in the stomach. This caused Svins expression to turn even more feral as he attempted to grab the spear with his unnaturally long arms, an action made possible due to hisbination of Beast Magecraft and Reinforcement. In this form, he could even outpace a fighter jet and, unless his opponent used Silver weaponry or B-Rank Magecraft, he would be able to instantaneously regenerate from almost any wound. Grays Mystic Codex, however, was capable of ignoring his regeneration since it carried the Holy Property, giving it greater potency than even sanctified Silver... While the tip of Grays spear cut through his pectoral muscle, Svin was able to divert the trajectory of her attack, using the same motion to kick her hard in the ribs. Her [Mana Burst] dissipated nearly the entire impact but it still sent Grays body tumbling through a series of wardrobes, splintering them into small wooden fragments while Svin wrangled with the disobedient Add. Unfortunately for him, he was not afforded the type to apply the seal he had prepared as Ereshkigal, not content to just watch the events y out, had stabbed her spear into the ground as she finished chanting, "Fall into the embrace of the Underworld. Kur Kigal Irka..." In what seemed like a singr instant, a reddish-ck pulse spread through the area, changing the surroundings into a seemingly endless graveyard that was filled with various tombstones and cages. This caused Svins eyes to widen as he eximed, "Reality Marble!? You...who are you!?" Without deigning to respond, as the idea of speaking to another man left a bad taste in Ereshkigals mouth, she pulled her spear from the ground before charging toward Svin and swinging it in arge arc. To his credit, he was easily able to evade her rtively slow attack but, as he was already trapped within her terrain, Svin quickly found his calves and feet pierced by thorned vines made out of malignant reddish-ck energy. Experiencing an extreme amount of pain, made worse when he tore his limbs free in his attempt to evade even more vines, Svins eyes began to burn with an even more vibrant light as he shouted, "You stay out of this! Gray is mine...!" Following this outburst, Svin released a loud roar in an attempt to dissipate the Reality Marble but, without even fluctuating in the slightest, Ereshkigals Underworld domain persisted. Though Svin was undoubtedly very powerful for a Magus, it was extremely foolish to try and destroy a Gods domain while they were present within. In this ce, she had the highest authority and, greatly enhancing her own power while slowly draining away the vitality of any enemies trapped within. Thus, in response to Svins howl, Ereshkigals eyes had an even colder light than before as she muttered, "Less than a beast..." The moment these words left her lips, arge cage formed around Svins body while he was mid-howl. At the same time, a smaller cage appeared within her left hand, this one showing a smaller version of Svin that was spontaneously shrouded in blood-red mes that caused his actual body to begin burning in turn... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP security forces,Dat intuition though...,Ereshkigal has a strong bias against other men xD...) (A/N: Im still resting today but, after waking up from a long nap, I felt like writing a chapter while rxing in my bed. I hope you enjoyed it (^ _ ^)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1148 - Ruthless

Chapter 1148 - Ruthless

With a blood-curdling scream, Svin began tosh out against the surrounding cage while trying to purge the mes from his body. Even in his fully transformed state, Ereshkigals mes seemed topletely ignore his resistances as an unbearable pain wracked his entire body. It felt like his soul itself was burning, causing Svin to enter into a maddened berserk state as he punched and kicked furiously at the surrounding cage. From the side, Gray had already risen to her feet after recovering Add, now in the shape of a rather vicious looking scythe. Hearing Svins scream was harder on her than she expected as, even though she hated what he had be, they had been good friends for many years. Seeing someone you used to consider one of your only friends being burned alive wasnt easy so Gray clutched the sides of her hood, pulling it over her eyes as she covered her ears to try and muffle the sounds. This was all she could do to prevent herself from asking Ereshkigal to show mercy on Svin who, even though he had held her captive in the past, had been an otherwise good man... Unlike Gray, Ereshkigals gaze didnt even fluctuate in the slightest as she continued holding out the pale-golden cage, endlessly feeding it mes that were intended to purify the soul. Though this was supposed to take a long period of time, easily exceeding thousands of years, she could elerate the process to use it as an attack. The mes themselves dealt no physical harm and instead burned away the sense of self of the user so that they could be reincarnated once again. When the blood-red mes dissipated, Svin would still be alive but everything that made him the person who he was would no longer be present. Since she could tell that Gray didnt actually want to kill the feral man, this was the only mercy Ereshkigal decided to grant him. Amidst the blood-curdling screams, several pale-gold beams of light tore through the darkness, creating small spatial cracks within Ereshkigals Reality Marble. From the outside, the Reality Marble looked like a massive ck sphere that was covered in a series of incrediblyplex runes and, though it was very difficult for people to pass through the shell from the outside, it was far from impossible. As a result, a young woman with blond hair and blue eyes broke through fragmented space, following closely behind by a man with sleek ck hair and pitch-ck eyes. The bullets had apparently been fired from the surprisingly young girl who was geared from head-to-toe in tactical equipment that made her look like a military junky. However, with a set of four differently styled pistols,plete with an assortment of grenades, it was easy to understand she wasnt just ying around... Ereshkigal didnt mind people breaking into her Underworld as, now that they were present within, there was little they could do within her dominion. She just brandished her spear towards the pair, sending waves of thorny red vines twining through the seemingly endless graveyard that forced them to take evasive action. In response to this, the blond-haired woman pulled out an ivory-colored pistol that was slightlyrger than the other three. It had golden runes carved along the sides and, when fired, created a dazzling white light that drew a lethal arc towards Ereshkigals heart. Instead of trying to evade it, however, Ereshkigal tilted her spear into the trajectory, deviating it from its course as she observed the young woman with cold eyes. Seeing her attack deflected so easily, the blond-haired girl shouted, "F.u.c.k! This bitch isnt simple. Bradley, what the hell are you waiting for!?" Though she didnt seem any older than fourteen or fifteen years old, the girl had a rather foul mouth that caused Ereshkigal to frown slightly as she sent another wave of vines towards her. At the same time, the man identified as Bradley covered his right eye with his gloved hand, speaking in a low and eerie tone, "Demon Kings right eye...it is time to im another victim..." Following this, he lowered his hand to reveal a triangr rune burning within while the ck of his iris spread to cover the whites of his eye. Faster than she was capable of reacting to, Ereshkigal felt a strong pushing force pass through her body that knocked her back several meters. Then, atop her left b.r.e.a.s.t, a simr red rune had been embedded into the fabric of her raiment and an area of her skin. Though it was obvious that Bradley had been aiming for her heart, Ereshkigals expression turned even colder as a reddish-ck aura began to expand outwards from her body. Her maroon eyes began to turn a striking blue color at the edges as she looked towards Bradley and stated, "You defiled the body of this Goddess...you will burn...!" Seemingly undaunted, Bradley gave a creepy smile in response as he venomously stated, "You have already been marked by the Demon Kings eye. Only death awaits you, false Goddess...!" With this exmation, Bradley pointed a finger-gun towards Ereshkigal and made a pa sound with his lips. This caused the rune on Ereshkigals body to sink slightly into her skin, burning the fabric of her raiment and flesh in the process. When this happened, a series of events that surprised everyone was set into motion as, instead of immediately being killed like she was supposed to be, Ereshkigal was able to resist the runes attempts to pass through her body, pointed her spear towards Bradley with a vicious look in her eyes. Much like his own attack, which instantly affected anything within his line of sight, Bradley hadnt even processed what happened by the time a seering sensation spread through his body. It was only after the pain hit him that he noticed the fact that Ereshkigals spear had extended more than thirty meters to pierce him straight through his diaphragm. The malevolent aura that apanied the spear quickly began to encroach upon his body, bringing with it an indescribable pain that he was unable to voice due to having his diaphragm pierced. He could only painfully gag as his body was consumed by ghostly mes that began to suck him into Ereshkigas spear as the blond-haired girl shouted, "You f.u.c.k.i.n.g bitch! Let him go! Stop it! I said stop, stop, stop...!" With her bullets being consumed by the reddish-ck aura surrounding Ereshkigals body, the girl could only scream and curse as tears began to build up in her eyes. In response to her outburst, Ereshkigal coldly exined, "Youck the conviction to lose your life...and are afraid to see your friends die...you should not have be a killer...death is not a tool you can use to get your way..." As a Goddess of Death, Ereshkigal had little tolerance for those who used it as a means to get their way yet, when forced to face their own, they became like petnt children andshed out at others instead of epting the responsibility for their actions. In response to Ereshkigals words, the blond-haired girl pulled several grenades from her belt as she shouted, "F.u.c.k you...!" Then, with tears pouring from her face, she attempted to throw the grenades towards Ereshkigal to interrupt her attempt to absorb Bradley and the perpetual burning of Svin. The moment the grenades left her hand, powered only by the meager strength of a rtively normal human girl, a barricade of thorny vines emerged like a wall just a few meters away from her. This caused the grenades to impact against the ming vines, rebounding them towards the wide-eyed girl as she quickly pulled a cord in her vest and crouched down in a fetal position just moments before the grenades erupted around her... After a series of thunderous explosions, Ereshkigal moved the wall of vines while reducing her spear to a normal size once again. Now, at her hip, there was a 5cm long cage that had a small me burning inside of it as, keeping her promise with Bradley, she would allow him to experience the slow-burning of his soul until nothing remained of his Ego several hundred years down the line. Though this may seem unbelievably cruel from the perspective of some, there was a price to pay for defiling the body of a Goddess and, at least before the Age of Men, this was how all souls in the Underworld were treated. She had seen billions burn within the cages of her dominion and, though she had often tried toe up with methods to ease their suffering, Ereshkigal had no empathy for Bradley after his indiscretions. By the time the smoke and debris cleared away, there was a battered and bruised young girlying on the ground, not as a result of the grenades themselves, but due to the red vines that were tightly binding her body. These vines were made from the ghostly mes of the Underworld given physical form, making them virtually impossible to resist without having Holy or Anti-Divine armaments. As a result, the blond-haired girl was left crying on the ground as the vines buried themselves into her body rather mercilessly. It wasnt until Rin stepped in, feeling more than a little perturbed by Ereshkigals cruelty, that the girl was given any lenience. Since they needed people to be held ountable for this tant attack in broad daylight, she had Ereshkigal stop short of killing the girl. Svin had already copsed within his cage with a dull expression on his face as drool poured from his slightly parted lips. The previously blood-red mes now burned with a simr bluish-white as his Beast Transformation but, instead of being a proponent of his own abilities, this simply represented that he had already been purified. As Ereshkigal didnt know the customs of the world all that well, even with the knowledge she obtained from the Holy Grail, she ultimately conceded to Rins request before returning control back to her. Emerging n.a.k.e.d within the department store, as Ereshkigal was no longer present to keep her Reality Marble manifested, Rin felt incredibly embarrassed as she pulled a set of clothes out from her storage bracelet while doing her best to ignore the burning pain on her chest. There was still a rather vicious triangr ringed wound burned into her left b.r.e.a.s.t and, though she felt somewhat sorry for the young girl that had experienced much worse, Rin didnt empathize with Bradleys fate all that much. Though she would probably calm down after the adrenaline wore off, she felt he needed to suffer for a bit before she ultimately had Ereshkigal allow him to die in a more peaceful manner. After rejoining with Gray, thetter had a concerned expression on her face as she asked, "Are you okay?" She could only imagine how painful arge burn on the chest could be but, surprisingly, Rin just gave a wry, albeit pained, smile as she answered, "This doesnt even make my top ten. At least, if there is a scar, I can get Vahn to remove it for me...ahaha...ha..." Mentioning Vahn made Rin miss him a lot more than normal as, if he were present, neither of them would have had to go through such an experience. This sentiment seemed to be shared by Gray who, after looking towards the copsed body of Svin, muttered, "I want to go back to the Mansion..." --- Shortly after the battle hade to an end, several members of the Edelfelt security forces entered into the virtually decimated department store. After securing Rin and Gray, they were alighted back to the Edelfelt Mansion as, even though they should have arrived long ago, the Enforcement Division had yet to arrive. This indicated they had been paid off or that someone above Svin had pulled some strings to dy their response. Now, though the Enforcement Division would undoubtedly try toy some me on Rin and Gray, they would have to go through the Edelfelts since, after this farce, there was no way either girl would listen to the demands of the Mages Association. This was a fiasco that could cause just as much a stir as the new of Angra Mainyus descent as, with the current tensions within the Clock Tower, even minor events could get blown out of proportion. If it was publicized that the Aristocratic faction within the Clock Tower was already trying to forcibly capture people, to the point they werent even paying attention to the Laws that had governed the Association for more than two-thousand years, it would cause a great deal of chaos. To try and skew the facts in their favor, several noteworthy figures within the Aristocratic faction decried Svin as an errant element who, feeling pressured by the worlds end, had lost his mind and allowed his elevated status to get to his head. At the same time, however, rumors of Grays true identity began to circte around, causing some within the Association to try and demand that she also be given a sealing designation. Even more than Gray herself, however, they wanted to get their hands on Add as, even though Svin had never revealed the truth of its identity, rumors of its true identity riled up several of the more powerful Magus families. Securing one of the most powerful weapons in the world for themselves, especially with the end of the world on the horizon, was of imperative importance to any family that still considered themselves separate from the Association. At this point, the only thing keeping some of the more powerful families from storming the Edelfelt Mansion was the fact that Luvias Grandmother was still alive and, unless they intended to send some of their heavy hitters out, it was impossible to use lower-ss Magi, golems, homunculi, and familiars to try and directly face off against the Edelfelts mercenary forces. Even if they did send out their familys main forces, this attempt would be a significant loss of face for any family that resorted to such actions, especially during these chaotic times. As the Edelfelts were one of the ten most powerful Magus families, while also being considered one of the most wealthy, antagonizing them for the sole purpose of stealing a single weapon would send unstoppable waves through the Magus Community. This could potentially send the entiremunity into a Civil War as, if even the upper echelons of their society were willing to go to such extremes, everyone would begin to panic even more. Due to these reasons, other than lobbying to have Gray given a sealing designation and having her willingly relinquish Add, there was little they could do without Luvia giving in to the pressure and turning Gray over to them. As the Edelfelts were famous for their obstinance and loyalty, however, even normal students didnt believe she would crack and turn over one of her allies, especially when it seemed like the Clock Tower were tantly disying their corruption. In fact, instead of showing any signs of bowing down, Luvia issued a public statement, requiring the Clock Tower administration to be held ountable for their own words. With the Association Director just recently announcing that such actions would not be tolerated, Luvia refused to let the matter justy. Even though the Aristocratic faction imed that Svin acted on his own, there were very few people who even remotely believed this. Though Zelretch wasnt a part of the Mages Association, the fact he had made an appearance at the Directors side showed they were at least cooperating together. There was no reasonable justification for them allowing a member of the Clock Tower to cause a scene in public, especially when the catalyst behind the attack was the very quota they were requiring every member of the Association to fill. Though it was a bit extreme, Luvia openly postted a question that sent ripples through the majority of the Association, asking, "Does the Clock Tower now have sovereignty over all the other families? Will the quota in the future start to include the lives of its affiliates just for the sake of benefitting those at the top? Are they going to start arbitrarily issuing Sealing Designations just so they can justifiably rob the possessions of other Magi...?" These were questions lingering in the hearts and minds of many of the more vulnerable members of the Association, especially after having to show up and have to their blood drawn for uses they couldnt even see... In response to Luvias demands, a directive came from the Director to change how the quotas were met as they originally had no part in deciding what was requested. This task had been left to the various Lords and Department Heads previously but, as could have been expected from the start, there were a number of Aristocrats exploiting this system to benefit their own family. Now, all of the Department Heads were required to gather together to determine what contributions eachrge family would have to make while the blood requirements for students and lower-ss Magi had been significantly reduced. To encourage donating more, students could exchange their blood for increased ess to the Spirit Grave Albion. Previously, only fourth and fifth-year students that had some achievements would be able to gain ess to the Dungeon located beneath the Clock Tower but, as now was the most opportune time to increase the capabilities of all its Magi, a special exception had been made to allow students to buy time. Though their ess was still strictly regted and required to hand over most of what they harvested, they still stood to benefit greatlypared to how things had been in the past... At the same time that the directive had gone out, the Association Director also contacted Luvias Grandmother directly. They didnt make any demands persay, as the Edelfelt family had never been shy to confrontation, but promised that the matter of Grays Sealing Designation would be buried while the individual quota requirements would be significantly reduced. In exchange, the Director hoped that Luvias Grandmother would prevent her Granddaughter from saying anything that would sow even greater discourse within the Clock Tower. She agreed to do this, but only after having the Director promise to allow those associated with the Edelfelt family greater freedom in exchange for increased financial support and a few artifacts her family had secured over the centuries... Aftering to an ord, Luvia had gone rtively silent as, even though she was the Head of the family, she was very respectful of her Grandmother. There was also the simple fact that they had colluded together on this matter before she met with the Director so, after the meeting hade to an end, Luvia shared the good news with Rin, Sakura, Gray, and Olga. Thetter had already been in touch with her father and, after a series of long discussions, ultimately agreed to ally herself directly with the Edelfelts. Among the other three girls, Rin felt a great deal of relief as, with the Directors promise, she would be able to leave London without drawing too much attention. After the previous attack, any action taken against them would almost immediately throw the Clock Tower into even greater turmoil so they had a lot of freedom to move, at least until the current status quo changed once again. With that in mind, Rin didnt waste any time to renegotiate the terms of many of her contracts, using Luvias backing to even get out of the majority of them. Though some of her clients were less than understanding, they eventually showed leniency after entering into a direct contract with the Edelfelt family for even greater benefits than what Rin alone could offer. Then, though it was much sooner than she expected to leave, Rin, Sakura, Gray, and Olga were alighted from London via helicopter to the Edelfelts private Manor in Northern Irnd. The Manor served as both a stronghold and the center of operations for the familys Alluvial Gold mining in the region. It was a native alloy that could be found in streambeds, a very rare amalgamation of Gold and Silver that could be used to produce extremely valuable armaments due to its inherent purification capabilities. While the others were being secured in a safe location, Luvia still had her own affairs to deal with as, even though there was a lot going on in her life, she was still the Head of the family and needed to deal with their business partners. Now was actually an ideal time to reap several benefits and, much like her Ancestors, Luvia wasnt shy at all when it came to fishing in troubled waters. After all, there was a reason many of the other Aristocratic families referred to her family as the most elegant hyenas above the ground. If she panicked like the other families and missed out on all these new business opportunities, Luvia felt like she would have betrayed hundreds of years of her heritage. Since this also allowed her to draw focus away from Rin and the others, Luvia was more than willing to y the shark swimming amongst panicked fishes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dayum, Eresh, you scary...,The Edelfelts arent afraid to flex xD...,Luvia is not easily spooked (o 3 o)...) (A/N: It is amazing how tired you can feel when you sleep a lot xD. Im feeling much better today but, as everyone seems almost too worried, Ill go ahead and take it easy today as well. There will still be another chapterter, however, so look forward to it (^_^)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1149 - Experimentation

Chapter 1149 - Experimentation

Completely unaware of the plight that Rin and Gray had experienced, Vahn continued to pass his days in rtive peace, each day having various breakthroughs and small events that made life very fulfilling. Currently, his main focus was on the silvery-gold greatsword that was being suspended in an istion field atop a crystallized tform. There were several lines of magical energy rising from the tform, passing over the suspended de as it scanned the external and internal structure of Siegfrieds Noble Phantasm, Balmung. Below the tform, a four-dimensional disy was present that showed a three-dimensional view of the scanned sword while also disying the small world present within the massive blue gemstone embedded into its hilt. Though Siegfrieds power was almostparable to Artorias, to the point thetter could only edge out a victory with her [Mana Burst], his internal reserves were not quite the same as Artorias. His Dragon Heart was significantly weaker than the one Artoria had been given by the Welsh Dragon. This was the result of Artorias heart being given to her at the time of birth while Siegfried only gained his after ying Fafnir, bathing and consuming its blood in the process. As a result, Siegfrieds Dragon Heart was proactively trying to corrupt his body while Artorias had be an integral part of her person, greatly strengthening her beyond the limitations of her recorded parameters. Since Siegfried would gain an almost ridiculous boost to his Magical Energy output whenever he used Balmung, Vahn had asked if he could analyze and try to reverse engineer the masterfully crafted greatsword that had been produced by the Nibelungen family, a family of Dwarves that had existed in a Texture of the world during Siegfrieds time. Much like how Avalon was isted from the rest of the world, there were other areas in between the two primary Textures, the colloquial way in which the Surface and Reverse Sides of the World were referred to. Even the Mages Association had one of their most powerful branches, the Wandering Sea, within such an isted Texture. The reason for this was,pared to the Surface world, it was much easier to use Magecraft that was simr in structure and quality to those observed during the Age of the Gods. It was even possible to use one of these spaces to connect directly with the Reverse Side of the World, just like Vahn would be able to use the Holy Spear to create an anchor between the physical Avalon and the True Avalon. As for why this was important, it was due to the fact that the blue gemstone embedded within Siegfrieds Balmung also served as a simr anchor. Whenever he activated it, Siegfried was able to draw from a pool of mana from the Reverse Side of the World, allowing him to create arge energy de that glowed with the light of Twilight, containing both Holy and Demonic properties... Though Vahn could see through many things with his [Eyes of Truth], it was very difficult to analyze the structure of items that could be considered at, or near, the peak of Tier 4. Since he wasnt able to ce Balmung into his Inventory, Vahn was unable to determine its exact Grade. What he did know, however, was that the A+ rank of Siegfrieds Noble Phantasm was based on the power scaling of the Nasuverse itself. With that being the case, Vahn guessed its actual Grade was around the peak of SS, making it a masterpiece the current him was unable to forge. This didnt deter Vahn, however, as he was determined to improve his forging skills as, regardless of the number of Records he entered, the knowledge he had .u.mted regarding forging would never fade. Fortunately, as was often the case these days, Da Vinci was able to fill in the gaps in Vahns current capabilities. She had created the crystal tform in order to have the Nexus, whom she had named Ark, analyze the objects Vahn provided in her stead. Since she had a lot of projects she was working on, Da Vinci couldnt personally take the time to analyze everything he purchased from the system shop. The only downside to the system was that Ark could only analyze things ording to its own knowledge banks and, though Da Vinci had cheated the system by creating a memory fragment of herself to try and fill in the nks, it still needed to learn. This was where Vahn came in as, with the system shop, he was able to let Ark analyze things ording to its current capabilities which, with the passage of time, slowly increased to the point that it could analyze moreplex items. Ark had now been analyzing Balmung for the better part of three days and, whenever Vahn visited the workshop, he would monitor the progress while working to improve his Petting Laws. Da Vinci had, fortunately, put a little bit more thought into the idea of essentially making him a Conceptual Vessel that he would just manhandle at his convenience. Though it didnt really matter to her if he sat at the side ying with one of her bodies, Da Vinci felt this was very inefficient since she had no intention of imnting her conscience into it. Since the thought of an ego other than her own taking control of the body annoyed her a great deal, she instead invented something that would allow Vahn to practice his Petting Laws easily and conveniently. As a result of her efforts, Vahn now had a peculiar creature in his hands that looked vaguely like a Vanargandr that had been almost cartoonishly modified. Though it was almost entirely mechanical beneath its epidermalyers, it was very soft and smooth to the touch. It also had a big head that was covered in pink hair that formed severalrge clumps that gave it an appearance vaguely simr to Fenrir. Seated atop this mat of silky-smooth hair were tworge and malleable ears that were almost addicting to y with as the tiny figure sat atop Vahnsp with a nk expression on its face. Since it only had the most rudimentary programming, while also possessing extremely high resistance to his Petting Laws, Vahn had never managed to cause its tiny face andrge eyes to fluctuate even in the slightest... Since it had been designed for convenience, the small Vanargandr that had been named Skoll was only around 48cm tall, the average length of arge house cat. If counting its oversized ears and tail, it could reach around 70cm in length while also having a set of tiny paws on its hands and feet that had adorable little paw pads on their undersides. Fortunately, Da Vinci had enough wherewithal to not waste her efforts on trying to engineer any s.e.x.u.a.l organs and, as it was entirely mechanical at its core, the androgynous little robot was both adorable and ideal for trying to push his Petting Laws to the next level. Since it had a vague awareness, which was focuse on resisting his Petting Laws, Vahn would be able to ascertain his progress based on the color of its eyes and the reaction on its face, at least when he managed to reach a high enough proficiency to change its expression... The best thing about Skoll was that it was a universally loved addition to the castle as, with its adorable appearance and extreme petability, it wasnt all that umon to see it being snuggled by one of the girls or being hand-fed by Siegfried as he lightly stroked its head. This had almost prompted Da Vinci to mass-produce them to increase the data she was collecting but, as they were also equipped with monitoring devices in the form of eyes, but Vahn felt it would be weird to see a bunch of tiny Vanargandr running around. With Fenrir still present in the castle, it almost made it seem as if she had a bunch of cubs running around as they were all vaguely child-like. Though it was easy to see at a nce that they werent real. as theirrge eyes and disproportionate bodies made this very apparent, it was still a little uncanny just imagining a whole group of the small mechanical Vanargandr. Fortunately, instead of upsetting her, Fenrir was rather fond of Skoll and seemed to be using it to practice her own caretaking abilities. Vahn had even found her carrying around Skoll in a ko-hold while walking around the castle on her breaks. Since she was extremely sensitive to his presence, Vahn knew that Fenrir had allowed him to see her like that so, with the matter of children on the table for some of the other girls, Fenrirs name was added to the bunch. Though she still possessed an Ageless body, nothing was impossible if both parties were determined enough. If Fenrir genuinely wanted a child of her own, Vahn didnt mind making her wishe true as, more than anyone else, she had always supported him to the best of her ability... --- While squishing Skolls pliant cheeks with his hands, Vahn heard a small ding from the panel disying Balmungs structure. Turning his attention to the screen, Vahn saw a series of runes that read inconclusive before releasing a small sigh. This caught Da Vincis attention, causing her to look up from her current project, an upgrade to her mechanical arms. Seeing the disy, she issued a small giggle before remarking, "If it were so easy to analyze the Noble Phantasms of famous Heroes, that would be a little anti-climactic. You could try forging your own version and using that naming ability of yours to try and fill in the nks." As Vahn had exined many of his Innates to her, Da Vinci had quite a few ideas about how he could best use them. He had even named her current staff for her, naming it [Avalons Key] and promoting it from A-Rank to S-Rank in a single go. This had been extremely interesting to Da Vinci as, evenpared to her ability to form Conceptual Vessels, giving an True Name to an object was easily within the realm of True Magic. Hearing Da Vincis words, Vahn gave an understanding nod before cing Skoll on the ground and letting her wander over to her rest area, a plush cushion that looked like a pet. This caused Da Vinci to remove her goggles and smile, a reaction that Vahn knew meant she was slightly troubled. Even when he walked over to look at what she was working on, however, Da Vinci didnt say anything to deter him and instead exined, "Im incorporating an auto-repair function by having each of theponents that make up the arm have a binary state between energy and matter. When the arm is damaged, the affected parts will dematerialize before returning to the gemstone core within the joints. So long as the core is not damaged, the arm will be able to reconstitute itself so long as there is a constant supply of Magical Energy." Since Da Vinci had already made several innovations with her Requip system, the name she had assigned to the variable gemstones she had handed out to everyone within the castle, Vahn wasnt surprised she had pushed it even further. The only downside that he could see was that the structure of the arms would be rtively frail, as it wasprised of several smaller pieces, but Da Vinci had already remedied this by making bones to stabilize everything. This made it even more durable than it otherwise would have been as the interlinked pieces would be able topress and disperse force far better than a solid piece of metal. With the ability to instantaneously repair itself, Vahn could imagine this tech being adapted to Da Vincis golems with terrifying results... Seeing the look in Vahns eyes, Da Vinci immediately asked, "What did you think of?" in a curious tone. She had learned that Vahn had a very unique perspective on things and, though many of his ideas proved fruitless, he had given her a number of ideas that led to a few breakthroughs, saving her a surprising amount of time on innovating incrementally. Thus, whenever she saw Vahn suddenly have a thoughtful look in his eyes, Da Vinci was very curious about what he was thinking about. After listening to Vahn exin his idea of creating a central core for the micro-golems and having themworked together to automatically repair themselves when damaged, Da Vincis eyes began glittering as she immediately thought of creating a Queen to regte the other micro-golems. This would invalidate the need for the current Majors but, so long as she upgraded them a bit, there were other ways in which they could be made useful. The first thought that came to mind was making them into ry points to strengthen the signal between the Queen and the standard drone-type micro-golems... In a much better mood than the one she had been in when Vahn walked over, Da Vinci performed her habit of stroking an invisible beard, something that looked ratherical since she currently had the appearance of a young girl. Then, after hopping up from her seat, she gestured to Vahn, saying, "Here, let me express my gratitude. I prepared something special and now seems like a good time to collect some data~." With that said, Da Vinci skipped ahead of Vahn, using her surprisingly high Agility to quickly alight to the secret workshop where Arks central Nexus was located. By the time Vahn reached the rather cold chamber, kept below freezing to prevent Ark from overheating, Da Vinci had already propped her body up on a support tform before closing her eyes. Vahn already had some expectations when Da Vinci mentioned a reward so, at least at first, he wasnt all that surprised when her child-like body went limp. What did surprise him was one of the curtains that obstructed the view of Da Vincis Conceptual Vessels suddenly lowering as the sound of pressure being released echoed through the chamber. Then, even though she was still suspended in a subtle-blue liquid, Vahn was able to clearly see an unbelievably beautiful woman smiling back at him with a mischevious glint in her painting-like eyes. By pure instinct, Vahn swallowed hard as, a stark contrast to the youthful figure she was fond of using these days, the woman within the stasis liquid had a shapely and mature figure that caused Vahn to breathe a little faster as his vision waspletely captivated by her perfect form... Though he hadnt ced his Familia Crest on this version of Da Vincis body, Vahn could tell at a nce that she had to have the [Golden Rule: EX] skill. She had a standing height of 170cm and, rather than being slim and athletic, this version of Da Vinci had the figure of a femme fatale with a 90cm b.r.e.a.s.ts, a 64cm waist, and a plump 92cm hip size. Her thighs seemed pliant just by looking at them while her calves and feet were well-structured to give her body an ideal bnce. Vahn felt that even Helen wouldnt be able to rival the current Da Vinci though, considering the former had an Innate that made her the most beautiful, it would be difficult to determine this if they were side-by-side. When the crystallized liquid keeping her body in stasis melted and drained away, Da Vinci took a breath of fresh air before smiling radiantly as she mused, "I can already tell from your reaction that my efforts were not in vain. However, I will have you provide a detailed ounting once we are finished..." As she spoke, Da Vinci sn.a.k.e.d her h.i.p.s while slowly walking over and, without stopping, wrapped her arms around Vahns neck before pressing her body against his. This caused him to have a surprisingly innocent reaction, holding out both his hands without touching her directly as he swallowed audibly before asking, "What did you have in mind...?" Turning her eyes up at him in response, Da Vinciined, "Vahn...will you only be happy if I say it directly? I made this body specifically for you so it would be a shame if you didnt use it properly..." This time, being even more direct, Da Vinci reached between Vahns thighs with her right hand, her eyes fixed on his without waving in the slightest. In response to this, Vahn breathed in through his nose while looking down into Da Vincis eyes, his own zing with an appreciative light. There was a very powerful aroma wafting up from her body that caused his brain to buzz but, as he had grown borderline immune to such things as a result of yas presence, Vahn didnt lose himself to baser instincts. Though it had only been a few seconds since she teased him, Da Vinci squinted her eyes just as Vahn was about to ce his hands on her body. This caused him to turn statuesque, almost as if he was afraid to break something extremely valuable, allowing Da Vinci to lick her lips in a seductive manner before whispering into his ear, "Take me, Vahn. I want to feel you inside me. I dont care what you do, even if my body breaks. Dont worry, I can always make an even stronger one in the future~." With this said, Da Vinci tried to kiss Vahns neck but, as ya had still been present, she found herself receiving something akin to an electrical shock that startled her into releasing Vahns body. With Da Vinci releasing him, Vahn was able to release a pent-up sigh as he picked up ya by her fringe and said, "Give us a bit of privacy..." This caused ya to immediately vanish into thin air and, even though she couldnt see the small blue creature, Da Vinci asked, "Did I just try to nibble on one of the Counter Forces? How interesting...ufufu..." As ya was her second-highest priority, Da Vinci was interested in analyzing and researching her. This was, unfortunately, something that would have to be done indirectly as, despite several upgrades to her goggles, she was unable to detect even the smallest sign of yas existence without Vahn having her manifest directly. While issuing a light chuckle in response to the n.a.k.e.d Da Vinci suddenly entering into thinking mode, Vahn stepped toward her and attempted to wrap his hands around her waist. This was enough to bring at least her main process back to its senses, resulting in Da Vinci cing her hands on his chest and saying, "Lets move this to the bedroom. It is a bit cold here and I dont feel like cleaning up after the fact..." As there were a lot of things she intended to try, Da Vinci didnt want to identally damage any of the delicate tools and mechanisms she kept stowed away in her private workshop. Though Ark would be able to collect more data if they made love next to the Nexus, this was something Da Vinci intended to doter, only after she developed a few countermeasures in response to Vahns intensity... Though it was surprisingly hard to resist pushing her down right in the middle of the workshop, Vahn managed to retain his sensibilities as he swept Da Vincis impossibly light body off the ground. Her appearance should have put her around 58kg but, after picking her up, Vahn could tell she was only 42kg, once again making her much lighter than she should be. Since now was a good opportunity to learn more about her, Vahn wanted to see if he could discover the secret behind her reduced weight but, before any of that, he ced Da Vinci in her bed. Following this, though sheined about making a mess of her bed, Da Vinci allowed Vahn to take the lead, watching with an extreme amount of interest visible in her eyes as he began teaching her everything he knew about the nightly rtions between men and women... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Universal Petting Idol, Skoll-chama,Vahn is a bad influence on Da Vinci-chan xD...,Practical lessons are the most effective kind ( ? ?? ?)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1150 - The Hearts True Form

Chapter 1150 - The Heart''s True Form

Vahn quickly realized that having s.e.x with Da Vinci was going to be significantly different than his past experiences. Though her face had a healthy blush on it, the focus in Da Vincis eyes didnt fade even after he helped loosen her up for nearly twenty minutes straight. Both his tongue and fingers were very dexterous and, though it felt like he was bing absentminded due to the aroma emanating from her body, Vahn was confident in his skills. Even without asking, he knew she was lessening her burden by having her sub-processes focus on other things, leaving only a handful to pay attention to what they were doing. Still, even with her stoic and observant expression, there were moments when Da Vincis body would tense up, causing her toes to curl as her h.i.p.s twitched madly. It was at these moments that Vahn realized he was very reliant on his ability to see and feel the internal structure of his partner as, without being able to sense Da Vincis rhythm, he had to learn and memorize all of her sensitive spots by memory and intuition alone... Fortunately, due to her body being perfect, Vahn actually had a lot of experience to work from after dealing with Goddesses like Freya. With his [Hands of Nirvana], he could send constant echoes of pleasure through Da Vincis body and, though her eyes didnt waver, it was obvious she was feeling it from how sloppy and steamy her pliant cavern had be. Vahn almost felt like he was drinking from a leaky tap, savoring the somewhat bitter yet sickly sweet nectar flowing endlessly from Da Vincis body. He knew she had to have some kind of skill rted to her aroma and taste as, with the exception of Elves and Goddesses like Demeter, he couldnt recall anyone more pleasant to go down on... Though he could have continued for a while, it was Da Vinci who eventually pat his head around the twenty-minute mark, her voice tinged with heat as she informed, "Im more than ready...I appreciate your efforts...but this is a bit much...dont you think...?" Even if she was rtively calm, that didnt mean Da Vinci was able topletely ignore the state of her body. Her breathing was bing steadily more ragged while an ache she had never experienced before spread through her body, carrying a pleasant yet frustrating heat along with it. In her past life, which she had set aside from the very moment Vahn called her into this world, Da Vinci had believed the rtions between men and women were sickening. Da Vinci had died a v.i.r.g.i.n as a result of being fonder of men than women, a secret she had only shared with her contemporary, Michngelo. Unfortunately, she didnt realize untilter in her life that she hadnt actually hated the idea of men and women being together; she resented the fact she couldnt be the woman receiving the passionate attention of the few men she respected. Thus, in theter years of her life, Da Vinci attempted to design the perfect body she wished could have been her own, using the wife of one of the men she had loved as a temte to create her ideal beauty. Now that she had been reborn, only moments after epting her death, Da Vinci was determined to experience the things she had missed out on in life... When Vahn set her h.i.p.s down on the bed, Da Vinci brought herself to a seated position before cing her hands on his chest and trying to push him back. Vahn was, thankfully, very cooperative as, in an effort to experience what a normal woman would go through, Da Vinci hadnt put much focus into increasing the parameters of this body. Then, after licking her lips in a seductive manner that caused Vahns brows to rise as she said, "Ive always wanted to try this...now its my turn to help you get ready..." With that said, Da Vinci moved her hair aside before bending hunching her body over in a surprising disy of flexibility as she unhesitantly took Vahns ns into her mouth. This wasnt the most surprising part, however, as Da Vinci seemed intent to discover her limits as she angled her head and neck in an attempt to try and take his full length all at once... Though he would normally take the lead in these kinds of situations, Vahn knew the rtionship between him and Da Vinci was distinctly different than his other rtionsh.i.p.s. In a way, they were better friends than they were lovers and, instead of focusing more on the emotional connection of having s.e.x, it was clear that Da Vinci was more focused on the experience of s.e.x itself. She was the type that wanted to try many different things and, as he was also more than a little curious to see what she would learn, Vahn just rested his hand on the back of Da Vincis head and enjoyed her exploration of his body. To her credit, she was a very quick learner and, after only twenty seconds of trying to adjust herself, Da Vinci had ced her hands on his h.i.p.s before angling her head in such a way that the tip of his p.e.n.i.s curved into her throat, bringing her lips her his mons pubis in a single decisive motion. Though this made Da Vinci gag, it was a rtively muted reaction as she had already prepared herself before the attempt. Then, while he was still making a slight bulge in her throat, Da Vinci did something that caused a shiver to run up Vahns spine as her mouth formed a vacuum around his member before slowly pulling away from his h.i.p.s. If he were a normal man, Vahn felt like his ns might have exploded from the almost unbelievable amount of suction that was only lessened when Da Vinci exhaled through her nose after failing to move any further. From her perspective, it felt like her lungs were going to copse from the pressure differential so she gave Vahn some leniency without bursting his almost painfully swollen ns. Then, after releasing it from her mouth, Da Vinci grabbed Vahns member with her left hand before twirling her tongue around the slightly pulsing ns and trying several other techniques, each more masterful than thest... After almost twenty minutes on the dot, Da Vinci flicked her tongue onest time on Vahns urethra beforementing, "You were supposed to have ejacted by now. Am I doing something wrong?" As Vahn was undoubtedly the expert on such things, Da Vinci could only defer to him since she was still inexperienced. Though she could tell her techniques were effective, to the point it actually made her a little happy to see some of Vahns reactions, it was clearly not enough since Vahns p.e.n.i.s only produced an infinite supply of surprisingly sweet pre-c.u.m without ever releasing what she had been anticipating. Her only experience was tasting her own in the past, a rather bitter and embarrassing memory, so Da Vinci wanted to know Vahns taste to overwrite that distasteful memory... Since he had been caught up in experiencing Da Vincis various techniques, Vahn realized he had been instinctually holding himself back. He had the habit of matching the rhythm of the woman he was with and, without being able to sense the internal structure of Da Vincis body, Vahn had been more focused on himself than their shared experience. This was rather embarrassing, especially when he had to give a wry smile and exin, "You did well...sorry, this one is my bad. If you want, we can continue..." As it was very rare for him to ever have to make excuses when having s.e.x, Vahn had forgotten how awkward it felt. This reaction seemed to appease Da Vinci, however, as she gave an elegant giggle before grabbing his member with both hands, massaging it as she lightly sucked on the tip. This time, Vahn was paying more attention and, as it was very clear Da Vinci was expecting him to ejacte, he answered her expectations without much suspense. To her credit, Da Vinci hadnt been caught off guard in the least and, instead of identally choking, she used her tongue to block the back of her throat, allowing Vahns s.e.m.e.n to build in her mouth before she began swallowing it inrge audible gulps. She was surprised by the volume but, consider who she was with, Da Vinci just credited it to Vahns propensity for excess. He was the type that always tried to perform beyond expectations, allowing Da Vinci to understand he was trying to surprise her. Eventually, she had to squeeze the base of his member since there was an almost steady flow of the uncharacteristically sweet yet viscous liquid, to the point she could hardly keep up with swallowing it due to how it would stick to her throat... As Fenrir was the only person who was fond of fetio, at least in his current Record, Vahn knew he had gone a bit overboard when Da Vinci suddenly tried to stimy the flow by squeezing the base of his p.e.n.i.s. She had been gulping it down rather fervently so he assumed she had been enjoying the taste, perhaps using it to rechange her own internal reserves. It was currently impossible for him to know what exactly was taking ce inside her body so, without Da Vinci clearly exining things to him, Vahn could only make assumptions based on her reactions. After endeavoring to prevent any spige, Da Vinci finally raised her head, her brow now dotted with small beads of sweat as she looked up at Vahn with an expression filled with me and said, "I know I said you could do whatever you want with this body, but Id rather avoid choking to death on your s.e.m.e.n..." These words caused Vahns face to be slightly red, his eyes wandering around in their sockets as if he were looking for an excuse. Da Vinci found this reaction somewhat adorable as, in most circ.u.mstances, Vahn was generally veryposed. She was now seeing apletely new side of him and, though it felt like she was wasting time on these interactions, Da Vinci was surprised by the fact she didnt actually mind it all that much... While Vahn was fumbling for an excuse within his mind, Da Vinci decided it would be interesting to take the initiative herself. Though she had already realized this long ago, Vahn was surprisingly easy to tease if you knew how to push his buttons. She had been intending to let him do whatever he wanted, as it had been her dream for many years to receive the passionate affection of a man, but Da Vinci was quickly learning that it felt unexpectedly fulfilling to be more aggressive. Seeing Vahns reactions made her heart palpitate, followed by a release of dopamine that would make her brain tingle. This, whenbined with the subtle echoes of pleasure still present within her body, caused Da Vinci to smile so much that her eyes were slightly squinted as she pushed Vahn onto his back and said, "Ill ept your apology..." Though she didnt put it in herself, Da Vinci began to grind against Vahns member, pressing it into his muscr abdomen as her own love juices continued to flow endlessly, filling in the fleshy creases and making his skin glisten beneath her. Then, taking the hint, Vahn grabbed Da Vincis impossibly soft butt with his left hand, raising her h.i.p.s slightly as he fixed his angle with his right. So long as they didnt take things too far, Vahn didnt mind if a woman wanted to ride him for a bit. Since it was her first time, it was better for Da Vinci to go at her own pace and, though this position was actually very dangerous for a v.i.r.g.i.n, Vahn knew it was important for her to learn and experience things in a way she wasfortable with... Feeling the almost unbearably hot ns probe near the entrance of her cavern, Da Vincis bit her lower lip as her eyes changed for the first time since they started. It was obvious that she wanted to experience her first time directly, causing a slight moisture to build over her painting-like eyes as she slowly lowered her h.i.p.s. Vahn helped guide her at the correct angle until he reached an extremely narrow yet pliant obstruction that caused Da Vincis insides to tense upon contact. She was almost too tight, perhaps as a result of a misunderstanding Da Vinci had about women, causing Vahn to inhale sharply when the upper third of his p.e.n.i.s was suddenly squeezed like it was in a fleshy vice. To exacerbate matters even further, Da Vinci began to wiggle her h.i.p.s as she tried to lower her weight against him in a misguided attempt to break her own h.y.m.e.n. This caused Vahns p.e.n.i.s to bend at a painful angle before he quickly pulled her butt up, forcing her toy against his chest and denying her attempt to break his p.e.n.i.s... Realizing she had made a mistake, Da Vinci gave an awkward smile as she rxed her body against Vahns and muttered, "I guess I owe you an apology now....ufuuu..." This caused Vahn tough as, though it had been a very shocking experience, the pain had already faded as he began pressing into the pressure points around Da Vincis lower back and butt. Even against his [Hands of Nirvana], she was surprisingly resistant but, as he could even affect immortals like Eva, it didnt take all that long before Vahn had her insides twitching as her vice-like hold on his p.e.n.i.s began to ease up. Then, by raising his own h.i.p.s and using Da Vincis weight, Vahn slowly buried himself deeper inside her steamy cavern as she released a hot and slightly pained breath against his neck. For several minutes following the breaking of her h.y.m.e.n, Vahn just held Da Vincis body, caressing her in a gentle manner until shemented, "I didnt expect something like pain to actually make me feel closer to you...my brain is producing a c.o.c.ktail of chemicals right now...fuuuu..." Towards the end of her words, Da Vinci cautiously moved her h.i.p.s as, with Vahns hot ns poking against her cervix, she began to feel a painful itch that needed to be scratched. When even small movements caused little flicks of white light to invade the periphery of her vision, Da Vinci realized she might have made her body too sensitive. Since one of her more sincere desires was to experience the pleasure of a woman, just having Vahn inside her caused more than half her processes to focus on this singr moment... Using Da Vincis own movements as a trigger, Vahn moved his hands to her plump posterior, sinking his fingers into the pliant flesh as he began to gently rock her h.i.p.s up and down. This caused Da Vinci to squeeze her eyes shut as she tucked her head into the nape of his neck, squishing her soft b.r.e.a.s.ts against him in the process. Her body was reminiscent of Hestias in softness,bined with the sensual and mature features of someone like Anubis or Hephaestus. It was almost addicting just to have her tightly hugging him while he slowly maneuvered himself to explore the cavern she had painstakingly constructed just for him. Once she gained a bit of experience, Vahn knew Da Vinci would actually be a little scary to have s.e.x with, especially since he had no way of knowing exactly what was going on inside her body... With the passage of time, Da Vinci was gradually adapting to the increased levels of pleasure, to the point she had enough wherewithal to begin kissing around his neck and jaw. Though she never tried to get anywhere near his lips, Vahn didnt question it and just continued to focus on his movements and the reaction of Da Vincis body. When her began to gradually descend, followed by ripples of vibrations through her entire body, Vahn timed his own release with a particrly intense wave of pleasure that caused Da Vinci to release a nasally and high pitched m.o.a.n as her legs squeezed his h.i.p.s in response. Then, catching Vahn by surprise, Da Vincis insides gradually began to heat up until it quickly crested over 70 degrees Celsius, a temperature that would have overkilled a normal human being... When she realized something was wrong, rity was suddenly returned to Da Vincis eyes as she weakly lifted her body with Vahns aid and began to blink confusedly. Then, understanding he was also very concerned, Da Vinci exined, "There is a ridiculous amount of Magical Energy contained within your s.e.m.e.n. This body has the ability to process the bodily fluids of a Magus to increase its own internal reserves. Your s.e.m.e.n is overloading my capacity to process it...well, this body was just meant to test out your capabilities and experiment a bit. I can make a new one in a few days that is more durable..." As she said this, Da Vinci held up her arm so that Vahn could see theplex Magic Circuits, which were normally invisible, glowing with an increasing amount of intensity. Since she didnt want Vahn to have the experience of killing someone with his lovemaking, Da Vinci quickly extricated his member from his body before nearly copsing on the bed. Fortunately, Vahn immediately came to her support, eliciting a smile from Da Vinci as she said, "Carry me back to my workshop. I want to see if I can analyze your s.e.m.e.n while it is within this body...maybe a flesh and blood container would prevent it from dissipating..." Since he was very aware that something was wrong, Vahn listened to Da Vincis demands and bridal carried her into her secret workshop. Then, following her instructions, he ced her body, now covered almost head to toe in vibrant blue Magic Circuits, into the stasis container. When the pressure-resistant ss formed a seal, the inside quickly filled up with a pale blue liquid before crystalizing around Da Vincis body which, until the very end, had aforting smile on its face... As the light faded from the mature Da Vincis eyes, her younger self came to life over on the support tform she had staged it previously. She had a slightly surprised look on her face as she lightly rubbed her belly and said, "How interesting...there is a residual influence of your energy even on this body. You really are quite something, Vahn. I think your Petting Laws arent the only thing youve been honing in your recreational time. The next body I make, Ill make sure to keep in mind that youre essentially a God of S.e.x, ufufufu~." After teasing Vahn a bit, Da Vinci tried to step off her tform, underestimating the influence of the ambient energy that had seemingly piggybacked along with her soul. Her legs felt powerless as she tumbled toward the ground, only to find her fall prevented when Vahn quickly scooped her up, a worried expression on his face as he said, "You should rest..." This elicited a sonorous giggle from Da Vinci as she cupped the side of his face with her right hand and said, "Only if yoully with me..." If she were to be honest, Da Vinci was still in the mood to do a lot more with Vahn but, as this body was not intended for such functions, she at least wanted him to take responsibility andfort her until she could calm down... Understanding there wasnt any innuendo contained within Da Vincis words, Vahn gave a curt nod before carrying her back to the bedroom. When they reached the surprisingly warm room, Vahn set Da Vinci in afortable chair before quickly changing the bedding. This earned him another giggle from Da Vinci as she muttered, "I dont mind using the old bedding. Im not ashamed of the fluids my own body produced..." Vahnrgely ignored thisment as he knew Da Vinci was only trying to tease him but, instead of tossing the previous bedding into his Inventory, he rolled it up into a ball and set it at the side since there was a good chance Da Vinci would actually want to use it for something. By the time Vahn had finished cleaning up, Da Vinci had already adjusted her clothing so that she was wearing a pure white babydoll styled nightgown. It was slightly transparent but, so long as there was no light behind her, it was only noticeable if you were looking closely. Since the fabric reached her knees, Vahn decided not toin as, even if Da Vincis current body had the appearance of a young girl, she was still more than sixty-eight years old. Even if another sixty years passed, she would remain in this form so, even though he had no intention of doing anything with her, Vahn ced her in the same category of girls such as Kali, Amaterasu, and Liliruca. With that in mind, he surprised Da Vinci a little when he picked her up without any hesitation beforeying her down on the bed. Since she was still affected by what they were doing previously, Da Vincis face gained a healthy blush as a slightly expectant look appeared in her eyes. Vahn, however, just lightly stroked her head, picking a few loose strange of hair from her face before kissing her exposed forehead and climbing in bed alongside her. Then, after loosely hugging her waist from behind, Vahn found himself enjoying the flowery-sweet fragrance wafting from Da Vincis body as the two spent a few hours resting, albeit without sleeping even a wink... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Poor Da Vinci-chan. It must have sucked living in a world where not only her work, but even her orientation was restricted by the times...,Da Vincis Ara Ara instincts...,Vahns over here bullying Da Vinci-chan (x ^ x)...) (A/N: I was originally going to gloss over the first time between Vahn and Da Vinci but, seeing how many people expressed an interest in it, I decided to detail it for research purposes xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1151 - Shift

Chapter 1151 - Shift

After his first time with Da Vinci, it was very apparent that things had changed between them as, even though she still focused on her work during the day, Da Vinci would take short ten-to-twenty minute breaks during the evening to help Vahn practice his Petting Laws. This often took the form of her sitting in hisp, reclining against his chest with closed eyes as Vahn either stroked her head or massaged around her neck and shoulders. Though he had decided to treat Da Vinci simrly to how he would other women of her stature, Vahn had no intention of doing anything more intimate than simply touching. As Da Vinci seemed to share this sentiment, their time together became a means for her to simply rx and ease the tensions of her body as, for the most part, Da Vinci never really took breaks before. Other than his developing rtionship with Da Vinci, everything else had be rtively routine, the only exceptions being when Vahn would go on a moonlit stroll or spend some quality time with one, or more, of the girls. He had even gone skinny dipping with Nobunaga and Fenrir in the middle of the night, a rather memorable experience in the seemingly endless stream of peaceful days. Even the moments where he was getting thrashed by Scthach had be something Vahn had almostpletely adapted to. He had started to incorporate his [Rakshasa Body] transformations into his fighting style more often so, except when she used a particrly fierce blow, Vahn had been holding up much better than in the past. It was to the point that, even if she stabbed through his head with her spear, Vahn could now counterattack as if his body didnt actually require his brain to function... As a result of his progress on various fronts, Vahn was living an extremely contented life where every day felt meaningful, even if it also felt like a seamless coge of small events. Not everyone had the same mentality, however, as Astolfo had been joining him and Siegfried for drinks after Da Vincis golems had renovated a rather homely pub within the abandoned Castle Town. Currently, Vahn was seated next to a drunk Astolfo who, despite joining them for mens time, was wearing a frilly pink dress with ribbons tying up his hair. On his right, Siegfried was also present but, as it was extremely difficult for him to get drunk, he had acent smile on his face as he fed small treats to Skoll. After taking another hearty gulp of the contents of his mug, Astolfo released a high-pitched and hot sigh before mming his mug on the tabletop and eximing, "Im sooooo bored~!" Though the ind of Avalon was a very interesting ce to explore, all of the most interesting ces were off-limits and, after more than six months within the Orb, Astolfo had seen almost everything the ind had to offer. He had started training again after receiving a physical body from Vahn but, even when he had been alive in his previous life, Astolfo had relied primarily on his inherent talent than earnest training. Since his wish had been to explore the world, he was growing increasingly bored being cooped up on the ind with only the same people to interact with on a daily basis... Hearing Astolfosint, Vahn issued a light chuckle while habitually stroking his head to calm him down. This caused Astolfo to rest his head on the countertop, his mouth wriggling in a strange manner as he enjoyed having his head pat. In response to this, Skoll began to totter over from where it had been seated before Siegfried, intercepting Vahns hand as if all petting in the world belonged to it. Astolfo made a yful boo boo sound but, as Skoll was not yet capable ofplex thoughts, it just sat down in front of Vahn to receive head pats. Astolfo lifted his head with a dejected look, once again repeating, "It really ish borink aroun here though...Vaaaaahn, letsh go ecshplore the outshide worl~" As he spoke, Astolfo threw his arms around Vahn and began to nuzzle against him without regard for their difference in status. This caused Vahn to release a sigh but, as he was already used to the behavior of his peculiar Knight, he didnt mind it too much so long as Astolfo didnt get handsy. From the side, Siegfried watched the interaction between Vahn and Astolfo with a slight smile on his face before emptying the contents of his own ss. Though he was still the same taciturn and polite man as before, he hade to enjoy the peaceful atmosphere within the Orb. Unlike Astolfo, he didnt mind if things stayed like this indefinitely as it was infinitely better than wandering from one battlefield to the other, corpses piling up around him... After extricating himself from Astolfos grasp, Vahn handed Skoll over to him while saying, "Ive also been thinking about checking up on Rin, Sakura, and Gray. I missed New Years so I owe them a few presents..." The moment these words left his mouth, Astolfo looked toward Vahn was unnervingly fiery eyes, the only thing preventing him from trying to leap at Vahn being the fact he was currently holding Skoll. As they shared the same hair color, and were both cute, Astolfo had always been fond of the small Vanargandr-type golem. Thus, even while drunk, Astolfo let Skoll sit in hisp while ying with its ears, all the while the small creature just looked up at Vahn with its pink eyes which, if you looked closely, had an aperture instead of a normal pupil... Though he managed to resist the urge to pounce, Astolfo still leaned forward slightly as he loudly eximed, "I want to go outshide ash well! I promish I wont get into any trooooouble~." As if his legend wasnt one of a well-known troublemaker, Astolfo had an excited smile on his face as he continued to flop Skolls ears with his hands. Seeing this, Vahn shook his head with an amused expression on his face, saying, "Ill talk to Catherine in order toe up with an itinerary for you. I trust you, Astolfo, so I will be very disappointed if you end up causing trouble as a result of your actions. If an enemyes to you, thats one thing...just keep in mind that Catherine is still weak and many of our enemies would not hesitate to use underhand means to target both of you..." In response to Vahns concern, Astolfo hopped up from his stool, holding Skoll up with both hands as he confidently shouted, "I will never endanger the people I cherish! Even if I get into trouble, I will make sure it doesnt affect anyone but myself...!" Though he was drunk, Astolfo managed to get his words out without fumbling, making clear his resolution to protect the things important to him. As this was all Vahn could really ask for, even though Astolfos trouble would undoubtedly be his, he gave an approving nod before raising up his ss and remarking, "A toast. To the brave and noble Astolfo-chan~!" As Astolfo was rather fond of being addressed with chan, Vahn decided to tease the somewhat overbearing Knight. As expected, Astoflo began tough in a peculiar ahahahahaha~ manner in a high-pitched tone of voice. His snaggletooth was on full disy as he began to wave Skoll over his head in an excited manner before nearly tumbling to the ground when he began to want for oxygen. Fortunately, evenpletely drunk, Astoflos bnce wasnt entirelypromised so he managed to find his footing before remarking, "Im gonna go tell Kitty the good newsh~" With that said, Astolfo, still carrying Skoll, ran out of the small pub with shaky yet swift steps. As for the Kitty he was referring to, this was the pet name that Astolfo had given Catherine after she allowed him to shorten her name to Cat. Now that it was just him and Siegfried, Vahn began tough in a lighthearted manner while, after a few seconds, even Siegfried gave a short chuckle. Then, as it was a good opportunity, Vahn asked if there were any ces Siegfried might want to visit in the future. He wasnt all that surprised when thetter inly answered, "I like this ce. I understand that it is better to know more about the world but, unless it is by your order, I would prefer to spend my days protecting Avalon and the Ivory Castle." Knowing it would be a little difficult for him to refuse to aid others if he were to begin traveling, Siegfried was sincere when expressing his intention to protect the peaceful home he had grown fond of. After hearing Siegfrieds answer, Vahn emptied nearly half his mug in one go before releasing a hot and contented sigh of his own. He actually thought it might be fun to travel around the world for a bit with Siegfried as, in more ways than one, their natures were very simr. Vahn was just as weak to helping people as this quiet friend of his, meaning their journey would involve helping almost everyone they came across. Though he had promised Artoria to avoid throwing the world into too much turmoil all at once, that was a promise made before the lingering threat of Angra Mainyu was introduced into the world. Understanding that his own power could be greatly enhanced if he had arge number of followers, Vahn was seriously considering rallying the people of various countries together with the fate of the world on the line. The problem with this was that all three major powers would not take kindly to such actions but, as the days continued to flow into each other, Vahn was beginning to feel like he needed to take an open stance against them in the near future. Though it would be ideal if they could work together, at least for the time being, Vahn knew such cooperation would onlye after he made them realize it simply wasnt worth it to try and oppose him directly... While thinking of potential enemies and allies, Vahn decided to confer with his ever-present bluepanion, picking her up by the scruff and setting her down on the countertop before asking, "ya, can you tell me how many people in this world are more powerful than me? Are there any serious threats I need to be aware of before revealing myself to the world...?" Though he didnt expect her to have a favorable answer, as even yas omniscience couldnt probe ces that had powerful barriers if they were expressly designed to keep her out. She was unable to take proactive measures until she had identified a threat and, even then, she had to rely on her Counter Guardians and simr existences to act on her behalf. In an admittedly adorable manner, ya tilted her squirrel-like head to the side, blinking her violet eyes as she answered, "Ick the means to answer this question urately. Based on your battle with the Heroic Spirit known as Gilgamesh, the vast majority of entities within this world do not pose a direct threat to you. However, there are some amongst the entities known as the Twenty Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors that the current you would not be able to match. There are also several pseudo-Beasts of Gaia, Divine Spirits, Nature Spirits, and Daemons that you would have functionally no means to fight against. The greatest threat to your existence is the Holy Church as, if they skew the public to recognize you as a threat, their Sacrament will be even more powerful against you." As he hadnt expected ya to be so forthright with her information, Vahn was slightly taken aback by her long exnation. She didnt seem quite finished, however, tilting her head to the other side in a way he understood was supposed to seem cute, adding, "If you continue biding your time here, you will be grossly unprepared for the battle against Angra Mainyu. Since I would rather not see humanity wiped out as a result of yourcency, I suggest using your Administrative privileges to establish contact with the entity designated as Type: Mercury. Even if you must wage war against the world before the emergence of Angra Mainyu, it is preferable to seeing all of humanity wiped out just because you are more interested in breeding than taking more decisive action..." Now, Vahn was more than slightly taken aback as, even though he spent half his time resting, he was still earnestlymitted to his training. He was still weaker than his peak in Danmachi but, even without his overbearingly expansive reserves, powered by his millions of followers, Vahn was slowly starting to reach that point. His Od had jumped up to more than seventeen-thousand points and, if he went all out, it was even possible to guarantee hits on Scthach. Hearing ya basically say all his efforts were wasted left a bad taste in Vahns mouth, even though he could also empathize with her if taking her perspective into consideration. After all, she was a Tier 5 entity and, as the other half of Gaia, ya was undoubtedly aware of quite a few enemies he currently had no hope of defeating. She had even named off several different categories without even asking him to pay up any Magical Energy, indicating she was more than a little annoyed with how he had been living for thest six-and-a-half months... Instead of wasting his time arguing with her, Vahn asked, "Where can I find Type: Mercury? Will they even be willing to help us...?" Though he knew he had the authority tomand the other Types, Vahn wasnt actually all that certain how strong they were. He had purchased quite a few doc.u.ments rted to them but most of the ounts were from the distant future. Even then, the information was rather sparse, indicating that their method of storing information didnt directly involve naming the doc.u.ments after the Types themselves. As for what he knew of Type: Mercury, it was one of the only Types that should be present on Earth right now as, instead of arriving with the others between six and eight-thousand years int he future, it had arrived nearly seven-thousand years ago, five-thousand years before the end of the Age of Gods... In response to Vahns inquiry, ya held up her tiny paws, forming a blue projection of the Earth with a small red icon in the north-western region of Brazil. It was a few hundred kilometers south of the Amazon River in an area that, when cross-referenced with his own maps of the region, matched the location of a restricted nature preserve. Though he was a little surprised that ya had given him this information for free, Vahn realized he already had the authority to know where the Types were located. She was just doing the duty that had been assigned to her, not performing an action that required her to expend Magical Energy at his request. After letting Vahn view the globe for a few seconds, ya dropped her paws, allowing the projection to dissipate as she asked, "Is there anything else?" She seemed more impatient than normal, causing Vahns brows to rise as he asked, "Is something wrong with you...?" Though he understood that she was annoyed with his inaction, ya rarely showed as much emotion as she currently disyed. It was actually a little cute as, for the time being, she was still in her sleek little blue-squirrel form. Hearing Vahn ask her even more questions, ya furrowed her brows almost imperceptibly without deigning to answer him. She just stared back at him with her violet eyes, unmoving as she waited for him to either ask a pertinent question or make a request. This continued for well over a minute with neither side wavering in the slightest, at least until Vahn broke the tension by taking a drink from his mug while continuing to watch ya. She seemed to interpret that as him saying there was nothing else, resulting in her attempt totch onto his neck before Vahn sternlymanded, "Stop. You do not have permission to drain my body fluids right now..." As it was very apparent that ya was behaving strangely, Vahn was determined to have her answer his question. He could always make up for the loss of Magical Energyter on so, until she exined what was wrong, Vahn didnt intend to let yatch onto his neck, even if it felt strange not having her biting onto him... Since she was unable to disobey Vahns orders, ya hovered in the air with a now nk expression on her face. Vahn just continued to watch her float there,pletely ignoring gravity, until he had finished his drink. Siegfried continued to politely ignore the conversation urring next to him as, even if he could see ya, he had no business talking with her. Once he had finished his ss, Vahn once again asked, "What is wrong with you? Unless you are not allowed to tell me, I order you to exin..." Thismand caused ya to float backward a few centimeters, small golden runes shing across her eyes. Vahn knew this to mean that she was in contact with Akasha, indicating she was either making an inquiry or receiving amand. When the runes faded away, ya made the first pouting expression Vahn had ever seen on her face as she looked toward him and answered, "Constant ess to your bodily fluids has caused this body to develop a physical dependency. As it has slowly been strengthening my vessel, I would rather not waste my time answering pointless questions. We both benefit from-" Before ya could continue any further, Vahn could help but release a boisterousugh which, surprising him yet again, caused the small blue squirrel to extend her palm forward. In the next moment, Vahn found that his voice had bepletely inaudible, almost as if he was in a vacuum. Though this sessfully stopped hisughter, Vahn stared toward ya with a yful expression on his face as he mouthed the words, "My questions arent pointless. If you were less resistant to interacting with me, the efficacy of my bodily fluids would actually increase. How about, instead of leeching off my neck all the time, you split your time between absorbing my Magical Energy and trying to actually build rapport with me? Instead of trying to use pheromones to make me have s.e.x with you, why not try emting the people you represent and try to build friendly rtions? You should know my character well enough by now...at this rate, unless there was an emergency, I would probably never sleep with you..." Instead of forming an answer of her own, Vahn watched as yas eyes began to dance with lines of pale golden runes once again. This caused him to sigh as, in a way, ya was a prisoner that simply couldnt go against her programming, even though she was a sentient Tier 5 being. It was for this reason that Vahn wanted to advance his Petting Laws further as, using Da Vincis mechanical golems as a basis, it shouldnt be impossible to break her free of the influence of Akasha and the Root. This could have potentially disastrous consequences but, if his intuition proved correct, Akasha and her superiors wouldnt actually care all that much. From the moment he was designated as the priority observation target within the experiment, Vahn felt like they wanted him to break the system. In the future, they would likely use the data they collected from observing him, using it to make a moreplex system that contained an entirely new multiverse, host to quintillions of lives... When the runes faded from yas eyes this time, she had a surprisingly dejected look on her face, even though others might interpret it as her characteristic expressionless look. Though they hardly interacted with each other, Vahn felt a close bond with his little shoulder squirrel as, for thest six-and-a-half months, she was almost always present. Then, causing Siegfried to look over in interest, ya transformed into a simr appearance to Skoll while allowing her body to be visible to others. She still had her pale blue skin and, instead of the tiny dress Skoll wore on its perpetual pursuit of more head pats, ya had a sleek white dress that seemed to be part of her body. Instead of truly fluffy ears, she had pointy blue ears that, while possessing fine hairs, looked hairless at a nce. The biggest difference between her and Skoll, however, was that ya now had arger squirrel tail that curved up behind her in an s-shape, poking out from the white dress and exposing her little rear, assuming you lowered your head near the countertop as she was only around 53cm tall. After her body had taken form,plete with long white hair that had braided itself into two french-style fringe braids, ya looked up at Vahn with her violet eyes, an almost indiscernible pout on her face as she said, "You have permission to pet me at your leisure..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ah, the return of the why bo-,ya be like, "Why not go get one of the most powerful weapons in the world? Why you just mate all the time...?,RIP ya...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1152 - Travel Arrangements

Chapter 1152 - Travel Arrangements

After deciding to make a trip to the outside world, it wasnt long before Vahn found himself amongst the other castle residents, exining his intentions and asking for feedback. Due to the time dtion within the Orb, even being gone for a few days could trante to weeks or even months. As a result, Vahn needed to discuss the matter with everyone, even though he knew it might cause a few issues with Mordred, Medusa, and Circe. Illya was also another concern but, as she had opened up a lot more after Iris took up residence in the castle, Vahn wasnt too worried about her. She was a very mature girl, an indicator of her real age that wasnt properly represented by her physique. As expected, shortly after Vahn mentioned leaving the Orb, Mordred and Circe nearly simultaneously eximed, "I want to go~!" Fortunately, Artoria quickly wrangled Mordred, allowing Vahn to tap the table a few times while exining, "Im not going out to just y around. You must keep in mind that the world has changed drastically since thest time you were able to travel freely..." Though he was trying to be stern, Mordred used the secret technique that always dealt considerable damage to Vahns heart. By hanging her head slightly and turning her eyes up at him,plete with slightly watery eyes, Vahn could only look to Artoria for an answer... Seeing Vahn defer to her, Artoria shook her head in mild exasperation, albeit with a gentle look in her eyes as she stated, "Though the Orb is exceptional for training, I feel it is not healthy to stay cooped up inside for several months at a time. This would be a good opportunity for Mordred to experience the outside world. Im sure the two of us can keep her out of trouble..." Since there was no way she could let Mordred out into the world unsupervised, Artoria automatically included herself in Vahns travel ns. She was also his Knight Commander and, though that didnt mean all that much in the present, Artoria believed that an Emperor should never travel without an entourage. Even though Vahn hadnt given his consent, Mordred began to snicker with a toothy grin on her face, disying her slightly pronounced canines proudly. She knew there was no way her Chichiue would be able to refuse after her Hahaue supported the idea. Unless there was a known danger to avoid, such as if he was going to face an unbelievably powerful foe, there was no justification her Chichiue would be able toe up with to prevent her from going out. After all, not only was she a decorated war hero who had led thousands of troops into battle, she was also the Imperial Princess. She needed to know how people lived in the present before her own duties required her to make decisions that would influence the lives of millions, if not billions, of people. Since Vahn knew Mordred was simr to Astolfo, possessing a wild and adventurous spirit, it was hard to insist that she stay behind. With that in mind, Vahn ultimately nodded his head, causing Mordred to immediately try and pounce across the table, shouting, "Chichiue, I love you~!" This attempt was met with Artoria quickly snatching the cor of Mordreds jacket before holding her up like a puppy. Then, after a small bow, Artoria said, "I will make sure she is properly prepared for a trip to the outside world. Please excuse us..." Though she tolerated Mordreds increasingly uncouth form of dress within the castle, there was no way Artoria was going to let her daughter wander around in the outside world wearing the same kind of clothing. While watching Artoria carry away the despondent Mordred by her scruff, as thetter knew better than to try and resist, Vahn joined the rest of the table in chuckling at his daughters expense. When they had left the room, he looked around at everyone else, saying, "Now is a good opportunity. If you have business, or want to explore the outside world, this may be your only chance for the next few months, real-world time." In response to these words, Da Vinci, who begrudgingly joined the dinner discussion after some coaxing from Vahn, immediately raised her hand, answering, "There are various things I would like to look into. The technological development of this world has progressed much further than most forms of Magecraft. I intend to send some of my micro-golems into the outside world to begin collecting information. Also, I am interested in the entity referred to as Type: Mercury and intend to apany you to collect samples of the surrounding area." As he already trusted Da Vinci to do what was best for the Empire, Vahn answered her request with a curt nod before turning his attention to the others at the table. To his surprise, the next person to speak up was none other than Illya, causing Vahns brows to lightly furrow in concern when she said, "If everyone else is going outside, I want to return to my homnd and reim my birthright. Even if I dont really care about such things, the Einzbern family was intended to be my responsibility as the Ninth Head. I believe it will be possible to convince Jubstacheit to concede the title once they see that my mother has been returned in a more advanced body than the one my family has developed over centuries. Jubstacheit is nothing more than an Artificial Golem...he is not qualified to lead one of the most prestigious Magus families when he isrgely responsible for the failures of the family ever since the Second Holy Grail War..." While speaking, there were moments when Illyas hair began to curl slightly as the red in her eyes slowly shifted towards purple. Fortunately, Iris was able to keep her calm by lightly stroking her daughters hair, adding, "Jubstacheits primary directive is to create Justeaze-type Homunculi and ensure the Einzbern family is able to persist. I was the only sessful experiment over thest two hundred years so, now that I have been given a new body, there is nothing he can say to refute Illyas and my im to her birthright. Unless he has somehow changed his primary directive, he does not possess the authority to take action against any living descendants of the Einzbern family. If we are sessful, it is possible to gain ess to thousands of Homunculi and Artificial Humans to help staff the castle. Though Count Paracelsus research is awe-inspiring, I do not believe he would be able to keep up with the output of an entire Magus family with his current set of principles..." Hearing Irisment on his work, Paracelsus just smiled politely, showing no signs that he had taken any offense as he stated, "The Einzberns have been reputed as the most prodigious Alchemist family, even when I had been a member of the Mages Association. It does not diminish me in the slightest to admit that I may never reach their level of skill when ites to the production of Homunculi. However, I would ask that His Majesty properly consider how the Homunculi and Artificial Humans whoe to reside in the castle are treated. It would pain my heart to see people produced with no greater destiny than to be Servants without any free will..." Instead of Vahn answering, it was Illya who, with a resolute look in her eyes, stated, "Once I be the Head of the family, I will no longer allow the Einzberns to treat the lives of its creations as tools to be used. Though I may not be able to do anything about those that currently exist, I will do my best to ensure they are not mistreated. Vahn will help me as well, wont you...?" As she herself had been treated as a tool after dying the first time, Illya was not fond of how the Einzberns did things. She could still remember the training they had put her through leading up to the Fourth Holy Grail War, throwing her out into the snow to fend for herself. If not for Heraclesing to her aid and protecting her, she would have been devoured by a pack of wolves, ultimately bringing the Einzbern line to its end. Even if she was made the Ninth Head immediately after that, Illya had never forgiven Jubstacheit for how she had been treated in the years following her Mothers death... Even without Illya asking him directly, there was no way Vahn could treat sentient beings with a soul as nothing more than tools. Only those that chose to work within the castle would be allowed to do so, leaving the rest to be the first citizens of the Empire after he helped stabilize their lifespans. Though Paracelsus may not be fond of modifying his own Homunculi for a specific purpose, Vahn imagined he would be the first to offer his assistance when it came to extending the lifespans of existing Homunculi. If not, he could always rely on Illy, Iris, and, as was often the case these days, Da Vinci. With that in mind, Vahn returned a smile to Illya before stating with nearly as much conviction, "Of course, Illya. Avalon will be a sanctuary for all those who seek to break away from the life that has been forced upon them. This is especially true for Homunculi, Artificial Humans, Spirits, and any other entities treated as tools by other Magus families..." Hearing Vahns answer, the purple coloration in Illyas eyespletely faded as a vibrant and youthful smile appeared on her face. This quickly turned into a deep blush, however, when Iris lightly covered her mouth, giggling as she said, "My, it seems like you chose quite the man, Illya. Even my heart palpitated a bit~." Since she had literally given up her life in support of another mans dream to make a peaceful world, Iris wasnt joking when she remarked that Vahns words had impacted her. Illya was very aware of this, causing her face to turn bright red as she adopted a pouting expression whileining, "Mom, how can you say such things when others are around? Are you trying to embarrass me to death!?" In response to Illyas outburst, Iris just giggled yfully while several other people at the table also released amusedughter at Illyas expense. This caused her to pout even more, especially when she saw the mildly amused expression on Vahns face. Though it quickly turned into a more affectionate smile soon thereafter, the damage had already been done. The next chance she got, Illya decided that she would find a way to get even with both Vahn and her mother, even if she actually wasnt all that upset. Being teased made her feel loved and, by teasing them in return, Illya felt like they were able to be even closer... --- After a rather long discussion, it was decided that Vahn would be rendezvousing with Rin, Sakura, and Gray while apanied by Fenrir, Artoria, Mordred, and Da Vinci. Though Circe and Medusa both wanted to apany him, Vahn quickly shut them down after both girls admitted they didnt really have anything in the outside world that interested them. They just wanted to follow along with him but, with Medusas long and lively hair,bined with Circes wings, they werent exactly the types that could blend in with normal people. Vahn promised to bring them back a lot of souvenirs while Fenrir made a secret arrangement with the two girls to give up some of her own time to them in the future... Apanying Illya and Iris to Germany would be Scthach and Heracles, still as Heroic Spirits, while Kenshin would be the physical bodyguard for the two girls. As for Nobunaga, she knew it would already be too crowded around Vahn once he reunited with Rin and Gray so she decided to instead apany Astolfo and Catherine. Since Astolfo just wanted to go exploring without any real purpose, it was a good opportunity for her to just travel and experience various parts of the world. She also intended to serve as Catherines bodyguard as, regardless of how much conviction Astolfo had, he was one of the most famous troublemakers in history, with many legends rting to him getting tricked by other people. One legend even had him turned into a myrtle tree by a sorceress named Alcina afterying with her, even though he had been warned about her charm magic beforehand... As for everyone else, including Paracelsus, Tristana, Medusa, Circe, Siegfried, Merlin, and Susu, they would be staying back in the castle. The only big change in that regard was, with the exception of Merlin, everyone else would be residing outside of the Orb for the time being. This was a given for the girls who were upset at being left behind while, as much as he preferred to peace and quiet, Siegfried felt it would be awkward to be the only one inside the Orb while everyone else was away. He was intending to better familiarize himself with the surrounding terrain over the next few days, at least when he wasnt taking care of Susu. Mordred had entrusted the fully-grown cat to Siegfrieds care and, as he was rather fond of small animals, the stoic Dragon Knight had no problem looking after both Susu and Skoll for the next few days... --- In preparation for his departure, Vahn was seated in his private study, squishing the springy cheeks of ya as he exined, "I need you to make sure nothing happens to anyone during their travels. I dont care how much Magical Energy you need to use, make sure they are kept safe. You dont need to do anything if its an opponent they can handle, but I will never forgive you if any permanant harmes to them. Since you can even stop time, I dont want to hear any excuses..." Though he knew it wouldnt really be yas fault if something happened, Vahn knew she was more than capable of protecting everyone simultaneously. Even if she was restricted by the Magical Energy he provided her, one of yas most basic abilities was Time Maniption. She also wasnt restricted by things like distance and, even while being next to him with a physical body, ya was virtually everywhere else at the same time. Though this didnt mean she was aware of everything all at once, especially things that were proactively hidden from her, ya had one of the mostprehensive forms of omniscience when it came to anything happening on thes surface. Before Vahn entered the Root, ya was even able to exist within the variable time axis, existing in the past, present, and future simultaneously. Though this much information could even overload her ability to process, which was why she and Gaia were often caught off guard by things, it was still possible for her to jump to a point before the incident, using one of her Counter Guardians to try and prevent it. Now that she was under his authority, yas capabilities had been significantly reduced but, considering there was now only one timeline, it didnt matter all that much. Vahns inclusion in the current time axis hadpletely stabilized it, meaning the past was now fixed unless he himself altered it. As for the future, that was something that was being decided in the present and, no matter how much you jumped ahead to try and see what choices he would make, the only Vahn in existence was the one in the present. Even if you were to look a mere second ahead, Vahn himself would simply not exist within that version of events as, until he had reached that point in time, nothing had been determined... Now powerless to even stop Vahn from squishing her cheeks, ya just stared back at him with her violet eyes before nodding her head and answering, "With the Magical Energy you have provided, it is not a problem to teleport them to safety. If they enter into an area that has been isted from the World, however, I will not be able to do anything. Spiritual Lands operated by the Mages Association and the Territories of entities known as Dead Apostle Ancestors are beyond my means to intervene with. You would have to make a contract with Gaia if you wanted to protect your allies within those areas. The only way around this would be to provide me with between three-and-ten-quintillion units of Magical Energy to summon one of my Counter Guardians..." Since this wasnt the first time ya had said something simr, Vahn nodded his head before saying, "If they try to enter into an area outside of your influence, make sure to inform them of the dangers and then immediately alert me. You should be able to enter those areas if Im there, right?" As he expected, ya nodded her head in confirmation, exining, "My primary directive is to observe you, regardless of where you enter. However, if it is a dominion of Gaia, or the Territory of an Alien Lifeform, I will not be able to take action without greatly increasing the amount of Magical Power required. Even a simple Space Transfer could cost several billion units of Magical Power if it is within a restricted space like Type: Mercurys domain." As Type: Mercury used an Alien Logic derived from its home of Mercury, both Gaia and ya were restrained from taking action within its domain. The only reason she would even be able to enter at all was due to the fact that Vahn had authority over other Types. If he had the means to reach Gaia and send a message to the others, it was even possible for him to have every Type within the Sr System answer his call to arms. Even controlling a single Type made him one of the most powerful existences on the so ya would rather he exercise his authority over all of them to avoid ever having them turn against humanity. She was very aware of the impending death of Gaia and, as a result, the annihtion of humanity in her counterparts desperate attempt to rid itself of the parasites that would freely make its dead body their home... Hearing yas exnation, Vahn gave another nod before lightly rubbing her head and saying, "Thank you for clearing that up for me, ya. Ill see what I can do about providing you with even more Magical Energy in the future. Now, lets go..." With that said, Vahn let ya float up from behind his back and sink her teeth into his shoulder once again. Then, while thinking of ways to greatly increase the Magical Energy transfer, as ya only epted direct energy and things he purchased from the shop, Vahn went to meet up with Artoria and Mordred. Thest time he had seen them, Mordred was wearing a pair of loose-fit denim jeans and her fur-trimmed hooded jacket, covering the crop top she wore underneath. Since it would draw a lot of attention if a child was walking around with a tattoo on their navel, Artoria had strictly prohibited Mordred from exposing her stomach when they were out in public. Only bypromising on this could Mordred avoid her fate of having to wear proper clothing that was befitting of an Imperial Princess. Since the thought of wearing formal wear made Mordreds skin crawl, she ultimately conceded on the matter, even if she hated wearing pants... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Illyas conviction...!,RIP ya, fated to be bullied,Not all girls dream of being a princess when they grow up xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1153 - Transport

Chapter 1153 - Transport

Early the next morning, everyone that was going to be leaving Avalon had gathered together to eat breakfast and discuss their itineraries. For obvious reasons, they couldnt exactly use public transport as, with the exception of Catherine and Tristana, whose movements would undoubtedly draw the attention of the Mages Association and Holy Church, none of the residents of the Ivory Castle had passports. Illya and Iris were both considered to be dead as well, meaning traveling by ne and other public transport that required identification was simply impossible. Vahn immediately shot down Astolfos remark about using his Hippogriff, at least during the day, while Da Vincis offer to produce a bird-shaped golem capable of flight and stealth was also denied, at least for the time being. The simple truth of the matter was, until they intended to start openly opposing the other factions, there were no easy means to even travel without drawing a lot of attention to themselves. As a result, Vahn could only rely on ya to use her Space Transfer ability to help people reach their destinations. She was less than enthused about the request but, as Vahn had provided far more than the requisite amount of Magical Energy, ya ultimately conceded without arguing against it. Before everyone went their separate ways, Vahn made sure each person had an [Effigy of the Hero] while Da Vinci had performed somest-minute upgrades to the [REquip] essories, allowing them to hold inorganic items other than clothing in a small storage space. This would allow everyone to buy souvenirs and store anything they found interesting during their travels. She had cracked the [Interspatial Ring]s that Vahn allowed her to study several months prior so it didnt take her too long to incorporate the same technology into her [REquip] system. As Vahn had learned very shortly after working alongside Da Vinci, being able to use all Magecraft with SS-Rank proficiency made her into a monster when it came to innovating upon existing ideas... After everyone had made their preparations, the exploration group, consisting of Astolfo, Catherine, and Nobunaga all gathered together. Vahn shared a short embrace with the Nobunaga, resulting in her nibbling on his earlobe yfully before rejoining the other two. Then, in a burst of blue magical light, all three vanished in an instant, their destination a few kilometers outside of Paris, France. Their n was to go sightseeing in the French countryside before doubling back to visit Paris itself. From there, they would move to the port near Cherbourg, a few kilometers to the northwest, before flying over the English Channel with Astolfo Hippogriff under the cover of night. Then, with the obvious exception of London, Astolfo wanted to explore his former country to see how it had changed over thest twelve-hundred years. In total, their trip was expected to take around two weeks as they slowly made their way to the western coast of Fishguard, Wales, the closest physical location to Avalon. With the exploration group departed, Vahn spent a few minutes talking with Illya, Iris, and Kenshin. While giving Illya a long andforting hug, Vahn reminded, "If there are any issues at all, do not hesitate to contact me. I will trust this matter to you but never forget your lives are infinitely more important to me than the sess of your mission..." This caused Illya to nod her head while nuzzling into the nook of his neck before answering, "This is something I need to do...but Im not going to endanger the happiness I have found by doing anything foolish..." With that said, Illya gave Vahn a short peck on his cheek before releasing her grip on his body. Then, with a red face, Illya retreated to the side of Iris, eliciting a giggle from her mother as thetter stroked her daughters head with an amused smile on her face. Vahn also returned a smile before looking at Kenshin and Scthach, primarily addressing the former as he said, "Ill leave their protection to the two of you. Still, make sure you take care of yourselves as well. Germany is a lot colder than Japan and Irnd..." Though Scthach was virtually immune to the cold, and would primarily be in spirit form the entire time, Vahn was mainly reminding them to dress properly. Illya and Iris were already wearing winter clothing, consisting of long white overcoats and fur caps, but Scthach was still wearing her purple bodysuit while Kenshin a modified kimono that, while it was adorned with extra fabric and a fox-fur mantle, would stand out like a sore thumb among normal people. However, considering her hair was anything but normal, Vahn knew it was ultimately pointless to try and get her to dress properly. He was hoping that most people thought she was part of a drama or a famous actress they simply hadnt heard of... Still being a little absentminded outside ofbat, Kenshin gave a confident smile as she replied, "Leave it to me, Your Majesty. I will protect the Imperial Family and preserve my own life at the same time...!" As for Scthach, she just gave a small nod while, towering over her from behind, Heracles just emitted steam from his body due to the temperature difference. Vahn was intending to try and undo his [Mad Enhancement] in the future but, as it was granted by the Holy Grail, it would likely take a powerful piece of equipment to pull it off. Even if he gave the mountain-like man a new body, it wouldnt remove the [Mad Enhancement] that had been embedded directly onto his Ego. Without going out of his way toment on Kenshins bold statement, Vahn just shared a short embrace with the powerful warrior woman before turning his attention to Iris. She returned her characteristically innocent looking smile in return before, taking her daughter into consideration, giving Vahn a ver short and proper hug. After this, their five-person group gathered together before, much like the previous group, they vanished in a burst of blue magical light. Their destination was a subsection of the Rothaargebirge mountains, located just south of the Ems River basin. Though Vahn had initially been surprised that the Einzberns had made their home in one of the more populous regions of Germany, it wasnt that difficult to believe considering that London was the very heart of the Mages Association... With Illyas group gone, it was nearly time for Vahns to head out as well so, after giving a curt nod to the smiling Merlin, Vahn turned to Fenrir, Artoria, Mordred, and Da Vinci. They were all wearing winter clothing as well, looking rather fashionable in long fur coats. Fenrirs even had a hood that had a thick matt of somewhat spikey fur, much like Mordreds, which was used to keep her ears concealed. She had already reached the point where hiding her ears, tail, and paws didnt require much effort but, as it was always better to be safe than sorry, Fenrir chose to conserve her Magical Energy. Fortunately, it was a small fashion trend for some groups to have small tail-like essories so, even if Fenrirs drew some attention, most people wouldnt really question it. Since it only moved in response to her willing it to do so, most of the time it just hung rather pathetically, the only real exception being when Vahn showed it some attention. Since Circe and Medusa had already been pacified by him previously, Vahn didnt idle for too long and, after linking hands with everyone, they were all teleported away by ya, nowtched onto Vahns shoulder after he finished embracing everyone. When they vanished from sight, Merlin turned his head towards the north, his eyes glimmering with magical light as he began to lightly chuckle to himself. Then, after tapping his staff against the ground, Merlins body dissipated like an illusory mist as he remarked, "Lets see what kind of future awaits...Empires are never built without bloodshed..." Then, as if he had never been there from the start, Merlin hadpletely vanished from the area... --- Instantaneous Space Transfers were always rather jarring as, in one moment, you could be in a rtively warm andfortable environment before, in less time than it took to blink, you could find yourself in the middle of a snowbound in. As there was currently a small snowstorm raging in the region they had been transported to, Mordred had been the most caught off guard as a result of her size. With ayer of fresh powdered snow, her body sunk up to her h.i.p.s the moment they were transported. This caused her to fumble backward, falling into the snow and burying her entire body in one singr motion that caused Vahns brows to rise in humor when Mordred burst out of the snow momentster, smiling excitedly instead of appearing upset. She immediately scooped up a handful of snow, shouting, "Eat this...!" as she threw it towards the location on Vahns shoulder where she assumed ya to be. Before it could impact the area, the snowball outright disappeared midair before reappearing right behind Mordred, pelting her in the back of the head. This time, she was less than enthused, patting snow out of her ponytail as sheined, "Even if you were ten times as cute, I wouldnt like you. Youre a big jerk, ya..." Unfortunately for her, ya didnt even bother to reveal herself, much less dignify Mordreds words with a response. This left Vahn using his cleaning magic to pull the snow from Mordreds hair as he created an area around them that the snow couldnt prate. Then, after looking around the area, Vahn noticed they were surrounded by an evergreen forest while, around two kilometers to the east, there was a frozenkebed. Though he had asked ya to transport them a few kilometers outside the range of any standard Magis detection, he could tell at a nce this was nowhere near London. After sending off Mordred and Fenrir to go y in the forest for a bit, Vahn pulled ya from his shoulder, asking, "Where is this?" In response, she monotonously answered, "This is a forest located seven kilometers south and twenty-four kilometers west of the Sperrin Mountains in Northern Irnd. The people you seek are located in arge Manor located to the north, near the divergent point of the Foyle and Derg Rivers. Do you want me to create a String of Fate so you can find them more easily...?" Hearing yas exnation, Vahn briefly wondered why Rin would have taken Sakura to Northen Irnd but, considering she would undoubtedly exin it to him, Vahn just nodded his head in response to yas question. As a result, a red string appeared, this timetched onto his pinky in a distinctly different way than the blue one he used to track down Paracelsus. Even without needing to ask, ya understood his question, answering, "The color of the String of Fate is determined by the affinity between the linked individuals. Red means both parties have a mutual affection for each other." With that said, ya retired to her spot on Vahns shoulder, leaving thetter pondering with a smile on his face. Recognizing the look on Vahns face, Da Vinci asked, "What are you thinking about? Did ya tell you something interesting?" As she asked this, Da Vinci adjusted therge rounded spectacles on her face, a special item she had produced to make it impossible for people to discern her true appearance. Since having the [Golden Rule:EX] skill would cause her to stand out, even amongst a crowd of a million people, Da Vinci had to take extra precautions to avoid drawing the attention of everyone they passed. This was especially necessary as, after a few days preparation, Da Vinci was in her freshly produced body, appropriately named, at least ording to her, [Dedication to the Sage Emperor]. Vahn quickly exined the function of the red string on his finger, garnering attention from both Da Vinci and Artoria as both women wondered what color their strings would be. Though it cost a fair amount of Magical Energy, Vahn rarely used it so ya had a rtively monstrous amount sitting in reserve. Curiously, Da Vincis String of Fate glowed with a golden light, the meaning of which implied they held simr ideals and were fated to walk alongside each other indefinitely. As for Artorias, hers was even more peculiar, possessing three intertwined strings, one red, one white, and the final one being ck. The reds meaning was obvious, implying that he and Artoria had a mutual affection towards each other while the ck and white represented authority and innocence respectively. ording to ya, ck meant that he either put himself in a dominant position over Artoria or, earning a blush from thetter, it meant she ced herself in a submissive position to him. Since she was his Knight Commander, this wasnt all that odd but, going by what ya exined, it had little to do with things like vows and pledges. As for the white string, it meant that Artoria wasrgely ignorant of anything outside of her interpersonal rtionsh.i.p.s, meaning Vahn had a lot of sway over her perspective of the world. This color was often seen between religious figures and their followers, or between parents and their children. As tempted as he was to tease her, Vahn remained rtively stoic as he exined the meaning of the three colors to Artoria. Her embarrassed and fl.u.s.tered expression were admittedly adorable but, as it was undoubtedly awkward to have her nature exposed in such a way, Vahn chose not to press the issue. He already knew there was little that Artoria wouldnt do, so long as he asked, so it wasnt all that surprising if she saw herself in a submissive position. When they returned, Vahn figured it would be better for their future interactions if he started to build up Artorias confidence again. She had mellowed out quite a bit since bing Mordreds mother so, depending on the situation with Rin, Sakura, and Gray, it might be time to summon someone else from Artorias life. So long as there were people looking up to her, a role Gray could probably fill, Artoria would undoubtedly be a confident woman once again... After dismissing the Strings of Fate between himself, Artoria, and Da Vinci, Vahn ced his fingers into his mouth, issuing a loud whistle that echoed through the small winter storm. Less than two minutester, Fenrir and Mordred both appeared from the woods, thetter holding arge Sika Deer above her head with a triumphant smile on her face. Since Mordred had a habit of hunting whenever she got the opportunity, Vahn wasnt all that surprised as he stowed the fresh carcass into his Inventory before rubbing her head and saying, "Good job, Mordred. You must remember not to hunt too much while were outside though, okay? There are a lot of nearly extinct animals in the world and it would be a shame to wipe out a species on ident..." Without taking her Chichiues words to heart, Mordred nodded her head before pulling on the back of Vahns coat. This caused ya to frown but, as she was very familiar with Vahns mannerisms and habits after observing him for nearly seven months, she sunk into the cor of his shirt before biting the fleshy area beneath his ribs while Mordred climbed onto his shoulders. Vahn knew he might be spoiling Mordred a bit too much these days but, as it was her first time in the outside world, he felt that making the memory a happy one would be good for her mental development. She had made great strides towards stabilizing, to the point that her [King Arthurs False Heir] had actually changed into the peculiarly named [Sage Emperors Pampered Princess: B]. Though this was a small g, it was still irrefutable proof that an Innate could change based on the perspective andprehension of the person it belonged to. Vahn even theorized that it would be possible for him to change the nature of his own Innates, simply by believing they worked in a certain way and pushing that ideal to the extremes. After all, ording to Sis herself, Innates were not restricted by the Records, meaning they were without limits from the start. Two people could even have the same Innate yet, based on theirprehension, the form that Innate took could be vastly different. A good example that Vahn thought of was one of his former favorite manga, a series called Naruto where the protagonist worked to be Hokage, the most powerful ninja in his vige of Konoha. This vige was also home to a n known as the Uchiha, possessing a unique set of eyes known as the Sharingan. Vahn had no doubt that the Sharingan themselves were an Innate but, while their base form was almost always the same, the evolved form, known as the Mangekyou Sharingan, could have a variety of different abilities. These were always rted to the nature of the person who awakened them, allowing for a variety of different abilities that made use of severalplex and high-tiered Laws. Though Vahn didnt know how the series came to an end, he had always dreamed about having a simr set of eyes, at least when he was younger... With Mordred leaning from side-to-side on his shoulders, Vahn walked with Fenrir, Artoria, and Da Vinci following close behind as he used his domain topress the snow, making it easier for them to traverse. Fortunately, their destination wasnt all that far away so, after a leisurely stroll through a scenic snowden forest, Vahn and his entourage emerged on the other side where a series of factories and a small town were located. Atop arge hill to the east, a very noticeable Manor stood out amidst the surrounding trees, appearing like arge chateau-style residence withrge stone walls surrounding its periphery. As there was even a tall tower attached, it almost looked like a small fortress which, considering the secrecy most Magus families preferred, was very likely the intent behind its construction. Though it would have been obvious from the start, Vahn noted that the red string drew a straight line between his pinky finger and the hillside chateau. Thus, taking advantage of the fact that the snow would easily obscure the vision of normal people, Vahn set out a tform for them all to stand on before using his Telekinesis to levitate them all through the air, a method he hade up with on the spot as a result of Artorias [Magic Resistance]. Though she had a real body, Artoria still had the [Magic Resistance:B] and the [Riding:B] skills that had been granted to her by the Holy Grail. This made it difficult to use Magecraft against her as, anything B-Rank or lower would simply break powerlessly against her, regardless of its elemental affinity. Even toxins, poisons, and curses were unable to affect her, much less his rtivelyckl.u.s.ter Telekinesis. While resolving to improve his Telekic abilities in the future, as they were actually very useful, Vahn carried everyone towards the chateau, reducing the distance even faster than a helicopter as a result of his excitement. Though it had only been a little more than a month since they parted, at least from the perspective of the three girls, it had been more than half a year for Vahn. He often felt guilty about parting with Sakura so soon after she became his daughter so Vahn was intending to use this as an opportunity to make it up to them before venturing to South America to recruit Type: Mercury to his cause... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Merlin is such a Chuuni...,Strings of Fatee in a variety of different colors xD...,Seriously though, Telekinesis can be super broken if pushed to the extremes (o___o)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1154 - Reunion

Chapter 1154 - Reunion

As he could already sense what was going on, Vahn just gave a curt nod to Da Vinci when thetter suddenly adjusted her spectacles, saying, "There are seventy-three weak magical signatures and six decently powerful ones present. It doesnt appear as if were very wee~?" Almost as soon as these words left her lips, Da Vinci used her personal staff, the [Key of Avalon], to generate a circr magic circle that absorbed a series of [Gandr], a reddish-ck magicalser that served as one of the mostmon forms of offensive Magecraft taught at the Clock Tower. Though the guards below were obviously hostile against them, Vahn reasoned that they were just doing their jobs and, as he was arriving unannounced, it wasnt all that surprising they would be attacked. As a result, he just ced Mordred down on the tform before making a barrier of his own, using small engraved stones that had the [Primordial Rune] for Protect inscribed into their surface. By using his own Telekinesis to anchor them in the air, the runes formed a cube-shaped barrier that easily epassed the entire group, the tform included. To strengthen it further, Vahn used air-inscription, one of the more advanced techniques of [Primordial Rune] to inscribe more Protect, this time on the barrier itself. With a standard Protect rune able to block B-Rank spells, Vahn wasnt worried the [Gandr] fired by the uniformed security guards would be able to break through. Though a red-haired woman fired a much thicker and faster beam towards them, it only caused part of the barrier to glow before the [Gandr] ultimately gave out. She fired several such beams but, due to the fact he used Source Energy when creating the second series of runes, the woman was ill-equipped to break Vahns barrier. With Da Vinci analyzing everything that was happening,bined with Vahns own ability to sense almost everything urring around them, it was almost impossible for them to be taken by surprise as he slowly lowered the tform to the ground. After realizing their attacks had no effect,bined with the fact Vahns group hadnt attacked back, the ground forces slowly ceased their attacks after an order from the red-haired woman. They then moved to surround the tform while the woman stepped forward, her pale-green eyes passing over everyone within the barrier with a discerning gaze. Then, without Vahn having to say anything, she suddenly asked, "Are you the Sage Emperor, Vahn Mason...?" There was a bit of tension in her voice as these words left her lips, causing Vahn to smile as he nodded his head, answering, "I am Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the very same Sage Emperor." Since she had left out his middle name, even though that was the most important part, Vahn knew she was trying to test him. The moment Vahn finished his introduction, the woman raised her hand, shouting, "Stand down! Code Green!" Then, after a series of sharp movements from everyone surrounding the tform, the woman cut her hand down as the entire group simultaneously bowed low, shouting in a thunderous chorus, "Greetings to the Sage Emperor!" As Luvia had quite a few intentions towards Vahn, he was a super VIP that all of the Edelfelt Mercenaries and Security Forces had been made aware of. Only a few knew Vahns real identity, for obvious reasons, but they had painstakingly practiced the Code Green protocol for several tens of hours. After giving a small nod to Fenrir, thetter moved to protect Mordred while Vahn allowed his barrier to dissipate. Against enemies of this level, Vahn didnt really need to worry all that much but, as ya herself had said, there were a number of powerful artifacts that would be able to make him regret hiscency. Fortunately, even Mordred had the [Instinct] skill so, if there was any kind of danger at all, she would automatically move to evade it. Even in her sealed state, she was more than a match for a standard Magus. Just to be safe, however, Vahn removed two of the restraints, causing Mordred to fidget about with a battle-hungry smile on her face... While the other Security Forces quickly moved to take care of their other duties, the red-haired woman who seemed to be their leader came forward, bowing yet again as she stated, "Please do not me my subordinates for their audaciousness. I, Sophia Mayweather, take full responsibility for any slights you have experienced." Seeing the sharply dressed woman with neatly arranged medium-length red-hair bowing before him, Vahn had the urge to shake his head and tell her not to mind it. There was no way they could have known the identities of the random group descending upon them from the sky,pletely unannounced. However, with his status as an Emperor, it could potentially create problems if he didnt carry himself with a little bit of dignity. Fortunately, before he had to make a decision on his own, Vahn looked towards the entrance of the chateau as Gray stepped out from the interior. Her face immediately blossomed into a smile, causing Vahn to gesture for Sophia to rise as he said, "That will be unnecessary..." as he walked past her. As she wasnt really the outgoing type, there was no situation of Gray running into his embrace as she and Vahn just walked towards each other at a casual pace. Then, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, they embraced each other, Gray burying her face into his chest as Vahn habitually stroked her back and head. Momentster, as if she had confirmed he was real, Gray had a thinyer of moisture over her stark blue eyes as she whimpered, "I missed you..." while putting more strength into her embrace. Vahn felt a twinge of pain in his heart after hearing Grays words, causing him to kiss the top of her head as he answered, "I missed you too, Gray..." This caused her to raise her face, staring directly into Vahns eyes as her own slowly closed. Understanding the cue, Vahn gently cupped Grays cheek as he leaned in and gave her a short yet emotion-filled kiss. A single tear fell from her left eye, intercepted by Vahns thumb as he wiped it away in one swift motion. He knew Gray was going to be extremely embarrassed when she came back to her senses so, out of consideration, Vahn could at least make it so that her tears were not observed by others... After separating from Gray, her eyelids slowly peeled open as a light blush began to color her fair, almost pale white cheeks. There was a slightly dazed look in her eyes and, for a brief moment, Vahn thought she might want to go in for another kiss. Unfortunately, Mordred used this timing tough in a mischevious manner beforementing, "Hahaue, she really does look just like you. I thought you were exaggerating when you told me about her..." Then, as if it was impossible for her to read the atmosphere, Mordred walked over until she had invaded Grays personal space, looking up into thetters confused face. Following this, Mordred crossed her arms and adopted a prideful smile as she introduced, "Hey there. The names Mordred Pendragon. Im something like your super-great Aunt. Its nice to meet you, Gray-chan~." Hearing Mordred introduce herself, Gray had apletely nk expression on her face as she had no idea what to make of the situation. She recognized the name Mordred, for obvious reasons, but suddenly having a little girl introducing themself as King Arthurs killer was not something she ever expected to experience. Ultimately, however, Gray returned an awkward smile as she greeting, "It is nice to meet you, Mordred..." Since she assumed Vahn would exin the situation, Gray decided to just go with the flow as, even at a nce, she could see the very obvious simrities between Artoria and the young girl before her. If not for the dignified way in which Artoria carried herself, a stark contrast to the wild aura that emanated from Mordred, the two would look like a set of twins who had somehow been separated by a few years developments... To prevent Mordred from causing any problems, Vahn ced his hand atop her head and began to ruffle her hair as the others joined their small gathering. Gray and Artoria both gave polite bows toward each other while Da Vinci had an intrigued smile as she observed the monochromatic girl and her peculiar garb. What she was most interested in, however, was the nothingness hidden within Grays right sleeve. She had already heard about Add from Vahn so, even without asking, Da Vinci knew the anomaly she was witnessing must be Grays Mystic Codex. Since it was apparently able to freely change shape and had a degree of sentience, Da Vinci was very interested in analyzing its structure when she got the chance. After a brief round of introductions, the woman named Sophia gave another polite bow as she asked everyone to alight to the inside of the chateau, even though Vahns domain was keeping the snow and cold at bay. Since he wanted to see Rin and Sakura, Vahn gave a curt nod before gesturing for everyone else to follow. Fortunately, after increasing his perception by practicing within the Inner Sanctum, Vahn was able to easily see through the barriers within therge fortress-like building. Even without the veritable army of Maids and Butlers bowing as they gestured towards his destination, Vahn would have been able to navigate the interior of the chateau on his own. --- As they had already received news that the incident outside was rted to Vahn, Rin, Sakura, and Olga had gathered together in arge recreational study that had a firece, billiards, and several other means to keep yourself entertained. Though Olga felt extremely nervous, Rin had a calm and expectant look on her face while Sakura looked like she might jump up from her seat and seek out Vahn at any moment. To keep her in ce, Rin was holding her daughters hand while Olga stood awkwardly at the side, smoothening out the wrinkles of her clothing and failing to keep her ahoge down. She had always been bothered by her perpetual bed hair and, now that she was meeting the man that controlled her destiny, Olga momentarily humored the thought of just ripping out the uncooperative tuft of hair... Before Olga could muster up the resolve to pull out her own hair, the sound of doorknobs being turned broke through the silence of the study as two prim and proper Maids opened the double-doors leading into therge room. Then, before they were even open fully, Sakura bounced up to her feet, shouting, "Otou-sama~!" as she broke free from her mothers hand and bolted across the room. Vahn took a knee as Sakura approached, allowing her to toss herself into his arms as she eximed, "I missed you so much! Please stay with us always from now on...!" Though she had the Space-Time Orb to keep herpany, even Sakura had started to feel there was something off as time passed. The moment she hugged her real Otou-sama, Sakura felt like she might start crying but, trying to avoid making their reunion upsetting for everyone, she did her best to swallow the building emotions, even as her nose felt sour and her vision became blurry. In response to this, Vahn picked up her body, holding her like the little girl she was as he gently stroked her back and whispered, "Dont worry my little cherry blossom...things will be different from now on..." Now that he had an official base, Vahn was confident he could protect both Rin and Sakura from danger as, at least for the time being, the Mages Association should have no way of directly entering Avalon... While carrying the trembling Sakura, who was still doing her best not to cry, Vahn walked over to the now standing Rin, answering her smile with a gentle one of his own. This onlysted for a moment, however, as Vahn immediately sensed something wrong with Rins body, turning his eyes toward her chest with furrowed brows. She immediately shook her head as if to say, well talk about itter, eliciting a curt nod from Vahn as he fixed his expression and said, "I missed you, Rin..." In response, Rins smile softened as she replied, "I missed you as well, dummy..." The final word was said almost inaudibly but, as Vahn was more than adept at reading lips, he smiled amusedly as a warm feeling spread through his chest. Just as Vahn was about to introduce Mordred and Da Vinci, the rtively warm atmosphere in the room suddenly became awkward when a young woman, who Vahn had previously thought was just another bodyguard, stammered, "G-Greetings! M-my name is Olga Marie Asmleit Animusphere! I may be in...inexperienced, but I will do my best...!" Ever since the first discussion she had with Luvia, Rin, and Gray, which detailed how she might be able to win Vahns favor, much of Olgas free time had been spent thinking about their first meeting. Now that the moment hade, her face was simultaneously pale and flushed as a strong feeling of not knowing what to do with her hands crept up from the back of her mind as she tightly clutched the hem of her skirt... Though he was slightly taken aback by Olgas outburst, Vahns expression remained unperturbed as he looked toward Rin for answers. She gave him a wry smile in response that spoke volumes about what had been happening while he was away. It was very apparent that a lot had been going on as, from their previous arrangements, Rin should have stayed in London for another five months, at the very least. The fact she was currently located in a fortress in Northern Irnd, with a malicious burn mark embedded into her chest, was indicative that things hadnt gone as smoothly as he would have liked. At the same time, Vahn became more aware of the presence of ya at his side, causing the small blue Vanargandr to twitch in response... Since now wasnt the best time to talk about any troubles that had arisen, especially with Mordred and Sakura present, Vahn decided to shelve the matter temporarily as he gave a polite nod toward Olga, answering, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Miss Animusphere. You seem to be aware of my identity, but allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Emperor..." As he introduced himself, Vahn was also paying more attention to Olgas appearance as, based on Rins reaction, there was a good chance she would be apanying them in the future. She was another umonly beautiful young woman with pale, almost white, hair and golden eyes that had a slight bronze hue. Vahn deduced she was around twenty-two years old based on her aura and, now that he got a better look at her, it was clear to see from the quality of her clothing and the intricate way in which she styled her hair that Olga was likely an Aristocraft from a reputable Magus family. The moment this thought crossed his mind, Vahn remembered Rins exnation of the most powerful families associated with the Clock Tower, the Animusphere family being amongst them. He deduced that they had formed an alliance and, based on Olgas presence here, the agreement undoubtedly had something to do with him. There was even a chance that the Animusphere family had helped out Rin and Sakura when they were in danger, increasing Vahns opinion of the fl.u.s.tered young woman who, after seeing his smile, clutched her skirt even tighter... --- During the time that Vahn had briefly been observing Olga, there were two others who had been having a staring contest of their own. Sakura, while hugging Vahns neck, was able to see over his shoulder and, seeing another little girl standing amongst the group, intuitively knew that she wasnt just some lost child that her Otou-sama had picked up. Even she could see the simrities between Artoria and Mordred, causing Sakura to squeeze her Otou-samas neck even harder, her teal eyes locking with the green eyes of Mordred. As Mordred was already well-aware of the existence of her Imouto, she just smiled back in a disarming manner before waving her hand, an action that caused Sakura to avert her eyes with a small pouting expression on her face. Breaking the momentary silence, Mordred began tough in response to Sakuras behavior, drawing the focus of everyone in the room, Sakura included, as she happily eximed, "Sakura-chan! It is nice to meet you! My name is Mordred Pendragon, your Aneue! If anyone ever tries to bully you in the future, Ill always be there to protect you from now on, okay~!?" As she would much rather be the Knight that protects the princess, rather than the princess herself, Mordred had always wanted to meet this younger sister of hers. Sakura, however, seemed less than enthused as, even though she had started to understand that the women around her Otou-sama werent just his friends, it felt like her happiness was threatened by the existence of Mordred and the women that would get in the way of her Okaa-chan and Otou-sama... As it didnt take a genius to understand that Sakura was less than pleased to suddenly have an older sister, Mordreds smile became somewhat awkward. She didnt give up, however, moving to a spot where she could see Sakuras face, smiling with a toothy grin as she said, "I really want to be Sakura-chans friend...please...?" At the same time, Vahn lightly pat Sakuras back, whispering, "Sakura, your sister has really been looking forward to seeing you. There are a lot of things I need to exin to you about your heritage so please give her a chance. Dont worry, Im not going to suddenly abandon you and your Okaa-chan...from now on, we will be one big family, living in a fantastical world beyond your imagination..." Though she wasnt entirely convinced, Sakura had spent nearly half of her day, every single day, inside of the Space-Time Orb with her Otou-samas memory fragment. She was unable to ignore his words, especially with the warm and calming energy flowing into her body from his hands. Deciding to trust in her Otou-sama, Sakura released a tired sigh that wasnt befitting of a girl her age as Vahn set her down on the floor. Then, though it didnt quite reach her eyes, Sakura managed a smile as she looked toward Mordred and muttered, "Onee-chan..." Though it wasnt quite the Aneue she was looking for, Mordred didnt mind it all that much as she began tough in a cheerful manner before surprising Sakura as she picked up thetter, spinning around on the spot as she eximed, "Cute imouto, get~!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: All your base are belong to us,The self-propagating harem, a more powerful force than even the expansion of the universe,Resistance is futile, Sakura. Mordred will never let you go now (? w ?)~?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1155 - Catching Up

Chapter 1155 - Catching Up

Though she was more than a little reluctant, Sakura was whisked away by Mordred and Fenrir to go explore the chateau while Da Vinci was shown to a private room by a fashionably dressed Butler so that she could ess the inte. Even if most of the information was ultimately useless to her, Da Vinci had been considering hijacking the entire inte, using the same backdoors put into ce by the powers the regted the globalwork to monitor its users. She suspected that it had been a product developed by the As Temple, meaning there was likely an extremely advanced Artificial Intelligence charged with monitoring and cataloging everything its users did, both online and offline. If that was the case, Da Vinci felt it would be enjoyable to contend against the AI, regardless of the fact the As Temple would undoubtedly be aware of her snooping. While Da Vinci was ying around on the world wide web, Vahn remained in the recreational study with Artoria and Gray seated at his sides while Rin and Olga sat on the opposite sofa. There was a lot for them to discuss but, before anything, Vahn pulled out ya while asking, "How much did you tell Luvia...?" At the same time, Vahn cast a momentary nce toward Olga, making it clear he wanted to know how much she knew as well. To his surprise, Rin released a sigh with a wry smile on her face as she exined, "Everything...Luvia has been...very proactive over thest month or so. You should get into contact with her soon...haaa..." After everything Luvia had done, any action Rin took to intervene between the rtionship between her rival and Vahn would be petty jealousy. Since she had a lot of time to think over thest month, Rin had already epted that she would be a small part of Vahns unbelievablyrge existence. At the very least, he treated her well when they were together and, even though it wasnt really his responsibility to do so, Vahn was more than willing to help her take care of Sakura. No matter how she looked at the situation, it was infinitely better to be at Vahns side than it was to spend the rest of her life associating with amunity she genuinely detested. This was true even before she had to worry about Sakura so, regardless of what happened between Vahn and other women, Rin had decided to just go with the flow and try to secure her ce near the top of the hierarchy... Understanding Rins words to mean that Olga was also aware of everything, another notch in her favor, Vahn ced ya on the table, saying, "Reveal yourself, ya. Tell me, how did Rin get injured without you bringing it to my attention...?" Though she hadnt changed at all from his perspective, ya practically blinked into existence from the viewpoint of everyone else in the room. Artoria, Rin, and Gray had all seen her take on multiple forms so they werent all that surprised by yas rtively cute appearance. Olga, however, had an incredulous look on her face as she internally remarked, ("The manifestation of Humanitys Will to Survive is a tiny creature with animalistic traits?") In response to Vahns inquiry, ya inly stated, "You had not told me to inform you if they were in danger. My task was only to protect them if their life was endangered. As the Goddess Ereshkigal was more than a match for her opponents, my assistance was not required. Do not me me for your oversights and expect me to start thinking for you, Master..." As this was one of the few ways in which she could protest against Vahn, ya refused to provide him any information unless he directly ordered her to inform him. Even then, he would need to choose his words wisely as, if there were any loopholes, ya would not make assumptions based solely on Vahns convenience. Though he knew that arguing with ya was pointless, it didnt stop Vahn from lightly pulling on the tips of her long ears as heined, "I hope the dayes when you are more empathetic..." This caused yas brows to furrow as she shook her head in an effort to liberate her ears. Vahns fingers made it feel as if a strong electrical surge was running through her ears and, though she could resist it easily in the past, one of her sub-directives was to allow Vahn to pet her, something ya believed would be her bane in the future. Fortunately, Vahn released her ears the moment she shook her head as, even though he was mildly annoyed, he knew it wasnt yas fault as she had only done what he asked, nothing more... While having ya sit on the table as punishment, Vahn listened as Rin and Gray gave a detailed exnation of what had happened over the past few weeks. Most of what they said was within his expectations but, when they began to talk about the matter revolving around Svin and his cronies, Vahns eyes had started to glow with a cold light. If not for the fact that Ereshkigal had already put Bradley through a surprisingly brutal punishment, Vahn could imagine himself stabbing the young man through the chest with his bare hands. As for Svin, Vahn had the false impression that he got off easily, at least until he considered the prestige the young man had lost and the life he would live in the future. Now that Svin was nothing but a nk te, it wasnt incorrect to assume that he would either be a factory for the Clock Tower or, if one of the major families believed his body was worth something, they would likely purchase and recycle it. Transfering the soul might be a very rare form of Magecraft but, for any of the families that had thousands of years of history, it wasnt all the umon for them to prepare suitable vessels for their descendants. Some families even kept the existence of their heirs an absolute secret until they had alreadye of age, making it impossible to determine if the appearance revealed to the world was their original form... The most important thing Vahn took away from the conversation with Rin and Gray was that he had to put more thought into his interactions with ya. At the same time, it seemed that Ereshkigal was more than a little stronger than he expected but, considering she was the Queen of the Underworld, presiding over Death itself, he could have inuited this from the start. Since she also detailed many of the things Luvia had done, specifically with him in mind, Vahn knew he had misjudged the drill-haired woman. Based on what Rin revealed, it seemed that Luvia was somewhat simr to Loki and Kali in nature, being that she wasnt afraid to take advantage of a situation to secure more power, nor was she afraid of fighting against her enemies directly... After agreeing to talk things over with Luvia, Vahn turned his attention to Olga this time as, during the previous discussion, she had been entirely silent. He was curious how she fit into all of this, even though Rin had already mentioned the alliance between the Edelfelt and Animusphere families. In response to his gaze, Olga swallowed nervously as, even though she had prepared herself for this day, it had barely been a week since her discussion with Luvia and Rin. They never expressly told her to try and woo Vahn, only encouraging her to think about her ce and what she might be able to offer him in exchange for his support. Though there were certainly a number of hints that implied what she should do, Olga felt extremely nervous after feeling the intense aura radiating from Vahns body when he got angry. Seeing Olga freeze up, Rin rolled her eyes before exining, "Because we had no idea what you were up to, Luvia and I had discussed ways to help you build your actual Empire in the future. The Animusphere family is one of the ten most prestigious Magus families associated with the Clock Tower, specializing in the Thaumaturgical School of Astronomy. With their unique Magecraft, they are able to see into the history of objects and had created a system that can potentially see into the very history of the Earth itself. If their research is urate, it would be possible to view the state of the world in the Past, Present, and Future. At the very least, it could serve as a means of viewing the entire in order to keep track of the movements of our enemies. Im not entirely sure how it works but, since you have someone as famous as Da Vinci on your side, I imagine she would be able to figure it out..." Though Rin, Gray, and Olga had all been surprised when Vahn introduced Da Vinci, Rin had gotten over it almost immediately as it wasnt all that umon for historically male Heroic Spirits to end up being female. She had already seen the examples of Artoria and Nobunaga so it wasnt all that surprising that Leonardo Da Vinci was also a female. Gray had also epted the truth rtively quickly, as she had seen and experienced far stranger things in her life, leaving only Olga dazed and confused by the fact that Da Vinci was a woman of almost indescribable beauty. As she had removed her spectacles during their brief exchange earlier, the main cause for everyones surprise, it was very clear that few women, regardless of their efforts, would be able topete with Da Vincis beauty and intellect. In response to Rins exnation, Vahn gave an understanding nod but still asked, "And how does Olga fit into all of this?" This caused the woman in question to pale as she tightly clenched her skirt, leaving Rin to once again answer in her stead, exining, "That is ultimately up to her, I think...? She is supposed to act as the Director of the organization known as Chaldea, assuming you believe it is worth investing into. Luvia has every intention of trying to be your Empress so she is already investing billions into future projects that would strengthen your Empire, politically, socially, and financially. Since activating CHALDEAS apparently costs nearly forty-billion Yen, it is an investment she is unwilling to make unless you are the one who wants to see it brought online..." Hearing Rin point out how astronomically expensive CHALDEAS was, an amount that seemed evenrger when converted to Japanese Yen, Olgas face became white as a sheet. She had been prepared to be treated terribly as a political hostage for only three-hundred million pounds so, knowing it would take more than three-hundred billion just to start CHALDEAS, Olga couldnt help but wonder what she was willing to ept in order to make her familys dream a reality. However, when she saw Vahn nked by Gray and Artoria, both breathtakingly beautiful in their own right, Olga had absolutely no confidence in trying to offer herself in exchange for financial support... Seeing Olgas sickly appearance, Vahn couldnt help but furrow his brows, something the pale-haired woman seemed to misinterpret as she opened her mouth, ultimately failing to find any words. Vahn felt she was a somewhat awkward woman who didnt seem to have a lot of experience interacting with other people. It was impossible for him to make a decision regarding Luvias finances without a better understanding of the situation so, for the time being, Vahn raised his hand, sending calming energy through his domain and into Olgas body as he said, "Just rx...breathe..." Though she had been startled by the sudden warmth invading her body, Olga knew she wasnt in any position to outright refuse anything Vahn wanted to do to her. Thus, after calming her heart, Olga began to follow Vahns words, taking slow breaths before releasing them in an audible manner. This continued for well over a minute, surprising Olga as a result of howfortable and rxed she felt, almost as if she was wrapped up in a soft nket with a warm ss of cocoa on a cold winter morning. Then, almost as quickly as it hade, thefortable feeling began to recede as Vahn lowered his hand and asked, "Do you feel better now...?" Now, instead of paling, Olgas face gained a tinge of ruddiness as she nodded her head with a sheepish, Nn escaping her throat. Then, noticing the looks everyone else in the room was giving her, Olgas face became gradually redder as she averted her eyes and said, "CHALDEAS is just one of the projects my family has been working on for the past century...please...please dont look down on us...Ill do my best...even if..." Finding the words she wanted to say impossible to form, Olga looked like she was on the verge of tears as everyone in the room continued to stare back at her. Feeling that Olga was rather pitiable, Vahns expression softened a bit as he softly stated, "Dont worry, Olga. Youll understand soon enough but, so long as people are doing their best, I will never look down on them. Im certain the research you and your family have been working on is something worthy of praise, not reproach..." Not realizing he had said a trigger word for Olga, Vahn was a little surprised when her ahoge suddenly twitched in response to his words. This caused the corner of his eyes to squint almost imperceptibly while Olga herself seemed to calm down significantly, a small smile on her face as she muttered, "Thank you..." in a quiet tone of voice. --- As the specifics would need to be discussedter on, after contacting Luvia, Vahn began to begin exining what he had been up to since their parting. With the obvious exception of Artoria, everyone else was shocked to hear that his base of operations was none other than the legendary Ind of Avalon and the Ivory Castle of Camelot. Vahn even brought out a diorama that was almost an exact replica of the ind, albeit much smaller. With the Ivory Castle dominating the northern part of the ind, looking more like a small mountain than a man-made structure, it was a rather impressive, borderline unbelievable, sight. Vahn went on to exin some of the aspects of his summoning system, leaving out any specifics like its location, and some of the implementations he and Da Vinci, primarily thetter, hade up with. Following that, Vahn exined his intentions of essentially converting the entire ind into an Academy the train future generations and provide sanctuary to those treated as tools by the other three factions. He also exined how, in the not-so-distant future, the border between the Surface and Reverse Sides of the World would likely be thinner. The type of Magecraft Vahn intended to teach was far closer to True Magic than what had be poprized by the Mages Association. Just like he had done in Danmachi, Vahn was intending to exin the principles behind real Magic to students who had earned the right to learn it. Since there were quite a number of misunderstandings that actually be the very foundation for why Magecraft weakened over time, Vahn intended to change the perspective of, not just the Magus Community, but the people of the world itself. When Angra Mainyu appeared, the death toll would likely reach into the millions, if not more, regardless of their preparations. As Vahn intended to keep his promise with Paracelsus as well, he was going to spread the existence of Magic throughout the entire world, fundamentally changing how every government and organization functioned... Though many of the things Vahn was saying were rather unbelievable, the only one who seemed to have any trouble envisioning the future he had in mind was Olga. When she considered that he may be bridging the Surface and Reverses Sides of the World in the future, however, a lot of what he was saying sounded usible. One of the obsessions of nearly every Magus family was gaining ess to the Reverse Side of the World as even something as simple as soil obtained from there could serve as a powerful catalyst for Magecraft. Just venturing into the Dungeon beneath the Clock Tower was like entering into apletely different world, filled with fantastical creatures and rare materials that were nearly impossible to find on the Surface. The closer you got towards the Reverse Side of the World, the more reality itself seemed to be the illusion as, assuming you could survive the mana-rich atmosphere, you could even find yourself face-to-face with beings your mind simply couldnt begin toprehend. Those that had ventured beyond the Kalion Observatory, considered the lowest stable point of the Spiritual Tomb: Albion, often came backpletely changed, some even losing their humanity in the short time they were away. In the most extreme cases, there were even people who would venture beyond the threshold for only a few minutes, returning several years older, wearing nothing but rags as they rambled on iprehensibly about what they had witnessed... Towards the end of his exnation, Vahn decided to ask the question that had been on his mind from the start, "Will you be apanying us back to the castle...?" As it was very clear that Rin no longer intended to humor the Mages Association, Vahn expected she would be more than willing to retreat to theparably safe Avalon while the Clock Tower slowly tore itself apart. Meeting Vahns expectations, Rin gave an almost immediate nod, exining, "I had actually been thinking about using the method you left me in order to contact you. It is too dangerous for Sakura to be outside right now, especially with the Association Director cing a Sealing Designation on you. The entire Magus Community is only the lookout for you and, even though Luvias people can be trusted during most situations, it is impossible to guarantee they have not been influenced by external sources. Besides, she will be a lot happier back at the castle...I think she will have an easier time epting things when she understands she is an actual Princess..." As it was already impossible for Sakura to be part of the public education system, especially with the world on the verge of destruction, it was inarguably better for her to be back on Avalon. Since it was currently isted on a different Texture of the world, even Angra Mainyu would not be able to gain ess to the ind without discovering one of the few ess points. Its corruption would obviously not reach other Textures of the World, especially ces like the Reverse Side. If that happened, Vahn might not even have to take action himself as there were numerous Gods near the peak of Tier 4, with the potential of some even reaching Tier 5, waiting to deal with it. Agreeing with Rins take on things, Vahn nodded his head, saying, "We can return to Avalon the moment you are ready. I had nned to stay outside for a few days but, if you think it will be safer for Sakura, it is best we move these discussions there. I imagine Ill need to deal with Luvia myself and Im certain youre also interested in exploring the ind, correct?" As she couldnt help but feel at least a little excited at the prospect of exploring a fantastical ce like the Ind of Avalon, Rin smiled in response to Vahns question, answering, "If it is as empty as you say, I imagine it might be a little scary to explore on my own...Ill have you escort me. I wont allow you to refuse..." Hearing Rins teasing words, Vahn felt a warmth spread through his heart as he answered, "It would be my pleasure. We can bring Sakura along with us as well. Youd surprised how beautiful a seven-hour long sunset is from atop the Ivory Castles spires..." Thisment caused Artoria to nod her head in agreement at the side as, before entering into the Orb, she had also never experienced such a thing. Sunset always felt like a fleeting thing in the past, something that could be rarely enjoyed, yet that changedpletely in Avalon. It had be rathermon amongst the castle residents to congregate along the castle ramparts, watching the sun slowly set beyond the horizon as they enjoyed each otherspany. Though the atmosphere had started to be somewhat rosy, this was broken almost instantly when Olga raised her hand and sheepishly asked, "Can Ie...?" This caused Vahn tough aloud, followed by Rin releasing an exasperated sigh while Artoria and Gray both giggled lightly at Olgas expense. As a result, her face became scarlet red, her thoughts turning chaotic as she wondered what she had said to garner such a response. Before she could think too deeply into it, however, Vahn looked toward her with an amused smile on his face, answering, "Of course you cane. If you want to stroll around Avalonter, I dont mind apanying you. However, Id appreciate a bit of alone time with Rin and Sakura before that...hahaha~." Realizing her question could be misconstrued as her asking permission to apany Rin and Sakura, Olgas face became even redder until she ultimately found sce in her hands, avoiding looking directly at anyone for several long and awkward seconds... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Luvia, or perhaps the Edelfelt family, always gets what they set their eyes on xD...,Avalon, Land of Twilight,RIP Olga, you are grossly unprepared for what you just got into) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1156 - Bonds

Chapter 1156 - Bonds

While Rin went off to contact Luvia, Vahn went to see how Mordred and Sakura were getting along, followed by Artoria and Gray. It was quite surreal seeing the two girls standing side-by-side again, causing Vahn to have a thoughtful smile as they stepped out into the weakening winter storm. It wasnt exactly appropriate weather to y in but, so long as they were within the tall stone walls surrounding the chateau, it wasnt particrly dangerous. There were powerful magical defenses set up around the premises and, though it wasnt being used currently, it was possible to erect a barrier that could keep out the snow and wind entirely. Vahn found Mordred and Sakura rolling uprge snowballs together while Fenrir helped topact them together with her ice magic. They had already made a surprising number of snowmen and, at leastpared to before, Sakura seemed to be enjoying herself as she was charged with decorating each snowman using materials that had been provided by the staff. Though her nose was very red, to the point she was leaking a bit of snot, Sakura had a smile on her face as she wiggled a full-sized carrot into the position of a nose on theirtest shared creation. Though Fenrir was the first to notice her Masters arrival, it was Mordred who eventually shouted, "Ah, Chichiue, Hahaue! Check this out. Were making a whole family of snow people~!" This caused Sakura to turn around on the stepping stool she had been standing on, a less than ster judgment call that resulted in her tumbling toward the ground face-first. Vahn had immediately moved to grab her but, seeing someone else would be in time, he used his Telekinesis to slow Sakuras tumble as Mordred easily caught her before plopping onto the snowy ground with a soft crunch. When Sakura regained her senses, the first thing she saw was Mordreds toothy grin as thetter said, "I gotcha~." --- With the two girls covered in snow, Vahn had the group of attending Maids take them to the bath to warm their bodies, especially Sakura. After refusing to apany them, as it wasnt really a habit he wanted to pick up again, Vahn entrusted the task to Artoria and Fenrir. While they were walking away, Mordred led Sakura by hand and, though she looked back at Vahn several times, she didnt try to break away as Artoria gently pushed their backs. This left Vahn and Gray alone to wander around the overstaffed chateau as, after the earlier meeting, Olga had also gone to take care of her luggage. Though he was tempted to go see how the conversation with Luvia had gone, Vahn decided to use this as an opportunity to bond with Gray for a while. She had surprisingly epted his hand a lot easier than expected, even going so far as to giggle when Vahn blinked in confusion. Afterward, Gray exined, "Sakura allowed me to use the Orb whenever I was feeling lonely..." This admission caused Gray to immediately flush slightly, quickly adding, "I didnt...I..." After that, she practically dragged Vahn to Sakuras room, sneaking the Orb from an enchanted wood box beneath thetters pillow. Since she knew Vahn could synchronize with his Memory Fragment, Gray felt it would save her a lot of embarrassment if she just let him see what they had done together... After teasing Gray for a short while, Vahn went ahead and downloaded the memories of his faux-self within the Space-Time Orb. What he obtained were a lot of memories between him and Sakura, mainly involving her education, ying around, and just spending time together. It caused Vahn to feel fluttery when he was able to re-experience these memories, both in reminiscence and for the first time. Even more touching than his time with Sakura, however, Gray would sometimes appear every day or two within the Orb, usually seeking him out forfort. It was clear that their time apart hadnt been easy for her and, though they didnt do anything too intimate, Vahn got to experience all the time his faux-self spent just embracing her as they talked about the matters weighing heavily on Grays heart. Other than that, they would just spend time idling around the small cottage contained within the Orb, sometimes walking around the garden hand-in-hand, other times sitting atop the tall stone walls meant to keep Sakura safe, Gray resting her head on his shoulder as they stared out into oblivion together... What Vahn found most curious was, while Sakura and Gray were verymon presences within the Orb, Rin had only appeared a total of three times. The first moment was at the very beginning when Vahn had first taught her how to use the Orb, while thetter two instances were her exining the things she had discussed with Luvia and asking if the Memory Fragment could heal the wound on her chest. It was clear that Rin was somewhat ufortable around his Memory Fragment, leading Vahn to intuit that she did her best to avoid interacting with him too much, perhaps in an attempt to prevent her real memories from being tainted. Once he had downloaded everything, Vahn refreshed his Memory Fragment, as there was a good chance he would be using it to help in Sakuras education in the future. Though she would probably outgrow its use once they arrived at the castle, especially with the real him around, that didnt mean it wasnt an extremely useful tool. Rin, Catherine, Fenrir, and Merlin were likely the only teachers that Sakura would ever need but, as the quality of the lessons could heavily depend on the emotional bond between the Teacher and Student, Vahn figured Sakura would probably want to learn from him most of all. Since he would often be busy, perhaps even more so in the near future, she would have to either use the Space-Time Orb or, when he was on one of his breaks, be there to intercept him, something Mordred had be fond of doing when she wanted to y... While imagining his two adorable daughters trying to surprise attack him, Vahns consciousness left the Space-Time Orb. He opened his eyes to see Gray looking closely at his face, a small smile visible on her face until she made eye contact with him, only just now noticing he was awake. Before she could say anything, Vahn took Grays words away, smiling as he said, "When we get to Avalon, Id like it if you apanied me...I have my promise with Rin and Sakura, but there is a ce I want to take you, just the two of us..." With that said, Vahn took Grays hands into his own, kissing the top of her head to punctuate his statement. He knew that it was never the garden and the time atop the wall that Gray cared about and, even if he showed her the most wondrous sights in the world, it would mean little if he wasnt there to apany her. In response to Vahns words, Gray titled her head back, looking up with her stark blue eyes as she whispered, "Id like that..." Then, punctuating her own statement, Gray tip-toed to give Vahn a light peck on the lips before pulling away, a thinyer of moisture spreading across her eyes as an almost indiscernible blush crept up her neck. Seeing this, Vahn was extremely tempted to embrace Gray in a more meaningful way but, considering where they were, he kept his senses, answering her kiss with one of his own. Afterward, they once again walked around the chateau together, taking the scenic route to the recreational study where Rin was already waiting... --- The first thing that Rin said, almost as soon as Vahn entered the room, was, "Luvia is on her way. She will be here in less than an hour..." Hearing this, Vahn felt like the hairs on the back of his neck were going to stand, asking, "Is that a good idea? With everything you mentioned, I didnt think Luvia had any intentions ofing to Avalon with us..." Since it was clear that Luvia, and the Edelfelt family as a whole, was intending to take advantage of the current chaos, that would be impossible if she were exposed to be working together with them at this stage. It didnt seem like the Association Director was all that fond of him and, while it may be possible for ya to protect Luvia while thetter was at home, there was a very good chance the monsters hiding in the shadows had the means to target her, regardless... Rin just shrugged her shoulders in a somewhat exaggerated manner, answering, "With everything that has been going on, there is a good chance she just wants to confirm whether or not you are worth all the trouble she is going through...Vahn, Luvia and I have known each other for well over a decade, almost two. Even if I dont exactly agree with her reasons, she really is serious about all of this..." Though Luvia had always been something of a busybody, she wasnt the type to invest in things that had no chance to produce high yields in return. The fact she was sinking billions into Vahn after just two meetings showed that she had evaluated him extremely highly. Understanding that Luvia wasnt the pompous and spoiled noble that he had treated her as during their first meeting, Vahn could only give a dryugh in response to Rins warning. It was very clear that she was making a power y of sorts, risking her entire family while believing with full sincerity that he wouldnt let her down. This put a lot of pressure on Vahn but,pared to the other things he had to deal with these days, it was surprisingly negligible. Since it was an irrefutable truth that he would benefit greatly from cooperation with the Edelfelt family, as they had already done a lot for him and the people he cared about, this was a bullet Vahn didnt mind biting into... --- While waiting for Luvia to arrive, Vahn exined what Mordred and Sakura had been up to, eliciting a relieved sigh from Rin. Sakura had be the center of her life right now so she was genuinely concerned for her sister-turned-daughters happiness. Children were always the best at dealing with other children so, as long as Sakura was able to get along with Mordred, both girls would be able to be happy in the future. To that end, Rin had Vahn exin everything he could about Mordred, filling in the massive gaps in information he had left out during their previous discussion. As there wasnt all that much time before the girls finished their bath, Vahn gave a quick summary of who exactly Mordred was, how she hade to be, and his intentions for her in the future. To her credit, the story actually matched pretty closely with Rins assumptions, including the fact that another historically male figure ended up being female. The two things that caught her by surprise was that Artoria had agreed to be Mordreds mother and the fact that thetter was apparently okay with this arrangement. Though it could just be Mordred ying a long-con, using the fact she was sealed to lower their guard, but this seemed impossible going by how she behaved,bined with what Vahn had said about her... When Vahn had finished his prompt exnation, Rin followed up by crossing her arms and asking, "So, does this mean Im one of your Empresses as well...?" As Vahns exnation included the titles and ranks Artoria and Mordred had been assigned, Rin was curious about her own since Mordred already treated Sakura as her younger sister. In response, Vahn gave a lighthearted smile, answering, "If youre prepared for the responsibility, you can be the Empress, Rin...not only were you the first person I had a genuine connection with in this world, but thest few months have really put into perspective how I felt about you..." Towards the end of Vahns words, Rin held up her hands, her face reddening as she said, "Wait, wait, wait! My heart isnt ready for something like this...!" It didnt take a genius to know what Vahn was about to say and, though it was something she had wanted to hear in the past, Rin began to panic when he was actually on the verge of saying it. At the same time, both Ereshkigal and Ishtar were egging her onward, thetter going so far as to say, ("If you wont do it, I will! Trade ces with this Goddess~!") This was almost immediately followed by Ereshkigal adding, ("Together forever...even in death...") Hearing the voices of her two upants, Rin shouted, "You two stay out of this...!" in the real world, earning an amused smile from Vahn and a slightly confused look from Gray. This caused Rins brow to twitch, followed by her pointing directly at Vahns face andining, "You. Couldnt you have chosen a better moment for this? Luvia is on her way here and there is so much going on right now. Now Im going to be freaking out over this for the next couple of days...haaaaa..." Since Vahns words would practically amount to a proposal, Rins heart was currently beating so fast that it made the burn on her chest throb painfully. She actually wanted Vahn to treat it soon but, remembering how he fixed her previous scar, Rin wanted to wait until the evening since it would likely evolve into something more... Finding Rins tsundere behavior rather refreshing, as he had started to miss their interactions quite a bit, Vahn had a genuine smile on his face, nodding in understanding. He expected that, once she calmed down, Rin would actually refuse to be his Empress outright. She was the type of person who hated things like politics and, once she was in an environment where she could research and train without interruption, it was likely Rin would throw herself into her studiespletely. Since she had essentially grown up alone, Rins baseline was to do her best on her own, not proactively seek others out and engage in political games. It was this part of her that likely led to her epted Luvias ambition as, a stark contrast to the somewhat anti-social Rin, the drill-haired woman was extremely social and excelled at most things, politics included... Around the same time that Rin was beginning to settle down, the doors to the recreational study were opened, revealing a smiling Mordred who was rubbing the underside of her nose with her finger. The reason for this was, even though she would avoid wearing them in most other situations, Mordred was currently wearing her Tiger Pajamas while, trailing behind her with a ruddy blush, Sakura had a matching pair that was slightly too big for her. Unfortunately, Artoria was wearing her blue and white dress, earning Vahn a small re when she saw the disappointment in his eyes. She barely let Mordred get away with wearing such things in public, as the surrounding servants were not their own, so there was no way she would wear something so embarrassing. Taking advantage of the stunned silence she had caused, Mordred held up both her hands in the shape of ws, shouting, "Sakura, pounce...!" Following this, Mordred leaped through the air, covering nearly 10m in an instant, headbutting Vahns sternum as he caught her in his embrace. Then, afterughing in response to Vahn rubbing her head, Mordred looked back towards Sakura, gesturing toward the shy girl, urging her to take a few sheepish steps forward. She obviouslycked the physical ability to leap across the entire room so Sakura got within a few steps of Vahn before holding up her ws and stammering, "O-otou-sama...r-r-rawr..." Then, thought she didnt even get more than fifteen centimeters of the ground, Sakura leaped towards Vahn with outstretched arms and a ruby-red face... Vahn felt like his heart had fragmented into thousands of tiny pieces, each jumping around like oil on a skillet as he held the two tiger cubs, one in each arm. There was a rather silly smile on his face, earning him admonishing headshakes from many of the other girls present, even though they also had smiles on their faces. The only exception amongst them was Fenrir who, for a brief moment, wondered if she should have worn Tiger Pajamas as well. She ultimately decided against it, as her duty right now was to protect the two girls, not get pampered by her Master. Since even she found Mordred and Sakura cute, Fenrir just gave a small nod of approval before turning her attention to the nearby pool table and wondering how the game was yed. --- With the return of the children, the time for a.d.u.l.t talk hade and gone, leaving Vahn to carry around Sakura while they watched Fenrir and Mordred learned how to y billiards. As for Artoria and Gray, they started a surprisingly intense game of five-card draw with Rin, thetter losing almost every hand while Artoria won more than 70% of the hands against Gray. Perhaps as a result of her ridiculously high luck, Artoria was surprisingly strong when it came to gambling, to the point that her weakest hand was a three of a kind. Rin was theplete opposite and, every time she had a hand that couldnt lose, she inevitably lost to either Artoria or Gray, sometimes both... As could be expected, Fenrir and Mordred were both extremely good at billiards from the very start, to the point that the game was essentially decided by whoever got to go first. Games of skill that were almost purely reliant on dexterity and judgment were almost a joke for people who could even run on water and swing through trees with the ease a normal person would walk on tnd. In an effort to make things more interesting, they came up with a rule that required you to bank the cue ball at least three times before trying to socket your target. This was after they tried to y darts, a game that was even easier as the only time they failed to get a bullseye was when the dart bounced off another dart already within the center circle... While watching her older sister y games at a level that would cause professionals to experience an existential crisis, Sakura muttered, "Onee-chan is amazing..." Vahn didnt refute this, nodding his head and earning a smile from Mordred as, even though she didnt look over, she had easily heard what Sakura had said. Then, though she didnt seem to believe his words outright, Vahn looked into Sakuras eyes and exined, "If you want, you can be just as amazing as your Onee-chan one day. You have an amazing amount of power sleeping inside you, Sakura. You dont have to make Magic your main focus...if you want to y with Fenrir and Mordred, you can start training to be a Magic Knight instead. Even your Okaa-chan can do amazing things like leaping over buildings if she wanted to..." Hearing her Otou-samas words, Sakura looked in the direction of her Okaa-chan, seeing thetter suffering constant defeats at the hand of Artoria and Gray. This caused her to develop a wry smile that wasnt befitting of a child before asking, "What about you, Otou-sama? What are you good at?" Since her mother was less than inspiring right now, Sakura felt it was better to look to her father for advice about the path she should decide for herself. In response to her inquiry, Vahn answered, "Im best at trying to make people happy. Even if it is something others believe is impossible, I never let that prevent me from doing the things I need to do. After you see our new home, youll also begin to understand that there is no such thing as impossible...there is only what you are capable of doing, powered by your ownprehension..." Since she only had the mind of six-year-old, Sakura furrowed her brows in confusion after hearing her Otou-samas exnation. This caused him to chuckle as he lightly pinched her nose and said, "As you grow older, you will begin to understand. The only thing you need to understand right now is, no matter what path you choose to take, I will always support you, my little cherry blossom..." At the end of his words, Vahn gave Sakura a quick kiss on her cheek before pinching her nose one more time. This caused Sakura to wrap her tiny arms around his neck in response, followed by her nting a somewhat sloppy kiss on his cheek before she murmured, "I love you, Otou-sama..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gray, kawaii...,Rin was not prepared (UwU)...,Just imagine someone petite like Circe, without a visible muscle on her entire body, just outrunning Usain Bolt while jogging backward xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1157 - Golden

Chapter 1157 - Golden

Though it wasnt within the hour, as Rin had previously stated, Vahn eventually picked up on an aerial transport that was preparing to touch down on the helipad located at the summit of the surrounding hills. What caught his attention wasnt so much the design of the transport, which looked like abination between a helicopter and a ne, but the fact that Luvia had brought along someone that caused Vahn to instinctually furrow his brows. Even without the ability to sense the color of a persons affection, that didnt mean Vahn had lost his ability to sense how strong people were. Though the person traveling with Luvia kept it concealed well, Vahn felt like their tiny me was akin to a small star that was preparing to go supernova at the smallest stimulus... Amongst those gathered within the study, only Artoria and Fenrir showed any reaction, thetter likely using his own senses to supplement her own. Rin also had a small reaction but hers seemed to be the result of Ishtar or Ereshkigal bringing the matter to her attention, resulting in Rin blinking in confusion before her face became slightly pale. Then, while holding her forehead, Rinined, "That idiot...!" before looking to Vahn and asking, "How soon can we move to Avalon...?" in a hurried voice. Vahn, however, shook his head, a smile visible on his face as he said, "Ill take care of it. Please look after Sakura and Mordred." As he said this, Vahn closed the book he had been reading with Sakura before handing her over to her mother. Then, before she could ask, Vahn looked at Mordred and said, "It isnt an enemy. Watch over your little sister and behave..." After that, Vahn ruffled Mordreds hair before leaving the study, apanied by Artoria and Gray while Fenrir was left to protect the children. Though a fight would undoubtedly break out, Vahn didnt think any damage would be done to the chateau and, even if things went south, the odds of any danger befalling those within were negligible. The same red-haired woman from before, Sophia, was on her way to inform the group of Luvias arrival but, seeing Vahn already heading over, she self-assigned herself to guiding them the rest of the way. Vahn remained rtively calm throughout while,pared to the demure and reserved woman he hade to know, Artoria had started radiating an aura of dignity that caused most of the staff within the chateau to lower their eyes by instinct. This caused Gray to also raise her head a little higher than normal, even though she didnt fully understand what was going on. She felt that asking would make things awkward and, seeing Vahn and Artoria both radiating a regal aura, she just did her best to keep her back straight and head raised, copying Artorias posture as much as she could... By now, the weak winter storm had already passed through the area, leaving fresh powdered snow covering most surfaces, the path leading to the helipad being one of the few exceptions. It was very apparent that the staff had done their best to clear it out, even going so far as to spread salt along the dark trail that cut through the white snow like a gently curved line. Towards the end of this path, wearingvish winter coats, a group of blond-haired women were idling down the path, followed closely by a tall man with broad shoulders and sword-like eyebrows. While the three women had a very obvious rtion to each other, the man stood out as he was around 198cm tall and looked like a bear that had been stuffed into a suit and given a human mask... At the same instant that Vahn was evaluating the group, they were doing the same towards him, the only exception between the woman at the very front. The moment she saw Vahn, Luvia raised her hand and began to wave, shouting, "Yahoooo~! Vaaahn, Im happy you came out to receive me~." As she identified Vahn, the two women following behind Vahn had their visions sharpen, especially the younger of the two, at least going by appearance. Like Luvia, both women had golden-brown eyes and long golden-blond hair that had been painstakingly crafted intoplex ringed-loops and braids. The older of the two women was very clearly Luvias mother as, even with her winter clothing, Vahn could tell she had an impressive figure, possessing both beauty and a physique that contained great power. She was slightly shorter than Luvia but her three sizes, which Vahn could easily peg with just a nce, were around 87cm, 56cm, and 88cm respectively. As for the even shorter woman behind her, who looked like a good match as Luvias older sister, she was rtively petitepared to the other two girls. Though she had a veritable fountain of magical power hidden inside her 158cm tall frame, she looked to be the weakest and most frail amongst them, even as the other three gave her afortable distance as if they were afraid to offend her... Like Luvia and her mother, the petite woman behind them had her hair inplex ringlets but, while it was still golden-blond, it had started to fade into tinum-white around her scalp. At the same time, she had a very aged aura and, though it was hard to tell at a nce, Vahn would be confident in cing her at over a century in age. Though her vitality showed no signs of burning out any time soon, it was slightly more chaotic and sputtery than someone more youthful, showing that she would probably cut into her own vitality if she ever went all out. She was long past her prime and likely used several treasures to preserve her youth, something Vahn figured he would be able to help her with if they coulde to an ord... Soon after that thought passed through his mind, Vahn produced a wry smile as Artoria stepped forward to cut down a surprisingly massive reddish-ck beam of light. Though he could have easily blocked it himself, Vahn decided to let Artoria y her part for once as, even during the Holy Grail War, he hadnt let her do much. She was his Knight Commander and, if he fought against every enemy from the start, it would probably start to weigh on her mind after enough time passed. It was also very refreshing to see her in her armor as, even though she had a youthful appearance, Artoria always cut a heroic figure whenever she threw herself headfirst into battle. After Artoria deflected the massive [Gandr] into the surrounding forest, Luvia ced her hands on her h.i.p.s, staring down at the petite woman as sheined, "Grandmother! That bad habit of yours is going to give Vahn a bad impression of our family...!" This only caused the petite woman to shake her head as, instead of responding to Luvia, she looked across the 70m distance and said, "So youre the man my Luvia has set her sights on...hmmm..." As she said this, the woman also cast her gaze over Artoria and Gray in turn and, even though she had already heard the reports, it was quite the sight to see the two girls ready to protect Vahn. What annoyed her was that, instead of dealing with her attack himself, Vahn continued to stand in the back with a casual smile on his face,cking even the smallest semnce of fear in his unwavering gaze... Understanding Luvias Grandmothers intentions, Vahn gestured to the side before cing his hand on Artorias shoulder. She and Gray both stepped off to the side as the snow in the surroundings began to retreat away from Vahn, followed by an exponential rise in pressure. Since he had seen the characteristic glimmer of doubt and ridicule contained within the womans eyes, Vahn loosened the cor of his shirt, saying, "Come..." in a stern tone of voice. The Edelfelts had always been the type of family that settled private affairs with physical and magical might, to the point that even Rin and Luvia practically fought every day the two had lived together... In response to Vahns overbearing choice of words, Luvias mother began tough in an elegant manner, issuing an Ohohoho~ before remarking, "My, he seems like quite the catch. If I were thirty years younger..." As she said this, the woman cast a nce towards the tall man that Vahn assumed to be Luvias father, the former Head of the Edelfelt family. Then, the biggest surprise of the day, the man very noticeably rubbed the womans backside before smiling in a crude manner, the result of his physical appearance, not his nature, as he said, "It looks like I havent been giving you enough attentiontely..." This caused the woman to giggle as she moved closer to the man and joined him in walking off to the side. As for Luvia, she just crossed her arms without minding what her parents were doing, seemingly intent on joining the fight herself... Instead of rebuking him, Luvias Grandmother just gave a curt nod in response to Vahns words before her magical power began to swell. In the same instant, reminiscent of Artorias [Mana Burst], she formed a deep pit of debris with her step, closing the seventy-meter distance to Vahn nigh-instantaneously. He answered this by converging his domain all at once, putting great pressure on the womans body as he directly grabbed her fist with his palm. Then, from an area near her hip, several thin reddish-cksers shot up from just outside Vahns blind spot. As he wasnt all that reliant on seeing attacks from the start, Vahn guided her hand downwards with her momentum as he stepped to the side, evading the [Gandr] with room to spare. With her back now facing him, Vahn extending out his palm, sending a [Primordial Rune] to embed itself into her winter coat. Had things gone as he expected, the rune would have temporarily made her weightless, causing her to spin around in the air a few times and exposing her to future attacks. What happened instead was, the figure of the woman seemed to vanish as Vahns perception of time automatically caused the world to slow to a crawl. Her winter coat was left in the air, bereft of its wearer, as Luvias Grandmother used it as an obstruction to hide the fact she had formed her hand into a fist, gathering an incredible amount of magical energy into her palm as she jumped backward to create some distance from Vahn. Doing his best to ignore the fact that Luvias Grandmother had been wearing what looked like a lightly-armored leotard underneath her coat, Vahns hands and forearms became covered in ck scales as he vanished from sight at the very instant a crimson-redser cut through the ground, eating through several tens of meters of gravel and stone in an instant before causing the entire hill to shake as the ground exploded. All of the snow on the surrounding trees fell simultaneously, nearly at the exact same moment that Vahn had spiked Luvias Grandmother towards the ground. To her credit, she managed to right herself mid-air in a surprising disy of flexibility, but Vahn had already appeared right in front of her as she turned her eyes skyward. With an excited glimmer in her golden-brown eyes, Luvias Grandmother smiled, almost as if she were baring her pearly white fangs for him to see. Then, causing the flow of time to slow once again, Luvias Grandmother had red electricity run along her arms as she moved to intercept Vahns palm strike to her abdomen. She was moving much faster than should have been possible, the result of using [Time Maniption] to forcibly elerate her thought process and reduce theg between mentalmands and motion. It was an admittedly ingenious way to increase the reaction time of the human body but, with Vahns Agility being ny times that of a normal person, it wasnt a speed he couldnt react to... Instead of allowing Luvias Grandmother to deflect his strike, Vahn twisted his hands, grabbing her wrists in the process. Around the same time, at least from Vahns perspective, her eyes began to slowly widen as he pulled her downward, bringing her center of gravity forward as Vahn raised his knee, connecting it with her jaw. He was aware of the peculiar flow of energy around her body and, as he hadnt gone all out, the chances she would take any considerable damage were slim, at best. Instead, his attack broke on contact with her chin, diffusing most of the impact force but still sending her flying nearly ten meters into the air. At the same time that he had sent Luvias Grandmother flying, Vahn pped his palms together, simultaneously producing nine links of [Enkidu] to form a sphere around her body at the apex of her ascent. This was in response to her mustering up a little too much magical energy, far more than the small hill would have been able to take. Had she used it while he was in the air, Vahn wouldnt have minded it too much but, considering the amount of damage such an attack would deal to the surroundings, he would rather bring an end to their small skirmish instantly... Seing the cage of resplendent golden chains, causing her own magical energy to simply vanish, Luvias Grandmother didnt have much choice other than to simplynd atop the chains and dangle in the air until Vahn decided to let her down. She had already heard that Vahn was capable of using the Chains of Heaven so it wasnt all that surprising to her that he had whipped them out of thin air. If anything, she felt a little embarrassed to lose her cool, even though her expression could only be seen as one of mild annoyance to observers. Since staying in the cage would only exacerbate her frustration, she looked down at Vahn and asked, "How long do you intend to keep this up? Let me down this instant..." As he intuitively understood making an enemy out of Luvias Grandmother would be a bad idea, Vahn slowly withdrew [Enkidu], though not before raising a tform for her use, even though she could easily drop to the ground without injury. Then, as the tform lowered to the ground, Vahn already had her winter coat in hand, sans [Primordial Rune], handing it over to her the moment shended on the ground. This earned him an appreciative nod from Luvias Grandmother, followed by her stating, "I never doubted Luvias judgment. Still, I wanted to see for myself what an Emperor from another world was like. If I hadnt already entrusted matters to this generation, I might even try to sink my teeth into you myself...hmmm..." Understanding she wasnt really joking, as it was also very likely she was aware of his actual age, Vahn could only answer with a polite smile as Luvia ran over with an excited expression on her face. Then, just as her Grandmother stepped off to the side, Luvia jumped through the air, both of her heels together as she shouted, "Oshaaaa~!" while attempting a dropkick. Like her Grandmother, she was wearing what looked like a leotard under her winter coat, allowing her bare legs to be visible as she spun through the air, fully intent on kicking him if he allowed it. Since it was a rather amusing attempt, Vahn held up his hand and, as he was still in his Xuanwu form,pletely negated the force of her kick. He knew the Edelfelts had a policy about potential suitors being able to defeat them inbat and, while it was just a formality at this point, Vahn used the moment when Luvia was confused by her arrested momentum to step to her side and catch her in a bridal carry. Unless he wanted to cause unnecessary tensions, especially with Luvia bringing the rest of her family along, Vahn knew he needed to put on a bit of a show. Having already made up his mind earlier, Vahn used the moment when Luvia was slightly fl.u.s.tered to lean in and steal a kiss from her lips. Since her parents had alreadymitted quite the faux pas of their own, Vahn assumed they wouldnt mind too much even if he was a bit heavy-handed. As a result, their rtively tame kiss turned into Luvia waving her hands excitedly before grabbing the sides of his face like a vice and reciprocating with a surprising amount of vigor. For a brief moment, Vahn felt like he had been ensnared in a trap but, after nearly suffocating herself, Luvia eventually released his face, her own gaining a ruddy hue as she licked the saliva from her lips andmented, "I knew you woulde around..." Hearing Luvias remark, Vahn issued a lighthearted chuckle while, after having closed the distance, Luvias mother joined him inughing while her father, significantly less enthused, sternly stated, "My little girl chose you, so I have nothing to say...if you make her cry-" Before he could continue, Luvias mother elbowed him in the ribs a little harder than necessary before adding, "I expected to see my grandchildren soon...ohohohoho~." With that parting remark, she pulled her husband along towards the chateau, waving toward Artoria and Gray in passing. Throughout this entire series of events, Luvia continued to hold onto Vahn, apparently enjoying the princess-style treatment, even though her dress had hiked up to reveal her fair and long legs to the crisp and freezing air. She seemed to agree with her mother, not minding the presence of others as she unashamedly stated, "I want at least two children, one to be the heir of the Edelfelt family and another to strengthen ties with the Imperial Family. I imagine Ill need to settle things with Rin to determine which of us gets to be the Empress. Well also need to talk about the rights of session before too many children start popping up. Ooooh, there is so much to do~! Im so excited!" Toward the end of her statement, Luvia snuck another kiss before curling up in Vahns embrace and giggling in excitement... While Vahn was somewhat stupefied by Luvias reaction, it didnt really show on his face as, while she had been speaking, Luvias Grandmother was staring directly at him. When her granddaughter had finished her rambling, she inly stated, "Im certain well have plenty of time to talk in the future but Ill go ahead and introduce myself and those two nitwits. My name is Oliviagelita Edelfelt, the current Lord representing the Edelfelt family. Those two you met earlier are my daughter, Junelita, and her muscle brained husband, Samuel." Though Samuel had been the previous Head before Luvia, it was only because her mother had sustained an injury on a battlefield, damaging her Magic Circuits and causing her to pass on her Magic Crest by having s.e.x with Samuel, the man who had saved her. Until Luvia was mature enough to take on the title for herself, her father had carried the burdens of the Edelfelt family while Junelit and her mother managed their finances. As for why they had been left in charge, the Edelfelts had a secret that Vahn would very soone to learn. Though they were well-known for seeking out strong partners, the true secret of the Edelfelts, which had led to their almost meteoric rise, was that their first-born descendant always carried the [Golden Rule] skill. This was why, even though Luvia had been rtively young at the time of bing the Head, she had been instantly ced in charge of the families finances as, for the first time in their five-hundred year history, she was the only descendant to have the [Golden Rule: EX] skill. In a way, by allowing Luvia to marry Vahn, instead of the other way around, it was like giving off generations of their familys fortunes to an outsider. It was for this reason that Luvia herself intended to have two children, one to captain the Edelfelt family and the other to support the Empire into the far future... Unaware of what was going through the two drill-haired womens heads, Vahn listened to Olivia talk about various things he needed to be aware of as he carried Luvia towards the chateau. As she had been alive for 97 years, Olivia knew the inner workings of the Mages Association quite well and, though it wasnt reallyparable to Luvias [Golden Rule: EX], she had the same skill at B-Rank. Her own mother had only had the skill at C-Rank and, by consuming various treasures, June had been able to increase it to A-Rank. As a result, their family had constantly been on the rise and, in order to protect themselves, they had built a business empire as a Mercenary Family. To protect the secret of the family, they always trained their primary descendent to be one of the most powerful Magi of their generation, sparing literally no expense to produce a suitable heir. After all, regardless of how much money they spent, the existence of Luvias [Golden Rule: EX] guaranteed they would always be wealthy. The hardest part was protecting that wealth, a duty that would now be Vahns in the future. Since Luvia would essentially be the face of his forces in the outside world, the chances of her being attacked were astronomically high. Though this wasnt anything new, and they were more than prepared for a fight, things could change drastically as the world approached its potential end... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Da Vinci needs to get her hands on that Osprey...,Vahn over here bullying children...(>,...,<),Two girls with [Golden Rule], one with Body, the other with Wealth...) (A/N: For those that are confused, Luvia essentially has a powerful intuition that allows her to know whether or not an investment is worth making. When she looks at Vahn, there is literally limitless potential for returns. This is also why she was okay with Olga being brought into the fold as, even if Olga herself isnt necessarily the best investment, the things that came with her made it more than worth it xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1158 - Frigid

Chapter 1158 - Frigid

In a cold and icynd, several hundred meters above sea level, a tall figure that seemed topete against the mountains in the background could be seen navigating the treacherous snowfields as it slowly ambled up the mountainside path. With bronzed skin that had an appearance simr to wrought iron, this monstrous figure stood out against the pure white backdrop, even more so due to the fact that it was barefooted and bare-chested as the cold icy winds broke against its body. There was even ayer of steam rising up from its body, obscuring the two passengers using its shoulders as a rock-hard seat cushion. Contrasting the almost monstrous creature, who could even tower over a Grizzly Bear, the white-d figures on its shoulders could evenpete in beauty against the tall mountains and scenic view that spread out in the vast valleys below... Following behind the peculiar trio, riding arge white horse thatpletely disregarded the sub-zero temperatures as it slowly trotted behind the mountain-like man leading the way. This steed also had an impable beauty seated upon its back but, unlike the mother-daughter pair above, she cut a rather heroic figure as her long ankle-length hair, now set in an extremely long three-strand braid that danced in the wind, seemingly without a care for the actual wind blowing against it. Instead, it flowed with a natural grace that, with its peculiar ck and white design, would have caused anyone lucky enough to view the strange procession to believe they had graced upon a Goddess and her escort... Now, halfway to their destination, the leading figure, Heracles, slowed to a stop. Kenshin rode her prided steed, Houshoutsukige, to a position standing next to him as, a few dozen meters up the path, a group of golems formed of ice and snow slowly took shape. As she prepared a spear, Illya held up her hand to stay her action, stating, "We are not powerless. This is our battle to fight..." With that said, several strands of Illyas hair began to move of their own ord before separating from her scalp as she chanted, "Engel Note, Angels Poem..." Following this, the strands of hair formed into the shape of four peculiar birds, each taking on the form of a stork, ibis, sparrow, and falcon. Hearing her daughters words, Iris released a sonorous giggle before hopping off Heracles shoulder and adding, "That is right, isnt it, Illya? Its time we start fighting for what we want instead of wishing against hope that it wille to us..." Hailing from a family whose Origin and Sorcery Trait were Wish-Granting and the Flow and Transfer of Power,bined with the fact they specialized in the production of Homunculi, the Einzberns had always emphasized on dignity through defense. They were never the type to seek out conflict and instead focused on using advantageous terrain to their advantage. When she had been a Justeaze-Type Homunculi, Iris was able to use a veritable infinite amount of magical energy, so long as she was on the grounds prepared by the Einzbern family. Illyas case was even more extreme, given that 70% of her body wasprised entirely of Magic Circuits. Though her output was limited, she had a theoretically infinite amount of mana, so long as she was in contact with the. Even before her fusion with Cath Palug, she had been an existence simr to a Nature Spirit but, now that the rather adorable Beast of Gaia resided within her, Illya was closer to a Divine Spirit than a human or Homunculi. While Illyas familiars zipped around at high speeds, shooting smallser-like bursts of Magical Energy that urately targetted the core of each golem, Iris extended her palms outward, her body glowing with modified Magic Circuits that were almost identical to her daughters. Her wrists and forearms were covered various different types of storage bracelets, each containing arge amount of purified precious metal. Da Vinci had yet to help her design a system that would be able to neatly organize all the metals so, until then, Iris wore several essories that matched the type of metal they held. This time, she pulled out a cubic meter of refined gold, an amount that would have been valued at nearly seventeen billion pounds on the market... Though this was her first time benefitting from it, Iris enjoyed the tingling feeling of magical energy from the steadily flowing into her body through the soles of her feet as she shaped the cube of gold into a glimmering titan that was nearly 10m in height, albeit withrge gaps that gave it a simr appearance to a clockwork machine than her traditional wire golems. Then, after establishing a mental link with the massive metal creature, Iris released a sonorous chuckle as the Golden Titan extended its hand, the fingers extending faster than bullets to pierce the heads and torsos of any golem that formed to block their path. Not to be outdone by her mother, several other strands of her hair began to rise before separating themselves from her scalp. Now, instead of four familiars, she had a total of twenty that darted around, some piercing directly through Golems with their bodies while others continued to fire small bursts of Magical Energy to instantly defeat her opponents. She didnt like using this skill too often, as the fear of going bald existed in the back of her mind, but Illya knew this was an irrational fear, especially with the regeneration provided by Cath Palug. As for why she used her hair instead of precious metals, it was due to the fact that using biomass allowed her to transmit her Magical Energy into her familiars with greater ease. Though they were rtively fragile, the normal human head had as much as 100,000 strands and, with each strand rivaling an average Magus on its own, Illya was confident there were few enemies that could survive her assault... With Iris Golden Titan acting as a shield and vanguard,bined with Illyas small army of highly mobile familiars, the groups pace hadnt changed muchpared to before they were attacked. Now, it was just a matter of seeing how the residents of the mountain themselves reacted to their presence as, for the time being, the group only had to deal with the automated defenses of the Einzbern family. Eventually, they would enter into the Territory of the Einzbern family directly, separated from the rest of the world by a powerful magic barrier thatpletely obscured the massive stone fortress-castle that not only dominated the peak of the mountain it was built upon, but several hundred meters below the surface as well... --- After an hour of traveling up the mountain path, a pulse rippled through the ground that caused the golems barring their path to cease forming. Then, from a space further up the path, several figures appeared from an area where there had previously been nothing. There, a group of Homunculi that all had simr features, each superior to more than a hundred standard Magi, stood behind the only unique figure among them. While the Homunculi were all females, possessing ruby-red eyes, white hair, and lightly armored Maid attire, the person leading the way was a young man with simrly white hair but pale blue eyes. He had the appearance of a boy between 14-16 years of age and, though his eyes seemed to possess no light, he still had a grimace on his face as he shouted, "This is the territory of the Einzbern family! What business do you have that necessitates breaking into ournds and disrupting the peace!?" Though the EInzberns specialized in the production of Homunculi, there were numerous Artificial Humans and advanced Golems in their employ. Whenever they found suitable materials, usually in the form of a defeated enemy Magus, they would recycle the body before recing its brain and organs with magically enhanced organs harvested from their own failed Homunculi. As a result, the Einzberns were able to expand into other fields of Magecraft to make it harder for their enemies to ever get a true grasp of their capabilities. They were also the first family any prestigous Magus family went to if theycked the means of transnting consciousness themselves. In exchange for defense contracts, materials, and other necessary goods, they would help Magi past their prime inhabit a new, oftentimes more powerful, body... Hopping off Heracles shoulder, Illya walked forward with Iris following closely behind her, her head raised high as she shouted, "My name is Illyasviel von Einzbern, Ninth Head of the Einzbern family! I never relinquished my title, nor did I pass it down to a descendant of Einzbern blood! I order you to grant my party free passage up the mountain to meet with Jubstacheit von Einzbern!" At the same time as her shout, Illya channeled her Magical Power through her body, causing her face and body to glow with a red light that sent a pulse through the snowy terrain. For a brief moment, even the wind had been kept at bay by her overwhelming Magical Power, causing the young man to widen his eyes in response. Unlike the Artifical Human boy, the Maids behind him were programmed to follow themands of the true Einzbern heirs, the only exception being when the current Head gave them a direct order. Thus, even if he had wanted to refuse Illyas request, the boy fundamentallycked the authority to muster them into action. If Illya was who she imed to be, which wasnt exactly an identity anyone could just fake, any action he took against her could get him recycled. Unlike standard Homunculi, whose ego was suppressed a great deal, most Artifical Humans within the Einzberns employ had much greater freedom. This was because, without the ability of a few to express themselves, the Einzberns knew it would be impossible for them to keep pace with other reputable families. Even imnting a mind and soul into a new vessel had its limits as, with age, the soul itself seemed to grow weary and desire death. Thus, in the present day, every true descendent, sans Illyasviel, had already died long ago. Only their creations remained as, to prevent any kind of infighting, the Einzbern family had never allowed for the existence of Branch families and vassals. Even if he wanted to bar her passage, the boy was not willing to take any action against the massive Golden Titan and the aerial fleet of Familiars without the support of the Homunculi behind him. As a result, he fixed the previous scowl on his face, masking his expression with apletely neutral one as he gave a gentlemanly bow and stated, "Please...allow me to escort you, Lady Einzbern..." With Jubstacheit being the acting Head, as Illya seemed to be contending the title, he simply couldnt refer to her with that title. This didnt bother Illya in the slightest, however, as she answered with a curt nod beforemanding, "Send a group ahead to inform Jubstacheit of mine and my Mothers arrival. Ill not be kept waiting in my own homnd and territory..." Though Illya hadnt been to the Einzbern Castle since before she participated in the Fifth Holy Grail War, she still had vivid memories of its existence deeply imnted into her mind. During her conversion into the vessel for the Holy Grail after her Mothers death, a grievous sin that Jubstacheit should have never allowed, she had be more of a Homunculus than a human. When she had died, having her heart removed by Gilgamesh, they had made even more modifications to her body before giving her a new life. At the same time, she was stripped of her title and, as if to punish her failure, turned into even more of a tool that, even now, could bring about the worlds end. She masked it well, but Illya had a phenomenal amount of hatred towards Jubstacheit and the current Einzbern family. If he intended to contradict one of his primary objectives, Illya was determined to rip the head from Jubstacheits shoulders for corrupting the Einzbern family into a tool for his own personal use. After all, evenpared to the Artificial Humans within the Einzbern family, he was nothing more than a Golem that had been given human form, supplied with an Artificial Intelligence and all the knowledge of the Einzbern family. At no point in history had Jubstacheit ever been a descendant of the Einzbern family, meaning he never had a right to be the Head. He had essentially stolen the title in his endless pursuit of recreating Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern, the primary function he had been given more than eleven hundred years prior. The current Jubstacheit was the Eighth generation model, the version that had been created by the Seventh when it took over the family two hundred and fourteen years ago. He had been the one to instate the Heavens Feel Ritual and, ever since then, the Einzbern family had been on a constant downward spiral. If not for the existence of one of their greatest secrets, Das Rheingold, the greatest treasure, they would never have been able to persist as long as they had. It was a veritable infinite source of wealth as the treasure took on the form of crystallized gold that, so long as it was provided with magical power, would continue to grow indefinitely... While making their way up the mountainside, Iris turned her singr Golden Titan into a group of seven humanoid Knights, one for each of the Homunculi that remained at the Artificial Humans side. She had no intention of attacking, even though she showed a disarming smile that, despite its elegance, also promised violence if it was necessary. By nature, Iris hated conflict but, if it was to protect her most precious treasure, she would be an enemy of the entire world, much less the Einzbern family. As for Illya, she had her Familiars fly around the area, scouting the terrain to make sure there were no unexpected surprisesying in wait. Though some nearly fell from the sky after passing through the invisible membrane of the barrier surrounding the castle, Illya was still a Magus of the Einzbern family. She was able to quickly reestablish control, earning a cautious look from the Artificial Human who had been closely observing to see if she would slip up... With tensions in the air reaching a palpable level, the group continued until, somewhat surprisingly, they passed through a second barrier further up the mountain pass. Irisviel kept Illya calm by cing her hand on her daughters shoulder, even though thetter had a determined, albeit adorable, look on her face as she looked up at the massive castle in the distance. It had the appearance of arge cathedral that had been converted into a fortress-castleter on. Though it was a rather fantastical sight, Illya felt like she was looking at a hallowed graveyard as, even though she intended to treat the Homunculi within as humans, they were currently nothing more than lifeless dolls, unable to do anything more than carry out the will of Jubstacheit. As for everyone else, they were all guilty for choosing to follow Jubstacheit, even as he nearly led the Einzbern family to extinction... By the time the group made it up the mountainside, crossing arge stone bridge that spanned a massive chasm, there were already hundreds of nearly-identical Homunculi waiting for them, many outfitted with halberds, spears, and other rather archaic forms of weaponry as they watched Illyas procession make its way inside. Evenpletely surrounded, Illya had a fearless expression on her face as, with the protection of the [Effigy of the Hero] and ya, her only concern, her mother, was well-protected. As for herself, she wouldnt die no matter what methods they tried to use against her as, unless Cath Palug separated from her body, she shared its immortality. The only prize for their treachery would be death and the hands of the seemingly unstoppable Beast of Gaia who, unless Vahn or Merlin arrived, would continue to tear apart the mountain... Though they made quite the show of power, none of the Homunculi attempted to bar their passage as the Artificial Human led the way into the castles interior. Here, several other Artificial Humans were present, most having already lost the light in their eyes as, on average, the majority of them were well over a hundred years old. At this point, they were nothing more than the hands and feet of Jubstacheit, any true loyalty towards the Einzberns having long faded with the vast majority of their emotions. Still, as Jubstacheit was still loyal, only carrying out his programming to a heinous extent, there was hope that they might be spared Illyas wrath. As she passed by the mostly foreign faces, Illya saw a few she recognized, none she held a positive opinion toward. Other than her few personal Handmaidens, who had been killed more than ten years ago, Illya had nobody she was close to within this cold and deste ce. Thus, with her gaze gaining an icy glimmer, Illya continued forward until she found herself passing through the double-doors of arge and predominately empty room. The only piece of furniture present was a stone throne, atop which sat an old man who seemed to be carved from the same material with how rigidly he sat. With bridged white hair forming two long fringe bangs that extended to his corbones,plete with long hair that flowed down to the small of his back and a split beard that was reminiscent of a frozen waterfall. At first nce, the man seated on the throne had a regal yet ancient look, his face permanently affixed with judgmental scorn that seemed to look down on the rest of the world. His pale-purple eyes, however,pletelycked the light of life while his ceremonial, robe-like attire,plete with ents of actual gold, gave him the look of a priest. With the only other decorations in the room being hundreds of candles, each painstakingly arranged so they always burned at the exact same height, stepping into the room almost felt like stepping into an ancient site where Gods older than time were worshipped... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The future must be grabbed with ones own hands...,Mama bear will bite if her cub is threatened (O,...,O)...!,A ce filled with thousands of people,pletelycking the feeling of life...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1159 - Missing Ingredient

Chapter 1159 - Missing Ingredient

With a stone-faced expression and eyes far colder than the stagnant air within the castle, Jubstacheit looked back at the four interlopers, casting his gaze over Heracles and Kenshin before squinting as he looked between Illyasviel and Irisviel. Though he had intended to say something to Illyasviel first, Jubstacheits expression became dark as he looked upon Irisviel with an astute and piercing gaze. He could tell at a nce that she wasnt the same Justeaze-Type he had made thirty years ago, causing his old, almost skeletal, fingers to curl slowly into fists as he asked, "What are you...? You are not a Homunculus produced by my Einzbern family..." The moment Jubstacheit mentioned the words my Einzbern family, Illyas gaze turned even icier than the aged Golems, stating, "The Einzbern family is not yours, eighth-generation Golem Terminal, Acht. I havee to reim my birthright in ordance with thews established by the Einzbern family more than a thousand years ago. I order you to stand down and relinquish the title of Ninth Head back to me..." As she spoke, the momentum from Illyas body continued to rise as her Magic Circuits slowly began to glow with increasing intensity all over her body. She came here expecting a fight and, with how Jubstacheit had looked at her mother, Illyas patience was quickly wearing thin. In response to Illyas words, Jubstacheits expression hardly changed, remaining a cold visage as he looked back at her and inly stated, "You lost your im to the position after your death more than ten years ago. Even then, you were the product of a Homunculus and a traitor, not a true descendant of the Einzbern family. The title was only ever granted to you as a means to motivate you further but, even though you were meant to be the ultimate vessel for the Holy Grail, you failed to fulfill your purpose, not once, but twice..." With each word that left his mouth, Jubstacheits own momentum rose to match Illyas as, surprising everyone present, a Magic Crest slowly took form on his exposed forehead. Though it was widely believed that the Einzberns did not possess a Magic Crest that was passed down through their lineage, the truth of the matter was, when the despondent ancestors of the Einzbern created Jubstacheit nine-hundred years ago, they had bestowed him with the Magic Crest. They had been so devastated by their failure to recreate the Third Magic of their Master, as the Einzberns had originally been nothing more than the disciples and family members of the true wielder of the Third Magic, that many either abandoned the impossible endeavor while the vast majority of Einzberns killed themselves. Jubstacheit was their legacy, given an impossible task toplete after they had be disillusioned after hundreds of years of failure... Seeing theplex Magic Crest on Jubstacheits forehead, centered around the Alchemical Symbol for Earth, Illyas eyes widened in abject shock. Though even she knew her im was loose, Illya felt that Jubstacheits denial was more so rted to his hatred for her father than anything else. After all, even though the Homunculi produced by the Einzbern family had no rights, they were still formed using the gic material of the Einzbern Ancestors, even if the basic structure had changed since the creation of the Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern. As there had been several historical Homunculi that had held the title of Head, she knew Jubstacheit was denying her im due to personal reasons, not wholly due to the logic inherent within his words... As tensions continued to build, Jubstacheit turned his cold eyes towards Irisviel once again, saying, "I will ask once again...what are you? If you do not answer my question, do not expect to leave here in one piece. I have no need for failures who have outgrown their use..." Though these words earned him a venomous re from Illyasviel, Jubstacheitpleted ignored her as he continued to stare at Irisviel who, despite the fact she was smiling, had a cold light in her eyes that could ice over a tundra with its intensity. It was very subtle but, her own Magic Circuits had started to glow, something that caused Jubstacheit expression to shift from a scowl into a glower. Illyasviel had actually been an anomaly, not all that dissimr to the original Justeaze, and, even now, Jubstacheit had no idea how herplex Magic Circuits had formed and stabilized. Though he had created several other Homunculi that were able to bear children, most of the infants died within the w.o.m.b while the few that were formed rarelysted more than a month as their own Magic Circuits ate away at their bodies. It was as if there was a key ingredient missing from the process and, even after thousands of attempts, Jubstacheit felt he was no closer to the truth. Seeing this mockery of his own creation possessing simr Magic Circuits to Illyasviel was a grievous insult to his pride, one of the only emotions the Einzberns had programmed into him. Maintaining her smiling expression, Iris squinted her eyes almost imperceptibly, answering, "I am Irisviel von Einzbern, mother to Illyasviel von Einzbern, Widow to Kiritsugu Emiya, and former vessel for the Holy Grail. A splendid man was able to grant my soul a new vessel, one that, despite your best efforts, you would never be able to re-create. That man has so many ways to reach the Root that it makes everything youve been trying to aplish over thest nine-hundred years seem like childs y~." Though she was hardly the vindictive type, Irisviel hadnt been happy to learn how her daughter had been treated after her death. As a result of his petty vengeance, Jubstacheit had not only separated Kiritsugu and Illya, but he even put thetter through intense physical strain and torture, all while trying to redirect her hatred toward the father who had abandoned her and his adopted son, Shirou... The moment he heard Irisviels words, Jubstacheits momentum exploded outward, snuffing out the thousands of lit candles as he rose to his feet. He did not shout or curse but, judging by the hateful expression on his face, it was very apparent Jubstacheit had taken exception to Irisviels words. At the same time, the doors behind them burst open as the waiting Artificial Humans tried to pour into the room that, after Jubstacheits rise began to glow with a blue haze. This was a special Bounded Field that was supposed to make it impossible for enemies to shape their Magical Energy into any kind of structured spell. The moment he activated the Bound Field, however, arge volume of blue blood sputtered from Jubstacheits mouth as, from his chest, a red and gold spear now protruded. Rather unceremoniously, Scthach pulled the spears free, tearing awayrge pieces of Jubstacheits artificial frame, forcefully deactivating the Bounded Field before it coulde into effect. Then, to prevent his Magic Crest from shattering, Scthach cut off his head in one swift motion before cing it into an isted spatial pocket. With this series of actionsplete, taking a mere three seconds, she looked towards the gobsmacked Illya, reprimanding, "There is no sense in talking with an enemy you have already decided to kill. If I hadnt been here, your inaction would have endangered the lives of everyone here..." As she spoke, Scthach manifested several red spears around her body, sending them flying at hypersonic speeds as they pierced into the group trying to enter through the massive double doors. Though she felt like her revenge had been stolen from her, causing Illya to feel more than a little frustrated, she knew Scthachs words rang true. The moment the Bounded Field began to activate, she had tried to muster up her Magical Energy, only to find it was like trying to force an oceans worth of water through a pinhole. If not for the ridiculousness that was Scthachs existence, there was a good chance ya would have had to intervene, costing Vahn a phenomenal amount of stored Magical Energy. Realizing she had let down Vahns expectations and trust, Illyas frustration was quickly reced by guilt as she looked toward Scthach and said, "I will take care of the rest." in a determined voice. Hearing Illyas words, Scthach gave a curt nod as she ceased her attack, brandishing her spears in the process. Other than Jubstacheit, she hadnt killed any of the other Artificial Humans as, other than ensuring the lives of Illya and her entourage, this event was entirely unrted to her. If not for Vahn persisting in theirst training session for a full seventeen hours, refusing to go down as he pushed himself far beyond her expectations, Scthach would not even be here. Now, however, she knew what he was capable of if given the proper drive so, in the future, their training sessions would be even more intense. Vahn himself had been aware of this but, rather than use a Command Spell to force Scthach to obey, he hadmitted to earning her cooperation through hard effort... --- With the death of Jubstacheit,bined with the fact that Illya had indeed been the previous Head, the Homunculi within the expansive castle were unable to take action against her. Thus, with her mother close at her side, Illya used her Familiars to deal with any of the Artificial Humans that did not surrender outright. This included the young boy who, being one of the closest at hand during the start ofbat, ended up being pierced through the gut by Scthachs spear before Illyater decapitated him. She knew that, while the Homunculi were innocent, most of the Artificial Humans present within the castle were cancerous elements that needed to be removed. They were remnants of the old ways, Magi that were firmly cemented in their ways and, over the years, had mistreated thousands of Homunculi, effectively Illyas kin, in the pursuit of their research. While making their way through the cold and dimly lit hallways, it wasnt long before Illy and Iris found themselves at a ce that represented a deep trauma for both of them, the Homunculi Disposal Yard. This was a vast chamber with a stone tform that extended outward into ake-sized pool of glowing blue liquid. Even now, this pool was filled with hundreds of failed experiments, slowly being dissolved so their biomass and Magical Energy could be used in the next generation of Homunculi. There were even some near the top, their bodies run through with arrows, swords, and other forms of weaponry, still breathing as they slowly bled to death. They did not even possess the free will to try and escape the pool, forced to simply float in the glowing blue liquid as the life slowly drained from their bodies... Several years ago, as she was being prepared for the Fifth Holy Grail War, Illya had saved two of the Homunculi that had been left to die in this chamber, granting them names and treating them as her family. As for her mother, Iris had also been tossed into this chamber in the past, forced to survive after Kiritsugu had offended Jubstacheit by requesting a more pact and animalistic Homunculi for the sake of efficiency. Fortunately, though she was originally tasked to survive within the pool for an entire month, Kiritsugu had defied Jubstacheit, breaking into the chamber and pulling her free from the corrosive liquid without worrying about his own safety. It was this moment, having yet to form an ego of her own, that Iris began to awaken to true emotions for the first time. She decided that, since Kiritsugu had ignored his own safety in order to save her, a discarded tool, she would give up everything if it meant making his dreame true... Using her authority as the current Head of the Einzbern family, Illyamanded that the still-living Homunculi within the pool be saved. Se and Lysritt, the two Homunculi she had saved, had started to develop true egos after she had them assigned as her caretakers and bodyguards. As her mother had also awakened her own ego after being saved by her father, Illya believed the only thing needed for the Einzbern Homunculi to break free from their programming was a purpose they had assigned themselves. They lived their entire lives surrounded by other emotionless entities, denied even the most basic rights as they followed their programming without unnecessary thoughts. After being saved, or shown kindness, this would quickly change to a fierce devotion towards the person that had saved them, awakening their self-preservation instincts and allowing them to develop a true ego to rece their previously machine-like thought process... With this in mind, Illya showed a genuinely pained expression as she promised each and every one of the Homunculi pulled from the pool, "Its okay now...I will not let you suffer anymore..." Though the only thing she got in response was either a nk expression or a polite, "Thank you for your concern...", Illya continued in her efforts, knowing each of the five Homunculi she had saved would imprint on her. The thing Jubstacheit had never realized, as he was simply incapable of rationalizing suchplicated emotions, was that the missing ingredient he had been searching for was the emotional bonds between two people. In other words, it was love that allowed for the creation of a Perfect Homunculus as, so long as they believed they were nothing more than tools, how could they ever be something more than what they were designed to be? Though Illya had no intention of allowing each of the hundreds, or even thousands, of Homunculi present within the castle to fall in love with Vahn, she knew they would be very loyal to him when he managed to save them. She fully expected each and every Homunculus that had their life extended by Vahn would continue to willingly serve within the castle, never considering for a moment leaving the person who had given them purpose, especially with his gentle and empathetic nature. Though it was somewhat unfair to them that she would not let them infringe upon her own happiness, Illya believed the Empire would also serve as a Utopia that allowed the Homunculi to experience the kindness of others. As there was little chance Vahn would allow cruel and malicious people to reside there, Iy believed it was only a matter of time until the Homunculi began to imprint upon others... --- After several hours of cleaning out the castle, using her Familiars to check each and every one of the hundreds of rooms and workshops, Illya, Iris, Kenshin, and Heracles found themselves in arge antechamber. The walls were lined with massive statues that, even at a nce, were obviously ornate Golems that were meant to protect the secret treasure of the Einzbern family. Each took on the form of a different figure within the Astrological Zodiac, possessing the qualities of both humans and animals as they towered six meters over intruders. Illya didnt know if there was a meaning behind their order but, from left to right, there were statues representing Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, and Virgo. On the opposite side of the room, the statues representing Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius, and Pisces stood parallel to their kin. Among them, the only female figures were those of Virgo and the two twin figures representing Gemini. They were admittedly masterful works of art and, if not for the fact they released an oppressive atmosphere from the moment the group entered the room, Illya would have taken a few minutes to appreciate their beauty. With the hope of avoiding a fight, Illya red up her Magical Power as she shouted, "My name is Ilya von Einzbern, Ninth Head of the Einzbern family! Jubstacheit von Einzbern has been removed from his post as the Eighth Head! By my authority as the Head of the Einzbern family, I order you to stand down and open the vault...!" As the vault doors looked like they weighed several thousands of tons, as they were made almost entirely of magically enchanted gold, Illya knew it would take days, if not weeks, just to breach the chamber that contained Das Rheingold. She wanted to see with her own eyes the legendary treasure, hoping it would prove useful to Vahn and his Empire in the future. If not for the existence of Das Rheingold,bined with her feelings of wanting to repay Vahns kindness, Illya would not have cared about returning to reim her birthright so soon. Surprisingly, the statue of Virgo, which looked extremely simr to the Justeaze-type Homunculi, answered, "Only those who possess the Einzbern Magic Crest have the authority to trespass this sacred vault. We recognize your im as the Ninth Heath of the family but, if you are unable to present the crest, we are not able to allow you free passage. Only the one who has been entrusted with the task left behind by the Einzbern Ancestors has the authority to order us to stand down..." As the statuesque golem spoke, it raised arge staff that was adorned with a gemstonerger than Illyas head. It was very clear that, if she could not provide the Einzbern Magic Crest, the thirteen golems present would bar their passage... Though the transfer of a Magic Crest often took years, as the knowledge contained within could overburden the mind and body of the recipient, there were several means to expedite the process. The mostmon method was transferral through s.e.x, usually resulting in Magic Crest losing quite a bit of its power since it needed to be partially sealed beforehand. Other methods included the willing transfer of a Magic Crest, usually requiring the lifeblood of the previous wielder and direct blood ties with the recipient, and the foreceful transfer of a Magic Crest by consuming the heart of the former wielder. The only other methods were to preserve the crest, much like what Scthach had done, slowly deciphering its structure over tens, or even hundreds, of years... Without much hesitation, as there was only one viable method avable to her, Illya called out, "Scthach..." in a somber voice. This caused a small burst of magical energy next to her, followed by the appearance of the purple-d warrior who, understanding Illyas intentions, pulled out the head of Jubstacheit, a wrathful yet lifeless expression permanently affixed on his visage. Unlike a normal Magus, requiring the consumption of the heart, Jubstacheits core had been imnted in his head as, from the very beginning, he was meant to be more of a repository of information that had been given a function. He was an Artificial Intelligence that had been imnted into a humanoid golem, making his brain both the source of his sentience and the organ which stored the Einzberns Magic Crest. Asking for Cath Palugs assistance, which she had been keeping at bay previously, Illyas body slowly morphed into a partial transformation. Then, even though the thought alone made her nauseous, Illya extended her jaw far more than a normal person before tearing apart Jubstacheits head and taking a huge chunk out of his bluish-grey brain. Deciding it was better to get it over with quickly, Illya quickly gorged herself on the gooey organ, doing her best to ignore its taste and the slug-like consistency that she would never have been able to keep down on her own. Her ears and tail began to gradually erge but, after only a few seconds and severalrge bites, Illya covered her mouth with both hands, tears in the corners of her eyes as she practically begged Cath Palug to behave... Slowly but surely, Illyas beast-like features began to recede as, from deep within her stomach, a powerful heat began to spread through her body. It felt like her brain was on fire but, with the natural regeneration of Cath Palug and her own enhanced body, she was able to tolerate the pain as nearly a thousand years of information and memories were embedded into her mind. This actually wasnt the first time she had gone through a simr process as, after bing the Ninth Head of the Einzbern family, she had been given what was obviously a partial inheritance. Jubstacheit had kept all the secrets rted to the production of the Justeaze-type Homunculi to himself, along with many other secrets that could not be entrusted to others. After twenty minutes of excruciating pain, during which time her mother tightly embraced her, Illyas forehead began to form the shape of the Einzbern Magic Crest. Though parts of it were fragmented, as was often the case when a crest was forcefully acquired, it was still irrefutably the Einzbern Magic Crest. Thus, after rising to her feet with the assistance of her mother, Illya, with a sicklyplexion, ordered, "Open the vault..." with the crest still glowing on her forehead. Fortunately, the golems were not programmed to care about the methods used to obtain the crest. The only thing that mattered was that Illya was the one who possessed it, granting her the authority to ess the vault they had guarded for centuries. As the vault slowly opened, there was a brilliant blue and gold light that refracted on the natural stone surfaces that had been carved out of the mountains core. There were hundreds of golden pipes jutting out of the walls and ceiling while, at the bottom of a long flight of stairs, a massive undergroundke was present. Instead of water, theke was filled with the same mana-rich blue liquid that slowly dissolved the bodies of failed Homunculi. From this, it became obvious that the Magical Energy contained within the bodies of the Homunculi was recycled to feed into therge golden crystal that stood like a miniature mountain several meters beneath the liquids surface. As the crystal would turn into purified gold after being split off from the main body, the sheer volume of the massive Das Rheingold, if ounting for the current price of gold, would be enough to match the entire global economy, equating to more than 70 trillion pound sterlings...and growing... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Scthach does not f.u.c.k around (o___o)...,All you need is love...Love is all you need (o 3 o)...,Would you eat a biomechanical brain for 85 trillion USD? I wouldnt even flinch xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1160 - Burden : Hope

Chapter 1160 - Burden : Hope

While Das Rheingold was one of the most valuable treasures in the world, there were some things that couldnt be valued in any market. These were items that had either existed since the time of the Age of Gods or, by some miracle, managed to obtain a fragment of Mystery that managed to persist into the modern era. Though it was possible to reach the pool containing Das Rheingold by moving to the base of the stairs, there were other sections of the vault that contained the precious treasures the Einzberns had collected for more than a thousand years. Among these, serving as the centerfold of a collection that could easily fill a small museum, was arge golden scabbard decorated with blue enamel. Upon its pedestal, secured in a ss container covered inplex magical runes, it looked more like a King seated upon a throne than an object intended to apany and sheath a sword... Though Artorias scabbard had been one of the main artifacts she intended to recover, Illya only spared it a ruminating nce before moving on to on item she considered far more important, at least to herself. She left her mother and Kenshin to begin securing the other items while moving to the side of the collection and undoing a seal that had been ced on arge ruby. This was a unique artifact known as [The Crown of Saints], a rtively useless item to most but, for Illyas purposes, it was perfect. After picking it up in her tiny hands, she walked over to the towering Heracles, smiling up at him as she said, "Please kneel for me, Heracles..." As he had always listened to her, ever since the time he had saved her from the wolves many years ago, Heracles dutifully kneeled before Illya as she ced the palm-sized ruby against his forehead. The moment the ruby contacted Heracles, it began to sink into his flesh as an intense amount of steam began to explode outward from his body, filling nearly the entire room in an instant as the temperature gradually increased. His skin, which looked like wrought-iron before, began to lose its brackish quality, bing a natural bronzed color that resembled highly-tanned flesh. A pattern of red markings began to spread across his brow and temples, looking simr to a crown of blood as the ruby embedded in his forehead began to glow with a mystical light. At the same time, the false gold and red eyes that always glimmered with madness in the past began to regain glow with the light of self-awareness as Heracles released a heavy and relieved sigh that carried enough force to push Illya back a few steps. After rising to his feet, Heracles began to inspect his body, clenching his fists open and closed as his muscles and bones created small thunderous sounds, belying the great power contained within. Then, though he still had a visage that would cause lesser men to feel weak in the knees, Heracles managed a grim-looking yet genuine smile as his voice rumbled like thunder, saying, "Little one...it seems youre quickly growing beyond my need to protect..." Though his voice gave the illusion of a small earthquake to anyone hearing it, there was a touch of gentleness that made Illya tear up a bit as she murmured, "Im sorry..." in aparably mouse-like voice... Due to their massive size difference, extreme enough that Illya barely surpassed his knees in height, Heracles responded to Illyas apology by using his index finger to rub the top of her head. Though it was almost impossible to tell, his expression had softened slightly as he rumbled, "It is I who should apologize to you, little one...I could not make your dream a reality. Had I ten thousand more lives, I would have given them all to free you from this burden..." Even as a Berserker-ss Heroic Spirit, Heracles had experienced the same memory link as every other Servant. Though he had no memory of the Fifth Holy Grail War, he had seen the efforts of his counterpart and the suffering Illya had gone through. It was these memories that allowed her to control him so easily during the Sixth Holy Grail War, rather than having to spend several months trying to establish simplemunication. Hearing Heracles words, Illyas face formed into a whimpering frown as tears began to pool at the corner of her eyes before liberating themselves and running down her delicate facial features. She had always felt guilty about forcing Heracles to remain at her side as an emotional anchor and, even if he hated her, Illya wouldnt have med him. Though it felt like someone was rubbing a stone against the top of her head, she could still feel his concern and gentleness. Thus, while clinging to hisrge hand, which was bigger than her entire hand, Illya began to cry once again while, as he had always done, Heracles watched over her from above... --- After robbing the entire vault of its treasures, including the core of Das Rheingold, an item that looked like a crudely forged iron ring, Illya andpany left the emptied vault behind. Though the mountain fortress-castle would still be used by them in the future, Illya nned to seal it off for the time being unless Vahn had a use for it. This ce had be a barrow with the number of lives that had passed through it and, for nearly a thousand years, the air, even with torches and a magic formation artificially warming the interior, felt cold and devoid of life. If someone were to use so-called Dark Magecraft and Necromancy within these walls, it would likely be far more powerful than almost anywhere else in the world. It was for this reason that Jubstacheit had redesigned arge part of the castle to be a cathedral, an attempt to sanctify the Einzbern Castle as a holy grounds instead of treating it as the endless crucible of death and despair for hundreds of thousands of Homunculi... In total, there were nearly four-thousand Justeaze-Type Homunculi within the Castle, each having very small differences from each other based on the type of experiment used in their production. Themon traits they all shared were inordinately beautiful features, ruby-red eyes, and pale white hair that was silky-smooth to the touch. At the same time, with a few exceptions, they each shared a ridiculously short lifespan, the oldest within the entire castle only being seven years old. On average, due to the inhumane experiments conducted within the Castle, most Homunculi would not even live to be more than two years of age before they were recycled. This wasrgely the result of the fact that it was always better to produce the next generation instead of trying to preserve the previous generation. The only exceptions were those that had anomalous traits which, until their deviation could be understood, guaranteed they would lead longer and, oftentimes, far more tragic existences. Since Jubstacheit had been trying to recreate another perfect Homunculus like Illya, there had been several pregnant Homunculi, many being a few years older than their counterparts. Instead of the eyes of an expectant mother, however, they each had thousand-yard stares without even the most basic semnce of a desire to live contained within their otherwise gorgeous red pupils... Havinge to the Einzbern Castle expecting things to take several days to wrap up, Illya and Iris began pouring over the research doc.u.ments of the Artificial Humans while the former tried to make sense of the overwhelming amount of information contained within her newly acquired Magic Crest. It would take her many years to trulyprehend everything she had learned, especially with the ridiculous amount of redundancies and arbitrary information contained within her mind. Jubstacheit was the type that, even if an experiment had failed, he would continue to repeat it with only minor changes, sometimes with the only difference being a fraction of a degree in temperature or an act as pointless as someone dipping their finger into a solution... After passing on her orders to the Homunculi within the castle, including having them clean up the aftermath of the prior battle, Illya and Iris went to one of the most important rooms within the entireplex. Just as there was a Homunculi Disposal Yard, there was all a Homunculi Production Yard, the ce where each and every Einzbern Homunculus was developed. This was a deep underground chamber that looked like an endless warehouse containing thousands of crystalline ss containers. On average, dozens of Homunculi were born and killed within the Einzbern Castle each and every day, with thousands being sacrificed annually to carry out oftentimes ridiculous experiments. Over the course of a nine-hundred-and-fifteen year period, a total of 8,928,411 Homunculi had been produced within these icy-cold chambers, each and every one of them living tragically short lives as nothing more than tools. Things had only been exacerbated after the idental production of the first Justeaze-Type Homunculi as, from that moment onward, the primary goal of the Einzbern family had been to try and secure the Holy Grail and reobtain the Third Magic. After the failures of the Second and Third Holy Grail Wars, Homunculi had been mass-produced in an effort to make a Master that would, for a short while, even rival a Heroic Spirit in power. For more than two hundred years, millions of Homunculi had been produced with the sole purpose of fighting each other to the death, passing on theirbat experience to the next generation like a machine-learning program. As a result, current generation Einzbern Homunculi were several times stronger than humans while their Magic Circuits and Od capacity made themparable to a hundred other Magi. There were even some anomalies who were far stronger than even Superior Magi, though this often came at a significantly reduced lifespan, spontaneous organ failure, or apleteck of reproductive functions... While staring at a group of Homunculi that appeared no older than a few months old, as they were always artificially aged to an a.d.u.l.t form during incubation, Illya muttered, "I promise, the world you will be born into will be far warmer than this cold and deste ce..." This final batch, assuming they did not try and produce any future Homunculi, would reach maturity within two weeks time. Illya intended to wait for their birth before returning to Avalon as just the thought of leaving them alone in this dark and ice-cold chamber made her heart hurt. As there would be no Homunculi killed in that time, their final number would be over seven-thousand near-identical lifeforms, making Illya feel slightly guilty as Vahn, Da Vinci, and Paracelsus would all be very busy for a few months when she brought them back to Avalon... Fortunately, until the time of their departure, Scthach was able to preserve the lives of those that had been nearing the expiration date while Illya and Iris, both possessing the inherited knowledge of Einzbern Alchemy, were more than qualified to make small modifications and treat any deviancies. The most difficult part for them would be dealing with the still-births as, even if they were both Magi that had a strong tolerance against such things, it was never easy seeing a malformed fetus. Neither had any experience with such things, meaning they had to rely on the information hardcoded within their minds to assist with the births. Seeing the dead look in the eyes of Homunculi that had been forced to bear such children was something would always be deeply ingrained into Illyas heart and mind, strengthening her conviction to create a paradise for them in the future... --- As disheartening as some of her experiences within the Einzbern Castle were, there were a number of things that brought a smile to Illyas face. The five Homunculi she had saved from being recycled began to behave in the way she expected, their egos slowly awakening a bit with each passing day. Though the ones that were created forbat were fighting an uphill battle, as their ego had been suppressed so they would not experience fear, pain, and hesitation, it was very apparent they were making steady progress. They would need to ovee the apathetic mentality of beings that had experienced death millions of times, but the introduction of new stimulus, especially of the positive variety, would go a long way towards their mental development... One of the pet projects Illya hade up with was converting the central courtyard of the castle into arge garden, both as a way to introduce life into the cold and deste environment and to serve as a memorial to the lives lost over the centuries. It would be impossible to guarantee the number was urate, but she wanted to grow a flower to represent each sacrificed Homunculus. This sentiment wasnt wasted on her kin and, though they initially just nted the flowers due to Illyas orders, it became amon sight in the days that followed for many groups of Homunculi to gather within the nascent garden, observing the flowers with nk expressions. Other than having them maintain the castle, Illya hadnt required any of the Homunculi to take part in any experiments, leaving the vast majority with a significant amount of free time. When asked what they should do, Illya and the other simply told them to think about what they wanted to do and, if they could note up with something, just rxing and interacting with the others would be enough. Though they didnt have anything to talk about with their kin, this resulting in several small groups of Homunculi forming as they wandered around together, almost as if traveling as a group would allow them to find whatever it was they were looking for. As humans were, on a very basic level, social creatures, this behavior was considered a positive development in the eyes of Illya and Iris. Like this, several days passed within the Einzbern Castle without any real incidents, the one small exception being when a group of Homunculi found Kenshin training. For many of them, they had hundreds of years of memories rted tobat so, seeing the battle-junky Kenshin exerting herself, there were some who interpreted the order to think about what they wanted to do as proactively carrying out the very same experiments Illya wanted to avoid. They had no aversion at all to trying to kill each other, as this had always been the way theirbat exercises were conducted, so Kenshin had to step in and teach them how to spar properly. As a result, she had a small group of around forty Homunculi training with her every day, sometimes from sunrise to sunset as Kenshin was actually terrible at having nothing to do... During the passage of these few days, Heracles had been theplete opposite of Kenshin, to the point he could spend hours just standing atop the high castle walls, staring at nothing in particr. Illya would often join him just to talk but, apparently being a man of few words, Heracles would just respond curtly as he knew better than anyone how thunderous his own voice could be. This was not the age he had been born in, a time when the Gods still roamed thends, so he could not be the same boisterous Hero that others touted him to be. In truth, he had an overwhelming sense of guilt that he knew he would never ovee, no matter how many times he died. Illya was also aware of this, as she had experienced the memory link with Heracles twice, so she respected his solemnity and simply did her best to ease his burden slightly... To be summoned as a Berserker, even though he was overqualified for nearly every other ss, the only exception being Caster, this current Heracles had been pulled from a time in his Legend where he had just been controlled by Hera to kill his own wife and their fivechildren. He had been a part of a Thebanpany that had just won a hard-fought battle against the Minyans. However, during the celebratory feast following their victory, Hera had influenced his drunken mind to mistake his own family andpanions as enemy soldiers. Believing them to be assassins who intended to get revenge for their kin, Heracles had ughtered the entire group, even choking the very life out of his most beloved Megara with his bare hands. It was this event that served as a catalyst for his Twelve Labors and, though he had never experienced them directly, Heracles still had the memories of his own exploits as a result of the Greater Grail manifesting his legend. There were some things he was so famous for that, even if he had been reverted to a younger version of himself, he would still possess those same qualities, usually as a Noble Phantasm. With fresh memories of crushing his own wifes throat on his mind, Heracles had chosen to continue watching over Illya as a form of penance. Though he had the memories of his Twelve Labors, he was also aware that these were not feats he himself had achieved. Unless he could redeem himself once again, Heracles would never be able to absolve himself of the guilt in his heart. At the same time, he was tempted to lower his head and, if necessary, beg for Vahn to summon his wife and children into this timeline. Though he had been unable to respond to him at the time, Heracles could vividly recall the time when Vahn had asked him if there was anyone he would want to summon into this world, himself included. If not for the fact it would be the same as running away, Heracles would have asked that Vahn summon him from History at a time before his madness, undoing the very event and changing the timeline. As this would be a very selfish thing to do, something even the Berserk him had been able to rationalize, Heracles decided he would be more than content just to have his family in his arms once again. Though he would have continued to dutifully protect Illya until the end of his days, Heracles believed he could fully dedicate himself in service of the Empire if Vahn was able to fulfill this wish of his... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Raid Boss is awake...!,Gotta admit, the Einzbern Castle is a pretty f.u.c.k.i.e.d up ce...,Vahn, stop summoning waifus and get this man his family back (T ^ T)...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1161 - Exposure

Chapter 1161 - Exposure

While Illya and co had been taking over the Einzbern Castle, Vahn had been spending more than two hours seated between Rin and Luvia, seated across from thetters family as they discussed matters going forward. In the near future, the Edelfelt family would be bearing heavy political and financial burdens so they needed at least a basic understanding of what Vahn intended. With him being the most wanted man in the Mages Association,bined with the fact the world now had a deadline, meant they needed to seriously consider how best to take advantage of the chaos. Olivia had even suggested having Vahn present himself to the Mages Association, taking an open stance with the backing of several powerful Magus families and trying to establish himself as a force working to prevent the worlds destruction. Unfortunately, so long as the Mages Association, especially those in the upper echelons, continued to treat people as nothing more than tools, Vahn had no interest working with them. Though he was the type that believed people could change, he would neverpromise with anyone who was still actively engaged in objectively atrocious behavior. Even now, instead of truly working together, the forces within the Mages Association were primarily worried about their own benefits, not unifying in order to fight against the lingering threat of Angra Mainyu. This included righteous families like the Edelfelts, yes, but they were inarguably better than most of the Aristocratic families associated with the Clock Tower. Though it would undoubtedly cause him a lot of issues in the future, making the fight against Angra Mainyu even more difficult, Vahn was resolute in his decision. The Mages Association would oppose his attempts to disseminate the existence of Magic to the public while proactively taking measures to prevent his Empires sess, giving Vahn no reason to pander to them in the present. He wasnt the type of person that would take advantage of people when it was convenient for him and, once everything had been resolved, immediately turn his back on them. It was impossible for him to work alongside a group of people that were doing terrible things, ignoring the truth for nearly ten years just because it would make his fight against Angra Mainyu easier. He would spend years wasting his time butting heads against the other Aristocratic families, likely engaging in open hostilities when he learned the truth of how they kept their power... After making his case in a rather resolute fashion, Luvia, June, and Olivia gave appreciative nods in response to Vahns words, the younger of the three giving his arm a happy squeeze. Following this, however, Olivia immediately asked, "You arent all that adept at politics, are you? You must have left this type of thing to your Ministers or dealt with dissension with overwhelming force... This caused Vahn to squint his eyes slightly, earning a chuckle from Olivia as she waved her hand dismissively and said, "Rx, Im not using you of being a tyrant. Im just worried that your actions will only cause a series of major conflicts that will eventually break out into actual war..." Instead of showing any fear or hesitation at the thought of war breaking out, Olivia gave an almost fervent smile as she added, "This is something that is bound to happen if you intend to establish your Empire, so Im of the opinion it would be better for you to establish yourself in the existingmunity, building up alliances and changing things from within. Leaving other people to fight your political battles will heavily influence the way other people see you in the future. Though you might be able to sway a lot of people to your side if you actually manage to take down Angra Mainyu, this will only unify the powers that feel threatened by your existence." At this point in her dialogue, Olivia inclined her head towards Luvia before exining, "If you y the political game, as you call it, you will have a lot more leverage in dealing with them since you would have nearly a decades worth of time to sway others to your side. By exposing yourself to the scrutiny of the Mages Association, even as someone that directly contends against their ideals, you will undoubtedly cause a lot of conflicts. However, dealing with these individual incidents and then spinning the information will gradually increase the support you have from other families. If you choose your battles intelligently, you may even be able to win overrge factions if you are able to prove the existence of True Magic and convince them there is a better way forward than adhering to the existing system." Following up with what her Grandmother said, Luvia nodded her head, smiling as she added, "I will not deny that it would be more convenient if a global war were to break out, as rebuilding is always easier than changing the existing system, but I do not believe you are the kind of person who would resort to such extreme methods, Vahn. Would you really be able to just sit on your ind as the rest of the world tore itself apart, just because it would be easier for you down the line? Though I will do my own duty and support you, it will be impossible to avoid having you made out to be something akin to a Demon King if you only appear to cause destruction and never work to build your image within the Magusmunity..." Hearing thebined words of Olivia and Luvia, Vahns expression morphed into a contemtive look as, even in the Record of Danmachi, most of these types of things had been handled by Loki and people far more capable than he was. At the same time, Vahn knew his own power, especially his [Will of the Emperor], was tied directly to the beliefs people ced in him. If he was able to build up his reputation and forge alliances with other powerful families, his personal strength would exponentially increase. It would also make the transition from the current system to a new system much easier as, in the modern era, most governments fell under the influence of one of the three major powers. If he was able to cement himself at the top of the existing pyramid, he could incite change with nothing but his words, having tens, if not hundreds of thousands, moving at his behest. While he was thinking, Olivia interrupted, showing a teasing smile on her face as shemented, "You dont have to worry all that much, Vahn. Most of the political stuff can be handled by other people. The most important thing is that you make your stance known and be the figurehead for your own faction. Not everyone is suited to ying the game, but that doesnt mean you cant be a powerful piece on the board. Hiding in the shadows will only exacerbate things and, though you may not beplicit in allowing the travesties to continue, you also would have done nothing to prevent them. As the countdown towards Angra Mainyus arrival approaches zero, the chances of terrible things urring within the Association increase exponentially..." At this point, though she had been rather quiet during the discussions, Rin released a frustrated sigh as sheined, "This is why I hate the Mages Association. You would ask Vahn to swim with the sharks, wasting time he could be spending on his own training, research, or with his family! Damnit!" Though she knew the points made by Luvia and Olivia struck at the heart of the matter, it made Rin feel an extreme amount of frustration. Part of her would rather see the Clock Tower, and the Mages Association as a whole, destroy itself in the battle against Angra Mainyu. With the way things were going, it would be Vahn and his allies that bore the brunt of things, leaving their backs exposed to people who would readily ce a dagger there without a thought. With Rins outburst ringing in his ear, Vahn gave a wry smile as he habitually reached out his hand and rubbed the top of her head. At the same time, he nced toward Olivia and asked, "If I had an absolute amount of power, how would that change things...?" This question caused Olivia to raise her brows before a somewhat excited smile spread across her lips as shemented, "It depends on how you intend to use it. Many of the most powerful families have Trump Cards of their own, some strong enough to even wipe countries off the map. These are primarily used as a deterrent so, unless you have a kind of power that can be proactively used, simply having a strong weapon wouldnt be much of an advantage." As her own family had several weapons that could make even powerful nuclear weapons seem like firecrackers, Olivia was curious about what Vahn was referring to when he mentioned absolute power. She assumed he was talking about ya but, based on how Vahn had been acting thus far, that didnt seem to be the case. After crossing his arms and considering whether or not it was a good idea to reveal his hand, Vahn ultimately gave a small nod before asking, "Are you familiar with the existence of Types?" As this question only resulted in Olivia blinking in confusion, Vahn took a deep breath before exining, "The beings known as Types are the Ultimate Ones from the respective heavenly bodies. Though there are some inert worlds, every and star within the Universe is a living entity, governed by a set of Laws fundamentally different from those of Gaia. They are beings that even dwarf the Gods in power as, other than the Counter Forces themselves, there is little that can even reliably damage them, much less kill them." Hearing Vahns exnation, Olivia furrowed her brows, asking, "Did you learn this information from ya...?" In response to this, Vahn just stared back at Olivia, looking directly into her golden-brown eyes as he answered, "I am designated as Type Omega, the Ultimate One of a foreign world that is governed by apletely different set of Laws. Though Im currently much weaker than most Gods, much less Types, I have a unique ability thatpletely invalidates this..." Then, as the tension in the room began to gradually increase, Vahn added, "I have authority over all other Types..." These words fell like a bomb within the room, causing everyone present to stare nkly back at Vahn, trying and failing to imagine the kind of power such an ability granted a person. While they had yet to recover, Vahn went on to exin, "After ensuring that Rin, Sakura, and Gray were safe, I was intending to visit Type: Mercury and have them join my cause. The threat of Angra Mainyu may not even necessitate the assistance of such a powerful entity but I would rather take Mercury under my umbre than leave it as an unknown factor. Under normal circ.u.mstances, it is inconceivable to destroy the manifestation of All the Worlds Evils, so the only option is to rely on an entirely different set of logic from the start. My own power may be enough to ovee the threat of Angra Mainyu, but Im not going to gamble the fate of the world..." Though he hadnt even considered the thought of relying on the other Types until just recently, Vahn now considered their existence as necessary in the future he intended to build. As one of his goals was to prevent the decay and death of Gaia several thousand years in the future, Vahn was going to repurpose the Types in his attempts to test the limits of the Rootspulsion. He even wanted to try and change the nature of Gaia, making it so that she was not constantly thinking about killing off humanity. Since there were a functionally infinite number of ways in which he could extend her life and prevent humanitys wanton destruction, Vahn intended to do his best to establish contact with her in the future... After processing what Vahn had said, Olivia managed to regain herposure as she remarked, "I will not deny that having such a powerful ally would make some things easier. If possible, however, I would suggest you keep the existence of the Types a secret for as long as possible. With the current state of the world, it would be impossible to avoid beingbeled as a threat if it was known you had such a powerful existence acting at your behest. Though some would be able to ept the existence of ya, as she represents Humanitys Will to Survive, there are very few who would ept such an alien existence..." Though she was interested in how powerful a Type actually was, Olivias intuition told her that even talking about them was dangerous. As Vahn had never actually intended to reveal the existence of Type: Mercury to the public, at least until the emergence of Angra Mainyu, he gave a curt nod in response to Olivias cautious remark. Just by seeing her reaction, as one of the top ten families within the Mages Association, Vahn could already imagine how others would react. Surprisingly, however, none of them seemed put off by the fact that he was also a Type. However, as they had known he was from another world from the start, it was likely easy for them to rationalize that he was fundamentally different from other existences. Luvia hadnt even released his arm and, other than a startled flinch, she continued to press her right b.r.e.a.s.t against him without showing any discernible difort. --- Once things had calmed down a bit, the conversation turned back towards Vahns involvement in politics and trying to build a base within the existing power structure of the Mages Association. He actually didnt need to join the Association itself, just reveal himself to them and engage with the other powers in an open and above-board manner. Unless they had irrefutable proof that he was some kind of threat, it would be impossible for them to take any decisive action against Vahn when he already had the backing of several established families. By providing resources and sharing a bit of his knowledge with the Clock Tower, he could effectively cripple any actions they wanted to take against him. Though the Aristocratic faction would undoubtedly throw a fit, this was nothing new and, in the aftermath of recent events, public opinion wasrgely against them. If Vahn presented himself as someone proactively trying to prevent the worlds destruction, any action they took to pressure him would only exacerbate their current situation. As a result, it was far more likely for them to take action behind the scenes, their preferred means as it allowed them to act viciously while also saving face. The biggest threat to Vahn right now was that he was an unknown element and, so long as he was willing to make himself known within the established spheres of power, most Magi would begin to see him as a potential ally, not an inherent enemy. So long as Vahn was able toe to an ord with the Association Director, even families like the Barthomeloi, Trambelio, and Valualeta families would be unable to take action in the public. After that, it was just a matter of trying to win over the other twenty-two Aristocratic families while picking his allies as intelligently as possible. With the Edelfelt and Animusphere families already on his side, Vahn already had a powerful head start which, if taken advantage of during the current chaos, would cement his position within the Mages Association, even as an outsider. It also wouldnt take much to bring Lord El-Melloi II into their fold as, after the Trial, the Archisorte family was already considered to be their coborator by proxy. Luvia was very aware of Reines personality so she knew thetter would immediately agree to an alliance as, for thest twenty years, she had been trying to regain control over the Archibald family once again. Since it was almost guaranteed that Vahn would butt heads with the Barthomeloi family in the near future, she would want to be there to pick up the pieces of the Archibald family since, after the inner turmoil that split the family apart, they had be just another one of Barthomeloi Loreleis pets. The fact that one of the ten most powerful families was now nothing more than a branch family of the Barthomelois had always left a bad taste in Reines mouth so, even if for no other reason than she could secure the Edelfelts as an ally, she would agree to their alliance. --- The longer Vahn listened to Luvia and Olivia, the more it seemed like he needed to make himself public, even if it would be extremely troublesome. Though it would significantly reduce his free time, it would also break him away from the cyclic lifestyle he had been cultivating over thest six months. At the same time, he could increase his influence and gather a lot of followers, increasing his power exponentially while also taking a stance alongside Luvia. If he continued with his previous n, the situation of the Edelfelts would be increasingly precarious and, depending on how the Mages Association decided to treat him, they could even be the enemy of every other family associated with the Clock Tower. Though their main seat of power was in Find, not London, most of Luvias efforts over thest decade had been centralized around matters associated with the Clock Tower. She had proactively thrown herself into the political circles of the other Aristocratic families from the moment she was made into the Head of the Edelfelt family. Even against people several times her age, Luvia never lowered her head and, over the course of thest ten years, had even publically embarrassed several would-be suitors. As most families saw her as a fat cow that could drastically increase the wealth and power of their own family, Luvia didnt even humor most marriage proposals. Since the Head of one of the ten most powerful Magus families obviously couldnt marry into another house, it was ridiculous that some even made an effort to be her suitor from the start. She also had the requirement that her partner was able to defeat her in singlebat, something only Magi much older than her could manage. As this automatically removed them from contention, Luvia had enjoyed using the excuse of being offended to beat several arrogant young men to a bloody pulp before having them dragged back to their families. Some even had the gall to remark about her age, as if twenty-seven years old was somehow te to decide who she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. As Magi could easily live over a hundred years without having to worry too much about adverse health issues, she could only treat these types as the idiots they were... By announcing her engagement to Vahn, Luvia could avoid having other suitors pester her while, at the same time, he would automatically be considered an extension of their family, even though she was the one marrying into his. In this manner, they could make a united front and, as the Edelfelt family was already known for picking fights without lowering their heads to others, any trouble he caused would just be considered normal from the perspective of most Magi. This would also allow her family to avoid the potential cmity of being named as an enemy of the Mages Association, at least for no other reason that simply cooperating with Vahn behind the scenes. With the benefits of proactive action far outweighing the troubles he would face in trying to do everything without drawing attention, it wasnt long before Vahn found himself agreeing with Luvia and Olivia on various points. This was especially the case when they discussed their assets and the involvement of organizations like Chaldea. By hiding from the world, it wouldnt be that difficult for the powers that be to manipte things to make it appear as if he was an enemy that needed to be dealt with. This would drag down all the families and allies associated with him, leading to arge-scale conflict wholly as a result of him refusing to take a public stance. The only way to avoid such an oue was to outright refuse to ally with any family, something that was already impossible as it would only make his future ns infinitely more difficult. Unless he intended to essentially wage war on the three powers after Angra Mainyu was dealt with, something Vahn promised Artoria he would do his best to avoid, the only route forward was to walk under the light, exposing himself directly to his enemies. Thus, after nearly four hours of discussion, Vahn took a deep breath before firmly nodding his head and saying, "Ill do it. I wont leave my allies to fight my battles for me. I intend to establish my own faction but, before that, I will meet with the Director of the Mages Association and make my stance clear. If they decide to antagonize me after that-" Before Vahn could say anything further, Luvia squeezed his arm between her firm and full b.r.e.a.s.ts, adding, "Then well fight them together! The Edelfelt family isnt afraid to fight against corruption to protect its own~!" Though this earned a profound sigh from Rin, she wasnt all that surprised by Vahns decision as, from the start, he had always been the type to worry about others. It was one of the things she liked the most about him, knowing full well it would cause her endless frustrations in the future. As for the rest of the Edelfelt family, they seemed rather excited at the prospect of a fight, their eyes glimmering with a battle-hungry light that could even give Kenshin a run for her money... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nopromises...!,Types are scary,Okay, maybe a littlepromise...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1162 - Golden Girl

Chapter 1162 - Golden Girl

After a much longer discussion than anticipated, the topic suddenly shifted to Vahns immediate n of action when Luvia asked, "Will you be returning to Avalon or do you intend to apany me to London? I must admit, I am quite looking forward to seeing the legendary Ivory Castle of Camelot~." This was a sentiment shared by most of the people present within the room but Vahn didnt n to start using ya as a convenient transport just to help people get around. If they wanted to stay in Avalon for a few days, that would be fine, but it was obvious from their prior discussion that even being away from London for this long was a bit of an issue. With how chaotic the Clock Tower was right now, Olivia had been staying within the Edelfelt Mansion to protect her Grandaughter. Even her parents had recently flown over from the main Edelfelt Estate, a monstrouslyrge castle-fortress that had been constructed like a military base in the mountains of Find. Though their core members were all Magi, the Edelfelts owned one of thergest private mercenary groups in the entire world. Their people were outfitted with the most advanced weapons technology on the market, much of which was developed in their own private Research and Development Division. For thest few weeks, they had been in a constant yellow state of alert, the third-highest within their esction system, constantly waiting for a fight to break out. As Vahn had no intention of being the catalyst for arge-scale battle this early on, he intended to take Luvia with him to Avalon while having her parents and grandmother return to London until things had stabilized a bit. The fewer people that were tied to their Sub-Texture of the World, at least until Vahn had established himself as a faction head, the better. With that in mind, Vahn answered Luvias question, saying, "My current n is to drop Rin, Sakura, and Gray off within Avalon. Ill spend the night there before taking Da Vinci with me to establish contact with Type: Mercury. Even if I have no use for it right now, it would be best to already have it on my side in the event something unexpected happens. If youd like, Luvia, you are more than wee to apany me to Avalon. When Im finished dealing with Type: Mercury, I can pick you back up, or we can stay for a few days within Avalon before returning to London. There are a lot of preparations I need to make and, even though I intend to move forward with what we had decided, I cant arbitrarily act without clearing things up with my current allies." While still clinging to his arm, as if letting him go for even a moment would allow Vahn to escape, Luvia nodded her head,menting, "I would also like to see this Type: Mercury with my own eyes. I am curious about what form such an alien creature might take. Knowing such powerful entities exist on others is quite a surprise. At least I managed to get my hands on the best of them all, ohohoho~." As she said her final statement, Luvia began to squeeze Vahns arm even tighter, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder in a rather udy-like manner. This caused Rins brow to twitch but, as she was doing her best not to make a scene, she just coughed to bring Luvia back to reality. --- After a bit more discussion, followed by Vahn refusing a dinner invitation, it was well past time for them to head back. Though he had intended to stay outside for a few days this time around, that n had drastically changed from the moment Vahn learned why Rin, Sakura, Gray, and Olga were in Northern Irnd. Now, one of his highest priorities was just guaranteeing they were safe and, with Avalon essentially existing in its own world, there were few safer ces. As it was better for them to start familiarizing themselves with the castle sooner, rather thanter, Vahn shared a few parting words with Olivia, June, and Samuel. Thetter tried to test Vahns grip when they shook hands but, after a very brief exchange, he politely withdrew his slightly bruised hand without even flinching as he muttered, "Take care of my little girl..." Shortly after seeing the trio off in their strange hybrid aircraft, which Luvia had identified as a V-22 Osprey, Vahn gathered everyone together after pulling Da Vinci away from a now disassembled and modifiedputer before asking ya to transport them back to Avalon. Before the transfer, he picked up Mordred and Sakura, still wearing their tiger pajamas, holding one of the girls on each arm as the entire group vanished in magical blue light. When their surroundings suddenly shifted, Sakura, Rin, Luvia, Gray, and Olga were all slightly disoriented but, after looking around at the masterfully constructed interior castle walls, they quickly got over it. As Vahn had hurried things along so that they wouldnt miss the sunset, which came rather early during January, the first thing he did was guide the group to the nearest ess point to enter the Sub-Space Projection Orb. Entering into a mirror was a surreal experience but, as each of the girls, sans Sakura, were rather used to such things, they didnt even hesitate to follow the group into the silvery surface. After reaching the other side, Vahn exined, "Within this Projection, time flows at a rate of seven-to-one. A single day and night in the outside world trantes to a week in here so keep that in mind if you intend to spend a lot of time inside." Though Vahn was tempted to prohibit Sakura from entering into the Projection for long periods of time, he knew this probably wouldnt go over well with the young brte. Unless he was away, she would probably spend a lot of her time within the Sub-Space Projection, studying, training, or ying with her newly acquired older sister. As he allowed Mordred to use it freely, Sakura would easily be upset by the fact the difference in their age would gradually increase while, even though they didnt have anything like a rivalry in the present, Vahn could see the two girlspetingter on. He would need to discuss the matter with Rin but, if she wasnt against it, Vahn had already decided to allow Sakura free ess to the Orb whenever she wanted. In response to Vahnsment about the time dtion, though she had already been made aware of it previously, Luvia cubbed the side of her face andined, "Ill need to start taking even better care of my body. At this rate, Ill almost be as old as my Grandmother by the time the battle actually begins~." Though there wasnt a single part of Luvias body that looked like it had even remotely started to be affected by the detrimental effects of aging, Vahn knew she was more or less asking how he intended to prevent this. Luvia had undoubtedly heard several things from Rin, especially with Sakura staying with her, but, understanding her intrigue, Vahn exined, "I intend to ce my Familia Crest onto everyones body. This will allow me to keep track of everyones growth while also serving to promote the increase in your bodys parameters. Though the long-term effects still need to be observed, this alone would increase your lifespan considerably without any adverse side-effects. There are several other things youll be made aware of in the future but, so long as you do not desire it, I have the means of preventing or reversing aging entirely..." As this was the first time Olga was hearing anything rted to the Sub-Space Orbs and extending her lifespan, her eyes had gone out of focus for a moment before she asked, "Are you saying it is possible for you to make others immortal...?" In response to this, Vahn scrunched up his nose a bit before saying, "It is possible, yes. However, Id rather help to extend your life and increase your vitality than make anyone immortal. That is something people need to achieve on their own or it would consume them in theirter years. Well talk about thister but, the only thing you really need to be an immortal is to increase your Soul Tier to the fourth Tier. After that, it isnt an exaggeration to say you would have attained godhood as the Fourth Tier is known as the Divine Soul Realm." With every new resident of the Ivory Castle having been a part of the Magusmunity for most of their lives, Vahn could see the glimmer of intrigue in their eyes. Before they could pester him with questions, however, he inly stated, "We have plenty of time to talk about things like thatter. For now, we need to get everyone situated in their rooms and have dinner prepared. Now that we are inside, we have about three hours until sunset so there isnt any particr rush but I would like to have everyone situated before the twilight descends. It is actually quite beautiful..." As he knew it hadnt truly set in for them how much time they now had, Vahn felt the need to remind everyone so that they wouldnt just continue to stand around awkwardly in the chamber that had been designated for transportation... Following Vahns words, everyone, including Olga, even though she was technically only a candidate for permanant residence, migrated toward the Inner Sanctum. There were more than enough rooms for everyone to have their own ce to stay but, at least for the time being, Rin and Sakura were sharing the room next to Mordred and Artoria while Gray, even though she was fine with staying in the Knights quarters, would be bunking up with her Ancestors for a few days. The only person who ended up picking out her own room from the start was Olga, choosing a spot near the end of the long hallways, while Luvia had been rather adamant about staying in the same room with Vahn since it didnt seem like Rin would be fighting her for the position outright. Fortunately, Vahn managed to keep Luvia at bay by mentioning they were only engaged and not actually married just yet. Since Circe, Medusa, and Fenrir stayed in his room during most nights, he knew it would be very chaotic if she were suddenly added into the mix. Though it was only a matter of time before they slept together, it wasnt the first thing on Vahns list of priorities. As neither Circe nor Medusa had been fond of the idea of a new roommate, it was for the best she picked out a private room to stay in. It was a boon that Luvia was very perceptive to social cues so, after seeing the petite Demi-Goddess and peculiar Gorgon, she hadnt tried to insist and instead dragged Vahn off to help her decorate... --- After stealing Vahn away to her room, Luvia closed the door behind them, asking, "Are there any kind of security measures to prevent others from essing the interior of these rooms?" Though she could seeplex bolt locks and several magical formations present, Luvia didnt know what they meant at a nce. After all, many of these formations were ancient, some using runes andnguages that no longer existed within modern times. Hearing Luvias question, Vahn produced a wry smile exining, "There is a ce in the closet that serves as the center of the formation. If you drip your blood there, only you and members of the Imperial Family that have been registered to the main formation would have ess to this room." After saying this, Vahn showed Luvia where she needed to drip her blood while also going over the rooms security features. He had some expectations about what she had in mind but, as there were othermitments he had made, Vahn was already considering how to gently refuse her proposition. Contrary to his expectations, though it seemed to be going in that direction, Luvia removed her winter coat, revealing the skin-tightbat leotard underneath as she said, "Though it may not matter all that much with everything else going on, I want you to promise me that you will never discuss my skills and abilities with others. My family has a secret it has protected for generations and, though I will reveal it to you, I dont want others knowing. Even if we can trust everyone here, there is no way of knowing what the future holds. As the Head of the Edelfelt family, I have a duty to protect the secrets my Ancestors have kept closely guarded for more than five hundred years." As he understood the importance of having secrets that you only shared with a select few people, Vahn didnt try to pressure Luvia on the issue of hiding things from the others. Instead, he gave an understanding nod before promising, "I will protect your secrets, Luvia. Unless you reveal them yourself, I will never speak of them with others. However, you should know that there are several people inside the Ivory Castle who may be able to see through your secrets from the start. Merlin and Scthach would be able to discern almost everything about you, even though neither would ever disclose that information to others." Hearing Vahns words, Luvia stopped removing her leotard just after pulling the straps free from her shoulders. This left her hugging her ratherrge b.r.e.a.s.ts with aplex expression on her face but, as even Mystic Eyes hadnt been able to expose her just yet, she decided it wasnt that big of an issue. Besides, she trusted Vahn and, if he said Merlin and Scthach wouldnt expose her secret, Luvia believed him. With that conviction, she rolled down her leotard to her waist, allowing herrge b.r.e.a.s.ts to hang freely while showing off her fair-skinned and toned body. She noticed Vahn blink in mild surprise before an appreciative light shed across his eyes, easing Luvias own nervousness as she straddled a chair and left her back exposed to him. Vahn had always had an appreciation for women who had a bit of visible muscle ever since his first interactions with Hephaestus and Tsubaki. Since Luvia was also in the category of women who had ratherrge and shapely b.r.e.a.s.ts,bined with an almost perfectly round and toned butt, Vahn couldnt deny her figure checked off a lot of his preferences. The only thing he found odd was her choice in hairstyle but, as he tried to imagine Luvia with a more normal style, the image actually didnt suit her at all. She was almost the personification of a well-bred nobledy at a nce but, hiding beneath her stylish outerwear, Luvia hid an amazing body that seemed to brim with raw power... As he had stalled for a few seconds, Luvia looked over her shoulder with a seductive glimmer in her eye as she remarked, "My...I did not take you as the shy type...how long are you going to keep ady waiting, Darling~?" This caused Vahn to lightly chuckle as, without any actual hesitation, he walked over and traced the line of Luvias back with his index finger. Since she was teasing him a bit, Vahn felt like doing the same so, with extreme subtlety, he used his [Hands of Nirvana] to send a shiver up her spine as his finger traced from the base of her neck to the fabric around her waist. Then, without needing to prick his finger, Vahn created a small hole to let his blood flow out as he began the process of drawing his Familia Crest on Luvias back... ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Luviagelita Edelfelt] Age: 28 Race: Human Strength: 7E Endurance: 12D Agility: 6E Magical Power: 3E Good Luck: 23C Circuit Quality: 21C Noble Phantasm: (-) Origin: War, Star, Wealth Skills: [Noble Discernment:Innate:B], [Call of the Battlefield:Innate:C], [Astraeas Heir:Innate:(sealed)], [Golden Rule:EX], [Charisma:B], [Martial Arts:B], [Etiquette:B], [Dancing:C] Magic: (-) Magecraft: [Od Conversion:B], [Conversion:B], [Catalyze:B], [Jewel:A], [Reinforce:A], [Mystic Code:D], [Magic Coat:D], [Gandr:A+], [Restoration:E], [Familiar:E], [Projection:E], [Alchemy:E] [Golden Rule] Rank: EX Use: The users fortune concerning their ability to .u.mte wealth. At this rank, it is possible for the user to .u.mte all the worlds treasures. [Charisma] Rank: B Use: The natural ability tomand an army and inspire allies. At this rank, the user is qualified enough to lead a country. [Martial Arts] Rank: B Use: The culmination of all martial skills that have been learned by the user. Increases spatial awareness and enhances the efficacy of strikes. [Etiquette] Rank: B- Use: The knowledge and experience to allow the user to navigate high-society with elegance and grace. Due to the users nature, this skill has a chance to be negated under specific circ.u.mstances. [Dancing] Rank: C Use: The natural grace to follow a tempo and move the body in an elegant fashion. At this rank, the user ispetent enough to avoid embarrassment during a Ball. [Gandr] Rank: A+ Use: A physical curse magic that takes on the form of a hazy ckser than can punch through magically enhanced armor. Due to special modifications, the size and shape can be adjusted with extreme precision, drastically increasing offensive power and versatility. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Seeing Luvias parameters and skills, it was easy to see how she and Rin had been rivals for more than a decade. Though it wasmon for everyone attending the Clock Tower as a student to get a basic foundation in the primary schools of Magecraft, both girls had simr specializations. Luvia had a clear advantage against Rin, especially in her physical parameters, but that had changed due to thetters training and her bing the vessel of two Goddesses. The most notable thing, however, which Luvia undoubtedly intended to keep secret, was the existence of her [Golden Rule: EX] skill. When he saw the general description, Vahns eyes widened considerably and, even if she herself had been okay with sharing, he would have advised her to keep it a secret. What the skill implied was, so long as she wasnt killed or interfered with, Luvia would eventually .u.mte all the worlds wealth and treasures. When he had looked at Gilgameshs skills on the Throne of Heroes, even the King of Heroes had only developed the skill to A-Rank. Since his [Gate of Babylon] purportedly had every treasure in the World, past, present, and future, Vahn couldnt even fathom the extent of Luvias potential to .u.mte wealth. Considering how she had built a business empire that made her one of the wealthiest people in the world, all while researching Magecraft and training her body, it was a little scary to imagine what she could aplish given more free time... Sensing that Vahns rather hot finger had stopped moving around on her back, Luvia released a sigh as she looked back to gauge his reaction. As he had already corrected his expression, Vahn met her gaze with a smile,menting, "Youre amazing, Luvia..." This elicited an awe-inspiringly beautiful smile from the golden-haired woman, followed by her reaching up to cup his face with her hand, her hot breath tickling his face as she mused, "Now, now, you can praise me all you wantter...we have our entire lives ahead of us, ohohoho~." With that said, Luvia stole a kiss from Vahns lips, leaving him with a somewhat silly smile on his face as she quickly donned her leotard and changed into more appropriate clothing to view the impending sunset... (A/N: Alternate Titles: You cant escape Luvia any longer xD...,Vahns room is guarded by the youth troupe...,Take all of Gilgameshs treasure...!,Who is the trophy in this situation...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1163 - Twilight : Darkness

Chapter 1163 - Twilight : Darkness

After helping everyone get settled in, Vahn gave a general tour of the main areas most residents frequented while Circe, after a bit of coaxing, went to cook arge feast. Medusa also apanied her as, with Sakura and Mordred around, it was almost impossible to be her usual clingy self. She was actually a terrible cook but, as Circe could turn even a beginners efforts into a delicious meal, the two could often be found together in the kitchen. Vahn had even seen Medusa using her hair like several extra sets of hand, causing incongruous feelings that he couldnt quite put to words. It was actually a surprising disy of dexterity and skill but, just imagining the unlikely scenario of Medusa leaving behind a strand of her incredibly long hair in a dish led to Vahn advising against it. Besides, there was no sense in splitting your focus on several tasks when you struggled to make a single ptable dish... While touring around the castle, the newer residents, excluding Luvia, all had expressions of awe and wonder on their faces as, in the present day, it was nearly impossible to find wonders like the Ivory Castle. Even the basic structure of the walls and supports were masterfully designed while each of the long corridors connecting different sections of the castle was lined with beautiful stained ss windows. Merlin had mentioned that the castle used to also contain several works of art but, with the passage of time and the looting the preceded the Dragons Breath, most of them had been lost or stolen. Still, the castle itself was a marvel of architecture that, at a nce, seemed to be beyond the means of humans to construct. This was due to the fact that it was primarily constructed with the use of powerful Magecraft that bordered on the realm of True Magic, using the assistance of Faeries and Spirits in, once again ording to Merlin, only three months time. With Luvia and Rin sparring often,bined with the fact that Sakura would also begin her own training in the next year or so, Orb-Time, the first ce Vahn took them to was the Knights Training Field in the westernmost region of the castle. While there, he introduced everyone to Siegfried who, at the time of their arrival, had Skoll seated atop his head as he carried around a lounging Susu in his arms. Upon seeing the stoic and rather handsome Knight, Vahn wasnt all that surprised when Luvia, Rin, and Olga all gave him appraising looks with mild surprise in their eyes. As Siegfrieds power was significantly reduced if he covered the scar on his chest and back, he often wore clothes that showed off his muscr figure which, whenbined with his handsome and chiseled features, were rather effective against most women. Seeing him walking around with the adorable Skoll on his head, all while he maintained a serious expression, created a gap that was hard not to appreciate. Other than Olga, however, Luvia and Rin quickly collected themselves and, as Vahn considered Siegfried his friend, he didnt feel threatened by the fact the girls had gawked at him. As Siegfried greeted them with the same stoicism that Vahn hade to expect from the pale-haired Knight, it was apparent he wouldnt do anything that might betray his trust... Though Luvia ended up challenging Rin to a light sparring session when the group entered into the Sub-Space Training Orb, Vahn was ultimately able to prevent a fight from breaking out. From there, the group doubled back towards the main residential area, a walk that took between twenty minutes to an hour, depending on how quickly you rushed. Theplex structure of the Ivory Castle made it easy to get lost but, so long as you stuck to the main ess corridors, it wasnt that difficult to get from one section to another. Fortunately, there were various Golems that could be found tirelessly wandering the halls so, if you ended up getting lost, they could guide you to your destination. With Sakura riding on his shoulders, as her feet had started to hurt from all the walking, Vahn guided everyone back to therge dining room. Medusa had just brought in more than ten different dishes, adding to the dozens of small tes of meats, vegetables, fruits, oats, and pastries. Though Circe liked to make big meals, such as whole roasted pig andmb, she had changed her cooking style to reflect more appropriate portions as seeing a te of partially eaten food caused her quite a bit of frustration. This was one of the reasons she got along well with Fenrir, at least after they had warmed up to each other, as thetter could literally eat an infinite amount of food. Seeing the amazing variety of foods, Sakura released an awed, "Wow...Otou-sama, there are so many different foods~!" This caused Vahn to lightly nod and, as Circe was just stepping out of the kitchen, he allowed his voice to carry as he remarked, "Circe is an amazing chef. Make sure you only select foods you intend to finish though, as it would be rude to her if you left anything on your te..." In response, Sakura shouted a lively, "Haaaiii~" while, at the threshold between the kitchen and dining room, Circe puffed out her modest chest with pride as her long elf-like ears wiggled in response to Vahns praise... During the rather lively dinner, Vahn discussed various matters of importance regarding the castle and areas that could be dangerous if ventured into haphazardly. Fortunately, even Astolfo couldnt identally enter such areas as, even without the Golems that had been posted to turn people away, there were powerful magical formations to prevent unauthorized ess. Still, as there was no way to be certain something wouldnt happen, Vahn made sure they were aware of areas like the Armory of Camelot, Da Vincis Workshop, Paracelsus Magus Tower, Tristanas Botanical Garden, and the northern walls of the castle as an idental slip would lead to a nearly 300m drop into jagged rocks and cold seas. As the Ivory Castle had literally been built into a small mountain, there were only a few ess roads leading to the main gate and a secret port that connected to the castles waste management system. This area was also off-limits as the sluice gate that was supposed to keep the tide at bay had yet to be repaired, leading to the chamber flooding during the evening hours. Now that Sakura would be wandering around the castle, Vahn was nning to have the gate fixed, just in case. Even if there was always someone escorting her around, he wasnt the type to leave such things to chance, regardless of how bold Sakura became due to Mordreds influence... After dinner hade to an end, Vahn took those that were interested to view the long sunset atop the castles ramparts. As this was a popr past-time within the castle, the only two to abstain were Medusa and Circe as the former was weak against the cold while thetter would rather sit under the moonlight than watch the sunset. In that regard, she was a lot like Lakshmibai who, being one of the few to stay behind in the castle, had been hitting it off surprisingly well with Olga. Thetter seemed to feel out of ce amidst the stronger personalities and entities within the group. As Lakshmibai had experienced something simr in the past, she had taken it upon herself to proactively engage the young Animusphere heiress. Vahn appreciated the efforts the women around him went through in order to make sure everyone was happy as, much like what he had seen in the Record of Danmachi, their sisterhood was one of the most important factors to prevent future problems from arising. Fortunately, for the most part, he was slowly bncing things out by introducing people he wouldnt be having a rtionship with. Unlike what he experienced in Danmachi, where it felt like an inevitability that he slept with everyone in the Hearth Manor, with a few obvious exceptions, Vahn wanted to reach some kind of equilibrium in the Nasuverse. Presences like Astolfo, Catherine, Siegfried, and even Merlin went a long way in avoiding a repeat of the phenomenon that had urred in the Hearth Manor. Though Vahn understood the chances of something happening would increase every time he summoned a powerful personality, he trusted the women he surrounded himself with. With the exception of Olga, he couldnt really imagine any of the women around him being influenced by another man to the point they would go behind his back to engage in an illicit rtionship. At the very least, Vahn expected them to be forthright on the matter and, if there was genuine affection between both parties, he wouldnt resent either party. Though he would certainly fight for them, Vahn would never force any woman who was no longer in love with him to stay at his side. It was an inevitability that, during the eternity he would experience, there would be those who either strayed from his side or fell out of love... For now, Vahn didnt have to worry about such things as, in this singr moment, the only thing that mattered was the people at his side as they all watched the sunset together. He had set out a thick nket for everyone to sit on and, with Sakura already dozing away in hisp, Vahn gazed out over the horizon with Rin seated on his left while Luvia leaned against his shoulder on the right. A little further down, Artoria and Gray were seated next to each other while Mordred reclined against her mothers legs as thetter was seated in a seiza-like position. On the opposite side of Rin, as if united by their rather wild hairstyles, Fenrir, Lakshmibai, and Olga sat together, thetter seeming to enjoy thepany as, back in London, she actually had few true friends... Seeing everyone together like this, Vahn felt extremely content and, while the future held an infinite number of possibilities, none of that really mattered. Just seeing the sleeping face of Sakura as she leaned against his arm, a line of drool escaping her lips, was enough to fill Vahns heart with a great deal of warmth. It was moments like this that made all the other struggles worth it and, though it also made him miss his the children he left behind, Vahn knew it was only a matter of time before he was reunited with them. He didnt know what kind of existence he would be by then but, so long as he never forgot these emotions, the feelings he was experiencing right now, Vahn believed he would still be the same person they loved... --- After watching the sunset for the better part of two hours, Vahn felt it was better for Sakura to sleep in her bed, regardless of howfortable hisp might be. He carried her back, Rin following close behind as everyone retired to their own rooms. It took a bit of time to limate to the Sub-Space Projection Orb but, with every day outside being seven days inside, time was one of the things they had to spare. While tucking Sakura into the bed, Vahn sent a nce towards Rin, softly whispering, "Ill stay here tonight...I would feel bad if Sakura woke up and I was missing." Though Vahn knew there were quite a few others who wouldnt mind sharing a bed with him for the evening, Sakura and Rin were two of his highest priorities. Even though he was more than a little tempted to visit Luvia, the night within the Projection was very long, affording Vahn plenty of time to make it up to her after she was well-rested. He had nothing else going on until the sun rose in the real world and, though he had a few things he wanted to discuss with Da Vinci, she had disappeared to their shared Workshop when Vahn was helping everyone else get settled in. As she had already expected Vahn to say something simr, Rins expression softened in response to his words. She began to remove the ribbons from her hair, asking, "Will you join me in the bath...?" Though her face turned slightly red when she asked this, Rin felt like it had been too long since she and Vahn had an intimate moment together. As they obviously couldnt do anything with Sakura sleeping in the same bed, taking a bath together wasnt a bad alternative. Vahn, however, was more than a little surprised by the offer, causing Rins face to turn even redder after she saw his reaction. Before she could change her mind, Vahn had almost instantly appeared at her side, his hands finding their way to her h.i.p.s as if that was their natural resting position as he whispered, "There is no way I could refuse such an offer..." In the next instant, Rin found herself being whisked away to the connected bathroom, a furious blush on her face as she hadnt expected Vahn to be so enthusiastic. Then, for the better part of an hour, Vahn enjoyed a long bath with three different women as, after helping to wash Rins body, it wasnt long before Ishtar and Ereshkigal also made an appearance. Though the first thing he did was heal Rins left b.r.e.a.s.t, this hadnt taken up much time so Vahn was able to enjoy the soapy experience a great deal. Ereshkigal, under the guidance of Ishtar, even helped to wash his back and, though shecked any experience doing such things, her earnestness was very refreshing... After Rin had been given control over her body once again, Vahn helped her change into sleepwear before carrying her over to the bed. Sakura was a surprisingly deep sleeper and, as Vahn had been keeping tabs on her through his domain, he knew she hadnt woken up while he was tending to Rin and her residents. She didnt even stir when Vahn set Rin down in the bed next to her, only reacting when he himself climbed into bed on the opposite side of her. Though Vahn had experienced this phenomenon several times in the past, it brought an amused smile to his face when Sakura almost immediately snuggled up against him. Rins own reaction was less enthused, followed by her lightly pinching Vahn cheek as she asked, "Are you cheating to try and win over our daughter...?" Issuing a light chuckle in response to Rins words, Vahn grabbed her hand, holding it in his own as he answered, "It isnt apetition...you have been doing well, Rin...thank you..." With that said, Vahn gave Rin a light kiss that caused her frown to turn awkward before she ultimately released a sigh and smiled. Then, while continuing to hold Vahns hand, they both snuggled up with Sakura in between them, findingfort in each other as sleep slowly overtook Rins fatigued mind. She had gone through a lot over thest month and, though it was only a short moment, the time she had spent in Vahns care caused a lot of her tensions to simply melt away. Now, even though she knew it was impossible to keep him for herself, Sakura felt content just sharing this moment together... --- While everyone else was sleeping rather peacefully, there was one person within the castle who, even with afortable bed and thick nkets, simply couldnt rx enough to fall asleep. Even though Olga had grown up surrounded by Magecraft, everything that had happened over thest day had considerably shaken her perception of the world. Just the fact that she was sleeping in a massive bedroom within the Inner Sanctum of the Ivory Castle was something she never would have even considered in the past, much less while in a world where time flowed seven times faster than normal. She couldnt help imagining what the future might hold for her, mulling over all the different possibilities while periodically ncing toward the door of her room, wondering if and when it might open... Olga knew she was worrying too much as, unlike most of the men she had associated with, Vahn gave off a very different vibe from the norm. If anything, rather than looking at her as something to be possessed, he seemed to show mild concern regarding her and, with Lakshmibai and Fenrir both trying to befriend her, Olga felt like he was actually afraid of making her feel pressured. Instead of allowing her to feel calm, however, Olga felt even more pressure as a result of Vahns concern as she simply didnt know how to deal with it. Long ago, when Olga was only four years old, her father had abandoned her while trying to deal with her familys financial issues. She had been left in the care of her Governess, a woman named Trisha Fellows who, up until the time she was eleven years old, had been her caretaker and mentor. As a result, her upbringing had been very strict and, in the hopes of garnering her fathers attention, Olga had put an earnest effort into everything she did. More than anything else, she just wanted him to praise her a bit and, despite the ridicule she faced from her peers for studying a dying School of Thaumaturgy, Olga never gave up trying to be the best heiress she could be. Unfortunately, around the same time that she met with Lord El-Melloi II and Gray for the first time, Olga experienced a major trauma that she had carried with her ever since. Trisha, who had been the closest thing to a parent she had while growing up, ended up losing her life as a result of Olgas selfishness in insisting they participate in a dangerous auction. To make matters even worse, Olga had discovered Trishas decapitated body as, in an effort to prevent her Mystic Eyes from being stolen, she had sealed her own head within an Imaginary Number Space, a secluded Space Pocket that could only be opened with a password. Later, after discovering the sealed space, Olga opened it with the password Trisha had taught her, thetters still-living head, preserved due to no time passing in the Imaginary Number Space, spilling out to utter its final words... From that moment onwards, Olga had been mostly self-taught in her studies while following the curriculum of the Clock Tower. She med herself for Trishas death, even going as far as to use it as a reason to justify her fathers abandonment of her. Thus, until she had attended a dinner party after her fifteenth birthday, where she had been proposed to by Ard Trambelio, Olga had limited human contact and almost no social experience. She had been led around easily by the tall and oppressive mans flowery words and, even though his presence alone terrified her, Olga felt like the only choice for someone like her was to listen to his words. If not for her fathers timely intervention, she likely would have be the next mb to be sacrificed to the voracious second son of the Trambelio family... After that incident, her father began to pay more attention to her and, though the Animusphere family was still going through tough times, he began personally grooming her for her position as heiress. Though she hadnt realized the dangers at the time, Marisbury Animusphere was very aware of what had almost happened and, though he hadnt given her all that much attention as she was growing up, he still cared deeply for his daughter. However, even after she became his protege, Olga was ying catch up when it came to dealing with high-society so her father was very strict in his teachings. He almost never praised her, despite Olgas best efforts, even going so far as to gently admonish her for being so eager to seek the approval of others. Olgas father wanted her to be more confident and assertive but, after failing to take care of her during the formative years of her life, this was virtually impossible for him to achieve. He knew almost nothing about her and, due to how busy he was with his own duties, most of the time they spent together was him teaching Olga what she would need to know for the future. It didnt help much that Olga never really opened up to him about the things that were troubling her as, after losing Trisha, she internalized most of her problems and rarely shared with others. Thus, rather than a true father and daughter, the rtionship between Marisbury and Olga was closer to that of a researcher and his assistant... Due to her upbringing, Olga had deeply rooted abandonment issues and an almost pathological need for praise. Now that she was ced in a position where people showed her care and concern, Olga was afraid she would somehow mess everything up, losing any chance her family might have at sess. She was worried that, with Vahn acting so cautiously around her, that he would eventually grow tired of her presence. At the same time, however, Olga didnt know what she needed to do in order to make a good impression on her, even with Lakshmibai and Fenrir both telling her she just needed to rx and focus on her own happiness. As this was an almost entirely foreign concept to her, Olga could only ruminate over hundreds of different possibilities as, for the tenth time in thest hour, she looked towards the door to her room, wishing Vahn would just show up and tell her what she needed to do. If she knew what he wanted, she would be able to take action and, if she worked hard, there was even a chance he might praise her efforts... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I can imagine Siegfried covered in various Vanargandr-type Golems clinging to him as he walks around with apletely neutral expression on his face...,Little moments of happiness can go a long way...,Olga needs a therapist (O _ O)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1164 - Small Steps

Chapter 1164 - Small Steps

When Sakura finally woke up, around five hours after Vahn hadid down with Rin, he helped pick out an outfit for her while she went off to the bathroom to dutifully brush her teeth. Afterward, he helped to brush her hair and style it up while, having never been much of a morning person, Rin took her sweet time crawling out of bed. By the time Sakura was ready to go, her mother had only just dragged her feet toward the bathroom, releasing a loud yawn along the way as she asked, "Are you going to breakfast...?" Vahn gave her head a rub in passing, sending a wave of gentle yet stimting energy into her body as he answered, "Yeah. Im going to cook something up so hurry over. After that, we can take a walk over to the Knights training field together. Sakura wants to see Mordreds morning training..." As she was near what Artoria stated to be the ideal age to start Page and Esquire training, Vahn had a small expectation that Sakura might take an interest in it. She was at an impressionable age and, though it wouldnt be easy for her, there were a lot of people within the castle who would support her growth. Unlike her mother, Sakura was alreadypletely awake so she immediately followed up by pumping her little fists and eximing, "I dont want to be protected by Onee-sama! I want to be strong...!" As she had already seen Mordred vaulting through the air in a way she had not even though possible, followed by her dominance of all physical and skill-based recreational sports, Sakura had been inspired. She knew that Mordred wasnt even a year older than she was so if she began working hard, Sakura believed it wouldnt be long before she was able to do incredible things as well. This was why, when Vahn picked out clothes for her, she was given an outfit simr to what Artoria and Mordred wore during morning training,plete with an undershirt, tunic, trousers, belt, and springy riding boots that ran halfway up her calves to prevent her from rolling an ankle... Though Rin was moments away from telling Sakura she didnt need to try and follow in Mordreds footsteps, she ultimately just smiled before stroking her daughters head and saying, "You can do it, Sakura..." in a guiding tone. Even if the training was hard on her, Rin knew it would be better for her in the long run and, considering she would be under the tutge of Artoria, there was little chance she would be in any real danger. If Sakura actually managed to reach the point of being a qualified Knight from Artorias perspective, there would be few enemies throughout the entire world that would be able to contend against her. Thus, even though she kind of wanted Sakura to just live an easy and peaceful childhood, Rin instead decided to just support her decision... --- After cooking up arge and hearty breakfast, at least until Circe eventually showed up to take over the kitchen, Vahn enjoyed another lively meal before cing a few dishes into a pic basket and escorting Rin and Sakura over to the Knights Training Field. Along the way, Vahn exined to Sakura what she should expect, including that most trainings took ce during the day period. If not for the fact he had detected Artoria, Gray, and Mordred heading out earlier, her resolve would have to be temporarily quenched. As for why the girls were training during the night period, Vahn didnt really question it since it wouldnt be the first, or thest, time. With Catherine currently wandering around France with Astolfo and Nobunaga, Mordred didnt have any other lessons so it was a given that she would be training with her mother... As expected, Mordred and Artoria were currently in the midst of light sparring while Gray was seated on a nket at the side. Most of Mordreds training took ce directly in the Knights Training Field instead of the Training Orb due to the seal on her body not really necessitating the use of the infinite white space. Though their fights could get pretty intense at times, Artoria emphasized control over raw power as, with their use of [Mana Burst], it wasnt really necessary for them to exert themselves in the same way as others might. Instead, she was trying to hone Mordreds instincts further while helping her build up a stronger foundation, the antithesis of her previous, somewhat brutal, fighting style. Almost as soon as they arrived in the field, Sakura stared in awe as her sister twisted her body agilely through the air to evade a sweeping blow from Artoria. In the same movent, Mordred tried to bring her own reinforced wooden sword to bear against her mother but, by simply adjusting her center of gravity and cing her sword at a sloping angle, Artoria was able to deflect the blow with finesse to spare. To her credit, Mordred was also about to react extremely quickly, kicking out with her left leg and releasing a small burst of mana that allowed her to flip over, performing a second strike that was evaded with a backstep from Artoria. She was taking advantage of her smaller stature andpact center of gravity to spin around in the air,bining offense and defense together in a manner that made it hard to follow her movements. Unfortunately, while such techniques might take the average warrior by surprise, Artorias expression remained unfl.u.s.tered as, after stepping back, she also released a small burst of mana through her feet. Mordred held her sword with the broad side facing Artorias charge while condensing a thin membrane of mana around her body. This resulted in Artoria gripping her sword a little tighter as, like a professional batter, she mmed her sword into Mordreds, sending thetter flying backward for several meters. Artoria continued to press the attack without giving Mordred any leeway, forcing her back until thetter nearly reached the wall of the training field. Instead of allowing herself to be pressed to the wall, Mordred used her proximity to the hard stone surface to leap back, nting both of her feet against the perpendicr surface beforeunching herself forward with a powerful thrusting motion. With Mordred now going on the offensive, Sakura continued to watch their battle with her mouth slightly agape before asking, "Is it really possible for me to fight like this...?" Now that she had seen an example of her sisters skill, Sakura had suddenly lost all of her confidence. Vahn answered her question by rubbing the top of her head, exining, "If you work hard, youll be able to do even more amazing things. One day, youll even be able to fly through the sky and move faster than even the fastest airnes..." As he said this, Vahn began to slowly levitate himself and Sakura, surprising thetter until she realized what was going on. Since he now had her full attention, Vahn smiled affectionately as he added, "There are no limits, Sakura...never be afraid to reach for even greater heights..." Though they had both taken notice of his arrival, Artoria brandished her sword after deflecting another one of Mordreds strikes. This was the signal for their spar to end, causing Mordred to wipe the sweat from her brow as she looked up at the floating duo, adopting a wry smile before shouting, "Chichiue, Sakura, dont go flying around without me~!" In response to this, Mordred felt a tugging on her body that slowly lifted her into the sky, eliciting a happy snicker from the youthful Knight as Artoria shook her head and inly stated, "Ill give her a ten-minute break..." With that said, Vahn alighted his two daughters into the night sky while Artoria made her way over to where Rin and Gray were seated, the basket of food and a thermos of hot tea waiting for her... Vahn took Sakura and Mordred a few hundred meters above the training grounds, using his domain to keep away the frigid wind as he held the two girls hands and slowly drifted through the air. He could keep her protected but, with Sakuras current physique, it wasnt safe for her to move around at high speeds. She would experience things like whish and gravitational strain if he elerated too quickly, things her body wasnt able to withstand just yet. Thus, even though it was probably a little boring for Mordred, he just guided them slowly through the sky while, overhead, a half-moon illuminated the night, casting its gentle rays down on the umon trio. To add a bit of ir, Vahn channeled strands of Source Energy into his domain, causing bands of rainbow-hued light to spread through the surroundings, reflecting in Sakuras teal-blue eyes that had been glimmering, even as she tightly clung to his hand for dear life... --- After setting back down on the ground just under ten minutester, Vahn rubbed the tops of both girls heads, promising, "Ill teach both of you how to fly in the future. Mordred, make sure you take proper care of your sister during training. The path the two of you walk may take different forms but it is still the same path. As Imperial Princesses, it is important that you are able to protect yourselves while also setting a proper example for those who will idolize you..." With that said, Vahn withdrew his hands from their heads while Artoria rose up from her spot and took over. She gave Mordred the task of performing a thousand sword strikes, using the proper form, while, as this was Sakuras first time even holding a weapon, Artoria had her practice just standing in certain poses to start building up the muscles she would need for proper trainingter on... While seated at the side with Gray and Rin, thetter spontaneously asked, "Should I start training with Artoria as well? Ive always been a mid-range and closebat Magus so it would probably be a good idea if I train seriously..." In response to this, Vahn brought his fingers to his chin, adopting a thoughtful expression as he remarked, "There is nothing wrong with pursuing such a path. The only thing that really matters is that you keep training persistently and with the correct mentality. Even reaching a level beyond the Gods isnt impossible, especially with proper guidance..." Though saying such a thing to Rin, who had two Goddesses inside of her, was a bit strange, Vahn was very serious when he made such ims. Ishtar had actually seen mortals rise to a level that allowed them to contend against the Gods, she didnt really have much toment on the matter other than telling Rin, ("It wont be easy but youll have the two of us to help you. Just make sure to properly express your gratitude in the future, my dear vessel~.") At this point, Ishtar had be rather fond of Rin and, now that they were all with Vahn again, she was in a great mood. As for Ereshkigal, she sat in the corner of her own territory, nodding her head with a happy smile as she was surrounded by more than a hundred dolls that looked vaguely reminiscent of Vahn. She had been keeping herself upied by practicing her sewing, something that both creeped out and amused Ishtar as they were forced to upy the same space within Rins soul... Though she had been silent after greeting Vahn and Rin previously, Gray used this topic to enter into the conversation herself, remarking, "I would also like to be stronger...instead of always relying on Add, I want to be able to protect myself with my own power." This caused the small metallic cube in her sleeve toment, "Hey now, you arent intending to abandon me, are you!?" Though he had always kept quiet around Artoria, even though thetter was already aware that he was temted from the consciousness of her adoptive brother, Sir Kay, Add couldnt keep silent when hearing Gray effectively say she wanted to grow beyond having to rely on him. Hearing the somewhat shrill metallic voice of Add, Gray held up his cage, shaking it around a bit as sheined, "Im not going to abandon you, idiot...I just want to be stronger. I lose most of mybat ability when we are separated so I need to get stronger to avoid losing you..." This remark caused the vaguely humanoid face on the metallic cube to look rather embarrassed as, in a much lower voice than previously, he released an awkwardugh before remarking, "Thats right, isnt it? Sorry, Gray, I said something thoughtless..." As he had always been overprotective of her ever since the first incident with Svin, where he had been sealed away in a magical vault, Add had panicked a bit when it sounded like Gray was going to stop using him inbat... Seeing the peculiar interaction between Gray and the small cube, Vahn had an amused expression, even though he knew Adds main weapon, Rhongomyniad, wouldnt be in his possession for much longer. With that in mind, he habitually stroked Grays head, eliciting a sheepish blush from the monochromatic girl as he remarked, "The path you decide upon can take any form you please, Gray. You will have my support in anything you choose to do, even if you ultimately chose to spend the next couple of years enjoying life. I think its long past due for you to experience some happiness so dont push yourself too hard until you have a proper understanding of your goals..." With nearly sixty years of additional prep time within the Projection, Vahn believed it might actually be better for girls like Gray to just take it easy for a short while. Even Nobunaga and Kenshin had simr ideas and, if she was able to find a new motivation, he knew her strength would increase explosivelyter on... Gray found herself at a loss for words after hearing Vahn speak, lowering her head slightly as she just allowed him to stroke her hair for nearly a full minute before Rin nudged him. This was ultimately for the best as, while stroking Grays head, Vahn had been very tempted to grab her wriggling ahoge as it danced from side to side in response to his caress. He had once grabbed Lakshmibais in the past, eliciting a loud and startled squeak from her, followed by an extremely embarrassed reaction that resulted in her giving him the silent treatment for a few minutes after the fact. As Artoria had also reacted in a rather adorable manner, Vahn felt that ahoges within the Nasuverse were a strange yet amusing existence that, even now, he didnt fully understand. --- While making polite conversation with Rin and Gray, Vahn also watched the progress of Mordred and Sakura with a thoughtful light periodically shing across his eyes. He could tell that Mordred was actually slowly breaking through the restrictions of her seal, even though it was still in full effect. Her body seemed to be adapting to its presence, causing her use of Magical Energy to be far more efficient than it had been in the past. Now, she could nearly fight as if the first part of the seal had been removed, something Mordred herself seemed to be fully aware of as she continued to exert herself long after her body waspletely soaked with sweat. Mordred always behaved this way whenever he would attend her training and, knowing she was aware of his gaze, Vahn would give an approving nod whenever she performed particrly well, even though he knew she was just showing off. In the past, this would earn her a reprimand from Artoria but, as she had slowly been learning what she could and couldnt get away with, Mordred had gotten better at avoiding lectures. At the end of her thousand swings, she just added a bit of Magical Energy into the attack, kicking up a small tempest of wind that caused her bangs to ir somewhat heroically as beads of sweat were sent flying from her body. Vahn was actually impressed by the sight so he gave the reaction Mordred sought from him, something made more meaningful since Rin and Gray also seemed impressed by her disy... Though significantly less impressive, Sakura was also working hard under Artorias tutge, even though her thin arms and legs were shaking after only a few minutes of training. Since she wasnt the type to show unnecessary lenience, Artoria was using a thin wooden pointer to slightly adjust Sakuras position whenever her arms would start to fall. She knew Sakuras limits better than the young girl, using stern words as she strictly pushed her to the point of tears without showing any intention of letting her off. This caused Sakura to periodically look towards where her parents were seated, an act that normally earned her a light yet painful thwack as Artoria inly stated, "Stay focused. It is always hard in the beginning, Sakura. After a few weeks of training like this, you will be able to stay in this position all day if necessary..." To her credit, even though tears would periodically fall from her eyes, Sakura never once asked for the training toe to an end. Since her parents were present, and just watching from the side, she knew this was normal training. Because of this, even though it hurt a lot more than she expected, Sakura continued to push herself far beyond what she believed her limits to be. The reason for this, and the purpose of this training from the very beginning, was due to her Magical Energy working to alleviate her pain and fatigue even without her directing it to do so. Sakura had a much higher than average amount of Magical Energy and, with proper guidance, she would be able to tap into this energy to greatly enhance her physical abilities. The primary difference between this and using Reinforcement Magecraft was that thetter needed to be activated while this harsh training would gradually improve Sakuras physical capabilities to the point that she could even rival a Heroic Spirit in the future. After precisely thirty minutes of training, Artoria gave a curt nod before saying, "Good work, Sakura." These words were like a magical spell that caused Sakuras legs to immediately give out but, instead of crashing to the ground, her body was supported by an invisible force before she found herself being pulled towards the spot where her parents and Gray were seated. Artoria also gged over Mordred, saying, "Breakfast time. Good work, Mordred." Then, emting Vahn, Artoria stroked Mordreds hair and, even though shecked any understanding of Petting Laws, this still elicited a toothy grin from her daughter. After that, they both made their way over to enjoy an impromptu pic of sorts while Vahn let Sakura and Mordred use hisp as a pillow while he lightly stroked the formers head and fed thetter small pieces of fish and sausage with a pair of chopsticks... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sakuras conviction...! Fighto~!,Mordred isnt simply oveing her limits, but her restrictions (O___O)...,Vahn spoiling his little Princesses as their mothers stare with deadpan expressions...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1165 - Eager

Chapter 1165 - Eager

After helping Rin set up her own workshop, leaving Sakura to y with Mordred under the watchful eyes of Artoria and Gray, Vahn found himself in his own workshop alongside Da Vinci. She was currently overhauling Ark with a series of upgrades after having changed back into her more youthful form. Though she now had three bodies with the [Golden Rule: EX] skill, she still preferred this form, saying it was easier to have smaller hands and not have to work around her b.r.e.a.s.ts when she was hunched over and focused on a project. It was also the form that Vahn was least likely to make any advances on, allowing her tofortably snuggle up with him whenever she wanted to take a break. Since Da Vinci was currently tinkering with an electronic brain that had used her own as a temte, Vahn chose not to interrupt her work. Instead, he picked up a clipboard and a pen before moving to the area where Da Vinci had been conducting tests with his blood and other bodily fluids. Though it made him feel a little bit like her assistant, Vahn didnt really care all that much since he was also extremely interested in her research. Unfortunately, even Da Vincis best efforts had yielded results not all that dissimr to Vahns own findings. This included the fact that, regardless of the structure of his cells, even if he turned them into solid metal, they would always carry the same purification properties for up to twenty-four hours. As for the bodies he had produced for the others, they had also lost this unique quality, even though they were stillprised entirely of Source Energy. What this research proved was, instead of his cells themselves being unique, something else was responsible for giving them their purifying qualities. Curiously, the purification effect seemed much stronger when it was in the form of blood, indicating that it may have something to do with Blood or Purification Laws. It was very difficult to discern, however, as both types of Laws were usually pretty easy to detect. Vahns blood, however, was impossible to analyze as, even when it was structured as a red blood cell, even the most powerful microscopes werent able to identify their structure at all. His blood didnt even serve the same function as other people as, regardless of if they were exposed to oxygen or within a perfect vacuum, they would never decay until they lost their purification properties. After that, they would break down into literal nothingness, as not even subatomic particles were left present in their wake... Da Vincis current theory was that, instead of simply purification, his cells themselves were made up of apletely unknown form of energy, one that wasnt governed by Law or Mystery. Rather than a physical body, she determined that Vahns form was more of a projection, not all that dissimr to her Conceptual Vessels, just infinitely moreplex. Hepletelycked things like DNA and, unless he was guiding the processes, there were times when Vahns cells would just do nothing until they were observed or needed in order to repel invasive energy. Then, even if it had been a simple protein strain or an individual blood cell, they would instantly change form and function to automatically react when Vahn was in danger, turning into a form of energy that was impossible to detect with any of her existing tools. Though it was possible to destroy his body faster than this autonomous reaction, Vahns body seemed to remember what had injured it in the past, developing resistance to even the tools she used to take measurements... Though Vahn knew the energyprising his body was Source Energy, a lot of the other findings Da Vinci had made werepletely new to him. Since he was, forck of a better exnation, an Avatar that had been manifested specifically for the Nasuverse, theparison between his body and a Conceptual Vessel wasnt all that far off. His form always took on the image he had formed, representing his ideal except when he willfully changed it to something else. This was simr to how Da Vincis Conceptual Vessels would change based on her perception, just pushed to an extreme as he could change without limit while her bodies took a lot of preparation to develop. The most important discovery, though it was actually rather obvious if he thought about the past, was the fact that his body was developing a resistance to everything outside of itself. Since it was always changing based on his perception, it was a given that anything that had caused him pain would be less effective. Though his body didnt filter out the pain any longer, at least after his [Pain Tolerance] had evolved into [Rakshasa Body], this was an important mechanism for keeping him focused. As he could actually turn off his ability to feel pain, Vahn knew it was a very bad idea as, without proper stimulus and feedback from your body, you actually had to pay a lot more attention to your own state or you might even up losing a limb without even noticing it... As for why this was an important discovery, it implied that his body was always evolving and adapting to new stimuli and threats. If given enough time, he could theoretically be immune to anything as his resistances even seemed to apply to Laws. This could be seen from how his regeneration, while also improving gradually, was less affected by Kenshins Martial Laws and Scthachs Anti-Divine weaponry. In a way, it was almost as if he was naturally cultivating a unique kind of Defensive Law that was slowly turning him into an existence like Jeanne back in Danmachi. As the Nasuverse also had things like [Magic Resistance], [Physical Resistance], and Siegfrieds [Armor of Fafnir], it wasnt outside the realm of possibility to believe he would one day reach a point where nothing could harm him. He had even experienced something simr in Danmachi where, after reaching Tier 4, attacks from anything lower than his Tier couldnt even damage him due to the protection of the Records Laws... --- Even after taking all the measurements and checking all the vials, Da Vinci still wasnt finished working on her project so Vahn decided not to bother her. As it really wasnt all that important to discuss the ideas he had in mind, at least right this instant, Vahn left the Workshop and instead decided to check on Olga or see how Luvia was doing. He hadnt seen the former since she had retired to her room previously while thetter had gone off to explore the castle alongside Fenrir. Since there was a good chance she had already explored most of the interesting ces, as much of the castle was still barren, Vahn expected he would encounter Luvia either near the residential areas or on the western side of the castle near the Knights Training Grounds. With the current size of his domain extending to nearly 4500 meters, it didnt take long for Vahn to identify where both girls were, especially since they were together alongside Lakshmibai and Fenrir. Though this caused a small g to raise in Vahns mind, he wasnt going to back away just because the situation might turn awkward. Based on their arrangement, Vahn expected that Luvia might be trying to cement herself in the group hierarchy or, based on what he had observed from her, Olga could be asking them for advice. She seemed like an awkward young woman, not all that dissimr to his impression of Risna, albeit less of a shut-in and just generallycking social grace. It was obvious she was having a dialogue ur within her mind so Vahn was expecting her to explode at some point in the near future after her delusions reached a certain point... As the girls had met up in the Library, a public area, Vahn didnt bother knocking as he walked through therge open doors, drawing the attention of everyone present. Since none of them seemed surprised, he assumed Fenrir had alerted them to his presence long before his arrival, something he was easily able to confirm when her ears twitched and she averted her eyes for a brief moment. After rising from the lounge she had been seated on, Luvia smoothed out the creases of her dress in a natural manner as she remarked, "My Emperor, what brings you here on this lovely evening? Were you perhaps looking for me~?" As she knew there was actually a high chance of this being the case, Luvia bit the bottom of her lip with a slightly seductive look in her eyes as, other than Vahn, the others could only see her back. She didnt seem aware of the fact that Fenrir could smell her but, as thetter had already broken the habit of calling people smelly, Luvia was able to avoid that rather embarrassingbel. With her question not far from the truth of the matter, Vahn gave a curt nod in response and, as Luvia had already walked over, he gestured toward the door, asking, "Shall we alight...?" Though such manners werent really necessary in this situation, Luvia had referred to him by his title so Vahn had decided to go with the flow. He didnt know if she was trying to make things clear for Olga, who had been statuesque since his arrival, so it was best to y his part in such situations. Thus, when Luvia linked her arm with his, Vahn escorted her out of the room in the proper manner while giving a polite nod to the other girls present. Shortly after leaving the room, Luvia, now happily clinging to his arm, informed, "That girl seems to be struggling. If she is troubling you, I can always arrange different terms with the Animusphere family. It wouldpromise the foundation of our alliance but I could buy out all their assets so that Da Vinci can research them freely. Though there is a good chance a lot of the data would be lost or destroyed-." Before Luvia could continue any further, Vahn had guided her to a stop before looking at her with a hint of sharpness in his eyes. He understood it was normal for established families to take advantage of others, especially in this politically driven world, but that wasnt how he preferred to do things. Though he would, at times, put pressure on others, this was usually necessitated by the situation, not his personal preference... When Luvia had trailed off her words, meeting his sharp gaze with an elegant smile, Vahn shook his head before saying, "Though she may feel pressured to be in this situation, she also had the resolve to see it through bying here. With how she behaves, I can guess that her past has had its fair share of troubles. If possible, I would like to help her ovee these things and be a stronger person in the future. The only thing that keeps me from taking action right now are the elements of uncertainty surrounding her. Even if I go easy on her, there is a good chance a person with Olgas personality would develop a dependency on me in the future..." In response to Vahns words, Luvia gave an understanding nod, adding, "Indeed. Even I am taken aback by the type of person she turned out to be. The few times we had met in the past, she seemed like an unnecessarily haughty woman who was putting on a strong front. Now that she is in a weaker position, her personality has essentially flipped...hmmm...is it so bad that she is dependent on you? With the amount of time avable within this ce, Im certain she will eventually grow beyond her current limitations if you guide her properly. Besides, arent those other three girls rather dependent on you...?" Hearing Luvias question, several faces shed through his mind, including Illya, Medusa, Circe, and Lakshmibai. Though they all had strong personalities, Vahn could imagine them having breakdowns if he ever expressed he was no longer interested in them. This would never happen but, while girls like Lakshmibai would probably dutifully serve at his side, Illya could potentially threaten the entire world while Circe would undoubtedly do something like trying to poison everyone else. Medusa was the most stable of the four but, as she was also the closest to him, if for no other reason than the strange bond linking them, Vahn knew she had the highest potential for doing great harm in a short period of time... Seeing the look in Vahns eyes, Luvia knew he had understood who she was talking about, causing a smile to spread across her lips as it was always preferable when the person you were talking to was able to quickly intuit the meaning in your words. This showed that Vahn regarding everything she said seriously, something that would be very important if she were to one day be his Empress. With that in mind, Luvia decided to give him options, adding, "That man, Siegfried, seems like the docile and caring type. If you do not wish to address the matter of Olga personally, you can always y matchmaker between the two of them. Though she would lose the status of being directly involved with you, the most important thing is to avoid internal conflicts and unnecessary troubles." Though it didnt seem like a terrible idea, as Siegfried would undoubtedly treat Olga well, he knew it wouldnt necessarily be healthy for either of them. Vahn knew Siegfried well after spending months confiding in the stoic man whenever they both had free time. If he asked him to, Siegfried wouldnt hesitate for a moment tomit himself to Olga, as that was his nature. However, as a result of his past experiences and the life he had lived, there would always be a disconnect between him and Olga that, even after decades, may never be bridged. For better or worse, Siegfried was simply unable to lie. If Olga were to ask him why he liked her, or what he liked about her, rathermon questions in Vahns experience, his answer could devastate her. Though he would likely say somethingplimentary, it would only be a matter of time before the truth came out. Since it was virtually impossible to have them develop a rtionship naturally as, even if she were to approach him of her own ord, the current Siegfried would never ept such sentiments. If there was even a negligible chance his actions could be misconstrued as having betrayed Vahn, he would always er on the side of caution. Though he was alive in the present, the current Siegfried had already assigned himself a purpose and, as the one who had inadvertently given it to him, Vahn knew well how his friend would react to Olgas clumsy advances... After thinking about the matter, Vahn ultimately shook his head, saying, "Ill deal with Olgas matter personally. Though the chances Ill ever gain a full understanding are slim, Ivee to learn a lot about women over the years. Based on how she reacts to every little thing people say about her, it is clear that Olga is the type that is sensitive to praise. If I leave her as she is, the chances of her being taken advantage of by someone would increase exponentially. As she has already developed certain expectations, she would only get worse if things dont develop at least in the same direction. I cant have a Director of an organization that is meant to monitor the entire world if she is vulnerable to being exploited by others..." Vahn could see any older man, or even strong women like Nobunaga, easily wrapping Olga around their finger and leading her by the nose. Unless he paid close attention to her, the odds of her being manipted in the schemes of others was very high, with Olga herself being none the wiser. She was simply too eager to please others, to the point that he could probably even leave her to Fenrir for a while and she would likely be another devoted follower of his. Since it was infinitely better to change her perspective from seeking praise from others to seeking praise from him, Vahn had a rough idea of how he needed to treat Olga moving forward. At least in this manner, whenever others tried to manipte her, Olga would be immediately skeptical of them since she would always pass things through her lens of is this what Vahn would want?. From there, he could help Olga be a stronger and more confident woman and, though the odds of her leaving his side would decrease exponentially, she would at least be a much better person by the time he had finished influencing her. Vahn was well aware of how his treatment of women could drastically alter their perception of both themselves and the world around them. Even girls like Tiona were very perceptive, especially once they gained a bit of confidence, so Vahn believed that it wouldnt be long before Olga decided on a path of her own choosing. Though her path had a high chance of running parallel to his own, even if she diverged a bit, Vahn was confident she would never betray the trust of the people who helped her set the course. He could easily see her bing good friends with pretty much everyone in the castle at some point as, once she broke out of her shell, girls like Olga were usually eager to increase their rapport with others. Then, with so many other powerful personalities surrounding her, it was only a matter of time before Olga herself became one of them... Understanding that Vahn had made up his mind, Luvia dropped the matter entirely and just clung to his arm with a smile on her face. Matters of Vahns private life, at least for the time being, were not her primary concern. Since she had been the one to boost Olga to her current position, Luvia wasnt going to undermine her own efforts as, from past experience, her intuition regarding such things was always urate. Olga had a lot of investment potential and, with someone like Vahn present in her life, it was only a matter of time before she reached heights that would have been impossible for her back in London. Luvia herself felt stronger just by having Vahns Familia Crest carved onto her back and, knowing its functions, she was rather eager to return to the Clock Tower and negotiate ess to the Spiritual Tomb, Albion... After a few minutes of silence, Vahn and Luvia ended up outside of her room as, understanding her own intentions, Vahn had a few of his own in regards to the buxom golden-haired beauty. With them being in direct contact, he knew from the moment they had left the Library that Luvia had been anticipating what they might be doing. Though they had yet to marry, even her mother had gotten pregnant before finally sealing the deal with her father. One of the most important duties of the Edelfelt heir was to find a suitable partner to pass on their genes to the next generation, with marriage usually being a byproduct, not a requirement. With the valuation of Vahn being limitless, Luvia was rather eager to sink her teeth into him and, if necessary, vice-versa... With their intentions aligning, Luvia opened the door to her room before inviting Vahn in with a slightly red hue to her face. This was her first time but, as Rin had already spilled to beans about what to expect, she was less nervous and more excited than anything else. After all, Vahn had even conquered Goddesses rted to S.e.x and, seeing how the other women in his life simply epted his rtionsh.i.p.s with other women, Luvia had very high expectations. Even if they were close, it was rare for women to coexist with each other without small conflicts so, eliminating other factors, this meant they had unified together as a result of amonality between them. Though Vahns nature wasnt all that bad, Luvia knew it took more than that to win the hearts of so many women... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Da Vincis Loli Defense Matrix,Vahn, "I dont want people to be dependent on me..." *petting Circe into oblivion*,RIP Luvia) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1166 - Experience

Chapter 1166 - Experience

With the door closing behind her, sealing her fate, Luvia showed no discernible hesitation as she licked her lips before asking, "My Emperor, to what do I owe the pleasure of this nightly visit~?" Despite the pretense in her words, Luvia began to peel off her elbow-length gloves, letting them fall to the floor unceremoniously as she meandered towards the bed, her h.i.p.s swaying seductively. Since he knew she was a v.i.r.g.i.n, Vahn found Luvias behavior rather amusing as, at this point, she should know his character well enough to understand the danger involved with such temptation. However, based on how her mother had behaved,bined with the fact Luvia had been training hard her entire life, there was a good chance she had a preference towards a little bit of pain... Though he still intended to treat her gently during her first time, Vahn was looking forward to his future interactions with Luvia as girls with strong personalities like hers were always interesting to spend time with. With that in mind, he had walked up behind Luvia, running his fingers through her meticulously styled hair, remarking, "My business this night is pleasure itself...will you join me, My Empress...?" As Rin had already made it clear she had no intention of being involved in politics at all, this left Luvia as the only candidate to assume the title of his official Empress. Though he could keep the primary position empty, she would, at the very least, be one of Empress Consorts in the near future. Thus, though it was jumping the gun a bit, Vahn didnt mind ying along as the smell of Luvias citrusy shampoo tickled his nose... With Vahn standing right behind her, Luvia leaned her back against his chest, trusting that he wouldnt let her fall as she tilted her head up, her golden-brown eyes glimmering with expectant light. Then, in response to his words, Luvia sn.a.k.e.d her hand between their two bodies, sneakily extending her fingers toward Vahns belt as she huskily intoned, "It would be my pleasure..." Since her mother had taught her to always be direct when it came to matters between men and women, Luvia was intending to be proactive instead of just leaving everything to Vahn. Thus, while trying to unfasten his belt, Luvia inclined her head at an awkward angle, attempting to steal Vahns lips in an effort to further rile him up... Vahn was rather fond of Luvias aggressive and confident manner, even though he could feel her heart beating furiously from where his chest met her back. This didnt mean he was going to let her steal the initiative, however, so, with dexterity that startled Luvia quite a bit, Vahn deftly loosened the buttons of her blouse, seemingly in a single swift motion. As a result, her blouse basically burst open, revealing hercey white lingerie that, at a nce, met Vahns expectation of what women referred to as battle underwear. Luvia had clearly been anticipating this moment since theirst parting as, more often than not, women would wearfortable and fitted lingerie instead of shier garments that were considerably lessfortable. This was especially the case when wearing fashionable clothing as it was often tailored to be form-fitting, makingfortable undergarments almost a necessity to avoid pinching and chafing. Since he knew she had worn it for him to admire, Vahn wasnt shy about tracing his fingers across the fabric while, distracted by what he was doing, Luvia had stopped kissing him to watch Vahns hands dance across her brassier and b.r.e.a.s.ts. At the same time, his right hand was loosening the band around her waist, causing the fabric of her dress to slowly loosen until, just as Vahns hand slipped under her brassier, it fell to the ground around her ankles. As she was wearing matchingce lingerie underneath, Vahn was able to confirm his suspicions, causing him to stifle a chuckle as he gently blew into Luvias ear, startling her in the process. Brought back to her senses by Vahns hot breath, Luvia grabbed his left wrist in a vain attempt to prevent him from moving around too much, smiling as she mused, "You are rather skilled with your hands...nnn~!" Toward the end of her words, Vahn gently pinched Luvias already rigid n.i.p.p.l.e while, using the moment when she was distracted, his right hand came to rest on her lower abdomen. By the time she felt the heat of his palm, Vahn was already tracing up the visible dividing line of her muscles which, when she exhaled sharply, allowed the outline of a six-pack to be seen. Instead of detracting from her physical appeal, Luvias shapely figure and soft skin created a rare blend of beauty and practicality... Realizing the dire straits she was in, Luvia leaned her body forward in an attempt to escape Vahns grasp and move to the bed. This caused her butt to briefly touch against something hard, sending an instinctual shiver up her spine as Vahns hands tightened into an embrace around her body. Now, they were even closer together and, before she even realized when it happened, Luvia noticed that her blouse had outright vanished into thin air. Vahn was also bare-chested, allowing her to feel his body heat through her back as his hands dancing around her body, pushing buttons she didnt even know existed. This caused Luvias body to gradually heat up as, in ast-ditch attempt to keep some semnce of control over the situation, she perked up her butt, releasing a hotugh as she mused, "There is something poking my butt..." Vahn nodded his head in response, bringing his left hand to gently stroke her neck and jaw as he remarked, "I cant help it...you have an amazing body, Luvia. Your butt and b.r.e.a.s.ts are both firm yet soft...I feel incredibly fortunate right now..." As he spoke, Vahn gently pressed against Luvias lower abdomen while lightly moving his h.i.p.s, enjoying the feeling of her well-developed posterior while resisting the urge to immediately move on to the next phase of things. This was made even more difficult when, even though he knew she shouldnt be feeling it that much, Luvia began to make agonizingly seductive m.o.a.ns in response to his movements. It seemed she had given up on trying to take the lead and, though it was unnecessary, she seemed to be pandering to his ego... Though he appreciated the sentiment, Vahn was mildly taken aback by Luvias actions, even though he also knew she was likely just trying to rile him up further. She was trying to egg him on, either in an attempt to get him to treat her more roughly or perhaps as a means to preserve her own pride. Either way, it ultimately didnt matter all that much as, from the very beginning, Vahn didnt intend to hold back all that much. Luvia couldnt hide her reactions from him so, by matching her natural bio-rhythm and using skills he had polished over hundreds of s.e.x.u.a.l conquests, it wasnt long before her reactions became much more genuine... Instead of leaning against his body, Luvia was leaning forward slightly, relying on Vahns support to avoid falling over as his right hand had already breached the line of defense provided by hercey lingerie. Though she was well-groomed, Luvia had a neat patch of hair on her mons pubis which, as Vahns fingers dexterously navigated her vulva, tickled his wrist and palm. At the same time, Luvia was releasing gasping m.o.a.ns as he firmly gripped her right b.r.e.a.s.t, holding her body up as he simultaneously pressed the sizeable bulge in his trousers against the fabric of her panties. The white fabric had already be transparent from her own fluids and, though it was a rather precarious-looking sight, the front of Vahns trousers had be several shades darker from absorbing the moisture from her lower body. In normal circ.u.mstances, Vahn would spend more time preparing the women he was with, especially if it was their first time, but Luvia wasnt a normal woman. He knew it would be more meaningful for her if he took more proactive measures, rather than just ying with her body and leading her to climax with his fingers. With that in mind, Vahn had sneakily dulled the pain receptors in Luvias lower body while also linking together her nerve cl.u.s.ters in a way that, when she climaxed, it would be on the more extreme side. Then, just as she was reaching the peak of her building pleasure, to the point she was biting down hard on her lip in vain resistance, Vahn caused Luvias eyes to turn as round as saucers, cing her soaked panties into his Inventory while unequipping his trousers. Faster than she could process what was happening, Vahn ced his ns gainst Luvias entrance, having already understood its location and structure during his earlier exploration. Then, in one swift motion, while hugging Luvias body tightly against his, Vahn jerked his h.i.p.s forward with enough momentum to cause her legs to momentarily give out as a result of the simultaneous pain and pleasure that caused her mind topletely nk out. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish, as if she were attempting to scream, but the only thing escaping her throat for a few seconds was a choked gasp as her diaphragm had tensed up while her back attempted to curl in his embrace... Using his right hand to ease the tensions of her body, by rubbing up and down her abdomen, Vahn slowly brought Luvia back to her senses. She ultimately didnt release any loud screams or m.o.a.ns and instead just shook in his embrace as her body was wracked in pleasure. At the same time, she could feel a throbbing sensation from her lower body that matched her own heartbeat, pain and pleasure intermixed like the viscous fluid and blood dripping down her thighs. This wasnt outside her expectations, though Vahns actions certainly had been...what bothered Luvia the most was, even though she couldnt see where they were connected properly, she knew there was a gap between her body and Vahns. Though she knew he was supposed to be on therger side, it still bothered her a little that he had already reached her deepest parts with size to spare... After regting her breathing to the point of regaining her ability to speak, Luvia lightly rubbed her own abdomen whileining, "I didnt expect my first time...to be standing in the middle of a room...do you like it...like this...?" In response to her words, Vahn just continued to hold Luvias body in his embrace, answering, "I got the impression you wanted to experience something more intense than normal for your first time. If we used the bed normally, it would be hard to avoid feeling as if youre in a submissive position. When were done here, Ill take you over to the coach and have you straddle my h.i.p.s on your own...after that, Ill help wash your body and then you can enjoy sleeping in your bed without having to clean the bedding..." Hearing Vahns exnation, Luvia began tough in a sonorous, albeit intermittent, manner before she released a hot sigh and remarked, "My grandmother and mother taught me that the women in our family can only get excited when our partner is both stronger than us and greedily seeking our bodies...I feel like this kind of limitation doesnt really apply to you...even though I am more than a little excited...ufufufu~." Toward the end of her words, though it caused her a twinge of pain and pleasure, Luvia tightly squeezed her buttcheeks while flexing her lower abdominal muscles. The pain did actually make her feel more excited, almost as if she were in the midst of a hard-fought battle... Taking Luvias words and movement as permission, Vahn moved his right hand to tease Luvias tiny nerve cl.u.s.ter while circling his h.i.p.s in a deep pistoning motion. Unlike her pretend m.o.a.ns, Luvia was the type of woman that seemed to feel it quite yet, instead of crying out, she just released hot and slightly pained breaths as her brows deeply furrowed. She matched her breathing to his movements, something that greatly enhanced her experience as breathing in tune to your bodys natural rhythm could greatly increase focus and awareness. This was something most women only picked up after being guided properly but, as she had spent most of her life fighting and training, Luvia had keyed in on this simple yet effective technique by pure instinct... After a few minutes of gentle and targetted movements, Luvias body tensed up once again, causing her to step on her tiptoes as Vahn prevented her from falling over. At the same time, warm liquid flowing from her body, further lubricating Vahns member and causing a cool feeling on his thighs after the initial warmth faded. This was Luvias second big climax but, unlike her first one, Luvia had adapted quite a bit since then, using one arm to cling to Vahns head while taking in deep breaths and releasing hot sighs. She didnt cry out or anything, indicating to Vahn that her threshold was higher than normal women, useful information if he intended to push her to the peak. Since he knew it wouldnt be long before Luviained about him not finishing, Vahn waited until she wasing down from her high before musing, "Now Ill have you make me feel good..." With that said, Vahn guided the confused Luvias body, bending her forward until she was basically touching her toes. She could easily ce her palms against the ground while Vahn kept a firm hold of her h.i.p.s, gently thrusting into her as he exined, "This is usually a little too advanced for most people at the start but I feel like you will be able to enjoy this quite a bit...from this position, blood will rush to the head and, by the time you climax a third time, even you might not be able to stay silent..." Though Luvia looked like she wanted to say something, it was actually rather difficult to talk from such a position, especially when Vahns began to smack against her butt with a bit of force. It felt like there was a wave running from her lower body to her head, causing Luvia to tense up and hold her breath every time he moved. She could have avoided this situation by avoiding the position entirely but, now that she was already bent forward, Luvia could only support herself by pressing against the ground as her heavy b.r.e.a.s.ts bounced with Vahns movements, making it even harder to breathe... This had been one of Anubis favorite positions and, as Lakshmibai had also been rather fond of it, Vahn felt that Luvia would also get a kick out of it. She wasnt in any danger of actually suffocating but, feeling that you might suffocate could activate the bodys natural preservation instincts which also included the instinct to breed. Though it was subtle, he could feel her body heating up as her brain began to light up like fireworks with each of his movements. Since staying like this for too long could actually be dangerous, however, Vahn began to gradually speed up as he enjoyed the guilty pleasure of watching ripples travel through Luvias plump butt. Then, as he was nearly his ownpletion, Luvia began to groan a bit before releasing a subdued m.o.a.n through clenched teeth, her face turning beet red as a haze of moisture began to build up in her eyes. As Luvias body began to convulse, causing her inside to writhe pleasantly around his member, Vahn used abination of lifting her with his left hand and telekinesis to bring Luvia upright as he mmed against her h.i.p.s onest time. Then, as warm liquid filled her insides, a rush of fresh oxygen reached Luvias brain that caused her legs to shake and quiver as, for a brief moment, she outright passed out in his arms. This was only for around two seconds, however, causing Luvia to release a long and sensuous m.o.a.n as she came back to awareness and continued to tremble in his arms with her eyes closed. She even hugged her own body by instinct, making no effort to resist as she let the pleasure wash over her and entrusted her everything to Vahns care... --- When Luvia finally came back to her senses, she spent several seconds in silence, looking at where she and Vahn were connected as milky white fluid dripped down her thighs and covered most of his member. This caused her to remember something her grandmother had taught her, allowing her to break free from the almost existential crisis she was experiencing. She moved to step away from Vahn, this time with thetter allowing her to escape without interference. Though she was feeling weak in the knees, Luvia was able to stand without assistance as she released a hot and heavy sigh after having sessfully escaped. There was a lingering heat in her lower body but, in order to at least contribute something to this situation, Luvia managed her best seductive grin as she mused, "Let me clean you up..." Hearing her words, Vahn was tempted to point out that such things werent necessary but, as Luvia seemed intent on carrying out her service, he ultimately just squinted his eyes with an appreciative smile on his face. He was somewhat looking forward to Luvias realization that she was no longer able to stand after sitting down but, as such experience were part of what made moments like this special, he remained silent as she sat in a seiza-like position and began licking around his thighs and p.e.n.i.s,pping up the love juices and s.e.m.e.n without showing any signs it bothered her. When she got to his member, she even looked up at him, establishing eye contact and gauging his reaction like someone far more experienced than she was... Though Luvia made no attempt to take his full length, she did suckle on his ns in an attempt to suck out any s.e.m.e.n that had been left in his urethra. As there was nothing, however, she finished things off by giving his ns a long kiss before flicking the very tip with her tongue and saying, "All finished~." in a cheerful yet seductive tone. Then, after trying to rise to her feet, Luvia realized she was stuck seated on the floor but, instead ofughing at her, Vahn politely extended his hand with a casual smile on his face. She gained a slight blush in response but still grabbed his hand, musing, "My, what a gentleman..." while rising unsteadily to her feet. When her legs were stretched out once again, Luvia was able to exert a bit more strength into them, allowing Vahn to guide her over to the sofa before sitting down. Remembering what Vahn had said earlier, Luvia took a deep breath to steady her heart as she climbed atop hisp, using his assistance since her legs were still shaky. Now that they were facing each other, Luvia felt calmer than before, especially since she was the one on top. Though she had felt great earlier, it had been a frightening amount of pleasure that, even now, Luvia hadnt fully recovered from. Like this, she would be able to control the pace and, as this seemed to be Vahns intention as well, Luvia didnt waste any time as she ran her hand across his cheek and began kissing him rather passionately. At the same time, she raised her h.i.p.s slightly, guiding Vahns member with her right hand as she inexperiencedly tried to find the right angle. Fortunately, he had his hands ced on her butt, guiding her h.i.p.s so that she didnt have to fumble around and embarrass herself for too long... Then, after separating from Vahns lips for a short moment, Luvia bit her own as she slowly rocked her h.i.p.s and allowed Vahn to sink into her steamy cavern. Any pain that had been present had long faded and, as her body was still awash in the echoes of her earlier climax, Luvia felt a few waves pass through her body as his hot ns pried her apart before knocking at the entrance of her cervix. She noticed that her vision would flicker momentarily whenever he contacted her deepest part, a trait she wouldter learn was rather rare. Most women, at least when they werent ovting, would feel a suffocating difort whenever their cervix was pressured. There were very few women who were sensitive in that specific area, indicating that Luvias body was extremely suited for rearing children... Vahn hadnt been able to see Luvias face easily previously but, seeing the twinge of her eyes as she experimentally moved her h.i.p.s, he had keyed in on this peculiarity almost instantly. Though it was a little too early for her, Vahn felt that Luvia would be fond of doing it from behind in the future. Standing didnt give the best angle but, when the moved the activity to the bed, Vahn would be able to use a technique that Freya had taught him in the past. It didnt work against most girls but, for those like Luvia, there was a way to condition their body to greatly increase sensitivity. Freya called this technique lockpicking as it involved gently pressing the ns against the cervix over and over in a steady yet slow rhythm that provided little to no stimulus to the rest of the v.a.g.i.n.a. This would be an unbearable experience for most women but, for those that were sensitive at the entrance to their w.o.m.b, it would cause them to gradually be more sensitive as their whole v.a.g.i.n.a began to writhe in response to even gentle prodding. ording to her, those that experienced such pleasure would never be able to leave the person who had used the technique against them. It was for this reason that she had named it lockpicking as, if it was done correctly, you would have effectively opened up the womans heartpletely. Though he would have to get Luvias permission first, as it wasnt something you simply recovered from after the fact, there was a chance their s.e.x in the future would be even more amazing. He could still remember how girls like Freya, Hestia, and Lefiya had reacted to his lockpicking, bringing a smile to Vahns face when he saw Luvia twitch after identally kissing the tip of his ns with her cervix... (A/N: Alternate Titles: If a woman is wearing matching underwear, they are either very picky or intended to be seen (UwU)...,Vahn is a bully...,RIP Luvia xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1167 - Pioneer

Chapter 1167 - Pioneer

After a longer than expected session of lovemaking, as Luvia ended up getting a second wind after going at her own pace for a while, Vahn found himself helping ce rollers and pin curls into her hair after taking a hot bath together. She would normally have a number of stylists help give her hair the characteristic shape women in her family were so fond of. Since none of her servants had been brought along, Vahn ended up disying his skills as a stylist, earning a fewpliments from Luvia in the process. Still, as much as she appreciated his efforts, Luvia expressed the importance of always maintaining arge staff, both as a means of providing jobs and cultivating loyalty while also serving as a way to bnce the status quo and free up hands for menial tasks. With her financial clout, Luvia could purchasend in another country and have an entire Mansion constructed in only two days. Though this wasnt beyond means, Luvia reiterated a few lessons that Vahn had already heard back when he was in Danmachi, chiefly that he needed to delegate work and responsibility to others in order to elevate his own status and alter the perception people had, both towards him and their position in the structure of society he was creating. The easier he made things for others, and the more he took personal action, the less self-reliant his people would be. At the same time, they would begin to expect that he would make life easier for them, to the point that they would even me him for small inconveniencester on down the line. Even if he wanted to turn the Ind of Avalon into a meritocracy based Academy, people needed to be able to measure their aplishments by oveing difficulties, not having everything handed to them. Though creating a system that everyone could flourish in, assuming they made the efforts, was amendable sentiment, nature proved such systems never worked unless strictly enforced. The more power people had to regte the system, forcing a rigid hierarchyter down the line, the greater the potential for future corruption. Luvia even suggested having the governance and policies of the Empire being separate from those that were followed by their subjects. Assigning Governors and givingnd rights to trusted families, essentially establishing his own system of Nobility, was the only way he would be able to one day govern the entire world. Then, so long as he mandated that it was a requirement of all heirs to first graduate from the Academy on Avalon, he would be able to keep power consolidated within the Capitol, just as he had intended to do back in Danmachi. This would also allow him to incentivize and reward the various Heroic figures he was calling into the present day as, in many situations, they had been rulers themselves. Though there were some who would be perfectly content helping him protect the world from Angra Mainyu, those sentiments would fade with the passage of time. After all, having a purpose was fine, but it was infinitely better to give them meaning beyond purpose. If they had the promise of being able to manage their own territory and build a family anew in the present, the number of Heroes he could pull to his side, including various kings, queens, and other rules, would drastically increase. This would be incredibly important as the Surface and Reverse Sides of the World began to merge as, without forces present all over the world to protect the people, billions would lose their lives... Vahn appreciated how much thought Luvia was already putting into the management of their Empire as it was infinitely better to get these matters sorted out before things reached the point that they needed to be decided. Though Vahn had actually put a fair amount of thought into it, evening up with a potential solution for government with Da Vinci, the system Luvia proposed was a good temte to use if things went south. As for his and Da Vincis idea, thetter inly stated that humans were fundamentally incapable of governing other humans as, regardless of how righteous an individual was, there would always be conflicts of interest that forced them topromise. Even Vahn wasnt immune to this as, depending on the circ.u.mstances, he could be a very ruthless individual, at least towards his enemies. In order to collect data from all over the world, and garner a better understanding of their subjects on an individual level, Da Vinci had devised a work that wasnt all that dissimr in concept to the inte. Instead of giving people ess to arbitrary information, however, Da Vinci believed it was a potential solution to have people grow alongside Artificial Intelligences that were imprinted onto their users and connected to arger system. She got the idea after designing Skoll and Ark, wanting tobine the two together and mass-produce even small versions that would be issued to everyone throughout the world. These AI would observe their users throughout their entire lives, giving them ess to information they were qualified to receive and providing them educational resources that coincided with their interests. As someone who had experienced first hand how genius could be suppressed, Da Vinci wanted topletely destroy the current educational system as, other than producing easily manipted people to support a broken system, she wanted education to be an entirely individualized experience. She wanted thepanions to be able to monitor the physical and mental health of their users while also providing them unlimited ess to any information they themselves had be qualified to receive. At the same time, it would be impossible to gain ess to information and resources you werent properly qualified to use, avoiding the situation where people rose to positions they were not suited for, weeding out corruption and exploitation by removing the human element entirely. So long as a person was able to prove to theirpanion that they had a proper understanding of whatever they had taken an interest in, the AI would be able to ess therger system and allow them to move to the next level. She even wanted to design it like a game, making an achievement system while destroying therger inte as, in its current form, it was grossly inefficient. Other than existing as a means to monitor its users an mize their very existence, it seemed useful for nothing more than wasting time. Since Da Vinci concluded thatymen only relied on such things because theycked proper stimulus, she wanted to redesign the system from the ground up to promote individuality instead of mizing stagnation. The best part of the system Da Vinci wanted to implement was the fact that, instead of just being adorable littlepanions, the AI would also serve as familiars and amplifiers. If there was ever a global threat, the Mother system, meant to monitor every other AI, would be able to repurpose the adorable little creatures to act as a Global Defense System, channeling Magical Energy through billions of catalysts that would allow them to destroy even moon-sized meteors inbound toward the. Though some, especially in the current social climate, would consider thepanions an extreme invasion of privacy, that was a mentality that had been cultivated by the current media and emphasized by the powers that ruled the world in the shadows. When the world shifted towards a social structure that made Magecraftmonce, the perception of people would change within a single generation. Though it would not be an easy transition, especially with most conglomerates and corporations rallying to vilify the use of AI, something they had already been doing for decades, it was only a matter of time before each of these organizations waspletely dismantled in the not so distant future. Treating people as amodity to be exploited, while promoting a system of waste that slowly siphoned the life of the, simply couldnt be allowed to exist in any world that wanted to avoid extinction and one day be able to colonize others. People needed to get out of the mentality where the only thing that mattered in the world was money and personal possessions. In order to be a species that could one day popte entire gxies, they needed to transition into a mentality where the goal of the species was more important than the consolidated power of a few individuals. In Da Vincis system, resources would always be allocated to the people most qualified to use them while most menial tasks such asbor and agriculture would always be handled by golems and non-sentient species. People would be left in a state where work itself was simply unnecessary unless you wanted to increase your status and prestige. Though some people would undoubtedlyin about not being able to eat their favorite fast food or purchasemercialized products from a supermarket, that type of mentality was cancerous to humanity as a whole. With thepanion AI monitoring the development and health of its users, they would always be provided with a properly bnced and nutritious diet. Things like obesity and sickness would be a thing of the past unless, for one reason or another, the person themselves used theirpanion AI to set themselves on a path where they were able to eat whatever they liked. This would require them to study cooking, tasting, and other specializations rted to Gourmancy, it was possible for them to be world-famous as a Chef or Food Critic. They just needed to earn the right to have those resources spent on them without endangering their mental and physical health. In this manner, people could be an Elite in anything they chose to specialize in, from something as simple as ying a board game very well, to bing a frontier explorer that was able to visit other worlds without ever having to worry about financing and political interference. The only thing anyone would need to do in order to be able to explore space was to be qualified through their own efforts... After exining this to Luvia, she gave him a look as if he had said something extremely fantastical, as it was easier to imagine the existence of Gods wandering thends than the system Da Vinci wanted to implement functioning without issue. It would essentially require destroying the Holy Church in its entirety and rooting out fundamentalist ideologies throughout the entire world. At the same time, all governments would have to be dismantled from the top down while literally billions ofpanion AI would need to be produced. The only way she could imagine such a system being sessfully implemented was if around 80~90% of the current poption was simply wiped out. With how long they had been manipted, people were extremely resistant to such change and, even with Magecraft being introduced into the world, she knew there would actually be a number of zealous individuals who would sacrifice their lives to protect a system meant to exploit them. There would be others who would formmunities that refused to ever use such systems and, even if they were isted from othermunities, these would be the seeds for future rebellion and other issues. The only way such a system could be implemented was if people felt there is no other choice. This would require forcing those that resist to obey or, if they were allowed to form smallermunities, cutting them offpletely from the existing system of governance. Eventually, with resources bing scarce, these individuals would ultimately be forced toply by necessity or, in the more likely case, resort to violence and other crimes to take what they need. Thus, even if Vahn wanted to try and implement Da Vincis system which, while almost impossible, would certainly allow all the peoples of Gaia to prosper, he would have to put people in ce to prevent such outbreaks. If this was left to the verypanion AIs that were their partners and protectors, people would grow increasingly fearful of them with the passage of time. These could be people that had earned the right to police others, through their own personal convictions, but there simply had to be humans regting humans in some form just to prevent people from feeling as if they were just cogs within a new system meant to keep them from under control... Though Vahn could understand Luvias concerns, he knew that Da Vinci would never introduce such a system and simply trust that it was good enough. She would infinitely innovate upon the system she established, fixing every issue that arose by looking at the data gathered from billions of people all throughout the world. He also knew she intended to make artificial wildlife that was practically indiscernible from real animals, meant to cover up the cracks and allow for proper monitoring of the entire. Just the micro-golem ants she had made would be enough to spread throughout the entire world, taking geological samples, collecting Magical Energy, and working to tirelessly maintain the infrastructure of the idealized society she wanted to create. If given enough time and data, there was literally nothing she wasnt able to aplish as, with [Pioneer of the Stars: EX], it was only a matter of time before she turned the species of Gaia into a multiary civilization... To that end, it woulde down to Vahn in order to negotiate with thes themselves to allow for colonization but, as that was a matter in the distant future, he wasnt too worried about it in the present. So long as the implemented a system that didnt arbitrarily exploit the environment and drain the life of thes they inhabited, he expected they wouldnt mind all that much. After all, while thes had their own self-preservation instincts and were governed by unique logic that might even contradict that of Gaia, there was always amon grounds to be found. They wouldnt havepromised with Gaia so many times if they were incapable of being reasoned with so, once he reached Tier 5, Vahn intended to be an ambassador of sorts, representing his Empire as its people expanded to otherary bodies... It wasnt a simple feat to envision the future he was working to create but, as Vahn knew he would one day have to govern entire Records, he couldnt be afraid to expand his influence beyond a single. One day, he would be the Emperor of an Inteary Empire that, with the passage of time, would evolve into an Intergctic Empire. He couldnt even imagine what kind of troubles he would face in such an endeavor but, so long as he continued to press forward, Vahn knew it was only a matter of time before he found sess. His was an existence beyond concepts such as death and, with a lifespan that made eternity itself look like a singr blip in the infinitely vast expanse of incalcble Records, Vahn knew he was still at the very start of his journey... --- After their long back and forth discussion, Luvia ultimately conceded on the matter as, while she was extremely astute when it came to business, shecked the hubris to consider herself an intellect on the same level as Da Vinci, someone with the [Natural Born Genius: EX] skill. She could understand that, as prodigious as she was amongst her peers, she was simply another one of the people that believed certain things were simply impossible. Da Vinci, however, was an existence that literally existed to make the impossible into the mundane, dulling it down so that evenymen were able to benefit from her research. Since she had already decided to invest everything into Vahn, expecting even greater returns, Luvia was content with just receiving his care, at least for the time being. To that end, things had developed to the point that Vahn was straddling Luvias backside as he helped massage her to sleep. Though it was still early, considering she had only awoken a few hours prior, Luvias body needed to rest properly after exerting herself so much. Since she was unable to fall asleep on her own, as her mind was still wide awake, Vahn didnt mind helping her ease into a gentle andfortable slumber. This was one of the things he took pride in and, with Luvia drifting off only a few minutes after he started, Vahn couldnt help smiling in response. Still, for the better part of twenty minutes more, he enjoyed the feeling of straddling Luvias plump backside as he systematically worked the tension and fatigue out of her muscles... Satisfied with his efforts, Vahn yfully patted Luvias perk white buttocks like a pair of drums, using a gentle amount of force as he didnt want to stir her awake. After this, he levitated himself out of the bed beforending silently on the floor near the door. Then, after changing into suitable attire to walk around, Vahns long night continued in earnest. He knew that tonight was one of those peculiar instances where his presence was required in various ces, meaning it would be some time before he was able to rest. This didnt bother Vahn at all, however, as he was looking forward to spending time with Gray, remembering his promise to take her to a ce he believed she would appreciate a great deal. After his moonlit rendezvous with Gray, he needed to at least have a discussion with Olga, hopefully after she had calmed down by talking with Lakshmibai, Fenrir, and any others she encountered over the next couple of hours. Vahn knew she had likely formed some unhealthy delusions so, for the time being, he was intending to just help her establish a Workshop and Observatory. If he could get her talking about the things she was passionate about, Vahn knew he could look for opportunities to give her the praise she needed in a more productive setting. He wanted to avoid seeding the idea within her mind that the praise she sought from him would be in the bedroom. By making her work the primary focus, he could slowly guide her along the path she had already set herself upon while any rtionship they developed would just be secondary... Though it didnt seem thatmon within the Nasuverse, Vahn knew that Astronomy actually had a lot of hidden potential outside of simply predicting the future. There were Laws rted to the Stars themselves, providing extremely pure and borderline Holy energy that could be used topletely overwhelm enemies. Ryuu had been one of the few people that, even after bing a God, Vahn knew she would be able to deal heavy damage to him. He intended to help Olga build confidence by introducing her to other aspects of Astronomy that her family, and seemingly every else, had simply overlooked. After all, some of the most powerful Gods in every pantheon were those that embodied the Stars and other Heavenly Bodies so Vahn felt it was silly that the Magusmunity considered Astronomy a dying form of Magecraft when, evenpared to Elemental Laws, it was one of the most powerful systems of Laws he had ever seen... With that in mind, Vahn expanded his senses, covering the entire Ivory Castle in his perception, with only a few dark areas beneath the superstructure of the castle itself. He could sense Artoria and Gray leisurely strolling around the castle, likely as a result of the former simply showing around thetter. As for Mordred, she was with Sakura, helping her younger sister work on her fundamentals as they yed together in one of the castles manyrge halls. Fenrir was also with them, allowing Vahn to breathe easily as his attention shifted to where Lakshmibai and Olga were still conversing over tea. Just as before, they were located in the Library and, as this was the closest destination, Vahn decided to move Olga up on his list of priorities. It was important that Artoria and Gray were able to bond without his interference as, with the subtle changes in Artorias nature over thest six months, Vahn knew she needed someone to look up to her. He had been considering summoning someone she was familiar with but, if Gray could fulfill that role, Vahn could dy introducing new elements into the castle as the current residents adapted to each other. Currently, he was waiting for Da Vincis formation to .u.mte enough energy for a standard summon, with the first candidate on his list being Karna. Though this could change depending on his interactions with others, Vahn felt that it would be best to introduce more malepanions into his inner circle, both as a means to give Siegfried morepanionship and avoid a repeat of his situation in Danmachi. Since Karna was supposed to be a Demigod that was extremely empathetic towards the people, while being fiercely loyal to the one he served, Vahn was interested in introducing him earlier, rather thanter. For his type, it was far more meaningful if he was summoned early as, if he was only brought in during an emergency situation, he would feel less valued and more like a tool. Vahn wanted to avoid this scenario so, while there werent too many major events going on, he wanted to summon Karna and genuinely befriend the man beforehand... While thinking of how his number of drinking buddies might expand in the future, Vahn stepped through the open doors of the Library, this time startling Olga and earning a pleasant smile from Lakshmibai as Fenrir hadnt been present to alert them to his arrival. Vahn returned a smile of his own before asking, "May I join you...?" in a polite manner. Without missing a beat, Lakshmibai rose to her feet, walking over to meet Vahn as she answered, "Please, it would be our pleasure. We were just talking about you so your timing is impable..." As she reached his side, Vahns smile widened as, contrary to her nature of rarely showing disys of affection in public, Lakshmibai gave him a quick peck on the cheek. He knew she was being more forward than normal, perhaps as an example for Olga to follow, so Vahn unabashedly ced his hand around her waist as they walked toward the very nervous-looking pale-haired woman on the sofa... (A/N: Alternate Titles: People are fundamentally incapable of governing other people xD...,Luvia knows that EX-Ranked skills cant be ignored...,Siegfried also needs more friends. An Emperor and a peculiar Pdin arent really the bestpanions for cutting loose (>,...,<)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1168 - Belief

Chapter 1168 - Belief

So as not to give Olga a panic attack, Vahn ultimately pulled out a second sofa from his Inventory, cing it across from her as he and Lakshmibai sat down. Based on how nervous she was, Olga had clearly been thinking too much about how she needed to behave around him. However, after seeing Vahn pull out an object from thin air, she was briefly reminded of her deceased Governess, asking in a subdued tone, "You have the Imaginary Number Element...?" Though she had already assumed as much due to the existence of the Projection, Olga was still a little surprised by the fact that he could just whisk items from a space with such precision that she couldnt even sense subtle fluctuations in the surrounding mana. Mildly surprised that Olga was the first to break the building tension, Vahns impression that she was the type that could get distracted by the things that interested her seemed to be urate. With this in mind, he gained a slightly amused smile, answering, "My specializations are Creation, Space, Time, Forging, and Destruction. What Magi refer to as the Imaginary Number Element is simply one aspect of Space Laws, something you wille to learn more about in theing days. Though the world is filled with infiniteplexities, one thing you will soon understand is that, so long as you pursue a specific Law to its extremes, there is limitless potential, not only in the Thaumaturgical schools but in abstract and seemingly arbitrary concepts as well. Even the Astronomy your family has studied, there is an infinite potential that has yet to be untapped, for no other reason than the perspective your family had adopted in rtion to the Stars and their significance..." Though she knew Vahn wasnt insulting her familys work, it was never easy to hear someone exin that the basic premise of their research was misguided. Due to their status difference, Olga decided against trying to argue, instead, asking, "How can you be so certain? What are these Laws you keep mentioning...?" With Olga actively participating in the conversation, Vahn knew he already had her hooked, even if she also seemed mildly offended. He kept the same smile on his face, answering in a calm and polite tone, "There is a reason why, after all this time, only five people have been able to reach the Root. It is because, from the very beginning, the basic principle most Magi operated under was wed. Even your own family believes that, by pursuing a specific Thaumaturgical principle to the extreme, you would be able to gain ess to the Root, correct...?" As Vahns question struck at the heart of the matter, Olga furrowed her brows, answering, "Yes...we have been continuing with that ideal for hundreds of years..." Though it was obvious that Olga was trying to defend her familys work, Vahn gave a curt nod in response to her words before adding, "And others have been doing simr work for thousands of years. Still, despite their efforts, they are no closer to reaching the Root. Do you not think this is strange?" Hearing Vahns question, Olgas frown deepened further as, by reflex, she answered, "This is due to the stagnation of mana within the atmosphere and the limited avability of resources. As we shift further away from the Age of Gods, it bes progressively more difficult to reach the Root..." With a progressively more amused smile, which was beginning to irk Olga a great deal, Vahn simply asked, "If reaching the Root represents the pinnacle of developing a specific ideal, why were Gods and other Spiritual creatures unable to reach the Root? If mana was denser in the Age of Gods, when Mystery was still present throughout the world, why is it that most of the Magi that have reached the Root existed in the Age of Man? Why is it that, Gods who literally represent specific principles such as Life and Death were unable to reach the Root, even though they governed these principles during their reign...?" This time, Olga felt less certain in her answer but, as she had studied the curriculum of the Clock Tower, she still managed to answer, "Because Gods are Divine Spirits that are associated with Nature. The only way to reach the Root is by going against the natural order and pushing an ideal beyond the scope of the natural world..." As one of the foundational principles of Thaumaturgy was that it existed as a representation of humanitys beliefs, Gods and other Spiritual lifeforms were unable to reach the Root as, instead of pushing their Mystery to greater heights, they simply existed as a representation of that Mystery. Humans were creatures that the World itself was proactively trying to eliminate and, by always seeking greater understanding, they were even able to ovee the Gods themselves and reach the Root, the origin of all things... Almost as soon as Olga had given her answer, Vahn immediately rebutted, asking, "Then why are so many people, including the more influential families in the Mages Association, obsessed with trying to understand Mystery and the Magecraft from the Age of Gods? If the only way to reach the Root is by breaking free from the natural world and pushing an idea to its extreme, why do all established families research theories and Thaumaturgical principles from a Bygone Age? Why is it that older forms of Magecraft are intrinsically more powerful while the Holy Sacrament of the Church is the most established and stable form of Thaumaturgy in the entire World...?" Hearing Vahn continually ask her difficult to answer questions, Olgas expression had be rather dour as, anything she said, felt like it would simply be rebuffed by him. She knew he was trying to help her reach the conclusion herself but, as it felt like she was being lectured, Olga was beginning to get upset. Even so, she felt there wasnt much room for her to remain silent so, after sorting her thoughts, Olga answered, "It is the beliefs of people that empower Thaumaturgical principles...the reason my own family had been on the decline is due to the existence of Physics and humanitys errant belief that it is slowly removing the Mystery contained within the Universe..." As she said this, Olga felt a bit of resentment in her heart, ming modern media and Physicists for her familys struggles... Ignoring the negative emotions flickering in the depths of Olgas eyes, Vahn c.o.c.ked his brow, asking, "If belief is what powers Thaumaturgy, how do you benefit by believing the beliefs of others is what is weakening your familys Magecraft? You have just stated that the only way to reach the Root is by going against the natural order and pushing an ideal to the extreme. How can that be possible if the beliefs of others have anything to do with it? Humans have a propensity to desire for themselves while simultaneously wishing that others are not able to aplish what they themselves are unable to do. If this is part of our nature, how could anyone possibly reach the Root if they are concerned with how other people view them and their research? Why is it that geniuses like Da Vinci are unable to reach the Root, even though they can use S-Rank Magecraft of every Thaumaturgical school with greater versatility than families that have existed for thousands of years...?" Listening to Vahns words, Olgas eyes began darting around in their sockets as, no matter how she thought about it, there was no way for her to answer. The way he worded things made her earlier statements sound more like the excuses of the ignorant instead of the truths that were believed by most modern Magi, including those in established families. However, even though this was the truth epted and propagated within the Magusmunity, it was also an irrefutable truth that only five people in History had been able to reach True Magic. Though it seemed like an easy argument to make, pointing out that the only reason others hadnt reached the Root is due to their failure to reach the pinnacle, this wasnt exactly substantiated by real-world evidence. People only had the very limited ounts of those who had reached the Root to go by to draw their conclusions. However, as there was no way for others to follow the same route to reach the Root, so long as the previous user of True Magic still existed, the only thing most families could do was pursue a new route, believing there was no other way... With Olga failing to answer his question after several tense and awkward minutes, Vahn gave a small nod before exining, "All things within the multiverse originate from the Root, existing as part a self-contained system that is governed by a strict set of Laws. It isnt by developing Thaumaturgy to the extreme that you are able to reach the Root, but by doing nearly the opposite. You must seek the origin of the concept itself and, by gaining properprehension of the Laws that govern that form of Thaumaturgy, you are able to reach the Root. This is why, even though the Second and Fifth Magics are both associated with Time and Space, they are able to takepletely different forms solely due to their users understanding of the Laws involved..." Seeing that Olga was paying close attention to what he was saying, Vahn adopted an approving expression as he added, "The thing referred to as Mystery by the Mages Association is the very same thing as the Laws themselves. What they fail to realize is that, instead of seeking the Mystery itself, looking into the past for answers, they should be pursuing the Laws as they exist in the Age of Man. From the very beginning, the Laws have not changed and, though there is significantly less mana in the Current Era, the Laws have never required mana to function. Mana only exists because there are Laws to govern it, not the other way around. By convincing yourself that certain things are necessary, you, and almost all modern Magi, have been limiting yourself. Only by letting go of your misconceptions, clearing your mind and focusing solely on the Laws themselves, would you be able to reach the Root..." Vahn allowed his words to trail at the end, giving Olga ample time to take them in before smiling in amus.e.m.e.nt as he continued, exining, "However, once you reach that point, gaining ess to the Root bes a moot point. Byprehending the Laws, you are already at the level of being able to use True Magic. Reaching the Root at that point would only be another limiter as, instead of continuing your pursuit further, most people would be overwhelmed by the truth contained in such power. Even without reaching the Root, it is possible to be an existence beyond the level of the Gods...tell me, what use is borrowed power at that point?" Hearing Vahn exin that reaching the Root was fundamentally pointless, Olgas face morphed into a dour expression. However, when she thought about his words from a logical perspective, she could see the reasoning. Even going by the current understanding of the Magusmunity, there would be nothing to stand in your way if you truly reached the pinnacle of any school of Thaumaturgy. The only reason people truly cared about reaching the Root is that it was the same as receiving verification that you had managed to reach that point. At that point, just as Vahn said, there was theoretically nothing as, at the pinnacle, how much further could you go? If the power you gained ess to came from the Root itself, how could you ever possibly be stronger than something thatprises one of the foundational principles that govern the World itself...? Olga felt extremely confused and, with no way to make sense of what Vahn had exined to her, she simply asked, "How do you know all of this...?" As Olga asked this question, she was briefly reminded of her first encounter with Luvia, Rin, and Sakura. Their interaction seemed to imply that Vahn was capable of using True Magic and, with his earlier admission of specializing in various Laws, Olga felt as if his silhouette had suddenly grownrger. It was almost like sitting at the foot of a mountain that had impossibly steep walls, feeling pressured just by being in its presence... In response to her question, Vahn smiled radiantly, an action that caused Olga to take a sharp breath through her nose as, with his appearance, it was a rather devastating sight for a young woman. Then, while picking up ya and holding her out in front of him, he casually exined, "There are many things you wille to understand, in time. The most important thing for you to know, at least in regards to your question, is that I am able to reach the Root and, if you are willing to learn, I can also teach you True Magic. However, what I teach you will make essing the Root unnecessary as, once you understand the purpose of the Root itself, you will understand that there has never been a point in essing it from the start..." Vahn wanted to add that, the harder you tried to reach the Root, the more inessible it would be. However, as Olgas eyes were swimming, he decided to go easy on her... Though Vahns words were hard to believe, the fact he was holding an existence that even users of True Magic feared increased the veracity of his ims. The existence of ya, and her partnership with Vahn, had already been clearly exined to her. It was very difficult to believe but, after being transported with extreme ease by the rather adorable blue creature, Olga knew that, at the very least, it was a monstrously powerful entity. Seeing Vahn handle her freely was a rather unnerving sight, even though Olga also had a strong urge to pet yasrge ears... After processing what Vahn had said, even though she was still confused about many things, Olga almost felt like she was making a deal with the devil. His words promised great power but, in her errant thoughts, Olga could only think about was the cost of such power. The most fundamental principle of all Thaumaturgy was that of equivalent exchange; There was nothing that could be obtained for free, especially when it was rted to great power. She hade to Avalon with the intent of serving Vahn in an effort to gain his favor, believing it was the only way in which her family would be able to rise beyond its current status. Now that he was dangling something even more tantalizing in front of her, Olga felt like her heart was going to explode out of her chest as she considered what he might ask of her in exchange... Recognizing the tell-tale light in Olgas eyes, Vahn knew her thoughts were beginning to wander in a strange direction. Before she could delude herselfpletely, he decided to shift the conversation toward a different, but rted, subject, exining, "Im going to help you set up an Observatory and Workshop. I want to get a better understanding of your currentprehension in order to guide you properly in the future. You may have to work alongside Da Vinci on some of her projects but, if you take her lessons to heart, you will be able to greatly advance your understanding. Once I have been able to get my footing in London, well discuss the matter of Chaldeas funding. Until then, you should limate yourself to the castle and focus on your research. If you have any questions, there are numerous people who are qualified to answer, myself included." With that said, Vahn looked toward Lakshmibai, asking with his eyes what she was intending to do. She returned an understanding smile before saying, "I will stay here...Im partway through a novel and I would like to finish it. Ill likely be here for a few hours before retiring to my roomter on..." Though she didnt expressly state her intentions, Vahn knew there was an invitation contained within Lakshmibais words. He gave her hand a light squeeze in response, eliciting a marginallyrger smile from the beautiful brown-skinned woman as she rose to her feet, bowing politely as she said, "If youll excuse me, Your Majesty..." Then, after receiving a nod from Vahn, Lakshmibai left the room, causing Olga to be increasingly more nervous with each step she took to depart... After hearing Vahn rify things, Olga misconstrued his words to mean that he had already decided how to treat her. She suddenly felt as though he had given her a time limit to prove her usefulness and, if she failed to make an impression in that time, the chance she would receive funding became increasingly slim. Since he mentioned being away in London, Olga believed Vahn was reminding her that he wouldnt always be around, meaning she would need to be more proactive if she wanted him to properly consider her. Thus, as Lakshmibai was leaving the room, another thing that seemed to be arranged by them in advance, Olgas heart began pounding as she began feeling a shortness of breath... Seeing Olgas reaction, Vahns smile turned slightly wry as he watched her tightly clench the hem of her skirt, seemingly contemting if she should raise it in an attempt to appeal to him. Her ears and cheeks werepletely red while, dancing atop her head, her prominent ahoge was writhing around as a result of her nervousness. Vahn knew he would need to go against Olgas expectations in this instant so that she would be able to behave calmly around him in the future. He still wanted her to develop the habit of seeking praise for her achievements, not her appeals. With that in mind, causing Olga to flinch as if she had just received a shock, Vahn rose to his feet, saying, "Lets go. Ill let you pick out a Magus Tower for your Observatory and Workshop. You just need to list the supplies youll need and Da Vinci and I will take care of their acquisition." As he spoke, Vahn made things easier, and simultaneously more difficult, by extending his hand to Olga. For an Emperor to extend his hand to someone, it would be considered extremely rude to refuse and, with her current delusions, Olga had no room for such thoughts. As a result, she lightly bit her lower lip and, with a bit of moisture building in the corner of her eyes, epted his hand. Then, even though it wasnt Vahns intention to lead her along, Olga linked arms with him, her face beet red as she averted her eyes to the side... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wee to the desert of the real...,Vahn dropping knowledge bombs,Olga is even worse than Risna xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1169 - Leading

Chapter 1169 - Leading

Contrary to Olgas expectations, even after Vahn took her to an obscure and secluded area of the castle, he never made any moves against her. Instead, after reaching their destination, he used a variety of different kinds of Magecraft, many she had never even seen before, to help reshape the structure of the Magus Tower for her purposes. He was skilled at building and, with skills like Telekinesis and machine-like movements, it only took Vahn a few hours to alter the structure of the tower, making the roof able to rotate on an axis in conjunction with a tform he had inserted into the floor. Throughout this whole process, Olga was left to watch at the side after arranging all of the materials and equipment that Vahn had seemingly pulled out of nowhere. It made her feel awkward, watching an Emperor perform manualbor on her behalf, but much of Olgas nervousness had faded as she just sat at the side with an absentminded expression. Seeing Vahn work tirelessly, with a determined and focused look on his handsome face, had Olga sitting listlessly with her head supported by her hand. She wondered how he could throw himself so wholly into something as, even when she was at her best, Olga would need a break after an hour or two of focused research. Even then, she would feel a great deal of fatigue and, without a cup of tea or coffee, it was hard to build up the motivation to hit the books once again... Vahn managed toplete a task that would have taken a team of skilled carpenters several days of strenuous effort in only five hours. He had even skillfully re-applied the formations that he had taken apart while deconstructing the top of the tower, something even First-Rate Magi wouldnt be able to manage. Fixing breaks in formations often required reforming everything from scratch and, with theplex array present in the Magus Tower, it would have taken Schrs years just to make sense of it all. Vahn, however,pletely ignored these facts and, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, inscribed the formations with extreme ease and mechanical dexterity... After the basic construction was finished, Vahn caused Olgas eyes to ze over slightly when he pulled an entire Observatory Telescope out of thin air. She didnt recognize the make or model but, based on the materials and structure, Olga could tell it was an artifact that any Magus studying Astronomy would go mad to obtain. It almost looked ancient in design, a far cry from the telescopes that were used in modern times, but that didnt matter when it came to the Thaumaturgical study of Astronomy. Their telescopes were less about seeing thes clearly and more so for analyzing the path, orientation, color, and effervescence of stars andary bodies. Then, by interpreting these values throughplex forme, it was possible to make predictions about the future... Taking another forty minutes to make sure the telescope was installed properly, Vahn finally wrapped up the instation process, releasing a contented sigh and a satisfied smile. The telescope had only cost him three-million OP and, though this wasnt exactly cheap, it was a bargainpared to some powerful weapons and armor. ording to its description, it should greatly enhance the Astronomy of the Animusphere family as, by using his system shop as a bit of an exploit, Vahn hadpiled a lot of their doc.u.mented research in his mind. Though there were some things that were only passed through their Magic Crest, most of the basics were shared with the Clock Tower so that students who had taken an interest in the stars would be able to research at their leisure. With his taskpleted, Vahn looked toward the gawking Olga, smiling as he said, "If there are any issues, you just need to inform me. Da Vinci will probably want to take a look at your Workshopter but, so long as it doesnt interfere with your work, you should let freely modify things. Her abilities allow her to innovate upon anything so you would benefit greatly from any alterations she made to the equipment I provided." Then, now that Olgas attention had been focused on him, Vahn pat the back of the telescopes chair, saying, "Go ahead and try it out. Ill stick around to make adjustments so that it isfortable for you to use." Though she felt a powerful incongruity in her heart, Olga gave a small nod in response to Vahns words as she made her way over to the rather beautiful telescope. The main tube was created from a material that looked likecquered wood, possessing a rich brown coloration. As for the yoke, lens shade, and viewfinder, they were all a pale golden color that, at a nce, seemed to glow slightly. Even the attached chair was adorned withfortable looking leather and, though there were severalponents that were a little out of ce, Olga could understand their usage from her past experiences. After sitting down in the chair, Olga felt her body sink into the cushions, giving her the impression she would be able to sit for hours without getting ufortable. Then, though it made her feel very nervous to have Vahn watching her, she went through the rather arduous process of performing a predictive calction. Fortunately, with the time dtion of the Projection, which also reflected the night sky perfectly, Olga had a lot of leewaypared to the norm. Though she had to make a few adjustments to the normal forme, she noticed that Vahn had already calibrated the telescope when he was setting it up. This caused her to furrow her brows slightly but, as it made her job much easier, Olga focused on familiarizing herself with her new telescope which, by the time she was done making her prediction, was already starting to feel as if she had been using it for years... Using a pen to record her findings in a journal, double-checking the values several times, Olgas face became somewhat red towards the end of her observations. In hindsight, she realized it would have been better to make a different kind of prediction but, as it was one of the most requested types of predictions she would perform for other students, Olga had habitually predicted her fortune in love. This was one of the faster calctions that could be made and, since she didnt want to waste too much of Vahns time, Olga had defaulted to something she wasfortable with. Now, however, she was regretting herck of foresight as, with the value she had determined during her calctions, it implied that her current fortune rted to love implied great luck. Since he could see Olgas rather elegant handwriting, Vahn knew what kind of calction she had made, including the results. He couldnt help rolling his eyes outside of her view and, instead of asking what she had tried to predict, he feigned ignorance, asking, "Did it go well...?" Olgas only response to this was to slowly nod her head as she snapped the journal shut, seemingly afraid of its contents being deciphered. Then, even though he didnt ask why it had gone well, Vahn gave an approving smile before causing Olgas mind topletely nk as he extended his hand, stroking the top of her head in a gentle manner as he stated, "Good work, Olga. For now, you should focus on familiarizing yourself with your new equipment. Make sure you eat and sleep properly as well...I dont want to see you getting sick out of the blue." With his praise finished, Vahn withdrew his hand and began making his way towards the exit in the most casual manner he could manage. On his way out, to prevent Olga from saying anything, Vahn waved with his back to her, adding, "The most important thing to me as that you are just working hard, not what youre working on. When you arefortable with using this equipment, I may have some other tasks for you. Make sure you arent staying in here for too long..." Then, without waiting for Olgas response, Vahn set out to tend to other matters. With her propensity to overthink things, this was enough for Olga to keep herself upied for several days and, so long as he continued to emphasize specific points, she would progressively open up to him without the previous tension. Though it might be a good idea to just be straightforward with Olga, such methods only really worked on people who already had a stable mentality. If you tried to be direct with them, they wouldnt take your words at face value and instead think about why you would tell them such things. Then, depending on the conclusions they had made from their own delusions, they could even have a mental breakdown due to the pressure they had created on their own mind. It was better to guide Olga towards the road of recovery without forcing her onto it, allowing her to find the way forward on her own. The more direction and guidance he gave her at this point, the greater the chance of rpse as, instead of bing more confident through her own action and decisions, she would always be reliant on affirmation from him just to function. Though they werent invible truths, Vahn had learned about things like this when he was studying child psychology in preparation for being a father. Olga might be twenty-two years old but, based on how she behaved, Vahn felt like she hadnt reached the same level of maturity mentally as her body had physically... --- With Vahn having worked for nearly six hours without rest, only to leave her behind suddenly, Olga had no words to describe her current emotions. She could only watch his back until he had started descending the spiral staircase that led to the lower levels of the Magus Tower and the connecting corridors that gave ess to the rest of the castle. Then, when the sound of his footsteps had faded, Olga opened up her journal, her brows furrowed as she looked at her supposedly great luck. She was certain her calctions had been done correctly, meaning the fortune itself was inurate or, in a way she couldnt understand, her luck had actually been good... Remembering the strangelyfortable feeling of Vahns palm on her head, Olga touched the area with her own hands, a slightly giddy feeling welling up in her stomach as she remembered his words of praise. Though he didnt ask what she had tried to predict, Vahn had been watching her closely throughout the entire process. Just as she had been captivated by watching him work, it seemed that he had appreciated her own efforts. Thinking this was the closest point to the truth, Olga buried her face into her hands while bringing her legs up and burying her face against her knees. Then, after repeating his words a few times within her mind, Olga sat properly in her chair before smacking her own cheeks and eximing, "Okay! Lets do this...!" Following her self-motivating gesture, Olga began performing various predictions and calctions, both as a means of familiarizing herself with the new telescope and getting a proper grasp of the location and orientation of stars within Avalons night sky. From her measurements, Olga was even able to urately determine the location of Avalon, at least if it had been back in the physical world. She knew it was currently separated from the Surface Texture of the World but, just knowing where it should be located felt like a minor achievement. With this information, she could perform many of her past predictions by making slight adjustments to the values that would have been observed if she were still back in London. Though the data undoubtedly had a bias in it, as was always the case when making such predictions, Olga was content with her results. Without even realizing it, she had already spent seven hours in the chair, performing more than thirty predictions before her eyes began to feel fatigued. Fortunately, the chair hadnt be ufortable and, with a built-in reclining feature, Olga adjusted the lever at the side until she wasying nearly t against thefortable and surprisingly plush material. While resting her eyes, Olga once again mulled over Vahns words in her mind, wondering how he would react if he came back to the Observatory and still found her hard at work. However, since he also told her to avoid overworking, Olga ultimately collected up her journal as she began to drag her tired body the surprisingly long distance between her Magus Tower and bedroom. She had only made it halfway, however, when an embarrassing grumble resonated from her stomach, reminding Olga that she hadnt eaten in over half a day. Thus, with a red face, Olga adjusted her heading, the dining room and kitchen her new destination... --- As Artoria and Gray had already retired for the night by the time he was finished setting up Olgas workshop, Vahn had spent a few hours just pampering Circe and Medusa back in his own room. He could only go so long without showing the rather mischievous girls attention before they would begin to pout so, while he had been tempted to pay Luvia another visit, Vahn decided to pander to the two petite girls while he had the opportunity. Fortunately, they were easy to deal with when it was just the two of them so, after a few hours, Vahn had left the two girls clinging contentedly to each other as he left the room behind. Though he had only caressed and massaged them, this was more than enough topletely satisfy the two girls, at least until Circe decided to abandon her blessing and Medusa had matured a bit further... Though it hadnt been his original intention, Vahn could sense Olga making her way towards the kitchen and, considering she had been in her Observatory until now, it was pretty clear she was seeking ate-night snack. Thus, after remembering her earlier prediction, Vahn decided to reward her a bit as he also made his way towards the kitchen ahead of her. He had a few minutes until her arrival, as it took a good twenty minutes to move from her Magus Tower to the Inner Sanctum, much less therge dining hall they used for most of their meals. She had even gotten lost along the way so, after asking a Golem to guide the way, Olga showed up in the kitchen just as Vahn had finished up his second dish, lightly braised sea bass that had a very potent and hunger-inducing aroma. Olga had heard the sound of someone cooking as she approached but, never expecting Vahn to be the one present inside of the kitchen, her curiosity quickly turned intomentation as her stomach proudly made its presence known in response to the delicious aroma. Even more so than all of her past expressions, Olgas face became red from her neck to her ears, her mouth slightly agape as wordspletely failed her. Vahn used this an opportunity to issue an amused smile as he yfully remarked, "Ill cook you up something. Go wait at the table and Ill be out in a few minutes..." Then, as she vanished like a phantom from the doorway, Vahn began to lightly chuckle in response to the scampering sound of Olgas feet as she fled the kitchen... While continuing to cook, Vahn kept Olga in his perception, finding it rather amusing that she had tried to stand up and leaving the dining room several times before ultimately returning to the table. He knew she was probably thinking about her own prediction and, based on how she was fidgeting in her chair, Vahn felt it wouldnt take much to tease her. Since it was still too early for such things, however, he decided to y the fool, cing most of the dishes into his Inventory as he carried out Olgas te by hand. She looked like she wanted to say something, rising to her feet as if to greet him but, with Vahn still having an amused smile on his face, Olgas words got stuck in her throat. Instead of sitting on the opposite side of the table, Vahn made a smallpromise by taking the chair next to Olga after setting her te down and saying, "Eat up. It is important to eat properly to stay healthy..." With that said, Vahn brought out a few dishes of his own, nearly five times what he had prepared for Olga. He didnt really require sustenance but, having long developed the habit of eating, Vahn enjoyed his hand-cooked meals quite a bit. One of his Memory Fragments was even given the task of practicing cooking whenever he wasnt busy forging and just reading books. Vahn never required that his Memory Fragments worked too hard, as they had a lot of time on their hands, so he had .u.mted a lot of experience rted to various trades... Though she didnt touch her food at first, feeling nervous with Vahn seated right next to her, Olga eventually began to pick at her te once Vahn had unceremoniously gorged himself. His actions were very dexterous but also seemed rather wild, a stark contrast to the behavior she would have expected from an Emperor. As a result, Olga realized that Vahn was trying to help her rx so, if she kept just sitting in silence without eating, it would be the same as ignoring his efforts. Since he had gone out of his way to cook for her, Olga couldnt refuse the offered meal with, after taking a few bites, almost made her tear up with how good it tasted. Before she even realized it, her te had been emptied and, though she was starting to feel full, Olgas eyes briefly darted to one of Vahns dishes. He had specifically put a te of cheesecake on the left side of his other dishes, knowing full well that women had a second stomach for sweets. This seemed especially true for the serious and studious types and, even though Olga had been acting demure as a result of her precarious situation, Vahn assumed she was no exception. When he saw her eye the cheesecake, Vahn, while still eating his own food, shifted the te towards her without saying a word. For the umpteenth time, Olgas face adopted a blush but, instead of refusing, she picked up a long and thin fork, muttering, "Thank you..." before taking a bite. While Olga was slowly working away at the cheesecake, Vahn set out some warm chamomile tea, mixed with a bit of mint, assuming she would likely go to rest after eating. This, of course, made Olga feel even more fretful as having Vahn attend her was a nerve-wracking experience. It showed that he was extremely perceptive of her, even when focused on his own meal, making Olga feel a little self-conscious about how she presented herself. As a result, she tried to sit with her back straight and, even though the cheesecake gave her a strong urge to smile, Olga did her best to control her facial expression as she slowly and elegantly finished off the creamy piece of cake... Understanding what Olga was trying to do, Vahn decided to take the bait,menting, "Your table manners are quite good..." This caused Olga to begin coughing as, in response to his words, she had inhaled a bit of cheesecake down the wrong pipe. Though Vahn hadnt expected such a reaction, it wasnt exactly the worst so, with a concerned expression, he began to lightly pat Olgas back while saying, "Rx..." Then, though it seemed like rxing was thest thing on her mind, Vahn ced his index finger on Olgas throat, pulling the small pieces of cake residue from her throat as her eyes widened in surprise. He had enough wherewithal to avoid pulling it all the way out of her mouth, instead, smiling as he said, "Swallow properly this time..." In response to Vahns words, Olga swallowed audibly while staring back at him with her slightly teary golden-brown eyes. When she properly followed his instructions, Vahns smile widened marginally as he gave her back a few more gentle pats while saying, "Good job..." Then, as if what had happened was perfectly normal, Vahn began eating his own meal once again. Olga had a confused expression on her face but, after taking a few small bites, Vahn seized the initiative once again, asking, "How did your work go? If there are any issues with the telescope, I can take a look-" Before he could continue any further, Olga began to shake her head, a bashful expression on her face as she began to poke at her cheesecake, muttering, "No...it is perfect...everything is perfect..." Hearing Olgas words, Vahn gave a small nod before taking another bite of his food, allowing for a few moments of silence before asking, "Id like you to tell me about your work. You dont need to reveal any secrets...Im just interested in what youre working on..." These words caused Olga to hang her head, her face bing progressively redder for a brief moment before she ultimately nodded her head. She had brought her journal along with her so, even though she felt extremely nervous, Olga began to exin some of her findings, willfully leaving out anything rted to the predictions she had made about her own life... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Child psychology OP xD...,Olga wants to be praised (UwU)...,This has got to be bullying...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1170 - Budding Progress

Chapter 1170 - Budding Progress

Though she had started off somewhat awkward, it only took a few minutes of talking about the subject she was mostfortable with for Olga to slowly rx. Since it was pretty interesting, Vahn had no trouble following along and, with his own knowledge of Astronomy, he was able to continue the conversation by asking pertinent questions. By the end of their conversation, Olga had a genuine smile on her face as, other than her father, she never really had anyone she could about Astronomy with in great detail. She had cut herself off from most of her peers in the branch families and, with students often pestering her on the same subjects over and over, it was rare for her to be able to talk about her own interests and findings... At this point, almost everyone else in the castle was already asleep, the only exceptions being the two of them and Da Vinci. Vahn knew it had been a long day for Olga and, though she had woken herself up by talking about something that interested her, it was beginning to gette. Though it would take her some time to fall asleep, a hot bath and afortable bed would go a long way toward helping her achieve this goal. Then, as she drifted off into her dreams, Vahn expected she would look back on todays memories fondly, albeit with a bit of bias. Since he didnt want to push her too much in one day, Vahn waited until there was a natural lull in the conversation before politely stating, "This conversation has been very pleasant, Olga. I can see you have a lot of passion for your research..." Then, even though Olga had a somewhat sad look sh across her eyes, Vahn rose to his feet and swept the dishes on the table away as he remarked, "It is about time for us both to retire, Im afraid. There is plenty of time for such discussions in the future...you dont have to rush everything all at once..." As he said this, Vahn helped Olga to her feet and, taking the initiative himself, extended his arm to escort her. The walk to the Inner Sanctum wasnt too far, around five minutes by passing through the corridors that were supposed to be used by Servants to move about the castle quietly. Vahn didnt mind using these passages for himself as, rather than walking the official pathways, it was much faster to take these built-in shortcuts. As for Olga, she was silent since the end of the conversation but,pared to how fidgety she was earlier, this was a drastic improvement. He knew she was still lost in her own thoughts but, as being introspective wasnt really a negative quality, Vahn just guided her toward her room at a slow and leisurely pace. It wasnt until they reached the door to her room that Olga came back to her senses and, seeing the increasingly familiar portal, her face formed into a small frown. Then, somewhat surprisingly, Olga took a long and slow breath, mustering up her resolve to say something Vahn knew would be rather problematic. Since he didnt want to punctuate the otherwise sessful evening with an event that would send her down the veritable rabbit hole once again, Vahn preempted Olgas words by casually extricating his arm and saying, "You have worked hard today, Olga. Make sure you take a warm bath and rest properly. I have other matters to attend, so I will see youter..." As he said this, Vahn lightly caressed Olgas head, an action that caused her to make aplicated expression that seemed both happy and troubled at the same time... Not wanting to keep Vahn from his other duties, as he had already spent a lot of time and effort on her throughout the day, Olga gave an understanding nod before producing a wry smile as she said, "Dont push yourself too hard...make sure you get some restter..." Though shemitted a slight faux pas by not addressing him with any form of honorifics, Vahn genuinely didnt care about such things in a non-political scenario. Olga would undoubtedly realize her mistake while reying these events in her mind so Vahn just continued to smile politely as he removed his hand and began to walk away. He was aware of the fact that Olga followed his retreat the entire way so, instead of just going back to his room, Vahn decided to check in on Da Vinci before getting some rest himself... --- After Vahns figure had disappeared, Olga entered into her room before closing the door behind her and copsing with her back against it. Though she had put on a strong front toward the very end, her heart was beating so furiously she could feel its steady pulse in her ears. Talking with Vahn had been a lot of fun and, after everything he had done for her, even if it was all just a means of tricking her, Olga felt like she needed to repay him. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that her livelihood and future was in his hands but, instead of treating her like a ything, as was far toomon in these kinds of situations, Vahn treated her respectfully. Though his status was a lot higher than her own, he never held it over her and, as if he was genuinely concerned about her, went out of his way to avoid pressuring her too much when her heart and mind were in a chaotic state... Though she wasnt sure where the certainty came from, perhaps as a result of her discussions with the other girls in the castle, Olga felt that Vahn wouldnt have refused her invitation if it was sincere. This thought caused her face to turn cherry red and, knowing Vahn had deflected so as not to put her on the spot, Olga felt an extreme giddiness that caused her brain to buzz. With this realization, Olga did just what Vahn had expected her to do, reying their entire conversation and gauging his reactions through her perspective lens. Through this process, Olga was able to convince herself that he was being very cautious around her, not because he didnt appreciate her, but because he was concerned for her... Using the context clues and taking into consideration each of Vahns actions, Olga was beginning to understand how he viewed her, at least a little. From this understanding, she was able to conclude that Vahn wanted her to be a stronger and more confident person before their rtionship was able to develop to the next level. Though he could make her do whatever he wanted, he was instead trying to shape her into a more suitable woman, turning her into apetent ally instead of using her at his convenience. Since he had surrounded himself with women who had strong personalities, making her one of the only odd ones out, Olga felt rather ashamed of herself, even as she released a sigh of relief. After reaching this conclusion, which ran parallel to the truth, Olga bumped the back of her head lightly against the door, looking toward the ceiling as she murmured, "So he is giving me a chance to prove my worth without pressuring me into having s.e.x..." Since it would interfere with her work if she was constantly worried about what Vahn might do to her, Olga felt like he was trying to create an environment where she was able to focus without distractions. The fact he had chosen a Magus Tower in the northeastern region of the castle, far from everyone else, seemed to lend veracity to her suspicion. Though the truth of the matter was that Vahn chose that location for no other reason than it was the highest unupied Magus, Olgacked a proper understanding of the castlesyout and was prone to making assumptions... Realizing she wasnt in any danger, something that seemed to be amon trait after entering into this alliance, Olga found herself lightly stroking her head. When Vahn caressed her, it made her heart flutter a bit as, not only was his gentle action veryfortable but having such a handsome person smiling at her was a burden of its own. When Olga had first seen Vahn, she had experienced a great shock as, during all of their discussions, neither Rin nor Luvia had mentioned his appearance. At the time, it didnt really matter to Olga as, having prepared herself to marry Ard, her expectations for her partner being handsome had been buried. Since Vahn was an abnormally handsome man, Olga couldnt deny that her maidenly heart had been heavily impacted the first time he smiled toward her. Remembering their first meeting, and all the subsequent times she had embarrassed herself, Olgas face became gradually redder. Then, deciding that sitting against her door was also embarrassing, Olga decided to follow Vahns advice, rising somewhat unsteadily to her feet. She was actually very tired so, the moment Olga started thinking about rxing, it felt like her fatigue had caught up with her. She began the rather tiresome process of unfastening all the sps and buttons of her attire, letting the garments drop almost silently against the thick red carpet of her room. With the exposed areas of the floor formed from an ivory white stone, ented with literal gold and covered from floor to ceiling inplex magical formations, she couldnt even fathom how expensive such a room would cost in the outside world... With the rest of her clothes discard, Olga stepped into the bathroom wearing nothing but a set of pale yellow lingerie which, if Vahn had seen, would undoubtedly match his expectations of battle underwear. Though not made fromce, Olgas brassier and panties were formed from high-end silks that, whilefortable, werent exactly practical due to how quickly they would wear out. As she still had the expectation that Vahn might make a move on her at any point, Olga had at least wanted to be prepared since, more often than not, she wore rather in and cheap lingerie due to her familys finances... Seeing her reflection in the crystalline silver mirror, Olga spent a bit of time looking herself over before undoing the braid on the left side of her head. She felt her figure wasnt that bad and, though she didnt exercise as much as she should, her dietary habits gave her a lean and lithe body. With her umon hair and eye color, Olga felt that she would stand out amongst even other beautiful girls her own age. However, whenparing herself to the other women around Vahn, Olgas confidence couldnt help taking a nosedive. Though she felt as if her body was more developed than women like Artoria and Gray, Olga didnt think she even came close to matching up against their almost ethereal beauty. As for girls like Fenrir, Medusa, and Circe, they had an exotic appeal and, though the former two didnt have the most amazing figures, they had traits that made them stand out greatly. Circes case was even harder to draw a directparison to as, not only did she have exotic traits, but her beauty, especially with her choice of apparel and her long pink hair, wasnt something that could be matched by mortals... For a brief moment, Olga thought about how she mightpare to women like Lakshmibai but, as soon as that thought crossed her mind, she released a heavy sigh. Following this, Olga decided it would only upset her if she spent too much time trying to mulling over her own looks. Since Vahn had shown an appreciative smile during their first meeting, something that had been carved into her heart and mind, Olga felt it didnt really matter how she stacked up against the others. She had her own strengths and, as Vahn had given her the opportunity to improve herself and make a positive impression on him, it didnt matter if she might only be a pretty tulip amongst extravagant roses... With that thought in mind, Olga unfasted the sp of her brassiere before slipping out of her panties, finding that thetter had a rather embarrassing stain in the fabric. Then, after giving her body onest look in the mirror, Olga turned the gem-like knobs that controlled the water that flowed into the bath. Instead of a single faucet, there were a total of ten holes located around therge marble bathtub that was covered in smooth enamel. Water would pour out of these holes, filling up the oversized bathtub with warm water over the course of a short twenty seconds. Olga found this rather extravagant and, with the bath itself having enough room to easily amodate three people, it almost felt like basking in a small pool as she slid down the gentle slope and rxed her tired body in the warm water... Now that she was rxed, Olga felt a sudden bout of tiredness that, with the warm water wrapping around her body like afortable nket, caused her to briefly doze off. Though it was only for a short while, Olga had startled away momentster after sinking further into the bath and swallowing a mouthful of water. With how tired she was feeling, Olga was suddenly d that Vahn had decided to excuse himself instead of allowing her to invite him inside. Based on how long he had been away with Luvia, Olga had the impression that he was something of a beast in the bedroom, one of the wayward thoughts that had fueled her delusional mentality. As just the thought of passing out during her first time was both embarrassing and extremely rude, Olga was d she had been given a bit of leeway to prepare herself. Though she had taken up yoga a few years ago, she decided it would be a good idea to exercise her body a bit when she wasnt busy with her research. She knew that even Mordred and Sakura were training hard for several hours so, as a mature a.d.u.l.t, it would be awkward if they used her of beingzy. Since it would also be quite embarrassing for the two children to be stronger than her, Olga felt driven to increase the strength of her own body. Reinforcement wasnt exactly her specialization but, even excluding the Heroes Vahn had summoned, it shouldnt be difficult to seek advice from Luvia and Rin... The thought of physical training wasnt exactly pleasant, as she had somewhat abhored theborious act in the past, Olga wanted to better herself in an effort to receive Vahns approval. Every time she remembered his praise, Olgas heart would begin to beat a little faster. Since his only expectation for her was that she was working hard, something Olga felt like she had always done, she was looking forward to being praised in the future. It was a little embarrassing to have her head pat, as it made her feel like a child, but this was a tolerable offense if they were alone. She certainly wasnt going to ask him to stop as, even now, the memory of Vahns pleasant caress brought a small smile to Olgas face... --- After leaving Olga to her own thoughts, Vahn made his way to the hidden door in the Armory of Camelot, making his way down to the Workshop he and Da Vinci shared. He found thetter in the main workshop, meaning she hadpleted her earlier work and moved on to something else to upy her time. Since she didnt require sleep, Da Vinci could work for days on end and, unless Vahn had her take breaks, there was a good chance she never would. It was hard to imagine how she had functioned as a normal human but, considering it was Da Vinci he was talking about, she hadnt been normal since the very beginning. She had been born with her intellect and, if not for the Holy Church and Mages Association isting her, Da Vinci very likely would have lived into the modern era without any difficulty. With Vahns arrival, Da Vinci herself seemed to decide it was time for a break as, instead of finishing what she was working on, she ced down her tools and removed her goggles almost immediately after his intrusion. Then, with a youthful yet elegant smile, she mused, "Sorry about earlier, Master. I couldnt pull myself away from my previous project so dont think I was just ignoring you~." After her apology, Da Vinci stretched her body before removing her exoskeleton and tapping a series of gemstones around her cor. This caused her attire to change from her renaissance style dress to a morefortable, and admittedly adorable, c.o.c.ktail dress. It had a creamy beige color, a distinct contrast to the vibrant reds and blues of her normal attire, ented with various ribbons and frills that ented her youthful appeal considerably. On bare feet, Da Vinci yfully pranced toward Vahn who, after entering into the Workshop, had been watching her with a casual smile and crossed arms. She stopped right in front of him, standing only 144cm tall as she looked up with her sapphire-like eyes, asking, "Do you have time...?" Though her words could have various interpretations, Vahn knew what Da Vinci had in mind when she asked such a question. The only times she would ask such a question was if she wanted him to apany her to collect some data or, show him something she wanted his impression of, or, as was often the case since the development of her [Sage Emperors Companion], gvanting about the bedroom in order to stress test her new bodies... Though he knew she had already determined his answer before he even spoke, Vahn humored Da Vinci by picking up her impossibly light body, smiling as he said, "Ive got time..." With that said, he carried her off to her private workshop where, after she had changed into her more mature body, Da Vinci exined some of the changes she had made to Ark before showing him a new prototype. She had produced a second-generation Vanargandr-Type golem that had the ability to interface with otherworks and transmit the data back to Arks secondary Nexus. She intended to have it collect data and samples on-site when they went to meet with Type: Mercury and, if possible, Da Vinci was going to use it to interface with the inte to begin mapping the entirework. As everything Da Vinci showed him was extremely interesting, Vahn attentively listened to her entire exnation. There were many things he didnt understand, as she would sometimes go on a tangent that was hard to follow, but he understood the more important aspects without any issues. Then, as if to reward his attentiveness, Da Vinci brought an end to her exnation by spontaneously stealing Vahns lips. At the same time, she pressed a button near Arks terminal, causing a st-shield to fall as the entire workshop entered into lockdown. Then, riling Vahn up a great deal, Da Vinci yfully mused, "I programmed a few golems to clean up any messes we make...shall we put their efficacy to the test, Master~?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn nopped out he fast xD,Olga never left the rabbit hole,Olga smartly neverpared herself to Da Vinci (>,...,<)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1171 - Quick Update

Chapter 1171 - Quick Update

Im going to go be visiting family today so there will either be no chapters, or they will bete in the afternoon/evening. I will be taking myptop with me, but Im only intending to write some Fenrirs Journey since I feel guilty for having no released any chapters for a while xD... Also, Ill be starting up the old schedule once again by the weekly reset so chapters will start releasing two hours after each other, averaging 3-4 chapters per day until the story starts to pick up pace. Take care and have a wonderful day~! Chapter 1171 - Contrary

Chapter 1171 - Contrary

While releasing a rare yawn, Vahn was making his way back towards the heart of the castle, feeling both refreshed yet mentally fatigued at the same time. Da Vinci was, with no other way to describe her inly, very quick on the uptake. Not only had she gained experience from their first few times together but, now that she had some expectations towards what to expect, her new body was very proficient when it came to collecting more data. It even had A-Rank Endurance, allowing Da Vinci to persist for nearly seven hours straight before the core she had created to absorb his Magical Energy had reached its threshold. This not only gave her a better understanding of the energy makeup of his bodily fluids but, as time passed, Da Vinci would be increasingly more adept at finding uses for said energy. After returning to her more youthful body, though not before calming down a bit beforehand, Da Vinci performed the rather awkward act of using an instrument to pull out a pale golden crystal from her older forms body. When Vahn saw this, he had been more than a little surprised as, though it was very small, it could be seen at a nce that the substance was the same as the [Divine Energy Cube]. Since she was able to analyze its structure, Da Vinci had given her most recent body the ability to crystallize Vahns own divine energy, extracted from his s.e.m.e.n. Da Vinci had theorized that, while he was not a God at the moment, Vahn still had godly energy as a result of being a Tier 4 entity. Since there was clearly something going on when he was having s.e.x, she correctly deduced that he generated divine energy during intercourse, owing in no small part to his wealth of experience and the melding he had performed with Freya in the past. Though it might not be one of his primary focuses, Vahn obviously ced a lot of focus on the act when he was with one of the various women surrounding him. As he was always doing his best to make sure they were getting the most out of the experience, he had been cultivating S.e.x Laws intuitively over the course of his rtionsh.i.p.s... Recalling how Da Vinci had teased him, calling him a S.e.x God, Vahn shook his head with a wry smile before clearing his mind of such wayward thoughts. Then, pushing against the seemingly immovable stone doors adorned with heroic figures, Vahn stepped into his own Throne Room, startling two of the girls within. One of them quickly jumped up from his Throne after seeing who had entered into the room, her eyes spinning around in their sockets as she thought of an excuse. After all, it was a grave offense to sit upon the Throne of a King, much less an Emperor. Seeing Mordreds somewhat paleplexion,bined with her floundering disposition, Vahn had a stern look on his face, contrasting the glimmer of amus.e.m.e.nt in his eyes. Then, while letting his aura spread through the Throne Room, the ce where he had the most power, Vahn walked toward Mordred, his steps sounding like thunder in the young girls ears. From the side, Sakura also had a pale expression on her face as, even though she understood her status as an Imperial Princess, this was her first time feeling the presence of her Otou-sama. The only person who wasnt affected was Fenrir who, understanding her Master better than anyone, knew he wasnt actually upset. With the current Mordred being 131cm tall, there was a 54cm difference between her height and Vahns, making her head onlye up to around his diaphragm. From his advantageous position, Vahn looked down at his mischevious daughter, asking, "How did it feel...?" Though he spoke softly, his words seemed to ripple through the air, causing the surrounding void to tremble slightly. This caused Mordreds expression to pale, even more, a thinyer of cold sweat building upon her brow as she stammered, "I...I...Im sorry...Chichiue..." Contrary to her usually bold disposition, Mordred now looked like nothing more than a child who had gotten caught pulling a prank... Though he felt a little guilty taking things this far, Vahn still raised his hand slowly, causing Mordred to flinch as she tightly closed her eyes and balled her hands into fists. Then, instead of the expected strike, afortable warmth began to spread through her head as Vahns hand began to gently ruffle her golden-blond hair. As if it had been an illusion, all of the pressure vanished in an instant, followed by Vahn lightly remarking, "Until you understand what it means to sit upon that Throne, you shouldnt y around it unless Im present." With that said, Vahn picked up Mordreds light body, only 26kg, before carrying her the short distance to his Throne. After sitting Mordred on the armrest, Vahn took a seat upon his Throne, something that caused power to swell from within his chest. It was almost impossible to restrain his aurapletely while seated upon his Throne but, instead of pressuring those in the room, it instead gave them a sense of awe. Then, while Mordred was still processing what had happened, Vahn gestured to Sakura who, after seeing things y out better than she had expected, felt a bit weak in the knees. With Mordred and Sakura both sitting on his armrests, Vahn had a contented smile on his face as he mused, "My two precious daughters...listen closely to my words." Since he felt that this was a good opportunity to be a good father, while simultaneously carrying out his duties as Emperor, Vahn spent a good hour exining his vision of the future to the two attentive girls. When they would start to get bored or distracted, he would gently ruffle their hair, sending threads of stimting energy into their minds to keep them focused. Though it ultimately didnt matter all that much if they decided to y their own parts, as Vahn only wanted them to be happy, it was still important that they know their own ce in the grand scheme of the future. When his exnation was finished, Vahn used his telekinesis to move Mordred and Sakura so that they were seated on hisp. Then, embracing the two girls, he reiterated, "I have great expectations for both of you...however, so long as you are happy, that is what is most important. If you ever feel sad or lost, know that I will always be here for you..." Even though Mordred and Sakura werent his biological children, Vahn had no intention of treating them any differently. Regardless of the path they took, he would always be there to support them, even if that meant guiding them back toward the light if they strayed away... Though Sakura seemed to enjoy the contact quite a bit, tightly hugging her Otou-sama in response, Mordred showed an annoyed expression that couldnt conceal the happy light in her eyes. Then, as if she refused to show weakness in front of her little sister, Mordred wiggled out of her Chichues grasp before hopping off the Throne and eximing, "One day, I will be the Empress that reigns over the entire world! Dont worry, though, Ill still allow you to live in the castle, Chichiue~! Even if you be an old man, Ill take care of you properly..." Toward the end of her statement, Mordred had a somewhat awkward smile on her face as she rubbed the underside of her nose with the back of her index finger. Sakura had looked back at her with a pouting expression on her face, causing Mordreds confident exmation to sound more like a bl.u.s.ter. Fortunately, her Chichue once again came to her rescue, lightly patting Sakuras back as he gave an approving nod and stated, "I look forward to the day you are able to sit upon this Throne, Mordred. When that timees, I will be the proudest father in the entire world..." Hearing her Chichues supportive words, Mordreds face gained a rosy hue, followed by an awkwardugh as she answered, "O-of course...just make sure you keep that seat warm for me..." Then, with her face bing even redder, Mordred coughed to cover her embarrassment before scampering out of the Throne Room. She was closely followed by Fenrir who, after giving her Master a curt nod, quickly gave chase. This left Vahn alone with Sakura and, though there was no special meaning in such an urrence, it seemed to make the young girl very nervous. To avoid stressing her out too much, Vahn set Sakura down on the ground before taking her hand in his own and saying, "Lets go visit your Okaa-chan..." These words were like having a weight lifted from her heart and, instead of paling, Sakura gave a cheerful smile before answering with a happy Nn!. As much as she loved this Otou-sama of hers, Sakura felt ufortable if she was the only person around him as, unlike the memory fragment she had grown ustomed to, he always had a somewhat scary presence around his body. This wasrgely due to Vahn always having his [Will of the Emperor] active and, even though he didnt put any pressure on Sakura, her overabundance of Magical Energy made her extremely sensitive to potential threats. Even with her memories erased, that didnt mean Sakuras body and Soul had forgotten what had happened in the past. She would often feel safer in small and dark ces and, though her Otou-samas presence made her feel extremely secure, there was a part of Sakura that instinctually feared him. When other people were around, this feeling wouldpletely disappear but, when it was just the two of them, it almost felt like she had nowhere to run. She didnt understand these feelings at all as, just by hearing that they were going to see her Okaa-chan, Sakuras fear had vanished. Just the awareness that she didnt have to be alone with him made the fear go away, even if it was just the two of them walking the empty corridors for several minutes... --- After dropping Sakura off with Rin, followed by them having a light lunch together, Vahn set out to retrieve Gray as, even though there was no particr rush to do everything in one evening, he feltpelled to do so. His intuition told him that, after establishing contact with Type: Mercury and revealing himself to the Mages Association, his life would enter into a new chapter. Currently, Vahn was considering forming an Avatar just so he could have a version of himself in London while his counterpart remained in the Ivory Castle. However, after talking with Da Vinci and asking why she never used more than one body, Vahn wasnt sure if this was the best choice... As he already used his two crystals to bolster his Od regeneration, the only real benefit to having an Avatar in the Ivory Castle was if he wanted to spend time with everyone. This, however, would split his focus considerably as, with the time dtion and his interactions with others taking precedence, it would be difficult for him to take action in the real world. Training with Scthach would be virtually impossible, as there was simply no way for him to remain focused on other tasks, while any kind of intimacy he experiences with the girls would always be tainted by his focus on other matters. Vahn didnt want to split himself like this again as it not only increased the pressure on himself but the pressure others experienced just knowing he was using more than one body. He would already be working hard, something that would motivate the more driven individuals in the castle to work harder, so increasing his mental strain wasnt the best idea. Vahn could still remember how troubled the women back in Danmachi were and, as there was also a very real chance that someone would be able to trace the location of Avalon, he decided to keep his jewels slumbering instead of maintaining an active link. With the ability to transfer back to Avalon whenever he wanted, the only thing Vahn would really lose out on in theing months was a bit of training and recreational time. Though he could still dedicate an hour or two per real-world day, equating to fourteen hours within the Projection, this would be significantly less time than he otherwise would have had. Even if he was only in London for a few hours every couple of days, this would eventually ount for months and yearster on down the line. If there was a big event going on, which required several days of concerted effort to resolve, that could trante to more than a month within the Projection... Realizing that such thoughts would only cause him to worry unnecessarily, Vahn shook his head while pushing open the door to Artorias room. His entry immediately drew the attention of the two simr women inside, causing the golden-haired variant to rise to her feet before the gray-haired young woman quickly followed suit. Vahn smiled toward the two as Artoria gave a small bow and said, "Good evening, Vahn..." Though she had called him things like Master and My Emperor in the past, Vahn had asked that Artoria refers to him by name when they werent in a public setting. After all, even if they hadnt carried out an official ceremony, he and Artoria were more than technically married to each other. While Gray quickly tried to emte Artorias actions, Vahn gestured to indicate such things werent necessary as he asked, "Am I interrupting anything...?" This was immediately answered by Artoria crossing her hands atop herp in a polite disy, shaking her head gently as she replied, "No...we were just talking. If there is something you require, we can make ourselves avable..." Though there wasnt supposed to be any innuendo contained within her words, Artorias face gained an almost indiscernible blush toward the very end. It hadnt been that long since she wasst with Vahn, only a few days time, but the presence of Gray was something that couldnt be discounted. In that regard, it had been more than a half-year since they were together, causing Artorias heart to beat slightly faster than normal. Not missing the subtle expectation in Artorias mannerisms, Vahns smile curled up at the edges but, as he wouldnt mind spending time with both girls, he had a promise to keep. With that in mind, he turned his eyes to Gray, causing her brows to raise slightly as he asked, "If it is not an inconvenience, I would like Gray to apany me for a time. I do not mind keeping the two of youpany but..." With Artoria appearing simultaneously relieved and despondent, Vahn let his words trail toward the end as a slightly guilty feeling swelled within his heart. Vahn realized that, by asking Gray to apany him, he was, in essence, leaving Artoria to remain in her room, alone. Before he could think too much into it, however, Artoria seemed to understand his concern, her ahoge twitching as a natural smile spread across her already beautiful face. Then, even though Gray herself hadnt said she was willing, Artoria gently stated, "Go...Ill be here when you return. Even if I had to wait for centuries, I would still be here..." Though it was an extreme statement to make in an otherwise low-stakes situation, Artoria felt like she was getting even with Vahn for some of the things he would often tout... Understanding that she was trying to tease him, all while being very serious, Vahn released a light chuckle in response to Artorias statement. Then, ignoring his urge to counter-tease her, Vahn looked toward Gray, straightening his back as he asked, "Will you do me the honor of gracing this evening with your presence, Lady Gray...?" Even if such words were a bit extravagant, Vahn was just trying to give Gray a cue to act upon as, contrasting the demure disposition he hade to know from their time together in the Space-Time Orb, she was clearly trying to act moredy-like. Though she was still wearing her runic cloak and mantle, which ented her beauty quite a bit, Gray also had a prim and proper ck dress with gray ents. She was even wearing white hosiery, a stark contrast to the ck stockings she usually wore... Though she almost agreed instantly, Gray felt wholly unprepared to apany Vahn alone, even if there was no guarantee they would do anything more intimate. She suddenly felt a strong urge to bathe but, not wanting to keep Vahn waiting, she ultimately gave a small yet courteous bow before answering in a sheepish voice, "I would be happy to apany you...Vahn." Even if her words felt like an executioners axing down on her neck, Gray felt a bit of relief as she managed to get them out. Then, immediately following this, feelings of nervousness and excitement began to swell from within as she linked her arm with Vahns, alighting from the room before eventually leaving the castle altogether. --- Avalon was a mystical ce with several interesting locations, each possessing great historical value and an awe-inspiring level of beauty. Arge portion of the ind was covered in apple orchards which, regardless of the season, would produce delicious apples due to the overabundance of mana in the environment. Compared to the outside world, Avalon was a veritable paradise for any Magi that wanted to increase their strength and powerrge formations. Any children that grew up in such a location would be intrinsically more powerful than their peers while, by consuming the apples on a daily basis, even normal humans would live long lives without having to worry about sickness and disease. Amongst the many historical sites of Avalon, with the ruins beneath the Lake being one of the few exceptions, there was one ce that Vahn had yet to take anyone else. This was because, with the exception of Artoria, others were simply disallowed entry, even if they went againstmon sense and decided to venture inward. Even the adventurous Astolfo and Mordred wouldnt venture into this ce unnecessarily as you had to pass through arge graveyard and mausoleum, both filled with a solemn atmosphere and the presence of an abundance of Spiritual Energy... Though this wasnt exactly the best ce for a date, at least under normal circ.u.mstances, Vahn knew that Gray would undoubtedly feel at ease in such an environment. She had the same holy-elemental affinity as Artoria but, a stark contrast to the invible King of Knights, Gray also possessed a very potent death-elemental affinity. It was the presence of this energy in her body that caused her eyes to glow slightly in the dark and, though she had the same blond hair as Artoria in the past, it had be muted and gray with the passage of time. These were all things he had learned from Gray herself during the time they spent together in the Space-Time Orb as, while seekingfort, she also confided many things in him... Without having to ask why he was bringing her to a graveyard, Gray simply leaned her head against Vahns shoulder, her bluish-green eyes glowing with a ghostly light. In truth, if she didnt harvest a life periodically, her body would begin to suffuse with a cold chill while even simple movements would be painful. Even normal graveyards were rich in mana, which was why most humans felt frightened being inside one for long periods of time, while the Holy and Death elements coexisted side-by-side. After all, the dead were buried and given funeral rites so that they could rest peacefully, making graveyards extremely popr for the practice of Holy Sacraments and Necromancy... By the time they reached their destination, an awe-inspiringly beautiful shrine that was located at the lowest level of an underground Mausoleum, Grays body had begun to emit a ghostly aura that was impossible for her to rein in. Her eyes took in the surroundings, noticing twelverge stone coffins while, at the heart of the chamber, a muchrger coffin was illuminated by holy blue light. There was no actual light source anywhere above the coffin yet, anyone who stood witness to the phenomenon would not find it odd. Instead, they would feel an overwhelming sense of awe, akin to witnessing a miracle far beyond humanprehension... With Gray trembling slightly at his side, Vahn took her hands into his own as he turned her to face him directly. He knew she would never have expected for him to keep his promise so soon, even if it was his memory fragment that had made it. This wasnt an excuse as far as Vahn was concerned, however, so he actually felt a little guilty having made her wait this long. Thus, without hesitating for even a moment, Vahn unequipped his overcoat and undershirt, exposing his muscr upper body and earning a blush from Gray. Then, with aplex expression on her face, Grays face became progressively redder as she opened her mouth, revealing pronounced canines as she buried her teeth into Vahns exposed neck, a ce that already had a surprising amount of bite marks present... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tsundere Mordred,Vahns Intuition(Plot Sense),*Chu~*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1172 - Union

Chapter 1172 - Union

ording to modern Thaumaturgical practices, there were no such things as the Holy and Death elements, even though their effects could clearly be seen. Instead, they were both ssified as a neutral element and, only by using specific types of Magecraft, such as Curses, Necromancy, and Purification, would they gain any meaningful effect. In that regard, rather than having Holy and Death elemental affinities, Gray was considered to have an Earth affinity, one of the five known elements consisting of Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, and Ether. Everything else was ssified, somewhat foolishly, into imaginary factors. These were the True Ether, Hollow and Nothingness elements which, when broken down ording to Laws, were actually just Creation, Destruction, Space, Time, and Void elements all loosely lumped together to exin that which they were unable to trulyprehend. Even more arbitrarily was, for everything they couldnt exin ording to their wed rationale, the Mages Association simply ssified the phenomena as Mystery. When Vahn had first learned these things, he had treated them very seriously as, with thousands of years of research, he didnt want topletely discredit the efforts of early Magi. Now that he had a better understanding of things, however, Vahn felt like the Mages Association, and potentially every other major power, had crippled themselves by arbitrarily assigning meaning to things they simply failed toprehend. Then, aftering up with these definitions and developing theories using skewed logic, they had cultivated the idea of Magecraft, bastardizing Laws and pursuing a tangential path that would lead them down an incalcble number of dead ends. Though Vahn didnt assume his understanding was correct, he knew that Laws were what governed all Records and, with the existence of Gods that embodied things such as Life and Death, it was honestly a little ridiculous that modern Magi had discredited them as elements for no other reason than they couldnt manifest it properly. Thus, instead of wasting his time trying to make sense of the bastardized logic of the Mages Association, Vahn had defaulted back to what he had learned from Eva and his ownprehension of the Laws. After all, whennguage and runes could literally create phenomena that could fundamentally alter the nature of the physical world, he thought it was rather foolish to try and define things ording to strict guidelines. The people who created these guidelines werent even able to reach the Root, making it seem like the entire Magus Community had be part of an borate joke, one which they had been ying on themselves for thest twenty-seven-hundred years. Knowing what he knew, Vahn was confident he could educate a few Magi that, over the course of mere decades, would be able to drastically outss all but the most prodigious Magus families. This was due to the fact that, while they may have used wed logic to develop their abilities, the families that had persisted the longest had been able to break away from the established system to develop their unique Magecraft. They recorded all of this knowledge into Magic Crests which, over the course of hundreds, or even thousands of years, would allow their progeny to be extremely powerful, at leastpared to other modern Magi. Some even reached the point that, amongst their peers, their bodies were considered to have developed Mystery, granting them even greater power. Vahn found the fact they just arbitrarily exined away theprehension of Laws as some obscure and mysterious force wasughable. In truth, they were just increasing their Soul Tier and, by gainingprehension of one of the Laws, they had been able to distinguish themselves from others. It was unfortunate that by believing their power was nothing more than Mystery given form, they actually decreased their potential power considerably. The only ones who were able to break free from this trend were those who, either by living much longer lives than normal, or simply by losing their mind, had stopped caring about things like Mystery entirely... Though now might be a strange time to consider such things, Vahn had quite a bit on his hands as he continued to hug Gray, allowing the petite woman to drain a considerable amount of his blood. One of her greatest secrets, which not even Lord El-Melloi II knew, was how she had ultimately gained the appearance of Artoria. When she was younger, only her face looked vaguely simr to the portrait her family had of King Arthur, passed down for generations. Then, when she reached puberty and had started to be more feminine, Gray had been made to ingest a vial of blood that had been sealed away by her Ancestors. This contained the actual blood of Artoria and, after forcing Gray to undergo a ritual to try and imbue Artorias soul into her body, she had ultimately lost her life... Fortunately, though it had caused Gray to bear a heavy trauma, the same ceremony that was used to call upon Artorias soul had simply called her own back. Since she had actually died, however, Gray had brought death back with her, polluting the body that now bore the same appearance as her distant Ancestor. Her golden-blond hair quickly lost its color, turning a greyish-white like ashen bones while her pristine blue eyes gained a ghostly green hue. More troublesome was the fact that, as Artoria herself was akin to a Nature Spirit,bined with Grays death element, she became an entity infinitely close to a Vampire. However, with her Holy element and the cloak she always wore, which served as a Holy Shroud, even the most astute Vampire Hunters would not be able to mistake Gray for a Dead Apostle. From the time of the rituals failure, Grays life became increasingly more difficult as, feeling she had failed the family that had elevated her like an idol to be worshipped, she cut off her emotions from the rest of the world. If not for her appearance matching King Arthurs,bined with her ability to use the Holy Spear, there was a good chance she would have outright been abandoned, killed, or used to produce the next generation heir. Even her mother had been selected by the n at an early age, i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed with an embryo that had been cultivated from analyzing King Arthurs DNA. With her own body sharing the same characteristics as Artoria, the only thing that prevented Gray from sharing that fate was the intervention of Lord El-Melloi II... After having been saved, Gray shared many of her secrets with Lord El-Melloi II, only leaving out the most important aspects to avoid beingbeled a monster. Only Add knew of her pseudo-vampiric traits and, in order to keep it a secret, he would drain the blood of enemies Gray had killed through small channels. Then, when they were alone, Gray would sate her blood thirst by consuming small amounts of blood every couple of days. As for her other symptoms, they werergely kept at bay by the existence of her Holy elemental affinity. The only time they would be unbearable was when she had been fighting for long periods of time, especially against humanoid enemies, or when she was required to visit ces with a high concentration of Spiritual Energy. As all Vampires hailed from True Ancestors, which were Greater Nature Spirits, the presence of an abundance of mana could exacerbate Grays need to feed considerably... Since she had decided to follow Vahn, Gray had confided her greatest secrets to him after the scare of imagining life as Svins pet. When he had learned about this, Vahn had surprised Gray quite a bit by exining his [Magia Erebea] constitution and how, rather than the Pseudo-Divine Spirit he had imed to be in the past, he was, in truth, a Greater Divine Spirit that, in essence, was considered to be a True Ancestor. With that being the case, even though it hadnt been his intention by bringing it up, Gray had asked him if she could suck his blood. This would, in essence, make her into a Dead Apostle Ancestor and, as the first source of living blood she had ever drained, it would intrinsically link them together for the rest of their lives. By allowing Gray to suck his blood, Vahn would gain a nigh-invible dominion over her, showing just how much she trusted him to go through with the ceremony. Not only would she feelpelled to obey him but, if he didnt periodically give her blood, Grays body would begin to slowly degrade over time. Her Holy elemental affinity would greatly dy this, especially if she were around Artoria and continued to possess Add, but he would still need to allow her to suck his blood every couple of days. This would not only grant her a significant boost in her already highbat power, but it would actually decrease herpulsion to obey his orders. The only time a True Ancestor would allow someone to suck their blood was when they were choosing a life partner or choosing their kin. By allowing her to suck his blood consistently, Gray would inevitably break free from hispulsionpletely, bing an existence on the same level as a True Ancestor herself. With that in mind, Vahn continued to hold Gray in his embrace, finding the process of having his blood sucked strangely ther.a.p.eutic. Holding a petite young woman in his arms while a warm feeling spread throughout his body reminded him of the time he had spent with Eva. Though there were, in truth, numerous differences, Vahn was doing his best not to think about them. It wasnt Evas fault that her body was essentially stuck in a perpetual state of youth. Comparing her to Gray, who had various soft and plump features that Eva fundamentallycked, was somewhat unfair and, knowing she would probably punish him for such thoughts, Vahn did his best not to think about them... The most distinct contrast between Gray and Eva was the fact that, while thetter was able to keep herposure after hundreds of years of adaptation, Gray was experiencing the euphoria of sucking blood for the first time. It wasnt well-known but, for those Dead Apostles that had been human, the process of sucking blood itself was an extremely intimate expression of love. This was due to the fact that, while a powerful charming effect flowed into the body of their victims, it also stirred up their own desires considerably. It was this aspect of vampirism that caused them to be addicted to the process and, after subordinating hundreds, or even thousands, of victims, they would begin to develop a feeling of superiority. These were the same emotions that allowed Dead Apostles to turn against their Masters, bing Dead Apostle Ancestors by draining the blood of their creators... As Gray continued to suckle his blood with increasing fervor, her hands simultaneously began to explore the surface of his back while, though she had resisted it at first, she began to grind against his leg with her lower body. Vahn could feel hot moisture soaking through his trousers and, as there was only one way this could end, he pulled out a bed from thin air. There were actually no people buried in this section of the mausoleum and, with the lower floor even being isted from the rest of the world, it was essentially just an ornate room full of empty coffins. Even therge tomb at the top, which was supposed to have housed Artorias body, contained nothing more than the broken fragments of the original Caliburn, shattered in her battle against King Pellinore in the distant past... Suddenly finding herself parallel to the ground, separated from the bed by Vahns body, Gray took a brief moment to extract her teeth from his shoulder, her ghostly green eyes zing as a deep blush had already spread across her entire face and neck. The emotions she had been holding back welled up inside her at this moment and, not caring about anything else in the world, Gray was breathing heavily as she pressed Vahn down with surprising strength, greedily seeking his lips. At the same time, Vahn hiked up the side of Grays dress and, feeling more than a little heated himself, tore the fabric of her white hosiery instead of cing it into his Inventory. He had decided that, during this important moment in Grays life, he wasnt going to hold himself back as much as he ought to... Gray could feel the cool air against her bottom but, instead ofining, she began to wiggle her h.i.p.s expectantly as her fingernails, now sharper than before, dug into Vahns scalp. Since he was almost immune to attack beneath B-Rank at this point, this showed that Grays Strength parameter, unmodified, had to be around lower A-Rank. As he was certain this hadnt been the case previously, it was clear that sucking his blood had been a considerable boost to her parameters. At the same time, her Mana Circuits currently looked like hot metal, shining with vibrant light after bing saturated with the energy from his blood. It wasnt just her Mana Circuits that had changed as, with their bodies ovepped, Vahn could feel a simr aura to Evas and his owning from Grays body... Deciding to worry about her changester, Vahn moved aside the drenched fabric beneath her ripped hosiery while lifting his ns to Grays hungry entrance, allowing her to devour his member in one swift motion. This caused Vahns h.i.p.s to buck, eliciting a pleasured m.o.a.n from Gray as her Holy elemental affinity caused his p.e.n.i.s to tingle madly. It wasnt just her vampiric nature that had been awakened and, with a phenomenal amount of energy flowing through her body, Grays Holy and Death elements had been drastically strengthened. Not only was her body greedily absorbing his energy, simr to a Subus or a Dryad, but it felt like his own body was being purified just by being in contact with her... Feeling his own passions amplified by the frustrating sensation, Vahn sunk his own fingers into Grays butt which, while not the plumpest, was very soft to the touch. Her cheeks were still wrapped in the pure white hosiery but, with his own fingernails and rough movements, it wasnt long before they also submitted. As for Gray, to a soul-shaking extent, she was rocking her own h.i.p.s madly while Vahn, holding almost nothing back, was stabbing against her insides. A loud and indecent sound, literally that of meat pping against meat echoed through the area, apanied by loud, almost visceral m.o.a.ns. When she regained her sensester, Vahn knew Gray would be beside herself with embarrassment but, for the next few hours, the only thing that mattered was their union... --- By the time Vahn left the mausoleum, the sun had just started to appear on the horizon and, causing Gray to wince, even though the sunlight didnt affect her more than normally. Though it had always hastened the degradation of her body, the primary reason she always wore clothes that concealed the majority of her body, Grays current reaction was nothing more than the general hatred people had when the sun poked in through a crack in the window, shing across your eyes and forcing you awake. Before then, she had been sleeping snuggly on Vahns back so, feeling the cool air against her body and having the unrepentant morning sun shining on her face, Gray buried her face into Vahns shoulder andined, "Turn out the lights..." before dozing off once again... Hearing her rather adorable remark, Vahn had a strong urge tough but, out of consideration for how tired she must have been, he kept it restrained. With Grays body now bing infinitely closer to that of a True Ancestor, she had essentially be immortal. Even if her body was destroyed, she would continue to regenerate and, with few exceptions, the only way to kill her would be to seal her away. Even Holy Sacraments and Purification wouldnt be as effective against her as other Vampires as, unlike them, Gray still had an inherent Holy elemental affinity. She was an enigma, even amongst other Dead Apostle Ancestors and, if given enough time, there was a good chance that Gray would be one of the most powerful. After all, the blood she was absorbing was his own, that of a Tier 4 entity that wasprised of Source Energy. As he grew stronger, so would she, without any limits whatsoever... While walking back to the castle at a leisurely pace, as he was alreadyte, Vahn took a moment to reflect on his decision. This was something Gray herself wanted and, though the memories of thest twenty hours would probably be a trauma for her, Vahn doubted she would regret it. The only thing he was considering now was whether or not to convince Gray to ept a body made from Source Energy. It wouldnt change her nature as a Dead Apostle, as this was something imprinted upon her Ego and given form in her Innates and Skills, but it would increase her regenerative capabilities even further. He assumed she would refuse at first but, if he made an effort to convince her, Gray would likely ede without too much resistance. Deciding it was best to broach the subject after Gray had broken free of hispulsion, Vahn made a mental note to have Artoria or Fenrir mention it to her at some point. Even if he was the one to set it in motion, it always meant more if the person made the decision without direct pressure. If he was the one to bring it up now, Gray would probably agree without any thought on the matter. He could even ask her to jump into a kiln or sink to the bottom of the sea as, for the time being, Grays Loyalty was represented with the Eternal Loyalty parameter. This value only showed if the person, or entity, in question had no ability to resist his orders. Thus, until she had regained her independence, Vahn wasnt going to put too much pressure on Gray since she would, quite literally, do anything for him. For the time being, the only thing Vahn truly wanted for Gray, something he had made very clear to her previously, was for her to be happy. Based on the smile she had while y-biting his shoulder in her sleep, causing her drool to soak into the fabric of his shirt, Vahn wanted to assume they were off to a good start... (A/N: Alternate Titles: For a time, it was mon sense that the world was t. Assumptions can be dangerous if never corrected...,That went from 0 to 100 real fast (O_O)...!,*Munyaa~*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1173 - Valley

Chapter 1173 - Valley

Though she would have normally been training Mordred around this time, as Artoria took her daughters training very seriously, today was an obvious exception to the norm. Since she was intending to apany Vahn pretty much everywhere he went, Artoria had been waiting for his arrival after having sent Mordred to stay with Rin and Sakura the previous night. Thus, when Vahn arrived, Artoria was dressed and ready to go as he set the unconscious Gray to sleep in their shared bed. From there, the two moved outside to seek out Luvia and Da Vinci, walking hand-in-hand with no particr rush. Using the peaceful quiet as an opportunity, Artorias curiosity ultimately got the best of her, leading to her asking, "How is she...?" Since Gray looked up to her quite a bit, while Artoria had be rather fond of her distant Descendent, she knew the former had a number of deeply rooted trauma. Though she could tell that Gray was a lot happier than before, as there had been a smile on her face when Vahn tucked her into the bed, Artoria couldnt help being a little curious. Without putting too much thought into his answer, Vahn gave a brief summary of what Gray had gone through, much of which Artoria had already been made aware of. When he exined what the ceremonyst night represented, leaving out the juicier details, Artoria didnt even seem all that surprised. Instead, she had a relieved look on her face, followed by a brief moment where she just rested her head on his shoulder, muttering, "Thats good..." in a sincere tone of voice... After Vahn had been te for their departure, Luvia had decided to push her luck a bit, seeking out Da Vinci to see what thetter was up to. Of all the people present within the castle, Da Vinci practically screamed good investment so, while most of the other residents had the wherewithal to not bother her, Luvia feltpelled to at least build some rapport with the Castles Minister of Innovation, the official title Da Vinci had decided for herself a few months prior. She didnt care about things such as status but, understanding what kind of ce Vahn wanted to make Avalon, Da Vinci would rather secure her position early so that others wouldnt be able toin about her making changes around the ind... Unfortunately for Luvia, though she managed to find the location of Da Vincis and Vahns shared Workshop, she had been left standing in the corridor after failing to gain entry into the Armory of Camelot. Though there was an intricately designed mechanical owl posted outside of the sealed chamber, she had tried calling out to Da Vinci a few times, only for the owl to tilt its head at her and remain absolutely silent. It was only when she was about to give up that the owl suddenly replied, startling Luvia slightly before causing her to feel rather embarrassed when it answered, "I do not appreciate being interrupted from my work for political and social matters. Please do note here in the future. If there is a matter of import, you need only ry the message to Vahn and he will contact me on your behalf." Though Da Vinci didnt dislike Luvia, as she didnt really dislike anyone, she would rather avoid having to deal with her directly. Luvia gave off a simr aura to the same annoying individuals that had troubled her so often in the past. She gave off the very distinct presence of someone who treated all interactions like business transactions, constantly seek benefits. Since Vahn provided her with pretty much everything she needed, including material andpanionship, Da Vinci would rather not y games with Luvia. Even if thetter became Vahns official Empress, she had no intention of humoring her and, if Luvia actually tried to pressure her, Da Vinci wouldin directly to Vahn, fully confident that he would protect her. After hearing the owl utter a response in Da Vincis voice, Luvia had tried to say a few kind words, expressing that she only wanted to get to know the Omniscient Genius better, but it didnt seem to have any effect. Ultimately, Luvia could only shake her head in defeat, turning back once again, walking down the path that Vahn and Artoria were taking to intercept her. When she encountered the two, Luvias face shifted from a troubled expression into an enthused look as she eximed in a happy tune, "Vaaahn~." Then, moving to the side opposite Artoria, Luvia grabbed Vahns arm, rubbing her cheek against him enthusiastically as sheined, "Da Vinci is a meanie...even though I came all this way to speak with her, the only response I got was from an owl..." Though she didnt expect Vahn to take her side, Luvia was a little surprised when he shook his head and sternly answered, "You should not trouble Da Vinci in the future. Other than when I overwrite her decisions, she hasplete autonomy and freedom of movement within the Empire. I understand why you may have taken an interest in her but you have to remember the kind of life she had been forced to live in the past. For now, try interacting with her when she isnt focused on her work...as for other times, that workshop is off limits unless Da Vinci herself invites others inside..." Even though it was their shared workshop, the difference in the amount of time Vahn and Da Vinci spent inside made it feel as if he just borrowed it on asion. Thus, in the interest of protecting her work and avoiding interruptions, he allowed her to restrict ess to the workshop at her leisure. She could even kick him out if there was something that required her full focus, though this had only happened a single time in the past. He was actually the first victim of Da Vincis owl, being denied entry into the workshop when she had first started excavating the chamber housing her bodies, Arks Nexus, and other more sensitive projects... Without harping on the matter for even a moment longer, keenly aware of when and where to push boundaries, Luva answered Vahn with an understanding nod before leaning against his shoulder, an elegant smile on her face. She knew that, by having some influence over Vahn, it wouldnt be that difficult to benefit from Da Vincis genius. By using her husband-to-be as an intermediary, having him develop an interest in some of the projects herpanies had been working on for thest couple of years, it wouldnt be long before her efforts bore fruit. Until then, the only thing that really mattered was the time she got to spend with Vahn, especially after that world-shattering experience she had been put through previously... --- Since she had only been working on a smaller project while waiting for Vahns arrival, Da Vinci was already waiting for them outside the workshop when the trio arrived. This caused Luvias smile to twitch at the edges but, unless you were someone as perceptive as Vahn and Da Vinci, it would have been impossible to discern her mild annoyance. Fortunately for her, neither decided to draw attention to the matter as Da Vinci smiled teasingly as she mused, "How heartbreaking, to see the man of my dreams first thing in the morning, only to find that both his arms have already been imed by others~." As she was in her mature form right now, Da Vincis body seemed to radiate s.e.x appeal and, with her [Golden Rule: EX], even Artoria and Luvia were slightly taken aback by her presence. Unfortunately for Da Vinci, neither girl vacated their spot, leaving her smiling in a manner that didnt quite reach her eyes as she asked, "Are we going to be departing soon?" Though this question was unnecessary, as Vahn wouldnt havee to retrieve her otherwise, Da Vinci was simply using it as a means to transition back to the subject. Vahn understood this well, answering with an affirmative nod before adding, "We just need to move to the transfer location and well be on our way. Do you have everything you need...?" This was also an unnecessary question, as Da Vinci was always prepared, but Vahn felt inclined to ask for the benefit of Luvia and Artoria as even thetter only interacted with the reclusive Genius on a few asions. In response to Vahns inquiry, Da Vinci had an understanding light sh across her eyes, drawing attention to therge mechanical backpack she was wearing by shifting it slightly. Her staff was also neatly slotted into one of the sockets as, even without wielding it directly, Da Vinci was able to use it as a catalyst in conjunction with the otherponents of her exoskeleton. Though not nearly as developed as the version she had made for her more youthful counterpart, which could form a literal mecha at this point, Da Vincis current loadout consisted of arge mechanical arm, an almost unbreakable shield generator, levitation capabilities, and powerful thrusters that would allow her to fly around for short periods of time. This particr form also boasted a monstrous 50A++ Endurance, effectively making Da Vinci indestructible so long as she had enough Magical Energy to sustain her body. The fact she had developed such a body just to have s.e.x with him was a secret Vahn kept locked away in his heart... The most notable addition to Da Vincis loadout was the fact that the upgraded Skoll was seated snuggly in the second socket on the left side of herrge mechanical pack. It gave her ethereal beauty a somewhat adorable quality as, with the tiny Skollsrge ears drooping in its charging state, it was hard to look at Da Vinci seriously. Both Luvias and Artorias eyes glimmered, even though thetter had interacted with the original Skoll often. Thetter had been universally epted within the Castle as, likely due to the existence of some abstract Law, cute things could be considered a weakness to proud Emperors like Vahn and stoic warriors like Siegfried... If not for the fact he had a woman on each arm, Vahn couldnt have been able to resist petting the adorable creature. He even felt a small amount of me towards Artoria as, with one of her hands free, shemitted a small faux pas by extending her hand to rub its fluffy ears. Da Vinci didnt mind this much at all as, with her invention serving its intended purpose, she felt a great deal of pride knowing that even a woman as noble as Artoria couldnt resist Skolls cuteness factor. As for Luvia, Da Vinci had a teasing light in her eyes as, due to the formers position, it would require her to release Vahns arm if she wanted to pet Skoll V2. If she took the bait, Da Vinci would steal the spot for herself, something Luvia understood instinctually as she tightened her grip on his arm... --- Since Fenrir had been tasked with protecting Mordred and Sakura while he was away, Vahn, Da Vinci, Artoria, and Luvia all made their way to the room used for spatial transfers. Though they could transfer from pretty much anywhere, this room had very powerful barriers in ce that, under normal circ.u.mstances, would make it impossible to trace spatial coordinates. This was a countermeasure to prevent their enemies from discovering the location of Avalon and breaking directly into the castle in the future, even though the ancient defenses of the Castle would curb most attempts outright. Still, it never hurt to err on the side of caution, Vahn enforced the practice that all spatial transfers would ur in the same location, the obvious exception being during emergencies... When everyone was ready, indicated by how they had all linked their hands together in a circle, Vahn had ya transfer them to a safe area outside of Type: Mercurys dominion. Though it was currently inactive, awaiting the fated day when the other Types would descend upon Gaias surface, that didnt mean it was safe to approach. Over the course of seven-thousand years, there had been an endless number of individuals and organizations who had tried to gain control over the slumbering creature. In every such instance, regardless of the power they possessed, the only fate that awaited their efforts was death and devouring. What little Vahn knew about Type: Mercury, other than its origin obviously being from the Mercury, was that it had a trait that allowed it to acquire the skills and abilities of anything it had devoured. Some of its notable victims had been a Saintess, a Dead Apostle Ancestor, and even the Aztec War Deity, Hutzilpchtli. Now, ording to the information he had acquired, Vahn knew that Type: Mercury was worshipped as the Great Spider Goddess by a native tribe in the area which, over the course of thousands of years, had made the area outside of Type: Mercurys dominion their home. Though Type: Mercury was genderless by default, the fact that it enriched the surrounding area, making it fertile, had caused the tribe worshipping it to praise it as the Goddess presiding over everything from Fertility, Harvest, Rain, Dreams, Protection, and anything else beneficial to their time-locked culture. Vahn, however, wasnt all that interested in them and, though he felt a little guilty about stealing their Goddess away, it was rather ironic to him that they worshipped one of the creatures fated to annihte mankind. More than any other Type recorded in the information he had collected, Mercury seemed extremely aggressive when it came to the ughtering of people, assimting almost all life on the South American Continent in a short few days after its awakening. If not for the fact that the Types all had their own Territory during the annihtion of mankind, it very likely would have wiped out the entire global poption in just a few short months, bacteria and microbes included. Knowing he was about to gain such a terrifying entity as his ally, Vahn didnt me Da Vinci for her caution as, prior to entering the area designated by Magi as the Crystal Valley, she set up arge amount of equipment to take measurements. Then, after entrusting Skoll V2 to Vahn, she and the others waited outside as, until he had confirmed that it was safe, having Artoria and Luvia enter could be a death sentence. Though Da Vinci herself would be fine, as the destruction of a single body was nowhere near enough to take her down, Vahn wanted to avoid a situation where Type: Mercury managed to devour a body with the [Golden Rule: EX] skill. Since it was able to perfectly emte the life it had devoured, Vahn wanted to just nip that potentiality in the bud outright... As if he had stepped into apletely different world, Vahn found himself surrounded by tall crystalline spires, each emanating a variety of different colors as powerful energy radiated from their surfaces. Since the dominion of Type: Mercury was essentially a Reality Marble, the space within was muchrger than he expected, forming a massive crator that was around 7km wide. It sloped downward at a steep angle, jagged and razor-sharp covering almost every surface, cutting through his boots as if they were paper mache. Vahn even found that it was almost impossible to use his telekinesis within this space, forcing him to slowly meander through the air as he made his way into thework of crystal spires, some of which were more than two-hundred meters tall. Though Vahn felt he was being watched from the moment he entered into the space, there had been no movements or attacks of any sort. It was rather perturbing to venture into such an alienndscape where, even with his enhanced perception from living within the Ivory Castle, Vahn was unable to sense even a few dozen meters into the surrounding surfaces. As Type: Mercury was not only a Tier 5 existence, but operated under apletely different set of Laws than he was used to, Vahn was moving forward blindly. The only thing he knew for certain was, even without the ability to sense it directly, a phenomenally powerful energy signature was radiating from the heart of the Crystal Valley. It made absolutely no effort to conceal its presence, acting as if there was nothing in the world that could threaten it... After descending to the center of the valley, Vahn found himself in an area that had severalrge holes that formed awork of tunnels extending deep beneath the surface. Thework was somewhat simr to an ants nest, having several chambers full of energy-rich crystals that, while notprised of mana, gave off an incredible amount of energy. Vahn could even sense invasive energy trying to flow into his body, something he knew either indicated the presence of unknown Laws, or something akin to radiation. Fortunately, he waspletely immune to the effects of this energy, allowing him to pass freely into theplexwork of chambers as he moved further below the surface... Eventually, after nearly twenty minutes of traversing the passages, Vahn found himself in arge hollow that was more than one hundred meters from floor to ceiling. It also had a diameter of around four-hundred meters while, still beingprised of crystals, a dense rainbowwork of web spread throughout the entire chamber. At the very center of this web, a forty-meter tall figure dominated the scene, standingpletely motionless without even the subtlest hint of movement. Appearing vaguely like a hybrid between a spider and a humanoid, covered in a shimmering exoskeleton that was made of apletely indiscernible metal, Type: Mercury had a dominating presence. This was emphasized by the fact that it had several vaguely head-shaped crowns, each tipped with four sharp horns, while every appendage of its body seemed like an impossibly sharp de. Its front appendages were almost like abine harvester,prised of a series of des that gave the distinct impression it could reap countless lives just by moving around. With two vicious, scythe-like protrusions sticking out of its sides, each nearly 30m in length, Vahn felt like he was looking at a creature that existed for the sole purpose of harvesting lives. Though it hadnt moved at first, Type: Mercury eventually responded to Vahns intrusion by shifting out of his vaguely humanoid appearance. The disc-like protrusion that gave it an almost godly visage while standing turned into arge thorax while the de-like legs all extended outward, forming an appearance akin to a massive spider, each of its eight legs having several segmented des that could very likely cut through the hardest of armored ting. Fortunately, though it appeared to be entering into an attack mode, Type: Mercury moved toward Vahn with a casual pace, its ded legs nimbly navigating the crystal web as it came to a stop right in front of him. Looking up at the titanic creature, Vahn momentarily had the impression that he was an ant looking at the descending foot of a human. Regardless of this illusion, his expression remained calm as he inly stated, "My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Emperor and the entity known as Type: Omega. If you can speak, introduce yourself..." Since he supposedly had the authority to order every other type, Vahn chose the route of burying his instinctual fear and getting directly to the point. Without showing any hostility, or any other emotions for that matter, Type: Mercurys eyes began to shimmer slightly as it telepathically replied, "Name...ORT...ssification...Type: Mercury..." With a rather deep voice, likely belonging to one of its incalcble victims, ORT gave Vahn a distinctly male impression, causing him to feel quite a bit of relief. Though it was impossible to shake off the impending sense that he would be devoured at any moment, Vahn was able torgely ignore this as he stated, "I will require your assistance in the future. Though I will not ask you to leave this valley, I need a way to contact you during an emergency. I dont want to feel as if Im just using you for my own ends, Id like you to split off a fragment of yourself so we can get to know each other better..." Vahn didnt know if ORT possessed the ability to split itself into parts but, considering even Tier 4 entities could manage this with rtive ease, a Tier 5 entity shouldnt have any trouble. Curiously, however, ORT just extended one of its extremely long, de-like, legs in response to his words. It had a dexterity that was almost impossible toprehend given its size as it used the very tip of its appendage to poke Vahns forehead. All of this took ce in ten microseconds, giving Vahn no time to react as an emerald-green crystal appeared in the center of his forehead. At the same time, ORT stated, munication..." Though the crystal had failed to embed itself into Vahns flesh outright, it had tiny little spines on the ends that allowed it to cling to his forehead without falling off. Fortunately, when Vahn moved to remove it, the fragment didnt resist at all. Since it would be rather inconvenient to walk around with a gemstone embedded in his forehead, even if it was only around the size of a grain of rice, Vahn ced it beneath the dense hair behind his ear. He assumed that ORT hadnt ced itself near his head without reason so, even though there was a momentary pinch, Vahn didnt mind it all that much. Afterward, ORT moved back to the center of its web while, echoing with his head, Vahn heard it utter, ("Share...senses...observe...learn...protect..."). This caused Vahn to feel rather at ease but, remembering his training sessions with Scthach, he produced a wry smile before remarking, ("Do not take action unless I specifically ask you to. Even if this body is destroyed, I will not be in danger of losing my life. Since your protection would interfere with my growth, just continue to observe for the time being..."). As thest thing he needed was ORT ughtering the Association Director during their uing confrontation, Vahn made it very clear that he didnt want it to interfere without direction, at least until it understood when to act. Fortunately, as its intelligence seemed to be in the developing stages, ORT didnt argue against him at all, simply responding with a curt, ("Understood...") before falling silent... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Da Vinci gives no f.u.c.ks xD...,Cuteness Laws are Supreme,Everything went better than expected...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1174 - High Profile

Chapter 1174 - High Profile

With ORTs fragment now hidden behind his ear, Vahn decided not to dally too much within the Crystal Valley. Even though it was admittedly beautiful, with hundreds of crystallized trees, shrubs, and tall, rainbow-hued spires, each of these things represented danger. Just grazing against one was like tracing the de of an S-Ranked weapon across your skin. If ORT helped them make weapons and armor in the future, their quality would be higher than masterfully forged equipment by virtue of nothing more than the raw materials themselves. Vahn felt like he could just break off any random twig off a tree and it would be a weapon that might even be able to pierce Siegfrieds [Armor of Fafnir]... After exiting the Crystal Valley, Vahn noticed a strange feeling of incongruity as, while inside, he had felt rather refreshed in the presence of the foreign energy. It didnt use mana, at least in a form he recognized, but something akin to a mutated form of Divine Energy. Considering ORT structure, and the way thendscape had changed around it, Vahn felt that it must have something akin to Crystal Laws, something he had noprehension of. However, just remembering how things like Mana Crystals, Dragons Hearts, and Blood Crystals formed, it was obvious there was something going on to drive the process... Though Artoria and Luvia wanted toe to Vahns side, Da Vinci had them both waiting inside her barrier as she used a tablet-like device to scan his body from a distance. Her own eyes were just as capable of analyzing things but, as she had failed to see through much of Vahns anomalous nature, even after more than six months, Da Vinci had developed tools to assist her. Most of the time, she would just use her customized goggles but, knowing how dangerous Type: Mercury was supposed to be, she decided to y it safe. Only a few seconds after her scan started, Da Vinci furrowed her brows slightly, asking, "Is that little passenger of yours supposed to be there...?" Though it would be impossible to sense through most of themon methods, especially if they relied on detecting mana, Da Vincis tablet was tuned in order to try and sense the mysterious energy around Vahns body. Thus, with ORTs alien energy present in her scans, she wanted to make sure that Vahn wasnt infected with something. Hearing Da Vincis question, Vahn gave a disarming smile while answering, "Type: Mercury ended up being around forty meters tall so I asked that it create a fragment of itself so that we could remain in contact, just in case." While he spoke, Vahn folded his ear forward, revealing the small emerald-like gemstone embedded behind his ear. In response to this, Da Vinci gave an understanding nod but, without leaving the barrier, continued to operate her tablet to record ORTs unique signature for further study. When she was finished with this, she asked, "Can I take samples from within the Crystal Valley...?" Assuming ORT would not respond, especially after he asked that it remain hidden, Vahn repeated Da Vincis question in his mind. Though it responded in the same broken speech as before, the message contained was very clear, stating, ("Sample...danger...grain...infestation..."). Vahn ryed these words to Da Vinci but, undaunted, she now wanted to take a sample even more. Since ORT didnt actually deny the request, Vahn gave an understanding nod before taking Skoll V2 inside, allowing it to try and analyze the crystals as he spent more time than expected to try and break off a few leaves, tree branches, and even a few crystallized fruit. The crystals had the inherent property of converting other forms of energy into the alien energy it wasprised of, greatly increasing its own durability further. It was only by using his Oblivion to destroy the connection outright that Vahn had any sess in his harvest. Then, after cing the samples into containers Da Vinci had prepared, Vahn moved them into her established Quarantine Zone to make sure the chance for infestation was reduced to negligible levels. With his [Eyes of Truth] and Da Vincis [False Eye of God],bined with her handy little tablet, they were able to confirm that there was no leakage. When they returned to the Workshop, Da Vinci was intending to create a new addition to the existingyout, adding a quarantine room and developing a new body that would only be used inside the isted space. After spending a little more than two hours collecting and analyzing samples, Da Vinci was satisfied that the risk of exposure had been mitigated. She even had Vahn discard the clothing he had arrived in before forcing him to stay inside a barrier that served as a vacuum chamber. Then, modifying the parameters of her Noble Phantasm, Uomo Universale, she cleansed his body of any foreign bodies, the obvious exceptions being ya and ORTs gem. Since Vahns body actuallycked bacteria and other microbes entirely, the magical light that caused his skin to itch madly was designed to make sure there were no microscopic passengers he had picked up during his foray into the Crystal Valley. Though Da Vincis measures seemed a bit extreme, Vahn offered noints, knowing full well that, while he may be prone to oversights, Da Vinci rarely made any. She wasnt caught off guard by anything and, even if it was something she had no understanding of at first, her Omnipotent Genius would quickly allow her to fill in the nks through deductive reasoning, analysis, and intuition. With that in mind, Vahn would defer to her during situations like this as, even with ORT under his control, risking the lives of anyone within the Ivory Castle was something he would rather avoid. --- After returning to Avalon and escorting Da Vinci back to their Workshop, it was finally time for Vahn to enter London, the heart of the Mages Association, for the first time. Gray had awoken by the time of their return from the Crystal Valley so, even though she could barely look directly at Vahn without her face turning bright red, she joined Artoria and Luvia in apanying him. As for Rin and Olga, the former was obviously going to stay with her daughter, partnering up with Fenrir to child sit the two sisters. Olga had cooped herself up inside her Observatory, working hard in her own way so, for the time being, Vahn was content just letting her do her own thing as she limated to life inside the castle. When everyone was ready, they all moved to the transfer room where, as a precaution to avoid a conflict from breaking out instantly, Luvia exined, "When we reach London, I will need a few hours to make preparations. At lunchtime, we will head to the Clock Tower directly, appearing in public to appear as disarming as possible. During that time, you should be on your best behavior, Vahn, as you can expect that the Aristocratif faction and the Association Director will be looking for excuses to paint you as a threatening individual. There is still a chance they may try and detain you but, well, theyll be hard-pressed to get away with such actions after the most recent incidents, ohohohoho~". With many people being skeptical of the Clock Tower right now, any heavy-handed actions they took would be heavily scrutinized. If Vahn willingly appeared to try and clear up any misunderstandings, they would be forced to meet with him in an above-board fashion. Any attempts to try and silence or seize him at this point would be met with public outrage, especially with several powerful families expressing their dissatisfaction with the Mages Association and their cooperation with Vahn. Though the chance of a Civil War breaking out wasnt zero, the Mages Association would do everything in their power to avoid such an oue. If they lost the confidence of the Magus Community by trying to eliminate a potential ally, there was no way they would be able to recover by the emergence of Angra Mainyu. They would be forced to seize the assets of other families in order to prepare for the inevitable war, further cementing their image in the hearts of the Magus Community that the Clock Tower had be irreparably corrupt. This would exacerbate the Civil War further, to the point it may very well be going on by the time Angra Mainyu emerged. Even if the Association Director seemed a bit extreme, they would not have been able to hold their position for more than two-thousand years if they werentpetent. Unless they had determined that Vahn was even more dangerous than Angra Mainyu, a conclusion that wouldnt make sense in the current setting, there was no justification for trying to capture and imprison him. Luvia, and many other Magi, already felt that the Association Director and Zelretch had overreacted a during their most recent appearance. Just the fact that Vahn had been given a Sealing Designation, meaning they wanted him alive, not dead, was a huge indicator that they simplycked the information to make a clear judgment... With Luvia finished exining her take on everything, Vahn gave an understanding nod while, with no other purpose than protecting their Emperor, Artoria and Gray hadnt cared about the politics of the situation at all. Artoria had spent nearly twenty years of her life campaigning around to deal with dissent and restore order to the British Isles so, even if Civil War broke out, she had already prepared her heart and mind to carry out her duties. Grays thought process was even simpler as, if anything were to threaten Vahn, she would use every ounce of her power to eliminate thempletely. She currently felt unfathomably powerful and, if not for Vahn telling her she needed to avoid conflict, for the time being, Gray might have carried Add around in scythe-form just to deter potential enemies... --- As teleporting directly into London wasnt exactly the best idea, the group was transported to an a small rural city called Swindon, around 140km west of London. From here, though it was much faster to travel by foot or air, the group boarded a train that would take them to Paddington Station, one of the central railway terminus for trains moving in and out of London. With Luvias efforts, they were able to book an entire car for themselves as, from the moment the group entered Swindon Station, they had already been drawing quite a bit of attention. Though most people were rather polite, just greeting the girls in passing, there were some who tried sneaking pictures with their phones, only to find their devices short-circuiting momentster. Since they had the first-ss car all to themselves, there was a considerable number of spacious seats avable but, not outside of expectations, Vahn ended up seated next to Luvia while Gray and Artoria sat in the pair of seats across the aisle. While waiting for the train to depart, Luvia was tracing her index finger yfully around the back of Vahns hand as she mused, "I dont travel by train often but one of my businesses builds and maintains the bullet trains that move throughout Europe. If we use this method in the future, Ill let you ride my personal line...ohohoho~." As moving materials by ship and train were some of the most effective means to transport bulk goods, Luvia had invested in having private railways installed throughout the country. Her private line had a car that could double as a mobile residence and fortress, outfitted with all theforts that could be expected in the high society of Magus families... Taking Luvias hand into his own, Vahn gave a small nod, answering, "That sounds interesting..." while looking outside at the station as it began to depart. Though he didnt sense any danger, his intuition was acting up a bit so Vahn felt like he might have overlooked something. When the train had left the stationpletely, Vahn just shook his head before paying more attention to Luvia. She told him a lot about her other business ventures, seemingly gauging his interest in such things as, even if she became Empress, it wasnt as if all her businesses would fall to the wayside. If there was something Vahn was interested in, Luvia wanted to invest in it as, the more she learned of his capabilities, the more she learned about him, the more it felt like she hit the jackpot... Though many of the things Luvia brought up were moderately interesting, Vahns intrigue had been piqued when she mentioned medical sciences. This was a conversation he could actively engage in, using Paracelsus, Da Vincis, and his own ideals as a baseline talking point. As treating the symptoms of diseases was far more profitable the curing them, many of the more affluent Magus families had invested in things like medical insurance firms and hospitals. Not only did this allow them to acquire materials, but it also served as proving grounds for some of their more errant practices. At the same time, they were able to make a veritable fortune by benefitting from the continued suffering of the masses, even though most modern diseases were easily curable using various forms of Magecraft. Vahn didnt appreciate such business so, when Luvia began talking about her familys efforts to vinate children in various third world countries, he had gotten a bit riled up. Since he knew even the Holy Church profited from the suffering of the masses, it was one of the things he wanted to change the most about this current world. To that end, he discussed viable methods to start curing people all over the world, using the transition period from the modern era to the magical era that he was nning to bring about. Since the Edelfelt family didnt ce much of its stock in medical research, as they were the type to contend against the upper echelons of society, not take advantage of the lower ones, it didnt take much effort for Luvia to shift her mentality a bit in order to pander to Vahn. She was beginning to limate to his nature and, with her mastery of etiquette, negotiation, and guiding a conversation, it was easy to keep him talking until the train had reached its destination. Seeing him so passionate about something caused Luvias own heart to beat a little faster than normal and, though it wasnt one of her primary concerns, she promised to make the necessary arrangements. She intended to use thework Da Vinci wanted to establish as a means to spread Paracelsus research to the general public, allowing Vahn to keep his promise while also serving as a tform for promoting more financially sustainable technologies into the world. Even if the future Vahn and Da Vinci envisioned almost made money unnecessary, that didnt mean it would lose its value any time in the near future... By the time the train hade to a stop, there was already arge contingent of Edelfelt security personnel that had cordoned off an entire tform. Though this annoyed quite a number of people, that didnt stop them from gathering around on the periphery, phones waiting. They were curious about who was important enough to clear an entire tform, some specting it was a high-profile celebrity while others joked it was a member of the Royal Family. The one thing most of them had inmon was that they intended to immediately post the images they captured to various social media tforms, some even going out of their way to live-stream the event using video cameras as they pandered to their fanbases... While the majority of passengers were directed by the bullet train staff to exit toward the back of the train, the Edelfelt security forces, attired in ck suits and adorned with dark shades, pulled outrge ck umbres, blocking the view of most pedestrians while another group held up incredibly bright batons, messing with the focus, color, and light bncing of any active cameras. Though they could have easily used a specialized spell that targetted small electronic devices, this would just cause an even greater stir. Using means that the public recognized would just cause them to specte for a short while before, as was often the case in modern times, the incident faded into obscurity. Seeing how many people Luvia could muster for something as simple as transportation, Vahn had a wry smile on his face as he escorted her through the route that had been prepared by her security forces. They had burly men nking them on both sides while Artoria, attired in a simr uniform, followed close behind with Gray. Thetter just brought her hood up as, even if someone were to take a direct photograph of her face, it would cause the image to be blurred out. This was quickly noted by several annoyed pedestrians who, despite their efforts to try and focus their phones, the image quality seemed closer to the lowest resolution than the highest... Without any major incidents, Vahn, Luvia, Artoria, and Gray were alighted to arge ck car that was closer in function to a tank than a legal vehicle. There was also arge motorcade prepared, serving as the transportation for the hundreds of personnel Luvia had prepared. Vahn felt like she was being excessive but, as if she had read his mind, Luvia exined in an amused tone, "The bigger a scene we make, the harder it would be for our enemies to take action. It is all but guaranteed that were already being monitored by the agents of the Holy Church and the Enforcers of the Mages Association. With this much focus on us, they can only grind their teeth in frustration, ohohoho~." As the Edelfelt family often did things in a rather high-profile manner for this exact reason, Luvia knew exactly what she was doing. She even had several prominent figures in Parliament on her payroll in order to avoid any serious consequences. To emphasize this, several streets had even been blockaded by the police along their intended route, ensuring there was absolutely no traffic to interfere with them reaching the Edelfelt Mansion in the shortest period of time. After reaching their destination, Vahn was greeted by Luvias Grandmother and a few individuals who had a powerful aura radiating from their body. Not missing a beat, Olivia had a teasing smile on her face as she skipped an actual greeting and asked, "So, how was it...?" Though Vahn had been a little confused by the sudden question, Luvia understood what her Grandmother was asking, gaining a hint of a blush as she stated in a serious tone, "It was amazing..." This caused Olivias brows to rise while, understanding what they were talking about, Vahn issued a dryugh. He always felt a bit of pride when a womanplimented him in such a manner but, considering who Luvia was speaking with, Vahn was less enthused than normal. With a mischevious glimmer in her eyes, Olivia gave Vahn an appraising look before nodding her head and saying, "Come. We have some things to discuss. Preparations for your venture to the Clock Tower are already underway so Ill have you apany me for tea..." Then, looking toward Artoria and Gray, noting that the former was wearing a simr security uniform as their own forces, Olivia was able to deduce they were Vahns guards. With that in mind, she turned her head toward the same red-haired woman that had received Vahns group at the chateau in Northern Irnd, saying, "Sophia, escort these two to headquarters and get them caught up with our security protocol. They will be private forces but it is still necessary for them to coordinate with our own forces..." Though Gray felt slightly troubled to be leaving Vahn alone, she didnt press the issue as, after staying with Luvia for more than a month, she had a great deal of trust towards the Edelfelt family. With Artoria also showing her understanding by apanying Sophia, she didnt have much room to argue against leaving Vahns side. Before she alighted, however, Gray looked back at Vahn for several seconds, only turning away when he smiled and said, "Go..." in a gentle tone. After that, she and Artoria left with Sophia while Vahn and Luvia apanied Olivia to a rather extravagant study to discuss his meeting with the Association Director, meeting the other Heads of their alliance, and any important matters he would need to keep in mind when dealing with other families... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Da Vinci doesnt y around,The Medical Industry in a nutshell...,TFW bae is telling her Grandma how good you are in bed...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1175 - Troublesome Matters

Chapter 1175 - Troublesome Matters

Though there was a considerable amount of things he would need to keep in mind, much of what Olivia brought up actually pertained to what Luvia would need to deal with. Vahn knew this was her way of elevating Luvias status in his mind but, as it would ultimately be up to her to deal with most of the political and business aspects of their life, he couldnt really me her for doing so. His most important duty was simr to what it had been in his previous life, serving as the face of the Empire. Though he had the freedom to make decisions on his own, it would be up to others to implement them so, while Vahn sat upon his Throne, representing invible authority, it would people like Luvia and his allies who carried out his will... The most important thing Vahn had to consider, at least until his Empire was an established world power, was the image he presented to the more distinguished Magus families. There would always be those who, regardless of the facts, would try to elevate their own status while proactively trying to degrade his. If he presented himself in high society, it was a given that families like the Barthomeloi, Trambelio, and Valualeta families would try to hold their heads up high around him. There was even a good chance they would try to demean his status, iming he is not an Aristocrat himself for no other reason than he wasnt a part of their established hierarchy. When dealing with such people, Vahn needed to appear imcable,pletely unaffected by their words and actions. If he carried himself with more dignity than they presented, never bending the knee to any pressure, it would eventually drive them to make mistakes, resulting in themshing out and using forceful means to get their way. When that happened, Vahn needed only to use their own attack as a justification to deal with them directly. Though some wouldmbast him if he went too far, that ultimately served no purpose if there was evidence he only took action in response to their provocation. Dignity and pride were extremely important in the Magusmunity so, regardless of what others would say against him, Vahn needed only point out the fact he took the high road until they attacked him... Though Vahn had already been taught these things by Riveria and Loki in the past, Vahn humored Olivia by listening attentively to her advice. There was always a chance things would be different, as this was apletely different Record, but it seemed that Nobility and Aristocratic society was the same in various Records. Since these were worlds that had originally been created by Authors, given form by the dreams of an incalcble number of people, Vahn wasnt too surprised there were some simrities. Even the Gods were simr to the ones in Danmachi, at least going by the names that had been recorded in History. Some even had simr natures and personalities, such as Zeus, while others were so far removed from his expectations that Vahn found it rather hard to believe. The best example of this was Hephaestus who, in Vahns heart and mind, was a beautiful and powerful woman while, here in the Nasuverse, Hephaestus was a male God who was malformed and mademe by Zeus torture and Hera throwing him from Mt. Olympus... --- After the more important matters were discussed, the conversation took a rapid turn when Olivia suddenly asked, "So, when can I expect my great-grandchildren? Also, are you nning to hold an official wedding ceremony or do you intend to wait until this matter with Angra Mainyu is brought to an end...?" This was a subject Luvia seemed to anticipate, resulting in her releasing a cheerfulugh before answering, "Due to the environment and training methods employed back in Avalon, it seems our future generations will be far more powerful than those preceding it. Though the matter of session will need to be sorted out, Im quite looking forward to having a few children running around the castle~." With Luvia now happily clinging to his arm, Vahn couldnt help shaking his head, even though there was a discernible smile on his face. He was quite fond of children, especially if they were his own, so it wasnt an exaggeration to say he looked forward to the castle being more lively in the future. With that in mind, he exined, "Due to the time dtion within Avalon, there is no particr rush to have children. If we rushed things now, there is a chance your great-grandchildren would be in their fifties by the time Angra Mainyua emerged." As they had yet to discuss Avalons projection, Vahn wanted to bring the matter to Olivias attention to gauge her reaction. As expected, Olivia was a little surprised by Vahns words as even Luvias mother, her daughter, was only 51 years old. She was actually looking forward to seeing her great-grandchildren grow up, as watching over the young Luviaprised some of her most precious memories. When she imagined them suddenly bing a.d.u.l.ts in only 2~3 years, it caused her brows to furrow considerably. Even Luvia had aplicated expression on her face, even though she knew Vahn had the means to stop, or even reverse, aging. This was because, as she wouldnt be back in Avalon all that often, there was a chance her children could even grow older than she was in a remarkably short period of time... Seeing the reaction of the two women, Vahn had an amused smile on his face, glossing over the matter for the time being as he exined, "Session isnt something that we need to worry about as, regardless of their age or status as my children, only the most suitable candidate would be given the Throne. With me being immortal, there isnt a pressing need to arrange my recement and, while I wont deny it is important toyout proper procedure for transferring the Throne to another, I would never grant power to someone who hadnt earned it. While I am Emperor, I will not allow for something like factions to form within the Imperial Family, nor will I tolerate anyone trying to seize power through infighting..." Knowing the future Vahn envisioned, Luvia wasnt all that surprised by his words as, if Da Vinci had her way, there was a real chance the Imperial Family would be relegated to the role of Guardian of the Empire while the Mother System governed the people. So long as the system wasnt corrupted, it would certainly be better than having people in charge. The biggest issue was, with the passage of time, there would undoubtedly be factions forming within the Imperial Family, regardless of Vahns intentions. There would be people all over the world who, despite the convenience of Da Vincis system, would greedily seek more power for themselves. This was especially the case in a world where Magecraft had been mademon as, given enough time, powerhouses would begin to arise within the general popce who, thinking themselves superior to others, would try to seize power in theirmunities before extending their influence to other regions. There would undoubtedly be some who were more politically affluent than others, devaluing the system Da Vinci wanted to put in ce and creating dissidence that would be hard, if not impossible, to prevent. The only means of doing so would be through the use of force which, in the end, would cause people to doubt the system that had literally been developed to promote their individuality and protect them... For a brief moment, Olivia and Luvia exchanged nces, thetter giving her Grandmother a simple smile that seemed tomunicate a great deal. After this, Olivia gave a slightly incredulous sigh, shaking her head before saying, "It is very apparent that our worlds have a number of differences...as I cannot predict the future, I will trust in the path you have decided upon, Vahn. It is enough for me to know you will protect my Granddaughter and Great Grandchildren with all your might..." Though she knew an idealist like Vahn could be very dangerous, especially when they had power, he gave off the impression of a genuine and almost incorruptible person. Even if things went south, he would undoubtedly work hard to fix things so, as long as they made the proper arrangements, it wouldnt be difficult to secure their own position in the future he envisioned. Understanding that actions spoke far louder than words, Vahn just nodded politely in response to Olivias words without trying to convince her his method was correct. Then, changing the tempo of the conversation, Vahn doubled back a bit and exined, "Regarding the matter of mine and Luvias children...well, it would be best if they experienced elerated growth within the Projection, at least until they were capable of protecting themselves properly. I can arrange for a residence to be built for the Edelfelt family on the ind and, as direct rtives of Luvia, you will obviously be allowed to enter the Projection. As for things like aging...well, I have the means to extend your life for hundreds of years with the only side effect being that you would be able to grow even stronger..." As strength was one of the founding principles that the Edelfelt family lived by, Olivia couldnt help perking up a bit in response to Vahns words. Once again, she looked toward Luvia for confirmation, however, causing Vahn to squint slightly. This wasnt missed by Olivia so, after seeing Luvia nod her head, she adopted a slightly apologetic look before saying, "Youll have to excuse my behavior...you do not live to my age in this world without a bit of skepticism and caution. Even if you are older than me, Your Majesty, Im certain you can understand how drastically different our situations are. Ill do my best not to unnecessarily offend you in the future, but please forgive me for deferring to my Granddaughter as I havee to trust her judgment over the years..." Though she knew he was ying him a bit, Vahn knew there wasnt much sense in trying to put pressure on Olivia over such a small matter. Instead, he just let the matter pass before exining his understanding of Magic and the Laws that governed the world. To her credit, Olivia was attentive, even asking a few questions in an effort to better understand what he was trying to convey. She was very interested in the existence of the Familia Crest as, in more ways than one, it seemed to function in the same way as a Magic Crest. Though their uses were actually fundamentally different from each other, Olivia felt they wereplementary systems that would make future generations intrinsically more powerful. Even before Vahn had finished exining, she was already thinking about how to get the Clock Tower to grant them ess to the Spiritual Tomb in order to ascertain whether or not the Familia Crest functioned in the way Vahn had exined. If that were the case, getting other families on their side would be much easier as the promise of power was a very potent motivator for most Magus families. Just the fact that Vahn was able to summon Heroes from throughout History already made him one of the most coveted individuals to befriend as, if you yed your cards right, it was possible to get the aid of powerful figures throughout history, some of which could fundamentally change the bnce of power in the modern world... --- After passing a few hours in discussion, a light knock could be heard at the door, bringing a prompt end to things when Olivia rose to her feet, remarking, "It seems lunch has been prepared. If youll join me, Your Majesty, our chefs have prepared a small feast for you to partake before your business at the Clock Tower requires your attention. If things go well this afternoon, a celebratory feast with our allies has been arranged to conclude the evening. Will you be attending...?" Though it actually didnt require Vahns presence, as the alliance was more so between the Edelfelt family and other Aristocratic families, it was better that Vahn begins making public appearances sooner, rather thanter. While rising to his feet alongside Luvia, Vahn adopted a polite smile and, understanding the hidden meaning in Olivias words, answered, "It would be better to be forthright about such things to avoid potential issues in the future. The matters within the Imperial Family are alreadyplex enough as they are. In order to avoid exacerbating things, announcing mine and Luvias engagement would be for the best." Though it would eventuallye to light that there were multiple Empresses, causing a few people to try their luck, Vahn already made an exception regarding Olga. He wasnt trying to be the glue that held together a bunch of other Aristocratic families as it would only increase the chance of corruption and infighting in the future. At this point, Vahns goal within the Nasuverse was less about traversing multiple timelines as it was about cementing himself in the current timeline and increasing his power in conjunction with the world itself. It was, in more ways than one, an opportunity for him to practice governing an Empire that, given enough time, would eventually spread throughout the gxy. Since Akasha and her Superiors dealt with expanses of time so vast they could hardly beprehended, it wasnt likely that they would be seeking immediate results. So long as he managed to finish his mission in the next series of cycles, the odds of them intervening without reason were infinitesimally small. They would instead continue to observe him and, based on his interactions with Akasha, determine if there was any need to stimte the experiment further. Hearing Vahns response, Olivia gave an approving nod while Luvia, excited by the idea of lording her future position over a few key individuals, began giggling cheerfully while clinging to his arm. She had already made some concessions in regards to Rin, Olga, and the women preceding her so, unless there were significant benefits to be gained, there was no way she would allow others to stake a im. It was clear that Vahn himself would need to be reined in a bit but, as this was an impossible task for her alone, Luvia would need to ally herself with the current women he was intimate with. She harbored no illusions about being enough to deal with Vahn on her own... Upon reaching the dining room,plete with an extravagant table filled from end-to-end with expensive dishes, Vahns smile turned wry as, without a hundred people to assist, there was no way he could finish all of this food expediently. Even with Gray and Artoria present, they would hardly be able to make a dent in the small feast that Olivia had prepared. Then, as if to ay his concerns, sheughed in a mischevious manner before saying, "Worry not, Your Majesty, as none of this food shall be left to spoil. Whenever we host a banquet, we always allow the staff to eat untouched foods while anything that can be packaged neatly will be given to various charities and food kitchens within the City. You need only keep in mind not to touch anything you do not intend to eat. Everything else will be taken care of properly by our staff~." Though he wanted toment about the staff eating alongside them, to prevent anything from going to waste, Vahn understood this would be a serious breach of etiquette. As he needed to start paying attention to such things, he gave an understanding nod in response to Olivias words before moving to the guest seat near the head of the table. It would not have been improper for him to sit at the very end, as his status was the highest in the room, but Vahn left that particr seat to Olivia as the Matriarch of the Edelfelt family. She might not be his senior, as he was nearly sixty years older, but that would only matter when his age becamemon knowledge. With everyone seated, including Artoria and Gray at Vahns behest, they began enjoying a rather lively lunch together. Vahn asked what the two girls had been up to while they were away, leading Artoria to exin some of the security arrangements and important protocols that he would need to be aware of. Artoria took her duty very seriously and, if not for Vahn asking her to sit down and eat, she would have been perfectly content to stand with the other security personnel arranged around the room. As for Gray, she was just following Artorias lead as, with her current mentality being more than a little clouded, her distant ancestor was the only baseline she had to work from. Luvia was very aware of the change in Gray but, considering the daze she had been in after her first time with Vahn, she imagined that Gray was experiencing something simr. When she and Vahn had disappeared for more than twenty hours, Luvia had been a little shaken as, even if they were not together the entire time, the possibility still existed. Later, Luvia wanted to try and milk the details from Gray as, while thetter had always been rather shy and demure, her current behavior was like an obedient maiden who waspletely smitten. When she wasnt responding to Vahn or Artoria, Gray even seemed to be a little troubled that others were speaking to her while, when Vahns focus was on other people, she would fall silent as if waiting for him to address her again... As Olivia hadnt known Gray personally before, her opinion of the two nearly-identical women was that they were extremely loyal to Vahn. Since she knew Artorias identity, this improved her opinion of him considerably as, gaining the true loyalty of a King wasnt a simple feat. It meant that Artoria genuinely believed in the future he sought and, though she might not have been the best of Kings, the legacy of King Arthur would likely persist until the conclusion of recorded history. Knowing he had such a noble personage supporting him, Olivia felt less concerned about the future Vahn wanted to create as, with Luvias intuition having never failed, there was no reason his Empire would be the first exception... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Aristocrats of one world would never recognize those from another..unless, of course, there were benefits to be had xD...,Luvia needs to put her foot down...booty up?,Gray has fallen quite hard. Eternal Loyalty is scary (o,...,o)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1176 - Entrance

Chapter 1176 - Entrance

After the conclusion of a rather awkward and tense lunch, it wasnt long before Vahn found himself in the same ck car that had picked him up from the train station. Though it was afortable ride, he felt it was somewhat boringpared to the times he would travel around on foot, fly through the sky, or ride on the backs of Terra, Fafnir, Khaos, and Alexa. He was looking forward to the day when it would not be nes seen in the sky, but Phantasmal Beasts, Airsh.i.p.s, and powerful Magi. At the same time, he was looking forward to strict regtion to remove the pollution that seemed to have run rampant in the world, causing a foul smell to linger in the air of everyrge city he had ventured to, London included... As they neared their destination, Vahn could already sense the powerful barriers around the Clock Tower and, knowing what awaited him inside, he turned to Gray and inly stated, "You will stay with Luvia and protect her." This caused Gray to furrow her brows but, rather than argue against his words, she nodded her head, muttering, "I understand..." in a somber tone. She was unable to go against Vahns words at the present moment and, though he didnt intend to exploit this fact for his own selfishness, there was no way he could take the current Gray with him into their of a potential enemy. His intuition told him that she was andmine that could cause great misunderstandings so, while it made him feel a little guilty to see her in such a downtrodden state, this was a burden Vahn would willingly bear to protect her... Hearing Vahns words, and seeing how Gray reacted, Luvias eyes flickered with a thoughtful light but, as she never intended to attend the meeting between Vahn and the Association Director, she ultimately kept silent. Instead, she would be preparing for the potentiality that something went wrong as, without the status of a Lord, her presence at the meeting would actually put Vahn in a more difficult position. After all, he was going to be presenting himself as an Emperor and, while her status wasnt exactly low, the difference between a family Head and an Emperor was significant. There was also the simple fact that, if a battle were to break out due to whatever reason, her being at Vahns side would make her a liability as, even though she was confident in her strength, Luvia harbored no delusions that she was on the same level as the Association Director and a Wizard Marshall like Zelretch... Luvias main duty, at least in the beginning, was simply making Vahns presence known within the Clock Tower while, immediately following this, she would begin to gather their allies en masse. This included Lord Animusphere, Faculty Heads of the Democratic faction, and Lord El-Melloi II. Though it wasnt exactly the best time for Lord El-Melloi II to stand out, taking a step back at this point would be meaningless as, after the Trial, he was already considered to be working with the Edelfelt family. After reaching the front of the Clock Tower, an ancient building recognized by the general public as the Pce of Westminister, Vahn couldnt help admiring the timeworn structure. It served as the meeting ce for the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses representing the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The fact that the heart of the Mages Association was the very same ce that legition was passed to govern non-magi wasnt even remotely surprising to Vahn, even if it hadnt already been exined to him beforehand. He had noticed from the very moment he entered into this Record, even before meeting Rin, that the stagnation of the world was the direct result of the powers lurking in the shadows, chiefly the Mages Association and the Holy Church... Though the Clock Tower appeared rtively normal from the outside, with tourists wandering about the premises while politicians would asionally enter and exit the building, this was only how normal people would view it. After exiting the car, Vahn, Luvia, Artoria, and Gray passed through an invisible membrane, a type of barrier known as a Bounded Field. From the perspective of others, they were simply walking up the stairs to enter the building while, in reality, they had stepped into a sub-texture of the World, not all that dissimr to the Projection of Avalon, albeit without the time dtion. Even looking around, Vahn noticed that the pedestrian traffic hadpletely disappeared, giving the appearance of unupied hills spreading out into the distance while the River Thames could be heard flowing nearby... Knowing that the absence of London was essentially just an illusion, a snapshot of thendscape before the Clock Tower had been built, Vahn didnt pay much attention to it. Even if he wandered toward the hills in the distance, he would simply find himself stepping outside the Bounded Field once again, returning to modern society once again. He could even bump into a group of tourists and, due to the barrier influencing their minds just by being in close proximity to it, they wouldnt even be surprised by the fact he seemingly appeared out of thin air. This was another one of the aspects of the Magusmunity that troubled Vahn as, from the horror stories he had heard from Rin in the past, Vahn knew mind control and hypnosis were heavily exploited by Magi interacting with normal humans. Other than the more criminal acts, some would use a form of Mystic Eyes that all Magi could develop, known as Mystic Eyes of Whisper, to effectively get out of paying for meals, staying at hotels for free, or even outright trespassing into peoples homes without consequence. Since even students could learn how to develop these Mystic Eyes, it was a big problem than had run rampant, both within the Magusmunity and the Holy Church for millennia... Understanding he was about to take one of the first steps to bring about the changes he sought in the world, Vahn raised his head high, his gaze gaining a razor focus as his aura naturally spread through the area. Some nearby students had already been paying attention to them, as Luvia was rather famous, but they quickly shied away after feeling the aura radiating from Vahns body. At the same time, guards that had been present outside the entrance to the Clock Tower reacted by pulling out small artifacts while several two-meter tall anti-magic golems stood at the ready. Though they didnt attack outright, details of Vahns appearance had already been spread throughout the Mages Association so they were beginning to sweat by seeing him standing next to Luvia. Without being daunted in the least, Luvia immediately stepped forward, eximing in a voice that could easily be heard by students and faculty moving in and out of the building, "I, Luvia Edelfelt, have brought forth the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, to meet with the Association Director on diplomatic terms. Inform the Policies Department and Enforcement Division that slights against the Sage Emperor will be considered affronts against the Edelfelt, Animusphere, and Archisorte families. We are here to clear up misunderstandings in an effort to avoid conflict. In this time of crisis, fighting amongst our allies ispletely senseless...!" Hearing Luvias outburst, the two guards felt the emergence of a powerful headache as, regardless of what action they took, they were guaranteed to get berated by their superiorster. Though they were also members of the Policies Department, charged with keeping students in line, there was no way they could handle epting such high profile people, especially when one was the Primary Sealing Designate. At the same time, theycked the authority to deny Luvia entrance into the Clock Tower so, while informing their superiors of the incident, they could only stare with deadpan gazes as Vahns group made their way into the buildings interior. ording to expectations, several students quickly began to spread the information that Vahn had arrived inside the Clock Tower. Even though many were on holiday at the moment, quite a number of students had stayed within the dorms so, as Luvia continued to guide Vahn forward, hundreds of curious eyes followed their advance, many belonging to staff and faculty as well. Olivia and Luvia had actually nned for Vahns entry shortly after the standard lunch period as this would guarantee the greatest number of students and faculty being free to investigate themotion caused by his entry. After all, curiosity was an intrinsic part of human nature and, as Magi often delved into the arcane and mysterious, many were far more curious than normal humans. While Luvia led the way, Vahn was spreading his senses throughout the Clock Tower and, though there were many areas obscured, much of the generalyout was quickly mapped out by him. His efforts to improve his perception within the Inner Sanctum of the Ivory Castle had born fruit and, determined to one day be able to sense everything, Vahn was using this as an opportunity to train himself further. He didnt particrly care if he upset anyone by sensing something they had wanted to keep secret as, for the time being, he was technically enemies with the Mages Association. After all, they wanted to seal him away in a prison to study and experiment on, disregarding the fact he was another human being while also having the status of an Emperor. This was a grievous offense and, even in less tense situations, could have resulted in a full-scale war based solely on the decision of a few people who thought themselves the betters of others... After walking through theplex corridors of the Clock Tower for a while, the groups progress was finally arrested when a rotund man wearing regal attire barred their passage. He had neatlybed golden hair and a handlebar mustache that curled up at the ends, standing no more than 165cm and weighing, at a nce, around 140kg. Even with his eyes drooping slightly at the sides, however, he had a noble aura while an intelligent light glimmered within his bluish-purple eyes. As there was also an entourage of capable Magi following close behind, many wearing identical uniforms, it was clear that he wasnt a simple person, especially with most of the students and faculty ducking away when he arrived. Instead of appearing even remotely upset, Luvia actually had a pleasantly surprised expression on her face as she greeted, "Lord Musik, it is a pleasure to see you in good health. Have youe to escort us to see the Director~?" This caused the man to twirl his curled mustache, a polite smile on his face as he answered, "Lady Edelfelt, as exuberant as ever, I see. Unfortunately, my orders are to interfere with you meeting the Director for as long as possible. Im afraid youll have to forgive me, as these methods are not my preferred way of dealing with such sensitive matters..." Though his actual orders were to capture Vahn, Lord Musik had no intention of starting a battle within the Clock Tower when the other party hadnt shown any hostility. Even though the students and other faculty members werent out in the open, he was very aware that many were still closely monitoring the situation using various means. Issuing a light-heartedugh in response to Lord Musiks words, Luvia followed up bymenting, "That really is a shame, Lord Musik. I take it that Madame Bathomeloi has returned from her trip to Germany...?" As this man, Goldolf Musik, was a member of the Aristocratic faction and the Assistant Director of the Policies Department, it meant he was a close ally to Bathomeloi Lorelei. Unlike the cold and errant woman, however, he was known to be a rather agreeable gentleman. Though he was very strict when it came to investigating policy vitions, he was also considered to be impartial unless directly pressured by Barthomeloi Lorelei. Even then, he wouldnt simply do her bidding and, like now, would usually serve the purpose of stonewalling to buy her time. Surprisingly, Lord Musik shook his head, exining, "Madame Barthomeloi has caught the scent of a Dead Apostle Ancestor and, though she has passed down her directive, the Policies Department is currently under the direction of Madame Adashino. As for my presence here, I am afraid it is at the direction of Lord Sophia-Ri..." As a forthright individual by nature, even though his kept thepany of some rather vicious Aristocrats, Lord Musik had no problem throwing the dignity of his so-calledpanions under the bus. He didnt appreciate being forced to act on behalf of others for no other reason than being an inconvenience. This not only caused him to lose a bit of face with the people he was stonewalling, which usually involved one of the other Aristocratic families, it was also a very troublesome matter for the members of the Policies Department that were forced to act contrary to their intended purpose... Hearing Lord Musik mentioned Lord Sophia-Ri, Luvia couldnt help shaking her head in exasperation since it was clear he was just trying to annoy her. He had a petty nature and, even though it was Lord Animusphere who spread the prophecy, Lord Sophia-Ri med the Edelfelt family for exacerbating matters and letting them get out of hand. With Bathomeloi away, he had almost unchecked power within the Aristocraftic faction and, though Lord Musik could not bar their passage for long, the only thing he cared about was just inconveniencing them. Now, unless they wanted to cause an incident by forcing their way through, the only option avable was to wait for the Enforcement Division or one of the senior members of the Clock Towers management to arrive... Understanding that the man across from them wasnt an enemy, at least for the time being, Vahn passed his gaze over the man and his entourage. His most notablepanions were two identical women with light-brown hair and ruby-red pupils. They were both rather petite, only 155cm tall, but Vahn instincts told him they were both rather powerful, likely being engineered asbat-type Homunculi as, even at a nce, it was clear they were not normal humans. He could sense that their vitality was burning like a trick candle, meaning they had very short lifespans like Mordred. Since they both stood close to Lord Musik, Vahn figured he might be able to pull the man into their camp in the future if he provided the means to stabilize the lifespan of his Homunculi... As they had both been paying close attention to Vahn, the two women furrowed their brows when they noticed him assessing them, even though he didnt look directly at them. Even though their Magical Circuits werepletely inert, they were extremely perceptive to all kinds of intent, much like capable Magi. They needed to be sensitive to things like this in order to protect Lord Musik so, having Vahn evaluate them was not a pleasant experience for either of the petite women. As Lord Musik himself was also aware of Vahns actions, his expression became less friendly since he did not understand his intentions. Without showing any signs that he was perturbed by their reaction, Vahn kept a stoic expression on his face as he casually remarked, "Your Homunculi are well-made, Lord Musik. However, they seem to have an unfortunate design w. In the future, Id like to discuss a method that would allow you to stabilize their lifespans, allowing them to live well over a hundred years instead of wasting away in only a decade..." Since he could roughly determine the age of an entity based on the feeling of their energy, Vahn could tell that the two girls were only around four years old. Even so, they had burned through more than half of their vitality and, if they were to engage inbat proactively, their degradation would be sped up considerably... Hearing Vahns words, Lord Musik went from offended to genuinely confused over the course of a short few seconds. His family had once been as prestigious as the Einzberns regarding Alchemy but, after hitting a bottleneck nearly two-hundred years ago, they had declined considerably. Even their technique for producing Homunculi had been stolen from the Einzberns and, being iplete, it meant the Homunculi they produced were fundamentally wed. Most werepletely unable to use Magecraft so, in order to make them useful, their physical parameters were greatly enhanced, making them nightmares in closebat. Unlike his predecessors, the current generation Lord Musik treated the Homunculi produced by his family as preciouspanions. Though some served as his Maids, while others worked as his bodyguards, he treated them dignity and respect, a stark contrast to how most people treated their Homunculi. As a result, they were fiercely loyal to him and, even though their average lifespan was only around six years, the memories of the previous generation would be passed on to the next. Currently, the two women behind him were fourth-generation models known as Toole IV, modeled after his Mentor and caretaker from his youth... Though he did not believe Vahns words outright, Lord Musik could not overlook a matter pertaining to hispanions lifespans. With that in mind, and nothing better to do other than block the way, he asked, "Oh? The lifespan of Homunculi is something not even the Einzbern family has been able to fix. Youre telling me you have such a method? I will not deny that I am more than a little intrigued by such things..." Even without knowing Vahn, Lord Musik knew who he was supposed to be and, with Luvia escorting him, this gave the rather intimidating young man a great deal of credibility. He expected the price for such information wouldnt be cheap but, if it meant he could extend the lives of his closest aides and confidants, Lord Musik didnt mind spending some of his vast wealth to obtain the means... In response to Lord Musiks words, Vahns mouth curled into a slight smile as he casually exined, "I am very familiar with the Einzbern family...however, the method to extend the life of a Homunculi is something I picked up elsewhere. Since you do not seem like a bad person, I do not mind sharing the method with you, so long as you vow never to spread it to people who would use it maliciously. I am of the mind that Homunculi should be treated just like normal humans but I would rather not see the method appear in the hands of people who treat them as nothing more than weapons or tools..." As he said this, Vahn pulled out a scroll detailing the basic structure of Mordreds seal, excluding the more intricate details. He had modified the seal taught to him by Merlin as, when Illya brought her familys Homunculi to live within Avalon, he would need to apply a non-restrictive seal to their body that would allow them to have a normal lifespan. Seeing the scroll in Vahns hand, Lord Musiks brows raised slightly and he couldnt help but look at Luvia as if to ask, Is her serious?. Her response was a wry smile as, if she had known Vahn had such a method in his possession, she wouldnt have let him just hand it out like a piece of candy. Though it was certainly a good method to win over allies, the chances the method would eventually fall into the hands of their enemies was infinitely close to one-hundred percent. However, as he had a bit of a saviorplex, Luvia knew it would be almost impossible to convince him not to help those who had appeared before him. The only thing she could do was talk to him after the fact to try and learn what other means he had to revolutionize the Magusmunity as they would be powerful tools to leverage in future negotiations... With Luvia showing no signs of refuting Vahns ims, Lord Musiks expression became serious as he stated in a solemn tone, "I swear by my family name and my pride as a Lord, I would do everything within my power to protect the method you share with me..." Even if he had to suffer theints of Lord Sophia-Ri in the future, Lord Musik was even willing to let Vahn walk by if the method within the scroll was legitimate. It wouldnt be the first time he would have to listen to the man prattle on so, if he was able to obtain a method that would be one of his familys heritage techniques in the future, he was willing to swallow numerous bitter pills if necessary. Somewhat unceremoniously, Vahn tossed over the scroll, inly stating, "I wish to see whether or not the pride and honor of a Lord have any meaning..." Since there was no avoiding the political game he would be forced to y in the future, Vahn didnt mindying the seeds for future allies in the present. Even if Lord Musik didnt outright join them in the future, he would be a voice of reason within the Aristocratic faction, at least for a short while. He seemed like a genuine and capable man so, while his association with the Aristocratic faction would undoubtedly cause him a bit of pressure in the future, Vahn expected he would still speak out against senseless violence. Though he wanted to inspect the contents of the scroll on the spot, Lord Musik knew better than to do so in the middle of one of the Clock Towers corridors. There were all kinds of means to observe what was going on within and, just by seeing the confidence on Vahns face, he assumed the scroll was legitimate. With that in mind, he gave a polite bow, crossing his hand over his heart, stating "I just remembered that there is another urgent matter that requires my attention. Pardon me, Your Majesty, Lady Edelfelt..." After this, Lord Musiks Homunculi and subordinates bowed in turn before, without dying the procession any further, they moved to the side of the corridor and headed in the opposite direction... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Pollution and waste, how distasteful,Fat man blocking the hallway >:O...,He not that bad...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1177 - Ascent

Chapter 1177 - Ascent

With the Vice-Director of the Policies Department giving way, there was no one with the authority to prevent Luvia from guiding Vahn into the very heart of the Clock Tower. Though any of the various Lords would be able to stall her for a short while, they had no grounds to stand on and, depending on the circ.u.mstances, this could quicklye back to bite them since it was rarely worth making an enemy out of the Edelfelts. Not only did they have the financial clout to put pressure on the majority of families, including a few of the top ten, but they also had one of the most powerful military forces amongst Magus families. As the vast majority consolidated power internally, cultivating a few key Magi to represent their authority, only the three most prestigious families had the ability to contend against the Edelfelts military might directly. Thus, even people like Lord Sophia-Ri could only grind their teeth as Luvia led Vahn to their destination, the entrance to Magis Fair, the mining city that served as the exchange hub for all missions and materials rted to the Spiritual Tomb Albion. Though the Director was rumored to have their own Bounded Field within the Elizabeth Tower, the massive spiremoners referred to as Big Ben, most of the Administrative offices were located at the entrance and near the bottom level of the Spiritual Tomb. Not unexpectedly, more than ten official Enforcers were awaiting them while, at the very front of the group, a man Vahn had been looking forward to meeting towered over nearly everyone else present, at least insofar as his aura was concerned. In truth, he was the same height as Vahn, 185cm, but he gave off a presence simr to an insurmountable mountain, even though he was supporting himself with an ornate cane and appeared to be nothing more than an old man at a nce. Even without Luvia having to exin who he was, Vahn adopted a smile that didnt quite reach his eyes, inly stating, "Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the wielder of the Second Magic, Kaleidoscope..." Without missing a beat, almost as if their meeting had been rehearsed, Zelretch returned a wry smile of his own, his elderly voice echoing with a deep baritone hum as he stated, "Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Emperor from another world...I was wondering when we would finally meet. Now that I have seen you in person...you are quite the monster, arent you...?" Though thest few words were said in a somewhat humorous tone, Vahn didnt miss the momentary battle l.u.s.t that had shed across Zelretchs ruby-red pupils. He may have had the appearance of a man in his seventies but, as if age only gave him more power, Zelretch gave off an unfathomable aura. The more Vahn tried to sense, the deeper the wellspring of his power seemed to be, almost as if he were gazing into an infinite mass of mana... With his smile curling up at the ends, Vahn could feel his tensions rising as he mused, "That is rather humorous,ing from someone like you..." Others may not be able to sense it but, regardless of how Zelretch tried to conceal it, Vahn could tell that he was a Vampire, one far above other Dead Apostle Ancestors. He had never felt Evas true power, as he only ever interacted with her memory fragment, but Vahn imagined she would give off a simr aura to the one concealed inside Zelretchs body. This meant that, not only did he possess a seemingly infinite amount of mana, but he was also an immortal that would be able to regenerate from virtually any wound. With the ability to transition through tangential timelines, Vahn knew he would be a nightmare opponent to do battle against, even though he had a strange urge to give it a go... While Vahn sensed his own limitless mana reserves, Zelretch could sense something concealed within the formers body, giving a very simr impression. Though Vahn seemed weak at a nce, his instincts that had been honed over millennia told him that defeating the man before him may very well take more than he could give. Even when he had faced against Brunestud of the Crimson Moon, Zelretch never had the impression that he would be unable to defeat his opponent. Now that he stood face to face with Vahn, however, his instincts were telling him that he would need to make ample preparations for any conflict between them. He had an unfathomable aura and, even though his eyes allowed him to see the true nature of all things, Zelretch was slightly shocked that Vahn was an enigma within his eyes... As the two continued to stare at each other in silence, the tension in the atmosphere continued to build, eventually reaching the point that some of the Enforcers began to fidget nervously. Though Vahn and Zelretch werent releasing their Magical Energy at all, just their presence alone made those gathered around them feel small and inconsequential inparison. It was like watching two Gods face down each other while they, mere mortals, could only stand at the side, praying that they would not be victims if the two were to sh. Fortunately, as neither Vahn nor Zelretch were really the types to arbitrarily perpetuate destruction, they only observed each other for a few minutes before thetter smiled in an amused manner as he asked, "Tell me, Sage Emperor, what is the purpose of your visit? As you are in thepany of Lady Edelfelt, I imagine you are already aware of your status within the Mages Association. I find it hard to believe someone of your status would turn themselves over so I can only assume you havee seeking a dialogue...?" Even if it was rather obvious, Zelretch had somewhat simr intentions to Luvia, making it an open matter by discussing the subject of Vahns visit in earshot of others. With the fate of the world on the line, he would not arbitrarily make an enemy out of a man he couldnt fathom, even with all hisbined experience. Feeling that Zelretch wasnt an evil person, as his mana was actually extremely pure, regardless of the fact he was a Dead Apostle Ancestor, Vahns expression softened a bit as he nodded his head and answered, "That is, indeed, the case. There are several misunderstandings I would like to clear up and, as we may very well be allies in theing conflict, I believe it would be senseless to engage each other as enemies at this time. Though I may not see eye-to-eye with the Mages Association, it is not my intention to seek trouble while the fate of the world hangs in the bnce. Im certain we cane to an ord through dialogue and, though I have no intention of bing a part of the Mages Association, I believe we can work together toward amon goal." Vahn made no effort to conceal that he wasnt on the side of the Mages Association, even if he was going to cooperate with them in the future. As he would be establishing his own faction, he decided a bit of transparency was in order, even if it would make things marginally more difficultter on. If they tried seeking trouble with him, Vahn wanted it to be made very clear that he was not part of their hierarchal structure and, depending on the circ.u.mstances, it would be their actions that caused conflicts to break out. If others had said something simr, Zelretch would have considered them foolish, especially if they uttered such words in the heart of the Mages Association. When Vahn said them, however, there was a certain weight behind the words that made them hard to rebuff outright. His intuition told him that, if things went south, the entire Clock Tower could be razed in the resulting conflict. With that in mind, Zelretch gave a solemn nod before gesturing to the Executors and saying, "Until further notice, the Sealing Designation on the Sage Emperor has been revoked. Return to your duties and see to it that others do not cause trouble while I escort him to meet with the Association Director..." As he spoke about others causing trouble, Zelretch gave an unamused look towards Luvia, causing her to elegantly chuckle in response... While the Executors were dispersing, though very few wandered too far, Vahn and Luvia shared a few parting words before he gave Grays head aforting rub. Then, with the two going off to make preparations for a potential conflict, Vahn fell into step alongside Zelretch while Artoria followed a few steps behind. As he had once stepped back in time to view the conflicts between King Arthur and the Saxons, Zelretch was very aware of her identity. It was actually her presence at Vahns side, even more so than Luvia, that caused him to lower his guard slightly. Though he may not be able to see through Vahn, it was clear that Artoria and Luvia were not under any kind of influence. Thus, at least for the time being, Zelretch decided to give Vahn the benefit of the doubt, even if he knew that Solon would probablymbast him for it. After passing through aplexwork of tunnels, Zelretch began guiding Vahn and Artoria toward the surface once again, beneath the location that Vahn had identified as the Elizabeth Tower. It would seem that the rumors regarding the Association Directors private residence were not false as, after activating a circr elevator tform, the surroundings rapidly began to change, expanding to a size muchrger than the dimensions of the tower itself. Since they had been walking in silence for quite a while, Zelretch used this as an opportunity to start a conversation, exining, "Around two-hundred years ago, the Director asked me to use the Second Magic to expand the interior of the Clock Tower. You probably noticed it yourself but,pared to the outside world, even the halls are more than twice the size they otherwise should be. As for this tower itself, space continues to expand the further you go, eventually reaching the size of a small world..." Hearing the pride contained within Zelretchs tone, Vahn adopted an amused smile,plimenting, "It really is quite something. I would normally need to use a powerful catalyst and spend a few hours to create a world this size. The fact that you are able to achieve such a feat using your own power is quite something..." Since the Space-Time Orbs could be theoretically infinite in size, needing only a greater volume of mana to expand without limit, Vahn decided to tease the prideful old man a bit. His words seemed to have quite an impact on Zelretch, causing him to raise his brows in an almostical manner as he asked, "Do you have the Imaginary Numbers element...?" As there was no way Vahn could use the Second Magic without his notice, Zelretch didnt even imagine for a moment that he was able to manipte Space as easily as he seemed intent to have him believe. Shaking his head in response to Zelretchs question, while simultaneously wondering just how far this elevator was going to take them, Vahn answered, "There are a great many misunderstandings the Magi of this world have in regards to Thaumaturgy, Mystery, and Magic. I n to help rectify some of these misunderstandings, in time, but that kind of discussion will have to wait untilter. The only thing you need to know is that, while stealing power from the Root is certainly convenient, there are other ways to gain ess to such powers..." Since Zelretch was one of his targets, at least the original Zelretch, Vahn knew the old man would understand what he meant when mentioning how he stole power from the Root. No longer amused, Zelretchs eyes became razor-sharp as he asked, "What do you know about the Root? What are you really...?" Though he did not be outright hostile against Vahn, Zelretch was very aware of what he meant with his words. It was a truth that he had never told others but, while he had memories of reaching the Root, Zelretch himself had never actually trespassed that invible space. It was another version of him who had achieved the feat but, at that same instant, he, and every other Zelretch in the vast and infinite multiverse, all gained ess to the Second Magic. From that moment onward, they had an intuitive knowledge of how to use it and, almost like a hive mind, they had continued to observe the variable timelines in an effort to guide others toward the Root and prevent the Worlds destruction... Though it was a very dangerous statement to make, Vahn turned to face Zelretch directly, his own eyes zing with a subtle hint of Divinity as he stated, "I know what is on the outside that your original was too ignorant or afraid to face..." This one statement was like a bomb within Zelretchs mind as there was only one thing Magi meant when talking about the outisde in rtion to the Root. His eyes widened in abject shock as, if Vahns words were the truth, it meant his existence was far more significant than they had ever assumed. At the same time, the reason why Vahn appeared to be a singrity within the time axis suddenly made a lot of sense. If he was from the outside, the fundamental nature of his existence was drastically different than anything born inside of the Root... As it was impossible to ascertain if Vahns words were the truth, at least without concrete proof, Zelretch maintained a healthy skepticism, even though he elevated Vahns status considerably. If his status as the Sage Emperor was legitimate, while also being from the Outside, the ramifications for any slights against him would be extreme. At the same time, it meant his knowledge pertaining to True Magic was likely far greater than the current understanding of anyone within the Root. With this being the presumed truth, the question then became a matter of why Vahn hade back. If he was truly from the outside, that meant there had to be a reason for him to enter into the Root and descend into this particr world... Seeing Zelretchs reaction, Vahn shook his head lightly before inly stating, "You need not worry. I do have a reason for entering into the Root but it is not anything malicious. In truth, Im only passing through en route to apletely different destination than the worlds within. I may have business with your original but it isnt to the extent that we would be enemies...now, exactly how long is this elevator ride going to take? Do you enjoy wasting my time...?" As Vahn had already noticed that Zelretch had created a spatial loop, even if it had taken him a bit of time, he was now looking toward the elderly man with a slightly annoyed look shing across his eyes. Though he was still uncertain about the veracity of Vahns words, Zelretch felt that he shouldnt be a bad person. It was rather unnerving to imagine his words were the truth but, if this did indeed turn out to be the case, a revolution within the Magusmunity was afoot. The problem was, even with the threat of the worlds destruction looming over them, the current status quo wasnt prepared for any drastic changes. For thest few decades,rgely as a result of the Holy Grail Wars in Fuyuki, things had been rather tense between the Mages Association and the Holy Church. At the same time, even though the Clock Tower was considered the heart of the Association, the other two primary branches were more or less cut off from the rest of the Magus Community. Ever since the Clock Tower be the official Headquarters, the As Temple would not even ept a visit from the Director while the Wandering Sea still maintained their istionist practices, focusing solely on the study of Magecraft rted to the Age of Gods. Though the current Director, Solon, had actually hailed from the Wandering Sea, they fundamentallycked the power and authority to force the old monsters slumbering there to obey. The only reason the Clock Tower became the official Headquarters was due to the fact that the other two branches simply didnt care about the global Magusmunity... Feeling a headacheing along, Zelretch released a sigh before smiling in response to Vahnsint, answering, "It is just a small prank. When you have lived as long as I, finding ways to amuse oneself is the only method to avoid bing senile..." Though Vahn struck him as a man who was older than he appeared, Zelretch had the distinct impression he shouldnt be more than a few hundred years old. It was this impression that made it hard to believe he was from the outside as, even though he had absolutely no idea what the world on the other side of the Root was like, it didnt seem like a ce where a rtively normal person woulde from. Hearing Zelretchs somewhat gratingughter, Vahn just shook his head and decided to ignore the old mans prank. At the very least, he was able to see how the Second Magic was used and, while it would take him quite a long time toprehend, just seeing how the space was bent ording to Zelretchs will was quite educational. When he was able to use his Qinglong form freely in the future, Vahn intended to seek out the old man for advice, finding that he was strangely agreeable, even if a little strange. Since it wouldnt be that difficult for Zelretch to try and lock him away in a sealed-off spatial dimension, yet chose not to, Vahn felt he wasnt an enemy, at least for the time being... With Zelretch breaking the loop, it wasnt long before the elevator finally reached its highest point, filling in a circr hole on a massive disc-shaped tform. Rather than the walls of a tower, there were clear blue skies as far as the eye could see, popted by a few wispy white clouds. In the far distance, Vahn could even make out the figure of what appeared to by flying Wyverns, indicating this world was distinctly different than the sub-texture that the Clock Tower upied. What he found most curious was that, at the edge of the circr tform, there was a set of stairs that extended out into the void,pletelycking supports. They led up to a massive temple that, like the stairs and tform, seemed to be floating in the sky with unshakeable stability. Like before, Zelretch took it upon himself to exin once again, this time with the intention of trying to build rapport with Vahn as he stated, "This ce is simr to a false Reality Marble, given form by various treasures and the Second Magic. Thendscape you see around you represents the Reverse Side of the World and, though you could travel out endlessly, you will find that it is quite impossible to reach any of the scenery or interact with any of the creatures. In more ways than one, this ce represents the obsession of something that cannot be obtained, only glimpsed..." Though there were numerous ess points that the Mages Association could use to reach the Reverse Side of the World, entering arbitrarily was extremely foolish. Even for existences such as Solon and himself, who had both walked the earth during the Age of Gods, it would be a death sentence to remain there in a physical body. Solon had tried several methods to rectify this, to the point that they had be something far removed from humanity, but this had all changed in the mid 18th century. Around the same time that he helped to build this isted ce for his long-time friend, Solon had ceased trying to reach the Reverse Side of the World and now simply bided his time, awaiting a future that Zelretch was afraid to look into as, by observing an oue, it was almost the same as guaranteeing it...at least before Vahn arrived... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Two monsters facing down each other...,You think yer sneaky, boyo!?,Old Man Zelretch is getting too old for this xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1178 - Trepdiation

Chapter 1178 - Trepdiation

With each of the unsupported steps having small gaps between them, Vahn felt mildly perturbed to be ascending them, even though there was no danger he would fall. In fact, based on the apparent distance to the ground, he had been much higher up than this peculiar tform though, ording to Zelretchs earlier words, it was very possible he would fall forever if hecked the means to fly and transfer through space. Fortunately, there werent too many stairs leading to the temple-like structure at the end, fixed atop a zigguratprised of red stones that were neatly arranged in a terracedpound with sessively receding stories. Due to there being no subterranean levels, it looked vaguely formed the shape of a lozenge, like two pyramids glued together at their bases with their tops cut off to allow the temple to sit flush at the top... Vahn had already sensed it from the start, at least roughly, but the interior of therge structure wasrgely hollow, the only thing breaking up the empty space being floating tforms, each containing specimens of flora or fauna that were very likely preserved since the Age of Gods. He assumed these were either rare creatures and materials that had been harvested from the lower levels of the Spirit Tomb and, much like how Da Vinci kept things preserved, they were each suspended in stasis fields, some sealed away with powerful runic Magecraft. It was actually quite the awe-inspiring sight, as the inside of the temple appeared simr to an expansive garden, but this sentiment faded quickly when Vahn noticed some of the specimens were humanoid in structure. As he had made no attempts to hide his dissatisfaction, Zelretch lightly tapped his cane against the ground, muttering, "Stay your anger, Sage Emperor. Many of these specimens are thest of their kind and, if not for their preservation here, they would have already lost their lives. They are locked in temporal istion, their minds living an endless and peaceful dream, each willingly agreeing to be a source of Mystery in exchange for the pleasant dreams that define their existence. When the world is capable of sustaining them once again, I can assure you that they will be freed from this ce without fail..." Hearing Zelretchs words, Vahn felt more at ease but, at the same time, he didnt fully trust the im that they had epted this kind of life willingly. Though his impression of Zelretch was improving, this did nothing to ce him on more amicable terms with the figure slowly appearing from the void through a doorprised entirely of light. They radiated an aura of death and, while this was not an indicator of them being an evil person, Vahn wasnt fond of the way the rather petite and youthful individual was looking at him. It wasnt the first time he had seen someone with peculiar eyes but, being stared at by these shimmering blue eyes which seemed to radiate a pink light from around the pupil caused his skin to crawl... The figure, who Vahn assumed to be the Association Director, was attired in oversized white robes, their entire body covered in various treasures. Instead of appearing gaudy, however, they emanated a cold and detached aura while, flowing around their body, Vahn was very aware of the presence of Divinity. Identifying what this Divinity was rted to was beyond him, unfortunately, as one of the treasures adorning the Directors body made it virtually impossible to discern anything urately. It wasnt to the degree of Da Vinci but, even with all of his experience as a physician, Vahn couldnt even determine their gender, if they even had one... While Vahn was evaluating them, Solon was doing much the same, albeit with far greater hostility and, though they would never admit it, a bit of fear. The Mystic Eyes they possessed were known as the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception and, though they were not infallible, they allowed the user to see the Death of an Existence in the form of lines. If these lines were cut through, a feat that could be managed with a dull knife or a long fingernail, even indestructible and immortal existences could be killed. The lines offered absolutely no resistance against attacks and, once cut, the target would simply break down into their constituent particles, overwriting all regenerative effects and ensuring they would experience true death... Under normal circ.u.mstances, all existences had, at the very least, two lines of death. This included inanimate objects and, if the user was skilled enough, even the air around them. The lines viewed were entirely dependent on the user of the Mystic Eyes and, even for someone as powerful as Zelretch, Solon was able to see a line running across his heart and another imperceptibly thin line running across his scalp. The thickness of these lines determined how difficult they were to cut as, if there was one a hairs width, you would need a de thinner than that to be able to cut it through. Unless he was forcibly sealed and prevented from moving, it was virtually impossible to kill Zelretch without being unbelievably faster than a man who could distort space and time. Even then, it wasnt impossible and, with even sacred relics having lines of death, Solon had never expected to be met face to face with someone who had none. Even if Vahn was wearing thick armor that obscured his body, Solon would still be able to perceive the lines of death covering his body as, regardless of the efforts made, death was not something that could be hidden from. Try as you might to escape it, even by bing immortal, it would eventually im all life within the Root, man, spirit, and God. Vahn, however, had no lines of death whatsoever, causing Solons scalp to tingle as, with the ability to sense the threat level of an opponent based on the size of their aura, Vahn seemed rtively weak. Though his aura was a resplendent rainbow color, even more so than the sky-covering aura of Zelretch, it was like a candle burning within an inferno. It was a rather unbelievable sight as even the young woman next to him, whom Solon knew to be King Arthur, had an iparably vast aurapared to the anomalous man standing before him... With the tensions rising in a distinctly different way than his staredown with Zelretch, Vahns face was slowly forming into a frown as his domain continued to expand outward. This didnt affect the Association Director, at least in a manner that could be seen from their expression, while Zelretch just shook his head at this side before trying to mediate, saying, "I believe your words were that you can here to clear up misunderstanding in order to avoid unnecessary conflict? If youre going to fight, I would suggest the two of you move outside and make use of the surrounding space. I doubt either of you wants to destroy this ce over some petty squabbling...hmm?" Zelretchs words caused the Association Directors brows to twitch slightly and, tearing their eyes from Vahn for the first time, the petite figure looked at the tall, aged, man, saying in a cold tone that sounded sharp and feminine, "You old bastard...I swear, rather than an enemy, Im more likely to be done in by your incessant meddling than anything else. Why did you bring the Sage Emperor to this ce? Even if you determined he wasnt a threat, this isnt a ce just anyone cane and go as they please...!" Sounding someone like a child throwing a tantrum, the Association Directors eyes became progressively sharper as they red holes into Zelretchs face. To his credit, though there were subtle fluctuations in the energy radiating from his body, Zelretch had a whimsical smile on his face, appearing somewhat like an old man who had gone senile... Vahn quickly realized that, as mortals who had risen up to an extreme level of power, Zelretch and the Association Director were very peculiar individuals. This caused his own smile to twitch at the edges as, with the phenomenal presence of the two old monsters,bined with their borderlineical interaction, he didnt know quite how to feel. Fortunately, Zelretch waved his hand in a dismissive manner, stating in his deep and aged voice, "Dont throw a fit, Solon. Besides, if Vahn had turned out to be a threat, it would have been better to fight him within this space together, rather than destroy the entire Clock Tower." As he said these words, Zelretchs aura became somewhat oppressive for a brief moment, his l.u.s.t for battle surfacing once again before he quickly reined it in. Hearing Zelretchs exnation, Solon seemed to understand something, gaining a somewhat battle-hungry expression as they looked toward Vahn, eerie eyes zing with mystical light. They suddenly felt like a loaded spring, causing Vahns instincts to re up as Artoria immediately changed into a battle-ready state,plete with her blue dress, silvery armor, and a drawn Excalibur. This caused Solons aura to re outwards but, instead of attacking, they asked in the same cold tone as before, "For what purpose have youe here, Sage Emperor? I do not imagine you have any intention of joining the Mages Association, correct...? As people like Zelretch and Vahn were not the types to be bound to an organization, Solon wouldnt have believed him if he had said otherwise. Not cowing from the oppressive aura in the least, Vahns own began to grow increasingly more powerful as he stated, "I havee to make my stance very clear. Though I do not agree with the way in which you have managed this world, I have no intention of entering open conflict with the Mages Association. I will be forming my own faction and doing everything in my power to prepare for the emergence of Angra Mainyu. For the benefit of both our organizations, I would suggest you have your people leave my allies be and stop pursuing me as a target. Even if I try to avoid conflict, you would learn very quickly that I am not against fighting if it means protecting the things I care about..." While listening to Vahn speak, Solons face turned increasingly dour and, by the end, they began to nod their head with visible frustration, answering, "Good! Very good! An Emperor indeed! Now, how about we see if you actually have the power to back up your boldness!?" With that said, the ring on Solons left pinky shed briefly and, in seemingly no time at all, Vahn found himself standing in the middle of the air. The temple he had been in previously had a loud explosion resonate from within, following by a brilliant bluish-white light that Vahn knew to be Artorias Excalibur. This caused his brain to buzz with fury and, having already prepared for a potential battle, Vahn uttered in a cold tone, "ya..." Though it might be impossible to get her to act against his enemies outright, Vahn had long since discovered a way to exploit yas presence. As she was constantly storing Magical Energy that he could have her use on his behalf, there was nothing preventing her from feeding it back into him. She was not allowed to arbitrarily increase his power but, if it was just acting as a battery of sorts, there was nothing preventing her from obeying hismand. Thus, while allowing his domain the fade away, Vahn transformed into his Qinglong form while allowing [Laces Key] to take effect... --- After seeing Vahn disappear, Artoria immediately struck forward with Excalibur, understanding that the opportunity for a civil dialogue had quickly broken down. Though she did not use all of her power, as activating Excalibur required charging up a phenomenal amount of magical energy, she was still able to release a small burst of Holy energy bybining Excaliburs inherent effects with her [Mana Burst]. This created arge explosion and, though she was also somewhat hesitant about damaging the surrounding garden, such things would not interfere with thepletion of her duties. Thus, trusting Vahn would return shortly, Artoria struck at Solon, causing them to extend their palm, erecting a gem-like barrier that deflected her attack back at her... With the door they had entered through only a few meters behind her, Artoria followed her instincts, jumping back with as much power as her legs could manage while holding Excalibur level with the ground and sending another wave of energy to contend against the first one. This was what caused therge explosion Vahn had seen and, using the shockwave of the two energy sts, Artoria was able to propel herself outside. Though she would be at a disadvantage in an open space, especially against a Magus, Artoria knew it wouldnt be long before Vahn arrived, likely in an enraged state. It was her desire to avoid seeing him me himself for the temples destruction that caused her to abandon what little advantage the terrain would have provided for her... While Artoria was still mid-leap, Solon had already teleported outside of the temple, their robes rippling as the magical energy around their body red up. From their back, wings of light that were reminiscent of angel wings formed while, after bringing their palms together, several golden ripples spread throughout the area, forming hundreds of magic circles in an instant as they uttered, "Wrath of the Sky God..." in an ancient tongue. Immediately following this, beams of light rained down on Artoria, many breaking through her [Magic Resistance] outright as she used [Mana Burst] to protect her body, dodging to the best of her ability. Since they were attacks moving at the speed of light, however, Artorias efforts were in vain, at least until a figure appeared in front of Solon, azure wings spread out like a massive canopy as a thunderous shockwave tore through the void, shattering space like a mirror... Though Solon had tried to defend themselves by extending their right hand toward Vahns attack, their attempt was denied as an azure tail, moving like lightning, entered their periphery, through Vahns own wing, stabbing into their abdomen. In the next instant, Vahns ovepped fists came down upon their head like a righteous hammer strike, sending Solon crashing into the void which, instead of being open-air, was like colliding against an immovable object after Vahn condensed the surrounding space. For a brief moment, Solon felt genuine terror as, with the [Ring of Divine Sight], they should be able to predict the future by a few seconds when in battle. Vahn, however, seemed immune to this effect and, as they were never a closebat specialist, Solon used on their trump cards in self-preservation. Vahn was essentially a passenger in his own body right now but, seeing Solon ce their hands around their chest, causing therge disc-like amulet they were wearing to shimmer with gold and green light, he felt a subtle hint of danger, even in his apathetic state. Then, even though his body used another technique he had never even thought of before,pressing the space between himself and Solon to negate distance, he only managed to punch a seemingly unbreakable barrier before a phenomenal amount of energy, distinctly different from mana, flowed outward from the amulet. Immediately following this, an area of several kilometers around Solon suddenly became filled with sodden branches covered in green runes that emanated a powerful and vibrant life force... With even his mind able to sense the danger, there was no way Vahns body, under the influence of [Laces Key], was going to stick around. As thick vines moved with lightning speed to try and entangle him, Vahn had already disappeared from the area, teleporting several tens of kilometers above a massive tree that now grew in mid-air. Even now, it wasnt done growing as, with the roots extending into the void itself, a massive canopy began to spread,plete with emerald-colored leaves that reminded him a lot of Yggdrasil. Though theycked the rainbow hue of his surrogate daughters, they were like pristine gemstones that reflected the light, causing strange flowers to begin blooming from the void itself, radiating a small aura of space elemental energy... Though Vahn was observing these things from a third-person perspective,pletelycking the ability to think about them too deeply, his body had been crackling with azure lightning for quite a while. He could feel his energy tanking rapidly, though slower than ya could refill it, as his body once again performed an action he had never even though of previously. Vahn had no idea how he was even able to manage it but, using the Oblivion skill of his [Eyes of Truth], he was creating an elemental star, notprised of any of the primary elements, but Time. Then, while the star was still forming, he was channeling his Space elemental lightning into the growing sphere, causing a ck orb to form that was almost indistinguishable to the spheres produced by his [Yi] arrows... The singrity produced by the [Yi] arrow was often quite small, around the size of a marble, even though the event horizon could affect several hundred meters around it. Seeing the basketball-sized ck sphere-forming before him, Vahn was so terrified by the potential of his own attack that he was slowly breaking free of [Laces Key]. As the power would basicallypound exponentially as the sphere increased in diameter, he couldnt even imagine the devastation that would be caused if he released this attack. The fact that his body had determined this was necessary not only indicated the power possessed by Solon but that his body, under the influence of [Laces Key], was willing to go to extremes without properly considering the consequences at all. From within the canopy of the massive tree, which even now continued to growrger, Solon was looking up at the ck mass in Vahns hands with zed eyes. The fact that Vahns aura was still the same size, even though he was capable of using a seemingly infinite amount of Magical Power, was something that made no sense to them. It seemed to indicate that, much like Zelretch, he was able to pull power from another source yet, instead of pulling it from the surroundings, or through a link he had established with other timelines, Vahns energy seemed toe from within. Though Solon had only wanted to test Vahns power at first, they were very quicklying to regret their actions as, after using one of their trump cards, they really didnt want to use more... Just as that thought crossed their mind, a ripple in space appeared next to Solon as Zelretch stepped out of the void next to them. He had a serious expression on his face, looking up at Vahn as he said, "This is gone too far, old friend. Unless you intend to fight until the end, I think it best wey matters to rest..." While speaking, Zelretch lifted up his cane, the rainbow-colored gemstone radiating a resplendent light while, at the very center, a ck void began to expand. The true form of the gem on his staff was that of a micro-universe which he had both formed andpressed by using the Second Magic to its extremes. He had slowly been storing up energy within the gemstone in order to battle against the Spider in a hundred years time,pletely unaware of the fact that one of his greatest enemies was currently viewing him through Vahns eyes... With a tired sigh, Solon held up the [Seal of Yggdrasil] before slitting their own wrist and allowing blood to spread across its shimmering golden surface. Then, as if flowing in reverse, their blood began to defy gravity while the massive tree surrounding them began to slowly recede. At the same time, Zelretch extended his cane toward the sky, sending a thin ck beam to meet the descending sphere of darkness that Vahn had failed to rein in. When the two collided, the sphere disappearedpletely while, in the distance, a ck sun began to expand on the horizon but, instead of casting light upon the world, it sucked it in with seemingly unstoppable fervor. Fortunately, even though it only seemed a few hundred kilometers away, the distance was actually closer to several hundred thousand. In this ce, you could move at the speed of light and only travel a few kilometers an hour unless you knew the trick to navigating the folded and functionaly infinite space within. Seeing the phenomenal damage output by Vahns attack, Zelretch took in a deep breath through his nose as, now more than ever, it seemed like the former hade from the outside. The attacks he used, even though his own Magical Energy seemed weak, were able to contend against True Magic in power. When his power matured further, Zelretch imagined there would be nothing that could stand against him, a terrifying yet potentially relieving thought as, with his ability to peer into other timelines, Zelretch had seen far too many instances of humanity being wiped out by one threat or another. If Vahn could be made an ally, which shouldnt be that difficult given his presumed nature, there was a chance all future threats could be mitigated almost entirely. Though he would never abandon his self-assigned duty, Zelretch had long grown weary of being one of the few protectors of the multiverse. All of his attempts to train proteges often ended with his students being crippled or outright losing their minds. As a result, he had slowly been losing all hope that a sessor to his position would appear, allowing his weary bones to rest for a few hundred years. Now, seeing Vahn emanating a majestic and unfathomable aura, a smile spread across his aged and wrinkled face as Zelretch felt his search for a potential sessor nearing its end... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Staring Intensifies*,Solon is surprisingly hot-headed...?,The secret behind Zelretchs smile...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1179 - Concessions

Chapter 1179 - Concessions

After wresting back control of his body, though not before sending the [Space-Time Elemental Star] flying, Vahn released a sigh of relief when he saw a gateway of some sort open to consume what very likely may have been his most powerful attack. As it erupted in the distance, he shifted next to Artoria, supporting her slightly battered body as she stared resolutely towards the slowly receding tree nearby. It was clear she had been intending to release her Noble Phantasms to its limits as, instead of the characteristic bluish-white glow that often apanied her attacks, small partictes of golden light had started to radiate from Excaliburs surface. Seeing Vahn appear next to her, Artoria produced a tired and apologetic smile, remarking, "I need to learn how to fly..." Though it almost sounded ratherical to heart her say something like that in this instance, Vahn understood that she was very serious. With that in mind, he gave an understanding nod and, even if Artorias disposition didnt really allow her to fly that easily, he knew a number of ways in which she could achieve the feat. If nothing else, he could always just forge her a pair of greaves that would allow her to create footholds in the air, at least until she was able to use [Shundo] and [Koku Shundo] on her own... As the void-bound tree slowly dissipated back into nothingness, Zelretch and Solon could both be seen floating in the air, albeit using very different methods. The former was able to fold space, making it into a solid tform that he could freely manipte without even having to move. As for thetter, they had angelic wings of light protruding from their back while, on their wrists and ankles, he could sense they used golden rings to stabilize themselves. Fortunately, other than staring back, neither made any attempt to press the attack and, as his instincts were no longer sounding rm bells in his mind, Vahn assumed they had reached a temporary ceasefire of sorts. While thinking about whether or not to press the attack himself, it became apparent that Zelretch intended to mediate the affair, shaking his head, his aged voice echoing, "This has certainly been educational. Mutual respect is possible only when both sides understand the capabilities of the other. Now that your squabble has reached an interlude, I would suggest setting the matter aside and returning to a more diplomatic method of resolving your differences..." Though Solon didnt seem to like the way Zelretch had phrased his words, they ultimately gave an affirmative nod before stating in a voice thatcked sincerity, "I apologize for my behavior, Sage Emperor. It has been several centuries since anyone had the audacity to threaten me directly so I had be incensed as a result. Now, I understand you are not simply a bl.u.s.tering fool..." It was apparent that Solon wanted to go on but, after receiving a sharp gaze from Zelretch, their words began to trail towards the end as they lowered themselves to the tform. After stepping on the ground a sharp pain ran through their abdomen, the location where Vahn had stabbed through their body with his tail, but this only caused their brows to twitch before they recovered theirposure. Vahn hadnt appreciated Solons words in the slightest but, as it was true he had provoked the rather petnt Magus, he decided to just ignore the biting remarks. When he saw thetter wince in pain after stepping onto the tform, this was the only real vindication he needed as, at least for the time being, he had no intention of exposing all his cards before the two powerful Magi. It was very possible that he could defeat Solon, especially since thetter seemed to relyrgely on powerful artifacts, but it would be next to impossible to egg out anything but a pyrrhic victory against Zelretch. Unless he locked the space around thempletely, preventing even his own use of [Shundo], there was virtually nothing he could do against the wielded of the Second Magic. As this wouldnt do much to prevent Zelretch from essing his infinite reserves of Magical Energy, Vahn would rather not face him until he was nearing the peak of Tier 4, or had stepped into the realm of Tier 5. Even then, he would need a much better understanding of Space and Time Laws if he wanted to avoid being toyed with orpletely overwhelmed after cutting off his own means of escape... Misunderstanding Vahns silence as him being rather level-headed, Zelretch gave an approving nod before turning his attention to Artoria for a brief moment. He could tell she wasnt seriously injured or, despite his best attempts to calm the situation, it was very likely Vahn wouldnt have been very agreeable. Still, the fact that Artoria was able to essentially tank an attack that could easily wipe out a small ind was rather surprising to him. He wondered if she had been able to recover Avalon, implying that Vahn had eithere to an ord with the Einzbern family or had already dealt with them. Since he had seen the interaction between Vahn and Goldolf Musik, it was easy to assume both conclusions. If not for the fact that Vahn was present, he would have looked into the matter directly but, feeling that such action could alert the Sage Emperor and cause a misunderstanding, Zelretch held off his curiosity for the moment... Now that things were beginning to calm down, it was Solon who decided to advanced things along, stating in their characteristically cold voice, "For the time being, the standing policy of the Mages Association will be neutrality with the potential for future cooperation. So long as you do not cause unnecessary troubles to the Association, I will not interfere with your affairs. However, even if you do not follow the policiesid out by the Association, we will be forced to act if your actions threaten our interests and the ongoing ceasefire with the Holy Church. Until this matter with Angra Mainyu has been settled, you would do well to avoid causing too much trouble..." Hearing Solons words, essentially parroting and twisting his own, Vahn had a less than amused expression on his face as he remarked, "It is not my policy to seek unnecessary conflicts. However, that does not mean I will shy away from them. If the Mages Association and its affiliated families cause trouble, do not me me for taking the necessary actions to protect myself and the people in my charge. With the errant practices and deeply rooted corruption of the current system, do not pretend the me is mine when the Arisotractic families and other factions find trouble with me." Even before Vahn had finished speaking, Solons gaze had be icier than before, their voice shaking a bit as they venomously stated, "You may very well be an Emperor, but that does not give you the liberty to say whatever you please...without the Mages Association-" Before they were able to continue further, Vahn held up his hand, causing Solons aura to spread outward rather violently when he stated, "Just remember where the ountabilityys when the timees. Dont expect me to y nice when others are proactively trying to harm me and those I have chosen to protect. If you want to be their patsy and act as the champion of corruption, that is your prerogative. Mine is to do everything I can to make the world a better ce without making excuses..." Before another fight could break out, Zelretch suddenly beganughing uninhibitedly, drawing the attention of everyone present as he mused, "You two mix as well as oil and water. Lets stop these petty attempts to offend each other and move on to more interesting matters, shall we? Im certain everyone here has better things to do than argue over titudes and philosophies." With that said, Zelretch gave a sidelong gaze at Solon, earning a scornful look from thetter before they ultimately looked back at Vahn and stated, "I have rarely interfered with matters outside of the Clock Tower. So long as you do not cause any damage to the properties belonging to the Mages Association, I do not care about your squabbles with the other families..." Though he couldnt simply ept Solons words at face value, Vahn gave an understanding nod before answering, "That is all I can ask for. I have no desire for wanton destruction so, as long as the Mages Association is not actively engaged in practices I do not approve of, I have no reason to seek trouble with them..." Even if he knew his words could exacerbate things further, Vahn had already decided the be transparent when it came to things like this. He hated things like human experimentation and the like so, if there was ever to be direct cooperation between him and the Mages Association in the future, they would need to make concessions from the start. Understanding the meaning behind Vahns words, Solon felt like they were going to have an aneurysm as they looked toward Zelretch with eyes that said, are you hearing this?. This was met with a wry smile as, knowing full-well what Vahn purported to be, Zelretch understood the Mages Association may very well ede to his demands in the future. With the imminent emergence of Angra Mainyu, things would only be increasingly chaotic and, if the Aristocratic faction had their way, therger Magusmunity would be the ones to suffer for it. This would be the catalyst for a Civil War within the Mages Association, something that had been cooking for nearly seventy years, ever since the end of World War II and the rapid modernization that followed... Once again ying the role of mediator, Zelretch had a tired smile on his face as he exined, "Vahn, though you certainly have ground to question the policies of the Mages Association, you are in essence ming the corruption of Aristocratic families on people who were never directly involved with them. The policies of the Association have always been in the interest of ensuring that Thaumaturgical practices and Magecraft are passed down to the next generation. It does not exist for the purpose of regting the political affairs of affiliated families and the entire Magusmunity. If my friend here was to try and force their personal views on the various Lords that have established themselves within the Association, it would have long torn itself apart, resulting in the persecution of Magi by the Holy Church and the rapid decline of the Magusmunity..." Hearing Zelretchs exnation, even though it sounded like he was shifting the me, Vahn decided not to press the matter too much. With what he had learned from Rin and Luvia, it had been apparent from the start that the biggest source of corruption within the Mages Association was, as could be expected, the various Aristocratic families. Though the Aristocratic faction was the most vocal, every Faculty was controlled by someone with the title of Lord, meaning they also hailed from an Aristocratic line. This included the leaders of the Democratic and Neutral factions which, at their very core, were extensions of the three more powerful Monarchal families, the Barthomeloi, Trambelio, and Valualeta families. If not for the backing of the other two most powerful families, the Aristocratic faction would have obviously squashed the Democratic and Neutral factions in their inception. Instead, they all just yed a political game amongst themselves, using lesser Aristocratic families andmoners as pawns to maintain the status quo while loosely adhering to the policies set out by the Association to avoid having to be held truly ountable for their actions. After all, without the umbre of the Mages Association, most Magi would be hunted down by the Holy Church who, if they could get away with it, wouldpletely bury Magecraft in the annals of history, obscuring the existence of Mystery and purporting that their version of history, bastardized from various cultures, was the singr truth. Deciding it was best not toy the me entirely upon Solon, as it seemed like thetter more or less isted themselves from the world, Vahn just shook his head, saying, "I may have said too much. Know that I will do what I can to change things without harming the interests of the Mages Association. Though there will undoubtedly be conflict between myself and your affiliates, what I offer aspensation should more than reimburse any potential damages. As for the matter of Angra Mainyu, that is something we will have to discuss in greater detailter. I already have my own ns for dealing with his emergence..." With Vahn taking a step back, much of Solons excess frustrations faded away, almost to the point of causing them to sigh in relief. Instead, their expression became less dour as they also decided to take a step back, stating, "I also owe you an apology, as it was my decision that originally led to this confrontation. So long as you are not trying to active attack and weaken the Association, I will continue to observe and monitor things from a neutral standpoint. I have already given a warning to potential dissidents so, if they still seek trouble with you, that is their own prerogative, not the stance of the Association. How you deal with them is between you, so long as the battle does not involve the Clock Tower and the Spirit Tomb...now, you should be leaving this ce soon. That golden-haired brat is going to cause a riot if you dont make an appearance..." Seemingly finished with this discussion, Solon turned away from Vahn and Artoria, pping their wings of light as they quickly alighted to the temple. This left Zelretch with a wry smile on his face, covering for his friend as he exined, "Solon distanced themselves from politics nearly twenty-six-hundred years ago. Since then, their main focus has always been protecting the interests of the Mages Association and trying to prevent Mystery from fading away as a result of the Holy Churchs machinations. They arent the best at socializing...do not let it bother you too much..." Understanding there was likely more to the story, Vahn gave a curt nod in response to Zelretchs words before making his way back to the elevator tform with Artoria. He wasnt that surprised when Zelretch didnt follow after them as, with how he had been urging the conversation forward, it was clear that Solon was more injured than they were letting on. The peculiar Magus was able to keep it concealed well but, as the person who had caused their injuries, Vahn knew it would they would take some time to recover fully. With the potentbination of Source Energy and Space elemental energy, it didnt matter how good your regeneration was, at least until you could purge them from your systempletely... --- As he had expected, Solon had indeed brought a prompt end to the conversation as it became increasingly apparent that they could not recover using normal methods. Now, even though they were annoyed when Zelretch appeared behind them, Solon continued the arduous process of removing their various artifacts. At the same time, theyined, "I cant believe you brought a monster like that into my garden...that man has the blood of a Dragon even more potent than the heart of that woman..." Even now, Solon could vividly remember the cold eyes possessed by Vahn during their short exchange. It was almost like looking into their own eyes in a mirror, seeing the lines of death covering their own body and feeling the fragility of their life... While continuing to observe Solon with an unwavering gaze, something that was beginning to increasingly annoy his old friend, Zelretch exined, "There is a good chance that man may havee from the Outside. Though it can be defined by several Thaumaturgical principles, even the basic movement skills he uses are close to True Magic. I believe it would be wise toe to an ord with him in the future, forming an official alliance instead of allowing things to continue in this tense manner..." Even if Vahn didnt currently possess the power to threaten him, Zelretch felt that his potential was beyondprehension. If he could be trained properly, it would only take a few decades for Vahn to reach a point where, with a few exceptions, there would be nothing left to rival him within this world... Hearing Zelretchs words, Solon was slightly shaken as, if Vahn truly hade from the Outside, he was an existence theycked the means to evenprehend. This would exin why he had no lines of death anywhere on his body, even though he didnt seem invulnerable in the least. It was very likely that he possessed multiple bodies, or existed as something closer to a Divine Spirit than a being of flesh and blood. These, however, were just assumptions as, if he had trulye from the Outside, there was no way of knowing if their logic even applied to him. Feeling a powerful migraineing, Solon released a heavy sigh while cing the [Seal of Yggdrasil] around the neck of a mannequin. Then, pulling their robe over their head, allowing their long green hair to get caught in the fabric for a short moment, Solons fair white skin came into view. Their entire body, with the exception of their hands and feet, was covered in a series of intricate red runes that had been carved into their flesh like a full-body tattoo. Even their small and pert butt was covered in runes, causing Zelretch to smile in amus.e.m.e.nt until his eyes passed over the rather vicious wound that ran clear through Solons body. Though Solon would even be able to regenerate from having their head or heart crushed, the wound left by Vahns tail was still present and, periodically, small shes of azure lightning would dance across the seared flesh... Though they had been about tombast Zelretch for staring at their backside, Solon ultimately huffed when the old man began looking at the wound piercing their body. Seeing the concern in his face always annoyed them so, in their characteristically icy tone, Solon muttered, "I dont need you to worry about me, you old bastard..." With that said, Solons body expanded slightly before quickly losing itsplexion momentster. Everything, including the hole left by Vahn, became covered in a greyish-brown substance, simr to unfired y. In mere seconds, Solons body had be almost indistinguishable from a statue which, a few secondster, began to crack and fracture. As this wasnt the first time he had seen this process, Zelretch had a rather in reaction but, as he found it amusing to tease Solon after the fact, he liked to stick around until the end. Thus, in an effort to speed up the process, Zelretch tapped his cane against the ground, causing a ripple to spread through the surrounding space. The fracturing statue became extremely brittle when the ripple passed through it, causing the majority of the fragments to break away while a few smaller pieces clung to the slightly moist and reddened skin of Solon. Now, though they hadnt been all that tall, to begin with, Solon looked even younger and, with their body having yet to harden properly, they red toward Zelretch as an invisible force prevented them from crashing into the floor. Without minding the ire in Solons eyes, Zelretch continued to smile in a slightly amused manner as he asked, "How long will you take to recover?" This caused Solon to sigh in exasperation as they shifted to a seated position and answered, "That wound was more serious than I expected. I will need to consume various treasures to elerate my growth again...will you help me?" Even though asking for help was the thing Solon hated to do most of all, Zelretch was one of the few people they trusted as, without his intervention, they would have died like most others who had failed to reach the Reverse Side of the World during the Great Migration... With his lips curling up at the sides, something that caused Solons brows to twitch, Zelretch gave a curt nod and answered, "Of course. So long as you continue to pursue your ideals, I will never break my promise..." As these words left his lips, Zelretch pulled out a small golden link, tossing it through the air for Solon to catch. Since they had yet to regain full motor control, the link ended up hitting them on the forehead, causing Solon to flinch before adopting a pouting expression that caused Zelretch to smile even wider. Then, after picking up the link with their rather dainty fingers, Solon ced it near a small gap in theplex formation covering their body, absorbing the piece of pale gold into the area where their heart was located. Though their size didnt change by much, this caused their hair, which had previously been reduced to less than a centimeter in length, to quickly grow until it reached the small of their back. At the same time, a lot of their strength came back so, rather than sit on the cold ground, Solon rose to their feet, ring at Zelretch onest time before shimmying back into their robe, feelings of frustration in their heart due to their skin always being tender in theirrval state... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Artoria wants to fly xD...,Vahn and Solon are both kind of petty,Who would have thought that the guy that can peek into infinite timelines in a voyeur...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1181 - Ambitions

Chapter 1181 - Ambitions

Unlike the ten minute ascent, the elevator ride down was significantly shorter, taking less than a minute toplete. Even then, Vahn got to experience the rather peculiar sight of seeing the space around him shrink, slowly merging with reality in a way that was difficult toprehend. With his current understanding of Space and Time, there was no way to emte this phenomenon as, if the space wasnt stable, it would generally copse. Though he knew anything was possible, seeing the miraculous and inexplicable feats of others was always eye-opening. Now, especially after seeing what his Lace-self was capable of achieving with his current level of power, Vahn had an almost irresistible urge to experiment and be even stronger... If he had faced off against Solon before his training with Scthach orcking [Laces Key], Vahn knew there was no way he would have been able to get even a temporary advantage. Even if ya acted as his battery, it was clear that he had only scratched the surface of what the peculiar green-haired Magus was capable of. Just their ability to grow what appeared to be this Records version of Yggdrasil had sent rm bells ringing in his mind. Though he had managed to evade the attack by transferring through space, Vahn had the distinct impression it would be exceedingly difficult to escape the vines if they ended up binding him. With Solon having dozens of other treasures on their body, with an unknown amount of Magical Energy, the only option Vahn would have had was to try and use [Enkidu] to seal them away or, if that failed, focus on escaping. Understanding he still needed to be much stronger, even though he was admittedly stronger than he expected to be, Vahn surprised Artoria a bit by saying, "I now have a better understanding of this worlds peak. It will take some time, but Im looking forward to reaching it..." Then, looking his Knightlypanion in the eyes, Vahn smiled as he reached out his hand, removing a few strands of hair sticking to Artorias face as he added, "Lets be stronger, together...also, change your attire before we step outside..." Though his final words spoiled the moment, Vahn would rather others not see Artoria wearing battered armor with sections of her dress torn and frayed. With a light blush on her face, Artoria changed into the same security uniform as earlier while Vahn continued to fix her hair. Then, once she was ready, Vahn caused her ahoge to stand up straight by sneaking a quick kiss in when she was focused on trying to calm down. This caused Artoria to cough awkwardly a few times while stepping back to gain a bit of distance as she said, "Master, Id rather you not tease me in enemy territory..." Though she had a fair point, Vahn noted that Artoria hadnt said not to tease her, just to choose a more opportune moment. This caused him to remember his promise to never embarrass her in public, causing Vahns mood to be more serious as he led the way forward, though not before allowing Artoria to collect herself... Waiting for them immediately outside of the towers underground corridor was a series of Golems who, even without the ability to speak, Vahn understood to be their escorts. Since he and Artoria werent affiliated with the Mages Tower, they werent given the leeway to wander through the halls on their own, especially in the underground mining city of Magis Fair. Thus, with Zelretch tending to Solon, they had been left in the care of the buildings automated maintenance and security Golems, even though this could be considered a rather serious faux pas. This time around, Vahn felt it would be a waste of time to harp over such things so, instead of inting the issue further, he just followed the Golems to the exit. As he could already sense her long before reaching the surface, Vahn wasnt surprised by the fact that Luvia had been waiting with a fair number of faculty members, including Lord El-Melloi II, a man with pale hair that was undoubtedly Lord Animusphere, and another with maroon-brown hair who, simr to Loki, had the peculiar habit of walking around with their eyes almost fully closed. Each of the men was dressed rather fashionably, albeit with thetter wearing a rather heinous shade of green that was ented by ck fur. Since he also had an angr bowler hat, Vahn felt he was an abnormal individual, even without the overwhelmingly malignant mana swirling around in his body... Though Vahn understood the affinity of a person did not ultimately determine their alignment, he couldnt help but furrow his brows slightly when sensing this particr energy. However, as he was amongst the allies that Luvia had collected, Vahn decided not to mind the matter for the time being as he could always deal with the matter after getting a better understanding of the situation. With the Magusmunity in its current state, Vahn knew there were a number of individuals who used less than forthright means to obtain resources and conduct their research. Even some of the younger students he had passed along the way, moners included, had an aura of malignancy lingering around them that indicated they were not inexperienced with taking lives with malicious intent. Shelving the matter for the moment, Vahn habitually opened his arms as Luvia, with a radiant smile on her face, ran over and practically tackled him while happily eximing, "My Emperor~! We were beginning to get worried that something had gone wrong...!" Though she usually put on an elegant front in most situations, Luvias habit ofpletely ignoring the situation would appear when she was riled up. Thus, even though everyone present had awkward and troubled looks on their faces, she didnt care at all as she happily clung to Vahn, rubbing her cheek against his with a monstrous strength in her arms... --- With much to discuss, and infinitely better ces to carry on a conversation, it wasnt long before Vahn, Luvia, Artoria, and Gray were all riding back towards the Edelfelt Mansion. He exined what the meeting with the Director had been like, earning him an incredulous yet excited look from Luvia who, after listening till the end, happily mused, "My husband is so domineering~." When she heard that Vahn had actually been able to get an advantage against the Director, requiring Zelretch to step in, Luvia was beside herself with feelings of vindication. Just knowing the man she had chosen was already capable of such feats, even though he wasnt even at his full power, caused her body to burn up... Not minding Luvias appreciation, Vahn indulged in the feeling of her body leaning against his, even though it felt rather awkward with Gray and Artoria staring back at him. Unlike normal vehicles, the inside of this armored car had the seats facing each other, making for easier discussion while also allowing those within to avoid having their backs to each other. Some business was better carried out in the back of a car in transition than elsewhere and, though Vahn had yet to see just what Luvia did to maintain her Empire, he knew she was often very busy. She had been making a lot of time for him over thest two days but, as she seemed very happy, he selectively chose to ignore discussing such things when they were together like this. After reaching the Edelfelt Mansion, apanied by a few other cars, Vahn and his entourage made their way to the prepared banquet. It was still early in the afternoon, nowhere near dinner time, but this entire celebration was rather prompt and, due to other time constraints, there wasnt much time to host itter. Vahn noticed that many of the foods he had been fond of during the earlier meal were present once again, indicating that one of the intended purposes behind the banquet seemed to be trying to understand his food preferences. This was a rather humorous thought but, with Luvia and her Grandmother both having rather peculiar personalities, Vahn wouldnt be surprised if this was the truth. Before he could ask about it, Luvia understood the question in Vahns gaze as he looked around, whispering in a quiet voice, "Grandmother doesnt often appear in front of others. As the Head of the family, it is up to me to host and attend social gatherings like this. Remember, Vahn, all of this going forward is our fight...if we rely on the previous generation for everything, well just be wastrels like the other members of the Aristocracy." Though she knew Vahn had simr principles, it was also very apparent that he spoiled his children considerably. Luvia was hoping to curb some of that behavior as, though spoiling the young is the privilege of the old, you should never give them free handouts when they are perfectly capable of achieving things on their own. With a curt nod, Vahn continued to guide Luvia toward the head of the table, this time taking the main seat for himself to make things clear to those present. There were a number of people he had never met before and, though they had short introductions earlier, this would be his first time really interacting with his would-be allies. From his education with Loki and Fortuna, Vahn knew there was no such thing as permanant allies unless you had some form of unbreakable bond or a great deal of leverage over the other party. Thus, while he could trust most of the people gathered together by Luvia, at least for the moment, that could change very quickly depending on the circ.u.mstances. Once everyone had assumed their ces around the table, with the sole exception of Gray, as she had been feeling a little sick in the presence of Lord El-Melloi II and an icy beauty with brilliant blond hair and pale white skin. This woman gave off a simr vibe to how Eva tried to present herself but, rather than being a tsundere, it was very apparent that this woman, introduced as Lord El-Melloi IIs wife, Reines El-Melloi Archisorte, was a sadist by nature. Her sharp, icy blue eyes seemed to reflect a cold light that, from experience, Vahn knew to mean she was the type who enjoyed the suffering of others. Though this didnt necessarily make her a bad person, as there were a number of functional sadists in the world, this did nothing to lessen the incongruous vibe he felt when she would cast her gaze upon him. Though simple introductions had already been made, Luvia took it upon herself as the Hostess to rise to her feet, her disposition bing hat of an elegant noblewoman as she stated, "It is my pleasure to host such distinguished guests, especially on such short notice. In an effort to facilitate smoother conversations, allow me to take this moment to make clear the status and association of everyone present. Though today is your first time meeting him, Im sure everyone here is aware of the identity of this handsome gentleman~." As she spoke, Luvia gestured towards Vahn in a polite fashion, smiling radianatly as she introduced, "He is none other than the reputed Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. Please keep in mind that this is not an arbitrarily assigned title and, though the details must remain a secret, trust that he is, indeed, an actual Emperor~." As even the Association Director and Zelretch had referred to Vahn as the Sage Emperor, there was no great stir amongst the Aristocrats attending the banquet. For some, this wasnt even their first time meeting an Emperor so, even with such a status, Vahn wouldnt win any favors without being able to provide actual benefits. The only two people to react differently than the others were Lord Animusphere, who offered a polite bow and a smile, while Reines, showing ack of decorum, used her arm to support her head as she mused, "I have never met an Emperor from another world, much less one with the prefix of Sage. Im curious, what does it take for someone to gain such a title...?" With Reines interrupting her introductions, Luvia was the one to answer in lieu of Vahn, crossing her arms with a challenging look in her eyes as she stated, "My, Lady Archisorte, you would do well to remember where you are currently. Though we may have gathered here to officiate our alliance, it isnt toote to change the terms..." Still riding the high of Vahns victory against the Association Director, Luvia wasnt as lenient as she otherwise would have been in such situations. She might not be able to do anything about Vahns current rtionsh.i.p.s but, having a married woman even think about flirting with him felt like a p to her own face. Hearing Luvias words, Reines was slightly taken aback but, without letting it show on her face in the slightest, she instead giggled elegantly before musing, "So protective...I already expected as much, but the two of you are already a pair...?" As these words left her lips, Reines looked around the area, noticing only now that Gray was missing from the surroundings. From what she had heard from her husband, there was little doubt the monochromatic girl had betrayed them to shack up with Vahn. Though Gray leaving wasnt particrly bothersome, as she had never been fond of the woman who clung to her husband like a tumor, the fact she had done so in the pursuit of another man was a small hit to Reines pride. Now that she saw Vahn in person, it was easy to see that he was quite the catch but, having already chosen Waver as her toy, Reines thought she might be able to get even with her husbands traitorous little ward by getting a rise out of Vahn. She was supremely confident in her own looks and, so long as she could get an understanding of his character, Reines believed it wouldnt take too much effort to gain some leverage in their future alliance by forcing him into apromising position or two... Understanding Reines character, Luvia adopted a somewhat haughty disposition as she emphasized her own bust while answering, "It is earlier than I intended, but I suppose there is no harm in making the announcement sooner..." Even before she had finished speaking, Luvias smile had curled up at the ends since Vahn had understood his own cue, rising to his feet. This caused everyone else at the table to rise, as it was customary to stand when the person at the head of the table stood, allowing him to calmly and clearly state, "Luvia and I are betrothed to each other, making her the Emperess-Apparent for my Aldrnari Empire." In response to Vahns announcement, everyone gave a light round of apuse, some offering their congrattions as a matter of politeness. As for Reines, she also lightly brought her hands together a few times without her expression changing much. At the same time, however, her mind was racing to try and see if there were any ways to benefit from the current situation. Unfortunately, the status of the Edelfelt family alone was already much higher than hers, even without Luvia being made an Empress. There were no real benefits to be gained by offending her and, even if Vahn seemed to be a somewhat licentious man from the information she had obtained, he didnt seem like the type that would be easy to take advantage of after he took a stand... After looking at Vahns handsome appearance for a few seconds, Reines turned her attention briefly to her own husband who, while still very handsome, had started to gain early wrinkles due to stress. He would be turning forty soon and, unless they spent part of their rather small fortune to help him maintain his youth, it wouldnt be long before middle-age caught up with him. As she was had only turned twenty-three a few months prior, Reines had often considered what it would be like when she was in her thirties while her husband was in his fifties. It hadnt mattered to her in the past but, with their daughter growing up and them making little progress towards regaining the Archibald family name, it had started to bother her quite a bit. With Vahn purportedly being well over a hundred years old, yet appearing in histe-twenties, his body practically sculpted from divine y, Reines felt a small amount of resentment towards Luvia and her seemingly limitless good fortune. She had been forced to fight for her position since she was only six years old yet, even knowing how much effort Luvia put in to seed, Reines couldnt help feeling a great deal of envy towards the woman who was only four years her senior. Not only did Luvia have a family that cared dearly for her, but the greatest setback she had suffered in life was when her first love interest died in some random country in the middle east. Even then, the two had never been an official pairing so, other than losing a friend, which was verymon in the Magusmunity, she had lived a decidedly blessed existence... Understanding that she needed both Luvia and Vahn for her own ambitions, Reines, for what felt like the ten-thousandth time, buried her resentment in her heart. It would probably be impossible for her to take advantage of Vahn but, when it came to the politics between families, Reines was very aware that there were other benefits to be found. If he was intending to build an Empire, that meant Vahn would need Ministers, Governors, and Landed Nobles to govern his territories. At the same time, it meant there would be an Imperial Family and, though she may not be able to benefit from targeting him directly, that didnt mean other avenues were cut off. If Vahn had a son or daughter that could be paired with her own, it wasnt impossible that their families would be rtives in the future. Since Gray would, at the very least, be a Concubine, this also meant she had a bit of leverage at the heart of the Imperial Family that could potentially bear fruit in the future. Gray was an easily exploitable woman and, after seducing her husband in the past, Reines knew she would be able to collect upon that debt in the future. For now, she just needed to stay in Vahn and Luvias good books until she had a better understanding of the situation. Depending on the circ.u.mstances, she might not even have to rely on such underhanded tactics any longer. Vahn seemed to a steadfast and forthright individual so it could be disastrous to rely on the usual methods to gain leverage against him. This also meant that, if she at least pretended to be sincere, he would likely convince Luvia to help her family even more than she otherwise would have. Then, if she continued to y her part properly, it was only a matter of time before her family was elevated once again. With that in mind, Reines slightly squinted her eyes as a more sincere smile spread across her face as she gazed back at Luvia and muttered, "Congrattions, Luvia...it seems this is truly an asion worth celebrating..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace~,Luvia be like, "Jackpot ($ v $)~!",Politics can turn children into monsters (o___o)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1182 - Banquet

Chapter 1182 - Banquet

Following the announcement of his and Luvias engagement, Vahn listened closely as she went through the process of identifying everyone and exining their status regarding the alliance. Olgas father, Marisbury Animusphere, was obviously included as, even though it was not his intention to appear as a pawn within the Aristocratic faction, his hand was forced after learning the truth rted to Vahn. As for Lord El-Melloi II and Reines, it was the formers identity as one of Luvias instructors and past allies that earned them the right to join the banquet. Luvia didnt get along all that well with Reines but, as she was still the former heiress of one of the more powerful Magus families, she had her fair share of uses. When Luvia finished introducing those that held the title of Lord, she moved on to the other guests at the table, starting with the maroon-haired man she introduced as Lev Lainur uros. He was introduced as the Head of the Archaeological Department, serving under Lord Meluastea, the backer for the Neutral faction and one of the three Monarchal Lords. Since it would have been impossible for him to rise up as the Head of the Department without falling under the influence of Lord Meluastea, Vahn couldnt help frowning when he thought about why such a man would be present. Though his eyes were still closed, Lev seemed to be able to understand Vahns confusion, smiling in a way that made thetter feel even more disturbed as the peculiar man exined, "I see that Your Majesty is curious regarding my presence. Please, allow me to exin...you see, I had been indebted to Lord Animusphere int he past. We have also worked together on several projects so, in the hopes of helping to preserve humanity through this crisis, I intend to ede my position within the Clock Tower in order to serve the greater good through my work at Chaldea." Nodding his head in response to Levs im, Lord Animusphere added, "Mr. uros has been a stalwart ally to the Animusphere family for many years. He also helped to develop SHEBA, one of the most important assets belonging to Chaldea. Without it, even if we managed to get the rest of CHALDEAS up and running, we would not be able to interpret the information reliably. Though it may be presumptuous of me, I had intended for him to serve as the Vice-Director of Chaldea, that is assuming Lady Edelfelt and Your Majesty decides to appropriate the necessary funds..." In response to Lord Animuspheres remark, Luviaughed in an elegant manner, covering her mouth with her gloved hand while giving Vahn a yful wink. Understanding this was her way of saying it was ultimately up to him, Vahn gave a polite smile in response to Lord Animuspheres words before answering, "Your daughter is an astute and hard-working young woman. Though I will need to see CHALDEAS with my own eyes before making a final decision, I believe the odds of us working together in the future are quite high..." Though he did not intend to hide any kind of implication within his words, Vahn noticed a sh of perturbance flicker across the pale-haired Lords eyes when he referred to Olga. Before any kind of misunderstandings could ruin the atmosphere, Luvia quickly guided things forward, gesturing toward a sharply dressed woman with a pixie-styled red hair that grew longer on the top than it did the back and sides, introducing, "This is Samantha Belfaban, granddaughter of Ro Belfeban and a senior member of the Faculty of Spiritual Evocation." In response to this, Samantha, who had a boyish appearance akin to one of the punk rock models in the magazines Nobunaga and Mordred picked their clothing from, gave a polite bow as she added, "Though my Grandfather would like to meet with you directly, hecks any interest in politics and would like to avoid, as he calls them, troublesome situations. When time allows, there are several questions I would like to ask you, Your Majesty..." Though her appearance would suggest she had a brash and direct personality, it was clear from Samanthas behavior that she was not unustomed to socializing with members of high society. Her Grandfather may not have the official title of Lord but, after Rulfurus Nuda-Re Eulyphis made way for his nephew, Lord Sophia-Ri, Ro had stepped in to take the position for himself, on the grounds that Bram Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri was simply too young to manage the Department. With the support of several others who did not wish to see the young Lord rise too quickly, Ro had been recognized as a proxy Lord in exchange for making an enemy out of Lord Sophia-Ri. Though this didnt bother him in the least, as he didnt care for politics from the very beginning, that didnt mean he waspletely incapable of understanding the situation. Thus, now that an opportunity had presented itself, especially following his recent support of Lord El-Melloi II, Ro had sent his Granddaughter as a representative, both as a means to protect her and to learn the secrets Vahn had brought with him from another world. Returning a polite nod of his own, Samantha resumed sitting in silence as,pared to everyone else at the table, she had the lowest status. This was emphasized even further when Luvia moved on to introducing the final person at the table, gesturing toward Artoria as she exined, "Some of you have already met her, but allow me the honor of introducing King Arthur, known to those close to her as Artoria. She is the very same King Arthur from the legends and, while this may be a mild surprise to some, know that it is undeniably the truth. As for how she is able to exist here in the present, well, some secrets are best kept to avoid unnecessary troubles~." As Lord El-Melloi II, Reines, and even Lord Animusphere were all very aware of the truth regarding Artorias existence, the only reactions came from Lev and Samantha. The former raised his brows slightly before adopting a gentlemanly smile as he stated, "It turns out that the legendary King of Knights is such a fair and noble beauty. I am honored to make your acquaintance, Your Highness." At the same time, Samantha had an expression of genuine shock before a glimmer of excitement shed across her eyes. As a member of the Faculty of Spiritual Evocation, knowing that the person seated across from her had been summoned into this world filled her head with questions that she desperately wanted answers to. Before Samantha had the opportunity to offer her own greetings, Artoria, with a stoic and unfazed look on her face, inly replied, "Your words are too kind, Lev Lainur uros. My status, however, is no longer that of a King. Now, I serve as both the Commander of the Imperial Knights and have pledged myself as the Queen-Empress Consort of my Emperor. I would ask that you reserve yourpliments for others, as I have no intention of epting them..." As Artoria simply didnt like the vibe given off by Lev, she did not appreciate himplimenting her in front of Vahn. Even when she reigned as King, it was considered extremely inappropriate topliment the wife of the King as it could be misconstrued as an attempt to curry favor and subvert the authority of the monarchy. As a result of Artorias words, Levs smile became somewhat crooked while Samantha swallowed her own words with an audible gulp. She also managed to get a rise out of everyone else present at the table, causing Reines to stare usingly toward Luvia while Lord Marisbury and Lord El-Melloi II both seemed surprised by Artorias bold im. Since she was in a political situation, Artoria hadnt hesitated in the slightest and, even though Vahn imagined her heart and mind were in chaos, it didnt show on her face at all. It was amendable disy of bearing that actually made him feel as if his own stoicism wascking inparison. To clear up any confusion, Luvia took the opportunity when everyone was shocked to exin, "In the world that His Majesty hailed from, polygamy was considered the norm. For the time being, it would be best not to pry into the matters of the Imperial Family. The most important takeaway is that, when His Majesty is present, you should act with propriety to avoid embarrassment. Though we have yet to marry, this property can be considered an embassy of the Aldrnari Empire so you would do well to keep that in mind, ohohohoho~." Since it wasnt even rare for Aristocrats to have multiple mistresses and lovers, Luvia didnt expect that it would be a big deal when the matter of Vahns rtionsh.i.p.s became public knowledge, at least within the Magusmunity. Though everyone understood that Luvia was essentially diverting the topic away, Reines couldnt help but ask with a sly smile, "And what is your official status, Luvia? I must admit, this topic has garnered my curiosity~." Hearing Reines question, Luvia knew she was looking for room to embarrass her but, without having to answer herself, it was Vahn who rified, "Luvia will be the official Empress through marriage. I would thank you not to pry into our personal matters, Madame Archisorte..." As he said this, Vahn also gave a nce towards Lord El-Melloi II, seeing thetter reply with a tired smile. It was clear that Reines held the dominant position in their rtionship and, seeing how she was treading a fine line that was quickly beginning to annoy him, Vahn assumed it wasnt the most healthy rtionship. Understanding she had overstepped her bounds, Reines lowered her head apologetically, even though there was still a sly smile on her face. Now that she was beginning to understand a bit of the dynamics surrounding Vahn and the Imperial Family, it was bing increasingly more likely that she could benefit in the future. If he had multiple Empresses, Consorts, and Concubines, the likelihood of her being able to arrange a marriage between their children greatly increased. Since Vahn was supposedly more than a hundred and fifty years old, yet was willing to make a twenty-seven-year-old woman his Empress, there was even a chance her own daughter, Ridley, could be one of his concubines in the future... Marking Reines down as a hazard he would need to address in the future, Vahn shook his head in admonishment before diverting the conversation away from his personal affairs. Instead, as this was supposed to be a meeting to discuss their alliance, he began to give a basic summary of his intentions before allowing Luvia to take over and iron out the details. As the alliance actually had nothing to do with his Empire, at least for the time being, his primary role was to support Luvia and the Edelfelt family as he established a reputation for himself in the Magusmunity. Only then would he have the ability to create his own faction, allowing him to take action in the real world while building up forces through the connections he would establish over the following years. To that end, Luvia discussed how everyone could contribute to the alliance, mostly rting to standing firm in the face of outside pressure. In exchange, she would buy materials and specialty goods at a premium while also providing low-interest rate loans, essentially acting as the creditor for their budding faction. This would be extremely helpful for people like Lord Animusphere and Reines, the former of which had already agreed to the alliance while thetter had epted after a bit of cross talk. As for Lev and Samantha, they didnt have much to gain from financial support but they ultimately agreed to participate. Lev stated that he would continue to support humanity by assisting the management of Chaldea while Samantha simply couldnt pass up an opportunity to learn more about the summoning ritual used in the Holy Grail War, both from a former Master and a Heroic Spirit... --- With the banqueting to an end after around two hours of discussion, the group split between males and females for the purpose of socializing. This left Vahn with Lord Animusphere, Lord El-Melloi II, and Lev Lainur uros in one of the ndvishly adorned studies of the Edelfelt Mansion while the women alighted elsewhere. The purpose of this arrangement was usually so that males and females could talk about things they otherwise would have been unable to discuss due to themon sensibilities and decorum possessed by members of high society. Now that he was alone with the three men, Vahn felt rather awkward as, with their difference in status, it was ultimately up to him to drive the conversation forward. Since this was supposed to be a time where personal matters could be discussed, he was very tempted to ask how on earth Lord El-Melloi II had gotten married to someone like Reines. However, as love could take on all kinds of forms, some rather toxic, Vahn decided not to pry. Instead, he pulled out a bottle of wine from his Inventory, surprising the men present as he stated, "It is a little early, but shall we partake of a drink to celebrate our alliance...?" As it would be considered improper to refuse, even though they had already toasted to their alliance earlier, each of the three men epted. Lord El-Melloi II was actually the youngest man present, at 39 years of age, so they were all sensible when it came to social etiquette. As a result, they understood this was Vahns attempt to ease the tensions, making the asion less formal and opening the floor to casual conversation. Using the newfound opportunity, Lord Animusphere sampled his wine and, though he was rather surprised by its quality, he kept his focus and asked, "Though it has only been a short while since our parting, I cannot help but wonder how my daughter is faring?" Since Luvia had already told him that Olga was staying at Vahns castle, Lord Animusphere couldnt help but feel worried for her safety. Understanding his concerns, Vahn gave a small nod before stating, "She is doing well. I built an Observatory for her and she seems to be quite fond of it. In the next few days, I will bring her along with me so you do not have to continue worrying about her safety. Then, when there is time, Id like to tour the Antarctica site to see CHALDEAS for myself..." Hearing Vahn casually say he would bring Olga back, Lord Animusphere felt a great deal of relief as, while others might just say such things to dismiss the subject, it was clear that Vahn was being genuine. The mention of CHALDEAS reminded him of the prophecy promising great fortune so, deciding to trust in the future he had foreseen, Lord Animusphere began to noticeably rx. He then began to talk about some of the projects that Chaldea had been working on, including the purpose behind the creation of CHALDEAS from the start. Ultimately, Lord Animusphere wanted to reach the Root but, in order to achieve that, he first wanted to guide humanity onto the correct path. By having an urate means of determining the fate of the entire world, looking directly into its future, it would be much easier to convince people of the error of their ways. If certain policies and practices ended up leading to a dark and chaotic future, it would be possible to nip them in the bud from their inception if they made proper use of LAPLACE, CHALDEAS, and SHEBA. Listening to Lord Animusphere speak rather passionately about his ideals, Vahns impression of the man had improved considerably over a short period of time. At the same time, Lord El-Melloi II and Lev joined in, talking about their own dreams and ambitions, albeit with considerably less fervor. Lord El-Melloi II simply wanted to modernize Magecraft and alter the curriculum of the Clock Tower so that it was fair to all students. His efforts had earned him a fair number of enemies, as he specialized in the rationalization of Magecraft, making it into an easier to understand format, an act that caused many tombast him for removing the mystery contained within Thaumaturgy. This didnt stop him from doing everything in his power to achieve his dream, however, admitting that he could not stand the current status quo that emphasized bloodline over talent and effort. Vahn felt that, if he and Lord El-Melloi II were able to interact with each other more often, there was a good chance they could be friends. Though he didnt outright agree with him, the fact he wasmitted to his ideals was rathermendable. When the world began to shift from the Modern and into the Magical Era, Vahn felt that he would be an extremely reliable Professor to teach Magic and Magecraft to the tidal wave of new Magi that would appear within the world. To prepare him for this responsibility, Vahn was intending to pass on some of his own research to the man, including some of the notes he had taken from observing and researching alongside Da Vinci... While he had been rather impressed by Lord Animusphere and Lord El-Melloi II, Vahn had a very different feeling while listening to Lev Lainur uros. Though he also talked boldly about saving humanity, even getting heated at moments, Vahn had the distinct impression he was viewing an act. More than any other lesson, Loki had emphasized teaching Vahn how to interpret whether or not a person was outright trying to fool him. There was a drastic difference between someone lying and someone trying to deceive you, as the former was often done to protect themselves or others. Thetter, however, was inherently malicious and, the more principled and noble the goal purported by the other party, at least ording to Loki, the more likely their actual intentions were the pr opposite... Feeling that something was wrong, Vahn did his best not to let his suspicion show on his face while also avoiding any direct thoughts pertaining to it. As a Magus who had been able to achieve the rank of Pride, it was a given that Lev would be sensitive to the intentions of others. Since Vahn had started to adapt his mentality to avoid having his intentions interpreted so easily, he was able to avoid alerting the man while subvocalizing, "ya, show me the String of Fate between Lev Lainur uros and Marisbury Animusphere. Make sure Im the only one who can see it..." As ya could even interpret his words through an absolute void, the subtle vibrations of his vocal cords, even without speaking audibly, were enough for her to understand his intentions. While continuing to listen to Lev talk about SHEBAs development, Vahn took a casual sip of his wine, casting his eyes towards the mans hand in the same motion. Since it had been a popr topic for a short while, Vahn knew what the color of each string meant, something that changed drastically depending on the finger it was attached to. The best example was how a red string attached to the pinky often indicated mutual love and affection while, if it was attached to the index finger, it meant one party was l.u.s.tful towards the other. If it was on the middle finger, however, the meaning would change entirely as, instead of passion, love, or l.u.s.t, it represented a fervent hatred toward the other party, alongside other wrathful emotions. When Vahn looked between Levs hand and Lord Animusphere, he wasnt all that surprised by the fact that there were three strings. What did alert him was the fact that a green string ran from his thumb while a ck string extended from his middle finger. ording to what he had learned from ya, green on the thumb indicated strong feelings of resentment, envy, and disgust while a ck string on the middle finger only had a single meaning...death. It didnt imply that one party wished the other would die; it meant that the originator of the string fully intended to kill the recipient. With that in mind, though he kept it turned off most of the time, Vahn activated his View Affection system function before nearly dropping his wine ss when he saw the auras around him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Artoria aint having none of that,Vahn gets along with other idealistic idiots xD...,Boi...) (A/N: My fellow tenants woke me up in the middle of the night to y Fortnite Chapter 2 so Im afraid that I was dead tired by the end of this chapter. Still, when I wake up after my nap, I intend to release two more in the afternoon. If people would prefer, however, I can dy their releases until tomorrow so you would have 5-6 chapters to read instead.) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1183 - Decisive

Chapter 1183 - Decisive

It had been quite some time since Vahn activated his View Affection, causing him to daze slightly when a powerful aura radiating from his shoulder wrapped around his entire body. Though he was able to confirm his suspicions about Lev, who possessed a brackish grey and red aura that indicated malicious intent, it was drowned out by yas ridiculously powerful aura. Even though itcked substance, it felt like his brain had received the impact of a Noble Phantasm, causing him topletely nk for a brief moment. ya herself seemed to realize his abnormal reaction, her aura momentarily releasing its tentacle-like extensions that had coiled around his body in an almost possessive manner. Though there wasnt anything that could be misconstrued as the colors of Love or Passion, ya had very clearly be extremely attached to him, far more so than he had expected. Even her Affection parameter had already broken through the bottleneck, currently disyed the rather peculiar Symbiotic Dependency value at 3,019 points. This value wasnt particrly high when he considered that they had been linked together for more than six months, but it was still quite a shocking discovery. If not for the fact that Levs aura very clearly showed hostile intentions, Vahn would have wanted to sit down and discuss this with ya to better understand how she viewed him... As they were all gathered around him, it was a given that Lord Animusphere, Lord El-Melloi II, and Lev would all notice Vahns peculiar reaction. As he had been the one speaking, Lev showed an apologetic expression as he politely stated, "Forgive me, Your Majesty...if I have said something you find disagreeable, allow me to apologize for my imprudence..." Though these words were said in an extremely polite manner, able to fool both of the present Lords, Vahn was brought back from his shock and, after disabling his View Affection once again, his expression became sharp as he asked, "What are you? You may be able to fool others, but I can see through your true nature, Lev Lainur uros. Tell me, how long have you been plotting to kill Lord Animusphere...?" Though Vahn literally kept thepany of snakes, there was no way he could overlook the sheer amount of malicious intent contained within Levs aura. Since his Affection value had even been a starling -13 points, Vahn knew this man was his enemy. Thus, even though Lev tried to y things off by showing a startled and embarrassed reaction, Vahn moved like a phantom as he grabbed the man by the neck and lifted him from the ground. At the same time, [Primordial Runes] began to flow from where they were connected, spreading across Levs body rapidly to prevent him from mustering up his malicious energy in retaliation. Surprised by Vahns sudden hostility, the two Lords entered a battle-ready state, even though Lord Animusphere also tried to deescte tensions, gesturing in a cating manner as he said, "Your Majesty, Im certain there has been some kind of misunderstanding. Lev is a good man who has worked alongside my family for nearly seventeen years. There are few people in the entirety of the Magusmunity who have done as much as he has for the benefit of mankind..." Since he was the one to bring Lev to the Edelfelt Mansion, Lord Animusphere felt personally responsible for the current incident. He didnt know what had happened to set Vahn off but, seeing a person he had worked alongside for nearly two decades getting violently choked wasnt pleasant. Shaking his head in response to Lord Animuspheres words, Vahn exined in an icy tone, "You have been deceived. This man carries within him an extremely malicious and vile form of energy that has fused itself with his Magic Crest. It doesnt matter how much good he has done if the only purpose behind such actions was to deceive. He is biding his time to cause a cmity and is just using your family as a means to achieve his ambitions..." As he said this, Vahn activated the runes he had spread across Levs body, causing them to radiate with intense heat as they embedded deep into his flesh. This caused Levs face to turn red and purple, a gurgling sound escaping his lips as his ability to scream in pain waspletely cut off by Vahns grip on his throat. Just as the two Lords were thinking about taking action, Vahn turned his eyes towards them, now zing with a divine glow as he stated, "I am not going to kill him. Since the two of you have been fooled, I will prove my ims before taking his life." With that said, Vahn ced his hand on Levs head, flooding his mind and body with Source Energy, cutting the flow of Magical Energy within his Magic Circuits. It wasnt an irreparable amount of damage but, without undergoing a process simr to Nirvana Rebirth, this effectively crippled Lev, turning him into a normal person. Still, it was enough to stay Lord Animuspheres and Lord El-Melloi IIs hands, even though there wasnt much they could have done to stop him. Allowing Lev to fall to his knees, Vahn finally released the mans neck, causing him to grimace in pain as she eximed, "I dont...understand...why are you doing this...!?" These words only fell on deaf ears, however, as Vahn was looking at the two Lords, exining, "I have the ability to sense the aura of others, allowing me to quantify the strength of their bonds and understand their true intentions. This mans aura specifically indicates that he intends to kill you, Lord Animusphere. At the same time, he has directed malicious intentions towards me and, while I understand everyone has their own reasons for joining this alliance, I will not tolerate the existence of anyone who tries to disguise their malice behind a noble cause." As Lord Animusphere couldnt find the words to address the current situation, it was Lord El-Melloi II who ultimately stated, "I do not doubt you have a plethora of abilities at your disposal. However, we cannot simply take your word and pass judgment on an innocent man...what proof do you have, other than the im of his guilt...?" Expecting such a question, Vahn inly stated, "Right now, I havepletely severed the Magic Circuits within his body. Im certain both of you have the means to ascertain the truth when he no longer has the means of disguising his intentions. What methods you use dont matter to me, so long as you understand that I intend to execute him, regardless of what you discover. Even if your ims about his contributions to humanity are true, it would be impossible for anyone to have an aura as ck as this man without having caused great suffering to others. I understand that there are few Magi within the Magusmunity whose hands are clean but I will not tolerate having a person with such malicious intentions amongst my allies..." In response to Vahns words, Lev once again tried to defend himself, eximing, "Your Majesty, there must be some kind of mistake. I have dedicated my life to my research, all so that the future of humanity would not be severed by the death of Magecraft...!" This time, rather than having his words ignored, Vahn turned his gaze onto Lev, his aura descending like the fall of the heavens, crashing against the mans mind and causing him to immediately lose consciousness. Then, turning back to the two Lords, Vahn gestured toward Lev, inly stating, "Feel free to confirm it for yourselves..." Though Lord Animusphere was more than a little hesitant to invade the privacy of one of his long-time associates, Lord El-Melloi IIs ideal was the pursuit of truth. With that in mind, he moved to stand in front of Lev and, though he felt pity for the mans plight, this did not stop him from using memory maniption magic to sift through the unconscious mans thoughts. As this was one of the most basic forms of Magecraft taught to even students, allowing them to sift through a normal persons memories and erase anything that might expose the existence of the Magusmunity, it was a given that Lord El-Melloi II was extremely adept at its usage. Without his Magical Energy to protect his mind, it took almost no effort at all for him to probe into Levs mind, something he would soone to regret after seeing the horrifying truth concealed behind the mans smile... As if he had just ced his hand on a live wire, Lord El-Melloi II reeled back in shock, cold sweat pouring down his face as he looked toward the stunned Lord Animusphere and muttered, "You should take a look...His Majesty is correct...this man cannot be allowed to live..." Knowing these memories would haunt him for the next couple of weeks, Lord El-Melloi II stepped off to the side while rubbing his temples. This left Lord Animusphere with aplex expression but, with even Lord El-Melloi II iming that Lev was a danger, he suppressed his own inhibitions before cing his hands against his formerpanions head and peering into his mind... Like viewing a chaotic and violent movie, Lord Animusphere bore witness to the cruelty that Lev concealed from others. His mind was filled to the brim with memories rting to how he would torture others, his preferred victims being orphans that he had manipted to believe a better life awaited them. Instead, they all met their ends in a dungeon beneath Levs estate, a ce that, even now, held tens of victims he had been using in his experiments. What made matters even worse was that Lev had even been using Chaldea as proving grounds to conduct some of his most gruesome experiments, to the point that he had even hired staff that were just as sadistic and twisted as him. These were primarily the members conducting one of Chaldeas most important ongoing experiments, the production of Designer Babies, children created with artificially modified DNA that would even allow normal humans to give birth to children capable of use Magecraft. This also allowed them to alter the structure of the Designer Babys Magic Circuits, making thempatible hosts for Heroic Spirits. This served as the basis for one of their most important theoretical experiments, the FATE system, a project intended to allow for rtively normal humans to serve as the hosts of powerful Heroic Spirits in order to protect the world from destruction. Though most Designer Babies only had a maximum lifespan of around 16~20 years by design, the average life expectancy was closer to ten. Now, seeing the horrible things that Lev and his associates had been doing to the children, Lord Animusphere felt sick to his stomach. Since he had other important matters to attend, he couldnt personally monitor every single department within Chaldea. As a result, he only viewed the data in order to make predictions that would help each department flourish, even as their finances dwindled. Now that he was aware of how his negligence had been exploited, leading to the suffering of the very individuals he had intended to entrust the fate of the world, Lord Animusphere couldnt help putting more force into the hands he was using to hold Levs head... To exacerbate matters even further, Levs memories also provided ample evidence to show that he was acting in the service of a demonic entity he referred to as his God. Rather than seeking to save the world, his true intentions were to use the very same system to guarantee the worlds destruction. He intended to manipte Chaldea to lock in a timeline where the world would be guided to its inevitable end, plotting theplete destruction of mankind. At the same time, his mind was filled with sadistic fantasies regarding the murder and torture of both Marisbury and, even worse, his daughter. When these images shed across his mind, Lord Animusphere could no longer continue his probe, removing his hands, a wrathful look recing his previous concern. Now that both Lords understood the truth of the matter, Vahn took the opportunity to state, "I will not arrogantly demand that you never question my intentions...however, know that I do not simply throw out such usations lightly. You cannot sense it, but there is a powerful and malignant aura sealed in this mans Magic Crest. If it was activated, there is little doubt in my mind that he would have be a powerful evil within the world. Since our goals are to create a better future for all of mankind, it is imperative that we remain skeptical, especially of those who conveniently share the same ideals." With that said, Vahn unceremoniously cut off the head of Lev while piercing his heart with a [Sacred Duplex Nail]. Then, as life quickly faded from his body, Vahn tossed him into his Inventory so that Da Vinci could analyze the malevolent energy within. Lord Animusphere and Lord El-Melloi II were surprised by Vahns decisive actions but, after seeing what was contained within Levs mind, they did not press the matter. Instead, Lord El-Melloi II adjusted his ascot, feeling a little suffocated, as hemented, "After witnessing this, there are matters I need to look into. Ill be excusing myself early, as Im certain Your Majesty also has matters to discuss with Lady Edelfelt and Her Highness, Artoria..." Nodding in response to Lord El-Melloi IIs words, Lord Animusphere added, "I also must attend the affairs of my family. Knowing what I know now, I would be ashamed to present Chaldea to you in its current state. Please excuse me, Your Majesty..." Following this, Lord Animusphere bowed at a very low angle, expressing his sincere apology while also showing a grateful expression in his pale-golden eyes. If Vahn had not exposed Levs true nature to him, it was very likely that, rather than great fortune, his family would have been brought to ruin. At the same time, however, Lord Animusphere felt slightly vindicated as, even though the prophecy wasnt supposed to be fulfilled for several years, it felt like his family was already on the road to prosperity after allying with the Edelfelt family and, as a result, the Aldrnari Empire... --- As the death of Lev couldnt exactly be overlooked, Vahn found himself in thepany of Luvia and her Grandmother shortly after the social gathering had been brought to a sudden end. He exined the situation and, as he had already sealed Levs energy before reaping his life, Vahn allowed Olivia to inspect the corpse directly, sans the head. As the brain would sustain almost irreparable damage after only a few minutes, Vahn kept it within his Inventory to preserve it until he could ce it into stasis within his and Da Vincis Workshop. Still, Olivia was able to confirm the presence of malignant energy within Levs body and, even though it would be somewhat troublesome to deal with the aftermath, it was better to remove the head of a snake sooner, rather than allow it to slither around and potentially sink its venomous fangs into your back when you least expect it. Fortunately, though he hailed from a rtively prestigious family, Lev was considered rather excentric amongst the Faculty of the Clock Tower and had few friends. Other than the uros family and Lord Meluastea, there shouldnt be anyone making a great fuss about Levs sudden death. It wouldnt take much effort to spin the matter to implicate Lev, using him of breaking into one of the Edelfelts workshops to steal secrets, an act akin to dering war against another Magus family. This would allow them to put pressure on the uros family and, though they may be innocent of Levs crimes, exposing the secret bas.e.m.e.nt where he had conducted his cruel experiments would quell the issue rather quickly. With that in mind, Olivia had a calcting expression on her face as shemented, "We will need to act on this information as soon as possible. After the incident earlier in the day, there is an incalcble number of people looking for any excuse to stir up trouble. Luvia, as the Head of the family, I will leave it to you to deal with this problem. You arent just fighting your own battles any longer, but those of your betrothed as well..." Then, turning her gaze to Vahn, Olivia added in a stern tone, "Dont cause too much trouble for my Granddaughter. If you do, make sure you at least make it up to her properly in the bedroom." Hearing Olivias remark, Vahn shook his head in mock exasperation while Luvia happily clung to his arm, yfully remarking, "Oh, I have no doubt my hubby will take good care of me~. Before that, I need to deal with personal and private matters." After saying this, Luvia gave Vahn a kiss on the cheek and, as much as she wanted to stick around, she knew it was better to resolve things as soon as possible. On her way out, apanied by Olivia, she winked towards Artoria and Gray before musing, "Ill leave His Majesty in your care..." Then, without dying any further, Luvia went to clean up the mess Vahn had made while simultaneously thinking about how she could use this new information to benefit their family further... Understanding the implication in Luvias words, Artoria and Gray both flushed slightly, causing Vahn tough in a lighthearted manner as if he hadnt just murdered a man only a few minutes prior. Knowing that they would be given the opportunity to reincarnate and live a better life, Vahn had long ago started to ept that his path would be filled with the deaths of his enemies. When time allowed, he would offer up a prayer for Levs fortune in the next life but, as it was gettingte in the day, he took Artoria and Gray with him to the underground chamber that served as a vault and safe house for the Edelfelt family. This had been designated as their transfer location as, in the event of a dire emergency, there was already arge transfer circle in ce to allow them to escape. After setting up his own defensive measures for added security and protection, Vahn grabbed Artoria and Gray by the waist, holding them close to his body as they all teleported back to Avalon with yas assistance. In truth, there were a lot of things on his mind after just this one day outside the Ind, showing just how important external stimulus was for his growth. Before he would get around to addressing these matters, however, Vahn whisked the two women away to a private area, bypassing the other residents of the castle to spend some quality time with the two in order to express his gratitude and apologize for any inconveniences they had been made to experience... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ya be like, "Mine..." (O,...,O),The mind of a sadist isnt a pleasant ce,Luvia will be expecting gratitudeter (UwU)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1184 - Aftermath

Chapter 1184 - Aftermath

Following Vahns appearance at the Mages Association, news and spection quickly circted throughout the entire Magusmunity. Just the fact he had been able to freely leave showed that he must havee to an ord with the Association Director so, when the announcement of his Sealing Designation being revoked came shortly thereafter, interest in the so-called Sage Emperor had skyrocketed. There were several ways in which this manifested, depending on the social status of the person receiving the news. For the students and Faculty who had observed him, Vahn had be a talking point in many circles, if for no other reason than his physical appearance and presence. Amongst some of the female students, there were images that had been recorded of Vahn circting around while, from the perspective of most male students and staff, he was almost universally disliked. Pride was a key part of being a Magus and it often annoyed the boys that many female students often had more prestige than them. Since the journalism department would also publish their most desirable men listings for the entire Clock Tower to read, the fact that Vahns name and face had been pushed to the top of the list grated on quite a few young men and a few Faculty members who had their own listings pushed down. Among these, though he would never openlyin about such things in public, was Bram Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, the man known as Lord Sophia-Ri, the current Head of one of the top ten most prestigious Magus families. Ever since his former brother-inw, Kah El-Melloi Archibald, had lost his life during the Fourth Holy Grail War, it felt like he could never get a break. Since thetter had left with such confidence, while also being one of the few people that Lord Sopha-Ri respected, it was quite a shock when he learned the former Lord El-Melloi had lost his life. When it became known that someone like Waver Velvet, one of Kahs students, had not onlye back alive but also stole his colleagues original catalyst, Lord Sophia-Ri had been livid. Things were only exacerbated when Waver then worked hard to establish various connections, even going so far as to indebt himself heavily, just to take over the ssroom that was previously managed by the deceased Lord El-Melloi. When all of these things hade to light in the past, Lord Sophia-Ri had been preparing to crush Waver outright as, in his eyes, thetter was nothing more than amoner and a thief. However, it became exceedingly difficult to do anything about Waver when, as if she had known about his own machinations, Reines outright kidnapped the man beforeter announcing him as the new Lord El-Melloi II. As he had not been a Lord himself at the time, it could have be a major debacle if he had taken any action against Waver at the time, something Lord Sophia-Ri regretted not doing till this day. Originally, Lord Sophia-Ris sister, S-Ui Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri had been engaged to Kah, the then Lord El-Melloi. She had been engaged to him for purely political reasons,rgely rted to the fact that, before the shock he had experienced motivated him to be a capable Magus, Lord Sophia-Ri had been considered a failure who served no purpose other than holding onto the Magic Crest until he could produce an heir. When Lord El-Melloi had participated in the Fourth Holy Grail War, she had apanied him before ultimately losing her life in the resultant conflict. As a result of not only losing their Head, but also their familys Magic Crest, the Archibald family tore itself apart after the death of Lord El-Melloi. At the time, the Sophia-Ri family had also experienced a number of setbacks,rgely due to usations by members of the Archibald family iming they were responsible for their Magic Crest being lost. Since the investigation conducted reflected this was the case, Lord Sophia-Ri had been forced to cooperate with the Archibald family during the time of the internal conflict, helping a few key members to seize power. It was around this time that his engagement to Reines had been established, even though she had only been around six-years-old at the time. Initially, Lord Sophia-Ri didnt care about such an arrangement but, as his family was pressuring him into agreeing, as Reines had managed to secure the title of Lord and could be easily exploited, he ultimately took a step back on the matter. She had been a cute girl at the time, much like a bisque doll, so he decided to just look forward to her growth. However, when it came to light that she was not only protecting Waver, but had even adopted him as her old brother and given him the title of Lord El-Melloi II, Lord Sophia-Ri had been more incensed than ever before. It was for this reason that he had pressured Lord El-Melloi II at every chance he got, taking advantage of the fact he had been amoner to cause all kinds of trouble for him. Now, in hindsight, Lord Sophia-Ri wished he had outright killed Waver when he had gotten the chance. He had always mocked the man for being a false Lord, using him of simply holding onto the position onto Reines reached a.d.u.l.thood. Back then, this had indeed been the case as, with the title belonging to Reines, she would be required to take up the mantle herself if she wanted to avoid losing it to the Archibald family once again. However, on the day of her sixteenth birthday, Reines had shocked everyone by announcing her engagement to Lord El-Melloi II, allowing him to keep the title as a result of their union. That night, Lord Sophia-Ri had trashed an entire section of his Manor, only stopping when his Grandfather had intervened and given him a harsh lecture about how to act as a Lord... For thest seventeen years, Lord Sophia-Ri had felt as if his life was spiraling outside of his control and, though he was now married and had already produced an heir, the shame he had experienced was carved into his heart. With the sudden emergence of the so-called Sage Emperor, whom he had failed to stonewall even through the use of Goldolf, Lord Sophia-Ri felt as if his notorious misfortune had reared its head once again. Not only had Vahn been able to walk into the Clock Tower and leave without any major incidents, but the death of Lev Lainur uros on the same day was quickly buried through the machinations of the Edelfelt family. Though he had never been close to the man referred by many as Professor Lev, Lord Sophia-Ri had been quick tombast the Edelfelt family and the Sage Emperor for conspiring together in order to bully weaker Aristocratic families. That very same evening, however, he was forced to quickly retract his statement and tone as, when the Edelfelt family stormed the uros Mansion, it was brought to light that Lev Lainur uros was engaged in many taboo practices. As there were very few things within the Magusmunity that were frowned upon, so long as you kept them concealed, the fact that Lev had been engaged in genuine taboos made all the former allies of the uros family quick to distance themselves. In the days following the Edelfelt familys raid, the evidence painting Lev as a fanatical demon cultist quickly circted through the Magusmunity. Many members of his extended family were also found guilty of simr crimes, to the point that many considered the entire family corrupted by the shadow of Levs actions. As a result, their family was quickly torn apart, most of their assets being seized by the Edelfelt family while much of their research was turned over to the Mages Association during the resultant investigation. This was so that the Edelfelts could distance themselves from any usations that they had kept Levs experimental data for themselves as, with their reputation as a righteous Magus family, it would be a problem if they were associated with demonic rituals. During these events, it was quickly brought to light that the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, was the one to expose Levs decades-long scheme. The Animusphere family also published the results of their own internal investigation, turning over more than twenty of Levs affiliates to the Mages Association. Because of this, Vahn was currently enjoying quite a bit of poprity within the Clock Tower, even though most of the established Magus families felt a strong headacheing their way. Just the fact that he had been received by Zelretch, met with the Association Director, and then simply walked away was already a major g to many people. Now that Vahn was affiliated with the Edelfelt family, there were very serious discussions urring within the confines of each major family about how he should be dealt with in the future. This was because, around the same time that Vahns information began circting, it was brought to light that he was considered an outside power that, while affiliated with the Edelfel, Animusphere, and Archisorte families, had no direct affiliation with the Mages Association. The fact he was allowed to leave the Clock Tower while still maintaining his status as an external power caused a stir amongst the established powers, especially those that knew the disposition of the Association Director. It was well known that Vahn was supposedly from another world and, though he had been credited with destroying the Holy Grail, it was also known that he had been the victor of the Sixth Holy Grail War itself. Nobody knew what wish he had made and, while some imed he hadnt made a wish at all, there were few who believed anyone could pass up such an opportunity. As a result, there were many who believed that Vahn had wished for something along the lines of absolute power or, as was the far more popr talking point, had gained absolute power after reaching the Root. If thetter assumption was the case, it meant that there was now a Sixth Mage in the World, one whose power and abilities werepletely unknown to the rest of the Magusmunity. --- Though not unaware of how he was discussed within the Magusmunity, Vahn didnt particrly care about rumors. He had learned even in Danmachi that people would allow their imaginations to get the better of them and, with careful maniption by those in power, even extreme falsehoods could be made into the truth. With the current social and political climate that could be seen in normal society, it wasnt an exaggeration to say things would be even worse within amunity of individuals who believed in abstract concepts such as Mystery. Ultimately, regardless of what was said about him, it would be his actions and future aplishments that built his prestige, not a few rumors being circted by various people, seemingly with nothing better to do. A stark contrast to them, Vahn was rather busy spending each and every day, at least in his opinion, to the fullest. After having returned to the Ivory Castle that first night, Vahn had been splitting his time between ying with his daughters, spending time with his women, hanging out with Siegfried, tending to Gray, and researching alongside Da Vinci. Though he didnt have much time for training, the fact that Scthach was away had given him a bit of leeway in that regard. That didnt mean he wasnt getting stronger, however, as one of the things at the forefront of Vahns focus was experimenting with the elements of Space and Time. At the same time, he was doing his best to recover his Creation Divinity as, in conjunction with the other two advanced elements, he needed an understanding of all three toplete his Zennith Quest. To that end, after entrusting Levs body to Da Vinci for analysis, Vahn had been experimenting with folding, expanding, shrinking, andpressing Space. These were all things that Da Vinci herself had a keen interest in so, while Vahn was training alone within the Sub-Space Orb reserved for his training with Scthach, he had an audience of rather adorable creatures observing him. Since Da Vinci wasnt really the type to produce the same thing over and over again, she had been building various different types of adorablepanions that would serve as the basis for the social, political, and educational reforms she wanted to see in the future. Currently, though Skoll and Skoll V2 were considerably cuter than the rest, Da Vinci had producedpanions with various animal traits. There was a cat-type model named Neko, a dog-type named Momo, a hamster-type named Manju, and an owl-type named Hoo. The cat-type model possessed ck and white fur and was programmed to act simr to azy house cat, a stark contrast to how the dog-type would follow you around, actively seeking affection and wanting to y. As for the hamster and owl types, the former was Da Vincis attempt to make the softest model, resulting in a squishy and adorablyzy golem while thetter, intended for more sophisticated individuals would generally sit stoically at the side, only acting adorable when given attention. Though all of Da Vincispanions were created to be vaguely humanoid, she was also working on models that, like the clothes she had designed, could be upgraded via thework she intended to establish. Her intention was to have all children assigned a rather adorablepanion that would be able to support healthy mental development which, when they got older, would evolve in order to better reflect their owners and support their ambitions. For those that wanted to fly around freely, theirpanions could very well evolve into giant flying mounts while, those who were reserved, might have theirpanions evolve into more human or wholly animalistic forms. She had even ounted for the possibility that some people would fall in love with theirpanions and, as they had the potential of gaining a soul, at least ording to her observations and research of Vahn, Da Vinci did not intend to pass judgment on who loved what. As someone who had experienced just how heartbreaking it could be to have their preferences scorned, Da Vinci was actually curious to see what form the love of others would take if allowed to blossom freely. At first, Vahn wasnt thatfortable with the potential for the adorable, almost child-like creatures to evolve into biological organisms that were even capable of giving birth, but he quickly got over it after considering the matter from the perspective of using his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] to name things. Since the only way for them to evolve into such a form was if their owner was of healthy mind and sound judgment, Vahn felt it would be insensitive of him to disallow such a rtionship. If they grew alongside each other and developed mutual love, to the point the AI could awaken a nascent Soul, Vahn felt it would be wrong to interfere. With that in mind, Vahn watched how his own daughters interacted with theirpanions as, after it had been cared for by Siegfried and allowed some semnce of a peaceful life, Susu had betrayed Mordred and started living in his room. Fortunately, with Neko as a recement, she didnt seem to care about the loss of the cat she had initially stolen from Nobunaga. This was because, even though Neko was programmed to be a zy house cat, it would still respond positively to Mordred instead of trying to escape all the time. Thus, in the days following Nekos creation, Mordred could often be seen carrying it around and ying while Sakura, apanied by the dog-typepanion, Momo, was often close by. Since his daughters seemed to get along really well with theirpanions, Vahn felt like children all over the world would benefit from their presence. As even Gray and Artoria, receiving Hoo and Manju respectively, seemed to genuinely enjoy ying with theirpanions, Vahn felt that Da Vincis vision of the future wasnt as difficult to achieve as Luvia seemed to believe. Though there would undoubtedly be problems, Vahn felt that implementing the use ofpanions within Avalon alone would eventually lead to them being spread throughout the entire world. At the very least, anyone that would reside on the Ind would be required to have apanion with them, serving as their assistant, guardian, and the key that allowed them ess to specific facilities. Then, when these people left the Ind, they would have already grown attached to theirpanions, with many having already evolved into more convenient forms that directly reflect their personality and interests. With this, it was only a matter of time before interest in thepanions grew and, while there would undoubtedly be naysayers who painted them in a negative light, the rampant changes in the world would cause many to seek the security andpanionship offered by the adorable little creatures... That was a matter for the distant future, however, and, while Vahn often walked around with Skoll and Skoll V2 following close behind, his bigger focus was on the clingy ya. Though he could have kept it to himself, Vahn had confronted her about the Symbiotic Dependence they had seemingly developed for each other. As she would often get angsty whenever they were separated for a long period of time, there wasnt much room for ya to deny the fact. Her behavior had already been doc.u.mented by Akasha and, as it was not corrected, the only thing she could do was ept that Vahns influence on her was something she could no longer resist. Though it wasnt to the point that it had overwritten any of her directives, ya didnt deny that she would probably do something drastic if anything were to happen to him. As his death would allow her to begin using her functions once again, such as the use of Counter Guardians, ya admitted she would exterminate anyone that had been involved in his death. Since Akasha and her superiors were interested in seeing how she would evolve beyond the purpose given to her, ya knew it was only a matter of time before Vahn managed to tame her. Thus, as much as it annoyed her to admit it, she was simply incapable of denying the facts as her programming made it impossible for her to lie. As a result of his confrontation with the increasingly adorable blue creature, Vahns impression and treatment of ya had improved considerably. Though he still wouldnt sleep with her, as he now felt apulsion to tame her beforehand, their rtionship became simr to the one enjoyed by his daughters and theirpanions, albeit much closer. Since this shift in mentality also made the energy conversion of his bodily fluids more efficient, ya could only grit her teeth in annoyance as she slowly became ustomed to Vahn handling her freely and ying with her ears whenever he was ruminating over something... In this manner, interspaced by some rather intimate interactions with the women in his life, Vahn was enjoying his new schedule, split between the time he spent in London and the evenings he enjoyed in theforts of Avalon. Since the Aristocratic faction and the other major families didnt seem to know how to treat him at the moment, he had a lot of free time on his hands so, other than waiting for the return of Illyas and Astolfos groups, there wasnt much for him to do other than follow his interests. The only causes of stress in his life right now, other than general uncertainty, was the time he invested trying to wean Gray, in order to restore her independence, and Olgas increasing need to seek him out for positive affirmation... Gray spent most of her time with Artoria and, though she was quickly bing friends with Fenrir and Medusa, there were also times when she would track him down, regardless of if he was busy or not, just to spend time with him and suck his blood. As for Olga, she would often be waiting for him around the transfer point, sometimes for hours, in order to present her research to him the moment he returned from London. He had slightly underestimated her desire to be praised but, feeling she was somewhat simr to how Fenrir had been when she was younger, Vahn didnt mind pandering to her needs for a bit. The more she sought positive affirmation from him, the easier it would be to set her on the proper pathter. Thus, until the time she was made the Director of Chaldea, Vahn decided to tolerate Olgas admittedly adorable behavior, so long as she didnt do anything too extreme... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Man, Lord Sophia-Ri has gotten screwed a few times xD...,Da Vinci says, "Conquer the world with cuteness...! Let there be Love~!",Do these count as First-World problems, or Second Record problems...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1185 - Revelations

Chapter 1185 - Revtions

It had taken a little longer than expected, but Da Vinci had finally been able topletely analyze the structure of Lev Lainur uross Magic Crest. Immediately after this discovery, she had sent a message to Vahn using Ark, resulting in him arriving in their Workshop only a few minutester. He had been at the shooting range with Lakshmibai but, as Da Vinci wouldnt have called him unless it was something important, Vahn had to cut their date shorter than expected. When he arrived in the Workshop, he was equally as surprised when Da Vinci showed him the results of her analysis, causing Vahn to frown deeply. Instead of asking if her results were urate, he instead asked, "Can we track this energy within other Magic Crests...? In response to Vahns question, Da Vinci had an uncharacteristically serious expression on her face as she exined, "This matter isnt that simple, Vahn. The fact that this has remained hidden for almost three-thousand years indicates that the only way to detect this malicious energy is when it is about to awaken. From what I have been able to discern from the structure of this Magic Crest, it indicates that the underlying structure of the crests is a system designed, not to advance Magecraft further, but nourish the souls of the entities sealed within the Magic Crests. Ill have to analyze other Magic Crests to be certain, but there is a chance that all Magic Crests work from this same principle..." Hearing this, Vahns frown deepened even further as, ording to Da Vincis findings, there had been an existence referred to in the Magusmunity as a demon sealed within the Magic Crest. They were a type of existence that was akin to a Law of Nature, simr in structure to Spirits but almost exclusively predisposed to causing chaos and destruction. Though they were bound to humans, meaning they could only act at the behest of malicious and evil individuals, they were considered to be the embodiment of evil, the counterbnce to the existence of Heroes within the Worlds structure. Demons would periodically appear throughout history, often causing great destruction through war, gues, famine, and other terrible phenomena. Though the Holy Church would take action the moment a demon emerged, it was usually the rise of a Hero that ultimately led to the entitys end. Though the existence of demons wasnt difficult to ept, the troubling part of Da Vincis findings was that, much like how the micro-golems andpanions were linked together, giving them a hive mind of sorts, the Demon within Lev Lainur uross Magic Crest also seemed to be just an extension of argerwork. Da Vinci had ounted for a total of seventy-two links and, while it should be possible to use the Demon in Levs Magic Crest to develop a radar of sorts, this had a very high chance of alerting the Demons they were searching for, potentially causing a chain reaction and awakening them all. Even this was pure spection, however, requiring Da Vinci to have to request Rin to allow her Magic Crest to be studied to be sure. Before that, Vahn conferred with ya to see if she could provide any information pertaining to Demons but, as they were an extension of Gaia, she was prohibited from exposing their location and purpose. Under normal circ.u.mstances, the most she could do was pick a Saint to stand against any Demon that had already emerged, though only if a Hero failed to appear amongst the people. One positive piece of information they had been able to obtain from ya was, even if their power was significantly restricted due to their contract, it was possible for Vahn to summon a Saint from the past to aid them in the present. They had the intrinsic ability to track down their evil counterparts using an ability known as [Pure Eyes of the Saint]. Though there were various different types of [Pure Eyes], including some that were demonic in origin, they generally existed as a means for Demons to identify Saints and vice-versa. ording to ya, the eyes were tied to the karma of an individual, working as a force of natural attraction between good and evil that required them to eliminate each other, often with prejudice. Understanding how big of a pain karma could be, Vahn felt empathetic towards the Saints who, by making a contract with ya, essentially inherited a massive volume of good karma by selflessly devoting themselves to the preservation of humanity. This meant that their lives would be gued by the constant presence of evil and malicious individuals and, once their purpose had been served, they were often killed by the very people they wanted to protect. Sadly, once the evil had been dealt with, the power possessed by Saints often became a source of fear for the people, especially amongst those who held power. The only way to avoid this fate was often by serving under the Holy Church who, when a Saint appeared, would flock to the individual to try and seize them. If they could not be controlled, the person wouldnt even be recognized as a Saint, often beingbeled as a heretic and burned to prevent the faith of the people from being directed away from the church. Then, while ndering the person into oblivion, often erasing them from history entirely, the Holy Church would harvest the organs, bones, and even the clothes of the Saints they had killed, using them as materials to create their Holy Sacraments... Each new thing Vahn learned about the Holy Church made him dislike them even more and, though it was more than a little petty, he considered having ya help him identify the Saints so that he could summon them to the present. If he pulled them directly from history, Vahn believed that the Holy Church would be unable to harvest them as materials for their own purposes. Unfortunately, while it was indeed possible to summon Saints through the Throne of Heroes, ya informed him that it was impossible to tear them from history directly. As they were an intrinsic part of the worlds bnce, serving as an extension of the Counter Force, their actions and history could not be altered without disastrous consequences. It was necessary for the karma they had inherited to be bnced and, though it was undoubtedly tragic that their bodies would be harvested for materials, those very same tools would be the instruments to y other demons throughout history. Even if the Holy Church may have a biased doctrine, it was a fact that they were one of the primary forces working to preserve humanity. ya, rather awkwardly, was actually the very same God that the Holy Church believed in, even though much of their doctrine was entirely contrived as a result of their interpretation of her will through human bias. As she hade into existence at the same time as humans, ya had been watching over them from the very beginning, protecting them from other Gods, Natural Disasters, and any Phantasmal Species that sought to destroy them. This Divine Protection, which was actually just the manifestation of Humanitys Will to Survive, was the origin of the being nascent human civilizations interpreted as God. Even this had been skewed, however, as different people gave very different interpretations of the same events, often misconstruing things even further when ya would select a new Saint or send one of her Counter Guardians to protect a specific group of people. These people, given power by their interpretation of God, were treated as Prophets, Saints, and Arbiters of Gods Will, dividing people into various different cultures basedrgely on a misunderstanding. From the very beginning, the God almost every culture believed in was fundamentally the same thing and, though it had been ya herself, her existence was entirely the result of humanitys own will to survive. Humans were, in essence, their own gods, restricted solely by the systems they had established for themselves. As every human within the Root had the potential of returning to the Root, bing one of the variables the experiment had been designed to produce, there was functionally no limit to their growth. This was something Vahn had been well aware of and, as Da Vinci also believed in the simple ideology that nothing is impossible, it wasnt hard for them to understand yas words. It was clear that ya was actually a little frustrated with how humanity had developed as, if they were not so predisposed to misunderstandings and fighting amongst themselves, she wouldnt have to use Counter Guardians to purge entire civilizations just so that they didnt wipe out everyone else... After listening to yas veiledints about humanity, Vahn asked her, "What Saint would you suggest we summon then...?" In response to this, ya bopped him on the nose, as he had been holding her up with both hands like a house cat, answering, "You should just summon Jeanne DArc, as the memories you have shared with other Heroic Spirits show you are already familiar with one of her manifestations. She was a very dedicated Sainte who never renounced her faith, even as the very people she dedicated her life to watched her burn on the pyre." As she had been observing him for a long time, ya knew exactly the kind of person Vahn was. Since Jeanne had the Noble Phantasm, [La Pucelle], which had the property of annihting anything within existence, ya also felt that she would be a suitable reserve card if Vahn failed to defeat Angra Mainyu... Hearing ya mention the familiar name, Vahns mind shed with images of the stalwart and loyal Knight that had dutifully served him. Since she was also a counterpart to Lakshmibai, in a way, Vahn felt summoning Jeanne was a surprisingly good choice. Now was a period where drastic changes could ur at any moment so, while he still intended to summon Karna in the near future, it wasnt a bad idea to call upon other Heroes to give them time to limate before the conflicts began. Still, this would have to wait until the summoning formation was naturally active as he didnt n to ruin Da Vincis ongoing experiment and causing her to wait several months for another opportunity. With the demon inside of Levs Magic Crest slumbering for nearly three-thousand years, it wasnt all that likely for others to begin appearing any time soon. Since he didnt want to have to deal with the Holy Church right now, who would undoubtedly appear with the emergence of Demons and Saints, Vahn felt it was better to stay focused on current matters. He felt like he was on a breakthrough in hisprehension of Space and Time Laws and, as he was only just now getting his feet wet in the political affairs of the Mages Association, further distractions would only eat into the time he could spend with Mordred and Sakura. At the very least, he wanted to wait until Illyas and Astolfos groups returned as, before he added anyone else into the mix, Vahn needed to sort his personal and private affairs better... --- After spending a bit of time discussing things with Da Vinci, Vahn agreed to help her convince Rin, Luvia, and Olga to allow her to study their Magic Crests. With that in mind, Vahn sought out who he thought would be the easiest to convince, Olga, as he also wanted her to be the understudy of Da Vinci before bing the Director of Chaldea. As Rin was currently teaching Mordred, Sakura, and Medusa, while Luvia was back in London dealing with business and politics, she was really the only one who could reliably assist Da Vinci in her attempts to understand the structure and hidden danger within Magic Crests. If all Magic Crests carried the same potential of corrupting their users, Vahn knew it would be a nightmare campaign trying to convince the Mages Association of the dangers... Though she hadnt exactly been cking off previously, Vahn could sense Olga fl.u.s.teredly jumping into the seat of her telescope shortly after he triggered a proximity formation she had sneakily set up at the base of her Magus Tower. As he was the only one that really visited, with the exception of Da Vinci showing up to take a look in the past, she wanted to appear as if she was hard at work all the time. Vahn felt this behavior of hers was rather silly but, as it was also quite adorable, he decided to feign ignorance of the proximity trigger as he slowly made his way up the spiraling stairs to find Olga pretending to not have noticed his arrival. Leaning against the entrance to her Observatory, Vahn mused in an appreciative tone, "I see you are working hard, as usual..." These words caused Olga to look over, a poor facade of surprise on her face as she remarked, "Your Majesty, please give me just a moment. I want to finish this calction and then Ill be right with you." Though she made it appear as if she was using quite a number of instruments, Vahn could tell at a nce that Olga was just performing a simple calction to predict the weather. However, he pretended not to notice this and just gave an understanding nod before sitting down in a chair and watching her work. This caused Olga to fl.u.s.ter slightly, biting her lip to prevent a smile from spreading across her face, but it didnt prevent her from finishing up the rather simple calction... When she had finished, Olga made a show of stretching her body, extending both arms out and producing a rather cute noise before rising from the telescopesfortable chair and asking, "To what do I owe the pleasure of His Majestys visit?" While these words left her lips, Olga made her way over to Vahns side and, even though she was still very nervous under the surface, her ability to mask this had improved rapidly over the forty-seven days she had spent within the Projection. Now, even though it made her feel a little lightheaded, she could walk over and sit next to Vahn on the same sofa without fumbling over her own feet and embarrassing herself. Vahn pulled out tea and snacks as Olga sat down, understanding she had likely not eaten anything all day, answering in a calm tone, "There is a matter I wanted to discuss with you. At the same time, I wanted to see how you were doing. You shouldnt coop yourself up in the Observatory for too long, Olga. There is a difference between working hard and pushing yourself...you should get out of the castle and spend time with the others when you can." As she usually only talked with Lakshmibai and Fenrir, as they would visit her on asion, Vahn wanted Olga to break out of her shell and interact with the others now that she was used to living in the castle. As this wasnt the first time Vahn had said something simr, Olga halfheartedly nodded her head, even though she also agreed with him. Instead of leaving on her own, however, Olga wanted Vahn to take her out first. Approaching others was very difficult and, as her research kept her well distracted, she was content with staying in the Observatory. She didnt really have anything else to do and, even if Vahn wanted her to train and be stronger, Olga wanted him to be the one to teach her the basics. Until then, she intended to continue cooping herself up inside, doing light exercises to stay in shape as she awaited the day she became the Director of Chaldea. Resisting the urge to shake his head in admonition, Vahn just produced a wry smile in response to Olgas peculiar obstinance as he exined, "There is an important request I have for you..." This caused Olgas attention and, as she had too much time on her hands these days, her mind began racing with expectation. Unfortunately, contrasting all of them, Vahn exined the discovery Da Vinci had made before asking if Olga was willing to allow her to study the Magic Crest he knew she had already inherited. In response to this, Olga had a fretful expression as the Magic Crest of a Magus family, especially once as prestigious as hers, was their most closely guarded secret. In was the culmination of their entire familys breakthroughs in Magecraft, passed along to a single heir through dozens, or even hundreds, of generations... Understanding Olgas apprehension, Vahns expression softened a bit as he reached out his hand, startling her by stroking her pale hair and stating, "Please, trust me, Olga. This will also be a good opportunity for you to learn a great deal from Da Vinci..." Then, realizing this may not exactly be the best motivation, Vahn bit the bullet and added, "I understand Im asking a lot...in exchange, I will allow you to make a request of me as well. So long as it is within my power, I will grant any wish you may have..." As he still possessed an item that could literally allow him to grant a wish, Vahn was sincere when he made his im. Though he understood Olga probably wouldnt suggest something so extreme, as he had some expectations for what she may ask for, the severity of his words was still conveyed properly... Now, rather than a traditional fretful expression, Olgas eyes began to swim around in their sockets as her face became beet red the instant she heard Vahns words. Rather than focusing on protecting the secrets of her family, which may very well lead to her protecting the existence of a demon, Olgas mind was racing with possibilities about what she might request. She could tell he was very serious and, knowing Vahn would even answer extreme demands, Olgas heart felt like it was going to burst out of her chest. However, fearing he would think lesser of her if she asked for too much, Olga only managed to tightly grip the hem of her skirt as she stammered, "K-k-kiss...I w-want a kiss...!" Hearing Olga say the word kiss in a high pitched tone, Vahn barely resisted the urge to chuckle as, from one perspective, it almost sounded like Olga was giving away all her familys secrets for a just one kiss. Still, as this was much tamer than he had expected, while also being a huge step forward for Olga herself, Vahn decided to make it worth her while. Thus, before she could implode further, Vahn caused Olga to turn statuesque by moving his hand from the top of her head to the side of her face. Then, as her eyes gradually widened in response, he moved in closer, sealing her lips and giving her a memory she would not soon forget... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The demons within...,Poor ya, having all her actions misrepresented by opportunists...,Seriously, Vahn is bullying Olga at this point (>/////<)~!) (A/N: Okay, I have apparently misjudged how hard it is to transition back into a schedule where I write all the chapters back to back. For now, there will be two guaranteed chapters on schedule while the other 1-2 will be released in the afternoon, depending on when I can allocate the motivation and time to keep writing. https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1186 - Breaking Limits

Chapter 1186 - Breaking Limits

With Olgaying atop a table that was slowly scanning her entire body, Vahn remained nearby to help her remain calm by holding her hand and making small talk as Ark analyzed the structure of her Magic Circuits and Crest. Though Olga was still red in the face from earlier, she had calmed down a great deal now that several hours had passed. If anything, she was getting a little bored and, without someone to talk to, she felt the only way she could stay in one spot for such a long period of time was by either sleeping or conducting research. To that end, she and Vahn talked about her results over thest month and a half, followed by Vahn exining some of his own insights into the Laws and Astronomy in general. Though it may not be a proponent of all worlds within every Record, Vahn knew through his own research that energy like mana was not found in a usable form throughout the universe. Gaia was the only within the Sr System that produced mana from within, allowing it to propagate throughout the atmosphere and into the various nts and animals inhabiting the surface. Because of this, most forms of Astromancy used the Geocentric Model when conducting their calctions, cing the Earth, Gaia, at the center of everything, even though it had long been proven by Science that Sun was the center of the sr system. Because of the unique ways in which reality was shaped by the beliefs of people which, on a global scale, could rewrite parts of history, this meant Astronomy had been very powerful when people still believed Gaia was the center of the universe. Now, as Science continued to uncover the secrets of the universe, purporting their enlightenment even as they failed to see beyond the surface, it was a given in the eyes of the Magusmunity that Astronomy would weaken. This, however, was only true if you allowed your ownprehension of the Laws to be influenced by the perception of other people. The most powerful people in the world obviously did not care about such things and, by persistently pursuing greater heights, they had continuously been able to reach them. Though this wasrgely in part due to their appropriation of resources and hundreds of years of concerted efforts, it was still a sign that their individual will could break away from what the Magusmunity referred to as the Collective Common Sense of Mankind. By freeing themselves from these limitations, though it took an extreme amount of effort, it simply wouldnt matter how other people viewed the Thaumaturgy you were studying. From the very beginning, the principles themselves had always existed and, even if there were no humans to observe and practice them at all, they would have never been weakened. Vahn was trying to have Olga understand that there were no limits to her potential growth, rifying another misunderstanding of hers by exining, "All things in the Universe originate from the Root. As a result, it would be rather odd if you were able to reach the Root by only focusing on Gaia? Even in the Milky Way Gxy alone, there are nearly four-hundred billions. Instead of limiting your path to a single, you should have already started looking toward the stars and others to push your understanding of Astronomy and Astromancy even further. Just imagine how powerful your predictions would need to be in order to make predictions using the entire gxy...?" Though she knew Vahn was right, Olga still felt apprehensive about deviating from the methods her family had been developing for generations. In a vain attempt to cling to what she wasfortable with, she exined, "But even the Heliocentric model that some modern Magus families have been trying to convert to has proven less urate than predictions made with the Geocentric model..." Hearing Olgas rather meek remark, Vahns smile softened a bit as he stroked her hand and patiently exined, "Why wouldnt that be the case when the Geocentric model has been used for thousands of years? With the Heliocentric model being less than five-hundred years old, with most of the more prestigious families discrediting its value to Thaumaturgy, how could it overtake its predecessor? It would take a Genius, going against the grain of mon sense, to have any hope of achieving such a feat. It isnt meant to be easy, Olga, asprehending the true nature of the Universe is the same path as achieving, or even rising above, Godhood..." With Astronomy on the decline for thest few hundred years, Olga knew Vahns words had to be true and, considering he even had existences like ya at his beck and call, it almost felt silly to even try arguing against him. Thus, after collecting her thoughts for several long seconds of silence, Olga affirmed her resolve, asking, "Will you help me...?" This caused her face to gradually redden, followed by a gratified smile spreading across her face when Vahn stated, "Of course..." Though he may not be the best suited to teach her, Vahn knew he could at least increase Olgas understanding of Laws themselves. Vahns quick affirmation made Olga feel giddy and, as she looked at the smile on his face, her mind briefly wandered back to her Observatory. Though she had almost immediately regretted asking for a kiss, Olga hadnt been given time to take a step back as Vahn quickly sealed her lips. Then, instead of ending after a mild peck, she had been taken on a long journeysting nearly twenty minutes. She had a strong desire to separate at the beginning but, as the kiss progressed further, Olga had felt her body heating up as expectation began to grow within her heart and mind. Unfortunately, though he had brought his right hand to her side, gently stroking her nk, Vahn only kissed her, causing Olga to feel some regrets about her wish in hindsight... Seeing Olga momentarily daze, her face suffused with a red hue, Vahn knew what she was thinking about. Though it was a slight contrast to his original intentions, Olga had been working hard over thest month and a half, causing Vahns expression to soften as he squeezed her hand to bring her back to reality. Then, when her eyes came into focus, Vahn stated in a calm and guiding tone, "I look forward to seeing how much you progress, Olga. If you work hard, Im certain you can make all your wishese true..." By cing a little more emphasis on the word wishes, punctuating it with a wink, Vahn knew Olga would be able to understand the meaning behind his words. Ultimately, it was her decision to make and, if this was able to help guide her onto the path of progress, Vahn didnt mind being her anchor for a bit, just as Chloe had for him a long time ago... It would take a few days for Olgas Magic Crest to be fully analyzed and, as neither of them wanted to spend all of their time just waiting for Ark to scan her body, Vahn suggested she start sleeping in the Workshop for the next few days. This would allow her to continue her work and, as he needed to train and conduct his own research, staying at her side at all times wasnt possible. Olga herself was very aware of how busy he could be so, rather than try to plead that he apany her, she put on a strong front and just asked that he visit when he wasnt preupied with other things. In response to this, Vahn had rubbed her head affectionately and, though they had already shared a far more intimate kiss, he punctuated the evening by lightly pecking her forehead. --- After parting with Olga outside her room, Vahn stretched his body while walking through the empty corridor, wondering how he should spend his time. Since he was feeling a little motivated after his long discussion with the pale-haired Astronomer, he decided to move his body and see if he could make progress in his own understanding of the Laws. With that in mind, Vahn made his way towards his Sub-Space Training Orb, this time apanied by just ya and Skoll as Skoll V2 had retired to Olgas room for the night. They had the ability to interpret when someone wantedpanionship and, as Vahn felt Olga wasnt ready to have s.e.x just yet, it was up to the adorable little Vanargandr tofort her in his stead... As was often the case, Vahn felt slightly incongruous after entering into the endless white space as, from his past experiences, he would almost always have to immediately defend himself. He would never admit it but, not training with Scthach every day had caused Vahn to miss her presence, just a little. Fortunately, these feelings often passed quickly as, the moment he began thinking about the purple-haired, ruby-eyed, woman, Vahn would be much more focused. If she discovered he was cking off due to sentiments, her most likely response would be to skewer him through the chest with her spear. Thus, assuming a partial transformation that caused small golden antlers to appear from his head, Vahn instantly shifted in a training mentality... Though it was impossible for him to maintain his full Qinglong transformation for long periods of time, that wasnt necessary if he just wanted to practice Space and Time Laws. Just by assuming a partial transformation, his sensitivities to the two enigmatic energies were greatly increased and, with the intention of reaching the point he could even sense them in his base form, Vahn used the bare minimum amount of energy to sustain his transformation. Then, while recalling the phenomena he had witnessed during his short elevator rides and his brief skirmish with Solon, he extended his palms outward and tried to fold space in front of him... It was difficult to describe but, using the same method ofpressing Space that allowed the outer edges of the Sub-Space Orbs to have increased pressure, Vahn could create an almost physical ne using the fabric of Space itself. This was achieved by contracting the Space against itself, creating an invisible membrane that, with practice, Vahn knew he would be able to shape at his leisure. He had several goals at present but, knowing it had the potential to sever and fracture virtually anything, the highest priority for Vahn was creating physical constructs using Space and Creation energy. Since the [Yi] arrows were already capable of creating powerful gravity wells, Vahn knew it was only a matter of time before he could create arrows of his own, reducing the need to rely on expending OP just to get an edge against his opponents... Unfortunately, though it was possible to create a physical membrane for a short period of time, there was an almost irresistiblepulsion for Space elemental energy to expand outward. It vehemently refused to stay in a solid state, causing most of Vahns efforts to end in vain. This wasnt much of a deterrent, however, as it had led to other important and interesting discoveries. One of the things he found rather interesting was, by using Time Laws to try and stabilize the spatial membrane, Vahn had discovered that he could create an isted flow of time within reality. As this was one of his ultimate goals, even scratching the surface of this principle had been very exciting to him. Using abination of Space and Time Laws, Vahn had quickly reached the point where he could make a small disc-shaped membrane where time itself had been slowed to the extremes. This not only created a nearly indestructible barrier but, by focusing energy and objects through the super-dense membrane, the resultant speed could even reach was very near the speed of light. Vahn had tested this by creating several eleration Gates, the same type he had developed to try andunch objects from his Inventory. Bypressing the Space-Time around these gates and then trying to send objects through them, the lead ball Vahn had used to conduct the test had instantly fractured into small pieces, each carrying such incredible momentum that the shrapnel produced severalrge shockwaves that tore through the dense white stone within the Orb. It didnt take a genius to understand how powerful this functionality could be in a fight so Vahn was trying to reach the point where he could execute this process almost instantly. Currently, it took a few milliseconds to establish and, though this wasnt exactly a long period of time, anypetent Magus or Heroic Spirit would be able to exploit this momentary gap. Even Artoria, if she pushed her limits, was capable of reaching bursts of speed that were massively hypersonic. Though it would sap her stamina and strength at a monstrous rate, she could even reach speeds nearing 120,000km/h, or 33,000m/s. This wasnt actually all that surprising, however, when he considered that even Ais had been able to achieveparable feats, with her maximum speed nearly double that of Artorias... Knowing that Tier 4 and Tier 5 entities could very likely move faster than the speed of light, Vahn did not allow himself to fall into the mindset that his own limits were restricted by the Physical Laws of the Records. By pursuing Speed Laws themselves, it was even possible to move without having to worry about things like air resistance and other restrictive mediums while, at the extremes, even things like instantaneous eleration would have no detrimental effects on your body and its rather important organs. In normal circ.u.mstances, moving at such speeds would tear the body apart and, as Physics made very clear, convert matter into energy. This process would not ur, however, if the object moving at those rtivistic speeds was bending the Laws of the universe itself around them. Remembering how even Scthachs spear strike seemed to move at the speed of thought, making itpletely impossible to evade without having a simr level ofprehension, Vahn knew he had a long road ahead of him. That didnt stop him froming up with all kinds of interesting ways to use what he had learned, however, even if, like in his current predicament, it sometimes ended rather catastrophically. Wanting to see what would happen if he tried to ovep two spatial membranes, simr to a set of lenses against each other, Vahn sent a small sphere of Adamantium through the eleration Gate. On contact, it seemed to freeze in the air but, as it was being directed forward by the energy of the magical ward itself, the perceptive could sense that the sphere was gradually elerating. When it reached the second spatial membrane, however, Vahn quickly realized he had erred as, without the ability to defy the Laws of Physics, the sphere began to rapidly expand as it neared the speed of light. The only thing keeping it from exploding outward was the spatial membrane which, having several eleration gates inside, caused the partictes of energy to elerate far beyond the speed of light... Even before the mass of energy had cleared the spatial membrane, the light it had been emanating vanished entirely, sending out an indiscernible pulse of energy that passed through Vahns, yas, and Skolls body. Though this seemed rather harmless at first, even the flow of blood in Vahns body had been brought to an instantaneous stop and, as his heart attempted to pump once again, every part of him began to break down into sub-atomic ash. Fortunately, as his awareness had not been robbed from him, Vahn was able to prevent himself from beingpletely destroyed but, with an extreme level of guilt, he watched as the nearby Skoll plopped forward, dissolving into nothingness. This action set off a chain reaction as, even with the subtle vibrations of the mechanical golems fall, an area of several kilometers of white stone turned to sub-atomic ash along with it... Though he knew Skoll was still alive, as its consciousness was just a single part of the system that Da Vinci had created, Vahn still felt heartbroken to see the adorable creature turned to ash. Even if this discovery of his was the same as unlocking another Trump Card, he decided to ce a seal on its use until he could get a better understanding of the principles that made it possible. He would need to develop another Training Orb, this time using his and Da Vincis Workshop since he knew full well that she would want to analyze this phenomenon in detail. elerating physical matter beyond the speed of light was rather significant and, though it was a dead end withoutprehension of the Laws that governed it, Vahn knew it would only be a matter of time for someone like Da Vinci... With a heavy heart, Vahn looked around at the vast expanse of nothingness, wondering if this was another expression of the Laws of Destruction. Though it hadnt affected ya and ORT in the least, this was a level of power that anything beneath Tier 4 would be unable to resist. If he had used this technique in the real world, the entire Ivory Castle would have been destroyed, including all of its inhabitants. This thought caused a shiver to run through Vahns body before he found somefort in knowing that the materials and magical barriers in ce would likely have reduced the destruction considerably. Still, Vahn was grateful for the existence of the Sub-Space Training Orbs and, to avoid any idents happening, he wasted no time in seeking out Da Vinci to create a new one. If someone were to have entered into the Orb while he set off that attack, the only fate that would have awaited them was an almost instantaneous death. As the energy wave was moving faster than the speed of light, Vahn had only been able to sense it long after it had passed through his body. If he hadnt been immortal, he wouldnt have even known how he had died before vanishing entirely... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Doki-Doki Olga-chan,So, he essentially created the Stasis Rune...?,Vahn, you bastard! Skoll-chan (T ^ T)!!!!) (A/N: To put it into perspective, some Rider-ss Servants can reach between Mach 180~400. This would be 1.8~4x faster than Artorias maximum speed. Gilgameshs Ship of Light even moves at the speed of thought, allowing him to move hundreds, or even millions, of lightyears in an instant, so long as he understood where he was going. Also, for those wondering where the earlier chapters went, there was a power outage early this morning so I ended up just going back to sleep and taking it easy until around noon. Now that Im awake, Im going to be releasing some more chapters, I just cant say when they will be published. It feels like my attempts to get back on a consistent schedule have met with little sess xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1186 - Attention

Chapter 1186 - Attention

As she had long expected something like this to happen, Da Vincis reaction to the destruction of the Skoll prototype model was rather tame. Though she was tempted to tease Vahn, she knew he was still upset and, even though it was just an adorably designed golem, he still treated Skoll as a living creature. Fortunately, it only took a few hours to produce a new one from scratch and, with the data Skoll had .u.mted through observing Vahn, Da Vinci was rather excited to research it herself. Thus, when Vahn mentioned establishing a Sub-Space Orb within the Workshop, she was extremely supportive of the idea as it meant she would be able to use the Orb to conduct her own experiments in rtive safety. While Vahn was busy setting up a mana-gathering formation and creating a new Sub-Space Orb, Da Vinci worked on developing an upgraded Skoll, using the same temte as the Prototype but enhancing its texture and feel. At the same time, Da Vinci gave it a skeletonprised of a nigh-indestructible material she had named Perennial Gold. It had a fixed atomic structure while theposite molecules were arranged in a perfect hexagonal structure, neatly constructed by her [Gradation Air Printer]. Instead of materializing temporary objects using the same process as [Projection] Magecraft, Da Vinci had used the same technology that allowed for clothes and items to be stored within gems to produce a machine capable of constructing and printing anything that the user had been able to temte within the system. This allowed her design three-dimensional objects within a virtual environment, linked to her own sub-processes, before entrusting the [Gradation Air Printer] to execute the building process. Though she had to feed it the constituent materials beforehand, as it was surprisingly difficult to have Magical Energy behave as anything by default, this was only a small inconvenience with Vahn generally providing her anything she asked for. Once the body of Skoll V3 waspleted, Da Vinci a few small modifications to its programming before imnting the backup data stored by the Skoll Prototype. Each Companion was required to make a backup of themselves every time they obtained new data, storing it within the Mother systems archives for moreprehensive analysis. The only exception to this would be, through the analysis of the Mother system, when the Companion had started to develop sapience and an ego. In this instance, they would be isted from thergest system for further observation, their developing ego being ced into a secure data structure that effectively allowed them to control their body remotely, removing any danger to their actual self... Compared to the original Skoll, the new model had a slightly more expressive face, even though it hadnt been given a personality or had any of its core programming altered. Since its purpose was to serve as a means for Vahn to train his Petting Laws, while also allowing her to collect data on his activities and breakthroughs, Da Vinci knew better than to skew the parameters of her own experiment. It was important to have an established control model and, with the potential of Vahn awakening the ego being intrinsically higher than anyone else within the castle, she wanted to see how Skoll developed from its nascent state to its evolutionary form. Though there was still a lot of research and advancements that needed to be conducted, Da Vinci had already implemented the ability for the Companions to evolve. Currently, their adorable and diminutive forms were known as their nascent, or Larval state. Then, once they had imprinted on their owners, to the point of developing an ego, they would transition into their Pupal state, using the data they .u.mte through observation to determine their A.d.u.l.t form. Though the current Companions would need to return to their base stations in order to facilitate this process, Da Vinci wanted to implement the ability to evolve based on the Magical Energy in the atmosphere before they were mass-produced. Once Skoll V3 opened its eyes, its drooping ears stood up straight as it tilted its head to view Da Vinci. This brought a small smile to her face and, after deactivating the security barrier around the [Gradation Air Printer], Da Vinci lifted up the adorable creature as she teasingly remarked, "Dont let Vahn bully you too much, okay~?" Then, after ying with its fluffy ears for a few moments, Da Vinci set Skoll V3 down on the ground and allowed her to go observe Vahn. Since she was also curious about his progress, Da Vinci followed along, sliding frictionlessly across the ground as if she were on ice using a pair of riding boots she had developed to get around more easily. Since it took around four hours to produce a Companion, Vahn was close to finishing the new Sub-Space Orb by the time Skoll and Da Vinci peered into the small and isted room. As she was often troubled when people would interrupt her work, Da Vinci remained absolutely silent upon entry and decided to just watch at the side. Though she only diverted her main process to observing him, it was still an entertaining way to pass the time as it was always interesting to see how other people worked. In her previous life, Da Vinci had been rather fond of watching thosebeled as her contemporaries at work, especially Michangelo... Finding herself entering acent daze while watching Vahn in a deeply focused state, Da Vinci adopted an appreciative smile on her face. At this point, she had been interacting with Vahn for nearly six months and, though their physical rtionship was still rtively young, she found herself be progressively more fond of him with the passage of time. Not only was he one of the few mysteries she had been unable to crack, despite arge investment of time, but he was extremely supportive of almost everything she did. It was incredibly liberating to have someone show an unwavering amount of support, especiallypared to how she had been suppressed with extreme prejudice in her past life... Before she realized it, several more of her processes had shifted to focus on Vahn and, as if time had been nothing more than an illusion, he was already finished with the Sub-Space Orb. Then, wiping the sweat from his brow, Vahn looked at Da Vinci, causing her smile to naturally blossom as she raised her head and asked, "How did it go, Master~?" Though she was in her more youthful appearance at the moment, a sultry undertone mixed into her voice as, feeling amused at how her own mind had wandered, Da Vinci knew she had been slowly changed by exposure to Vahns presence. Blinking in mild surprise, Vahn produced a wry smile that caused Da Vinci to giggle in response as he exined, "I went well..." followed by him asking, "Were there any issues with making Skoll a new body...?" Though he could see the adorable little Vanargandr sitting in Da Vincisp, Vahn felt the need to deflect as, with the amused light in the Omnipotent Genius eyes, it felt like she might attack him at any moment. Fortunately, Da Vinci was extremely perceptive and observant so, while she was already in the mood to y, she had no intentions of stress testing her more youthful form. That didnt mean she couldnt tease him, however, causing Da Vinci to adjust her seated position so that, if he was looking, Vahn would be able to glimpse up her skirt... Shaking his head slightly, Vahn allowed Skoll to climb up his back before picking up Da Vinci in a bridal carry and moving into the adjacent room. Even before he passed through the threshold of the door, she had already gone limp in his arms. However, by the time Vahn entered the secret Workshop that contained Ark and the Mother system, his heart had started to palpitate rapidly. Instead of the mature version of Da Vinci he had be ustomed to, she was using three of her bodies simultaneously. This caused him to gulp as, in the past, Da Vinci had exined that her main reason for piloting one body at a time was because she didnt want to get distracted by herself. Da Vinci already got mildly annoyed when another person was around while she was working so there was no way she could tolerate herself being the distraction. This wasrgely due to the fact that, even in her normal state, Da Vinci was incredibly perceptive and capable of analyzing the sensory data her body was receiving. Generally, she used her sub-process to analyze this while her main process focused on other work. If she had to deal with gaining stimulus from multiple bodies at once, it would negatively impact her focus and, while it could be more efficient, she could make machines for that purpose instead of treating her own mind like one. For Da Vinci to inhabit three bodies at once, Vahn knew it was her way of saying, at least for the moment, he was her main focus. This caused him to swallow hard and, after cing the more petite version of her body inside a docking station, Vahn epted his fate with more than a little expectation in his heart. He had told Da Vinci in the past that he was perfectly capable of dealing with three women at a time and, perhaps remembering this, she seemingly wanted to experience whether or not his ims were the truth... --- With a new location to train, Vahn split his time between developing a usable version of his new spell, spending time with the residents of the castle, and visiting London to spend time with his fiancee. Around the same time, he finally heard back from Astolfos group, albeit as a result of Luvia informing him about some trouble they had gotten into. Apparently, after seeing the Eiffel Tower, Astolfo simply had to climb to its peak. Though this alone wasnt really that much of an issue, it was the fact he had done it in broad daylight, drawing a lot of attention to himself with an unabashedly prideful smile on his face. When Vahn saw the news feed of Astolfo happily iling his arms while thousands of pedestrians looked on from below, his temples were abuzz with incredulity. Fortunately, instead of showing off his power and making an even bigger scene, Astolfo used a rappel rope to descend back into the tower before leading the police around on a chase and ultimately escaping. Since his peak speed could even dwarf Artorias by a considerable amount, courtesy of being a Rider-ss, it hadnt taken much effort for the girlish boy the evade capture. Still, his antics were currently a hot topic in the media, primarily as a result of his daredevil attitude, his ability to flee the police, and his rather adorable features that made it impossible to identify if he was a boy or a girl... Because she had known about Astolfo, Catherine, and Nobunaga, Luvia already had several small mercenary teams located in the most likely regions that their group would appear. Thus, shortly after he escaped pursuit, Astolfo was contacted by an Edelfelt mercenary team and, though this caused a small misunderstanding at first, nobody was injured too severely. Afterward, Catherine was the one to call Vahn via a secure line used by the Edelfelt mercenaries, resulting in him asking the group to return using one of Luvias private jets. Even if Astolfo and Nobunaga could easily outpace even the fastest fighter jets in the world, Catherine was still rtively normal and, after the incident the errant Knight had caused, Vahn would rather he not draw even more attention to himself. As a result, Vahn was currently waiting inside a private lounge within the London International Airport, waiting for the groups arrival. It was a well-furnished room that had the appearance of a luxury suite, a stark contrast to the rather overcrowded and ufortable terminals that were used by the less affluent. Thinking about how normal people got around, polluting the environment in exchange for mild and often unnecessary conveniences, the only thing preventing Vahn from frowning was the presence of Artoria, Gray, and Luvia. Since he didnt want to worry them over a non-issue, he kept such thoughts to himself and simply considered ways in which the system could be improved in the future. At the same time, he enjoyed casual conversation with the three remarkably beautiful women, finding their presence alone to be extremely ther.a.p.eutic. Though it was a little strange to have Artoria and Gray act so respectfully towards Luvia, it was their own choice to do so and, as Gray had joined the Order of the Imperial Knights, he had nothing to say regarding their dutiful observation of etiquette. While waiting for the jet to arrive, Luvia was also enjoying this lull in her rather busy schedule as, even though her engagement to Vahn hadnt been announced publically, she had already been setting the stage to prop him up. She also had to handle all of the important negotiations and provide proper advice to the hundreds of businesses she managed, even though she had a few trustworthy subordinates to handle the majority of the more mundane work. Still, the stress had been building and, if not for the fact she could dip away to the Ivory Castle for a few hours and have Vahn pamper her, Luvia felt like her current pace would eventually wear her out. Fortunately, just a few hours with Vahn made her feel full of energy, even if she was generally exhausted immediately after the fact. Since his after-care was absolutely perfect, the time they spent together had be very important to her in the week or so they had been engaged. The only way in which it could be made even better was if she had already gotten pregnant but, as her period hade and gone without a hitch, Luvia could only look forward to the future with a fair amount of expectation. At this point, she was determined to be the first woman to bear Vahns child in this world so, once all of the primary residents of the castle had gathered together, she intended to host a private meeting amongst Vahns other Empresses and lovers... With thoughts of pregnancy on her mind, Luvia leaned affectionately against Vahns shoulder and, if not for the presence of the two stoic women seated across from her, she would have been very tempted to seduce Vahn here and now. Though she didnt consider herself an exhibitionist, Luvia felt it would be exciting to have s.e.x in ces other than the bedroom, especially knowing Vahn could sense the surroundings and ensure no idents urred. Since she had heard from both her Grandmother and Mother that it was far more exciting to do the deed in dangerous and other precarious situations, Luvia had a growing desire to try it herself. She was confident that Vahn was fully capable of blowing her expectations out of the water as, even though they had only had s.e.x a few times at this point, Luvia felt like he set a standard others couldnt even hope to match... Grabbing Luvias hand to prevent her from stroking the inside of his thigh, Vahn gave the golden-haired woman a pointed look that only resulted in herughing mischievously. Then, holding her hand to keep her under control, he made brief eye contact between Artoria and Gray, asking thetter, "How has your training been going...?" Though there were a number of more appropriate conversational topics, Vahn knew that Gray had been rather earnest in her attempts to improve under the tutge of Artoria. They spent nearly the entire day together, minus the times she would seek him out after her desire to see him became unbearable. Though she had been somewhat distracted previously, Grays eyes blinked into focus when Vahn asked her a question, resulting in her smiling enthusiastically as she exined, "Since I want to be a proper Knight in the future, Ive been learning how to use a sword and ance. A scythe isnt the most befitting weapon to carry around if you want to make a good impression on people." As she also used wed gauntlets and sickles, neither of which were considered proper weapons, Gray had been shifting her focus while trying to adhere to the Chivalric Code Artoria had taught her. Following up on what Gray had stated, Artoria gave an approving nod before adding, "Gray has been showing remarkable progress. Rather thanpleting her training in six years, I suspect she will pass muster in only two. I am looking forward to having yet another capable Knight within my Order. It is difficult to feel like a Knight Commander when the only members of the Order are our daughter and an apprentice trainee..." With Sakura already two-months into her training at this point, she had already started to build up a proper foundation. It would still take her years to reach the standard required to be considered a Knight but, as the training was supposed to take ce over a period of six years regardless, Artoria was confident she would pass. Hearing Artoria mention Mordred and Sakura, Vahns expression became vibrant and, after saying a few words to encourage Gray, he asked, "Have the two of them been getting along well during training...?" Though he often spent time with Mordred and Sakura, Vahn rarely got to see them training since he would spend the majority of the daylight hours back in London. He knew that Sakura had been doing well, as she often happily told him about her achievements, but it never hurt to hear the opinion of her Mentor directly. With a small smile blooming on her face, Artoria exined in a polite tone that was tinged with affection, "I think Mordred needed a younger sibling. She has been working harder than ever to be a good role model. As for Sakura, she has an incredible amount of Magical Energy within her body and, once she learns how to properly use it, I believe she will be a powerful Knight. My only concern is that her split focus on learning Magecraft and studying to be a Knight will limit her potential. Though I understand it is possible to reach the pinnacle in both disciplines, I believe the only one who would be able to teach her properly would be Lady Scthach..." Since Sakuracked a predominant elemental affinity, only having a minor affinity with Water, her potential as a Magus was rather limited. Instead, she had been born with a natural affinity for the Space element, known as the Imaginary Number Element, or Hollow, by the Magusmunity. Though this often required an excessive amount of Magical Energy to manifest, it meant that she would one day be able to freely teleport around and store objects within her own Bounded Field. It was also the most powerful element against Spiritual beings, including Heroic Spirits, Demons, and Gods. Due to her talent, and an overabundance of mana, Sakura was already able to execute [Shundo] over short distances, something not even Mordred had been able to pick up. As a result, Artoria felt she was better suited to focusing on the development of her body and physical skills as, if she pushed this talent to the extremes, there would be almost nothing that could touch her. However, as Sakura was also determined to study Magecraft, and Magic itself, Artoria was concerned that her young page would reach a bottleneck as a result of her own inability to teach her properly... Hearing Artoria mention Sakura training with Scthach, Vahn felt as if the blood had drained from his face and, even though he knew it wouldnt be nearly as extreme as his own, there was no way he would allow her to go through that at such an early age. Thus, understanding that it was almost exclusively more beneficial to be a powerful Knight, at least early on, Vahn gave the matter a bit of thought before saying, "Ill have Sakura learn theory from Fenrir while encouraging her to focus on her Knightly studies in the future. If necessary, I will help train both Mordred and Sakura, at least until they have matured into strong and independent women who wouldnt break from training with Scthach..." With Vahns words easing her concerns a great deal, Artoria allowed a natural smile to spread across her face as she answered, "I understand, Master...thank you for your efforts..." Then, even though it wasnt necessary to behave properly in the rtive privacy of the suite, Artoria gave a polite bow to express her genuine gratitude. Since Vahn had included Mordred in hisment about teaching the two girls, Artoria felt a bit of warmth spread through her heart and, with no other way to express it at the moment, she chose to do so politely... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Da Vinci just casually creating a Replicator...,Astolfo simply cant help himself xD...,Sakura, the Thousand Blossoms Knight. Teleporting around so quickly that there appears to be a thousand of her...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1187 - Star

Chapter 1187 - Star

With Luvias private jet having touched down, Vahn and co were able to follow the edge of the tarmac to arge hangar used for storing military aircraft. They arrived just as a small private jet, painted with a stylish ck coating and adorned with golden stripes, taxied in from the runway. Then, momentster, the door on the side of the aircraft opened, revealing that it also served as a set of stairs which, in this instance, served no purpose. Much to the flight crews chagrin, Astolfo leaped from the interior of the aircraft, flying like a missile through the air whileughing uninhibitedly. Instead of letting himself be tackled, this time Vahn cut his hand forward in a swift strike, chopping the center of Astolfos head. Though this sent him on a crash course with the ground, Vahn cushioned hisnding by creating an air cushion as he stone-facedly remarked, "Astolfo, didnt you promise me you wouldnt cause any trouble...?" Rubbing the top of his head with a teary-eyed expression, Astolfoined in an unrepentant voice, "Cmon, Vahn. I just wanted to climb to the top of the tower to get a better view. Its not like I got into any fights or destroyed anything..." Though Vahn hadnt struck him that hard, Astolfo felt a painful pulse in the top of his head that didnt seem to fade away no matter how much he rubbed it. Fortunately, as if it had never existed in the first ce, the pain disappeared entirely as Vahn released a sigh and remarked, "I understand your inclination to show off. In a way, it is the current state of the world that is in the wrong..." Just as Astolfo had started to beam, muttering, "Your Majesty..." in a gratified tone, Vahn caused him to swallow his words by adopting a stern expression and adding, "However, you broke your word. As a Knight of the Imperial Order, you will be held ountable for your actions. For the next thirty days, you are prohibited from wearing cute clothing. The next time you cause a scene like this, I will curse you to be extremely muscr for a simr amount of time..." Though Vahns first punishment caused Astolfos heart to feel pain, the follow-up punishment caused him to turn pale. For a singr instant, his mind imagined a muscr version of himself, still wearing cute clothing, while everyone who looked upon him had expressions of disgust... Though his first instinct was to cling to Vahns leg and beg for forgiveness, Astolfo quickly realized this could constitute making a scene. Thus, after jumping to his feet, Astolfo gave a proper Knights salute while eximing, "I understand, Your Majesty! Next time, I will make sure not to get caught!" As these words left his mouth, Astolfo realized his verbal slip, causing him to turn pale as Vahn gave him an incredulous look that quickly turned into an admonishing gaze. This onlysted for a brief moment, however, before Vahn shook his head with a wry smile and remarked, "So long as you dont get caught, I have nothing to say on the matter..." Understanding that someone like Astolfo needed to be wild and free, or else they just werent their true selves, Vahn felt it would be going too far to punish him over such a small matter. Though he would still have him dress in mens attire for the next month, it was almost guaranteed that he would find some mens fashion catalog where the models wore feminine clothing. With that as evidence, it wouldnt be much of a punishment at all but, as Vahn wasnt really that bothered by the fact Astolfo had climbed the Eiffel Tower, he pretended not to have foreseen the inevitable. Thus with crocodile tears in his eyes, Astolfo gave a theatrical sniffle before, in a voice filled with emotion, muttering, "Youre always so good to me, Your Majesty..." Ignoring Astolfos upturned eyes, Vahn gave a courteous nod toward Catherine before turning his gaze to Nobunaga and smiling appreciatively. She was wearing boyish shorts that showed off her long legs, ckbat boots, a simrly ck t-shirt with a skull pattern, and a rather stylish leather jacket with fur along the fringes. Since she had tied her long crimson-ck hair into a ponytail, she looked like the leader of a pop idol band, someone that young girls back in Japan would refer to as Onee-sama with both affection and admiration. Meeting Vahns gaze with her blood-red eyes, Oda gave a rather sly smile in response, even though she somewhat bashfullybed the fingers of her right hand through her fringe bangs. Then, in a teasing tone, she mused, "Look at you, gawking like a dog wanting a bone...did you miss me that much~?" Though her eyes briefly passed over Luvia, Artoria, and Gray as she asked this, Nobunaga was still curious about Vahns response. From his perspective, it could have been upwards of two months since they parted so, missing him more than she would ever admit, Nobunaga wanted to hear Vahn at least pander a bit. Without missing a beat, and showing a sincere smile on his face, Vahn muttered in a husky tone filled with genuine emotion, "I did..." Since Nobunaga was one of the only females he could just cut loose around, it was the truth that he had missed her quite a bit. Even Artoria and Gray were just too aware of him when they were together and, though Nobunaga wasnt exactly exempt from this, it was her nature to be uninhibited. She was one fo the few women he could be openly intimate with without it having to develop further due to rising passions. Instead, their interactions were always bordering on just messing around, making her one of his only female friends, even if she was also his lover... Hearing Vahns words and tone caused her heart to skip a beat but, without letting it show on her face, Nobunaga just crossed her arms and mused, "Is that so...?" This behavior, however, wasnt very convincing to the women present who, perceptive to such things, gave Nobunaga knowing looks and wry smiles. Luvia, in particr, was evaluating her new panion, knowing full well that this was the Heroic Spirit that Vahn himself had summoned. As he had used his own blood as a catalyst, this implied that Nobunaga had the highestpatibility with him, something she couldnt simply overlook. As if she could intuitively sense what Luvia was thinking, Nobunaga turned her blood-red eyes upon this rather snobbish-looking golden-haired woman. The moment their eyes met, a series of small sparks seemed to sh between them as both women allowed their mouths to curl up at the sides. Though Nobunaga had felt it was pointless topete against other women, there was something about Luvia that riled up herpetitive spirit. She knew thetter felt threatened by her and, with this knowledge, her predatory instincts and a strong desire to tease her were awakened. At the same time, Luvia felt somewhat perturbed by Nobunaga but, never backing down from a challenge, she crossed her arms and raised her chin slightly. Sensing the rising tensions, Vahn furrowed his brows slightly, an action they both seemed to notice as their smiles became cooperative masks without any animosity between them. This wasnt enough to make him simply overlook their behavior, however, so Vahn inly stated, "If you two are going topete, make sure it is in a non-destructive fashion. The moment your actions begin to impact others, dont me me if I punish you..." Though he did not intend it as such, even Vahn felt that his words were strangely s.e.x.u.a.l in nature, eliciting blushes, not just from Luvia and Nobunaga, but Gray, Artoria, Catherine, and even Astolfo. Thetters reaction caused Vahn to frown deeply, earning a round ofughter from everyone present that seemed to diminish the tensionspletely... --- After returning to the Edelfelt Mansion, Astolfo was forced to change into the security uniform by order of Artoria, his superior within the Order of Imperial Knights. As the outfits used by the Edelfelt security forces were somewhat androgynous in design, making them appealing when worn by both men and women, Astolfo looked surprisingly suave and cute at the same time. He seemed to enjoy this contrast and, though the thought of wearing mens clothing for a full month still weighed on his heart, he appeared to be his normal chipper and outgoing self on the outside. While Astolfo was getting briefed on the proper security protocols, even though he would likely forget them soon after, Vahn was listening to Catherines ount of their travels. Though he was enjoying the story, sitting between Luvia and Nobunaga made it feel like the air around him was ionized. He knew it would be necessary to mediate between the two women in the future but, as neither was foolish, he didnt expect them to ever have any open conflicts. If anything, they wouldpete behind the scenes, in ways he would only be made aware of when they were presented to him. Since having a rival wasnt exactly a bad thing, so long as it didnt develop into an antagonistic rtionship, Vahn decided to just see how things y out before he intervenes further... When Catherine had finished her recounting, Vahn gave an appreciative nod before remarking, "It sounds like you all had quite the journey..." This caused Catherine to giggle lightly, adding, "Yes, it was a liberating experience. The French countryside is quite beautiful...even if Astolfo can be quite the handful at times..." As she said this, Catherine looked affectionately toward the pink-haired Knight, causing him tough openly while rubbing the back of his head. With his snaggletooth fully visible,bined with his cute appearance, he was the picture of childish innocence, even though he was nearly forty years old. Understanding that Astolfos nature made it virtually impossible for him to sit idly and perform his duties, Vahn had already discussed a potential solution that would allow him to act out without drawing negative press. With that in mind, Vahn cleared his throat before adopting a more serious expression as he said, "Count Astolfo, I have an important mission for you." This caused Astolfo to immediately ceaseughing and, though his salute was almostically executed, he still answered in a pseudo-serious tone, "Your Knight is prepared to walk through a field of des or a forest of mes if necessary...!" Snorting through his nose at Astolfos response, Vahn crossed his arms and exined, "We will need to begin a positive propaganda campaign to shift the mentality of the general public in a way that makes them more receptive to the existence of Magic. To that end, you will go to America and work as an Actor, representing the Empire through one of Luvias productionpanies. This will give you ample opportunities to stand out and, as you will be very famous, simr incidents to what had urred in Paris can be yed off as publicity stunts." Though they hadnt been as exciting as the Ser games yed back in Danmachi, Vahn had been rather surprised by the existence of modern motion pictures. Since Astolfos personality actively sought attention, Vahn expected he would be quite popr amongst both males and females, especially since they nned to conceal his actual gender while obscuring his identity. Hearing that he was going to be a movie star, Astolfos eyes practically began shining as he clenched both fists and shouted, "Leave it to me, Your Majesty! I will be the biggest star the world has ever seen~!" As theater had always been something he was interested in, Astolfo was rather excited by the prospect of performing on the silver screen. He had gone to watch a movie with Catherine and, though it was rather boring at first, the fact the images on the screen were fake had been a big shock to him. At first, he thought they had just been recording scenes, much like a y, and just felt that the actors needed to strengthen their bodies to put on a better show. When he found out that it was almost all fake, with most of the explosions and special effects beingputer-generated, he had been quite surprised. Piggybacking on to what Vahn had stated, Luvia giggled at Astolfos reaction before adding, "You will need to undergo some coaching but I have high expectations for your poprity." Then, after turning her eyes toward Catherine, Luvia exined, "I understand it will be troubling for you, but I would like you to act as Astolfos agent, at least privately. Since I own the productionpany, you wont have to worry about finding work so your primary task would be keeping him out of trouble. The movie industry has its own version of high society so you will have to keep Astolfo from doing anything that would endanger himself and others. If possible, you should have him avoid things like after-parties and private celebrations. Im certain I dont have to exin to you the true purpose of such events..." As she was also born in modern times, Catherine was very familiar with the stigmas associated with being a famous celebrity. Things like drugs, illegal dealings, and s.e.x.u.a.l misconduct were extremely rampant within the industry. With Astolfos nature, he would be targetted by a number ofpeting productionpanies while his fellow stars could potentially campaign to nder and publically shame him. ckmail was one of the most prominent means of conducting business as, with how important image was to a celebrity, having their scandals exposed could be career-ending. This was generally how the criminal syndicates and corporations controlled those within the industry, having them be patsies to push their products and often causing young celebrities to have mental breakdowns. Just recently, there had even been argescale crackdown on a child s.e.x ring that had been operating out of Hollywood, where young actors and actresses were forced intopromising situations just to pursue the careers their parents had chosen for them... With far greater conviction than Astolfo had in protecting her, Catherine adopted a stern and almost cold expression as she nodded her head and answered, "I understand. I wont let anyone corrupt my Astolfo-chan...!" As she said this, there was a fiery illusion burning within Catherines eyes and, as she had been able to survive within the Magusmunity, she was more than confident in dealing with a few corrupt producers and businessmen. Since she would also have the connections of the Edelfelt family to rely on, she knew her main duty would be to prevent Astolfo from falling into the schemes of his fellow actors and actresses. Fortunately, while he was prone to attention-seeking, Astolfo was usually very perceptive to those who had malicious intentions toward him so, while the chances of him doing something embarrassing were rather high, it shouldnt be beyond her means to control. --- For much of the early morning, leading into lunch, Luvia and Catherine discussed Astolfos future career as a celebrity while everyone else just listened in while enjoying hot tea and light snacks. It wasnt until gentle bells began to ring through the Mansion, indicating it was noon, that everyone moved to therge dining hall to order their meals. Vahn found it rather novel that he was able to pick anything from the menu that had been handed out to him, making him wonder if it wouldnt be interesting to have a simr system back at the castle. Though it was currently impossible to do so, as Circe would never pander to people in such a way, it shouldnt be difficult to arrange once they began staffing the castle with actual personnel. With that in mind, Vahn couldnt help thinking what Illya was up to and, though he had been content with entrusting matters to her, this resulted in him establishing a connection with Scthach, asking, ("How are things going...?"). This was only his second time establishing contact, the first time being when Scthach had informed him of the sessful capture of the Einzbern Castle. It was knowing this that allowed Vahn to not fret over Illyas and her mothers affairs, trusting that they would return as soon as they were prepared to do so. After a brief dy, Scthachs cold yet sonorous voice echoed within his mind, ("There have been no major developments. Currently, we are in the process of establishing a gateway connecting Avalon and the Einzbern Castle.") Understanding it would cost a phenomenal amount of Magical Energy to have Vahn transport thousands of Homunculi several thousand kilometers, Illya hade up with the idea of creating a gateway directly to Avalon. This was impossible under normal circ.u.mstances but, as Merlin had appeared to check up on Cath Palug, he had been helping guide her through the long and arduous process. After all, having an isted fortress castle to retreat to in the event of an emergency was extremely useful, especially when it was already built into a mountain that had an artificially constructed leyline. As this was his first time hearing of this, Vahn had been more than a little surprised, asked, ("Gate?") in a confused tone. Following this, Scthach dutifully exined the situation before recounting other developments she expected he had not been aware of. This caused Vahns mind to buzz in moderate frustration but, as this wouldnt be the first orst time that Merlin had acted without informing him of the situation, he ultimately shrugged it off after hearing that Heracles had regained his rationality. Now, Vahn was interested to see what kind of man the burly Hero was as, with how thetter had protected Illya even in a maddened state, Vahn had high expectations of his character. The thought of sharing a beer with one of historys greatest Heroes reminded him that he should summon Karna the moment the summoning formation had absorbed enough Magical Energy... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is too lenient xD...,Worlds Greatest Actoress, Astolfo-chama~!,TFW you realize Heracles would drink from a keg as if it were a normal mug...) (A/N: From now on, chapters will release when I can get them out xD. Trying to stick to the schedule with real-life stuff going on is impossible for the current me. Ill still be releasing 3+ chapters a day with a focus on pushing for 4+ in the future. I feel that, if I dont take any rest days, I can get two out in the morning, take a nap, and then pump out two in the evening without any issues. Sorry if things have been rather chaotic as ofte. I realize in hindsight that I shouldnt have made such arbitrary promises when I had other things going on x_x...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1188 - Residents

Chapter 1188 - Residents

After returning to Avalon, Vahn made some free time to venture towards Merlins Magus Tower, a ce he admittedly should have visited more often. He knew Merlin spent most of his time simply watching the events of the world y out, only taking action when he had deemed it necessary to do so. However, as he had willingly epted the Magus of the Court position, Vahn felt that there were some things he was obligated to inform him about. As was often the case when he visited, Vahn found Merlin just lounging in a peculiar woven chair that seemed to have been naturally constructed, simr to the furniture produced by Yggdrasil back in his previous world. There were several small animals around him while moss, ivy, and other forms of fauna had spread throughout the interior of the Magus Tower. What Vahn always found the most curious, however, was the fact that there was always a gentle breeze blowing through the chamber, carrying with it the sound of a gently flowing stream... Opening his eyes slowly, as if awakening from a nap, the surrounding illusions faded away, leaving the room mostly barren except for a small basin of water, an aged bookshelf, and the chair Merlin had been sitting in. Seeing Vahn standing in the threshold of the door, Merlin adopted a polite smile before rising to his feet and asking, "Your Majesty, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit~?" Since there was no little chance that Merlin was unaware of his purpose, Vahn shook his head before simply stating, "You cant keep me in the dark on matters like this, Merlin. Even if Im busy, you could just send me a message. I trust you to do what you think is necessary but, as the Emperor, I need to know when major changes are afoot within the Empire..." As Merlin had the ability to use telepathy and could even enter someones dreams, it wasnt even remotely difficult for him to send a message. Even if he was on the opposite side of the world, protected by powerful magical barriers, they would be unable to prevent him from sending messages. After all, his main body was still trapped on the Reverse Side of the World yet he was still able to manifest here without any major difficulties. Hearing Vahns words, Merlin just showed his characteristically whimsical smile before calmly stating, "Your Majesty, I could never interrupt your ever-busy schedule. Matters such as this are reserved for when you hold Court ore seeking private counsel. Were I to seek you out merely to inform you of the decisions I had made, I fear others may misconstrue which one of us is in charge. To prevent these misunderstandings, I would suggest you hold Court properly, rather than leaving your Throne room unupied for weeks at a time~." The moment he heard Merlins rebuttal, Vahn released a tired sigh as, even if he wanted to argue his own point, it was impossible to refute the words uttered by the whimsical Magus. This was far from the first time he had heard Merlin advise him to act more like an Emperor, nor would it be thest. What made matters more troublesome was the fact that even Artoria and Luvia had expressed their concerns regarding how he managed the Empire as, instead of focusing on expansion and policy, he treated the Ivory Castle as nothing more than a convenient residence. More than eight months of time had passed within the Projection at this point yet, during that entire time, he had not once held Court. Instead, most of the important decisions were simply discussed during meal times or when he arbitrarily decided to seek someone out... Though he could concede the point to Merlin, as arguing would only be petty, Vahn still insisted that the airy Magus inform him about other changes that had urred without his notice. In response to this, Merlin lightly tapped his staff against the ground, causing the surroundings to change, adopting an almost indiscernably sly smile as he exined, "I had hoped you would havee around sooner but, as you have been ever-so-busy with matters back in London, the opportunity for introductions has been dyed considerably~." Vahn didnt need to ask who, or what, Merlin wanted to introduce him to as, immediately after the scenery had changed, he was witness to a rather fantastical sight. There, walking across the surface of the nearby Lake, Vahn saw a womanprised almost entirely of water. Though she was adorned with a rather intricately designed dress, even that was made of water so, if you looked close enough, it was possible to make out the outline of her translucent body. Curiously, rather than normal water, she had a sapphire blue hue, like looking into the seas depths, while only the outeryer, which was simr to the skin of a normal person, was crystal clear like spring water. As if she could sense their presence, the woman turned her eyes toward Vahn and Merline, showing peculiar, icy blue eyes that, while having a translucent quality, didnt cause any kind of uncanny feelings. Then, with her face forming into a smile, she slid across the surface of the frozenke with apletely natural grace that gave her a simr quality to Merlins illusions. At the same time, Merlin exined in an amused tone, "This is one of the apprentices I was most proud of, though Im afraid her fondness for me has faded with the years~." The moment Merlin finished his remark, the watery-womans body began to ice over as she gestured with her hand in a sweeping motion that caused arge volume of frozenke water to form spears of ice. Merlin made no attempt to evade these, allowing them to stab through his illusory body as he mischievously intoned, "Now, now, Vivian, is this any way to behave during your first meeting with your new Emperor~?" Though he said these words with a spear sticking through his face, it seemed to calm the woman down considerably as she looked between the ghostly figure of Merlin and Vahn before bowing politely to thetter, a soft voice that sounded like a whisper on the wind escaping her lips as she said, "Forgive my rudeness, Your Majesty. I hope my uncouth disy has not offended you..." Rather than admonish her for the faux pas, Vahn gestured for her to raise her head, smiling as he said, "No, it is perfectly fine. I must admit, it is rather refreshing to see Merlin skewered with spears of ice. Im certain he has done something to deserve it, so please, feel free to continue..." This remark seemed to have earned him a few brownie points with Vivian as, even though it was impossible to see any change in herplexion, Vahn was certain she had a small blush on her face as she smiled and sent another spear into Merlins body. Feeling wronged, Merlin adopted a pouting expression as heined, "This is the thanks I get for traveling all the way to the bottom of the ocean to inform you that you may return to Avalon? Truly, I am heartbroken over this drastic change in behavior...you were such an adorable girl when we first met..." All this remark earned him was Vivian forming a pir of ice,pletely sealing off his body as she stated in a tone that caused the surrounding temperature to drop considerably, "You old fool. I might have shown you some gratitude if you hadnt intruded in on my sanctuary while I was taking a bath...!" Though he was somewhat curious about how a womanprised entirely of water took a bath, Vahn couldnt help looking toward Merlin with a simr expression of me in his eyes. He knew that Merlin has voyeuristic tendencies and, though hergely ignored them, as even Da Vinci had yet toe up with a solution, it was troublesome to know he was embarrassing himself and the Empire by causing trouble with potential allies. What made matters worse was, even though he undoubtedly knew better, Merlin still defended himself by stating, "Come now, Vivian. It wouldnt be the first time I had seen you n.a.k.e.d and, if I was so desperate, I could simply-" As Merlin moved about,pletely uninhibited by the fact he was entombed in ice, he gestured with his hand to create a dozen Vivians that were only indistinguishable from the real one due to the face they were all n.a.k.e.d. Thus, before he was able to finish his words, Vivian released a scream that sounded like the whistling whine of a high-intensity gale. In an instant, the illusion Merlin had created was broken, sending Vahn and the now pale Magus back to his Tower. Then, coughing in an awkward manner, Merlin remarked in a subdued tone, "Mayhaps, I went a little too far? Oh my, I had not expected my cute disciple to have changed so much in only fifteen hundred years..." Shortly after Merlins remark, a block of ice mmed into the Magus Tower, fragmenting against the powerful barriers the protected the Ivory Castle from harm. Fortunately, this was just a parting blow from the angered Elemental Fairy, as she knew better than to continue attacking the castle. Instead, the ice was able to invade through the seemingly imprable barrier, forming runes written in the Language of Fairies that said, Please forgive me, Your Majesty. This eve would be inconvenient, but I would like to meet you properly in the future. The doors to my castle are always open to the allies of we Fairies.... Though the message seemed rather peaceful at first, the second series of runes formed as the first faded away, this time causing the interior of the Magus Tower to freeze as they informed, Merlin. If you show your face around me again, I will make you pay dearly. This is thest warning I will ever give you.. Then, with her message delivered, the runes turned into normal water, losing the mystical blue light they had been radiating. At the same time, Merlin released a profound sigh before tiredly musing, "I suppose I only have myself to me..." Since legends stated that Vivian was actually the person to imprison Merlin, Vahn knew there was a deeper meaning behind the otherwise polite Fairys wrath. Merlin, seeming to understand what he was thinking, created a powerful barrier within the room as he exined, "I ask that you reserve your judgment, Your Majesty. Truly, it was never my intention to leave such a deep wound on her heart. I had thought she knew my true nature well...how could I have known she would have reacted in such a way..." Even though he felt it would be a bit rude towards Vivian to pry, this was a rare chance for Vahn to learn more about Merlins rather enigmatic past. Thus, his curiosity piqued, he asked, "What did you do...?" with a bit of skepticism in his voice. This didnt go unnoticed by Merlin but he still exined, "Truth be told, Vivian and I were deeply in love a long time ago. I taught her everything I knew, all so that we could share our eternity together. However, once she found out about the truth of my origin, she had...taken exception. After that, I was lured into my current prison, trapped in a stone circle that can only be trespassed by those who had maintained their innocence..." Understanding that Merlin was being intentionally vague, Vahn knew it would be wrong of him to pry any further. All he could say on the matter is, "I cant speak regarding the matters of anothers love as I often fail to understand how my own function as well as they do..." Though he had intended to try and console Merlin a bit, as it was clear the man was heavily affected by Vivians actions, this intention was quickly dashed when the airy Magus immediately retorted, "Isnt it because you make them feel special and proactively endeavor to tame them in the bedroom...? Im Half-Incubus and I wouldnt be able to emte your results without some powerful illusions and brainwashing..." Taking in a deep breath to remain calm, Vahn suddenly felt himself standing firmly on the side of Vivan as, regardless of his intellect and unrivaled skill with Magecraft, Merlin was an idiot when it came to socializing. He could even understand why Vivian had imprisoned him in a tower that could only be trespassed by v.i.r.g.i.ns, punishing Merlins whimsical and licentious nature after realizing the almostplete disregard he had for the feelings of others. Though it was obvious that, even now, he was still in love with Vivian, the man was simply incapable of expressing it properly. Vahn suspected that Vivian only bothered returning to Avalon due to her desire to see if Merlin was capable of changing as,pared to his past, it was obvious he was taking far more proactive action for the worlds benefit. It was clear she still had some affection for Merlin or, rather thanshing out at him, it was far more likely she would just avoid him outright. Merlin himself seemed oblivious to the fact he was being afforded a second chance by the inordinately beautiful Elemental Fairy, which was rather strange considering how perceptive he was in most situations. However, recalling this was the same man that allowed Artoria to be s.e.x.u.a.lly abused, just because she was proactively seeking punishment, Vahn knew Merlins thought process was significantly different from the norm... Deciding to drop the matter until he could discuss it with Vivian, as it was clear she had something important to convey, Vahn just shook his head and asked, "Is there anything else?" In response to this, Merlin simply tapped his staff once again, changing the surroundings. This time, they were atop the second-highest point on Avalon, the peak of where the orchards were built like shelves into a tall hill. Then, though not as mystical as the Elemental Fairy, Vahn could see several rather petite girls with brown skin, pointed ears, green hair, and golden eyes. Their bodies were covered in nothing but leaves and vines, exposing a considerable amount of skin but keeping all of the important parts properly concealed. Unlike Vivian, these entities had no way of sensing Merlins illusory projection, allowing one of the child-like humanoids to walk straight through his body like a hologram. This caused Merlin to issue an amused smile as he exined, "Vivian is not the only Fairy that hade to reside in Avalon over thest two weeks. I have acted as an emissary of sorts, paying a visit to Celia, Titania, Una, and Effe. In exchange for sanctuary, they will increase nurture the spirituality of Avalon, greatly increasing the amount of Magical Energy in the atmosphere. For now, they have only sent a few of their daughters as a means of testing the veracity of our ims so please inform Princess Mordred not to try and hunt any of them~." Knowing that Mordreds sensibilities were also skewed from the norm, Vahn knew that Merlin wasnt joking when he made his suggestion. As Fairies were known to y pranks on people, sometimes in the form of rather malicious games, there was a good chance an incident could ur if this matter was not properly discussed. He didnt need to just discuss the matter with the castles residents, either, as it would be equally important toe to an ord with the Fairies themselves. In the past, their kind had been the group to construct Avalon itself, including the Ivory Castle and the sealing chamber where the Welsh Dragon resided. If he coulde to an agreement with them, they would potentially even make Da Vincis Golems seem inefficient byparison...at least until she upgraded them. Though it wasnt necessary, Merlin gestured towards one of the Fairies who, just by extending her hand, was able to cause the apple trees branches to bend, depositing the vibrant fruit into her open palm as if it was alive. While this was urring, Merlin exined, "These rather adorable little ones are known as Dryads. Do not let their appearance fool you. Their physical appearance is wholly the result of the amount of vitality they have drained from others. Since most Fairies have been in hiding for thest few hundred years, even matured Dryads rarely get the opportunity to feed on humans. As for where these little ones hail from, theye from the Land of Twilight, the Dominion of the Fairy Queen, Celia." With his exnation finished, Merlin tapped his staff once again, the surroundings changing to reflect the cold and dark waters surrounding the ind. Seeing that Vahn had no reaction at all, Merlin made a pouting expression whilementing, "Your Majesty is quite stoic...most people would have panicked if they were suddenly at the bottom of the sea..." Then, without waiting for Vahns response, Merlin pointed towards a group of small houses that seemed to be constructed out of coral and massive shells, muchrger than those used by any living crustaceans or gastropods. As if following a cue, a humanoid creature with blue skin but distinctly fish-like features emerged from a hole within the coral structure. Though they were somewhat cute, they were far more alien than the Dryads that lived on the surface after having adapted to live in the depths of the seas and oceans. Though the exnation was once again unnecessary, Merlin exined, "These little ones are known as Undines, though some refer to them as Water Sprites. They will build a coral wall around the entire ind, making it impossible for naval vessels to approach. At the same time, they have a habit of herding fish poptions while also increasing the overall water purity, eventually turning ocean water into freshwater by their presence alone~." While Merlin was giving his exnation, the Undine he used as an example swam through the water like a torpedo, easily overtaking a school of fish before using a bident to definitely skewer a few. This entire process only took a few seconds before they had already swum back to their domicile, passing through a thin membrane that clearly indicated there was an air pocket on the other side. As there was a phosphorescent green light shining from within, it was possible to view the interior of several homes which, despite their small size, seemed to house several Undines in a manner simr to how the Xenos lived back in Spero Vige. Before Vahn realized it, Merlin had already tapped his staff again, causing a small tak tak sound, even though he struck against empty seawater. With the change in scenery, he added on to his previous words, stating, "The Undines are the descendants of Una, the Queen of Fairies that had been harboring Vivian for thest fifteen hundred years..." Then, without holding for questions, Merlin pointed towards two groups this time, one consisting of diminutive and stout individuals who were less than 100cm in height while the others had bodiesprised entirely of me. The former group was predominately male, having rather ugly features that includedrge noses, messy beards, and perpetually messy garments. As for their much smaller counterparts, who were barelyrged than a hands length, they were exclusively female, their bodies wreathed in mes as thin wings flickered behind their backs. As he seemed inclined to do, Merlin took it upon himself to exin, "This group may be the most important for Your Majesty in the near future. They are known as Dwarves and Vulcanae respectively. As Im certain you are aware, they are some of the best craftsmen amongst all Fairies, responsible for the creation of most legendary weapons and Noble Phantasms that have appeared in history. They may be as fiery-tempered as the mes they work with and embody, but they can be fiercely loyal if you manage to win them over~." With this said, Merlin changed locales once again, this time with a rather significant pout as, even after having Vahn appear in mid-air, thetter showed no reaction. Without letting it bother him too much, Merlin exined, "The Dwarves and Vulcanae hail from the dominion of Effe, the Fairy Queen of me. As for thisst group, they are the smallest in number but considerably more powerful than most. They are proud and unfettered servants of Titania, the most powerful of the Fairy Queens. In modern times, they are known as Sylphs while, back during the reign of King Arthur, the peasantry gave them the rather unfortunate name of Wind Demons. As a result, they developed a propencity for causing hailstorms to kill crops, forcing rain to persist for days on end, and tearing down hovels and barns with powerful winds..." As Merlin gave his exnation, two semi-transparent figures dashed through the air, each only around thirty centimeters in length as they flittered through the cloud coverage, seemingly ying a game of tag. They moved with extreme swiftness that made them almost impossible to discern with the n.a.k.e.d eye but Vahn had been able to see rather adorable pale-skinned humanoids with pointed ears, dragonfly-like wings, and green dresses made from a type of fabric he was unable to discern. They both had pale-pink eyes and blond hair that was tinged with green on the ends, appearing somewhat spiky and windswept. It also became apparent that, rather than ying tag, the two were actually dueling rather fiercely. With a wry smile on his face, Merlin ignored the sound of thunder crackling as one Sylph threw a bolt of lightning towards it panion. He tapped his staff against the air, reverting the setting back to thefort of his Magus Tower as he exined, "Sylphs are extremely prideful and even morepetitive. Fortunately, they are rather easy to pacify and, so long as you do not upset them, they rarely cause too much trouble. The biggest issue regarding Sylphs is that, even if you won them over on one day, they could turn against you on the next. They have no loyalty towards anyone, not even Titania. Still, you can trick them into temporary contracts pretty easily so Im certain you will be able to rein them in properly~." Then, after moving over toward his chair, Merlin asked in a polite tone, "Was there anything else, Your Majesty~?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Merlin be like, "Why do I have to work while you ck off...?",Poor Vivian, falling in love with a socially inept D.i.c.k Wizard xD...,New Troubles on the Horizon? Time for Vahn to actually be an Emperor (UwU)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1189 - Symbols

Chapter 1189 - Symbols

As much as he was annoyed with Merlins behavior at times, Vahn knew he couldnt continue to idle on the matters of the Empire if he one day wanted to expand its influence. Though it was possible to use forceful means to have people follow his policies, such methods were to be saved for uprisings and insurrections. Since Artoria had ced her confidence in him in the past, likely the very reason he had even been able to im Camelot, Vahn wanted to keep his promise with her for as long as possible. Fortunately, though it would undoubtedly take a number of years, potentially even two or more generations, Vahn knew it was possible to bring about the change they wanted to see through the efforts of Luvia and Da Vinci. With that in mind, Vahn asked Da Vinci to help him alter theyout of the Throne Room, removing the thirteen thrones, his own included. Since it was supposed to be his literal seat of power, Vahn wanted to have a hand in producing his own. Though there was considerable historical significance to the wooden throne that had been upied by Artoria, Vahn was not her, nor was he a King that intended to sacrifice himself for others. His creed as a ruler was to pave the way forward, opening the path for others to follow rather than pandering to and pacifying his subjects. It was always his intention to create a system that allowed people to elevate themselves through effort and, though this certainly had its ws, Vahn considered it infinitely better than systems that treated people as nothing more than a resource to be exploited. Though Vahn was rather fond of eastern designs, the cathedral-like structure of the Ivory Castle made it impossible to incorporate such elements without making them seem considerably out of ce. This didnt mean he couldnt draw inspiration from such designs, however, especially as one of his primary Innates, [Rakshasa Body], seemed to embody several aspects of Chinese culture. Thus, in order to create a Throne that symbolized the unification of all cultures, while showing his willingness to break away from established ideologies, Vahn did something that no Emperor before would have done. Instead of elevating his Throne atop a series of tforms, Vahn spent a few days reshaping the Throne Room to make it descend downward several levels, each representing a Soul Tier. Vahn wanted to emphasize the idea that, while he held absolute power, it wasnt to ce himself above everyone. Instead, it showed his capacity to support everything, including the heavens above if necessary. As his Soul Tier gradually increased, so too did his responsibilities, even if he himself wasnt the most responsible individual. Just by virtue of being a God, or whatevery beyond, he would have be a pir supporting the entire worlds fate. At higher Tiers, even entire Records would only exist as a result of his will, with everything within being an extension of the decisions he had made. It wasnt an exaggeration to say even simple words uttered by him would be able to shape reality as, when you moved up in Tiers,nguage itself was represented by powerful Laws. While it was different than the Language of Gods within Danmachi, Vahn had been able to make a bit of progress in the Nasuverses Divine Words by studying with Ishtar, Ereshkigal, and Circe. They were all capable of using Divine Words with limited sess, something Vahn had found rather odd with Ishtar and Ereshkigal being actual Goddesses. ording to them, though they were capable of understanding the entirenguage, the words they could use were restricted, both by their Divinity and authority. As Divine Words were thenguage of creation itself, only Creation and Sky Gods were typically able to use them freely and, as a result of their Divinity giving them Sovereignty over other Gods, they could determine to what degree most Gods were able to use Divine Words. As for Demigods like Circe, who had considerably less authority than an actual God, she was able to reach her level of understanding through study and devotion to her ancestral Goddess, Hecate. However, though she was surprisingly able to use more words than both Ishtar and Ereshkigalbined, the power in each individual word was significantly weaker byparison. Ereshkigal, for example, could use her authority over Death itself to simply decree death to anything within her perception and, if theycked the mental strength or Od to resist, they would literally die on the spot. Circe, however, would have to link death together with other words, forming them into aplex chant that, more or less, served as an argument against the world, an attempt to convince it that her words were the truth. Sessrgely depended on whether or not she could make a sound argument, something that could be outright refuted if the target was strong enough. In a way, shes between individuals that were capable of using Divine Words were a sh of wills, each trying to convince the opposite party, and the world itself, that they were correct. Vahn hadnt been too surprised by these revtions as, much like the Laws themselves, the power a person was able to manifestrgely depending on theirprehension and belief. What he was more interested in was thenguage above Divine Words which, based on what he had learned from Eva and observed through Akasha, seemed to revolve almost entirely around Symbology and Runes. Simply by giving power to a specific shape, using it to represent a powerful concept, it could serve as a powerful catalyst that could greatly enhance a spell. A good example of this was how the symbols for alchemy were used in their magic circles while, allowing them to function even though they were just arbitrarily decided upon by famous Alchemists. The best example was how the Holy Church could use a simple crucifix to even suppress powerful demons, using a simple piece of wood to manifest miracles. It was this heavy emphasis on Symbology and Runes that gave power to most Magic Circles, Wards, and Formations. Thus, upon reaching Tier 5, you would be able to exercise an extreme amount of power just by giving power to a specific shape. Even something as simple as a circle, if given greater meaning, would have the power to seal away Gods. Though this was rarely the case, as the shapes of runes were generally madeplicated so they could not be emted, it was still an important part of the puzzle to one day reaching Tier 5. It was for this reason that Vahn focused onprehending Scthachs [Primordial Runes] while simultaneously trying to make sense of the mysterious runes that manifested with his own Innates. With this in mind, Vahn made it so that the highest level of the Throne Room, representing Soul Tier 1, was made from simple y. Though it was heavily embellished, almost gaudily so, it didnt sh against the solemnity of the cathedral-like chamber as, while most weaker humans sought wealth and luxury in the pursuit of happiness, they were also capable of blending in with their environment to avoid hardship and survive. As for the second level, it wasprised almost entirely of precious metals, such as silver and gold, while an ornate pattern of gemstones formed into constetions that encircled the lower levels. This represented an even greater focus on wealth as a form of power as, upon reaching Tier 2, people began to break free from the constraints of normalcy and often began to consolidate wealth while lording over others... If you were to look closely at the second level, you would find several small cracks that had been left as intentional design ws, representing that power gained through the consolidation of wealth created an unstable foundation. Depending on the actions of those at the first level, it was possible for this foundation to shatterpletely, something that periodically urred throughout history, both in Danmachi and the Nasuverse. As for what the constetions embodied, they represented the propensity for some that had obtained power to look towards the heavens, seeking something far greater than the material wealth they had consolidated. This is what often led to the advancement of civilization, allowing knowledge, ideologies, and wisdom to slowly be more valuable than the material... Even lower, representing Soul Tier 3, the foundation was formed of marble and, instead of precious jewels and valuable metals, the surface was adorned with reliefs depicting heroic men and women oveing trials and leading humanity towards their version of a brighter future. Looking closely, you would be able to see that most of these heroic figures were faceless, causing their weapons, armor, crowns, and other artifacts to stand out. There were also several panels that depicted scenes of brutal conquest as, depending on which side of the conflict you were on, one countrys Heroes could be anothers Demons. What the more observant would notice was, behind each Heroic figure, there were often men and women with their faces shrouded, some fading into the background while others stood like pirs that seemed to elevate the figures in the foreground... Contrasting the rather in materials used in the third levels construction, the foundation of the fourth level, representing Soul Tier 4, wasprised of pale gold. Though it would undoubtedly bebeled as heresy by the Holy Church, Vahn had separated the fourth level into eight sections, much like how Heaven had been divided in Danmachi. He filled the panels with masterful representations of a myriad of different Gods, Fae, Spirits, Elementals, and Divine Beasts, representing no particr God and instead focusing on the Divinity they represented. Then, to make this level seem even more impactful, Vahn separated the third and fourth level with passages written in Divine Words that also extended into the three prior levels, emphasizing the influence of the Gods in the Mortal World, even if they themselves were unaware of it. The fifth and finalyer, as the Nasuverse was only a Tier 5 Record, was where Vahns Throne existed. Though he wasnt at Tier 5 himself, it represented the pinnacle and, as this is the goal he had set for himself, Vahn felt it was rather appropriate. As for the Thrones construction, it was rtively in, made of simple ck stone that, if you looked closely, was adorned with a pattern ofplex runes. When the true Emperor sat upon the Throne, it would shimmer with blue light which, much like the Divine Words of the fourthyer, would extend across each preceding surface. Though the majority of the light was focused towards the center, even the outer periphery of the first level was within the scope of the Fifth Tiers power... Though it wouldnt make sense to most people, Vahn also separated the fifth level into eight parts, offset from the sections of the fourth level so that the dividing lines parted through the center of each major panel. Within each of these sections, he carved the same runes that were visible within the empty ck void upied by the Four Sacred Beasts represented by his [Rakshasa Body]. Then, at the top of his Throne, Vahn carved the visage of two eyes which, when he sat down, would glow with a subtle divine light that could seemingly peer through all things. This represented his [Eyes of Truth] and, though it was less prevalent than the eight trigrams pattern spread around him, they would be the thing most people focused on when looking upon the Throne, representing the fact that it, in turn, was observing them... With two more Innates making up the basis of his power, Vahn chose to represent his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] by literally keeping a thick bound book at his side. Though it was only meant to be a symbol, he used high-quality materials in its construction, hand-binding the pages together after investing several million OP. Then, deciding to use it as a record to log the status of each member of the Imperial Court, Vahn wrote down the names of everyone residing in the castle. Later, he intended to have Scthach or Merlin help him enchant it so that, instead of just writing the names down and filling the pages, the words would be stored as Magical Energy, leaving the pages nk unless the information was requested. In the future, the status and title of every member of the Imperial Court would be recorded in this book, meaning you would be unable to im any form of nobility without having your name inscribed... After constructing his bastardized version of the [Akashic Tome], Vahn had officiallypleted his restructuring of the Throne Room. There was no need to have anything represent his [Will of the Emperor] as that was the purpose of the Throne Room, the Ivory Castle, and his presence itself. As for his authority, which was something he would have to give to his Herald and anyone sent to represent him, this took on the form of a seal that had his crest carved into its surface. Since he had even used an Imperial Seal back in his previous life, Vahn intended to do the same in the Nasuverse. This seal would represent himself when he sent out emissaries in the future, giving whoever held it the same level of authority he enjoyed... With his Throne Roompleted, an arduous task that would have been impossible to aplish expediently without his Space-Time Orbs and memory fragments, Vahn decided it was nearing time for him to hold Court for the first time. The whole reason for the renovation was to better represent the fact that, rather than sitting upon the Throne of Camelot, it had now be the Throne of the Aldrnari Empire. When the representatives of the four Fairy factions arrived, this Throne Room would convey his ideologies much better than a simple wooden chair nked by twelve other thrones. He was, after all, a fundamentally different ruler than Artoria, both in terms of status and the ambitions he possessed... Though it wouldnt require much for him to visit the domains that Merlin had assigned to the four factions, this would be considered an extreme breach of etiquette. He needed to earn the respect of the Fairies but, if he lowered himself to appealing directly to them, the odds of them doing as they pleased in the future increased exponentially. Thus, instead of going to them, Vahn knew he would need to have them attend his Court and, if they could note to an ord, he would banish them from Avalon. After all, while this ce was meant to be a sanctuary to the various races threatened by the existence of mankind, it was not their yground. If they could not live peacefully alongside others, they were better off living in their secluded homnds until he could make an agreement with their Queens directly. Before he could invite others to attend his Court, Vahn needed to get his personal affairs in order as, while sitting in the Throne Room alone would undoubtedly increase the impact of his presence, it would also make him appear to be a Tyrant that kept all power for himself. Though there were many kinds of Emperors, the most capable ones were always surrounded by capable Ministers, often with an Imperial Court that wasprised of thousands of members. The greater the number of followers at his side, especially if they wielded immense power, the higher his own status would be in the eyes of others. After all, if he was surrounded by a hundred different Gods, each lowering their heads to him, most people wouldnt even be able to enter without feeling an oppressive and suffocating aura. Since there was enough space for more than a thousand people to upy without any difort, the only thing he would aplish by having the room emptied was making it feel solemn and cold. This could be useful in some circ.u.mstances but, if he was trying to reach an ord with future allies, showing them the allies they stood to gain by acquiescing to his rules would hasten the process of their submission. Fortunately, though she was no longer King, Artoria was rather beloved amongst the Faires as, with her own existence bordering on that of a Divine Spirit, she had an even higher status than a Queen of Fairies. In the past, it was the blessing of the Fairies that caused her body to cease aging and, even though they did not aid her in battle, as the Fae never fought in human conflicts, their assistance had been paramount in the construction of Avalon, the production of the Round Table, and the creation of the various Noble Phantasms used by both Artoria and her Knights. Even Caliburn and Excalibur were both created by the Fairies, enchanted with powerful magics that far exceeded the Magecraft used by most modern Magi. If Vahn could win over the Fae to his side, it was the same as ensuring prosperity for Avalon as, with more Fairiesing to reside here, the greater the presence of the Laws they represented. As it was possible for a group of Water Sprites to convert a section of the desert into arge oasis, there were endless benefits to having a good bnce of various different Fae in hisnds. Not only would thend always be fertile, the waters bountiful, and the air crisp and clean, but even the weather would be within his ability to control. He could determine if it was sunny, rainy, or even snowy, all with a simple request to the Sylphs that resided in the skies above. Better still was the fact that, while they were likely far from the skill possessed by Hephaestus and other forging Gods, the Dwarves and Vulcanae would still be able to construct entire fortresses and even produce Noble Phantasms without much difficulty. The only thing they needed was materials, some of which were purely conceptual while others simply couldnt exist. This, however, mattered very little to the Dwarves as, with their understanding of Laws rted to forging and crafting, there were some among their ranks who could weave moonlight into silk, harvest the mes of passion in a humans heart, and even bottle up the fear of death in liquid form. For this reason, Dwarves were one of the most sought-after types of Fae, to the point that established Magus families would even go to war with each other to obtain ownership of a young Dwarf... In the future, Vahn intended to liberate all Spiritual creatures that had been mistreated and exploited by not only the Mages Association, but all the factions present within the world. For now, however, he needed to focus on his own affairs and, when the time was ripe, win the respect of the Dwarves by disying his own forging skills. Though he didnt doubt their Masters were able to best him in a contest, Vahn doubted that Queen Effe had sent her most skilled craftsman in the batch that now upied the cave system beneath the castle town. This gave him the confidence to challenge them directly and, even if he lost, Vahn knew he could still earn their respect by producing masterpieces that could at least pass muster. Then, by providing them with rich and potent alcohols, Vahn knew it wouldnt be long before he had arge Dwarvenmunity living beneath the ind... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Words are powerful, but symbols can represent thousands of words,Imagine what it would be like to experience entering a Throne Room, finding yourself looking down upon an Emperor, unaware of the fact you are standing on the level that represents the weakest amount of power...,Conquering the Dwarves throughpetition and alcohol xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1190 - Treasure

Chapter 1190 - Treasure

In preparation for when he would first hold Court, Vahn needed to order his affairs and, at it felt like a considerable amount of time had passed since hest saw them, the first thing on his agenda was recovering Illya, Iris, Kenshin, Scthach, and Heracles. If he held his first Court without them, a rather historical event, there was a good chance that Illya, in particr, would be hurt. Though she was well on her way to stabilizing and should have be much stronger after oveing this difficulty, it would be incredibly inconsiderate of him to exclude her from such an important event. After finishing his preparations, and having a long discussion with Merlin, Vahn teleported to just outside the Bounded Field leading up to the Einzbern Castle. As an established family with an incredibly long history, it was a given that the barriers surrounding the Einzbern Castle made it very difficult for ya to ess the interior without using forceful means. Since she was prevented from doing so, requiring others to act on her behalf, the only way ya could gain ess to the interior of powerful Bounded Feilds was if she apanied Vahn directly. This was due to the fact that her highest priority at the moment was observing him and collecting data. With Artoria, Gray, Fenrir, and Mordred at his side, Vahn expanded his domain outward, blocking off the biting winds and snow that were sweeping across the mountain path like an icy tempest. Since he hadnt listened properly, Mordred ended up doing a small shimmy and, even though the ice had no real effects on her, she still eximed in an excited voice, "Wow, it is super cold out here~!" This was far from the first time she had seen snow but, as there were few tall mountains in Britain, the sub-zero temperatures, low oxygen levels, and endless snowyndscapebined to form quite the idyllic experience. Before Mordred to scamper off into the woods, Vahn picked her up by the scruff of her jacket before using his Telekinesis to guide her to his shoulders. Though she had an adorable pouting expression when he first picked her up, this changed into a toothy grin by the end. Then, leaning against the top of his head, Mordred pointed towards the mountains peak, shouting, "Onwards, Chichue, let us conquer the mountain~!" --- Unlike the scene of Illyas group having to fight their way up, the path forward was rtively smooth for Vahns as, before setting out, he had sent a message directly to Illya, informing of his arrival. With her being one of his Servants, albeit as a result of Cath Palug existing within her body, Vahn was able to telepathicallymunicate with her. During an emergency, he could even use a Command Spell to summon her to his side so, while he often tried to speak with her directly, it was convenient to use in situations like this. As a result, when Vahns group passed through the second Bounded Field, the first thing they saw was Kenshin seated atop her horse while a contingent of white-haired, ruby-eyed women were neatly formed up to receive them. Though Kenshin and her rather massive horse were the most eye-catching element in the group, it didnt take long for Vahn to shift his attention to the most petite member of the entourage, Illya, apanied by her mother. While wearing a purple winter coat, thick fur boots, and a furry hat, Illya ran forward and, despite the fact that he already had Mordred seated on his shoulders, leaped with open arms towards Vahn. As he had dealt with some rather rambunctious children in his days, Vahn was perfectly capable of catching Illya out of the air without destabilizing Mordred, allowing her to nuzzle into his chest as a single tear ran down her face. To her credit, Mordred realized she was in the way and, despite the fact Vahn hadnt asked her to, she rolled off his shoulder beforending nimbly on her feet. Then, while Vahn continued to hug Illya, gently whispering a few warm words to console her, she gravitated towards Fenrir, earning a head pat from thetter. Though itcked a mastery of Petting Laws, this still brought a smile to Mordreds face while, at the side, Artoria watched on with a thoughtful expression... Once Illya had calmed down, Vahn was holding her hand as they grouped up with the contingent she had brought to meet him. Vahn shared a few words with Iris and Kenshin, giving both women a hug, a rather tame affair until Kenshin whispered in his ears, "This time apart has allowed me to put things into perspective, Master..." Then, after stealing a kiss from his lips, Kenshin smiled radiantly as she added in an even quieter voice, "I think Im beginning to understand...this thing called love..." As he hadnt been expecting this kind of interaction with Kenshin during their reunion, Vahn had a stunned expression on his face that, after seeing her smile, softened into an affectionate look. She didnt expressly state it but, with this admission by Kenshin, he knew it wouldnt be long before she, Nobunaga, and Luvia, were all requesting children directly. This was one of the matters he needed to sort out in the near future as, though the session of the crown would be wholly dependant on capabilities, the Imperial Family itself was an extension of his Court. He would need to assign roles and responsibilities to everyone in the future, rather than just having them idle about conducting research and training periodically. Though Kenshins words had caused his heart to warm up considerably, Vahn knew it wasnt a good time to get caught up in the momentum, especially with a group of thirty extremely simr women staring at them with doll-like expressions. Thus, after giving her a kiss of his own, keeping it rtively tame, Vahn ced his forehead against Kenshins and answered, "I missed you dearly as well. It feels like such a long time since our parting... lets spend more time together in the future..." This caused Kenshin to lightly chuckle and, though she still had trouble understanding her own emotions, the fluttery feeling in her abdomen always brought a smile to her face... --- With Mordred now receiving a piggyback ride from Fenrir, Vahn held Illya in his left arm while they ascended the remaining distance to the Einzbern Castle. He had to admit that, while it felt cold and detached from the rest of the world, it was an awe-inspiringly beautiful sight to behold. While it was significantly less impressive than the Ivory Castle, the view of the surrounding mountains and valleys greatly enhanced its overall beauty. At the same time, Vahn could see hundreds of powerful barriers andplex formations protecting the reinforced stone walls while, beneath his feet, thend itself had be an extension of the castles defenses. It was simr to the dominion that Terra used to protect the Hearth Manor back in the Record of Danmachi, albeit considerably lessplex. Even before they reached the expansive courtyard leading into the castle proper, Vahn had already sensed the surprisingly massive congregation awaiting them. As he expected that Illya wanted it to be a surprise, however, he showed no signs of the shock he had experienced, even though he was conducting a headcount just to wrap his head around the number of new residents he would be responsible for. By the time he had finished, Vahn had ounted for a total of 6,713 Homunculi, many considerably more powerful than even the teachers he had passed during his short stay in the Clock Tower... Before crossing the stone bridge leading into the courtyard, Illya lightly pat Vahns shoulder and said, "Put me down." He obliged without asking her reasoning and, with her leading the way, Vahn wasnt far behind as they passed through the massive stone archway and through its two-meter thick stone gates. Even before he had cleared the threshold, Vahn could already see the Homunculi gathered to greet him, each standing with perfect bearing as they nked the path leading into the castle. Illya had looked up to gauge his reaction and, seeing the genuine surprise on Vahns face, she adopted a smile, even as there was an apologetic look in her eyes as she exined, "Soon, the total number of Homunculi will reach 7,119. I know it is a lot to ask, but please help them..." As he had already noticed that many of the Homunculi present only had a few months left to live, while some were already having their lives extended by [Primordial Runes], Vahn gave a solemn nod in response to Illyas request, stating with firm conviction, "Of course. You neednt even ask...I will do my best to save them all..." While saying this, Vahn rubbed the top of Illyas head, knowing that this was an important matter that had the potential of restoring stability to her troubled existence. He had already reunited her with Iris and, if he saved her family, Vahn expected that Illya would open herself uppletely, not just to him, but to everyone within the castle. With a radiant smile on her face, Illya enjoyed having her head rubbed before reluctantly pulling away and shouting, "Okay, everyone, just as we practiced~!" Immediately following this, causing a rather thunderous yet sonorous sound, all 6,713 Homunculi simultaneously bowed at the exact same time and politely stated, "Wee, Your Majesty. We are pleased to be of service." As they were all wearing the same outfit, with many appearing identical to each other, Vahn had been considerably shaken by their simultaneous greeting. This wasnt just due to the fact that it was quite the sight to behold, but more so the result of thousands of notifications simultaneously ringing in his mind. At the same time, it felt like his power had expanded outward, with even his Od jumping from 21,339 to 25,401 in an instant. Having his power spike nearly twenty percent, Vahn experienced a feeling of euphoria and a swelling of pride, even though he hadnt really done anything to deserve their loyalty just yet. This wasrgely due to the fact that they were programmed to be extremely loyal to Illya and, as she had elevated his own status above hers, they were unhesitantly loyal to him as a result. In the future, Vahn would help them develop a true ego of their own and, with so many powerful individuals following him, it would increase his power further. If he wanted to, it would even be possible to continue producing even more Homunculi, potentially increasing his power without limits... Clearing such negative thoughts from his mind, Vahn allowed himself to smile while his aura spread throughout the area, albeit without causing any pressure. Then, once silence had dominated the courtyard, he stated in a voice filled with sincerity, "I promise to create a world where you will all be able to pursue your own happiness. Thank you all for giving me the chance..." Though they may not have made this decision for themselves, Vahn would answer the loyalty disyed by the Einzbern Homunculi by making good on his promise. One day, they would be free from having other people give value to their lives by treating them as tools. In response to Vahns words, seemingly as a result of Illya having seen through his nature, the entire group of Homunculi smiled before sonorously chorusing, "Well be in your care." Having thousands of beautiful women smile simultaneously toward him wasnt a memory Vahn would soon forget as, for a brief moment, his mind hadpletely nked as the scene carved itself into his mind. This reaction of his caused Illya tough in a rather mischevious and yful manner, simr to a child that had carried out a sessful prank. She knew Vahn would have to work hard just to prevent the Homunculi from expiring so giving him a positive impression of them would greatly increase his overall motivation... --- As a proper tour of the castle could wait untilter, Vahn soon found himself inside of the vault that previously housed the Einzbern familys greatest treasures. Illya had already presented him with [Das Rheingold], an artifact that hadpletely stunned Vahn. He had actually been worried about using too much of the Edelfelt familys finances, regardless of how often Luvia assured him it wasnt an issue, so having an artifact that could literally produce an infinite amount of gold was a considerable boon. This, however, was far from the most important treasure that was turned over to him as some items simply couldnt be valued, at least outside of the system shop. Chief amongst these were, as could be expected, Artorias legendary scabbard, [Avalon], and the second most protected treasure of the Einzbern family, a transcription of the [Emerald Tablet]. Artoria had been quite shaken to receive [Avalon] as, during her previous summoning in the Fifth Holy Grail War, it had been entrusted to the boy she had pledged her love to, Shirou Emiya. Though she had always expected to be reunited with it at some point, as her fate was intrinsically tied to the scabbard, the fact Illya had turned it over to her so soon was quite the surprise. This caused her to enter a momentarily mncholic state but, as she had already decided to walk towards the future, rather than brooding over the past, herplex emotions were locked away deep in her heart. Her path had diverged from Shrious and, though they may reunite together in the distant future, she had already made her decision to live in the present alongside Vahn... While giving Artoria a bit of space, leaving her in the care of Iris and Gray, Vahn went over the other treasures given to him by Illya, including the [Emerald Tablet]. This was a rather important artifact that, ording to Illyas ount, and the description of the item itself, it had been created by none other than the Third Magician, Kanada Vaisheshika. It was an indestructible emerald tablet that, even with his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn was unable to decipher. The only thing he could ascertain was that the molecr structure itself was organized like a solid Magic Circuit, one which actively interfered with any attempts to interpret its structure. Though he was able to reach the text on the front of the tablet, which detailed the production of Prima Materia, the creation of a [Philosphers Stone], and the production of Homunculi, Vahn knew there was a phenomenal amount of data stored within the tablet itself. Illyas memories, inherited from Jubstacheit, stated that the tablet actually detailed the process for conducting the Heavens Feel ritual and, though she could only interpret bits and pieces, it would stilly the foundation to unlocking the rest of its secrets in the future. By using the knowledge she had obtained, it would even be possible to set up another Holy Grail War, opening a way to the Root or allowing them to fundamentally change the world with a wish-granting system solely designed for their use... With Illya basically providing him with a veritable army of Homunculi, functionally infinite wealth, and the ability to literally make his wishes a reality, Vahn actually wasnt quite sure how to treat her. Illya herself didnt seem to expect anything in return but Vahn felt like he had suddenly .u.mted considerable debt. Though such concepts werepletely meaningless when both parties cared for each other, he feltpelled to do his best to make Illya even happier in the future. This sentiment was extended toward her mother, Iris, and each of the thousands of Homunculi she had entrusted to him. Since these were the things she cared about the most, Vahn would do his best to protect them, even though that was his intention from the start... To that end, Vahn managed to convince Scthach to help out and, using ya as a battery, it only took a few hours to finish the work that Illya and Iris had started. Neither of them had an affinity with Space so, while they had been making slow progress over thest few days, it had been an arduous process with a lot of trial and error. With Vahns recently expandingprehension of Space Laws,bined with Scthachs omniscience and seemingly limitless capabilities, the were able to fill in the gaps andplete the massive transfer magic circle without any issues. I With the vault containing a direct link to the artificial leyline created by the Einbern family, which they had been using to nourish [Das Rheingold], it wasnt even necessary for Vahn to provide a power source. Though it could only be used every few hours, movement between the Einzbern Castle to the Ivory Castle only required activating the transfer circle. The bigger issue would be traveling in the reverse direction but, with the number of Fae likely to increase in the near future, Vahns concerns regarding Magical Energy were slowly fading away. If he wanted to, he still had a wish that could be used, one that would rival the power of the Greater Grail in scale. Since the Greater Grail could alter causality, shift the perspective of everyone in the world, or even convert every single human into a Spirit-form creature, Vahn had been holding on to the [Grace of the Root] ever since he obtained it. In more ways than one, it was an ultimate trump card that could even allow him to reach the Reverse Side of the World or establish directmunication with Gaia. As having her on his side would prevent a lot of future problems, Vahn had been tempted to use it for that purpose on several asions. The only preventing this was his knowledge that he could achieve this feat on his own and, as it was better to have the [Grace of the Root] for an emergency, rather than using it for convenience, Vahn kept it safely within his Inventory... As thepleted transfer circle didnt care about the number of people, as it linked the Space in one location to another, it was capable of transporting several hundred people at once. So long as they were within the boundaries of the 20m wide circle, they would be teleported directly to the transfer hub that had been established back in the Ivory Castle. Thus, without dying the matter,rge groups of Homunculi were being transferred, ounting for around three-hundred every five hours real time. If there were no dys, every Homunculi could be moved in as little as five days, which was around the same amount of time needed for the final batch that had been growing to mature. While Kenshin and Iris returned with the first batch of Homunculi, as they would need direction to get settled in properly, Vahn stayed back to tour the Einzbern Castle with Illya. Mordred went off to outright explore the grounds, apanied by Artoria and Fenrir, so he was allowed some alone time with the petite woman who had suddenly been elevated quite considerably within his heart and mind. Illya herself seemed to be aware of this, causing her face to carry a perpetual blush as a happy smile lingered on her lips. Even though many of the ces she took Vahn to had negative memories associated with them, a lot of that simply seemed to fade away with his presence at her side... Thest ce Illya took him on their tour of the castle was the most important location, excluding the vault. There, Vahn got to see the thousands of tanks lined up, the majority of which were nowpletely empty. He imaged Da Vinci would have a field day if given ess to thisb while it was easy to imagine Paracelsus and Tristana wanting to coopt this massive atelier for themselves. Vahns intentions for it were considerably different, however, as he wanted to convert the entire chamber into a factory filled with [Gradation Air Printers]. As they would need billions of them in the future, having a factory that could produce several thousand Companions per day would be helpful towards achieving that goal... With most of the space rtively empty and cold, it wasnt long before Illya escorted Vahn to the tanks containing the final few hundred Homunculi. Though they were all n.a.k.e.d, he didnt show any signs of being affected, even though they were all admittedly very beautiful. Instead, Vahn listened patiently as Illya exined the basic production process of an Einzbern Homunculi, including the various issues that would often arise as a result of their elerated growth and other factors. This would make it much easier for him to treat each of the Homunculi in the future, especially since he was able to see the flow of energy through their bodies while they were still developing. Thus, while keeping Illya warm with his domain, Vahn listened attentively as she talked about the future, now with a great deal of hope contained in her once cold eyes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Go forward, my faithful stallion~!,So many breathtaking experiences...,Luvia is fortunate that Illya isntpeting for the position of Empress xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1191 - Dedication: Fatigue

Chapter 1191 - Dedication: Fatigue

As waiting five days for the transfer process toplete would equate to an entire month within the projection, it wasnt really an option for Vahn to dy things. With the final count being over seven-thousand Homunculi, even if he worked his hardest every minute of every day, it would still take him more than seventy days time within the Projection to treat each of them. Though it was possible to dy things through the use of [Primoridal Rune] Magecraft, ignoring the matter outright was out of the question. Fortunately, Vahn was confident he would be able to greatly reduce the amount of time it took to carve the requisite crest and, with Da Vinci, Paracelsus, Illya, and Iris all offering up their assistance, it was more of an inconvenience than a difficult matter to address. While Da Vinci worked on creating a system that would allow crests to be carved viaser engraving, Paracelsus focused on mass-producing [Philosphers Stone]s alongside Tristana. As for Illya and Iris, they spent much of their time and effort helping the Homunculi get settled in, a rather arduous feat considering resources, housing, and other essentials needed to be arranged. At the same time, they conducted a census of sorts and assigned simple duties to each Homunculi back in the real world. Since most of the Homunculi had never been given names, with the majority looking nearly identical to each other, they created ornate little name tags for each of the doll-like women. Until Da Vinci finished with her project, Vahn had the most difficult task amongst everyone as even Rin, Luvia, and Circe fundamentallycked the dexterity and perception to carve the requisite crests. Since the crest needed to be directly linked with the Magic Circuits and Core of each Homunculi, you needed to have an extremely intimate knowledge of their internal structure as even the smallest of mistakes could have disastrous consequences. Fortunately, in preparation for this potentiality, Vahn had already modified the seal Merlin had taught him in the past, developing what he had named the Ouroboros Seal. Representing Life, Death, and Infinity, the seal created a loop that recycled the limited vital energy that would have otherwise been consumed over the short lifespans of the Homunculi. Since they subsisted entirely on mana, requiring neither food nor water, the presence of the Ouroboros Seal would grant them a limited form of immortality. So long as they did not burn their vitality in intensebat, the Homunculi would be able to live for several hundred years without any detrimental side effects. The only real limitation to their lifespan would be their cells breaking down and their organs failing, both things that could easily be mitigated as their bodies continually stored mana. Though he knew the Ouroboros Seal would eventually be spread throughout the Magusmunity, Vahn didnt particrly care about others seeking limited immortality. In the short term, their efforts wouldnt amount to much and, so long as they did not target the Homunculi in order to obtain the secret, it didnt really matter all that much. If anything, their attempts would only serve to limit their growth as, while Homunculi could be modified to have far more powerful Magic Circuits than most Magi, they were incapable of increasing their strength. Anyone seeking to obtain immortality using the Ouroboros Seal would need to constantly upgrade themselves, requiring them to create a new body every few years. Thus, in the end, nothing would have changed and, as Vahn intended to have regtions that restricted Homunculi being created for selfish purposes, they would not be able to easily exploit the seal to create immortal servants and ves. If they were found out using such means, Vahn didnt mind ying the part of a tyrant as, if you treated the lives of others with such disregard, you were practically asking to be treated in the same manner... --- Though his physical stamina was without a limit, the same could not be said for his mental and spiritual energy. It hadnt affected his focus much but, after nearly five days of constant treatment, Vahn felt as if the image of lingerie-d Homunculi had been carved into his mind. As soon as he finished one treatment, which included cing his Familia Crest on their backs and the Ouroboros Seal on their abdomens, Vahn would immediately be greeted by yet another waiting Homunculi. It wasnt really a sight that you could grow tired of seeing as, without exception, each of the Justeaze-Type Homunculi had an indisputable beauty, but Vahn was at the point that he could even see them when his eyes were closed... Choosing not toin, Vahn, in a state that was both focused and absentminded, did his best to ignore the pleasant aroma wafting from the body of his most recent patient, a Homunculi that had been named June. He had already carved his Familia Crest on her back so she wasying down face-up on a table wearing nothing but a simple white bra and panty set. Unlike the majority of other Homunculi, she had short and somewhat wavy hair. More noticeably, rather than eyes thatcked an ego, there was a small amount of light contained in her ruby-red pupils. She was one of the three-hundred or so Homunculi who had been training with Kenshin, making her one of the more battle-oriented types by nature. Even if he had seen nearly five-hundred simr physiques over thest five days, Vahn noticed that June had an almost indiscernibly more toned body than her sisters. Like the others, she watched his actions extremely closely, her eyes following his finger as he traced it around her navel, offering noints despite the difort he knew she was feeling. Then, as had been the case in the prior 483 procedures, June stroked her abdomen with a thoughtful look in her eyes before muttering in a somewhat cold and emotionless tone, "Thank you, Master..." In response to this, even though it had be muscle memory at this point, Vahns expression softened as he replied in a sincere tone, "You are very wee, June..." Hearing her name uttered by Vahn, June smiled in a way that showed the emotion was extremely foreign to her. Then, like her sisters before her, she sat up rather mechanically from the table before wearing the gown she had been wearing prior to the operation. After that, she quickly alighted from the room before, only secondster, yet another Homunculi entered through the same door. At this point, Vahn felt like he was stuck in an infinite loop and, if not for the fack this version had hair down to the small of her back, she would have been almost indiscernible to June. Despite the incongruous feelings in his heart, Vahn managed to retain his polite smile as he softly uttered, "Wee. You can ce your gown on that hangar and then well get started immediately." Without showing any hesitation whatsoever, his newest patient disrobed, following his instructions and taking a seat atop the examination and operation table. As he performed a routine check of her vitals and analyzed the internal structure of her body, Vahn kept her involved by asking, "Can you tell me your name, please...?" This caused her to immediately reply, a hint of emotion in her otherwise cold tone, "I have been granted the name Anna von Einzbern by Lady Illyasviel." As the act of receiving a name was quite significant for many of the Homunculi, Vahn had made a habit of asking each new face the first time he conversed with them. When he addressed them by nameter, this would generally bring a smile to their face as, despite their simrities, Vahn was confident he would never mistake them for their sisters... While carving his Familia Crest, Vahn continued the conversation, asking in a polite tone, "How are you adapting to life in the castle? Have you seen or done anything interesting...?" As he asked these questions, Vahn was observing the electrical signals in Annas brain in order to gauge how close she was to developing an independent ego. Illya wanted him to let her know which of the Homunculi were the closest to developing independence as she was hoping to use them as an example for the rest. Unfortunately, though there were signals that indicated she was thinking about a response, Anna replied almost mechanically a few momentster, answering, "I have not had any difficulties adapting. Just recently, I saw one of the maintenance Golems stumble as it tried to evade stepping on a small creature." Toward the end of her words, Vahn noticed Annas brain light up a bit and, though she had her back to him, he knew a small smile had spread across her lips. Even without asking, he knew what she meant by small creature but, wanting to encourage her further, Vahn asked, "Oh~? What did this small creature look like? You seem rather fond of it..." This time, Anna spent several long seconds in contemtion, her brain lighting up in different areas before answering in an uncertain tone, "It is hard to be certain...it had a human appearance but with rabbit ears and a tail...? I tried talking to it but it only stared at me for a few seconds before wandering off...I hope I didnt scare it..." Understanding she was likely talking about Skoll, Vahn gave a small nod before consoling Anna and exining the existence of the Companions. Most of the Homunculi were still back in the real world, as having them experience elerated time was counter-intuitive, so only those who were preparing to receive treatment had been given the opportunity to see the rather adorable creatures. She wasnt the first Homunculi to mention encountering one and, as this seemed to awaken something within them, Vahn had been intending to discuss the matter of mass-producing a few to apany and monitor each of the developing Homunculi. This would be a good eay to stress test their capabilities before releasing them publically so he expected she would be more than willing. While continuing to make small talk, Vahn quickly finished applying his Familia Crest before having Annay on her back. Though it would be easier to apply the Ouroboros Seal if she sat in front of him, Vahn had been a little too distracted by the sight and aroma in his other attempts. Having an unbelievably beautiful woman spread their legs slightly as you spent a few minutes cing a seal around their navel brought with it a few difficulties. It was also considerably more concerting to have them look down on him with their ruby-red eyes than have them watch his actions whileying down. Thus, after the first few emergency procedures, as there were a few Homunculi that were only being kept alive by Scthach, Vahn had resorted to using a marginally less efficient yet exponentially easier toplete procedure... With Annas sealpleted, Vahn had finished 485 of his arranged 500 procedures, meaning he only had around four hours left before he took a much-needed break. Still, while he had be numb to the process at this point, Vahn always managed a smile when saying, "Thank you for your patience. It is finished." Then, as had been the case for each of her sisters, Anna stroked the seal before saying in an almost identical fashion, "Thank you, Master..." This was his cue to remind her that he had already taken her name to heart, smiling gently as he replied, "You are very wee, Anna..." Following this, Anna left the room and, as if the loop had begun anew, yet another Homunculi entered... --- After finishing his final operation on a Homunculi named Celine, granting him a reprieve of a few hours, Vahn released a profoundly tired sigh before facenting on the operations table. Though there was a very fragrant aroma that had been soaked into the plush surface, he had already grown extremely ustomed to its presence and made no effort at propriety. Even if someone used him of being a pervert that sniffed the table where half-n.a.k.e.d women had beenying for thest five days, Vahn wouldnt have particrly cared. It felt like he had just finished working on an extremelyplex masterpiece and, though he felt considerably aplished, knowing this was only the first of fourteen simr processes, it was hard to stay motivated. Shortly after Celins departure, Vahn uninhibitedly allowed the fragrance soaked into the table to spread through his lungs before raising his head and rising to his feet. Momentster, much of his fatigue had faded away as, bursting through the door of the room, a wild golden ponytail bobbed behind a red-d figure as it leaped through the air, shouting, "Chichue~!" Vahn caught her out of the air, chuckling lightheartedly before holding her in his left arm and musing, "You seem excited Mordred. Did something interesting happen~?" While rubbing the underside of her nose with her index finger, Mordred had a toothy grin on her face as she unabashedly admitted, "I just wanted to see Chichue. Youve been working hard so here, have a reward~." Then, nting a sloppy kiss on his cheek, Mordredughed mischievously before wriggling out of his arm and saying, "Come on, Chichue! Everyone is already waiting for you~!" As she said this, Mordred pulled Vahn by hand, leaving him trailing behind her with a wry smile on his face. He already knew everyone had gathered together a few days ago to discuss the internal affairs of the Imperial Family so this was likely an event they had prepared to inform him of their decisions. Instead of following all the way to the hall where everyone had gathered, Vahn eventually snatched up Mordred, causing her tough uninhibtedly as she attempted to break free by instinct. When she had calmed down, Vahn caressed her head and exined in a tired tone, "This time, I think Ill use my privilege as Emperor to ck off a bit. Can you go and tell everyone that well discuss things a littleter~?" Though it was perhaps irresponsible for him to ck off, especially around Mordred, thetter just smiled mischievously before pumping her fist and saying, "Leave it to me, Chichue~!" Then, after extricating herself a second time, Mordred ran through the corridors with nimble and deft movements, showing no signs that she cared about him cking off in the slightest... With Mordred entrusted with her task, Vahn veered on his heels, taking the shortest path toward his bedroom. This was one of the few times where he genuinely just wanted to rx a bit and, though he knew Mordreds exnation would likely make everyone feel guilty about expecting him to show up, Vahn wasnt at the point where he could keep going indefinitely. If he couldnt be a little selfish at times, it wouldnt be long before he had a mental breakdown or pushed himself too far. Thus, in an attempt to remind them that he needed time to mentally recharge, Vahn decided to take a nap without minding the fact he had subverted their expectations... After reaching his room, Vahn saw his bed tempting him but, as he had already made a habit of it long ago, he decided to take a hot bath before retiring. He appreciated how quicky the tub always filled up and, after retracting his domainpletely, Vahn soaked his body in the water and allowed his mind to rest. Though he fully expected Fenrir, Circe, and Medusa to show up at some point, they were amon fixture in his bedroom whenever he rested. It was a bit selfish of him, but Vahn was looking forward to having them pamper him for a change. Even Circe, while selfish by nature, was inclined towards service and hospitality. Though she was quite fond of receiving affection, she was just as likely to fawn over him when he was tired... Though he had shut off his domain and closed off most of his senses, Vahn could feel the subtle vibrations through the air when the door to his room was opened. He had been growing increasingly sensitive to such things as, the stronger a person became, the more their presence would affect the Space around them. The fact he could sense this even without his domain caused Vahn to peel his eyes open, a thoughtful look in his eyes. He was currently in his base form, with most of his senses unenhanced, so it was quite literally an eye-opening revtion that he could still sense the intrusion. Since he had already soaked for a few minutes, Vahn extricated himself from the hot water before using a towel to dry himself. Then, after changing into some sleepwear, Vahn exited his bathroom to find something unexpected. Instead of the three girls he expected, there was four present, making him thankful he had the wherewithal to put on clothes before exiting the bath. At the same time, he was able to understand why he had been able to sense them as, while others might go unnoticed, Artoria and Gray had particrly strong bonds that he was constantly made aware of... Though Vahn felt a strange incongruity seeing the simrities between Artoria and Gray, as he had just spent days viewing near-identical women, it faded quickly when they both smiled back at him. Then, with a triumphant expression on her face, Mordred gave a cheeky smile as she eximed, "Ipleted my mission~!" before Artoria exined, "Since we realized you must be tired, everyone decided it would be best for you to rx. If you want, even taking a few days off is fine..." Before she had finished speaking, Vahn was already shaking his head, stating, "Just resting for a few hours with my two adorable daughters will be enough. I even get thepany of two inordinately beautiful women so I cant reallyin at all~." With his words causing all four girls to smile, Vahn allowed his expression to soften as he moved to pick up Mordred and Sakura. Thetter had a concerned expression on her face earlier but, seeing that her Otou-sama was in high spirits, she had a relieved look while hugging his neck, saying in aforting tone, "Rest lots, Otou-sama. You shouldnt push yourself so hard all the time..." Though she had felt a little lonely with him being busy for several days straight, Sakura felt extremely guilty in hindsight. Since he was always so amazing she hadnt even thought that he would be tired so, when Mordred showed up to exin that he had gone to bed, Sakura felt a sour feeling in her nose. Hearing Sakuras words, Vahn felt the kind of vindication only parents were able to experience. His smile became more natural and, while hugging both girls, he carried them over to the bed. Then, deciding to take advantage of the situation, Vahn pulled out sleepwear from his Inventory, earning an almost immediate sigh from Artoria and a bashful blush from Gray. As for Mordred and Sakura, they had already expected such an oue so, after quickly changing, a family of five tigers could be found cuddling within Vahns room... (A/N: Alternate Titles: 7,119 Homunculi, each taking around 15 minutes each (O___O)...,TFW you realize this is the kind of state many Doctors in the real world work in...,Even Emperors need to rest) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1192 - Internal Affairs

Chapter 1192 - Internal Affairs

Before Vahn had busied himself with treating the Homunculi, one of thest things he had done was pick up Luvia from London. As the original purpose of him contacting Illya was so that he could sort the internal affairs of the Imperial Family, they had plenty of time to discuss the matter while he was hard at work. Ultimately, he had the power to override any decisions but, having learned from prior experience, Vahn knew it was better for the women to sort things out themselves before he stepped in. This would allow them the opportunity to reach an ord without his interference and, though this would cause a hierarchy of sorts to develop between them, such things were impossible to avoid when politics, business, and security were concerned. In an effort to rify everyones stance and position for the future, as Vahn would not be the only one responsible for handling the affairs of the Empire, Luvia yed host in a closed-door discussion attended by Rin, Illya, Iris, Nobunaga, Kenshin, Lakshmibai, Artoria, Gray, Fenrir, Medusa, Circe, and Olga. As for Da Vinci, Scthach, Mordred, and Sakura, they were all exempted from the discussion for obvious reasons. Thetter two were Vahns daughters and, though they had their own parts to y, they were removed from contention for any of the positions of higher authority. As for Da Vinci and Scthach, they were uncontroble elements that only Vahn could rein, being intricately involved in the internal affairs of the Imperial Family without being ountable to anyone but the Emperor. Initially, Luvia believed it would be a rather simple conversation as, even though her status might notparable to people like Artoria, Lakshmibai, and Nobunaga, their sensibilities were considerably datedpared to modern times. Amongst them, only Nobunaga even showed any sign of wanting to contest her position but, that might not even matter at this point. Previously, Luvia had thought her finances, understanding of politics, and her familys military forces gave her an insurmountable edge against thepetition. Now that Illya had returned with several thousand Homunculi, each the better of more than ten of her men. More troublesome was the fact she also brought infinite amount of wealth and treasures that would have sent the entire Magusmunity into an uproar. Once things had settled down, Luvia intended to move some of her forces to Avalon, having them be the first official subjects of the Empire. This would allow her to deeply entrench her familys roots in the heart of the Aldrnari Empire,nd that would one day be the most important in the entire world. Now, not only were Fae already beginning to move in, but Illya had essentially brought an army of faux-immortal Homunculi that would serve as Maids, Servants, Knights, and Magi. Many of them were even capable of bearing children, meaning they were already an irreceable element that would guarantee the prosperity of the Empire. When people learned that Avalon was and full of beautiful women and fairies, there would be no end to the number of individuals who would want to reside here in the future... With everyone gathered around the table, leaving the head seat empty, Luvia looked around with a smile on her face, disguising the concern she felt in her heart. Fortunately, the biggest threat to her im, Fenrir, didnt seem interested in the position at all. This gave Luvia some smallfort as she stated in a sonorous and confident tone, "Thank you, everyone, for gathering together on such short notice. I understand things are rather chaotic right now so I appreciate your willingness to attend this gathering. It is my hope that, by the end of this meeting, we will be able to present a strong and unified front to support Vahn and the Empire." Showing that she intended to butt heads with Luvia from the start, Nobunaga didnt waste any time, snickering as she stated in a sly tone, "What are you ying at, Ojou-chan? We all got along before your arrival so why meet together like this? Is your perceived status really all that important~?" As Luvia reminded her of the Nobles she had overthrown during her conquest, Nobunagas impression of her wasnt all that positive. She seemed like the type that, for the sake of profit and convenience, would allow people to stagnate, allowing progress only when it was beneficial to her finances. Even if the chances of Vahn falling for her wiles were less than a single percentage, Nobunaga felt it was her duty to always oppose such people. Hearing Nobunagas retort, Luvia furrowed her brows slightly but ultimately kept herposure as she exined, "My intention is transparency. Though our husbands capabilities seem to be without limit, we cannot entrust everything to him. If the Empire is to have any sess in establishing itself amongst the other forces within the world, our internal affairs must be put in order. We are the key factor that allows Vahn to function in his full capacity as Emperor so, to alleviate any concerns he might have about the future, we muste to an ord. If we cannot present a unified front, our enemies will exploit even the smallest gaps in our defenses." Though she waited for Luvia to finish speaking, Nobunaga didnt take her words to heart, retorting in a cold tone, "The only thing that matters is loyalty. Politics, and all those other things, they are just a pretense fools use to try and manipte others. Were already all working hard to support Vahn in our own ways, without having topromise who we are. I can understand assigning roles and all that, but ying politics amongst ourselves is the exact type of shit that will stress Vahn out. The moment we try to act like something were not, Vahn will notice and begin to worry, thats the type of man he is. Instead of trying to force the broken system of politics that Vahn is trying to abolish, why not just do your best without minding the small matters, eh, Ojou!?" Feeling a slight headache creeping up on her, Luvia shook her head in mild exasperation, doing her best to stay calm as she stated, "I can agree with many of your points, but that is not how the world works. The system youre familiar with has be obsolete with the passage of time. If Vahn is to reign as Emperor of the entire world, the only means avable are through diplomacy or conquest. You might be okay with ughtering millions to achieve your end goal, but do you think Vahn is the type of man who can remain stone-faced as his future subjects die as a result of his actions?" Even if Nobunagas presence indicated that Vahn wasnt against conquest, Luvia knew he was the type that only resorted to such methods after exhausting other options... This time, Nobunaga didnt have an immediate answer, leaving space for Rin to release a tired sigh beforementing, "Though Iment to agree with Luvia, these kinds of arguments show that it is necessary to have these kinds of discussions. You both make good points but this is all predicated on the fact that the world you envision coincides with Vahns own vision. If youll remember, it is his intention to slowly merge together the Surface and Reverse Sides of the World, invalidating much of what the two of you think about the situation. The best we can do ispromise while doing our best to support him. He is receptive to what we have to say so if we cane to an agreement, that will simplify things considerably..." With Rins words lingering, Luvia and Nobunaga fell into a temporary silence that was only broken when Fenrir inly stated, "The most important thing you can do for Master is focus on growing stronger and learning how to share happiness. All he ever wants, for each and every person, is for them to be happy. Fighting will only drive us apart, causing sadness for ourselves and Master...if you cannot get along, you should not be here. Seek your happiness elsewhere and, even if you are not in his heart, Master will never turn his back on you..." As Fenrirs words held the most credibility, everyone present around the table hung their heads in contemtion. Most of them had understanding expressions while only Luvia, Olga, Medusa, and Circe had moreplicated emotions visible in their eyes. Eventually, it was Illya who broke the silence, stating in a calm voice that was tinged with warmth, "Fenrir is right...the only thing that Vahn cares about is protecting us and doing what he can to spread happiness to others. Everything else is just a means to an end. I will do my best to support him...I will be much stronger in order to ease his burdens. He works so hard to make my wishe true...I want to do the same for him!" Following her daughters words, Iris had a contented smile on her face as she added, "I will do my best to protect the happiness Vahn has given me. Status doesnt mean anything if it is only gained through sacrificing the things that truly matter..." Though she was content with just being the castles Librarian, her return to the Einzbern Castle had reminded Iris that power was always necessary if you wanted to protect what was most important. Status was something that could either be earned or given but when it came down to it, only power mattered in the end... Though it felt like her argument was much weaker than before, Luvia smiled wryly in response to Iris words before stating, "I do not truly care for status...the only thing that matters to me is having the power and authority to protect myself, my family, and our assets. The Edelfelts have always tried to live righteously, aiding those-". Before Luvia could continue, Nobunagas gaze turned sharp as shepleted the formers sentence, spinning it by adding, "Aiding those who could bring you the most benefits...even if the knowledge provided by the Greater Grail has gaps in it, Ive already seen with my own eyes how f.u.c.k.i.e.d up this world is. There are people sick and starving all over the world. It might not be your responsibility, but dont pretend to be truly righteous when you decorate your fancy mansions in gold while children die in the streets..." Hearing Nobunagas words, the tension at the table became palpable while Luvia was forced into silence. There were all kinds of ways in which she could retort Nobunagas words but, as thetter had already admitted, it wasnt really her responsibility. It was the various governments of the world that had failed their populous and, though many of these were just the puppets of the major powers ruling from the shadows, she didnt have the freedom to arbitrarily give handouts. Her family already ran several international charities, providing vinations, food, and disaster relief, but there was only so much she could do without having her own family exploited by others... Seeing Luvias reaction, Nobunaga knew she had gone too far and, especially since she wasnt doing anything to fix the problem. In fact, while Luvias family provided millions of jobs to people all over the world, she spent most of her time lounging about, only training when she got bored and felt like moving her body. The only reason sheshed out at Luvia is that she hated the type of people who spewed titudes and pretended to be righteous, often elevating themselves above others. This was something Nobunaga had proactively avoided when she was conquering Japan and, even though it caused some tobel her as a Demon King, she was at least able to hold her head up high without pretenses... Though many showed signs of breaking the silence, it was ultimately Artoria, with a bearing none at the table could match, who stated, "I still have much to learn, but one of the most important lessons I have received from Vahn is the fact that sess is a transient thing that only exists in the present. Despite our best intentions, we cannot know with absolute certainty what the future will hold. To that end, it is important that we make the most of each and every moment. Even if we fail, we need only pick ourselves back up and do better. I believe in Vahn and the future he wants to create...I want to see a world where everyone can be happy..." As Artoria spoke, it was almost as if there was an aura of light radiating from her body and, if Vahn had been present, he would have seen her fate flowing into those around her. Though Luvia had the same [Charisma] rating, there was a significant difference between a King and the Heiress of a wealthy conglomerate family. Luvia had to pull a lot of strings behind the scenes while Artoria had always held her head up high, allowing her actions to be scrutinized by her people. Even when the general populous had turned against her, with her own Round Table splitting in two, she had always performed her duty as King. Till the very end, thousands of people had been able to die in her name, never once doubting their path and the glory owed to them for dying nobly. Hearing Artorias words, Nobunaga snorted lightly through her nose and, though she wasnt the type to ever simply apologize, she decided not to be so harsh toward Luvia in the future. She didnt want to make trouble for Vahn and, as he had already ced his trust in Luvia, who actually worked very hard on his behalf, being obstinate would benefit none of them. With that in mind, she crossed her arms and fell into silent contemtion with her eyes closed, earning a smallugh from Kenshin, seated to her right. At the same time, tensions around the table calmed down considerably while, even though Luvia was still seated at the position closest to the head of the table, Artoria became the central focus of everyone present. Luvia didnt miss this shift in everyones perception, including her own. From Nobunagas outburst and what everyone else had said, she was beginning to realize that her methods might be just as antiquated as Nobunagas. The future Vahn wanted to usher into the world was like the change in an Era and, though the politics and business sense she had cultivated over the years would certainly be useful in the short term, standardized currency may not exist in the future Vahn wanted to create. He had allowed her to read Da Vincis n and, though it seemed likeplete nonsense on paper, she was already beginning to see the signs that it could be a reality... Suddenly, though it left a slightly bitter taste in her mouth, Luvia realized she may not be suited to the position of Vahns Empress. The only reason she could even im the position was due to the fact that others simply werent contesting it. This made it seem like she was unnecessarily trying to elevate herself, even though the subtle difference in status would bepletely meaningless within the privacy of the Inner Sanctum. It would certainly be useful in political situations, but that may very well be meaningless with how much power Vahn was consolidating. Eventually, one of their enemies would try to test his strength, only to find themselves the proverbial egg smashing against a rock. He not only had functionally infinite wealth but could summon Heroic Spirits and create items out of thin air... Realizing she had been viewing things as just a human, ignoring the fact that Vahn was essentially a God with nigh-absolute power, Luvia suddenly felt rather small. This didnt bother her, however, as she knew her own existence would be amplified just by associating with Vahn. He would also be the father of her children, making her the mother of literal Demi-Gods who would, like their father, have unlimited potential. This thought brought a smile to Luvias face and, as if all her prior apprehensions were meaningless, she inly stated, "Vahn should still have an Empress, one that can stand at his side as an equal, regardless of how the future changes. Though the position could be left open for another to im int he future, I believe there is already an ideal candidate among those gathered here..." Though it could have been misconstrued as self-promotion, it was clear from Luvias gaze that she was not referred to herself. Instead, as everyone else had been doing previously, she was looking toward Artoria, meeting thetters crystal clear gaze which, contrasting her own, possessed a certain nobility that was impossible to emte. Even if Artoria was dressed in rags, people would still feel as if she was an existence above them, even if she never once postured to present herself as such. Even when she ruled as King Arthur, Artoria had elevated her Knights to a simr status as her own, caring more about fulfilling her duties and protecting her people than the title of King. Thus, even if she was given the highest position within the Imperial Court, second only to Vahn, she would remainpletely unaffected by the politics and machinations of others... With everyone turning their attention toward her, Artoria nearly recused herself from any potential contention as being a Queen-Empress Consort and Knight Commander was already enough for her. Since she had failed to rule as King, Artoria felt she was unqualified for ruling alongside Vahn as his Empress. However, remembering her own words about making the best of each and every moment,bined with the fact she was trying toprehend Kings Laws, Artorias eyes ultimately shone with a resolute light as she stated, "If there are none against it, I will ept the responsibility. If it will help ease Vahns burdens, I will do my best, regardless of the position I am required to fill." Hearing the conviction in Artorias words,bined with the fact that she was generally popr amongst everyone present, nobody voiced anyints. Instead, even though it was unnecessary, many answered in support of Artoria bing the Empress, Fenrir included. She had a positive impression of Artoria so hearing thetter say she would do her best to support their Master was all that mattered, at least in her opinion. Thus, while many abstained frommenting on the matter entirely, it was quickly decided via consensus that Artoria would be Vahns official Empress. As for Luvia, after a great deal of discussion, she would distance herself slightly from the crown and, at least for the time being, assume the position of Empress-Consort and Keeper of the Seals... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nobunaga and Luvia dont mesh well xD...,Fenrir, the voice of reason!?,Once a King, now an Empress. Once for duty, now for love...?) (A/N: For those that are unaware, the Keeper of the Seals can, at times, has the same authority as a King or Emperor. It essentially qualifies Luvia to carry around Vahns Imperial Seal, meaning she is able to act as his proxy, even without being his Empress.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1193 - Present

Chapter 1193 - Present

After what felt like a much-deserved rest, Vahn awoke feeling refreshed and recharged, ready to face theing day. Before that, however, he helped Mordred and Sakura prepare for their own, even if this only meant helping them brush and pin up their hair. Since it was currently day time outside, this meant they had lessons, todays consisting of spearmanship, etiquette, and armor maintenance. It might not be necessary for them to ever repair their own armor but, as a matter of discipline and principle, all Knights needed to know how to care for their equipment. Once they were ready, Vahn sent off his two daughters with a supportive smile on his face, leaving them in the care of Gray since Artoria had wanted to speak with him. When it was just the two of them, she exined the decisions that the group had reached, surprising Vahn quite a bit when she informed him of her own status. This caused a smile to immediately spread across his face and, even though Artoria had been in the middle of her exnation, Vahn scooped her up, holding her waist as he spun her around a few times. Then, despite Artorias mock protests, Vahn pulled her into a firm embrace, cradling her in his arms as he whispered, "Thank you...". Vahn hade to understand Artoria well over thest eight months so, even without her having to exin the situation, he knew she must have been the voice of reason for everyone to support her im. Thus, so that Artoria never felt like she was simply doing her duty, Vahn made it clear from the start that he was enthused to have her as his Empress. Though she lightly tapped his chest a few times in resistance, it wasnt long before Artoria ultimately rxed her body, allowing Vahn to seal her lips as they shared a passionate embrace for several minutes... Though she failed to extricate herself from Vahns embrace, Artoria managed to exin everything as he loosely held her h.i.p.s and gently guided her around the room, not quite dancing but having a simr feeling. She exined how Luvia had epted the position of Empress-Consort and Keeper of the Imperial Seal while Kenshin had nominated herself as Imperial Herald. With the matters Luvia was charged to attend, she would need considerable authority and, with none greater than Vahns own, carrying his seal was the same as representing him. As for Kenshin, she already had a following amongst the Einzbern Homunculi and, though she would still serve as part of the Order of Imperial Knights, her primary duty in the future would entail preceding his arrival and passing his doctrine to his soldiers and subjects. Since Vahn would be holding Court in the near future, Kenshin had essentially taken it upon herself to be his personal messenger. She would be the one responsible formanding others to attend his Court, leaving only the positions of Master of Ceremonies and Grand Marshal of the Court to be filled. Artoria and the others had discussed who was most suited for the position before ultimatelying to the conclusion that, amongst them, there was none qualified. Both positions were rather high in the Court but,pared to the status and titles everyone had been assigned, it was actually a considerable downgrade in status to hold said positions. The Master of Ceremonies had the responsibility of conducting important ceremonies and managing the castle staff in preparation to receive dignitaries, ambassadors, and other important guests of the Emperor. They were usually in charge of the Stewards, Chambeins, Butlers, Maids, Chefs, and other servant sses within the castle. The only person qualified for this level of responsibility was Luvia but, as she was already dealing with external matters, she could not manage the staffing of the castle and preside over its ceremonies. As for the position of Grand Marshal of the Court, it was the higher position between the two but typically had fewer responsibilities. Simr to the Master of Ceremonies, the Grand Marshal was also responsible for nning events and conducting ceremonies. Instead of managing the staff and personnel charged with ensuring the ceremony was a sess, however, they had the responsibility of organizing the members of the Court and making sure everyone was properly informed of the arrival and participation of outside parties. They would be the ones announcing the names and titles of guests who were given an audience with Vahn and, with the exception of Vahn and Artoria, their status was considered one of the highest, albeit only during ceremonies. Though Vahn could hold Court in whichever way he chose, creating apletely new system and establishing a unique form of etiquette would justplicate things in the long run. Because of this, his Empire was simr in structure to the traditions passed down through the British Isles for more than two-thousand years. As a result, the only ones really familiar with how things were run included Merlin, Artoria, Luvia, Rin, Iris, Illya, Olga, and, to a lesser extent, Astolfo. Among them, only Rin was free to take up such responsibilities but, wanting to avoid politicspletely, she had refused on the grounds of being unsuited for the position. Unfortunately, with so few people making up his Court, they were considerably understaffed when it came to handling official matters. Though having one of the Homunculi take up the responsibility wasnt out of the question, that was a matter that could only be addressed in the future. For the time being, there werent any amongst their number who had fully awakened an independent ego. If his future guests were to see them behaving as emotionless dolls, it could seriously skew the image he wanted to present to the rest of the world. Avalon was supposed to be a haven for those seeking to escape exploitation so using one of the Einzbern Homunculi just because it was convenient to do so was out of the question... With few options, even though he actually had quite a few, Vahn ultimately decided that he would dy holding court until he had finished treating all of the Homunculi. At the same time, he would be waiting for the summoning system to be readied while allowing the various Fae residing on the ind to continue settling in. If they had already built homes and started developing amunity, it would actually give him more leverage in future discussions. Currently, as they had only arrived less than two weeks prior, it wouldnt mean much to them if they were forced away. If they were already used to life on the ind, however, they would be far more resistant to leaving, making them much easier to convince in the long run. After making his decision, Vahn rested his forehead against Artorias exining in a light tone, "In the near future, Ill be summoning several people all at once. Though Karna and Jeanne are a given, I will also be summoning Gawain and Gareth. From what you have told me, I believe they will be a helpful addition to the Court..." Gawain had been one of the Knights loyal to Artoria until the end, while also serving as Artorias proxy and decay, Vahn believed he would be extremely suited to the position of Grand Marshal. As for Gareth, she was one of the people who weighed heavily on Artorias heart, the result of her extremely unjust ending. Better yet, Gawain and Gareth were brother and sister while also Artorias nephew and niece respectively. Though Gawain might hold some resentment toward Mordred, as she had been responsible for both his and Artorias deaths, Vahn didnt expect he would hold that grudge in his heart after seeing the changes in both Artoria and Mordred. Hearing Vahn mention summoning her family once again, Artoria had a gentle look in her eyes but still released a sigh. Though she felt summoning Gareth wouldnt be an issue, all those that had been at her side during Mordreds rebellion would likely carry resentment toward her daughter. Since she had made so much progress, Artoria didnt want Mordred to have to face any setbacks. She was also afraid to face her kin as, both Gawain and Gareth had beenpletely unaware of her identity as a female. Though she trusted both of her loyal Knights with her very life, matters of the heart were never simple to deal with... Sensing Artorias hesitation, Vahn held her a little tighter as he reminded, "The past is the past... lets build the future by focusing on the present..." Even if there were problems, Vahn was confident they could be dealt with. Mordred had indeede a long way and, so long as her support never waned, it wouldnt matter if others looked down on her. Instead, it might result in her working even harder to prove herself and, with Gawain having been a loyal Knight until the end, Vahn suspected he would adapt quickly to the reality of the situation. From what he had heard from Artoria, the chances he would nder the Imperial Family in dereliction of his duties were incredibly slim... With Vahns reminder, Artoria felt a small weight lift from her heart and, though she couldnt really find the words to express her feeling, it was surprising how much a simple kiss couldmunicate. Thus, even though Mordred would likely make a snide remark about her beingte, Artoria decided to focus on the moment, sharing it with the man she had slowlye to love. He always seemed so confident when it came to things like this and, even if this didnt necessarily mean he was prepared to deal with the consequences of his actions, Artoria knew that Vahn would still continue moving forward, regardless of the setbacks he faced. This gave her the strength to do the same so, as Vahn slowly guided her around the room, Artoria offered no resistance... --- Before he began another long session of treating Homunculi, Vahn made his way through the castle, this time moving towards the upper levels that connected to the heavily reinforced ramparts. Along the way, he passed by several Homunculi who promptly moved aside, bowing respectfully as they made way for their new Master. Vahn, however, broke etiquette slightly as, instead of ignoring them, as was considered proper, he greeted each of the Homunculi by name. Though he could tell them apart by the subtle differences in their physique and aura, he had also tagged each of them within his Minimap, allowing him to avoid making even a single mistake. This seemed to be quite impactful to the Homunculi, often resulting in them smiling as they returned his greeting in higher spirits, even if it was hard to discern with theirrgely emotionless eyes... After reaching his destination, Vahn saw arge statuesque figure seated atop the rampart, the wind gently flowing through his mane-like hair. Even seated, the bronze-skinned figure was considerably taller than Vahn, each of his limbs beingparable in thickness to thetters torso. With muscles atop muscles, to the point that even someone like Ottar wouldnt be able topete, he cut quite the figure against the twilight of the rising sun. Just as sunset would persist for well over seven hours, the long morning sunrise was yet another sight to behold, adding to the mystical qualities of Avalon. Without so much as sparring Vahn a nce, as he would not even lower his head to Gods, Heracles continued to look out over the expanse of Avalon as his deep voice echoed, "Why have youe seeking me, Sage Emperor?" Since Heracles was an existence nearly on the same level as someone like Scthach, Vahn decided it was a waste to mind his rather brash and impolite mannerisms. His impression of the proud Greek Hero was actually quite high so, breaching etiquette himself, Vahn sat down on the ramparts before pulling out a literal vase of expensive alcohol, asking, "Shall we toast the morning sun?" This caused Heracles to turn his eyes toward him, golden pupils zing like the morning sun as they reflected the image of Vahn deep within. Though his face still had the ferocity of a man who could contend against the greatest monsters in the world, Heracles allowed a slight grin to spread across his lips as he hefted the heavy vase of alcohol and drank from it with the ease other men would use to partake of a mug. He downed more than a liter of alcohol in just a fewrge gulps before releasing a husky sigh and remarking, "You are a good Emperor. Those who cling to pride and look down on others are doomed to meet a tragic end. Despite the amount of power you may wield, it is useless if you forget why you obtained such power in the first ce..." Knowing Heracles was speaking from experience, as he had learned a considerable amount about the Heroic mans past, Vahn gave a solemn and understanding nod. Then, as he had indeede here with a matter to discuss, Vahn stated in a firm tone, "I owe you a debt of gratitude for what you have done for Illya. Though titles may be meaningless to someone of your stature, I would like to give you the title of Imperial Guardian. At the same time, I came to inform you of my intentions..." Though Heracles didnt have much of a reaction to receiving a title, his expression became beset with grief, a glimmer of hope shing across his golden eyes as Vahn stated, "I intend to give you a physical body and, in exchange for your service, I will return your Wife and children to you..." Hearing Vahns words, Heracles experienced a brief moment where a powerful rage almost swelled up inside of him but, knowing the former wasnt trying to deceive him, he remained calm, asking, "How long...?" This question caused Vahn to blink in confusion, resulting in Heracles grumbling as he asked, "How long do I need to serve you before they will be returned to me?" As he knew it would consume a considerable amount of resources, Heracles expected that Vahn would ask him to serve for at least a decade before his family would be returned to him. Instead, Vahn smiled in amus.e.m.e.nt as he exined, "I trust you have enough integrity to fulfill your promise without being bound to service. It will take time to summon them all, but I can at least return to you your Wife and two of your children. When I have the resources to summon the rest, I will not dy the matter..." Heracles took in a deep breath, causing his massive pectoral muscles to expand outward in a rather intimidating manner. This wasnt his intention, however, as his expression became extremely solemn as he vowed, "I believe you to be a man of your word. In exchange for this kindness, I will continue to protect the Imperial Family until my dying breath. This ce is a paradise that should never have to suffer the conflicts of men. If anyone intends to defile this ce and its people, they must go through me first..." Though he spoke calmly, Vahn could feel Heracles aura expand outward, causing the void around to tremble slightly in response. Understanding further discussion was unnecessary, Vahn hopped to his feet before lifting up his own ss. Heracles obliged by tapping his vase against the mug before they both emptied the contents of their respective containers. Then, after exhaling a hot sigh that kicked up a steamy cloud of vapor, Vahn turned his back to Heracles,menting, "In the future, I would appreciate yourpany at the nearby tavern. I have very few people that I can consider my friend but, if youll have me, I would be honored to keep thepany of such a legendary Heroic figure." Even if this version of Heracles felt an extreme amount of guilt and self-loathing, Vahn believed he would one day hold his head up high once again. One of the traits he most respected in people was their tenacity in oveing the past, even if they sometimes needed a small push... Though he did not answer Vahn openly, Heracles decided to keep thepany of the Sage Emperor in the future. There were few people in his life that he had ever truly respected and, though Vahn had yet to reach that level just yet, Heracles impression of the man had increased greatly. So long as he kept his promise, Heracles didnt even care if Vahn wanted him to be a weapon against his enemies. Even if he had to bathe in an ocean of blood and ovee a thousand more trials, being reunited with his family would make it all worth it. He also found the alcohol given to him by Vahn to be of extremely high quality, burning his throat and filling his body with a pleasant warmth, chasing away the chill that had settled into his frame. Though the cold wouldnt affect him normally, Heracles hade to appreciate the numbness so, instead of resisting it, he allowed the chill to settle in his body as he ruminated about the past... Suddenly feeling that the warm rays of the sun were far more pleasant, Heracles allowed a genuine smile to spread across his lips as he muttered, "My beloved Megara...to think we would be together again after thousands of years...this time, I will protect you and our children...I swear..." Though his tightening fist caused the rampart of the castle to fracture, Heracles only spared it a momentary nce before jumping down to the courtyard more than sixty meters below. He had the feeling that sitting around was now a waste of time and, as he had promised to protect the Ind, Heracles felt it was time he explored it. His first destination was the Castle Town in the distance, his intent being to find the location of the tavern mentioned by Vahn. Asking for directions was something he could never bring himself to do so, even if he had to wander around and enter every building, Heracles was determined to find it... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "Waifu acquired (* v *)~!",I wish I had a system to remind me of peoples names...,Heracles Vow : Pride and Respect) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1194 - Measures

Chapter 1194 - Measures

Before restarting his treatment of the Homunculi, as there werent any in danger of breaking down any time soon, Vahn decided to spend the rest of the day cycle alongside the girls who had been away from the castle. He also needed to discuss Luvias ns and, if she needed to return to London, he would be the one to escort her. To that end, Vahn needed toe up with a method to protect her when he wasnt around, even though she wasnt exactly a soft target. In the past, they had even discussed summoning a Goddess into her body, both as a means of nourishing her soul while also allowing her to fight against most enemies that would target her. It could be the result of her rivalry with Rin, but Luvia it was easy to see that Luvia also had ties to a Goddess, either through her lineage or, more likely, the result of the Nasuverses creator giving her a parallel with another important character. Vahn didnt know exactly who the central characters of the Nasuverse were but, with the auras of fate lingering around them, it was clear that Artoria was one of the most important. As for Rin, she also had a discernible aura while Luvia, Gray, and Sakura all had subtle auras that were only visible if looking closely. Curiously, even though they were two powerful individuals, Merlin and Scthatchpletelycked a fate while entities like ya and ORT were simply beyond his ability to discern. Before she made her decision, Luvia wanted to learn more about Astraea but, as she also believed in gaining strength for herself, the chance of her following through with the idea would depend almost entirely on any difficulties she faced in the near future. She believed her own power and intelligence was enough to let her navigate most situations, especially with the authority and finances of her family. So long as she didnt do anything like charge into enemy territory on her own, there werent too many enemies who could endanger her life. Even Magi specialized in assassination would be hard-pressed to target her as, like all exceptional Magi, Luvia was extremely perceptive to negative intentions and curses. The moment they began conspiring to take action against her, she would be able to sense it intuitively and, unless they were an unbelievably powerful foe, there werent many enemies that could even get close to her. This was a skill possessed by most powerful Magi, especially those belonging to families with a long history. If not for this, they would have long been eliminated by their other enemies as, unless you already had an absolute level of power, schemes and trickery could eveny low Emperors and Demigods... Though Luvia was confident in her own capabilities, Vahn couldnt help being worried about her as, if it were someone on his level, it wouldnt matter what kind of defenses she had prepared. All it would take was a single resolute enemy topletely cripple the Edelfelt family, albeit at the cost of being made an enemy of most major factions. People got nervous when others started flexing their power without consideration for propriety and restraint. This would generally stir the more powerful forces in the world to take action, often bringing out the old monsters who supported each faction. While individual might could take you a long way, especially when you reached certain extremes of power, that didnt mean you were impervious to the efforts of others. Large-scale ritual magic could even wipe entire countries off the map in an instant and, with the justification that they were acting in response to a genuine threat, there were few extremes the stirred powers wouldnt go to. During times of war, especially during the First and Second World Wars, there were examples of individual Magi wiping out entire battalions of enemies while, using the chaos to their benefit, the Holy Church often carried outrge-scale purges. It was usually when the old monsters came out to y that the conflict would be brought to an end, generally resulting in a cease-fire agreement such as the one that currently existed between the Mages Association and the Holy Church. Vahn knew that Luvias Grandmother was actually stronger than she had appeared during their brief scuffle as, in that instance, she wasnt actually trying to kill him. She even had a nickname like Gandr Goddess, the result of her using the rtively basic spell to wipe out entire battalions and fortresses with considerable ease. If she had gone all out from the start, the surrounding mountains would have ceased to exist in short order. However, as he would have inevitably emerged victorious, Vahn knew that there were enemies she simply couldnt stand against. She was the type of Magus that was suited to gueri warfare, targetting supply lines and facilities indirectly rather than facing strong foes head-on. Against someone like Solon, the odds of hersting for even a few minutes were infinitesimally small. With that in mind, Vahn felt that Luvia needed someone to protect her when he wasnt around, even though he couldnt think of anyone suited to the position. The best candidate was Siegfried who, if he were asked, would undoubtedly agree to protect Luvia on his behalf. While this seemed like the simplest solution, the thought of sending Siegfried into the political world to act as a shield made Vahn feel guilty. The man had already lived a life where he had dedicated his everything to others and, now that he finally found peace in the solitude of Avalon, it almost seemed wrong to send him into the proverbial pit of snakes. He also had an easily exploited weakness which might not matter against most opponents but, against established Magus families, it wouldnt take them much effort to realize his identity and n countermeasures... Though he could cover it with a thin cloth, Siegfried had the same weakness as Fafnir, being that his power was restricted the moment his weak spot was protected. Compared to Fafnirs, the spot was only around the size of a palm but, with some attacks capable of reaching light speeds, a barrage to Siegfrieds exposed back would be enough to take him out. Thus, even if Vahn decided to entrust the task to the man who had slowly be a close friend to him, it would be necessary to send another to protect him. The obvious solution was to allow a Companion to apany him, allow them to slowly expose the existence of the rather adorable creatures while also field testing them. Siegfried might not be able to cover his own weakness, but that didnt mean others couldnt watch his back and protect him. This had been a loophole that Vahn had discovered back in the Record of Danmachi as, while even the use of barrier magic would stun Fafnir, this mechanism didnt activate if he was proactively shielded by another. If someone like Jeanne had flown around with Fafnir, they would have been a truly unstoppable pair against anyonecking a monstrousprehension of Sword, Spear, or other Martial Laws. Thus, even though Vahn felt it was cruel to send Siegfried out of Avalon, that didnt stop him from considering it... It might seem selfish on the surface, but Vahn actually had a number of reasons to expose Siegfried to the outside world. Though there were areas in the world where extreme poverty ran rampant, a ce like London could be an eye-opening experience for the stoic Knight. Vahn wanted him to see the modern world and experience how much things have changed since the time he wandered thend as a Hero. At the same time, his existence would expose the fact that the Empire had the ability to summon Heroic Spirits freely, something that might stir some to action but would give others a very convincing reason to cease hostilities. Siegfrieds presence alone would be a deterrent force that represented the unknown power of the Empire. Having a Companion at his side would further stir spection about the Empire capabilities while also improving their image amongst mon Magi once their capabilities were made known. With these factors, it wasnt hard to imagine their enemies spending months, or even years, nning the best course of action. Since Vahn wouldnt be idling in that time, there was a chance they would be able to keep the momentum, denying their enemies the opportunity to act decisively in response. With these factors in mind, it wasnt long before Vahn found himself in thepany of Siegfried and Susu, thetter of which was curled up on the stoic Knights broad shoulders, purring contentedly. As for Siegfried, he listened patiently during Vahns exnation, his expression never fluctuating in the slightest. By the time Vahn had finished, he didnt dy his response at all, stating in a resolute tone, "I will do it. Though these peaceful days have done much to heal my soul, a Knight is nothing if not the extension of his Lords will. You have allowed me to experience a kinship I had never known in my previous life. If it means protecting the things you care about, I would not hesitate to face down your enemies." Though Siegfrieds reaction wasnt beyond his expectations, Vahn couldnt help feeling a little guilty. A part of him had wanted Siegfried to refuse, even if he knew it would be better for the man to get out and experience the world. Since it wasnt difficult to imagine Siegfried contentedly living on a small piece ofnd, surrounded by animals as he peacefully lived out the rest of his days, having him be a shield against his enemies wasnt an easy decision to make. If not for the realization that it would be even more selfish to just keep Siegfried around to be his friend, Vahn wouldnt have been able to broach the subject. Sensing Vahns apprehensions, Siegfrieds expression softened a bit and, though it seemed like he had almost reached out to pat his head, his hand deviated to rest on the formers shoulder. Then, in a gentle yet equally resolute tone as before, he stated, "This is something I do willingly, not simply because you asked it of me. Though my training has not lessened in its intensity, I feel that idling about in this peacefulnd has dulled my senses. I desire the power to protect this paradise from any who would intend to bring it to ruin. If I can be the shield that prevents our enemies from reaching Avalon, I will do it without hesitation." Hearing Siegfrieds words, Vahn released a profound sigh, filled with guilt that was suppressed by his overwhelming feeling of gratification. Then, staring into his friends deep blue eyes, Vahn adopted a sincere smile as he stated, "You have my gratitude. I am blessed to have someone like you to call my friend...I..." Before Vahn was able to continue any further, Siegfried put a bit of strength into the hand he had rested on the formers shoulder, inly stating, "Words could never express my gratitude for being allowed the opportunity to befriend you. Let us not speak of such things. Come, though the twilight has yet to give way to the day, let us drink and make merry." With that said, Vahn shared a toast with Siegfried, burying words of gratitude and recing them with a lighthearted celebration of brotherhood... --- After making a few preparations, it was only a few hourster, projection time, that Vahn was in the transfer room alongside Luvia, Siegfried, Susu, and Skoll V2.1. Luvia had been quite surprised when Vahn exined that Siegfried would be her bodyguard in the future,menting, "Youll not hear mein, but I worry that he might draw even more attention to me. He cuts quite a figurepared to normal men...some may even make scandalous remarks." Since she was very aware of who Siegfried was, Luvia had already memorized a report detailing his entire history. Though he had only done so at the behest of his Lord, it was a doc.u.mented fact that he had been involved in a tryst that eventually cost him to sacrifice his own life. When others learned of his identity,bined with the fact that she was engaged to Vahn, it wouldnt even take an hour before the other families began making baseless usations to tarnish her reputation and nder both Vahn and Siegfried. When he heard Luvias concerns, Vahn barely resisted the urge tough before holding Luvia by the waist and remarking, "I have confidence that you wouldnt leave me...as for the middling drivel that aristocrats are so fond of, I dont give a damn what they think. If they choose to resort to such petty methods to protect their pride, it will only blow up in their faces once the truth is exposed. When the timees, it is an inevitability that many families wille to us seeking an ord. Instead, we will give them an ounting before having them ept responsibility for their petnce." To punctuate his words, Vahn denied Luvias response by sealing her lips with his own. Though his words hadnt been enough to convince her, Luvia dismissed her errant thoughts the moment Vahn began kissing her. He even sneakily took advantage of the situation, cupping her butt firmly and letting his fingers mold her flesh through her sapphire blue dress. This made Luvias heart flutter quite a bit and, as she was quite fond of when Vahn acted forward with her, she dismissed her own inhibitions and simply enjoyed the moment. Fortunately, this conversation took ce shortly before they moved to the transfer room as, even if he was rather audacious at times, Vahn would rarely behave this way in front of others... Giving Luvia enough time to settle down after the fact, Vahn escorted her to the transfer room before having ya transport them into the undergound vault of the Edelfelt Mansion. After that, he ultimately returned back to Avalon, understanding Luvia had her own matters to focus on while his own free time was rather precious at the moment. Though he could tell that Luvia had taken a small hit to her confidence after removing herself from contention as his Empress, it wouldnt be long before she recovered. Rin evenpared her tenacity to a c.o.c.kroach and, once she was able to return to managing her businesses and bullying other aristocrats, she would be back to her usual haughty and confident self... --- Upon returning to Avalon, Vahn spent a few minutes gathering his thoughts before making his way toward Nobunaga and Kenshin. He had been meaning to spend time with them after their return and, knowing they had some important matters to discuss, Vahn decided it was best to address them sooner, rather thanter. It had already been brought to his attention that he may be required to sire an entire generation of children in the near future, as a means of extending the Imperial Family and strengthening the foundation of the Empire. Therger and more unified the Imperial Family was, without having to rely on outside strength, the more stable his governance would be. Though it was a matter for the far future, and he would never force a political marriage, Vahn knew it would also strengthen the bonds between him and the families his Heroic allies would build in the future. After discussing the ws that had been pointed out by Luvia, Da Vinci had made a number of changes to her ns for the future. Now, she had divided up each continent into territories based on existing Leylines and Mana Veins, meaning they would eventually have to seize thosends from the existing factions. These ced would be the future territories of the Heroes he summoned to aid against Angra Mainyu and strength his Empire. After considering it seriously, Vahn knew it was considerably selfish of him to summon heroes from their original timelines, even if he didnt intend to exploit them. However, just by calling them into this world, using their nature and the circ.u.mstances topel them into obeying him, it couldnt be denied that he was taking advantage of them. Thus, just as the Holy Grail War had enticed Heroic Spirits by promising to fulfill their wishes, Vahn would do his best to provide the same terms. So long as it was not a destructive wish, he would do his best to fulfill the desires of those he called into this world, granting them the happiness they deserved in exchange for their loyal service. Unsurprisingly, most Heroes had suffered tragic ends so, by researching their history and properly understanding their character, it wasnt that difficult to answer their wishes. After all, even someone as monstrously powerful as Heracles, with his almost legendary pride, would willingly bend the knee if it meant he could be reunited with his family. As for Demigods like Karna, if Merlins word could be trusted, he was even easier to convince. His only desire was to loyally serve a Master who sought to better the world and protect the people that were unable to protect themselves. Simply by doing his best as an Emperor, he could guarantee the loyalty of someone like Karna without much difficulty. The only types of people Vahn needed to avoid summoning were those that had arrogant, prideful, and conquest-driven natures. Though he could pacify them by promising them territory and letting them build their own seat of power, it would only be a matter of time before conflict broke out. To prevent this, even though it seemed like an inevitability, Vahn could pick and choose from amongst historys most powerful and reliable figures. They would be the protectors of the Leylines and the peacekeepers within their territory, serving as an extension of the Empire before they began to expand toward the stars. Though Vahn was slightly annoyed just thinking about it, he knew it was only a matter of time before his children began seeking their own happiness outside of the castles ivory walls. By association, the most likely candidates for their partners would be from amongst the families of Empires allies, with the sons and daughters of Heroes being amongst the most suitable. This was due to the simple fact that normal people wouldnt be able to keep up with the momentum of those possessing higher Soul Tiers. Though love could still develop between them, this wasnt likely tost as, unless they were able to gain power on their own, anyone elevated to power as a result of their rtionship had a high chance of being corrupted... Vahn intended to respect his childrens choice, allowing them to love freely without ever having to worry that their choices would bring shame upon themselves and the Empire. At the same time, however, anyone they chose would be under heavy scrutiny and, if they were ever exposed for any devious thoughts, it wouldnt be long before they were dealt with. Though this could drive a wedge between him and some of his children, Vahn believed that, so long as they were educated properly, they would always see reason if presented with the facts. Even though love could make people do some pretty crazy things, Vahn was willing to bear their ire if it meant protecting their lives and preventing greater tragedy... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fate be wonky,Siegfried is a Tier 9 bro,RIP Vahns childrens lovers...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1195 - Aimless Purpose

Chapter 1195 - Aimless Purpose

Though Nobunaga and Kenshin could often be found together, that was typically the result of Vahn seeking them out in the evening hours. As it was currently daytime, Kenshins presence couldnt be felt within the castle, indicating that she was likely within one of the Trainings Orbs. As for Nobunaga, though she did train on asion, Vahn found her waiting within the confines of her room. She knew it was only a matter of time until he came seeking her out so, rather than get herself psyched up for training, only to have it interrupted for a few months, Nobunaga decided to idle in her room as she did her best to remain calm. Unlike past instances, where he would find Nobunaga either drinking peacefully or performing maintenance on her rifles, Vahn was rather surprised to find her wearing a simple ck kimono with her hair hanging loosely, a listless glint in her blood-red eyes. At this point, any conversation between them could be misconstrued as hesitation so, rather than y the fool, Vahn closed the distance to Nobunaga while peeling at theyers of his clothing. This caused her to swallow hard before using her right hand to move aside her long bangs as she stated in an irresolute tone, "You better be grateful..." In response to this, Vahn grabbed her wrist, bringing his face close as he whispered in a hot voice and resonant voice that caused her to groan, "Each and every day..." --- Though there were no guarantees, at least under normal circ.u.mstances, it was all but set in stone that Nobunaga would inevitably get pregnant. This gave her a small confidence boost as, even if it didnt mean anything in the end, being the first to bear Vahns biological child was significant to Nobunaga herself. Not only would this be her first child, but it represented a tonal shift in the life she had led up until this moment. Though she had no intention of settling down, as she one day intended to sail a ship through the starry void to conquer new worlds, Nobunaga knew she had no ce on the battlefields Vahn intended to fight. It wasnt impossible for her to grow stronger, much stronger, but it had never been her desire to arbitrarily seek strength. She only wanted to protect and liberate her people and, now that she had ced her dream safely in Vahns hands, Nobunagas only desire was to raise their child and then spend her remaining years extending his influence beyond the bounds of Gaia. Though she had no experience with such things, Nobunaga felt it was a rather romantic idea to sail a vessel through the night sky,manding a fleet of sh.i.p.s as they set out to conquer and colonize other worlds... To that end, though she used to feel slightly insecure about how Vahn made her feel, this couldnt be seen at all as she curled up in hisp and enjoyed feeling his fingers trace through her hair. It made her feel like a pampered princess and, with a persistent warmth lingering in her body, this was one of the few times in her life where she felt content. For a few transient moments, she didnt care about anything else in the world but the time she spent together with Vahn. However, as all good things muste to an end, Nobunaga began to feel a little hungry and, betraying this sentiment, her stomach gave a loud protest as if voicing aint it had been bottling up since earlier... Though he had also been caught up in the moment, Vahn burst outughing in response to the sudden grumble, causing Nobunaga to furrow her brows as she reached between his legs with a red face. This was enough to immediately put an end to his guffawing and, after coaxing her for a few minutes, Vahn escorted her to the dining hall before cooking arge meal as an apology. It would take a few days to be certain but, expecting things to go well, Vahn made extra, pushing his luck by reminding her that she was now eating for two. This ended up being a slight mistake as, in response, Nobunaga warned him that she would turn into her youngest form and travel around in the outside world during her pregnancy to punish him if he continued teasing her... Knowing that Nobunaga was serious, as she always followed through with her threats, Vahn made a mental note not to tease her while she was pregnant. She would already be a little unstable, the result of her hormones going haywire, so it was best to stay on her good side. If she was pushed into a corner, Nobunaga way like a wounded tigress who, despite being on herst legs, would still find a way to sink her teeth into you before relenting. With that in mind, he decided to pander to her a bit, showing an excessively concerned expression that caused her to produce a predatory smile in response... --- After parting ways with Nobunaga, Vahn decided his next destination would be the Library as, due to the fact it was daylight outside, Olga was away from her Observatory. Kenshin was still in the Training Orb so, while Vahn intended to have a discussion with herter, it would have to wait. For now, he decided to attend the gathering of pale-haired women as, for one reason or another, Illya, Iris, Lakshmibai, and Olga were all in the Library. Vahn had taken a peek to make sure he wasnt interrupting anything but, finding Iris sitting at her desk while Olga and Lakshmibai were both seated near each other, each reading a book, it was clear they were just recreationally reading. As for Illya, she was working a little harder than the rest, sitting on the second level of the Library with a few books piled up around her as she studied seriously. Though the shelves had been empty at first, it hadnt taken long for Vahn to fully stock the Library which, with a total of three levels and 180 shelves, now housed more than sixty thousand books. This number alone wasnt that impressive but, considering the books on the higher levels cost several tens of thousands, to even hundreds of thousands of OP, it was a veritiable treasure trove for any Magus lucky enough to enter. Better yet was the fact that, while many of the books werepiled from a list he had obtained from Da Vincis expansive memory, more forty-thousand of the books were frompletely different Records. Vahn had recorded all the information in his mind but, for anyone wanting to expand their horizons through schrly pursuit and research, the Library within the Inner Sanctum was the ce to do so. Since it was open to everyone allowed within the Inner Sanctum, Vahn passed through the tall double doors without knocking. His arrival immediately drew the attention of everyone present, causing Iris to rise to her feet and greet, "Wee to the Library, Vahn. Is there anything I can help you with today~?" Though she knew full well that Vahn had memorized each of the books within the Library, this didnt prevent him from spending a few hours just reading something new he had procured from another world. Sometimes, he just wanted to read in order to rx so, if there was anything she could do for him, Iris was happy to oblige. In response to Iris courteous behavior, Vahn returned a polite smile of his own, answering, "I just wanted to spend some time with everyone. Currently, Im just wandering around the castle before my next shift begins." It hadnt been his intention to cause anyone difort but, hearing what Vahn had said, Iris smile be somewhat wry as an apologetic glint shed across her eyes. It almost seemed like she was going to apologize for him having to work so hard on their behalf but, rather than say something that would trouble him, Iris fixed her expression before offering, "If Your Majesty is not against it, I would be more than willing to entertain you." Though he knew there was no greater meaning behind Iris words, Vahn blinked in surprise while wondering just what she had in mind. At the same time, he was aware of the fact that Lakshmibai and Olga were both eyeing him instead of reading their books while, on the second level, Illya was peeking through the wooden guard rails with a peculiar glimmer in her eyes. Because of this, though he was tempted to ept Iris offer, Vahn maintained a polite smile as he said, "Perhaps some other time..." Then, turning his eyes to meet Illyas, Vahn allowed his expression to soften after deciding how he would spend the next few hours. It had been a while and, though Illya had not brought it to his attention, Vahn was aware of the fact that Cath Palug had been causing her a few problems after their return to the castle. Understanding Vahns intentions, Illyas face became beet red while Iris, standing behind her desk, began to lightly chuckle before remarking, "Make sure you behave yourself. Even if my daughter is older than me, I wont tolerate any funny business before the two of you are properly wed~." Thisment was said with humorous undertones but, based on how the smile didnt quite reach her eyes, Vahn knew that Iris was serious. At times, she could be very protective of Illya, not all that dissimr to a mother bear protecting its cub. Though she trusted Vahn a great deal, Iris was still worried that her daughter was quite ready for a more intimate rtionship, even if she was already twenty-eight years old... With an even redder face than before, Illya leaped down from the second level before dragging Vahn away before her mother could say anything to embarrass her further. This caused Iris to smile in amus.e.m.e.nt while, seated in their respective chairs, Lakshmibai and Olga hadplex expressions on their faces. Forpletely different reasons, both girls had wanted Vahn to call out to them but, deciding not to interfere with his decision, they briefly made eye contact with each other before returning to their novels. Then, even though the atmosphere had be a little odd, peace and quiet was restored to the Library, the only sounds being those of pages turning and Iris shelving the books left behind by her daughter... --- As the Imperial Library was located within the Inner Sanctum, it wasnt that far away from where everyone resided. In fact, it was located in the westernmost region of the Inner Sanctum, forming a small annex of sorts that paralleled the trophy room to the east. This was the ce where war trophies, taxidermied animals, and other symbols of victory that werent important enough to be kept in the Armory of Camelot were stored. It was also meant to serve as Vahns private study but, as he had no use for such arge amount of space, he allowed it to be converted into a recreation room for everyones use. However, even after he filled it with a few of the games everyone had been most interested in, it was very rare that anyone ever stopped by as, with their capabilities, it was generally more interesting to just go out and y, train, or research. Since she shared a room with her mother, Illya dragged Vahn all the way to the Recreation Room before closing and bolting the doors behind them. Then, with a pouting expression on her face, she turned to look up at him beforeining, "That was so embarrassing! Im d you want to spend time with me but...but...!" As her eyes had already started to flicker with violet light, Illya knew she didnt have much ground to stand on. In truth, she actually felt considerably guilty after Vahn had overworked himself to the point of retiring to his room. This wasnt her first time seeing him after he had awoken but, now that he wanted to spend time with her, Illyas heart felt like it was going to explode from her chest... Resisting Cath Palugs attempts to take control of her body, Illya buried her face into Vahns stomach before wrapping her arms around his body and mumbling, "Thank you for working so hard..." She decided it was a waste of the precious time she got to spend with Vahn if she used it toin. At the same time, even though she was keeping it restrained, her five senses were greatly enhanced by Cath Palugs possession so Illyas head was filled with Vahns fragrance. She could also feel his warmth flowing into her body and, though it wasnt nearly as chaotic as her own, the powerful and steady rhythm of his heartbeat brought her an extreme level offort... Knowing Illya didnt really want him to respond, Vahn just stroked her head and back, gently holding her in his embrace so that she could calm down. Though just being in contact would make her slightly fl.u.s.tered, she would eventually settle down after a bit of gentle coaxing. Then, after she had got her own fill, it wasnt long before Illya had retreated into the back of her own mind, allowing Cath Palug toe forward. Signaling this change, her clothes turned into small particles that retreated into the choker around her neck, a mechanism Da Vinci had designed to meet Rins and Illyas unique requirements. With Illya already clinging to him before, Cath Palug wasnt shy about taking advantage of the position, rubbing its face against Vahns stomach and chest while happily intoning, "Fou~". It had been trying to forcibly take control of Illyas body as ofte, intending to track down Vahn as early as his arrival at the Einzbern Castle. Though it still only had 99 Affection, Cath Palugs parameter had long ago shifted to Love, something Vahn had been able to confirm by having ya show its Strings of Fate. It actually seemed to love Fenrir and Iris as well but, as this was closer to it just imprinting upon them, especially in Fenrirs case, Vahn was generally the one to receive Cath Palugs rather peculiar affection... After it had gotten its fill of Vahns scent, Cath Palug pushed against Vahns body, an action he knew meant it wanted him to sit down. Instead, Vahn picked it up in his arms, something that caused it to happily squirm in his arms as, for one reason or another, it preferred Vahn taking charge. Since thetter didnt want to make a potential mess, he moved to one of the smaller storage rooms connected to the Recreation Room. Then, after setting up a soundproofing barrier, Vahn pulled out a plush bean bag-like chair before settling into it with Cath Palug snuggled in his embrace. It took this as its cue to reposition but, having learned from past experiences, it first changed into a one-piece dress with exposed back and shoulders before happily pressing itself against Vahn and y-biting around his neck and shoulders. As Cath Palug used its biting as an indicator of where and how it wanted to be bitten, Vahn had, rather awkwardly, be adept at understanding its wants and desires. Fortunately, it didnt seem to understand the intimacy between males and females so, at least for the time being, Vahn had been familiarizing himself with Cath Palugs behavior and ecology while slowly teaching it to behave. Thus, after it had made a slobbery mess out of his shoulder, Vahn gently stroked the inside of Cath Palugsrge and fluffy ears as he reminded, "Use your words properly..." Though this caused Cath Palugs pupils to contract, it didnt get too upset before responding in broken Japanese, "Please...bite...aaaah~." To furthermunicate what it wanted, Cath Palug opened its mouth wide, revealing eight rather pronounced canines, four on top and four on the bottom. It even used one of its fur-covered hand to pull at the side of its mouth, making the Aaah sound it had learned after observing Vahn feed and be fed by others. Since he could tell that Cath Palug was in a lesspliant state than normal, the result of them being apart for a considerable amount of time, Vahn decided not to push it too hard. Instead, he dug his fingers into the sensitive spot near the base of Cath Palugs ears, causing it to mewl as it turned its head to the side and exposed its neck. Then, even though he would never get used to this particr kind of intimacy, Vahn brought his mouth to the tender flesh before sinking his teeth into it. This caused Cath Palug to tense up before writhing about excitedly in his embrace as it loudly eximed, "Fou! Fooou~!" while holding his head with its paws... In this manner, while slowly pacifying it through the use of Petting Laws, Vahn spent the better part of an hour calming Cath Palug down. It usually only took him around half an hour so this was a testament to how riled up it had been while also indicative of how strong Illyas willpower had be to keep it in check. She had been slowly cementing her ce as the more dominant personality as, from the very beginning, Cath Palug had always been heavily influenced by Illyas mentality. Once Illya began to stabilize, it had started to calm down considerably and, ording to Merlin, Cath Palug no longer desired to wipe out all the a.d.u.l.ts in the world. This could change very quickly but, so long as Illya continued to grow stronger, the greatest danger posed by Cath Palug was it awakening after his and Illyas rtionship moved to the next level... With Cath Palug slowly returning to its resting ce in the back of Illyas mind, thetter opened her hazy eyes with a deep flush on her face. Though she had been considerably shaken the first time she experienced the interaction between Vahn and Cath Palug, now Illya was more troubled by the state her body was left in after the fact. Fortunately, even if she made a considerable mess, Vahn always had the wherewithal to avoid making anyments regarding it and, instead of tormenting her further, he always just held her until she was able to calm down. Illya understood just as much as he did how dangerous it would be to go further and, though part of her strongly desired a more meaningful connection with Vahn, she was the most aware of her own state of mind. If they were to progress their rtionship further at this point, there was a non-negligible chance she would begin to resent the other girls around Vahn. Since even positive feelings could be considerably amplified by the presence of Cath Palug in her body, Illya wanted to be more emotionally stable before she gave him the green light. She also wanted to soak her body in a growth chamber for a few days as, even though she was still growing, it was almost painfully slow. At her current rate of growth, she would be in her fifties by the time she began to look like a teenager. Unlike others, she couldnt receive a body from Vahn as, with Cath Palug bonding with her, Vahn was unable to map and emte the internal structure of her body to avoid any issues. Though he had told her about the existence of Loyalty, which would allow him to change her body and potentially even separate her from Cath Palug, Illya had dismissed that thought from the start. Even if it felt like she was taking advantage of Vahn, which wasnt far from the truth, Illya had already fallen in love with him a long time ago. Now, even if it was difficult for her to hold back, she would rather face years of mental and physical anguish if it meant she was allowed to continue loving him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dont f.u.c.k with Nobunaga xD...,Mama Bear vs. Sage Emperor!?,Illya and Cath Palug are quite the conundrum (o_o)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1196 - Transient

Chapter 1196 - Transient

After Illya had regained herposure, Vahn sat together with her on a sofa as they talked about the future a bit. Though it was somewhat difficult to imagine reaching such extremes of strength, Illya was determined to be a powerhouse Magus in the future. With her body being almost entirelyprised of Magic Circuits,bined with the fact she could pull almost limitless mana from the, she already had a very strong starting point. Better still was the fact that she had the Sorcery Trait and Origin of Wish-Granting, allowing her to cast spells without possessing the knowledge of the spell itself. At its most extremes, it allowed the user to skip the thaumaturgical process altogether and recreate miracles just through the use of magical energy. The major downside to Wish-Granting was that it heavily depends on the mentality, imagination, and generalprehension of the user. While it effectively allowed Illya to use any kind of spell she had seen, or even cancel the spells of others, the resultant spells were often much weaker. As for countering spells, she would often have to see the same Magecraft several times in order to effectively negate it. Thus, if the opponent was skilled, they could overwhelm her by using various spells and forcing her to always be reactive. At the same time, if they were able to separate her from the ground, Illya would quickly lose the ability to fight as a result of her bodys monstrous mana consumption and poor efficiency. Since she wanted to grow stronger, Vahn obviously wasnt going to discourage her and, as he could think of a variety of methods to cover for her weaknesses, they spent a few hours talking about solutions. Though using powerful equipment would be the simplest solution, there was a drastic difference between power earned and power borrowed. If she wanted to increase her Soul Tier and be truly powerful, relying on equipment is something that should only be considered against enemies. For training, it was better to rely almost exclusively on your own capabilities, unless of course you intended to pursue Laws rted to specific weapon types. As Illya was an example of a Pure Mage, at least ording to Evas ssifications, the most important thing she could do was focus on increasing her reserves and drawing out her potential in actualbat. Since she could already use any spell, albeit with limited efficacy, the best way for her to improve was to simply adapt to using those spells inbat. As her confidence grows, the spells in her arsenal would increase in power and, by furthering herprehension of Laws, it was only a matter of time before Illya became a powerhouse. To that end, Vahn wanted to teach her in much the same way that Eva taught him, meaning he would focus on teaching her how to be extremely mobile while using barriers and artillery-ss magic against her foes. The biggest downside to this form ofbat, at least in Illyas case, was that she would actually be considerably weaker in the air, the dominion of mostpetent Magi. Though she could just focus on defensive Magecraft, bing an existence simr to Terra, Vahn knew that Illya sought power to fight on foreign battlefields, not at home. It wasparably easier to focus on defense and, with several Magi already specializing in that category of Magecraft, Illya wanted the power to strike at her opponents. Thus, Vahn decided to help her increase her reserves while promising to help here up with a method to pull mana from the atmosphere just as easily as she could from the ground. Since distance itself was an illusion, at least when yourprehension of Laws reached certain extremes, he knew there should be nothing preventing Illya and Iris from using their greatest strength, even in the air. One method that came to mind was using a simrwork to the one Da Vinci was already working on as it could already transmit Magical Energy while also allowing for near-instantaneousmunication between the Companions and the Mother System. If that same technology could be adapted to transmit Magical Energy to a receiver, which would feed directly into a persons body, it was technically possible to power them indefinitely. Though this seemed like a fantastical concept, it was actually used by many of the more powerful Magus families and pretty much every Caster-ss Servant. The [Territory Creation] skill worked on the same principle while Bounded Fields could greatly increase the power of Magi that had certain lineages or knew how to tap into the Magical Energy contained within. Thus, fighting a Magi on their home turf was exponentially more difficult than drawing them out into the open as, in some instances, they were outright immortal unless you could sever their connection to the Bounded Field. Rin had even told him about the Caster from the Fifth Holy Grail War who, so long as she was not killed instantly, could even reverse time and effect causality topletely heal all forms of damage. Vahns idea would essentially require them to turn the entire world into a Bounded Field which, while an extreme thought, wasnt actually that difficult in practice. Though others would struggle with it, they already had a system like CHALDEAS that was linked with the World itself. He already had the benefit of purchasing an extensive amount of data rted to CHALDEAS from the system shop so, even though it hadnt been activated, Vahn knew it functioned the way it was purported to work. The system shop even included diagrams of upgrade modules, ounting for a little more than two hundred years of the Chaldea Security Organizations greatest achievements. Though there was no guarantee these upgrades could be implemented in a short period of time, Vahn had an extreme level of confidence in Da Vincis capabilities. It was actually after he shared this information with her that she came up with the idea of establishing a system to govern the entire world. Since they already had the means to observe the in the past, present, and future, everything from uprisings, natural disasters, and other troublesome events was well within their ability to predict. This,bined with the observationwork of the Companions, would effectively mean they had no exploitable blind spots, so long as they avoided allowing anyone with malicious intentions into their ranks. Vahn could already imagine how Da Vinci would respond when he told her about his idea of converting the entire world into a Bounded Field as, if they wanted to push it to even further extremes, there was no limit to how they could shape the world. It would even be possible for him to establish a system that functioned simrly to Danmachi or, as they seemed rather popr in some areas of the world, ovey a projection onto the World that made it function simr to a video game. If people could track their experience, level up, learn skills, and study magic, Vahn felt like they would be better prepared for when the Surface slowly merged together with the Reverse Side. While she felt a lot of the things Vahn was saying were rather fantastical, Illya fully believed he was capable of achieving it. After all, if she helped him establish the Heavens Feel ritual, there were theoretically no limits to how he chose to shape the world. As it was a ritual directly linked to the Root, the only real restriction behind its ability to grant wishes was dependent on the amount of mana contained within the Greater Grail. ording to the data that had been gathered during previous Heavens Feel rituals, there was a minimum of one-quintillion units of Magical Energy produced during the activation of the Greater Grail. When this value was converted into pure destructive power, this equated to an explosive yield of around 250,000 petajoules, more than enough to punch a hole through a continental shelf and shatter an entire continent. Destruction, however, was often the most inefficient use for Magical Energy as, with the Heavens Feel ritual able to link directly to the Root, it was possible to make the impossible into a reality. If you wanted to, rather than wishing for the to be destroyed, it was far more efficient to just wish all life on the Surface world ceased to exist. Though there would undoubtedly be some who were able to even survive this, especially if they had enough Od, it would still eliminate more than 99% of all life. Even less destructively, it was possible to wish that every human in the world would be made into a Spirit, effectively granting them limited immortality. As for Vahns purposes, even if it wouldnt affect some of the more powerful forces in the world, it was possible to change the perception of the global poption in an instant, making the existence of Magecraft epted without the transition period that would have otherwise been necessary. This was one of the primary reasons Illya had gone to reim her birthright as, though she knew it wouldnt be easy, she believed in the future Vahn wanted to create. Though fate had a way of intervening in the easy execution of such ns, the fact he already had existences like ya on his side drastically increased the chances of sess. He only needed to establish and execute the Heavens Feel ritual a single time to have already won all current and future battles... With that in mind, Illya listened to Vahn speak rather passionately about the future, an affectionate smile on her face as a result of the fact she had a ce of her own in his vision. Though he would tirelessly work to make everyone happy, she knew his highest priority would always be the people he cared about, herself included. He would support any goal they set for themselves, even if it was something crazy like bing an existence beyond the Gods. There were fundamentally no limits to the future, so long as they worked alongside and supported each other. To that end, Illya wanted to support him as well, even going as far as giving Vahn her entire familys heritage just to make things marginally easier for him... Not caring the least about wealth and treasures, Illya was happy just being able to spend time at his side, snuggling up against him and feeling his warmth flowing through her body. Though she still felt incredibly anxious around him, such feelings were never at the forefront of her mind when they were together like this. Instead, since they were alone, Illya would begin to feel emboldened, at times eyeing his lips while other times she nuzzling against him, hugging his body as tightly as her arms allowed. Since Vahn would often reciprocate, embracing her body, rubbing her head, or even giving her a short peck on the lips, many of Illyas happiest memories revolved around the time they spent together... This time, as Vahn had started to drone on a bit, Illya felt even more emboldened than normal and, as the time they had been apart had weighed heavily on her heart, she decided to go a step further than normal. Knowing he would be working hard to help the Homunculi she had brought to the castle, Illya wanted to show her appreciation for his efforts while also rewarding herself for her own hard work. With that in mind, using the opportunity when Vahn had paused to gauge her reaction, Ilya swallowed hard before mimicking his own action of stroking her face before shifting to sit in hisp as she kissed him far more passionately than normal... --- Though there were a number of things he still wanted to take care of, the time which Vahn had allocated for rest had passed in what seemed like a sh. In the past, he would oftenment that pleasant experiences always seemed to fly by but, as hard work and dedication ensured there was always more happiness to be experienced, he no longer let it bother him. If anything, he was more worried about the others but, as they were mostly strong and independent women, who did not need his constant care, Vahn focused on doing his best. Shortly after he had started the almost mechanical procedure of applying his Familia Crest and Ouroboros Seal, Vahns almost business-like smile softened naturally. This was due to the fact that, as the most recent Homunculi, a woman named Elizabeth, left the operation room, a small pitter-patter of steps preceded the entry of Sakura. She had an apologetic expression on her face, seemingly afraid she was interrupting, but Vahns smile caused her to rx considerably. Then, as he gestured to her toe over, Vahn asked in a gentle tone, "What brings you here, my little cherry blossom~?" Having found a bit of courage, Sakura answered in a quiet murmur, "I wanted to help you..." Even though she barely understood what had been going on in the room, Sakura knew her Otou-sama had been hard at work. She knew he was essentially a Doctor and, though there wasnt much she could do to help him, this didnt prevent her from wanting to do something to ease his burdens. The thought of being a Nurse also excited her a bit as, though she had already started her Knight training, Sakuras dream had always been to help take care of others. Since her Otou-sama was always supportive of her, she believed he wouldnt turn her away if she showed how serious she was about helping him... Seeing the resolute look in Sakuras teal-colored eyes, Vahn inhaled lightly before ultimately meeting her expectations by saying, "You can be my assistant, but youll mainly just have to watch patiently, okay? As for what you can do to help, try making conversation with the Homunculi and, if possible, remember as many names as you can. They need our help to open their hearts and minds so always make sure to treat them with the same dignity and respect all living creatures deserve..." As he exined this, Vahn lightly stroked Sakuras head, earning a happy Nn from her in response. Though Sakuras intrusion had been a small dy, as the next Homunculus had remained outside to avoid interfering in their conversation, it wasnt long before Vahn had exined the situation to those waiting. After that, a short-haired Homunculi with a rather rare ponytail entered the room, a small glimmer of light contained in her ruby-red eyes. This usually indicated that she was one of the members training with Kenshin who, as a result of being rather enamored with guiding a new group of trainees, spent a great deal of her time watching over their progress and polishing her own skills. Deciding to act normally, even though it was strangely unnerving to have his daughter present, Vahn stated in a calm and professional tone, "Sakura, take the patients gown and ce it on the hook." Then, turning his gaze to meet the Homunculus, Vahn smiled before gesturing toward the operating and examination table, stating, "After handing over your gown, please sit on this table and well begin immediately." As every Homunculus already knew what to expect at this point, due to themmunicating amongst themselves, Vahns newest patient gave an understanding nod before removing the white gown that had been issued to all the waiting patients. Though she often had to remove her top when she went to the Doctor to get a check-up and have her measurements taken, Sakura was a bit surprised when her Otou-sama had the rather beautiful Onee-chan take off her gown. When she saw thetters unblemished skin,plete with ample b.r.e.a.s.ts, a thin waist, and full h.i.p.s, she felt rather fl.u.s.tered and strangely self-conscious. This didnt stop her from doing as she was told, however, as she quickly epted the gown before cing it on the nearby hook. Then, with nothing else to do, she patiently watched her Otou-sama at work, listening to the questions he asked and paying close attention to how he attentively listened to the woman named Dianas responses. Even though this was her first time watching him, Sakura could tell that her Otou-sama was very good at guiding the conversation while also acting perfectly professional. Each of his words had a small effect on Diana, causing her to appear progressively happier as the operation continued. As for the application of the Familia Crest, something she had experienced herself, Sakura did her best to memorize the pattern, albeit with very limited sess. Then, when her Otou-sama had Dianay on her back, Sakura experienced another brief moment of perturbance. There was something about seeing a grown womanying on her back, with her Otou-sama leaning over them, that troubled Sakuras heart. Though she knew he had other wives and children, it made her feel a little sad seeing him with a woman other than her mother, even if he was just carrying out a treatment... After Dianas seal had been carved, Vahn thanked her for being patient before sending her on her way, a pleasant smile now adorning her face. Sakura had the wherewithal to grab Dianas gown for her, earning a polite bow and an expression of gratitude from the mature beauty that caused her to fumble a bit with her own response. Then, in the moments before the next patient entered, Vahn stated in a gentle and guiding tone, "You did very well, Sakura. Thank you..." He had been able to tell she was ufortable but, as she still carried out her tasks, he felt inclined to praise her efforts. Hearing her Otou-samas praise, even though she felt like she hadnt done much, Sakura beamed in a way that only children could manage, causing Vahns own smile to soften. Following this, the next Homunculus entered into the room, prompting Sakura to take the initiative to say, "P-Please give me your gown and then take a seat on the table...!" This was met with a surprised blink by the new patient but, rather than voice her confusion, she simplyplied. Much like Diana, the new arrival had rtivelyrge b.r.e.a.s.ts which, when revealed, caused Sakura to gawk for a brief moment before cing the gown she had collected on the nearby hook. Then, peeking over her shoulder to see if her Otou-sama was looking, Sakura cupped her own b.r.e.a.s.ts and mumbled, "Will mine get that big...?" Though she had said this very quietly, Vahns ears were extremely sensitive so he ended up overhearing her. As he had seen Sakuras a.d.u.l.t form, Vahn knew she would actually have muchrger b.r.e.a.s.ts than this woman named Selkie but, as he had no grounds for exining this to her, Vahn pretended not to have heard the remark. Instead, he continued to work with an infallible mask of professionalism, continuing without rest, even after Sakura had dozed off at the side and was carried away by one of his patients to rest... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Global Bounded Field (O o O)~!,Nobunaga would totally convert the Greater Grail into a bomb >:D...,Sakura, working hard (UwU)...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1197 - Peaceful Slumber

Chapter 1197 - Peaceful Slumber

Though he had been able to speed up the process considerably, it still took around 113 hours for Vahn to finish treating an additional five-hundred Homunculi. He could have actually finished even faster but, after Sakuras first intrusion, she would return after finishing her daily training in order to help him out, even a little. Once, Mordred had apanied her as well but, after sitting still for a few hours, she got extremely bored before ultimately wandering off. Vahn had been somewhat sad to see her go as, for the three or so hours she had been present, things had been rather lively. Mordred might have had slightly destructive tendencies, breaking some of the equipment he had stocked in the room, but she was considerably less tense around the Homunculi than Sakura was. Fortunately, seeing the interactions between her Onee-chan and the patients served as a proper example for Sakura so, even after Mordred left, she had made more of an effort to get them to open up to her. As the Homunculi were all starved for such interactions, and children were much easier to talk to than a.d.u.l.ts, many would politely make conversation with Sakura during the few minutes that Vahn engraved the Familia Crest on their backs. Seeing the positive reaction from the Homunculi had a simr impact on Sakura, causing her to fall into her role as his assistant quite well. She had a very kind and caring nature by default so being able to help others was something that made her happy. Since she would also get praised by her Otou-sama, Sakura ended up pushing herself a little too hard and, if not for the training she had been doing with Artoria, she wouldnt have been able to keep at it withoutint. As a result, when Vahn finished with his final patient, Sakura had already been dozing off at the side for around forty minutes, covered in a warm nket he had pulled out from his Inventory. After seeing off the Homunculus named Sidney, Vahn picked up Sakuras adorable bundle in his arms before carrying her to the Inner Sanctum to rest. Since Rin was in her Magus Tower, busy with her research on [Primordial Rune] Magecraft, Vahn chose not to bother her as he ced Sakura in his own bed. This had disturbed Circe, who had been lounging in his bedroom with nothing better to do, but Vahn managed to pacify her easily after stealing her away to the connected bath. After the first time he had bathed her, this was one of the things Circe enjoyed the most and, as she had been behavingtely, Vahn felt inclined to reward her. When Artoria epted to be his official Empress, there were many other things that had been discussed at the table, including who had ess to Vahns, and now Artorias, room. Due to Circes status, she was allowed to enter his bedroom freely but, alongside Fenrir and Medusa, they now shared a room together. When Vahn felt the need to rx and wanted to be pampered himself, he was supposed to be able to enter their room to cut loose. As for how and why they all ended up in the same room together, this wasrgely due to Fenrirs influence in the group, making her the de facto leader even with Circes and Medusas obstinate personalities. They were also the girls who had animal traits and, though Vahn felt it was a strange decision on their part, the three had decided to call it their shared room, which was arranged in a very abnormal fashion, the Emperors Menagerie. Though Vahn had yet to enter for more than a brief moment, he had seen therge wardrobes of costumes present and, instead of a normal bed, there was essentially just arge pile of fluffy cushions on a massive mattress. It was rather messy but, considering who the room belonged to,bined with its purpose, Vahn felt it was strangely appropriate... With Circe leaning against the side of the tub with a contented expression on her face, Vahn was absentmindedly manipted a ball of warm water to b over her wings. He had gotten used to the powerful aphrodisiac her body naturally produced so, despite feeling considerably warmer than normal, he was able to remain rtively calm, even without proactively resisting her charm. This was also due to the fact that Circe herself had stopped proactively trying to test him, her eyes a soft blue with a subtle hue of pink oveying them. Vahn knew she was studying Magic under Fenrir, the thing that had made her open up to thetter, so it likely wouldnt be that long before they finally stepped across that final line. Knowing this, Circe was considerably less stressed out than in the past and, though she would get annoyed if he turned his attention to others, she had quickly learned that he could handle more than one woman at a time. Since she and Medusa had simr natures, the two got along well with each other and, though neither was particrly fond of Fenrir, they both respected her decisions as the leader of their little group. This resulted in both girls getting pampered more often so, rather than stir up trouble, Circe had be decidedly docilepared to her past self. After finishing with her wings, Vahn noticed Circe shift as she began to fidget about in expectation, fully aware of where he would clean next. This caused him to smile in amus.e.m.e.nt before, meeting her expectations, cleaning her tail feathers, including the area where they connected to her lower back. As was often the case, Circes wings began to twitch in response and, knowing it would get a small rise out of him, she made no attempt to hide her sonorous m.o.a.ns. At the same time, her aroma became significantly more potent but, as he had already been prepared, Vahn wasrgely unaffected as he gingerly cleaned around the especially sensitive area. Then, with her long ears waggling in front of him, Vahn found it impossible to resist so, trusting in the soundproof barrier, he bit down on the adorable extension, causing Circe to release a loud cry that echoed through the bathroom for several seconds after her voice lost its strength... --- Though Vahn was tempted to apany Circe to the Menagerie, he didnt want to leave Sakura alone. At this time, there were very few people resting and, if not for the fact Sakura had pushed herself, she would have gone to bed hours ago. As Vahn was also quite tired, he escorted Circe back to her room before doubling back and snuggling up with his daughter for a few hours. She often got nervous when it was just the two of them but, shortly after Vahn climbed into bed, Sakura sought out his warmth as if it was natural before muttering with a small smile on her adorable little face, "Otou-sama..." This caused Vahns heart to feel as if it was gushing so, while she would probably be very embarrassed after waking up, he affectionately cradled Sakura in his arms before kissing the top of her head and whispering, "Have a pleasant dream, my little cherry blossom..." --- Unlike most people, Vahn very rarely ever dreamed, something that had been a product of his [Will of the Emperor] blocking nightmares in the past. Now, however, the moments in which he was able to just shut down were extremely rare so, when Vahn faded into unconsciousness, it was often pure darkness that awaited him. Even then, he was always aware of the passage of time and, even without his subprocesses to observe his surroundings as he slept, Vahn was still aware of almost everything going on around him. He could sense when Rin had poked her head into the room, the hesitation Artoria had while standing outside their door, and when Fenrir ced her paw against the door and wished him pleasant dreams... Vahn felt extreme gratification at times like this, almost as if he were the center of everyones worlds, even when they were individual entities. Thus, while he slept, Vahn expanded his aura by instinct as he sent out calming energy intended to bringfort to everyone within nearly five kilometers. This epassed the entire castle and, though the effect was considerably weaker than if he were to use it directly, it still caused a warm and peaceful atmosphere to descend upon everyone within his domain. Even the Homunculi who now resided in the castle all stopped to experience the pleasant warmth flowing through their bodies while, locked away in their shared Workshop, Da Vinci set her tools aside before musing, "Perhaps I should take a cat nap myself..." With many of the others sharing this sentiment, it wasnt long before the majority of the castles residents decided to take advantage of the warm and pleasant atmosphere to take a nap. The only exceptions to this were people like Scthach, who never truly slept, and Merlin, who was actually far more energized during the evenings than during the day. As an Incubus, a race that originated from the moon and fed primarily off the dreams of females, he was exponentially stronger after night had fallen. Under the light of the full moon, it wasnt an exaggeration to say he was without equal, able to castle illusions that could cover entire continents, at least until the sun rose once again... While most people fell into a peaceful slumber, Merlin had his usual whimsical smile while, instead of appearing in a Magus Tower, the interior of his chamber looked like an expansive meadow. With his limited omniscience, Merlin was aware of everything going on in the castle at almost every point in time, irrespective of its residents wills. Though others might call him a pervent, and other dastardly names, he was not the type to leave things to chance. He opted to give people privacy when they were engaged in intimate acts but, even then, he always listened closely to any conversations going on within the castle, looking for the smallest signs that a traitor might appear in their midst. As he could not see the future urately due to Vahns presence, Merlin was far more proactive than he had been in the past, all so that a tragedy would not ur. Thus, if he found out that someone was slipping into a negative mentality, he would observe them closely for signs of dissent. Even if it might be an invasion of their privacy, this included intruding into their dreams as,pared to the awake mind, the subconscious was far more honest. If he found the seeds of ruin, Merlin would use his ability to outright devour such thoughts, recing them with subtle hints that would guide them back onto the path of light. He didnt care if others resented him as, rather than controlling their minds, he only corrected misunderstanding they had formed due to their misunderstandings and other insecurities... Vahn was unaware of it, but it had been Merlins persistent efforts that allowed Mordred to ept her current position as, even though she was well-behaved on the surface, the conditioning of her mother, Mordred le Fay, was not something that could be easily ovee. This was especially the case when she was sleeping as, though she was happy and outgoing while awake, Mordred was gued by nightmares as she slept. She had killed a lot of people throughout her life, including the person she had respected and looked up to the most. Thus, whenever she would fall into the abyss of her own subconscious, Merlin was always there to rece the memories with happy ones, mostly rted to the time she spent with Vahn and Fenrir. Merlin had felt powerless against fate in the past but, now that he was under no such restrictions, he was doing everything in his power to make things go as smoothly as possible. As a result, everyone in the castle had rather pleasant memories every night, the only exceptions being Vahn, Fenrir, and Medusa. Try as he might, the two peculiar subordinates were beyond his means to effect without drawing their attention while Vahns mental defenses were unlike anything Merlin had ever seen. He knew that, if he ever tried to pry into Vahns mind, a world of pain likely awaited him for the attempt. Even a simple probe in the past had caused him to spend three days recovering and this was when Vahn had overtaxed himself after training with Scthach, seemingly dropping his guardpletely... Concluding that Vahns mind was protected by the World itself, Merlin had never attempted trying to peek a second time. Instead, he had to rely on the Memory Link experienced by the Heroes Vahn had summoned which, admittedly, had been rather eye-opening. He felt that the world Vahn hailed from was very interesting and, though the Gods present were distinctly different from the ones in his memory, he simply chalked this up to how worlds could diverge to take on very different forms. His omniscience was bound to his own time axis and, though he was aware of the multiverse, Merlin was unable to enter into a world where his counterpart was already present. There were certain rules he had to follow in order to exercise his power and, though he was able to bend them a bit after Vahns arrival, this didnt mean he could just ignore the purpose he had been given. Thus, while the majority of the castles residents slept, Merlins eyes shed with small lights, many subtle shades of pink and violet. It was impossible to discern through normal means but, from his perspective, Merlin was able to peer into the dreams of everyone within the castle simultaneously. He had also heard Vahns remark to Sakura, hoping she was having a pleasant dream, so Merlin happily obliged. Previously, Sakura had a rather odd dream where she was surrounded by several Homunculi, feeling somewhat envious of their developmentpared to her own. Now, with his intervention, Sakura was dreaming about flying through the sky alongside Vahn and Mordred, a simple way to reinforce the idea that she was happiest when together with them... After making a few tweaks, Merlin had an amused expression on his face as he stared at a small pink orb in his hand. The color of the orb always reflected the nature of the dream and, as a defensive mechanism of sorts against things like Depression, the brain often opted to trigger dreams that were rted to rather precarious or intimate experiences. Even for someone as young as Sakura, though she herself was unaware of it, the way in which she viewed the Homunculi would subtly affect her mental image and how she acted around others. Since these memories were often tied to Vahn, Merlin knew one of the directions she could veer toward if left unchecked. Knowing this would only sew discourse within the Imperial Family, he dutifully tossed the small pink orb into his mouth like hard candy, enjoying the bittersweet taste as it melted in his mouth... While humming to himself, Merlin continued viewing the dreams of everyone else in the castle, his primary focus being those of Illya and Iris. They were curled up together within the Library, creating a scene that warmed Merlins heart as he believed there was no greater expression of love than the moments shared between a mother and her children. Though his own mother had died giving birth to him, as she had been a simple human, Merlin felt a close bond with the woman as, during her pregnancy, she often spoke to him affectionately. He also spent a lot of time within her dreamscape and, though he had very little control over his power back then, she never once treated him like the monster others would view him as if they knew his true nature... Though it was almost impossible, Merlins father had fallen in love with his mother, to the point he had even ceased to exist after going against his own nature and refusing to devour the dreams of others. Thus, from the moment of his birth, Merlin had been an orphan, born in the same meadow he now used to bring himselffort when he felt lonely. Fortunately, he had been very powerful since birth as, rather than a normal Incubus, his father had been the ruler of his own Dimension located in the gap between the Earth and Moon. As a result, Merlin had inherited much of his fathers power, including his responsibilities as a Beast of Gaia, even though he was considered a foreign and impossible entity by virtue of his very existence... Lightly shaking his head, the image of a man and woman who had been standing behind him faded away as Merlin focused his mind on Illyas dream. Inside of an endless expanse of darkness, she and Cath Palug were huddled together in the embrace of a figure that looked simr to Vahn. Due to the small conflicts in how they viewed him, the image wasnt really true to form so Merlin made a few small tweaks, drawing the attention of his former Familiar. Unlike in the past, however, Cath Palug didnt show any hostility as it stated in a very clear tone, a stark contrast to the brokennguage it used to converse with others, "Do not mess around with my head..." With his characteristically whimsical smile, Merlin lightly mused, "Worry not, my friend. You know I cannot break my promises. Look, Im just making the image a bit clearer for you. Shouldnt you be thanking me instead~?" Now, instead of the vague image from before, there was a distinctly Vahn shaped figure cradling the two,plete with fluffy white hair,rge ears, and a curly tail. This was the form Vahn had taken when emting Cath Palug, causing the small squirrel-like creature to give a small nod in response to Merlins words. He did not, however, express his gratitude and instead just snuggled up against Vahn with afortable smile on his face. Shaking his head, Merlinined in a tone that Cath Palug wouldnt be able to hear, "I wonder why I even bother with you at times. Always so ungrateful..." Though he worded things in a way that expressed his frustration, Merlin still had a smile on his face as he left his formerpanion to his own devices. Then, as he was most fond of doing, Merlin took a peek into Artorias dreams which,pared to the past, were usually filled with pleasant scenes instead of gued by worries and thoughts of battle. Since she was very perceptive and had spent years learning from him within her own dreamscape, Artoria was able to sense if he tried to manipte her. Thus, after entrusting her to Vahns care, Merlin had only viewed from a distance rather than interfere directly. The fact that she still had pleasant dreams always brought a smile to his face and, even though he sometimes wanted to punish Vahn, Merlin felt vindicated every time he saw his faux-daughter happy. It was Artorias happiness that he was most concerned with as, after failing her in both the past and present, Merlin felt she deserved it. If she could be happy, he believed he would be liberated from his own curse and, though her yed the fool around Vahn and Vivian both, Merlin genuinely wished to love someone the way his father had loved his mother... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sakura, number one assistant (T ^ T)~!,Circe is so spoiled xD...,Merlin is a surprisingly hard worker...? Still a D.i.c.k Wizard though (o 3 o)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1198 - Reflection

Chapter 1198 - Reflection

After a rather humorous incident where Sakura awoke to find herself drooling against his side, Vahn helped her prepare for her evening lessons. He had already talked to Rin about having Sakura first pursue the path of a Knight and, as her Od was already expanding at a much faster rate than normal, there shouldnt be any difficulties in her future path. Thus, instead of spending the evening learning Magecraft, Sakura learned etiquette alongside Mordred, Fenrir, Medusa, and Gray. Just as she took training very seriously, Artoria was rather strict when it came to teaching the girls Court etiquette. This was especially the case for Mordred and Sakura, as manners and discipline were very important for cultivating the proper mentality as a Knight. Now that she was going to be Vahns Empress, Artoria considered it her duty to make sure his children were educated properly. Though he might not be concerned with such things, she knew that their future enemies and allies alike would scrutinize Mordred and Sakura, seeing them as a representation of Vahns own prestige. If Vahns children acted spoiled and undisciplined, they would be seen as a weakness that could be exploited. Inversely, if they were extremely well-behaved anddylike when presented before others, it would cause anyone harboring intentions towards them to hesitate. When one party seemed to be high-born, it would cause those that were more politically oriented to measure their behavior. After all, offending a Noble could undermine their own status considerably, making them fearful of ever getting on Mordreds and Sakuras bad sides. Thus, while it was fine for them to be polite and even outgoing at times, they should never seem friendly and weak in the eyes of their contemporaries. Since Vahn had always entrusted the rearing of his children to the women in his life, he had no issues allowing Artoria to act as she saw fit. As for why Fenrir and Medusa had decided to participate, they both wanted to learn how to be moredylike so they didnt embarrass him in the future. Vahn had even found Medusa wearing a frilly white dress, looking much like a little Princess. Generally, she was not fond of wearing clothes and, other than the skin-tight bodysuit and equipment forged from her own scales, she tended to avoid other restrictive clothing. However, understanding she could not wear such things in public, Medusa had followed in Fenrirs footsteps. Since her Master would alwayspliment her when she wore cute clothing, she had slowly been growing ustomed to wearing them whenever she left the Inner Sanctum... With Sakura entrusted to Artoria, Vahn stopped distracting everyone before heading back to London to check on Luvia and see if she intended to spend the evening in the castle. Unfortunately, she had traveled abroad on a business venture, taking Siegfried with her. He had the option of teleporting to her side but, after keeping Oliviapany for a few minutes, she managed to talk him out of it. The truth of the matter was that Luvia had been falling behind in her work so, to avoid appearing weak in the eyes of herpetitors, she was taking more proactive action to keep them on their toes. Thus, after refusing Olivias invitation to ate dinner, Vahn promptly returned to Avalon. Ever since the decision to travel outside, Vahn knew he had been falling behind on my of the things he should be focusing on as well. Though he had made a few small breakthroughs, the number of items on his te had been increasing exponentially. With that in mind, he decided to follow Luvias example and, rather than waiting for Kenshin to appear, Vahn entered into the Training Orb to seek her out directly. There, he found her and a group of more than one-hundred Homunculi upying a small training field that had been constructed with materials imported from outside. Though having an endless white space for training was extremely useful for high-intensitybat, it could dull the senses of anyone unustomed to the rather peculiar environment. Since a persons mental state was one of the most important factors when it came to training, using an environment that emted reality was infinitely better than spending time in an endless white void. This had been true even back in the Record of Danmachi where, after decades within the Orb, it had started to look like a small world that was ratherfortable to live in. When the girls had started Cultivating, even things like small mountains, cave systems, and waterfalls had been constructed. For simr reasons, there was now arge eastern dojo that had a stone stage that was around 500m in diameter. Currently, the group of Homunculi had formed into neat rows and columns, copying the techniques that were being demonstrated by Kenshin at the front. Since thetter had spent much of her formative years in a Zen Buddhist Temple, even serving as an Apprentice Master, she was adept at teaching others proper form. It helped that the Homunculi were both receptive and exceptionally attentive to even the small details. They also had considerable stamina and, with thousands of years of memories rted tobat, they were some of the best possible students any Master of Martial Arts could ask for. With Vahns arrival, Kenshin had immediately taken notice of his presence, straightening her body and performing a salute that was emted by her students as they all simultaneously shouted, "We greet Master!" Then, in almost perfect unison, the group of Homunculi all sat in seiza, their backs straight and their eyes directed to the front. It was amendable disy of discipline that caused Vahn and Kenshin to nod in approval, an action that resulted in a peculiar atmosphere descending upon the group of remarkably simr women. Compared to the majority of Homunculi, quite a number of those present had a focused and clear light in their eyes, showing they were quickly awakening an Ego of their own, albeit one derived from martial discipline... It felt a little awkward to have interrupted things but, knowing Kenshin had been pushing herself a little too hardtely, Vahn guided her to the side after she called up a Homunculus named Shion to lead the group in their next set of exercises. Once they were alone, Vahn released an exasperated sigh that caused Kenshin to show an apologetic expression as she exined, "Dont me me too much, okay? Youve also been working hard and, with how much these women look up to me, I cant help but push myself...dont be mad..." As they were out of sight from her students, Kenshin, despite the fact she was only wearing a thin Gi and was covered in a thinyer of sweat, wrapped her arms around Vahns body. He knew this was her way of keeping him from being too harsh, even though it wouldnt have bothered her all that much. Still, she had changed considerably since their first meeting and, unable to be mad at her, Vahn released a small sigh as he reciprocated her embrace and whispered, "Dont push yourself too hard..." Whileughing in response to Vahns concern, Kenshin rested her head against his shoulder before muttering, "I already know youve been looking for me...before its toote, I wanted to help these girls build up a basic foundation. Since I wont be able to exert myself as much in the future, please allow me to be a little selfish for now..." Hearing Kenshins words caused Vahns heart to beat a little faster, something that was easily picked up by the peculiar white and ck-haired beauty due to their proximity. This caused her to feel more mischevious than normal, a sly smile spreading across her lips as she rested against his chest and asked, "Ara? To think even His Majesty gets fl.u.s.tered when ites to such discussions...or perhaps you are just excited? Does the thought of impregnating me make your heart go doki doki~?" As she was listening closely, Kenshin noticed that Vahns heart did indeed fluctuate a few times in response, causing her own to flutter quite a bit... Snorting lightly through his nose, Vahn continued to hold Kenshin in his arms as he mused, "You have be rather bold..." This caused Kenshin tough in response before reminding, "Is that so? As I recall, I had no qualms about how you wanted to treat me from the start. My purpose in this life was always to serve Master, even before you allowed me to love you. Now that Ive made my choice, what reason could I possibly have to hesitate~?" To punctuate her words, Kenshin leaned her body in Vahns, allowing his leg to slip between her thighs as a hot sigh escaped her lips, tickling his chin. Though he didnt dislike when his women were more proactive, Vahn also wasnt the type to just sit back and remain passive. When Kenshin leaned into him, he lifted his leg slightly, allowing her to rest against it as he cupped her pert buttocks with both hands and lifted her body. This caused her to take a deep breath and, as she had already warmed up from training for several consecutive hours, a small puff of condensation escaped her lips as she exhaled. Then, though she wouldnt refuse him if he wanted to take her here and now, Kenshin extricated herself from Vahns embrace so she could calm down. She could still feel the heat from his hands on her backside, a tell-tale sign that he had been taken in by her momentum, something Kenshin always found rather refreshing... After cupping Vahns face with her hand, Kenshin continued regting her breathing as she stated in a calm tone, "As you allow me to be honest, I would prefer if you were to defeat me in battle before we produce an heir. Until then, I will continue to train these women as warriors before allowing them to choose their own path. I have already found my happiness so I will do my best to open the way forward for others. Know that you take my heart with you wherever you go, Master, so do not feel pressured to move forward and rush things. When you are ready, I will be waiting for your challenge anytime..." With that said, Kenshin briefly ovepped her lips with Vahns, allowing her emotions to reach him before resolutely returning to the training field to carry out the duty she had assigned herself... Watching her departure in silence, Vahn couldnt help but feel that Kenshin was a strong woman, not that any of the women he was involved with were weak. She was perfectly capable of forging a path for herself without anyone needing to direct her, all while keeping the emotions she had developed safely within her heart. Even if they were apart for several years, Vahn felt that Kenshins heart would never waver, a sentiment that gave him considerable peace of mind. The women he was most fond of were generally those that didnt need him in order to thrive and prosper as, when he was battling, one of Vahns greatest concerns was how those who had be dependent on him would live after his passing... Kenshin had a deeply rooted trauma and, though she still had a long way to go before she was able to truly empathize with others, she had made remarkable progress. Vahn felt that she saw herself in the Homunculi as, much like her past self, they showed little to no genuine emotion. If she were able to help them, it was a way in which she could validate her own progress. After all, rather than having others tell her she hade a long way, Kenshin was more so the type that sought proof through her own efforts. Introspection could only take you halfway towards enlightenment and, unless you were able to help others find their way, you were nothing more than the proverbial frog in the well... Deciding not to interfere with Kenshins efforts, Vahn directly exited the Training Orb before, his mind thinking about the best course of action. He could technically show up just about anywhere without anyoneining about his presence but, much like Kenshin, it was also true that the girls had their own things going on. This was one of the major downsides to living inside of the Projection as, if they had a more standardized lifestyle, it would be much easier to decide when and how to spend his free time. Now, everyones schedules could be all over the ce and, though they would always make time for him, Vahn felt a little guilty knowing he was interfering with their growth just to cut loose... Shaking his head, Vahn dismissed any potentially negative thoughts as, even if he was getting in the way a bit, it was another expression of their will if they chose to make time for him. He hadnt forced any of his women into their current position and, knowing they would admonish him if he showed unnecessary concerns, Vahn decided it was okay to be a little selfish. With that in mind, he decided to invade Rins Magus Tower, choosing to enter in through the window after taking flight from the Knights Training Field. Once Sakura had decided to focus on her Knightly studies, Rin had started spending most of her time researching [Primordial Rune] Magecraft during the evenings. As for her physical training, she followed a training menu given to her by Fenrir, albeit with limited sess and a lot of muscle pains... Though he had concealed his presence, Rin didnt even look back at the window as shemented, "Give me a moment to finish this up, okay?" From the moment Vahn had decided to surprise her, Rin had already been made aware of his presence, even if she couldnt personally sense him. Since she was currently engraving a rune onto a cut ruby, she couldnt split her focus without risking the entire thing exploding. Fortunately, her [Parallel Thinking] was extremely useful in situations like this as, even with part of her focus on Vahns arrival, she didnt wave in the slightest as she used a set of gem-cutting tools to finish the engraving. Without making a single sound, Vahn closely observed Rins work without allowing his thoughts to trigger her intuition. She had made a lot of progress over thest two months but, as [Primoridal Rune]s werent exactly simple, Vahn guessed she was around D-Rank. Unfortunately,cking his cheat, Rin had to spend a lot of timeprehending each rune as, rather than just being a few simple strokes on a surface, most runes were three-dimensional while also requiring a very finely tuned amount of mana to be infused into them during their creation. If not for the fact she was a prodigy in her own right, Rin would have needed to master [Rune Magic] before having any hope of understanding the logic behind [Primordial Rune]s. However, with a bit of guidance from Scthach,bined with her understanding of [Jewel] and [Catalyze] Magecraft, Rin was steadily progressing toward mastery. Though some of this could be credited to the presence of Ishtar and Ereshkigal in her body, with the former sharing some of her experiences with Rin, it was still a testament to the fact that she was a genius, even if not quite at the level of someone like Da Vinci. After finishing the engraving, Rin used a magical tool modeled after a Jewelers Loupe to analyze the structure of the gem and make sure it was not damaged by the rune. Even hairline fractures could drastically alter the effect of the rune and, though people like Scthach could even use simple stones to achieve ideal results, Rin needed to be very cautious to avoid any idents. This particr rune was abination of Torch and Ash, meaning it provided a significant increase to the destructive power of the gemstone once it was infused with Magical Energy. In fact, even by using a fraction of the standard amount of Magical Energy, Rin could achieve twice the output at a tenth of the cost. Confirming there were no structural issues with the gemstone, Rin released a sigh of relief before cing it on a small cushion atop her worktable. Then, turning around with a slight look of me in her eyes, Rin half-heartedlyined, "I wish you would have informed me earlier. If I knew you were going to stop by, I would have prepared...tea..." As a table had appeared out of thin air as she was speaking,plete with a steaming tea set, Rin allowed her words to trail before shaking her head and walking over to sit next to Vahn. She honestly didnt mind the intrusion and, if not for the fact she had been in the middle of an intensive process, Rin would have been more than willing to attend him. With Rin sitting across hisp as if it were perfectly normal, Vahn produced an affectionate smile as he ced his left hand around her waist while resting his right palm atop her thigh. He didnt do anything untoward but it still caused Rin to give him a warning look with her eyes as she rxed her body and asked, "Did you get chased away by someone...?" Though Vahn was still an enigma, Rin liked to think she knew him well enough to read his expressions, even if he masked them. Thus, even without him answering, she lightly pinched his side in protest without furtherment. This caused him to show an apologetic smile but, knowing Rin didnt really want to hear any excuses, Vahn just spent the next few hours making it up to her, passing the time idly and talking about everything from the weather on the ind, her research results, and Sakuras uing birthday... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Artoria, Empress and Tiger Mom,Kenshin is a strong woman,Rin is working hard) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1199 - Sincerity

Chapter 1199 - Sincerity

Though they was somewhat difficult to track, and would invalidate their identities and passports back outside, things like birthdays obviously couldnt be overlooked. This was especially so for the younger generations that would reside in the castle as it was important for their development to have a day where they could quantifiable mark their growth. A persons perception of themself could change considerably with each of their sessive birthdays, forcing them to act their age, at least if they had others topare themselves to. This was one of the reasons School was important in the outside world, one of the few things Vahn found somewhat eptable in the current system. Sakuras birthday was usually in March but, after having been in the Projection for more than two months at this point, it wouldnt be long before her status reflected the change in her age. Rin had been dutifully keeping track of each and every day that passed for herself and her daughter so it wasnt difficult to know when the exact day was. As this would be their first time celebrating Sakuras birthday, she wanted to make sure everything went without a hitch. She always had a bad feeling that Sakura would one day recover her erased memories, even though it should be impossible, so Rin wanted her to have as many happy ones as possible before then... As Vahn obviously wouldnt just leave the matterying, he helped to n a small event that should leave Sakura with plenty of pleasant memories. His idea was to have a small family gathering with just the three of them, and perhaps Mordred. Since Sakura was clearly still a little ufortable with the knowledge that he had people other than Rin in his heart, Vahn felt that spending a day together would make her happy. As for her gifts, Vahn intended to give her a new set of ribbons to tie up her hair and a few wish talismans, simple hand-drawn charms that Sakura would be able to exchange for small wishes directly from him. Vahn knew there were a number of things that Sakura wanted to do with him but, as she was rather shy by nature, giving her a bit of an incentive would go a long way. There was always a small fear in a childs heart that they would be refused if they said something that upset the other party. With the wish talismans, however, Sakura would be able to think about what she truly wanted before gaining courage from the small paper charms. This would help her to break out of her shell and, much like Mordred, Vahn felt she could be a lively and outgoing girl with a gentle push... With such thoughts, interspaced through several other small incidents, the time within the Projection passed much like a blur. During this time, Da Vinci had dutifully finished a system that was capable of analyzing the internal structure of the body, including getting a basicyout of the Magic Circuits. Then, using a set of mechanical arms that had been integrated with the system, they were able to use Magical Energy in a manner simr toser engraving. Though it would need to be finely tuned, it had the capabilities of carving any seal or rune that had been stored within Arks databanks. Moreplex rune systems, such as [Primoridal Rune]s and [Fairy Rune]s, were currently beyond the scope of the system, but the Ouroboros Seal was actually rather simple in its structure. The hardest part was properly linking it with the Mana Circuits of the person receiving it but, with the ability to map the internal structure of the body,bined with the mechanical precision of the system, Da Vinci had reduced the time for each seal to less than a minute. As for why it had taken her so long toplete, Da Vinci had tried to replicate the process of Vahn applying his Familia Crest. Much to her frustration, she was met with a seemingly endless string of failures so, while Vahn was applying the Familia Crests, she had several instruments analyzing the process and had even spent a few days at his side observing with her own eyes. Ultimately, Da Vinci realized that, even if she were to be able to emte the structure, her system would be unable to replicate the process without Divine Energy and the intent of a God. As the Familia Crest was a link between a God and its children, it needed to be applied directly by the God in question to have any effect. Otherwise, even if she was able to break down and interpret the runic hieroglyphics that represented Divine Words, the only effect that could be drawn out from the crest was the ability to read a persons parameter values. This, however, wasnt all that useful outside of simply collecting data as, without the blessing of the God who applied the crest, Da Vinci suspected it would actually prevent them from growing any stronger, much like a curse. Though Vahn had reached the conclusion before her, his thoughts were just spection based on his understanding of the Familia Crest and living alongside Gods for such a long period of time. He was curious about what conclusions she would reach so, without minding the somewhat intrusive nature of her assistance, he provided her with all the data she needed. This, of course, wouldnt be much of a setback for Da Vinci as, now that she knew how it was supposed to work, it was only a matter of time before she developed a method to modify the crests structure and develop one of her own. In the end, a Familia Crest was just an advanced form contract magic, obviously graded at Tier 4, so you only needed thebination of Divine Energy and a proper understanding of the logic behind its structure to make your own. --- In the blink of an eye, a little less than four days had passed in the outside world, tranting to a total of twenty-five passing within the Projection. A lot had happened in this short-but-long period of time but, without any major hups, the day for Sakuras birthday had arrived. Vahn had already talked things over in secret with everyone in the residence so, by the time Sakura awoke to prepare for her morning training, she was surprised to discover a pair of aquamarine eyes staring at her from the side of the bed. Before Sakura could recover from her shock, Vahn smiled in an affectionate manner before gently stating, "Good morning, my little cherry blossom..." This caused her to pull the nkets to cover half her face before realizing that her mother was no longer in the bed with her. Since she always felt a little scared whenever she was alone with her Otou-sama, even though such feelings had started to fade away, Sakura began feeling nervous. However, when Vahns expression softened even further, followed by him saying, "Happy birthday..." in a gentle tone, she felt a great deal of relief and a small amount of excitement. Since he nned to pamper her quite a bit today, Vahn helped Sakura pick out a brand new dress before having her clean up. Then, after patiently waiting for her to change, Vahn marveled at how cute she was before helping brush and braid her hair. Recently, Sakura had been assigned a duo of Maids, named Leeanne and M, to help her prepare for the day, but she greatly enjoyed having her Okaa-chan and Otou-sama help out instead. Though she had been developing a growing desire to be independent, especially as she continued her Knight training, such thoughts were never at the forefront of her young mind. While tending to Sakura, Vahn exined her itinerary for the day, softly musing, "Your training for the day has been canceled. Today, your mother and I will be apanying you until the end. If you wish, Mordred and Momo can also apany us..." As Sakura, much like everyone else, had grown rather close to her Companion, Vahn felt that the adorable little dog-type humanoid wouldnt be excluded from the festivities. Meeting his expectations, Sakura didnt even seem to consider it before happily eximing, "I want to bring them! Onee-chan will be happy to get out of her training and I cant leave Momo-chan behind...!" With Sakura having made the decision herself, it wasnt long before Vahn politely opened the door to allow his daughter and the well-groomed Momo to exit. Since Momo had been designed for Sakura specifically, it was modeled after a type of dog breed known as a Shiba-Inu. This gave it golden brown fur that was soft to the touch, pointed ears, and a small tail the curled into a loop that was always happily waggling as it followed behind Sakura. With its tiny legs, it struggled to keep pace but, rather than showing any signs of difficulty, it always had a happy expression on its face, especially when Sakura led it by hand or carried it along with her. As Sakura usually awoke much earlier than Mordred, as she was a very earnest youngdy, thetter was still sleeping rather slovenly within her room. Outside her door, two Maids, named Natasha and M, gave polite bows before quickly departing after Vahn had dismissed them for the day. With him havingpleted most of the treatments,bined with the fact that the Homunculi had started to seek work of their own volition, the Inner Sanctum was now rather populous with a rotating staff of 130 people. They hadpletely reced the Golems that had been present previously and, as it seemed to be work they wanted to do, Vahn had nothing to say against it. Even after entering Mordreds room, the tomboyish princess didnt show any sign of vignce at all. Instead, she was wearing nothing but a loose t-shirt and a pair of panties as she sprawled out atop her bed, loudly snoring as she scratched the area where her seal was located. This caused Vahn to rub his temples while Sakura, used to such sights, just giggled before musing, "It doesnt suit Onee-chan to bedylike. Dont let it bother you too much, Otou-sama." Then, without furtherment, Sakura shimmied into the bed before pouncing on the sleeping Mordred who had awoken around the same time the former invaded her bed. Despite the fact that Sakura was in a dress, and Mordred had been caught off guard, the two had a short wrestling match, fumbling about and tickling each other. At the side, Momo and Neko just snuggled up with each other to watch the battle y out. One of the things the Companions had taught themselves, without Da Vincis intervention, was that they could pet and cuddle with each other to fulfill their given purpose. This led to some rather adorable scenes as, after discussing the matter with Da Vinci, there were now several hundred Companions in the castle. As a result, when they were not being pampered by their Homunculi owners, it wasnt all that rare to find a group of Companions congregating together in one massive pile of fluff, hugs, and cuddling. While feeling he should have brought Skoll along with him, Vahn walked over to the side of the bed before lightly poking Mordreds side. She had pinned Sakura to the bed and seemed to be enjoying her victory as sheughed wolfishly and continued to tickle her younger sister, despite thetters protests. Since Vahn didnt want Sakura to have any idents or get upset, he decided to interfere with their ying, causing Mordred to jump up like a cat with its tail stepped on as a small burst of electricity spread through her side. Before shended back on the bed, Vahn caught her with his Telekinesis, causing her to face him as he stated in in tone, "Dont bully your little sister, Mordred. Today is Sakuras birthday. You dont have to go easy on her, but dont push things too far, okay...?" Though birthdays werent all that important more than fifteen hundred years ago, Mordred knew they were a bigger deal in present times. Thus, even though she had originally felt she had done nothing wrong, Mordred chased away such thoughts and simply nodded her head. Then, when Vahn set her back down on the bed, Mordred gave Sakura a spontaneous hug while patting the top of her head and stating, "Happy birthday, Sakura~!" As headpats had be a rathermon sight in the castle, with Vahns bad habit and the extreme pettability of the Companions beingrgely to me, he wasnt surprised to see Mordred caressing the top of Sakuras head. Thetter also didnt show any surprise at all and instead just hugged Mordred in response before exining the fact that she wouldnt have to train today. This caused Mordred to jump up on the bed, happily spinning Sakura around while kissing her on the cheeks, now much more excited than she had been previously... --- Having Mordred, Momo, and Nekoe along ended up being the correct choice as, while Sakura enjoyed spending time with her parents, children were only trulyfortable around other children. After their family pic, Vahn yed hide and seek with the girls using the apple orchards as their hiding grounds. Though the orchards themselves had been set up neatly fifteen hundred years ago, it was a given that they would have grown wild and unfettered without proper care. Regardless of this simple truth, Vahn actually found it preferable for forests to grow wild like this and, knowing the Dryads would tend to them in the future, he had never sought to fix them. Fortunately, at least for the time being, all of the Fae were located outside of the Projection so there hadnt been any major incidents. Thus, without worrying too much about their safety, Vahn turned off his domain as he explored the forestprised almost wholly of apple trees. It was quite the sight to behold, with only a few beams of light breaking through the thick canopies, giving it a somewhat mystical feeling. Since the presence of Fae could even be felt in the projection, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that the orchards of Avalon had be a magicalnd where Fairies and Spirits wandered freely... Pretending not to notice the girls a few times, as even Mordred was surprisingly bad at concealing her presence, Vahn eventually exposed their hiding spots before snatching them both up. He had allowed them to move around and evade him a few times so they had enjoyed it quite a bit, even if the game had a foregone conclusion. Still, it was impressive to see that even Sakura could dodge through the trees with rtive ease, albeit at considerable cost to her stamina and Magical Energy. As for Mordred, she was basically a monkey with how easily she could navigate the overhanging branches. She spent nearly the entire game in the canopies, onlying to the ground to hide in the underbrush after reaching an area with less tree density. Despite the fun they were able to have with him, it wasnt all that long before Sakura and Mordred were ying games on their own. This left Vahn and Rin seated together, overlooking the girls ying tag in the frostden meadow. Sakura was actually happiest just to see her Otou-sama and Okaa-sama together and, as she liked ying with Mordred, it had been her machinations that resulted in Vahn having to keep his rather amused loverpany. They both understood Sakuras scheme so, while not doing anything too intimate, they still made a show of cuddling together and simply enjoying each otherspany. By the time lunch hade around, Mordred and Sakura had worked up a bit of a sweat so Vahn interrupted their game with a thermos of hot chocte before using cleaning magic to remove the sweat and grime from their bodies. Since it gave a pleasant and tingly sensation, which Vahn himself was rather fond of at times, both girls happily drank their cocoa while a small bed of brackish liquid formed at the tip of Vahns finger. Then, after tossing it to the side, Vahn escorted the two girls back to the pic site to enjoy some of his hand-cooked meals and give Sakura her presents. Though not as magical as Circes, Rin, Mordred, Sakura, and even the two Companions, all seemed to enjoy his cooking quite a bit. In the past, Rin had even med him for using his cooking to tame her so Vahn knew that his had a few unique qualities that Circescked. Since intent meant a lot when it came to pretty much everything, Vahn filled each of the dishes he made with a considerable amount of emotions. Not only did he genuinely enjoy cooking, but he sincerely desired that anyone he cooked for was able to be a little happier after eating his prepared meals. Seeing the smiles on peoples faces as they happily ate his food meant quite a bit to him so, while his understanding wascking, Vahn knew there were likely some Laws at work that amplified the effects of his cooking... When the meal concluded, with everyone eating a little more than they probably should have, it was finally time to give Sakura her presents. This was the part of a birthday most children looked forward to and, though she was already more than happy with how her day had been going, Sakura was no exception. Though she had enough patience to unravel her presents without tearing the material used to wrap them, Sakuras eyes were glimmering with excitement when she opened the first small parcel. It was a locket that had been forged by Vahn but had been modified by Rin over thest three weeks. As a result, it had quite a number of protective properties but, what meant the most to Sakura was the fact that it showed the three of them together as a family within the locket... After waiting for Sakura to finishing hugging Rin, Vahn handed over his gift, drawing the attention of his two daughters as it looked like a simple stack of paper that was adorned with gold leaf. He found their reactions rather amusing as he exined in a calm and casual tone, "These charms are known as Wish Talismans. I handmade each and every one of them. As for their function, you can use them to make any request of me. So long as it does not endanger yourself or others, I will always do my best to grant you wish..." As the stack had a total of thirty slips, Vahn felt it should be enough to help Sakura break out of her shell while also benefitting considerably, depending on how she used them. Mordred seemed very excited to hear to exnation but, contrary to expectations, Sakura showed a thoughtful expression as she stared at the stack of charms. Then, with an innocent, almost pleading, look on her face, Sakura asked, "Can I wish for anything...?" Since he had expected such a question, Vahn dashed his momentary worry as he smiled and answered, "Yes, so long as you do not try and wish for more wishes..." This didnt seem to be what Sakura had in mind, however, as she held up one of the slips moments after hearing his response, stating, "I wish to give this present to Okaa-chan...!" Though he had been caught off guard by Sakuras outburst, Vahn felt a sour sensation in his nose and, resisting the urge to tear up, he epted the small slip before allowing it to dissipate into small kes of gold. He already knew what Sakura cared about the most but, seeing her selflessly give away her present so that her mother could be happy caused him to feel a wave of emotion. It wasnt just him, either, as Rin had to cover her mouth to avoid an emotional outburst of her own. Following this, the atmosphere became rather awkward but, understanding Sakuras sincerity, Vahn managed to swallow the knot in his throat as he muttered, "This wish...I will grant it..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Da Vincis determination,What do you call a group of Companions..?,Sakura is a little angel (T ^ T)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1200 - Shift

Chapter 1200 - Shift

After a few schedule adjustments, both for the sake of progress and his mental health, Vahn had designated a period during the evening where he would continue treating the remaining Homunculi. As was often the case when he was happy, Vahns intuition had caused a lingering feeling of danger in the back of his mind that he couldnt ignore. To that end, he felt the need to put more effort into his training and prepare a few countermeasures against future events. Though he had been somewhat worried about how his renewed training with Scthach would go, Vahn knew she was very reliable when it came to helping him increase his strength. Thus, rather than focus entirely on the development of hisbat potential, he instead decided to see if The Path couldnt provide him the means of making the most of his circ.u.mstances. Though his OP had been gradually decreasing, that was only one part of his system functions. Other than the Shop, he also had the Records, View Affection, Minimap, Inventory, Unit Management, Gacha, Upgrade, and Inventory functions. Upon leaving the Record of Danmachi, the majority of his system functions had gotten a significant increase but, due to the situation that had presented itself, Vahn had never used them to their fullest potential. Even his Upgrade Function, which he knew was quite powerful, had been sitting idly within The Path, waiting for the day when he used the hundreds of upgrade resources he had been saving. Since the upgrade materials were the same for F-Rank equipment and SSS-Rank equipment, Vahn had decided long ago that he would save all of his materials and resources until he reached Tier 6 or Tier 7. After all, while getting a temporary boost would certainly help increase his power in any of the Records he visited, even a weapon like [Enkidu] might not even be S-Rank in a Tier 7 Record. Thus, unless he intended to upgrade the same weapon an infinite number of times, carrying it with him between multiple Records, there had never been an opportune time to use this particr system function. Outside of the Upgrade function, Vahn knew he hadnt been using his other functions to their fullest extent either. Even in Danmachi, he had used his Inventory as a means to transport and even attack enemies but, now that it had increased exponentially in size, he hadnt been using it to the fullest extent of its capabilities. At the same time, perhaps even more notably, was the fact that he had not been making proper use of his most important system upgrade, all because he didnt want to treat his life like a game. Vahn knew that the upgrade to his Quest function was ridiculously useful as there were even Quests listed rted to his daily life. Not only that, but he could assign Quests to anyone that had been registered in his Unit Management, some of which had variable rewards that depended on who had been assigned. The only reason he hadnt exploited this was, just as he didnt want to treat his life like a game, where he based all of his decisions on quantifiable objectives, the idea of others taking on dangerous Quests just to grow stronger didnt sit well with him... Moving forward, especially into higher Tiered Records, Vahn knew the Quest function would be one of the most important system functions he had avable. Despite his inhibitions toward it, he knew it was necessary, especially for hispanions whocked something like The Path to rely on. He had a habit of telling them there were no such things as limitations but, despite their best efforts, Vahn knew it was exponentially more difficult for others to improve and keep pace with him. This was due to the fact that his body wasprised of Source Energy and, while others may have benefited from the bodies he had created, they couldnt actually use the energy contained within. He, however, was constantly being nourished by his Source Energy, constantly bringing him closer to the peak of the Record that he inhabited... In the future, Vahn knew he would have arge Order of Imperial Knights and, though it would likely never reach the extremes of his ventures in Danmachi, he would still have thousands of followers, subordinates, and retainers. Just like the Haven Defense Force, which had posted quests that could be epted by its members, Vahn knew such a system would greatly benefit the growth of his allies. Even the Clock Tower had a Mission Board, where both Faculty and Students were able to ept jobs both internally and abroad. This could include simple missions, such as collecting materials from the Spiritual Tomb orplex missions such as joining a political delegation to protect dignitaries in foreign countries. Once his Order of Imperial Knights had grown, Vahn knew he would need to actually give them work to do as, while protecting the Castle was an important duty, there shouldnt be many enemies with enough gall to enter Avalon and try to attack them directly. This would be doubly so once they were aware of existences like Merlin, Scthach, and Heracles who, despite having known legends, werent known for their weaknesses. Since Camelot was also quite legendary in its own rights, and would be known for its poption of Fae in the future, Vahn suspected only a select few abnormal individuals would ever try to target them in a head-on collision. They were far more likely to userge-scale Ritual magic to bombard them from a distance with Tactical-ss Magecraft rivaling True Magic. Knowing this, Vahn knew it would be necessary to have powerful defenses around the entire Ind, something which Da Vinci had been seeing to since she first arrived in this world. As for his Quest function, much to his chagrin, Vahn knew it would be extremely useful for providing direction in his own life while also busying the current and future residents of the castle. After all, there were even assignable quests to produce a certain number of rune-engraved gemstones, something he could have given to Rin for some easy rewards. He also knew that, as time passed, people would want to leave the Projection and travel into the outside world as, despite the threat of Angra Mainyu, it was hard to treat the matter seriously when they already had several countermeasures against him... Deciding it was time to get his priorities in order, especially with his first Court being held in less than a month, Vahn had Fenrir, Medusa, and Circe at his side as he conducted a few experiments. This had been rather easy to arrange as, after histest session of treatments, they had all been together within the Menagerie. Thus, with the three girls standing behind him, Vahn was focused wholly on the expansive list of Quests, noticing for the first time that there were unique Quests associated with specific individuals. He already knew Quests could be created based on his intent and, now that he had decided to help the girls benefit from his system, it had already given him several methods to do so... After perusing the Quests for a brief moment, Vahn selected one for Fenrir and tried assigning it to her directly. He noticed her ears twitch in mild surprise as her eyes began moving from side-to-side, obviously reading a screen only she could see. This provided him some valuable information, as it meant he could secretly issue out Quests to people. Even more important was the fact that, after reading, Fenrir asked, "How do I ept this...?" Though she could read it just fine, Fenrir had no experience navigating a system interface using her mind. Fortunately, Sis chimed in at this point, having Vahn repeat her words, exining, "You just need to focus your mind and the outline of the Quest should change from blue to green. After that, you can bring up the Quest just by focusing your thoughts on it in the future..." With an understanding nod, Fenrir closed her eyes to better focus, finding that the screen was just as visible with her eyes closed. Then, as her Master had stated, the border of the Quest be green, causing her to feel motivated to the point of forming her paws into fists as she stated, "I will finish this Quest as soon as possible...!" As she could read the rewards, which had just updated in Vahns Quest interface as well, Fenrir was quite excited to get started. Vahn couldnt exactly me her as, after reading how the Quest had been updated to reflect Fenrir as the recipient, the rewards were considerably different from what he had expected... ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Quest: Grace of the Moon] Rank: B Objective(s): Meditate beneath the light of the moon for 1,000 hours. Time is reduced based on the phases of the moon and the focus of the user. (0/1000) Optional Objective(s): Increaseprehension of Water Elemental Laws through meditation(0/1000), Increaseprehension of Ice Elementa Laws through meditation(0/1000), Increaseprehension of Yin Elemental Laws through meditation(0/1000) Rewards: 300,000 Variable Experience, 1x[Moons Grace], 1x[Proof of Loyalty] Failure Condition(s): Death, Failure toplete Quest within stipted time: (364D23H58M14S) Penalty: Afflicted with Curse: [Jad Ice Marrow] for the duration of one year Current Variable Experience: 0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Though the rewards were already quite nice for a B-Rank Quest, what had truly surprised Vahn was, much like Fenrir, he was able to read what Variable Experience was used for. Just as he could track his experience towards mastery, it seemed that his Subordinates had the same functionality, at least through him. ording to the description for Variable Experience, it could be used to enhance any non-Innate skill or ability, albeit with even low ranked skills requiring quite the bit of experience to level up. Even Fenrirs [Ice Pulse], an ability she had learned from her training with Scthach, took a total of 450,000 Variable Experience to go from E-Rank to D-Rank. As for her higher-ranked skills, such as [Shundo], it required a monstrous 40,000,000 Variable Experience to increase from B-Rank to A-Rank. Still, just having the option of stockpiling Variable Experience, much like how he saved up his Origin Points, was quite exciting for anyone who had yet to experience something simr. If Fenrir chose to exploit her Quest to the fullest, she could easily finish the entire Quest in as little as fifteen days, assuming she exited the Projection during the day time and only cultivated during the long nights inside. However, knowing she wasnt the type to ck off, Vahn had Fenrir help him out with his second experiment while the tensions were still high. Though Medusa and Circe were both very confused at the moment, Vahn kept them pacified by promising they would understand shortly. He already had a few Quests picked out for their perusal but, before he handed them out, Vahn had something he wanted to try. Currently, Vahn could maintain three bodies without any major setbacks but, as was often the case when it came to such things, three was not his limit. Since he kept his sub-processes in a deep state of meditation, something that had be almost second nature at this point, Vahn felt it should be possible to expand his mind even further. Instead of making another gemstone, however, Vahn was forming himself into a different kind of inanimate object, this time taking on the shape of a massive stone wall. As even being a gemstone was quite a peculiar experience, Vahn felt extremely awkward to have a body made from a b of stone. Though he didnt even have any nerves to speak of, he could still feel his own dimensions and how cold he felt, almost as if it was soaking into his Soul. To counter this, even without him willing it, Vahn felt the stone gradually heat up until it had reached a normal body temperature. Then, after collecting himself, Vahn began to focus on the [Mantra of Eternity], allowing his consciousness to sink into thefortable abyss that had now be an intrinsic part of him. With his fourth bodyplete, Vahn released a sigh of relief while internally remarking, ("Give it a try..."). Though it hadnt been necessary to remind her, Sis answered in the affirmative before the wall in front of Vahn, Fenrir, Medusa, and Circe began to show lines of text. Sis wasnt able to control his body but, as the mediator between himself and The Path, she was able to ess its functions, even to the point of being able to purchase items on his behalf if necessary. In much the same way, she was able to make use of the Quest function and, though it would cause his mind to feel a strange pause, Vahn was able to transform his body in response to her maniption of the system. In this manner, Sis could post any Quests she thought were suitable while other Quests could be created just by having a person ce their palm against the stone. Since it was his body, Vahn was vaguely aware of his surroundings at all times, even in a deep state of meditation. When someone touched him, he would obviously be more aware of their presence and, after understanding their intentions, new Quests would form in his mind instantly. These would then be filtered by Sis before, much like how she guided him back from [Laces Key], she was able to cause his body to transform and disy the Quest to the observer... Vahn knew this would take some getting used to but, as he couldnt make himself avable to assign Quests at all times, he needed a method that the others could use to pick their own. This was a way in which he could promote their independence further as, even though they would all have their own duties within the Court, Vahn wanted them to live free and unfettered lives. Even if someone wanted to travel into the outside world toplete a Quest, they should have that option, so long as it did not endanger the lives of others and expose Avalon to enemy attack. Not only would this provide him with more information about the world, but it would also prevent the residents of the castle from spending all their time in the Projection, something Vahn knew wasnt exactly healthy... Now that the Quest Board wasplete, Vahn smiled toward Medusa and Circe, saying, "Just ce your palm on this stone and it should show you a list of Quests. If there are any you think would be interesting, feel free to ept them. You should know that even low ranked Quests can give nice rewards so dont hold back..." Though they were still confused by Vahns words, Medusa was the first to jump forward and p her palm against the ck stone surface. This caused Vahn to flinch slightly but he managed to keep hisposure as a series of squares appeared on the stone board, each disying a Quest suitable for Medusa. Fortunately, while she was still learning Japanese, the Quest Board disyed the details in Koine, thenguage of Orario. This allowed her to read over each Quest before ultimately picking the one Vahn had expected. She had tried to select multiple Quests but, providing Vahn yet more useful information, Medusas brows perked up as she stated, "It says I need to use Loyalty to ept more than one Quest~?" As it had been triggered by Medusa, The Path provided the necessary information to Sis, allowing her to exin, (*Other than a single primary Quest, your Subordinates are able to ept secondary Quests, up to a total of five. Each Quest after the primary would take 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% of their total Loyalty respectively, though the value would not decrease below 0. Though this seems like a major detriment,pletion of these Quests returns the Loyalty value with a bonus based on the difficulty. This would only be a few points for lower-ranked Quests but, for those that are B-Rank or higher, the total Loyalty could be increased by as much as 10~20% of the original value.*) Hearing Siss exnation, Vahn parroted her words to the others while also trying to rationalize how such a system worked. Considering that they were mainlypletely Quests that had been dictated by him, it made sense that their Loyalty would increase based on the number theypleted. Not only would they get rewarded for their efforts, which would already increase their Loyalty, but the stresses they experienced during the Quest would undoubtedly influence them considerably. This was especially true for S-Ranked Quests, and higher, as Fenrir even had one that required her to defeat Scthach in battle. Since the loss of Loyalty actually caused significant difort, especially towards his more Loyal Subordinates, Medusa ultimately only epted a second Quest after her first. After all, she could justplete the current Quests before epting new ones. There was no need to ept too many as, due to the quirks of the Quest function, they would all need to bepleted before any could be turned in. As for why she chose the two she did, it was because they were loosely rted to each other and, with the rewards promised, Medusa was looking forward topleting them quite a bit. ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Quest: Gorgons Heiress] Rank: C Objective(s): Befriend a total of 100 snakes: (49/100) Optional Objective(s): Befriend 20 different species of snakes: (4/20) Reward: 50,000 Variable Experience, 20x[Familiar Contract] Failure Condition: Death Penalty: N/A [Chain Quest: Moulting I] Rank: C~S Objective(s): Bathe in water between 100~105C for one hour: (0/10), Bathe in water between -5~0C for one hour: (0/10), Bathe under direct sunlight for one hour: (0/100) Optional Objective(s): Sleep surrounded by more than one-hundred different snakes for an hour: (0/100) Reward: 70,000 Variable Experience, 1x[First-Layer Molting Pill] Failure Condition: Death, Failure toplete Quest within stipted time: (29D23H58M19S) Penalty: Iplete molting may ur ----------------------------------------------------------------- Though it was hard to know the exact use of items like the [First-Layer Molting Pill], as it wasnt listed within the system shop as of yet, just reading the name was enough to have a basic understanding of its purpose. Medusas race was listed as a Gorgon and, though she was technically Ageless, her body could still mature further based on how many times she molted. Currently, she would only molt around four times a year, each taking around two days toplete under ideal conditions. After the process waspleted, Medusa would look marginally older than she had been in the past, though it wasnt an exaggeration to say she would take several decades to reach the mature form she was determined to achieve. As the Quest she had epted was a Chain Quest, this implied that there were multiple steps, each providing progressively better rewards. The first part was only C-Rank, making it rather simple toplete, while thetter would be S-Rank, granting considerable rewards. As these were often rtively simr to the preceding rewards, it was easy to assume that Medusa would either be given multiple [First-Layer Molting Pill]s or higher-tiered rewards for her efforts. Since it was easy to intuit that a [First-Layer Molting Pill] would literally allow her to molt freely, it meant she could reduce the period it takes to mature considerably, without much effort. While Medusa was tempted to immediately head out to make more friends, she was more inclined to stay with her Master and keep himpany, especially since he was the one to visit them. Thus, while thinking about the best methods toplete her Quest, Medusa made way for Circe to also ce her palm against the stone, thankfully without pping it. She hadnt been able to read the text of Medusas Quests but, after seeing how happy both she and Fenrir were, Circe was more than a little excited to see what would be disyed for her. However, though her Loyalty wasnt exactly low, having reached 16,018 points, Circes feelings towards Vahn were mostly those of Love. As a result, she had fewer Quests avable but, while she wascking in quantity, the quality of said Quests was quite high... Due to being a Demi-Goddess and former Heroic Spirit, most of Circes Quests were B-Rank, or higher, with some even reaching SSS-Rank. Vahn had expected her to pick a few middling Quests from amongst those disyed but, much to his surprise, Circe immediately honed in on an S-Rank Quest before epting it. As he had been watching her closely, Vahn knew exactly which Quest she had selected, causing his brain to buzz as she began to giggle, the light in her eyes shing with a vibrant pink hue. Since this was her choice, however, Vahn epted Circes conviction and, though it would likelyplicate things in the future, she had already won a ce for herself in his heart... ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Quest: Apostate of Hecate] Rank: S Objective(s): Obtain Hecates blessing by conducting the Red Moon Ritual: (0/1), Reach 100 Love with another person(33,993/100) Optional Objective(s): Sacrifice 100 v.i.r.g.i.nmbs on the night of the full moon: (0/100) Reward(s): 3,000,000 Variable Experience, 1x[Chastity Belt], 1x[Pendant of the Moons Promise] Failure Conditions: Death, Failure to obtain Hecates blessing, Loss of v.i.r.g.i.nity before Questspletion Penalty: Death ----------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn hasnt just been holding himself back...he has been holding everyone else back xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1201 - Quest

Chapter 1201 - Quest

Following a rather rxing rest period with the three girls, Vahn decided to strike while the iron was hot. Now that he knew there was even more to the Quest function than he had previously realized, the first thing he did was organize a gathering with everyone to exin his revtions. This also included Da Vinci, even though he had to go retrieve her from the Einzbern Castle. She had slowly been converting it into a factory after Merlin had morphed the surrounding Bounded Field into a pseud-projection, slightly different from the one around Avalon. Since the Einzbern Castle existed on the Surface, rather than in a Sub-Texture of the World, it was a lot harder to create a projection as, even with an Artificial Leyline, there simply wasnt enough mana to power it. As a result, only the factory and a few other sections of the castle existed within the Projection. Da Vinci used this a second Workshop of sorts, even though the primary purpose of her time there was to increase the production of Companions and test a few of her other experiments. With a time-dtion of 4:1, she could produce as many as 48,000 Companions in a single day, assuming she had the requisite resources to do so. As there was no need to create so many, at least for the time being, the actual production was closer to 1,000 per day, giving her ample time to innovate and develop newer models. Still, after seeing several thousand Companions wandering the rather solemn halls, Vahn felt like he had wandered into a dreamscape of sorts. As if to emphasize this, he had a veritable flock of adorable little creatures following after him by the time he reached Da Vincis Factory. Some had even clung to his body, riding him as they produced adorable mewling sounds and other squeak-like noises... After retrieving Da Vinci and returning to the Ivory Castle, it wasnt long before Vahn had everyone together inside of the Dining Hall, Companions included. At this point, even Paracelsus and Tristana had several Companions living with them, serving as simple assistants as they awaited the birth of their new owners. Since there were now a few thousand Homunculi in the castle, Paracelsus had slowed the production of his own, taking special care to make sure they would be able to live easy lives when they were finally born. Even then, there were only a few weeks until the fateful moment, something Paracelsus had been looking forward to quite a bit. What Vahn found most curious was the fact that, while Paracelsus was enthused about the birth of his Homunculi, there was actually another bundle of life that they had yet to announce. Since they had been living together for months now, often spending their entire days together, it wasnt too much of a surprise when Vahn discovered that Tristana was pregnant. What did surprise him was the fact that neither of them seemed to have realized it, as Tristana was only around two weeks pregnant at the time of the gathering. Though he wanted to talk about the Quests and the future direction of the Empire, Vahn couldnt help but open the conversation by smiling in amus.e.m.e.nt as he stated, "Paracelsus, Tristana, congrattions." As could be expected, the two were rather confused by the sudden congrattory remark, causing Tristana to furrow her brows as she asked, "What is this about?" Being a moderately capable Magus, Tristanas intuition alerted her to the fact that Vahns congrattions were mostly directed toward her. As she rarely even saw him, she couldnt help but wonder what he was up to, especially after gathering everyone together like this. What she never would have expected was Vahn showing a surprised expression, ented with a touch of confusion, as he asked, "Do you really not know...?" Feeling annoyed at Vahns question, Tristanas expression turned rather dour and, if not for the fact the former was an Emperor, she would haveshed out at him. Fortunately, Paracelsus was always very calm and, shortly after he heard Vahns words, he surprised Tristana by grabbed her wrist and taking her pulse. This caused her to fl.u.s.ter a bit as, though she didnt consider herself shy, they were currently surrounded by some rather high-profile and intimidating individuals. Before Tristana could extricate her hand from Paracelsus rather delicate looking fingers, the golden-eyed man showed an expression of genuine surprise that quickly turned into a smile. Even without asking, Tristana had started to realize what Vahnsment was rted to and, remembering how she had been feeling sick since a few days ago, she began to feel very anxious. At the same time, the rest of the people sitting around the table seemed to realize what Vahns words meant, causing Nobunaga to be the first to say, "Oh? I figured the next woman to get pregnant would be that drill-haired gori." Nobunagas remark caused Rin to nearly choke on her tea, performing a spit take of sorts as Luvia had often called her a gori in the past. Hearing someone refer to her former rival in such a way was rather entertaining but, considering the situation, she tried to keep calm. She also understood the implication in Nobunagas words and, as Vahn had never officially announced it, asked, "Are you also pregnant, Nobunaga...?" This time, it was Vahns turn to smile, exining in a rather chipper tone of voice, "Nobunaga is around three weeks pregnant at this point. As for Tristana, she seems to be around two weeks into her pregnancy. If they both stayed inside the Projection, there is a good chance their deliveries would be around the same time." Hearing Vahnment on her pregnancy so casually, Nobunagas face became a little red as sheined, "Hey, you lug-head. Dont discuss such things so openly." Then, as the cat was already out of the bag, Nobunaga turned to look at Rin, answering, "Yeah, Im carrying this idiots child. In the future, I might bother you a bit. Sorry in advance." Though she knew Sakura wasnt Rins actual daughter, Nobunaga had a good impression of their mother-daughter rtionship. She felt that Rin would be able to help teach her the things she needed to know as, while Iris was also a good choice, thetter was somewhat airheadedpared to the serious Rin. Though it was somewhat awkward, Rin managed a smile in response to Nobunagas words before politely stating, "Of course. I believe Sakura-chan and Mordred will be good big sisters as well..." As could be expected, Mordred immediately took advantage of the fact her name was mentioned, jumping to her feet excitedly as she announced, "Yosh! Leave it to me! Ill be everyones big sister! Just leave it to me, Aniue~!" With Nobunaga having be something like an idol to her, at least as far as temperament and disposition were concerned, Mordred was more than willing to help look after her future children. Shortly after Mordreds outburst, which had caused Nobunaga to produce a sly smile, Sakura also added, albeit in a more subdued tone, "I will also do my best...I always wanted to be a big sister..." While saying this, Sakura looked between her Okaa-chan and Otou-sama, her eyesmunicating what her mouth couldnt say. They both understood the hidden meaning in that momentary gaze, causing Rin to flush slightly as she looked at Vahn as if asking for help. Unfortunately, his response was to smile in an affectionate manner, leaving the matter to Rin to decide. He was always happy to have more children but, knowing his part was only secondary to the role their mothers would y, Vahn always left the decision to his partners. Understanding the meaning behind Vahns smile, Rins face paled slightly, even though her cheeks were flushed. Previously, she had already given up on having her own children as, after adopting Sakura, she was worried that her treatment toward her biological children would alert thetter to the truth. Though she would do her best to always care for Sakura as if she was her actual daughter, Rin still had a lingering fear that her resolve might not trante well into reality. However, when she saw the expectant glimmer in Sakuras eyes, Rin looked towards Vahn with me in her eyes. This was her way of saying, take responsibility, causing Vahn to lightly chuckle at her expense before musing, "It looks like things are going to be lively in the future..." --- After things settled down a bit, Vahn apologized to Tristana and Paracelsus for taking the wind out of their sails. To once again congratte them, and to emphasize his apology, Vahn provided Tristana with a few [Maternity Band]s, which would greatly aid her during the pregnancy. She still seemed to being to terms with the fact she was pregnant but, with Paracelsus there to take care of her, it shouldnt be long before she epted the reality and assumed the role of an expectant mother. As for Nobunaga, she shared a few words of triumph with the girls around her before giving them a bit of advice on what to expect if they sought children of their own. Fortunately, before things could get too out of hand, Vahn guided the conversation back towards the original subject, exining the Quest system that he intended to implement. When questioned about how such a system worked, Vahn exined that it was the result of his Familia Crest being able to bestow his blessing upon others,bined with his Creation and Fate Laws. They were already aware of his Modify function and his ability to manifest physical objects the represented his bonds with other people so it wasnt too much of a surprise. Though people like Da Vinci were obviously very skeptical, she knew there was undoubtedly some truth behind Vahns words and, as was often the case, he probably just couldnt exin it properly. She knew his mind often made things overlyplex, to the point that he was sometimes capable of doing things he didnt evenprehend properly. In fact, there had been several instances where she was the one to help him understand the proper uses of his skills and abilities. Because he was always very receptive to what she had to say, Da Vinci considered this rather severe w as one of Vahns quirks, finding it more endearing than annoying. With nobody calling him out on his half-truth, Vahn exined the benefits of the Quest system in great detail, including the fact there were likely benefits he was entirely unaware of. To that end, he wanted Da Vinci to keep track of every Quest and the rewards,piling them into a system that used the Quest Board as a basis for data collection. Though he would always know when someonepleted a Quest, as it alerted him through the system, Vahn knew Da Vinci would be able to make the most of the data. As for everyone else, Vahn encouraged them to freely ept Quests, so long as the Penalty did not include things like Death. After hearing about the potentially serious consequences of epting Quests, it wasnt unexpected that Rin would ask, "Death? Do you mean failing a Quest could actually lead to death? Why would you incorporate such a thing?" Considering this was a question he had expected, Vahn answered in a serious tone, "The items that are created as a result ofpleting a difficult Quest could literally be world-altering. This system itself goes against the Worlds bnce, altering Fate considerably based on the Rank of the Questpleted. It isnt even an exaggeration to say that some of the rewards you could obtain would even make the Greater Grail seem like a paltry trophy inparison. Do you think such a system could exist without any setbacks...?" Hearing Vahns exnation, Rin couldnt help but furrow her brows, even though she understood the severity of his words. After all, the most basic principle in the world, outside of Life and Death, was Equivalent Exchange. She had also epted a number of missions during her time as a student of the Clock Tower, some of which had put her life in danger, so Rin knew progress was often at the expense of endangering oneself. Still, while she could ept this, Rin looked toward Sakura before stating in a stern tone, "You are not allowed to ept Quests unless I am present, understood?" Though Sakura was a bit started by the serious tone of her Okaa-chans voice, she had no intention of going against her words as, even without having it exined to her, she knew death was a very scary thing. Fortunately, her own position was made easier when Artoria also added, "Mordred. Even though I believe you are more than strong enough, you are not allowed to ept any Quests to the outside world unless your father and I are aware of it. You are also not allowed to ept any Quests with Death as a Penalty before your apprenticeship ispleted. Despite your skills, you have a long way to go before being able to dere yourself an Imperial Knight." Even though she was brash by nature, Mordred had always been very obedient towards figures of authority, even in her past life. Though she had certainly led the rebellion against King Arthur, most of her interactions with Artoria before that were epting and following all orders. As she hade to respect Artoria as her Hahaue, while epting Vahn as her Chichue, Mordred would not ignore their words. Thus, showing a rare serious expression, simr to a Knight that had just received orders from its King, Mordred stated, "I understand, Hahaue. I will not be careless with my own life." Nodding approvingly in response to Mordreds words, an action repeated by Vahn, Artoria turned her eyes over everyone else at the table, adding, "It may not have been officiated yet, but I hope you will all respect my decision as Empress. Unless it is at the behest of myself or His Majesty, never do anything that would endanger the life of yourself or others. There are no shortcuts to power and, even if this system will allow you to grow at an elerated rate, you must never lose sight of why you seek power. If you feel inclined to ept dangerous Quests, please inform me or His Majesty beforehand. I am confident in speaking on his behalf when I say that we will always be willing to do our best to help you." Piggybacking off Artorias words, Vahn gave a firm nod before stating, "Though some Quests are more individualized, many can bepleted by working together. Never ignore preparation and research as, if regarded seriously, most dangers can be avoided outright. As Artoria stated, I am more than willing to help youplete your Quests so never assume you are alone." With the Rank of the Quest seemingly determined by the person epting it, Vahn felt that an S-Rank Quest for others might only be a B or A-Rank Quest for him. He obviously couldnt help when it came to things like befriending snakes, bathing, and meditating, but these were generally the types of Quests ted to specific individuals... As nobody at the table really had the intention of seeking their deaths arbitrarily, the only thing that could have caused anyone to ept such a dangerous Quest was if the rewards more than made up for the danger. However, in response to Vahns and Artorias words, everyone around the table gave understanding nods, the only exception being Circe. She had already epted a Quest with the penalty of death but, as it was very important for her life, she was more than willing to risk it. All she had to do wasmune with Hecate and, as her rtionship with thetter was actually quite good, Circe didnt expect she would refuse. Though there would be a trial that required her to prove her love, the fact she had a Love parameter of 33,998 filled her with confidence... --- After the discussion regarding Quests, everyone enjoyed a rather lively meal before moving towards the Knight Training Field. While the discussion had been ongoing, Vahn transformed his Quest Board into a physical body before moving himself over and changing back. By the time the group arrived, there was a glossy ck stone that was three meters tall and eight meters wide waiting for them. Da Vinci had almost immediately wanted to take a sample but Vahn was able to stop her by promising to exin its structure in greater detailter. He didnt really want everyone to know that the Quest Board was actually him, giving him full control over the Quests they were allowed to ept... Though they could have all gone at once, everyone approached the Quest Board one at a time to see what their own Quests entailed. In response, the ck stone dutifully tranted their Quests into their native tongue, something that didnt even require effort on Vahns part. As he would always use thenguage his partner was mostfortable with, to the point he still talked to Medusa in Koine, the text on the Quest Board did the same. Being one of the first people to step forward, Da Vinci epted a total of five Quests simultaneously, each graded at A-Rank. She was actually inspired just by reading the listed Quests, causing her mind to race with possibilities as, rather thanpleting the five she epted, Da Vinci fully intended toplete ALL of her potential Quests. At the very least, she would prepare the necessary goods to finish themter so, by the time she turned in her current five, she would be able to mass ept and turn in several others. There was no way she could miss out on unique and mysterious rewards and, even though she only had a few Skills worth investing in, knowing she could freely enhance them was quite exciting. Fortunately, Da Vincis example wasnt repeated as Artoria was the next to step forward, cing her palm against the rather warm stone and viewing her avable Quests. Surprisingly, she epted an SS-Rank Quest that required her to defeat a total of 10 Heroic Spirits in seriousbat. Though this was certainly possible toplete in the future, Artoria would be hard-pressed to convince people like Circe and Da Vinci to duel against her. This left only people like Scthach, Heracles, Nobunaga, Lakshmibai, and Kenshin. Though she could also fight against people like Iris, Rin, and Illya, Vahn doubted that Artoria would trouble them in such a manner. Thus, until he summoned other Heroic Spirits in the future, Artoria would be stuck with her current Quest for a while. Following Artorias example, Mordred also epted an SS-Rank Quest, hers being just as impossible toplete, at least for now. It required her to fight against an S-Rank Phantasmal Species, meaning something on the level of a True Dragon, Titan, or Pegasus. Since these types of creatures were very rare on the Surface World, she would have to venture into one of the Spiritual Lands or, depending on how things developed in the future, delve deep into the Spiritual Tomb: Albion. Still, with rewards like 500,000,000 Variable Experience and her very own Excalibur, named [Excalibur ], Mordred was more than up for the challenge. With the Mother-Daughter duo of Knights epting impossible tasks, Vahn breathed a sigh of relief when Rin picked a few rtively simple Quests. She also helped Sakura choose her Quests, with D-Rank being the highest. These included simple tasks such as performing exercises andpleting chores, meaning they could incentivize themselves to grow stronger without any real danger. As a result, the highest amount of Variable Experience she could receive was only 1,500 but, considering Sakura was only seven years old, doing more difficult Quests could actually be detrimental to her natural growth. As could be expected, even Paracelsus and Tristana epted a few Quests as, if they were able to get rewarded for doing things they already would have done, why wouldnt they? Though Tristana picked a rather simple C-Rank Quest, as she was already starting to worry about her condition, Paracelsus epted an A-Rank Quest. His Primary Objective was to create a thousand [Philosophers Stone]s while his Optional Objective included making a new and improved variant. As the stones he made were already different from the original, Paracelsus already had some experience in this process and, with the information exchanges he had made with Da Vinci, Illya, and Iris, he was more than confident in finishing before the deadline... When almost everyone hadpleted epting Quests for themselves, making the atmosphere rather lively, Illya finally stepped up to the Quest Board. Curiously, in Vahns vision, he noticed that the border of his current Quest became yellow while, at the very bottom of the list, a new Quest had formed. This was also disyed on the Quest Board, causing Vahn to inhale as he wondered what decision Illya would make. Previously, he had been on the fence regarding thepletion of his own so, if Illya herself sought that route, Vahn could help herplete her objectives while also finishing his own Quest. This was the first time he had ever seen a Link Quest so he couldnt deny he was a little interested in the secondary rewards if they turned them in together... As there were close to twenty avable Quests, it took a little while before Illyas eyes passed over the unique Quest that hade into existence just for her. When she saw the Objectives, her face became a little red and, though others had already read the details, she attempted to hide it with her body as she quickly epted it. This caused a few of the closest people to giggle, including Iris as she had been standing next to Illya from the start. Still, willfully choosing to believe they were none the wiser, Illya stared at the screen that had appeared in her vision, her eyes bing a subtle shade of violet... ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Quest: Emergence of the Beast Queen] Rank: SS Objective(s): Convince entity [Cath Palug] to fuse with the host:(0/1), Integrate Magic Circuits with entity [Cath Palug]:(0/1) Optional Objective(s): Obtain 100 Love with entity [Vahn Mason]:(99/100), Obtain an oath of love from entity [Vahn Mason]:(0/1) Reward(s): 300,000,000 Variable Experience, 1x[Beast Queens Divine Raiment] Failure Conditions: Death, [Cath Palug]s refusal Penalty: Affection between host and [Cath Palug] reset to 0. Current:(3,411/100) ----------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Surprise~!,Power, at a price,Quests Ahoy~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1202 - Determination

Chapter 1202 - Determination

With everyone else benefitting from his Quest function, Vahn felt a lot less self-conscious about taking advantage of it himself. During the period where everyone was discussing how to help each otherplete their Quests, he went through his own list to ept a few he had been on the fence about. Most of these fell into the category of daily Quests, meaning they required him to do a specific action over a certain number of days. He also had the kind that requiredpleting specific tasks, such as meditating, performing an exercise, or forging a piece of equipment. Unfortunately, while Vahn had many ways to exploit the system, his memory fragments were unable to work towards thepletion of his Quests. This still left him with the option of teaming up with the other castle residents but, as his Quests were either directly rted to his own actions, there were only a few situations where such opportunities were avable, at least for the time being. Though there werent any Main Quests listed, as these seemed to only appear during the moments when his convictions had reached a certain peak, there were a number of Quests that felt like Main Quests. These pertained to major events in the world while, much like his Alliance Quest back in the Record of Danmachi, there were numerous Quests directly tied to various powers. Among the Quests he had chosen to ept, Vahn picked one that required him to either enter an Alliance or subjugate the three different branches of the Mages Association. As Da Vinci seemed to be preparing for an altercation against the As Temple,bined with the fact he was somewhat at odds with the Clock Tower, Vahn felt it was a good idea to pick up a Quest directly rted to them. Towards the goal of cooperation, however, Vahn had several Quests that required him to either recruit people from within the Mages Association, either by contributing knowledge or through less proper channels. There was even one that tasked him with serving as an Interim Professor, with an Optional Objective of bing an actual Lord. However, while this would undoubtedly make him popr amongst certain groups, this route undoubtedly led to significant conflict. At the same time, it was a rather heinous reduction in his status as, even though his Empire hadnt spread its influence, Vahn was still an Emperor. Bing a Lord under a different system, where others would have a higher ranking than him, was out of the question. Still, even without bing a Professor, Vahn had a few other Quests rted to the Clock Tower, many of which only required him to exchange specific items and resources for various favors. Since one of Vahns short term goals was to gain ess to the Spirit Tomb: Albion, he figured these would be positive measures towards that goal. Though Luvia was already making arrangements of her own, Vahn felt his methods could have more immediate effects, especially if he made Luvia herself aware of them. She had a business sense that reminded him a lot of Fortuna and, by revealing his hand to her, Vahn believed that Luvia would be able to deal in his favor. Of the Quests Vahn selected for himself, the most difficult was one adequately titled [World Power]. As it was already his goal to be one of the major factions in the world, epting a Quest that literally rted to that goal was a small motivator. It also gave him a generic roadmap towards the route he could take while also tying into several of his lesser ranked Quests. Curiously, he already had the power toplete this Quest but, deciding against more forceful methods, due to the promise he had made with Artoria, Vahn would at least try the more diplomatic approach before passing his judgment onto others. ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Quest: World Power] Rank: SSS Objective(s): Defeat a total of ten Dead Apostle Ancestors designated by the Holy Church:(0/10), y or subordinate Solon Yggdrasil, Director of the Mages Association(0/1), y or subordinate Mavis Maxwell, Pontiff of the Holy Church(0/1), y or subordinate any weilder of True Magic:(0/1) Optional Objective(s): Purify the Crimson Moon Curse from Arcueid Brunestud:(0/1), Destroy the Enforcement Division of the Mages Association:(0/8), Destroy the Burial Agency of the Holy Church:(0/8), y or subordinate one of the three Monarchal Lords associated with the Mages Association:(0/1) Reward(s): 5,000,000,000OP, 1x[Heavens Mandate], 1x[Seal of Heaven], 1x[Imperial Regalia] Failure Conditions: Expulsion from the Record, Destruction of Avalon, Deaths of more than ten allies. Current: (0/10) Penalty: 1,000,000 Karma ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fortunately, even though the objectives of the Quest seemed rather extreme, none of the terms actually required him to kill anyone. Vahn suspected this was due to the Quest function taking into consideration his circ.u.mstances as, unless his hand was forced, he didnt exactly n to go around killing people. Though his actions would undoubtedly result in the deaths of several people, some of which would be innocent, Vahn would do his best to be just and fair. To that end, he would rather increase his strength to the point that he could outright capture and seal away his enemies, putting them on trial for their crimes. He wasnt fond of imprisonment and, knowing what he knew about the cycle of reincarnation, it was for the best that they simply moved on to their next lives. There was no such thing as an evil Soul so, with the death of the Ego, it was free to return to the cycle, hopefully, to live a better life in the future... --- After epting a few Quests rted to the birth of his future children, as he wanted them to have just as many benefits as his children back in Danmachi, Vahn found himself inside his Training Orb for what felt like the first time in months. Though Da Vinci, and several others, wanted to discuss the Quests in greater detail, there were a few matters Vahn wanted to attend before he got too caught up in other things. Thus, even though he couldnt sense her, Vahn confidently stated, "Come out, Scthatch." Immediately after this, Scthach appeared out of thin air, her face a perfect mask that hid the few emotions she seemed capable of experiencing. Before Vahn said anything further, Scthach pulled a pair of spears out of thin air, asking in the same cold and icy tone he had heard thousands of times, "Do you wish to resume your training? I want to see how much you have been cking off while I was away." Fortunately, as Vahn showed no signs of attacking, Scthach remained attentive as she awaited his response. This allowed him to state in an appreciative tone, "Thank you for everything you did back in Germany. I promise that I will train hard in the future to make up for lost time..." Even before he had finished saying this, Scthach put away her spears, understanding he had no intention of doing battle. Instead, Vahn rxed a little after seeing the fierce red spears put away, adding, "There are some things I would like your help with. Since you are the most capable person I know, I believe you are the best suited to the task..." In response to Vahns words, Scthach tilted her head to the side slightly, surprising him by stating, "You are trying to deceive me...?" Though she couldnt understand which part of his words were a lie, Scthach felt that Vahn had spoken a falsehood. She didnt have to wait for an answer though as, the moment the inquiry entered her mind, images of Da Vinci and Artoria shed across her mind. This caused Scthachs brows to perk up slightly as, before she left for Germany, neither woman could bepared to her. However, when considering what Da Vinci had done for the Empire, and the fact that Artoria was now even beyond her means to defeat, it made sense that her value in Vahns eyes had been reduced. Instead of inquiring further, Scthach shook her head slightly, stating, "Go on. Tell me what you need help with." Deducing that the falsehood in Vahns words was rted to her being the most capable, the rest could be construed as the truth. This meant he did consider her the best suited to the task and, though it brought her little pride to be considered in such high regard, she considered helping Vahn the same as teaching him everything. Understanding the Scthach didnt want to discuss her prior remark further, Vahn gave a small nod before exining, "We have discussed the existence of Innates in the past. As they are the core part of a persons strength, I want you to help me draw the most out of them. I knowbat may be the fastest method to increase adaptability and improve the mastery of oneself, but I feel Innates are an exception, better understood through meditation andprehension. At the very least, I would like you to help me better understand the Laws of Creation, Destruction, Life, Death, Space, and Time..." As Scthach was literally capable of using all non-unique skills at B~A-Rank, she had a foundation in virtually all Laws. She was even able to use his Petting Laws after just witnessing them a few times, making her the best choice when it came to understanding both primary and abstract Laws. Even Da Vinci, having almost absolute mastery over all forms of Thaumaturgy, wasnt able topete against Scthach when it came to Laws. After all, her knowledge was mostly predicated on existing schools of Magecraft and, though she was able to innovate infinitely, Da Vinci needed to observe, analyze, and test her theories before making any significant progress. Scthach, however, could simply use them instantly, despite how abstract some of the concepts behind their usage were. Hearing Vahns request, Scthach gave an affirmative nod as, having already agreed to teach him everything, she wasnt going to refuse such a request. However, as she taught ording to her own methods, not the way her students thought she should teach them, Scthach exined, "I will split our training into two parts, much like our current system. Instead of helping you familiarize yourself with your [Laces Key], I will guide you through the process of some of my personal skills. Though I am able to use what you call Laws, I do not have fullprehension of how they work. I can only teach you skills associated with the Laws you have mentioned. I cannot teach you about the Laws themselves." Though her [Wisdome of the Haunted Ground] included a vast amount of information pertaining to the subject of Mystery, which Vahn had directly associated with the Laws, Scthach herself wasnt certain of his im. She only knew what she knew, which was virtually everything, and very rarely tried to intuit andprehend new things. Though Vahn was very interesting to her, and she found it rather refreshing how his existence itself made everything uncertain, this didnt trante to her spending time thinking on the new concepts he introduced. As far as she was concerned, the only things that mattered were fulfilling her duty and, once that waspleted, finally earning herself a worthy death. As this wasnt actually their first time discussing Laws, Vahn already expected Scthach to answer as such. He was just happy that, rather than get beaten for several hours at a time, he would now have a techniques portion to his training, even if this would undoubtedly trante to him getting beaten even harder in the future. Still, knowing hisprehension would benefit greatly from her guidance, Vahn gave a respectful bow towards Scthach as, despite her rather brutal treatment, she was still one of his few Masters, someone worthy of his respect. After giving an approving nod, Scthach was prepared to leave the Training Orb but, before that, she asked, "Is there anything else, Your Majesty?" In response to this, Vahn surprised her slightly when he nodded his head and answered, "There is something..." Then, with Scthachs attention focused on him, Vahn asked, "Since you seek death after knowing everything, can you tell me what I would need to do in order to preserve your life? I understand we will likely be together for hundreds of years, but there are so many things beyond what you havee to learn, Scthach...if possible, I would like to have you as a true ally in the future..." This time, it was Vahns turn to be surprised as, instead of showing an adverse reaction, Scthach inly stated, "I seek an honorable death at the hands of someone strong enough to defeat me in singlebat. If you would go against your word and deny me such an end, then I was wrong about the type of man you were. However, if you can survive my wrath after the fact, I do not mind staying at your side. Throughout history, strong men have always needed strong women to prop them up. I do no believe you would force me to live out an eternity...if it is only for a few thousand years, I will tolerate your selfishness..." Though her words were rather harsh, Scthach produced a rare smile towards the end before her figure disappeared from within the endless white space. In truth, Vahn would not force Scthach, or anyone for that matter, to keep living beyond the life they had decided for themselves. She wasnt actually suicidal, as she wanted to die an honorable death, so Vahn didnt have to worry about her going on the deep end. This meant, if he could help her grow stronger, and put her on the path of learning new things, Scthach would never reach the point where she had taught him everything. It might be bullying her a bit but, with how tragic her existence had be, Vahn wasnt content with just letting her die. This was because, unlike others, Scthach probably wouldnt be happy in her next incarnation either... Since Innates were tied to the Soul, this meant that it was pretty much Scthachs fate to be reborn as herself and, though it might be sealed for a time, she would undoubtedly reawaken it. Then, in an almost infinitely repeating cycle of eternities, she would continue to live out her immortal existence, the only thing driving her forward the pride she had as a warrior and her desire for death. Since he was even nning to break ya free from the control of the Root System, Vahn felt it was a simple matter to end the cycle of suffering Scthach had been fated to undergo. He just needed to help her reach Tier 5 and, with what he knew of Innates, there was a good chance she would develop one that allowed her to regte the [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground]. With Scthach already being around mid~peak Tier 4, it wouldnt be all that difficult to help her grow beyond her current capabilities. As she continued to pull out his potential, Vahn knew that she herself would continue to grow stronger. She might be holding back now but, if he could increase his strength faster than she could adapt, Vahn knew their positions would reverse in the future. Then, as she would still have more to teach him, regardless of the fact he was stronger than her, Vahn felt he could drag Scthach over the threshold of Tier 5. If necessary, he was even nning to use his [Innate Awakening Pill] on her as, while it was certainly one of his most valuable items, Vahn knew it was only a matter of time until he awakened his other Innates. He also didnt want to seal any of his current ones for a year so, rather than waste it on himself, Vahn had considered using it only people like Fenrir and Medusa to help them increase their own Soul Tier further... One of the things Vahn had started to understand towards the end of his time in Danmachi, which had now be one of his biggest regrets, was the fact that he didnt do enough to help those around him reach their full potential. Though he certainly helped them quite a bit, the concept of using his own body to create bodies for their use was something he could have easily realized if he had thought about it seriously. After all, he had seen how quickly Lefiya had grown after having her Magic Circuits nourished by his Source Energy. If people like Ais and Tiona had been given bodiesprised of Source Energy, Vahn had little doubt they would have been able to achieve great things in a very short period of time. Though it would haveplicated matters quite a bit, there was a very real chance he could have brought some of the others with him. This would have potentially restricted his growth considerably, while also making it harder to adapt his ns to the current Record, but Vahn knew he would have been much happier at the start of his new adventure. At the same time, their presence likely would have prevented him from having too many interactions with other people of this world, at least until he had reached the point of contending against them for power. With just the inclusion of a few of his closest allies, Vahn knew his time in the Nasuverse would have yed out very differently... Now that he had already repeated some of his past mistakes, somehow ending up with decently sized harem, Vahn was determined to fix a few for the future. During the instant he had first made a body for Iris, he already had the thought of potentially taking others with him to future Records. If he had people like Da Vinci to apany him, Vahn felt that, even if he ended up on a lifeless in apletely iprehensible Record, it would only take a few years before they turned the entire wastnd into an expansive metropolis. At the same time, anybat personnel he brought with him, especially those like Artoria and Scthach, would greatly increase his odds against foes like the Mage of the Beginning... While thinking of the Record Eva had originated from, Vahns mind briefly wandered to the [Pactio] spell. Thus far, he had avoided using it due to the fact that his reserves were simply too low. Having others draw from his pool during their training would drain him in a very short period of time. Since he also needed to have a considerable amount of Odpared to the recipient, the only people who would really benefit at the present were those like Rin and Luvia. Everyone else, including Medusa, actually had higher reserves than he did, despite his efforts to improve. Curiously, Vahn knew he could increase his reserves by .u.mting more Karma as, with Od being tied directly to fate, those with high Od also had greater yields when acquiring Karma... Karma felt like the bane of his existence but, knowing he was going to shape the fate of the entire World, Vahn knew it was only a matter of time before his value shot through the proverbial roof. Just giving Heroic Spirits a bodyprised of his Source Energy had increased his value considerably while, after his battle with Solon, Vahn now had a disheartening 143,226 Karma. Most of this was positive but, as this meant evil forces in the world were bound to butt heads against him, Vahn was not too optimistic about the number. Still, it was considerably less than the billions he had back in the Record of Danmachi so, as long as he kept his guard up, there was a good chance he could stay ahead of the curve. Fortunately, Artorias aura of Fate had actually grown stronger after she became his Empress and, once they finally got married, Vahn expected it would grow evenrger. Her presence served as a barrier of sorts as, even though she also invited misfortune toward them, the only thing that could kill Artoria was someone like him. With [Avalon] in her possession once again, she was virtually unbeatable inbat as, even using True Magic, there were no enemies that could damage her. This,bined with a functionally infinite amount of mana, and an attack power that could even sink entire inds, made Artoria a living natural disaster... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is like the guy that donates a dor to charity and then treats himself by buying a Porsche xD...,Scthach be like, "Come and get me...if you think you will survive...",Artoria is the true MC!!!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1203 - Alpha

Chapter 1203 - Alpha

Though it didnt immediately take off at first, it wasnt long before the introduction of the Quest Board became one of the most discussed topics within the castle. Not only was it a good way to alleviate boredom, but it was a sure-fire way to gradually increase your strength by epting tasks that were within your capabilities. This became notable very quickly as, afterpleting a few D-Rank Quests, being one of the first to actually acquire Variable Experience, Sakura had increased her strength rather drastically in a short period of time. Though she only got a few thousand experiences per Quest, the tasks at D-Rank were simple chores and exercises, things she couldplete without much difficulty. As a result, Sakura was the first to demonstrate how useful Variable Experience could be as, when trying to assign it to her Skills, she discovered that there options beyond her current scope of knowledge. At first, she hadnt thought about it too much and, after trying hard and failing to acquire them herself, Sakura used up all of her Variable Experience to awaken the [Martial Arts: E] and [Instinct: E] at just seven years old. When she showed up for her morning training, Artoria had been genuinely shocked since her estimates were that Sakura still had more than a year of hard training to have even remotely simr results. Amidst heavy praise and a healthy round of questioning, Sakura revealed what she had learned to the other, surprising Vahn considerably and sending Da Vinci on a warpath toplete her own Quests. She wasnt the only one either as, understanding they could unlock Skills with Variable Experience, so long as they had a basicprehension of the Skill, was a significant boon. If this system could be exploited by the Students at the Clock Tower, it meant they would potentially even be able to graduate in less than a year, rather than spending 4~8. The only requirement was to have basic proficiency in eight different types of Thaumaturgy with marginal mastery over the school of Thaumaturgy you intended to follow. With basic proficiency only be E-Rank in a Skill, and most E-Rank Skills only requiring between 3~5,000 Variable Experience, it was possible to mass-produce standard, Third-ss Magi. Though this wasnt that impressive on its own, the fact having a higher ranked Skill allowed you toprehend the subject easier meant it would be an extreme boon for apprentice-level Magi. It wasnt just Magi either as, from Sakuras example, even things like [Martial Arts], [Swordsmanship], and difficult to learn skills like [Instinct] could be learned... After Sakuras example, it wasnt long before a vast amount of data began to flow in, much of which was .u.mted by Vahn and Da Vinci. This was primarily due to the efforts of the Homunculi that now staffed the castle as, even within his Familia Crest on their backs, they were all Subordinates of Vahns. Since they were also able to use the Quest Board, albeit with the majority epting tasks rted to cooking, cleaning, and other chores, they had quickly stockpiled Variable Experience for themselves. This gave them ess to their own Skill Tree and, as they dutifully asked for permission before making major decisions about their growth, Vahn was able topile a significant amount of data with more than seven-thousand people contributing. Vahn always knew that the system functions of The Path were incredibly powerful but it was only after seeing the impact it had on the lives of others that he began to truly understand this. With the data provided by the Homunculi, he was able to learn that the greyed out Skills had varying costs that depending entirely on the currentprehension of the user. For example, someone that was already on the cusp of obtaining E-Rank in a Skill might only need to invest a few hundred points. Inversely, someone that had barely learned anything about said Skill could spend several thousand to obtain the Skill. This wasnt exactly a waste though as, by obtaining the Skill, they were able to quickly fill in the gaps in their knowledge as their basicprehension was increased. One of the more important uses of the Skill Tree was, perhaps borrowing from Vahns own ability to view Experience, anyone with at least one point of Variable Experience was able to track their growth. By selecting the Skills within their Skill Tree, they were able to see their current experience and the amount needed to increase their rank to the next level. This was a tremendous boon as it not only allowed you to see your progress, but it also alerted those that had been facing a bottleneck about how close they were to the next level. One example of this was Rin who, due to focusing on her own specialties, hadnt realized that C-Rank [Gandr] Magecraft had only been 7,069 VE from reaching the next level. Rin was just one example as, once again, Vahns greatest source of information were the thousands of Homunculi staffing the castle. As they all had the same memories imnting into them during their creation, the only major difference between most of the Einzbern Homunculi were the changes that had been made as a result of various experiments. Though they were slowly beginning to gain egos of their own, even their Innates were almost all the same. Thus, while some had started to split off as a result of their interactions with others inside of the castle, they served as the ideal control group for further exploration of the Quest function and how it could shape the growth of others. With the help of such an expansive control group, Vahn and Da Vinci made rampant progress toward cataloging each Skill, including a few Composite and Unique Skills. These differed from normal Skills considerable as, much like their name indicated, Composite Skills were the result of two or more Skills opening up an option to produce a more advanced version using other Skills as the foundation. It was because of this that they ultimately decided to refer to the interface as the Skill Tree as, when viewed broadly, many Skills linked together once yourprehension reached a certain point. As for Unique Skills, they were Skills rted to race, gender, and other factors, such as Artorias unawakened [Dragons Breath], Fenrirs [Devastating Roar], and Medusas [Toxic Mist]. Most notably, there were some Skills that even met the qualification of Noble Phantasms, such as Heracles [God Hand], Lakshmibais [Nahin Denge], and Da Vincis [Uomo Universale]. In fact, so long as it was not derived from an item or a piece of equipment, nearly every Noble Phantasm was listed within the Skill Tree of the former Heroic Spirits. Though these were separate from every other Skill, the fact they could be improved upon was perhaps one of the most significant boons as, more often than not, Noble Phantasms heavily relied upon the power of Laws. This made them exponentially more powerful than most Skills and Magecraft, allowing them to be the Trump Cards of their respective wielders. What Da Vinci, in particr, found rather curious was the fact that her own Noble Phantasm, which was already EX-Rank, could still be invested into. Though there was nothing beyond EX-Rank, any increase in the experience of a Skill made it marginally more powerful. With no upper limit on the amount of Variable Experience that could be invested into her [Uomo Universale], this implied that its power could be increased indefinitely. Currently, its only real restriction was her Magical Energy output, as it already countered everything, but this had never deluded Da Vinci into thinking that it was without fault. After all, with her intuition, she could tell that her Noble Phantasm would have little to no effect on enemies like Heracles, Scthach, and Artoria. Things like this didnt particrly matter to her but, just knowing the potential for infinite growth existed within her Noble Phantasm was worth taking note of. As for how she intended to spend her Variable Experience, Da Vinci actually elected not to spend it on anything at all. She already had the ability to make conceptual vessels that could theoretically possess any kind of Skill, so long as she understood how they worked. Thus, rather than spend her Variable Experience, Da Vinci chose to stockpile it as she experimented with the production of several other bodies for herself, bringing the total count to sixteen. Curiously, though the Familia Crests reflected unique Parameters and Skills, Da Vinci quickly learned that all of her Skills shared the same Skill Tree and pool of Variable Experience. As a result, so long as the bodies existed, Da Vinci found that she was able to use the Skills of any vessel she had created, the only exception being Unique Skills that existed solely as a trait given to the Conceptual Vessel. This, however, didnt set Da Vinci back in the least and, by the time a month had passed within the Projection, she now had a body named [Alpha], the amalgamation of more than a dozen Skills and the counterpart to his existence as Type: Omega. ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Alpha] Age: 4 days (Ageless) Race: Human Strength: 17D Endurance: Agility: 41B Magical Power: 50A+ Good Luck: 45A+ Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) Circuit Quality: EX Noble Phantasm: [Uomo Universale:EX], [Spazio di Annumento:EX] Origin: Golden Rule, Innovation Skills: [Natural Born Genius:Innate:EX], [Pioneer of the Stars:Innate:EX], [False Eye of God:Innate:A], [Mind Workshop:S], [Eidetic Memory:S], [Parallel Thinking:B], [Golden Rule:EX], [Od Conversion: A], [Independent Action:A], [Item Construction:S], [Territory Creation:A], [Magic Resistance:A], [Physical Nullification:A], [Riding:S], [Physique Shift:EX], [Natural Counter:S], [Aura of the Protected: EX], [Fragrant Aroma:EX], [Mesmerizing Gaze:EX], [Forbidden Knowledge:EX], [Fertile Body:EX] Magic: [Soul Anchor:EX], [Grand Magic Circle:E~EX] Magecraft: [Grand Unified Thaumaturgical Theory:S] [Physique Shift] Rank: EX Use: Allows the user to assume the appearance of current and former vessels. [Natural Counter] Rank: S Use: Automatically protects the user against any form of attack by sending out a pulse of Magical Energy that directly negates Skills and Magecraft of a lower rank. [Aura of the Protected] Rank: EX Use: Compels those with a positive impression of the user to protect them, even at the risk of great physical harm to themselves. Reduces all Parameters by one grade when in the presence of those who have a desire to protect the user. [Fragrant Aroma] Rank: EX Use: Pheromones emitted by the user smell pleasant to both males and females, regardless of age, race, and personal preferences. Puts those with weak wills into a passive and highly receptive state of mind. [Mesmerizing Gaze] Rank: EX Use: Distorts the targets perception to cause them to fall into a deeply infatuated state with the user so long as they are in the effective range. It has the effect of charming and stunning the target even without a direct line of sight, ignoring physical and magical resistances. [Forbidden Knowledge] Rank: EX Use: Denotes aplete understanding of the human body, including strengths, weaknesses, and limitations. Against targets that do not possess high-ranking concealment, allows the user to see their Origin, Elemental Affinity, Parameters, Skills, Magic, and Magecraft. It also enables the user to determine the approximate strength of an opponent based on the quality and quantity of their Od. [Fertile Body] Rank: EX Use: Even without external gic material, the user is able to be pregnant at will. This Skill rivals the inherent fertility of True Dragons and Gods who, ignoring whether or not their target even possesses sentience, are able to breed with anything, even inert rock and stagnant water. [Grand Magic Circle Rank: E~EX Use: A spell rivaling True Magic in power and function. At the cost of their mobility, allows the user to create persistent Magic Circles of any size. Theplexity and function of this Magic Circle can be freely altered by the user, allowing them to cast a functionally infinite variety of spells while actively drawing mana from the environment. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Though not unexpected, as Da Vinci was truly an Omnipotent Genius, the fact she had been able to reach such a monstrous level in less than a month was, forck of a better descriptor, unfair. It was fortunate that she wasnt the type to brag and, having never developed a close rtionship with the other residents of the castle, only Vahn was aware of how ridiculous her growth had been. He had actually been at her side throughout the development process, bing the victim of some of her more risque experiments. Still, knowing she was capable of such growth at Soul Tier 3, Vahn knew his own growth should, theoretically, be greater. Unfortunately, while he was certainly able to create Skills based purely on his will and determination, Vahncked the advantage of Variable Experience. Even then, he could use items obtained through the system shop to drastically increase his growth rate, albeit at the cost of his foundation. Since this went against his way of doing things, despite the fact he had used the [Skill Enhancement Scroll] in the past, Vahn chose to focus on his training with Scthach. Though he also helped Circe with her preparations for the Red Moon Ceremony, which would take ce after she produced one-hundred pristine whitembs, his main focus, for the time being, wasprehending the Laws and leaning to exploit his Innates. To that end, Vahn had invested a total of forty hours of every day toward his training with Scthach. He had actually managed to surprise her on the first day as, being unable to see through him, she had been caught off guard by the fact his reserves had increased by nearly 25% since theirst session. At the same time, his newfound focus on the Laws of Space and Time allowed him to get an early advantage against her, albeit in an almost purely defensive aspect. Since he couldnt use the eleration Gates offensively just yet, Vahn had resisted one of Scthachs attacks by creating a membrane of folded Space-Time, causing her leg to getpletely locked in ce. Using the moment when Scthach was unable to move, Vahn had transitioned into his Xuanwu form, channeling all of his physical might into apressive force as he struck her abdomen. Since she was unable to beunched, as a result of her leg effectively being frozen in time, Vahn had caused arge part of her purple jumpsuit to explode while forcing the wind from her lungs. There was even a brief moment where her eyes had lost their light, indicating she had lost consciousness, but Vahn was unable to take further advantage of the situation. Even unconscious, Scthach had realized what the lock around her leg wasprised of, causing a hazy ck mist to surround the limb as she twisted her h.i.p.s like a whip and kicked him in the side of the head. It was from this exchange that Vahn became familiar with a new element, one which he had already been aware of but had never focused on. This was the Void element and, after his surprise attack against the purple-d warrior, her body became shrouded in a hazy ck aura. Not only did this make it almost impossible to sense her, even while looking directly at her, but it alsopletely negated his maniption of Space and Time. Even if hepressed Space around them to the point where others would be unable to move, Scthach waspletely unaffected as her punches and kicks tore through his guard, dissolving any part of his body they came in contact with... The Void element was fundamentally the same thing as the Shadow that had been manifested by Sakura in the past, minus the corruptive intent. It served as one of the most intrinsic parts of what allowed Space and Time to work, being that neither would exist if not for the presence of Void. As a result, it was the counterbnce to the other two forces and, without having greater mastery over Space and Time, it would be impossible to negate the influence of Void at the same level. Thus, even though Vahn had wanted to make a positive impression on Scthach, showing that he hadnt just been cking off, he ended up getting one of the worst thrashings of his life... Though it didnt have the purifying effect of Holy and Light elemental energy, Void was, inarguably, the most powerful element against Spiritual entities. This meant that, against Heroic Spirits, Nature Spirits, Faeries, and the majority of Phantasmal Species, they would have absolutely no resistances against the Void element. As Vahn also qualified as a simr entity, his regeneration waspletely negated, at least until he severed the affected area of his body and produced a new limb from his reserves. Even with this countermeasure, however, Vahns energy expenditure shot up rapidly from the moment Scthach began using the Void element, causing him to be taken out of the fight after only seventeen minutes... If not for the fact he had actually made a positive impression on her after his surprise attack, Vahn knew that Scthach would have punished him quite a bit for his failure tost even an hour against her. However, as she had technically been forced to use a counter element against him, this was considered an improvement in her perspective. Despite the fact he had gone down in record time, Vahn hadpletely blown through her defenses and even caused her to ckout as a result of his counter attack. Thus, instead of punishing him, Scthach, without repairing her almost destroyed bodysuit, gave Vahn ap pillow while waiting for him to slowly recover. During that time, she used her dexterous fingers to gently caress his head while patiently exining how he might be able to counter against such a one-sided beating in the future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Skill Tree OP (O o O)~!,Holy shit, Da Vinci is broken...,Everything has a weakness xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1204 - Abroad

Chapter 1204 - Abroad

Though the Mages Association had three primary branches, it was actuallyprised of several other factions and affiliated families. While two of the three branches were located in Europe, with the As Temple being located in Egypt, they had branches of influence spread throughout the entire world. After all, it would be impossible to form a united front of they left the Holy Church to nt its roots in a region uncontested. As a result, though the mana density was much lower than ces like Africa, Europe, and Asia, the Mages Association had several affiliates within the Americas. Due to its low mana density, the United States was not a highly contested ground for any of the major factions. Though the Holy Church had its usual influence, this was and where the greatest powers were Science and Capitalism. As a result, there were only three major factions present, with several hundred smaller groups affiliated with them. These were the Stonemasons, the Illuminati, and the Temrs, each representing the Mages Association, Dead Apostles, and the Holy Church. In fact, as a result of the Americas being rtively unpilferednds, thergest majority of the Dead Apostle Ancestors were located in North and South America, primarily as a result of their boredom. Among these factions, the Stonemasons had spread throughout most of North America with their Headquarters located within New York City, New York. They were heavily involved with the politics and governance of the United States, consolidating great wealth topensate for theircking Magical Power. Though their Director, Christina Scarlett was considered an extremely powerful Magus, she couldnt even be considered within the top 50 most powerful individuals in the world. Despite her losing out against her contemporaries, the type of Magecraft practiced by Stonemasons was extremely efficient, with her being one of the few that could exercise her full power. She also more than made up for herck of power by having one of thergest factions in the world, losing out only to the Jade Temple and Bodhisattva Faction in China and India respectively. Since her faction had also been present during the formation of the United States, they had extremely deep roots and, evenpared to the three Monarchal Families, their wealth and physical assets were without equal, albeit allocated very broadly across all fifty States. With the Mages Association consolidating most of its power in and around Europe, they were able to exercise greater control over the surrounding factions. At the same time, even if thousands of nuclear warheads were to rain down atop London, it would remain rtively unscathed. Even the architecture of the city itself was part of arger magic circle which, when activated, would allow them to even withstand extinction-level events such as a meteor strike. Inversely, as they had their power spread thin across many States, there was very little magical infrastructure within the United States. Though Magi couldnt use their full power on US soil, this didnt stop numerous young Magi from visiting the so-called Land of the Free. Since the entertainment industry in the US was one of the most well-developed in the entire world, it was a popr tourist destination for anyone that simply wanted to cut loose. As most incidents would be quickly covered up by the CIA and FBI, there were thousands of incidents of young Magi wreaking havoc all throughout the country. The most popr ces, as could be expected, were Hollywood, California, Seatle, Washington, Las Vegas, Nevada and Ondo, Florida. Hollywood was considered a yground of sorts to many as, with a few clever uses of Magecraft, it was easy to mingle amongst celebrities. Though you had to avoid stepping too far out of line, there were numerous Magi who would return to the Clock Tower each year, sharing rather inappropriate pictures that they had taken after hypnotizing and modifying the memories of various celebrities. So long as they were not protected, A-List Actors, it wasnt hard to sneak into the party of an up-anding Actor or Actress, turning them into your pet for a few nights. In fact, if you made the proper arrangements, many of these celebrities would be sold out by their own Producers as gaining the favor of a Magus associated with the Clock Tower was a very lucrative business. Understanding the rampant corruption in the US, as Luvia actually had nearly thirty percent of her assets located in North America, she had flown all the way to Hollywood, California to make the necessary arrangements to keep Astolfo out of trouble. Though the Production and Talent Company she owned would be able to protect him from most threats, Astolfos nature,bined with the extremely maniptive and petty individuals that made up the celebrity poption, she needed to have extra insurance. Fortunately, though Astolfo might be a little airheaded, he wasnt aplete idiot who couldnt protect himself. Since the body he had was produced by Vahn, something Luvia still had trouble wrapping her head around, he had an extremely strong resistance to poisons, toxins, narcotics, and alcohol. Thus, so long as he didnt go out of control, Astolfo would be able to avoid bing the victim of most ploys. Thus, so long as she dealt with other Production Companies and the various Gangs that had taken root in Hollywood, it wasnt that difficult to keep Astolfo and Tristana safe. With that in mind, Luvia, apanied by Siegfried and several other bodyguards, had been making the rounds and lining the pockets of a few key figures. As a result of her status and wealth, earning her the title of Golden Goddess within private circles, there were very few people who would refuse a meeting with her, regardless of how busy they were. This allowed Luvia to walk uninhibited, albeit with a number of pedestrians and tourists trying to snap pictures of her. Since she always dressed in a way that stood out, many thought she was some Heiress or an up anding Actress,pletely unaware of the truth hidden right in front of their eyes. Though she was quite fond of attention, Luvia rarely visited ces like Hollywood as, a stark contrast to the polite nature of people around London and Find, the attention she received from most Americans left a bad taste in her mouth. Most harbored powerful delusions, believing they were just one opportunity away from being just as rich and famous as people who put in a genuine effort. As a result, there were a number of people who tried to solicit her while, feeling they were immune to any kind of repercussions, some would even catcall her and make snide remarks when she ignored them. During her stay, Luvia had even crushed a rival Production Company over thest week as, during negotiations, the other party had let his eyes wander a bit too much. Towards the end, he had even asked if she wanted to have dinner with him, an action that resulted in him ending up in the hospital, all of his memories since the time of his birthpletely wiped. While she was used to men gawking at her beauty, and even trying to woo her, Luvia always did her research prior to any negotiation. He was the type of man who only allowed Actresses to seed if they were willing to sell their bodies for favors behind the scenes. While this was nothing new, as the same issue ran rampant in almost every country with a thriving celebrity poption, Luvia knew some of the mans victims included rising child and teen stars. She had already intended to run him out of business at some point so, having him try to solicit her was simply the straw that broke the camels back. This also served as a warning everyone else she would negotiate with, smoothing things over considerably as most people were too nervous to even make eye contact with her... Even the man sitting across from her, who was known to be a major yer in the underground of Hollywood, owning one of the most influential music productionpanies, kept his eyes focused on Siegfried. As it wasnt just movie stars and their Producers who made up the backbone of the movie industry, Luvia was dealing with various Music Producers and Labels. Compared to most Actors and Actresses, who remained rtively low-profile in most situations, Pop, Rock, and Rap stars were rather notorious for causing trouble. Many rose up through various gangs and only reached their status through favors and connections, making them some of the most dangerous individuals within the industry. As she was intending to promote Astolfo as a Transgender Idol, as the current political climate of the US was focused on exploiting such ideals, Luvia wanted to make sure everyone kept their people in line. She didnt n to reveal Astolfos actual gender and, though the scripts were still being worked on, he was meant to y both Hero and Heroine roles in three different productions. Thest thing she needed was some arrogant upstart in the Music Industry, famous for theirck of ountability, to s.e.x.u.a.lly assault Astolfo. Regardless of the fact that their actions would likely result in them being thrown through a wall, Luvia wanted to do her best to nip the problem in the bud before it could bear fruit. To that end, she had a cold and professional smile on her face as she asked, "I trust you understand my intentions~?" This caused the man, who was almost triple Luvias weight, to give a solemn nod as he answered, "Dont worry, Miss Edelfelt. Our boys wont trouble your new star. Ill personally see to it that their careers have an early end if they try anything." As nearly every producer had an extreme amount of dirt on their employees, the man was serious in his ims of ruining his own talents. It was simply impossible to rise up without ingratiating yourself to thepany orbel you wanted to promote yourself through. This meant every artist in the industry was a criminal who, upon stepping out of line, could easily be dealt with, both above board and below. Producing an elegant and amused giggle in response, Luvia answered, "I will trust your discretion, Mr. Be. Perhaps ourpanies may have some association in the future." With that said, Luvia rose to her feet, refusing the mans offer to guide her out as Siegfried stood stoically at her side. As she left the building and entered her private car, Luvia tapped the intes terminal, asking, "How did it go?" In response, a gruff mans voice came over the inte, answering, "We were able to install the monitoring equipment without any issues, Lady Edelfelt." As negotiations that were not beneficial for both parties often caused tension, Luvia wasnt foolish enough to think her threats would always be taken at face value. Americans were rather famous for their arrogance, the members of the Stonemasons included. Even though they were the weakest regions in regard to Magecraft, they led the world in military spending and scientific research. This allowed them to bully other countries publically, even though they often had to get permission from the Mages Association before they were even allowed to take action. Despite the facts, their culture had reached the point that even average citizens were egocentric, to the point that some were even extremely vocal and even prideful of their bigotry. Because of these factors, Luvia had her security teams nt both magical and electronic monitoring devices. She had teams monitoring every major productionpany and the primary locations they were known to frequent. Though the electronics would be discovered rtively quickly, as sweeper teams often cleaned out the buildings on a weekly basis, there were few Magi qualified enough to detect the magical formations her team had ced. Unless they hired a Magus proficient in tracking and detection Magecraft, which would cost a small fortune, the odds of discovery were negligible. This was due to the fact that the formation was invisible and produced virtually no magical signal, to the point that even apetent Magus might sit right on top of it without realizing they were being spied on... Having full confidence in her security forces, Luvia gave an approving nod before saying, "Very well. Take us to the Hotel, please." With the driver answering in the affirmative, Luvia leaned back against her seat cushion before casting a nce towards Siegfried. He was seated across from her and, if not for the fact the interior of the vehicle was rather spacious, his head would be touching the roof due to how rigidly he sat. She had tried to get him to rx in the past but, being a very dutiful Knight, Siegfried had politely refused. He rarely even talked to others, despite the fact he was very popr amongst the female members of the Edelfelt Security Forces. Deciding to try and make conversation, as it was a forty-minute drive to their destination, Luvia adopted a polite smile as she asked, "Im curious, Sir Siegfried...what do you think of America~?" In response to this, Siegfried opened his eyes, his expression a perfect mask of stoicism as he answered in a voice that could be described as both deep and raspy, without being abrasive in the least, "I do not know enough to answer with confidence. However, from what I have seen, it seems to be and of opportunists. Though there are many awe-inspiring sights to observe, there is a foul smell in the air, both as a result of the pollution and the corruption that seems to have deeply ingrained itself into this society..." Hearing Siegfrieds response, Luvia gave an understanding nod before muttering, "Compared to a mystical ce like Avalon, Im certain the outside world seems rather dreary..." Though it was a little unfair topare a modern city to what was essentially a kingdom ripped out of a fantasy novel, the fact that even the most picturesque streets were adorned with trash and disreputable people made even the most scenic areas of Hollywood reak of waste and stagnation. Many of the people living here, evenpared to most Americans, lived a lifepletely enamored with their delusions. Even apletely average Barrista in a public Cafe, working for minimum wage, carried themselves with a profound sense of entitlement. Some even believed the only reason for theirck of sess was that others stole the opportunities they deserved. With Luvia mentioning Avalon for what felt like the twentieth time today, Siegfried gave a knowing smile as he stated, "Im certain His Majesty would be willing to retrieve you for the evening. If you will it, I can contact him on your behalf..." As this wasnt the first time he had offered, Luvia waved her hand dismissively as she stated, "I need to stay focused for the next couple of days. That man doesnt know the meaning of the word holding back..." Though thest half of her statement was barely a whisper, it was still able to reach Siegfrieds sensitive ears. She had the same habit as Rin, being that she would often speak her mind in a small voice when she was around people she could trust. Being the ever-perfect Gentleman, Siegfried showed absolutely no signs that he had heard Luvias remark. Instead, he turned his focus to the outside of the vehicle as it hade to a stop due to the evening rush of people trying to return home. Though he found the design of some vehicles rather interesting, Siegfried hade to disdain them quite a bit after suffering through heavy traffic in several instances. He was genuinely surprised about the number of people in the present world, as even his home country had less than three million total inhabitants. When he learned that the world currently had several billion people, it hade as a genuine surprise to him, especially when he saw how populous metropolitan areas could be... Staring out the window, Siegfried could see down a back alley where, perhaps due to his high Karma and nature as a Hero, he observed a homeless man being beaten by a group of three youths. With his sharp eyesight, he could see that the man had a military-style jacket,plete with a few medals which, despite their aged appearance, were well polished. This caused his expression to turn sour as, from what he had learned from his colleagues within the security forces, America was notorious for its mistreatment of war veterans. Even though it was the nation that seemed to ce the heaviest emphasis on its military, there was arge poption of homeless veterans who had been exploited by the very nation they risked their lives to protect... Seeing the change in Siegfrieds expression, Luvia gave a small sigh before saying, "Do not make a scene..." Though it sounded like she was telling him to ignore it, Luvia knew it was pointless to try and stop Siegfried from helping people in duress. So long as he did not cause arger scene, as he drew quite the crowd just by being present, she didnt mind if he saved a few people. What she did find baffling was the fact that trouble seemed to miraculously appear around him, with this being the seventeenth incident over thest five days. After bowing in a respectful and gratified manner, Siegfried stepped out of the idle car, ignoring the gazes of pedestrians who turned to see who was dumb enough to step out in the middle of traffic, even if it wasnt moving much. Then, moving with a rtively normal speed, even though it would cause athletic scouts and Olympians to experience a cold sweat, Siegfried entered the alleyway. His arrival obviously drew the attention of the youths, as a 190cm tall man with wild silver hair wasnt exactly something that could be overlooked, but they werent even afforded the opportunity to say anything. The first man, who seemed to be around neen years old, didnt even know what happened before his body was flipped in the air. He crashed hard into the ground, causing a loud cracking sound as a result of his arm bending in the wrong direction beneath his body. Siegfried had to hold back a lot against normal humans so, rather than strike them directly, he allowed gravity and the weight of his targets to take them out ofmission. As a result, the second youth, whose face was covered in various tattoos despite the fact he was only around seventeen years old, found himself nursing three broken ribs after Siegfried swept his legs out from under him with a casual kick. As his twopanions had been taken out ofmission in less than five seconds, the third man felt like he was having a bad trip, fueled by the mixture of drugs and alcohol. At nearly the exact same moment that he heard the sound of his friends ribs cracking, Siegfried had already stepped in front of him, causing the man to fall into a stupor as his fight or flight response encouraged him to do thetter. Siegfried didnt even have to take further action as, the moment the youth turned to flee, he immediately tripped before banging his head into the adjacent trash bin. This left him with a rather vicious cut on his forehead but, as it wasnt fatal, Siegfried ignored him as he gave a respectful nod towards the homeless man. Ignoring the various blessings and the gratitude of the homeless man, Siegfried left the alleyway through the opposite end before traveling two blocks across. This wasnt the first time he had carried out his own form of justice so, to avoid drawing suspicion, Luvia had told him to always move a few blocks away before they would pick him up. As he could easily leap the distance of two city blocks in an instant, this was afortable distance that allowed him to avoid having to deal with the police while also allowing him to respond to any unexpected situations. Since Vahn had entrusted him with her protection, Siegfried always kept her as his highest priority, despite his bad habit... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A ce where Capitalism outshines Magic xD...,TFW you have no real power so you ovepensate by spending $520,000,000,000 on your annual military budget...,Siegfried is a True Hero) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1205 - Guidance: Legends Collide

Chapter 1205 - Guidance: Legends Collide

Betweenpleting Quests, helping othersplete Quests, and making preparations for his future course of action, Vahn spent more than half his time training with Scthach and researching with Da Vinci. With Da Vinci making startling progress on her own, she was the most suitable advisor within the castle when it came to exploiting the Quest Board. Though this didnt directly benefit Vahn, just having a catalog of potential Skills and their acquisition requirements was extremely useful. While that may have been the case, however, Vahn was making far greater progress under the tutge of Scthach. Compared to their previous sessions, where he worked to master his body andprehendbat through more direct means, she was very patient when it came to teaching him her techniques and Skills she believed would be useful for him. Since everything she taught him seemed to directly increase his power, making future training sessions more fruitful, Vahn had been enjoying their time together. She was still the same cold and detached person as normal but, having someone patiently walking you through the process ofprehension without passing judgment on you, so long as you worked hard, was a powerful motivator... To that end, Vahn found himself in a rather awkward situation where Scthach was standing behind him, close enough that their bodies were almost perfectly ovepped. Though he could learn most techniques simply through observation, Scthach had basically had him relinquish control over his body to her, offering no resistance at all as she sent her own energy through his body. Since her Soul Tier was more refined than his, it was possible for Scthach to channel her energy into his body in a non-destructive manner, so long as he didnt resist. This was simr to how he would use Nirvana Rebirth against others, albeit a far more troubling experience as he was on the receiving end... With her voice tickling his ear, Scthach continued to channel her energy through his chest and arms, stating in calm and guiding tone, "Your attempt to convert the power of Laws into physical form is a worthwhile endeavor. The mistake it trying to immediately reach that point before you have evenid a foundation. You already have the ability to project physical objects using Magical Energy, so the next step is fusing the power of Law into your creations. Bybining [Reinforce], [Enchant], [Primordial Rune], and [Gradiation Air], infused with the power of Law, you can create armaments simr to my [Ge Bolg Alternative]..." As she spoke, Scthach sent her energy along Vahns Magic Circuits, shaping the energy in his palm to project a red sphere. Unlike how she would pull them out instantly for herself, Scthach slowed the process considerably, showing how the spear first took form before she infused other Skills to further strengthen it. It was this versatile nature that allowed her [Ge Bolg Alternative] to take on virtually any form as, so long as you knew how to project the basic shape, everything else was just modifying it to meet your needs. If you understood the prerequisite Laws, you could theoretically make a weapon that could counter against anything, irrespective of the situation you found yourself in. After the spear had fully formed, Scthach allowed it to dissipate but, rather than release Vahn from her grasp, she continued to hold him close as she firmly stated, "Do it." Then, under her extremely close observation, Vahn elicited a rare smile from Scthachs face as, even though it was his first time manifesting her technique, he had what amounted to near-perfect control over his internal energy. It had always baffled her how he was unable to exercise this same control externally but, as this wasnt much of a restriction, she had learned to work around it. In the future, she would help him ovee this weakness of his as,pared to all of her prior students, Vahn had the greatest potential while also being the most receptive. Though he was very prideful at times, he would set that aside almost entirely when he was learning from others, putting in an earnest effort withoutining in any meaningful way... Unlike Scthach, Vahn formed a greatsword that looked simr in structure to his [Laevateinn], albeitprised of aposite material that looked like abination of blood-red quartz and metal. As he had copied Scthachs method almost exactly, only changing the form of the projection, his de was covered in a series of five circr runes while the handle was covered in atticework of runic indentations. Though he had almost noprehension of the Laws used in its structure beforehand, Vahn knew this sword existed for the sole purpose of ughter. Wounds it inflicted would not heal and, if he learned the paired Skill, it would be possible for him to emte the active effect of [Ge Bolg Alternative], being that it could pierce the heart through the maniption of causality. With Vahn having sessfully formed a weapon, even though it had taken him nearly ten minutes, Scthach released his body before making an almost exact replica in an instant. Then, without any hesitation at all, she swung her sword toward him while stating, "The form of a weapon might have some use, but the function is infinitely more important. I will teach you to believe in the projections you produce, to the point that they will be able to rival Noble Phantasms..." Just as the spears she produced were stronger than her other weapons, Scthach knew that familiarity with a weapon would enhance the performance of Vahns projections. Thus, in order to make him put in more effort in the future, she intended to shatter his pride a bit in the present... As he was always in a battle-ready state around Scthach, even when she had pressed herself against him, Vahn managed to put parry her surprise attack without much trouble. However, though he did not lose focus on the fight, it was almost impossible for him to continue focusing on the [Laevateinn] projection he had formed. Because of this, the moment Scthachs de collided against his, Vahns shattered like ss, sending pieces of shrapnel into his body while the tip of her de cleaved seven centimeters into his torso as he jumped back. Though such wounds were far from being fatal to him, Vahn could feel the malicious energy contained within the de coursing through his body, piercing through his flesh like thorny vines as it attempted to fulfill its purpose of ughter. Though the pain he experienced was beyond the tolerance of most people, Vahns expression didnt even change as, even with half his de shattered, he continued to focus on the battle. Since it was formed after his [Laevateinn], Vahn tried to channel his experience with the actual de, causing the damaged half to form into a de of mes that caused Scthachs brows to rise. Unfortunately, his efforts werent enough to give her any meaningful pause as, not fearing the mes in the slightest, she used his own [Shundo], stepping into his range and kicking hard into his diaphragm. Then, even though he was being propelled backward like a bullet, Scthachs follow-up attack was even faster, allowing her to shatter the de a second time as she followed him closer than a shadow... In this manner, Scthach had him create several different weapons which, without exception, she would unceremoniously shatter with a seemingly better version. Vahn, however, knew that the weapons produced by the crimson-eyed beauty were exactly the same as his. The reason she was able to break his was wholly based on their difference in skill,bined with the fact hers were absolutely stable. Still, creating weapons in livebat drastically reduced the amount of time it would take to form a projection so, after more than eighteen hours of training, Vahn had reached the point that he could form the image of the projection in his mind and, while fighting with his current weapon, muster up the energy to produce a recement shortly after the previous one was broken... --- While Vahn was busy training with Scthach, a legendary showdown had been urring within the Training Orb located within the Knights Training Field. The participants of said battle were Artoria and, after making preparations and discussing the matter several days prior, Heracles. This battle was important for a variety of reasons as, not only could she cement her image in the eyes of their most powerful allies, but she could also make progress on her own Quest. Though Heracles had refused the battle at first, he had eventually returned a few dayster to ept, albeit with a few conditions. Since they were supposed to battle seriously, Heracles had been worried that he would identally kill Artoria, even though he didnt look down on her in the slightest. If this happened, he convinced himself that there was no way that Vahn would make good on his promise. However, after thinking on the matter for a few days, Heracles began to see the merits in battling against Artoria and, as he actually disliked sitting around doing nothing, he ultimately epted her challenge. As for the terms, she was required to keep an [Effigy of the Hero] on her person and, despite the oue, she had to vow not to hold a grudge against him and his family... Being a paragon of chivalry, Artoria would obviously never target the kin of her opponent, even if they had genuinely been enemies. Thus, after making the necessary preparations, Artoria, standing at 154cm, found herself standing across from Heracles, towering over her at 253cm. Using just a single hand, he would be able to grab nearly her entire waist yet, from the perspective of their small group of observers, Artorias momentum didnt lose out in the slightest. Though this event had been kept from Vahn, both due to Artorias concerns that he would worry and Heracles that he would intervene, it was still attended by Fenrir, Mordred, Sakura, Neko, and Momo. It had also drawn the attention of Kenshin and her students, causing them to line up along the top of her dojo, observing the show from a distance. Sometimes, watching powerful warriors battle was the key to elerating your growth as, without an observable goal, it was easy to suffer setbacks and reach a bottleneck. As she was also curious how her own strength would match up against foes like Artoria and Heracles, Kenshin simply couldnt miss out on witnessing what could have been a historical moment if it took ce on an actual battlefield... Without a referee, the start of the battle would begin when a single side took the initiative thus, knowing her Parameters and battle experience were considerably lower than Heracles, Artoria knew she needed to pressure him to avoid being forced into a corner. She had the benefits of her [Instinct] and her high luck but, while these would give her a small edge, they werent things a Hero such as Heracles would be unable to ovee. He was a master with all kinds of weapons and, even though he was currently using a serrated cleaver-like de, which was even longer than she was tall, Artoria knew it didnt even amount to a feather in the eyes of the man said to be the living embodiment of strength... Using her [Mana Burst] topensate for her lower Agility, Artorias leap caused spiderweb cracks in the hard white stone as, with a speed that could even outshine [Shundo] in responsiveness, she immediately closed the gap between them. This didnt fl.u.s.ter Heracles in the least, however, causing him to wave his cleaver with such speed that a ck shadow was left in its wake, almost as if he were cutting through the void itself. These two movements caused powerful shockwaves to spread out from both Heracles and Artoria before their des even intersected yet, despite the cleave of the former seeming unstoppable, the diminutive King of Knights was able to receive and deflect it with ease. With the tip of his de colliding with the ground, a massive eruption of energy spread through the terrain, creating a fissure that was several tens of meters in length. At the same time, with a flexibility that could embarrass a gymnast, Heracles twisted his waist like a bow, exploiting Artorias parrying motion to kick at her exposed side. Due to their height difference, however, Artoria bent at the knees while stepping forward without hesitation, allowing the air pressure from the blow to pass over her without flinching as she sliced upward towards Heracles inner thigh. This action left a blue trail in the wake of her swing which, after fading, revealed a massive gash in Heracles leg that almost took the entire limb off. Showing no sign that his injuries had any effect on him, Heracles allowed the hit thend while continuing his spinning motion. His kick failed to find purchase but, with his body twisting with enough force to create a miniature vortex, Heracles managed to sweep his fist towards Artoria, backhanding the t of her de and causing it to smash into her body before she was sent flying like a loose artillery shell. By the time his injured leg returned to the ground, the wound had healedpletely and, leaning forward slightly, it was Heracles turn to seize the initiative. Though their actions were simr, Heracles flexed his legs and, instead of using a Skill like [Mana Burst] to propel himself, he used raw power to kick against the supposedly durable stone below. From their observation post more than a kilometer away, surrounded by a powerful barrier, Sakura nearly lost her footing as, when Heracles kicked against the ground, a ripple passed through the terrain that reached all the way to their location. Since she had grown up in Japan, she was familiar with earthquakes, causing her to pale slightly as it was difficult to imagine how someone could have enough power to essentially rival a natural disaster. As for Mordred, she had an excited expression on her face as she prevented Sakura from tumbling, her eyes not wavering in the slightest as she muttered, "You can do it, Hahauie..." Though Artorias left arm had been shattered by Heracles kick, despite the fact she had tried to resist it with [Mana Burst], the fact she had recovered [Avalon] previously gave her regeneration that could easily outstrip the legendary Grecian Hero. She also had an extreme level of pain tolerance, to the point that her expression remained sharp and focused as she brandished her sword overhead. To meet Heracles charge, helical blue energy began to shape around her de and, though it was far from her full power, Artoria shouted, "Excalibur~!!!" before swiping down so quickly that the path of her de couldnt be followed in the slightest. With her impable timing, Heracles eyes had widened slightly as, like a meteor passing harmlessly outside the atmosphere of the Earth, he flew over Artorias position with a cleave running from his right shoulder down to his right thigh. Then, like a ragdoll, he crashed into the ground, exacerbating his wound considerably as he bounced and slid more than a hundred meters. From the perspective of those who had never fought against him, they would have mistaken Heracles as a dead man but, as she had the privilege of fighting him in the Fifth Holy Grail War, Artoria knew better. Thus, as steam began to pour from his body, which had heated up to look like red-hot steel, Artoria held her sword high, channeling a phenomenal amount of Magical Energy... Though he had never personally experienced the Twelve Labors, the legend was so intrinsically tied to Heracles that any manifestation of a Heroic Spirit, despite the ss he was summoned as, would have ess to the Noble Phantasm known as [God Hand]. This was a hidden passive that, much like Da Vincis [Uomo Universale], was a manifestation of a concept. While hers allowed her to analyze and strike the weakness of an opponent, his manifested in the form of an undying body that could negate any attack of B-Rank or lower. At the same time, even if he was struck, or even killed, by an attack of a higher rating, he would enter apletely indestructible state as his body regenerated. After this process waspleted, he would be immune to the attack that had killed him, barring a few exceptions such as Anti-Divine and Holy Armaments. Just as he hadpleted Twelve Labors, at least in his legend, Heracles had a total of twelve lives, maintained by monstrous regeneration and phenomenal physical might. The most terrifying part of this ability, however, was the fact that he could actually regenerate lost lives. This meant that, even if you managed to kill him eleven times, he would eventually recover to twelve if given enough time. With someone like Illya has his Master, providing him with functionally unlimited mana, this stock of lives could be replenished in as little as eighteen days. The only real weakness to the ability, which Artoria herself was already made aware, was the fact that each stock had a certain damage threshold that, if you exceeded, could eat into other lives. If the attack was strong enough, it could even rob all of his lives simultaneously,pletely negating the effect in its entirety... As he had the memories of his former battles against Artoria, albeit from Illyas perspective, Heracles knew what she had in mind with the massive pir of light that seemed to stretch into the Heavens. What she was unaware of, however, was the fact that, with the restrictions of [Mad Enhancement] removed, his primary Noble Phantasm could be used. Previously, he had been too mindless to fully manifest its might but, with his rity now restored, Heracles waspletely undaunted by the attack that could easily wipe out more than half his stock of lives. Holding his massive cleaver-like de out in front, Heracles hardened his expression as he took in a deep breath before shouting in a voice loud enough to cause a sonic boom, "Nine Lives: Shooting the Hundred Heads...!!!" The moment these words left his lips, it seemed as if the world had slowed to a crawl from his perspective as his golden eyes began to radiate with Divine Light. Then, ignoring the fact that Artorias sword was descending in slow motion, Heraclesunched himself forward with such speed and intensity that reality didnt even seem to register the action. By the time he was in front of Artoria, the area he had been standing had only then started to ripple from the force of his movement. Using a strike that usually held the property of exterminating the opponent no matter how many times they can resurrect, Heracles cleaved his de toward Artorias neck. He had no intention of overwriting the effect of the [Effigy of the Hero] so, as long as it worked as intended, she would be able to revive without issue. Since this was an attack that manifested so quickly that it appeared to be nine simultaneous strikes, Artoria had only moved her de a few centimeters by the time he closed the hundred-meter gap and swung toward her neck. Just as his de began to pierce into her flesh, however, Heracles learned what it meant to be protected by fate as a pule of Magical Energy radiated from her body faster than his nigh-instantaneous attack... Though he had cut a millimeter or so into her flesh, Heracles suddenly felt like he had struck against an immovable object, causing a massive shockwave to spread from the point of impact. Despite this force being enough to create a wave of air pressure that could topple buildings, Artoria didnt budge in the slightest as Heracles was forced to look on in awe as her sword cleaved down, bisecting him from head to groin. As [Avalon] had an automatic defense function, and literally ced Artorias body on the Reverse Side of the World, even as she manifested in reality, even the most powerful attacks had absolutely no effect on her. While she could influence the world around at will, everyone else was leftpletely helpless in the wake of an existence they could never hope to reach... Rather thanment his defeat, Heracles allowed the tumultuous energy to flow through his body, rending his flesh with its purifying light as a total of seven of his lives were eliminated in a single strike. Though it was nearly impossible to discern to anyone who wasnt intimately familiar with him, there was a small smile on his face. He had rarely ever met an opponent who could even keep pace with him and, though he had no intention of endeavoring to one day defeat Artoria, Heracles was happy to have met someone that could be considered his better. Since he had a fair number of abilities that would cause his enemies to cough up blood in envy, he wasnt the type to me his failure on the fact that his opponent had more cheats than him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Scthachs carrot and stick approach,A must-see event for the ages,Justice for Heracles xD...!) (A/N: For those that are confused, you can think of the activated Avalon as working simr to the Kamui used by Obito, albeit without making her immaterial (which never made any sense at all). Her real body gets transferred to True Avalon, on the Reverse Side of the World, while only a projection remains in reality. Thus, without being able to effect True Avalon, which is unreachable even with True Magic, you are virtually unable to cause harm to her. It is really one of the most broken Noble Phantasms as, when active, even [Ea], a Noble Phantasm that returns the world to its Origin, has no effect on her.) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1206 - Effort: Relax

Chapter 1206 - Effort: Rx

In a dark chamber that was nearly three-hundred degrees Celsius, the sound of rhythmic hammer beats resonated. If there had been any observers, they would have seen pulses of heat radiate out with the sound of each strike, the oppressive heat expanding outward as it intermingled with the shock wave apanying each blow. Curiously, the rhythm almost felt natural,parable to the beating of a heart and the sounds of nature while hiking through the woods... Without minding the heat that would have baked a normal human alive, Vahn was only wearing a pair of ck trousers, his neatlypact muscles fully exposed as they glistened under the light of the forge. He had already been forging for more than a hundred hours straight with the Space-Time Orb yet, despite the mental fatigue he was experiencing, he did not relent in his pursuit. The only thing he regretted during times like this was that he no longer had the eternal me at his side, something which would asionally cause him to feel a deeply rooted mncholy. Even without the correctional ability of his [Master Smith], Vahns knowledge and experience had persisted between Records. Though he had to relearn several things in ordance with the Laws of his new Record, it was impossible to call yourself a Master if such a thing could truly limit your craft. Now, instead of using the eternal me to shape and guide the materials, he was forced to directly manipte the mes. Since this also increased his control over shaping energy, which was the primary purpose of him returning to his forge in earnest, Vahns eyes glimmered with an intense focus. Though not all of the objects and creatures he had named with his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] could be considered phenomenal masterpieces, Vahn knew that there was no such thing as a simple Innate. Just as Fenrir had been able to grow considerably since her time as a Kobold, it stood to reason that his other creations had a simr ability to grow. Though he had failed to give it a Soul at the time, Vahn knew that even objects could possess sapience and a will of their own. Since he had sensed a nascent intent in the past, which seemed to resonate with his own pride and authority as an Emperor, Vahn was reforging his [Laevateinn] once again. [Laevateinn] was, in many ways, one of the first masterpieces he had ever forged and, while many pieces of equipment that came after far exceeded its capabilities, Vahn could not fault the de for this. It had fulfilled the purpose he assigned it and, even after having its de shattered, it had never once let him down when he used it proactively in a fight. Now that he found himself on the path of bing stronger once again, Vahn felt as if he was reuniting with an old ally as, even in the Record of Danmachi, [Laevateinn] had apanied him near the beginning of his journey... Unlike traditional forging, Vahn was using apletely different technique from normal, despite the fact he had already failed dozens of times. This method involved melting down the de until it had be nothing more than molten metal, a tragic state for his formerpanion. Once it was in this state, he would shape the de in much the same way as he would form a projection. The biggest difference between the two was, rather than forming a temporary weapon through the manifestation of energy, he was shaping the actual metal. Since both Illya and Iris were able to freely manipte metals, a trait that had even been possessed by Asfi, Vahn refused to believe he would not be able to do the same... As a result of his efforts, Vahn could form the rough shape of [Laevateinn] within four hours, using his control to manipte each of the base materials to fuse them into the form he desired. Then, using an S-Rank hammer he had carefully forged for his work in this Record, Vahn would nourish the metal by sending waves of Source Energy into it. Though he could make the rough shape by manipting the metal, Vahn wasnt arrogant enough to believe that the path of cksmithing was something that could be ignored. He knew there were a lot of Laws associated with the craft and, having forged several masterpieces, Vahn sincerely believed that each of his strikes caused the metal to be more powerful... The problem, then, was not that he was unable to shape and refine the de, but that it would always break shortly thereafter. Vahn knew this wasrgely due to his inexperience as, when he tried to infuse runes and enchantments into the de, without going through the process of hand-carving them, the flow of energy would always deviate. In the past, he would never try and take a shortcut, as it wasnt that difficult for him to create the internal circuitry and carve extremely ornate patterns of runes, but Vahn was determined toplete [Laevateinn] in this manner. Then, even if the de was shattered in the future, Vahn needed only provide the raw materials before he was able to breathe life back into his formerpanion... With this in mind, Vahn finished refining his most recent attempt and, though it was still several hundred degrees, he picked it up with his bare hands. Then, after sending a flood of energy into the highly receptive material, small glowing fractures and an intricate pattern of runes began to take shape, both inside of the de and on its surface. This caused the metal to be a bloody crimson color as the temperature in the room skyrocketed to more than fifteen-hundred degrees in an instant. At the same time, wisps of me began to emanate from cracks in the de, simr to the corrosive and inextinguishable mes [Laevateinn] had produced in the past... Though things seemed to be going well, it wasnt long before the durability of the de reached its limit, even with his refinement and constant reinforcement. The crimson mes dancing across the de erupted outward like a plume of mes, washing over Vahns body as vtile shrapnel spread throughout the workshop. Some pieces of impacted against Vahn directly but, as he was immune to attacks under a certain threshold, they did absolutely no damage to him as he simply held out his hand and focused once again. Then, as if pulled by a powerful ma, the broken pieces of [Laevateinn] began to gather once again, dislodging themselves from the walls, ceiling, and floor. Staring at the handle and guard still remaining in his hand, Vahn released a tired sigh before shaking his head and tightening his grip. The constant failures were weighing heavily on him but, refusing to give up, he affirmed his resolve once again while promising, "I will reforge you...even if I fail a thousand more times!" Then, taking advantage of the time dtion of the Space-Time Orb, Vahn began to gather fire elemental energy into the material, heating it up for the twenty-second time... --- While Vahns mind was submerged in the Space-Time Orb, his body was peacefully slumbering back in the real world, this time attended by Artoria alone. Since she was his Empress, they now shared the bedchamber together, something she was both taken with, and taken aback by. Even though the bed itself had changed, she would sometimes feel ovee by mncholy while sleeping within this room as, even in her past life, Artoria rarely resided here. Though she didnt think much about it in the past, it hurt her heart somewhat to realize that her own Knight, Lancelot, may have slept in these chambers more than she had... Even now, Artoria didnt me Lancelot for falling in love with Guinevere, nor did she me her wife for seekingfort andpanionship from an actual man. Now that she had learned more about what it meant to be a woman, at least insofar as theforts were concerned, Artoria even felt a little guilty for her wifes circ.u.mstances. They had both been put into a difficult position and, though Guinevere ultimately confided her secrets to Lancelot, they two only acted in such a way out of concern for her. It was this same concern that caused the bond between them to develop and, when you could only share your burdens with one other person, it was only a matter of time before other feelings began to develop... Shaking her head to clear away such thoughts, Artoria stared at the sleeping face of Vahn and, despite the fact she had tried to clear her head, she couldnt help wondering if Guinevere felt the same way while looking at the sleeping face of Lancelot. She had to admit that, despite the fact she still kept Shirou in her heart, Vahn now took up thergest part of it. The secondrgest piece was reserved for Mordred who, despite being rambunctious and a bit of a troublemaker, taught her what it meant to take pride in another. Even though she had always paidpliments and shown due appreciation for the achievements and efforts of her Knights, it wasnt until Mordred became her daughter that Artoria understood just how much of an impact her words could have on others. At the same time, the way Mordred looked up to her caused Artoria to put even more effort into how she carried herself and acted around her daughter. As a result, Mordred herself put in an earnest effort and, knowing she was doing so as a result of her teaching, Artoria couldnt help but feel considerable pride every time her spunky little princess exceeded expectations... Thinking about Mordred caused Artoria to feel more at ease, despite the fact she had quite a few concerns regarding her daughters development. Fortunately, Vahn was very magnanimous, not only because he willingly became Mordreds father, but due to the fact he seemed to understand just what she needed to be happy. This wasnt something he reserved solely for Mordred, either, as Artoria herself had be much happier than she ever thought possible. Now, just being at his side like this, even though she was always embarrassed to be n.a.k.e.d, Artoria felt as if her heart could rest easy, knowing full well that Vahn would always do his best for all of them. Knowing that Vahn was, even now, working hard to be stronger, Artoria adopted a gratified smile and, after a bit of hesitation, kissed his cheek. It seemed silly to get fl.u.s.tered over such a thing, especially considering she was curled up next to him wearing nothing but a single white stocking, but she couldnt really help herself. Vahn had a way of making the women involved with him very receptive, causing them to relinquish control and entrust everything to him. Even Artoria herself felt like putty in his hands at times so, even while he was asleep, it almost felt like any kind of intimate action she took could awaken the sleeping dragon once again. This thought was both exciting and exceptionally embarrassing as, especiallycking panties, Artoria was aware of how her body reacted when thinking about Vahn suddenly waking up... Deciding she needed to clear her head a bit, Artoria somewhat reluctantly extricated herself from the bed and, though Vahn had already taken proper care of her after their earlier interactions, she decided to take a hot bath to calm down. Ever since she woke up an hour prior, her thoughts had been wandering all over the ce and, with Vahn in a rare defenseless state, Artoria felt like she might do something even more embarrassing if she didnt calm down. Fortunately, with the hot water, fragrant oils, and extravagant soaps, things that would have been nearly impossible to find during her reign as King, it was considerably easy to cut loose and rx. Exhaling afortable sigh as she lowered her body into the water, Artoria then proceeded to just soak while leaning against the gentle slope at the back of the tub. This was a luxury she had rarely been afforded during her previous life as not only were baths remarkably rare, but she had to always keep up her image as King while also hiding her identity as a female. Other than those who knew of her birth, the only people that had known about her true identity were her adopted brother, Sir Kay, her wife, Guinevere, and, as a result of his tryst with thetter, Sir Lancelot. Even her cousin, Gareth, and, at least for a time, Mordred, werepletely unaware of the fact she had actually been a female. Remembering how much effort she had put into concealing her identity, Artoria couldnt help but produce a profound sigh. It was fortunate that her body didnt produce waste as just the thought of having to relieve herself in the woods or using a chamber pot was a horrendous thought. Still, the fact she had spent nearly fifty years carefully hiding her identity was something that Artoria felt deeply regretful of. She had never realized how liberating it was to walk around in afortable dress and, despite the fact she would never admit it, Artoria even understood why Mordred was so fond of wearing casual and loose clothing. Modern clothing was designed to befortable, often conforming to the movements of the body instead of chafing against the skin. Compared to the rough cloth, fur, linen, and cambric used during her time period, where silk was an extreme luxury, even the lowest quality fabrics of the modern era were extremelyfortable. This,bined with the existence of lingerie, which also hadnt existed during her time period, made Artoria feel that her efforts as King should have been spent more on helping her people advance, rather than simply providing them prosperity. Though she had learned this from Iskandar and Gilgamesh in the past, though she would never openly credit thetter, Artoria realized she should have been more selfish as a King. As this thought crossed her mind, Artoria began to blow bubbles in the water as she thought about how her Knights would react if she said such a thing. In the near future, she would find out the answer to this question, and many more, as Vahn should be summoning Gawain and Gareth. Not only were they her actual kin, but neither knew of her identity as a woman, even until the very end. Though she didnt believe either would look down on her for it, especially Gareth, Artoria was still a little worried about facing them. Part of her felt that, by facing those she knew in her time as King, she would slowly revert back to her past self once again... Fortunately, any time she had such thoughts, Artoria was always immediately reminded of Vahn and, remembering how he had treated her a few hours prior, a rosy hue colored her face as she knew such a thing was impossible. She would never hide her identity again and, rather than be a King, she was far more content with being an Empress. Though her status and responsibilities would be higher, just knowing there was someone above her gave Artoria considerable peace of mind. It felt like Vahn was an unshakeable mountain so, even if things got difficult, Artoria knew she could always seek refuge in his embrace... --- After finishing her long bath, Artoria wasnt too surprised to find that Vahn had already awoken, despite the fact he had a tired look deep in his eyes. This faded away almost instantly, however, when he turned his head in her direction. As she was wearing a fresh set of lingerie while her hair still dripped with a few wayward droplets of water, Artoria cut quite the figure against the low light of the room. Even if she had a very youthful appearance, there were very few people that would mistake her for a child as, despite her petite figure and lithe body, she radiated a regal and mature aura. Seeing the appreciation in Vahns eyes, Artoria could feel her own body warming up a bit as she made her way over to the side of the bed and asked, "How did it go?" This question caused Vahn to issue a wry smile and, without him needing to exin, Artoria just smiled supportively as she reached out her hand and ced it against his chest and leaned in to give him a kiss. She rarely took the initiative to do so but, if it would improve Vahns mood, Artoria didnt mind the anxious fluttering of her heart. Though she did feel a bit of panic when his hand sn.a.k.e.d its way around her waist, Vahn ultimately held himself back, albeit only after teasing her by tracing his fingers along the stic band of her lingerie... Though he was tempted to go further, as it had been nearly two-hundred hours since he was back in the real world, he knew Artoria had her own matters to attend while he also had a promise to keep. Thus, after making out and just embracing each other for a few minutes, Vahn released his captive, allowing her a moments reprieve that was ented by a hot sigh. Afterward, Vahn dried Artorias hair and, though she was perfectly capable of doing it herself, helped her neatly arrange it into theplex bun shemonly wore. Since she didnt mind the special treatment in the least, Artoria enjoyed the final few moments they had together. Then, after another embrace at the threshold of their door, the two shared a parting kiss before going their separate ways... While Artoria went to conduct her etiquette lessons, Vahn slowly made his way out of the castle, allowing the cold wintery air to soak into his body as he moved to his destination. Overhead, the full moon was hanging high in the sky so, as promised, Vahn would be apanying Circe for her Red Moon Ritual. With her abilities, it didnt take long at all to acquire one-hundredmbs, especially with Vahn heading out into the outside world to acquire a few to get her started. As a result, he found the winged Demigoddess surrounded by one-hundred heartbreakingly adorable whitembs... As he had eatenmb before, and all kinds of other meats, Vahn knew he would be a hypocrite if he suddenly opposed the ritual Circe would be conducting. Their lives were not being sacrificed for anything and, as most animals only had nascent souls, they werepletelycking an ego. Since the ritual did not require her to brutally ughter them, Vahn could only pray that thembs had better fortune in their next lives while promising their materials, if any remained, would not go to waste... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Hammering Intensifies*,Artoria worries too much,Dont feel baaaad) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1207 - Red Moon Ritual

Chapter 1207 - Red Moon Ritual

With Vahns arrival, Circe, he had been squatting down, petting the head of amb, turned to look back as she rose to her feet. Her wings flittered just a bit, revealing the golden sheen of Magic Circuits on their interior as she whispered in a gratified tone, "You came..." Though Vahn himself wasnt required for the ritual, and could actually make it worse, Circe wanted him to be here with her. This was, perhaps, one of the most important moments of her life as, if she failed to receive Hecates blessing, the only end that awaited her was death. She did not fear this, however, and, even if she were to die, she had already left a will and other items that would aid, not in her revival, but any other version of herself that Vahn decided to summon... After navigating his way through the flock ofmbs, Vahn pulled Circe into his embrace, her body nearly weightless as he lifted her a few centimeters off the ground while answering, "Of course. I would not leave you alone during a moment like this..." Thisment cause Circes ears to waggle adorably, causing Vahns expression to soften as he gave her a small peck on the lips. He didnt want to rile her up too much, as this couldplicate the ritual even further, so he settled for just giving her a bit of motivation. With her eyes briefly shing with a pink hue, Circe licked her lips and, as Vahn sat her back down on the ground, she mused, "You know, if this ritual is a sess, youll have to take responsibility. If you dont give me lots and lots of attention, I may die of a broken heart..." As the Red Moon Ritual would strip her of both her immortality and divine spark, it meant that Circe would just be a very unique mortal woman. There was a good chance that even her wings would be torn from her body if Hecate was so inclined to make her pay an even heftier price for her apostasy. If Vahn didnt treat her well after the fact, she would do everything in her meager power to ruin him before taking her own life... Cupping Circes face with his hands, Vahn gently stroked her cheeks as he stated in a firm tone, "You know me better than that, Circe...I may not be able to stay at your side at all times, but I can fill the moments when were together with meaning..." With his Petting Laws and a bit of support from his [Hands or Nirvana], Vahn sent calm andforting energy into Circes head and body, helping her rx as he could tell she was very anxious. This caused her skin to glow with a subtle rainbow hue as, with nothing but the moon to grace them with its light, the cold peak was shrouded in darkness. Feeling the familiarfort, Circes mind calmed considerably but, as there was a heat rising in her body, she reluctantly separated from Vahns hands after a few seconds. Then, with her back to him, she looked over her shoulder and said, "Watch closely...never forget this moment, no matter how much time passes...if you do...I..." Without finishing her words, Circe decided they were unnecessary and, instead of adding to her slowly building anxiety, she began to discard each of her pale-gold essories before removing her think vest and skirt. As panties werent even a concept of her time, her modesty was instead protected by a powerful enchantment, meaning there was nothing beneath the hand-length skirt that had baffled Vahn during their first few meetings... Circe had never exined how the Red Moon Ritual worked but, with her having him promise not to intervene, regardless of what happened, Vahn was left gawking at the side with a serious expression on his face. He watched as Circe snapped her fingers to ignite a basin of oil-soaked logs, causing a medium-sized pyre to illuminate the surroundings. Though this obscured her figure somewhat, Vahn was virtually immune to changes in light intensity and, even in the absence of any light source, he could still see in the dark with rtive ease. As a result, he was able to see Circe throw her clothes into the pyre, allowing them to ignite into golden mes before, startling him quite a bit, she tore the winged ornament from her head... Though they were not originally part of her body, Circes winged ornaments had be one with her person shortly after her training with Hecate. They served as the catalyst that allowed her to use Magecraft that should have only been avable to the gods, representing both her aplishments and the favor of Hecate. Removing them was not only painful, but it was the same as renouncing the teachings that had been deeply ingrained into her heart, mind, and body... With her long pink hair quickly filling with some bloody streaks, Circe unhesitantly tossed her tiara into the pyre which, under normal circ.u.mstances, had no hopes of burning such a powerful artifact. Under the stimtion of her blood, however, the mes became a pale golden color, tinged with a subtle blue hue as the crown she had prided herself to obtain was turned to ash. At the same time, a massive ritual spell circle expanded outward from the basin, spreading precisely 300m as it began rotating a few centimeters off the ground. While doing his best not to intervene, Vahn looked around at the ritual spell circle and, though he would have normally tried to analyze it, he felt this could offend the entity being invoked. Thus, he decided to simply observe, allowing the image to be stored in his memory instead of trying to break it down in the present. Then, as the light from the moon had noticeably changed, at least in the area of the spell, Vahn turned his head skyward, noticing that the moon had gained a red hue that was slowly deepening to blood red, just like the hair around Circes scalp... Resisting the pain as best she could, Circes eyes reflected a resolute light as she brought her hands together in prayer, chanting, "Hear my plea, oh Great Mother of the Night. I stand at the crossroads of my fate, seeking the guidance of she who walks all paths freely. To thee, I offer the lives of these one-hundred innocent and pure, raised carefully by my own hand so that they may walk at your side between the boundaries of life and death..." Though these words sounded rather simple for a chant meant to invoke a Goddess, Vahn knew that Circe had spoken the entire verse using Divine Words. By the time she was finished, Avalon was no longer in view and, now bloody red, the moon seemed to have grown more than a hundred times in size, now dominating the night sky. In the surroundings, which had previously been rich with healthy apple trees, a ghostly forest spread out far beyond his perception,plete with a hazy mist that, as it touched his skin, felt significantly colder than ice. Then, as Circe continued to pray, the Lambs in the surrounding area began to drop to the ground, ghostly blue mes rising from their bodies... Vahns primary focus had been on Circe but, before he realized the transition, he suddenly found himself inplete darkness as an icy cold voice echoed in his ear, "I was wondering what kind of man had corrupted my daughter so..." Then, in apletely different, yet equally icy tone, another womans voice echoed, "To think the instrument of the World would take such a form...", followed by a third voice adding, "Even so, to profane our daughter is not a slight grievance..." Though Vahn felt as if he could easily break through the restrictive force binding him, he chose not to offend the voices and simply stated, "It was never my inte". Before he could finish speaking, his words were cut off by mysterious energy flowing into the flesh around his mouth, binding it shut by erasing itpletely. This caused his brain to buzz,plete with the cool sensation from his head immediately intermingling with the warmth flowing from his Soul. He never liked when people just did whatever they wanted, especially Gods who imposed their wills on others. If not for the fact he had promised Circe not to intervene, he would have broken free in an instant after being slighted in such a way... This time, instead of three voices speaking in turn, each synchronously stated, "We do not care in the least what kind of excuses you have prepared. Your conviction, love, and determination, mean less to us than the lives of the worms beneath the dirt." As these words echoed, an aged woman wearing a cloak that seemed to be formed from pure darkness walked into Vahns view. She had raven ck hair, an easyparison to make as there was arge raven perched on her shoulder, while arge ghostly horse followed closely at her side. Her eyes burned like amethyst mes amidst a face filled with wrinkles while, in her hands, a crooked scepter yed perch to a white snake that coiled around its length... Walking forward until she was just a few meters from Vahn, the woman he assumed to be Hecate kept her ghostly eyes trained on him as she stated, "Know this, foolish boy. We do not resent you foring to love our daughter, nor would we reproach her for finding someone she truly loved. What infuriates us is that you would treat our most cherished student as nothing more than a middling chambermaid! You surround yourself with women as if they were trophies, purporting to love them all? Preposterous! Even if love is something that can be shared between multiple people, the path you walk will always lead towards tragedy. We do not want our daughter to be corrupted by your influence..." As she spoke, Hecate continued to emanate a great amount of pressure but, while her aura was considerably stronger than his own, Vahn was able to bear it. He kept his eyes focused as she spoke, waiting for her to finish her diatribe before shaking his head in admonishment. This seemed to be conveyed properly as, seeing the look on his face, Hecates expression turned dark as she raised her scepter toward him. However, even though the white snake seemed ready to strike, Hecates eyes began to flicker before her entire figure vanished momentster... --- While Vahn hade face-to-face with a powerful old Crone, Circe had been lowering her head to an exceptionally beautiful woman, one near and dear to her heart. Like the Crone, she had glowing amethyst eyes and raven ck hair that extended past her waist. Instead of an aged and weathered appearance, she also had unblemished white skin, even though the only visible surfaces were her face, neck, and the deep-v that disyed her ample cleavage. Her facial features were not all that dissimr to Circes, albeit with a touch of maturity, while her figure was both conservative yet curvaceous at the same time. Unlike the Crone wearing long hooded robes, she was wearing a dark purple dress that seemed to twinkle with starlight and a fur-adorned mantle that covered the entirety of her shoulders as a three-headed white dog nuzzled against the kneeling Circe... With her cold expression having turned into a pitying gaze, Hecate gingerly ran her fingers through Circes pink hair. This caused the blood that had dyed her scalp to evaporate as the wound on her head quickly healed over, albeit without her winged adornment. At the same time, in a voice that was both gentle and soothing, Hecate stated, "It pains us to see you like this, Circe...that man is not worthy of you. Come, it is long past time since you returned home..." Though the Greater Grail was indeed very powerful, that didnt mean the summoning was without ws. Hecate knew that, so long as Circes anchor to the world was broken, her fragmented soul would return to the Reverse Side of the World once again, allowing this troublesome affair to fade with the passage of time... Shaking her head without any hesitation, Circe turned her eyes up at Hecate, stating in a resolute tone, "This is my decision to make...I could have given myself to Vahn long ago...Im only doing this because I care for you, Great Mother. You sheltered me against those fiendish Gods who saw me as nothing more than a prize to be gained. No matter how much time passes, I can never repay you for the kindness and grace you had shown me..." In response to her daughters words, Hecates face formed into a deep frown, concern clearly visible in her eyes as she countered, "We always believed you were the most talented of our students. How can we allow you to give up everything we granted you for the sake of a man who does not even hold you in the most cherished part of his heart? Even amon fisherman would be better than a licentious man who can never understand the weight of your sacrifice...!" Once again shaking her head, Circe stated with even greater resolution than before, "You are wrong, Great Mother. I have toyed with thousands of men, flirted with dozens of Gods, and attended several Heroes. None of these men have been able to leave as deep an impression on my heart as Vahn. It doesnt matter if I cannot upy thergest part of his, as the most important thing is my feelings for him. If I did not seize this opportunity, I would regret it for the rest of my short life..." Knowing there was a chance that Hecate might take her back, Circe wanted to make it very clear that even this would not change her heart... Before Hecate could form a response, her eyes began zing as an incredulous expression marred her otherwise perfect face. At the end of Circes statement, she opened her wings to reveal that, instead of the familiar golden sheen, ayer of blood had covered much of the interior. Then, before she was able to stop her, Hecate watched the winged ornament she had given Circe thousands of years prior simply slough off her body. This caused thetters back to bepletely covered in blood but, despite the immense pain she must have been in, Circe kept a resolute expression as she bowed her head again, bringing her hands together as she murmured, "Please..." Feeling greater regret than Circe herself, Hecate gently ced her palm against the former, causing the vicious wound on her back to quickly heal. Now, the only thing granting Circe any power was the core that had been imnted in her w.o.m.b, serving as both her divine spark and thest vestiges of her immortality. If it were removed, she would be nothing but a mortal woman, albeit with a more powerful Soul. Releasing a profound sigh, Hecate raised Circes chin, seeing the immense anguish in her eyes, not due to the pain she was feeling, but the worry she had about being separated from the man she loved. This caused Hecates heart to feel pained as, if it were almost anyone else in such a situation, she would not have hesitated to either kill or cripple the other party. Circe, however, was the person she was most proud of, to the point she had even contended against several Gods to protect her. It was incredibly frustrating to learn that, despite the fact they had retreated to the Reverse Side of the World, her most cherished daughter had fallen in love with a man on the Surface... Though she swore in her heart to curse Vahns entire lineage if he betrayed her daughter, Hecate produced a pained yet kind smile as she bent down and kissed Circes forehead. As she pulled away, a wispy blue trail followed along with her, appearing like vapor as it coalesced in Hecates mouth. Then, after swallowing the clump of mystical energy, she exined, "We strip you of your knowledge regarding the arts..." before kneeling before Circe and cing her palm above her w.o.m.b. This time, Circes face morphed into one of extreme pain as the crest engraved beneath her navel ignited into a wispy blue me that quickly coalesced into a pale-gold sphere of light. With another sigh, Hecate ced the sphere of light into a handntern that had appeared out of thin air, stating, "We strip you of your immortality...". Despite the fact she was in enough pain that she wanted to cry out and beg for a reprieve, Circe did her best to resist, clenching her teeth so tightly that her gums began to bleed in some areas. It was fortunate that the ordeal wasrgely over as, with visible regret on her face, Hecate ced her palm against Circes chest, adding, "From henceforth, you will carry your love as both a blessing and a curse...it will continue to grow until it threatens to consume you...if that man cannot bear the burden of your love, you will both meet a tragic end...I pray that you do not regret your choice..." The moment Hecate gave her warning, Circes mind faded into darkness as her body fell limply into the Goddess embrace. At the side, the three-head dog began to whine pitifully, causing Hecate to release another sigh as she remarked, "What a tragedy...to think I would lose my precious daughter to a man who could never appreciate her sacrifice...haaaa..." After saying this, though it was custom to destroy the divine spark that had been relinquished by a Demigod, Hecate safely stowed Circes away in her sleeve. In truth, Circes actual body was still back on the Reverse Side of the World, albeit in a statuesque state, so she intended to imnt the divine spark back in its rightful ce if Vahn ended up breaking her daughters heart... After removing her mantle andying it across the ground, Hecateid Circes n.a.k.e.d body onto thefortable and warm surface before staring down at her figure with a pitying gaze. While vowing to never make another exception, Hecate picked up the winged adornment, still covered in blood, before changing it into a feather-adorned robe. She thenid this across Circes body, preventing the frigid cold from invading her vulnerable figure before turning away and shaking her head. Then, as the light of the moon slowly returned to normal, apanied by its rapidly shrinking size, Hecate vanished in a cloud of blue mes, taking the hundred surrounding blue wisps lingering above the corpses of thembs with her... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Never forget...*proceeds to rip wings out of head*,Old Crone or Beautiful Maiden?,Circes Resolve : Hecates Lament) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1208 - Circe

Chapter 1208 - Circe

Shortly after Hecate had vanished from his sight, Vahn could feel a subtle ripple in the surrounding space, followed by theplete darkness he had been submerged in fading away. With the ritualplete, the surroundings returned to normal, well, as normal as they could be with a hundredmb corpses dotting the area. Vahn didnt pay much attention to these, however, as his vision was dominated by the scene of Circeying next to the now extinguished pyre. Compared to before, her presence was like a wispy mepared to a tiny sun, indicative of the fact that she was now a normal girl. In less than a blinks time, Vahn was already kneeling next to Circe, his palm resting against her abdomen as he inspected her body for any sign of injuries. His scan immediately brought to attention the tworge scars on Circes back, which, despite their attempt to resist his treatment, were dealt with after a few minutes of concerted effort. Since Circes own mana density was very low at the moment, albeit much higher than a normal human, it was easy to discern the invasive energy that had permeated through her body. Though he wouldnt have been able to easily discern what this energy entailed in the past, Vahns studies rted to [Curse] Magecraft gave him a good idea of what was going on. With Circe physically, mentally, and spiritually drained, Vahn knew it would be dangerous to wake her up before she had rested properly. She would be in an extremely unstable state so, rather than guide her back towards consciousness, he instead lulled her into a much deeper sleep. Then, after setting up a powerful barrier around them, Vahn decided his time was best spent making sure there were no seque left in her body as a result of the powerful curse. Before that, he checked Circes status within the Unit Management, wondering if her Status would offer him any useful information. ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Circe] Age: Ageless->2348 Race: Human(new), Nymph(sealed), God(sealed) Strength: 2E->1E Endurance: 31B->5E Agility: 16D->2E Magical Power: 50A++->13D Good Luck: 49A+->50A+ Circuit Quality: 24C Soul Tier: 3 Noble Phantasm: [Metabo Piglets: C->E] Skills: [Phantasmal Chef:Innate:SS(sealed)], [Sun Gods Descendant:Innate:A], [Blood Moons Curse:Innate:D]->[Blessing of the Night Mother:Innate:(-)], [High-Speed Divine Words:B]->[N/A], [Poisoned Meal:A], [Advice for Sailing:A], [Territory Creation:B], [Item Construction:A] Magic: [Helioss Divine Protection:SS] Magecraft: [Mutagen:S]->[N/A], [Alchemy:B]->[N/A], [Herbology:B]->[N/A], [Refiining:B]->[N/A], [Addiction Enchantment:B]->[N/A] ------------------------------------------------------------------- Seeing Circes Status, Vahn was more than a little surprised but, rather thanmenting too long, he was actually more relieved than anything. Though her Od was a mess, her reserves werent actually that low and, with a Magical Power of 13, she was still far stronger than even prodigious Magi. Since her Quest would afford her with 3,000,000VE, she would be able to quickly increase her strength once again. Fortunately, due to being a Servant summoned through the Throne of Heroes, Hecates so-called blessing had no effect on her ss Skills and those derived from her legend. As for her loss of [High-Speed Divine Words] and the reduced efficacy of her Noble Phantasm, these were both things that could be remedied with time and concerted effort on Circes part. With a better understanding of Circes condition, Vahn spent the better part of an hour nourishing her body with his Source Energy while doing what he could to expel the curse within her body. As it was derived from her own Innate, however, he didnt have too much luck driving it away. It was now an intrinsic part of her and, unless Circe was the one to change it, there was little he could do other than guide towards a better future. Curiously, her Good Luck had actually increased and, though it was subtle, there was now a discernible flow of fate, not simply around her body, but linking them together. Vahn knew he could sever this thread without much difficulty but, fearing it would have disastrous consequences on Circe, he instead tried sending his own Source Energy through the aura to strengthen it... Though he had some sess in interacting with the aura of fate, Vahn wasnt able to discern any real changes in its structure or density. Hisprehension of the Laws governing Fate were sub-par as, even with their massive power and pseudo-omniscience, Merlin and Scthach were also unable to do anything to influence the flow of Fate. It was, perhaps, one of the most powerful manifestations of Law as, without Fate tying together certain individuals, the Record itself likely couldnt exist. After all, though the Record he inhabits may not be the version created by the original Creator, it was still brought into existence as an amalgamation of the hopes and dreams of an incalcble number of people, each believing in a certain story structure and chronology... After doing everything he could to stabilize and strengthen Circes body, excluding giving her a new oneprised of his Source Energy, Vahn wrapped her up in the two mantles that had been used as her bed and nket. Even though his impression of Hecate wasnt that great, it was obvious that she cared rather deeply about Circe as, despite the fact thetter had betrayed her teachings, most of the harm Circe had suffered seemed to be of her own creation. Vahn could tell that the feathered mantle that was left behind wasprised of Circes previous winged attachment,plete with theplex array of Magic Circuits on the interior. As for the fur cloak, Vahn was able to discern that it was a very powerful artifact as, despite his efforts, it resisted being ced into his Inventory. It also had a strong power flowing through it and, though it was far too big for Circe to wear normally, he could tell it was intended to protect her from harm. Remembering Hecates treatment towards him, Vahn couldnt help but produce a wry smile as, if he considered it from her perspective, he would probablymbast himself. It couldnt be easy seeing someone you cared about making a decision you didnt agree with, especially if they were in your care for a long period of time. If it were one of his children, or someone that had been close to him, Vahn knew he would probably react in an even more extreme manner. Thus, despite the fact he was extremely annoyed by Hecates treatment, Vahn decided not to harp over it. He certainly couldnt say anything bad about her towards Circe as, if she didnt respect Hecate, she never would have gone through the Red Moon Ritual in the first ce... With this in mind, Vahn held Circe gingerly in his embrace as he flew through the air, his destination the Ivory Castle on the northern end of the ind. It was a very short flight and, after a few twists and turns, Vahn quickly found himself in the Menagerie, despite the fact that Circe was, technically, just a normal human woman. Then, while waiting for her to wake up on her own, Vahn decided to keep herpany as, if he wasnt here when she awoke, he could only imagine the duress she would feel. Holding her light body in his embrace, separated only by the fur cloak, Vahn continued to nourish Circes Magic Circuits with his Source Energy. Now that she didnt have her wings, it was very easy to hold her in his embrace so, for the better part of six hours, Vahn did just that. At the same time, he enjoyed the subtle and bittersweet fragrance of her air while closely observing her Status inside of his mind. He had already experienced marginal sess with this method in the past but, with his ability to view her Status in real-time, Vahn wanted to see how quickly he could improve her Magic Power and Circuit Quality through the nourishment of his Source Energy... Before he was able to make any progress, not that he expected immediate results, Medusa had returned from her etiquette lessons to take a rest. When she found them inside the Menagerie, her first reaction had been bubbly excitement but, feeling the peculiar atmosphere, she resisted the urge to pounce into the bed. Though Vahn had raised his head to give her a nce, he waited until she was near the side of the bed before whispering, "Circe made a big sacrifice tonight, Medusa. In the future, please take care of her when Im not around..." As they had already be rtively close over thest few months, Medusa furrowed her brows slightly, her expression bing one of concern as she looked into the sleeping face of Circe. In response to her Masters words, she nodded her head in understanding, muttering, "I understand..." Then, without asking for permission, which wasnt exactly necessary considering it was her own bed, Medusa crawled under the nkets before grabbing Circes hands. In this manner, Vahn and the silver-haired Gorgon sandwiched Circe from both sides, keeping her warm and bringing herfort as she slowly extricated herself from the darkness of unconsciousness... --- By the time Circes eyelids began to flicker, she had already been asleep for nearly thirteen hours, during which time her Circuit Quality had actually increased from 24C->25C. Though he could help her increase it to the EX rating by providing her with a body, Vahn felt that Circe was in the same camp as women like Rin and Luvia, preferring their original flesh and blood over the convenience of what amounted to an artificial body. When her eyes peeled open, Circes pupils were actually pale gold in color, a few shades lighter than Medusas own. Since thetter was the first thing she saw after opening her eyes, Circes heart began to beat in an anxious rhythm but, before she could jump to conclusions, Vahn made his presence known by holding her a little more firmly as he whispered, "Im here...its okay..." This caused Circe to tremble lightly and, causing Medusa to pout, just a little, she ignored thetter before wriggling around to face him. Vahn was able to see her new eye color for himself but, before he could say anything further, Circe gripped the sides of his face with what little strength she could manage as she began to kiss him rather passionately... Despite the fact she was even weaker than before, and had just awoken from a long slumber, Circe didnt seem to care at all. The moment she saw Vahn, all of the emotions she had been bottled up for thest few months surface and, no longer holder herself back, she practically attacked him on the spot. This caught both Vahn and Medusa off guard, thetter letting her mouth hang agape as she suddenly felt like a third wheel. As for Vahn, he had no idea how someone with 1E Strength was able to muster up so much intensity but, rather than push her away, he decided to reciprocate by holding her waist and allowing her to press herself against him. Though she seemed to enjoy kissing quite a bit, Circe didnt seem satisfied with just this as, while they were interlocked with each other, she would periodically yank at his belt and trousers. Since Vahn felt things were going a little fast, he decided to take some initiative of his own, tracing his hands around her slender waist and back. Since she was just a rtively normal human at the moment, even these simple actions, whenbined with his Petting Laws and [Hands of Nirvana] were enough to make her body go limp as she trembled against him. Then, after giving her plush yet small rump a gentle squeeze, Vahn sat up from the bed, allowing Circe toy across hisp as he stroked her hair and said, "There is no rush...leave it to me..." With her eyes zed over slightly, Circe looked up into his face, the strength she had previously mustered now nowhere to be seen. Even then, she managed to say in an almost whimpering tone, "You have to take responsibility..." This was answered with an understanding nod by Vahn, followed by him nting a long yet tame kiss on her lips. He was aware that, even with her divine spark taken away, Circes body still had a subtle influence on him. Making use of certain Laws for thousands of years gave a certain amount of familiarity with them so, despite the fact she had been drastically weakened, his body was beginning to heat up a bit. After giving her a long kiss, Vahn ran his hand down the length of her body, marveling at how soft it was before snaking his hand between her thighs. This caused Circe to curl up in hisp while closing her legs fruitlessly around his hand. At the same time, Vahn sent Medusa an apologetic look with his eyes, causing her to surprise him a bit when she stuck out her tongue. He had expected her to leave the room and perhaps go take a bath, as she had nearlypleted her Quest, but Medusa seemed to have very different intentions. Rather than excuse herself, she seemed to get a little excited by the scene ying out in front of her and, without removing the skin-tight bodysuit she wore to keep her body warm, she began fiddling with herself while observing his actions... As he had already shared his fair share of intimate moments with Medusa, Vahn just shook his head with a wry smile as he turned his focus back to Circe. He knew that, despite the fact that she seemed to be lost in the pleasure wracking her body, she was paying close attention to him. Her ability to discern if people were paying attention to her was a part of her Innate so, during the brief moment he had turned his attention to Medusa, Vahn had felt the subtle fluctuations in her internal energy. Understanding how important this moment was for her, he could only leave Medusa to her own devices as he shifted Circes position so that she was seated leaning against him. This allowed him to fondle with her small yet inexplicably soft mounds as his finger slowly prated into her soft folds. He was immediately greeted by an unbelievable tightness which, given Circes petite figure, wasnt too much of a surprise. In response, he craned his head down to nibble on her long ears, which she fortunately had retained, while lowering his left hand to her belly and gently rubbing her navel. He would periodically press into a few areas as, if she wasnt properly prepared, Circes first time would likely be very painful for her... Though he had already expected it, Circes body suddenly tensed up in his embrace as her body curled in on itself like a shrimp. Her insides mped up around his singr finger, causing it to briefly get imprisoned in her now vice-like folds. He could feel her rampant heartbeat through his finger as, with each quick contraction, the digit was pulled deeper into her interior, allowing him to feel her above-average body heat, at least for a human. Fortunately, with her body easing out of her climax, the small flood of love juices,bined with his efforts in weakening the tensions of her muscles, allowed him to extricate his finger. It would have been easy to remove it by force but, with Circe only having the strength of a normal human, he didnt want to identally injure her... With her rationale recovering, Circe looked down at the state of her own body before craning her head to look up at him, a pitiful look in her eyes as she whimpered, "Im tired of waiting..." As she had already been a v.i.r.g.i.n for thousands of years, Circes patience was quickly wearing thin, despite the fact she knew Vahn was just being considerate. She didnt care how much pain she would have to experience as,pared to losing her wings, it was simply iparable. Since she was also very aware of Vahns skills when it came to doing the deed, Circe knew any pain she experienced would be quickly reced by pleasure. Thus, despite the fact she could hardly muster any strength in her already fatigued body, she did her best to turn around as she tried to push him down against the bed... Resisting against Circes efforts, Vahn showed a gentle smile before tilting her chin and giving her another kiss, this time keeping it to only a few seconds as he understood her eagerness. When he separated from her rather vorful lips, Vahn repeated, "Just leave it to me..." as he quickly guided Circes lower body so that she was straddling his h.i.p.s. Though her ears began erect after she felt something hot poke against her backside, Circe still answered his words with a nod before cing her forehead against his chest, her eyes looking downward as she tightly clung to his body... Vahn knew her body wasnt ready but, as Circe was already beyond the point of caring about things like pain, he quickly positioned himself at her soft and pliant entrance. It was somewhat ironic that this extremely pleasant sensation would soon be reced by an unbelievably tight pressure but, as his p.e.n.i.s began to gradually heat up due to the influence of Circes body, he slowly plunged himself deep into her insides. By temporarily making it impossible for her insides to contract, there wasnt too much resistance, even as he tore through her h.y.m.e.n, but Circe still tensed up considerably. Her nails indented harmlessly into his skin as, due to there being zero-clearance, even blood wasnt able to escape from her insides... Despite the very intense pain she was experiencing, Circes expression showed a great deal of relief, even as tears welled up in the corner of her eyes. She released a hot sigh against his chest, enjoying the painful pulse in her body that indicated she had finally given herself to the person she loved. No matter what happened in the future, she would never forget this moment, causing her to squeeze Vahns body as tightly as she could manage. In response, he also held her as tightly as her frail body could withstand, sendingforting energy into her body as their respective body heat flowed into each other. Fortunately, Circe didnt try to goad him into moving as, now that they were connected, most of her anxiety had faded away. Thus, for the better part of ten minutes, Vahn helped her rx while doing everything in his power to make sure she would be able to enjoy things when she was ready to continue. This ended up being a little sooner than he expected as, while she leaned against his chest, Circe could see Medusa staring at her from the side. For a brief moment, their golden eyes locked on each other, causing the cheeky Gorgon to smile in a mischevious manner as she slightly parted her legs. Strangely, though she usually only cared about the attention of men, Circe felt her body heat up a bit after seeing what Medusa was doing. Since much of the pain had faded away, reced by a throbbing pulse that seemed to match her heartbeat, she moved her h.i.p.s a little, an action that caused a small pa sound as an unnerving amount of blood and viscous fluid flowed from her insides to coat Vahns still visible shaft. This didnt deter Circe, however, as a small smile spread across her face after witnessing the proof of her maidenhoods sacrifice. Then, as the pain had mostly faded away, she looked up into Vahns face and, without needing to say anything, he returned a gentle smile of his own before guiding her h.i.p.s in a gentle yet steady motion... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Circes New Game+,Impatience : Union,Medusa likes to watch (o 3 o)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1209 - Unexpected Changes

Chapter 1209 - Unexpected Changes

Despite her eagerness, Circe had been through quite a bit in the moments leading up to the loss of her v.i.r.g.i.nity. As a result, even though Vahn cheated by sending revitalizing energy into her body, it didnt take long before her body began cramping up and she was simply too mentally exhausted to continue. During that time, Circe had entrusted everything to Vahn and, knowing what she expected from him, he obliged by pushing her far beyond the limits of what he would have otherwise done. In her current state, she needed to feel wanted and, just as he had during their first bathing session, Vahnpletely surpassed her expectations. In the end, Circes eyes had zed over and, in apletely absentminded and powerless state, she justid sprawled out over the bed. Sweat covered her body from head to toe and, as Vahn had yet to perform the after-care, her lower body was tender and swollen as a seemingly endless flow of viscous white fluid drained from her insides. Her entire body was flush and, with her slim and delicate features, Vahn almost felt criminal regarding his treatment of his long-eared lover. However, seeing how she still managed a dazed smile, he knew she would recover and, so long as he prevented her from bing addicted to the pleasure, she should be just fine with the passage of time. Since he couldnt just leave her sprawled out like a stringless marite, Vahn carefully wiped down Circes body with warm towels while gently caressing her n.a.k.e.d figure. This seemed to rile her up a bit but, as the soothing energy continued to invade her body, it wasnt long before her eyelids slowly drooped shut. Momentster, a rhythmic noise began to sound from Circes nose as, despite the fact she had slept thirteen hours previously, physical and mental fatigue had once again imed her. Understanding he was trapped in the room until Circe awoke again, Vahn had a wry yet gentle smile on his face as he finished cleaning her body. Then, using the fur cloak and feathered mantle that had been left with her, Vahn wrapped her body up so that she could stay warm. She seemed to be aware of his care as, despite being in a deep slumber, Circe managed a contented smile as she attempted to snuggle up at his side. Vahn used his advantageous position to stroke her head and run his fingers through her long pink hair, doing his best tofort her as he turned his eyes toward the little voyeur who had been watching them. Acting as if she was surprised he had noticed her, even though she had not even tried to hide her actions, Medusa snapped her thighs shut while turning her golden eyes up at him with a pretense of shyness. Her tail, however, gave away that she was riled up quite a bit though, as it was slowly snaking across the bed behind her. Compared to the past, where it had only been 80cm long, Medusa had grown up a bit. Now, her tail had grown to 85cm in length and, every time she finished a molt, her height, and other physical proportions would change slightly. As a result, she was now around 142cm tall and, though the rest of her body hadnt really filled out all that much, her thin waist, toned butt, and slightly thick thighs had be more prominent than before. With how close Circe and Medusa had be, Vahn knew thetter was considerably riled up after watching the formers loss of v.i.r.g.i.nity. At this point, there was only a 5cm height difference between them, making the two very simr due to their petite appearance andplementary personalities. Thus, seeing someone simr to her engaging in such acts would have an obvious impact on the mischevious Gorgon, giving her a bit of expectation and courage. She also knew that he was stuck looking after Circe for a bit and, with the evening and normal rest period still open, it meant she could have him to herself for several hours. Understanding what she must be thinking, Vahn had a serious yet affectionate expression on his face as he whispered, "If you believe youre ready, I wont refuse you, Medusa...just dont push yourself..." This remark seemed to give her even more courage than before as, after swallowing audibly, Medusa used her hair to propel her across the surface of the bed in a somewhat eerie yet seductive way. Compared to her height, her hair was around 160cm in length and, being able to manipte each individual strand, it wasnt long before Medusa found her way to his side. Then, while gingerly wrapping her arms around him, she also used her hair to constrict his body a bit, something he had gotten used to over thest nine and a half months. Despite what her actions would suggest,plete with Medusa flicking her abnormally long tongue against his chest while grinding against him with her hot and moist lower body, she ultimately answered, "I want to grow a bit more first...". Since she was already close to molting, even without using the [First Layer Molting Pill], Medusa felt it wouldnt be long before she was able to grow to around Circes size. Though each molt had somewhat diminishing returns, unless she was proactively trying to increase her strength, she was confident it wouldnt be long until she reached a point that her Master would be satisfied with. Even if he would set aside his inhibitions for her, she didnt want to push him to do anything and, if possible, Medusa actually wanted him to be the one to push her down. If not for this desire, she would have be one with him long ago as, at times, it was almost unbearable to see how happy Fenrir was when they were together. Respecting Medusas decision, even though her actions seemed to contradict her words, Vahns smile became more pronounced as he leaned down and gave her a kiss. Her long tongue happily entwined with his while the constricting force of her hair more than doubled in intensity. At the same time, her long tail coiled around his leg and, though Circe might be a little upset when she awoke, the two remained bound together for several hours. Since having s.e.x with Medusa was an ordeal that would take anywhere between ten-to-twelve hours, Vahn knew she was essentially practicing for the moment when they were finally united. To that end, he performed his duty as well, tightly embracing her body in turn as he tolerated the startling heat and pulsation of her lower body pressed against his... --- Though she was still extremely tired and lethargic, Circe awoke around nine hourster. Her eyelids slowly peeled open and, though she felt happy to see Vahn next to her, the presence of the silver-haired bundle clinging to his body annoyed her more than a little. Still, as she had grown ustomed to the presence of Medusa, Circe did her best to calm the anxiety in her heart as she locked away with Vahn. This caused him to squeeze Medusas pert buttocks, eliciting a slight m.o.a.n from her lips as she came back to awareness. As they had been ovepped for such a long period of time, she had be absentminded due to Vahns caressing and the warmth of his body. The whole reason she wore a bodysuit was that her core temperature was usually very low and, if she didnt warm herself up in the bath or byying with him, she would barely even be able to move around the castle due to the fact it was currently winter. This was the main reason she had yet to finish her own Quest as, while taking a hot bath was rather easy, she needed someone to apany her if she took a bath in freezing temperatures. If not, she would literally pass out as her body entered a state of hibernation, one which she could only awaken from after being warmed up for several hours. With Medusa obediently releasing his body, as she already understood his intentions, Vahn sat up in the bed before pulling Circe into his embrace once again. She offered no resistance against his actions, allowing him to move her into hisp as he loosely wrapped his arms around her and asked, "How are you feeling...?" This caused her to think back to the moments leading up to her losing consciousness, her face turning a rosy hue as a result. At the same time, her ears drooped adorably as she nuzzled into his chest and answered, "Im fine...you were very gentle..." Though Vahn had pushed her body further than she even though possible, he had still treated her with a lot of care and concern the entire time. Circe even felt like she had be an extension of his body at one point, giving her thefortable illusion that she would never be able to separate from him... Holding her a little closer as she nuzzled into his chest, Vahn began tob his finger through her hair as he muttered, "Im d...from now on, we are lovers...thank you for choosing me..." Since Hecates actions had left a bit of an impact on him, there was a small feeling of guilt inside of Vahns heart since he knew Circe had given up a lot just to be with him. Still, this wasnt enough to make him actually regret his decision as, when a woman truly dedicated herself to him, Vahn knew he would do whatever it took to make them happy. Now, he just needed to continue taking care of her and, though he may not be able to stay around her at all times, he would do his best to make the moments they are together meaningful... In response to Vahns words, Circe giggled in a sonorous tone as her ears waggled a bit. Then, looking up at him with slightly zed golden eyes, she stated, "Thats right...I chose you...be grateful~." After this, despite the fact she had only just awoken, Circe extended her hand into the small gap between their bodies, grabbing at Vahns member with her delicate fingers. For a brief moment, he thought she wanted to continue from where they left off but, surprising him once more, Circe added, "I dont like sharing...but...until Im confident I can tame this on my own...I may need a little help..." While saying this, Circe gave a nce toward Medusa, earning a snicker from thetter that both amused and annoyed her. --- Though Circe would have obviously preferred to stay with him at all times, Vahn eventually had to part ways with the two by the end of the second rest period. Before that, he provided her with a lot of reading materials after exining her current Status and encouraging her toplete her Quest. This ended up being a considerable boon as, even though Skills like [High-Speed Divine Words] had been erased from her mind, they still existed within her Skill Tree. Though it took a monstrous 30,000,000VE just to awaken the E-Rank version of the Skill, that made sense when considering that the current Circe had no knowledge concerning even basic Magecraft. Fortunately, with 3,000,000VE banked afterpleting her Quest, Circe would be able to relearn most of the basics in a very short period of time. Getting E-Rank in all the Thaumaturgical fields would only require an investment of around 90,000VE. Rather than rely on such a thing, however, Circe was determined to reach a middling understanding in the fields she previously specialized in while using her Variable Experience on Skills she had an interest in but had never used. Her first action, however, was to invest 2,700,000VE into [Od Conversion:C] as, the faster her recovery, the more she could increase her reserves. Unlike most Modern Magi, Circe was very aware of the fact that it took a torturous amount of effort if you truly wanted to reach the pinnacle of the arts. She had actually been a teacher to some of the most powerful Magi of her time, including her niece, Medea. Thus, as a matter of personal pride, Circe believed her talent and effort alone would be able to help her reach her previous potential. Then, following the teachings that Vahn had already mademon amongst the residents of the castle, she would rise up to be a Goddess in her own right. This would be her way of vindicating herself and proving to Hecate that she had not made a mistake when choosing her lover... As a result of her convictions, Circe ended up discarding one of her Quest rewards outright as, now that she had finally be one with the man she loved, there was no way she was going to punish herself just for a boost in strength. Since Vahn had been able to see the description and use of the items, hepletely understood where she wasing from and, with the design of said item being rather precarious, it would be hard to find a use for it. After all, while a [Chastity Belt] was certainly useful in some situations, especially with the bonus effects it provided, the fact that it couldnt be removed until marriage made it hardly worth the trouble... ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Chastity Belt] Rank: Unique Use: Greatly increased the replenishment of all energy sources. Inhibits arousal. A belt formed from soft leather that has the intended purpose of preventing s.e.x.u.a.l intercourse and masturbation. In exchange for remaining chaste, this belt is said to greatly increase focus while also supporting mental, physical, and spiritual development. Restriction: Cannot be removed until marriage. [Pendant of the Moons Promise] Rank: Unique Use: Bolsters the efficacy of all forms of training when performed under the light of the moon. Depending on the moons cycle, the effects can be increased by as much as 200%. When the moon is absent from the night sky, however, the users powers arepletely sealed. A crescent pendant that, despite its rtive simplicity, contains a powerful enchantment. Legends say that the moon has always served as a mirror to reflect all things. As a result, training beneath its cold light allows the user to enter a focused state that greatly increases the efficacy of their training. Restriction: Soulbound: [Circe] ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fortunately, while the [Chastity Belt] seemed like a great inconvenience, the [Pendant of the Moons Promise] was, despite the avability of better descriptives, promising. Using it, Circe would be able to make even faster progress and, as much of Fenrirs meditation and magical training were conducted at night, the two could train together. Even though they didnt get along all that well, Circe hade to respect and tolerate Fenrir before so, now that she had most of her power stripped, the hierarchy in their rtionship had been cemented. Now, with few better teachers avable, Circe had be something of a protege to Fenrir and, rather than learning the faulty system taught in the Nasuverse, she was learning both Cultivation Techniques and Evas Magic System. She was determined to reach Tier 4 through both Magic and, of all things, Cooking, so learning techniques to strengthen her Soul was a must. Since Fenrir and her both had an affinity for the Moon, there were few people more qualified to guide Circe as she began her climb towards the peak of Magic anew. While this was going on, Vahn also continued focusing on his own efforts, passing much of the evening either focusing on hisprehension of the Laws, reforging [Laevateinn], or spending time with his children. He had currently entered a period where he was primarily focused on growth and, with most of the residents of the castle also dedicating a lot of time and effort topleting their Quests, things were always rather lively. The only problems he was facing right now, other than preparing to hold Court after the next summoning, were meeting with Vivian, helping Mordred finish her Quest, and spending time with the increasingly violent Nobunaga. At this point, Nobunaga was around two-months into her pregnancy and, understanding that she could get away with a lot, she had been bullying him a bit. Still, Vahn tolerated her demands as, when she was finally pacified, he enjoyed the moments where they just quietly cuddled together as she allowed him to stroke her belly. Though she had barely started to show, there was a small bump around her navel that indicated the progress of her pregnancy. This actually caused her a fair amount of stress as, despite how confident she had been going into things, Nobunaga was very nervous about being a mother. It was because of this that she would randomlysh out at Vahn as, despite the fact that many of the other women in the castle spent time with her, she only really felt calm when he was around... In this manner, Vahn passed his days proactively, his strength increasingly demonstrably, just like everyone else in the castle. Because of this period of growth, Vahn was rather excited about the future and, as if to add fuel to his already raging fire, yet another piece of good news reached his ears, albeit in a precarious manner. He had been making love to Rin, Ereshkigal, and Ishtar, as his rtionship with the three girls had developed quite a bit after Sakuras birthday, when he was suddenly given a bombshell. Though all three girls seemed to have been aware of it, he noticed there were budding life forms within Rins body that caused his heart to beat madly. Then, with Ereshkigal framing his face lovingly with her hands, she exined in an emotional tone, "Were pregnant..." Though this news alone had caused Vahn to be over the moon with excitement, the rather unique situation of the three girls sent ripples throughout the entire castle. This was due to the fact that, while Rin was certainly pregnant, so too were Ereshkigal and Ishtar. Though this could have been misconstrued as them all being pregnant with the same child, the truth was considerably stranger as, rather than carrying one child, Rin was actually carrying three distinctly different children at the same time. One of the children was clearly the culmination of his and Rins love while, having seen several examples, Vahn knew the other two were undoubtedly Vanir. As a result of this peculiarity, Ereshkigal actually became the dominant personality within Rins body as, fearing for her child, as well as the other two, she had convinced Rin to give her primary control except when she was with Sakura. This was due to the fact that it could be very dangerous for Rin to bear two borderline Gods within her body as, just like how other Vanir were formed, the developing fetuses consumed a great deal of energy while also leeching off the Divinity of their parent. As Ishtar was actually troubled by the prospect of bearing a child, though she did have a few moments where the manifested, this left Ereshkigal with the responsibility of bringing the three to term. Because of this unexpected development, Vahns focus shifted away from his Quests and, though he was still training hard and carrying out his other duties, he spent a fair amount of time staying at Ereshkigals and Nobunagas side. Though he didnt ignore the other women he was involved with, obviously, his rtionship with Ereshkigal had developed beyond his expectations. Simr to Gray, she would proactively seek him out and, so long as he wasnt busy training, this would end with him tending to her for a few hours. This usually only involved holding hands and talking but, as Ereshkigal had be rather emotional over the fact that she, a Goddess of Death, was able to bring life into the world, Vahn never turned her away... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Medusa is very clingy...,I wonder how the [Chastity Belt] works on already married women...?,Circe must be annoyed xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1210 - Rationale?

Chapter 1210 - Rationale?

Having learned from past experiences, Vahn knew he would grow increasingly distracted, especially following the births of his children. Though he treated Sakura and Mordred as his actual daughters, they were both at an age where they sought his attention but didnt require it. With their education and training taking up thergest part of their focus, followed by them energetically ying around, he only needed to step in if they were in low spirits. Fortunately, he actually had more time to spend with them than as Sakura would often spend time with the Rin-bound trio while Mordred proactively spent time with her Aniue, Nobunaga. Since he didnt have to worry about his two adorable daughters too much, Vahn knew he needed to shift his focus and take care of his official duties. The problem with this was, even if he spent just a few days in the real world, that would trante to weeks in the Projection. This made it a lot harder to find the conviction to travel outside Avalon as, with this being the first pregnancies of Nobunaga and Rin, he really didnt want to leave them alone in their thoughts. Just the fact Ereshkigal actively sought him out just to spend time together made it hard to focus on other things... Because he had been thinking about efficiency, Vahn had a peculiar inclination to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e most of his current lovers, feeling that is would remove futureplications. This served the dual purpose of expanding his family while simultaneously strengthening the bonds of everyone in the castle. As he would be absent often in the future, Vahn felt his lovers and children alike would both be happier if they hadpanions and siblings. After all, the mothers would undoubtedly help each other out and, with the ages of the children being simr, they could all be raised and educated together. At the very least, Vahn knew he needed to reach out to Luvia soon as, if her child was significantly younger than its siblings, this would put her in a slightly precarious position. Since she fully intended to have two children, it was important to get a jump start on things. Vahn was even tempted to have those that were currently pregnant stay outside of the Projection until things could be resolved. Not only would this be good for their mental wellness, as having a proper day and night cycle bnced both the body and mind, but it would allow him to establish a baseline of sorts to address things properly. To that end, it wasnt long before Vahn found himself in his room with Artoria and Gray nking him, exining his reasoning in an anxious yet serious tone. As his Empress, Artoria obviously had a say in things and, though she couldnt get pregnant through normal means, he had alreadye up with several solutions. This caused Artorias expression to be very serious, albeit with a slight flush to her cheeks. As for Gray, she had maderge strides towards regaining her independence and had be something akin to Artorias shadow. Recently, they were almost always together, even during moments like this when he needed to discuss things privately with his Empress. With an admittedly heavy bias towards him, Grays fair skin was colored scarlet as she tightly gripped the edges of her skirt, breathing heavily through her nose as she advised Artoria, "I believe Masters words should not be dismissed so easily, Your Majesty..." Though she had feared having children of her own, at least when other people controlled her fate, Gray had felt a powerful longing when she saw how happy her Master was after learning of Nobunagas and Rins pregnancies. She had already entrusted her everything to him so, imagining how happy he would be if she were to bear his child left a deep impression on her heart and mind. Artoria smiled wryly in response to Grays words but, rather than outright refuting them, her eyes remained clear and focused as she exined, "I fear that you have overlooked too many matters, Vahn. Though your reasoning seems sound, I do not think it takes into ount the future Heroes you will summon. Also, if we are busy raising our children, it would interfere with our ability to help in external affairs. As much as it excites me to imagine having your child, I am already content with raising Mordred and focusing on my other duties..." Hearing Artorias words, Vahn blinked a few times, his mind racing to consider things from another perspective. Then, realizing the truth of the matter, Vahn adopted an apologetic smile before giving a curt and understanding nod. As Artoria stated, he was actually going to be summoning several new residents to the castle in the future. This included women like Jeanne, Gareth, and Medea, thetter of which had been nominated by Circe. Though there was a good chance he wouldnt have to worry about Jeanne and Gareth falling for him, unless he pushed them a bit, things would indeed be a littleplicated if he had a bunch of children and several prospective lovers. With a thoughtful expression on his face, Vahn muttered, "I know Luvia and Circe both want children in the near future...". Then, considering the matter of Kenshin, who wanted to wait until he could win against her in a legitimate duel, Vahn realized he been imposing. He knew she wouldnt oppose his decision on the matter, simr to Lakshmibai, but neither girl was that dedicated to the thought of children. Lakshmibai had already born a child in the past and, though she had made strides of her own, these were all towards cementing her ce at his side, not building a family of her own. She had a deeply rooted trauma rted to the death of her infant son so it wouldnt be fair to impose on her until she sought a child of her own... Though she knew Vahn was lost in his thoughts, Artoria gingerly ced her hand on his shoulder, a supportive smile on her face as she stated, "I understand you get excited at the thought of children. I wont me you for wanting to be a father...but these things shouldnt be forced. I have no intention of ever dying or leaving your side...even if I have to wait until you abdicate the throne and travel to a new world, I will continue to follow at your side. I would rather be a good mother to Mordred and the other children of the castle thanplicate matters..." To punctuate her words, Artoria gave Vahn a small kiss on the cheek, causing her blush to deepen marginally as a light shade of red also colored his cheeks. He looked back at her with a serious expression on his face while internally remarking, ("Im always blessed to be surrounded by amazing women..."). Then, before he coulde up with an answer, Gray seemed to have made a resolution of her own, lightly tugging his sleeve as she added, "I will also follow Master...if you want me to bear your child, I am always willing...but, the thing I care about the most is Masters happiness." Hearing Grays words,bined with how she adorably looked up at him, Vahn couldnt help but release a contentedugh. Then, startling both women, he wrapped them up in his embrace, a gratified smile on his face as he eximed, "You said it now!" Following this, Vahn made sure to express his appreciation to both girls. He felt truly blessed to have them at his side and, though it was impossible to know what the future would hold, he chose to believe in their words. Thus, while he might not have the intention to i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e them any longer, that didnt mean he couldnt carve his love into their bodies while drowning in their affection... --- As a result of his discussion, Vahn determined that he would indeed just go with the flow of things, albeit after contacting Luvia and updating her on the situation. He also needed to discuss things with Da Vinci as, with a Skill like [Fertile Body: EX], it was obvious she had such matters on her mind. She was the type that wanted to try new things and, having never born a child, it was obvious this was on her to do list. Vahn was admittedly a little afraid about what kind of child they would produce as, with his Source Energy generally creating a clone of the mother, albeit with some deviation due to his refining effect, it was hard to imagine their child wouldnt be phenomenally intelligent. Though he would care about them deeply, all the same, having another Omnipotent Genius around, one that couldnt really be controlled, was a terrifying thought... Regardless of his inhibitions, Vahn was still more excited at the prospect than concerned as, after the time he had spent with Ina and Erika, he was quite fond of having intelligent children. Just imagining a toddler running around in a small mech of their own design both worried and excited him so, after leaving Artoria and Gray snuggled up in each others arms, he made his way toward the Armory of Camelot before entering his and Da Vincis shared Workshop. As was often the case, he found what she now referred to as her chibi form hard at work, this time working on a prototype rifle for both Nobunaga and Lakshmibai. Though it wasnt directly copied from Nobunagas [Demon King], Da Vincis [Physique Shift] used the aforementioned Skill as a temte. Thus, after being called out on the matter by Nobunaga, she had ultimately agreed to develop an upgraded version of Nobunagas Noble Phantasm. She didnt treat it as a throwaway project either as, regardless of whether or not it was a project she had engineered herself, Da Vinci had the pride of an Omnipotent Genius and Innovator. During thest iteration she had produced, it was already capable of shooting beams of Magical Energy that were capable of leaving small holes in the durable white stone of the Training Orb, something Nobunaga could only manage if she was going all out... As was always the case when he stepped into the Workshop recently, Vahn felt like he had walked through a thin membrane that, upon breaching, filled his olfactory receptors with a fragrant aroma that washed over his mind like warm water. He had to take a few seconds to adjust and focus his mind as, even with his [Will of the Emperor], a powerful urge to push Da Vinci down in the middle of the Workshop always threatened to overwhelm him. This was always exacerbated when Da Vinci put down her tools, looking up at him with her sapphire eyes that seemed as expansive and beautiful as the night sky... Rubbing his brows and temples a few times, Vahn remarked in a slightly heated tone, "Your [Fragrant Aroma] and [Mesmerizing Gaze] will be the end of me...". This elicited an elegantugh from Da Vinci and, rather than show any concern over the matter at all, she mused in a teasing tone, "I already told you, Master...if it is you, I dont mind if you interrupt my work." As Vahn supported almost everything she did, Da Vinci had already made up her mind that she didnt care that much about efficiency. She was already able to aplish more in the past few months than the entirety of her past life. Since he had also awakened her body to the pleasure of a woman, she even got excited at the prospect of doing all kinds of interesting things with him... Feeling an additional wave of heat flow into his body, Vahn released a hot sigh as he made his way over to Da Vincis side. She had already been a pervert at the time of her summoning and, as their time together often left a deep impression on him, he also had little resistance to her temptation. As a result, he wrapped his arms around her naturally and, though her chibi form was around the same size as Circe and Medusa, Da Vincis body gradually increased in size as she tiptoed to kiss his lips. Then, for the better part of half an hour, Vahn set Da Vinci against the table, greedily entwining his tongue with hers until she pulled him back so that he was leaning over her body. Before he gave her what she clearly wanted, Vahn separated from her equally greedy tongue while using his hand to keep her from chasing after his retreating lips. The slight ze over her eyes faded away in an instant and, without him even needed to say anything, Da Vinci began to breathe a little faster as she wrapped her legs around his h.i.p.s, teasingly stating, "I was wondering how long you would keep me waiting..." As she had been giving Vahn plenty of signs that she wanted a child, outside of simply saying it, Da Vinci was actually a little bothered by the fact he hadnt already taken the initiative. She even developed three EX-Ranked Skills that practically screamed, i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.e me, and, if he had dyed for much longer, she likely would have made a fourth... With Da Vincis body suddenly producing a considerable amount of heat, courtesy of her [Fertile Body] activating, Vahn felt as if his mental restraints were being removed. The pheromones she produced caused his blood to boil and, as Da Vinci had produced a body that could even rival a Goddess like Freya, while also being borderline indestructible, it was hard to hold back. With that in mind, knowing she enjoyed it more when things were intense, Vahn gripped the fabric of Da Vincis blouse, tearing the durable material as if it were paper mache. This caused a heavy flush to spread across her face and, for one of the few times they were together, Da Vinci shifted all of her focus to the present moment... --- Though part of the Workshop was destroyed in the aftermath, neither Vahn nor Da Vinci cared in the least as, for what felt like the hundredth consecutive time, a powerful wave of pleasure rocked thetters body. Rather than an elegant Inventor, her current appearance, with wet hair, a sweat-soaked body, and aplete flush, made her look like an amorous demoness as she tirelessly rocked her h.i.p.s atop his inplex patterns that made it impossible to adapt. The most peculiar part of this entire scene, however, was the fact that a rainbow glow was visible in the areas of soft tissue as Vahns hands moved across her body, matching her movements with his own. Despite her seemingly endless endurance and stamina, Da Vinci had reached her limits a long time ago yet, finding it impossible to stop, she continued seeking Vahn out without any thoughts in her mind whatsoever. He was in a simr crazed state and, seeing as how Da Vincis body was in almost pushed into a state of Nirvana Rebirth, Vahn was considerably riled up. Though he couldnt make sense of her internal structure, it felt like Da Vinci was adapting to his energy an her body changed to ept everything he could give. This included making her insides feel so pleasurable that, despite the fact nearly ten hours had passed, Vahn felt that separating from her would fill him with regrets... With a surprising amount of mana spreading chaotically through the surrounding Workshop,rgely produced by Da Vinci leaking it outward, a bluish-white mist had formed. Fortunately, before things could get too out of hand, a small bell began sounding throughout the Workshop, causing both Da Vinci and Vahn to experience a momentary pause. Though this wouldnt be enough to stop them in normal circ.u.mstances, one of Da Vincis subprocesses seemed to remember something, causing it to be the dominant process as she muttered, "Olga had an appointment..." For a brief moment, Vahn felt a great deal of annoyance directed toward Olga but, as soon as this thought entered his mind, he calmed down considerably. Then, even though it felt like Da Vincis insides and his own member had be a singr existence, Vahn reluctantly extricated himself. He noticed that his proud dragon was suffused with a rainbow glow, much like Da Vincis insides, but this was something he had experienced previously, both in Danmachi and the Nasuverse. Though it previously only manifested when he was with Ishtar, as she had a Divinity rted to S.e.x, Vahn wasnt too surprised that Da Vinci had pushed him to the point of using S.e.x Laws... Releasing a somewhat mournful Aah... in response to Vahn separating from her, Da Vinci adopted a pitiable look until Vahn stroked her damp hair and kissed her forehead. He knew it wouldnt take too long for her to recover and, fearing she had forgotten the purpose of their antics, he whispered in a heated tone, "Thank you, Da Vinci...Im looking forward to seeing how brilliant our child will be..." With a bit of focus recing the watery haze in her eyes, Da Vinci managed a smile that could send men to war as she stroked her abdomen. She could make her body ovte whenever she wanted and, even without Vahns gic material, it was possible for her to produce a child. The ten hours they had spent together were more of a formality than anything else, albeit one Da Vinci wouldnt have given up for anything. Then, as the bell sounded a second time in the Workshop, she issued her characteristically elegantugh as she embraced his body, pressing her impossibly soft mounds into his chest as she answered, "Thank you, Vahn...you continually fill my life with meaning..." After they embraced for a few seconds, Da Vinci rose unsteadily to her feet with Vahns assistance before causing Vahn to tense slightly when she transformed back into her chibi form. Since she was still n.a.k.e.d, her body covered in a viscous liquid, Vahn felt like his heart was squeezed tightly, causing Da Vinci to giggle mischievously as her fingers danced around. All of the sweat, grime, and other messy fluids began to rise from her body, forming into a small sphere. She had long ago analyzed Vahns cleaning Magic so, after a few seconds, her appearance had be neat and tidy,plete with adorable renaissance-style clothing. As if to ay Vahns concerns, even though she just wanted to tease him, Da Vinci exined, "Do not worry. My w.o.m.b might functions simr to a Bounded Field. Though I dont mind walking around with a big belly for you, I dont want my pregnancy to interfere with my work too much. Besides, you shouldnt get so stressed out over things like my physical appearance. Dont forget, I have memories of your time with Liliruca. Im certain this is why Nobunaga also teases you over the matter when she feels she can get away with it~." With Da Vincis reminder, Vahn released a tired sigh while not knowing whether tough, cry, or just ept the reality. Considering Circe would be pregnant soon, he really needed to stop concerning himself with such things. As Da Vinci stated, this would also get Nobunaga to stop teasing him as it was a little stressful when she stood in front of the mirror changing her physical age just to see how pregnant she looked at different stages of development. Though she fortunately never took it too far, Vahn felt like Nobunaga wanted to break down his pointless inhibitions so that they couldnt be used against him in the future... Leaving Vahn to mull over things, Da Vinci picked up her staff to gather the ambient mana in the room as, if a normal human were to step inside, they would experience Mana Toxicity. Then, with a mischevious glint to her eyes, she sent amand to the Owl outside to allow Olga ess to the Workshop. This led to thetter entering with a slightly annoyed look, as she had been forced to stand outside for several minutes after the appointed time. When her golden eyes saw the inside of the Workshop, however, Olga was mildly surprised by the destruction until she saw the person at the very center, her mouth and eyes rounding in an instant. Feeling a gaze on him, Vahn turned his head to match Olgas gaze and, seeing her eyes briefly flicker down, he inhaled slightly before a fresh set of clothes cover his n.a.k.e.d form. The damage had already been done, however, causing Olga to turn apple red as she covered her eyes and stammered, "I-I-I..." while Da Vinciughed uninhibitedly at the side... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is a dumbass xD...,Artoria and Gray are best waifus?,These people need to learn some self-restraint...,RIP Olga. Run before its toote...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1211 - Brink

Chapter 1211 - Brink

Though he also felt awkward by the situation, Vahns training with Scthach and the persistent influence of his [Will of the Emperor] gave him an almost unperturbable disposition. Thus, despite Da Vincisughter and Olgas stammering, he kept a rtively calm demeanor as he casually mused, "Forgive me, Olga. It was not my intention to expose you to such promising predicament." As he said this, Vahn gave Da Vinci a sidelong gaze, a flicker shing across his eyes that brought herughter to a quick end. She poked her tongue out at him in response before walking over to Olgas side, causing thetter to tense up before both she and Vahn were surprised when Da Vinci gave her backside a loud thwap. With her face even redder than before, Olga rubbed her butt with an aggrieved expression as she eximed, "Ow! What was that for...!?" Since Da Vinci had a Strength parameter of 17D, it meant she was around seventeen times stronger than the average a.d.u.l.t. As a result, even though she didnt put too much force into the hit, Olga still teared up a bit as her butt throbbed painfully. She had never been spanked in her entire life so, despite the fact she had just witnessed something amazing, Olga couldnt help ring at Da Vinci while frowning deeply. Ignoring Olgas re, Da Vinci opened and closed her hand a few times before remarking, "Not bad. Youve been exercising, havent you~?" Though she knew this as a result of the data collected by the Companions, Da Vinci felt like teasing Olga since thetter had disturbed her fun with Vahn. As a result, Olgas blush had started to creep down her neck as her eyes wandered around the Workshop. She briefly cast her gaze at Vahn, causing her heart to beat even faster as she stopped rubbing her butt and murmured, "Youre a bully..." while ring at Da Vinci. Hearing Olgas words, Da Vinci couldnt help giggling as she gestured toward the scanning bed. This caused Olga to reluctantly make her way over but, as her butt was still tender, she didnt sit on the table directly. Before Olga could think of anything to say, Da Vinci caused her body to stand ramrod straight as she poked the tender portion of her butt and asked, "Did I really hit you that hard? Do you want me to get Master to rub it for you~?" Olga began to fl.u.s.ter but, as if her question never required an answer, Da Vinci had already started pulling Vahn over to the table. This caused thetter to furrow his brows and, feeling that Da Vinci was still scatterbrained due to their earlier antics, he decided to put his foot down. Rather than rub Olgas butt, Vahn reached out his hand to the top of her head, sending a wave of healing energy into her body as he exined, "Dont let Da Vinci rile you up too much." Then, turning his gaze to the chibi version of his lover, Vahn sternly stated, "You should go calm down...Ill watch over the scan." Rolling her eye yfully in response to Vahns words, Da Vinci skipped out of the room, wanting to use the systems in her private workshop to scan her body. She knew not to push things too far but,ing down from the earlier excitement wasnt easy. Though she didnt me Olga for showing up on time, as it obviously wasnt her fault, that didnt mean she felt any better about the situation. Her body still craved intimacy and, despite the fact she had changed forms, Da Vinci could feel Vahns energy wreaking havoc, making a mess of both her mind and undergarments... As could be expected, Olga became even more nervous after Da Vinci left the room as, with just her and Vahn, her mind began racing to match the beating of her heart. She looked like a terrified little rabbit and, as a result of Da Vincis pheromones still influencing him, Vahn had to focus just to avoid pushing her down. Fortunately, though it was considerably less effective when used on himself, Vahn was able to send calming energy into his own body while gently stroking Olgas head. Just as Vahn was beginning to calm down, confident a disaster had been avoided, Olga apparently decided to ignore his efforts as she sheepishly asked, "W-why were you n.a.k.e.d...?" Though the subtle aroma in the Workshop already provided her with the answer, it was the way Da Vinci reacted to her presence that cemented the truth in Olgas mind. Even she didnt know why she decided to ask Vahn what he was doing but, as the words had already left her mouth, she nervously looked up, expecting some kind of excuse... While wondering if Olga was trying to rile him up, or if it was just her natural peculiarity that caused her to ask such a question, Vahn did his best to appear calm and casual, honestly answering, "Da Vinci and I were having s.e.x. She wanted a baby and I wanted to give her one..." As he said this, Vahn removed his hand from Olgas head as, unless he intended to pet her into oblivion, she was already too far gone to calm down at the moment... Having never expected Vahn to answer honestly, Olgas mind momentarily nked and, for several seconds, she even forgot to breathe. Then, though her first instinct was to exim in embarrassment, she followed Vahns example of being calm, her face turning dangerously scarlet as she lowered her head and muttered, "I-I see...yes, that makes sense...hahaha..." Though she had not intended to, Olga couldnt help but nce towards Vahns belt, causing a shiver to run up her back as she remembered the spectacle she had previously witnessed. As a Magus, she obviously knew the anatomy of humans very well but, seeing Vahns n.a.k.e.d body had left a much deeper impression on her than any of the books she had read... Feeling that he would go crazy and eat the sheepish rabbit boring a hole into his trousers, Vahn startled Olga by lightly patting her shoulder and saying, "Take a seat...". This caused her to flinch and, if not for the fact he had his hand on her shoulder, Olga might have even jumped in surprise. Even then, she managed to follow his instructions and, with her butt no longer tender from Da Vincis p, Olga had no trouble sitting on the table. Though she was fidgetting around a bit, this wasnt too much of a problem as Vahn quickly performed the calibration operation on the scanning bed before leaving the rest to Ark. With the familiar mechanical arming to the front of her face, Olga was actually able to calm down a bit, even though she had a somewhat mncholic expression. Though she didnt know what she expected, it was clear that Vahn had no intention of taking advantage of her. Thus, as her Magic Crest appeared on her head, she began to rx a bit, at least until she looked back into Vahns calm and stupidly handsome face. Seeing him acting naturally caused her to feel a slight frustration but, as Vahn was quick to pick up on this, he just smiled in response before asking, "How has your work been going? I believe you are currently on your fifth Quest...?" Though she briefly puffed out her cheeks in response, Olga ultimately released a slightly heated sigh as she answered, "That Quest Board and the Skill Tree are both iprehensibly useful. I cant even begin to wrap my head around how they work but it has certainly made things much easier..." As she had even been able to increase her [Astronomy] from B to A-Rank, Olga felt like she had made more progress in the few months she spent in her Magus Tower than thest few years at the Clock Tower. To further cement this, she now had apletely unique form of Magecraft that wasnt taught, even in families that specialized in researching the stars... While nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn pulled a chair of thin air to take a seat, an action that caused Olga to quickly adjust her skirt as she tightly closed her legs. Since she was seated on a table, there was a small chance he would be able to see between the gap of her legs, causing Vahn to feel a strong urge to roll his eyes Instead, he decided to continue the conversation while focusing on Olgas face, stating, "If you need any help, dont be afraid to ask. I may be..." Though he wanted to say more, Olga surprised him by shaking her head and, with a somewhat sad look deep in her eyes, saying, "It is fine...I understand that His Majesty is busy with other things. I will continue to do my best..." Vahn felt taken aback by Olgas sudden change, at least until she followed it up by adding, "If I work hard...please praise me a lot...". Though she actively sought praise, this was the first time that Olga directly made her expectations known. Since she spent the most time with Fenrir, Lakshmibai, and Iris, it seemed like their supportive nature had brought about some small changes. This brought a smile to Vahns face and, without needing to embellish things, he simply stated, "Of course. I believe in you, Olga..." --- Though the atmosphere remained tense and awkward, especially when Da Vinci returned to work on other projects, Vahn and Olga were able to have a long and friendly conversation. By the end of it, Olga had calmed down considerably and, though she would often be red in the face, talking about her research was an easy way to get her to open up. The only time things really got awkward was when Olga, with easy to discern intentions, identally allowed the tension in her legs to rx with the passage of time. As a result, though she was wearing pantyhose, it was still possible to see the white fabric of her panties through the garment. Though he didnt directly look, Vahns mind did slip up at one point, alerting Olga to the fact he had peeked and causing her face to turn red as she did her best to continue the conversation... When the sers finished scanning Olgas Magic Crest, theplex magic circle slowly faded away from her forehead as Arks results appeared on the screen. Though the structure had already been analyzed long ago, Olga had still been showing up for her scheduled appointments as there were a few anomalous sections of the Magic Crest that Da Vinci wanted to observe over time. Fortunately, even after several scans had been performed, there were currently no signs of any demons within the Animusphere Magic Crest, at least for the time being. With the scanpleted, Olga hopped off the table and, standing awkwardly close while also trying to keep a bit of distance, she leaned next to his body to read the information panel. As it was her familys Magic Crest, Olga had obviously been privy to the data collected and, aspensation for her troubles, Da Vinci had promised to replicate the Magic Crest so that their family would have two in the future. This was rather significant as, with the exception of perhaps two families, every other major lineage only had a single sessor per generation. As a result, there was often infighting andpetition between the young generations of a Magus family, to the point that failures were even sacrificed as material research in the most extreme cases... Though Vahn wasnt the type to get fl.u.s.tered over such things, feeling Olgas warmth and having her bump into him with the softer parts of her body caused him to inhale a little deeper than normal. It was obvious she was pushing her luck and, despite the fact she likely wasnt ready for such things, Olga was like a newbornmb facing down a lion. She was very embarrassed and somewhat anxious but, rather than fear and trepidation, there was more expectation and curiosity. He could even feel her heartbeat through the subtle and almost indiscernible vibrations in the air as she pretended to be oblivious to the fact she was almost leaning against him... Feeling that it was too dangerous to stay in the same room as Da Vinci, as her aroma and periodic nces would rile him up a fair amount, Vahn decided it was time to leave. At the same time, he was considering teaching Olga a lesson and, depending on how she reacted, there was a fair chance her expectations might be met. He knew how hard she had been working and, seeing the progress she had made, Vahn was very tempted to reward her with more than simple praise. Though it wasnt wrong to say these thoughts only existed as a result of his earlier interactions with Da Vinci, Gray, and Artoria, Vahn couldnt deny he found Olgas inexperienced temptations amusing. Lightly nudging her b.r.e.a.s.ts with his shoulder, Vahn rose to his feet while causing Olga to take a few steps back, her face turning a few shades redder. Then, feeling his body heat up, Vahn looked toward Da Vinci to find her staring at him with a mischevious expression before she returned to her work. It only took a simple nce from her to trigger the effects of her [Mesmerizing Gaze] and, throughout the conversation with Olga, she would periodically look over just to tease him. She was doing this intentionally and, though he knew it was likely her intention, Vahn decided he would punish her the next time he visited the Workshop. Since she had spanked Olga, he could deduce that she was also interested in the y, causing Vahn to make a mental note to that effect. Before Da Vinci could rile him up any further, Vahn turned his attention back to Olga, adopting the calmest smile he could manage as he asked, "Shall we go? If youd like, I can escort you back to the Magus Tower. If you want to rest, I can also take you back to your room...?" Vahn decided to pass the potato to Olga this time around, seeing what she would decide. He would let her push him a bit this time, giving her the freedom to choose her own fate. If she decided to go alone, Vahn wouldnt put any pressure on her but, having been riled up, Da Vincis fate would essentially be sealed. Either that or he would go spend a bit of time with Circe as, after his earlier discussion, Vahn felt he was on a warpath of sorts... As she was already prone to jumping to conclusions, Olga read more into Vahns offer than would have otherwise made any sense to. This time, however, she didnt understand that she was walking into the dragons den as she turned her eyes up at him and answered, "Id like that...if it isnt too much trouble, please escort me back to my Magus Tower, Your Majesty. The evenings may be long in Avalon, but I do not want to waste starlight..." Though she would indeed return to her work in most instances, Olga still had some small expectations that, with them being alone, something might happen... Inhaling somewhat audibly, Vahn retained a casual smile on his face as he extended his arm for Olga to grab. Then, after giving Da Vinci a curt nod and a warning look, eliciting a giggle in response, the two left the Workshop, walking nearly thirty minutes to reach Olgas Magus Tower. During this time period, Vahn made the usual small talk while allowing Olga to take a few liberties with his arm but, going against her actual expectations, he didnt immediately try to leave after reaching the Tower. Instead, Vahn escorted her inside rather than separating at the entrances threshold, causing Olgas heart to begin racing, something he was very aware of as it directly transmitted to his body. Believing that he was curious about her work, Olga began to fumble about as she tried to keep calm. Vahn decided to y along with her and, as her work was genuinely very interesting, he listened to her exnations until she calmed down. It was at this moment that he decided to strike and, as she had talked about her progress earlier, Vahn gave an approving smile as he remarked, "You have been doing very well, Olga. Im impressed with how much progress youve made..." This was enough to elicit a happy smile from the pale-haired woman, something that caused Vahns own to curl up at the sides as she stated, "O-Of course! I am a genius, you know~?" With Olga puffing her chest out with pride, Vahn squinted his eyes slightly before nodding his head and asking, "Shall I check it directly...?" This question momentarily confused Olga but, as Vahn lightly touched her back, his intent became very clear. As a result, her face became scarlet and, though she had exposed her body to have the Familia Crest carved, Lakshmibai had been present for support Understanding that Olgas mind was racing, Vahn decided to give her a small push while also leaving her a way out as he asked, "Should I retrieve Lakshmibai...or perhaps Iris?" As there was little to no chance he would do anything untoward in the presence of thetter, Vahn left Olga with an option that was inarguably safe. He actually was curious about the progress she had made and, though it would depend on Olga from then onward, it was an easy excuse to get the bashful woman to strip. Though her mind was still racing, Olga feltforted by the realization that she had a way out of her current predicament. At the same time, this gave her a bit of confidence and, believing that Vahn would never force her if she asked him to stop, she ultimately decided to push her luck. Thus, with her heart beating madly, and her blood pressure making her feel a little lightheaded, Olga took a deep breath as she touched the small gemstone near the cor of her blouse. Though her body started to tremble instantly, she adjusted her clothes so that she was wearing a backless swimsuit, even though her original intention was to change into her lingerie... With Olga suddenly wearing a rather sporty white swimsuit, Vahns brows perked up a bit, causing her to cough a few times to cover her embarrassment as she answered, "That will be unnecessary. I do not want to trouble anyone...besides...I...I trust you..." Though part of her wanted Vahn to betray her trust, Olga felt secure in the knowledge that he wasnt the despicable man her delusions would sometimes lead her to believe. As a result, she stood up nervously, allowing her slim yet full figure to be visible as she walked over to the small bed she used for napping. Her body was shaking madly but, after she plopped face down on the bed, Olga was able to calm herself down as she listened to Vahns approach... Vahn was able to perfectly image a person in his mind but, seeing the figure of Olga as she walked away from him was a sight to behold. Though the clothes produced by the [REquip] system always fit perfectly, the swimsuit she was wearing cut into the soft areas of her body, causing the eyes to naturally wander. It was because of this that Olgas body trembled as, even though he wasnt thinking any bad thoughts, Vahn unabashedly admired her beauty. She might struggle topare to some of the other women in the castle, but she would still stand out quite a bit amongst the vast majority of people in the world. After Olga plopped down on the bed,pletely hiding her face from view, Vahn made his way over with a natural gait. When he had first ced the Familia Crest on her back, Olga had been sitting in a chair so, whether she understood her own actions or not, the fact she had decided toy on her bed was akin to an open invitation. He felt she was a bit ditzy at times like this but, having decided to teach her a lesson, Vahn caused Olga to turn statuesque as he climbed into the bed and straddled her h.i.p.s from behind. Her brain didnt seem to process what was happening until she could feel his weight against her thighs but, before she was able to in, Vahn already cut his finger, drawing a line of blood down her back. As Olgas body began to tremble even more than before, albeit without doing anything to stop him, Vahn observed her Statusing into view. She actually had made quite a bit of progress and, with her unique [Constetion] Magecraft, Vahn smiled as he honestly admitted, "You have reallye a long way, Olga...Im proud of you..." This caused much of her trembling to stop outright and, after a few seconds of silence, Olga looked back at him. She couldnte up with a response but, with the look in her eyes alone, Vahn could tell that his praise had left a meaningful impact on her. Now that she was looking at him, however, Vahn knew it was his time to strike so, while matching her gaze, he allowed his palm to run along her back, tracing down to her pert rump as he said, "I know you have trouble expressing yourself...you also allow your mind to run away with thoughts...this time, let me meet your expectations in a different way..." Though Olga tensed up at the contact, something that caused Vahns slumbering dragon to twitch in response, she made no effort to stop him. Instead, she showed aplicated expression on her face as her eyes began to dart around in their sockets. Ultimately, however, she just swallowed hard and, without saying anything, buried her face into her pillow. He could feel her body shaking beneath him but, as he didnt n to push her that far, Vahn decided it was time for Olga to experience why he had the nickname Godhand. With that in mind, though he appreciated the softness of Olgas butt for a little longer than he ought to, Vahn fundamentally changed the nature of her future delusions by showing her pleasures andforts her mind had never imagined... ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Olga Marie Asmleit Animusphere] Age: 22 Race: Human, God(sealed) Strength: 2E->3E Endurance: 4E->7E Agility: 2E->3E Magical Power: 3E->11D Good Luck: 4E->37B Circuit Quality: 20C Noble Phantasm: ? Origin: Star, Time Skills: [Priestess of Celestial Bodies:Innate:C],[Star of Misfortune:Innate:(sealed)]->[Beacon of Prosperity:Innate:E], [Charisma:D-], [Eidetic Memory:D], [Mathematician:A], [Pianist:B], [Singing:C] Magic: (-) Magecraft: [Od Conversion:C], [Conversion:C], [Astronomy:B->A], [Prophecy:C], [Constetion:E], [Catalyze:D], [Reinforce:D->C], [Curse:D], [Magic Coat:C], [Gandr:B], [Restoration:E->D], [Familiar:E->D], [Projection:E], [Alchemy:C] [Mathematician] Rank: A Use: Denotes a mastery of mathematical theory and the usersprehension of advanced forms. [Pianist] Rank: B Use: The users skill when ying the piano. At this rank, they are qualified enough to consider themselves a professional approaching mastery. [Singing] Rank: C Use: The ability to match vocal pitch and rhythm, producing a sound that others find pleasant to hear. At this rank, the user would easily be able to mesmerize a crowd with their song. [Constetion] Rank: E Use: Allows the user to create advanced magic circles tied to various constetions. The functionality of this form of Magecraft is highly dependent on theprehension and intent of the user. At this level, the user is able to create small obs of starlight that can inflict heavy damage to malevolent entities or heal the wounds of allies. ------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Da Vinci is surprisingly petty...?,Bravery derived from ignorance xD...,RIP Olga...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1212 - Frustration

Chapter 1212 - Frustration

After a long and very eventful evening within the Projection, brought to an end by sleeping in the Menagerie with Fenrir, Medusa, and Circe, the sun began to creep over the horizon and, with it, another long day of training was ted to begin. Though Vahn was also intending on getting in contact with Luvia, he knew from ya that she was currently visiting New York on business. With there being a five hour time difference between the famous city and Avalon, he would be able to visit her at the end of the day while it was still early in the afternoon for her. With that in mind, Vahn alighted to Rins and Mordreds room, picking up Sakura from the former as she had been sleeping with Ereshkigal as ofte. He had a habit of helping them prepare for their morning training and escorting them over, hoping it would keep them motivated throughout the day. Thus, with Mordred riding his shoulders and Sakura seated on his arm, Vahn enjoyed his short time together with his two lovable little daughters, doing his best to ignore Mordred pulling his hair as she wiggled around happily. After leaving the two in the care of Artoria and Gray, Vahn left for his own Training Orb with a bit of pep in his step. He was in a great mood from the previous night and, though it was still very painful to train with Scthach, it was hard to get upset when he was making rampant progress. Of course, as he thought back to the previous night, Vahn had a somewhat sly smile on his face as he recalled the rather interesting time he had in the Menagerie. Since Circe was highly inexperienced, Fenrir had, once again, be a teacher of sorts. As a result, he got to experience the fumbling efforts of a girl who waspletely enamored with him, something that always brought a smile to his face... While thinking of inexperienced women, Vahns smile became even wider as he remembered how adorable Olga had acted. There was nothing that could have prepared her for his massage and, after the fact, the way she tried to goad him into going further was rather endearing. Fortunately for her, Vahn didnt n on pushing her too hard just yet so, rather than take advantage of the situation he had machinated, he just shifted Olga to straddle his h.i.p.s as they made out for a very long period of time. Since she had still been in her white swimsuit, which had be slightly transparent from her sweat, it was quite a memorable experience for both of them... Wondering when he might eat the little white rabbit, Vahn felt a little bit like the big bad wolf as he shook his head with a wry smile and entered the Training Orb. Then, as if his lighthearted state of mind had been nothing more than an illusion, a powerful pressure radiated out from Vahns body as his gaze became sharp enough to, quite literally, bore through steel. He extended his hand outward as ck scales spontaneously erupted to cover his forearms while arge pentagonal shield, simr in appearance to a semi-translucent topaz, formed in front of him. No sooner had the shield appeared than a massive beam of malevolent red light mmed into the barrier, causing the sky around to darken from Vahns perspective. The shield held up, as it had anti-magic and slightly reflective qualities, but the surrounding terrain was ripped apart as the beam of red energy broke into thick streams of lightning. Vahn stayed calm throughout this chaos, however, shaping energy into his right arm before a pair of golden draconic antlers sprouted from his head. In the next moment, just as the crystalline shield shattered into pieces, Vahn had already teleported to a location more than thirty kilometers away, right behind Scthach. Without any dy in her response time, Scthach spun around in a manner that was both graceful and mechanically precise as a scarlet red spear naturally formed in her hands. As Vahn had already been prepared to receive this attack, he didnt even try to evade as he stepped forward fearlessly. In response, Scthach awarded his efforts with an unfathomable fast sweep of her spear but, instead of leaving a gaping wound or bisecting his body in two, Vahns torso seemed to extend as the injured section of flesh was discarded. He grew a new body in a simr fashion to how he would produce an Avatar, leaving behind the damaged section as it quickly dissolved into nothingness. As this was not the first time she had seen Vahn use his cicada skin shedding technique, Scthach was unperturbed by the sight as her spear ruthlessly changed directions at the end of its arc, cutting back like a beam of malicious red light. Before she could cut him a second time, however, Vahn used the energy he had been stowing withing his right arm, extending it toward Scthach as he shouted, "Longinus...!" As this exmation left his mouth, a golden spear erupted from Vahns palm, tearing through his flesh as he had shaped it inside his own arm to hide it from Scthachs perception. While releasing her spear, allowing it to continue its trajectory towards Vahn, Scthach twisted her body while simultaneously teleporting away. This allowed her topletely evade the golden spear which, seemingly moving near the speed of light, smashed into the white stone of the Training Orb with enough force to create a plume of debris more than 300m in height. The shockwave was strong enough to tear through Vahns defenses, which made him immune to anything by A-Rank attacks or higher, but his body was far more injured by the spear sticking in his ribs than the explosion. After struggling to extricate the spear from his body, as it had an effect of piercing deeper when the target tried to remove it, Vahn released a sigh of relief before teleporting away himself. In nearly the exact same moment, several meter-long arrows of light pierced into the space he had been standing, causing nearly just as much destruction as his surprise Longinus. Scthach wasnt the type to just let him stand there and recover so, as long as the battle was ongoing, Vahn knew he needed to be on the move. At the same time, he made his movement unpredictable as, rather than think about the destination, Vahn sent out random tendrils of energy through his domain, giving him several anchor points for an instantaneous [Shundo]. With a powerful offense substituting for most conceivable defenses, Vahn appeared near Scthach after several sessive [Shundo]s and a space transfer. This time, she had five spears floating near her body with a short golden spear in her left hand. Vahn visibly winced after seeing that particr weapon, a momentary gap that was instantaneously exploited by Scthach. He knew it was futile to even try to teleport away or dodge so, deciding to fullymit, Vahns body became onyx-ck as scales spread across his entire body, albeit after he had already been skewered. Rather than try to remove it, however, Vahns body began to lose its shape, wrapping around the spears shaft as he attempted to absorb it. Scthach found that it was nearly impossible to extricate the spear through normal methods so, in the next moment, a ck haze flowed into the golden spear. Thispletely negated Vahns efforts while leaving a gaping hole in his abdomen. At the same time, the spears floating behind her back pierced forward, aiming for Vahns head, shoulders, and thighs. Vahn reacted to this by removing a few dozen Elemental Stars from his Inventory, causing Scthac to frown as her spear danced, quickly dispersing those nearest to her. What she couldnt do anything about were the ones that Vahn had brought out inside his own body so, as the five spears pierced him, a cascade of explosions spread out, enveloping his and Scthachs forms in an instant. As she had already made a shroud of Void Elemental energy, Scthach was mostly unaffected by the explosions but, having been aware of this, Vahn obviously left a surprise for her. This was something Scthach fully expected but, the moment she tried to shift away, the space around the area became locked as a golden hue spread through the surroundings. Then, amidst the continuous explosions, a very different type of elemental energy made its presence known, taking on the form of pure white light that dispersed the chaotic energy in an instant. Scthach brandished her spear to disperse the pulse of energy, her face forming an almost indiscernible smile as she curled her body into a ball just as a ten-meter wide beam of light mmed into her. Just as Scthach had taught him, there were counters to virtually everything but, at the apex of most other forms of energy, Holy and Divine were nearly uncontested. However, as his own body was not well-suited for using such forms of energy, someone other than Vahn appeared as the pir of white light faded away. There, standing at a rtively petite 154cm, wearing a skin-tightbat uniform, was a carbon-copy of Artoria. Instead of her normally stoic appearance, however, she had a visibly awkward expression on her face that seemed to amuse Scthach, despite the fact her body felt like it had been baked in an oven. Releasing a sigh, Vahn, looking indiscernible from Artoria, adopted abat stance as a shroud of pure Holy Elemental energy surrounded his body. This was just the basic activation of [Vis Maxima] but, at the very least, it granted him almostplete immunity to Void Elemental energy. What had him troubled was, despite the fact he had tried to make a male version of Artoria, her Mana Circuits and affinity only worked properly in her base form. Vahn even suspected the entire reason she was stuck in her youthful form was due to this very fact and, though he could emte Holy Elemental energy well enough in any state, being able to control it almost intuitively was very useful... --- After a long session ofbat training, Vahn had returned to his default appearance as he stared up at the empty white void above, visible only if he looked beyond the tworge peaks obscuring his vision. At the same time, he listened to Scthachs lecture regarding what he could have done better while allowing her to trace her hands around his neck and chest. It was veryfortable and, as he had been able to get a few good hits in on her, this was one of the ways in which she rewarded his efforts. He also had the option of taking liberties with her body but, as this was always more than a little disconcerting, Vahn elected not to... While Vahn was enjoying Scthachs caress, a pair of violet eyes were watching him, belonging to a small blue creature that sat weightlessly on his abdomen. She had been watching him for nearly a year at this point and, with so much having changed in recent months, a small amount of frustration had seeded itself in her core. This had be especially prominent in recent days as, with Vahn being on the warpath, she was often forced to float idly at the side, simply observing his antics due to her agreement not to interfere when he was with his women. As this also applied to his training, the amount of time she had to drain his fluids had decreased considerably, causing the supposedly emotionless entity to feel something akin to anxiety. Shaking her head to dismiss her wayward thoughts, ya plopped her body down,ying against Vahn to feel his warmth. Since she had been observing him for a long time, she knew what it would take to get him to pay more attention to her but, refusing to be tamed by him, ya continued to tolerate her displeasure in silence. Part of her knew that, when she started pandering to Vahn, she would already be on the path towards bing fully obedient to him. She had even stopped trying to influence him with her pheromones as, fearing what would happen if they actually had s.e.x, ya instead focused on her tasks of observation and collecting samples. Though she had been aware of it, ya made no attempt to stop Vahn when he suddenly shifted his hand to lightly stroke her hair and ears. Instead, she just closed her eyes while monitoring billions of people within her globally expansive mind. She could see how chaotic things were bing all over the world as, despite the fact Angra Mainyu was years away, the tensions experienced by some had already caused them to start doing horrible acts. Some believed the world was fated to end and, in order to experience life to the fullest while they could, many Magi enacted terribly acts of violence all over the world. At the same time, civil and political strife was beginning to spread in the heart of many countries for the same reason, to the point global war seemed to loom on the horizon. Despite these things, the man who was both responsible for such events spent his days in rtive bliss, even though he was also determined to make the world a better ce. If not for the fact she could recreate all of humanity, if need be, ya would have been significantly more frustrated at the way Vahn lived. She sometimes wished he was one of her Counter Guardians as, if this were the case, it would be her telling him what to do. He would also have to proactively protect the world instead of seemingly leaving everything to fate. Instead, she was the one ced in his charge and, despite the fact he could do anything he wanted with her, Vahn just treated her like a Companion... While thinking about the troubles Vahn had caused, ya could feel calm andfortable energy flowing into her body, something she had grown ustomed to due to his incessant efforts. Though she was tempted to just let him affect her, there was an entire world within her mind and, feeling she had to be the responsible one in their rtionship, ya dutifully observed the activities of people all over the world. This included people like Luvia, Tristana, Siegfried, and Astolfo so, with her limited omniscience, ya was able to observe nearly everything that was going on around them. Currently, Luvia was sleeping snuggly in her bed, as it wasnt even 3 AM for her, while Astolfo and Tristana were recovering from a long night of having s.e.x. As for Siegfried, her rarely ever slept and, somewhat simr to Vahn, spent a lot of his time idling about as he pampered his Companion and cat. ya could see himying barechested on his bed as the two creatures stretched themselves across his chest and abdomen, much like she was doing with Vahn. While they made themselvesfortable, he would gently stroke their bodies, y with their ears, and feed them small snacks with a small smile on his face as Susu licked his fingers... Without doing it intentionally, ya found herself giving Vahns thumb a small lick, causing him to gently stroke her face and chin in afortable manner. She wasnt really paying attention to this, however, despite the fact she was fully aware of it. Instead, she was absentmindedly looking down at a young woman with golden hair that reached her ankles as she sped her hands together in futile prayer. Despite the fact she was adorned in pristine white robes that were decorated with gold and a plethora of gemstones, she was no closer to God than anyone else within her organization. Though ya would humor them a bit in the past, as they helped to preserve humanity, the only thing she could do now was watch the young woman stress out as a result of her silence... After wondering whether or not she should mention this to Vahn, ya ultimately decided against it as, just like during their first meeting, she felt Vahn needed to learn the consequences of his actions by experiencing them first hand. If she wanted to proactively assist him, there were few things that could conceivably prevent his rise as, with the majority of the world within her perception, she could inform him of the location of almost every threat long beforehand. She could even guide him toward all of the worlds treasures and, though she could not actively intervene against his enemies, there were a number of methods Vahn could use to summon her Counter Guardians. While thinking about the people under her charge, ya had a rare mischevious smile on her face that wentpletely unnoticed. There were two individuals that would be paramount to shaping the world ording to Vahns vision but, knowing how much stress they would cause Vahn, ya was somewhat looking forward to their meeting. If he arbitrarily asked her to summon one of her Counter Guardians in the future, she would summon the one that was simultaneously the most useful while also being the most troublesome. Though he might get annoyed with her as a result, Vahn wasnt the type to me others so, at least for a while, she would get to see him experience a part of the frustration she felt... Though she understood how petty her thoughts were, ya didnt really care as, after talking with Vahn hundreds of times, she knew he wanted her to be more independent. As a result, ya was very aware of her own changes but, knowing it was impossible to ovee her programming, she carried out her duties unerringly. Thus, even though she would try to get even with him at times, ya would always follow orders to the letter, so long as it did not go against her prime directives. If Vahn provided her with enough Magical Energy, she would even act as a catalyst to help him erase an entire Continent, including its inhabitants, without even blinking an eye. She could even reverse time or, in the most extreme cases, emte the Throne of Heroes by pulling someone from a past timeline. In this way, so long as Vahn provided her with enough energy and put proper thought into his actions, he didnt even have to worry about any of his allies dying. After all, she could just remove them from the time axis at the instant before their deaths, heal their bodiespletely, and then bring them back into the time axis after things had calmed down... Without realizing it, while also being fully aware of her thought process, ya was already thinking about ways to help Vahn. As the energy of his Petting Laws flowed into her body, she had alreadye up with billions of potential solutions to most of his problems, the only caveats being that he would need to provide her with enough Magical Energy while putting actual effort into how he used her. Unfortunately for Vahn, his nature of not wanting to use people, despite the fact he treated her like a battery and portable space transfer terminal, prevented him from thinking about such things. This was something ya was fully aware of and, though she was reluctant to admit it, the primary source of her frustrations... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Every day Vahn trains with Scthach, he bes a little less human xD...Vahn is a hentai...,Poor ya. Vahn doesnt realize she WANTS him to use her (o,...,o)) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1213 - Lakeside

Chapter 1213 - Lakeside

After a long training session with Scthach, Vahn found himself lounging in one of the smaller and more homely rooms of the castle. Other than the light from the firece, the room was otherwise dark as he sat nked by two women, Nobunaga and Ereshkigal, with a contented smile on his face. They were just watching the flickering of the fire and listening to the periodic crackles and pops as Vahn had the two women reclining against him as he gently stroked their abdomens. He liked to spend his free time in this manner and, despite the fact she would antagonize him on asion, it was a time enjoyed by Nobunaga as well. Among the three of them, however, it was Ereshkigal who enjoyed the quiet moments like this the most as, with her head nestled against his shoulders, she had a subtle smile on her face as her maroon eyes reflected deep emotions. She had her left hand ovepped with Vahns as he gently rubbed her belly and, every now and then, she would look up at him with a hazy moisture covering her eyes. At times like this, Vahn would return an affectionate smile to her and, as if to remind her that she wasnt dreaming, he would give her a gentle peck on the lips. Even Nobunaga knew better than to make a fuss while Ereshkigal was around as, if she attempted to tease Vahn even a little, the blond-haired Goddess would practically erupt as a result. Since they obviously had the right to know, Vahn eventually broke the long silence, exining in a subdued tone, "Da Vinci is also pregnant now...there is a good chance Circe and Luvia will follow..." Thisment only elicited a thoughtful nce from Ereshkigal but Nobunaga followed it up by giving him a sly smile, her blood-red eyes reflecting his image in the low light of the room. Rather thanin, however, she poked him in the side with her index finger, musing, "You really dont know restraint. Dont tell me you intend to knock up everyone now? Did I start a trend~?" Though she was only teasing him, Nobunaga didnt miss the subtle change in Vahns expression, causing her tough uninhibitedly for a few seconds, continuing until Ereshkigals ice-cold maroon eyes caught her attention. Though she would never admit it, Nobunaga was more than a little intimidated to be red at by a Goddess of Death but, rather than show it, she adopted a dauntless smile as she stated, "You are too overprotective. Have more confidence in our man..." This remark caused Ereshkigals brows to furrow as her nose scrunched up in a manner Vahn found adorable. Since Ereshkigal was very inexperienced when it came to socializing, she didnt fully understand when people were just joking. Thus, before she could show any hostility, Vahn brought his hands from the twos stomachs before pulling their heads to rest against his chest. Then, to dismiss the matter, he stated in a firm tone, "Dont fight..." before kissing the tops of their heads. From their resting ce against Vahns chest, Nobunaga and Ereshkigal were only a few centimeters away from each other. This caused Nobunaga to cheekily poke her tongue out towards the pouting Goddess but, not wanting to upset Vahn, Ereshkigal just closed her eyes and lightly snorted through her nostrils. Nobunaga also knew better than to antagonize her any further, causing her to trace her fingers around Vahns abdomen as she asked in a somewhat serious tone, "What are you nning?" For Vahn to have the thought of impregnating everyone all at once, Nobunaga knew he must be up to something else. In response to Nobunagas inquiry, Vahn spent a few moments collecting his thoughts, staring into the flickering orange mes of the firece. When he finally spoke, Vahns expression had be serious, his brows furrowed as he answered, "I feel that it is a mistake to spend all of our time inside of the Projection. It feels like we are bing detached from the rest of the world..." Then, holding the two women a little tighter, Vahn released a sigh as he added, "I enjoy moments like this more than anything...but I cant shake the feeling our enemies are doing whatever they please while I just sit here and idle about..." Rather than refute his words, Nobunaga nodded her head in agreement before extricating herself from Vahns embrace to address him more seriously. Her expression became serious and, though it was tempered considerably, there was a vicious glint in her eyes as she stated, "Now that Im like this, Ive had a lot of time to consider the future..." As she spoke, Nobunaga lightly stroked her belly without breaking eye contact with Vahn, adding, "I am not afraid of death. Even when I died the first time, I epted it with a smile on my face. No, what I fear is that our child will grow up in a world filled with individuals who would want nothing more than to exploit or kill them. If you did not take action, I would have taken it upon myself to do so in the future..." As much as she loved Vahn, Nobunaga felt that, with each passing day, her passion for conquest had awakened once again. Just as she once lifted her de against the corruption of the Shogunate, all for the benefit of her people, Nobunaga wanted to create a better world for her child. Though she still had the ambition to conquer others and star systems, she would never be able to do so without first strengthening the foundation of the Empire. Understanding Nobunagas words better than most, as they had very simr natures, Vahn nodded his head with a cold glint in his eyes. What neither woman could see was his system disy which, at the present moment, reflected the objectives of his [World Power] Quest. He had already discussed these objectives with Artoria and Da Vinci, as they were the closest things to Advisors that he had, so he had already been given permission to act. To that end, Vahn needed to activate CHALDEAS and, if necessary, disregard the status quo entirely as he worked to shape the world into his vision of the future. Though it would take a few more pushes before he took more decisive action, Vahn took a deep breath through his nose before stating, "Soon, I may not be able to spend as much time as Id like with everyone..." Then, shaking his head, Vahn built up a little more conviction as he said, "I need all four of you to be strong in the future. As both Empresses and Mothers, the way you carry yourselves will have a powerful impact on the rest of the castles residents. I will always do my best to return when I can but, when Im not here, it will be your strength and guidance that allows our children to grow happily..." In response to Vahns words, Nobunaga lightly snorted through her nose before leaning against his body and stating matter-of-factly, "In my era, it wasnt umon for warriors and warlords to be away from their territory for months and years at a time. So long as you are doing your best, they will nevere to resent you just because you arent around as often as theyd like. Leave it to the mothers of the household to manage the internal affairs..." With this said, Nobunaga unabashedly hooked her hand around Vahns head, punctuating her statement by pulling him into a kiss. Seeing the passion shared between the two, Ereshkigal felt a small bout of jealousy that was quickly swept aside once the two separated. Then, though she wasnt a well-spoken individual, Ereshkigal held Vahns hand supportively as she stated in a demure tone, "We will support you...leave it to us..." As these words left her lips, Ereshkigals hair underwent a change and, though they could not keep it up for very long, all three personalities manifested together. Vahn couldnt help but smile when he saw this, earning one from the three girls as they mimicked Nobunagas actions with a fair amount of fervor... --- Though it was still early in the day, Vahn left thefortable warmth of the small study with a smile on his face and a focused glint in his eyes. He still had a few hours before he was supposed to start his training again so, while greeting the Homunculi he passed in high spirits, Vahn exited the castle before flickering out of existence. The next instant, as it was only a few kilometers away, Vahn had appeared next to the frozenke containing the underwater castle and shrine. Unlike the majority of Spirits and Fae that hade to reside on Avalon, Vivian had been able to ess the Projection from the start. Though it was impossible for her to enter Avalon by her own means, there was little she couldnt do once Merlin had invited her back. After all, though she would lose if they were to genuinely battle it out, Vivian was nearly as skilled as Merlin himself when it came to Magecraft. Almost immediately after his arrival, a dazzling blue light emerged from the surface of the icyke before coalescing into the figure of a beautiful, albeit translucent, woman. Today, perhaps as a result of the sunlight, her body was shrouded in a subtle white halo as her eyes glimmered like sapphires that, despite their rity, seemed to have a depth that rivaled the ocean. She had an elegant smile on her face and, picking up the edges of her watery-dress, Vivian gave a polite curtsey as she bowed her head and stated, "It is our pleasure to wee His Majesty, the Sage Emperor..." Then, with the corners of her smile curling at the edges, Vivian added, "Please excuse my behavior..." before waving her hand and creating a bubble formed from the water of the atmosphere. Momentster,plex runes, manyprised of the Language of Faeries, formed a very powerful barrier that served as a special Bounded Field to obscure Merlins attempt to spy on them. Without showing any discernible signs of perturbance, Vahn waited for the barrier to form, cutting off even his domain from the outside world. He found this use of Magecraft rather interesting as, if it could actually circ.u.mvent Merlins voyeuristic nature, Vahn felt it would be worthwhile to learn. Even though he knew the flowery Magus was on his side, that didnt change the fact that it was annoying to be spied upon. Though she could not read his mind, despite her attempt to do so, Vivan could understand the glint in Vahns eye as he looked at her barrier. This caused her to giggle from her ce atop the icykes surface before saying, "If His Majesty is interested, I can teach you the Language of Faeries." Hearing Vivians offer, Vahn shook his head, surprising her somewhat when he casually exined, "I am already familiar with the Language of Faeries. In fact, I can speak interpret allnguages, even those of Divine origin. Thank you for the offer, Lady Vivian." Despite her shock at Vahns im, Vivians expression didnt change all that much but, in response to his words, she once again giggled before stating, "His Majesty seems quite capable~." Then, causing Vahns brows to rise slightly, Vivan walked across the icy surface of theke, sending gentle ripples through the hardened ice as if it was liquid water. When she stepped on drynd, her delicate steps caused the grass in a three-meter area to frost over, creating a trail of as she walked within an arms length of Vahn. Understanding some of the questions he had, Vivian preempted Vahn by asking, "Your Majesty, may I speak freely...?" As he gave her a nod of approval in response, Vivian smiled radiantly for a brief moment before adopting a more serious expression as she exined, "You are an anomaly that should not exist within this world..." Though these words sounded harsh at first, Vivans expression softened a bit towards the end as she added, "For that, you have my gratitude." Following her words, Vivian gave a gracious bow, holding it for several seconds before raising her head and exining, "I believe His Majesty is aware of the fact that Merlin has been sealed away. I do not know how the information circted, but it seems to bemon knowledge that I sealed him away due to his pestering....haaa..." Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Vivian then added, "The truth of the matter is, I have and always will love Merlin. However, once I understood the type of entity he was, I had no choice but to seal him away. I could not tolerate his adherence toward fate and his unwillingness to do anything about it, despite the pain it caused him. Im certain he even allowed me to seal him away for the same reasons..." Now, Vivian had a hurt expression on her face and, despite the fact she was made from water, Vahn could tell she was on the verge of tears. He couldnt help but swallow nervously as, if she were one of his own women, he would have embraced her to calm her tumultuous heart. His concern seemed to be conveyed to her, however, causing Vivan to wipe at her eyes with a smile on her face as shemented, "You are a kind man, Your Majesty..." Then, after collecting herself for a bit, Vivian went on to say, "I truly am grateful for your presence. If things had continued along the course that Merlin and I had seen, our paths would have never intersected. It would have taken several impossibilities for us to be together once again but, now that you are here, I believe there is a chance the course of our fate has been altered..." In response to this, Vahns expression softened a great deal as he mused, "You really do love him...I hope your paths truly do align in the future..." This remark caused Vivian to smile radiantly yet again, followed by her nodding her head and exining, "That is why I wanted to meet with Your Majesty as soon as possible. Merlin already exined your ambitions and, while it is hard to even fathom the world you wish to create, know that I will dedicate my everything in support of the Empire. All I ask is that you never stray from the path you have set yourself upon...if you are unable to control the flow of fate around that woman, Merlins duty will never beplete..." Though Vahn understood what Vivian was trying to say, he still asked, "And what exactly is his duty? I have some understanding of his nature but there are many things Merlin keeps to himself..." Nodding her head in understanding, Vivian calmly exined, "Merlins father was the King of the Incubus species. He was ced in charge of observing the progression of the world and imnting the seeds of ambition by shaping the dreams of people throughout history. However, due to Gaias hatred for humanity, as a result of their corruptive nature, he became influenced by their negative emotions. Fearing he would be corrupted even further, Merlins father started devouring only the good and pleasant dreams. This caused humanitys corruption to spread even faster, resulting in Gaia imploring the Moon to punish him for causing her even greater anguish. This resulted in the exile of Merlins father, forcing him to descend upon Gaias surface so that she could punish him directly. In order to evade his inevitable end, the former King fled into the dreams of a young woman born in the British Isles..." As Vivian recounted Merlins past, Vahn listened attentively as several questions appeared within his mind. He didnt quite agree that humanity was a corruptive force by default but, when he considered the history of the Nasuverse, this actually seemed to be the case. Not only were they slowly killing the they inhabited, but their actions often caused an iprehensible amount of bloodshed, usually for no other reason than a few people wanting to gain benefits for themselves. They also had the responsibility of corrupting the various Spirits as, prior to the emergence of humanity, all Spirits simply carried out their roles in nature without fail. It wasnt until they began to interact with humans that various malicious Spirits, Demons, and Ghosts came into existence... While thinking about these matters, Vahn began to reflect upon all of the stories and books he had read. He also recalled his past experiences as ab rat and blood bag in his first life, causing him to frown deeply, at least internally. It certainly seemed to be the case that corruption was widespread in all worlds, including the Records that hade into existence as a result of the dreams of sentient creatures. Since the world needed to exist in a state of bnce to function healthily, Vahn began to realize that sapience itself may be the source of corruption. So long as the possibility of benefits existed, regardless of how they might affect others, there would always be people who seek to rise above the norm to elevate themselves above others... Having nearlypleted her recounting of Merlins past, Vivian wrapped things up by exining, "Merlin was heavily influenced by his mother who, even knowing his birth would result in her death, willingly sacrificed herself so that he could live. This caused him to develop a self-sacrificial mentality as well, setting him upon a path where he sought the best end for everyone. It was this desire that led to him getting involved with human affairs and, after the birth of Artoria, she became the most instrumental part of his entire n. Since her fate was far more powerful than normal, he helped to shape her into the Perfect King, preparing her for the time when she would usher the world toward a true utopia. Merlins goal is to create a world where everyone has a chance at happiness, free from the fates that had been assigned to them..." Understanding this, Vahn nodded his head before stating, "So, our dreams are pretty simr...to that end, the sess of the Empire is the same as fulfilling his ultimate ambition, In turn, that will free him from the duty he had taken upon himself, allowing him to retire to the Stone Prison where you intend to join him...is that correct?" In response to Vahns inquiry, Vivian gave a curt nod before answering, "Unlike humans, we Spirits only ever imprint upon a single person. When I imprisoned Merlin, I also isted myself in the coldest and most distant part of the ocean as penance. You may think I am a cruel and petty woman but I would not have been able to imprison him at all unless he allowed it. Merlin understands better than most what he had gotten himself into after making a Spirit fall in love with him...please keep that in mind, Your Majesty." Though it sounded like she was just making excuses, Vahn knew that Vivian was actually trying to warn him. As history made very apparent, Spirits were perfectly fine living livespletely separate from humans but, once they did be involved, theypletely dedicated themselves to the role they had adopted. This is what often led to the corruption of said Spirits as, with their nature being fundamentally different from humans, any negative emotions they experience were amplified by several times. They could quickly be vengeful and destructive Spirits due to misunderstandings, sometimes causing small countries to disappear from the map overnight... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nobu, the trendsetter o3o...,The default state of the world is pure and unblemished. It is the passage of time and the desire for progress that leads to corruption and, ultimately, stagnation through control,Spirits be scary) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1214 - Endless Cycle

Chapter 1214 - Endless Cycle

Rather than returning to the castle quickly, Vahn walked at a normal pace, his mind in deep thought as he reflected on what Vivian had told him. As it was her ultimate goal to stay at Merlins side, she was willing to offer her full support, so long as it did not involve directly interacting with others. Even though she had already imprinted on the flowery Magus, Vivian could still be corrupted if she were exposed to too many negative emotions. Thus, rather than provide direct assistance, Vivian offered her service as a High Elemental Spirit who had full mastery over the Language of Faeries. The Language of Faeries, ifnguages could be ssified in such a way, was what Vahn would refer to as a peak Tier 4nguage. It had an incredible amount of potential, to the point that Artorias armaments and physical enchantments were all derived from the Language of Faeries. So long as the user had a proper understanding of thenguages structure, much like [Primordial Rune]s, there were no limitations to its uses. It could even grant people immortality, manipte time, or, in the most extreme example, allow a person to move between Imaginary Spaces. One of the most well-known forms of Magecraft used by the Fae was the Faerie Circles which, if used to their full potential, could even allow for passage to the Reverse Side of the World. As for its lesser, but arguably more useful applications, it could be used to enchant weapons and armor, promoting them to the level of Noble Phantasms. Though all of these uses depended on the amount of mana and materials, these were things that could be dealt with easily. After all, Vivian also had the ability to manifest concepts, albeit limited to aspects of Nature, Water, Yin, and Purification. What Vahn needed to keep in mind was the warning that Vivian had given him at the very end, the very thing that caused him to take his time when returning to the castle. She had exined that the efficacy of Faerie Runes, which was the written form of the Language of Faeries, relied on the caster being alive. They were intrinsically connected to their creations which also meant that, if used for evil and malicious acts, the creator could be corrupted. It was for this reason that powerful enchantments would be ced on their creations, making it impossible for the vast majority of people to use. As Vivian had already made a vow to him, stating that she would do anything he asked, Vahn, quite literally, had the authority to have her do whatever he wanted. High Spirits, especially Elementals, were incapable of lying and breaking their vows. Though he would never exploit this, it was enough to make him cautious and considerate of his future actions. After all, Vivian wasnt the only High Spirit he would interact with in the future and, if he erred along the path he had decided upon, there was a good chance his actions would have disastrous consequences. Vahn found that it was unfair that humans were able to make pacts and contracts with Spirits, Daemons, and Demons, binding them to their will. The fact that these were all Nature Spirits, existing as part of the natural order of the world, while humanity was more of an infestation, made little sense to him. Though he knew this was a quirk designed by the Records Creator, Vahn couldnt help but feel troubled by the reality he had to face. For better or worse, humanity seemed to be the principal race within most Records, at least those existing within the scope of his knowledge. Though it wasnt the first time he had such thoughts, Vahn was now realizing that his ascent into the higher Tiers would be marred by his encounters with two groups, being normal humans and those who oppressed and controlled them. Unless he proactively sought out Records that functioned from a fundamentally different perspective than what was considered normal, he would be gued by the same tropes endlessly. This meant, even if he passed through a hundred Records, Vahn would be stuck in the same cycle over and over again, almost as if he were being refined and tempered like a de being hammered tirelessly... Shaking his head, Vahn turned his eyes towards the blue skies above, muttering, "The only thing I can do is keep moving forward...when I reach the pinnacle, I wont allow this kind of structure to exist within the reach of my power..." In response to Vahns words, the gentle and soothing voice of Sis flowed into his mind like water, guiding him in the same way she had always had, (*When you have enough power to link and create your own Records, it will ultimately be up to you to decide how the world itself functions. Even then, you must not forget, Vahn. So long as you endeavor to create a world where everyone can be happy, there will always be forces at y that serve to counteract your efforts. Creation, Destruction, Life, Death, Yin, Yang...for a Record to function, it must exist in a state of bnce...*) Hearing Siss words, Vahn nodded his head before continuing along the path toward the castle. As troubling as the thought was, Vahn knew he could not stamp out concepts like evil. Despite his best efforts, there would always be a few people who resist the system, doing everything in their power to break free and rise above others. Even if he promoted a system where they were able to rise up to their full potential, this would not satisfy everyone. At the same time, there would always be people who feel that the system itself is restricting them, despite the reality being that they simply didnt put in the requisite amount of effort to seed. So long as there were differences between people, the seeds for potential conflict would always exist, waiting for the time they could blossom and thrive. It could even happen amongst people who seemed pure and incorruptible as, once they are in a position of uncontested power, just the reality of dealing with the same mundane problems could eventually wear them down. Even Vahn felt that way at times, finding the machinations of existences such as Nobles and Gods to be mundane and repetitive. Most of his enemies hadmon traits, being that they were either greedy, licentious, despotic, tyrannical, or all of the above. The only real differences between them were their respective crimes which, after a while, seemed to blend together into the same monotonous representation of corruption... Vahn found himself wondering if it wouldnt just be easier if he created a system that could interpret the karma of individuals, automatically sorting them into tangential realities where they would only interact with likeminded people. This would pit those with high amounts of negative karma against each other, allowing evil to prosper in istion while good would flourish on its own ne. What made this impossible, or at least foolish to consider, was the realization that nes like Heaven and Hell were an example of such a system which, given enough time, ultimately failed... Resisting the urge to ruffle his own hair in frustration, Vahns figure vanished from the path he had been walking. He next appeared at the entrance to the castle, deciding it was fruitless to think about such things on his own. His path was not one where he arbitrarily decided everything, passing downmands from on high without proper consideration for those who had to follow his decrees. Even when he ruled over entire Records, which was an inevitability at this point, the best he could do was create a system that incorporated the aspects of bnce. He might not be able toe up with the most ideal system on his own but, with the help of people like Da Vinci, and the support of all his allies, lovers, and children, Vahn felt they coulde up with something... --- Though there was still a few hours until he had to return to the Training Orb, Vahn decided to vent some of his frustrations. Scthach spent practically all of her time there, sometimes preparing a few surprises for him while, other times, building obstacles and altering the terrain for future lessons. If he showed up early, he was essentially allowed to ask for supplementary lessons or just seek general guidance from her so, without having to worry about being trashed the moment he stepped inside, Vahn unhesitantly dropped into the Training Orb. There, as always, he found Scthach waiting for him, her expression almost unreadable as she stared back at him with crimson-red eyes. Before he could state his reasons for arriving, Scthach preempted him by saying, "You are lost and confused..." This was obviously not the first time she had seen Vahn in such a state, something which she had learned indicated that he was on the precipice of a big decision. With just this small amount of information, Scthach was then able to reach her own conclusions about what gued his mind, causing her to nod in understanding before saying, "There are none who can force you to bear the burdens you ept upon yourself. Hesitation and frailty of the mind will lead to ruin...if you do not have the conviction to abandon everything, stay focused on the things you want to protect." As she spoke, Scthach walked over until she was standing just a few centimeters away from Vahn, close enough that she had to crane her head to look up at him. She could see that her words had an effect on him but, with doubt clearly visible in the depths of his eyes, Scthach issued a rare smile as she said, "It is good that you are troubled. If you were not, you would have lost the qualifications to rule over others. This is why so many people support you. You should never have doubts, however, as doing so is an insult to everything you stand for..." Then, cing her palm against Vahns chest, Scthach added, "It is time you learn to be more selfish...you cannot live for others." Hearing Scthachs words, Vahn had a wry smile on his face as he grabbed her wrist, saying, "If I were more selfish, I fear that I would be a monster...I do not want to be part of the corruption I fight again..." To this, Scthach maintained her smile, staring back at him with an unwavering gaze as she replied, "This is why youve surrounded yourself with so many people. Do not look down on us, Vahn...if you step out of line, there will always be someone there to correct you. So long as you do not forget this, it is fine to act like a spoiled child..." At the end of her words, Scthach prevented Vahn from saying anything further, extending her arms like in a blurred motion that was almost impossible to follow before hugging his face into her chest. She began to stroke the back of his head while adjusting her center of gravity towards the back ever so slightly. As a result, once Vahn began to rx, he naturally fell forward, causing her to tumble to the ground in a much smoother motion than an actual fall. This brought Vahn into a position where he was leaning over her body, his aquamarine eyes emanating a light that was invisible to most, but clearly discernible by Scthach. Seeing this, her usually emotionless face softened somewhat, a small smile on her face as she wrapped her arms around his neck and said, "So greedy...you want me to spoil you as well...?" Though her words were obviously enough to give Vahn pause, as he knew the repercussions of such actions, Scthach didnt afford him the time to think about it. Instead, she pulled herself closer to him, her lips close enough to tickle his ear as she whispered, "Give me everything...if you cannot bear the burden, you can entrust it to me...as your teacher, that is another of my responsibilities..." With this said, Scthach flicked Vahns earlobe with her tongue before pulling his center of gravity forward so that he was pressing into her. This was enough to cause Vahn to inhale deeply through his nose as he bit his upper lip to restrain himself. Everything that was happening right now waspletely outside his expectations but, seeing the woman who had tormented him for nearly a year suddenly pressed beneath him caused his brain to buzz instantly. Though he knew she was only acting, as this was also a Skill within her endless list of capabilities, Vahn felt an almost irresistible temptation. This was only exacerbated when he saw the taunting look deep in her eyes, followed by the edges of her lips curling into a condescending smile. At the same time, practically making the decision for him, Scthachs bodysuit vanished into motes of purple light as she hooked her calves around his legs and pulled him closer to her body... Despite his inhibitions, Vahn felt that backing out at this point was impossible, but, despite this, he ced his hands down hard, nking Scthachs head. He stared into her usually emotionless eyes, resisting the temptation of her immactely sculpted body and the stimting heat that was being transmitted into him as he said, "I will not have s.e.x with someone who does not love me...even if I have feelings for them..." Since he had already known her for a very long time at this point, Scthach had be someone very important to him. She not only helped him grow stronger but, due to her own machinations, she now served as one of his goals, something he shouldnt be able to obtain arbitrarily. Hearing Vahns words, Scthach had a rare pause, her expression distorting slightly as she squinted her eyes. Then, after a few seconds had passed, she stated in a firm tone, "You are the person most precious to me, Vahn Mason. If I didnt want to give myself to you, there is little you could do to take anything from me..." Following this remark, Scthach quickly reversed their positions, pinning Vahn to the ground in an instant. Before Vahn could say anything further, she grabbed the sides of his face and said very matter-of-factly, "I want to spoil you. I want to give my body to you. If you want me to love you, make me. Dont make excuses." Though he was very familiar with how vicious Scthach could be, Vahn had been caught unprepared by her sudden actions. She made it very clear this was something she wanted and, even though he did his best not to rely on it, Vahn couldnt help activating his View Affection. The moment he did so, Vahn saw something rather diforting as, with each second he dyed, Scthachs Affection had started to decrease. What surprised him most of all, however, was the fact that her value had already broken through the threshold, represented by the hidden parameter Faith at 413. This was the first time he had seen such a value, indicating that Scthach had a lot more trust toward him than he had expected... Despite his confusion at the peculiar parameter, Vahn was very clear about what he needed to do as, with the activation of his View Affection, he was able to see Scthachs aura. Though her expression had be somewhat vicious, there was actually no anger at all visible within her aura. Instead, it was a mellow yellow, tinged with sky blues and a healthy amount of pink. It could be the result of the fact she had riled up her own body so that it would be more responsive to him, but it was clear that Scthach wasnt ying around. This became even more apparent as a small flower of purple began to bloom at the center of her aura, indicating frustration and a small amount of fear... With his mind calming down a bit, Vahn looked directly into Scthachs eyes, causing her expression to return to a more neutral state. At the same time, her Affection started increasing, albeit at a much slower pace than the previous decline. Upon seeing this, Vahn adopted a smile as he extended his hand out and tested the feel of Scthachs ample bosom while saying, "I will make you love me using my own methods...dont disappoint me, Shishou..." Hearing Vahns words, Scthachs face formed into a frown but, doubt filling her usually cid mind. It wouldnt be the first time she had s.e.x with a student and, feeling that Vahn needed a boost to his ego, she was fully willing to y the part required of her. What she didnt expect was him regaining his confidence in an instant, causing her current actions to feel like a mistake. This wasnt the first time he had surprised her, however, so Scthach quickly adjusted her mentality and adapted. As he began to fondle her b.r.e.a.s.ts, she began to grind her h.i.p.s against his, only stopping when Vahns eyes became sharp. From this, she could conclude that he wanted her to remain an almost unreachable goal, something he could obtain, not something to be received. Though she should be happy with Vahns decision, Scthach felt a sudden emptiness in her heart, even though she was certain there had been nothing there moments before... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Shit be whack, yo,Ara Ara...,Doki Doki) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1215 - Projection

Chapter 1215 - Projection

Though he had originally gone to Scthach to vent, Vahnter left the Training Orb in a ragged state. After he took the initiative, Vahn did his best to get a genuine reaction out of Scthach but, despite his best efforts, the most he managed was causing her skin to flush slightly. Even this was only due to the fact she couldnt easily expel his Source Energy from her body, giving him a small advantage against a seemingly insurmountable foe. This had continued for several hours, Scthach allowing him to try whatever he wanted while she passively and actively resisted his influence. Fortunately, with his View Affection still active, Vahn was able to learn quite a bit before one of the most painful thrashing sessions he ever experienced followed... Vahn thought he had prepared himself for Scthachs counter attack but, once the training actually began, she reminded him of the massive gulf between them. By the end of things, he had be a veritable puddle of greyish flesh, spending nearly three hours just trying to collect himself before she resumed teaching him about Laws andbat techniques. This was simr to the state he had been in after Musashi cut through his ego but, as he had failsafes against that now, Vahn recovered much faster than he otherwise would have. During the follow-up lessons, Scthach used practical demonstration to teach him, meaning, other than the three hours he had spent reforming himself, Vahn spent thirty-seven straight hours at the mercy of his spurned Shishou. She wasnt actually angry, as her Affection had actually gone up, but she seemed to be responding to his intent. Now, though it had already been obvious before, Vahn was made aware of just how much Scthach had been holding back against him. Now, instead of just responding to him, she was taking the initiative to attack directly, forcing him on an impossible defensive where his mind could hardly even keep up with the stimulus he received from the outside world... Scarily enough, this was Scthachs way of respecting his decision. She was showing him just how far apart they were and, if he wanted to capture her heart for himself, Vahn had a very long way to go. Since he had made his intentions clear, the proverbial gloves hade off. Now, it was a battle of attrition where he would either im Scthachs heart, or she would break him. Even so, Vahn didnt intend to give up and, now that he had essentially challenged her, he would keep pressing forward until his inevitable victory. If he couldnt even conquer a single woman, there was little hope that he would have a strong enough will to rule entire Records... With such thoughts on his mind, Vahn decided to spend some time with Iris and Illya before leaving the Projection and heading to New York. This time, he was intending to travel without yas help as it was only around 5,300km away. Previously, he had been using her for his convenience but, with a desire to see the world he would one day rule, Vahn intended to travel around freely for a while. The trip would only take around two hours if he relied on his natural speed, allowing him to either fly across the sky or zip across the surface of the ocean without any major difficulties. As was often the case, Vahn found Iris and Illya in the Library as, even during the day, Illya spent most of her time studying and researching. This was a trait she shared with Rin and Olga, something that wasmon amongst Magi. The only time she did something other than study was when he invited her out or when she was apanying her mother around the castle grounds. Though she would sometimes interact with Fenrir, Medusa, and Circe, the rest of Illyas social interactions hinged on other people entering the Library and taking the initiative to talk to her. Once again, Illya had built a veritable tower of books around herself and, as the Library was located within the Inner Sanctum, she was even wearing light pajamas whileying on a futon that had been kept in her storage bracelet. With a cup of pocky, a stick-type candy that was popr in Japan, she looked like a proper, albeit very adorable, shut-in. This became even more apparent as, after noticing his presence, Illya had a fl.u.s.tered expression on her face as she retreated under her nket for a few seconds before appearing in a proper dress momentster. Shen then quickly threw the evidence of her behavior into her Inventory as Vahn pretended to be distracted by making polite conversation with Iris. Dutifully ying along, Iris had risen to her feet but, with Vahn gesturing not to bow, she instead had a radiant and admittedly breathtaking smile as she softly stated, "Wee to the Imperial Library, Your Majesty. If I can be of service, please, do not hesitate to ask~." Though it was an admittedly pointless question, just like asking about the weather, Vahn walked next to the front desk, leaning against it as he asked, "How are youtely? Have you had any trouble with maintaining the Library...?" Thisment elicited a light giggle from Iris and, perhaps mimicking his own behavior, she leaned against the table as well, supporting herself with her elbows in a way that, if she werent wearing a blouse, would have ented her cleavage considerably. In response to Vahns question, Iris tilted her head slightly to the side, a yful glimmer in her ruby-red eyes as she answered, "It may not be the most exciting life, but I have been enjoying myself. Im currently doing a Quest that requires me to read one-hundred books. If I work hard, I may be able to finish in the next two or three days~." As there were Quests for even mundane tasks such as chores, there were obviously Quests rted to work and recreational activities. They didnt give much in the way of rewards but, with Iris being quite fond of reading, she felt a small sense of achievement every time shepleted a Quest... After having hidden all the evidence of her somewhat slovenly behavior, Illya had hopped from the second floor, causing Iris to avert her attention away from Vahn as she said, "Illya, use the stairs ordder properly, please~." Though she said it in ackadaisical manner, it felt like the surrounding temperature had dropped a few degrees as Iris smiled radiantly at her daughter. Even though Illya wouldnt be harmed, jumping around the Library was a no-no as far as Irisviel was concerned. Flinching slightly at her mothers smile, Illya showed an awkward reaction as she answered, "I-I wont do it again..." Then, after doing a strange wiggle, following by shaking her head, Illya trotted over to Vahns side, asking, "Did youe to visit us...?" At first, it might have sounded like she was referring to Iris and herself but Vahn knew she was undoubtedly asking if he hade to spend time with her and Cath Palug. Recently, Illya had been trying to convince the hyper-affectionate Beast of Gaia to fuse with her and, even without his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could tell they had made a lot of progress in that regard. Now, rather than having perfectly straight, silky smooth hair, Illyas had started to curl a bit towards the ends. It had also be progressively whiter and, having experienced it personally, Vahn knew it was very soft to the touch. He suspected that, any day now, Illya might actually sprout an extra pair of ears and a bushy tail, something he was both anxious about and looking forward to. It was also this fusion with Cath Palug that had caused Illyas somewhatzy behavior as, while she had never been that social before, Cath Palug was outrightzy and anti-social... As if it was the most natural thing in the world, Vahn habitually extended his hand to stroke Illyas head, bringing a cheerful smile to her face as he answered, "This time, I wanted to spend time with the three of you. Is that okay...?" While he was addressing Illya, Vahn knew that Cath Palug was also listening in and, after a few seconds of internal deliberation between them, Illyas smile became even more vibrant as she nodded her head with an Nn~!. Follow this, Vahn carried Illya in his left arm and, though he hadnt really made any progress on his rtionship with Iris, for obvious reasons, he still escorted her by the arm locking up the Library and turning over the key to one of the waiting Homunculi. After reaching Iris room, which was now separate from Illyas, the four sat down on a sofa together and, as he had already gotten used to it, Vahn didnt mind in the least that Iris sat flush next to him while Illya and Cath Palug imed hisp for themselves. He liked to think of them as a small family group, even though he was fully aware that Iris wouldnt refuse him if he wanted a more meaningful rtionship. Though he could never rece Kiritsugu in her heart, Iris was infinitely more concerned with Illya and, as thetter wanted her mother to be happy, something she associated with Vahn, Iris had virtually no inhibitions towards him. This had caused Vahn to think about summoning Kiritsugu in the past but, knowing the mans nature and the questionable acts he had performed in the past, he was a biggerndmine than even Shirou... --- With Iris using his shoulder as a headrest, and Illya snuggled up in hisp, Vahn used a specialized [Projection Sphere], the same tool used to stream the Coliseum battles and sports back in Danmachi, to project an image of his own memories onto a thin membrane. Cath Palug was extremely against having Merlin in its head but, wanting to know even more about him, Vahn had been streaming his memories for Illyas benefit. She really enjoyed seeing the world through his eyes, especially when it came to the more action-oriented scenes of him fighting against iprehensibly strong enemies. Since she had seen Vahns memories directly, Iris already knew what to expect but, as it was still very interesting to watch, she also enjoyed spending time together like this. It was almost liked going to a movie theater as a family and, though there was no greater meaning behind her actions, she enjoyed using Vahns arm and shoulder as her pillow. Though she would sometimes wonder if Vahn saw her as anything more than Illyas mother, especially with thousands of simr entities walking around, it ultimately didnt matter. Iris was very happy living in the castle and, while it was somewhat disconcerting that her daughter was fusing with a beast capable of destroying the world, she didnt make a fuss over it. After all, it was very apparent that Illya was even happier than she was and, after knowing how long Cath Palug had lived in istion, Iris felt pity for the monstrously powerful creature. It also helped that their fused form was rather cute, not that she would admit this was one of the primary reasons she had epted its presence... This time around, Vahn was showing Illya one of the times he had cut loose in his Baihu form and, with his domain automatically scanning his surroundings, he was able to disy the scene from a variety of different angles. Since it also yed at the speed of his perception, it was easy for the girls to follow, even if this meant many of the enemy monsters were moving in slow motion at times. The only thingcking was a music track but, with the action in the projection being very real, it wasnt really necessary to amplify things any further. Though some of the scenes were rather visceral, this only affected Cath Palug as both Illya and Irisviel were intimately familiar with far worse scenes. The only major downside to viewing memories through a projection was that it yed in real-time, meaning there was no pacing at all. It would y out for hours on end and, unless Vahn sped it up or skipped parts, there would be long periods where no action took ce at all. Even then, Illya and Iris didnt really mind as, during the lulls in the action, they seemed to enjoy the silence even more. They got to see how Vahn viewed the world which, when he saw it second-hand, was quite an eye-opening experience. Even Vahn was surprised to see how attentive he was to things that, at the time, seemed arbitrary or unimportant. This was the result of his sub-process mind proactively taking in his surroundings, even when his main process had been focused on other tasks or meditating. Thus, while there were some blurry areas, the projection showed a startlingly clear picture of his surroundings, including how the walls and floors seemed to be transparent or, at times, non-existent due to his domain. It was almost like watching an illusion y as, with his awareness of the flow of elemental energy, the scene was remarkably vibrant, filled with a variety of hazy colors. If he moved the focal point near a person, it was even possible to hear their heart beating or the blood flowing through their veins... Fortunately, either as a quirk of The Path or Sis careful doctoring, his memories never showed anything directly rted to the system. This included things like View Affection and his discussions with Sis. Instead, it would show him calmly meditating or fearlessly walking through the Dungeon, almost like an unstoppable machine that emanated a terrifying aura. Until he had viewed them from an outsiders perspective, Vahn had never realized just how domineering he had behaved, especially when he had first started to gain power. In a way, it was actually rather embarrassing but, as Illya and Iris seemed to find some amus.e.m.e.nt in this, sometimes evenughing when they saw how serious he was behaving, Vahn kept mum about it... After a few hours had passed, the scene in the projection showed Vahn enjoying a meal, eliciting an audible rumble from Illyas stomach. This caused her to act like a startled rabbit, her body flinching as her face turned a vibrant shade of red. In response, Iris began to giggle while covering her mouth with her hand while Vahn produced a wide smile while resisting the urge tough out loud. Though Illya didnt actually need to eat, she had long since developed the habit, to the point she could be quite the glutton at times. While letting the projection continue, Vahn pulled out a peach that had a pale-gold hue to it. Then, before Illya couldin about themughing at her, he adopted a more natural smile as he held the unnaturally fragrant fruit near her mouth. Rather than bite into it while he was holding it, Illya snatched it from his hands before turning her face away from them as a loud crunch sounded in the predominately quiet room. At the same time, Vahn pulled out another peach, handing it over to Iris, eliciting a gratified smile and a quiet, "Thank you~" in response. Unlike Illya, however, she yfully took a bite while he was still holding it before showing a girlish expression as she enjoyed the sweet yet mellow vor of the peculiar peach. Fortunately, after the initial bite, Iris epted the peach directly as Vahn pulled out one for himself before cing an entire basket on the table he whisked out of his Inventory. He also set out some tea, a te of walnuts, and some dried fish. For one reason or another, Cath Palug was quite fond of thetter two so, after learning this, Vahn made a habit of coaxing the tiny creature whenever the opportunity presented itself. This was one of the ways in which he helped to aid the fusion between the two, despite the fact he knew what awaited him once theypleted the process... --- After enjoying some quality time with the mother-daughter-beast trio, Vahn informed Artoria that he would be leaving for New York before eding to her demand that he take an escort. Now that she was his Empress, Artoria could no longer be the one to escort him as, when they appeared together in the future, she would either be in ceremonial attire or armor. This was something they had already discussed and, as a way of disying the prestige of the Empire while making their stance very clear, he also intended to wear a formal raiment or armor in the future. Though he would garner some strange looks from the general public, it was far more important that he presented himself as the Emperor he was, rather than skulking about behind the scenes. As a result of Astorias insistence, Vahn ended up being apanied by Kenshin and Lakshmibai as traveling to a modern city like New York would be an important learning experience for them. They were also the only ones qualified to escort him as, with Siegfried and Astolfo gone, there werent any other Knights within the castle. Though Mordred obviously wanted to apany him, her mentality meant she was far more likely to cause trouble than properly act as his escort. This,bined with the fact she was both a child and an apprentice Knight, meant she was ill-suited to the role. Thus, even though Kenshin and Lakshmibai also werent considered Knights, despite the former being his Herald, they were the best options to apany him when ounting for the fact that Fenrir and Gray were nearly as likely to cause trouble as Mordred. Though Vahn wasnt intending to be gone for too long, this would trante to several days passing within the Projection. With that in mind, he spent a bit of time saying his goodbyes with everyone before being sent off by a muchrger group than anticipated. The gathering had drawn a crowd of Homunculi and Companions, bringing the total count of people to attend his departure to 119. Vahn found this rather amusing so, before heading out, he gave a small address to the gathered crowd, expressing his trust and asking them to take care of the castle while he was away. This earned him a surprisingly coordinated bow from the crowd and, by the time they had raised their heads, many of the Homunculi had smiles on their doll-like faces, a simultaneously refreshing yet eerie sight that filled him with a gentle wave of power... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Illya is a Hikkikmori...!?,Iris is being corrupted...!,A Knight Order with only three Knights xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1216 - Atlantic

Chapter 1216 - Antic

Rather than using yas Space Transfer ability, Vahn, Lakshmibai, and Kenshin exited the Avalonian sub-texture through one of its actual gates. There were four such points still active, three of which were located throughout the British Isles, the most famous of which, Stonehenge, even served as a tourist destination. Though Vahn nned to visit and secure each of these sites in the future, as thest thing he needed was someone managing to trace them back to Avalon, Merlin had told him it wasnt necessary to worry about such things. This time around, Vahn used a gateway connected to the Ballynoe Stone Circle in Northern Irnd, as it was the closest point to New York while being the furthest from the Clock Tower. Fortunately, the stone circle existed near a loosely popted hamlet, significantly reducing the chances of them being discovered. Though most humans werent able to perceive the phenomenon of Magecraft, it would cause a stir if they suddenly appeared out of thin air while a tour was going on. With the outside world being in the midst of a very cold winter, Vahn wasnt surprised to find that the site waspletely empty. This allowed them to store away their [Invisibility Cloak]s, provided by Da Vinci after he allowed her to analyze the blueprints for the [Helm of Darkness]. Though it was impossible to perfectly replicate the function of items designed for use in Danmachi, just knowing it was possible allowed Da Vinci to develop a simr artifact. As for why she decided on a cloak over a helmet, this was due to the fact most people, especially women, werentfortable with wearing burdensome objects on and around their heads. It was far morefortable to wear a cloak, which actually took less magical power due to the field being localized around the cloak instead of the entire body, Da Vincis version was a considerable upgrade to the original design. After enjoying the scendscape for a few moments, Vahn gave a nod towards Lakshmibai and Kenshin before they all seemingly vanished from view. This was apanied by the sound of three shockwaves, causing a pulse of energy to spread across the snow-covered fields as they moved at supersonic speeds towards the ocean. Even though she was on the slower side of the Servants that had been summoned, Lakshmibai could manage a pace of around 1,500km/h without overtaxing her reserves too much. This increased their travel time to nearly four hours but, as running across the surface of the ocean was quite an interesting experience, Vahn didnt mind it all that much. What Vahn didnt expect was, after traveling for nearly two hours, they came across arge patch in the ocean that waspletely covered in garbage. At first, he didnt pay much attention to it but, as they continued onward, the crisp blue ocean waters became murky and, as far as the eye could see, a veritable ocean of trash existed. This caused him to develop a deep frown, something he shared with his twopanions. Lakshmibai even covered her nose due to the smell and, with the patch of garbage seemingly extending for several hundred kilometers, Vahn used his Telekinesis to elevate them above the waters to get some fresh air. Seeing therge patch of trash covering the surface of the ocean, Vahn couldnt help but grind his teeth as, during the journey leading up to this discovery, he had been in rather high spirits. Since his conversation with Vivian was still fresh on his mind, Vahn saw this as another way in which humans corrupted the world around them. There was such arge volume of waste and debris caught in the ocean current that the surrounding waters were filled with toxins and chemicals, killing most ocean life in the immediate vicinity. Taking the words out of his mouth, Lakshmibaimented, "This is terrible...why doesnt anyone clean this area? How could they let things develop to this extent..!?" Though Lakshmibai had been born in the midst of the industrial revolution, it hadnt hit her small Kingdom by the time of her death. She knew about the massive factories that ckened the skies of Europe for a time but, now that she saw the consequences of humanitys consumption and waste, Lakshmibai felt more than a little shaken. As he didnt have a real answer to her questions, Vahn just shook his head before saying in a serious tone of voice, "This is just another thing we must change in the future..." It was easy toy the me on many groups and organizations but, having already decided that his Empire would reign supreme over the entire world, it didnt really matter. He would bring the matter to Da Vincis attention before they worked toe up with a solution to the problem. Then, in the future they wished to create, he would make sure a simr incident never repeated. By the time he had flown the group over the patch, Vahn had estimated its size to be around 400km across, with its northern and southern bounds a mystery. He could fly around the entire region to get a grasp of its actual size but, feeling this would only make him angrier, Vahn elected not to. The next time he traveled to this region, it would be to remove the veritable ind of garbage, restoring the oceans natural beauty and breathing new life into the previously polluted ecosystem... No longer in the mood to enjoy the oceans beauty, Vahn brought their journey to an early end by elerating through the sky at around 2500km/h. He could go even faster but, as this would cause his grasp on the two to slip, especially with Lakshmibais [Magic Resistance:A], making it very difficult to hold onto her, Vahn needed to pace himself. Though he could have just carried her directly, which she undoubtedly would have enjoyed, he was worried it would affect both of their state of mind. For the time being, she was supposed to be acting as his escort and, after the lectures he had received from Artoria, Vahn decided not to y around too much when he was in the outside world. With a red String of Fate guiding his way, Vahn didnt have to worry about getting lost over the ocean so, after an hour of flight time, they could seend approaching. At the same time, the waters below were dotted with ocean-faring vessels, increasing in traffic as they moved closer to shore. To evade observation, the group had already dawned their cloaks. All three noticed long ago that the density of mana in the air had decreased rapidly as they approachednd but, with both Lakshmibai and Kenshin possessing a [Goddess Divine Core] and [Divinity] respectively, their reserves wouldnt be adversely affected. At this point, they were also outfitted with essories that allowed them to replenish their reserves more easily but, if necessary, he was more than willing to help them out... Since it was hard not to notice, Vahn didnt directly head ind as seeing arge green statue of a woman was quite the sight to behold. As his twopanions were also somewhat interested in it, they hovered around the small ind for a few minutes, taking pictures with a portable camera. He had promised Sakura that he would bring back souvenirs so, to alleviate his dour mood from before, Vahn didnt mind a few detours. Though the city smelled extremely foul, with heavy pollution ruining much of the enjoyment that he otherwise would have had, Vahn did his best not to mind it as the group ventured into Manhattan before touching down in Central Park. As they had passed by the building, Vahn discovered that Luvia was staying in arge luxury Hotel known simply as The za. It overlooked the Central Park Zoo but, with the rampant sound pollution that gued the entire City, Vahn imagined the noise caused by the animals was negligible. It was easy to imagine that most of the buildings in the area had potent sound-proofing as well, though Luvia would obviously have been able to manage regardless. Unexpectedly, Kenshin had a glimmer in her eyes as she looked towards the Zoo but, understanding her duty, she didntment on it. Vahn, however, smiled in response to her behavior, remarking, "I already told everyone we might be gone for a few days. If you want to visit the Zooter, we can go as a group. I also wouldnt mind taking you out for a date, though it will have to wait..." Since it was already dark outside, the Zoo had already ceased operations for the day. Though they could easily break in, Vahn didnt feel like gaining a few points of negative Karma just to trespass a ce they could visit freelyter on. Hearing Vahns words, Kenshin had a radiant smile on her face as she happily chimed, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I would happily apany you anywhere~." Then, as if her smile had been an illusion, Kenshin looked around the area, her senses taking in the surroundings as she looked for any signs of danger. This rapid change caused Vahn to lightly chuckle as, at his side, Lakshmibai tugged at his sleeve before saying, "I would also like to go...Your Majesty..." Extending his hand to rub Lakshmibais head, Vahn answered lightheartedly, "Of course...", eliciting a smile in response. Then, taking advantage of the surrounding tree cover and theck of pedestrians, the group removed their cloaks. Though they still stood out quite a bit, as Kenshin and Lakshmibai had changed into evening gowns that gave them an appearance simr to actual Goddesses, it was better to be high-profile openly than draw attention to themselves by acting shady. As for Vahn, he changed into a fitted Edelgarde business suit, the name of a luxury clothing brand owned by the Edelfelt family. It would retail at close to $320,000 and, as Loki and Fortuna had taught him that it was important to always dress the part, Vahn felt this was a good substitute for armor amongst the members of the Upper ss. As could be expected, the trio a lot of attention after emerging from Central Park, with the main focus obviously on the two inordinately beautiful women. White and sand-colored hair were both very rare in the United States and, with styles extending past the h.i.p.s and to the ankles being even rarer. Since Kenshin even had a monochromatic style, with the underside being pitch ck, it only drew even more attention, especially with the three ck markings on the center and sides of her bangs. She looked like a movie star that had just left the set while Lakshmibai, wearing a white dress that exposed her back and shoulders, despite the cold, practically radiated a regal aura and high-ss aura. Ignoring most of the people gawking at them, the trio made their way towards the entrance of The za. Along the way, Vahn had to destroy a few cell phones and cameras, as he didnt appreciate anyone trying to take pictures of the girls backsides, but that was something he did passively at this point. Fortunately, there wasnt anyone foolish enough to try and approach them, even though a young businessman looked like he had been frozen in time after getting a nce at the two. He was just standing in ce after exiting a reinforced ck Lincoln, his escorts showing slight concern as they urged him towards the interior. In any other situation, the youth, aged around twenty-seven ording to Vahns casual nce, would have tried to strike a conversation with the two Goddesses. At the very least, he would have wanted to include them as part of his socialwork but, with Vahn radiating an oppressive aura, any attempt he made to walk forward felt like trying to climb a mountain with another mountain on top of him. During the brief moment when Vahn had turned his eyes toward him, any will he had to try and approach the two girls had been quashed in an instant. He felt like a tiny ant standing before arge African Elephant, especially after seeing the expensive suit Vahn was wearing... When passing through the entrance, the security personnel and Valets made no attempt to bar them entry, despite the fact it generally required a reservation just to enter the premises. Being in their line of business, they were intimately familiar with the ins and outs of high-society. When they saw how well dressed the three were,bined with how they carried themselves, they understood trying to inconvenience the group would have potentially disastrous consequences. At the very least, it was apparent that Vahn had the financial clout to easily foot the additional fee for impromptu bookings. There was also a chance that he was the guest of a VIP and, considering who they were entertaining at the moment, none of them wanted to be caught in the firing line. After entering the building, which wasnt all that impressive from the outside, Vahn was more than a little surprised by how high-quality everything in the interior was. He didnt let this show on his face, however, as the quality of the Ivory Castle made this Luxury Hotel seem more like a hovel. Instead, he was listening to the conversation of the security personnel, some wondering about his identity while others, belonging to Luvias forces, had already alerted her to his presence. One of them had even contacted an interior liaison who, speaking through the earpiece worn by the women standing at the reception desk, told them to be very respectful before the group even approached. Taking her role as his Herald rather seriously, Kenshin tried to step forward to handle things but, as neither she nor Lakshmibai had any form of identification, he held her back by creating a membrane of invisible pressure. She didnt show any discernible signs of alertness and instead slowed her pace slightly so that she was in step with Vahn. This allowed Vahn to be at the center of the group as he smiled towards a rather tall woman with amber-colored hair tied into a neat bun. She already had a respectful look on her face as she stated, "Lady Edelfelt has already been informed of your arrival, Your Majesty. Please, if there is anything we can do to make your wait more enjoyable, all of our staff are ready and willing to assist you." Vahn was slightly surprised by the fact the woman had addressed him as Your Majesty but, without showing it on his face, he gave a curt nod, answering, "Thank you for your hospitality." Then, seeing a few familiar faces depart the nearby elevator, Vahn waited patiently for the group to approach him, maintaining his smile as they bowed and eximed, "Your Majesty, please allow us to escort you." As the leader of their group was someone he had been introduced to directly, Vahn gestured for them to raise their heads before answering, "Very well. I will be in your care, Miss Mayweather." Though it hadnt been that long since theirst meeting, Sophia felt her heart tremble at the fact that Vahn had remembered her name. She had been the leader of the security forces charged with the protection of Rin in the past and, as her group had previously attacked Vahn, she was always nervous around him. Even then, she didnt allow it to show on her face and, if not for their inhuman perception, Vahn, Lakshmibai, and Kenshin would have been none the wiser. Instead, they all had knowing smiles on their faces as the red-headed beauty guided them towards the elevator, a group of six other security personnel escorting them. Using a golden key, Sophia unlocked a panel within the elevator before pinning in a key code that allowed ess to the appropriately titled Royal Suite. Though it would cost upwards of $70,000 a night in normal circ.u.mstances, thepany that owned the Hotel was a subsidiary group belonging to a branch of Edelfelt Holdings. This meant Luvia could stay whenever she wanted without having to pay a penny. Rather than take advantage of this, however, Luviapensated the staff by giving exorbitant tips to cover any inconveniences she might cause during her stay. After a smooth and virtually silent ride, so quiet that Vahn could hear the heartbeats of the security personnel, the elevator opened to a foyer of sorts. Immediately after that, apparently unable to wait even a moment longer, Luvia was already flying toward him like a bolt of golden lightning as she shouted, "Vaaaahn~!" He dutifully caught her out of the air, allowing Luvia to grip his head like a vice before she began to passionately kiss him,pletely disregarding everyone else in the elevator. As if they had already expected this, however, none of the groups expressions changed in the slightest as they dutifully exited the elevator and set out to assist in other tasks. It took several minutes but, with Vahns persistent efforts, Luvia eventually released her hold on his face, her own suffused with a red hue as she stated in a serious tone, "I missed you." In response to this, Vahn gave her butt one final squeeze, causing her to clench her teeth slightly as he answered, "I missed you too, Luvia. There is a lot we need to talk about. I hope I didnt interrupt anything." Releasing a peal ofughter in response to his remark, Luvia began to rub her head against his chest as she exined, "Im almost finished up with everything I needed to take care of. I was going to be flying back to London in the next two or three days. It makes me happy that you came all this way for me~." Then, after looking between Lakshmibai and Kenshin once, Luvia gave Vahn one more kiss before releasing his neck and returning to the ground. She had been hanging off of him previously, allowing her ample bosom to press into Vahn as he unabashedly supported her by firmly cing his hands on her plush posterior. After setting down, Luvia pulled Vahn by his hand towards therge double-doors which had already been pulled open by two security guards. Vahn could see Siegfried standing in a statuesque manner at the side, matching the ornate art pieces with his immactely carved figure. He gave a courteous bow the moment Vahn looked toward him before raising his head and smiling. This would have been amendable disy of etiquette, if not for the fact he was cradling a somewhat fat ck cat in his left arm. It was clear that Susu had been making the most of her time away from Avalon, putting on a bit of weight after being freed from her stress-filled existence. She still managed tozily open her eyes and, after seeing Vahn, released an admittedly adorable meow that made it hard to me her... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Zoom zoom,Literal garbage as far as the eye can see...,Susu has be a fat cat (UwU)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1217 - Uncommon Intimacy

Chapter 1217 - Umon Intimacy

After getting settled, Vahn had tried to start a casual conversation, asking what Luvia had been up to while they were apart but, rather than answer directly, Luvia had sat across his, her head nestled into the nape of his neck as she murmured, "We have been apart for so long. Lets talk about something other than business..." Though she didnt mind exining what she had been doing for thest two and a half weeks, Luvia felt it would be a waste to spend what little time she had with Vahn talking about such droll topics. With an understanding nod, Vahn let his right hand rest on Luvias waist, allowing her to rx a bit as he stated, "Very well. There are some matters I wanted to discuss, but I dont mind putting them off for a while..." After saying this, Vahn lifted Luvias face by running his fingers along her slender neck and chin, punctuating his remark by giving her a gentle kiss. This caused her to giggle before biting his lower lip yfully when he tried to separate from her. Rather than discussing business and other important matters, Vahn and Luvia just cuddled with each for the better part of half an hour as her staff prepared dinner. Luvia wasnt a bashful woman in the slightest and, as she had been thinking about him often since their parting, even the presence of his two escorts couldnt prevent her from recharging. Fortunately, Kenshin and Lakshmibai didnt seem to mind this at all, with the former only raising her brows slightly while thetter had a thoughtful look reflected in her rose-pink eyes. As for Siegfried, he had the wherewithal to excuse himself from the room directly, not wanting to spoil the mood with his presence. By the time dinner had started, Luvia had be bubbly and energetic, her face fixed in a perpetual smile as she sat next to Vahn at the dining table. Now that she had gotten an appetizer, Luvia was looking forward to the evening meal and dessert that would follow dinner. Before that, however, she wanted to get more troublesome matters out of the way and, understanding Vahn hade to her for a reason, Luvia mused, "Tell me, Vahn. Why have youe to New York? Not that Im troubled in the least, mind you~." Hearing Luvias question, Vahn didnt beat around the bush, answering, "Nobunaga, Rin, and Da Vinci are all pregnant. Rin is even expecting triplets..." Vahn allowed his words to trail off at the end as, with her mouth forming an o shape and shock reflected in her golden eyes, it was obvious that Luvias mind hadnt finished processing what it had just heard. When the gears finally clicked into ce, Luvia brought her left hand to her mouth, biting the side of her index finger with a thoughtful yet consternated look on her face. Vahn didnt expect Luvia to be shaken by what he had said so, seeing her like this, small rm bells began to ring inside of his head. Fortunately, Luvia shook her head a few momentster, causing the rms to cease as she looked toward him with a serious expression and said, "We need to make a baby. I dont want our child to be at a disadvantage against their siblings." With that said, Luvia put down her silver fork, apparently done with dinner as she tried to drag Vahn toward the bedroom. Though notpletely outside of his expectations, as Luvia sometimes showed apleteck of shame, Vahn had a wry smile on his face as he sent a nce toward Lakshmibai and Kenshin. This caused thetter to give him a curt nod before mouthing the words, you can do it with a supportive smile on her face. Vahns mind momentarily nked when he saw this but, as Luvia had the strength of seven grown men, he didnt have time to retort as she whisked him away to her bedroom. With Vahn and Luvia absent from the dining table, Lakshmibai and Kenshin no longer had much of an appetite as, even with physical bodies provided by Vahn, they didnt require food. Though it was all very good, it was a far cry from the meals they enjoyed back in Avalon so they readily excused themselves, allowing the staff to quickly clean up. Then, as Kenshin made her way towards Siegfrieds room to discuss what he had been doing to protect Luvia, Lakshmibais eyes kept looking toward the direction Vahn had left with. This caused the former, influenced by Nobunaga, to surprise Lakshmibai quite a bit when she hugged her from behind and whispered, "Just go if you want to go. You are one of our Masters Empresses as well. You dont have to mind that woman so much..." Hearing Kenshins words, and feeling the heat of her breath, Lakshmibais face formed a small blush as she quickly extricated herself from the formers grasp. Due to their height difference, Lakshmibai looked up at Kenshin with upturned eyes, her expression filled with concern as she stated, "I do not want to get in the way. Master didnt invite-" Before she could say anything further, Kenshin shook her head and, surprising Lakshmibai yet again, picked her up in a princess carry before heading in the direction of Luvias room. This caused Lakshmibai to panic and fl.u.s.ter as she eximed, "You...! U-u-unhand me this instant, Kenshin!" While Lakshmibai struggled to free herself, which should have been easy given the difference in their Strength, Kenshin had already reached the room. At the same time, Vahn opened the door, having already sensed their approach through his domain. Before he was able to ask what had happened, Kenshin tossed Lakshmibai toward him, eliciting a yelp from the brown-skinned beauty before the former stated, "Ill leave this one in your care." Then, brushing her hands together, Kenshin gave a nod before alight to talk with Siegfried and the other security personnel. After staring at Kenshins departing figure for a moment, Vahn looked at the startled silent woman in his arms, finding her hiding the flush on her face with both hands. Though he had a lot of questions, seeing her like this caused Vahns expression to soften so, rather than put her down, he stepped into the room and closed the door with his Telekinesis. Luvia was already in the bed, her clothes in a state of disarray as she covered her body with the nkets. When she saw what he had done, rather than refuse Lakshmibais participation, Luvia had an amused look on her face as she remarked, "I suppose it was only a matter of time...ohohoho~" --- With Luvia being fine with it, Vahn obviously wasnt going to kick Lakshmibai out of the room. Since thetter was always very receptive to his words and actions, especially in the bedroom, it was easy to lead her around and make the experience more interesting for all three of them, himself included. He enjoyed seeing the contrast between Lakshmibais dark skin ovepped with Luvias impably fairplexion, especially since they both had amazing figures. Vahn also enjoyed the strange tension that would exist between women whenever they were having s.e.x with the same man for the first time. As they were both on the receiving end of his care, they could easily see each others expressions as their gazes would periodically meet. By the time an hour had passed, they hade to a nonverbal agreement of sorts and, shortly thereafter, Vahn got to witness the two women making out rather passionately with Lakshmibai, being Luvias senior in both age and experience, taking the lead. As their inhibitions slowly gave way, tossing aside things like reason, Vahn savored each and every moment before deciding to wrap things up in a way that Luvia would never forget. Since she wanted to be i.m.p.r.e.g.n.a.t.ed, he forced her body to begin ovting and, when it finally came time to perform the deed, Vahn took advantage of Luvias euphoric state to get permission to perform lockpicking on her. Though this had startled her slightly, as he had already exined the process in the past, she ultimately relented. Then, while holding Lakshmibais hand for support, Luvia was practically driven crazy by the time he had finished. The process of lockpicking was actually very simple, so long as you had the capabilities and the other party was sensitive at the entrance to their cervix. It merely required Luvia to straddle his h.i.p.s snugly before Vahn rolled forward, her h.i.p.s slightly raised due to their previous position as he rested his body flush against hers. This could make it hard to breathe, especially for buxom women, but this was just another part of the process. With his arms wrapped around her body, being pressed into the bed by theirbined weight, it was difficult for either of them to move properly, meaning he was restricted to very small movements. The only thing he could do was flex his lower back muscles slightly, his ns pressing against her cervix with a subtle increase in pressure. At first, due to her already euphoric state, Luvia was actually able to calm down quite a bit due to how gentle the act was. She managed to restore her breathing and just enjoy the peculiar feeling of unity between her and Vahn. Over time, however, she could feel a numbing and ticklish sensation from within her body, causing a feeling like small electrical pulses to pass along her spine. While it was tolerable at first, the sensation seemed to have no upward limit as it continued to build upon itself, causing things to quickly turn unbearable. She desperately wanted to move her h.i.p.s but, due to their positions, it was virtually impossible without forcibly creating pushing Vahn away, an even more impossible act due to the vast gulf between their respective strengths. Before she realized it, as any kind of rational thought had ceased to form itself within her mind, Luvia was releasing a long and drawn out serious of inarticte m.o.a.ns. Vahn wasnt even moving his h.i.p.s a single centimeter but it felt like the gentle pressure impacted her brain like a sledgehammer. Her vision would sh white before darkness quickly began to encroach upon her, making it impossible to even take in her surroundings. This didnt even matter to Luvia, however, as it felt like she had be the embodiment of pleasure itself. She couldnt even pass out as, before the darkness was able topletely cloud her vision, another burst of white light would dash it away as her brain felt like it had melted. Though Lakshmibai was actually quite terrified to bear witness to what was happening with Luvia, her body was burning up from the inside as she watched the process almost without blinking. She also kept holding Luvias hand long after the golden-haired woman had stopped putting strength into her grasp. Now, her body seemed to have lost all tension and, if not for the fact Vahn was holding onto her, Lakshmibai had the delusion that Luvia would have melted into a puddle before dissipating into a cloud of pink vapor... After precisely three hours, though it felt like an eternity to Luvia, Vahns ns felt like they had be fused with her cervix as it had dted slightly, almost as if it were kissing him. When he released himself inside of her, Luvia immediately cked out, her mouth hanging open in thest vestiges of an inaudible scream. Then, as if it had been desperately anticipating the cloudly white fluid, Luvias cervix began to palpitate, creating the illusion that it was gobbling up the invasive liquid. During this process, Vahn ensured that Luvia was pregnant using a simr method to how he had dealt with Goddesses back in Danmachi. Though it wasnt guaranteed, the odds were very close to one-hundred percent. When Vahn finally pulled himself free of Luvias body, he noticed her body had a red flush while his chest and thighs were damp with her sweat. The entire bed beneath her was soaked through while the most startling thing, though he had seen it before, was that herbia and mons pubis were both glowing with a rainbow hue. Due to the extended pration, her v.a.g.i.n.a was gaping even after he had removed his member, allowing Vahn to see it expand and contract slightly as the interior was lit up with vibrant light. This indicated his S.e.x Laws had activated, something Vahn still struggled with controlling as he usually just felt like he was doing things the same as normal... While lightly stroking Luvias abdomen to help her body calm down, as it was persistently vibrating in a seemingly endless climax, Vahn looked toward the simultaneously pale yet flushed Lakshmibai. She swallowed hard when he turned his gaze upon her, causing Vahns smile to turn gentle as he calmly whispered, "You dont need to push yourself. Not everyone has a constitution like Luvia so you shouldnt try to put yourself in her ce..." As if she had just been given a reprieve, Lakshmibai released a sigh of relief as she released Luvias sweat-covered hand. She then helped Vahn clean Luvias body before wrapping her in a bundle of nkets to stay warm. Without help, Luvia would be asleep for several hours but Vahn would make sure she was ready and energized by the time the sun came up. It was already slightly after 3 AM so, at this point, they had been going at it for the better part of six hours. Still, he wasnt quite finished and, as Lakshmibai had been watching the lockpicking process for three hours straight, he knew she also had some pent up tensions to release. To emphasize that she had control over the situation, Vahn let Lakshmibai take the lead, something she rarely even attempted. He had her straddle his h.i.p.s whileying against the bed, an enamored smile on his face as he watched her bounce, bob, and twist. Her perfectly shaped b.r.e.a.s.ts, while quite a bit smaller than Luvias, were a tantalizing sight to behold, especially when she leaned forward to find a better angle, a pleasured and insistent expression on her face. Since he didnt want to break her focus, as she looked adorable while trying so hard, Vahn just passively ced his hands behind his head, enjoying the experience to the fullest while feeling like the Emperor he was... Despite her best efforts, Lakshmibais body also began to sweat quite a bit as her breathing became ragged. After a strenuous twenty minutes, she had a pouting expression on her face as she looked up at him with her rose-pink eyes and whimpered, "Help..." Though it felt good to move on her own, Lakshmibai discovered that it was almost impossible to climax with her efforts alone. She had grown used to Vahns handling and, even though it made her feel giddy and excited to see him enjoying her efforts, the lingering ache in her body had be unbearable. It made her feel ashamed to ask for help after he had allowed her to take the initiative but, as Vahn wasted not time in eding to her request, she got over it very quickly... For the remainder of the time until sunrise, Vahn took it upon himself to teach Lakshmibai how to pleasure herself while guiding her through the process. In between having s.e.x, he would teach her things like proper masturbation and presenting, things he had learned back in Danmachi from Loki, Freya, Anubis, and dozens of other women. Since Lakshmibai had a very eager yet submissive nature in the bedroom, with borderline masochistic tendencies, Vahn felt their rtionship had reached the point that she was ready to begin learning more proactively. They had done small ys in the past but, as her failure to reach orgasm had shown, he had been one-sidedly taking benefitting from their interactions, despite how much Lakshmibai seemed to enjoy it. Seeing how inexperienced she was at seduction techniques and trying to lead him, Vahn actually enjoyed himself quite a bit. Lakshmibai also noticed this and, seemingly misunderstanding what he was trying to teach her, began to behave rather clumsily on purpose. Since she had a very mature and serious personality outside of the bedroom, Vahn found this gap a lot more interesting than he had expected. It was almost like a flip had been switched, causing her to act in a bashful and clumsy nature that made her seduction attempts at least three times as effective. Though she got a little carried away with it at one point, sucking one of his testicles with far too much pressure, it became another memorable experience they shared... --- Since he expected Luvia to have business nned for the day, Vahn let Lakshmibai use the shower as he worked to revitalize and awaken the former. He was slightly surprised to discover that her body would still periodically tremble slightly but, by the time her eyelids fluttered open, Vahn had dealt with this side-effect. When she saw him, Luvia waspletely silent for nearly a minute, almost as if she was looking beyond him, even as their gazes met. Then, in a very serious tone, she stated, "You are a beast..." before falling silent once again. Vahn could only smile wryly in response to this as he didnt know what to say. This was the first time he had performed lockpicking outside of Danmachi, especially with a mortal, so reminding Luvia he had warned her just sounded like an excuse. Seeing his reaction, Luvias face blossomed into a teasing smile and, as if the momentary existential crisis she had been having waspletely negligible, she lightly pinched his nose before moving into a seated position. Even this caused a small shiver to run up her body, however, as the slight pressure from her own body weight made her insides tingle. Though she resisted letting it show on her face, Luvia was feeling rather incredulous at the moment as, being n.a.k.e.d, she could feel a bit of moisture leaking from beneath the covers. This caused her to mumble, "Im going to have to cancel my meetings..." in a low voice that obviously wasnt intended for Vahns ears... While Luvia was thinking about her previously busy schedule, Lakshmibai emerged wearing nothing but pale-white lingerie and a towel. She was still drying her hair and intended to have Vahn help with her braids as, in the past, he always helped to brush and style her hair after they had s.e.x. When she saw that Luvia was awake, thetter looked toward her and, for a brief moment, silence once again dominated the atmosphere. Then, as if answering a question that Luvia had asked telepathically, Lakshmibai exined, "Dont worry. You will get used to it." with a small smile on her face. As if Lakshmibai had said something unbelievable, Luvia shook her head in response before stating, "There is no way anyone could get used to that..." To this, Lakshmibai became somewhat serious as she walked towards the bed, saying, "If you put in the effort, even reaching the Root or bing a God is possible. Have more confidence in yourself. Master would not have put you through such a thing if he did not believe you couldnt take it." By now, Lakshmibai had reached the side of the bed, reaching out her hand to touch Luvias lower abdomen faster than thetter could react. Releasing a sensuous m.o.a.n in response to the sudden touch, Luvias cheeks became red until she heard Lakshmibai add, "You are a strong woman. If you have doubts, you just need to be even stronger. Now that you carry Masters child, you must work even harder..." These words reminded Luvia of the reason she and Vahn had s.e.x the previous night and, though it felt like her insides had been tenderized, she instinctually ced her hand against her lower abdomen. Soon after, a muchrger and warm hand ovepped her own, causing Luvia to look towards Vahn as he nodded with an affectionate smile on his face. Though it did little to fix the state of her body, Luvias mind began racing as a radiant smile spread across her face. She began to feel giddy with excitement and, though it caused her body to spasm, she uninhibitedly threw herself at Vahn, tackling him to the bed and iming his lips for herself. This exposed her backside to the air, allowing Lakshmibai to see her state as mild shock shed across her eyes. As if she had already gone through hours of forey, Luvia was already sopping wet, to the point murky liquid was flowing down her thighs as she continued to kiss Vahn. It was obvious that it would take some time for her body to recover but, with her pregnancy as an excuse, Luvia nned to go on maternity leave in the near future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Siegfried is a bro,Kenshin doesnt fool around xD...,Beast (O,...,O)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1218 - Turmoil: Reprieve

Chapter 1218 - Turmoil: Reprieve

Due to the state she was in, Luvia had Sophia reorganize her schedule before contacting her family and updating them on the situation. The management of their businesses could easily be handled by her mother for a few months so, with the passage of time in the Projection, Luvia was confident there wouldnt be any issues. What she was more concerned about, at least for the time being, was the fact she couldnt even walk without assistance. It wasnt that there was anything wrong with her legs and muscles, but even standing upright was troublesome for her at the moment. Despite this, Luvia decided to make the most of the situation and, as it was irrefutably Vahns fault, she had him pamper and attend her aspensation. This included carrying her around the suit like a princess, helping her bathe, and massaging her legs properly. Since he was very aware of the fact she wasnt faking her condition, Vahn dutifully carried out her requests as,pared to how Nobunaga would behave at times, Luvias demands were pretty tame. The onlyint he had, which he kept to himself, was that she would undoubtedly recover faster if he wasnt around. Currently, Luvias body was reacting to his presence alone and, as he helped her stretch to ease the tensions in her thighs and legs, Luvias face would be red as her body heated up to the point her eyes began to water. She was even more sensitive than the women he had performed Nirvana Rebirth on, putting Vahn in a rtively precarious situation as it was difficult to resist the heated looks she was giving him. This was exacerbated by the fact she was only wearing a leotard and, as she hugged her own body to control her breathing, Vahn felt as if his own restraints were being pulled apart slowly and meticulously. Fortunately, Luvia was able to avoid tempting him outright so, after their exercises hade to an end, she managed to calm down by asking about the affairs of Avalon. Since he also needed the distraction, Vahn answered each of her questions while also exining about the Quest Board and his [World Power] Quest. As Luvia was the closest thing to a Political Advisor and Magistrate that he had, her opinion was very important when it came to foreign affairs. Most of the domestic matters would be attended by Artoria, himself, and Da Vinci, so, while she was also his Keeper of the Imperial Seal, Luvia also served as his Minister of Foreign Affairs and Finance. As could be expected, Luvia was very interested in the existence of the Quest Board, to the point her golden eyes were practically zing with intrigue and expectation. If it worked the way that Vahn had exined, the Quest Board may very well be one of the most important pieces of leverage she could use to entice other parties. Just the existence of the Skill Tree would shake the foundation of the Mages Association as it almostpletely invalidated the current curriculum. The only downside was that it required epting Vahns Familia Crest or entering a binding contract with him to ess its capabilities. Fortunately, as it was considered mon sense that benefits could only be obtained if you were willing to give up some freedoms, there would still be quiet a few people willing to join their camp. While thinking of ways to capitalize on this revtion, Luvia was also thinking about Vahns [World Power] Quest. Though it seemed impossible toplete, at least from a normal perspective, she had no doubt he would be able to pull it off. The more important matter was determining the order in which he challenged each force. If Vahn didnt n to destroy them outright, they would also need to consider things like the allocation of resources while simultaneously removing any divisive elements to establish a proper bnce in the aftermath. After all, taking on the Mages Association, Holy Church, and Dead Apostle Ancestors was the same as taking on the entire world. This meant, even after iming victory, they would suddenly find themselves in a position to dictate how the governments of each country functioned from the top down... Luvia had a migraine just thinking about how troublesome it would be to institute reforms in the various countries, even if the existence of Magecraft was made public. There would be political and social upheavals the world over as, despite the changes being for the better, there would be an endless amount of resistance. Even if Vahn wasnt intending to go to war against the world, normal people would tear it apart as they did everything in their power to hold on to the easy lives they had lived previously. She could already imagine the crowds of millions, gathering to riot and protest while the more opportunistic amongst them built small criminal factions to benefit from the ensuing anarchy... After making her concerns known, Vahn gave an understanding nod in response and, as he had already discussed this matter with Artoria, Da Vinci, and Illya, he carefully exined, "I know the world isnt ready for the change we are bringing. In the decades that follow, I know millions of people would die, even conservatively. Even if we use the Holy Grail to change the perception of everyone in the entire world, the current structure of society guarantees this. There is nothing we can do about it besides doing our best to help as many people as we can..." Though he didnt have a full understanding of how each country worked, Vahn knew that it would be impossible for people to adapt to a new system smoothly. Since people the world over were extremely reliant on the current structure, perpetuating a cycle of infinite consumption and waste, arge number of people will die during the transition. The sad truth of the matter was, if not for the existence of a system that treated them as amodity and errantly promoted capitalism, there wouldnt even be as many people in the world as there were at present. Even sadder still was the fact that, other than living as a part of the system, the vast majority of people contributed absolutely nothing to their species other than being another variable for gic diversity. Vahn knew things werent so cut and dry, as every individual deserved to live freely as they sought their own happiness. However, when their lifestyle directly harmed themselves and the, a bit of ountability was required. Without the system that promotedcency and material wealth, the vast majority of people wouldnt even know what to do with their lives. They relied on the conveniences they were provided, to the point some didnt even know how to perform even basic skills such as fishing, hunting, or cooking. Without having things ready-made and provided to them, they would die as a result of natural selection, ming others for failing them despite the fact they made no effort to change their fate... Though it wasnt a pleasant topic, Vahn and Luvia discussed ways to mitigate the damage and make the transition smoother. He brought up Da Vincis idea about turning the entire world into a Bounded Field that turned the Surface into something akin to a virtual simtion. They also had the more extreme option, provided courtesy of Merlin, to create an entirely separate, looping, time axis where normal humans would be able to live without any ovep with the existence of Magecraft. The only reason Vahn was against this idea was that it was akin to trapping the majority of humanity within a temporal prison but, as the Root System itself was already such an existence, it was hard not to consider. In response to these options, Luvia had aplex expression on her face but, knowing how much chaos the world would be thrown into as the Surface and Reverse Side began to meld together, it actually seemed like the best choice. After all, the alternative required them toe up with a system that ensured the survival of billions of people, many of whom wouldnt even be making an effort. They would justin and protest until they either got their way or, failing that, take it from other people while ming the system. This was the mindset of many criminals and, with the changes the world would soon face, such individuals would exponentially increase in number. After thinking it over, Luvia shook her head before asking, "Why not just focus on building our Empire and slowly expanding its borders? Rather than worrying about the governance of other countries, we can handle things both diplomatically and militarily. Though many wouldbel you as a Tyrant and a Conquerer, you shouldnt have to be the one regting everything. Since you will already be dealing with those at the highest level, you can pass your decree unto them and focus on strengthening the foundation of the Empire." As this was also something that had already been discussed, Vahn nodded his head, answering, "I have heard this suggestion multiple times. Even so, it isnt easy for me to ignore the suffering of people around the world...haaa..." If he went with this route, it would take a very long time before the changes he wanted to see could be implemented. However, as Luvia pointed out, it wasnt his responsibility to personally oversee the governance of every country. Instead, as she had brought up in the past, he could continually expand his territory and assign Heroic Spirits to govern in his stead. At the same time, the production of Companions would continue and, slowly but surely, the Empire would be an unstoppable force due to its prosperity and military might. The biggest problem with this method, as Vahn had stated, was the fact that even more people would die during the transition. There was also a chance that, if the transition period was too long, monsters would begin to appear all over the ce, iming even more lives. Though some people would undoubtedly awaken powers to be able to resist against these changes, bing Heroes, their presence would either be preceded or immediately followed by, Viins. This would be an opportunity for them to dispatch forces of their own to establish order but, ording to the simtions run by Ark, the total poption of the world would have decreased to around 40% of its current value before finally stabilizing... Listening to Vahns talk about such things was a sobering experience for Luvia as it almost felt like anything they tried to do would ultimately result in a grievous amount of death. Though it was the fault of the existing system, it was still rather depressing to think about the amount of suffering the world would experience during the transitory period. For a moment, she even hoped that they would be a little slow in stopping Angra Mainyu as, with a great evil wreaking havoc, it would actually be much easier to unite people in the aftermath. They also wouldnt be responsible for the deaths as, being the literal manifestation of All the Worlds Evils, Angra Mainyu was a force of nature that humans had wrought upon themselves... Deciding that such matters, while important, could always be discussedter, Luvia cleared her head of negative thoughts before asking, "How soon until the next summoning? Also, when do you n to establish the Heavens Feel Ritual?" As the situation would change with each force Vahn managed to either subjugate or subordinate, Luvia would rather focus on more pressing matters. She was also looking forward to increasing her own strength as, with the existence of the Quest Board and Skill Tree, she felt it would be a simple matter with her prodigious talent and firm conviction. Since he also didnt feel like discussing the troubles of the future in the present, Vahn adopted a gratified smile in response to Luvias questions, answering, "If things continue as projected, it will be possible to summon others as early as next week. Da Vinci was a bit annoyed with the fact that so many Spirits hade to reside on Avalon but its undeniably a good thing. As for the ritual...it will take a bit of time. The current process requires a willing sacrifice that possesses a significant amount of Od...for now, were researching a solution. I know it is impossible to build an Empire without sacrifices but I will never send others to their death arbitrarily..." Hearing Vahns words, Luvia wasnt at all surprised by the fact a wish-granting ritual required a few sacrifices. This wouldnt even cause the majority of modern Magi to flinch as, if it meant ess to the Root or having their wish granted, there were few lengths they wouldnt go to. Hearing Vahn adamantly state he would find a better way, one which didnt require such sacrifice, Luvia couldnt help feel a small amount of vindication. At the same time, however, she felt a bittersweet twinge in her body, causing her to release a hot sigh as she suddenly looked at Vahn with me clearly visible in her gaze. Laughing awkwardly at Luvias sudden change, Vahn guided the conversation down a different tangent, asking, "Do you want to apany me back to Avalon?" In response to this, Luvia kept staring at him for a few seconds before answering, "Of course. If I stayed outside, our child would be several years behind its siblings. Ive already exined the situation to my family so we will first travel to London before returning." Then, remembering something, Luvia added, "When we reach London, youll need to meet with Lord Animusphere. He contacted me a few days ago to arrange a meeting, presumably over the matter regarding Chaldea, Olga, or both." With Luvias reminder, the image of a pale-haired woman shed across his mind, her face fixed in a perpetual blush. At this rate, it was only a matter of time before his and Olgas rtionship moved to the next level so, before then, it would be good to discuss the matter directly between her and Marisbury. It still wasnt toote for her to change her mind and, as he would continue to support her regardless of her choice, now was as good a time as any to take care of it. Even if the odds were astronomically small, Vahn needed the choice to be Olgas to avoid any future guilt he might feel as a result of her bashful, haughty, yet eager-to-please mentality. Besides, though it seemed like Marisbury was okay with it, Vahn needed to make things clear. Since he would want his own daughters, and their future lovers, to be forthright with him, he needed to set a proper example himself. Luvia hadnt missed the subtle change in Vahns expression but, considering she was the one who orchestrated the current situation, she had nothing to say. Though it had only been eighteen days since she left Avalon, this tranted to nearly one-hundred-and-thirty within the Projection. A lot could change over the course of three months so she was actually more surprised by the fact that Vahn hadnt done more. She could tell from his reaction that he was still troubled by Olga and, though there was a glimmer of expectation in his gaze, her intuition told her he had been holding back. Because of this, she was looking forward to meeting the pale-haired woman again as it was both fun and easy to tease her... --- Though it would be better to head back sooner, Vahn left Luvia in the care of her own forces, Siegfried, and Lakshmibai as he left The za alongside Kenshin. He had promised to take her to the Zoo and, after his long night with Lakshmibai, thetter had elected to stay behind in order to show Kenshin her gratitude. As a result, Kenshin was wearing casual clothes, consisting of form-fitting ck capris, a ck cashmere sweater, a white designer coat, tinged with tufts of golden fur, and matching boots. With her hair braided in a loose ck-and-white style,bined with her long legs and lean figure, she really did look a lot like a model or an actress. Despite giving off the aura of a cool beauty, matching Vahns own rather domineering presence, he quickly learned this was just an illusion. After purchasing tickets, Kenshin dragged him around rather forcefully, a radiant and child-like smile on her face. Since Zoos werent really a thing while she was alive, seeing so many animals gathered together was exciting for Kenshin. Though she had struggled to make connections with humans during her life, she never had any trouble when it came to interacting with animals. Even when she simply sat in her courtyard meditating, or when she took a walk through the mountains, animals would naturally gravitate toward her. Vahn wasnt enjoying himself as much as Kenshin, as he felt mncholic seeing animals locked up for the amus.e.m.e.nt of humans but, remembering that the Ganesha Familia had used monsters to educate the citizens of Orario, he didnt have much to say. He could also tell that the vast majority of these animals were treated rtively well, to the point that some were as fat andcent as the people gawking at them. Though he did go out of his way to observe the interior kennels and enclosures, as not all the animals were on disy due to the winter season, Vahn found they were treated well enough, even if not to his own standards. So as not to ruin the mood, Vahn did his best to match Kenshins enthusiasm and, as there were actually a number of particrly cute animals, he began to enjoy himself by lunchtime. If not for the fact people would periodically try to snap photos of them, Vahn would have been in a much better mood. Still, he didnt mind them too much as,pared to how some people would act in Danmachi, there were virtually no threats here in New York. Even Luvia wasnt able to exercise her full capabilities here so, while there had been a few Magi secretly stalking them, Vahn wasnt too concerned. Instead, he enjoyed his time holding hands with Kenshin as they toured around the small Zoo, making the most of their impromptu date. (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Luvia,Vahn needs to learn how to properly delegate (e,...,e),Kenshin is adorable) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1219 - Entangled Roots

Chapter 1219 - Entangled Roots

After nearly seven hours of flight time, Vahn stepped onto the tarmac of the London International Airport before taking a deep breath of the mana-rich air. Though the overall density was a far crypared to Avalons, it was still much morefortable than the stagnant and polluted air in New York. Seeing Vahns rxed look, Luvia giggled to herself before extending her hand out so that Vahn could help her down. Though she had been able to recover enough to walk, her movement was still restricted greatly. If not for the fact she was reinforcing her legs with Magecraft, she might not even be able to stand without resting for a few days. Dutifully taking Luvias hand, Vahn helped guide her onto the tarmac before they alighted towards a motorcade waiting at the side. Siegfried, Kenshin, and Lakshmibai were already waiting for them, with Kenshin even being the one to open the door for their entry. Vahn wasnt too fond of traveling by ne or car but, as it was still too early for him to begin making a scene, he followed Luvias advice on the matter. Since her forces also needed time to mobilize and make preparations, it was easier on them if he slowed his pace in non-emergency situations. Fortunately, while traveling in such a way was rather boring, Vahn didnt have to worry too much as he was in goodpany. He actually liked pampering his women and, during the long trip over the Antic, Luvia had continued to pester him about what he had done to her body. Since she wasnt really mad, he found her behavior rather adorable, allowing her to take some small advantages of him. Due to how early in the morning it was, close to 4 AM, the roads were rtively empty so the trip towards the Edelfelt Mansion was shorter than normal. Vahn also noticed that, despite the fact he shouldnt be all that popr within London, there were only a few probes to try and peer into the cars, none of which seemed to carry truly malicious intent. When asked, Luvia giggled mischievously before reminding him that people, for good reason, feared things like Curses and Counter Curses. Since they were in the heart of the Mages Association, most of the truly dangerous people would be able to mask their intentions. If theycked this ability, there would be ample ways to deal with them, many perfectly justifiable ording to Magus Law. Though the information he received wasnt anything particrly new, Vahn was reminded of how deeply rooted the established families were. They were like snakes that had burrowed underground to preserve their strength through a cold winter. Until an opportune moment presented itself, they would continue toy in wait until their prey was foolish enough to enter their territory. For better or worse, Vahn felt his instincts as a hunter kick in at this thought, giving him the urge to pay some of the families a personal visit to see how they would react. Since the Monarchal Families were listed in his Objectives, he figured picking one amongst them would be the fastest method to secure power within the Association. He was looking forward to them antagonizing him in the near future; probably more than he should have... As a woman raised in a family that threw themselves onto the frontlines readily, Luvia recognized the glint in Vahns eye, causing a predatory smile to spread across her face. She was also looking forward to the future as, despite the fact she had lost the battle for the position official Empress, there were ample ways in which she could secure her own power and contribute to the growth of the Empire. --- Despite the fact it was early in the morning, Olivia had been awaiting their arrival. The moment she saw Luvia, she vanished like a phantom but, unlike before, Vahn could easily follow her with his eyes. This caused her to raise her brow slightly while looking at him but, far more interested in the state of her granddaughter, Olivia pulled out a strange ck gemstone before cing it near Luvias navel. For a brief moment, Luvias body tensed up before the gemstone suddenly changed from ck to a light shade of red. This actually caused both her and Olivia to be even tenser until, momentster, the gemstone shed white before turning into dust. Though this also stunned them quite a bit, Luvia seemed to regain her strength after a few seconds, tackling him full force as she shouted, "As expected of my Vaaaahn~! Ohohohoho~" Understanding Vahns confusion, Olivia exined, "You can look down on us for it if you want, but that little ck gemstone is amon item within the established families. It is a rare mineral that can measure the fate of an individual even as a fertilized ovum. We call it Potentiaalikivi in our home country but the Mages Association calls it the Stone of Fate. The moment Vahn heard the exnation, Sis had already located the item within the system shop, showing it had a value of 7,000OP. This was actually cheaper than he expected but, considering it seemed to be a single-use item, without any meaningful benefits, it made sense. Seeing Vahns tame reaction, Olivia began to snicker before exining, "You dont seem surprised by the fact the gemstone broke. It is actually a big deal and, if the Mages Association learned of it, at least in normal circ.u.mstances, they would put a Sealing Designation on both you and Luvia. A child with the potential to break a Potentiaalikivi theoretically has no limits to their growth." Luvia nodded her head in affirmation, albeit while stroking her cheek against his, but Vahn was still acting casually as he smiled in response and said, "Not just my children, but everyone has unlimited potential. In some situations, it is just harder to tap into. Rather than a god, I will elevate my children to the point that gods aspire to reach the same heights." Hearing Vahns bold statement, neither woman seemed too surprised but Luvia, already hanging on his body with renewed strength, was beginning to heat up. Fortunately, she had the wherewithal to release him before things became disastrous for her, earning a knowing look from her grandmother that caused her face to flush even redder. Then, perhaps trying to get a rise out of both of them, she looked towards Vahn with a predatory look simr to the one Luvia would sometimes disy, saying, "If I were a few years younger, I might take a bite out of you myself. It is unfortunate that Ive already left things to the current generation~." Vahn justughed in a lighthearted manner after hearing Olivias words and, though he was tempted to pay her apliment about her beauty, despite her age, he ultimately kept mum. He knew she wasnt joking around when she said such things so, to avoid a situation where he was attacked by multiple generations of Edelfelts, it was better to justugh it off. Though this caused Oliva to squint her eyes toward him, Vahn was confident she wouldnt try to harm her granddaughters position by acting on her instincts. --- As they couldnt talk about it through traceable means, Luvia disclosed everything he had previously told her to Olivia over breakfast. He didnt particrly mind this, as it wasnt intended to be a secret from his allies, so he dutifully gave rifying answers when questioned. As could be expected, Olivia was more than a little interested in the existence of the Quest Board, saying, "I would like to see this Quest Board for myself. If it is how you describe, I believe it is in the interest of the Empire and the Edelfelt family to take full advantage of such a wondrous opportunity. Id like to send a group of our familys Elites to begin epting Quests to see how rapidly their strength can be increased. As were already involved in various matters all over the world, it would also provide you with ample data." Since Vahn had already discussed something simr with Luvia during the ne ride, he nodded his head in affirmation before saying, "Luvia will be bringing her own escort to tend to her needs within the castle. It will still be some time until the Empire is ready to ept too many outsiders, regardless of whether they are allies. There are a lot of changes that will be urring in the near future but, at the very least, I can ept those of Edelefelt blood and their direct subordinates." Without arguing against it, Olivia gave an understanding nod before stating, "Umu, that is for the best. The Empire shouldnt be so easily essible before you manage to cement your foundation." Understanding full well the issues with allowing a foreign power into your midst before you had a functioning hierarchy, Oliva didnt try to press the issue at all. She trusted Luvias judgment and, with it being obvious they had already discussed the matter, she would leave it at that. Just being able to see and use the Quest Board for herself was more than enough, at least for the time being. Since Lord Animusphere would be arriving around lunchtime, Vahn made the decision to return to Avalon to address the matter of the Quest Board as soon as possible. Before then, Luvia gathered a group of Maids and, though it was unnecessary, a Chef. This wasnt because she didnt like the food served in Avalon, but more so to make them either learn how to cook from Circe or raise their Skill through the Quest Board. As there was indeed a [Cooking] Skill, it would only be a matter of time before the curiously blue-haired Chef was able to reach a level of mastery others would struggle to imagine. To prevent any issues, Luvias entourage was entirelyprised of females as, despite the fact they were all Elites in their own right, the entire purpose of their stay in Avalon was to attend her. Though there were numerous trustworthy Butlers and malebat Elites, Luvia was aware of the presence of Homunculi within the castle and simply wanted to avoid causing any unnecessary trouble. Since she was also aware that Vahn would be summoning more males in the near future, Luvia was considering ying matchmaker between her attendants and some of Vahns present and future subordinates. Currently, the only males within the entirety of Avalon, besides a number of Fae, were Vahn, Merlin, Siegfried, and Heracles. When they had discussed the uing summons, however, Vahn informed her that Heracles family, consisting of two sons,bined with Karna, Gawain, and, if he had the resources, Ghad. Though she didnt quite agree with summoning these particr individuals, as there were a number of more useful Heroic Spirits, Luvia wasnt going to press the issue. What she was more concerned about was establishing more connections between her family and the Empire, ensuring they would continue being allies into the far future. --- Upon returning to Avalon, Vahn informed Kenshin and Lakshmibai that they would be staying for at least a day, allowing the two to return and rest properly. As for Siegfried, he apanied the group to the Knights Training Grounds as it was both the location of his home and the Quest Board. In his past life, he had done his best to fulfill the wishes of others so, having a convenient board that would allow him to serve the Empire was of significance to him. His travels around the world with Luvia had awakened the spirit of a Hero that had been slumbering inside of him. Now, in order to make Vahns dream of a better world a reality, he wanted to contribute more than just protecting the Empire and its residents. With Siegfrieds inclusion, the group had a total of nine people, a Companion, and a fat ck cat. By the time they reached the Knights Training Grounds, however, the total had increased to twelve as, with Fenrir always knowing when and where he was, she brought over Mordred and Sakura with her. Thus, while carrying Sakura and letting Mordred ride his shoulders, the mostmon way in which they traveled together, Vahn led the way to the Quest Board as Olivia and Luvias entourage looked around the castle in awe. After reaching therge ck b of stone, Vahn set Sakura on the ground but Mordred continued to ride on his shoulders, leaning against the top of his head with a toothy grin. Since it had been a few days since theirst meeting, at least from the perspective of Mordred, Vahn decided to spoil her a bit. As for Sakura, she was decidedly more mature than her older sister so, after looking toward thetter with a concerned expression, she let the mattery while even demonstrating how to use the Quest Board for the rest of the group. Following Sakuras example, Luvia and Olivia both ced their palms against the warm ck stone but, as could be expected, Quests only appeared for the former. This caused Olivia to give a curt nod and, after helping Luvia select Quests she would be able toplete without endangering her child, she turned to Vahn, asking, "Your Majesty...we are more or less family at this point, correct? If it is not too much trouble, I would like to have your Familia Crest inscribed in the near future." Having expected this request, Vahn gave a curt nod before exining, "That is my intention. I can do the same for Luvias entourage, but only if you are able to tolerate the presence of my Empress and her attendant." As he didnt trust himself to be alone in a room with Olivia and Luvia, for a variety of different reasons, Vahn intended to use Artoria and Gray as his shield. This didnt go unnoticed by either of the golden-haired women, eliciting a mischeviousugh from both of them as they looked toward him with predatory eyes. Noticing the way her Chichue was being looked at, Mordred red at Olivia and Luvia in response, even though they were just ying around. This caused Olivias expression to turn somewhat serious as, for a brief moment, she felt very real killing intent from the small child. As for Luvia, she faired better than her grandmother as, having met and conversed with Mordred a few times, thetter had already epted her presence around Vahn. Since he could feel the change in Mordred, Vahn shrugged his shoulders slightly, causing Mordred to bounce before she snorted through her nose and adopted a pouting expression while looking away. This allowed Olivia to breathe easier, causing her to lightly pat her chest as she remarked, "I see your daughter as the potential to be a powerful Knight in the future. Im certain she makes you very proud, Your Majesty~." Though she had been pouting before, Mordreds ears twitched in response to Olivias words before a toothy grin reced her dour expression. She began to rub the back of her head while puffing out her non-existent chest as she proudly imed, "I am Chichiues eldest child! I will also be the one to be Emperor in the future! Just you wait, shishishishi~" Seeing how easily Mordred was baited by Olivias words, Vahn issued a light chuckle while Olivia and Luvia did the same. At the side, Fenrir looked at her young protege with a prideful look of her own while, standing next to her, Sakura had a tired look as she shook her head. She had spent every day at her onee-chans side over thest few months so she had already grown used to her carefree and rather simple nature. Still, after shaking her head in mild exasperation, Sakura adopted a supportive smile as she looked up to her onee-chan quite a bit. --- After a small weing feast, cooked by Circe as Luvias Chef dutifully took notes and provided as much assistance as she was able, Vahn found himself in the Medical Ward where he treated the Homunculi. Artoria, Gray, and Sakura were present as he inscribed his Familia Crest on the obedient Olivia. She knew better than to act out around Vahns Empress as, even if she could get away with it, forming any bad blood would justplicate things in the future. Since Artoria had a very serious disposition, Olivia didnt want to test the waters only to discover it was an acid bath. ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Olivia Kulta Edelfelt] Age: 97 Race: Human Strength: 24C Endurance: 17D Agility: 19D Magical Power: 8E Good Luck: 39B Circuit Quality: 28C Noble Phantasm: (-) Origin: War, Fortune, Wealth Skills: [Fang of the Wolf God:Innate:S], [Call of the Battlefield:Innate:A], [Herald of Fortune:Innate:C], [Golden Rule:B], [Martial Arts:A], [Marksmanship:S], [Presence Concealment:C], [Etiquette:A], [Dancing:B] Magic: (-) Magecraft: [Od Conversion:S], [Conversion:A], [Catalyze:A], [Jewel:A], [Reinforce:A], [Mystic Code:A], [Magic Coat:B], [True Gandr:E~S], [Counter Curse:A], [Restoration:C], [Familiar:E], [Projection:D], [Alchemy:A] [Marksmanship] Rank: S Use: Skill and uracy with ranged weapons. At this rank, the user is skilled enough to shoot the wings of a fly without killing it. [Presence Concealment] Rank: C Use: The ability to move undetected and conceal your presence from others. At this rank, the user could move uninhibited through intermediate magical formations without triggering them. [True Gandr] Rank: E~S Use: A specialized form of Gandr that is only usable by the oldest Magus families within Find, the location of the spells origin. At this rank, the only limits to the spells use and destructive capabilities are the users imagination. ------------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns children are OP from conception xD...,Mordred is super spoiled,Olivia is quite monstrous...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1220 - Leisure

Chapter 1220 - Leisure

True to his word, Vahn also gave Olivia a rejuvenation treatment under the scrutiny of a room full of people. His skills as a masseur were known to almost everyone within the castle so, despite the fact Olivia had a maroon-red face by the end of it, it was obvious he had held back. He also made sure to act as professionally as possible, despite the fact it was more than a little strange for an Emperor to be personally treating people. When everything was said and done, Olivia, despite the fact she already looked younger than Luvia, now had a glossy sheen to herplexion. Since he had even used [Primordial Rune]s to reverse the age of her organs before strengthening them, she would easily live another hundred years without further treatment. Olivia herself, however, seemed quite taken with the experience and, if not for the difference in their status, or perhaps the presence of others, she would have done everything in her power to obtain him as her personal attendant. With her body trembling like a newborn fawn, Olivia was dressed by Luvias attendants as Vahn quickly wiped down the massage table before looking toward Sophia and saying, "Youll be next." He didnt leave a lot of room for argument, despite the fact his tone was polite, so Sophia couldnt help but flush slightly. She was obviously trying to behave professionally, and would even be able to fight n.a.k.e.d if necessary, but Vahn wasnt the type of enemy she could face with confidence after seeing what he did to her Grand Mistress. As could be expected, Sophia had a very toned body as one of the Edelfelt familys Elite forces. Vahn also had to admit that, seeing a fit woman wearing nothing but cks and dress shoes was quite the sight to behold. Fortunately, he managed to keep his mind clear of wayward thoughts, courtesy of Sakuras presence next to Gray. Though she had paled a little when he was giving Olivia a massage, she now had a slight blush on her face as she held Grays hand and obediently observed from the side. Since it was a good opportunity, Vahn went ahead and healed the various small scars that marred Sophias otherwise fair skin, with permission of course. He also provided this same service to the rest of Luvias entourage, named Natalia, Leah, Marjaana, and Pi. Like theirpanion, they all had very toned figures while, amongst them, Leah even outssed Luvia in bust size. She also had arge scar under her left b.r.e.a.s.t, where she had been stabbed with a spear, so Vahn got an eye-full when she lifted them up, her hands sinking into the plump flesh as he treated the delicate area. In total, the crest applications and treatment only took around two hours as, under the watchful gaze of Artoria, Gray, and Sakura, he didnt have the courage to tease any of Luvias attendants. When the procedure had finished, the group returned to the Quest Board once again. Since the Medical Ward was adjacent to the Knights Barracks, it was a very short trip so, within five minutes, Olivia and the rest had all epted a few Quests for themselves. Olivia, in particr, epted an S-Ranked Quest that required her to kill a Malevolent Otso, a monstrous bear spirit that was native to Find. She had already been nning to deal with it soon, as it had already attacked a few viges, so getting a bonus reward was quite nice. With the matter of the Quest Board addressed, Sophia and Natalia apanied Luvia and Olivia while Leah, Marjaan, and Pi were escorted by a group of Homunculi to tour the castle. All six girls, Olivia included, were given a Companion of their choice from amongst a small flock that had been wandering around the castle. Unimed Companions often wandered the halls, observing anything of interest and helping out if they were able. Once they received a Master, however, a simple rune contract would activate and, from that moment onward, they would follow them around wherever they went. Since Olivia was already aware of the existence of Companions, as Siegfried had brought Skuld V2 with him, she was quite pleased to receive her own. It took on the form of a tiny humanoid bear cub,plete with white hair in a bowl cut, two rounded ears, and a tuft for a tail. She named it Met and seemed to enjoy carrying it around as the adorable creature clung to her like a Ko. As for the rest of the girls, they all picked dog-like Companions as,pared to most, they were very affectionate and yful. --- After giving Olivia a brief tour of the castle, including the Throne Room, the residential area, and therge central courtyard, the group took a break at the dining hall once again. This time, most of the castles residents had gathered, including the somewhat reclusive Da Vinci and Olga. Vahn used the gathering for the purpose of introductions as, for better or worse, the Empire and the Edelfelt family walked the same path. Though she would have heard about them from Luvia, giving Olivia the chance to see first-hand their power would give her confidence in her own actions in the future. Like Luvia, she would be working to ensure the sess of the Empire and, though Vahn had every intention of standing at the frontlines himself, the influence of the Edelfelt family was already global. She had greater freedom of movement and could help toy the foundation of the Empire in other countries, avoiding some of the issues he and Luvia had previously discussed. For the most part, the new arrivals were well-received, so long as the snide and teasing remarks of people like Nobunaga were ignored. The only person that seemed genuinely annoyed by Oliva was Da Vinci as, even more so than Luvia, the older Edelfelt seemed like trouble. She didnt get along with the types that stuck their noses into other peoples business for no better reason than profit. It was people like Olivia,bined with the busybodies from the Holy Church, that was responsible for suppressing her back in the day. By the time the early dinner party came to an end, despite the fact the sun hadnt even reached the apex of its arc, Olivia was shown to a private quarter in the residential area while almost everyone else moved to the Inner Sanctum or went about their personal business. Despite the fact she was Luvias grandmother, Olivia technically had no status within the Empire so, while exceptions could be made for Luvias personal attendants, she was not given leniency to stay within the Inner Sanctum. Though it didnt particrly matter to Vahn, he still abided by the decision as, like people kept telling him, he needed to take the matters of the Empire seriously. Since Olivia didnt even try asking for ess to the Inner Sanctum, apparently more interesting in wandering the expansive halls of the Ivory Castle, Vahn decided to let the mattery. Shortly after reaching the Inner Sanctum, Vahn stopped Olga to exin that she would be returning to London with himter in the day. Though she was initially startled by this, her expression became fretful before Vahn preempted her delusions by exining it was just to visit her father and discuss matters. She would be returning with him after the fact, unless, of course, she herself decided to stay. Since even the thought of being away from Avalon frightened her, especially knowing the difference in the flow of time, Olga insisted that she would continue to stay in the castle until being made the Director of Chaldea. After giving Olga an adequate amount of praise and head rubs, Vahn sent her to prepare for the trip before retiring to spend a few hours with Nobunaga, Ereshkigal, and Da Vinci. He wanted to cheer up thetter, as she very clearly wasnt in a good mood. Since they were all expecting, Vahn showed them some of his most cherished memories, those of the time he spent together with his children as he watched them grow like beanstalks. Though Da Vinci and Nobunaga teamed up against him by adopting their most youthful appearances, Vahn did his best not to mind it since it was easier to snuggle with all three of them as a result... Eventually, Da Vinci returned to her Workshop to continue her research as, with a baby on the way, she needed to make adequate preparations to avoid future difficulties. As for Nobunaga, she went to take a rest, sneaking into Kenshins room, while Vahn escorted Ereshkigal by hand back to her shared room with Rin. Even simple disys of affection seemed to have a big impact on the blond-haired Goddess as, by the time he reached their room, she had a happy ze over her eyes as she tip-toed to kiss him. Vahn, of course, reciprocated her affection, at least until she suddenly became far more skilled than normal, indicating that Ishtar had sneakily swapped ces with her younger sister. Since he still had time before his scheduled return, Vahn decided to spend some of it with the three girls in thefort of their room. Even Rin made a partial appearance, sharing her body with Ishtar, so he got to experience a very affectionate version of Rin after thetter used one of her charms to request a massage of her own. Unlike what he had done with Olivia, however, Rin straddled his h.i.p.s while wearing nothing but Ishtars intricate panties, allowing his hands to wander around her chest and abdomen as she yfully sucked on his fingers. It was clear she was learning from Ishtar while he was away, causing Vahn to flush slightly when he thought about what they might be doing inside of the unique space shared within her soul... After leaving the warm and fragrant room behind, Vahn was feeling a little heated and, if not for the fact he would be returning to London soon, he would have gone on the prowl, as Nobunaga called it. He suddenly felt a little annoyed by the fact that Ereshkigal outright disallowed Rin and Ishtar to have s.e.x in their current state, despite the fact it shouldnt have any effect on their pregnancy. She was very adamant, however, so both Ishtar and Rin had conceded to her insistence, leaving Vahn in his current state. While seriously considering stopping by the Menagerie for a quick bit of fun, Vahn ultimately chose to temper himself by resisting the urge. Instead, he focused his mind with the aid of his [Will of the Emperor] and the [Mantra of Eternity]. Curiously, as he had been using his [Will of the Emperor] at all times throughout the day, its effects had be simultaneously more potent while seemingly less effective. He could be influenced by things a lot easier than the Innate should allow, meaning his views on how an Emperor should think had changed. Though this wasnt necessarily a bad thing, as he could still channel his emotions duringbat against his enemies, it had led to a number of plications over thest few months. --- Though it was a time when most people would be either sleeping or resting, this was not the case for the Homunculi calling the castle home. They had alreadye up with a shift system amongst themselves, even without external influence, so there were always around 2,000 people, each with a Companion of their own, walking around the castle. Thus, while Vahn was making his way over to the Transfer Room, his path was littered with beautiful flowers that, due to his current state, made his mind wander a bit more than it should. He actually felt somewhat silly to have so little control over his thoughts, especially with his age. However, when he remembered the quirks of pretty much every God he had ever met, Vahn felt his own behavior was rtively tamepared to some... Fortunately, even if he was under the influence of Da Vinci, Vahn felt he would be able to resist the temptation of pushing down any of the Homunculi. Knowing they wouldnt refuse, even if he asked them to head to their deaths, allowed him to stay sober even in his most heated state. He simply couldnt take advantage of their vulnerable and highly receptive states, especially since a number of them had imprinted on him after their treatment. It was because of this that, despite the fact they were given the opportunity to live in the nearby Castle Town, every single Homunculi brought by Illya decided to take up residence in the castle. After navigating the surprisingly dangerous hallways, filled with beautiful smiling women who all stopped to happily greet him, Vahn plopped down on the smooth stone floor to wait for the others to arrive. He was more than an hour early but, in order to give himself time to calm down, Vahn had no problem waiting around as the heat slowly drained from his body. Since he would be meeting with Olgas father soon, he needed to be clear-headed to guide the conversation, both for his and Olgas sake. In a way, this could be another manifestation of Olgas fortune as, depending on the decision she made, he would very likely be returning with yet another woman to shower in affection. Since she was honestly one of the most adorable women he had known, reminding him a lot of Risna back in the day, Vahn had been thinking about what he might do with the bashful maiden when the time came. Since he knew she also thought about simr things, it almost felt like they were synergizing with each other as, despite the fact he could easily make his thoughts into reality, they were still just delusions in the present... While humoring such thoughts, around thirty minutes passed and, for the most part, Vahn had been able to calm his mind. Though he was akin to a bomb that had its timer put on pause, it would allow him to meet with Marisbury and any of their other allies without any issues. Once he returned home, however, he would be ready to go off at a moments notice. It was never a question of if, only when, where, and who he would be with when the time came. Since this could very well include Olga, Vahn had thought about who should apany them as, with it being her first time, she would be hard-pressed to satisfy him. Fortunately, she had gotten reasonably close with Lakshmibai and Fenrir so, even though it might be a little awkward for her, Olga shouldnt be against having their support. With such thoughts on his mind, Vahn rose to his feet just moments before Olivia arrived, escorted by a duo of Homunculi named Chelsea and Judith. Both women politely greeted him and, bringing radiant smiles to their faces, Vahn dutifully expressed his gratitude while addressing them by name. This caused Olivia to raise her brows slightly and, after the two left, she immediately asked, "Have you remembered the names of every Homunculi?" Though the girls all had small identifying patches sewn into their cors, these were not on disy normally as, due to Vahn calling them by name in the past, they had adopted the habit of concealing them for reasons only they were aware. In response to Olivias question, Vahn gave a simple nod before exining, "It is my hope that those girls are all able to develop egos of their own. In the future, I want them to be able to live freely, not as the tools they were designed to be. Besides, they work hard...its the least I could do..." Hearing Vahns words, Olivia smiled teasingly as she mused, "Oh~? You sure it isnt because you like the attention~?" Since she could tell Vahn was behaving differently than normal, Olivia felt he might be the kind that enjoyed the attention of beautiful women. The fact he surrounded himself with so many seemed to be proof enough of this fact but, when he gave her a deadpan stare in response, she supposed it was just a misunderstanding. Rather than y along with Olivias teasing, Vahn leaned against one of the stone pirs in the room as he said, "Things are never so clear cut. Life is filled with infiniteplexities, despite our desires to simplify things and just enjoy life..." Recently, Vahn had been feeling the vicissitudes of life, despite the fact that nothing had happened to really garner such a response. He just felt like the world was filled with problems and, though he would do his best to address them in the future, it almost felt like a fruitless endeavor. Part of him just wanted to retreat to an unreachable ce, taking all the people he cared about with him and ignoring theplexities of life. Though he knew this was only because he had been isted from the problems for a while, as he could never just ignore people in need, Vahn honestly felt that his efforts would just be a stopgap measure in the grand scheme of things... As someone who had seen and experienced quite a bit during her ny-seven years, Olivias smile faded away as she solemnly nodded in response to Vahns words. She had lived through two world wars and had seen some of the most horrendous disys of humanity imaginable. Though there had undoubtedly been good times amidst the chaos and bloodshed, it always felt like the bad far outweighed the good in retrospect. Still, she did not regret the path she had chosen and, with her daughter and granddaughter finding sess in her wake, she felt an irrepressible vindication. Though she could tell that Vahn wasnt the type that would break under pressure, Olivia decided to be a little presumptuous, saying, "We do what we must to ensure those who follow are able to live better lives." Hearing Olivias words, Vahn gave an affirmative nod as, if not for his children, he very likely wouldnt bother with such tiresome affairs. It was imagining how they would react in response to the current state of the world that mustered him to action in the first ce. Since he knew this world would not be pleasant for them to live, he wanted to make it a better ce, not just for them, but for all the children that would one day call this home. Thus, no matter how hard things got, Vahn would continue to stand tall, supporting the Heavens themselves if necessary... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Unstoppable Godhand,Quality time o3o...,All children deserve a chance at happiness) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1221 - Luncheon

Chapter 1221 - Luncheon

After waiting within the Transfer room for a few minutes longer, Kenshin, Lakshmibai, and Olga all arrived together. When they noticed Vahn had arrived first, Kenshin and Lakshmibai both gave polite bows while Olga fumbled around for a bit before doing the same. She was obviously very nervous as this would be the first time she met with her father after staying in Avalon. There were many things she wanted to discuss with him as, over thest few months, her perspective of the world, Magecraft, and Astronomy, had beenpletely shattered. With Luvia staying behind, the away group had all gathered together, Companions included, so Vahn initiated the transfer after confirming they were ready. He had to rely on ya this time around, as they were transferring directly to London, so the process was almost instantaneous once he gave the go-ahead. Though this wasnt her first time experiencing it, Olivia couldnt help shaking her head as shemented, "This ability alone makes you a terrifying opponent. Im d were on your side~" Vahn lightly chuckled in response to this before the group made their way out of the bas.e.m.e.nt, their destination thevish dining hall where the Edelfelts entertained their guests. This time around, he wouldnt have Luvia at his side to direct things and, as Olivia had already moved into the shadows of politics, it was a major statement that he would be the one receiving guests. Since it was important to make it very clear who was in charge, the Edelfelt family had essentially given him free rein to act as he pleased, so long as it didnt directly hurt their bottom line. As Olga was whisked away by a group of Maids to change into more appropriate attire, Vahn found himself seated at the head of the table while Lakshmibai and Kenshin nked him. Though they were both Empresses, they took their duty as his escort seriously and, as this was a meeting between Vahn and an established Lord, it was important to pay attention to basic etiquette. In the future, once their status was known better, it would be quite intimidating to know he was attended by Empresses who, if allowed to fight freely, could wipe out small countries on their own. While waiting for Lord Animuspheres arrival, Vahn made casual conversation with the two, primarily discussing the possibility of establishing an actual Menagerie in the future. Kenshin was very fond of animals and, as there werent any real dangers associated with keeping them, especially with Circe and Da Vinci, Vahn felt it wasnt a bad idea. They could even gically engineer a few species that had been lost to time, filling the forests of Avalon with fauna that its future residents would be able to interact with freely. Around half an hour before lunch was intended to be served, a very prim and proper Butler arrived to inform Vahn that Lord Animusphere had just entered the premises. This brought the conversation to an end as Vahn gave an order for the staff to enter standby while a duo of Maids went to retrieve Olga. After that, he just waited patiently within the ratherfortable chair, his eyes closed with his back ramrod straight. At the same time, a subtle pressure began to fill therge room, indicating the subtle shift in his mentality from being casual to serious. This, in turn, caused the two girls nking him to stand straighter than normal,pounding the effect and causing the staff located nearby to hasten their movements. When Lord Animusphere arrived in the dining hall, his usual amicable smile was nowhere to be seen and, the moment he set eyes upon Vahn, his expression turned rather solemn as he bowed at a low angle and stated, "I owe Your Majesty a great debt. If not for your intervention, I fear everything my family had worked toward over thest century would have gone to waste..." Hearing Lord Animuspheres words, Vahn kept silent for a few seconds before saying, "Raise your head, Lord Animusphere. Come, sit down, we have much to discuss." Though he was interested in Chaldea, Vahn didnt particrly care about the scheme he had circ.u.mvented. So long as it was dealt with, the only thing that mattered was preventing future troubles from arising. Feeling as though he had been given a reprieve, Lord Animusphere adopted a smile but, despite his best efforts, it didnt seem to quite reach his eyes. Even so, he moved to take a seat on the left side of the table and sat down as directed. Following this, Vahn asked in a stern yet curious tone, "I trust those doc.u.ments are for my perusal? Though it would be best to wait for lunch to conclude, I would rather know about important matters sooner. Im certain this will be preferable to you as well, Lord Animusphere, as your daughter will be in attendance shortly." Since he hadnt been informed of Olgas attendance, Lord Animusphere was more than a little surprised, his expression showing a bit of concern as he asked, "My daughter is here...?" In response to this, Vahn gave a curt nod, causing the formers smile to be more genuine, at least until he began to consider the implications behind her presence. This was only for a brief moment, however, as he quickly set the matter of his daughter aside so as not to waste Vahns time. As Lord Animusphere brought out a small briefcase full of doc.u.ments, he adopted the same solemn appearance as before, stating, "Know that I intend to take full responsibility for what had transpired, even though I had no direct knowledge of such experiments. I am truly ashamed of what happened and will do my best to address the matters personally. Please do not let this matter influence your decision to support Chaldea and my daughter..." Without answering Lord Animusphere directly, Vahn began to peruse the doc.u.ments, some of which were direct ountings of the inhumane experiments that had been conducted in Chaldea. As there was arge stack of files rted to the victims of said experiments, pictures included, the pressure in the surroundings gradually increased as Vahns expression darkened. Eventually, he had to rub his temples just to remain calm, understanding there was no sense in ming Marisbury for the things people had done behind his back. He was a good man who wanted to protect humanity but, due to his financial circ.u.mstances and the machinations of other people, he had been taken advantage of... Before speaking, Vahn went over the files in a red folder, showing only a handful of survivors with the oldest being a young girl named Mash Kyrielight. In her photo, she was wearing a medical eye patch over her right eye while the left one seemed to have lost the light of hopepletely. Vahn knew her life hadnt been pleasant and, with an expiration date less than three years away, there wasnt much hope for her to live a normal life without intervention. The most infuriating part was that she had been created by Chaldeas, meaning her entire life had been an extended nightmare where even the possibility of death was denied...just like his own, long ago. In total, there were only five survivors from the Designer Baby experiment, as there hadnt been funding for the project since 2010. As a result, Mash was the oldest while the youngest was a boy with silver hair and light purple eyes, named Adam Smith. Much like Mash, his body had visible scar tissue but, rather than having lost the light in his eyes, Vahn could see madness and rage contained within the nine-year olds gaze. As for the other three survivors, they were all young girls like Mash and, if the data Marisbury provided was urate, those who had harmed them were fortunate he wasnt the one to pass judgment against them... After collecting himself, Vahn stared directly at Marisbury, stating in an icy tone, "I do not me you for this...but know that I will never entrust you with a position of oversight in the future. As for these children, I want them all transported here as soon as possible. They do not deserve to be imprisoned in someb in the middle of a frozen wastnd..." Since Avalon was supposed to be and where the beaten and downtrodden could live their lives freely, Vahn wasnt going to expose these children to further experimentation. He didnt give a damn about the Designer Baby project as, in the world he intended to create,cking Magic Circuits would be rare. Hearing Vahns words, Marisbury felt as if a heavy weight had been removed from his chest, though he resisted the urge to sigh with every fiber of his being. Then, surprising Vahn, he managed a smile as he exined, "I moved the five to my estate during the restructuring of Chaldea. Since then, they have been kept safe and provided for both mentally and physically. It shames me to admit there isnt much else I can do for them but making sure their lives arefortable is within my means." Though Marisbury could probably be trusted with their care, Vahn immediately shook his head after hearing his statement, reiterating, "Those children deserve more from life than simpleforts. I will take them with me to Avalon and allow them to flourish. Even if you intend to do right by them, they would not have experienced this trauma if you hadnt authorized the Designer Baby project." As Vahn didnt give any room for discussion on the matter, Lord Animusphere gave an affirmative nod before saying, "I will see to it that they are safely transported to the Edelfelt Mansion...please, if youll excuse me for a moment..." Since he could tell that Vahn wasnt content to let the children remain in his care even a moment longer, Marisbury decided to make a call and have them moved over as soon as possible He also instructed the Governess who had been ced in charge of their care to make sure they were neatly dressed and presentable, enough to meet with an Emperor. Around the same time that Marisbury was returning to his seat, a light knock sounded at the tall double doors located near the entrance of the dining hall. Immediately after that, the same duo that had gone to retrieve Olga opened the doors, causing the tense atmosphere to melt away as Vahn and Marisbury saw the pale-haired beauty making her entrance. Rather than let her hair hang somewhat wildly, as per usual, Olgas current style was simr to the one used by Artoria and Gray. Rather than a simple braid surrounding a neat bun, however, Olga had several intricate braids congregating into aplex bun that would have even taken Vahn over a half-hour to style. As for her attire, she had changed out of her schrly clothes, which made her look somewhat like a student, recing them with a red c.o.c.ktail dress. It was decorated with an ornate flower pattern while the h.i.p.s and left thigh were decorated with an intricate arrangement of flower adornments that further ented her beauty. What stood out the most, however, other than her breathtaking beauty, was the fact the dress exposed the back and shoulders, giving the illusion that it would fall off and expose her perfectly shaped b.r.e.a.s.ts if she made any big movements... From the moment Olga stepped into the room, she already had a red face but, seeing the look on Vahns, she became beet red in an instant. This was the most revealing outfit she had ever worn and, just like Vahn, she was very worried that it would slip, despite the adhesive pads she had been given to keep it in ce. Since her father was also present, it felt like there was a swarm of butterflies in her stomach and, without the ushering of the Maid duo, even making it to the dining table would have been a difficult feat. Having already ced the doc.u.ments away, Vahns mood did aplete one-eighty as he looked toward Olga andmented, "Simply breathtaking..." This caused her to freeze on the spot but, with the help of the two Maids, she finally managed to reach the chair to his right. Though it was considered proper to leave it to the staff, Vahn decided to take the initiative to pull out Olgas chair for her, causing Marisbury to rise to his feet as the two Maids bowed politely and backed away. When Olga was finally seated, Vahn returned to his own seat and, for a few tense seconds, a rather awkward atmosphere began to permeate through the chamber. It wasnt until Olga bashfully stated, "Thank you for thepliment..." that time seemed to flow again. Then, turning her eyes toward her father, Olga murmured, "Father...it is good to see you again." with a small smile on her face. These words broke Marisbury from the spell he had been under, causing him to blink a few times before he returned a smile and remarked, "You look beautiful, Olga...just like your mother...she would be proud to see you right now." Hearing her fathers remark, Olga felt a sour feeling in her nose but ultimately managed to keep her emotions in check as she answered, "Thank you. I wish she were here as well." Since Vahn was trying to allow the two a chance to speak, as this was their reunion, he had kept mum after his previouspliment. Hearing Olgas words, however, he furrowed his brows a bit and was tempted to remind her of the fact he could always summon her mother. She had already made him aware of her past and, knowing the trauma Olga had experienced, Vahn had considered whether or not he should summon her former Governess. The only reason he had yet to do so was the simple fact that, if he began arbitrarily using his summons in such a way, it was very likely that others woulde to him in order resurrect the dead. Since Olgas mother had died from chronic illness when she was only six years old, it felt like the window for reuniting them had passed... Deciding to shelve the matter untilter, Vahn entered into the conversation by stating, "There are important matters I wanted to address, Lord Animusphere. Before then, let us eat our meal while the two of you catch up as father and daughter. Due to the nature of Avalon, it has been more than half a year since Olga came to the outside world so Im certain she has much to say..." With Vahns words lingering, the staff that had been waiting in the periphery quickly moved to set out a tray of appetizers before handing out menus. As for Lakshmibai and Kenshin, they moved to the operations room as, having them stand behind him while eating would be a bit awkward. This was especially so for Olga who, knowing the identities of the two women, felt a considerable amount of pressure to be seated while they were standing... At Vahns behest, Olga and Marisbury carried on a polite conversation between themselves as Vahn quietly observed from the head of the table. Though this made them feel a bit pressured, Olga was the type to gradually rx when she was talking about the things that interested her. Thus, by the time lunch was served, most of the tensions had faded away as she began recounting her research findings and the progress of her own training. Needless to say, Marisbury was quite taken aback to hear how enthusiastically his daughter discussed her time in Avalon as, previously, he had been very worried about her treatment. Eventually, Olga began talking about a few sensitive matters rted to the Empire, allowing Vahn the opportunity to naturally enter into the conversation. Though this caused her to fl.u.s.ter a bit, he kept her from apologizing with a gesture, exining, "One of the matters we will be discussingtter pertains to the ongoing alliance between the Empire and the Animusphere family. For now, feel free to discuss the results of your training but, until matters have been rified, please keep the methods a secret." Since she had nearly blurted out the existence of the Quest Board, Olga bit her bottom lip in concern as she followed Vahns words by lowering her head and swallowing her apology. Fortunately, Vahn didnt appear to be mad at her so, after he began to guide the conversation by showering her with a fair amount of praise, Olga was able to rx as the smile returned to her face. Marisbury, of course, had seen this entire event y out and, with his daughter acting like a bashful maiden, it didnt take a brilliant mind to deduce what Vahn wanted to talk about in the future. This actually wasnt all that surprising, however, as he had fully expected something to have happened between them. What did surprise him was the fact that, given Olgas behavior, it didnt seem like she had been pressured into a physical rtionship despite several months having passed. Though Marisburys opinion of Vahn wasrgely positive, he began to see the Emperor in a new light as, in simr situations, there were few who wouldnt have taken advantage of the situation. He had even provided his daughter with the necessary equipment to continue her research and, if her words were to be believed, she had grown considerably as a Magus in a rtively short period of time. She also seemed to have developed a sincere attachment towards Vahn, to the point she would nce his way as if seeking permission when she was speaking. Then, when he would praise her in turn, her face would brighten up noticeably, leaving Marisbury both happy and seriously concerned for his daughters future. By the time lunch hade to an end, the mood had be somewhat lively, even though things had shifted to the point that most of the discussion was driven by Vahn and Olga. This left Marisbury sitting at the side with a wry smile, knowing where the conversation was going before Vahn brought it to light. His daughter also seemed to be aware of it as, after the tes were cleared away, she had a red face and had started fiddling with the flower ornaments on her dress. Then, meeting both of their expectations, Vahn stated, "Know that, regardless of the decision made here, I intend to support the operation of Chaldea. Thus, I would ask that you not let such matters influence your choice...to that end...know that I intend to take Olga as my Consort in the future. The decision is ultimately hers to make, but I have grown rather fond of her over thest few months..." Before Marisbury could say anything, Olga hopped up from her chair, mming both hands against the top of the table as she eximed, "I ept! One-hundred percent!" Then, realizing what she had said, Olgas face became scarlet as she became statuesque. Vahn was just grateful that her top didnt slip off due to her spontaneous action, causing his face to show relief that was misconstrued by both Olga and Marisbury. They thought he was worried she would refuse, causing Olgas heart to twist in her chest as Marisbury released a profound sigh and remarked, "All children must leave the next at some point...very well, though it may not have mattered, know you have my blessing. I will entrust my daughters happiness to you, Your Majesty..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: The pursuit of progress leaves many victims...,A flower blooms,I kind of feel bad for Marisbury xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1222 - Glimmer of Hope

Chapter 1222 - Glimmer of Hope

For the rest of the discussion, Olga either sat with her head down, cheeks flushed a deep shade of red, or ramrod straight as she attempted to put on a strong front. This would ultimately fail but, as this quirky nature was one of the things Vahn hade to appreciate of the pale-haired beauty, he had a smile on his face seeing her behavior. Lord Animusphere seemed a little troubled by how she was behaving but, with Vahn, an Emperor, not saying anything, he didnt have much ground to stand on. All in all, things had be rtively pleasant in the dining hall, at least until Lakshmibai appeared to inform Vahn about the arrival of the children. This put a dampener on his mood but, in order to ay any concerns they undoubtedly felt, he decided it was time for the luncheon to end. He had the staff see Lord Animusphere off, as doing so himself was actually considered improper, while he and a confused Olga made their way to a waiting room attached to arge ballroom where the Edelfelts would sometimes host parties. As it was an important part of Aristocratic culture, most of the main mansions and estates belonging to the most influential families had such a room. Since Olga would be the Director of Chaldea in the future, he knew she needed to be aware of what had gone on in order to avoid repeat instances. Though she might not have to worry about this, as it was likely Chaldea would just be an extension of Da Vincis work, meaning it would have almost invible security, it was still her familys legacy. To that end, Vahn preempted his meeting with the children and allowed her to view the rted doc.u.ments. Needless to say, Olga was more than a little shaken by the contents but, with him there to remind her it wasnt really her fathers fault, she was able to remain mostly calm. In the end, she even held the doc.u.ments close with a determined expression on her face as she promised, "I swear...I will never allow something like this to happen again...!" Vahn offered a sincere smile in response before plopping his hand down on Olgas head, stroking her hair as he answered in a low, almost hypnotic voice, "I know, Olga. I believe in you, after all..." With that said, Vahn moved aside Olgas bangs and moved to give her a kiss on her forehead. This didnt go quite as nned, however, as Olga hopped up on the tips of her toes and stole a kiss from his lips before retreating away with a beet-red face. Vahn was actually a little caught off guard, at least until Olga peeked back at him and mumbled, "W-w-w-were g-going to b-b-be m-m-married in the fu-future...!" Though he was tempted to remark that they were technically already married, as the ceremony was only a formality in such situations, he knew Olgas modern mentality meant she was looking forward to her wedding. In this age, many young girls grew up with dreams of having a big wedding, even in the Aristocratic Magus families. Since Olga was uniquely delusional, it was a given she expected a grand celebration of their marriage so Vahn just proferred an affectionate smile in response before they made their way to where the children were waiting. If not for the fact he had seen them the moment they arrived within the bounds of his domain, Vahn would have been both surprised and annoyed to find the children were all neatly dressed in formal attire. The girls all had on prim little dresses that ented their youthful traits and made them look a little like a group of Princesses while the only boy, Alex, looked like a little Lord in his small, high-end tuxedo. He looked particrly ufortable amongst the group but, considering the girls all had practiced smiles and lightless eyes, this wasnt unexpected. Apanying the children was a woman with dark purple hair who seemed to be in her forties. She was also dressed formally, wearing attire that wasnt unsuited to a ball, albeit with a rtively tame design. She also had her hair styled up in a neat bun with a pair of half-rimmed golden spectacles that gave her an intelligent appearance with her almond-shaped blue eyes. When she saw Vahn and Olga appear, she gestured toward the children who were already standing in a line. This caused the girls to all curtsy in a practiced manner, one leg in front of the other while lifting the corners of their dresses, while Alex crossed his arm over his chest and bowed at a low angle. Vahn currently didnt know what he expected of the children in the future but, as the most important thing was to provide them with the opportunity to flourish, he adopted a calm yet deep tone as he stated, "Raise your heads." Then, turning to the Governess, Vahn gave a polite nod, adding, "Lord Animusphere is waiting for your arrival before departing. Please take care on your way out." Though it was clear she was a little surprised by the dismissal, the woman was practiced in etiquette so she dutifully performed a second curtsy, answering, "Your Majestys words are a blessing." before quickly alighting from the room. Since he had no intention of taking the woman with him to Avalon, as her presence might just make life more difficult for the children, Vahn waited for the Governess to depart before passing his gaze over each of the children in turn. They were all arranged by height but, with Alex standing on the far left, as he was both the youngest and shortest. As for the eldest amongst them, Mash, she was in the very center of the group as two of the girls were only around a year younger than her. Due to their temte, however, they were gically disposed to be a little taller. They were named Zo? Meyer and Astrid And while the youngest girl was named Juliet Byrnes. Noticing that all five children were quite tense, despite theck of emotions on the girls faces, Vahn decided not to keep them in anticipation for too long. Since she was both the oldest, while being in the most convenient position, Vahn gazed into Mashs singrvender eye as her right was covered by her bangs. She briefly broke eye contact with him before looking back by impulse, causing Vahns heart to feel as if it had a hand gripping it, despite his calm expression. He then asked, "Mash...if you could wish for anything...what would you choose?" Vahn wanted to know if these children had any kind of hopes, dreams, or ambitions as, if there was no hope for a natural recovery, he was prepared to either erase their memories or ask for Merlins assistance in repressing the worst. What he didnt expect was for Mash to stare at him silently for several tense seconds before answering, "I want to protect humanity...if I were given a wish, it would be to eliminate suffering..." This answer caused the hand gripping his heart to tighten as, for a brief moment, there was a small glimmer of hope within Mashs eyes, indicating she wasnt simply just answering in a way she was taught. After giving a small nod, Vahn turned his attention to her right, making eye contact with Zo?, a girl with tinum-blond hair and grey-blue eyes. She seemed to understand what he was going to ask so she answered in a dull tone not all that dissimr to Mashs, "I would wish for wings. I want to be able to fly high in the sky...above even the clouds..." Though he knew this was Zo?s way of saying she wanted to be free, Vahn gave a curt nod before turning his attention to Astrid, Juliet, and then Alex. Astrid wished to be able to eat good food and live in a ce surrounded by animals while Juliet had the most heart-breaking wish by saying she just didnt want to be hurt anymore. This wasnt as troublesome as Alexs wish, however, as the red-headed youth unabashedly met Vahns gaze as he answered, "I would wish for power. Power to kill anyone that wants to hurt me...!" It could be the result of his age, as he clearly hadnt thought about the situation he was in, but Vahn didnt hold it against the young boy. Having experienced a fate not all that dissimr to these five children, Vahn could understand the desire for power. If he had been given a different choice in the past, he very likely would have gone to extreme measures to get his revenge. It was only the result of Klyschas guidance and the multitude of experiences he went through after the fact that changed his perception of the world. Surprising Alex somewhat, Vahn gave an understanding nod instead of rebuking him like every other a.d.u.l.t in his life. His face immediately formed into a frown after the fact, however, believing that Vahn was just another person trying to manipte and control him. Vahn didnt particrly mind Alexs behavior, so long as he didnt act out too much. He already had a n for the young boy but, before that, he looked over the children once again before saying, "My wish is to create a world where other people can achieve their own. I do not tolerate unnecessary violence, but I will do my best to make sure all of your wishese true. Even then, your happiness is ultimately the result of your choices. If you cannot ept the present and face the future, the past will consume you...it will take time, but I want all of you to be happy." Since he knew actions spoke louder than words, Vahn didnt expect any of the children to outright believe what he had to say. The only way he could guide them forward was to make good on his promise, helping them to achieve the happiness they deserved. Fortunately, with Avalon being a rather mystical ce, their baseline for reality would naturally shift and, with a Companion to keep thempany, it shouldnt take too long for them to open up. After that, they would have some freedom in making choices in their own life, be it bing a member of the castles staff, a citizen of the Empire, a capable Magus, or even a Knight. The most difficult part of their adaptation to Avalon would be the fact that, despite his intentions to care for them, none of the children would have any status. He would also be their physician and, due to their trauma, this could result in them distancing themselves from him or, even worse, being too eager to please him as a result of their conditioning. Though this would all be ironed out in time, it was still a little troublesome as Vahn couldnt invest the time they might need from him. He would have to observe them and get a better understanding of their true nature before giving them small pushes toward the path that suited them. Deciding to make an impact on them as soon as possible, Vahn caused the group to tense up as he made his way right in front of Mash. Though she was only fifteen years old, Mash was already 156cm with her body even eclipsing girls like Rin in many ces. Vahn knew from the doc.u.ments that Mash had gone through some of the most terrible things a woman could experience, especially as a child. Despite this, she didnt shy away from him, doing her best to maintain eye contact as she repressed the trembling of her body. She reminded him a lot of Preasia after he had rescued her from very, causing Vahn to adopt the gentlest expression he could manage as he stated, "I will heal your eye..." Due to the tense state of her body as he extended his hand toward her face, it didnt seem like Mash had processed his words. She just stood there statuesque as he moved aside her bangs, finding avender iris that had a very advanced stage of cataracts. There was also a rather vicious scar that passed over her eyelid and cut into her cheek. It had healed over almost perfectly, but the scar tissue itself was a stark contrast to the fairplexion of the young girl. Under the watchful eyes of the other children, Vahn had Mash close her eyelid as he ced his index finger gingerly against the surface. Since he was using his [Hands of Nirvana] to mask his touch itself, the only thing Mash felt was a bit of warmth flow over her chaotic mind, helping her calm down. Her eye then began to itch slightly but, after only three minutes, Vahn removed his hand and said, "Open your eyes." As she was ustomed to listening to orders, Mash immediately opened her eyes only to find that Vahn was holding a small disc to obstruct the view of her left eye. It took a little while, but Mash eventually processed what it meant to still be able to see Vahn. At that same moment, he pulled out an oval handmirror, holding it in front of her face, allowing her to see that both her eye and the scar around it had been healed. Seeing her reflection, Mash couldnt resist bringing her hand to her face, touching the somewhat tender skin and confirming that it was indeed her own reflection in the mirror. This caused her eyes to moisten slightly but, as her tears had long since dried up, this was the extent of her emotional response as she adopted a practiced smile and stated, "Thank you, Your Majesty." Though Vahn would have preferred a more honest reaction, he was still satisfied with the results as, slight though it may be, there was a small glimmer in Mashs eyes. Since he was also cheating a bit, using his View Affection to determine their mental state by the color of their aura, he noticed that her value immediately jumped to 51 from 38, making her impression of him slightly better than neutral. This was a good baseline for the future, though the (Trust?} parameter always bothered him a little bit. Using his treatment of Mashs eye as a segue, Vahn exined, "You wille to learn more about the Empire and myself in the future. For now, know that my official title is Sage Emperor, granted to me as a result of treating the injuries and solving the issues of various races. I will first heal your scars and extend your lifespans so that you have as much time as you need to make your wishes a reality." As could be expected, the children seemed ufortable with the revtion, despite the fact they both feared death and wanted their scars removed. Since one of the methods that had been used to make them more cooperative was making promises that were rarely kept, it was hard to ept his words at face value. If not for him treating Mashs injury with such ease, they wouldnt have believed him for even a moment. The saddest part, however, was that they would still ept treatment as, for their entire lives, they never truly had a choice. If nothing else, Vahn seemed like a nice person, even if, in the back of their minds, they thought he was just another pretender. Seeing the grey-ish purple auras possessed by the children, the only exceptions being Mash and Alex, Vahn felt a little saddened. Though he didnt let it show on his face, he wanted the children to be able to trust him, despite the fact he understood why they couldnt. Fortunately, Mash actually had a subtle yellow to her aura and, though it was troublesome in its own way, Alex had more red and orange in his aura than anything else. This indicated rage, indignation, and slight envy, causing Vahn to wonder if he might have a bit of a sisterplex toward Mash. As the eldest in the group, she was the anchor for the others, something Vahn could make use of in their future treatment. Since giving them detailed exnations of what to expect would only confuse them, Vahn decided to just return to Avalon so they could be paired with a Companion and begin their recovery. With that in mind, he shepherded the group toward the bas.e.m.e.nt, something that caused Zo? and Juliet to tremble, but they still trudged forward nheless. It helped that Kenshin, Lakshmibai, and Olga were present, despite thetter having an expression of guilt as she saw how the children behaved. After reaching the transfer room, Vahn had ya move them to Avalon without dy, disorienting Zo? somewhat, despite the fact there was no actual motion involved. This caught Vahns attention but, until she was ready to ept his Familia Crest by her own will, he wouldnt try to pry into her secrets. He knew from her file that, like Sakura, she had the Imaginary Numbers element so, in the future, she would be adept at using Space, or potentially even Time, elemental abilities. Since they all had sufficientlyplex Magic Circuits, with an abnormal amount of Od, they had a lot of options in the paths they could walk. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bye Felicia,Open your eyes and see...your eyes are open~.,Alex be like, "You, dont youy a finger on my Onee-chan...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1223 - Guidance

Chapter 1223 - Guidance

Several hours after returning to Avalon, immediately following the long treatment session of the five children, Vahn was walking through the castle apanied by a group of Homunculi, Fenrir, Mash, Alex, and an always adorable herd of Companions. At this point, all of the children had Companions apanying them, albeit with Alexs waddling behind him as he refused to carry it. After reaching their destination, the Knights Barracks, one of the Homunculi, a woman named Arisa, stepped forward to lightly knock against the door. Vahn would have done it himself but, as could be expected, the Homunculi were always very dutiful when apanying him. Unless it was something he ought to do, they would step in to make his life more convenient, despite the fact he had never asked them to. Moments after the knock, the door was answered by Siegfried, his hair somewhat messier than normal as he quickly transitioned from a yawn into a more serious expression. Then, in his usual deep yet smooth voice, he bowed slightly while saying, "Your Majesty, it is good to see you." Though he would normally address Vahn by name in private, the fact he had an entourage caused Siegfried to shift into a more serious mentality. Returning a curt nod to Siegfried, Vahn then adopted a somewhat apologetic expression as he said, "I have a matter Id like to entrust to you. Will you hear it?" As could be expected, Siegfried immediately nodded his head before stepping aside to allow Vahn and a few of his entourage entry. The only ones left outside were the Homunculi, Fenrir, and Mash, thetter of which now had a hairpin holding up her bangs. She also had a small smile on her face, even if it didnt quite reach her eyes as she watched Alex disappear behind the closed door. Fenrir was keeping a close watch on Mash throughout so, after she sensed the barriers in the room activate, making all sound from inside immediately disappear, she lightly pat the girls head, saying, "Master will not allow harm toe to any of you. That boy desires strength for the wrong reasons. Siegfried can help him." Though she couldnt take Fenrirs words at face value, Mash still nodded her head in understanding. Thus far, Vahn had really been treating them well and, though it made them all very anxious when he was healing and examining their bodies, he didnt do anything to harm them. He had even allowed her to stay with the others to help them stay calm, showing great consideration for them throughout the entire process. Since she didnt know how long the conversation inside would take, Mash looked over Fenrir once again, finding herrge ears and bushy tail to be somewhat cute. Then, as if reading her mind, the adorable creature in her arm twitched its own ears, causing Mash to look down and meet its gaze as it stared back at her with simrlyvender eyes. It was a rabbit-type Companion, making it slightly smaller than some of its counterparts. Mash had found it quite cute when they were allowed to pick one out and, though it couldnt speak to her, she felt a connection to the seemingly fragile creature. Feeling a bit of courage well up inside of her, Mash looked around at the surrounding white-haired women before turning her gaze back to Fenrir, asking, "What kind of person is the Emperor?" This question seemed to set off a chain reaction in her surroundings. Thus, while Alex was inside having his fate decided, Mash was outside listening to a group of surprisingly enthusiastic women exin how amazing their Master was... --- Within Siegfrieds room, which seemed to have been converted into a den for the Companions, as there were more than twentyzing about inside, Alex found himself staring up at the colossal figure of the Dragon Knight with both fear and ferocity in his gaze. Siegfried, however, had a kind smile on his face as he said, once again, "Come..." This caused Alex to spring forward, his movements much faster than a normal child as he attempted to punch Siegfried with all of his strength. With the ease of swatting away a fly, Siegfried deftly received Alexs punch with his palm, arresting the boys momentum without flinching in the slightest. This caused Alex to gnash his teeth, a stark contrast to the casual smile of Vahn and the gentle smile of Siegfried. Despite this, he kept trying tond a hit as, despite the fact he didnt believe Vahn would keep his promise, the allure of freedom and the promise of power were the two things he sought most fervently. Vahn had promised that, if Alex couldnd a clean hit against Siegfried, he would give himmand over his own force of Elites, each member stronger than all the researchers who had tormented himbined. He also agreed to let the other four girls go with him, though only if they chose to do so of their own free will. Though Alex had been upset by this at first, pointing out that he would just be another person dictating their lives if they werent able to choose for themselves quickly shut him down. Now, with sweat covering his brows and moisture building in his eyes, Alex continued to charge at Siegfried, doing everything in his power tond a hit against him. He even tried to thrash around when Siegfried grabbed his hand, hoping tond a lucky strike but ultimately finding himself gently pushed away. This had continued for several minutes before he could no longer stand, his staminapletely drained as he began to sob in indignation. Seeing Alex in this state, Siegfried asked in a gentle tone, "Have you given up...?". In response to this, Alex wiped his snot away with his forearm before ring back at Siegfried and answering, "Ill never give up...never...!" With this outburst, Alex put all of his remaining strength into his attempt to tackle Siegfrieds legs, only to find himself pressed against the ground in the next instant. While watching this y out from the side, Vahnmented in an amused tone, "He has quite the fighting spirit, doesnt he?" To this, Siegfried nodded his head, hisrge hand pressing against Alexs back as he answered, "With proper training, he could be very powerful. It is unfortunate that his rage is restricting his growth. He cant even determine friend from foe, ignoring the opportunity that has been given to him..." Hearing what Siegfried was saying about him, Alex turned his head, his eyes covered in tears as he shouted, "Shut up! You dont know anything! I hate you!" While saying this, Alex tried to lift his body but, as if he was being pressed down by a mountain, his efforts ultimately ended in failure. After waiting for Alex to cease his struggles, Siegfried removed his hand from the boys back before asking, "Are you the person who has suffered the most in the world? Can you name the people who have suffered more and less than you? Do you even know my name?" Other than the sound of heavy breathing, Alex offered no response to Siegfrieds words, even as a few names passed through his mind. This was how he dealt with his problems in the past after failing to resist against the torment of the researchers. By shutting down and focusing on his rage, he could bear any burden, no matter how painful it was. Noticing what Alex was trying to do, Siegfrieds smile faded into a more dour expression as he sat down on the floor and asked, "Is this how you n to protect the things you care about? Laying on the ground and throwing a tantrum?" Though these questions caused Alex to visibly tense, the boy continued toy against the ground without answering. This caused Siegfried to cross his arms, his brows furrowed as he asked, "Your Majesty, should I bring in that girl?" Reading more into the question than actually existed, Alexs eyes began zing in fury as he looked toward Siegfried and tried climbing to his feet. His expression contained a glimmer of pure madness as he coldly stated, "If you do anything to nee-chan, I will kill you! I swear it!" With this said, Alex once again tried tounch himself at Siegfried but, with almost no power in his body, he tumbled to the ground,nding hard immediately after. This didnt stop him from trying to crawl forward, however, his eyes focused intensely as he shouted, "If you want to hurt someone, hurt me! Come on you bastard! I can take it!" Seeing things y out, Vahn couldnt help releasing a heavy sigh as he used Telekinesis to lift Alexs body from the ground, startling and terrifying the youth. Before he was able tosh out any further, Alexs eyes suddenly zed over after Vahn muttered, "Merlin...show him." Since he knew the errant Magus must have been observing, all he needed to do was rob Alexs consciousness for him to take action. Now, though it might be somewhat cruel to the boy, he was being allowed to view Vahns past, starting from the moment he first gained awareness back on Earth... While Alex was experiencing a nightmare of powerlessness far beyond his imagination, Vahn set the boy down in a spare bed he pulled out from his Inventory. He then looked toward the corner, where a group of Companions were snuggled up with each other, saying, "Take care of him for me, okay?" This caused them to fumble as they separated from each other before hopping into Alexs bed and surrounding him with their warmth. His own Companion also followed suit, curling up next to the sleeping boys body and nuzzling against him. Seeing this, Vahn gave an approving nod before turning to meet Siegfrieds gaze, seeing the concern in the mans eyes. Understanding what he wanted to say, Vahn shook his head before saying, "I cant say if this is the best course of action. However, if I erased his memories and gave him a nk te, it would have a negative impact on the other four. Though it will take some time, Im confident they will be able to ovee their trauma with proper guidance. This boy reminds me a lot of myself so, while it may be inconvenient, please take care of him for me." Hearing Vahns request, Siegfried nodded without hesitation before looking at the sleeping figure of Alex and saying, "I will train him personally as my esquire...seeing someone so young, yet filled with so much rage..." Speaking till here, Siegfried released a tired sigh before adopting a resolute look as he said, "I will guide him toward the light once again. Leave it to me, Vahn." With a smile on his face, Vahn pat Siegfrieds shoulder, answering, "I know I can trust you, my friend." Then, turning his head towards nothing in particr, Vahn added, "Merlin, make sure not to let him see anything inappropriate. He is still a child and Id rather him not get any strange ideas..." As these words settled, an echoingugh resounded throughout the room, followed by Merlins voice stating, "Worry not, Your Majesty. I will only show him the essentials~" As he couldnt do much other than trust Merlin on the matter, Vahn gave a solemn nod in response before heading towards the rooms entrance. Before opening the door, however, he purchased a few necessities from the system shop that would be required in Alexs rearing. After that, he made his exit, entrusting the boy to Siegfried, the man he trusted the most between three worlds. Since thetter had already pulled up a chair to sit next to the sleeping Alex, Vahn felt it shouldnt take long for the young boy to find his way back towards the light... --- Upon exiting Siegfrieds room, Vahn was greeted with the peculiar sight of Mash being crowded by the group of Homunculi as Fenrir nodded her head approvingly at the side. When they noticed his presence, however, the girls immediately adopted a more professional and courteous demeanor, politely bowing towards him with their hands neatly folded across theirps. Vahn wasnt sure if he should even ask what they were talking about and, seeing Mash didnt appear to be ufortable, he decided to let the mattery. While making their way back towards the residential area, Vahn once again asked, "Mash, are you certain about your decision? Know that, if you decide to start training, there is no easy way to quit in the future." To this, Mash gave a resolute nod before answering with the same conviction as before, "I want to be stronger. Though I am filled with uncertainties, I believe all of the people we have met here are good people. If I can truly be strong by bing a Knight, I can withstand any kind of training, no matter how hard it may be." Hearing her answer, Vahn gave an approving nod without further questioning her resolve. Though she would be ying catch up as a result of her age, as Knight training at fifteen was almost toote, there were plenty of ways to help strengthen her foundation. Since this was the path she decided on when he gave the children their options previously, he wasnt going to deter her any further. He only hoped that Mordred wasnt too harsh on the girl but, knowing what Mash had already experienced, it wasnt likely she would suffer any setbacks over a few bumps and bruises. After escorting Mash to her assigned room, located in the same corridor as herpanions, Vahn ordered her to rest for a few days so that she could limate to the peculiar day-night cycle inside the Projection. He said she was allowed to freely move around the castle and had been assigned two Homunculi attendants, responsible for helping care for and educate her. As all Einzbern Homunculi were coded with memories and knowledge that had been passed down through millennia, they were well-suited to the role of educators. Since the Designer Babies were essentially just another type of Homunculus, they should be able to bond together nicely. While Vahn was exining the rules to her, Mash listened attentively before emting the act of bowing politely as she said, "Thank you for your exnation, Master." As she had heard Fenrir and the majority of Homunculi refer to Vahn as Master, Mash feltpelled to do the same. Though it would have been more appropriate to refer to him as Your Majesty, Vahn overlooked the matter as, more often than not, even Artoria would slip up and call him Master. This was a quirk of having high Loyalty and, as she was aspiring to be one of his Knights, Mash already appeared within his Unit Management list. By force of habit, Vahn extended his hand when Mash bowed her head, lightly caressing her head for a few moments as he said, "Work hard, Mash. I believe in you." After that, he pulled his hand away, leaving the lc-haired girl staring at his departing figure with hervender-eyes. She did not let her gaze linger for too long, however, before turning her head to view the luxurious room that had been assigned to her. Compared to the small cell-like room she had lived in for the previous fifteen years, adorned with only a simple bed and a toilet, her current room was the difference between Heaven and Earth. Pulling her out from her daze, the two Homunculi that had been assigned to care for her, named Elise and Sonya handed her a series of brochures before closing the door behind them. They began to exin that she could choose any kind of furnishings to fill her room and, after a day or two, it would be delivered. This included everything fromrge stuffed animals, bigger than she was, to ornate furniture that could only be found in an extravagant pce. There were even weapons and armor listed in another brochure, though most of it was for training purposes. After going through several brochures, Mash noticed there werent any showing clothes but, after asking, she quickly learned why this was the case. Elise showed her a small wardrobe that was filled with various essories, the majority of which were chokers and pendants. They showed her how to use them by demonstrating with their own cors, changing from maid-like clothing intoplex and stylish dresses with a simple touch of the gemstones near their vicle. As for undergarments, to avoid a situation where mana could no maintain physical form, she was given a set of twenty pairs of [Aegis X], the most advanced version of the underarmor developed by Vahn and Da Vinci. Hearing that the paper-thin armor, which didnt leave much to the imagination, was able to stop a tank round fired at point-nk, Mash couldnt help feeling a little skeptical. When she wore them, it felt like she waspletely n.a.k.e.d, almost as if the fabric was nonexistent. Despite this, it noticeably supported her body properly, preventing any kind of difort as she stretched and performed a few light exercises to test its functionality. As one of the candidates to be a Demi-Servant, she had been given basicbat training and, though the experiment ultimately ended in failure, Mash had always kept her body in good shape, despite her treatment. Realizing that Elise and Sonya were watching her in silence, Mash felt a little awkward as she quickly experimented with a dark-purple choker with arge amethyst set into it. As they had pointed out, she only needed to focus on a specific kind of outfit and, though her imagination wasnt adequate enough to make anythingplex, it still allowed Mash to change into a simple dress. She found this rather exciting and, for the better part of an hour, tried to produce various different outfits after Sonya pulled out a fashion catalog. By the time she was done testing out the [REquip] essories, Mash had changed into a simple tunic-style blouse that also served as a skirt. Since it was somewhat chilly inside the bedroom, even with magic formations regting the temperature, Mash also wore a grey cardigan and a pair of thick ck hose. She had tried to wear pants but, finding them ufortable due to the fact most of her prior clothing was simr to a hospital gown, this was the best solution she hade up with. Completing her outfit, giving her a somewhat casual appearance, Mash wore a pair of ck boots with a slight heel and, still feeling a little cold, a red scarf to cover her choker. She actually felt a little awkward to see arge amethyst around her neck, as she had never worn anything like jewelry in the past, so covering up just felt natural to her. Though it was also awkward to see herself wearing nice clothing, Mash also felt a little happy as, for the first time in her life, she almost felt like a normal girl. Just having the freedom to choose her clothing was something she had never experienced, causing the smile on her face to bloom naturally as she performed a small pirouette while looking at herself in the mirror... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Alex is about to learn a hard lesson,The conviction to protect allows people to be truly strong,A moments reprieve after a lifetime of suffering...) (A/N: As many have noticed, my chapter amount has decreased over thest few weeks. Ive been dealing with a lot of family-rted drama and, forck of a better exnation, it has caused me to feel lethargic and depressed. Recently, Ive started to get my motivation back after a lot of support from a few awesome people. Also, though it may be a weird time for a plug, know that Ive started a second novel to practice writing an original. Soon, I will be releasing 3 chapters of EPIC per day and 1 chapter of my new novel, Babel. As for Fenrirs Journey, it turned into something I never wanted it to be so, around the holidays, I will be doing a mass-release to bring it to a satisfying conclusion. I hope I havent inconvenienced too many people with my personal problems. For those who have stuck around, you have my most sincere gratitude. Lastly, the link to the new novel will be in thements section so please upvote it to make it easier for others to find.) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1224 - Olga Marie Animusphere

Chapter 1224 - Olga Marie Animusphere

Though the order of things had been skewed due to doc.u.ments provided by Marisbury, Vahn found himself alone with Olga after a series of long discussions about how the children would be cared for. It was decided that all of the children would receive at least a basic education and, as they may be involved with the Court in the future, they would also be taught things like etiquette, manners, and dance. Other than that, they were free to live their lives how they pleased, so long as they did not endanger themselves and others. The only exceptions to this were Juliet and Alex, thetter needing a bit of discipline to guide him back on the correct path while the former needed to be treated with special care. Not only was she the youngest amongst the girls, but her trauma seemed to be especially deep. She was responsive to questions and did what was asked of her but, much like how Preasia had been in the past, it was as if her body was on auto-pilot. For the time being, Juliet would be attended by a group of six Homunculi on rotation, making sure there was always at least one person nearby while her Companion covered any gaps. As for girls like Zo? and Astrid, they were a lot easier to deal with as the former simply desired freedom, something that wasnt difficult to arrange, while thetter seemed content just to have a few extra Companions. Though they werent the animals she had wished for, this didnt seem to matter too much as, afterying eyes on them the first time, Astrid was quite taken with the adorable and fluffy creatures. With the Empire about to enter a period of rapid change, followed by a temporary lull, it was a good time for the children to have arrived in Avalon. Vahn was hoping that, by the time his children were born, they would already be well on their way to recovery. It only took them realizing that the castle was a safe ce for them to begin opening up and, with the care and concern of a veritable army of Homunculi, Vahn was confident they would bounce back and find happiness. Now, there was onest loose string Vahn needed to deal with as, for the most part, the care of the children would be left to others. After all, he was the Emperor and, though he would care for them when necessary, having direct involvement in their growth would lead toplications. Thus, while they were getting settled in, Vahn was tending to Olga. She had taken quite an impact after learning what had happened to the children but, as their fate was out of her hands, Vahn was trying to cheer her up. At first, Olga had been too distracted to think clearly but, after a few minutes of being alone with him, her awareness of the situation returned. She now sat at his side with a red face, gripping the hem of her dress in silence. He had previously been coaxing her and exining that it was neither her nor her fathers, fault. Rather than beating herself up over something she had no control over, he wanted her to look toward the future by focusing on the present. Having grown ustomed to listening to his advice, it wasnt that long before Olga began focusing on her current situation. Her memories from the lunch discussion hit her like a loaded truck and, now that there was virtually nothing standing between her and Vahn, she was both scared and excited for what was toe. Despite this, Vahn just kept holding her hand, gently stroking it with his thumb as he remained just as silent as her. This made Olga progressively more nervous as, with the silence, she could hear her own heart beating furiously in her ears. Feeling that the tensions had increased enough, as he didnt want Olga to pass out on him, Vahn let go of her hand, startling her a bit as he lifted her chin so that their eyes met. Then, after a few tense seconds, Olga began to close her eyes as she pursed her lips in an awkward, albeit adorable, fashion. Since he didnt want to torment her, Vahn dutifully gave her a kiss and, as time passed, Olga slowly shifted her body until she was no longer sitting next to, but leaning against, him. Vahn also hugged her waist with his left hand, allowing Olga to go at her own pace so that she didnt get spooked by any of his actions. With Olga having no experience leading others, despite her rampant delusions, things developed in a rather interesting direction where Vahn had his head craned back, forcing Olga to slowly climb his body as she chased after his lips. Now, she was half standing on the sofa, kissing him from above as she held his head in ce to keep him from running further. This was rather amusing but, with her butt poking out, Vahn ultimately lost his patience, giving her plump posterior a gentle squeeze that caused her to nearly knee him in the face when she jerked her body. Now redder than he had ever seen her before, Vahn smiled at the heavily panting Olga, asking, "You really enjoy kissing, dont you~?" Since they had already been making out for over twenty minutes, his words seemed to deal critical damage to Olga as she squatted down on the sofa, hands covering her face as she released a girlish squeal. Afterward, staring through the gaps between her fingers, she answered, "I dont know what else I should do...this is all new to me...arent you supposed to be the one to take the lead...?" Hearing the ming tone in her final few words, Vahn just smiled back at Olga before reaching out to stroke her head as he said, "Sorry, Olga. I was enjoying your reactions. You were doing well and I shouldnt have teased you..." Having mixed in apliment alongside his apology, it wasnt long before Olga dropped her hands, releasing a hot sigh as she leaned against him once again and said, "Its not like Im ming you or anything...you dont have to apologize." Then, after swallowing hard, she seemed to have mustered up her courage as she added, "You can just tell me what to do...okay?" Though he knew Olga was just fishing for more praise, this was one of the things he found charming about her, at least after getting used to her quirky nature. Thus, for the better part of an hour, Vahn taught Olga quite a bit, building up her experience and courage further through proper guidance and ample praise. Eventually, even without him telling her what to do, she began experimenting on her own, most of her fear having been forgotten due to the mixture of euphoria, intrigue, and a fair amount of pleasure. While it wasnt the most stimting experience he had gone through, there was something about seeing an intellectual woman work hard to please you that brought a smile to his face. There was even a moment when she was talking to herself while kneeling between his knees, apparently going through some kind of step-by-step process she had learned through dubious sources. Though her efforts would have been fruitless in a normal situation, Vahn rewarded her by giving the expected reaction, causing Olgas eyes to widen before she began to panic in a futile attempt to stymy the flow with her hands and mouth. After that rather unique experience, Vahn helped to wipe her down before giving her a very long and deep kiss. Then, as it was only fair to do so, he returned the favor in kind, causing Olga to nearly tear a few holes in the sofa as her fingers dug into the material. This was all she could manage as, with Vahn holding her h.i.p.s in his inescapable grip, she was fated to ride the waves until he felt her body was properly prepared. By then, Olgas body had be limp against the sofa and, with eyes that could see into eternity, she m.o.a.ned for the umpteenth time, "Thaass enough...haafuuu...staaaahp~" Using a hand towel to wipe his face, Vahn gazed back at Olga, causing her zed eyes to turn in his direction, looking both at and beyond him. He smiled back at her before lightly pressing his finger against the slightly puffy mound, causing Olga to instantly release a nasally m.o.a.n before adopting a pouting expression. This was only for a brief moment, however, as he picked her body up in the next moment, carrying her like a princess toward her bed. Though it would have been better to move to her room, Olga spent most of her time in the Magus Tower and, knowing some of the things she had done in his absence, Vahn didnt feel guilty about making use of the small yetfortable bed. By the time he set her down on the bed, a bit of rity had returned to Olgas eyes, causing her to bite her lip anxiously as her legs instinctually remained shut. Vahn knew better than to rush things so, rather than pressure her unnecessarily, he just sat down next to her before leaning down and giving her a kiss. It wasnt until she began to rx her body,rgely due to his persistent stroking of her abdomen, that he sn.a.k.e.d his hand between her already steamy and moist thighs. This caused her to tense up again but, as he kept her mind distracted, it wasnt long before Olgas legs were syed apart like a frog on a dissection table, her h.i.p.s moving with his movements... Due to the extended forey, Olgas body was more than ready to receive him so, after she arched her back onest time, Vahn deftly moved to a position where her thighs were propped up against his. This allowed him to look down at her indescribably beautiful figure, her body deep in the throes of passion as she stared back at him with her zed golden eyes. With well-shaped b.r.e.a.s.ts, parted lips, and a veritable furnace awaiting his intrusion, Vahn couldnt help but whisper in a hot and heavy tone, "Breathtaking..." Despite the state she was in, Olga managed to roll her eyes when she heard his remark but, with an almost goofy smile on her face, it was clear she appreciated thepliment. Then, after settling her breathing, she looked back at him and said, "Im ready..." Though she was momentarily tempted to ask him to be gentle, Olga felt that Vahn had already shown more than the appropriate amount of consideration for her. Thus, even if she was a little scared of the pain, Olga was looking forward to the moment more than anything else. Not keeping her waiting any longer, Vahn lubricated his ns, tracing it along her slightly parted vulva and running it passed her c.l.i.t.o.r.i.s which, nearly an hour prior, hade out to y. This action caused Olgas body to tremble but, now ready to explore the uncharted depths of her sacred cavern, Vahn pulled back his h.i.p.s, this time using his ns to probe into the steaming folds before settling at a tender and palpitating entrance. For a brief moment, Vahn felt like her v.a.g.i.n.a was suckling his ns, much like she had been earlier, but he ignored the wayward thought as his dauntless charge into unimed territory began. Though there was certainly a twinge of pain, Olga was surprised by the ease in which Vahn pierced into her body, despite her eyes rolling back for a brief moment as the air escaped her lungs. She had seen it up close previously and, no matter how she thought about it, the idea of such arge object entering her rtively small insides seemed impossible. In the past, even a single finger caused her a bit of pain so, feeling something unbelievably hot poking at her deepest parts was quite a shock for the young Magus. Seeing the shock and confused intermixed in Olgas pleasured expression, Vahn had an urge to issue a light chuckle but, considering the situation, he resisted. Instead, to give her body time to adapt, he began to thumb the tiny bead that seemed to be begging for his attention while lightly stroking the tuft of curiously white hairs decorating her mons pubis. Though the majority of women he slept with seemed to take grooming very seriously, he found the tuft of delicate, down-like, hairs to increase Olgas charm. Generally, even if a woman had a lighter hair color, their pubes would be dark brown or ck so finding the tiny mound of white hairs was a pleasant surprise... After recovering her senses, Olga began to feel an ache in her body that made her feel extremely anxious so, with Vahn not moving, she began to wiggle her h.i.p.s experimentally. Immediately after that, she felt a warmth pressed against her that caused her eyes to peel open as Vahn embraced her body and began a slow and steady piston. Each of his movements caused a shiver to run up her back as she clung to his body by instinct. Though she had the feeling that Vahn was literally gouging out her insides, Olga didnt care about such things at the present moment as, with the ache fading away, an overwhelming wave of pleasure began to run through her body. --- Since it was her first time, Vahn didnt push Olga too far as, in the back of his mind, he was still a little worried she would be an addict. He already had to worry about the aftermath of Luvias lockpicking so, this time around, he ced more emphasis on forey and other intimate actions, rather than the s.e.x itself. This seemed to be the correct choice in the end as, by the time he had released himself inside of her, Olga was already nearing her limits. Now, though her body was covered in ayer of sweat, Olga was curled up in his arms as they shared the small bed together. She was still breathing heavily but, rather than panting, Olga was drawing in air through her nose in a pattern indicating she had already fallen asleep. Since she had a happy smile on her face, Vahn couldnt help but emte her as he absentmindedly watched her sleep, periodically picking aside a few stray hairs clinging to her brow. Then, though his own body was still a little tense, Vahn just kissed Olgas forehead before wrapping her in his arms and going to sleep himself... (A/N: Short chapter because writing s.e.x scenes makes my brain melt xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1225 - Progress?

Chapter 1225 - Progress?

Though the task of taking care of the children had been left to others, this didnt stop Vahn from periodically checking up on them. This served the dual purpose of allowing him to encourage them while also increasing their familiarity with him. After all, there was a good chance they would either be permanant fixtures in the castle or, through their rtionsh.i.p.s with the castles residents, close friends to the Imperial Family. Of the group, the person Vahn checked on the most was Alex as, in between his training and other duties, he spent a fair amount of time drinking and talking with Siegfried. Vahn was curious about his travels, the sights he had seen, and the people he encountered along the way. Since they even had Heracles to keep thempany on asion, it was one of the few ways in which Vahn was able to rx and cut loose without troubling any of his lovers. During these times, as Alex had be Siegfrieds official Esquire, the boy was actually the one to fill their drinks, a task he had taken upon himself. Though his road to recovery was still very long, it had been a sobering experience to witness the growth from Vahn being a powerless human to a literal God. Now, he no longer had the glimmer of madness in his eyes and, after a few days of hard training, he had be a quiet and focused individual. This wasrgely due to Siegfried himself being a quiet person and, due to constant exposure, his nature seemed to be running off on the young boy. The thing that had made the most impact on Alex, however, was not the memories he had been shown. Instead, it was the revtion that Mash was training hard to be a Knight herself, to the point that she even pushed herself well-beyond her limits. She was also the first amongst the five to ept the Familia Crest as, with the option to grow even stronger,bined with the fact that even Artoria, Mordred, and Sakura all had one, she hadnt even hesitated to ask. Vahn had actually been a little taken aback at the time but, now that Mash had beenpleting Quests faster than almost anyone else in the castle, he had nothing to say. Though she only chose D-Rank Quests, many rted to chores and simple tasks, it seemed that having a clear goal was a powerful motivator for the young girl who had lived her entire life inside a series of sanitized rooms. When Vahn had asked what made her try so hard, Mash exined thatpleting each of the Quests gave her a sense of achievement, even before she used the Variable Experience. The Quests also allowed her to experience many new things, some of which she might not have even thought about if not for the Objectives. Since the only time she was able to experience new things in the past was when someone else made the decision for her, Mash greatly enjoyed the freedom of being able to choose for herself. As could be expected, Mashs strength skyrocketedpared to the other children while, during the time where they all received lessons together, she was always the quickest to learn and retain new knowledge. Since she was already the anchor of the group, this made an impact on the others, with the greatest example being Alex himself. He now trained himself to the point of exhaustion almost every day and, after a few day-night cycles, be the second in their group to ept the Familia Crest. Now, seeing the red-haired boy wearing an outfit simr to a bartender, albeit shrunken down to fit a child, Vahn couldnt help but smile. This would often result in Alex furrowing his brows slightly but, after what he had experienced, it was nearly impossible for him to disrespect Vahn. He would never admit it but, while he looked up to Siegfried, Vahn was the person he idolized the most. They had both experienced the horrors of human nature and greed but, rather thansh out at others, Vahn had built powerful bonds that allowed him to elevate himself and others. Now, he had be an actual Emperor, not to rule over others, but to protect. With Vahns ss being emptied, Alex wasted no time in filling up a new mug before epting the old one and dutifully cleaning the inside. This earned him an appreciative nod from Vahn who, after turning to Siegfried, mused, "Your Esquire seems to havee a long way, Sieg." In response to this, Siegfried, face slightly red from powerful alcohol, began tough in a light-hearted manner before answering, "I never had the opportunity to raise a son of my own so thest few weeks have been a blessing. He has a long way to go, but Im proud of him." Hearing Siegfrieds words, Alex nearly fell off the stool he was using to reach the bar, his face redder than the Dragon Knights as he quickly picked up the dropped mug. This caused Vahn and Siegfried to startughing, exacerbating Alexs embarrassment. As for Heracles, who treated his words as if they were a finite resource, he simply made a gruff Hmm sound before emptying the contents of his keg and cing it heavily against the bartop. This loud noise caused theughter to cease for a short while but, as was often the case when they were all together, things became lively against shortly thereafter... --- With the dawn of a new day inside of the Projection, Vahn inhaled a deep breath, filling his lungs with crisp air that smelled of flowers and, curiously enough, sunshine. His actions awoke the woman sleeping next to him, causing her to extricate herself from the warm nkets, despite a strong desire to just sleep in for once. As she stretched her body, releasing an adorable groan in the process, Vahn just watched with appreciation and affection visible on his face until she turned to him, awarding him with a smile more radiant than the sun as she said, "Good morning, Ma-Vahn..." Resisting the urge tough, Vahn gently caressed hispanions face, answering, "Good morning, Artoria..." before stealing a morning kiss from her lips. Though they almost never showed any public disys of affection, she never resisted anything he did when they were alone. She had even learned to reciprocate and response to his actions proactively, something Vahn had enjoyed with increasing fervor as time continued its eternal march forward. As he was kissing Artoria, savoring the experience a little longer than he ought to, Vahn felt a soft pressure against his back as a pair of thin arms wrapped around his body, hugging his chest. Then, as he separated from his red-faced Empress, another pair of lips found their way to his own after he turned his head and epted Grays affection. This allowed Artoria to calm her rapidly beating heart and, before Vahn could tease her any further, she quickly escaped from the bed wearing nothing but a pair of white panties, decorated with royal blue ribbons. Vahn somewhat regretted not being able to follow Artorias departure to the bathroom but, with an affectionate kitten eagerly seeking his affections, he couldnt exactly ignore her. By the time Artoria returned, her hair now hanging loosely around her shoulders as she dried it with a white towel, Vahn had Gray curled up in hisp as he gently stroked the smiling girls head. If she were a Cat Person, she would have undoubtedly been purring due to the influence of his Petting Laws and the calming energy flowing from his [Hands of Nirvana]. After releasing a tired sigh, despite not really being angry, Artoria used a stern tone as she reminded, "Gray, well bete if you idle. Go take a bath before you trouble our trainees a second time." This remark was enough to make the gray-haired woman flinch so drastically she ended up in a seated position. Then, after sneaking a final kiss on Vahns cheek, she scurried to the bathroom, kicking up a small burst of air pressure that caused the nkets to nearly part from the bed. Artoria, having stepped to the side to avoid Grays sudden charge, shook her head with a wry smile as she made her way over to Vahns side. He dutifully helped to brush and braid her hair without having to ask about what had happened as, immediately after the incident, it had been brought to his attention. Though it wasnt exactly a foul smell, at least from Vahns perspective, it couldnt be denied that s.e.x caused a powerful fragrance to linger on the body. This was the reason why he hadnt done anything but pet Gray earlier as, just a few days prior, they had yed around a little too much before the usual morning training. As a result of her haste, Gray had a potent fragrance lingering around her which had caused Mordred to almost immediately begin pestering her. This wasnt even the worst part, however, as Mash became pale due to her trauma, copsing on the spot and earning Vahn a ban on morning activities for the foreseeable future. After fixing up her hair into a neat bun, Vahn finished things off by lighting pinching Artorias ahoge, causing her back to straighten as she quickly covered the top of her head to protect the peculiar tuft of hair. The mechanism for how an ahoge worked was something that even Da Vinci had failed to crack so Vahn couldnt help but be a little curious. He could still remember the formers attempts to produce a body with an ahoge, leading to her having a rather pitiful clump of hair that, despite her best efforts, justy lifelessly atop her head... With Da Vinci crossing his mind, Vahn decided he would visit her after his own morning training but, before that, he also helped Gray fix her hair before apanying the two to awaken Mordred and Sakura. As it had be part of his morning ritual, Vahn also styled Mordreds hair into a ponytail and, perhaps emting the three people she spent the most time with, Sakura also had a neat little bun now, wrapped by a braid form from her hair and tied together with a green ribbon. As his destination was in the opposite direction, Vahn parted ways with the group of girls after giving each of them a kiss on the forehead. This was another part of their morning ritual and, without doing it, Vahn would always feel like he had forgotten something important. Thus, after enjoying the subtle blush of Sakura and listening to the livelyughter of Mordred, Vahn made his way over to Scthach, fearing what she would do to him if he waste. --- From the moment he had spurned her offer to advance their rtionship further, iming he would make her fall in love with him through his own efforts, Vahns training with Scthach had reached an unimaginable level of difficulty. Though she was still patient when teaching him during the second half of their training, the twenty hours of sparring had be a waking nightmare. Vahn had really underestimated her power as a [God yer], despite the fact he had experienced its terror many times. Back then, however, she only used it in a few instances to deal with his [Magia Erebia] but, now that she was training him seriously, Scthach always had it active. Though Vahn could recount the number of times he felt like he was going to die, he willfully chose to ignore such thoughts as he desperately tried to egg out small victories from her. Fortunately, her more proactive approach to training him made [Laces Key] more reliable and, as he had gotten better at controlling it, Scthach allowed him to use it sparingly. This almost always ended with him eating a spear to the face or heart but, in one instance, Vahn had even been able to bind Scthach with his [Enkidu] after hitting her with an especially devastating attack. The biggest detriment to using [Laces Key] was the fact that the mode always caused him to go to extremes he otherwise would have avoided. During the attack that had led to his singr victory against Scthach, Vahn had overcharged his [Laevateinn Proto] with enough Source Energy to cause the de to fracture. When he had struck Scthach with it, using it more as a projectile than a melee weapon, it had pierced straight through her abdomen,pletely overriding her immortality. If not for the fact [Laces Key] still seemed to carry his will, meaning he wouldnt use lethal force against his own allies, there was a chance that Scthach would have been killed if he had aimed for her head or heart. Unsurprisingly, Scthach had actually treated him well after the fact, rather than ming him for any kind of mistake he might have made. She also reminded him that, even if he destroyed her current body, he could always resummon her, memories intact. Unless he called upon a version of herself before she became the Queen of the Land of Shadows, her [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground] would make her fully aware of the time they had spent together. So long as he didnt summon her actual body, he would be able to call upon her as a Heroic Spirit as many times as he liked. He could even summon multiple versions of her, each with fragmentary souls that were all linked together due to their shared [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground]. As one Scthach was already more than he could handle, Vahn had absolutely no intention of calling upon a second one. Though this would undoubtedly increase the strength of the Empire by several orders of magnitude, as just one Scthach could probably take down the Clock Tower, he didnt think it would be fair to trouble her with such a burden. Unfortunately, Scthach made it very clear that such concerns werepletely unwarranted, using a technique that allowed her to make clones of herself to reward him for his victory. If not for the fact the original had his soul stone inside of her, Vahn wouldnt have been able to tell them apart in the slightest as, without any exception, they were all very real... With that rather unique experience added into the annals of his mind, Vahn wondered what benefits there would be in summoning multiple versions of her, something Scthach dutifully exined. As she was not a normal Heroic Spirit, due to the fact she was still very much alive, there were a number of benefits and restrictions ced upon her. This was the same for Ereshkigal and Ishtar but, while Scthach could ignore most of the downsides, her parameters and skills were limitedpared to her real self. Since Scthach literally qualified as every Servant ss, including Caster, each version of herself would be one of the strongest in its field. They would also share the same thoughts and memories, simr to a hive-mind, enabling them to take independent and cooperative action. Though she did not intend to be a weapon for his convenience, Scthach admitted it would be easier to fulfill her duties if she had multiple bodies, not just clones. As thetter required her to split her mana between them, it was significantly less efficient than having two, or more, of herself. What had surprised Vahn most of all about these revtions was the fact that Scthach had fully intended to make him summon other versions of herself in the future. Since she was determined to teach him everything, but was limited by the Servant ss she had been summoned as, he would need to either summon her true form, or another version of herself. Until she believed he was ready, Scthach didnt want Vahn to summon her true self as, when the time came, they very well might have a battle to the death between them. Thus, once he had reached an adequate level of mastery with his body, she was nning to have him summon a Caster version of herself, at the very least. Due to her insistence, Vahn knew it was only a matter of time before he had a second Scthach to bully him, this one using magic instead of overwhelming physical violence. Still, as she had pointed out, it did make things easier for both of them as, while she trained him with one of her bodies, she would still be able to protect the Imperial Family from the shadows. Since Heroic Spirits could stay in their spirit form to conserve mana, wither her Caster form having an almost unlimited amount, she could easily protect the people most important to him. She even came up with the oundish idea of summoning a version of herself for each member of the Imperial Family but, just imagining how terrifying a small army of Scthachs would be, Vahn politely refused... --- Beaten into a rather sorry state once again, to the point he struggled to even maintain human form, Vahn didnt even bother breathing as he just drooped pathetically on the floor. While he was in this state, Scthach just squatted down next to him, hugging her knees as she watched him with her scarlet-red eyes and expressionless face. Then, repeating the words he had been hearing at the end of every sparring sessiontely, Scthach asked, "Do you expect me to fall in love with a puddle of goo?" This made Vahn feel the urge tough and cry simultaneously as he did his best to raise his body and assume a seated position. Since he had been unable tond anything more than a grazing blow this time around, he couldnt expect any pity from her at all. Fortunately, at least this time, she wasnt using the pommel of her spear to poke him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Channel your rage into Tsundere power~!,An army of Scthach...,The dignity of an Emperor has no ce under Shishous cold gaze) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1226 - Accident

Chapter 1226 - ident

With only two days left until his mass summoning, Vahn found himself lounging in the Recreation room alongside Artoria, Gray, Olga, and, though half her hair was blond in color, Rin. Da Vinci had also been invited but, rather than discuss who he would summon, she was more interested in being there to collect data when the moment came. She didnt particrly care who he called upon and, though she had some preferences, it didnt make a big difference in the grand scheme of things. What Vahn didnt expect was, in the middle of their discussion, ya suddenly spoke directly into his ear, stating, "Your daughter, Sakura, she is injured." This brought an immediate end to the dialogue as Vahn jumped to his feet, surprising the girls as he asked, "Is she okay!?" before adding, "Take me to her!" in the next moment. Though he knew Sakura likely wasnt in a life-threatening situation, this was the first time in two worlds that Vahn had to deal with one of his children being injured. Before he could rationalize his thoughts, he had sprung into action without worrying about other matters. The moment ya transferred him, Vahn found Mordred hugging Sakuras body as she tried to calm thetter down, her voice choking a bit as she said, "Its okay...youre going to be okay...muuu..." She hadnt even noticed his arrival yet but, being within her line of sight, Sakura caused Mordreds face to turn even paler when she muttered, "Chichue..." while cradling an arm that had been broken in several ces, to the point of forming almost a lightning bolt shape. Since Sakura had started copying the way she addressed their father, Mordred felt a shiver run up her spine as she turned around, expecting to see Vahns angry face. Instead, she only saw concern in his expression as he quickly blinked to their side, cing his palm against her head while using his left hand to create a series of runes on Sakuras arm. Mordred felt a calming energy flow from his hand, causing her eyes to tear up as she lowered her face and said, "Im sorry...Chichiue...it was an ident..." Vahn only lightly nodded his head while watching Sakuras injury rapidly heal under the influence of his [Primordial Rune] magic. Though it was a pretty seriouspound fracture, it was simple enough to healpared to an injury sustained duringbat. What surprised him was that Sakura didnt shed any tears and, though her face was a bit pale, she was otherwise okay. Though he assumed she was just experiencing a state of shock, her mind was rtively stable, albeit with a few areas lighting up to indicate that she was indeed feeling pain. Though he had already deduced what had happened after taking in the surroundings, it would seem that Sakura intended to help out her older sister, exining, "Chichiue...Im okay...onee-chan and I were ying when I slipped...it is my fault..." Before her fall, Sakura and Mordred had been exploring around one of the steep embankments that, in the past, served to prevent the ind from flooding during torrential rain. Due to her training, Sakura could easily leap the 5m distance between the top of the embankment and the sandy beach below. She and Mordred had even jumped down several times when they were ying in the past but, this time around, Sakura slipped when Mordred startled her. This wouldnt have been that big a deal in normal circ.u.mstances but, as she hadnt reacted fast enough, Sakura tried to catch herself with her right arm rather than break her fall in the way Artoria had taught them. Vahn could sense a bit of falsehood mixed into Sakuras words and,bined with how Mordred had reacted when he first arrived, he knew there was more to the story than they were letting on. For now, he didnt say anything but rather began looking around the area for someone that should have been present. In the next moment, a flicker of blue light appeared in the area to his immediate left before the image of a stunned Fenrir came into view. Before Fenrir could say anything, Vahn just shook his head, his voice sounding calm despite the state of his mind as he said, "It isnt your fault. Mordred and Sakura arent children...they should be able to y without someone lingering over their shoulder..." Since Fenrir was always working harder than almost anyone else in the castle, himself included, he wasnt going to me her for not looking after the girls twenty-four-seven. He suspected she had been offpleting a Quest or handling another of the tasks that had been assigned to her. Despite her Masters words, Fenrirs ears drooped somewhat pitifully as she kneeled down next to him and asked, "Is there anything I can do...?" To this, Vahn bobbed his head slightly before taking a deep breath and saying, "Take Mordred back to the castle and have her wait inside of her room. I will be there shortly." These words caused Mordred to bite her bottom lip as she tightly balled her hands into fists. Rather than resist, however, she allowed herself to be picked up by Fenrir before thetter whisked her away using [Shundo]. Sakura was obviously very worried about Mordred but, before she could say anything further, Vahn ced his hand atop her head before resting his forehead against hers and saying, "Proper discipline is part of growing up, Sakura. Mordred needs to learn to take responsibility for her actions or she will never be qualified to rule. Dont worry...I dont intend to punish her too hard." Then, after picking her up in his arms, Vahn added, "Ill take you back and let you rest. After I deal with Mordred, Im certain your Okaa-chan is going to give us both an ear full...that will be your punishment, and my own." With that said, Vahn carried Sakura back to the castle by flying through the air at a rtively slow pace. He wanted to give Mordred a bit of time to think as, in her current state, this was almost the worst kind of punishment she could experience. If he were being honest, he didnt really know how to punish her properly but, as this was something he couldnt just leave to Artoria, there were a few things he had in mind. Though it was indeed an ident, simr words had been used to describe events that led to terrible tragedies throughout history... --- After leaving Sakura in her room and exining the situation to the girls, as they hade seeking him out for answers, Vahn entered into Mordreds room after lightly knocking. He found her sitting in the corner hugging her knees, face buried from view until he used a somewhat stern tone to say, "Mordred..." This caused her to inhale deeply before raising her face to reveal fresh tear stains and a remorseful, yet pouting, expression. Without having to tell her, Mordred stood up before making her way over to him, eyes filled with the conviction of someone who had fought on several battlefields as she looked up and stated, "I know what I did wrong. I am prepared for my punishment, Chichiue." Though it seemed like this was far from the case, if her expression was anything to go by, Vahn gave a solemn nod in response to her words before pulling out a chair and sitting down. He didnt have to exin what he was going to do but, shortly after the fact, Vahn almost wished he had as Mordred instantly dropped her shorts and underwear before bending over his knee. Artoria had spanked Mordred several times in the past when she misbehaved and, though Vahn was not too fond of corporal punishment, it was what Mordred herself expected. Thus, after she clenched her teeth, Vahn put a bit of force into his hand as he began to spank her exposed backside, stopping only after it had be red and tender. Since she had very high Endurance, each of his hits caused a small burst of air pressure to expand through the room, apanied by a loud smacking sound that caused Vahns heart to tense with each sessive hit. When everything was said and done, Mordred had a few discernible handprints on her rump before she stood up and pulled up her pants. Throughout the entire series of events, she never cried out a single time. Rather,pared to her teary-eyed state from before, she actually seemed relieved by the time he had finished. Vahn, however, felt more than a little guilty so, before he left to get his lecture alongside Sakura, he tightly embraced the confused young girl as he said, "You are my pride, Mordred...I hope something like this never happens again..." Mordred felt Vahns words far more than the pain in her backside, causing her face to morph into a deeply set frown as she resisted the urge to cry. This ultimately ended in failure, however, as being held by the person she cared the most about was both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. She ended up throwing her arms around him in kind before choking on her words as she said, "Im sorry, Chichiue...Im sorry...Im sorry..." In this manner, the father-daughter duo both shed tears together though, so as not to cause Mordred any further confusion, Vahn made sure his own were dry by the time they separated. --- For the better part of an hour after he left Mordreds room, Vahn was seated in a proper seiza next to Sakura as they both listened to Rin lecture them in a high-pitched tone of voice. She had freaked out a bit after hearing about what happened, as could be expected, so she made sure to give them an earful before sending Sakura to gofort Mordred. After that, Vahn had to spend a bit of time coaxing her, made easier by the support of Ereshkigal and Ishtar. Since the incident really had been an ident, there wasnt really anyone toy the me on, especially after Mordred had received her punishment. Though it took a while, Vahn eventually calmed Rin down to the point that she was now leaning with her back against him as he held herfortingly from behind. In truth, she wasnt really mad but, due to her hormonal bnce being thrownpletely out of whack, she got emotional very easily. Thest thing any mother wanted was for something to happen to any of their children, especially during pregnancy, as it made it a lot easier to imagine things going horribly wrong. Vahn was also aware of this but, feeling that Sakura needed her independence if she was going to mature, he did not feel they needed to be observed closely just because of a single ident. Since Sakura was a very mature girl at most times, Rin didnt have much ground to argue on so, after his continuous efforts to calm her, she now had a thoughtful expression on her face as she enjoyed their unexpected time together. She felt veryfortable as Vahn gently stroked her abdomen, now beginning to show the signs of her pregnancy. Since she was pregnant with triplets, it wouldnt be long before she even surpassed Nobunagas pregnant appearance, causing Rin no small amount of fretfulness, despite Vahn assuring her that she would return to normal after the fact... Despite the pleasant silence, Rin feltpelled to break it, watching Vahns hand move rhythmically against her belly as she said, "I may have overreacted a bit...I hope Sakura-" Before she could say anything further, Vahn kissed the top of her head before shushing her gently. This caused her to swallow what she had wanted to say, allowing Vahn to calmly exin, "It is the privilege of mothers to overreact when ites to their children. Even if it is a bit troublesome for them, it is memories like this that turn into strong emotional bondster on..." Vahn also wanted to exin that he had overreacted quite a bit himself but, as a father, he was allowed a few privileges of his own. Though there was more she wanted to say, Rin remembered how many children Vahn had, causing her to keep mum as she decided to just trust him. He had his quirks but, when it came to being a father, Rin felt he was infinitely better than most. Her own had been particrly terrible and, having spent much of her life interacting with Magi, Rin knew how dysfunctional families could be. Since Vahn had already given them so much, she figured the least she could do was give him her trust... Ignoring theughter inside of her head, Rin adjusted her position beforeying across Vahnsp and stating in a stern tone, albeit with a red face, "Pamper me..." This caused him to lightly chuckle before leaning down and stealing a kiss. When they parted, he had an affectionate smile on his face as he answered, "As much as you want..." --- For the rest of the time leading up to the summoning, Vahn spent more time with Sakura, Mordred, and Fenrir. Though most of this was spent apanying Fenrir, as she had actually taken things the hardest, it was fun to y around with them. Mordred seemed a little self-conscious about the fact he was spending more time with her but it didnt take him too long to realize this was actually due to him monopolizing Fenrir. Fortunately, she was the type to adapt very quickly and, knowing that Fenrir was happiest when she was spending time with Vahn, Mordred focused more on teaching Sakura new things as they spent most of their time ying in the forest of apple trees. Since Vahn could sense them within his domain, and didnt want to loom over them as they yed, he would stay back and enjoy some quality time with his favorite Vanargandr. Fenrir seemed to enjoy this time quite a bit as, due to their conflicting schedules, most of their time together was in thete evenings. It felt like their paths had diverged slightly, only intersecting when there was an emergency or when they were having s.e.x with each other. This hadnt hurt their rtionship at all, as Fenrirs Loyalty only ever seemed to increase, but Vahn still felt guilty, despite simultaneously feeling proud of her growth. As he expected, Fenrir had indeed been busy with a Quest during the time of the ident, the one requiring her to travel a total of one-million kilometers with her [Shundo]. She had been dashing around the ind while leaving the two girls to y, never expecting for a moment that something would happen in the short time she was away. When she felt his emotions peak, she had rushed to his side in an instant, causing her to be dyed only due to the fact that his presence had shifted locations unexpectedly. Despite the fact she could sense him, even inside of a Bounded Field, Fenrirs senses could be tricked if he changed locations rapidly. This had confused her at the time but, in total, it took her less than twenty seconds to appear on the scene. She was capable of reaching speeds upwards of 4,000km/h in bursts so, with the ind of Avalon only being 25km across, it took her less than thirty seconds to move from the point furthest west to the port on the east coast. This was akin to moving more than a thousand meters per second, which was the average distance she could cover with [Shundo]. Because of her constant efforts, which also included training with Scthach, Fenrir had be much stronger since the time of the Holy Grail War. Though she would still a bit weaker than the strongest Heroic Spirits, it would only take a few more years before she was able to close the gap. If not for the fact she spent much of her time looking after Mordred and interacting with the various residents of the castle, this time could potentially be shortened to just under two years, at least ording to the predictions of Scthach. Fortunately, Fenrir wasnt obsessed with strength as it was more a means to an end than anything else. She only cared about being able to stay at his side, making herself as useful as possible so that his burdens would be eased, even if but a little. Even without him asking, she took it upon herself to get to know everyone in the castle, to the point of studying history and asking them directly if there was something she was confused about. Now, with five more children in the castle, each carrying a heavy trauma, she also spent time interacting with each of them, Juliet especially. Vahn had once found Fenrir absent from the Menagerie and, after asking Medusa, she exined that the former had stayed the night with Juliet at the young girls request. Though Fenrir could be very scary in the eyes of her enemies, she had the potential to be incredibly adorable if she wanted to be. Since she had learned to be empathetic towards people who had deeply rooted trauma, allowing her to get closer to them in a very short period of time, Juliet had opened up to her faster than anyone else. It helped that, rather than appear fully human, Fenrir hadrge ears, a fluffy tail, and extremely soft paw pads when in her base form. Using his ability to move his perception through space, courtesy of his Qinglong transformation, Vahn had found the two snuggled up in Juliets room, Fenrir coaxing the crying girl as she struggled to sleep. He noticed she had even transformed into her fluffy form and, though he was unable to hear it directly, Vahn knew she had been humming a song to lull Juliet asleep. His intuition told him this was the same song Tiona would often hum in the past, causing him to feel mncholic at the time. Fortunately, with Medusa and Circe to apany him, he didnt have to worry about feeling alone, especially in a castle filled with people who cared about him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Mordreds backside...,Rin is more spoiled than her daughter...,Fenrir is the goodest girl, always and forever) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1227 - Ritual

Chapter 1227 - Ritual

Though there were a few small changes in how he spent his free time, Vahn still found the time to talk about the matter of summoning new allies. In total, counting the natural summoning, he had six additional slots to fill, three of which were dedicated to Heracles wife and his two sons. As for the other four candidates, it was decided that he would summon Karna, Gawain, Ghad, and Gareth. There were undoubtedly better candidates to summon but, with Da Vinci on his side, it wouldnt be long before the current system became even easier to use. Since she had been provided with the data from Chaldeas experiments, she had already made several breakthroughs, the least of which was a prototypepression system that could produce partictes of crystallized Divine Energy. This would have been impossible without the assistance of Vahn, Lakshmibai, and Kenshin but, even then, Da Vinci would have eventually made the impossible into a reality. --- Currently, Vahn was standing at the core of the summoning circle as Merlin, Artoria, and, of course, Da Vinci waited in the periphery. Though Merlin had stated previously that this chamber would curse anyone but Vahn and those of his direct lineage, there were a few obvious exceptions to this. After all, if that were truly the case, Merlin himself wouldnt be able to enter, regardless of his association with the Welsh Dragon and Artoria. These exceptions included anyone who had received a vessel from him, as the curse simply couldnt affect their bodies for very long, and, as could be expected, those he summoned. As they were linked to him, the curse had no influence on them, so long as they were not hostile. This didnt stop it from manifesting, of course, but the only effect was to ce a seal that prevented them from using their power. As even Vahn had trouble using any of his strength inside of the sealed chamber, this wasnt that much of a surprise. What dide as a surprise, however, to him and Merlin both, was that Da Vinci waspletely immune to the curses influence. She supposed that it was the result of her body being a conceptual vessel, albeit after yfully remarking, "As an Omnipotent Genius, what else would you expect~?" After that, she had Vahn help her set up monitoring equipment that had been stored in his Inventory as, despite her own immunity, this didnt apply to Da Vincis storage rings and other artifacts. The space within the chamber waspletely locked down, to the point not even Vahn could teleport out, but he was still able to remove items from his Inventory. While Da Vinci was busy conducting monitoring her equipment, at the least the functioning ones, Vahn was patiently waiting for the energy within the system to reach the necessary threshold. Then, a little more than four minutes after the time Da Vinci had calcted, the summoning formation began to glow with vibrant light. Immediately after that, Vahns consciousness was transported to the Throne of Heroes once again, finding a familiar face awaiting him. Though it had been quite some time since he saw Akasha, Vahn imagined it was little more than a blink from her perspective. She had seen the history of the entire universe y out from start to finish an iprehensible number of times. It was this realization that allowed Vahn to interact with her, not fearing she would take action unless he instigated it. As they were content to just observe him, potentially for billions of years, Vahn had decided to not mind them too much. After all, even if he was cautious against them, it would literally amount to nothing at his current level... This time around, Vahn produced aplete thigh bone for ya, informing her that it wouldst longer than any storage methods they might havee up with. She epted this without a word before handing him another [Divine Energy Cube], bringing his total count to two. Then, in the blink of an eye, Vahn was alone within the void, the only other existence being the Throne of Heroes and its interface. At this point, he was very familiar with its usage so, after scrolling through the disys, he quickly found his timelines Karna. Vahn was a little surprised by the parameters and Skills associated with Karna, especially since his Noble Phantasm even reached the EX-Rank. He also met the qualifications for every Servant ss, the only exceptions being the peculiar Beast, Savior, Anima, Watcher, and MoonCancer sses. These didnt appear in the history of the Holy Grail Wars but, as there were also sses like Shielder, Gatekeeper, Foreigner, Faker, and Alter Ego, Vahn wasnt that surprised. He was a little curious about each of the sses, especially after his discussion with Scthach, but that was a matter for the future, not the present. After giving Karna the [Transmigrator] perk, each of the ss Skills vanished as his Status showed the Lancer designation by default. Since he kept his personal skills and Noble Phantasms, he would be one of the strongest Trump Cards of the Empire, even if Vahn was admittedly more interested in just having a new friend. With his selection made, Vahn immediately found himself back at the center of the summoning circle as the light gathered to form anky figure with pale white skin, windswept white hair, and almostically designed golden armor. He even had two shoulder ornaments thatpletely ignored physics,plete with a ming red mantle that gave Vahn a feeling like looking into the vast night sky above. It gave the impression of being unreachable, even though he could see it right in front of him. What stood out the most on Karnas figure was therge red gemstone located on his sr plexus, emanating a phenomenal amount of energy, the golden ne that seemed to be fused with his flesh, and the tworge earrings dangling from his ears. He also had a very handsome face but, with a skin-tight ck bodysuit and a golden codpiece, he looked distinctly alien at a nce. Since he also radiated an aura of invible dignity,bined with his otherworldly appearance, it was clear at a nce that he was no mortal man. Unlike the majority of people he had summoned, Da Vinci the sole exception, Karna was fully upright and, after a few seconds of silence, opened his eyes without any confusion visible in his gaze. Vahn was momentarily taken aback by his sun-light pupils but, when Karna suddenly took a knee, his mindpletely nked until the pale-haired Demigod stated, "I know not why you have summoned me. However, so long as it does not tarnish my pride, I swear to abide by your will, my Master." Though Merlin had told him about Karnas nature in the past, Vahn was stunned by the conviction contained in the mans words. It made him feel the pressure of his own responsibility once again, causing his expression to turn just as serious as he said, "Rise, Karna." In response to this, the golden armored man immediately rose to his feet, his eyes clear as he awaited further instruction. Seeing this, Vahn gave an appreciative nod before exining, "You wille to understand this moreter, but I do not need another Servant. Though I will still be your Emperor, I would much prefer that we can be friends." Karna blinked in mild surprise upon hearing his new Masters words but, if that was his sincere wish, he would do his best to abide. With that in mind, Karna gave a courteous bow before asking, "May I ask how I should address you then, Your Majesty?" To this, Vahn adopted a casual smile, answering, "In private, you can simply call me Vahn. During more formal asions, Majesty would suffice. Now, Im certain you have numerous questions, each of which will be answered by my Magus of the Court, Merlin." Hearing his name mentioned, Merlin gave a yful wave, catching Karnas attention before thetter gave an understanding nod. Then, passing his eyes over Da Vinci and Artoria, his expression became one of momentary shock as, despite seeming frail at a nce, he had the distinct impression both of them were his match. Artoria even gave off the impression of an insurmountable wall, awakening his urge to challenge fate and ovee the impossible. The moment Karna looked at her, Artoria had also met his gaze and, with her Quest still iplete, her desire for battle was no less than his. Before they could challenge each other, however, Vahn shook his head and, with a wry smile on his face, introduced, "This is my Empress, Artoria Pendragon, and my Minister of Progress, Leonardo Da Vinci. I do not mind if the two of you wish to do battle but, now is neither the time nor the ce..." With Vahns remark, Artoria felt more than a little embarrassed but, as they were in front of others, she remained a perfect example of stoicism as she gave a polite curtsy and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Son of Suryadev." In response to this, Karna bowed even lower than he had for Vahn, a respectful and apologetic look on his face as he said, "The pleasure is mine, Your Majesty, Empress Pendragon. Though it may be seen as ack of decorum, I look forward to our battle with earnest anticipation." Vahn realized he had summoned a battle junky but, with people like Kenshin and Artoria around, it shouldnt be much of an issue. Karna didnt seem like the type that was even interested in the fairer s.e.x and, as none of the girls had the type of character that would betray him, the only result of their battles should be the polishing of their skills. Besides, he knew about Artorias Quest so, with a few obvious exceptions, she would probably challenge each of the people he summoned at some point. --- With Karna leaving alongside Merlin, both to get caught up to speed and experience the memory link, Vahn used one of his [Divine Energy Cube]s to power the summoning formation once again. As before, Akasha was waiting for his arrival and, all the same, Vahn traded one of the constituent parts of his body for yet another cube. This time around, he intended to summon Gawain as, with his an Artorias presence, it would make matters simpler when his summoned Ghad and Gareth next. Havingpletely his Knight training and serving as the proxy for Artoria in his life, Gawain had the qualifications for the Saber, Rider, and Avenger sses. Thest one practically screamed red g but, as his Status defaulted to Saber after the [Transmigrator] perk was selected, Vahn didnt have to worry about him seek vengeance against others. What caught his attention after that was the fact that Gawain had two EX-Ranked Skills and an A+ Ranked Noble Phantasm. Though it wasnt difficult to believe that each of the Knights of the Round Table were monsters in their own right, Vahn was still a little surprised. After deciding to look up each of the Knights of the Round Table before summoning Ghad, Vahn confirmed Gawains summoning. As was always the case, he found himself back in the summoning circle once again, just as a robust and handsome man formed before him. He had wavy, grey-blond hair and, after opening his eyes, Vahn was somewhat surprised to find a pair of aquamarine irises staring back at him. What stood out the most, however, was the gaping hole in his severely battered armor, showing just how serious the battle preceding his death had been. Like Karna, Gawain had the basic information provided by the summoning system hardcoded into his head. This included the information that the man before him was his Master but, having sworn to serve only one person, Gawains face formed into a momentary frown. Before he could offer any kind of protest, however, his eyes caught a familiar figure in the periphery though, when he looked over, a powerful incongruity rose up in his heart as he asked, "My King...?" Since Gawains current memories were only up until his death during the Battle of Cann, which included watching Artoria die, he was quite shaken to see thetter present. What caused him an almost overwhelming amount of confusion, however, was the fact that Artoria was currently wearing a ptial gown, befitting of her status as an Empress. Having never known the truth about his Kings gender, even at the end of his life, Gawain was at aplete loss for words until Artoria nodded her head and said, "Indeed. I am no longer your King, however, but your Empress. I understand you have many questions, Gawain. Trust that they will all be answered, in time. Before that, there is something you ought to do, is there not?" Since Artoria gave off the same presence as his King, Gawains conditioned response was to listen to her words without question. His greatest regret in life was cing his pride before his duty, causing the deaths of himself and his King. Thus, when Artoria mentioned the fact she was now an Empress, Gawain was able to piece together a few pieces of the puzzle. After all, he wasnt chosen as Artorias proxy for his handsome looks, but more so due to his discernment, stoicism, and intelligence. Turning his attention back to Vahn, Gawain bent the knee in much the same way as Karna, except he also gave a proper Knights salute as he said, "Forgive my imprudence for keeping you waiting, Your Majesty. Please allow me the honor of serving as your Knight. I vow to serve dutifully as the sword and shield of the Empire." Having already discussed the matter with Artoria, Vahn gave a solemn nod in response to Gawains request, not towards the kneeling Knight, but his Empress. In response, she walked over to his side and, despite the restrictions of the chamber, produced the sheathed Excalibur and Avalon. This had obviously caught Gawains attention, answering several questions for him all at once. Unfortunately, his mind was gued with several more when, against all logic, his new Master pulled Excalibur free from its sheath, an impossible feat. Just as Vahn had been able to wield the [Arrow of the Orion] and [de of Evils Bane], despite not being their true owners, he was also capable of using Artorias [Excalibur] and Siegfrieds [Balmung]. Though he couldnt bring out their full potential, even if transforming into the two, this didnt really matter in the end since just wielding the Noble Phantasms of others was a big deal. He had even been able to borrow Gilgameshs [Key of the Kings Law, Bab-ilu] to summon his [Gate of Babylon], a Noble Phantasm that, theoretically, held all treasures, including every other Noble Phantasm. After lightly tapping [Excalibur] on Gawains shoulders, Vahn stated in amanding tone, "Rise, Sir Gawain, Knight of the Aldrnari Empire. Henceforth, you will serve as both Knight Commander of the Interior and Grand Marshall. This is my, Sage Emperor Vahn Aldrnari Masons, decree." Asmanded, Gawain rose to his feet and, though he put on a prideful expression, it was clear for all to see that he was very confused. Fortunately, this was the reason for Artorias presence today as, not just Gawain, but Ghad and Gareth would undoubtedly have questions. With this in mind, Vahn returned [Excalibur] to its rightful owner before giving the two leave to step off to the side. Since he didnt want to force her to repeat herself, Vahn quickly pulled out another [Divine Energy Cube], this time intending to summon Gareth. One of Gawains greatest traumas was rted to the death of his younger sister so, by summoning her, Vahn was intending to earn the mans trust, not just his fealty. This would make things easier on Artoria as well as, despite how calm she appeared, Vahn could sense her distress. After all, she was appearing as a woman before her former subordinates for the first time, many of which had stayed at her side for decades. She felt as if she had betrayed them somehow, despite understanding the necessity of her past actions. After the [Divine Energy Cube] melted into the formation below, Vahn entered the Throne for the third time,pleting his exchange with Akasha quickly before approaching the three pedestals. Though he intended to summon Gareth, he first cycled through the names of every Knight of the Round Table, curious how strong each of them was. Unsurprisingly, Gawain had the highest Parameters and, with two EX-Ranked Skills, he was ahead of the other Knights of the Round Table by a fair margin. Despite this, Vahn felt that Lancelot was the strongest, even if he ignored Artoria herself iming this was the case. This was due to the fact that he had a number of powerful Skills, the lowest ranking being A-Rank. ording to Artoria, he was someone who could pick up any weapon, turning even a simple stick into a pseud-Noble Phantasm. He could also learn any Skill with great ease, to the point of being able to master even his enemys abilities to a higher degree over the course of a single duel. If not for the history Lancelot had with Artoria and the other Knights of the Round, Vahn felt he would have been a powerful ally... After Gawain and Lancelot, the strongest, by arge margin, was Mordred. She not only had much higher Parameters than the other nine members of the Round Table, but her potential and ferocity had even allowed her to defeat Gawain during the Battle of Cann. Since he obviously wasnt going to summon a Heroic Spirit version of his daughter, Vahn just fiddled around to see how her Parameters changed between Servant sses before checking on Gareths. He had saved her forst since she was the one he would be summoning but, after seeing her Parameters, Vahn couldnt help but smile wryly. Though Artoria had spoken highly of Gareths potential, saying she would have one day be one of her most powerful Knights, her short life resulted in this potential having been wasted. Compared to the other Knights of the Round Table, her Parameters were quite a bit weaker. The only exception to this was her Agility, which was an impressive 48A. She also had rather unique Skills and, though the highest was only B-Rank, the fact she was only 20 years old, nearly half the age of her fellow Round Table members, indicated she had a lot of room for growth. What Vahn found most curious was her [Transformation Ring] Skill, as it seemed more like an item than an actual ability. Though it wouldnt be the first time he had seen something simr, as even Gawain had such a Skill, anything rted to transforming interested him. When he clicked on this, however, Vahn momentarily considered dying Gareths summoning. He also understood why Artoria had been worried about her niece as, ording to the Skill, it allowed her to transform into arge wolf. At the same time, the SKill seemed to affect her nature, making her extremely loyal and affectionate to whoever she grew attached to. In the past, despite the fact she had several family members among the Round Table, she was apparently more loyal towards Lancelot, even bing his attendant after gaining the status of Knight. Though she would have imprinted on Artoria in most cases, Gareth rarely ever got to talk with her Uncle and, as Artoria was often very busy, the opportunity never presented itself. This wouldnt be the case when he summoned her, however, as there would be a very clear impression in her mind that he was her Master. Since the memory of Lancelots betrayal was fresh on her mind, Vahn knew she would probably imprint on him like a small puppy in the near future... Releasing a profound sigh, Vahn ignored his inhibitions and, as he wasnt the type to go back on his promises, he ultimately confirmed his selection. In the next moment, he found himself watching as the energy from the summoning system coalesced into a young woman, standing around 154cm in height. She had a boyish hairstyle but, even with her pristine white armor, tinged with gold, it was easy to see that she was, in fact, a woman. What stood out the most to him were the tufts of brown sticking out of her otherwise blond hair, giving the appearance of sharp yet droopy dogs ears. Then, just as it seemed like she was about to open her eyes, Gareth copsed like a puppet with its strings cut... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Da Vinci is a cheat,RIP Gawains mind,A woman perpetually gued with puppy love!?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1228 - Promises Kept

Chapter 1228 - Promises Kept

Vahn was never the type to just let a woman fall to the ground. The moment Gareth copsed, he dutifully caught her armor-d body before shifting her into a princess carry in a single movement. He had gotten very ustomed to carrying girls like this so it was almost muscle memory at this point, allowing him to see the pained expression of Gareth up close... The moment Vahn had started a second summoning, Gawain had been watching attentively after his former King ordered him to be patient and observe. He stillcked a full understanding of everything that was urring, despite the information supplied by the summoning system itself. Thus, when he saw the magical energy taking shape, he couldnt help feeling a little curious. Gawain had already anticipated that Vahn might summon other Knights of the Round Table but, for reasons he didnt quite understand himself, part of him never expected one of his siblings to be the next called into service. When he saw the familiar figure take form, Gawain felt like his heart tense in his chest and, when Gareth copsed forward, the only thing stopping him from going to her side was the fact Vahn had already caught her. Though he was not the type to shed tears, only having cried at the very end of his life, Gawain felt a sour feeling in his nose as memories of that fateful day resurfaced. He wasnt afforded much time to brood over them, however, as Vahn had already made his way over, an expression of concern and, for some reason, eptance in his eyes. Gawain found this reaction curious but, as Vahn passed over the unconscious figure of his young sister to him, he attempted to dutifully ept, only to find that he had started to hug the armored figure instinctively... Seeing the siblings reunited, Vahn gave an approving nod before pulling out, of all things, a bed and a chair. He then exined, "She has experienced a severe trauma but should wake up within the next four or five hours. We wont be down here for very long but I will entrust her care to you, Sir Gawain, at least for the time being." Though he could help her awaken soon, Vahn was buying time so that Gareth could undergo the memory link process. Karna hadnt wasted any time in starting the process himself so, with thetter being inside the projection, it would only take around half an hour before her slumber was extended by four. Gawain didnt immediately set his sister to rest in the bed. Instead, he looked directly at Vahn with his aquamarine eyes glistening with moisture as he said, "Your Majesty...thank you...I can never repay you for this kindness...I swear, I will serve the Empire until my dying breath...!" To this, Vahn just gave a light-heartedugh, confusing Gawain somewhat until he stated, "It seems my Empire has earned a staunch protected for the next few decades...however, I would prefer if you settle at some point. The Empire is wanting for residents...hahahaha-" As Vahn had the mentality of befriending the male Heroic Spirits he summoned, he didnt want his new Knight to dedicate his entire life to the pursuit of his duties. Though some ounts stated he had multiple children, Vahn knew from Artoria that Gawain had died without descendants. Because of a mistake he had made in his youth, he believed himself unworthy of leaving behind an heir and had done everything he could in service of the Kingdom. He had also been worried that his children would make a y at the throne as, being the proxy to Artoria, the majority of the Kingdom believed he was the true King. Hearing his Emperors words, Gawain experienced a short pause in his thought processes, losing him the opportunity for further words as Vahn had already turned his back. Fortunately, his Empress had been nearby, showing him leniency by exining, "Have patience, Sir Gawain. All will be brought to light in due time. You need not burden yourself with overthinking things as I intend to rify matters personally after the next summon." Since his mind was practically hard-coded to follow Artorias orders, Gawain bowed reflexively before answering, "I understand, Your Majesty. Thank you for helping to clear my clouded mind..." Then, as it was somewhat awkward to keep holding onto his sister when there was a bed nearby, Gawain set her down and began removing her armor. She was wearing green pantaloons, a green undershirt, and a beige blouse underneath so removing her armor was just a way to help her sleepfortably. --- While Gawain was taking care of his sister, Vahns mind had already submerged into the Throne of Heroes once again. This time around, the process was even faster as, having already messed around with each member of the Round Table previously, his curiosity had been sated. Thus, after a very brief interaction with Akasha, he quickly scrolled through the three panels of data before confirming his next summon, Ghad, son of Lancelot. ording to Artoria, Ghad was the perfect Knight, even more so than his father, especially after thetters betrayal. He was even recognized as a Saint, though not because of yas selection. His Sainthood had been earned after he obtained the Holy Grail, the actual vessel, not the wish-granting device used in the Fuyuki Holy Grail Wars. Though it could have granted him almost unlimited power and eternal life, Ghad had instead returned the Holy Grail to the Heavens, believing that any such power, despite originating from a holy artifact, would corrupt the individual who received it. From that moment onward, though he was one of the youngest members of the Round Table, only a few years senior to Gareth, Ghad was considered a true paragon amongst other Knights. Since he feared that his own prestige would ultimately lead him down the same path of corruption, Ghad had even abandoned his sword andnce, bing the protector of the Kingdom by using nothing more than a shield. Because of this conviction, Artoria had asked the Faeries to literally convert the Round Table into Ghads shield, showing just how much trust she ced in him. After confirming his selection, Vahn found himself back in reality, watching as a figure that stood around 173cm in height formed into existence. He was a bit shorter than Karna and Gawain but, even before he had taken shape, Vahn felt like Ghad gave off the impression of an immovable wall. When the light faded away, there was a man wearing dark-purple armor,plete with a light-purple mantle and a simrly colored cloth around his waist. He also had somewhat unkempt white hair and, as he opened his eyes, Vahn saw golden irises that, curiously, emanated a subtle light from the very center of Ghads pupils. Understanding that this was due to Ghads [Pure Eyes of the Saint], Vahn gave a small nod, even if the rank of the Skill was much weaker than a True Saint. He would still be able to see the negative karma of individuals, allowing Ghad to be one of the most reliable protectors of the Empire. Vahn had every intention of making him the guardian of his children in the future and, as Artoria was not suited for training each new batch of Knights, Ghad would assume this responsibility as well. As Vahn looked down at him with an approving gaze, Ghad stared back at him with an unfaltering one of his own. He found the aura around his new Masters body to be strange, being paradoxically pure yet overbearing. This was a strange contrast but, as he could also feel the overwhelmingly pure aura of his King nearby, Ghad averted his eyes slightly to see Artorias dress-d figure. As he was unaware of his Kings true gender, Ghad experienced a momentary pause due to shock, even if his facial expression didnt change in the slightest... Though he did not bend the knee, as he would never wholeheartedly serve a person whose motives he had yet to understand, Ghad gave a Knights salute, stating in a calm yet firm tone, "Ghad answers the call of his Master, Vahn Aldrnari Mason." As the information provided to them included the name of their summoner, alongside information about the modern world, Ghad obviously knew Vahns identity, though this was the limit of his knowledge. Since he didnt expect everyone he summoned to immediately bend the knee, Vahn just gave a small nod in response to Ghads introduction before exining, "You have many questions, no doubt. I will leave my Empress, Artoria, to exin the finer details of the situation. In time, I hope you see me, not as a Master, but as an Emperor and friend..." Hearing Vahn address his former King as Empress, Ghad had a slightly better understanding of the situation. He still did not bend the knee, however, as his loyalty had always been toward the people, not the person ruling over them. Since he did not understand the situationpletely yet, he could not ce his trust in Vahn, especially with his paradoxical aura. Even then, he still gave a low bow after learning of Vahns status, adding, "Ghad pays respect to His Majesty, the Emperor." Though Vahn was tempted to correct the form of address, he instead gave Ghad leave to raise his head before having him join Artoria, Gawain, Da Vinci, and the sleeping Gareth. While they were in the midst of their greetings, he wasted no time in activating the summoning system once again. He was beginning to feel a strange fatigue, perhaps due to his consciousness being shuffled around a bunch, but it was nothingpared to his training sessions with Scthach. This time around, Vahn intended to summon Heracles wife, Megara, beforetter summoning his two sons, Therimachus and Deicoon. Vahn was actually a little curious about the Wife of the famous Hero as he couldnt help imagining what kind of woman could pair with a 253cm tall, 311kg man. He had learned from Heracles that his current form wasnt all that dissimr to his original appearance, something Vahn found both strange yet fascinating. (A/N: Btw, this Heracles looks more like his FGO counterpart, not the weird monstrosity from Stay/Night.) After sifting through the three panels, Vahn discovered that Megaras parameters were only slightly higher than a normal humans, even with the perks of being a Heroic Spirit. Though her Avenger form was actually quite powerful, the [Transmigrator] perk defaulted her to the Archer ss, with parameters and Skills exclusively at E-Rank. Even her Noble Phantasm was E-, the first time Vahn had ever seen such a ranking outside of Lakshmibais original Luck parameter. The only thing to note was that her Endurance was graded at 7, but even that wasnt considered too remarkable. Reasoning that Megara was just a normal princess, Vahn went ahead and confirmed his selection. He would get more information from seeing her up close than looking at a series of lists so, as the mana gathered from the summoning formation, he watched on with an expectant gaze. As the light faded away, it revealed a woman with a rather developed figure, even if she was only 159cm tall. She had what some referred to as an hourss figure,plete with arge bust, willowy waist, and shapely h.i.p.s. With her light garb, consisting of nothing more than a purple cloth, there wasnt much left to the imagination. She also had maroon-red hair, styled into a loose bun that curled and frayed at the ends due to the non-existent hair care products of the time. Vahn had the distinct impression that Heracles wouldnt appreciate him handling his wife so, before she could copse, Vahn used his Telekinesis to stabilize her body before wrapping her in a fur coat andying her on a second bed. Heracles was waiting for them on the surface so, after summoning his two sons, Vahn would reunite the family who had been brought to ruin by Heras machinations. This time around, they wouldnt have to worry about the petty interference of the Greek Gods, even after the convergence of the Surface and Reverse Sides of the World. Not wasting any time, as his mind was beginning to dull slightly, Vahn used the first of his final two [Divine Energy Cube]s to enter the Throne once again. This time, Akasha was not waiting for him so Vahn quickly made his way over to the Throne before searching for Therimachus. Vahn was a little surprised by how high the boys parameters were but, considering he was a quarter-god, and the son of Heracles, it was to be expected. What he found more interesting, and strangely annoying, was the fact that the boy was just over seven years old at the time of his death. This caused Vahns brow to twitch slightly as his instincts as a father alerted him to various future possibilities. After taking a deep breath, Vahn ultimately finalized his selection, unwilling to go back on his word over something like a hunch. The future was formed from infinite possibilities and, even if something happened between his and Heracles children, this wasnt necessarily a bad thing. So long as they did not inherit the nature of the ancient Greeks, which shouldnt be a problem considering their age, he shouldnt have to worry too much. With proper guidance and aprehensive education, Heracles sons would probably be powerful Knights or protectors of the Empire. They were also Princes, even if Heracles no longer had a Kingdom to rule, so the decision was ultimately his daughters to make. This time around, Vahn watched as the mana formed into the shape of a figure who looked closer to ten than seven. When the light faded away, a 134cm tall youth, with an extremely athletic figure, had appeared before him. He had dark brown hair and a tanned body, a stark contrast to the white and gold toga-style garb he was wearing. It was clear that he had taken after his father and, in the future, Vahn imagined the boy would be a giant amongst men. This caused his brain to buzz slightly at the potential implications but, suppressing the emotion as much as possible, Vahn set the boy next to his mother before entering the Throne for the final time... Being the younger of the two, Deicoon was only five years old but, much like his older brother, his parameters were noticeably higher than normal. Vahn managed to better retain his calm this time around and, without incident, summoned the young boy into existence. He was garbed in simr attire to his brother and, despite the fact he was only five, it was clear to see that he would also be a very athletic or muscr figure in the future. Seeing this, Vahn could only shake his head before he set the boy on the opposite side of Megara. Then, after lifting the entire bed using his Telekinesis, Vahn turned to the waiting party and said, "Let us return." --- As could be expected, Heracles was waiting anxiously for the group to exit the Inner Sanctum. He was standing with his arms crossed and a vicious expression on his face, causing Ghad to move in front of Artoria as Gawain seemed to consider what to do with the unconscious body of his sister if a fight were to break out. Fortunately, Artoria dealt with them both by stating in amanding tone, "Stand down, both of you. This man is the Guardian of the Empire." This was enough to make both former Round Table members stand at attention, though Vahn could still see caution visible in their gazes. Despite how scary his expression was to others, Vahn could see the pain and concern in Heracles expression. The moment he saw his sleeping wife and children, the mountainous man fell to his knees and, creating one of thergest gaps in history, began to bawl like a child as he bowed his head to the floor and stated, "Thank you...thank you..." over and over. This caused Gawain to issue an awkward smile while even Ghad, having shown no change in expression up till now, awkwardly scratched his cheek. As for Vahn, he walked over to Heracles side, using a single hand to lift the man from the ground as he reminded, "Were friends...this is the least I could do..." Seeing the grim expression of Heracles looking back at him, even Vahn felt slightly intimidated, despite the fact the former was showing sincere gratitude in his eyes. He then smiled in an almost unnatural way as his deep voice echoed, "Yes, that is true, isnt it...it is my honor to be your friend, Your Majesty..." With that said, Heracles roughly pat his shoulder, causing Vahn to feel his bones creak slightly, albeit not enough to cause any visible difort on his casually smiling face. He then watched as Heracles plopped down next to the bed, a thoughtful look in thetters eyes as he stared unblinkingly at his family... Part of Vahns agreement with Heracles was erasing the memories of the incident from his childrens mind but, as he wanted to face the responsibility directly, Megara would keep hers. He believed the woman he had loved would understand as, even toward the very end, she never stopped trying to break him free of his madness. Together, they would build a new life for themselves in Avalon, free from the Gods influence for the first time in their lives. He also swore to protect the Empire with all his power, believing Vahn to be the one man he would willingly lower his head to. Since thetter had kept his promise, he would do the same, no matter the cost...it was the least he could do. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gawain was not ready for today...,Vahns fatherly instincts xD...,Not all Greek Heroes should have their stories end in tragedy...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1229 - Page

Chapter 1229 - Page

With Gareth already undergoing the memory link and Da Vinci returning topile the data she had collected, this left Vahn and Artoria seated across from Gawain and Ghad as they exined the situation. Informing them about the memory link was unnecessary, as it was included in the information provided by the summoning system, so the meeting was more of a formality to exin Artorias situation than anything else. Needless to say, the two former Round Table members were more than a little surprised to learn that the King they had dutifully served was actually a woman. However, with Merlin also showing himself,bined with the fact they were in the Ivory Castle, they knew it was the truth. This affected Gawain a lot more than Ghad but, as his greatest regret in life was cing his own pride over his duty, he quickly set aside his conflicted thoughts to discuss the state of the Empire and its goals. As the Knight Commander of the Interior, Gawain would be tasked with selecting Knights to guard the Ivory Castle and its residents. In the Knight Orders, it was a position second only to the Knight Commander of the Imperial Knights, a position that would be held by Artoria until she trained her sessor. Despite his trustworthy nature and adherence to duty, Gawain had never been allowed in the Inner Sanctum unless specifically requested by Artoria. This was usually only to ess the Armory of Camelot as, even with his prestige and status, he did not have the right to enter the Inner Sanctum of his own ord. In the future, these kinds of distinctions would be very important so, now that their numbers were beginning to grow, Vahn had to clearlyy the groundwork for how they would operate in the future. With no Knights tomand, at least for the time being, Gawains most important task would be filling the position of Grand Marshall until, much like Artoria, he groomed a sessor. This actually gave him more authority during certain situations than Artoria, the Queen-Empress Consorts, and the Imperial Princesses. Though this only applied when Court was officially held, it was a very high position, one which Gawain had epted graciously. After the discussion of Gawains duties, the conversation moved towards Ghad, despite the fact he had not epted any status within the Court, including Knighthood. Vahn didnt really mind this so, after preventing Artoria and Gawain from pressuring him, he gave Ghad considerable face by requesting that he take the position as Knight Instructor. He actually wanted to assign Ghad the title of Shield of the Empire, so that he could protect the Imperial Family directly, but that would have to wait until he won the mans trust. As it did not conflict with his sense of justice, Ghad epted the position without any argument, feeling it was a task he could dedicate himself to. So long as Vahn did not ask him to wield a de to strike down the Empires enemies, Ghad had no problem training future Knights, not to serve the Empire persay, but its future peoples. When heter learned that Avalon would one day be a Bastion of Sanctuary to the Fae and other exploited creatures, his convictions were cemented on the spot. With their duties assigned, the conversation began to shift toward tenser discussions before finally settling on the most troublesome matter that needed to be addressed. Vahn tried to segue things naturally by using Ghads duties as a talking point, mentioning, "There is something you must be made aware of. This is a matter of extreme importance and, regardless of your personal experiences, I will not tolerate any dissent over this issue..." Since it was a matter concerning his daughter, the pressure released by Vahn caused both men to feel a powerful suppression. This wasnt solely due to Vahn, however, as Artoria also had a serious expression on her face. She had fully epted her role as Mordreds mother and, though she had a lot of other concerns that needed to be addressed, she would not allow her daughter to shoulder the me for Morgans machinations. Since Gawain was actually Morgans son, meaning he was Mordreds sister-cousin, she would make him see reason and understand who was truly at fault for his familys suffering... After the tension increased to the point of causing the furniture to tremble slightly, Vahn began to exin Mordreds situation. Though Ghad didnt seem heavily affected by the revtion, Gawain had be pale as he continued to listen further. After all, his final memories before awakening in the Welsh Dragons chamber were his remorse at having failed his King. He did not me Mordred outright for their deaths, as it was his own pride and dismissal of Lancelot that ultimately resulted in their end. At the very end, he had even made a vow that, if he were given a second chance at life, he would dedicate everything, mind, body, and soul, to serving his King... Despite this vow, it still weighed heavily on him that one of the people he was now sworn to protect was the same person who had killed him in the past. Still, he was a man of honor and, after making his previous vows, which included his oath towards Vahn, he resolved himself to let the matters of the pasty. Though fresh on his mind, it had been more than fifteen-hundred years since that tragic day. Now, just as his Empress requested of him, he would do his best to live in the present, believing in the future they envisioned. When neither Gawain nor Ghad made much of a fuss about Mordreds identity, Vahns impression of the two had taken a decisive shift toward a positive light. He did not want all of Mordreds efforts over thest year to go to waste and, if they were able to watch her grow, Vahn believed any grudge between them would fade away with time. With Mordreds matter addressed, at least for the time being, Vahn began talking about some of the Empires Trump Cards, both as a means to ay any concerns they might have and, to a lesser extent, give them pause if they ever thought to betray him. Needless to say, they were quite surprised when ya presented herself to them, causing Gawain to sweat noticeably while Ghad actually seemed relieved. His [Pure Eyes of the Saint] allowed him to understand that Vahn was telling the truth and, though thetters aura still troubled him, the fact he was the champion of ya alleviated most of his concerns. --- After talking about the more pressing matters, the atmosphere began to lighten up a bit, courtesy of the food and drinks Vahn had provided. He had wanted to ease tensions before Gareth awoke which, ording to Sis, should be any minute now. This didnt go unnoticed by Gawain who, throughout the conversation, would periodically look toward her sleeping figure at the side. Though it was more than a little strange to see a bed in the middle of a private meeting room, he didnt really question his new Emperors logic as even Artoria, his former King, showed apletely neutral reaction. As if she hadnt gone from experiencing a severe trauma to witnessing years worth of memories in turn, Gareth rolled onto her side before curling up in a fetal position. For a brief moment, she began to suckle on the end of her thumb before slowly opening her eyes after hearing a familiar sigh. Her ears twitched in response to this and, after seeing a group of familiar faces staring at her from a small dining table, Gareth felt like a bolt of electricity ran through her body as she immediately hid her hands behind her back while sitting up straight atop the bed. Though she was clearly fl.u.s.tered, Gareth had a natural smile on her face and two small blush marks that gave her an even more youthful appearance. This,bined with her dark-green eyes, left quite the impression but, even more so than both of these thingsbined, it was the two twitching dog-like ears drooping at the sides of her head that caught Vahns attention. She had a pair of normal ears hidden within the locks of her boyish hairstyle but, much like Circes winged attachments, this extra set of ears, looking more like hair extensions, functioned all the same... Gareth actually had quite a bit to say to everyone seated at the table but, seeing Vahn looking back at her, the two dog-like ears began to twitch happily as her smile grew wider. She had just watched his life y out from start to finish, including some things that Vahn probably would have wanted to keep from her, so he had left a very big impression on her mind. Thus, while smiling so radiantly it felt like the room had been illuminated slightly, Gareth eximed, "Master, it is good to finally meet you! Please, is there is anything I can do, anything at all, just let me know~!" If Gareth had a tail, Vahn imagined it would be thumping against the top of the bed or wagging furiously from side-to-side. She reminded him a lot of a younger Fenrir, albeit with a different kind of innocence and significantly less bloodthirst. Even amongst the Knights of the Round Table, she was known by her nickname, Beaumains, meaning Pure Hands, as she believed it was never justified to take a life. When she was given the opportunity to ce a restriction on Artorias armaments in the past, a ceremony all Knights of the Round Underwent, the restraint she had given was The battle must be with the intent of preserving life, not taking it. While Gawain wanted desperately to pull his sister aside and address her behavior, he didnt have the right to dismiss himself without permission from Vahn. Even speaking out of turn could be a grave offense in such a situation, as Gareth had addressed Vahn directly. If they were in Court, he would have some leniency to reprimand Gareth but, at least in the present moment, his actions could be misconstrued as speaking for Vahn. Thus, he could only sigh in exasperation while doing his utmost to retain hisposure. Understanding Gawains struggles, Vahn couldnt helpughing internally while, on the outside, his expression was predominately calm as he smiled in response to Gareths words, saying, "Lady Gareth, it is good to see you in high spirits after your ordeal. As for what you can do, that is a matter for my Empress, Artoria, to decide..." In truth, Gareth wasnt part of his future ns for the Empire and, at least for the time being, his n was to allow her to decide her own future while acting as an anchor for Artorias, Gawains, and Mordreds mental wellness... Hearing Vahns somewhat dismissive words, Gareths ears drooped somewhat pathetically and, as if she wasnt seated before her Emperor, she slouched atop the bed with a defeated look. This disy caused Gawains brain to buzz slightly but, surprising everyone present, Artoria restored the smile to Gareths face by stating in the same tone she used to issue orders, "You will be the Emperors Page in the future, Lady Gareth. Im certain you will serve him dutifully..." Vahn felt like banging his head against the top of the table, despite the fact he wore a calm mask on the outside. As for Gareth, she seemed enthused at the idea, her ears protruding out to the side in an adorable manner as she held both fists in front of her body in a guts pose, eximing, "Leave it to me, Your Majesty!" before shimmying out of the bed in the next moment. She gave a quick nce at her own appearance before looking around for her armor. Then, finding none, Gareth gave a small shrug before practically skipping over and standing to Vahns left at attention. During Gareths peculiar disy, Vahn had gauged the reaction of everyone seated at the table. To his surprise, Gawain actually had a relieved look while, as was often the case, Ghad had no change in expression. As for Artoria, she gave him a rare warning look out of the corner of her eye, causing Vahn to shelve anyments he had about the arrangement until they were in private quarters. He didnt doubt Artorias decision and, as she had undoubtedly thought about this a lot more than him, Vahn decided to go with the flow until things could be rifiedter. --- With Gareths awakening, Vahn guided the conversation towards its conclusion, dismissing Gawain and Ghad after advising them to find the time to rest. Neither needed a tour of the castle but he still suggested they walk around a bit to limate to the new changes while inside the Projection. If they had any further questions, he told them to save it until after they had experienced the memory link as, more than likely, they would receive their answer there. After that, so long as he wasnt busy, they could ask for a private audience or wait until he called upon them in the near future. After releasing Gawain and Ghad, Vahn was left with a slightly apologetic looking Artoria and apletely oblivious Gareth. She had a permanant smile affixed to her face, almost as if her muscles had adapted to make that her resting expression. Vahn noticed that, whenever he looked toward her, Gareths ears would perk up as an expectant glimmer shed across her crystal-clear eyes. Then, as he turned his attention elsewhere, her smile would return to normal as her ears drooped sadly for a few seconds. Honestly, she was quite adorable but, until he had cleared things up with Artoria, Vahn resisted the almost instinctual urge to pat her head... Since a Pages duties also involved carrying messages, Vahn decided to give Gareth her first mission, stating in a firm tone, "Gareth, I want you to familiarize yourself with the castle. Things have changed since thest time you were here so it is for the best that you see these changes with your own eyes. A woman named Fenrir will find you shortly. She is your senior and will teach you everything youll need to know in order to serve as my Page..." With eyes glimmering like stars, Gareth gave a proper salute before cheerfully saying, "Leave it to me, Your Majesty~!" After that, she alighted from the room with considerable speed, moving with clear purpose and an unwavering gaze. Vahn watched her departure with a neutral expression before tracking her through his domain for a few seconds. When she had moved a considerable distance from their location, he turned his attention to Artoria once again. Her previous stoicism was nowhere to be seen now as she averted her eyes with slightly slumped shoulders. Seeing her like this, Vahn released a sight before lightly patting Artorias head and asking, "What is this about, Artoria...?" Though he already had his suspicions, even before summoning Gareth, Vahn wasnt the type to just assume such things. He needed Artoria to exin herself to avoid confusion as, if he acted arbitrarily, that would inevitably result in even greater misunderstandings. After taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Artoria turned her gaze back toward Vahn, exining, "I fear that, despite the tragedy she experienced, Gareth would not be able to set aside her loyalty towards Sir Lancelot. Though he never had a ce for her in his heart, even I can understand that he had taken up thergest part in hers. It is my most sincere desire that Gareth has the same chance at happiness that I obtained...with her nature and your character, I believe the shadow left behind by Lancelot can be removedpletely..." Though she had never abandoned her feelings for Shirou, Artoria knew first-hand how fulfilling it was to receive Vahns care and love. Their time together had allowed her to experience many things she never thought possible, not least of which was the almost omnipresent sense of security Vahn brought to them all. He also tirelessly worked to improve himself while simultaneously encouraging and enabling them to do the same. Vahn felt a bit of deja vu after hearing Artorias words, causing the image of a Tione to sh across his mind. This, in turn, reminded Vahn of Tiona and, as her personality ovepped with Gareths by quite a bit, he couldnt help but smile while releasing a sigh. In truth, he felt fatigued by the harem lifestyle but, as this kind ofint would be disrespectful to the women who had entrusted their affections to him, Vahn willingly shouldered the burden. In the grand scheme of things, he may very well have thousands of lovers over the course of eternity so one more was almost inconsequential in the long run... As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn could hear Sis sigh in the back of his mind, causing him tough internally as he resolved himself. Though he didnt decide to outright make a move on Gareth, he wouldnt deter her budding affections for him as they continued to interact with each other. With that in mind, he gave a small nod toward Artoria, saying, "I will treat her well. Though I believe there may be others suited for the role, I will not turn her away if she chooses me..." Hearing Vahns words, Artoria released a sigh of relief as, despite what he might say, everyone in the castle knew he had several weaknesses. His biggest weakness was children, who he earnestly sought to protect, but his most prevalent weaknesses were people with a tragic past and anything that was even remotely cute. Vahn might not notice it himself but, with his propensity to tease them, it was very apparent to his lovers that he liked to see them acting in cute or adorable ways. During his breaks from training, he could even be found lounging with a flock of Companions, a quirk he shared with Siegfried. Thus, while there were many uncertainties about the future, Artoria felt it was more likely for the sun to disappear from the sky than for Vahn to resist his own urges around Gareth... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bullying Mordred is like poking a sleeping dragon xD...,Gareth is eagerly awaiting head-pats (UwU)~!,Vahns weaknesses...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1230 - Changes: Routine

Chapter 1230 - Changes: Routine

In the days following the mass summoning, there were many changes around Avalon, both big and small. After Gawain and Ghad had the opportunity to experience the memory link, their impression of Vahn had changed drastically. Thetter even sought him out during one of his recreational periods, pledging his service to the Empire. In turn, Vahn granted him Knighthood, tasking Ghad with the duty of protecting, not just the Imperial Family, but Avalons peoples. As for Gawain, he began observing the training of the Homunculi and, after getting permission from Vahn, Kenshin, and the Homunculi themselves, he formed a squad to train as Knights of the Interior. Their numbers were rather small, at only twenty members, but he intended to train them all as full-fledged Knights within the next two years. It would normally take much longer but, with memories inherited through thousands of years,bined with naturally highbat capabilities, they were like extremely malleable y. Because of Gawains position as Grand Marshall, he also took it upon himself to work alongside the leadership within the Homunculi. He didnt treat them as tools, nor did he looked down upon them. Instead, he took their input seriously and worked alongside them toe up with a better system to manage and maintain the castle. They also came up with a rotation for practicing defensive battle formations and how they should react during the event of an emergency. Prior to this, the Empire had no emergency response protocol and, as there would one day be residents depending on their protection, it was better toy the groundwork now than be caught off guardter. With Gawain acting as Artorias proxy in the past, he was extremely familiar with the management of a Kingdom. Though he would have to adapt to Vahns method of governance, he still had a strong grasp on what needed to be addressed before the first Court was held. This was one of the reasons he had been chosen in the current batch of summons. With Vahn and Artoria often busy with other affairs, they needed someone with experience to manage the castle and its territories. Vahn was genuinely impressed with how proactive Gawain was in his duties, even if it was somewhat troubling to have messengers seek him out when he was trying to rx. There had even been a few instances where he had been busy tending to one of his lovers, earning Gawain a reputation among some of the girls as a nuisance. This led to Vahn having to coax them after the fact as, while he was equally as annoyed, he understood that Gawain was just doing his duty. If they had a better system for administration, many tasks could be delegated to other people but, at least for the time being, it was his responsibility to approve the majority of changes happening within the Empire. Fortunately, Vahn didnt have to constantly move between the Projection and the real world as, for better or worse, Gareth was very enthusiastic about her duties. He had given her the Imperial Seal after recovering it from Luvia, as thetter didnt need it for the time being. She was more interested in preparing for childbirth and, using thismonality, getting a little closer to Da Vinci and, to a much lesser extent, Nobunaga. With the Imperial Seal in hand, Gareth would ry messages on his behalf before returning with a beaming smile on her face. She really was like a puppy in a lot of ways and, after spending a few days training with Fenrir, Vahn felt she had actually gotten even worse. Even before he had pat her head the first time, she would lean towards him, clearly expecting a reward afterpleting a given task. As a result, it became amon exchange between them and, for a variety of different reasons, Gareth even came to reside within the Menagerie alongside Fenrir, Medusa, and Circe. Before she had taken up residence inside the rather peculiar room, Gareth had upied the small servant chamber attached to Vahns bedroom. She would dutifully wait to apany him almost everywhere he went, including his training sessions with Scthach. Though she was not allowed toe inside, this resulted in Gareth waiting outside for upwards of 40 hours at times. This was a bit worrisome so, while he was busy with other tasks, Vahn had Gareth continue studying under Fenrir until her nature and living habits changed. Under the careful guidance of Fenrir, it only took a single day-cycle before Gareth, with upturned eyes, practically begged him for the Familia Crest. Since Vahn didnt really have any qualms about this arrangement, he had readily epted the request. What he didnt expect was for Gareth to try and shimmy out of her clothes on the spot, resulting in him giving her head a light chop before following it up with a short reprimand. After that, they moved to the Medical Ward before Vahn had Gareth change into a pair of shorts with a cloth that covered her chest but exposed her back. When Gareth had appeared to have her crest applied, Vahn couldnt help but exhale a sigh, even if there was a glimmer of appreciation in his eyes. Despite her petite figure, Gareths body hadnt been behind in its development in the slightest. Though it was hard to discern in her normal attire, her b.r.e.a.s.ts were approaching the limits of a B-Cup while, wearing shorts, it was very obvious her other assets had developed just as well. Since she had apletely defenseless nature, Vahn felt a little guilty to look at her in such a manner but, after his discussion with Artoria, it was hard not to. Fortunately, the application of the crest went without a hitch, despite Gareths body fidgetting about periodically. She was much like Mordred in that regard, being unable to sit still for very long, but this wasnt much of a challenge for Vahn. He had carved his Familia Crest thousands of times at this point so, rather than find it annoying, her movements made the process slightly more enjoyable. When he was finished, he ruffled her hair for a bit before sending her off to get changed as, after a while, she seemed to be mustering up the courage to pounce on him. After receiving the Familia Crest, Gareth began using the time when he was busy toplete Quests and train alongside Fenrir. This training had little to do withbat, however, and often took on the form of learning more about Vahn and his habits. She also shadowed Fenrir to watch over Mordred and Sakura, allowing her to grow closer to the two girls. Though there had been some tension, in the beginning, it didnt take long for Mordred and Gareth to open up to each other. As for Sakura, she generally got along with everyone, so there were no issues on that front. Rather, the bigger problem urred when Vahn came to learn that both Mash and Sakura seemed rather fond of Ghad after thetter began training them. As it was his nature to protect others, which was also the goal of Mash and Sakura, they were rather dedicated to their training once he took up the position as Knight Instructor. Mordred even teased Sakura about having a crush on the Shield Bastard, earning her a lecture from Artoria when Sakura snitched on her. Vahn wasnt surprised by the fact that Mash might develop feelings towards Ghad, as she nearly reached a.d.u.l.thood, but he couldnt help feeling a little troubled about Sakuras puppy love. Though he didnt have to worry about Ghad doing anything, he was worried about his daughters mental development since she was only eight years old. If not for Rin personally telling him not to mind it, as it was verymon for young girls to develop crushes at Sakuras age, Vahn might have had to sit down and talk with the pale-haired Knight... Fortunately, this was the limit of Vahns worries regarding his daughters as, while Gawain had a bit of trouble at first, neither he nor Ghad showed any hostility towards Mordred. Vahn had even asked ya to show him their Strings of Fate, allowing him to confirm there was slight resentment, but no desire to cause harm. Since Mordred had literally killed him, after staging a rebellion, Vahn couldnt exactly me Gawain for having such thoughts. The fact he was able to bury them down and still do his duties caused Vahn to regard him with high esteem. As for the other new residents of Avalon, including Karna and Heracles family, Vahn didnt have to worry about them much at all. Karna usually spent his days simply sitting atop one of the Magus Towers, observing all of Avalon with his stoic gaze. Though he had a few collisions with Artoria, Siegfried, Kenshin, Heracles, and even Scthach, this wasnt really much of a surprise. In the end, Karna lost to both Artoria and Scthach, for obvious reasons, but, much to Vahns surprise, he easily won again Kenshin and Siegfried. Even this didnt surprise him nearly as much as the rey of the battle between him and Heracles, however. Their battle had waged for nearly five hours as, despite Karnas apparent mastery over every kind of weapon, Heracles had a simr ability. They even had their own forms of invulnerability, making it hard for either party to get an edge after Heracles began to adapt to Karnas attacks. Ultimately, Karnas invulnerability ousted Heracles as, despite [God Hand] almost feeling like a cheat, it had a major weakness against Holy and Anti-Divine armaments. With Karna possessing the A+ Rank Anti-Divine Noble Phantasm, [Brahmastra Kund], he, quite literally, burned through more than half of Heracles lives. ording to Da Vinci, this attack produced nearly 10PJ of energy, putting it in the ballpark of a medium-grade nuclear warhead. Since it also had the ssification of an Anti-Country Noble Phantasm, Vahn was once again reminded about how ridiculously overpowered some Heroic Spirits could be... Despite this, Vahn was looking forward to his own battle against Karna as, with Da Vinics analysis, he knew his own attacks could reach the same destructive potential. Though the Anti-Divine trait would be annoying to deal with, even this didnt deter him much as, after battling with Scthach, Vahn felt no fear towards any opponent. Even Karnas most powerful Noble Phantasm, [Vasavi Shakti], capable of even killing Gods, wouldnt be able to put him down. Fortunately, he didnt have to worry about Karna using this final trump card as, in exchange for almost absolute power, he would permanently lose his invulnerability. It was also a single-use Noble Phantasm, meaning he would only ever use it in the final moments of his life after deciding his opponent was worthy of its unstoppable might... After the battle hade to an end, Heracles had praised Karnas strength and, during that same evening, the two drank as friends alongside Siegfried and Vahn. Ghad and Gawain had also been invited but, as could be expected, they both refused the informal gathering. Since Vahn didnt want to force them, he didnt mind the matter too much. He was more troubled by the fact that Gareth had followed him, taking the responsibility of pouring his drinks as Alex attended almost everyone else alone. She even wore a bartenders outfit, albeit after substituting the cks with a pleated skirt. During this gathering, Vahn learned from Heracles that his family had settled near the eastern end of the castle town, closest to the port. Things had been going surprisingly well for them as, despite the horror of the tragedy, Megara didnt me her husband. She knew he was not in control of his own actions at the time. Since both of her sons had also been returned to her, she was more concerned about Heracles mental wellness than forcing him to seek forgiveness. Thus, since the time of Megaras summoning, the two spent most of their time together, much like when they had first wed. The only time Heracles was away from her side was when he was looking after his sons, teaching them how to sail, dive, and fish. Though he formerly had the status of a King, making both of his sons Princes, Heracles wanted a simpler life for them so they would not grow up to be haughty and undisciplined. Since being a fisherman or a farmer were the most humble trades, he had been diligently guiding his sons to be productive citizens of the Empire. To aid in Heracles endeavor, and prevent Megara, a former princess, from having to take care of their home all by herself, Vahnter assigned two Homunculi the position of Tutor and Caretaker so that the children wouldnt have a one-sided education. He made it very clear that they were not to be treated as servants, despite what their duties might entail. Since Heracles understood this very well, especially after watching how Vahn ran the Empire for several months, the women ended up bing good friends with Megara while helping her look after the two boys. Eventually, other Homunculi began to frequent the house, causing a bit of confusion for the young boys due to the presence of so many simr, yet strikingly beautiful, women. With the Einzbern Homunculis lifespans being functionally without limit, there was actually a chance some of them might pair up with Heracles children at some point. It was a rather strange thought to consider, especially with how young the boys were at present, but their lifespans were also close to three-hundred years, even without outside assistance. Since many of the Homunculi were only a few years old themselves, Vahn felt the odds werent all that unfavorable to the young Demigods. He even learned from Heracles that his older son, Therimachus, was quite taken with the rger of the two Homunculi who had originallye to assist his mother... Just as he resolved himself not to intervene too much with the love lives of his own children, Vahn wasnt going to meddle in the lives of the Homunculi. So long as Heracles children didnt try and do anything uncouth, he didnt mind if they tried to woo one, or more, of the Homunculi. Though this seemed somewhat unlikely for the time being, as the Homunculi themselves didnt hold too much affection for the two young boys, there was no knowing what the future would hold. Rather than worry about the affairs of others, Vahn was busy enough just dealing with his own love life. There was now a coalition of sorts within the Inner Sanctum that seemed intent on bullying him as much as he allowed. This originally consisted of Nobunaga, Luvia, Da Vinci, and, by association, Kenshin. After some very concerted efforts, however, their numbers grew to include both Circe and Medusa, despite the fact thetter wasnt pregnant. She, much like Kenshin, had just joined in on the fun after Circe ended up getting pregnant. Fortunately, despite the fact he was forced to run errands and pamper the girls quite a bit, Vahn was able to findfort alongside the trio of Rin, Ereshkigal, and Ishtar. His rtionship with Olga was also gradually improving, even if it had developed in a peculiar direction after she began spending more time with Lakshmibai. This,bined with the fact he spent many evenings alongside Artoria and Gray, meant Vahn was enjoying life quite a bit. His only constant source of stress was Scthachs training but, with Gareth always waiting for him dutifully outside of the Training Orb, he was able to bounce back quickly. The most important development in Vahns rtionsh.i.p.s was the rekindling of his rtionship with Fenrir. Ever since Sakura had broken her arm, they began spending more time together during their breaks and, with her sometimes training Gareth right in front of him, Vahn had some interesting experiences with the duo. Though he felt like Fenrir was trying to make Gareth her proxy, she was always hard at work and, during the moments they were together, Vahn always feltfortable and happy. --- While walking through the corridors of the Inner Sanctum, Vahn couldnt help but release a silent yawn, despite the fact he felt full of energy. This was noted by Gareth, who had practically be his shadowtely, causing her to ask in her characteristic cheerful tone, "Are you tired, Master~? Do you want me to give you ap pillow!?" With thetter half of her words exposing her excitement at the thought, Vahn released a light chuckle before musing, "Maybeter..." in a somewhat dismissive tone. Gareth puffed out her cheeks when she heard Vahns words but, as if she couldnt hold the same train of thought for more than a few seconds, she quickly returned to her usual cheerful self. This caused Vahn to chuckle again as they continued along their route until reaching the Library in the west-most region. Gareth dutifully stopped outside the doors to wait for Vahn toplete his business, a habit she had picked up a few weeks prior. This had troubled Vahn quite a bit at first, as she had even tried to stand outside the room when he was spending time with his lovers, but he had eventually grown ustomed to her presence. As usual, Vahn found Iris and Illya inside, not that he had expected them to be elsewhere since he could sense them through his domain. The moment he stepped inside the room, however, a pair of small white ears could be seen from the third floor, attached to a head peeking between the railings. Vahn waved up, causing the figure to scurry to the nearestdder as Iris beganughing, her voice a sonorous bell that was pleasant to the ears. After finishing her descent, the pseudo-transformed Illya pounced the remaining distance between thedder and Vahn, burying her face into his chest as sheined, "Yourete!" Vahn couldnt deny this but, rather than admit his wrongdoings, as he had been busy discussing something with Gawain, he just picked Illya up before rubbing his forehead affectionately against hers. This caused her rabbit-like ears to flicker before drooping down as she tried to bite his nose with a pouting expression on her blushing face. Without minding her ire, Vahn looked toward Iris with a smile, asking, "May I borrow your daughter for a bit?" In response to this, Iris covered her mouth with her hand, showing mock surprise before asking in a teasing tone, "Ara~? Am I not invited this time around? Mou...well, make sure to bring her back in one piece, okay~?" Though she wasnt even remotely upset, Iris was yet another woman who enjoyed teasing Vahn, despite not belonging to the coalition. Since he had grown ustomed to this, Vahn just gave a curt nod before carrying Illya out of the Library, her tail and ears twitching adorably all the while. At this point, Illya and Cath were around 70% fused with each other, causing her to be somewhat unstable at times. This was a trait she had inmon with Circe so, if he didnt spend enough time with her, she would eventuallye seeking him. Thus, in order to help Illya stay calm, he usually stuck to a pretty strict schedule while sometimes surprising her when he could. Usually, this was time they would spend together with Iris but, as Illya had previously asked him to help her increase the synchronization between her and Cath, Vahn knew it was somewhat dangerous to have Iris present. After reuniting with Gareth, who briefly locked eyes with Illya, Vahn carried thetter to her room before dismissing his dutiful Page for a few hours. Despite this, she stood in the corridor outside but, so as not to waste her time, she began doing light exercises like push-ups and squats. This was just another one of her quirks so Vahnrgely ignored it as he retreated into the confines of Illyas room. When he reappeared around four hourster, Gareth was covered in a lightyer of sweat as she hopped up from doing a set of crunches, wiping her brow with the back of her sleeve before quickly resuming her ce at his side. Vahn could only shake his head at this but, rather than reprimand her harshly, he just lightly pat the loyal girls head, earning a beaming smile from her as they moved to their next destination... (A/N: One of the fans in myputer busted so I had to spend two hours fixing my PC before writing today. The chapters alwayse out a bit weird when Im in a bad mood so I may just write 3-4 Babel today or take a break until the afternoon. Regardless, Ill be trying to increase the output of chapters to 3 EPIC per day starting tomorrow, with a minimum of 1 Babel. I was intending to wait until the Sunday reset but I figure I can just use today to rx a bit before getting a head start on things.) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1231 - First Court

Chapter 1231 - First Court

With the arrival of a new dawn, Vahn found himself seated upon his Throne with his eyes closed and his back straight. Around him, standing at the various level he had established for each different Soul Tier, the vast majority of the castles residents stood in attendance. It looked a little awkward, as they were spread out quite a bit, but it also put things in perspective and served as a powerful motivator to some. Today was a historic day for the Empire as, any minute now, he would be holding Court for the first time. This would also be his first official audience within the Nasuverse and Vahn was curious as to how the representatives of the Fae would act. He, fortunately, had the aid of Vivian in reaching out to each group so, with the exception of the Sylphs, the others had agreed readily to an audience. As for thetter group, Merlin managed to get them to attend by essentially calling them cowards who were afraid to face the Sage Emperor. Vahn was expecting a bit of trouble from the representative of the Sylphs but, as this was already a foregone conclusion, he didnt particrly mind Merlins scheme. It wasnt as if he intended to make the Fae bow to his will. His primary goal was to try and establish cooperation between the Empire and the Fae. Other than that, he would inform them of thews they needed to follow as citizens of Avalon, lest they are driven out and exiled to their former homes. After thinking about the various ways in which things could develop, Vahn opened his eyes to take in a view of his surroundings onest time before they began. He had Artoria, Kenshin, and Lakshmibai standing on the level closest to him, causing Vahn to feelforted by their smiles. Though it was a little strange to have his Empress and Queen-Empress Consorts standing, it would ruin the symbolic nature of the Throne Room if he had more than one Throne at this point. This would change in the future but, at least for the time being, it represented a burden that only he could bear. As Vahn looked around the area, his eyes briefly settled on Mordred and Sakura, causing his smile to widen marginally as he saw the fighting spirit in the formers eyes. She currently only had a Tier 3 soul so she had a long way to go before being able to reach the Throne, despite being the Imperial Princess. When she saw him smiling at her, however, Mordred returned one of her own and, if not for the fact she would get a very long lecture for it, she might have even shouted out to make her ambitions known. Vahn gave an approving nod in response to her resolve, causing Mordred to proudly puff out her non-existent chest, now more evident than ever due to the fact she was wearing a dress. Since she could only attend his Court as the Imperial Princess, she had to dress the part. Because of this, Vahn got to see Mordred wearing a ruby-red princess gown,plete with an ornate tiara. Her wild hair had also been tamed for the event, giving her an appearance almost indiscernible to her mothers, albeit a little younger. As for Sakura, she was wearing a sapphire-blue dress, as if to contrast the one her older sister was wearing. Instead of one neat bun at the back of her head, she had two tidy buns atop her head in the odango-style, making her look even more adorable than normal. Seeing that he was looking directly at her, Sakura actually gave a small curtsy, causing Vahn to repress a chuckle as he internally remarked how mature she was. Though this also troubled him a bit, as she had recently started trying to spend more time with Ghad than Mordred, Vahn didnt think there was any cause for concern. Sakura was a sensible girl so, while she might be experiencing puppy love, Vahn didnt expect she would seriously pursue the man who was more than twenty years her senior. At the very least, he didnt have to worry for another six or seven years and, with Ghads nature, that number was probably closer to ten or twenty. With that thought in mind, Vahn gave a brief nce toward the pale-haired Knight, earning a small bow from him in turn. After returning a small nod of his own, Vahn took a deep breath as, toward the entrance to the Throne Room, several figures had started to congregate. Once they had all been arranged, therge double-doors were opened, revealing several Homunculi wearing white and gold armor, adorned with feathers and the relief of a dragon, phoenix, tiger, and turtle. This was the design Da Vinci hade up with for his Knights, albeit with a few different variations depending on rank. With the group of Homunculi forming two neat columns along the stairs descending toward the Throne, Gawain announced in a loud tone that echoed within the chamber, "The representative of the Dwarves, Gwent Silvervein, andpany, has arrived at the behest of his Imperial Majesty, the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason." After Gawains announcement, a short and stout man with a dark-grey beard nearly reaching the floor waddled into the Throne Room. His beard was adorned with several braids and essories while, at his sides, four other Dwarves, each apanied by a Vulcanae, a Lesser me Elemental. Vahn had learned that this particr tribe of Dwarves had made a pact with the Vulcanae around the same time that most of the Fae retreated to the Reverse Side of the World. This meant, for thest two-thousand years, they had lived alongside each other, maintaining a mutualistic rtionship between their respective races. From the perspective of the Dwarves and Vulcanae, who were just now meeting Vahn for the first time, the former felt a mountainous pressure while thetter, attuned to nature, actually saw him in a very positive light. All Elementals were drawn to concentrated energy sources so, with Vahns body beingprised of Source Energy, he was like an oasis in the middle of the desert to them. If not for their pacts with the Dwarves, they might have even danced happily around him, bathing in the aura that intimidated others. Once the party had arrived before him, Vahn was somewhat surprised when Gwent bowed low, as the Dwarves were known for their somewhat arrogant and haughty natures. He couldnt help but wonder what Vivian had said to them but, as this wasnt the time to ponder over such things, he simply smiled in response to the respectful disy while stating in a deep and resonant tone, "It pleases us to see you and yourpany in good health, Lord Silvervein. Tell us, have you had any issues adapting to Avalons climate?" Shaking his head while keeping his eyes lowered, Gwent answered in an even deeper tone than Vahn, sounding much like the rumbling of the earth as he stated, "Its been a blessing to call Avalon our home for thest month. We have noints, only admiration for His Majesty." As these words left his mouth, Gwent felt an even greater amount of pressure, even though Vahn wasnt doing anything to suppress him. Seeing the sweat glistening on the mans brow, Vahn squinted his eyes slightly, wondering why they seemed so nervous. What he didnt ount for was the fact that, as Spirits attuned to Nature, they were extremely sensitive to the presence of ya and ORT, even though the two were kept their presences masked. From their perspective, though Vahn himself seemed rather harmless, there was an aura around him that seemed to promise, not just death, butplete annihtion. In the face of an existence that could squash them in an instant, despite any attempts to resist, they could only swallow their pride and lower their heads. The only reason the Vulcanae were unaffected by the two Tier 5 entities was due to the fact they were far more sensitive to intentions and, with Vahn showing no hostility, only positive vibes, they felt extremely calm. To alleviate the strange tension in the air, Vahn gave a small nod before saying, "Please, rise, all of you." Then, after waiting for them to stand, Vahn gestured to his surroundings, asking, "What do you think of our creation? With the unrivaled prestige of the Dwarves when ites to forging, crafting, and construction, we are curious to know how you evaluate our Throne Room." Though he intended to befriend the Dwarves throughpetition and trade in the future, Vahn wanted to see how they would react after knowing he had constructed the Throne Room on his own. Hearing Vahns question, Gwent and his fellow Dwarves began to look around the area, their eyes glimmering with runes that were imperceptible to most. After this process came to an end, Gwent began to stroke his beard habitually as he answered, "The ce was constructed masterfully. There are some parts that even I cant see through. Though our best could easily make something better, the Artisan you tasked with constructing this Throne Room deserves praise." Realizing that Gwent hadnt understood the implication in his words, Vahn gave a light chuckle that caused the group of Dwarves to begin sweating nervously. He then adopted an amused smile as he said, "Thank you for your kind words, Lord Silvervein. Though it maye as a surprise to you, this chamber had been constructed by myself and no others." With Vahn literally spelling it out for him, Gwent understood what he was trying to say, causing his face to pale slightly as he added, "Your Majesty is truly gifted in the arts. Even some of our Masters may not be able to contend against you..." This remark caused Vahn tough once again, resulting in Gwent allowing his words to trail off as he swallowed a lump in his throat. Though it seemed like the Emperor before him was acting very casually, he felt like there were thousands of spears at his back as he was forced to walk ever-closer to the edge of a cliff. Understanding that his actions were only unnerving the group unnecessarily, Vahn stopped trying to ease the tensions, stating in a calm tone of voice, "Our purpose in requesting your presence here is to establish friendly rtions with the Dwarves and Vulcanae. If you intend the permanently settle within Avalon, you will be considered citizens of the Aldrnari Empire. To that effect, there are certainws that all citizens must follow to ensure the safety and security of all peoples and species whoe to reside here. Avalon is intended to be a Sanctuary for the Fae and all persecuted species so there must be order to avoid conflict." Now that Vahn was acting more like an Emperor, Gwent, and co, were able to breathe a sigh of relief as the former answered, "Queen Effe had entrusted us the task of ascertaining whether or not Avalon can be the home Merlin had promised. So long as our pride is respected, we are willing to adhere to thews of thend. However, though we agree to be citizens of the Empire, know that we will not be the tools to forge weapons and armaments for the purpose of war and conquest." Since Vahn was aware of the terms of the pact between the Dwarves and Vulcanae, he already knew it would be difficult to convince them to produce weapons. As the weapons they produced were an extension of themselves, there had been an incalcble number of Dwarves corrupted by mankind using their creations to wage endless conflict. To preserve their already diminishing numbers, they had made a pact with the Vulcanae, bing builders and protectors, not destroyers. Without any hesitation, Vahn gave a solemn nod in response to Gwents words before stating, "The purpose of the Empire is to protect its citizens, not the other way around. Though we may ask your people to assist in the construction of houses and fortifications, know that, as citizens of the Empire, it is far more important to us that you are able to live free and happy lives. Do what you believe is best for your people, so long as it does not endanger the security and livelihoods of other citizens." After Vahn finished speaking, he looked toward Gareth waiting on the second level, causing her to perk up as she quickly descended the steps and handed a scroll to Gwent. She then gave a very low bow towards Vahn before running back up the stairs to resume her ce. Adding on to his previous statement, Vahn looked toward Gwent, exining, "It is not our intention to force you to pledge your allegiance here and now. That scroll dictates all of thews your people will be expected to follow. You will be given a months time to review the terms before we personally visit to hear your response. Know that, regardless of your final decision, the Empire will always be the ally of the Fae. Though you will be asked to leave the Ind, we will guarantee your safety until you reach the domain of the Fairy Queen." Understanding that his time wasing to an end, Gwent held the scroll in his hands as if it was an important treasure as he bowed respectfully toward Vahn. This action was mirrored by his fellow Dwarves while, at their sides, the Vulcanae giggled mischievously. Unlike the serious Dwarves, they were more yful and unrestrained by nature. Even when Vahn dismissed the group so he could meet with the next representative, they waved innocently with childish smiles on their faces. As he was not the type to be overly serious, except when he needed to be, Vahn returned their wave with a lighthearted smile on his face, earning another round of giggles from the Lesser Elementals as they apanied their partners out of the Throne Room. After the departure of Gwents entourage, Gawain wasted no time in announcing the entrance of the next group or, more specifically, person, "The representative of the Undine, Aerwyna, has arrived at the behest of the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason!" Following Gawains bellow, a humanoid with pale-blue skin, ck sclera, green eyes, and distinctly fish-like traits began descending the stairs. She was attired in a strange blue dress that seemed to beprised of something akin to silk, albeit with a peculiar seaweed-like quality. What stood out the most was, rather than hair, her head had extensions that almost looked like tentacles, albeit arranged in a strangely stylish fashion. This,bined with her golden essories and streamlined body, gave her an elegant, albeit alien, appearance. Upon reaching the bottom of the steps, Aerwyna lifted the edges of her dress, performing a wless curtsy, stating in a soft voice that caught Vahn by surprise, "It is an honor to stand in the presence of the Sage Emperor." Rather than allow his surprise to show, as this would be extremely rude, Vahn gave an approving nod before saying, "Please, raise your head, Lady Aerwyna." This caused the Undine woman to look up at him with her green eyes, just in time for Vahn to see her blink with a second set of eyelids. He found this rather fascinating, causing a small smile to adorn his face as he began a simr dialogue to his previous conversation, asking how the Undine were adapting to the inds environment. ording to Aerwyna, the waters around Avalon were like a haven to her people as, even within the depths of the ocean, they were not outside the influence of humanitys wasteful habits. Here, there was no pollution to speak of as, for thest fifteen hundred years, Avalon had been isted from the rest of the world in its own sub-texture. Since the concentration of mana was even higher than many leylines, they were able to breathe easily and, much to Vahns surprise, had even started producing offspring to expand their poption. Undine had an arguably easier time rearing children than many races as, rather than carrying their children, they produced batches of eggs when the conditions were suitable. It was possible for a single Undine female to produce upwards of thirty eggs at a time, though this was only under ideal conditions. In the near future, their numbers would expand exponentially but, fortunately, this was not without a limit. As their numbers increased, the conditions for producing further offspring would bepromised, making it difficult for them to sustainrge poptions without adverse effects on the existing poption. Needless to say, Aerwyna and her people were more than willing to be citizens of the Empire, so long as he guaranteed they would not be poached and hunted. As this was a given, Vahn had Gareth hand over a scroll before promising to visit the Undine settlement within the next month. This apparently coincided with the time their offspring would start hatching, resulting in Aerwyna directly extending an invitation to have him attend the event. Since this would be a good way to foster positive rtions between the Empire and the Undine in the future, Vahn graciously epted before sending Aerwyna on her way. Vahn couldnt help but imagine what it would be like to watch hundreds of tiny Undines hatching from their nursery. They were actually somewhat cute as a species so, imagining a batch of miniature Undine brought a smile to his face. He was even tempted to discuss the viability of making aquatic-type Companions, something Da Vinci should readily agree to. Since she wanted them to have the ability to evolve into virtually any kind of creature, it would be necessary to acquire data for all types of environments, not just terrestrial. While Vahn was thinking about tiny, harpy-like Companions, Gawain announced the next group of representatives, breaking him from his momentary reverie. At the same time, Vahns expression softened slightly as, apanying Gawains introduction, a group of eight child-like humanoids with brown skin, green hair, green eyes, and leaf-like clothing entered the Throne Room. Though he knew some of them were hundreds of years old, Vahn couldnt help but have a soft spot for these adorable Fae and their innocent appearances. Leading the group was a Dryad named Rosemanis, possessing leaf-green hair that was styled into a neat bob. She had a small crown formed from braided twigs and, at a nce, appeared no older than ten years of age. Despite this, Vahn felt her aura was particrly ancient and, though it was hard to be certain, he guessed she was well over a thousand years old. She also carried herself with dignity but, upon reaching the well where they were directed to stand, the entire group dropped to their knees in a seiza-like position before bowing their heads low to the ground. Vahn felt a little awkward to have them bow in such a subservient manner but, once again retaining a mask of calm, he gave them leave to raise their heads. With this, he had eight little girls kneeling before him, their leafy dresses syed out neatly as they looked at him withrge, almond-shaped eyes. Their representative started off by expressing her gratitude in much the same was as Aerwyna, stating just how much of a blessing it had been for their kind to be allowed to live in Avalon. Due to the rampant deforestation of various regions, especially around leylines, the Dryads were one of the Fae species that had been hit the hardest by humanitys errant ways. Though they had a stable poption within the Land of Twilight, under the protection of the Fairy Queen, Celia, it was almost impossible for them to live elsewhere. Having a second ce to call home, filled with an abundance of mana and an ample amount of food was a blessing they had never expected to receive. Because of this, Rosemanis, one of the few Dryad Princesses, actually requested permission to bring more of her sisters, promising to bring an endless Spring to Avalon in the near future. Since he had no reason to disagree, Vahn gave his permission, so long as the Dryads were willing to follow thews of the Empire. He promised them protection but, in exchange, they would not be able to arbitrarily steal the life force of the humans who would one daye to reside on the ind. Though this might be necessary for their reproduction, he promised they would not have to worry about such things as, in the not-so-distant future, he intended to nt a World Tree at the heart of the ind. This was something he had already discussed with Artoria, Merlin, and Da Vinci so, once things had stabilized, he intended to fork over the 500,000,000OP necessary to purchase a [Seed of the World Tree]. Though he was limited to items that existed within the Record he inhabited, Vahn was able to buy Unique items after the system shop had been upgraded. Since Yggdrasil and the World Tree were concepts that existed within the Nasuverse, he had the option of purchasing a version of the seed he had obtained in Danmachi. He was looking forward to having another adorable surrogate daughter and, if she had the same power as her older sister, Vahn knew Avalon would gain an unbelievably powerful protector. Hearing Vahns promise, the Dryads were obviously shaken and, before epting the scroll and departing the Throne Room, they gave another low bow, expressing their sincere gratitude for the chance to flourish once again. Vahn felt just as awkward the second time they bowed to him but, as it was their choice to do so, he epted their gratitude graciously before sending them on their way, promising to visit in the near future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ghad better watch his back,Vahn be spookin,Turns out Vahn is quite popr with the Fae,The resurgence of Yggy-chan!?) (A/N: Quick rification. Though Artoria had a Tier 3 Soul as well, this changed when she re-attuned with the Holy Spear and obtained Avalon once again.) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1232 - Resolute: Reward

Chapter 1232 - Resolute: Reward

Following the departure of Rosemanis and her attendants, Gawain wasnt even given the chance to introduce the next group as, apparently having waited long enough, the Sylphs burst into the Throne Room, bringing tempestuous winds andughter along with them. Though he didnt mind people being willful and whimsical, Vahns gaze sharpened when he saw this disrespectful disy. He might not have done anything to earn their respect just yet but this did not grant them the impunity to act however they pleased. Since they had been flittering in the air previously, the trio of Sylphs, standing only 30cm in height and possessing semi-transparent skin, felt the wind elemental energy around them suddenly out of their reach, causing them to crash to the ground unceremoniously. The leader of the group, with light-blond hair, dragonfly-like wings, and garments formed from a wispy green fabric, stared back at Vahn with pale-pink eyes and visible frustration on her face. The moment their gazes ovepped, Vahn squinted his eyes, a solemn expression on his face as he stated, "It is our intention to treat all Fae with the respect they deserve. However, if you cannot show even a basic amount of courtesy, do not expect any in kind." Though Merlin had warned him not to make an enemy out of the Sylphs, Vahn didnt feel like going through the hassle of tricking them. If they were going to cause trouble and ignore the rules, they had no ce in Avalon, a ce of peace and sanctuary to other races. While rubbing the bump on her forehead, the leading Sylph eximed in a high-pitched tone, "You are a big bully! Jerk! Meanie!" Then, creating a small ball of electricity in her palms, she attempted to send it toward Vahn but, before it could fully form, a dozen Homunculi had surrounded her with very real Halberds. This caused the Sylph to quickly hide her hands behind her back, pretending she had done nothing wrong as she looked at the surroundings and asked, "What, do you need something?" Despite being surrounded and unable to use most of her power, the petite Sylph showed absolutely no sign of being afraid. Instead, she actually had a challenging glint in her eyes, something shared by the other two Sylphs at her back. Seeing how things were developing, Vahn resisted the urge to rub his temples while saying, "Stand down." in amanding tone. This caused the leading Sylph to puff out her non-existant chest but, before she could say anything rude, Vahn caused a mountainous pressure to descend upon the trio as he added, "Your actions have resulted in the expulsion of the Sylph from Avalon. In the future, no Sylph will be allowed to venture into Avalon without the express permission of the Imperial Family." Hearing Vahns decree, the yet unnamed Sylph acted like a cat that had its tail stepped on, her wings flittering rapidly as she stamped her feet and eximed, "Hey, hey, you cant just decide that! We like this ce! You cant make us leave!" As the air around Avalon waspletely devoid of pollution, it was a veryfortable environment for all the Sylphs. They had been enjoying their time ying around over thest month so, hearing Vahn say they were no banished, she couldnt just ept it. Without showing any change in expression, Vahn stated in a firm tone, "You have given us no reason to tolerate your presence. The Empire does not need troublemakers who act without consideration. Thisnd is not your yground, nor are its people subject to your whims. If you cannot live among others in peace, you have no ce here." Apparently not taking Vahns words seriously, the leading Sylph adopted a pouting expression, her brows furrowed deeply. Then, to further exacerbate matters, she shouted with a red face, "Just you wait! Ill see to it that this smelly ind never has a sunny day again! Hmph! Hmph!" With that said, she attempted to exit the Throne Room in a huff, only to find that the surrounding temperature had dropped by several degrees. At the same time, her body became paralyzed by the pressure that was being emanated by Vahn as he stated in a cold tone, "If you cannot ept responsibility for your actions and intend to attack my Empire, do not expect leniency." Vahn was very aware that the Sylph could easily cause severe thunderstorms and flooding, damaging the ind in the process. Though he could easily deal with this, he would rather avoid having to use force to expel them from the Empire. Feeling the severity of Vahns threat with their bodies, the Sylphs trembled as they stared back at him with their pale-pink eyes quivering. Despite this, he could see indignation deep within, causing Vahn to sigh as he released his pressure and reminded, "You have been warned..." in a solemn tone. After this, the three quickly alighted from the Throne Room, moving faster than the natural eye could see as they exited the castle and ascended into the clouds above. Almost immediately following the Sylphs exit, Merlin apparated out of thin air, a wry smile on his face as he remarked, "That certainly could have gone better." To this, Vahn gave another sigh beforementing, "There is a myriad of creatures and Spirits who will call Avalon home in the future. If the Sylph cannot coexist without being pandered to, they have no ce here. Feel free to negotiate with them at your leisure, but I will notpromise on the safety and security of all our people for a single group of selfish Fae." With an understanding nod, followed by a courteous bow, Merlin stated, "His Majestys concerns are the same as my own. Please, leave this matter to me." Then, with Vahn returning an approving nod, Merlins figure vanished into an illusory mist. Though Vahn may not be willing to take advantage of the Sylphs nature to trick them into a contract, he was more than willing to act as a proxy. Having a proper bnce of Fae was necessary to ensure Avalons stability and, though there were a few viable recements for the Sylphs, they were much harder to convince than the rtively simple species of Fae. After Merlins departure, Vahn gazed over his surroundings, stating in amanding tone, "If there are any other matters, bring them forward now." Since this was his first time holding Court, it was the best opportunity to address important matters, especially those concerning the governance of the Empire. Though they could easily be discussed in private, officiating them during court proceedings was the standard and, if he intended to treat his position as Emperor seriously, Vahn needed to start familiarizing himself, and others, with the proper proceedings. Following his statement, Gawain was the first to bring several matters to light, allowing for the other members of the Court to make arguments for, or against, the proposed changes. After hearing both sides, Vahn would make the final decision as an Imperial Decree, setting in motion policy and other important changes. This time around, most of the matters discussed were just a formality, as they were things that had already been decided, but it was still important to discuss them to address any oversights. With the most important matters taken care of, the proceedings moved to the segment where the members of the Court were allowed to make personal requests and voice grievances. Though this seemed unnecessary with their small numbers and close interpersonal rtionsh.i.p.s, it was still a necessary practice to establish. If everything happened behind closed doors, it wouldplicate matters when his Court expanded beyond the people that upied the Inner Sanctum. Surprisingly, the first toe forward was none other than Karna, requesting, "Your Majesty, if it would not inconvenience the Empire, I would like to venture forth into the outside world. It has been several millennia since I walked the Earth and there is much I wish to see with my own eyes." As he said this while bowing low and almost reverentially, Vahn felt a bit of pressure, even if it didnt show on his face. Since this was a good opportunity, Vahn made a show of considering the matter, remaining silent for several seconds before answering, "So long as it does notpromise the standing of the Empire, it is the right of everyone here to freely pursue their own path. Though there are obvious restrictions regarding age and status, I will not prohibit anyone from leaving the ind, so long as they have a proper reason for doing so. If you wish to travel the world, please ept a Quest to that end and, to the best of your ability, avoid causing trouble." With another respectful bow, Karna answered, "Thank you, Your Majesty." before rising to his feet and resuming his ce on the lowest step. Despite being a Demi-God that had already attained a Tier 4 Soul, Karna was not an arrogant and prideful man. Though he could seem cold, detached, and unapproachable, this wasrgely due to his propensity to overthink things. He would carry out full conversations in his mind and properly considered all of his words, something you wouldnt expect when first seeing his sharp, seemingly unforgiving, gaze. After Karnas request, the next to step forward was Gareth, causing Vahn to internally sigh as he wondered what the puppy-like woman would request. She had a vibrant smile on her face as she stepped into the Thrones well and kneeled. Though it would have been more proper for her to curtsy, Gareth had a somewhat boyish personality, despite the fact she was wearing a pleated skirt with skin-tight leggings. Rather than a request, Gareth decided to use the opportunity to publically pledge her loyalty to the Empire or, more specifically, Vahn himself. She practically had stars in her eyes as she proimed her intention to follow him loyally for the rest of her life, earning a few chuckles and one very profound sigh from the other members of the Court. Vahn felt pity for Gawains plight as an older brother but, as he didnt want to embarrass Gareth, he dutifully acknowledged her vow and offered a few words of encouragement. Fortunately, though he somewhat expected Gareth to have started a trend, she was the only one who went out of her way to pledge her loyalty. As for people like Fenrir and Medusa, they didnt feel the need to do something so embarrassing as the only person they needed the recognition of was Vahn himself. Gareth was just doing what she thought was necessary as a former member of the Round Table, even if he also knew she just wanted an excuse to follow him around even more in the future. Following Gareths outburst, there were a few other small matters brought to light before the session was brought to an end after Luvias requests. She wanted to establish a permanant point of contact with the outside world and, as it had been growing rapidly since being transnted at the bottom of Vivians Lake, she also wanted to make use of [Das Rheingold] to supplement some of her familys expenses. Since Da Vinci had already established a means to send messages to the outside world, Vahn readily agreed to the first request but told Luvia she would have to discuss the matter of [Das Rheingold] with Illya. Though Illya had given the treasure to him as a gift, Vahn still felt it was not a decision he should make alone as he wanted to respect Illyas intentions. Since she had not been in attendance, due to it being almost impossible for her to sit still in her pseud-transformed state, they would have to talk it over in private. Luvia had no problems with this so, without further ado, Vahn brought the session to an end after dismissing everyone. The only ones who remained behind were Artoria, Gray, Gareth, and Gawain. The former andtter wanted to talk about how things went while Gareth and Gray had essentially be Vahns and Artorias shadows. Other than the incident with the Sylph and his attempt to act casually with the Dwarves, everything else had gone smoothly. Gawain had a few tidbits of advice, as he had held Court hundreds of times in the past, while Artoria supplemented with her own take on things. Overall, theymended him on a job well done as, despite how things had gone with the Sylph, it was important to stand firm on issues, especially if they pertained to the core ideologies of the Empire. After thanking Gawain for his advice, Vahn allowed him to return to his duties before making his way toward the Inner Sanctum alongside the three girls. He could hear Gray praising Gareths disy of loyalty, earning him an amused smile from Artoria in response to his own wry smile. Fortunately, as the two were following a respectable distance behind, so as to allow their Emperor and Empress a bit of privacy, this had gone unnoticed by the faithful duo who, for thest few weeks, had gotten along splendidly with each other. Vahn was somewhat worried that Gareth would be influenced by the fact that almost everyone she associated with was sleeping with him but, as he had already epted the inevitability of things, he made no effort to address the matter. He fully expected Gareth to eventually find her way inside his bed at some point, most likely when he was visiting the Menagerie in the near future. Though they were being very secretive about it, he was pretty sure she had alreadye to an agreement with Medusa who, after an additional molt, had be slightly taller. Though Medusa seemed confident that her bust would eventually start to grow, the fact she was already 153cm, with almost no development in that regard, seemed to indicate otherwise. Previously, she hadnt really cared about such things, much like Fenrir and Circe, but Gareths presence seemed to have awakened herpetitive spirit in a strange way. She had even considered putting on a bit of weight so she could ask him to alter her appearance with Modify but, as Vahn refused to ede to such demands, as it would set a dangerous precedent, she quickly gave up that train of thought. Vahn would never understand the need for some of his women topare themselves to others as, from his perspective, they all had their own individual charm. Medusa was flexible to an extent that waspletely impossible for others to emte, due to her bones themselves being flexible. She also had pliant and well-shaped thighs,plimenting her perfectly round and plump butt. This,bined with her ability to manipte her hair as they snuggled in a decidedly intimate way, gave her more than enough unique traits. He had even pointed out that, if her b.r.e.a.s.ts grew toorge, she wouldnt be able to cling to him as much as she currently did, causing her to have an expression like she was on the verge of an existential crisis... Remembering the conflicted look on Medusas face, Vahns wry smile turned more natural, causing Artoria to ask, "What are you thinking about...?" in a curious tone. Since he knew she would be able to determine if he was telling the truth, Vahn immediately seized the opportunity to tease her, asking in a casual tone, "I wonder if my Empress wont give me a reward for doing my best during the court proceedings~?" As he asked this, Vahn began to stroke Artorias hand with his thumb as they had already been holding hands during their walk. For a brief moment, Artoria seemed confused by his words, asking in an innocent tone, "Reward...?" It was only after this that she noticed Vahns mischievousness, causing her face to turn red as she quickly averted her eyes in a bashful manner. Though he was good about not teasing her in most situations, the only people present right now were themselves, a woman who often shared their bed, and herpletely oblivious, puppy-like niece. This caused Artoria to put more thought into Vahns words than she ought to, resulting in her seriously considering the matter. Vahn was thinking about teasing her even more but, as if she had made up her mind, Artoria gave a nod in response to his earlier words before stating with an apple-red face, "S-So be it..." Then, after they turned the approaching corner, she added, "Just for today...Ill dress up..." This caused Vahns mind to nk for a brief moment, followed by his eyes zing with divine light as his face formed into arge grin. This caused Artoria to lightly elbow his side but, as she had already sealed her fate, Vahn slightly increased their pace as he practically dragged her toward their bedroom. Noticing the increased pace of Vahn and Artoria, Gareths ears perked up as she immediately moved to catch up with them. As for Gray, she was momentarily confused but, with her bond only losing out to people like Fenrir, she quickly realized what was going on. This caused her own face to flush as, if things went the way they normally did, there was a good chance she would be able to participate in whatever her Master had decided. Though this would have made her unbelievable nervous in the past, the current Gray quickly increased her speed, matching pace with Gareth as she began looking forward to spending more time with her Master and Mistress... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Come up in my house like you own the ce!?,Gareth is quite bold,Doki Doki Gray-chan (UwU)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1233 - A Masters Duty

Chapter 1233 - A Master''s Duty

In a warm room, illuminated only by a few fragrant candles, the bodies of two nearly identical women were intertwined with each other. They were attired in nothing butce brassieres, barely covering their rather diminutive assets, short skirts, no longer than the length of ones hand, and stockings,plete with garter belt. The figure with golden hair, attired in pure white garments, was leading her counterpart, identifiable with grey hair and ck garments. Together, they formed a licentious and irrefutably lewd piece of artwork, something far beyond most masterpieces and viewable by only a single, solitary individual. Vahn was always surprised with how aggressive Artoria could be when she was in control but, when remembering that she had a wife of her own, it wasnt hard to understand where her confidence came from. Since Gray put a lot of trust in her, obediently following her distant Ancestors lead, the two could y off each other in a way few others could emte... Shaking his head to clear his wayward thoughts, Vahns attention returned to the present moment. Though it was very pleasant it was to reminisce about such things, as his recollection of events was borderline perfect, he had other matters to attend. Now that his short break hade to an end, Vahn picked up his hammer once again, an act that caused his mind to immediately focus as the atmosphere around him changed subtly. He had just finished replenishing his reserves so, without wasting any time, Vahn began to hammer the piece of dark-red metal before him without even heating it up. With each sessive hammer strike, a pulse of sorts would spread through the hammer without even producing any sound. Vahn was constraining his domain around the de itself, trapping in his Source Energy and causing the de to heat rapidly, even without a forge. This was a technique that Scthach had suggested he work on as, if he could get used to refining and shaping metal without the use of a forge, it would make his future projections far more powerful. Though this might seem like a downgradepared to shaping the de and enhancing it directly, it gave him a lot of practice with his domain and helped externalize the image inside of his head. Since his domain was essentially an extension of himself, Scthach believed he could even ovee his weakness of being able to use his Source Energy externally. In the end, it all came down to control and, though he might waste a lot of Source Energy during the process of casting spells, there was no reason why he couldnt shape and control the energy after the fact. Instead of letting it dissipate, his current training direction involved manipting the end result of Magic spells, greatly increasing his efficiency by preventing unnecessary waste. Since it was a lot like Elemental Maniption, Vahn had already achieved some sess so, in order to push his skills further, his demonic Shishou had him work on fine-tuning his control... After a short seventeen minutes of hammering, Vahn held up the white-hot de without using any tools whatsoever. It had a slight rainbow hue to it and, even without cing it into his Inventory, he could discern its rating to be near A-Rank. Since his goal was to push himself to the point of being able to shape middling, or even peak, A-Rank equipment, this was just another small step toward his goal. Before the de had even cooled, Vahn focused his mind and whispered in a solemn tone, "You will be [Proto Laevateinn V113]." This caused the de to darken, gaining a basalt hue as the runes he had set into its surface began to glow dark-red with wisps of me dancing across its surface. The mere act of naming it cemented the de at the A-Rank and, so long as he channeled his Source Energy into it, it could serve as a powerful Mystic Codex. Once the de had be dormant, Vahn checked its status and, after giving an approving nod, tossed it into his Inventory alongside the other 112 iterations of the same weapon. In the future, he wanted to be able to emte Gilgameshs [Gate of Babylon] and, as he had made some progress in his [eleration Gate] Magecraft, he needed a lot of expendable weapons. Though it might be cruel to the des themselves, they had been created for the purpose of destruction and, so long as he had the time, Vahn would recover their materials and reforge any damaged ones. Though he still had an ample amount of Source Energy to expend, Vahn liked to be at his peak when forging as, even more so than the materials themselves, the mentality of the cksmith determined the final quality of their products. Thus, as his reserves gradually replenished themselves, he allowed his mind to wander to the day of Artorias reward. This time, rather than envision the two in lingerie, he had a grin on his face as he remembered Artoria making him swear never to tell anyone that he had her dress in a version of tiger pajamas that had an ease of ess hatch... --- Afterpleting up to [Proto Laevateinn V120], Vahn decided it was time for a much longer break as he had already spent more than forty hours within the Space-Time Orb. On his way out, he made an updated version of his memory fragment before leaving behind a few research and entertainment materials. He then bid farewell to his counterpart and the small host of Companions that now called the Space-Time Orb home after he asked Da Vinci to produce a Nexus and a Factory for his personal use. Though it was impossible to bring Companions into the Space-Time Orb directly, despite them beingrgely inorganic, there was nothing preventing him from bringing in the equipment required to produce them. Now, rather than a simple domicile and forge, the interior of the Space-Time Orb looked like a high-techboratory and, instead of empty white space, there was now a small forest that had grown over the hundreds of years that had passed within the Orb. Upon leaving the Space-Time Orb, Vahn immediately felt a familiar warmth surrounding his body. He opened his eyes and smiled affectionately at the girlying to his right, as she snuggled up against his body, ears twitching periodically. She produced a lot more body heat than the person on his left but, for two very obvious reasons, Vahn couldnt help but be hyperaware of Iris. Currently, she was using his shoulder as a pillow while tightly holding on to his arm to the point it was nestled between her b.r.e.a.s.ts while his hand was dangerously close to a far more potent source of heat. This wasnt the first time he had shared a bed with the mother-daughter duo, as he would usually stay with them at least once during a day-night cycle. Recently, however, he felt that Iris defenses had lowered considerably and, though it was subtle, she seemed to be bing more emboldened with the passage of time. A few weeks ago, Projection time, she had even started wearing a negligee rather than normal pajamas, iming it was morefortable. Since Illya hadnt offered any kind of objection, Vahn had epted her excuse at the time but, now that his arm had been imed by the immacte beauty, he could feel what little inhibitions he had toward her slowly chipping away. Fortunately, as he had timed his use of the Space-Time Orb with the moment they were supposed to wake up, Vahn managed to extricate his arm from the sleeping beauty, waking her and Illya in the process. Thetter sat sleepily atop the bed as she released a long, drawn-out, yawn. Since she had long ago developed the habit of using his shirts as pajamas, the sleeves dangled adorably beyond the reach of her arms as she stretched her body. While Illya was slowly building the resolve to leave the bed, Vahn gave her head a few pats, causing her ears to twitch happily as she mumbled a girlish, mnnyaa~. This earned her an elegant giggle from Iris who, after waking, dutifully hopped out of bed to get changed. Since wearing essories for a long period of time could sometimes be ufortable, most people would take them off before going to bed. This allowed Vahn the option to watch Iris dress down into nothing but her underwear as she took her sweat time to pick out an essory for the day. Though he never stared directly, Vahn was very aware of what Iris was doing as, for better or worse, his senses allowed him to perceive such things in high definition. His mind stored this information passively and, with perfect recall, he could even remember a scene from a perspective other than his own. This was a dangerous voyeuristic capability that he tried not to exploit so, in order to avoid the trap Iris had set for him, Vahn kept himself distracted by helping Illya prepare for her day. She used to get annoyed at him for treating her like a child but, as she was far from a morning person, she had eventually epted his assistance graciously. After escorting the two to the Library, where they often spent the majority of their time, Vahn began to consider how he should spend his time. Since he generally didnt n his evenings to the same extent as his days, due to this being the period where he usually spent time with his various lovers, Vahn had quite a few options. Usually, when he couldnt think of anything on the spot, Vahn would just go pander to the pregnant troupe as, while it was somewhat troublesome at times, he genuinely enjoyed being together with them. This time, however, he turned his head to Gareth who, knowing full well when he would wake up, had arrived outside of Iris room around half an hour prior. She used that same time to get some rest herself so she was always in an upbeat and happy mood by the time she greeted him. With her Master looking toward her, Gareths smile instantly became more radiant as she excitedly asked, "Is there something I can do for you, Your Majesty~!?" To this, Vahn gave a habitual chuckle as he extended his hand out and began stroking her head with a smile on his face. This caused Gareth to close her eyes with a contented smile on her face as Vahn answered, "Since youre supposed to be my Page, why dont I teach you a few things?" As if he had said some magical words, Gareths eyes became starstruck as she tightly gripped her fists and shouted, "Yes! It would be my honor!" Since it was an opportunity to spend time with her Master, learn something new, and get praised, there was no way Gareth would refuse. She had been looking forward to the moment when he began to teach her as one of the primary duties of a Page, before bing an Esquire and a Personal Knight, was learning from the person you had tasked to serve. This was how Knights trained their apprentices and sessors, often superseding the official Knight training. Vahn was already very familiar with Gareths capabilities at this point, as she was very enthusiastic about disying her capabilities to him, so he had a few ideas about how she could improve. Since she focused on speed, jousting, and defeating her opponents without killing them, Vahn wanted to teach her [Cantus Bex], [Shundo], and [Koku Shundo]. She already had extremely high Agility and enhanced reflexes due to her bestial traits so she should be able to emte Fenrirsbat style, to an extent. To avoid any teasing usations from a certain crimson-haired individual, Vahn took Gareth with him to the primary training orb near the Knights Training Field. It had changed a lot over the past few months, now possessing several buildings and an extremelyrge hot spring, but those were ces Vahn had forbidden himself from venturing due to the hundreds of Homunculi that partook of the mineral-rich waters. In many ways, this training orb had be the dominion of Kenshin but, if you traveled far enough away from the center, it was possible to find twistedndscapes that had been brought to ruin in the conflicts between people like Artoria, Karna, Heracles, Kenshin, Siegfried, and Scthach. Even though weeks had passed since the apocalyptic battles, their energies still lingered in the area, a testament to how monstrously powerful they were when they got serious. Vahn specifically chose the location where Karna had used his full-powered Noble Phantasm, causing a massive crater that was more than a kilometer wide to scar thendscape. The center depth had even reached a staggering 13m below the standard ne of the white stone, a material that could be directlypared to refined Tungsten in hardness andpression resistance. Gareth was awed by the devastation but, rather than the terrain, the majority of her attention was focused on her Master. She was really looking forward to what he would teach her so she wanted to avoid giving him the impression that she was distracted by other things. What she didnt expect was for him to suddenly nod before saying, "Okay, I want you to use your maximum speed to reach the edge of the crater before returning here. Also, remove your shoes, as it will be important for your training." Rather than question her Masters intentions, Gareth instantly plopped onto the ground before pulling off her shoes. She also had a [REquip] system but, rather than use it for casual wear, hers had been calibrated to her armor and other armaments. Though it was possible to use more than one at a time, she didnt like wearing essories, feeling they didnt suit her self-image while also being ufortable. The sole exception to this was the choker she wore around her neck, though, at a nce, many would misconstrue it as a cor... After setting aside her shoes and removing her leggings, Gareth wasted no time in sprinting to the edge of the crater and returning. In total, this took her almost exactly two seconds, indicating her base speed was close to 2100km/h. This was actually a bit slower than Vahn had expected from her 47 Agility but, considering she had to stop for a brief moment before returning, some variance was to be expected. If she really pushed herself, she should be able to reach upwards of 2,500km/h in short bursts. With an approving nod, Vahn pat the eagerly waiting Gareths head, saying, "Very good. Your speed is quite something, Gareth." This caused her tough somewhat abashedly but, without refuting his words or trying to brag, Gareth just epted the praise despite her embarrassment. She was a bit sad when he pulled his hand away but, knowing this was training, she did her best to prevent it from showing on her face. Though her knew Gareth was aware of the existence of [Shundo] after her training with Fenrir, Vahn was actually intending to see how quickly he could refine this unpolished gemstone who, ording to Artoria, Gawain, and Ghad, had the potential of bing one of the most powerful Knights. Since Artoria was the one who came up with the idea of making Gareth is Page, Vahn felt he should treat her training seriously so that he had a better understanding of how to draw out the potential of others in the future. After formting a n in his mind, Vahn squared up his feet and said, "Watch closely...", despite the fact that Gareth rarely even looked away from him. Then, straining himself to his limits, Vahns body flickered slightly before he released a small sigh and asked, "How long?" This caused Gareth to blink in confusion but, fortunately, ya was there to answer, "0.19 seconds" in a voice that only Vahn could hear. He parroted this value, surprising Gareth once again as she asked, "You...moved...?" As the version of [Shundo] Vahn used formed near-perfect after images,bined with the fact he had set two anchor points from the start, Gareth had only seen his body twitch momentarily before he suddenly asked her how long it took. Finding her reaction more than a little adorable, Vahn couldnt help but smile, earning him a chiding remark from Sis as she said, (*Your bad habit is ring up again.*). This caused Vahns smile to turn a little wry as he promptly decided not to tease his young Page. Instead, he adopted a more serious demeanor as he exined, "Though my maximum speed with [Shundo] is a bit slower than Fenrirs, there are all kinds of tricks you can incorporate into Magic Spells to greatly increase their versatility. My version of [Shundo] makes use of both Space and Time, while the original spell only uses the former. As for Fenrir, she has a version that incorporates Yin Elemental energy into her steps, causing the terrain and surrounding air to rapidly freeze as she moves around." Gareth was wide-eyed when she heard her Master im that Fenrir was even faster than he was as, even with her enhanced kic vision, she hadnt been able to follow his movements. Though she knew the peculiar Vanargandr was much faster than her, which was why she felt embarrassed by her Masters remark, she didnt think the gulf between them was that vast. She suddenly began to feel as if her value had been lowered but, before she could give in to such negativity, her Master began to caress her head as he confidently stated, "I will help you develop a version of [Shundo] you can call your own. When your training isplete, even your base speed should more than double." Hearing this, Gareth immediately set aside her previous train of thought, allowing it to fade awaypletely as she excitedly eximed, "Ill do my best!" Then, causing her little heart to perform an acrobatic routine within her chest, her Master gave an approving nod before saying, "Change into this outfit and then sit down with your legs crossed. Your D-Rank Magical Power and C-Rank Magic Circuits are holding you back. I will help you refine your Magic Circuits by circting my own energy in your body. This process will take a few months toplete but, even without further training, you will be significantly stronger." Though she attentively listened to everything her Master had said, Gareth had to fight against the urge to snatch the top he had produced out of his hands. It looked like a sports bra in structure, as it was very form-fitting, but the back was almostpletely exposed. She knew what he had in mind by having her wear such a thing so she was greatly looking forward to their future training. What she didnt know was that Vahn had actually elected to use a less efficient method as, if he sat with his palm on Gareths abdomen for several hours, he was afraid she might pounce on him at some point. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Irredeemable!,TFW other people understand your abilities better than you (UwU)...,Gareth may not be the goodest girl, but she has a lot of potential~) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1234 - Measures

Chapter 1234 - Measures

Though it was possible to dy things until after the birth of his children, Vahn received a message from Olivia through themunication device that Da Vinci had installed. It was a hyper-advanced piece of technology inspired by Chaldeas research. By using something called Spiritrons, which were like quantum particles that, irrespective of Space-Time, allowed the Soul to manifest a projection of itself upon reality. In the Nasuverse, the Soul was considered the Second True Element within Thaumaturgical Theories. It was considered an independent existence that ovepped with the physical vessel yet, while there were several methods to interact, and even alter the basic structure of said existence, the true nature of the Soul wasrgely unknown. To most, it was considered nothing more than a Higher Order, an existence bound to the Astral ne that stored memories and formed the foundation for a persons Od and Magic Circuits. Spiritrons were essentially the secondary structure of mana which, in its most elementary form, made up the building blocks of reality, far smaller than even quarks. Thus, it was inurate to say there was a direct rtion between Spiritron Particles and the Soul, even though it was almost impossible to distinguish them from the amalgamation of data thatprised the Ego. In other words, as was often the case even amongst Gods, the Ego was mistakenly misconstrued as the Soul which, from what Vahn had been able to ascertain, was derived from something beyond the Records entirely. Still, by understanding the structure of the Ego, it was possible to emte and project a persons existence in another timeline, so long as they maintained a connection to their original selves. This was a form of quantum entanglement which, when broken down at the basic level, was essentially just a transference of data between a fixed anchor and a projection. Thus, in that same vein, it was possible to send other forms of information through a simr system, allowing for instantaneousmunication despite both distance and the flow of time. Because of this, it was also impossible to intercept thesemunications as, unless you were at the anchor or its projected point, there was simply nothing to intercept. It didnt move between the two points but existed simultaneously in both ces at the exact same time. Since all the anchor points would be located within Avalon, trying to steal the technology was equally as impossible as, even if you could erect field thatpletely stopped the flow of time around the projected point, it would be impossible to analyze as, the moment the connection was severed, it literally didnt exist to steal. The only person who could steal Da Vincismunication device was Zelretch but, considering he was able to travel through infinite futures, yet brought back none of the major advancements, this didnt seem to be his modus operandi. This was likely due to not wanting to be the lynchpin for reality as, the moment he started making such proactive changes in the present, he would have sole responsibility for the future. For the time being, they didnt have to worry about their location andmunications being traced so, after receiving Olivias message, Vahn soon found himself back in London. This time, he brought along Olga, Gareth, and Lakshmibai as the incident was directly tied to the pale-haired woman who carved a small yetfortable ce for herself in his heart. Rather than get directly down to business, however, Olivia opened the conversation by asking, "That Quest Board of yours...is it possible to produce more? I must admit, the rewards were far beyond my initial expectations..." Though the battle against the Malevolent Otso had been a difficult trial, it more than made up for any losses with the reward of Variable Experience and ess to the Skill Tree. Even more than these two things, however, Olivia had been shocked by the bonus items she had obtained. This included a charm that, after their research team analyzed it, qualified as an S-Rank Mystic Codex. Though it was only a single-use item, it allowed her to make a contract with the Malevolent Otso, purifying it and allowing it to be a guardian of the forests around their primary stronghold back in Finnd. Responding to Olivias question, Vahn maintained a calm demeanor as he answered, "Nothing is impossible. I would argue it is more impractical and unnecessary than anything else, at least at this point in time." Since he had no intention of splitting himself any further, as there were times when he would space out and get distracted, Vahn wasnt going to make any promises. Giving an understanding nod, Olivia quickly changed the subject to what they were here for, saying, "The Barthomeloi family has started to put pressure on our allies and a few of our businesses. For the time being, there arent any major issues but it wont be much longer before the Animusphere family is crippled. Though we can provide financial support and security, there isnt much we can do about the number of people loyal to the Animusphere family without directly lending people to fill certain positions." Since even the Chaldea Security Organization had been infested with corrupt and vile Magi, it was a given that most of the Animusphere familys branches were equally as rotten. Even their foundation had been unstable since the time of Olgas Grandfather so they had done a lot of restructuring in thest month and a half. With the Barthomeloi family putting even more pressure on them, only the most loyal members of the extended Animusphere family were willing to stay the course. The vast majority, however, had already jumped ship and, fearing the repercussions of upsetting one of the Three Monarchal Families, many were just as quick to change allegiances. Even without Olivia exining, Vahn could already guess what Lorelei was up to, stating, "They are trying to antagonize us to see how we respond. If we dont step in, they will only press the attack even harder to test the limits of our patience..." To this, Olivia gave a curt nod, adding, "I imagine they have already made arrangements, including negotiations with other families. There is a very good chance they have set some kind of trap. At the very least, this is their attempt to get a better understanding of the Empires power. They want to determine how much of a threat you are." Olga, having grown up fearing the power of the Three Monarchal Families, was quick to pale when she realized how serious things had gotten. She wanted to ask Vahn for his help but, knowing how powerful the foundation of the Barthomeloi family was, part of her wanted to just flee back to the sanctity of Avalon with her father and their closest subordinates. Before she could muster up the resolve for either course of action, however, Vahn began to stroke her head somewhat roughly, albeit in a strangelyfortable manner. Rather than fear the Barthomeloi family, Vahn had an eager smile on his face that wouldnt lose out to the one on Olivias. He had actually been waiting for his enemies to lose their patience and, as the Edelfelts were not afraid of a battle, their fervor had been awakened. Since he knew there was no way she didnt already have a n, Vahn asked, "So, what do I need to do?" as his eye emanated a pale blue light. In response to his question, Olivias smile grew evenrger, looking simr to a predator as she answered, "It depends on the oue you desire. If you just want to teach them a lesson and strengthen the Alliance, we may be able to settle things by bringing this matter to the Mages Association. They can handle arbitrating this matter but, if youre feeling a little vindictive, you can always just challenge Barthomeloi Lorelei to an official duel. Id like to see the look on that brats face when she gets knocked down from her high horse." Though Vahn knew this was only the tip of the icebergs as far as their options were concerned, he was rather fond of the idea of a duel. Rather than fight Lorelei, however, he would prefer to battle it out against Lord Barthomeloi himself. The problem was, even if they publicized the matter and tried to put pressure on the Barthomeloi family directly, there was little chance their Lord would directly take to the battlefield. Though they could anger him considerably, it was far more likely that their family would just shore up their defenses and start using more underhanded methods to silence any dissent about their actions. Since he already knew the way duels were carried out within the Mages Association, Vahn asked, "What are the chances that Barthomeloi Lorelei actually epts a duel? What kind of terms to you think she would offer?" As the terms for a duel were often decided by the side that was challenged, they were at a slight disadvantage to be the ones issuing the challenge. Having thought about the matter in detail, Olivia quickly answered, "As confident as Lorelei is in her own power, she isnt an idiot that would risk everything in a single duel. She is most likely going to target the assets of the Animusphere family. If she is feeling testy, she might also try and target one of the people you are close to in order to rile you up. I can imagine her demanding that girl named Gray. At this point, it is certain that the Barthomeloi family knows her true identity so there is little they wouldnt do to try and obtain the Blood of Kings for themselves." Even hearing Olivia mention the possibility of Lorelei targetting someone he was close to caused Vahns aura to shake his surroundings. Though he didnt put pressure on anyone directly, that didnt spare the inanimate objects that were outside his scope of leniency. Before he could break anything, Olivia sent a small [Gandr] shot toward him, hitting him square in the forehead as she asked, "Is this how an Emperor should act...?" Though the littleser-like bolt of magic did no damage to him, Vahn rubbed the spot that had been struck as he answered, "Yes, if he chooses." This answer seemed to surprise Olivia, causing her brows to raise ever so slightly before she began tough uninhibitedly momentster. Toward the end of her outburst, she mmed her hand down on the ornate wooden table separating them, sending a few cracks through the surface as she eximed, "Well said! An Emperor is just a man, so what is a man without a bit of backbone!? Ohohohoho~." --- After Olivia settled down, they began discussing their own terms, assuming Barthomeloi Lorelei had indeed already made preparations for a duel. If they came forward with the truth about Grays origin, they would have a lot of wiggle room in making their own demands. They could also ensnare Lorelei with something the Barthomeloi family simply couldnt refuse, such as the information pertaining to the Heavens Feel Ritual or the production method of the Holy Grail. Since many of the fragments he had provided the Mages Association had been appropriated by the Three Monarchal Families for research, it was obvious they wanted to either summon their own Heroic Spirits or have their wishes granted. With [Spiritual Evocation] and significantly advanced [Conjuring], it was already possible to summon a Heroic Spirit, even without an event like the Holy Grail War taking ce. The downside to this was that, without something like the Holy Grail to keep them manifested, most Heroic Spirits wouldnt be able to stay in the modern world for more than a weeks time. They also had no reason to ept the summoning as, without the enticement of having their own wish granted, there were very few Heroic Spirits who would willingly subjugate themselves to others. Since he had turned over several fragments of the Greater Grail to the Mages Association, it was only a matter of time until someone managed to make a breakthrough. Though this would require them dedicating a phenomenal amount of resources, it wasnt impossible to stage a small-scale, or false Holy Grail War. There were even several records of this within some of the historical texts he had purchased from the system shop so Vahn knew it was possible. Even if they thought he was just trying to deceive them, the fact he had not only won the Holy Grail War, but turned over several of its fragments, was too tantalizing to pass up. They were likely already aware of the fact he had even more Heroic Spirits at his side so, by putting the Holy Grail itself on the table, there was a chance he could reap considerable rewards after winning the duel. Though this was predicated on the fact that Lorelei actually epted, which wasnt too likely, he would still be able to essentially show off the power and prestige of the Empire by forcing her to take a step back. The only thing they really needed to be cautious of was the possibility that the duel itself was just the first stage of a muchrger trap. It was a certainty that they wanted a better understanding of his power but, depending on the circ.u.mstances, they could use this as an opportunity to expose him as some kind of dangerous entity that threatened the very existence of the Magusmunity. After all, showing up with an entourage of Heroic Spirits, especially if they had been given physical forms, was likely to set off a few rm bells amongst the established powers. Then, if he didnt present himself as enough of a deterrent, they could eithere out in full force o,r far more problematically,e up with a method to interfere with his future ns behind the scenes... Vahn also had the option of sewing the seed of doubt by having someone like Artoria or Scthach fight in his stead, allowing his own power to remain an unknown factor. Since he was an Emperor, it actually didnt make much sense for him to be the person fighting and, with so many powerful allies supporting him, it would be a good opportunity to expose them to the public while also increasing his prestige. This had the dual purpose of allowing him to force Lord Barthomeloi toe out and ept his challenge as, if they wanted to fight him, they would obviously have to send someone withparable prestige. Though there was a chance the Barthomelois would try to call into question his status as Emperor, Vahn actually hoped they had the audacity as he could use it as an excuse to take far more proactive action against them. After all, it was a rather heinous slight to question a persons status, as it was the same as elevating yourself above them andmbasting the other party at the same time. Since he was an Emperor, a position much higher than something like a Monarchal Lord, he would have every justification to seek rpense from them. No matter how many preparations the Barthomeloi family had made, they would be powerless once he had the justification to take action against them. Even if his own power might becking, he had ya to supplement his reserves and, if they had somehowe up with something he couldnt deal with, ORT was always waiting to take action. Though it rarelymunicated with him through words, Vahn had been able to undergo something simr to a memory link with the alien entity so he had a pretty good understanding of its capabilities. ORT was actually just a fragment of the original Type Mercury who, from the memories Vahn had seen, was a colossal entity that made the entire core of the Mercury its home. It was thest line of defense and the ultimate weapon that protected the Will of the, Mercurius. With this in mind, it was created with the functions of ughter, assimtion, conversion, and evolution. Even if its current body was destroyed, another could be produced, this time being virtually immune to what had killed it. As scary a thought as it was, Vahn could essentially have a fleet of ORT at his beck and call, so long as Gaia herself didnt deny them entry. Since each as a ary Bounded Field as one of its primary means of self-preservation, it was almost impossible for external entities to venture into its domain without permission. Though they could force their way through, the Laws and Logic of each were fundamentally different from each other, making it very difficult for alien entities to exist for long periods of time after being cut off from whatever provided them power in the first ce. ORT had responded to the call of the when it was on the verge of death and, as it had arrived several thousand years too soon, it was forced to stay dormant in the Crystal Valley. If it ventured out before the promised time, Gaia could expel the foreign logic, causing ORT to either cease to exist, or adapt a form that allowed it to exist within thes Bounded Field. This meant it would need to assume the form of the highest existence it had consumed, such as a Dead Apostle or a God, both of which were bound by various rules and restrictions that would make life on the difficult, to say the least. Vahns interactions with ORT made it more evident that he needed to establish contact with Gaia but, at least for the time being, he could rely on its help in otherwise precarious situations. So long as he had administrative authority over other Types, it wouldnt matter how strong the foundation of his enemies was. The Barthomelois would struggle to even best a God so, with a being that could easily ughter dozens, if not hundreds, of Gods, their actions only invited destruction upon themselves. As strange as it was to consider, there was a very real chance that a family that had existed for over two millennia was about to be wiped out due to a single womans brash remarks...it made Vahn feel like quite the Tyrant, or perhaps the Emperor of Garbagemen as, from a certain perspective, he was just taking out the trash... (A/N: Alternate Titles: "Quantum Computing, how elementary...ufufufu~" -Da Vinci-chan,TFW you learn your special blood isnt the specialest blood...,Vahn can end the world with a statement...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1235 - Baiting the Trap

Chapter 1235 - Baiting the Trap

As Olga went to visit her father, apanied by Lakshmibai and the Edelfelt security forces, Vahn returned to Avalon to discuss matters with Artoria. They needed to decide who would be taking part in the duel or, at the very least, decide how they would respond to further provocation. It wasnt very likely for the Barthomeloi family to take a step back on this matter so it was important to determine how serious and decisive their own response would be. Though not unexpected, Vahn was a little surprised when Artoria immediately offered up her own services for the matter. She evenined to him that, since the time of the Holy Grail War, she hadnt been able to do anything substantial to help him or the Empire. While her participation might not be the best choice, due to her status as Empress, she argued that, with the unknown capabilities of their enemies, her invible immortality was the only way to guarantee victory. ording to Merlin, Vivian, and even Scthach, Artorias [Avalon] was an existence beyond even True Magic. It was almost a Law of the World itself and, much like [Rhongomyniad], served as one of the anchors for reality. Since Avalon, the physical location, was a ce that only a chosen few could reach, regardless of strength, Artoria was granted one of the most invible forms of invulnerability while it was active. Even if she didnt use it to the fullest extent of its capabilities, it would protect her from virtually any wound, the only exception being something likeplete disintegration or having her head crushed. With her insistence on the matter, Vahn didnt have the heart to deny Artorias request as, though it might not be obvious due to her generally stoic nature, she was something of a battle junky. Since she had spent her entire childhood training, even in her sleep, Artoria had a strong desire to use her power for the sake of others. In her past life, this led to her spending decades on end trying to unify the British Isles and maintain its borders. She never took anything like a vacation and, for a very long time, even repressed her emotionspletely due the absolute focus she had ced on her goals. Vahn knew that this was amonality between him and Artoria, even if he always found the time to rx and cut loose. He had the habit of trying to handle everything himself, to the point of even forcing his own allies to stay back. This had been one of his biggest mistakes in Danmachi as, if he hadnt rushed his efforts to conquer the Dungeon, he wouldnt have to worry about dealing with monsters like Tiamat and Nuwa. They obviously had restrictions on what actions they could take but, after venturing into the heart of the Dungeon alone, he had the distinct impression they had been freed by his actions. This time around, Vahn had allies who, in many ways, could be considered the peak of power inside of the Record. At the very least, people like Artoria, possessing a phenomenal amount of Fate, were not the type to simply go off and die to the machinations of their enemies. Though she might draw tragedy to herself, she would almost always be able to ovee it, no matter how terrifying their enemies might be. She was one of the literal anchors for reality so, unless he took it upon himself to kill her, it was incredibly unlikely her life could be endangered, at least in this timeline. --- With Artorias participation decided upon, Vahn had to decide whether or not he wanted to continue staying low profile or if it was time for the Empire to show part of its hand. All he really needed to do was appear with figures like Scthach, Heracles, Gawain, Karna, and Merlin to spook quite a number of people. Merlin might even know some of the old monsters that hold up the Mages Association as, with people like Solon having lived for more than two-thousand years, it was almost guaranteed their paths had crossed at some point. Vahn knew that he could buy the Empire a lot of time if he remained an unknown element but, by showing a deterrent force, he would have a lot of leverage in future negotiations. This also increased his prestige and, though they may not be his subjects, Vahn knew his [Will of the Emperor] would be strengthened by the fact some Magi would undoubtedlye to respect his power and status. If he extended his hand to these individuals, his Empire would be able to slowly increase its poption as, rather than served under Lords who treated them like experimental materials, it was infinitely better to ept his offer of citizenship and benefit from his protection. To decide this, Vahn held private counsel with Artoria, Luvia, Rin, Merlin, and, though she didnt really want to be there, Da Vinci. Since nearly a month had passed in the outside world, seven had passed within the Projection. Because of this, even Da Vinci had a decided plump appearance and, though her hormones didnt really go out of whack like the other girls, she still got annoyed when it came to being involved in political matters. If not for him baiting her by saying this could be an opportunity to establish contact with the As Temple, she would have continued to hole herself up inside her private workshop. As could be expected, Luvia waspletely for the idea of the Empire going public and, though Rin had a few choiceints to make, she wasnt against the idea. This left only Merlin in a position of opposition as, with the matter of the Fae and the impending births, he felt now wasnt the most opportune time to provoke their enemies. If something unexpected urred, he knew Vahn would be considerably stressed if he had to be away from his children for long periods of time. He advised the push the duel back a few weeks, at the very least, so Vahn could use the summoning system one more time to secure another powerful ally before taking action. Since this would also lull his enemies into thinking they were apprehensive about the duel, it would create a bigger impact on the Mages Association when the reverse turned out to be true. With three pregnant women in attendance, Vahn couldnt refute Merlins words and, as Luvia liked the idea of pretending to be weak in order to lure their enemies, she also agreed. As for Rin and Da Vinci, they didnt particrly care from the beginning so, with Artoria also supporting the decision, the matter was concluded. Now it was up to Vahn, Artoria, and Gray to set the trap as, unless he wanted to bait them even harder, it was very likely that Gray was their target. Though they would obviously want to get their hands on Artoria herself, there was a good chance they believed she was just a Heroic Spirit given flesh. Since Gray had been in attendance for both discussions, she was fully aware of her own ce in theing events but,pared to the past, she was not even remotely fearful for her life. She had the person she respected the most and the person she loved the most both fighting to protect her. Even if things went horribly wrong, she knew Vahn wouldnt hesitate to protect her, even if it meant going to war with the entire Mages Association. This wasnt a promise he needed to make to her as, deep in her heart, she knew this to be an irrefutable truth. It was because of this nature of his that she fell so deeply in love with him, even entrusting her everything to his care. --- After making a few quick preparations and spreading the word throughout the castle, Vahn, Artoria, Gray, Gareth, Kenshin, and Scthach, in spirit form, returned to London. Though he wouldnt be able to convince Scthach to proactively fight against his enemies, she would dutifully protect the people he cared about. She would also be able to identify his enemies and see through their true nature at a nce, making it much easier to determine whether or not he should uproot them from the start. Since it had only been a few minutes since their previous departure, Olivia hadnt even bothered to leave the area yet, knowing they would return quickly. She had just been sitting at the side of the room drinking tea when Vahns entourage appeared out of thin air. When she saw that everyone except for Vahn and Artoria was wearing battle attire, with Gareth even wearing full te armor and a helmet, she raised her brows before asking, "Did you decide to go to war...?" Hearing her question, Vahn released a light chuckle before answering, "This world as the quote, "If you want peace, prepare for war." If the Barthomeloi family goes too far, they may not evenst the day..." Though he spoke somewhat casually, there was a grim seriousness in Vahns voice. Even if he had decided to dy the duel for the Empires stability, that could change in an instant. Depending on the actions the Barthomeloi family took, and the information Scthach acquired, he might just end them outright. Olivia didnt miss the severity in Vahns voice, causing her to burst outughing as she led the group toward the surface to partake of a light lunch. Though it was better to move earlier, Olga hadnt even been able to visit her father yet and, with her departure undoubtedly drawing some attention, they could get the jump on their enemies by splitting their focus. To this end, she advised them to enjoy a light lunch while Vahn sent Scthach to make sure Lakshmibai and Olga were safe from any potential dangers. During the small luncheon, Olivias chefs had gone all out and, despite Vahn leaving the head seat open, she had elected to sit on the left side of the table. This more or less forced his hand as, if he sat across from her, it was the same as saying they were of simr status. Though he treated Olivia as a friend, there needed to be a clear distinction in their status, especially during important matters such as this. He could actually y the part of the humble and respectful Emperor by allowing her the head seat in her own home but, if she elected to leave it open, he was essentially forced to take it for himself. Olivia seemed to enjoy the moment of internal conflict she had put him through, causing her tough in the characteristic manner of all Edelfelt women he had met. After that, however, they just enjoyed the meal while making polite conversation about Luvia and the other pregnant women. It was still a little hard for Olivia to reconcile the fact that her Granddaughter would be giving birth in the next week or so as, from her perspective, it had barely been a month since she became pregnant. Despite this, she was very excited to be weing a new member to the family and reminded Vahn that she wanted to be present during the asion. She was even tempted to change Avalon to her permanant residence as missing the development of her Great-Granddaughter wasnt something she was willing to do. Vahn could understand where Olivia wasing from and, as he had already made the promise in the past, he reminded that the Edelfelts had the right to build a Manor on the ind, so long as they were willing to follow the rules of the Empire. The construction wouldnt even take that long as, even though he had yet to visit to confirm their citizenship, Vahn knew the Dwarves and Vulcanae would be staying. Even some of the Sylphs hade to apologize on behalf of their kin who, from the very beginning, wasnt really their representative. They werent a race that had such social constructs so, while many were forcibly exiled, a few had remained behind after making a contract with Merlin. Since he would be visiting them all very soon, Vahn suggested that Olivia pick out a piece ofnd on the ind and he would task the Dwarves with constructing a Manor for them. This would obviously require payment, of course, but the Dwarves were surprisingly content with just being provided with good food, strong alcohol, and raw materials. As for the Vulcanae, they were even easier to deal with as they were only interested in burning things and expensive oils. In the past, they were even known as Hearth Faeries as, if you provided them with wood to burn, they would keep your home warm and protect it from other mischevious Spirits and curses. Olivia obviously wasnt going to refuse Vahns offer and, as she had already learned about the Fae from hermunications with Luvia, her people had already prepared arge offering. She knew that Vahn was undoubtedly aware of this as well, causing her to smile appreciatively since he was willing to humor her and make polite conversation. Most people only considered benefits and trying to take advantage of the situation but, as if such things didnt matter at all, Vahn just went with the flow, regardless of expense and other difficulties. As an Edelfelt, she was very frustrated by this but, as his friend and ally, she had a great appreciation for his magnanimity. --- With the luncheoning to a conclusion, Vahn and his entourage made their way to the waiting motorcade. Olivia did not apany them, as her presence might unnecessarily exacerbate matters, but she had contacted Lord El-Melloi II to serve as their intermediary. It was to afford him the time to make his own preparations that she dyed Vahns group as, if they just showed up to the Clock Tower without a liaison, their actions could be spun as an act of aggression, not diplomacy. Though Lord El-Melloi II would be pressured even more after this, it was already very clear that Barthomeloi Lorelei had a personal grudge against him. Unless Lord El-Melloi II and Lord Animusphere did something that irrefutably broke thews of the Mages Association, even Barthomeloi Lorelei didnt have the audacity to outright kill them. Though she might contract Mage Killers and Mercenaries to do the job for her, this wasnt the type of action that went unnoticed in the current climate. Lord El-Melloi II also spent the majority of his time inside the Clock Tower at present so, no matter how highly she thought of herself, Lorelei couldnt take any drastic actions without proper justification. Still, Vahn knew he was drastically increasing the risks faced by Lord El-Melloi II so, when this matter was dealt with, he decided to help them reim the Archibald name and properties. This was the primary objective of Reines El-Melloi Archisorte, Lord El-Melloi IIs wife, so Vahn felt it would prevent a lot of future trouble by taking care of it now. He didnt have the best impression of Reines so, if he could limit their future interactions by giving her something to keep her distracted, that was for the best. She would undoubtedly try something at some point but, at least for the time being, she was just a venomous woman without any teeth or fangs... After an almost depressingly long car ride, Vahn was finally free from the cars confines after Gareth opened the door for him. He then helped Artoria exit the vehicle by extending his hand to her as the rest of his entourage quickly gathered around him. They should have drawn a considerable amount of attention, especially since Kenshin was very openly carrying a spear, but the surrounding barriers made it so that, even a few meters away from them, tourists were more focused on taking selfies in front of the Pce of Westminster than the group of armored individuals who looked like they had stepped out of a medieval period piece. Without minding the pedestrians, Vahn moved forward with Artoria to his left while Gray and Gareth followed behind them. Kenshin brought up the rear of the group as, rather than be here to protect Vahn and Artoria, she was tasked with keeping Gray and Gareth safe. Despite being very strong, they were considerably weaker than everyone else in the entourage, excluding the surrounding Edelfelt security forces. Lord El-Melloi II, who had been waiting just outside the Clock Towers Bounded Field, gave a low and respectful bow toward Vahn as thetter approached. In response to this, Vahn just gave a curt nod before saying in a firm tone, "You may rise, Lord El-Melloi II." Though Vahn felt like he would never get used to being bowed to, he reacted almost instinctually to it at this point. After raising his head, Lord El-Melloi II gave a tired smile that reflected the difficulties he had been facing recently. Seeing this, Vahn preempted anything the man might say, stating, "We do not forget our allies. Now, take us inside...we have business with the Noble Faction and the Director." Lord El-Melloi II had raised his brows slightly after hearing Vahn say, We do not forget out allies, but he quickly set idle thought aside as he bowed low and answered, "Certainly. Please, right this way, Your Majesty..." Then, stepping aside, Lord El-Melloi II allowed Vahn and Artoria to pass before falling into step at the side. It would be a serious breach of etiquette for him to walk in front of Vahn so, despite the fact he was leading the procession and serving as the intermediary, he could only direct from the side and deal with anyone who tried to bar their passage. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Artoria must be quite frustrated xD...,Olivias machinations never end,Into the dragons den) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1236 - Status

Chapter 1236 - Status

Unlike before, when he had been momentarily dyed by the guards ced outside of the Clock Tower, Vahn was able to freely enter without issue. He didnt mistake this as them showing him any kind of respect, however, as he could already sense what was going on within. Even if he couldnt, however, the palingplexion of Lord El-Melloi II was enough to discern that something was wrong but, rather than pointlessly voicing his suspicions, thetter could only pray that the Director intervened quickly. It was currently near the end of February so many of the Clock Towers students had alreadye back from their holidays and extended visits home. They had now resumed sses but, unlike the past, there was a palpable tension in the air as nearly half the lessons were rted tobat and battle tactics. Since the fate of the world was on the line, the average student was being prepared as an expendable soldier while the most elite amongst them polished their skills further by venturing into the Spirit Tomb: Albion. Due to hisst visit, Vahn had be rather famous within the Mages Association but, rather than show the same curiosity as before, the hallways were empty, almost as if the entire school had been ced on lockdown. Vahn could sense the teachers and lecturers within keeping the student silent while, near the central region of the Clock Tower, arge gathering of moderately powerful individuals were waiting in the periphery. It didnt take his near-perfect imagination to realize they must have determined he would be arriving today after observing Olga visit her father alongside Lakshmibai. They were also keeping a close watch on Lord El-Melloi II so, once he began preparing for their arrival, it seemed that their enemies had done the same. Rather than showing any fear, Vahn decided to tease the aging Magus,menting, "It seems your prestige doesnt quite match Luvias, Lord El-Melloi II..." This caused the raven-haired man to release a dryugh as he replied, "I dare notpare myself to Lady Edelfelt..." Though he was tempted to say his status was much lower than an Empress, the matter of Vahns union with Luvia was not yet public knowledge. Here in the Clock Tower, the walls may very well have ears so it was best not to banter too much. With a curt nod in response to Lord El-Melloi IIs remark, Vahn continued forward until the reached a central hall of sorts, decorated by a 10m tall statue of a Magus,plete with robes, a pointed hat with a wide brim, and an ornate staff that looked simr to a dragon. There were several halls that connected to this central hub, allowing students to quickly navigate to their next ss without too much trouble. It was often upied by members of the student body who had free time as, on one side of the wide hall, there were a few vendors that sold snacks and other foodstuffs. Today, however, the hall wasrgely empty, the only exception being a woman standing with her back to the group as she looked up at the Magus statue. She stood around 160cm tall, minus the soles of her riding boots, and chestnut-brown hair. With garb reminiscent of the early victorian military-style, consisting of a white petticoat, dark-red knickerbockers, and brown riding boots. She also had a metal gauntlet on her right hand while, in her left, she was taping a batton against her thigh in a rhythmic fashion. Adopting a smile that didnt even remotely reach his eyes, Vahn turned his head toward Kenshin and Lord El-Melloi II before giving a small nod. This caused the former to move to the front of the group as thetter, keeping the pretense of civility, stepped forward to give a polite bow, saying, "Madame Barthomeloi. His Imperial Majesty, the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, hase seeking-" Rather than allow Lord El-Melloi II to finish, Lorelei interrupted his words by loudly swiping her baton into the palm of her gauntletted hand. She then looked back, her hazel-brown eyes reflecting a cold light as she venomously stated, "You will be silent, Waver Velvet. I have already suspended your title as Lord until my investigation has beenpleted. You will be ced under house arrest until your loyalty towards the association can be ascertained. Leave now, as it will be your one and only chance to do so." Though she did not have the power to strip the title of Lord from someone, Lorelei had the authority as Vice-Director of the association to suspend the title during criminal investigations. In such cases, the title would temporarily go to the next viable candidate for Lord until suspicions could be cleared. Since Lord El-Melloi II had not named a sessor yet, it would return to Reines for the time being, making it much harder for her to scheme behind the scenes unless she intended to abandon the Department of Modern Magecraft Theory. Hearing Loreleis words, Lord El-Melloi II took in a deep breath but, as he had already expected this to happen at some point, he did not waste his time trying to argue. Instead, he gave the pretense of a courteous bow before turning his back and sending an apologetic look towards Vahn. This earned him a simple nod in response, causing Lord El-Melloi II, now Waver Velvet, to release a tired sigh as he slowly made his way toward the exit. Though he suddenly felt an additional weight in his pocket, he didnt show any discernible signs of noticing this, understanding it was likely a parting gift from Vahn to keep him safe. Once the sound of Wavers footsteps fadedpletely, Lorelei turned around with a scrutinizingly sharp gaze as she squinted her eyes and asked, "I wonder what matter has brought His Majesty to the Clock Tower? I would think an Emperor would have the basic courtesy of informing our staff of your arrival so we could properly receive you..." As Lorelei spoke, her eyes passed over each member of Vahns entourage and, though she was able to keep calm on the outside, the truth of the matter was that her heart was already beating rapidly. This wasnt due to her fear, however, but more so the result of her excitement after seeing so many powerful figures lined up together. Now that Vahn lost his intermediary, there were several ways in which she could spin this situation in her favor. Though it would be a hard-fought battle, she was confident her side would emerge victorious, despite the rumors that Vahn had battled against the Association Director to a standstill. Rather than answer Loreleis question, Vahn returned a taunting smile as he rebuffed, "How curious. To think you know of our status yet, rather than introduce yourself and try to open a civil dialogue, you attempt to goad us? I wonder if you even know what courtesy is, Madame Lorelei...?" As thest two words left his mouth, Vahns smile curled up condescendingly, causing Loreleis brow to twitch as she tightly gripped her baton. Though it was not incorrect to address her as Madame Lorelei, she required everyone to address her as Bathomeloi, feeling that her own name was just an attachment. Resisting the urge to attack directly, Lorelei clenched her teeth for a few seconds before adopting a smile of her own as she stated, "I seem to have forgotten myself...very well then, Your Majesty, allow me to educate you. This humble one is known as the Head of the Bathomeloi Family, Vice-Director of the Mages Association, and the Wizard Marshall, Bathomeloi Lorelei. Some have also taken to calling me the Queen, or the Supreme Mage of the Modern Era. You im Ick courtesy, yet here I am, receiving His Majesty personally, despite the fact you have no authority or status to speak of within my Clock Tower, nor the Mages Association as a whole." Seeing how she subconsciously puffed out her diminutive chest in pride while speaking, Vahn was tempted tough but held it in due to the mild annoyance he felt. Though Lorelei had pointed out that hecked any status within the Mages Association, she had still addressed him as Majesty. It was clear that she had no intention of digging an excessively deep hole for herself, meaning she had likely been warned by Lord Barthomeloi or other sources to show due caution. Deciding not to waste too much time, Vahn maintained his smile as he casually remarked, "A Queen, is it...? I suppose that makes you the fourth most prestigious person in this room. That is quite the aplishment..." Then, before Lorelei could offer a rebuttal, as it was very clear she wanted to say something, Vahn added, "Our purpose here is simple. Though you may be the Vice-Director of the Association, you will have to recuse yourself from this matter as the used. Since your prestige is without question, Im afraid the only person qualified to handle Arbitration, in this case, is Director Solon. As Im certain we are both very busy people, I trust you have already informed them of our arrival, yes...?" Though some looks could kill, Lorelei seemed tock this capability, despite attempting fervently to bore holes into Vahns skull with her gaze. She knew that Vahn was talking down to her and, though his status could certainly be considered higher than hers, that was only if he established himself. The Emperor of a tiny nation had no power within the Association so, as the second most powerful figure in said Association, Lorelei did not appreciate Vahns words. He even had the audacity to say she was only the fourth most prestigious person present, lowering her status even further and implying that the status of people within his Empire was inherently higher than those in the Mages Association. As Lorelei was considering the pros and cons of attacking Vahn within the heart of the Clock Tower, her choice was made for her as a voice other than her own answered, "I do not appreciate the fact you have once again brought trouble to my Association, Sage Emperor..." The moment these soft words echoed throughout the chamber, Lorelei felt two sources of pressure as her face formed into a grimace. Then, along with Vahn, she turned her head toward a petite figure with green hair, overside robes, and enough essories to fill a jewelry store disy case. Next to this figure, a very tall old man, wearing formal robes and wielding an ornate cane loomed over the smaller figure like a mountain. Before Lorelei could greet the Association Director, Vahn preempted her by adopting an informal tone as he said, "It is a pleasure to see you in good health, Director Solon and Marshall Zelretch..." Vahn had ced emphasis on the words good health, causing the edge of Solons mouth to twitch as Zelretch released an awkwardugh. Since it hadnt been that long since Vahn left Solon in a sorry state, the peculiar green-haired Magus was not at all amused by the unnecessary reminder. With Vahn offering his greetings first, Lorelei suddenly lost the opportunity to do so as Solon quickly replied, "Tell me, what is this about?" Solon was not fond of leaving the sanctity of their temple, even if it was for official business. If not for the fact that Vahn could turn the entire premises upside down if a fight were to break out, they wouldnt bother to meddle directly. Now that Vahn had shown up a second time in just as many months, it was bing increasingly clear that the Sage Emperor was intending to be a permanant thorn in their side. Not missing the opportunity, Vahn immediately began exining how the Barthomeloi family had been pressuring the Animusphere, Archisorte, and Belfeban families without just cause. He also took it upon himself to remind Solon of their own decree, stating that conflict between factions would not be tolerated. This remark earned him a grimace from the deceptively youthful Magus while, at the side, Lorelei had be red in the face as she gripped her baton hard enough to leave indents in the magically reinforced metal. After listening to Vahns ounting, Solon couldnt help but internally retort, ("This brat might as well use her of being Angra Mainyus manifestation...haaaa..."). They then looked toward Lorelei, an admittedly creepy action considering the blindfold on their face, before turning back to Vahn and stating, "This matter does not require Arbitration. I will not vouch for the Vice-Directors methods, as I am well aware that she can be heavy-handed at times...however, as you are not affiliated with the Mages Association, you have no grounds to make this request. Any private matters between the two of you should be settled outside of the Association, much less the Clock Tower." Though Vahn was slightly annoyed by Solons words, he noted that the mysterious Magus had worded things in such a way that any conflict between him and Lorelei was a personal matter, meaning she could not drag the Association into it. She also seemed to realize this as her face had paled considerably, despite the raw fury in her eyes. Now, if she tried to drag other factions into their conflict, it would constitute an abuse of the power and authority she had been granted as the Vice-Director. She could still use her own forces and connections but, if any of her actions could be traced back directly to the Mages Association, which was preparing for war, it was the same as treason. At this point, the baton in Loreleis hands had lost its initial shape as she hatefully red at Solon and Zelretch, saying in a low tone, "At a time when the affiliates of the Mages Association should be standing together, you show favoritism to an external force...my father will not be pleased to learn of this betrayal." As the Barthomeloi were one of the oldest Magus Families affiliated with the Mages Association, and had even been one of the main factions behind the construction of the Clock Tower itself, she could only construe Solons actions as aplete betrayal of their trust. Hearing Loreleis words, Zelretch released a sigh while Solon, even with a blindfold on, was visibly angered by her words. Then, in a voice considerably icier than even Loreleis, they stated, "You would do well to remember your ce, Lorelei. There is a reason your family has never been able to stand at the peak of the Mages Association. When you run back home, perhaps you should ask that old monster propping your family up why Im still the Director...!?" Now, as if Vahn wasnt even present anymore, Loreleis focus was entirely fixed on Solon and, if they were alone, she might have even charged the diminutive Director directly. With Zelretch at their side, however, Lorelei could only grit her teeth as, despite her own Magecraft being infinitely close to the level of True Magic, she was not one of the Five Mages. Thus, after taking several deep breaths to restrain herself, she remembered the original task she had been assigned, one given to her by the very same old monster that Solon had referred to. Turning her attention back to Vahn, Lorelei surprised him by being the first to say, "You may not be affiliated with the Mages Association, but I wish to issue a formal deration of challenge against you. I wonder if Your Majesty has the courage to ept?" Then, seeing the mild surprise in Vahns eyes, she added, "Im afraid that this matter can only escte to all-out war if we cannot settle our personal differences..." Understanding the threat in Loreleis words, Vahn was tempted to smile but, as this was not his battle to fight, Artoria was the one to step forward, her aura and dignity radiating through the chamber as she answered, "Youck the qualifications to issue such a challenge. Since you are nothing but a pawn acting as an extension of your family, I, Empress Artoria Aldrnari Pendragon, shall ept your challenge on My Emperors behalf. Show me your courage, Supreme Mage of the Modern Era!" A lot of thoughts were running through the heads of everyone present as they heard Artorias outburst, Solon and Zelretch included. Thetter then broke the silence byughing like a madman as Solon began to rub their temples due to the sheer exasperation they felt. As for Lorelei, her mind was like a supeputer that had just been tasked with finding a way to divide by zero. There was a lot of information running through her mind but, no matter how the circuits fired, she wasnt quite able to make sense of what she had just heard. The only thing she knew was that the King Arthur had just challenged her to battle, one of the potentialities they had nned for. As if reading from a script, Lorelei fixed her expression as she answered, "I ept your challenge, King of-" Before she was able to finish, Artoria interrupted, saying, "We are an Empress and you will address us as such. You are also incorrect in saying we challenged you, as it is clear to everyone here that you were the one to issue the challenge. As for our terms, the battle will take ce precisely one month from today. Take care to prepare properly, as I will afford you no leniency after your affronts against the Empire and the underhanded means you have used to suppress others." Loreleis face looked like she had swallowed a fly as, without the other side challenging her, she did not have the grounds to make her intended wager. Fortunately, Artoria had set the time of their duel an entire month from now so she still had a number of cards to y. Unless the Director went out of their way to intervene, she could spread the rumor of their wager and publicize the event so that it would be difficult for them to back out. If she manipted the information properly, she could even make Vahn and Artoria seem arrogant, iming they were so confident in their own victory that they offered up their own allies without making any demands in return. Thinking down this line of thought, Lorelei allowed a malicious smile to spread across her face as she gave a mock-bow towards Artoria and stated, "Your Majestys words have been taken to heart. Trust that I will make ample preparations, as per your request..." With that said, Lorelei gave one final look toward Solon and Zelretch before snapping her gauntletted hand, a curious action until Vahn noted the strangely pliant bumps at the tips of her fingers that allowed for the necessary friction. In response to Loreleis snap, the fifty people who had been waiting in the periphery filed out, some sending res toward Vahns group while the majority had prideful expression as they pretended to ignore them entirely. Then, in neat columns, they followed after Lorelei as she quickly made her exit, her face ckened from the pure, una.d.u.l.terated, wrath she was feeling. To everyones surprise, the only exception being a peculiar duo, Lorelei suddenly lost her footing as the heel of her riding boots miraculously came loose. With her superhuman reflexes, she avoided the fate of falling to the ground but the expression on her face became reminiscent of a baleful wraith as she looked back and red at the smiling Solon. Since Loreleis animosity was clear as day, they had used a simple counter-curse against her, one which would cause her to experience sudden bouts of misfortune whenever she directed animosity towards them. If not for the pacts they had made with the founding families, Solon would have already killed Lorelei for her audaciousness. Due to her hatred of Solon peaking, Lorelei nearly lost her bnce once again when she tried to remove her riding boots entirely. This time, she fell backward but, just as before, managed to catch herself before falling down. Unfortunately, despite her outfit being designed for ease of movement, the tension in her knickerbockers suddenly reached its limit, causing a slight tear in the back that made her face turn white as a ghost. Though her petticoat covered the exposed area, she had never felt more rage and embarrassment in this one moment than any point in her entire life. Knowing things would only get worse for her if she continued in this manner, Lorelei used a simple spell to forcibly calm her mind as she quickly led her group away from the area. Since they were all personally trained by their Master, none of Loreleis subordinates showed any sign of amus.e.m.e.nt as they dutifully followed her retreat. Instead, they allowed their own rage to pile up like coal, waiting to be ignited at a moments notice when their Master needed it. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Poor Waver...,Dat fourth-highest status though...,Solon is very petty for someone that has lived for nearly three millennia...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1237 - Teatime Tensions

Chapter 1237 - Teatime Tensions

After waiting for Lorelei and her entourage to depart, Vahn, having observed Solon and Zelretch closely suddenly asked, "Did you get shorter since thest time I saw you...?" This caused Solon to lower their head as they tightly gripped their fists and answered, "That does not concern you...now, leave my Clock Tower. You only bring trouble to my doorstep..." Vahn didnt actually need to ask in order to confirm that Solons body had changed a lot since their previous encounter. Even though he couldnt see through all the mysteries of their body, his memory and imaging were perfect. Compared to before, Solon was a full 4cm shorter and, rather than extend down to their feet, their hair now only reached the small of their back. It was clear that their previous battle had cost Solon more than he expected, causing Vahn to feel strangely guilty, yet prideful. Since there were other matters he wanted to discuss, Vahn shook his head, infuriating Solon further as he stated, "There are some things I wanted to discuss with the both of you. After your interaction with Lorelei, I suddenly have a better impression of you, Association Director." Though Solon didnt seem to appreciate Vahns words, Zelretch began tough openly, his aged and raspy voice echoing through the hall with its deep timbre. Then, before Solon could refuse, Zelretch roughly pat the petite figure on the back, sending them stumbling forward as he answered, "I cant speak on behalf of my friend, but I would relish the opportunity to partake of tea in thepany of an Emperor and his Empress. There is much we stand to learn about each other. Perhaps, fate willing, we can even be friends in the future." After hearing Zelretchs words, Solon turned back with what could only be described as a pouting expression as they venomously stated, "You old bastard...what are you nning...?" In response to this, Zelretch looked at Solon as if they were truly pitiable as he answered, "Can even the wise and powerful Solon no longer see reason? You do not see the benefit in befriending someone with the ability to call past Heroes into the present? Dont tell me...youve gone senile...?" The moment Zelretch finished his words, Solon moved like a phantom before using their tiny fist to smack the back of the old mans head, shouting, "You dare!? Youre the senile one, you old bastard!" Seeing theedy routine enacted before him, Vahn had trouble finding any words so, as the tiny green-haired figure began to pummel the willowy old man, he could only watch alongside everyone else. It wasnt until Zelretch had been left with a few visible bumps and bruises that Solon stopped hitting him. Then, as if nothing had happened, they smoothed out their robe before saying, "I have better things to do than entertain some errant Emperor..." Despite saying this, Solon pause for a brief moment after before adding, "If it is only for the duration of afternoon tea, I will humor your presence a while longer..." After Solon finished speaking, Zelretch lightly tapped his cane against the polished stone floor with a small trickle of blood flowing from his nose. This caused an ornate wooden door to appear out of thin air which, when opened, connected to a rather time-worn study that was filled with old books, preserved specimens, and various artifacts. It gave off a particrly ancient feeling, much like what people experienced when first stepping inside a museum or a restored building. Vahn wasnt worried that the two were trying to trap them so, without any fear, he passed through the door and, after confirming there werent any dangers, allowed the rest of his entourage to enter. As the study wasnt particrlyrge, the presence of seven people made it feel more than a little crowded. Once Zelretch extended his hand, however, this was no longer a concern as the walls and ceiling seemed to expand outward while the bookshelves retained their size and structure. It was a strange sight to behold but, after a few seconds, there was plenty of room for fifty people, much less seven. Showing no signs of exertion whatsoever, despite forcibly expanding Space-Time, Zelretch took it upon himself to exin, "This is my private study. When I take on a student, I generally handle much of their education here. Sadly, I havent been able to find anyone suitable for quite a while. Forgive me if the air smells a little stagnant." Solon, hearing Zelretchs remark about students, didnt seem all that happy as they quickly retorted, "Nobody forces you to break your students minds. If you were serious about it, you wouldnt have any trouble rearing a plethora of capable Magi. Dont pretend others are at fault when you already know the oue of your so-called mentorship." Rather than refute Solons words, Zelretch began stroking his beard with a mad glint in his eye as he stated, "What I have to teach is something that cannot beprehended by most. I always warn my students about the dangers beforehand. Despite this, they willingly try to go against fate, knowing what oue awaits them if they fail. Do not fault me for believing in the potential of my students, old friend. If they cannot ovee this limitation, obtaining True Magic was beyond them from the start." Though he wasnt exactly part of the ongoing conversation, Vahn didnt agree with Zelretchs words, saying, "The failure of a student is not inherently their own. You cannot call yourself a Teacher if you willfully allow harm to befall those who have ced their trust in you. Though it may hubris on their part, it is only because you allowed them to develop such a mentality that tragedy awaits them. To me their failures on fate disqualifies you as a Teacher, Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg. There are no limits to a persons growth, so long as they are guided properly and with due consideration." Zelretchs action of stroking his beard came to a halt when Vahn began speaking. Then, after hearing what Vahn said, he smiled with a sagely look on his face as he answered, "There is a grain of truth and wisdom in your words...Sage Emperor, indeed. I will not deny my own negligence in the matter, but, it is also true that most people cannot ovee their fate. I may be able to guide a person along a certain path, but that would never allow them to reach the pinnacle. True power can only be obtained through ones own efforts. If it is given arbitrarily, the true tragedy is what will happen to those who obstruct their path after the fact..." Vahn knew well the dangers of what could happen if you granted others power, as it was something he actively worked to avoid. Thus, while he could not respect Zelretch as a Teacher, it was apparent that the man hadnt thoughtlessly guided his students. His sin was allowing them to walk a path he knew would destroy them, hoping he would be proven wrong. In a way, Zelretch was an expression of the person he could be if he decided to take a back seat and simply observe. He was like the half-way point between Vahns current self, and the objective observer that was Ouranos. Deciding there was little value in pressing the matter, Vahn gave a curt nod in response to Zelretchs words before taking a seat at therger of the two desks furnishing the study. Things like etiquette werent particrly important in situations like this as, in many regards, the status of Zelretch and Solon could easily rival that of an Emperor. Since Solon had already taken a seat, once again putting into perspective how small their body was, Vahn decided to simply take one of his own. After a few awkward moments, Vahn and Artoria were seated on one side of the desk while Zelretch and Solon were seated on the opposite side. As for Kenshin, Gray, and Gareth, Vahn had pulled out a circr table for them to sit at before pulling some hot tea and cookies out for them. This didnt go unnoticed by Zelretch who, having intuitive mastery over Space and Time, couldnt help but feel a powerful curiosity towards Vahns ability to produce items without any spatial fluctuations. Even the mana in the environment waspletely undisturbed as if he was producing items, quite literally, out of thin air. Solon had also taken note of Vahns ability but, as their understanding of Space-Time was middling, at best, they were unaware of just how ridiculous his simple act of producing tea and cookies was. When Zelretch performed a simr feat momentster, Solon gave a small nod, believing they were simr actions, despite being several orders of magnitude apart. Once everyone had sampled their tea, calming the awkward atmosphere slightly, Solon decided it was their ce to initiate the conversation, asking, "So, what did you want to discuss? You should know that Im not particrly fond of you. Unless it is an important matter, Id rather you note to my Clock Tower at all, Sage Emperor." Hearing Solons words, Vahn raised his brow before casually retorting, "Your brash and irresponsible behavior is the sole reason for the bad blood between us. Im certain you have your reasons, but people like Lorelei wouldnt be able to do whatever they pleased if you took your responsibilities as Director seriously..." Before Solon could have another outburst, Zelretch loudly cleared his throat before looking directly at Vahn and saying, "Much has transpired in this world before your arrival. It is easy toy the me when youck the proper context. Im certain you did note here to discuss matters of the past, I believe it would be more productive if we move on to more pertinent subjects..." As talking with Solon was like speaking with a petnt child, Vahn took a deep breath to calm down before nodding in approval. He also wanted to hurry back to Avalon so, rather than point fingers andy me, he directly stated, "The Empire wishes to negotiate a treaty with the Mages Association." Without even considering it, Solon immediately answered, "That would be impossible at this current point in time. To enter into a treaty with the Empire, the Mages Association would have to officially acknowledge the existence of your country and its power structure. You have done nothing to merit this kind of recognition. Instead, you-" Understanding that Solon was going to startmbasting Vahn unnecessarily, Zelretch ced his cup haphazardly on its saucer, breaking the small te and interrupting the conversation. He then began tough in a pretense of embarrassment before waving his hand and causing the localized Space-Time around the cup to reverse, causing the spilled tea and broken saucer to return to their original state. Then, after smelling the aroma of tea within his cup, he mentioned, "As my friend has stated, it would be impossible to enter a treaty...at least for the time being..." After his statement, Zelretch enjoyed the rich vor of his tea before releasing a contented sigh and adding, "It is possible for the Mages Association to recognize the existence of external factions and third parties. However, this is significantly different than entering an official treaty with an Empire, as Im sure you are perfectly aware. There is also the matter of how other factions would respond if we were to suddenly enter into an agreement with argely unknown party. It could easily destabilize the current power bnce, something that is best avoided given the current predicament." With Zelretch clearly being the voice of reason between the two, Vahn began torgely ignore Solon as he nodded his head and exined, "I understand your reasoning. However, lets not pretend that all treaties and agreements have to align with certain rules and restrictions. Even if you do not intend to publically acknowledge the existence of the Empire, this would not prevent you from doing so in private. Besides, the Mages Association isnt a country either, even if you intend to im the whole of the British Isles as your dominion." In response to Vahns words, Zelretch smiled in amus.e.m.e.nt while, at the side, Solon, aware that they were being ignored, asked in a cold tone, "What benefits does the Association stand to gain?" Since the only thing that really mattered was the terms and benefits of an agreement, not the parties who were involved, Solon dropped pretenses entirely when asking their question. Hearing Solons question, Vahn has a business-like smile on his face as he answered, "Despite our differences, were all in the same boat as far as the matter of Angra Mainyu is concerned. As you are no doubt aware, the Empire has the ability to manifest Heroic Spirits and give them physical form. In theing battle, we will serve as the vanguard against Angra Mainyu as, despite your best efforts, we all know how things will end if things stay as they are..." If Solons eyes had not been hidden, Vahn would have been able to see the murderous and resentful glint contained within. Despite this, there was also eptance and indignation as, much like Vahn implied, they had no reliable countermeasure against Angra Mainyu. Rather than resist directly, the current n involved trying to retreat to the Reverse Side of the World until things naturally fell into bnce once again. This, however, had all kinds of problems associated with it as, even with their power, it was impossible to guarantee survival for extended periods of time in such an unstable and chaotic world. Though they wanted nothing more than to cut Vahn up into tiny pieces, Solon clenched their fists hard enough for the nails to bloody their palms as they stated, "There is no guarantee your Empire would be able to put up a fight, even if you called upon historys mightiest Heroes..." Even as these words left their mouth, Solon felt awkward making such a statement as, better than most, they knew how ridiculous some Heroic figures could be. Vahn didnt miss the uncertainty contained within Solons voice, causing him to smile as he squinted his eyes and stated firmly, "The Empire will emerge victoriously. This can be taken as an invible truth as, if we cannot stop Angra Mainyu, no one can. What you can do is help us, rather than get in our way. The Mages Association has no ce in the future if they cannot even take sensible action in the present." Understanding that Vahn was threatening them, Solon began to emit a powerful aura but, before things got out of hand, Zelretch used his cane to whack them lightly atop their head. This caused Solon to frown deeply as they rubbed their crown and eximed, "Are you actually buying this!?" To this, Zelretch gave a nod and, with a serious expression on his face, stated, "We do not need to bow to the Empire, but there is no sense in fighting against them. Fighting amongst ourselves will only make the destruction of the world an inevitability. If there are mutual benefits to be had, I believe it is best to discuss the matter seriously...irrespective of personal feelings." With Zelretch speaking seriously, Solon took several deep breaths to calm themselves down before turning back to Vahn and asking, "What does the Empire offer? What do you want in exchange?" Deciding to match the severe atmosphere with a serious expression of his own, Vahn answered, "In exchange for ess to the Spirit Tome: Albion, the Empire will offer material goods and information pertinent to the Associations future development. We already have prodigious Magi like Merlin in our midst while our technological innovations would even catch the eye of the As Temple. In the future, we will have historys wisest leaders, strongest heroes, and most powerful Magi among our ranks...Im certain you can see the benefit in working alongside, not against, us..." Solon was tempted to immediately refuse Vahns offer, as giving them ess to the most important asset of the Clock Tower was not a simple request. However, when they heard Vahn mention Merlin, their breathing began to elerate. By the time Vahn finished speaking, Solon asked in a shaky tone, "You summoned that flowery idiot...?" Though Vahn expected Solon to know of Merlin, he didnt expect the diminutive Magus to have such a...peculiar reaction. Even Zelretch had a distant look in his eyes, at least until he hung his head and began to rub his temples. At this point, Artoria decided to enter into the conversation, supporting Vahns ims, stating, "We were not the ones to summon Merlin. He had been called into this world during the previous Holy Grail War as the Ruler-ss Servant. Now, he acts as the Empires Magus of the Court." Vahn found it rather amusing that Artoria would go out of her way to deny having summoned Merlin but, as if they had a sudden understanding, Zelretch and Solon nodded after hearing her. It was as if they had just found the missing piece of aplex puzzle, allowing them to solve the remainder in one go. After collecting themselves, Solon stopped to consider their response for a few moments before saying, "I cannot deny that the Empire has the greatest chance against Angra Mainyu. However, the repercussions of allowing your forces ess to the Spirit Tomb arent something we can ignore. It would be seen as the Mages Association bowing to the whims of the Empire, causing even greater instability among the affiliated families..." Hearing Solons reply, Vahn wasnt dissuaded at all, saying, "After this matter with the Barthomeloi family is settled, Im certain it will be much easier to make such arrangements. For now, I will drop the matter if you are willing to arrange a meeting between the Empire and the As Temple. Though they have cut themselves off from the rest of the world, Im certain you, as Association Director, have at least some pull when ites tomunicating with them..." Solon couldnt help but gnash their teeth in response to Vahns words as, even though they were the Association Director, the other branches of the Mages Association had their own power structure. It was very difficult to get them to obey directives so having Vahn mention it was very frustrating, to say the least. Still, simply acting as an intermediary wasnt too difficult. Rather than agree outright, however, they stated firmly, "I will arrange a meeting between you and Director Asia. Before that, you must bring Merlin to me...we have matters to discuss." Vahn was slightly surprised that Solon had made a concession but, considering their earlier reaction, it was clear they had some kind of history with Merlin. There was clear exasperation in Solons voice while Zelretch looked like he had aged a few years over the past few minutes. Despite this, neither seemed to hold any animosity toward Merlin, something that would have been apparent considering how easy to anger Solon was. Thus, after thinking over the matter for a few moments, Vahn nodded his head, saying, "Very well. Once you have made arrangements for a meeting with the Director of the As Temple, I will have Merlin pay you a visit..." Though they could notpletely trust Vahns word, Solon gave a nod of their own before picking up their teacup and staring at its contents, despite wearing a blindfold. This action of theirs caused a strange atmosphere to permeate through the room until, momentster, Solon finished their tea and said, "Teatime is over. I will not show you out..." After this, Solon vanished in a burst of light, leaving Zelretch behind tough awkwardly in response to hispanions uncouth behavior. Vahn didnt really care, however, so he just made casual conversation with the aged Magus for a few minutes before returning to the Edelfelt Mansion, retrieving Olga, and transferring back to Avalon for some much-needed rest. (A/N: Any other chapters will beter in the afternoon. Ill be out for much of the morning so I woke up a bit earlier to get this one out before the reset. There will still be one EPIC and two Babel out by the end of the day.) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1238 - Preparations: Peculiarity

Chapter 1238 - Preparations: Peculiarity

In preparation for the uing duel, Artoria began spending much of her free time training. She went on a small tirade of sorts, challenging everyone in the castle to battle, Vahn included. Though she was no worried about losing to Lorelei, her dignity as a ruler would not allow her to treat such an important matter carelessly. Until she imed victory, she would continue making preparations with the intent of removing any possibility for failure, despite the machinations of the Barthomeloi family. Vahn had underestimated Artorias fervor but, what had shocked him most of all, was that she could even adapt to his [Laces Key] after forcing him to use it against her several times. Though this often ended with her in a rather sorry state, making Vahn feel guilty, he continued battling against Artoria without holding anything back. She might be his Empress and lover but, much like Tsubaki, her pride as a warrior was something she would not renege on. Now, once again, Vahn experienced his bodys movements from the perspective of an observer as he kept a considerable distance from Artoria, teleporting around the battlefield as he peppered her with hypersonic projectiles. Since she had been able to annihte nearly two-thirds of his body after he got close, his [Laces Key] seemed to have determined it wasnt wise to fight in her range. Though she was able to send massive beams out massive beams of light, cleaving through thendscape at almost unavoidable speeds, this didnt matter much when he could teleport around freely. Artorias effective range, when she was serious, could easily cover several tens of kilometers, making each of her attacks city-destroying in magnitude. If she charged her Noble Phantasm to its fullest, it waspletely beyond his ability to block, even with severalyers of [Reflexio] and the defense provided by his Xuanwu form. Since the attack moved nearly at light speed, he had to evade before she hadpleted her attack motion, an action that was much easier toplete at a distance. What made Artoria a difficult opponent wasnt really her destructive capabilities, though they were certainly arge factor. No, the most troublesome thing about her was the fact that she seemed to have limitless stamina and, unless she used her [Excalibur] several times in sequence, her mana was seemingly just as limitless. Though he had already known this beforehand, as Artorias dragon heart was essentially a mana generating factory, being on the receiving end of her barrage when she got serious was a pain. Since he knew this was still her restricted capabilities, Vahn felt like this petite little wife of his was even more of a monster than himself... Still, despite her best efforts, Artoria, and pretty much everyone else for that matter, was shocked to learn that her [Avalon] was virtually useless against him. Though the vast majority of the damage was still mitigated, turning even mountain-leveling attacks into ones that wouldnt even disturb a hill, it was an invible truth that his attacks still affected her. This was the result of his Source Energy not caring about the invible boundary produced by [Avalon]s activation, allowing him to hit her body, despite it being located in apletely isted texture on the Reverse Side of the World. It was because of this capability that Artoria would drag him off to spar whenever he was free. It was to the point that, much like Gareth, she would even be waiting for him after he left his Training Orb orpleted another task. Though she made it up to himter, in various ways, Vahn was reminded of how Ais and Tiona would behave at times, especially when they were on the verge of some kind of breakthrough. It was honestly fun to battle against her as it allowed him to measure his growth against opponents other than his demonic Shishou. These battles also had a rather unexpected consequence, even though Vahn could have prophesied such a thing would happen. This took the form of Kenshin seeking him out and challenging him to a battle where he didnt hold anything back. Since he had never used [Laces Key] in their previous fights, as it almost polluted the integrity of battling against allies, Vahn was somewhat reluctant to agree. Despite this, he didnt show it on his face and, after a decidedly short battle, Kenshin was left in a rather sorry state. From the outset of the battle, his [Laces Key] made the decision to create a hybridization of his Zhuque and Qinglong forms. This was a counter against the Anti-Divine properties of Kenshins that also made it nearly impossible for her to close the distance between them. He was also able to make gates in the surrounding space, allowing the heat from his Zhuque mes to essentially assault and cook her from all sides. Though she was surprisingly able to defend against this for a while, and even got a few attacks in on him by using the very gates he used against her, Kenshins greatest weakness was herparably low stamina. By the end of their engagement, most of Kenshins clothes had been burned to ash, leaving only her [Aegis X] to protect her dignity. Strangely, the first damage hadnt extended to her hair, despite the fact much of her body was covered in burns of various degrees. When he was healing her after the fact, Kenshin had a smile on her face as shemended his power. Rather than ept her words at face value, however, Vahn shook his head and promised he would defeat her without using a Skill that essentially turned him into a machine. He wanted to ovee her in an honorable battle, not a one-sided fight where he just used the most efficient means to secure victory... After this encounter, Kenshin had be decidedly more affectionate toward him and, though not nearly as often as his battles with Artoria, she began to proactive challenge him. These turned into battles of pure martial skill, often with several hundred Homunculi surrounding them. Since she had the [Master of Arms: SS], there was still a vast gulf between their capabilities but, after hardening his convictions, Vahn was determined to close the distance in months, rather than years. --- Despite his schedule being dominated by battle, Vahn still made time to y with Mordred, Sakura, and the other children. Though it was a little strange to have nearly-matured girls like Mash excited to y games like hide-and-seek, tag, and other rtively childish games, Vahn never questioned it. He knew what the Designer Babies had gone through and, though children like Alex and Juliet did their own thing, it was refreshing to see Zo?, Astrid, and Mash breaking out of their shell. If anything, it was weirder that Gareth happily joined them but, considering her puppy-like behavior, he wasnt really surprised. Fortunately, though they did not actively engage with the other children that much, Alex and Juliet both had their own interests and focus. Alex had started to emte Siegfried quite a bit and, though he would get embarrassed easily when Mash and Zo? teased him, he was no longer the vengeful young boy that had arrived several months prior. As for Juliet, she had be very fond of one of her caretakers, to the point she called the motherly Homunculus just that, Mother. Now, Vahn could sometimes find them just spending time together, much like Iris and Illya, as Juliet focused on her education and, for reasons he was not privy to, focused on trying to be an attending Maid in the castle. Since it was something she had decided on, Vahn wasnt going to go back on his words and deny the choice she had made about her own future. There was also the fact she looked simply adorable while following her Mother around in a child-sized Maid outfit. She was also taking her studies very seriously so, while her ambitions might be low, it was clear that she was making progress. A lot of this could be attested to Merlins intervention but, as it was infinitely better than watching her live a life gued by trauma, Vahn had be more tolerant of his errant Magus of the Court. Vahn hade to learn even more about Merlin after discussing the matter of his association with Solon and Zelretch. Though he was somewhat remised to reveal the details, mentioning he would just ask Vivian was an easy way to get him to be truthful. He tried to actively avoid doing anything that would greatly upset her, something Vahn hade to exploit quite a bit. Since it made Merlin seem more human, it was rather refreshing to know he had an easily exploitable weakness. From Merlin, Vahn learned that Solons current form is not their original self. Though he had already suspected this, for a variety of different reasons, it was always best to know for certain. This was only the beginning of Solons peculiarity, however, as Merlin described them as something that should not exist, much like Astolfos Hippogryph and himself. Solon was the product of a child being thrown into the Well of Fate, associated with the World Tree, Yggdrasil. Solon was born during the era when most of the Gods had begun their retreat to the Reverse Side of the World During this time, Yggdrasil, a very powerful Greater Divine Spirit, actually sacrificed itself to be the foundation for one of the many regions located on the Reverse Side. Before that, it had split its own Divinity into several shards, one of which had been granted to Solon to preserve their life. This, however, did not save Solon from the Well of Fate as, during the Great Transmigration, the Guardian of the Well, Urd, had left the well unattended. For several years, Solon experienced a nightmare beyond their infant mindsprehension. They were forced to drown within the Well of Fate, experiencing memories that were not their own as they cycled through varying levels of unconsciousness. It wasnt until the Well of Fate itself dried up, no longer able to sustain itself after the World Tree had died, that they were finally freed. After that, they wandered for years without any direction nor sense of self as their mind tried to reconcile all of the different sets of memories that had invaded their psyche. It was not known what Solon had done for all the years they wandered, as it was nearly impossible to decipher their fate, but they were eventually picked up by Zelretch. This made it even harder to know exactly what had happened but, from what Merlin could ascertain, Solon had been left in the care of the Wandering Sea at some point. As a source of Mystery rted to the Age of Gods, their existence was extremely important to the nascent Mages Association. Here, they spent nearly seven-hundred years of their life before eventually leaving for unknown reasons around 40AD. From that moment onward, Solon had taken up residence in a small fishing vige simply known as Landon which, decadester, became known as the city of Londinium. Here, they began building up the organization known as the Clock Tower though, back then, it was known as the Temple of the Sun due to the massive sundial used to keep time. It wasnt until muchter, after the construction of the Pce of Westminister and Big Ben that the Clock Tower became known as such. There were many unknowns regarding Solon, due to their nature of isting themselves, but Merlin hade to know the peculiar Magus shortly after his own birth. They had something of a tense rtionship and, in the beginning, Solon had even tried to capture and imprison him after realizing he was an existence akin to a Beast of Gaia. By all rights, Merlin should have been one of mankinds greatest enemies but, due to the love he experienced prior to birth, he had always been quite fond of humanity. Rather than sow discord and cause chaos, he observed the flow of fate passively, only interfering when he was meant to. Despite this, Solon did not trust him and, if not for the intervention of Zelretch, arge-scale conflict could have broken out. As for why Solon hated him back in the day, it was due to the fact that Merlin knew of their past and, despite the bravado of the errant hermit, he also knew that a battle would never happen due to his prophetic abilities. Because Merlin knew nothing would happen, he acted veryckadaisically around Solon and, more than he should have, teased them incessantly. Merlin was actually one of the reasons why Solon now covered themselves in powerful artifacts as, for a period of time, Merlin would even show up in their dreams. Back then, he showed a lot less restraint with his abilities as, prior to Artorias birth, he didnt have much else to do other than observe humanity and mess around. When Vahn learned that Merlin had tormented Solon for the better part of six years, he actually felt a little sorry for the green-haired Magus. If not for the fact they were borderline intolerable, due to a severeck of social skills, Vahn would have been tempted to apologize for how he had acted in the past. Still, it was interesting to know more about the mysterious Director of the Mages Association so Vahn had enjoyed the conversation,ughing more than he should have when Melin showed him the scene of Solon being chased through an endless field of flowers by a giant purple caterpir. Unfortunately, while Merlin had quite a bit of information pertaining to Solon, he knew very little about Zelretch, despite the nature of his existence as the Second Mage. Since Zelretch had no fate whatsoever, it was impossible to see into his past, present, and future. He could even exist outside the flow of timepletely, observing the events of history y out from an outsiders point of view, much like Akasha and her superiors. Though Zelretch could be killed, Merlin had noted the mans presence in several of his visions of the future, including distant events several tens of thousands of years down the line. It was impossible to know if these were their Zelretch, as different versions of could also travel into parallel worlds, but that had been changed after Vahns arrival. Now, the only Zelretch associated with their timeline was the one Vahn had met at the Mages Association. Though it was possible for him to transition into a parallel timeline, all fates currently led to a convergence point, the emergence of Angra Mainyu. Now, instead of being able to freely move throughout history, Zelretch was stuck on the path that Vahn had set the world upon. Though he would have some freedom after Angra Mainyu was taken care of, there would undoubtedly be other convergence points as a result of Vahns actions. After all, the past was fixed due to his presence within the timeline, meaning other realties and potentialities simply ceased to exist. It was a peculiar, borderline terrifying thought, but that was just the nature of reality in a multiversal world structure that functioned akin to a simtion. Vahns existence introduced certainty into the world but, rather than restrict its growth, he actually allowed for new potentialities and for the existence of various, previously impossible, possibilities. It was even possible for the Record itself to grow beyond Tier 5 due to his presence, even if this would take potentially billions, or even trillions, of years. Unless he was the one to proactive elevate it, the current Tier 5 existences would have a very difficult time reaching the next Tier. After all, they had existed for such a phenomenally long period of time that, despite the potential for infinite growth, they were essentially stuck in an unbreakable cycle due to the restrictions of the Laws. At this point, Vahn was already thinking about linking the Nasuverse in the future, as this had now be a second home to him. It might be irresponsible of him but, as his Tier increased, Vahn had the distinct impression there were innumerable solutions to the current problems that gued him. After all, if he had the power to create his own Records, there wasnt much he couldnt do at that point. Extracting a few people from an existing Record, while allowing it to stay isted, shouldnt be beyond his capabilities. This was a matter for the far future, however, so Vahn tried not to mull over it too often as it might take him millions of years to reach that point. Instead, he chose to focus on the present as much as possible, even if it sometimes led to him asking peculiar questions, such as the gender of Solon. He hadnt been able to determine this even after battling directly against the peculiar Magus and, since Merlin had tormented them for the better part of six years, he expected the flowery Magus to know the answer. What Vahn hadnt expected was for Merlin to outright state that Solon didnt have a gender. Though there could be other reasons, he spected that Solons confusion regarding the nature of their own existence made it impossible for them to reconcile their own gender. It was impossible to be certain, but Solon likely had the memories of millions of people, both male and female, locked away within their mind. He even spected that the reason Solon isted themselves was due to their confusion as, despite what gender they chose to adopt, it would cause them to live a life gued by perpetual incongruity. Though Merlin had tried to help them in the past, which was why he had tormented Solon for so long, this only resulted in some bad blood between them due to their prideful nature. More than that, however, it was very likely that Solon was afraid to discover that their current self was just one of their personas while, in the deepest recesses of their mind, their true self had been locked away. Despite all of this, Merlin did actually know Solons original gender, much like Zelretch, but neither had ever touched on the subject. After all, the infante Solon hadnt formed a sense of self and, after bing a Divine Spirit and absorbing the memories of countless individuals, they were a far cry from their original human existence. Unfortunately, when Vahns curiosity got the better of him,pelling him to ask what Solons original gender was, Merlin refused to answer. Instead, he adopted a very punchable smile on his face as he answered, "If it is that important to you, why not decide what gender you want Solon to be? Though others might not be able to pull it off, someone with your level of...experience, might be able to convince them to lean either way~? They certainly match your requirements when ites to selecting partners, ohohohoho~" Following his teasing remark, Merlin tried to vanish away, hisughter still echoing throughout his Magus Tower. In response, Vahn rose to his feet, a calm visage on his face as he inly stated, "Im telling." This immediately caused Merlinsughter to stop but, before he could make a plea bargain, Vahn had already teleported away, presumably to inform Vivian and Artoria about Merlins behavior. Though he didnt actually intend to tell, as that would vite his original agreement with Merlin, this left the flowery Magus in an anxious state for several minutes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Artoria be like, "We gon fite! Excalibuuuuuuur~!",RIP Solon,Everyone has a weakness xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1239 - Effort

Chapter 1239 - Effort

With Nobunaga due any day now, Vahn found himself idling in her room with increasing frequency. He didnt particrly mind her teasing but, now that the day was approaching, Nobunaga began to mellow out a bit and just let him pamper her obediently. Currently, Vahn was helping her bathe by wiping down her body with a sponge beforethering up her extremely long hair and helping to rinse. She, like many of the other pregnant women, had a slight phobia regarding identally slipping in the bath so the entire floor had been coated with a porous rubbery material, courtesy of Da Vinci. More often than not, Kenshin or Mordred would be the one to help Nobunaga bathe but, when he had the time to spare, Vahn would dutifully offer his services. He enjoyed the intimacy and, though she might not admit it openly, it was obvious that Nobunaga felt the same way. She would entrust herself to himpletely, allowing him to treat her like a delicate princess rather than the powerful woman she presented herself as. Whileying back and allowing Vahn to run a gentle stream of water through her hair, Nobunaga hadzy eyes as she looked toward nothing in particr, saying, "I was thinking about naming our son Kamiya..." Since this wasnt the first time Nobunaga had brought up the name of their child, Vahn wasnt too surprised. Instead, he just smiled before musing, "That sounds like a wonderful name...it is a bit on the nose though, dont you think...?" Hearing Vahns retort, Nobunaga began tough mischievously as her crimson-red eyes came into focus on his face. Though the name could mean many things, depending on the origin, Nobunaga intended it to be a y on the fact that Vahn was, even without Divinity, a God. Since Kaminya could trante to Son of God, Gods Angel, and Bearer of Gods Will, she felt it would be fitting. In the past, she had thought about using the traditional naming convention but, finding a name that went with the surname Mason produced some rather strange results. With a smile spreading across her face, Nobunaga asked, "Did you prefer Kamihide...or perhaps Kamishiro...? We could also name him Jshin or Shintaro...hmmm~?" Nobunaga was determined to include a Kanji rted to God in their sons name, both due to the nature of Vahns existence and the fact his name tranted to God is Gracious. Since she followed the tradition that children should be named after their father, Nobunaga wouldnt relent on it. Even she and her siblings had all been named a variation of Nobu, such as Nobuhiro, Nobuyuki, and Kobukane, so she waspelled to carry on the tradition. Knowing it was impossible to change her mind, Vahn just stole a kiss from Nobunagas lips beforementing, "I think Kamiya is fine...the name Kamiya Mason flows smoothly when spoken aloud..." Though she tried to yfully bite him as he retreated, Nobunaga wasnt upset that Vahn had taken liberties with her. Instead, she followed up by licking her lips and turning her eyes up at him in a way he had grown ustomed to. Since he knew what she wanted, Vahn obediently leaned down to kiss her, this time taking things a little further... --- By the time Vahn left Nobunaga, his body temperature had risen and, though it was manageable, his tensions had increased considerably. Despite Nobunaga being in her stable period, she, like many of the other pregnant women, had banned s.e.x. This gave her the confidence to tease him as much as she wanted and, though he knew it would cause him quite a bit of frustration, Vahn dutifully yed along. After all, it was only a matter of time before he collected upon the debt she had been building over thest eight and a half months... After stepping out of the room, Vahn took a deep breath to calm himself before giving a nod toward Gareth and saying, "Lets go." She immediately gave a cheerful salute before falling in step, the same characteristic smile on her face as usual. If you looked closely, however, it was possible to see a light flush on Gareths face, apanying her usual blush. Vahn was aware of this but he didntment on it since this was usually how she acted before their training began. Unlike when they first started out, Vahn now took Gareth to his personal Training Orb as, in the past, a few small incidents had urred. This included groups of Homunculi gathering and, after their sessions becamemon, Mordred had started to pester him quite a bit. He didnt mind helping out in their training, of course, but it was very awkward to have an audience when he was tempering Gareths Magic Circuits and helping improve the quality of her Od. Ever since the first incident, Mordred would ask him to help temper her own Magic Circuits. This led to Sakura also making a simr request so, fearing Mash and others would shortly follow suit, Vahn had moved Gareths training to his private Orb. Though this had led to otherplications, he was able to avoid distractions and focus on Gareths progress. Since Scthach would also appear to give advice, or simply observe, it ended up being the best solution before things developed into a bigger issue. The only real downside, if it could even be called that, was that Gareth had grown increasingly bold as time passed. Though it might be more urate to say she had be less inhibited, it was very obvious she wanted something more in this rtionship. Curiously, this didnt have anything to do with s.e.x, at least for the time being. Instead, Gareth just wanted to experience general skinship and be praised when she did well, almost as if she didnt fully understand whaty beyond the path she was walking down... Though he would normally avoid letting his thoughts wander, Vahn was in an open-minded state due to Nobunagas teasing so it was harder than normal. Gareth also seemed to be perceptive to the fact he was paying more attention to her as, rather than keep her usual distance, she would always linger a bit closer to him during such situations. Then, once they reached the Training Orb, she didnt waste much time before shimmying out of her clothes and folding them up neatly before presenting them to him for storage. After parting with her clothing, Gareth was left wearing nothing but her [Aegis X], taking on a form simr to a skin-tight sports bra and spats. This made her athletic figure very apparent, though not as much as her shapely b.r.e.a.s.ts, toned butt, and plump thighs. Though they werent that noticeable in her normal attire, the result of Gareth wearing boyish clothing and acting in an innocent nature, it was undeniable that she was a woman when viewed like this. Showing no apprehension whatsoever, only trust, Gareth had a radiant smile on her face as she sat down on the ground and began to hum an upbeat, cheerful, tune. Vahn took his usual seat behind her and, for the best part of two hours, he silently channeled a gentle flow of Source Energy into her body. This would cause her skin to flush a considerable amount and, by the time a few minutes had passed, Gareth would also fall silent as she began to focus on the energy. It was a veryfortable sensation and, if she focused hard enough, it was possible to discern where her Master was sending the energy. Gareth had made a habit of trying to follow the flow of energy, both as a result of Vahns guidance and her own curiosity. When it would flow around specific areas, she would feel a tingling sensation that caused her face and body to heat up so she had be quite fond of the process. Though this would also make her feel strangely frustrated, it made their following training more productive since she would do her best to sooth the peculiar urges emerging within her body. She was a little worried that the urges were bing too strong but, as her own strength was rapidly increasing, Gareth felt this was perfectly natural. Unaware of the peculiar way in which Gareth interpreted the tempering process, Vahn brought the procedure to an end once the interior of her body was suffused with a slight rainbow hue. He knew she was also more than a little excited but this could always be dealt with by moving her body and exerting herself during training. Since he had the same thing in mind for treating his own symptoms, Vahn lightly tapped her back to break Gareth from her reverie as he said, "Its time for training. Your body is already warmed up but you should stretch a bit before we go." Without wasting any time, Gareth immediately sprung to her feet, leaving an imprint of moisture on the smooth stone that took on the shape of her butt. Though it was nearly invisible against the white stone, Vahns perception betrayed him at times like this. Fortunately, Gareth didnt seem to notice his eyes squinting slightly as she began to stretch her body for a bit before lining up next to him. Once she was ready, the two began using [Shundo], aiming for a marker that was precisely 100km from their starting point. Vahn could easily reach the marker in a few quick steps but, with her own [Shundo] being E-Rank, Gareth struggled to cover more than a kilometers distance at a time. Her reserves and control were alsocking so one of her primary challenges, at least during this part of her training, was to reach the marker in less than one-hundred steps. This required her to push beyond her limits and, for thest few weeks, Gareth had been unable to reach the goal, despite her best efforts. While Gareth was executing her [Shundo], Vahn perfectly matched her pace by sensing where she made her anchor points and creating his own next to them. This encouraged Gareth to try her best as, from start to finish, he would be observing her progress and form. Once she was finished, Vahn would give her an evaluation based on her performance and, as long as she tried her hardest, Gareth knew she would be rewarded for her efforts. It was with this assurance in mind that she would push herself far beyond her limits, sometimes tearing tendons and breaking bones in the process. Though he had tried to curb her over-eager nature in the past, Vahn quickly realized the only way to do so was to stop giving her the rewards she wanted. He had tried to supplement this by providing her with food and other kinds of rewards but, as if she was a puppy abandoned by its owner, Gareth had been in a borderline depressive state during the three days he had used these methods. She had even gone to Fenrir for advice, asking if she had done something wrong that upset him, rather thaning to him to discuss the matter. After this incident, Vahn got a short lecture from Fenrir about not bullying people that were trying their hardest, leaving Vahn at a loss before he ultimately relented. He should have known better than to treat Gareth in such a way, especially with her bestial traits. She was much like a Chienthrope so, after he had pet her the first time, it was toote to rely on other forms of praise. In her mind, there was only more petting at stake and, though she certainly appreciated other things, it was like giving a bundt cake to someone whose favorite dessert was cheesecake. Vahn knew he had the option of putting his foot down and properly discipline her but, seeing how hard Gareth worked, he didnt really have the heart to. Even now, she had a fiery conviction in her eyes and, despite stumbling after executing her 83rd [Shundo], Gareth instantly climbed to her feet. He could see that the muscles in her legs and thighs were straining themselves to the limit but, as if the pain only fueled her onward, Gareth squared up her feet before executing another [Shundo]. She didnt even hesitate for a single moment to push her body even further, causing Vahn to feel pain on her behalf... By the time Gareth executed her 90th [Shundo], there were still more than 20km left to the marker, a giant pir of red stone, in the distance. Her legs were so sore that they had started to swell and turn a reddish-purple color. At the same time, her body was covered in a denseyer of sweat, giving her slightly tanned skin a glossy sheen which periodically cascaded, pooling at her chin and nose before dripping to the ground below. Despite this, she managed to stay upright and, after gritting her teeth, Gareth executed her 91st [Shundo], pushing her focus and body even further beyond her limits. This time around, Vahn finished his [Shundo] before Gareth so, by the time she reached her anchor point, he was able to catch her in his arms. He noticed the adductor muscles of her left thigh tense beyond their limits, causing them to strain and tear. This could only end with Gareth tumbling to the ground and, regardless of her will to continue, even standing would be impossible for her until the injury could be treated. Without minding the location of her injury, Vahn ced his palm on the interior of Gareths left thigh and began to send a warm stream of energy into the area to mend the torn muscles. This caused her to release a hot and relieved sigh, clearly discernible despite the fact she was breathing heavily. Vahn slightly rolled his eyes when he heard this before lightly patting Gareths head and saying, "You did well, Gareth...now breathe..." Though he wanted toment on her form, as she was putting too much stress on her legs, this was something that could be addressedter. Though she was in too much pain to form any words, Gareth managed a pained smile while focusing on her breathing. It was a lot harder than normal to regte as, despite having her head pat, Gareth was more focused on the startlingly hot palm near her inner thigh. Still, she obediently listened to his words and did her best to resist the urge to close and rub her thighs together. This was made easier by focusing on the petting but, unlike how they would normally just perk up a bit, Gareths dog-like ears had a very distinct twitch to them. To counteract Gareths excitement, Vahn sent a flow of calming energy into her mind before pulling away his left hand once she had been healed enough to stand. He didnt miss the fact her eyes had followed his hand when he removed it but, rather than take advantage of the situation, Vahn helped her stand before they jogged the rest of the way to the marker. This was to give them both time to calm down as, with the replenishment of her reserves, Gareths injuries would quickly heal while her stamina gradually recovered. Due to her distracted state of mind, Gareth nearly bumped into Vahns back when he came to a stop but, with her quick reflexes, she managed to perform an impromptu spin to evade him. This caused him to raise his brow at her, earning an embarrassedugh from Gareth as she rubbed the back of her head and said, "Im sorry, Master...I got a little distracted...ehehehe~." Then, seeing the deadpan look on his face, Gareth quickly became more serious, albeit after pping her cheeks twice to calm down. Though it looked like a red pir from the distance, the true form of the marker was a massive spear that was more than 10m wide and 70m tall, above ground. The rest of the spear had prated into the ground, forming a crater that wouldnt lose out to the destruction caused by Karna. It hade into existence during one of his spars with Scthach and, though she could have dissipated it easily, Vahn had asked her to leave it due to its impressive size and the suppressive force it created in the surroundings. Around the vicinity of the spear, it was almost impossible to channel mana and, if a Magus were to stay near it for a long period of time, they would eventually lose consciousness if their control wascking. This made it an ideal ce for physical training as, with the density of the space being close to five times the normal amount, even breathing was aborious task. Since Gareths Strength and Endurance could also be improved upon, Vahn guided her through the same training regimen that Tsubaki and Jeanne had developed for the Valkyries back in Danmachi. It was designed to universally strengthen the body without breaking its bnce. This was necessary for someone like Gareth as, while her foundation wasnt exactly weak, she relied too much on her speed and equipment. Without proper armaments, she experienced a significant reduction in herbat capabilities so, as his Page, Vahn was determined to free her from this reliance. For the better part of four hours, Vahn guided Gareth through a slow and arduous routine of posing her body in specific forms. Tsubaki referred to these poses as the Observations, forms that emte nature. Since there were very few named martial arts in Danmachi, the only thing that mattered was refining an evolving style that allowed your body to adapt to any situation. This required you to have a perfect bnce between form, flexibility, and speed. When these three things werebined, you would be able to muster an explosive strength that, when harnessed properly, wasparable to a [Mana Burst]. Gareth had trouble matching these forms at first as, despite being female, she had beencking in flexibility. Though her legs had been very flexible, as they seemed to be the most developed part of her body, this had caused a significant imbnce in her core and upper body strength. Now, after a few months of hard training, she was able to copy most of the forms he taught her after putting in an extreme amount of effort. This wasnt simply due to her hard-working nature, however, as Gareth had been genuinely shocked to learn that she was less flexible than him. Now, even when Vahn twisted his body passed ny degrees and bent back like a bow, Gareth was able to emte his form, albeit with significant strain. She had yet to adapt to the increased pressure so, even more so than when she had been using [Shundo] earlier, her body waspletely covered in sweat. Every time they changed forms, she would send small beads of sweat outward which, due to the increased density of Space within the area, appeared to move in slow motion. This created a peculiar and rather inspiring sight but, other than giving her advice andplimenting her form, Vahn did his best not to be distracted as he focused on his own form... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Its a boi (OoO)!?,No bulli...!,Fight on, Gareth-chan~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1240 - Miracle

Chapter 1240 - Miracle

As wasmon during thetter parts of the evening, Vahn found himself apanying Iris and Illya. Earlier, they had been watching some of his memories y out together but, after Illya fell asleep in hisp, Vahn carried her to the bed as Iris made her own preparations. Then, as was the mostmon urrence in this situation, especially in recent days, Iris changed into a silky white negligee that left very little to the imagination before crawling into the bed next to him, choosing the side opposite of Illya instead of nking her. Vahn had already grown ustomed to Iris behavior so, even when she snuggled up close to him, using his shoulder as her pillow before nestling one of her legs between his, he was able to stay rtively rxed. At this point, he had a good understanding of her intentions and, rather than seducing him, it was more urate to say she just wanted to experience some skinship. It was lonely for her to sleep alone and, as she felt very safe around him, Iris was taking advantage of his kindness since she knew, at least for the time being, he wouldnt do anything untoward to her. Since it had been Iris herself to exin this, showing no signs of falsehoods in the slightest, Vahn no longer felt nearly as tense around her. Instead, he just enjoyed the moments he shared with the peculiar mother-daughter duo, even if the now 90% transformed Illya sometimes caused him a few problems. She had developed a suckling habit but, as this was better than the biting that his shoulder had to suffer through previously, hergely ignored it. It was also somewhat amusing to see her reaction when she would wake up to find the upper quadrant of his sleepwear soaked through with her saliva so, while they were working on curbing the habit, it wasnt that big a deal. Thus, as another cycle within the Projection slowly came to its end, Vahn found himself with a buxom and mature womanying to his left while a petite young woman, whose body burned like a furnace, practically treated the right side of his body as a salt lick. Then, a few hours into his rest, Vahns eyes snapped open before the figure that had been curled up on his abdomen raised its head and stated in her usual cold tone, "That woman, Nobunaga, her water just broke." Vahn gave a curt nod in response to yas notification as, even though he didnt know what was going on, his instincts had already brought him to an alert state of mind. Now that he knew what was happening, excitement and expectation began to bubble up inside of him as he extricated his arms from Iris clutches and began to channel stroke the inside of Illyasrge fluffy ears with his thumb. This caused her eyes to immediately open, revealing reddish-purple irises that came into focus to meet his gaze. After quickly exining the situation to the two girls, Vahn teleported directly to Nobunagas side. She was being escorted to the medical ward by Kenshin and an entourage of Homunculi while sweat had already started to build on her brow. When she saw him suddenly appear out of thin air, Nobunaga clenched her teeth in mild annoyance as she cursed, "Are you trying to make the baby plop out right here!?" Since she had been startled by Vahns sudden appearance, these words were the first thing that left her lips, despite feeling greatly relieved by his presence. Without minding Nobunagas harsh tongue, Vahn used his Telekinesis to elevate her body, easing a bit of the pressure she had been experiencing. Then, this time using yas help, he teleported her directly to the delivery room after telling Kenshin and the four Homunculi to inform the rest of the castle. Though some were already making their way over, such as Medusa, Circe, and Gareth, courtesy of Fenrir exining them to the situation, it was best to inform the others so they werent left out of the loop. After reaching the delivery room, Vahn helped Nobunaga getfortable on the bed before asking in a serious tone, "Do you want to give a natural or assisted birth? A natural birth is going to be painful so youll have to stay focused to avoid injuring yourself and the surroundings. I can make most of the pain go away if you want, making the delivery much easier for you and the our son." Though Nobunagas gaze had be somewhat venomous when she first heard Vahns words, she had calmed down after listening to thetter half. She didnt want to be seen as someone so weak they cant even tolerate the same pain as countless women before her. However, when she heard Vahn mention it would be easier for the baby, Nobunaga immediately swallowed her pride as she said, "I dont care what happens to me...you have to make sure our baby is safe. Even if it will hurt my pride a little, Ill do whatever it takes to guarantee there arent anyplications..." Hearing Nobunagas response, Vahns smile became especially affectionate as he bent down and gave her a gentle kiss before saying, "Youre already an amazing mother...dont worry, just leave it to me. Ill leave just enough pain for the hormones in your body to trigger properly. It helps make the process go-" Before Vahn could exin any further, Nobunaga rolled her eyes at him and said, "I dont need a lecture. I already said I trust you, so get on with it." However, despite her words, Nobunaga had a happy curl to her lips that couldnt escape his notice. Vahn, of course, didnt tease her and, as she instructed, he began making the final preparations before examining Nobunagas body to track the progression of her contractions. By the time a few minutes had passed, the delivery room was practically filled with people while, outside in the corridor, several tens had gathered to patiently await the news. All those who were inside the room were given permission to be there by Nobunaga herself and, though Vahn felt it wasnt really something to be witnessed by children, this had included Mordred and Sakura. Thetter was already studying healing magecraft and alchemy during the evenings so, while her face was more than a little pale, she put on a strong front as Vahn exined the procedure in a calm and soothing tone. With his [Hands of Nirvana] and Nobunagas cooperation, the entire delivery only took only five hours before the head began to crown. This was the point when Sakura became the palest and, if not for him sending calming energy into her mind through his domain, Vahn imagined she would have passed out. Even he had been more than a little shaken during his first delivery so he didnt judge her in the slightest as,pared to most, she was handling it quite well. This included the usually brave Mordred who, after watching with intrigue during the first stages ofbor, quickly moved to the side after things began to develop in a frightening direction. Now, she was seated in Artoriasp as thetter gently stroked her hair while hugging the pale girl from behind... Fortunately, most of the matured women in the room had very supportive and calm demeanors while a team of Homunculi, consisting of three girls named Serena, Aliza, and Oriana, served as his attending nurses. They all had the experience required to assist in deliveries as part of their shared memories so, being the first to show up, they naturally epted the responsibilities of an attending after asking for Vahns permission. Thus, without any idents, Vahn skillfully guided his son into the world while Nobunaga did her best to remain calm and focused throughout the procedure. Even with most of the pain mitigated by Vahn, childbirth was never an easy process and, even with a superhuman physique, Nobunaga felt an extreme level of fatigue as sweat covered her entire body. When the pressure was finally relieved, she exhaled a deep and profound sigh but, after hearing the subsequent cries of her son, she immediately regained focus and instinctually said, "Bring me my baby...bring him to me." Kenshin helped Nobunaga remain calm as Vahn handed Kamiya over to Aliza so she could wash his body. After that, he carried the small bundle of life to Nobunagas side who, with eyes sharper than a hawks, followed his movements despite tears obscuring her vision. When he handed the wrapped bundle over to her, Nobunaga made no effort to stymy her tears as she held her son for the first time, smiling radiantly as she said, "My precious child...my darling Kamiya..." With Kenshins words, the atmosphere in the room lost much of its tension and, though the actual temperature hadnt changed, it suddenly felt very warm as everyone simultaneously smiled. Even Sakura, who had to be carried off to the side by Serena, had calmed down considerably now that the ordeal was over. She now had a small smile on her face as she looked toward the new mother-son duo and, much like everyone else in the room, an overwhelming sense of awe had settled in her mind, almost as if she had just witnessed a miracle. For several minutes after the fact, everyone just enjoyed the warm atmosphere together before Vahn politely asked the majority of the crowd to return and share the good news. Nobunaga also needed to feed Kamiya before they both enjoyed a much-needed rest. Since the ordeal had affected Mordred and Sakura quite a bit, they were both exhausted but, before leaving, they took turns looking at their new younger brother. Mordred seemed especially taken by the fact she had another sibling but, despite pleading a few times, Nobunaga refused to let her hold Kamiya, at least for the time being. She did, however, promise to let Mordred hold himter so, after being pulled along by Gray, the golden-haired tomboy eventually returned to her bedroom to sleep. Sakura was also pulled along and, with their departure, most everyone else began to file out as well. In the end, the only people left in the delivery room were Nobunaga, Kamiya, Vahn, Artoria, and the trio of Homunculi who, without being asked, volunteered to help look after and raise the new Prince. It was easy to see that the three had imprinted on the newborn after assisting in the birth so, while they lost out to Nobunaga and Vahn by a considerable amount, noticeable affection had tinged their ruby-red eyes. After waiting for Nobunaga to begin b.r.e.a.s.tfeeding their child, Vahn calmly whispered, "Im going to summon Kamiyas Guardian now..." before pulling out a small orb and activating it. Around the same time that the Quest Board had been established, he discussed the existence of Guardians and the Unique item that often apanied the birth of his children. Though this had caused Rin to express a few concerns about Sakura, whocked a Guardian, Merlin had readily offered up a solution. He was familiar with the method of contracting Daemons and Spirits using an ancient form of [Conjuration] Magecraft so, when they were ready, it would only take Sakura and Mordred dripping their blood into the magic circle to form a life-long contract with a Guardian of their own. If they were lucky, there was a chance they could even form a pact with a Greater Divine Spirit, greatly increasing their strength in the process. Since Vahns solution had been to escort the two into the Spirit Tomb to capture and name a monster of their choice, he was grateful for Merlins solution. It allowed them to avoid raising any rms in Sakuras mind about why she didnt have a Guardian, albeit at the cost of making Vahn seem like a bad father. After all, Sakura didnt have any memories of him for the first seven years of her life so, when it ultimately came down to it, the answer to most of her questions would be that he had been too busy to take care of her when she was younger... Shortly after activating the onyx-colored orb, an infinitelyplex magic circle, which caught the attention of ya and, from his perch in his Magus Tower, Merlin. Neither could make sense of theplex sequence of geometric shapes and runes, despite ya being able to slow time to the point it had stopped. The formation actively blocked attempts to decipher its structure and, the longer she observed it, the more confused her own mind became. Eventually, a small trickle of dark-blue blood began to flow from her nose but it wentrgely unnoticed due to everyones focus on the creature produced by theplex formation. There didnt seem to be any limits to what shape or form the Guardians could take so, despite the mild shock on everyone elses face, Vahn had a casual smile on his face as he identified Kamiyas Guardian as a Four-Armed Adamantine Ape. It looked like a baby monkey that was covered in a thinyer of onyx-ck and pure white downy fur. Also, as its name suggested, the tiny creature had four arms rather than the usual two, giving it a very distinct appearance. When she saw the tiny figure nestled in herp, Nobunaga couldnt help but ask in an incredulous tone, "Our sons Guardian...is a monkey?" As these words left her lips, Nobunaga gave Vahn an using stare that seemed to say, you had better not be joking around. In response to this, Vahn began exining the identity of the tiny ck ape while detailing the growth and evolutionary potential of all Guardians. When she learned that the infant-sized monkey could grow upwards of 15m in height, with the potential to evolve even further, Nobunaga finally stopped ring at him and resumed her smiling, albeit tired, expression. Before leaving to give Nobunaga the chance to rest, Vahn also brought out the Unique item that had apanied hispletion of the [A Mans Responsibility] Quest. This took on the form of a long Tanegashima-style rifle, much like those used by Nobunaga. Unlike hers, however, this one was almost entirely ck in color with the only exception being the firing hammer, trigger, and a dragon-like pattern that ran the length of the barrel. It was likely due to the fact that Nobunaga was originally a Heroic Spirit but, rather than the usual Unique items produced by the Quest, this Tanegashima-style rifle, named [Kokury], qualified as a variable Noble Phantasm. It was only E-Rank at the moment but, ording to the description, it had the potential of reaching B+ Rank in the future, even without any upgrades. This brought a somewhat scary smile to Nobunagas face as, knowing her son would use a simr weapon, she was looking forward to teaching him marksmanship in the future. --- After leaving Nobunaga in the care of her new Handmaidens, Vahn walked back to his room with Artoria, Gray, and Gareth. He was in an exceptional mood and, though they were free to take any action they desired, he had sent a decree circting through the castle that today would be one of celebration and rxation. There was even a banquet scheduled in the evening and, though he had promised to visit them at the end of the month, Vahn asked Merlin to extend an invitation to each of the Fae tribes upying Avalon. Since there was nearly five days worth of time before the banquet actually began, Vahn decided to spend the rest of the day alongside the people he cared about. He didnt feel like training or exerting himself at all and, though he would normally retire to his room alongside Artoria and Gray, he even invited Gareth inside so they could all just watch some of his memories together. She, quite enthusiastically, epted the offer so, for the better part of five hours, they all just sat together on afortable sofa as Vahn relived some of his most cherished memories together. For the rest of the day, at least when he wasnt checking on Nobunaga and spending time with his newborn son, Vahn spent the remainder of his time in a simr manner. He would travel around the castle to spend time with everyone and, for a few hours, they would all watch his memories as, now more than ever, Vahn wanted to share these things with them. This even included Siegfried, Alex, Mash, Zo?, Juliet, and Astrid. Later, after the banquet which had been attended by several thousand Homunculi and Fae, Vahn even spent some time alongside Heracles, Ghad, and Gawain, not wanting to exclude anyone from the happiness he was feeling. When the day was finally wrapping up, Vahn retired to Rins room, apanied by Mordred and Sakura since he just wanted to spend time with them. As for why he chose Rins room over any other, it was due to the fact that she was almost painfully pregnant at this point, courtesy of the three full-sized infants waiting to be born any day now. He also knew that Mordred and Sakura had been heavily affected by the delivery, despite it being more than six days since they had witnessed the miracle of childbirth. Thus, in order to assuage their concerns, especially Sakuras, Vahn decided that Rin, Ishtar, and Ereshkigal were the best choice to wrap up the day. That night, Vahn fell asleep with a happy smile on his face, curled up next to one of the women he loved while, snuggled at his side, Mordred and Sakura had happy smiles on their faces as they hugged each other in their respective animal pajamas... (A/N: I know some people have been concerned about releases. This isrgely due to the Holiday season so dont let it trouble you too much. Thanksgiving hadpletely slipped my mind so, with all the family issues Ive been havingtely, my focus has been elsewhere over thest few days. Im still writing chapters of EPIC and Babel when I can so look forward to the releases, even if they are a bit slower than usual. Take care of yourselves, and happy holidays.) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1241 - Blessings Abound

Chapter 1241 - Blessings Abound

As time continued its eternal march forward, Vahn found himself in a great mood. Though Scthach never let up during their training, the rest of his time within the Projection had put a perpetual smile on Vahns face. Vahn would check up on Nobunaga and Kamiya several times throughout the day, often to find that many of the castles residents were doing the same. This included most of the pregnant women, the majority of which were all expecting their own deliveries within the next two weeks. Because of their own excitement, they spent a lot of time interacting with Kamiya and just idling around Nobunagas room when they had nothing else going on. It wasnt just his newborn son that Vahn spent time with during these moments as, due to their own intrigue towards their younger sibling, Mordred and Sakura spent much of their free time visiting the room to y with Kamiya. Since Mordred already had a close rtionship with Nobunaga before, it wasnt too much of a surprise that she was quite taken with the young Kamiya. This was the same for Sakura but, rather than pestering Nobunaga and trying to monopolize her younger brothers time, she just enjoyed checking up on him before returning to her training and studies. Sakura was even more determined than ever before to be someone strong enough to protect herself and the people she cared about. At the same time, she had also asked if she could apprentice under Vivian who, on top of her other capabilities, specializing in healing and purification. Though her first choices would have been Vahn, Merlin, and Scthach, she was afraid the former wouldnt be able to make time for her. As for Merlin and Scthach, Sakura felt the former was very weird while thetter wasnt someone she was allowed to train with until she reached a.d.u.l.thood. When Vahn had first heard Sakuras request, and the reasons behind her decision, he had felt more than a little guilty. He didnt feel like he ignored Sakura but, perhaps due to the first seven years of her life, she had developed a fear of doing anything that might trouble him. Since Vahn hadnt even been in the Nasuverse at the time, it made him feel strangely bitter to bear thisbel. However, as he had already decided it was a burden he would bear willingly, especially after fundamentally changing Sakuras life, he promised to do better to alleviate her worries. Though Vahn did take Sakura to discuss her apprenticeship with Vivian, he also made time in both of their schedules to train and teach her himself. He even extended the time by allocating a full hour to research and rxation using the Space-Time Orb. This made the short four-hour time slot equate to nearly 23 hours, greatly increasing the amount of time they got to spend together. When Sakura learned of the arrangement, she had been more than a little surprised and, while she was very happy, these emotions were apanied by a fair amount of guilt. Early on, she had even tried to talk him out of the arrangement, mentioning she didnt want to trouble him and increase his already substantial burden. When Vahn heard this, he obviously refused, stating, "First and foremost, I am your father. I would not care about being an Emperor if not for my desire to make the world a better ce for my own children. One of my greatest regrets is not being there for you, Sakura...let me be the father you needed, even if Im a littlete..." After a very long heart-to-heart conversation, Sakura ultimately relented, albeit after crying for a very substantial amount of time. Then, to punctuate his statement further, Vahn took Sakura and Mordred to the conjuration circle Merlin had prepared, summoning Guardians for the both of them. As could be expected, Mordred was very excited for the opportunity, dering something along the lines of, Im going to summon a Dragon as my Guardian!. As for Sakura, she had be somewhat bashful after their long discussion, electing to let Mordred go first while she stood at the side holding Vahns hand. Contrary to her expectations, Mordred ended up contracting a massive white lion whose fur had a slightly translucent quality. It also had sky-blue eyes that possessed the light of intelligence while, at the end of its tail, a wispy blue me danced about. ording to Merlin, and confirmed by ya, this lion was a Divine Spirit known as Menhits Kin, owing to their rtionship to an Egyptian War Deity named Menhit, she who ughters. It was an enormous lioness that, at a nce, weighed more than a thousand kilograms and stood three meters tall with a body close to 4.5m in length. Though Mordred was a little frustrated after failing to summon a Dragon, she calmed down quite a bit after the identity of the lioness was revealed. Since it was also a symbol of courage, while being much fluffier than a Dragon, Mordred eventually threw her arms around her new Guardian before rubbing her face against its soft white fur with a happy smile. As for the lioness itself, she released a very human-like sigh but, rather than do anything to stop Mordreds actions, it justid down and allowed its new Master to do as she pleased. After Mordred, Sakura was the next to make use of the ancient conjuration circle. She began to get nervous but, after training as a Knight for nearly a year at this point, Sakura overcame her inhibitions without much difficulty. Even when she cut a line across her palm, she didnt even flinch as the blood began dripping onto the inert magical circle. Then, after a brilliant disy of light and amalgamating mana, what appeared to be a small deer came into existence. Unlike a normal deer, however, it had pale-blue fur, a white underbelly, andrge, falcon-like wings. It also had tailfeathers and, while the front hooves were rtively normal, the back legs came to an end in falcon-like talons. Without being asked, Merlin had a slightly surprised expression on his face as he exined, "This is quite the rare sight...my, my, I never thought our dear Princess would contract a Peryton, much less one from the primary Luna tribe..." Then, to rify further, Merlin exined that Sakuras Guardian was a Greater Divine Spirit that could fly freely through all mediums, be it water, air, or even the vacuum of space. It could also move through all boundaries, meaning there were very little ces it couldnt roam, so long as it never took the life of a human. Following Merlins finger, everyone could see that, rather than the expected shadow, the Peryton had what appeared to be a human childs shadow. This showed that it was both pure and, though it was already obvious from its fawn-like features, still immature. He mentioned that it was a very rare Spirit and, though it had almost nobat potential, its presence alone could cause a deste mountain range to be covered in trees and nts within a few years time. It was also swifter than a Pegasus in a contest of speed, so hevished Sakura with praise for managing to contract one. Sakura was the type who didnt eptpliments easily so she was considerably embarrassed by Merlins heavy praise. Fortunately, her Guardian already seemed attuned to her as it came to stand between her and Merlin before nuzzling against her in an affectionate manner so she would calm down. This instantly brought the smile back to Sakuras face and, after stroking the fawns neck, she quickly learned it was extremely soft. Though it was also a bit cool to the touch, it was afortable temperature that would be very pleasant during the Spring and Summer seasons... With the ritualpleted, Vahn took Mordred and Sakura out to y with their new Guardians. Due to its size, Mordred could easily ride on the back of her lioness, albeit with some difficulty due to theck of a harness and saddle. As for Sakuras Guardian, it was only 120cm tall, making it far too small to ride. It had a lot of growing left to due, despite the fact it was already more than three hundred years old. Fortunately, much like a Dryad, it would mature based on the energy and sustenance it was provided. Since Sakura had an almost overwhelming amount of Od, now reaching over 90,000, she had more than enough to spare. The best part about contracting a spirit was the fact that, much like an actual Guardian, they could adopt a spirit form and rest within the bodies of their contracted Master. They would also be more attuned to each other over time, allowing the Master to grow much stronger while the Spirit, unable to evolve and grow through normal means, had the opportunity to reach greater heights. It was this reason that led Spirits to ept contracts in the first ce as, while contracted, they were able to grow much faster than normal. They also couldnt die so long as their contract was active and, even if their Master ultimately passed away, they simply got to return to the Reverse Side of the World, much stronger than before. The only major downside for the Spirits, other than having to follow the whims of a human, was that they could easily be corrupted if their Master was a wicked individual. It was for this reason that most Magi were unable to summon powerful Spirits as, while conducting the summoning ritual, their nature was exposed for all prospective summons to view. As a result, the sess rate of summoning anything more than a Lesser Elemental Spirit was slim, at best. Because of this, Magi hade up with temporary contracts to borrow the power of Spirits, a far cry from the permanant contract established using Merlins method. They also contracted Daemons who, despite having a name close to Demons, were fundamentally different existences. Their nature was not evil but, as wish-granting entities, the way their power was manifested often had disastrous consequences for the enemies of their contractors. This, however, wasnt really unique to Daemons as, with the errant nature of most Magi, even a Greater Elemental Spirit of Light could be corrupted by extended exposure to humanity. Fortunately, Mordred and Sakura seemed to be evaluated highly by their respective Guardians who, despite knowing both girls could potentially live forever, still epted the contract. Vahn suspected this was either due to the machinations of Merlin but, as it was a good thing for both girls, he didnt press the matter. In fact, he was almost tempted to make a contract of his own after petting the soft downy fur of Sakuras Peryton and the thick, plush, fur of Mordreds lioness. They also seemed quite fond of his petting but, before things developed too far, Fenrir actually made a surprise appearance, immediately nipping Vahns wayward urge in the bud. --- In the midst of Vahns busy, albeit incredibly fulfilling, schedule, ya eventually informed him that, a little ahead of schedule, the trio of Rin/Ereshkigal/Ishtar had gone intobor. This had taken ce only nine days after Nobunagas delivery so the castle was quickly abuzz with excitement, building upon the yet-to-fade excitement from before. Even Nobunaga herself showed up to join everyone waiting outside the delivery room while, once again, Vahn had a small crowd while Sakura, paler than before, assisted him. Rather than just one of them experiencing the delivery, Rin, Ereshkigal, and Ishtar were all sharing their body at the same time. Though Ishtar had retreated a few times when things got especially painful, she would ultimately return a few secondster with renewed conviction. As for Rin and Ereshkigal, they tolerated theplicated delivery from start to finish, suffering an extreme amount of exhaustion in the process. After all, birthing three children wasnt easy, even with Vahn making the process a lot smoother than it otherwise would have been. Vahn had been exceptionally proud of the son Nobunaga had produced, even if he looked a little bit like a potato with thin ck hair and ruby-red eyes. When the trio gave birth to their first daughter, however, Vahn, as well as everyone else bearing witness to the event, was quite surprised. The infant had a full head of short, dark-brown hair, while their features were akin to a perfectly carved doll. As for why everyone was surprised, however, it was due to the fact that, immediately after being born, the little girl opened her eyes, revealing maroon-red pupils that glimmered with intelligence. At the same time, a powerful aura began to permeate through the room, causing those of lesser Soul Tiers to feel a suppressive force. Though they were still in intense pain, the trio on the delivery table looked at the newborn Vanir with loving eyes as a voice that sounded more like Isthars than the other two stated, "My Isanna..." in a whimpering tone. This actually seemed to reach the newborn Vanirs ears, causing her to giggle like a bell as Vahn handed her over to a waiting Homunculus for cleaning. After this, the trio was allowed to hold the young Isanna for a few moments before, as if to remind them they were still waiting, a very powerful and painful contraction ran through the threes body. A few minutes after Isannas birth, a crowning head filled with golden hair made itself known before, momentster, another little girl managed to extricate herself from her mothers w.o.m.b. She had the exact same features as Isanna, albeit with golden-blond hair and, much to Vahns surprise, a pair of pristine blue eyes. Like her older sister, an aura of Divinity seemed to spread through the area but, rather than a suppressive force, it was extremely gentle and warm. As if sensing her little sisters presence, Isanna began to make a few sounds and, despite only being a few minutes old, she could already move her arms and legs enthusiastically. This caused everyone in the room to chuckle while,ying on the delivery table, the trio had a significant stream of tears pouring down their face as Ereshkigals voice stated, "Please...let me hold her...please...my Naavi..." Since it seemed cruel to keep Ereshkigal from her daughter, the attending nurse dutifully cleaned the newborn Vanir before quickly yet carefully handing her over. This caused Ereshkigal to cry even more as she locked eyes with her daughter, whimpering, "Thank you...thank you..." over and over. Much to everyones surprise, the newborn Naavi ced her tiny hand on the trios cheek before making a few baby noises, almost as if she were trying to actively calm her mother. Fortunately, the remaining child seemed to be far more patient than his elder sisters so Ereshkigal was able to hold her daughter for an extended period of time. It took thebined efforts of Rin and Ishtar to calm her down before she was willing to part with the golden-haired Naavi. Then, after thetter was ced into the same bedding as Isanna, they immediately turned to face each other before giggling. It was obvious both were cognizant of their surroundings and, though they might not be able to understand everything that was going on, they were aware of themselves and each other. While half the room was doting over the twins, Vahn was dutifully trying to coax out his son while the trio did their best to force him out. He seemed less willing than his sisters but, after a concerted effort over the course of a twenty-minute period, the tiny bundle of life was pulled kicking and screaming from the familiar warmth. Unlike Isanna and Naavi, he immediately began crying loudly, making it apparent he was a very healthy young boy. Since he wasnt a Vanir, he didnt share the same unnervingly beautiful features of his siblings but, after opening his slightly swollen eyes, Vahn got to see quite a surprising sight. It was impossible to know what color hair his new son would have, as he only had very light downy hairs present at the moment, but his eyes were a heterochromaticbination of maroon-red and pristine blue. Though it wasnt nearly as obvious as the two before him, there was a glimmer of intelligence contained within those eyes that caused Vahns smile to widen before he handed the screaming infant over to the nurse for his first bath. Then, Vahn continued tending to the trio as, after gathering Isanna and Naavi from their bedding, Rin, Ishtar, and Ereshkigal held their newborn children together for the first time. While Vahn was dealing with the messy aftermath, he heard Rin lovingly call their son, "Daiki..." in a subdued tone. It roughly tranted to Great Tree and Noble Protector, so he wasnt too surprised by the choice. After all, Sakura was named after Cherry Blossoms and Good Fortune, so it was a fitting name considering they were siblings. Though it didnt quite match up with Isanna and Naavi, that was primarily just a difference in origin between Rin and the two Goddesses. After finishing up his duties, Vahn made sure to properly wash and sanitize his hands with magic before joining the group surrounding the trio of new mothers. They had cleared a spot for him so he could stand next to the extremely fatigued girls who, seeing his arrival, smiled lovingly at him while muttering, "Thank you..." This caused Vahns smile to soften and, though he did his best to hold it back, there was a visible moisture building in his eyes. Then, his voice cracking, Vahn stroked the girls hair gently as he echoed, "Thank you..." before blinking away a few tears... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fight on, Sakura...!,Poor Daiki was bornst...,Simple words sometimes carry the most weight...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1242 - Stabilizing

Chapter 1242 - Stabilizing

After things had settled down following the surprisingly short delivery, Vahn used the [Heroic Tale]s on each of his children, including Daiki. Though the Quest had only awarded him with two, Vahns ability to purchase Unique items he had already obtained came in handy during such situations. It didnt extend to [Guardian]s, unfortunately, but he had already given versions to Sakura, Mordred, and Kamiya. This would help them track their growth while increasing the potential rewards they would obtain through various achievements. Once the three had their [Heroic Tale]s active, Vahn summoned each of their Guardians, starting from Isanna since she was the oldest of the three. As a Vanir, he wasnt surprised that she obtained a very powerful Guardian but, when Ishtar saw it, she couldnt helpughing out loud. This was because, by some machination of Fate, Isannas Guardian ended up being a Bull of Heaven who, despite being a calf, upied arge area of the room as it stood more than 3m tall and 5m in length. It had a ck body that glistened like polished metal with two small blue horns protruding from its head. When it was fully grown, it had the potential to berger than a mountain, standing upwards of 6,000m in height and over 8000m in length. If not for the fact he had already fought a True Dragon that was the size of a mountain range, Vahn would have had trouble even imagining how colossal the Bull of Heaven would grow in the future. At the same time, he wondered how Gilgamesh had actually been able to defeat it, even with the cheat-like [Chains of Heaven]. It was undoubtedly rted to his [Gate of Babylon] as, despite being strong, Gilgamesh was almost entirely dependent on his infinite arsenal. If the ying field was level, the vast majority of capable Heroic Spirits would be able to take him out without too much trouble. After Isannas Bull of Heaven went to sleep inside her body, which was a peculiar sight to behold, Vahn immediately summoned Naavis. He briefly thought to summon them outside but, with the Bull of Heaven being able to fit in the room, it was hard to imagine anything else would be too big. This ended up being the correct assumption as, rather than a massive creature, Naavis ended up being extremely small in size. It was only around 20cm in length with an appearance simr to a snake that was covered in sharp red scales. If not for the two tiny golden horns on its head, and the four small legs that were located on its underside, it would have been indistinguishable for amon reptile. Despite its rather simple appearance, Naavis Guardian was actually a species of True Dragon known as Yang Long. Though it would not reach ridiculous sizes like the Bull of Heaven, it could easily grow longer than a thousand meters. At the same time, it would have perfect control and immunity to all kinds of me as it was inherently attuned to Yang Elemental Energy. ording to the information he had on such dragons, they even made the cores of stars into their home, using the intense heat and extremely pure energy to nourish their bodies... After waiting for the Yang Longzily entering Naavis body, Vahn went ahead and summoned his sons Guardian. His took on the form of a wolf cub that was covered in onyx-ck fur that had a slightly blue sheen. It also had two white dots above its pitch-ck eyes, giving it a rather peculiar, albeit adorable, look. The thing that stood out the most was the fact it had two-tails, which was a trait Vahn had only reallye to associate with fox-type creatures. As for its breed, the small cub was known as a King of Twilight, a type of wolf that could fuse into the shadow of other creatures, possessing their bodies or enhancing their capabilities. Vahn decided that he would entrust Daikis basic training to Fenrir in the future as he could already imagine the young boy with wolf ears and a tail fighting rather ferociously. Since his sisters would grow much faster than him, Vahn knew it would be important to observe Daiki closely so that he didnt develop some kind ofplex. Fortunately, as he was a Demi-God, Daikis strength would increase rapidly and, with siblings like Kamiya, Vahn didnt think there would be too many issues. Even if they had a rivalry of sorts, this was something that could be healthy for both of them if they were guided properly. Since the King of Twilight was rather cute, Vahn spent a few moments scratching behinds itsrge ears before cing it on the bed and letting it retreat into Daikis body. After that, he entrusted the Spirit Tools of Isanna and Naavi to their mothers, letting them decide when the girls were ready to begin training with them. Isannas Spirit Tool, the name Vahn had arbitrarily decided for the artifacts given to each of the Vanir, was a whip simply named [Obedience]. It allowed her to tame almost any kind of creature and, as it didnt specifically state monsters and animals, Vahn suspected this included humans as well. Since she had pseudo-divinities rted to Sky, Authority, War, and Love, it was important to make sure she didnt deviate down a dangerous path. Fortunately, due to his usage of the [Page of the Akashic Tome], Ishtar was a pretty sensible woman so she should have things under control with Ereshkigal and Rin supporting her. Curiously, while Isannas future seemed without limit, Vahn felt that Naavis Spirit Tool was far more dangerous. She had a pair of thin gloves, one ck, one white, called [Shifting Fortune]. They had the power to directly influence a persons luck, allowing them to experience misfortune for a short while in exchange for great forter on. This also worked in reverse, meaning you could have impable luck for a short period of time in exchange for terrible luckter on. With her pseudo-divinities rted to Life, Fate, and Fortune, Vahn felt that Naavi would be a force to be reckoned with in the future. --- With the children taken care of and the twin-tailed trio sleeping peacefully, Vahn left the medical ward alongside Artoria, Grey, and Gareth. This caused him to experience a potent feeling of Deja Vu as it hadnt been that long since thest time they all walked together like this. Vahn was tempted to ask for another reward from Artoria, but she beat him to the punch by telling him to go spend time with Nobunaga and Kamiya. Since he could always find the time to tease Artoriater, Vahn decided to leave her in peace after escorting her and Gray to the bedroom. He knew she just wanted to give the other girls a chance to spend time with him so he dutifully tracked down Nobunaga, finding her resting inside of her room. She hadnt been getting a lot of sleeptely as, perhaps due to his demi-god heritage, Kamiya was a very energetic child. He was constantly hungry and had been running Nobunaga ragged, not that she had everined. Without knocking, Vahn entered the room to find Nobunaga listlessly staring at the ceiling as she remarked, "I now understand why so many noblewomen hired a wet nurse. I feel like my n.i.p.p.l.es are in constant pain..." Then, looking toward him with her crimson-red eyes, Nobunaga added, "Hey, do something about this..." With an understanding nod, Vahn dutifully made his way to the bed and, after Nobunaga sat up and made room, he sat behind her while Kamiya dozed away in his crib. From here, he began to massage her shoulders and b.r.e.a.s.ts, helping to alleviate some of the tension and treating the tenderness she had been suffering. This also helped to increase the production of b.r.e.a.s.t milk so, while he was also tempted to take advantage of the situation, Vahn kept his cool since Nobunaga still wasnt really in the mood for doing anything more intimate. While gently massaging Nobunagas voluminous b.r.e.a.s.ts, Vahn thought about a possible solution to ease, not just her burdens, but all of the current and prospective mothers. He could use his [Hands of Nirvana] to stimte the bodies of Nobunagas attendants, enabling them to produce b.r.e.a.s.t milk. The better alternative, however, would probably involve discussing the matter with Da Vinci since she had undoubtedly alreadye up with a solution to ease her own burdens. He was pretty one of her projects was developing an artificial b.r.e.a.s.t bag, allowing anyone to feed the babies just by wearing the apparatus. After thinking this far, Vahn allowed his mind to wander a bit, allowing the rather unnerving thought of helping the girls himself to seed itself in his mind. Since he could change his gender without any limitations, he could easily be a woman. Even stranger, he could produce b.r.e.a.s.t milk without changing his gender at all. He didnt even have to do so through the n.i.p.p.l.es, as he could produce any type of conceivable bodily fluid just by altering the structure andposition of his body at will. Fortunately, Nobunaga didnt seem to realize this or he knew there was a non-negligible chance she would force him to take care of Kamiya when she was tired. While some of the mothers would hit him if he made the proposition, he knew Nobunaga could be pretty shameless at times so it was best to avoid the topic altogether. Thus, in order to prevent this idea from seeding itself in the minds of any of the women around him, Vahn intended to go with one of the less peculiar solutions. Nobunaga didnt have any problem with either of the proposed ideas but she was morefortable with the artificial b.r.e.a.s.t bag. This would allow her to continue taking care of Kamiya, even when her own b.r.e.a.s.ts were tenderized by the voracious infant. At the same time, it would allow others to help out when she was tired, including the three Homunculi attendants, Kenshin, and Mordred. Thetter had been doting over Kamiya quite a bit due to her close rtionship with Nobunaga so there was a good chance she would want to try feeding him a few times. Vahn was a little troubled imagining the tomboyish Mordred wearing a pair of faux-b.r.e.a.s.ts as she fed his son but he decided not to let it bother him. She hade a long way since the time of her summoning, both mentally and physically. If she began to awaken maternal instincts and started thinking about the future, he felt this was a positive development. Though she was only nine years old, she was already growing like a beansprout and, in the next few years, she would already reach the same physical development as her mother, Artoria. One of the things Vahn had yet to experience, despite being over a hundred-and-fifty years old, was watching his children grow up and find partners of their own. He had never had any grandchildren so, while he had matured a lot, there were many things he had to experience before bing the plete person he aspired to be. Since he would be in the Nasuverse for several decades, he knew it was only a matter of time before his little fledglings began to leave the nest, something that filled him with pride and an overwhelming amount of fear. If it were up to him, Vahn would select the best partners for his children but, due to his education, he knew this was a very tyrannical and thoughtless thing to do. They needed to be able to choose their own life partners and, so long as the person they chose wasnt some kind of maniptive despot, he had no right to intervene. Though he would undoubtedly intervene, as this was his right as both a Father and an Emperor, Vahn would only badger his prospective sons and daughters-inw without troubling them too much... For a brief moment, the image of Ghad entered his mind, causing Vahn to frown while Nobunaga released a startled groan. This brought a quick end to his idle thoughts, causing Vahn to smile wryly as Nobunaga red back at him. He then dutifully tended to her body, helping lull her into a deep and rxed state before Kamiya stirred awake. Not wanting to wake the sleeping crimson-haired beauty, Vahn picked up Kamiya and set the boy against his chest as he carried him over to Luvias room. Though Nobunaga and Luvia didnt get along all that well, Vahn felt their children would be the bridge that brought them closer. With that in mind, he entered Luvias room after gently rattling on the door. It was answered by Sophia who, upon seeing who had arrived, gave a courteous bow before guiding the other attendants out of the room to give them some privacy. Luvia was a sensible woman so she didnt really need to ask why Vahn hade seeking her out so suddenly. Just the presence of Kamiya made his intentions obvious so she couldnt help butugh in her characteristic manner before changing into a thin dress that had a flexible cor. This allowed Luvia to expose her now plump b.r.e.a.s.ts which, even before her pregnancy, had already been on the verge of sizeable D-Cups. Now, they had grown evenrger and, to prevent leakage, Luvia even had to wear circr bandages over her n.i.p.p.l.es. After entrusting Kamiya to Luvia, Vahn settled into the sofa and allowed her to recline against him as she unhesitantly fed the voracious infant. She was actually amused at how fervently he suckled away at her b.r.e.a.s.tmilk, causing her to muse, "Naughty boy, you had better leave enough for your sister." in a teasing tone. This was answered by Kamiya just blinking his ruby-red eyes in confusion, clearly not understanding what she was trying to convey as he continued to suckle her b.r.e.a.s.ts without any inhibition. Vahn had the distinct impression that Kamiya was going to be a little troublemaker growing up but, considering who his mother was, this was almost an inevitability. He knew that, unless a big change urred, he would probably follow Mordred around as well. She seemed to already consider herself as the big sister of everyone but, due to her strange obsession with hierarchies, the way Mordred treated the young Kamiya was different than normal. Not only was he her Aniues son, but Kamiya was the first-born son of her Chichiue, elevating his position in Mordreds mind by a considerable amount. In the next few years, Vahn imagined Kamiya would be running around ying pranks on people with a toothy grin on his face. He would need to make sure they were both disciplined properly but, so long as they never got too out of hand, he didnt particrly mind such innocent behavior. The most important thing he would need to watch out for is Kamiya getting the strange thought that he was the heir to the throne, something that could be very dangerous if unchecked. Even if it wasnt very likely to happen, Vahn wanted to avoid any conflicts between his children, ideally until the end of time... --- After taking Kamiya back to Nobunagas room, Vahn escorted Luvia around the castle for some light exercise. She was due within the next few weeks, much like Da Vinci, so Luvia had been taking it easy as she spent most of her time just lounging about ormunicating with her Grandmother. Though he was kept in the loop by Da Vinci, Luvia often took it upon herself to inform him about what was going on back in London, especially during these tumultuous times. As could be expected, the Barthomeloi family had started plotting almost immediately after the duel had been decided upon. They were currently trying to set the stage to make Vahn and, by extension, the entire Empire, seem like a corrupt nation full of arrogant people. There were even rumors about him being the direct cause for Angra Mainyus emergence circting once again, despite apleteck of evidence to justify said ims. The most troublesome part of their scheme, however, was how they had manipted the flow of information to make it appear as if he had gambled, not just Gray, but the remaining fragments of the Greater Grail. Vahn wasnt even remotely surprised they would use such underhanded tactics but, rather than let it bother him, he just shook his head in mild exasperation as they dug themselves deeper into a hole. All their actions aplished was giving him more reasons to eliminate their family in its entirety. It wouldnt matter how many alliances they had formed, nor how the other Monarchal Lords reacted to theing ughter. Even if they tried to make him out to be some demonic tyrant, he had plenty of evidence to expose, not just the Barthomelois, but all of the major families for their tyranny. While ya may not be able to easily probe the bounded fields protecting the primary residences of the major families, this didnt stop her from observing their actions all over the world. With her help, he had already gathered an incredible volume of evidence to expose any family that chose to stand against him for no better reason than their greed and corruption. He didnt care how many of these families he had to destroy as, in theing merger, such individuals would only set back the entire world back. At this point, the only thing keeping Vahn from wiping out the most corrupt of the Magus families was the nascent state of his Empire. Since it would only take a few more months, in the real world, for things to reach a stabilizing point, the countdown for his takeover had already begun. After that, the most troublesome thing would be keeping order and preparing the world for its transition but, as the most dangerous enemies would have already been dealt with, Vahn felt this was more of a logistical challenge than anything else. After all, with ya, ORT, and a backing of the most powerful figures in history, there werent too many things that could stand against him. (A/N: Tomorrow is Thanksgiving but I still n to release at least one chapter. After this week, I will be back to 100k words until the week leading up to Christmas. During this time, I will probably be on a short-term hiatus for EPIC as I intend to finish Fenrirs Journeypletely. There are only going to be around 100 chapters so I might even be able to finish in a few days since they are quite short. Regardless, just know that were about to be back on the full-time schedule since I wont have any big distractions unless there is some kind of emergency~! Happy Holidays, all my EPIC friends (UwU)~!) Chapter 1244 - Machinations

Chapter 1244 - Machinations

With three additional children to upy his time, Vahns schedule had be somewhat hectic. If not for the fact the Recreational Wing had been refurbished into a daycare, he would be running all over the ce just to spend time with all his new children. Though it might not have too much of an impact on his sons, as it would likely be several months, or even years, before they begin formingsting memories, Vahn knew the Vanir were already aware of their surroundings. He needed to be a permanant fixture in their lives during their formative years or it would be toote to regret when they began using their powers to harm themselves and others. All it would take was Vahn being going for a week in the outside world for the Vanir to have aged up to a full year. If he was gone for just four months, they would have already reached physical maturity, even if their mind hadnt fully caught up with their bodies. It was a truly terrifying thought, one that had caused Vahn to consider raising the Vanir outside of the Projection just so they wouldnt grossly outpace the development of their siblings. The only reason he decided against it was due to the fact that Isanna and Naavi, who would almost never cry, cried very loudly when they were separated from Daiki. It was also impossible for Rin, Ereshkigal, and Ishtar to separate themselves, meaning they could only be with their daughters outside, or their son inside. Though this wouldnt be a problem in the future, as Vahn was intending to prepare vessels and resummon the two Goddesses, it was still beyond their means for the time being. Until then, Vahn couldnt even imagine separating the children as, more so than Rin and Ishtarbined, Ereshkigal was extremely overprotective of all three. In the days following the triplets births, Ereshkigal wouldnt let them out of her sight, even if they were just in the next room over. She would forcibly take over the body from Rin and Ishtar to make sure they were safe, overpowering the other two with pure willpower. This had put a lot of strain on all three of them so Vahn was intending to remedy this fact when the summoning system gathered the requisite amount of mana. Vahn knew his vessels would bepatible, even with the Ego of a Goddess, so it wouldnt be much of an issue to perform a second summoning. Since they were alive, just on the Reverse Side of the World, they wouldnt lose any of their memories in the process. It would just free up Rin from having to share her body with two other people, something that was beginning to wear on her psyche as the months turned into years. Fortunately, the upgrades Da Vinci had made to the summoning system, or at least the catalysts that powered it, had reduced the time between summons to only two weeks in the real world. This meant he could potentially summon both Ereshkigal and Ishtar before the duel between Artoria and Lorelei. At the very least, he would be giving Ereshkigal a body while Ishtar would have to wait an additional four weeks. He had already discussed this with the trio and, after talking things over with Artoria, Merlin, Scthach, and ya, Vahn had another candidate in mind to summon before he gave them both bodies. Though there were no guarantees it would work, the limited-omnipotence granted to Merlin and Scthach made them aware of a conceptual existence known as Maxwells Demon. It was an entity that, in some tangential timelines, existed as a Heroic Spirit possessing nobat capabilities whatsoever. Despite this, it was one of the most powerful Heroic Spirits due to the fact it had theoretically infinite Magical Energy, just no way to use it. Vahn needed a way to power the summoning system and provide the necessary energy to activate and maintain CHALDEAS. Since he wanted to get the facility up and running after dealing with the Barthomeloi family, Maxwells Demon hade up in the discussion about how they should power the phenomenally consumptive system. With the only requirement being that they needed to feed energy into the closed system to get it started, Maxwells Demon was the perfect solution to the vast majority of their future problems. Eventually, Maxwells Demon would reach the point that it could power both CHALDEAS and the summoning system simultaneously, seemingly without any consumption on its part. It was, quite literally, a source for infinite energy without any upper limits to its output. So long as they fed a constant supply of energy into it, the potential output of Maxwells Demon would increase to the point it would even rival stars. The best part was, unless it faced against an existence that could erase contradictions and kill the unkible, there was nothing capable of destroying Maxwells Demon. It could be sealed away and imprisoned in tangential timelines, but it was virtually indestructible otherwise. ording to ya, the only constructs capable of destroying Maxwells Demon were the unsealed Rhongomyniad, Longinus, and Azrael. Though there were certainly other ways to destroy it, she was unable to reveal them to Vahn because, at the time, they did not exist. Since discussing the concept could give power to them, allowing them the means to exist in the present, she refused to discuss them. Vahn had actually been surprised to learn this as, if he looked at it from a certain perspective, it was clear that ya was being considerate of him, even without being forced. Vahn had noticed that ya had mellowed out considerably since she first started apanying him, something he hadnt expected for years toe. She would now silently drain his bodily fluids and, even without him asking her, she would give him some privacy the moment he was tending to his women and children. The most noticeable change, however, was the fact that ya would allow him to pet her without showing any difort. Instead, much like a Companion, she would silently tolerate the caressing with her eyes closed, seemingly enjoying it despite not showing any change in expression. This gave him a powerful urge to tease her but, considering she would probably get very upset, Vahn just took advantage of the change to enjoy petting the admittedly adorable blue creature. --- While Vahn spent most of his time inside of the Projection, there were times when he would have to leave in order to handle the affairs of the Empire. This usually involved traveling back to London at the behest of Olivia after something particrly troublesome happened. Today, Vahn was visiting a ce he had never ventured in the past, arge mansion that had only a dozen or so powerful figures when excluding the presence of the Edelfelts forces. This was the home of Lord El-Melloi II, now Waver Velvet, and his wife, Reines Archisorte, now publically recognized as Lord El-Melloi. Unlike Waver, she didnt bother to attach something like the Second to the title as, in the long history of the Magusmunity, only Waver had bothered to make such a distinction. After reaching the mansion, Vahn was greeted by the peculiar sight of two Maids, both having what could only be described as alien appearances. One wasprised almost entirely of a silvery liquid, much like mercury, while the other was clearly some kind of Automata, if not a full-body prosthetic. He was able to see a few lines where the parts of the Maid were pieced together, giving her a very unique appearance due to the two cat-like ears protruding from the top of its head. Despite their peculiar appearances, both Maids were clearly designed to be aesthetically pleasing to look at. Each had delicate yet mature features, with the silvery Maid having flowing hair that curled at the ends while the cat-type Automata had a cool appearance with angr eyes and short ck hair. Vahns onlyint was, despite her white ears clearly being modeled after a cat, she didnt actually have a tail, at least for the time being. Since he had been able to pass his senses over them, he was aware that she had a port at the base of her spine that amodated the existence of a tail, likely as a means of charging itself. The moment Vahn stepped through the gates of the mansion, both Maids bowed at low, almost unnatural angles, as they simultaneously stated, "Please forgive our rudeness, Your Majesty. Our Lord asks that you forgive herck of decorum by having others escort yo-" Before the girls could speak further, Vahn gestured for them to stop as he inly stated, "Take me to Waver. I dont particrly care about the games Lord El-Melloi is trying to y." Hearing Vahns words, the two Maids gave a curt bow before stepping to the side and allowing him to pass unobstructed. They fell into step behind Kenshin and Lakshmibai, falling in line with Gareth as they guided Vahn by politely giving directions. This wasnt actually necessary, as Vahn already had aplete understanding of the mansionsyout, but he didnt want to put too much pressure on the girls, despite them both being artificial entities. They were essentially golems without a real Ego but, as Vahn was of the mind that such existences had the potential of gaining an Ego in the future, he elected not to treat them poorly. After a short walk, Vahn found himself outside an ornate door that led to the master bedroom of the mansion. It was the secondrgest bedroom after the dungeon located beneath the property but Vahn chose to ignore the existence of theter since he was already familiar with Reines personality. Instead, he waited for the Maids to announce his presence and, after gaining permission to enter, he stepped in the room to find Waver emaciated and bedridden while Reines stood unaffected at the side. Reines was holding the hand of a little girl with luminous green eyes and golden hair that was tied into two pigtails by red ribbons. She was wearing a frilly, doll-like, dress and even had a lightyer of makeup despite appearing around 5-6 years old. Seeing this, Vahn couldnt help but glower slightly as he looked into Reines eyes, understanding her intentions. Despite Vahns sharp re, Reines maintained a cool smile on her face as she performed a courteous bow and said, "I cannot express how grateful we are for Your Majestys presence. I fear my daughter, Ridley, may have had to grow up without a father if not for the Sage Emperors leniency..." As she mentioned her daughter, Reines pushed the small girl forward slightly. Despite her age, she had an astute and calcting look in her eyes and, without floundering in the slightest, performed a perfect curtsy as she stated in a bell-like tone, "Greetings, Your Majesty. My name is Ridley El-Melloi Archisorte. Thank you foring personally to help my father." Vahn resisted the urge to rub his temples as he adopted a wry smile and said, "You are a very polite youngdy, Ridley. However, I must ask that you excuse us for the time being. There are matters that I must discuss with your parents." Since he couldnt really me Ridley for her behavior, as she was just a child, Vahn mentally pardoned her while his opinion of Reines, which had already been rather low, decreased substantially. Though she was the type that pushed the boundaries almost excessively, Reines wasnt apletely hopeless woman. She understood that Vahn wasnt very enthused by how she decided to introduce her daughter to him so, without letting Ridley continue the act, she had Trimmau, the Maid formed from silvery-liquid, escort her out of the room. Since the introductions had already been made, she could easily use her daughter as a talking point in the future, so long as she carefully considered her words and actions. Once Ridley had been escorted out of the room, Reines gave another courteous bow as she stated in an unrepentant tone, "It was not my intention to offend you, Your Majesty. Since you had not shown any interest in visiting my mansion any time soon, I feared this might be the only opportunity I had to carry out introductions. Please, forgive my impudence..." Since Reines had also dressed up, electing to wear a sapphire-blue gown that loosely hugged her mature figure, Vahn would have been able to get an eye-full of her cleavage when she bowed low. Instead, hepletely ignored her as he made his way to Wavers side, grabbing his skeletal wrist and sending threads of Source Energy into his body. This caused Reines to frown for a brief moment but, when she noticed the eyes of Kenshin and Lakshmibai directed toward her, she adopted a wry smile before turning to Vahn and exining, "He wa-" Without waiting for Reines exnation, Vahn had already removed the malignant energy from the unconscious Wavers body. He had been afflicted with a powerful curse that was eating away at his vitality and artificially elerating his age. Since his Od was well below the average of most Magi, he had almost no defense against the curse as it quickly ate away at everything, even his Magic Circuits. Fortunately, Wavers affliction was something Vahn could easily treat by making his Source Energy emte Holy and Life Elemental energy. He hadpletely purged the malignant energy from the emaciated mans body and, though it would take a few days, he would make a full recovery. After treating Waver, Vahn turned his gaze to meet Reines, causing the cold beauty to swallow her words as she instinctually took a step back. Then, in a deep voice that caused the surrounding space to ripple, Vahn stated, "Even if your family is in dire straits, his condition shouldnt have degraded so far in such a short period of time. If you continue ying these games, there will be no ce for the Archibald family in the future..." Though the curse affected Waver had nothing to do with Reines, it was obvious for someone with Vahns medical skills that very little had been done to treat him. This indicated that Reines had been fine with letting the man wither away, potentially to his death. If this happened, she would have the leeway to seek another partner, either by trying to seduce him or one of the central figures rted to the Empire. At the very least, she could use Wavers death as a means of strengthening the ties between her family and the Empire, exploiting Vahns tolerant and empathetic nature... Despite the severity of Vahns words, Reines made no effort to apologize. Instead, she dropped her act entirely, adopting a cold and calcting look as she stated in an almost emotionless tone, "Do not me me for doing what I must to ensure my familys survival. I know you are aware of what I had to go through growing up. Though my nature may be despicable from your perspective, it was necessitated by the situation I had been thrown in. Make no mistake, Your Majesty, I have always loved my husband. My highest priority, however, has always been to reiming of my birthright and securing a position for myself and my descendants in a world that would readily erase us without a second thought." Reines knew she wasnt a good person but, unlike most of the people around her, she didnt pretend to be. She had been forced to enter the world of a.d.u.l.ts and politics when she was only six years old. If she hadnt been vicious and decisive in her actions, she would have either ended up dead or as the ything of some errant Magus that wanted to collect her like a doll. In order to avoid this end, she had done everything in her power, even embracing a state of mind that cut off most emotions and allowed her to enjoy the suffering of others. Though Waver had helped her stabilize quite a bit, she could never rx until there were no more enemies capable of harming her and the few things she cared about. Seeing the resolute light in Reines cold eyes, tinged by a glimmer of madness, Vahn couldnt help but furrow his brows. As she stated, he was already very aware of her circ.u.mstances as, even without Luvia exining the situation, he had Merlin and Scthach to fill in the nks. She was the product of a society that had no qualms about victimizing children. In order to avoid bing prey, she had adopted the mentality of a predator that skillfully lurked in the territory of monsters infinitely more powerful than herself. She had even been the mastermind behind the arranged marriage between herself and Bram Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri, buying her enough time to reach maturity while scheming in the background. Regardless of her reasons, however, Vahn wasnt just going to tolerate Reines actions in the present, especially if she was going to be an ally to the Empire. His gaze hardened as a divine light began to radiate from his eyes, causing Reines legs to tremble due to the increasing pressure on her body. He waited until she was about to copse before saying in a firm andmanding tone, "Do what you must, Lord El-Melloi...know that I will do the same..." After that simple statement, Vahn released the pressure on Reines body, allowing her to release a series ofbored breathes as she red back at him, the light in her eyes visibly wavering. Though she feltpelled to defend herself, she had the distinct impression such an action would be the same as digging her own grave. Thus, after swallowing her pride with simr difficulty to swallowing a whole egg, Reines performed another courteous bow as she took a step back and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Your Majesty...I will take your words to heart..." Though he knew this wouldnt be the end to Reines schemes, Vahn gave a curt nod in response to her words before departing the El-Melloi mansion shortly thereafter. He left a few mana-rich fruits and vegetables for Wavers consumption before refusing an invitation to tea with the young Ridley. Part of him wanted to take the little girl back to Avalon with him so she wouldnt have to grow up under the influence of her mother but, as this could be a problem in and of itself, he elected not to. It wasnt his responsibility to raise the children of others and, while Ridleys situation was not ideal, it was an irrefutable truth that millions of children suffered worse fates...something he intended to change in the not-so-distant future. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Its like getting ahold of yer mums credit card in a gacha game >:D...,Poor Ridley, growing up with a sadist for a mother and a doormat for a father...,Vahns convictions are strengthening by the day) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1245 - Behind the Scenes

Chapter 1245 - Behind the Scenes

After entrusting Olivia with the task of tracking down the Magus responsible for cursing Waver, Vahn returned to Avalon to spend some time with his family. He didnt want to think about the politics of the Magusmunity as, in the near future, he nned to flip tear it up from the roots, like a weed that had been choking the life out of small saplings and beautiful flowering nts. The only reason he didnt proactively begin eliminating them was due to his promise with Artoria and the warnings of Merlin. Still, with the former herself taking action, Vahn would have a lot of freedom in his own actions, so long as he never does anything that endangers themon citizenry arbitrarily. Right now, Vahns main focus was consolidating the power of the Empire and stabilizing its nascent foundation further. After that, he would begin to form alliances with the existing world powers, be it through dialogue or force. This was necessary in order to keep and slowly change the policies of the various countries around the world as, for the time being, he simply didnt have the time to focus on governing the entire. Since the existing world powers already controlled the government from behind the scenes, he would rule over those that had consolidated power throughout the ages. Vahn knew it was necessary to delegate authority to others in the short term unless he intended to go with Da Vincis idea and just split the world. With the power of the Greater Grail, it wouldnt take too much effort to either create a divergent reality or a sub-texture of the world that was inhabited only by normal people. This was the method that guaranteed the greatest number of people were able to survive theing changes but, as Vahn felt this was forcing stagnation onto humanity, he had no intention of using such an extreme solution. With Da Vinci on his mind, it wasnt long before Vahn found his way to their shared workshop which, over thest few weeks, had be rtively silent. There, he found Da Vinci seated in an ornate rocking chair that had an auto-rocking function so that she could nap peacefully without needing to operate it manually. Since it was impossible to get anywhere near the Armory without Da Vincis knowledge, she had a smile on her face as she asked, "Did youe to visit me or the baby~?" As this question left her mouth, a second Da Vinci poked her head out from the adjacent corridor, this onecking therge belly that her primary counterpart was caressing. Vahn just shook his head lightly at her, causing the teen-like Da Vinci to yfully lick her lips before disappearing in the hallway and returning to her stasis pod. Vahn felt a strange feeling of loss when the younger Da Vinci parted as, with her [Mesmerizing Gaze] and [Fragrant Aroma], it was a temptation he rarely resisted. If he had been in the mood, even a bit, he would have readily epted her offer. This time, however, he made his way over to the pregnant Da Vincis side before helping her rise to her feet. After that, he sat down in the same rocking chair before letting her sit in hisp and recline against him. Though she didnt need to ask, as she could read Vahn like a book, Da Vinci interlocked her fingers with his as she asked, "Did something happen~?" In response to this, Vahn kissed the back of Da Vincis head before deeply inhaling her calming aroma and exining everything that had happened during his visit to London. Though pretty much everyone was willing to listen to him, Da Vinci had be Vahns confidant over thest few months as, despite knowing almost everything that took ce in the castle, she wasnt proactively involved with anyone. At best, Da Vinci would spend time with the other pregnant women when he invited her along, never of her own volition. The rest of the time, she stayed inside the Workshop conducting experiments and making upgrades to existing inventions. Even now, as she was rxing in his arms, Vahn could sense another Da Vinci hard at work in her hidden workshop. She wasnt the type that could just put down all her work andpletely rx, as this was what gave her the drive to continue living. Because of her general detachment from everything else, Vahn felt closer to Da Vinci than many of the other women in the castle as, while she was undoubtedly one of his lovers, she was also a good friend and a wise confidant. She had a solution to practically everything and, even if he was saying stuff that others would find nonsensical, she listened attentively and never showed any signs of even momentary confusion. The only person that could exceed thefort she brought him was Fenrir but, as Vahn had an almost mutualistic rtionship with the faithful Vanargandr, that was a nigh-impossible hurdle to surmount... --- Elsewhere in the castle, a petite figure with midnight-blue hair,rge pointed ears, and a thick bushy tail came to a stop as she turned her head toward the adjacent walls, seemingly looking far beyond them. This caught the attention of her young protege, causing thetter to turn back with a curious look on her face as she question, "Hey, hey, whats the hold-up, Aniue~?" Hearing the form of address, Fenrirs ears twitched as she turned her crimson-red eyes toward the golden-haired girl and stated, "Master was thinking about me." as if that was the only exnation required. This caused the golden-haired girl, Mordred, to beginughing mischievously as she asked, "Should we go y a prank on him~?" Fenrir snorted in response to Modreds question before remarking in a gruff tone, "Only if you want to get another spanking." Though it had been some time since the punishment her Chichiue had given her, Mordred couldnt help but straighten her back when she heard Fenrirs remark. Her hands had even moved to protect her rear almost instinctually, causing Fenrir to snicker before she ced her paw on Mordreds head and said, "Come along. We dont want to keep the others waiting for us." After patting Mordreds head, Fenrir began leading the way towards their destination, leaving the former staring at her back with a thoughtful look in her eyes. For a brief moment, Mordreds gaze fell to Fenrirs tail which, in timing with her gait, swayed from side-to-side in a gentle curve. Then, before Fenrir could urge her onward, Mordred picked up Neko, her cat-likepanion, and quickly caught up. Since Fenrir was sensitive to the gazes of others, she gave Mordred a side-long nce, earning a toothy-grin from the tomboyish Princess. She decided on the spot that their next training session would be a little harder than normal, as it was clear her young protege needed to vent some of her frustrations. --- Though much of Fenrirs time was spent training, she always did her best to make sure her schedule always ovepped with her Masters children and his own rest schedule. She would often be present when their training hade to an end in order to watch over them, sometimes directly, other times from the shadows. This was to protect them from harm and, if they were feeling lonely, she took it upon herself to either talk to them or mediate between the children and her Master. Children were rarely able to convey what was on their minds, especially toward a parental figure, so she tried to be friends with all the children. If necessary, she would express their concerns in one way or another to her Master, ensuring they were always happier than they otherwise would have been. This made her very popr with all the children, including the more reclusive ones like Juliet who, after being cared for, now wore a tiny tail-like trinket at her back in order to feel closer to her. Today, as they often did at least once a cycle, Fenrir was taking Mordred to meet up with the other children, including Sakura, Mash, Zo?, Astrid, and Juliet. Alex had been asked to join them several times in the past, but he always refused since they usually just talked, drank tea together, and ate a bunch of snacks. Sometimes, Fenrir would even sneak one of her Masters [Memory Sphere]s for them to peruse, but even that hadnt been enough to coax the boy away from Siegfrieds side. Fenrir always made time to at least check up on Alex and invite him to their gatherings, despite the fact he might never acquiesce. She imagined he might be sad if she one day stopped trying to get him to attend so, while it was a little troublesome, she had never missed inviting him. Since she had spied on him waiting for her on several asions, Fenrir knew it meant a lot to the boy to have more people caring about him. After arriving at Juliets room, where their group usually gathered, Fenrir lightly knocked on the door. Momentster, a girl with tinum-blond hair, now styled neatly in a ponytail, opened the door with an inviting smile on her face as she happily eximed, "Come in,e in! Weve been waiting for the two of you to arrive~!" Fenrir gave a polite nod to Zo? before matching her smile while Mordred, never being one for such formalities, explosively made her way into the room before plopping down around the low table that was already upied by the usual members. This included Astrid, who was surrounded by numerous Companions, Mash, who was essentially the big sister of the entire group, and Juliet who, even now, was wearing her modified Maid outfit. The only person absent was Sakura but, contrary to generally punctual nature, she often showed upte to their gatherings. Unless she apanied Mash back, Sakura would usually stay back in order to ask Ghad a few questions. These often rted to the lessons they had been receiving but, with the passage of time, Fenrir knew that Sakura had been asking the pale-haired Knight about his past and other, more personal, questions. Since her Master was already aware of Sakuras crush on Ghad, Fenrir didnt do anything to try and intervene. Ghad was one of the few people that didnt trigger any rms with her so Fenrir felt he was safe for Sakura to be around, especially with the Companions and ya observing them. If anything happened, her Master would be the first to know so, much like she didnt do anything proactively about Mordreds crush on her, Fenrirrgely ignored Sakuras on Ghad. After taking her own seat next to Juliet, Fenrir gave a nce toward Mash, earning a polite smile from thevender-haired girl as thetter exined, "Sakura should be along in a few minutes. She told me to tell everyone not to wait up for her." In response to Mashs remark, Zo? began to snicker while Mordred, also aware of her little sisters crush, groaned loudly as sheined, "Ill never understand what she sees in that shield bastard. He is such a hard ass..." Without Fenrir needing to say anything, it was Mash who took on a stern tone as she stated, "I do not believe Master would appreciate you using suchnguage, Mordred. Please, be more courteous, especially when you are talking about loyal Knights to the Empire. Hasnt Her Majesty expressed this time and again? You should treat your vassals fairly and with dignity..." Mordred groaned loudly as she listened to Mashs words but, rather than refute them, she decided to just change the topic after crunching on a fish-shaped pastry and gulping down a mouthful of hot ck tea. Afterward, she wiped her mouth using a handkerchief before asking, "I get that you want to be a Knight, but why do you already refer to my Chichiue as Master? Is it due to that loyalty thing, or what?" Hearing Mordreds question, Mashs face gained a light blush as she lowered her eyes and exined, "Master has given me everything...a ce to call home...a dream...and a purpose...I want to repay him someday, even if it is just a little. He is more than just an Emperor to me...though Im not sure how to put it into words?" Toward the end of her words, Mash looked to Fenrir for guidance, earning an understanding nod as thetter added, "To us who seek to dedicate our everything to Master, things like titles and status dont matter. Master is Master, always and forever. Mash has a long way to go but, if you work hard, Master will treat you well. This is certain." Mashs slightly conflicted expression morphed into a smile when she heard Fenrirs words but, from the side, Mordred had an incredulous look on her face as she asked, "Wait a second...are you trying to be one of Chichiues mistresses!?" Now, Mash had a beet-red face as she looked toward Mordred and eximed in a high-pitched tone, "Princess! Dont be ridiculous! I...I would never even consider such a thing...!" Despite Mashs insistence, the crack in her voice made it hard for Mordred to believe this fifteen, almost sixteen-year-old girl, wasnt conspiring to share her Chichiues bed. She didnt actually have a problem with this, as it was expected for people to pine after her Chichiue, but Mordred couldnt just let anyone target him. With this in mind, she crossed her arms challengingly and stated with a firm conviction, "Ill be watching you closely from now on. If you want to get to my Chichiue, youll have to prove your worth. Dont expect me to go easy on you just because you work hard. It takes more than that to be the mistress of an Emperor~!" Without waiting for Mash to respond, Fenrir bopped Mordred on the head and, with a stern look, stated, "Do not bully others. Master has always said that there is no such thing as impossible. If Mash wants to set Master as her goal, others do not have the right to stand in her way. The decision is hers and Masters, no others..." Since Fenrir had used a bit of force, despite having very soft and squishy paws, Mordred rubbed the top of her head with a slight grimace on her face as she rebuffed, "Chichiue cant just ept every girl that wants to be with him. He is already troubled just keeping up with his current amount. Im not trying to bully anyone...I just want Chichiue to be happy and stress-free..." Hearing Mordreds words, Fenrir began to lightly rub her head with an apologetic expression on her face as she exined, "Master might be troubled at times, but he always finds a way to make himself and those around him happy. Even if Mash doesnt be a concubine or one of Masters official lovers, she can still receive his affection. Master has a heart bigger than anyone else...he can fit a lot of people inside of it without breaking." Despite the conviction Fenrir spoke with, causing even Mordred to give an understanding nod, there was one person at the table who couldnt quite agree with her words. This was none other than Mash herself who, after hearing the discussion between the two, had a dark-red flush to her face as she shouted, "Please stop talking about such things! Im not trying to have that kind of rtionship with Master! Really!" The only thing Mash received in response to her outburst was Fenrir tilted her head to the side, her ears flopping as she asked, "You dont want to be with Master? What if he wanted to be with you?" As she couldnt really rationalize why anyone wouldnt want to be with her Master, despite all the progress she had made over the years, Fenrir couldnt help but question Mashs reasoning. When she noticed the girl didnt actually have a response to thetter half of her question, as her eyes had started to swirl around in their sockets, she just gave a nod as if to say, I thought so. Fortunately for Mash, a light knock was heard at the door before she had toe up with an answer to Fenrirs pointed question. Though Zo? had hopped up to answer the door, Mash jumped up even faster than her, saying in a fl.u.s.tered tone, "I-I got it...!" before bolting toward the door. As expected, Sakura was the one who knocked so Mash was given a reprieve as, for one reason or another, Fenrir and Mordred never talked about such topics when she was around. Since she was only a Knight Trainee, however, Mash would not pry into the matters of the Imperial Family. Instead, she did her best to get along with the two Princesses who, despite having contrasting personalities, were both kind-hearted and thoughtful people...most of the time. Once everyone had settled down, the conversation became about what each person had done over the past cycle. This included everything from mundane topics, such as Juliets training as Maid, to the more exciting subjects, such as the battle between Artoria and Siegfried earlier in the day. After that, Fenrir produced a [Memory Sphere], this one showing her Masters battle for the title of Strongest Adventurer in Orario. She liked to show everyone her Masters greatest aplishments as, even though she rarely had a part in them, Fenrir felt overwhelming pride every time she saw him achieve a feat others thought impossible. In this manner, the group spent the better part of four hours just socializing, watching memories, and enjoying delicious pastries. Though Fenrir cautioned the girls about eating too many sweets, as it would make them fat if they didnt exercise, she never stopped them. It didnt really matter to her how they turned out, so long as they didnt cause any trouble for her Master. The only people she was really concerned about amongst them was Mordred and Sakura, for obvious reasons. However, after the earlier revtion from Mash, Fenrir now included thevender-haired girl in her spectrum of concerns as, if she wanted to be with their Master, it was important to take care of her figure and teach her properly... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A dash of Da Vinci to soothe the soul,Mordreds body remembers...,Fenrir is better at corrupting people than Angra Mainyu...!?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1246 - Birth of a Queen

Chapter 1246 - Birth of a Queen

Though it was a bit earlier than scheduled, Vahn found himself in the underground tunnels that had, in a very short period of time, be the home of the Dwarves and Vulcanae. It was nothing like theplexwork of tunnels that Da Vincis micro-golems had mapped previously. Now, a small city had already started to take shape several hundred meters beneath the ind, home to a total of 419 Dwarves and an equal number of Vulcanae. Vahn had been invited by the Representative of the Dwarves, Gwent, and his partner Vulcanae, Firis, to the christening of their great forge, an object that represented the Dwarves intent to make the terrain beneath Avalon a permanant settlement. Previously, they only worked smaller individual forges, assisted inrge part by their Vulcanae partners. Now, however, the Great Forge would serve as both the heart of the budding Dwarvenmunity and the primary home of the Vulcanae. As Fire Elementals, Vulcanae could only propagate in ces of intense heat and pressure. Though they had vaguely feminine features, they werepletely as.e.x.u.a.l Spirits who breathed life into the embers of a forge when the concentration of mana was high enough. Due to their Covenant with the Dwarves, they only propagated when a new Dwarf was born, the only exception being when a new queen needed to be born. This was the event Vahn was to bear witness to as, with the christening of the Great Forge, the new Vulcanae Queen was about to be born into existence. He knew from Merlin that Gwent intended to have the new Queen contract with him, essentially bing his Partner while also serving to keep the other Vulcanae under control. Since they only listened to their Queen and their Partners, it was a necessary step to avoid idents like young Vulcanae setting fire to the surrounding forests, as they had an instinctual propensity towards setting things ame. After reaching the Dwarven City, Avalons Hearth, Vahn admired the earthen structures that served as both home and forge to each of the Dwarves within the City. He also got to see a female Dwarf for the first time, another sign that the Dwarves had truly made this ce their home. They would never put their womenfolk and young at risk if they didnt believe they were safe from harm. What Vahn a little peculiar was that the a.d.u.l.t women all had beards, much like their male counterparts, but the children were all petite and rather adorable. Though the males began growing beards as early as two years old, the females looked like human children with bronzed skin and slightly stocky features. He knew they would be this way for well over a hundred years, as Dwarves in the Nasuverse werent considered a.d.u.l.ts until they were nearing their two-hundredth birthday. Since they had an average lifespan exceeding fifteen-hundred years, this wasnt too much of a surprise. Along the way to the Great Forge, a massive structure that looked like a fat vase from the outside, each and every Dwarf he passed either bowed or bent the knee. As for their Vulcanae counterparts, they would justugh mischievously while some of the bolder ones amongst them even came up to circle around him yfully a few times. Since Vahn had an almost ludicrous resistance to fire, their heat didnt bother him in the slightest and, to ease the tensions of their Partners, he even extended his finger to shake hands with a few of them. Due to his friendly nature, Vahn found himself crowded by a few dozen Vulcanae by the time he reached the Great Forge. However, since almost every Dwarf had been making their way over, this wasnt too much of a problem. Instead, he earned a few appreciative nods from some of the older Dwarves who, seeing how easily he tolerated the mes of the Vulcanae, understood why Gwent had spoken so highly of him. They were all interested to see his skills in the forge for themselves, as it was exceptionally rare for anyone to have skill rivaling even middling Dwarven cksmiths. When therge metallic doors of the Great Forge opened, a powerful wave of pressure and heat escaped, rapidly increasing the surrounding temperature by several tens of degrees. Even this wasnt enough to cause Vahn to sweat and, without any hesitation whatsoever, he made his way into the interior of the Great Forge where several stout figures, few exceeding more than 100cm in height, were waiting. At the foremost position of the group, Gwent, with his dark-grey beard now bereft of all ornaments, was wearing nothing by a thick smithing apron, dark gloves, thick pants, and sturdy looking boots. He was surrounded by a total of eight figures, six of which were males while two bearded women, possessing arms just as thick as their male counterparts, stood proudly with hammers at the ready. None of the Elder Dwarves were dressed up as, while they showed propriety when necessary, the Great Forge was a sacred ce where such formalities could be considered a great insult to the sanctity of the forge. This was a ce for forging and producing masterworks, not for pretentious political discussions and flowery ceremonies. If not for the respect Gwent had for Vahn, he wouldnt even be allowed to enter the Great Forge directly, regardless of whether or not he was an Emperor. Since Vahn already knew what to expect, he dismissed most formalities outright and simply nodded toward the gathering before smiling as he stated, "Thank you for your invitation. This ce...is quite something. Truly impressive..." Though it might sound like Vahn was just being courteous, the Fire Elemental energy in the air was swirling around him in a perfectly natural way. Even the Vulcanae in the surroundings were tempted to join in, regardless of the silent protests of their Partners. This scene caused the nine Elders to give an appreciative nod toward Vahn while Gwent stroked his beard with and remarked, "You are loved by the mes...its a shame you werent born as a Dwarf, grahahahaha...!" With a few Vulcanae now seated on his head and shoulders, Vahn joined Gwent inughing, causing the surrounding Fae tough alongside him. In truth, without the benefits provided by Akasha upon entering the Root, he wouldnt be able to resist the mes too easily. He no longer had the immunity granted to him by Hephaestus and the Eternal me but, as their mes didnt breach the damage threshold of a B-Rank attack, his bodypletely negated any damage they might have caused... While the residents of the Dwarven undercity continued to congregate within the Great Forge, Vahn joined Gwent and the other Elders at the mouth of the kiln. The temperature here reached nearly 1500 degrees while, at the centermost region, Vahn could feel temperatures close to 10,000 degrees, nearly five times hotter than coal-forges with an oxygen-rich environment. If not for the Vulcanae, these types of temperatures would be nigh-impossible to reach, at least without burning chemicals and manipting the mes using a variety of special techniques. At the very center of the kiln, visible through therge opening, Vahn could see what looked like a pure white egg formed from mes. It was surrounded by several dozen Vulcanae and, after Vahn approached, most of the other Vulcanae in the room swarmed inside to feed their energy into the tiny egg. In the end, there were more than four-hundred Vulcanae dancing and singing around the egg containing their Queen while the most senior among them had their palms directly against the surface. As the temperature gradually increased, causing the mes near the mouth to exceed 3,000 degrees, the egg finally began to crack. Momentster, a fairy made of violet-white mes emerged from the interior of the egg, fully formed. She was twice the size of the other Vulcanae and even had twice the number of wings folded behind her, much like a damselfly. Given the color of her body, which was a stark contrast to the vibrant oranges and reds of her kin, Vahn assumed she was capable of creating temperatures far hotter than her counterparts. While the Vulcanae were loudly celebrating the birth of their new Queen, the Fae in question was already staring at Vahn, her eyes burning with a deep amethyst color. Like all Faerie Queens, she had inherited the memories of her subjects so, despite this being the first time shey witness to Vahn, there was no confusion visible on her me-wreathed face. Instead, she flicked her eight wings to life before flittering over to the mouth of the kiln, bringing with her a startling heat that caused all but Gwent and Vahn to take a few steps back. With the 20cm tall Fae only a few centimeters away from him, Vahn extended his hand with a smile on his face as he mused, "It is nice to meet you..." In response to his greeting, the Queen flittered to his palm before sitting down and curling up in a fetal position. Being born was a tiring process so, despite having much to discuss, she would rather get a bit of sleep. Before she closed her eyespletely, however, she looked up at Vahn and asked, "Name...?" in a voice that sounded like an amalgamation of serene sounds pulled from nature. Vahn found the Faerie Queens actions rather adorable, despite the fact his sleeve had burned away due to the intense temperature she produced. When he heard her question, his smile turned gentle as he stated in a soft tone, "My name is Vahn...Vahn Aldrnari Mason...from now on, you will be known as Aeterna...Queen of the Vulcanae." Hearing Vahns words, Aeterna gave a small nod before stretching her body and yawning in adorably before curling up in his palms and closing her eyes. This made him feel a little helpless as she was supposed to reside within the kiln, not within his palms. He couldnt really carry her around with him, especially if she continued to output such intense heat. Unfortunately, Gwent continued to stroke his beard with an amused smile on his face as he exined, "It isnt umon for Vulcanae to spend a few days synchronizing with their Partners. Make sure to care for her well, will ya? If she dies, the fire within the kiln will burn out and it will negatively affect all of our Vulcanae. Were counting on you, Your Majesty." After hearing Gwents exnation, Vahn knew that he had been yed by Merlin yet again. He could even hear the flowery Magusughing in the back of his mind, something that annoyed him greatly, despite it just being an auditory hallucination. Fortunately, Gwent gave him an artifact that looked simr in structure to antern, albeit encrusted with gold and covered inplex runes. This was known as a Faerie Lantern and, when not residing inside a hearth or kiln, most Vulcanae lived inside of thentern-like object to conserve their heat and mana. Vahn ced the sleeping Aeterna inside thentern which, contrary to its outward appearance, had a muchrger interior. It also prevented any leakage of heat, allowing the outside to feel cool to the touch, despite the interior being nearly 5,000 degrees Celsius. Vahn was honestly a little amazed at the craftsmanship of thentern which, ording to Gwent, had been specially prepared for him and the new Queen. He had spent thest five days forging it without rest, putting his heart and soul into its construction as a means to express their gratitude for being given sanctuary beneath Avalon. Hearing Gwent recount the forging process he used, Vahn couldnt help but smile appreciatively as it was obvious the Elder Dwarf was exceptionally skilled. He might not be one of the great Masters of his people, but his skills were easilyparable to a [Master Smith] back in Danmachi. Vahn felt that he could help Gwent reach greater heights so, during the banquet following the christening of the Great Forge, he proposed having him undergo the Familia Induction Ceremony. This would allow the Elder Dwarf to take on Quests of his choosing, further contributing to the Empire while allowing him to finally reach the standards of other Master Dwarven cksmiths. Gwent had no reason to refuse Vahns offer and, as he hoped it might serve to strengthen the bond between the Dwarves and the Empire further, he graciously epted. In exchange, Vahn also gave him the official title of Lord of the Undercity before applying the crest amidst the curious eyes of several hundred Dwarves and Vulcanae. After that, they feasted for several hours until it was finally time for Vahn to return. --- As much as he enjoyed the lively and festive atmosphere of the Dwarves, there were other things on Vahns te. He also didnt like staying outside of the Projection for long periods of time as, during the short five-hour visit to the Undercity, thirty-five hours had passed within the Projection. This was time he could have spent training and interacting with his various lovers and children. Vahn knew things would eventually reach the point where it was counter-intuitive to remain inside the Projection, but that was still more than a decade away, at least from the perspective of those on the inside. He was already tempted to restrict ess to the Projection to the evenings but, as there were too many threats present in the world, he didnt have a good reason to deny anyone ess, at least for the time being. After all, it was simply too efficient to live inside the orb, especially during these chaotic times when the Empire was still in its nascent stages. The best example of the Projections usefulness was the fact that Fenrir,pared to when she first entered the Record, was already at the point of being able to hold her own against Kenshin, at least for a few hours. She had the benefit of greater speed and range, allowing her to stay outside of the effective range of the monochromatic warrior. Though Kenshin could still target Fenrir with arrows that seemed to cut through Space and Time to reach their target, Fenrir had slowly learned how to deal with even this. ording to Scthach and Kenshin, it would only take another two years before Fenrir was able to directly contend against Kenshin during their spars. Though she would lose in a fight to the death, as Kenshins was much stronger when she wasnt holding back, the fact remained that Fenrirs growth had reached monstrous levels. This was in spite of the fact she spent nearly half her time watching over Mordred and engaging with the other residents of the castle, himself included. Vahn could never truly express how grateful he was for Fenrirs efforts so, rather than use his words, he used his actions to convey his appreciation. There were times when he would just whisk her away so they could be alone together, usually to cuddle in some random location where they didnt have to worry about being found. At these times, Fenrir would behave very affectionately, releasing all of her pent-up stress on him as he pampered her, not necessarily to her hearts content, but enough to keep her going until their next retreat. This was how Vahn decided to spend his time after checking in on Nobunaga, Rin, Ereshkigal, Ishtar, Luvia, Da Vinci, and Circe. He had also spent some time with his children, made easy by the fact they were almost always together in the eastern wing of the Inner Sanctum. This was important as, even though only nine days had passed since the birth of the triplets, Isanna and Naavi were significantlyrger than even Kamiya. They aged around 5~7 times faster than normal children, meaning they may very well be walking and talking in less than two months, Projection time. Fortunately, other than throwing a fit whenever they were separated from Daiki, both the Vanir were developing in a positive direction. They got along well with Kamiya and seemed to understand what people were saying when they were spoken to. Isanna had even started to exercise her vocal cords actively, speaking indiscernible baby-words that, with Vahns auto-trante, actually tranted to a rudimentarynguage. She seemed to be aware that he understood her as well,ughing happily whenever he responded to her remarks as if they were carrying on an actual conversation. It wouldnt be long before Isanna was capable of speaking coherently and, by the end of the year, outside of the Projection, she and Naavi would already be a.d.u.l.ts. This was a uniquely terrifying thought so, unless it was necessitated, Vahn feltpelled to stay inside the Projection so as not to miss them growing up. Even being gone for a single day could trante to more than a month in their development so he rarely stayed outside for more than a few hours. Still, this didnt mean he was always lingering around the young Vanir as, if he was present too often, they could be considerably spoiled in a very short period of time. Thus, like now, Vahn enjoyedying in a field of perpetually blooming flowers which, despite the temperature being near-freezing, defied the chill as they proudly exposed themselves to the sun. At the same time, he had a familiar weight pressed into his chest, apanied by the gentle nuzzling of Fenrir as he absentmindedly ran his fingers through her hair and down the line of her back. He would alwayse to an end at her tail, causing her h.i.p.s to raise slightly whenever he passed over the pressure point near the base of her spine. In this manner, Vahn passed yet another day in the Projection, enjoying the peace and quiet while, at his side, a small goldenntern pulsated in a rhythmic fashion, simr to a heartbeat. Aeterna would be sleeping for upwards of three days, ording to Merlin, so Vahn had free time until then. Though this would trante to him having to undergo a unique hell after resuming his training, Scthach had already stopped holding back against him so there wasnt much of a difference. The only real change would be how she treated him after the fact but, as he was already used to being reduced to nothing more than a puddle, even that didnt deter him from enjoying this moment... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Beards are a sign of status...!,Aeterna means Eternal (^_^),Vahn is living the dream, interspaced with various nightmares xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1246 - Determination

Chapter 1246 - Determination

Due to the time dtion of the Projection, it was early in the evening when the tinyntern strapped to Vahns waist began to stir. When he noticed this, he created a barrier, not to protect himself, but his surroundings. Then, after apologizing to Lakshmibai and Gareth, who he had been having tea with, Vahn opened thenterns door to release a wave of heat that caused the temperature inside the barrier to skyrocket in an instant. At the same time, a figure wreathed in mes pokes its head out to look around before turning its amethyst eyes toward Vahn. Upon seeing Vahn, Aeterna smiled radiantly, causing the temperature to increase even more as she flew up near his face and rubbed her fiery cheek against his. It was an admittedly adorable action but Vahn adopted a wry smile on his face as he could feel some of his hair curling, even if they werent outright catching fire. Aeternas default temperature was around 5000 degrees Celsius so she would need to practice using them non-destructively in order to avoid burning everything in her surroundings. He knew some of the older Vulcanae could even sit in the palm of a normal persons hand without burning them so it wasnt beyond her means. She simplycked the experience due to being born only three days prior so Vahn didnt really me her as he used his index finger to lightly rub her head, using his [Hands of Nirvana] to send threads of Source Energy into her body. After blinking in surprise, Aeterna began to giggle as she rubbed her head against Vahns finger with a cheerful smile on her face. As could be expected, the temperature around her began to gradually increase as a result, causing Vahn to chuckle before he set out his hand for her to sit. Once she was snug in his palm, he continued to stroke her head as he mused, "Youll need to practice controlling the temperature of your mes or I wont be able to take you around with me. Try cooling down a bit, okay...?" At this point, Aeterna was close to 7,300 degrees and, though it wasnt enough to breach through his immunity, Vahns clothes had paid the price. Event hough he had swapped to something that was supposed to be extremely resistant to fire, it dried out quickly and had started to wrinkle and char at the edges. Her mes werent normal at all; they were fueled by the phenomenal amount of mana that had been gathered to form her body. As a result, they possessed magical qualities that allowed them to slowly affect even equipment with A-Rank [Fire Resistance]. While Vahn was rubbing therger-than-average Vulcanaes head, Lakshmibai and Gareth watched with visible intrigue. Thetter, with a vibrant smile on her face, eventually pointed out, "She is very cute, isnt she~?" This was answered with a nod from Lakshmibai while Vahn chuckled before also nodding his head in agreement. Aeterna was already capable of understanding and speaking mostnguages so she was aware of the fact she was being praised. This caused her tough happily,pletely ruining her attempt at reducing her body temperature. Instead, the mesprising her body be a rich violet as the temperature skyrocketed further. Vahn wasnt worried about her damaging the surroundings, as he had constrained his domain to form a barrier while actively guiding the Fire Elemental energy back toward her body. Still, he knew she needed a change of scenery in order to practice her control so, after apologizing to Lakshmibai, he headed toward the Workshop so he could make use of his personal forge. Gareth apanied him part of the way but, knowing it would be a while until he finished his business, Vahn gave her leave to go do Quests or simply rx. With the boyish dog-girl departed, Vahn ventured into the Workshop where Da Vinci was watching a projection that showed the outside corridor. She then turned around, her eyes making her intrigue apparent as she stated, "Im very curious about the nature of Fae. Please make sure your experiment is within view of the Companions so that the Mother System can archive the data properly. It would be very interesting to give future Companions the characteristics of Fae~." Since Da Vinci wanted to give the Companions the ability to evolve into practically anything, without limitation, she needed to .u.mte a phenomenal amount of data. In the future, she intended to archive andpile an ecological study on every Phantasmal Species and Spirit. When she finished her research, the only limiting factor for the Companions would be the capabilities of their Partners. It would even be possible for some to reach the level of Greater Divine Spirits, putting them at the same scale as literal Gods. Vahn already understood Da Vincis intentions so he gave a curt nod in response to her reminder before entering the small room containing their isted research orb. It contained both his forge and a muchrgerboratory than the one existing beneath the Armory of Camelot. Da Vinci had Golems working around the clock to continually expand the facilities, turning them into a massivepound that could staff more than a hundred researchers without them interfering with each others work. Currently, there was no method to transnt a [Sub-Space Orb], as they were bound to formations linking them to thend, but Da Vinci didnt believe in such restrictions at all. She fully intended to adapt Spiritron and Projection technology to transnt theboratory aboveground at some point. Though it would probably take her a while to work out the particrs, Vahn knew she would be able to pull it off as, with her Omnipotent Genius, there was no such thing as impossible, just inevitable. --- After reaching his forge, Vahn set Aeternasntern on one of the worktables before opening the tiny door and allowing her toe out and look around. When she saw the kiln at the back of the forge, she performed a cutesy dance mid-air before flitting over and jumping into the fiery depths without any hesitation. This caused the white-hot mes inside to gain a violet hue but, as the kiln was of the same quality as the one he used to house the eternal me in the past, Vahn didnt have to worry about it melting down. Now that he had an assistant to help regte and control the mes, allowing him to split his focus while she proactively refined the materials, Vahn was actually a little excited. He knew it would take a while before they were able to work seamlessly together but, as she had inherited knowledge from her subjects, Aeterna already knew how to assist in the forging process. She was almost on the level of a Greater Fire Elemental so she could even produce a few materials that simply didnt exist in the natural world. Sharing Vahns excitement, Aeterna poked her head out of the kiln before happily eximing, "Hurry, hurry~!" as the temperature in the forge continued to increase. This caused him to release a heartyugh before he changed into fire-retardant pants and removed his top. He used a simr method to Tsubaki, meaning he preferred to feel the heat on his skin without bothering to protect himself from stray fragments of metal. Because of this, [Memory Orb]s of him forging were actually quite popr amongst the girls in the castle. Vahn was also aware that, every now and then, one of the girls would venture into the [Space-Time Orb] where he performed most of his forging so they could watch his Memory Fragment at work. With his preparationsplete, Vahn sat down next to the kiln and said, "For now, well focus on helping you control your temperature by melting and refining various metals. Are you ready...?" In response to his question, Aeterna performed a dainty spin as she loudly eximed, "Leave it to me, Vahn~!" before retreating into the heart of the kiln in preparation for a very long session of forging. Since Faeries didnt really tire, so long as there was an ample supply of mana, she could easily keep up with Vahns monstrous stamina. Over the course of a nine-hour period, Vahn refined several hundred ingots with the help of Aeterna. Though she had a considerable amount of trouble at first, especially with more exotic metals such as Adamantine, she was extremely quick on the uptake. He had thought it would take her several weeks to get up to speed, not just several hours. This was a pleasant surprise so, toward the end of the nine hours, he was hunched over with two needle-like tools as he engraved tiny [Faerie Rune]s into what would serve as Aeternas crown in the future. While he did this, she kept regted the temperature to keep the metal in a malleable state without heating it to the point that it would actually melt. It was a delicate process but, as if they had been working together for years, they managed to pull it off without any idents urring. When the crown waspleted, Vahn even used his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] to strengthen it further, increasing its rank from lower S-Rank to very-near the requirements for SS-Rank. This made Aeterna literally dance from joy as she hugged the crown to her chest and flittered around the forge for several minutes. It was a genuine masterpiece that they had worked on together so, while it may not have many uses, it was the best example of their cooperation. In the future, they would create a plethora of masterpieces together, elevating his and Aeternas status amongst the Dwarven and Vulcanaemunities considerably. After finally calming down, Aeterna brought the crown back to Vahn before having him ce it on her head. When he had finished, she flittered up to his face and nted a fiery kiss on his cheek, singing him a bit despite his immunity. He even had a tiny burn mark in the shape of her lips for a few seconds, causing Aeterna to giggle yfully before asking, "What will we make next~?" Unfortunately, Vahn had other things to do so he could only adopt an apologetic expression as he exined, "I dont have as much time as Id like to forge. For now, Ill take you back to the Great Forge so you can spend time with your people. Dont worry, though, as Ill set up a linked mirror for you so you can freely enter the Projection in the future. When I intend to forge something, Ill make sure to call you..." Though Aeterna was clearly reluctant to leave, she was aware of her duties as Queen so, rather than argue, she pulled on his finger a few times while eximing, "You have to promise! From now on, we are partners! You cant forge without me, okay!?" Since it was a both fun and exciting to work with Vahn, thanks inrge part to his Source Energy, Aeterna didnt want to miss out on any of his future projects. Rather than promise outright, Vahn made use of his unnatural dexterity to lightly poke Aeternas nose as he said, "I wont let you forge weapons with me. Still, I dont n to ignore you. Whenever I forge anything in the future, Ill make sure to call you. I promise." Hearing Vahns words, Aeterna giggled happily before finally returning to her Faerie Lantern. After that, he grabbed the tiny crystal that contained the observation data of his forge while a group of Companions waddled out of the extremely hot room to return to their other duties. They were semi-permanant residents of the [Research Orb] but, using the Spiritual Communication Terminal, they were able to send data back to the Mother System after linking to the central nexus. As for the data crystal, Vahn was going to hand this over directly to Da Vinci as she preferred analyzing things from her own perspective, rather than relying entirely on the analysis of Ark and the Mother System. --- While her Master had been busy training his new fierypanion, Gareth had decided to spend her time productively. She couldnt just take a break while knowing her Master was hard at work so, after parting ways, she immediately set out for the Knights Training Field to ept a new Quest and enter the [Training Orb]. There, she made her way over the Kenshins Dojo where more than three-hundred Homunculi now ardently studied Zen Buddhism and the monochromatic War Goddess unique brand of martial arts. Upon entering the premises, Gareth was greeted by some of the resting disciples, each wearing a set of ck and white Gi. This was the practice uniform issued to each of Kenshins students, allowing for ease of movement while a powerful enchantment significantly reduced the amount of time it took to replenish their stamina and mana reserves. Among the group of resting disciples, a woman with a very mature figure, named Briana, asked, "Did youe for the usual~?" Unlike the emotionless individuals they had been at first, the vast majority of Kenshins students now had vibrant red eyes. Many had even adopted a somewhat yful nature as, despite how serious the training was, Kenshins nature had been influenced quite a bit by Nobunaga and Vahn. This, in turn, caused those studying under her to develop a simr nature, especially since they often spent time in the bath just messing around after a hard day of training. In response to Brianas question, Gareth bobbed her head in affirmation with a massive grin on her face as she cheerfully stated, "I have to defeat thirty today~!" This exmation surprised the group of Homunculi as, in the past, Gareth had rarely challenged more than ten of them. They knew she had epted a Quest so, after learning of the objectives, Briana went off to exin the situation to Kenshin while some of the Homunculi exited the orb to ept Quests of their own. After a half-hour or so of preparation time, Gareth found herself standing in one of therger of four training arenas. Though she wasnt one of Kenshins students, she was also wearing a gi, albeit one that waspletely white instead of half-ck. Standing across from her was a Homunculus with a rather athletic figure, one of Kenshins top-fifty disciples named Sierra. She had already epted a Quest of her own so, with Kenshin acting as the referee, the two immediately began to fight using pure technique and their inhuman physical prowess. As an entity with the capacity of a Heroic Spirit, Gareth was considerably stronger than most of the Homunculi so, despite being pressured a bit, she was able to defeat Sierra without much difficulty. They had only exchanged blows for around three minutes before she managed a solid kick on the white-haired maidens nk, cracking a few ribs and scoring enough points to bring the match to an end. Then, after only thirty-seconds of rest, Gareth faced off against a slightly strong opponent, the second of thirty sequential fights... Even with her monstrous stamina and higher physical capabilities, Gareth was extremely tired by the time her twentieth opponent came onto the stage. Despite this, she didnt ask for extra time as one of her Quest Objectives stipted there couldnt be more than thirty seconds between the matches. If she failed to follow these rules, the Quest would be considered a failure, penalizing her by causing an incurable itch that would wrack her body for several hours. Fortunately, she could just soak her body in the mineral-rich hot springs to treat some of the symptoms before returning to her Masters side in high spiritster on. Still, Gareth wasnt fond of having her entire body itching so, despite her fatigue, she continued to fight without rest against progressively stronger opponents. By the time she was down to the final three contenders, they were actually able to pressure her as a result of her fatigued state. Gareth found herself on the defensive but, much like how she refused to quit even after her tendons tore, there was nothing her opponents could do to keep her down. Instead, as the grew progressively more tired, Gareths mind came into focus as her usually cheerful expression became increasingly serious. The purpose of this training was to refine her techniques and decreased wasted movements as, even without her Master pointing it out, Gareth knew she was a bit excitable. Though her Master didnt seem to mind it, she felt a little self-conscious about it since she wanted to be more reliable in the future. Her current goal was to be like Fenrir who, despite having a wildbat style, was very calm and attentive whenever they spent time together. Gareth admired this quality and, seeing how close Fenrir was to their Master, she did her best to temper and discipline herself... In order to garner her Masters praise, Gareth, despite her legs trembling and her lungs failing to pull in enough oxygen, stood her ground against her final opponent, a Homunculus named Nora. She was one of Kenshins best students and, even if she was at full strength, Gareth would struggle, at least a little, against Nora. This was due to the fact that the girl specialized in holds and throws, using Gareths own attacks and momentum against her. Despite the bad matchup, Gareth refused to go down without a fight so, as darkness crept in on the edge of her vision, she used [Shundo] to appear at Noras side before trying to sweep her feet out from under her. This was answered by Nora also using [Shundo], causing Gareth to groan in pain as she blocked an attempted knee to her temple with her forearm. Using the momentum of the strike, she rolled to the side before setting a new anchor point and activating [Shundo] once again. This made her thighs throb in protest but, no matter how much it hurt, Gareth was more afraid of failing her Masters expectations than any amount of pain. Nora knew she needed to continue pressing Gareth so, without giving thetter any time to catch her breath, she closed the distance in an instant. Once she was within her effective range, Nora struck hard against Gareths shoulder, knocking her off bnce before using [Shundo] to shift to the side. This allowed her to evade Gareths counter as she twisted her waist like a bow, tracing her leg in a perfect ark before bringing it to down like a hammer onto Gareths chest. This caused thetter to cough up a mouthful of bile but, at the same time, it allowed her to catch Noras leg in a vice-like grip. ording to the rules they had established, Gareth would lose if Nora managed tond another clean hit on her so, in her desperation, she squeezed the Homunculis ankle hard enough to break the bone. As a result, Nora winced slightly but, as she was no stranger to pain, shergely ignored it while trying to leverage Gareths hold to strike down with a palm-thrust to thetters face, an action that would secure her the victory. With Noras palm bearing down on her, Gareths expression became fierce and resolute in an instant as she twisted her neck and rolled to the side, still holding Noras leg. This caused the limb to bend at a sickening angle before Nora found herself smashed into the hard arena momentster. Even this wasnt enough to take her out, however, so Gareth pounced on her in the same motion, attempting to end the battle with a headbutt. Nora countered this by using the momentum of Gareths leap to send her flying toward the edge of the arena, an action that would normally lead to a ring out. Though she had never seeded at it previously, Gareth refused to let things end in such a manner so, mustering as much mana as she could manage, she tried to create a foothold on the air, one of the prerequisites to using [Koku Shundo]. Instead, she created a small explosion, simr to [Mana Burst], as her thighs and calves ruptured at several locations. This caused her an excruciating amount of pain but, with adrenaline driving her forward, Gareth barreled toward Nora like an artillery shell as she attempted to smash the surprised Homunculus into the arena. Fortunately, Kenshin immediately appeared to receive Gareths attack, dissipating the force of the blow with considerable ease as she inly stated, "This battle is your win, Gareth. Still, it is also your loss as you took things too far...haaaa..." Since there was a chance Gareths final attack could have seriously injured, or even killed Nora, Kenshin couldnt help but reprimand the earnest woman. If she had identally killed an ally, it would have devasted her so it was important that she reflects on her actions. Gareth understood as well but, while apologizing with a pained expression on her face, she ultimately ended up copsing due to the extreme amount of pain she was in... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I am inevitable... -Da Vinci,Aeterna is quite cute,Gareth is a very earnest and hard-working girl) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1247 - Peculiar

Chapter 1247 - Peculiar

With Aeterna assisting him, Vahn felt like he had finally caught up with his former skill at forging. He had already known this but, with the eternal me being at his side since the beginning of his career as a cksmith, Vahn was infinitely more used to working with a partner than working on his own. After losing the eternal me, it always felt like something was missing every time he picked up a hammer and tried to get the proper groove. It was simply less fun doing it on his own as, from the very beginning, Vahn had never really aspired to walk the path of forging for forgings sake. He had done it out of necessity at the time and, after seeing how much people benefitted from his creations, he tried polishing his skills further and further. Now, Vahn was actually enjoying forging again, rather than treating it like a task he needed to focus, not just his mind, but his very existence on. This wasnt just due to the existence of Aeterna, either, as the Dwarves had actually given him permission to use the Great Forge. After Aeterna appeared along with her crown, he had been given the honorary status of an Elder. If not for the fact that the title of Master could only be given by the Council of Dwarven Lords, representing the remaining tribes, he would have already been recognized as a Master due to the craftsmanship of the crown. Since then, Vahn would make a point of visiting the Great Forge every few days, both as a means of building rapport with the Dwarves and allowing Aeterna to show off in front of her subjects. Though this ate into a lot of his time, Vahn felt it would be for the betterment of the Empire that he make an effort now, rather thanter. If he could build his reputation amongst theirmunity early on, any future Dwarves that came to reside in the Undercity would be influenced by the existing members. After they had a taste of the [Dwarven Draft], which was popr for obvious reasons, even the most obstinant of Dwarves viewed him in a positive light. --- It was during one of Vahns visits to the Great Forge that ya, who liked to watch him forge while hanging from his back, informed him, "Da Vinci is trying to give birth to herself. You should hurry." Vahn rarely lost focus during forging but, when his mind processed what ya said, his hammer was off target by a millimeter, causing a ripple to pass through the metal apromising the structural integrity irreversibly. Since he had never really made such mistakes before, the spectating Dwarves were quite surprised but, after he quickly exined the situation, they practically chased him off so that he could be with Da Vinci. They might treat forging as one of the most sacred practices but, just from seeing how ardently they protected their womenfolk and youth, it was easy to understand what their priorities were. By the time Vahn reached the Workshop, less than ten minutes had passed within the Projection but, despite this, he found Da Vinci standing next to herself with a baby in her arms. He nearly slouched against the door upon seeing this but, considering who he was dealing with, Vahn actually wasnt all that surprised. There was no way Da Vinci would have wanted to make her delivery as public an affair as the past deliveries as, while she enjoyed conversing with people, she wasnt very social. Seeing Vahn appear in a sh of light, Da Vinci poked her tongue out at him before musing, "Looks like I beat you to the punch this time around, ufufufu~" Despite having just given birth, Da Vinci didnt even have sweat on her brow, making Vahn wonder what exactly happened. This was a question forter, however, as he was far more concerned about the nketed bundle in her arms. He made his way over without retorting to herment to find what could only be described as a masterpiece staring back at him. Much like Isanna and Naavi, his new daughter was looking back at him with a discernible glimmer of intelligence contained within her sapphire blue eyes. She wasnt crying, nor did she seem confused about the situation in the slightest. Instead, she smiled as if recognizing who he was before reaching out her tiny hand and giggling happily when he extended his index finger for her to grab. While he was distracted by the antics of his newborn daughter, Da Vinci had a loving smile on her face as she whispered, "I always wondered what it would be like to be a mother...it feels like my heart is suddenly muchrger...filled with a fluffy feeling that makes it impossible not to smile..." As she finished speaking, Da Vinci gently cradled their daughter in her arms and, for the first time since he had known her, Vahn saw a tear escape from her left eye. Though she enjoyed teasing him, Da Vinci wasnt actually that adept at expressing herself. The main reason she didnt like interacting with others was due to the fact that they simply couldnt understand her. She also had considerable trouble trying to empathize with others and, as her discussions usually resulted in the other party feeling awkward or dumb, she preferred to just avoid them whenever possible. Vahn couldnt attest to understanding Da Vincipletely but, as they spent a lot of time together, he had, at the very least, reached the point where he understood her character. Thus, after using his thumb to wipe away her singr tear, he looked her in the eyes and stated sincerely, "Here, at this moment, you are the most beautiful woman in the entire world...there is nothing beautiful than a mothers love..." Despite trying tofort Da Vinci, Vahn felt a little emotional as the words left his lips. He managed to avoid crying but, with her attention to detail, it obviously couldnt escape Da Vincis notice. Her smile blossomed into the most radiant expression he had ever seen on her face, causing Vahns mind to nk momentarily as she extended the bundle in her arms toward him. He instinctually reached out to hold his daughter, cradling her gently in his arms as Da Vinci, with a slightly husky voice, said, "She needs a name...dont disappoint me~" Seemingly understanding what her mother had said, the beautiful baby girl in Vahns arms had stars in her eyes as she expectantly waited for her name. This caused both Vahn and Da Vinci to chuckle before the former adopted a thoughtful expression. He actually didnt get to name his children all that often so he suddenly felt a lot of pressure on his shoulders, especially with the expectant look on his daughters face. After sifting through a few names within his mind, Vahn looked between Da Vinci and his currently unnamed daughter before smiling as he asked, "How about Sophia?" He asked this question to his daughter while Da Vinci, turning her eyes up in rumination stated, "A name meaning Intelligent and Wise...not the most clever, but I think it is suitable. What do you think, little one~?" In response to her mothers question, Sophia giggled happily, seemingly indicating her consent. It was a bit on the nose but, as she had undoubtedly inherited her mothers fearsome intelligence, it was a name suitable for a future prodigy. Unfortunately, Vahn would soonment not naming her something along the lines of Pandora as,pared to all of his other children, Sophia would quickly be fond of making trouble for him. --- Like all of his children, Sophia was given a Guardian of her own. It took on the form of an owlet with creamy-white and golden-brown feathers. It was a type of Spirit known, quite literally, as the Spirit of Wisdom. They were typically Spirits that protected Libraries and served as the familiars of powerful Magi, at least when Spirits were moremon in the world. While the Spirit of Wisdom wasnt exactly proficient atbat, it had the unique ability to share the knowledge it had obtained with others. They also had the ability to archive information in their mind, much like a Library with an auto-search function, making them extremely capable Familiars for any Magi dedicated to their research. In the future, Sophia, assuming she didnt have a perfect memory already, would benefit greatly from itspanionship. For now, however, the Spirit of Wisdom was just a tiny owlet that looked simr to a great-horned owl, albeit with different colored feathers and unnervingly ck eyes. Though they were actually just a very dark shade of brown, it was impossible to discern at a nce. This made it seem like the tiny owls eyes were like a bottomless abyss as it stared, almost unblinkingly, right back at you. Still, this wasnt enough to really bother Vahn all that much so, despite the rather creepy visage, he gave the tiny owlet a few head scratches before letting it retreat inside Sophia to rest. After the tiny owl had vanished, Vahn lightly rubbed the tip of Sophias nose before turning to Da Vinci and saying, "Though you may be troubled, it-" Before Vahn could finish, Da Vinci turned her eyes up at him, saying, "I havent even fed her yet. Dont worry, I intend to introduce her to the other childrenter. For now, Id like you to keep it a secret, okay? I really want to see the reaction of the other girls when I suddenly appear with a baby in arm~" Vahn felt his brain buzzing a bit after hearing Da Vincis words but, while he would normally humor her, this time he smiled wryly as he said, "That is a little...extreme. I have to inform Artoria and Gray, at the very least. Though we can keep the celebration private, it is a little unfair to the others to keep it a secret like this." Da Vinci adopted a yful pout in response to Vahns words but, rather than insist, she ultimately gave an affirmative nod before stating, "I want to surprise Nobunaga and tease Luvia. After that, you can do whatever you want. You already have a feeding apparatus so Ill entrust you with taking our daughter to explore the castle and interact with others. I dont want her to be cooped up in here all the time so youll have to work hard to make sure she gets along with the others~" Hearing Da Vincis words, Vahn knew she had seen through his intention of having her socialize with the others by taking Sophia to the daycare. Though he hadnt really expected her to go that often, as she was very busy with her research, he wanted her to at least be on friendlier terms with everyone else. Seeing through Vahns thoughts, Da Vinci began giggling in amus.e.m.e.nt before saying, "This is the path Ive decided to walk. You neednt worry so much, my darling Master...Ill make sure to spend a bit of time with the others in the future. You should worry more about our daughter. If you dont want her to be a reclusive genius, youll need work pretty hard, ufufufu~" If Sophia was anything like her, Da Vinci knew it was only a matter of time before she grew bored of ying with the other children. They simply wouldnt be able to keep up, regardless of whether they were Demigods, Vanir, or something else entirely. Being a peerless genius was a lonely path so it was only a matter of time before her daughter began spending more time in the Workshop than with the other children. This was the reason she wanted Vahn to spend time with Sophia now as, in the future, she and her daughter would likely be working alongside each other for the remainder of their lives. --- While Vahn was spending time with Da Vinci and the newborn Sophia, Merlin was seated in his Magus Tower with an amused smile on his face. He was very tempted to go spread the word of Sophias birth throughout the castle but, as there were no real benefits to antagonizing Da Vinci, he ultimately decided against it. Instead, he tried to peer into the mind of the newborn Sophia, only to find that she waspletely resistant to his attempts, just like her parents. After discovering his, Merlin began tough in a light-hearted manner, understanding the Empire now had another monster in its midst. Not only did Sophia practically radiate intelligence, but he could also sense a phenomenal amount of power contained within her body. Like all of Vahns children, she waspletely immune to his foresight, something he had be increasingly fond of with the passage of time. Life was simply more interesting when you didnt know what was going to happen. Since he didnt want to let his intent linger in the Workshop for too long, as he was fully aware of the effort Da Vinci was making to detect his presence, Merlin let his focus shift elsewhere. This resulted in him peering in on Illya, something he had been doing with increasing frequency. He was honestly shocked after learning about the girls attempts to fuse with Cath Palug, as it didnt really make a lot of sense to him. Before seeing it with his own eyes, Merlin would have never even considered the possibility that a Beast of Gaia couldpletely fuse with another person. Though Illya had a slightly better chance than most due to her nature beingparable to a Greater Nature Spirit, he knew it was primarily the influence of Vahn that made the fusion possible. The man produced mysterious energy that he couldnt make heads nor tails of. It seemed capable of literally anything, surprising Merlin time and again with its functionality. At this point, he was certain Vahns energy was the reason why he had been selected as Type Omega by the entities governing reality from the Outside. He knew something was going on that Vahn was either unable to tell them, or simply elected not to. The former seemed to be far more likely as, even when there were gaps in Vahns mind, which he normally would have been able to exploit, a foreign presence had, with great prejudice, kicked him out. Merlin knew there was a second entity inside of Vahns mind as, even when the man was focused on other things, he had noticed discrepancies in the memories ryed to those he summoned. Just the fact that the memories varied from person to person, though not by much, was proof enough that something was guiding the process. Though it didnt seem like the memories themselves were false, it was apparent that Vahn was either keeping a lot of secrets, or the entity existing within him did so at his behest. Despite all these red gs, Merlins opinion of Vahn had only increased with the passage of time as he really was a very hard-working individual. Though he had his quirks, he very rarely contradicted himself and the image he presented within his memories. This indicated they were indeed the truth and, while some parts were obfuscated, there was likely a good reason behind it. Vahn simply didnte off at the type of person that lived by deceiving others. He was honest to a fault, almost to the point of seeming very naive at times... Though there was a chance Vahn was putting on an act, Merlin feared there was literally nothing he could do if the man was that capable of deception. Thus, rather than focus wholly on what Vahn was up to, Merlin focused on the changes he inspired in others. Since he was a very hardworking person, everyone around him worked a lot harder than they needed to, almost as if they werepelled to do so by some unseen force. The most obvious change could be observed in individuals like Cath Palug who, over thest fifteen-hundred years, had essentially served as Merlins Familiar. During this time frame, he hade to know the peculiar Beast of Gaia nearly as well as he knew himself. Because of this, Merlin was a little shaken to see how much he had changed in fewer than two years. He had expected it to take several decades for any real change to ur in the destructive beast yet, with what could only be described as a middling effort from Vahn, the beast had practically been tamed. Gender had no real meaning to a Beast of Gaia, as they were singr existences, but Cath Palug had even abandoned the fact that it was originally male. Now, it had almostpletely fused with Illya and, though nothing had happened, Merlin knew the beast was growing increasingly impatient as a very strong desire to mate had been seeded inside of it. It was, honestly, a little unnerving to try and peer into the fused mentality of the two as, though Illya was the dominant personality, she had been influenced by the feral nature of Cath Palug. Merlin could only smile wryly as he watched Illya roll around in a pile of clothes that she had asked Fenrir to secure for her. She would hide them whenever Vahn came to visit but, at other times, she practically buried herself in a pile of dirtyundry. The most curious part of this development was the fact that Vahn waspletely aware that Illya had stolen an entire wardrobes worth of clothes yet pretended to bepletely unaware of it. This wasnt to deceive and manipte Illya, as that wasnt really necessary at this point, but because he willfully chose to avoid stressing her out as her fusion with Cath Palug progressed into itster stages. At this point, Illya had pure white hair, tworge fluffy ears, and a fluffy tail that curled in an s-shape sticking out from her backside. Her formerly red eyes were now a vibrant violet color while, simr to Fenrir, she had fur covering her forearms and calves. She even had sharp nails and tiny pink pads on the interior of her palms and the bottoms of her feet, something Merlin himself was interested in. He had asked to touch them once but, as if she had never been more offended, Illya looked at him like a predator trying to entice her with candy. Since he liked to think of himself as a rather likable person, Merlin had been quite hurt by her reaction... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Control the alcohol, control the Dwarves,Da Vinci is a cheeky weirdo xD,RIP D.i.c.k Wizard. Even little girls andpanions of 1500 years avoid him (UwU)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1248 - United Front

Chapter 1248 - United Front

As could be expected, Da Vincis surprise reveal of Sophia had sent a few ripples throughout the castle. He got an earful from the other girls for keeping it hidden but, as he had already informed Artoria, they couldnt really be mad at him. It was, after all, a harmless prank on Da Vincis end and, as her character wasnt unknown to the others, the only person genuinely upset was Gawain. Since Sophia was still a member of the Imperial Family, he didnt think it was wise to keep the matter of her birth low-key. The birth of a Princess was an auspicious event that should be celebrated by the people as it reinforced the idea that the Imperial Family was flourishing. Though it was a little jarring to have so many births back to back, Gawain argued that they could just dedicate the entire month as a celebration period that praised the sessive births of the Empires future that ushered in the end of Winter. Vahn didnt have an easy way to refute Gawain so, after discussing the matter with Artoria, it was decided that the period between February 14th and March 15th would be an extended holiday for the Empire. Both Luvia and Circe would have given birth by then and, as Gawain pointed out, this was also around the time Spring would officially descend upon thend. He felt it was indeed an ideal period for celebration and, if he was careful about his future actions, Vahn figured it would be possible to ensure all of his children were born around the same time period. While it would certainly be peculiar to have so many birthdays around the same time period, it also made things simpler for him in the long run, even with the Projection. Instead of having dozens of birthday celebrations throughout the year, they could have a holiday period that waspletely dedicated to his children. He would still give them presents every 365 days, aided by the reminders of Sis, but having official holidays was a hallmark of a stable country. Da Vinci obviously wanted nothing to do with any major celebration so, after a short appearance, she left Sophia in the care of Vahn before retiring to the Workshop. This left him carrying around the infinitely curious infant for the remainder of the evening but, as Vahn obviously had no problem with taking care of his daughter, he didntin. Though this resulted in him also having to carry his other children around, especially Isanna and Naavi, he enjoyed being the center of attention for his precious little angels. While he was carrying Sophia on his right arm and Isanna in his left arm, Vahn had to ignore the fact that the two were having a conversation in baby-speak while, at his side, Luvia curiously asked, "That onesie...is that something Da Vinci made? What kind of functions does it have...?" Hearing Luvias question, Vahn briefly nced at the peculiar garb worn by Sophia. It had a color simr topiszuli and was covered in stars, much like some of Da Vincis favorite outfits. This was enough to make it stand out but, if you looked closely, there was an inneryer to the suit that clung to Sophias body while, at various locations, small ess valves blended almost seamlessly into the fabric. Recalling what Da Vinci had told him, Vahn answered, "It has temperature regtion functions, an automatic defense system, and a total of five nano-golem factories. ording to Da Vinci, anything less than a B-Rank Noble Phantasm wouldnt even be able to harm a single hair on Sophias head." As could be expected, Vahns exnation had caught the attention of, not just the mothers, but just about everyone in earshot. After all, anything that could block a B-Rank Noble Phantasm was already nearing the pinnacle of defensive equipment. More importantly, at least for the mothers present, the onesie produced by Da Vinci had an auto cleaning function, even though Sophia seemingly had no need for it. After the initial shock, Luvia asked the question on everyones mind, "How are we only just hearing about this now? Shouldnt Da Vinci have made versions for each of the children?" Since it was an item that could protect all of their children, Luvia felt that Da Vinci was being selfish by not giving a set to each of Vahns children. Understanding what Luvia must be thinking, Vahn, very lightly, flicked her head as he stated, "These are hand-made by her due to theirplex structure. The one she produced for Sophia was made only a few hours ago so dont go around making assumptions. Da Vinci might be a lot of things, but selfish isnt one of them." By the time he was done speaking, Vahn was lightly rubbing Luvias head as she hung her head with an embarrassed expression on her face. Fortunately, someone stepped in to change the topic as, like a phantom, Rin snatched the hovering Isanna from Vahn after knocking him on the head, hard. She had an angry expression on her face as she, with a voice tinged by Ishtars, eximed, "Dont just use your Telekinesis to hold my daughter. Be more sensible, you dummy...!" Though Rin/Ishtars fist dealt no damage to him, Vahn winced in pain before rubbing the spot where her fist struck with an apologetic look on his face. This didnt stop Rin/Ishtar from ring at him but, as if they found it very amusing, Sophia and Isanna both beganughing. Upon hearing this, Vahns expression momentarily nked, not entirely due to theughter, but the fact that Sophia, despite her words being incoherent to others, said, "Papa is bad~" At this point, Sophia wasnt even five days old so Vahn felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, despite the fact she had been conversing with Isanna earlier. He suddenly remembered that, due to the strange circ.u.mstances of Sophias birth, he had never given her a [Heroic Tale]. Now, he knew she must have an Innate simr to her mothers as, despite being an infant, Sophia was very clearly aware of everything going on around her. He even suspected that the only reason she was using baby speech was due to her vocal cords not having fully developed... Seeing Vahns shock, Rin had an apologetic expression of her own how as she lowered her head and said, "We shouldnt use violence in front of the children. I dont want them thinking it is normal to go around hitting others." Though this sounds rather strangeing from Rin, as her nature made her prone to violence when she was embarrassed, everyone around nodded their head in agreement. Though it was a bit of a misunderstanding, Vahn had also nodded his head before creating a sound istion barrier around the children and saying, "We need to talk about the childrens development in private. For now, lets enjoy the rest of the banquet." Hearing Vahns words, everyone couldnt help but agree as, even without him exining things now, Rin had already realized she had misunderstood his previous shock. They had also been aware of the soundproof barrier he had made so, for the remainder of the evening, they were very careful with their words. It was obvious that he had realized something and, though they had all agreed not to arbitrarily keep secrets from the children, that didnt mean they could just ignore their responsibility as parents. --- After dropping Sophia off at the Workshop, Vahn, apanied by Gareth, joined Artoria, Gray, Rin, Luvia, Kenshin, and Nobunaga in thetters room, amon meet-up location. The children had, for the time being, been left in the care of their Governesses, the Homunculi that would be caring for and educating them until they matured. Since the atmosphere was a little tense, Vahn greeted everyone with a smile before gesturing with his hand and saying, "It isnt that serious. Well just have to take special precautions in rearing the Vanir. As for Sophia, I dont think there will be any issues with Da Vinci and myself around." Though his words eased most of the tensions in the room, Rin/Ishtar/Ereshkigal, the mothers of said Vanir, immediately asked, "Whats going on, Vahn? Dont beat around the bush." Since it concerned their children, they were obviously less patient than they otherwise would have been. Before answering them, Vahn sat down on the sofa next to Artoria before exining, "Im certain that, at the very least, Isanna has a simr level of omniscience as Ishtar and Ereshkigal. It is a little different for Sophia, but Ive also confirmed that she has the [Natural Born Genius] Innate at the EX-Rank, just like her mother. The most terrifying thing, however, is her mental development...though she is only five days old, she has the mental age of a fourteen-year-old...and it is rapidly increasing." ---------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: Sophia Mason Title: Progeny of the Omnipotent Genius [Promotes Mental Development] Race: Demigod Age: C0, P0, M14 Strength: 1E- Endurance: 4E- Agility: 1E- Magical Power: 9E Good Luck: Circuit Quality: EX SOUL: 3 [Lord Soul] Divinity: Innovation(pseudo: 44%), Wisdom(pseudo: 68%), Creation(pseudo: 1% Skills: [Natural Born Genius:Innate:EX], [Artificers Eye:Innate:B], [Promise of the Future:Innate:(sealed)], [Eidetic Memory:B], [Mind Workshop:D], [Golden Rule:A] Magic: (-) Magecraft: (-) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- When the others saw the [Heroic Tale of Sophia Mason], they were more than a little shocked. This meant that, despite her appearance, Sophias mental maturity was even higher than that of Modred and Sakura. It was even higher than Isannas who, at this point, had a mental age of 5, despite only being less than a week old and having the physical development of a two-month-old infant. What mattered the most, at least to Rin, Ishtar, and Ereshkigal, however, was Vahns first im about Isanna having the limited omniscience granted to all Gods and Goddesses. As they needed to be able to perform their duties immediately after birth, most Gods were born fully formed. They also had ess to the Wisdom of the Gaia, giving them knowledge of everything transpiring within the worlds past and present. Those with the associated Divinity could even know the future and, unlike Scthach, they could easily control this ability from birth. If what Vahn said was true, which was very likely the case, this meant that Isanna already had ess to the entire recorded history of the and everything happening in the modern world. Though there were obvious exceptions, as even Gaia and ya could not know everything, it was still a very powerful ability. This meant that, so long as she wanted to know something, Isanna would always have the answer she seeks, despite not having the mental development to properly understand the information she was obtaining. Being the de facto mother of Isanna, Ishtar became the dominant personality in Rins body as she crossed her arms and said, "I will guide Isanna like a proper Goddess. Do not worry." Vahn didnt doubt that Ishtar would do her best but, as they all carried the responsibility of rearing the children born within the castle, he gave a small nod before adding, "We all need to do our best. Isanna shouldnt be afraid of her power, nor should she feel like she is being restrained. It is fine to let her exercise her power and make a few mistakes, so long as they are not irreversible. We need to make sure she doesnt pick up any dangerous habits. I already expect her to be a little precocious so well have to be strict whenever she pushes the boundaries too far..." Following this statement, Vahn had a very long discussion with everyone about maintaining holding a unified front and propermunication. One of the biggest dangers to Isannas development was her believing she would be able to get away with certain things around certain people. If she started trying to take advantage of this realization, she would start to develop a maniptive and deceitful nature as a matter of course. Structure and consistency were important for the development of all children, Vanir included, so they needed to be on the same page until Isanna, and the other children, had matured. The only reason she became the central figure of this discussion was due to her pseudo-Divinities being Sky(69%), Authority(37%), War(82%), and Love(95%). This was an especially troublesomebination as, when she had a better grasp of her abilities, Isanna would be able to teleport and send her intent out, just like when he was teleporting in his Qinglong form. She would also be able tomand and order simple-minded creatures to do her bidding and, after maturing, there was a good chance she would have the same influence of humans and spirits. To exacerbate matters even further, it wouldnt take long before her Love pseudo-Divinity evolved into an actual Divinity. Depending on when and how this manifested, Isanna could be a danger to herself and others in a very short period of time. Fortunately, Isannas Love didnt seem to be the same kind as Ishtars, which would be troublesome for an entire slew of reasons. He had made sure of this as, when they spent time together during the pregnancy, Vahn had informed them about the development of the Vanir and how they were heavily influenced by the intentions and hopes of their parents. This meant that Isannas Love would most likely manifest as familial love and a strong desire to protect her family. She would probably be a little overprotective, but that was better than having a Leh around the castle...especially one that could freely spy on others and teleport around freely. --- While Vahn and the others were discussing her, Isanna was doing exactly what Vahn was worried about, albeit with purely innocent intent. She was pretending to sleep while hugging her beloved little brother when, in actuality, her intent was roaming the halls freely. Though there were some ces she couldnt venture, such as the room where her parents were currently hiding, she was able to move almost uninhibitedly through much of the castle. Even solid walls and theplex magical formations were unable to stop her as, rather than move, it was more urate to say that her intent was simply wherever she wanted it to be. One of Isannas favorite past times, despite having lived for less than two weeks, was spying on her other siblings. She liked to follow Mordred around, watching as the girl got into all kinds of mischief alongside her other big sister, Sakura. It was also very entertaining to see them training as, despite it looking boring and repetitive at times, she thought the shy lights and explosions appearing during spars were very entertaining. She was even tempted to join them at times but, as there was always a presence following her around, Isanna made sure to be on her best behavior, at least for the time being. This time around, Isanna tried to sneak into one of the ces she had never been able to enter, the Magus Tower belonging to Merlin. Unfortunately, any attempt she made to probe the interior would just send her intent elsewhere, causing the young Vanir a great deal of confusion. She still tried to go inside a few more times but, having no sess, she decided to go explore the outside for a bit. From her perspective, the world was full of vibrant colors as she could easily see the flow of mana, both in the environment and the creatures calling Avalon home. Since the Ind had felt somewhat ghostly before, Vahn had brought various harmless animals into the Projection in the past. This mainly included sheep, deer, squirrels, rabbits, and other herbivores as they made the Ind more scenic and fantastical with their presence. There was nothing quite like walking through the woods in the early morning twilight and stumbling across a few deers grazing in the expansive forest of apple trees. He had also taught Mordred not to antagonize them so, after a while, most of the animals on the Ind had be very friendly toward humans. After sending her intent near a few life signs located within the forest, Isanna did something that, if Vahn knew about it, would result in him having a very long, and potentially violent, conversation with Merlin. This was because, much like an actual Goddess, Isanna was already able to manifest herself in other forms, without needing to appear in her main body. Thus, after finding a small family of deer, a stream of mana began to flow from the surroundings before forming into a wispy figure not all that dissimr to Ishtar. Rather than panic at the unexpected appearance of a person, the a.d.u.l.t deer in the small herd bent down on the joints of their knees, seemingly bowing to Isannas manifestation while the fawns in the group began to gather around her. Isanna giggled in response to the subservient a.d.u.l.t deer before saying, "Awue goo ga fuuwaa~" as she pet the young fawns surrounding her. The a.d.u.l.t deer, as if understanding her nonsensical words, rose to their feet before joining their children around Isanna and allowing her to freely pet them... Though Isanna was enjoying her time quite a bit, her eyes suddenly shed with divine light just as she was feeding an apple to one of the smaller fawns. In the next moment, she had vanished from the forest as, back in the castle, her little brother had started to cry. This might have annoyed other infants but Isanna and Naavi were never troubled by Daikis loud bellows. Instead, they both began to hug him in order to calm his crying until two of their caretakers arrived, both wearing the strange contraption that was filled with delicious milk. Isanna personally preferred her mothers milk but, as the vors wereparable, she chose not toin. Since the woman who picked up Daiki also picked her up, meaning she had won against her younger sister, Isanna even graced the pale-haired Homunculus with a few praises while, at the side, Naavi had a pouting expression. This gave Isanna the urge tough but, as she was also quite hungry, she began to suckle on the artificial teet with vigor while holding onto Daikis nket with her right hand. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wheres my super suit!?,Vahn and Da Vinci have created a monster xD...,The Adventures of Isanna, Vol. 1) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1249 - Consolidating Power

Chapter 1249 - Consolidating Power

With the birth of Sophia, Vahn was only waiting for Circe and Luvia to give birth before the number of pregnant women in the castle was reduced to zero. Though he quite enjoyed spending time with his children, he could only look back on his past self with a wry smile. His life had be even busier now so, remembering he had thought about impregnating everyone, Vahn realized he still had a long way to go before maturing to the level he desired. In spite of his busy schedule, Vahn had no realints since even Scthach had let up on him a bit. During one of their recent training sessions, she told him to take an extended break as despite the effort he was putting in, he had reached a bottleneck of sorts. His power was growing without end but, as one of the primary goals of their training was to help him regain a Divinity, it was clear something else was required. With this in mind, she wanted him to focus on his family life and the management of the Empire while using his newfound free time to take care of his children. As a result of his Shishous concerns, Vahn currently found himself watching Mordred, Sakura, Mash, and now Zo?, conduct training drills at the behest of Ghad. This took on the form of one person holding a weighted club-like sword as they used it to strike against the heavy shield of their training partner. Since Ghad had taken over, he had been educating the girls in the use of swords, spears,nces, javelins, shields, maces, ils, and bows. He wanted them to haveprehensive training in many of the mostmon armaments so they would properly understand how to use, and counter, them. Mordred seemed somewhat bored to be on the defensive but, with him sitting at the side, Vahn saw that she was at least pretending to put in an effort. She dutifully held her shield at chest level, using its slightly curved surface to skillfully deflect the strikes of Sakura. Despite having a strong distaste of shields, Mordred was extremely proficient in the usage of almost every type of armament. She also had incredible kic vision and the [Instinct] Skill to cover for any gaps in her knowledge. To her credit, Sakuras blows were heavy enough to make small dents in the shield, causing Mordred to have to focus at least a little to avoid straining herself. At this point, the adorable little brte had the strength of ten grown men while, due to her monstrous reserves of Od, she would channel a bit into each of her attacks almost instinctually. Every now and then, what appeared to be a thin blue mist would radiate out from where she struck, causing Mordred to tense up slightly to avoid being pushed back. Vahn was genuinely proud of Sakuras growth and, since he started watching their training, he made sure she knew it. She seemed embarrassed by this at first but, after a while, Sakura had learned to ept his praise with a bashful smile rather than awkward dismissal. Mordred had helped her a lot in this regard as, whenever he praised her, she would always ept his words with a toothy smile and, more often than not, a hug. She also had a bad habit of climbing on him, which was bing more awkward as she continued to grow, but Vahn didnt mind letting his tomboyish little monkey get away with mischief, at least for the time being. It wasnt just Sakura who benefitted from Mordreds unabashed willingness to ept praise either as, with Mash and Zo? both working hard, Vahnplimented their efforts as well. They acted a lot like Sakura at first, especially Mash, but now Vahn could easily pat the girls heads whenever theypleted hard training. This seemed to motivate them quite a bit as, with their treatment being simr to his children, it left a deep impact on the parentless girls. Now, Vahn watched as Zo? used her own superhuman strength to bash against Mashs shield as she shouted, "Ei! Ei! Ei!" in a cheerful tone. A stark contrast to the pale-haired girls yfulness, Mash had a determined and focused gaze as she bent her knees slightly and leaned into each strike. She was also deflecting the blows to the side but, rather than ept the blows outright, Mash had learned to intercept the path of the blow and disperse the force. This not only significantly reduced the power behind the blow but it also opened up the opportunity for a counterattack by mming the shield into the attackers body. Fortunately for Zo?, Mash couldnt use her shield bash against her in this particr training as she was required to remain purely on the defense. This allowed Zo? the opportunity to freely il away at Mashs shield, a testament to the fact that she wascking proper discipline. Since she had only been at this for five days, however, even Ghad remained silent and only corrected her when she made serious mistakes. He knew the past of the Designer Babies at this point so, despitecking any facial expressions, Ghad had a lot of empathy and tolerance towards the yful girls antics. After a thousand timed strikes from Sakura, and three-hundred from Zo?, Ghad, in a calm voice, inly stated, "Five-minute break, then switch." With the setpleted, Mordred began rolling her left shoulder with a cheeky smile on her face as she remarked, "Youre bing pretty strong, Sakura-chan. At this rate, my left arm is going to be useless in the future! Shishishishishi~" Sakura rolled her eyes in response to Mordreds words before walking over and cing her palm against thetters shoulder. Mordred didnt try to evade this and, after a few seconds, a pale green light illuminated the area as Sakura used a very rudimentary form of healing magic to remove any muscle strain. Since he had started training her personally, Vahn had been teaching her [Hands of Nirvana] and sense the structure of a persons body using her monstrous magical power in a non-destructive way. After a few seconds, Mordreds arm had started to tingle a bit but the aching feeling hadpletely vanished. This caused her to smile even wider before showering Sakura in praise as they walked over to the side where their Chichue was smiling at them. Halfway to their destination, Mordred leaped the remaining ten meters, headbutting Vahns chest as she threw her arms around him and giggled mischievously. Vahn chuckled lightly in response to Mordreds mischief as he gently stroked her golden hair and mused, "You did well, Mordred. Make sure to keep focused during training or-" Before he was able to continue any further, Mordred looked up at him and added, "Or Ill becent in a real battle, right~? Shishishishi~" With a smile on his face, Vahn shook his head in mock exasperation before pinching Mordreds nose and taking a seat. She sat on his left thigh as if it were natural while Sakura, after walking over like a normal person, sat down to his right. Vahn also stroked her hair, earning a smile from the mature girl as she sat like a properdy. She took her etiquette training very seriously and, despite aspiring to be a Knight, Sakura knew she would be representing the Empire as the Second Imperial Princess in the future. Since they only had a five-minute break, Vahn used his [Hands of Nirvana] to revitalize the girls so that their training would be more productive. This included Mash and Zo?, albeit with the former going red in the face when he stroked hervender-hair. When he first saw her behaving like this, Vahn had been a little confused since he thought she had a crush on Ghad. She called him Senpai and asked him lots of questions about bing a proper Shieldbearer so this made the most sense. However, once he started showing up to observe their training, Mash would usually flock to his side with the other girls, despite rarely having anything to say. Vahn tried tofort himself by acknowledging the very real possibility that he had be a father figure to Mash but, given how she reacted to Mordreds and Zo?s teasing, this didnt seem to be the case. She also referred to him as Master and, despite their few interactions in the past, had a Loyalty value of 6,417. With all of this, Vahn knew Mash had likely started to crush on him now but, as she was a sensible and loyal girl, he didnt think anything woulde of it. He really wanted her to find happiness with someone else so, after handling the Barthomeloi family, Vahn wondered if it wouldnt be prudent of him to allow the girls to be exchange students at the Clock Tower so they could properly socialize with people their own age. Though the curriculum of the Clock Tower left a lot to be desired, that didnt mean he had to enroll them in the standard courses. Since he would be negotiating conditions with Solon, Vahn could have a special course created specifically for his children and a select few capable students. He could then prove to the Magusmunity atrge that his methods were better suited to rearing young Magi than any of the existing methods. Though this ss wouldrgely focus on battling within the Spirit Tomb, the results would be very apparent when the entire ss suddenly started showing greater prowess than the majority of teachers. Vahn was intending to use the Barthomeloi Monarchal Family to set a harsh example for the entire Magusmunity but that didnt mean he wanted to arbitrarily cause a world war. The method he had discussed with Artoria, Merlin, Luvia, and Rin had him establishing himself as creating a strong deterrent before cementing his status and building his prestige by strengthening the foundation of the very same organization he had harmed. After all, if he just destroyed the Barthomeloi family and pretended like it was no big deal, a number of people would begin to fear and conspire against him, even amongst themon Magi. By destroying one of the Three Monarchal Families, he would have proven that the Empire wasnt just a third-party faction without any power. Then, by extending an olive branch and helping the Association strengthen its foundation, he would have a lot of leeway for bringing about the changes he wanted to see. Since his methods would produce elites in a very short period of time, most of the younger Magi would begin to flock to him while his prestige continued to grow. The lingering threat of Angra Mainyu had made most people hungry for greater power so it was the best time to build his own faction and establish asting alliance with the Association. From the moment his methods began to bear fruit, Vahn would have the leverage to end many of the foolish, despotic, and objectively cruel methods of the Mages Association. Since they would no longer serve any purpose, as there was an incalcble number of ways to discredit them, he would be able to slowly change the curriculum to his preferences. This would eventually affect the entirety of the Magusmunity as young Magi, who had been victimized by the current system, would be able to directly contend against the so-called Elites and Nobles. There was a good chance conflict would arise as a result of his efforts but, as he would have already used the Barthomeloi family as an example, Vahn would be able to take action against almost any family with impunity. After all, by winning over the majority and unifying them against amon enemy, one they have always resented, his actions would always be considered just in their eyes. It was high time for a change so, while it was a more than a little tyrannical, Vahn was willing to take the necessary measures to strengthen the Empire and change the policies of the Association. One of his biggest concerns wasnt the Association itself, but the happiness and mental wellness of his children. Vahn felt like they were bing detached from reality by staying inside the Projection so, while he was fine with them staying inside to increase their strength, he also wanted them to be happy and functioning members of society. They needed to be able to build their own social circles and interact with peers that shared simr mentalities to them. If they only ever interacted with the people inside of the castle, their perspective of the world would be increasingly skewed as they would be aging and developing several times faster than their peers. By having some of his children attend the Clock Tower as exchange students, he also opened the door for the reverse. The Empire was going to go public before the years end and, as he intended for Avalon to essentially serve as a massive Academy, he would obviously need students. He had even started to work on four different curriculums alongside Da Vinci, including the Standard, Mage, Knight, and Hero courses. The Standard course served as a filter that provided a proper foundation to all students before they fell into one of the other three courses. Once students had a clear goal and had chosen their path, they would enter into one of the other three courses based on their capabilities. It would be possible to freely transfer between them, but this was predicated on the fact that the student had put in the requisite amount of effort. As could be expected, the Mage course would focus on teaching children actual Magic ording to Evas methods and Da Vincis Unified Thaumaturgical Theory. The Knights course would be, quite literally, a curriculum designed to teach children the necessary knowledge to be a Knight. This training would primarily focus on strengthening the body and increasing magic resistance. Since Od was used to power both spells and strengthen the body, the biggest difference between students of the Mage and Knight course, other than mentality, was the lengths they went to in order to strengthen their physical foundation. After building a proper foundation for themselves, students would then be able to enter the more advanced Hero course which, as the name suggested, had them training under Heroic Spirits and applying what they had learned in actualbat scenarios. Vahn was intending to create his own Dungeon in the future and had already discussed the matter with the Dwarves and Vulcanae below. They were capable of reshaping thend freely and, though it would take some time, creating a Dungeon wasnt even that difficult for them. The deeper you went into the earth, the closer you got to the Reverse Side of the World. By making a Dungeon that neared the membrane separating the Surface and Reverse Side, known as the Land of Faeries, the Dungeon would naturally begin to change and evolve. It would begin to produce a variety of different monsters of progressively higher strength the closer you got to the Reverse Side and, by seeding various nts and minerals, it would even be possible to harvest high-quality herbs and magical metals like Mithril and Adamantine in the future. Regardless of what he decided to do, Vahn knew his presence in the world brought the Surface and Reverse Side closer together. Unless he proactively tried to seal the other away, which was possible due to Artorias presence, it was only a matter of time until the boundary between the two textures ceased to exist. Before that happened, he needed to make sure the world was ready for the jarring changes it would experience so it was necessary for him to seize control or, at the very least,e to apromise with the various world powers. Vahn was starting with the Mages Association, as it was the most obvious target, but it wouldnt be long before he set his sights on the Holy Church as well. He doubted they would listen to reason if he pointed out that ya was the God they worshipped but, after recruiting a number of Saints to his cause, it wouldnt take much effort to destabilize the Church. All he really had to do was perform various miracles, such as healing the sick and bringing stability to war-torn regions for most normal humans to venerate him. Since this was the information era, they would be hard-pressed to paint the Empire as some kind of evil organization if the only thing they ever did was save people, rather than asking for money and offering false salvation. War was inevitable between the Empire and the Holy Church but, with ya at his side, they had already lost the battle before it even began. This was doubly so with CHALDEAS as, with the ability to peer into the past, present, and future of the entire, he would know what they were scheming before it could even be implemented. ya could also move freely within the Holy Church, unlike the Mages Association, because the people within literally prayed to her for guidance. She provided an absolute advantage against the Holy Church and, if he wanted, Vahn could even enter their most sacred grounds freely. At this point, it felt like there was very little that could stand in his way from seizing power as, given enough time, he had an infinite number of ways to do so. By the years end, he would even have an additional twenty Heroic Spirits serving to strengthen the foundation of the Empire. Since this would include some of historys most powerful figures, including literal Gods and Goddesses, there wasnt much anyone could do against them. By the time Angra Mainyu appeared, he could have built a small army of nearly two-hundred Heroic Spirits, each stronger than a standard army on their own merits. This was, however, a consideration for the not-so-distant future so, for the time being, Vahn was just happy to be able to spend time with his children. The Empire and ruling the world would always be of secondary importance to him as, if he couldnt even make his children happy, he didnt deserve to spew titudes about making others happy. With this in mind, Vahn hugged Mordred and Sakura in his arms before sending them off to resume their training with a few encouraging words. He then gave Mash and Zo? a head pat before sending them off to do the same, earning a bashful smile from the former and a cheerfulugh from thetter... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mash has been corrupted...!?,RIP Barthomeloi...at least they would have the achievement of unifying the Magusmunity?,So, Vahn+Da Vinci+ya=Batman) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1250 - Mischief

Chapter 1250 - Mischief

By the time two weeks had passed in the real world, a total of fourteen came to pass within the Projection. In this span of time, Vahn had been spending a lot of time with his family while making the final preparations for the showdown against the Barthomeloi Family. More important than this, however, was the fact he had helped bring two more children into this world, courtesy of Luvia and Circe. Luvia had, surprisingly, gone intobor before Circe, despite having gotten pregnant several dayster, at least from the perspective of those within the Projection. She gave birth to a healthy baby girl with the same golden locks that the Edelfelt family was known for. This most important thing, though Vahn didnt particrly care about it, was that his new daughter, Ugelita, had inherited her mothers [Golden Rule:EX] without issue. Her Guardian even took on the form of a Golden Dragon of Prosperity, a forty-centimeter long western dragon whelp with tiny wings, golden scales, and vibrant, ruby-red eyes. On the day of Us birth, Vahn had invited over Luvias family to celebrate alongside her before helping them get settled into their Manor. The Dwarves had managed to construct avish Manor in less than a week, with the exterior grounds and basic structure having beenpleted within the span of two days. They were incredibly skilled builders and, though it wasnt as sturdy as the Ivory Castle, anything less than B-Rank, tactical-ss Magecraft, would struggle to deal any substantial damage to the core structure. It was during the same seven-day cycle, when everyone was still celebrating the birth of U, that Circe went intobor. Vahn had been in the middle of a discussion with the three generations of Edelfelts when ya informed him of the situation. He had to quickly excuse himself as, with Circes nature, she wouldnt take kindly to being left waiting. It was fortunate that Medusa has been with her at the time or Vahn imagined she might hold a grudge at being left alone, regardless of whether or not he had a good reason. In hindsight, Vahn should have known Circe would be giving birth during this particr evening as, high in the sky, a full moon was present. Though she had renounced her faith and heritage, Circe was still descendant of Hecate, meaning her daughter would almost certainly be born on the night of a full moon. He could feel an incredible amount of Yin Elemental energy flowing into her body during the delivery, chilling her core temperature to dangerous levels. If not for his presence, there was a good chance that Circe would have lost her life during childbirth, one of the detrimental effects of her cursed Innate. Fortunately, his Source Energy wouldnt so easily lose out to the invasive energy and, with his [Hands of Nirvana], Circe wasnt in any real danger. She was very anxious in the beginning, as she knew the probability of her death was high, but all her fear had faded away by the time she heard the sound of their daughter crying. Circe had given birth to a peculiar little girl with simrly pink hair and sky-blue eyes. She was a very beautiful infant but, what stood out more than anything else, was the fact she had pointed ears, tiny wings, and a set of three feathered tufts near her scalp. This was proof of Hecates Blessing which, in spite of the fact it harshly punished the mother, blessed their child with their lost heritage. Vahn now understood why the Innate was called the [Blood Moons Curse], as it essentially burdened the new child, often motherless, with carrying on the legacy of Hecates descendants. He even suspected that, if she werent on the Reverse Side of the World, Hecate would have tried to adopt his daughter after guilt-tripping him over Circes death. Even with Circe telling him not to me Hecate, as she knew the risks the moment she gave up her Blessing, Vahn had cemented his ire for the crone-like Goddess. In fact, he was really started to hate most of the Greek and Roman Gods in the Nasuverse as their history and legends painted the vast majority in an extremely negative light. The only exceptions were those like Hestia and Demeter but even their origin wasnt entirely unblemished. If he had the chance, Vahn wanted to meet this worlds version of the Gods and Goddesses he knew but, with what he knew of Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Hera, and Hecate, he wasnt in a particr hurry. Penelos Guardian was a Spirit known as a Gluttonous Emperor, a type of Divine Spirit that took on the form of a pig with pearl-white skin, sky blue eyes, and runic engravings over much of its body. It had an ability simr to Fenrir, allowing it to eat virtually anything in order to increase its power. The downside to this Innate, known as [Gluttony], was that the stored energy did not provide permanant benefits. It needed to constantly eat to replenish its reserves but, at the same time, it didnt suffer the same detrimental effects of Fenrirs [Insatiable Hunger]. Since it also had the ability to share its energy with Penelo, the Guttuonous Emperor was actually a very powerful Guardian, albeit with very limitedbat potential on its own. Overall, Vahn just felt blessed to have two more beautiful daughters in his life, even if the mothers of said daughters would invite him a lot of trouble in the future. This was something he would address when the time came and, if necessary, he didnt mind going to war with the entire Greek Pantheon if it meant protecting his own children and the families of his vassals. After all, there was no way Hera would ignore Heracles so, once the boundary between the Surface and Reverse ceased to exist, she would undoubtedly try to stir up trouble... --- With Scthach giving him a break from training, Vahn felt happier during thest few weeks than the entirety of his time within the Nasuverse. He could always be found with a happy smile as he got to spend every day watching his children grow and spending time with the people he cared about. It was a very fulfilling way to live, even if there were a few awkward moments here and there. Though one of these resulted in him having a fresh bite mark on his shoulder, courtesy of Illya, it was still a pleasant memory that Vahn would cherish. If anything, Vahn was more troubled by his brilliant little daughter, Sophia, as she had a propensity for causing mischief, specifically targetted toward him. Thest time he went to pick her up, Vahn was shocked to find that he had stepped on a mine that had stealth capabilities. When it exploded, rainbow-colored powder enveloped his body and spread through much of the Workshop while, at the side, Sophia was seated in a blue mech,ughing like a mad scientist. Shortly after, Da Vinci came out from her hidden workshop and, after seeing the mess, simply smiled before activating the automated cleaning system of the workshop. Sophia, despite being twenty days old, had her mental development stop at 16 years old. She was an incredibly brilliant infant and, if not for the limitations of her body, Vahn imagined she would already be building mechs that could rival Inas. Her current model was produced after she connected to the neural link of the [Gradiation Air Printer], allowing her to temte out a design and print it without any help whatsoever. It had the function of hovering around a meter off the ground and, to make up for her own limited mobility, it had several articted robotic arms. What hade as the biggest surprise, though Vahn wasnt quite sure why he hadnt seen iting, was that Sophia had a small diode transmitter on her neck that allowed her to speak through the speaker on her mech without having to say a word. Vahn had underestimated how quickly Sophia would develop but, considering she never seemed to sleep, he really should have expected something like this to happen. Da Vinci also allowed her to do whatever she wanted while inside the Workshop, so long as Ark was monitoring her. This gave the young genius free rein to design and invent things and, due to incorporating a feeding system in her mech, she didnt even have to bother her mother when she was hungry. It was a vexing situation but, as Vahn couldnt help but feel proud of his little genius, he could only smile wryly with his face covered in powder he could have easily evaded. Fortunately, despite her advanced mental age, Sophia still enjoyed spending time with her other siblings. Most of her inventions were designed with them in mind, allowing them to y together and have fun, often at their fathers expense. This was especially true whenever she teamed up with Isanna as thetter, much like Sophia, could freely float through the air now, just like her mother. In fact, appearance-wise, Isanna and Naavi were almost carbon copies of their mothers, albeit in a chibi form. They had even started to grow crowns on their head and, while Naavi had yet to manifest hers, Isanna could already form her raiment. The first time Vahn saw Isannas onesie turn into her raiment, his mind had nked before he sat down with the young Vanir and exined to her why she shouldnt wear such an outfit until she was older. Though she was only around seven weeks old, she had the mental development of an eight-year-old so she wasnt incapable of understanding his words. As for why he wanted her to wear her onesie, at least for the time being, it was because Isannaa raiment was almost as revealing as her mothers. All she was ended up wearing was a white band embroidered in gold, a garment that was simr to intricate ck panties, and a pair of mismatched leggings, one ck and the other white. Since she was also adorned with various golden essories, which just looked strange on an infant, Vahn had to be a little stern with her. Fortunately, since this discussion, Isanna had always worn her onesie properly, perhaps understanding she was causing him the bad kind of stress. Still, when Isanna and Sophia teamed up, Vahn could only do his best to be warry as they seemed to be slowly grasping his capabilities. They were getting better at pushing the boundaries and, during a game of hide and seek, Isanna had been able topletely conceal her presence. If he didnt have the ability to sense spatial fluctuations, it would have been nearly impossible to find her unless she wanted to be found. She could already teleport short distances but, as she never went more than a few meters away from Daiki, it was easy to lure her out just by moving him around. Isanna and Naavi were both very fond of their younger brother who, as time passed, ended up being much smaller than them. After seven weeks inside the Projection, they already looked like two-year-old toddlers while Daiki was still a very small infant. Despite this incongruity, they treated him like he was an integral part of their existence, understanding he was their triplet despite his diminutive size. Naavi was extremely protective of him, to the point that she rarely left his side, while Isanna was the big sister of the trio, often getting them into trouble but never endangering them. Because of his overprotective sisters, Daiki had be quite the crybaby over thest seven weeks and, if he didnt have at least one of them nearby, he would cry very loudly. Vahn had been worried that they had some kind of special link that he couldnt sense, much like Emiru and Maemi, but even Merlin and ya hadnt been able to sense anything. He chalked it up to them having grown close to each other while in the w.o.m.b and, much like how normal twins hated being separated, they were almost always together. --- Of Vahns children, the one he was least concerned about, with the obvious exceptions of Mordred and Sakura, was his eldest son, Kamiya. He was a very quiet child and, though he was developing at a rtively normal rate, it was obvious he would be quite intelligent when he grew up. Nobunaga doted on him quite a bit and, much like how Isanna and Naavi were attached to Daiki, Mordred had grown rather fond of Kamiya. She didnt go out to y as much as she used to and instead spent a lot of her free time in Nobunagas room helping take care of her younger brother. Though he already understood why Mordred took such great care of Kamiya, he had decided to ask her outright for verification. Her response, as expected, was that Kamiya carried the burden of being the natural-born heir to the Throne. While she would certainly do her best to earn the right to rule herself, Mordred had always been unnaturally adherent to things like social hierarchies. She always sorted people into categories based on their presumed status, showing respect to those who were higher than her and expecting respect from those lower than her. Even though the Empire didnt use the traditional system of inheritance, it was hard to change the minds of people like Gawain, Mordred, Ghad, and even Artoria. Despite Artoria and Mordred both being females, they still inherently supported the ideology that a male heir was necessary in order to inherit status andnd. Though the decision was ultimately his to make, they would treat Kamiya as if he was the true heir to the throne until Vahn had officially announced a sessor. Fortunately, they didnt insist on raising him with that mentality and, unless Kamiya worked for it, he would just be Vahns eldest son. Though this didnt stop Mordred from elevating him, it wouldnt be a problem since Nobunaga, Mordreds Aneue, always watched the duo like a hawk. She intended to raise Kamiya her way, as she was a very traditional woman despite her peculiarities, so it wouldnt matter what other people decided. His decisions would be his to make and, unless he was willing to put in the effort, Nobunaga would never allow him to think he had any inherent right to the throne. Vahn always supported the decisions of his childrens mothers as, with his own duties often requiring him to split focus, they were the primary caretakers of the children. So long as the seeds of internal conflict were not sewn as a result of their rearing, he didnt mind their methods. His duty was to set the example for his children to follow while also serving as an unshakeable figure that would protect them from harm. He would spoil them a fair amount but, when they made real mistakes, Vahn would not hesitate to discipline them when the situation required him to do so. More than anything else, Vahn had to make sure his children had the chance to find happiness for themselves, preferably without infringing upon the happiness of others. They would learn to work for what they received, just like each of the future residents of the Empire. Though there would be a few situations where they received gifts, such as during birthdays, everything else would be provided to them based on needs, not wants. With the power they wielded, his children had infinite potential for causing harm if they were not taught to be responsible early on. Fortunately, with so many amazing women at his side, Vahn didnt have to worry too much about how his children would develop. With the exception of Circe, who generally cooped herself up in the Menagerie, all of the girls worked together to look after the children. Even Da Vinci helped out in her own way as she provided protective equipment for the children and personally developed advanced Companions for each of them. She even gave Rin, Ereshkigal, and Ishtar a device that allowed her to track down Isanna if the mischievous Vanir decided to teleport away with Daiki and Naavi when they werent looking. Ishtars control over Space was far more developed than Isannas so, with the wave of her hand, she could easily teleport the trio back if they were in danger. The device just helped her locate Isanna as, despite only having a pseudo-Divinity rted to the Sky, she was already adept at concealing her presence. Since the limited-omniscience of Gods prevented them from obtaining information about each other, she had to sense Isanna through the fluctuations in space or by using the tracker that Da Vinci had developed. Isanna was aware of the tracking device but, as she didnt want to get in too much trouble, she had never tried to remove it. Since her moms allowed her to y around and explore a bit, so long as she didnt do anything dangerous, she had no reason to be rebellious. Naavi also implored her to stay out of trouble but, as the golden-haired Vanir was considerably more demure, she always got dragged around at Isannas whims. It helped that Daiki seemed to enjoy the excursions quite a bit, as there were a lot of interesting things to see and curious people to meet while exploring the halls of the castle. Contrary to their younger brother, Isanna and Naavi werent too fond of the Homunculi that would greet them in the halls as, more often than not, their focus would be on Daiki. Since they were quite protective of their younger brother, the two Vanir adamantly refused to let random Homunculi hold him. The only exceptions they made were the Governesses that had been assigned to them as they had been present since the time of their birth. Since their mothers all shared the same body, Isanna and Naavi knew it wasnt easy on them to take care of three children at once so, despite never truly trusting the pale-haired humanoids, they tolerated their presence for Daikis sake... (A/N: Phew. This about wraps up the slow-build so the next couple of chapters will involve the final preparations for the duel and other important developments. Though the children will be a mainstay in the story, you wont have to worry about them eating up too many chapters unless Im in a bad mood and just want to write something light-hearted xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1251 - Twin Goddesses

Chapter 1251 - Twin Goddesses

Deep beneath the Ivory Castle, Vahn found himself apanied by Rin, Artoria, Da Vinci, and, even if it might not have been the best idea, Sophia. If she was left with other people, the odds of Sophia running off or ying pranks were close to 100% so, considering her general intrigue in everything, Vahn had allowed her to enter the Welsh Dragons chamber alongside her mother. While waiting for the summoning system to finish charging, Vahn was standing idle with Rins hand linked with his as they made small talk. Though it wasnt necessary for her to be present for what he had nned, she had asked to attend. Considering she would be separating from someone that had shared the same body with her for nearly two years at this point, he wasnt surprised by her wanting to witness the event directly. When the massive formation finally activated, Vahn gave a curt nod toward Rin before having her move off to the side. He doubted anything would happen if someone else was inside the circle when he activated it but, as there was no reason to take any risks, Vahn felt more at ease with her standing alongside everyone else. The moment Vahn activated the summoning system, he found himself in the endless ck abyss that held the Throne of Heroes. It felt like only a few days had passed since hisst visit but, as this was a good thing, Vahn couldnt help but smile as he made his way over to the three stone panels. After confirming that Ereshkigal was one of the options inscribed into the Throne, Vahn did a soft reset before performing an experiment he had already discussed with the others. This involved him searching up the names of various conceptual entities, the first of which being Maxwells Demon. Vahn wasnt at all surprised by the fact that Maxwells Demon appeared in the list but, when he saw its Parameters, Skills, and avable sses, he couldnt help blink in surprise. Even rtively normal people had multiple sses avable so, seeing that Maxwells Demon only had the Caster ss was a mild surprise. What really caught him off guard, however, was the fact that it had null values for all of its Parameters, the only exception being its Noble Phantasm grade. Stranger still was the fact that it only had a single Skill and, for reasons he couldnt understand,pletelycked the ss Skills that shoulde with being a Caster Servant. From this simple experiment, Vahn was able to confirm many things. He had the ability to summon conceptual entities, as expected, but he had also learned that there were unexpected exceptions in the Servant-ss System. This was useful information as it implied there was much to learn about the Throne of Heroes, questions that would need answers if he wanted to take full advantage of it in the future. After resisting the temptation to summon Maxwells Demon, even though it was the most rational choice to make, Vahn looked up names like Laces Demon, the Seven Deadly Sins, and the Seven Virtues. All of these searches bore fruit and, if Vahn really wanted to take advantage of the Throne of Heroes, summoning any one of them would be a tremendous boon to the Empire. After all, it was nearly impossible to kill a conceptual entity without either removing its influence from the world or having one of a few phenomenally powerful Divine Constructs. With his second experiment a sess, Vahn was in a great mood as he keyed in what could be considered one of the most important conceptual entities, Spenta Mainyu. It was the counterpart to Angra Mainyu within Zoroastrianism, representing All good in the World. Though there were no guarantees they would be able to actually counteract Angra Mainyus influence, Vahn felt that it wasnt a stretch to consider that Spenta Mainyu would have one of the most powerful forms of purification. To Vahns surprise, Spenta Mainyu actually had Parameters for itself, unlike the majority of other conceptual entities. Though most of its values were abysmally low, it had EX-Rank Luck and an EX-Ranked Skill called [Guidance of the Wise Lord]. It also had the exceptionally rare Saver-ss, but this wasnt unexpected considering what it represented. ording to the description of its Skill, it had the ability to purify the wickedness in all things. Vahn spent a few moments wondering what influence Spenta Mainyu would have on the World but, as he had alreadye here for a specific purpose, he eventually set the matter aside before calling up Ereshkigals name once again. He wasnt surprised when the Administrator of the Throne told him that she needed a new vessel to inhabit so, after a few awkward minutes, Vahn had produced a body that looked almost identical to Ereshkigal, albeit with the internal structure of Rin. Since it was possible to even use inanimate objects as a vessel, the body he prepared was obviously epted by the Throne so, after confirming the selection, Vahn found himself back in reality. The vessel he had created was floating in front of him with its arms spread wide,pletely nude for all the world to see. It was for this reason that Merlin had not apanied them today as, quoting the bashful golden-haired Goddess, she would "Tear his eyes out and burn his soul for a thousand years if he dared look upon her n.a.k.e.d form". As a phenomenal amount of mana was flowing into the vessel he had prepared, Vahn noticed a blue vapor, simr to a ghostly me, flowing from Rins body. This made her feel a little weakened but, with her strong body and Ishtars support, she wasnt in any danger. Vahn breathed a sigh of relief after confirming she was okay. At the same time, the light surrounding Ereshkigals vessel slowly dissipated as her ck crown and raiment took form. With the possessionplete, Ereshkigal slowly peeled her eyes open as she gently descended to the floor. She seemed a little confused at first but, after a few seconds, a radiant smile spread across her face. Then, with a light blush coloring her cheeks, she looked toward him and said, "I feel...closer to you..." while walking over and giving him a hug. Vahn obviously didnt refuse Ereshkigals affection but, before they could enjoy the moment, another figure pressed into his back, wrapping its arms around and making its two soft mounds known as Ishtar teased, "Now we can have even more fun together~" Ereshkigal had a slightly annoyed expression on her face in response to her sisters interruption but, rather than argue against her, she ultimately gave a small nod that caused Ishtar tough. With this, Vahn knew he was in for a long night as he would now have to contend against two Goddesses at the same time, rather than tending to them one at a time. This was well within his capabilities but, just imagining the two sisters ovepped with each other caused his heart to flutter... Ishtar was very sensitive to such thoughts so she began to yfully nibble on his ear until Vahn ultimately shrugged the two sisters off after mumbling in a stern tone, "Behave in front of Sophia." This caused Ishtar to poke her tongue out at him but she still obeyed by returning control over to Rin. In truth, Ishtar had a longsting rivalry with her sister so, now that they could both manifest at the same time, she was really looking forward to how they wouldpete against each other in the near future. --- After discussing the results of his experiment with Da Vinci, Vahn escorted her and Sophia back to the Workshop before regrouping with Rin and Ereshkigal. Artoria had already returned to her own duties so, after dismissing Gareth, Vahn was left alone with the two nearly identical women and his three lovable little children. Ereshkigal was cradling Daiki in her arm while Naavi sat obediently in herp with an almost identical smile on her face. As for Rin or, more specifically, Ishtar, she was ying with Isannas hair while the young Vanir was looking around the room with a bored expression. When she noticed his arrival, however, Isanna adopted her usual smile as she hopped out of Ishtarsp and eximed, "Papa~!" in a happy tone. In the next moment, Vahn found himself catching Isanna out of the air after she teleported right in front of him. Though she could have easily just floated on her own, she had triggered his fatherly proximity system, meaning her fate had been sealed. As a result, Isanna was giggling andughing as he snatched her out of the air and carried her over to the sofa to sit between the two Goddesses. Ishtar had a pretend pout on her face as sheined, "Isanna, you cant just leave Mommy like that. Youll break our heart, you know~?" In response to this, Isanna giggled mischievously before hugging him tightly and replying, "Isanna loves Papa and Daiki the most though~?" beforeughing once again as her mother puffed out her cheeks adorably... After a bit of reshuffling, Vahn ended up with Isanna and Naavi seated in hisp while he had Daiki leaning against his chest. His sides were upied by Rin and Ereshkigal as they all enjoyed some family bonding time. This time around, they werent watching one of his memories, but a childrens movie that was popr in the outside world. Isanna and Naavi had a mental age of 8 and 5 so they could easily follow along with the plot while happily picking away at a te of mochi he had set out for them. Vahn really enjoyed spending time with his family like this but, as it was already prettyte, it wasnt long before Naavi had joined Daiki, falling asleep while leaningzily against him. Thus, despite a fewints from Isanna, Vahn carried all three of them to their bedroom before tucking them into a customized crib. Isanna and Naavi were already too big for a crib and, as Daiki was usually snuggly tucked between them, there wasnt any danger in them sleeping in a rtively normal bed. In the future, this room would be shared by the two sisters while Daiki would eventually have to move into the room on the opposite side. He expected the girls toin quite a bit but, as he was worried about how Daiki would develop if he was constantly pampered by his sisters, Vahn was building his resolve against their inevitable tears... Once the children were tucked in, Vahn gave a polite greeting to the Governesses assigned to the triplets before retiring to Rins room. He had already expected Ishtar to pull something but Vahn was still pleasantly surprised upon entering the room. He found the two sister Goddesses wearing their raiments as Ishtar straddled Ereshkigal from above as the two shared a very passionate kiss. It was a sight to behold so Vahn leaned against the threshold of the door for a while, curious to see how long they could keep it up... Ishtar was obviously aware of his presence but, pretending to be ignorant, she continued egging her sister onward until her knee was between the golden-goddess thighs, This caused Ereshkigal to pull her lips free as she bit on her finger to stifle a m.o.a.n. It was only after this that Ishtar sat at the side with a flushed face as she wiped away ayer of moisture from her lips and asked, "We dont mind if you want to watch, but our sister may not appreciate it nearly as much~" Ereshkigal weakly raised her body after hearing Isthars words, causing Vahn to swallow audibly as she looked towards him with a pleading expression and mewled, "Vahnnn..." He obviously couldnt just stand idle after she called out his name so, using [Shundo], Vahn immediately appeared in the bed. After this, Ishtar practically glued herself to him as she leaned against his back and whispered into his ear, "Youll make us jealous if you only pay attention to our sister..." Rather than get fl.u.s.tered, Vahn released a lightheartedugh in response to Ishtars words before snaking his body around her and pulling her body to his front. She issued a yful kyaa and was going to tease him more but, before she was able to, Vahn was already leaning over her with a wolfish grin on his face. This caused Ishtar a moment of pause as her eyes widened slightly and a light flush covered her cheeks. Inside of her body, Rin was tomato red as, from her perspective, she could see a rosy color surrounding Vahns figure as he slowly leaned down and began kissing her counterparts lips. Despite his focus on Ishtar, Vahn had extended his left hand to Ereshkigal as she sat close at his side. She took the initiative to gingerly kiss and suckle at his fingers before moving on to licking and sucking them. Once her tensions had built up a bit, he removed his hand from her mouth before finally releasing Ishtar from his devilish tongue. Despite being a Goddess of S.e.x, Ishtar rarely had the advantage against Vahn as, perhaps due to Freyas training, Goddesses of S.e.x were surprisingly easy for him to handle. After pulling Ishtar to a seated position, Vahn had the two twins leaning against him as he took turns kissing them. At the same time, his hands had snuck around to their backs and, with them leaning forward slightly, he had easy ess to their impably soft butts and the moist gardens nearby. In this position, he could easily work on both girls in a way that few could match. He could even make his fingers slightly thicker and longer so that all of their weak spots were within reach, causing both Goddesses to shake and tremble as he prevented their escape. Though Ishtar should be able to easily oust Ereshkigal, Vahn made sure to measure his actions so that the two climaxed at the same time. He knew that Ishtar had a strangeplex toward her sister so heh intended to make it as difficult as possible for her to achieve any kind of victory against theparably innocent Goddess. As for Ereshkigal, she wasntpetitive at all and, unless Ishtar was the one to initiate something, she just went with the flow with an obedient eagerness that was, in more ways than one, very endearing. At this point, Vahn felt it wouldnt be long before even Ereshkigal tried to attack him so, before he lost the initiative, he released the two from his embrace, allowing them to plop onto the bed with flushed faces and zed eyes. Then, to prevent Ishtar from trying to get any kind of advantage, Vahn put a little bit of strength into his palm as he pushed her down to the bed. This caused Ishtar to lick her lips in expectation, at least until she heard him say, "Ereshkigal, I want you to straddle your sister. Line up your h.i.p.s as much as possible..." Ishtar began to breathe a little faster but, instead of refusing Vahns arrangement, she just spread her legs wide since she knew what he had in mind. Whenever he would invite other women to share her bed, she was usually the one on top so, while frustrating, it was actually exciting to be pinned down, at least every now and then. She could see how nervous her sister was so, while their positions were the opposite of expectations, Ishtar still felt like she was in the dominant position as she sn.a.k.e.d her arms around Ereshkigals neck as if ensnaring her. Vahn felt a little helpless seeing how the two sisters interacted but, with one of the most beautiful sights conceivable in front of him, he was easily distracted. There was nothing quite like seeing two women perfectly lined up against each other, especially if they were twins. Thus, without wasting any time, Vahn positioned himself between them, using their plump pelvic mounds like a tunnel as his ns, already suffused with a rainbow hue, poked and prodded their c.l.i.t.o.r.i.ses simultaneously. Then, just as Ereshkigal was nearing a climax, Vahn adjusted his angle enough to give Ishtar quite the surprise when he suddenly knocked against her cervix in the return thrust. In this manner, Vahn took turns pistoning the two Goddesses, chaining together an equal number of climaxes without giving them any time to rx. Though this required him to focus on Ishtar quite a bit more than Ereshkigal, thetter didnt seem to mind it at all as she left several visible hickeys on the formers neck. She actually didnt care about s.e.x all that much, only the emotional connection it allowed her to experience with the people she loved. She would be content just sitting in silence and holding hands so, with Vahn massaging her lower back and butt, she was perfectly content helping conquer her sisterpletely. As could be expected from Goddesses, Ereshkigal and Ishtar had seemingly limitless stamina so, after five hours and several position changes, Vahn brought things to an end by initiating a very weak version of a meld. This caused Ishtars eyes to ze overpletely as she had been riding his h.i.p.s while, at the side, Ereshkigal dug her nails into his arm as his fingers targetted her weak spots with unerring uracy. By the time the short meld had ended, a section of the bedspread now glimmered like divine silk while the headboard, which was made of avish, richly colored wood, now had a slight gold hue to it. Vahn knew that a meld could cause the objects in the surroundings to be refined by the melding Divinities so he wasnt too surprised by this urrence. Instead, he had a contented smile on his face as the two Goddesses used his chest as a pillow while trying to regte their breathing. Ishtar could keep going but, as she needed to give Rin a chance to have some fun, she ultimately tapped out after falling silent for several minutes. With Rin back in control of her own body, she curled up into a fetal position with her body trembling madly as a result of the ambient energies in her body. She couldnt help but curse Vahn and Ishtar, causing thettersughter to resound in her mind while the former began to stroke her back in a gentle and calming manner. This didntst too long, however, as Ereshkigal eventually tidied herself up to go tend to the children, leaving Rin at the mercy of a tyrannical wolf and an unyielding dragon that seemed as indomitable as the infinite sky above... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Angra Mainyus counter!?,Quality time xD,RIP Rin) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1252 - Earnest Effort

Chapter 1252 - Earnest Effort

In the weeks following Ereshkigals summoning, Vahn got to experience just how much she had been holding back out of consideration for Rin. Though most of her time was spent with the children but, Ereshkigal would often appear whenever Vahn had free time in his schedule. She rarely came with the intention to do anything intimate but, if he wasnt busy, she just liked to spend time with him. Vahn couldnt always make time for Ereshkigal but, whenever she appeared, he always spent at least a few minutes with her before escorting her back. Just walking hand-in-hand for a bit seemed to be enough to satisfy her, at least temporarily, so this was the least he could do. Since his own schedule had been opened up quite a bit, Vahn often found himself escorting one or more of his lovers throughout the day. However, with the duel drawing closer with each passing day, this slowly but surely changed. Though he wasnt training much himself, he had been helping guide others in their training after they saw how much progress Gareth had made in such a short period of time. The person to benefit the most from his guidance was none other than Artoria. She was going to be the one participating in the duel and, though her strength was already more than enough to defeat almost any foe, she was nevercent in her training. Though they had to move their training to his personal orb, as it was rather embarrassing, Vahn had been helping Artoria refine her body and the holy energy contained within. Since her current body had been provided by him, she was extremely susceptible to the influence of his Source Energy. This had caused a few problems in the beginning but, once she knew what to expect, Artoria was able to tolerate the procedure with a red face as she did her best to sit straight without fidgeting. Artoria already had a functionally infinite amount of mana and EX-Ranked Magic Circuits so the main focus of her training was increasing her fine control over her mana and her maximum output. Right now, she was like a faucet that had been attached to arge pool. It was possible to force out more mana through the same opening but, as a result, Artoria would seriously damage her own body. Without [Avalon]s regeneration, Artoria wouldnt be able to make full use of her power, even while it was sealed. With it, so long as she could withstand torturous pain, Artoria was able to wield greater power without having to worry about the consequences. If she activated [Avalon]s true power, she would temporarily be immortal while her maximum output had no upper limits. While [Avalon] seemed to have no weaknesses, the truth was that it had numerous. Though it was almost impossible to exploit, Artoria couldnt actually attack while [Avalon] was active, meaning she had to use her [Instinct], monstrously high luck, and battle experience to attack in the brief interval when an enemys attack had failed. This didnt matter against most foes but, if her opponent was clever enough, they could essentially force her to remain on the defensive without ever giving her the chance to attack. The biggest weakness of [Avalon], however, was that it slowly ate away at Artorias will to even do battle. Since Avalon was supposed to be a peaceful Utopia with various restrictions, Artoria admitted that her mind would begin to wander the longer she was inside. It was just toofortable to stay inside so, rather than continue fighting hard battles, she would begin to develop the urge to just stop fighting and rx. Though it brought a ruddy blush to her cheeks, shepared it to how he would make her feel after tending to her for a few hours. In order to make her less reliant on [Avalon], Vahn was helping Artoria strengthen her body while she tempered her mind. She was using an A-Rank meditation technique called [Mind of the White Jade Empress] to unterally strengthen her soul while simultaneously cultivating a mentality that allowed for absolute focus. It also had the effect of purifying all forms of energy, further strengthening the Holy Elemental energy in her body. Whenever Artoria was meditating, her body would be veiled in a white halo which,bined with her ethereal beauty, created a truly breathtaking sight. Though she was a very petite and delicate-looking woman, a noble and dignified aura would spread through the surroundings, giving her the presence of an invible Goddess. Knowing she was his Empress, Vahn was always filled with pride and a peculiar sense of awe whenever he saw her in this state... Curiously, while others would often produce a foul-smelling and murky substance whenever they began cultivating seriously, Artoria hadnt changed in the slightest. Her skin was pearl-white and entirely without blemish while her hair glistened like gold-dust, even in the low light of a candlelit room. The only real change had been her eyes which, in the past, were a clear and pristine green that reflected a serene and confident light. Now, the green of her eyes had started to fade as a sheen of pure silver slowly reced it. This made Artoria seem even nobler than before, causing anyone who made eye contact with her to feel a strong desire to look away and lower their head. Artoria had been surprised when her eyes began to change colors but, as her strength was steadily increasing, she never once considered learning a new technique. Instead, she embraced the change and was looking forward to future changes as, for the past 37 years, her body had been stuck in the same state. Though she would like to grow a bit more, having her eyes change color was enough to bring a smile to her face whenever she caught her own reflection... --- WIth Artoria training hard, it was a given that Gray was putting in a considerable amount of effort herself. She had already returned Rhongomyniad to Artoria but, after a discussion with Vivian, her Mystic Codex, the sentient weapon Add, had been strengthened considerably. Though she had to have several restrictions ced on her, mainly to prevent Vivian from being corrupted if it was used for malicious purposes, Gray had no problem with this at all. The main function of Add, which was its ability to transform into a variety of weapons, hadnt been changed in the slightest. Instead, it had been enchanted with several powerful enchantments, each formed from [Fairy Rune]s. This elevated it to the same level as a Noble Phantasm like Balmung and Excalibur, meaning her power would qualitatively increase, at least when she was wielding Add. In total, Add had three enchantments ced on it, each cing a different restriction on Gray. This included aparable level of regeneration to Artorias [Avalon], albeit without the ability to ce her body safely on the Reverse Side of the World. So long as her head was not instantaneously destroyed, she was functionally immortal. Gray already had incredible regeneration due to her nature as a Dead Apostle so the main purpose of this enhancement was to conceal her identity. In exchange, the restriction ced on her was that she could only activate the enchantment with the intent to protect others. Since her duty was to serve as Artorias shadow, there would rarely, if ever,e a time when she was unable to make use of this enchantment... The other two enchantments ced on Add were the truly important ones as they gave Gray an incredible amount of power, albeit at the cost of having powerful restrictions ced on her. This included allowing her to drain the power of others, absorbing mana and storing it inside of Add to further enhance her explosive damage potential. As for the final enchantment, it allowed her to cut through anything, including the void itself. In exchange, she could only use this ability when fighting against a foe that threatens the World while her final restriction prevented her power from being used against an enemy weaker than herself. If the conditions were met, Gray could even rival A-Rank Heroic Spirits, cing her around the same level as Artoria in her sealed state. Since the only reason the enchantments wouldnt activate was if she were essentially fighting against someone weaker than herself, it was a tremendous boon that allowed her to fight almost indefinitely. After all, she continually siphon the magic power from her opponents and, with her constitution as a Dead Apostle, Gray had functionally infinite stamina. With her increased capabilities, Gray had been taking her training very seriously so as not to bepletely useless in her self-assigned task. She refused to be weak and defenseless so, knowing that the Bathomeloi family was targetting her, Gray had an even stronger drive that Artoria to grow stronger. When the duel came to an end, she intended to be one of the people fighting on the frontline, not someone stuck in the back being protected. Vahn could, quite literally, feel Grays conviction through the bond they shared. Thus, whilst Artoria and Scthach were changing they of thend in their battle, he had the monochromatic girl in hisp as she, quite vigorously, sucked his blood. At the same time, he had his hand oner her back, one near her heart and the other adjacent to where her core was located. He not only helped her refine her Magic Circuits further but also guided the Source Energy contained in his blood so that it had an even greater effect on her body. Though he would never admit it, Vahn was quite fond of his time with Gray as, for obvious reasons, she reminded him a lot of Eva. He still had thetters memory fragment curled up in a fetal position within his soul, patiently awaiting the day he would awaken her. Vahn knew she wouldmbast him for having so many women at his side but, with an eternity to share, he hoped she forgave him after a bit of coaxing. Since she could sense his wayward thoughts, Gray began to put more effort into sucking his blood, causing Vahn to chuckle lightly as he stroked her back and whispered, "Youre adorable..." This made the flush on her face even more prominent and, due to her face forming a smile, a trickle of blood managed to break free from where her lips were ovepped with his neck. After realizing this, Gray stopped sucking his blood before lowering her head and, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, licking up the trail of blood before it could stray too far. After licking up the wayward blood, Gray licked her lips before looking up at him and opening her mouth, seemingly to show that she had swallowed it properly. This allowed Vahn to see her sharp canines and, feeling a little yful, he began to trace his thumb along her lip before bringing it to test how sharp her fangs were. They were, as expected, very sharp so, despite being immune to any attack beneath B-Rank, Vahns thumb ended up getting pricked by the ivory white protrusion. In response to her Masters antics, Gray closed her lips around his thumb and began to suckle on it while maintaining eye contact with him. This caused a smile to immediately spread across his face, something that made Grays heart flutter madly in her chest. She began to breathe a little heavily through her nose but, before they could take things any further, a loud explosion rippled outward from several kilometers away. Immediately after that, a shockwave reached them but, using his domain, Vahn was easily able to dissipate the force contained within. While still sitting in her Mastersp, Gray craned her head to see arge cloud of devastation as blue and scarlet mana fought for supremacy against each other. It looked like something you would only see at the end of the world, almost as if good and evil were fighting one final climactic battle. In this instance, evil seemed to win out as, after several tense moments, the radiant blue energy was overwhelmed by the scarlet tempest. Scthachcked the means to contest Artorias [Avalon] but, in a direct engagement, she was still far more skilled than the golden-haired Knight Empress. With Vahns fragment inside of her body, she had a functionally infinite amount of mana with far greater mastery than Artoria. Though she might not be able to win against [Avalon], there were several ways in which she could bring the fight to a favorable end. This time around, Scthach had used reddish-ck chains to bind Artorias body after separating her from [Excalibur]. Vahn could see that much of Artorias armor had been destroyed, her right hand bound while her left hand was preventing a chain from wrapping around her neck. Unfortunately, shecked the physical strength to contend against Scthach and, without activating [Avalon], the chains had started to corrode at her flesh. This forced the overpowered Noble Phantasm to activate without her intent, bringing the fight to an end due to their prior agreement. After the chains released her body, Artoria released a tired sigh as she shook her head and stated, "I still have a long way to go. Thank you for your guidance." Despite being an Empress, Artoria still bowed toward Scthach as, while thetter had significantly lower status, it was never improper to lower your head to someone willing to teach and help you. If she didnt have this type of personality, Scthach wouldnt even bother to train her, despite having already acknowledged Artorias potential. Once Artoria raised her head, Scthach gave an approving nod before saying, "Acknowledging ones own faults is necessary for growth. You have endless potential and an unwavering nature...I only wish my other student followed your example..." As she spoke, Scthach turned her eyes briefly toward where Vahn and Gray were waiting, causing Artoria to smile while shaking her head. She knew that Scthach was being sincere but, while the cold beauty might not have realized it herself, many, included Artoria, had noticed the subtle change in her character. While her reasoning behind having Vahn take a break was sound, they spected that Scthach herself had needed a break from relentlessly beating her beloved pupil. Though it would have been more prudent to stay silent, Artoria decided that it was her duty to take her husbands side on this matter. Her smile became slightly more pronounced as she firmly stated, "A time wille when Vahn has no equals in this world. You know better than most how lonely it is to be peerless...it is our duty to make sure he does not break from the burden." While Artoria was speaking Scthach had been staring directly at her with the same nk expression she was known for. In the end, however, the corner of her lips arced upward ever so slightly as she nodded her head and answered, "I know my duty well, Empress of Knights...so long as the possibility of death is not denied me, I will continue to support that man until he is satisfied..." Artoria could sense the sincerity in Scthachs words but, perhaps due to the Fate she was purported to have, she knew there was something more behind the peerless warriors words. This caused her heart to palpitate and, for a brief moment, Artoria felt a powerful urge to unleash her power against Scthach... Seeing how Artoria had reacted, Scthachs smile became more prominent as she squinted her eyes and added, "You neednt worry...I am content ying the part I have been given..." By the time Scthach had finished speaking, her body had already vanished into thin air, making it impossible for even Artoria to sense her. This wasnt the normal way in which a Heroic Spirit would turn into a spirit, as Scthach still had to wait up to an hour afterbat. Instead, she was using a potent form of [Presence Concealment] in conjunction with several other Skills to make her presence within the void. After witnessing this, Artoria felt even greater concern but, considering Scthachs nature, she felt that her worries were unwarranted. Though she felt a primal sense of urgency, almost as if she was going to lose something intrinsic to her survival, Artorias rational told her this wasnt the case. If anything, she felt threatened as a woman, something she had never experienced in regards to the other women at Vahns side. Though Vahn had incredible capabilities, to the point of even being able to conquer a Goddess with a Divinity rted to S.e.x, Artoria felt that he would ultimately lose out against Scthach. She didnt know why, but this actually terrified her quite a bit more than she expected. Something about Vahn being defeated in the bedroom filled her with an instinctual fear as,pared to all the fantastical things surrounding her Master and husband, the one thing she couldnt imagine was him losing at the thing he seemed peerless at... Without her notice, several minutes had passed since Scthachs departure. Artoria had just been standing in the middle of a devastatedndscape with a thoughtful expression on her face. She didnt even notice when Vahn and Gray approaching her until his voiced reached her ears. This caused Artoria to startle before her face developed a deep flush when she saw how the two were looking at her. Vahn was amused by Artorias reaction and was nning to tease her a bit until, momentster, she shattered the foundation of everything he thought he knew by saying, "From now on, I want you to teach me how to have s.e.x...I want to see the limits of your capabilities. Teach me everything and Ill do my best to improve so that you can polish your skills further..." By the time Artoria finished her request, all three of them had scarlet red faces while Vahns mind had stopped functioning entirely. He had no idea what brought this on but, seeing how serious she was, Vahn felt like it was impossible to refuse. He was even beginning to feel a little nervous as, in the past, Artoria only ever had this expression when she was preparing for hard training. Though the blush was a new addition, he knew she wouldnt take no for an answer... From that moment onward, Vahns training with the two girls had an extra, infinitely more intimateponent. Things progressed so quickly that, by the time he was preparing to summon Maxwells Demon, Vahn had even awakened his first Divinity in the Nasuverse...one rting to S.e.x. At the same time, the girls around him all had glowing skin and happy smiles while Artoria and Gray, in particr, experienced a qualitative change in their strength and disposition... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Everyone is working hard (UwU),Sctachs true intentions!?,( ? ?? ?)7... bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1253 - Divinity

Chapter 1253 - Divinity

If he were being honest, Vahn had always wondered what it would be like if he actually became a God of S.e.x. It was one of those Divinities that didnt seem all that useful but, considering the size of his harem, he felt it would be very helpful for keeping his women happy. Now, Vahn could only smile wryly at his past selfs innocence as, after obtaining a Divinity rted to S.e.x, he quickly realized it brought a variety of issues along with it. The most troublesome part of obtaining any Divinity was the connection you felt with it. Just as a Master cksmith or a Master Mechanic were drawn to their craft, Vahn felt a need to have s.e.x but, rather than say he was horny, it suddenly seemed natural to him. As strange as it was to admit, Vahn suddenly felt as if s.e.x was a very natural and sincere form ofmunication, one that brought two, or more, people together. He could also feel the emotions of those he was having s.e.x with, bringing him great pleasure and happiness. Rather than the feeling of pride he used to have when tending to multiple women at a time, he now had a vibrant smile on his face as, even without melding, he could feel everything rted to his partners state with greater ease than breathing. While this was certainly useful in the bedroom, Vahns Divinity never took a break. So long as they were within the boundaries of his perception, he could sense the pent up urges people were holding back. Even without his View Affection active, he knew when one of his women desired his presence so, in the days following his ascension, Vahn had been wandering the corridors of the castle with a Divine Purpose. This is where his problems truly began as, with his newfound awareness, Vahn, quite literally, couldnt ignore the feelings and intentions of those around him. As he walked through the halls of the castle, he could feel the potent and repressed desires of many of the Homunculi that worked within the Inner Sanctum. He actually felt empathy for them and, if not for thest vestiges of his self-control, Vahn would have pulled many of them aside just to make them happy. Though the Homunculi was certainly a cause for concern, it was the presence of a certain perpetually smiling girl that truly weighed heavily on Vahns mind. He knew that Gareth had been restraining her more carnal desires before so, after obtaining a S.e.x Divinity, Vahn was now hyperaware of the state of her body and mind. She put on a strong front by smiling radiantly at all times but, whenever he would part with her to make love to one of his women, he now had a very strong understanding of how much she was suffering. Since he already had permission, it wasnt long before Vahn simply couldnt resist seeing her suffer any longer. He briefly discussed things with his Empresses before pulling Gareth along with him as he visited the Menagerie. After that, Gareth was no longer just his Page and, even more so than her past self, she always had a bright and cheerful smile on her face. The only downside to this change was the fact that, rather than being content with head patting and gentle caressing, Gareth would basically go into heat towards the end of all their training sessions. By the time two days had passed, Gareth could be seen walking closely behind him, a happy smile on her face and a very noticeable cor around her neck. Since his Divinity allowed him to interpret the wants and desires of other people, Vahn always knew exactly how to satisfy both their body and, more importantly, their mind. He could even make use of the limited-omniscience that came with Divinity in the Nasuverse, allowing him to better understand its uses and limitations. Unlike Scthach, who couldnt turn her omniscience off, Vahn had the inherent ability to toggle it on and off at his leisure. When it was active inside of Avalon, he could feel the location and everything on the ind, including the various flora and fauna present. This flooded his mind with an awareness of everything but, rather than true omniscience, it was more urate to say he could sense their wants and desires. It was a rather perverse ability as, while active, his perception seemed to provide him greater information regarding those wanting to have s.e.x than anything else... Since he had to experience it at least once, Vahn had traveled to the outside a few hours after first obtaining his new Divinity. When he turned his omniscience on, it felt like he had be a singr grain of sand on an expansive beach. At the same time, he could feel literally trillions of lifeforms and their desire to procreate. It was an overwhelming amount of information and, despite his best efforts, Vahn realized it was impossible for him to block out his awareness of the carnal desires of other creatures. This was one of the biggest restrictions to the limited-omnipotent provided to Gods as, rather than saying it allowed them to know everything, it was more urate to say it made them hyperaware of anything rted to their Divinity. S.e.x was one of the most fundamentalponents of life so, while it was very useful for tending to his women, Vahn realized it was a rather unfortunate ability to have with the current state of the world. While it was impossible for him to spread his senses into any areas with powerful Bounded Fields, Vahn had been able to sense almost every human in the world simultaneously. All of their desires were conveyed to him without any filter whatsoever. He was simultaneously aware of the passionate interactions between lovers and the infinitely more vile acts taking ce all over the world. The thing that pissed him off the most, and ultimately allowed him to break free from the overwhelming flood of information, was the fact his Divinity made him ept even violent acts of **** and cruelty as something perfectly natural. Following his first usage of his limited-omnipotence, Vahn had never activated it again as, with his [Will of the Emperor] suppressing his eptance of such acts, he felt he might go on a killing spree if he turned it on again. Since he did not want to bear the burden of purging nearly a fifth of the worlds poption just yet, this was the only thing he could do to suppress the overwhelming urge to enact his own brand of justice upon the vile and despicable people his omnipotence brought to light. For the time being, Vahn had other things to focus on but, as he couldnt simply ignore what he had learned, Vahn informed ya that she could use as much of his mana as necessary to punish anyone trying tomit s.e.x.u.a.l crimes against children. She couldnt actually use his stored mana to harm or kill humans but, at the very least, she could give people an awareness of what was happening. As a result, police and pedestrians alike would just feel that something was wrong, allowing them to step in and intervene before any further damage could be done. Since she had the ability to see into the future, there was a steep decline in the number of violent crimes against children in the immediate aftermath of Vahns ascension. At the same time, though he wouldnte to learn this untilter, there was a sharp increase in the number of devout followers of the Holy Church... --- For what felt like the hundredth time, Vahn found himself being inspected by Da Vinci as she took samples of and conducted tests on his raiment. Since he had obtained a Divinity, he had been given a raiment and, though he could change at will, his appearance had also undergone a few changes. This included his eyes gaining a pink hue around the pupils that allowed him to charm others while his body and hair seemed to radiate a subtle glow that was only discernible to a few people. He also gained immunity against other forms of charms, giving him an advantage against Da Vinci that she was slowly figuring out a solution to. While she was collecting data, Da Vinci took it upon herself to tease him a bit by lightly squeezing the exposed part of his butt. This caused Vahn to smile wryly as he rolled his eyes and allowed her to do as she pleased. When he was dressed like this, it was futile to try and stop the girls from touching him as, simr to the girdle worn by Aphrodite, they were almost instinctually drawn to him. It was for this reason that he didnt wear his raiment outside of his bedroom, not that he would have even if it didnt have this ability... Staring at himself in a tall mirror, Vahn could only shake his head each time he saw his raiment in its full glory. It took on the form of skintight white bottoms that covered just about as much as Ishtars. This gave the appearance of fitted underwear, entuating the bulge at his front while showing off arge part of his butt due to the minimalist coverage of the fabric. Other than a few golden bands, a goldenurel crown, and some kind of sock that exposed his toes and heels, this was the entirety of his highly revealing raiment. Seemingly dissatisfied with being ignored, Da Vinci took advantage of Vahns momentary distraction to lean forward, this time biting his fleshy butt cheek with a bit of force. Since he was immune to any attacks lower than B-Rank, Vahn just turned his head to find Da Vinci looking up at him with a yful smile. Their respective charms seemed to sh against each other before, from Vahns perspective, a subtle pink glow began to spread from the center of her eyes. Her EX-Rank [Mesmerizing Gaze] was certainly powerful but, against an unrestricted God of S.e.x, even Da Vinci would suffer a defeat. After a short recess, a now red-faced Da Vinci was dutifully collecting data while Vahn, feeling very refreshed and happy, had a smile on his face as he allowed his mind to wander. Compared to the past, where she could contend against him almost indefinitely, Vahn could tend to Da Vincis needs in a short twenty minutes if he put in an effort. He always knew exactly what she wanted him to do and, with his enhanced capabilities, it didnt take long before he had all of her sub-processes fully focused on him. Once she finished conducting her tests, Da Vinci released a hot sigh as she habitually cupped her own cheek and mused, "I never expected the realm of Gods to be so far away...Ill need to redouble my efforts..." Hearing her remark, Vahns smile widened as he extended his hand and stroked her silky-smooth hair. His [Hands of Nirvana] had be demonstrably more powerful after his ascension but, this time, Vahn only used it to bringfort to Da Vinci as he confidently stated, "I have no doubt that youll be able to manage it...just dont push yourself too much. The way things are right now...they arent all that bad, are they~?" Da Vinci couldnt help but giggle when she heard Vahns words as, no matter how she tried to spin things, it was the truth. Still, she couldnt help but try and understand everything so, while it would not be her main focus, she was determined to understand hos S.e.x Laws worked. She felt that it was a resonating force that enhanced positive emotions as, when she participated in the massive orgy that led to Vahns ascension, several pulses of mysterious energy were spreading through the room with each of his thrusts. For a brief moment, everyone present felt like a singr entity, each linked together by Vahn in an inexplicable way... Though she had only used one of her processes to think about that past incident, Da Vincis other processes began to reminisce at the same time. This caused her face to develop a ruddy flush and, though they had only had s.e.x less than twenty minutes ago, she was in the mood to go again. Vahn was very aware of this so, after releasing a light-heartedugh, he carried her back to the privacy of their love nest, the only area of the Workshop that Sophia didnt have ess to. Then, once again, Vahn made full use of his Divinity until Da Vinci waspletely satisfied. --- Feeling even more refreshed, Vahn left the Workshop to find Gareth standing outside with a happy smile on her face. He noticed her nostrils wiggle a few times, the natural aroma of his body tickling her olfactory senses and causing her smile to widen considerably. She had a very sensitive nose and, though he shouldnt have any aroma at all, Vahn had heard most of the girls tell him that he smelled very sweet now. Fenrir had been the first to mention this, describing his aroma as warm honey that makes her heart feel fluffy. To reward her patience, Vahn gave a small nod to Gareth and, if she had a tail, he imagined it would be wagging at a simr speed to Nanu. Then, with a little touch much force, she practically tackled him before nuzzling her face against his chest uninhibitedly. She took several audible breaths of his aroma, causing Vahn to feel her happiness building alongside her arousal. Fortunately, while she was very wild at times, Gareth actually hadmendable self-control so, after nuzzling him for around a minute, she gave a satisfied sigh before releasing him. When she separated from him, Vahn couldnt resist the urge to lean down and give her a kiss as, at this moment in time, it was what Gareth wanted the most from him. If he wanted to, Vahn could go on an auto-pilot, simr to his [Laces Key], that allowed him to always respond in the desired way of those around him. Though he liked to be in control, there were times over thest few days when he just allowed the experience to wash over him, like a coursing river filled with warmth and happy feelings. He allowed this river of emotions to carry him freely, pulling the girls along for the ride so they could reach the destination they desired without fail. Since Gareth wanted more after the first kiss, Vahn gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before running his fingers through her hair and saying, "There will be time for thatter. Come now, little pup, we have other ces to be..." Hearing her Masters words, Gareth felt her heart double its rhythm, causing a feeling of suffocation to build that forced her breathe heavily. Despite this, she managed to restrain her building urges by nodding her head and answering, "Im looking forward to it~!" in a chipper tune. Then, so as not to cause her Master any trouble, she began to repeat a mantra in her mind while trying to control the flow of mana in her body in a specific way. Like everyone else, she had started cultivating so, at times like this, she could keep calm by focusing on her meditation technique. --- After a short journey, Vahn found himself standing near the entrance to the Knights Training Field, a ce that had be rather dangerous for him as ofte. Still, he did not think his self-control was socking so, after psyching himself up and earning a giggle from Gareth, he made his way outside. Almost as soon as he appeared, Vahn felt several pairs of eyes shift focus toward him. One of these gazes was particrly fiery, even though her expression was the same as it had always been. As a result, Vahn gave a small wave before making his way over to the side and taking his usual seat. He put on a strong front but, at the back of his mind, Vahn couldnt help but feel frustrated at himself and the awareness his Divinity afforded him. If not for his Divinity, he would have been able to pretend there wasnt an issue but, now that he was unable to ignore it, Vahn could only suppress his eptance as he gave an approving nod towards the girls training on the field. This brought a smile to girls faces as they began working just a little harder than before his arrival. They were all very earnest in their training, something that made Vahn feel proud every time he bore witness to their efforts. At this point, he had basically be a surrogate father to Zo? while Mash had started to idolize him a considerable amount. He didnt know why she was so loyal to him but, as he rarely interacted with thevender-haired girl in any meaningful ways, but she would gain a few hundred points with the passing of each day. In the past, he thought she had a crush on him but, while there were a few moments when she had deviant urges, this was almost exclusively in response to the teasing of other people. Since most people couldnt help but let their mind wander if someone brought up such a topic, he couldnt me the pubescent girl for her wayward thoughts. No, what had recently be the source of Vahns greatest stress, other than the borderline feral Illya, was none other than his eldest daughter. Though she concealed it very well, to the point he hadnt even suspected anything in the past, Vahn knew that Mordred had a very a.d.u.l.t mind. She had already killed thousands of people in the past and, though she had never lost her v.i.r.g.i.nity, she was very aware of the intimate interactions between men and women. What troubled Vahn the most was the fact that Mordred, especially after hard training and serious exercise, got far too excited. It hadnt been obvious before but she had a predatory glint in her eye whenever she looked at other girls, not just Fenrir. This wasnt the biggest problem, however, as it wasnt all that surprising for Mordred to be restraining such urges. Instead, it was the fact that, when he would appear, Mordreds intentions would shift toward him. Her cheerful smile now seemed like nothing but a mask and, though she obviously cherished her status as his daughter, Vahn knew there was more than just familial love in Mordreds gaze. This wasnt something he couldnt deal with but, now that he had a Divinity rted to S.e.x, part of Vahns mind was constantly telling him it was okay to do something had never even considered in the past... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The world has some pretty f.u.c.k.i.e.d up people,DIVINE SPEEDO!,An Emperors Will versus thepulsion of Divinity) (A/N: Some people might have issues with how Vahns Divinity is expressed but, with how Laws work, they dont really care about good and evil. S.e.x can be a pure expression of intimacy or, in many sad cases, one of the most terrible expressions of human cruelty. Regardless, this is all natural in the grand scheme of things, at least from the objective perspective of the Laws. The deviancies of people are what pollute otherwise innocent and beautiful things. Dont me me for trying to represent the banes just as much as I try to present the boons.) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1254 - Discussion: Promises Kept

Chapter 1254 - Discussion: Promises Kept

After watching the girls train for a few hours, Vahn allowed Modred to ride on his shoulders as Sakura, Mash, Zo?, and Gareth followed along. There was even arge white lioness at the side with azy expression as it lumbered through the hallway. This was Mordreds Guardian, King, named so because, ording to Mordred, "It doesnt matter if you are a boy or a girl. If you work hard, anyone can be a King...!" Vahn couldnt really argue with her at the time, especially knowing her past, so her Guardian ended up with the name King, much to its apparent chagrin. Still, despite acting bored andzy most of the time, it was just a big tsundere lioness that would always y with Mordred whenever theter pestered her. He had even found Mordred using Kings body as a pillow on a few asions as they bathed under the sun together. After a short journey, Vahn ended up in a smaller recreation room filled with entertainment devices and more than a dozen idle Companions justzing about. If you wanted to just rx and take a nap, there were plush bean-bag style chairs arranged at the side. The Companions would readilye to cuddle with you, their soft bodies and regted body temperatures always bringing the maximum amount offort. Da Vinci had even started to make some breakthroughs, not in the Laws of Petting, but creating an energy field that helped calm people down. Despite having reached their destination, Mordred continued to sit on his shoulders, her legs locked as she leaned against the top of his head. When he tried to remove her, she released a mischievous giggle before tightening her grip and musing, "I want to stay like this, shishishi~" After more than two years, Mordred had a good understanding of what she could and couldnt get away with when it came to her Chichiue. Her unique Innate, [Sage Emperors Pampered Princess] wasnt just for show. Vahn felt a little helpless with this mischievous daughter of his but, as he had decided not to change his treatment of her, he allowed her a lot of leniencies. Despite having some hidden intentions, he couldnt ignore the fact that Mordred made a sincere effort to hide her feelings. She always worked very hard and,pared to her past self, had made a tremendous amount of progress. Given how Mordred prioritized hierarchies, almost to a fault, he expected she would never actually act on her feelings. Thus, much like how he had treated Mash in the past, Vahn chalked Mordreds feeling up to puppy love. She didnt really have any males around her age to associate with, besides Alex, so it wasnt strange for her to imprint on the person she respected the most. Even in a reserved country like Japan, it wasnt rare for girls to have delusions of marrying their fathers when they were very young. It wasnt until they began to interact with others that they began to break free from this delusion, leading Vahn to once again believe it was for the best that his children have peers they can interact with. It was for this purpose that Vahn had gathered together all of the children in the castle, including Alex, Juliet, and Ingrid. He had invited them to the room where they sometimes yed together so that they would be able to rx and socialize after he left. Once everyone had settled in, Vahn had all of the children seated in a semi-circle in front of him as he adopted a gentle smile and exined, "Soon, you will all have an important choice to make. Each of you has already started down the path you are most interested in...As an Emperor, I take great pride in seeing how far each of you hase in a rtively short period of time." As Vahn spoke, he passed his eyes over everyone, earning smiles from the majority while Alex, ever obstinant, lowered his head with an embarrassed expression on his face. He had mellowed out a lot after apprenticing under Siegfried for such a long period of time but, as he was still very young, he had a long way to go before reaching the level of stoicism his mentor was known for. Since there were no questions, Vahn gave a small nod before adding, "As I exined in the past, you are allowed to live your lives as you please. However, most of you have decided to make a ce for yourself within the Empire. With this being the case, I believe it is necessary, at least for the moment, that each of you to learn how to interact with people you own age. It isnt wrong to be working hard towards your goals but, as children, it is equally important for you to enjoy your youth and make as many friends as possible." Having missed out on his own childhood, Vahn felt it was wrong to deprive these children of the chance to pursue a different path. It was too easy for them to rationalize serving the Empire as, after what they experienced in the past, this ce was everything to them. In order for them to be more stable, as he wasnt exactly interested in cultivating zealots for the Empire, he figured it would be for the best that they have some social interaction with children around their age group. With this in mind, Vahn ayed the growing concerns of everyone present by exining, "In the near future, the Empire will likelye to an agreement with the Clock Tower. When the timees, you will all have the opportunity to be students. Not only will this allow you to make friends, but it is also the fastest way for you to grow stronger. You also neednt worry that you will be bullied or mistreated as, prior to the agreement, I will discuss terms to make sure you are all safe from outside influence. Though it wouldnt be as safe as just staying in Avalon, I believe you have to be willing to face some form of adversity if you want to be truly strong." In response to his words, Mordred began to snicker with an excited expression on her face before asking, "Does that mean Ill also be going to that school?" To this, Vahn gave a curt nod as, while it was optional for the Designer Babies, it was required for her. At this point, her Knight training was more of a formality than anything else so, in order to prepare her for the authority she would one day wield, Vahn wanted to see how Mordred interacted with her future subjects. She was actually very charismatic but, in order to mellow her out a bit, he intended to have her cultivate humility by interacting with people much weaker than herself where she was under a lot of pressure. Contrary to his initial expectations, Mordred seemed enthusiastic about the idea of attending the Clock Tower. The only people who showed any real concern about the arrangement were Juliet and, for reasons he was already aware of, Sakura. She had actually been considering apprenticing under Ghad directly after her basic training waspleted. This would make her his Esquire as, due to her status as Imperial Princess, she couldnt be his Page. Vahn knew that Sakuras crush had only be stronger with the passage of time, to the point that Ghad had actually confided his own concerns when they were drinking together. While the quiet Knight had held out for a considerable amount of time, he had eventually been wrangled in by Vahn. They would now go out for a drink with Siegfried and Heracles every few days, primarily as a means to strengthen their bonds and discuss various matters in an informal way. Knowing what was going through the minds of everyone present, Vahn kept a casual smile on his face as he rified, "You will all be part of a special curriculum that is catered towards Advanced and Special students. After school each day, you will be allowed to return to Avalon at your leisure so you dont have to worry about staying inside the student dorms and being away for long periods of time. With this in mind, I hope you will all consider attending school as I believe it will be an opportunity for each of you to grow beyond your current selves." Though his words didnt ay everyones concerns, Sakura at least gained a determined glint in her eyes while Mash, having been sitting properly at the side, suddenly asked, "Will I also be allowed to attend the Clock Tower, Master? I fear that my age will make it...inconvenient...to be a student?" As she was already behind in her training as a Knight, Mash felt that diverting her focus by attending the Clock Tower would interfere with her ongoing efforts to be stronger. Hearing Mashs question, Vahn issued a light chuckle that caused the demure girl to flush with her head lowered. So that she didnt misunderstand, he performed a cating gesture with his left hand while answering, "As I stated previously, attending school at the Clock Tower is a way for you to grow much stronger in a short period of time. Your age isnt really a factor as some students continue their education well into their twenties. Also, so that there isnt any confusion, there is a good chance that Da Vinci, Merlin, and myself will be acting as your Professors and Advisor." Compared to his previous words, Vahnstest attestation caused the majority of people present to breathe a sigh of relief. They thought they would be at the mercy ofplete strangers so, knowing that two of the most powerful people in the Empire would be looking after them was a considerable boon. There was also the fact that, while he might only be an Advisor, Vahn was their Emperor and, as far as they knew, the most powerful person in the entire world. In truth, he just wanted to explore the Spirit Tomb: Albion while making sure nobody messed with his children... With the majority of their concerns addressed, everyone but Juliet and Alex decided to attend school at the Clock Tower. Since thetter two were still young, Vahn didnt try to pressure them as he knew they werent exactly ready to interact with others just yet. Alex still hadnt stabilizedpletely and, after what she had experienced, it would take a long time for Juliet to fully recover. The fact she had even started studying to be a Maid in the past was already a major step forward for her. Thus, for the time being, Vahn would just let her continue being an adorable little Maid-in-Training while following her Mother around like a puppy. After their eptance, Vahn began to discuss their special status and how they would have to act while attending school. It was important that they keep their status in mind but, so long as it wasnt an official matter, they also needed to treat other people with dignity and respect. He didnt want to see Mordred building a posse of people by making use of her high [Charisma] and status as Imperial Princess. Though it was fine to make friends and scout talent, he didnt want to see her, or any of them for that matter, bossing other children around. While it was a very different case if the other party tried to use their own status to cause conflict, it was his policy to take the high road until they forced a more heavy-handed response. If anything, he wanted each of the children to experience how sad and despotic some of the other nobles were so they would know better than to pursue a simr path for themselves. While pride and status were important things, they werent things you used against others to elevate yourself above them unless you were in direct contention with each other. With their etiquette training provided by Artoria and Luvia, Vahn knew he wouldnt have to worry too much. Though thetter taught the principle that it was best to act openly and in a high profile manner, she never taught them to look down on others. Instead, Luvias primary lessons discussed the importance of treating people fairly, albeit withoutpromising yourself on their behalf. If you wanted loyal and dedicated subordinates, they needed to know you had confidence in them, not feel that you treated them as your lessers. Respect was something earned and, if you werent willing to put in the effort to earn it, you didnt deserve it. By the time the discussion hade to an end, nearly two hours had passed. Some of the children were beginning to struggle with staying focused, causing Vahns expression to soften, even though he also had a wry smile on his face. He knew he could be long-winded so he ultimately decided to leave the matter until ater date. Now that they had made their decision, they had plenty of time to prepare since, even if they only had a week or two before starting school, that equated to several months within the Projection. --- After leaving the childrens rec room, Vahn was feeling a little fatigued since, for various reasons, it was a rather stressful conversation. Since he had a few hours before having to summon Maxwells Demon, he decided to make good on his earlier promise to Gareth. With this in mind, he made his way over the Menagerie to find Circe taking a nap while their daughter, Penelo, was resting in her chest. Vahn found Penelo to be one of the cutest babies he had ever seen as, with her tiny wings and inordinately beautiful features, he couldnt help but smile each time he saw her. Circe awoke almost immediately after he entered the room and, seeing Gareth in tow, she didnt have to ask why he had stopped by. Instead, a smile naturally spread across her face as she rose from the bed and said, "Ill see if Iris can watch Nel. Dont start without me~" before alighting from the room with a bit of pep in her step. Vahn could only chuckle in response while Gareth, knowing what they were going to do, had already started breathing a little heavily in anticipation. Knowing that Circe was very serious when she said not to start without her, despite herckadaisical tone, Vahn decided to spend the remaining time teasing his adorable little Page. Without saying a single word, he vanished from his location before appearing right behind Gareth. She was stunned by his sudden disappearance but, when Vahn wrapped his arms around her waist and began to y-bite her dog-like ears, she began to squirm in his embrace without actually trying to free herself. Eventually, due to how his Divinity amplified s.e.x.u.a.l tensions and heightened emotions, Gareths face morphed into a pained expression as she whimpered, "Maaaster..." In response to her plea, Vahn stopped nibbling on her ear before holding her trembling body a little tighter as he asked, "You dont want to upset Circe, do you~? Behave..." Gareths awareness almost immediately returned after she heard what her Master said as, better than most, she knew how scary Circe could be if she felt spited. This caused her to puff out her cheeks as, with her body heating up, she was feeling very impatient. Fortunately, her Master showed her a bit of leniency by tilting her head and giving her a suitable method to distract herself until Circe finally returned. Though Circe scrunched her nose after walking in on Vahn and Gareth kissing, she didnt press the matter since, while intimate, it wasnt really a s.e.x.u.a.l act. If he began making love to another woman before tending to her, especially in her own room, she would feel more than a little resentful. This was something she couldnt really suppress all that well, causing her to distance herself from others so that she didnt cause too much drama. Knowing that Circe would get upset if he ignored her, Vahn stopped kissing Gareth before lightly pping her butt and saying, "Go get ready." in a casual tone. This caused Gareth to jump a little before the scampered over to the side of the bed and began peeling off her clothes. As for Vahn, he made his way over Circe, ignoring the subtle look of me in her eyes as he ced his hands firmly on her backside without any hesitation. This caused her to inhale deeply but, before she could draw too much breath, he began to kiss her deeply while gently massaging her pert yet impossibly soft posterior. As if her earlier frustration had been an illusion, Circe quickly fell into Vahns tempo and, after a brief few minutes, she was breathing even heavier than Gareth. This left thetter sitting on the bed in nothing but a pair of white panties as she watched her Master and Circe continue to stand near the entrance of the room. Despite feeling strangely lonely, Gareth was very patient as part of her actually liked being made to wait. This allowed her to show off her obedience or, as Fenrir put it, disyed that she was a good girl. Though some might be a little perturbed by the idea of being treated like a dog, Gareth was, admittedly, more than a little fond of the y... Since he didnt want Gareth to develop an abandonment fetish, Vahn didnt leave her alone for too long. Once Circe was adequately hyped up, he lifted her body in a princess carry without needing to part lips with her. This caused her to release a m.o.a.n due to the unexpected position change but, as he prevented her from escaping, she could only remain on the defensive as he carried her over to the bed. Then, afterying her down, Vahn continued to lean over her as he unequipped his clothes and adorned his raiment in a single swift motion. This caused Circe to begin panting as she vainly attempted to break free from his tyrannical tongue but, before she was able to make any progress, an even more mischievous tongue beganpping at her lower mouth, courtesy of Gareth... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mordreds mischievous nature,There is a reason it is called being a Noble instead of being a Cunt xD...,Gareth is a good girl (UwU)...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1255 - Standing Upon the Precipice of a New Era

Chapter 1255 - Standing Upon the Precipice of a New Era

After a very refreshing tryst with Circe and Gareth, Vahn helped the two girls freshen up in the bath before escorting the former over to Iris room. He spent a few minutes talking with Iris while holding his daughter, Penelo, in his arms. After that, Gareth apanied him to the Workshop so they could pick up Da Vinci and Sophia before heading to the real world to visit the Welsh Dragons chamber. Vahn wasnt even surprised to find his daughter wearing a bipedal exoskeleton but, as it wouldnt function properly in the chamber, he made her leave it behind after promising to carry her the rest of the way. At this point, Sophia was close to twenty-two weeks old so, while still an infant, she was already able to speak without too much difficulty. Thus, while he carried her in his arm, she would continually pester him about various things she was interested in, a rather incredible sight if anyone from the outside world were to witness it. With Sophia in his left arm and Da Vinci clinging to his right, Vahn passed through arge mirror that had been set up for group transfers between the Projection and the outside world. Artoria and Gray were already waiting for him while, at the side, Merlin was leaning against the wall with his staff in hand. When Vahn appeared, Artoria and Gray immediately adorned cheerful yet elegant smiles, something he had grown ustomed to ever since obtaining his Divinity. In general, everyone in the castle was a lot happier than before, Vahn included, so it was a positive change. After sharing a few polite words, Vahn led the group into the Welsh Dragons chamber and, after handing Sophia over to Gray, he wasted no time in activating the summoning system. He was about to summon one of, if not the, most instrumental existences to ensuring the sess of his Empire. It wasnt an exaggeration to make this im as, once Maxwells Demon reached the requisite level, it was theoretically possible to summon a limitless number of Heroic Spirits. In a way, it also gave him the power to resurrect the dead as, through the use of the Throne of Heroes, he could transnt the person in question just moments before their death, bringing them to the present. Though Vahn fully expected something to prevent him from using Maxwells Demon in this manner, just the fact it could power CHALDEAS made it worth summoning. Vahn didnt n to treat Maxwell like a battery without any rights but, so long as it wouldnt cause the peculiar Conceptual Entity any serious problems, he wanted to convince it to serve him. He didnt know what it would take to entice a Conceptual Entity but, as that was something he could discern after the summoning, Vahn quickly searched for Maxwells Demon before confirming his selection. As had been the case in each previous instance, Vahn immediately found himself back in the real world as the mana contained within the summoning system quickly took shape. To Vahns surprise, a gentlemanly-looking man with fair skin, a handsome face, and chestnut-brown hair that was neatly parted appeared. He was wearing an olive-green suit of rtively high-quality that looked like it had been produced in the early 1900s,plete with a flowery pocket square and a golden stopwatch neatly tucked away in his vest pocket. What stood out the most, however, were his eyes or, rather, hisck thereof... For reasons Vahn could only guess at, there were ck voids where the eyes of Maxwells Demon should have been located. Despite this, he didnt seem to have any trouble seeing as, after fixing his ck tie, he smiled before saying, "This is quite an unexpected urrence. I never expected to exist at this point in time. Hey, mind telling me why you brought me here?" Though Maxwells Demon was behaving very casually, Vahn wasnt at all bothered by his words as, with what he intended to ask the man, it would be foolish to form any kind of animosity between them. Instead, Vahn adopted a simr smile before answering, "I wont lie to you. If possible, I would like you to be the catalyst to power this summoning circle while simultaneously providing your power to activate an extremely important system. I know it is a lot to ask, but it is important for the purposes of cementing the foundation of my Empire and setting the world on a new course..." Before Vahn had even finished, Maxwells Demon had adopted an as expected look on his face as he ran his fingers through his hair and mused, "Sure. That shouldnt be a problem. Every time I make an appearance, it is always for a simr purpose. Some world leader or tyrant always tries to use my power to advance their agenda. I just hope the course youve decided upon is actually for the benefit of everyone, not just yourself." Vahn felt a little awkward hearing the words of Maxwells Demon but, as he believed in his cause, he didnt let them influence him too much. Instead, he kept a casual smile on his face as he asked, "So, what should I call you then? Maxwell?" With a dismissive shrug, Maxwells Demon, in an increasingly casual manner, simply stated, "Does it really matter? I dont really exist so you can call me Batteryman or Lord Electricity for all I care. I dont have any attachment to my name or my creator so address me however you like, Master." Hearing Maxwells words, Vahn released a light-hearted chuckle before saying, "Youre an interesting character, Maxwell. Though you might not believe me when I say it, Id like for us to be friends in the future. While it will make my burden lighter by having your power on my side, I will not force you to use it. My Empire isnt filled with ipetents so, if you give us enough time, we may not even need to rely on your power at all. Please, dont think that I intend to use you without treating you with dignity and respect. Even if youre a Conceptual Entity, I will treat you the same as any of my living friends and allies." Though his expression didnt change, Maxwell tilted his head slightly in response to Vahns words. His abyss-like eyes looked directly at him for several seconds before he ultimately gave a small nod and stated, "Well, it would be a nice change of pace if that were the case. It really doesnt matter to me how you want to use my power so you dont have toe up with any excuses to convince me to give you a hand. Still, its better than being strapped up and locked away in a room with a bunch of cables plugged into my body. I look forward to working with you." Vahn nearly winced when he heard Maxwell mention having a bunch of cables plugged into him as, for a brief moment, it reminded him of his own past. Though he had gotten over the trauma at this point, it still allowed him to empathize with those who had simr experiences. Thus, even though it had been his intention from the get-go, he intended to befriend Maxwell and give the Conceptual Entity the freedom he deserved. --- After a long discussion regarding the function of Maxwells Noble Phantasm, chiefly moderated by Da Vinci, Vahn bestowed the title of Count upon the man before making a request to the Dwarves to build him a personal residence. He didnt want Maxwell to feel like he was just waiting to be used so, as often as possible, he wanted to let the man do whatever he wanted. So long as he followed thews of the Empire, he was free to roam about the ind and, though it would take a bit of time, he would also be able to freely roam the worldter on. Fortunately, Maxwells Noble Phantasm, aptly named [Maxwells Demon], worked just about the way they had expected. It took on the form of his actual heart which, much like Artoria and Siegfried, had a functionally limitless capacity for mana. The primary difference was, Artorias heart provided her a seemingly infinite amount of mana, albeit with limited output. As for Maxwell, his heart had no such limit but, unless Magical Energy was stored within, it could not produce any mana of its own. The most curious, and most important, aspect of [Maxwells Demon] was, by continually channeling more Magical Energy into it, the maximum output was constantly increasing. Even if they only gave him a stable supply of 100 mana per day, his output would have been increased to 36,500 by the end of the year. This wasnt like a battery, however, as he would continually be able to output the same amount of mana, regardless of how much he expended. As far as they could tell, the greatest restriction to [Maxwells Demon] was that he couldnt use the energy for himself, nor could he feed it into a system that returned the magical energy back to him. He could only ept external energy and, should he try to make use of it himself, he would, quite literally, cease to exist. He also had a Skill called [Devils Proof] which, much to Da Vincis chagrin, meant that his Noble Phantasm would cease to function if anyone truly understood how it worked. Since it was an abstract concept based on contradictions, any attempt to try and ascertain how it worked would ultimately invalidate the existence of the Noble Phantasm entirely. It was because of this that Maxwell didnt really care how Vahn referred to him as, if thetter was smart, he would never let others know he had been summoned. If his enemies put in the effort to try and prove his existence and verify how his Noble Phantasm worked, it would simply stop working. Because of this, everyone that has ever summoned him always kept his existence a closely guarded secret, often by imprisoning or locking him away. Despite this revtion, Vahn didnt change his treatment of Maxwell, saying confidently, "Your power is not absolutely necessary for the sess of the Empire. If your Noble Phantasm stopped working, I would still treat you as a friend and allow you to live your life however you like." While it was certainly convenient to have an infinite source of energy, there were actually a number of ways in which they could achieve the same result. Da Vinci had already made several important breakthroughs in the technology she had developed to convert Magical Energy into Divine Energy so it wouldnt set them back too much if Maxwell lost his power. He could already use the Throne of Heroes every two weeks, which was, admittedly, a little ridiculous. Soining about not having infinite energy would be extremely petty of him. Maxwell wasrgely dismissive of anything Vahn said as, from his perspective, he only existed to serve a very specific purpose. If he was treated well, that just made his job easier so he just went with the flow of things, just as he always had. This mainly involved him sitting in a chair for a few hours a day to absorb an ever-increasing amount of Magical Power, enough that he would be able to power the entire summoning system in as little as two months, Projection-time. With this equating to little more than a week in the outside world, it wouldnt be long before the Empire simply built too much momentum to be stopped. Though it was possible to just brute force everything when they had indomitable power, Vahn still intended to keep his promise to Artoria. He didnt want to be a true tyrant so, as much as his enemies allowed, he would use dialogue and political maneuvering to build up his Empire. The first step towards this was winning the duel against Barthomeloi Lorelei so, in the final few days leading up to the climactic battle, Vahn spent the vast majority of his time helping Artoria polish her skills. --- Ever since she became more proactive in the bedroom, Vahns rtionship with Artoria had taken a strange turn as, for various reasons, she felt responsible for everything that had happened. Because of this, she had be a lot more open about showing affection and, when they were alone, or at least with Gray, she was even a little perverted. He liked to tease her by whispering this into her ear but,pared to her past self, Artoria made no effort to refute his words. Instead, she was often the one toe up with new and refreshing ways for them to spend time together, causing Vahns heart to gradually soften. In stark contrast to how she behaved when they were alone, the current Artoria had zing silver eyes as she wielded, not her [Excalibur], but the Holy Spear, [Rhongomyniad]. She was unable to use its full power, as there were thirteen restraints ced on it, but it was still one of the most powerful weapons in the entire world. Vahn could feel his instincts screaming at him to flee as, regardless of whether or not he had the power of a God, it seemed hopeless to even try and confront the awe-inspiring spear. When Vahn first saw [Rhongomyniad], he had been shaken to his core as,pared to any other weapon he hadid eyes upon, it was an indisputable masterpiece. It had an ivory white body that was obscured by thirteen bands that wrapped around it like metallic bandages. Towards the handle, these bands formed a guard of sorts that spiraled in a crisscrossing helical pattern that gave it a strangely noble appearance. Though these bands obscured the true appearance of [Rhongomyniad], Vahn was still very impressed since even his [Enkidu] seemed to pale inparison to the seemingly limitless Holy Energy radiating off of it... Without giving him any time to admire the impossibly beautiful spear, Artoria had bent her legs ever so slightly before kicking off from the ground with enough force to rupture the hard white stone. In response to this, Vahn palmed forward with both hands,pressing the space between them with enough force to cause the void to fracture. Artoria, however, waspletely undaunted by this and, with a look of absolute confidence in her silver eyes, time seemed to slow down as she shouted, "Let light be released from the Ends of the World. It shall split the heavens, and connect thend. Anchor of the Storm! Rhongomyniad~!" For a brief moment, Vahn could see seven of the bands around [Rhongomyniad] loosen as a pir of bluish-white light smashed into his body, far faster than light should be able to travel. It was a nigh-instantaneous, impossible to avoid, attack that seemed to ignore causality altogether to strike the opponent directly. If not for the fact he had other bodies, Vahn wouldnt have even known what had happened as, the moment Artoria released her attack, the vessel he had prepared to fight her had ceased to exist. He had even been holding on to an [Effigy of the Hero] but, as if it simply did not allow its attack to be undone, even that had been destroyed by [Rhongomyniad]s holy light. In the immediate aftermath of Artorias attack, Vahns main body copsed to the ground as, for a brief moment, it felt like his existence itself had been erased. Fortunately, he had developed a bit of a resistance to this and, while his body had been destroyed in its entirety, there was a bit of ambient Source Energy left behind in the wake of the attack. If he put in an effort, Vahn knew he could reform his destroyed body but, as he had only created it for the purpose of the duel, he allowed it to slowly dissipate in order to further strengthen the Laws within the Training Orb. By the time Vahn came to, he was staring up at Artoria as she used herp to provide a pillow for him. It had taken him a few minutes to collect himself so she, Gray, and Gareth had been having a rather heated discussion about their nightly activities. Since this was something Artoria never would have mentioned in the past, Vahn couldnt help but smile when he realized what the topic they were discussing. This brought the attention of the girls to him, bringing an end to the conversation as Artoria asked, "Are you okay...?" with concern in her voice. Vahn was tempted to tease her by asking if she had those same concerns before sting his body away but, before the words could escape his lips, he began tough in a light-hearted manner. This caused Gray and Gareth to release a sigh of relief but, for a brief moment, Artoria puffed out her cheeks before lightly poking Vahns. As a result, Vahn adopted a slightly apologetic expression but, rather than voice an unnecessary apology, he returned the smile to Artorias face by saying, "You are really amazing. I almost feel bad for Lorelei...hahaha..." Though she had a smile on her face, Artoria had a serious look in her eyes as she confidently stated, "Those like Lorelei are undeserving of our empathy. They have done nothing deserving of our mercy so, in order to create the world you have envisioned, I will not hesitate to strike her down. I may be your Empress, but I am also your Knight...it is my duty..." Toward the end of her words, Artoria began to flush slightly as, while she started off strong, Vahns smile had be progressively more pronounced. By the time she had finished, he had reached his hand up to cup her cheek and, almost as if to spite her serious words, her heart began to beat much faster than normal as Vahn stated with equal severity, "I love you, Artoria. Thank you...for being the amazing woman you are..." It hadnt been his intention but Vahn saw a sh of pink spread, not just across Artorias eyes, but Grays and Gareths as well. This was the passive synchronicity his Divinity brought to him as, if there were multiple people nearby with simr emotions, they would simultaneously be heightened. In the bedroom, this was perhaps his most valuable skill as, much like when he used to benefit from Syrs presence, he could now emte the effect on his own. Since he was a bit riled up after experiencing the nothingness that followed Artorias attack, Vahn decided to spend the rest of the evening just cutting loose...not that he had been spending them in any other way as ofte. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Maxwell be like, "It is what it is, fam",Holy Rhongomyniad, Batman!,RIP Self-Restraint) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1256 - Setting Out

Chapter 1256 - Setting Out

It was early in the morning on March 15th, 2015. Vahn was being fitted into a set of ceremonial armor by Gray and Gareth. Though he could have equipped it with his Equipment function, it was something of a sacred duty for the most loyal servants of a Ruler to help them adorn their battle raiment. Since it meant a lot to them, Vahn decided not to be selfish as, while it took much longer, the solemn and intimate atmosphere actually sharpened his concentration a great deal. Most armor, at least when worn by Vahn, was more decoration than anything else. His battle raiment was no different but, as it looked badass ording to Nobunaga and Mordred, Vahn feltpelled to wear it. Presentation was very important for an Emperor and, by showing up in full raiment, it was the same as letting the Barthomeloi family know his intentions. If they insisted on pushing him, they needed to be prepared for the consequences of their actions. Compared to his normal attire, Vahn was wearing a padded ck tunic with golden adornments and a pair of sleek ck trousers. His raiment itself consisted of full-te armor, formed from pure white metal that shone with divine light. This included greaves and gauntlets while, adding to the overall regal nature of the attire, he also wore a white knights mantle that was colored royal blue on the interior. It was tied together at the front by thick golden cords while, around the cor, a thick fur plumage was present to increase the dignified appearance of the raiment. The most important aspect of his battle raiment, at least in Vahns opinion, was that it was a close match for Artorias own. Rather than wear her old battle dress, which was more-so beautiful than intimidating, she had adorned pristine white armor forged from the same metal as his. There were ents of blue and gold to increase its aesthetic appeal while, toplement his dragon motif, Artoria had the visage of a royal blue phoenix stered on her b.r.e.a.s.tte. When standing side-by-side, Vahn and Artoria truly looked like an Emperor and Empress, especially with the crowns that had been designed by Da Vinci and forged by Vahn and Aeterna. His took on a form simr to golden vines that wrapped around his head,plete with two circr gaps where his horns would be able to grow in his Qinglong form. Since he didnt like gaudy designs, Vahn had chosen a very minimalist design thatplimented Artorias quite a bit. Hers took on the form of a golden te that covered the forehead and followed the shape of the brows in a gentle arc. There were two tiny horns near the temples that poked out, obviously intended to emte his own horns, albeit much smaller. Vahn found it rather amusing that he had based his battle raiment off of Artorias armor, only for her totter want newly designed armor that matched his. She paid attention to the small details and, if he were being honest, Vahn found it adorable. Though it waspletely unnecessary, she even wore asked Luvia to teach her how to apply makeup so that she could ent her eyes with a bit of green and red. This gave her a slightly more mature appearance and, with her raiment having the motif of a phoenix, it fit remarkably well with her silver eyes and regal disposition... The first time Vahn saw Artoria in her raiment, he was actually inspired quite a bit so, while it would have been better to request Da Vinci, he ended up creating a painting on the spot. He had a special item called a [Magical Canvas] that could form the image inside of a persons mind so, with his nigh-perfect imaging, the final product was almost photo-realistic. This made it seem less like a piece of art but, with Artorias ephemeral beauty and regal disposition, it could easily serve as a centerpiece in an art collection. Artoria had been embarrassed by the impromptu painting, not because it existed, but because Vahn had ced it above the mantlepiece of the dining halls hearth. This caused a lot of the other women to tease her when they took meals together but, as it was something Vahn had made for her, Artoria couldnt ask him to take it down. She could only tolerate its presence, even though she felt like Vahn had made her far more beautiful than she thought herself to be. This was the main reason why she was embarrassed as, with the painting being created from Vahns mind, it served as a representation of how he saw her. Despite being one of the most beautiful women he knew, Artoria had, for reasons he would never truly understand, aplex about her figure. She genuinely believed she had boyish features and a rough body due to her harsh training as a youth. It didnt matter how much other people praised her beauty as, from Artorias perspective, she was a woman thatcked charm. The most ridiculous and contrary part to this belief of hers was, despite having nearly identical features, Artoria had actuallyplimented Grays beauty on several asions. Fortunately, Artoria had made a lot of progress over thest two years so, while she hadnt exactly gotten over herplex, it no longer bothered her all that much. All that really mattered to her at this point was being loved by Vahn, managing the affairs of the Empire, being a good mother, and serving as a proper example for other young women. Since her eye color had changed, she knew it was only a matter of time before her body changed as well so, rather than beat herself up, Artoria had gotten much better at living in the moment while looking toward the future. It was with this frame of mind that Artoria craned her neck to stare up at Vahns face, a confident glint in her eyes as she stated, "Im ready." Since there was a 31cm height difference between them, Artorias petite figure was far more prominent than it would usually be. Despite this, she gave off the impression that she was his equal in every sense of the word. Vahn resisted his almost instinctual urge to rub Artorias cheek before giving a curt nod and smiling in turn. After that, with a fully armored Kenshin, Lakshmibai, Gawain, Ghad, and Gareth following close behind, Vahn activated the transfer portal. Gray was also apanying them but, due to herbat style, she opted to wear her cloaked mantle rather than dawn heavy and restrictive armor. As for the rest of his entourage, Vahn had Merlin and Scthach following at the back while, right behind him and Artoria, Fenrir, wearing a modified bodysuit and a cloaked mantle of her own, kept pace with them. This time around, the group exited from the center of Stonehenge as, after this event came to an end, it wouldnt really matter if the location of the Empire was known. Just knowing it was in a sub-texture of the world would deter the vast majority of people. Destroying one of the three Monarchal families also served as a powerful deterrent of its own, especially since the Barthomeloi family was considered the strongest in the entire world. Though several groups would begin to scheme and machinate, none of that would matter since Vahn only ever negotiated on his own terms, often with aplete disregard for material benefits... The moment his group passed through the massive transfer gate, Vahn wasnt at all surprised to sense spatial fluctuations in the immediate surroundings. His sensitivity to the unique energy had skyrocketed over thest few months so, even before he had appeared, Vahn was already looking toward where Zelretchs body would emerge from the void. This seemed to surprise the elderly Mage quite a bit but, rather than express shock, he smiled with the look of a hardened veteran as he eyed Vahns group. Before anything else was said, Zelretch initiated the conversation by stroking his beard and musing, "So thats how it is...I had been wondering where your Empire was hidden away. It seems like you will have little trouble rivaling the major factions within the Association with a sub-texture of your own..." As he spoke, Zelretchs pupils would expand and contract slightly based on the person reflected in his gaze. When he saw Merlin, Vahn had noticed his brows twitch almost imperceptibly but, when he eyed Fenrir and Scthach, a brief sh of uncertainty crossed his vision. He didnt seem surprised by the presence of Gawain and Ghad, likely having observed them in the past, but it was apparent, at least to Vahn, that he had a small amount of fear towards Fenrir and Scthach. It was very likely that he was unable to see through them at all, especially with thetter beingpletely separate from the time axis. In response to Zelretchs remark, Vahn returned a smile before cautioning, "There wille a time when you will be allowed entry into the Empire so you would do well to temper your curiosity. If you try to enter into my dominion without permission...the Second Magic will not be able to protect you. Please, keep this in mind, Wizard Marshall..." Now that Zelretch knew where one of the gates to Avalon was located, it wouldnt take him much effort at all to gain entry. This, however, would not go unnoticed as, despite his mastery over Space and Time, ya, Vivian, and Merlin would all be able to track him. Unlike other sub-textures and Bounded Fields, yas powers werent restricted at all within Avalon. The moment Zelretch, or any other curious Magi tried to enter, she would immediately alert him. Since this was indisputably an act of aggression or, at the very least, subterfuge, Vahn would make them pay dearly for invading his home. Zelretch had always felt a danger lingering around Vahns body so, while he might ignore the same words from the majority of other people, regardless of their power, he gave an understanding nod this time around. He also knew how capable Merlin, despite never having fought, so Zelretch had no intention of antagonizing the Empire unless he felt they were a threat to the world. Even then, he had already decided to gamble on Vahn as, no matter how strong he was, there was no way he could bring people like Merlin to his side unless he genuinely wanted to make the world a better ce. As that thought crossed his mind, Zelretch decided to clear something up by asking, "Forgive my brashness, Your Majesty, but there was a matter I wanted to discuss with you..." Since it would be beneficial to ingratiate himself to the Empire, Zelretch decided to adopt a more formal approach as, while Vahn didnt seem to mind it, he was already earning a few pointed res from the Knights at his back. Understanding Zelretchs intentions, Vahn smiled slightly before giving a small nod and saying, "Tell us, Wizard Marshall, what is it you wish to discuss? You dont intend to ask for leniency on behalf of the Bathomeloi family, do you...?" To Vahns surprise, Zelretch actually snorted through his nose, almost as if he was offended by the notion of being used of association with the Barthomeloi family. When he answered, however, his expression had be more respectful as he shook his head and rified, "I will not intervene in the private affairs of the Empire and the Barthomeloi family. What stirs my curiosity is, as far as I am aware, apletely unrted matter. It pertains to the sharp decrease in the number of abhorrent crimes taking ce in the world...specifically those rted to children. I wonder if Your Majesty has any knowledge of this...?" Even without Olivia providing them with constant updates, Da Vinci had already adapted her system topile data directly from the inte. She used it to keep track of world new and, after a long discussion with Luvia, had even been using Ark topile data on market trends. Thus, while he did not keep up to date on most matters in the outside world, Vahn had a good idea of what Zelretch was talking about. After all, it was a matter directly rted to a decision he had made. Without beating around the bush, Vahn raised his head slightly before stating in a firm tone, "We are intimately familiar with this topic. Now tell us, is there a particr reason why this subject is of such import to you, Wizard Marshall?" Zelretch immediately shook his head upon hearing Vahns question. Then, in a sincere yet solemn tone, he inly stated, "Whatever your reasons were, I can onlymend your benevolence. Only a true despot would fault you for taking action to protect children. My, or, more specifically, the Mage Associations concern is that the Holy Church has been taking credit for the act. They im it to be some act of Providence....haaaa..." Vahn was tempted tough at Zelretchs expense as, in many ways, it wasnt an inurate ount of events. After all, Vahn was indisputably a God now and, as a result of a decision he had made, it was easy to misconstrue the change to be some form of divine protection. Since ya was even the God worshipped by the Holy Church, they had struck at the truth of the matter, even if their reasons were wholly misguided. Now wasnt the best time to discuss his newfound Divinity, especially considering the form it took, so Vahn decided to keep it to himself. Instead, he gave an understanding nod before saying, "It is not all that far from the truth. Once the Empire has gone public, youll learn that there are a number of Gods in our midst. The Holy Church is likely scheming something but, regardless of their intent, it is only a matter of time before the truthes forward. Soon enough, the Holy Church will either fall to the Empire or fall in line with it..." Hearing the confidence in Vahns words, Zelretch couldnt help but grip his cane a little tighter as, rather than pretentious bravado, theparably young Emperor before him seemed absolutely sure of his ims. With Merlin smiling at the back, Zelretch felt as if his skin had be mmy as, in the back of his mind, he resolved himself to convincing Solon to stop antagonizing Vahn. His old friend was determined to find a method to defeat Vahn, regardless of whether or not thetter was an actual threat to the world. They were the type that couldnt rest unless they hade up with a method to deal with all threats but, no matter how he looked at it, Zelretch couldnt think of a way for Solon to defeat this particr opponent. Since it was getting closer to the time of the duel, Vahn decided to bring this conversation to an end, saying, "While it is always a pleasure to converse with you, our presence is required elsewhere. If it is not your intent to guide us to our destination, please, make way." Vahn had decided to give Zelretch the opportunity to further ingratiate himself as, from the very beginning, his impression of the man had always been rtively positive. Zelretch didnt misunderstand Vahns intentions so, with what could only be described as a wolfish, battle-hungry, grin, he tapped his cane on the ground. Behind his back, the void began to tremble as a massive spatial gate was created. Reflected on its surface was what appeared to be a massive arenaprised of durable white stone. It was impossible to know its dimensions from the gate alone but, with his ability to perceive the space on the other side, Vahn felt the arena should be around 500m in diameter. Vahn felt this was extremely small but, considering it was the Mages Association they were talking about, he didnt doubt they had the means to host a duel between Artoria and Barthomeloi. They could always just petition Zelretch to expand the space within exponentially, making the 500m closer to 500km if he so chose. Though it could be a trap, Vahn didnt hesitate at all to walk forward, leading his entourage directly through the spatial gate with a confident look on his face. Zelretch wasnt foolish enough to try and copse the surrounding space on them so, regardless of what awaited them on the other side, Vahn was not afraid. After passing through the portal, the first thing Vahn noticed were the thousands of people in the stands while, at the very center of the arena, located around 200m above the ground, a monstrous crystal was present. It createdrge projections in the air, allowing people to get a clear view of what was taking ce in the arena, regardless of where they were seated. Currently, dominating therge projection, Vahn could see his own confident visage,plete with a casual smile and sharp eyes... The moment Vahn appeared, the arena became alive with sound as, while they were anticipating the duel, nobody had expected his entourage to appear in the middle of the arena. It was customary for a senior Magi to introduce the parties participating in a duel so the sudden appearance of arge group of people was quite the surprise. Vahn had drawn a lot of focus at first but, as his entourage followed closely behind, the gazes of nearly everyone in the arena turned toward the group of inexplicably beautiful women. This wasnt outside of Vahns expectations but, with his new Divinity, he couldnt help but feel more than a little annoyed. There was a big difference between knowing others were pining after your women and being able to feel the intentions directly. Thus, to remind them of whose women they were eyeing, Vahn released a phenomenal aura that descended upon the entire crowd like the sky falling upon their heads. After this, the frenzy of the crowd was immediately reced by an oppressive silence... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Heavenly Dragon and Divine Phoenix (UwU)...,RIP Solon,The Emperor has appeared) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1258 - Reception

Chapter 1258 - Reception

For the better part of a minute, there was almost no sound within the area as those with lesser wills had to fight just to keep their consciousness. It wasnt until Vahn had passed his eyes over the entire crowd in turn that the pressure began to ease up. At that same moment, he spoke in a solemn voice that resonated through the entire arena, reaching everyones ears despite the distance, "We are the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. We are not a tyrant but, if you covet what is ours, do not me us for protecting it." In the past, Vahn wouldnt have cared about a few people gawking at his lovers but, now that he had obtained a Divinity rted to S.e.x, it was almost like they were actively catcalling. Since he would not let such grievances slide if he were to hear them, Vahncked the magnanimity to tolerate the errant thoughts of the Magi in the crowd. After all, there were many amongst their number who had used things like Hypnosis, Charm, and lesser forms of mind control to act with impunity. He could sense the malicious intent radiating from some people, thergest majority of which belonged to what he assumed to be the Noble Faction. Fortunately for the crowd, Zelretch had been close at hand so, after he approached with a wry smile, Vahn gave the crowd some leniency as he turned to the elderly Mage and asked, "We trust this is not the reception the Association had in mind for us, yes? Take us to where we need to be so we can get this farce out of the way." Zelretch issued a dryugh in response to Vahns words as he slightly regretted bringing the group directly to the arena. He had wanted to give them the chance to make a grand entrance since they cut quite the figure as a group of powerful individuals. Now, Vahn had caused the atmosphere in the arena to be incredibly tense, no doubt earning him the ire of nearly everyone in the crowd. During the month leading up to the duel, the Barthomeloi family, and the Noble Faction in general, had been campaigning to demonize Vahn and his Empire quite a bit. They spun the facts to present him as a cruel and uncaring individual who wielded his power with impunity and acted however he pleased. This disy would undoubtedly fuel the fires of propaganda further, despite it being clear to many that Vahn was overprotective and borderline possessive, not someone who would give up his allies for something like a wager. Vahn didnt care much for pretenses, especially if they required him to simply ignore the faults of wicked individuals. He understood that his actions would have earned him several enemies within the Association but, as this made it easier to identify those with truly malicious intent, he didnt mind borrowing a page out of the Edelfelts book. His cooperation with the Association was predicated on their willingness to ept the reforms he intended to bring. He would not pander to the Magi that could not ept the changes he would bring so, even if he upset the majority of people belonging to the Association, Vahn showed no remorse... By the time Zelretch had escorted Vahns group to their designated waiting area, many in the crowd had already started speaking in hushed tones. As for those belonging to the Noble Faction, who had borne the brunt of Vahns aura, they were spewing venom and vitriol as they criticized the so-called Emperors actions. Some even sent their Servants, other students, to spread the word about what had happened so that everyone else could be informed of the truth of Vahns tyranny. Among those who had witnessed Vahns disy, there was a sealed viewing tform that only those with the highest status among the Noble Faction could make use of. From here, they could view the various duels and events that took ce in the arena in extremefort. The interior was filled with high-end furniture while the structure of the tform itself was reinforced using materials that could only be found within the various Spiritual Lands. Even if a stray A-Rank attack struck the tform, it would suffer minimal damage while those within wouldnt even feel the smallest of shockwaves. Despite these protections, several people seated within the viewing tform had dour expressions as, much like the rest of the Noble Faction, they had borne the brunt of Vahns pressure. At the front of the group, a tall man and a rtively petite woman, each having hazelnut-brown hair, emanated an aura that caused the interior of the room to tremble slightly. While some had felt weak at the knees after experiencing Vahns pressure, these two stood ramrod straight, hands behind their backs as they raised their heads in a dignified and prideful disy. The shorter of the two, despite her diminutive size, gave off the impression of a stable mountain. As for her counterpart, his presence was vast and unfathomable, causing those that met him to feel as though they were looking up at the sky above, awed by the boundless expanse. Without changing his posture in the slightest, the man spoke in a deep and stern tone as he stated, "That man is not simple...his aura feels closer to the Divine Energy than mana. You have made quite the enemy for our family, Lorelei." If others were to address her by name, Lorelei would harshly rebuke or outright punish them but, this time around, she lowered her head slightly and stated in a solemn tone, "Forgive me, my Lord." She did not try to make any excuses for her actions as, regardless of her haughty and cruel nature, Lorelei was nothing but a little girl whenparing herself to the middle-aged man standing to her right. Despite the fact that Lorelei was lowering her head to him, something that shocked everyone else present to the core, the man continued to stand tall without any discernible reaction. It wasnt until several seconds had passed that he stated, "It matters not. Be they God, Divine Spirit, or Magi, our family will emerge victoriously. Recent events have given us the opportunity to show the world why we are considered the most prestigious Magus family. Failure will not be tolerated." Still having her head lowered from before, Lorelei answered in a calm and collected tone, without a single sign ofcking confidence, "King or Empress, I will not lose to some relic of the past. My only concern is that you will find the proceedings droll and boring, my Lord." This time, there was a slight change in the middle-aged mans, Lord Bathomelois, expression. Then, without any hesitation, nor caring for the presence of others, he struck Lorelei across the face with the back of his right hand. A loud smack resonated through the room, bringing an eerie silence with it, much like standing within a graveyard in the middle of the night. Despite having been struck across the face hard enough to leave a trickle of blood running from her nose, Loreleis expression was as cid and calm. She made no effort to redress any grievances she might be feeling. Instead, she fixed her posture before lowering her head slightly once again. Even if someone were to try and view her thoughts using Advanced Magecraft, they would find her mind to be in a serene and unperturbed state. After staring at his granddaughter for several tense seconds, Lord Barthomeloi turned his eyes back to the front as he stated, "As a Barthomeloi, you do notck the prestige to look down upon others. That woman, however, is not someone you can afford to look down on. Her bloodline is something even our family cannotpare to. You will fight her to the best of your abilities from the start. I did note here to watch a show. I came here to prevent those two old monsters from doing anything to interfere with our familys matters." Though this was his first time seeing Vahn directly, Lord Barthomeloi could already sense there was something inexplicable about the man. Even with his eyes, he was unable to see through the depths of Vahns power. He could tell that Vahn was weaker than he was but with the entourage he brought along, even Lord Barthomeloi couldnt act with impunity. He had never met Merlin but, after trying to see through the flowery Magus depths, Lord Barthomeloi actually felt a bacsh and, for a brief moment, he was certain the white-haired man had even smiled toward him. As one of the most powerful existences on the Surface, Lord Barthomelois mind was like a fortress. The vast majority of Magi, regardless of how powerful they were, would not be able to breach his mental defenses but, as if they didnt exist at all, he was certain the man at the back of Vahns group had peered into his mind. This made him feel threatened for the first time in more than two-hundred years thus, after hearing Loreleis remark, he couldnt help but remind her to treat this matter with the severity it was due. --- At the same time that Lord Bathomeloi was thinking of him, Merlin was rubbing his with the back of his sleeve after surprising the entire room with a loud sneeze. This reminded everyone that he was still present, including Zelretch. When the old man realized he had been ignoring Merlin this entire time, he was slightly taken aback before hardening his expression. The only way he would have been able to overlook Merlins presence, especially after seeing him earlier, was if the flowery Magus was proactively obscuring his perception. With a look of mock-embarrassment on his face, Merlin produced a wry smile as he stated in an airy tone, "Oh, pardon me. Spring allergies. Please, continue." This remark caused Artoria to sigh deeply while Vahn and Zelretch stared back at him with incredulous looks. There was no way someone that was literally known as the Magus of Flowers would be affected by something like pollen. They were located in one of the most secure ces within the entire Association, far beyond the means for any stray pollen to reach... Deciding not to bother with Merlin, Vahn shook his head before turning to Zelretch and asking, "Is Solon not going to preside over this duel? I believe a senior Magus needs to be present to ensure the duels conditions are not breached. With Loreleis status, the only person who can preside over this match should be Solon, correct?" Instead of Zelretch answering, it was Merlin who issued a light chuckle before musing, "Little Solon is indisposed of at the moment. Dont worry, as someone rather special will be presiding over todays duel. Im actually a little excited. Today is a day of many reunions~" Even without Merlin going into greater detail, it was easy to intuit that he was already meeting with Solon in private. This caused Zelretch to grip his cane a little tighter as realization dawned on him as to why he had been unable to sense Merlin for the past few minutes. The Magus before him was just another illusion, albeit one that was almost indiscernible from an actual person. He was aware of the fact that Merlin had been imprisoned on the Reverse Side of the World so, seeing him able to freely move about despite being severely restricted, Zelretch couldnt help but feel like he was in the same room as a monster. Merlin justughed in response to the way Zelretch was looking at him. Then, with a yful wave of his hand, he began to fade away from the room without asking for permission to leave. He and Vahn had already discussed the meeting with Solon and, if not for their prior agreement, Merlin would not have revealed himself so early. There were far more dangerous existences in the world than anything the Mages Association could throw at them so. Once it was known that he was present, there were a number of troublesome individuals who would immediatelye seeking him... Zelretch wanted to follow after Merlin but, with Vahns temperament, he felt the need to be present to avoid any troublesome developments. With this in mind, he could only release a tired sigh as, for a brief moment, his age showed far more than it usually did. He kept calm by reminding himself that Merlin, despite his entricities, was not a dangerous person. Though Solon would probably have to suffer for a bit, they wouldnt be too affected by the rtively short meeting. In an effort to distract himself, Zelretchs eyes suddenly turned into a kaleidoscope of thousands of images as he was very curious about who would be arriving. This caught everyones attention while Vahn, having witnessed something simr in the past, couldnt help but smile slightly. Zelretchs use of the Second Magic reminded him a lot of Inas ability to view the future, albeit far more advanced. This was further proof that the most powerful abilities, regardless of theirplexity, usually had an Innate that had simr functionality. After a surprisingly short period of time, Zelretchs eyes returned to normal and, recing the dour expression on his face, he now had a wolfish grin before spontaneouslyughing. Then, adding to the incredulity of the situation, Zelretch suddenly stoppedughing before adopting a very serious expression as he exined, "It seems three Mages will be gathering here today. Please, Your Majesty, do not offend the personing to preside over the match. She can be a very hotheaded individual and I fear the Association will not be able to survive a conflict between the two of you..." Vahn looked at Zelretch like he was senile but, after processing his words, he answered, "We do not seek unnecessary conflict. Unless that woman antagonizes us, there is no reason for concern..." Even before he had finished his words, Vahn could see a dejected glimmer in Zelretchs eyes as he shook his head. There was a smile present on his face and, after a few tense moments, he just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, its been a while since I had to go all out. Dont worry. Im not nning on fighting against you. If I dont interfere, all of London might end up being destroyed in the process." At this point, Vahn was getting annoyed by how Zelretch was obviously beating around the bush. At the same time, however, he was somewhat curious about what kind of opponent would require the elderly Magus to go all out. Based on Zelretchs words, it was obvious that the person he was talking about was a wielder of True Magic. After all, the only people that were allowed to call themselves by the title of Mage were those who had either reached the Root, or inherited the Magic from their ancestors." Surprising Zelretch quite a bit, Vahn adopted a smile on his face as he mused, "Aoko Aozaki, the Fifth Magician..." with a fair amount of intrigue. ya had taken it upon herself to inform him of who was on the way, even without him asking for the information. Zelretch grimaced like someone who had their fun ruined but, rather than ask how Vahn obtained the information, he gave a curt nod before stating, "Indeed. It isnt an exaggeration to say that she is the most capable Magician in terms of destructive capabilities. Though she is still a little wet behind the ears, even I dont have the confidence in being about to oust one of her tantrums. She is a good and honestss, despite being a little temperamental..." While Zelretch was giving his exnation, ya, seated snuggly on Vahns shoulder, gave her own ounting of Aokos character, stating, "That woman is irresponsible. Though her actions are a necessity in guaranteeing the current cyclees to an end, her use of the Fifth Magic will cause the inevitable destruction of the Universe. If she uses it haphazardly, even Type: Mercury will not be able to defeat her. I would advise you to exercise caution, Master..." Hearing yas words, Vahn felt his scalp tingle as he couldnt even fathom how strong ORT was yet, ording to his perpetualpanion, she could even defeat an existence he had little, if any, hope of defeating. This was a jarring discovery as, while he knew the Administrative Functions were all very powerful, he hadnt expected such an information bomb at this point in time. He was actually a little annoyed as, until now, despite having discussed potential dangers several times, Aokos name hadnt even been brought up. The original Aoko was actually one of his targets but, for the past two years or so, Vahn hadnt even thought about the Quest that had been assigned to him by Akasha. Now that he knew she had such an extreme amount of power, he suddenly felt the need to increase his own. At the same time, Vahn couldnt deny that he was actually interested in seeing just how strong such a person could be. Since Merlin and ya hadnt warned him about her, she likely wasnt a threat, despite having more than enough power to oppose them. Recognizing the look in Vahns eyes, Zelretch shook his head in exasperation as he said, "If you want to fight her, please do it elsewhere. I would hope that, as an Emperor, you have the wherewithal to avoid causing unnecessary coteral damage. I can help you arrange a battle if youd like. Just dont do it here." The battle between Artoria and Lorelei was already pushing the limits of what the arena could withstand so, if two people capable of wielding True Magic began to fight, it was only a matter of time before everything was destroyed. Despite Vahn having never stated it outright, Zelretch considered him a wielder of True Magic and, now that rumors had been circting, others saw him in the same light. He imagined this was the primary reason behind Aokos visit as, even after the revtion of Angra Mainyus emergence, she hadnt particrly cared. She wasnt too fond of the current Association, despite the Aozaki family being one of its core affiliates. Hearing Zelretchs words, Vahn dismissively waved his hand before saying, "Today is the opportunity for our Empress to disy her prowess. I will only intervene if the Barthomeloi family tries anything shady. If Aoko is as you describe, I doubt we wille to blows. Rather, after this matter is settled, I would prefer to meet with her directly. Im certain she would want to be present for the discussions so please inform Solon of her attendance. If she chooses to abstain, however, leave her be. It is only a matter of time before we sit down for a discussion as, with her power, I imagine she will have her own conditions to present to the Empire...hahahaha~" Zelretch could only shake his head with a wry smile after hearing Vahns words. He could only hope that Aoko was in a good mood as, with her nature, she was the most likely person to start the fight. As for Vahns remark about Aokos conditions, Zelretch was genuinely afraid that she would actually ally herself with the Empire in the future. If that were the case, the Empire would be the most powerful force in the entire world overnight. After all, while the Fifth Magic had various uses, the one it was most famous for was being able to draw out a persons future potential in the present... With this in mind, Zelretchs gaze briefly flickered over Fenrir as, while she was one of the weakest in the procession, her potential terrified him. If she were to meet with Aoko on amicable terms, it was impossible to know exactly powerful she would be... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Smack*,RIP Solon,The Fifth Magician is a little scary...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1259 - Setting the Stage

Chapter 1259 - Setting the Stage

The duel between Lorelei and Artoria had been scheduled for noon so, after idling in the waiting area for around half an hour, it was nearing time for the battle to begin. At this point, the only thing they were really waiting for was the arrival of Solon or, in this case, Aoko Aozaki. Without someone to officiate the event, it could not proceed so, while waiting for her arrival, Vahn passed the time by talking with Zelretch while Artoria was tended to by Gray and Gareth. It wasnt until a few minutes before the duel was scheduled to begin that Vahns perception picked up on an aura that he couldnt make sense of. It felt simultaneously ancient and cold yet, at the same time, gave off a very youthful and sunny vibe. He was a little surprised by the contrary nature of the aura but, as it was something he could look into at ater date, he decided not to mind it. Instead, he looked toward Zelretch and, understanding his intent, the old man gave a curt nod before lightly tapping his cane against the ground. In the next moment, his figure had vanished from the waiting room, leaving behind a few ripples in Space-Time. With Zelretchs departure, Vahn rose to his feet and approached Artoria to help her stand. She had been in a meditative state in preparation for theing battle so, when she opened her eyes, Vahn was able to see a silver glow flickering across her irises. It was quite the sight to behold and, if not for the fact he was afraid her focus was be affected, he wouldnt have been able to resist giving her a kiss or two. Artoria seemed to understand his intent as, for a brief moment, the focus in her eyes faded away as she looked up at him with a smile. Vahn habitually returned her smile and, though his gauntleted hands might not be the mostfortable, he cupped her cheek before resting his forehead against hers. They stayed like this for more than a minute before Vahn pulled away and stated in a confident tone, "Your actions today will usher in a new Era for this world. I believe in you, Artoria..." After inhaling audibly through her nose, Artorias smile became more radiant as she ced her hand against his b.r.e.a.s.tte and whispered, "Believe in us...I do not carry this burden alone. Ever since our first meeting, we have walked this path together." With her words finished, Artoria gave onest smile before turning away with a far more serious expression on her face. She gave off the impression of someone who had lived an entire lifetime on the battlefield, a stark contrast to the loving woman that had been present moments prior. Vahn had a thoughtful look on his face as he watched her retreating figure but, throughout the sequence of events, his smile had never faded. Though it shouldnt be necessary, Vahn sent a mentalmand to Scthach, telling her to follow along with Artoria to prevent any kind of subterfuge. If the enemy decided to pull something at thest moment, he didnt mind going to war against the entire Association. Before anyone realized it, Scthachs figure had vanished from the periphery of the room as Vahn turned to address hispanions with a smile. He primarily directed his gaze towards Gray, Fenrir, and Gareth as he calmly stated, "Regardless of the oue of this battle, we stand together. While it may be difficult to uphold in the future, everyone within the Empire is an important member of my family. I will not tolerate others machinating against my loved ones so, if the Association seeks War, we must be prepared." In response to Vahns words, Gawain, Ghad, and Gareth all gave proper Knights salutes while Kenshin and Lakshmibai just smiled back at him. As for Fenrir and Gray, the former had the same resolute expression as always while Gray, understanding the meaning behind her Masters words, couldnt help but smile, even as her eyes developed ayer of moisture. Then, so as not to embarrass herself, she wiped away the budding tears before adopting a resolute expression of her own... --- While Vahn was giving his motivational speech, Zelretch had a ragged expression as a woman with red hair andpiszuli eyes stared back at him with a confident smile on her face. Though she was only 165cm tall, her expression made it appear as if she were looking down on the 185cm tall elderly man. With her peculiar choice of garb, her mature appearance was present for the world to see and, if Vahn were present, he would have ced her three sizes at 90/56/88, giving her a figure that the majority of women would envy. Simr to Nobunaga, Aoko liked to wear casual clothes that gave her a more wild and unrestrained appearance. Today, she was wearing a pair of blue jean shorts that were frayed at the ends, almost as if they had been cut from a pair of pants. She had a sleeveless white that ented her ratherrge b.r.e.a.s.ts while, around her a neck, an ornate metallic choker with a blue gemstone was present. What stood out the most, other than her inordinately beautiful appearance, were theplex runes that had been engraved on her exposed arms like tattoos. She also had a ck glover on her right hand that ran up the length of her elbow while,pletely her outfit, she had on a pair of ck, military-style boots. As if ying the part her clothes had presented, Aoko was basically grinning at Zelretch as she said, "Long time no see, Jewel Bastard. Have you broken any more students since thest time we met?" Zelretch snorted in response to Aokos taunting words, stating in an aged tone, "I find myselfcking the time to dedicate to rearing another student. Im certain you have been rather busy yourself...tell me, Ms. Aozaki, has the nature of your Magic changed in thest five months...?" Knowing what Zelretch was getting at, Aokos expression turned more serious as she stated, "There have indeed been some changes. Im assuming that man is the cause...?" At this point, most of the major yers around the world knew of Vahns existence so, as the Head of the Aozaki family, one of the most prominent Magus lineages in the modern era, she was obviously aware of him as well. Without beating around the bush at all, Zelretch stated in a solemn tone, "That manes from the Outside..." This time, Aokos eyes widened in genuine shock was, better than most, she knew exactly what he was talking about when mentioning the Outside. Her Magic gave her direct ess to the Root and, if she wanted to, it was possible for her toe into contact with it whenever she wanted. If she didnt have so many things anchoring her to the world, she would have given in to the ever-present urge to find out what was on the other side. After collecting herself, Aoko adopted her usual confident expression as she mused, "It seems Im going to have to meet with this so-called Emperor. If he is really from the Outside, he should be able to answer a few questions of mine." Zelretch gave a curt nod and, remembering Vahns words, exined, "That man is undoubtedly an Emperor. You should not go out of your way to antagonize him. As for a meeting, that is something that can be arranged. The Sage Emperor has extended an invitation to you. If you have no other pressing matters to attend, there will be an important discussion taking ce in the next couple of days. The Director and myself will also be present and, as it has been quite some time, I would ask that you consider the matter seriously, Ms. Aozaki." Crossing her arms, an action that caused her b.r.e.a.s.ts to stand out even more, Aoko answered in a nonmittal tone, "Well see. Ive heard some pretty shady rumors about that man, including that he is already in cahoots with the Director. Id rather not be trapped in a room with three of you old monsters at the same time." Though he knew it was dangerous to do so, Zelretch couldnt help butugh in response to Aokos words. He wasnt sure what kind of rumors she had heard but, considering the propaganda spread by the Noble Faction, they were undoubtedly nderous. Aoko obviously knew better than to treat the rumors of the Association seriously, as she had been a victim of them herself in the past, but that didnt mean she ignored thempletely. Until she met with Vahn and got a feel for his character, it would be very difficult to convince her to meet on any terms but her own. At this point, the scheduled time for the duel had alreadye and gone but, being two of only five Mages/Magicians, Aoko and Zelretch had the freedom to arrive at their leisure. Since it was their first meeting in a few years, they decided to make polite conversation for a bit while slowly making their way over to the arena. Along the way, anyone who saw them was considerably shaken, causing them to head in theplete opposite direction. As a result of the duos leisurely pace, the entire arena was aware of Aokos presence by the time she had finally arrived. This included Lord Barthomeloi who, already feeling bothered by the presence of the unknown Magus at Vahns side, nearly called off the duel on the spot. No matter how confident he was in his own familys power, he wasnt foolish enough to believe he could take on two wielders of True Magic at the same time. Aoko, in particr, was the one opponent he would rather not face as, despite very little being known about the Fifth Magic, it was considered second only to the First. Despite wanting to call everything off, Lord Barthomeloi looked toward Lorelei before saying in a cold tone, "Do not hold back. Do not try and show off. End this battle as quickly as you can." Without arguing at all, Lorelei nodded her head in understanding before answering in a courteous tone, "Yes, my Lord." After this, she gave a polite bow before turning away to make her way down to the arena. Along the way, she looked at everyone present in the room like an Executioner eyeing a group of death row inmates. Though there was no shame in lowering her head to her grandfather, they had seen her be struck. Thus, as far as Lorelei was concerned, they were all living on borrowed time. After making her way down one of the private corridors that provided ess to the VIP viewing room, Lorelei slowed the pace of her steps until she came to aplete stop. Then, no longer able to restrain her frustration, she punched the adjacent wall with enough forced to shatter the surface and cause the magic crystals serving as light sources to fracture. Though her conditioning made it impossible for her to even contemte baring her fangs towards her grandfather, the fact that Aoko had appeared incensed Lorelei to no end. While she was called the Queen, having no peers that can be directlypared to her, it was an indisputable fact that Aoko was stronger than her. When thetter was around, calling Lorelei the Queen of Mages was less of apliment than it was a mockery. Because of this, Lorelei had always hated Aoko as, while thetter existed, she would always be the second most powerful female Magus... --- When Aoko appeared within the arena, the crowd went wild in much the same way as when Vahns party first arrived. This caused Aoko to roll her eyes but, as she took considerable pride in her figure and lived by the creed: regret nothing, she didnt really care how they reacted. So long as none of them were foolish enough to make brash remarks and catcall her, she didnt mind if they eyed her like a group hungry wolves stumbling across a waywardmb. After being handed a microphone that looked like a magic crystal on the end of a metal pipe, as the Mages Association was pretty strict about not using advanced technology, Aoko struck a dauntless pose before shouting, "Hey, everyone! I hope youre all excited about today! It isnt every day that you get to witness a battle between the Queen of Mages and a Legendary Heroic Spirit~!" Though it wasnt discernible to everyone, the more perceptive members in the crowd heard the extra emphasis Aoko ced on Loreleis title. In truth, Aoko didnt really put Lorelei in her eyes but, as thetter had caused her a fair amount of trouble in the past, she also had no love for her. Since she had yet to meet with Vahn, Aoko was automatically inclined to root for Artoria. Loreleiseuppance was long overdue and, if not for the trouble it would cause her family, Aoko would have taught the Blue-Blooded Bitch a lesson a long time ago. After waiting for the crowd to settle down a bit, Aoko had a big grin on her face as she eximed, "I dont normally do things like this but I decided to do the Director a favor by hosting todays duel. Before that, there is something I want to make very clear to all you bastards scheming in the stands. No matter how you try to spin things, Ive already been informed of the terms for the duel since the arrangements were made. This duel is to address a perceived grievance between the Barthomeloi family and the Empire. There were no wagers made that require any person or artifacts to change hands. You can shove your schemes up your asses, okay~?" In response to Aokos words, several people from the Noble Faction began to shout while, elsewhere in the stands, everyone else had an as expected reaction. Though they could not speak out about it, everymoner student knew the methods used by the Noble Faction. They controlled the spread of information, both inside and outside of the Clock Tower. In most situations, they would never take the groups words at face value but, as they alsocked the power to oppose the machinations of the established powers, they could only lower their heads in silent eptance of their fate. Aoko wasnt worried about offending the Noble Faction as, with her familys territory being located in Japan, there werent many amongst them who would even try to scheme against her. If they had the courage to do so, they would also need the conviction to confront the Fifth Magic, something only the Three Monarchal families could reasonably manage. Now that they had been petitioning her family for support in the uing battle against Angra Mainyu, Aoko felt like taking a stance against them since she knew there was nothing they could do but grit their teeth and bear it, just like themoners they looked down upon. Ignoring the outcries of the Noble Faction, Aoko pulled a small pocket watch out of her shorts back pocket before checking the time. She showed an expression of mock surprise before eximing into the microphone, "Oh, wow! Were actually super behind schedule, arent we~!? Well, without further ado, lets get this show on the road! Lets see..." Since Artoria was the party being challenged, it was proper to introduce her first before introducing her opponent. Aoko had been given a small script that showed various talking points, including one that told her to introduce Lorelei first. This was obviously another scheme by the Noble Faction as it made Artoria seem like the challenger going by the usual order of events. After understanding the bias behind the duels organization, Aoko crushed the piece of paper before eximing, "Representing the mysterious Aldrnari Empire is none other than the Legendary King of Knights, now Empress of the Aldrnari Empire, Artoria Pendragon~!" Lorelei had been preparing to make her entrance so, hearing Aokos outburst, her faced turned dark in an instant. The only thing keeping her calm at this point is the assurance that, when all of this was over, her family would have cemented its image as the most powerful of the Three Monarchs. With this in mind, she began to open and close her fists to remain calm, waiting for Aoko to introduce her so she could bring this farce to an end. When she heard her name called, Artoria rose from her kneeling position in the wing before making her entrance onto the battlefield. Her arrival caused a stir to pass through the crowd and, while some seemed to have forgotten Vahns earlier words, the majority of people present were simply in awe of her dignified aura. They had all heard that King Arthur was going to be one of the contenders in the duel but, while the rumors about her being a female had already circted, this was the first time it the truth really resonated with most people. After reaching her designated area in the field, Artoria raised her right arm and, much to the surprise of the crowd, began to gather a phenomenal amount of mana. Though she could summon it without the fanfare, Artoria knew it was important to put on airs when presenting oneself to the public. Thus, with an invibly noble disposition, she pulled [Excalibur] out of thin air. When it appeared, silence had descended upon the crowd while some, especially those hailing from the British Isles, had a very strong urge to kneel. After all, while Artoria may be a beautiful woman and an Empress, she was also the Once and Future King of Ennd... Artoria continued holding [Excalibur] high for several seconds, allowing its holy light to wash over the crowd. When the light began to die down, she brandished the de in a flourish before setting the tip against the ground, both hands resting on the pommel. Though she was very petite, she suddenly seemed like an immovable mountain in the eyes of everyone present, Nobles included. Despite being the Fifth Magician, even Aoko could only stare at Artoria with awe clearly visible on her face. This caused her to momentarily nk until Artoria turned her silvery eyes towards her and gave a small nod. As if she had been given leniency, Aoko came back to her senses before coughing awkwardly to ease her embarrassment. Then, causing an oppressive and wrath-filled aura to spread through the arena, she brought the microphone up to her mouth before stating in a dismissive tone, "Lorelei, stop wasting time and get out here. You were the one to challenge Her Majesty so why are you dawdling...?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Believe in us...,The Fifth Magicians entricities,RIP Loreleis brain. That aneurysm xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1260 - Empress vs. Queen

Chapter 1260 - Empress vs. Queen

Though she felt angrier in this one moment than any other preceding it, Lorelei adopted a calm and cold visage as she made her way to the area designated for her. Unlike her usual outfit, Lorelei had reced her white petticoat with a sleeveless tacticalbat vest. It might not look like much, but the thin ting would be able to dissipate the shockwave of a howitzer at point-nk range so it would provide her, at the very least, a basic level of protection against Artorias physical might. While her battle attire had surprised a number of people, the more perceptive members of the crowd eyed the series of batons strapped in a holster behind Loreleis back. Though her usual weapon looked like a riding-whip, it was actually a very powerful catalyst that allowed her to cast various spells withoutpiling the form. As for the batons at her back, they were all superior quality magical scepters that had simply been disguised to appear more practical. Completely Loreleis outfit, she had her usual metallic gauntlet but, as she had discarded her long-sleeved petticoat, her bare arms were visible for all to see. Though it wasnt noticeable due to usual baggy clothing, Lorelei had soft yet pronounced muscles while, on her right forearm, the same one she wore her gauntlet on, aplex series of runes were engraved into her skin. They formed what appeared to be a solid blue saber with aplex tribal pattern but, if inspected closer, they would have been able to see thousands of runes forming a faux-magic crest that allowed instantaneous use of most intermediate level spells. While some Magi had made a name for themselves by studying variousplex forms of Magecraft, it was the creed of the Bathomeloi family to strive for a perfect foundation. As a result, Lorelei had no special traits, nor did she possess any unique forms of thaumaturgy. Instead, she became known as one of the greatest modern Magi by using orthodox Magecraft to a level nearing perfection. This allowed her to fire off several sessive spells in sequence, each equating to a B-Rank spell, by the time most Magi had been able toplete a single one of their own. After assuming her position, Lorelei held up her right hand, covered by a [Holy Mithril Gauntlet] that had the ability to interfere with the flow of magical power. Against another Magi, this gauntlet was their worst nightmare but, even against someone who relied on physical enhancement like Artoria, it would still be useful. This was due to the fact that, while it interrupted the control of her enemys magical power, Loreleis control allowed her to freely maneuver her own. Her mana carried the Wind Element by default so she could cut apart most enemies with a simple palm strike... Even when the surrounding mana began to stir due to Loreleis presence, Artoria remained entirely unfl.u.s.tered as she patiently waited for the battle to begin. There were no words required between them as the time for dialogue had long-sincee to an end. Now, decisive action was required and, no matter what schemes her enemy hade up with, Artoria would cut them down, without exception... Aoko was starting to get a little excited while watching Artoria and Lorelei stare down each other. Before she could begin the battle, however, the surrounding space suddenly began to expand at a rate visible to the eye. Though the dimensions of the arena hadnt changed in the slightest, the area that served as the battleground hadpounded several times. Without the crystal projection, the vast majority of attendees wouldnt even be able to see the contenders at this point as, from their perspective, it suddenly seemed like Artoria and Lorelei were distant figures on the horizon. Though Aoko felt ufortable to be in an area influenced by Zelretch, she did her best to bear with it since she knew it was necessary. However, once the space had stabilized, she wasted no time at all to raise the microphone and exim, "Alright! Give it your best! Go, go, go~!" before floating into the sky under the influence of her own magical power. The moment Aoko signaled the start of the battle, Artoria had already kicked against the ground with enough force to cause a massive eruption in her wake. As for Lorelei, the faux-magic crest on her arm immediately activated, creating a helical magic circle around her arm that caused Aoko to frown. This was obviously copied from her ownbat style but, as it wasnt umon for Magi to adapt the techniques of others, she kept mum and simply enjoyed refereeing the fight. Artoria was slightly surprised when her [Mana Burst] dissipated when nearing Lorelei but, as she had kept her momentum, it didnt matter to her that much. She unhesitantly swung her sword in a wide sweep that was impossible for all but the most powerful individuals to follow. This was met by the silvery palm of Lorelei who, rather than contend against the power behind the de, attempted to divert its path. At the same time, the helical magic circle around her forearm formed a total of seven small balls of magical energy which, after reaching critical mass, shot forward like whitesers as they attempted to skewer Artorias body. Though she could have evaded them, Artorias [Instinct] didnt trigger and, as she felt the beams of light werent dangerous, she just continued her forward charge by leaning into Loreleis chest with her shoulder. Thetter grit her teeth in annoyance when she saw her attack simply break against Artorias body without doing any discernible damage. Then, much to the surprise of everyone in the stands, Lorelei did the most inexplicable thing as, rather than try to evade the charge, she jerked her head forward in a clear attempt to headbutt Artoria. Having alreadymitted to her attack, Artoria clenched her own teeth a Loreleis head, reinforced to the extreme, mmed into her own. She felt a small concussive force but, with the regeneration, it didnt affect herbat capabilities in the least. Thus, undaunted, her shoulder mmed hard into Loreleis chest at the same time that their heads made contact. It felt like she was trying to shoulder tackle a boulder but, despite this, Lorelei was sent flying backward with enough force to break the sound barrier. Ignoring the dent that now existed on her b.r.e.a.s.tte, Lorelei flipped through the air before using abination of spells to stabilize herself while firing off a series of ten [Gandr] simultaneously. Two of these were far more powerful than the others, halting Artorias charge as she deftly cut through them with [Excalibur]. After this, she was forced to weave from side-to-side rapidly as, after the first two were blocked, all of Loreleis attacks were at the same level. She was like a rapid-fire machine gun that required Artoria, for a brief moment, to stand her ground in an effort to deflect several hundred reddish-cksers. As most opponents would either use a barrier or just evade her attacks, Lorelei was a little shaken to see Artoria cut down the vast majority of her spells. She couldnt even trace the trajectory of Artorias sword, causing her to instinctually activate one of her trump cards. Her hazel-brown eyes suddenly became blood-red as her pupils became the size of pinholes. At that same moment, Artoria stopped mid-swing, leaving her defenseless against the barrage of [Gandr] still suppressing her. The moment the first hits began tond, Lorelei flicked her riding-whip, resulting in a purple magic circle forming in mid-air. It quickly grew in size until it was nearly 3m in diameter before the circle began to spin rapidly as lightning danced across its surface. Then, while firing dozens of [Gandr] per second, causing a reddish-ck cloud of chaotic magical energy to appear in the area where Artoria had been standing, Lorelei released a far more powerful attack. Moving around a tenth the speed of light, a purple band of lightning danced through the air as it struck down upon Artorias location in what appeared to be an instant. A loud thunderp spread through the area as, momentster, the ground itself erupted as an area of several hundred meters began to dance with arcs of purple lightning. Lorelei had continued channeling her spell, causing the lightning to continually build up until, after finally reaching a critical level, it formed a massive pir of lightning that arced up into the sky and mmed into the barrier above. Lorelei breathed a tired sight but, rather than lower her guard, she continued to open up distance between herself and Artoria as she pulled out two of the batons from her sling. This was the correct choice as, immediately following the purple pir of lightning, a pale-blue tempest broke it apart as Artoria, seemingly uninjured, swung her sword down as she shouted, "Exxxxcaaaaalibur~!" By pure instinct, Lorelei crossed the batons in her hand to form a crossguard. Runes covered their entire length and, after she channeled her mana into them, a massive magical bulwark emerged to protect her. It looked like a squarish red wall formed of magical energy but, at the very center of theplex arrangement of runes, what could only be described as a demons face was present. As the holy energy from Artorias attack struck the bulwark, the demon opened its mouth wide, seemingly intent on devouring the attack in its entirety. With advanced knowledge of Artorias capabilities, Lorelei had obviously made preparations for dealing with her most famous attacks. The barrier she had formed was the result of an artifact known as [Asmodeus Vengeance], and Anti-Divine artifact that could absorb holy energy and spew it back at the attacker. As a result, Artorias attack was indeed devoured by the barrier but, before it could spit it back out, Lorelei noticed cracks spreading across the surface. Never doubting her instincts, Lorelei immediately created a secondary barrier around her body while using a short-range [Space Transfer] spell. From her new vantage, she watched as one of her trump cards erupted in a cloud of vibrant blue energy, pure incredulity filling her mind. What Lorelei could never have expected was, after being refined by Vahn for several hours each day, Artorias energy was far more powerful than her calctions could have ounted for. Even the weakest activation of her [Excalibur] could reach A-Rank at this point, making it a terrifyingly powerful Noble Phantasm that she could freely spam with impunity. As if this was her intent, Artoria had appeared near Loreleis new location in an instant. This was an even bigger surprise for Lorelei as, from what they were able to gather, Artoria should only be able to use a simple form of wind magic to obscure her sword. She should not be capable of anything remotely resembling [Space Transfer] as, even among the most powerful members of the Mages Association, there was only a handful who could pull it off. Artoria was a Knight not a Magus, so it was rather ridiculous, at least in Loreleis mind, that she was able to perform the advanced spell with such ease. Despite her shock, Lorelei used her own [Space Transfer] to vanish from the area, just as Artorias [Excalibur] tried to give her a haircut. Since Artoria wasnt that proficient with [Shundo] just yet, she had a bit of trouble following other people. Still, with her A-Rank [Instinct], she would able to intuit Loreleis location. She twisted her body mid-air, causing the energy from her [Exclibur] to change direction and flow around her body like a tempest while she was the eye of the storm. Lorelei felt that everything Artoria was doing had been developed specifically to surprise her. She wasnt looking down on the former King of Knights at all but, with how little time had passed since her summoning, it didnt make sense for her battle data to have changed so drastically. As she used her barrier to resist the wave of holy energy that washed over her, she correctly assumed that the Empire had a Bounded Field where time flowed at a different ratepared to reality. This was the only way Artoria could have changed in such a short period of time, even if she had been given a physical body. With much of [Excalibur]s force dissipated by the conversation into an area of effect ability, Lorelei was a little worse for wear, but ultimately undamaged by the attack. It propelled her back faster than a supersonic jet but, rather than resist, Lorelei just guided her path through the air while using the force to open up distance between herself and Artoria. While she was one of the most proficient users of [Enhancement] Magecraft, she wasnt going to try and fight against Artoria up close after seeing the speed in which she deflected her [Gandr] barrage. Feeling that things were going south for her, Lorelei decided she would have to bear the brunt of her grandfathers ire by using one of the final cards he had prepared for her. She could not risk losing the battle so, even if she had to spend some time in that hellish dungeon, Lorelei convinced herself it would be worth it to see the shock and anguish on the Sage Emperors face. Thus, before another wave of holy energy was sent her way, Lorelei struck her own chest with her [Holy Mithril Gauntlet]. Hard. To the shock and confusion of everyone present, they watched as Lorelei coughed up arge volume of blood. Within the VIP viewing room, however, Lord Bathomelois brows twitched slightly as, even with his level ofposure, he couldnt help butment at his grandaughters foolishness. Though it would certainly guarantee her victory, revealing that particr artifact was going to cause him a lot of headaches... Without caring about what Lorelei was up to, Artoria had once again closed the distance between them at hypersonic speeds. She was intending to end the battle before Lorelei could finish whatever she was nning so, raising her sword high with both hands, she formed a massive pir of holy energy as she eximed, "Eeeeexcalibur~!" Due to her self-inflicted injury, Lorelei was unable to evade Artorias attack but, rather than show any fear, her mouth formed a bloody smile. Then, from where she had been cradling it beneath her body, she pulled out a ck staff that looked like a piece of twining wood. At the very end, several warped skulls were present, the eye sockets each burning with a malicious red light. Her own eyes turned a simr blood-red color, stopping Artoria mid-swing as she venomously spat, "Yamas Invitation. Staff of Death, Kdanda~!" The moment Lorelei finished uttering the name of her artifact, a pule of ck energy radiated out at a speed that would be impossible to avoid without instantaneous teleportation. For those that knew the identity of the staff, they inhaled sharply while some cursed the Barthomeloi family for cheating. While weapons and artifacts were not prohibited, using an item that could instantly kill an opponent was considered extremely ignoble. The Kdanda was the staff possessed by the Ruler of Hell, God Yama, and had the ability to kill anything, regardless of their blessing and boons. It wasnt something a mortal should be able to use so it was obvious that Lorelei would have to pay a grievous price for bringing it out. This made her action seem even more despicable in the eyes of many as, while death was one of the expected oues in a duel, aiming for a pyrrhic and dishonorable victory from the start was the act of a coward. Lorelei didnt care about the animosity directed toward her and, even though she had to use up the majority of her lifespan just to activate Kdanda, she didnt regret it. The prestige of her family was more important than anything else and, given enough time, their honor could be recovered. Even if she was made a martyr, another would rise to lead her family in the future. She was just thetest in a long line and, if her grandfather was feeling magnanimous, she might even be given a new body to rece this now irreparably damaged one. Unfortunately, just as she had fallen to her knees to catch her breath, Lorelei felt a cold sensation at her neck that caused her brain to simply shut down. Her mind simply refused to process what it was seeing, despite the edge of a de clearly visible in the corner of her vision. To make matters worse, she was aware of the figure standing in front of her, a stark contrast to the corpse she had expected to fall to the ground. Previously, she had thought that Artoria had simply died on her feet or, an end truly befitting of a King, but the reality seemed to be somethingpletely iprehensible... What Lorelei, and most people, were unaware of was that Kdanda, while considered one of the most powerful weapons in the world, had certain requirements to function properly. In this situation, the most important prerequisite was that the target in question was someone that had a fate that resulted in their death. In almost every other situation, Kdanda would have been able to kill the target, irrespective of whether or not they were a God or a mortal. In Artorias case, however, her fate did not ount for her death as, with her existence itself serving as an anchor of the World, she was immune to all but the highest tiered concepts of Death. Though Artoria had intended to cut down Lorelei, she recognized the womans conviction, even if they were the result of malicious intent. While others may consider her cowardly, very few would use such extreme methods, sacrificing everything for victory. This earned Lorelei her respect so, before ending the battle, Artoria stated in a solemn tone, "You have lost, Barthomeloi Lorelei...yield or die..." At this point, Loreleis brain had barely started to process the reality presented before her. Thus, with dull eyes, she looked up to meet Artorias gaze. A small glimmer returned to her dull eyes as, rather than hatred, Lorelei was in awe of the sight of Artoria looking down on her. She did not see reproach or judgment in the Empress eyes, only respect and a bit of admiration. Since there seemed to be a holy aura surrounding Artorias figure, Lorelei felt a little bitter. She wasnt bitter at Artoria, however, but upset at herself for having failed in the duty she had epted. Thus, without any hesitation at all, she smiled slightly before closing her eyes and saying, "I will never yield..." as a tear escaped from her tired eyelids. Artoria gave a solemn nod in response to Loreleis conviction before retracting swiping her sword in a single, swift, motion. Thus, in front of the eyes of several thousand Magi, the Queen of Mages lost her life to the Empress of Knights. Even more surprising was the fact that, rather than leave Loreleis body lying lifelessly on the ground, Artoria channeled a phenomenal amount of magical power. It formed into something resembling holy mes in her left hand before cing her palm against the former Queens back, incinerating her in an instant. She would not allow Loreleis body to be used as materials for some twisted experiments so, while Artoria didnt agree with her methods, she gave her fallen opponent the honor of a swift release and a well-deserved rest... (A/N: I wrote these three chapters back-to-back over the course of nine hours. I hope you enjoy them xD. I know this seems like a cliff, especially with Lord Barthomeloi present, but I dont have the willpower to keep going without a bit of rest.) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1260 - Exacerbation

Chapter 1260 - Exacerbation

While some might have considered it a possibility, there were very few people within the stands who thought they would be seeing the death of the Queen today. Though few had the chance to witness exactly how powerful Lorelei was, they knew she was a great deal stronger than any of her contemporaries. This included Magi in preceding generations and all those who hade after, making her indisputably the strongest orthodox Magus in the world. Though many would point out that Aoko was stronger than Lorelei, even more would point out that it was unfair topare a Magi a Magician. Regardless of whether or not Lorelei was truly the strongest, she had been treated as such for well over a decade so, seeing her fall here, the entire crowd had fallen silent. They had been riled up during the actual duel but, seeing ite to such a swift and decisive end, nobody knew what to say. All they really knew was that King Arthur was the victor and, no matter how fair the duel had been, the Barthomeloi family would not let this mattery. Almost immediately following the incineration of Loreleis body, the VIP viewing tform erupted in a shower of debris as a figure d in a phenomenal amount of magical power barreled toward the field like a meteor. At that same instant, several other figures seemed to apparate out of thin air, including the man everyone had directed their ire towards previously, the Sage Emperor, Vahn Mason. Despite Vahns intent to deal with whom he assumed to be Lord Barthomeloi, someone else had, somewhat surprisingly, beaten him to the punch. He had arrived at Artorias side in an instant but, with an equivalent amount of momentum, another meteorite had risen to match the one from the VIP viewing tform. As the referee of the duel, Aoko Aozaki had been a little shaken to see Lorelei suffer such a defeat but, the moment she sensed mana from outside the arena gathering, she immediately moved to intercept. She used her unique style, Unlimited Rotation, to create two helical magic circles near her forearms while, floating at her back, severalplex magic circles that looked like blooming lotuses spread out behind her like wings. Lord Barthomeloi knew he would not be able toe out ahead if he decided to make trouble within the heart of the Clock Tower but, if he took no action after watching his granddaughter die, his family would lose even more face. This also gave him a chance to recover Kdanda before it could be brought into contention and stolen away by others. He also just really wanted to try out the power of the Fifth Magician under the pretense of his rage having blinded him. Moments before Lord Barthomeloi and Aoko collided, the former seemed tomand all of the mana in the surroundings to crash towards thetter like a destructive tide. Unfortunately for him, the flowers at Aokos back simply shone brighter in response as the helical magic circles around her forearms channeled the mana at such a high density that it became solid, much like a crystal. Seeing that Aoko had inconceivable control over the surrounding mana, despite taking no action to try and reign it in, Lord Barthomeloi could only curse the ridiculousness of True Magic as his hands formed a seal. Aoko furrowed her brows when she saw this as, more than anything else, she hated all of the derivative forms of rune Magecraft. As a result, she stopped trying to hold her attack back, forming the crystalline magical energy into two deadly-looking stakes as she drove them towards Lord Barthomelois chest. Without any direct contact between them, a massive [Primordial Rune] emerged between Lord Barthomeloi and Aoko. Vahn recognized it as a variation of the Algiz Rune, providing incredible protection, especially against magical attacks. He knew the Clock Tower actually taught sses on [Primordial Rune]s so he wasnt too surprised to see Lord Barthomeloi make use of them. What did surprise him, however, was that Aokos attackrgely ignored the fact it had been blocked as, after contacting the rune, the crystallized magical energy erupted towards Lord Barthomelois body, forming a massive explosion that propelled him away much faster than he had approached. From his side, Artoria was watching attentively so, after seeing the attack, she muttered, "That woman is very strong...." Vahn nodded in approval of Artorias statement, ignoring the fact that she gripped the hilt of her sword, almost as if she were considering joining the fight. Since she had a penchant for trying to challenge people she believed were strong, Vahn lightly ced his hand on her shoulder to keep her calm as he lightly stated, "Now is not the time..." Hearing Vahns words, Artoria felt a little embarrassed but, as there were thousands of people in the crowd, she maintained a dignified and unfl.u.s.tered appearance. Her intuition told her that she would be able to fight against Aoko in the near future so, until this matter with the Barthomeloi family was brought to an end, she would fulfill her duty. --- Despite having been knocked back by Aokos attack, Lord Barthomeloi extricated himself from a pile of rubble, showing no signs of having suffered an injury. Instead, his posture was perfect and, though his expression was dour, he casually dusted off his suit while saying in a cold tone, "This is not a matter that concerns the Aozaki family. The duel is over. Your task here isplete. If you try to intervene in the personal affairs of the Barthomeloi family, do not me me for interfering with your familys affairs in the future..." Aoko just snorted in response to Lord Barthomelois words before crossing her arms and stating in a chiding tone, "To thing the prestigious Lord Barthomeloi is so petty that he cannot ept the oue of an honorable duel. Everyone here knows you just want to recover your little staff but, after what your family tried to pull in order to obtain more benefits for themselves, I believe it is only fair that you give up something in return. Dont you~?" Even before Aoko had finished speaking, Lord Barthomelois expression had already turned even darker. He was not afforded the opportunity to make a rebuttal, however, as something outside of his expectations took ce. After knowing what the staff was capable of, Vahn used his Telekinesis to pull it toward him and, before anyone could say anything, he began to bend and distort the Space while channeling his Source Energy in a destructive manner. This caused the ckened branch of a staff to fracture and splinter before a pulse of ck energy radiated out from within. Since he had expected this, Vahn had created a membrane of Source Energy that was surrounded by several links of [Enkidu] to form a sphere. As a result, the energy waspletely contained before ultimately dissipating into the spatial cracks he had formed. Though he was incensed beyond belief, Lord Barthomeloi remained externally calm as he stated in a deep and icy tone, "You kill my granddaughter and then destroy one of my familys heirlooms in front of thousands of witnesses? This is the Mages Association, not somece where you can gant about at your leisure! Everyone here has witnessed the collusion between the Empire and the Aozaki family. You used underhanded means to..." In the middle of his diatribe, Lord Barthomelois eyes opened wide as his sclera were tainted with encroaching red tendrils. His entire body felt like it was on fire as he used what remained of his strength to look down. There, sticking out of his chest, a blood-red spear that was covered in a dense assortment of runes had torn through his heart with its jagged barbs. He could feel several tendrils of energy tearing through his body, causing him to cough up ck blood as he fell to his knees. Before Lord Barthomeloi could breathe hisst, an armored figure appeared before him and, against his will, he was forced to turn his head up to see Vahn looking down at him. There were several artifacts on his body that he wanted to activate but, despite his best efforts, the painful tendrils kept him immobile as a powerful pressure began to restrain his body from all directions. Then, in a voice the resonated throughout the entire arena, Vahn stated in an even icier tone, "The time for political games has passed. You lost the right to make your case the moment you began using underhanded means to get your way. It is toote for regrets...in your next life, try not to be an incorrigible piece of shit, okay?" Vahn made sure to say thest line in a voice only Lord Barthomeloi could hear as, with his status as Emperor, it wouldnt be appropriate for him to use suchnguage. Then, with the man staring at him with eyes full of hatred, Vahn manifested a sword that was very simr in appearance to [Excalibur] before using it to cut off Lord Barthomelois head. After that, he looked up and gave a curt nod to Scthach while ignoring the turmoil of the crowd. Scthach issued a rare smile in response before ripples began to appear in the void around her. After that, she once again vanished from view, leaving Vahn to deal with the aftermath of Lord Barthomelois death. Fortunately, anyone that was genuinely a threat had already retreated when they noticed things going south so, while there were a lot of peoplembasting and ndering him, he didnt particrly care. Shortly after Scthachs departure, another ripple appeared, this time producing three people, including one very upset green-haired Magus. They werent wearing their blindfold this time so Vahn could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up as Solon stated, "You really know how to cause trouble...every time youe into my home, you make a mess. Are you seriously trying to start a war...?" Hearing Solons words, Vahn shook his head before releasing an exasperated sigh and saying, "We both know it isnt the Empire who started this war. My intention was to end it before it grew out of proportion. From this moment forward, the Barthomeloi family will no longer exist. They have acted with impunity for too long so it is high time that they were removed from power. As for this fool...this Mages Association can do whatever they want with him. The Empire has no interest in the resources of the Barthomeloi family. Let these hyenas eat up as much as they can. Ill leave the Magic Crest of the former Lord Barthomeloi to the Association for safekeeping." Though there was a lot Solon wanted to say, hearing Vahn mention turning over one of the most powerful Magic Crests to the Association caused any words they had to get stuck in their throat. If the Barthomeloi family lost their Magic Crest, there was virtually no way for them to recover. Since it was clear that Vahn was intending to uproot thempletely, Solon decided it was best to take a step back and try to run damage control. Gritting their teeth, Solon waved their hand to store away Lord Barthomelois body in a pocket dimension. This caused a stir in the stands, which had gone quiet after the appearance of the Association Director. However, due to an artifact on Solons body, those that harbored ill intent were immediately brought to their knees as they began to vomit before copsing. Solon just snorted in response to these people before floating into the air so that the entire arena was able to see them. After rising to about 100m in height, Solons voice resonated through the silent arena, sounding simultaneously fair yet deep, "This duel was a personal matter between the Aldrnari Empire and the Barthomeloi family. It had nothing to do with the Mages Association, despite the attempts of a few fools to make it appear as such. The duel between Lorelei and Empress Pendragon was fair and just. There was no collusion. There was no outside interference. The former Lord Barthomeloi had no grounds to enter the arena after the match had already ended. It is customary for the arms and property of a defeated party to be turned over to the victor in such situations so there is no fault on the part of the Empire for destroying an artifact that was, by right, their own. The death of Lord Barthomeloi is, by their own prior admission, a personal affair. It has nothing to do with the Mages Association. If anyone is found trying to use the resources of the Association to inte this matter even further, they will be dealt with by the Enforcement Division. Now, return to your own duties. This matter should have never been made public from the start. Most of you should still be in ss, not idling about here..." Though Solons statement was very long-winded, it made one thing very clear: the Association would not be siding with the Barthomeloi family. Now that they had lost their Head and Magic Crest, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that the Barthmeloi family didnt even exist any longer. It was possible that Loreleis father or another member of the family would try and demand that the Crest be turned over but, as this was like trying to ask a river to flow backward, it was just a waste of time. At best, they would be able to keep the title of Lord but, without a Magic Crest, this would be more of a curse than a boon. While the crowd was quickly filing out, as nobody wanted to be caught dawdling after such an announcement had been made, Solon had returned to the ground. They had an exceptionally annoyed expression on their face but, before they couldmbast Vahn further, a voice they really didnt want to hear asked, "What the heck? Arent you a lot smaller than thest time I saw you?" Solon turned their head toward the voice, their Mystic Eyes of Death Perceptioning into focus and sending a shiver along Aokos spine. She visibly shuddered before saying in annoyance, "You should really cover those things. Besides, you shouldnt really be upset. You look cute like this." Hearing the word they hated more than anything else, Solons face formed a deep frown. It only turned dourer when three differentughs reached their ears. Though they didnt need to turn their heads to see who wasughing at them, Solon passed their gaze over Merlin, Zelretch, and Vahn, bringing each of them to silence in the process. If not for arge number of people still present in the stands, Solon would not have been able to resistshing out at them. It took every bit of self-control they possessed to avoid attack the trio, especially Vahn and Merlin. As for Aoko, Solon was a little more tolerant of her as, despite a fair amount of mistreatment by the Association, she had still helped out on several asions. They were the type that tried to repay debts so, while Aokos mark infuriated them, Solon knew she did not mean them as an insult. After flexing their hands a few times, Solon managed to calm down enough to look up at Zelretch and say, "I need your help in dealing with this. Losing one of the Three Monarchal Lords may very well destabilize the entire Clock Tower..." Then, in a very quiet voice, Solon muttered, "Please..." Though he could not travel back in time due to Vahns presence, Zelretch could still see parallel and tangential timelines. If he used his power to the fullest, he could prevent any serious issues from arising. The only thing that could interfere with this was Vahn so, after smiling toward Solon, Zelretch turned his attention to the Sage Emperor and said, "Your Majesty, please entrust this task to me. I believe it will make things smoother for the Empire if you allow the Association to resolve this matter without further conflict. If you benefit too much from the fall of the Barthomeloi family, there will be a much stronger pushback. Im certain you have your own ns so, at least for the time being, allow us an amount of leniency." Since he didnt really care about the ill-gotten wealth of the Barthomeloi family at all, Vahn gave a curt nod before saying, "We will allow it. We know this matter has inconvenienced the Association a great deal. As rpense, feel free to do what you will with the Barthomeloi family and anyone associated with it. Just know that, if they try to cause trouble and establish themselves once again, the Empire will not just sit idle. From this moment onward, the Barthomeloi family does not exist." Zelretch merely smiled in response to Vahns words but, among the group that had gathered, one person didnt exactly take kindly to the arrangement. Aoko had crossed her arms, garnering a few looks from Vahns entourage as she stated, "You shouldnt be so heavy-handed. The Barthomeloi family might be headed by a bunch of assholes, but not everyone is bad. Even that stuck-up bitch wasnt really a bad pers-" Before Aoko could continue any further, Vahn had looked toward her as if she were an idiot as he said very inly, "Even in the short time I have known her, Lorelei has ruined the lives of a number of people for no other reason than her familial pride and personal arrogance. She has murdered hundreds, if not thousands, of people. Even worse, she wanted to turn one of mypanions, one of the people I care about, into nothing more than breeding stock. Dont bullshit with me. I do my best to be a tolerant person but, if you expect me to let tyrannical despots act however they please, you are an idiot." Just like Solon had a few words that really grated on them, Aoko had a few of her own. This was not the first time she had been called an idiot or foolish but, each and every time she heard it, a little something snapped inside of her. She couldnt really refute Vahns words as, in the past, the Noble Faction had also tried to put a Sealing Designation on her. There were very few people that knew how messed up the Association could be but, as there were still good people in their ranks, Aoko tried not to be brash. Thus, while she knew Vahn wasnt exactly wrong, she still moved like a blur as she attempted to give him a good punch to the face. At the same time that Aoko moved to strike Vahn, Artoria, Gawain, Kenshin, and Lakshmibai also moved to intercept her. Her instincts told her that she had really messed up this time and, though she hadnt put any real power into her punch, she now had to pump out a ton to repel the sudden attacks of Vahns entourage. As a result, arge explosion erupted in the arena that garnered the attention of everyone who remained. When the chaotic mana and smoke cleared away, those who remained bore witness to the sight of Aoko, the Fifth Magician, being suppressed by four different people. This included Artoria, who, as a result of the duel, the already knew possessed a monstrous amount of power. It wasnt unexpected that a Magician would be able to fend off the attacks of several people but, as they were wondering how things were going to y out, a fifth person entered the fray... Though she lived by the creed that you should never regret your choices in life, this didnt mean that Aoko was unable to berate her own foolishness. Since Vahn was an Emperor, it was obvious that she couldnt just punch him whenever she wanted. Despite being surrounded by his people, she had carelessly tried to attack him and, as a result, found herself in quite the pickle. To make matters even worse, just as she was about to try and diffuse the situation, her instincts caused the hair on the back of her neck to stand on end as another figure appeared right behind her. She could feel something soft touch her neck before five exceptionally sharp nails pricked her skin, followed by an icy voice stating, "If you try to attack Master again, Fenrir will kill you..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Battle Junkie Artoria xD...,Are we sure this is the Lancer ss Scthach and not the Assassin ss Servant?,You dun f.u.c.k.i.e.d up now (o,...,o)~!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1261 - Futility

Chapter 1261 - Futility

Despite having ws at her throat, Aoko just raised her hands in a surrender gesture, an awkward smile on her face as she stated in a mock-casual manner, "Hey now, there is no reason to be like this. Im sorry, okay...?" If she went all out, Aoko would be able to extricate herself from this situation but, as it wasnt her intention to actually start a fight, she decided to try and diffuse things. Fortunately, Vahn brought a swift end to the tensions by saying in a firm yet casual tone, "Stand down. Fenrir, let go of Aokos neck." Artoria, Gawain, Kenshin, and Lakshmibai all pulled their swords away but, despite being told to stand down, none of them sheathed their weapons. As for Fenrir, she obediently released Aokos neck before trotting over to her Masters side. Vahn habitually rubbed her head and ears with a wry smile on his face as he looked over at Aoko and said, "Our words were a little childish so we cannot hold you solely ountable for this situation. For the time being, lets say we set this matter to rest and let bygones be bygones...?" Aoko was listening to Vahns words but, at the same time, she rubbed the tiny pockmarks on her neck where Fenrirs ws had pricked her skin. With her durability and resistances, she was surprised that the rather adorable little wolf-girl was actually able to injure her. She could even take on direct fire from high-caliber rifles without sustaining any injuries so she was a little taken aback by how sharp the little girls ws were. In response to Vahnspromise, Aoko returned a wry smile of her own as she said, "Sure. That sounds good. I actually wouldnt mind fighting everyone here but I dont really want to make any enemies. Sorry if I offended any of you..." Before the conversation could progress any further, Solon interrupted by saying in a dull tone, "We should not dawdle here. If you want to talk, we should move to a more private venue. If not, I would rather you all leave the Clock Tower, preferably without returning." Solon felt that things had been going downhill for them ever since Vahns arrival in this world. Every time something troubling happened, he always seemed to be at the center of everything. Though it was also true that the Association had been in need of reform for a long period of time, Solon didnt really want to deal with it. Their primary concern was preserving Magecraft and preventing Mystery from fading away on the Surface. They didnt care what the families affiliated with the Association were up to, so long as it did not directly bring trouble to the Clock Tower. In hindsight, this was a big mistake but, before someone like Vahn appeared, they didnt have to worry about it... There were several things that Vahn wanted to discuss but, knowing there were far more important things going on, he ultimately shook his head and stated, "A discussion between the Empire and the Association will take ce in the near future. For now, we have other matters to deal with. Im certain it will be more convenient for the Association to address the matter of the Barthomeloi family before things get further out of hand so we wont trouble you any further today. Ill leave the scheduling of our meeting to the Wizard Marshall." Having expected Vahn to insist on negotiating immediately, as the Empire currently had leverage against the Association, Solon was at a momentary loss as to how they should respond. Fortunately, Zelretch had greaterposure so, without missing a beat, the elder Magus smiled before saying in an aged voice, "We appreciate your consideration, Your Majesty. This matter will not take too long to resolve so I will personally alert the Edelfelt family once the details have been ironed out." Vahn gave a curt nod in response to Zelretchs words before turning his gaze back to Solon. Though the meeting would have to wait until ater date, there was another meeting he prioritized over his own negotiations. Thus, without beating around the bush, he asked, "We trust you have contacted the Director of the As Temple to arrange a meeting, yes? Da Vinci has been looking forward to the exchange so I trust that you will contact Director Oberon for us?" Though they didnt exactly need a reminder, Solon grimaced when they heard Vahns words. Since Merlin had made an appearance, it was necessary for them toplete their part of the agreement. This made Solon feel rather bitter as, while they had indeed wanted to discuss some things with the errant Beast of Destruction, it didnt really feel like a fair trade. Merlin was not pleasant to deal with so it made them feel frustrated knowing that the Empire would benefit while they had been forced to deal with one of the few people that grated on their nerves even more than Vahn. Despite their frustration, Solon scrunched up their nose before saying in a chiding tone, "We do not need your reminder. I have already been in contact with the Director of the As Temple. They have expressed an interest in meeting with Da Vinci as well so you only need to set the date. Now, if there is nothing else, please leave...Im..." Solon almost mentioned how tired they were of dealing with all of this but, remembering that Zelretch was going to be even busier, they ultimately decided to hold their tongue. Without another word, Solon waved their hand like they were swatting away a fly. This caused one of the rings on their fingers to activate, bending space around them and allowing them to depart the arena without another word. Zelretch issued an awkwardugh in response to Solons departure but, as he looked around at the gathered crowd, his face formed into a frown. While others might not have noticed it, he had made a point of keeping Merlin within his perception. When Solon disappeared, Merlin also vanished shortly thereafter. He didnt exactly have to worry about Merlin doing anything to Solon but, after knowing thetter for thousands of years, he couldnt help but be a little worried about leaving them alone with one of the most inexplicable existences in all realities. Vahn was actually fully aware of Merlins departure but, as there wasnt much he could do to stop him, he just continued to smile casually as he said, "Well then, well be on our way. We both have matters to attend so it is for the best we part here..." Before Zelretch could offer to show Vahns group out, someone else preempted him by asking in a curious tone, "Hey, you mind if I tag along? I dont really want to be involved in anything official and there were some things I wanted to talk about. Im familiar with the Edelfelt family so they probably wont care if I drop by." As he had already been thinking about meeting with Aoko in the near future, Vahn only took a few moments before ultimately nodding his head and saying, "I cant promise well have the chance to discuss everything at this time but I cant imagine Olivia and Luvia turning you away. Very well, you may apany us. Mypanions might be a little tense around you but Im certain it wont be a serious issue." Vahn intended his words to be a reminder to both Aoko and hispanions to behave but, while his entourage seemed to understand, Aoko herself began tough in a carefree manner before she gave him a thumbs up and said, "Ill try not to spook them again. I would rather not have that little girls ws digging into my throat, hahahaha~" Hearing Aoko call her a little girl, Fenrirs ears turned backward in an aggressive manner as her face formed into a snarl, teeth exposed. This caused Aoko to take a step back but, before things became even tenser, Vahn plopped his hand down on Fenrirs head. She didnt immediately calm down but, after a few seconds had passed, her ears became less tense, drooping slightly as she released a snort through her nose and turned away from Aoko. With Fenrir calming down, Vahn looked toward Aoko and inly stated, "You should choose your words with more consideration, Aoko. Despite appearances, Fenrir is already thirty-five years old. Judging people based on their appearances is a brash and inconsiderate thing to do...not everyone has a choice when ites to their appearance..." Aoko winced slightly after hearing Vahns words but, rather than apologize, she asked, "Is she really older than me? That is...unfortunate. If you want, I might be able to help out?" With the Fifth Magic, it wasnt that difficult to change the appearance of others. If she allocated time from one person to another, it was possible to elerate or reverse their time, granting perpetual youth at the expense of reverting their potential. In response to Aokos offer, Fenrir scrunched up her nose again as she stated in a growling tone, "I will deal with my problems on my own. I do not need the pity of other people. You should mind your own business...!" Vahn was a little surprised by how hostile Fenrir was being but, considering Aoko was one of the few people that could actually threaten them, he could understand why she was so riled up. In her mind, anyone that was not yet family was an enemy or, at the very least, a potential enemy. She had very developed instincts so it must be frustrating for her to be around someone she knew could pose a very real threat to everything they wanted to protect. In fact, it was for this reason that Vahn had left her out of the previous meetings with Solon as it was almost guaranteed that conflict would arise... For a brief moment, Vahn considered summoning Fenrir back to Avalon via Unit Management but, as he didnt want her to think he was punishing her, he just lightly pinched the base of her ear and said, "Calm down..." in a tone only she could hear. This caused Fenrir to turn her face away once again, her breathing taking on a specific rhythm that indicated she was doing her best to calm down. Aoko wasnt that good at dealing with other hotheaded individuals so she was feeling awkward and apologetic. However, she tried to avoid ever apologizing as, in her opinion, it was better to make up for mistakes through actions, not words. With that in mind, she decided to take Vahns advice or, at the very least, avoid saying anything that might make the wolf girl upset. There was a part of her that really wanted to touch Fenrirs fluffy ears so, as much as possible, Aoko wanted to avoid making the girl into her enemy. Adopting the best smile she could manage in this situation, Aoko crossed her arms and asked, "Are we just going to keep standing around here? I actually flew all the way from Japan so Id like to get something to eat before my body gives out. Despite my looks, Im actually a glutton, hahahaha~" Understanding Aokos attempts to ingratiate herself to the group by being self-deprecating, Vahn adopted a smile of his own as he answered, "That would be for the best." Then, after turning to face Zelretch, he added, "I doubt he needs to be told but make sure Merlin doesnt overstay his wee. Youll be able to reach us by contact Olivia or by appearing near the transfer gate. On that note, let me remind you that the Empire is not entertaining uninvited guests for the time being..." Zelretch gave an understanding nod in response to Vahns words before tapping his cane against the ground and opening a portal behind the group. With the current state of affairs in the Clock Tower, it wasnt the best idea for Vahns group to be walking through the campus and facilities. --- After a few more cursory words, Vahn bade farewell to Zelretch before leading the group, sans one flowery Magus, through the portal. Aoko followed a little behind the group at first but, before they proceeded too far, Lakshmibai and Kenshin matched pace with her. Even without Vahn having to ask, they knew it would be better for someone to ease the tensions between Aoko and the group. This would normally be Fenrirs self-imposed duty but, as this was clearly not an option, they had taken it upon themselves to y the part... With Zelretchs consideration, the group was ced just outside the localized bounded field of the Edelfelt Manor. Since there was the usual barrier preventing normal people from noticing anything amiss, their sudden appearance didnt even draw the attention of any passing pedestrians. Instead, they went on with their lives,pletely unaware of the fantastical nature of the world they lived in. It didnt take long at all for the Edelfelt Security Forces to react to the presence of Vahns group. The first to noticed them issued an order through their earpiece that set the mansions staff into motion like a group of highly organized ants. At the same time, Vahn could sense Olivia moving to the usual reception area, though not before she waved her hand knowingly in his direction. By the time Vahns group reached the main entrance, most of the servant staff had already gathered in two neat columns to greet them. This wasnt even abnormal in the Edelfelt household so Vahn just gave an appreciative nod to the group before informing the head Butler that they would be staying for dinner. Though it would be better to return to Avalon and have the meeting there, he didnt trust Aoko enough to invite her into his home, especially into the Projection. She might be an honest and forthright woman but, with the amount of power she wielded, he would rather deal with her as far away from his home as possible... --- While Vahn and his entourage were idling at the Edelfelt mansion, there were several other events taking ce, both within the Clock Tower and at the Barthomeloi family Manor. Merlin was quite enjoying teasing Solon after more than fifteen-hundred years, much to the petite Magus chagrin. If not for the fact they wanted more information about Vahn and his origins, Solon would never willingly deal with Merlins presence. However, while Merlin was a lot of very frustrating things, Solon knew his word could be trusted. More than almost anyone else, with perhaps the sole exception of ya, Merlin was wholly dedicated to the preservation of life. At this point, they had already discussed Vahns origins in a very roundabout manner but, as Solon was not entirely convinced, they ultimately asked directly, "Are you certain that the Sage Emperor can really be trusted? I feel that their actions may lead to the destruction of everything, not just the Surface world..." Rather than refute Solons words, Merlin gave azy nod before answering, "If he one day decided to destroy the world, I fear there is nothing that could stop him. You may not have realized it yet, but I have already determined that it is futile to try and oppose that man. While hecks a fate of his own, he is able to influence the fates of those around him to an extreme degree. At this point, it is already toote to try and prevent his rise so, if youre looking to me for advice, I would suggest forming an alliance instead of leading to the very destruction you want to avoid..." Solon inhaled sharply through their nose in response to Merlins words. They wanted to refute them and try to convince Merlin to helpe up with countermeasures against Vahn but, with the former stating very inly that it is futile, Solon could only grit their teeth while balling their hands into fists. From the moment they learned that Vahn was from the Outside, Solon had already started to feel hopeless. After all, Vahn was immune to even their Eyes of Death Perception, a form of Mystic Eyes that allowed them to even kill Gods and Greater Divine Spirits... After calming down, Solon decided to follow up by asking, "Can you tell me why it is futile? If your words are the truth, I dont see any reason for you to keep things hidden. You know Im not going to go around publicizing secrets to others. Tell me the truth..." Once again, Merlin made no effort to deceive Solon with his usual flowery words. He knew Solon far better than they knew themselves as, in every past vision of the future, Merlin had seen how hard the reclusive Magus had fought to preserve humanity. In almost every timeline, Solon would, time and again, sacrifice everything in order to give humanity a fighting chance. Knowing this, Merlin gave a small nod before detailing exactly how strong Vahn was. He even revealed the existence of ya and the fact that Vahn was Type: Omega and had authority over all other Types, including Gaia herself. By the time Merlin had finished his exnation, Solon felt like their brain had stopped working. It wasnt until Merlin tried to poke them with his staff that they came back to their senses, scowling in the process. However, immediately after that, Solon lowered their head and asked, "It really is futile, isnt it...? How can something like that even exist...simply ridiculous..." Merlin waved his hand dismissively after hearing Solons remark, saying in ackadaisical tone, "Vahn has his quirks, but he is a good man. His ultimate goal is actually to leave this world but, as he cant just ignore the suffering of others, he ispelled to take action. Rather than try ande up with a method to defeat him, it would be better to work alongside him to make the world a better ce. When he is satisfied with the progress made, he will inevitably move on from this world so why not just go with the flow~?" Hearing Merlins words, Solon snorted before waving their hand and pulling out a mirror from thin air. Reflected in its surface was what could only be described as a massacre, one perpetrated by a scarlet-eyed woman garbed in purple and ck attire. When Merlin saw this, he began to awkwardly scratch his cheek as, while he didnt disagree with Vahns decision, he couldnt deny it was more than a little extreme. He abhorred violence and destructive, even if he understood the necessity of such actions. Knowing what Solon wanted to say, Merlin just shook his head before saying in a mncholic tone, "Vahn is not the type that seeks conflict. That does not mean he will avoid it, however...this is a fate that the Barthomeloi family brought upon themselves. If we want to avoid even more death, changes will need to be made within the Association. This is something you need to seriously consider as, in the uing negotiations, Vahn is going to offer you several terms that, for the sake of the world, you simply cant refuse..." Solon ced the mirror showing Scthachs ughter back in their pocket dimension before shaking their head and releasing a tired sigh. They could already imagine, not just the Association, but every faction in the world being uprooted by Vahn. Merlin had already mentioned the fact that Vahn had the means to ess the Throne of Heroes without any restrictions so there was simply no way for any group to oppose him. Even if his allies were defeated, Vahn could simply resummon them at a moment just before their deaths, effectively making everyone of central importance to the Empire immortal... Rather than discuss Vahn any further, Solon ran their hand down their face in a self-calming gesture before looking to Merlin and, after several tense seconds, asking, "You still have the power to invade dreams, right...?" In response to Solons words, Merlin began to lightly chuckle before snapping his fingers. Despite Solon having defenses against sleeping spells, they watched on in silence as a field of flowers began to bloom around them. This caused their brows to twitch but, fortunately, Merlin didnt seem intent on making them relive their nightmares. Solon found themselves at the base of a tree so vast it seemed to cover the heavens with a single branch. At the same time, arge pool of water appeared but, rather than clear blue waters, they werepletely ck. Solon could feel the cold liquid pass over their feet and calves but, without minding it, they continued forward until they were standing next to arge well that was more than 5m in diameter. Then, despite every fiber of their being telling them not to do it, Solon threw themselves into the well without hesitation... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Red vs Blue,Scthach doing Vahns dirty work...,O_O...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1262 - Questions, Concerns, Complaints?

Chapter 1262 - Questions, Concerns, Comints?

Before Vahn could sit down and discuss things with Olivia and Aoko, the former made him return to Avalon to pick up Luvia and U. Though it wasnt exactly the best time to bring U outside of the Projection, Olivia needed Luvia to help clean up the aftermath of the Barthomelois fall. Even with Scthach wreaking havoc, there was a non-negligible chance that one of the remaining members of the Barthomeloi family could do something drastic. When Vahn arrived with the mother-daughter pair, the most surprised was Aoko who, before seeing U directly, hadnt even known Luvia was pregnant. In fact, even inside of the Edelfelt family, very few people knew that their current head had not only gotten pregnant, but had already given birth. Luvia wasnt surprised by Aokos presence, as Vahn had already exined the situation, so she just smiled tauntingly while unting U as she said, "Dont worry, Aoko, there is still time for you to find a man and settle down, ohohohoho~" Hearing Luvias remark, the veins in Aokos temples began to throb as she tightened her right hand into a fist and, with a crooked smile on her face, asked, "It has been a while since ourst duel. How about a round of light sparring...?" In response to Aoko, Luvia just covered her mouth, giggling in a haughty manner before saying, "My, my, ever the brute. It is because of your nature that you only ever have any luck with boys half your age, you know~?" Aokos hair began to re up and glow in a vibrant red color in response to Luvias taunting but, as Vahn immediately stepped between them with a warning look, she managed to calm herself down. She didnt need anyone to exin to her who the adorable little baby belonged to so, while it was a little annoying that Vahn immediately went to Luvias defense, she could understand his reasoning. Fortunately, before Luvia could tease Aoko further, Oliva unhesitantly smacked her granddaughter on the back of the head before saying, "Dont go picking fights with my great-granddaughter in your arms. You might have a family of your own now, but dont think I wont discipline you, brat." After stating her piece, Olivia robbed U from Luvias arms, leaving thetter nursing a visible bump on her head while Aokoughed uninhibitedly at her expense... After everyone had settled in, Vahn exined the situation regarding the Barthomeloi family. They had already discussed the matter prior to the duel but Luvia couldnt help but follow up by asking, "Are we really not going to try and seize any of the Barthomeloi familys assets? I understand that the Empire isnt exactly left wanting for materials and wealth but..." Vahn caused Luvias words to trail off by shaking his head and reminding, "If we try and do anything with the Barthomelois assets, it will cause the other families to panic. I want it to be very clear that we dont care about personal gain and status. This will cause the other families to fear us but, at the very least, we can avoid them taking desperate action in the interim. They will continue to try and get away with things behind the scenes but this increases the chances they will at least pretend to adhere to the reforms I intend to impose." Olivia gave an approving nod in response to Vahns decision but, as she didnt like the thought of their enemies getting ahold of artifacts they could have seized, Luvia released a subdued sigh. As for Aoko, who was listening in on the discussion as if it was only natural for her to be there, she decided to ask, "How strong is your Empire, exactly? All Ive really heard are rumors, nothing concrete. It is a little weird to me that youre already doing whatever you want before people even understand how strong your group is. If you continue being secretive, youre only going to cause a lot of unnecessary conflicts." Hearing Aokos rather thoughtless words, Luvia decided to rebuff her, stating, "While there is some merit to what you are saying, there is an order to everything. Vahn only arrived in this world a short while ago so you cant me him for trying to be cautious. You dont know what he wants to protect so, while you think he is acting with impunity, he has been measuring his actions quite a bit. Dont lump him together with those scheming bastards that hide in the shadows and build up their power at the expense of others, Aoko." Aoko frowned slightly in response to Luvias words but, rather than outright refute them, she said, "Fine. But you should know better than most that those same old monsters are very resistant to change. If youre taking down major families, you cant afford to do everything in such a roundabout way. This will only encourage them to plot and scheme behind the scenes, wasting your efforts to deter them entirely. Ive tried using my Magic to keep those bastards in line but, after they realized Im not willing to start a war, theyve been pestering me like mosquitos ever since." Despite Aoko addressing Luvia, Vahn was the one to answer, stating in and simple, "That is the biggest difference between us, Ms. Aozaki. If necessary, the Empire will not hesitate to go to war. The world is already on the verge of destruction, even without Angra Mainyus emergence. Gaia, the very itself, is hateful and afraid of humanity. She is proactively doing everything in her power to try and destroy them, all while they continue to live blissfully unaware of the truth. This world is built on a foundation of lies and, instead of building a better future for everyone, the powers that be focus more on maintaining the status quo and holding on to their own power. While you might be content to just sit around and y games, I intend to save, not just humanity, but all creatures...including the itself." Aoko was a little taken aback by the severity of Vahns words but, when she heard him say that she was just sitting around, her blood pressure began to rise. When he was finished speaking, she didnt hesitate to exim, "You cant just go around making assumptions like that! Im also doing my best to try and change things for the better, you know!?" In response to Aokos outburst, Vahn craned his head to the side slightly, asking in a pointed tone, "Oh? Other than try and reform your family, what exactly have you done to try and change the rest of the world? You have personally experienced how corrupt the Mages Association is but, instead of taking a stance against them, you just hole yourself up in Japan and ignore it..." At this point, Aoko was half-standing but, before she could interrupt him, Vahn raised his hand and, with a pointed re, added, "Truth be told, you have no responsibility to change anything. There is nothing wrong with wanting to protect and preserve your family, Aoko. What makes you out of line is how you spew titudes andy expectations on other people, despite essentially living however you want by relying on the Fifth Magic. Other people arent as strong as you, so they have to suffer under the tyranny of the current system. Since you have the power to oppose them, you have much greater freedom than others. Dont me me for taking the necessary steps to make sure everyone has the same amount of freedom you currently enjoy..." Aoko was at a loss for words after hearing what Vahn had said. She wanted to argue against them but, as she had actually just returned from a two-month-long vacation, it was very hard to say she had been working hard. Even the emergence of Angra Mainyu wasnt really on her radar as, after dealing with the harassment of the Mages Association in the past, shergely ignored them unless it was a direct request from the Director. After plopping back down on the sofa, Aoko crossed her arms with a conflicted expression on her face. She had always lived her life without regrets, living life to the fullest and never second-guessing her decisions. Though she had made a lot of mistakes because of this, she just had to work hard to make up for them after the fact. She had even been able to make up with her sister, Touko, who she had feuded with for several years due to thetter being passed up for the position of family head. It was only now that Aoko was forcibly reminded of the fact that she was exceptionally fortunatepared to the average Magus. She had been able to live a normal life until she was fifteen, not even aware that magic was a thing until her grandfather suddenly decided she would inherit the Fifth Magic. Since her sister had been training for neen years to be the next head, it had caused a massive rift in their rtionship. After their feud started, Touko had even been given a Sealing Designation and, in her attempts to try and have it revoked, the Association even tried to ce a Sealing Designation on her. It took several years of effort to have both of their designations removed. From that moment onward, Aoko did her best to try and enjoy her newfound freedom and patch things up with her sister, sometimes chasing thetter halfway around the world just to spend time together. No matter how anyone looked at her situation, she had been forced to go through a lot of things, none of which she had chosen for herself. Despite the chaotic world she was thrown into, Aoko had always done her best to push forward yet, hearing Vahns words, she was suddenly reminded of how ignorant and immature her sister imed her to be. After all, while she had certainly gone through a lot, she had the Fifth Magic to rely on and, no matter how dangerous things got, she had the power to ovee almost any trials handed to her from the very beginning... Vahn hadnt expected Aoko so suddenly act depressed. Since she had a lively personality, he felt a little guilty and, if not for several of the women present giving him pointed looks, he would have apologized. He didnt like seeing lively girls suddenly lose their smile as, even if his words were the truth, he felt like a jerk for having pointed them out. Fortunately, Artoria extended him a lifeline by entering into the conversation, stating in a calm and guiding tone, "As my husband pointed out, there is nothing wrong with living a free and unfettered life. You have the power to bring about change but that does not mean you have to use it on behalf of others. So long as you are not misusing your power to cause harm, there is nothing wrong with just enjoying your life and protecting the things you want to protect. Many would use that same power to suppress and take advantage of others so you have no reason to feel ashamed of yourself, Ms. Aozaki." Perhaps as a result of her A+ Rank [Charisma], Artorias words seemed to have a strong impact on the depressed redhead. She immediately returned back to her cheerful self, smiling radiantly as she said, "Dont worry. I might get down at times but I promised to live a life without any regrets. Still, I appreciate your kind words..." After addressing Artoria with a smile, Aoko then turned her gaze to match Vahns, her lips twitching slightly as she struggled to continue smiling as she said, "Youre right. I dont agree with some of the things you said, but I feel that you arent wrong in wanting to bring change. I just dont want to see millions of people die for a cause, regardless of whether or not it is for the best....haaaa..." Vahn could only sigh in response to Aokos words. Then, after organizing his thoughts, he exined, "Death is not the end of life, just a part of it. I will not go out of my way to kill people but, if it would make the world a better ce, I would not hesitate to eliminate even the majority. If I found a group of a thousand people cheering on as two children brutally fought to the death, you can be certain I would eliminate the one-thousand in order to preserve the lives of the two. Prioritizing life without consideration for how others are forced to live just allows corruption to spread rampantly..." Hearing Vahns words, Aoko tried to think of what she would do in the same situation. She would obviously save the children but, unless they continued trying to attack her, she would only destroy the arena while trying to limit casualties. This, however, would only be a small setback to the people staging the fight as, unless she forced them to stop, it was only a matter of time until they repeated their errant ways. By removing thempletely, the fights would be brought to an end and, after the matter spread to the public, very few people would try to repeat the despicable act... Aoko felt like pulling her hair out because she couldnt decide whether or not the extreme measures Vahn talked about were really for the best. She felt that people could always be redeemed and, even if they had done reprehensible things, there was a chance they would be better people in the future. The problem with this was, unless someone was there to force them to change, the chances they would truly reflect on their actions were slim, at best... Ultimately, Aoko ended up shaking her head and saying, "I guess this is why youre an Emperor and Im just a small family head. I cant make these kinds of decisions, regardless of how much power I have. Though I can see your reasoning, my gut instinct just tells me its wrong." Somewhat against her expectations, Vahn did not try to lecture her. Instead, he had a smile on his face as he nodded his head approvingly. Then, surprising her further, he stated in a calm tone, "The world needs people like you, perhaps even more than it needs people like me. Being an idealist and staying true to your convictions are two things most people struggle with. I actually respect people like you a great deal, Aoko. I even have a friend named Paracelsus who, while we do not see eye-to-eye, we are able to work together to make the world a better ce. I would never expect others to step in line and try to perform the same feats as myself...after all, they are not an Emperor. It is my responsibility, not theirs." Though they had not orchestrated the event, almost everyone in the room smiled in response to Vahns words. Luvia and Artoria, seated at Vahns nks, even had proud expressions, leaving Aoko as the only person in the room who didnt know how she should respond. It actually made her feel strangely relieved to hear Vahn say he respected her, even though she didnt really need someone like him to acknowledge her. Not really sure if she should smile or frown, as her emotions were very conflicted, Aoko decided to just stop worrying about it entirely. Instead, she shifted focus, tilting her head to the side and saying, "Well, I guess it really isnt my ce to advise you. Rather, the main reason I came here was because I wanted to ask you a few questions. Is that okay? I dont really want to hold up your discussion so I can alwayse backter..." Vahn was tempted tough at how quickly Aoko, irrespective of the atmosphere, just went at her own pace. She seemed like someone who would be easy to tease but, knowing his intentions might be misconstrued, both by Aoko and his surroundings, Vahn restrained himself. Instead, he gave a small nod, answering, "Feel free to ask what is on your mind." Aokos smile returned when Vahn gave her permission to ask questions so, without beating around the bush at all, she asked, "Are you really from the Outside? What is it like beyond the Root? Is it true that there are other worlds and realitiespletely separate from our own...!?" Though these things had been discussed several times in the past, everyone present showed equal interest to Aokos own as they waited for Vahn to answer. He couldnt talk about The Path, and a few other key details, but that didnt stop him from giving a brief overview. Besides, there were ways he could talk around the issue without actually lying as, with what he knew now, there were quite a few ways to answer the question truthfully. After taking a few moments to organize his thoughts, Vahn answered, "I am, indeed, from what you refer to as the Outside. As for whatys beyond the Root...well, the most urate answer would be nothing and everything at the same time. Thews that govern reality there are simultaneously rigid yet, from the perspective of those inside the Root, they are extremely loose. If you were to go beyond the Root, it would be possible to create an entire Multiverse of your own design, granting you power far beyond the ability of most people to even conceive..." Vahns words caused the atmosphere to be a little tense with excitement but, before anyone got any strange ideas, he added, "Power rarelyes without cost, however. While you may be the pinnacle of an entire multiverse, you will have a lot of restrictions ced on you. Those seeking an absolute understanding of everything would likely enjoy the experience but, more often than not, it is far more pleasant to live ignorant of the truth. As for your final question...well, that is a given. It isnt widely known but, even within the Root, there are a plethora of other worlds and even entire separate universes. Some even have entities that possess extremes of power that make True Magic seem mundane inparison..." Hearing Vahns exnation, Aoko felt her palms sweating a little as her smile began to gradually fade away. If what he said was true, passing through the Root wasnt really something she wanted to consider. Thus, with that out of the way, she asked the question she really wanted an answer to, "Do you know anything about the Red Shadow?" Rather than Vahn having toe up with an answer for himself, yas eyes shed for a few moments without his notice before she began to exin in his ear, "The Red Shadow is the Veil of Truth. It is a conceptual entity that has no true name or origin. It kills those trying to reach the Root and tries to hunt down those who have obtained its power." Vahn repeated what ya had told him, even though he had the sinking suspicion there was more that she wasnt telling him. Fortunately, Aoko seemed satisfied by his answer, even if she suddenly seemed very tired as she mumbled, "So its like that..." before adopting her usual smile and saying, "Thanks for the information. I guess Ill just have to put up with it until I pass on the Fifth to another, huh?" After her remark, Aoko crossed her fingers before stretching her body and rising to her feet. There was a lot she still wanted to talk about but, as most of her questions likely rted to the secrets of the Empire, she didnt feelfortable with asking them right now. With that in mind, she rubbed her neck in a self-calming gesture while saying, "I shouldnt hold up your own discussion any longer. Ill try and get in touch after things calm down. Is that okay...?" Since he knew Aoko was being considerate, and likely had a lot to think about, Vahn didnt try and keep her any longer. He returned a smile to her before casually remarking, "You dont have to worry about the Red Shadow. Unless you began using your power to try and destroy mankind, it doesnt have the authority to try and im your life. If you want, I can help you deal with it in the future. For now, well just leave things as they are. I look forward to meeting with you again, Ms. Aozaki." Aoko nked for a moment when she heard Vahns words but, hearing him call her Ms. Aozaki again, she winced a little before saying, "Just call me Aoko. Calling me Ms. Aozaki feels impersonal and makes me feel like an olddy. We might not be friends just yet, but I dont think youre a bad person. Well, anyway, I guess Ill see youter, Vahn." Despite it being a rtively serious breach of etiquette for Aoko to just arbitrarily start calling him by name, Vahn justughed it off before saying, "Yeah. Ill see youter, Aoko. Take care of yourself and try to stay out of trouble. Ill try and do the same, so long as my enemies allow it." Though she wanted to rebuff him, Aoko just shrugged after hearing Vahns words before waving her hand and following a Maid out of the room. After that, she left the mansion before flying off into the sky like a hypersonic rocket. She really did have a lot to think about but, before she made any major decision, Aoko wanted to talk with her sister and the rest of her family... Shortly after Aoko left the room, Luvia wasted no time before remarking, "Dont let her fool you. She might look like she is in her early twenties, but she is close to double that in age. Still, she would be a powerful addition to our forces so good luck, Darling~" Vahn didnt need to ask Luvia to rify the meaning behind her words. Instead, he just shook his head with a wry smile on his face before changing the topic to discuss their future ns... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Good men that are afraid to act only perpetuate the cycle,What is the true identity of Red Shadow-chan!?,Luvia is always scheming to make the Empire more powerful xD...?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1263 - Providence...?

Chapter 1263 - Providence...?

In the wake of Aokos departure, Vahn escorted the majority of his group back to Avalon. Those that remained behind were Olivia, Luvia, Fenrir, and Gareth. The former pairing had a lot to take care of in the aftermath of the Barthomeloi familys fall while thetter two were there to apany him as he waited for Scthachs return. Vahn felt guilty about Scthach always doing his dirty work but, without him asking her to do so, she had volunteered herself, stating, "You carry enough burdens. So you dont lose focus in your future training, I will shoulder a few on your behalf." Though she still seemed to be the same emotionless woman he had met nearly two years prior, Vahn knew that Scthach was actually a caring person at heart. He knew she wanted to protect him from the darkness of the world so that, no matter how heavy his burdens became, his path would never divert from the light. In truth, Vahn felt that Scthachs concerns were unwarranted, even if he understood where she wasing from. After all, he had already experienced the darkness of the world on an intimate level. It had weighed heavily on his mind, heart, and soul for years but, after experiencing an overwhelming amount of love,bined with his encounter with Eva, Vahn had set his past behind him. He knew there was a chance he could rpse, especially if something happened to one of his children, but it was not necessary to coddle him any longer. Despite feeling this way, Vahn allowed Scthach to act as his spear in the shadows as, regardless of her reasons, it was something she had decided upon. He did not want to dishonor her convictions and, as he was trying to rely more on others, Vahn ultimately left this matter to her. With her Innate, [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground], there was literally no better person suited to the task... --- It is said that, in the modern era, even the most powerful Magi would not be able to contend against a single serious Caster Servant. This was due to the fact that, with few exceptions, most individuals that qualified for the Caster ss hailed from the Age of Gods. During this period of time, Magecraft itself was close to the level of True Magic. While the number of practitioners was very limited, even the weakest was monstrously powerfulpared to the standard set by modern Magi. Ever since the Age of Gods came to an end, the amount of Mystery in the World had rapidly declined and, while the number of Magi had actually increased, their power had gradually decreased. This led some to believe that Magecraft was wholly dependant on the number of users that used a specific form of Thaumaturgy, to the point that, more than two thousand years after the Age of Gods came to an end, this was the prevailing belief. Despite this mon knowledge, there had always been outliers and exceptions, some of which wielded such extremes of power that they became legends in their own right. Among these groups, the most prominent of all were those that lived during the Ulster and Arthurian Cycles. The Ulster Cycle rted to the Matter of Irish and Scottish lore, dating back to the 1st century, while, as the name suggested, the Arthurian Cycle was part of the Matter of Britain, hailing back to the 3rd and 5th century. During this period of time, heroes and legends weremon to the point that, over the course of a short peasants life, averaging thirty-six years, they would hear the tale of several dozen heroes rise and fall. This was a time when Spirits still roamed thend and, while survival was difficult, those that made a name for themselves quickly rose to prominence. It wasnt even rare for a single person to, over the course of a few short years, gain enough power to contend against entire armies on their own. Within the historical texts of the Mages Association and Holy Church, this five-hundred-year period was ssified as the Age of Heroes. This wasrgely due to the fact that, rather than Magical Power and Mana, the power wielded by those known as Heroes was something different, something that had not been prominent before. Thistter became known as the Power of Belief, or the Law of the Common Man. The Holy Church credited the existence of Heroes to their God and, as this was a period in human history where people were susceptible to such things, they quickly gained this power for themselves. As for the nascent Mages Association, they were still shaken by the rampant decline of Magecraft and, fearing it would be lost forever, were doing everything in their power to preserve it. This made them an easy mark for the Holy Church who, using their newfound power, attempted to quash all other systems of belief. Ironically, while the Holy Church managed to establish permanant roots, which had expanded to give them nearly two-billion followers in the modern era, their actions ultimately brought an end to the Age of Heroes. People began to believe less in themselves and began looking toward God and other systems of belief in order to find answers. Rather than resist the rise of tyranny and corruption, they spent their time praying to a God that offered no answers as, so long as they were alive, ya did not care about their suffering. With the end of the Age of Heroes, the Mages Association made a majoreback as, for various reasons, Heroes had been a perfect counter against most Magi. They had unnaturally high Magic Resistance and, in many cases, had some form of diving protection that allowed them to triumph against all but the most powerful Magi. Thus, as a result of their own machinations to gain absolute power for themselves, the Holy Church ultimately undermined their own efforts. The only true counter the Holy Church had left against the Mages Association were the Sacraments and the existence of Saints. Sacraments were the most powerful form of Thaumaturgy, despite the Holy Churchs attestations that it was Providence, not Magecraft. As for the Saints, they usually had a higher degree of divine protection than even Heroes but, due to the nature of their existence, they were exceptionally rare. The Holy Church actually experimented in trying to artificially create Saints but, as could be expected, their efforts generally resulted in twisted amalgamations of humanity, not something divine. With their efforts ultimately resulting in countless failures, the Holy Church instead began using the bodies of the Saints themselves as a catalyst to produce various weapons, relics, and other forms of armaments. They discovered that, by inting the aplishments of dead Saints and manipting the belief of the devout, they could greatly strengthen the efficacy of their creations. This ultimately allowed the Holy Church to level the ying field against the Mages Association as, by convincing their believers that magic doesnt exist, they were able to actualize the concept and nullify the spells of weaker Magi... Though there had been several skirmishes between the Mages Association and the Holy Church over the years, they currently enjoyed a period of rtive peace. This was brought about by the end of the Second World War as, due to the Nazis attempts to unify the thaumaturgical principles of both the Holy Church and the Mages Association, both groups had to work together to cover up the truth behind the global catastrophe. Since then, tensions had always been high between the two organizations but, with the rampant modernization of humanity, they had been more focused on controlling the popce than trying to deal with each other. Now, however, things were changing faster than either organization could realistically adapt to... Even without a prophecy delivered to them by ya, the Holy Church eventually found out about the imminent emergence of Angra Mainyu. To exacerbate matters even further, most of their means ofmuning with God no longer functioned, despite the fact they were in perfect working order. This, as could be expected, caused a lot of tension within the organization and, as a result, people all over the world began to feel as if their connection to God had diminished. Fortunately, just when it seemed like things were going to reach a breaking point that required immediate action, a genuine miracle urred. Inexplicably, and without notice, the amount of violent crime involving children decreased at a rate that simply couldnt be ignored. At the same time, people all over the world, regardless of religion, had attested to feeling a presence, almost like a voice, guiding them to take action. With millions of such cases happening all over the world, it didnt even take any effort on the Holy Churchs part to proim the phenomenon an act of God. With such an event taking ce, the number of people who believed in God, or some other higher power, was increasing rapidly. At the same time, people all over the world began talking about the end of days as, even without practicing Thaumaturgy, there were a number of people throughout the world who were attuned with the metaphysical and spiritual aspects of the world. Most of these people werergely considered hacks but, as there were some notable individuals withrge cult followings, the movement was gaining momentum. The Church, and the Holy Church supporting it, were doing their best to keep order on the surface while, behind the scenes, they too were scrambling to make preparations. They knew for a fact that, while it may not be their version of the Devil, it was inarguable that Angra Mainyu was an enemy of the same magnitude. While some wanted to discredit its existence entirely, the members of the Holy Church knew that such inaction would ultimately lead to their destruction. To prevent the copse of their belief system, the Holy Church fixed their attention wholly on what was taking ce within the Mages Association. Despite decrying their very existence on principle, it was an inarguable truth that, when it came to the unknown, the Mages Association was leaps and bounds ahead of the Holy Church. After all, one embraced the truth and did everything they could to try and uncover it while the other professed their belief system itself as truth, discrediting everything that contradicted their doctrine. While it was impossible for the most powerful members of the Holy Church to operate within the territory of the Mages Association, this didnt stop them from using rtively normal people as a proxy. With special blessings and weak artifacts, they were able torgely resist the effect of the barriers intended to obscure their perception, allowing them to keep tabs on studentsmuting to and from the Clock Tower. After all, not every student stayed within the dorms and, even if they did, many would want to go out and explore London when they were bored. The Holy Church had a number of informants ranging from baristas to p.r.o.s.t.i.t.u.t.es so, while most of the more pertinent details might be overlooked, major events always reached them rtively quickly. People simply couldnt help but gossip and, after a few drinks and some powerful narcotics, the lips of a young Magus could be just as loose as any other... With a months time to hype up the event, it was a given that the Holy Church had been made aware of the duel between Artoria and Lorelei. This also confirmed spection that Vahn had some kind of dealings with the Mages Association and, after investigating the matter, they also learned about the apparent existence of his hidden Empire. After the incident in Fuyuki, Vahn was the highest priority target for the Holy Church. Not only was he an unknown element, as there were no real records pertaining to his existence, but the amount of power he wielded was a genuine threat. To make matters worse, there were some who believed that Vahn had used the Greater Grail to produce the actual Holy Grail. Since their investigation had proven the existence of several other Heroic Spirits, each given a physical form, this seemed to be very near the truth. The Holy Church could not tolerate another party possessing the Holy Grail as it was one of the most sacred artifacts associated with their religion. It had disappeared nearly 1500 years prior and, though various false grails hade into existence since then, the true Holy Grail had always eluded them. If Vahn truly possessed the Holy Grail, they would need to recover it as soon as possible. This was even more important now that Angra Mainyu was on the verge of destroying the world. They would need the power of something like the Holy Grail to be able to resist its influence, especially with their God suddenly turning a deaf ear to their prayers... With this focus on the Mages Association and all matters rted to Vahn, there had been a special task force prepared to take action on the day of the duel. They had two groups, one positioned a few kilometers south of the Edelfelt mansion and the other located in a secure safehouse beneath the bas.e.m.e.nt of arge cathedral. The Holy Church fully expected a major battle to take ce following thepletion of the duel, regardless of who emerged the victor. Their mission was to observe from afar and, if the opportunity presented itself, take advantage of the conflict to secure their priority target. With their Sacraments and Scriptures, they were confident in being able to capture Vahn and, though it would likely cause the outbreak of another war, it was a small price to pay if they could secure the Holy Grail. What the Holy Church could not have anticipated was the fact that, rather than a major battle, the duel between Artoria and Lorelei ended wholly in the formers favor. Then, more surprising still, one of their priority targets over thest millennia, Lord Bathomeloi, had also been eliminated. To cap off everything, the Edelfelt mansion showed no signs of impending conflict while, on the outskirts of London, the estate belonging to the Barthomeloi family was up in mes. Rather than arge battle, it seemed that a single assant had been tearing their way through the estate with impunity. Since it would have taken them an entire division to even breach through the Bounded Field of the Barthomeloi Manor, the task force formed by the Holy Church had no idea how they should react to this information. All they knew for certain was that Vahns Empire was far more powerful than they had initially anticipated... Leading the task force was a petite figure that only stood at 143cm in height. Despite almost every other member of the task force looking like a battle-hardened veteran, they looked like an innocent child with raven ck hair, cut neatly at shoulder length, and dark purple eyes. If not for the fact that their eyescked the light of innocence entirely, looking more like a dark abyss than anything else, it would have been easy to mistake them as an actual child. While everyone else was wearing tactical equipment and customized cassocks, the raven-haired child was wearing a white tunic, loose-fit ck cks, and polished dress shoes. What stood out the most, however, were the eight golden rings on their fingers and, on the back of their right and left hand, two crimson red markings that seemed to glow in the low light of the room. Their face seemed to be formed into a perpetual smile that never quite reached their eyes, unnerving anyone who had the misfortune of being in their presence for a long period of time. The others were unable to see what was going on within the Barthomeloi family but, while it was a little difficult, this particr individual was able to see the interior of the Bounded Field. This would have been impossible under normal circ.u.mstances but, with Scthach rampaging within the Manor, the Barthomeloi family couldnt exactly spare anyone to monitor the grounds. With nobody to stop their advancement, dozens of peculiar-looking mice with glowing red and purple eyes were sifting through the debris and corpses littering the Manor. Though many had lost their lives the moment they came anywhere near the purple-haired demoness, they still fulfilled their purpose in helping to gather information for the task force. Their death caused the eyes of the youth to squint almost imperceptibly but, as they could always produce more, it didnt matter if Scthach tore through a thousand, much less ten. After witnessing the carnage for the better part of an hour, the youth suddenly shook his head. They turned to address theirpanions, each showing a serious expression, before saying in an amused tone, "We dont have the right equipment for dealing with this. Contact the Agency and have them send the Seventh. This mission will be put on hold for the time being. I would rather not fight a God-Killer if I can avoid it, hahahaha~" Within the group of elites, a man with short blond hair and circr sses made a motion to push them up beforementing in a stern tone, "Father Solomon...do you believe it wise to jest during such an important mission? The Cardinal will not appreciate such remarks..." Instead of taking offense to his subordinates remark, the youth began tough uninhibitedly before remarking, "I suppose you would harp over such matters. Well, it doesnt really matter in the end. We still need the Seventh to deal with this situation as our target isnt something that can be killed with the means we have prepared. Besides, they also have someone who was able to take out Lorelei, a person that could even contend against Dead Apostle Ancestors within their own Territory. Go and fight if you want, but youll only be dying for a God that will not mourn your passing~" Hearing their superiors words, everyone in the task force was more than a little offended, especially with the news of their Gods silence being fresh on their mind. They knew this person before them wasnt a true believer but, to hear them nder their God and insult their beliefs, they could not help but feel incensed. Despite this, however, they made no attempt to try and seek rpense as, while not a devout follower of the Sacraments, this youth before them wasnt an opponent they had any hope of matching. Seeing how their colleagues had reacted, the youths smile turned into one of ridicule as they turned their back and mused, "If not for the possibility of securing the Holy Grail, I would not even be here. Now, lets see if there are any treasures to be plundered during the chaos~" (A/N: Writing anything rted to the Holy Church is mind-numbing xD. It is so convoluted!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1264 - Temporary Lull

Chapter 1264 - Temporary Lull

As the day gave way to the night, Vahn found himself seated in one of the massive studies of the Edelfelt mansion. He was rxing on a chaise lounge that could easily amodate several people, Gareth seated at his side and Fenrirying across hisp. Both girls had contented expressions on their faces as they allowed him to freely caress their head, ears, and, in Fenrirs case, her tail. Every now and then, a member of the serving staff would stop by to ask if he needed anything but, time and again, Vahn would politely refuse. He was more focused on what was going on outside of the mansion, primarily with Scthach. Though he rarely made use of it, Vahn had the ability to share senses with anyone registered within his Unit Management. He could forcibly activate it if he wanted but, as this cost Loyalty while also making the person in question feel ufortable, Vahn always made sure he had permission before activating the link. Towards the end of her massacre, Scthach had allowed him to share her senses so Vahn could sense the presence of foreign entities invading the Barthomeloi Manor alongside her. These were primarily golems and familiars that were trying to loot treasures and artifacts during the chaos. Despite calling the Edelfelt family hyenas, most modern Magi were akin to vultures in their desire to take advantage of each other, including former allies. This type of behavior was fully expected so, while it was annoying, Scthach and, by proxy, Vahn, just chose to ignore it. What they were more interested in was the machinations of the Holy Church but, as they had yet to take action even after six hours, it was beginning to seem as if they had called off whatever they nned. Vahn had the means to deal with the Holy Church directly but, in order to save him some effort and give him more leverage in the negotiations with the Mages Association, they had been trying to bait the other party into taking action. If the Holy Church tried to enter into the conflict directly, tensions between the two organizations would undoubtedly reach a breaking point in the near future. Though this opened up the possibility for many lives being lost, it would give him the needed justification for taking reactive, yet decisive, action. Since his promise with Artoria made it somewhat difficult to directly antagonize his enemies, Vahn could only wait until they gave him, and his Empire, a reason to act. If he made his stance clear too early, they would just demonize him further, making his future ns significantly more difficult to implement. Unfortunately, the person in charge of the groups spying on them seemedpetent so, this time around, Vahn could only fluff up Fenrirs and Gareths ears to ease his slight perturbance. Then, when the sun had fallen over the horizon, he released a sigh before mentallymunicating, ("Well leave things be for the now. Please return, Shishou...") Almost as soon as he finished his words, Vahn sensed the space in front of him distort long before the two animalistic girls perked up in alert. Fenrir calmed down almost immediately but Gareth was a little fl.u.s.tered when Scthach basically tore through space with a red dagger. The void itself was cut apart and, along the periphery of the tear, small tendrils of red lightning danced about silently. Before saying anything, Scthach looked around the area for a brief moment, her gaze unwavering, cold, and calcting. It was only after she confirmed there was nothing amiss that she suddenly bent the knee, bowing her head low as she said in a dull tone, "I have returned, Your Majesty..." Though he did not require her to bow to him, Scthach was strangely observant of the proper order of things. Since she had epted a mission, she lowered herself from being his teacher to being his loyal subordinate, at least for the time being. Vahn knew better than to simply dismiss Scthachs show of fealty and instead returned a curt nod before answering, "You did well. This is a task that should have been mine so I cannot fully express my gratitude for your service. I know you are not the type to seek out rewards but, if it is within my power, I will grant one of your requests in the future." With her head still lowered, Scthach answered in the same dull tone, "Your Majesty is too kind. It is my honor to act as an extension of Your will. If you believe my service worthy of reward, I will dly ept it..." After hearing her ept his reward, Vahn gave another curt nod before saying, "We should be returning to Avalon soon. Please, raise your head, Shishou." Without dy, Scthach rose to her full height in a single smooth movement before saying, "You will be able to freely use the summoning system in the near future. When the timees, I ask that you keep in mind our past conversations." Vahn was a little surprised by Scthach suddenly mentioning the summoning system but, as they had literally just been discussing her reward, he quickly understood her intention. This made him feel a little panicky, earning him an almost indiscernibly sly grin from Scthach when she realized what he was afraid of. She then, very slowly, began to lick her lips in a seductive manner, her tongue skillfully gliding across the top before retreating back into her mouth. Ever since obtaining his Divinity rted to S.e.x, Vahn had be extremely sensitive to the desires of others. With this, he was able to confirm that, unless she was very good at keeping it concealed, Scthach had almost no desire to sleep with him. She had very few emotions, actually, making him feel a little unnerved around her since she could put on an act that could even earn Lokis praise. The most important part of his discovery, however, was that she did actually have a desire to sleep with him at times. Almost no desire did not equate to no desire as, at times, Vahn would suddenly feel like he was a strawberry shortcake being eyed by Eva whenever Scthach saw him perform well. He also knew that she was the catalyst that set Artorias n into motion so, whenever Vahn felt her true natureing out, a shiver would always run along his spine. In the future, he knew it was only a matter of time before his Shishou began to teach him something other than just battle techniques and Laws... --- After checking in with Olivia and Luvia, Vahn spent a few minutes helping to relieve their stress with a revitalizing massage before returning to Avalon. He didnt have to wait for Merlin as thetter had the ability to freely move between Avalon, the outside world, and even the Projection itself with no real effort. Even Vahn didnt know how he pulled it off as, rather than Space or Time Magic, Merlin seemed to simply manifest himself wherever he wanted to be... Vahn knew that Space and Time, while two of the most powerful Laws, were not the most powerful. With examples like Merlin and ya, thetter effectively being everywhere despite her main body being attached to him, he was often reminded of Siss words. She had told him, several times in fact, that both Space and Time were more of an illusion than anything else. It was possible topletely liberate yourself from both, with people like Merlin, Scthach, Zelretch, and even Aoko, being able to separate themselves from the time axis whenever they willed it. Separating yourself from the time axis was only part of the equation to actually being able to move freely, however. If you simply removed yourself from the flow of time, you would be stuck as a statue that never aged. Any attempt to move would be a harsh vition of the Laws governing Space as it would require a nigh-infinite amount of energy just to disce the molecules of air around you. If you could move in this state, you would leave behind literal tears in the void that would violently rip apart the fabric of reality when time began to flow again. Thus, in order to move around when time was stopped, you needed to separate yourself from the axis of reality itself. This effectively made you immortal, at least against any entities still bound by the Laws of Space-Time, as there was no way to destroy something that didnt exist. While there were exceptions to everything, especially when it came to powerful armaments and Innates, it was still a significant threshold of power... Ever since obtaining his Divinity rted to S.e.x, Vahn was determined to regain his Creation Divinity before developing Divinities rted to Space and Time. He knew that he wasnt even a middling Tier 4 yet so if he wanted to reach Tier 5 and be strong enough to fight against the Magus of the Beginning, he still had a long way to go. As he was, there was a good chance that, even if he killed the Magus of the Beginning, they wouldnt actually die. Beings at their level would just find another form to inhabit or, in the worst-case scenario, move into apletely alternate reality to consolidate power. Not only did he need the power to move outside the influence of Space and Time but, when it came down to it, Vahn also needed to power to freely transition between alternate realities. He essentially needed to reach simr mastery to someone like Zelretch as, if there were any realities where for his opponents to flee, they would undoubtedly do so. The only way to truly eliminate someone at Tier 5 seemed to be sealing them or forcibly erasing their Ego, two exceedingly difficult things to pull off. Fortunately, at least in the Nasuverse, Vahn knew about the existence of several exceptions from the very start. If he wanted to, it was possible to summon a perfect counter to any conceivable threat, no matter how powerful they might be. After all, there were entities inscribed upon the Throne who had even greater mastery over Space and Time than Zelretch. At the same time, there were even entities who had the ability to kill concepts and, in more extreme cases, that which didnt exist. With Da Vinci at his side, Vahn was confident in being able to research andprehend whatever obscure Laws allowed for such contradictions to exist. Since some of these existences werent even Tier 4, he was confident that, even if he couldnt reach Tier 5 by the time he entered Evas Record, he would still be able to defeat the Magus of the Beginning. There was even a chance he would be able to take along several powerful allies with him and, though he hadnt discussed it with anyone for fear of alerting Akasha, Vahn was even intending to try and take his entire Empire with him... After researching Bounded Fields, Sub-Textures, and Reality Marbles, Vahn was convinced that it was possible to create an entire world and seal it away within himself. Though the Record he enters may try and reject his created world, he could always keep it located inside of his own Soul or within an area of the void outside of the influence of the Records Laws. It might only be a quirk of the Nasuverse but Vahn knew it was possible for Bounded Fields to allow for apletely different set of Laws to exist, so long as they werepletely separate from reality. This was simr to how his Sub-Space and Space-Time Orbs worked, except on a muchrger scale. So long as he could create an isted Bounded Field, using his Source Energy to separate it from the rest of reality, Vahn was absolutely confident he could pull it off. After all, the moment he made the breakthrough, he even received a Zennith-Tier Quest rted to making his penultimate dream a reality. -------------------------------------------------------------- //Main Quest Triggered// [Quest: Beyond the Boundary: A World in the Palm of Ones Hand] Rank: Zenith Objective: Obtains Divinities rted to Space and Time (0/2), Create a personalized Reality Marble (0/1), Anchor Reality Marble to a physical object (0/1) Optional Objectives: [God of the Garden] Create a total of 100 Unique existences to popte your Reality Marble, [Lord of Istion] Separate your Reality Marble from the axis of Space and Time (0/1), [God Emperor] Have a total of 8 Primary Gods or 72 Lesser Gods inhabit your Reality Marble (0/8:0/72) Rewards: 10,000,0000,000OP, World Management System Function Unlocked, 1x[Innate Awakening Pill] Failure Conditions: Forfeiture of Main Quest Chain Penalty: Record Bacsh -------------------------------------------------------------- Vahn knew he was impossibly blessed to have The Path at his side as, even if his thoughts seemed abstract, or even outright ridiculous, there was always a way to make them into a reality. The Records existed in a myriad of different forms and, while something may seem impossible in one, it could be a verymon thing in another. Thus, so long as he put in the effort, it was not an exaggeration to say that anything, without exception, was possible. After all, if he wrote a novel of his own, spread it throughout his Empire to the point that millions of people were interested in it, there was a very real chance he would be able to enter a Record of his own creation... With a lot of time to ruminate over such things, Vahn had often been tempted to try this out but, as the Record would also be shaped by the hopes and dreams of others, he was worried about how any aspects he didnt fully flesh out would manifest. Depending on the more popr interpretations of his work, the world could turn out to be a very dark ce beneath the surface. If he entered such a Record and found the same cruelty that had been observed in every world he had traveled to, Vahn wasnt confident he would be able to avoid just going on a rampage... Still, it was an interesting idea and, if hecked the confidence in going directly to Evas world, Vahn had been considering entering a world of his own creation. After all, it was possible to create unique and powerful artifacts that, depending on how he framed their existence, would only be essible to him. He could even create something like a Dungeon where monsters were rtively weak and docile but, inexplicably, gave an overwhelming amount of experience. There were virtually no limits when it came to the creation of Records as, with his Record Function avable, Vahn had been able to find examples of actual childrens cartoons within the listings. The Nasuverse obviously had its own fiction, including a thriving anime industry, so Vahn was able to do a lot of research into potential Records. There were even worlds with other Transmigrators and an entire genre rted to people being reborn in other worlds and receiving great power. Some of the systems people were given even made The Path seem full of restrictions but, as this often resulted in a very boring story or ridiculously overpowered and irresponsible main characters, it was very easy to point out their ws. Among the fiction Vahn had researched, he even found one where the main character reincarnated into a fantasy world with the ability to steal the abilities of others. This didnt just apply to the other fantasy races within the world, but its monsters and, atter stages, even the gods of the world itself. As a result, by the time the MC was three years old, they already had ten times the stats of even the most powerful Ancient Dragon. When they finally became an Adventurerter in life, they had a God, an Ancient Dragon, and a Beastfolk ve in their Party, living mundane lives where the only plot was artificially created suspense. After all, when the main character can even one-shot the Demon King, there werent really any real threats left. The only reason Vahn had really taken an interest in that particr anime was due to the fact that, for a variety of reasons, it resonated with him. While he didnt think the premise was that interesting, the main character had been a young boy who wished to live a free and happy life without having to worry about other people controlling him. As a result, the God that presided over his reincarnation had given him a cheat that essentially made him peerless. Thus, while the plot was extremely thin, it was interesting to see how someone with so much power prioritized living a simple life among the people they loved. Though it might seem a little ridiculous, Vahn had even imagined himself in the role of the MC but, instead of the characters from the series, he had reced them with the people he knew and loved. He had to admit that, while he would have treated the Nobles very differently, it was still interesting to consider just living a life of whim and whimsy, one detached from politics and other stress factors. Unfortunately, he didnt really have this option avable to him as the guilt of keeping his family and Eva waiting would eat away at his enjoyment if there wasnt any pressure on him. Vahn realized long ago that the freedom he sought was markedly different from the norm. Instead of living without any inhibitions, bing the type of person he hated the most, he chose to give up a bit of his own freedom in order to grant the opportunity for others to live free and happy lives. Just knowing there was so much suffering in the world made him ufortable so, until he had fixed things, he could never simply rest... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Come on...bite...!,Tier 5 is janky,To be free is to be alone, a king of solitude) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1265 - Interlude: Human Nature and the Desire for Freedom

Chapter 1265 - Interlude: Human Nature and the Desire for Freedom

With the fall of one of the Three Monarchal Families, the Mages Association experienced a period of unease that eclipsed even that of Angra Mainyus imminent emergence. After all, one incident was, to some, in the far off future. The other, however, was somethingpletely outside of expectations as, for more than two-thousand years, families like the Barthomeloi had been unshakeable. They had survived the end of the Age of Gods, the period known as the Age of Heroes, and the meteoric rise of the Holy Church. Even if Angra Mainyu was an unstoppable force of corruption and destruction, it was themon belief of many people that the most prominent Magus families would still survive. While they would undoubtedly make an appearance to try and fight against the worlds enemy, there were few foolish enough to believe that the foundational families would stake everything in the conflict. There were already rumors about the major families having power in secondary and tertiary locations, some of which were even rumored to be on the Reverse Side of the World. The truth of the matter wasnt actually that far off. Families like the Barthomeloi had indeed spread their power throughout the world, chiefly by implementing their progeny as the Heads of the various branch families belonging to them. This allowed them to control several Spiritual Lands, harvesting their resources to ensure their family had an unshakable foundation. Unfortunately, with the loss of their Magic Crest and their Ancestor, Lord Barthomeloi, the family had been dealt a crippling blow. Their foundation might not have been shattered but, without a roof to help it wear endless storms, it was only a matter of time until the unshakeable was eroded away into nothingness. Those that had survived Scthachs onught had attempted to try and salvage what they could but, as the Three Monarchal Families had always been very observant of each other, their only prize was a swift and merciless end. Though some of their members were adopted into various smaller families that were in need of fresh blood, anyone attempting to rebuild the Barthomeloi was disposed of. There was no way the Trambelio and Valualeta families would allow their strongest rival an attempt at recovery. They had been the first to raid the Barthomeloi Manor after the ughter, pretending to provide aid while raiding the former families coffers. At the same time, they used their forces to try and seize as many of the Spiritual Lands as possible, iming it was to prevent others from trying to take advantage of their former ally. Few were foolish enough to take the two familys word at face value but, if they had the power, they would undoubtedly do everything possible to secure their own benefits. Since this was not the case, they could only murmur under their breath and point out the despicable nature of the Trambelio and Valualeta families. Some of the bolder ones even began to gather together in secret,ing up with their own ns while hoping that the Aldrnari Empire didnt stop at just the Barthomeloi family. At first, the majority of Magi within the Magusmunity believed that the Aldrnari Empire was just going to take over one of the families to make a name for themselves. What none of them expected was that, rather than profit from the destruction of their enemies, the Empire didnt seem to care at all. Rather than the corrupt and monstrous enemy the Noble Factions had painted them out to be, the Empire seemed to be content with their own wealth and power, two things that were unknown but, after witnessing how quickly they dealt with an unshakeable power, even the youngest Magi knew they wanted for neither. When people finally realized how powerful the Empire was, despite not knowing anything about it, a lot of students began to openly specte how Vahn had used the Greater Grail. The theory that had gained the most poprity was something along the lines of Vahn wishing for his Empire to rise up and be the most powerful force in the world. After all, he had gained too much power in a very short period of time, leaving the majority of people at a loss. They couldnt even fathom how strong the Empire was but, seeing Vahns entourage, they could imagine endless possibilities. The second most popr theory was that Vahn had used his wish to gain peerless power and direct ess to the Throne of Heroes. These people believed that he was the Sixth Magician and, rather than Emperor of argely unknown Empire, they believed he had be an existence that upied the Throne of Heroes itself. Since it took upwards of 50 years for the Holy Grail to store up enough mana to summon seven Heroic Spirits, this was the only answer they coulde up with for why Vahn was able to have tens in just a few short months. While it wasnt as popr as the first theory, the second one had started to gain a lot of traction when people began specting about the identities of each person following Vahn. As history was one of the core sses within the Clock Tower, there were a number of buffs that immediately set out to ascertain as much truth as possible. Though it was obvious there would be discrepancies, as even texts from 1500 years prior attested to Artoria being a man, it was still possible to make a few educated guesses. The most interesting part of this ongoing discussion was the fact that it had originally started due to the conversations between a few students in an SMS chat room. As if to spite Vahn, they had started a private discussion about the various profane things they would like to do with each of his femalepanions if they were given the chance. Some even made petnt and childish remarks along the lines of have Artoria pull on their sword to be worthy of their Excalibur. After the discussions regarding Artoria began to mellow out, many began to wonder about the other women that had appeared alongside Vahn. After all, his entourage had included seven females, each possessing an unnatural beauty that set them apart from most modern women. Since it was hard to talk about people without knowing who they were, a few began researching who the girls might be while, in the interim, people had assigned pet nicknames to each of the girls. Since Scthach hadnt hidden herself away at the time, people began calling her the BDSM Queen while those like Kenshin and Lakshmibai earned derogatory nicknames of their own. After all, they were all extremely beautiful women with exceptionally mature figures. They were the most popr point of discussion, especially among the pubescent boys, but all of the other girls had fans of their own... As could be expected after such a showing, there were a lot of people wanting to join hands with the Empire, irrespective of the rumors fabricated by the Noble Faction. Many believed that the Nobles days were numbered so, rather than allow themselves to be poached and made ves, they decided to hold out for an opportunity to expatriate and join the unknown country. Some even believed they would have a chance to meet some legendary heroic beauty from the past and, regardless of how silly the notion, believed they could conquer said figure to rise up and make a name for themselves. Among this group of extremists, some people had even started topile a list of their most ideal wives from all of historys most famous figures. They baselessly believed that, if they were able to get on Vahns good side, thetter would reward them by granting them a wife of their choosing. Others believed that, with how young the Empire was, it would need reliable allies and vassals to strengthen their foundation. They didnt even consider that the Heroic Spirits summoned by Vahn were actual citizens as, with the mon sense of Magi, such existences were simply tools to be used. What these people were unaware of was that, while they were happily chatting away and spreading rumors, there was a very advanced Artificial Intelligence observing each and every one of them. This wasnt even Da Vincis original design, but something she had stolen after finding the ghost nted by the As Academy within the inte. They already had the means to monitor the entire worlds telmunications so Da Vinci had quickly developed her own version, one which piggybacked the existing AI without its notice. Though the majority of orthodox Magus families didnt use things like cell phones, as they were too easy to intercept and trace, the vast majority of Modern Magi made use of such conveniences. There were even arge number of students who watched television, used the inte, and yed video games. Rather than focus on their studies, they got a feeling of superiority bymunicating with normal people who, if given the opportunity they had been provided, would have put all of their efforts into studying Magecraft. Even t Escardos, the current Head of the Escardos family, was a well-known professional gamer. He used some of his familys finances to support one of thergest Guilds in an MMO that had more than 50 million active yers. Even his chants and activation keys were rted to gaming terms and, though it wasnt well-known, he had developed things like Hacking Magecraft and his own version of a User Interface that oveyed with the real world. He was absolutely fascinated by RPGs and how every aspect of a character could be changed at the leisure of the user, a stark contrast to the lives people were forced to live in reality. With her third proprietary AI, known as Shadow, Da Vinci had been keeping tabs on the entire world. Shadow traced every data transmission, recorded every conversation, cataloged every text, and kept an ount of every tidbit of news that circted, no matter how minor. Itpiled all of this into a queue based on priority before sending it to Ark for the purpose of archiving. From here, Ark would analyze the information and run thousands of simtions before updating the priority based on its theoretical impact on the Empire. In the future, Da Vinci was intending for herwork of Artificial Intelligences to essentially run the entire world. Once she merged her systems with CHALDEAS, she would be able to tap in the Global Bounded Field, what most people referred to as the Surface World produced by Gaia. Eventually, her system would have a level of omnipotence that even ya and Gaia could not achieve and, so long as Vahns goals never changed, it was only a matter of time before her vision of a Utopia became a reality. While some people would argue that what she was doing was a gross invasion of privacy, Da Vinci considered these people grossly ipetent. Their obstinance was one that had been bred into them by the people that wanted to control their lives and, while there were inarguably ways in which her system could be exploited to malicious effect, she would never allow this. There were an endless number of failsafes already in ce and, though nothing was without fault, the fact that Vahn gave her impunity to act as she pleased ensured that any problems could quickly be addressed. Going by Arks calctions, it was possible to begin implementing her vision of the future in as little as seven years, real-time. The actual integration could take decades, as there would undoubtedly be a lot of resistance, but there was nothing she could do about that. She knew it was pointless to try and reason with people who were already convinced that everything you said was the result of an attempt to try and control them. Even if she pointed out that the control measures would only evere into effect when they tried tomit heinous crimes, these types of people didnt care about the logic behind the system, only that it prevented them from doing whatever they wanted. Even if she wanted to implement something as innocent as a quantum tracking chip that allowed the Empire to trace the location of each person, preventing things like kidnapping in their entirety, there would still be idiots saying they just wanted to spy on them. What none of these people seemed to consider was the fact that they simply werent that interesting. The only justification for why anyone would be interested in what they were up to was if they were either breaking thew or, as was the case in the current market, a source for revenue generation. In Da Vincis vision of the future, mization and revenue were both abstract concepts that would have no value. She intended topletely gut the free market and bring an end to big business that prioritized profits over their products and consumers. This would significantly reduce the avability of products but, as most of these served no purpose, Da Vinci didnt particrly care since it only led to excess waste and an oversaturated market. Instead of being allowed to waste their money on garbage that was slowly killing them, everyone in the Empire would be provided highly nutritious and mana-rich foods. They would not be allowed to eat in excess as, much like how they would have a Companion to monitor them, Da Vinci had already developed a prototype bodysuit that all people would wear under their clothes. Their bodies would be strictly monitored to prevent the emergence of new diseases, ensuring people lived a healthy life without having to make much of an effort. Since Da Vinci knew people would still want to experience a variety of different products, regardless of whether or not they were good for them, she was also developing awork of simplified [Space-Time Orbs] that were all interlinked with each other. These could be worn like headsets that were perfectly calibrated to their individual users, preventing other people from using them. When worn, the headsets would allow them to project a version of themselves into their own [Space-Time Orb], one that could be freely customized with various safety restrictions. This would work a lot like the virtual reality that was such a popr topic on the inte and, with all senses perfectly emted within the [Space-Time Orb], it would be possible to eat as much as you wanted, take as many drugs as you pleased, and even experience things like death without any negative consequences. Though it would require an inhibitor chip to be imnted to prevent people from developing a dependency on the headsets, Da Vinci was confident that the vast majority would quickly acquiesce when they realized the possibilities. Regardless of the usations that would inevitably throw her way, the only thing Da Vinci truly cared about was being able to innovate without restraint. She wanted this same opportunity for others as, after living a life being suppressed by others, Da Vinci felt that people were unqualified to govern and regte each other. They needed an objective system and unlimited individual freedom, both things that she could provide for them at no cost. With Vahns assistance, she was even slowly gaining an understanding of the requirements to reach godhood so, if a person worked hard, their Companion would even allow them to be the God of their own world. To prepare for the day her dream would be a reality, Da Vinci rarely slept and, unless she was watching over her daughter or spending time with Vahn, she didnt take any breaks either. To open up a future with unlimited possibilities, she couldnt afford to idle about as, when the time came, she wanted to be able to present Vahn with the solution to everything that troubled him. He, and their daughter, were her second-highest priorities and, to make sure neither of them had to worry about the future, Da Vinci worked hard in the present. Though not her highest priority due to her quirks, Vahn and Sophia were the most important things in the world to Da Vinci. She wasnt exactly sure when it had happened, even after pouring over the information dozens of times, but she began to care more about how Vahn viewed her work than how she herself viewed it. His opinion was very important to her and, if it was something that might make him upset or troubled, Da Vinci woulde up with several alternative iterations of the same concept to make it fit into his vision of the world. Da Vinci knew that Vahn wasnt entirelyfortable with the idea of pacifying people by allowing them to live in a world with virtually no restrictions. After all, if they put on a headset and suddenly had the freedom to create entire universes for themselves, people would quickly be detached from reality. At the same time, he wasntfortable with cing inhibitor ch.i.p.s into their brains, effectively preventing them from developing this dependency as it was a restriction on their actual potential in exchange for the illusion of freedom. Vahn didnt disagree that it was necessary to regte all races, as this was the best way to guarantee the greatest amount of happiness, but his perspective was a little uniquepared to most. Thus, instead of allowing each person to make their own world without restriction, Da Vinci had designed the helmets to give them a small personal space with nigh-unlimited freedom. This would serve as their home, a ce where they could essentially do anything they wanted without interference from others. When people inevitably got bored of unlimited power within their own [Space-Time Orbs], they had the option of joining thergerwork, a virtual world with numerous restrictions that also allowed them to interact with other people. This would function as aprehensive virtual world that was a nigh-perfect emtion of reality. Here, they could use the powers they had developed in reality to show off andpete against others or, if they wanted to experience something more abstract and fantastical, they could dive even deeper into thework. Here, time would be dted even further but, in exchange for making almost no real progress, they would be able to experience fantastical worlds based on their favorite fictional universes. Da Vinci had been surprised about Vahns insistence about this aspect but, after having Arkpile all the data into a structured format, she could understand his reasoning. Though she felt this was an even bigger limiter on human potential, considering that many would want to spend entire lifetimes within these virtual worlds, Da Vinci could understand why people would want to visit the worlds of fiction that meant the most to them. The hardest part would be implementing an Overseer system to monitor each of these worlds but, after developing several advanced Artificial Intelligences, Da Vinci wasnt too worried about it. (A/N: I am still very ill so I dont have the willpower to write much at the moment. I barely managed to squeeze this one out and Im still going to try and release a Babel a littleter. I dont know what it is about the holiday season but everyone seems to be getting sick, myself included. By the way, I can write a few interlude chapters if there are any requests. Were about to enter the final major arc of the Nasuverse so there will be a pretty big time skip at the beginning of the next volume. Examples of Interludes would be like: Depiction of Solons Dream, Vahn spending time with children, Fenrir being the goodest girl, the perspective of one of the Designer Babies, etc. Also, for those that keep asking about Vahn visiting other worlds, even for a short period of time, I have been considering the possibility of writing a continuation/side series rted to EPIC after itspletion. It would be called EPIC: Side Stories, a series of short stories about Vahn visiting a variety of different worlds for short periods of time. If there is support for this idea, please consider donating through Paypal or making a few small contributions through *******. A lot of people have expressed concern about how much my writing has diminished in thest few months but, if we break it down by the numbers, I believe most of you will understand why I was getting stressed out. The truth is, I love writing a lot more than I thought I would. It makes me happy and helps me to feel fulfilled in everyday life. However, when youre working for upwards of 100 hours a week, around 400 hours each month, for less than a fraction of minimum wage, it begins to wear you down. There were times when I was only making around $0.72 per hour, without any overtime wages and no benefits. With myckl.u.s.ter diet, a sharp decline in physical activity, and no time to go out and interact with friends, it began to wear away at me. When I went to work over the summer, I was always stressed out because I was afraid that all of my supporters would simply vanish due to the limited amount I could write. Since then, my support dipped by around 30% and, even when I was writing 100-120k words per week after the fact, it did not go back up. This made me feel depressed and, around the same time, my father tried to kill himself by taping his exhaust and simply going to sleep in the garage. I had a lot of stuff going on and, even now, I havent really fully recovered. Without the constant support from a few blessed people, I feel like I might have descended into a very dark ce. So, while I love writing, I cant give up everything in my life to write. It doesnt provide enough for me to be truly happy and, whenever I get sick, I cant even go to the hospital because I had to stop paying for health care due tocking in finances. Even now, I have no medical or dental insurance and, despite my living expenses only being around $640 a month, this is the minimum I need just to survive. On average, I make around $718 a month right now, meaning I have less than $78 to spend on personal effects likeundry detergent, shampoo, razors, etc. I honestly dont mind this that much but, if you expect me to work 100+ hours a week for upwards of two-three years straight, there is a good chance I would be irreversibly ill. I want toplete EPIC, even though it sometimes feels like it is killing me, so I ask for patience and understanding as we continue on this journey together. Only death can stop me from finishing this story so Id like to avoid it for as long as possible xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1266 - Interlude: Ripples and Waves

Chapter 1266 - Interlude: Ripples and Waves

At this point, more than fourteen months had passed for the Designer Babies that Vahn had invited to live within his castle. Compared to their past selves, who were full of fears and inhibitions, they now lived free and happy lives without fearing whether or not they would survive to experienced another day of torture. They didnt even have to be afraid that they would lose their lives due to the biological limitations that all but guaranteed they would die before their eighteenth birthday. Though the fear of death still lingered in the back of their minds, as none of them had yet to reach the supposed limit of their lifespan just yet, they all trusted Vahns words when he told them it was no longer an issue. They all had a modified version of the [Ouranos Seal] that had been adapted to their bodies and, on their back, each of them had the Familia Crest that identified them as part of their Emperors extended family and citizenry. At first, the children had been afraid of having any kinds of seals ced on their body but, after Mash mustered up the courage to be the first, it was only a few months until they each epted the crest and seal for themselves. It helped that even Mordred, the Imperial Princess, had a version of the seal ced on her body, one which she made no efforts to keep hidden away due to her choice of garb. With the Familia Crest applied, the children had been able to begin epting Quests of their own. As artificial humanoids that had been designed to have powerful Magic Circuits, their potential was far beyond that of normal humans. After all, they were originally intended to serve as the vessels for Heroic Spirits, allowing them to wield extreme power with the guarantee they would never be able to live long enough to use it against their creators. Rather than be treated like sacrificial pawns, the children quickly understood that Vahn intended to make good on his promise. They all took varying amounts of time to trust in him but, after several months of being treated like important citizens of the Empire, even the most headstrong and fretful among them relented. It helped that, so long as their decisions did not endanger themselves and others, they were generally allowed to live however they pleased. As the only male in the group, Alex ignored the fact that he was one of the youngest and instead tried to act as the big brother of the group. He wanted to be strong enough to protect the others and, though his desire for revenge had been tempered considerably, he still wanted to have enough power to oppose injustice. Siegfried, Alexs Mentor, lived the life of a True Hero, one who dedicated themselves to granting the wishes of those whocked the means to achieve them through their own efforts. Though he came to understand that this way of life was wed, it still gave him a stoic temperament and an incredibly patient character that unhesitantly carried the burdens of others. After living with Siegfried for such a long period of time, Alex began looking toward the stoic Knight as a father figure, not just a Mentor. It made him feel happy to be praised and, even when he made mistakes, Siegfried would always kindly guide him without ridicule or judgment. As a result, Alex hade to respect Siegfried a great deal and, though the road was long, he was determined to follow in his faux-fathers footsteps. He wanted to be a True Hero, one which everyone, especially his fellow Designer Babies, could rely on... The only thing that wore away at Alexs resolve was the fact that his affections, which had now been tempered quite a bit, would likely never be reciprocated. In truth, he had developed a fervent crush on Mash in the past when thetter had refused to harm him during one of the experiments where they had been pitted against each other. At the time, Alex had thought Mash was foolish but, after he had time to ruminate over what she had done, Alex began to feel ashamed of himself. It was around this time that he began to truly hate his creators and, no matter how much they beat or drugged him, he would never willingly participate in their experiments after the fact. Even after being saved by Vahn and forced to apprentice under Siegfried, Alex had always felt a little possessive toward his fellow Designer Babies, Mash especially. He actually looked up to her a lot as, while everyone else had lost themselves to the pain and suffering, she always did her best to put on a smile and try to ease their suffering. He wanted to be as strong as her before, one day, bing someone strong enough to protect all of them... After arriving at the castle, Alex quickly realized that his goal of saving his fellow Designer Babies had been denied him. They now lived free and happy lives without having to worry about food,fort, and opportunity. There were literally hundreds of people that treated them well, including those with a much higher status than themselves. If they wanted to, they could even put in the effort to be much stronger than before, seemingly without any limitations whatsoever. Alex could still remember the first time he watched a battle that was beyond hisprehension. It had been between Siegfried, his Mentor, and Artoria, his esteemed teacher and his Masters beloved Empress. Their battle had changed thendscape of the Training Orb to such an extent that, even if he spent hours exploring the area, he would not be able to grasp the full breadth of the devastation. What truly shocked Alex, however, was his Mentors admissions that he wasnt even close to being the strongest within the Empire. This title belonged to the Grand Teacher, Lady Scthach, a woman so powerful that even the Emperor himself sought her guidance. When Alex first learned the truth, he had been considerably shaken. Despite putting his all into his training, it was difficult to imagine catching up to his Mentor, much less the truly powerful members of the Imperial Family. Even Mordred and Sakura, who seemed to be around his age, were growing at a much faster rate than him. This, at first, made Alex feel helpless and frustrated but, after careful guidance from Siegfried, he hade to ept that being the strongest was pointless. Siegfried taught him that he only ever needed to have enough strength to protect the things he cared about so. If there were people stronger than him protecting those same things, it was pure egotism to believe himself worthy of greater strength without having the proper conviction. Since those above him had put in the effort to be strong, it was a selfish and inherently foolish to resent them for it. After all, people like Scthach had lived for thousands of years while Vahn, their Emperor, was closing in on 160 years old. To affirm his teachings within Alexs heart and mind, Siegfried followed up his lecture by asking how his young protege would feel if those much younger than him began to believe they deserved more power, despite having put in less effort. This had brought a deep frown to Alexs face but, the longer he thought about it, the more it made sense to him. In truth, he should be grateful for the Emperor for not only protecting them, but providing them with the opportunity to choose their fate. To resent those who helped him, and the people he cared about, was a tantly selfish thing to do... After this realization, Alex began to temper his mind as he focused on bing more disciplined. He began to observe his fellow Designer Babies more closely, seeing how happy each of them were in the lives they had decided for themselves. It didnt take long for him to realize that, even if he put in the effort to be much stronger, there were already people stronger than himself protecting the things he cared about. The strength he sought for himself was purely the result of his desires, not something that was mandated by his situation. Over the months, Alex began to realize that his past vision of the future may very well have caused the people he wanted to protect even greater suffering. If he had continued to insist on his desire to grow stronger, for entirely selfish reasons, he would have be no better than his former captors. After all, he would be using his strength to force people, including those he cared about, to adhere to his vision of the future. He would have grown increasingly possessive, deciding how other people should live while expecting them to be grateful for the life he had forced upon them... As could be expected, these kinds of thoughts had weighed heavily on Alexs heart and mind but, with the constant guidance of Siegfried, the silent guidance of Merlin, and the example set by Vahn, he never strayed far. They would always gently guide him back onto the path of light, shaping Alex into a much stronger person than the frail and petnt child he had been in the past. Now, he no longer sought strength to force his vision upon others. Instead, he still the strength to protect, not just the Designer Babies, but everyone that was weaker than himself. He wanted to be a Knight of the Empire and, as a result of his changed convictions, his strength had started to increase at a much faster rate than before. --- While Alex had been undergoing his transformation, so too had the other Designer Babies. Among them, the object of his childish affection, Mash, had been the one to change the fastest. She was the first to ept the Familia Crest and, even when everyone else had been uncertain of their future, she had bravely paved the way forward. At this point, Mash was already sixteen years old but, rather than fear for her waning life, she felt full of vitality and, with each passing day, had be happier than she thought possible. Her training had been going well and, ording to Ghad, she could easily qualify as an Esquire within the next two years. After that, she just needed to earn a bit of experience before officially bing a Knight of the Empire, something she greatly looked forward to. Mash got along well with pretty much everyone in the castle and was always polite and respectful, even towards those younger than herself. This had earned her a considerable amount of praise from Artoria, something that always made Mash feel giddy, despite the fact that Mordred would tease her for it. Despite the fact that Artoria appeared more petite and youthful than herself, Mash looked up to her Empress quite a bit. Thetter had a noble and sagely disposition that inspired everyone around her, despite her diminutive appearance. Because of this, Mash took her etiquette lessons very seriously and, though she understood it was unnecessary due to her Empress strength, it was her dream to be one of Artorias personal Knights in the future. Originally, Mash had only intended to stand out in an effort to draw more attention to herself than her fellow Designer Babies. She believed that, if she worked hard, the others were less likely to be treated poorly. She had even been willing to use her body as, despite having a number of medical scars, she knew her development had made her especially popr among the personnel assigned to the project. It didnt take long for Mash to realize that her concerns and determination were entirely unfounded as, despite having an overwhelming amount of power, Vahn was a kind Master. Not only that, but everyone in the Empire seemed to be infinitely kinder than Mash even though possible. They were all far more powerful than even the strongest person in Chaldeas but, rather than use their unbelievable power to suppress others, they used it with the intent of making the world a better ce. Unlike the scientists who had tried to convince them that their sacrifice was necessary to ensure the survival of humanity, the Empire worked hard to be strong enough to protect everything. They did not perform inhumane experiments that required arbitrary justifications. Instead, they tirelessly endeavored to increase their own power so that needless sacrifices were unnecessary. This included Vahn himself who, despite being an Emperor, worked to the point that others had to basically force him to take breaks. Aftering to understand that Vahn wasnt trying to fool them, Mash began to sincerely respect him. She had even decided to dedicate her life in service to the Empire in gratitude for everything he had done for them but, after a fair amount of teasing, she had to change her goal slightly. Originally, Mash had wanted to be one of Vahns personal guards or, at the very least, one of the Knights of the Inner Sanctum. Her intentions seemed to have been misconstrued by her fellow Designer Babies and her peers, however, leading to a considerable amount of embarrassment. To make matters even worse, it seemed like her Master had also misunderstood her intentions but, rather than force her away and reproach her, he always showed a kind smile, further exacerbating the embarrassment she felt. With pretty much everyone thinking she wanted to be one of her Masters mistresses, Mash was beside herself with embarrassment. She tried to distract herself by putting more effort into her training but, when Mordred asked her directly if she would one day sleep with her father, Mash was at a loss as to how she should respond. At the time, she had already be good friends with the tomboyish princess so she could tell that Mordred was being serious when she asked the question. In truth, Mash was not against servicing her Master and, after a lot of teasing, she couldnt help but think about it at times. This was entirely dependent on whether or not he wanted to sleep with her, however, as Mash could not even consider being the one to try and initiate anything. She had too much respect for her Master and, to avoid misunderstandings, she had even openly stated her desire to be one of her Empress guards, distancing herself from her Master slightly. When Mordred had confronted her, Mash felt like a deer that had walked into a clearing, only to find arge dragon looking down at her. She was ultimately unable to answer, earning her an unnerving smile from Mordred whomented, "You shouldnt hold yourself back. If there is something you want, you should do everything in your power to obtain it. My Chichiue only looks down on people who seek power at the expense of others. If you make an earnest effort, he wont turn you away, you know~?" Even before she had finished her remark, Mordred had already started walking away from her so Mash had been unable toe up with a response by the time the princess had vanished. This left her feeling at a loss as, even since the time of her arrival in the Empire, she had never sought to be at her Masters side in such a way. She was honestly a little frustrated that everyone acted like this was the case, likely as a result of her physical development and disposition... Fortunately, at the time when Mash was feeling the most conflicted, Fenrir had appeared, seemingly out of thin air, to ay her concerns. Unlike the others, Fenrir didnt treat her as if she was constantly pining after their Master. Though she was the one who elevated their Master more than anyone else, she was also the most perceptive when it came to how people perceived Vahn. Her intuition was very sharp but, even without that, Fenrir sense of smell allowed her to pretty much know if someone had such thoughts toward her Master. After appearing, Fenrir gave Mash a few kindly head pats, leaving the lc-haired girl smiling a little awkwardly. Then, after finding a spot to sit down, Fenrir preached to her the principles of being a good girl while encouraging her to do what she wanted without feeling pressured by others. She told Mash that, regardless of what she chose to do, her Master would never look down on her. He wasnt the type to judge others and, unless she one day desired it, he would never try and force her into doing something she was unwilling to do. As for how she felt toward their Master at times, this was mon sense to Fenrir so she didnt resent Mash in the slightest. Mash had already grown ustomed to Fenrirs lectures so she just obediently listened until the very end. At times, it felt like the wolfish girl was trying to brainwash them but, as it was very obvious that Fenrir sincerely believed everything she said, Mash could only smile politely before thanking her for the lesson. After that, Fenrir surprised her a bit by giving her a long hug and patting the back of her head until the tensions in her body had eased entirely. Before this, Mash hadnt even realized how tense her body had be... When Fenrir finally released her, the former gave her another gentle pat on the head before saying, "Do not let Mordred get to you. She is under a lot of pressure and is still learning how to deal with her own emotions. If you feel threatened or afraid, there are a lot of people who you can rely on. I try my best to help people feel at ease but I know there are others better at it. You can talk to Iris or Artoria but, if you feel like they arent enough, our Master will always make time to help others. You dont have to fear him eating you up...though I wont deny there is a chance you might want him to after he takes care of you~? Shishishishi~" For the second time in the same day, Mash was left at a loss as to how she should reply by the time her conversational partner had departed. Thus, for several awkward moments, she just silently on a bench until several Companions began to gather around her. Their presence always put her at ease so Mash picked up one with fluffy white hair and rabbit ears before hugging it tightly. It released an adorable mewl in response, bringing a smile to her face as other Companions began to climb up the bench to sit alongside her. Ultimately, Mash wasnt entirely sure what she wanted as, due to her past, she never looked toward anything more long term. Her current goal was to be one of Artorias personal Knights but, as she already had Lady Gray at her side, part of her felt like she was interfering with the duties of another. She also knew that Lady Gray had a s.e.x.u.a.l rtionship with their Master, something that even his direct Page, Gareth, had. This made it seem like all the women around their Master were sleeping with him, something that filled Mash with uncertainties as, despite what anyone else told her, she simply couldnt see herself as someone worthy of the same treatment... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Siegfried used Perspective Shift...! It was super effective! Young Alex is confused...,Mordred still has a long way to go (x _ x)...,Poor Mashu-chan. Someone get this girl som LOral...!) (A/N: I just want everyone to know that you almost brought this old man, who has served time in the Marine Corps and traveled the world, to tears. When I woke up yesterday, I saw all of the messages of support everyone had sent before noticing my inbox flooded with notifications of new patrons. I now feel guilty about my rant yesterday but, regardless of my own embarrassment, know that I can never fully express the gratitude I feel toward such kindness. Thank you...it means a lot more than most of you will ever know...(My eyes watered as I typed this part, hahahaha xD...)) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1267 - Interlude: Unstoppable Momentum...?

Chapter 1267 - Interlude: Unstoppable Momentum...?

A mere ten days after the summoning of Maxwell, equating to seventy within the Projection, the enigmatic Conceptual Entity finally reached the point Vahn had been awaiting. Maxwell spent the majority of his time just idling about in the garden of his private Manor located on the southern tip of Avalon. He rarely interacted with others and instead spent most of his time just reading novels and enjoying the warm rays of the sun. Since his Manor had been directly tied to the ind-wide mana gathering formation developed by Da Vinci, he was able to absorb a truly monstrous amount of mana with little to no effort on his own part. In truth, Maxwell had finished charging enough mana after only sixty-three days but, in an attempt to see how closely Vahn was observing him, he decided to meander for an additional week. Vahn had been aware of this but, as there was no pressing need to force Maxwell when his Empire was already thriving, he allowed the matter toy for the time being. Using the extra time, Vahn just poured through history books and spent a few hours each day just discussing who they should summon when the time came. Maxwell allowed them to summon an infinite number of figures from any point in history but, in order to prevent any issues from arising, they had to be selective in their decisions. After all, the people summoned all had their own wants and needs to consider. Da Vinci was of the mind that he should summon one of each type of Servant ss, just to get a proper understanding of their capabilities. She postted that a time woulde, perhaps in the distant future, where their enemies would havee up with a summoning system of their own. If they did not have a proper understanding of the capabilities of each type of Servant, there was a chance they would be caught off guard. Generally speaking, it was almost impossible to argue against Da Vinci as, long before she gave her opinion on a matter, she had usually put a lot of thought into it. In many situations, she would have already researched the matter and run numerous simtions using Ark so, when Vahn read over her study and wasing to a conclusion, he couldnt help but agree with her. Merlin also supported the idea and, though he advised caution, he believed it was well within their power to keep under control so long as Vahn didnt summon an entity like Lucifer under the Avenger ssification. So long as nothing unexpected happened, Vahn was going to be summoning a total of _ new residents to his Empire. This included Jeanne, by yas rmendation, Scthach, by her own rmendation, and Medea, by Circes rmendation. As for the rest, they were important figures that Vahn and his counsel had decided were beneficial to the Empire and the world atrge. The two most notable in this category were Sherlock Holmes, rmended by Da Vinci, and Semiramis, rmended by Merlin. Vahn had been more than a little surprised by the fact that Merlin suggested someone who was famous for tyranny, despotism, and the use of poison. He was only convinced after Merlin told him why Semiramis behaved the way she did. She was someone who had been abandoned by her Goddess mother immediately after birth and, as a result of her pseudo-divinity and unnatural beauty, she had been a prize to im by many men. As a ruler, she was actually praised for her administration, despite the fact most people referred to as a witch and a poisoner. Semiramis would certainly be a problematic individual to deal with but, ording to Merlin, she was easier to manage than someone like Circe. Better yet, she had an EX-Rank Noble Phantasm that allowed her to, quite literally, make a nigh-imprable floating fortress. Not only could this serve as a principal military instation but, with Da Vincis modifications and the fact that it was a literal floating fortress, it would be a lot easier to convince people of the existence of Magic in the near future. It was impossible to know for certain but, with the omnipotence provided to them, it was possible for Merlin and Scthach to make an approximation of Semiramis capabilities. She wasnt actually that strong without her Noble Phantasm, which required weeks and a phenomenal amount of resources just to build, so she didnt pose any significant danger. Rather, as long as others treated her well, she was rtively easy to deal with. Vahn was still a little ufortable with summoning someone like Semiramis but, as her poison would essentially be useless, there wasnt too much to worry about. Even if she had poisoning capabilities on the level of a Noble Phantasm, he was entirely immune. She also wouldnt be able to take advantage of any ongoing conflicts within the Inner Sanctum as, unlike the majority of other Kingdoms and Empires throughout history, the Aldrnari Empire didnt have such issues in the present. Semiramis would obviously not be allowed to reside within the Inner Sanctum with impunity as, now that the status quo was being established, Vahn was preparing to separate future Heroic Spirits from those he had already summoned. He didnt want things to develop to the point that he was essentially sleeping with every famous Heroine throughout history so, by the time Maxwell was ready for the mass summoning, Vahn hadmissioned several Manors and refurbished arge section of the Ivory Castle to serve as their principal residences. Vahn wanted to take into consideration the wants and needs of everyone he summoned so, much like Maxwell, he would give them the option to serve. It helped that the summoning system made them more inclined to obey him, especially with the modern knowledge and memory link, but it was still possible for them to decide on a different path. So long as they were not intending to go around causing harm to others, Vahn didnt mind letting those he summoned live as they pleased. He would need to be careful with ambitious people and anyone leaning towards the evil end of the spectrum but, with the use of Command Spells, even people like Gilgamesh could be loosely controlled. Though A and S-Rank Servants would be able to resist thepulsion of a Command Spell, it was still possible to create a gap in their ability to fight back so, if anyone tried to rebel, Vahn was more than prepared to deal with them. Though it was haphazard to summon so many powerful figures into the present, the world was already set on the path of merging with the Reverse Side from the moment he arrived. Since he would need to have powerful allies to prevent Gods from running rampant and doing whatever they pleased, Vahn was willing to face a few difficulties in order to expand his faction. By the time the Surface and Reverse Sides were merging, the Gods would either be forced to step in line or retreat to the far ends of their own isted Bounded Fields. If they intended to cause trouble, which was extremely likely, he didnt mind striking down the old pantheons and creating them anew. To this end, and as a final regting mechanism, Vahn was going to be summoning most of the new Heroic Spirits as that, Heroic Spirits. He was not going to use the [Transmigrator] perk on all of them from the start as it invalidated the ss Skills and some of the unique abilities they would have possessed. Since they needed to get a proper understanding of what each Servant ss was capable of, Vahn needed to summon them as a representation of themselves, not the version of themselves torn from history. Though it seemed like a rtively brash and selfish thing to do, Vahn hade to believe that it was equally selfish to prioritize the existence of historical figures over their Servant manifestations. After all, he had people like Nobunaga and Lakshmibai in his care so, he was inclined to treat all Heroic Spirits as individual existences. Since some, such as Da Vinci, were brought into this world aspletely different people, despite having the [Transmigrator] perk, Vahn felt that the only time he should make use of the peculiar perk was when it was requested of him. With this in mind, Vahn intended to use his summons as such: (A/N: You wouldnt believe how long this list took to make xD...) --------------------------------------------- Jeanne: Ruler Scthach: Caster Medea: Lily Sherlock Holmes: Ruler Semiramis: Assassin Boudica: Avenger Okita Souji: Alter Ego Hati: MoonCancer Leviathan: Watcher Azathoth: Foreigner Sol: Shielder Spenta Mainyu: Idol --------------------------------------------- While there were other Servant sses inscribed on the Throne of Heroes, Vahn had noticed that some of them were left nk or, much like the example of Hassan-i-Sabbah, he simply couldnt summon them. This had included the Saver, Ender, Faker, and any Grand sses, implying that they were either beyond his means to summon or, for whatever reason, Akashas superiors had prevented him from doing so. Vahn had originally intended to summon the primary Heroic Spirit of Miyamoto Musashi but, in the same manner as Hassan-i-Sabbah, his name had simply been greyed out. It was still possible to summon alternate versions of him but, any attempt to summon the real Musashi was met with adamant refusal by the system regting the Throne of Heroes. This implied that Musashi was a Grand ss Servant as, from what they were able to discern through prior discussions, it was all but guaranteed that the original Hassan was the Grand Assassin. Fortunately, while the Grand ssification was entirely blocked off to him, Vahn still had other unique modifiers besides the [Transmigrator] perk to choose from. This included the Lily and Alter ssifications, two peculiar perks that offered a variety of different benefits... The Lily ssification was a version of a Heroic Spirit that was pulled from a time before their legend had fully formed. As a result, the Lily version of a Heroic Spirit was often much younger and, in many instances, a great deal weaker than their true selves. This was not always the case, however, as Vahn noticed that the Lily versions of Artoria and Medea were actually just as strong, if not stronger, than their legendary counterparts. The Alter ssification was significantly rarer than the Lily ssification as it generally required the Heroic Spirit to have two, or more, iterations of their legend. In many cases, the alter version was how the enemies of a Heroic Spirit saw them, meaning a good person could be misconstrued as an evil despot and vice-versa. Curiously, Vahn had noticed that Semiramis had the potential to be summoned as an Alter version of herself, much like Artoria, Jeanne, and Nobunaga. Vahn had ultimately decided to summon the Alter version of Okita Souji after discussing potential trump cards with ya. ording to the diminutive blue creature, the Alter version of Okita had the ability to even kill concepts and, unlike the majority of other Alter Ego Servants, she was the type that greatly appreciated simply being given the opportunity to exist. Since Vahn wanted to study Laws rted to the death of things that didnt even exist, she was the rmendation that had been provided by his perpetual counterpart... --- When it finally came time for Vahn to perform his mass summoning, he had quite the crowd ready and waiting within the Welsh Dragons chamber. There was also arge congregation back in the Projection waiting to celebrate the arrival of several new allies so Vahn was pressed toplete the ritual as quickly as possible. To this end, he decided to get the safer summons out of the way first as, when it came to beings such as Azathoth, Leviathan, and Hati, he needed to make a few extra preparations. With this in mind, Vahn went with the safest option and, as Circe had been pressuring him for quite a while, he decided to lead with summoning the Lily version of Medea. This was the version of her before she had been twisted by Aphrodite and forced to serve Jason until she became one of historys most notorious witches. Circe had actually wanted him to pull the young Medea into the present but, as this would alter history in unforeseen ways, he managed to convince her not to do anything drastic. What awaited Vahn after his summoning of Medea was an adorable little girl that was actually a little taller than Circe. She stood at 149cm and, based on her physical development, Vahn would estimate her age to be around fourteen years of age. Much like Circe, Medea had pointed ears, albeit significantly shorter. She also had long hair that was a gentle purple hue. It cascaded from the back of her head in a long ponytail while her fringe bangs actually extended past her shoulders. She actually reminded him a lot of Lefiya and, if the color palettes were swapped, Vahn felt like it would be difficult to tell them apart from each other. The biggest difference, besides the atmosphere surrounding them, was that Medea could give Circe and Fenrir a run for their money in the b.r.e.a.s.t department, something Lefiya had few issues with... Medea was more than a little confused when she suddenly came into being. She stared back at the person she knew was supposed to be her Master, her adorable expression turning into one of silent contemtion. Vahn simply returned a kind smile to her, causing Medea to inhale audibly as a strong desire to hide behind someone, or something, invaded her heart. Fortunately, before she was overwhelmed by a flood of emotions, a petite figure with reminiscent pink hair reached her side and practically tackled her with a warm hug. After fl.u.s.tering for a short while, Medea finally got a good look at the person squeezing the air out of her lungs. She then blinked a few times in confusion before asking in a soft, bell-like, voice, "Aunt...Medea...?" In response to this, the pink-haired demon squeezed her even tighter, rubbing her cheek against Medeas as she answered, "Yes, you silly girl. It is so good to see you. Come, we have a lot to talk about." Before anyone could stop her, Circe had dragged Medea out by her hand, causing thetter to show a fretful expression as she tried to bow and excuse herself. Vahn had already decided to let Circe take care of Medea so he just waved his hand with the same kind smile on his face before turning back to try and perform a second summoning. Since Maxwell exined there werent any issues with his Noble Phantasm, Vahn was indeed able to activate the summon system a second time, causing a smile to spread across his face as he entered the Throne a second time... The next Heroic Spirit to be summoned by Vahn was none other than Scthach who, as could be expected, was almost identical to herself. With the exception of their garb, they were exact copies of each other and, much like Scthach had attested, they both had the same set of memories and the same sense of self, just split. Even without using any form of telepathy, they always knew what the other was thinking and, with the exceptions of their Noble Phantasms and parameters, they were functionally the exact same person. Vahn was a little unnerved to have two Scthachs staring back at him with their cold expressions and ring red eyes but he managed to conceal it well enough to perform the third summon. He didnt want to keep Da Vinci in suspense so, this time around, he decided to summon Sherlock Holmes. What appeared before was a gentlemanly individual standing at 183cm tall with ck hair that looked reminiscent of ink. He had golden eyes which could rival a hawks in sharpness and intensity while, as could be expected, he was garbed in old-school Victorian clothing. Almost immediately aftering into existence, Sherlock began to look around at the crowd of people gathered before him. He pulled a curved pipe, seemingly out of thin air, and began to chew on the end of it in a contemtive manner as a smile slowly began to develop across his admittedly handsome face. He had a very sharp appearance, with a confidence visage, slicked-back hair, and a fit figure, so Vahn felt he would be extremely popr in the outside world. Without even needing to be told, Sherlock gave a polite nod to Vahn before making his way over to where Merlin and Da Vinci were standing. He shared a few words with each of them before thetter began to brief him on what he should expect insofar as his duties were concerned. This was something that Vahn had already discussed with them so, while they were getting Sherlock up to speed, he wasted no time in performing another summoning. This wasnt the first time he had experienced this phenomenon but, as he summoned several Servants in sequence, Vahn began to feel like his existence was beginning to thin and fade away. He had noticed this during hisst mass summoning so, while Maxwell allowed him to summon as many people as he wanted, it seemed there were still some limitations on him. Most Masters could not manifest more than a single Heroic Spirit but, with his existence being an exception to the rule, Vahn was able to summon several without any real strain on his body. Still, it seemed that overusing the Throne had side-effects so unless it was necessitated by the situation they found themselves in, he would try to abstain from spamming the system to build a veritable army of Heroic Spirits. Since his rity of mind hadnt been affected that much just yet, Vahn next summoned Jeanne, the Ruler ss Servant that had been suggested by ya. What appeared after confirming the selection was a woman who was uncannily simr to Artoria, albeit older and garbed in a suit of armor that was distinctly different than his Empress. She also gave off a more natural vibe and, though she was a very beautiful woman, Vahn had the impression Jeanne was normalpared to many of the women around him... When Jeanne opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Vahn staring back at her while, behind him, several people that gave her a dangerous feeling watched her with curiosity. This made her feel a little ufortable but, a stark contrast to how his entourage made her feel, Jeanne felt a natural inclination toward Vahn. Though the information provided by the summoning system was a contributing factor to this, it was the aura surrounding him that gave her a strong urge to bend the knee. Vahn was a little taken aback by the fact that Jeanne immediately lowered her head to him but, knowing why she would do so, he kept hisposure and simply stated, "Raise your head. For the time being, go to mypanions. They will exin the situation to you. Later, when the timees, I will exin your mission to you..." Without any hesitation, Jeanne returned a somewhat scary smile, one which could only be pulled off by those that whole-heartedly believed in something, as she answered, "Yes, my Lord...I will do as youmand." Since she still had her hands brought together in prayer, Vahn felt more than a little awkward but, as Jeanne gave off the impression of someone invibly pure, he decided to address her quirkster. At this point, Vahn felt like it was bing harder to focus but, without dying any further, he activated the summoning system for the fifth time. This time around, he summoned Semiramis and, almost as if to emphasize this was his current limit, a trickle of blood began to run from his nose, irrespective of his regeneration. Vahn, fortunately, had his back to everyone so he just gave a quick sniffle to recover the errant blood, leaving all but Merlin and the two Scthachs none the wiser. Semiramis was a woman who, at other times, could be described as a peerless beauty, albeit with a palpable depraved vibe emanating from her. Like Circe, she had extremely long ears, giving her the appearance of a High Elf but, a stark contrast to the natural beauty and soft colors of an Elf, Semiramis had silky ck hair that cascaded down her back and pooled at the ground. It was much longer than she was tall, leaving Vahn to wonder how she kept it clean since it didnt seem to be alive like Medusas. Though her hair is what stood out the most, at least to Vahn, almost everyone else in the room was taken aback by Semiramis garb and the atmosphere surrounding her. She was wearing an ornate dress that was reminiscent of a moonless night. The top half was simr to a corset, which showed off her very ample bosom, while the bottom half red out in a bell-like shape that hadrge frills on the ends. It was adorned with pale golds and scarlet reds while, around her cor, a maneprised of raven-ck feathers and fur framed her head and constrained her impossibly long hair. Toplete her outfit, and adding to her depraved look, Semiramis had two long fringe bangs that came to an end in golden nails. She had simr golden nails in her hands and feet but, rather than just serve as an adornment, it was clear that the nails were actually embedded into her body. As a result, she had golden nails sticking out from the palms of her hands, linked together by a thick ck cloth, while the other set was protruding from the tops of her feet. If not for her high heels, which had edges reminiscent of des, she wouldnt even be able to walk normally. When Semiramis opened her eyes, she revealed golden pupils with snake-like slits that gave her a natural predatory gaze. Her lips, which were like sulent fruits beginning to be sampled, were fixed in a perpetually amused smile, one which gave off the impression of a cat that liked to toy with its prey. She immediately looked Vahn up and down with her sharp eyes before licking her lips with a startlingly red tongue and musing, "Not for naught am I known as the worlds oldest poisoner... Are you truly certain that you can wield Queen Semiramis...?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Pay to Win,Two Shishous!?,Ara Ara~?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1268 - Interlude: Pushing Boundaries

Chapter 1268 - Interlude: Pushing Boundaries

Though he did not mean to belittle her, Vahn couldnt help but chuckle in response to Semiramis words about being the oldest poisoner. While others may be in danger if her actions were ignored, he had absolute confidence in his immunity to poisons. His blood could even purify and purge the corruption of Angra Mainyu from his system so, even if she had an Innate rted to poisoning, the likelihood of it having any effect on him was slim, at best. Semiramis squinted her eyes slightly when the person that was supposed to be her Master began chuckling at her expense. She was tempted to try and teach him a lesson but, as almost everyone in the room gave her a dangerous feeling, she managed to resist the urge. Instead, she offered a sly smile and asked, "Have I done something you find humorous...?" Vahn hadntpletely lost hisposure so he ceased chuckling and instead returned a casual smile as he answered, "I apologize...my reaction may have been unwarranted. There are a few things you should keep in mind. You see, Impletely immune to things like poison so Im more worried about you trying to target others. If that thought crosses your mind, however...well, just know I can get a little heated when ites to protecting the things I care about. Please, keep that in mind." Despite his best attempts to restrain it, Vahn always emanated an oppressive aura whenever he was discussing anything rted to his loved ones being harmed. This was felt by Semiramis who, despite being a Heroic Spirit, had aparably frail body. Her Endurance only measured 13D and, despite having been summoned as an Assassin ss Servant, even her Agility was only 17D. To make up for this, she had a unique ability known as [Double Summon], allowing her to use the ss Skills of both an Assassin and Caster. This meant that, rather than an Assassin, she was basically a Caster with the Skills and abilities of an Assasin. As a Queen who had ruled over Assyria for decades, Semiramis managed to keep herposure even under Vahns pressure. Though it felt like her skin was tingling all over, she managed another sly smile as she mused, "How curious...it would seem my Master is not some ipetent fool. Tell me, why have you called upon the services of this Queen...I trust you are seeking more than just my body, yes?" Semiramis was supremely confident in her own beauty but, with people like Da Vinci, Scthach, and Artoria present, it was a little hard to consider herself the most beautiful. After all, Da Vincis [Golden Rule:EX] wasnt just a gimmick that artificially enhanced her beauty. If she made an earnest effort to try and exploit the ability, it would work simr to [Charisma:EX], meaning she could essentially rule the entire world on theurels of her beauty alone. Thus, in the presence of Da Vinci, Semiramis felt like she had to take a step back, even if her pride gave her a strong urge to try andpete against her... Vahn wanted to buy enough time so that he could recover enough for one final summon so, rather than just leave the exnation to others, he decided to pander to Semiramis a bit by answering her questions. She was a Queen, after all, so she would probably appreciate it more if he gave her a bit of attention instead of just diverting her to someone else. In response to Semiramis teasing, Vahn kept his casual smile as he answered, "I suppose it would be proper to answer your questions in order. First of all, I have no intention to wield you. Rather, if you are willing, I would like to consider you amongst my allies. Ultimately, you are free to live the lifestyle of your choosing. So long as you do not endanger the interests of the Empire and cause unnecessary suffering, you are free to live as you please." Hearing her Masters words, Semiramis couldnt help but raise one of her brows as she asked with a slightly incredulous tone, "You would have me believe you summoned me twenty-eight-hundred years into the future without a purpose? Live however I please? What kind of farce is this, my dear Master...?" Semiramis was still smiling but it didnt quite reach her eyes any longer. She was obviously annoyed to have been summoned for such a half-hearted reason. This made Vahn feel a little apologetic but he managed to keep his usual smile as he answered in a calm tone, "In truth, there are several uses I have for you. However, I live by the principle that people should not be forced to obey. If you choose to help me, I will make sure you are rewarded properly. I can even grant your wishes, so long as they do not conflict with the interests of the Empire and endanger other people. Rather than tools, I seek powerful and reliable allies..." Though she couldnt really sense any falsehood in Vahns words, Semiramis felt like he was trying to manipte her. When she heard his remark about not forcing people, she crossed her arms beneath her b.r.e.a.s.ts and retorted, "You summon me into the modern era and then pretend I have any choice in how I live? I either have to make use of the arrangements you have made or venture out into the outside world to try and find my footing. A Queen without a Kingdom and subjects is nothing more than a target for despots who wish to im her. Tell me, how strong is this Empirepared to the other forces in this world...?" Vahn was a little taken aback by Semiramis usations, even if he could understand where she wasing from. Still, he managed to keep hisposure as he answered confidently, "The Empire has the greatest military might and the fastest technological development. Though there are a select few individuals who could cause a significant amount of damage to our forces, there are none who have the power to destabilize the foundation we are building." Once again sensing no falsehoods behind her Masters words, Semiramis made a show of rolling her eyes as she retorted, "See? My choices are obedience, house arrest, or bing an enemy to a man who has the power to order me however he pleases. In other words, I only really have one choice, do I not? After all, I am quite ustomed to a life of luxury and...indulgence..." Toward the end of her words, Semiramis adopted a more seductive expression as she turned her eyes up and leaned forward slightly. This ented her cleavage a considerable amount as she had already crossed her arms to prop up her b.r.e.a.s.ts. Vahn, however, kept apletely straight face as, with his Divinity rted to S.e.x, he knew when a person desired him. Semiramis was trying to seduce him, yes, but there were no genuine emotions behind the act at all. Instead, she seemed like a viper waiting for its prey to get within range and, though she would y the part of a willing participant well, it was all but guaranteed that she would try and poison him in the process. Rather than fall into Semiramis pace, Vahn continued to smile casually as he remarked, "I will not pretend that my act of summoning you into this timeline was not selfish. To that end, I will provide you withfortable living conditions. My Empire has an unlimited amount of wealth and, so long as you do not treat them poorly, our staff will tend to your every need. Whether it be delicious food,vish adornments, or mountains of treasure, all will be provided to you. Though these mayck real substance, they should be more than enough to make up for the inconvenience you have suffered. If this is unsatisfactory, it is also possible to break the contract binding-" Though she had been listening attentively as Vahn spoke, Semiramis felt her heart flutter anxiously when she realized what he was about to say. Before he could finish his statement, she made a show of clearing her throat before adopting an awkward smile and saying, "Youll have to forgive me, my cherished and benevolent Master. You see, I am not ustomed to the position of Servant so I may have issued some unnecessary remarks. For now, I would like to observe this world for a while before making my final decision. If the Empire is as powerful as you say, I would not mind giving my all in service of the Emperor..." At this point, Semiramis had already started to suspect that Vahn was the Emperor in question but, as he didnt really give off the bearing of a true tyrant, it was hard to be certain. She believed that a ruler was intrinsically superior to others and, as a result, they should express their desires and live a life without inhibitions. Since Vahn spoke of titudes and pretended to walk the moral high road, this meant he was either an idealistic fool or, as was more likely the case, he had obtained the only real power in the world: Authority. Semiramis decided that, until she got a better understanding of the situation, she should not press her Master in the usual way. He did not seem to have the same weaknesses as other men or, at the very least, was no easily wiled by things like beauty and subtle seduction techniques. She would have to use more extreme methods to secure a position for herself. As for his prior remark about being immune to things like poison, Semiramis didnt believe that in the slightest. He might have a very high tolerance but, once she had a better understanding of his constitution, it was only a matter of time before she had him in the palm of her hand... Vahn had redeveloped a habit of activating his View Affection function whenever he was dealing with especially troublesome people so Semiramis machinations had not escaped his notice. Since Merlin had told him that she wouldnt be an issue, Vahn decided torgely ignore the purple and greens within her aura, at least for the time being. If she attempted anything against him, it would give him leverage against her but, if she tried anything against his loved ones, she would seal her own fate. Fortunately, she didnt seem to be apletely foolish woman so, unless he was confident in being able to deal with every threat, Semiramis would likely never take any decisive action. Throughout their entire discussion, Vahn had kept a stoic and casual smile without showing any discernible change in expression. This made it difficult for Semiramis to get a read on him so, now that they had reached a basic ord, Vahn gestured to the side and politely stated, "Please, join the rest. We will only be down here for a few minutes longer. After I finish here, well be moving to the surface in order to celebrate the arrival of new allies. Once the festivities have concluded, you will be shown to your residence." At this point, Semiramis was putting on the act of an elegantdy so, after hearing Vahns words, she gave a polite curtsy before snaking her way over toward Merlin. He was the only other male present so, rather than speak with some of the women given her the stink eye, she decided to try and obtain some information from him. Though he gave her a very peculiar feeling, he seemed to be the least dangerous person in the room. Vahn was tempted to chuckle when he saw who Semiramis had decided to try and converse with. He could see the smile on Merlins face morph into one of genuine amus.e.m.e.nt, giving Semiramis a bit of pause as everyone else in the room gave her incredulous and pitying looks. Since she had already made her decision, however, Semiramis could only walk willingly into the lions den, something she woulde to regret in theing days. As for Vahn, he made a mental note to discuss Semiramis with the other males living within the castle as, if she realized approaching him was fruitless, there was a good chance she might try and target one of them instead... --- Ignoring the dullness in his mind, Vahn activated the summoning system for the sixth time. He had recovered a bit during the conversation with Semiramis so he was confident there wouldnt be any serious consequences. He also wanted to push his limits to ascertain how long it would take for him to make a full recovery as this could be important information in the future. This time around, Vahn decided to summon Okita Souji as, while the others may be more pertinent to his short-term ns, she was the most important for his future development. After all, if he couldprehend what allowed her to kill concepts, he would be able to defeat most Tier 5 existences, regardless of his own Soul Tier. Though this would still require that he actually hit them, there were a number of ways to drastically increase his speed through the maniption of Space, Time, and Light Elemental energy. After confirming his selection, Vahn felt like his body was burning from the interior but, as he had already prepared himself, there were no external signs of the pain he was experiencing. Since it was a far cry from what he would experience during his training with Scthach, he was even able to keep the same casual smile on his face as he watched the mana within the summoning system take shape. It began to take the shape of a tall woman but, after seeing her true form, Vahn noticed that much of her height came from the 15cm tall metallic geta sandals. Sans sandals, the woman was around 163cm tall with tanned skin and pale, almost white, hair. She was attired in a kimono that was closer to a corset in design as, rather than conceal her figure, it ented it considerably. The top half was literally just ck leather that hugged her b.r.e.a.s.ts but left arge gap above where the fabric hugged around her diaphragm. This created an inverted cleavage that showed off the healthy yet tender skin of her b.r.e.a.s.ts, almost as if it had been designed for the sole purpose of distracting enemies. The bottom half of Okitas outfit was extremely thin and form-fitting while the skirtponent did not even pass her wrists in length. There was a small slit in the front and, even though he was taller than her, Vahn could see the briefest glimpse of Okitas ck panties through the gap. As for the rest of her outfit, she had metallic sabatons, cuisses, and fanned ting covering her legs from the thighs down. They wereprised of a thin ck metal that was trimmed with pale gold while, on her arms, she wore a pair of ck leather bracers with small tes on the backs of her hands. Toplete the outfit, she had on a vibrant red scarf that matched the color of her other garments and the two red tassels tying to the sides of her hair. She also had a ck ribbon tying her hair up at the back while, in her left hand, an impossibly long katana was held aloft. Vahn, like everyone else in the room, felt a subtle threating from the katana. It was close to 220cm in length, sheathed in a ck scabbard that was adorned with pale gold. At the very end, a red gemstone was embedded into the surface while a thick red cord was tied just beneath the tsuba, the guard of the incredibly long sword. It seemed impossible to unsheath through normal means but Vahn had no doubt that Okita would be able to pull it off without any difficulty at all. While her outfit and katana were visually stunning, the thing that had surprised Vahn the most was that Okita, despite having tanned skin and pale hair, looked a lot like Artoria and Gray. Her facial structure was almost identical, despite being Japanese, so he couldnt help but gawk slightly until she opened her eyes. This only increased the simrities between her and Artoria, however, as she had pale silver eyes that seemed to emanate a subtle glow. The only big differences between them, besides the aura they emanated, were Okitas skin tone and the fact that her bust size was very close to a D-Cup... Vahn wasnt the only one to notice the simrities, causing Artorias and Grays eyes to dull slightly when they saw their counterparts sizable assets. Despite knowing that Vahn didnt care about such things, it was quite troubling to see someone so simr to themselves have the very thing they had both desired in the past. Gray was a little better off, as she could ask Vahn to help her grow a bit, but Artoria was perpetually stuck in her fourteen-year-old body, never changing in the slightest. Still, she quickly recovered herposure as, despite her own insecurities, she was very aware of the fact that Vahn appreciated her current form... Though Okita briefly nced at everyone waiting in the back, her gaze was predominately focused on the man standing before her. Her geta allowed her to stand at a simr height as Vahn so she was able to look directly into his eyes as she stated, not asked, "You are my Master..." Then, without the need for a response, she bowed extremely low while angling her katana back to keep her bnce. It would have been more proper to kneel but, considering how short her kimono was,bined with the oversized geta, such an action would have been next to impossible to perform. Seeing the top of Okitas head directly, Vahn was momentarily distracted by her massive ahoge. It made even Artorias and Grays seem small inparison, giving him a strong desire to reach out and grab it. He managed to resist this urge, however, before stating in a calm tone of voice, "Please, raise your head. For the time being, such formalities are not required. If you choose to serve me after understanding your situation better, only then should you lower your head..." Rather than raise her head immediately, Okita continued to bow for several seconds before looking up, her facepletely expressionless as she stated, "My very existence would be impossible if not for Masters benevolence. Every breath I draw henceforth will be in service of your goals. If you ask me to walk through a forest of swords or a mountain of spears, I would not hesitate. This is the only way I know to express my gratitude...please, make use of me." If not for apleteck of emotion and passion, Okitas words might have had a deep impact on Vahns psyche. He was pretty weak to women who desired to dedicate themselves to him but, in this case, his casual smile took on wry undertones as he answered in a somewhat subdued manner, "Your dedication is admirable...I will do my best to be a good Master for you..." Since it would likely be very difficult, if not outright impossible, to try and convince Okita to live in a more carefree manner, Vahn could only wait for her to mellow out after interacting with the others for a bit. To Vahns surprise, Okita shook her head as if to refute his words before saying in a dull monotone, "By allowing my existence, you are already the best Master I could ask for. Do not concern yourself for my well being. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve. If there is anything I can do for you, my Master, I will not hesitate to do so. This is my purpose and I intend to carry it out. If you do not have a need for me, I would rather die than live a life without purpose." If he was troubled before, Vahn was at aplete loss now as he habitually looked through his Unit Management to view Okitas Affection. After hearing the conviction in her almost mechanical words, he wasnt at all surprised to discover that, much like how Gray had been after her conversion, Okita had the Eternal Loyalty value. Seeing this, he knew any attempt to try and convince Okita would be a wasted effort so, for the time being, he simply smiled and said, "Ill be in your care...Okita..." Though her eyes still seemed tock any emotion whatsoever, Okita reacted to his with a polite bow before adopting a small smile on her face. It was actually a little eerie but, as he had lived through the adaptation period of Fenrir, whose smile gave off the distinct impression she was about to eat you, he managed to return a natural one of his own. After all, having a loyal follower was never a bad thing...so long as they didnt go out of their way to try and please him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: You call these options!? This is tant Queen-napping!,RIP Semiramis...,The dangers of summoning an Alter-Ego xD...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1269 - Interlude: Troubling Affairs

Chapter 1269 - Interlude: Troubling Affairs

Following the summoning of Okita, Vahn decided to bring the summoning event to a close. Six summons seemed to be his current limit and, due to his prior agreement with Akasha, he was the only person capable of activating the system. Even Da Vincis best efforts had been unable to crack the structure of the formation as the majority of her instruments simply didnt work properly. Though she would eventually make a breakthrough, something Vahn was absolutely certain of, it was currently beyond the means of both Da Vinci and Sherlock. Thetter had the ability to analyze and deduce the truth behind all things but, while he was inside the Welsh Dragons chamber, Sherlock noted that his ability didnt work at all, despite his A++ Rank [Natural Insight] and A+ Rank [Hypothetical Reasoning]... After the summoning event concluded, the entire group moved into the Projection to celebrate the arrival of so many new residents. It was here that Vahn exined his true identity and, for the benefit of people like Jeanne and Okita, who both had a connection to the Counter Force, he also revealed the existence of ya. This was one of the Empires most important secrets but, in the near future, it wouldnt matter if everyone in the world knew that he had the adorable blue creature on his side. With Maxwells assistance, the Empire had already broken through the final threshold. Though it was only a matter of time until Karma pit something truly monstrous against them, there was nothing in the present world that could stop their momentum. Soon, they would activate CHALDEAS and, with the contributions of peerless individuals such as Da Vinci and Sherlock, it wouldnt be long before they had the means to monitor the entire. Da Vinci would constantly be upgrading their systems and implementing failsafes to prevent things from going south while Sherlock, using the data obtained by Ark and CHALDEAS, would be able to intuit and crack the schemes of virtually all of their enemies. His Parameters werent that high but his intelligence and capabilities were almost on par with Da Vinci, albeit with a few more restrictions. The most terrifying thing about Sherlock, at least in Vahns opinion, was that he had A++ Good Luck and an Innate to amplify it further. He also had EX-Rank [Territory Creation], allowing him to create a mental library within his mind that allowed him to store an infinite amount of information. He could use the knowledge stored within his Great Library to aid in his deductions but the most powerful function was his ability to filter out incorrect information. ording to Sherlock, the more knowledge he obtained, the closer he got to the ultimate truth. He could even store Da Vincis research and manuscripts within his mind, serving as a filter to bring her closer to the truth she sought. This made them a truly monstrous pair as, even without having to run a bunch of simtions and test her hypothesis, Da Vinci could just have Sherlock review the data to determine how close she was toward her goal. Da Vinci wasnt the only one to benefit from Sherlocks assistance, however, as Vahn had be rather fond of the quirky Detective. He spent most of his time in silent contemtion but, as soon as he became certain of something, Sherlock would immediately be active. At the same time, he was one of the mostposed people Vahn had ever met, even when facing down people infinitely stronger than himself. While these traits weremendable, Vahn had been deeply impressed by Sherlocks Great Library when thetter beganpiling cultivation and meditation techniques. He was able to eliminate the parts of the techniques that were wed and, though hecked the requisite knowledge to correct the mistakes at first, it didnt take long for him to make amendments. The only requirement was that he was given even more scrolls and manuscripts, allowing him to refine low-grade techniques into far more powerful versions. With Sherlocks help, Vahn had been able topile a bunch of B and A-Rank techniques into a series of powerful S-Rank techniques. This effectively saved him hundreds of millions of OP, making Sherlock into one of the core personnel within the Empire in a very short period of time. Vahn had even made the man into one of his central Advisors, alongside Merlin, Artoria, Scthach, and Luvia. --- The only problematic additions to the Empire ended up being, as could be expected, Semiramis. She wasnt the only new stress factor, however, as Okita and Jeanne ended up bing unique issues all their own. While Semiramis seemed to struggle with not being the ruler of everything, her biggest gripe was the fact she was not allowed within the Inner Sanctum. She was also prevented from interacting with the children without supervision and, despite her best efforts, all of the males within the Empire had easily resisted her seduction attempts. The only person she hadnt tried to seduce was Heracles but, as Semiramis wasnt apletely senseless woman, she also knew better than to even try. After her failures, Semiramis spent most of her time brooding within her private Manor,ining about its size and making demands of the staff that had volunteered to serve her. Her behavior left a lot to be desired but, apparently keeping his words in mind, she had never mistreated the staff sent to wait upon her needs. It didnt take long for her to realize that the Empire was abnormal so, for the time being, Semiramis was more like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum than an actual danger. What troubled Vahn far more than the errant Queen was the sheer adtion of Jeanne and Okita. He had tried to clear things up with Jeanne by revealing the truth behind the God she sacrificed her life for but, rather than any of the responses he had expected, the Saintess unhesitantly pledged herself to him. She had learned about the purpose of his Empire along with everyone else so, knowing he evenmanded God, Jeanne had practically started worshipping him. This wasnt entirely unexpected but, soon after Jeannes pledge, Vahn was stunned to learn that he could actually hear Jeanne whenever she prayed to him. Her voice was like a whisper in the back of his mind but, if he focused on it, Vahn was able to clearly hear her prayers. This had been a jarring revtion until Sis exined that Jeanne was his first True Believer. Rather than Loyalty and things like Fealty, the metric for Jeannes affection was represented by the value Belief. Since he was a Tier 4 entity, this Belief meant that, in more ways than one, he had be her actual God. The power of Belief was truly terrifying as, while Loyalty already allowed him tomand and order his Subordinates, the final result was fundamentally different. If Vahn ordered his Subordinates to do something against their will, it would result in a loss of Loyalty before they would ultimately carry out his orders. Belief, however, worked in a terrifying way as, regardless of the order he gave, it resulted in the other party believing in him even more. The only method to reduce the value seemed to be by proactively ignoring the prayers of his Followers entirely. While this didnt seem like that big a deal, Vahn quickly learned that Jeanne would have a negative reaction if he began ignoring her. As her Belief began to fade away, she would begin to feel extreme duress and, regardless of what he was doing, she would seek him out, seemingly to confirm that he still existed. Vahn managed topromise with her by restricting the time of her prayers as, before their discussion, Jeanne would spend several hours every day praying to him. Afterward, he only had to deal with her prayers before she went to bed each night, every morning she woke up, and before every meal she ate... What was truly troubling was that Jeanne was actually a lot easier to deal with than a certain pale-haired swordswoman. Okita had functionally zero social skills and, despite his efforts to get her to try and interact with other people, she would usually just stare them down. When asked why she didnt talk, her answer was simply that she had nothing to say. Unlike other Heroic Spirits, Okita had no past memories to draw from as, despite being the Alter Ego of the original Okita Souji, they were fundamentally different people. There were only three things she cared about, her Master, her given mission, and her katana. The only person she got along with reasonably was Nobunaga but this wasrgely due to thetter not having any inhibitions. Everyone else was unnerved by the mere presence of Okita but Nobunaga, fearless as always, teased the silent swordswoman almost incessantly. When asked why she was so taken with Okita, Nobunaga admitted that the former reminded her a lot of the past Kenshin. The biggest difference was that Kenshin had a good reason to suppress her emotions while Okita simply had none from the start. Her brain itself worked in a different way than the norm as the areas governing emotion remainedpletely unlit unless she was ordered to do something by Vahn. The only other exception was if someone tried to touch her katana, something that would instantly send Okita into a battle-ready state, regardless of the intentions of the other party. Fortunately, Okita seemed fundamentally unable to attack others without orders so, while she had spooked quite a number of people, they quickly learned that she wasnt actually dangerous. So long as they did not try to touch her katana, she would just stand there and stare back at them, seemingly bereft of all emotions andplex thought processes. She could even stay in her drawing stance for several hours at a time, much like a machine that waiting for its next set ofmands. These were all concerning behaviors but, what troubled Vahn was the fact that Okita would always seek him out whenever she needed to make a decision. She wouldnt even use her telepathy as, even with his unteral permission to do so, Okita could not be certain she was allowed to interrupt him. Instead, she would seek out Gareth and just wait for him, sometimes for several hours, before asking him simple questions. This included simple things such as if she were allowed to eat specific foods or if she were allowed to venture to a location outside the castle. Okita seemed tock the ability to make any decisions for herself and, as the only person whose opinion mattered to her, this meant she sought him out over everything. Other people didnt even seem to enter her eyes unless she had been specifically told to interact with them. Even then, she wouldnt say anything unless Vahn was there to essentially tell her to speak. Thus, with the exception of Nobunaga and, by proxy, Kenshin, Okita had no friends within the castle. What troubled Vahn the most about Okitas situation was that everyone had quickly adapted to her quirks and, after a little more than a week, began to treat her like an Automaton. They didnt exactly ignore her but, rather than treat her like another person, they were almost entirely indifferent to her presence when he wasnt around. Since he could understand why they would behave this way, Vahn couldnt really me them but, as he was worried that Okita would never get better, he ended up directly requesting Fenrirs intervention. Vahn knew that Fenrir would eventually be able to break through Okitas walls as, even more than the eternally loyal Alter Ego, Fenrir understood his wants and needs. Though this all but guaranteed that Okita would be another excessively loyal addition to his group, part of Vahn needed the people around him to be more independent. He could imagine Okita literally just bing idle and collecting dust if he suddenly vanished, something that terrified him on a fundamental level... --- Fortunately, not every new addition to the castle brought with them new troubles. Sherlock was the best example of this but the Caster version of Scthach and the Lily version of Medea were easy to deal with. The former was, quite literally, just another version of his Shishou so, while his training had a few newplexities, it was tolerable. As for Medea, she was an exceptionally pure young girl who was polite and kind to everyone. Though she was naive to a fault, easily getting tricked by Mordreds pranks, thetter was always quick to apologize if she made Medea upset. The only troubling aspect of Medeas character was that, before Merlins and Circes intervention, she had been afflicted by an Innate called [Aphrodites Intervention]. This made her distrustful of others, despite her apparent affability, while, at the same time, gave her apulsion to love Jason, despite thetter not even existing. She had even tried to machinate with Circe to convince him to summon Jason into the present, despite thetter being one of the most disreputable and disgusting people Vahn had ever learned about. Circe would not allow her niece to be burdened by the fate of being manipted and exploited by the same man once again so she quickly brought the matter to light. Fortunately, Medeas Innate was only E-Rank so it only took Merlin nting a few false memories and Vahn giving her his own Blessing to counteract Aphrodites. Though just the thought of Merlin tweaking with a persons mind left a bad taste in Vahns mouth, the flowery Magus allowed him to view her memories and the changes he intended to make. The sad truth was that Medea actually knew how events were supposed to y out but, despite this, she was stillpelled by [Aphrodites Intervention] to be infatuated with Jason. She knew that she would be s.e.x.u.a.lly exploited, beaten, treated like a ve, and even passed around to other members of Jasons entourage but, no matter how bad things got, she would give up everything for a man that would never love her. She would be forced to bear his children who, in turn, would be taught to hate her and, no matter how hard she tried to make them love her, Jason only cared about himself and his status. Vahn obviously couldnt ept this so, while it still left a bad taste in his mouth, he observed as, over the span of two weeks, Merlin tweaked Medeas memories. He emphasized memories where she was treated well by her family and her subjects while anything rted to Jason was either twisted into a new memory or devouredpletely. Then, when Medea reached the point where she began to feel a strange uncertainty in her heart and mind, Circe convinced her to ept Vahns Blessing and his Familia Crest. Family had been something heavily emphasized within Medeas mind so, with her Aunt pushing her to ept, she ultimately allowed Vahn to ce his Familia Crest on her back. As for his Blessing, this was something that Vahn himself wasnt entirely sure about but, after a ritualistic ceremony, Medea had essentially be one of his Priestesses. At the same time, her [Aphrodites Intervention] had turned into [Sage-Emperors Divine Favor], ultimately alleviating Medeas tragic burden. After this series of events, Medea had be a truly affable person and, with few exceptions, every member of the castle became very fond of her. This, in turn, meant that Circe was getting along well with others as, for various reasons, she was weak to her young nieces insistence. Medea would drag her around to spend time with others, regardless of how much Circe had tried to refuse. All it took to convince Circe to go along with her were a few heartwrenching tears, dealing critical damage to just about everyone who saw them. Since Circe had been having Medea babysit Penelo quite a bit, she couldnt really refuse her nieces request to go around and make friends with everyone. This didnt mean that Circes jealous nature had been suppressed but, as none of the other women really unted their rtionship with Vahn, she was able to tolerate them. Over time, this tolerance began to morph into eptance so, overall, Medeas inclusion into the castle had been a tremendous boon. Not only was Medea and extremely affable and caring person, but she was an exceptionally powerful Magus. Though she had the Lily ssification, her true ss designation was that of a Caster. In her original timeline, she had actually been Circes most prodigious student and, as her Magecraft was from before the modern era, her spells were nearly at the level of True Magic by default. What was truly exceptional about Medea wasnt her offensive capabilities, however. No, it was the fact that her healing and support spells basically defied logic. Her Noble Phantasm itself was in the Anti-Thaumaturgy category and, though it was only C-Rank, it had the ability to nullify all curses and injuries. It manipted causality itself to make it so that even the most serious of wounds had simply never transpired. On the outside, this appeared to be a reversal of time but, in truth, it was the forceful conversion of an object back to its original state. The only thing Medeas Noble Phantasm couldnt undo was death as, much like how reviving the victims of the Holy Grail War would only turn them into mindless automatons, she could not tether the souls of people back to their body. Still, even if part of their body waspletely destroyed, to the point that absolutely nothing remained, Medea could still treat the injury without issue. Vahn felt like the parallels between Medea and Lefiya grew by the day, despite the fact that they were irrefutably different people. She even had Lefiyas bashful nature though, rather than react to practically everything, Medea only ever seemed to get fl.u.s.tered around himself and other men. Her memories, despite the changes, gave her an acute awareness of men. It was impossible to know what she was thinking about but, based on her red her face woulde whenever she was around men, Vahn was reminded of Lokis lesson about how the quiet ones were often the most dangerous. Fortunately, despite the fact she resided inside the Menagerie, Medea was still very innocent. Her idea of intimacy was being hugged, having her head pat, or hand-holding. Circe seemed intent on keeping it this way for quite a while as, after what Medea had gone through with Jason, she did not want her young niece exposed to such things until she had properly matured. Though fourteen was not considered too young for such acts, especially in ancient Greece, Medea was simply too precious to experience such things with her current level of maturity. The fact that Jason had taken advantage of this version of Medea made Vahn utterly gobsmacked. His hatred towards the so-called Hero rivaled the feelings he had towards people like Zeus as he couldnt even fathom how someone could mistreat someone like Medea. Since he had seen what Medea had gone through at Jasons hands, Vahn was actually tempted to summon the actual Jason into the world as an old man. He wanted to see if the elderly Hero had repented in his twilight years and, if he didnt even feel remotely guilty for what he had done, Vahn was tempted to let Ereshkigal slow burn his soul for a few thousand years... (A/N: Alternate Titles: TFW Semiramis is the least troublesome person...,Fenrir is going to learn the [Grooming] Skill at this rate xD...,Seriously, Jason can eat all the d.i.c.ks) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1270 - Interlude: Deep Rumination

Chapter 1270 - Interlude: Deep Rumination

High above the skies of Avalon, above even the dominion of the Sylph, Vahn was seated in silent contemtion. He would normally have a number of people at his side but, at this moment, he was enjoying the frigid atmosphere, despite the fact there wasnt even enough oxygen to take a single breath... Vahn wasnt alone in his rumination. Rather, he hade up to this height, more than seven kilometers above Avalon, because it was only here that the most recent addition to his Empire could maintain itself. Below Vahn, serving as a vast tform upon which he sat, was a massive whale-like creature with pure white skin. It had a body that was more than 30km in length, coiled around like a snake asrge feathered wings protruded out from where its flippers would normally be. There were eight such wings adorning the length of its body while, where its tail would be, a thick mat of golden fur crested the tip like a lions tail. Though the creature was distinctly serpentine, Vahn still felt it was more urate to describe it as a whale due to the fact its head was structured like a massive s.p.e.r.m whale. The only observable difference was that itpletelycked eyes while, iid into its pure white skin, a series of gold runic bands coiled all over its surface. This, however, wasnt even the most awe-inspiring aspect of this whale-like creature as, within its massive maw, a runic de that was more than 6km in length was fixed between its teeth. This phenomenal creature was none other than Leviathan, the Watcher ss Servant that Vahn had summoned. As for the de within its mouth, it was an EX-Rank Noble Phantasm known as [Spear of Final Judgment]. Vahn wasnt quite sure what qualified it as a spear, as it looked like a singr giant de, but he wasnt really in a position to question it. All he knew was that, if the conditions were met, Leviathan could use the [Spear of Final Judgment] to, quite literally, destroy the. Fortunately, while its power was beyond measure, there were a lot of restrictions on Leviathan and, even with his Command Spells, Vahn couldnt order it to do anything. ording to ya, it could only use its full power at a designated time, regardless of any efforts to try and force it into obedience. The only reason he was even able to summon it was due to its Watcher designation, a unique Servant ss that only a select few entities could be summoned as. The purpose of a Watcher, as its name suggested, was simply to observe and inform. At the same time, it served as a catalyst for the growth of its Master, guiding them various trials in an attempt to make their ultimate dream a reality. If their Master could not survive these assigned trials, the Watcher would then absorb them into their own shadow, bing a part of the Watcher while their existence itself was erased from the time axis. All of this hade as quite a surprise to Vahn, especially when he learned that Leviathan already had seven Shadows absorbed within its body. When he first learned of their existence, Vahn had been tempted to help them but, as they werent even transcribed on the Throne of Heroes, there wasnt anything he could do. Leviathan wasnt actually an evil existence by any means. It could only be summoned under very strict conditions and, while the consequences for failure were extreme, anyone that had survived its trials had be a legend without equal. It could apparently even guide a normal human to be an existence on the level of a Heroic Spirit in a very short period of time as, inside of the Leviathan, a massive Labyrinth existed as a form of Bounded Field. Leviathans Labyrinth almost invalidated the need for the Clock Tower entirely as the inside of the seemingly infinitepound was filled with monsters. Some of these monsters were even strong enough to rival weaker Heroic Spirits in strength, affording a remarkable amount of experience if you were able toe out ahead. Unfortunately, only Vahn was qualified to enter the Labyrinth as it was meant to be a crucible to refine his strength, not the strength of others. Vahn was able to bypass the restriction of Leviathans Labyrinth with his Unit Management but, the moment he teleported someone inside, they would immediately be ejected. Even Scthach had been forcibly expelled, despite her attempts to lock the space around her. After this series of events, Vahn had actually been trapped inside Leviathans Labyrinth until hepleted a trial but, as his power was already at a level beyond most Heroic Spirits, it hadnt taken him long toe out unscathed. Now, Vahn just allowed Leviathan to float above Avalon at an altitude it wasfortable with. It had the ability to sense everything that was going on below it, its basic senses stretching out for well over a hundred kilometers in each direction. The most incredible part of this ability was that even people like Merlin could not escape the observation of Watcher and, while he was in direct contact with it, Vahn could share its senses. While he was lost in rumination, Vahn felt a ripple in the fabric of Space-Time around him and, without even having to look, he asked, "Ikaros...is there something?" By the time Vahns words had finished, a handsome youth with sharp golden eyes and dark red hair had manifested. He was attired in ancient Grecian garb that was adorned with xen white feathersprised of wax. On his back, two mechanical wings, also adorned with wax feathers, had degraded to the point that much of their structure had taken on a skeletal visage. There were perpetual burn marks on his back and shoulders and, though he was nowhere near water, Ikaros had a permanantyer of moisture covering his skin and hair. In response to Vahns words, Ikaros ced his left hand on his hip in an annoyed manner as heined, "That vile woman wanted me to ask if you were avable for tea." Hearing Ikaros words, Vahn turned his head to look back at the man, saying in a polite tone, "Tell Amelia that Ill be returning to the surface soon. She is more than wee to join everyone when it is meal time, just like the rest of you..." Ikaros just shook his head in response before retorting, "None of us are here to try and buddy up with your people. Ill tell her you refused. If you want to convey anything moreplicated, do it yourself." After stating his piece, Ikaros body began to ripple before he dissipated into space like ink dissolving into water. It was a peculiar way to move through space that Vahn couldnt really wrap his head around. In fact, there were a lot of mysteries rted to Levithan so, when he had nothing else going on, Vahn liked to sit on top of the colossal creature while meditating. As a result, his domain could now stretch upwards of 8km in every direction, a marked increasepared to the 5km he had been stuck at just a month prior. While the range of his domain was nowhere near his perception when he tapped into the limited omnipotence of his Divinity, Vahn felt more like a God while seated upon Leviathan than when he spread his perception over the entire. After all, even if he wasntpletely aware of each and every particte of mana within his perception, Vahn could recall each of them if he wanted to. His mind recorded everything perfectly so, even if he overlooked something at first, Vahn was able to view scenes from his own memory as if he was looking back in time without restriction. Due to this quirk, Vahn had developed a habit of extending his domain, even if he wasnt paying attention to what was taking ce within it. Even from his current perch atop Leviathan, he was able to sense almost everything taking ce within the Ivory Castle, bringing a smile to his face whenever someone noticed him paying attention. This was usually Fenrir but, after a while, some of his children had started to pick up on the fact that he was looking down on them from above. For a brief moment, Vahn was tempted to stop by and y with Isanna and Naavi, who now had the physical appearance of five-year-olds, but he decided against it after seeing them having a staring contest over who got to carry Daiki. Fortunately, Ishtar now had a body of her own so she could easily rein in Isanna while Ereshkigal would hold back Naavi. As for Daiki, he was a bit of a mamas boy and, though he didnt like to be away from his sisters, he was always happy to be held by Rin. Vahn couldnt help but smile at the scene ying out but, as he already had other ns from earlier, he decided to get them out of the way before ying around. After a few more minutes of idle observation, Vahn vanished from the surface of Leviathan in a small burst of blue magical light. Immediately after his departure, the impossiblyrge creature, as if it was nothing more than an illusion, began to fade away until its figure hadpletely vanished from the world. Even if someone flew through the area where it had been previously, they would pass through unobstructed. When Vahn reappeared, he was located on a small ind to the north of Avalon, andmass less than a single acre in size. A month ago, this had just been a rocky outcrop within the sea but, after his second round of summons, an altar had been constructed to house what could be considered Vahns most powerful, yet potentially disastrous, ally. This small ind was a prohibited area to everyone except for Vahn himself as, while the entity inside wasnt malicious at all, its presence alone had caused a number of issues. After all, it was one of the so-called Outer Gods, beings that hailed from an entirely alien Universe. They were existences that embodied some form of infinity and, by merely being around them, people, even Heroic Spirits, would begin to hallucinate and go mad. Vahn waspletely immune to the influence of his troublesome ally so he made a habit of trying to visit, even though they didnt seem to mind their istion. Still, as it was his selfish decision to bring them into the world, Vahn felt a certain sense of responsibility towards those he summoned. He didnt care if the true form of Foreigner was some eldritch horror as, in its base form, it looked like nothing more than a young and emaciated boy. After lightly tapping on the altar, Vahn watched as the stone structure opened into a staircase that led deep into the seafloor. If others were present, they would have seen the simple stone steps as the maw of some monstrous creature and, if they were not able to escape from this illusion, there was a chance it would actually devour them. Since this wasnt something the entity inside had any control over, Vahn withheld judgment as, if you were able to resist the encroaching madness, it was actually very easy tomunicate with them. Much like his descent into the Welsh Dragons chamber, it took nearly a half-hour to reach the bottom of the spiraling stairs as the interior was an isted Bounded Field that disallowed the maniption of space and time. It waspletely impossible to teleport as the Laws inside simply did not allow such a concept to even exist. This was made possible by the abilities of the entity slumbering within as, much like ORT, it had a unique form of alien logic that governed reality itself. After reaching the bottom of the spiraling stairs, Vahn entered into a room that was almostpletely empty. The only thing inside was a single bed and, though there were no actual light sources, rays of pure white light seemed to cascade down upon the bed, highlighting the figureying atop the pillowden surface. Vahn smiled upon seeing the slumbering figure, a pale-skinned youth with frail features and pure gold hair. This was, however, only how the figure appeared to him as, from the perspective of others, he appeared to be a mass of twisted flesh. Even Artoria had an extreme reaction to his presence and, if not for Vahns intervention, there was a good chance she might have even tried to strike down the rtively defenseless entity. When heter saw what the figure looked like from Artorias perspective, Vahn had been at a loss as they was simply noparison between the terrible monster and the slumbering youth before him... Without hesitating in the slightest, Vahn made his way over the side of the bed before asking in a low tone, "How are you feeling today, Azathoth...?" In response to his question, the sleeping figure did not move in the slightest but, as if they were fully awake, a cheerful voice answered, "I am doing well. Thank you foring to visit me again." Though the true identity of the sleeping figure before him was the titr Rip Van Winkle, from the fairy tale of the same name, he was also the manifestation of the Outer God of Dreams, Azathoth, the Lord of the Outer Gods. He had the ability to manifest an entire Universe of his own and, by waking, that Universe, Azathoth himself, and all things within it, would be destroyed. He was the lynchpin of his own reality and, by spending time with Azathoth, Vahn was hoping to make some breakthroughs in the creation of his own Reality Marble. After pulling out a chair to sit down, Vahn proceeded to pull out a book from his Inventory. It was a childrens story about a princess trapped in a tall tower that reached beyond the clouds. Here, she waited for the day of her liberation but, up until the end of her life, the prince charming she had sought never appeared. At the very end of the story, she threw herself from the tower in a final attempt to take control over her own life but, after passing through the clouds below, shended back in her own bed as a young woman once again. Azathoth was fond of tragic stories that embodied aspects such as helplessness so, while it was a little unnerving, Vahn made a habit of reading to the slumbering Outer God during his visits. They werent the worst books he had ever read and, as Azathoth had helped him out a few times, it was the least he could do. When Vahn finished with the story, the slumbering Azathoth produced a small smile before his voice echoed in the surroundings, saying, "Thank you for reading to me. Did you want to see my world today as well...?" Vahn just gave a small nod in response to Azathoths question. In the next moment, he felt like he had been pulled through an invisible membrane and, though the immediate surroundings had not changed, he knew the world outside the chamber was nowpletely different from the Avalon he knew. Even ya was not able to venture here as she was tied to the Earth and could not venture beyond itsary Bounded Field. As for Azathoths Bounded Field, it was on the level of an entire Universe, filled with countlessary bodies and innumerable stars. While it was impossible to teleport freely back in the previous world, Azathoth had given Vahn the ability to move around freely in his own personal Universe. This wasnt an exaggeration either as, just by wanting to go somewhere, Vahn would instantly appear in said location. He was trying to grasp the concept behind how this was possible but, even after spending several weeks at a time inside Azathoths universe, Vahn had been unable to make sense of it. The Laws at y werent all that different from what he was familiar with but, as the restrictions were based on apletely different kind of logic, it was almost iprehensible. One good example of how strange the Laws inside Azathoths Universe could be seen in the way that fire flowed like water while the water itself twisted and flowed in a helical pattern, unbounded by the conventional Laws of Gravity. Within Azathoths Universe, even Life and Death were transient things as Vahn had found a species of creatures that lived and died as part of an infinite cycle of rebirth, never increasing or decreasing their numbers. They were honestly a little terrifying as Vahn had seen one of the fox-like creatures cannibalize another of its kind. Afterward, thetter burst forth from the formers stomach during its rebirth, repeating the process a few times until they realized the futility of their actions... Vahn knew that staying inside might even have adverse effects on him so, after idling for a few days, he pulled out a golden key from thin air. The moment the key manifested, a lock hole had appeared within the void itself and, after Vahn inserted the key, he found himself back in the real world without any time having passed. Since Azathoth had made his Universe ording to Vahns request, it waspletely separate from the axis of Space and Time, meaning Vahn could stay inside for a million years without a single second passing in the outside world. Compared to his own Sub-Space and Space-Time Orbs, it was like the difference between a grain of sand and an entire desert... After thanking Azathoth for the experience, Vahn left the sealed chamber once again before making his way back to the surface. He always needed something, or someone, to ground himself after exploring Azathoths Universe so, while there were better choices, Vahn decided to visit Illya before going to spend time with his children. At this point, Illya had fully fused with Cath Palug so, a little more than two months ago, Illya had submerged herself into a tank simr to the ones Da Vinci used in the production of her vessels. She was trying to artificially elerate her growth but, due to the influence of Cath Palug, it was a very slow and arduous process. Though Illya was unconscious, Vahn knew it meant a lot to her that he visited as, while she was in this state, her mind was still active. He could ask Merlin to act as an intermediary to allow them to spend time together but, as Illya wasnt too fond of the flowery Magus, Vahn usually just stood with his hand against the reinforced crystalline container for the better part of an hour. Though this actually made Illya more than a little embarrassed, as she waspletely n.a.k.e.d inside the container, she never reallyined directly to him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Who needs a Hanging Gardens when you have a 30km long whale? RIP Semiramis,Azathoth is creepy af xD...,Illya is working hard in her own way...) (A/N: For those that were curious, the seven people inside Leviathan are: Ahab, Ikaros, Asclepius, Honjo, Orpheus, Amelia(Yes, Amelia Earhart), and Pelleas(one of the prospective Knights of the Round Table)) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1271 - Interlude: Past, Present, and Future

Chapter 1271 - Interlude: Past, Present, and Future

With the introduction of so many new Heroic Spirits, things had gotten rtively hectic within the Empire. Though nothing too serious had transpired, there were obvious issues with existences such as Azathoth and Leviathan. Semiramis had been in the process of collecting materials to create her Hanging Gardens after finally realizing she wasnt going to be able to get her way. This immediately ceased after the second round of summoning, however. She had seen Leviathan with her own eyes and, much like everyone else in Avalon, it had been quite the sight to behold. After this, sheined about her Noble Phantasm no longer mattering until Vahn personally showed up to exin that he had virtually no control over Levithan. He couldnt just use the colossal creature like a mount and, rather than be its Master, it felt more like the giant whale-like monster was just here to test him. This excuse had ayed Semiramis concerns but, after he easily drank the poisoned tea she offered him, she still holed herself up inside her room for a few days. He had given her permission to try and poison him to her leisure, something Semiramis had scoffed at in the beginning. Now, however, she was quickly beginning to realize his past im about poison immunity wasnt just his boasting... Outside of Leviathan and Azathoth, the rest of his second batch of summons had been rtively well behaved. This included Hati who, much to Vahns surprise, ended up looking not all that dissimr to Fenrir. The biggest difference was that Hati had navy-blue fur extending up to her biceps and thighs and, instead of being petite and adorable like Fenrir, she was far more physically mature. Hati didnt actually have a tail but, as if to emte one, she had extremely long and wild hair that cascaded down her back like rapids. Around three-quarters of the way down, there was a banded piece of silk that forced the unkempt hair into a faux-tail around her lower back. Her ears were also a lot smaller than Fenrirs and, rather than cute, they were sharp and angr like an actual wolfs. The most curious aspect of Hati was that she wore a tattered cloth outfit that was bounded in silvery chains. She also had an antagonistic rtionship with another one of his summons, Sol, as there had been a time when Hatis meaning for existence was chasing after the rather unfortunate woman... Contrary to Vahns expectations, Sol ended up being the female of the celestial twins. He had made the false assumption that Sol, meaning Sun, would be male while Mani, meaning Moon, would be the female of the pair. When a rather muscr woman with curly golden hair, sky-blue eyes, a set of full te armor, and a massive shield appeared, he had been more than a little surprised. Fortunately, while Hati seemed to hate Sol a great deal, her target had always been Muni while the task of devouring Sol had been the ultimate goal of Skoll. Hati was also surprisingly obedient from the very beginning so, with Sol not particrly caring about the transformed Vanargandr, the two were able to, at the very least, tolerate each other... While Hati and Soli werent a particr issue, they were still more troublesome than the final two summons Vahn had made. They were none other than Boudica, the vengeful queen of the Iceni peoples, and Spenta Mainyu, the ultimate trump card against Angra Mainyu. Boudica was a remarkably beautiful woman with long red hair that seemed to dance slightly, even without any wind present to billow it. She was attired in blood-red ceremonial garb that was covered in finely engraved leather tes. What stood out the most, however, were the two skulls she wore on her shoulders and, though they seemed to be extremely lethal, her sword and shield were both battered, chipped, and covered in blood. Even her cape, which seemed to originally be made from a kind of pure white cloth, had be stained and marred with the blood of countless people... As an Avenger ss Servant, the version of Boudica that had been summoned was the one who had led a rebellion against Rome between 60-61 ACE. She had done so after the death of her husband, King Prasutagus who, in good faith, left joint management of their Kingdom to his two daughters and the then Roman Emperor, Nero. Rather than ept King Prasutagus disy of loyalty towards the Roman Empire, several greedy statesmen who had made the Iceni territory their home took advantage of the situation. They broke into the castle, flogged Boudica, and r.a.p.ed her two daughters until they ultimately gave up the right to rule. After they made a public statement to this effect, the two young women were put to death while Boudica could onlyment until she was finally released by servants loyal to her family. After escaping confinement, Boudica ughtered almost every male Roman within her territory. The men responsible for the defiling and deaths of her daughters were publically castrated and, though her rebellion onlysted for a single year, she became famous for nearly leading the Roman Empire to ruin. Her forces had conquered three cities in a short period of time,ying low nearly 100,000 Roman and Roman sympathizers, many of which were killed using tortuous means. Despite the atrocities shemitted, Boudica was considered by many to be a folk hero. Her tale was one of tragedy where she, for no better reason than the greed of man, was forced to experience the worst things that could happen to a woman. Thus, while she did many terrible things, they were arguably better than the actions propagated by the Roman Empire at the time. After all, war crimes were extremelymon, especially against women and children... Contrary to her status as an Avenger, Boudica was actually a very polite and respectful woman once she understood the situation. Her aquamarine eyes did not reflect that glow of madness and, as the Roman Empire had fallen nearly 1500 years ago, her only enemies were those whomitted vile acts against children and those who exploited others for personal gain. After changing into attire more suitable for a Queen, Boudica became even more beautiful than the blood-stained version of herself. Though she earned a fewmenting gazes from some of the girls living in the castle due to her bust size being close to an F-Cup,bined with her height of 174cm, there werent any issues. Rather, as one of the first Queens of Ancient Britannia, Boudica was quite fond of Avalon and, as could be expected, Artoria. Boudica was extremely respectful to Artoria at first but, after a few days had passed, it became very apparent that there was more within her gaze than simple admiration. Rather, Boudica looked upon Artoria with simr eyes to Iris when interacting with Illya. This made Artoria a bit fretful as she didnt really know how to deal with someone essentially treating her, not as a child, but like their flesh and blood daughter. Her only true parental figure growing up was Merlin so Artoria ended up having no resistances to Boudica who, after questioning, openly admitted that Artoria reminded her of the two daughters she had lost. After a great deal of awkward tension, the rtionship between the two women eventually reached the point that Boudica would quietly watch over Artoria and offer her advice. Vahn had even walked in on Boudica giving Artoria ap pillow once, earning a yful shushing gesture from her as Gray stood off to the side with a helpless expression. She, despite having a near-identical appearance to Artoria, had somehow escaped Boudicas maternal instincts, not that she had been that desperate for affection after the way her own mother had treated her... While Vahn was curious about how things would develop between Boudica and Artoria, his main focus had, for various reasons, been elsewhere. He had resumed his training and, now that Okita and Jeanne had joined his semi-permanant entourage, Vahn had also been helping train them alongside Gareth. He also needed to spend time with his children and, whenever his women were in the mood, tend to their needs. This,bined with the time he spent checking on Azathoth and meditating on top of Leviathan, ensured that, even with the Projection, Vahn was very busy. Fortunately, the girls themselves seemed to be very aware of this so, unless he riled them up, days could pass without any of them proactively seeking him out. Even Circe had realized this was the case so, whenever Vahn was feeling particrly stressed out, he could visit the menagerie and get pampered by her, Medusa, Gareth, and, to a much lesser extent, Medea. Thetter was extremely kind-hearted so, while she had been troubled at first, it didnt take long before Medea took over the role of preparing tea and making sweets for everyone within the menagerie. Still, of all the people in the castle, Vahn found the mostfort alongside his ever-faithful Fenrir. She knew better than anyone else when he was stressed out so, if she wasnt busy with other things, the lovable Vanargandr would simply appear tofort him. It was during these moments that Vahn allowed himself to just shut off as, even during the evenings, he didnt really have the time to sleep. This was something that weighed heavily on Artorias heart and mind but, as Vahn promised things would be easier when the negotiations with the Mages Association were finished, she allowed him to push himself. Fortunately, even without the care and concern of so many people, Vahn was in high spirits. While he did get stressed out at times, he was living an extremely fulfilling life where each moment was filled to the brim with love, intrigue, and many other positive emotions. His mental fatigue was the result of using the summoning system and, to a lesser extent, his time spent inside of Azathoths Universe. It was a chaotic ce that allowed him toprehend many new things and, while it could be very taxing on the mind, Vahn knew it would make him a better ruler when he had his own... --- While Fenrir was certainly the best atforting Vahn, another person had been contending for the title, even without doing anything. This was none other than Spenta Mainyu who, by virtue of their existence alone, made everyone around them feel a sense offort and security. They didnt even need to be nearby as their influence was tied to the Bounded Field they inhabited, not proximity or association. Vahn had even tested this by taking Spenta out into the real world, stunning almost all of the worlds powerhouses simultaneously as her influence was, quite literally, global. Since he didnt want to cause too much of amotion, Vahn only spent a short period of time outside of Avalon before taking Spenta back inside. While some would argue that it was better to let Spenta stay outside, as the world was made a better ce just by virtue of their existence, Vahn was fully aware of how desperate some people would be in their efforts to monopolize or outright kill her. After all, rather than just let Spenta exist, people would want to proactively use her ability and, if allowed, Vahn knew that there would be people who want to study her without consideration for the young girls opinion. Despite having an unbelievable amount of power, Spenta Mainyu took on the form of a young girl with pure white hair, amber eyes, bronzed skin, and an emaciated appearance. When Vahn had first summoned her, she was even wearing a tattered linen cloth as her only piece of clothing. This ended up being a sac for storing grains that had been modified into a makeshift dress, giving the little girl an impoverished and pitiable appearance. In spite of her appearance, however, Spenta had a perpetual smile on her face while her amber eyes shone with the light of hope. This caused people to feel a natural sense of awe and, in the case of many, Vahn included, they even felt a strong urge to be better. There was something about seeing a small child who, despite appearing as though they hadnt eaten in weeks, hadnt lost hope in the world. Rather, their existence itself inspired hope and, before Vahn could make a move, the little girl had already been whisked away by Artoria and the others for safekeeping. Now, a stark contrast to when she was first summoned, Spenta looked much healthier but, despite her apparent age, she didnt really y around like other children ought to. Instead, she spent most of her time seeking out those that she knew needed her presence and, though she apparentlycked the means to speak, Spenta was able to get others to open up to her. This had started with the other children, such as Juliet and Zo? who, after spending a few days with Spenta, ended up pouring their hearts out about their pasts. For reasons he wasnt entirely unaware of, Vahn became the bed for Zo?s tears as heforted the young girl who had suppressed her trauma. She had cried for several hours but, after the fact, gave one of the most sincere smiles Vahn had ever seen. In the days that followed, she stopped acting out as often and, despite having a penchant for harmless pranks, she had be notably happier. She even began putting a lot more effort into her training, this time seeking strength to protect others, not just herself... --- None were spared in Spentas efforts to make everyone happy, something Vahn actually envied a bit since she didnt have to really do anything. Still, he never med her for this and, like everyone else in the castle, enjoyed having her around. Just being in the same room as her made you feel nostalgic andfortable so, when he was cuddling up with Fenrir, Spenta would sometimes appear just to sit at the side with a smile on her face. She now wore a pristine white dress that matched her hair in color while, at the center of her chest, a blue runic mark would gently pulse in a natural and calming rhythm. Vahn had inspected the wing-like rune in the past but, no matter how hard he tried to focus on it, he couldnt actually remember what the rune looked like. Even Da Vinci had failed to photograph the rune and, after a brief session of trying to analyze it with Ark, she ultimately shelved the matter until her equipment had been upgraded a few times. It was obvious that the rune on Spentas body was something near Tier 5, even if the person in question seemed to have less physical power than an actual human child. Despite her frailty, Spenta had the ability to purify anything with her blood, something that made Vahn feel a deep kinship with the mute Conceptual Entity. Da Vinci had wanted to take samples but, as Vahn felt she was too young for such things, he had told her to hold off on it until Spenta could make such decisions on her own. Even if Da Vincis intentions were pure, Vahn himself felt more than a little ufortable with arbitrarily deciding how Spentas pale-blue, phosphorescent, blood was used. After that small incident, Spenta seemed to be rather fond of him so, when she wasnt busy with helping other people, she would oftene seeking him out. Though he was usually busy with his own things, she would happily spend the time with Gareth, Okita, and Jeanne, thetter of which had be quite taken with the pale-haired girl. As a result, it wasnt umon for Vahn to finish his training, only to find Spenta sitting in Jeannesp as Okita and Gareth yed cards at the side. Though he hade to expect it, Vahn couldnt help but smile each time he saw Spenta getting along with everyone. Her presence alone would make the Empire a much happier ce and, so long as they were careful, there was a good chance her influence could reach the entire world. This would undoubtedly bring a few troubles their way but, now that he could summon several Heroic Spirits at a time, there werent many forces in the world that could even hope to contest them... While not entirely urate, as the sample size was too small, Da Vinci had beening up with a system to analyze and evaluate the strength of others. She used the Familia Crest as a basis for her own system and, after several generations of tweaking, it could now roughly determine how strong everyone waspared to everyone else. Though this didnt necessarily mean one person would win over another, it still gave a rough estimate of power that allowed people to be categorized and ranked. Da Vincis system, much like how Status was disyed, showed people on a rating between E and S-Rank. There was also a U-Rank but this was reserved for existences that couldnt be evaluated based on the current systems capabilities. At present, the only people that fit this designation were, to no ones surprise, Artoria in her Avalon state, Scthach in her Godyer state, Merlin in his default state, and Vahn himself. Vahns power to be measured in an instant but, despite its best efforts, Ark was unable to calcte the upper limits of his potential as the result of an experiment could vary drastically, even with the exact same output. This was due to the fact that, while he may not be a conceptual entity, Vahn had the intrinsic ability to essentially be weaker or stronger based on his desires. When he was focused on gaining and going all out, his power would reach immeasurable levels, even with the same basic output. What it ultimately came down to was Da Vincis and, by proxy, Arks inability toprehend and define the existence of Laws. Thus, the stronger a persons understanding of Laws, the harder it was for Da Vincis system to analyze and evaluate their strength. She had been making progress with the help of people like Lakshmibai, Kenshin, and Vahn but, with Goddesses like Ishtar, Ereshkigal, and Sol refusing to be experimented on, her progress was slower than shed like. It was in an effort to gather more data that Da Vinci approached Artoria with a proposition, preying off thetters not-so-secret battle l.u.s.t. She intended to stage an exhibition tournament that would allow everyone to familiarize themselves with each others power. This would allow everyone to vent a bit of their pent-up stress and, if there were any grievances about the current hierarchy, it served the dual purpose of making clear where everyone stood. Though she wasnt convinced at first, it didnt take long before Artoria got wrapped up in Da Vincis momentum. She had already challenged just about everyone, with most turning down her offer, so it was an opportunity for her toplete her quest and get to know her people better. Some wouldnt appreciate being made to participate in such an event but, if they came up with adequate prizes for earnest participation, it shouldnt be hard to convince them. Thus, with one womans desire for battle and anothers desire for knowledge, the first official Imperial Tournament of Power was nned to take ce. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bodacious Boudica,Protec the Spenta,Artoria got yed xD...) (A/N: The original chapter included part 1 of the tournament but, after I opened up my MacBook this morning, I realized that the chapter I wrote only had 700 words instead of the original 3500. Im not sure what happened so I decided to just flesh out and introduce characters this time around. Ill be releasing the tournament chapters in 2-3 parts so, based on thements section, Ill either do them all at once or release them as I finish writing. This will be thest set of interludes before the official start of the next volume.) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1272 - Interlude: Preparation Phase

Chapter 1272 - Interlude: Preparation Phase

Ever since the first time he held Court, Vahn had made a habit of convening everyone at least once a week, real-time. This gave everyone nearly a month and a half of recess within the Projection so it hadnt really caused any disputes thus far. During normal circ.u.mstances, Vahn would just listen to Gawains reports before having everyone share any pertinent issues. When that was said and done with, he would make a personal address to bring the session to an end. Following this, a banquet would be held to discuss things of less import to the Empire where everyone, Gawain included, would participate. This was intended to be a social gathering of sorts, bringing together everyone in spite of their divergent schedules. This time around, Vahn thought the most important matter on the dossier was discussing the ritual and deployment of Semiramis Hanging Gardens of Babylon but, before the discussion proceeded to the next phase, Artoria interrupted the session with a matter of her own. As Empress, Artoria had more than enough leeway to make public requests so, after a brief moment of surprise, Vahn smiled affectionately before giving her permission to enter the well and address the Court. He could tell she was a little excited so, rather than confer with her in private, he was just as interested as everyone else to hear what she intended to discuss. After getting permission, Artoria had a fervent smile on her face as she gave a polite bow and stated, "Your Majesty. If it does not displease you, I would request that you y host in a tournament, one officially sanctioned by the Empire. The Empire currently stands on the brink of a mass expansion so, before things be even more chaotic, I believe it would be prudent to glean an understanding of everyones capabilities." Vahn wasnt actually all that surprised by Artorias request as he knew she and Da Vinci had been cooking up something behind the scenes. Still, he couldnt help but smile thoughtfully in response to her question. He gave her leniency to raise her head before tapping on the armrest of his Throne for several seconds in serious contemtion. She didnt really need to make any further arguments as, when it came down to it, the decision was ultimately his to make. Though his mind was mulling over the events details, Vahns eye had passed over everyone in the room. He even activated his View Affection for a brief moment to ascertain whether or not their reaction was dictated by genuine surprise, frustration, annoyance, or perturbance. As could be expected, a number of people present werent at all enthused by Artorias proposition, despite it being an inherent truth that it was better to understand each others capabilities. It wasnt an exaggeration to say he was also curious about how strong everyone was but, as there was always a chance something could go wrong, Vahn never thought to hold such an event himself. He would have to work with Da Vinci, Merlin, and Vivian to produce failsafes and, in order to make sure the greatest amount of participation, he would need to provide ample rewards... Not once did Vahn consider not hosting the tournament as, until now, Artoria had never really made any public requests like this. Since he was curious about the results, he felt this was an opportunity to give her the face she deserved as his Empress. It was obvious that Da Vinci had talked her into the event but, as this was leverage that could be used to have the hermetic Magus participate in a public spectacle, Vahn was more tempted than usual. It didnt take long for Vahn to work out the details before ultimately nodding his head and stating, "We cannot deny our own interest in this event. Though exceptions can be made, We will decree that all capablebatants participate in theing tournament. If necessary, We will create a division between Knights and Magi. Topensate everyone for the trouble, a plethora of rewards will be prepared just for proactive participation. As for the final victor...hmmm...We will grant them a single request. So long as it is within my power and does not vite the ideology of the Empire, there is no limit to what you may request." While it may sound like a false promiseing from anyone else, there were few doubts among the standing members of the Court when it came to the veracity of Vahns im. There was very little he couldnt promise to someone as, when it came down to it, even concepts like Space, Time, Life, and Death were inconsequential to the Empire. He could even provide Heroic Spirits with physical vessels that far exceeded the limits of their original bodies, effectively granting wings to a group of tigers. There were mixed responses to Vahns statement but, when they heard that there would be a divide between Knights and Magi, even people like Olga looked slightly contemtive. She knew there was no chance of victory but, after receiving a [Pactio] from Vahn in the past, Olga had always wondered how she would fare against a true Magus with the Caster designation. It was said that even Lorelei couldnt match against apetent Caster from the Age of Gods so, with her newfound power, and the promise of a reward for simple participation, Olga was feeling a littlepetitive. After gauging everyones response, Vahn quickly gave Artoria leave to return to her position before Mordred pounced out of her own. He wasnt at all surprised that she wanted to participate so, while she had already broken through much of the seal on her own, it seemed like the time to remove it was steadily approaching. She would want to train at her maximum potential as, even if there was a childrens division, it wouldnt really be fair to pit Mordred against anyone else. Once Artoria returned to her position, the rest of the proceedings went ording to expectation. It wasnt until the following banquet that they began to iron out the details, headed by a reluctant Da Vinci. Since it was originally her idea, Vahn wasnt going to let her just sit on the sidelines and collect data as, more so than most, he was very interested in how powerful she was. She had the longest list of EX-Rank Skills and abilities,bined with some of the highest parameters among everyone that currently resided within the castle, himself included. With Da Vincis participation, it was decided that there would indeed be two divisions in theing tournament. There was a proposed third division but, as Vahn felt the children were too young to be a part of such an event, especially with the stakes involved, he made an arbitrary requirement that required you to be at least fourteen years old to participate. The only exception to this was Mordred but, as she had been an active Knight of the Round Table, there wasnt any controversy regarding her participation in the a.d.u.l.ts league. When it came down to it, Artoria, Gray, Mordred, Gareth, Gawain, Ghad, Siegfried, Fenrir, Okita, Jeanne, Kenshin, Lakshmibai, Boudica, Hati, Heracles, and Scthach would be participating in the Knights League. As for Karna and Astolfo, the former had fallen off the radar while touring India while thetter was in the middle of a movie shoot back in ska. It was possible to summon them both but, considering this would likely be amon event in the future, Vahn excluded the battle junkie Demigod this time around. The second division, the Magus League, was considerably smaller in size whenpared to the Knights Division. It was also the easier of the two on participants, at least when you excluded the existence of Ishtar and, once again, Scthach. Her participation in both events was to essentially serve as a bottleneck of sorts, preventing anyone from actually winning unless they could ovee one of the strongest existences within the Empire. Participating in the Magus League were Da Vinci, Ishtar, Nobunaga, Scthach, Semiramis, Medusa, Rin, Luvia, Olga, Iris, and, despite her diminutive appearance, Medea. As for why Nobunaga and Ishtar were included in the running; this was due to the fact that both fought at a range and, without going all out, it would be virtually impossible for them to beat anyone in the Knights League. Since the tournament did not allow the use of any active Noble Phantasms, they would be at a distinct disadvantage. They both used their own magical power to fuel their ammunition as well so, at least for this first tournament, they were both within the Magus category. While it may seem unfair for Rin, Luvia, and Olga to participate in a tournament that included literal Gods and legends from the ancient past, Vahn wasnt too worried about them. He had granted all of the modern girls a [Pactio] in order to protect them and keep in contact so, while they would still fall short of a Heroic Spirit, they wouldnt be eliminated outright. He was actually more concerned about Medusa and Medea, despite the fact that thetter may very well sweep everyone in the bracket, the sole exceptions being Scthach and, for a variety of reasons, Ishtar... --- With everything decided, Vahn gave everyone two weeks, projection-time, to make preparations for the event. He would have liked to give them more time but, as negotiations with the Association were scheduled to take ce around the same time, there wasnt much of a choice. Nearly seven months had passed since the duel between Artoria and Lorelei so it was nearing time for the daily lives of everyone to transition from the Projection and into the real world. It was no secret that Vahn was looking forward to things both speeding up and slowing down as the primary stress factor in his life was having too much time. If they stayed inside the Projection the entire time, he would be over two-hundred years old when Angra Mainyu made its appearance. Even his children would be in their forties and sixties so, while it was a viable choice as far as training was concerned, Vahn felt it was very unhealthy to be so detached from the rest of the world. At this point, both Mordred and Sakura were already ten years old, despite little more than four months passing since the time they entered the Projection. If they ended up staying inside for the entire year, they would be seventeen and sixteen respectively. They would be well over the age where it was easier to socialize with ones peers as, after High School and University, there were few opportunities towork effectively without borrowing from another persons connections. Vahn had a decent grasp of childrens psychology but it was the guidance of Luvia, Rin, and, of all people, Iris, that made him decide to send the girls to school. Though they didnt mind their children getting a basic education within the castle, as it was actually verymon for nobles to educate their children internally, it was still important to send them out into the real world to socialize. This was the only way for their perspective to expand beyond the confines of their own home and, while it may leave them with a few emotional scars, this was how people matured. Ultimately, Vahn intended to allow anyone below the age of fourteen to live inside the Projection, so long as they were apanied by a parental figure. This was the opposite of how he did things in the Record of Danmachi but, as Vahn wanted his children to be able to protect themselves, he felt it was necessary for them to mature at an elerated rate. He was slowly beginning to realize that age didnt matter all that much, especially in the grand scheme of eternity, so setting them on their path sooner was better than putting it off in a vain attempt to pamper and protect them. When it came down to it, everyone associated with Vahn had some limited form of immortality as, if they were not prepared for death, old age meant very little. Even if Vahn didnt take action, Merlin, Medea, Scthach, or any reasonably powerful Magus for that matter, had the ability to extend a persons lifespan indefinitely. Scthach could outright reverse a persons age and, if the right steps were taken, she could do so without diminishing their actual power. Thus, while it was important to protect the children while they were young, to prevent them from developing any dangerous quirks, Vahn was beginning to ept the fact that fourteen years was a very short period of time when they might live for thousands... Still, with fourteen being the age of a.d.u.l.thood back in Danmachi, Vahn decided to use that as his basis for maturity. While some of the so-called developed countries advocated the age of consent at eighteen years old, those same countriespletely ignored the fact that children below that age experimented with each other. It wasnt considered exploitative if children took advantage of those in the same age range, despite the fact that, as a result of their experimental mentalities, they were inarguably more prone to exploiting each other than the average a.d.u.l.t. Contrary to what was considered normal, Vahn felt that it was very important to educate children in s.e.x.u.a.l matters at an early age. He felt that demonizing it and treating it as some kind of taboo only invited the very crimes people sought to prevent as, for various reasons, people were drawn to such topics as the forbidden was an irresistible temptation to the malleable mind. Thus, rather than send them down the path of deviancy, Vahn felt it was healthier to openly discuss such matters, even if it was extremely awkward to do so at times. Fortunately, rather than have to give these talks personally, Vahn could leave such matters to the women of the household. While he would not shy away from answering any questions rted to the topic, this was wholly dependent on the intentions of whoever was asking. So long as they had taken the time to rationalize their concerns, he didnt mind clearing things up for them. After all, while it may not be necessary at higher Soul Tiers, s.e.x and reproduction were the most intrinsic parts of any biological lifeforms. It wasnt something they should have to figure out on their own just because a few a.d.u.l.ts decided they were too young to be given a proper exnation... --- With how busy Vahns schedule was, two weeks passed in what felt like the blink of an eye. He had been given leniency by Scthach to help others prepare so, after unsealing Mordreds power, albeit with her electing to keep the tattoo, Vahn helped her prepare. She wasnt the weakest participant in the Knights League, a role that undoubtedly belonged to Gareth, but Vahn had the liberty to show a bit of favoritism when it came to his daughter having to fight against people several times her own age. Mordred had really grown a lot since the time of her summoning so Vahn was very interested to see how she performed in the uing tournament. Though it wasnt an exaggeration to say that he was interested in how everyone would perform, there were obviously a few people at the top of his list. After all, Mordred was his adopted daughter and, though he had only been training her for a little over half a year, Gareth was one of his official disciples. Thetter had been training in secret over thest two weeks so he was interested to see how much she had progressed during the time she had been away from his side. Vahn had to admit that it was strange not to have Gareth following him around but, as Okita had be a permanant fixture apanying him, it wasnt too bad. As for why she didnt train like the rest, Okita imed that her strength was currently fixed and, as nobody knew her fighting style just yet, any training would only expose her weaknesses. This wasnt really something that could be argued so, when he wasnt training with Mordred and tending to his other duties, Vahn enjoyed thepanionship of the quiet beauty. She had learned to make tea and, though it was rather bad, he appreciated the effort she put into improving. On the eve of the tournaments opening ceremony, Vahn was helping set up powerful barriers and defensive arrays around a 10km wide area that had been constructed within the Training Orb. This size was the bare minimum for fights between Heroic Spirits as, even without their Noble Phantasms, they could cover such distances with their bodies and spells in an instant. Rather than use a t stage, various structures had been erected within the 10km square plot as open terrain was actually a monstrous advantage for certain people. The structures were meant to be used by those that had the ability to conceal themselves while, in other cases, they could be used as cover when evading rapid-fire attacks and abilities. Those like Fenrir would even be able to vault around the uneven terrain with considerable ease but, as this didnt really provide her a significant advantage against the average Heroic Spirit, it wasnt considered unfair. To bnce things even further, the majority of equipment had been standardized so that people like Artoria and Siegfried werent able to just overwhelm others with their inactive Noble Phantasms. As for people like Scthach, who could easily produce an unlimited amount of weapons, even without her Noble Phantasm, she had been restricted to using traditional [Gradiation Air] Magecraft since it would honestly be unfair otherwise. Scthach could elevate even simple iron swords to B-Rank Noble Phantasm so, with the equipment provided by the Dwarves being around the same grade, it was the bestpromise they could make with the prolific Grandmaster. She was actually expected to sweep both brackets as, without their Noble Phantasms, it was virtually impossible for anyone to get a distinct advantage against her. Still, this didnt deter any of thepetitors as Vahn had promised that, at the very least, they would be given a custom A-Rank piece of equipment just for participating. While this may not seem all that great in the grand scheme of things, especially with the nigh-infinite wealth of the Empire, it was still a considerable prize when you considered the piece of equipment could be virtually anything. If someone wanted, they could even have an A-Rank spat produced while, in the example of people like Semiramis, she could be given a goblet that produced an infinite amount of high-quality wine. There were no real limits so, even if he was asked for an A-Rank pillow, Vahn was more than able to meet the demand. Thus, with the preparationspleted, the opening day of the Imperial Tournament of Power was set tomence... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Karna is going to be salty xD,S.e.x is important! It may very well be one of the most important things xD!,Who will seize the victory!?) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1273 - Interlude: Tournament of Power (1/3)

Chapter 1273 - Interlude: Tournament of Power (1/3)

(A/N: Im writing these so that there are no major cliffhangers. Feel free to read them as they are released.) It was impossible to make sure things werepletely fair and bnced but, in an effort to give everyone a chance at bettering their ranking, a rule that allowed people to challenge anyone in a higher position than them had been implemented. This was primarily due to the participation of Scthach, Heracles, and Kenshin who, when everything else was equal, stood head and shoulders above nearly everypetitor. If you were unlucky enough to be matched against them from the start, the chances of advancing any further went down exponentially. When Vahn announced this ruling, there wasnt any opposition as, while Luck may indeed be a parameter that could be measured, it was unfair to those with lesser Luck to lose out just because of their misfortune. Since this rule also allowed basically anyone to challenge the final winner, it was something that everyone was grateful for. However, as this could be seen as unjust treatment toward whoever had won, Vahn also made a ruling that guaranteed that the original victor was given the appropriate reward for their initial aplishment. With everything decided, all of the participants signed the names on a ball which was rather unceremoniously ced inside a box. Since their Luck could influence the draws, it was decided that Vahn would pull out each name in session and, rather than use the usual brackets, only the victors ball would be put into a second box. This added a bit of variance and prevented any kind of advantage that could have been gained from knowing about your opponent in advance. Once everything had been set up, Vahn took his seat on an elevated tform while, behind him, nearly every Homunculus and Spirit residing in the Kingdom sat in attendance. This was a major event for the Empire as, while it wouldnt necessary shuffle the hierarchy around, everyone would have a rough understanding of the power levels of everyone else. Pride wasnt something that could be ignored, especially when it came to Heroic Spirits, so this would ease up a lot of the tensions that had been building beneath the surface. With Caster Scthach and Merlin at his sides, as they were charged with maintaining the barrier protecting the audience, Vahn reached into the small box before pulling out two names. When he saw the small kanji written on the surface, a smile spread across his lips as he held them up and bellowed, "The first round is a match of fate! Artoria Aldrnari Pendragon and Mordred Aldrnari Pendragon, enter the arena!" When Vahn announced the first participants, many in the crowd were shocked while, in the wing allocated for participants, Mordred pounced onto the battlefield and shouted, "Yes! This is exactly what I wanted! Good going, Chichiue~!" Seeing Mordreds excitement, Vahns smile began to twitch at the sides but, without him having to say anything, Artoria stepped onto the battlefield before stoically stating, "Mordred...everyone in those stands may be your subjects in the future. Raise your head up high with dignity. Do not put on a shameful disy." Hearing her mothers mild reproach, Mordred rubbed the back of her head with an awkward smile on her face as she answered, "I understand, Hahaue. Im just excited to be able to go all out against you. This time, Im not fighting for your recognition...I just want to see how I measure uppared to one of the people I admire..." Artoria blinked in surprise after hearing her daughters words while, in the wing, everyone that had been having inhibitions about the battle began feeling awkward. After all, they knew what had happened during thest battle between the duo and, for a brief moment, Gawain was even considering intervening in the fight. Once he heard what Mordred said, however, he didnt know what to say and, while his heart wasnt at ease, he managed a smile that matched the others at his side. Vahn was a little far away to hear what Mordred had said but, given how everyone reacted, he felt a great deal of pride regarding her growth. Though she wasnt likely to emerge as the final victor, he couldnt help but feel a little bit of a bias toward her. After all, he knew better than anyone how hard she had worked over thest two weeks so, at the very least, he was hoping she performed well in her opening match... Once Mordred and Artoria had reached opposite ends of the battlefield, Vahn didnt waste time with anything like a prepared speech. He knew how eager everyone was to witness a climactic battle so, without further ado, he held up an ornate pistol that was adorned with ivory, gold, and several magically enchanted gemstones. Then, pulling the trigger, a massive plume of light shot out from the barrel before exploding into a colossal wave of magical energy several thousand meters above the viewing stands. While the magical explosion was a little jarring, drawing a lot of attention to the rainbow-hued fireworks, it was quickly dwarfed by a second explosion, this timeing from the arena. There, Artoria and Mordred, as if they hadnt been separated by any distance whatsoever, had already charged at each other. Mordred was wielding a greatsword, which looked somewhat awkward with her diminutive size while Artoria wielded a standard longsword with a crossguard. As if the size wasnt a restriction in the slightest, Mordred swung her greatsword around with considerable ease, each blow creation tempestuous winds that tore apart the surrounding arena while Artoria focused almost solely on defense. She was able to deflect the force of Mordreds attacks away from her by creating a thin membrane of mana using her [Mana Burst]. The most impressive part of this exchange was how both women, despite attacking with such speed that it was nearly impossible to follow, hadnt moved from the spot of their original sh. It was beginning to seem as if neither wanted to be the first to take a step back but, after a wide swing by Mordred, Artoria was the first to take a step forward. Instead of deflecting the force of the de away, she bent her body to the back before pivoting to the side in a motion that would have knocked virtually anyone else off bnce. The only thing that kept her upright was the force behind Mordreds own swing, stunning Vahn and the crowd alike. Mordreds nk was left exposed by her own attack but, rather than evade, she clenched her teeth with a vicious smile on her face as a veritable geyser of mana erupted from her body. This wave of pressure mmed into Artoria like a truck, knocking her back with tremendous force. But, before she was sent flying, her de finished its own path, cutting through a few centimeters of Mordreds armor and the tender flesh beneath it. Despite the injury to her side, Mordred released a loud, Doryaaaa~! as she followed after the projectile Artoria with a phenomenal amount of mana swirling around her de. Even without the use of a Noble Phantasm, she had a monstrous amount of mana at her disposal and, as a result of her training, even her [Mana Burst] had reached A-Rank. As a result, Mordreds follow-up strike, a powerful thrust, ended up tearing apart the makeshift buildings and ruins like a natural disaster. Since the eruption caused by Mordred only knocked her back, Artoria twisted her body mid-air with the grace of a dancer and the finesse of the worlds greatest acrobat. She didnt even seem affected by the previous attack whatsoever and, despite Mordreds reckless charge, Artoria had a calm and collected countenance as she kicked against the air itself, using [Mana Burst] to propel herself skyward like a rocket. Mordred ended up lunging through the area where her mother had been just moments prior, a swath of devastation following after her. Before she was able to fix her trajectory and perform another strike, however, Artoria, while still in the air, made a thrusting motion of her own as an evenrger wave of mana than Mordreds shot out from her de tip. This added to Mordreds initial charge, propelling her forward in the same direction until she mmed into the barrier on the outside of the arena, fracturing it slightly without actually breaking it. Vahn couldnt help but wince as he watched his daughter smash de-first into the barrier in an attempt to arrest her own momentum. Fortunately, this wasnt apletely wasted effort so, while Mordred mmed into the barrier with her own body less than millisecond thereafter, she didnt take too much damage. Despite this, she immediately plopped to the ground but, rather than any signs of being upset, she had a smile on her face as sheid back against the white stone in order to regte her breathing. With the rules that had been decided on at the beginning of the tournament, Mordred had been eliminated the moment she was sent flying out of bounds. Still, Vahn was proud of her as, despite how much progress she had made, he was always worried she might rpse. Seeing the smile on her face, courtesy of the small automatons Da Vinci had observing the fight, Vahn could tell she was a little disappointed, but not really upset. He made an internal remark to reward herter on but, as the tournament was still ongoing, he had other duties to fulfill. Fortunately, Artoria took it upon herself to retrieve Mordred and, as her next match wouldnt be for a while, the two disappeared from the Training Orb for a short while. Vahn made no attempt to stop her as he knew the two had a lot to talk about as mother and daughter. Instead, he made a few remarks to hype up the crowd before, instigating an ovation as he pulled the next two names from the box. This time around, Vahn was even more surprised than the first matchup but, while it didnt show on his face, he couldnt help but feel apologetic as he announced, "Let us begin the next round! Scthach and Gareth, please enter the arena!" The moment Vahn shouted, he could see Gareth visible slouch while, on the opposite end of the battlefield, a small ripple in space revealed Scthachs figure, spear ready and waiting. It was very unfortunate for Gareth to get Scthach as an opponent but, with the rules he had announced at the very beginning, she would at least be able to see everyone else fight before challenging the others at her leisure... After a few encouraging words from the others waiting in the wing, Gareth stepped onto the battlefield in full te armor. She had a massive kite shield in her left hand while, in her right, a modified joustingnce was her weapon of choice. What Vahn found the most interesting was that her helmet, which covered the upper part of her face with a visor, had two dog-like ears at the very top while the visor itself was formed in the visage of a wolf. Once Gareth assumed her position, Vahn raised his pistol toward the sky once again and, while apologizing internally, pulled the trigger. At the very moment that the projectile exploded into a massive eruption of mana, a ripple was seen on the barrier adjacent to Gareth as, without any suspense whatsoever, Scthach sent her flying backward into it. This brought the riled-up crowd to stunned silence while Vahn, pistol still raised, deadpanned while looking at his overbearing Shishou... Without minding what others thought of her, Scthach turned to face Vahn before giving a small nod. After that, she vanished into the void like a phantom while, in the background, Gareth just rested with her back against the barrier until Fenrir walked over and picked her up. She wasnt injured in the slightest as, the moment the match began, Scthach simply appeared right inside of her range before pushing her backward. Since they lined up near the opposite ends of the arena, it didnt take that much power to force someone back a few meters, effectively eliminating them from thepetition. While not the most satisfying battle, there was a reason that Scthach had already been publically announced as the favorite to win the tournament. Her performance merely reflected this objective truth and, while it may lower her spirits a bit, Gareth would at least be able to focus on the future battles without having to tend to any injuries. Vahn suspected this had been Scthachs intent as, while it was certainly efficient to win the battle in an instant, she wasnt really the type to shame others. If anything, this would be a catalyst for Gareth to grow strong as, even if they were not her official students, Scthach gave advice and guidance to everyone. Once Gareth had been moved to a viewing area near the contestants wing, Vahn tried to ease the building tensions by drawing the next two names without dy. If necessary, he would talk with Gareth after the tournament ended but, considering her personality, she likely wouldnt be that disheartened. As if each set of names was intending to surprise him more and more, Vahns brows raised ever so slightly when he saw the kanji written on the two small balls. Then, an excited smile spread across his face as he held them up and announced, "The third round will be between two of the highest-seeded members in the entire tournament! Heracles and Kenshin, please enter the arena!" The moment Vahn finished his announcement, the crowd practically erupted as Heracles and Kenshin were, as announced, two of the favorites to reach the top. Having them both in the same match was like watching one of the finals as, while they may lose out to Scthach, they could win against almost everyone else. The fact they were facing each other this early could be considered a blessing for all the other contestants as, at the very least, they wouldnt have to face either of the three monsters until the next round of matches. Kenshin wasted no time using [Shundo] to enter the arena while Heracles, showing off why his strength was considered legendary, simply leaped nearly 5km in a single bound. It didnt even take him any real effort but, as hended,rge cracks spread out due to the Laws he naturally cultivated. Fortunately, while Kenshin had no hopes of being able to contend against him in a contest of power, her Innate made her peerless with nearly any all weapons. Once the two were ready, Vahn aimed his pistol toward the sky for the third time, this time with arge grin on his face as he wondered whether power or skill would emerge victoriously. What he didnt expect was that, following the mana explosion, Kenshin used [Shundo] to vanish from her spot while Heracles barreled through the battlefield in much the same way as Mordred, albeit with raw power instead of mana. He came to a stop near the center of the arena before turning on his heels like a swivel as Kenshin was nowhere to be seen. While others may think Kenshin was choosing to draw out the fight, those with higher perception knew that Heracles wasnt pivoting for no reason. Rather, even before Kenshin learned how to use [Shundo], she already had Agility near the pinnacle of standard parameters. After nearly two years of training, she had pushed this even further and, while it was impossible to know the full limits of her speed, her Agility value had reached 50A++ a long time ago. All anyone heard was the sound of wind whistling before Heracles body suddenly jerked to the right. He managed to pivot on his right foot with a level of grace that would put to shame most professional dancers but, in spite of this, his left calf was cut clean through. His left foot spun in the air for a few moments but, as if he wasnt affected by its loss at all, Heracles punched toward what seemed to be empty air. While the punch may have seemed simple at a nce, Vahn knew it was a lot faster than the slow strike it appeared to be. After all, there were several shockwaves generated during the motion while, at the very end of the strike, a massive air pressure sted through the area, destroying what amounted to several city blocks of terrain in an instant. Then, much to the shock of nearly everyone in the audience, Heracles leg began to grow back at a visible rate as he hunched down with both arms held up in a ready stance, much like a wrestler. From the massive cloud of devastation that still lingered in the arena, several shes of light could be seen before vacuous tunnels appeared in the rubble. With considerable ease, Heracles moved his forearms into the trajectory of these projectiles, using the metallic des embedded into his bones to deflect them aside. He was trying to buy time for his leg to heal as, while it didnt reduce his power by much, it was a lot harder to fight against a skillful foe with just one good leg. For several seconds, nothing major happened on the battlefield. This caused the tension to slowly build until, just as the dust began to settle from Heracles mightly blow, a plume of wind pressure pushed dissipated the entire cloud in an instant. At the center of this phenomenon, Kenshin could be seen with a smile on her face as she wielded a spear in her right hand and a short wakizashi in her left. What was truly surprising, however, was that most of her armor had been battered and, while she didnt seem to have suffered any serious injuries, there was blood trickling from her nose and ears. While some may mistakenly believe that the wind pressure behind Heracles blow carried a lot more force than it seemed, the truth of the matter was that Kenshin had been a lot closer than the majority of people were aware. She tried to follow up her initial attack by attacking from his nk but, in the same spinning motion as his dodge, Heracles had struck forward just moments before she evaded with [Shundo]. Since this was a spatial movement, part of the force followed along with her so, while she evaded a direct strike, Kenshin hadnt escaped unscathed. Still, for Kenshin to reveal herself, there were only two possibilities. She had either given up or, as could be ascertained from the smile on her face, was confident in her victory. What nobody could expect, at least among those who were unaware of what had happened, was for Kenshin to raise her spear and announce, "Im afraid this victory belongs to me. If we were to fight without any restrictions, the oue would undoubtedly be aplete reversal..." Rather than refuse Kenshins words, Heracles smiled in his characteristically vicious grin as he raised himself up to a standing position and looked around the area. He could feel the mana in the atmosphere beginning to muster as the wind began to build up around him. While others may not think much of this, he knew it was only the calm before the storm as, despite nothing happening, his instincts were screaming at him to evade. With this being the case, he decided that the safest ce was near Kenshins side so, without any dy, he kicked against the ground with his right foot, rupturing the white stone as he shot forward like a hypersonic cannonball. At the exact same moment that Heracles vaulted toward her, Kenshin lowered her spear down in what seemed to be slow motion. Even the weakest of the Spirits were able to follow its trajectory yet, despite this incongruously slow speed, the action waspleted before Heracles was able to reach her. Vahn knew this was the phenomenon of weapon Laws manifesting themselves as he had seen it in the past several times, chiefly aimed at him... As if time had been stopped, Heracles was bisected from his left shoulder to his waist but, with the amount of momentum he had built up, his forward trajectory was not changed. Unfortunately, Kenshin had created several anchor points using her discarded weapons around the arena so, while her mastery of [Shundo] was only at the C-Rank, she was able to shift to any of them in an instant. With his intended target simply vanishing in thin air, Heracles was left to crash into the ground with enough force to seemingly cause the entire Training Orb to quake in the aftermath. Even the barrier surrounding the stage began to ripple a bit but, as the blow dealt to him had cut clean through his heart, he wasnt going to be getting up any time soon. Rather, from within the deep crevasse that his body had formed, steam began to rise as a result of his [Godhand] activating, thus eliminating him from the tournament. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Someone call CPS!,RIP Gareth (T^T)7...,She is tapping into the speed force...!) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1274 - Interlude: Tournament of Power (2/3)

Chapter 1274 - Interlude: Tournament of Power (2/3)

Though it was clear that Heracles didnt look down on Kenshin, Vahn couldnt help but feel that the prodigious Demigod wasnt going all out. While Kenshin certainly had the skill advantage, Heracles himself had mastered nearly all forms ofbat. His Agility itself wasnt that much lower than Kenshins and, while he couldnt use things like [Shundo], he should more than be able to make up for it with his natural mobility. It almost felt like he had given up the fight after realizing he wouldnt be able to easily catch Kenshin but, considering who he was thinking about, this didnt really seem that likely. Vahn made a mental note to have a chat with Heracles the next time they went out drinking but, as there was still a tournament ongoing, he waiting for the field to be cleared before pulling two more names from the box. Seeing who had been drawn, he wasnt even surprised anymore. Rather, he felt a little apologetic as he did his best to avoid frowning as he, instead, announced, "The fourth battle is set to begin! Okita and Fenrir, please enter the arena!" Much like Kenshin, Fenrir appeared on the battlefield using [Shundo] but, instead of a rather sloppy C-Rank version, hers was very near the pinnacle of A-Rank. While her raw capabilities were a far cry from Kenshins, she had a distinct advantage when it came to learning Magecraft and Magic. Due to this reason, Vahn suspected that Fenrir would join the Magus League, where she had a good chance of making it to the semifinals. Instead, she joined the Knights League as, ording to her, the path she followed was that of a Magic Knight, not a Magus. Unfortunately, while Okita may be an Alter Ego, her base ss was still Saber so, as per usual, she had the [Magic Resistance] ss Skill. This made her immune to most of Fenrirs base attacks but, as Okita could not unsheath her katana, the battle should be interesting. As for why she was able to use her katana at all, this was due to the fact that Okita, for indeterminate reasons, simply could not use any other weapons. Even a simple kitchen knife was beyond her and, while she could store her sword away in much the same way as Artoria, she had a habit of carrying it around in its physical form. The only time it had ever left her hand was when she allowed him to hold it, leading to a peculiar event that was still fresh in his mind... Rather than reminisce, Vahn raised his pistol for the fourth time and, without further ado, shot the now expected projectile into the sky. This time, nobody in the crowd bothered to mind it at all as they were afraid of missing even a single instant of the uing battle. The moment the explosion of mana urred, Okita bent forward slightly with her right foot forward. Though she could not draw it, she had her right hand hovering over the handle of her katana with an expression of extreme focus. Vahn wasnt unaware of Okitas capabilities as, shortly after summoning her, he was able to experience first hand how powerful she was. She was, forck of a better way to describe her, terrifyingly powerful. As one of the people present during the duel between her Master and Okita, Fenrir wasnt unaware of how powerful her opponent was. Rather, she chose to join the Knights League because there was a higher chance of being matched against powerful individuals, many of which were, like her, loyal to their shared Master. Fenrir was determined to be the strongest person at her Masters side so, while it was almost impossible for her to egg out a victory, she would not be deterred in the slightest. With Okita taking her stance, Fenrir began to move swiftly through the battlefield using [Shundo] and [Koku Shundo] in sequence. Much of the battlefield had been destroyed at this point but she could easily create footholds in the air, making it very difficult to determine where she would end up. After reaching the effective, or instantaneous range for magic usage, Fenrir formed twoplex magic circles around her paws. The structure of said circles was far moreplex than any modern Magecraft and, with her understanding of Water, Ice, and Yin Elemental Laws, Fenrir could form a semi-permanant magic circle using raw elemental energy. In much the same way as Aoko, Fenrir began to rapid-fire hypersonic ice-elemental [Sagitta Magica] at Okita. These bolts of magical energy were enough to freeze organic matter through on contact as, while their temperature didnt necessarily reach absolute zero, the ice element had the capability to encroach upon a targets mana, slowing their movements and making it harder to muster their own internal reserves. Okita made no attempt to dodge Fenrirs attacks. Rather, the moment they came her way, a powerful tempest surrounding her body as her right arm seemed to outright disappear. Her expression didnt change in the slightest as she began to cut down and destroy every single bolt of magical energy. To exacerbate matters even further, at least for Fenrir, the energy contained within the spells seemed to bepletely destroyed. It wasmon for a spell to disperse, leaving ambient mana behind that could be used to enhance moreplex spells. In a battle between two real Mages, using Evas standard, victory was almost always decided by how well eachbatant could make use of, not just their own magical energy, but the energy expended by their opponent. This was one of the reasons why Vahn was so terrifying when it came to a magical duel as, with his domain, it was almost impossible for a simrly skilled opponent tomand the mana surrounding him. Seeing that Okita was even able to destroy mana, despite not having drawn her katana, Vahn tensed up a bit in his seat. He never liked seeing any of hispanions injured but, when it came to Fenrir, a tender spot in his heart always ached even before she suffered a setback. Though he tried to hold back his rising tensions, so as not to distract Fenrir, Vahn simply couldnt help himself. Since Fenrir would have an adverse reaction if he tried to weaken the connection between them, he could only hope things didnt end on a negative note. Seemingly unaffected by his anxieties, Fenrir continued to dodge around at high speeds. Since her initial attacks hadnt born fruit, she began to target the surrounding terrain instead. This caused the ground to quickly ice over while, in the impacted areas, plumes of icy spikes, almost like lotuses, had started to bloom on the battlefield. As a result, the surrounding temperature steadily decreased yet, in spite of this, a dome of sorts had surrounded Okita. The icy mist forming in the surrounding was unable to prate through this invisible membrane while any magical energy that came into direct contact was simply dissipated into nothingness. Vahn was reminded of Fafnirs Innate upon seeing this phenomenon but, rather than immunity, he knew this was just Okitas [Magic Resistance] at work. Still, it was quite the sight to behold as, even in the face of increasingly powerful attacks, she didnt flinch in the slightest as her pale silver eyes never lost their focus. Okita didnt seem to have any trouble following Fenrirs speed and, every time thetter was about to try and attack, the former would immediately react by twitching her right hand. As a result, Fenrir would immediately take evasive actions as, with her enhanced instincts, she could tell that the battle would end the moment she tried to break the current equilibrium. The bubble around Okita seemed to be an invible space and, while it wasnt thatrge at most time, it would suddenly increase a great deal whenever she ced her hand on her katana. With her other attempts failing, Fenrir gave up trying to attack at short range and instead began to vault into the sky using several footholds. Okita followed her ascent with her eyes and, realizing what Fenrir was about to attempt, she finally took action. Just as Fenrir reached the apex of her climb and shouted, "Master, give me strength~!", a ripple in the void appeared at her back. In the next instant, before she could react at all, a sheathed de tore through space itself, striking her with a tremendous force and dissipating therge magic circle that had just formed. Fenrir could feel an extremely painful sensation in her lower back, despite the fact her unique nerve structure made her numb to even intense pain. As Fenrir was falling to the ground like a blue meteor, the result of her [Cantus Bex] aura, Okitas figure faded from the ground like a phantom. At the same time, her actual body appeared in the air just behind where Fenrir had been standing, a cold and emotionless expression on her face. She had used one of her unique Skills, [Furthest Earth], which even made [Shundo] and [Koku Shundo] look like childs y as far as movement techniques were concerned. It allowed her to, very briefly, step outside of the axis of Space and Time, traversing through sub-dimensional space to reach her target in, quite literally, an instant. While Okitas attack hadnt been enough topletely take her out ofmission, Fenrir quickly noticed that she had lost all feeling in her legs as she attempted to right herself before mming into the ground. Fortunately, while she was moving rather quickly, her Strength and Endurance were more than enough to mitigate any damage. Rather, it was the loss of her mobility that troubled her as, while it was very painful to even try to move, Fenrir felt like she could keep going. Just as Fenrir was about to try and execute [Shundo] using her forward paws, another spatial ripple appeared at her side. By the times her ears had perked up in response, a ck sheath was resting against her neck as Okita stated in a monotone voice, "This is my victory." Hearing the cold words, Fenrir felt a heavy feeling in her stomach as her hair began to stand on end in a feral manner. Still, she didntpletely lose control and, to avoid causing a scene, she forced herself to stay calm as she looked up at Okita and inly stated, "I will be much stronger. Until then, you must protect our Master." As a result of her heightened state of emotions, a stark contrast to her calm demeanor, Fenrirs back had already healed up. This brought powerful hunger along with it but, as it was nothingpared to the hunger she had experienced in the past, it barely affected her mentality. Still, Okita was a little surprised to see Fenrir stand on her own, despite her expression being a perfect mask of neutrality. For several tense moments, the two expressionless girls stared directly at each other until Okita gave a small nod and answered, "There was never any doubt. I am as much a part of Master as my katana is a part of me. I will be his sword to strike down foes and, if necessary, use my body as a shield to protect him. Until one more capable than myself appears, this is my duty...my purpose." Hearing Okitas response, Fenrir gave a curt nod before vanishing from her spot using [Shundo]. She would never ept anyone being in a higher position than her in the hierarchy beneath her Master but, until she had the strength to change things, there was nothing she could do to usurp Okita from her position as the strongest. While this wasnt necessarily the truth, Fenrir didnt count people like Artoria and Scthach as, while they were important to her Master, they were not his subordinates... Vahn breathed a sigh of relief after seeing things end rtively peacefully. He suddenly felt fatigued but, as there were still several more battles lined up, he wasted no time in drawing two new names after the field had been cleared. This time around, he ended up drawing Gawain and Boudica but, due to Gawains [Numeral of the Saint], granting him a three-fold increase in strength between the hours of 0900-1200 and 1500-1800, the battle ended shortly after it had begun. Boudica was, by no means, weak. However, due to the fact that she was not originally a warrior, her skill could notpare to someone that had trained their entire life to serve as a perfect proxy for Artoria as King. Since Boudicas unique Skills primarily rted to her vengeance, she was stuck using simple swordy against someone both older and significantly more experienced than her. With the boost to his parameters, Gawain would even be able topete against people like Kenshin for a short period of time so, without any suspense, he ended up disarming Boudica before pointing his sword at her exposed neck. Following the battle between Boudica and Gawain, Gray and Lakshmibai took to the field. This was a rather surprising matchup as, with her E+ Rank Luck, Vahn had expected thetter to be matched against someone like Scthach. Gray was one of the easier opponents to be matched against but, as a being infinitely close to a True Vampire, it was only a matter of time until she emerged victoriously. While Lakshmibai hadnt exactly cked off in her training, she had to deal with conflicting energies in her body that made it difficult for her to progress. This was the result of her Divinity, tied to the Goddess of Misfortune, kshmi, and the fact that her power as a false-saint allowed her to draw from the Counter Force. This had led to situations where Lakshmibais energy would run rampant and, in one instance, she had nearly lost an arm after trying to channel the energy into a beam of raw magical power. Fortunately, even the loss of a limb didnt mean much in the Empire so, while it had been a painful experience for her, she made a full recovery after only a few hours. After that, she always made sure to prepare healing items before training and, in order to avoid a tragedy, always trained alongside others. She was determined to turn her misfortune into a blessing or, at the very least, learn how to weaponize it against other people. After all, while a God may embody their Divinity, they were also able to express it through the World itself by projecting it onto others. As a result of her training, the audience got to see the rather peculiar sight of Gray wielding a giant scythe against Lakshmibai using a simple saber. During one of their collisions, the saber shattered under the force of the blow but, while this may have been a detriment in most situations, the shards actually impaled into Grays neck and shoulder. If not for her nigh-instantaneous regeneration, she might have had to withdraw from the fight as the shard that had pierced her neck severed the artery cleanly. Unfortunately for Lakshmibai, the only way to really defeat Gray was to restrict her healing factor or throw her from the arena. If she had made use of her superior speed to try and draw the battle out to the edge of the battlefield, there was a chance she would have emerged victoriously. However, due to her nature, Lakshmibai wasnt the type to retreat so, despite only having half a saber, she never backed down. It was actually rathermendable but, with one party having infinite stamina, it was only a matter of time before Lakshmibai ended up with a scythes de at her throat, bringing the battle to its conclusion. Vahn was more than a little surprised by the oue as, while Gray was indeed powerful, she wasnt quite at the level of a Heroic Spirit without using Add. Her defeating Lakshmibai was actually outside of his expectations. It ultimately came down to the fact that, despite her best efforts, Lakshmibai was still gued by rtively bad luck while Gray, after undergoing the ritual to be his subordinate, had reached 50A in her own Luck parameter. Regardless of how things had ended, Vahn was proud of both women and, while Lakshmibai was a little disappointed in her own performance, he knew a few effective methods to cheer her up. It was starting to seem as if this tournament was a segue for a lot of discussions and small events as, even with the other rewards prepared, Vahn intended to express his satisfaction with everyone personally once the event hadpleted. He wanted to talk with each and every contestant and, with a better understanding of their current power, discuss the future with them. With this in mind, Vahn promptly moved on to the next battle, drawing out Siegfrieds and Hatis names, automatically pairing Jeanne off with Ghad as a result. This ended up being very relevant as, with his [Armor of Fafnir], which was considered a passive Noble Phantasm, there wasnt much that Hati could do against Siegfried. As a result, he actually ended up surrendering the battle after a few exchanges due to the fact that it was simply unfair for Hati to have been matched against him. In truth, Hatis own Noble Phantasm, [Star Eater] would have allowed her to ovee Siegfrieds [Armor of Fafnir] but, as this was an active ability that turned her into a massive wolf, it was not allowed under the current tournament regtions. This showed a few ws in the current system but, as they never expected it to be perfect from the very beginning, it was something they could work on for future iterations of the event. After the rather awkward battle between the stoic Dragon Knight and an exceptionally mature Vanargandr, the final battle of the first round began. This, however, was another rather awkward matchup as, due to his principles, Ghad only brought a shield into battle. He was able to easily fend off most of Jeannes attacks but, due to her ties to the Counter Force, there was only ever one oue of their battle. Jeanne had an advanced form of [Instinct] known as [Revtion] that allowed her to always pursue the most optimum path to secure victory. It essentially allowed her to see a few seconds into the future so, while the battle actuallysted longer than all the previous matchesbined, Jeanne eventually managed to stab Ghad in the left thigh with her banner-like spear. Even this wasnt enough to take Ghad out of the fight but, with only one good leg, it wasnt long before he began to suffer other small injuries that ultimately resulted in his loss. Considering he had never actually attacked directly, however, this was a foregone conclusion from the start. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir will never give up...!,Gawain is essentially Escanor!?,Like trying to crack open an unripe coconut...) bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1275 Interlude: Tournament of Power 3/3

Chapter 1275 Interlude: Tournament of Power 3/3

With the winners from the first round determined in a little under two hours, there was still plenty of time to continue with the Tournament. Thus, after a few words of encouragement to both the victors and defeated, Vahn took up the second box to draw names. Fortunately, when he had been giving his short speech, Artoria, sans Mordred, ended up returning to the Training Orb. Vahn wanted to ask her if anything had happened but, seeing how calm she was, it was safe to assume the matter didnt require his attention. As ifpelled by her powerful fate, Artorias name ended up being drawn first, this time pitting her against Gawain. This ended up being a ratherckluster development as, due to his chivalrous nature and unwavering loyalty, Gawain outright refused to raise his de against Artoria, even in a contest. In fact, during the lead up to the Tournament, he had opposed the participation of any member of the Imperial Family as it could seed dissent if anyone developed the rationality it was okay to point their sword at those in power. If Gawain had his way, Artoria would have been at Vahns side while Mordred sat obediently at the side like the Princess she was supposed to be. However, as the decision was ultimately left to Vahns discretion, everyone that wanted to participate in the Tournament was given leeway to do so. While he would take Gawains opinion into consideration regarding public functions in the future, now was not the time for such concerns. With the forfeit of Gawain, the actual first round of the second set of matches included Jeanne and Okita. This pit two users of the Counter Force against each other and, as could be expected, their battle was quite the sight to behold... Just as she had done so during her duel against Fenrir, Okita started off the battle by assuming her iaido stance as she waited for Jeannes reaction. With thetters [Revtion] at the A-Rank, she only had to set defeating Okita as her goal in order to determine the best course of action. Curiously, this didnt go exactly as nned as, from the moment she activated the Skill, Jeanne quickly realized that there was no path to victory. The only way forward was to pave her own path but, rather than show any signs of concern, she instead charged ahead without any hesitation. To her credit, Jeanne was very fast and,pared to most Heroic Spirits, her parameters were almost ridiculously high. She also had EX-Rank [Magic Resistance] and, while Okita was able to circumvent this with her understanding of Sword Laws, some of her attacks lost their efficacy whenever Jeanne used her spear to deflect them. Still, while it seemed both had a nigh-infinite amount of stamina, the machine-like precision of Okita,bined with her advanced understanding of Laws, allowed her to whittle way at Jeanne. Thetter had incredible Endurance, reaching the middle of the A-Rank, but the human body could only take so much punishment. Though Jeanne never showed any signs that she was in pain until the very end, her body had undergone something that would have broken all but the most steadfast and resolute individuals. Vahn had already realized this from before the Tournament even began but, without their Noble Phantasms, the amalgamations of their legend, most Heroic Spirits didnt wield iprehensible strength. They were certainly strong, yes, but the majority of their power seemed to be condensed into their Noble Phantasms themselves and, while some of their Innates were a little extreme, he was beginning to suspect that the Throne was not able to replicate them properly. Though he did not regret summoning some as Heroic Spirits, Vahn knew that the originals would almost always be more powerful, especially with the boost provided by the Throne. He would need to take this into consideration in the future as, while it was a good failsafe to keep unvetted people as Heroic Spirits, there was a fair chance they would have something unexpected within their Status. Realizing this was one of the reasons why Da Vinci had proposed the idea of summoning one of every ss, alongside other justifications, Vahn shelved the matter forter discussion as he pulled two more names from the box. This time, Gray and Hati were given the honors and, as a result of her past battle being won by default, the mature Vanargandr seemed to have something to prove. Unfortunately for her, Gray may not be invulnerable like Siegfried but, as an entity nearing the level of a True Vampire, there was only so much Hati could do against her. Still, after shredding Gray a few times with her ws, making little progress, Hati eventually lost her cool and ended up grabbing the left ankle of her opponent as the former attempted to dodge. As a result, Hati mmed Gray around a few times, rather violently, before tossing her toward the edge of the arena. Contrary to Hatis expectations, Gray managed to recover mid-air and, while not at the same level as people like Artoria and Mordred, she could still use [Mana Burst]. This allowed her to stay inside the battlefield but, as a result, Hati ended up reminding everyone present why her name literally meant Hate. Her previously golden eyes became dark red and, at the expense of her prepared armor, she began to quickly increase in size as her body transformed into a 10m tall wolf with spiky ck fur that seemed to burn with simrly colored mes. Before things could get out of hand, Vahn spoke in a in tone that resonated through the entire battlefield, "Hati...sit..." As if she had been struck by lightning, Hatis eyes regained their moonlight hue as she immediately plopped her hindquarters down onto the ground. Confusion seemed to sh across her expression for a brief moment before she turned her head back to find her Master staring at her. This caused her ears to droop and, still in her wolf form, Hatiy down before covering her snout and eyes with her paws, seemingly with the thought, if I cant see him, he cant see me. With Hati breaking the rules of the Tournament, Gray was given her second win. It was beginning to seem like her A++ Rank Luck wasnt just for show as, without argument, she was undoubtedly the weakest contender. As for Hati, she was in the upper half but, due to her own Luck being D- Rank, it seemed like she was always pitted against people she had no method to defeat. Still, as punishment for breaking the rules, Vahn had hery down at the base of his viewing tform until he could give her a stern talking-toter on. After the battle between Gray and Hati, the only two contestants remaining in the second set of bouts were Kenshin and Scthach. However, as Kenshin couldnt even gain an edge with the use of her Noble Phantasm, there wasnt much she could do against the monstrous Purple Demon. Shested much longer than Gareth,rgely due to the vast gulf in their experience and skill level, but it only took a handful of exchanges before Kenshin was pierced in the shoulder and right thigh by two of Scthachs spears. In a battle between True Masters, victory or defeat could be decided in an instant. Kenshins Innates made her a difficult opponent for most people to face but, just as it seemed like one of her famous slips had given her an advantage against Scthach, thetters spears moved along the new path withser focus. Rather than evade the attack her trip should have allowed her to avoid, Kenshin had skewered herself and, as a result, the battle was quickly brought to an end. The second set of matches took less than twenty minutes in total and, with only four contestants remaining, the were officially in the semi-finals. Vahn was a little surprised by the fact that Gray was in the running but, with Artoria, Okita, and Scthach as her opponents, she had finally reached the furthest point her Luck could take her. This didnt mean she would just surrender but, as if fate was intent on showing her the futility of such actions, her opponent ended up being none other than Scthach herself. In truth, all of Grays potential opponents had the perfect counter to her regenerative ability but, in Scthachs case, she literally had infinite options to choose from. It only took a few seconds from the start of the battle to the finish as, with their speed being reminiscent of a snail and a falcon, a single attack was all it took before Gray was hunched over with a spear pinning her to the ground. The majority of viewers didnt have a lot of love for how Scthach fought but, as it was the result of a vast difference in skill, they couldnt really say anything of merit against her. Since the participants were all aware of why she had been given the title of Grandmaster, this was the expected oue, not an upset. Rather, if Scthach ended up losing a battle, they would be hard-pressed to believe that she hadnt thrown the match. With the battle between Gray and Scthach ending shortly after it had begun, the next match was between Artoria and Okita. This was ted to be one of the most climactic battles of the entire event but, much to everyones surprise, Vahn included, Okitas prowess seemed greatly diminished against Artoria. It could be due to the protection of her fate, or her S-Rank [Instinct], but Artoria seemed to be able to read the untraceable trajectory of Okitas katana from the very beginning of the battle. Fortunately, with her [Furthest Earth] and her most versatile ability, [Boundlessness], Okita was able to deflect and evade all of Artorias own attacks. Even with [Mana Burst], Artorias blows would just dissipate and, while her Holy Elemental Affinity was a powerful boon against most other people, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that Okita was the embodiment of light. Her [Boundlessness] gave her the ability to essentially be light and, if her katana wasnt sealed, it was the catalyst that allowed her to use her ultimate Noble Phantasm. The only thing that kept the battle going at this rate was the fact that Okita knew the significance of Artoria and, due to the rules of the Tournament, she was forbidden to kill. While her attempt to kill would likely backfire due the Artorias fate, the fact she was holding herself back made the battlest for nearly three hours. After all, even without using the activeponent of [Avalon], Artoria was able to benefit from the regeneration it provided. This,bined with her infinite mana and intense focus, meant the two could continue battling indefinitely under ideal circumstances. Unfortunately, without [Excalibur] and [Avalon], Artoria was not the unstoppable monster that she could be. She eventually attempted aplex maneuver using [Shundo] to evade and, while it had worked several times prior, Okita had baited her into it this time around. The moment Artoria was mid-step, meaning she had yet to transfer between her anchor points, Okita did something that stunned the entire crowd. In an iprehensible disy of skill, Okita had reached Artorias destination faster than her, just after the spatial coordinates had essentially been confirmed by [Shundo]s activation. She ced her sheathed katana in the area Artorias body was going to upy and, as a result, thetter ended up with a 15cm dent in her armor that ran through to the middle of her midsection. This was one of the penultimate dangers of using [Shundo] as, once the coordinates were confirmed, which could only be done when there were no obstacles, the movement could no longer be stopped. By cing an obstacle in the area that had been previously cleared, something that should be impossible, Okita was able to vite one of the fundamental failsafes built into [Shundo], ending the battle in one of the most jarring manners imaginable. As could be expected, Artorias [Avalon] immediately took effect to preserve her life as, while it would usually take having her head destroyed in a single blow, having most of her organs turned to pulp wasnt something that could usually be walked away from. Fortunately, so long as she was not separated from [Avalon], there were few ways to kill Artoria and, as an extra precaution, each person participating in the tournament had an [Effigy of the Hero] embedded directly into their equipment. After a brief exchange between the two woman warriors on the battlefield, who had nigh-identical features, Artoria ended up leaving the battlefield while Okita remained. She was given the chance for a recess but, while the battle had gone on for an extended period of time, there were no observable signs of fatigue in her expression. Rather, as a being reminiscent of a Counter Guardian, Okita had a nigh-inexhaustible amount of mana at her disposal. She even had the [Persistence] Skill at A-Rank, an ability that essentially made her stronger and faster as the battle was drawn out. With Artoria taking her ce at his side, Vahn announced themencement of the final battle between Scthach, the favorite of the entirepetition, and Okita, the dark horse. Everyone knew she was powerful but, as she had been pit against almost every other favorite to win, it was still a bit of a surprise to see her facing off against Scthach in the finals. Unfortunately, what nobody could have expected was for Scthach and Okita to simply stare at each other for several minutes without moving. This confused and annoyed many of the Spirits but, as thebatants understood what was going on, they became increasingly tense. This was especially true for Vahn as he had seen Scthach behave this way on several asions, typically when he was using his [Laces Key]. While Scthach had nigh-unstoppable momentum, she almost always reacted to her opponent when battling against them. This was the most efficient way for her to fight as, if she overextended herself, there was a non-negligible chance she would make a mistake. It was much easier to exploit the small gaps in the movement and techniques of her opponents as, in the vast majority of instances, she was more skilled than them at their own style ofbat. Much like Scthach, Okitas entirebat style was reactive for almost the exact same reasons. She was the type that used pure skill to counter her opponents techniques and, while her own offensive might was equally unstoppable, it was her ability to act faster than her opponent that gave her the ultimate edge in a battle. Thus, as a result of their simr methods, neither woman moved even a macrometer as they continued staring at each other in a ready stance, both waiting for the smallest of movements that could be exploited. It was in situations like this where Scthachs experience came into y as, while Okita was a true monster in regards tobat, she didnt really exist prior to her summoning. She had thebat experience of her original but, as she had never gone through any of the training herself, there was a persistent gap in her psyche itself. After all, everyone had something that drove them forward but, as she often stated, the only meaning behind Okitas existence was to be useful to her Master. Rather than charge at Okita, Scthach began to move toward the edge of the battlefield, still facing her opponent with an expressionless mask. This caused Okitas finger to twitch slightly but, as she had no way of knowing what Scthach was up to, she remained standing in her position. What she didnt expect was, at the very same instant that she decided to stay put, the match had already been decided. While Scthach may actually lose out in speed against Okita, as thetter could move beyond the bounds of Time and Space itself, it was inarguable that the former had greater mastery over both. This wasnt the main reason behind her victory, however, as Okita was simply unaware of what her opponent was capable of due to having no interest in other people. Thus, when Scthach pulled out what looked like a massive cannon, Okita immediately activated her [Boundlessness] but, just as she was going to use [Furthest Earth], a series of spears pierced through her body. For only the second time since her summoning, Okita showed a genuine expression on her face, this time shock. She slowly turned her head to her back to find another Scthach standing right behind her. To further cement the hopelessness of her situation, there were five other Scthach forming an encirclement around her, each appearing from the void like phantoms. These werent simple illusions either as, long before her other self was summoned, Scthach already had the ability to clone herself. In fact, regardless of how much her opponent struggled, it was nearly impossible for them to win as, even if they managed to force her out of the battlefield, her extra body would just dissipate while an infinite number of herself upied the surrounding void,pletely undetectable and intangible. Vahn had tried to level the ying field by having Scthach turn over his gemstone core but, even without a nigh-infinite supply of energy, she had two weeks to prepare beforehand so, while others had been training, she produced ny-nine versions of herself, each just as lethal as the original. It took a lot of effort to maintain them but, as the majority were just slumbering away in the void, she didnt experience any major reduction inbat proficiency. Fortunately, while Okitas injuries seemed extreme, especially with her C-Rank Endurance, Scthach had made a point to not hit any of her vitals. Instead, she targetted the joints and major muscle groups, effectively crippling Okita on the spot. Since thetter was akin to a Counter Guardian that had never existed, Scthachs [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground] provided her no information on her opponent. This was the safest way for her to end the battle so, before Okita could surprise her, she wasted no time in pointing a de at her throat and saying, "This is my victory..." in her usual calm and cold tone of voice... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hati, bad...!,Artoria without cheats versus a living cheat xD...,Scthach is even worse than Batman...dont give this woman prep time (x _ x)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1276 Interlude: Magical Supremacy 1/2

Chapter 1276 Interlude: Magical Supremacy 1/2

With Scthach securing first ce in the Tournament, things moved on to the challenge phase of the event but, with the absence of Mordred, the only person to issue a challenge was Gawain. This was a bit of a surprise as Vahn had expected several people to challenge Gray. However, while it was true that thetter had made it to the semi-finals, it didnt seem like anyone had the desire to disy that they were stronger than her. As could be expected, Gawain had issued his challenge towards Okita as thetters attack against Artoria had left quite the impression. Though he didnt have any true animosity toward her, he was honor-bound to at least take a stand. Unfortunately, even with his [Numeral of the Saint] still active, Gawain quickly learned that it wasnt a fluke that brought Okita victory. Her skill with the sword had reached a realm that only Kenshin and Scthach had any hope of reaching. Though Gawains orthodox techniques were very near the limit of what was achievable, Okitas had simply blown through such limits entirely. All he could do was persist for as long as possible before ultimately losing consciousness while still standing, greatsword in hand. Gawains disy had earned him uproarious apuse but, despite the efforts of her opponent, Okita showed no change in expression. Instead, she just vanished from the battlefield before appearing at her Masters side. This earned her a wry smile from Vahn but, as there was still an entire League left, he didnt have much time to discuss the importance of socializing with her. It was a little unfortunate that the only person to defeat her was Scthach as, if she had lost to someone else, Vahn would have been able to task Okita with observing and learning more about others. As most Spirits didnt really need things like sleep, the audience wasnt even remotely tired, despite the fact nearly seven hours had passed. Rather, after watching Gawain push himself to try andnd a single hit on Okita, they were even more riled up than before. This wasnt too surprising, however, as the matches between Scthach and others were more than a little anti-climactic. Fortunately, while Scthach would be participating in the Magus League, the battles between Magi were always shy. While the Knights League was full of explosive disys of speed and power, it often came down to a difference in skill and technique. This wasnt necessarily the case for battles between Magi as, if they fought cleverly, it was possible to achieve victory against much stronger opponents. The only exceptions to this would be during the bouts between Scthach and, as a result of her former status as Queen of Heaven, Ishtar. As fate would have it, Ishtar ended up being one of the first contestants drawn from the box. This all but guaranteed the battle would be shy as, with her nature, Ishtar was the type that liked to show off. If her opponent was smart, they could use this against her but, this time around, that would be a very difficult feat to achieve... Olga couldnt helpment her misfortune as she assumed her ce upon the now devastated arena. She was actually regretting her past decision to even participate in the event as, after seeing some of the battles y out, it was very apparent she had underestimated the power of Heroic Spirits. Now, as if to spite her past bravado, her opponent ended up being a literal Goddess... Ishtar was already floating upon her massive bow with an amused smile on her face as Olga, much like the rabbit Vahn oftenpared her to, stood on shaky legs in the distance. Though she would have considerable trouble with Scthach, Ishtar was confident in being able to defeat virtually every other contestant. Since fate had whimsically ced her against one of the weakest opponents, she figured it would liven things up if she made the battle into a spectacle. She intended to let Olga use up all of her power before securing the victory, both as a way to test the mortal womans limits and show the insurmountable power she wielded after receiving a vessel from her lover. While the use of Noble Phantasms was limited, there were no such restrictions on [Pactio] so, even before the battle had begun, Olga struck an unnecessary pose as she shouted, "Adeat~!" As a result, there was a momentary sh of light before the pale-haired Magus appeared, now attired in a dense assortment of robes. The only exposed part of her body was her face and, as a quirk of how [Pactio] often worked, a window of sorts that disyed her cleavage. This wasnt the most notable aspect of the [Pactio], however, as Olga had a massive orrery in her left hand. Orreries were mechanical models of the Sr System and, as a result of her Thaumaturgy, Olgas was an extremelyplex version that showed the actual positions of thes. At the very center, a very realistic looking sun was depicted,plete with tiny sr res arcing from the surface. Ishtar was slightly surprised by Olgas Artifact but, as it didnt matter much in the grand scheme of things, she just hopped off her bow before moving it into a ready position. With this, Vahn had shot his pistol toward the Heavens and, as a result, Ishtars body outright vanished from her spot. At the same time, her own dominion began to spread through the battlefield, giving her full control over the surrounding Space as Olga began chanting a three verse magic spell. As Olga chanted, a very peculiar magic circle appeared beneath her feet. It looked like an overhead depiction of the orrery in her hand,plete with secondary magic circles that represented each. Her own position was that of the sun and, while she couldnt use her Artifacts full power. it was still a sight to behold as, by the time her chant hadpleted, Olgas surroundings began to look like actual Space. She had created the illusions ofary bodies but, as if to spite her, Ishtar appeared standing atop the illusory Venus with a smile on her face. Olga was pushing herself far beyond her limits, to the point that blood had started to trickle from her nose as she shouted, "Heliocentric Annihtion~!" From Olgas palm, a massive eight-sided magic circle appeared before a massive pir of Star Elemental magical energy poured from the center. It took on the shape of a sr re and, much to the audiences surprise, the protective barrier around the arena began to ripple slightly. This was only the prelude to the actual devastation Olgas attack would cause, however, as her sr re tore through the area where Ishtar had been standing, annihting the false Venus in the process. Unfortunately for Olga, Ishtar was able to freely transition through the void and, while others may not have noticed it, those with high perception could see Olgas unique domain being suppressed as far more powerful energy encroached upon it from the periphery. Since she had put her all into the attack, Olga could only rely on the trickle of mana provided to her by Vahn but, due to the rules of the Tournament, this wasnt even remotely enough to keep her going. As Olgas domain continued to shrink, Ishtar appeared out from behind Mars, giggling amusedly as she looked at her opponents ragged yet determined visage. Since using her bow was the same as using her Noble Phantasm, Ishtar wasnt able to simply shoot Olga. Instead, she sat on her bow like a swing with her legs crossed. The surrounding void began to ripple and bend, gaining a crystalline structure before finally taking on the form of a massive hexagonal gemstone behind her body. This was a technique that Ishtar had actually inherited from her mixed memories with Rin but, rather than have to produce gemstones and imbue them with her mana, Ishtar could simply create them at her leisure. With the same smile on her face, Ishtar brought her index finger to her lip as she teasingly stated, "I cant wait to see you make that power your own in the future. For now, Ill have to ask you to give up the match before things get out of hand~" As Ishtar spoke, the gemstone behind her began forming an extremelyplex magic circle using various runes and a few characters of Divine Words. This caused a feeling ofbined dread and awe to pass over the crowd while, as the target of Ishtars building attack, Olga fell to her knees with wide eyes. Fortunately, Ishtar hadnt suppressed herpletely so, while she couldnt stay standing, Olga was able to mutter, "I...I surrender..." in a subdued tone. Ishtar smiled radiantly in response to Olgas words but, instead of dissipating her attack, she angled the face of the gemstone toward the sky before releasing the stored up energy. This caused a pir of light to pierce through the sky with enough force to rip through the surrounding space. It was a terrifying disy of power that caused Vahn to released a tired sigh since he knew Ishtar was just showing off. Her attack could have easily wiped out a city so, if she had actually fired it toward Olga, they would have had to intervene since even an [Effigy of the Hero] might not be able to save her. Olga ended up being retrieved from the battlefield by Lakshmibai and Fenrir as, even after Ishtar had withdrawn her domain, the poor Magus was not able to stand. In fact, if anyone were to look closely, they would be able to see that Olga had actually wet herself due to the overwhelming dread she had experienced trying to contest the power of a Goddess. Fortunately, Fenrir and Lakshmibai were able to have Olga leave the Training Orb directly and, as Ishtar hadnt drawn any attention to it. the secret was well kept. Vahn made a mental note tofort Olga and have a stern talking-to with Ishtar after the event had concluded. It almost felt like thetter was bullying the former but, given her status as a God Queen, Ishtar couldnt simply take a step back and allow herself to lose face. Even though Vahns use of the [Page of the Akashic Tome] had fundamentally changed her nature, she still had an extreme amount of pride. She was also slightly hostile toward other women, especially if she felt they were not worthy of his care and affection... With the field cleared, Vahn drew out the next two names after Merlin had finished making repairs to the massive hole that now existed in the dome-like magical barrier. Fortunately, they shouldnt have to worry about such things this time around as, by some string of fate, Rin and Luvia ended up being the next contestants. This caused Rin to release a profound sigh while Luvia, amused by the turn of events, crossed her arms as she raised the back of her hand toward her mouth andughed in her characteristic, Ohohohohoho~ manner. Like Olga, both Rin and Luvia had [Pactio] of their own so, after shouting, Adeat~!, they were both wrapped in magical light before reappearing in their raiments. Rins took on the appearance of an orthodox Magus,plete with an ornate robe that had several gemstones adorning it. As for her Artifact, it took on the form of a sword-like staff that was made out of rainbow-hued crystals. When she was serious, Rin was able to use her Artifact to produce beams of magical energy that allowed her to cut through anything under B-Rank... While Rin looked rtively normal, Olgas raiment was anything but as, rather than attire befitting a Magus, she appeared in aplicated outfit that gave her the appearance of a professional wrestler. It was a very form-fitting raiment that showed off a considerable amount of skin while, to exacerbate matters even further, her Artifact itself was a mask that covered the front half of her face, leaving just enough space int he back for her drill-like hair to cascade down her back. As for its usage, Luvia was able to multiple her parameters for a short period of time at the expense of magical energy. This was a very straightforward Artifact that suited her well but, every time Vahn saw it, he had to take a deep breath to rx his nerves... As the two had actually fought each other in their [Pactio] forms several times, the battle was just a repeat of their usual spars. This generally involved Rin taking evasive action as she tried to bait Luvia into magical mines that Rin could ce around the battlefield just by cing gemstones. These were strong enough to destroy armored vehicles but, as if she was a living weapon, Luvia would charge in without any hesitation as she attempted to get her hands on Rin. If she managed to do so, it was all but guaranteed she would be the final victor as, even with [Reinforcement] Magecraft, Luvias power was already monstrous, even without her Artifact. Fortunately, while she no longer had two Goddesses sharing her body, Rin had benefitted greatly from the extended exposure to Divine Energy. She hadnt reached Tier 4 herself but,pared to a normal human being, she was far stronger than normal. Her Od had surpassed Luvias a long time ago and, while her parameters were much lower than the golden-haired beauty, Rin was able to use a D-Rank [Shundo] while Luvia had been stuck at E-Rank for a long time. She didnt have a talent for the Space Element while Rin had benefitted from having Ishtars guidance for more than two years. While Luvia was able to bait Rin into losing her cool in most situations, she couldnt use her words to goad her easily when there was a crowd watching. Thus, with Rin having far greater mobility, it only took around ten minutes before Luvia took an especially bad hit to her side, sending her tumbling across the battlefield like a rock skipping across water. This wasnt enough to defeat her, as her own Innate passively protected her body, but Rin had kited her toward the edge of the arena. Thus, while Luvia had more wins than Rin overall, she ended up losing the Tournament match. Seeing how the battle had yed out, followed by how Rin had helped Luvia up, the crowd was in high spirits as they loudly apuded the two girls. Vahn also had a smile on his face, even though he knew this loss was going to make Luvia butt heads with Rin a lot in theing days. He needed to prepare himself as, while not all that often, the two sometimes came to him in order to pete in a way where neither had an advantage over the other... Following the cat and mouse game between Rin and Luvia, the next match included Iris and one of the favorites to potentially win the entire event, Medea. Unfortunately, while Medea was actually far more powerful than Iris, the young Magus didnt have the heart to harm others. She was intending to forfeit from the very start but, rather than upset the crowd, Iris managed to convince her to put on a performance of sorts. Thus, instead of a battle, the crowd was able to witness a disy of pure magical power and finesse, one that showed why Medea was considered Circes greatest student. Iris had been able to make a 30m tall golem formed from gold, a sight to behold, but Circe had been able to one-up her by summoning a titanic golem formed from the white stone of the battlefield. It was a startling 100m in height and, much to Vahnsment, and the amusement of many, it looked like a massive Grecian statue that used him as a reference. This meant the statue was predominately naked and, while there was a leaf-like motif covering the front, his eyes dulled when he heard Circement at the side, "That leaf is too small...silly girl..." With it being very apparent which of them had the greater skill, Iris ended up being the one to give up the match, despite Medeas insistence that she continues forward. Unfortunately for her, this had no effect on Iris and, using her motherly disposition, it didnt take long for the white-haired woman to convince Medea to continue in her stead. This resulted in Medea reluctantly agreeing to do her best, earning her a long hug from Iris in return. Though it wasnt nearly as shy as the previous battles, the audience apuded the familial disy with vigor. Vahn also appreciated the scene and, if not for the fact Medea had left the massive statue on the battlefield, he would have been very happy with how things had turned out. Now, until it was destroyed by someone, there would be a giant version of himself towering in the center of the arena. While he wasnt exactly shy, Vahn became increasingly despondent when future contenders made an earnest effort to avoid damaging the embarrassing work of art... Following the match between Iris and Medea, the next duo to take to the field was Nobunaga and, much to her chagrin, Scthach. This resulted in Nobunaga outright forfeiting the match in a not-so-content manner,plete with a few very vocal curses. Vahn knew he would be getting an earful from herter but, as Scthachs participation had already been decided on two weeks prior, there wasnt really anything he could do about the situation. While it did indeed feel a little unfair, the same argument could be made in regards to anyone that had a demonstrable amount of powerpared to the rest of the contestants. With Nobunagas forfeiture, Medusa and Semiramis were the final pair to take to the battlefield. This gave Da Vinci a pass through the first set of matches as there was an uneven number of participants in the Magus League. It was apparent that her Luck parameter wasnt just for show and, if he wasnt wrong, Vahn expected she would be ced against Medea in the next set of matches. If she gave up in the match against Scthach, there was a chance Da Vinci could pass through all the way to the finals without ever actually battling... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Poor Olga xD...,Intertwined fate,Nobunaga calls bullshit) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1277 Interlude: Magical Supremacy 2/2

Chapter 1277 Interlude: Magical Supremacy 2/2

Having built up various small grievances over thest few months, Semiramis was looking forward to the chance to vent some of her pent-up frustrations. She was actually considerably weaker than any of the other Caster ss Servants as, unlike them, she was, in fact, an Assassin ss Servant. If not for her Unique Skill, [Double Summon], allowing her to fulfill both roles, she wouldnt be able to put up much of a fight outside her Garden of Babylon. Hailing from the Age of the Gods, Semiramis had an advanced understanding of several forms of ancient Thaumaturgy. As Historys oldest poisoner,bined with her status as a Demigoddess, she could cast a variety of chantless Magecraft, many of which could prate through magical barriers and poison her opponents. While she was significantly weaker outside of her territory, she would still qualify as a Grand Magus, the highest obtainable rank within the Mages Association... A stark contrast to Semiramis, though they both had impossibly long hair, Medusa was still a rather young existence who had much to learn. She primarily relied on her Innates and the abilities she had obtained from being named, meaning she predominately used potent poisons to battle against her opponents. This,bined with her inordinately fast speed, granting her a base Agility of 37B, made her a force to be reckoned with if you were unfamiliar with her capabilities. Due to rarely leaving her own residence, Semiramis wasnt too familiar with those that made the Inner Sanctum, a ce she was denied ess to, their home. While she had made an effort to try and collect information on them, it didnt take long for a series of golems and a team of Homunculi to quickly turn her away. Thus, while she had heard about Medusa, this was the first time Semiramis was actually meeting Vahns pet Gorgon... After entering the battlefield, both girls stared at each other and, despite being separated by several kilometers, they were still able to maintain eye contact. This was an inherently foolish decision by the raven-haired Semiramis but, having supreme confidence in her ability to resist such effects, she did not fear Medusas petrifying gaze. She wanted to prove to everyone that she wasnt afraid so, when the battle finally began, she ascended into the sky with arms spread wide as the feathers around her cor began to peel away, each taking the form of a dark-grey dove. Medusa saw the veritable wall of birds heading her way but, instead of trying to flee, she crouched low to the ground in a very peculiar stance. In truth, she still wasnt all that ustomed to walking on two legs so, rather than force herself, the lower half of her body transformed into a long, snake-like tail. She had beautiful golden scales and a peculiar white pattern that ran along the backside while, on the front, a smooth, honey-white surface allowed her to easily glide along the ground with extreme speed. Most of the audience was surprised to see Medusas transformation but, when they saw what she did next, a stunned silence spread over the entire crowd. This was because, after leaping into the sky, using her tail like a spring, Medusas pale-golden eyes turned a silvery-white as a pulse of invisible energy radiated out from her body. Any dove within range was immediately turned to stone, despite the fact they were formed of Magical Energy and not true biological life forms. After clearing the initial blockade, Medusas hair red out wildly while, from beneath her silvery locks, three pairs of angel-like wings sprouted out, drastically increasing her speed. This was enough to finally get Semiramis to panic as she had not expected Medusa to try and close the distance from the start of the battle. A purple magic circle appeared behind her that quickly copsed backward to form a spatial gate of sorts as she sent a cloud of green and purple magical energy to obstruct the supersonic charge of Medusa. Once again, Medusa strained her eyes and, just as before, a pulse spread out that turned the mist produced by Semiramis into a pale-gray substance. She then passed through without any hesitation, dissipating the cloud of poisonous powder with a burst of magical energy as she tossed her spear toward the closing gate. This was, unfortunately, a futile attempt as, right before it pierced the gate, a scale-like membrane easily blocked the spear, repelling it backward with even more force than the initial throw. Medusa was easily able to evade the wayward spear but, as she looked around the battlefield, it was impossible to find Semiramis anywhere. She had simply vanished into thin air and, with her C+ Rank [Presence Concealment], Medusa was unable to sense her. This caused her to scrunch up her nose a bit as her tongue flicked out of her mouth in frustration, looking decidedly longer and more purple than a normal tongue... Semiramis was cursing her past self for looking down on her opponent but, more than that, she was annoyed that Noble Phantasms were disallowed from thepetition. This affected her a lot more than others as, due to various restrictions ced on her, she could only use a fraction of her power outside of her own territory. If she had her Hanging Gardens of Babylon, she would be able to use several A and even EX-Rank magical spells in sequence, making short work of most opponents. Now, Semiramis was forced to squat down behind a pir, an action made difficult by her massive volume of hair and ornate bell-frilled dress. If not for the fact she was invisible, she would be biting through her nails in frustration knowing that several thousand people had seen her in such a state... Without being able to sense Semiramis, Medusa began to feel increasingly annoyed so, while her Master had prevented her from using the most potent version of her poisons, she began to lightly flick her six wings. This caused a rainbow-hued powder to begin spreading through the area and, guided by her magical energy, a reactive mist that could target foreign magical energy began to spread across the battlefield. Semiramis was fully aware of what Medusa was attempting so, under her breath, she cursed, "This little brat is trying topete with me in poisons..." Despite feeling a great deal of scorn towards Medusa, Semiramis elected not to look down on her opponent as only the truly arrogant underestimated the potency of poisons. She knew better than most how effective they could be so, while she did not believe Medusa had even a fraction of her capabilities, there was a chance she had a unique poison that no amount of magical resistance could protect against. Though it was almost impossible to discern due to her clothing, smooth ck scales began to sprout all over Semiramis body. Rather than the scales of a snake, however, they were extremely smooth andpact, much like a fish. This was due to the fact that Semiramis mother, Derketo, was a Syrian mermaid Goddess. While Semiramis disdained her mother a great deal, she was never shy when it came to exploiting her heritage and its many benefits... After scales covered much of her body, leaving only her breasts, neck, and face exposed, Semiramis ced her palm against the ground. This caused a malicious ck ooze to form a magic circle that ate into the stone like a potent acid. Once this had beenpleted, she made use of her [Presence Concealment] to move undetected around the area, cing several other magic circles at various locations around the battlefield. These were each powerful curses that, upon contact with foreign magical energy, would trace the source and inflict them with various malignancies. Unfortunately for Medusa, she was simply too inexperienced and, while her education had been going well, she didnt treat it as seriously as she should. Thus, when faced against someone that had a considerable amount of experience, both in subterfuge and actual war, it was only a matter of time before she ended up getting baited into a trap. Despite never dropping her guard, it wasnt long before Medusas poisonous mist came into contact with one of Semiramis curses. Much to thetters surprise, however, her curse was devoured by the energy in Medusas poison. Thus, rather than take the petite gorgon out of the battle, she only left the silver-haired girl with a mild headache as the poisonous mist was released from the control of her magical energy. Though she knew Semiramis likely wasnt in the area where her mist had prated, Medusa made another golden spear before tossing it down like a bolt of lightning. She was beginning to feel very annoyed and, though she could keep going for several hours without too many issues, Medusa wasnt actually that fond of fighting. Her preferred method ofbat was to surprise her enemies and end the battle in an instant. She hated being on the receiving end of the same treatment so, as her opponent continued to skulk about, she was contemting just giving up. Deciding it was better to go out in a bang than simply surrender, Medusas hair began to darken on the tips, gaining a purple luster. After a few seconds, her hair had formed into severalrge snakes, each having very realistic features that included reflective eyes and flickering scarlet tongues. Using what remained of her surprisinglyrge pool of mana, the throats of Medusas snakes would glow, illuminating the gaps between their scales, before they spat out balls of radiant purple energy. When these projectiles hit the ground, they erupted into massive explosions that could easily levelrge buildings. If going by the usual ranking system, each projectile would be around a B-Rank spell and, as a result of Medusas inherent Poison Laws, they had a powerful corrosive quality to them as well. Since she was unable to sense Semiramis location, Medusa just began indiscriminately bombarding the entire battlefield. She didnt really care if she hit anything but, after a few volleys, Medusa felt a bit of feedback from one of her projectiles. This caused her to veer around and, instead of balls of energy, the snakes formed from her hair began firing purplesers that refracted off a dome-shaped magical barrier that revealed Semiramis grimacing on the other side. Having finally discovered her opponents location, Medusa angled herself downward and began a dive-bomb towards the turtling Semiramis. Her snakes continued to focus theirser beams, leaving an expanding purple on the surface of the barrier that made it seem as though it would break at any moment. This, however, wasnt Medusas intention so, once she was within a few dozen meters of the barrier, she stopped flicked her wings to evade backward as several ck chains emerged from purple magic circles to try and entangle her body. Semiramis clicked her tongue when Medusa was able to evade her attack but, when thetters eyes turned silvery-white, the raven-haired Magus couldnt help but smile. Just as the pulse of invisible energy spread from Medusas body, Semiramis barrier changed shape, forming a concave lens with a highly reflective surface. She had mistakenly believed that Medusa was another Heroic Spirit and, knowing about the legends associated with the monstrously powerful Gorgon, Semiramis was trying to use her own attack against her. Contrary to expectations, Medusas energy pulse, despite being rebounded, had no effect other than causing her to float backward in surprise. When she realized what Semiramis had attempted, her cute face formed into a deep frown as a very long spear, nearly 5m in length, formed in her hands. Even the snakes in her hair seemed offended as they all began to simultaneously charge up, their throats expanding as intense purple light began to escape through the gaps of their mouth. Seeing that her counter had no effect, Semiramis face had an even deeper frown than Medusa but, rather than give up, an inky ck liquid began to pour out from the bottom of her dress. Before she was able topletely activate her skill, however, Scthach appeared between them and stated in a cold tone, "The battle is over. Semiramis attempted to use her Noble Phantasm so the victory goes to Medusa." Medusa immediately ceased charging her own attack but Semiramis, feeling aggrieved, allowed the ck liquid to continue expanding for a few moments. She only stopped when Scthach turned to look directly at her, crimson electricity beginning to dance across her palms. This caused rm bells to ring in Semiramis mind, restoring her rity and causing the ck fluid to quickly dissolve into an inert state. Without missing a beat, Semiramis adopted a calm and elegant demeanor as she gave a polite bow toward Medusa and chimed, "Your performance was beyond my expectations. For a moment, I felt as if we were having a true life and death battle. Forgive myck of decorum...it has been a long time since I faced off against such a mighty opponent..." With her words finished, Semiramis promptly exited the Training Orb. She no longer had a reason to stay and, while Scthach was terrifying in her own right, it was the intense gaze of a Vahn that made her heart tense up. She was hoping that, by extricating herself andying low for a while, he would forget about her momentary slip as it would make her life very difficult if she lost what little favor she had with him. Though Vahn didnt say anything outwardly, he sent a telepathic message to request that Scthach observe Semiramis to make sure she didnt try anything while the majority of their forces were in the Training Orb. It was not impossible to destroy the orb itself and, while they would be able to safely move everyone outside before the copse, it was better to be safe than sorry. Even if there was less than a one percent chance she would do something, Vahn never underestimated what women were capable of under duress... After the rather intense battle, there was a brief recess to clean the arena since there was still arge amount of malignant mist present. Fortunately, this was an opportunity for Spenta to show off and, as she was always eager to help, everyone was able to see her purification in full effect for the first time. All it took for Spent to purify the entire battlefield was for her to stand in the center for around ten minutes. This caused a peculiar energy, formed from green and gold light, to spread across the field. As it passed, a field of flowers blossomed over the destend and, when it came into contact with Medusas and Semiramis poisons, they were simply turned into a wispy yellow mist that caused a warm and pleasant floral smell to spread throughout the area. While this was quite the sight to behold, Vahn was troubled as Spentas energy spread over therge statue that Medea had previously erected. It had escaped Medusas bombardment and, for her own reasons, Semiramis had avoided trying to use it as cover. Thus, with Spentas purifying energy having an overwhelming amount of Life Energy contained within, the previously white statue now looked like a giant formed from green shrubbery that was covered in flowers and vines... No matter what anyone said, Vahn was intending to destroy the statue in the near future, even if he had to make it look like an ident. For now, however, they still had a tournament to finish and, with the match between Medusa and Semiramis concluded, it was time for the second string of matches. So as not to keep the surprisingly patient crowd in suspense, Vahn pulled the first two names almost immediately after Spenta was escorted from the battlefield. When he saw what was listed, he rolled his eyes as, meeting his expectations, Da Vinci had indeed been paired with Medea. He even began to suspect that Da Vinci had made another vessel for herself, one with EX-Rank Luck as this was very clearly the result of causality itself being warped. As expected, Medea had no intention of harming anyone so, after a short discussion between her and Da Vinci, they put on another performance of sorts just so the crowd wouldnt be upset. Thus, without any suspense whatsoever, Da Vinci proceeded to the finals while Medea happily found a ce for herself next to Circe in the viewing area. After this, the next match was between Rin and Scthach so, as could be expected, the former quickly surrendered as thetter had already shown that she was willing to inflict considerable harm onto her opponents. Following the series of non-fights, the final round of the second set of matches was between Ishtar and Medusa. This, however, wasnt really a fight as Medusa had used up most of her magical energy in the battle against Semiramis. Thus, after a brief exchange of explosive attacks, Ishtar came out as the final victor by teleporting Medusa outside of the battlefield. She could have actually done this against Olga as well but, as she wanted to give the mortal woman a chance to test her limits, Ishtar had yed around a bit... With the second string of matchespleted, the third and final set was quickly conducted. As he had expected, Da Vinci, once again, got a free win as there were only three finalists. Since Scthach and Ishtar had their names pulled, Da Vinci was just sitting patiently at the side with her massive magic staff, a perpetual smile on her beautiful face as she monitored the equipment that analyzed each battle... To the surprise of no one, the battle between Scthach and Ishtar didntst very long as thetter had several exploitable weaknesses while the former had none. The only real advantage Ishtar had was her mastery over Space but Scthach, with EX-Rank [Magic Resistance], [God yer], and her [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground], this wasnt even close to being enough. She could effectively negate the effects of Ishtars Divinity and, while the battlested longer than expected, Scthach was slowly able to corner the haughty Goddess until she was forced to teleport from the battlefield itself. With Ishtars defeat, the only match that remained was between Da Vinci and Scthach but, much like he had expected, Da Vinci simply surrendered the battle outright, bringing the tournament to a rather anti-climactic end. It wasnt until after the reward ceremony that Vahn was able to confirm that, for the purposes of the Tournament, Da Vinci had indeed produced a body that had almost human-level parameters in exchange for Luck that defied quantifiable limits... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Medusa is surprisingly strong...?,Ishtar OP,Leave it to Da Vinci to find a way to get to the finals without having to lift a finger...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1278 Final Yearly Update

Chapter 1278 Final Yearly Update

Okay guys, this one is going to be pretty important. A lot of changes will be happening with the new year as I want to fix a lot of things to make the reading experience more stable for my readers. Ill be returning to scheduled releases once again (assuming nothing prevents me from doing so), but the overall chapter length is going to be pulled back. I was originally writing 2k word chapters but, as a result of trying to fit more story into each chapter, Im averaging around 3.3-3.5k these days. This makes each chapter a bit of a chore so Im hoping I can increase the overall amount by reducing the average length once again. With this change, Ill be able to write up to five chapters per day so things should be picking up a fair amount. Now, before I press my nose to the grindstone once again, I need to make good on a promise I made previously. With this in mind, Ill be using today to try and finish up Fenrirs Journey so there will be a mass release of sorts until it has finally been brought to an end. Im hoping to finish it all today but, depending on my familys ns, I may end up leaving in the afternoon to go celebrate the new year with them. If this happens, Ill finish up FJ tomorrow and then officially start the new schedule the following day. Last but not least, Ill only be releasing these updates if something major happens in the future so, if you want all the important news as it happens, please consider joining the Discord. This will enable you to know when each chapteres out immediately after its posted and, if anything happens to me, I always try to let the people on the server know. Well, thats about it for this end of the year update. Thanks for reading my novels! Without the help of some of you amazing people, I would not be able to do this. While it doesnt exactly pay well, Im quite fond of writing so Id like to turn it into my career at some point. This has been important for helping me build a foundation as an author so I appreciate the opportunity I have been given. Thank you all. Sincerely, Eins Left Foot Chapter 1279 Shift : Trial : Relaxation

Chapter 1279 Shift : Trial : Rxation

With the fall of one of the Three Monarchal families, the Mages Association had gone through a tumultuous phase. Several smaller factions ended up banding together to form a united front while those that had been biding their time and consolidating power quickly assimted the Barthomeloi familys assets into their own. This had led to several small scale conflicts but, fearing what would happen if they stood out too much, even the Trambelio and Valualeta families didnt stick out their necks too far. Without a leader, the Noble Faction had experienced a significant loss in influence within the Clock Tower but, after a series of political maneuvers, the Sophia-Ri family had managed to pull them back together. Still, the Noble Faction was a shadow of its former self and, with the other two Monarchal Lords turning a deaf ear to their plight, they were forced to be a far more moderate party. Fortunately, the majority of students and families associated with the Clock Tower were not Nobles so, while one faction struggled, the other two had seized power for themselves. Though these two factions, the Neutral and Democratic, were actually backed by two remaining Monarchal Lords, it was still a marked improvement in the minds of many. This was especially so for themoners that had been attending the Clock Tower as, without the Noble Faction suppressing them, they had a lot of freedompared to the past. Despite this newfound freedom, not every student was content and, believing they would have the opportunity to flee to the emergent Empire in the future, they abstained from joining any of the current factions. This earned them a fair amount of ridicule by fellow students and staff alike but, with Waver reinstated as a teacher, albeit without his title of Lord, this fourth faction had already grown to amodate nearly three hundred members. Waver, the former Lord El-Melloi II, had made a full recovery after Vahns treatment. The Edelfelt family had also managed to track down the frence Magus that had cursed him and, with the fall of the Barthomeloi family, he wasnt in any real danger. Rather, due to his presumed association with the Empire, his status within the Clock Tower had grown a considerable amount, even exceeding his highest point as a Lord. The biggest factor behind Wavers current poprity was that, despite not being a Lord, he was still the Department Head of the Faculty of Modern Magecraft Theory. He also had powerful connections amongst other Department Heads, including Marisbury Animusphere, Ro Belfeban, and, after the death of Barthomeloi Lorelei, the new Head of the Faculty of Policies, Gordolf Musik. Lord Musik had cut ties with the Noble Faction almost immediately after the duel between Artoria and Lorelei, an action that had ced his family into a difficult position. However, with the support of the Edelfelt family, and their now faux-immortal Homunculi, they had managed to tide through the bacsh. His biggest challenge had been contending against Hishiri Adashino, one of the Chief Executives in the Faculty of Policies, but she had eventually been restrained by her family after a very brief conflict. Now, the Faculty of Modern Magecraft Theory was the heart of a budding faction and, while tensions were steadily building, they had been able to avoid any serious altercations. After all, nobody wanted to be the first to stick their head out when the ambitions of the Empire were still unknown. They had all adopted a wait and see approach to the situation, believing it wouldnt be long before Vahn and his Empire entered the scene once again. --- A stark contrast to what others might expect from the terrifying and domineering Emperor, Vahn currently found himself in a ratherpromising position. This was due to the fact that, after she had secured victory in both Leagues, Scthach had made a difficult request of him. As a result, he found himself dragging a 20m tall statue made of pure gold behind him, his own [Enkidu] binding his body to seal the majority of his powers. Scthachs request was to allow her to give him a series of challenges, each designed to allow him to break through his limits. Her ultimate wish was for him to make good on his promise and, while she still had the intention of teaching him, Scthach had now given him a ten-year limit to exceed her. If he failed to do so, Vahn would be required to grant her the death she sought while, in the event he seeded, she demanded a child in exchange for forcing her to continue living... Vahn had a lot of mixed feelings regarding Scthachs request but, as he believed ten years was more than enough time, he ultimately epted her terms. Now, afterpleting his first challenge, which required him to survive having a hundred spears stabbed into his body, he was undertaking Scthachs second test. In total, there were supposed to be twelve challenges and, much like thebors of Heracles, she promised he would be exponentially stronger if he managed to survive all twelve of them... Despite the sealing effects of [Enkidu], Vahn had noticed a long time ago that his powers were not fully restricted by the resplendent golden chains. After all, his Source Energy was a form of energy that transcended the Tier system so, while [Enkidu] could even seal gods and temporarily bind Tier 5 entities, it could neverpletely restrict his power. Scthach was aware of this as well so, as part of his second challenge, Vahn had been required to bind himself in Enkidu as he dragged behind a statue weighing nearly 1,000,000kg over a course of 100km. This was far more than he could lift even in his unsealed state so, if not for the fact that the bottom of the statue and the top of the ground were extremely smooth, he would bepletely helpless. Still, each step Vahn took felt like moving a literal mountain and, with even his [Magia Erebea] state sealed, sweat poured from his brow with each step. This was his fourth day of pulling the massive statue of Scthach and, though it was a distance he could normally cover in an instant, Vahn had only made it thirty-seven kilometers. Though he hadnt been spending all his time pulling the statue, as there were other matters that required his attention, it was still an arduous and painful process. The most frustrating part of the experience, at least in Vahns opinion, was that the goal seemed so tantalizingly close. He could see the guidepost in the distance at all times but, no matter how much effort he put into pulling the massive statue, it never seemed to get any closer. He even suspected that Scthach had ced some kind of enchantment on the statue but, as she wasnt the type to use such underhanded methods, he continued forward at a snails pace until he reached the 40km mark and called it a day. After having Okita undo the lock preventing him from removing [Enkidu], Vahns body began to emit arge volume of steam, almost as if a pipe had burst. Then, after a few seconds, the steam began to retract like an implosion, forcing its way back into his body as his muscles regeneratedpletely. Despite the fact he didnt have any sweat on his body, Vahn allowed Gareth to wipe his body with a chilled towel, something he always found very refreshing. She also seemed to enjoy it quite a bit so, as thanks for them apanying him during the mind-numbing challenge, he didnt mind giving her a few benefits. Once his body had dried off, Vahn ruffled Gareths hair affectionately as he said, "Let us return. Ill have you wash my back and then we can all go grab a bite to eat." Gareth immediately perked up when she heard Vahns words, an excited smile spreading across her face as she eximed, "Yes, Master~!" in a chipper tune. She actually enjoyed bathing with him quite a bit and, as her hands were inordinately soft, Vahn was also quite fond of her care. --- While Vahn had made sure to prevent the advent ofmunal bathing within the castle, this didnt prevent him from enjoying thepany of others. There was arge circr bath installed in the Menagerie that could easily fit upwards of ten people so, whenever he wanted to rx and enjoy a nice soak, Vahn had developed a habit of stopping by. Since this was also an opportunity for him to spend time with the girls inhabiting the Menagerie, he usually stopped by at least once a cycle. At this point, the number of people residing in the Menagerie had increased from three to seven as Gareth, Medea, Okita, and Hati had now taken up residence within. Since Gareth and Hati had the traits of animals, they had quickly been scouted by the trio living within but, due to her desire to stay with her Aunt, Medea had also moved into an attached room. She shared this space with Penelo and, while she was a very bashful girl, there were times when even Medea would join them all in the bath. As for Okita, it was simply the most convenient ce for her to stay as, while she did not really care about other people, the members of the Menagerie were easier to associate with than the other residents of the castle. This time around, Circe, Medusa, and Medea happened to be absent from the Menagerie and, after a cursory scan, Vahn found them apanying Iris in the Library. Circe had Penelo with her as well so Vahn enjoyed the bath with Gareth, Okita, and Hati. Thetter usually spent most of her time inside the Menagerie so, every time Vahn stopped by, he found her lounging aboutzily in nothing but her panties and one of his stolen shirts. Despite having the ability to form clothes using a [REquip] system, Vahn knew that there were quite a number of girls in the castle who liked to steal hisundry. In fact, when he had tried to change to using the [REquip] system exclusively, they had even sent Artoria as a spokesperson to confront him on the matter. The strangest part of this was that he didnt even produce a discernible scent as, with his [Magia Erbea] constitution, his sweat itself returned to his body... Figuring it was just a quirk that some girls developed towards the person they liked, Vahn decided to let the mattery since it ultimately didnt matter. He actually liked to see the girls wear his clothing and, in order to make the most of it, started wearing button-up or form-fitting clothing. Thus, when he arrived in the Menagerie to rx for a bit, Vahn found Hati wearing ckce panties and a dark grey button-up shirt with all of the buttons undone. This allowed her tight abdominal muscles to be visible which, whenbined with her mature figure, gave her a considerable amount of sex appeal, something she was very aware of. --- While Vahn was enjoying his moment of rxation, Circes pointed ears had perked up slightly as a small frown marred her otherwise wless face. This was immediately noticed by Iris who, by now, had a very good understanding of the Demigoddess mentality. Never missing the opportunity to tease someone, Iris had her usual smile as she mused, "If you like, I can watch over Penelo for you. She is a well-behaved child so I dont mind at all~" With Iris words, Medea and Medusa also picked up on what was going on, causing thetter to hop up from her spot while the former had a deep hue of red spread across her cheeks. Medusa was not going to miss out on spending time with her Master so, with herughter echoing through the corridors, she quickly alighted from the Library. This caused Circe to snort through her nose as she muttered in a subdued voice, "Traitor...!" Despite her apparent frustration, Circe already had an excuse for her own departure so, while she was more than a little annoyed by the fact Iris was teasing her, she gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead before passing her over to the pale-haired woman. Afterward, she turned to Medea, her ire tempered for a brief moment as she asked, "Will you join us...?" Though she would sometimes agree when they were all together in the Menagerie, Medea quickly shook her head this time around before burying her face into her hands and saying, "I dont think that is a good idea..." in a sheepish tone of voice. This caused Circe to roll her eyes slightly as, while others may be fooled by Medeas behavior, she knew her niece better than anyone. Still, she wasnt going to force the issue as it was still a little early to start pushing her to take more decisive action... With nothing to say on the matter, Circe just gave a small nod before gesturing toward Iris with her eyes. Iris understood her intentions well so she just shooed Circe away with a knowing smile on her face. In truth, she was also interested in joining in on the fun but, until her daughter made progress in her own rtionship, the most she could do was tease Vahn and the others a bit. Thinking about her daughter, Iris rose to her own feet, catching Medeas attention before she asked, "Will you apany me to check on my daughter? Im certain she will appreciate thepany. Id like the two of you to be friends in the future so it would make me happy if you spent some time with her~" As it was a good opportunity to clear her own head, Medea agreed to Iris request with a demure smile and a small nod. This actually wasnt the first time she had been asked to visit Illya and, as she found Alchemy quite interesting, Medea had no problem stopping by. She also found Illya to be very cute so, while it was a little unnerving to see the girl floating naked in a vat of green fluid, it was also a little exciting... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nobody wants to fuck with the Empire xD...,Scthach is brutal,Vahn is living the dream (x _ x)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1280 Unobstructed

Chapter 1280 Unobstructed

With a full month having passed in the real world, Vahn found himself at the Edelfelt Manor enjoying a light lunch alongside Olivia, Luvia, Da Vinci, and Artoria, while Gray, Okita, Jeanne, and Gareth were waiting at the side. They had already eaten prior to the departure from Avalon so, while it was always a little awkward to have people he cared about act the part of an attendant, Vahn knew the girls in question preferred to y the part quite a bit. At this point, they had discussed the negotiations several times so, while the luncheon was a good opportunity to rehash things, Vahn dismissed the matter as there was no way of knowing how things would turn out until the negotiations began. He would rather just enjoy his lunch without worrying about such things and, though Olivia looked like she had something to say, even she didnt force the issue. Thus, while the luncheon didnt take as long as normal, it was a pleasant experience since the primary topic rted to U and the other children. Unfortunately, while it was a viable strategy in some situations, Vahn didnt want to keep Solon and the Director of the As Temple waiting for him. If things went well, the Empire would be working in conjunction with the Mages Association for the foreseeable future so, in order to decrease the odds of something going wrong, he decided to give them a bit of face by arriving early, albeit by breaking into the Bounded Field around the Clock Tower with a spatial transfer. As could be expected, the security of the Clock Tower was surprised by the intrusion but, as they had already been informed by the Administration, they were prepared to receive Vahns entourage. To his surprise, the person leading the procession was none other than Waver and a young woman with a pixie-style haircut that Vahn had only met once before, Samantha, Ro Belfebans granddaughter. It only took a moment for Vahn to realize why they were the ones to receive his group so, with a smile on his face, he mused, "It pleases us to see you in good health, Waver Velvet...I trust you have had fewer issues since thest time we met?" Waver gave a low bow after being addressed by Vahn before answering in a courteous tone, "Thanks to His Majesty, the El-Melloi family has been very prosperous as ofte. My wife wishes to express her gratitude but, due to personal circumstances, cannot do so in person..." Vahns mood was lowered by the mention of Reines but, considering she had the wherewithal toy low for a while, he wasnt that affected by Wavers words. Instead, he gave a small nod before giving the gentlemanly Magus leniency to stand before turning to Samantha and saying, "It has been some time since ourst meeting. I hope you and your Grandfather have been in good health." Samantha was looking decidedly nervouspared to thest time he saw her and, while she still had a ruby-red pixie cut, Vahn could tell that she was growing it out. She was also wearing a suit, a stark contrast to the rather boyish and casual style she had worn during the previous banquet. Much like Waver, Samantha gave a too-low bow upon being addressed, something that nearly threw off her bnce as a result of rather healthy development. Fortunately, as a Magus that specialized in physicalbat, she managed to avoid a faux pas as she answered, "Thank you for your kind words. My grandfather is as healthy as an ox and eagerly awaits a meeting with Your Majesty...!" With the edges of his smile curling up slightly, Vahn gave a small nod, stating in a casual manner, "If time allows, Im certain a meeting can be arranged. I may have to trouble him with paying a visit, however, as it is not convenient for me to visit others." Though it didnt actually matter all that much to him, Vahn had his status as an Emperor to consider when it rted to social and political affairs. He couldnt simply go seeking out Ro as it would be giving the man too much face at no real benefit to the Empire. Since the man wanted to probe him for information, it was a given that he should be the one to seek out an audience as, in the present moment, they werent even acquaintances yet. As a sensible woman, Samantha understood the meaning behind Vahns words, her face turning a little pale. She regretted her choice of words but, seeing the rxed smile on Vahns face, she was able to breathe a sigh of relief before answering, "That is a matter of course, Your Majesty. I will let my grandfather know you are willing to meet with him. Im certain he will jump at the opportunity for an audience at the earliest convenience for His Majesty." While it was very apparent that Samantha still had a lot to learn about interacting with others in a formal matter, she had made a lot of progress in the short month or so since theirst meeting. He had to give her credit as, while a considerable amount of time had passed in the Projection, the real world flowed at a much slower rate. This made it harder to ascertain how quickly those in the outside were progressing but, with his memory, Vahn didnt have too much troubleparing her current self to the young woman he had met at the banquet... --- After a bit of polite conversation, Vahn was leisurely strolling through the hallways of the Clock Tower, this time without anyone attempting to bar his passage. While the presence of his group garnered a lot of attention from the student body and faculty alike, the corridors werergely empty as nobody dared to earn his ire by blocking his way. This made Vahn feel a little like a tyrant but, as it was actually quite annoying to be stalled for some arbitrary reason, he didnt mind the awkward and tense atmosphere. Since he had a detailed map of the Clock Tower already stored within his mind, it didnt take long for Vahn to reach the restricted ess elevator that led to Solons personal Bounded Field. This was the furthest people like Waver and Samantha could go so Vahn thanked them for their guidance before making his way onto the tform alongside Artoria, Gray, Da Vinci, Okita, Jeanne, and Gareth. It was a bit of a tight fit at first but, before the tform even began to rise, it seemed to double in size due to the maniption of space around them. Okita was alerted by the not-so-subtle maniption but, with a simple gesture from Vahn, her body rxed considerably, even if her grip on her katana remained unchanged. If it came down to it, she would not hesitate to cut down anyone who tried to harm her Master and, with her [Further Earth], even Zelretch would be forced to remove himself from the axis of time and space just to evade her... This time around, the elevator ride didnt even take more than a minute before the space around them seemed to expand into a full world. The elevator tform itself merged together with the muchrger floating lookout while, waiting for them on thending leading up to Solons Garden, Zelretch and a man Vahn assumed to be Director Asia stood with smiles on their faces. The moment Vahn saw Director Asia, his brows lifted slightly and, skipping formalities, he asked, "Is itmon for high ranking members of the Mages Association to be Dead Apostles...?" Zelretch beganughing rather boisterously in response to Vahns words while, at the side, Director Asia cleared his throat before answering, "While I may be a Dead Apostle, I am not the same kind of existence as the monsters that y with human lives. I keep my thirst in check using a specializedpound that provided simr benefits without the usual mess. Also, if not for the request of the Association Director, I would not have left my Temple...with that in mind, I would request that Your Majesty does not make tasteless jokes..." Vahn was somewhat amused by Director Asias response but, as it was actually a little rude of him to point out the mans affliction, he decided to give an affirmative nod. This returned the smile to Director Asias face while Zelretch, havingughed to his hearts content, gestured toward the Temple above as he said, "Solon would havee out to meet you but they have been experiencing a few issues as ofte. Inside, youll find some rather high-quality tea waiting so please follow along, Your Majesties and esteemed guests." With Zelretch leading the way, followed closely behind by Director Asia, Vahn and his entourage quickly followed suit. The usual formalities were unnecessary when all parties had significantly high status so, while Solons absence was a small offense, Vahn didnt particrly mind it. He knew that the Director needed a way to save face for themselves and, after previously hearing about their past from Merlin, it didnt hurt to give them some leniency. Upon entering Solons Garden for a second time, Vahn briefly nced around the area, finding it in the same exact state as hisst visit. It was quite the sight to behold but, as he wasnt here to take in the sights, he turned his attention to the floating tform in the center of the building. There, Solon could be seen wearing much thicker robes than normal as they sat around a low table with a solemn and tired expression on their face. Vahn was a little surprised to find Solon in such a state but, with the obvious intent of preventing him from asking, Zelretch lightly exined, "Solon has had a lot to deal with in the aftermath of the Barthomeloi familys fall. Try to cut them a bit of ck this time...they are a little more temperamental than usual..." Though he had several questions, Vahn just gave a curt nod in response to Zelretchs plea. He knew the elderly Magus had been far busier than the Director so, while the matter of the Barthomeloi was certainly troublesome, there had to be a different reason for Solons current state. He assumed it had something to do with Merlin but, as thetter always deflected when probed about the topic of their discussion, Vahn had no way of knowing for certain. Despite having the same youthful figure, Solon looked particrly ragged by the time the group reached the floating tform and took their seats. Even their emerald-green hair had lost a bit of its usual luster and, while their eyes were still a striking blue with pink circles around their pupils, much of their intensity had been lost. Now, rather than a predator that was about to leap onto its prey, Solon gave off the feeling of a wounded animal that didnt have any strength to resist... Once everyone had been seated, Solon preempted the discussion by issuing a tired sigh and sitting a little straighter. A bit of their prideful aura returned as they stated, "Lets get this over with as soon as possible. Im certain you have already prepared some kind of offer, right? Let me see it..." To smooth things over a bit, Zelretch made a show of clearing his throat, earning a deadpan stare from Solon before thetter rolled their eyes and added, "We have already discussed the matter with the most influential affiliates of the Association. They are willing to make somepromises so long as the Empire does not make excessive demands. If you havent prepared a draft, we can draw up a contract that guarantees some benefits for both sides. Since youre allied with the Edelfelt family, do not pretend you havent alreadye up with a list of demands..." Vahn was increasingly surprised by how things were developing as he had expected Solon to be the same obstinant person as before. Now, it seemed like the peculiar Magus had no will to even put up any meaningful resistance at all, something that made him feel strangely guilty. Still, as this was an important matter for both the Empire and his children, he pulled out the contract that had already been drafted and began discussing the various benefits for both sides... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Discussing politics makes the food taste worse,Vahn, the unobstructed tyrant of the halls...!,Solon seems depressed ( o _ o)...) (A/N: There will be two more chapterster today, alongside one Babel. I should be on the fixed schedule starting tomorrow but, even if Im not, there will still be an average of 12-14k words of content per day.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1281 Concessions

Chapter 1281 Concessions

While there were a fewplex provisions and redundancies, the contract Vahn presented to Solon was a rtively straightforward document. In its most bare-bones interpretation, it stipted that the Empire would not tolerate any practices considered inhumane. At the same time, a basic level of sovereignty would be granted to all sapient non-human and Spiritual lifeforms, making it uwful to use them as subjects for research and as a source of material goods. While there were a few obvious exceptions, Vahn would never tolerate the suppression of species for the sole benefit of a few errant individuals. The most important use dictated that the Mages Association had to recognize the Empire as its own self-governing nation. This was an obvious inclusion but, as they already expected a number of issues to pop up, there were provisions regarding migration, the treatment of Companions, the basic guidelines for their educational system and,st but not least, a detailed exnation of the social hierarchy of the Empire. Unlike every other country in the world, the foundation of the Empire was not built on its economy as, with [Das Rheingold], Da Vincis [Gradiation Air Printer], a functionally infinite supply of mana, and the existence of thousands of Spirits, they were not wanting for anything. Rather, to prevent the rampant spread of corruption that always followed in the wake of material exchange, they would be using a strictly merit-based system that was monitored and regted by Mother, one of Da Vincis trio of advanced Artificial Intelligenceworks. This particr topic garnered an extreme amount of interest from Director Asia as, being a branch of the Mages Association that was almostpletely cut off from the rest of the world, the As Temple actually used a simr structure. They were an organization of Alchemists that didnt follow orthodox practices so, even as far back as the seventeen hundreds, they had already developed a very rudimentary Artificial Intelligence using awork of artificial human brains. Now, almost every member of the As Academy was an Artificial Human or Homunculus as many among their faculty considered it the logical step in human evolution. Unfortunately, matching Vahns expectations, immortality was a heavy burden on the average person so, over thest few hundred years, the As Temple had a serious problem with suicides. In fact, as a result of severalplex calctions that had been pointing towards the destruction of the world since the first generation Director, they now had less than one-hundred people in the Temple, faculty and studentsbined. Everything else was managed by Pseud-Spiritron Computers and Artificial Intelligence as,pared to the capabilities of these super-intelligent systems, people were almost obsolete. While this may seem like a nightmarish ce to be, the primary reason behind the As Temples fall was that they had taken it upon themselves to developed advanced technologies with the ultimate goal of preserving humanity from several extinction level events that had been prophesied by their first Director. Thus, in an effort to avoid the same corruption that existed in other organizations, they had isted themselves in order to fully focus on their goals. Since it was an impossible goal for the first generation of As Temple Alchemists, they had focused on the development of systems and Artificial Lifeforms that could exceed the limitations of humanity and push Thaumaturgy to a level they believed was impossible for humans to reach on their own. As a result, they created a series of hyperintelligent superhumans, each sessive generation greatly exceeding the potential of the former. Since the advent of this system, six generations hade into existence and, feeling their own existences be obsolete, many Veteran Alchemesists ended up killing themselves after their progeny matured. Da Vinci could empathize with this as, during her past life, a number of prodigious individuals had ultimately ended up falling into depression while trying topete with her. Some had even taken their lives, believing there was no purpose in existing in a world where their best efforts would never amount to a middling effort on her part. It was this,bined with the istion imposed upon her by the Church and Mages Association, that ultimately led to Da Vinci herself taking her own life. Ultimately, things like immortality, absolute power, and hyperintelligence were things that humans, in general, were not able to trulyprehend, much less adapt in a healthy manner. Immortality had the effect of making you slowly lose your appreciation of life and, in many instances, led to the soul itself bing fatigued. Immortality would cause you to slowly lose your grasp on emotions and, unless you periodically erased your memories, the burden of your own experiences would cause you to lose your mind. As for absolute power and hyperintelligence, these were both powerful corrupting elements and, if youcked the proper amount of empathy, those with more power and intelligence often suppressed and subjugated those weaker and less intelligent than themselves. This was part of the evolutionary process itself and, while it functioned well when humans had short lifespans, it became a very big issue when they began living for hundreds, or even thousands, of years. This was something Vahn understood well as, despite his best efforts, he sometimes struggled with his own mentality. If not for his expansive support group and the persistent guidance of Sis, it was not an exaggeration to say that he could deviate down a much darker path. After all, it was so much easier to use force to deal with your problems and, when you had as much power and resources as he had, the urge to simply eliminate all troubles was ever-present. This was the reason he ced so much importance on the promises he made with people like Artoria as, without a means to ground his own actions, there was a chance he would truly be the tyrant some made him out to be... --- While the number of uses and provisions numbers in the hundreds, Solon didnt take too long to review the thick stack of documents. Since the Empire would be bearing the brunt of Angra Mainyus emergence,bined with the fact they provided both knowledge and resources to the Association, it was a foregone conclusion that Solon would ept. They only had a few addendums that served the interests of the existing affiliates but, as this was something Vahn had already anticipated, it was not a major point of contention. The only thing Solon really had a problem with was the fact that Vahn wanted to create an entirely new department within the Association that had its own recognized sovereignty. This would make it so that the department was functionally an embassy and, despite their autonomy, he expected that the most important resources, such as the Spiritual Tomb, would be essible to the Empire. If not for the fact that Vahn added a stiption that essentially required the Empire topensate the Clock Tower for all the materials harvested within, it would be impossible to agree to such terms as even the Three Monarchal families werent able to act with such impunity. This made it seem as if the Mages Association was cowing to the Empire but, when it ultimately came down to it, this wasnt actually that far from the truth. Thus, after a discussion that seemed to make Solon age several years in a few tens of minutes, the contract was notarized and signed. Originally, Vahn had intended to allow Solon to keep he documents so they could take care of negotiations with the Associations affiliate families but, with two of the Directors present, such considerations were ultimately unnecessary. Even if they didnte to an ord in regards to the Clock Tower, Director Asia had already agreed to work in conjunction with the Empire as their goals were ultimately the same. Since Da Vinci was a genius beyond even hisprehension, even with his own mind on the level of a supeputer, he felt the As Temple itself would be obsolete if he didnt make concessions now. With Director Asias support, Solon had the leverage to sign the document without having to confer with the other families as, even if conflict ultimately broke out, the Empire was guaranteed to emerge victoriously. Vahn had even revealed the existence of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and the fact he now had the means to summon an unlimited amount of Heroic Spirits, invalidating the need to consider the matter in detail. Since the terms would likely be more troublesome after a fight broke out, it was better topromise now in order to build rapport with the Empire. Only by acquiescing could they guarantee that the Mages Association would even exist in the future... --- When the documents were officially signed, Vahn had a pleased smile on his face but, after stowing them away safely in his Inventory, he turned to Solon and said, "This may sound awkwarding from me but I hope youll take better care of yourself in the future. I can see that this wasnt easy for you but, in order to create a world where humans and spirits can live in peace, we must all be willing to make somepromises. I hope that, in the future, you will understand that your decision here helped to shape the world for the better..." Hearing Vahns words, Solon released another tired sigh before looking at him with a deadpan stare and saying, "Even with the power of the Empire, human nature is intrinsically tied to corruption. It is all but guaranteed that something will go wrong down the line. The odds of this increase when you empower people and give them the illusion of freedom. No matter how good they have it, there will always be those who seek more. For some, taking from others is what gives their life meaning so the utopia you aspire to create is fundamentally impossible to realize. I only hope that, in your efforts to bend nature to your will, you do not break before humanity itself does..." Vahn was slightly awed by Solons words and, for a brief moment, he was at a loss as to how to respond. Fortunately, as was often the case, Zelretch stepped in and, with a sly smile on his face, exined, "Solon has actually tried to guide humanity a few times without any sess. Dont take their words too seriously. There is no such thing as impossible, especially on a fundamental level, so the only thing that matters is that you do your best to actualize your dreams. You cannot be faulted for desiring a better world. Do not let the weight of humanity break your spirit, hahahahaha-urk!" In the midst of Zelretchsughter, Solon elbowed them hard in the side and, while their expression wasrgely emotionless, Vahn sensed their emotions spike for a brief moment. This caused his smile to return as, while they were good at hiding it, Solons reaction showed they were more than a little embarrassed by Zelretchs words. This made the peculiar Magus seem more human so, while he still felt a little guilty for forcing Solon into this position, there didnt seem to be any serious issues with the Directors mentality. As a show of good faith, Vahn decided to wrap things up by asking, "Now that we are officially allies, would you like a tour of Avalon? I cannot show you much of the castle but, if it is just the ind, Im certain there are a number of exhrating sights to behold. It truly is one of the most beautiful and scenic ces Ive ever seen. Considering Ive traveled to more than one world, you can trust that my standard for such things is quite high." Hearing Vahn suddenly invite them into the heart of the Empire, Solon, Zelretch, and Director Asia were all more than a little surprised. While it could be a trap, that wouldnt really make a lot of sense when considering the capabilities of the Empire itself. If Vahn wanted to eliminate them, sending an army of Heroic Spirits all but guaranteed their loss. Thus, while they would normally refuse, Solon seriously considered the invitation while Zelretch and Director Asia wasted no time in epting. With their colleagues readily agreeing, Solon released a subdued sigh before ultimately epting Vahns offer. At the very least, they would be able to ascertain some of the truths behind his ims as, ording to the information he provided, there should already be severalmunities of Spirits residing in Avalon. Since it was much easier to determine if and was peaceful by the bnce of mana and the happiness of the Spirits, they figured it would be beneficial to see for themselves what kind of ce Avalon had be under the rule of the Empire... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Money has no value when you have an infinite amount xD,Immortality is a heavy burden,There is nothing wrong with wanting to make the world a better ce) (A/N: 2k+ word chapters feel so pleasant to write xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1282 Veil

Chapter 1282 Veil

With the User of the Second Magic at their side, it was a simple matter to transfer directly from the Clock Tower to just outside Stonehenge. Here, Vahn opened the gateway between the Surface and the Subtexture of Avalon, creating a massive spatial rift that could easily amodate the entire group. Solon was already aware that Avalon was hidden away and, having spent a considerable amount of time within the Wandering Sea, the existence of Subtextures was not unknown to them. This was the same for Director Asia so, while others might be surprised by the spatial gate between textures, they passed through withposure and veiled intrigue. As all gates in and out of Avalon met within the Transfer Room of the castle, Vahn turned to the trio immediately after passing through, saying, "Im certain individuals of your caliber are already aware of it but, so long as you are inside of Avalon, it is impossible to escape notice. Even if you try to use the Second Magic to hide outside the axis of Time and Space, trust that your actions are being monitored." While Zelretch could wander freely almost anywhere else, Avalon was one of the sole exceptions as it was a Space entirely under the influence of unique Laws. He would have been able to get away with it in the past but, now that Leviathan watched over the entire Subtexture, it was beyond his means to escape notice. The Watcher had the ability to know everything within a given area and, the moment Zelretch tried to step outside the Time and Space axis, he would essentially be forced to reenter from outside of Avalon. Zelretch was tempted to put Vahns im to the test but, as there was no sense in doing so at the present moment, he just stroked his beard with a sly grin on his face. He didnt think Vahn had a full understanding of his capabilities and, while it may be exceedingly difficult to move unnoticed, there was no such thing as impossible when it came to True Magic. If he put in a concerted effort, the only inessible ces to him were those that had a fixed spatial fabric, something Avalon clearlycked. Vahn could tell that Zelretch was tempted by his words so he gave the elderly man a warning look before exining, "Were currently located within the Ivory Castle. I will show you around for a short while before allowing you to explore on your own. So long as you do not try to gain ess to any restricted areas, it doesnt really matter where you go. Just keep in mind that Im very protective of my people." Hearing Vahns words, Director Asia raised his brows, asking, "Youre going to let us walk around on our own? Do you think that wise...or are you just that confident in Avalons security?" In response to Director Asias question, Vahn issued a light chuckle before holding out his hand, upon which a small blue humanoid had manifested itself. The moment the three peculiar Magi saw the creature seated atop Vahns hands, Zelretch and Director Asia directly froze up while Solon had a look of sheer incredulity on their face. Even without Vahn exining who the blue creature was, they suddenly felt like inconsequential existences trying to grasp the breadth of the Heavens... With a casual smile on his face, Vahn lightly caressed the top of yas head as he introduced, "This is the manifestation of Humanitys Will to Survive, the half of the Counter Force known as ya. She will be watching you very closely so Ill have to ask that you behave. Youll find that, even with ess to True Magic, there are some forces in the World that you cannot directly oppose." Even as Vahns finger stroked her head, ya red at the three with her violet eyes, sending shivers down the spines of all three Magi. Zelretch had even turned pale as, better than most, he was aware of just how powerful ya was. He had seen her Counter Guardians wipe out entire countries in the span of a single evening and, during his youth, had even tried to contend against a few. They all had unbelievable might and, due to their connection to the Counter Force, some could even counter his Kaleidoscope. Of the three, Solon was the first to speak, a subtle shift detectable in their vocals as they stated, "It seems we underestimated you to the very end...well, at least we can confirm you arent acting in your interests alone..." Hearing Solons remark, Vahn shook his head and, after cing ya back on his shoulder, stated in a calm tone of voice, "I have no interest in the world outside of making it a safer ce for all children to live. I believe everyone deserves the chance to seed in life so, even if I must uproot an entire forest of old trees, I will do so to ensure the saplings of the next generation can thrive..." The meaning behind Vahns words didnt escape the trio and, after the revtion of ya, they knew he wasnt embellishing facts. Rather, the existence of the Counter Force is something that has put pressure on Magi since the Age of Gods. It was something even the most powerful Magi feared and, in many cases, the existence of ya and Gaia was the primary reason behind why the Root was inessible... --- Rather than just stand around making threats, Vahn made good on his promise to show Solon and Zelretch around while Director Asia apanied Da Vinci to observe some of her creations. He would not be allowed within the Workshop, or the Projection for that matter, but the entire ind was filled with examples of Da Vincis work. She wanted to get his input and, as it wouldnt be long before the As Temple was working closely with the Empire, it was an opportunity for her to build rapport with the current Director. Vahn didnt mind allowing Da Vinci the liberty to act as she pleased as, more than anyone else, she put the proper amount of consideration into everything she did. The odds of her erring and getting put into apromising position were infinitely close to zero and, while Director Asia was a very powerful individual, he wouldnt be able to do anything outside of their notice. If he tried, the only fate that awaited him was something far worse than death. Depending on the circumstances, Vahn might even throw him to Azathoth to spend the rest of his immortal existence. Still, to absolutely guarantee nothing happened, Vahn asked Scthach to watch over Da Vinci until their guests left Avalon. She could make multiple copies of herself so, even without ya watching over the trio, they would have to deal with a Purple Demon haunting them. If they tried to get away with any kind of subterfuge, they would quickly find their bodies pierced by several spears. Though Zelretch seemed to be vaguely aware of her presence, the restrictions on his abilities while in Avalon all but guaranteed that even he wouldnt be able to escape having be her target... Fortunately, Zelretch and Solon had the wherewithal to avoid doing anything suspicious, even after Vahn allowed them to freely wander the ind. Thus, after warning them not to antagonize Heracles, he assigned them Companions as escorts. Solon seemed hesitant to have an adorable creature following after them but, as it wasnt really optional, they were paired together with one of the most recent iterations, a version with smooth scales and slightly squishy flesh that was meant to emte a True Dragon. As for Zelretch, he was far more enthused to have a Companion apany him, ultimately deciding upon an owl version with light-grey feathers. Once they had been given Companions, Solon wandered off to explore the areas where Spirits had gathered to formmunities while Zelretch teleported over to the castle town. Though he was not able to make full use of his abilities, Vahn didnt mind allowing the old man to teleport around a bit. All that really mattered was that he stayed outside of the restricted area. --- While his guests were exploring the ind, Vahn was watching all three of them through his link with Scthach. Since he was doing this from within the Projection, all of their actions were in slow motion so it would be very difficult for them to take any action outside his or, more specifically, Scthachs notice. Still, they were all extremely capable individuals so, as long as they were on Avalon, Vahn was unable to rest easily. This was especially true with Zelretch teleporting very near areas where he was not allowed to enter, obviously with the intent of messing with him... Fortunately, while Zelretch seemed to discern the existence of the Projection, he had enough sense not to enter inside. Had he tried, the consequences would have been rather severe as, for the time being, Vahn didnt want outsiders entering into the domain where his children resided. Vahn knew it was only a matter of time before some people tried to use his children to serve their own ends but, for now, he would not expose them to such characters. While they would eventually have to familiarize themselves with these types in the future, they would be allowed to gain experience by dealing with their peers before having to socialize with adults. If any disreputable types tried to manipte or ost his children, Vahn wouldnt even hesitate topletely break them... While it may seem somewhat hypocriticaling from him, Vahn believed that the most stable type of rtionship was between people of simr age groups. Though this became less important when the parties involved reached a certain age, he felt the first two decades of a persons life was a period of instability and uncertainty. This sometimes even extended into theirte twenties so, while it was only a matter of time before one of his children had a rtionship with someone several times their own age, Vahn would not allow it this early. With this in mind, Vahn began to think about his childrensing school days as, while he would be present during the staged expeditions, they would be left to their own devices at other times. If he watched over them every second of every day, their growth would be restricted. Because of this, outside of their primary ss, they would be allowed to freely attend the lectures of other Professors within the Clock Tower. The education provided by the Clock Tower may be wed in many ways but, so long as you didnt treat everything they said as irrefutable truth, it was still pertinent information. At the very least, you could use it as a test to determine whether or not you can see through the inherent ws of a given theory. If your understanding was adequate, any magical form could be seen through in a single nce and, at higher degrees ofprehension, you couldpletely invalidate their function with a few small changes. The best example of this was Waver Velvet, the former Lord El-Melloi II, as he had developed his theoretical knowledge to the point that he could break apart and invalidate many spells just by understanding the ws. This made him extremely hated by orthodox Magi but, as they could not outright refute the significance of his achievements, they could only grit their teeth and develop new methods that were not so easily seen through. Since even Luvia had been a victim of this in the past, Vahn knew that, so long as you did not allow yourself to be fooled by false information, you could actually learn a considerable amount from the other Departments within the Clock Tower... Imagining the reaction of the various Faculty members that were about to have all their theories torn apart by Da Vincis curriculum brought a smile to Vahns face. He couldnt wait to see the bitter looks on the faces of the orthodox Magi as the methods they had secretly clung to for thousands of years were quickly made obsolete. Soon, the illusion of their power they had upheld for generations will be broken and, while conflict would undoubtedly arise as a result, they would ultimately be forced to grit their teeth and adapt if they didnt want to be destroyed... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Zelretch is a troll,Seat of Powah,RIP Orthodox Magi, you will not be missed) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1283 Brink

Chapter 1283 Brink

As watching over Solon, Zelretch, and Director Asia for a few hours tranted to literal days from Vahns perspective, it wasnt long before he decided it was time to send them on their way. He was certain the Zelretch had mapped out much of the region by now and it was obvious from Solons interactions with the Spirits that they were no longer as stressed out as before. With Companions at their side, Solon and Zelretch returned to the castle shortly after Vahn shared his intentions. They knew better than to try and overstay their wee so it didnt take them long to finish up what they were doing. The only one who took marginally longer was Director Asia as he was quite taken with many of Da Vincis inventions. It was unfortunate for him that, while Da Vinci had no problem exchanging some information, she had no interest in detailing the intricacies of the most important systems she had developed. By the time Director Asia had made his appearance, Vahn had been keeping Solon and Zelretchpany for nearly twenty minutes. He used this time to inquire about their opinion on Avalons development, earning quite a fewpliments from Zelretch and a few dismissive remarks from Solon. Thetter felt that Avalon should be home to only Spirits in the future as they did not want to see thisnd tainted by humanity. In response to this, Vahn calmly exined, "Avalon will be a bastion for all species that seek a better future. Im not going to discriminate and anyone based on the preconceived notions as that will only lead to a social divideter down the line. So long as they follow thews dictated to them, anyone will be able to call Avalon home, at least for a short while." To further rify, Vahn detailed his intention to turn Avalon into a massive Academy and Sanctuary. The only permanant residents would those living and working within the castle while everyone else calling the ind home will only be able to stay for as long as they are contributing to the system. When they were ready to move on from their studies, the people educated in Avalon would be able to make a name for themselves in the outside world using the knowledge and resources provided to them by the Empire. Unlike existing systems, the Empire had the ability to supply the necessary resources for everyone to advance their research. The only restriction on resources would be the persons capabilities as, if they were unable to handle dangerous or delicate materials, they would not be given ess to them. This would prevent waste and encourage those who sought greater heights to push themselves further. Solon was obviously skeptical, as things rarely went as expected, but they could at least agree with the idea of making Avalon into a schrly utopia. The Clock Tower, As Temple, and Wandering Sea had been stagnating since the advent of the Modern Era so it would be extremely beneficial for the development of Magecraft to have fresh ideas introduced. This also exined why Vahn wanted to send his children to the Clock Tower as, in the future, the existence of the special ss hosted by the Empire would serve as a vetting program for the first generation of Avalon Academics. Understanding this, Solon asked, "How soon until you announce the existence of Avalon? Will you manifest a physical representation of the ind in the real world?" As most Subtextures of the world had an ess port anchored within reality, it would be difficult for the Empire to exercise its authority if their power could not be seen. People may instinctually fear the unknown but, when you could see the wealth, power, and prosperity of another country, it increased the amount of influence you had on countries. After all, while power and authority were wielded by a select few, they could still be pressured greatly by their affiliates and countrymen. Even Vahn wasnt free from such influences as there were a number of people that could sway his opinion with just a few words. In response to Solons question, Vahn paused for a moment before answering, "Once the existence of Magic has been made known to the rest of the world, I will bring Avalon to the Surface. This ind will be a symbol, the very heart of the Empire. Here, Magic and Science will blend together to create a world where all sapient creatures can survive and prosper. It will not be an easy transition but, for the generations that follow, it is our duty to make the world a better ce." Hearing Vahns words, Solon released a heavy sigh before giving him a deadpan stare and saying, "Everything you say is extreme and overbearing...well, it doesnt really matter. Someonees along every now and then to try and unify everyone under simr ideologies so well see how far you can go. I just hope you dont forget your current convictions with the passage of time..." With those parting words, Solon passed through the gate that had been opened, leaving Zelretch and Director Asia behind with awkward smiles on their faces. The former seemed to want to pat Vahn on the shoulder but, after lifting his hand, he retracted it under the pointed gaze of Okita and Jeanne. As for Director Asia, he just lightly chuckled beforementing, "The As Temple will be open to you in the future. For now, Ill be sending some students to attend the Clock Tower. I believe that the curriculum Madam Da Vinci has developed will revolutionize what it means to be a Magus. Im quite looking forward to the results." Like Solon, Director Asia left after his parting words, an expectant smile on his face as the cape he wore red behind him. This left only Zelretch remaining who, prior to passing through the gate, asked, "ya isnt the only powerful force backing you, is she? I can sense something watching us, something horrifyingly powerful..." Rather than answer Zelretchs question, Vahn just smiled knowingly as he turned his head toward the ceiling, expanding his domain through the castle to where Leviathan resided. It was actually weaker than entities like ORT and ya but it was still a Tier 5 existence. Since it had dominion over Space and Time, it wasnt that surprising that Zelretch was able to sense it observing him. Rather, if he was unable to do so, Vahn would begin to suspect that the Second Magic was a lot weaker than it ought to be. Zelretchs aged body shivered as he turned his attention toward the sky, goosebumps spreading across his arms as the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. He couldnt locate Leviathan but, now that he followed Vahns gaze, an overwhelming sense of dread passed through him. It wasnt as terrifying as the pressure given off by ya but, much like when he faced Crimson Moon in the past, Zelretch felt a genuine threat to his life. After staring at the ceiling for a few seconds, Zelretch adopted a smile as he said, "Honestly, I hope a time where your backers are revealed neveres. Its a shame that I cant see the future along the axis of time you exist in...Im certain it would be an eye-opening experience, hahahaha~" Following in the footsteps of Solon and Director Asia, Zelretch passed through the gate, hisugh still echoing for several seconds until his figured vanished entirely. This left Vahn in the transfer room with Okita, Jeanne, Gareth, and a small entourage of Companions. Once the gate had closed, Vahn visibly rxed but, as there were still a few things that required his attention, he said, "Well return to the Edelfelt Manor shortly. Before that, however, Ill be visiting the Daycare to spend some time with my children. The three of you should go rx. Well regroup here after two hours have passed in the Projection. Ill send you a telepathic message when Im preparing to leave." Though they preferred to stay at his side, even Okita knew better than to stick around when Vahn was spending time with his children. He didnt like distractions and, with how they behaved, it made things a little awkward when he wanted to just cut loose. After all, he didnt really act like an Emperor when he was spending time with his children so having people wait upon him was troublesome. This was something they had be ustomed to so, after a series of bows, the girls departed, leaving their Master in peace. Vahn appreciated the girls understanding so, after picking up Skoll and a few other Companions, he made his way toward the nearest mirror that connected to the Projection. He was actually in a good mood but, knowing that major changes were afoot, he was a little worried deep down. Though there were no forces that should be able to oppose the Empire, that didnt mean they wouldnt try. There was always a chance that something would go wrong and, considering some of his children would be in the direct line of fire, Vahn couldnt help but worry. With azy expression on his face, Vahn let his mind wander a bit as he muttered, "Ill need to have Da Vinci upgrade the girls Companions with updated security measures..." Then, with a glimmer in his eyes, Vahn picked ya from his shoulder, making eye contact with her as he asked, "What do I need to give you in exchange for guaranteeing my children are safe? You might not be able to give me power, but you can grant it to others, right...?" ya no longer resisted being handled so, even though she had azy and annoyed expression on her face, she allowed Vahn to dangle her as she answered, "The minimum amount of Magical Energy to make someone into a Counter Guardian is one-trillion units. As a result of your previous order, the reserves you had stockpiled have all but depleted at this point. I would also need to form a contract with the recipient of my power as the Counter Force can only be wielded by those that have a direct link to myself and Gaia." Vahn wasnt really surprised by yas words as her answer coincided with the conversations they had in the past. He also wasnt upset by the fact that his reserves had depleted as it went towards ensuring that tragedies all over the world were avoided. There had been millions protected by the intervention of ya at this point, greatly increasing his amount of Karma since it was by virtue of his order that their fate had been changed. Since there wasnt a simple solution to the problem, as ya wouldnt ept outside mana from people like Maxwell, Vahn rubbed her head with his index finger before cing her back in her usual position. She wasted no time in nestling into his neck, her teeth pricking his without causing Vahn to flinch in the slightest. Rather, at this point, yas presence had bepletely natural, to the point that he would sometimes look around, feeling as if he had forgotten something if they were separated for too long... --- Though his thoughts had started to wander a bit, Vahns focus immediately returned upon entering the Daycare. There, he found Ereshkigal watching over most of the children on her own, assisted by Isanna and Naavi. At this point, both girls looked to be around eight years old so, upon seeing him enter the room, they sprung up with childish smiles, Isanna taking to the air as she flew over and hugged him with her tiny arms. She looked exactly like a childish version of Ishtar so she was an exceptionally adorable girl that always brought a smile to Vahns face, even if he was always a little worried about how fast she was developing... With Naavi always trotting over to be picked up, Vahn carried both girls in his arms as he made his way over to join the smiling Ereshkigal. She practically served as the Guardian and Caretaker of all the children as, while none of the mothers were exactly bad, Ereshkigals maternal instincts were on another level. Thus, when others needed a break, she would always happily babysit, a loving smile always visible on her face. Since Vahn had a great appreciation for mothers in general, he couldnt help but see Ereshkigal in an increasingly positive light as time continued its eternal march forward. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Solon, the Skeptic,The 30km long whale that can destroy the is a scary existence? Never would have guessed o3o...,Ereshmama is best mama...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1284 Final Preparations

Chapter 1284 Final Preparations

Prior to the revtion of the worlds end, the Clock Tower would have various holidays that affected students. For those that were in their General and Individual Fundamentals, they would have a two-month break during summer and a three-week break that ran through the new year. This was to give them a chance to rest their mind and, as many young Magi attended the Clock Tower from abroad, it was a chance for them to return home and visit family. With the imminent advent of Angra Mainyu, such holidays had been canceled entirely and, in order to prepare students for theing battle, a quarterly system had reced the previous observance of semesters. Fortunately, while this was a drastic change for most of the younger students, this was the norm for students in theirter years. After all, lectures and special sses generally ran year-round and, in the event a student wanted to be sessful within a department, they often had to work part-time to help in their Professors research. To prevent students from burning out, the Clock Tower allocated them three days of vacation time per month, time which could be taken at any point that tests were not be conducted. This,bined with the fact that most students only had a few sses per week, meant there was a lot of time for self-study, extracurricr activities, and free time... While several changes had been made to prepare students for future events, the only thing worthy of note was that even first years could umte points to enter into the Spirit Tomb, something that had been reserved for third years and beyond in the past. This was to give them a chance to increase their overallbat capabilities, even if it meant the number of casualties and deaths had increased exponentially. With these changes, there were several new sses popping up all the time, many focused on the most pertinent topics of interest to students: survival andbat. Since the only requirement for a new ss, or lecture, was that there was a Professor willing to divest their time, it wasnt umon for several new sses to appear for a few months before closing down. This was a way in which the Professors could build rapport and scout new students and, in many cases, their establishment ran parallel to an experiment being conducted by said Professor. Due to this rather loose and chaotic structure, it was actually a lot easier to enroll students at non-standard times. The only strict requirement for being a student of the Clock Tower was that you had two ongoing sses and that you paid the annual fees on time. Though this usually only pertained to students in theirter years, as most enrolling in the Clock Tower were required to attend the General and Individual Studies curriculums for upwards of four years, there were always exceptions. Generally speaking, the more prestigious Noble families educated their children internally, using a modified curriculum that only loosely followed the one established by the Clock Tower. This was due to the major families often having a variety of unique Magecraft that needed to be learned from an early age and, perhaps understanding the ws of the curriculum taught tomon students, they opted to distance their progeny from other students during their formative years. It wasnt until their children were around fifteen or sixteen years old, making them third and fourth-year students, that they were allowed to officially enroll in the Clock Tower, often for the purpose ofworking alone. This kind of structure was problematic, for a variety of reasons, but it allowed Vahn to easily enroll Mordred, Sakura, Mash, Zo?, and Astrid into their newly founded department, the Faculty of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory. Since Da Vinci had been the one to develop the curriculum, and would be using one of her bodies to teach the students, it was the most suitable name outside the Faculty of Innovation. Like most departments, the Faculty of Unified Thuamturgical Theory had multiple sses that could be attended by prospective students. This was a split curriculum that focused on either bing a Magic Knight or, out of spite against the existing system, a True Mage. After all, while they would not be given ess to the most important secrets of the Empire, the fundamentals that would be taught in the new department would ultimately allow students to use Magecraft that rivaled True Magic. The only real requirement to be a student of the new department was that you were vetted by one of the Professors or Advisors. Without their consent, it was impossible to be a student, no matter how prodigious and influential your family was. This was to prevent the sons and daughters of major families from trying to seed themselves in the department with the sole purpose of spying on the Facultys activities... Once epted into one of the two sses, students would undergo a trial period. Those that proved they were willing to work hard would be given a slightly modified version of the Familia Crest. They would also be bound by a [Geass], a powerful contract that, when vited, would expunge the crest from their body and inhibit the flow of mana within their body. Though this could beter removed, it was intended to prevent people from just attending the ss with the intention of gaining enough power to lord themselves over others. Vahn had no intention of raising a bunch ofmon students to prominence only for them to turn around and act like very Nobles that looked down on them previously. Thus, in order to monitor the progress and mental development of these students, they would be introducing Companions into both curriculums. The current generation of Companions was extremely intelligent and, even disregarding their ability to evolve, they could act as a catalyst for Magecraft. Once this became known, Vahn expected they would be extremely popr. Though it may take a bit of time for the boys to open up to them, he imagined the girls would be fond of the tiny creatures as, with each sessive generation, they had be increasingly adorable. With Companionsing in a variety of shapes and sizes, there was a version suitable for practically everyone. The only downside was that you had to take your Companion with you almost everywhere and, if you ever mistreated them, they would be stripped from you. At the same time, your status as a student in the department would be revoked and, unless you did something drastic and endearing, the chances you would ever be epted again were close to null... --- If he were being honest, Vahn was still very nervous about having the children enter the Clock Tower. Mordred was a little easier to ept but Sakura was only ten years old at this point, making her a lot younger than the average student. In fact, one of the base requirements for entering the ss was to be fourteen years of age but, considering her monstrous potential and maturity, Vahn had made an exception. It also helped that, with the time she would be spending in the Projection, it wouldnt take long for her to catch up with her peers. Still, in order to prevent a few problems, Vahn had given Sakura a ring that allowed her to appear a few years older. As for Mordred, she already had her seal removed and, as a result of her link with Artoria, had been maturing extremely quickly. She would eventually reach a point where her body was at the same stage of development as her mother and, no matter how much time passed, that is where her development would stop. This was troubling for a variety of reasons but, considering she was already a faux-immortal, it wasnt that big of an issue... Once all the paperwork was sorted, Vahn spent a few days within the Projection helping all of the children, not just his own, prepare for their first day of school. They had all been given uniforms that denoted their both their status as students of the Faculty of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory and their respective affiliation. For those aiming to be Magic Knights, they had been given attire reminiscent of military dress, including a high-cored red blouse with two rows of golden buttons and epaulets. They were also given the option of wearing white trousers or, in the event the desired greater ease of movement, a white skirt with ck stockings. Those that elected to wear theter were required to wear a version of the [Aegis] that functioned simrly to spats while the skirts themselves had been enchanted to function in the same manner as Circes previous skirt. Vahn wasnt going to allow people to stare at his childrens panties using low angled cameras and simplified versions of irvoyance magic... Toplement the military-style garb, which had been designed with heavy input from Nobunaga, they were also given a cape that could be worn during formal asions. It was solid white on the outside while the interior was covered in a scarlet red color that, if you looked closely, had a veryplex assortment of runes sewn into its structure. This was very simr to the mantle provided to the students aiming to be True Mages, albeit with thetter having a matte ck color on the outside. In order to create a contrast between the two sses, the uniform for those aspiring to be True Mages was made to appear more schrly. It consisted of a white undershirt, a red sleeveless vest, an ornate tie/ribbon, solid gold cufflinks, and a stylish pocket watch. They were also given the choice between trousers and a skirt but, in order to bnce out the mantle, their skirts were slightly longerpared to the ones worn by Magic Knights. This allowed them to wear socks instead of stockings and, instead of the riding boots worn by their counterparts, they had the option of wearing morefortable dress shoes. Overall, the uniforms, as could be expected, were designed to create a semnce of uniformity that allowed students within the department to clearly set themselves apart from the norm. After all, they were aspiring to be the elites of the next generation so, while the Clock Tower generally allowed its students some freedom to choose their attire, they needed to be the exception. They were the first-generation students reared by the Empire so, if they didnt establish themselves early on, it would be an issue several years down the line... Fortunately for the children, Vahn didnt want to remove their ability to express themselves. Since the students would be using the [REquip] system, they actually have a few variations of their uniforms to wear. The only truly uniform part of things were their capes as these were intended to disy their various rewards during formal asions. Even the Clock Tower had something simr so, to ensure there wasnt aplete disconnect between his, and other, students, apromise had been made. All a student needed in order to customize their uniform was a few contribution points, making it a reward that needed to be earned. This was the mentality Vahn wanted to cultivate as the Empire was essentially going to function as a Meritocracy. They needed to nt the seeds early on, even if most of the important sses taught in Avalon would be by Heroic Spirits. Since they would need normal people to serve as an example for those to follow, it was better to start rearing them now, when the stakes felt the highest. There were arge number of moner Magi who wanted to change their destiny so, with the world of the verge of great change, they were ready to seize any opportunities thrown their way. In the past, this was heavily exploited by the Noble Faction, often with disastrous results for those that seek power at any cost. Now, Vahn would also be exploiting this desire but, rather than simply take advantage of them, he intended to help students build a foundation that would allow them to thrive in any field. It didnt particrly matter to him whether or not they wanted to be teachers as, when the Empire began to expand, the number of people seeking such opportunities would increase exponentially... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Controlled Chaos,RIP perverts that try to upshoot girls skirts o3o...,The best kind of exploitation...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1285 Orientation

Chapter 1285 Orientation

As it was their first day of school, everyone except for Mordred was feeling more than a little nervous. They had all been brought to a small lecture-style ssroom with five rows for students. However, due to the fact that the department had just been developed, the only students present were themselves and seven other people, split between four girls and three boys. Needless to say, the announcement of a new department had caused a stir within the Clock Tower, not just because it belonged to the Empire but due to the purported curriculum. There had actually been a number of students who wanted to check it out but, as the vetting process would take a few weeks, only those loosely associated with the Empires current allies had been given the opportunity to venture forth. Among the seven potential students, one of the older boys decided to muster up the courage to try and break the silence, moving toward the front of the room where the group of foreign women was gathered. They didnt really need to ask where the girls hade from, especially considering who backed the current department, but the boy still gave a polite bow, saying, "Greetings. My name is Silvain Valois. May I have the honor of knowing your names...?" To his credit, Silvain hadnt initially addressed anyone in particr but, by the time he finished his introductions, his gaze had turned to Mordred. She was seated near the center of the group, while the other girls seemed somewhat cautious of him, Mordred had an amused smile on her face that radiated confidence. He was immediately reminded of the high born and prideful young mistresses of the more established Noble families so, while still putting on a casual air, his back had be a little straighter. Without beating around the bush, Mordred smiled with a toothy grin before saying, "Youre a brave one, kiddo. Thats good. Men should be bold, even when they are boys." After seeing Silvain tense up at her words, Mordred began to snicker before adding, "My name is Mordred. This here is my little sister, Sakura. As for those three, the big one is Mash, the airheaded one is Astrid, and the bratty one is Zo?. Youre probably curious about the particrs of our origin but...well, lets just say it will be a lot less stressful for you if you dont know about it. Shishishishi~" As it was customary for people to introduce themselves with their full name, especially in a school saturated with the children of Aristocrats, hearing Mordreds words caused Silvain to swallow hard. While some might assume Mordred was just putting on false airs, she gave off a very distinct aura, one that could only be cultivated by those with high status and authority. Deciding to y it safe, Silvain gave a polite bow with his hand covering his heart, answering, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintances." In response to Silvains words, Mordred just continued to smile while Sakura gave a small bow. As for Mash, Astrid, and Zo?, they gave polite responses of their own, albeit with a considerable amount of caution in their bodynguage. This wasnt missed by Silvain so he did his best to smile disarmingly without staring directly at the girls, even if he found them more than a little charming. So as not to overstay his wee, Silvain didnt stay around too long after his introduction. He knew there would be time to socialize more in the future so, in order to cover his bases, he walked over to the other six students, introducing himself to those he had yet to meet. It never hurt to expand your personalwork and, though these may be hispetitors in the future, they could be considered allies due to their affiliation... While Silvain was making his rounds, Sakura muttered in a voice that only Mordred and Mash could easily hear, "His position in the Valois family must be uncertain. If Im not wrong, he is the third son of his family so there isnt really anything for him to inherit..." In response to her remark, it was the tiny dog-like Companion, Momo, who nodded its head. All of thepanions were linked to awork and, while theirmunication functions were limited by design, they had all the details regarding the affiliated families associated with the Clock Tower. They had even received a massive upgraded recently, benefitting from Sherlocks investigations. He had used thest few months to uncover the secrets of every major family and organization, expanding Motherswork and greatly increasing the analytic ability of the Companions themselves. With Momos affirmation, Mordreds smile only widened as she stated, "It is amon thing, really. When they are afraid of being cut off, they either do their best to stand on their own feet or find arger umbre to stand under. So long as you all remember what we talked about, there shouldnt be any problems. Just dont let yourselves get caught up in the pace of some random pretty boy and his flowery words." Here, the usually quiet Astrid nodded her head and, with a distant look in her eyes, added, "Words are used as a means to manipte people. Only consistent action can be trusted...I wont be fooled anymore. This opportunity that Master has given us, I will cherish it..." Mordred snickered in response to Astrids words before reminding, "You cant address Chichiue as Master while were at school. It may be hard, but even Ill have to call him by his actual title, at least for the time being. If our identities are exposed too soon, it will make things a lot harderter on." Despite her tomboyish antics, Mordred had made an earnest effort to increase her understanding of politics and social maneuvering. She had always taken her Chichiues words to heart so, when he told her that only a qualified individual could be Emperor, she had to change her perspective. While she was enjoying her childhood to the fullest, the most important thing to her was the recognition of her parents and the prosperity of the Empire. Her Chichiue wanted her to learn how to interact with her future subjects and empathize with them so, while it was an uphill battle, Mordred would never stop trying... Just as several small conversations were beginning to rece the rooms previous tense atmosphere, it was suddenly brought back in full when the door at the front of the room opened. They basically froze on the spot upon seeing Vahn enter in the room, Da Vinci and Ghad following close behind. This answered some of the questions that had been guing them while simultaneously confirming that the new department was, in fact, directly backed by the Empire... Due to his experience acting as Headmaster back in Danmachi, Vahn made his way to the lectern of the ss, his nerves steady and cid. He had his usual smile and, after looking over every student in turn, exined, "Greetings, students. Im certain you all have a questions and concerns but, for the time being, well get introductions out of the way..." Gesturing to Da Vinci, who was attired in long, gown-like robe, he stated, "While there will be a split in the curriculum, this will be your primary teacher, Professor Alpha. If you follow her teachings with the proper motivation, even True Magic will not be beyond your capabilities. You wille to learn over the following months and years that the Magecraft you have been learning is wed on a very fundamental level. The Faculty of Unified Magical Theory is meant to correct this. Should you put in the requisite effort, each and every one of you has the potential to be a powerful Mage." As could be expected, Vahns words had further stunned the seven children seated toward the back of the ss. It was very difficult to believe he was telling the truth but, after seeing the recordings of the battle between Artoria and Barthomeloi Lorelei, they knew the pinnacle of Magecraft was much higher than their previous understanding. It had been an eye-opening experience and, in an effort to change their fate, each of them had gathered for the purpose of expanding their horizons. While it was hard to believe in Vahns words, they willed themselves to do so since, at the very least, it would increase their chances of joining the Empire in the future... Vahn understood that words meant very little so, despite seeing the caution and doubt in the eyes of the children, he kept his smile. They would quickly discover the truth for themselves so, before the tension could reach an ufortable level, he gestured to Ghad, exining, "While Professor Alpha will be your primary teacher, this man will be in charge of your physical training. For those of you who wish to pursue the path of a Magic Knight, he will make sure you have the proper level of skill and discipline. If you work hard, even reaching the standard of a Heroic Spirit is not impossible. After all, this man is Sir Ghad, former Knight of the Round Table and current Knight of the Aldrnari Empire." While Da Vincis identity was protected, to the point she even had a physical projection to make her appearance, Ghads would be made public. This was to serve as both a deterrent and a means of drawing in interest from students that were currently sitting on the fence. After all, it was difficult to pass up the chance to learn from a genuine Hero, especially one as famous as Ghad. Since he had a very handsome appearance,bined with a seemingly limitless amount of patience, Vahn knew it wouldnt be long before the Magic Knight ss increased in size. Of course, the most important reason behind Ghad being chosen was that he had a weakened version of [Pure Eyes]. They allowed him to sense the aura of a person based on their karma, making it possible to determine if they were good or bad at a nce. This would allow him to weed out any students that came under the influence of an outside force, albeit after an investigation to ascertain the truth. After all, people were sometimes forced into a difficult position and, though this may lead them to perform evil acts, that didnt mean they were beyond redemption... Hearing that the handsome youth wearing priest-like robes was none other than Sir Ghad, the four girls in the ss practically had hearts in their eyes. As for the boys, they had a look that Vahn knew oh-so-well as, whenever he was walking around with his women, he would get simr looks all the time. Fortunately, jealousy and envy were rathermon and, while it was clear the boys felt a little threatened by Ghad, there was clear interest visible in their gazes. After all, they were going to be learning from one of the most famous Knights that had ever existed, indicating there was a chance they could reach the same level in the future. Seeing that there werent any genuine causes for concern, Vahn didnt pause for too long before adopting a slightlyrger smile as he exined, "I believe my own identity is well known but, in the interest of rification, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Emperor of the Aldrnari Empire. In this ssroom, however, I am nothing more than your Advisor. I will not be present that often due to my other duties but, rest assured, I will stop by during some of the ss practical lessons. As for things like whether or not you can join the Empire, think about that when you are getting ready to graduate. Any questions before I turn things over to your Professor?" Vahn had actually expected silence in response to his question but, at the furthest point in the ss, a sharply dressed youth with exceptionally straight brown hair raised her hand. She actually stood out quite a bit among the other students as, while they each had their quirks, this particr youth had an eyepatch covering her right eye and, despite only being around fifteen, radiated the aura of a mature secretarial woman. Without missing a beat, Vahn turned his attention to the young woman, asking, "Is there something, Miss Phamrsolone?" Though the girl, Ophelia Phamrsolone, had a rtively cold expression by default, she couldnt help show mild shock upon being addressed by name. Fortunately, she was was a very stoic girl so, not wanting to keep someone with the status of an Emperor waiting, she rose to her feet and gave a curt bow before asking, "Are there any protections afforded to students that wish to attend lessons? Also, is there a college where we will be able to take up residence...?" In total, there were forty-three colleges located within the Bounded Field of the Clock Tower. These served as student dormitories and, with various other facilities forming to meet the various needs of young Magi, a veritable town had formed. This was made possible due to Zelretchs assistance in the distant past, making the space within the Bounded Field several hundred timesrger than the space upied by the Clock Tower in the real world. As these questions werent outside of Vahns expectations, he gave a simple nod before saying, "In the ssroom, you need not bow. While it is a good idea to keep my status as an Emperor in mind, I am nothing more than an Advisor within the schools grounds. Now, to answer your questions, I can say yes to both. So long as you are officially epted as students, you will be given a unique status that makes it very difficult for other factions to target you. Though this will not allow you to act with impunity, you will be able to enjoy your school life without too many concerns. As for the college, it is currently being built in the northern district. Im certain there are already rumors circting so I do not believe it necessary to go into further details." Though she had other questions, Ophelia knew it was better to wait for an exnation before she interrupted a second time. For now, it was enough just having Vahn personally say they would be protected. After all, it wasnt a secret they were attending this orientation so, in the near future, it was all but guaranteed that the other three factions would put pressure on them. This was especially true for people like her who, as her eyepatch denoted, had a unique and highly sought after Mystic Eye. Even without inquiring, Vahn knew why girls like Ophelia were interested in joining the Empire. Her only other option was to be the tool of another family as, despite being from a rtively well off family, she was not the heiress. There was even a chance that her Mystic Eye would be removed before she was married off to another family who, knowing she had a chance of passing down the trait, would force her to bear several children. This was amon practice so, while the number of students attending the orientation was small, it was only a matter of time before those in a simr situation sought liberation for themselves... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mordred is a good daughter,Companions are OP,There are a lot of people that would willingly distance themselves from the established Magus Community xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1286 Banter

Chapter 1286 Banter

After leaving Da Vinci and Ghad to carry out the rest of the orientation themselves, Vahn returned to the Faculty Room, arge three-story building that had both living and work spaces. Here, Okita, Jeanne, and Gareth, his usual entourage, were waiting while, seated at a small table, Zelretch could be seen nursing a cup of ck tea. Seeing Vahn enter in through the front door, Zelretch inhaled one final whiff of the fragrant tea that had been provided to him before asking, "How is it, being an Advisor? I wish I had been there to see the surprise on those childrens faces, hahahaha~" Taking a seat of his own, followed by Gareth dutifully pouring him a cup of tea, Vahn answered, "It wont be long before the number of prospective students explodes. Ill need to make sure the other Factions keep their noses clean, lest I have to bloody them..." Zelretch couldnt help butugh in response to Vahns words as he could, quite literally, imagine a few Nobles getting more than their noses bloodied by thetters actions. There were some people who, despite all the evidence acting as a deterrent, would still seek death as a result of their errant actions. This was especially so for the Factions that had been eyeing certain students, students who would now, undoubtedly, seek shelter in the Empire. Understanding this, Zelretch adopted a more genial expression as he mused, "I should have taken more proactive action to redress the ws in the world. Now, I can only leave the matter to you. It is high time I take a backseat and observe the passage of time...perhaps Ill even take in a new disciple. I cant deny that your words, back then, have left quite an impact on me...hmmm..." Hearing Zelretchs words, Vahn tilted his head to the side in rumination before stating, "You may not be qualified to teach others. Those that have lived far beyond the normal lifespan of the people they teach have a difficult time empathizing with them. In the past, you let your experiences shape how you educated your disciples, breaking them in the process. If youre looking for someone to seed you, I can pull someone suitable through the Throne..." Zelretch made no attempt to refute Vahns words, even though they were a little harsh. Instead, he began to stroke his beard in a self-calming manner before asking, "Did you have anyone in mind? I already had a few suitable candidates but, after hearing your words, that may have been misguided on my part..." In truth, Zelretch had several potential candidates to seed, not just his Magecraft, but his actual Magic itself. He had even included Vahn in this list in the past but, after visiting Avalon, he no longer thought the Emperor before him needed the power and guidance he could provide. Rather, due to the same experiences Vahn mentioned, he almost had to recuse himself from getting involved in the events that would be taking ce in the near future. Vahn couldnt immediately answer Zelretchs question as, in his opinion, True Magic itself wasnt that unique. Though the original wielders were undoubtedly terrifying existences, the restrictions on the use of Administrative Functions made it a dead-end pursuit. It would bepletely useless outside of the Records of the Nasuverse so, rather than focus on borrowed power, he was more interested in teaching people how to obtainsting strength... Still, it wasnt too difficult toe up with candidates that would benefit from the tutge of a True Magician. They just needed to have a positive alignment, the mentality of an immortal, and a strong sense of responsibility. It was almost impossible for a normal person to be the apprentice of a True Magician as, as could be observed in Zelretchs case, their perspective was too skewed from the norm. Only those with powerful quirks, bordering on psychosis, that would be able to emerge from the training without any mental trauma. After thinking for a few moments, Vahn asked, "How about the first generation director of the As Temple? Their organization has been protecting the world since before the Mages Association even existed. The As Temple also has the most developed understanding of Laws so they would be a suitable candidate. After all, they already have the ability to see the future and view parallel worlds, albeit to a lesser extent..." Hearing Vahns suggestion, Zelretch justughed as he shook his head. This earned a raised brow from Vahn until the former exined, "That bridge has already been burned. Asia didnt much appreciate the influence I had on the future so we had a few...disagreements...hahahaha~" Remembering that Zelretch had traveled at least a few hundred years into the Age of Gods, Vahn wasnt too surprised that he had met the first Director of the As Temple. Though it would have been more urate to call them the High Priest, as they were a descendent and worshipper of Isis, the future generations of the As Temple recognized them as such. Rather than offer another name, Vahn shrugged his shoulders and said, "Your biggest issue will be finding someone that you can treat as your equal. If you only want a protege to follow everything you say, it will be impossible to rear a capable Mage. You may have had some disagreements with Asia but that is all in the past. There is an unlimited future ahead of us so you shouldnt dismiss the idea outright." Finding a grain of truth in Vahns words, Zelretch nursed his ck tea for a few moments, his mind wandering to distant memories. When he regained rity, however, he shook his head again before saying, "I cant deny the wisdom contained in your words...maybe its because Im an old man but, if Im to choose a sessor, Id want them to be a nk te. Asia was a capable alchemist with a very powerful foresight but, as a result of their upbringing, it would be impossible to take them as a disciple. Rather, I imagine it is more likely they would be the head of the As Temple or try to work with your Empire..." Understanding the logic behind Zelretchs argument, Vahn gave a small nod but, hearing the man mention a nk te, he asked, "Why not rear an artificial human or a conceptual entity? They are your best option for finding a nk te. If you raise them properly, they could be the most ideal version of the sessor you have in mind. As for everyone else, they will always have a history and an ego, one which can be shaped based on the circumstances of their environment. To that end, you dont really have much of a choice in the matter." Zelretch couldnt help but frown in response to Vahns suggestion. He didnt think it was wise to entrust such power to an artificial lifeform but, when considering his own metrics for choosing a student, it did seem like the best choice. After all, it was difficult to find even poor candidates for an apprenticeship, much less ideal ones. There were too many uncontroble variables and, with the existence of Vahn, any small hup in their training could have disastrous consequences... While Zelretch was feeling conflicted, Vahn shook his head before lightly tapping on the table and saying, "It really doesnt matter. Youre putting too much thought into something that shouldnt be a problem. Stop trying to control everything and just do your best as a teacher. Even if your student goes astray, you should just guide them back onto the correct path. The more you try to force them, the greater the contradiction youll create in their mentality. People be great because they are inspired to greatness by their circumstances. If you try to engineer greatness, forcing it upon those who dont have the capacity to ept it, youll only end up creating a monster or, at best, a puppet." This time, Zelretch entered a very long and solemn silence as, with thousands of years of experience to draw from, he knew there was a great deal of truth behind Vahns words. While it was possible for a powerful individual to rear up others, they were often inclined to y favorites and allow those of their choosing to take shortcuts. This generally built up positive rapport between Master and student but, when things didnt go as nned, a great rift could be formed between them, often ending in a great tragedy... Without a better response, Zelretch released a tired sigh before asking, "How can someone like you, who has so much control over everything, advocate the idea that it must be relinquished? What you have done thus far seems contrary to the point you are trying to make..." Vahn furrowed his brows slightly in response to Zelretchs usation, his mood soured slightly at theck of awareness the elderly man had. Still, he had put a lot of thought into his actions so, without a single fluctuation in his voice, he exined, "My actions are necessitated by the state of the world. It is the inaction of those that should have acted,bined with ack of ountability on behalf of those who have power, that requires me to do establish the Empire. None of that has anything to do with my personal stance on education and rearing disciples...rather than throw out usations, you should see for yourself how I operate. I am not a hypocrite that simply spews titudes, old man..." Zelretch was a little surprised by Vahns hostility but, rather than be offended, he was actually more relieved than anything. It was too easy topare Vahn to the people that he had encountered in the past, something that emphasized that he did, indeed, rely too much on his experiences. Because of this, a part of him was always skeptical of what people said and did as, in many instances, even the best of intentions could be led astray by simple setbacks... What Zelretch often forgot, even though it was one of the more important aspects of Vahns very existence, was that the man was not from his world. He was a fundamentally different existence and, in the short time he had existed, great changes had already been introduced. Just the presence of ya at his side showed that he was, in many ways, an iprehensible existence. After all, while others had to fight hard to obtain their power, scheming and machinating to rise above others, Vahn was already there. He had enough power to easily dominate the world by force yet chose to focus on building the foundation for a better future by empowering the younger generation and inspiring them to greatness... It was only now, when hepared himself to Vahn, that Zelretch began to understand the very different ways in which they viewed the world. He was too used to the certainties that came with being able to use the Second Magic. As for Vahn, he never cared about the future and its myriad paths. Rather, his only concern was on the present and how his actions in any given moment would shape, not just himself, but the very world around him. The future waspletely inconsequential as, by measuring all of your actions against things that have yet to happen, you were already too detached from reality to live a meaningful existence... With a crooked smile spreading across his face, Zelretch began to stroke his beard as he mused, "It really is a shame...if I had met you a thousand years ago, I may not be as hopeless as I am today. Ive only ever considered what my sessor might do in the distant future...it is no wonder my students have been unable to break away from the path I foresaw...I forced them to take it..." Vahn was still a little annoyed with Zelretch but that didnt prevent him from nodding his head and adding, "The worst thing a parent and a teacher can do is neglect those in their charge. It is our duty to establish a baseline of consistency, one which allows them to freely choose their future. It is when you begin acting contrary and going against your own teachings that they begin to stray. So long as you help them build a strong foundation, focusing on morals and merit, children, and people alike, have no limits to what they are able to achieve." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Senile Old Man,Experience can lead to wisdom but, more often than not, it instead bes bias...,Believe in the future, not the one you have nned, but the one that will be created by your children. Be good to people.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1287 Ripples

Chapter 1287 Ripples

Due to theck of faculty members and the ongoing construction of the Aldrnari College, sses for the new department werent scheduled for the first two weeks. Vahn had set this up to allow the children time to adapt to the campus and, if they wanted, find other sses they were interested in. It also allowed word to spread regarding the benefits of joining the nascent department as, with so few staff members, it would be problematic to ept new students after the lectures and sses had started. As could be expected, the introduction of five new mysterious girls, each possessing some degree of beauty, caused a few ripples within the Clock Tower. This was especially true for Mordred and Mash as, despite the former being a bit of a tomboy, she had a very simr appearance to Artoria. As for Mash, she projected a calm and intelligent aura and, despite only being fifteen, had a developed figure that earned her a considerable number of admirers in a very short period of time. One of the things that annoyed Vahn the most about this situation was that it wasnt just students trying to meet with the children. Rather, due to theplex internal politics and the traditions of the Clock Tower, rtionships between faculty and students werent nearly as regted as they should be. This led to situations where some Professors used their position to proposition female students in exchange for better grades while, in some situations, high ranking faculty members would even pressure students into bing research assistants well after their graduation. These were all things Vahn intended to change, especially after he noticed some forty-two-year-old Professor from the Faculty of Zoology trying to coax Astrid after learning about her preference for animals and unique creatures. While others may seem this as a rtively harmless attempt to try and scout a new student, Vahns Divinity made him very aware of the intentions of others so he ended up paying a personal visit to the man to exin the meaning of propriety. If he were being honest, Vahn was disgusted with the current system so the rules he drafted for the operation of the Faculty of Unified Theory of Magecraft were drastically different. His agreement with Solon allowed the rules he had established to supersede the Clock Towers own, at least within the department, Vahn was determined to set a better example. As for why he didnt try and force the Clock Tower to implement changes to the existing system, it was because there were a number of students who actually took advantage of it as well... While not the healthiest or best choice, there were a number of poorer students that readily took advantage of their looks and other assets to further their education. Having change suddenly forced upon them would put them into an even more difficult situation as therger portion of the student body was too used to the existing system. After all, the loose nature of the restrictions ced upon them was what allowed them to act with impunity in the real world. If they suddenly had to face the reality of a changing world, one they were grossly unprepared for, the dissent would be widespread. Vahn understood that it was futile to try and force change unless he was inplete control of a situation. Many of the current generation of Magi were already corrupted by the system so, while it was not impossible to correct their course, it was easier to target and empower those that naturally resisted the current system. He would rather save and protect those that desired change, rather than waste time and resources trying to forcibly change people that based their entire world view on the premise of benefits and exploitation. Eventually, once his department began to grow and stabilize, a natural rift would form between the normal students and those affiliated with the Faculty of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory. This would eventually lead to conflict but, as this was necessary to implement real change, Vahn was already anticipating it. He would do everything within his power to prepare the students and, when the time came, keep them safe, all while cutting the heads of any enemy brazen enough to try their luck at antagonizing the Empire... --- As he had originally promised, Director Asia eventually arrived from Egypt after meeting with the veteran Alchemists of the As Temple. It didnt take much effort for him to convince them to work alongside the Empire once they became aware of the fact he had ya as a familiar. At Director Asias behest, a total of ten students of the As Temple were enrolled in the Faculty of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory. He even brought his Vice-Director, a young woman named Sion, to act as a supplemental instructor and an understudy of Da Vinci. She was a brilliant woman with long purple hair, tied into pigtails, deep purple eyes, and a set of sses that also served as an advanced Mystic Codex. Like the students, Sion wasnt exactly human. Rather, she was an artificial lifeform that had been created by Zepia in the past. She was one of many subjects that he had developed while trying to research Dead Apostles so, as a result, she was also a modified Vampire. This allowed her to use a very advanced form of the Mystic Eyes of Charm, the reason why she needed her sses. It wasnt that her eyesight was bad, rather, she used them to block the effects of her charm. Fortunately, Sion was a sensible woman and, though she had a few quirks, there was a reason why Director Asia had raised her as both his daughter and sessor. She was fully dedicated to the preservation of humanity and, unlike the rather somber and borderline emotionless students, she radiated an aura of positivity. Though he hadnt spent much time around her, Vahn had yet to see her without a genuine smile on her face, a stark contrast to the students hailing from the As Temple. As the As Temple very rarely scouted outsiders, almost every student and internal member of the As Temple was some kind of Artificial Human or Homunculus. There was even one, a petite young girl named Rani V, who embodied the so-called pinnacle of Assian Alchemy. She was an Artificial Intelligence given a biological form. Rather than a normal nervous system and Magic Circuits, she had an artificial nervous system constructed of pure Ether that had been condensed into a macro-fment held together by organic nanomachines. As for her Magic Circuits, they were an intricate weave of circuits that, while not as high quality as a Perfect Homunculus like Illya, made all natural-born Magi seem obsolete. Rani was the fifth generation Ultimate Lifeform that had been developed by the As Temple in an attempt to further human evolution and prevent the extinction of the species. Her brain had greater processing power than even Ark and Mother as, much like them, she had been modified to allow for split processing using Spiritrons. This turned her brain into a biological supeputer, something that Da Vinci found extremely fascinating. Unfortunately, in order to power and maintain her body, Rani V had an Artificial Dragons Heartprised of aplex matrix of Etherlite, the same material serving as the framework of her hyper-advanced nervous system. This gave her a functionally infinite amount of mana but, as a result of her brains requirements, she was a very low-energy girl with a perpetually nk expression. Her mind was capable of processing so much information that she spent more time lost in her thoughts than focused on reality, giving her a distinctly machine-like personality. The most troublesome aspect of Rani, however, was that her heart was an iplete product and, as the very existence of an artificial Dragons Heart went against the Laws of the world, her nervous system would be slowly damaged beyond repair due to the strain. While this would still allow her to be of use, as her mind would still be active, she would spend her final years as nothing more than a livingputer that would eventually reach a critical level, exploding like a medium-sized nuclear warhead. As this wasnt something Vahn was willing to tolerate, he gave Rani, and all the other students, a modified version of the Ouroboros Seal. In Ranis case, hers was designed to actually siphon off a bit of the magical energy her Etherlite heart produced as, unlike the other students, she was the only one in danger of potentially exploding in the future. He would eventually either give her a new body or, as was the more likely scenario, allow Da Vinci to develop one for her. This was Director Asias and Sions hope as well so, in order to ensure there wasnt a need for a Rani VI, they would do what they could to guarantee the current generation model was capable of upgrading itself... --- With the inclusion of the ten exchange students from the As Temple, another wave or ripples spread through the Clock Tower. This wasrgely due to the fact that the As Temple was much older than the Clock Tower and, as a result of their reclusive nature, had almost no contact with the outside world. Even the Ten Major Families had very little contact with them and, regardless of how powerful and influential you were, it was virtually impossible to pressure the As Temple into doing anything. They were an extremely unified organization, one which even the Holy Church had failed to shake, even at the peak of its power. As could be expected, the students of the As Temple inspired just as much mystery and intrigue as the Mordred, Sakura, Mash, Astrid, and Zo?. However, as they were extremely anti-social due to their origins, the ir resulting from their enrollment quickly wore off. The only exception to this was Rani who, despite having a very peculiar appearance, could qualify as a beautiful and petite girl. She had dark skin, much like Lakshmibai, which paired surprisingly well with the pale purple hair that reached all the way to her lower back. What stood out the most was that Rani generally wore golden rings and essories on her body and, perhaps as a quirk of her original creator, had a very lean and petite figure by design. Though she looked more than a little childish, despite being sixteen years old, she had an adorable quality that increased her appeal to both male and female students. This,bined with her intelligence and the aura the emanated, inspired a lot of male students to try their luck at getting to know her better. Unfortunately for them, Rani had absolutely no interest in anyone outside of the Faculty of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory. It wasnt an exaggeration to say she had been programmed to fulfill a very specific purpose. If a matter had no rtion to her objective, she treated it as if it didnt exist, at least in so far as her behavior was concerned. This actually gave her a cult following among a select group of students but, as it was quickly being established that students involved with the new department were untouchable, they could only observe her from a distance... By the time two weeks had passed, the total number of prospective students had increased from twelve to thirty-seven. This was only a fraction of the ones that wanted to join as the vetting process had eliminated more than seventy percent of applicants almost immediately. The rest were filtered out as a result of the investigations into their character, conduct, background, and situation. This meant that, of the four-hundred-and-neen applicants, only around five percent met the criteria that had been established for prospective students. There was a considerable amount of dissatisfaction with this arrangement, especially when people noticed that the Aldrnari College could easily facilitate a thousand students, but Vahn didnt really care. He knew a few rotten fruit could spoil an entire harvest so, if they had a high chance of causing trouble, the students were not allowed to enter his department. It didnt matter how much that tried toin as, from the very beginning, the Faculty of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory operated in sovereignty from the rest of the Clock Tower. Vahn, and by virtue his department, were ountable to no one, not even Solon. Even if the Lords of other departments and factions tried to appeal to him directly, he would not allow their hand-picked spies and arrogant descendants to enter into a ss that basically served as protection against them. They had nothing of value or interest to offer him and, as Sherlock had beenpiling several thick stacks of documents pertaining to the crimes they had perpetrated, Vahn had absolutely no patience when it came to ying political games with them... Due to the hard stance he had taken, Vahn had very few friends among the other factions, especially those associated with orthodox practices and traditions. Inversely, he was immensely popr in the unnamed faction headed by Waver, even if there were a number of moner students who had used him of favoritism and discrimination. Even during the two weeks leading up to the start of ss, there were several rumors fueled by the other factions that came up with a variety of bogus justifications for why some were epted over others. This was a sad attempt to vilify the students who were fortunate to be epted but, as the average student had be pretty skeptical due to recent events, they rarely gained much traction. It helped that, every time another rumor was spread, the culprits behind its propagation would be quickly exposed. At the same time, a number of their past scandals would be made public, sending many departments into damage control in a vain attempt to salvage their nonexistent dignity... Needless to say, Da Vincis technical prowess,bined with Sherlocks investigative ability, was a nightmare in the Information Era... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Clock Tower is kind of fucked up,Every time Ranis heart beats, it is like the pulse of a nuclear reactor :D...,Vahn is really riling up the other factions (UwU)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1289 Establishing Bonds

Chapter 1289 Establishing Bonds

The first two students called out were named Christopher, one of the few males in the ss, and a tall girl with green hair tied into a ponytail named Reise. They were both students of the Clock Tower who had ratherplicated backgrounds and a very strong desire to liberate themselves from their familial circumstances. Christopher was born the eldest son in his family but, due to the fact he only had a handful of Magic Circuits, his right of session had been bestowed upon his sister. This alone wasnt all that bad but, while his Magic Circuits left a lot to be desired, he had a unique Sorcery Trait that served as leverage for his family to essentially treat him as breeding stock. They had formed several contracts with other Magus families so, upon graduation, he was expected to serve each of these families for up to a year as a borderline ve... Reises fate was arguably worse as she had been born into a branch family with loose rtions to the Trambelio family. She had inherited the unique Magecraft of her family that allowed her to perform a partial beast transformation, simr to tt Escardos. The primary difference was that her Magecraft borrowed from a panther and, due to her inability to control it properly, it made her mind regress to an animalistic state. This made her a prime target for those with more unique tastes so, shortly after she had awakened the ability, her family actually prevented her from mastering it after arranging her marriage with the progeny of a more powerful family. She was essentially being forced to be a much older Nobles pet as, with the right stimulus, she could be forced to stay in her beast form for the rest of her life... In order to seize control over their own destinies, the two had been among the first to try and enroll in the ss. As most Magi had a very powerful enchantment cast on their mind, making it impossible tomit suicide, this was one of their only methods to liberate themselves from a terrible fate that had been decided for them. They experienced a significant amount of bacsh from their families but, with the protections granted to them as students, they were virtually untouchable by such weak and despotic individuals... Upon being called out, Christopher and Reise took to the field, thetter taking the initiative to shout, "My name is Reise Hartmann! This...this is my partner...F-Fluffy...!" The moment Reise shouted out the name she had decided for her Companion, her face became beet red while the rest of the ss, already silent, somehow became even quieter... To help her out, Vahn gave a light cough to draw attention to himself before turning to Christopher and saying, "It is your turn. Please, introduce yourself properly." Strangely, Christopher had paled almost immediately after his name had been called so Vahn wasnt at all surprised when the boy stammered, "Y-Yes S-S-Sir...my name is C-Christopher! This is my C-C-Companion, Snow...Snowball..." As could be expected, another heavy atmosphere descended upon the training field, not solely due to the names that Christopher and Riese had called out. Rather, many of the students had carelessly chosen names for their Companions as, despite the fact they were intelligent artificial creatures, most humans instinctually ced themselves above other races. This caused their minds to rationalize that Companions were closer in nature to pets, despite even the weakest Companion being a match for an Intermediate Tier Magus... Being one of the only people with a cid and calm expression, Vahn broke the silence once again, stating, "Choosing a name can often be difficult. It is fine to be a little indecisive and make a mistake on the first go around. So long as you are sincere, the Companions dont mind having their names changed a few times. Just make sure you figure something out in the next few days or it will interfere with your progress...now, shall we begin the first match? Im certain everyone wants to return to the dorms and get to know each other a little better." With Vahns reminder, the children rxed considerably while, on the battleground, Reise, Fluffy, Christopher, and Snowball prepared for battle. Fighting was an easy way to release stress and work away nerves and, as fourth-year students of the Clock Tower, they were both very familiar with the process of sparring and magical duels. Seeing that both students were ready, Vahn sent a tiny burst of magical energy into the air to cause a very small explosion. He didnt need to convey the meaning behind the loud sound so, even before the light had fadedpletely, Reise charged at Christopher with Fluffy riding her shoulder. She had visible circuit-like patterns running up her legs and thighs that indicated her skillful use of [Enhance] and [Reinforcement] Magecraft. What none of the students, included Reise herself had expected, was for Fluffy, an adorable dog-like Companion with fluffy white hair, to open its tiny mouth far more than it ought to be able to as a beam of magical energy shot out. This was a modified version of [Gandr] that used Light Elemental energy as a base, something that Reise had learned how to do nearly two years prior. As could be expected, Reises mind became tumultuous as she began to wonder why Fluffy was able to use her Magecraft but, after more than three years of practice, she was still able to focus on the duel. She just assumed that this is what her teachers meant when they exined that Companions were a catalyst that enhanced their Magecraft... While Reise and the rest of the ss were surprised, the one experiencing the greatest amount of shock was Christopher. He had taken a defensive stance to counter Reises charge, not even once considering that Fluffy would actually attack him. After all, none of them had fought alongside their Companions just yet so they had absolutely no idea what the adorable creatures were capable of. Fortunately, as was customary, Christopher defended against the pale-white [Gandr] using a thin membrane of Magical Energy. This still pushed him back more than a meter but, before Reise was able to follow up, Snowball jumped between them. With its tiny paw-like hands, it created arge hexagonal barrier that easily arrested the momentum of Reises charge. This sent the girl leaping backward, giving Christopher enough time to regain his bnce as he stared nkly at the tiny creature that had protected him... Prior to the battle, most of the students hadnt fullyprehended how useful Companions would be in everyday life. They were only now beginning to understand the true significance behind all the information they had been receiving about the tiny creatures and, while it was still hard to believe, the ims made about the Companions evolution suddenly excited many of them. Even those that previously thought the Companions were going to be annoying to take care of suddenly saw their adorable little partners in a new light... It quickly became apparent to Reise and Christopher that their Companions were capable of using all the same Magecraft as them. They were also capable of taking independent action and using proper judgment, something that even advanced Familiars struggled with. This allowed them to focus more on the battle as, rather than nervousness, excitement began to well up inside them due to the rush of adrenaline and other factors. Due to them being equally skilled, the battle between Reise and Christopher ran out the clock as they were more focused on learning how to cooperate with their new partners than trying to outright win the battle. They even seemed a little surprised and disappointed when the battle came to an end but Vahn improved their moods immediately by reminding, "You both have several other matchesing up. Remember, these duels are meant to allow you the opportunity to familiarize yourself with your Companions so you both did very well. It is actually difficult to determine which of you performed better but, as Chris was the only one tond a damaging blow, Ill have to afford the victory to him this time around." Both students mood improved upon hearing Vahns opening statement but, after he dered the winner, Reise became slightly deted while Christopher actually felt a little awkward. Due to how much fun he was having, hepletely forgot about the purpose of the battle and, until Vahn had brought up the oue, it hadnt really crossed his mind. Because of this, he decided to try and be a good sport about it and, with an awkward smile on his face, shook hands with Reise while telling her that it was a very close match. Vahn gave an approving nod at the disy of good sportsmanship but, as they were a little pressed for time, he had the two rejoin the other students before calling the next two names. This time, both participants were female but, considering the gender ratio in the ss, this was going to be a trend. Vahn actually felt a little bad for the boys in ss as, if they didnt work hard, it was easy to imagine them feeling somewhat ostracized. After all, it took a lot of confidence for the average teen to evenmunicate with a member of the opposite sex due to hormonal surges and their inability to form tonic rtionships. Over time, Vahn was intending to break down such social constructs and gender walls but, as it was the backbone of most cultures, it would be a long and arduous process. After all, even he wasnt that adept at maintaining tonic rtionships as, due to his appreciation for the fairer sex,bined with his status and empathetic nature, most of the women around him quickly developed feelings for him... Fortunately, while some would foolishly believe themselves blessed to be in the same position, the majority of his male students wouldnt have to worry about juggling multiple rtionships. While it wasnt rare for a prominent Magi to have multiple wives and mistresses, it was borderline impossible for even a Noble to have multiple partners amongst students. Just knowing they had one girlfriend was enough for the majority of capable female Magi to distance themselves from them as, due to the culture of the magusmunity, independence was one of the most highly sought after and cherished constructs... After the initial battle between Reise, Fluffy, Christopher, and Snowball, the rest of the students had some degree of expectation going into their own battles. Some even began to strategize and work directly with their Companions, attempting to pressure their opponents by chaining together several attacks. This further inspired everyone else so, by the time ten battles had taken ce, things had started to be exciting on both the battlefield and along the periphery. After all, it was always exciting to watch intense battles, especially when both sides were capable of using shy spells and high-speed movements. Vahn was enjoying the matches just as much as the students but, not wanting to break the illusion ofposure that he was trying to build up, he showed a casual smile with his hands neatly behind his back. He would properly referee each fight and, if things got out of hand, he disyed his power by intervening in the fight, stopping even full-powered attacks with a veritable wave of his hand. Since his power was one of the most heatedly discussed topics on the schools secret BBS, it wasnt all that surprising to see the students react with abject shock and borderline confusion when he could wave his hand and essentially erase a spell. What the students didnt realize is that he already had control over nearly all the mana in the surroundings and, while he allowed them to use it, there was never a single moment when he wasnt in control... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Treat yo Companions with respect...!,RIP male students xD...,The Emperor reigns over all (UwU)...) (A/N: Chapters are slightly dyed. was down for five hours for me and Im too used to using Inkstone to write. I didnt have the motivation to open up a word document because I would have to adjust the format Im used to. Youd be surprised how much of writing is based onfort and familiarity xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1290 Climactic Battle...!?

Chapter 1290 Climactic Battle...!?

Though every battle was interesting and exciting, things eventually reached a peak when Vahn, smile on his face, announced, "Were down to thest few battles in the first set. Sakura, Mash, please step onto the training field." The moment the other students heard the names mentioned, everyone but the member of the As Temple became tense. They had all been looking forward to seeing how strong the students hailing from the Empire were. At present, everything about the five girls was a mystery as, even when Vahn called their names, he didnt mention their surnames... After stepping into the starting zones, Sakura and Mash faced each other, thetter breaking the silence as she adopted a pleasant smile and politely stated, "Im looking forward to the opportunity to battle against you, Sakura. As you know, this is my Companion, Proto-chan...well be in your care." As it was introduced, Proto-chan, a chimera-type Companion, flexed its non-existant muscles as it released an adorable war cry. This eased a lot of the tensions from the students but, as if not to lose out, Sakuras Companion, Momo, held up both of its hands to form ws, a ferocious "Waaaaan~!" escaping its mouth as its tail waggled behind it with vigorous momentum. Sakura giggled at her own Companions antics before politely crossing her hands across herp and saying, "Momo and I are looking forward toa battling you as well, Mashu. Lets put on a good show for everyone~" Unlike the rest of the students, Sakura and Mash obviously had experience working alongside their Companions. They knew what the tiny creatures were capable of and, while their Magecraft was far behind the average second-year student of the Clock Tower, their physical capabilities and magical resistance were onpletely different levels. Adding their overwhelming amount of Od on top of this and, behind those polite smiles, those with sharp intuition could feel oceans begin to stir... The moment Vahn started the fight, the majority of the ss was left ck-jawed when, without the usual apanying shockwave, Sakuras figure seemed to disappear. They didnt even know what happened until a small explosion, caused by pure physical power, erupted from where Mash had been standing. There, they saw Sakura performing what appeared to be a leaping kick that was easily deflected by a silvery buckler that had appeared in Mashs right hand. As if her previously gentle nature was an illusion, the current Mash had a calm expression that, in the eyes of some, bordered on emotionless. She was in a state of absolute focus and, despite the power behind the blow, she managed to hold her position without being pushed back a single centimeter. As for Sakura, she had a sharp and focused expression that, even at a nce, conveyed an inhuman amount of determination that didnt match what you would expect from a child... For a brief moment, it felt like the flow of time around Sakura and Mash began to stagnate. It wasnt until thetters shield rippled outward with an explosion of magical energy that time began to flow at what felt like an elerated rate as Sakura was sent flying through the air. At the same moment, Proto-chan used Mashs body as a springboard to follow after Sakura with enough speed to create several shockwaves that, somehow, only gently kicked up Mashs hair. Sakura managed to course correct in mid-air, reorienting herself so that she was facing Mash and the approaching Proto-chan. She didnt seem to notice thetter, however, as she hadplete trust that Momo would step in. This gave her the confidence to use her underdeveloped [Mana Burst] to arrest her backward momentum before angling herself so that she could return to the ground. Being stuck in the air was an extremely disadvantageous position before you had the ability to fly as falling speed was ridiculously slowpared to ground speed. Mash had been intending to follow up and pressure Sakura but, as she saw a momentary flicker, she instead dove to the right in order to cushion the blow of Proto-chan as it was sent careening toward the ground like a meteor. In the air, Momo could be seen with an excited smile on its face as it made a small v-sign with its hand before curling into a ball and forming a protective membrane around its body. Though Mash had incredible potential as a Designer Baby, her only advantages against Sakura were age and experience. Thetter had immeasurable potential and an ever-increasing amount of Od that, if made public, would shake the entire magicalmunity. After all, the average mature Magus had around 25-40 Od while Sakura, owing to her ten-year fusion with the Greater Grails mana, had close to 60,000 at the tender age of ten years old. Fortunately, Sakura could only output around 100 units of Magical Energy at a time so, as a Designer Baby with an Ouroboros Seal, Mash wasnt too far behind her. The training she had participated in had increased her Od to around 1300 units so, once she developed her skills, increase her control, and developed her body, she would even be able topete against weaker Heroic Spirits... With the strongest normal student only having an Od of 27, the majority of the ss couldnt even fathom how strong Sakura and Mash were. They could only watch in awe as the two girls continued to use what they believed to be an advanced version of [Enhance] and [Reinforcement] Magecraft, their brains automatically excluding the possibility they were using their physical bodies to perform such feats. In this manner, it felt like only a few seconds had passed by the time Vahn vanished from his spot to intercept Sakuras and Mashs fists. They had been on the verge of an internecine oue in their final attempts at securing a victory. When their supersonic blows impacted against the palms of his hands, however, all of their force was mitigated. There wasnt even a shockwave, just absolute silence as the climactic battle that awed nearly the entire ss was brought to an instantaneous end. As if they had just awakened from a dream, one of the students couldnt resist the urge to p. This started a chain reaction that even extended to the students from the As Temple, despite the nk looks on their faces. Sakuras face became red as a result of this unexpected ovation while Mash, as if possessing two entirely separate personalities, instantly returned to her usually polite self. Before things could get out of hand, Vahn raised his hand in a silencing gesture. This quickly brought a stop to the apuse and, though he wasnt really mad, Vahn adopted a slightly stern voice as he said, "Let us be fair to each other. While the battle between Sakura and Mash was a sight to behold, they should not be the only ones to receive apuse. It may seem harmless right now but, if you get used to giving others special treatment, you make things difficult for them and yourselves..." In response to his words, nearly every student fell into silent contemtion but, before they were able to put too much thought into it, Mordred startled them to awareness by thumping against her chest and shouting, "Thank you for your guidance, Grand Advisor...!" in amanding tone. Immediately following Mordreds outburst, Astrid, Zo?, and, reading the flow, Rani simultaneously chimed, "Thank you for your guidance, Grand Advisor...!" This set off a somewhat awkward chain reaction but, before it could get too far, Vahn raised his hand to return the room to silence. At the same time, he gave Mordred a knowing look that brought a cheeky smile to the girls face as she struggled to resist bursting into a fit ofughter... --- The rest of the student matches proceeded without incident as, whenever something went wrong, Vahn would always step in at the decisive moment. This made some people fight haphazardly but, as they were all experimenting with coordinating with their Companions, Vahn allowed them to make a few mistakes. They would learn over the following months how to refine their skills and abilities after observing the seriousness in which the higher ranked students treated the training. As could be expected, the most exciting battles were between the girls hailing from the Empire, the only real exception being Mordreds battles since they always ended in an instant. After all, she was no longer in her sealed state. This made her an A-Rank Heroic Spirit which, if allowed to go all out, had the potential to disrupt tectonic tes and copse continental shelves. Even a middling blow from her [rent], if aimed at the city itself, could wipe out all of London in a single exchange. The only thing that prevented this was the restrictions of the world and the fact that, unless they were only seeking to cause destruction, most Heroic Spirits didnt aim their attacks at the ground. Due to the overwhelming gap in power, Mordred was rightfully given the highest rank in the ss. As for the second position, it unsurprisingly went to Rani V, even though most of the students had originally expected Sakura to secure the position. Unfortunately, Rani had inherited the knowledge and experience of her preceding models. This wasnt a transfer of consciousness, however, so Rani still had her own Ego, much like the individual Einzbern Homunculi. Thus, while she had more than a hundred years of data to serve as a foundation for her Magecraft, she was still just a sixteen-year-old girl. Still, Magecraft greatly benefitted from experience, knowledge, and mental capacity so, having a brain that could literally humble a supeputer, Rani was monstrously talented. She barely had to move inbat as, by the time her opponent had decided to act, she had already formed a magic circle that allowed her to counter their efforts. This,bined with a functionally infinite amount of Magical Power, made it almost impossible for other students to contend against her. It was unfortunate for Rani that her parameters and maximum output were restricted so, when she was matched against someone like Mordred, all of her benefits were nullified. Mordred had been able to train her [Magic Resistance] once again and, even though it was supposed to be a ss Skill given to Heroic Spirits, the training methods used by the Knights of the Round Table actually made it possible to learn. All it really took was nourishing your body with your own Magical Energy over a long period of time while performing extreme physical training and, as a result of the saturation and exposure, you would naturally be resistant to Magical Energy, you own included. This was the main reason why most Knights throughout history struggled to ever learn any advanced forms of Magecraft. Though there were a few exceptions, they were usually a Demigod or, like many Knight of the Round Table, recipients of powerful blessings and charms bestowed upon them by Fae and other Spiritual beings. The generations that followed saw this as an example so, while Artifacts and other unique magical armaments have always existed, the use of Mystic Codexes amongst Magi that specialized in physicalbat becamemon. Needless to say, all of these factors meant it was nigh-impossible for Rani to even damage Mordred. Thetter could tank most of her spells without suffering any injury and, with hypersonic speed and explosive power at her behest, there wasnt a match to be had. Mordred closed the distance so fast that Ranis mind was temporarily stalled as, while she could keep up with speed, calcting it with extreme uracy, she was fundamentally unable to react to it. Thus, without any suspense, Mordred was able to hold out Neko, her personal Companion, right in front of Ranis face. This allowed it to tap against the stunned girls nose and, without trying to extend the battle, Rani understood she had been bested, ultimately surrendering the battle. (A/N: Alternate Titles: I can imagine Sakura and Mash bothughing in an Ufufufu~ manner when they grow up...,Vahn OP,Like raising a lion amongst sheep xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1291 Aldrnari College Commons

Chapter 1291 Aldrnari College Commons

With the conclusion of the practice matches, Vahn could tell that several things had changed in the ss. First, there was a newfound appreciation each student had for their Companions. Second, they now looked toward Mordred with both respect and abject fear. She wasnt just the highest-ranking person in the ss but, even those with vivid imaginations couldnt imagine bing even half as strong as her. This made them fear the Empire even more as, while Sakura, Mash, Astrid, and Zo? werent nearly as terrifying, they were all much stronger than nearly everyone else in the ss. Now, after everyone had formed back up in military-style rows and columns, Vahn could feel the tension from those closest to Mordred. She stood with her back straight, her bearing perfect as an imperceptible smile could be seen on her lips. This gave Vahn the urge to smile as well but, as he didnt want to be used of ying favorites too soon, he resisted the urge to praise her for doing well. It was fortunate that they would be returning to the castle in the afternoon so he could always do so in thefort of their own home... Maintaining his usual smile, Vahn passed his gaze over all the students in turn before saying in a calm tone of voice, "You all did very well. I hope this lesson helped you understand the importance of caring for your Companions. It may be difficult for you to believe right now but the words we told you are the truth. If you work hard and be close with your Companions, they will develop their own Ego and eventually evolve to be the creature that most closely matches your character. It could take several years for you to reach this point but, by the time you graduate, the majority of you should have evolved your Companions..." There was still a fair amount of skepticism amongst the students of the Clock Tower but,pared to before, it was obvious they were beginning to believe. Some still thought all of this was a ploy to draw them in and make them loyal, which wasnt exactly wrong, but theyrgely overestimated their own value. Vahn was giving them the same opportunities others would have in the future, they were just the sample batch to determine the most effective way to train future generations of students. Though he would treat them fairly, their future was entirely in their own hands. He wasnt proactively trying to bring any of them into his fold and, even if they all ultimately failed out of the program, it wouldnt be much of a setback. Still, Vahn hoped they would do well so he would do his best to encourage them whenever he was present. This was the primary reason behind his Advisor role and, if he could keep them on the right track, that was for the best. He wouldnt be like Zelretch had been in the past, caring only about the results and not the process that raised a young Magus into a mature adult. That would make him no better than the other Nobles within the Association, people who based their treatment of others entirely on their usefulness... --- As promised, the children were given the rest of the day off to unpack and settle into their rooms. This also gave them the opportunity to socialize a bit as the Aldrnari College Commons had arge Cafe, recreation room, small theater, and, though they would not be able to ess it any time soon, a Simtion Training Field. Thetter served as a control experiment for the Global Virtual World that Da Vinci was working on. Once it was ready, they would be allowed to freely enter the Virtual World during their leisure time, experiencing wonders far beyond typical human imagination. For now, the students would have to keep themselves entertained with each other. Though this was made a little more difficult with the size of the College, as it could hold a thousand students, most of them had been congregated close to themon areas. This served as a central gathering hub for everyone in the building as, for obvious reasons, the boys and girls were divided into two separate wings. To prevent any kind of shenanigans, there were extremely powerful barriers and a variety of other security measures to keep the students safe, both from the outside and each other. They would have to be on the level of high ranking Assassin ss Heroic Spirit to have any hope of oveing even the most basic security measures as Vahn would not tolerate any incidents. There was a time and a ce for everything and, as students currently had their own rooms, he had no intention of allowing males to congregate in the room of a female and vice versa. Vahn didnt expect there would be any real issues early on but, as more students entered into the College, it was only a matter of time before something happened. The Companions would be able to prevent any heinous situations from urring but it was inevitable that some students would begin to pair off with each other as boyfriend and girlfriend. As it seemed to be human nature for those in love to try and break every rule preventing them from easily meeting with each other, Vahn knew he would be dealing with some awkward situations in the future. Fortunately, at least for the time being, he didnt have to worry about such things. Though it was a given that any of the boys would wholeheartedly agree to be a pair with almost any of the girls within the department, everyone was currently too nervous to do anything drastic. They could hardly talk with each other at this point and, with arger female poption than males, Vahn knew only the boldest among theter would have any fortune when it came to dating their fellow students. Until such a situation urred, Vahns own duties were extremelyx. He would only be stepping in for a few of the more important lessons so, while Mordred, Sakura, Mash, Astrid, and Zo? were in ss, he would either be rxing back in the College or the Faculty Room. The Clock Tower couldnt be trusted to protect his department just yet so, even though Scthach was also skulking about, he wanted to be close by to make sure his children, and their ssmates, were protected... Knowing he would be spending a lot of his time idling about in the Clock Tower, Vahn had removed his Soul Gem from the Welsh Dragons chamber. This would eventually be the Quest Board for the students to use but, in order to split his focus between Avalon and London, he currently used it as his second body. With it, he was able to tend to the affairs of the Empire while, back in London, he rxed in afortable chair and simply observed everything going on around him while Gareth, Okita, and Jeanne dutifully attended him. At this point, Vahn could easily control upward of five bodies so, with only two active, he wasnt put under much mental strain. Though it was sometimes difficult to focus under the influence of the time dtion, he had a lot of experience doing so back in Danmachi. Bing a God made the process a lot easier as well so, if he pushed himself, Vahn believed he could maintain seven bodies. This would require him to be experiencing the same flow of time for each perspective but it was still inarguably better than his previous two-vessel limit. Vahns current goal, in so far as his vessels were concerned, was to try and create enough versions of himself to, theoretically, tend to all of his women. While this seemed virtually impossible, as he had a penchant for acquiring new lovers, he was determined to make it a reality one day. There were still times when he would feel a small amount of guilt about the number of rtionships he had so, as his Soul continued to strengthen, Vahn would continue to practice controlling multiple vessels with ever-increasing proficiency... --- Unaware of what their Advisor was thinking, most of the students had used the time allotted to do just as Vahn had expected, familiarize themselves with the College and its inhabitants. A number of them had gathered in the Commons, drawn to the sound of conversation andughter. There, they found the Imperial Quintet gathered around a Cafe table while a very motherly looking Homunculus waited on them. It was generally very difficult for someone to prate an established group of close friends but, every time Mordred saw someone enter the area, she would call out to each student by name. This wasnt exactly an invitation for them to sit at the table but, at the very least, Mordred was breaking down the walls of her ssmates to make them morefortable with associating with the group. She knew there woulde a time when she needed to lead these people so it would be a very big problem if they couldnt even talk with her properly. Of course, not every person addressed by Mordred parted after a polite greeting. There were some students that, while not truly bold, had enough ambition to at least try and approach the group on amicable terms. This included none other than Silvain who, after being greeted from a distance by Mordred, acted very ttered before making his way over to the table and asking if he could take a seat. Hearing the boys request, Mordred squinted her eyes almost imperceptibly as she remarked, "You really are making a show of your bravery, arent you...?" Though he was visibly tense, Silvain still managed a smile before giving a polite but not subservient bow as he said, "I took your previous words to heart. Though it would be brash to call myself a man at this stage, I dont want to be treated as a boy my entire life. At the worst, I will only be refused a seat..." Silvain had a bit of trouble getting out the final few words of his statement as he noticed all of the girls at the table had turned their gazes upon him. He felt a considerable amount of pressure from them as, unlike Mordred, they werent exactly smiling. The only exception to this was Mash but, if you looked closely, it was very easy to see that the smile didnt quite reach her eyes. Just as Silvain began to believe there was something far worse than simply being denied a seat, Mordred shattered the tension by bursting intoughter. This drew the attention of everyone else who had been lingering about within the Cafe, each previously pretending to be unaware of the event ying out... Once her fit ofughter hade to an end, Mordred pointed to a chair a seat apart from where Astrid was sitting. Though she had thetter switch ces with Mash, she allowed Silvain to take a seat, saying, "Were all ssmates andrades. There is no bad blood between us so there is no harm in sitting and talking with each other in public like this. Just dont lose your sense of propriety or even I wont be able to protect you." Silvain had mechanically moved to take his assigned seat but, hearing Mordreds words, he couldnt help but tense up even further. Everyone in the ss had already assumed her identity so there was a very good chance that she, or perhaps all five girls present, were the Emperors daughters. This had encouraged some into thinking that he allowed them to attend school in order to find spouses but none of them were brave enough to really attempt asking them out. The Emperor was too terrifying an existence and, if they somehow offended him, it was very easy to imagine simply being erased from the world with a wave from his hand... Believing Mordred was warning him not to try and coax any of the girls at the table, Silvain failed to swallow the knot in his throat, his voice breaking as he answered, "Ill keep that in mind..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Strive to be the best! The very best! Like no one ever was...!,I can imagine Ais walking into a room filled with dozens of Vahns, fighting spirit burning in her eyes...,Boi best watch out. Papa Bear is always only one spatial transfer away (o,...,o)...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1292 Ambition : Reality

Chapter 1292 Ambition : Reality

Prior to attending school at the Clock Tower, Mordred, Sakura, Mash, Zo?, and Astrid had all been thoroughly prepped for sses. They had a basic grasp of the curriculum developed by Da Vinci as, more so than advancing their education, attending school was meant to give them a chance to learn how to socialize with people outside Avalon. Due to their past, Zo? and Astrid had issues dealing with strangers, especially men. If the other party was a Magus, that made things inarguably worse so, while they did their best not to let the presence of Silvain bother them, it was very clear they were ufortable. This was why Mordred had Mash sit between them as, despite hailing from the same background, her strong mental fortitude set her apart from the rest of the Designer Babies. In truth, Mash also felt considerably ufortable. However, she was very ustomed to putting on an act so it didnt show in her face or bodynguage. She also wanted to meet the expectations of her Master and, knowing even seventh-year students werent her match, she was able to remain calm. It would take someone on the level of a strong Faculty member to have any hope of harming her as, the moment they tried anything, she could, quite literally, just break them. This was the case for Zo? and Astrid as well; After all, the former had been training under Ghad for nearly eight months so, with her background as a Designer Baby, Zo? was several times stronger and dozens of times more magically proficient than her peers. As for Astrid, she had only used one of them during the previous duels but, unlike other students, she kept a variety of Companions with her at all times. Her room back in Avalon even served as a gathering area for the adorable creatures so she had a stronger connection to them than most. Ultimately, the five girls would be able to cause great devastation to the Clock Tower, even without Vahn stepping in. So long as they didnt get caught roaming alone, there was very little that could actually threaten them. After all, Mordred was very near an S-Rank Heroic Spirit and, with a total of twelve Companions and two powerful Guardians at their side, even the Enforcement Division would be hard-pressed to threaten them. Of course, the biggest protections the girls had was the lingering presence of ya who, so long as Vahn was inside the Bounded Field of the Clock Tower, could easily trace the girls. If they were in any danger, she would whisk them away and, as a result of their transgressions, the attackers could only flee at their fastest speed before Vahn arrived. Unfortunately for them, no matter how fast they ran, Vahns ability to move through space and summon them through the Throne of Heroes meant that even teleportation and suicide werent viable options... --- Like a young sheep wandering into the den of a tiger,pletely ignorant of the actual danger it was exposing itself to, Silvain did his best to maintain a polite smile as he conversed with Mordred and Sakura. He had tried to strike up a conversation with the other three girls but Astrid and Zo? only gave dismissive responses while Mash would deflect or guide the conversation back to Mordred and Sakura. She really didnt have much to talk about and, having someone she didnt know make even general inquiries about her past, origins, and preferences made her feel uneasy. Fortunately, Mordred was quick to but into the conversation and, after a few failed attempts, Silvain began to realize probing the three girls for information was ill-advised. He only asked in an attempt to try and include them into the conversation so, with them making it tantly obvious they had no intention of doing so, he turned his attention to Mordred, Sakura, and, on asion, Mash. Thetter seemed easier to deal with than the other two girls so he wanted to at least begin building rapport with her. With this in mind, Silvain decided to talk about the most pertinent topic rted to each of them, a smile on his face as hemented, "I was amazed by thebat proficiency of your entire group. The Empire must be an amazing ce to have nurtured so many prodigies in the same generation. I can only redouble my efforts in an attempt to try and catch up." Mordred could tell that Silvain was fishing for details on the Empire but, as she was allowed to talk about anything not explicitly treated as a secret, she smiled in turn, musing, "Youll have to work a lot more than twice as hard if you want to catch up with us. Were not going to just be sitting around on our hands or twiddling our thumbs. The foundational principles of the Empire are based around the idea that all sapient species fundamentally have no limits to their growth. We work hard each day to be better than our past selves. If you dont make the most of every opportunity you are given, you cannot hope to even follow in our footsteps, much less catch up with us~" Silvain was a little taken aback by Mordreds words but, remembering how he couldnt even follow her movements, he couldnt easily refute them. Still, he didnt like being looked down on so, while doing his best to hide the fact his hand was trembling, he answered, "All of you are much stronger than me...however, that will not always be the case. So long as Im not suppressed by others, I will one day be someone who stands at the peak of this world. If the Empire is as you say, it is only a matter of time before I surpass even you, Mordred...!" Though there wasnt much confidence in his words, Silvain didnt want the five girls hailing from the Empire to look down on him. Even if the wishful thinking of the students on the BBS werepletely facious, he knew it was still possible to ingratiate and endear himself to them. If he could impress them or, at the very least, earn their respect, it would greatly increase the opportunities he has in the future. He had already banked his future on joining the Empire, even cutting ties with his family and distancing himself from most of his former friends and associates... Unfortunately for Silvain, Mordreds smile faded away as she adopted what could only be described as a confident and predatory expression as she stated, "It is fine to have ambitions but you should choose your words more carefully. Saying you will inevitably surpass us, despite our own efforts, is looking down on us far too much. You cant even begin toprehend the amount of effort we put into our training so your words are entirely derived from ignorance and arrogance. The pinnacle of this world is something you cant even imagine at your current level..." A contrast to his earlier bravado, Silvain currently felt like he was a cockroach that had just been spotted by an earnest housewife. He felt iprehensible tiny and, though he was just doing his best to live, it felt as if the girl before him could squash him at any moment. Still, he did his best to stand his ground, even though making eye contact with Mordred made it impossible for him to even draw breath. If not for the boys supreme level of ignorance, Mordred would have been impressed by the fact he was able to at least maintain eye contact. However, knowing he was doing so out of pride and sheer unwillingness to back down, she couldnt help but pity his foolishness. He may very well be a strong individual in the future but reaching the peak was beyond the current him. His mentality all but assured that he would eventually break after a series of setbacks. It was very easy to imagine him trying to ingratiate himself to them in theing months after realizing how unobtainable his goal is... Fortunately for Silvain, Sakura decided to give the boy an opportunity to take a step back, stating in a polite tone, "We alle here to learn more about ourselves and the world around us. Silvain, you should focus on your studies and work hard to achieve your goals. Great power is not necessary for a happy life. So long as you do your best in everything you do, sess is easy to find in the Empire. Those that stand at the peak do not insist that they will arrive there. They obtain that title as a result of the efforts they put in." Silvain felt like an angel had descended to give him a second chance at life as, due to Mordreds icy gaze, he had started to asphyxiate slightly. With her words serving as a transition, he had an excuse to turn away from Mordred and, though his breathing had be audible, he was able to at least pretend he was calm as he said, "Thank you for your guidance. There is a fair amount of wisdom in your words, Sakura. Ill do my best to keep them in mind from here onwards." Sakura just gave a small nod in response to Silvains words while, seated next to her, Mordred had already defaulted back to her usual smile. From the boys words, she could tell he hadnt let go of his ambition but, rather than try to show off and impress them, he would now keep it close to his heart. If he had been truly serious, he would have taken a stand, even if it meant losing what little favor he had with the group. The fact he so readily grasped at a chance to extricate himself from the situation showed that he fundamentallycked the qualifying traits of the truly powerful. Rather than voice this, Mordred took the opportunity to alleviate the tension, her eyes focusing on a group of ten people evenly split between two tables. The students facing her immediately turned to make eye contact, reading her lips as she said, "What Im surprised about is how powerful all of the students from the As Temple are. Their educational standards seem objectively higher than those of the Clock Tower. The fact their representative managed to secure second ce is a testament to how much effort went into grooming each and every one of them~" Though there wasnt actually any hidden meaning behind her words, everyone privy to them had assigned various meanings to them. This included Silvain, who believed she was pointing out just how many people were superior to him, and Sakura, who felt a little ashamed that she had lost to someone other than Mordred. As for Rani and the other nine students seated around her, almost as if they were protecting her, she just stared nkly back at Mordred. Unlike Silvain, Rani showed no fear, hesitation, or even the smallest signs ofcking confidence. Her ego might not be as developed as some real humans but, in the grand scheme of things, what most people believed made them human wasplete nonsense. In fact, being human didnt matter all that much from the perspective of the universe and, more often than not, those that pretended it did end up causing great tragedies to unfold. There were even humans who hated each other based on such arbitrary notions as skin tone and the street they were born on so, even after more than fifteen hundred years had passed, Mordred couldnt help but see humans as misguided sheep... Looking into the eyes of Rani, Mordred did not get this feeling at all. Rather, she saw a person who, despite ack of emotions, carried the weight of responsibility without buckling in the slightest. She was the amalgamation of the As Temples efforts to create the next step in human evolution as, if left to their own devices, humans would undoubtedly destroy themselves. Just seeing what they had done to the in the fifteen hundred years since her era left Mordred absolutely gobsmacked... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn, "I am inevitable...",Ignorance and Arrogance share a face on the same coin (o 3 o)...,The concept of humans, by virtue of human nature, is an evolving concept. Those who focus more on the past than the future of their own race are less than human. Progress is making the most of the present, not cing restrictions on the future of others due to the past transgressions of a few entirely unrted individuals xD) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1293 Idling Abou

Chapter 1293 Idling Abou

While the series of staring contests were taking ce in the Cafe area, Vahn was seatedfortably in the staff quarters watching events take ce. He could send his intent even beyond the bounds of his domain and, so long as he didnt focus on anyone in particr, it was difficult for even proficient Magi to sense him. He had cultivated this skill within Avalon over thest few years so it had reached a point where even Rin and Luvia, both trained to be aware of such observation, were unaware of his presence. The biggest difference between the present and his past self, however, was that he could send his intent to multiple ces at once. He used his vessels as a transmitter of sorts and, using them as a ry, he could freely teleport to any texture where one of his bodies existed. Because of this, and the limited omniscience provided to him by his Divinity, Vahn was beginning to truly grasp what it meant to be a God... Seeing that things were going rtively well in the Cafe, Vahn decided to trust in the children, his intent snapping back to the present where Gareth was straddling hisp, her face nestled into the nook of his neck as she happily dozed off. Vahn didnt believe it wise to do anything distracting outside the sanctity of Avalon but that didnt prevent him from enjoying some skinship with the girls at his side. Much like ya, he had be very ustomed to physical intimacy so, if it could keep her happy, Vahn didnt mind serving as the bed of his faithful Page. As for Jeanne and Okita, they were engaged in a very intense match of cards at the side but, upon noticing he was awake, they quickly oriented themselves toward him, awaiting his order. Though he felt a small amount of guilt, Vahn smiled toward the girls as he mused, "It is time to stop pretending, Gareth. Come, lets join the card game." Gareth, who had awoken almost immediately after Vahns intent returned to the room, immediately hopped up from her Mastersp as soon as she heard his words. There was no visible fatigue on her face at all. Rather, she had a sheepish and somewhat yful smile as she moved over to sit next to the coffee table. Vahn followed close behind and, after taking his own seat, began ying a rather low stakes version of the Kings Game using cards as the determining factor. He might not be able to do anything more intimate but, at the very least, he could enjoy getting a rise out of Jeanne and Gareth... --- During the construction of the Aldrnari College, powerful defensive formations and several magic circles using Faerie and Primordial Runes had been installed. It also had a system developed by Da Vinci that caused Spiritron interference, making it virtually impossible for anyone on the outside to spy on the happenings within. One of the few people that could get around these preventions was Solon who, being the Ruler of the Bounded Field, had the ability to observe anything taking ce within. This required the use of a very powerful Artifact, a mirror that they had acquired from none other than Merlin in the distant past. Using this mirror, known literally as [Merlins Mirror], Solon could view any person within the dominion of their rule. It also had the function of showing them any person that conspired against the Clock Tower from within, something a few families had learned the hard way several centuries prior. Now, Solon had a dull expression on their face as, for the umpteenth time, they watched as Vahn just messed around and idled about with the various women surrounding him. It was a truly vexing sight to behold as, whenever Vahn had any free time whatsoever, he seemed to be engaging in borderlinescivious acts. Even more annoying was the fact that, despite knowing one of the girls was a literal Saintess, she acted like a demure maiden around Vahn who was easily coaxed into doing whatever he wanted... If not for the fact they felt like Vahn was using his antics as a cover, Solon would have turned off the mirror and simply ignored him. They believed this was part of Vahns plot to get them to lower their guard, however, so Solon could only watch with a nk expression at the events taking ce in the reflection. So long as Vahn was inside the Clock Tower, they would not overlook any of his actions as any middling incident caused by the man could lead to the very destruction of everything they had built up over thousands of years. Thus, even though Solon would sometimes find themselves grinding their teeth in frustration, they could only continue observing, the pink ring around their pupils expanding and contracting in tune with their fluctuating heartbeat... --- Though his Luck was actually his lowest parameter, Vahn ended up winning almost every hand as Gareth and Jeanne would intentionally y poorly. Jeanne didnt have it in herself to make even a small request of him so she would rather fold her cards than be put on the spot. As for Gareth, she would only go in with pairs and low cards so, while it was possible for her to win, she almost always lost. Of the three, Vahns only opponent was Okita as, in her mind, fulfilling the intended objective behind a task was of paramount importance. She knew the purpose of the card game was to form winning hands so, with her high Luck and even higher perception, she was a monstrous opponent. The only advantage he had against her was that her understanding of probability far outstripped her ability to bluff. She would only go in on hands where she had a reasonable chance of sess so, if she didnt fold, it was pretty much guaranteed that she had something. Vahn didnt think of himself as the most scheming individual in the world but, with an education provided by Loki, Fortuna, Kali, and several other concerned Goddesses, he wasnt bad at it. He was able to bluff Okita out of several decent hands, leaving the nk-faced woman with what could only be described as a conflicted expression as she failed to understand why he would go in on such a bad hand... As a result of his efforts, Vahn was sitting shirtless at the table while, with the exception of Okita, both Jeanne and Gareth were down to their underwear. They could easily conceal themselves with a simple activation of their [REquip] system so, despite this inarguably being considered a distraction, Vahn made an exception since they seemed to enjoy it just as much as him. He liked seeing how far Jeannes blush would creep down her body and, with her rather sizable snow-white breasts, it was quite the sight to behold. Currently, Vahn had a spade flush with Jack high so his odds of winning the hand were favorable, even with Okita staring back at him with her unreadable expression. He knew she had something in her hand and, while he would never resort to such methods, the temptation to just peak was very strong. The game was already stacked in his favor so cheating would be a rather shameless thing to do, especially given Okitas inability to bluff. With most of his clothes still intact, Vahn had a fair amount of leeway so, without any discernible hesitation, he casually mused, "Ill bet three pieces of clothing~" At this point, Jeanne only had her bra, panties, and stockings left so, while she had three Aces in her hand, she ultimately set her cards down as she sheepishly muttered, "I fold..." Though she wouldnt hesitate to expose herself if ordered, she didnt want to be naked outside of Avalon. Gareth shared the same sentiment and, as she was only down to her bra and panties, she didnt have much leeway. She did have a straight in her hand but, seeing that Okita hadnt backed out, the odds of hering out ahead were extremely slim. Thus, in much the same way as Jeanne, she opted out of the hand by folding. Being thest to call, Okita surprised the entire table by saying, "I bet five pieces of clothing." in her usual monotone. She had bet everything except her bra and panties as, despite the game going on for a few minutes, she had only lost her scarf and detachable sleeves. This left her with a modified kimono, Aegis undergarments, stockings, shoes, the ribbon in her hair, and the tassels tying up the sides. Stockings, socks, sleeves, and other paired items were considered one piece of clothing so she could safely bet five pieces withoutpletely exposing herself. Vahn was in a decidedly different situation as, bereft of his shirt and the usual armguards he wore, the only pieces of clothing he had left were his undergarments, belt, trousers, socks, and shoes. He had exactly five articles of clothing left so, if he tried to match Okitas hand, he would be left in the buff. She would also be the King and, depending on her request, things could get rather interesting in a very short period of time. Ultimately, Vahn decided to forfeit the hand as there were at least five different hands that could beat him. If she had a Flush, Full House, Four of a King, Straight Flush, or Royal Flush, he had no method ofing out ahead. Since bets had already been made, it was almost guaranteed she had at least one of them so, epting the loss of two articles, he turned his cards over and said, "I fold." as he began to remove his shoes and socks. Contrary to everyones expectations, Okita issued a rare smile almost immediately after Vahn turned over his cards. Then, in a casual manner, she set her own hand down to everyone to see her winning hand. At first, Vahn assumed she had a Royal Flush but, upon seeing that the final card was a three, his jaw cked open as an overwhelming urge to smile caused his expression to turn into a goofy visage. Okita seemed especially proud of herself as she raised her head slightly and monotoned, "I think Im starting to figure this game out. Dont think Ill always be fooled, Master." No longer able to restrain himself, Vahn beganughing unabashedly while Gareth, surprised at what Okita had pulled off, gave her a thumbs up and said, "Great job, Okita~!" Even Jeanne was a little impressed with the fact that Okita managed to pull one over on their Master, even though she was always a little frustrated at the same time. She knew their Master was holding himself back, as he could easily know what all of their cards were, so it bothered her that Okita took advantage of that fact. Still, she wouldnt say anything as Vahn had made it very clear in the past that he didnt need an Apostle to carry out his Divine Will... Now barefooted, Vahn regained hisposure, asking in unveiled amusement, "So, what is your order, My Liege~?" As the usual order typically involved Vahn stealing a kiss or taking some small liberties from them, Okita had used her previous victories to do much the same. She didnt actually have any feelings for him but, without any hesitation, she gave a decisive nod and said, "I will have you kiss me. This time, you have to do it twice as long as thest time." Gareth and Jeanne had their usual flushed faces upon hearing Okitas order but Vahn, with his usual smile, chimed, "Your loyal subject has heard yourmand and epted the task assigned to him. If it pleases Your Majesty, may I approach you~?" ying her own part, Okita raised her head in a pretend haughty manner, her pale silver eyes cast down upon him as she answered, "You may proceed..." in a low andmanding tone. Following this, Vahn leaned over to her side of the table while Okita, making things a little easier for him, bent forward slightly to make herself avable. Then, as she was still inexperienced with such things, she let her mouth open and close awkwardly while allowing Vahn to guide her through the process once more... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Comfortable bed...munyaa~,Solons going to be puking up blood at this rate xD...,This game is totally stacked in Vahns favor...! The perks of being an Emperor...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1294 Ignition

Chapter 1294 Ignition

There were a few small hups here and there but, in the blink of an eye, the first week of ss came to pass without incident. The only borderline instances were students trying to use their Companions in unsanctioned battles but, as they soon learned, this didnt pan out as they expected. It was mentioned in the handbook that Companions were unable to follow any order that led to the harming of another person. Their purpose was to protect their partners, not be used as weapons to give them an advantage against normal students. The closest thing to someone nearly getting expelled outright was when one student attempted to bait some of their former ssmates into attacking them. This might have worked if not for the fact her Companion had already informed the staff of her intentions from the moment she nned to make contact with her former ssmates. By the time the girl was preparing to spring her trap, Sion had appeared in the area with her usual smile and a pair of twin Companions rising her shoulders. She gave a stern warning to the students of the Clock Tower before bringing the offending student back to the faculty room. Here, the girl was given a chance to defend her actions but, rather than try to make an excuse, she openly admitted to her intentions. This didnt particrly earn her any favors but, if she had tried to y off the event and mislead them, it would have been grounds for immediate expulsion from the program. In truth, Vahn knew why the girl had been plotting against her former students as her past was filled with a series of unfortunate events. She had basically fled to the department in order to escape and, in order to give her hope, Vahn had epted her application despite the fact she wasnt exactly an ideal candidate. As part of the girls punishment, she was required to attend weekly in-house therapy sessions and, in order to prevent simr instances from urring, a seminar regarding the nature of the Companions was held in order to clear up any potential misunderstandings. Here, Vahn exined that they were intended to prevent conflict, not aid in the perpetuation of violence. Though it was possible to fight alongside your Companion in a training environment, there would nevere an opportunity where they could be used in an offensive battle against other people. Their nature was to protect, not cause harm at the behest of their partner. To wrap everything up, he also strictlyid out that none of the students had any kind of authority over their Companions as, from the very beginning, they were intended to be partners, not servants or pets. If they failed to treat their Companions with the respect all sapient species deserved, they would not be allowed to keep them. Even if humans served as the backbone of nearly every Record he visited in the future, he did not believe in the rampant sense of superiority most humans had. He would never allow that kind of behavior in Avalon so, if they wanted toplete the program, the students needed to fix their former mentalities and curb their bad habits... Fortunately, the students took his words very seriously so, in the aftermath of that one incident, most students began treating their Companions properly. This even extended to the students who had wanted to train their Companions by having them sh against each other in unsanctioned battles. They were inspired by a popr childrens cartoon but, despite their attempts to coax the adorable creatures, the Companions simply refused while sending a ping to the mother system informing it of the vition. Vahn had less empathy for the students with this kind of mentality but, as they were young and it was very exciting to watch Companions battle, he also didnt me them. The appearance, nature, and characteristics of a Companion made people default to viewing them as pets and, withbat potential that even exceeded the students themselves, it was easy to rationalize helping them grow even stronger. There were even students who, upon realizing that Astrid had several Companions in her entourage, believed they could acquire more for themselves to build battle teams to use against other trainers. Instances like this reminded Vahn that the students, despite many of them being considered adults by the standards of the Empire, were still just children. They were easily influenced by their situation and their interests so it was easy for them to get carried away. Since this was the very reason behind the department using a pseudo-military structure, he was hoping they would mature a bit before the time for their graduation approached. Still, as he did understand where they wereing from, Vahn had Da Vinci implement a virtual world loosely based on the popr cartoon, albeit with restrictions in ce to prevent moral degeneration and mental instabilities from developing... --- Though his primary focuses were cementing the position of his new department andpleting the tasks assigned to him by Scthach, Vahn had one other big project he was involved with. This rted to the strengthening of the Chaldea Security Organization and the activation of CHALDEAS itself. It was one of the projects that would serve to strengthen the foundation of the Empire. Even before the duel between Artoria and Lorelei, preparations had been made to secure the facility and root out any potentially dangerous elements from the organization so, with the emergence of Sherlock, it was finally time to link the powerful artifact to the Bounded Field of the itself. Vahn currently found himself standing on an ornate walkway in a massive chamber where only a small amount of blue light illuminated his surroundings. Despite this, his eyes could easily see a very detailed representation of the earth suspended between five disc-like rings, each with varying orientation. It almost looked on orrery but, with only the earth being present, this illusion was quickly shattered. From over an inte system, Vahn heard a moment of static before Olgas voice, sounding more than a little excited, came through, saying, "All of the readings are holding stable. Projections show a 94.317% chance of sessful ignition. We are ready to begin when you are, Vahn!" Hearing that the rate of sess still wasnt one-hundred percent, Vahn was a little troubled but, unless he wanted to wait for Da Vinci to overhaul the entire system, there wasnt much he could do. Fortunately, even if it failed to ignite, they would just have to perform maintenance on some of the damaged systems before trying again after a few hours. This would normally take several months, at the very least, but they had the benefit of an unlimited power source with cooperation from Maxwell. With his own excitement building, Vahn gave a nod to indicate it was time to start up CHALDEAS. He was looking forward to learning how the system would function while he was present so he elected to have a front-row seat to the historical event. The only other person in attendance of the event, as it was more than a little dangerous to be anywhere near the core, was ya who, for once, seemed less focused on draining him dry as she focused on the massive artifact, runes streaming across her violet eyes... Suddenly, a phenomenal amount of power began to build within the chamber as atticework of hexagonal crystals began to illuminate on the floor. These were condensed Spiritron crystals and, upon being activated, they appeared as both a solid and a liquid simultaneously as vibrant blue light began to radiate from them. At the same time, a gentle whirring could be heard and, momentster, the discs surrounding the earth proxy began to rotate. Their speed began to gradually build with the ever-increasing flow of Magical Power while, at the very center of the formation, the previously dull and lifeless earth began to ignite into a ball of gaseous mes... The primary reason behind Vahns presence within the chamber was due to the fact that, when it was activated, CHALDEAS could momentarily rival the mass of the sun itself. This meant that, if the rings failed, the entire building, and everyone inside, could be pulled into its destructive embrace. It would be like a caught into the inescapable pull of a ck Hole and, upon contact, the Spiritrons in their body would break down while the molecules constituting their body would be annihted. There werent any issues with the protective measures but, on the off chance something did go wrong, Vahn had a few ways to deal with it. He suspected that ya was the one that helped them out in the original timeline but, as she was unable to take such actions on her own, it now fell upon him to prevent a tragedy. Fortunately, Da Vinci had helped to upgrade CHALDEAS so, while there was a powerful burst of heat and radiation cast off during the ignition phase, the system was able to boot without issue. Once it was active, the nature of the Global Environment Model forced it into a pseudo-spiritron state where it had functionally no mass. All of its destructive potential was contained and, rather than appear as a burning ball of mes, it quickly turned into an awe-inspiringly beautiful sapphire-colored projection of the entire... From within the control room, a celebratory cheer rang out and, though her rtionship with her father had been a bit rocky over thest few years, Olga leaped into his arms to give him a hug. She was perhaps the most excited by this development as, while it meant she would have less time to spend within Avalon, she had been feeling guilty about just idling about and training. She wanted to prove her worth and, though Vahn often praised her efforts, now she could provide actual results for him... While the celebration was taking ce above, Vahn was still in a state of awe as he stared at the vibrant blue sphere. It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen and, if he focused his intent, he could feel a phenomenal amount of life radiating from it. He was even tempted to reach out and touch it but, knowing the consequences of such an act, he could only admire it from a few meters away, its beauty reflected in his eyes... ya was seemingly under the same spell but, after the data stream faded from her irises, she gave Vahn a small start by saying, "This system can still be improved. It currently only shows the Bounded Field of the Surface. If it is refined, you will be able to use it as a method tomunicate with Gaia without having to reach the core. At the very least, you can attune it to the frequency of the other textures..." With her wordspleted, ya seemed to lose interest in CHALDEAS as she quickly resumed her usual position. This left Vahn with a thoughtful expression on his face as, even amongst all the data they hadpiled, there was nothing pertaining to using CHALDEAS to view other textures. Da Vinci had more than likely thought about using it as such but, as there was currently no need to do so, she had been focused solely on preventing it from destroying the facility if it failed to be contained. Knowing Da Vinci was who ya was referencing, Vahn gave CHALDEAS onest look before sighing in a somewhat mncholic manner as he teleported out of the chamber. He enjoyed the feeling of basking in the condensed aura of an entire so he decided to adjust his schedule to make time for meditating within the chamber every few days. Just being near it made him feel like he was on the verge of a major breakthrough so, trusting his instincts, Vahn would frequent CHALDEAS often in the future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: This aint Pokemans...!,CERN has nothing on Chaldea xD,Captivating beauty) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1295 Existential

Chapter 1295 Existential

With the activation of CHALDEAS, it truly felt like there wasnt much that could stop the rise of the Empire. They now had unlimited wealth, several sources for functionally infinite energy, the ability to summon anyone that has ever existed, and a system that allowed them to view the present and future of the current time axis. Though there were a few blind spots in the areas where powerful Bounded Fields existed, this allowed them to know the location of any potential enemies as there was no method to conceal the existence of the Bounded Field itself. To make things even more difficult for their enemies, Sherlock had ess to the data provided by CHALDEAS and the informationpiled by Ark, the Mother System, and the As Temples TRI-HERMES, a Pseudo-Spiritronic Processor that had thousands of years of research and nearly every recorded piece of history stored within its databanks. This,bined with the ability to peer into the future, allowed Sherlock to determine not only when an incident would ur but, using his EX-Rank deductive abilities, uncover the scheme that set events into motion. If they wanted to, it was possible to know the physical location of any entity on the Surface texture and, if used in the most extreme manner, they could even prevent crimes before they happened... Despite this, Vahn limited the ways in which CHALDEAS could be used as he didnt believe in the concept of a fixed future. His presence within the Record fundamentally altered the flow of events in a way that even Akasha and her Superiors would never be able to guess. The only time it could be used to prevent an incident was when LAPLACE, the Phenomenon Recording Cyber-Daemon System, detected that the, or arge portion of the poption, was in danger. Everything else would be stored away as data to bepiled and analyzed by Ark. This would be used to build a case study of persons of interest, allowing them to determine how specific policies and major events set into motion by the Empire changed the projected flow of time. Vahn was a proponent of the idea that it was better to focus on the present moment than base all of your decisions on events that had yet to take ce. It was very possible that you set into motion the very event you were trying to prevent. It was also unjust to criminalize people who had yet to actuallymit any criminal acts so, while the data would be monitored closely, it would primarily be used to prevent crimes in progress or during their nning stage... --- Despite being an actual God, Vahn felt the power granted to him by CHALDEAS transcended his previousprehension of power in its entirety. Though it was nothing more than a projection of thes current state, he could feel the phenomenal power it kept within itself. He had never noticed just how much energy a could possess but, considering it was literally the original body of entities like Gaia and ya, it made sense that the source of various Gods and other Tier 5 entities was an iprehensibly powerful existence. Now, several days after CHALDEAS had been activated, Vahn found himself meditating in front of the sapphire blue sphere once more. Though he couldnt absorb the energy within, or interact with it in any meaningful way, just feeling the energy from trillions of lives made him feel as if he was one with the itself. It was distinctly different from what he experienced whenever he activated the limited omniscience provided by his Divinity...it was something far more pure...more serene... Unfortunately, the stronger this feeling became, the more pained Vahn felt as he knew the world itself was in pain. It feared the death imposed on it by people that were so consumed with their own self-importance they didnt even recognize the very they lived on was alive. The only thing that mattered to them was their individual happiness and, while this alone wasnt something to be ashamed of, theirck of ountability was leading to the death of their species. With the system shop and Siss tireless perusal of information pertaining to the Nasuverse, Vahn hade to know that the most futuristic ount of humanity dated to a period just over fifteen thousand years in the future. They would always end up dying out due to some reason or another and, even if they managed to begin seeding others, this action alone guaranteed they met a terrible end. After all,s wouldnt react kindly to migrants that had already killed their host. Because of this, ya had to sacrifice herself to provide them Sanctuary for them, despite knowing even this would not guarantee the survival of the self-destructive species... What bothered Vahn the most was that there werent any ount of Artorias Effervescent Utopia of Avalon, despite both Merlin, Scthach, and ya attesting to the fact it would inevitably exist. He didnt doubt their words were the truth but, considering even a Utopia should have kept some kind of records, it was hard to believe not even a single piece of information from that era could be found within the system shop. This implied that Avalon became some kind of metaphysical ne where record keeping was unnecessary but, even if it was an object from the actual Heaven or Hell, Vahn should at least be able to peruse it within the shop... Without any answers the questions that gued his heart and mind, Vahn did what Tsubaki and many others had taught him in the past...he simply stopped worrying about it. The present was the only thing that truly mattered and, feeling himself on the verge of some kind of breakthrough, Vahn had been spending a lot of his free time in the outside world meditating before CHALDEAS. Though he didnt really know what kind of breakthrough he was heading toward, Vahns instincts told him it was a major one. Even ya seemed to be aware of this so, whenever he was in deep meditation, she would detach herself from his body to watch him attentively from the side. Vahn hade to understand this indicated she was in directmunication with Akasha so they must have noticed something abnormal about his current state as well... What Vahn didnt realize was that Akasha and her Superiors had be increasingly enamored with everything he did. Though Vahns power was still inconsequential, even the most minute of actions carried out by him could have far-reaching consequences. The very fabric of Space and Time seemed to slowly be adapting to his intrusion into the Root System and, though he had yet to venture into other worlds, millions of unexpected events, some even beyond the scope of the System itself, hade to pass. It was for this reason that Akasha was given her promotion and, while the Root System had been irreversiblypromised, she didnt particrly mind. It was far more important to collect new data and, considering how Vahns influence was fundamentally altering the nature of the System, she was far more interested to see what other changes his presence would bring. This, of course, extended to her Superiors as well and, though it had yet to take any action, even Termina Nasu had been monitoring the proceedings attentively. The original purpose of the Root System: Akasha was to collect data in the hopes of recreating the original Project: EDEN. This was still its primary objective but, as the data pertaining to Vahn had an even higher designation of importance, it didnt matter if the entire system was destroyed. A secondary Root System was already in development, this one engineered for the sole purpose of trying to create an entity simr in nature to Vahn himself... --- Unaware of the grand impact he had on Termina Nasu and the Record as a whole, Vahn reached out his hand until it was only a single centimeter from the surface of CHALDEAS. If he moved just one centimeter further, his current vessel would be obliterated with such finality that, even if there was ambient Source Energy left behind, he would not be able to gather it back together. This was due to the fact that, despite having no actual influence on the Soul, it couldpletely shatter the Ego of the person that came into contact with it. Despite knowing this, Vahn was extremely tempted to touch the surface. His Ego was supposed to be indestructible and, though he would obviously suffer a bacsh, The Path guaranteed that he would be able to ovee it. This stirred up a rather morbid fascination with the concept of annihtion so Vahn couldnt help feel extremely tempted by the beautiful luminescent sphere of light. Doing so would allow him to confirm that his Ego was truly indestructible, vanquishing many of the lingering insecurities he had when facing concepts like eternity... It was a shame that he couldnt risk being out ofmission for even a few hours, much less the few days that it would likely take for him to regain his awareness. Since this would also cause his other vessels to dissolve away into apparent nothingness, it would lead to unnecessary panic and a variety of other issues that couldnt be addressed until his return. He didnt have it in himself to put his family and friends through such a period of uncertainty so, for the time being, this single centimeter might as well represent the distance between one side of the universe and the other... Releasing a somewhat mncholic sigh, Vahn retracted his hand away from the surface before ultimately turning his back to CHALDEAS and looking up at the control room. There, Olga and several other technicians and operators were staring at him with concerned looks on their faces, despite this being a rathermon urrence in thest few days. Vahn just smiled back at the group before sending a telepathic message to Olga and vanishing from the chamber, courtesy of ya. Back in the control room, Olgas face became slightly red and, after delegating responsibilities to her Vice-Director, a woman on loan from the As Temple named N, she quickly alighted under the amused gazes of several staff members. Though they knew better than to gossip, they all knew where their youthful Director was going so they couldnt help but smile and giggles as the pale-haired woman made her exit... Upon leaving behind the control room, Olga made her way toward therge space that served as both her personal workshop and office. There was an attached bedroom but, rather than rest, she often found herself fatigued every time she visited it. This time wouldnt be an exception as each visit from Vahn was punctuated by them spending time together. Though this would often start off with a simple conversation, Olga couldnt restrain the urges in her body so, with his Divinity, Vahn always made sure she waspletely satisfied before returning back to Avalon. Now, Olga hade to expect this turn of events so, by the time she reached her private room, her heart was racing as an anxious and aching feeling spread through her body. She couldnt help but feel nervous each time she was with Vahn as,pared to the version of herself she tried to present to others, he always peeled back heryers and left herpletely exposed. He had also taught her many things so, in order to earn his praise, Olga made sure to practice a lot in order to surprise him the next time they were together... (A/N: Alternate Titles: When even unlimited power is inconsequential...,JUST DO IT~!,Vahn is actually Angra Mainyu. Look at him corrupting this innocent woman...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1297 Schoolyard Dynamics

Chapter 1297 Schoolyard Dynamics

sses within the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory were designed to give the children a lot of free time for personal study and self-advancement. Depending on whether or not you were in the Magic Knight or True Mage sses, you would have a total of three four-hour lectures, three two-hour lectures, and two practical lessons every week. The four-hour lectures focused on your main topic of interest so, if you were in the Magic Knight course, you would spend four hours training under the guidance of Ghad in the morning before studying theory with Da Vinci and Sion in the afternoon. The inverse was true for students in the True Mage course as they would spend their mornings studying theory before exercising for two hours in the afternoon. In between every standard day, the two courses wouldbine for practical lessons that could take as little as two hours or as long as eight. They would be given various challenges and would have to form teams in order to ovee the trials that had been set for them. This was their opportunity to earn bonus points for themselves and improve their individual rankings so most students took it very seriously in the hopes of elevating their status. The only real issue with the current system was that several small cliques had already formed within the ss. Those in the lower rankings tended to mingle with each other andy low while those in higher positions would band together to form strong teams. This seemed to be perfectly natural in the minds of the students and, while it wasnt exactly an unexpected oue, it was still more than a little troublesome. Fortunately, Vahn didnt have to step in to personally address this matter as Mordred had used her high [Charisma] to prate virtually every group. Though she had a way of unnerving other people, primarily those with greater ambition than willpower, it was impossible for anyone to send her away. Thus, with her acting as the lynchpin, the various cliques were required to interact with each other as she didnt really ept their excuses for wanting to distance themselves from others. Because of her actions, Mordred had seeded herself as a figure of authority and leadership between both sses. She encouraged certain team structures and pushed everyone to get used to working alongside each other, taking advantage of the militaristic structure of their curriculum. This put a lot of pressure on those that only enrolled in the program to advance themselves but, due to the prior teachings of the Clock Tower, theycked the ability to ede to her insistence. Mordreds arrangements required that those in the highest positions take on proteges from the other end of the rankings. As the Rank 1 student, she helped guide the Rank 37 student and, while this was an optional responsibility, even Sakura and Mash had gone along with Mordreds whim. As a result, Rani and the other As Temple students did the same so, while there was a fair amount of tension and awkwardness, the average strength of even the weaker students was being elevated to a higher standard. The only two students within the top 10 that opted out of participating in the mentorship program were Astrid and Zo?, each for their own reasons. They didnt want to end up being paired with any male students and, not wanting to be used of unfair treatment, they decided not to take on any females students either. They would rather focus on their individual interests and focus on their own students for the time being so they wouldnt participate in such movements until they had be morefortable with the ss as a whole. As the entire ss had realized that Astrid and Zo? were untouchables at this point, everyone tried to be nice and polite around the two as upsetting them in any way all but guaranteed that Mordred would give you some advice on how you should act. She was very protective of everyone belonging to the Imperial Quintet but Astrid and Zo? were like her reverse scale. This caused most of the boys to feel nervous around the two but, as Astrid and Zo? never really pressured others, Mordred didnt have to step in all that often... --- In spite of her efforts, there was bound to be some dissent caused by Mordreds tyrannical actions. The boys hailing from the Clock Tower, in particr, felt as if they were being ostracized by their predominately female ssmates. Though they werent overtly talked down to or suppressed, they felt as if the average female student looked down on them, at least within their mind. It was difficult to interact with any of their female ssmates without drawing looks of suspicion and ire from their other ssmates, at least from their perspective. Of the nine male students, five hailed from the As Temple so the group that feeling suppressed only amounted to three people. Though Silvain also felt a little pressured by Mordred, he didnt have the same mentality as the other boys as his ambitions and fears offset his frustration. He considered the possibility that they were under constant supervision so, even if he felt the same way as the rest, he distanced himself from such conversations for fear of drawing negative attention to himself. The other three students obviously considered they were under observation as well but, feeling the need to vent their frustrations, they still met up with each other toin during their time off. It was really their only option as it was borderline impossible for them to interact in any meaningful way with the female students. Since they were effectively cut off from the rest of the Clock Tower, for a variety of reasons, the only people they could really confide in were each other... With a dull expression on his face, a boy with grey hair and dark green eyes leaned against a pile of stacked pillows with his Companion, a sheep-type model, sitting in hisp. Stroking its soft and fluffy fur help him rx but, with his fellow beaten dogs present, he stillmented, "Im not sure if Ill be able toplete the curriculum at this rate...I always expected that I would find a nice girl to unwind with between studies. This sucks..." Hearing his friends remark, a boy with neatlybed brown hair and hazel eyesughed dryly while ying a fighting game on a handheld gaming device. Across from him, his Companion was using a simr device and, though it had tiny fingerspared to a human, it had enough dexterity to easily y games. It was even better than the boy himself at the game so, while it was frustrating in many ways, the boy actually enjoyed thepetition. The final member of the trio, a boy with pale auburn hair and cat-like eyes, heard theint from where he was reading a book so, without taking his eyes away from the page, he remarked, "I wont disagree with the sentiment. From the perspective of finding a girlfriend, this situation is pretty shit. It doesnt help that most of the girls here are the type that escaped some shitty situation so the odds of them being coaxed and favoring any of us is slim..." As even the boys were the type that had basically fled their families, it wasnt as if they were unable to empathize with the girls. They were all going through a lot and, with the opportunities provided by the Empire, there was a chance they could truly seize their own destiny. This made them less likely to consider things like dating as, for the time being, they were more focused on securing a ce for themselves in the Empire. All three of the boys understood this but, as almost every one of their female ssmates could be considered a beauty, it was very frustrating for them. They no longer had any background to rely on as leverage for establishing a rtionship so, with most of them being in the lower half of the ranks, it was difficult to even approach their ssmates, much less ask them out. The only thing the boys couldnt reallyin about was the sses themselves as,pared to life within the Clock Tower, the Empire seemed rtively easy going. Though they had to be serious during lessons, they were given a lot of free time to rx and self-study. The most surprising part of this was that the sses taught by Professor Alpha and Sir Ghad were extremely effective so, even with their leisurely schedule, they were quickly increasing in strength. This hade as a surprise to all of the fourth and fifth-year students as it felt like everything they had learned during their studies in the Clock Tower was meant to guide them down the wrong path. Upon realizing that was very likely the case, the determination of the average student had increased considerably. They refused to be a pawn of the Mages Association and, while there was a good chance they would be pawns in the Empire, they would at least have more power. Some people on the BBS even spected that the Aldrnari Empire would be a global power in the future so, while they might feel a little suppressed right now, the boys knew their future prospects were better than anything they could have hoped for under the thumb of the Nobles. There was even a chance they could be an actual Knight, earning the title of Baron for themselves and bing a lesser Noble in the process. This was the hope of all three boys present in the room so, even though it made them feel less than dirt whenparing themselves to the Imperial Quintet, they joined the Magic Knight ss. As the entire ss consisted of nine people, they were forced to directly interact with people like Mordred, Sakura, Mash, and Zo?. This put a lot of pressure on them due to the monstrous difference in their strengthpared to the girls but, believing they would eventually be able to surpass the girls due to their male physiques, they continued working hard...at least when they were supposed to. The curriculum of the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory was designed to reward those who worked hard, both within the ssroom and outside of it. Those that let the stress get to them, causing them to take long breaks and use all their free time to rx, would ultimately fall into the lower ranks. This wasnt necessarily a bad thing but, if you wanted to seed within the Empires merit-based system, a genuine effort was required. What the boys didnt realize was that their attitude was the main reason none of the girls showed any interest in them. As boys, they hadnt experienced the darkest parts of the Magusmunity so it was easy for them to fall into a routine where they used their recreational time to rx and y video games. They were fundamentally incapable of thinking themselves talentless and, while they were far behind the girls in the ss, their rapid increase in strength caused them to carry an air of arrogance about themselves. A stark contrast to the boys, the average female student treated their studies extremely seriously. If they failed out of the program, a tragic end was their only oue. With this in mind, they focused wholly on improving and, with so many like-minded people surrounding them, they supported each other to be stronger. The didnt particrly look down on the boys but, seeing howx the trio were, they would rather associate with those putting in effort than being dragged down by a group that just wanted to put in only the required amount of effort. With Mordred, Rani, Sakura, Mash, Zo?, and even Astrid setting a strong example of how strong a woman could be, most of the girls were extremely motivated. They would proactively seek advice from those stronger than themselves and, though there was a fair amount of tension between some of them, they at least pretended to get along with everyone else. The decisions they made now would shape their entire future so, in order to ensure they did not be victims a second time, they couldnt afford to y around with boys who cared more about alleviating their boredom than excelling in the program... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mordred is da Queen...!,Youths...,The difference between prioritizingfort and suffering hardships to shape a better future o3o...) (A/N: This micro-arc will have quite a few school chapters and, while Vahn is still the MC, some of his children will take the limelight for a few chapters. He is more focused on dealing with things behind the scenes and self-improvement so, without doing a time skip, it would be a lot of the same kind of chapters. Dont worry, as things will develop in a potentially interesting direction in the near future!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1298 Anticipation

Chapter 1298 Anticipation

Exactly one month had passed since the start of ss and, unlike most days, both the True Mage and Magic Knight sses were brought together early in the morning. They hadnt been given any prior notice to the peculiar ss so many students were beginning to feel tense. If not for the ever rxed Mordred and the rest of the girls forming the Imperial Quintet, tensions would have increased even more. Feeling emboldened, a girl named Yvette decided to try and ease her nerves by sheepishly asking Mash, "Excuse me, Miss Kyrielight...do you know why we were all told toe here so early...?" Hearing the girl ask her question, most of the students in the ss became more attentive as Mash, with her usual smile, politely stated, "Im afraid the particrs have not been exined to any of us. We may hail from the Empire but were not privileged to know about events in advance. Im just as nervous as everyone else, even if it may not seem like it on the surface..." Yvette gave an awkward smile in response to Mashs words as, looking at the calm and collected girl, it was difficult to believe she was even remotely nervous. This wasnt something that could be said out loud, however, so Yvette justbed her fingers through the fringe of her hair, saying, "Well, I just hope nothing bad happened...Ive been enjoying the sses a lot..." Mash found Yvettes words somewhat peculiar but, before she could say anything further, the door to the ssroom opened to reveal Da Vinci and Sion. This brought a prompt end to any discussions and, though there was still a lot of tension in the air, the focus of every student shifted to the two inordinately beautiful Professors. Upon taking her ce at the lectern, Da Vincis smile blossomed into a truly breathtaking visage that seemed to help everyone in the room rx as she exined, "Im certain everyone has questions. Ill do my best to exin everything in detail so please, rx. You arent wrong to be nervous but what were here to discuss isnt anything particrly dangerous or disadvantageous~" As Da Vinci spoke, the massive monitor that had reced the ssrooms ckboard came to life. It depicted a veryplex structure that looked like two pyramids welded together at their bases. This created a diamond-shaped superstructure that, upon closer observation, formed aplexwork of tunnels and rooms, each listing a variety of different materials that could be found. Though the average student had only ventured into the upperyers of the Spirit Tomb, everyone in the ss was familiar with the massive dungeon beneath the school. What surprised them was how detailed the infographic provided by Da Vinci was as, unless you traded arge number of materials or points, it was impossible to get a map of the Spirit Tombs interior. Before she could be bombarded with questions, Da Vinci exined, "Today is a very important day for each and every one of you. Today, you will establish a baseline for future growth bypleting a task assigned to you based on your ranking and skill level. Each of you will be assigned to a group based on the data we have collected over thest month. There will be several different objectives, each with different ratings based on their difficulty. You mayplete multiple objectives but keep in mind that, in many cases, it is wiser to return with lesser aplishments than forcing yourself forward to your deaths. Judgment is one of the metrics you are evaluated on so consider each of your options as a team before deciding whether or not youll put yourselves in danger..." Some of the students had actually been wondering whether or not they would be given ess to the Spirit Tomb so, hearing they suddenly had to enter andplete challenges, they were both excited and nervous. Most of them had been looking forward to measuring their growth so, while it was productive to spar against each other during training, battling against monsters was infinitely better since you didnt have to hold back. To further excite the ss, Da Vinci exined, "Over thest month, each of you haspiled a sizeable number of contribution points. Im aware that it has been a rather popr topic so allow me to exin a bit of their use. The simplest way in which they can be used is to exchange for various materials and resources. After today, you will all be given a tablet that is synchronized with each of your Companions. Using this will allow you to ess one of three different shops based on your ss, overall ranking, and personal ranking. Well go into greater detail about these different things upon thepletion of todays exercise but here is a sample of what you can expect~" At Da Vincis behest, the monitor behind her showed a list of various items, each neatly filed into a series of columns with their picture, use, and exchange value. What surprised the students was that, by exchanging a single contribution point, they could obtain rtively rare alchemical ingredients. It was even possible to exchange for a Philosophers Stone, something that was heavily regted by the Mages Association, for a meager 100 contribution points... With even the cheaper items being of such high value, the students couldnt help but focus on the items at the very top of the list. There, various Mystic Codexes were listed, some of which could be considered a heritage item within an established family. At the very top, there were even seemingly legendary items like the [Golden Fleece] and [Decanter of Perpetuity], a highly sought after item in the Magusmunity due to its purported effect of restoring a person to their youth without any decrease in physical and magical capabilities... Da Vinci waited for the students to peruse the items for a short while before breaking their idle thoughts as she exined, "This is only a small portion of the items that will be avable in the shop. In truth, there is no limit to what you can obtain. So long as you work hard, even purchasing items that increase your Od, unlock your potential, strengthen your body, or grant you a lesser form of immortality can be found within the shop~" As could be expected, Da Vincis words caused a stir within the ss as it was very difficult to believe what she was saying. However, considering what they had already experienced, a few students could be seen shaking slightly in anticipation of the future. One of them, Ophelia, couldnt resist the urge to raise her hand and, upon being recognized by Da Vinci, asked, "Professor, I wonder if even Mystic Eyes can be exchanged and purchased from the shop...?" Ophelia was a girl that already possessed one Mystic Eye and, as a result, her life had been made very difficult. However, while it could be considered the source of her burden, it had also allowed her to establish herself as a capable Magus. Prior to joining the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory, one of the avenues she had been pursuing was increasing her power to the point that it was difficult for her family to control her. If she made a good impression on a higher ranking Noble, she could avoid being married off by bing a Governess or a bodyguard. It wasnt much better than being exploited by her family but, considering it would be a path of her own choosing, it was still the better option... Meeting Ophelias expectations, Da Vinci didnt even flinch as she casually answered, "Id prefer to avoid having to answer too many questions like this but, as you are the first, Ill make an exception, Miss Phamrsolone. To reiterate my earlier statement, there are very few things you cannot purchase from the shop. The only restrictions would be your overall points, your ranking, and the evaluation of your character. We will obviously not allow someone with destructive tendencies to buy a nuclear warhead with the intent of blowing up a ssroom~" Da Vincis words not only met Ophelias expectations but, while it was an offhanded and casual remark, some of the students couldnt help but internally retort, ("We can buy nuclear warheads!?"). This seemed to convey there was very little they couldnt purchase, cementing Da Vincis words in their mind, regardless of how ridiculous they seemed. At the very least, she had greatly increased the interest of each student in the shop and, now that they knew what the points were used for, those who had been cking off over thest month began toment... --- After answering a few more questions and alleviating some concerns, Da Vinci began a long lecture on the various environments, monsters, and materials that could be found in the Spirit Tomb. Since it was on everyones mind, she discussed how these could all be exchanged for points and, upon being asked how monsters could be counted, Da Vinci reminded them that their Companions were linked to the tablets so, even if they didnt bring back proof of the subjugation, they would get credit for any monsters killed. This wasnt a foolproof system, as hordes of monsters would be hard to count, but Da Vinci simply advised them to run away in such situations. It was only after the much longer than expected lecture that the students understood why they had been asked toe in so early. Had they started at a normal time, they would have to take a break for lunch and, if they were unlucky, getting stuck overnight in the Spirit Tomb was a real possibility. It had an enchantment that made leaving after a certain point in time impossible as the gate would close for a few hours during the evening. Though there were some waypoints inside, allowing those within to teleport back to the Mining City, Magis Fair, they would be forced to turn over all acquired items aspensation. Vahns agreement with Solon allowed for rtively unrestricted ess to the Spirit Tomb but, in exchange, everything gathered by himself and the students had to be returned to the Clock Tower. It was for this reason that he came up with the idea of a school shop as, with the virtually unlimited resources of the Empire, it wasnt that difficult to acquire the materials and items requested by the students. Though he had to put monthly, weekly, and daily restrictions on some goods, even theziest students would be able to stockpile a considerable amount of wealth by the time they were preparing to graduate. Unfortunately for these students, the very concept of wealth would ultimately lose its meaning once the Empire came into prominence. Only those that sought to better themselves would be able to rise above others and liveparably luxurious lifestyles as, once the market system copsed, the only way to obtain materials and resources would be through bartering for them or earning them based on your contributions and capabilities. Through the Empire, it was possible to get resources for free but, rather than stockpile them and treat them as umted wealth, you had to actually use them for their intended purpose. One of the primary corrupting factors within a society was wealth itself as, when one group began to umte and stockpile wealth, they used it to leverage their authority over others. So long as they made sure they had a monopoly on the most important resources,bined with the power to back it up, they could dictate how others lived with borderline impunity. This was only made worse when the children of such individuals, despite never having done anything to establish themselves within amunity, believed they were better than others by virtue of birth alone... It was impossible topletely root out corruption but, with a system that primarily rewarded those that put in the effort to obtain their status, Vahn hoped to prevent its spread. This was the primary justification for the existence of the Virtual World they were creating as, with unlimited freedom in the virtual world, they could prevent a lot of problems in the real world from developing. There, so long as they followed the rules of the Virtual World, it was possible for them to be veritable gods in a world of their own design. They could eat the most delicious foods, walk on the surface of stars, or y catch with literals...all while affecting nothing in the real world. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Surprise expedition~!,I want ess to that shop...,Every human is a god in their own mind. They have absolute power within their own imaginations~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1299 Vein Corridor: Od Vena

Chapter 1299 Vein Corridor: Od Vena

After being provided with the opportunity to eat breakfast, all of the students within the department were gathered outside the entrance to the Spiritual Tomb: Albion. Most of them had explored the Mining City, Magis Fair, in the past so they werent particrly interested in the hustle and bustle surrounding them. Rather, as students of the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory, they were the center of attention, much like rare and exotic beasts that everyone was interested in but too afraid to approach. Everyone had already been assigned their groups at this point so, with Companions included, there ten groups with six individuals, one group with eight, and one group with twelve. Thergest group was only so due to the fact that Astrid had brought along her small entourage of Companions as she specialized almost exclusively in support and healing Magecraft. Her seven Companions had grown quite attached to her so, while it was possible for her to leave some behind, they would be restless if she was in danger while they were just idling about in their room. Teams were distributed in a way that allowed power to be spread across each team so, as the most powerful student in the ss, Mordred ended up paired together with the three weakest students. This gave her thergest team, sans Companions, but, due to the massive gap in strength, it wasnt an exaggeration to say her team members were anchors. She would have to protect them and make sound judgment calls to keep them out of trouble as, while it was easy toplete the simple tasks and just leave, her pride didnt really allow such things. As could be expected, the three weakest members of the ss were all former members of the Clock Towers Department of General Studies. They consisted of a single male student, David, and two of the more shy and demure female members of the ss, Alissandra, and Berenice. Despite the girls shy nature, however, the boy seemed a lot more nervous than everyone else as, while it was lucky of him to be paired with Mordred, his instinct as a Magus warned him of theing danger. Mordred knew what must be going through all three of her teammates minds but she kept her calm and confident smile as she exined, "Well focus on the D-Rank Objective before moving our way up the list. This will be an opportunity for you to grow so Ill leave the easier objectives to the six of you toplete. If there is any danger, Neko and I will step in to protect you. Once we encounter an enemy beyond your capabilities, Ill deal with it personally. Any questions?" Of the three, Berenice, a girl with light brown hair and grey-blue eyes sheepishly raised her hand and asked, "If we are unable toplete the objectives before the closing of the gate...will we stay inside overnight...?" Hearing the question, Mordred gave a somewhat sly smile before shaking her head and saying, "Not this time. My intuition tells me that were also being graded on how quickly weplete our given tasks so well return to the surface before the gate closes. Dont worry, though, even if we do end up getting stuck inside, I have plenty of supplies tost for upwards of a month." The trio was able to rx a bit when they heard the first part of Mordreds statement but, hearing the second half, they couldnt help but feel she had triggered some event. Berenice and Alissandra gave each other knowing looks while David, despite earning a fewughs from students in the surrounding area, hugged his sheep-like Companion a little tighter. It, in turn, gave him a gentle pat on the arm so he was able to calm down a little bit while internally remarking, ("After today, Ill work harder to be stronger..."). David was one of the trio of male students that believed themselves to be ostracized by the rest of the ss so he had a lot to reflect upon after learning the value of points. As it was possible to earn bonus points by showing up to non-mandatory training sessions, he suddenly felt that idling about in his room had been a mistake. His Rank was actually the lowest in the entire ss so, in the past, Mordred had even offered to help him out after their usual lessons. Believing that Mordred had just wanted to hang out but, David had ignorantly believed his fortune had turned around but, after an hour of hellish training, he was certain she was just bullying him. It was due to this initial incident that he sought the other male students toin to and, as they had all experienced hardships of their own, it had been easy for them to be friends. It was only now, after a month of sses, that David began to realize that they were quickly being left behind by the rest of the ss. This expedition was an opportunity for those with few points to earn a considerable amount due to the fact that they were all assigned to groups with a powerful leader. As for people like David, this was a wake-up call that reminded him that the Empire wasnt looking for people that only did the bare minimum. The rewards of the shop were beyond anything he could have imagined in the past so, in order to secure his future, he needed to obtain a few precious resources to strengthen himself as both a Magus and a Magic Knight... Davids sentiments werent uniquely his own as, after seeing the items listed on the monitor, even the students of the As Temple seemed motivated. They had noticed some items that were almost impossible to obtain in the modern world so, if it was true that they could be purchased, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that the Empires capabilities already exceeded their Temple and its near-three-thousand years of history. --- At precisely 10:00 AM, it was finally time for the Baseline Expedition to begin so, after another short reminder to stay safe, Da Vinci released the teams into the Spirit Tomb. Each group passed through arge transparent blue portal that, at a nce, looked like a perfectly circr pond. However, while it was active, the portal connected to arge spiraling staircase that led into the Spirit Tombs highestyer, the Great Magic Circuit known as the Vein Corridor: Od Vena. Here, the mana saturation was a startling 11%, making it more than five times more potent than the mana found on the Surface. All of the students felt the increase in mana but, back in her own group, Sakura turned her eyes toward the rainbow-like aurora winding down the long spiraling path. It was quite beautiful and, though they were supposed to be descending into the earth, the surroundings actually opened up wider as they descended while, outside of the few gaps that were present, an endless void seemed to stretch out into eternity. This was due to the fact that, after passing through the Gate, you would enter into a unique Bounded Field, a sub-dimension created by the True Dragons will... Upon reaching anding, each of the groups began to split off in random directions, some choosing to stay together for mutual protection. As for Sakura, she had been designated as the leader of her group so, after ncing at her ssmates, two girls named Irene and Kana, she turned to Momo and said, "Momo, please lead us to the area where we can find Crystal Mandrake." Irene and Kana were momentarily confused by Sakuras decision to task Momo with leading the way but, before they could ask, she exined, "Our Companions arent just adorable. They are extremely intelligent and have ess to argerwork of information. That diagram Professor Alpha put on disy should be stored within their sharedwork. So long as the location of an item is known, it should be possible for our Companions to lead us there." Hearing Sakuras exnation, the two girls looked at their own Companions, a dog and fox variation, with glittering eyes. In response, their Companions adopted somewhat silly smiles on their faces that caused the girls hearts to do backflips as they picked up the adorable creatures to snuggle. Sakura saw this and offered a smile of her own but, rather than idle for too long, she gestured to the duo and said, "Come, we should hurry. If the area is looted by other people, well have to wait until the materials respawn or risk having to venture deeper to obtain them." With Sakuras reminder, the girls became more serious ascency really was the number one cause of death within the Spirit Tomb. They also recognized this as an opportunity to make a good impression on Sakura as, for the first time since they had started attending ss, this was the only instance they had seen the Imperial Quintet split up. The only one that seemed to move about on her own was Mordred so this was a rare chance to be friends with someone they believed to be an Imperial Princess... --- As the Spirit Tomb was the body of a legendary True Dragon, many parts of it were still full of vitality, despite more than two thousand years having passed since its death. Though most of the walls had solidified into an extremely hard substance, there were areas where fleshy bits could be found. These ces served as monster nurseries and, if not purged periodically, a horrifying phenomenon known as a stampede could ur. Fortunately, this was an extremely rare urrence and, with the increased flow of traffic into and out of the Spirit Tomb, the density of monsters in the upper chambers had reduced significantly. Because of this, Sakuras party had an easy time reaching the location where Crystal Mandrake could usually be found. The downside, however, was that the alchemical material had already been looted so they would have to wait upwards of four hours for another one to be produced. Sakura didnt particrly care about things like points but, considering how important such things were to her ssmates, she wanted to support them. With this in mind, she spread her mana out like thin threads and, upon detecting a foreign mana signature, she turned to allies and said, "Well try and hunt some monsters by wandering the surrounding chambers. We can earn some extra points by killing weaker enemies and periodically check back to see if the mandrake has respawned. Is that okay with the four of you...?" Points were heavily sought after right now so, upon hearing Sakuras words, Irene and Kana were more than willing to go hunting. This wasnt their first time in the Spirit Tomb so the only monsters were things like Giant Rats, Slimes, and other magical creatures. You would have to venture to the upper floors of the Ancient Heart, the middle region of the Spirit Tomb, before you starteding across truly dangerous enemies. With her teams consent, Sakura had the two girls take the lead so that she could protect their real and view the entire situation. Since point allocation depended on contribution, the girls would have to kill their own monsters if they wanted the most benefits. Sakura understood this and, knowing it was a lot easier for her to obtain resourcespared to other students, she didnt mind letting them benefit. In this manner, Kana and Irene, using single burst [Sagitta Magicka], began to clear out every single monster they encountered. This spell was quickly bing even more popr than [Gandr] as the flexibility it provided was something only advanced users of [Gandr] would be able to pull off. The students of the True Mage course had been surprised that such a simple and versatile spell existed but, as this was only scratching the surface of the mountain of revtions they had received from their brilliant Professor, it had already be normal for them... Sakura was happy to see her fellow ssmates having fun but, as she had trained under both Artoria and Ghad, she never once dropped her guard. She continued to send out threads of mana, one of the unique ways in which she could make use of her overwhelming Od. Using these, she could easily probe ahead to find dangerous monsters and, in some situations, other students. This allowed her to guide the group towards safer pathways but, despite changing course several times, she was also aware of the group of people that had been following them shortly after they split off from the rest of the groups... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP David,Everyone is point hungry~,What is it that people say about those that go seeking trouble...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1300 Lure

Chapter 1300 Lure

When Mash imed to be unaware of the sss expedition, she had been telling the truth. Still, this didnt mean she and the other girls were unaware of the dangers they would subject to while attending school at the Clock Tower. They had all received special training and, in many ways, it was this reason that led to girls like Astrid and Zo? being even more cautious than they otherwise would have been. Sakura understood that her status as an Imperial Princess would quickly be discovered by their enemies so she and Mordred had received the strictest and mostprehensive exnation of what to expect and how to determine whether or not they were in danger. There would be no end to the number of people that would want to exploit them for benefits so they needed to be aware of any potential dangers at all times. Currently, though they were unaware of it, Sakura was directing her group toward the area where Astrids party was located. They had developed a system of silentmunication alongside their Companions so all five groups were aware of what was happening. This allowed them to quickly congregate toward each other as the Companions each had a detailed map depicting theyout of every chamber and passage that had been dutifully mapped by Da Vincis micro-golems over thest month. While the preceding month was to allow the students a chance to familiarize themselves with each other, the primary reason behind the dyed Baseline training was due to the fact that Da Vinci was still collecting information. She understood Vahns nature well so, even without him telling her to do so, she had been secretly investigating the interior of the Clock Tower and using her flea-sized micro-golems to piggyback onto students venturing into the Spirit Tomb. Once they were inside, they could use the raw materials and magical energy to reproduce so, by the time a month had passed, her golems had mapped most of the Vein Corridor and Great Heart regions of the dungeon-like structure. It was only once aprehensivework was established, allowing the Companions to easilymunicate with each other, that the children were finally allowed ess to the interior. After all, there were bound to be a few people seeking trouble and, with idents happening inside the Spirit Tomb on a near-daily basis, it was easy to cover things up. This meant the students of the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory were in the greatest amount of danger while inside the Spirit Tomb, at least from the perspective of their enemies... By the time a few minutes had passed, most of the teams, many following the direction of their Companions, were actually very close to each other. This was entirely unknown to the group that had been pursuing Sakura so, once thetter had her group stop to take a rest, a young man with stylish clothing and three other students, two males and a female, entered into the chamber. Acting as if he was surprised to encounter the trio, the man raised his brows before smiling as he said, "To think we would have the pleasure of encountering one of the famous groups belonging to the Empire! I believe your name is Miss Sakura, is it not...?" In a casual and disarming fashion, the boy attempted to walk over toward Sakura, Irene, and Kana as the trio behind him fanned out slightly. This seemed to be a natural movement at a nce but, if you were observing them closely and interpreting the meaning behind their actions, it was easy to understand that they were trying to cover the exits. Before the boy could get any closer, Sakura manifested a sword out of thin air, giving the youth pause as she stated in a in tone, "State your name and purpose. If youvee here seeking trouble, prepare yourself...!" Sakura wasnt the most talkative girl but, when it came to a situation like this, she wasnt going to even try to put on an act. She had learned about how monstrous some of the Magi belonging to the Association were so the boy would need a very good excuse if he wanted to avoid a very long stay in the hospital. Though he put on a mask of shock,plete with an awkward smile, it was obvious that the boy was actually more afraid than he let on. Still, he did his best to keep up the act as he stated in the same disarming manner as before, "Whoa, whoa, there is no need for such hostility! Ill admit that we were following your group but it was primarily due to our curiosity. The students belonging to the Empires ss are a popr topic within the Clock Tower so I just wanted toe and see for myself what kind of people were epted into the ss...!" Despite the boy attempting to deescte the situation, Sakura noted that he didnt state his name. At the same time, Momos fur was sticking up a bit and, though it wasnt very intimidating, they were barring their fangs towards the boy performing a gesture of surrender. This was all she needed to understand that the boy was lying as, in order to better protect their partners, even the earlier generation Companions were able to read a persons biometric data to determine if their partners were ill or if their enemies were lying. Without any hesitation, Sakura activated her [Cantus Bex], forming a shroud of vibrant violet mana around her body. This was enough to get the boy to take a few steps back and, realizing his ploy wasnt having any effect, his demeanor quickly changed as he grimaced and stated, "You do not stand a chance against me. Unless you want this y to be your burial ground, youll listen to my offer and behave. Dont make me have to hurt that pretty face of yours, little miss Princess...!" Though Sakura was much stronger than even adult Magi, her inexperience put her at the slightest of disadvantages in this situation. She didnt actually want to hurt anyone so she had waited until the boy finished speaking before moving. This allowed his allies to activate some kind of magic circle that quickly spread through the room but, with her speed, their attempt at trying to trap the group was ultimately futile. The boy hadnt even considered for a moment that he wasnt a match for the young brte so, a testament to his ownck of experience, he was unable to react by the time a hot sensation could be felt from his left leg. He then heard the sound of a barrier shattering before a crashing sound, followed by the croaking of a person gurgling on their blood, reached his ears. This caused him to instinctually turn around to investigate but, the moment he ced weight on his left leg, he tumbled to the ground hard and fast. It was only after he ate a face full of dirt and grime that the boy realized his leg from the knee down had been severed. This caused a rush of adrenaline to course through his body but, by the time a blood-curdling shout of pain escaped his lips, a hard impact scattered his thoughts as his body was sent skidding across the ground. He then felt a weight on his chest and, after emitting a painful cough, he couldnt help but shout, "What the fuck is going on...!?" As if to answer the boys question, Sakura ced the tip of her sword which, if you looked closer, had neither a de or a sharp point. It was purely a catalyst for her magic in the shape of a sword so, if not for her skill, strength, and speed, cutting with the dull edge would be nearly impossible. All of this escaped the boys notice, however, as the loss of a leg made him believe the de had one of the sharpest edges in the world... Though only a few seconds had passed, there were now four students on the ground with varying levels of injuries. Sakura herself was struggling to prevent her body from shaking but, with more than two years of training, she wasntpletely unustomed to blood and gore. This gave her the wherewithal to stay focused on the task at hand so, once again, she stated, "You will tell me your name and the purpose behind your actions. Do not make me cut off your other leg..." Sakura felt nauseous threatening another person in such a manner but she managed to hold the contents of her stomach as the rounded point of her sword touched the boys corbone. This seemed to return his senses to him and, realizing he had walked headfirst into a hard wall, he lowered his head in a subservient manner with both arms raised as he stammered, "Please, do not kill me! I was only sent to gather information...!" Even with a leg missing, the boy still kept his identity a secret and, based on Momos reaction, Sakura knew he was still lying to her. She remainedpletely silent, watching for even a slight reaction from his body as her [Instinct] told her he was up to something. Then, not fully aware of the foolishness of her actions, Irene muttered, "S-Sakura...is-isnt this going too far...?" At nearly the exact same moment that Irene finished her question, the boy groveling on the floor attempted to tackle Sakuras legs but, never taking her eyes off him, thetter was able to easily evade the desperate action. This didnt seem to deter him, however, as he pulled out a crystalline orb that radiated a pristine white light and shouted, "Fuck you and your shitty Empire...!" Extending his arm back in an obvious wind-up motion, the boy red back at Sakura with hate-filled eyes tinged with tears and the light of desperation. This quickly morphed into a look of despair, however, when Sakuras body flickered out of existence before another hot pain wracked his body, this time emanating from the stump that now reced his right arm. At the same time, the crystalline orb he was about to throw was contained with a ck cube that Sakura had pulled out of thin air, sealing the unknown object safely inside. After falling to the ground a second time, the boy held the stump of his arm, screaming madly as a chain of heinous curses escaped his lips. He not only tried cursing Sakura but her entire family and the Empire as a whole. This caused the shaking of her body to gradually decrease and, by the time the boy had tired himself out due to screaming and blood loss, a deep chill had begun to spread through her body. Despite her rtively mature and kindly disposition, Sakuras primary affinities were Darkness, Ice, Water, and Space. This made it a lot easier for her to develop negative emotions so, hearing all of the terrible things the boy wished upon her family, the patient and kind smile she usually showed had fadedpletely. Even her serious and focused battle expression was nowhere to be seen and, though it wasnt visible to the naked eye, a terrifying violet light was glowing at the center of her teal-colored eyes... Fortunately, before Sakura could do something she regretted, Momo came over to her side and began to gently pat her thigh. This brought Sakura back to her senses and, realizing the boy was on the verge of death due to blood loss, she forced a potion into his mouth. These were made by Paracelsus based on his research of various items given to him by Vahn. Though not nearly as potent as the originals, they were capable of even recovering lost limbs. The downside was that they used up a considerable amount of the persons energy so you would feel extreme fatigue after consuming a single dose. Once she had treated all four people, Sakura turned to the pale Irene and Kana, saying, "They did note after us with good intentions. Help me tie them up. It shouldnt take long for Professor Alpha to send someone down to retrieve them..." Though they were still a little shaken by witnessing how fierce Sakura could be when action was called for, neither Irene or Kana hesitated to help tie up the bodies. They had grown up within the Magusmunity so they were well aware of the plots and schemes perpetrated by people who thought highly of themselves while looking down on others. If they had been the weaker party, it was all but guaranteed that they wouldnt have had a pleasant experience. Thus, while Sakura had now be a rather scary person to them, they were still grateful to have her on their side... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Imagine thinking you can scheme against Vahn and Da Vinci xD...,Do not piss off the silent and quiet types...,You were not prepared...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1301 An Emperors Wrath

Chapter 1301 An Emperor''s Wrath

At around the same time that Sakura was being stalked by their enemies, Vahn was sitting atop the Leviathan, pale blue light radiating from his pupils. His expression was nk but, based on how his finger was rhythmically tapping against his knee, it was obvious to any observer that he wasnt calm. Rather, it took more restraint than he knew he had to remain idle while viewing the scene y out through the perspective of Sakuras Companion, Momo. Vahn had chief administrative ess over the Mother System and, as a sapient entity, it qualified as one of his Subordinates. This allowed him to share senses with the System and, regardless of the fact it was an Artificial Intelligence with very few biologicalponents. In the grand scheme of things, life wasnt simply formed of flesh and an amalgamation ofplex neural processes that were driven by electrical signals firing in unique sequences. If a person had a sufficient understanding of the Laws, being made purely of elemental forces could be given life. This was one of the reasons why he never looked down on Artificial Humans and Homunculi as, despite the nature of their being, there was never a doubt in his mind that they were living creatures that deserved the same rights as other people... The only people that werent deserving of this recognition were those that lived by exploiting and victimizing others without any real rhyme or reason. He saw many of the nobles as monsters wearing the guise of humans as, other than themselves and their own interests, they seemed incapable of the most basic form of human decency. It incensed him to no end and, if not for his past promises and a strong desire to never lose himself to hatred and anger, Vahn wouldnt be able to stop himself from wreaking havoc on the people who set these kinds of events in motion. Fortunately, Sakuras training was not without results so, while she was visibly shaken, he was more worried about the calm that had washed over her towards the very end. She still had seque from her time as a vessel of Angra Mainyus corruption as, while memories could be altered and erased, the Soul and body could still remember. Her Ego carried the echoes of her past self and, while the odds of her having a rpse were rtively slim, they werent negligible. Realizing this, Vahn closed his eye to focus while, back in the real world, his primary vessel awakened from its meditative state before teleporting back to London. At the same time, he sent a telepathic message to Sherlock Holmes who, mere secondster, transmitted all of the pertinent information necessary to resolve this issue. This wasnt something outside of their expectations as Sherlock had already profiled every major and subsidiary family associated with the Clock Tower. This,bined with the data provided by Da Vinci and CHALDEAS, allowed him to instantly understand the greater plot that had been set in motion. With this information at his disposal, Vahns body seated atop the Leviathan teleported to London, this time directly into the Clock Tower. He knew Solon and Zelretch were keeping tabs on him so, in a cold andmanding tone, he called out, "We need to talk. Bring me to you or I will force my way inside." Moments after his demand, a circr portal appeared in front of him, one which showed an endless expanse of blue sky and marbled structures. Vahn wasted no time in passing through, finding Solon frowning as they asked, "What has you in such a dour mood? Did one of those idiots touch one of your reverse scales...?" Rather than answer Solons question directly, Vahn inly stated, "I will be causing an incident at the Trambellio family estate. They may have taken several steps to hide their tracks but I dont y when ites to protecting my children. Im only letting you know so their resources are not engulfed by other factions." Solons expression immediately turned dourer than Vahns as they brought their palm to their head in a show of exasperation. They had gone to great lengths to get the other two Monarchal families toy low but, based on this development, it was obvious the two families werent as unified as the Barthomeloi family had been. This was the main reason they had been unable to usurp the former Monarchal familys status as the most prestigious family; they simply had too much infighting and internalpetition. Vahn was, of course, very aware of this fact but, as the Trambellio family unted its status while manipting the Democratic Faction from behind the scenes, it was high time to teach them a lesson. He wasnt nning to destroy the family but, by the time he was finished with them, they would have to part with a lot of their power and resources. These assets would be absorbed by the Clock Tower, causing the other families to specte that Solon was trying to centralize power within the Association by using the Empire as a proxy. Unfortunately for Solon, Vahn was only here to give them the courtesy of a forewarning. By the time the green-haired Magus asked, "When will you strike...?", he was already tearing apart the roof of thergest Manor and destroying its wards. Thus, with the same severe expression that he entered with, Vahn coldly stated, "Three minutes ago..." before disappearing in a sh of pale blue light. This left Solon with a binaryplexion that morphed between pale white and red as they shouted, "Old Bastard, return this instant...!" --- Though Vahn was actually proud of Sakura for showing mercy to her would-be attackers, he didnt have much to spare against people that plotted against children. So long as they had darker auras and showed any signs of hostility, the only mercy he would afford them was a quick death. This was the limit of hispassion for these human-shaped monsters who, despite having more power and wealth than almost anyone else in the entire world, they were never satisfied. Eventually, Vahn reached arge hall that was filled with powerful wards and more than fifty first-rate Magi. They were all standing in a formation and, immediately after his entry, each member formed a hand seal as they shouted in unison, "Ath nGa, Sacred Dueling Formation...!" When the group finished their chant, Vahn found himself surrounded in a field formed by [Primordial Runes] while, on the surface of his heart, another rune tried to embed itself. He knew the purpose of this Magecraft and, under normal circumstances, it would force the target and the challenger to face each other in a life and death duel. If he refused or tried to retreat, the rune on his heart would curse him to death but, as could be expected, even [Primordial Runes] werent able to affect the interior of his body. It actually took a concentrated effort on Vahns part to keep the rune from immediately vanishing as he was curious to see what these fools had in mind. The formation imposed one-on-onebat so they were either hoping he didnt know its purpose or someone among them intended to battle him. As if acting on some divine cue, a middle-aged man with a faded hairline and two peculiar tufts of hair poking from the sides of his head walked into the circle, exining, "This formation was used to bind the Hero Cu Chinn in the distant past. Upon activation, you are forced to fight everyone that had triggered the formation in singlebat..." While speaking, the man began to slowly take off his aristocratic-style clothing, revealing an aged and emaciated body that was covered in scars. He seemed calm on the surface while, beneath this facade, Vahn could feel his mana surging as amendable amount of power began to course along his Magic Circuits. His control showed a great deal of mastery but, knowing the man had left a few details out of his exnation, Vahn smiled slyly as he said, "Im guessing it restricts me to only being able to fight one person per day...?" Rather than surprise, the middle-aged man began tough in an uninhibited manner before smiling as he said, "We never expected that the Emperor himself would invade our home like this. This was originally intended for that monstrous woman, Scthach, so imagine my surprise when my nephew alerted me to your arrival. Youll have to forgive me, Your Majesty, but Id rather not see my family so easily wiped from the fact of this world. I hope you wille to see reason by the time you finish ughtering myself and my men..." Hearing the mans words, Vahn was tempted to snort but, frustratingly, he could tell from the mans aura that he wasnt one of the evil members of the family. Rather, with the information provided by Sherlock, Vahn knew this mans name was Bancroft Lyle Trambelio, the younger brother and Steward of the Trambelio family Patriarch. He was known for his fair treatment of other people so it annoyed him quite a bit that the Trambelio family had sent him out as a sacrifice to buy time for themselves. Deciding not to y their game, Vahn shattered the rune on his heart while grasping the air with his right hand. This caused the runes forming a circle to fracture like ss as the people who triggered the formation all copsed to the ground, blood streaming from their mouths and noses. They had received a powerful bacsh and, after a month or so of rest, everyone that Vahn hadnt directly put pressure on would make a full recovery. Withmendableposure, Bancroft just looked around at his subordinates before shaking his head and musing, "I cant say Im surprised at this point. Unfortunately, I have a duty to uphold so Ill have to trouble Your Majesty for a short while..." The moment Bancroft finished his words, his wirey body suddenly inted to the point that even an Olympic athlete would have to do a double-take. He no longer seemed like a middle-aged man and, if not for his balding head, his age would be impossible to guess. Even though he was deeply incensed, Vahn never looked down on people that were deserving of his respect. He knew the man was willing to die to protect his family so, while it would have been easy to just crush him outright, he went on the defensive for a short while. The Trambelio family was actually very famous for their unique [Reinforcement] Magecraft so he was interested to see just how powerful one of their experienced Magi were. Adopting his Xuanwu stance, even without transforming, Vahn deflected Bancrofts surprisingly heavy blows as the man vaulted around the battlefield as if he had springs in his feet. He was able to elerate to supersonic speeds in short bursts and, rather than damage the surroundings with his movements, Vahn was surprised to see him disperse his magical energy into a surface before quickly retracting it to power his next spring. It was a masterful use of magical energy, one which Vahn had never thought of due to the advanced movement techniques he was capable of performing. Still, there was a massive gulf in their parameters and, while not as monstrous as Sakura, Vahns own Od had reached a sizable amount. He was sitting just over 27,000 but, rather than magical energy, his reserves were purelyprised of Source Energy. If converted, it wasparable to 27,000,000 units of magical energy so, while his aura may not be that intimidating at a nce, the truth would horrify all but the Gods and a few unique Tier 4 and Tier 5 entities. Bancroft could tell that Vahn was restraining himself considerably in their battle but, rather than be offended, he adopted a wry smile beforeing to a stop a few meters away. He had a somewhat grandfatherly appearance for a brief moment as he said, "Ive no doubt you have a good reason for being here. My family is not without its skeletons...this is something I am painfully aware of. Despite this, I would ask you to be lenient with them...a few bad apples may spoil the bunch, but it does not mean the entire orchard is rotten..." Despite his fury hiding just beneath the surface, Vahn managed a slight smile as he nodded his head and stated, "We are aware of this. Today will serve as a lesson for the Trambelio family and all others who believe themselves untouchable. Our intention is not to cull, only to educate..." As Vahn spoke, he adopted a low stance with his right hand forward and his left hand retracted, both formed into the shape of ws. At a nce, he would appear to be off-bnce but, the moment he crouched down, Bancroft felt as if he was walking down a jungle path, an unseen threat lingering in the shadows. He adopted a stance of his own but, the stronger his desire to fight, the more powerful the suppression he felt on his aching joints... With no other words necessary between them, Bancroft was the first to act. He converted almost all of his magical energy into raw physical power and, for a brief moment, exceeded even the limits of his prime. A powerful aura shrouded his body and, from his striking hand, a column of destructive energy traveling near the speed of light shot out, carrying with it much of his vitality in the process. At the same time, Vahns body seemed to move in slow motion as he performed a low sweeping movement before sliding forward with both of his hands, seemingly forming a mouth with both hands that simply snapped down on the air in front of him. Immediately after this movement, the massive column of energy blinked out of existence as a phantom white tiger closed its jaws around both the attack and Bancroft himself... (A/N: I woke up with chest congestion so Im publishing this chapter early and going back to sleep. There will still be a few more chapters today but the schedule will be a little janky.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1302 Err

Chapter 1302 Err

When the smoke cleared and the phantom white tiger vanished, Bancroft could be seen copsed on the ground with blood pooling from his body. This was less the result of Vahns attack, however, as the man had overexerted himself far behind his limits. Most of his bones had shattered from the strain and, while his organs had been protected, many of his muscles had turned to a pulp as they visibly deted. Vahn knew that Bancroft had been sent out as a result of his enemies having a decent understanding of his character. By sending the middle-aged man out, they intended to temper his anger a little and, by having his opponent make a plea on the verge of death, he was honor-bound to stay true to his word. There were powerful forces at y behind the scenes and, if a person did not keep their word, there were a number of powerful curses and rituals that could be used against them. None of that mattered to Vahn, however, as he hadnt intended topletely annihte the errant family from the face of the earth. They still had their uses and, by eliminating those that had enacted this scheme, he could elevate one of the more ideal candidates to the position of next family Head. After all, while Alexander and Ard were the two reigning powers within the family, they both had children while the previous generation of the Trambelio family was still alive and well... With this in mind, Vahn slowly made his way through now silent hallways, periodically stopping when he detected signs of life hiding away. There were several ces that showed up as blind spots within his perception but, by forcibly sending his intent into the areas, he was able to peer inside to find the treasures and people hiding within. Most of these safe rooms were filled with staff that had used the chaos to hide away so Vahn simply ignored them before moving on. It wasnt until Vahn used his Telekinesis to rip arge section of the floor away that further defensive measures were activated by the Bounded Field of the estate. Magical energy began to collect in the shadows and, after a few seconds, skeletal figures know as Dragon Tooth Warriors, an intermediate level summon, began to emerge. They were named as such due to a fragment of a dragons tooth being used at the catalyst for their summoning so, unless it was a very profligate family, it was rare to see them in action. Vahn didnt even need to lift a hand to deal with foes like this so he continued walking through the corridors in a casual manner as the Dragon Tooth Warriors around him were crushed by an invisible force. Telekinesis could be used for more than just lifting objects and anchoring himself to the void so, with his increased mental capacity, Vahn was able to crush weaker enemies just by locating them within his Domain. This didnt work well against people with high Od and strong [Magic Resistance] but, despite their name, Dragon Tooth Warriors were actually very weak against even simple spells like [Gandr]. Eventually, Vahn reached a stone corridor that, at a nce, appeared to be a dead end. It was rather unfortunate for his enemies but, from the very beginning, he didnt rely on conventional methods of detection. His domain was actually a very powerful perceptive ability and, while he couldnt extend his senses into the hidden room beyond, just knowing there was a void in his perception was all the information he needed to discover most secrets. Extending his hand, Vahn began to walk forward and, while it didnt show at first, the muscles on his arm began to flex as the veins in his temples began to throb slightly. At the same time, the wall in front of him began to copse inward, the shape of a palm embedding itself in the highly reinforced material. He hadnt been able to send his intent inside so Vahn decided to brute force it in order to terrify whatever may be hiding within. It took longer than he would have liked but, after about twenty seconds, the meter-thick wall of anti-magic material gave out. This was much like a steam engine erupting due to intense pressure so the pieces of metal that Vahn had been pushing on shot forward with tremendous force. It embedded itself into the far wall, more than twenty meters away, causing the entire chamber to rumble while the people inside released startled and terrified cries. Entering into the room, Vahn noticed that only women and children were present so, for a brief moment, he actually panicked internally. It was fortunate that nobody had been in the path of the door he had made as he would rather avoid having the blood of young children on his hands. He believed that children were inherently innocent and, while they may do terrible things in their youth, this was generally the result of their parents and teachers failing them. If they were guided properly, it was possible to set them on a better path. After sending calming energy through his domain, Vahn asked in amanding tone, "Where are Alexander and Ard Trambelio? Im not fond of ying games." By manipting the transmission of sound through his domain, Vahns words were only heard by the adult women in the chamber. He didnt want to terrify the children too much as the oldest one present was only nine years old. Most of the other children would be at the Clock Tower around this time so he would need to be a little bit more careful as he went around destroying the ce. The oldest of the women present, appearing to be in her early thirties, put on a stronger front than the other girls as she stood up and answered, "There are only women and children here. We dont know where the Lord and his brother are! Please, leave this ce at once...!" Vahn was a little surprised by the womans response as, based on her reaction, it was almost as if she didnt know who he was. With this in mind, he asked, "What is your rtion to the Trambelio family? Are you the wives and mistresses of Alexander and Ard...?" Though it was obvious based on their current location, Vahn still wanted to see how the woman would respond. Without even the smallest of fluctuations to give herself away, the woman shook her head, two of the younger children clinging to her dress fearfully as she answered, "We are mere servants of the Trambelio family. Please, if you have grievances against the Lord and his brethren, do not take it out on these children. They are innocent..." If not for his ability to see auras and sense the internal structure of a persons body, Vahn wouldnt have been able to discern whether or not the woman was lying to him. She obviously had a lot of practice telling lies so her life must have been pretty difficult leading up to this moment. Since, as she said, these children were indeed innocent, Vahn decided to y along with the ruse. In more ways than one, the women that had married into the Trambelio family were victims as their marriage was decided for them at a very early age, often without their consent. Having made his decision, Vahn gave a curt nod to the woman before turning his back to the group and saying, "This ce is no longer safe, servant of the Trambelio family. Head towards the surface, youll find a man named Bancroft being treated by his men near the main hall. I imagine hell have a use for you..." Though he could sense her aura fluctuate greatly, the womans expression didnt change even the tiniest amount as she performed a polite and subservient curtsy, answering, "Thank you for your advice, my Lord. Well do as you have suggested..." Then, with a brave front, she pulled along two of the younger children while the other mistresses followed closely behind, each showing considerable fear as they edged around the stationary Vahn. Vahn just pretended not to even notice these women while, standing in the void at his side, Scthach exined, "That woman is Ste Vane Trambelio, the current head wife of Alexander Trambelio. All of the other women are also the wives of Alexander, including the youngest with dark purple hair..." Hearing Scthachs exnation, Vahn just shook his head before asking, ("Has she had any children yet...?"). This was immediately refuted by Scthach, allowing him to rx a little, even if he was still incensed by the fact such a young woman was likely forced to marry into the family. She suffered the fate that Olga had barely avoided so it felt more personal than it otherwise would have. Once the assortment of women and children had departed, Vahn turned his attention to the now empty room as he said, "Run a trace for me. Something is off about this ce." In response to Vahns words, Scthach appeared out of thin air, her scarlet eyes showing a rare usatory look as she asked, "Can you not ask ya for such things...?" Hearing his Shishous retort, Vahn blinked in mild surprise as it actually hadnt even crossed his mind to use ya in such a manner. He had grown so used to just coexisting with the blue entity that she only really crossed his mind when he was messing around with her. This was primarily due to the fact that she used most of his reserves to fulfill his wish of protecting children so, for thest year or so, he had made very few direct requests of her. Without waiting for Vahns reply, Scthach created aplex string of [Primordial Rune]s, each flying off in random directions before sinking into the walls, floor, and ceiling. It was only when she was finishing up with her search that she turned back to Vahn, the same look of me on her face as she said, "You should leave matters like this to myself and others. You are too emotional to handle matters like this personally." Though he knew she had a point, Vahn shook his head to refute her words, saying, "If I keep using you to solve all my problems, our enemies will eventually develop countermeasures against you. You might not fear such things but, even if I can resummon you through the Throne, Id rather not have even the momentary death of an ally on my conscience. Call me selfish if youd like but this is my way of doing things. If I cant act as I please as an Emperor, what is the point of having such a title?" Scthach would usually agree with Vahn when he made such arguments but, this time around, she was less than pleased with his reaction. She sent another rune, this one shimmering with a blue hue, toward an area near the center of the room. Once it contacted the floor, a massive magic circle was revealed, one which had faded away after having been used previously. It was a veryplex spatial transfer formation and, even with her abilities, tracing the destination was very difficult. This wasnt what upset Scthach, however, as she didnt like that Vahn was being reckless without any real need to do so. His showing up like this allowed their enemies to slowly get a grasp on his power and, though the odds of them actually being able to deal with him were slim, there was no such thing as impossible. Even Gods could be killed and sealed so she didnt appreciate that he was underestimating his enemies to such an extent. To make sure he understood just how foolish his decision was, Scthach unceremoniously grabbed Vahn by the cor before pulling him into a spatial void and teleporting them above the estate. She then pointed towards the Bounded Field surrounding the estate, her eyes colder than eternal ice as she stated, "Your enemies dont know your capabilities. They can only make assumptions based on the information they have been able to glean from observing you in action. Without knowing about your other bodies, some idiots will get ideas about going to extreme lengths once you appear. Do you understand how foolish your actions are!?" Rather than answer Scthachs question, Vahn was focused on the looming sense of danger that he had only be aware of after she pointed it out to him. He could sense something far beyond his perception, something lurking far beyond the atmosphere of the. Then, as if to punctuate the words of his Shishou, his nerves felt like they all simultaneously erupted into small motes of intense me as, from the exosphere of the, several reinforced magical rods, each covered inplex runes, were released from their orbital tform... (A/N: Yeah, Im confirmed sick at this point. I didnt want to just do an update chapter though so I went ahead and wrote one to inform everyone :P. Ive taken a lot of meds so Ill probably have to edit this chapter once Im feeling better. Ill see you allter as my bed is ying a very enticing melody that I simply cant resist.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1303 Accountability

Chapter 1303 ountability

Vahn had known from the very beginning that some of his enemies would go to extreme lengths to serve their interests and agendas. Da Vincis simtions even put the median mortality rate during theing transition at 54% so he had already hardened himself in preparation for the loss of life. Still, knowing that Alexander was willing to destroy arge portion of his estate, along with a sizable portion of London itself, he felt absolute, unadulterated, wrath... With little to slow the speed of their descent, several ten-meter long rods made of a dark mithrilposite continued to elerate until they were nearing ten percent the speed of light. This wasnt a speed Vahn couldnt react to but, with an incalcble number of runes and several powerful magic circles, directly intercepting the rods was beyond him. They were weapons of mass destruction that had been designed to strike with such speed and intensity that manors designed to withstand even direct hits from nuclear warheads would be annihted. Vahn knew all of this because the weapon system was something that had been designed by the As Temple. They had developed a number of weapons, some of which even had the theoretical potential to destroy entires, so it wasnt that surprising their ns had been stolen or traded through the ck market. It was impossible topletely halt the flow of information to the outside world as, if they truly cut themselves off, acquiring the necessary resources for their research would be very difficult... Unfortunately, Vahn didnt have the time toe up with a method to deal with the rods on the spot as, shortly after his instincts alerted him of the danger, concentric, ring-shaped, magic circles descended from the sky. Each was more than 100m in diameter and, based on what he could sense, they served as eleration gates that also converted the space inside the rings into a vacuum. This would allow the rods to elerate even faster than their initial specs so Vahn had to take immediate action to avoid a tragedy. Even before Vahns thoughts had sorted themselves, his body and mind were already in motion. He instantly transformed into his Xuanwu state while fusing a powerful defensive spell, [Custos Terra], into his [Magia Erebea]. This caused his skin to turn onyx-ck as his body bulked up considerably. At the same time, his hair turned tinum-blond as aplex snake-pattern spread across his entire body. Vahn wasnt actually intending to block the spears with his body but, if his n somehow failed, it was better to be in a form that allowed him to withstand a bit of punishment. His actual n was to use one of his trump cards and, while it may reveal his hand to others, this incident had shown him that given his enemies any breathing room at all was uneptable. They were obviously intending to try and pin this on him so, when all of this was resolved, he intended to do some house cleaning on behalf of the Noble faction... Having made his decision, Vahns face hardened as he stated in a rumbling tone that caused the guiding circle to fracture and break apart, "ORT, destroy..." With a purely synthetic and emotionless voice, ORT simply responded, "Acknowledged." before a spatial tear, several tens of meters wide, appeared in the sky. From the interior, a massive metallic spider emerged, its limbs twisted to form lethal des that could harvest the lives of millions in minutes. It was a true weapon of mass destruction and ughter, one which even the most powerful people in the world dreaded to encounter. The moment ORT emerged from the spatial tear, its body actually transformed into a humanoid form but, before Vahn could even get a good look at it, ORT vanished in a blur that left a literal ck tear in the void. Its base speed was almost iprehensible, to the point Vahn felt like it wasnt actually moving so much as it was forcibly positioning itself within space and time. It seemed simultaneously stationary and hypersonic as, from the very moment it ascended, ORT hadnt changed its orientation in the slightest... Mere seconds after the entire incident had begun, several small explosions could be seen beyond the troposphere. Then, immediately after these tiny lights flickered in the distance, emerald green waves of energy spread out for hundreds of kilometers in an instant. The suns light no longer seemed to reach the as the entire world seemed to be shrouded in an emerald green glow. It was actually quite beautiful but, considering this wave was purely destructive in nature, the bacsh of this incident would shake the foundation of societies worldwide... Despite the troposphere extending to nearly 10km above the surface of the, the shockwave from ORTs attack reached London only a few seconds after the emerald glow covered the sky. This caused a pale-blue membrane to ripple across the entire city, indicative of an extremely powerful and ancient barrier being activated. London wasnt the heart of the Mages Association for naught so, while every influential family had a powerful Bounded Field to protect their property, the city itself had severalyers of protection to preserve the magicalmunity as a whole. Unfortunately, the barrier protecting London didnt extend to the surrounding areas so, with the wave of destructive energy, thousands of trees burst into me while anyone unfortunate enough to be outside experienced an intense burning sensation like being exposed to powerful ultraviolet light. Most of the children in the area were immediately teleported to rtive safety but, with ckouts extending all the way to Paris, more than 470km away, this was an event that eclipsed even a natural disaster. It wouldnt be until muchter that Vahn learned the true extent of the devastation but, as this was primarily due to the rods being destroyed, not ORTs actions, he did not me the destructive entity. If the rods had directly impacted the estate, arge portion of Londons poption would have been wiped out in the resultant st. This would have amounted to several hundred thousand people on the low end so, after recalling ORT, his focus shifted to the recovery effort. Before this, however, he turned to Scthach who, at this point, had reverted back to her usual cold and emotionless self. She already had a spear in hand and was simply waiting for his orders before she took immediate and decisive action. This nature of hers was something Vahn hade to rely on so, without beating around the bush, he stated, "Someone must be held ountable for this. Do not kill them..." As it was an official order, Scthach kneeled in mid-air before ultimately vanishing into the void to pursue Alexander, Ard, and anyone else involved in this matter. It was possible to summon them through the Throne of Heroes but, as inviting those monsters into his home was something Vahn couldnt stomach, he decided to leave their fates to his Shishou. She would undoubtedly show them hell before bringing their battered and broken bodies before him. With the fate of the perpetrators all but decided, Vahn turned to the Trambelio family estate before teleporting back to Avalon to mobilize his forces. He was directly involved in this event so, while it was possible to leave matters to emergency response forces, Vahn would not shirk his responsibility in the matter. He directly convened an emergency conference before charging Gawain with leading three-hundred Homunculi to assist in aiding the citizens. At the same time, Kenshin would take her elite forces to secure the Trembelio estate, aided by Fenrir, Hati, and Sol. While this meeting was taking ce, Vahns second body was back in London with Merlin standing at his side. Thetter was directing the Slyph to muster up rainclouds to aid in dealing with the fires while Vahn extended his domain through the area, aiding anyone that was in imminent danger. The amount of devastation on the outskirts of the city made him feel a deeply rooted chill, one made worse by seeing how many people took advantage of the chaos to enact various crimes, some petty, others heinous in nature... For a brief moment, Vahn empathized with Mordreds view of the world as, seeing humans act in this manner, they almost seemed like animals. There were people breaking into businesses to steal TVs and other electronic devices, even as people screamed and pleaded for help just meters away from them. It was like watching hell on earth and, with the standard response of the Magusmunity being to ignore the mundane world, only firefighters, policemen, and emergency response forces were taking action to restore order. Seeing all of this, Vahn, knowing Merlin was paying close attention to him, stated, "Those in power would rather see the world burn rather than allow me to lead it towards a brighter future..." As if he was unaffected by the chaos below, Merlin just shrugged before lightly replying, "Your vision of the future is something iprehensible to most people. In the end, most humans would rather live a life bound by unfair rules and restrictions if it means they are able to live in blissful ignorance. Others believe their own prosperity takes precedence over the safety and security of society as, from their perspective, normal people are inconsequential in the grand scheme of things...its really quite troubling..." Hearing Merlins remark, Vahn turned silent as, on the edge of his domain, a man attempted to mug a woman who was trying to lead her children to an emergency shelter. The moment the man pulled out his knife and began to wave it in front of the womans face, Vahn guided it toward a non-vital area in his chest, incapacitating the bug-eyed assant as he fell back due to shock. This caused the children to scream but the women just pulled them along, leaving her attacker behind without sparing him a second nce... Turning to face Merlin, Vahn could see the flowery Magus with his usual smile, a glimmer of light dancing in his amethyst eyes. He was using his illusion magic to provide aid on a muchrger scale than Vahns domain alone could cover but, regardless of the strain he was under, the white-haired Magus continued to smile as if he was entirely unperturbed by the reality they bore witness to. It was strangely grounding so, while his anger wasnt even remotely tempered, Vahn calmed down a little as he stated, "I will not give up...this incident only makes my conviction stronger..." Following Vahns words, motes of light began to sh around the city as hundreds of homunculi began to appear around the city. This was the emergency response forcemanded by Gawain so they had a lot of experience dealing with fires and copsing buildings. They were almost all attuned with the earth or water element so, while it would only make the aftermath harder to clean up, Vahn authorized them to use golems and familiars to aid in restoring order. This obviously caused further chaos but, after what the Trambelio family pulled, Vahn no longer felt the need to keep the existence of Magic a secret. With a firm conviction present in his stature and expression, Vahn gazed over the devastation below as he muttered, "This world needs to change. Even if it means chaos and war, I will no longer stand by as an observer biding his time. The world may not be ready for the truth but the current system doesnt work. Even if I must be painted as an evil tyrant in the interim, I will not rest until this world is made safer for all future generations..." All throughout Vahns monologue, Merlins expression didnt change in the slightest. However, at the very end, he stated in a very matter-of-factly tone, "Some of the most tragic periods in history came about as a result of a small group of people perpetuating the idea of the greater good. Please keep that in mind as you move forward, Your Majesty. Never forget that there is an endless number of paths that lead toward a better future. Do not be blinded by a single course of action..." Hearing Merlins advice, Vahn nodded his head solemnly, even as he slowly ascended into the air. He knew better than anyone that his own perspective was, in many ways, biased beyond correction. This was the reason he relied on so many people so, in the chaos toe, he would be relying on them to help restore order to a tumultuous world. He would serve as the figurehead for everyones hatred, allowing people toy as much me on him as they wish. Ultimately, the only thing that mattered was that the current system was abolished as it was high time humanity faced reality and epted responsibility for their own lives... After ascending to more than a kilometer above the city, Vahn extended his hand toward the sky as he sent a telepathic message back to Avalon. He could feel almost all of his reserves drain away in an instant as a massive magic circle, more than 700m in diameter, appeared in the sky above. Magical phenomenon was not visible to normal humans but, when a floating fortress suddenly appeared out of thin air above London, it drew a considerable amount of attention... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Weapons of Mass Destruction,No Mercy,The Dawn of New Era) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1304 Futility

Chapter 1304 Futility

Solon had already been experiencing a powerful migraine after learning that Vahn had invaded the Trambelio estate. When the massive explosion urred over the city, it felt like something snapped inside of their brain and, rather than anger or frustration, they felt a distinctck of emotion as their eyes reflected the devastation surrounding London... The Clock Tower was in a chaotic state but,pared to what was happening outside the isted Bounded Field, it was a scene of rtive peace. Solon had already issued a state simr to Martial Law, preventing movement between the Clock Tower and the outside world. This was both to protect the students and faculty while also preventing anyone from going outside and adding to the chaos. As an organization that had stood for more than two-thousand years, the Clock Tower had various emergency protocols designed to maintain secrecy and order. Even during the great fire of London and two sessive world wars, their existence had never been threatened as the Bounded Field that protected the institution was one of the most powerful in the entire world. It could even withstand a direct strike from a meteorite, much less an atomic bomb. Rather than worry about the Clock Tower itself, Solon was more troubled by the esction of force between the Empire and the Trambelio family. They couldnt understand how things had developed to this point in such a short period of time. The only thing that made any sense was if the Trambelio family, on the verge of being wiped out, decided to take everyone else with them. This seemed to be the only real possibility as Solon had learned that Vahn was the one to protect the estate, not the forces of the Trambelio family... This bit of information did not allow Solon even a moment of peace, however, as Zelretch revealed exactly what it was Vahn had used to deal with the undocumented orbital weapon. He had used the most terrifying existence in the world as a weapon, something Zelretch had been making ns to battle against for over three hundred years. Even then, they imed it would take an estimated one-hundred-and-fifty years before they were ready to face against the monstrous entity so, knowing it was willing to move at Vahns behest, Solon knew the only thing preventing the Empires rise was Vahns willingness to act. Though they would never admit it, Solon had been rtively enthused about thest month as the benefits the Clock Tower had received from the Empire were plentiful. The As Temple was working with them more proactively than ever before while Da Vinci had provided information regarding her Unified Thaumaturgical Theory for peer review. If things continued uninhibited, the Clock Tower was set to enter a period of rapid advancement and prosperity, one which might redress the stagnation that had gued the organization for centuries. Now, due to the petty and self-serving actions of a few greedy individuals, all of that was on the verge of copse. Solon had learned that the Trambelio family had gone out of their way to put pressure on various smaller families, conspiring to set in motion a series of events to show therger Magusmunity that the Empire was not some untouchable existence they should fear. The plot involved assassinating several students but the most important objective had been to secure blood and tissue samples of Mordreds and Sakuras bodies... Solon couldnt believe how foolish the entire plot was as it showed a clear misunderstanding of the Empires capabilities. The Nobles treated the Empire as just another one of their rivals and, while it was inarguable that thetter had immense power, it never crossed the minds of the established families that they were truly unbeatable. Rather, the efforts of the Empire to negotiate and pursue civil dialogue made them appear weak and exploitable. They saw the benefits the Clock Tower had received over thest month and interpreted this, not as a show of wealth and power, but a bribe for peace... Ultimately, the current chaos was a direct result of the deeply rooted corruption and pretentious mindsetsmon amongst the members of prestigious Noble families. Even when they were clearly at a disadvantage, they acted as if they were in a superior position at all times. They would scheme and machinate to better their position and, failing to do so through above-board means, they always used underhanded schemes to further their interests. There was no limit to their depravity when it came to securing their position and authority as, prior to the emergence of the Empire, the policy of the Mages Association was torgely ignore any action that didnt directly expose the existence of Magecraft. Solon had never been fond of this policy but, recognizing the futility of keeping order while trying to restrain the Nobles, they opted to turn a blind eye to the truth. Trying to force them to obey would either split the Mages Association further or lead to an outright Civil War. This would cause the Holy Church to take action and, after decades of fighting, the worldy in ruin. Several incidents like this had urred throughout history and, each time a major battle urred, various legacies would be lost, never to be recovered. The Mages Association existed to prevent the stagnation and degradation of Magecraft and, as no Thaumaturgical field was inherently evil, people had been taking advantage of it for millennia. Now, with the emergence of the Empire, their efforts to preserve their legacy would be their undoing. The deeply rooted corruption that was ushering the world toward its destruction would not be tolerated by the alien Emperor and, with a floating fortress hovering above the city of London, Solon knew the day of reckoning hade... --- From behind Solon, Zelretch had been watching the city burn in silent contemtion. His usual smile was nowhere to be seen as this incident was something that couldnt bepletely covered up. The As Temple may have dominion over virtually all telmunicationsworks but, with millions of witnesses and the apparent disregard of Vahn, the information was bound to spread. Gripping the handle of his cane tightly, Zelretch shook his head and muttered, "I fear the world is not ready for this...the civil unrest alone will copse several countries..." Hearing Zelretchs remark, Solon gave an understanding nod, adding, "Billions will die...it will be the greatest tragedy the world has ever seen...to think that, even before Angra Mainyus emergence, the world as we know it will be destroyed." Zelretch released a profound sigh in response to Solons words. He knew the responsibility for this incident couldnt beid squarely on Vahns shoulders but, depending on how things developed, arge scale war could break out. The revtion that Magic is a real phenomenon is bound to shake the very foundation of modern society so, over the next few months, millions of people worldwide are bound to awaken magical and paranormal abilities... Just as Zelretch wasmenting allowing things to develop to this point, Solon interrupted his train of thought, stating, "I always knew things would reach this point, eventually. What matters is not the destruction toe, but the society we will build in its wake. The Empire cannot be stopped so we can only endeavor to avoid repeating the same mistakes as our predecessors..." Having never expected Solon to throw their lot in with the Empire so readily, Zelretchs smile crept back upon his wrinkled face as he asked, "Oh~? What has you suddenly believing in the future that Vahn wants to create...?" Solons dull expression morphed into one of anger and annoyance as they heard the teasing tone underlying Zelretchs words. In response to the elderly Magus remark, Solon turned back and said, "That man is able to bend the very world itself to his will. ya would not follow him if he did not care about the preservation of mankind. Since there is no sense in trying to oppose him, it is better that we change our perspective and begin considering how to develop alongside the Empire. Even if the current Mages Association is destroyed, that does not mean it cant be rebuilt..." If he was slightly surprised by Solons earlier words, Zelretch was shocked by what his green-hairedpanion had to say in response to his teasing. He could understand the reasoning, of course, but Solons character wasnt the kind that would acquiesce so easily. Something must have happened to change their mind while he was away... Realizing this, Zelretch stared into therge projection of the outside world and, as if understanding his thoughts, the white-haired magus reflected inside looked back, a smile on his face. This caused Zelretch to release an even deeper sigh than before while, understanding what the old man must be thinking, Solons expression turned dour as magical power began to build in the surroundings. Before Solon couldsh out, Zelretch tapped his cane against the floor, saying, "I will reach out to our branches throughout the world. Well begin moving people into the underground shelters that had been prepared during the second world war. Ill leave you to contact the Wandering Sea...is that okay with you?" Having calmed down a bit, Solon smoothed out the wrinkles in their robes before replying, "Those old monsters will likely close the gate soon. We wont have to worry about them until the dust starts to settle. When that happens, theyre certain to try and contact the Empire to establish an Alliance so there is no reason to pay them a visit." Zelretch just shrugged in response to Solons words before vanishing in mid-movement. He had a lot of people to contact before this incident became a global catastrophe so there wasnt much time to waste. There would be no end to the number of opportunistic Magi looking to take advantage of theing chaos so they needed to secure all of the most important heritages and legacies before they either disappeared in the flow of history or fell into the hands of people looking to seize power for themselves... With Zelretchs departure, Solon allowed their shoulders to slump as they pulled out a plush cushion and plopped down, fatigue settling into their usually tireless body. It took more restraint than they knew they had to prevent themselves from teleporting to Vahns side andmbasting the idiotic man for continually escting the situation. Even now, it wouldnt be impossible for them to cover up this incident as there was an ancient formation present that could alter the memories of everyone in the city without much effort. As for the destruction surrounding London, they couldy the me on the sun as, while the emerald light had been visible to those sensitive to magical phenomena, normal humans wouldnt have been able to see it. The primary issue was that Vahn clearly had no intention of keeping the existence of Magic a secret. He had clearly stated this in the past and, after the Trambelio family pulled this stunt, it was obvious that the Emperor had lost his patience with the Magusmunity. His efforts over thest month had shown he was willing to y ball and wait until a more opportune moment to take action but, as if they couldnt wait to seek death, a bunch of fools had decided to take advantage of this fact to antagonize a force that wiped a Monarchal family off the face of the in a single evening... Solon knew that the Trambelio family must have secured their legacy prior to taking action so, even if they lost the majority of their assets, they could still paint the Empire as the enemy. They would theny low, potentially for decades, before once again emerging as a powerful family within the Magusmunity, likely with a different surname. What the Trambelio family couldnt have expected was that Vahn was more than willing to y the part of the viin if it meant making the world a better ce. It was impossible to avoid thisbel as, by implementing change that people were not ready for, he would always be painted as the viin. People would fight tooth and nail to protect their current way of life, even if it meant fighting and dying for people that had been exploiting them for generations. In their minds, Vahn was the enemy so long as their government or a few influential members of themunity said he was. It didnt matter what the truth was as, in the end, truth and justice were always decided by the victors... (A/N: FYI, Im still ill so chapters areing out when I feel like it xD. Youll notice that my writing bes a little darker every time I get sick, hahahaha~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1305 Dusk Approaches

Chapter 1305 Dusk Approaches

Though it didnt make him feel as powerful as his normal Throne, Vahn found the one situated near the heart of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon to befortable. It had thick cushions on the arms, back, and seat area while, a stark contrast to the dark and awe-inspiring atmosphere that dominated his Throne Room, the central chambers of the Gardens was well lit byrge crystals that cast gentle rays of light upon the various nts scattered in the surrounding area. If not for the fact that the city below was still smoldering from the now-extinguished fires, despite several hours having passed, Vahn would have found the peaceful atmosphere very rxing. Instead, he had a serious and focused expression on his eyes darted around, seeing far beyond the confines of the Gardens as he worked to protect those in need while punishing those who sought to exploit the chaos for personal benefit. This included the various people who, for reasons he would never be able to fathom, believed it was a good idea to take potshots at the Hanging Gardens from various ces throughout the city... From the moment the Hanging Gardens had been summoned, Vahn had been expecting a response from Solon or Zelretch but, even as the sun began its descent over the horizon, neither had deigned to appear. This seemed to imply their acquiescence but, as it hadnt really mattered if they were on the same page as him, Vahn impatiently awaited the moment when he would take to the stage once more. With the As Temple working closely with the Empire, Da Vinci had been able to integrate Shadow, the secondary system of Ark, into the telmunicationswork of the entire. This allowed them to basically hack everyputer system, television, and phone so, once everything was ready, Vahn would be addressing the world. Various news organizations had been streaming the incident since the start, someying the me for the citys destruction on the Hanging Gardens while others spected whether or not the floating fortress was some kind of alien craft. What annoyed Vahn the most about these news organizations is that, rather than focus on the actual crisis below, they were more interested in spection and making the story sound more interesting to the people. They did everything they could to stir up their viewers, ignoring the fact that hundreds of homunculi were aiding people while the Gardens had simply been hovering silently for hours. He had known that the fortress would draw a lot of attention but, seeing how they basically ignored any positive aspects of this incident, all for ratings, Vahn was growing frustrated. To further exacerbate matters, there had been helicopters flying around the periphery of the Gardens while, in the distance, jets were circling in arge perimeter. These were military craft, each armed to the teeth with advanced missile and targetting systems. Vahn could intercept the radio transmissions between them so he knew they were preparing for a coordinated attack. Vahn knew there were people manipting both the military and media from behind the scenes as Shadow was able to see theirmunications in real-time. If he wanted to, Vahn could shut down the entirework or prevent these messages from reaching their destination but, after everything that had happened, part of him wanted them to attack. The more violent the response from the government and military, the more leverage Vahn would have in his uing address. He was willing to ept the hatred and ire of the entire world but, rather than conquest, the Empire would shape the world by setting an example and providing aid to those in need. At the same time, he would expose the evil hiding beneath the surface of society, all while simultaneously spreading knowledge of Thaumaturgy and supernatural phenomenon to the public. It was high time that the people knew the truth about the world they lived in and, if they could not change course, their end would be of their own making. The Empire would not tolerate governments manipting their people while a secret society of powerful individuals ran everything from behind the scenes. He would expose everything, including the fact that the itself was a living creature. If people could not see reason, he had no reason to pander to them and continue the destructive cycle that was leading the world to ruin... Still, Vahn wasnt just going to arbitrarily sacrifice half the worlds poption just to prove a point so, while his right hand tapped impatiently against the Thrones armrest, his left held a miniature golden chalice that, from the moment he had pulled it out, caught yas attention. This was the [Grace of the Root], the Unique item he had obtained afterpleting the [Cup of Heaven] Quest. It allowed him to make any wish within the worlds power to grant so, while it had a rather simple appearance, the tiny golden chalice effectively had 100,000,000,000,000 units of magical energy sealed within... --- While Vahn was idling about on her Throne, Semiramis was sitting silently at the side in a chair that had been set out for her. She would periodically re at him but, as Vahn had other things to focus on, he pretended not to notice. He knew she was just fishing for attention and, while he didnt mind teasing her under normal circumstances, now was neither the time nor the ce. Semiramis herself was fully aware of this but she was still annoyed that Vahn had basicallymandeered her Noble Phantasm for his personal use. If she were being honest, Semiramis was actually a little happy that her hard work was being put to use; She just wished that Vahn had been a little more grateful. Instead, he had been sitting on her Throne staring off into nk space for hours. She knew he was focused on the crises below but, with multiple bodies at his disposal, he should have been able to spare her a few minutes as a courtesy, if nothing else... Feeling that her presence was pointless, Semiramis ultimately rose from her seat before remarking in a cold tone, "I will be retiring to my bedchamber...if you break my Gardens, I will not rest until your stomach is ck and shriveled." Hearing Semiramis remark, Vahn finally looked toward her and, seeing the raven-haired woman in a dour mood, he released a minute sigh. Had the circumstances not been what they were, he wouldnt have been so forceful in his actions. With this in mind, he gestured for her toe to his side and, though she just stared back at him at first, she eventually came over as called. He knew she must be thinking, Is this my chance...? but, after everything he had experienced, Vahn wasnt so easily wiled. Though Vahn hadnt given her leniency to do so, Semiramis opted to take a seat on hisp as her disposition changed in an instant. Before she was able to do something regrettable, Vahn took the initiative away from her, lightly pinching Semiramis nose. This caused her expression to freeze, her lips slightly parted as if she couldnt find any words to express the incredulity and confusion she was experiencing as a result of the unexpected action. Before she could recover, Vahn allowed a smile to return to his face as he remarked, "One day, Id like to see a real smile on your face. Sorry if I upset you..." As Vahn spoke, he gently caressed the confused womans face before running his fingers down the long fringe bangs that framed her figure. She didnt notice it herself but her long elf-like ears had drooped slightly and, though she didnt blush, he could feel the turmoil of her emotions. After finally collecting herself, Semiramis used her delicate fingers to remove Vahns hand and, as if her heart wasnt racing, she maintained an elegant and dignified demeanor as she remarked, "You should not touch ady without her permission...dont tell me even His Majesty is a base beast that doesnt consider the feelings of others...?" Rather than be offended by Semiramis biting remark, Vahn was more amused than anything else. He knew she was what people referred to as a Tsundere so she had a tendency to make harsh remarks whenever she felt embarrassed. This was one of the reasons he liked to tease her but, considering the circumstances, he just lightly poked her lower back with his index finger, remarking, "That is an interesting thing to say considering where you are sitting, Queen Semiramis..." Though it didnt show in her expression at all, Vahn could sense Semiramis heart beating madly in her chest as she lightly harumphed, her face turned away from him as she retorted, "Im allowed to sit here whenever Id like. You didnt even ask for permission before sitting on my Throne so dont try toy the me on me...how uncouth..." This time, Vahn lightly chuckled in response to Semiramis quip before moving his right hand tob through her long ck hair as he said, "You should go and rest. When all of this is over, Ill help youb your hair as an apology..." Hearing Vahns remark, Semiramis turned to face him, her pale golden eyes, reminiscent of a snake,ing into focus as she stared back at him. Then, after squinting at him, she slowly rose to her feet before gliding toward a small chamber hidden at the back of the Throne Room. It wasnt until she had covered nearly half the distance that she finally decided to respond, her back facing him as she muttered, "It is a privilege tob my hair...if you truly want to apologize,e up with something that isnt a reward for yourself..." With her words finished, Semiramis continued toward her hidden bedchamber, her long hair flowing behind her like a cape as it magically slid across the ground without dirtying. It was nearly 200cm in length which, whenpared to Semiramis height of 167cm, made it seem even longer. She called it a reward but, considering it took nearly three hours to brush and style her hair, Vahn knew it was aborious task that Semiramis enjoyed forcing upon others. Despite this, Vahn decided he woulde up with another form of apology but, with more pressing matters to attend, the smile quickly faded from his face, reced by a stern and intense expression. The power grid itself had been damaged by the previous shockwave so, with dusk approaching, an all-consuming darkness began to descend upon London and the surrounding cities. Vahn knew this was the period when people would be at their worst while, under the cover of darkness, the military would soon begin its assault... If they attacked during the day, it would be too easy for people to see that the military was attacking the Hanging Gardens one-sidedly. By waiting until the sun had gone down, they could spin the story into some grand tale of battle where both sides fought against each other. Some of the pilots even had orders to attack the ground, targetting the relief efforts directly for the sole purpose of lending credibility to the narrative they intended to spin. With the government and military acting as the puppets of the various families, they would stop at nothing to try and make the Empire out to be the viin. To them, it didnt matter how many normal people died, so long as they were able to keep the power and authority they had rued over the millennia. Rather, the more chaos they could cause, the easier it would be to shift the me to the Empire as they desperately machinated behind the scenes. At this point, the Noble families had realized that he wasnt going to keep ying around with them so, while many of the had been content toy low, they were now forced into action just by the mere fact that Vahn was sitting idly in the Hanging Gardens. They had already moved their most important assets to secure locations so, even if they started a war and lost everything, they would be able to avoid the fate of the Barthomeloi family. This was, of course, a mistaken belief on their part so, once they threw propriety out the window, Vahn wouldnt hesitate to do the same... For now, however, he watched silently as the light of the sun slowly faded over the horizon... (A/N: Im starting to feel better but Im still having a few coughing fits and a light fever. Im getting plenty of fluids in my body and a lot of rest so Im hoping to be back in working order soon. After this, I think I may need to reevaluate my dietary choices and other bad habits xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1306 Prelude to the Darkness

Chapter 1306 Prelude to the Darkness

With the power gridpromised, the only ces with any power at all were the various hospitals, police stations, and other emergency services facilities. They had powerful backup generators and several redundancies built into their infrastructure exactly for situations like this. As a result, they stood out as a beacon of hope within the encroaching darkness as people who were unable to reach the emergency shelters began to congregate around the light. Under normal circumstances, a disaster like this would have caused the hospital staff to be at a loss. They were grossly unequipped to deal with hundreds of thousands of people simultaneously as evenrge hospitals typically only employed around 1000-1500 personnel, the majority of which consisted of nurses and support personnel. Bing a Doctor in the modern era required up to a decade of schooling and a strong financial background so there simply werent enough qualified personnel for the hundreds of thousands of people affected by the crisis. Had this been a normal incident, the number of casualties would quickly exceed the capacity of even thergest hospitals. There were literally tens of thousands of people with severe burns all over their body and, with the influx of people seeking shelter, it was impossible to treat all of them. They didnt have near enough beds so many patients were simply left to whimper on military-style cots that had been pulled out of storage. The nurses were running around doing their best to help everyone they could but, with new patients arriving every minute, they had reached the breaking point long ago. It was when things seemed their bleakest that a literal miracle urred, at least in the eyes of the Doctors, Nurses, hospital employees, and patients themselves... Coinciding with the appearance of the alien fortress, a calming warmth seemed to spread through several hospitals located within the area affected by what some were calling a rogue sr re. This warmth began to miraculously heal patients who had previously been on the verge of death, their burns and wounds healing at a rate visible to the naked eye. Some of the children even made full recoveries in a few short minutes, stunning everyone that bore witness to the event. The hospital personnel couldnt make sense of the miracle they were observing but, considering the circumstances, they were extremely grateful for the relief. This eased their burden considerably, even if the miracle didnt seem to extend to every patient. It seemed to have a greater effect on children as many adults were only brought from the brink of death rather than being healedpletely. The Doctors couldnt really be choosy in this situation, however, so they did their best to treat as many patients as possible while entrusting the police and military to deal with the ever-increasing influx of people flocking to the hospital... --- This time of year, sunset for London was around 5:15 PM. Normally, this wouldnt matter all that much as you could easily navigate the city and its surroundings using the various street lights and buildings to light your path. Now, however, the primary light source came from various fires, candles, and shlights. Even motor vehicles and been affected by the wave of energy so, outside of London, almost every street was cluttered with cars and the debris of several traffic idents. Many people had taken the opportunity to riot as some believed this incident was an actual invasion, despite the fortress in the sky having done nothing for several hours. They broke into virtually every store that wasnt well guarded, cleaning the shelves of more than just food and water. Rather, some believed that the police had no way of dealing with everyone so arge number of people had taken the opportunity to steal various electronics, jewelry, and anything else that wasnt secured prior to the incident. Vahn watched these incidents y out and, while he was bothered by the depravity some people showed during a crisis, what troubled him more was the militarys response to the looting and riots. They hade out in force, beating, assaulting, and even shooting anyone they foundmitting crimes. Emergency sirens had been sounding for hours and a broadcast announcing martialw had already been put in effect so they didnt hesitate to resort to drastic measures, even against young teens and the elderly... Further adding to Vahns annoyance, the military had actually tried to assault and arrest Gawain and his unit of Homunculi. This was in spite of the fact that the group was clearly helping people but, as they were not recognized as emergency service or military personnel, the armed soldier didnt care at all. Some had even opened fire on nonpliant Homunculi, resulting in several squads flocking to the area to suppress the terrorist group attacking the military. It was such a ridiculous farce that Vahn just gave the order for Gawain to withdraw, not willing to deal with an ipetent force who ced a higher priority on enforcing order than providing aid to the people... With the withdrawal of Gawain and the Homunculi, the only Imperial Forces on-site were Vahn and, as a result of her being inside the Hanging Gardens prior to its teleportation, Semiramis. Merlin was definitely around somewhere but, after taking a seat, Vahn noticed the flowery Magus had vanished into thin air. It was all but guaranteed that Merlin was taking action in the interest of the Empire so, while it did trouble him to lose his Advisor, Vahn didnt question his absence. Rather, he was busy with other things so Merlins whimsy barely even crossed his mind at the present moment. Instead, his second vessel was back in Antarctica as he poured over the data obtained through CHALDEAS. He had the always calm andposed Sherlock at his side while Olga, Okita, Jeanne, and Gareth were all ready to do anything he asked at a moments notice. As Vahn wasnt intending to engage in a massive battle for control of the world, he had the almost too-eager girls sit quietly at the side while Sherlock, surrounded by aplex mechanismprised of dozens of magnifying sses that jut out from his coat like the legs of a spider. Using these, he was able to inspect and analyze virtually anything as, rather than only show objects in the immediate surroundings, the lenses showed various locations around the world. So long as Sherlock knew what he was looking for, things like distance had no meaning before the worlds greatest detective. Currently, Sherlock was calmly smoking an ornate curved pipe, his demeanor a perfect mask that made it impossible to know exactly what he was thinking. Fortunately, he was more than willing to inform you about his thought processes as being the greatest was something the gentlemanly detective took great pride in. The downside to this quirk was that, unless you asked him to exin something, he would continue to thoughtfully stare into the distance without even acknowledging your presence... Vahn understood Sherlocks quirks well and, considering how helpful the man had been, he gave the peculiar detective the respect he deserved. Thus, after noticing Sherlock seemed to lose focus, Vahn asked, "Have you discovered something new, Count Holmes...?" As if he only just now realized Vahn was sitting in the same room, despite the fact they had multiple conversations prior, Sherlock showed mild surprise before smiling as he answered, "Your Majesty, I have uncovered quite the heinous plot, one so great that it threatens to shake the very foundations of this world." Though he really wasnt in the mood, Vahn knew it was easier to y along than try to force the answer out of Sherlock. He could only maintain a serious expression on his face as he nodded in understanding before saying, "Please, Count Holmes, enlighten me regarding the specifics of this heinous deed. Time is of the essence and we cannot afford to sit idly as our enemies machinate against us..." With a thoughtful nod, Sherlock removed the pipe from his mouth as one of the magnifying sses grew to more than a meter in diameter. This allowed Vahn to see the scene of several cloaked figures sitting around a circr stone table surrounded by ten thrones, each covered in abination of [Primordial Runes] and [Divine Words]. Two of the thrones were empty but, based on the feeling the remaining members gave off, Vahn estimated that their weakest member was more than twice as strong as Lorelei. Without having to be asked, Sherlock exined, "These are mere projections of the actual people but, using the imprint I was able to ce one the Heads of the Godwin and Fraga families, I was able to trace the signal and listen in on their discussion. It seems that the actions of the Trambelio family were known to them in advance. Now, they are considering whether or not to awaken an entity they keep referring to as the God of Cmity. One of the members remarked that the release of such a monster would destroy the world, thus my earlierment." Vahn could only shake his head in exasperation upon hearing Sherlocks exnation. He was aware of the fact that the most powerful families had already taken measures to secure their legacy andy low, despite the chaos they themselves were causing. They werepletely unaware of the fact that he could summon them through the Throne of Heroes and, in spite of their efforts to escape notice, it was impossible topletely cover their tracks as, with ya at his side, Vahn could reveal their Strings of Fate at his leisure... Now that things had reached this point, it was obvious that the most powerful and corrupt families didnt care if they ended up bring the world to ruin as, in their minds, they could simply rebuild after things had settled down. They knew he was no longer ying their games so, in order to avoid the same fate as the Barthomeloi, they had hidden away their legacy while preparing for an all-out war on the Surface. He was already aware of the fact they had contacted various organizations in their control, riling them up to vehemently oppose the Empires rise. It really was one of the greatest farces as, from the moment he decided to take action, there was no war to fight. He didnt have to conquer the world as, with ya and ORT on his side, he was already in control. They just didnt realize this as, from the perspective of almost everyone currently in power, they used humanity as a metric to determine their status and authority. Vahn, however, was focused more on the itself and, even if the majority of humanity ended up dying, they would simply reincarnate into another world. He would do what he could to protect as many people as possible but, from the very beginning, Vahn knew that most humans living in the current era would never be able to adapt to theing changes... After thanking Sherlock for the information, Vahn allowed thetter to return to his data collection as, back in the Hanging Gardens, he pulled out the [Grace of the Root]. He had put a lot of thought into the best wish he could make using the tiny chalice so, with darkness now spreading across the city, it was time to finalize his decision. He knew there was no real reason behind protecting every single person as, the greater the number of survivors, the more troublesome things would be in the interim. Understanding this, Vahn decided to take advantage of a quirk in the structure of the Root System itself. He knew there were a functionally infinite number of worlds and, while they may exist in very different dimensions of space and time, they were still connected through the Root System itself. This was something he could use to his advantage so, after cementing his resolve, Vahn held up the [Grace of the Root] and said, "From now until the emergence of Angra Mainyu, transfer everyone with neutral or good karma to a parallel world at the moment they were fated to die. Make sure the world they are sent to is one where they can thrive and prosper. For those that have longed for other worlds, make sure they are sent to a world that matches their innermost desires..." In response to his request, the tiny golden chalice began to glow with an intense light as a synthetic voice mechanically stated, "It is impossible to extend the length of time to ten years. The fate of the world and its inhabitants is in constant flux. Your wish will only be valid for 1,000 days before it is no longer in effect. Please confirm your understanding and intent." Vahn was somewhat amused as, from his shoulder, ya was staring hard at the glowing chalice as the voice it used was none other than Akashas. As the Administrator of the Root System, Akasha had absolute authority within the experimental field, at least when conditions were met. Vahn being able to manifest an item that acted on the authority of Akasha was something iprehensible and, as a result, the real Akasha was watching with intrigue as the system worked in overtime to collect data... Without minding the fact he had triggered the interest of Akasha and her Superiors further, Vahn gave a curt nod in response to the voice before stating confidently, "One-thousand days is plenty. Proceed...!" Immediately after Vahn expressed his intent, the small golden chalice glowed so brightly that, even with his adaptive eyes, Vahn was forced to squint. Fortunately, this onlysted for a few seconds and, after the synthetic voice answered, "Your wish has been granted.", it faded away entirely... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The real special forces...!,A version of Sherlock that is full of himself...how rare~,Not what I would wish for but it works xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1307 The Darkest Night 1/?

Chapter 1307 The Darkest Night 1/?

Vahns wish using the [Grace of the Root] had far-reaching consequences but he wouldnt learn about these until the dust began to settle. The present upied most of his focus and, feeling as if a heavy weight had been removed from his shoulders, he leaned back against the Hanging Gardens throne/control center. For a brief moment, he closed his eyes and, rather than step in to protect a young boy at gunpoint, he watched with anticipation as the assant ultimately pulled the trigger. At nearly the exact same moment as the muzzle sh, the youth seemed to vanish into thin air. This left the assantpletely shocked but Vahn, sitting high in the sky, couldnt help but issue a light chuckle before using his Telekinesis to break the mans legs. Though he would still do what he could to help people, Vahn felt relief knowing he didnt have to worry about whether or not good or innocent people would die. Even if his enemies used an attack that wiped out all life on the surface, he imagined a considerable number of people would simply be transported to a different world. One of the few benefits of a stagnant and easily exploited society was that people rarely did anything significant so arge portion of the poption had neutral or good karma... With his wish in effect, Vahn was ready for anything his enemies would throw at him. He didnt care how much me they tried toy on his shoulders as, in the end, the truth would always be brought to light. The people may hate him for years, or even generations toe, but other sapient species would look up to him as a hero and god. They had suffered greatly as a result of human nature so it was high time they were allowed to reim the world that had been robbed from them... --- Around the same time that Vahn was idling about on the throne, the aerial perimeter that had been set up around the Hanging Gardens began to change formation. The helicopters began to pull away from the encirclement until they had reached a distance just under 1km. Then, their orders received, a total of 183 attack helicopters released their payload of air-to-air missiles synchronously. From the ground, it looked like streams of light converging toward a single point in the darkness, drawing a lot of attention from the pedestrians and rioters below... Before the missiles had even been fired, the eight revolving tforms of the Hanging Gardens, each more than 50m in length and 15m in width, began to spin slightly faster. They were covered in what appeared to be a shield-like emblem which, upon detecting a threat, began to glow with a vibrant purple light asplex runes, eachprised of [Divine Words], appeared on their surface. Thick bands of purple lightning began to dance between the revolving tforms and, in what seemed like a single instant, more than a thousand missiles had been destroyed... As missiles may as well be moving in slow motion from his perspective, Vahn had already returned to full focus before the barrage got anywhere near the defensive array of the Hanging Gardens. He was also able to intercept themunications between the base that had given the order and the pilots that had carried it out so there wasnt really anything they could do to surprise him using machines that relied on radio and satellitemunications. When everything was said and done, Vahn would be releasing all of the pertinentmunications to the public and, while the people on the ground had no idea what was going on, the entire event was being recorded by several invisible drones. Everyone would know the truth that took ce here and, though it was impossible to prevent the Empire from being vilified, the seeds of doubt and distrust would already be nted. Understanding his role in this grand y, Vahn adopted a calm and confident demeanor as he stated, "This is the Aldrnari Empires Floating Fortress, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. We have note here with the intent to harm anyone. Cease your unprompted attack immediately or you will be forced toply." Though it seemed like he was just talking to the air, Vahns voice was heard over all militaryms simultaneously. This hade as a great surprise to those stationed on the ground while, back at their base, a high ranking official picked up ams and answered, "This is Lieutenant General Cliff Walford, Commanding Officer of Royal Air Force base Alconbury. Who, may I ask, is speaking?" From what Vahn knew of the military ranks used in the United Kingdom, a Lieutenant General was the second-highest officer rank in the Ministry of Defense. He had expected a four-star General to be the one to respond to hismunications but a three-star Lieutenant General wasnt far from the top. In response to General Walfords request, Vahn stated in the same calm tone, "This is the Emperor of the Aldrnari Empire, Vahn Aldrnari Mason speaking. Know that, should you continue firing upon my vessel, I will be forced to ground your aircraft. The military is supposed to protect the people. Instead of instigating war and attacking a vessel that has shown no hostility, you should be providing aid to the civilians on the ground." Hearing Vahns words, tensions in the control room increased considerably as General Walford held thems up to his mouth and answered in a firm tone, "Emperor Mason, was it not your Aldrnari Empire that attacked a civilian poption entirely unprompted? Do not believe for a moment that the Royal Air Force will just sit idly by as youmit acts of terrorism against the sovereign citizens of Great Britain...!" Vahn couldnt help but shake his head slightly upon hearing the Generals words but, without any dy in his own response, he answered, "The Aldrnari Empire hasmitted no acts of terrorism against the peoples of the United Kingdom. The truth of the matter will be brought to light in due time. For now, you will cease your unprompted attack and provide aid to your people. Further acts of aggression will not be tolerated." With his ultimatum given, Vahn cut the connection between himself and the military base. He could still hear the Generals response but words were no longer important. Everything came down to how the military chose to act and, meeting his expectations, they chose the violent response. This time, it was the fighter jets that had been circling the perimeter that came in to attack. They began strafing runs at angles above and below the Hanging Gardens, probing for gaps in the defensive formation. Vahn noticed that some of the aircraft carried special payloads that would be able to ignore weaker magical barriers so it was obvious that the RAF wasnt acting in the interests of the people. True to his word, Vahn simply uttered the word, "Sit." before the flight controls of every aircraft in the area were hijacked. The Empire hadnt been sitting idle during the hours leading up to the conflict so Da Vincis micro-golems had invaded most military systems, including aircraft and ground vehicles. It only took a singlemand from Vahn to shut down engines or take over the controls of the more advanced aircraft. The micro-golems would then pilot the fighter jets back to base while the myriad of attack helicopters was forced tond on the tops of buildings. General Walford was gobsmacked by the development but, despite the best efforts of the mechanics to get the systems operational again, the micro-bots hadpletely fried the core circuitry after the aircraft had been sessfully grounded. They couldnt even use the reserve equipment as it had all suffered the same fate as a precautionary measure. Vahn did this to prevent the advanced weaponry from being used on the civilian poption as, regardless of their efforts, prating the shields of the Hanging Gardens was beyond modern weaponry. While the military was in chaos, Vahn took the opportunity to hijack themunications once again, reminding, "You should be helping your people, not starting a war. This is my final warning, General. Do your job." Hearing the unexpected remark from Vahn, General Walford threw thems device in his hand, breaking the tiny transmitter into several pieces. Having hundreds of aircraft be unserviceable in an instant was already terrible news. This incident would cost them billions of pounds on the low and but, considering how easily the Empire had taken them down, that was an optimistic estimate. They would need toe up with some kind of countermeasure against whatever tech had been used to hijack and disable their systems or there would be no meaning in getting them airborne. It was easy to guess that the invaders had advanced technology just by the fact they had a floating fortress that was more than 700m in diameter. Now, it seemed their tech was even more advanced than initial spection, however, as some technicians were already beginning to specte that the aircrafts systems had been fried by nanomachines. If this was the truth, the Empires military would be without equal in the entire world as nanotech, while quickly growing in poprity, had very few practical uses. The tiny machines were too fragile and, without perfect conditions, they would break down in a very short period of time. This,bined with the cost, made the tech functionally useless outside the medical field... As General Walford wasmenting the sheer ridiculousness of the current situation, his private pager began to buzz. This caused his expression to harden in an instant and, after seeing the coded string of characters, he actually had to sit down as his legs felt as if they had turned to jelly. His actions did not go unnoticed by the other officers in the room so, after a few seconds had passed, silence had reced the chaos that had dominated the chamber. After collecting himself, General Walford looked at his men, each people he hade to trust over several long years of service. He could feel the contents of his stomach turn as his acid reflux stirred up at the mere thought of the task he had been given. However, he wouldnt have be a General if he was unable to carry out his orders so, without exining anything, he muttered in a weary tone that seemed to age him ten years in an instant, "Ministry of Defense Order ZK-005-1A is in effect..." The majority of people present had no idea what the General was talking about but, before they were able to ask any questions, gunshots began to ring out within themand room. Generally speaking, it was against regtion to carry firearms within themand room but, for events such as this, a select few officers had been given permission to do so. They were the extreme loyalists of the United Kingdom and, as a result of their position, knew the truth about who held power behind the government. While somemoners were allowed to rise to high positions based on their merits, all of the core positions within the military were held by those loyal to various Noble families. They were all under the influence of very powerful mental maniption and, even if they had misgivings about certain orders, they werepelled to carry them out without question. Thus, while it pained him to no end, General Walford and his fellow officers arranged the corpses of their fellow countrymen into a circle before pulling out ruby-red gemstones and slitting their own wrists with the pointed ends. This was a scene being repeated all throughout the country and, while Vahn was aware of it, he watched on in silence as his fury continued to build like a volcano on the verge of exploding... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Reiming the o3o...!,Nanogolems OP,Corrupted to the roots) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1308 The Darkest Night 2/?

Chapter 1308 The Darkest Night 2/?

As the pawns of the Noble families performed their profane ritual, a spatial tearrger than anything Vahn had ever seen began to form in the sky. It was almost as if the heavens themselves were being twisted as a phenomenal amount of mana began to spread through the atmosphere. The previously darkened sky began to illuminate with a violet hue and, while magical phenomena were generally not visible to normal humans, the world itself trembled in anticipation of the creature bound on the other side of the spatial tear. Vahn, seeing this phenomenon, felt an overwhelming sense of awe but, at the same time, he felt a familiarity with the unseen entity. It was as if he had known the so-called God of Cmity for a very long period of time thus, while normal humans were brought to their knees by the figure descending from the spatial tear, Vahn teleported directly in front of it. Originally, Vahn had intended to allow the Noble families to dig themselves even deeper into a hole as the more destruction they caused, the smoother theing transition would be. If the people of the world saw the Empire defeat some monstrous entity to protect them, they would be a lot more epting of the changes toe. Now, however, Vahns mind had been changed in an instant and, rather than fury, he felt jubtion as a smile spread across his face. At the same time, a woman approximately 160cm in height, bound by ck-gold chains stared back at him. She had a shapely hourss figure but what stood out the most was her hair, eyes, ears, and the two massive horns protruding from the sides of her head. Unlike a normal persons hair, the bound womans seemed to be aposite of the finest silk and the very concept of the sea. It had a distinctly aqua-infused luster that started off as pristine and clear blue near her scalp while, extending well beyond her feet, it became gradually darker, much like descending into the abyss of the ocean. It flowed around her body with a natural grace, sometimes moving through itself as if the physical aspects of her hair only mattered when she wanted it to. Vahn was quite taken with the womans peculiar hair but his eyes were drawn to the glowing pink irises the woman possessed. If he looked closely, it was like an entire cosmos was contained within while, at the very center, an exploding supernova flickered where a pupil ought to be. Even when her hair flowed across her face, the womans eyes were still visible, staring back at him unblinkingly. This,bined with her elven ears and her massive curved horns, creating two arcs that reached passed her waist, gave the woman a distinctly exotic and mesmerizing appearance. While others might be afraid of the woman, Vahn floated gradually closer, the same smile on his face until he was only a few centimeters away. The woman followed his approach with her eyes but, even when Vahn extended his hand out to touch the golden chains wrapping her arms, she showed no signs of hostility. This caused the Magi who had summoned the women to feel extremely rmed as the God of Cmity was supposed to have the strongest desire to destroy humanity. They couldnt understand why she just stood in the air and allowed Vahn to approach her but, seeing it happen in real-time made them realize they had messed with something beyond their understanding. With his full focus on the ethereal woman in front of him, Vahn ultimately retracted his hand as there wasnt much he could do about the chains right now. They were on a simr level, if not higher, than [Enkidu]. Even this, however, wasnt enough to keep the womans power at bay as she was a Tier 5 being, something he couldnt have possibly hoped to face using his own power. Fortunately, at least for the Empire, his enemies had a gross misunderstanding of the entity they had summoned. Though it wasnt inurate to say that the entity before him wanted nothing more than to destroy humanity, this was merely the echo of its self-preservation instinct, something it had inherited from its original. It wasnt that the entity hated humanity but, fearing its own death at their hands, wanted nothing more than to destroy them. After all, since the advent of the first sapient humans, they had been destroying her body, consuming her resources, and corrupting her very ego... Understanding the true nature of the entity before him, Vahn smiled affectionately as he whispered in a soft tone, "Gaia...". Without outright refuting his im, ya detached herself from Vahns shoulder, remarking, "This is Tiamat, Gaias empty vessel and one of the principal Beasts of Gaia alongside Cath Palug. What you see before you is only a manifestation of her true body, however, as her true form would endanger the Surface just by its presence alone. Even in a sealed state, she is very dangerous but, with your designation as Type: Omega, there isnt any risk she would run wild." Hearing ya mention the name Tiamat, Vahns eye twitched against his will and, with the curiosity of a newborn, Tiamat tilted her head slightly while staring back at him. He wasnt sure how she could move around so easily with such massive horns but, considering she was a Tier 5 entity, it was likely they didnt inconvenience her in the slightest... With his ns suddenly changed, Vahn turned to ya and asked, "Would it be possible to contact Gaia through Tiamat? I would feel guilty if she remained in this state..." The current Tiamat was much like a Companion in the fact that it had the potential to obtain an ego but, at the present moment, it existed only to fulfill an objective. Originally, this was the destruction of humanity and the protection of the but, after Vahn appeared, Tiamat now patiently awaited his instructions. She was a weapon that even eclipsed ORT in strength as, unless the itself was destroyed, she would continue to exist in one form or another. Shaking her head, ya exined, "A long time ago, Gaias spiritual manifestation was split from her physical vessel. Tiamat is the fragment that was left behind and, in their greed, early gods used the power given to them by the beliefs of humans to turn against Tiamat. They split her into two halves, using one to serve as the foundation for the World of Man while the other was consumed by the first gods so that they could acquire the blessing of fertility. Prior to the consumption of Tiamats flesh, it was impossible for the gods to procreate amongst themselves." Vahn was a little surprised by how much information ya was providing as she would sometimes go weeks, or even months, without saying a word. He reasoned that it was due to the fact that this situation directly rted to her as, if he wasnt wrong, ya came into existence shortly after Gaia was split from Tiamat. He knew a little bit about the mythos rted to the ancient Mesopotamian Goddess so it was obvious that, in the beginning, Gaia deeply cared about humans under the guise of Tiamat. It was only after her own children betrayed her that her love was twisted into hatred. Even then, she couldntpletely distance herself from her past feelings so, as a result, ya came into existence. Since then, Gaia had hidden away in thes core while her former vessel, Tiamat, was used toy the foundation for the Surface itself. Her body made thend fertile and allowed for the gods to split and form the various pantheons around the world, each benefitting from that initial betrayal against an entity that loved them unconditionally. Even Vahn didnt understand how he knew this information so intimately but, after meditating in front of CHALDEAS and meeting Tiamat in person, he was beginning to realize that the feeling he had been gued by was empathy. He could feel Gaias loneliness and fear, the fear that the very children she had cared for so deeply would continue to vite her body until nothing remained but a lifeless husk. She was much like the past him, in a way, as she was the victim of an experiment that left her with no means to protect herself, a prisoner in her own body as external forces acted upon her with impunity... Though he didnt voice his thoughts, Vahn became even more determined than ever to help ya, Gaia, and all entities within the Root System, break free from its control. He understood the purpose of the Root System but, knowing a functionally infinite number of beings such as Gaia were made to suffer as a result, he couldnt help but want to destroy it. To be forced to live an infinite number of lives where your only purpose is to suffer while ignorant beings consumed your very essence wasnt something he could tolerate...not in the slightest... ---------------------------------------------------------- //Main Quest Chain Triggered// [Main Quest: Path of the Liberator I] Rank: Zenith Objective: Ascend to Tier 5, Break free from the restraints of the Root System: Akasha (0/1), Negotiate with or Destroy Termina Nasu (0/1) Optional Objectives: Destroy or reprogram other Root Systems (-) Rewards: 1,000,000,000,000OP, 1x[Record Breaker], 1x[Page of the Akashic Tome] Failure Conditions: Forfeiture of the Main Quest Chain Penalty: Expulsion from the Record, Root System: Akasha terminated ---------------------------------------------------------- Vahn wasnt at all surprised by the new Quest he had received but, understanding he was under very strict observation, he didnt allow it to show on his face. The moment Akasha and her Superiors got wind of his intentions, they would likely extract him from the Root System or destroy the entire thing just to keep him under control. It was theircency and desire to gather data that allowed him to have as much freedom as he currently possessed so, until he was strong enough to break free on his own, he would need to be very patient. For now, Vahn had other matters to attend so, after marveling at Tiamat for a short while, he stated in a calm yetmanding tone, "Shrink your body down and hide your presence. Im actually quite fond of a violet sky but the mana you are leaking will cause a lot of problems." As a Tier 5 being whose actual size could very easily rival the itself, it wasnt a difficult matter for Tiamat toply to Vahns orders. Her body quickly shrunk until she was small enough to fit in the palm of his hand but, unlike ya, she kept her proportions instead of trying to emte the basic structure of a Companion. If he wasnt wrong, the bindings ced on her body prevented her from altering her current appearance as, if she could change so easily, such bindings would serve no purpose. With a third Tier 5 beingtched to his body, Vahn returned to the Hanging Gardens to find Merlin waiting for him, his usual smile nowhere to be seen. As a being infinitely close to being a Beast of Gaia himself, he was very sensitive to the presence of ya and Tiamat so, while they were hidden from almost everyone else, Merlin was able to see both clearly. After staring for a few seconds, Merlin released a tired sigh before rubbing his hand across his face in exasperation and saying, "I cant say Im surprised by this oue...well, I suppose it doesnt really matter. What will you do now, Your Majesty? Without an enemy to face, the Empire has no means to ingratiate itself to the rest of the world. At this rate, the chaos will be even worse as the mana given off by Tiamat has already increased the global saturation to nearly 2%. Now, Magecraft will be even stronger while, all over the, people will begin to awaken supernatural abilities inrge numbers. Everything mentioned by Merlin was something they both knew he was aware of but, understanding how easily he could be distracted, Vahn listened attentively before saying, "Were already linked to the global Bounded Field through CHALDEAS. With Tiamat on our side, we should be able to absorb the ambient mana and, at the very least, concentrate it in a single location. As for those that awaken powers, well monitor the data through CHALDEAS and try to mitigate as much damage as possible. I will address the world in theing hours but, before that, we need to deal with the monsters that tried to force Tiamat to annihte humanity...seriously, Ive grown tired of these ignoble fools." Vahn had already been in a rage from the onset of the current plot but, with everything else that had happened, he waspletely incensed. He had originally wanted to forge alliances and make a fewpromises in the short term as regting each country with what few people he had was not an easy feat. Now, however, Vahn was going to im the world itself as his dominion and, while others could live as they pleased, the moment anyone began to act in a vile or tyrannical manner, he woulde down upon them like divine retribution. Eventually, the world would learn that their fates were now in his hands...at least until they werepetent enough to live without corrupting everything they came into contact with. (A/N: Alternate Titles: The horniest of women,TFW you y your trump card and it triggers the enemys win condition...,Vahn is so done xD...) (A/N: I had a rpse of fever/weakness yesterday so I took more medicine and crashed for like eleven hours. Now, Im feeling a lot better so Ill be returning to the normal schedule tomorrow. Also, the link for Tiamats appearance can be found in thements section.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1309 The Darkest Night 3/?

Chapter 1309 The Darkest Night 3/?

Having existed for upwards of two-thousand years, most of the prominent Magus families had various means to preserve their legacy, even in the fact of imminent destruction. All they really had to do was protect their Magic Crest and any important heritage artifacts, an easy feat considering they could be fused together with the Ego of a person, making them virtually undetectable to even the most powerful Magi. Had they considered for a moment that they would have lost, even the Barthomeloi family would have been able to avoid ultimate destruction at the hands of the Empire by passing on their Legacy to a suitable heir, one which would be groomed in absolute secrecy until the time of their inevitable rise to prominence. After all, a Magic Crest could contain thousands of years of knowledge and, in some extreme cases, fragments of the previous inheritors will. With so much information existing within their mind from a young age, even a newborn would be able to quickly establish themselves within society. They could simply pretend to be a prodigy or, if the situation makes such a status unviable,y low in the shadows of society. Having the ability to literally brainwash and mind control people was a powerful tool among normal citizens so, while it was not the most glorious lifestyle, the rtive peace of the world made it very easy to survive with just the most diminutive knowledge of Magecraft, much less thousands of years of said knowledge. Unfortunately for the Nobles that had conspired against the Empire, Da Vincis research of Magic Crests resulted in the development of a device that allows them to be detected with rtive ease. Thus, with Scthach being able to track people using Strings of Fate, courtesy of Vahn and ya, it was only a matter of time until their Legacy was exposed, secured, and potentially even destroyed. The only way to circumvent this oue was to have no fate whatsoever which, generally speaking, meant you were already dead. Using the knowledge provided to her by her [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground], yas Strings of Fate, and the data provided by Sherlock, it only took a few minutes for Scthach to track down the secret underground shelter where Alexander and Ard were hiding. They were holed up more than 500m beneath the surface of the earth on a small volcanic ind in the Pacific Ring of Fire. If Vahn hadnt tasked her with bringing them back to be judged, Scthach would have sunk the entire ind, burying the brothers and their servants alike. Now, she had to use a more roundabout method as, despite the depravity of the two brothers, not everyone in the shelter would bebeled as evil in the eyes of Vahn. This was one of the things that often troubled her as, while it may not be the most humane course of action, Scthach knew it was better to purge those rted to vile and wicked people to avoid future troubles. Her knowledge of the future used to allow her to determine what kind of people such individuals would grow up to be but, ever since Vahn entered the world, it became a lot harder to peer into the fates of others. Releasing a rare sigh, Scthach muttered, "That man has affected me too much..." before returning to her cold and detached persona. Then, despite the powerful Bounded Field andplex barriers that even prevented satellites from viewing the ind, Scthach tore through the void itself to invade thepound directly. This caused a high-pitched rm to sound out but, despite their best efforts, the inhabitants of the underground facility quickly discovered there was no way to escape the infamous Executor of the Emperors Will. Prior to entering the Bounded Field, Scthach alerted Vahn to its location while creating a massive barrier that surrounded the already existing one. Thispletely sealed off the surrounding space so, unless they had the Spiritron Transporter Da Vinci was working on, there was little hope they could escape. They would need to have mastery over spaceparable to Zelretch as, with her EX-Rank [Primordial Rune]s, there was very little her opponents could do to circumvent them. With Strings of Fate and one of the most powerful forms of irvoyance in the world, Scthach made short work of nearly everybatant within the underground shelter. Most didnt even know what had happened before darkness imed their vision as, even without the ability to freely move through space, Scthachs speed alone wasnt something that most people could grasp. She could move several thousand kilometers per hour without even disturbing the surrounding wind or making a single sound so the Magi within could only fire blindly in the hopes ofnding a lucky hit on what many believed to be an invisible enemy. The only people to truly grasp her movements were Alexander and Ard but, within the limited confines of the underground bunker, there wasnt much they could do. Scthach had A-Rank [Magic Resistance], A-Rank [Curse Nullification], and B-Rank [Magic Reflection] active by default whenever she was fighting against a Magi so, unless they intended to bury themselves, the brothers had very limited options as far as spells were concerned. It didnt help that they had expected to be hunted down so, rather than keep their legacy items all in one location, they had already spread them all over the world, hiding them away until their heir could im them in the distant future. This knowledge made the men bolder than they otherwise would have been so, after Scthach used her spear to pin Ard to a wall, Alexander used the opportunity to reverse the flow of his mana, feeding it into a gemstone embedded into his heart. He was prepared to take the entire ind out with him but, before the spell could fully activate, Scthach appeared right in front of him, her hand piercing his chest to pull out the still-beating heart within. While this wouldnt have made much of a difference under normal circumstances, Scthach had considerable mastery over Space and Time Laws which,bined with her connection to the Land of Shadows, meant such tactics were ultimately pointless. She simply tossed Alexanders heart into a void where time itself didnt exist, sealing it in forevermore at the moment prior to its exploding. In the same motion, she jammed an [Effigy of the Hero] into Alexanders chest, coldly stating, "A gift to celebrate our meeting..." A powerful enough Magus could easily survive decapitation or having their heart pierced, at least for a short period of time, so Alexander hadnt immediately died from the intense shock. Rather, he was so determined to see Scthachs end that he resisted cking out, only to feel at aplete loss as the woman easily undermined his efforts. Then, just as darkness began to encroach upon him, a fire began to burn in his chest as he was forcibly healed while the [Effigy of the Hero], graciously gifted to him by Scthach, was still inside his body. Scthach made sure the burning idol wouldnt kill Alexander while restraining his movement using reddish-ck chains that functioned simrly to [Enkidu]. Like this, she managed to capture both brothers before pulling out amunication device that looked like a palm-sized rainbow quartz. This was the physical form of Spiritrons and, while it couldnt do much alone, Scthach was able to use it as an anchor tomunicate with Avalon, even while inside an isted Bounded Field. After a momentary dy, a projection appeared from within the Spiritron Crystal. It took on the form of the Ark Systems Avatar, a small blue figure constructed of light that vaguely resembled a human. Without waiting for its inquiry, Scthach exined, "Send an extraction and cleanup team to these coordinates. There are twenty-three people requiring extraction and fifty-nine casualties." As this wasnt his first time interacting with Scthach, Ark gave a polite bow before quickly setting to the task he had been assigned. Then, momentster, a massive gateway was opened within the room as a ck metallic box, covered in glimmering golden runes, was transferred from Da Vincis Fourth Laboratory, a factory set up in coordination with the As Temple. There, weapons systems and golems were researched as, since its founding, the Alchemists of the As Temple had been more focused on the production of Artificial Humans and weapons than anything else. When the ck box had fully emerged, the gate behind it copsed in on itself rather violently as a result of the still-developing tech. This was the main reason behind the massive metallic box as, if it were a normal person, being transferred through Imaginary Number Space using Spiritron Tunneling would rip them apart. You would have to be a Tier 5 entity to have any hopes of surviving since you werent actually moving through space, but a void of non-existence where the Laws that allowed for the actuality of matter simply didnt exist. This was her first time seeing the prototype in action so Scthach couldnt help but watch on, her interest piqued, albeit only slightly. Her Caster self had helped conceptualize the prototype so, while minuscule, a small feeling of pride filled Scthachs chest as the box opened to reveal its contents. It was packed to the brim with a procession of ten Companions, each having a jackal temte, and the Artificial Humans that had been assigned to them. This was one of the Cleaning Teams that had been put together, their sole purpose being the actualization of Vahns will when he was unable to carry it out personally. At the center of the group, a youth with white hair and red eyes stepped forward and gave a small salute as he said, "Captain Vali Argo reporting with Unit Alpha-001. Please advise, Lady Scthach." With a curt nod, Scthach created a three-dimensionalyout of thepound using her mana while exining the teams task. They needed to cremate the corpses of the deceased, treat the wounded, and transport those that had been marked as innocent to the maind once the rest of the team arrived. This advanced group was primarily responsible for securing the facility and making sure nobody escaped, a task Scthach couldnt be bothered with as she had other ces to be and very little time. Their mission assigned, the team led by Captain Argo quickly set out to secure the facility as their Companions analyzed every nook and cranny to make sure there were no hidden dangers. At the same time, Scthach teleported away with Alexander and Ard after removing the spatial lock she had ced around the ind. In the future, the underground facility would be converted into one of the Empires many outposts as Da Vincis micrograms would quickly modify and expand the interior to make it suitable for research on geothermal energy and artificial leylines. That, however, was none of Scthachs concern so, after depositing Alexander within a secure facility, she flew around with the restrained Ard, using his own Strings of Fate to find the location of their heir and other affiliates. The brutish man who had ruined the lives of thousands of people couldnt do anything about the situation at all. Even death was denied him as the chains restraining his body made it impossible to muster up any of his magical power while the mask Scthach had forced on him robbed all of his senses while preventing him from biting his tongue. Ard had enjoyed ying with and tormenting others his entire life but now, after a single botched assassination attempt, his life had be a waking nightmare with no hope of escape. All he could do was curse Vahn, his family, the Empire, and the demonic woman that had captured him. Unfortunately, despite Ards best efforts, all of his curses came out as nothing more than muffled grunts and whining as Scthach dragged him through the air at hypersonic speeds, his cries only reaching the root cause of all his suffering, himself... (A/N: Alternate Titles: When Shishous on the prowl, youre already fucked,Leave it to Da Vinci to find a way to transfer matter through a ne where it cant exist xD...,RIP pig-boi, squeal all you like) (A/N: Two-Part chaptering this afternoon.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1310 Diatribe : Vision

Chapter 1310 Diatribe : Vision

With their penultimate scheme failing, the corrupt Nobles within the Mages Association began a very rapid dispersion of forces. At this point, they realized contending directly against the Empire was a death wish so, while they couldnt confront Vahn openly, they could still bide time and take by hiding amongst the very samemoners they had always looked down on. While this mass exodus was urring behind the scenes, the various Lords and family Heads had gathered together their forces within their Manors, some willing to face the consequences of their actions while others intended to go out fighting. Those in thetter category believed that, if they could at least deal a small blow to the Empire, those that remained would be able to band together to usurp the tyrannical Emperor that was systematically seizing power. When it came to dealing with these families, Vahn sent the trio of Kenshin, Jeanne, and Okita to deal with the weaker families. Kenshin had her forces surround the estates while she and Okita ventured inside to issue Vahns ultimatum, ept responsibility or be forced to. Those that surrendered and were willing to be judged would ultimately receive lighter sentences while those who resisted until the bitter end would have their legacy seized and sealed away to prevent the Demons sealed within the oldest Magic Crests from escaping. Jeannes purpose in the group was to serve as a guardian protector for the Homunculi while, at the same time, using her [Pure Eyes] to determine whether or not the target was evil. Those that hadmitted heinous deeds throughout their life would be given no quarter as, in the end, only one member of each family needed to represent them before the Tribunal consisting of Vahn, Scthach, and Paracelsus. The ultimate decision would always fall to Vahn while Scthach and Paracelsus were there to provide truth and passion respectively... While Kenshin, Okita, and Jeanne were executing his will, Vahn was back within the Hanging Gardens except, now, he had Solon, Zelretch, Merlin and, of all people, Aoko Aozaki present. Thetter had seen the news feed on television so, believing something serious had happened, she rushed over to provide assistance. It was fortunate that Merlin had intercepted her as Aoko had intended to invade the Hanging Gardens forcibly prior to understanding the situation. Now, Vahn was seated around a circr table with two True Mages, the inheritor of Yggdrasil, and one of the most powerful and infamous Wizards in history. Despite this assortment of living legends, the one with the greatest presence in the room was still Vahn as, while they would normally be kept secret, ya, ORT, and Tiamat were all currently manifested in some form around him. ya had her usual form, appearing as a diminutive Companion with blue skin, dark blue hair, violet eyes, cat-like ears, and a tail. As for ORT, it took on the form of a tarant-sized spider while Tiamat, bound to her current form, looked like a tiny doll as she floated silently behind Vahns right shoulder. A stark contrast to her usual vibrant and confident self, Aoko currently had aplicated expression on her face as she just learned about the current situation. She empathized with Vahns plight, as any decent parent would be incensed if their children were in danger, but she still felt that he was going too far, too quickly. The world was not ready to know about the existence of Magic and, if he made it public knowledge, absolute chaos would be the norm. Before she was able to spew titudes to try and convince him of a different course, however, Vahn had preempted her attempt, stating in a firm tone, "I am well aware of the consequences my actions have on the world, Aoko. Measures have already been taken to protect as many people as possible. Also, if not for thecency and corruption of those in power, my hand would not be forced like this. You cant expect me to sit idle as people continually conspire to break my bottom line, all while the continues to suffer at the hands of ignorant and wasteful humans. Tiamats emergence is the final straw in the matter and, for the survival of all species, not just humans, the Empire will seize control of the entire world." Normally, Aoko would refute such ims on principle alone but, with the presence of ya, Tiamat, and ORT, even she was cowed. Vahns words also contributed to her loss for words as, while extreme, there was an inherent truth and an undeniable logic behind them. The current world wasnt the most pleasant ce to live as, if you werent born into power, you were fated to struggle within a system that, by design, prevented any kind of sess without acquiescence to a higher power. She had also seen how wasteful and destructive humanity could be so, while arge part of her wanted to argue against Vahns words, Aoko ultimately remained silent. With even the hot-blooded red-head given pause, Zelretch and Solon didnt have much room to make any counterarguments of their own. They both understood Vahns reasoning and, at least in Solons case, thetter didnt particrly mind a world with a greater influx of mana and a system that promoted the advancement of all species. This wasnt something they would openly admit but, after giving up on trying to resist the Empire, they had a lot of time to think about the future Vahn sought... Seeing that trio remain silent, Vahn gave a small nod before rxing back into his chair, eyes closed as he began exining his wish and how the Empire would function in the future. Ultimately, ruling over humanity wasnt even in his top ten list of priorities so it didnt matter if, in the interim, existing governments kept some semnce of power. When everything was said and done, the Empire would have centralized strongholds on all seven continents, each governed by a capable Heroic Spirit that had been summoned through the Throne of Heroes. They would serve as the executors of his will within their respective regions and, while it would take a considerable amount of time toy the foundation for future infrastructure, such was always the case. In the future, humanity would not be the so-called masters of the as, rather than be at the top of the food chain, they werent even in the middle. Their only advantages were their intelligence and their willingness to go to any extreme to seize what was never theirs, by right, to im. This type of behavior would spell, not just their end, but the end of all life on the, the itself, and any world that was unfortunate to be imed in their pursuit of immortality as a species. Vahn had history books from various timelines and, while there were periods of peace and moments of species-wide reflection, nearly every tale of humanity ended the same way. They would spread out like locusts throughout the gxy, harvestings of their resources while engaging in an endless cycle of war. Then, as their Civilization continued to spread, the systems designed to keep them from spreading throughout the entire Universe would step in, annihting entire worlds to purge thest remnants of humanity from the gxy. In order to avoid this oue, Vahn would change, not just humanity, but every species of Gaia at their very foundation. He would change the perception humans had of other races and, rather than take overs and continue feeding a self-destructive cycle, he would negotiate with thes themselves to create environments suitable for life. They were living creatures so they deserved to be treated with due respect. If humanity couldnt sustain itself without the endless ughter of other sapient species, then they were the problem, not the crises they created for themselves. Famine, disease, water shortages, energy requirements, global warming, pollution, and war, were all constructs created by humans as part of a grand scheme to elevate a few individuals at the expense of everyone else. They were a few egotistical humans vain attempts to y the part of gods among members of their own species as, from the very beginning, the only thing separating them from their kin were the conditions they were born into. Had those in power sought to elevate their entire species, not just themselves, all of the crises that had gued humanity for millennia would have been dealt with early on. The existence of mana and the knowledge of how to use it made the production of food rtively simple. Clean water was so easily obtained that, merely using the proper sequences of runes, you could enchant virtually any container to produce a functionally infinite supply of the precious resource. As for disease, even the current governments had cures for nearly everything but, for the sake of profit, they pretended the research was ongoing while silencing those like Paracelsus who wanted to treat everyone, not just those who could pay exorbitant fees. In the end, humanity was the root cause for all their problems and, now that Vahn was aware of the greater truths of the world, he would not allow their ignorance to serve as an excuse. Now, humanity as a whole would be held ountable for their own existence and, if they could not survive without harming themselves and other species, they could only resist until the bitter end as, with the Surface and Reverse Side moving ever closer to a transition period, they were all but fated to die. --- After hearing Vahns long diatribe about humanity, Zelretch and Aoko were both a little taken aback but, considering his wish, they knew he wasnt as heartless as his words made him sound. Rather, the biggest weakness of Vahn seemed to be that he cared too much about things, especially if they were an exploited party. What humanity had done to Gaia was a sin all humans had inherited since a time long before recorded history. Until they began making proactive changes to protect the and improve their civilization for the better, even a newborn infant carried the sins of the past due to the rampant fundamentalism that restrained their path and kept them obedient to the system. In Vahns vision of the future, wealth was based entirely on merit and everyone, regardless of where they were born, had the same opportunities for sess. So long as you worked hard, bing the Captain of an interster ship was a feat anyone could achieve. The only limiting factor was the effort people wanted to put into their future as, without inherited wealth, status, and authority, rising to the top without being qualified for the position was impossible. The biggest selling point of Vahns argument was the fact that the Empire would not directly rule over the people. Vahn fundamentally believed that people were incapable of ruling over others so, in order to avoid bing the very thing he hated, creating the closest thing to an objective system of government was necessary. This was where the trinity of Da Vincis systems came into y as, with Ark, Mother, and Shadow working in conjunction with each other, they could observe, analyze, and regte all of humanity simultaneously. Some people would argue that this was an invasion of their privacy but, when broken down at its most basic level, the very concept of privacy was something that had never really existed. It was a notion derived from an instinctual desire to protect secrets and prevent people that coveted what you had from taking advantage of you. Realizing this, those that sought to elevate themselves above others did everything they could to convince ymen that the illusion of privacy was a real thing. They did everything in their power to monitor the people through one form of another. Now, in the modern era, only those born with an extreme amount of wealth and power had any real privacy as, with innovations in telmunication technology, satellites, the inte, and aprehensivework of hidden surveince cameras, it was virtually impossible to avoid detection. It didnt matter if you were a hermit living in the woods or a homeless person living under a bridge as, by the mere act of living, you were under constant surveince, be it your parent government or ya herself. Ultimately, Vahns vision of the future was simply more transparent as, no matter who was in charge, those in power kept tabs on those they were charged to rule over. If they didnt know what was going on with their people, they wouldnt exactly be capable leaders. Thus, Vahn would introduce an objective system, preventing most crimes from urring and promoting a social structure with no upper limits to a persons growth. It would even be possible to be immortal, obtain godhood, or, if such pursuits were not to your liking, you could exist within a virtual world as an avatar in any fictional world you found interesting. There were no limits, so long as your aspiration wasnt to be the worlds greatest serial murderer or terrorist... (A/N: I managed to write this one without much of a cliff so Im releasing it early. Also, I know some people dont like hearing these negative sentiments mentioned so much so rest easy knowing that it wont be long before the story shifts to an entirely new focus. I trust that, if you read until this point, you know that Vahn has a preference for non-human/exotic species as, despite having ovee his past trauma, humans were still the ones who contributed to his own suffering. Just remember how he treated the Dwarves and Elves, however, and youll notice he isnt specifically targetting humans. Rather, he dislikes anyone that tries to exploit others all so that they can elevate themselves for one arbitrary reason or another.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1311 Glimpse of the Future

Chapter 1311 Glimpse of the Future

Though their consent was never something he required, Vahn was satisfied by the fact that Zelretch, Solon, and Aoko all agreed to his vision of the future, albeit with varying levels of reluctance. Their only other option was to fight and, considering what they would be fighting for, it was hard to get motivated. After all, putting your life on the line to protect a corrupt system and a society that was, quite literally, killing the wasnt something anyone sensible would do. When it came down to it, even Aoko had only ever cared about living freely and protecting the people she felt obligated to protect. She had a hero of justice mentality but, when you looked at the very crux of the current issue, it was inarguable that the justice she sought wasnt that could be obtained by hiding away and ignoring it. Fortunately, Vahns protection of children and the wish he had made using the [Grace of the Root] both aligned with Aokos moralpass so, while she felt more than a little helpless, she couldnt deny that he had taken steps to prevent an even greater loss of life. Considering he could have used the wish to give himself and the Empire even more power and control, his current course could be considered rtively selfless when she thought of how others might have used it... Now, after having been convinced, Aoko was in a difficult situation as her power wasnt something that could be ignored. She didnt necessarily have to serve the Empire but hiding away in Japan was not something that could be allowed. Inaction at this point would only endanger her family and, in theing storm, there would be a number of people coveting the Spiritual Lands she protected. It was one of the only ces in the world where Magic could be used without restriction so, as people became more sensitive to the existence of mana and other magical phenomena, they would begin to flock to her estate like moths to a me. No matter what she chose to do, life would be made moreplicated as she simply wielded too much power. In the world Vahn wanted to create, thend that had been her familys for generations would no longer be her own. At best, she would be allowed to govern the territory but, considering she would have to begin building a force to police the region and fight off monsters, Aoko wasnt looking forward to having such responsibilities shoved into herp. Ultimately, the best course of action was to join hands with the Empire and secure a ce for her family among the central figures of the burgeoning world power. The matter of governing her old territory, or even Japan itself, could be led to someone with greater ambition and stronger mental fortitude as just the thought of managing a few hundred people was a nightmare. Even if Vahns words were true, meaning all of the regtions would be implemented by the systems Da Vinci had designed, she would still need to police the area and make sure things didnt get out of hand. Understanding this, Aoko wanted to distance herself from such responsibilities sooner, rather thanter. She was better at tackling issues head-on so all of the political stuff could be handled by other people as she focused on what was most important to her. Fortunately, she had more than enough power to throw her weight around so, when Vahn invited them to enjoy a light meal, she decided to ept while Zelretch and Solon returned to their own matters. The former still needed to meet with various people while Solon, in preparation for the inevitable fallout, needed to gather together all of the remaining influencers within the Clock Tower to prevent even greater internal strife. This left Aoko alone with Vahn, something neither of them had expected as thetter had only given the offer as a general courtesy. He didnt actually require sustenance himself and, as far as he knew, Zelretch, Solon, and even Aoko were in the same situation. Still, he wasnt going tomit such a brazen faux pas so, after Aoko epted, he had no choice but to entertain her. This was primarily due to the fact that he didnt like going back on his words while but, more so than that, he could already guess why she had decided to remain. Now, Aoko sat across from Vahn at a table for two, an awkward atmosphere permeating between them as the former didnt know what to say while thetter had other things on his mind. He could try to guide the situation in a favorable direction but, considering Aokos personality, it was better to let her broach the subject herself. She lived by the principle of never regretting her decisions so, if she decided on her own volition to throw her lot in with the Empire, convincing her to help out in a more proactive manner would be a lot easier. Aoko had never been known for her patience so she was the first to break the silence, albeit in a rather mundane way as shemented, "This food is delicious..." Though he didnt need to eat, Vahn had always been rather fond of food due to his not so secret love for cooking. In fact, it was one of his true regrets in life that, back when he was just starting out in Danmachi, he didnt pursue it further. He could still remember tasting solid food for the first time and, back before all of his troubles began, his earnest desire to purchase a cooking manual so that he could make the people he cared about smile more often... Vahn had already been smiling but, recalling the now-distant memory, his expression softened as he said, "Im d you like it. The ingredients have a marginal amount of mana contained within so their vor is enhanced. It also had the property of speeding up mana recovery and enhancing the bodys natural regeneration." Noticing how Vahns mood had changed, Aoko was marginally surprised. Her perception of him was that he was the calcting and idealistic type, not someone who would get excited over something as trivial as food. She had only mentioned it in order to ease the tensions but, now that he seemed so happy, Aoko began to feel even more awkward. Understanding what she was thinking, Vahn lightly chuckled before ying his tableware down and exining, "In the future, Id like everyone to have the chance to enjoy such delicacies. This type of meal would cost several hundred pounds for a single serving in the current economic climate. It is something only the wealthy, so-called, Elite would ever have the chance to partake of. Now, once the dust settles, everyone that is willing to put in the effort will be able to obtain this kind of food. They will no longer be forced to settle for sub-standard products that are mass-produced to feed an ever-increasing, ever-wasteful society. Famine and disease will no longer exist, mental health will be one of the highest priorities, and illness resulting from ignorance andck of self-awareness will be a thing of the past..." If she were being honest, everything Vahn said about his vision of the future sounded perfect but, as was the case with all ideologies that sought to better mankind, it came at a heavy cost. She wasnt aware of the numbers like Vahn but she could imagine economies crashing, supplies dwindling, and wide-spread chaos world-wide. People couldnt adapt to such changes quickly and, no matter how powerful the Empire was, providing for so many people would be impossible. Billions would have to be sacrificed for the future of the species and the preservation of the, something that couldnt be glossed over with idealistic titudes. Still, Aoko knew Vahn wasnt entirely responsible for the chaos that would ensue as a result of his takeover. Rather, if those in power had worked to make a society that cared for and respected each other, this entire fiasco could have been avoided. Instead, from the moment the Gods betrayed Gaia and imed the for themselves, humanity had be willing pawns, first to the gods, then to each other. Those with power lorded it over others and, if you didnt step in line, you were either killed, exiled, or enved. The entire history of humanity, even extending into the modern era, was an endlessly repeating cycle of exploitation, conquest, and suppression. Even as she sat here in front of Vahn, Aoko knew that her country was experiencing declining birth rates while, just across the sea, millions were trafficked and enved by various state-sanctioned organizations. In some regions, child prostitution and arranged marriages, where the only other alternative was death, still existed. For those born into that situation, it was a nightmare that the so-called civilized world readily ignored as it didnt directly impact them... Noticing Aokos mood diminishing, Vahn released a tired sigh as he looked off into the distance and, against his better judgment, stated, "When you stop thinking about humanity alone, the decision will be a lot easier. Come, I want to show you something..." As forcibly teleporting Aoko was impossible due to her functionally limitless Od, Vahn needed her to willingly apany him if he wanted to take her anywhere. Fortunately, she had been fishing for an excuse to break away from the awkward dinner so, trusting that Vahn had no reason to try and lure her into a trap, Aoko epted his hand. In the next moment, she found herself floating in the skies above Avalon, a peaceful and serene atmosphere shrouding the entire ind. Vahn had originally intended to let Aoko make her own decision but, after seeing her begin to spiral in a cyclone of negativity, he decided to give her a push. Thus, while his second body teleported to the Hanging Gardens, his main body escorted her around the ind. He introduced her to the Fae tribes, each living peaceful lives without any negative influence from humanity. They were happier in their smallmunities than they had been back in their respective Kingdoms, something they were very vocal about once understand the purpose behind Aokos visit. Even as early as meeting the Undine, it was very obvious that Aoko had already been convinced but, by the time she met the Dwarves and Vulcanae, all her doubts had been cleared. She could see how happy every resident of the Empire was and, while it was a peculiar sight to behold, how much the me spirits adored Vahn. Aeterna, in particr, happily circled around him, keeping her subjects at bay to monopolize him for herself. She even yfully singed parts of his clothes but, rather than any sign of annoyance, Vahn had a happy and contented smile as he allowed her antics. Hearing about how good something will be and seeing it for yourself were two entirely different things so, after touring Avalon for the better part of two hours, Aoko joined Vahn in sitting on a small rocky outcrop as they viewed Heracles and his family living quiet lives as fishermen. When she first heard that the legendary Greek hero was present, Aokos lust for battle had been stirred up a bit but, upon seeing the brutish man sitting on a massive rocking chair, his wife cuddled up in his arms, she couldnt bring herself to request a duel. At this point, the only ce Aoko had yet to visit was the castle itself but, considering how happy the residents were, it was easy to imagine that the internal affairs of the Empire were in order. She also knew that, at this point in time, they must be very busy with preparations so, at least for the time being, Aoko was content with what she had seen. There would be plenty of time to explore the castle in the future as, depending on her decision, she may very well be one of its residents in the near future. This thought caused an imperceptible blush to color Aokos ears but, with her vibrant red hair, which seemed to glow subtly in the moonlight, it was impossible to notice. If not for his Divinity, even Vahn would have missed it as, prior to escorting her around Avalon, he had turned off his View Affection. It could get somewhat unbearable to be around ya with the function active so, unless he was in a high stakes situation, he typically left it off out of convenience. Still, Vahns Divinity gave away the red-haired beautys wayward thoughts but, as it was only a mild reaction, he knew she didnt actually have any feelings for him. Rather, much like Mash, she just got caught up in the moment and, due to being alone together, it was easy to let your mind wander if you got wrapped up in thinking about the future. After all, his harem was no secret and, while Aoko didnt know the full scale of his apaniment, nor his Divinity, it wasnt difficult to imagine being a part of the ever-expanding flower garden. Fortunately, Aoko was able to distract herself from her wayward thoughts as, if she kept thinking about it, he would begin to be pulled along by the atmosphere as well. It really would simply a lot of things but, out of respect for Aoko and consideration for his existing harem, Vahn wouldnt just add a new member haphazardly. She would need to find a ce for herself in the groups synergy and, ideally, fall for someone like Gawain or Siegfried instead of leaping head-first into something she likely wasnt prepared for... As Vahns own mind began to wander a bit, Aoko seemed to have made up hers as, after lightly pping her cheeks with both hands, she turned toward him and said, "I want to join the Empire! There are a lot of things I want to protect and I wont be able to act freely if I dont make a choice now. You wont regret allowing me to join...! Im super strong, you know...!?" Aoko began to fumble a bit towards the end of her statement as her anxiety in the face of Vahns casual smile continued to build. She felt like her heart was going to explode for a brief moment but, before it reached a critical level, Vahn gave a curt nod and answered, "I would be honored to have you join us, Aoko. Your power will make the transition a lot smoother so I would be foolish to refuse your intentions. Rather, I should be thanking you foring to this conclusion. This burden isnt a light one so it helps to have more people to share it with..." Though she didnt really expect Vahn to refuse her, Aoko was at a loss for words after he so readily epted. Her anxiety now seemed somewhat childish but, as she was never the type to harp over the past, she quickly regained her usual smile before crossing her arms and confidently dering, "Right, you can rely on me. Ill do what I can to help everyone in the Empire grow stronger so please do everything you can to preserve as many lives as possible. I want to see the world be a ce like Avalon so lets do our best...!" Hearing Aokos spirited response, Vahns smile curled up at the edges and, despite his body tingling a bit as a result, he gave a small bow and said, "Ill be in your care then...", gratitude discernible in his voice. (A/N: Alternate Titles: I kind of feel bad for Aoko...?,Aeterna is a bully!?,RIP littlemb) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1312 Disdain

Chapter 1312 Disdain

Around the same time that Vahn was giving Aoko a tour of Avalon, he also teleported to the holding cell where Scthach had been storing her captives. At this point, she had crippled most of the Nobles associated with the summoning and, using the Strings of Fate, tracked down the designated heirs of each family. This included the heirs of the families that had surrendered to Kenshins forces as, while Vahn wasnt necessarily fond of hostages, it was a lot easier to pressure people that prioritized their heritage over everything else by seizing their legacy. The primary reason behind their capture, however, was so that Jeanne could determine whether or not the Magic Crests contained Demons. It quickly came to light that most of the older families had Demons sealed away in their Magic Crests as their Ancestors had contracted with them in the distant past, obtaining knowledge and power as everyone else grew progressively weaker. Vahn knew that, with his ever-increasing karma, it was only a matter of time before some great evil appeared in response to his actions. This didnt mean he couldnt do everything within his power to prevent it, however, so he had already brought the matter to light with Solon and Zelretch. They had agreed to help him track down the 72 original Magus lineages, dating back to the Era of the Great King, Solomon the Wise. It hadnt taken much time do discover the true nature of the Demons hidden in the Magic Crests as the crests themselves were something created by Solomon. Theplexity of each crest made them virtually impossible to produce in modern times so, unless your Ancestors had received one around twenty-nine-hundred-years ago, the most you could do was create an imperfect replica. Still, the lure of passing on knowledge through a Magic Crest meant that everypetent Magus family had one while, over the course of history, some had been lost to time. Fortunately, Da Vinci had been able to analyze the structure of several Magic Crests at this point so Vahn wouldnt be required topletely destroy the legacy of each family. Though he did forcibly acquire the Magic Crests from the families that had conspired to effectively destroy the world, those that surrendered were given more lenient sentences. After all, he wouldnt charge children for the sins of their parents as, more often than not, they didnt really have a choice in the type of people they grew up to be. Expectations were a heavy burden and, with corruption rotting the very foundation of your family, they eitherplied or suffered tragic fates. Understanding this, Vahn had the families that surrendered sign a binding contract, guaranteeing their lineage would not be destroyed in exchange for them epting ountability for their past actions. This would ultimately result in their deaths, as Vahn wasnt fond of the idea of imprisonment, but it was a far better oue than what awaited the more treacherous families. They too would be held ountable but, rather than be put to death outright, they would be tried by Azathoth, their minds splintered and egos shatteredpletely. Vahn knew that, the darker a persons heart, the greater Azathoths influence over them. They would be forced to spend the final few moments of their life experiencing unimaginable horrors as, despite granting most people the mercy of death, their crimes were simply too great. Vahn knew there was a good chance he would generate some negative karma as a result of forcing such an end upon them but, over the course of their centuries of existence, thousands of people, if not more, had suffered at the hands of these despotic individuals... --- Currently, Vahn found himself face-to-face with a young boy of ten-years-old while a bound and gagged man kneeled at this side. If the female students of the Clock Tower were present, they would have been horrified to no end as the man bound was one of the top three most handsome men in the Clock Tower, the current Head of the Sophia-Ri Family, Bram Nuada-Re Sophia-Ri. His Great Grandfather had been one of the hooded Magi that participated in the summoning of Tiamat and, while not directly involved, the current Lord Sophia-Ri had been aware of the plot. As one of the most influential families in the Noble Factions, the Sophia-Ri had been central figures in various schemes over the years. This legacy had been carried on by Bram himself and, like many of the other corrupt families, he had already passed on his Magic Crest to the young boy before hiding him away in a small vige in northern Germany. Unfortunately for them, Scthach had easily found the boy so the Sophia-Ri family now faced its reckoning. They would be triedter but, for the time being, Vahn had the young boy, Lord Sophia-Ris nephew, in a daze as he extracted the Magic Crest from his forehead. A stark contrast to his usualposed self, Lord Sophia-Ri was hunched forward as he jerked his body against the chains bind him. His eyes were bloodshot and, if not for the gag in his mouth, he would have been screaming at the top of his lungs. He couldnt ept that the family would end in his hands as, at least in his mind, he hadnt done anything to deserve this. Rather, he suffered various slights against his pride over the years, including having his fiancee stolen. Now, he could only watch as his favorite nephews eyes zed over as thousands of years of heritage was stripped away from him... By the time the process had beenpleted, Vahn had a small oval gemstone in his hand. It glowed with the Magic Crest of the Sophia-Ri family and, as a result of the Demon sealed within, he was not able to ce it into his Inventory. Instead, he ced it into a ck box before passing it to Gareth and having her take it to Da Vincis Workshop. At the same time, he put the red-haired youth into a very deep slumber before turning to the almost feral-looking Lord Sophia-Ri as he asked, "I wonder if you are beginning to reflect on your actions...?" In response to what he believed to be taunting words, Bram jerked at the chains as if there was any point to breaking free. If he somehow did manage to extricate himself from the bindings, the only fate that awaited him was pain as, despite being a Lord, he wasnt even remotely a match for anyone in the room. While he might indeed be very powerful amongst his peers, the difference between a modern Magus and a Heroic Spirit was simply too vast, especially when the slowest person in the room could elerate to mach two in an instant. Vahn could only shake his head after seeing the mans response, a scornful look on his face as he said, "I wouldnt have believed you anyway...you are an opportunistic man who ces himself high above others. Whenever you face a setback, you pretend that it is the fault of other people, even if it was a direct result of the choices you made. You simply cant ept responsibility for your actions as your pride wont allow you to admit you were wrong. Now, you kneel before me, a mortal man with no status or authority to back you up...tell me, do you still feel superior to others?" As Vahn asked his question, he forcibly ripped the gag from Brams mouth, curious as to how the man would respond. He wasnt at all surprised when thetter tried to spit in his face, allowing him to easily stop the projectile mid-flight before rebounding it back into the feral mans face. Bram was so slow that he appeared to be moving in slow motion from Vahns perspective so there really wasnt anything he could do to surprise him. With his own spittle hitting him in the face, Bram looked like hepletely lost his mind. He howled in rage as he exerted his meager strength against the chains but, no matter how hard he pulled, they hardly budged. The only thing he aplished was tiring himself out as Vahn stood just outside of his reach, staring down at him with an unflinching expression of absolute scorn. It was obvious that the man had suffered a mental breakdown as, rather than try to plead or negotiate, he grunted and thrashed about like a child throwing a tantrum. Deciding his time was better spent on other matters, Vahn raised his index finger slightly, drawing the attention of the crazed Magus for a brief moment. Then, with a simple flick towards the ground, the red-haired man was pressed to the floor as if he had a mountain dropped on him. He croaked like a frog as his ribs fractured from the strain, the air in his lungs being forced out in an instant. If his presence wasnt necessary during the uing trials, Vahn would have simply killed him then and there. Now that the screaming had stopped, silence dominated the partitioned room until Vahn stated in a calm tone, "Take this fool back to his cell. As for the child, have Merlin probe his mind for any hidden information that could endanger himself and others. He is young so there is still hope that he will be able to redeem his family in the future." No matter how much scorn Vahn held toward any particr person or family, he would never force the sins of one onto another. Only tyrants and cowards purged entire family lines as, when it came down to it, there was no reason to eliminate an entire family unless you were afraid of them. They were just normal people and, while they may have limitless potential, the same could be said for the rest of humanity. If he started purging families just to prevent future enemies, he would drastically reduce the prestige of the Empire and, as was often the case in fiction, someone would slip through the cracks to rise up against him. This was part of the Karmic cycle so, knowing his enemies ahead of time was better than creating unseen enemies as a result of wanton ughter. He wasnt some evil tyrant that suppressed others, not was he fearful of an uncertain future... As Bram and his nephew were thest family to be dealt with, at least for the time being, Vahn had ya teleport him back to the Hanging Gardens. Dawn was fast approaching and Ark had already been sending data packages through every majorwork in preparation for Vahns speech. Soon, his image would be broadcast on virtually every television,puter, and phone. At the same time, the transmissions and recordings of various schemes would be made public while a massive volume of information pertaining to Magecraft, provided courtesy of the As Temple, had been uploaded to every interconnected device. One of the first phases of Vahns takeover was theplete shutdown of non-vitalmunications and, as the inte had long outlived its purpose, theing dawn meant the end of what could effectively be called the Misinformation Era. He would no longer allow news broadcasters to lie and manipte the public with false information. Now, they would only be able to use theirputers to ess a massive library of information and, unless they were directly linked on the samework, it would no longer be possible tomunicate with others on the inte. Vahn knew that there would be a major outcry once the globalwork was crippled but, as it had not been serving its purpose for decades, he didnt see the point in keeping it around. The supposed intent behind its creation was to connect people all over the globe, allowing them to freely exchange information and knowledge. Instead, it became a marketing tform focused almost exclusively on mizing its users and spreading misinformation. Most of the information shared by its users was pornography and other forms of entertainment while, behind the scenes, criminal organizations used it to distribute their products globally while monstrous individuals treat it as a yground where they can freely take advantage of others. As there was no sense in fixing something that was broken on a fundamental level, Vahn would rather be rid of it entirely. He would still allow people to use theirputers to obtain information but now, unless they did a direct link or data transfer, sharing anything would be impossible. Theing transition would already be chaotic enough so Vahn would rather have people focus on their survival than wasting their time being fed lies on the inte... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The echoes of Solomon,RIP Bram, you were a cunt, but not the worst cunt,I dont know how I feel about this...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1313 Dawn

Chapter 1313 Dawn

At approximately 7:28AM, the long night finally came to an end as the gentle rays of the sun crested the horizon. The once-dark city was now illuminated, destruction visible in several districts due to the wide-spread fires and rampant rioting. At a nce, it appeared as if a war had ravaged thend as, despite the chaos caused by the copse of theirmand structure, the military was still making an effort to keep order. They no longer bothered with the flying fortress above the city as, despite the whispers and murmurs of an invasion, the transmission between Vahn and one of their high ranking Generals had been transmitted to all of them. Though it was difficult to believe the fortress wasnt responsible for the damage that had been done, it was very apparent that there wasnt much they could do about it. The mysterious Empire had been able to withstand a direct attack from nearly two-hundred attack helicopters before disabling every aircraft and military vehicle within a 300km radius. They had been crippled in an instant, preempted by a singlemand from the man referring to himself as the Emperor. This showed in impossible to surmount difference in military might so, even if they wanted to fight for their country, their only option was analog weaponry as even the off-shore naval systems had been disabled. For now, the standing order of all active-duty military personnel was, as Vahn had advised, to focus on the recovery effort. They were told topletely ignore the floating fortress, despite its looming presence and the existential dread such a craft brought with it. After all, most people automatically assumed it was some alien craft and, considering there was no such thing as the Aldrnari Empire, it was easy to conclude that the craft belonged to a foreign, presumably hostile, species. What none of the standard military personnel and frightened citizenry expected was that, at exactly 7:30AM, their lives would be changed on a fundamental level. Electronics that had been fried by the powerful pulse of energy suddenly returned to life, bringing hope and excitement to those who had hidden away during the previous nights chaos. Unfortunately, they quickly discovered that the grid was still down and, despite some electronics being unplugged, the screens still illuminated as if they had a constant supply of power. All throughout London and the surrounding cities, every television,puter monitor, and phone screen all showed static. The ring emergency siren, which had been howling throughout the night, had now turned silent as the tension in the atmosphere became palpable. Everyone knew something major was about to happen and, for a brief moment, people all over the world shifted their focus to the image disyed on their screens. There, recing the previous static, a handsome man could be seen sitting upon a stone throne with a dragons visage staring back at them with eerie azure eyes... The people who had been expecting to see some strange and foreign alien were among the most surprised by the scene they were witnessing as, soon after the image appeared, the man seated on the Throne stated in a deep and resonate tone of voice, "We are the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason..." --- Considering the fact he was addressing the entire world, Vahn elected to use his actual Throne rather than the borrowed one within the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. This was his seat of power and, with todays announcement, the existence of the Empire would be public knowledge. The Dragons Breath Mist had been dispelled by Merlin so, while the projection of Avalon was still located in a sub-texture beneath the Surface, the physical body of the ind had appeared in the real world with theing dawn. Vahn was no longer content to just bide his time so, while it would give his enemies a target to focus on, every attack they fended off would only further cement the Empires power and authority. He did not fear nuclear weapons, orbitalsers, grand rituals, or deadly curses. None of these would be able to shake the foundation of his Empire thus, in order to establish Avalon as a bastion of hope for the beaten, downtrodden, and exploited, it must stand in the light without fearing the darkness... Though he did not know the exact metrics, Vahn was certain he had nearly half the global poption waiting to hear what he had to say so, the moment the broadcast began, he gazed toward the tripod that Da Vinci had set up and stated, "We are the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, Emperor of the Aldrnari Empire. Today marks the beginning of a new era, an era of peace, opportunity, and equality, not just for humanity, but all sapient races...for too long, humanity has been led astray by those who endeavored to secure power for themselves. You have been deceived, manipted, and exploited to no end...now, all of humanity will learn the truth, the truth about your sins, the corruptive nature of your current society, and the forces that have ruled over you since time immemorial..." --- Everyone had wondered what the man who introduced himself as an Emperor was going to say but, with few exceptions, none of them were prepared for the many revtions forced upon them. They werent really able to understand the finer details, especially when Vahn talked about things like Gaia and the Age of Gods, but the more pertinent information got through. They understood that Vahn was trying to convince them of the existence of Magic, Gods, Spirits, and other metaphysical entities. At the same time, he exposed the schemes of those who had shaped civilization from behind the scenes, bringing to light how they had been manipted and providing an overwhelming amount of proof, much of which had already been uploaded to their personal devices. The most important bit of information, however, were the details regarding what they should expect in theing days, months, and years. Though it sounded like the ramblings of a madman to some, others could feel a burgeoning level of excitement and anticipation as Vahn talked about his vision of the future. He spoke of a world where Magic wasmonce, a world where anyone, regardless of the circumstances of their birth, had the opportunity to achieve their dreams... At the same time, however, Vahn also mentioned the dissolution of the current system, the ways in which governments would be forced toply, and the consequences of dissidence and violence. He also spoke about the copse of the global economy as, in the world he envisioned, the existence of currency itself was a problem. It was not necessarily the root cause of corruption but, as a result of how it was manipted, it became one of the enabling factors that allowed humanity to be so easily taken advantage of. When he got to this part of his message, Vahn horrified hundreds of millions of people as he very calmly exined, "We are aware that these changes will result in the deaths of many people. If you wish to avoid bing a casualty, everyputer has all the pertinent information already stored within its hard drive. There, you can learn the cures to virtually every illness and, by following the manuscripts contained within, even learn how to use simple Magecraft in as little as a few weeks. We will do our best to ensure this transition is as smooth as possible but, considering what humanity has done to the that gave birth to them, this trial can be considered epting responsibility for your actions...this is not your possession, it is not some shared heritage that you are allowed to exploit at your convenience...now, you will face the consequences of the society your ancestors had built, one that focused more on individual gain than appreciation for the environment you so wantonly vited..." Vahns words had different impacts on different cultures but, what everyone knew at an instinctual level was that they were in for some trying times. He had mentioned the abolishment of factories, assembly lines, fast food restaurants, and even food production facilities like ughterhouses and chicken factories. Systems that produced unnecessary waste products would be abolished in their entirety and, while the Empire would provide ess to food and water, options would be extremely limited until the transition hadpleted. While most people didnt believe his words had any substance to them, as they simply couldnt rationalize such a drastic change, the people maintaining those facilities understood the truth of the matter. After all, at the same time that the broadcast was urring, the factories themselves had simply started to vanish, seemingly dissolving into motes of dust that blew away with the wind. This was the result of Da Vincis micro-golems which, with Maxwell providing functionally infinite energy, had been able to replicate in such vast quantities that they could nket a country. Now, these micro-golems, each less than .1 microns in size, were sweeping across the like a destructive wave of locusts, annihting inefficient facilities that contributed more waste, pollution, and environmental damage than actual products. At the same time, dumpsites andndfills across the globe began to seemingly evaporate into thin air, serving as fuel for the ever-increasing mass of microscopic golems that were determined to devour everything recognized as waste within their shared database. This included the infamous Antic Garbage Patch, the site that served as the first proving grounds for the minuscule micro-golems. Vahn had felt utterly disgusted the first time he saw the veritable ind of trash so it was the first thing to go. It had provided millions of tons of mass the wave of micro-golems so, in a strangely poetic way, humanity had directly contributed to the copse of their infrastructure... Unfortunately, due to theplete takeover of telmunications by the Empire, news of this event was slow to spread. People were more focused on the broadcast itself and, while some had noticed the destruction, especially in countries like China, Japan, and the United States, there was little they could do about it. Even electromaic pulses had no effect on the micro-golems as they were not powered by electronic systems. They used the ambient mana in the atmosphere to power themselves and, so long as they had ess to any form of matter, even simple silicon, they could reproduce infinitely. The only truly unaffected areas were those protected by powerful Bounded Fields but, while the micro-golems could not enter, that didnt mean they had no use. Rather, every time they found a Bounded Field, they transmitted the information back to Ark so that it could be fed into CHADEAS databanks. At the same time, they created a physical perimeter around the Bounded Field before leaving a message behind, informing the inhabitants that the Empire would being by to audit them in the near future... --- Eventually, Vahn neared the end of his nearly two-hour-long speech. He knew his final words would be the ones best remembered by the people around the world so he fell silent for several seconds before activating his Divinity. At the same time, he borrowed the auras of ya, Tiamat, and ORT to caused a pressure wave to descend upon the entire. If they hadnt believed him before, Vahns zing blue eyes and the very real phenomenon pressuring them made it hard topletely refute his ims. Now with the entire worlds attention focused on him, Vahns voice became deep and solemn as he stated, "We would have liked to avoid this oue. However, our hand was forced as a result of the machinations of a few individuals. Now, the system they have created will be destroyed to make way for a world where people coexist with other races, nourishing the rather than destroying it. If you must hate us, so be it...from the very beginning, humans were not the masters of this world. The only thing that has changed over thest two hours is that you now have ess to the truth...use it wisely or face the consequences...either way, the Age of Man is now over." (A/N: Alternate Titles: All your base are belong to us,Gray, gooey, ecophagy~,Times up, lets do this...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1314 Collapse

Chapter 1314 Copse

Vahns global announcement had, as could be expected, far-reaching consequences. Though a number of people hadnt taken his words at face value, as they had their own system of beliefs to drive their decision-making, it quickly came to light just how serious the man calling himself an Emperor had been. Many people still had the mentality that they would be going to work as usual, trusting that their government and military would be the ones to handle this strange and iprehensible event. What they didnt expect was that the entire global market had crashed in an instant as suppliers lost their factories while most industrial equipment had been crippled. Even cars, the main way in which many people got around, simply didnt work any longer once they had been safely parked, stranding numerous people. The only vehicles still in service were ambnces, fire trucks, and a few other emergency vehicles, so long as they were used as intended. This meant most of the streets werergely empty, despite the best efforts of mechanics to try and fix the issues. Unfortunately, this was made impossible by the fact that most parts had been irreversibly damaged and, even if they managed to contact one of their usual suppliers, recement parts could no longer be produced as nearly every assembly line had been downed. What terrified people the most, however, was theplete shut down of telmunications systemsworks and the inte. Those in so-called First World Countries were hit the hardest by this as, in recent years, people were so reliant on the interconnectivity of their devices that they were incapable of adapting to the sudden changes. They were nowpletely severed from the stream of data they had used to make all their important decisions and, to make matters even worse, the emergency broadcast system informed them that intermittent power outages would bemon while, in some regions, the grid was already downpletely... When it finally began to sink in just how terrifying the transition was going to be, people began to flock to grocers, supermarkets, and even farms themselves to steal and loot produce. In countries like China and the United States, this resulted in the nations militaries cracking down hard on the poption while, in many cities and states, people took up arms to protect their businesses and homes. It was almost like an end of the world scenario as, despite elevating themselves above the other countries of the world, the people in these so-called First World Countries immediately resorted to extreme violence and barbaric behavior once the systems designed to make their lives more convenient had copsed. They immediately turned to looting, breaking and entering the homes of their former neighbors, and hoarding everything they could get their hands on for fear that it would be taken from them. One of the hardest-hit countries in this entire transition was the United States as, with their very loose gun control, gun violence peaked demonstrably just hours after Vahns announcement. It didnt matter if the military had dered martialw as, with too many people to police, absolute anarchy had consumed the once proud nation overnight. There had even been a few skirmishes between the military, armed citizens, and local gangs as, realizing how drastic the changes they faced would be, the worst part of people hade out alongside their self-preservation instincts. --- While chaos ensued, Vahn bore witness to these events through hundreds of projected monitors, each floating around him in a hemisphere. The atmosphere around him had be solemn as, while he had expected chaos, the fervor in which humanity showed when it came to harming itself was mortifying. If people had followed the instructions provided, they would be aware that food and water werent significant concerns. The Empire had more than enough resources to feed the entires poption and, while it would certainly be a little less convenient, even aplete novice with Magecraft would be able to produce freshwater... It was sad to see but, despite having been looked down upon by other, more advanced, societies, the members of Second and Third World Nations were adapting far faster. They lived their lives in constant fear of starvation while, with few exceptions, things like clean water and electricity were extremely raremodities. Because of this, they werergely unaffected by the changes and, by following the instructions, many of which were spread by word of mouth, they were actually living better lives than before. Though he knew there was a fair amount of bias skewing his observations, Vahn could see that the more convenience people used to shape their lives, they less capable they were of actually living productively. They were entirely reliant on the systems designed to control and profit off of them so, without this infrastructure, billions of people immediately turned to violence. They had lived in a society that perpetuated the idea of individuality thus, outside of close family and small circles of friends, they were grossly incapable of working with other members of theirmunity. Vahn had severely underestimated how indoctrinated advanced societies had be as, with very few exceptions, the more prosperous a nation had been prior to the announcement, the worse the fallout. The only exceptions to this were countries like the United Kingdom, Egypt, and, curiously enough, ces such as Japan and South Korea. These were ces where the Magusmunity had strong standing and, as a result of strenuous controlws, the people were less prone to violence. A stark contrast to most countries, the people in these regions followed the instructions of their government while many, rather than immediately turn to rioting, read the documents uploaded to their personal devices. Thus, instead of killing and robbing each other, they gathered together in rtive peace as they patiently waited for the distribution of food and other pertinent resources, all of which was provided for free. Some had even taken the instructions on theirputers very seriously and, with strong imaginations and an even stronger desire to use Magic, a few talented individuals were even able to use rudimentary beginner spells before the day had passed. The biggest inconvenience to thesemunities was the breakdown of the inte and phoneworks but, with theirrge poptions concentrated in very small areas, information spread quickly by word of mouth and megaphone. It was a stark contrast to countries withparablyrgend and a rather diminutive poption, ces where people literally needed cars to get around due to living so far apart from each other. This was one of the things Vahn intended to address during the transition as there was literally no reason for humans to live in such dividedmunities. People did not need a significant amount ofnd for themselves and their families. Rather, the earth should be something that people could freely explore in order to observe its beauty and challenge themselves. With this in mind, Vahn intended to concentrate the human poption to a few localized cities in order to preserve their numbers, reduce the logistical nightmare of overseeing billions of people, and protecting the environment. Having them live far apart was extremely impractical as it made the existence of continent-spanning highways,prehensive railways,plex flight paths, and other transportation infrastructure necessary. All of these were dead-end technologies and, with the transition of the world back to its nascent state, monsters, spirits, and other fantastical beasts would soon reim thend. Vahn knew that the death toll would be even greater if humanity hadnt been united by the time the transition hadpleted so, while the current chaos was troubling, it was necessary in order to prepare humanity for what was toe. They needed to adapt and learn to live alongside the other races, themselves, and the. If they could not do this, the only fate that awaited them was constant strife and an endless cycle of destruction perpetrated by the ridiculous need to have more of something than someone else. Even if he needed to be the target of the entire species hate, Vahn didnt particrly mind as this was the type of traumatic event a species needed to undergo if it was to have any hope of changing for the better. It was only when the seeds of corruption sprouted, growing through the foundation of society until itpletely copsed that you finally realized how messed up things had been. Vahn was intending to expose this truth, remove the roots,y a stronger foundation, and usher in an era of genuine prosperity, not just for humanity, but all sapient species... If things had remained as they were, most Spiritual entities born into the world would be quickly corrupted by the influence of humans. Even worse, there would be a number of Tier 4 and Tier 5 entities returning to the world, most of which would not hesitate to twist humans to their will. This included the Gods who, in the ancient past, used the beliefs of humans to turn against the itself. They were bound to attempt something simr in the future as, without any restrictions on how and where they could manifest, isted human poptions would quickly fall under the influence of one or more deities. By having humanity congregate in a few locations, they would be much easier to protect against the forces that would readily exploit them. This was something Vahn had to be concerned about as, the more divided humanity was, the harder it would be to keep the gods in line. There were a number of them who could shake the Empire individually but, united, they would be a terrifying foe that even Gaia and ya wouldnt be able to fend off. The higher the concentration of mana in the atmosphere, the more easily the Laws of the world could be bent by those proficient in its use. This meant that, as the regression continued, more powerful entities would begin to appear in the world. Eventually, the first generation of Gods would return to the Surface and, while they may not turn against Gaia a second time, he still had to consider the fact they were able to defeat her the first. He knew they would immediately try to seed themselves as the rulers of the world once again so, in order to prevent a repeat of history, Vahn needed humanity to be united. He only wished this could be exined to people in a way they could understand but, until things had started to stabilize, this would be an exercise in futility. They didnt have the time or energy to focus on anything other than preserving their own lives and, with more than half the poption of the mind that only their god or gods existed, they would be extremely resistant to anything that proved otherwise. In fact, with the changes forced upon them, many people turned to the leaders of their respective religions for answers, something Vahn would be forced to address in the very near future. For now, however, he was more focused onying the necessary support infrastructure to protect as many people as possible while preparing his forces to begin policing the entire world. He also needed to assign personnel to protect the facilities as there were already some foolish idiots who were trying to monopolize and police the food-production factories. The fact they thought they could get away with this, only hours after his announcement,pletely baffled Vahn. However, if humanity wasnt prone to extreme bouts of foolishness, such extreme actions wouldnt have been necessary in the first ce... (A/N: Sorry guys, Impletely out ofmission atm. As soon as my sickness began to go away, I got a very severe ear infection. At this point, the entire right side of my head is in pain and I cant even close my jaw. Ive been trying to sleep without any sess and, even with antibiotics and pain killers, it just hurts too much to focus on anything. I feel like my ear is going to explode from the pressure. It hurts. I cant even describe how badly it hurts T_T...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1315 Fervor

Chapter 1315 Fervor

Vahn knew it would be a logistical nightmare to observe and police every region without having forces of his own to upy select areas. He had already been making preparations for this but, in his original timeline, it would have been several years before he started implementing assigned territory. Now, however, he realized that, without a representative force to keep order, there were quite a few people who would exploit the power vacuum to try and secure power and authority for themselves. This wasnt something new to Vahn but he hadnt expected them to do something foolish like trying to seize, regte, or even outright destroy the food production facilities. Common sense dictated that you shouldnt antagonize a powerful and unknown force but, as if this was a foreign concept to them, several groups around the world did just that. They didnt seem to consider the consequences at all, perhaps believing their actions went unnoticed. Even these groups werent the most troublesome, however. No, that title belonged to the various small religious organizations that immediately seized power within their social circles. It turned out that, with aplete breakdown inmunications technologies, people tended to flock towards authority figures to make decisions on their behalf. Since a considerable number of people around the world believed in one religion or another, people of simr beliefs began to band together. Vahn had even received reports of small towns and viges imprisoning those that had tried following the instructions provided by the Empire. They used their religious doctrine to make Magic out to be some dark craft and, in some of the fundamentalistmunities, Vahn had even beenbeled as the Devil. The ironic part of this statement is that, whilembasting others as evil, these so-called righteous individuals would capture, imprison, or outright torture people who had just wanted to make their lives easier. What annoyed him more so was the fact that some people had determined that the phenomenon of people disappearing around the world was some kind of dyed Rapture event as it generally protected children and those known to be good people. This had caused a wave of religious zealotry to spread and, without the means to distribute information and properly police a frightened poption, some truly terrifying acts had been carried out in the name of various gods. Even more troublesome, though it was within his expectations, some people actually started to proactivelymit suicide. This alone wouldnt have been a problem but, with rumors of the end of the world causing widespread panic, some troubled mothers and fathers resorted to drowning their children or jumping off buildings as a family. These events were witnessed by many people so, in the days immediately following the address, millions had resorted tomitting suicide while some of the budding religious cults used the fact that someone didnt vanish into motes of light as an excuse tomit heinous acts. Vahn had always known that dealing with the religiousmunity would be the most difficult part of the transition as, no matter how much logic was presented before them, a surprising number of people wouldmittedly ignore it. Anything that didnt coincide with their belief systems was, in their minds, just some kind of clever scheme designed to corrupt their soul. They would band together with like-minded individuals and fight tooth and nail against anyone who didnt believe in the same things as them, a sad truth that had gued humanity for thousands of years. Now, Vahn hadmitted one of the ultimate taboos in the minds of the religious inclined as, rather than affirm their beliefs, he broadly revealed the existence of multiple gods. This action alone had turned arge portion of the poption against him as, no matter how much proof he provided, they had already determined he was lying based on the fact he didnt support their belief system. These people proactively interfered with the lives of other people and, more often than not, resorted to extreme violence on the premise that the other party was some pawn in a grand scheme to undermine their beliefs. Because of these developments, Vahn felt a lot of pressure to deal with the Holy Church sooner, rather thanter. They had actually sent a delegation to the waters around Avalon but, rather than sue for peace, the specialist group had been carrying holy artifacts that, in essence, served the purpose of weapons of mass destruction. They had been intending to gain ess to Avalon and, once inside, use the artifacts in a final act of martyrdom. Needless to say, the Holy Church hadnt taken kindly to the fact that Vahn essentially ousted their God as a being wholly different than what they purported it to be. Rather than some omniscient and omnipotent entity that had the ability to do anything, yet chose not to, it was just one half of the Counter Force. All of their Prophets and Saints were just people that had been chosen to act as an extension of yas will while possessing some unique Innates that drew her attention to them in the first ce. Even if Vahn gathered together every mortal Prophet, Demigod, or Saint-turned-Counter-Guardian, it wouldnt matter when it came to convincing those that believed wholeheartedly in a specific system of beliefs. They had people willing to die in order to perpetuate their beliefs and, even if he exposed the many ws and scandals within each religious organization, their believers would just chalk it up to hearsay or fabricated data. The only real solution was to either wage war against them, which never turned out favorably, or focus wholly on a secondary system of beliefs that people were more drawn to. Vahn didnt particrly care aboutmunities that intended to separate themselves from the society he intended to build. So long as they did not instigate conflict, damage the, or repeat the same mistakes of the past, he would allow them to live as they please. He didnt even mind if someone wanted to be some kind of Hermit living out in the vast woonds that would inevitably cover the as, in the end, the main purpose behind his system was to allow people to live as they please, so long as it was in a non-destructive manner. With this in mind, Vahn needed to deal with the Holy Church and, if they were not willing to see reason, he would have to systematically cripple them. He was not going to wait around as they performed Grand Rituals and tirelessly attempted to assassinate members of the Empire so, after the initial delegation had been sent, Vahn teleported directly above the Vaticans airspace. This was where the headquarter of the public face of the Holy Church, the Roman Catholic Church, was located. Vahn wasnt surprised to find nearly six-million people gathered together in the rtively small city as, being the center of one of the worldsrgest religions, they had a veryrge following in the surrounding city of Rome, Italy. Now, fearing the beginning of the end times, people had migrated from the surrounding regions to seek guidance from their Pope, the religious figure that supposedly served as the representative of God... Seeing the 75-year-old Italian man attempt to pacify and calm his believers, Vahn actually felt a small amount of pity for the aged individual. From what he could tell, the man had a very pure aura and, though his Magic Circuits were almost entirely inert, his affinity with the Light element was extremely high. This was a rather curious development but, considering he had the beliefs of billions of people supporting him, it wasnt too far-fetched to imagine that his aura was actually purified as a result. A stark contrast the religious fervor that seemed to be tearing apart other regions, the Popes message to his people was patience, fortitude, and belief. He disavowed violence and, using the phenomenon of people vanishing into light as an example, encouraged people to live good lives so that they would ultimately be selected by God. His message was one of peace and tolerance, even though there were literally millions of people crying out for the destruction of the Empire... Deciding to make time to meet with the Pope directly in the near-future, Vahn turned his attention away from the elderly man. His eyes passed over the various Cardinals and Bishops, many with far less pure auras than the Pope himself, beforending on a group of strangely dressed priests, the leader of which was ring at him with hate-filled eyes. They were clearly members of the Holy Church and, unlike the people gathered below, they were extremely perceptive to the presence of a foreign entity within the Vatican City. No longer concealing his presence, Vahn slowly began to descend from the sky as divine light began to radiate out from his body. This drew a lot of attention to him and, for a brief moment, silence seemed to dominate the massive crowd until a few people realized exactly who he was. Then, as if the words of their Pope had been for naught, a hysteria seemed to overtake the people nearest to Vahn as they attempted to surge toward him like a tidal wave of flesh and hatred, some shouting things like, "Kill the Devil...!" in borderline feral voices. As if a chemical reaction had been set off within the crowd, a massive riot was on the verge of breaking out. This was one of the dangers of religions and mob mentality in general as, if you had just a few crazy people in the fray, they could instigate violence among the entire group. People always seemed to be on the verge of letting out their inner demons and, knowing there would be little to no consequences, they were quick to riot if they believed they could get away with it. Unfortunately, no amount of normal humans had any hope of surmounting Vahn as, even in a state sealed by [Enkidu], he could still move upwards of two-million kilos. If they wanted to have any hopes of moving him, they would have to crush each other like a mindless swarm, something made impossible by the fact that those closest to him quickly cowed in the face of his aura. This was before he had even released it fully as, at least for the time being, he would attempt to settle things peacefully. Despite setting in motion events that would ultimately im billions, Vahnd didnt want the lives of millions of people on his hands. Thus, with the ease of a man taking a stroll through a park, Vahn slowly walked towards thending of St. Peters Basilica as an area of 10m in his immediate surroundings was virtually impossible to prate. This was in spite of the massive outcry his presence had caused by, whenever someone more zealous passed the group given pause, they too would quickly lose any willpower to trespass further as something deep inside of them made even a single step impossible. Eventually, people began to realize something was amiss so they began to split and, by the time he had reached thending, much of the fervor had died down. This was aided by the fact that, as soon as Vahn appeared, the Pope tried to keep people calm without turning tail. Rather, his hazy brown eyes actually reflected a subtle blue glow as a resolute yet kind smile adorned his wrinkled visage. This was a phenomenon that was only present in Tier 4 entities and those who were able to use Divine Power but, due to the Laws of the Nasuverse, even normal people could potentially rival gods if they had enough belief ced in them. Fortunately, the Pope didnt seem to show any hostility whatsoever so, even without Vahn having to take action, the crowd was slowly brought under control by the aged mans aura. They began to look toward him as if he was a living god, some going so far as to kneel down, praying fervently in the presence of this unseen force. As for Vahn, he casually ascended the steps, passing massive stone columns and several nervous members of the Clergy that fundamentallycked the courage to bar his passage... (A/N: Existence is pain. I write because I feel the need to do so. I dont want to just post update chapters anymore. Also, for anyone that might get upset about the presentation of some religions in the next few chapters, remember that this is a work of fiction. There are literal gods present in this world so dont treat it as a direct trantion of reality. Im not badmouthing any religions, its prophets, or its followers. Be good to each other.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1316 Apostate

Chapter 1316 Apostate

Vahn was admittedly a little surprised at the interior majesty of the famous St. Peters Basilica. While it wasnt as impressive as the interior of the Ivory Castle, it was a marvel of architecture and, if not for the lingering emotions clouding the atmosphere, it would have been a truly beautiful sight. Unfortunately, even under better circumstances, Vahn wouldnt be afforded the opportunity to look around at his leisure. In fact, after passing the rtively low ranking members of the Clergy, quite a number of bolder individuals had quickly gathered. None made any moves but it was very apparent they did not wee him within one of their most sanctified halls. This caused the itching sensation that made his skin crawl intensify and, if not for his training with Scthach, Vahn would have had a bit of trouble keeping his bearing. Before he had been able to venture too deeply into the structure, the doors leading to the outside were closed by lower-ranking members of the Clergy as a man with scarlet red robes, elbow-length cap, white rochet, and a peculiar white mitre hat with two scarlet tassels. He had a distinctly ancient appearance and, based on the structure of his internal energy, Vahn would peg him around eighty-seven years of age. Despite this, the man had a fierce and determined look in his zing blue eyes as he stood at the front of the assembly and stated, "Foul creature. You dare bring your heresy into these most hallowed halls?" Hearing the mans usatory and harsh tone, Vahn couldnt help but raise his brow curiously as he rebuffed, "How curious, a man who spins tales of an all-loving, all-forgiving God yet, when meeting a new face for the first time, he immediately resorts to besmirching others and instigating conflict. Tell me, Cardinal, did God personally appoint you to your position or did you, like many others, simply outlive thepetition?" With his ears, cheeks, and nose gaining a ruddy hue, the Cardinal scowled viciously as venomously stated, "You have no right to speak of our God, sphemer! My position is the result of my unerring belief, my willingness to die for the one true God!" Stirred by the Cardinals words, the wholly male gathering seemed to find even greater courage and, as a result, the burning sensation on Vahns skin more than doubled in intensity. Despite this, he just stood there with a casual smile on his face, stating, "I am not here to speak with a fool who believes in a nameless God. Shouldnt you be off iming credit for miracles or appropriating the beliefs of other cultures to empower your system of Thaumaturgy further...?" Vahns words were like a p to the face for everyone present within the room, an assembly that now consisted of nearly three-hundred people. It was well documented that, throughout history, the Roman Catholic Church had borrowed doctrine convenient for themselves while recing the belief systems of other cultures with their religious symbolism. They had a penchant for rewriting history in the most convenient light, changing their tune whenever it suited them. This was a rather curious thing, considering their God was presumably omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. You would think a being with such power, capable of seeing all points in history simultaneously, would have given them more pertinent instructions... Just as the tensions reached a level where they were on the verge of exploding, a chuckle resonated through the vast chamber, immediately drawing the attention of the crowd. Then, in much the same way as the people outside, the gathering of clergymen parted to reveal an old man nked by four peculiar individuals, each possessing amendable amount of power, even if it was like four ck suns rotating around a muchrger, infinitely brighter, white star. Despite having one of the highest standings in human society, the Pope actually wore rtively in robespared to the other members of the Clergy. If not for the ornate staff in his hands, showing a man crucified on a cross, he would have looked like any normal elderly priest, at least to those who couldnt see whaty beneath. He even walked at a slow pace, his scepter tapping against the hard marble flooring with an audible tap as he approached closer and stated in an aged voice, "So this is the man who God has sent to test our faith...quite a peculiar existence..." Hearing the Popes words, Vahn was somewhat disappointed as he hadnt expected theparably kind and pure man to spew the same contrived nonsense as the rest. However, considering his post, it wasnt exactly a surprise to hear him say such things. If his beliefs werent the strongest, there was no way the rest of the Cardinals would have elected him to the position. He was the person who had the highest authority within the most powerful organization in the world, a position not just anyone could fulfill... Though he knew it was stepping on andmine, Vahn decided to respond in a way that would both shock and mortify the procession, asking in a curious tone, "Perhaps you would be more willing to see reason if I resurrected the man you purport a Savior? I wonder if you would even besmirch the person most intrinsic to your faith in your vain attempts to deny the truth...?" As if his previously amicable bearing had been an illusion, the Popes expression hardened into a pointed re as he gripped the handle of his staff and replied, "I had hoped to discuss the future at length with you...now, I understand there is no limit to your vile machinations. Do not think for even a moment that your words and actions have any weight here. What you have done to the outside is enough to prove the wickedness in your heart. Leave this ce, you are no longer wee within the Vatican. If you have any righteousness at all, you will leave without making a scene." Vahn found the Popes efforts to put himself into a morally superior position rather amusing as, even if he left without causing a scene, the Holy Church, sanctioned by the Pope himself, would not return the courtesy. Rather, so long as the Vatican remained untouched, he did not particrly care about the destruction of entire cities. Even if his people desecrated the holy grounds of other religions, tore apart religious texts, andmitted horrible acts in the name of their God, he would ultimately turn a blind eye so long as it did not endanger the interests of the church. With his impression of the manpletely ruined, Vahn shook his head, smile no longer visible on his face as he stated, "More so than anyone present, I have the most right to be here. You pretend to be a representative of God yet, in all your time, have you ever truly heard his voice? I have the literal being you worship on my person at all times yet, despite this inherent truth, you call me the heretic? Is there a greater form of sphemy than the denial of ones own God...?" Vahns previous words and actions hadnt earned him any friends among the gathered clergymen but, hearing him essentially denounce their entire faith, he became the focus of everyones hate in an instant. Curiously, however, the burning sensation on his skin began to gradually fade as, prior to the Pope giving his bodyguards their orders, ya appeared, this time in her original state, a ball of pure light that had two rings revolving around it at varying speeds and angles that changed from the perspective of different people. Though he hadnt told her to do anything, yas presence caused the peculiar Bounded Field that was supposed to keep people like Vahn away topletely vanish. This had been a great source of confusion for the members of the Holy Church as, with the field still active, he shouldnt have been able to trespass so easily. What they didnt realize, or at least refused to ept, was that their barrier waspletely useless in the face of ya. Rather, due to the structure of the field, Vahn became the new owner as ya had the highest authority within the Vatican by default. Suddenly, the Pope began to have a coughing fit as the holy light in his body began to rapidly gain a grey luster before turning just as dark as the rest of the Cardinals. This didnt mean he was an evil person but, having reached the highest position within a religious organization, the number of evil deeds he had been made aware of, yet willfully ignored, had tainted his Ego. Vahn had be able to distinguish whether or not a person was genuinely evil based, not solely on the color of their aura, but the structure andposition as well. While three of the four bodyguards supported the Pope, nearly everyone else in the room had their eyes fixed on the true form of ya. Her presence was something even the gods themselves would not be able to fullyprehend so, as mortal men, there were a number of people that instantly fell to their knees. At the same time, ya spoke in a resonant tone that cowed everyone present as she stated, "Humanity has strayed from the path of righteousness. Vahn Aldrnari Mason will be the figure to guide humanity toward prosperity and the continuation of the species. If you oppose him, do so knowing that my Blessing will not aid you..." Under normal circumstances, ya would not even bother to interfere with these matters but, as Vahn himself had elected to appear within the Vatican, she was prompted to act. Truthfully, it had never mattered to her what the church believed, so long as they endeavored to ensure the survival of humanity. Now that Vahn had usurped that role, they were a direct threat to the species she was bound to protect. Her power could not be used to oppose Vahn so, the moment they shifted their hatred toward him, she reimed the power they had been borrowing for millennia. --- While ya was giving her speech, Vahn was feeling out the new authority he had suddenly gained. Previously, his senses couldnt extend very far due to the Bound Fields interference field but, now that he was the owner, Vahns domain had extended throughout the entirety of the Vatican City. He could even stretch his senses into the chambers deep beneath the city, a fact that caused a frown to immediately develop across his face due to the truth he had discovered. The Holy Church had imprisoned a number of entities beneath the city, including humans, spirits, ghosts, Daemons, and other phantasmal species. They were treated as factories to produce various rare materials and resources, kept prisoner for hundreds or even thousands of years to support the interests of the church. It was a truly monstrous affront to basic human decency but, in the name of their silent God, there was very little the church wouldnt resort to if it meant spreading their belief and holding onto their ill-gotten power... Shaking his head, Vahn turned to the only person left standing in the room, a woman with silver hair and pale-blue eyes. She was the only female present amongst the members of the clergy and, now that the Pope had lost yas favor, she was by far the strongest person present. At the same time, her aura was almost pitch ck and, while not inherently evil, Vahn could tell she had a twisted and vicious nature at a nce. Even as everyone else was awed by yas presence, the silver-haired woman had only spared the glowing blue orb a nce before turning her attention back to Vahn. She seemed to be in very deep thought, despite her expression beingpletely neutral and unperturbed. Then, seemingly having made up her mind, a sadistic smile marred her rtively beautiful face as she mused, "How tragic. To think that the infamous Emperor would march into the heart of the Vatican to murder the Pope and more than ny percent of the senior clergy..." As soon as the woman spoke, the three men helping the Pope paused for a brief moment before one, the second strongest of the trio, pulled out a ck, cross-shaped, de as he attempted to stab it into the Popes back. At the same time, the other two men pulled out simr des and, if not for the timely intervention of Vahn, they would have undoubtedly ughtered the entire assembly in order to twist the truth. Unfortunately for them, Vahn wasnt just going to stand idly by as this event took ce so, the moment they moved, all three men were forcibly ejected from the Bounded Field, their bodies transported several kilometers above the surface of the other where they died almost instantly. Due to her power, the woman was not so easily forced away but, as it was never his intention to let her go so easily, Vahn had appeared like a phantom, his hand grasping her neck as she dangling off the ground with a darkening expression. She wasnt even afforded the time to react as Vahn, from the very beginning, had already been anticipating she would do something. Her unstable aura was something you only saw in homicidal maniacs and battle junkies so, if given the chance, violence was her go-to solution to every problem... The woman hadnt been quiet with her words so, despite trembling in awe at yas presence, the men in the chamber had all realized what had nearly happened. Despite this, they did not see Vahn in a positive light as, even with something as inexplicable as ya present, they adamantly refused to believe they were in the wrong. Instead, they would have rather been killed by the silver-haired woman as it would have made them into Martyrs, uniting their believers and allowing the church to withstand any trials the Empire might impose upon them. Realizing this, many of the men that had been cowering began to tear away at their own throats with crucifixes while some elected to bite through their tongues. It was an utterly ridiculous sight but, as it was their choice to make, Vahn just watched with dull eyes while holding the woman up by her neck. He knew that, even if he stopped them, they would eithermit suicideter or spend the rest of their days convincing their believers that Vahn was to me for everything that happened. Even if he released an actual recording of the proceedings, people would just use him of falsifying things to suit his agenda, irrespective of the truth... Shaking his head, Vahn bound the woman with [Enkidu] before carrying her under his arm like a sack of rice and heading deeper into the basilica. There were hidden passages connecting to aplexwork of underground passages and chambers. Here, the secrets of the church were hidden away from the world, truths that would shake the very foundation of their doctrine. Now, despite havinge with the intention to negotiate, Vahn had thrown decorum out the window after theplete farce he had witnessed. He changed the properties of the Bounded Field to make everyone outside suddenly feel they needed to go home, causing millions of people to file out like zombies. They would be in the way of what was toe as, with their foundation exposed, the Holy Church would stop at nothing to eliminate him...regardless of the innocent lives caught in the crossfire. (A/N: Once again, this is pure fiction. I have nothing against the catholic church, or any religious organization for that matter, so dontmbast me over something that has no corrtion with reality. The fact I need to say this is rather disheartening but that is the political climate we live in these days x_x...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1317 Invade

Chapter 1317 Invade

As much as he would like to simply deal with the Holy Church personally, Vahns recent reminder from Scthach ultimately dyed his progress. He had originallye with the intention to rify matters with the organization so, now that negotiations had broken down, venturing any further was ill-advised. Though there wasnt much danger, especially with ya at his side, there was no way of knowing the full breadth of the Holy Churchs capabilities. There was also the fact that, after thest fiasco, Artoria, Luvia, and Rin had all lectured him for a considerably long period of time... Believing this was a good opportunity for the others to get some training in, Vahn focused his mind, messaging Scthach his intent so that she could teleport everyone over. He could use ya and the Unit Management function to achieve the same effect but, with a free alternative, Vahn wasnt going to expend resources unnecessarily. Fortunately, as he had made his intentions known prior to leaving Avalon, everyone was already gathered together as they fully expected something to go wrong. It was very rare that Vahn went anywhere without causing trouble so they would have been surprised if this was the exception. After setting an anchor point, Vahn waited for a few minutes as Scthach, Okita, Jeanne, Kenshin, and Karna transferred over. At the same time, a mass teleportation urred within the Vatican City itself as Gawain, heading a small army of three-hundred Homunculi, appeared alongside Ghad, Gareth, Sol, Boudica, Lakshmibai, and, refusing to stay behind this time around, Nobunaga. Her blood had been boiling ever since the chaos began so, while the chance of anything happening was slim, she wasnt going to just stay home babysitting... With the outside secured by Gawains forces, Vahn looked over what could be considered his most powerful forces, exining, "Scthach and Kenshin will focus on recovering documents and artifacts. Jeanne, you will apany Karna to identify whether or not the opponent is someone worth saving. Unless the situation calls for it, try to hold back as Id rather avoid destroying this ce. Okita, youll be following me to the inner sanctum. Any questions...?" Having missed out on both the tournament and the start of conflict against the Mages Association, Karna was admittedly a little eager for the chance to test his skills. He had tried finding capable foes in his travels but,pared to when he was alive, the world had degraded to the extent that even the most influential families within the regions he visited were extremely weak. The Holy Chuch was one of the most powerful forces in the entire world so, when Vahn asked if there were any questions, Karna immediately responded by asking, "Are there any strong foes remaining? If so, I would like to battle against them." Understanding Karnas desire for a worthy opponent, Vahn smiled wryly in response before saying, "They should have something called the Burial Agency. This woman here seems to be one of their primary members but I can sense that there are at least three people stronger than her. Here, this will help guide you toward them..." Without him even needing tomunicate his intentions, ya already knew what Vahn was going to ask from her so she immediately activated the Strings of Fate, tying together Karna and his rather unfortunate opponents. This caused the mans sun-like eyes to ze with fervor but, before parting, he kneeled low alongside Jeanne before they both ventured into the underground sub-structure. Not wanting to dally too much himself, Vahn called Gareth over to retrieve the silver-haired woman before he and Okita ventured forth, their destination the lowest levels of thebyrinthine structure. As for Scthach and Kenshin, they had already vanished shortly after Karna and Jeanne set out, their destination a series of vaults hidden away inside of a massive library. Scthachs [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground] would allow her to identify what was worth keeping while Kenshin was there as a mercy to anyone they encountered along the way... --- As he had already teleported everyone with a diminutive amount of Od using his authority as the Bounded Fields owner, the only people remaining inside were rtively powerful members of the Holy Church. Even then, there was little they could do to even slow Vahns progress as their attempts to copse the tunnels with explosives meant very little when he could just reshape them using earth elemental maniption. As for those that appeared directly, Okita moved faster than even he could perceive, cutting down anyone with hostile intentions in an instant. Though he didnt pity them in the slightest, Vahn always felt an incongruous emotion whenever he went through this phase of his ns. Nearly every time he invaded a stronghold directly, there was such a massive power disparity that it felt extremely anticlimactic. This was undoubtedly beneficial to his interests but,pared to how exciting his past battles were, he couldnt help but feel parched. Part of him wished there was more of a challenge, even though he knew any real challenge would be a major threat to his Empire and the people he cared about... With Okita making short work of every enemy that appeared, it wasnt long before she and Vahn stepped into arge chamber. It was structured like a circr altar with a diameter of fifty meters while, at the very center, a massive humanoid figure could be seen. Though it was undoubtedly genderless, it had an appearance simr to a female yet, instead of flesh, muscles, and bone, it wasprised of metal, stone, and mechanisms that gave it a distinctly clockwork kind of feel. Seeing the ten-meter tall figure,plete with rail guns and some kind of anti-gravity boosters on its feet, Vahn was briefly reminded of Ina and Sophia. He could imagine them building something simr on aplete whim, a thought that made him wonder what kind of person its creator was. Unfortunately, with its lens-like eyes glowing with a malicious red light,bined with the fact it aimed its railguns toward him, Vahn didnt have the luxury of admiring its craftsmanship. Okita had moved like a phantom, her 220cm long katana flickering with a crimson hue that inspired fear in any who bore witness to it. Using it, she could literally kill even concepts so, before the automaton could fire off a single shot, it was split into roughly twenty distinct pieces. Even the bomb in its chest waspletely obliterated, the destructive force contained within simply erased from existence due to Okitas inability to hold back... Without even flinching, despite having defeated a giant robot, Okita resheathed her katana before turning back and waiting patiently for her Master to catch up. Vahn had his usual smile on his face and, knowing she expected it, he gave her head a light pat, saying, "Good job..." for what felt like the hundredth time in thest few minutes. This caused the ahoge on Okitas head to waggle slightly, despite her facial expression never changing in the slightest. As for Vahn, he was doing his best not to allow a wry smile to spread across his face as part of him regretted choosing Okita as his escort. --- Unlike Vahn, Karna was enjoying himself more than a little as his destination was the heart of the Burial Agency. This was the birthce of the Eighth Holy Sacrament, the best-kept secret of the Roman Catholic Church who publically only made the first Seven Sacraments known. These were Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Confession, Marriage, Holy Orders, and the Anointing of the Sick. As for the Eighth Sacrament, it was known as the Necessary Evil and, unlike the rest of the church, its members were indoctrinated in Exorcism and Magecraft. They were a group that used any means avable to them, oftentimesmitting unspeakably heinous acts in order to ensure that the church never lost power. Now, Karna was dancing through a tempest of gunfire as he used his spear to easily deflect bullets. He would normally be able to dodge them with ease but, due to the enchantments ced on them,bined with their anti-divine properties, he was forced to deal with them directly as they seemed to ignore causality if overlooked. It was as if they carried the concept of a miracle so, rather than look down on them, he opted to meet the bullets head-on as it didnt take much effort to deflect them. As for Jeanne, she wasrgely immune to their effects so she just followed behind while using arge kite shield to periodically intercept any stray rounds that came her way. In this manner, Karna had cut down more than a hundred Executors of the Burial Agency until he finally encountered his second worthwhile foe, this time in the form of a woman with short blue hair and a toned body covered in various tattoos and scars. She had an eyepatch over her left eye but, despite what this would indicate, Karna could sense something underneath staring back at him. It was enough to make the hair on the back of his neck stand on end so, while his expression remained stoic and unflustered, his heart began pumping as he brandished his spear and stated, "I am Karna, Son of the Sun God, Spear of the Aldnrari Empire! State your name, worthy one...!" With a serious expression on her face, the blue-haired woman red between Karna and Jeanne as she stated in a cold tone, "I have no name to give to a group of terrorists. Come, lets get this over with..." As she spoke, the woman lifted up what appeared to be a massive pile-bunker in the shape of a modified bay. It was nearly as long as she was tall and, despite seeming almostpletely solid, she was able to lift it with considerable ease. This caused Karna to squint his eyes, not because the feat itself was impressive but due to the fact that, much like her eyepatch, the weapon in the womans hands gave him a dangerous feeling. His instincts told him that a direct hit from it would spell disaster but, with his A-Rank speed, it shouldnt pose much of a threat. Despite this, Karna wasnt the type to take unnecessary risks so, rather than charge the woman head-on, the pauldrons on his shoulders red as his wispy red mantle ignited in scarlet mes. The same mes appeared on his spear and, in an instant, the surrounding temperature shot up to more than 15,000 degrees, air disced and stone melting immediately thereafter. This caused a backdraft to ur, kicking up tempestuous winds that would turn a normal person to ashes in an instant. Proving that she was anything but a normal woman, the blue-haired member of the Burial Agency clenched her teeth as she lunged into the wall of mes without any hesitation. Most of her robes burnt to ashes in an instant but, apparently ustomed to such attacks, she had undergarments not all that dissimr to the [Aegis] underneath. They looked like simple underwear at a nce but, to those with the ability to discern their true nature, hundreds of minute runes could be seen glowing on the surface. As even more evidence of her abnormality, the womans flesh began to burn and char ck as her hair, which had already been short, burnt away in an instant. Despite this, it was growing back and healing at nearly the exact same rate so, while it would have been more than enough to kill others, she was able to reach Karna in an instant, the piledriver in her hands causing a shockwave that easily dispersed the mes as its ck stake drove towards the invulnerable Demigods chest. Always trusting his instincts, Karna evaded the attack without much difficulty as his spear cut from the womans left thigh to her shoulder in a single swift strike. Even this wasnt enough to take her out, however, she she just released a loud battle cry before angling the pile bunker in his direction, this time pulling a secondary trigger on the right side. Understanding the womans intentions, Karna didntpletely evade the second strike. Rather, he was aware of the fact that Jeanne was in the line of fire and, while she may be able to evade it on her own, Karna wasnt the type to let others get caught up in his battles. Thus, to keep the momentum in his favor, he attempted to deflect the ck rod that, upon contact with his spear, radiated a golden light. At the same time, severalyers of what appeared to be pages exploded outward but, due to his mes, they burned away almost immediately. Without understanding the purpose of the pages, Karna shifted his focus back to the blue-haired woman, noticing the surprise visible on her face. Due to his previous strike, however, the band on her chest had been cleaved through so, while notpletely naked, she only had panties and some kind of stocking-type boots. This made Karna feel a little awkward but, as he wasnt the type to look down on his opponent in the middle of a battle, he kept hisposure as he brandished his spear, this time attempting to cut the womans left arm off to see if she could regenerateplete limbs... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn fears Shishous lecture...,In before Vahn starts wearing bells in his hair and sealing away his power to give other people a chance...,The Invulnerable vs The Immortal) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1318 Parallels

Chapter 1318 Parallels

With Okita at his side, it wasnt long before Vahn found himself at the entrance of a ptial church several hundred meters between the earths surface. The artistry that went into its construction was on the same level as St. Peters Basilica upon first nce but, if you were to look closer, the figures of angels, saints, and historical religious figures had been reced with demons, devils, and bloodied human figures experiencing various forms of torture... After admiring the macabre sight for a few moments, Vahn turned his attention to the entrance as he said, "Okita, Ill take point from this moment onward. Make sure to stay on your toes, though." Hearing her Mastersmand, Okita simply took a few steps back until she was standing behind him, no words necessary. Vahn smiled wryly in response to this before walking up the marble stairs, passing under a group of thirteen demonic figures that seemed to be looking down at him. There was a thin spatial membrane than isted the interior of the church from the outside but it did little to stop Vahns progress. Soon enough, Vahn found himself inside the churchs nave, the central area that extended from the entrance to the chancel, a massive altar with a ten-meter tall crucifix positioned behind it. There, a young boy with raven ck hair, lightless purple eyes, and an emotionless smile was seated with a ragged-looking golden-haired woman in the grip of his left hand. He seemed to be missing the left extremity but, as that wasnt an important factor in the present moment, Vahns eyes hardened as he stepped unhesitantly toward the peculiar duo. Perhaps due to surprise or amusement, the raven-haired youth raised his brow slightly as he cradled the womans head in his hand, saying, "I never expected that you would be able to deal such a blow to the Church. You possess a truly inordinate amount of power..tell me, whatpelled you to reach such extremes...?" Rather than answer the youths question, Vahns eyes began to radiate divine light as he sternlymanded, "Let her go." Blinking in surprise, the youth proceeded to tilt his head to the side, asking, "Did you note here to kill this woman? Oh, perhaps you wished to make her one of your pets...? I see, I may have acted a little hastily then...how unfortunate." As soon as he finished speaking, the raven-haired youth released the golden-haired woman from his grasp and, before Vahns eyes, her body rapidly decaying as she convulsed in pain. Before she could die, however, she vanished in motes of white light, surprising the raven-haired youth. He didnt have time to ruminate over what had happened, however, as Vahn appeared right in front of him, the void tearing behind him due to the speed of his movement. For a brief moment, the youths eyes turned crimson red as he lifted his left hand, the tattoo on the back glowing with a vibrant light before it was snuffed out almost instantly by the force of Vahns blow. He didnt appreciate people toying with the lives of others and, even without having to discuss the youths intentions, Vahn knew he had likely tormented the woman in the hopes of getting on his good side. Fortunately, she had a rtively pure aura so, the moment her death had be certain, she was teleported to a world where she would be able to live freely, the Throne of Heroes undoing whatever the youth had done to torment her... By the time the youth realized what was happening, most of the bones and organs in his torso had beenpletely crushed by Vahns palm strike. He had been sent crashing into the surprisingly hard crucifix behind the altar, his body leaving a thick trail of blood as he slouched to the ground. Despite the severity of his injuries, the youth never lost the smile on his face. Rather, he seemed even more amused by the development, using his left hand to pick at the bits of gore now marring his formerly white robe. He showed no signs of difort whatsoever and, as if he didnt require air to produce sound, the youth looked back at Vahn, musing, "You are quick to anger...though, I suppose that should have been obvious considering your past reactions...?" Once again electing not to humor the youth, Vahnrgely ignored his prattling and instead used his [Enkidu] to entangle his rapidly regenerating body. This caused the process to stop, surprising the youth once again as he tried to wriggle his way out for a few moments before ultimately giving up and asking, "Is this really necessary? Im not even trying to fight back. Rather, I was never a true ally of the church. My only interests are freedom, animals, treasures, and humanity...will you fault me for being a victim of the churchs machinations...?" Now that he had bound the raven-haired youth, Vahn finally decided to respond, albeit after picking him up by the cor of his robe and asking, "Who and what are you? You are not human...no, you are something closer to a Counter Guardian...?" Seemingly without minding the fact he was being dangled in the air, the youth responded with a simple shake of the head before exining, "I am Merem Solomon, a Dead Apostle Ancestor and what somebel a Terminal. Most refer to my kind as Daemons, creatures given form by the wishes and desires of humanity, our sole purpose to fulfill the hopes and dreams of others. If not for a chance encounter, I would still be locked away within a room without arms and legs, destined to live my entire life at the whims of humans~." Though he hadnt particrly cared about what response Merem might give, Vahns brows twitched slightly when he heard thetter half of his statement. He knew better than most just how terrifying such a life was and, based on Merems aura, he could tell thetter wasnt evil. Rather, it seemed as if he was detached from the world entirely and, much like Jeanne and Okita, a presence simr to the Counter Force flowed through his body. Releasing Merem from his grip, though not releasing him from [Enkidu], Vahn turned to ya and asked, "What exactly is this person? Is he truly a Daemon...?" Without any pause for thought, ya immediately replied, answering, "He is as he ims to be, a Terminal. His purpose is to give form to beings that have been abandoned by humanity, a natural bncing factor of the World to prevent the loss of Mystery. This one seems to have been corrupted by an Alien Factor, however, so it has obtained a will of its own." Hearing yas response, Vahn felt as if his thought process began to dull slightly as, in many ways, Merem was exactly the type of entity he had sworn to protect. Not only that, Merems existence was a direct parallel to his own and, much like the raven-haired youth, he would have been powerless if not for the intervention of a far more powerful entity. The only real difference between them was the path they walked after obtaining their freedom. He could tell that Merem had a somewhat sadistic nature and, based on the purity of his aura, it was easy to deduce that he simply didntprehend that his actions were wrong... Vahn could only imagine what kind of life Merem must have lived to have developed this kind of personality. For the time being, however, he elected not to kill the raven-haired youth as it would leave a bad taste in his mouth. Rather, the boy seemed to possess a very high degree of immortality so, while he had undoubtedlymitted heinous deeds in the past, there was a functionally infinite amount of time to correct his course. After sorting his thoughts, Vahn squat down so that he was eye-level with Merem, asking, "What is it that you desire from life? Why is your reason for existing...?" For several seconds, Merem seemed to contemte Vahns words, the smile on his face remaining the same emotionless mask as he finally answered, "My only desire is to live freely, unbound by the expectations and desires of others. As for my reason for existing...I give meaning to my existence by living purposefully. If I were forced to choose something, I would say my purpose is to destroy that foul woman who has tainted the legacy of my idol...that, and perhaps, making sure the Princess is able to live happily...?" With Merem essentially saying his dream is the same as his own, Vahn actually felt a little annoyed. It was painfully obvious that Merem had made a lot of mistakes but, just as he had purported to others time and again, he knew it was only a matter of time before he made his own. However, no matter how things developed, Vahn promised he would never stop trying to make the world a better ce, even if he must fail a thousand times in the process. Fearing that he would be a hypocrite if he denied Merem a simr opportunity, Vahn loosened [Enkidu] as he sternly stated, "I will assign something to watch over you. From this moment onward, you can live as you please. However, if you continue tomit acts of cruelty, do not me me for showing up to eliminate you. This is thest opportunity I will give you...do not make me regret my decision to show you mercy, Merem Solomon..." Without [Enkidu] binding him, Merems body rapidly recovered until he returned to his pristine and youthful figure. His height was only 143cm tall so, despite being well over a thousand years old, he had the appearance of someone between the ages of ten and thirteen. The only thing that ruined the image was the eerie smile on his face but, seemingly taking Vahns words to heart, Merem gave a small nod before saying, "I would have hoped to ally with the Empire. It seems you are not in need of my power, however, so I will do as you suggest. Worry not, as Im actually quite fond of humans. If it displeases you so, I vow to never harm another human unless my own life is endangered by my inaction. This should be eptable, yes...?" As the terms mentioned by Merem were simr to what he had in mind, Vahn gave a curt nod in response, adding, "Citizens and affiliates of the Empire are assigned Companions. My only mandate is that you take yours around with you, protecting it from harm. Should you conceal yourself inside a Bounded Field or harm the Companion in any way, I will consider it an announcement of malicious intent. Other than that, you are generally free to live as you please...the world is going through great changes at the moment so youll have to exercise a bit of caution in the interim." Rather than show any signs of frustration, Merem actually seemed pleased by Vahns words. He was one of the primary members of the Burial Agency, representing the Fifth Seat, so he knew quite a bit about the peculiar creatures seen around those associated with the Empire. Since he was quite fond of animals, especially those with unique appearances, he had no problem with epting one as his travelingpanion. His best friend was actually a giant rat that had the ability to transform into the appearance of any human it had ever seen so having an adorable humanoid Companion was a boon in and of itself... --- Though it couldnt exactly be stated that he and Merem were on good terms just yet, thetter went out of his way to expose the secrets of the Holy Church while simultaneously acting as a guide. This made progress through the underground tunnels much faster and, rather than have to figure out the nature of every prisoner he encountered, Vahn could rely on a brief exnation from Merem. The Burial Agency had only existed since the twelfth century so Merem knew virtually everything about it just by virtue of how long he had been a part of it. This would have caused his allies to puke blood but, considering most of them would be dead by the end of the day, it ultimately didnt matter that he had betrayed them... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP unnamed Pontiff-chan...,Seriously, how can Vahn and Merem have so much inmon!?,Burying the Burial Agency...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1319 Spli

Chapter 1319 Spli

It quickly became apparent that, while their difference in speed and skill provided Karna with an insurmountable advantage, he couldnt actually disable his opponent. Even cutting off her limbs and disarming her had nosting effect as, the more damage she sustained, the faster her regeneration. He had even knocked her weapons away several times but, once her arm regenerated, she was able to summon it back to her side in an instant before pressing the attack like a suicidal soldier. At this point, Karna no longer had to move much to evade the blue-haired womans attacks as he had alreadypletely seen through her movements. He never dropped his guard but, after cutting her in half for the third time, he was beginning to feel a little guilty. It had never been in his nature to torment the weak and, while she was likely very strong among her peers, her best effort was unable to make him feel any pressure at all. If not for her left eye, which glowed with a strange blue light,bined with her seemingly indestructible weapon, he wouldnt even need to take a single step to counter all her attacks... Without minding the fact she was basically only wearing a pair of slowly dissolving panties, the blue-haired woman continued to release furious war cries as she attempted to strike at the small lines that were only visible with her Mystic Eye of Death Perception. If she could strike a single one, the tide of battle would shift in her favor but, as if he was able to understand her intentions before she even set her mind to any given action, Karna was able to deftly parry her otherwise precise blows. This often ended with arge part of her body being destroyed, the pain from the mes causing her to slowly lose her grip on reality as she used them to fuel her continued assault. Eventually, Karna began to feel like this was the worst matchup for him. He actually had the ability to kill her but it would be at the cost of his own invulnerability and his primary weapon. The only thing that kept him in the fight, rather than sending a message back to his Master, was his pride. He knew that Scthach would be able to deal with the woman with considerable ease and, while it ultimately didnt matter which one of them carried out their Masters will, Karna felt his absence during the previous events needed some form of rpense. With this in mind, Karna sidestepped the precise amount necessary to evade the womans attack before, once again, severing her arm. This caused the pile bunker tond heavily against the ground, its surface glowing red hot from the long exposure to extreme temperatures. Before the woman could create some distance, heal her wounds, and recover her weapon, Karna stepped forward much faster than she could retreat, his hands now free as he grabbed both of her wrists. This caused the woman to scowl as she said, "Let go of me you piece of shit...!" while trying to drive her knee into the golden codpiece that protected Karnas dignity. Unfortunately for her, he had one of the highest levels of invulnerability so, while others might have tried to protect themselves, Karna didnt even flinch as he said, "Stop this meaningless battle. You have already lost. Continuing like this serves no purpose." Rather than pay Karnas words any mind, the blue-haired woman unhesitantly attempted to m her forehead against his chin, an ultimately futile act. This didnt stop her, however, as she spontaneously twisted her body around without any regard for her own arms. Her superhuman strength resulted in the arms being ripped from their sockets, leaving Karna slightly stunned. His expression didnt really change but, seeing how far the woman was willing to go, his own conviction began to increase as he retreated back a few steps. What Karna hadnt expected was that, after these few steps, his body was suddenly paralyzed while, near her initial position, the blue-haired woman stared back at him with a sadistic smile, her arm still extended from when she threw a ck de into his shadow. In the next moment, she pulled out a few golden pages, seemingly from the tattoos on her body. These turned into a series of meter-long ck des, simr in structure to the throwing knife that sealed his movements. Using the opportunity she had created, the blue-haired woman attempted to strike at the lines that ran across Karnas body. He may be invulnerable but, from her perception, there were countless ways to end his life. It was this power, given to her by one of the few people she ever cherished, that gave her the conviction to fight against opponents that were otherwise beyond her capabilities. Karna felt the shadow of death cover him but, despite being immobilized, he wasnt concerned. After all, he could produce a virtually infinite amount of mes thus, as his opponent approached, his aura zed like the sun. This caused his shadow to vanish in its entirety, allowing him to deftly swat away the womans attack before borrowing her own technique, headbutting her in the head. Since he was invulnerable, this was far more effective when used by him. He didnt even bother to hold back so, for a brief moment, the crown of the womans head had inverted as the vertebrae in her neck were reduced to powder. During his previous attacks, Karna had avoided striking the womans face as it was proper etiquette, against both males and females, to only strike the face when absolutely necessary. This was to give the family an opportunity to bury the deceased in a presentable state. Now, however, he realized his opponent never saw him in the same light. To her, he was nothing more than a target for elimination so Karna was beginning to lose his usual stoicism... Before the woman could regenerate, Karna spun her around in one swift motion, pinning both of her arms in a manner where she wouldnt be able to sacrifice them a second time. He knew this wouldnt be enough, however, so he ced his palm on the back of her head before forming a ball of golden mes, perpetually incinerating her brain to disable her motor functions. At the same time, without facing Jeanne, he asked, "Do you have anything like a rope? Without taking this whole facility with me, Ill be unable to defeat this woman." Unlike Karna, Jeanne had absolutely no qualms about contacting her God so, while the fight had been ongoing, she already ryed everything to him. Because of this, the person to answer Karna was not Jeanne herself but, appearing out of thin air, Scthach. This caused Karna to deadpan but, with the former simply passing over a red-twine rope, seemingly banded together from metallic fibers, he quickly tied the blue-haired woman in such a way that she wouldnt be able to leverage any of her strength. He didnt bother questioning the strength of the rope as, considering who had given it to him, the odds of it failing were slim to none. Knowing she had the ability to discern a persons past, present, and future, Karna allowed the blue-haired woman to regenerate as he turned to Scthach, asking, "Who is this? She fights like a mad beast and has impossible regeneration. My mes should prevent most forms of regeneration but hers seems more like time-reversal than anything else..." Shaking her head, Scthach refuted Karnas spection, exining, "She is Elesia Roa Valdamjong, the Seventeenth Incarnation of Michael Roa Valdamjong. He is an existence that has touched the Root but, instead of obtaining knowledge, he acquired the ability to reincarnate infinitely. She was able to separate her body and Ego from Roas influence but, as his existence is something that will persist until the end of time, her immortality is absolute. The weapon she possesses, the Seventh Scripture, would normally be able to sever this cycle but, without using it against the original, she has no choice but to live forever..." Though it didnt show in her expression in the slightest, Scthach actually empathized with Elesia since her fate was something imposed upon her. She knew that the only reason the woman was a part of the Burial Agency was due to the fact they allowed her to use the Seventh Scripture. If not for her willingness to act as the perfect disposable tool, they would have sealed her away long ago. Without exining her intentions, Scthach kneeled next to the bound Elesia and, before thetter could even utter a single curse, the former flicked her forehead with a surprising amount of force. This caused Elesias head to fling backward as the sound of ss breaking could be heard echoing in the surroundings. When Elesias head returned to its normal position, the light from her eyes had faded and, rather than some mad avenger, she now resembled an extremely fatigued young woman who, immediately after, fell unconscious. Understanding the questions they were going to ask, as she had already foreseen them, Scthach inly stated, "She has been using a very powerful form of self-hypnosis for several years. There are two distinct Egos locked away in her mind right now, one belonging to a demure young woman who desires a peaceful life while the other is driven, out of necessity, to serve the Holy Church. Our Lord would be saddened if she lost her life here so we will take her back for treatment..." What Scthach didnt say was that, after Elesia made a full recovery, she would present the young woman with the option to pursue the death she had desired for a long time. Though she wasnt all that old, being the incarnation of a homicidal vampire, a pawn of the Holy Church, and a maiden who had to watch her own love die, Elesia had gone through a lot. The only thing that propelled her forward was the dream of her beloved, something she was willing to spend her eternity to obtain in his stead. Scthach wouldnt look down on the womans conviction so, depending on her decision, she would help Elesia reach her goals. Her innate magical talent was even greater than Magi like Luvia and Rin so, had she not sealed away her own memories rted to Magecraft, she would have had been able to fight in a far more versatile manner. This,bined with her status as a Tier 4 entity, meant she had a lot of room for growth. The only thing that held her back was her mentality, her experience, and decades of trauma... As someone with absolute immortality, it didnt take long for Elesia to recover her consciousness. She still had the same tired look in her eyes, a stark contrast to the fury she possessed while fighting against Karna. When she heard Scthachs words, however, the light almost immediately returned to her heterochromatic eyes as the former inly stated, "The man you desire can be brought back to life, his memories intact. I will take you as my student...do you ept?" Karna and Jeanne were surprised by Scthachs words but,pared to Elesia herself, they had mild reactions. Thetter, however, began to hyperventte, her eyes wavering in disbelief as she asked, "Is that the truth? Please, do not torment me with hope...I can take pain..." Under normal circumstances, Elesia would never believe her enemys words but, understanding that Vahn had seemingly unrestricted ess to the Throne of Heroes, she couldnt help but cling to the small hope rekindled inside her. Fortunately, Scthach responded with an affirmative nod while using her left hand to cut through the ropes binding her body. This caused Karna to tense up a bit but, as if the Son of the Sun God was no longer anywhere in her eyes, Elesia bowed low to Scthach and said, "Please...I will do anything..." in a voice on the verge of sobbing... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Grandmaster vs. Novice,Im not sure if Karna is really good at using his head or if he is really bad at it...,Scthach empathizing with others!? Vahn really has done a number on her, hasnt he...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1320 - Burial

Chapter 1320 - Burial

With Merem leading the way, despite it not really being all that necessary, Vahn visited several sealed chambers, each structured like tombs. This was one of the reasons why the Burial Agency was known as such. They scoured the earth for anything detrimental to their religious doctrine and, to ensure it never had the chance to lead their obedient followers astray, the truth was, quite literally, buried. Most of the entities imprisoned by the Holy Church were unique Spirits that produced valuable resources but, located at the deepest levels, behind severalyers of protective measures, three distinctly powerful existences were sealed away. The first of these entities was a Dead Apostle known as El Nahat, a peculiar individual who embodied the concept of Refraction. He had the innate ability to turn into a copy of any singr target and, by injuring or destroying himself, he, in turn, assured the destruction of the target. It didnt matter if his opponent was someone with an even higher grade of immortality as El Nahats ability allowed him to functionally erase his own existence for a short moment, guaranteeing the death of all but a few select individuals. Due to his nature as a Dead Apostle, El Nahat was an obvious target for elimination by the Holy Church but, upon learning of his ability, they instead used the interval when he was incapacitated to seal his Ego and the remnants of his body away. They unabashedly made use of the heretical ability and, despite everything he had experienced, even Vahn was prepared to see the chamber in which El Nahat was sealed... While El Nahats body would be destroyed upon the activation of his ability, there was always one part of him that remained, at least after the Holy Churchs intervention. This was the mans stomach and, for reasons Vahn would never be able to guess, the church had functionally stretched the tissue until it covered every surface of a 5x5m cube, giving it a peculiar fleshy yet reflective appearance... Bound in the center of the horrifying room, a man with hundreds of ck rods piercing every joint of his body could be seen. His movements were further restricted by a straight jacket that seemed to be sewn from fabric inscribed with holy text. This meant that, unless he was brought out by another, El Nahat couldnt move a single muscle. Even his eyelids had been surgically removed, forcing him to stare at his own figure reflected in the surface of his own stretched stomach... After a momentary pause, one experienced by all his vessels simultaneously, Vahn blinked back to awareness as he unhesitantly said, "Okita, destroy himpletely...he is too far gone...give him the peace he deserves..." Merem seemed somewhat surprised by Vahns decision but, before he could interject, Okitas sword shed with an intense red light. The luminance became so powerful that it shifted to pure white in an instant, blinding both Vahn and Merem for a brief moment. Then, when the light faded away, aplete void where even the Laws themselves didnt exist persisted for several long seconds. It was a peculiar sight as, until it copsed, a ck spherical gap existed, one which seemed to possess an indescribably beautiful light at the very center... Okitas Noble Phantasm, [Decisive de - Endless Three-Stage] was an Anti-World Noble Phantasm made possible by her unnaturally long odachi, [Rengoku no Ha], meaning Purgatory de. Using it, she could even kill things that do not exist and, if the situation called for it, even things that were intrinsic to the structure of the World itself. It was a technique that transcended even True Magics, making it equal to an Administrative Function when used to its fullest potential. As a result of its power, Okitas mental processes operated on fundamentally different wavelengths than normal humans. She was, in essence, an Anti-World ss Divine Spirit given human form as, despite not being a Counter Guardian, her power was directly tied to the Counter Force. If she was to be capable of using it at her leisure, the World itself would reject her existence as she was a force of absolute and invible destruction... In spite of her nature, which was virtually incapable of emotion, Okita had learned how to emte the emotions of others through observation. Thus, afterpleting her deed, she skipped over to Vahns side, causing Merem to take a few steps back as his instincts, as could be expected, sent very loud warning bells throughout his mind. Every fiber of his being was warning him to stay away from the taciturn woman and, for a brief moment, he almost activated his final trump card on instinct... Without even acknowledging Merems existence, Okita stopped right in front of Vahn as she bent forward slightly to make her head more essible. Vahn, as always, gave her head a gentle pat as, while it sometimes felt like he was training a pet, Okita needed positive feedback to know when she was doing well. Since she only considered his words to have any weight, it fell upon him to guide her, something that weighed on Vahns heart and mind when she picked up bad habits from the other girls. Deciding not to mind things too much, Vahn gave the now emptied room onest look before making a mental note to destroy the entire thingter on. For now, he turned to Merem and urged the slightly pale youth to lead the way. There were still two other entities of import sealed away by the Holy Church, each possessing even higher designations than El Nahat due to the nature of their existence. Though he hadnt really been harboring thoughts of rebelling against the Empire any time soon, Merem stopped wearing his false smile and, instead, began treating his current guide duty seriously. He was quickly learning that Vahn could be very extreme in his responses and, instead of coveting greater power, thetter wouldnt hesitate to destroy powerful trump cards, seemingly as an act of mercy. This made Merem realize that he had gotten off rtively leniently as, if Vahn had decided to extend his mercy to him, even being a Terminal wouldnt have guaranteed his life... After passing through a series of security measures, and one massive vault, Vahn entered a distinctly less mortifying room, this time appearing as a genuine tomb with a coffin. The top of the coffin had the visage of Virgin Mary carved into it but, after breaking through the various seals and curses that would normally prevent ess, he quickly removed the lid to reveal its contents. Inside, an obviously female figure covered from head-to-toe in bandages inscribed with sacred text had been effectively mummified by the Holy Church. Pressing his hand against the womans abdomen, Vahn confirmed what he already knew as, despite still living, all of her internal organs were missing. The bandagespletely shut down her ability to regenerate so she was effectively just an organic container, one pumped full of holy water. As for the location of her organs, Vahn knew they had been used as materials to produce various weapons and holy relics but, once she was unsealed, they would cease to exist as her regeneration functioned in a simr way to his own. Though Merem had already exined who was sealed away, Vahn confirmed with ya before he made any attempt to remove the bandages. Thest thing the world needed was another powerful force to influence their decisions so he listened patiently as ya exined, "Lilith, the Mother of Daemons and the first of the Subi. She is one of the first humans to earn the favor of the Gods and, as a result, received great power. So long as she is not allowed to roam freely, her existence poses no immediate danger to the Empire." ya wasnt the type to mess around when it came to matters rted to the preservation of humanity, or any matter, really. Thus, with her assurance that Lilith wouldnt be a problem, at least beyond the scope of his ability to deal with, Vahn began to remove the bandages. He ultimately only had to expose a part of the pale skin below for the rest of the bandages to burst apart in a small explosion of force. As a result, the figure of an inordinately beautiful woman who had a striking resemnce to Semiramis appeared before him... At first, the woman in the coffin had been bald by, after mere seconds had passed, silky ck hair pooled around her head and shoulders. What was visible of her pale skin regained a healthy glow and, if not for the intricate runes covering everything but her face, breasts, abdomen, and genitals, Vahn imagined herplexion would even rival Da Vincis. Instead, she gave off an amorous feeling that simultaneously felt wrong at the same time... As if to emphasize this incongruity further, the runes were quickly covered up by a thinyer of ck, snake-like scales. Her previously delicate fingers became a little thicker as the digits formed ckened nails at the end. This same phenomenon happened to her feet but,pared to the more noticeable changes, these were rtively minor... By the time half a minute had passed, the emaciated figure became a voluptuous woman with what could only be described as an exotic appearance. This wasplemented by the fact she had a set of curved horns protruding from her scalp, much like a ram. On her back, she had two sets of wings, both pitch ck in color but, as if to create even more of an incongruity, one pair was covered in a fleshy membrane, much like a bat, while the second set wasprised of metallic ck feathers, each glistening with a dangerous light. Completing Liliths appearance, a tail with a pronounced ridge protruded from her lower back, its thickness nearly rivaling that of her rather plump thighs. The underside was pale, like the belly of a snake, while the back was covered in ck scales. In a way, she reminded him a lot of Terra and, if not for the fact he knew she was a Subus, he would have assumed she was a True Dragon based on appearance alone... Further cementing theparison with Semiramis, Lilith eventually opened her eyes while moving to a seated position within the coffin. She had pale-gold irises with very distinct, cat-like pupils. The only real difference between her eyes and those of Semiramis was the fact that, rather than a gentle curve forming the slit, Liliths eyes were closer in form to diamonds. This wasnt noticeable when they were contracted but, once they dted slightly, the angles became very pronounced... After staring back at Vahn for several seconds, Lilith tilted her head to the side and asked, "Are you a God...?" in a curious tone. Vahn, however, noticed the inherent charm contained in her seemingly innocuous question, a testament to the fact she was, indeed, a Subus. Not just any Subus, either, but the Queen of the Subi. This put her on par with peak Tier 4 existences and, under the right conditions, she would even be able to match existences like Merlin in influence. Some mythos even med Lilith for the existence of sin itself, a rather ridiculous thought if you considered the fact that sin itself was arbitrarily decided by beings with power. Considering he would be charged with protecting her for the foreseeable future, Vahn answered her question with a curt nod, exining his status without exposing exactly what his Divinity was. He was pretty sure she had already realized it, as she actually had a fragment of a Sex Divinity herself but, as this was neither the time nor the ce to discuss such things, hergely talked around the matter. It was more important that she was aware of her situation. Much like Merem, Vahn gave Lilith the option of living a free and unfettered life. She would have to follow what he was calling the Common Law but, so long as she didnt cause chaos and unnecessary harm, he had no intention of imprisoning and using her. This exnation was ultimately needless, however, as Lilith very inly stated, "I am a willing servant of the Gods, always and forever. As the one to release me from my bindings, you are now my Lord and Master. Your will is mine to follow, your desires mine to fulfill...in fact, Im quite looking forward to it~" Toward the end of her words, Lilith seductively licked her lips in an obvious intent to entice him but, as someone who habitually spends time with Da Vinci, Vahn wasrgely immune to such things. He was very aware of her intent, as he couldnt turn off his own Divinity, but there was an order to all things. Thus, for the time being, Vahn handed Lilith a spare [REquip] system, exining its functions so she could wear proper clothing rather than walk aroundpletely naked... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Could you call this self-reflection...?,Merem be sweatin...,Liliths face when she realizes how many women are ahead of her in the hierarchy (O ^ O)...,I wonder if anyone can guess the identity of the Holy Churchs most important secret~?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1321 - Secret Anomaly

Chapter 1321 - Secret Anomaly

Lilith seemed to find the idea of wearing clothes rather novel but, considering it was the will of her Lord, sheplied on the premise that Vahn selected her outfit. This proved challenging in its own way as, with her wings, tails, and other features, finding suitable clothing for Lilith was surprisingly difficult. Fortunately, Vahn could purchase items from the system shop to tide her over, at least until Da Vinci could modify the [REquip] system for more exotic physiques. After more deliberation than he would have liked, Vahn ended up choosing a ck gown with gold trim for Lilith to wear. It had a deep v-neck that showed off her ample bosom while the bottom half had two slits, giving Lilith a distinctly seductive appeal. This was further emphasized by the fact that the back of the dress extended to beneath her tail, leaving her backrgely exposed to make room for her four wings. Even without essories and other adornments, Lilith was an inordinately beautiful woman. This was nothing new for Vahn but, considering the parallels she had with Semiramis, he could easily imagine the troubles that would arise due to Liliths presence. If not for the fact that Merlin had shown him just how many people had a simr appearance to Artoria, Vahn would have believed Semiramis was a direct descendant of Lilith. Instead, it seemed like the Root System had a few preferred temtes as there were a surprising number of Heroic Spirits with near-identical appearances... As one of the primary Heroines of the Nasuverse, at least from what Vahn could ascertain, Artoria was obviously a favorite of whoever had created the Record. Because of this, there were dozens of people who shared a simr appearance to Artoria. This even included Lakshmibai and Okita, two women who had virtually no European ancestors. Despite this, their facial structure was nearly an exact copy of Artorias, the only differences being their eye color, hair color, andplexion. If he was selective about who he summoned, Vahn was certain he could find doppelgangers for each and every resident of the Empire. He could even summon alternate versions of the same person from parallel worlds, seemingly without restriction. Thus, while Liliths simrities to Semiramis were a little strange, it was nothingpared to his mental image of a thousand Scthach(s) charging an enemy fortress. This was an extremely sobering thought and, while he may summon another copy of her in the future, the circumstances would have to be verypelling... --- After making Lilith presentable, Vahn and co entered the most secure region of the Burial Agency, a ce where even Merem had never been provided ess to. All he knew was that the Holy Church kept a very unique entity sealed away inside, one which either represented an ultimate trump card or a secret so important that it could never be revealed. With his intrigue piqued, Vahn led the way through the security measures, surprising Merem with the fact he was able to fool even the devices that should only react to Nabareck, the leader of the Burial Agency. Even possessing her body would not allow a person to have ess to the inner sanctum as the measures in ce supposedly looked directly at the soul. As someone who could even wield [Excalibur] and [Rhongomnyiad] with impunity, Vahn wasnt even momentarily dyed by these measures. He could even ce his hand against a panel and, as if he was Nabareck herself, secret passages would open up while security measures would deactivate. It was almost too easy, at least until they entered a hemispherical chamber that was divided by a white stone wall at the exact center. The dimensions of the half-hemispherical chamber gave it height and radius of 50m, a surprisinglyrge amount of space considering the nk in his perception around the size of a normal room. Understanding there was something off about the room, Vahn didnt immediately step forward to probe the void on the opposite side of the wall. Instead, he looked at the mural that was painted on the wall, a massive Sephiroth that was bordered with extremely detailed fresco paintings. These were likely some historical ount of the Holy Churchs past, alluding to the fact that whatever they had sealed away preceding the Burial Agency, much like Lilith. Considering the organization was around eight-hundred years old, this wasnt all that surprising, however... Merem, though it wasnt really necessary, took it upon himself to try and interpret the fresco, stating, "It seems like an ount of the end times, Eschaton, followed by the battle between Christ and the Anti-Christ...how curious..." Deciding to humor the raven-haired youth, Vahn gave a curt nod as he slowly walked toward the mural, his voice echoing through the vast chamber as he added, "Considering the nature of El Nahat and Lilith, this is likely the Holy Churchs final trump card. They simply never found the time to use it as, after revealing it, the foundation of their faith would be unstable..." Here, Lilith decided to interject with her own views on the matter, her seductive voice carried on the wind like a whisper as she said, "Forgive my brazenness, My Lord, but I believe the likelihood of an Angel or one of their offspring, a Nephalim. During my time, there were quite a number of Angels in the world causing various amounts of chaos...I wonder how much has changed since then~?" As the oldest person present, sans ya and ORT, Liliths words possessed a certain credibility. This didnt mean she was right, however, so Vahn issued a light hum in response as he ced his palm against the door and said, "I suppose well find out soon enough. Okita, stay alert..." With those final words, Vahn deactivated the charms and curses embedded into the door, opening it to reveal a small and surprisingly modern room. It had carpeted floors, painted walls, working light fixtures and, perhaps most surprisingly, windows that seemed to peer out into the outside world. For a brief moment, Vahn felt like he had stepped into a Subtexture of the world, simr to Avalon, albeit on a much smaller scale. Contrary to their spection, the rooms inhabitant had an appearance not all that dissimr to the Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Church, the woman transmigrated as a result of Merems mistake. The only difference was, this girl couldnt be older than five or six years old yet, as if she was much older, a peaceful aura filled every corner of the room as she stared back with eyes full of wisdom, despite their apparent blindness. Without panicking in the slightest, the girl tilted her head to the side, her unkempt hair cascading from her shoulders like a pristine, pure white, waterfall. Then, in a voice that barely qualified as a whisper, she asked, "Are you here to kill me...?" in a curious tone. Before anyone answered her question, the girl seemed to realize the truth of the matter, a tiny smile spreading across her face as she added, "I suppose not..." As the girl unsteadily rose to her feet, Vahn cast his gaze over the area, not out of intrigue for the rooms contents, but as a result of the girls aura. It wasparable to that of a God but, with the exception of Hestia and Spenta, Vahn had never seen such a peaceful and pure aura... After waiting for the girl to stand, Vahn spoke in a simrly quiet tone, as if elevating his voice would disturb the purity of the rtively in room. His first question, as could be expected, was, "Who are you? Why as the Holy Church imprisoned you here...?" Seemingly confused by Vahns words, the child-like entity blinked a few times before smiling as she answered, "I am no prisoner, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. This ce was created to protect me, not to keep me contained. As for my identity, please, call me Aura...as for my purpose here, it would be urate to call me a Divine Prophet...? Until recently, I could hear the Voice of the World with greater rity than any other..." As she spoke, Aura turned her blind eyes toward Vahns shoulder, matching gazes with the ya in spite of thetter keeping her presence concealed. This caused ya to frown as Aura was not an existence within her memory. Since she had a recollection of everything that had ever existed, even if it was concealed from her, this should be impossible. The only possibilities were, like Vahn, she was an anomalous existence from the Outside. The more likely scenario, however, was that she hailed from a other than Gaia. The only thing that called this into question was the girls im that she could hear the Voice of the World, something that should be impossible for entities using Alien Logic. There was no way anyone would be able tomunicate with the without yas knowledge as she was a part of thes consciousness itself. For her to hear the Voice of the World, Aura would have to be listening to ya speaking, something thetter would obviously be aware of... Sensing the rare fluctuation in yas aura, Vahns own brows furrowed as he asked, "Where did youe from, Aura? You dont seem...human...nor are you a God...what exactly are you?" As if she found Vahns words amusing, Aura giggled in an innocent manner before answering in the same soft tone as before, "Calling me a Divine Prophet really is the most urate way to describe me. If it helps, please consider me as an existence in the same light as Schrodingers Cat or Maxwells Demon. I am a concept given form but, unlike Merem and high-level Daemons, my existence is tied to something...external. Even I do not know who created me, however, so please forgive my vague answer..." Toward the end of her statement, Aura gave an apologetic bow while, on Vahns shoulder, ya gave a small nod before saying, "Her words are the truth. There is no record of her existence in my memory. This indicates she has either never existed before or, for reasons I cannot ascertain, her existence is usually beyond my ability to perceive..." It didnt take much effort to realize that Aura was ced on Gaia by Akasha and, for reasons that could only be guessed at, she existed as a blind spot that was able to spy on Gaia and ya with apparent impunity. Vahn couldnt understand why this was necessary, as ya was already under the control of the Root System, so the easiest assumption to make was that she existed as a failsafe of sorts. His understanding of the Root System was still limited so, until she was required to fulfill her purpose, he could only specte as to the nature of Auras existence. For now, Vahn had other matters to tend to so, rather than ruminate over Auras purpose, he simply asked, "Do you wish to leave this ce? You are no longer safe here, unfortunately. The world is now experiencing a chaotic shift and, while it may not sound like a strong argumenting from me, I can at least promise you will be kept safe. If you prefer istion, this too can be arranged..." Without any pause for deliberation, Aura produced another innocent smile as she happily answered, "I may not be able to see the world change but I would like to experience the outside. Now that I can no longer hear the Voice of the World, it has been rather lonely staying here. If possible, I would like to stay with my sisters." Hearing Aura mention her sisters, Vahn was about to ask but, anticipating his question, the blind girl exined, "The Supreme Pontiff, Celestine, is cultivated from my cells as a base. She is only one of a number of simr entities, each given the purpose of serving as my public face. With the copse of the Holy Church, I fear my sisters will no longer have a purpose. Before they be the victims of a terrible fate, please take them under the umbre of the Empire. In exchange, I will cooperate with the Empire to the fullest extent of my capabilities..." Toward the end of her words, Aura performed a deep and sincere bow, an awkward sight to behold considering she had the appearance of a child. In response to her request, he had no problems with epting as, from the very beginning, he never intended to simply abandon anyone that had been kept prisoner by the Holy Church. Since Auras sisters were simr to the Homunculi of the Einzbern family, Vahn would provide sanctuary for them within the Empire, so long as they did not be an element of chaos... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Semiramis is going to be biting her nails in vexation xD...,Unlimited Saber Face Works...!,As Vahn bes increasingly more badass, the number of Lolis around him grows exponentially...!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1322 - Cleaning the Slate

Chapter 1322 - Cleaning the te

After veritably, and literally, cleaning the coffers of the Holy Church, Vahn ultimately returned to the surface. There, several small scale battles were ongoing but, with the massive difference in skill and base parameters, the Empire hadnt suffered even minor casualties. Instead, the agents of the Church that had been trying to reim the Vatican hadrgely been killed while only a few who surrendered early on had been captured. Vahn didnt actually want to destroy the Vatican City as it had umted thousands of years of art, history, and culture. However, when he remembered that the Catholic Church had unabashedly done the same to practically every culture it came into contact with, there was a certain poetic justice to its destruction. They had built up their entire organization on a foundation of lies and, while it wouldnt be that difficult to protect the heritage sites present, Vahn knew the more zealous followers of the church would never stop trying to reim it. With this in mind, Vahn moved to the temporarymand site that had been established and, after putting Gawain and the rest at ease, he ordered, "Have everyone withdraw within the next twenty-four hours. Ill be sealing off the Bounded Field from the outside world before destroying everything that is left behind. Well have Da Vincis micro-golems dismantle the underground structures before converting the materials into a memorial pylon." Hearing Vahns words, Gawains smile became somewhat wry as he asked, "Are you certain this is the best course of action, Your Majesty? I fear the destruction of this ce will lead plications..." Vahn understood Gawains concerns but, more so than almost anything else, the existence of a belief system based on false pretenses was dangerous. He would have enough problems dealing with real Gods so, showing consideration for an organization that had exploited and persecuted people for literal millennia wasnt really on the top of his list of priorities. Rather, if he wanted to be considerate of peoples culture, he would need to look into the past over the next few decades to uncover the truth that the Holy Church had kept concealed for generations. Having already made up his mind, Vahn gave a slight nod before stating, "There is no meaning in a physical legacy. We will preserve this ce eternally within the New World System designed by Da Vinci. All of history will slowly be brought to light and, if people are interested in events of the past, they will be able to view them directly when the timees. Pandering to a group of people whose history includes countless examples of violence will only empower them tomit greater acts in the future. The Common Law of the Empire will prohibit the open practice of Religion as, other than to serve as a moralpass, it has no other purpose in this world..." Vahn didnt particrly care what people wanted to believe but, seeing how much violence had been perpetrated for no better reason than a difference in beliefs, he felt Religion as an institution was a very dangerous thing. From the data that had been collected by Ark, there was enough evidence to paint every existing religion in a highly negative light as, at their highest levels, they were often ruled by the most corrupt. In some situations, they existed solely to keep a group repressed while the vast majority had financial gain as their driving force... --- With his Liege having made his decision, Gawain was not in a position to further question the orders he had been given. He knew there were greater powers at y behind the scenes so, while he didnt wholly agree with Vahns decision, he would dutifully carry out his orders. As for Vahn, he quickly left themand center as his presence was more of a distraction than anything else. He needed to get better at demonstrating his trust for those that had chosen to follow him so, seeing Gawain begin to pass on his orders, Vahn entrusted the matter to him. After a quick teleport, Vahn arrived at the nearby Sistine Chapel where, despite not participating in thebat, Da Vinci was staring up at the various murals and frescos lining the ornate chamber. She wasnt alone, either, as this area had been designated as a rallying point for everyone tasked with the exploration of the subterranean levels. Though some people, such as Karna, had gone to assist in the fighting outside, almost everyone else had returned at this point. As his teleportation wasnt exactly subtle, Vahns arrival drew the attention of everyone within the Chapel. Okita and Jeanne quickly came to his side, preempting Liliths attempt to do the same, while Da Vinci remained in her spot with a sad look in her starry eyes. She was already aware of his intent to destroy the Vatican but, considering many of the masterpieces present had been created by one of her few contemporaries, Da Vinci was feeling a little mncholic. Vahn understood what Da Vinci was thinking so, after sharing a few words with Okita and Jeanne, he made his way to her side, saying, "If it bothers you, we can summon Michngelo in the future. Like any true master, I believe he would revel in the opportunity to create greater masterpieces, not harp over matters of the past..." Hearing Vahns remark, Da Vinci issued an elegantugh before turning to face him, exining, "You know, he actually refused to be paid for his work on this ce. It was meant to be his magnum opus, the final piece of artwork he developed prior to his death. Michngelo was the type that reveled in the arts, considering the opportunity to express himself as the highest form of payment..." From her response, it sounded like Da Vinci was agreeing with him but, before Vahn could offer any other words of constion, she smiled slyly and added, "One of his favorite past times was hiding as many nude figures as possible within his works, especially if they were for the Church. Those wrinkly old fools were constantly pulling out what remained of their hair in an effort to censor his work~" Realizing she was messing with him, Vahn issued a light chuckle of his own before wrapping his arm around her waist and taking in the sights onest time. Da Vinci leaned against him, the same smile on her face as before, now without the mncholic glint in her eyes. Then, without Vahn giving the order to do so, Da Vinci sent a signal to her micro-golems and, before the eyes of everyone present, the Sistine Chapel slowly broke down into grey particles, effectively turning to dust until the entire building had disappeared a few minutester... --- With nothing left for him to personally deal with, Vahn ultimately ended up returning to London while most every nonbat personnel returned to Avalon. There was a good chance that the remnants of the Holy Church would do something even more drastic than before but that wasnt a matter of importance, at least within Vahns mind. Instead, his focus was on establishing some basic semnce of order, albeit after spending some time with his children and taking care of a few other pertinent matters... As could be expected, the events that led to what people were tentatively referring to as the Age of Chaos threw a wrench into the daily operations of the Clock Tower. sses hadrgely been put on hold as, in many cases, the Professors themselves had either stepped down or lost their lives in the conflict. There were no longer any factions such as the Noble, Democratic, and Neutral, at least on the surface, as the Clock Tower itself was going through a period of internal restructuring. One of the bigger changes was the introduction of the Common Law which, by Imperial Decree, had precedence over all other rules, regtions, andws. This resulted in the old curriculum being done away with as Vahn had no intention of letting students be led astray and taken advantage of. One of his decrees prohibited the use of any form of unsanctioned mental maniption as he considered it to be one of the key factors that led so many students astray. At the same time, he made things like the mandated harvesting of raw materials from Magi illegal while simultaneously dissolving even middling contracts rted to the acquisition of such materials. While there were no inherently evil practices, Vahn believed there were some that skirt far too close to the border of what any sensible person would practice. This included things like Necromancy and the production of Artificial Humans, Homunculi, and Familiars for the sole purpose of being used as weapons, materials, and an expendablebor force. One of the fundamental principles of the Empire was the observation and appreciation of sapient species and, while there would be exceptions, every race would be treated with dignity by default. With these changes as an example, every existing department within the Clock Tower had to modify its curriculum, the sole exception being the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory. Rather, as the more correct path, parts of Da Vincis curriculum were being implemented throughout the other departments. This was an expected oue as, with the shift in the status quo, people were more eager than ever to throw their lot in with the Empire, especially after the recent purge. Unfortunately for aspirant students and opportunists, the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory wasnt exactly taking in new students. This would only cause even greater chaos, especially with the current students only recently finishing their Baseline Training. Since they were essentially the test batch for the curriculum, introducing new elements before the curriculum could be refined was extremely detrimental. This wasnt the main concern, however, as Vahn and Da Vinci ultimately just wanted the existing students to have enough time to adapt to the changes. Even though they hadrgely cut ties with their families and other parties, nearly every student that was currently a part of the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory had been affected by the recent changes. After all, the entire world was currently in chaos so they had a lot to think about in regards to their own future. It was fortunate that the events took ce during their Baseline Training as it gave them something to focus on, something that rewarded them plentily for their efforts... As Status was an actual thing within the Nasuverse, with Parameter Rules and quantifiable Skills and Abilities, each student was able to use their Terminal to keep track of their progress. They could see their Parameters change in real-time and, after obtaining a Familia Crest, they were able to map out their future paths through the Skill Tree. These changes had been groundbreaking for the students so, while there were a few who had dealt with the transition with some difficulty, most of the students were working hard to be stronger. This was both to secure their own future and, as the Department purported, prepare them for any path they may find themselves on in the future. To this end, Mordred, Sakura, Zo?, Astrid, and Mash were setting an example for the rest of the students to follow. They redoubled their efforts and made no attempt to conceal how hard they were working to grow stronger. At the same time, Mordred had secured her position as the top Ranking student, both within the Department and the Virtual Battle Arena. Thetter had been made essible to the students after their Baseline Training and, as could be expected, it had be a very popr recreational tool. With the Virtual Battle Arena, students could fight against doppelgangers of themselves but, each with identical Parameters, Skills, and Magecraft. The difference was, their doppelgangers could be changed to fight at varying degrees of proficiency, including a Master setting that gave each student a hard lesson on exactly how inefficient theirbat methods were. Since the Master setting used the battle data from Vahns [Laces Key] as a temte, the only person who had been able tost more than a few minutes against their Master Doppelganger was Mordred. Even she, however, was unable to defeat herself as, when all other things were bnced, even the smallest mistake could lead to a quick defeat... The Doppelganger function was the default training method avable to new students but, once they were able to defeat an Advanced version of themselves, they gained ess to new options. These were far more popr than the Doppelganger function as, when it ultimately came down to it, fighting against and being defeated by yourself wasnt a pleasant experience. Instead, the option to fight against versions of their fellow ssmates was the most popr function with monster hunting being a close second. Unfortunately, causing Vahn a fair amount of annoyance, some of the students had immediately tried to exploit this function for nefarious purposes. There was one male student who, after finally defeating an Advanced version of himself, unlocked the function only to immediately match against one of the weaker female students. Since the duplicates were exact copies,bined with the fact that the system replicated senses with 99.4% uracy, the foolish boy had tried to take liberties with his system-controlled ssmate. As it was impossible to hide your intentions from the system while immersed, he was immediately ejected from the simtion and harshly penalized as an example. This caused the other students to ostracize him but, as Vahn was against the idea of social justice when punishment had already been met out, he ended up having to address the matter personally. After all, he couldnt really me the boy for being curious and, considering the current state of the world, he knew people needed a way to relieve their stress. Thus, after a rather awkward discussion with the ss about proper etiquette and sexuality, two surprisingly rted topics, the matter wasrgely settled... (A/N: Im going to be out today so this will be the only chapter unless I can free up some timeter.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1323 - A Brief Moment of Idleness

Chapter 1323 - A Brief Moment of Idleness

Though it had originally been part of his duties as an Advisor, Vahn made a habit of meeting with Solon and Zelretch every few days. This mainly involved him listening to Solonin for a short while before Zelretch finally got around to exining various problems all around the world. Today, however, things were a little different as, upon his arrival, Vahn found Zelretch alone as Solon had holed themselves up in their own room, apparently due to mental fatigue. Vahn, of course, understood why Solon was stressed out so, rather thanment on it, he enjoyed a casual conversation with Zelretch, skirting around the matter of the Holy Church entirely. Instead, the elderly Magus was more curious about the various persons of interest who hade to reside in the Empire as ofte, specifically Aoko and, after a brief period of drama, her sister Touko. When it came to discussing the two hot-headed siblings, Vahn could only smile wryly as he shook his head and remarked, "Touko is a sensible woman but she is super petty. As for Aoko, well, Im certain you have an even better understanding of her personality than I...haaaaa..." Hearing Vahn speak like an old man, Zelretch couldnt help butugh at the formers expense before musing, "I wasnt really surprised that you were able to bring those two in your camp. What Im really curious about is how things are developing between you...have you, you know...?" Refusing to dignify Zelretchs question with an actual response, Vahn remained silent as he thought about the first night Aoko stayed in the castle. She had clearly misunderstood his intentions so it had led to a rather awkward situation where she ultimately ended up butting heads with several people and skirmishing with Fenrir. Surprisingly, however, thetter became rather fond of Aoko after their conflict and, thest time Vahn saw the duo, Fenrirs strength was increasing at a monstrous rate... Aoko had the ability to draw forth a persons maximum potential, either by borrowing it from the past or the persons future. This allowed her to restore a Heroic Spirit to their maximum potential and, in many cases, make them even stronger than they were in their prime. As for Fenrir, the only thing that prevented her from bing one of the most powerful people in Avalon right now was her own mental state. If she increased her power beyond her ability to retain her rationality, it would obviously be a problem. Thus, she had been focusing more on her mental development while sparring with Aoko at almost every opportunity... Seeing Vahn ruminating, Zelretch decided to let his previous question fade into the void. Instead, he gazed off into the distance in much the same way as the young Emperor beforementing, "There is one person I think you ought to meet in the near future. With how things have developed, I fear arger misunderstanding will transpire if you arent introduced soon." Even without Zelretch alluding to whom he was talking about, Vahn blinked back to awareness, asking, "Arcueid...?" in a curious tone. This surprised Zelretch somewhat but, remembering who it was he was dealing with, he just responded with a dry chuckle before nodding his head. He knew Vahns informationwork had already developed beyondprehension and, after dealing with the Holy Church, there was a very good chance he had already learned a great deal about Arcueids existence. Despite Zelretch not asking, Vahn decided to throw the old man a bone, exining, "Ive already told you about theing regression. In order to prepare for the conflicts toe, well need to unify all of the worlds influential figures under one banner. I dont intend to micromanage everyone but, no matter how strong they are, everyone will be required to follow the Common Law. Im not going to have people capable of sinking countries wandering around unchecked just because they have been able to act with impunity till now..." Along this same line of discussion, Vahn mentioned his intention to deal with the Dead Apostles, their Ancestors, and the creators of them all, the True Ancestors. He had no problem with people pursuing immortality but, if they used their eternal life and borderline infinite power to rule over and suppress others, he would deal with them. Since some Dead Apostle Ancestors literally kept human farms in order to feed their Bloodkin, despite alternatives being readily avable, he didnt have too much patience for the errant Vampires. Zelretch had already expected Vahn to do something about the Dead Apostle Ancestors as, during his travels, he found the signs that had been left behind by the micro-golems. As a result, some of the Ancestors had actually gone into hiding as, despite their pride and arrogance, they trusted the word of their Prophet, the Ancestor known by the code name Rose Prophecy. She specifically had the ability to foretell the death of a Dead Apostle Ancestor with perfect uracy, allowing them to prepare a sessor in advance as her prophecies, thus far, had never been wrong. It wasnt difficult to imagine the fate that would befall many of the Dead Apostle Ancestors in the near future as they would not have fled if things would be going in their favor. Vahn would most likely purge the Eclipse Faction in its entirety, eliminating Altrouge and her cronies who advocated the supremacy of Ancestors. True Ancestors were the original Masters of the nascent human race, brought into existence as a direct result of Gaias contract with Crimson Moon. They truly believed that humans were meant to serve them and had been machinating to reim the world for several thousand years. Vahn was, of course, aware of the existence of every Dead Apostle Ancestor, their two factions, and the penultimate ns of both sides. The analysis of Ark, the brilliance of Da Vinci, and the deductive prowess of Sherlock were an unbeatablebination. They also had Merlin to provide insight into the future while CHALDEAS could observe the state of the world at any point up until the emergence of Angra Mainyu. With all of these things, Vahn knew when and where the various opposing factions would strike as, even if he couldnt peer into their Bounded Fields, they obviously had to leave them if they wanted to attempt anything... Even as he sat here discussing things with Zelretch, the Empire was already preparing counters to any scheme their enemies coulde up with. The moment they tried anything, they would find themselves dealing with insurmountable odds as, with the passage of time, the Empires advantages increased exponentially. He was already preparing for the next batch of summoning and, while it would take a while to enforce order, massive cities were being built on each continent. These would serve as the primary habitats of humanity in the future and, if people wanted to seek shelter in their protective walls, they would have to acquiesce to the Empires rule. There were so many things going on behind the scenes that Vahn rarely had any time to rx since the day of his announcement. If not for the time dtion within the Projection, he would be too busy to even spend time with his quickly growing children. This was a troubling matter as, at this point, even his youngest children were nearly two years old. As for Isanna and Naavi, they already matured to the point they were in theirte teens, worrying him to no end... For what must have been the ten-thousandth time, Vahn regretted not holding off on his current ns until his children had matured. Unfortunately, this wouldnt have been a futile course of action as, due to his period of increased activity, he ended up getting Olga and Circe pregnant, thettering as aplete surprise since, ording to the person herself, she shouldnt be able to get pregnant a second time. This meant she needed constant supervision as, if anything went wrong at any point in time, they needed to be ready to deal with whatever abnormalities may appear... To further exacerbate matters, Illya would be awakening soon as Aoko had helped by elerating the growth process. At this point, she had the appearance of a young woman in herte teens and, while she still appeared very youthful, it was a marked improvement from her perpetually ten-year-old figure. Vahn knew he would need to tend to her quite a bit when she finally emerged as, with each passing day, he could actually feel her frustration and urges building. Illya was actually the reason he had been holding back in some of his other rtionships as, while she didnt directly oppose his rtionships with others, it was very obvious she was the jealous and possessive type. Fortunately, she would undoubtedly be joining the Menagerie upon awakening so the presence of like-minded people should mellow her out a bit. Vahn was just hoping that their first time together didnt involve anything too graphic and gory as, despite Cath Palugs insistence, he would never get used to the whole biting aspect... With Illya near the top of a growing list of women he would need to deal with in theing days, Vahn felt like his own peace of mind was a distant dream. Still, he didnt regret it in the slightest as, regardless of how troublesome things got in his intrapersonal rtionships, he really did enjoy each and every moment. He loved the women around him dearly and, while his affections towards some may not match his intimacy with others, he would never stop doing his best to satisfy them... As if he had recognized the look in Vahns eye, Zelretch gave a sly smile but ultimately refrained onmenting. He had realized by Vahns past reactions that thetter wasnt going to talk about his nightlife so it was best to avoid the topic. Those that had angered so-called Dragon Emperor, the name which had been given to him by people all around the world, generally met with a bad end. Vahn had noticed the change in Zelretchs expression so he gave the man a pointed look before adopting his usual smile and saying, "If you have the means to contact Arcueid, please inform her of my intention to meet with her. She is one of the major yers in the world and, while her power may be sealed, it is a simple matter for the Empire to restore it. I know she has been hunting other Dead Apostle Ancestors so Im certain she will be willing to cooperate..." Zelretch gave an understanding nod in response but, just to make sure he and Vahn were on the same page, he asked, "Do you intend to destroy the Eclipse Faction?" To this, Vahn answered with a nod of his own, adding, "The Aylesbury Valesti Ritual is fated to fail in almost every timeline, even without my intervention. Im certain this is something youve confirmed yourself, yes...?" Having seen countless parallel and tangential timelines, Zelretch knew the truth contained in Vahns words. After all, the Aylesbury Valesti Ritual was an affront to the World itself and, as a result, it was always interrupted by unstoppably powerful Counter Guardians. The only possible way toplete the ritual was to secure the Holy Grail but, understanding the intentions of the participants, ya had never failed to intervene. This often led to the destruction of the Eclipse Faction but, as a result, Arcueid would often experience a terribly tragic fate... This time around, Zelretch intended to help Arcueid avoid her destined end as, before Vahn, things such as fate had little to no relevance whatsoever. In fact, he seemed to control the very entities that shaped the fates of others so, with his assistance, Arcueid should be able to experience the peace she had sought for thest eight hundred years. There was even a chance she would be able to find genuine happiness as, from what he had observed of Vahn, Zelretch could tell the man possessed an extreme amount of empathy towards those that had suffered unjustly. With their intentions aligning, Zelretch agreed to reach out to Arcueid while Vahn, having spent too much time on idle conversation, ultimately parted ways with the aged Magus to pick up the children and take them back to Avalon. It was alreadyte in the afternoon so they would be returning to the Projection for rest, rxation, and personal studies. This would also allow him to divest his time in a more efficient manner as, with his main body back in the Projection, he would have two bodies to interact with his ever-expanding harem and family... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir be like, "So, youre telling me you can grant me infinite power...? I like you, we will be good friends,When y biting goes too far (o,...,o)...!,Vahn has a strong affinity with Vampires...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1324 - Dynamic

Chapter 1324 - Dynamic

With most of his duties taken care of, at least for a short while, Vahn was watching over his two sons, Kamiya and Daiki, as they red at each other with fierce expressions. In hisp, Penelo and U were watching their two brothers with visible interest while, at the side, Mordred, Naavi, and Isanna each looked like they were ready to step in the moment something went wrong. At this point, Kamiya and Daiki were both around two years old and, while neither spoke all that often, they were strangely prideful boys. From the moment they began ying together, they had started topete for various things, be it the attention of the caretakers or the toys they were ying with. This was something that worried Vahn a little bit but, with Nobunaga and Rin stating that they were just ying around, he could only watch on in silence as the two attempted to see who could stack blocks higher than the other... As if it was an intense historical moment, Mordred was urging on Kamiya to do his best while, on the opposite side of the room, Naavi had to keep Isanna from intervening as she had a bad habit of favoring Daiki during thepetitions. Fortunately, Daiki was surprisingly mature and, despite his young age, he was a little too good at dealing with his two elder sisters. Vahn had even seen him lecturing both of them after they got into an argument, a peculiar sight to behold considering Isanna and Naavi had the physical appearance of girls around fourteen years of age... The only time Daiki really acted his age was whenever he was being pampered by the caretakers, his various mothers, and when he waspeting with Kamiya. This was the same for Kamiya who, as a result of having Nobunaga as a mother and Mordred as his Aneue, was a bit of a rebellious child. He was usually very quiet but, when riled up, was quick to anger and prone to spontaneous emotional outbursts. Though this rarely ended in violence, it meant it was often butting heads with Daiki as the twopeted against each other for a variety of arbitrary reasons. This time around, it was looking as if Kamiya was going to win as his Guardian, the Four-Armed Adamantine Ape, gave him a distinct advantage when it came to stacking blocks. Daikis King of Twilight had a slow growth rate and, as a wolf-type Guardian, it didnt provide many advantages when it came to matters requiring greater dexterity. At best, it could serve as a footstool for the young Daiki but, as he treated his Guardian very well, he would never do such a thing. Unfortunately, just as Kamiya was about to obtain victory, Isanna began to gesture behind her back and, unbeknownst to the children, the space around Kamiyas tower began to warp. Vahn dutifully stepped in to prevent Isanna from misbehaving but, undoubtedly due to thetters mischief, Kamiyas Guardian failed to ce a block and, in his attempt to catch the falling cube, the entire tower came tumbling down. Kamiya stared at his fallen tower with a nk expression while Daiki, understanding there was foul y involved, gave a pointed look toward theckadaisically whistling Isanna before saying, "We will have another matchter. I will help you clean up." Then, without waiting for Kamiyas response, Daiki began to pick up each of the fallen blocks, stacking each of them neatly where they were supposed to go. Kamiya joined him shortly thereafter while Vahn, after turning over U and Penelo to their caretakers, had Isanna follow after him despite her initial protests. Despite being a bit of a troublemaker, especially when it came to supporting her brother, Isanna was a rtively obedient young Vanir. The moment she realized her father was serious, she gave up on making a scene as, near the table where the mothers generally lounged, Ishtar had given her a pointed stare of her own. This was enough to turn the usually rambunctious girlpletely silent, understanding full well that she was the root cause of the situation she was in. After exiting the daycare room, Vahn extended his hand to Isanna and, without questioning his intentions, she unhesitantly reached out with her own before squeezing it tightly. Immediately after that, the two of them teleported to one of the highest points within Avalon, a ce Vahn often took Isanna when he wanted to talk with her. They had a lot of memories here and, while most of these rted to her getting in some kind of trouble, Isanna actually liked high ces quite a bit. She even yed with Daiki and Naavi within the connecting tower on asion and, as a result, the interior was decorated with various treasures they had umted over thest two years. Finding his usual spot, Vahn took a seat before allowing Isanna to sit on his left knee, her body half-facing his own. She really was a carbon-cop of her mother, albeit with a far more youthful appearance, so Vahn couldnt be too hard on her unless she had seriously erred. Instead, he adopted his usual before lightly pinching her nose with his right hand and asking, "Do you know what you did wrong...?" As this was the usual sequence of events, Isanna adopted a slight pout but, instead of ming others, she honestly admitted, "I didnt want Daiki to lose so I cheated to invalidate the match...he will be able to win the next one, Im certain of it..." Hearing Isannas words, Vahn lightly shook his head as he pulled his hand away and stated, "If you were certain of anything, you wouldnt have intervened...Isanna, there is no shame in suffering a few losses here and there. Rather, Im certain Daiki is more troubled by the fact you dont trust him enough to allow him to make his own decisions. Being protective of your brother is fine but, while you may have different mothers, Kamiya is also your brother..." Isanna released a sad sigh in response to her fathers words before burying her face into his chest andining, "Kamiya wins too much though...if they were the same age, Daiki wouldnt be at a disadvantage..." Adopting a slightly more stern tone, Vahn had Isanna sit properly before he admonished her by saying, "In life, it is impossible to ensure things are perfectly bnced. People have various banes and boons, some providing what others may consider unfair advantages. However, as one of the few with greater blessings than nearly all others, you must be more tolerant and empathetic. You are a very smart girl, Isanna...Im certain you understand that your actions, rather than helping, are a cause of concern for Daiki. He already has two amazing sisters so, if he cant express himself and experience a friendly rivalry with his own brother, he will eventually begin to shun others..." Hearing her fathers words, Isanna hung her head in shame but, after a few seconds of struggle, she seemed to find some kind of resolve as she looked up at him and eximed, "But Mordred is cheating also! She helps Kamiya train all the time while Fenrir has been busytely! I dont know how to help Daiki be stronger so I want to-" Before Isanna could finish her train of thought, Vahn began to lightly pat her head, interrupting her outburst by saying, "Let Daiki choose his own path, Isanna. If you truly want to support him, walk alongside him. When he struggles, push him forward...when he stumbles, pick him back up. However, no matter what you do, you cant live for him. The more you try to make decisions on his behalf, the more struggles he will face in the future. As for the matter of Mordred training Kamiya, we both know she isnt really doing much other than teaching him...discipline..." Remembering Kamiya following Mordred around like an obedient puppy, Vahns momentum was arrested a bit. Fortunately, Isanna didnt seem to notice this as she was thinking about his words, not watching his face. In actuality, restrictions had been put into ce regarding the education and training of every child born within the castle. Physical training had to wait until they were four years old and, while the Vanir were an exception to this rule, even they had various restrictions ced on them. This was primarily due to their immense power which, if used wantonly, may very well lead to serious injury or death. This was something Isanna was very aware of but, after challenging Mordred in the past, only to be refused on the premise that she was too young, they had been at odds with each other. Vahn didnt mind if there was a bit ofpetition amongst his children but, no matter what, he didnt want to see them genuinely fighting amongst themselves. He would have a talk with both Mordred and the childrens respective mothers once he was done speaking with Isanna. For now, however, he didnt want thetter to feel as if she waspletely at fault for what had happened. After all, parents always had some amount of responsibility in the behavior of their children, no matter the circumstances. With this in mind, Vahn nned how he would make it up to them, gently stroking Isannas hair as he asked, "How about we all go out to y in the near future? Ill take everyone to visit the Undine and we can all go explore the bottom of the ocean together. I know Ive been busytely but I will always try to make time for my beloved children..." Toward the end of his words, Vahn gave Isanna a kiss on her forehead and, as if affected by a magic spell, her mood seemed to improve considerably. She was very sensitive to a persons intentions so, even without him directly apologizing, Isanna knew what he was thinking. In truth, she and the others had been a little sad regarding the fact he wasnt around as often so, while she felt guilty due to his earlier words, Isanna was happy with how things turned out. Understanding she needed to make a concession of her own, Isanna tightly hugged her fathers neck, nuzzling her cheek against his as she said, "Ill apologize to everyone and try to get along better with Mordred in the future..." Then, deciding now was a good time to start, Isanna pulled away so that they were only a few centimeters away from each other as she smiled and said, "Im sorry for worrying you, Father...thank you for always doing your best..." With her own words finished, Isanna gave her father a kiss on his cheek before hugging him tightly once again. As for Vahn, he tightly embraced the mischievous girl while, elsewhere in the castle, he was already taking Mordred to meet with her mother and Nobunaga so they could all talk about her involvement in Kamiyas upbringing. He was, admittedly, a little worried that the influence of Mordred would have some negative consequences on his eldest son and, while he would obviously not prevent them from having a sibling rtionship, Mordred seemed to be on the fast track to bing the boys mentor. Rather than solely focusing on the education of the children at the Clock Tower, Vahn realized he needed to properly consider the intrapersonal rtionships between his actual children. Thest thing he needed was Isanna losing her cool and suddenly fighting all-out against Mordred so, in order to avoid any potentially disastrous situations, he would take proactive measures to try and bridge their rtionships. After all, he was a father before he was an Emperor so, before anything else, he needed to ensure that his own family was happy. They were his reason for being so, if he shunned them in lieu of his other duties, he had already failed as both an Emperor and a father... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Serious stackingpetition...,The birth of various rivalries...!,Never lose sight of what is most important) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1325 - Idle Idyl Idol

Chapter 1325 - Idle Idyl Idol

After addressing the matter of Mordreds and Isannas budding conflict, Vahn spent a few more hours just engaging with his children while his second vessel discussed their futures. He couldnt make as much time as hed like so it ultimately fell to the childrens mothers and the various castle staff to ensure they were properly attended. He didnt really want to pressure them too much but, in order to ensure they were building rapport with each other, Vahn came up with nned family functions such as pics and internalpetitions. Thetter was necessary as, with the children growing like beanstalks, he knew it was only a matter of time before they needed a tform topete amongst themselves in a low-risk manner. Fortunately, Da Vinci had made several breakthroughs in Virtual Projection technology so, in lieu of allowing the children free reign to move about in the outworld, they would be able to use their own personal terminals to ess the virtual world. Since he couldnt really let them outside at the present moment, this was the best alternative he coulde up with to ensure that the children experienced some degree of freedom. Since they all knew how important it was for the children to experience a variety of things, there wasnt much resistance against the idea of allowing the children to make use of the Virtual World. Though there were a fair number of restrictions put into ce, as thest thing they needed was the children bing addicted to something that didnt exist, the time dtion within would give them ample time to y around in between their training and studies. To convince everyone, Vahn had made a temte using his memories of the Record of Danmachi so, while there would be a distinctck of people, at least in the beginning, it would allow any of the castles residents to experience his home. This was something nearly everyone was interested in as there was a very big difference between viewing memories and experiencing them. With the tech developing at a monstrous rate, there was a very real chance they could even experience an entire life within the simtion, including joining various Familia and attempting to conquer the Dungeon. Vahn really wanted his loved ones to share in his experiences so, while it would be embarrassing to see a simted version of his past self, it would still be interesting. Better still was the fact that, if they wanted to, each person could experience a unique instance of the same world. Once the full immersion mode waspleted, they would even be able to interact with the past version of himself to shape the world in apletely unique way, entirely determined by their decisions... While these types of discussions could quickly reach existential levels, it obviously didnt deter any of the Heroic Spirits upying the castle. Even Gawain was looking forward to experiencing the Virtual World as it was a way of broadening his horizons without wasting much time. After all, up to fifty days could pass within the Virtual World for every day that passed in reality. By entering the world for just a single hour, you could experience the passage of two days within, time that could be spent on both study and recreation. As a result, people were restricted to four hours per day, separated into hour-long blocks, as it would be a big problem if they spent literal years inside while their body remained unchanged in reality. This was a regtion that Vahn intended to pass as Common Law in the real world as, if left to their own devices, he knew arge number of people would spend all of their time inside without any regards to their actual lives... The Virtual World could be a tremendously useful tool or a debilitatingly addictive social tform depending on how it was used. Using it, a person could study any subject to mastery within a few months and, despite a rtively short lifespan, experience dozens of different lives amongst the myriad worlds that would be created within. There were, virtually, no limits to what they could achieve and, if they managed their time ordingly, people could be professor-level in their early teens. Inversely, because real-life could be boring or difficult, Vahn knew a lot of people would flock to the Virtual World since it was effectively a ce where all their wishes could be realized. Sadly, this made them just about as useful as inert dolls. Thus, in order to prevent the effective death of human progress and culture, ess to the Virtual World needed to be regted. People had to earn the right to use it and, even then, they could only ess it for a few hours each day...after all, life may be difficult but, for the same reasons that you enjoyed living in another world, you should face reality and make the most of it... --- Around the same time that Vahn was discussing projects with Da Vinci, his main body was idling about in the Menagerie, his head resting against the soft thighs of Circe as she gingerly cleaned his ears. There wasnt actually any wax inside but, as it was a strangely pleasant and intimate act of trust, Vahn enjoyed being pampered by the woman who usually demanded that he pampered her. Circe, along with practically everyone residing inside the castle, knew that Vahn wasnt in the best mental state since his announcement so she was giving him special treatment. They knew he was heavily affected by the ongoing chaos and, every time he heard about some major tragedy, Vahn would radiate a mncholic and somewhat cold aura. Since they didnt want him to break under the weight of his own decisions, they had daily discussions to effectively determine which of them would be pampering him that night. This time around, Circe had won the right to pamper Vahn and, now that she was pregnant with her second child, her emotional state had mellowed out more than she ever expected. She was no longer gued by the slight urge to harm the other women, something that usually resulted in her holing up inside the Menagerie. Instead, she felt happier with each passing day, almost as if the little bundle of life growing inside of her was a literal bundle of joy... Now, with Vahn resting against her thighs and leaving himselfpletely defenseless, Circe had a gentle smile on her face as she picked at the hair around his ears while swabbing the pristine interior of his ears. The peaceful and content smile on his face made her feel happy and, while a part of her wanted to swap ces with him, she ultimately kept it buried since the moment was too enjoyable to bring to an end. Unfortunately, Circe wasnt alone with Vahn and, while it didnt affect the mood too much, having a few pairs of eyes staring at them wantingly was a moderate distraction. This was especially so for Vahn as, after enjoying thep pillow for the better part of ten minutes, he opened his left eye to see Jeanne staring directly at him. Though she averted her eyes immediately after, the fact nearly everyone else repeated the action caused him to chuckle in amusement. Circe puffed out her cheeks when she felt Vahn begin to shift his weight but, withoutining, she set aside the long swab as he moved to a seated position. Ultimately, the best thing for Vahns mentality was to just let him do as he pleased so, while the peaceful moment was rather pleasant, Circe actually looked forward to what he would decide. After all, nine-time-out-of-ten, Vahn would seize the momentum from them and, ten-time-out-of-ten, they would all be happier for it. This ended up being one of the few instances where Vahn wasnt actually in the mood to have sex so, before things could get out of hand, he began to caress the underside of Circes ears and neck as he exined, "There are a few things I need to deal with. When Im finished, Ill return here and we can all spend some quality time together..." Without waiting for a reply, Vahn stole Circes lips for himself, pacifying her with a few gentle pecks as his right hand gingerly stroked her abdomen. This was enough to remind her of the current state of her body so, while she was slightly frustrated that he would be leaving them, she quickly regained her senses. At the same time, Gareth, Okita, and Jeanne began to prepare their clothes and equipment, fully intent on apanying their Master wherever he intended to go... After a small parting ceremony with each member of the Menagerie, including some head pats for Medea, Vahn made his way outside of the Inner Sanctum to visit the nearby Residental Halls. A lot of people hade to reside there over thest week or so and, while it might not be proper for the Emperor himself to go check up on people, Vahn had a habit of doing so. It would be a lot more awkward to summon him to private quarters and, as it wasnt really much an inconvenience for him to do so, he didnt see the harm in paying them a visit. With this in mind, Vahn soon found himself in front of a door that, as per usual, had a number of people and Companions present. They quickly gave way for him and, after a few polite greetings, Vahn entered into the room to find Spenta and one of the castles newest residents, Aura, sitting together as they drank tea. The rest of the room was filled with hundreds of Companions and, as the aura emanated by Spenta was simply that pleasant, many of the Homunculi liked to rest inside while on their breaks. Though they had already noticed his presence due to the mor at the front door, Spenta and Aura both gave pleasantly surprised smiles when they saw who entered the room. Considering thetter was blind, the seque of one of her Innates, it was always peculiar to see her easily follow his movements with her eyes. As for Spenta, she delicately ced her teacup on the saucer before hopping out of her chair and practically bouncing over to Vahn and throwing her arms around his waist. Feeling the tension in his body practically melt away, Vahns smile became more natural as he bent down and picked up Spenta in his arms, holding her like one of his own children. She had a special ce in his, and many others, hearts so he couldnt help but be good to her. Seeing the interaction between the two, Auras smile turned more radiant as she mused, "How envious. I wonder if a day wille where you hold me in a simr manner? To be cherished is a wonderful thing..." Understanding there was a bit of seriousness in her words, Vahn lightly shook his head before taking the seat vacated by Spenta, thetter happily epting hisp as her own. Then, making eye contact with the blind Alien Conceptual Entity, Vahn stated, "Despite your appearance, I do not believe you have the capacity to act like a child. Spenta is a truly innocent young girl so there is no danger in treating her as such. You, however, have an agenda and a hyper-rational mind...I will do my best to treat you well but, treating you like a child, that is something I cannot do." At this point, Vahn hade to learn a lot more about the nature of Auras existence so, in spite of her appearance, he knew she was an especially ancient being. ording to the information he had been able to obtain, she was even older than the itself by around 100 million years so, on the low end, she was around 4.643 billion years old. This was information purchased directly from Akasha and, after their discussion, Aura herself had been allowed to answer his questions. With this knowledge, Vahn knew that one of Auras primary functions was to observe, not just Gaia and ya, but everything transpiring on the. She served a simr role to Ouranos in the Record of Danmachi and, despite her innocent appearance and disarming aura, she had an immense amount of power. He had originally thought she was only near the peak of Tier 4 but, after learning her true nature, Vahn discovered that Aura was, at the very least, more powerful than Gaia, ya, and bined... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The dangers of unrestricted full-dive...!,90% of the time, Vahn leaves women 100% satisfied (>,...,<)...!,There is always a taller mountain but, no matter how high you climb, there is still a sky beyond even that...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1326 - Greed

Chapter 1326 - Greed

With the inclusion of Aura in his camp, Vahns authority had already reached the literal apex of the world. His individual strength was slow to catch up but, being exposed to so many powerful figures had various benefits. Just by observing what they were capable of, his perception would undergo a slight shift and, while it would take him a while to actuallyprehend what allowed them to use such powers, the nature of his existence allowed him to do so with considerable ease,pared to others. Thus, with Spenta sitting quietly on hisp, Vahn sat across from Aura and made polite conversation as, for the time being, she was by andrge the strongest person present. She had been given a few days to adapt, Projection-time, so he started off their conversation by asking, "Are you enjoying your stay in the Ivory Castle thus far...?" Without any discernible hesitation, Aura gave a small nod before looking around the rather crowded room and saying, "This ce is considerably different than my expectations of it. The Empire seems to be unique amongst the organizations that preceded it. Im looking forward to seeing how it will develop in the future." Hearing Auras remark, Vahn lightly chuckled as he knew better than anyone how weird the internal affairs of the Ivory Castle could be. It was a constant source of frustration for Gawain but, since Vahn didnt actually intend to rule in the same way as preceding Emperors, he didnt particrly mind the informal atmosphere that was slowly bing the norm. He would rather have everyone behave as members of one massive family than enforce a strict hierarchy when it simply wasnt necessary... With this in mind, Vahn rubbed the top of Spentas head, matching gazes with Aura as he said, "I am working toy the foundation for a world where everyone has a chance at happiness. This extends to you as well, Aura. So long as you do not use your power to harm others, you are free to leave at any time. For as long as you choose to stay here, however, we will do our best to ensure you, and your sisters, feel wee..." Understanding Vahns intentions, Aura issued another one of her characteristic giggles before musing, "I believe it is in our best interests that I stay within Avalon. Here, I am well protected and, unlike other ces in the world, there is an atmosphere of peace that permeates everything on this beautiful ind. So long as you do not force me away, I will make this ce my home...I hope to see it continue to prosper for millennia toe~" Since it was infinitely better to have Aura on his side rather than leaving her to her own devices, Vahn gave an affirmative nod in response to her statement. Though it was almost like keeping the worlds most powerful bomb in his home, the odds of anything happening were negligible with the security of the Ivory Castle. They had one of the most powerful barriers in existence while, at virtually every moment, Merlin, Leviathan, Scthach, and Mother were constantly observing everything taking ce on the ind. The only real danger was that Aura herself turned against them but, considering the nature of her existence, this was less likely than the entire spontaneously exploding. She may have helped various organizations over the millennia, actingrgely as a prophet, but that was just another one of her functions. Once she changed hands to a new protector, all memories of her existence would be erased from the minds of the previous group, regardless of how powerful they may be. While Vahn would be an exception to this rule, every entity that was originally part of the Nasuverse would be susceptible to this passive maniption of causality. Understanding this, Vahn wasnt too worried that any idents would happen so, for the better part of half an hour, he made polite conversation before deciding he had stayed long enough. Thus, after giving Spenta a long hug, Vahn rubbed the top of Auras head before whisking away from the room. There, he found Gareth, Okita, and Jeanne waiting patiently for his arrival so, after thanking them all for their hard work, the group made their way toward Vahns next destination... --- Without having to knock, Vahn was greeted at the door by none other than Fenrir who, from the moment he had decided to visit, had been aware of his arrival. She wasted no time in embracing him and, as it always felt like they had been apart for too long, Vahn instinctually reciprocated, his face buried in her soft yet bristly hair as he put a decent amount of strength into his embrace... When they finally parted, Fenrirs tail was gently waggling from side to sie while, inside the room, Aoko was staring at the scene with a hard to read expression. When she noticed he was looking back at her, however, she adopted her usual smile and asked, "What brings you by, Vahn? Come to check up on me or something?" While still holding onto Fenrir, Vahn gave a curt nod in response, saying, "Yes, that was my intention. It has been a few days since you entered the Projection so I wanted to see how you were adapting to life within the castle." As if he had asked something inconsequential, Aoko waved her hand dismissively as she said, "Other than that old bastard, Im probably thest person you need to worry about regarding the effects of time dtion." Understanding the truth behind her words, Vahn just shrugged his shoulders before holding Fenrir in a bridal carry and making his way over to the nearby sofa. This caused Aoko to raise her brows and remark, "The two of you are pretty...close..." This time, Vahn issued a light chuckle while Fenrir, seemingly offended by Aokos words, red back at her and said, "Master and I have the strongest, most unbreakable, bond..." Being red at by Fenrir was never a pleasant experience so Aoko visibly shuddered as if a cold draft of air had enveloped her body. Despite this, she didnt seem particrly bothered by the hostile look as she casually made her way over to the same sofa, saying, "Yeah, I can see that." before plopping down next to the cuddling duo. Without minding the somewhat awkward atmosphere, Vahn continued to hold Fenrir throughout the entire conversation, asking many of the same questions to Aoko as he had to Aura previously. To her credit, Aoko managed torgely ignore the peculiar sight as she answered most of his questions in a casual manner. She was often busy exploring the ind, helping people train, or just interacting with anyone that drew her interest in any given moment. Because of this, Aoko was enjoying her time on Avalon as,pared to her previously boring life, there was always something to keep herself busy with. Vahn knew what Aoko had been up to since her arrival so he wasnt really surprised by any of her responses. She was a very honest and straightforward woman so she got along with pretty much everyone, at least on a surface level. Her power was enough to make people act cautiously around her but, the more they interacted with her, the more Aoko was epted amongst the residents of the castle... As Vahn was listening to Aoko drone on like a tireless machine, she surprised him by spontaneously asking, "Hey, Fenrir told me there was actually a race of people in your world that looked like human children. What did their elders look like...?" Hearing her question, Vahn tilted his head to the side slightly, muttering, "Youre asking about the Pallum...?" He actually wasnt surprised that Aoko would eventually inquire about them as, from what he hade to learn about her character, she was what some people referred to as a Shotacon. She didnt particrly have a sexual attraction toward young boys but, for a variety of different reasons, Aoko was extremely weak against them. Nodding her head with a bit too much force, Aoko smiled radiantly as she said, "Yeah, thats right, the Pallum! Im really interested in the races from your original world. Can you show them to me!?" Though he understood she just wanted to see one of his memories rted to the Pallum, Vahn had decided to tease Aoko a bit, against his better judgment. Fenrir also seemed to realize what he had in mind as her hair stood on end and, in an instant, she entered her protect the tiny Master mode. For several seconds after Vahns sudden transformation, Aoko just stared at the duo with a nk expression on her face. She could tell from the formers appearance that he was the same Vahn that she knew but, as if time had reversed, he looked extremely youthful. This was a very peculiar sight to behold for Aoko as, in spite of his youthful appearance, she got the impression that he was an adult based on his facial structure and the aura that permeated around his body... When she finally came to her senses, Aoko balled her hands into fists as she bit the bottom of her lip and asked, "Is this what a Pallum looks like...?" in a demure tone. Hearing her question, Vahn nodded his head and, while patting the now-bigger-than-him Fenrir, he exined, "I can freely change the structure andposition of my body, including race, gender, and pretty much anything else..." Toward the end of his exnation, Vahn surprised Aoko even more by transforming into a carbon-copy of her. This caused her face to turn beet red in an instant as she shouted, "Hey, dont just copy my appearance on a whim! I swear, if I catch you doing something with my body...I...Ill beat you to a bloody pulp...!" Rolling his eyes at her outburst, Vahn turned into a male Vanargandr in the next moment, pandering to Fenrir since she was clearly annoyed by the fact he turned into Aoko, even for a few seconds. After he became a Vanargandr, however, she immediately began to nuzzle against him as, while she was fond of almost every form her Master took, this was still her favorite. Seeing the ease in which Vahn could change his appearance, Aoko was at a loss. She was more than a little tempted to ask him to turn back into a Pallum but, remembering she wouldnt really be able to cuddle with him, that would effectively be torturing herself. Ultimately, Aokos curiosity got the better of her so, after a moment of hesitation, she asked, "Can I touch your ears? Fenrir never lets me pet her..." In response to Aokos question, Vahnsrge, wolf-like, ears spontaneously twitched, even without him willing it. He found this rather amusing so, after making eye contact with Fenrir, he gave Aoko a nod and said, "Dont pull them. They are very sensitive. If you end up hurting my ears, dont me me for biting." Though Vahn was just teasing her, Aoko had actually been bitten by Fenrir in the past so she became very serious when she heard his words. She didnt know much about Innates just yet so she assumed that, as a Vanargandr, Vahn had simr abilities to Fenrir. After a moment of hesitation, Aoko began to gingerly touch Vahns ears, causing them to twitch a few times as a result. This egged her onward and, after a few awkward moments, she was leaning toward him with a happy smile on her face as she ran her fingers through his hair and enjoyed the feeling of his fluffy ears. As for Vahn, he had an amused smile on his face, internally remarking about how innocent Aoko was in spite of her age... Eventually, Aoko seemed to realize that she had been taking things too far but, rather than pull her hand away, she continued to y with Vahns ears with a light blush on her face as she asked, "Did you think about...you know...that...?" Understanding what she was alluding to, Vahn adopted a more serious expression as he said in a in tone, "Im against forcing people. Unless it is something you want, it would be best that you just enjoy your life without worrying about such things." Hearing Vahns response, Aoko retracted her hand while releasing a tired sigh. She then fell silent for several seconds before ultimately answering, "It would have made things easier for me if you were a little greedier, you know? This isnt really something I can decide myself...Im a bit of a coward when ites to things like this...I know-" Feeling that Aoko was on the verge of berating herself, Vahn brought an end to her downward spiral by extending his hand out to caress the top of her head. At the same time, Fenrir moved to sit at his side while Vahn stated in a calm and guiding tone, "I think, more than most, I am a greedy man. You should be able to tell by the number of people I keep around me...if you say words like that, Aoko, it wont be easy for you to leave in the future...I can be very...persuasive..." As if her previous mood had been an illusion, Aoko suddenly burst intoughter when she heard Vahns remark. This was actually a little unexpected for thetter but, with the same smile on his face, he simply retracted his hand since it was awkward to pet someone who wasughing... Before he could pull his hand awaypletely, Aoko surprised Vahn a second time by grabbing his wrist and firmly nting his hand, not on her head, but her rather buxom chest. Her face turned beet red in an instant but, ying off Vahns previous words, she muttered, Its okay to be greedy...", her voice trailing towards the end. For a brief moment, Vahn just stared at Aoko with a nk expression as he internally remarked, ("Is this the result of Fenrirs efforts...?"). He could tell that Aoko was pushing herself so, before she was able to implode in on herself, Vahn forced her to stare back at him. Her sapphire blue eyes could be seen trembling within their sockets but, as his face moved closer toward hers, Aoko inevitably closed her eyes, epting the fate she had decided for herself... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Poor Gawain. Imagine trying to make Vahn act like a proper Emperor xD...,An unbreakable bond~!,Aoko, dont do it! Shiki is about to be revived! Be more sensible...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1327 - Blurred Lines

Chapter 1327 - Blurred Lines

Contrary to Aokos expectations, Vahns did not kiss her on the lips. Rather, before he could make any headway with the red-haired beauty, there were other promises he needed to keep. Thus, after giving her a light kiss on the forehead, surprising the expectant woman, Vahn stated in a calm tone, "You dont need to push yourself like this. We only recently came to know each other and, in that time, have interacted for less than a single days worth of time. Once you get a better understanding of the situation, Ill show you just how greedy I can be..." To punctuate his words, Vahn surprised Aoko a second by giving her a quick peck on the lips just as she wanted to respond. This forced back any words she hade up with, her face turning beet red in an instant. Then, before she could collect herself, Vahn lightly chuckled as he rose to his feet and said, "It really is a shame...if I had more free time, Im not sure Id be able to hold myself back." With those words lingering in the air, Vahn ruffled Fenrirs hair onest time before making his way toward the door. Truthfully, he didnt mind iming Aoko as his own but, for the same reasons he had been holding himself back with others, he couldnt just let her jump the line. There was also the simple fact that she had yet to integrate into therger group so, until she had a better grasp of the situation, she wasnt exactly qualified to leap forward like this... Even after the door had closed, announcing Vahns departure, Aoko hadnt recovered her senses. It wasnt until Fenrir lightly pat her head that she blinked back to awareness, asking, "Didnt you say he liked red-heads...?" Without hesitation, Fenrir nodded her head in affirmation, exining, "Master has a weakness for girls with red hair. Your timing was just bad. Right now, he is going around to make sure everyone is happy so it would be impossible to seduce him. He pays a lot of attention to the order of things so youll have to keep that in mind. Come, we will find you a room in the Inner Sanctum. Once you get to know everyone better, Master wille to you of his own ord. If you want, you can stay in the Menagerie with us...Master is very intimate with the girls residing in the Menagerie..." Though she had never entered the Inner Sanctum, Aoko had learned about the Menagerie through her interactions with Fenrir. Hearing thetter invite her to stay inside, an awkward smile spread across her face as she remarked, "I dont have the qualities required of a girl in the Menagerie, do I?" Hearing Aokos question, Fenrir tilted her head to the side, exining, "Race means nothing to our Master. The Menagerie is just full of people that are more expressive with their feelings. There are people like Jeanne, Okita, and Medea who stay there often. Thetter only has slightly pointed ears so it isnt as if you need some peculiar trait to be epted. You just have to want to be pampered and, when the situation requires it, you need to be willing to pamper our Master." With the same awkward smile on her face, Aoko asked, "It sounds like everyone in the Menagerie is a servant, though? Besides, I dont really want to be spoiled...I dont think my mind could take it..." Shrugging her shoulders, Fenrir just inly responded, "This is why Master wanted to give you more time to make your decision. You are underestimating him too much, Aoko. If he got serious, he could even make Gods be addicted to his care. Once you cross the line, even self-pleasuring will have little to no effect. What Master is capable of is something you cant begin toprehend, even after you experience it directly. He makes you feel have been missing something important your entire life and, once you obtain it, letting it go is almost impossible..." Aoko was ustomed to Fenriruding her Master but, hearing the severity in her current words, she couldnt help but swallow an imaginary knot in her throat. She had already guessed there was something about Vahn that made the women around him acquiesce to being part of arge harem but, hearing Fenrirs words, it seemed as if she had nearly stepped on andmine. It was likely that Vahn himself had realized she was mentally prepared so, rather than take advantage of her bravado, he gave her a leniency period, allowing her to make a more informed decision... --- After leaving Aokos room, Vahn released a slightly hot sigh as he had nearly gotten caught up in the moment. Aoko was a very passionate woman and, though she wasnt really ready for what she was getting herself into, her emotions, perhaps as a result of her monstrous power, were scary. Since she also had the mentality of never regretting her decisions, she was fully prepared to jump in headfirst without proper consideration for the future. Rather, her decision was likely to secure a better ce for herself and her family, reasons Vahn had never been fond of. Fortunately, the next person on his visitation list was someone he didnt have to worry about pining after him. Rather, she seemed to disdain him quite a bit and, if not for Aokos insistence, Vahn could easily imagine the fiery woman leading resistance forces against the Empire. Since the person in question had been caught snooping around forbidden areas a few times, she had been barred from entering the Ivory Castle. As a result, Vahn had to teleport outside to an area on the outskirts of Vivians Lake, the location of a small cabin that fit the description of Witchs Hut to a tee. This was where Aokos Sister, Touka Aozaki, had made a home for herself using her unique Puppet Magecraft, an ability she had refined to the point that, in the not-so-distant past, caused the Mages Association to put a Sealing Designation on her. Touko was so skilled in the art of making Puppets that she had perfected the craft to the point that she could make bodies indistinguishable for her real self. In fact, the version of Touko that Aoko had thought was her sister was actually a puppet as, despite having her Sealing Designation revoked, she never trusted the Mages Association enough to expose her true body. If not for Aoko exining the capabilities of the Empire, including their ability to find virtually anyone, Touko may have continued hiding away indefinitely... After lightly knocking on the wooden door of Toukos hut, Vahn heard the cold voice of a woman say, "Enter..." before the sound of shuffling could be heard on the other side. Gesturing for his entourage to stand down, Vahn unhesitantly opened the door to the hut, passing over the threshold with a casual smile on his face. This was in spite of the fact that a very powerful curse had been set to trigger, the potency of which even exceeded Toukos Puppets. Rather, it was due to her research into Primordial Runes and Curses that allowed Touko to produce her Puppets in the first ce. As could be expected from a Curse derived from Primordial Runes, Vahns body was momentarily immobilized as tendrils of red thorns, simr to the effect caused by [Ge Bolg] attempted to invade his body. At the same time, a woman with burgundy hair, styled in a short and prim manner, stared back at him with her cold hazelnut eyes. She was wearing an outfit simr to business casual, with a white blouse, form-fitting ck pants, and high-quality heels while, adding to her intelligent look, a pair of artifact-grade sses adorned her face. Though it was a little annoying, Vahn ultimately managed to shrug off Toukos curse with rtive ease. After all, she couldnt even hope to reach Scthachs level in her lifetime and, with his unique constitution, Vahn didnt have to worry about the detrimental effects of curses at all. The only thing she managed to aplish was easing his tensions a bit, meaning she had served the purpose he had intended for her without realizing it. Still, Vahn couldnt simply ignore the fact that Touko had, once again, tried to curse him so the smile on his face melted away, reced by a stern expression as he stated, "Had I not stopped them, your little prank would have resulted in your death...you do realize this, do you not, Ms. Aozaki?" Rather than showing any signs of trepidation or remorse, Touko took a long drag of her cigarette, her eyes fixed on Vahn the entire time. It wasnt until she exhaled a cloud of dense white smoke that she answered, "If you were the type to kill people over small slights, that idiot wouldnt speak so highly of you. Besides, we both know that isnt your only body. If it will make you feel better, you can do whatever you want to this one aspensation." Toward the end of her statement, Touko put her cigarette out in an ashtray before unhesitantly using her gloved hands to begin fiddling with the buttons of her blouse. Seeing this, Vahn shook his head in mock exasperation as he extended his hand, pulling at the void. In the next moment, Toukos real body was teleported in front of him, this one wearing loose pajamas as shey suspended in the air by Vahns telekinesis. Since she seemed intent on riling him up, the smile returned to his face as he mused, "While it is true that I have multiple bodies, each of my vessels is very real. If you will carry the memories, regardless, why not taunt me with your real body, Ms. Aozaki...?" Though he had no intention of actually harassing her, Vahn extended his hand toward the sleeping figure of Touko, his eyes glimmering with untoward purpose. This caused the Puppet to rise to her feet, her cool visage nowhere to be seen as she red back at him, panic visible in her eyes as she shouted, "Youre going too far! This wasnt a part of our agreement...!" Hearing Toukos outburst, Vahn nodded his head in understanding but, rather than stop his hand, he continued forward. This caused the Puppet to leap forward but, just as Vahns hand was about to contact the sleeping figure, coinciding with Puppets attempt to retrieve her body, both passed through. As a result, the Puppet ended up crashing into Vahns body, her very real-feeling breasts squashing against him as confusion marred her face. At the same time, Vahn wrapped his hands around her waist, saying in a very serious tone, "You sisters are alike in the worst ways..." Before the Puppet could make sense of his words, Vahn smiled mischievously as the surroundings began to crack like broken ss. His hands began to snake towards her rump but, before they made contact, the Puppet found herself seated back in the chair, breathing heavily. Then, startling her even further, a light knock could be heard from the door, followed by Vahns voice asking, "May I enter?" Touko had no idea what had happened but, fearing what might happen if she continued doing as she pleased, she quickly rose to her feet before alighting to the door. There, she removed the curse, which had yet to be triggered, before opening the door with a pale face and saying, "Y-Your Majesty, it is an honor to have you visit..." in a fumbling tone. Seeing Toukos panicked state, Vahn lightly chuckled as he extended his hand and began to pat her head, dulling the intelligent womans expression. She was obviously against having her head pat but, after the confusing incident from before, she didnt even know what was real any longer. Fortunately, Vahn was done messing with her as he had already released his pent-up frustrations from dealing with Aoko. Instead of pressuring her any further, he simply smirked as he said, "You are more than wee to keep trying to harm me. So long as you dont target others, it doesnt bother me all that much...however, please keep in mind that Im not an easy target. Depending on how far you go, I am more than willing to answer in kind~" With these words, an uneasy peace was established between Vahn and Touko, one which would be disturbed at random times depending on the formers mood and thetters nature... (A/N: Alternate Titles: You know not what you invite upon yourself...,Trying to mess with someone that is notorious for teasing others...RIP, Touko,For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1328 - Ripples Waves

Chapter 1328 - Ripples Waves

While engaging in conversation with Touko back in her cottage, Vahn was also back in his workshop alongside Da Vinci and Sophia, thetter of whom was currently working on an airtight suit as she had recently taken an interest in outer space. Having seeded in his prank, Vahn pulled out a small ck orb from his Inventory, a smile on his face as he exined, "Your [Battle Sphere] ended up working perfectly. Touka didnt even realize she was inside a [Space-Time Orb] at all." Rather than an illusion, the trick Vahn used against Touko merely involved using a modified [Space-Time Orb], one which had a muchrger radius. It was able to pull everyone within a certain distance into a near-perfect replica of the surrounding space, making it nearly impossible to ascertain what had happened. This was something he and Da Vinci had worked on together and, in many ways, it could bepared to a portable [Reality Marble]. Hearing Vahns tone, Da Vinci gave him a knowing look before saying, "Your bad habit alwayses to the surface when you are stressed out. Make sure you dont tease her too much. Cold women like that are weak to men who are capable of peeling away their defenses." Though he didnt ignore her advice, Vahn shrugged in response to Da Vincis words, exining, "Im pretty sure she is aware of Aokos intentions. She tried to seduce me with one of her Puppets so it was a good opportunity to tease her a bit. Dont worry, Im not in a particr hurry to increase the number of women that need my attention..." Toward the end of his words, Vahn sent Da Vinci a wink, earning a light chuckle from her before she turned back to her current project. This was the same as her telling him, you can leave now so, after checking in on Sophias progress, Vahn did just that. He had already been in the Workshop for a few hours and, while his presence wasnt that much of a distraction, Da Vinci had a lot of active projects that required her attention. Since most of these were the direct result of his requests, Vahn knew it was best to give her space to work. --- With the usual trio following his primary vessel around, Vahn decided to make good on his earlier promise, choosing the Menagerie as his destination. Unfortunately, just as he sent his intent to the room in question, he noticed that Aoko had stopped by with Fenrir. Thisplicated matters a bit so, after a few moments of contemtion, Vahn took a deep breath before releasing a long sigh as he chose the [Training Orb] as his next destination. He was curious about Scthachs new apprentice and, as he had the time to do so, he decided to make some headway on her challenges. After dragging his feet over to the [Training Orb], Vahn entered into the cold interior to find a small house a few dozen meters from the entrance. He didnt even have time to probe it with his senses, however, when Scthach appeared like a blur at his side, asking, "What are your intentions, Master?" Though Scthach could easily guess Vahns purpose for visiting at this time, she still made a point of giving him the option. He was the type that worked harder when he said he would do something so, while he may have arrived with the intention to work hard, having him express his intention openly ensured he would work even harder. Vahn was, of course, perfectly aware of Scthachs intentions but, as she was his Shishou, he couldnt really foot around the issue. Rather, if he tried to do so, a severe training regimen would await him in the near future, something he could handle but almost instinctually feared. Thus, in response to her question, he brought his mind to a state of focus before confidently stating, "I am here toplete one of your challenges. The world may be in disorder but that doesnt mean I can ignore my other duties, does it?" With a curt nod of her head, the Caster version of Scthach appeared and, before Vahn could change his mind and inquire about her new apprentice, he was transported towards the challenge grounds. He had alreadypleted the task of pulling the statue, increasing his physical parameters by a truly monstrous amount, so his next challenge was one that directly tested his willpower and focus. This was achieved by having him sit in a lotus position as hundreds of needle-like barbs hovered a single millimeter away from his skin... Any slight movement would cause the barbs to prick Vahns skin and, as a result, he would be wracked with intense pain. To ensure he couldnt adapt to the pain, each barb had a unique curse ced on them and, to prevent him from simply shutting down, some of the barbs would move to stab into his skin at random intervals, requiring him to muster an immediate counter to the effect if he wanted to avoid triggering a chain-reaction. While each of these variables made the challenge difficult, the straw that broke the camels back was the fact that Scthach herself would tease and taunt him. She would, at times, perform highly skilled stripteases while, at others, she would ask very difficult questions she knew he couldnt really ignore. This often rted to his true feelings, various troubles he was currently facing, and sometimes even involved existential conundrums that rted to concepts of eternity and loss... This time around, Scthach seemed to have realized why he had chosen toe for training so, in order to take advantage of his current state, her purple garb seemed to dissolve, taking on the form of an ornate, slightly transparent, bikini. She then sat in front of him, her legs forming an m-shape as a seductive glimmer reflected in her maroon-red eyes. At the same time, the barbs aiming at various pressure points and meridians began to vibrate slightly, masking their movements so that he would not be able to discern which was moving until it had already pricked his skin... --- Vahn had been enjoying Toukos tense state but, after his training with Scthach began, he was no longer in the mood to tease others. His current challenge required a lot of focus so it became a lot harder to engage others in a proactive manner. Since he didnt want to show any weakness in front of Aokos sister, Vahn ultimately ended up bringing an end to the discussion. This resulted in Touko herself breathing a sigh of relief as, after what she had experienced, her mind had been racing to try and make sense of what happened... After parting with Touko, who politely escorted him to the door, Vahn turned his eyes skyward and said, "Im going to go meditate for a bit. Wait for me back in the Menagerie, okay? Ill be there in a few hours..." With that said, Vahn teleported atop the back of Leviathan but, rather than meditate, he plopped onto his back and just shut off his sensespletely. The frigid air and high winds were calming so, while his training with Scthach was difficult, in many ways, he at least had a way to passively calm himself down. He had already learned the futility of trying to enter a meditative state during this particr challenge so it was better to just embrace the feeling of nothingness that he had be intimately familiar with. --- Around the same time that Vahn was being tormented by Scthach, Zelretch was making good on his previous words. Almost immediately after his parting with Vahn, he exined the situation to the fatigued Solon before teleporting to the top of Mount Chimborazo, the geological location that was the closest point to the moon. Here, space was twisted in the extreme, to the point that much of the mountains peak was filled with pockets of vacuum that would rend apart the flesh of anyone who foolishly ventured too close. Rather than show any concern for the twisting of space, Zelrech lifted his cane so that the top was aiming towards a specific point in space. Then, after more than half the cane had vanished into the void, he turned it in much the same was as a key. Immediately after Zelretch unlocked the surrounding space, a massive set of stone doors appeared. They slowly opened, revealing a cold and deste space that, on the periphery, appeared to be the night sky. Leading from the edge of the gateway, a set of pale white steps led into this seemingly endless starry void while, at the end of the pathway, a massive castle floated within the void while, above it, a miniature crimson moon served as the only otherndmark within view. Seeing the familiar sight once again, Zelretch released a tired sigh, one filled with emotions such as remorse and self-admonition. The cane in his hand suddenly felt heavier than before and, with each step that brought him closer to the castle, Zelretch imagined he was aging by several decades. This ce represented one of his only true regrets in life as, due to his unwillingness to act, an innocent soul had been forced to undergo unimaginable suffering... Though it felt like thousands of years had passed, Zelretch soon found himself at the entrance to the castle. The massive metal gates had already opened so, without further hesitation, he made his way into the heart of the castle. There, a throne far toorge for a human to sit upon existed, one which held an indescribably beautiful woman with golden hair. She was slouched over, her head hanging low, arms spread wide as dozens of chains bound her body, each a self-imposed restraint to keep her immeasurable power in check. Further adding to the tragedy of the scene, the woman seemed to be wearing a gown that was not all that dissimr to a wedding dress. It was a pristine white gown trimmed with gold that gave the bound woman an appearance simr to a princess. This was a stark contrast to the dark silver chains that bound her body, each flickering with divine light, the purpose of which was to siphon away the womans power, spewing it out into the surrounding void to make the seemingly infinite space even vaster... Zelretch felt a discernible pain in his heart when he saw this sight but, before he could say anything, it felt like a stake was driven into his chest as the woman, without raising her head, asked, "Is it finally time...?" Hearing this question, Zelretch couldnt help but hang his head, silence overtaking him for several minutes. Fortunately, a long life had prepared his mind better than most so, while an overwhelming amount of guilt threatened to devour him, he ultimately regained his calm and answered, "Arcueid...I came here today, not to use you as a weapon, but to liberate you from this prison. Many things have changed since youst walked the earth. Please, see with your own eyes how things have changed...it is not toote to reim the hope you lost..." Though she kept her head down throughout Zelretchs dialogue, the golden-haired woman lifted her face when he fell silent. This revealed blood-red eyes through the golden locks, each glowing with a fierce light. It was enough to even make Zelretchs old bones ache as, while she was not as powerful as the original, the current Arcueid was nearly as powerful as Crimson Moon. In Vahns terms, she would be a Tier 5 existence, one not all that dissimr in power and purpose to Eva... After staring directly at Zelretch for several minutes, neither moving a muscle, the woman let her head hang again as she asked, "How certain are you..." in a dull tone. What she didnt expect was for Zelretch to instantly state, "Absolutely." without any hesitation. Then, seemingly with the intent to convince her, he added, "The man Ive found is from the Outside...we have already confirmed it. He even has ya and the Spider on his side..." This time, Arcueid couldnt easily ignore Zelretchs words as she knew just how powerful both of the aforementioned entities were. One of the reasons she had sealed herself away was in preparation for theing battles against such entities as, without her power, humanity didnt really stand a chance. To hear Zelretch im that the Spider had been subjugated was a ridiculous concept and, if not for his previous im about the man in question hailing from the Outside, Arcueid wouldnt have been able to believe either im was true. Now, with her eyes glowing even more than before, Arcueid raised her head to look back at Zelretch, her tone both apprehensive and excited as she eximed, "Take me to him...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: The ultimate troll tool...,RIP Vahn. Shishou is the true Master,White Princess of the Crimson Moon) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1329 - Expectant

Chapter 1329 - Expectant

After suffering six hours of Scthachs challenge, Vahn breathed a sigh of relief as, across from him, his demonic Shishou adorned her usual attire. At the same time, he sent a surge of his source energy outwards, shattering each of the needle-thick barbs while remarking, "If I had to guess the purpose of this challenge...you seem to be trying to curb my flirtatious habits...?" Instead of refuting his words, Scthach gave Vahn a side-long nce, silence persisting between them for several seconds before she answered, "It is perfectly normal for a capable man to keep multiple wives. You, however, take things too far. There is a vast disparity between the women you keeppany. At this rate, there is bound to be conflict at some point. You may have umon proficiency in the bedroom but, given enough time, those with wavering loyalties will stray from your side." As he had long prepared himself for that exact happening, Vahn gave an understanding nod in response to his Shishous advice. However, while something would undoubtedly happen over the literal eternity he was expected to live, he still felt she was underestimating him. He mayck the capabilities now but, so long as he continued striving toward his ideal future, his aspirations and The Path would allow him to reach his goals. He just needed to remain focused and prevent any setbacks from adversely affecting him in any meaningful ways... Rather than worry about his infinitely expanding harem, Vahn was more concerned about each individual rtionship. This included his rtionship with Scthach and, afterpleting all of her challenges, he was determined to make her his. She seemed to be preparing for this as well as, while it was almost never discussed, virtually everyone in the castle had noticed her changes. Since her default personality was cold and emotionless, even small changes in her behavior were noticeable to people with the sensitivities and perception of Heroic Spirits. Seeing the confidence in Vahns eyes, Scthach released a small sigh since she knew he hadnt taken her words to heart. She hadnt expected him to suddenly cut off the women in his life that had lesser value but, knowing she would eventually have to share him, it hurt her warriors pride. If she had met Vahn during her era, anyone she didnt approve of would have been driven away as their presence ultimately threatened the status of her, her children, and Vahn himself... Had the situation been different, Scthach would have put more pressure on Vahn but, with his vice-like grip on the entire world, it likely didnt matter all that much. Still, she affirmed her own resolve so that, if any of the other women were to betray him, they would pay the price. While it may not matter to Vahn, Scthach would never allow someone that once held his affections, and potentially had his children, to be the mistress of another. It was a slight to all of them, not just Vahn himself, so she would punish them appropriately. Unaware of what his Shishou was thinking, Vahn stretched his body for a bit before saying, "I want to meet your new disciple. I trust your judgment but it will take more than a simple introduction to ept a past enemy into my home. Come, it is time I learn more about this Ciel woman." Hearing Vahns words, Scthach immediately teleported them both to the small Japanese-style hut that had been constructed. The Empire borrowed a lot of oriental designs in everything from its armor to the architecture of the Castle Town so it was often the go-to style when constructing new buildings. Vahn personally felt morefortable in such traditional houses, primarily due to his time spent living together with Tsubaki, so it always brought a smile to his face when he saw the familiar tatami mats, the sound of wind chimes gently ringing in his ears... Just as Vahn was beginning to rx, he was greeted by a somewhat unexpected sight, causing his brows to raise slightly as he looked toward Scthach with a questioning look. She, however,pletely ignored him and instead addressed the meditating woman in the middle of the room, saying, "Elesia, our Master has arrived. Greet him properly." Ciel had actually wanted to open her eyes earlier but, as early as her first day inside the Training Orb, she had learned not to allow external stimuli to distract her. Scthach wasnt kind to people who cked off in their training and, in the hopes of having her wish granted, Ciel wasnt going to ck off for even a moment. Thus, until Scthach gave her permission to stop training, she did her best to ignore the literal ocean of mana that Vahn represented in her perception... Before Ciel could greet him properly, Vahn maintained his casual smile as he pulled out a thin cloth and guided it to wrap around her body. She had been wearing nothing but an extremely thin garment, one simr in structure to Scthachs bodysuit. While it covered everything, the extremely thin fabric left very little to the imagination and, having been informed of Ciels wish, Vahn felt it wasnt proper for him to see her in such apromising state. Having never expected Vahn to suddenly give her something to cover her body with, Ciel was at a momentary loss. When she saw Scthach staring at her, however, she quickly recovered, bowing at a very low angle as she eximed, "Ciel greets His Majesty, the Sage Emperor!" Though he didnt drop his casual smile, Vahn adopted a formal tone in response to Ciels words, saying, "It is good to meet you as well, Ms. Ciel. I learned of your circumstances from Scthach. As you have already made a vow, I intend to make good on her promise to you in theing days. It is impossible to allow you to view the ritual directly but, when the timees, you may stay in the nearby waiting area. Im certain things will be a lot easier for our intrepid young friend if you are there to exin things for him." As it had only been a few days since the start of her training, Ciel hadnt even thought to ask about the promise that had been made to her. She believed it would only be after she proved herself that her wish would be granted so, hearing Vahns words, her eyes began to tremble as ayer of moisture covered them. She wanted to thank him for his grace but, every time she tried to vocalize her gratitude, the words got caught in her throat. Seeing how Ciel was reacting, Vahns expression softened a bit as he used his telekinesis to help her stand. Since she was tightly hugging the cloth he had given her, she looked especially frail and delicate, a testament to everything she had gone through to reach this point. This made him feel greater empathy for her and, while it was a little earlier than he intended, he decided to move up the next summoning by a few days. People like Ciel deserved a bit of happiness and, with how chaotic the world could be, each little bit of positivity could go a long way. Deciding to make it a surprise, Vahn kept his changed ns to himself and, without requiring a response from Ciel, he just continued smiling as he said, "I have other matters to attend. Please, continue to do your best. Shishou can be a harsh mentor but, when ites time for you to put your training to the test, you will learn the importance of her lessons." Realizing that Vahn was about to leave, Ciel did her best to collect herself but, ultimately failing to do so, she decided to perform a kowtow instead. It was a little awkward to see a young woman lower herself in such a manner but, understanding she wanted to express something that words could not, Vahn gave a curt nod in response. Then, after making brief eye contact with Scthach, he teleported out of the Training Orb. He had already kept the girls waiting long enough and, if he didnt show up soon, Circe would undoubtedlyin... --- At the same time as his departure from the Training Orb, Vahn moved to a seated position atop Leviathan. He could deal with the girls without any major difficulties so, with a bit of free time on his hands, he decided to continue visiting the castles newer residents. He still needed to check up on Lilith and, while she didnt really require much attention in her present state, he wanted to at least stop by to visit Tiamat for a short while. She had sealed herself away in a massive cacoon-like structure but, while it kept everyone else away, he could enter without any difficulties... Before paying either of his intended targets a visit, Vahn first made a detour to the outside world, expanding his senses to the surroundings before ultimately teleporting to the Hanging Gardens. If he visited Lilith without first stopping by to spend some time with Semiramis, thetter would be in a sour mood for several days. In fact, when she first met Lilith, Semiramis had been more than a little upset as the presence of the Queen of Subi made her feel threatened. In order to pacify her concerns, Vahn whisked away Semiramis for a few hours, coaxing her until she had resumed her normal state. During that time, she had tried to have him promise to never sleep with Lilith but, as this was basically inevitable, Vahn talked her into apromise. He would proactively try to set up Lilith with someone else in the near future but, regardless of how things turned out, he promised to make her his before pursuing the sensuous Subi. From Semiramis perspective, this provided her a bit of leverage as it allowed her to refuse his advances, potentially driving a wedge between him and Lilith. This would ultimately prove futile, however, as Vahn wasnt really the type to be swayed by schemes and machinations. He might not force himself on Semiramis but, if she tried to get away with teasing him, the only person she had to me for the oue was herself. After all, her long ears and tsundere nature brought out the slightly sadistic side he had developed back in Danmachi and, while he wouldnt torment her, he would tease her into oblivion if given the chance... Semiramis had learned this the hard way as, during one of her attempts to poison him, she mixed a very potent aphrodisiac into his meal while wearing a perfume enriched with pheromones. This ultimately had no effect on him but that didnt stop Vahn from taking advantage of the situation, surprising Semiramis as she momentarily believed her poison had taken effect. She immediately tried to toy with him only to realize that his sleeping dragon was fully functional, something the poison should have prevented. Though he ultimately released her before taking things too far, Vahn had forced Semiramis to sit on hisp as he held her close and nibbled on her long ears. She struggled quite a bit but, even though they were in the Hanging Gardens, a ce where she could spam S-Rank spells and freely teleport, she made no attempt to actually escape. Since there was no way she wasnt aware of her own capabilities, Vahn enjoyed teasing her for the better part of half an hour before she ultimately ran off to her room, mming the door behind her... Since then, his rtionship with Semiramis had improved slightly but, from that moment onward, she pretty much refused to even visit Avalon. Instead, she made the Hanging Gardens her home and, as there had already been several attacks against the floating fortress, it now hovered in the Thermosphere, surrounded by an expansive Borealis. It was a truly breathtaking sight and, since he didnt want Semiramis to be too lonely, Vahn tried to visit when he had time... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Scthach is cold-blooded o_o...,Shiki is going to be so confused xD,The bane of long-eared females...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1330 - Contradiction

Chapter 1330 - Contradiction

Despite having chosen to live in istion, Semiramis was able to maintain the interior of the Hanging Gardens using various different types of golems. She also kept a skilled Homunculi on retainer to cook meals as, even with the choker provided to her by Vahn, she was the type that enjoyed indulging in delicious foods and rich wines. When Vahn wasnt around, Semiramis almost exclusively lounged about on her throne or within her bedchambers, a listless look on her face as shezily drank from an ornate decanter. Other than making sure the Hanging Gardens didnt crash into anything, she didnt really have any other assignments as the Empire wasnt proactively warring against anyone. Thus, with nothing better to do, she spent most of her day brooding over various matters, bored out of her mind. It was during one of these listless moments that small ripples appeared in the throne room but, as a result of her idle thoughts, Semiramis didnt immediately take notice. This allowed Vahn to enter into the chamber, finding the raven-haired Queenying across her throne rather than sitting atop it properly. She was nursing a crystalline container in hand, a fragrant aroma permeating from the ruby-red liquid within. Since Semiramis should be able to sense when anyone entered the Hanging Gardens, Vahn was a little curious about the contents of the decanter. It had to be something pretty potent as, with her legend as the worlds oldest poisoner, Semiramis wasrgely immune to all manner of poisons, alcohol included. Though he was tempted to startle her, Vahn was in a pretty good mood as a result of the fun he was having back in the Menagerie. Thus, while it would certainly be interesting, he ultimately sent a gentle stream of calming energy through the surroundings, alerting Semiramis to his presence. She was still a little surprised but, as if she hadnt beenzily reclining on her throne just moments prior, she quickly smoothed out the creases of her dress before saying, "I had not expected you so soon...did you miss me that badly, Your Majesty~?" Hearing Semiramis remark, a smile spread across Vahns face and, in the next moment, his body appeared like a phantom before her as he matched her tone, asking, "And if I were to say yes...?" True to her tsundere nature, Semiramis was more than a little flustered by how close Vahn was to her face, her heart rapidly beating within her chest. Despite this, her expression remainedrgely undisturbed and, while she did have a ruddy coloration to her cheeks, this was primarily the result of her alcoholic endeavor. Unfortunately, she couldnt really hide her true feelings around Vahn as he could even hear the sound of blood flowing through a persons veins if he focused his senses. Semiramis was fully aware of Vahns capabilities but she simply couldnt be honest with herself, either as a result of her pride or her nature, in general. Thus, in response to Vahns question, she seductively lipped her licks, her hand reaching out to touch his chest as she answered, "If you beg and plead, I may allow you to lick my feet~" in a sultry tone. In much the same way as Semiramis, Vahns expression remained unchanged in response to her teasing. Rather, if she wouldnt misconstrue it as him putting himself into a more submissive role, he wouldnt really mind licking her feet. He wouldnt mind licking her entire body, for that matter, as she really was a beautiful woman in virtually every way, personality aside. Unfortunately, it was all but guaranteed that she would get carried away so he couldnt easily acquiesce to her teasing, even if it gave him a bit of leverage to act how he pleased. Instead, Vahn seized the momentum in a different way, emting Semiramis previous action by flicking her lips dexterously with his tongue. This caused her to blink in surprise, her heart beating even faster as he mused, "I can see why you lick your lips so often...they are quite delicious. Even the poison isnt that bad..." With his words still lingering, Vahn attempted to sample Semiramis lips a second time but, after the first mishap, she was prepared. She quickly turned her head to the side, her hand moving from his chest to his face as she stammered, "That is quite enough...!" in a harsh yet anxious tone. Unfortunately, Vahn was in one of his moods and, sensing the state of Semiramis body, he saw the fingers presented before him as yet another opportunity. For the umpteenth time, Semiramis realized she couldntpete with Vahn when it came to the act of teasing. Now, she could onlyment the fact that her sleeves didnt extend to cover her fingers as Vahn began to suckle on her exposed digits while holding onto her wrist. It was a sight that made her heart palpitate madly but, at the same time, she began to feel a little scared. As her mind raced toe up with a way to shift the momentum back in her favor, realization hit Semiramis like an S-Rank spell as she asked, "Youre having sex somewhere...arent you?" Hearing the unexpected question, Vahn released Semiramis hand from his clutches, his usual smile nowhere to be seen as he honestly admitted, "I wont deny it. I promised to spend some time with the girls back in the Menagerie." Semiramis, like most women that seemed fond of poisons, wasnt exactly the most understanding person when it came to her partner having a harem. Rather, one of the things she hated the most during her own lifetime was how her mother abandoned everything, herself included, in order to chase after a man. Prior to meeting Vahn, she believed that men were weak fools that could easily be manipted by a clever woman so, hearing him admit to being involved with other women at the same time as he was visiting her, the fluttery atmosphere suddenly turned ice cold. Yanking her hand away from Vahn, Semiramis red at him, her snake-like eyes glimmering with divine light as she asked, "Why did you even bothering here, then? Do you think Ill just open my legs like a trollop whenever youre bored!?" Though he wasnt surprised by the fact that Semiramis was upset, Vahn felt that her reaction was a little extreme. He realized her drunken state made her more emotional than normal so, instead of trying to argue a point, he calmly backed away from her while remaining silent. He learned long ago that there was no real point in arguing with someone that was drunk as their inebriated state made it impossible for them to think clearly. Instead, Vahn moved to a rtively safe distance from Semiramis before meeting her gaze and asking in a calm tone, "Do you believe I see you in such a way? Have I ever once pressured you more than you allowed...?" Hearing the sudden questions, Semiramis fell silent for several seconds but, rather than admit she was in the wrong, her hand gravitated toward the crystalline decanter at her side. Then, ignoring the small voice in the back of her mind that told her to stop, she threw it with as much strength as she could manage. What she didnt expect was that, instead of evading or stopping the decanter in mid-air, Vahn allowed it to crash against him without even flinching... Without another word, Vahn looked back at Semiramis with a sad smile on his face as the space around him began to ripple. He knew she would be filled with regret after calming down but, in her current state, there wasnt much he could do to calm her. Part of him waspelled to make it clear how he felt about her but there was a non-negligible chance she would adamantly refuse him under the influence of alcohol. He didnt want to take advantage of an inebriated woman so, at least for a short while, he would retreat to let Semiramis think about her actions. Realizing what was happening, Semiramis expression changed to one of visible terror as she instinctually extended her hand, locking the space within the Hanging Gardens. She didnt know why but, seeing Vahn about to leave frightened her considerably. Throwing the decanter already filled her with regrets so, if he suddenly left, Semiramis was certain she would have a breakdown. As forcefully teleporting away would have even worse consequences, Vahn issued a tired sigh in response to Semiramis actions. Then, deciding to weather the storm, he stared back at the scared Semiramis, a questioning look on his face that conveyed, Now what?. With her outburst returning a bit of rity to her mind, Semiramis understood Vahns look. She slowly retracted her hand and, after averting her eyes for several seconds, rose from her throne to utter the words, "Please, dont leave...here, you can have my throne..." Noticing she still couldnt apologize, Vahn issued another sigh, this time internally, as he made his way over to the throne and sat down. This resulted in another long period of silence as Semiramis didnt know what to do and, after her previous outburst, Vahn wasnt in the mood to tease her. He realized his current behavior could be considered petty but, as it was never his intention to spoil his women, he couldnt simply overlook the fact she was basically throwing a tantrum. She had to reflect on her actions without him forcing her or, depending on the circumstances, she would only get worse in the future. What Vahn didnt expect was that, after nearly three minutes of silence, Semiramis lowered herself at the foot of the throne and, with a fretful expression on her face, said, "Ill...lick your feet..." in a demure tone. Though he wanted her to reflect, Vahn didnt want to destroy Semiramis pride. Hearing her offer, he immediately abandoned the idea of allowing her to mull over her own thoughts. Instead, he shook his head, patting hisp as he said, "Come, sit. You are a Queen, Semiramis, and I do not dislike your prideful nature. Do not lower yourself while trying to apologize...so long as you reflect and recognize your wrongdoing, I will not punish you. Rather, as you improve as a person, I will make sure to reward you plentily." Hearing Vahns words, Semiramis felt like a heavy weight was removed from her heart. Though she was already seated on the ground, her shoulders slouched noticeably but, recalling what she had just heard, this didntst too long. She quickly rose to her feet and, after fixing her dress and shifting her hair, sat down atop Vahnsp. When he moved his hand to her waist, she recovered enough to give him a sidelong re but, after what had happened previously, she didnt really have the heart to chide him, especially with her wine still dripping from his body... Seeing the evidence of her faux pas, Semiramis understood that, in more ways than one, she was fortunate that Vahn wasnt the type to harp over such things. Had he been the cruel and ruthless tyrant others portrayed him as, such an egregious act would have likely resulted in imprisonment or death. In fact, if someone had done the same to her, they would have been drawn, quartered, and ultimately executed by having their face covered with a cloth. From there, they would have wine poured over them until they either died from asphyxiation or alcohol poisoning. In truth, Semiramis hadnt really adapted to the modern world and, with the emergence of a new era, she knew a change in perspective was necessary. Vahn may not act like it but his power was not something that could be opposed, even if she were several times her current strength. He had an unfathomable amount of power at his behest, even when excluding the monstrously powerful entities that were always present at his side. It was her understanding of Vahns power that ultimatelypelled Semiramis to allow him to court her, even if she also understood their roles should be reversed. After all, he had nothing to really gain from her while, inversely, she had everything to gain from him. This included her actual life itself as, if Vahn willed it, she would be a true entity of flesh and blood. If she earned his favor and put in an appropriate amount of effort, even bing a Goddess was well within the realm of possibility. Then, when her mother eventually returned to the surface, she could finally have her penultimate revenge... Remembering all of these things, memories that had been kept at bay by the alcohol she had consumed, Semiramis heart began to beat at a much faster rate than normal. She was suddenly more aware of Vahns body heat and, though he was only gingerly touching her waist, the contact made her feel a little skittish. Part of her imagined that same hand wandering across her body, an idea she had humored several times after learning how skilled he was as a masseur... --- The entire time that Semiramis was seated atop hisp, Vahn was aware of the changes she was undergoing. He had been expelling the foreign mana out of her body so he could literally feel the electrical activity in her brain return to normal. At the same time, he could feel her tensions build and, even without his Divinity, he knew she was seriously contemting taking that final step. The only thing that kept her from doing so was her tsundere nature and, having never known a skilled man, an instinctual fear that was derived from her pseudo-divinity... Semiramis mother, Derketo, was a principle Goddess of Fertility, love, and the oceans bounty. As a result, Semiramis inherited these Divinities and, despite her insistence that men were bestial in nature, part of her desperately craved love. The only thing that prevented her from obtaining it was the hatred she had for her mother as, after being abandoned as a result of her mothers love for a man, Semiramis adamantly refused to follow in the same footsteps. Vahn was aware of the paradoxical aspect of Semiramis existence so, as she was struggling with her own thoughts, he grabbed her right hand with his own, drawing her attention as he said, "It is okay...there is no rush...take all the time you need. When you are ready, I will do my best to help you find the happiness you deserve..." Hearing Vahns words, Semiramis formed a small frown on her face as it wasnt exactly what she wanted to hear from him. Things would be a lot easier for her if he just took the initiative, allowing her to eventually exploit his desires to her advantage. Instead, he was always considerate of her wants and desires, aforting but ultimately troubling aspect of his personality. In fact, it was the primary cause of her recent stress and, as a result of his incessant care, she had tried to drown her thoughts and emotions with alcohol. Now, realizing Vahn would likely never be a person that she could exploit, Semiramis could onlyment to herself. At the same time, however, she leaned against his body with her own, her head resting on his shoulder as a tired sigh escaped her lips. She didnt really have the words to properly convey her feelings so, at least for the time being, Semiramis decided to rest. His body was warm,fortable, and strangely calming...enough that, after a few minutes, she ended up dozing off with a contented smile on her face... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Queen of Solitude,Vahn is kind of maniptive by default...,A heart that wants for a love it refuses to ept...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1331 - Interconnected

Chapter 1331 - Interconnected

Several hours after his arrival in the Menagerie, Vahn, covered in sweat not his own,y with his back against a veritable mountain of pillows, the bodies of hispanions serving as a nket with their body heat permeating through him. For a normal person, this would undoubtedly be ufortable but, as he could easily press a few hundred-thousand kilograms, the weight of the girls was entirely negligible... Unfortunately, Vahn didnt have as much time as hed like to just idle about so, after enjoying the calming rhythm of everyones heartbeats for a few minutes, he began to peel away the girls from his body using telekinesis. Thest to go was the one who had been upying his abdomen, her tail tickling between his thighs as she pretended to sleep. Feeling her body being tugged at by an invisible force, Fenrir yfully clung to him for a short while, licking his chest for several seconds before ultimately releasing him. At the same time, the girls, now having lost their source of warmth, stirred awake. This included Circe, Gareth, Hati, and, though she hadnt participated in the fun, Medusa. Having sex with her took the better part of half a day and, in spite of her best efforts, she still hadnt developed to the point she wanted. This was primarily due to her increasing strength which, for various reasons, effectively slowed her physical development. Seeing Fenrir ying around, Hati misinterpreted things to meant that the fun was ongoing so, as others were still wiping the sleep from their eyes, she attempted to pounce across the bed. All she got for her efforts, however, was an invisible force catching her mid-leap as Vahn lightly chuckled and said, "Id feel bad if we kept the others waiting too long. Come now, Fenrir, we both have our respective duties..." After the final few words, Vahn somewhat roughly scratched behind Fenrirs ears, his fingers digging into the thick mat of hair in the way she liked. This caused her to squirm about in hisp but, instead of clinging to him further, she obediently released her hold on his body. As a result, her body, much like Hatis, was left to float in the air as Vahn held onto her head, his tongue invading her mouth and entwining with the affectionate Vanargandrs for a few moments longer... Ultimately, Vahn managed to free himself from what could easily turn into an endless cycle. Then, as everyone cleaned up and made their way over to the bathroom, he dutifully cleaned the bodily fluids from the bed and sheets. The only thing he left untouched was the massive pile of pillows which, in spite of their looks, were actually B-Rank items. They had the quality of memorizing the body heat and aroma of a target so, when Vahn wasnt around, the girls used the pillows while lounging about. Once everything was cleaned up, Vahn made his way over to the adjacent room and, after removing the seals, he passed through to find Medea, Jeanne, Okita, and, as a result of her decision to move into the Menagerie, Aoko. She was currently ying with the two-year-old Aoko while the previously noted trio yed three-way chess using a round table. For various reasons, Okita was actually in the lead but, even after a single nce, Vahn could tell that Medea would likelye back to im the final victory. Rather than continue ying, however, the girls immediately turned to the door upon its opening and, seeing who had entered, they stopped focusing on the game entirely. The only person who did not seem concerned by his presence was Aoko but, after Penelo saw the figure in the door, the red-head was immediately abandoned as the doll-like girl ran over, shouting, "Papa~!" in a happy tone. Vahn dutifully picked up Penelo, holding her in his left arm as he used his right hand to lightly pinch her cheeks. This caused her to giggle before she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck and, with a loud mwah sound, kissed his cheek in turn. Afterward, she rested her head in the nook of his neck, a happy smile on her face as he hugged her in return. Seeing the father-daughter duo together, the words Aoko had been saving faded away into the void as the presence of Penelo made it impossible to even pretend to rebuke Vahn. Instead, she made a show of crossing her arms, earning her a flicker of the eyes from Vahn as an amused smile crossed his lips. This made Aokos brow twitch but, for much the same reasons as before, the opportunity to express her frustration was denied... Unlike Aoko, Jeanne and Okita had no problems approaching Vahn. As for Medea, she just watched at the side, a kindly smile on her face as she stood with her hands crossed over herp. She was the type that didnt want to get in the way so, until Vahn turned his attention toward her, Medea would just observe silently. This was something he had be used to but, as he was about to leave in the next few minutes, he gestured for her toe over. Medea happilyplied to Vahns request and, without having to ask his intentions, she obediently presented her head toward him, a smile on her face as she squinted through nearly-closed eyes. At the same time, Vahn stroked the top of her head, his understanding of Petting Laws allowing him to send calming andforting energy throughout her entire body as he said, "Sorry for the trouble..." in a soft tone. Starting from Medea, Vahn moved to caress Jeannes and Okitas head as well, amon ritual in the Menagerie due to the fact that the three girls didnt actively participate in the fun. This was his way of apologizing to them and, while it didnt exactly make up for the fact they spent a few hours idling about in the nursery, they didnt seem to mind. Rather, if not for the presence of Penelo, Vahn was certain that Medea would have fallen into his clutches long ago... Seeing the ritual take ce, Aoko had a slightly incredulous look on her face, internally remarking, ("What is going on here? Am I supposed to let him stroke my head as well...?") As if he had read her mind, Vahn finished caressing Okitas head before looking toward Aoko and gesturing for her toe over with an amused smile on his face. Her first instinct was to refuse but, just after Vahn gestured toward her, Medea, Jeanne, Okita, and even Penelo turned to stare directly at her. This made Aoko internally sweat and, before she noticed it, her feet were already carrying her toward Vahns outstretched hand... With the same amused smile on his face, Vahn began stroking the top of Aokos head, exining, "It might be a little embarrassing at first but youll quickly get used to it. Im trying to master aplex set of Laws rted to Petting so I never pass up an opportunity to make use of my unique skills. Tell me, Aoko, what do you think~?" Hearing Vahns question, Aoko was tempted to punch him in the gut as, inexplicably, his simple act of petting her head made it feel as though electricity was surging through her body. Rather than be painful, however, it made her feel both excited and frustrated. At the same time, there was calming energy flowing into her body to create a strong contrast that confused her to no end as, for a brief moment, she didnt really understand what her body wanted. Ultimately, Aoko shook her head free from Vahns devilish fingers, her face forming a frown as she said, "Dont think Im so easy to tease, Vahn..." Despite her words, Aoko instinctually hugged her own body as a self-calming gesture and, though she didnt seem to notice it herself, she was leaning forward slightly in the process. Rather than a fierce warrior, she gave off the impression of a woman having difficulties, something that was easily understood by everyone present, Penelo being the obvious exception. Without minding Aokos words, Vahn gently stroked his daughters back, lulling her to sleep rather quickly before remarking, "I know Fenrir gave you the option to stay elsewhere. The convictions you put into staying in the Menagerie...I will answer them, in time. For now, you should spend more time with everyone else residing inside the Inner Sanctum. I believe you and Nobunaga could be good friends so ask Fenrir to introduce you properly when time allows." With his words finished, Vahn lightly pat Penelos back a few times before walking over and handing her to Aoko, surprising thetter. Despite her shock, however, she epted the sleeping girl without a fuss, upying both of her hands. Vahn used this as an opportunity to pat her head a second time, this time without teasing her. Aokos initial reaction was to frown but, after a few seconds, she could no longer maintain the dour expression, a tired sigh escaping her lips as she asked, "Youre a bit of a bully, arent you...?" Rather than refute her words, Vahns smile widened slightly as he mused, "I may have a weakness for women with red hair...but my propensity for teasing strong women is even stronger. Dont worry, Ill never pressure you beyond your limits. If I do something you dont like, just let me know and Ill do my best to avoid making the same mistake twice..." Hearing Vahns admission, Aoko rolled her eyes but, before she could say anything in response, the usually quiet Medea added, "Dont let him fool you, Aoko. Vahn teases everyone if he thinks he can get away with it. If you let him gain any ground, his teasing will only get worse since he finds the sight of strong women blushing to be exceptionally cute...isnt that right, Master?" Vahn was slightly taken aback by Medeas sudden words but, rather than refute them, he began tough in an uninhibited manner. Then, turning toward the purple-haired beauty, an appreciative smile adorned his face as he asked, "Is this the route youve decided on...?" In response to his question, Medeas face developed a heavy flush as she lowered her face, words escaping her for a brief moment. Her previous words had been the result of her aunts counseling so, to have Vahn easily see through her intentions, Medea felt a little overwhelmed. Fortunately, she had Jeanne and Okita at her side to offer their support so, after a few awkward moments of silence, she managed to nod her head, albeit without looking up... At this point, Medea was a little over sixteen-years-old and, while her appearance hadnt changed much, her charm had only increased with time. Vahn was very aware of the fact that he had be the object of her affections but, considering she didnt have a lot of choices, he never pressured her into anything. Rather, her past decisions to join them in the bath, massage his back, serve him tea in her underwear, etc, they were all choices she had made herself. Now, it seemed as if Medea had chosen the route of countermanding his ims without outright refuting them. This was a way of elevating her status, adopting a position simr to a wife as, during her time, women only provided open counsel to their spouses. Since Medea hadnt had the chance to really experience the outside world, her views were still shaped by her experiences as a Princess so Vahn was easily able to see through Circes ploy. Thetters recent pregnancy likely had a lot to do with this development but, rather than be bothered, Vahn was, instead, looking forward to the days toe. As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn couldnt help but wonder if the principle reason behind Medeas decision had something to do with the current state of the world. The global chaos actually weighed heavily on his heart and, while he wasnt privy to their discussions, Vahn knew the girls were taking proactive measures to support him, both mentally and physically. Given Medeas nature, there was a very high probability she had made her decision as a result of the current chaos but, knowing it would trouble her if he asked, Vahn decided it ultimately didnt matter... Dismissing his wayward thoughts, Vahn left the sleeping Penelo to Aoko as he turned to the other three girls, asking, "Will you join me for a quick bath?", an offer they unhesitantly epted... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gimme gimme,Vahn, God of Teasing,Aoko be like, "How did I be the go-to babysitter!?") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1332 - Shirohime

Chapter 1332 - Shirohime

With the time dtion of the Projection, Vahn was able to enjoy his time in the Menagerie with barely an hour passing in the real world. There, he continued gently stroking the sleeping Semiramis who, after falling asleep, curled up in his arms. He found this vulnerable version of herself adorable but, as all goods things were want to do, it didntst for very long. Vahn had been picking long strands of raven-ck hair from Semiramis face when what could only be described as a ripple passed through the entirety of the Hanging Gardens. At the same time, the defensive measures of the floating fortress overloaded in an instant before blinking out of existence as the luminescent crystals lighting the interior suddenly dimmed. As could be expected, Semiramis awoke instantly after sensing the danger, her gold eyes turning a subtle shade of silver for a brief moment as she sat up and said, "Someone has intruded...they are very powerful..." Even without Semiramis exining the situation, Vahn was well aware of what had happened as his domain extended to epass the entire fortress with ease. He could even pinpoint the location of the interlopers and, sensing a familiar aura, he lightly pat the worried Semiramis back, kissing the side of her head before saying, "Dont worry, Ill take care of it. I can tell youre still a little tired so go rest in your bedchamber, okay?" Hearing Vahns casual tone, Semiramis turned to look at him, her cat-like eyes reflecting a curious light as she tried to ascertain whether or not he was telling the truth. In response to this, Vahn just lightly touched his forehead to hers, saying in a calm tone, "They arent enemies. Even if something happens, Ill move things away from the Hanging Gardens. Now, go get some rest..." To punctuate his statement, Vahn snuck a kiss from Semiramis lips, earning a pouting frown from the beautiful woman. Despite this, she still obeyed his words, though not before she used the pale-golden nail piercing through her hand to lightly prick his chest. Vahn followed Semiramis retreat with his eyes until she had disappeared behind the concealed door at the back of the chamber. Only when her figure disappearedpletely did he bother to rise from the throne himself, his aura flowing out like water released from a sluice gate as he teleported to the location where Zelretch and a woman, presumably Arcueid, was located... Immediately after reaching his destination point, Vahn suddenly felt as if he had stepped into a new world. Though he was obviously still within the Hanging Gardens, it felt like he had entered into a projection of sorts, one where reality itself seemed off somehow. As if to encapste this idea, Vahn found a woman with blood-red eyes, long golden hair, and facial features that could only be described as ethereal in their beauty. Her height was around 167cm and, even at a nce, he could tell she had a mature figure with an estimated bust, waist, hip ratio of 88, 55, and 85cm. This was emphasized by her choice of clothing, a pristine white dress that showed off her ample cleavage andpletely exposed her back. It had a pleated blue skirt underneathyered white folds, each adorned with golden trim, giving her a distinctly noble appearance. She even had long white garments covering her arms, red at the top with silver bands holding them in ce... While Vahn was evaluating her appearance, Arcueid was doing much the same, albeit forpletely different reasons. She had seen the state of the outside world and, having felt the pain and suffering of so many people, she wanted to know what kind of man could have perpetuated such a thing. Her initial assumption was that he would be a tyrannical individual with clearly evil features,plete with beady eyes and a malicious aura. Instead, she found a kindly yet confident-looking young man with crystal clear eyes and an exceptionally gentle aura... Feeling confused, Arcueid couldnt help but tentatively ask, "Are you...the Sage Emperor...?" in an uncertain tone. She simply couldnt reconcile the person standing in front of her with the type of person that would have thrown the world into its current state. Hearing the question directed toward him, Vahn offered a casual smile before bowing politely in response and saying, "You must be the White Princess, Arcueid Brunestud. To answer your question, I am indeed the one known as the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." With Vahn making his identity known, Arcueid felt even more confused but, without any hesitation at all, she extended her hand, shaping the very fabric of reality around them, cutting it off from the rest of the world. From Vahns perspective, it felt like he had stepped into a sub-texture of the world, one that made his prior feelings a reality. In this ce, Arcueid was like an indomitable God and, if not for his energy being almost entirely internal in origin, even he wouldnt be able to do much against her. Without having to be asked, Arcueid took it upon herself to exin her intentions, stating, "Zelretch told me you had the power to liberate me from my curse. Come, I will test you directly. Show me the power of someone that came from Outside..." The moment she finished her words, Arcueid dropped her hand and, with it, the area immediately around Vahn turned into a vacuous void. He could feel his blood boil asrge chunks of his flesh, almost as if they were being devoured by an invisible entity, disappeared entirely. This happened in less than a microsecond and, while Vahn could have evaded, part of him was curious about Arcueids power. She was obviously a Tier 5 entity so, while victory would be nigh-impossible, this was one of the few opportunities he would have to fight seriously... Ultimately, Arcueids initial attack annihted Vahns body until nothing but his ankles remained. This wasnt even remotely enough to actually put him down, however, so his body reformed, not where he had been standing, but behind Arcueids body. Given the fact she hadplete control over the space within her Marble Reality, this came as a surprise to the blood-eyed woman as she didnt even sense the tell-tale ripples of space being warped. Rather than exin his trickery, Vahn had a serious expression on his face and, before Arcueid could react, he pulled out two of his [L?vateinn Proto]s, slicing her body into four pieces with a cross sh. In truth, Arcueid hadnt even bothered to defend herself against Vahns attack as she didnt feel any real threat from it. While it was able to rend her body and sear her flesh, wounds of this extent werepletely negligible to a True Ancestor. Even as the des cleaved through her body, the wound had closed behind it without any time interval between severance and reattachment. By the time Vahn hadpleted his strike, Arcueid had turned her body around and, her hands moving with hypersonic speed as they formed fierce ws. These easily tore through Vahns B-Rank defenses, exploding his head into mincemeat. Unfortunately for Arcueid, Vahn had developed a style ofbat that made use of his ability to freely change form so, rather than spatter through the air, the minuscule bits of his body congealed together, reforming at a monstrous rate as he pressed the attack. Having battled against multiple Dead Apostle Ancestors in her time, Arcueid wasnt even surprised by Vahns capabilities. Rather, it made her assume he was also an entity simr to a True Ancestor as the ability to reform ones body from its constituent molecules was one of their inherent traits. Thus, without any change in her expression, she attempted to sweep her ws across his chest, this time imbuing an immense amount of mana into her sharpened nails... While his regeneration could bepared to a True Ancestors, the truth of the matter was that Vahns ability greatly eclipsed the former. As a result, Arcueids ws easily ripped through his body but, instead of blood and core, hyperdense ck matter dulled her strike. She wasnt even able toplete her full attack as, by the time she reached the center of Vahns body, Arcueid found her hand immobilized. Then, before she could pull away, the area seemed to simultaneously harden as the ck matter began to encroach up her arm. At this point, Arcueid realize that Vahns physique was unique but, as this idea cemented itself in her mind, so too did thetters fist. Vahn had struck forward with enough momentum that a ck trail was left in the wake of his movement, an area that represented an absolute void. Then, rather than pull back his hand for a second strike, he made his fist explode with metallic ck tendrils, piercing through Arcueids reforming head to dull her sense and debilitate her. It was at this moment that Vahn learned that Arcueids body, while not as unique as his own, had a few tricky elements. In much the same way as he could manipte his body, her blood seemed to gain sapience while simultaneously bing the most corrosive substance he had ever seen. His hand, despite being made of a specialpound of Adamantine, was instantaneously consumed by her blood. It even managed to extend to his forearm before his body naturally repelled it, causing the first genuine change in Arcueids expression since the start of their battle. Arcueid was so surprised, in fact, that she broke away from the peculiar exchange to ask, "What are you, exactly? Even if you are from the Outside, you must have a race." Though he was just beginning to get excited for the battle, Vahn didnt immediately pursue Arcueids retreat. Thus, when he heard her question, he smiled back at her, answering, "I am, at my very core, a human being. At the same time, however, I am everything else. Be it True Ancestor, True Dragon, or even inert stone, there are no limits to what I can be..." To emphasize his statement, Vahn became an almost exact copy of Arcueid, albeit with his own style of clothes and significantly less power. Despite this, she was able to ascertain the truth contained in his words as, from the moment Vahn transformed, control over her Reality Marble nearly slipped to him. This was somethingpletely iprehensible so, without further question, she vanished like a phantom, her colossal strength destroying what seemed to be her own body... After being stuck, once again, Vahn realized that Arcueids base speed was definitely higher than his own. Even her raw strength seemed to outright eclipse his, something that was difficult to fathom considering he reached the 50A threshold afterpleting Scthachs trial. From what he could tell, Arcueid was using a Skill simr to [Mana Burst] but, instead of manifesting externally, it was all contained within her body. This,bined with her functionally infinite mana, made her maximum damage reach a lesser version of infinity, making it nearly impossible to directly contend against. It was actually a little annoying but, considering he was able to experience a few of the more pertinent Laws at y, Vahn couldnt reallyin. Still, being rag-dolled by someone other than Scthach bothered him more than a little bit so, rather than reform his main body, Vahn used his trick from earlier. Since his form was linked to his Soul, not a physical vessel, he could move his intent away from the location of his decimated body. So long as even the most minuscule amount of Source Energy was present in that location, he could use it as the seedling to reform his body. This was a way to achieve an effect simr to teleportation without having to use Space Laws at all. Rather, as it was based on his usage of Source Energy, his enemies couldnt even hope to sense it. As could be expected, Arcueid was once again caught off by the iprehensible ability as, until the reformation of his body, Vahns aura seemed toe from his previous location. This allowed him to, quite literally, blindside an opponent as many times as he wanted. Arcueid was no exception to this so, despite her efforts to react to the sudden attack, her only reward was a golf-ball sized ball of Light-Elemental energy in the form of Vahns patented [Elemental Star]... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tsundere are cutest when they are asleep~,Difference of perspective,Time to put Shishous training to the test...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1333 - Shatter

Chapter 1333 - Shatter

Taking advantage of the fact that Arcueid had basically sealed them off in her own little world, Vahn didnt hesitate to release the Light-Elemental Star at close range. He wasnt worried about destroying the Hanging Gardens and, even if something unexpected happened, ya would ensure the safety of everyone within. Arcueid, sensing the overwhelming energy contained within the golf-ball-sized sphere actually felt a little threatened but, due to Vahn surprising her, she had no choice but to take it head-on. She tried to use her Mystic Eyes of Enchantment to restrict Vahns movements but this was a futile endeavor as directly influencing his mind was nigh-impossible with the protections of The Path and Sis... With herst-ditch effort having no effect, Arcueid could only watch as time seemed to slow down to a crawl, the white orb in Vahns hand continuing on its inevitable course toward her abdomen. Even before it made contact, her dress ked away due to the intense energy, the natural barrier around her body offering no protection whatsoever against the immensely pure force. Though it felt like several seconds from their perspectives, less than a microsecond passed in reality before Vahn and Arcueid were both enveloped in white light. He had, long ago,e up with a way to propel the expansion of the contained energies so, the moment his protective membrane of pure Source Energy vanished, the [Elemental Star] instantly expanded to more than 100m in diameter. Pure Light Elemental energy had the properties of restraining malignant forces and, as a result of True Ancestors being considered a foreign element, it was one of the most effective types of energy against vampires. Arcueid was no exception to this while Vahn, due to possessing his Magia Erebea constitution and designation as Type: Omega, literally took four-hundred percent increased damage from his own attack. For a brief moment, Vahn felt like his existence itself had been erased from reality but, having already made preparations prior to releasing the attack, he reformed outside of the destructive perimeter almost immediately after he set it off. Even then, his skin felt like it was on fire and, if not for the protectiveyer of Source Energy he erected, his body would still be destroyed just by being near the epicenter. It was during the eruption of the Light-Elemental Star that Zelretch, who had been observing since the beginning, decided to chime in, asking, "Do you need my assistance, Your Majesty...?" Hearing the old mans question, Vahn couldnt help butugh out loud, something he would regret almost immediately since a wed-hand emerged from the pure-white sphere of light, gripping his face. He felt his head snap back as his teeth bowed inwards, an unpleasant sensation that made his brain buzz in frustration... Instead of being destroyed, Vahn felt foreign mana envelop his entire body, creating an effect simr to spatial anchoring. As a result, he was propelled backward by Arcueids charge, crashing through what remained of the projected Hanging Gardens. This brought them out of the floating fortress and, as a result, Arcueids power seemed to rapidly increase without any upper limits while Vahn felt a powerful suppressive force try to invade his body. With Vahn restrained by her mana, Arcueid tightened her grip on his face, a somewhat vicious smile on her face as she mused, "You may be able to emte the race and appearance of others, but your true nature is that of a Greater Divine Spirit, isnt it? I could feel your existence fading from your own attack..." Without waiting for Vahns response, Arcueid manipted her Marble Phantasm, changing the blood-red sky,plete with a crimson moon, into an endless expanse of white light. The only area unaffected was a small zone around Zelretchs body but, with Arcueids mana making even small movements impossible, Vahn didnt exactly have the opportunity to exploit this. Rather, the moment the light appeared in his surroundings, he began to rapidly dissipate, his resistances providing him no reprieve from the intense pain. Arcueid was also affected by the domain she had created but,pared to Vahn, she got off easy. Her skin appeared to be in a constant state of burning and forced regeneration while he, unable to defend himself, began to rapidly ke away. Despite this, Vahn stared directly back at Arcueid, his previously aquamarine eyes now zing with a fierce blue light. This obviously had no effect on the resolute woman but, deep inside his chest, something was stirring at Vahns very core... If the action wouldnt guarantee he vanished even faster, Vahn would have burst outughing since, for the first time in a long while, his [Chainbreaker] experience was rapidly increasing. He had been able to increase it to A-Rank during his training with Scthach but, as she never truly intended to kill him, it developed at an extremely slow rate. Now, however, Vahn could see the experience ticking up rapidly and, long before his body dissolved away into nothing, powerful pulses of energy, timed with the beating of his heart, began to crack the shell of mana surrounding his body. Believing he was simply trying to escape, Arcueid kept increasing the amount of mana she used to restrain Vahn. She was condensing a veritable ocean of mana to entrap him but, to her shock and awe, it felt like the pulses of energy he emitted were outpacing her umtion. Even her hand, which had been suffused with enough mana to make itparable to an A-Rank Noble Phantasm, began to crack. To further exacerbate matters, these peculiar cracks couldnt be healed by her usual regeneration and, even though she tried to cut off her senses to the limb, the pain seemed didnt diminish in the slightest. Eventually, Arcueid couldnt keep her grip on Vahns face so, with one final pulse, the mana she had used to restrict him exploded outward with enough force to tear the void. There had been enough mana present to wipe out an entire country so, in the aftermath of Vahns release, he and Arcueid were, once again, destroyed. This didnt matter to either of them, however, as the destruction of the physical body meant very little to Vahn and Tier 5 existences like Arcueid. By the time the explosion faded, Arcueid hadpletely regenerated her body, dress included, while Vahn, using the small window of opportunity, finished a quick chant, infusing a light-elemental spell into his Magia Erebea. As the void began to copse back in on himself, Arcueid could only watch with a cautious glint in her eyes as he smiled confidently and shouted, "Fixate. Seize. Load magic, Emperor of Light!" As Vahn hadnt been recing his destroyed equipment, the only thing he had been wearing was a pair of custom [Aegis] shorts. Thus, with his activation of Emperor of Light, the changes to his body could be seen clearly, stunning both Arcueid and Zelretch alike. This was due to the fact that Vahns height increased to precisely 200cm and, a stark contrast to his lean and athletic physique, he now had a refined, muscr, appearance. At the same time, his skin had gain a golden luster as what appeared to be tribal tattoosprised of light covered his arms, legs, and shoulders. While all of these were impressive sights, it was Vahns zing golden irises and the massive halo of light floating behind his back that really stood out. Thetter wasprised ofplex runes and, despite their vast knowledge and iparable understanding of Mystery, neither Zelretch nor Arcueid could make sense of their structure. Then, as if topletely dash any hope they had of understanding the situation, Vahn parted his hands, sending a wave of vermillion mes out from his body as he muttered in a voice that seemed to echo through the area, "Vermillion Birds Descent..." Understanding that Arcueid wasnt a foe he could deal any meaningful damage to in a base Magia Erebea transformation, Vahn ovepped his Zhuque form with his Emperor of Light. This caused the white tattoos on his body to turn vermillion as massive wings sprouted behind his back,plete with runic patterns of their own. Without being afforded the opportunity to study Vahns transformation, thetter turned into a literal beam of light, impacting the area where Arcueid had been floating previously. Her body was instantly destroyed and, as a result of his inability to really control the form, Vahn ended up breaking her Marble Phantasm. This was only the beginning of his journey, however, as he was traveling at a speed nearing 300,000km/s. As a result, Vahn ended up far outside of the earths atmosphere, deep into outer space... Seeing where he ended up, Vahn felt likeughing but, due to the vacuum of space, nothing came out from his mouth. He could see the earth in the distance, a tiny blue marble amidst a vast, endless expanse of stars. It was actually quite beautiful but, due to his leaving the, ya had basically been ejected from his side. Though she was still attached to his other body, he could feel that she was annoyed with him so, slowing his speed to a manageable level, he quickly returned to the to continue the battle... Unfortunately, the only thing waiting for Vahn upon his return was a frowning Arcueid and a slightly pale Zelretch. Thetter was also a Dead Apostle Ancestor so he was even weaker to Light-Elemental energy than Arcueid. This,bined with the fact Vahn effectively became aposite bullet of Light and Yang Elemental energy, was enough to make the elderly Magus sweat. He knew that, if he didnt prepare the proper countermeasures, that kind of attack would be able to seriously injure, if not outright kill him. Sensing that Arcueids desire to battle had faded, Vahn resisted the urge to sigh as he dispelled his transformation and returned to his base state. Truthfully, he could only keep up that form for a few minutes, at best, so it didnt really give him too much of an advantage. This was something neither Arcueid or Zelretch was privy to, however, so Vahn couldnt me them for gawking at him as if he was some kind of strange and terrifying creature. With silence dominating the atmosphere, Vahn took it upon himself to shatter the tensions so, after making sure the Hanging Gardens was still safe, he tilted his head slightly and asked, "Will you join me for tea? I dont believe there is any actual enmity between us. Once you understand the situation better, Im certain we will be able to coexist as allies, not enemies. This entire situation is because of that idiots inability to exin things properly..." Hearing Vahn call him an idiot, Zelretch could only issue an awkwardugh in response. He wanted to say something to defend himself but, considering Vahns current state, the chances of thetter listening were small. The truth of the matter was that Arcueid, due to her impatience, forced him to release her body so that she could leave the Millennium Castle. Then, upon sensing the current state of the world, she bolted toward the location of the Hanging Garden, the central point where all the worlds enmity was gathering. Though the location of Avalon was no longer kept a secret, normal people associated the Hanging Gardens as the symbol of the current change in era. Their anger, hatred, frustrations, and a host of other negative emotions, coalesced to form an overwhelming amount of negative energy. This was something that could be exploited by capable Magi but, with the defenses measures of the Hanging Gardens, it would take more than a simple curse or two to have any real effect on it. After all, the main target of the peoples hatred was Vahn himself, not Semiramis Hanging Gardens. With the battle havinge to an end, Zelretch felt his presence was no longer required so, after tapping his cane against the air a few times, he opened a spatial gate and said, "Honestly, I would like to stick around and have a go myself but, after seeing that disy, I think Ill go home and rx for a bit. The world is already chaotic enough so try not to fight amongst yourselves if you can help it...Arcueid, my previous words to you were the truth. Listen to Vahn and make your own decision...I would think, after all this time, you would know better than to make assumptions..." Hearing Zelretchs parting words, the frown on Arcueids face turned into a morose and mncholic expression as she hung her head and released a tired sigh. She didnt really get the impression that Vahn was a bad person so, as Zelretch suggested, she had let her emotions get to her. She had never been that great at socializing so, when she got upset, her instinct was always to act on her emotions rather than talk it over. In this past, this had caused several tragedies and, unable to bear the burden of intrapersonal rtionships, she ultimately just ran away from everything... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Thats one hell of a night light...,Even Flex Tape cant seal the Emperor...!,The price of solitude is loneliness, the currency paid in suffering) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1334 - Atmosphere

Chapter 1334 - Atmosphere

Vahn was somewhat disappointed with how things ended but he didnt let it get him down as, in the grand scheme of eternity, more battles woulde. For now,ing to an ord with the powerful Vampire Princess before him was more important as, even without ya exining the details, it was obvious she pulled her power directly from the Counter Force. Since it would be problematic to take her to the Hanging Gardens due to the presence of Semiramis, Vahn idled in the air for a moment before asking, "Can you recreate that Marble Phantasm of yours? It will be more convenient to converse in an area where others cannot spy upon us..." As he spoke, Vahn turned his gaze toward nothing in particr but, in response to his actions, a small blip in space-time urred within his domain. The airspace around the Hanging Garden was closely monitored by various organizations so it was a given that some foolhardy types thought they could get away with listening in on his conversations. Unfortunately for them, the act of observing him directly was enough to trigger a response from CHALDEAS so it wouldnt take long for Sherlock to pinpoint their location and intent. Though she wasnt as sensitive to spatial fluctuations as Vahn, Arcueid had noticed the abnormality due to him bringing attention to it. Thus, with a wave of her hand, the surroundings instantaneously changed to a familiar scene. This time around, Vahn was able to get a look at the scene and, while it was a little strange to see a blood-red sky, the way light refracted in this crimson world was quite the sight to behold. Even the vibrant crimson moon shining above glimmered like a ruby and, if not for the malignant energy that seemed to radiate from its surface, he would have been able to appreciate it quite a bit... Just as Vahn was preparing to whip out a table and some chairs for them, Arcueid beat him to the punch by manifesting an entire castle out of her own shadow. This, too, was quite the sight but, with the castle giving off an eerie and lonesome vibe, Vahn couldnt help but frown slightly. Even without an exnation, he could guess that this was Arcueids home. To have stayed in such a ce, it was obvious something terrible had happened to her in the past... With a sigh escaping his lips, Vahn caught the attention of Arcueid who, curious as to what he was thinking about, asked, "Why are you sighing? Are you disappointed with my castle...or, perhaps, you still wanted to battle...?" As Arcueid asked her question, she lifted her right hand to form a pair of ws, seemingly ready to continue where they had left off. This caused the smile to return to Vahns face but, considering they had only just stopped fighting, he opted for the route of diplomacy, shaking his head as he said, "Im certain we can find the time to battle in the future. For now, lets clear up the misunderstanding from earlier. If given the option, Id rather fight you as equals instead of enemies." Hearing Vahns response, Arcueids nails retracted in an instant, her grisly ws resuming the look of dainty and delicate digits. If he hadnt seen Gray do the same in the past, he would have wondered if the ability was rted to actual body transformation, rather than a racial trait of all Vampires... --- With Arcueid leading the way, Vahn soon found himself in a circr library with bookshelves that seemed to stretch upwards into eternity. Despite this, there were several towers of books littering the area while, at one corner of the room, an old wooden desk,plete with a few spent candles, could be seen amongst the clutter. Seeing the state of her library, Arcueid felt a little embarrassed so, with a wave of her hand, each of the books promptly returned to their shelves. Then, with simr ease to his own actions, she pulled out two ornate chairs, a circr table, and a tea arrangement. Vahn found this even more curious than her transformation ability as, from what he could ascertain, she was literally manipting the reality around them to her preference. It wasnt simply Creation but the actualization of intent, a phenomenon that would undoubtedly drive Da Vinci crazy. After taking his own seat, Vahn watched with intrigue as Arcueid picked up the previously empty kettle and, by the time she was actually pouring it, perfectly heated tea filled its insides. This was about what he expected from a Tier 5 being and, for a brief moment, he actuallypared the golden-haired beauty across from him to Eva. They were both True Vampires but, a stark contrast to his beloved neck-biter, Arcueid clearly had very little understanding of proper etiquette. She was a little clumsy and, despite being someone who could, quite literally, manipte individual atoms, she still made the cup overflow whilst pouring... Using her reality maniption, Arcueid, with apletely straight face, caused the spilled tea to simply cease existing before filling her own cup immediately thereafter. Throughout this entire process, Vahn had a casual smile on his face, pretending he didnt see the idental spill. Instead, he took it upon himself to break the silence, remarking, "This is quite the collection of books. Do you enjoy reading...?" For reasons unknown, Arcueid winced in response to the sudden question, her expression turning sullen as she answered, "I wouldnt say Im fond of reading..." before falling silent again. This caused Vahn to struggle with maintaining his smile but, considering the circumstances, he managed to will himself to do so. Since she would probably need time to collect her thoughts, Vahn waited for nearly two minutes before he returned an understanding nod in response. This seemed to confuse Arcueid a bit but, in much the same way as him, she simply remained silent for several minutes before smiling in turn. In truth, she was an extreme introvert and, while she could get emotional at times, her default state was quiet and, at times, quirky. She enjoyed the silence between them more than actual dialogue so, at least for the time being, she simply sat across from Vahn, refilling her teacup every time it got low... --- Unexpectedly, two hours had passed within the Millennium Castle by the time the tenuous silence was broken. This was due to Vahns own infinite supply of tea, something Arcueid had taken notice of since she had thought to offer him more when he ran out. Still, it took refilling their cups more than fifteen times before her curiosity finally got the better of her. Even then, she simply asked, "You can make tea...?" in an innocent tone. Hearing Arcueids question, Vahns smile widened slightly and, though it may not have been the best idea, he extended his cup toward her, asking, "Would you like to try?" This was his bad habit acting up but, against all expectations, Arcueid surprised him by nodding her head and epted the cup. It didnt seem to bother her at all that it was the same cup he had been drinking from as, without any discernible hesitation whatsoever, she sampled the mint tea within. Vahn already suspected it but, based on her behavior, he could tell that Arcueid was a very innocent and naive woman. He knew she was around eight-hundred years old but, contrasting how fierce she could be in battle, there were massive gaps in her personality. This made him feel a little guilty as it meant she was highly susceptible to being taken advantage of, something that had undoubtedly happened several times in the past. Now, just by conversing with her, Vahn would be the next in a long line of people to exploit Arcueids naivete... Shaking his head, Vahn convinced himself that it was better for her to fall under the umbre of the Empire than stay inside this lonely castle. The only time she left was to hunt one of the Dead Apostle Ancestors and, if not for the support of various people, even this would likely prove impossible. Even Merem had assisted her on asion while Zelretch, having watched over Arcueid from the moment she came into existence, offered aid and advice when the opportunity presented itself. As a Greater Divine Spirit on a simr level to Crimson Moon, Arcueid was sensitive to the subtle changes in a persons aura. Though Vahns expression rarely changed, she could tell he was thinking about something troubling as, in spite of his smile, he gave off a mncholic aura. Since she didnt really understand what had upset him, she looked between the two cups in her hand and, after a period of silent deliberation, realization hit her. Noticing the curious actions of Arcueid, Vahn was about to ask what she was thinking about but, as if she had discovered some great truth of the universe, the golden-haired Princess turned to him with a happy smile and eximed, "The tea was very delicious, thank you~!" Then, creating an exact copy of the type of tea Vahn had used, Arcueid returned his cup before giving herself an approving nod and returning to her own... Vahn was, admittedly, a little at a loss. Everything Arcueid did screamed naive so, while he needed to talk to her about Crimson Moons Curse for the sake of his World Power Quest, the words never quite reached his lips. He even considered going to retrieve Spenta and someone like Artoria to act as a mediator between them as it wouldnt weigh as heavily on his consciousness if someone else were to convince her. It almost felt like he could spin a grand tale and, without questioning it in the slightest, Arcueid would eat it up. Ultimately, it was exceedingly apparent that Arcueid was starved for meaningful social interactions. If she agreed to be a part of the Empire, he would need to find her a support group so that she could slowly learn how to interact with others. The problem with this was, due to no small fault of his own, most of the pertinent peoples within the Empire were involved with him. He could leave her to the Homunculi but, while she would undoubtedly get along well with them, Vahn wasnt ignorant of the fact that the entire group of white-haired beauties basically viewed him as a God... As that thought crossed his mind, so too did the images of Fenrir, Jeanne, Gray, and Gareth. This made Vahn sweat a little as it was almost guaranteed these four, in particr, would endeavor to corrupt the naive Arcueid. While this wasnt exactly a bad thing, the sheer innocence of Arcueid made Vahn feel guilty since he knew the most likely path she would end up on. He didnt really have it in him to refuse those that were close to him so, depending on how things yed out, it was easy to imagine this ethereal beauty ending up in his harem... Realizing his own thoughts, Vahn nearlyughed out loud as, once again, he was essentially worrying over nothing. So long as he treated them well and provided for them, there was nothing intrinsically wrong with being intimate with people who wanted to be with him. She may be innocent now but, if she made use of the Virtual World, it wouldnt take long for Arcueid to mature. It wasnt in his nature to avoid helping people so, knowing Arcueid had a tragic past, one gued by loneliness, Vahn waspelled to move forward. Having convinced himself, Vahn turned his attention toward Arcueid to find her blood-red eyes staring back at him curiously. She seemed slightly surprised by the fact he looked toward her but, rather than avert her eyes, she just lowered her head slightly. This created a scene where she was looking up at him and, though it obviously wasnt her intention, the low cut of her gown created a tempting sight just outside of a normal persons field of view. With his ability to create near-perfect three-dimensional representations of pretty much everyone he had ever met, Vahn managed to avoid letting his eyes wander from Arcueids eyes. Instead, he put his teacup down on the nearby saucer, smiling as Arcueid emted his action. Then, for nearly a full day after the fact, Vahn regaled Arcueid with tales of his past, his aspirations for the present, and his dream for the future. He even used memory orbs to allow her to view some scenes directly, many of which pertained to events that had taken ce in the Nasuverse... (A/N: Alternate Titles: CHALDEAS is literally a cheat...,To an introvert, the best conversations often have little to no actual dialogue o3o...,For some reason, I feel as though Vahn abruptly became more punchable...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1335 - Resolute Indecisive

Chapter 1335 - Resolute Indecisive

Though Arcueid didnt like to speak much herself, she still enjoyed listening to people, especially when it didnt require her to contribute to the conversation. Once, in what now felt like the distant past, she had started to open up to others but, just as she found something that made her happy, it was almost immediately taken from her. This was due to her status as a True Ancestor, an entity that required the blood of others to sustain themselves. There had been a time when Arcueid was immune to these Vampiric Impulses but the schemes of Michael Roa Valdamjong brought an end to this. He had taken advantage of her loneliness to trick her into drinking his blood, the first of many tragic events that gued her life. After that, she had gone berserk and, for several years, ended up as nothing more than a tool to ughter other True Ancestors. To make matters even worse, Roa stole most of her power and, as a result, became one of the most powerful Dead Apostle Ancestors in existence by the time she regained rity. It was then that she chained herself inside of the Millennium Castle for the first time and, from that moment onward, her mission in life became the destruction of the Dead Apostle Ancestors, chiefly Michael Roa Valdamjong himself. Unfortunately, by the time she managed to track down and imprison Roas spirit, the malicious Vampire had worked with his cohorts to either kill or imprison nearly every other True Ancestor. They had even made a game out of it, seeing who could assassinate their creators and steal the most power in the shortest period of time. What the Dead Apostle Ancestors hadnt realized was that, with every True Ancestor they killed, the more powerful Arcueid became. In turn, Roas own power increased and, by the time anyone even tried to stop him, none were his equal. Only Arcueid herself had the power to kill him as, if he tried to kill her in turn, his own power would be greatly reduced. This led to a cat and mouse game thatsted for decades, one which only came to a stop after the deaths of millions... Despite all of these happenings, Arcueid found it hard to believe Vahns own tale was true. The things he had experienced in his lifetime sounded like a work of fiction, one so fantastical that she couldnt even imagine how mad the author must have been to write such a thing. Not only were Vahns origins exceedingly tragic, but his meteoric rise to bing an Emperor, his pursuits as a cksmith, the various trials he had faced, everything was just so extreme. He even recounted some of the information about his various lovers to her, a happy smile on his face as he recalled some of the trials they had faced, the children they had produced, and the lives they had built together... Overall, it was an overwhelming amount of information but, with the way Vahn exined things,bined with the [Memory Orbs], Arcueid found herself enjoying his story. As farfetched as everything sounded, she got the distinct impression he was telling the truth. After all, her own story had a fair number of unbelievable urrences yet, in spite of that, each event had taken ce in reality. She had even experienced several end of the world scenarios so, while it was a little hard to believe, it wasnt impossible... What Arcueid really struggled to understand was Vahns reasons for taking such drastic action. He had exined his reasoning to her but, no matter how she looked at it, his decision seemed to be a little rushed. He didnte off as the type that would force suffering onto people so, for things to have developed to this point, something must have been pushing him forward. Ultimately, Arcueids curiosity got the better of her so, after twenty hours of argely one-sided conversation, she asked, "Are you going to leave this world soon...?" Since Vahn seemed to have, at the very least, a simr degree of immortality as her, Arcueid knew he should be able to live forever. She couldnt understand why he was putting so much pressure on humanity to change in such a short period of time as he clearly had far more important things on his mind... As Arcueid had said less than a dozen sentences during their entire conversation, Vahn was a little caught off guard by her sudden question. Still, it wasnt really a difficult one to answer so, after a brief pause, he nodded his head and exined, "Remember what I said previously, how I came here from another world? Well, I want to return to my own world someday. Since I cant just leave this world behind and treat it as someone elses problem, I want to do everything I can to make it into a better ce before I leave. How long that takes is something I cannot even begin to fathom so, rather than put it off untilter, it is better to start now. Besides, the current state of the world is something I simply couldnt agree with." Hearing Vahns answer, Arcueid couldnt help but frown as he didnt actually seem to put all that much thought into his response. While she could understand what he was trying to convey, her intuition told her that he was still hiding something, something extremely important. At the same time, however, she felt that no amount of questioning would allow him to reveal this hidden truth so, after several moments of silence, she muttered, "Billions of people will die as a result of the choices you have made..." Vahn, obviously, didnt need Arcueid to exin this fact to him but, understanding she was just looking for a way to convince herself, he ultimately sighed before exining, "Even if I never came to this world, billions of people would die. Eventually, all life on this, including the itself, would cease to exist. I will not pretend that my choices do not have consequences but, in the end, everything that is happening is the result of human nature. Though I may have crippled their infrastructure, their economy, and other conventional systems, I am not taking any action to persecute or harm them. Instead, we are working hard to provide food, water, and even shelter to those in need. Almost everyone dying right now is a victim, not of the Empire, but of other humans. I even used a wish to decrease the number of innocent lives lost so do not me me for the actions of others, Arcueid Brunestud." Compared to the jovial, almost easy-going, atmosphere that had surrounded him during the recounting of his life story, Vahns aura became heavy and solemn when he responded to her question. This caused Arcueid to shrink away instinctually and, after hearing his reasoning, she wondered if her remark was inconsiderate. She, of course, knew how corrupt human society could be so, while she didnt exactly agree with his methods, she couldnt deny the logic behind Vahns words... Arcueid was the type that needed to mull over things on her own so, after she averted her eyes from him, Vahn released a heavy sigh before slouching in his chair. Truth be told, everything that was happening around the world already weighed heavily on his heart and mind so, hearing her bring it up had ruined his mood. He constantly had to remind himself that his decisions were for the best as, without this, and the support of many others, he would spiral into the self-doubt he was prone to during trying times. More so than his words, Arcueid was convinced more by the changes in Vahns aura. The moment he slouched into his chair, she snuck a peek at him from the corner of her eye and, while he may be putting on an act, she could practically feel the pressure he was under. This caused her to fall into even deeper thought and, after nearly twenty minutes, she ultimately muttered, "I am sorry...I didnt think about your position properly...it must be hard on you..." Hearing Arcueids apology, Vahn released another tired sigh as it almost felt wrong to have her, of all people, apologize. She had experienced a lot of tragedy throughout her life and, while her words were indeed a little insensitive, so too was his reaction. Thus, after catching Arcueid staring at him, Vahn offered an apologetic smile and said, "I should be the one apologizing. Had I chosen my words better, this could have been avoided. Please, forgive my thoughtlessness..." In response to Vahns apology, Arcueid just stared back at him, her blood-red eyes glimmering like rubies in the low-light of the library. Since he wasnt the type to break eye contact with others, this resulted in the two staring at each other for several minutes until, as if the previous tensions had been nothing more than an illusion, Arcueid began tough, her voice echoing like a bell in the vast chamber. Vahn was a little surprised by Arcueids reaction but, rather than allow it to show on his face, he simply smiled in response until she calmed down. This caused Arcueid to act a little embarrassed, her fingers twiddling with her hair as she muttered, "I ept your apology..." in a sheepish voice. This time, Vahn was tempted to burst outughing but, fearing it would have the opposite of the desired effect, he continued to smile, nodding his head as he said, "Thank you, Arcueid...it means a lot to me." Then, before silence could take hold once again, he closed his eyes, leaning back against his chair as he added, "As much as I enjoy conversing with you like this, Im afraid my time is rather limited. Now that we havee to understand each other better, I believe it is time for us to discuss our respective intentions." Arcueid was at a loss as to how she should respond to Vahns prior words so, when she heard his follow-up, her thought process ground to a halt. She only just now remembered the reason they had gathered in the library and, with this realization, Arcueid also realized that Vahn would soon have to leave. For some reason, she had started to believe their conversation would never end so, hearing his reminder, she felt as if the loneliness that had gued her for centuries was starting to creep back up on her... Understanding Arcueid would take a while to organize her own thoughts, Vahn decided to make his intentions known first. So as not to overwhelm her, he adopted a calm and soothing tone of voice and, speaking at a much slower speed than normal, exined, "My dream is to make the world a happier ce. To that end, I wish to help you remove the influence of Crimson Moon and alleviate the symptoms of your Vampiric Impulse. I dont know your full story but, from what Ive heard, you are deserving of a chance at happiness. Please, allow me to help you, Arcueid." To further emphasize his words, Vahn lowered his head towards the stunned Vampiric Princess. In truth, his desire to help her wasnt solely the result of his nature. Though this yed arge part in his final decision, the fact she appeared within the Optional Objectives of his World Power Quest had a fair amount of influence over his decision. It was a Quest that rewarded 5,000,000,000OP as a base reward so thepletion of Optional Objectives all but guaranteed something incredible in turn... Arcueid was obviously unaware of Vahns Quest but, as a result of his sincere desire to help her, she couldnt help but feel a little flustered. She expected things to reach this point after learning about Vahns existence from Zelretch but, to be put on the spot like this, her heart felt like it was about to explode. Since she couldnt really voice her own thoughts on the matter, however, the only thing she managed was asking, "Do you...do you like me...?" in a demure tone. Hearing Arcueids question, Vahn was certain that some kind of misunderstanding had urred. He looked up to find Arcueid staring at him with an anxious expression on her face and, as soon as their eyes met, she even looked away from him. This made it pretty clear that she already had a few thoughts in mind regarding how he could help her, likely rting to a simr ritual to the one he had carried out with Gray. Since he had already made up his mind previously, Vahn wasnt going to miss the opportunity to leave an impression on Arcueids heart so, in response to her question, he calmly answered, "I do." in a soft tone. This caused the golden-haired maiden to inhale a deep breath but, rather than say anything in response, she ultimately buried her face into her hands. It was a little awkward seeing Arcueid behave in such a way but, in much the same way as before, Vahn simply waited for her to organize her thoughts. Regardless of what she chose, he would still do his best to help her. He could never ignore women with a tragic past so it didnt really matter if she decided to be with him or not. Rather, it would be more convenient for him if she fell in love with someone else as he wasnt exactly starved for the affections of others. In fact, there was a line of women waiting to be with him as a result of Ilyas incubation, something he would need to deal with in the very near future... As Vahn was mulling over how irresponsible he had been with his rtionships, Arcueids mind was gued with thoughts of its own. She was actually afraid to be involved with anyone as, the only time she ever fell in love, he ended up falling in love with someone else before ultimately dying yearster. This was due to the fact that, as a result of her love, she adamantly refused to drink his blood and turn him into a Vampire. Now, a stark contrast to her past experiences, Arcueid was faced with a decision that may very well decide how she spends the next few centuries, if not longer. Vahn was an immortal existence on a simr level so, no matter how much time passed, there was no chance that he would simply die. At the same time, however, he already had a ratherrge harem and, while she didnt really mind this all that much, Arcueid had experienced her fair share of drama rted to love. At one point, she was even prepared to kill the person her first love had fallen, keeping him for herself by locking him away in the Millennium Castle... Remembering these past experiences, Arcueid was reminded of all the things she regretted the most in her life. She had already worked through most of these things in the past but, now that she had to make a decision, the past suddenly weighed heavily on her heart. Still, it was infinitely better than returning to the Millennium Castle and experiencing an eternity of loneliness so, after the better part of half an hour, Arcueid peeked up through her fingers and said, "Ill be in your care from now on...please treat me well..." in a quivering voice. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Roa is a cunt,"You wanna know how I got these scars...?" -Vahn,I wonder how many rtionships are actually the result of a series of misunderstandings...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1336 - Simple Solution

Chapter 1336 - Simple Solution

Despite her words, Vahn could see that Arcueid would need a bit of time to truly make up her mind. Fortunately, she would be in the care of the Ivory Castles residents so it shouldnt take long for her to reconcile her emotions. For now, his main priority was alleviating the symptoms of her curse and, as tantalizing an opportunity as it may be, he needed to deal with her Vampirism without relying on the same ritual performed with Gray. Vahn had no intention of subordinating himself to Arcueid and, with her status as a True Ancestor and Tier 5 entity, she would need to give up most of her power in order to be his subordinate. This wasnt really something he wanted as, even if she gave him everything, Vahn doubted his power would actually increase. There was no way his body would ept a foreign power so he would have toe up with a way to seal it inside of himself, a tedious affair he simply had no interest in. After all, linking the Records required him to increase his own strength, not rely on power borrowed from others. With this in mind, Vahn extended his hand toward the suddenly bashful Arcueid, waiting patiently until she grabbed it of her own volition. Then, pulling her to her feet, he gave the lonely woman a gently hug, stroking the back of her head as he whispered, "It will be okay. I promise to make you happy." When he first hugged her, Arcueids body trembled slightly but, after hearing Vahns words, she, ever so slowly, began to rx. She then proceeded to rest her head against his shoulder and, a while after that, returned his hug by wrapping her arms somewhat awkwardly around his body. Her unfamiliarity with even something as simple as a hug forced Vahn to restrain a sigh but, having made up his mind, he wasnt going to go back on his word. Regardless of how things developed, he would help Arcueid find the happiness she deserved... After embracing each other in the center of the library for several minutes, Vahn slowly removed his hands from Arcueid. She seemed a little reluctant but, realizing they couldnt just stand there forever, she followed suit shortly after. Then, without missing a beat, Vahn looked around the area, saying, "I would like you toe and reside in the Ivory Castle. It may take some getting used to but youll be able to make some friends there. Before that, we should do something about that malicious energy in your body..." Arcueid felt fluttery when she heard Vahns words but, hearing thetter half, a sullen expression marred her beautiful face as she murmured, "My fate as Crimson Moons heir isnt something that can be dealt with so easily...even if I abandon my status as heiress, the power I possess would then shift to that despicable woman...if that happens, I fear the entire world would be awash in a sea of blood." Vahn knew that Arcueid was referring to her sister, Altrouge Brunestud, but he wasnt particrly worried about thetter. Her time would eventuallye and, while Crimson Moons power may be great, the true secret of Arcueids strength was her connection to the Counter Force. He had, at his side, one of the literal halves of said force so, while ya may not be able to grant him power, she didnt have any problem allowing others to keep it. Before Arcueid could fall into a depressive state, Vahn ran his fingers through her fringe bang, his voice a soothing yet confident tone as he exined, "Your existence and power are derived from the contract between Gaia and Crimson Moon. However, you are apletely unique entity so there is nothing binding you to the fate others have decided for you. If you trust in me, removing Crimson Moons influence is a simple matter. Though his power will undoubtedly go to Altrouge, it is nothingpared to the power given to you by Gaia..." Arcueid was an entity formed in the wake of Crimson Moons death, not a natural-born existence. In a way, she could be considered a child of Gaia herself, evident by the fact she was a Greater Divine Spirit, not an alien entity. Crimson Moon was simply the Ultimate One of the Moon, making him an existence akin to Type Mercury. This ced him squarely under Vahns influence so, with ya at his side, removing the imprint Crimson Moon had ced on all True Ancestors was a simple feat. Though she found his words hard to believe, Arcueid had already put all of her hope Vahn. If he couldnt help her, there was truly nothing that could free her from her fate. She was slowly being encroached by the will of Crimson Moon and, if her own ego faded away, she would be an existence integral to the natural order. True Ancestors were given dominion over humanity so, even if something existed that could kill her, all of humanity would be wiped out in the process. While humans were one of the principal causes of the tragedies she had experienced, Arcueid hade to love them as a species. They had their faults but, more often than not, it was due to being manipted by others that they strayed from nobler paths. In a way, she could understand how Vahn had decided upon such drastic measures so, deciding to believe in the future he was creating, Arcueid ced her hand over Vahns and said, "I choose to believe..." With Arcueids acquiescence, Vahns expression softened a bit and, after staring into her eyes for a few seconds longer, he pulled out a [Space-Time Orb]. Since the imprint in her body was a piece of Crimson Moons Ego, he could be manifested within the spiritual ne of a [Space-Time Orb]. There was a chance this wouldnt work but, as even a Memory Fragment could exist within, Vahn doubted he would have any problems pulling Crimson Moon out of hiding... --- Since there was a chance Crimson Moons Ego would automatically protect itself if Arcueid knew his intentions, Vahn couldnt exin his n. Fortunately, Arcueid showed that she was willing to trust him by cing her hand on the orb and, after a tense moment, their consciousness was pulled into the orb without incident. As the space within a [Space-Time Orb] was governed bypletely different Laws, Arcueid couldnt help but feel terrified. It took Vahn pulling her into his embrace a second time to help her calm down and, after rity returned to her, Arcueid realized that her connection with the World was still active. After all, her body still existed back in reality so, while the Laws inside the [Space-Time Orb] may be a little different, they fundamentallycked the capabilities of separating her from her physical vessel. Once Arcueid had calmed down, Vahn slowly released her again, a gentle smile on his face as he reminded, "I promised I would make you happy. Dont go doubting my intentions so quickly, okay?" Hearing Vahns words, Arcueid felt her face heat up a bit. She wanted to say something to defend her actions but, even after several seconds had passed, nothing came to mind. Instead, she used her monstrous strength, still present within the [Space-Time Orb], to twist the tender flesh of Vahns side. This caused his left eye to twitch a bit but, despite the pain, he continued to smile back at Arcueid until she ultimately lowered her head and muttered, "Sorry..." Vahn had the distinct impression he would be hearing Arcueid apologize a lot in the future but, for now, there were more pressing matters to attend. He slowly drifted away from her, startling her a bit but, after shaking his head slightly, she ultimately stayed in ce. Then, once a few meters had been opened between them, Vahn closed his eyes to focus his senses. He had actually been able to sense four distinctly different auras within Arcueids body so he wanted to identify each of them within the [Space-Time Orb]. It didnt take long for Vahn to find an aura that was nearly as powerful as Arcueids own clinging to her aura, much like a shadow follows its owner. If he didnt know to look for it, finding this presence would be nigh-impossible, even with his senses. As for the other two, they stuck out like stars in a moonless night as they were literally twining around and restraining Arcueids power. One was pitch ck in coloration, reminding Vahn of the corruption affection Sakura, while the other was zing red, despite a powerful Yin-Elemental Energy emanating from within. After identifying each of these energies, Vahn decided to eliminate the two weaker ones first since there was a chance they would try to harm Arcueid when he got rid of the infinitely more powerful one. He had already pulled them all into the [Space-Time Orb] so, even if Crimson Moon tried to protect itself, Vahn would be able to seal it away. After all, this particr orb only had a 1:1 time dtion so it was easy for him to maintain his awareness back in the real world. He could deal with the problem on both fronts simultaneously so, without any hesitation, Vahn extended his hand with a resolute look on his face... Arcueid felt incredibly nervous watching Vahns actions but, having ced her trust in him, she grit her teeth and prepared for whatever he was going to throw at her. This ended up being the correct choice as, the moment he began to retract his hand, almost as if he was pulling something, it felt like every blood vessel in her body exploded simultaneously. It was a truly excruciating amount of pain but,pared to the loneliness she had experienced, Arcueid convinced herself it was negligible... Moments after he had started, blood-red energy began to surge from Arcueids pores while her hair, previously an unblemished gold, became ck as ink. This phenomenon didnt stop at just her hair, however, as her eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and a few unmentionable areas began to drip with the same inky liquid. At a nce, it looked like she was bleeding from every opening in her body but, instead of blood, literal darkness flowed from her body and began pooling on the ground. Before he could deal with the expanding pool of corruption, Vahn manifested [Enkidu] in front of his body just as what appeared to be a little girl attempted to tear out his throat. At a nce, she had the appearance of a fourteen-year-old girl of European descent,plete with fair skin, raven-ck hair, and ruby-red eyes. She actually looked like a mischievous and yful girl based on appearances but, rather than innocence, Vahn could only see cruelty reflected in her eyes... Despite the little girls best efforts, she was only a fragment of the original so, aftering into contact with an artifact like [Enkidu], the phantoms hand actually burst apart. In the next moment, the chains wrapped around her body, restricting the girl and her gothic-style garb in an instant. Seeing the appearance of his assant, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head while wondering what kind of person would create such a contrary existence. The flow of Fate around Arcueid made it very clear she was an important existence to the Record so Altrouges existence was undoubtedly that of an antagonist, one hand-crafted by the creator of the Nasuverse. He couldnt imagine what kind of person would pit a buxom golden-haired beauty and a raven-haired gothic-lolita against each other in a setting where they both viciously tore each other apart. Since there was no sense in mulling over the matter, Vahn ultimately just shook his head before cing his hand on the phantoms head. He was grateful that it didnt seem capable of speech as it made destroying the murderous young girl a lot easier. She even tried to bite at his hand but, with [Enkidu] restricting her body, Vahn was able to ce his hand on her forehead without too much trouble. The tissue of his palm turned into the same metallic ck substance that appeared during his battle with Arcueid and, after enveloping the entirety of Altrouges body, the malicious energy was forcibly destroyed as a result of his unique constitution... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is a real casanova at times...,The views and opinions of characters within EPIC does not represent the views and opinions of the Author o3o...,RIP eclipse-loli fragment) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1337 - Purification

Chapter 1337 - Purification

With the fragment of Altrouge dealt with, Vahn turned his attention to Arcueid who, at this point, had copsed onto the ground. Only a few seconds had passed since the time he forcibly pulled the malignant energy from her body but having fragments of your spirit forcibly separated was one of the most painful things imaginable. So as not to prolong her suffering, Vahn unhesitantly made his way through the expanding pool of ck liquid. In much the same way as Sakuras shadow, it attempted to encroach upon his body but, here in the [Space-Time Orb], a ce Vahn was intimately familiar with, such attacks had no effect on him. His Ego could not be corroded by external forces so the corrosive liquid flowed around his body like a cold and viscous liquid without singing even a single hair. Upon reaching Arcueids side, Vahn kneeled down, lifting her body into his arms and holding her tight as he sent his Source Energy flooding through her system. This was a method he had actually hypothesized in a path, a means to strengthen the Ego of another person by infusing his Source Energy directly with their spiritual body. There seemed to be no limit to the ways in which he could make use of this unique form of energy so, after a few seconds, the darkness flowing from Arcueids body more than tripled in volume until it had beenpletely expunged. It was amazing to see something as inconsequential as a few strands of energy forming something like a veritableke of corrupt ether. Vahn was reminded that hisprehension of the Laws was stillcking but, at some point in the distant future, he reasoned that creating an entire from what appeared to be a single drop of Source Energy should be possible. After all, he could fit an infinitely vast space within the palm of his hand so, in the grand scheme of things, everything was a matter of perspective... Due to the intense pain she had experienced, Arcueid was still a little pale as she nestled into Vahns embrace. Damage to the psyche wasnt something that could be remedied by any amount of passive regeneration so it would take a few hours for her to make a full recovery, at the very least. Despite this, she was able to retain her consciousness and, after a few seconds had passed, she even opened her eyes to ask, "Are your methods...always so extreme...?" Though it might have seemed like she wasining, Arcueid had a contented smile on her face as, even in her current state, she felt better than before. Previously, she had a feeling simr to what others would experience just before they got a cold or came down with a severe sickness. Now, her body felt lighter and, for the first time in centuries, the sickly cold feeling that was always present in the pit of her stomach had vanished entirely... Understanding she was actually trying to joke around with him, Vahns smile softened and, despite the inky ck liquid still staining her lips, he surprised her with a small peck on the lips. This caused color to return to her face, albeit several shades of red darker than a more naturalplexion. Vahn always enjoyed seeing these types of reactions as the visible surprise and giddiness were second only to when a woman smiled sincerely. Unfortunately, he didnt have much time to appreciate Arcueids reaction as the corrupted ether began to coalesce into an exceptionally pale man with long ck hair. Like most Vampires, he had blood-red eyes but,pared to the ruby-like glimmering of Arcueids, his were like polluted pools of congealed blood, made worse by the fact he was ring with a vicious scowl. Since she could see the man that had formed clearly, Arcueids aura became ice-cold in an instant as she venomously spat, "Roa...!" This caused the ink-haired man to turn his attention toward Arcueid and, as if he only just now noticed her, a sadistic smile spread across he has as he licked his lips and mused, "Ah, Princess, it is truly a pleasure to see you in such a state. Will you cry for me this time as well~?" Before Arcueid could respond to the vile man, Vahn beat her to the punch by contracting [Enkidu] around Roas body. He had been paying close attention to the corrupted ether from the beginning so, from the moment it began to coalesce into a figure, he had already sent [Enkidu] to coil around the area. He wasnt going to let Roa traumatize Arcueid any further, especially after promising to make her happy only a few minutes prior... Though he would have been able to avoid it with ease at his full strength, the current Roa was just a small fragment of an already fragmented Ego. He didnt even have the power of a B-Rank Servant so, with Vahn having made preparations for his emergence, there was virtually nothing he could do. As a result, his body was bound in glimmering golden chains and, before he could say any snide remarks directed toward Arcueid, one of the links of [Enkidu] pierced directly through his mouth, forcing its way through the back of his head. Arcueid was at a loss seeing how easily Vahn dealt with the person she hated more than anything else in the entire world. He didnt even turn to look back at Roa and, while thetter may have just been a small fraction of the original in strength, it was still an iprehensible sight. This caused her to look back up at Vahn, his smiling face seeming more radiant than before while his embrace brought her a feeling of security she had never experienced before... Reading the mood, Vahn dutifully lowered his lips to meet with Arcueids, this time prolonging the contact for several seconds. Her face became nearly as red as her eyes, her heart beating madly as she ended up freezing in much the same way as Olga. Vahn found this rather adorable but he was more taken by the fact that, after a few seconds had passed, Arcueid gingerly poked at his lips with her tongue, either out of instinct or curiosity. Tempted as he was, Vahn didnt want to push Arcueid too far so, after meeting her tongue with his own, for a very brief moment, he pulled away from her with arge grin on his face. He was certainly happy with the development but, more than that, the fact Arcueid had her tongue sticking out was simply too adorable. Better still was the fact that, after realizing he had pulled away, Arcueids eyes snapped open as her tongue retreated back behind her inviting lips, now clean of the ck liquid from before. Since he still needed to deal with Roa and the legacy of Crimson Moon, Vahn helped Arcueid stand on her own two feet before gently stroking her face and saying, "Wait for me...after I deal with this bastard, Ill give you as many kisses as you want..." To punctuate his statement, Vahn stole yet another kiss from Arcueids lips, taking advantage of the long pauses she required toe up with a cohesive response. With her reaction time, she would be able to evade his lips with considerable ease so, by allowing him to kiss her, Arcueid was essentially giving him permission to continue doing so. With Arcueid temporarily pacified, Vahn approached the writhing figure of Roa and, in much the same way as Altrouge, he enveloped the mans body before purging him. This was actually one of Vahns most powerful techniques as, unless the target was able to free themselves in an expedient manner, they were doomed to be expunged by the purifying properties of his body. The only real countermeasure against his encroachment was to not have any malicious intentions, something that obviously didnt apply to entities such as Roa, a person who basked in the suffering of others. Now that the two lesser presences in Arcueid were eliminated, Vahn turned back to find thetter waiting obediently where he had left her. Based on how she was fidgeting slightly, he imagined she had taken his previous words literally but, before he could shower the over-eager princess in kisses, there was one final matter that required his attention. Fortunately, this one would be much easier to deal with than the other two as Vahn didnt even need to forcibly extract it. After returning to Arcueids side. Vahn brought her into his embrace as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Arucied offered virtually no resistance to his actions but, just as she was about to purse her lips, Vahn ced his index finger against them and said, "There is still one more..." in a soft tone. This reminded Arcueid of the reason they had entered the space but, more so than the matter of Crimson Moon, she was embarrassed by the fact she had tried to continue where they had left off. To avoid her having a minor breakdown, Vahn hugged Arcueid tightly in his embrace, lifting her from the ground slightly as a result. He waited until she naturally returned his embrace before whispering in amanding tone, "Designation Type: Moon, Imand you to leave this womans body. From now on, your contract with Gaia has been voided. You may return to your progeny but I forbid you from granting them the power to exploit and harm others..." Arcueid was somewhat confused by Vahns words but, before she could make any inquiries, a strong tugging force could be felt in her body. In the next moment, a beautiful man with blood-red eyes and long golden hair manifested behind her. He was dressed simrly to a nobleman from the early Victorian Era and, even at a nce, he radiated an extraordinary and dignified aura. Though she had never met him personally, Arcueid understood that the man before her was none other than the first of the True Ancestors, Crimson Moon. Even she was filled with an urge to lower her head but, much to her surprise, Crimson Moon was the one to bow politely as he stated, "I will carry out your order without fail. In exchange, please visit the Moon one day and help restore my physical body. Existing in this manner has been less than pleasant..." Vahn knew that Crimson Moon, while credited with a few terrible deeds, wasnt actually an evil existence. Rather, he was akin to a force of nature, an existence on an even higher level than most of the Gods that had appeared throughout history. With this being the case, he didnt mind giving the man a new vessel to inhabit, especially if it meant he wouldnt be troubling others in the future. This would have to wait until after the Empire had established itself but, as this was only a matter of time, Vahn nodded his head and answered, "It will take some time but I promise to assist you once things have stabilized." In response to Vahns words, Crimson Moon gave another bow, stating, "Your benevolence knows no bounds...". Then, after raising his head and adopting a distant look in his eyes, Crimson Moon faded from the [Space-Time Orb] as his essence, back in the real world, separated from Arcueids body. At the same time, a moon-shaped emblem, previously hidden, ked away from her forehead. With the seals disappearance, Arcueid no longer had any rtion to Crimson Moon and, as a result, even her status as a True Ancestor had been revoked. Now, she was truly a Greater Divine Spirit, her connection to the World granting her apletely unique status. After all, she still had unrestricted ess to the Counter Force so, as long as the existed, and vice-versa, Arcueid would forever remain one of the most powerful forces in the world... As could be expected from these changes, Arcueids body and spirit experienced a few of their own. While her hair stayed the same color, her previously blood-red eyes changed to reflect the color of pristine sapphires. At the same time, her aura gained a quality simr to the one produced by both Spenta and Aura, enough so that Vahn could feel his skin tingle just by being in contact with her. She had be a being of purity and, if not for his interactions with people like Artoria, he would have been a little worried about their future together... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Cant touch this...,Type: Omega OP,Vahn over here purifying girls before he corrupts them...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1338 - Greed

Chapter 1338 - Greed

Feeling the changes in her body, Arcueid was more than surprised, she was at an absolute loss. She could feel her Vampiric Impulse fade away in its entirety and, for reasons she couldntpletely understand, Vahns aura suddenly felt infinitely morefortable than before. Part of her wished he would hug her tight enough that their bodies would fuse together, a thought that made her heart flutter quite a bit... Vahn was, of course, aware of the change in the way Arcueid viewed him but, knowing it would be better to let her make decisions about their future, he pretended not to notice. It would be too easy for him to take advantage of her immediately after her transformation as, much like other Spirits, she was instinctually drawn to his Source Energy constitution. It was like how a flower would blossom in the presence of the sun, eagerly soaking up the life-giving rays of light to nourish itself. Still, this didnt mean Vahn was going to simply do nothing as, prior to expelling Crimson Moon, he had made a few promises. With this in mind, he broke Arcueid from her momentary stupor, tracing his thumb along her bottom lip to see how she would react. This reminded her of the embarrassing incident from before but, rather than shy away, she looked up at him, her sapphire eyes glimmering slightly before slowly closing them. Never one to shy away from an open invitation, Vahn lowered his head to meet Arcueids lips but, just as he was about to make contact, Vahn dispelled the [Space-Time Orb], ejecting their spiritual bodies. If he was going to kiss her, he would rather do so in reality as it would have a far greater impact. Arcueid obviously noticed the change in setting but she didnt seem to mind it as Vahnpleted his prior action in the real world. He began to guide her in a progressively more intimate kiss while cradling her body in hisforting embrace. This was in spite of the fact that the Millenium Castle around them had faded away in its entirety, leaving them standing in the middle of the air, a pristine blue sky filled with clouds surrounding them... After losing the power of Crimson Moon, Arcueid was no longer able to manifest the Millenium Castle. Despite this, she still had her Marble Phantasm so, if she so desired, creating apletely new castle was well-within her ability to do so. For now, however, she was more focused on the moment she shared with Vahn. It felt like the void within her heart was being rapidly filled by his presence, something Arcueid had thought impossible due to the nature of her existence. Unfortunately, as all good things were want to do, the moment came to an end sooner than she would have liked. Were it up to her, she would freeze this singr moment in time and savor it for all eternity. As for Vahn, he had other matters to attend so, while he was growing increasingly fond of Arcueid, he couldnt tend to her indefinitely. More than ten days had passed within Avalon while he was meeting with her so there were a lot of things requiring his attention. Since he could tell she was saddened by the reality they couldnt stay together indefinitely, Vahn rested his forehead against Arcueids, whispering in a guiding tone, "I promised to make you happy. While I have confidence in being able to do so using my own power, people are happiest when they have a lot of people to interact with. I dont want you to feel like everything needs to be rushed so, for now, well return to Avalon and introduce you to everyone else. You have been sealed away and isted from the world for too long. It would make me happy to see you surrounded by friends and family..." Hearing Vahns words, Arcueidzily nodded her head in response but, rather than allow him to part from her, she put a little bit of strength into her embrace as she said, "I honestly dont know what it means to be truly happy...I will trust your judgment. If you believe I will be happier by befriending others, I will do my best to get along. Still, no matter what happens, you have to take responsibility for your actions...I wont let you get away with making me someone elses problem..." Vahn was a little taken aback by Arcueids words as it seemed like she had been able to see through his intentionspletely. In truth, he wanted to give her a bit of time to adapt to life and, if possible, help her find someone worthy of her love. He truly wanted her to be happy so, if she was able to find someone that could love herpletely, Vahn felt she would be much happier than being a member of his ever-expanding harem. Since Arcueid was basically asking him to make her his, Vahn wasnt going to shirk his responsibility in the matter. She was an exceptionally beautiful woman and, while she was a little naive, she was more than qualified to make her own decisions. If this was what she wanted, even if it was only as a result of his coaxing, he wasnt going to disappoint her. With this in mind, Vahn put more strength into his own embrace before giving Arcueid a taste of what she had gotten herself into. He snaked his right hand down her lower back, causing a red hue to color her cheeks as he went even further to her surprisingly toned butt. She was wearing the same white dress as before, albeit with a few slight changes, but he was able to feel her body heat through the fabric without any difficulty. Then, remembering her earlier words, he leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "I can be pretty greedy..." Following his words, Vahn could feel a tremble pass through Arcueids body but, momentster, she repeated her own words back to him, causing a smile to spread across his face as she muttered, "Its okay to be greedy...", her hot breath tickling his ear... Though he had been holding himself back out of consideration for Illya, Vahn knew this wasnt really a moment where he could afford to take a step back. Arcueid had just experienced a series of world-changing events so, while she would be fine without one, having something to ground herself would allow her to face the future with greater resolution. He understood that her insistence was partly due to her fear of an uncertain future so, while apologizing to Illya and several others in his mind, Vahn pressed his lips to Arcueids, pushing her down in mid-air as he began peeling away her clothing... Using her reality maniption, Arcueid created a strange crystalline room around them,plete with a massive bed formed of rainbow-hued crystal. The light from the faux-sun outside refracted throughout the structure she had made, creating an indescribably beautiful and stunning scenery with an atmosphere to match. Since he doubted she had the wherewithal to think about what she had created, Vahn liked to think that this was her natural response to what was happening, egging him ever-onward as Arcueid tightly clung to his body. It was obvious that Arcueidcked any real experience but, with literally hundreds of years at his back, Vahn was able to guide her through the necessary steps. He started off by getting her to rx as, with her literally digging her nails into his back, it was difficult to remove her clothing. Then, as shey against silky-smooth sheets, glimmering with gentle blue hues, he deftly removed her gown to reveal quite the awe-inspiring sight. Though it wasnt particrly surprising, Arcueid was wearing a pure-whitece bodice beneath her gown,pleted by intricate silk panties and simrly white stockings with a garter belt. It was truly a sight to behold and, for a brief moment, Vahn watched in stunned silence as Arcueids blush slowly spread across her entire body. This was a scene he could never grow tired of and, though it was a bit cliche, he couldnt help but gently stroked her abdomen as he said, "Truly, a beauty no description would do justice..." At this point, Arcueid was trembling like a newbornmb. When she heard Vahns words, her instinct was to close her legs, a futile endeavor considering he had already positioned himself in between her plump thighs. Then, failing this, she began to writhe about under Vahns palm in a vain attempt to escape the spreading heat and electrical sensation flowing into her abdomen. It seemed to ignore her regenerative abilities so, for the first time in her life, Arcueid was experienced what it meant to be genuinely aroused... Vahn had even been able to get a rise out of Eva in the past so, with more than a hundred years of additional experience, Arcueid was practically putty in his hands. His understanding of Petting Laws, his mastery of [Hands of Nirvana], and his Divinity rted to Sex only made the process even easier. It only took a few minutes before her garments werepletely soaked through with sweat as he was proactively using his Source Energy to seal away her natural regeneration. It would only be more painful for her if she was stuck in a cycle of endlessly losing her virginity so he had to do at least this much to make Arcueids first experience a pleasant memory. As could be expected of a maiden, Arcueid wasnt able to keep up with what was happening to her body. Everything she was experiencing was so far beyond her expectations that she could only bite on her finger to prevent herself from crying out. Even this was denied to her after a while, however, as Vahn gently pulled her hand away and, after kissing her fingers a few times, stated, "It is okay to cry out. Here, in this ce, you can be as loud as you like..." From then onward, Vahns ego was padded by Arcueids sonorous cries, each urging him to continue in his endeavors. This sound eventually became a crescendo when he lifted Arcueids waist so that it was level with his face, his tongue sampling the sacred honeypot that had never known another in more than eight-hundred years. As could be expected from a Greater Divine Spirit, the vor was far removed from the norm, its quality closer to ambrosia than anything remotely resembling the bodily fluids of a human... Though he couldnt actually get drunk, Vahn felt like he was being brought closer to intoxication the longer his tongue entwined with Arcueids insides. Her aroma and vor were spreading through his head, numbing his senses and causing his entire body to heat up. Despite this, he continued probing her insides with his inordinately long tongue, determined to bring Arcueid to the peak. Feeling something rising up from deep inside her body, Arcueid was attacked by what could only be described as existential dread. Her thighs locked around Vahns head but, despite her fear, she just clenched the bedspread tightly as her back began to arch. Then, like a floodgate being shattered, a phenomenal wave of pleasure spread throughout her entire body. This caused Arcueid to cry out with enough force to shake the surrounding void, fracturing the crystalline structure of the room she had made. Being located near ground-zero, Vahn was obviously not spared in the wake of Arcueids first climax. Her thighs suddenly became harder than steel as the pressure enveloping his head increased with a truly irresistible force. It didnt matter how he tried to protect himself as Arcueids power literally had no upper limit. As a result, his head was squashed like a pancake but, having expected something to happen, Vahn changed his body to a structure simr to a Doppelgangers. Fortunately, Arcueid was awash in the echoes of her climax so she hadnt realized the state she had forced Vahn into. This gave him time to use his [Hands of Nirvana], forcibly rxing her muscles so that he could reform his body and move to the next step. He really didnt have much time to waste as, even with his Source Energy spread throughout her entire body, Arcueids regeneration would eventually kick in. It was possible to dy this by sending a constant flow of energy into her body but, as a result of their difference in strength, Vahn was actually at a bit of a disadvantage... Before he ran out of energy to restrain Arcueids regeneration, Vahn pried open her legs, an easy feat considering he had already rxed her muscles. This caused Arcueid to stare back at him, her sapphire-blue eyes zed over slightly as she rested her forearms against her head. She seemed to understand his intentions so, after a few seconds had passed, her body began to tremble madly as she gave him a small nod. With Arcueids consent, Vahn smiled lovingly back at her while simultaneously rubbing her abdomen. He didnt even need to imagine what would happen once Arcueids infinite strength activated while he was inside her so, to avoid that rather graphic scene, Vahn was rxing her muscles. He also went ahead and dulled her pain receptors as chastity protected for more than eight-hundred years wasnt something easily relinquished... When everything was prepared, Arcueid had basically be an endless spring of honey, coating Vahns member and thighs from proximity alone. It was honestly a sight to behold but, with a duty to perform, Vahn traced his ns along the almost perfect line between her vulva before probing the steamy folds. Then, finding the pulsating entrance within, he moved his hips forward while tracing his hand along Arcueids abdomen. He was timing his movement with the forceful rxation of her muscles so, despite being a virgin, there wasnt much resistance until Vahn tore through a flexible membrane. Despite his efforts to rx her body, Arcueid somehow managed topletely ignore his efforts. The moment she lost her virginity, her body tensed up with tremendous force as an indescribable pressure threatened to crush his member. To Vahns surprise, however, his faithfulpanion was mystically able to resist this force, almost as if it had be indestructible. He could see a vibrant rainbow-hueing from where they were connected, bringing a knowing smile to his face as he waited for Arcueid to rx. When she finally calmed down, aided by a very long session of kissing, he began to make love to her, continuing for more than three hours. Though he had been worried about running out of energy in the beginning, Vahn quickly learned that his Sex Divinity wasnt something to be looked down upon. In much the same way as Freya, Syr, and Lefiya, he was able to keep going almost indefinitely as, the more into it Arcueid got, the more sexual energy flowed back into him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Filling the void of loneliness...,There are times in a mans life where he must act, consequences be damned...!,The indomitable Rainbow Dragon~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1339 - Responsibility

Chapter 1339 - Responsibility

Though it had only been a matter of time, Vahn never expected that the first Tier 5 entity he slept with would be a woman he knew for less than twenty-four hours, real-time. Still, it wasnt as if he regretted his decision and, seeing the contented smile on the sleeping Arcueids face, he couldnt help but feel the usual pride that apanied sleeping with a beautiful woman. Now, he would do everything in his power to guarantee her happiness, something made easier by the fact his strength experienced a qualitative increase after their intercourse. Much like his experiences melding with Goddesses, Vahns aura ultimately entwined with Arcueids, even without him willing it to do so. This was the result of her desire to be one with him so, as the weaker entity, Vahn couldnt resist being taken along for the ride. During this, his source energy melded with what he could only assume to be the Counter Force as, after sleeping with Arcueid, he suddenly felt closer to the entire world around him, ya and Tiamat included. Now, Vahn felt an even stronger desire to protect the, something he conveyed to everyone within the Ivory Castle. He obviously couldnt just show up with Arcueid out of the blue so, over thest few days, Vahn had exined the situation to Artoria before alerting everyone else to their newpanion. This included Aoko who, upon hearing Arcueids name, briefly radiated a moderately terrifying aura as she red at him with usatory eyes before cursing Zelretchs name a few dozen times. Needless to say, Aoko was familiar with Arcueid as, in the past, they had encountered each other a few times. They had apparently even fought to a draw at some point before teaming up together to defeat a Dead Apostle Ancestor who tried to expand his Territory near Aokos home. Vahn wasnt really surprised by the fact that Aoko had met Arcueid as, with what he knew of Records, it would actually be stranger if some of the most powerful forces within were unaware of each other. It was highly likely that Aoko and Arcueid were part of the same story as, while not as strong as the flow of fate around Arcueid, Aokos aura couldnt be overlooked. What did surprise Vahn, however, was the conversation that followed these revtions as he soon came to learn that the Shiki he intended to resurrect had a connection to, not just Ciel, but Aoko and Arcueid as well. To make matters even worse, Shiki seemed to be the target of Arcueids first love, a tidbit of information Vahn wished he had been privy to prior to his meeting with the former-Vampiric Princess. Fortunately, though he wasnt quite sure this was the correct word to use, it seemed that more than a decade had passed between the time of their parting. Arcueid had refused to drink Shikis blood, cursing him with the fate of bing a Dead Apostle Ancestor. Instead, she left him in the care of Ciel, one of the many women the assumed protagonist was involved with. Following the parting between Arcueid and Shiki, thetter ended up temporarily joining the Burial Agency alongside Ciel before ultimately ending up as a frence Mage Killer known by the moniker of Death. He traveled all over the world with an all-female entourage of included Ciel, a Homunculi, a young subus, an earth spirit, and a Mystic Codex possessed by a female assassin... The more Vahn learned about Shiki, the more certain he was that the boy, alongside Shirou, was a male protagonist. It wasnt too surprising to discover that a Tier 5 world had multiple plotlines going on as theplexity of the world made it pretty easy to extrapte multiple series from the source material. What did surprise him was the fact that all the male protagonists seemed to die at rtively young ages, with Shirou and Shiki both dying before they were even thirty-years-old. Vahn wondered if the creator of the Nasuverse hated their male protagonists or, perhaps as a result of the setting itself, recycled protagonists to carry on different plot lines. Based on the sheer number of female Heroic Spirits, Vahn got the distinct impression that the Nasuverse was the type of setting that targetted a male audience. Since he had researched various anime, manga, and novels within the Nasuverse, expanding his understanding of several genres, it was pretty easy to imagine that this particr Record was derived from a Visual Novel or even an Eroge. After all, it was literally possible to transfer mana through intercourse and, againstmon sense, the vast majority of Heroic Spirits throughout history ended up being exceptionally beautiful women... It was unfortunate the Vahn was unable to learn anything regarding the origin of the Nasuverse as he would have liked to have a long talk with its creator. Now, he could only do his best to live his life to the fullest within the setting he had been thrown into. He would do everything he could to make Arcueid happy and, while Shikis existence may cause a few issues, Vahn wasnt going to be a liar just to avoid a bit of drama. Shiki already built a harem during his rtively short life and, while Arcueid may have had feelings for him in the past, they never met a single time after parting. Based on how things ended up, Vahn suspected the timeline he was in was one where Arcueid and Shiki were simply never meant to be. If he had been the young hero, Vahn wouldnt have taken the parting of Arcueid as an excuse to give up on her. Rather, knowing her past and the nature of her existence, he would do everything in his power to liberate her from the fate forced upon her. At the very least, he would have tracked down various Dead Apostle Ancestors in order to track down the location of Altrouge, Arcueids only living rtive... Ultimately, Shiki had missed his opportunity so, for better or worse, Arcueid was now within his care. She had made him take responsibility so, no matter what happened in the future, she was his to care for. All of her past traumas would slowly be expunged by him while any loose plot lines still attached to her would be forcibly resolved or severed. It didnt matter how powerful her enemies were, Vahn would cut down each and every single one of them until Arcueid was finally able to live the peaceful and happy life she deserved... As if sensing his resolve, Arcueids eyshes trembled a few times before her eyelids peeled open to reveal the sapphire-blue stars within. She had beenying against his body,pletely naked, as the crystalline tform she had made to host them slowly revolved around in mid-air. The gentle rays of the sun continued to cause rainbow refractions to dance across their body, enhancing the fantastical atmosphere that had permeated through the area. After staring nkly at Vahn for several seconds, Arcueid seemed to recall what they had been doing before as she quickly buried her face into his chest. This caused Vahn to lightly chuckle, earning him a pointed re from the two sapphires as Arcueid peeked up at him. She seemed especially weak to teasing but, after experiencing her power first hand, Vahn knew it wasnt a good idea to push her too much. Instead, he chose to be direct with her as, even more so than teasing, she seemed to have no resistance against frank expressions of affection... Before Arcueid could voice anyints, Vahn snaked his hand beneath her breasts, touching her smooth abdomen with his palm. This caused Arcueid to bite her bottom lip but, other than grabbing his arm with her hand, she made no effort to stop his caress. If she wanted to, it would be a simple matter to rip off his arm or even destroy his bodypletely but, much like a bashful maiden who simply couldnt be honest with herself, she let his wayward hand explore freely. Though it was certainly tempting, Vahn didnt want to rile up Arcueid too much so, after tracing his finger around her navel a few times, he ultimately retracted his hand. This led to Arcueid following his hand with her eyes in an adorable manner but, resisting her passive aura, whichpelled him to take action, Vahn guided her eyes toward his own before saying, "We must return to Avalon, my dear Princess. Well have more opportunities to spend time together in the near future. For now, I have duties to attend while you have people to meet." Being reminded of the fact that she had to engage with the rest of Vahns harem, Arcueid released a small sigh before ultimately nodding her head in understanding. Afterward, she pulled back her long golden locks, making sure they fell behind her shoulders properly as clothes instantly manifested on her body. Her clothes were simr in nature to a Divine Raiment so, without any effort at all, Arcueid was able to modify her outfit to suit the situation... Vahn always felt a little sad when naked women suddenly dawned clothing but, having already made up his mind, he quickly followed suit. With Arcueids Marble Phantasm and reality-altering abilities, they literally had all the time in the world to mess around but, if he idled for too long, Vahn felt as if he would slowly be detached from his other responsibilities. With the current chaos guing the world, he simply couldnt allow himself to rx for too long as it would only make him feel even more guilty when he learned of some great tragedy. Besides, he really needed to deal with Illya in the near future, followed by several others almost immediately after... Realizing he had lost his excuse after sleeping with Arcueid, Vahn knew the next couple of days were going to be both fulfilling yet chaotic. This brought a smile to his face while, back in Avalon, he was gathering everyone together in order to wee Arcueid. He managed to convince Circe and Medea to take care of the cooking as, from what he heard from Aoko, Arcueid was especially fond of good food. She had even been bribed with food several times in the past, once even putting her life on the line as a result. With the time dtion between Avalon and the outside world, there was more than enough time to prepare arge feast by the time Vahn and Arcueid finally arrived. She had returned to wearing her white gown but, despite her regal appearance, it was easy to see how nervous Arcueid was. She was about to meet the people she may very well spend the next few centuries with so she couldnt help but fret about making a good first impression. Fortunately, pretty much everyone within the castle had an understanding of Arcueids character and circumstances so, contrary to her expectations, she was weed by virtually everyone. Artoria was the first to exchange greetings but, soon after, Aoko appeared to ease tensions considerably. Since she was a familiar face to Arcueid, thetter was able to breathe a sigh of relief, even if she was also a little annoyed that Aoko, of all people, was one of the people she needed to share with... Aoko also seemed a little miffed, albeit for entirely different reasons. She didnt particrly care who Vahn was with but, knowing Arcueid had beaten her to the punch, despite havingeter, Aoko couldnt help but feel as if her pride had been trampled on. As a result, she spent much of the dinner ring at Vahn, at least when she wasnt chatting happily with other people. This, of course, wasnt really a surprise for Vahn but, before he could coax Aoko and make her forgive him, his second body had snuck off to take care of one of the more pressing matters requiring his attention... (A/N: Alternate Titles: TFW you realize youre in an Eroge...,The Godhand roams freely, be it through extensive mountain ranges or fertile ins...,Aoko be like, "Im about to get me some...dont make me take it from you!") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1340 - Acceptance

Chapter 1340 - eptance

In a rtively secluded area, located near the Armory of Camelot, a climate-controlled Atelier could be found. Here, the incubating body of Illya could be found, her figure floating within a crystalline chamber filled with glowing, greenish-blue, liquid. Nearby, Iris could be seen resting with her head against arge desk. She didnt like to leave her daughter alone so, for thest year or so, she spent much of her time idling about within the Atelier. Rather than just sit around waiting, however, Iris was making use of one of Da Vincis inventions, a [Space-Time Orb] that reduced the amount of time experienced, rather than increasing it. Though it was only capable of halving the flow of time, it made a pretty big difference considering Illyas body was within the Projection. This meant she was experiencing a fourteenth the standard flow of time, using the outside world as the standard... Seeing Iris sleeping at the side with a slight smile on her face, Vahn couldnt help but adopt one of his own. Then, even if it didnt really matter, he pulled out a nket to cover her shoulders as the interior of the Atelier was near-freezing. This wouldnt really affect her but, knowing she would still appreciate the gesture, Vahn feltpelled to cover her. Afterward, he turned his attention to the gently pulsating chamber or, more specifically, the developing figure within... Originally, Illya was around 133cm tall, weighing around 34kg when soaking wet. She had what could only be described as a petite figure, even if the more apt description would be prepubescent. Those that were unaware of her true age would assume she was around 10-12 years old, discouraging any untoward thoughts in all but the most deviant of individuals... Now, after more than a year spent within the chamber, Illya had grown to 145cm in height, cing her just two centimeters shorter than Circe. She stillcked the charms of a mature woman but, whenpared to her former appearance, there was a very noticeable difference. Her secondary sexual characteristics had now started to blossom, giving her breasts that were slowly approaching a B-Cup in size. Most notably, so long as you ignored her fur, ears, and tail, Illyas thighs had started to round out a bit while the development of her butt was outpacing her breasts by a fair amount... Still, more so than the development of her actual body, the things that stood out the most were, as could be expected, the traits Illya had developed as a result of her fusion with Cath Palug. She hadnt lost her human ears but, at the top of her head, veryrge, almost rabbit-like ears were now present. They were covered in the same fluffy white fur that now covered much of her body, giving her what could only be described as a pettable appearance. She even had tiny red paw pads on the inside of her palms and the underside of her feet while, most notably of all, a fluffy white tail curled behind her to form an S-shaped curve. At this point, the only areas bereft of hair were parts of Illyas face, her chest, abdomen, and, for reasons he could only me on the creator of the Nasuverse, her delicates. If you looked at her from behind, the exposed skin actually formed a heart-shaped area of tender flesh, something Vahn found both curious and peculiar. As for how he came to learn of this, well, Ilya herself pestered him to give her period checkups to make sure there werent any issues with her body. He knew she was worried about the changes taking ce within her body but, at the same time, it was really just an excuse to have him develop an interest in her body... Vahn, of course, would never abandon Illya but, as actions spoke much louder than words, he made it a habit to give the tank a full circle, observing Illya from every angle beforeing to a stop near a glowing purple orb. This was the special [Time-Dampening Orb] developed by Da Vinci and, after pressing it, Vahn had a full minute to get into afortable position before it sent out a pulse that sucked his consciousness inside. This was a feature Da Vinci had developed for convenience as, if it always required you to be in contact with the orb, the number of people essing it would be very limited... After taking a seat in a nearby reading chair, Vahn pulled back the lever on the side, kicking up the footrest and reclining backward. Then, momentster, an invisible pulse passed through the room, kept within by wards that had been ced on the walls, floor, and ceiling. In the next moment, he found himself in an expansive field, one dotted with various statues of Cath Palug defeating other Phantasmal Species... Having grown ustomed to the peculiar setting in the past, Vahnrgely ignored the statues as he made his way to arge temple within the nearby valley. This was where Illya and Cath Palug spent all their time together as, within a [Space-Time Orb], they were able to manifest as unique entities. It was fundamentally impossible for Illya, a Tier 3 entity, topletely integrate with a higher-tiered existence like Cath Palug. It had to let her take control, meaning they would always be two unique existences, even if, outside, they appeared to be one and the same... Before Vahn even reached the ornate stone temple, a tiny white figure bolted out from the interior and, in what felt like less than an instant, it had already leaped into his arms. This peculiar creature, which had an appearance simr to a squirrel and a fennec fox was none other than Cath Palug itself,plete with a pale-blue mantle and arge red ribbon. As usual, Vahn cradled Cath Palug in his left arm before digging his fingers into the plush white fur on its chest. In response, Cath Palug kicked its leg like a dog, cooing a contented Fooou~, despite the fact it could actually speak fluently within the [Time-Dampening Orb]. It had fully embraced the idea that Vahn was its Master so, unless the situation required, Cath Palug behaved like a spoiled pet whenever it could get away with it. With the fluffy bundle cradled in his embrace, Vahn made his way to the center of the temple where Illya and Iris were both awaiting him. Contrasting her external appearance, Illyas mental image made it so that her spiritual body still looked like her ten-year-old self. Unlike the past, however, shecked the various scars that had covered her body, a fact easily discernible by the pure white sundress she was wearing. Before Vahn could even greet the two women, Illya red at him with a pouting expression, saying, "I heard you slept with another woman...didnt you promise me that you wouldnt sleep with any new women until my body was ready...?" Vahn didnt really have an excuse for his actions and, just as Illya had stated, he did, in fact, make such an irresponsible promise. After all, she was forcibly aging her body using both alchemy and the Fifth Magic, courtesy of Aoko. The problem was, as a result of her fusion with Cath Palug,bined with her already slow-aging body, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that Illyas body had been aged by several thousand years. Despite this, she only had the appearance of a girl between 15-16 years of age, a little younger than she would have liked. Knowing there was no way to talk himself out of his own responsibilities, Vahn ultimately just took a deep breath and said, "I do not have an excuse, Illya. All I can do is make it up to you as best I can..." Hearing Vahns words, Illya gave a curt nod before hopping up to her feet and stating in a firm tone of voice, "Ive already waited long enough. I dont even think my body has changed at all in thest five months so it is time for me to wake up. Youll have to...convince me that youre sorry back in the real world..." Though she started off strong, Illyas face became progressively red towards the end. At the same time, her mother began tough in the background, elerating the reddening process by several orders of magnitude. As for Vahn, he already expected this oue from the very beginning so, after lightly scratching under Cath Palugs chin for a short while, he nodded his head and said, "Ill properly spoil both of you..." Vahn had obviously been talking about Illya and Cath Palug, something everyone understood, but Iris would never miss the chance to take advantage of his poor choice of words. She expressed the fakest example of shock any of them had ever seen, hand covering her mouth with wide eyes as she asked, "My, you really are a voracious Emperor, Vahn. To think you are aiming for both mother and daughter...Im not sure my heart is ready~" Hearing Iris words, Vahn and Illya had deadpan expressions on their faces while Cath Palug, ears twitching, broke the awkward silence by cartoonish tone, "Mama, dont get in the way. You have to wait your turn. Vahn is ours right now." Though it didnt speak all that often, Cath Palug was very direct when it opted to do so. It didnt appreciate the fact that its Mama was getting in the way at the penultimate moment, something it and Illya had been looking forward to for a very long time. As a result, its hair had started to stand on end and, while it would never attack Iris, its violet eyes were glowing with visible annoyance. Being red at by a Tier 5 creature might scare others but, having already epted Cath Palug as her child, Iris showed no discernible signs of fear. Instead, she simply giggled mischievously, ying off Cath Palugs words as she mused, "I suppose Ill have to wait my turn then. I really am curious to learn what all the fuss is about. For now, Ill just have to be patient. Make sure to tell me all about itter on, okay, Illya-chan~?" Without waiting for her daughters rey, Iris immediately vanished into thin air, herughter still echoing for a few seconds due to the vast chamber and smooth stone surfaces. This caused Illya to fall silent for nearly a minute before ultimately looking back at Vahn with a serious expression and saying, "I me you for this..." Despite her words, Illya had actually been helping to build the rtionship between her mother and Vahn over thest two years so she knew it wasnt really his fault. She had even been the one to have them all sleep in the same bed and, while it was a rare urrence, they had even bathed together a few times. This wasrgely the result of her fear that, after developing a rtionship with Vahn, there was a chance her mother would slowly distance herself. Illya didnt want to lose her mother a second time so, for the sake of both of their happiness, she had been pulling the strings, something both Iris and Vahn were aware of... Since he had already made up his mind on the matter, quite a while back, Vahn just answered Illyas usation with a small smile before carrying Cath Palug over to her and saying, "I guess Im greedy. I cant help but want to make both you, your mother, Cath Palug, and everyone else happy...will you forgive me, Illya...?" Hearing Vahns words, Illya puffed out her reddened cheeks slightly. Then after stepping closer to his body, she ced her forehead against his chest before muttering, "Convince me then...I dont want to hear flowery words...show me...I want to experience how you will make us all happy..." Immediately after her words sounded, Illya followed her mothers example by simply vanishing from the [Time-Dampening Orb]. This caused Cath Palug to vanish as well since, despite them being two different entities, they shared a single primary consciousness. Now, when Vahn made his own exit, he would have to deal with their fused form and, after a few past experiences, he knew it wasnt going to be easy. Cath Palug experienced a phenomenon simr to heat so things would get intense in a very short period of time... Despite this, Vahns smile didnt fade. Rather, he just took a deep breath through his nose before, momentster, vanishing from within the temples interior... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Da Vinci knows no limits,Illya is a closet pervert with exhibitionist tendencies xD...,Vahnsmentations are other peoples dreams...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1341 - Descent Into The Abyss...

Chapter 1341 - Descent Into The Abyss...

With every second in the [Time-Dampening Orb] equating fourteen seconds within the projection, Vahns short moment of introspection actually tranted to several minutes outside. By the time he emerged from the orb, Ilya had already emerged from the incubation chamber. She was inspecting the changes in her body, bringing a smile to Vahns face since she seemed to be weighing her own breasts with an incredulous look on her face... Sensing Vahns movement, Illya snapped her head in his direction, her violet eye staring back at him in a somewhat eerie manner. Then, realizing he was watching her, Illya quickly hid her hands behind her back, a heavy flush on her face as she murmured, "I...I wasnt doing anything..." Hearing her words, Vahn was tempted tough but, knowing it wouldnt end well for him, he elected to just nod his head. In the next moment, his body flickered, creating an after-image that released a small pop as it vanished. Despite this burst of speed, Illyas eyes were able to follow his movements with considerable ease, a testament to the fact that her fusion with Cath Palug had greatly elevated, far exceeding even super-human levels. Since she could easily follow his movements, Illya wasnt surprised by Vahn appearing next to her in what seemed like an instant. Instead, her tail flickered in a manner simr to a frustrated squirrel as she scrunched up her naked body, a futile attempt to conceal it from view. When Vahn reached out to pull her up, however, she offered no resistance, allowing him to lift her into a princess carry in one swift motion. Though she was pressing for this exact development, Illyas heart felt like it was fighting to free itself from her chest. She did her best to entice and seduce Vahn but, at the very core of her character, she was an incredible bashful, albeit somewhat perverted, girl. Now that things had reached this point, it felt like all the blood in her body was rushing to her head while, in the back of her mind, Cath Palug was excitedly shouting, Go, go, lets go~!. Fortunately, while she was overwhelmed by her emotions, to the point that a small trickled of blood had emerged from her left nostril, Vahn was carrying Illya to a ce where they could have a higher degree of privacy. He suspected she would be able to create a private Realm for them, as this was an inherent quality of Tier 5 beings, but Illya herself wasnt in the proper state of mind for such things. It would take her a while to adapt to her new body, much less the iprehensible granted to her as a Tier 5 entity... After a brief scan of the entire Ivory Castle, Vahn ultimately decided upon Illyas former room as his final destination. They had a lot of shared memories there and, though Illya would be moving into the Menagerie in the near future, that didnt mean her former room would go to another. Rather, it would be a sanctuary she could retreat to whenever she didnt want to be around others. One where only he, her mother, and a select few others, each chosen by Illya, could enter... --- Immediately after their teleportation, Illyas eyes peeled open to take in the familiar surroundings of her own room. Knowing this was where she would experience her first time didnt calm her heart in the slightest. Her past memories came flooding forward, intimate moments with Vahn, heartwarming moments with her mother, and a few devious memories that could never be spoken out loud... Before Illya could offer any input on his choice of venue, Vahn surprised her by nibbling on the point of her fluffy white ear. Thoughmon sense told him to avoid any kind of biting whatsoever, past experiences told him there was no sense in avoiding the inevitable. Illyas body was already reacting properly but she still needed a small push to get in the proper state of mind. Currently, she was in a borderline catatonic state as a result of her own thoughts so, in order to ground her to reality, Vahn seized the initiative. Having her ear suddenly bitten caused Illyas body to writhe about,pletely against her will. At the same time, she felt a painful heat spread through her body, clouding her thoughts and making her abdomen ache. She began to breathe heavily, the violet hue of her eyes bing progressively more pronounced as excitement bubbled up within her like a cauldron about to boil over... Just as something began to surge up within her body, Illya was slightly disoriented by the fact that Vahn suddenly ced her down on the bed. By the time a tiny fragment of rity returned to her mind, she found herselfying with her face against the bed, her rear-end propped up by her knees. Though Illyas tail didnt actually have any bones in it whatsoever, the way it curved led Vahn to the conclusion it wouldnt befortable toy on. He knew from experience how sensitive her tail was so, with Illya seemingly having already lost herself to pleasure, he opted to rely on the position most effective for girls with tails. This happened to be one of his preferred positions so, with Illyas plump posterior, ented by how her exposed skin formed the shape of a heart, Vahn had what could only be described as a silly smile on his face... If she were to voice her opinion, Illya found her current position to be extremely embarrassing. In fact, she wished she could bury her face in the nketspletely but, not wanting to risk having Vahn change his mind, she actually began to waggle her butt in his direction. There was obviously no way that Vahn was going to back out aftering this far but, seeing the adorable antics of the fluffy-haired girl, he couldnt help but want to pamper her. With this in mind, Vahn sank the fingers of his left hand into Illyas left cheek before using his thumb to separate her already pulsating vulva. If he didnt know it would cause her to have a minor breakdown, Vahn would havemented on the pretty pink color and how eager she seemed to be... This wasnt really an exaggeration either as, unlike a normal girl, Illyas insides almost seemed alive with their peculiar pulsation. Even the color was abnormal as the pink was almost luminescent as it seemed to demand his attention. Never one to disappoint his women, Vahn settled in for the long haul by taking a seat behind Illya. She seemed confused by his actions at first but, when he suddenly grabbed her hips and pulled her closer to his face, the only thing going through her mind was a series of expletives and the jubnt shouts of Cath Palug. They were one and the same in this form so, despite Illya being the main pilot of the body, it experienced everything she was experiencing in real-time... To Vahns surprise, the somewhat swollen lips of Illyas vulva actually clung around him as his tongue sank deep into her insides. This created a small suction force and, in response to the movements of his tongue, her depths seemed to greet him rather excitedly. It was a peculiar urrence but, more so than the tensile sensations, Vahn was overwhelmed by the vor and aroma invading his olfactory senses and taste buds. Though he would never vocalize this to the fused duo, Illya had a very animalistic aroma. It couldnt really be described as pleasant but, despite this, it filled up his head and caused his body to feel like it was on fire. It actually reminded him of how Nanu had marked him in the past but,pared to the rather tame pheromones emitted by the mischievous Chienthrope, Illyas seems to have some degree of sapience as they worked tirelessly to invade his body... Remembering how Cath Palug created a mist that was able to break down humans and destroy the entire world, Vahn wasnt all that surprised by the pheromone attack. He actually let it affect him a little bit as, a stark contrast to the somewhat pungent aroma, Illyas vor was like warm honeydew that had been mixed together with a thin syrup. The volume was a little nonsensical, as it was almost like drinking directly from a tap, but his ability to convert the liquid into excess energy ensured that his stomach was never strained... As tempting as it was to just savor the moment indefinitely, Vahn ultimately pulled his mouth free after Illyas body experienced its third intense spasm. What he didnt expect was for her vulva to try and cling to him while her insides, causing Vahns brows to rise slightly, actually had thin red tendrils that chased after his tongue. Though they returned to normal almost instantly, it was pretty obvious that Illya inherited Cath Palugs ability to shape and manipte its body... While some may be put off by the peculiar sight, Vahn wasnt even remotely deterred. He would, at times, literally turn into a ck blob in order to get an edge against foes so Illyas ability to shape her flesh didnt phase him in the slightest. Rather, he was somewhat interested to experience what would happen when they actually started having sex since it was pretty obvious that her insides were far more inviting than a normal persons... Tempted as he was to simply proceed to the next step, Vahn wasnt going to force Illya to stay face down during her first time. This was an important moment to them both so, while she didnt seem to mind it, he knew she would appreciate the memory more if they were face-to-face. Thus, after lightly squeezing her rump, Vahn moved Illya onto her side before pulling her to sit in hisp. This brought their faces close enough that their noses were touching but, as if her brain had melted, Illyas head was cocked slightly as her eyeszily moved around in their sockets. Seeing her absentminded state, Vahn realized that he had underestimated Cath Palugs influence a bit. It wasnt a creature that experienced things like arousal in a natural way as, from the moment of its creation, Cath Palug had never required such biological functions. Now, it was overwhelming both its and Illyas mind with a flood of chemicals, focused entirely on pleasure. This had forced her into a state simr to a drug overdose but, as a Tier 5 entity, there was no danger of permanant harm. Realizing that sex with Illya was going to be a very experimental affair, Vahn gently caressed both sides of her face, his [Hands of Nirvana] slowly bringing her back from the brink. It was unfortunate that he couldnt really see her body properly as this kind of development could have been easily avoided. Now, he would have to teach Cath Palug how to properly enjoy having sex or Illyas Ego might be corrupted by the overwhelming flood of pleasure... Fortunately, Illya returned to her senses pretty quickly as, upon realizing Vahns intentions, Cath Palug basically activated her resistances and regeneration. She actually came down from her high with such force that she headbutted his nose after jerking her head forward, her lungs straining for air as she took several gasping breaths. During this time, Vahn embraced Illya in his arms, patiently waiting for her to collect herself and remember what they were doing... With her head down, Illya could see both Vahns naked body and her own straddling his hips. This caused her eyes to widen like saucers as memories of thest couple of minutes came pouring back like a flood. She couldnt help but bite her bottom lip in embarrassment, internally shouting a Cath Palug for making her turn into an idiot. As for Cath Palug, it justzily rolled around in the back of Illyas mind, eximing, "I want mooooore~! Stop messing around, Illya. Vahn is waiting for us!" Even without Cath Palugs reminder, Illya could see the proof of Vahns patience. In fact, she could feel it pressing against her, its heat bothfortable yet mind-numbingly hot. As a result, her body began to inte instinctually, a natural reaction as she couldnt rationalize something like that being able to fit in her body. She may have grown a lotpared to her past self, but Vahn was known for putting even Goddess of Sex through the wringer... Before she realized it, Illya had expanded to the point she was nearly two meters in height. This was a uniform expansion, however, so she actually looked like a giantess while Vahn was just sitting in ce with a slightly incredulous smile on his face. He already knew that Illya could adjust her size, as this was also one of Cath Palugs abilities, but he hadnt expected her to suddenly be a giant after staring at his penis for a few seconds. This would, obviously, make it a lot easier for her but it was still a...curious development... Illya hadnt even realized her body was growing until she was suddenly staring down at Vahns face. She saw the amused smile on his face, her own turning scarlet as she forcibly tried to shrink down to normal size. Before she managed this, however, Vahn sunk his fingers into her butt and said, "It is better to start like this. You can change your size to what is mostfortable after we e, rx your body and leave it to me..." Without waiting for Illyas response, Vahn moved her hips in a practiced manner, his dragon eager to conquer new territory. This was made a lot easier by the fact that Illyas body had basically rolled out the red carpet for him, inviting him inside without any resistance. Rather, the exact opposite was true as her body seemed to conform around his member, forcibly pulling him deeper inside. There wasnt even anything like a hymen present but, after his earlier exploration, Vahn wasnt surprised. Illya was undoubtedly a virgin but, even before her first death, her womb, along with her other organs, had all been reced by magical transnts. This was part of the process to convert her entire body into a giant magic circuit, making it capable of housing the Holy Grail with greater ease... Now, with the traits she had inherited from Cath Palug, Illyas insides were a lot more honest than she was. As for Vahn, he actually had to rest his face in between her developing breasts, his mind a little overwhelmed by the sensationsing from his lower body. It was an indescribable amount of pleasureparable to Freya going all-out during their melding. Vahn even felt like his member had been transported to apletely different ne of existence, one filled with entities that existed for the sole purpose of transmitting and receiving pleasure. There was even something attached to the tip of his ns, eagerly sucking the fluids flowing from the tip with even greater fervor than ya on a bad day... Vahn wasnt the only one experiencing transcendental pleasure, either, as Illyas body had been in a constant spasm from the moment she settled into hisp. Her body had actually shrunk down to its normal size once again but, rather than pain, it felt like her entire existence had been reced by an overwhelming amount of pleasure. Without Vahn to cling onto, she had the distinct impression that her mind would have broken as, in the deepest recesses of her subconscious, Cath Palug was crying out in what could only be described as a feral, yet sonorous, cooing sound... (A/N: What even is this chapter...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1342 - Ascent Into The Heavens...?

Chapter 1342 - Ascent Into The Heavens...?

Though the pleasure offered by Illyas body was overwhelming, Vahn wasnt just going to let himself fall into Cath Palugs momentum. He knew the mischievous creature was the fault for what was happening and, though he didnt me it for wanting to feel good, reason told him not to let it take things too far. After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, Vahn began to gently stroke Illyas hair and back, ignoring the assault on his lower body and calming whispering, "Calm down...focus on the moment, not the pleasure...there is greater meaning behind the emotional connection than the sensual bond we share...I know you can both hear me...follow the sound of my voice...rx your body..." While Illyas mind was overwhelmed by the sensory overload, Vahn knew that Cath Palug would never truly lose itself. It was just having fun but, upon hearing his voice, it obediently sat within the back of Illyas subconscious, allowing her body to be influenced by the calming energies he was sending into it. Though Cath Palug could be a little extreme at times, Vahn had managed to cultivate its Loyalty to a value of 139,412 over thest two years. It had been following a simr developmental route to Fenrir so, while it was prone to acting on its emotions, it was obedient when he spoke directly to it. In the future, once he managed to teach it a bit, idents like this would, hopefully, be a thing of the past... --- It took a few minutes but Illya eventually returned to her senses, her ears drooping slightly as she breathed heavily against his bare chest. She actually med herself for letting Cath Palug get out of hand but, as they had both been looking forward to this moment, Illya couldnt hold it against her eternalpanion. Rather, the pleasure she experienced was something that was now carved into her body and mind so, even if it was only a little, she was grateful for its presence. While Illya would never vocalize these feelings, Cath Palug was obviously aware of her unvoiced acquiescence. This caused it tough yfully within her mind but, still following Vahns orders, it didnt intervene any longer. It had already helped Illya through all of the most embarrassing parts so, from this moment onward, it would just enjoy the ride. Just as it was aware of her thoughts, Illya knew of Cath Palugs intentions so, before she raised her head to meet Vahns gaze, she internally thanked it for taking her this far. She had honestly been a little afraid of doing something wrong so, now that she had Vahns startling hot member gently pulsing in what felt like her stomach, Illya was able to calm down a lot. Rather, feeling how deep he had prated into her, she couldnt help but question the capabilities of her own body... Deciding to learn more about herself at ater date, Illya enjoyed Vahns caress for a while longer before ultimately licking his chest to alert him to the fact she had regained rity. For reasons she would never fully understand, it was easier tomunicate like than rather than use actual words to convey her feelings. Words could be strangely embarrassing while actions always conveyed the desires of a person directly, avoiding the need forplex exnations entirely. Vahn hade to understand Illyas quirks well over thest couple of years so he understood the actual meaning behind her awkward suckling. He moved his hand beneath the location of her tail, using it for extra leverage as he began to gently rock her hips. She didnt have the courage to move on her own so he would need to take the lead, even if her unique constitution removed the need for any movement whatsoever. Since he knew Ilya had certain expectations about sex, Vahn wasnt going to just sit quietly as her insides writhed about him, effectively milking his penis. She might never admit it, but Illya was a borderline masochist so he would need to be a little rough in order to prove that he wasnt just pretending to be enamored with her. This was an expression of herck of self-confidence as, in stark contrast to how she behaved at times, Illya had never gotten over her fear of abandonment. In fact, reminiscent of Liliruca, her Love parameter had been stuck at 99 for a very long time, a fact Vahn was intent on changing... To this end, Vahn ultimately tightened his grip around the base of Illyas tail, eliciting a pained moan that was ented by sensuous undertones. He began to guide her inrger circles atop hisp, culminating in a deep piston that pushed at her infinitely flexible insides. In a way, this actually annoyed and excited Vahn a bit as he knew her body was literally changing its structure to match his size and shape. As for why he was annoyed, well, part of him had gotten used to being able to knock at a womans cervix, something that wasnt really possible with Illya as her womb itself had effectivelytched itself to the tip of his penis, matching his movements... Still, it was a truly interesting experience so Vahn wasnt going toin. Rather, he was quite enjoying himself and, based on her loud cries, Illya was feeling it even more than him. Though her teeth had broken skin a few times, inflicting wounds that healed at a much slower pace, this was actually tamer than Vahn had expected. He had fully prepared himself to have literal chunks of his flesh torn away and, if necessary, he was willing to do the same if it meant the peculiar duo was fully satisfied... Compared to his expectations, Illyas y biting, following by her suckling on his blood, was more adorable than perturbing. It encouraged him to put more effort into his own endeavors so, feeling her insides begin to undte, he surprised Illya by forcing her against the bed without minding the fact her tail. He was intending to perform what was known as a mating press, taking advantage of their difference in size to pin her to the bed with his weight... What Vahn didnt expect was for Illyas tail to rapidly increase in size and volume, turning into a fluffy plush cushion that quickly supported her body. This was yet another example of the curious nature of Illyas body but, knowing he would eventually learn all of her secrets, Vahn wasnt in a rush to investigate now. Instead, he linked his hands with Illyas, bringing them above her head so that she waspletely pinned as he began to gradually increase the rate of his pistoning. As the change in position had been timed with her building climax, Illya instinctually locked her legs around Vahns waist the moment she was pushed down. This made his movements a little harder but, having experienced a simr scenario hundreds of times, Vahn knew a few methods to get around this instinctual response. He hiked his knees up progressively until Illyas thighs were lifted from the bed, forcing her pelvis at an angle that made it difficult to easily lock her legs around him. Since it was ufortable to be forced into a position where slight pinching urred, Illyas hips began to wiggle about in an attempt to find a morefortable position. This was an involuntary response so, even while her body was spasming in an intense climax, it was possible to guide her to slowly spread her legs to allow for easier movement. As a result, her legs ended up syed out to the sides and, while she was still awash in the echoes of her previous climax, Vahn resumed his movements with fervor, now having overridden her natural inclination to wrap her legs around his waist... This was just one example of Vahns experience manifesting and, even if he couldnt see into the inside of Illyas body, his status as a God of Sex wasnt an empty title. She might not be willing to vocalize them but he could feel her desires transmitted directly to his mind, urging him to take progressively bolder actions. This was her first time so he was willing to go a bit further than he normally would if it meant the experience was more memorable. At the very least, he would not stop until her Love parameter finally broke through the threshold, even if it took the entire night to convince her... --- Vahn his main body was tending to Illya, Vahns second vessel had been celebrating Arcueids induction into the Empire. The wee banquet had been going on for hours and, while most of the people present had considerably high tolerances, many people had gotten drunk. This made the atmosphere more festive, enhancing the taste of Circes and Medeas already delicious food. The only unfortunate development was the fact that, despite his efforts to appear as a paragon of calm andposure, many of the girls realized what Vahn must be doing behind the scenes. He could feel their own desires swelling up and, while nobody was openly discussing it, he knew a silent debate was going on to determine when the party should end and who should apany him for the evening. Illya wasnt likely to be pacified any time soon so Vahn couldnt help but be in the mood to share his love. Since he was sensitive to the wants and desires of others, his own were given fuel and, if he had the capabilities, Vahn would make love with everyone simultaneously. Unfortunately, this was still beyond him so, while he could overrule their decision, he ultimately allowed the girls to determine for themselves who would apany him. This actually made things more exciting as it was almost like winning a mystery prize, one which he would undoubtedly enjoy quite a bit... Eventually, the banquet was finally brought to an end as the men in attendance began to feel the tell-tale signs of something amiss. The only one among them who didnt seem to mind the odd atmosphere was Astolfo but, considering he had enough alcohol to down an elephant, this wasnt too much of a surprise. Fortunately, Catherine was able to pull him away without too much of an issue as his uncouth and unrestrained behavior was only exacerbating matters. When the only people left were the adult females, and Vahn himself, Artoria was the one to break the silence as she said, "Tonight is a special asion. We are weing a new resident into our home, an important event during these chaotic times. In order to strengthen our bonds, all that are willing are invited to a rendezvous within the main chambers. If you are ufortable with sharing intimate moments with your fellow sisters, please remind yourself why you have chosen to follow Vahn in the first ce..." Of all the oues he had expected, Vahn had never imagined that Artoria would essentially open the floor to allers. It wouldnt be his first orgy but, with the number of women present, even he would struggle, at least a little. It was fortunate that he could use his Divinity to link the senses of his women so, even if he wasnt directly making love to them, they would be able to feel what others were experiencing. This,bined with the fact they would be tending to each other, made things a little easier on him. Ultimately, the ones to ept Artorias offer were, surprisingly, only Gray, Nobunaga, Kenshin, Lakshmibai, and, by default, Arcueid. As for his usual entourage, they never really participated in sexual acts, the obvious exception being Gareth who, despite her willingness, didnt want to get in the way of others having fun. This was the same for most of the girls in the Menagerie as, over thest couple of days, Vahn had been spending a lot of time with them. The only person truly on the fence about the matter was Aoko who, for a brief moment, seemed to hype herself up to participate in the event. In the end, however, she got cold feet as the idea of sharing the same bed as five other women was a little too much for the current her. This decision wasrgely influenced by the participation of Nobunaga who, sharing a lot of simrities with her, had taken a few liberties with Aokos body whenever thetter let her get away with it. Since her instincts told her that Nobunaga would be targetting her, Aoko wasnt able to muster up the courage to participate, even if part of her feltpelled to do so. Instead, she pulled aside Vahn as thetter was preparing to return to his quarters, a fierce look in her zing blue eyes as she said, "Dont think this is over. The next time you have a free moment, Ill...I...just you wait and see what Ill do...!" With those final words, Aoko left the dining room with a huff, following after the Menagerie group who had decided to go view the moonlit sky together. Many of them cultivated Yin Elemental Laws so it was a good opportunity to cool off while marginally increasing their strength. Since it was something they could all do together, it had be a rtivelymon urrence over thest few months. Now, Aoko would be joining them, her ignorance propelling her forward as she waspletely unaware of the fact that the girls from the Menagerie generally cultivated in the nude... (A/N: My brain feels like it is going to explode xD. For those wanting to see depictions of the events between Vahn, Aoko, Semiramis, Medusa, etc, please be patient. There are a few other things nned before those arcse full circle x_x...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1343 - Release

Chapter 1343 - Release

After quite possibly one of the longest nights he had ever experienced, Vahn found himself calmly staring up at two different ceilings, a contented smile on his face. He had Arcueid and Artoria in his arms in one room while, back in Ilyas, he was casually running his fingers through the soft fur that covered various parts of her body. It was silky smooth to the touch and, a stark contrast to how hot the exposed areas of her skin were, it had a cool and soothing quality... As a faux-Tier 5 being, Illya obviously didnt require things like sleep so, after a much longer than anticipated time together, she nowy snug within Vahns embrace, enjoying his gentle touch. Even prior to her fusion with Cath Palug, it had always filled her with various emotions but, more than any other, his caress always brought her peace and security. Though it was a little embarrassing to even consider, part of her wished that Vahn would just make her into his pet. She didnt really care about the state of the world and, despite her inherited knowledge, she didnt care about Alchemy either. Unfortunately, the more she interacted with Vahn, the more effort she wanted to put into the things she could do. Illya knew that, if she really wanted to, Vahn would remove all responsibilities from her and, at least for a time, allow her to behave as spoiled as she liked. She could just hole herself up in the Menagerie,zily passing each day as she awaited his next visit like an obedient pet. Then, during their moments together, they could sail through the oceans of pleasure, enjoying the various highs and lows that came with the tumultuous act... Imagining this scenario, Illya released a hot sigh as her body actually started to heat up as a result of her wayward thoughts. In response, Vahns hand moved from caressing her side to gently rubbing just beneath her navel, bringing with it a calming flow of cool energy. This made Illya feel more than a little embarrassed but, instead of removing his hand, she ced hers overtop and asked, "Vahn...do you love me?" Though her question was sudden, it wasnt entirely unexpected so, nestling his face next to her human ear, Vahn whispered, "Of course...you have be someone precious to me...someone I will protect until the very forces that bind this reality together begins to break down. Dont think you can get away now, Illya...even if you wanted to go back to being my little sister, I wouldnt let you..." Realizing that Vahn had seen through, Illyas face became beet red, a process quickened when he suddenly hugged her tight, seemingly to say, I wont let you go. This made Illya feel giddy but it also caused her heart to ache as, despite everything that had happened, she felt as if she had forced Vahn into everything. Her feelings of came to a head in the peace that followed intense intercourse and, as he alluded to, she had momentarily thought to bring an end to their rtionship and instead support her Mother... Vahn wasnt going to let Illya force herself into a corner and wallow in self-imposed loneliness so, as her body began to tremble slightly, he held her even tighter as he whispered, "You are mine...always and forever. Dont think Ill let you run away and lie to everyone, especially yourself...I know you want to be with me, Illya. I can feel it...a powerful desire, one that craves love... that needs to be wanted, cherished, and spoiled without end. No matter how long it takes, I will continue to shower you with all of these things until you finally open your heart and allow me to love youpletely..." With each of Vahns words, tears threatened to spill from Illyas eyes but, with what remained of her willpower, she managed to hold them back by covering her mouth with her hand and shutting them tightly. Everything he said was like bullets piercing her body, wounding her greatly but leaving gaps for something else to fill the holes left in their wake. Illya really did want to be loved by Vahn but, no matter how much he convinced herself that he genuinely loved her, she couldnt help but have doubts. After everything she had experienced...it felt like, at any given moment, reality would give way to reveal that thest two years were nothing but an illusion...it was filled with so many surreal events, almost like a dream that had been constructed to pacify her weary mind on the verge death...reason, of course, told her that this was a reality but, her fear and doubt made it hard to ept that she was allowed to be happy... Just as Illya was on the verge of restoring her calm, Vahn broke through all of her defenses, his hand reaching up to uncover her mouth as he eximed, "If you want to cry, then cry! You have that right, Illya! Let all your hatred, frustration, sadness, and everything else that has gued you out. Even if all that remains is an empty shell, I will continue to love you until you are so filled with happiness that it overflowspletely...!" As cliche as the lines may sound, Vahn knew it was what Illya needed to hear as he could practically feel her emotions crying out to be released. These were the very same emotions that had influenced Cath Palug in the past, things Illya had bottled up andpartmentalized since the moment she was denied the happiness she, and every child, deserved. Thus, with nothing holding her back, Illya finally released everything, releasing a primal scream that shook the surrounding air. It was a cry filled with so much pain and anguish that its influence could be felt, not just within the castle, but throughout all of Avalon... --- After a few awkward events, and a fair amount of exining, Vahn ended up being booted out of Illyas room for a short while as Iris, Spenta, and Fenrir went to provide emotional support. It wasnt as if he was being med for anything, quite the contrary. Everyone had been aware of the fact that Illya had been repressing a lot as, due to the presence of Cath Palug, even Merlin couldnt tweak her memories too much. The tiny white Beast of Gaia wasnt all that fond of Merlin so, even if he had the best of intentions, it wouldnt allow him to mess around as he pleased. Now, Illya was an emotional wreck but, given time, she would eventually recover. This was something Vahn knew better than anyone as, following her outburst, Illyas Love parameter had finally broken through the 99 bottleneck. Rather, it shattered the bottleneckpletely, jumping to 17,385 in an instant. This was a testament to how much Illya had been denying her own happiness but now, after releasing all the pain she had bottled up, Vahn was certain she would be able to open her heart, not just to himself, but to others... Still, he couldnt avoid a few lectures after making a girl cry loud enough to literally shake the sub-texture of Avalon. Even the residents outside of the projection felt it, resulting in representatives of every Fae tribeing by out of concern, asking if there was anything they could do to help. Their care had brought a smile to Vahns face but, now, as he sat in a perfect seiza position, his expression was one of calm repentance as he listened to a horde of women lecture him about delicacy, even if they knew he hadnt actually done anything wrong... In the end, Vahn was only given leniency when Arcueid, the newest addition to the Ivory Castle, was given the opportunity to lecture him. Instead of following the trend, however, she shook her head, aplicated expression on her face as she said, "I believe Vahn did the right thing. Having him kneel like this seems unfair...we should stop this before it gets out of hand..." Hearing Arcueids sincere tone, the girls that had already lectured Vahn began to fidget nervously, at least until Artoria stepped in to say, "Do not fret, Arcueid. We do this out of love, for Vahns sake. He also expects us to reign him...had this not the case, it would be impossible to have him sit in seiza like this. Is this not the case, Vahn...?" Though it wasnt far from the truth, Vahn had never expected someone to actually vocalize the fact that he expected to be reprimanded, at least every now and then. If they just let him act however he pleased, he would be increasingly more unrestrained and, over time, might even lose himself to the idea that his decisions were above reproach. With Artoria directing the question toward him, Vahn smiled somewhat awkwardly toward Arcueid, saying, "I may be an Emperor, but Im not a perfect being that ces itself above others. Were it up to me, everyone would be equals as they lived happily alongside each other. Regardless of the status or title any of you hold, our love puts us on the same level. If you ever have doubts about something I have decided upon, please, do not hesitate to let me know. Your opinion, your independence, and your happiness...these are all incredibly important to me." Most of the girls present were used to Vahns flowery words, there were some, such as Nobunaga, who actually rolled her eyes after hearing what he had to say. As for Arcueid, she had a light blush on her face and, after struggling for a few seconds, she ultimately nodded her head. What followed, somewhat surprisingly, was a rather long lecture on how to treat women. Going by how she made a few references to their time in the Library, Vahn could tell she had been bottling a few things up as a result of him seizing the initiative and leading the conversation... Fortunately, Arcueid was thest to lecture him as the small interruption in the proceedings made it awkward to continue. Afterward, everyone just sat around in the corridor together as they waited for news regarding Illyas well being. This was a rather peculiar sight as, even with a vast and limitless imagination, very few people would be able to visualize a scene where an Emperor, his Empress, several Queens, a former Vampire Princes, literal Goddesses, and a few women with various unique traits were just sitting in the corridor of a castle, some plopping down directly on the floor. Vahn actually enjoyed moments like this more than most as it showed the strong bonds and unity that everyone shared, irrespective of origin and status. In the grand scheme of things, these were all fleeing, unimportant, things. They only mattered when people pretended they mattered as, on the most fundamental level, they were all just beings of consciousness that were experiencing the same axis of time, the same reality, together. Even a simple expression of kindness had more value than any status as, other than using it to ce yourself above others, things like titles had absolutely no value to the cosmos, to reality as a whole... --- While enjoying the pleasant atmosphere that had developed within the corridor, Vahn briefly turned his attention to the system notification from earlier. After breaking through the bottleneck of Illyas Love parameter the Optional Quest, Taming the Beast, had beenpleted. He made a habit of not focusing on such matters in the heat of the moment as, more often than not, the events that led to thepletion of such Questspelled him to pay attention. Now that things had calmed down a bit, he was able to peruse the system notification and, the edges of his mouth curling up slightly as the rewards he had received were quite interesting. ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Optional Quest: Taming the Beast] Rank: SS Completion Grade: S Objective(s): Reach 100 Love with [Illyasviel Von Einzbern](17,385/100), Reach 100 Love with [Cath Palug](13,992/100), Synchronize the Magic Circuits of [Illyasviel Von Einzbern] and [Cath Palug](1/1), Gain the recognition of both [Illyasviel Von Einzbern] and [Cath Palug] as an authority figure(2/2). Optional Objective(s): (Beastly Passion): Have Sex with the fused form of [Illyasviel Von Einzbern] and [Cath Palug](14/10), (Progenitor Genes): Impregnate the fused form of [Illyasviel Von Einzbern] and [Cath Palug](0/1), (Master of Beasts): Reach 100,000 Loyalty with [Cath Palug](139,412/100,000). Rewards: 500,000,000OP, 1x[Cor of Sealing], 1x[Brand of the Beast] Grade Rewards: 250,000,000OP, 1x[Proof of Affection], 1x[Soul Bond] [Cor of Sealing] Rank: Unique Use: A cor capable ofpletely restraining the power of the wearer, binding even gods to a mortal form. The form that is taken, and the amount of power restricted, is entirely determined by the will of the one who ces the cor on another. Restrictions: Vahn Mason(Master), Illyasviel Von Einzbern, Cath Palug [Brand of the Beast] Rank: Unique Use: A brand that can be embedded in the body that allows the user to seal a Beast within. While sealed away, the Beast empowers the owner of the seal in exchange for having their soul nourished by the life force of the user. Restrictions: Vahn Mason [Soul Bond] Rank: Unique Use: Allows two unique entities to synchronize with each other, fusing their wills into a singr whole. Restrictions: Illyasviel Von Einzbern, Cath Palug [Beastly Passion] Rank: Unique Use: A Grimoire that bestows the user the ability to impassion and exercise limited control over all bestial entities. While it is possible to direct their fervor away from oneself, long exposure would result in any beast, regardless of their level of sapience, bing enamored with the user. [Master of Beasts] Rank: Unique Use: A Grimoire that causes all bestial entities to recognize the user as a higher form of existence, imposing a phenomenon simr to spirit suppression on them. Be warned, as entities stronger than the user may bepelled to attack if they realized this is the case. ----------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Soft kitty, smooth kitty...pat pat pat...,The anguish of two lifetimes...,Beastly Passion and Master of Beasts seems like a scarybination xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1344 - Precious Moments

Chapter 1344 - Precious Moments

It took a few hours but Illya ultimately emerged from her room, ears drooping pathetically as her mother gently pushed her forward. Seeing how many people were outside waiting for her, Illya felt guilty for causing a scene but, at the same time, a small amount of warmth spread through her chest. She knew the main reason they had gathered was due to Vahn but, even if that was the case, Illya could feel their concern for her. Resisting the urge to tear up again, Illya sniffled a few times before ultimately bowing her head low and saying, "Im sorry..." before immediately following it with a, "Thank you...". This resulted in smiles all around and, though she was somewhat resistant to the idea, Illya ended up epting hugs from nearly everyone present. Even Arcueid had taken a turn, concern visible in her countenance as, better than most, she knew how loneliness could eat away at both the heart and mind... As it was her first time meeting Arcueid, Illya couldnt help but eye the womans bust after being held against it for several seconds. They were even bigger than her mothers, making Arcueid a contender for thergest bust amongst the various women associated with Vahn. The only others who came close were Scthach, Semiramis, and, though this was her first time meeting the fiery red-head, Aoko... Though she tried not to let it bother her, Illya couldnt help but notice the number of busy women around Vahn had increased during the time she was incubating. Her own had grown a fair amount, at leastpared to her past self, but she was a very long way from having a mature figure. While Vahn didnt seem to care about such things, at least on the surface, Illya suspected he was actually he had a fondness for buxom and mature women. Fortunately, while she may not exactly fit that category, everyone knew of his preference for girls with unique traits so, in that regard, she had a big advantage over thepetition... While these thoughts were going through her mind, Illya returned the hugs of everyone in turn, periodically looking over at Vahn smiling at the side. She felt like they had a lot to talk about but, more than anything else, she wanted him to know how she felt. Thus, when the crowd began to thin out, she sheepishly approached him, her face growing progressively redder with each step. By the time she was standing in front of him, her face was as red as a tomato, her fingers clutching the hem of her dress as she muttered in a quiet voice, "I...I love you...I dont think I ever said this out loud so I wanted you to hear it..." Hearing Illyas quiet confession, Vahns expression melted, his arms moving on instinct to pull her into his embrace as he answered, "Thank you, Illya...thank you for choosing me...I love you too, more than you might think, more than I can ever express in words..." As Vahn had lifted her off the ground, Illyas legs dangled a few centimeters off the floor as his warm embrace made the feeling in her chest expand rapidly. She had been doing her best to keep another round of tears from flowing but, when it was Vahnforting her, Illya felt like she had no resistance whatsoever. Against her will, tears began pouring out from her eyes and, though the presence of the others made her feel a little ashamed, she couldnt help but cry in his arms... --- Though it took a while for things to settle down, Vahn ultimately ended up retiring to Illyas room to have a very long talk with her and Iris. At the same time, he had Artoria and Gray apany him to their shared chambers while Fenrir and the others helped Arcueid to get situated. It had been a very long night but, with the time dtion of the Projection, night had yet to give way to the rising of the sun. There were still more than twenty hours left until a new day began in the outside world, time Vahn had decided to use for rxation and reflection. It felt like he had been having sex for several days straight so, after retreating to his room, Vahn used Artorias soft thighs as a pillow, letting the tensions of his body melt away. These types of moments were a favorite of Artoria so, rather than offer anyints about the arrangement, she dutifully stroked his head with an affectionate smile on her face. If she had anyints at all, it would be that Gray was using Vahns body as a pillow, an enviable position to be in... Unfortunately, as much as he just wanted to shut off his brain, Vahn had a lot of things on his mind. As a result, he ended up dispersing the warm atmosphere,zily muttering, "We need to be better...I need to be better. This mess may not be my design but it was set in motion as a consequence of my actions. Seizing control in the wake of the destruction is irresponsible and cowardly...this transition is something we can influence directly...something we must treat seriously, not as a matter of course that will resolve itself in due time..." As his words coincided with her views on the matter, Artoria nodded her head in approval, even as her hand continued to gently stroke Vahns head. She knew he was extremely fatigued by the recent events so, even if she feltpelled to act on his words, taking care of Vahn was a higher priority at the moment. This was a sentiment shared by Gray who, after hearing Vahns words, moved so that she was nestled up against him, effectively preventing him from leaving the room. Vahn could easily deduce the intentions of the two women but, from the very beginning, he had no intention of taking action right now. The only thing that couldpel him to move was an Empire-threatening emergency but, with Heracles acting as Warden, the odds of an enemy breaking through their multiyered defenses were slim... Since there would be plenty of time to act after the dawn of a new day, Vahn cherished this peaceful moment. In one room, he was enjoying ap pillow while snuggling against Gray while, in the other, a simr scene yed out between him, Illya, and Iris. They were all seated on the same couch, Illya curled up in hisp and Iris leaning against his shoulder as she gently stroked her daughters hair. It was a truly peaceful moment, the type that Vahn would cherish more than any treasure, a memory that would stick with him into perpetuity... --- A stark contrast to the serenity experienced by Vahn, one particr Vampiric Princess was having anything but a good evening. Rather, after the expulsion of Crimson Moon from Arcueids Ego, her elder sister, the Dead Apostle Ancestor known as Altrouge Brunestud, experienced a painful and maddening bacsh. Crimson blood had violently erupted from her body as a phenomenal amount of power,pletely beyond her ability to control, swelled up inside of her. While this increase in power wasnt exactly a bad thing, Altrouges inability to control it resulted in her body literally exploding and regenerating hundreds of times over the course of a few hours. It was enough to drive anyone crazy but, having lost her mind hundreds of years ago, Altrouge could be heardughing in the brief moments where she was able to reform. She knew this power was the result of something happening to her little sister so, while it was immensely painful, she would now be one of, if not the, strongest beings in the world. As this cycle of destruction and rebirth was urring, two figures watched on in solemn vigil as their master repeatedly self-destructed. These were Altrouges bodyguards, some of the oldest and most powerful Dead Apostles in existence. Among the two, the one that stood out the most was a man with pale skin, raven-ck hair parted in a high widows peak, and blood-red eyes. He radiated a regal aura about himself and, unlike how many Dead Apostles had adapted to the times, he elected to wear vicious-looking ck armor at all times. The chest te formed the visage of a demon while, protruding from various points on the armor, several blood-encrusted spikes could be seen. Most notable of all was therge greatsword that seemed to be fused with his arm, its handled twisting like tendrils of pure darkness as the de glowed with a malicious red light... Though he didnt stand out nearly as much as his counterpart, the ck Knight, Rizo-Waal Strout, he still radiated a regal and intimidating visage. His moniker, the White Knight, Fina-Blood Svelten, was not just a title given arbitrarily. He was one of the most powerful Dead Apostles and, as his maritime attire made apparent, he was the Captain of the Undead Fleet, a Reality Marble known as the Grand Parade. It allowed him to manifest an entire fleet of Ghost Ships, headed by his gship, a massive schooner known as the Herald of the Dead. Matching his counterpart, Fina-Blood Svelten had pale skin but, a stark contrast to the man known as the ck Knight, his hair was tinum blond. Rather than vicious, he had an appearance that, at a nce, would be described as handsome by most. Unfortunately, this illusion would fade quickly the moment you made eye contact with him as, without hiding it in the slightest, absolute madness and an insatiable lust for the suffering of others could be seen in his gaze. This was thest thing many a young boy saw as, much like other Dead Apostles, he had a preference when it came to choosing his targets, considering anyone over the age of ten to be spoiled goods... Now, as their Masterughed madly in her suffering, Fina-Blood Svelten couldnt hide the glee in his smile as he, alongside Rizo-Waal Strout, understood what was happening. It was something they had desired for centuries and, once their Master managed to get her vtile power under control, they were certain that the prophesied Crimson Moon Century would begin, an era where Dead Apostles would rece True Ancestors as the heralds of mankind, their livestock. What neither man suspected, as even Altrouge herself was unaware of the truth, the Crimson Moon Century was fated to nevere. Rather, as a result of Vahnsmand, Altrouge would be unable to use any of Crimson Moons power if it would lead to the direct suffering of others. To exacerbate matters, a missive from the Dead Apostle known as Rose Prophecy was already on its way, warning of the duosing demise... --- Far from the location of Altrouges manifestation of the Millenium Castle, what appeared to be a young female schr,plete with a pixie-cut andrge circr sses released a tired sigh. Her ruby-red eyes seemed to have lost their light but, rather than emptiness, anyone gazing into them would feel as if they were being sucked into apletely different world... After removing her sses and running her fingers through her hazelnut hair a few times, the young woman looked towards arge grandfather clock. Unlike normal clocks, however, it didnt track time in a linear fashion. Rather, it always disyed the time of a persons death, influenced by her ability to see the flow and severance of fate. Currently, the woman was going through the list of her fellow Dead Apostle Ancestors for what felt like the thousandth time, a mncholic look visible upon her face. In the past, her ability has been a tremendous boon to her kind as, without exception, her prophecies would prove urate. Now, as if to mock her past self, the hands of the clock were constantly in motion and, rather than a confirmed date and time, the values jumped all over the ce. The only thing she knew for certain was that, at some point in the near future, most of them were going to die... (A/N: Alternate Titles: It is important to say how you feel...,Even the mightiest of Emperors needs to rest...,What a series of unfortunate events...I kind of feel sorry for the Rose Prophecy (UwU)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1345 - Ambition Restraint

Chapter 1345 - Ambition Restraint

With the dawn of a new day, Vahn felt refreshed and ready to take on the entire world, quite literally. He had spent part of his evening thinking about various solutions to his problems, ultimatelying to the conclusion that they just needed to speed up progress on their hypothesized projects. In order to ensure that humans were able to thrive, without harming themselves and others, Vahn and Da Vinci hade up with a n to establish massive colonies on each Continent. These would be megacities capable of housing well over a hundred million people without any major difficulty, all within a rtively confined space, rtively speaking. To house the remainder of humanity, and any spirits that wished to call them home, Sanctuary Cities would be constructed approximately 500km from each other. These would be positioned, not just on thend, but even in the middle of the ocean. This was in order to facilitate the advancement of one of theirrgest projects, the Global Defense System. While the massivework of Companions would be able to deal with mostside threats, Vahn was very aware of the fact that the Universe was host to several powerful entities. Not only were thes themselves Tier 5 beings, home to various unknown races, but other civilizations existed in other areas of the Gxy. He had even purchased various star maps through the system shop, all in preparation for the Empires rise as an interster and, ultimately, intergctic civilization. To protect against external threats, the various colonies and Sanctuary Cities would form a global magic circle, one capable of empowering the existing Bounded Field to convert it into a barrier that covered the entire. This would require the cooperation of Gaia but, after everything that had happened, Vahn wasnt worried about her acquiescence. Even without his status as Type Omega, he was certain she could be convinced to help after seeing the steps he had taken to protect the, Gaia herself. The only problem with moving forward with these global-scale projects was the very real chance that they would be interfered with by various forces. They may have functionally infinite resources at their disposal but, unless he suddenly weaponized the Companions and Micro-Golems, the Empire was in dire need of additional manpower. Since he didnt want people to fear the Companions, Vahn would need to forcibly seize control of the required territory, stationing forces to protect the Empires assets. In other words, going against his original intentions, he would need to effectively conquer the. This wasnt the result of his desire to rule, ironically, but more of a necessity derived from the current situation. What made this ironic was the fact that, with his knowledge of history, Vahn knew that many Conquerors had set out with simr sentiments in mind... Fortunately, rather than rebuke him for his decision, Artoria supported him with a resolute heart and an understanding mind. She knew, better than most, how difficult it could be to establish order and rule over others. During her time as King, she had spent literal decades defending the borders of her home, all while quelling rebellions and uprisings from within a popce she dedicated everything to protect. At times, humans could be very selfish in this pursuit for individual happiness, incapable of seeing the grand pictures that qualified leaders were forced to ount for. What mattered the most to Artoria was that Vahn didnt want to conquer, he waspelled to do so in order to save as many people as possible. The quicker order was established, the sooner the chaos would subside. Though it would take time, once people experienced life under the Common Law of the Empire, they would begin to forgive and forget. All that really mattered to most people was their individual happiness and well-being, two things the Empire directly promoted. Once they realized the need for menialbor and other mundane tasks was no longer required to purchase happiness, the vast majority would readily fall in line. Thus, far from rebuking Vahn, Artoria was fully prepared to lead a Battalion and seize control of the region where the first Supercolony would be built. Once the first had been established, they would know what to expect in the construction and defense of the rest. Since Vahn couldnt be the one to head the conquest, she was fully willing to raise the banner of the Empire and share in his burden as the worlds enemy. It was for reasons like this that Vahn couldnt help but love Artoria. In fact, had they not been in thepany of several others, he might have whisked her away to their bedroom then and there... After making a mental note to express his gratitude towards Artoriater that evening, Vahn had his Court openly discuss the matter of the Empires conquest of the world. At the very least, they would need eight experienced Generals to defend each territory and, when the time came, each Sanctuary City would also need a force to protect it from both internal strife and external threats. The defense of the Sanctuary Cities could be handled by the various Heroic Spirits they made agreements with but, as the primaryponents of the Global Defense System, the Supercolonies would need much greater protection. In response to this, it was none other than Nobunaga who suggested, "History has known many Conquerors, capable Generals, and prodigious Rulers. You have your pick of the litter so why not just summon people you think are suitable to the task? So long as you avoid anyone with a legend that depicted cruelty and wanton violence, there shouldnt be any issues. If you want, I dont mind taking over Asia and holding the fort. The heavens know my Ancestors would certainly get a kick out of the idea." Hearing Nobunagas suggestion, Vahn was very tempted tough as he could easily imagine her taking over Asia and hoisting the Japanese g as a joke. Since it really wasnt a bad suggestion, and he knew she really wanted a chance to show off, Vahn seriously considered the proposal, moving the discussion in the direction of viable candidates. Boudica was suitable for defending Europe so, even if he let Nobunaga and Karna deal with Asia, they would still several candidates to protect the other five Continents. What surprised Vahn was the fact that Artoria immediately suggested two candidates, the first being Iskandar, known by most as Alexander the Great, and the other, Att, a name which, for reasons he quickly came to know, garnered a reaction from ya. He had to raise his hand, stopping Artoria in mid-sentence, as what ya had whispered in his ear wasnt something he could ignore. He gave his tolerant Empress an apologetic smile before urging ya to repeat what she said, this time so that everyone could hear it... ya wasnt fond of manifesting herself before others but, as she had be more obedient as ofte, she didnt pout like she used to. Instead, she appeared sitting in Vahnsp of all ces, a mask of calm as she exined, "Att may have been famous during your time, King of Knights, but they are not the person you believe them to be. While summoning them would greatly aid the Empires agenda, their presence would invite a greater catastrophe in the future." At first, yas words seemed rather vague but, before anyone could inquire about what kind of catastrophe they would invite, the petite blue entity beat them to the punch by making a three-dimensional projection for everyone to bear witness to. It showed a lithe woman with olive-brown skin who, discernible due to her extremely revealing outfit, was covered in tinum-white hair while, at the center of her forehead, a diamond-shaped gemstone was set directly into her flesh. As soon as they saw the woman in the projection, Vahn could feel mild annoyance from many of the women in attendance. Had he not been in his Emperor mode, his face probably would have heated a bit as he knew the cause of their exasperation. Fortunately, ya continued her exnation before any of them could interject, adding, "The being known by many as Att the Hun is a remnant of the Great Cmity, an event that took ce shortly after the Children of Gaia, the first generation Gods, turned against their Creator. As penance for their treachery, Gaia exposed the existence of life to the forces that observe and regte the Gctic Network. This event led to the destruction of nearly all life on the Surface, requiring those that remained to construct a new home from Gaias vessel, the entity referred to as Tiamat..." While all of these details were interesting, what ya exined next stunned everyone present, Vahn included, as she revealed, "Att is an alien fragment, a piece of the entity that, alone, nearly wiped out all life on Gaias surface, Gods, Spirits, man, and even microbial life forms. She may not be a danger in her current form but, upon summoning her, the sealed fragment, known as Velbar 02, will awaken from her slumber. Due to the Cycle of Causality, events that set her release in motion will begin to transpire. If you intend to summon Att, contracting with Type Moon and seizing control of the Moon Cell will be necessary." Hearing yas revtions, the entire Court was at a momentary loss for words until Vahn broke the silence, issuing a wry yet amusedugh. His Karma had recently eclipsed five-hundred-million so he wasnt even remotely surprised by the sudden revtions. Rather, he already knew a bit about the Moon Cell, even if the fact it sealed away some monstrous entity was news to him. Thus, while others may be surprised, he couldnt help but internally remark, ("If something like this didnt happen, that would be infinitely more surprising..."). In response to this internal remark, Sissughter coincided with his own, musing, (*It seems you are starting to understand the machinations of Karma a little better. This is good, Vahn. Remember, even if things seem hectic, you are always in control of at least your own actions. It takes going against the current to reach the top of the mountain...*) With Siss words cementing his resolve, Vahnsughter suddenly ceased and, with a resolute tone, he stated, "I doubt any of you are surprised by these revtions. As a force intent on changing and protecting the entire, we should not be afraid of what the Universe atrge has to throw at us. This being, Att, we will see exactly what kind of entity she is. In fact, in the years toe, we are certain that even more ridiculous entities will make their presence known. Thus, here and now, we decree that the Empires ultimate goaly not in maintaining order on the, but spreading our influence to the entire Gxy...!" As the final words left his mouth, Vahn rose from his Throne, preempted by ya hopping out of hisp and floating next to him. Then, without waiting for anything like an ovation or rebuttal, he looked toward Artoria and added, "With the known exceptions, we vow, as an Emperor, Husband, and, most importantly, a Father...from now until our goals have been met, we will not extend our hand to those not currently affiliated with the Inner Sanctum. If any exceptions are to be made, it will be the result of a unanimous decision by the Inner Sanctums current residents, dictated and moderated by our Empress, Artoria Aldrnar Pendragon..." With the recent inclusion of so many new women to his harem, even as potentiates, Vahn knew he needed to put his foot down, primarily on himself. His empathy was one of his greatest traits but, if he wanted to achieve his goals expediently, restraint would be necessary. Eva was already going to rip him a new one once he brought a small army of girls with him into her world so it was better to nip the problem in the bud, even if said bud had already bloomed into a garden... Needless to say, Vahns sudden announcement had taken everyone present by surprise. He did note, however, that some people seemed genuinely relieved by his words, Gawain being the most obvious example. What really troubled him was the fact that, for a brief moment, Mordred had furrowed her brows slightly while, at his side, ya gave him a pointed look that seemed to convey, I had better be one of the exceptions... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Artoria is bae status for a reason,Time for some bad civilization!?,Did...did Vahn just break...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1346 - The Value of a Promise

Chapter 1346 - The Value of a Promise

After a bit of deliberation, it was decided that, alongside Shiki Tohno, Vahn would be summoning Att, Iskandar, Ozymandias, Nero, Bedivere, and, now that the current, former, Knight of the Round Table had been able to limate to the modern era, Lancelot. At the time of his death, Gawain had regretted not allowing Lancelot to apany them to the Battle of Cann so, while he had some misgivings, he was not against calling upon his formerrade. As for Gareth, she had filled the void left by her treacherous mentor with her current Master, Vahn, and she had no intention of changing allegiances. Rather, the amount of fulfillment she got from following her new Master was something that, at times, kept her awakete into the evening... With Ghad simply not caring in the slightest, the only opinion worthy of consideration was that of Mordred. She, however, didnt think much of Lancelot outside of a general acknowledgment that he was a powerful, albeit foolish, Knight. Since a repeat of history was all but impossible, especially with Lancelot existing as a Heroic Spirit, she didnt mind if a dozen were summoned, much less one. This actually brought up a good point as, if he was so inclined, Vahn could summon simr instances of the same Heroic Spirit, each pulled from different, near-identical, timelines. His only reason for not exploiting this was the fact that, on a fundamental level, it just seemed wrong. Exceptions could be made for people like Scthach, as she shared a unified consciousness with versions of herself, but it would be invalidating the originality that distinguished most Heroic Spirits. While people like Artoria might im that they wouldnt be bothered by such things, as the ambition of the Empire preempted individualfort, he knew it would bother her. She would, at times, stare menacingly at Jeannes, Okitas, and Lakshmibais breasts, three girls that had very simr features to her own, albeit far more mature. If he summoned a version of her that, for reasons known only to the creator of the Nasuverse, hadrger breasts, Artoria may very well be the one to pick a fight... Since issues of status and identity would also be a problem, it was ultimately better to avoid summoning multiple instances of the same person. Though exceptions could be made in the case of Alter and Lily ss Servants, Vahn felt this was venturing into dangerous territory. Just imagining a Lily version of Scthach filled him with a primal and inexplicable fear as it was already bad enough that he got thrashed by her adult self. He also had the distinct impression that the Lily version would be just as sensual as her adult self, making her a nightmare of promiscuity he would rather avoid. This, of course, didnt mean he would avoid taking advantage of the Lily ss as, instead of calling upon the Iskandar that Artoria was familiar with, they had decided to summon the child version of the same Heroic Spirit. The chances of the adult Iskandar acting as he pleased were exceptionally high while, prior to his conquering days, he was known as a prodigious, kind, handsome, and, as could be expected, an ambitious yet idealistic youth. Though he would never voice it, Vahn had a few expectations for the young Hero and, once things had started to settle, he hoped that one of his daughters may grow fond of the youth. His children really were growing quickly and, while he would never consider forcing them into anything like an arranged marriage, that didnt mean Vahn couldnt stack the deck. Vahn feared what would happen if they ventured out into the world only to find that even the most powerful amongst humanity paled inparison to their own strength. Most of the people that vie for their affection would be doing so with malicious intention so, if they found someone amongst the people he summoned, he could avoid interference from outside parties as much as possible... With this in mind, Vahn had secretly invested a bit of his free time looking into the pasts of various heroes and, when the time came, he intended to summon a few to set an example for the younger generations to follow. If they assumed new identities and distinguished themselves among those of a simr age group, Vahn felt the young Heroic Spirits would be able to guide future generations in a way adults simply couldnt emte... --- After finalizing a few details amongst the members of his Court, it didnt take long for Vahn to find himself within the Welsh Dragons chamber, a ce he was bing intimately familiar with as ofte. This time around, he had the usual entourage of Artoria, Gray, Merlin, and Da Vinci but, making a special exception, he had allowed Aoko, Arcueid, and Ciel to enter the chamber. Each of the three girls had some form of natural resistance against the Welsh Dragons Curse but, with the presence of Vahn and Merlin, this wasnt really necessary. As for why he had allowed them to enter the most secure region of Avalon, well, it wasrgely to grant Arcueid closure and Ciel some relief. The moment the two women met each other, a very solemn atmosphere spread between them and, taking even longer than the Court proceedings, Vahns entry into the Welsh Dragons Chamber had been dyed by the necessary rification of a few things for Arcueids benefit... Needless to say, Arcueid was a little shaken to know that the first person she ever loved was about to be revived; literally days after she dedicated herself to another. Though she had long given up on pursuing him, the memories of their time together were something she had cherished, even during her self-imposed istion... Despite all of this, Arcueid didnt regret her decision as, no matter how much she loved Shiki, only tragedy awaited them. His Mystic Eyes of Death Perception had been slowly driving him crazy and, even if she extended his life by turning him into a Dead Apostle, the corruption of Vampiric Impulse would have resulted in the creation of a monster. She didnt want to have to kill him after being the one to prolong his life so, when the opportunity had presented itself, Arcueid abandoned her first love and sealed herself away once again. It was Vahn that finally diverted the flow of fate, pulling her free from the endless stream of eternity that persistently threatened to drown her in its ruthless currents. He not only liberated her from the loneliness that had gued her for centuries but, in the course of a single day, changed her fate in a way she never thought possible. Now, she wasnt even a True Ancestor anymore; her craving for the blood of others a distant memory, one she hoped to forgetpletely in due time. Arcueid had so much appreciation for everything that Vahn had done that she didnt even know how to put it into words. His existence was akin to a person that had awakened someone from an endless nightmare, one which they had no hopes of freeing themselves from. He reced the darkness, pain, and loneliness that had embodied her existence with hope, warmth, and arge number of people who, in a short period of time, showed her greater sincerity than she could have imagined. He even taught her what it meant to be a woman, something she had always feared but, deep down inside, craved... Now, as she watched Vahn stand in the middle of an incrediblyplex magic circle, Arcueid stood with her hands together; a sincere prayer for everyones happiness emerging from the bottom of her heart. At her side, Ciel was on tenterhooks in anticipation while, opposite the blue-haired zealot, the red-haired Aoko stood with a thoughtful expression on her face. This was a significant moment for all of them, albeit for entirely different reasons. Then, with considerably less ir than expected, the light around Vahn increased in intensity before a familiar, one which ovepped perfectly with each of their memories...popped out of thin air... --- After entering into the Throne of Heroes and isting Shikis name, Vahn wasnt surprised to find that the man formerly known as Death qualified for the Assasin, Faker, Lily, and Alter Ego sses. Shiki was known to use a series of small knives and daggers as his primary weapon so it would have been a little strange to find a Saber or Lancer version of him within the current time axis. Unfortunately, due to him having died from natural causes, granting Shiki the [Transmigrator] perk and resummoning the original was a little difficult. While it wasnt much different than what he had done in the past, Vahn had seen some of the seque following Shikis death, including the fact that Ciel had one of his eyes transnted into her own with an exceptionally powerful seal. The simple fact of the matter was that Shikis death was too close to the current time axis as, in the case of Heroic Spirits like Mordred, there was always some variance involved with the legacy. It was much easier to make changes within time periods that were closer to the Age of Gods as even ya had tweaked things to a considerable extent. Now, however, Vahns presence served to stabilize the present so any small changes to recent events could have a drastic impact on the present moment... Unsurprisingly, Vahn found that the [Transmigrator] perk itself, at least for his timelines Shiki, wasnt even avable. This was an important discovery as it meant the summoning of enemies and recently deceased allies, while not impossible, couldnt be achieved as easily as hypothesized. Rather, in order to transnt a person into his current sphere of influence, rtive to the time axis, Vahn would need to prepare a vessel for them to inhabit, simr to Iris. Vahn was once again reminded that his understanding of the Throne of Heroes was still shallow. He really needed to review the data that Da Vinci had been able to extrapte from the information he had provided. The Throne of Heroes was one of the Empires most powerful resources and, more so than almost anything else, he would need to understand it if he wanted to avoid tragedy. After making a mental note to discuss his conjecture with Da Vinciter on, Vahn took a few deep breaths before his body, simr to how a cell would divide, split into two. Then, using the memories of the waiting girls, Vahn reproduced the twenty-year-old version of Shiki. The most familiar version of him would have been his sixteen-year-old self but, in order to make things easier for Arcueid, this was the simpler solution. It would also be easier for the matured spirit of Shiki to inhabit a body that was a little closer to his actual age; all while avoiding the awkward scenario of returning the twenty-eight-year-old version of himself to the perpetually sixteen-year-old Ciels side... Once everything was prepared, Vahn breathed out a tired sigh as he had the distinct impression that Shikis presence would invite a fair amount of drama. Vahn didnt know what had happened to all of his formerpanions and harem potentiates but, with the reemergence of the young Hero, it was only a matter of time before they converged once again. After all, for reasons he would undoubtedly learn in the near future, every one of Shikis love interests had some form of immortality. Since he wasnt going to go back on his word, Vahn finalized his selection, transnting the Ego of the original Shiki into the vessel he had prepared. This would undoubtedly be a jarring experience for the former protagonist as, prior to his death, Vahn knew he had shared a pretty emotional scene with his entourage. He couldnt really imagine what it would be like to believe you are dying, only to find yourself transnted several years into the future, all while your body regressed in age... As this peculiar thought was going through his mind, Vahn found himself back in the real world, the body of Shiki already floating in front of him. He had, fortunately, prepared clothes for the young man as, despite having been told to stay out of the summoning circle, Ciel tackled the man out of the air at the very instant his eyes opened. This caused Vahn to shake his head but, seeing the blue-haired loudly wailing in the very confused Shikis arms, he decided not to mind it too much... (A/N: Alternate Titles: At this point, Id say Vahn is a confirmed schemer,Wibbly wobbly, timey whimey bullshit,I kind of feel bad for Shiki xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1347 - Ripples

Chapter 1347 - Ripples

Having given in to despair, to the point she ced herself under a semi-permanent state of hypnosis, Ciel was, as could be expected, an emotional wreck upon seeing her former lover, no back from the dead. In a manner reminiscent to Illya from the previous evening, years of pain and anguish could be heard in her strained voice; tears pouring from her eyes without any signs of stopping. Shiki was more than a little confused with everything that was happening but, while he had a lot of questions, the crying girl in his arms took precedence. He waspelled to hold her close as he gently stroked her back, coaxing her with soft words in a futile attempt to stop the endless stream of tears staining clothes he didnt remember wearing. Rather, everything about the present didnt make any sense to him as, standing behind a rather intense looking man, two people he almost convinced himself were illusions stood observing him... Seeing Shiki only spare him a momentary nce, followed by him staring toward Arcueid and Aoko in abject disbelief, Vahn was tempted to release a light chuckle. Ciels current state made this nigh-impossible, however, so he settled on turning toward the waiting duo, saying, "Take these two to the surface. Im certain you all have a lot to talk about. When youre finished, make sure he gets to sleep so that the memory link can activate properly." Hearing Vahns words, Arcueid was broken from her momentary daze, albeit much slower than Aoko who, like a phantom, appeared standing over Shiki and the crying Ciel. She had a sly grin on her face as she looked down at the confused man, musing, "You have a lot of gall to make a woman cry for you. Come, let Sensei give you a loooong talk about the meaning of propriety~". Without waiting for Shikis response, Aoko pulled Ciel off of him by the scruff of her outfit before dragging the confused man by his leg across the hard stone floor. It was only at this point that he gained enough wherewithal to muster up an actual response, followed by him eximing, "Aoko-nee, is that really you!? Please, let me go, I can walk on my own...!" Ignoring Shikis cries, Aoko continued to drag him, even after reaching the stairs that led to the surface. Then, only after her figured disappeared behind the bend, did she shout out, "Are you waiting for some kind of invitation, Princess!?" This brought Arcueid back to her senses and, after giving a polite bow, she too alighted from the Welsh Dragons Chamber... Seeing the curious group depart, Vahn had a slight smile on his face as he shook his head and muttered, "I should take better care of Bell the next time we meet...". Without mulling over the thought for too long, Vahn turned his attention back to the summoning circle, now powered almost indefinitely as a result of a Spiritron-Link that tethered the formation itself to Maxwells residence. Now, he didnt even have to trouble the solitary Conceptual Entity who, if left to his own devices, spent most of his time just idling about within his manors garden... --- Finding himself in the familiar void, Vahn wasted little time in approaching the Thrones terminal to check the Parameters, Skills, Noble Phantasms, and other aspects of the people he intended to summon. This time around, he wasnt going to let Merlin pull a fast one on him so, after searching up the name suggested by the flowery Magus, Vahn couldnt help but snort through his nose. Seeing confirmation of his suspicions, Vahn internally retorted, ("Well, at least everyone else is the proper gender. The real question is whether or not Nero has an appearance simr to Artoria...it really wouldnt surprise me, knowing that clown...") At this point, Vahn was absolutely certain that Merlin was messing with, not just him, but Artoria herself. Though it was all but certain that Nero had some tragic and endearing past, especially with how they were presented in history, Vahn had misgivings about summoning other Emperors. While she would undoubtedly make a great ruler, as Nero had been an Emperor beloved by their people, Vahn wasnt really trying to find people to govern humanity... Fortunately, Nero qualified for nearly every Servant ss, the only exceptions being Foreigner and Moon Cancer. She also had an exceptionally powerful Skill, [Imperial Privilege: EX], even in her Lily form. This Skill allowed her to effectively ignore other Skill requirements and, by virtue of nothing more than their own insistence, make use of virtually any other ability, even those derived from Divinity. It was a pretty ridiculous Skill, even eclipsing Scthachs [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground], albeit for a very limited period of time. Such a powerful Skill obviously came with strict requirements and, the more it was used, the greater the strain on the body. Still, so long as theycked the means topletely overwhelm her with something like a Noble Phantasm, Nero could effectively fight with the same degree of mastery as any opponent, instantly. This was a truly enviable Skill to possess and, with both Nero and Ozymandius possessing a version unique to themselves, Vahn intended to study it a bit; after all, he too was an Emperor... Since it was all but guaranteed that Nero would cause a bit of a scene, Vahn decided to put off her summoning until the very end. For now, he would get the easier summons out of the way, starting off with the eponymous Knight of the Round Table, Bedivere. He was one of Artorias closest allies in life and, if not for his presence, the Round Table itself wouldnt exist. For this reason, he was the undisputed first member of the Round Table, even ifcking the strength and prestige ofter members, chiefly Lancelot and Gawain. Having already checked the attributes of every Knight of the Round Table during his previous visits, Vahn didnt spend too much time perusing Bediveres data. The purpose behind him being summoned wasnt to serve as reservebat force but, just as he had in his life, Bedivere would now be Castle Steward within the Ivory Castle. It was a role they had yet to fill and, having already decided to summon all of the Knight of the Round Table, Vahn felt it was only fair to start with those closest to Artoria. After confirming his selection, Vahn found himself back in the real world as the pure ether from the summoning circle began to coalesce into a figure. Before it fully formed, he gave a knowing look toward Merlin, eliciting a smile from the whimsical man who, even withoutughing, caused Vahn to imagine he was. Thus, as Bedivere formed before him, Vahn interrupted the atmosphere by saying, "Artoria, you should ask Merlin about Neros appearance. Im certain it is a topic you will find intriguing..." Though he had been enjoying himself previously, Merlins face paled when Vahn unhesitantly tossed him into the deep end. He could feel the temperature drop at his side, finding Artoria was staring at him with a smile that didnt quite reach her eyes. She didnt need a detailed exnation to know what Vahn was alluding to as there were very few things appearance-rted that had any significance to her. In an attempt to deescte the situation, Merlin gestured in a cating manner as he said, "Now, now, there is no need for such hostility. We all agreed that Nero was a suitable-" Before Merlin coulde up with an excuse, Artoria cut him off by asking in a cold tone, "Remind me, Merlin, who was it to suggest Nero as a candidate? Who pointed out how fervently they cared for their people? My memory seems to have failed me...please, help me to remember..." Fortunately, sparing Merlin the continued ire of Artoria, Bedivere had fully formed, attired in full battle raiment that matched the style of other members of the Round Table. What set him apart from them were his features which, rather than handsome, could be called beautiful as a result of his fair skin, angr face, leaf-green eyes, and pale-blond hair. In fact, perhaps as a result of his adtion of Artoria, Bedivere wore his hair in nearly the exact same manner,plete with a neat braided bun at the back of his head. Seeing the somewhat familiar surroundings,bined with the presence of two very familiar people, Bedivere was at a momentary loss. His first instinct had been to bend to approach his King and express his relief that they were still alive but, before his feet could move, Bediveres eyes were drawn to his Kings attire. Though this choice of garb alone didnt necessarily prove anything, there were a few noticeable aspects of the person in question that made it apparent they were anything but a King... Since she was sensitive to the gazes of others, Artoria immediately turned her attention away from Merlin, her usual regal aura radiating out like the gentle rays of the sun. Then, causing Bedivere to question how they could have been so foolish, Artoria calmly stated, "Knight Bedivere, it is good to see you once again. You undoubtedly have many questions, all of which will be answered. For now, it is enough to know that I have always been female. Please, forgive me for keeping this from you..." Though some people may consider it improper, Artoria had always treated her Knights of the Round Table as equals. She had no qualms about lowering her head if it was to apologize, much to the perturbance of those most loyal to her. As Bedivere fit this designation perfectly, he wasted no time in bowing even lower than Artoria, dropping straight to his knees as he eximed, "My King, please, do not lower your head to someone such as I. I...there are so...so many things I must apologize for. Your Majestys words are like daggers that pierce me deeply...please, spare me this anguish...!" Toward the end of his outburst, Bedivere had actually started to shed tears as, in his mind, having died after Artoria had been his greatest failure. History had not recorded it but, in the wake of his Kings fall at the Battle of Cann, Bedivere had watched over what he believed to be Artorias corpse. For nearly three full weeks, he had not moved from his final post yet, instead of the death he believed he deserved; the darkness iming his vision gave way to the present moment, one where his King was alive and well, regardless of their gender. Even Artoria felt taken aback by Bediveres behavior as he seemed distinctly different from the loyal Steward she had known much of her life. Fortunately, Vahn had been present from the very beginning so, while recuperating his mental energy a bit for future summons, he made a small exception, taking it upon himself to exin things to the distressed Knight. Then, as could be expected of someone who cried upon seeing their former Liege once again, Bedivere readily pledged his loyalty to the Empire... --- While one drama was ying within the cavernous Welsh Dragons Chamber, another had been taking ce back on the surface. Here, after being pulled inside the Projection and taken into the Marble Phantasm of Arcueid, Shiki was brought up to speed on everything, his death included. This, however, wasnt a matter of importance to the mystic eyed man as, after being separated for more than a decade, Shiki was eager to know where Aoko and Arcueid had been. From them, he learned about many troubling topics, including the fact that they had both be the women of the man who had summoned him, the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lamentation of the broken-hearted,Caught red-handed,Imagineing back to life only to discover that two of your first crushes have been imed by another man...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1348 - Acquiescence of the God-King

Chapter 1348 - Acquiescence of the God-King

Since being too expressive might leave a strange impression on the people he was summoning, Vahn waited until he returned to the Throne of Heroes before releasing an exasperated sigh. From Bediveres own ounts of events, it turned out that the man had basically starved himself after the presumed death of Artoria, fully intent on following his Liege in death. While this was a credit to his loyalty, it was inarguably a bit extreme... Deciding there no was no sense in worry about such things at the present moment, Vahn made his way over the Thrones terminal before quickly keying in the next name: Altera, the True Name of the one known as Att the Hun. It was a given that personalities like Ozymandias, Iskandar, and Nero would be a little difficult to deal with so, for the moment, Vahn wasnt in any hurry to summon them. As for Lancelot, well, he had just summoned Bedivere and it might trigger the emotional Knight if he met one of the instruments that led to Artorias demise so soon after calming down. With these things in mind, Vahn only hesitated for a brief moment before summoning Altera as a Saber ss Heroic Spirit. In the next moment, he found himself standing in the Welsh Dragons Chamber as a thin, almost emaciated, woman manifested in front of him. She was around 160cm in height and, rather than olive-brown skin, it had a distinctly ashen quality to it as a Heroic Spirit. At the same time, her garb was even more revealing than what had been revealed by ya; consisting of paper-thin ck and white fabric that would hardly qualify as a swimsuit, much less battle attire... What stood out the most with Altera, other than the strange tri-colored sword in her left hand, was the fact that she wore what appeared to be a bridal veil. It was simr in coloration to her grey-white hair and, much like her body, had a runic tribal pattern present on the surface. If he peered between the forelocks of her hair, which had been cut somewhat haphazardly, a peculiar tri-colored gem was barely visible; seated above cold and detached red eyes... As she hadnt been given the [Transmigrator] perk, Alteras memories and knowledge were entirelyprised of the information provided to her by the Summoning System and her various Legends. Thus, unlike Bedivere, who had been an emotional wreck upon being summoned, Altera was scarily calm as she stared directly back at him, saying, "You are my Master...I am Altera. For what purpose have you called upon me? What enemy must I destroy?" Hearing Alteras questions, Vahn was getting some distinctly Okita-like vibes as, from what he could tell, she had little to no emotions. Even the aura surrounding her was an inert dull grey, bordering on white; much like her hair. She seemed to only care about the purpose she had been called for but, at the very least, Vahn could see something else contained within her wine-red eyes. There was a small amount of curiosity visible within; a desire to know and experience new things. Seeing this, Vahn had a slight smile on his face as, in response to her questions, he answered, "I am, indeed, your Master. My official title is Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. You may refer to me as Vahn or, if it suits your inclination, Master. As for your purpose...you will be tasked to protect one of the Empires Supercolonies during its construction. Before that, and following the construction, you may live however you please. If there is anything you desire in exchange for your service, please, let me know. So long as it is within my power, I will do my best to grant what it is you desire." While Vahn had been speaking, Altera had continued to stare nkly back at him, her eyes never even twitching to indicate she might blink at some point. When he was finally done, what followed was a simple nod of acknowledgment and a request Vahn hadnt quite expected. In fact, the smile on his face became strained as, without any hesitation whatsoever, Altera stated, "I desire theplete destruction of all civilization." Though Vahn liked to think he could grant most wishes, if given enough time, Alteras request was, obviously, a little difficult to fulfill. It was actually pretty easy to grant, in the grand scheme of things, but that was pretty much the opposite of his intentions. He didnt want to lie to her, however, so he calmly exined, "While it is possible for me to destroy civilization, I believe your desire is not well thought out. Im certain you have your reasons; in fact, I have also seen how terrible civilization can be when left to fester and stagnate. What were trying to aplish is the correction of the pasts mistakes. For now, please bear witness to the future we wish to create and, if you cannote up with a different wish, I will do my best to facilitate your desires..." Without a single facial tick, or any other signs ofplex emotion, Altera simply nodded her head in response before muttering, "Good civilization...a difficult task. If that is what you desire, I will do my best to fulfill my role. My expertise is war and conquest. Use me as you will, Master, so that I may see the future you envision for myself." This time, Vahn answered with a nod of his own before gesturing to where Artoria, Gray, Da Vinci, Merlin, and Bedivere were standing, exining, "These are ourpanions, our trusted allies. The beautiful woman with golden hair is my wife and Empress, Artoria Aldrnari Pendragon. Other than myself, her orders are something you should regard as the highest priority. Your actual duties will be exined in greater detailter. For now, listen to what she has to say and, once we return to the surface, I encourage you to get some sleep." Hearing her Masters orders, Altera gave a curt nod before raising her tri-colored sword of light and, somewhat surprisingly, stabbing it into her chest. This caused a brilliant sh throughout the Welsh Dragons Chamber before fading away to reveal that, with the disappearance of her sword, a band of green, red, and blue metal had appeared between her pert breasts. Then, in a strangely mechanical yet graceful manner, Altera walked over to where the rest were standing, her veil trailing behind her in a peculiar manner as there was no wind present to disturb it. It was fortunate that Altera had been selected to protect the South American Supercolony as, along with its North American counterpart, they would be thest two to be constructed. This would give her a few years, projection-time, to socialize with the others. Hopefully, she would be a stabler existence by then but, even if that couldnt be achieved, it wouldnt be difficult to find a recement in that amount of time. Rather, with her personality, Vahn had a strong suspicion that Altera would soon be a member of his entourage if he didnt find something for her tomit to... Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Vahn activated the Summoning System for the fourth time, a dull pain beginning to make its presence known within his mind. Alteras summoning had a bigger impact than normal but, with only this much, Vahn could still summon the remaining three people without too much trouble. At the very least, he would need to summon Iskandar and Ozymandias as they were both necessary for the implementation of the next phase of his ns. With this in mind, Vahn bit the bullet and decided to go ahead and summon Ozymandias, his former enemy. Though the somewhat arrogant and haughty God-King would be difficult to deal with, there were a number of ways in which he could be controlled, even without the use of Command Spells. To this end, Vahn summoned the proud Pharoah, watching silently as the man who shared a number of simrities with himself manifested into existence... Wearing an attire consisting of a sleeveless ck undergarment, resplendent golden armor, and a pair of ornate gauntlets set with various Egyptian icons. He radiated the presence of a King and, after opening his sun-like eyes, the entire Welsh Dragons Chamber seemed to illuminate slightly. Seeing this, Vahn let his own aura flow out, almost by instinct, causing the two auras to sh as he stared back at the so-called God-King, ultimately forcing back thetters aura. Feeling himself being suppressed, Ozymandias was more than a little surprised but, rather than show any fear, he smiled in amusement as he said, "To think, a worthy King actually exists in this era. Pray tell, are you the child of one of my descendants? Based on appearances alone, it is apparent that you have benefitted from my gics." Hearing Ozymandias remark, Vahn nearlyughed out loud but, deciding it was better to get to the point, he exined, "I am the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. I have called upon you, legendary King of Kings, to serve the Empire and protect one of its territories. In exchange, I will return to you a body of flesh and blood, your Queen, and your homnd. What say you, Ozymandias?" Though it was obvious from the subtle shift in his aura that Ozymandias was greatly affected by the offer, he actually showed no discernible change in demeanor. This was something rtivelymon amongst capable rulers but, with his senses, Vahn could see through the facade with ease. To further tempt Ozymandias into willing servitude, he made an impromptu change to his ns, offering, "As an expression of sincerity, I can summon your bride here and now; not as a Heroic Spirit, but the very same woman you parted with millennia ago." Ozymandias expression still didnt reveal his actions emotions but, with a somewhat serious glint to his eyes, he answered, "If what you say is true, I will recognize you as my true Master. Return my wife to me, unchanged, and my power, everything that I am, will be yours tomand." With Ozymandias providing the answer he wanted to hear, Vahn gave a curt nod before looking back at Artoria to find her repeating the gesture. This exchange wasnt missed by the sun-eyed man but, before he even had time to think about it, the magical formation at his feet began to produce what appeared to be liquid formed from pure ether. Then, coalescing in just a few short seconds, a very familiar figure appeared, exactly as he remembered her... Vahn was curious about the famous Nefertari, rumored to be one of the most beautiful women throughout history. What he saw was a young woman with olive-brown skin,pletely without blemishes. She had a distinctly innocent and maidenly appearance, radiating an aura of gentleness andpassion that was entuated by her delicate features and petite frame. In fact, she was only 148cm in height and, based on her aura itself, Vahn estimated her age to be around thirteen years of age, despite it also feeling older at the same time... As someone who had a few decided young-looking women himself, Vahn wasnt going to question the preferences of Ozymandias. He knew the two had married when he was only fifteen years of age and, while he appeared to be in histe-twenties now, his true age could be measured in the triple digits. As for Nefertari herself, Vahn felt there was something off about her but, without touching her directly or applying his Blessing to her body, it would be impossible to know for certain. Vahn knew what he was sensing had to be rted to one of Nefertaris Innates but, not wanting to offend Ozymandias, he chose to let the mattery. Putting his hands on another mans wife wasnt something he was willing to do and, while Nefertari certainly seemed odd, there wasnt even a single strand of negative energy anywhere in her aura...rather, it was like a much weaker version of Spentas and Auras... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Crybaby Bedivere,Gacha is bad civilization...,How to train your God-King) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1349 - Character

Chapter 1349 - Character

After a rather emotional embrace, followed by a few words shared between themselves in private, Ozymandias turned to Vahn with a serious expression as he said, "You are a man of your word. Ill remember this favor and endeavor to show it through my actions. So long as it does not tarnish my dignity as a King, I will dutifully serve your Empire, my Master..." Though Ozymandias expression of submission only involved him slightly lowering his head, Vahn knew even this was a considerablepromise for the prideful King. This brought a smile to face, especially when Nefertari, following her husbands example, bowed at a steep angle as she stated, "I may not have any value in battle but I will do my best to be of service..." Seeing the opportunity to ingratiate Ozymandias to himself even further, Vahn gestured for them both to raise their heads as he inly stated, "You wille to learn of my nature in the near future. For now, know that I have no intention of ruling over anyone. Rather, my conquest is to ensure that all peoples, be they God, Spirit, Human, and even beast can live happily. Your duty, Ozymandias, is to ensure that the bastion housing all of these entities is kept safe from internal and external threats. It is not to rule over others, as all Administrative tasks will be handled by systems implemented by the Empire. To that effect, so long as you do not take advantage of others, you and Nefertari will be able to live your lives in peace. With that in mind, you need not consider how to serve the Empire, Queen Nefertari; rather, tending to your husband and focusing on your shared happiness are your only duties." Hearing Vahns words, the Egyptian-duo were at a loss; made apparent by Nefertaris shock and the wavering aura of Ozymandias. Thetter was the one to break the silence, this time bowing ever-so-slightly more than before as he stated, "I will take your words to heart, my Master. This vision you have of the future...I will do my best to make it a reality. I would like to see what form a world where everyone can be happy takes." Following her husbands example, Nefertari crossed her hands over herp, a smile that could only be described as lovely adorning her face as she said, "If those are my only duties, rest assured that I will carry them out to the best of my ability. A world where everyone can be happy...it sounds truly wonderful..." With the pair in high spirits, Vahns were raised quite a bit. Reining in Ozymandias all but guaranteed that the African Supercolony would thrive. The mans Noble Phantasm was one of the more powerful Vahn had personally experienced and, with it, Ozymandias wouldnt even need an army. So long as he had enough magical energy, his Reality Marble could protect the entirety of the Supercolony and, using it, he could produce a nigh-infinite supply of B and A-Rank Phantasmal Species. Each of these were a match for Heroic Spirits of the same grade so, with Maxwells support, Ozymandias would quickly be one of the most powerful assets to the Empire... It was with building excitement that Vahn, after having the married couple stand off to the side, activated the Summoning System once again. The summoning of Nefertari had been unnned but, as she was surprisingly weak, both in Parameters and overall Tier, the strain on his mental energy was almost negligible. He would still be able to summon all of his intended targets but it was a small relief to know that his brain wasnt going to feel like it had melted just from summoning a rtively normal human girl... Without dying the matter any further, Vahn decided to go ahead and get Lancelots summoning out of the way. He was, admittedly, a little curious about the capabilities of the so-called strongest Knight of the Round Table. Artoria admitted that, in pure skill, even she wouldnt be able to rival the legendary Knight of the Lake as his [Eternal Arms Mastery] and the curiously named [A Knight Does Not Die With Empty Hands] made him a monstrousbatant. With these two Skills, he was able to instantly master any weapon he picked up; converting even something as simple as a fishing rod or a in stone into D-Rank Noble Phantasms. While these two Skills were the bread-and-butter of what made Lancelot terrifying, they were only the tip of the icebergpared to his overall capabilities. If not for his legacy of betraying Artoria and losing himself to madness, two things that bothered Vahn more than he would openly admit, he would have been one of the first Heroic Spirits summoned by the Empire... After confirming his selection, Vahn watched with a mask of calm as a surprisingly tall man, standing at 191cm, coalesced into existence. He had dark-purple hair that extended past his shoulders; parted so that it framed a rather handsome, yet solemn, face. As he had been summoned as a Saber ss Heroic Spirit, he was adorned with heavy, ted, full-armor. In his hands, what Vahn assumed to be the legendary [Arondight], a massive greatsword that was vaguely reminiscent of [Excalibur] could be seen glowing with holy light as a result of its Faerie Enchantments... As a Heroic Spirit, Lancelot knew of Vahns identity but, seeing the familiar faces of Bedivere and, most importantly, Artoria, his handsome face morphed into one of pain and visible regret. He may not be the real Lancelot but, with his Legend emphasizing his betrayal to the point it was one of the things he was most known for, the stalwart-looking Knight couldnt help but be wracked with grief. Seeing how much Lancelot was struggling, Vahn felt a rising desire to release a sigh. He couldnt agree with the path Lancelot had walked but, more so than almost anything else, Vahn believed that people could change. This Lancelot may have the memories of his past self but, on a fundamental level, he had done no wrong. Rather, this was the most idyllic form of an opportunity he could ever hope for at redemption so, without beating around the bush, Vahn stated, "Before anything else, I will tell you directly, Sir Lancelot, that this is your opportunity to prove your loyalty to the world. The past has no relevance to the present moment...the only things that matter are the decisions you will make going forward. Consider this a second chance at life, one where you can assume an entirely new identity, if that is what you desire..." Hearing his Masters words, Lancelot raised his head to make eye-contact with the man who had summoned him. The situation made it clear who was in charge and, based on the fact his King was wearing a gown, certain conclusions could be reached. This made his words carry a certain weight but, even recognizing Vahn as his Master couldnt overwrite the loyalty and guilt he felt toward his former King. Fortunately, just as Lancelot began to struggle, it was Artoria who stated in an authoritative yet calm tone, "Sir Lancelot, raise your head and face your Emperor with the dignity expected of a Knight. This is not the past, nor will things ever return to how they were. Now, we must move forward to create a better world, not just a meager Kingdom. Your power will allow hundreds-of-millions to live in peace. Do not let the burdens of your past prevent you from making a better future, one for yourself and all the people who believe in you!" Causing Vahns smile to turn awry, Lancelot seemed far more affected by Artorias words than his own. In fact, he almost immediately dropped to a knee, tears building in his eyes as he eximed, "I will not fail you! I swear it, on everything I am...everything I aspired to be...!" Though Lancelot was presenting his sword to him, Vahn was certain that the Knight in question had been speaking to Artoria as he made his pledge. Despite this, he epted [Arondight], finding its weight to be rather pleasant but, determined to make his [L?vateinn] a sword of even higher quality, Vahn didnt mull over the swords make for very long. Instead, he used it to tap both of Lancelots shoulders, effectively Knighting the man, this time as a Knight of the Emperor, not the Round Table... --- With Artoria, Merlin, and Bedivere helping catch Lancelot up to current events, Vahn took a moment to rest before ultimately activating the Throne once again. He only had Iskandar and Nero remaining so, after tweaking a few settings, Vahn confirmed the summoning of Iskandar, recognized through the Throne of Heroes as Alexander while in his Lily form. What appeared before him was a spirited-looking youth with short vermillion hair that was tied into a neat braid. He stood at only 151cm tall but, despite his rather thin frame, power and vitality seemed to radiate off the youth as he, with a smile on his face and fire in his ruby-red eyes, stared back at Vahn. Seeing the boy dressed in ceremonial battle attire,plete with a sleeveless top, battle skirt, ornate sandals, and a red battledress adorned with gold, Vahn was tempted to nod in appreciation. He was quite taken with Alexanders attire and, though some aspects were a little strange to behold, such as the small tufts of fur adorning the bands of gold around his arms; he managed to pull it off due to his boyish looks, derived from a perfect blend between handsomeness and beauty. Seemingly without even a fraction of fear or hesitation, Alexander was the first to break the moment of silence, smiling radiantly as he said, "I never thought a day woulde where I was met with such a curious turn of events. To think I would have the opportunity to begin my journey anew...ah, this is the beauty of life, is it not? Ahahahaha~" Hearing the zest within Alexanders tone, Vahns smile increased marginally but, in much the same way as Nobunaga, it didnt seem his young protege was entirely content with the current status quo. Rather, partway through hisugh, he suddenly lunged towards Vahn with an ornate Macedonian shortsword in hand, clearly aiming for a lethal blow in spite of the youthful and easygoing smile on his face. Though it wouldnt have made much of a difference, being in the Welsh Dragons Chamber made it all but impossible to use ones full power. As a result, Alexander was surprised to find that his sword, without Vahn even needing to block it, rebounded on contact. Instead of piercing thetters neck, his own hand began to bleed slightly, almost as if he had struck against apletely indestructible object. With Alexander only having C-Rank Strength, his basic attacks had no hope of piercing Vahns base resistances. This was something he was well aware of so, even when Alexander lunged toward him, he allowed the des tip to impact powerlessly against his throat. Then, as the youth took a few steps back, clearly expecting a counterattack, Vahn rubbed the impacted area, musing, "Not bad at all. It would seem the tales of your prodigious talent werent exaggerated...unfortunately, my own exceed even that. Now, I trust you are satisfied...?" Still without a single sign of fear in his gaze, Alexanders boyishugh sounded in response to Vahns question. He wiped the blood from his palm against the side of his waistcloth, not minding the stain in the slightest as he answered, "Well, it seems you arentpletely helpless. I thought you might have summoned me like this because you were afraid of my adult self. I guess Ill have to obey your orders and determine for myself whether or not you deserve to be my Master. Now, tell me, what is it you called me here for? Judging by those beauties standing in the back, Im guessing you didnt call me here for my boyish good looks and tender body...right?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ha! Gottem...!,So many crybabies in the Knights of the Round Table...,An Emperor always goes at their own pace...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1350 - Bear Witness

Chapter 1350 - Bear Witness

Having heard Alexanders remark, Vahn was at a momentary loss as, from a certain perspective, it wasnt far from the truth. Fortunately, this didnt show on his face so, without missing a beat, Vahn released a chuckle of his own before exining, "I called you here for two reasons, each uniquely important to the world, and Empire, atrge. Your first will be defending the Oceanic Supercolony, a massive settlement that will host more than a hundred million residents of various different species. As for your second task, I have chosen you to serve as one of the representatives of theing generations. The youth will need someone to rally behind and, with your charisma and capabilities, you will set the example for billions to follow." In response to Vahns rather bold ims, Alexander raised his brows slightly, disbelief apparent on his face as he mused, "Wow, you must be quite the character to throw around words like that. Well, I guess Ill find out for myself whether or not youre speaking the truth. Now, as much as Id like to be some idol for the next generation of brats, what am I to expect in exchange for ying my part? You cant expect me to do all of these things for you withoutpensation, eh, Your Majesty?" Since he had already expected Alexander to ask about his reward, Vahn was already prepared with a preliminary offer. He had learned from Artoria that the wish of the original Iskandar was to obtain a new body, one that rivaled his original self in power. Using it, he intended to start his conquest over from the beginning, building an Empire that would span from the western coasts, meaning Europe, all the way to Oceanus, the modern-day East China Sea. This was one of the reasons Vahn had decided to charge Alexander with the defense of Oceania as it was fulfilling one of his life-long dreams. As for the rest of his reward, Vahn offered, "Once all seven Supercolonies have been constructed, you will be provided with a body of flesh and blood. Though I cannot allow you to freely move about conqueringnds, Im certain the alternative is something that will make your blood boil..." Hearing Vahns baiting tone, Alexander crossed his arms with a slightly intrigued smile on his face as he asked, "Oh? Consider my curiosity piqued, Your Majesty. Tell me, what could possibly make these restless bones of mine contended if not the thrill of conquest?" Seeing that Alexander was willing to y along, Vahns smile curled up at the edges as he exined, "I want you to be a Fleet Commander in the Interster Armada I n to build. Though you will undoubtedly enjoy exploring the Earth, Im certain you will find greater purpose in exploring stars ands, ce humans have dreamed about visiting since they first looked up at the night sky..." Even before he had finished his words, Vahn could tell he had hooked Alexanderpletely as the young Heros eyes had started to burn with the fires of passion. Unlike other rulers, he didnt even try to hide his enthusiasm and, after a moment of uproariousughter, he adopted a visage simr to a General ready to lead his final charge, eximing, "You really know how to entice people, dont you!? Well, you can count me in, Your Majesty! However, I demand the right to be the first man to venture forth to other worlds! I wont allow another to take the opportunity from me!" Since Nobunaga didnt particrly care about being the first, Vahn had no qualms about nodding his head and readily agreeing to Alexanders demand. One of the mans greatest ambitions had been to see the ocean so, with the temptation of an entire ocean of stars calling out to him, there was no way he could refuse. Rather, now that Vahn had nted the idea in his mind, Alexander would do everything in his power to extend his reach to the stars, nay, even further beyond... --- With the young Emperor convinced, Vahn had him stand at the side with everyone else, albeit after making quick introductions. This resulted in Alexander teasing Artoria and Da Vinci a bit but, upon learning that thetter would be responsible for making his new dream a reality, he changed tune almost immediately. As for Merlin, Att, Lancelot, and Bedivere, he didnt particrly care about the three men; even if Merlin gave him a dangerous vibe. Rather, upon learning that Att was another Conqueror, he seemed to view her in a new light, immediately challenging her to a duel as the King of Conquerors... Fortunately, before Att could ept, Artoria nipped the idea in the bud, saying there would be plenty of time for such contestster on. To prevent Alexander from arguing, she even challenged him directly, goading the young Emperor by inly stating there were many people in the Empire that were stronger than him. This seemed to excite Alexander quite a bit so, at least for the time being, he was willing to behave as Vahn summoned the final member of the current batch, Nero; yet another Emperor. --- After entering the Throne for the eighth time in a single setting, Vahn spent a moment to massage his temples. Then, dragging his feet over to the familiar terminal, he began adjusting the columns until they reflected Neros information. Here, he had a pretty big decision to make as, if he really wanted to, Vahn could undoubtedly find a male version of Nero from a different timeline. He also had a lot of options in regard to their Parameters, Skills, and other abilities due to the fact that Nero qualified for nearly every Servant ss, including Ruler. ss selection wasnt all that important if he used the [Transmigrator] perk but, as a Heroic Spirit, it literally determined what the summoned was capable of. Though he could summon the actual Nero, liberating her from the rather tragic fate known to History, every recent Servant he summoned had been as a Heroic Spirit. If he made an exception for her, it could easily be misconstrued as favoritism, both by other residents and Nero herself... Feeling that he was stressing over something that wasnt actually an issue, Vahn ultimately shook his head as he selected the Ruler ss, nearly hitting the Lily ss in the process. This caused a snort to escape his nose, scoffing at Fates attempt to pull a Merlin on him. Fortunately, his Dexterity wasnt a wasteful Parameter and, as he always made sure to double and triple-check things after making past mistakes, Vahn was able to confirm his selection without any idents urring. Just like previous instances, Vahn found himself outside immediately after confirming his selection. Then, alongside a deadpan Artoria and a crowd that now excluded Merlin, he watched as the liquid ether quickly formed the shape of a familiar, albeit slightly shorter woman... At precisely 150cm in height, 4cm shorter than even the perpetually fourteen Artoria, Nero could be seen standing with her chest puffed out and arms akimbo. This wasnt an exaggeration, either, as, despite having nearly the exact same facial structure, Neros breasts made Artoriasparable to a washboard in size. In fact, at a nce, they were at least 10cmrger, a quality shared by her hips as, even without seeing her from behind, the bnce of Neros body gave it away... The thing that made these aspects really stand out was the fact that, rather than wearing clothes to hide her figure, Neros seemed designed for the express purpose of showing it off. Not only was her dress cut in a way that showed off an ample amount of cleavage but, if you were to look behind her, a literal window that showed off the line of her back merging into her butt could be seen. To further lend to the incredulity of everyone present, the vast majority of her outfit, besides the actual spots that needed to be hidden, waspletely transparent; giving Nero a distinctly lewd yet artistic style due to the fact that her dress was reminiscent of a wedding gown... As if she knew everyone was looking, Nero had a proud expression on her face as she puffed out her chest a bit more and hummed an Umu before stating, "It is a credit to your intellect that you saw fit to summon this Empress~!" Then, looking back at the peanut gallery, Neros smile only increased in size as she added, "Umu...it would seem you are actually a littlecking? Well, it matters not! Even if my arrival was dyed, the sense to summon me shows you are not beyond salvation, my Master!" Since she had been summoned as a Ruler ss, Nero, by default, already held Vahn in higher regard than a normal Heroic Spirit. Even without this, however, her nature had always been to act without restraint so, while plimenting him, she walked over and, as if to express he had done a good job, began patting him on the shoulder. From there, without waiting for any kind of response, she looked over at Artoria, her emerald-green eyes shing with a curious light as she bypassed Vahn to inspect her doppelganger... Having already expected Nero to be a little difficult to deal with, Vahn followed her departure with his eyes, discovering the window present on her backside. This caused his words to momentarily get caught in his throat but, while it was certainly distracting, there were more important things to consider at the moment. With this in mind, he spoke in a stern yet calm voice, "Nero, do you not have any questions to ask? I summoned you-" Literally waving away Vahns words with her hand, Nero partially turned around, staring over her shoulder with a confident expression on her face as she stated, "Your reason for summoning me is unimportant, my Master. Umu, all that matters is that I am here now. Everything else will fall into ce without suspense. Unless there is a matter that requires my immediate attention, I would like to learn more about this curious world. Umu, for now, busy yourself with admiring my form. There is no shame in appreciating my beauty, you know?" With her words finished, Nero turned back to face Artoria, once again without waiting for an actual response as she brought her hand to her chin and mused, "I see history has done its best to emte my beauty. Umu, it is very well done. If you diet properly and put in a bit of effort, you may approach the level of perfection I have achieved in the future. Umu, never give up...!" Though it didnt show in her expression or demeanor, Vahn could feel Artorias anger begin to boil over as her aura became somewhat wispy and chaotic. Had her former Knights not been present, she would have had some choice words to share with Emperor Nero but, unwilling to lower herself to a petty exchange of barbs, she simply smiled and said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Emperor Nero. I think you for yourpliments but, contrary to your expectations, I am more than satisfied with my current appearance. Now, I believe it is rather inappropriate for someone of your standing to behave in such an uncouth manner. My husband had information to share with you; please cease your rude behavior and listen properly." Rather than refute Artorias words, Nero crossed her arms under her breasts, enting them even more as she nodded her head and issued an affirmative Umu. Then, without sparing another word to Artoria, she turned her back on the mildly-frustrated Empress, allowing the gathered group to bear witness to the window sewn into her gown. Seeing this caused Artoria to deadpan while, at the side, Alexander beganughing uninhibitedly before remarking, "Very nice! Now thats what I call a woman, hahahaha!" Without turning to address Alexanders remark, Nero just puffed out her chest and raised her chin slightly until she, once again, found herself standing in front of Vahn. Then, pulling up the sides of her gown, she performed a wless curtsy and said, "It seems my behavior does not match modern etiquette. Umu, if I offended you in any way, please feel free to administer a punishment you deem appropriate. Youll find that, despite being an Empress, Im quite skilled in all manners, not least of which is the rtions between men and women. As my Master, you have-" This time, it was Vahns turn to interrupt, his hand moving like a blur as he lifted it to bring a stop to Neros rather open propositioning. In response, she just blinked in surprise before adopting a ratherckadaisical stance, standing at a three-quarters angle with one hand on her hip as she remarked, "If you are inexperienced, I can teach you. Umu, fret not, my Master-" With his hand still gesturing for Neros previous silence, Vahns expression became somewhat sharp as he firmly stated, "Enough. I understand you have much to learn about the modern world and its sensibilities. As the one to call you into the present, I will not me you for your behavior thus far. In exchange, I will have you listen properly to the exnation I have prepared for you. I have never had to use a Command Spell before, Nero, do not force my hand..." As Vahn was speaking, Nero remained in the same pose from before, her expression showing no real signs she had even heard him, much less taken him seriously. Despite this, she unhesitantly nodded her head in response to his words, issuing another Umu before standing properly and turning her eyes up at him, seemingly intent to listen. The 35cm difference between their height required Nero to crane her head quite a bit but, realizing she may have offended her new Master, she elected to at least hear him out before expressing her opinion on the matter... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Umu...,Umu, umu?,Umu...!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1351 - Developing Tensions

Chapter 1351 - Developing Tensions

(A/N: I realize I may not have described Neros outfit properly, causing a bit of confusion. Though the final design will be left to your imagination, she isnt wearing her Red Saber outfit. Rather, she is wearing something akin to a translucent wedding-dress with three key parts. The top is a straplessce bodice that hugs her figure, enting her bust due to its deep cut. Instead of wrapping all the way around like a normal bodice, however, there is a gap in the back which, whenbined with her white gown, form a small window. As for the other two majorponents of her attire: the gown is actually the closest thing to the original dress, just imagine it without the red cloth covering it at all. Lastly, in lieu of any kind of armor, she hasce stockings that rise to her thighs. She has nothing covering her neck and shoulders but, starting from her elbows and ring out like a flower near her hands, she hasce sleeves. I may have an artist create a rendition of this in the future but youll have to use your imagination for now~! The sexier it is, the closer you are to the truth...!) --- Having exined much of what he expected from Nero, Vahn had the distinct expression she turned her brain off while others were speaking. Though she seemed to hear what he was saying, it felt like her eyes werent looking directly at him and, throughout the entire exnation, she didnt even blink a single time. It wasnt until he had finishedpletely that she seemed to return to life, movement restored as she dutifully nodded her head and said, "Umu, you are quite the ambitious one. Truly, a man suitable to be my Master. I do have one question though, if I may?" Since the entire purpose of the discussion was to clear things up for her, Vahn nodded his head in approval but, when he actually heard Neros question, the mental fatigue that followed summoning seemed to hit him like a brick wall. It wasnt that she asked something improper, rather, with a mildly curious expression on her face, she cocked her head to the side, asking, "Was this exnation really necessary? Umu, Im certain the Memory Link will rify everything, will it not?" Though it was rarely at the forefront of their mind, all Heroic Spirits summoned through the Throne of Heroes were aware of the existence of the Memory Link. It was part of the information provided to them by the Summoning System itself; alongside knowledge aboutnguage and other modern conventions. Vahn was too used to Heroic Spirits being somewhat disoriented upon their summoning so, hearing Neros question, he couldnt stop himself from releasing a small sigh. To this, Nero herself just smiled radiantly, cing her hands on her hips and saying, "Umu, worry not, my Master, nobody is perfect. Even one that embodies perfection, such as I, am not entirely without w. Umu, umu." Hearing Neros words, Vahn wanted to point out her vocal tick but, feeling it wouldnt really phase her in the slightest, he just gave a small nod before addressing everyone, saying, "Lets return to the surface. I need to recuperate my mental energy but, tomorrow, we will have apetition of sorts to rify matters. Artoria, Alexander, you will wait until then before you go around challenging others. I do not wish to see conflict amongst allies; remember this well, Alexander." Despite the fact that Vahn had singled him out, Alexander just smiled in response without offering anyment on the matter. In his mind, an Emperor was not something that could be restrained so easily and, from what he had observed between Vahn and Nero, it seemed his new Mastercked the qualities of a true Emperor. Alexander wouldnt point this out but, if it turned out that Vahncked the qualifications to rule, it was only a matter of time before someone usurped his power, something that had briefly crossed the minds of both Ozymandias and Nero as well. Though he didnt know what they were thinking, Vahn never expected that dealing with such strong personalities would be easy. Despite this, he wasnt particrly worried they would do anything as, once they better understood his power, they would realize the futility of such action. Their beliefs of how an Emperor should behave had no value in the present as, from the very beginning, Vahn would rather be a deterrent than an actual ruler. Besides, when it came to being selfish and resolute, he had more than the three of thembined; much like hispassion, empathy, and, most importantly, his authority... --- While he had no intention of denying their past titles, Vahn had no intention of bestowing the title of Emperor to any of his summoned Heroes. To make it clear that they wouldnt be getting any kind of special treatment, they were given simr quarters to Gawain and Ghad, at least if they chose to stay within the Ivory Castle. Those that chose to live outside were able to stay in one of the various small yetvish manors that existed, much like Semiramis had in the past. These came with a staff of up to ten Homunculi but, from the very beginning, Vahn made it very clear that they were not to be treated as simple servants. Since he had to consider things on a much grander scale than most could even imagine, Vahn rarely took insults, admonishment, or even assassination attempts against himself to heart. However, if you targetted or mistreated one of the people he wanted to protect, there were very few circumstances that wouldnt end with you losing your life at his hand. This protection extended to the Homunculi that had taken it upon themselves to act as servants, Knights, and even Governesses for his children. If they were mistreated in any way, it didnt matter how useful a person may be to the Empire, Vahn would bring down his unfiltered wrath upon them... Fortunately, his message seemed to get across to even people like Alexander who, for the first time since he had been summoned, lost the smile on his face. Vahns aura had a peculiar calming aspect to it at most times but, when he was warning them not to mistreat, harass, or threaten the citizens and servants of the Empire, this vanished in its entirety. Instead, his aura became unfathomably cold, almost like a void that could swallow up anything without leaving even the smallest trace behind... In the end, Ozymandias and Nefertari took up temporary residence in one of the smaller manors on the south side of the ind. As for Alexander and Nero, they both opted to stay within the castle; the former unhesitantly finding a ce for himself near the Knights Training Field alongside the former members of the Round Table. All he needed to know was that everyone went there to train, making it the obvious ce for someone that reveled in the thrill of battle. The first real issue arose when Nero insisted she be allowed to stay within the Inner Sanctum, her justification being that she was both an Empress and Vahns servant. She refused to stay elsewhere, pointing out the many people that shared simr traits to herself, both in appearance and status. It was iprehensible to her that she be excluded from the Inner Sanctum as, despite evidence to the contrary, she automatically included herself as part of Vahns assortment of women. Since nearly every female he had ever summoned was involved with him, she considered it ridiculous that she be excluded just because she was summonedter. This was, for various reasons, a painful point to make as it emphasized just howcking in discipline and restraint Vahn had been. While it wasnt entirely true, as exceptions such as Spenta and Boudica existed, the former was a perpetual child while thetter probably wouldnt be against the idea. She and Spenta were also allowed to stay within the Inner Sanctum at their leisure, something that had only ever been truly denied to Semiramis; for obvious reasons... Still, it wasnt as if they could just acquiesce to Neros demands so, deciding to take advantage of the womans unwavering confidence and all-consuming ego, Vahn discussed the matter with Artoria and several others within the Inner Sanctum beforeing to apromise. If she was able to impress during theingpetition, Artoria would recognize Neros im as one of Vahns Empresses. It actually made her ufortable to imagine Nero with someone other than Vahn so, after humbling the woman in a duel, she was hoping the haughty Empress would mellow out a bit. With his Empress and Consortsing to an agreement, Vahn informed Nero of the decision while Artoria, followed closely by an entourage of annoyed women, went to seek out Merlin. They knew he must have a reason for insisting that Nero be summoned but, regardless of how he tried to justify it, they wouldnt be pacified until he experienced their frustration. He wasnt the one who had to deal with Nero so, whenever thetter annoyed them, it was all but guaranteed the girls would choose Merlin and Vahn to vent their frustrations, albeit in very different ways... --- After leaving the Inner Sanctum, Vahn, now apanied by Okita, Jeanne, and Gareth, found Nero sitting in the waiting room separating the Inner Sanctum from the rest of the Ivory Castle. She didnt immediately react to their presence as, for reasons unknown, Spenta and several Companions had arrived at some point to keep herpany. The Companions, in particr, werent that much of a surprise to see but, upon noticing the presence of the loveable white-haired girl, Vahn couldnt help but squint his eyes as his mind began specting why she would gravitate toward Nero... Though he knew there had to be some tragedy in Neros past, the way she behaved didnt make it apparent she was all that affected by it. Even her aura didnt appear remotely disturbed, possessing a quality simr to a pure golden sun. This gave off the impression that she was an existence far above the mundane affairs of man, untouchable;cking a single blemish. The presence of Spenta, however, negated this impression entirely as the young girl almost always went to the ce she was most needed. She was even sitting in Nerosp, tightly embracing the woman who, even now, had a confident smile on her face and an undisturbed aura. Her demeanor seemed to convey that she expected to be loved unconditionally so, without knowing exactly what Spenta was, Nero allowed the girl to snuggle up with her; reciprocating in kind... As if only realizing Vahn was present when Spenta looked over, Nero followed the young girls gaze, her smile increasing marginally as she mused, "Umu, I trust you came to an appropriate conclusion. Tell me, my Master, what have you decided? Have youe to your senses~?" Hearing Neros question, Vahn was freed from his contemtion, answering in a calm tone, "It has been decided that you will stay outside the Inner Sanctum until tomorrowspetition. If you are able to prove yourself in battle, the girls will wee you without fuss. For now, a suite has been arranged for you near the Residential Area. If you wish to explore the ind or venture around the castle, there are a number of people who are more than willing to guide you around." Since Spenta was still sitting in herp, Nero was basically trapped on the bench; unable to rise to her feet. Still, she managed the first mildly annoyed expression Vahn had seen on her face, her arms tightening around Spenta marginally as she asked, "Umu...will you show me around, then? Dont tell me you cant even be bothered to escort a woman you haphazardly summoned without asking their consent?" Perhaps realizing she couldnt act with impunity, Neros mood seemed to shift in an instant. Even her aura, which had been zing like a sun, began to shift into a hazy blue as it began to pulse; simr to the beating of a heart. Seeing this sudden change, Vahn was slightly taken aback but, as he had actually intended to be the one to show Nero around; he realized she had misinterpreted his words. Thus, before she could lose her spiritspletely, he hastily exined, "You misunderstand me, Nero. If I didnt intend to help you settle into your room, I would have sent someone else to deliver the message. Afterward, I was going to show you around the castle and introduce you to the various hotspots. Myment about exploring the ind pertained to your options after I return to my other duties. The days and nights within the projection are long so I assumed you might end up wandering around if you got bored..." As if her earlier mood had been nothing more than an illusion, Nero began nodding her head while intoning Umu over and over. Then, hugging Spenta in her arms, she rose to her feet and, with the same confident smile as before, eximed, "Umu, then Ill be in your care, my Master. Please, lead the way; I will follow along without falling behind~" Vahn nodded his head in affirmation to Neros suggestion but, even as he began leading the way, he took note of the fact that the proud Empress continued to carry Spenta along with her... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dont fuck with the things Vahn cares about o_o...,RIP Merlin,Hidden gs and heavy burdens...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1352 - Behind the Curtains

Chapter 1352 - Behind the Curtains

Around the same time that Vahn was showing Nero around the castle, a young man could be found sitting in his bed, a lit cigarette in his mouth as he leaned against the headboard. His eyes glowed an eerie bluish-purple color, a thoughtful expression in his eyes. Next to him, a young woman with blue hair tossed about in her sleep, her right hand clinging to his body; seemingly afraid he would vanish, leaving her alone once again... Seeing Ciel toss and turn about, Shiki released a tired sigh as he gently stroked her head, whispering, "Im still here...its okay...", his voice tinged with care and concern. This caused Ciel to eventually rx her body, a contented smile rece the fretful expression marring her pretty face. With his star-crossed lover sleeping more peacefully, Shiki allowed a small smile to touch his lips; for a brief moment. In truth, his heart was restless while his mind was gued withplex emotions, most notably: helplessness, frustration, and a bittersweet feeling he couldnt quite put into words. He never imagined he would be thrown into this kind of situation, one where he received much but lost even more. It was no secret to the girls that had traveled with him but, long before setting out on his journey, Shiki had wanted to meet with Aoko and Arcueid again. To finally reunite with them after all this time, only to find they had fallen to the clutches of some tyrannical Emperor...he couldnt help but feel as though fate had yed a trick on him. Both girls may attest to the fact that Vahn wasnt an evil person, a sentiment shared by Ciel, but Shiki couldnt ept this after knowing what the so-called Sage Emperor had done to the rest of the world... Unfortunately, despite his efforts to convince the girls they were being manipted, Shiki was met with disappointment as they unanimously told him he was misunderstanding things. Worse still was the fact that Aoko, in particr, told him there was no sense in trying to oppose Vahn. The power he wielded wasnt something that could be resisted and, while the actions he had taken were inarguably extreme; the end result would change the world for the better. The final nail in the coffin, leading Shiki to his current state, was that there wasnt a single line visible on Vahns body. His Mystic Eyes of Death Perception allowed him to actualize the death of all things by striking minuscule lines that existed in virtually everything. Using these lines, he could even break a magically reinforced barrier with something as simple as a chopstick, ignoring any resistances and destroying things sopletely they turned into dust. Throughout his entire life, Shiki had only ever encountered two beings thatcked lines of death, the first being the unsealed Arcueid and the second being Vahn himself. This implied that no matter the circumstances, it was virtually impossible to kill them. Rather, the concept of death itself didnt seem to apply to them; something that, on its own, was a terrifying concept... Fortunately, the mission Vahn had assigned him was rtively simple: the establishment of a task force that specialized in the hunting of immortal creatures; specifically those who fed off the life force of others, viting the Common Law of the Empire. Though this effectively made him a dog of the Empire, Shiki still epted the task as it gave him the opportunity to escape Avalon and regroup with his former allies. They all possessed some form of immortality and, ording to Ciel, some had even returned to reside at his old home, protecting his sister and serving their family. Even if it seemed an impossible task, Shiki was determined to expose Vahns treachery and restore order to the world. He wouldnt allow the so-called Emperor to rule over the with impunity as, no matter his justifications, the methods he used to establish his rule were uneptable. Billions of people would die due to his selfishness so, titudes aside, Vahn was the perpetrator of the most heinous massacre in Earths history. Other tyrants simply couldntpete so, even if he had the best of intentions, Vahns actions disqualified him as a ruler...at least in Shikis mind... --- From within his tower, now reminiscent of a battlefield, Merlin sat observing Shikis, and virtually everyone elses minds. Artoria and the others may have left him with panda eyes and mussed hair but, immediately after their departure, Merlin resumed his usual demeanor as he sat silently in his chair, fulfilling one of his most important duties. Seeing Shikis rather dangerous thoughts, Merlin couldnt help but lightly chuckle, finding the mans sense of justice to be amusing; to say the least. It was always interesting to see the thought process people used to convince themselves their view was the correct one, often ignoring everything that contradicted their perspective. The young man ignored the fact that Vahn had already set the world on its current path so, even if he someone managed to defeat him, it wasnt as if the world would return to its previous state. Rather, as a result of his actions, a greater number of people would die but, for the very same reasons he considered Vahn an evil person, Shikipletely ignored this as he wouldnt be directly responsible for their deaths... This was one of the things that had always bothered Merlin about Heroes as, on a fundamental level, they were all exceptionally selfish people. While Vahn wasnt exactly without fault, he was, at the very least, aware of the consequences of his actions. He never tried to escape his own ountability and, before he even took action, epted he would be treated as an evil Tyrant. This was a degree of wherewithal possessed by very few. Most people would go to extreme lengths to justify their actions and paint themselves in a positive light; Heroes being the most notorious examples of this truth. Fortunately, while Shiki was capable in his own right, he fundamentallycked the ability to oppose Vahn, much less the Empire. He might be able to kill almost anything with his Mystic Eyes of Death Perception but these werent exactly a unique trait. There were also several entities affiliated with the Empire that werepletely immune to their effect so, even if events transpired to empower the mans skewed sense of justice; he would hit a wall immediately after taking action. Vahn could, at times, be exceptionally magnanimous but, the moment you touched his bottom line, death was all but a certainty... After imnting the thought that Shiki should bide his time until the world began to stabilize, Merlin turned his attention to the far more interesting topic: the interactions between Vahn and Nero. While he would never admit to it, even when Artoria was beating him, Merlin had a soft spot for all women that shared her appearance. For reasons he was unable to ascertain, these women almost always had a life marred with tragedy so, while it may earn him the ire of several people, Merlin exploited Vahns character in order to change the penultimate fate of these tragic women. Merlins onlyint about the current situation was that Vahn hadnt summoned the actual Nero, meaning the young woman who had taken her own life, desperately craving the love of even a single person, still died amidst pain and loneliness. Though Vahn would undoubtedly save the Heroic Spirit version of the same lonesome woman, Merlin would have preferred he saved the original from her final moments. Fortunately, it shouldnt take much to convince him to infuse the spirit of the original into the current Nero, melding the two into a singr entity... Since these were matters for the far future, Merlin set them aside within thepartments of his mind. Instead of focusing on them, he watched with a smile on his face as Vahn disyed his usual tell-tale signs of noticing something was wrong regarding another persons behavior. This was one of the more curious aspects of the otherworldly Emperor as, despitecking the ability to peer into the minds of others, his empathy and attention to detail allowed him to quickly realized when others were in pain. Now, Vahn was escorting Nero around the castle, introducing her to the other residents and showing her all the more interesting ces to visit. At the same time, he dutifully observed each of Neros reactions; an obvious attempt to gauge the feelings she kept hidden beneath an unfathomablyplex series of mental blocks. In fact, probing her mind was like trying to navigate a maze, one that was constantly changing shape as if to both keep people out and keep something else locked away. If given enough time, Merlin would be able to prate Neros mental defenses but, rather than trigger a negative reaction, he opted to let Vahn wear her down. Even now, sections of her mind were giving way to his influence as, with each passing moment, Nero gained a better understanding of Vahns intentions. She was used to people admiring, praising, adoring, and even worshipping her, all without any real effort on her part. Vahn, however, looked at her with clear concern visible in his gaze; slowly chiseling away at her defenses. Unless he sent them away to deal with a task, it was only a matter of time before most women fell in love with Vahn. Goddesses and Heroes were no exception to this as constant exposure to someone that expressed their care and concern was almost irresistible, especially when said person wielded a considerable amount of power and authority. Everyone sought purpose in life so, if they could fulfill a grander purpose, all while living beside someone that constantly empathized with them, even the most stalwart individuals would eventually crack. This was something Merlin was aware of but seeing Vahn at work was always an interesting sight to behold. It seemed like he didnt even need to make an effort but, if you observed closely, it became very apparent that Vahn measured almost all of his actions based on anticipated responses. He was constantly paying attention to even the most minute details, adjusting his own behavior and tone to leave the deepest impression on the other party. Really, it was a little ridiculous to witness as, even after two years of observing the man work, Merlin couldnt quite fathom how he managed to pull it off... In truth, Vahn had conditioned himself through excessive use of the View Affection system function. Though he had stopped relying on it to dictate his behavior, it wasnt as if his body and mind had forgotten how to interact with women the moment it was turned off. While he couldnt exactly read them like a book, Vahn had learned to pay attention to the subtle cues in a persons behavior and, always aiming to make the people around him happy, his behavior was subconsciously influenced by his past experiences. Obtaining a Sex Divinity only made him more sensitive to these things as, even without View Affection active, he could sense the wants and desires of the people around him. This had turned him into a natural casanova as it also made him naturally receptive to fulfilling these desires; simr to apulsion. Though he had gotten good at controlling these urges, Vahn couldnt exactly turn them off without effectively discarding his own Divinity. Since it helped a lot when dealing with his expansive harem, this wasnt exactly an option so, while interacting with Nero, he could only do his best to ignore the heated gaze she would periodically throw his way; seemingly just to tease him. Then, as if he was the one radiating perverted thoughts, Nero would point out that there was no shame in lusting after her body, iming it was a natural response before droning on about her greatness... (A/N: Im going to be out today so I wrote this chapter to let you know while also alluding to some of the things going on in the background. People tend to forget just how prehensive things are within the Empire, especially when ites to monitoring. Vahns vision of the world doesnt include a lot of privacy but, when literal omniscient beings exist, privacy is just an illusion xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1353 - Small Steps

Chapter 1353 - Small Steps

After escorting Nero for a much longer period of time than he intended, Vahn hade to know a few key things about the first-century Empress. Perhaps the most important thing to note about her was the fact that, almost certainly as a result of her [Migraine] Skill, Nero simply couldnt focus on anything for more than a few seconds. If you tried holding a conversation with her, you could see her mind wandering progressively further the longer the discussion continued. The only exception to this was when Nero herself was talking but, even then, she would easily get distracted by anything that caught her attention. Secondly, likely derived from her ability to focus on anything for a long period of time, Nero was an extreme narcissist. She simply couldnt empathize with others as any attempt to try and understand theplexities of another person would cause her an intense migraine, deterring her from even trying. Because of this, Nero emphasized her own thoughts and reasoning over all else, using her status as an Empress to basically do whatever she wanted. Lastly, once against the result of her underlying issues, Nero was a very open person, basking in the adtion of others and following her whims without restraint. While teasing him, she unabashedly talked about her forays in the beds of others, detailing her prowess and directly asking if he would like to take her to task. In her mind, it was perfectly natural to be desired by others and, if she found them pleasing to the eye, Nero would sleep with practically anyone; excluding Senators and anyone holding government office. Since sleeping with government officials was, in many ways, directly involved with politics; Nero had shunned the advances of anyone proactively trying to court her. Instead, she preferred to engage in bouts of passion with her citizenry, even going so far as to host massive orgies within the confines of her theater. In one instance, she even attested to the fact that she had locked a group of more than a thousand inside the grand halls, staging a tournament to determine the greatest lovemaker in the entire Empire; a title, like many others, Nero imed for herself... Having dealt with people like Freya and Loki, Vahn wasnt the type that judged people based on the decisions they had made in the past. In fact, he didnt even mind how open Nero was regarding her sexuality. After all, he wasnt exactly a paragon of virtue so, rather than anything she had done in the past, Vahn was bothered by Neros direct propositioning. It would be fine if she just teased him but, with Okita, Jeanne, and Gareth apanying them, she unabashedly flirted with the three girls; the result of her transient sexuality. While this kind of behavior was obviously a little troubling, the fact it was the product of whatever Nero was keeping hidden was the true crux of the problem. Vahn could tell that, rather than being absolutely confident in her behavior, there was an ever-present doubt hidden at the core of Neros being. She spoke unabashedly and without shame but, during those moments, she never took her eyes off the person she was talking to; an earnest desire to understand them visible within her bright green irises... Unfortunately, for reasons only Nero truly understood, she was unable to understand and empathize with others. Because of this, she was quick to apologize if she offended them but, at no point in time did she seem to realize she had done something wrong. There was a gap in her mentality that made it virtually impossible to reconcile the incongruities between her legitimate desires and the actions she took in an effort to express something she simply couldnt put into words... --- After exploring the castle and a few ces of interest outside, Vahn found himself taking tea with Nero and Spenta, thetter having apanied them throughout the entire tour. Jeanne, Okita, and Gareth were all present as well but, as was often the case in situations like this, they quietly sat at the side. They were currently enthralled in an intense staringpetition, Jeanne and Gareth teaming up against the seemingly unbeatable Okita who, even after an hour passed, hadnt blinked a single time... Without minding the presence of others in the slightest, Nero was staring into the contents of her zed teacup, an appreciative smile on her face as she remarked, "Tea befitting one such as I. What an elegant taste...and this aroma...umu, you have chosen well, my Master." Having grown steadily ustomed to Nero informing him that he had done well, Vahn issued a light chuckle as he set his own cup to the side and stated, "Spending these few hours with you has been a pleasant experience, Nero. Unfortunately, I have other duties to attend. After this session hase to an end, I must be on my way." Though he didnt particrly mind spending time with her, being around Nero was an exhausting experience. She seemed to expect him to continue apanying her indefinitely and, while he was curious about her past and desired to understand the root cause of her problems, he couldnt ignore everyone else just to attend the whimsical Empress. Rather, he was very aware that Arcueid and Illya were both in need of his attention so, while it left a bittersweet taste in his mouth, Vahn needed to find a moment to bring their tour to an end. Without showing any signs that she was particrly troubled by hising departure, Nero simply nodded in response, intoning her characteristic umu before answering, "This is to be expected, is it not? I may have been an Empress in the past but here, in this time, I am but a fragment of a wayward soul. Fret not, my Master, I will be fine without your attention. Know that I look forward to the dawn of theing day, the moment we are able to meet again...umu..." With her words finished, Nero set her own teacup down and, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, picked up Spenta to depart. This filled Vahn with an intense desire to sigh but, holding it in, he, instead, created a gentle flow of energy to obstruct Neros path. Then, as she turned to face him again, he adopted a wry smile and said, "Here, take this with you. There is little I can do about the existence of you [Migraine] Skill but this should alleviate most of, if not all, the symptoms..." Vahn had already given Nero a choker that would allow her to replenish her mana so, this time around, he gave her an ornate pair of earrings; each glimmering with emeralds, the same color as her eyes. They were an A-Rank item that had the ability to prevent most abnormal status effects that affected the mind so, with Neros [Migraine] being B-Rank, Vahn was hoping she would slowly learn how to focus and better empathize with others. Seeing the beautiful pair of earrings proffered forth by Vahn, Neros smile became even more radiant than usual as she walked over, set down Spenta, and said, "Umu, you have my permission toy your hands upon me." Then, extending her neck and raising her chin, Nero obviously expected that Vahn ces the earrings in himself. Since he already expected this oue, as it was the mostmon reaction amongst the women he had associated with, Vahn had no trouble delicately manipting Neros head, piercing both ears in turn. Though he imagined it must be a little painful, as her ears hadnt been pierced, Nero showed no signs of difort at all. Rather, her smile, once the process waspleted, became the most exuberant one she had disyed thus far; effectively lighting up the entire room with its imagined luminance. Anticipating the question that almost always followed his gifting of an essory, Vahn pulled out an ornate hand mirror for Neros use, earning a satisfied umu as she graciously epted it. Then, upon seeing how clear the image was, her brows raised slightly as she remarked, "Umu, this may very well be the highest quality mirror I have ever seen. Even polished silver cannot reflect my beauty to this extent...truly, a marvel of the times. Umu..." Though it looked like she could stare at herself for hours without end, Nero ultimately returned the mirror to Vahn, her smile regaining its usual quality as shemented, "You have chosen well, my Master. I will cherish this gift eternally, never letting it part from my sight. Umu, it will be as much a part of me as my immacte arms and legs. Rest easy knowing your feelings have reached this heart of mine, fueling the fires of passion within. When next we meet, prepare yourself well. I will answer your feelings, doubly so..." As was themon trend, Nero, uponpletion of her statement, picked up the waiting Spenta and, without sparing anyone in the room a nce, proceeded to exit. This left Vahn feeling a little fatigued as he knew, even with the earrings, it would take a very long time for Nero to change for the better. Now, he fully expected her to go all out in tomorrowspetition, eager to lend veracity to her ims, cementing her rightful ce at his side... Deciding to pay Merlin a visitter in the day, Vahn turned his attention to Okita, Jeanne, and Gareth, thetter having teary eyes due to straining them beyond her natural limits. This instantly improved Vahns mood, bringing a smile to his slightly troubled face as he extended his hand; gesturing to the girls toe over. Once they obliged, he lightly covered Gareths eyes, restoring them to their usual state and earning both praise and gratitude from his puppy-like protege... --- After summoning eight people in one go, Vahns diminished mental energies gave him a strong desire to just rx, sleep, and recuperate. As a result, he retired to the Menagerie with his usual entourage before seeking out Arcueid in his second body. Illya had alreadypleted her move so, while she undoubtedly wanted to spend more time alone with him, she was forcing herself to fit in with the other bestial girls. As for Arcueid, she had been with Aoko since the conclusion of their conversation with Shiki and, even more so than Illya, Vahn knew she required his attention. Unlike Aoko, Arcueid had decided to reside in a room of her own since she wasntfortable with being around the others just yet. Though she could tolerate almost any situation while he was there, the long period of loneliness she had imposed upon herself made it difficult for Arcueid to approach others. Thus, with Aoko being one of the few people she knew prior to moving into the Ivory Castle, it was a given that the red-haired beauty was, at least for the time being, helping the former Vampire Princess adapt to the new setting. As a result, Vahn found Aoko and Arcueid together in thetters room, both, somewhat surprisingly, upying the same small sofa together. Their conversation with Shiki had been a taxing experience so, with only each other to truly understand what they were going through, Aoko wasforting the golden-haired beauty in lieu of Vahn. This made it somewhat awkward when Vahn knocked on the door but, after realizing who was visiting, Arcueids mood noticeably improved; her mncholy melting away in an instant as her lips formed into a gentle arc... Since she had jumped up to meet him, Vahn unhesitantly wrapped Arcueid in his embrace while, a little slower to react, Aoko crossed her arms andined, "It took you long enough. If you didnt show up soon, I was going to track you down and drag you back. Seriously, you shouldnt be leaving Arcueid alone like this...this isnt easy for her..." Vahn nodded his head in affirmation of Aokos words but, as if rising to his defense, Arcueid adopted a conflicted expression as she shook her head and stated, "Vahn didnt do anything wrong, Aoko. He already told me that he had other matters to take care of..." Then, resting her head against Vahns chest, she added, "Im d you came to see me...I missed you..." Feeling a fair amount of guilt as a result of Arcueids words, Vahn put a bit of strength into his arms, whispering, "Sorry I came sote...I meant to arrive earlier." Though these words were spoken to Arcueid, Vahn intended them for Aoko as well, a fact he made apparent by looking toward the red-haired woman in thetter half of his words. She was able to understand his intentions but, seemingly unwilling to forgive him so easily, she continued crossing her arms after averting her eyes. In truth, she was feeling a little insecure at the moment as, with the return of Shiki, Aoko feltpelled to actualize the truth she had professed to earlier: that she was already one of Vahns women. Without having anything to show for their rtionship just yet, Aoko couldnt help feeling anxious as it was almost like she was lying. For this reason, she had continued to apany Arcueid as, while it was certainly true that she wanted to supporttter, Aoko also expected that Vahn would stop by to visit her at the earlier opportunity. Existences like Nero made her feel threatened so, before anyone else could attach themselves to Vahn, Aoko feltpelled to make good on her past promises, the first being her promise to take matters into her own hands if he continued stalling... Aoko didnt voice any of these things but, with his Divinity, Vahn was very sensitive to the thoughts guing the frustrated redheads mind. He knew well that she wasnt the type to change her mind, often forcing herself into difficult situations so; before she could do anything drastic, he intended to meet her expectations. In fact, both girls could use a bit of convincing so, without minding the fact that Aoko was pretending to ignore him, Vahn guided Arcueid over to her side before snaking one of his hands around the formers waist... (A/N: I found a bit of time hiding under my pillow so I decided to write a chapter, umu~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1354 - Atmosphere

Chapter 1354 - Atmosphere

Contrary to how usual confident and outgoing demeanor, Aoko was quite weak when it came to others taking the lead. She was better at making decisions and acting upon them, not being pulled along in the pace of other people. As a result, Vahns act of pulling her closer to him caused Aoko to momentarily fluster before; realizing what he was doing, she swatted away his hand, giving him a less-than-intimidating re in the process. Since he already expected her to be more strong-willed than most women, Vahn simply gave Aoko a knowing smile before guiding Arcueid to sit next to him on the sofa. Even if things didnt develop to them ultimately having sex, he wasnt particrly bothered since, after the summoning; he wasnt in a hurry to exert himself. He even defaulted to taking a nap upon reaching the Menagerie, using his daughter as a barrier against the other girls as they all cuddled together on the plush, pillowden bed... Still, despite having swat his hand away moments prior, Aoko took the seat opposite to Arcueid, her leg and shoulder pressed against him due to the sofas small size. It just barely amodated two peoplefortable so, with three people sitting side-by-side, there was bound to be some ovep. Vahn had noticed this upon seeing the two sitting together earlier so, ounting for Aokos nature, he basically had Arcueid sitting on hisp to make room. When all was said and done, a rather awkward atmosphere permeated throughout the room due to Aoko not knowing quite what to say. Truthfully, she virtually no experience dealing with the opposite sex as, during the springtime of her youth, she had been enthralled in constant conflict. By the time she began desiring thepanionship of others, her preferences had be somewhat twisted as the time she ever associated with males was during her middle and high school days. Aoko had always been rebellious by nature so she was never fond of adults, especially those who always purported to know best. Thus, even though she was in her twenties at the time, Aoko only really knew how to interact with boys much younger than her; earning her a few less than pleasant nicknames from her enemies. It didnt help that she had been rather fond of the Tale of Genji, as it was very popr amongst women of her time, so there was a small inclination within her mind to simply raise a suitable partner for herself... With all of these factors lining up, Aoko had passed well into her thirties with her only meaningful interactions with boys being hand-holding and, in parting, a few kisses. Though this didnt really matter all that much, due to her ability to freely alter her age, Aoko had never been able to bite the bullet and pretend she was younger in order to poach a boy in her preferred range. They seemed so vulnerable and, after dealing with corrupt and vile Magi most of her life, she didnt want to follow a simrly depraved path just because there wasnt anyone that could stop her... Realizing Aoko was having difficulties, Vahn leaned a bit of his weight against her, breaking the spell of reflection she had put herself under. This caused her to blink back into awareness, only to find his face much closer than anticipated; all while Arcueid stared at her with a curious expression on her face. They had already discussed their intentions prior to Vahns arrival so, seeing Aoko behave in this manner, Arcued was both confused and intrigued at the same time. Refusing to fall into the pace of others, Aoko nudged Vahn with her shoulder before asking, "Dont you have like a movie or something to put on? Just sitting in silence like this is awkward. Come on, I want to see one of your memories. Make it something cool and action-packed." As she was also keen on learning more about Vahn, Arcueid found Aokos suggestion agreeable so, in support of the idea, she adopted an excited smile and added, "Please, Vahn, I would also like to see your memories...I have heard a lot of interesting things from the others. I would like to see for myself: the world you came from, the people you lived alongside...everything..." Though he knew Aoko was just fishing for an excuse to buy time for herself, Vahn also knew using the [Projection Sphere]s was a good way to set the mood. Even in the outside world, at least prior to the changes he had implemented, it wasmon for men and women, who were dating, to go and see movies together. The low light andrger-than-life screen inspired a unique atmosphere, one which emboldened both men and women to feel emboldened. ying to the mood, Vahn pulled out a [Projection Sphere] before snapping his fingers, reducing the lighting in the room until on the glowing of the crystal ball illuminated them. Then, after starting the feed, Vahn leaned back into the sofa, holding Arcueids waist with his right hand before, once again, snaking his left hand around Aokos. She gave him another re, her blue eyes glimmering slightly in the low-light but; unlike before, she didnt make him remove it. Instead, she leaned into him a bit, an indiscernible blush coloring her cheeks as she focused on the images being projected in the air... --- Vahn hadnt actually known Aoko all that long but, in the time they had known each other, he came to understand much about her character. It was with this understanding that he decided to reach far back into his memories, pulling a scene near the very start of his foray through the massive Dungeon beneath Orario, a ce he ultimately conquered with his own hands... Since it was one of the direst situations he had ever been in, Vahn focused on his first true dive into the Dungeons depths, a moment that had been immortalized as one of the most important in his entire life. His encroaching death, and his unwillingness to remain a weak and helpless child, allowed him to awaken one of his most powerful Innates, the one that served as the veritable lynchpin of his current power: [Will of the Emperor]... When they first saw the youthful Vahn depicted in the projection, Arcueid and Aoko had mixed reactions. Arcueid could see the tell-tale signs of a lonely and detached person within Vahns eyes while Aoko, owing to her peculiar preferences, got a little excited upon seeing the handsome yet roguish-looking youth. She could also feel the air of loneliness and caution around him but, despite his obvious fear, the resolution in Vahns eyes was enough to send shivers through her body. With very different perspectives on the events taking ce within the projection, the two watched on with unveiled intrigue as Vahn fought a few close battles against surprisingly weak enemies. It was difficult to imagine the man sitting between them was the same one depicted on-screen but, based on how the youth continued pushing himself, it was easy to imagine the path walked by the once-weak boy... What really caught the girls by surprise was Vahns encounter with the Kobold as, rather than show his developing prowess, they watched in horror as he was nearly killed. It was a jarring and visceral scene to witness, something movies would never be able to emte with special effects. They could feel the pain and anguish experienced by Vahn being transmitted in vivid detail... When the memory reached the point where Vahn was on the verge of death, Arcueid couldnt hold herself back anymore, shouting, "No, you mustnt stop! Dont give in to the darkness...!" She seemed to momentarily forget she was viewing a memory from the past, clear concern visible in her gaze as her power began to distort reality around them. Aoko, at least on the outside, appeared to be very calm but, deep within, she felt a sickly cold that caused her to squeeze her left hand tightly. Part of her wanted to punch Vahn for showing them this kind of memory but, with the feed still running, she couldnt tear her eyes away. She knew he would undoubtedly survive but, when witnessing a scene like this in such vivid detail, the mind struggled to reconcile such things... Just as it seemed as though Vahn was going to give in to the pain and blood loss, causing both Aoko and Arcueid to hold their breaths, a sudden burst of fervor erupted from within. In a way, it was like witnessing thest moments of a dying youth but, instead of following the usual route, Vahn pulled out a tiny green bean, devouring it with the fervor of a starved dog. Miraculously, all of his wounds then began to heal and, as if the world had been covered by a monochromatic film previously, a vast array of color and intensity was breathed into the scene as it expanded to epass arger area of view. A stark contrast to the frail and cautious boy from before, the younger Vahn suddenly seemed far more self-assured as, rather than struggling with enemies, he began to cut down swaths of Goblins and Kobolds like a farmer harvesting wheat. Once difficult enemies now becamepletely helpless against him, his sword slicing through them with considerable ease as their blood and viscera flowed around him; following along with his movements like debris in a tempest... The memory in the projection continued to y all the way up until the moment Vahn reached the surface, his mental and physical energypletely drained. Since he wasntpletely aware of his surroundings during the earlier days of his awakening, the edges of the projection became hazy and, by the time Nichs appeared, the Elven man that had been one of the first to show Vahn kindness; the memory hadpletely faded to ck. With the sceneing to an end, Vahn caused the lights in the room to gradually illuminate, finding both Aoko and Arcueid still staring into the projection; waiting for something to happen. This caused a smile to spread across his face and, never missing the opportunity to tease others, Vahn decided to take advantage of their intense focus. His hands slowly moved from their waists, caressing up their sides as a trickle of stimting energy flowed into their bodies. Arcueids reaction was rather tame, as she obviously had high resistance due to her instantaneous regeneration, but Aokos was anything but. She released a girlish yelp, practically jumping from her seat with a red blush spreading across her face in an instant. Then, realizing what had happened, she formed a fist with her right hand, unhesitantly striking the top of his head as she shouted, "You jerk!" in a high-pitched and embarrassed tone of voice... Though Vahn was tempted to tease her even more, he was brought to stunned silence in the middle of theatrically rubbing the top of his head. This was due to the fact that Aoko was wearing a thin white blouse and, having never been fond of wearing bras, both of her nipples were clearly outlined as a result of his earlier prank. She didnt seem to notice it herself but, after following his line of sight, her face became even redder as she gripped her hands into fists and red at him... What surprised Vahn the most was that tears seemed to be building in the corner of Aokos eyes, causing him to panic slightly since it was rare that he misread the situation. He hated making any woman cry, much less those who had chosen to be with him, so a pang of guilt spread through his heart; discernible from the expression on his face. His first instinct was to apologize but, before her tears could free themselves from their confines, Aoko was the one to seize the initiative, shouting, "Fine, then! It was always going toe to this so lets get on with it. Come on, take your clothes off and get ready; Im going to teach you not to tease me, you baka-tenn!" Following her outburst, Aoko went along with her own momentum and, without waiting for Vahn to remove his own clothes, she quickly pulled her blouse over her head and began to strip down. This had the effect of causing Vahn to momentarily nk, earning him another pointed re from Aoko as she stopped mid-way between removing her pants to shout, "What are you waiting for!?" before looking to Arcueid and adding, "You can join in or help out if you want." With these two prizingments, Aoko continued to hastily undress in spite of the growing flush spreading through her face and body. She wasnt the type to back down so, while it felt like she was on the verge of exploding due to embarrassment, she had to teach Vahn a lesson. He couldnt just get away with teasing her whenever he felt like it so, even if she had to cheat, Aoko was determined to get at least one victory against him, even if it was a pyrrhic... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Setting the mood,Humble beginnings,The power of an airheaded heroine) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1355 - Bravado

Chapter 1355 - Bravado

Though he knew she was pushing herself, Vahn didnt want to make things too difficult for Aoko. As much as he enjoyed watching her strip down in front of him; her body really was quite phenomenal; he didnt want to force her into a difficult situation. If she managed to strip down while he just sat on the sofa with a bemused Arcueid, it would damage her pride and increase her frustration to levels he would rather not experience. With this in mind, Vahn caressed Arcueids side a bit before having her hop off hisp. She seemed to recall Aokos words at this point but, perhaps feeling uncertain, she tilted her head adorably while asking, "Can I stay...?" in a sheepish tone. Aokos permission didnt carry the same weight as Vahns consent so, while it would pain her to be left out, Arcueid still asked his opinion. Aoko heard Arcueids words, her face forming a slight frown, but it was Vahn who answered with a rxed smile, "Of course. Unless you are ufortable with it, I would never exclude you, Arcueid." Though she never imagined Vahn would actually have her leave, Arcueid couldnt help but smile in response to his words. Then, with considerable easepared to Aoko, she allowed her dress to vanish into motes of light; her panties and stockings the only things remaining. She had learned from her previous experience with the other girls that Vahn seemed to enjoy clothed sex so, wanting to meet his expectations, Arcueid took the lesson to heart... Arcueid really did have an amazing body but, while her height was slightly greater than that of Aokos, their proportions were almost identical. Both women had bust and waist sizes of 88 and 55cm respectively but, edging out a small victory for herself, Arcueids hips measured a plump 85cm, just over one centimeterrger than Aokos. This was where Aokos smaller stature actually assured her the victory as, when a person was shorter, their proportions wereparablyrger. She had a pleasant thickness at all the right areas, causing her panties to bite into her fair skin in a tantalizing manner; exacerbated by her efforts to innocently try to keep them concealed from view... It might have been due to his cumtive fatigue, but Vahn couldnt help but release an exuberantugh upon seeing Aokos bashful behavior. Having two inordinately beautiful women standing in front of him filled Vahn with so many pleasant emotions that he simply couldnt contain them any longer. Though hisugh earned him a re from Aoko, she seemed to realize he wasnt actuallyughing at her; he was just happy... Now with a somewhat silly yet affectionate smile on his face, Vahn unabashedly repeated the words he had used several times in the past, stating, "You are both beautiful beyondpare. Im not just saying that, either. Other than the precious moments I experience with my children, it is times like this when I am most grateful. Thank you, Aoko, Arcueid...words can never truly express how I feel in moments like this....allow me to show you with my actions." With his words stunning both women to silence, Vahn briefly focused his mind, fueling the tiny pink fragment in his soul; the representation of his Sex Divinity. As a result, his clothes vanished in a ir of rosy pink light, revealing his rather embarrassing raiment. At the same time, out of consideration for Aoko, Vahn modified his appearance slightly so that he appeared to be in histe teens. Over the course of the next few hours, he would progressively age himself, altering her perception until it no longer mattered what form he took... If his words had left an impression on them, Vahns appearance left the duo at an absolute loss as to how they should respond; Aoko especially. When she saw Vahns lean figure and lighterplexion, her heart actually skipped a beat as a slight feeling of breathlessness welled up inside of her. It didnt take a genius to realize Vahn had changed forms specifically for her but, seeing his current form, she didnt have the heart to insist that he change back. Beating Aoko to the punch, it was Arcueid who grabbed Vahns changed body, tightly embracing him as she mused, "You look handsome and cute~" then, perhaps fearing she had upset him, she quickly added, "I like your big form as well...". This caused Vahn to release another chuckle, his hand sneaking around to Arcueids backside to squeeze her butt as he parroted, "I like your big form as well..." Though her face turned scarlet, Arcueid remembered her earlier conversation with Aoko, after giving Vahn a quick kiss, she escaped his clutches before skipping over and hiding behind her red-hairedpanion. This caused Aoko to feel emboldened as, even if Arcueid wasnt exactly on her side, the illusion of them versus Vahn became more prominent when they were standing like this. Aoko was even tempted to cross her arms and taunt him a bit but, with nothing but her panties and a pair of calf-length socks to protect her, her hands were upied covering her front... Since things couldnt continue like this, Aoko did, eventually, muster up the courage to stop hiding her panties from view; regretting having failed to remove them earlier. This was due to the fact that, despite her usual punk-rock style, she often wore panties with various prints on them. Today, without thinking, she had worn a pair with a small caricature of a cat beneath a red ribbon. Worse still, the back had arge paw print on the right cheek with the words cool cat written above it in cursive... Surprising Aoko quite a bit, Vahn didnt have an aversion to her somewhat childish panties at all. His eyes showed the same appreciation and adtion as before, mockery and amusement nowhere to be seen in his gaze. What Aoko didnt know was that Vahn was actually very ustomed to panties with print patterns, most of which were infinitely more embarrassing than a cartoon cat. Rather, the girls in the Menagerie had poprized wearing panties with a caricature of his own face on them so it didnt phase him in the slightest to see Aokos adorable choice in lingerie. Feeling emboldened by Vahns reaction, Aokos smile returned as she closed the distance between them and, ignoring her fear entirely, lightly pressed against his exposed chest. She tried to guide him to sit back on the sofa but, before she was able to seed, Vahns smile curled up at the edges as he deftly snatched her hand and said, "We should move to the bed. The sofa is a little small...besides, it takes especially durable furniture to handle what were about to do..." Though he grabbed Aokos hand with his right, Vahns left hand had been free to roam so, toward the end of his words, he borrowed the technique he used to tease Tsubaki in the past, caressing the unsuspecting Aokos stomach and sending a ripple of stimting energy through her body. This caused her eyes to widen into full-circles but, before she could retaliate ormbast him, Vahn caught her in his embrace, carrying her like a princess to prevent her from falling to her knees. Most women were surprisingly weak to being held in a bridal carry so, despite her momentary anger, Aoko fell silent almost instantly. As for Arcueid, she seemed to find Aokos state amusing, issuing a silent chuckle before asking, "Should I change the scenery a bit...?" Understanding her intentions, Vahn nodded in affirmation to Arcueids question; their surroundings changing almost instantly. Tier 5 was known as the Realm Soul tier so, with few exceptions, anyone that had reached Tier 5 was effectively able to create their own world. Within that space, they had an almost inexhaustible amount of power and, based on theirprehension of various Laws, the form such realms could take had virtually no limits. Seeing the familiar crystalline bedchamber, Vahn couldnt help smiling in appreciation while Aoko, still held in his embrace, awed at the beautiful sight. Things were developing in a different way than she had expected but,pared to just using a normal bed, this was inarguably better. Rather, for a brief moment, she was tempted to use the Fifth Magic, creating her own unique world. Though she had a lot of bad memories rted to that space, it was still a very beautiful ce...if possible, Aoko wanted to make some good memories there in the future... After transitioning to the surprisinglyfortable bed, Vahn set Aoko down and, as if new life had been breathed into her, she immediately pounced on him, saying, "It hasnt even been a few minutes since thest time I told you not to tease me...Im really going to have to teach you a lesson, Vahn..." Since he knew Aoko would have an easier time feeling as if she were in control, Vahn had allowed her to push him down without any real resistance. As a result, he had the buxom red-haired beauty staring down at him, her blue eyes sparkling as she hovered only centimeters away from his face. In response to her threatening words, Vahn maintained a calm smile on his face as tilted his chin up in a taunting manner and mused, "I wonder if there is anything you can teach me...? Are you certain that is bravado driving your actions?" Then, adopting a slightly serious tone of voice, Vahn added, "Dont push yourself too hard, okay?" Though she had been egged on by Vahns taunting, Aoko became resolute when she heard thest part. If she were being honest, she had absolutely no confidence in what she was doing as, prior to this, she had never done anything more than rather tame kisses. Vahn had changed this in recent days but,pared to sex, those things all seemed exceptionally tame inparison... Despite her inhibitions, Aoko would never shy away from a decision she had made. She followed through on every decision she made and, while this sometimes led to bittersweet experiences, she had never truly regretted anything in her life. This was something she was unwilling topromise on so, after pushing against Vahns chest, she moved closer to his hips, muttering, "Just watch how I teach you..." Before Aoko would do something potentially regrettable, Vahn moved to a seated position as she adjusted her own. This brought a small frown to Aokos face but, preempting any of herints, he stated in a guiding tone, "I know what youre thinking, Aoko. Dont believe everything you read in books. Some guys like that, and it really is a pleasant thing, but it requires a bit of experience to pull off. Id rather kiss you than have you do something neither of us will truly enjoy..." Hearing Vahn allude to her inexperienced filled Aoko with a small amount of resentment but, with the temptation of kissing being too strong to pass on, she ultimately snorted through her nose and said, "Fine. Since this is my first time, Ill make an exception. In the future, Ill be sure to practice a lot though. You cantinter on..." While internally asking what he would darein about, Vahn just nodded his head in response to Aokos rather bold im. Then, in much the same manner as before, he allowed her to push him to the bed, this time pressing her own body against his. From there, they moved on to a bout of rather awkward kissing but, rather thanin, Vahn enjoyed Aokos exploratory actions. This was made even more interesting when Arcueid the spot on his other side, effectively squeezing her way into things without asking permission a second time... Arcueid was marginally better at kissing than Aoko but this was primarily due to the fact she allowed Vahn to lead the action. Aoko constantly tried to guide his tongue around with her own, even going so far as to lick his teeth while inexperiencedly probing around. Fortunately, she was a quick learner, especially with his hands wandering around her body and getting her into the mood. Having no real experience, it was pretty difficult for Aoko to gauge when to move on to the next step so, while Vahn certainly didnt mind, they ended up just making out for nearly half an hour. Eventually, the itch in Aokos body reached a point where she could no longer ignore it. When Vahn moved to continue kissing her, she extricated her body from his, wiping a bit of drool from her mouth as she said, "Arcueid, please move. Im tired of waiting..." Since Vahn had been kissing her moments prior, Arcueid was in a slightly dazed state. Aokos request momentarily confused her but, remembering what they had discussed previously, she inched away from Vahns body before taking a seat; longing and patience fighting for dominance within her heart and mind. Part of her wanted to keep Vahn for herself but, understanding Aokos desires, Arcueid simply didnt have the heart to get in the way... With Arcueid moving to the side, Aoko unhesitantly tugged at the small golden hooks that kept the white cloth around Vahns hips in ce. There was visible uncertainty in her eyes but, as if it had no influence on her actions whatsoever, Aoko made one final pull at the white cloth, stating, "Lets see what all the...fuss...is about?" What little knowledge Aoko had about sex came from books and a single video she had watched out of curiosity. Even that had a mosaic to cover the actual naughty bits so, seeing Vahns dragon raising its head proudly, almost as if to taunt her, Aoko was momentarily at a loss. The thought that Vahn had adjusted his size out of consideration didnt even cross her mind as it was a lot bigger than she had expected. She couldnt even begin to fathom how the rtively small white cloth around Vahns waist had kept it hidden... Once the initial shock wore off, Aoko peered over at Arcueid to gauge her reaction. She didnt seem all that surprised by the size of Vahns member so, rather than ask if this was normal, Aoko foolishly swallowed her grievances before adopting a wry smile and saying, "Its only this much? Well, it is..." Though she had been intending to say more, Aokos words trailed off as the size of Vahns member noticeably increased, something she had both witnessed and felt with her left hand. Aoko knew Vahn could change his form freely so she promptly decided against trying to make any jokes about his size. It already seemed abnormallyrge so if it got any bigger, Aoko was afraid it would split her in two... After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Aoko inspected her own state to confirm that she was adequately wet. Then, using her own fluids, she adopted a confident smile, watching Vahns face as she began coating his member. She wanted to make sure it was properly lubricated, something even school girls learned was necessary. With Vahns member glistening with her own fluids, Aoko had the distinct impression she had done something naughty but, without further hesitation, she moved to straddle his hips. Then, after a tense couple of seconds, she managed to guide his startling hot ns into the proper hole. This had been made more difficult by the stimtion she experienced throughout the process but, refusing to ask for help, Aoko eventually figured things out on her own. She took one final deep breath, not minding the fact that Vahn had grabbed her hips, before slowly lowering herself; jaw clenched in anticipation of theing pain... After protecting her virginity for thirty-five years, Aoko finally had aeback to all of her sisters hatefulments whenever they argued. What surprised her most of all was that, despite expecting a phenomenal amount of pain; there was a brief moment of numbness, a considerable amount of pressure, a very momentary pain, and then a peculiar vibration. Following that, a strangely agonizing heat began to spread through her body as Aoko finally learned whatpelled all the girls around Vahn to stay with him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: If youre happy and you know it, p some cheeks~,A very unique kind of battle attire...(OwO),Ignorant Lamb vs a Sex Gods pet Dragon...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1356 - Frustration

Chapter 1356 - Frustration

Contrasting her earlier bravado, it didnt take long before Aoko was shaking her own hips; her cries a mix of frustration tinged with impassioned moans. She didnt know how to properly find the release she instinctually craved so, with Vahns energy wreaking havoc throughout her body, it took most of her willpower just to avoid imploring him to move. To make matters worse, Vahn would periodically guide her hips with his hands, much to Aokos chagrin. During those moments, she felt closer to the release her body sought but, before she was able to obtain it; Vahn tormented her by relinquishing control back to Aoko... Eventually, Aoko was filled with a very strong desire to just punch Vahn but, instead, she slowed her movements; biting her bottom lip beforeining, "It isnt fair...you must be cheating. How am I supposed to be able to win against this...?" Apanying her words, tears of bitterness began to build in Aokos eyes as she sincerely didnt want to lose herself to pleasure. She wanted to be in control but, the more she moved around, the weaker her body felt. Her tensions seemed to increase without limit but, no matter how close she got to the release her body craved, the further the goal felt. It was frustrating because she wanted to be seen as a strong woman, not a pervert that begged and pleaded for release... Just as it felt like the tears were going to escape her eyes, Vahn reached up to gently wipe them away. He was considerably calmer than Aoko; another fact that frustrated her; so he had enough wherewithal tofort her, saying in a soft voice, "Having sex isnt about obtaining victory against the other person, Aoko. It is a method of disying affection, bringing together difficult to exin emotions and expressing them in a physical disy of intimacy. Though it can be fun to make a game out of it every now and then, the whole purpose is to prove how much we love each other..." After dealing with a few proud women in the past, Vahn knew it meant a lot to some females that they were able to take control in the bedroom. This was especially true for those that had directlypeted against men throughout their life,paring their aplishments in an ongoing effort to prove themselves more capable than their counterparts. Even he, long ago, felt the need to prove himself to his partners so Vahn could empathize with Aoko, even if he could never fully understand what she had gone through... Using the moment when Aoko didnt quite know how to respond, Vahn ced his hands on her waist, his voice taking on a hazy quality as he said, "I want to see it...your feelings. You should watch me closely as well...my eyes hide no falsehoods, Aoko. Here, in this moment, they reflect only you, a beautiful woman I am absolutely smitten with..." Though there was a chance he would upset Arcueid with his choice of words, Vahn didnt think she would be particrly bothered. Soon enough, he would shower her with the same level of affection, slowly reducing the distance between all three of them. For now, he couldnt allow Aoko to feel as if her value was somehow reduced due to her inability to take charge. He needed to change how she viewed sex as, once she built up some confidence and gained a bit of experience, they would be able to have a lot of fun together. With Vahn slowly rocking her hips, Aoko couldnt help but bite her lip once again, her brows creased as she fought to keep her eyes focused on him. Her instinct was to close her eyes and give in to the building pleasure but, seeing the intensity in Vahns gaze, she couldnt take her eyes off him. He had always felt somewhat distant and uninterested in the past but, now, at this moment; Aoko could see the passion in his eyes; her image reflected in his gaze. For a brief moment, Aoko felt as if she had stepped back in time to the night before the world was forced to change. She remembered Vahn escorting her around, how happy all the Spirits were, and, most importantly, how beautiful that moonlit night where they stood on the hill together had been. She realized after the fact that she had made a small misunderstanding but, instead of pushing her away, Vahn epted her feelings; all while choosing not to exploit them. Rather, he tried to prevent her from rushing into things, giving her ample opportunity to interact with the others before making her final decision... Remembering the various ways he had cared for her, the distant image of Vahn that had started to seed itself in her mind slowly faded away. Instead, she saw an impassioned youth, his eyes zing with desire as he sincerely tried to convey his emotions, not through words, but action. This small change in perspective caused Aokos body to rapidly heat up and, before she even realized what she was doing; Aoko pinned Vahn to the bed, pressing his hands down with her own as she stole his lips. Though he could never be trulyfortable being pushed down, Vahn didnt mind Aokos fervor as it was infinitely better than her morose streak from before. The way she greedily sought his lips, all while leaving the movement of her lower body to him, caused his own tensions to steadily build. He had been reserving himself before but, now that her switch had been flipped, Vahn let his fingers dig into Aoko a bit as he began moving his hips to strike her weak spots. Surprised by the sudden change, Aoko had to separate from Vahns lips to released a gasp of sheer incredulity as it felt like electricity had struck her body. Then, with another rhythmic thrust, the same sensation passed through her body;pelling her to scrunch up in a vain attempt to restrain his movements. At the same time, she closed her thighs with a bit of force; straddling Vahns hips even tighter as she buried her face into the nape of his neck... Vahn enjoyed the way Aokos bright-red hair cascaded from her head and shoulders, trembling just a little with each of his movements. There was something about red hair that fired him up so, in order to capitalize on the moment before Aoko stopped restraining herself, Vahn pressed his thumbs into the pressure points near Aokos pelvis, reducing the strength she put into her powerful thighs to make it easier to move. Once Aoko let herself gopletely, her power as a Tier 5 entity would surge forth, potentially even turning the tides. Since it never urred to most people to use their full power during sex, she had actually been holding herself back considerably in order to make things normal. This wasnt really a bad thing, as most people wanted their first time to be normal, but; when it came down to it, Aoko was anything but normal. Just going by the fact that her first partner was a literal God of Sex made this readily apparent but, even without that, her status as a Tier 5 Magician already elevated her to a level even Vahn couldnt reach... Now, Aokos hair had started to glow slightly and, despite his efforts to rx her muscles, the energy within her body quickly returned function to the numbed nerve clusters. Vahn was skilled enough to easily override these resistances but, until Aoko had let herself go, he had to be patient. This didnt mean he had to be passive, however, so; with a better angle to work with, Vahn quickly brought the red-haired beauty to the release her body craved; coinciding with his own voluminous release... Feeling something hot spontaneously fill her insides, Aokos first instinct was tombast Vahn for cumming without letting her know. Before any words could leave her mouth, however, Aoko felt a surge of pleasure rob the ability to speak from her, the waves of her own climax tossing her about without mercy. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced before so, for a time, the only thing she could do was cling to Vahn as her spirit seemed to momentarily leave her body in a desperate attempt to escape the tumultuous sea of pleasure... Vahn used the time when Aoko lost her faculties to move into a seated position, hugging her body tightly while taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Aokos body actually siphoned off his energy when he released himself inside of her, nourishing her own body while leaving him drained. Fortunately, Vahn had expected something like this to happen as Aokos body was suffused with a considerable amount of Yang Elemental energy; a rare quality for a woman to possess. Shecked the virgin yin seed that most women possessed, likely as a result of her body absorbing it when her power was maturing. He spected this had something to do with her use of the Fifth Magic but, as even Aoko failed to understand all of itsplexities, it was impossible to be certain. All Vahn really knew was that Aokos body was exceptionally greedy, even if her nature was that of an earnest and caring person. He had more than enough energy to spare but, to prevent Aoko from falling into an endless abyss of pleasure, Vahn had to forcibly sever the flow of energy, something that made Aoko released a frustrated moan as she put more strength into her arms. She didnt know what had changed but, with the sudden severance of energy, it was like falling from Heaven down to Earth in an instant. As if she had a bucket of cold water poured over her, Aoko immediately regained her senses. Her body was still awash in the echoes of her earlier climax but, remembering what Vahn had done, she gave him a pointed look andined, "You came inside me..." Though it didnt really bother her all that much, the fact Vahn did so without asking permission or warning her made Aoko feel a little annoyed. Instead of denying the obvious, Vahn simply smiled in response to Aoko, admitting, "I did. Can you me me...?" Hearing the unexpected question, Aoko was momentarily at a loss. Then, after quickly reaching her own conclusions, a small blush spread across her cheeks as she murmured, "If youre going to be so careless, you had better be prepared to take responsibility." It was now Vahns turn to be at a loss but, realizing Aoko was essentially giving him permission to freely impregnate her, a glimmer shed across his eyes. At the same time, his dragon, enjoying the warmth of its current home, twitched in response. This caused the blush on Aokos face to be more prominent before; causing Vahn to nearly burst outughing; she clenched her insides as if to answer in kind... --- With the formalities out of the way, Vahn enjoyed making love to both Aoko and Arcueid, their escapadessting for nearly an entire day. This was possible due to Arcueids ability to control the flow of time within her Marble Phantasm. Aoko also had the ability to alter, reverse, elerate, or even freeze the state of her body. She used this to perform feats like preventing her own climax, extending the duration of especially pleasant orgasms, and supplying herself with an inexhaustible amount of stamina. The most surprising use of her abilities, however, was when Aoko ovepped a thousand versions of herself onto the same axis of reality. This ced her in a state of pseudo-incorporeality, a form that generally made her immune to any kind of damage. Now, she used it to experience something even Da Vinci was unable toprehend; first by overpowering Vahn, secondly by experiencing what it was like to climax as a thousand people simultaneously... Fortunately, even though she had effectively overloaded her senses beyond conceivable realms of pleasure, Aoko recovered almost immediately as a quirk of the ability. There was always at least one version of herself that served as a baseline, a form she could instantly revert back to if her enemies somehow found a way to inflict her with something like a potent curse. Then, in what appeared to be an instant to other people, the afflicted versions of herself ceased to be; reced by new versions of herself that werepletely unaffected. Using this ability, Aoko could effectively guarantee her victory but, as could be expected, using such an ability for a long period of time came with a cost. Though she was effectively invincible during the abilitys activation, Aokos body would rapidly heat up as a quirk of ovepping thousands of Magic Circuits into a focal point of Space and Time. She managed to siphon away the vast majority of this heat by constantly recing different versions of herself but; after a few minutes had passed, in real-time, Aoko would have to deactivate the ability to prevent her brain from being damaged by the strain and heat. Despite this apparent weakness, Aoko was actually able to revert her real body back to a point where it was unaffected by the overload but, for a very brief moment, she could be killed by a truly capable enemy. The fact she was willing to reveal these things to him left a deep impression on Vahns heart but, given that she only did so after effectively taking him; he couldnt help but feel a little bittersweet about the whole ordeal. Since that minor victory essentially allowed him to do whatever he wanted after the fact, however; Vahn quickly got over it... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A pride not easily relinquished...,Vahn and his talk-no-jutsu...,The Fifth Magic is quite OP o3o...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1357 - Stage

Chapter 1357 - Stage

For the rest of the day, and apanying evening, Vahn spent most of his time recuperating from his mental fatigue. This was often where his children came into y so, as the sun crested over the horizon, Vahn had gone to pick up Mordred, Sakura, Mash, Zo?, and Astrid up from the Clock Tower. Afterward, all of the children were gathered together for a massive slumber party within the eastern section of the Inner Sanctum; the ce serving as both a yroom and daycare. Vahn worked alongside his children to construct a rather massive fort using furniture, cushions, and a few supplies obtained through the system shop. Sophia was the one to design theyout and, with most of his children being remarkably talented, it didnt take long for them toe up with a faux-fortress that could even amodate adults. Then, after a series of games, everyone slept inside of the fortress main chamber; each of Vahns children, without exception, wearing some form of animal pajamas... With the nights in Avalonsting upwards of three full days, it was almost like an extended camping trip where they all role-yed together. Though there were a few hups along the way, it was yet another pleasant memory that Vahn safely locked away amongst those most precious to him. He felt blessed by the fact that his children loved spending time with him, often setting aside their personal differences for the time they were together. Were it up to him, the day where his childrens path diverged from his own would nevere but, in order to allow them to spread their wings and follow their own path; Vahn cherished these moments, knowing he couldnt make themst forever. It was a little sad to think about but, imagining the lives his children would go on to live, the grandchildren they would bring back, and the mark they would leave on history; it filled him with a swelling sense of pride... Still, even if his children chose to never grow up; deciding, instead, to stay within thefort of the Inner Sanctum; he would support their decision. It didnt matter if his children were three or three-thousand, they would always be his darling little angels. He was over one-hundred-and-fifty years, a God, and an Emperor. In spite of these things, he could unabashedly wear animal pajamas alongside his children; expressing a degree of self-assurance he would like his children to have in the future... Unfortunately, Vahn was, once again, reminded that happiness had a propensity to be fleeting. If he wasnt sensitive to such things, Vahn could easily be convinced that a persons happiness caused the flow of time, imperceptibly, to elerate. Happy moments seemed toe and go like the tides, taking with it: hours, days, and even years with each transition. Still, just like watching a sunset on a beach, feeling the waves flow past your feet, Vahn was learning to enjoy every moment; the natural beauty of life leaving such a deep impression on him that it made even the heaviest o burdens feel inconsequential... --- After having been pestered ceaselessly the previous night, Vahn decided to allow the children a day off from their studies in order to watch the aptly named Contest of Emperors. They would normally have to show up for ss around 0700 but, in order to give them time to enjoy themselves, Da Vinci canceled all morning lectures. Though they would still need to return after lunch, this rtively short period of time tranted to thirty-five hours within the Projection; effectively making it an extra day off. Unlike the previous tournament, this event would be an in-housepetition and, as an Emperor himself, Vahn would be participating alongside Artoria, Nero, Ozymandias, Alexander, and, though she was historically recognized as a King, Att. After all, she was the most famous ruler of what had be known as the Hunnic Empire so, even if it was posthumously; she was more than qualified to disy her prowess within theingpetition. Though the main reason for Atts participation was to ascertain just how strong she was, this didnt particrly matter to the other contestants. Rather, Alexander and Nero would jump at the chance to prove themselves against just about everyone in the Empire; a testament to their fearlessness and, in many ways, their hubris... When it finally came time for the event to begin, everyone gathered together in the center of a vast expanse of grassy ins; courtesy of Arcueid. She was more than willing to help out, providing both the venue and the means for others to witness theing battle. Upon seeing theck of theatrics, Nero was the first to issue a mildint, her arms akimbo as she stated, "For a battle between emperor-grade existences, this is turning out to be a rather in affair. Umu, this is uneptable. Allow me to infuse some artistry, after all, we have an audience to entertain~" Without waiting for anything like permission, Nero followed her words by spreading her arms wide, a brilliant smile on her face as she eximed, "Behold, my fellows of Imperial descent! Bear witness to the manifestation of my greatness; a beauty and extravagance beyondpare! Come forth, my magnificent theater! Let us dance upon the grandest of stages~!!" Apanying Neros chant, a rippled flowed out through her feet; spreading through the vast in with tremendous speed. Rose petals danced around them, propelled by an invisible force that also caused everyones clothes and hair to gracefully flow. At the same time, a massive structure of gold had epassed the entire area; its appearance simr to both a coliseum and a theater. Even the floor was covered in marble that seemed to be infused with gold-dust; adorned withvish red carpets trimmed with golden fibers. Upon first seeing the multi-tiered theater, set with viewing stands that could easily amodate a crowd of several thousand, Alexander couldnt help butugh out loud before eximing, "Though itcks the charm of a real battlefield, I cant wait toy waste to this excessively extravagant ce~!" Seemingly unperturbed by Alexanders words, Nero crossed her arms proudly, nodding her head in agreement as she said, "An Emperor must embody the absolute ideals of their people. Others seek extravagance so an Emperor must be the most extravagant of all! Umu, feel free to destroy this ce as you please. After all, that, too, is an Emperors privilege...!" Alexander seemed to find everything Nero said amusing so, in the same way as before, he began tough enthusiastically in response to her words. As for everyone else, they were busy looking around at their new stage; Vahn included. He could easily imagine Luvia fainting upon witnessing an entire theater constructed from purified, magically enchanted, gold. He could even imagine her asking him to build something simr in the future; a surprisingly simple feat with thebination of Maxwell and [Das Rheingold]... Before Alexander could wander off to literally start breaking things, Vahn took the initiative to state the rules of theirpetition, exining, "I dont doubt everyone here enjoys a good battle but, in order to make things more interesting; well be ying with stakes involved. Each of you has things you desire: be it freedom, power, authority, etcetera. With that in mind, the victor of thispetition of ours will be allowed something their heart desires; so long as it does not directly conflict with the interests of the Empire. Do any of you have issues with this arrangement?" Hearing Vahns exnation, Alexander wasted no time in answering, "I have no problems with that. The real question is, what do you expect to receive upon winning? Weve all seen your memories at this point; youre a real monster, arent you? Is this how you intend to keep us in line, using our pride to force our acquiescence after stealing victory for yourself...?" Rather than outright refute Alexanders usation, Vahn returned a smile as he exined, "There is only one thing I truly desire; something obtainable only through personal effort. I am participating in thispetition for personal reasons. If youe to respect me by the time thingse to an end, that is a decision you would have made for yourself..." Seemingly unable to help himself, Alexander beganughing in response to Vahns words. As for the others present: Nero bobbed her head with an umu, Ozymandias crossed his arms, Att stared off into space, and Artoria smiled approvingly. With no one else having anything to ask, the event, rather unceremoniously, proceeded to the next stage: battle. They would be doing a round-robin stylepetition as, with only six people, brackets would be pointless. This event was basically just an opportunity for each of them to show off so, with that in mind, Vahn took the initiative to secure his participation in the first bout, opening the floor to all challengers. Without missing a beat, Nero was the first to react to Vahns words, her mouth forming an excited smile as she instantly eximed, "I will have the honor of issuing the first challenge! Umu, prepare yourself, my Master, as I will not hold back. Rather than a bunch of random memories, I wish to see for myself how powerful you are!" In timing with Neros outburst, Vahn felt the energy in the surroundings shift slightly and, while it was almost impossible to notice, even the fluttering of the rose petals became more chaotic. This theater was simr to a Reality Marble but, instead of overwriting the texture of the world with a new one; Neros ability seemed to build upon the existing world. Even if she stopped powering it with her energy, Vahn was certain the theater would continue standing; must like the Hanging Gardens. Though he was slightly curious about the nature of Neros A-Rank Noble Phantasm, Vahn knew he would soon find out about its abilities first hand. Even if it had the ability to seal away opponents, he was confident in being able toe out ahead; securing victory and elevating his status in the eyes of his fellow Emperors and Empresses... With this in mind, Vahn adopted a simr smile to Neros, one that showed off his excitement as he unhesitantly replied, "It is our honor to ept your challenge, Nero...shall we dance?" Laughing in response to Vahns question, Nero gestured for everyone else to clear out as she said, "If this was apetition of the arts, I fear this wouldnt be apetition at all. Umu, it is fortunate for everyone else that this is merely a contest of strength and skill; a brutish but effective way to disy our individual prowess~" Since Nero had regaled him with tales of her various talents the previous day, Vahn knew that she genuinely considered herself peerless in the arts. It didnt matter if it was painting, song, dance, or even disys of martial prowess; Nero considered herself more skilled than Apollo, more beautiful than Venus, and a greater charioteer than Sol; something thetter would vehemently disagree with if not for the face she had been summoned as a Shielder. Without minding Neros taunting in the slightest, Vahn leaped back so that he was about halfway from the center point of the theater. This action was mirrored by Nero and, for a brief moment, they just observed each other as the others found seats in the Imperial Seating Area. Since there was only one Throne present, the atmosphere above became somewhat tense until everyone ultimately came to a silent agreement; deciding to observe the battle while standing... There were no official rules for the contest so Vahn had also forgone the selection of a referee. This left things somewhat ambiguous, leaving it to the contenders to decide when to start. As a result, Vahn and Nero continued to stare at each other for nearly a full minute before a single rose petal, which had been dancing near the center of the arena, settled on the ground. The moment it touched down, Vahns and Neros figures both disappeared; their battle officially having started... (A/N: Alternate Titles: What truly matters most...,Vahns heart has only ever desired one thing...,The opening act is preempted by the prelude~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1358 - Performance

Chapter 1358 - Performance

Two things happened immediately after the start of Vahns battle with Nero. The first was, from the moment the rose petal touched the ground, it felt as if all of his parameters had been spontaneously reduced. Even his mental perception seemed to be minutely affected; forcing a small dy between the signals from his brain and the actions of his body. Secondly, Neros figurepletely vanished from his field of view and, by the time he sensed her new location, she had risen to the edge of the highest viewing tform... As Vahn turned his gaze to focus on Neros figure, he was momentarily dazzled by the sight of rose petals dancing around her as light, seemingly cast from the void, illuminated her from behind. Then, with the ir of a grandiose songstress, Nero held one hand to her heart while extending the other outward in a smooth arc; a sonorous melody escaping her lips... Vahn felt a powerful suppressive force attempt to further inhibit his capabilities but, rather than just stand around listening to Neros performance; he vanished once again, this time tearing through the fabric of Space to appear right next to her. Golden horns now protruded from his temples as what appeared to be electricity danced across his azure-gold pattern of scales. Without sparring Vahn a single nce, Nero continued her song as if nothing in the world could stop her from revealing her soul to all willing to listen. Even as his ws barreled toward the small of her back, intent on rending flesh and bone alike, Nero gave him no heed. This nearly caused Vahn to retract his attack but, with Neros song sending shivers through his body; he had no choice but to bring it to an end. What surprised him was the fact that, until the very end, Nero made no attempt to defend herself. His ws tore through her body, bisecting top from bottom but; instead of blood and viscera, an eruption of rose petals emerged from the wound; spreading to epass the entirety of Neros body before disappearing in the next moment. Throughout this process, Neros song continued to echo through the surroundings with building intensity while, on the opposite side of the theater, a new version of the singing Empress had formed... It didnt take a genius to realize he had been trapped in some kind of illusion but, with the singing Nero possessing a physical body and an aura to match, Vahn was unable to understand exactly how she had circumvented his [Will of the Emperor] and [Eyes of Truth]. It wasnt the first time thetter had failed him but, from the moment he had awakened it, Vahn had never encountered a moment where his [Will of the Emperor] had been fooled. He could even sense that the current Merlin was an illusion so it didnt make much sense that Nero could trick his senses. Though nothing was impossible, Vahn elected to believe that he was actually seeing the real Nero, not an illusion. If this was true, it meant her Noble Phantasm allowed her to manipte reality within the confines of her grand theater. Since this was actually a famous part of Neros legend, as she was known to act with absolute impunity within, Vahn assumed he wasnt far from the truth. With this in mind, Vahn focused his domain, constraining it to only a few meters around him before exploding it outward with tremendous force. This caused Artoria and the others to take cover, with Ozymandias even going so far as to take flight in order to move to a more suitable location. When he tried to exit through the gap in the roof, however, he suddenly found himself back in the viewing stands with everyone else... Vahn hadnt been focusing on the viewing stands too much but he had obviously taken note of the actions of Ozymandias. To test his theory, however, he barreled toward the now-dancing Nero as she sang her heart out,pletely ignoring the surroundings. Vahn could actually hear apuse begin to build in his surroundings; his senses warning him of the encroaching danger. Since she made no effort to evade, it took no effort for Vahn to vanquish the second of Neros rose-filled forms. Then, without arresting his momentum at all, he mmed into the side of the theater with tremendous force, rending reinforced golden pirs and walls like paper mache. Despite tearing through several tens of meters of the durable metal, however, Vahn never reached the outside of the theater. Instead, when he finally did break through, he had emerged on the opposite side, almost as if he had been breaking in; instead of trying to break out... Instead of being bothered by these happenings, Vahn couldnt help butugh out loud in response to Neros rather interesting Noble Phantasm. He had been wondering from the start how she would do battle, as shecked both armor and offensive weapons, so this was a rather interesting turn of events. Thus, in order to express his thoughts on the matter, Vahn joined the invisible crowd for a brief moment, apuding Nero who, now, danced along a handrail; her form and grace far beyond the most skilled of ballerinas. As if she only just now noticed his presence, Nero turned her attention toward Vahn, a smile on her face as suddenly spun with her back facing the interior of the theater, falling to the ground without any fear. When her body struck the floor, more than 50m below, it vanished into a rippling flow of rose petals, this time spreading to cover the entire floor. Then, from the very center of the arena, a small erupted urred; revealing the dancing Nero; now d in a rose-red gown that matched the seemingly infinite stream of petals now following her movements... If he were asked, Vahn would unhesitantly admit that Neros Noble Phantasm was one the most beautiful he had ever witnessed. Unfortunately, this was a battle and, as much as he wanted to just sit back and enjoy the performance; he couldnt just forfeit the match. Thus, as the rose petals began to form a slowly revolving cyclone, Vahn ascending alongside them; azure lightning dancing across his body in an ever-increasing flow. As Neros song began to reach its crescendo, Vahn extended his hand toward the opening in the ceiling, his pupils contracting to small slits as he began forciblypress Space and Time; forming a small ball of immense gravitational force in the air. This was simr to a [Space-Time Elemental Star] but, instead of using his Oblivion, Vahn was condensing it from his own understanding of the two fundamental forces. He hadnt been cking during the times he trained so, while it was significantly weaker than the one he threw at Solon; it was still terrifyingly powerful. Unable to resist what was effectively a controlled ck hole, the rose petals that had been building in volume began to get sucked into the slowly expanding void. At the same time, the fabric of space itself began to twist and fracture as azure-ck lightning periodically tore through the surrounding theater. Though it had instantly restored itself when he tore through the walls previously, Vahn now watched with intense focus as the building was steadily torn apart; this time without reverting back to its original appearance. Eventually, Nero was finally forced to stop her performance as her body was lifted from the rapidly disintegrating foundation. She tried to control her ascent, spinning gracefully through the air a few times; but it was an ultimately futile action. Even with her A-Rank [Magic Resistance], there was no way to defend against Vahns attack as it relied on the maniption of Laws, not magical energy. Just as it appeared as though she was going to get sucked into the gravitational abyss, Vahns eyes began to slowly dte as he cut his hand down; much like striking with a hammer. Instead of having the orb continue to pull things toward it, Vahn reversed the flow in an instant, emting Mikotos use of [Futsunomitama]; greatly increasing the amount of gravity within the center of the theater. Though she was suddenly hurled toward the ground like a falling meteor, Nero was surprisingly able to right herself in mid-air. She evennded gracefully on her feet, dispersing the force of her impact into the surroundings as a massive volume of golden debris and rose petals crashed around her. It was a chaotic sight to behold but, as if she waspletely untouchable, Nero stood proudly in the center as everythingnded outside of a 5m area around her body... Seeing this, Vahn issued a light chuckle as he descended to the ground and asked, "Are we going to consider this my victory? Or, would you rather continue...?" As Vahn asked his questions, he watched as the flow of time within the theater seemed to reverse, all of the damage from his attack being rapidly undone. At the same time, Nero issued her usual Umu as she nodded her head and stated, "You have done well, my Master. Even if I went all-out, I fear my attacks would have nosting effect. I had thought to secure victory by suppressing your power but, as we have all witnessed, that is easier said than done." By the time she was finished speaking, Neros theater had been restored in all its glory. The only sign of change was that her outfit was still the same rose-red dress she had spontaneously changed into partway through her performance. It was actually a little tamer than her usual outfit but, in much the same manner; the front part of the dress waspletely missing to reveal Neros panties for all eyes to behold. Since they were formed from an intricatece pattern,plete with rose adornments, it inspired feelings of debauchery just by witnessing them... Being even more perceptive of a persons wayward thoughts than most Magi, Neros smile reached her eyes for a brief moment before she suddenly performed a graceful pirouette and said, "Umu, if you prefer this dress, I will wear it from now on. It stirs the mes of passion within our heart to have the appreciation of one such as thou. Umu, please, do not shy away from admiring us at your leisure, Master..." Hearing Nero suddenly call him Master, instead of using the more possessive my Master, Vahn couldnt help but blink in mild surprise. Before he could say anything in response, however, Nero vanished into a plume of rose petals. When she next appeared, she was standing in the Imperial Seating Area; standing next to ornate Throne instead of sitting upon it. This conveyed her intent even more than her words as, being an Emperor; giving up ones throne to another was something iprehensible in most situations. Though he could try and make a point by choosing to stand with everyone else, Vahn ultimately decided to take the seat for himself. He knew there was a high chance that Nero would try to sit in hisp but he couldnt simply pass on such an opportunity. This whole event was essentially a way for them all to show off and basically affirm the current hierarchy so, for the time being, Vahn chose to y along by taking a seat on the surprisinglyfortable, albeit ridiculously ornate, throne. Seeing Vahn sit upon the throne that everyone else had silently agreed to leave empty, Alexander couldnt help but issue his characteristicugh. He believed that Emperors must be overbearing and dominant so, while it certainly annoyed him; he couldnt reallyin after seeing Vahns disy of raw power. If it was him battling against Nero, the chances of victory were, admittedly, slim. He didnt even know exactly what had happened; only that it was impossible to leave the theater even with things like flight and teleportation... Fortunately, Nero and Vahn were momentarily out of the way so, seizing the initiative, Alexander leaped into the center of the theater before eximing, "How about it, Empress Artoria, will you do me the honor of epting my challenge!?" Since he still remembered Artorias words from the day of his summoning, Alexander felt she was the most suitable candidate for his first battle. It was unfortunate but, as Vahn hadnt summoned his adult self, Alexanders options were pretty limited. Though the thought of being able to grow even stronger than his past self was exciting; that would take several years to achieve. Despite knowing this was the case, he would never simply lower his head to another and; even if he ended up losing against everyone present, his pride would walk away unscathed. Hearing Alexander issue his challenge, Artoria became even more serious than usual as she jumped down to meet him; sword in hand as she answered, "It is my honor to ept your challenge. Out of respect for your bravery, I will hold nothing back." With an appreciative nod, Alexander followed Artorias suggestion without dy; pulling his sword free from the scabbard at his waist. They were actually pretty simr to each other with their youthful appearances but,pared to the phenomenal aura radiating from Artoria; Alexanders seemed like a small, yet vibrant, me. Still, with a confident smile on his face, he pointed the tip of his sword at Artoria and calmly stated, "Show me what youve got..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Cant touch this~,Vahn be like, "Bet.",Pride is knowing you will lose, using it as an opportunity to learn, anding back stronger than ever before...as many times as it takes) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1359 - Destruction

Chapter 1359 - Destruction

True to her word, Artoria didnt hold anything back. Once she heard Alexanders words of challenge, she used [Mana Burst] to close the distance in an instant. This caused Alexanders smile to grow a bit wider but, despite his attempts to deflect her strike; he ended up being sent crashing into the far wall in an instant. When it came to raw speed and power, Artoria was several orders of magnitude superior to the current Alexander. He could onlypete with her Luck but, while this would give him a slight advantage against other opponents, it was virtually useless against others with high luck. This was the primary downside to being summoned as a Lily ss as, in exchange for increased potential, your parameters were considerably lower than your true self. Despite this, Alexander erupted from his hole, lightning flickering across his body as he mused, "Its been a while since Ive used this skill. Farewell, my good looks...[Zeus Thunder]...!" The moment Alexander shouted out, his height and muscle mass noticeably increased and, much to Vahns chagrin, he suddenly seemed to age by several years in an instant. He went from a youth of around fifteen to a young man in histe teens, his body rippling with refined muscles. At the same time, however, his eyes seemed to grow further apart as his nose becamerger and more rigid... Now, faster and stronger than before, Alexander bolted toward Artoria using raw speed and power to propel himself forward. His sword now seemed somewhat small in his hands, turning into more of a shortsword or a long dagger due to the spontaneous increase in size... In response to Alexanders charge, Artoria stepped forward with her foot, shifting her hips slightly as she side-stepped and began to sweep her sword in a batting motion. Using the t of her de, she smashed into the side of Alexanders shoulder. Due to her use of [Mana Burst], flesh and bone alike buckled under the blow, twisting Alexanders frame around the de before sending him skipping across the ground to crash into a golden pir. Despite having his left shoulder shattered beyond recognition, Alexander rose to his feet without any visible difort. Then, seeing his useless left arm, his brows raised slightly as he mused, "I see now where your confidence came from. I want to battle the others so Im afraid Ill have to throw in the towel this time around. I look forward to our next battle, Empress Artoria." Hearing Alexander surrender, Artoria dropped her own stance, stating in a calm yet firm tone, "A day wille when were able to fight on equal footing. I will await that moment in earnest." Though Alexander might never be able to defeat Artoria in a real battle, that didnt mean he couldnt be stronger and faster than her. Artoria had seen how powerful he was as an adult so she knew it was only a matter of time before she was forced to use her trump cards to secure victory. If he had been the same person she met in the past, she would be forced to use Avalon from the beginning... Since he didnt hear any falsehoods in her words, Alexander sheathed his sword with a smile on his face without furtherment. Respect was one of the most important things between rulers so, with Artoria giving him a bit of respect; he would return the favor by holding back his usual blithe tongue. --- As Alexander and Artoria returned to the Imperial Viewing Area, Vahn rose to his feet to congratte thetter. Then, turning to Alexander, he had to force himself to keep a straight face as he asked, "Is that effect permanant...?" Hearing Vahns question, Alexander released a heartyugh as he only just now remembered one of the reasons for his summoning. It would certainly be difficult to lead the youth if he spontaneously became a middle-aged man after using his [Zeus Thunder] a few times. Fortunately, so long as he didnt use it several times in a row, the effects were temporary. After a few hours had passed, his [Divinity] would slowly reduce in Rank while his [Rose-Cheeked Adonis] Skill would eventually revert back to normal. Thetter Skill was responsible for his youthful appearance and, so long as he didnt overuse [Zeus Thunder], he would maintain his appearance indefinitely. Knowing these things, Alexander waved away Vahns concerns, a cheeky grin on his face as he said, "Hey now, dont judge people only looks alone. Even if I looked like an old man, its not like my age would change, right? Hahahahahaha~" Since he could tell Alexander was just messing with him, Vahnrgely ignored his remark. Instead, he ced his hand on Alexanders shattered shoulder, channeling Source Energy into the injured area. If he wanted to, it was possible to heal Alexander using actual techniques but, due to his nature as a Heroic Spirit; Alexander would make a full recovery with a bit of excess mana. As a result, his wound quickly mended itself and, after a few seconds had passed; he had recoveredpletely. After opening and closing his hand a few times, Alexander gave a curt nod to Vahn before saying, "I dont like to owe favors. Even then, Im not the type that avoids expressing my gratitude. Thanks for healing my arm. Dont think Ill go easy on you during out battle, though." Hearing Alexanders remark, it was Vahns turn tough. He actually preferred if people behaved like Alexander as it was a breath of fresh airpared to how most people acted around him. With the exception of Astolfo, most of his other malepanions acted slightly distant due to the constant observation of his status. Even Siegfried was guilty of this so, having someone be straight with him was a wee change... --- With everyone else having fought a battle, only Ozymandias and Altera, the True Name of Att, were left to contend against each other. The former didnt seem to particrly care about the battle but, with his own pride at stake, he wasnt going to hold anything back. As for Altera, she hadnt so much as spoken a single word unless it was absolutely necessary. She just observed everything in absolute silence, her wine-red eyes calmly analyzing everything around her; much like a machine. Seeing Alteras emotionless gaze caused even Ozymandias to feel as if he wasnt facing off against a human opponent. Rather, she inspired the same instinctual reaction people would have when facing a natural disaster, something they had no hope of opposing. This made him treat her seriously from the very beginning, something he would almost never do with any other opponent... In recognition of the fact that Altera was a dangerous existence, Ozymandias was the one to start the match, taking to the sky as he chanted, "I shall give you a reward, lightless one. Look on my works, ye Mighty, and bow down! Give in to my infinite brilliance; The sun descends here! Ramesseum Tentyris: The Shining Great Temple Complex...!!" Though it was usually impossible for two Reality Marbles to upy the same space, Neros theater was closer in nature to High-Thaumaturgy; one that rivaled True Magic. Hers projected on top of the current texture while, in most other cases, the Reality Marble was simr to the manifestation of a persons internal world. Thus, from the perspective of outsiders, a ck sphere spread through the area to envelop Ozymandias and Altera; its interior a seemingly infinite space in spite of the spheres diameter being only 50m across. Vahn wasnt really surprised that Ozymandias activated his EX-Ranked Noble Phantasm from the very beginning as, based on Scthachs evaluation of Altera, there was almost no way to defeat her. Since this came from Scthach herself, Vahn didnt doubt Altera was a truly monstrous opponent as this assessment included both forms of Scthach. Anyone that could fight on par and even defeat his monstrous Shishou was a true monster themselves... Fortunately, while it would generally be impossible to enter a Reality Marble from the outside, Vahn had several methods to achieve this feat; the easiest being to ask Arcueid for assistance. She was the absolute ruler of the space they currently inhabited so, after a few seconds of just staring at a ck sphere, Vahn and the rest were transported inside. What they then witnessed was a scene generally reserved for an Apocalypse... The flow of time within a Reality Marble was often very different from the outside world so, despite only a few seconds having passed, the inside appeared to have suffered the onught of an entire army. There were hundreds of buildings, altars, and temples in ruins as Altera, moving through the area with the momentum of a hurricane, dodge the constant assault of a fleet of golden ships, more than a dozen Sphinxes, and a seemingly infinite torrent of green tendrilsshed out at her from every angle... Vahn was actually a little taken aback to see how devastatingly powerful Alteras onught was. Her basic movements alone were enough to tear through the durable body of a Sphinx, a creature that could rival a B-Rank Heroic Spirit. When she actually attacked, her tri-colored de of light would generate a wave of mes that swept through the area, destroying everything within 50 meters sopletely that they turned to dust... Ozymandias only advantage seemed to be his ability to fly beyond Alteras basic attack range but, after a few seconds of ughtering everything around her, it became clear even this wasnt truly an advantage. Alteras sword absorbed the mana from the surroundings, spinning with greater intensity with each passing moment. When a gap opened in the enemys encirclement, she would point her sword toward one of Ozymandias ships; the tri-colored beam extending at the speed of light topletely annihte one of the resplendent golden vessels... Seeing this disy, Alexander broke the stunned silence of everyone present, his tone carrying a bit of difort as he wryly mused, "It seems there is always a higher mountain...hahaha..." Since they were used to battling against Scthach, Vahn and Artoria were a little better off than Nero and Alexander. Even they were a little taken aback, however, as Altera clearly didnt know how to hold back in the slightest. Vahn would need to reevaluate his decision to deploy her as her power seemed more likely to destroy the Supercolony than keep it safe. He couldnt help but wonder if this was the reason for her [Civilization Erosion: EX] Skill... Following Alexandersment, Nero was the next to break the silence but, unlike the intense looks possessed by everyone else, she had her usual smile as she remarked, "I believe the purpose of this contest may be twisted at this rate. Umu, without rules and restrictions, the chance of killing ones own allies increases exponentially. That one seems tock mercy. I would advise that you call her back, Master, lest our fellow Emperor loses his life." Vahn could feel the Laws of Destruction in the mes produced by Altera so he had no doubts about the veracity of Neros words. Ozymandias himself seemed to be aware of the danger posed by Altera as, every time she moved to destroy one of his ships, he would teleport far away in an instant. This was the reason so many buildings had been destroyed as, without putting something between himself and Altera, she would cut him down without any hesitation whatsoever. To prevent a tragedy from urring, Vahn took Neros advice, activating his Command Spells for only the second time, shouting, "Altera, pull back. Cease attacking Ozymandias this instant!" Though there was a fair amount of distance between them, Altera immediately reacted to Vahnsmand. She stopped destroying everything in her surroundings and instead turned toward him, kicking off against the ground with tremendous force. It took less time than a blink for her to cover the fourteen-kilometer distance separating them, her facecking any discernible emotion as she inly asked, "Is there something you require of me, Master? My opponent has yet to be defeated." Hearing Alteras words, Vahn got the distinct impression she fully intended to destroy Ozymandias, rather than defeat him. He couldnt help but shake his head slightly as he habitually reached out his hand, stroking the top of Alteras head as he exined, "This battle is over. It seems I was careless in deciding how these battles would take ce..." Altera showed no visible reaction to having her head pat but, in response to her Masters words, she simply answered, "I see." before falling silent once again. This reminded Vahn a lot of how Scthach and Okita had reacted to his actions in the past; making it very clear she had a fundamentalck of understanding regarding social etiquette. She was like a machine created expressly to carry out her directive; nothing more, nothing less... Knowing Vahn well at this point, Artoria couldnt help but release a subdued sigh as she recognized the characteristic glint in his eyes. It almost felt like his recent vow meant nothing but, despite this, she didnt really me him. Vahns naturepelled him to care for others, oftentimes more than he cared for himself. If he found encountered someone in need of his help, he oftentimes went out of his way to help them; especially if their lives had been gued by tragedy. If she wanted to prevent Altera from getting caught up in Vahns usual momentum, Artoria would need to find something to upy the emotionless woman. It was obvious she needed meaningful interaction with others to be a moreplete person so, before things got out of hand, she had to take matters into her own... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Zeus the kind of cuck that blesses his children with power in exchange for their good looks,Poor Ozymandias xD...,Waifu-mode...ACTIVATE...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1360 - Recognition

Chapter 1360 - Recognition

After dispelling his Reality Marble, Ozymandias had a clearly somber expression on his face as he descended to rejoin the others. Altera was a monster beyond anything he could have imagined. She had even been able to cut down the Cosmos Sphinx, Wehem-Mesut; a being capable of reforming itself indefinitely; in a single blow. Since it had taken a blow in his stead, Ozymandias knew he had nearly lost his life at the hands of Altera; despite having taken her serious from the onset of battle... What Ozymandias had no way of knowing was that Altera was an entity that, on a fundamental level, transcended traditional Heroic Spirits. She was apletely alien existence and, though the Throne of Heroes was able to call upon her Spirit; it also possessed the capabilities to call upon other Alien Heroes, Conceptual Entities, and even Outer Gods. She also possessed the titles of King of Combat and the Great King of Destruction, legacies that granted her actual power through the Throne of Heroes. Ozymandias also possessed two titles: King of Kings and King of Construction but, as a Great King of Destruction, Altera was basically a perfect counter to him. He could not create faster than she was able to destroy; even with a veritable ocean of magical power at his disposal. From the very beginning, there had only ever been two oues to their battle: the first ending in Ozymandias death and the second relying on Vahns intervention. Now, the legendary King of Kings tasted his second defeat; this time learning the vastness of the heavens and the depths of history. He hadnt even been unrivaled during his lifetime so, while his pride would not allow him to easily lower his head to others; he understood there was a vast gulf between him and Altera... Seeing the nightmarish woman passively receive Vahns caress, Ozymandias was reminded of the fact that thetter wasnt a being to be trifled with. Altera wasnt even the strongest being under his authority so, while he had never harbored thoughts of rebellion; Ozymandias decided he would be an ardent supporter of the Empire. His time to rule had ended more than a millennium prior so now, fate willing, he would enjoy life alongside his beloved once again. This time, he would not allow his pride to invite tragedy into their lives... --- With Ozymandias having joined them, Vahn stopped patting Alteras head to say, "Ive decided to end ourpetition here. It was an error in my judgment to abstain from making a clear set of rules for everyone to follow. I wanted us to be able to go all out so that we might better understand each other moving forward. Ultimately, the victor of this event would have always been Artoria as, even if I went all out from the start; there is no real way to defeat her. If any of you would like to try, feel free to challenge her at your behest. For now, I officially dere thispetition concluded." Hearing Vahn im that Artoria was the strongest among them, Nero couldnt help but give her doppelganger an intrigued look, musing, "Umu, I would like to challenge you. Forgive me if my words offend you but I cant begin to fathom how you could be stronger than me. I still wish to prove myself so I am unable to let things end like this." Since she had been anticipating Neros challenge from the start, Artoria was fully prepared to ept. She gave Vahn a look, asking with her eyes whether or not she could ept. As an Empress, she had a considerable amount of authority but; as Vahn had just announced the conclusion of the series of battles, she needed to confer with him. He may recognize her status as equal to her own but Artoria would not pass on an opportunity to elevate his status in the eyes of others. Vahn would have preferred to end things there and then but, as a battle between Artoria and Nero could help to ease tensions; he ultimately decided to allow it. He was also curious about what would happen when Neros performance came to an end so, without too much deliberation, he nodded his head and stated, "This will be thest battle of the day, then. Take care not to take things too far. If I feel things are getting out of hand, I will intervene without hesitation." With Vahns acquiescence, Nero gave her characteristic umu while Artoria replied with a proper bow. Afterward, they both moved to their starting positions as Vahn, Ozymandias, Alexander, and Altera moved to the Imperial Viewing Area. Once Vahn took his seat upon the Throne, he noticed that Altera was still holding her tri-colored de in hand as she watched the battlefield with emotionless, calcting, eyes. He doubted she would jump into the battle without being told to but, just in case, he spoke in a faint tone, saying, "Altera, put away your weapon. There are no more battles for you to fight today. Rx and observe the battle..." Hearing her Mastersmand, Altera turned to look back at him, answering, "I see..." in a soft monotone before cing her sword back into her chest. Then, with no other words necessary, she turned to observe the battle with an unwavering gaze. Vahn had the distinct impression that Altera knew little other than battle so, while others may think it was a picturesque scene; with her delicate frame and veil-like hair flowing gently amidst a flurry of rose petals, he couldnt shake the feeling he was witnessing something somber and mncholic. He needed to learn more about her past before it caught up to all of them so, after the battle between Artoria and Nero; he needed to discuss the matter with ya, Merlin, Scthach, and, Altera herself... --- When the final battle between Nero and Artoria began, Vahn was slightly surprised when the former, instead of beginning her performance; charged toward Artoria with incredible speed. Her figure was momentarily shrouded amidst mes which, in the next moment, gave way to reveal a reddish-ck sword without a guard. At the same time, her outfit had once again changed, this time into a brilliant red battle-dress ented with whites and gold. She also had a pauldron on her right shoulder, her dominant arm, and two form-fitting greaves that had prominent heels. With a sudden and intense burst of speed, Nero closed the distance between herself and Artoria in an instant; thetter waiting to meet her blow head-on. Vahn was able to see exactly how broken the [Imperial Privilege: EX] was in this moment as, after having her somewhat clumsy blow deflected by Artoria, Neros movements instantly became more graceful as she twirled around on her heel and began a flurry of blows; each faster and sharper than thest. Artoria never looked down on her opponents so, even when Neros movements became an almost perfect emtion of her own abilities; she hadnt been caught off guard. Instead, she decided to use it as an opportunity to push her own swordsmanship further, knowing full well there were heights far beyond her current level of skill. Thus, to the awe of everyone except Altera, the two near-identical girls began a hypersonic dance of death; the trajectory of their attacks nearly impossible to read as a gradually increasing number of rose petals danced around them... Though he knew Nero hadnt gone easy on him, Vahn could tell she had been keeping some of her skills a secret in order to disy her full might against Artoria. The main purpose of her participation in todays challenge was to basically gain ess to the Inner Sanctum so; from the beginning, Nero had set her sights on Artoria. In a way, she needed to prove herself superior to thetter as, in her mind, it was simply uneptable that someone borrowing her appearance was able to eclipse her in any category; even battle. Unfortunately, even if she could disy all of Artorias skills with mastery, grace, and elegance, there was a gap in their parameters, overall battle experience, and ability to focus. Though she now had the earrings Vahn had given her, Nero still had trouble focusing her mind; even against an opponent right in front of her. Her nature made it nearly impossible for her to take a battle seriously as, due to her skewed view of what it meant to be an Emperor; she couldnt recognize that her opponent was a serious threat. A stark contrast to Nero, Artoria entered into a state of absolute focus while in battle, her adherence to the chivalric code making it impossible for her to look down on opponents. She saw battles like this as an opportunity to improve herself, refine her skills, and breakthrough her limits. As for Nero, she saw battle as nothing more than a performance, a disy of artistry, beauty, and elegance. Thus, as the battle progressed, Artoria was able to take advantage of the gaps in Neros mentality; her holy sword periodically finding purchase to send out plumes of rose petals instead of blood... During one particrly fierce exchange, Nero ended up getting cut from hip to chest in one clean swipe of Artorias [Excalibur]. A massive plume of rose petals escaped from the wound and, as if she had only just realized she was in battle, momentary focus shed across Neros emerald-green eyes. In the next moment, she attempted to parry Artorias follow-up strike but, with thetter putting a considerable amount of strength into the blow; Neros sword was sent careening through the air as a second blow, running perpendicr to the former, crossed her body. Despite these two blows, Neros smile never waned in the slightest. She used her momentary focus to stare back at Artoria, finding thetter with an intense and dauntless expression. This seemed to be amusing to her as, with her body dissipating into thousands of rose petals; Nero smiled with even greater brilliance than normal as she mused, "Umu, truly a woman worthy of our Master. You do our appearance justice, Empress Artoria...now, allow me to answer your resolution in kind..." With Neros figure disappearing from view, Artoria turned her attention to the surroundings, looking for any sign of the formers figure. She noticed there was an incredible volume of rose petals flowing counterclockwise throughout the entire theater but, after seeing Vahn destroy the attack previously, she was confident in being able to do the same. Just as during her battle with Vahn, Neros body reformed almost immediately after her previous figure vanished. This time, she appeared next to where her sword had been lodged into a wall, one of the ces Artoria had been paying attention to from the start. Thus, following the sound of a loud explosion, the two golden-haired beauties began another round of exchanges; this time with Neros sword zing with vermillion mes that intermixed with the mana shrouding Artorias body in a beautiful, albeit explosive, manner. Though the infusion of mes into her attacks might have pressured other opponents, Artoria had fought against Karna on several asions. She was also adept at using [Cantus Bex] to create a permanant shroud of mana around her body so, while the mes were intense enough to gradually melt the magically enchanted gold in their surroundings, it wasnt enough to singe a single hair on Artorias head. Instead, her own attacks became more intense as she began to infuse a considerable amount of mana into each blow, pushing herself and Nero beyond their natural limits. It was in the midst of these exchanges that Nero began to notice with increasing excitement that her usual headaches were nowhere to be seen. Even though she had started to focus on the battle, there was a gentle flow of energy in her mind that allowed her to remain calm; something that, if not for her status as an Emperor; would have brought a tear to her eye. Now, it brought an excited smile to her face as, with ever-increasing intensity, she began to meet Artorias blows; her jubtion fueling her to continue. As the intensity of the battle increased, so too did the volume of rose petals within the theater. There was also an audible sound of apuse resonating throughout the grand hall, its volume tied to the intensity of the duos performance. Vahn had spected this was the case during his battle against Nero so it was interesting to confirm it from the perspective of a spectator. From here, he could get a much better grasp on the nature of Neros Noble Phantasm; using it as inspiration to empower his own Reality Marble in the future... Eventually, the sound of apuse reached a crescendo and, after one particrly intense exchange with Artoria, Nero allowed her sword to be knocked aside freely. Then, spreading her arms wide, she fell towards the ground with an almost amorous look on her face as she allowed herself to crash into the floor below. Since she had already seen Nero perform this same technique previously, Artoria wasted no time in pulling out and activating her [Avalon]. Then, as Nero appeared in the center, how having reverted back to her rose-red dress, Artoria, surprisingly, stored away [Excalibur]. Instead, she pulled out one of the most powerful, and awe-inspiringly beautiful, armaments in the entire world: [Rhongomyniad], the Lance that Shines to the Ends of the World. Even Nero was captivated by the beauty of Artorias spear, stopping her dance mid-step as she could tell there was no point in continuing. Then, for the second time in a single day, albeit with a smile on her face, she watched as her most powerful attack was destroyed. Artoria needed only raise her holy spear towards the sky to cause a majestic pir of light to shatter, not just her theater, but Arcueids Marble Phantasm. Fortunately, in preparation for these exact circumstances, the original location of the battle had taken ce high above Avalon; even further up than where Leviathan usually idled... When [Rhongomyniad]s light finally faded away, 80% of Neros theater, with the exception of the Imperial Viewing Area and the first floor, had beenpletely annihted. To further emphasize herplete victory, Artoria didnt even seem winded by the attack as she stood proud; her aura both majestic and invible. In this form, she was virtually immune to any kind of damage, even that from True Magic and High Thaumaturgy. At the same time, she had one of the most powerful weapons in the entire Record in hand, its full power able to dealsting damage to even Tier 5 entities. With all of these things in her favor, even Altera wouldnt be able to contend against Artoria as, even with her monstrous power, she would be unable to reach thetter. It was for this reason that Vahn had stated that Artoria was certain to be the winner as, even if he went all out, the best he could do is leave her with light wounds as they fought a literally endless battle. Though he would undoubtedly find some way to bypass her defenses, likely by entering Avalon himself, this wasnt something that others could hope to achieve without the all-powerful cheat that was Source Energy... Thus, without any further suspense, the battle between Artoria and Nero was brought to an end as thetter gave a curt nod and muttered, "You performed exceptionally. Umu, this is my utter defeat." Then, having overtaxed her body far beyond its limits, Nero fell backward with her arms spread wide, a bed of rose petals spontaneously manifesting to cushion her fall... https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1361 - Festive Routine

Chapter 1361 - Festive Routine

With the battle between Artoria and Neroing to an end, Vahn took the opportunity to apud them both. It had been like watching a dance between two master swordswoman and, though the end had been determined from the start; seeing how things yed out was a sight to behold. If he had any critique at all, it was that Artoria should have waited for Neros attack toplete before she ended the battle... Hearing Vahn pping, Artoria briefly turned her attention toward the stands; performing a proper bow before moving to help Nero stand. Thetter hadnt lost consciousness but, after falling onto the bed of rose petals, she just stared toward the sky above, a contented smile on her face. When Artoria came to help her up, she briefly nced at the formers outstretched hand before epting it and saying, "I will be stronger. Umu, one day, I will prove my worth as a woman worthy of our Masters affection..." Though it filled her with a fair amount of exasperation to hear Neros remark, Artoria had made her decision prior to the battle. It would be more troublesome to leave Nero to her own devices and, with her appearance being simr to several current residents; they would all have misgivings if she were to be involved with someone other than Vahn. Nobody wanted to see someone with a simr appearance to themselves behaving in an uncouth and unrestrained manner with a man other than the one they collectively loved... Knowing full well how licentious and free Nero was with her love, having her devote herself to Vahn was the simplest solution to the problem. This victory was merely to forcibly change the perspective of the proud Empress as; if she continued to believe she was simply above everyone else; it would be impossible to restrain her. Like this, there was a chance Artoria could restrain some of Neros more troublesome behaviors and, in time, there was a chance Nero could be something akin to a body double... With this in mind, Artoria restrained a sigh; instead, adopting a slight smile as she stated, "You need not trouble yourself, Empress Nero. While I may have been the victor, none present would dare im youck worth. Though your behavior will need to be addressed, it would be my honor to invite you into the sisterhood of the Inner Sanctum..." Hearing Artorias words, Nero was at a momentary loss but, after a few seconds had passed, a smile spread across her lips as she intoned an umu and said, "Ill be in your care then, Empress Artoria. It would seem I have much to learn about the etiquette of the Empire. Until then, I will observe your behavior closely. Umu..." Seeing the two simr women shake hands with each other, Vahns smile curled up at the edges. It would be best if Artoria and the others began proactively vetting and guiding girls like Nero, Altera, Okita, and even Jeanne. Though it was normal for an Emperor to have an entourage, Vahn felt a bit of pressure whenever he was apanied by the usual trio. It made his interactions with others a little awkward while also distancing them from the others. There wasnt much he could do about his nature so he could only rely on the patience and tolerance of the many women under his umbre... --- With the eventing to a conclusion, everyone participated in a banquet to turn any bitter feelings into positive rapport. Most people were rather fond of festivities so, in order to celebrate the arrival of so many new residents of the Empire; Vahn gave a small speech before enjoying delicious food and drink alongside his newpanions. As could be expected, Alexander, Nero, and even Altera took part in a few active challenges; most of which involved food and drink. Alexander had tried to challenge Karna to an arm-wrestling contest but, due to their slight inebriation, they ended up smashing the table as soon as the match began. This put a stop to such activities, even if Alexanders infectiousugh turned the incident into an entertaining affair... At this point, there were more than fifty people attending the banquet, not even counting the small horde of Companions, several very noticeable Guardians, and a whole host of Homunculi attendants. It made Vahn happy to see so many people gathered together; everyone having fun without caring for pretenses of status and other meaningless things. He could understand why the Gods back in the Record of Danmachi formed Familias as, while they may not care for each of their children with the same degree of focus; just having arge number of people gathered together turned small events into festive celebrations. Vahn knew many people would envy the position he was in but, even if they were given the chance to swap ces with him; he doubted they would be able to truly appreciate what he had created. If they had that capability, they would have formed a smallmunity, Kingdom, or even an Empire. Still, despite this, Vahn wanted to share happy moments like this, paving the way for others to taste even a fraction of what he experienced on a daily basis. To achieve this, he would need to carry out his ns without fail; no matter what his enemies, the world, or the cosmos threw at him... --- Since nearly every resident of the Ivory Castle had gathered together for the banquet, Vahn used the opportunity toplete his daily rounds; intending to check up on Azathoth, Tiamat, and Semiramis in turn. Thetter wasnt fond of loud celebrations so, despite having been invited to participate, she opted to remain in the Hanging Gardens; knowing full well that Vahn would eventuallye to visit. Knowing he would be stuck with Semiramis for a few hours, at the very least, Vahn opted to visit the slumbering Azathoth first. As usual, he found the infamous Outer God sleeping peacefully within the massive andfortable bed that had been prepared for them. They rarely moved between Vahns visits, caring little about the world around them and the universe that existed within their dreams... Seeing the slumbering youth with a slight smile on their face, Vahn couldnt help but apologetically smile as he asked, "How are they?" in a somber tone. Without moving in the slightest, Azathoths youthful voice echoed within Vahns mind, stating in azy but slightly happy tone, ("Some of them have done surprisingly well for themselves. It wont be long before they give in to despair, however. I can feel them break further with each death, the hope they had in escaping diminishing with every passing day~" Hearing Azathoths somewhat yful tone, Vahn released a small sigh as he reflected on his decision to toss various members of the Noble Faction into Azathoths dimension. Even though thetter had done nothing to torment them, the chaotic dreamscape wasnt a ce most people would be able to live. This was the most terrifying aspect of Azathoth, however, as death did not provide any form of release to those trapped within. Everything within had some form of immortality so, even if they wanted to take their own lives; they had no choice but to live on as penance for their past sins... In a way, Azathoth was serving as the gatekeeper of Hell, much like how Ereshkigal had been the Queen of the Underworld during the Age of Gods. Those trapped within his dimension would keep dying over and over until they eventually brokepletely; their souls effectively leaving their body to return to the cycle of reincarnation. It was an inarguably cruel punishment but, as their lives inside were lived entirely without interference, Vahn didnt actually umte much negative Karma; even if he felt somewhat guilty. If he wasnt aware of the monstrous acts they hadmitted in life, Vahn would have granted those inside the mercy of a final death long ago. Instead, they would revive for as many people as they had killed in life; suffering the burden of their own sins... Deciding not to ruminate over the fates of monstrous individuals, Vahn shook his head, clearing his thoughts before asking, "Is there anything you need?" Since he didnt really care about anything but slumbering endlessly, Azathothsughter sounded in Vahns head for a few moments before he answered, "Your concerns are appreciated...for now, I am content with staying here like this...my pillows are soft and my nkets arefortable...I can think of nothing to make my current life more pleasant..." Hearing Azathoths usual answer, Vahn gave a curt nod before turning away and reminding, "If you think of anything, please, let me know. Ill see you tomorrow, then." Following his parting words, Vahn began his ascent towards the surface; Azathoths echoing in his mind, answering with a variation of their usual reply, ("Thank you for always visiting me...next time, maybe we can sleep together...I enjoy watching you interact with my dreams...") Since he had been pretty busy with other thingstely, Vahn didnt really have the time to delve into Azathoths dimension recently. Though he could stay inside for years at a time without any seeming to pass in reality, it always left him with incongruous feelings after leaving. This didnt bother Vahn all that much but, with the current state of the world, he needed to keep to properly focus on his daily life. Still, he didnt want Azathoth to experience anything like loneliness so, with a casual wave of his hand, he responded, "Once things settle down a bit outside, Ill be sure to explore your dreams once again. When that timees, show me all the interesting things youve created, okay...?" --- After leaving Azathoths shrine, Vahn wasted no time in teleporting away; his destination a glowing white cacoon; the outer shell that represented Tiamats version of a Marble Phantasm. It was a ce others were disallowed entry but, after cing his palm against the surprisingly warm surface; Vahn was transported to a massive cavern that appeared to be at the bottom of the sea. There was water flowing in a massive vortex more than 5km in diameter; its overwhelming force seemingly kept at bay by an invisible membrane, one that allowed free passage while keeping out only the water and other organisms... At the very center of this massive vortex, a 50m tall figure could be seen hovering in mid-air, its body bound by pale-golden chains as it stood ramrod straight; observing Vahn with cross-shaped pupils and umon pink eyes. Her aqua-blue hair, reminiscent of the sea itself, flowed gracefully around her body; a sight Vahn had grown increasingly fond of with the passage of time. By the time he had approached the base of Tiamats feet, she had shrunk from her 50m height down to a more natural 160cm. It was a little distracting to see a 50m tall woman with virtually no clothes on so, during his previous visits, Vahn asked Tiamat to shrink down so he could easily converse with her. It was difficult tomunicate with someone when their eye was bigger than you so, after the first time; where he had floated in front of her gigantic face; Vahn had ultimately asked her to reduce her size for his own convenience... Though Tiamat hadnt spoken a single word since their first meeting, Vahn convinced himself that she was slowly growing ustomed to him. At the very least, she seemed to take all of his words to heart; even if he didnt voice them as orders. This showed that she was considerate of his words and actions as, even without conveying his intent; Tiamat hovered at afortable distance, presenting her head for petting. At the same time, ya manifested herself at a simr size, adopting a human form not all that dissimr from her counterparts... Vahn knew ya still had the objective of sleeping with him and getting impregnated but, as he had be rather fond of her over thest two years, he didnt mind pampering her. He wouldnt sleep with her until she was free from Akashas influence but, with the amount of progress she had been making; it wouldnt be too much longer before they shared a few intimate moments. For now, she needed to be content with simple skinship; setting an example for Tiamat to follow... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Just ording to keikaku...(keikaku means n),*Casually creates a version of Hell for sinners...*,The Godhand will conquer all, in time) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1362 - Tireless Endeavor

Chapter 1362 - Tireless Endeavor

After spending a fair amount of time telling Tiamat about what had transpired since theirst meeting, Vahn left the tremendously powerful vessel of Gaia to her own devices. She still had an innate fear of humanity and other forms of life so, when he wasnt around; she sealed herself away within her peculiar cacoon as a form of self-defense. This wasnt a fear he could remove from her through the use of a simplemand so, until she was ready to leave on her own volition, Vahn would continue visiting her frequently... "You must know that your efforts are in vain. Consciousness cannot be created arbitrarily from nothingness..." Hearing yas unexpected remark, Vahn gave the blue entity a curious look, asking, "Oh? And whatpelled you to say this so suddenly, ya?" Unlike her past self, ya had been growing increasingly more expressive these days so, when Vahn suddenly looked at her; she turned her eyes away from him, adding, "After being separated from her original strain of consciousness, Tiamat became a creature of pure instinct. You would be better off preparing her to receive Gaias consciousness or transnting another. Your belief that an empty vessel can develop consciousness is unfounded...your efforts are wasted." Though he couldnt be certain, Vahn sensed there was a greater meaning behind yas words. However, he knew better than most that consciousness could, in fact, be created; seemingly from nothingness. So long as the proper framework for life existed, the Soul with inexorably drawn to life. If given enough time and adequate stimulus, even inert matter or pure energy could develop an ego. Instead of arguing with her over the matter, Vahn lightly caressed yas somewhat squishy cheek with his index finger. She was in her shrunken, Companion-like state so; rather than an exotic beauty; she currently appeared as an adorable squirrel-like creature with a few human qualities. Understanding Vahn had basically ignored her, ya furrowed her brows slightly. Then, in spite of the fact she enjoyed his caress, ya nipped Vahns finger with her sharp teeth before jumping into the cor of his shirt and hiding. This left the man in question restraining the urge tough as he teleported to the Transfer Room; knowing ya probably wouldnt teleport him outside in her current state... --- With hisprehension of Space and Time increasing with each passing day, it didnt take long for Vahn to reach the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. His was actually well over the halfway point to developing a Divinity rted to Space, possessing 76%prehension ording to The Path. As for his understanding of Time, it trailed behind by a considerable amount; peaking at 30% but, at times, miraculously dropping as low as 28%. Comprehension was something that could easily be affected by various influences so; if you werent proactively trying to understand the nature of a particr Law; it was easy to be led astray. What troubled Vahn was the fact that his understanding of Creation Laws had been stuck around 88~90%; making it clear that it was significantly harder toprehend the Laws of Creation in a higher tiered Records. Still, it wasnt as if he hadnt made progress as; upon entering the Record, all of the values had reset to 0% until he had limated himself to the Laws of the Nasuverse. So long as he continued trying to improve his understanding andprehension, it shouldnt take too much longer for him to obtain the coveted Divinity... Since stressing over it was one of the things that led people astray the most, Vahn decided not to worry about his progress. Instead, he made his way to Semiramis bedchamber; finding thetteryingzily in a ck negligee that did little to conceal her figure. She had even braided her hair into an impossibly long ponytail, a clear indicator she had certain intentions behind choosing not to meet him in the Throne Room. Without shying away in the slightest, Vahn made his way over to the side of Semiramis bed, her snake-eyes following his approach while an expression of cidity masked her true emotions. It wasnt until he sat down on the side of her bed that Semiramis broke the silence, remarking, "You know, it is improper to enter the bedchambers of a woman without their permission. I would have thought that you, of all people, would understand such basic courtesies..." Having grown ustomed to Semiramis biting remarks, Vahn simply smiled in response to the raven-haired beautys words. This caused her to snort lightly through her nose while averting her eyes to the side, yet another reaction he had grown both ustomed to, and fond of. With this being the case, Vahn extended his hand to lightlyb through the pouting womans silky fringe bangs, asking, "How long did it take to braid your hair? This style suits you..." Though she still had a mildly annoyed expression on her face, it didnt take long for Semiramis to answer his question. She moved to prevent his hand from wandering aimless, grabbing it with her own as she said, "Dont look down on my abilities...something as simple as braiding hair, it took no time at all..." Vahn was tempted to point out that he never said anything about the difficulty involved but, as this was basically Semiramis way of saying, I worked hard so you better praise me, he continued to smile as he said, "It looks good...not that you need to style your hair to appear beautiful." With Vahn casually grabbing the hand she used to prevent him frombing through her hair, Semiramis took an audible breath before turning her eyes up at him and muttering, "Rougish..." in an usatory tone. Then, pulling her hand free, she snaked her way further onto the bed, her fair and pert posterior in full view as she moved to the opposite end to grab a golden chalice. It was a very obvious attempt to seduce him but, never one toin about the view of a marvelous backside, Vahn had no shame in burning the image of Semiramis translucent ck panties into his memory. Turning back to find Vahn gawking, Semiramis rolled her eyes; somehow making it appear as though she was simply fluttering them in a seductive manner. At this point, it was pretty clear what her intentions were so, deciding to y along; Vahn removed his boots before crawling into the bed andying close enough that he could easily embrace her body at his leisure. Then, for the 317th time, Semiramis handed him a very potent poison; her eyes observing him closely as he downed the chalices contents without a second thought. Generally speaking, Semiramis attempts to seduce him almost always ended with her giving him some ridiculously toxic substance to ingest. Then, failing in her assassination attempt, she would allow him to take a few liberties with her body as rpense. If he wanted to, it wouldnt be difficult to have Semiramis offer herself up to him but; until her emotions had be sincere, Vahn didnt mind ying this game of theirs indefinitely... For a brief moment, Vahn felt like he had swallowed hot magma but, without any real suspense, his body quickly purified the poison. This was one of the things he was most confident about so, even if Semiramis somehow came up with a Tier 5 poison, he would ingest it without fear. At this point, he knew his constitution was one of his greatest assets so, if given the chance to exploit it, Vahn would readily do so. Seeing Vahn ingest her most recent concoction without even blushing, Semiramis released a sigh as she leaned against his chest andined, "Youre a monster, you know that? A single drop of that poison would make a hundred hectares of farnd inhospitable for ten years. Yet, here youy, drinking an entire chalice without so much as batting an eye..." Since he had already exined his immunity to her in the past, Vahn knew Semiramis was mainly justining to be heard. Thus, instead of answering her question directly, he kissed the top of her head before saying, "As much as I wouldnt mind dying next to such a beautiful woman, I would rather live on to enjoy spending more time with her. I guess Im just selfish like that..." While speaking, Vahn took the initiative to run his left hand along Semiramis side and stomach, a gentle flow of energy spreading from his palm into her body. This caused her to release a hot sigh against his chest, a defeated expression on her face as she closed her eyes and just snuggled a little closer to him. She knew he wouldnt fall for half-hearted seduction but, unable to convince herself that she wanted their rtionship to move to the next level; Semiramis just allowed Vahn to spoil her until she felt better about her failure. As the worlds oldest poison user, Semiramis had a fair amount of pride when it came to being able to poison anything; be it God or man. She knew Vahn had multiple bodies so, at the very least, she wanted to be able to give him a slight stomach ache. Ideally, she would be able to kill one of him as that would at least help to recover her lost pride. As it stood, she felt more than a little helpless about her current situation as it was impossible for her to give up; even though it had be increasingly difficult to restrain herself. Understanding Semiramis character to a reasonable degree, Vahn helped to ease her frustrations by lightly massaging her body. This was the main reason she had braided her hair as, in the past, it often got in the way when they were being intimate with each other. This was the downside to having hair longer than you were tall; its immense volume requiring considerably upkeep just to prevent fraying and tangles. Every now and then, Vahn helped Semiramis to wash and brush her hair as it reminded him of his time with Haruhime. He would, of course, never say this to the woman in question as there was no doubt in his mind she would legitimatelysh out at him upon knowing the truth. Semiramis was a very jealous woman by nature so she wouldnt take kindly to beingpared to other women, no matter how beautiful they were. She had a desperate need to be unique and, as a result, had all but given up on interacting with the other members of Vahns harem. She would rather continue to iste herself in the Hanging Gardens, basically pretending the others didnt exist. Despite these faults, Vahn couldnt easily give up on Semiramis as he knew she had a lot of pain in her heart. She was a very lonely woman and, due to her nature; she was destined to remain alone unless someone could fill the void in her heart. This didnt really have to be him but, as one of the few people that could stomach Semiramis poisons, he was the best suited to the role. Besides, he was rather fond of women like Semiramis due to her parallels to women like Eva and Riveria. Thus, despite Semiramis constant attempts to poison him, her constant need to be pampered, and a few other troublesome qualities; Vahn still dutifully came to visit her. Eventually, he would break through the walls of her heart and, with a bit of coaxing, convince her to get along with the others. Until then, he would enjoy their time alone like this; pushing the usually cold beauty a little further over the edge with each visit. Her reactions stirred a part of him that only women with long ears could awaken so, even if it took a few months for her to ultimately relent; Vahn wouldnt stop until he peeled away her facadepletely... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ya is a QT3.14,Delicious poison o3o...,Resistance ismendable, but futile) (A/N: I am going to be taking my weekly break today instead of tomorrow. Happy Valentines Day everyone~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1363 - Lure

Chapter 1363 - Lure

With the banquet drawing to an end, the majority of attendees retired to the Inner Sanctum to sleep off the alcohol or just get some rest. Vahn saw off Alexander and the rest, including Siegfried and his not-so-recently obtainedpanion, Sol. The two had started living together only two weeks after thetters summoning, something Vahn was more than a little grateful for. Now, Siegfried actually kept thepany of two women; Sol and the Homunculi Governess tasked with Alexs education, a rather buxom woman named Yvette. Unfortunately, Sols example hadnt been followed by others so Vahn still needed to worry about the happiness of his male retainers. It would alleviate a lot of his concerns if people like Gawain, Ghad, Karna, Bedivere, and Lancelot managed to settle down. This would give them a greater purpose than simply fulfilling their duties and, while it wouldnt be the end of the world, Vahn was worried that his children might mature and end up with the rather handsome and capable Knights. He couldnt reallyin about things like age differences as, in the grand scheme of things, the separation of a few decades meant nothing to people who would live for several thousand years; on the low end. Still, Vahn would rather his children find people around their own age as it couldplicate things quite a bit if his retainers became entangled with the inner workings of the Imperial Family. While he would most likely ept their love if it was sincere, a father couldnt help but want the best for their children; even if that may ultimately end up being somethingpletely outside expectations... For now, the bigger issues Vahn had to face were the addition of Nero to the Inner Sanctum, finding a suitable caretaker for Altera, and making sure girls like Illya, Arcueid, and Aoko werent feeling as if he was ignoring them. They had all recently experienced some pretty major events so he would need to constantly check on them over the next several weeks until they; growing guilty from his constant attention; forced him to focus on other things. From a broad perspective, there was really no end to the things he needed to take care of as; even with all of those things; he still needed to practice forging, work on Scthachs challenges, help train Gareth, spend time with his children, meet with Gawain to hear about the state of the Empire, check on Olga to make sure she was sleeping properly, etc. There was truly no end to the matters requiring his attention so it was good to have Ozymandias, Alexander, and Nero to begin carrying out his will in the outside world... --- With Artoria telling him to leave Nero and Altera to her and the rest, Vahn decided to be prudent by checking on Arcueid, Illya, and Aoko. They were all at the Menagerie and, though it hadnt been long since he was celebrating alongside them during the banquet; it was a good opportunity to visit them all at once. Fenrir and the usual ensemble were also present so there was a fair chance he could just kick back and enjoy a hot bath with the massive group of girls for a solid hour or so. What Vahn didnt ount for was the fact that many of the girls had a little too much to drink during the earlier celebration. Even prior to entering the Menagerie, he could feel the atmosphere inside shift; indicative of the fact that his presence had already been noticed. He couldnt just turn around and walk away, however, so, without any discernible hesitation; Vahn entered inside the Menagerie to find nearly every pair of eyes within focused on him... The Menagerie had never been known as a ce where people with strong sensibilities gathered so, with Penelo whisked away by U and Luvia, things quickly escted. In hindsight, Vahn should have realized the greater meaning behind Aoko and Arcueid visiting the Menagerie around this time. The fact Luvia had been the one to invite Penelo over was yet another indicator that this series of events had been premeditated; likely as a means to keep him upied while the matter of Nero and Altera was addressed. Realizing he had been lured into a trap, Vahn beganughing uninhibitedly as he loosened the cor of his tunic with an amused glimmer in his eyes. There were ten girls present but he doubted Medea, Medusa, Jeanne, and Okita would be active participants. Though having them watch was strange in and of itself, dealing with Fenrir, Circe, Hati, Illya, Arcueid, and Aoko wasnt a difficult task. Rather, it was a good opportunity to strengthen the bonds between the girls while pushing his Divinity to the limits with three Tier 5s present... --- With Vahn preupied inside the Menagerie and visiting the Hanging Gardens, Artoria and several other women had gathered together with Nero sitting before them; a smile on her face despite the fact her situation was almost like a prisoner being sentenced by an assembly of judges. This wasnt an exaggeration either as, after being allowed ess to the Inner Sanctum; Neros next assertion was that she be allowed to stay in Vahns room. Now, the girls had gathered to clearly exin the inner workings of the Inner Sanctum, detailing the rules that everyone followed; both written and unspoken. She couldnt just act with impunity within the Inner Sanctum as; even if she was given the status of Empress in the future, that held very little weight within these walls. This was a ce where they all worked together to ensure their personal happiness, take care of the children, and make sure Vahn wasnt pushing himself too hard. Nero was too ustomed to simply doing as she pleased, acting with impunity and ordering others around without batting an eye. This wouldnt be tolerated within the Inner Sanctum and, if she failed to adhere to the same rules as everyone else; they made it very clear her presence would not be tolerated. They used the examples of Semiramis and Lilith to prove their point, detailing the power and status both women wielded in order to make Nero understand the severity of their words... Believing that an Emperors words carried more weight than even written contracts, Nero had never intended to act in a way that would cause discourse within the Inner Sanctum. After her battle with Artoria, she had effectively promised that she would learn the etiquette of the Empire and adhere to it. Her request to stay in Vahns room had been misinterpreted as, while she had no qualms about having sex with Vahn; the purpose of her stay was to observe Artoria. Despite this thought dancing around in her head, Nero listened patiently as each woman took turnsying out things she needed to consider. Though their reaction seemed excessive, Nero didnt let it bother her as an Emperor needed to be magnanimous and considerate of their fellows. Their words were also very informative and, unlike the past, her head didnt feel like it was going to split open. It was a little boring but Nero felt like she could listen to these women drone one for hours, their soft and sonorous voices like music to her ears... In the end, the exnation only took around forty minutes; the key points being that Nero would be shadowing Artoria and, as someone who intended to sleep with Vahn; she would not be disallowed the opportunity to sleep with others. This was something Nero didnt personally agree with but, as it was a unanimous decision by everyone else; she wasnt going to argue the merits and contradictions that could be easily pointed out. Though she knew Vahn could manifest himself with multiple forms, Nero felt it wasnt fair that the girls expect him to care for all their needs on his own. It wasnt umon for the wives of Senators to have servant boys as, on the opposite end of the spectrum, the Senators themselves often slept with female servants. After all, the situation didnt always allow for spouses to meet with each other and; at least during her time; it was considered detrimental for a person to stockpile stress and allow their frustrations to build up. From what she could tell, Vahns harem was rather sizeable with an approximated twenty females, all for a single man to care for. Even if he could split himself into multiple forms, it would still be a ratio of 10:1, indicating Vahn was either exceptionally skilled in the bedroom or relied on other means to keep his partners happy. He didnt seem to be the type of person to rely on drugs but she couldnt be certain without experiencing his prowess with her own body... With this in mind, Nero followed up the rather one-sided discussion, asking, "If I am to follow your example, should I not be staying in the same room? There wille a time when I am required to tend to my Masters needs. Though I am confident in my skills, it will simplify matters if I am able to learn his preferences. Umu..." Hearing Nero try to gain ess to Vahns bedchamber, yet again, Rin couldnt help but release a tired sigh before answering, "Vahns preferences are easy enough to understand but, in the end, it doesnt particrly matter. He is the type to focus more on the pleasure of his partner so, when the timees, youll be the one on the receiving end. When that happens, youll be lucky enough to keep your dignity as a woman intact...seriously, you are underestimating Vahn too much..." After an affirmative nod in support of Rins statement, it was Ishtar who followed up by adding, "You may have had the status of Emperor in life but we are far superior as a Goddess. Vahn is even able toy us low, peeling back our defenses until we are stripped bare before him. With your legacy, it will be a wonder if you dont be addicted to his care. Your confidence means nothing before that man. None of your experiences can prepare you for what is toe so discard your arrogance, lest you get brokenpletely~" Though it didnt show on her face, Nero was marginally annoyed by Ishtars words. It was clear that she was being underestimated so, rather than acquiesce, Nero insisted, "I will have to determine for myself the veracity of your ims. Umu, you may be a Goddess but, during my time, even Venus, the Goddess of love, sex, and beauty, was not my equal. I will not look down on Master, umu, rather, if he is as skilled as you purport, I will rise to the task as his equal." Ishtar was never fond of people talking back to her but, knowing what Nero was getting herself into, she just rolled her eyes and murmured, "Utterly ignorant...". Then, having lost interest in the ongoing conversation, she decided to go make sure her daughter wasnt up to no good. She had a penchant for mischief and, while Ishtar didnt particrly mind this; Isannas existence as a Vanir was a matter of great importance to her... Seeing Ishtar teleport away, Nero raised her chin slightly with a proud smile on her face. At the same time, however, everyone else looked at her with wry and knowing looks. With Neros personality, the odds of her being put through the wringer by Vahn were exceptionally high. They couldnt allow her to be alone with him as, if she managed to goad him on; there was a good chance she would end up broken after a single evening. Vahn didnt seem to be aware of it himself but, in the aftermath of an evening with him; some of the girls needed to detox by distancing themselves from him and talking with others who had shared their experience just to convince themselves they were still alive... (A/N: I had a little bit of time so I decided to write a bonus Valentines Day chapter. I didnt feel like writing anything too serious though so I hope this was mildly entertaining for you all.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1364 - Ceaseless Pursuit

Chapter 1364 - Ceaseless Pursuit

Though he could have gone on, quite literally, forever; Vahn decided to call it quits after everyone except Illya, Arcueid, Aoko, Okita, and Fenrir copsed. He had been enjoying himself for a few hours and, soon enough, he would have to take the children to school. There was also the simple fact that, if he didnt stop soon; girls like Medea, Jeanne, and Okita may end suffering a trauma. Vahn had been curious about their presence at first but, after Circe began an impromptu lesson on sexual etiquette; it became clear why they had stayed. She wasnt the most qualified teacher but, with Fenrir having difficulties exining things in an easily understood manner; Circe was the best alternative. It was a little awkward being observed so attentively but Vahn had grown ustomed to such things due to his past experiences. He wasnt a particrly shy person so, knowing it would make things a lot easier for the inexperienced girls; he let himself be a test dummy. Besides, it was amusing seeing Circe try to restrain her own urges while trying to exin things to her fiercely blushing niece. Medea had gone so red that her ears were practically glowing with a crimson color as she sat at the edge of the bed in a palevender dress. As for Jeanne and Okita, the former had a wide-eyed look as she formed her lips into a perfect line; a rather interesting reaction as it looked like she was trying to avoid saying something. Okita, however, just watched on with a disinterested expression despite the intense focus in her gaze... Though the lessons alone were rather intense, Vahns Divinity ensured they wouldnt soon forget the event. He generally projected his aura in a radial fashion so, like the other girls on the massive bed, they were well within the area of his influence. As a result, they could basically feel everything Circe was experiencing; albeit to a lesser extent. Still, this was more than enough stimulus for pure girls like Medea and Jeanne, even if thetter took it surprisingly well at first. Fortunately, Medea had Medusa hugging her from behind, thetters hand lightly stroking the area beneath her navel to help her rx. Medusa was still a virgin but she was rather fond of helping out when Vahn was having sex with the other residents of the Menagerie. She had also dutifully learned the very basics of [Hands of Nirvana] so; while her skills were negligiblepared to her Masters, it was useful for things like massages and helping people rx. The real problem was the inclusion of girls like Arcueid and Illya as,pared to normal women, they experienced something that could only really be described as transcendental. Even Vahn wasnt able to fully resist their influence so; shortly after he and Illya began making love, Medea ended up briefly losing consciousness. Since she insisted on being allowed to stay, regardless, she ended up being put through the wringer along with the rest of the girls present... In the end, only those who had a high tolerance, immortal bodies, or a considerable amount of experience had been able to stay conscious. The rest ended up sumbing to the shared waves of pleasure; Hati and Medusa included. It was actually Hatis copse that caused the event toe to an end as, though fundamentally different than Fenrir; she was still a Vanargandr. For even her to fall prey to the veritable ocean of pleasure, well, it was a red g in a lot of ways. Fortunately, Arcueid and Aoko were pretty easy to calm down so, after coaxing Illya and Cath Palug for a few minutes; everyone was freed from the seemingly endless cycle. Afterward, Vahn helped to wake up the copsed girls; checking on their bodies to make sure there were no seque. Though Medea ended up needing to cool her head for a short while after awakening, Jeanne, Hati, Gareth, and Medusa were all in high spirits. Once Circe had finished talking with Medea, everyone decided to take a bath together using therge in-ground bath. Though not quite an onsen, it served a simr function as it was capable of easily seating fifteen people; something that would undoubtedly be necessary for the future. For now, Vahn just enjoyed soaking his body in the steamy water with Illya and Fenrir nking him. They had always been rtively close so, after sharing a bed together; they were practically on the same wavelength; bothpletely infatuated with their Master... --- As much as he would like to spend all of his time with his family and lovers, thetter of which could be attested to by his Divinity; Vahn couldnt allow himself to be consumed by the sense of fulfillment he got interacting with them. He still had a purpose to fulfill so, after a brief meeting with Gawain to discuss the deployment of Imperial Forces, visiting Olga to spend a bit of time with her, check up on Lilith, and wrapping things up with Semiramis; Vahn entered his personal [Space-Time Orb] with the ever-mischevious and adorable Aeterna. One of the things Vahn feltpelled toplete was the forging of [L?vateinn] so, even if he was busy with other matters; he always found at least an hour to focus wholly on forging. This tranted to fifty hours within the [Space-Time Orb]; time necessary to keep his skills sharp and Aeterna happy. He had once failed to visit her for three days in a row, resulting in the Dwarves having to send a plea to have him visit as she had effectively made the Great Forge unusable due to feeling neglected. Spirits were very sensitive creatures and, as a Greater Elemental Spirit; Aeterna was no exception to this rule. She was also pretty young so it was easy for her to fall into a negative mindset, even if she was smart enough to know he hadnt actually abandoned her. Rather, the main reason for her dour mood was due to the fact that, much like Vahn himself; she was very eager toplete the forging of [L?vateinn]s penultimate form. It was something they had been working for virtually her entire life so, in a way, [L?vateinn] was even more important to Aeterna than it was to Vahn. Now, Vahn could focus all of his attention on the internal structure of the des they were forging as Aeterna dutifully managed the heat. Their cooperation had long reached the point where it didnt require them to verballymunicate with each other so, while they had yet to achieve their shared dream, even the failures they produced were always A-Rank and higher. This didnt only apply to their [L?vateinn] prototypes, either, but all the weapons they forged together. Vahn had even been able to outfit both Gawains and Kenshins battalions; earning him quite a bit of rapport with both the Commanders and the Homunculi themselves... The curious thing about this was; by having people appreciate andud his work; Vahn noticed that the quality of his forged equipment gradually increased. He didnt know if it was due to his [Will of the Emperor], which unterally increased his capabilities based on things like Loyalty, Respect, and Adtion, but it was a very noticeable change. The only other exnation was the Power of Belief, a very real thing that needed to be ounted for in the Nasuverse. After all, it was these beliefs that allowed many Heroic Spirits to make use of unique abilities; some of which they may not have had during their lifetimes. Semiramis was one of the best examples of this quirk as, during her lifetime, she literally had nothing to do with the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. She hadnt even seen it during her lifetime but, because she was often associated with the Hanging Gardens by countless people; it had be a part of her actual Legend. Because of this, she has an instinctive knowledge of how to construct it and, despite the actual Hanging Gardens being nothing more than an intricate garden; it was even able to fly due to the imaginations of people who imagined what it might be like. Since even Concepts could be given actual form, Vahn wasnt too surprised by the fact that his own skills and abilities were bing more powerful due to the perception of people around him. Even his ability to please his women had experienced a marked improvement so there really wasnt much toin about. Rather, it encouraged him to continue working hard; constantly aspiring to reach even greater heights... It was with this mentality that Vahn was able to forge an S-Rank [L?vateinn], one of five sesses he had managed to achieve over thest few months. This caused Aeterna to happily rub her cheek against the rather vicious-looking de before flittering up to Vahns face; kissing him on the cheek before chiming, "We did it, Vahn~! Hurry, name it, name it~!!" With a gratified smile showing his appreciation and pride, Vahn did as Aeterna suggested; pointing the newly forged de toward the sky as he eximed, "Henceforth, your name shall be [L?vateinn: Epsilon]. Be a de that vanquishes the Empires foes and protects its people...!" Since this was his only real opportunity to use [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] these days, Vahn didnt hesitate to use up his current charge. Each sessful [L?vateinn] he forged was infused with his and Aeternas hopes and dreams so; while not on the same level as his actual children, Vahn wanted his masterworks to be able to grow without restrictions. As if to respond to this desire, [L?vateinn: Epsilon] shed with a destructive red light as it emanated an awe-inspiring, albeit tyrannical, aura. At the same time, its four brothers resonated around it as Vahn always made sure they bore witness to the birth of their sibling swords. They currentlycked a true Ego but there was a nascent seed of awareness within each of them; crying out in celebration of their newly forged brethren. When the light had faded away, [L?vateinn: Epsilon]s Grade had been elevated to what Vahn would estimate to be the middle of the S-Rank. Like its sibling-swords, however, it had an almost unlimited ability for growth; represented by the swords parameters and its abilities. Though this would require it to be used in battle; Vahns journey towards the peak hadnt exactly been a peaceful one... ----------------------------------- [L?vateinn: Epsilon] Rank: S (Divine) Slots: 1 P.Atk: 2407+240 M.Atk: 1692 Abilities: Acknowledgement of the Emperor(-), L?vateinn(S), me Wreath(S), Spirit-Siphon(A), Familial Bond(-) One of five swords possessing the legacy of the legendary L?vateinn. The mes emitted by this sword cannot be extinguished by normal means; burning all things recognized as an enemy by the Creator. Due to its Creators desire to forge a de with limitless potential, this sword has a very high chance of developing a Spirit that embodies this desire. Restrictions: Vahn Aldrnari Mason, Progeny of Vahn Aldrnari Mason Special Restriction: Can only be used by those with a sincere desire to protect the Empire and its citizens from harm ----------------------------------- Seeing Epsilons stats, Vahn felt even more pride than before he had named it. He was unable to restrain himself so, along with the other four [L?vateinn] variants: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Delta, he exited the forge to give the newly forged de a test run. He could feel their excitement bubbling up with his own; each desiring the thrill of battle. Fortunately, he could create a new Memory Fragment on the fly so, for the remainder of his session within, Vahn, and the five vermillion des, cut loose. Though the Memory Fragmentcked the use of his Innates, it was able to freely change its shape and; with its ability to use [Laces Key], Vahn was one of his most terrifying opponents. By the end of his session, it had be a beast that was more than 10m in height; formed from metallic ck ooze that unhesitantly used various Laws in unique and educational ways... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is a monster o_o...,Aeterna doesnt like being ignored (T ^ T),Vahn is basically an eldritch entity at this point xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1365 - Setting Things in Motion

Chapter 1365 - Setting Things in Motion

Though it was a hard-fought victory, Vahn still had the absolute advantage of his Innates,bined with the simple fact that his Memory Fragmentcked Sis to help pull him back from the brink. As a result, it ended up transforming into a pretty terrifying monstrosity that required thebined use of [Enkidu] and Emperor of Light to ultimately put down. Every time Vahn fought his Memory Fragment, he was reminded how much he held back in the majority of his battles. However, while he wasfortable with exploiting his transformative abilities to a certain extent, he didnt want to be recognized as a monster. Ideally, he would assume a form that inspired hope in those viewing him for the first time, not nightmares. Much like how Fenrir could conceivably devour reality itself, Vahn could use his abilities to achieve a simr result, if he wanted to. After all, he could produce a functionally infinite amount of matter using his own body as a catalyst, eventually growing to the point where he wasrge enough to devour entires. This wasnt an exaggeration either as, during one of his experiments with Da Vinci, Vahn had grown to a sizerge enough to fill a 500x500m testing room. Though it was challenging to maintain a human form while exponentially increasing his size, a trait of Illyas he was slightly envious of, that didnt mean he couldnt continue growing. Instead, by turning into a pseudo-liquid form, where each of his cells served as super-dense sensory organs, Vahn could increase his size without limit. He could grow to fill any volume or cover any surface; there were no limits, only his inhibitions... --- Opening his eyes, Vahn found himself in the same location he had been in prior to entering into the [Space-Time Orb]. This didnt mean his position hadnt changed, however, as he had entrusted his body to Nobunaga before submerging. As a result, he awoke to find his hands cuffed to the sturdy headboard while the mischevious beauty straddled his hips, a sadistic grin on her face as she mused, "What a shame...had you been less punctual, I would have been able to y around~" Following her statement, Nobunaga bent her body down, her breasts pressing against him as bit the lobe of his right ear. Unfortunately, her actions had upset the nearby Aeterna, who, seeing Vahn get bullied, began to re up within her Faerie Lantern. Before Aeterna could set fire to the bedspread, Vahn liberated his right hand from the cuffs without any difficulty, saying, "Dont worry, Ae, she is only ying around. Remember, you promised not to burn anything without permission..." Even before Vahn had finished speaking, Aeterna had cooled off, the mesprising her body turning a docile shade of magenta as she sulkily stated, "I dont like seeing you get bullied..." Hearing the adorable fae express her concerns, Vahns couldnt help but smile while Nobunaga, feeling a bit of sweat on her back, said, "Hey, now, Im not bullying anyone. Im just ying around a bit. Did you see how easily Vahn got out of those cuffs? It is just a game, a game, okay?" Aeterna had, indeed, seen how easily Vahn escaped the shiny metallic cuffs, so she ultimately chose to believe Nobunagas words. This, unfortunately, nted the thought it in her mind that Vahn liked to be bound with chains, at least to the point that he treated it as a game. When she returned to the Great Forge, Aeterna decided she would work with her sisters to create some durable chains as a gift, believing it would make him happy. Unaware that Nobunaga had corrupted the innocent Aeterna, Vahn released a smallugh while his right hand sneakily moved to pinch the formers butt. Nobunaga had seen thising, so she made a half-hearted attempt to block his actions, ultimately failing due to her ongoing effort to coax the fiery spirit staring back at her... --- After teasing Nobunaga a bit, Vahn took Aeterna back to the Great Forge. While he was there, he talked with the Gwent about a few of their ongoing construction projects and the possibility of allowing more Dwarves to reside in the Undercity. Since Gwent had already received the title of Lord, Vahn ultimately left the decision to him. So long as the people he invited were willing to follow the Common Law, he had absolutely no problem with weing more Spirits. Though it was somewhat unnecessary, Gwent made a big show of bowing his head in public. This was his way of expressing gratitude for Vahns benevolence and a means of showing respect. After all, it was a pretty big deal that Vahn had entrusted the matter to him, showing just how much the Emperor respected his past promises. The Empire provided them with an excess of resources, fine alcohol, and delicious food, so, for Vahn to also allow them some degree of sovereignty, it left a deep impression on every resident of the Undercity. Vahn understood the intentions behind Gwents gesture, so, ying to the Dwarves sensibilities, he helped the Elder Dwarf rise to his feet rather than order him to stand. This didnt necessarily convey that they were equals but, from the very beginning, Vahn had always intended to build a rtionship based on mutual respect. He would be firm and ruthless when necessary, but, so long as the people in his charge lived peaceful and productive lives, Vahn would never look down on them... With his business in the Undercity finished, Vahn had to refuse Gwents offer to join them in their usual festivities as he was too busy to spend a few hours just drinking and partying. He promised to stay longer during one of his future visits, but, for now, there were pressing matters to attend. It was almost time for him to take his children to school, an event that would be immediately followed by a meeting with Solon. After deciding to move forward with his ns, Vahn needed to take proactive steps to finish one of his active Quests, [World Power]. He would soon bepleting the Objective of defeating a total of ten Dead Apostle Ancestors but, before that, Vahn wanted to make the irritable hermit into his subordinate, officially. If he couldnt even achieve this, jumping through hoops to summon the Pontiff of the Holy Church would be pointless. Vahn was hoping that Solon would willingly agree to his offer as he had alreadypleted most of the Optional Objectives at this point. Obtaining the five-billion OP reward would make his ns easier to actualize while the [Heavens Mandate], [Seal of Heaven], and [Imperial Reglia] would undoubtedly prove useful. If they performed simrly to historical versions of the items, Vahn might be able to prevent even more unnecessary deaths. With this in mind, Vahn teleported back to the castle to discuss matters with Artoria before meeting with the children at the Transfer Room. He was already discussing things with Merlin, as the flowery Magus knew Solon best, but it was still essential to get Artorias input. She was his Empress and, in more ways than one, an important Advisor who also served as one of his moralpasses. He knew better than everyone else just how extreme his decisions could be at times so, when the opportunity presented itself, Vahn would always defer to those he trusted... Since he had already sensed it, Vahn wasnt surprised to find Boudica, Nero, and Grey apanying Artoria. Boudica spent most of her free time caring for Artoria, so, with her uing deployment, it wasnt surprising to find them together. She genuinely treated Artoria like one of her daughters, and, for the most part, Artoria reciprocated these feelings. As a result, they had a very close and personal rtionship; one Vahn tried not to pry into too much. Seeing who had arrived, all of the girls within the room immediately rose to their feet, Nero included. She was a little slower than the rest, but that was to be expected considering her status, nature, and other hidden factors. Still, her rising was an indicator of progress, so Vahn gave an appreciative nod in response to the groups courtesy, saying, "Please, be at ease. This is as much Artorias room as it is my own. You are her guests, so there is no need for such formalities." Though the women all gave affirmative responses, none of them took a seat until Vahn had approached t. This was a basic etiquette for them, a general courtesy of sorts toward the man they unterally respected or loved. Vahn understood this, of course, so his words were also a courtesy. After all, he knew what kind of woman Artoria was, a serious woman who would never breach etiquette unless forced under specific circumstances. Since the burden fell to him to start the conversation, as he had intruded upon them, Vahn leaned back against the sofa while asking, "Might I inquire as to what you four were discussing?" With Vahn sitting in a rxed manner, everyone else visibly rxed as Artoria answered, "There were a few matters between Nero and Boudica that warranted a discussion. It is of no great importance to the Empire; just a means to build rapport and clear up misunderstandings." Historically, Boudica and Nero had been enemies on opposite sides of a war. Neros army had even been directly responsible for Boudicas defeat and subsequent death, so, in more ways than one, she could be considered the tragic Queens nemesis. Fortunately, Boudica was a sensible woman who showed special consideration for others, especially if they were females. She had learned much from Merlin about the events taking ce during her lifetime so, even before Neros summoning, there had been no ongoing animosity between them. Boudicas real enemies had been the same as Neros, the corrupt officials that had ultimately led Rome, one of the greatest Empires in history, to ruin. Nero had even publically admonished those responsible for her Kingdoms ruin, trying and hanging them for their crimes. Since she was just another victim of the circumstances she had been thrown into, Boudica didnt have the heart toy me on Nero for the actions of others. The purpose of their current conversation was to exin their perspective on events that had taken ce during the conflict as Merlin, despite his nigh-omniscience, couldnt guess the real motives behind why people behaved the way they did. He hadnt even been alive at the time so, while he had memories of the conflict and could recount the sequence of events with absolute uracy, the way he recounted things felt distinctly impersonal. Though he tried to make up for this with his illusions, it wasnt exactly pleasant to re-experience the events that had scarred you in vivid detail... Vahn had already agreed to summon Boudicas daughters in the future and, if she so chose, he would even revive her deceased husband. This knowledge gave her great peace of mind as, even if the current version of herself died, Vahn could resummon her original self to make good on their promise. Thus, rather than harbor hatred toward Nero, Boudica felt a great deal of concern and empathy for her former enemy. Just like she was able to see through Artoria with considerable ease, Boudica could tell that Nero had grown up without a mothers love. Instead, her mother had been the contributing factor to most of the tragic moments in her life. This filled Boudica with a form of grief unique to mothers who had experienced great tragedy throughout their lives, specifically those rted to their children. She had lost her daughters in an incredibly unjust fashion, so, rather than be offended by Neros behavior, Boudica couldnt help but feel pained by howprehensively the former had buried her actual emotions... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Word Devourer Vahn,Aeterna dont y...unless it is time to y?,Boudica needs to be careful around Mamas Boy Mason xD...,There are few greater tragedies than a childs life being ruined by their parents https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1366 - Leading

Chapter 1366 - Leading

With the topic in his chambers revolving around the rtionship between Boudica and Nero, the Vahn meeting with Merlin figured it was as good a time as any to learn more himself. He already had a decent understanding of Solons character from their past conversations so, after creating a lull, he shifted topics, asking, "You must know it, correct? Neros past? You would not have gone out of your way to convince everyone otherwise." Since he already expected this transition, Merlin wasnt caught off guard by Vahns words. Instead, he continued to smile in his usual manner before waving his hand through the air, answering, "Be that as it may, Your Majesty, I do not believe it is my ce to reveal Neros secrets. Someone like Solon is a special exception as, at the time, they could have been considered a threat to the Empire. The time wille when Nero reaches out to you on her own. When that happens, I am more than willing to assist~." This wasnt the first time Merlin had given him a simr excuse, so Vahn wasnt all that surprised. He knew the flowery Magus well enough, so unless it was information he needed to ensure the Empire was kept safe, it was rare to get a direct answer from him. This wasnt necessarily a bad thing, as it would be problematic if he relied exclusively on information provided by Merlin. However, it was still a little annoying at times like this. Instead of trying to press Merlin to reveal the truth, Vahn just epted that he would need to put in a bit of effort to discover it himself. This wasnt a particrly difficult task so, for now, he shifted the topic once again, asking, "Have you and Lilith worked things out? I just checked on her earlier...she is going to be a real problem, sooner orter." With Lilith being the Queen of the Subi, she had a lot of parallels with Merlin and, in many ways, was even a higher form of existence. What separated them was legacy Merlin had inherited from his father, the love he had received from his mother, and thepassion he had for all creatures. While Lilith had indulged in her purpose, Merlin had actively resisted and ovee his. This granted him a phenomenal amount of power, even if he had been helpless to ever truly make use of it. In response to Vahns question, Merlin released a slightly exasperated sigh before answering, "I have managed to convince her to stop trying to peer into the dreams of the Ivory Castles residents. There is little I can do about her gallivanting through the dreams of others, however. She had been starved for a very long time so I cant me her for being hungry. For now, there shouldnt be any issues. In the future, however, I fear she will grow increasingly impatient..." Hearing Merlins words, it was Vahns turn to sigh as he knew exactly what the woman in question most desired. She considered it her purpose to serve the Gods, fulfilling their desires and helping to shape the world to their liking. The problem with this was that Lilith wasnt something that could be restrained easily so, even if Vahn helped to fulfill her purpose, things would be troublesome once the convergence began. The only way Vahn could keep Lilith under control was by turning her into his, or someone he trusts, Familiar. Subi and Incubi were a type of Daemon, entities formed from desires who, as a result, lived for the purpose of fulfilling those same desires. So long as human desire existed, they would bepelled to fulfill their purpose as, much like the Gods of Danmachi, they werepelled to do so by higher orders of power. Fortunately, though it came with a whole host of problems, the nature of Daemonspelled them to form contracts with sapient creatures. These contracts had a variety of different effects but, in all but a few cases, they ended with the contractor having a mental breakdown. Daemons were entities founded within the 6th Imaginary Aspect and, as amalgamations of desire, their presence alone had a powerful influence over the minds of creatures bound by desire. Humans actually werent all that good at dealing with their emotions so there were very few who could contract with a Daemon without ultimately losing their minds. They would be consumed by the power they obtained, the otherworldy pleasure they experienced, or the madness that resulted from having their dreams devoured. After all, upon contracting with a Daemon, you be their primary supplies or life essence, mana, and dreams. These were terms that couldnt be altered so, in order to reign in someone like Lilith, her contractor needed to have monstrous willpower, endless vitality, and indomitable resolution. Were it not for the fact he knew she would cause problems amongst the other girls, Vahn wouldnt mind being the one to contract with Lilith. The issue with this, however, was that she had no way to devour his dreams. Though it wasnt impossible to influence his mind, probing it directly was outside even Akashas capabilities. Thus, by contracting with Lilith, Vahn would basically be telling her that she was no longer allowed to consume something vital to her very existence. He could undoubtedly find a way to supplement this but, with his ever-expanding harem, introducing chaotic elements like Lilith was a truly senseless decision... After sitting in silence for a few minutes, both in deep thought, Vahn ultimately asked in a tentative tone, "How about Karna...?" Though Karna wasnt exactly a God, he was infinitely close to bing one. He was already a Tier 4 being and, though he didnt possess a matured fragment, he possessed an A-Rank [Divinity] Skill. All he needed was a bit of guidance and a small shift in his mentality to be an actual God of the Sun, rather than the Son of the Sun God. Hearing Vahns supposition, Merlin shook his head, stating, "I fear what both would be if the energies within Karnas and Liliths bodies fused together. They are existences on the opposite end of the spectrum, after all...to that end, there are really only three viable candidates. I cannot offer my own services, for obvious reasons..." Merlin was, indisputably, the best candidate for reining in Lilith but, due to hisplex rtionship with Vivian, this was absolutely impossible. He already did a lot of things that weighed heavily on the heart of his former student so, unless the fate of the world hung in the bnce; Merlin would not go out of his way to betray her expectations. Thest thing he needed was another Morgan le Fay type of character in his life, someone that was undoubtedly plotting in the background, even at this very moment. Vahn would never force anyone into a rtionship of convenience so it never even crossed his mind to request Merlins assistance. The flowery Magus was already keeping Lilith in check so it would be a betray of his and Vivians trust if he tried to pressure Merlin into acquiescence. As for the other candidates, Vahn knew he was one of them so, after a bit of thinking, he frowned slightly and asked, "Do you mean...Scthach?" Even as the words left his mouth, Vahn felt like his temperature dropped, a chill passing through his body. When Merlin nodded in response, he immediately shook his head, saying, "I refuse...even if she meets all the criteria, the thought of Shishou and Lilith teaming up...I would rather fight against Cath Palug with my arms and legs bound." Finding Vahnsment rather amusing, Merlin couldnt help but chuckle lightly before exining, "I do not believe you would find someone with greater willpower than Lady Scthach. Though it may appear as though shecks ambition and desire, we both understand the truth. With her connection to the Land of Shadows, there are none more qualified to satiate Liliths voracious appetite. There is also no chance of Lady Scthach being corrupted by Liliths influence...rather, I imagine the opposite to be true?" As this was exactly what he was afraid of, Vahn nodded in response to Merlins question, adding, "If we went that route, Lilith would also be intrinsically rted to the Inner Sanctum. At this point, I dont think I could let Scthach go so having Lilith be her Familiar is just a disaster waiting to happen..." Hearing Vahns words, Merlin showed an expression of mild shock. He knew of the current situation between Scthach and Vahn but this was the first time he heard thetter openly state he wouldnt be able to let the former go. As a result, he swallowed slightly as, while Vahn might not be aware of it, he almost always had a certain someone observing his every movement... With the exclusion of Scthach and himself, Vahn struggled to rationalize who, exactly, the third person mentioned by Merlin was. It had to be someone outside of the Inner Sanctum but, the only people who fit this qualifier were: Siegfried, Gawain, Lancelot, Ghad, Bedivere, Alexander, Maxwell, Heracles, Ozymandias, and Astolfo. Though it was possible he could be alluding to Semiramis, Vahn immediately excluded her as there was absolutely no way the woman in question would ept the person that made her feel self-conscious. While thinking about who else Merlin might be talking about, Vahns mind wandered to Olga and, as if hit by a bolt of thunder, his brows raised as he asked, "Sherlock?" Seeing Vahn finally arrive at the correct answer, Merlin nodded his head, exining, "Though there is always the option of summoning someone specifically suited to dealing with Lilith, I believe Sherlock is the best candidate. If you saw theplexities of that mans mind, you would understand why he is suited to the task. If Lilith got out of hand, I suspect he would even be able to trap her within his mind indefinitely..." Even without Merlin giving an exnation, Vahn had alreadye to the conclusion that Sherlock was, indeed, the best option. The man was virtually incorruptible and, with an infinitely vast library within his mind, there was no chance he would one day lose himself to uncertainty. He was a man who looked for the ultimate truth in all things so, if given enough time, he would probablye up with a solution to any problems Lilith presented without them ever bing an actual issue. The only problem was convincing Sherlock and Lilith to contract with each other but, considering the nature of the former; Vahn felt like he would readily ept. He wasnt the type to shy away from the unknown so, knowing what kind of being Lilith was, Sherlock would undoubtedly take an interest in her. After all, she had been around since the dawn of mankind, delving into the minds of both gods and men for millennia. She had such a vast wealth of information concealed within her mind that a man like Sherlock couldnt help but be drawn to her. Realizing this was the case, Vahn gave Merlin a mildly annoyed look since there was little doubt the flowery magus has already thought of this solution long ago. He was always like this, forcing Vahn toe to the necessary conclusion by giving small hints and bits of advice. Though this wasnt really a bad thing, as it caused him to reach his own conclusions without being told what to do, Vahn would never get used to being yed with. Still, he wasnt going to openlyin as that would make him into a hypocrite. After all, Vahn was known to do something very simr when he was teaching others. It was infinitely better for students to arrive at the answer on their own than to be given the solution from the start. Knowledge wasnt nearly as important as learning how to arrive at conclusions through critical thinking and problem-solving. Thus, Vahn could only begrudgingly ept the fact that Merlin was messing with him as, in the end, it made him into a more capable Emperor... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Flowery Magus? More like cheeky...,Vahn fears the Purple Demon xD...,The best teachers dont teach you what to think, they teach you how to think) (A/N: I woke up with a bad migraine so there may be some dys today. I probably ingested about 1000mg of caffeine yesterday so Im most likely just severely dehydrated xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1367 - Trigger

Chapter 1367 - Trigger

Since he still needed to take the children to school, Vahn wrapped up his discussion with Merlin while, back in his chambers, he listened to as Nero droned on about how severely she punished those responsible for Boudicas rebellion. As for the woman in question, she just silently listened at the side with a polite smile on her face. She, like Artoria, always sat in a verydylike manner, her hands neatly folded in herp unless she reached for her teacup. Feeling that Nero could talk forever, as she changed topics quite a bit, Vahn eventually raised his hand in a cating gesture to have her calm down. To his surprise, this caused Nero to fall silent, so, for a brief moment, silence dominated the room as all four girls attentively waited for him to speak. Things like this always gave Vahn the urge to smile wryly but, understanding there was little he could do to change how they acted around him; he maintained his usual smile as he said, "It seems like you are getting along well. That is good to hear." In response to his words, Nero nodded her head with an umu before answering, "Indeed. It is as you say, Master. I greatly respect people like Artoria and Boudica. Umu, it is not easy to lead your people during trying times. Now that fate has gathered us together like this; it eases my heart to be able to clear up matters that always weighed heavily on my consciousness." Hearing Neros words, Boudica issued an elegant, pleasant-sounding,ugh. She used her gloved hand to politely cover her mouth, her aquamarine eyes glimmering withplex emotions until she noticed Vahns nce. Herughter had turned everyones attention to her, so, with a kind smile on her face, she stated, "Pardon my behavior...". Then, turning her eyes back to Nero, she added, "I, too, am pleased by how things have turned out. Vahns power grants us a unique opportunity...the ability to correct the mistakes of the past. The future he envisions...we should do our best to make it into a reality." As she spoke, Boudica brought her hands together like she was praying. This caused a scene that would shake most men to their core as, with herrge breasts and low-cut dress, it almost looked like they would pop out at any moment. As a result, Artoria, Gray, and even Nero red at the deep crease while Vahn, with his eyes closed, sipped at his cup of tea. He would have no part in whatever they were thinking inside their minds, at least for the time being... Though her eyes and briefly focused on Boudicas breasts, Artoria quickly cast a nce toward Vahn before ultimately nodding her head and saying, "I cannot help but agree with your words, Boudica. The only thing I would change is...the future is not Vahns alone to decide. We, too, must work hard to make our dreams a reality. I have chosen a path that runs parallel to my husband, not behind him. This is my conviction as both an Empress, a Mother, and a Knight." Vahn felt extremely gratified to hear such words from Artoria, his gaze ovepping with hers as they both stared at each other, eyes filled with passion, resolution, and love. It was only when Nero began to lightly apud that they looked away from each other, staring at the golden-haired beauty who had a brilliant smile on her face as she lightly eximed, "Bravo~! Well said! Umu! Umu~!" Then, as if the gazes of everyone empowered her, Nero rose to her feet, hands on her hips as she stated, "If this is how things are to be, I, too, have made my decision! Umu!" Following her outburst, Nero moved toward Vahn but, before she could cross the rtively short distance, Gray barred her passage; her icy-blue eyes turning a deep crimson as she asked, "Have you forgotten yourself?" Though she had already broken free from his absolute authority over her, Gray had a propensity to be overprotective of her Master. She didnt like how Nero behaved so, seeing her try and approach Vahn after interrupting the moment between him and Arotira, Gray was more than a little annoyed. Nero appeared slightly taken aback by the fact Gray had blocked her passage, her smile growing in size as she took a slow and deep breath through her nose. Instead ofshing out or doing anything to cause a further scene, however, she ultimately released an exasperated sigh before shaking her head and saying, "I merely wished to bend the knee to my Master. Forgive me for lending a bit of gravitas and ir to a climactic moment in my life...it was never my intention to offend. Umu..." Hearing what Nero had to say, Gray suddenly felt a little anxious and, though she had gotten a lot better at controlling it, her face took on a ruddy glow due to her rising embarrassment. Fortunately, her Master helped to deescte the situation, rising to his feet to pat the top of her head as he said, "Thank you for worrying on my behalf, Gray...please, take a seat." Backing down on her own would have been difficult so, after enjoying her Masters caress for a short while, Gray returned to her seat. Neros eyes had followed her throughout the entire process so, with the golden-haired Empress observing her, Gray lowered her head apologetically. This caused Neros smile to return to normal, followed by her turning back to Vahn; their height difference requiring her to crane her head a considerable amount to lock eyes with him. With Nero looking directly at him, Vahn gave a nod of approval while maintaining his usual smile. In response, she lightly pulled at the side of her dress while lowering her body. This allowed the cloth to re out in a graceful manner, almost like a flower blooming as she lowered her head. By doing so, she was effectively throwing away her status as an Emperor. Though it had been an empty title in the present, the only person who could truly strip away Neros title was the woman herself... The problem with this situation was that Nero hadnt made clear exactly what it was she had decided upon. Her taking a knee was symbolic of loyalty and service but, in the grand scheme of things, there was any number of official roles and responsibilities to assign her. Like this, it almost felt like she was leaving the decision in his hands, a troublesome matter to be sure. As if to indicate this was, indeed, her intentions; Nero remained silent, her golden bangs and forelocks concealing her face from view. The only thing Vahn had to go off was her massive ahoge, thergest of all the girls residing within the Inner Sanctum. If he had thought about it prior to this moment, Vahn would have been able to understand just how deep Neros trauma had been. After all, the existence and size of an ahoge seemed to be directly tied to how much a person had suppressed their emotions... Seeing the gravity-defying ahoge begin to dip slightly, Vahn began to feel slightly anxious and a little apologetic. Even the gazes of Boudica, Artoria, and Gray seemed to be a little tense so, after a moment of internal deliberation, he took a deep breath and, not really knowing what else to do, as he couldnt just arbitrarily assign a post to Nero; Vahn reached out his hand and began to stroke the top of her head. Though the atmosphere immediately became a little awkward, Vahn decided not to mind it. Instead, he continued to rub Neros head, periodically removing his hand to see the state of her ahoge. It had reverted back to its usual vitality and, after a bit more effort, began to wiggle around a little. Once it seemed happy, Vahn retracted his hand as he softly stated, "I will not tell you what path you should follow, Nero. All Ive ever wanted for others was their own happiness...so long as it does not interfere in the happiness of others, feel free to follow the route you please. Happiness is something you find within yourself so only you can make decisions about your future." While it may sound a little hypocritical given the fact he had summoned her to this timeline for a very specific purpose, Vahn still wanted everyone he summoned to be happy. In exchange for their service, he would do his best to grant their wishes. Neros wish wasnt something he was privy to so, without knowing more about her character; he was simply unqualified to determine what path she should walk. At best, he could give her a small push but, in the end, only she could take those first few steps... Hearing Vahns words, Nero lifted her head to show a mixture of confusion and loss in her eyes. She didnt seem particrly upset but, within her emerald-green irises, a deeply rooted uncertainty was visible. Her smile had also faded away to reveal argely neutral expression while her aura, usually vibrant like a golden sun, had turned mellow and calm. It reminded Vahn a lot of Kenshin, someone who had cultivated a certain personality their entire life...someone who emted emotions without truly understanding them. When Nero finally spoke, Vahn didnt quite know how to respond as she inly stated, "You are a strange one...". Then, after looking around at everyone else in the room, Nero turned back to him and added, "Is this why people love? Compassion...empathy...or is it your strangeness that attracts them? If I sincerely wanted to be your sex ve, would you allow me to walk that path? What if I chose to abandon the Empire and live amongst the masses? Would you let me go, knowing full well how my personality would influence others?" Without waiting for an actual response, Nero shook her head as if to dismiss her own ideas. She then adopted a serious expression as she inly stated, "I never wanted to be an Emperor. I never wanted the responsibility of leading people I could never understand. Even now, I never wanted to return to this world, summoned into a situation entirely unrted to me. Here, I have nothing, know nothing, am nothing. All I desire is eptance...a ce to belong...someone that understands me..." Toward the end of her words, Nero averted her eyes once again, looking between Boudica, Artoria, and Gray. A wry smile then slowly reced her nk expression as she added, "I wanted to believe this was the ce that would ept me...". At this point, the atmosphere had be tense and solemn but, as Nero was not yet finished, they could only listen silently as she turned back to Vahn, smiling in a way that didnt read her eyes. This caused thetter to feel as if she suddenly gripped his heart tightly, a painful feeling seizing him as she stated, "It seems I was mistaken. I believed you had summoned me here because you wanted me to be here. I thought that after nearly two-thousand years...someone finally needed me. Now, I havee to learn just how mistaken I was..." Before Vahn was able to say anything to refute Neros ims, thetter pulled out a small dagger that had been concealed between her hands. Time seemed to slow to a crawl in an instant as all the hair on the back of Vahns neck stood on end. He instinctually moved his hand to intercept the small de but, catching movement from the side, he slowed his actions marginally to avoid crashing into Boudica. She knew better than most what the look in Neros eyes represented so she wasted no time in interfering, blocking the de by grabbing it with her right hand. Due to how quickly she had moved, Boudica ended up basically tackling Nero to the ground, their bodies tumbling a few times in the process. When they came to a stop, Boudica had an angry and teary-eyed expression on her face as she shouted, "You stupid girl!" in the characteristic way only mothers could manage. Then, as confusion colored Neros expression, Boudica hugged her tightly and began sobbing in a heartwrenching manner... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Literally the longest day ever...,TFW you dodge a trap only to step on andmine...,A wild Boudimama appears...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1368 - Burdens of the Heart

Chapter 1368 - Burdens of the Heart

Vahn felt at a loss to see how things had turned out. He didnt understand how his words had set off such a reaction in Nero but, in hindsight, he realized the deeper meaning behind Neros actions. She had left her fate in his hands, earnestly believing he had called her here because he needed her. This was why she didnt allow others to get to her as, in the end, the only person who truly mattered, at least to Nero, was the one who had called upon her. Based on how Gray had reacted, it was clear that Nero hadnt really been epted by the girls within the Inner Sanctum just yet. Her behavior made it difficult for her not to stand out so, even if she did her best to avoid offending people, they would always feel ufortable due to her unrestrained and prideful nature. They saw Nero as a threat, someone who seemingly believed themselves to be of a higher standing; someone who looked down on them. The truth of the matter, however, was that Nero didnt actually look down on anyone. Rather, she did her best to try and understand what she had done to upset them. Unfortunately, this was something that would take a considerable amount of time and an equal amount of effort. Nero originally believed that the unique gathering of people would make it easier for her to fit in but, after the discussion from earlier, she realized it would be very difficult to mesh well with most of them. She couldnt understand them, despite her best efforts. Inversely, they made no effort to even try and understand her, judging her based on how she carried herself as an Emperor. She could tell that, if they had the option, almost everyone within the Inner Sanctum would avoid her. Vahn couldnt have known what Nero was thinking about as, due to how deeply she had buried her true emotions; it was impossible to ascertain how she truly felt. He could have used View Affection to guide his actions based on the changes in her affection value but, after having decided not to rely on this ability; Vahn primarily made use of it only when dealing with enemies. He could usually sense the wants and needs of the people around him on a nigh-instinctual level so it hadnt really been a problem before now. Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret so, having failed to understand what she needed from him, Vahn made Nero feel as though he had pushed her away. He was, quite literally, the very thing that anchored her to this world so, for him to tell her to seek happiness on her own, while also cing so many restrictions on her; Nero couldnt help but feel he had abandoned her. His words made it clear, at least within her mind, that he didnt actually need her. Even if she was to disappear from this world, Vahn, the man she called her Master, could just rece her at his leisure... Now, Vahn could only watch with a pained and solemn expression on his face as Boudica held the borderline catatonic Nero in her arms. Her emerald green eyes had now lost their luster, revealing the true state of Neros psyche as she stared back at him with a slightly confused expression. It was clear she didnt understand Boudicas sadness or the pain visible in Vahns eyes. She could only feel that she had done something wrong and, if not for the crimson blood flowing from Boudicas hand, she would have tried to take her life a second time. Since standing around would aplish nothing, Vahn eventually steeled himself as he walked over to the duos side. Boudica actually red at him for a brief moment but, after a few seconds passed, she just shook her head and hugged Nero even tighter. Her look made Vahn feel as though his guilt hadpounded but, doing his best not to let it show; he knelt down so that his face was only a few centimeters away from Neros as he muttered, "Never again...I wont allow it..." Feeling his own emotions begin to burst forth, Vahn had to take a deep breath through his nose as his eyes began to sting slightly. Fortunately, he was able to keep hisposure enough to carry out his original intentions so, before Nero could ask what he meant; Vahn ced his hand atop her head as he solemnly stated, "It is an order...as your Master, I expressively forbid you to try and take your life, Nero udius Caesar Augustus Germanicus. Your life had value...more than you seem capable of understanding. I hope, one day, you will understand the pain you have caused everyone here..." After triggering such an extreme response from her earlier, Vahn didnt really know what to say to the current Nero. Part of him wanted to just hug her, holding her body tightly until she realized just how important her life was. Boudica, however, didnt seem intent on letting her go any time soon so, using Neros earlier words to guide his, Vahn decided to y the part of her Master... As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn briefly remembered the peculiar incident that had urred prior to Neros summoning. He had nearly selected the Lily version of Nero by pure happenstance and, now that he saw her like this, part of him wished that he had done so. Nero, in many ways, was like a child that desperately needed the guidance of parental figures. She didnt know how to take control of her life without being in control of everything. Boudica could fill the role of a surrogate mother but, in the grand scheme of things, there was only one person who could have been a father to her... Realizing these things, Vahn released a mncholic sigh as he continued to caress the confused Neros head. Now, even if he wanted to treat her as his daughter, Neros experiences made this all but impossible. Though he could give her a new vessel, just like Mordred, she would still have a lot of trouble fitting in with others, both children and adults. The best option would be to tweak her memories but that wasnt really a solution, not in this case. Since she had been watching him the entire time, Nero could tell that Vahn was struggling. She was unable to understand exactly why he was upset but she knew he was saddened by her actions. Since he had even used amand spell to prevent her frommitting suicide, Nero began to feel like she had misunderstood the situation. It seemed like he still needed her so, even if she was unable to understand why, exactly, Nero began to feel her dark thoughts slowly fading away. Like a switch had been flipped, Neros smile spontaneously returned, her aura zing like a golden sun as she broke free from her catatonic state. She then used her free hand to lightly pat Boudicas head, saying in a gratified tone, "Thank you for worrying about me. Im fine now, umu, please release me...grkk...you are a lot stronger than you look. Umu..." Hearing the first half of Neros words, Boudica put even more strength into her embrace. However, when she heard the former groan, she immediately weakened her hold, saying, "Youre not okay...not yet. Dont think you can fool me with words alone..." With Boudica refusing to release her, Nero couldnt help but furrow her brows slightly but, just as she was considering breaking free, calming energy flowed into her mind, courtesy of Vahn. When she turned to look at him, thetter had a wry smile on his face as he stated, "Consider this your punishment for worrying us. It is okay to not be okay, Nero...you dont have to force yourself to put on an act. Nobody here expects you to be a perfect Emperor without any ws...after all, I have a fair number myself. If you want to fit in and understand others, you have to be willing to expose your true feelings to them. Dont be afraid to ask for help...if there is something you dont understand, we will help you find the answer..." Though it was probably impossible for him to fill the role of a parent to the current Nero, that didnt mean Vahn couldnt help guide her. She had clearly been shaped from a young age to behave in a certain way so, even if it caused a few awkward moments between them, Vahn needed to be willing to reprimand and guide Nero when she made mistakes. He could also have her help test the Virtual World simtions with Da Vinci, potentially giving her the chance to live and grow from childhood without having to make any changes to her current self. For now, however, Vahn needed to show Nero that she wasnt unnecessary. She needed to know she had value, even if it would take her a long time to understand exactly what it was. With this in mind, he looked toward Boudica, adding, "For now, Ill have you move into the Inner Sanctum as well. It will take a few weeks before were ready to establish the European Supercolony. Until then, I want you to live alongside Nero. I believe she will learn more from interacting with you than observing Artoria...is that okay?" Though Nero seemed like she wanted to disagree, Boudica preempted her response by hugging her tightly and saying, "You dont even need to ask." Then, in order to convince Nero, she whispered, "It will be okay. Your Master can be a bit of an idiot at times but he is surprisinglypetent when ites to things like this. Trust that there is a reason behind his decision and give it a chance...it may take a while, but I promise to teach you how to be happy." Nero wasntpletely convinced by Boudicas words but, with her pointing out that this was the decision Vahn had made, she ultimately nodded her head in agreement. She was aware that she and Boudica would be working together during the establishment of the European Supercolony so, for the time being, she would do her best to get along with the buxom woman. This would also allow her to interact with the rest of the Inner Sanctums residents with greater ease, borrowing on the rapport that Boudica had built with them. With Neros acquiescence, Boudicas mood was instantly improved. A loving smile spread across her face before she noticed the wry one on Vahns. Then, remembering she had just called him an idiot, her brows furrowed in an apologetic manner. This caused Vahn to lightly shake his head, his smile returning to normal as he added, "I cant force her to stay in one ce but Ill also leave Spenta in your care, at least for the time being." Hearing Vahn mention Spenta caused the tensions in the air to dissipate slightly as even Nero had be rather fond of the adorable white-haired girl. Not only did she have a calming aura, but her skin was very soft to the touch. This,bined with her naturally high body temperature, made her an idealpanion for sleeping, something Nero had confirmed several times. Feeling everyones mood improve, Vahns own tensions rxed. He was hoping that Spenta would be the glue that brought Nero and the others together. Even if they didnt like Nero, there was no way they could refuse Spenta as she was the literal manifestation of All the Worlds Good. The one time Vahn had sent Spenta away, as he had been rather busy, he ended up being filled with so much regret that he ultimately dropped what he was doing to go spend time with her. Now, until Nero was able to relinquish her facade, Vahn would surround her with caring people who would never stop trying to peel back her protectiveyers. At the same time, he would try to be a good Master to her and, if necessary, a surrogate father. Though would never refer to himself in such a manner, as that would likely cause even more problems, that didnt prevent him from treating Nero with the care she seemed to desperately need. Then, when she had finally opened her heart to others, he would reward her until she waspletely satisfied... (A/N: Alternate Titles: There will always be someone pained by your actions...,Boudica got that re only a Mother can pull off...,Spenta is literally the goodest girl...at least in the Nasuverse (UwU). She still has a long way to go before reaching Fenrir, however~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1369 - Tension

Chapter 1369 - Tension

At times, Vahn felt like he would have a day that felt exponentially longer than others. It was barely approaching noon, but, from his perspective, nearly five days had passed. In that time, he had babysat his children, engaged in a contest of strength, visited multiple people, forged an S-Rank weapon, fought against his Memory Fragment, and participated in no less than two orgies. It had been a very eventful day, and, with his uing meeting with Solon, followed by the lecture he was scheduled to advise, it was nowhere nearpletion. Fortunately, Nero was in the care of Boudica so Vahn was able to rx while his main body waited for the arrival of the children. He had already been sitting there for around twenty minutes in utter silence as the matter with Nero had required a lot of focus. Now, he rested with his back against a cold stone pir, pretending not to have noticed Mordred goading Mash to sneak up on him. They knew it was impossible to actually surprise him but, never one to spoil the childrens fun, Vahn just sat with his eyes closed, pretending to meditate. Though Mordreds n was to have Mash surprise her Chichue with a hug, the bashful girl didnt have the heart to do such a thing. Instead, she just lightly poked Vahns cheek, her finger leaving a small imprint. When he didnt react, she blinked in surprise before turning back to see Mordred giving her a thumbs-up gesture and arge grin. This caused Mash to swallow the knot in her throat but, still unable to go through with the n, she instead lightly pat the top of her Masters head with a small smile on her face. Seeing Mashs behavior, Mordred ran her hands down her face in exasperation before pping her cheeks a few times. Then, before Mash could react, Mordred tackled her from behind, crashing into the sleeping Vahn with a bit of force. This caused Mash to fluster with a red face but, just as she was about to apologize, the surroundings shattered as Vahn appeared standing behind, a gentle smile on his face as he mused, "You shouldnt tease Mash too much, Mordred." Since they were now standing back near the entrance to the Transfer Room, it didnt take long for the girls to realize that Vahn had counter-pranked them. Mash, however, still had a red face as she bowed low and stammered, "Please forgive me, Master. Mordred may havee up with the idea but it was still my decision to carry it out." Before Mash could say more, Vahn stroked both of their heads as he said, "Its nothing to apologize for. A bit of mischief is healthy. Just make sure not to push yourself." Though it wasnt the first or even the thousandth time she had her head rubbed, Mash could never getpletely used to it. As for Mordred, she fully embraced the caress, a cat-like smile on her face as she unashamedly rubbed her head against his palm. It didnt matter to her if she had returned to her adult form, she still enjoyed skinship with her Chichiue. If her Hahaue wouldnt reprimand her for it, she would still ride on his shoulders or hang off him like a monkey whenever the opportunity presented itself... With Mash sitting at his side and Mordred sitting happily in hisp, Vahn waited for the rest of the children to arrive. He could sense all of their locations so he knew they were already on their way; he had just arrived a little early. If he really wanted to, he could just teleport them directly to the Clock Tower without escorting them but, as that felt too impersonal, Vahn made sure he always made time to take them to, and from, school. Eventually, Sakura and Zo? showed up together, their entrance preceding Astrids by less than a minute. Since Vahn knew thetter was on the way, he had Mordred vacate hisp before rising to give the new arrivals a cursory head pat. This was basically his way of greeting people so they werepletely used to it. Rather, it would be more urate to say they looked forward to it as Vahns legacy as the Godhand hadnt exactly faded with time. Once Astrid arrived, Vahn greeted her in the same way as everyone else before asking the group, "Is everyone ready? Im not going to teleport back if you forgot something." Then, despite them saying nothing was amiss, Vahn looked toward the sleepy-looking Zo?, asking, "Where is your pendant...?" Hearing Vahns question, Zo?s hand immediately moved to her neck, finding her usual pendant missing. This caused her face to pale before immediately turning scarlet soon after as she bowed in a flustered manner and eximed, "P-please wait a moment! Ill be right back...!!" Then, with speed far greater than a normal human child, Zo? attempted to bolt out of the room to go and retrieve her pendant. Before she had made it more than ten steps, Zo? felt herself be pulled back, her feet leaving the ground as she slowly drifted through the air. She felt both confused and embarrassed but, when Vahn suddenly handed her a small peridot pendant, she breathed a sigh of relief before muttering, "Thank you..." in a small voice. It was a simple feat for Vahn to grab items from pretty much anywhere within the Ivory Castle using his domain so there was no sense in making Zo? retrieve it herself. He just wanted to help her wake up and give her a reason to pay more attention to her preparations in the future. She had obviously been sleeping prior to arriving in the Transfer Room as her uniform was still disorderly, despite the fact Sakura had helped to fix her up. Now that everyone was actually ready, Vahn asked one final time before they all transferred directly to the Sage Aldrnari Commons. From there, he parted with the children after telling them to do their best, leaving them to basically sprint the rest of the way across campus. They still had a few minutes until ss was supposed to start so, even after stopping by their dorms to pick up a few things, they had more than enough time to reach the ssroom, assuming, of course, they ran at their fastest speed... --- After taking a few minutes to just sort his thoughts, Vahn stood up, stretched his body, popped his back, and then teleported to the underground elevator that led to Solons private garden. It didnt take long for the elevator itself to descend so, after board, Vahn steeled himself to meet with Solon, this time without an entourage. He would normally have someone like Artoria present but, out of consideration for Solons character, Vahn felt things would go a lot smoother if they were alone. Fortunately, Zelretch had been extremely busy as ofte so, upon ascending to the usual circr stone tform, Vahn found his surroundings bereft of a greeting party. Thus, without dallying, he made his way up the winding stone steps before opening therge stone doors of the temple-like construct at the end. Inside, he found the usual pathway that led to the suspended tform at the very center of the garden. There, Solon already had an annoyed expression on their face as, even without knowing why Vahn had arrived, his presence all but guaranteed trouble. Without minding Solons pointed look, Vahn made his way over, sitting down on one of two chairs that had been prepared. Since the table between them was empty, he pulled out some piping hot tea made from literal Yggdrasil Leaves. This obviously caught Solons attention as, even if it had no rtion to the tree they received their power from, there was a certain vitality emanating from the pot, one they were very familiar with. Before questioning what trouble Vahn brought their way, Solon poured a cup of tea for themselves, sampling the contents like a cat. This caused Vahn to raise his brow slightly but, deciding it was best to avoid teasing the emotionally unstable Magus, he focused on the contents of his own cup. After sampling the emerald-green tea, Solons eyes widened marginally before they downed the entire contents of their cup in one go. For a brief moment, they seemed to forget Vahn was present, releasing a hot and contented sigh before slouching in their chair, afortable expression on their face. It was only when they opened their eyes to find Vahn staring back at them did Solon seem to remember the origin of the tea. Their expression became dour in an instant but, before they were able to say anything, Vahn inly stated, "Dont...youll ruin the taste of the tea. Just rx..." Following his own advice, Vahn refilled his cup before leaning back in the ornate wooden chair, his mind wandering to pleasant thoughts of home and family. This earned him a prolonged re from Solon but, after a few seconds had passed, they finally relented before pouring themselves a second cup. They knew Vahn would undoubtedly say something unpleasant so, given the option between dealing with him before or after the tea, Solon ultimately decided upon thetter. Like two old men who had just returned from a hard days work, Vahn and Solon both sank into their chairs, holding their cups with both hands like a mug of hot cocoa. The tea, whenbined with the peaceful surroundings, created a sensation as if their souls were being healed. Thus, for a short few minutes, all of their past animosity was forgotten. There was only the tea, the peaceful atmosphere, and a surprisinglyfortable wooden chair... Unfortunately, a single pot of tea between two people didntst so, after around twenty minutes, Solon imed the final amount for themselves before asking, "Why have youe here? Even if you told me it was just to have tea, I would never believe you..." Since there was no sense in beating around the bush, Vahn stared into Solons Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, something very few could manage, as he answered, "Simply put, circumstances require that I make you into my direct subordinate. Now, before yoush out at me, hear me out until the end..." Though Vahn was speaking calmly at first, his expression and tone be stern to match the fierce expression on Solons face. Even the cup in their hand had started to tremble slightly as the tension between them began topound exponentially. In the end, however, Solon made an earnest effort to calm down, breathing somewhat loudly through their button-like nose for several seconds before giving a small nod. Seeing Solon forcibly restrain themselves, Vahn allowed his own aura to mellow out slightly as he exined, "I wont bother trying to convince you through words. We both knew the current status quo would be impossible to maintain during theing convergence. The Empire has decided to move forward with some of ourrger ns, many of which include the Mages Association..." Vahn said he wasnt going to convince Solon with words but that didnt mean he could just avoid exining what propelled him to move forward with his decision. To this end, he pulled out a stack of documents rted to the creation of the Supercolonies, allowing Solon to view them while he added, "As you can see, I intend to nt World Trees at the heart of every Supercolony. Though I can create a Spirit to manage them, I know of your association with the original Yggdrasil of this world. If you are willing to be my subordinate, I will allow you to be a Sacred Tree Spirit, Guardian of the World Trees...what say you, Solon Yggdrasil?" With how much Solons hands were trembling, it gave the impression they were moments away from tearing the documents to pieces. Instead, they red back at Vahn, asking, "Did that flowery asshole tell you...?" To this, Vahn simply nodded his head in response, earning an aggrieved, teeth-gnashing reaction from Solon. In the end, however, they mmed the papers down on the table and shouted, "You already know I cant refuse this! Tell me, what do you want from me you...you bastard!?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Would you call this productive...?,Mordreds antics never cease,How to tame your Sacred Tree Spirit...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1370 - Coaxing

Chapter 1370 - Coaxing

Instead of responding to Solons outburst, Vahn just sat quietly within his chair, his face a mask of calm as he waited for them to calm down. This caused Solons left eye to twitch but, as there really wasnt any way for them to refuse Vahns offer, they eventually sat back down in a huff. Solon felt that, ever since they became intertwined with Vahn, their life had been filled with endless frustrations. Now, Vahn had absolute leverage against them and, knowing he could manipte the terms of their contract at his leisure, Solon couldnt help but feel bitter. It seemed like Vahn was always in control of the situation, despite clear evidence showing he often made decisions without putting much thought into them... Before they realized it, the once-empty teapot now had a bit of steam rising from its spout, a very fragrant aroma permeating through the surroundings as a result. When Solon saw this, they released a tired sigh before pouring themselves a cup and asking, this time in a quiet tone, "What would you have me do...?" Now that they were being more agreeable, Vahn allowed the smile to return to his face as he stated in an equally reserved tone, "Truthfully, I want for you the same thing I want for everyone. Even if you wanted to hole yourself up for all eternity, that is fine by me. So long as you are genuinely happy, it isnt my ce to question how you live." Hearing Vahns response, Solon just rolled their eyes before pulling their legs up into their chair and sipping on their tea. This action caused Vahn to raise his brows slightly, then, understanding Solon wanted a more concrete answer, he sighed before saying, "Ill be direct, then...the main reason I havee to you like this is because it rtes to one of my Quests. I know you have tried to investigate the Quest Board when you thought no one would notice. Well, it isnt just students who can ept the Quests that are posted..." Though they didnt move from their current position, a lot of thoughts began racing through Solons mind when they heard Vahns revtion. This implied Vahn had a way to observe them without their knowledge while also rifying a lot of their past spection. To confirm, however, Solon looked at Vahn out of the corner of their eye, asking, "All of your nonsensical actions in the past...was this due to your Quests...?" Vahn could only guess what Solon meant when they referred to his nonsensical actions but, as it probably wasnt that far from the truth, he nodded his head before exining, "Though it isnt quite the truth, it isnt wrong to consider the Quests that appear to be the Will of Fate...or perhaps Karma? Ultimately, what appears on the board aligns with a persons desires, capabilities, and other factors, some of which I have direct control over. To answer your question, you, too, will be able to ept Quests in the future." Since they knew Vahn was from the Outside, Solon spected the Quests very likely rted to his origins. They werent surprised by the fact that Vahn couldnt reveal all of the details but, based on what he had revealed; it was clear that the Quests exceeded even High Thaumaturgy in concept. For a while, Solon had even thought it was directly rted to the Greater Grail as, seeing items manifest out of thin air, some of which shouldnt even exist in this world, there had to be something powering the phenomenon. Having observed the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory since its foundation, Solons next question was rather direct, asking, "Am I to assume you will be cing that mark on my back, then? I have noticed all of the children that havepleted that so-called Foundation Training bears it. Not just them, either...I have seen it on the backs of those women..." Realizing they had just revealed the fact they had been spying on Vahn, Solons words trailed off as they closely observed Vahn for any negative reaction. Instead, he just continued to smile, revealing the fact he had been aware the entire time. This caused Solon to feel a unique kind of frustration as it also meant Vahn had been behaving that way despite knowing he was being observed. In truth, before Solon revealed it themselves, Vahn could only assume he was being observed by the hyper-cautious Magi. Now that Solon had mentioned it themselves, however, Vahn sloshed around the contents of his cup slightly as he said, "I trust your little voyeuristic y was kept from Zelretch, yes?" Hearing Vahns question, Solon momentarily paled but, as they had indeed kept it a secret, they were able to quickly calm themselves, answering, "Im not an idiot...besides, that old pervert doesnt need my help to spy on people. I doubt he would try while youre around, though. He seems to fear you a considerable amount." Sensing no falsehoods in Solons words, Vahn lightly nodded in response before dismissing the issue entirely as he stated, "That mark is known as the Familia Crest. It denotes the bearer as a member of my Familia, bestowing them my Blessing and allowing them to receive various benefits. The one you are most aware of is the Quest Board. Using it, they can challenge themselves, ovee trials, and earn rewards for their efforts. This, however, isnt the most important aspect of the crest...rather, it is the unlocking of ones potential. So long as they have notmitted egregious actions, earning a considerable amount of negative karma, the crest had the effect of increasing their capabilities in all categories..." Since he could tell Solon was interested in the benefits of the Familia Crest, Vahn went ahead and spent a few minutes selling the idea to them. The only true demerit was that he could easily trace the location of the bearers but, with ya at his side, this functionality was redundant. After all, he could achieve the same effect with the Strings of Fate, even without the target bearing his crest. With Vahns exnation, Solon was able to better understand his ns for the future as they had already seen the results of students within the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory. Even those that had been considered below average were quickly catching up and even surpassing the students within the standard curriculum. Now, they understood why Vahn had been determined to gain ess to the Spiritual Tomb as, by simply killing monsters, anyone bearing his crest would be able to be a powerful Magus. Eventually, the students he was rearing would quickly surpass their peers, further elevating the status of the Empire within the minds of those seeking to change their fate in this chaotic world. Though this thought had already crossed their mind before, Solon realized that Vahn was already in control of the Mages Association. It didnt matter if he wiped out former factions andpletely undermined thousands of years of heritage as, with the theories perpetuated by Da Vinci, the Familia Crest, and seemingly unlimited resources, he could just rebuild it from scratch. At this point, the fact they were still the Director felt more like a formality than anything else...they had lost control of the situation a long time ago. Realizing this, Solon couldnt restrain a defeated sigh as they slouched even further in their chair, to the point they were basically curled up in a ball. This made Vahn feel more than a little awkward as it wasnt really his intention to break Solons spirits. Rather, he wanted to liberate them from some of the things that had been stressing out. After all, it wasnt as if they did much as the Director of the Mages Association and, by the time the World Trees were nted, someone else would have been ced in charge. Fortunately, without him having to say anything to further convince the green-haired Magus, Solon dully asked, "So, what do I need to do? I keep asking you but you havent given me a clear answer. Is there some kind of ritual that needs to be performed, a contract I need to sign? Lets get on with it and be done with this." Hearing Solons words, it was Vahns turn to roll his eyes, albeit within his mind. Unfortunately, his bad habit wasnt so easily restrained so, rather than answer Solons question, Vahn smiled slightly as he asked, "Will you talk like this, even after I be your Master~?" Though he had expected Solon to erupt slightly, Vahn was somewhat surprised when thetter just red at him for several seconds before righting themselves in their seat. It felt like they were about to behave in a very professional manner so, feeling his mood falter, Vahn raised his hands to prevent whatever they had intended, stating, "Rx, I was just messing around. In response to your question, well, there isnt anything you need to do other than be sincere. I have the ability to see a quantifiable representation of my subordinates Loyalty so things like contracts and rituals are unnecessary." With everything else Vahn had revealed, Solon wasnt surprised by his im that he could somehow see a persons loyalty. Instead, his mind began to mull over the concept of sincerity itself as, without a contract or something like a vow, how could sincerity be shown? Words didnt seem to be enough but, even with their genderless body, Solon wasntfortable with letting Vahn mess around as he did with his women... Realizing the thought that had just gone through their mind, a frown immediately formed on Solons face. Then, after literally forcing the thoughts away, they looked directly at Vahn, inly stating, "I know what it means to be sincere but, in this situation, I dont really understand what to do. I would never enter into a master-subordinate rtionship with someone unless they had made a binding vow so Im unable to rationalize doing so myself. Even now, if I had the opportunity, I would do my best to at least try and find a way to kill you." Hearing Solons admission, Vahn just shrugged his shoulders as the formers animosity wasnt news to him. Rather, if he knew there was some all-powerful force above him, he wouldnt be able to rest easily without increasing his strength or preparing countermeasures against them. Since he felt this way, it was only to be expected that others would react in a simr manner. Solon had protected the world and its more unique inhabitants for several millennia at this point so, to have someone like him appear out of the blue, it must be very stressful for them. To make things easier for them, Vahn pointed out, "The Familia Crest is basically a ritual that will bind us together as a faux-family. In truth, I actually consider those that bear my crest as part of my actual family. This might not mean much to some but, as a God, I treat familiar rtionships very seriously. If people try to harm me, it typically doesnt phase me all that much...however, if they target one of my family members or loved ones..." Even without exining further, Vahns aura made it clear just what fate awaited those that brought harm to the people he had chosen to protect. This was enough to convince Solon that the Familia Crest was, indeed, a binding ritual. After all, it would grant them power, allow Vahn to freely sense their location, and even provide ess to a fantastical Quest system. In a way, he was like a Familiar contract, albeit one between a God and his followers. Realizing that Vahn would basically be their God, Solon had mixed feelings but, after thinking it over for a few moments, they ultimately nodded their head, answering, "So be it, then. If your Familia Crest can be applied to my body, I will ept you...as...my...Master..." Hearing Solon force out the final few words, Vahn just shook his head and said, "I told you to rx. If you dont want to call me Master, that is fine with me. So long as you dont harm people or go out of your way to defy the Common Law of the Empire, you are free to live as you please. Though youll have to properly maintain the World Tree in the future, thats something I trust youll do of your own volition." Feeling as if a heavy burden had been removed from their shoulders, Solon breathed a sigh of relief. It wasnt pleasant to address someone as their Master so, with Vahn giving them leeway to address him as they please, Solon decided to continue referring to him by name. Then, without further dy, they rose from their chair before manifesting the mannequin they used to hold their artifacts. Since it wouldnt matter if Vahn saw their body, Solon convinced themselves to stay calm as they began the arduous process of removing the vast array of Artifacts covering their body. Realizing what Solon was doing, Vahn felt a little awkward and, though the former hadnt asked him to turn away, he feltpelled to do so. Though Solon didnt seem to have an actual gender, their appearance and temperament gave off a very distinct impression. This,bined with their fair skin, tiny frame, and youthful figure, made watching them undress feel inappropriate. Seeing Vahn turn his head, Solon wanted to curse the man to death as their actions suddenly felt a lot more awkward than before. It would have been a lot easier if Vahn just remained calm or, like Zelretch, gawked freely. That way, they could rebuke them to ease some of the awkwardness rather than let it continue to build, seemingly without an upper limit. By the time only their medallion and robe remained, Solon felt slightly nauseous but, having formed their resolve previously, they managed to remove the heavy golden Artiface before tugging at the sides of their robe. For a brief moment, Solon bothmented and appreciated the fact they didnt wear anything resembling underwear. Zelretch had tried to convince them to wear some in the past but, as these were always very childish and feminine designs, Solon generally responded with a swift punch to the face... (A/N: Alternate Titles: You aint sneaky, Solon,Dont mess with Vahns Familia...,Zelretch really is just an old pervert xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1371 - Choice Consequence

Chapter 1371 - Choice Consequence

With nothing but a loose white robe covering their body, Solons frustration reached the limit, the vein in their temple pulsating as they shouted, "Stop making this awkward! Seriously, there isnt even anything to see! Look...!!" As if to make their point, Solon swiftly removed their robe, revealing theplex runic formation and confirming the fact theycked a gender. Rather, much like a Spirit, they were bereft of both a navel and teats. Despite this, Vahn noted that Solons body still had a distinctly feminine structure as, rather thanpletely t, there were very small mounds to denote their breasts. At the same time, though itcked any semnce of a sexual organ, their mons pubis appeared to possess a certain tenderness to it, much like the barren parts of a doll. Since Solon seemed more troubled by the fact he had turned away, Vahn didnt bother looking away as he stood up and casually remarked, "Come, let me take a look at your back. Ill need to get a basic understanding of those runes on your body before cing the Familia Crest." Seeing how Vahn had adopted a casual yet professional demeanor, courtesy of his practice as both a masseur and a stylist, Solon was able to gradually calm down. Then, in response to Vahns statement, they exined, "I cant really fathom what youre capable of so I wont say youll be unable to crack this formation. Assuming you do...well, I guess I can only hope you dont destroy it. In this state, I am literallyid bare to you so, if you take advantage of my vulnerable state, I vow to curse you until the end of time..." Hearing Solons remark, Vahn was tempted to roll his eyes but, rather than upset them further, he used Telekinesis to move both chairs, calmly stating, "You neednt worry about such things. Despite what some might attest, I rarely do anything even remotely simr to subterfuge. Besides, I have no need to mess with the formation on your body, at least not in the way you might fear. I can already determine most of its functions just by looking at it so trust me when I say it wont be an issue." Finding Vahns statement to be somewhat difficult to believe, Solon pointed toward the circle at the center of their chest, asking, "What does this do?" This time, Vahn really did roll his eyes before answering in a dull tone, "That is the false core of your formation. It converts Magical Energy into Life Energy, rerouting it to the triangr formation on the inside of your left thigh. That one feeds through the root point at the base of your spine, refining it into the various forms of energy your body needs to restructure itself when damaged. Though Id have to check in order to be certain, Im guessing the excess energy is stored within your marrow since you seem tock Magic Circuits...?" With every word Vahn said, Solon appeared progressively more gloomy as it was never pleasant to have your secrets exposed so easily. This formation was the culmination of several hundred years of research, not something a person just saw through at a nce. Though it didnt really surprise them, as Vahn was their textbook definition of a monster, Solon was still bothered by how casually he had said everything. Without dignifying him with a response, Solon sat down in the provided chair with their back facing him. The backrest was too high for them to rest their arms against but, feeling greatly exasperated, Solon just nted their forehead against it without a word. This left Vahn standing there with a wry smile on his face before he positioned his own chair so that he was sitting behind them. Since Solon hadnt deigned to wrap anything around their lower body, Vahn was able to see the line of their back, and what it connected to, with rity. This caused him to shake his head slightly as, for a number of reasons, Solon triggered his parental instincts. Though they had nothing to conceal, the fact Solon behaved without any shame whatsoever was somewhat troubling Deciding not to let it bother him, as there really wasnt any reason it should, Vahn traced his finger along a few of the runes on Solons back, muttering, "This really is quite the masterpiece...without help from Scthach, I doubt I would be able to create a formation like this from scratch. Changing it wont be a problem, however..." With Solon apparently ignoring him, Vahn chose to focus on analyzing both their body and the runic structure covering it. While the pattern on the surface was the mainponent, it was merely a way to transfer and absorb various types of energy into the body itself. This meant, any changes to the formation would have to take into consideration the structure of Solons body, not that this was any different from the norm. It used the same principle as the Ouroboros Seal and the Mark of Fertility so Vahn was very familiar with the necessary considerations. What Vahn found truly fascinating was the fact that Solons body wasnt actuallyprised of flesh and blood. Instead, it was formed from the substance mostmonly referred to as Liquid y, an inert form of Ether. Normally, it would be impossible to maintain such a structure for a long period of time but, within Solons body, something very simr to a magic core pulsed in their chest like a beating heart. This was where things got truly interesting as, instead of a circtory system, nerves, muscles, and other forms of tissue, Solons body was suffused with awork of vein-like roots, all growing from the central core... Though it would probably earn him a biting remark from Solon, Vahn realized the peculiar green-haired Magus was basically a nt Spirit that had fused with an extremely advanced golem. Its form merely emted the biological processes of a normal human being as, despite the fact Solon clearly seemed to breathe, they didnt have lungs. Instead, the roots in their body processed the oxygen for them, dispersing it out from microscopic pores on their body... Vahn imagined Da Vinci would be very keen on studying Solons constitution but, with a job to do, he dismissed the thought, asking, "Is your internal structure fixed or can you alter it freely? Based on what I can see, you should be able to change form without much difficulty." Since Vahns words required an actual response this time, Solon released a false sigh before shaking their head and saying, "This is the form I took after reconciling all of the memories stored within my mind. If I tried to take another form, there is a chance I would rpse into that state. Youll need toe up with a different solution...Id rather die than go through that again..." Making a mental note to avoid such a touchy subject in the future, Vahn mulled over a few options within his mind before ultimately leaving the decision to Solon, exining, "There are two methods avable to circumvent your peculiar circumstances. The first option involves creating a new body for you, one with the exact same form but an actual system of Magic Circuits. Scthach would be able to recreate the formation on your current body, adapting it to your new vessel..." Hearing Vahns words, Solon fell silent for nearly a full minute before finally asking, "And the second option?" As there were very few people that were willing to give up their original body, Vahn wasnt all that surprised by Solons response. Thus, without missing a beat, he exined, "The second method is to create a system of artificial Magic Circuits within your body. It will be a very painful process but I can guarantee a one-hundred percent sess rate. I would have to check on your body as it develops to make sure there are no seque, however, so keep that in mind." With one option requiring them to give up their body and the other only promising a bit of pain, it wasnt really a matter to consider, at least within Solons mind. This form may have caused them a lot of problems in the past but it was still the form they had taken for nearly three-thousand years. Pain wasnt something they feared so, without taking time to consider the offer, Solon stated, "This is my body; I choose to keep it..." Hearing their response, Vahn gave an understanding nod but, fearing Solon severely underestimated the pain they would experience, he exined, "It is going to feel like hot magma is tearing through your body. Ill be building the temte within your Spiritual Body so your pain tolerance will provide no reprieve...are you ready?" Vahns tone made it pretty clear that the process wouldnt be pleasant but, having made up their mind, Solon just nodded their head. They were tempted to ask how long it would take but, fearing he would say something along the lines of several days, they decided not to. Instead, they grit their teeth with considerable force, steeling themselves for what was toe. If he didnt think Solon would freak out and misinterpret his intentions, Vahn would have exined his [Hands of Nirvana] and the process of Nirvana Rebirth. Though there were no guarantees, there was a fair chance the procedure would be rtively painless if Solon trusted him enough to leave themselvespletely at his mercy. However, with the unique structure of their body, Vahn didnt have absolute confidence inpleting the process so, trusting his gut, he opted to remain silent. Since there was no sense in dying the matter further, Vahn ced his hand against Solons back before steeling himself for what was toe. In truth, it would be easier to have themy down on their back but, with Solon already burying their face into the chairs backrest, he allowed them to stay put. It didnt really matter what position they were in, so long as they didnt thrash around too much and interrupt the process. To prevent this, Vahn sent his Source Energy directly into the main stem of Solons body, probing to see how it would react. Fortunately, as it was almost entirelyprised of Life Energy, something he was intimately familiar with, Vahn had no trouble at all expanding his energy through theirwork without trigger its defenses. He had gotten much better at manipting his energy inside the bodies of other people so, if he maintained his focus, it was possible to elude the senses of even the most skilled Magi... After about twenty minutes had passed without any pain whatsoever, Solon began to feel anxious as their body was behaving in apletely unexpected way. They could feel something akin to warmth spreading through their body, filling it far beyond its capacity. As a result, their hair began to grow at a visible rate and, though it was a much slower process, even their body began to grow as a pleasant and irresistible feeling of jubtion began to invade their mind. Though he couldnt see their face, Vahn could tell Solon was feeling both excited and confused. He even suspected they were smiling slightly while hiding their face against the back of the chair. Sadly, he had to be the bearer of bad news, exining in a calm tone, "This is just the preliminary phase of the procedure. Feel free to enjoy it but dont expect things will continue in this manner. If you dont steel yourself for what is toe, the sudden shift from pleasure to pain might break your mind..." Hearing Vahns words, Solon forcibly suppressed the happy feelings bubbling up inside them, even though part of them wanted to wallow in them for all eternity. Though not an exactparison, it was almost like a nt that had been starved for water, sunlight, and nutrients receiving all of them at the same time. Solon couldnt even remember thest time they had felt genuinely happy so, to hear Vahns reminder of what awaited them, they couldnt help harboring a bit of resentment toward him. Fortunately, that resentment may have been the very thing that saved them as, shortly after Vahns warning, Solon felt a sudden and spontaneous surge of pain. It felt like thorns had erupted in their body but, instead of influencing their physical form, it felt like pain being inflicted on their very soul. Nothing could have prepared them for something so excruciating and, if not for the fact Vahn had basically seized control over their body prior to the start of the second phase, it would have been impossible for them to sit silently. Now, they could only scream within their mind as their mouth was incapable of producing a sound to represent what they were experiencing... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Thats a very nice secret you have there...would be a shame if someone were to see through it (e . e)...,Basically a tree with fleshy bits~,Heaven to Hell in three paragraphs~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1372 - Between Dreams and Reality

Chapter 1372 - Between Dreams and Reality

Amidst an endless sea of blossoming flowers, a youthful figure could be seen resting peacefully atop a small hill. There was a gentle breeze flowing over thend, bringing with it a cooling effect and a pleasant aroma, easing the heat from the vibrant golden sun above. Suddenly, like someone who had overslept on the day of an important event, the figure startled into a seated position, their breathing ragged and anxious as they took in their surroundings. For a brief moment, confusion colored their peculiar blue-pink eyes as the cool breeze caused their long green hair to flow gently with the wind. While others would be calm in this situation, the figure, Solon, bounded to their feet with a troubled expression on their face as they eximed, "I know youre the one behind this, you flowery bastard! Get out here, right this instant...!!" Following Solons outburst, another breeze passed through the endless sea of flowers, this time with a bit more force. Solon was forced to shield their eyes due to their own disobedient hair, their face forming a frown as Merlin manifested in front of them with his usual, irritating, smile. With his arrival, the wind quickly died down but, due to their current garb, Solon was the victim of a vexatious and breezy feeling that soured their mood considerably. Before Solon couldsh out at him, Merlinughed in a lighthearted manner before musing, "That dress looks good on you, Solon-chan~." Triggered by Merlins teasing, Solon flipped through the air with tremendous force, kicking him in the face with the heel of their foot. This sent Merlin crashing through the endless garden of flowers but, aftering to a stop, he rose to his feet without a single injury. After all, within a Dreamscape like this, he had an absolute, invible, advantage. After dusting off his robe a bit, Merlin casually caught Solons second attack with his bare hand. He then tossed the green-haired Magus to the side where, seemingly in an instant, arge maw formed of twisted vines and flowers chomped down on their body. At the same time, Merlin mused, "I would have thought you had learned your lesson by now. Even if this is your Dreamscape, you will never be able to defeat me~." Following Merlins words, theplex web of roots, vines, and flowers suddenly erupted as a muchrger version of Solon appeared, their face forming an aggrieved expression. In response, Merlins own size increased until he towered over the green-haired Magus who, before they noticed it, was forced to wear a frilly frock with arge ribbon on their chest. Though they were beyond frustrated, Solon ultimately plopped down onto the ground and sprawled out with a defeated expression. Merlin was aplete monster within a Dreamscape so, even if they were twice as annoyed, there wasnt really anything they could do against him. In the past, Merlin had made this very clear, to the point Solon had forgone sleep for long periods of time for fear he would prey on them once again. With Solon turning obedient, Merlin lightly tapped his staff against the ground. In the next moment, Solon was wearing their usual white robes, seated in an ornate golden chair with white cushions. This caused them to breathe a sigh of relief before asking, "Why are you here? I dont recall arranging to meet with you any time soon. Rather, Im certain...something important was happening...?" Recalling things from the real world within a Dreamscape was a lot harder than normal as your mind was in a state of unconsciousness. As a result, your subconscious mind was in control while inside, an element very few people had control over. People like Vahn and Merlin were exceptions to this but, having no affinity with Dreams whatsoever, Solon couldnt help but struggle to recall what had been taking ce prior to finding themselves within the Dreamscape. This peculiar state was something that could be readily exploited by those with the capabilities of manipting dreams. After all, the conscious mind of a person was heavily influenced by whatever happened to their subconscious self. Because of this, it was possible to make suggestions and leave deep impressions on the mind, often without the person themselves realizing it had happened. In the past, Merlin had used this to teach Artoria the basics of [Instinct] as, by training in her dreams, a ce where she could go far beyond her limits, her conscious mind recalled them instinctually. Now, Merlin had appeared for an entirely different purpose, exining, "In order to preserve itself, your mindpletely shut down during a procedure taking ce outside. Though the odds werent that high, there was a non-negligible chance you would lose yourself if left unattended. To prevent a series of tragic events from taking ce, I decided to intervene. For now, you should focus on just rxing your mind as much as possible. You should know that the more you pay attention to things in the Dreamscape, the longer you will be stuck inside~." Hearing Merlins exnation, Solon felt like they were on the brink of recalling what had happened. This caused the previously blue sky to turn slightly chaotic but, with a simple wave, Merlin made the emergent stormclouds vanish in an instant. Then, to deter Solon from stressing over something they shouldnt, Merlin deterred them by musing, "Would you like to y dress-up and tag~?" A stark contrast to their conscious self, the subconscious Solon immediately shrank down when they heard Merlins words. They abruptly became the size of a porcin doll as they replied in a demure whisper, "No...I think Ill just sleep..." To this, Merlin just gave a small nod before waving his hand and summoning afortable bed for Solon to make use of... --- Though it didnt require nearly as much focus as Nirvana Rebirth, Vahn still had to focus his mind for nearly three hours toplete Solons operation. Fortunately, the process became a lot easier when Solon lost consciousness. This allowed him to easily manipte their body, extending their arms and legs so that they were straighter. This was an awkward process but, in order toplete the task as quickly as possible, Vahn ignored his misgivings. In the end, Solons body seemed to have aged a fair amount as, instead of a small child, they looked like a teenager. Vahn noticed that their body didnt develop further than the budding mounds that had been present prior to the procedure but, considering Solon didnt identify as either gender, it would have been a little strange if they suddenly sprouted breasts. Since it was a good opportunity, Vahn went ahead and modified the structure of the runic formation covering their body before cing a smaller version of his Familia Crest on their back. This gave him the chance to view Solons current status and, seeing their race and age, Vahn was able to confirm a few of his suspicions. ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Solon Yggdrasil] Age: 4943 Race: Ethereal Spirit of the World Tree, Human(?) Strength: 19E Endurance: 25D+++ Agility: 44B+ Magical Power: 50A+ Good Luck: 28D- Circuit Quality: EX Noble Phantasm: [Seal of Yggdrasil:A++] Origin: World, Fate, Life Skills: [Yggdrasils Heir: Innate:EX], [Pioneer of the Stars:Innate:C+], [Well of Fates Vessel:Innate:B], [Mystic Eyes of Death Perception(False):A], [High-Speed Incantation:A], [Physical Resistance:B], [Magic Resistance:B], Magic: [Yggdrasils Blessing: Innate:S] Magecraft: [Transmutation:S], [Divination:S], [Mystic Codex:EX] ------------------------------------------------------------------- Though it was impossible to be certain, the fact Solon had four Innates all but guaranteed they were a Tier 4 entity. If they had been able to obtain a Divinity, they would have be a God a long time ago, potentially even recing the original Yggdrasil. Some might not consider Yggdrasil a God but, considering it possessed a will of its own, gave birth to a myriad of gods, held up nine realms, and even became the foundation of an entire world on the Reverse Side, Vahn would call these people fools. There was a good chance that Yggdrasil was a Tier 5 being but, in the grand scheme of things, that just made them a higher-tiered God since they had dominion over various Laws. From what he could tell, Solon, if given enough time, would eventually turn into a World Tree. They had shed their humanity a long time ago, likely after being thrown into the Well of Fate, so there was little chance of them regaining what was lost. There was even a chance that, during the convergence, Solon would be reabsorbed by Yggdrasil so, in the end, Vahn believed his decision had saved them from a fate worse than death. Even though Yggdrasil seemed to be a benevolent and kind entity, there was little chance Solons Ego would be able to survive the merger. They had suffered for thousands of years so it would be exceptionally tragic if, on the cusp of obtaining some semnce of freedom and happiness, they were forced to serve as a sacrifice for Yggdrasils revival... While Vahn was thinking about the best method to help Solon obtain happiness, thetter slowly peeled their eyes open. It felt like their body was being crushed by the pressure of an entire ocean but, alongside the pain, a phenomenal amount of energy now circted through their body. It gave them a feeling as though they would be able to ovee anything but, most importantly, it made them feel alive for the first time in a long time. In an attempt to move to a seated position, Solon mustered up what little strength remained in their body, a pained groan escaping their lips as a result. Then, just as the movement seemed impossible, a set of warm hands helped guide them the rest of the way, both sending a gentle stream of energy into their body. This caused Solon to release a contented sigh as, everywhere the energy flowed, great relief followed. Vahn expected Solon toin about the fact he had ced one of his hands on their abdomen but, seeing them show no particr response, he opted to exin, "The procedure went without any major hups. Itll take some getting used to but your body now has its own Magic Circuits. Though it might take a while, you should try and familiarize yourself with using proper Magic from now on. It is never good to be entirely reliant on Artifacts and equipment..." Hearing Vahns words, Solon looked up at him, their Mystic Eyes glowing with a light that would unnerve most people. Vahn, however, was entirely unaffected so, after a few tense moments, they asked, "Is that your first order as my Master?" The moment Solon asked their question, both Vahn and the person in question showed expressions of surprise. For some reason, the form of address that had annoyed them in the past now sounded natural, unnerving Solon and causing their Loyalty value to drop a few points. If not for the obvious surprise on Vahns face, this value would have dropped even lower as Solon momentarily considered whether or not he had imnted something in their subconscious to make them more submissive. No longer feelingfortable with Vahn touching them, Solon batted his hands away before trying to rise to their feet. They had already recovered enough to move around without too much pain but standing turned out to be too high an obstacle, at least until Vahn used Telekinesis to support them. This caused Solon to feel bitter but, knowing he wasnt trying to shame them, they epted his help in restoring their robes and Artifacts. After dawning the [Seal of Yggdrasil], Solon felt as if all of their power returned. To their surprise, this seemed to be nothing more than a drop in the bucket, however, and, even after several minutes had passed, their reserves had continued to increase. By the time they were fully dressed, Solon felt like they had enough power to level an entire continent, causing them to gaze at Vahn, an incredulous look in their eyes as they asked, "These arent normal Magic Circuits...are they? I dont even think the Barthomelois Blue Blood Magic Circuits canpare to these." Since the deed was already done, Vahn just shrugged in response to Solon before answering, "I dont take half-measures when messing around with other peoples bodies. Though their structure isnt all that different from the norm, those Magic Circuits have a functionally infinite potential for growth. If you put in the effort, you can be much stronger in the future. Even transcending the Gods isnt as difficult as you might expect so work hard..." //Solon Yggdrasil: Loyalty +13// (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dick Wizard to the rescue~!,Vahn be like, "Oh, it is so much easier to move them around when they are unconscious~",RIP Solon, you put up a good fight) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1373 - Influence

Chapter 1373 - Influence

Since it was one of the things they were most interested in, it wasnt long before Vahn found himself standing next to Solon as thetter analyzed the Quest Board, searching for a suitable Quest. It tookpleting at least one Quest to activate the Skill Tree so, curious to experience it themselves, Solon was eager to ept their first. What bothered them was the fact that, among the Quests listed, Solon noticed the majority had the reward of Loyalty listed, a mechanic Vahn had already exined in detail. This effectively meant the more a person used the Quest Board, the more Loyal they would be to Vahn. Though this was a rathermon arrangement, as even Noble families offered power in exchange for loyalty, it was a different matter entirely when the person you formed a pact with was a God. To further exacerbate matters, Solon learned exactly what kind of Divinity Vahn possessed, causing them to immediately reconsider bing his Subordinate. Unfortunately, the die had already been cast so, after obtaining ridiculously potent Magic Circuits,bined with their understanding of his power, Solon could only ept their fate. After all, even without these things, Vahn had a great deal of leverage over them due to the fact he could produce World Trees. After ruminating over their options, Solon ended up touching an E-Rank Quest that rewarded a mere 150 Variable Experience and 10 Loyalty. The Objectives were extremely simple toplete and, after everything that had happened, they had a strong desire to just wrap everything up and take a nap. It had been a tiring day so, if it meant they could rx, suffering a moment of shame was a price they were willing to pay. Seeing which Quest Solon had selected, Vahn was slightly surprised but, knowing they couldnt easily ask, he took the initiative to extend his hand, lightly patting their head. This caused Solon to slouch forward, their bangs covering their eyes, but Vahn could still feel their mixed feelings even without seeing their face. He had selectively chosen a few Quests with Loyalty rewards since Solons current value was only 48. Since it was dangerous to let a Loyalty value decrease below 50, as it could suffer a rapid decline at any given moment, Vahn had skewed the odds in his favor. Most of the higher-ranked, non-Loyalty, Quests listed would take several days toplete so Solons only real options, if they wanted to get their first Quest out of the way, was to choose one of the D or E-Rank Quests, all of which required them to do something they would generally find embarrassing. It was likely a result of the previous procedure and rted events, but Solon now seemed more willing to allow for physical contact. The other options included things like walking around and greeting people, performing menial chores, dancing in public, and other troublesome things. Inparison, having their head pat for a total of ten minutes was a rtively tame Objective so, while nobody else was around, Solon swallowed their pride and allowed Vahn to demonstrate exactly why he was called the Godhand. Though he could have gone easy on them, making use of his Petting Laws to a minor extent, Vahn felt he wouldnt have many opportunities to make an impression on Solon. He wasnt going to go out of his way to meet with them that often and, given their nature, Solon was very unlike to seek him out for anything. Thus, while the opportunity presented itself, Vahn was going to take advantage of the situation, fully aware of how much frustration it would cause them. Now, when Solon spied on him and the girls, the memory of this moment would be waiting to creep upon them... Feeling the warm and pleasant energy flowing from Vahns hand, Solon forced themselves to clench their teeth but, after a few minutes had passed, even that became impossible. They began to feel an indescribable amount offort that caused their thoughts to wander aimlessly. Then, all too soon, thefortable feeling had passed, followed by Vahn casually informing, "Ten minutes have passed. Go ahead and turn in your Quest and see what Skills are avable to you." For a brief moment, Solon was confused by Vahns exnation as, due to thetters effort, they had actually forgotten what they were doing prior to the head pat. It was only after several seconds had passed that they realized what had happened, their hands forming into fists as they tried to rid their body of the remnants of the calming energy. This ultimately proved futile, however, due to Vahns infusion of Source Energy into the affecting energy. After failing in their endeavor for several frustrating seconds, Solon eventually released a tired sigh before shaking their head and submitting the Quest. They felt like Vahn was teaching them of the futility of opposing him so the best method to deal with the current situation was simply to remove themselves from it. Thus, after turning in the Quest and confirming the semi-transparent Skill Tree did, in fact, exist, Solon looked back at Vahn and said, "Ill be going now. Unless there is something important, please dont bother me any time soon." With Solons Loyalty going up to 55 during his petting and 65 afterpleting their Quest, Vahn had no reason to continue pressuring them. Even without him being around, their Loyalty would slowly increase with each use of the Quest Board, irrespective of whether or not in offered Loyalty as a reward. Unless Solon was convinced by external forces to proactively oppose him, something that was all but impossible, it was only a matter of time until the green-haired Magus relented. Understanding this, Vahn nodded his head in response, saying, "As I said before, I dont have any intentions of really telling you how to live. Still, I do hope youll be more considerate of the people I leave in your charge. The Clock Tower is still in a tumultuous state so, rather than spying on me all the time, you should consider making sure the students are kept safe." Hearing Vahn mention spying, Solons face became somewhat solemn as their Loyalty decreased to 64 before jumping up to 66 a momentter. Then, without deigning to respond, one of the rings on their finger shed with a brilliant light. When it had faded, Solon was nowhere to be seen but, as a result of Subordinating the hermetic Magus, Vahn could still sense them. Rather, he could basically sense everything within the Bounded Field of the Clock Tower due to his Map Function and Unit Management. It rarely came into y but, ever since thepletion of his Main Quest back in Danmachi, Vahn had always been able to see everything within the territory he owned. As a result, even without using his domain, he could track the physical location of everyone on Avalon and, based on the color of their dot on his Map, they could easily be identified as friend or foe. Better yet, if they were one of his actual subordinates, Vahn could freely teleport them around his territory, albeit at a cost of Loyalty, Belief, Allegiance, or Fealty. For this reason, he only ever used this functionality during emergencies as, even without it, he could teleport around using his, or yas, power. Still, suddenly having a perfect map of everything within the Clock Towers Bounded Field had confirmed something Vahn had been curious about for a few years now; the fact that the properties of his Subordinates were also his own. The link Vahn had with those listed in his Unit Management wasnt a simple promise that could be thrown away and discarded on a whim. It was something quantifiable and, in more ways that one, it even transcended most lesser forms of contracts. After all, at high enough values, he could tell those within his Unit Management to basically do anything and, so long as it didnt conflict with their own values too much, they would obey. Even now, if he really wanted to, he could transmit the thought to Solon, focus on bing more loyal and, as it wouldnt directly contradict with their intentions, they would begin to do so as if it was an original thought of their own... Vahn rarely exploited this ability intentionally but, at times like this, he knew it could be the lesser of two evils. Thus, after considering the matter for a few moments, he transmitted an earnest plea of sorts, mentallymanding, Do notpromise yourself in an attempt to please me. Live the life you please and find what makes you happy. Never go out of your way to harm others unless they pose a threat to you, the things you want to protect, and those you are charged with protecting. After transmitting his intentions, Vahn stood with his eyes closed for a few seconds before a small smile spread across his face. The fact Solons Loyalty hadnt been affected meant his order basically coincided with their original intentions. This confirmed his suspicions about the elusive Director as, while they didnt like to associate with people, they still cared about the World as a whole. The fact they hadmitted to this thankless task for millennia was a testament to this so, with the order he had given them, Solon would eventually find happiness for themselves. With another troublesome task taken care of, Vahn spent a few moments to stretch his body before teleporting to the Department of Unified Magical Theorys primary training field. He was supposed to act as an Advisor in their afternoon sses but, due to the matter with Solon taking longer than expected, he was a littlete. It would have been possible to head there with his second body but, after everything that had already happened throughout the day, Vahn needed some time to cool off. Just as he would visit various people throughout the day, Vahns always set aside time to spend a few hours meditating atop Leviathan. This was actually an important part of his training, as he spent the time focusing on hisprehension of the Laws, so it wasnt as if he was cking off. Rather, if he didnt go to Leviathan every now and then, the massive Watcher would be the one to call upon him, often by whispering through his shadow or sending someone like Amelia and Ikaros to retrieve him. Since the Watcher existed for the purpose of elevating its Master to a higher level, Vahn needed to periodically undergo various trials within itsbyrinthine interior. With his capabilities, these had all proven rtively easy toplete but it was still a very useful training method. After all, he didnt have many chances to fight actual opponents these days so, with his Daily Gacha rarely giving him anything good, Vahn had been stockpiling Premium Gacha pulls by killing the boss monsters within. Eventually, once he reached a higher tier Record, Vahn was intending to use his stockpiled Gacha pulls and Upgrade Stones. They were infinitely more useful in higher-tiered Records so, with the Nasuverse basically providing him with everything he needed to seed, Vahn hadnt felt the need to waste them. Rather, there werent any items that would be more useful to him than existences like ya, Tiamat, Arcueid, Aoko, Illya, and Spenta. With them on his side, there were very few things in the world that could threaten him as, soon enough, the World itself would be on his side. Though he already had CHALDEAS to serve a simr function, Vahn imagined it would be quite the eye-opening experience to have an entire mapped within his system. This would allow him to not only track the location of everyone on the but, as a quirk of the Minimap Function, even the location of nts and animals would be within his perception. Then, much like how he was able to send his intent around, Vahn would be able to view functionally any part of the by simply creating a window within his field of view. Though it wasnt true omniscience, his enemies, especially, wouldnt be able to tell the difference... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I me Loki,Vahn be schemin...,I feel bad for the Gods that cause trouble in the future xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1374 - Temper

Chapter 1374 - Temper

With Solon submitting to him, Vahn only had two Objectives remaining until thepletion of his World Power Quest. This included defeating seven more Dead Apostle Ancestors and the ying or subordination of Mavis Maxwell, the Pontiff of the Holy Church. Though he could take care of them himself, Vahn had been convinced by Artoria to leave the defeat and capture of the Dead Apostle Ancestors to others. Thus, for the time being, Vahns main concern, in regards to his ongoing Quest, was summoning Mavis. Since she had been teleported away prior to her original death, it could be deduced that she wasnt an evil existence. Fortunately, as it was a rtively simple matter to summon Mavis through the Throne of Heroes, Vahn actually had very little to do in regards to the World Power Quest. Though it was undoubtedly a cause for concern, he really needed to learn to entrust matters to his subordinates and retainers. If he continued handling everything himself, there would be no end to the burdens he would have to carry. With Da Vinci handling the preparations for the Supercolonies, Olga managing Chaldea, Artoria in charge of the Empires affairs, and Solon administering the Clock Tower, Vahn actually had very little to do outside of his usual duties. Thus, for a time, he decided to focus on his training, spending time with his family, and tending to his lovers. He still made time to listen to reports and hold Court but, in the grand scheme of things, this only took a few hours out of his weekly schedule. Since a single week could be upwards of 1200 hours, at least from Vahns perspective, it felt like a considerable amount of time passed between each session. Though this was primarily the result of his vassals capabilities, as Gawain, Lancelot, and Bedivere actually worked very well with each other, Vahn still felt like he wasnt doing much as Emperor. Of course, whenever he expressed this to girls, they would generally sigh in exasperation before making very clear he did a considerable amount to ensure the Empires prosperity... --- It what felt like both the blink of an eye and an impossibly long period of time, fifteen days had passed in the outside. During this time, the Empires forces had been providing aid all over the world while, around the locations where the Supercolonies would be built, hundreds of advanced Golems and other Automatons worked to tten thend and protect the region. There were a number of small conflicts but, due to the vast disparity in the forces on both sides, the Empire rarely suffered anything more than slight injuries. During all of this, Vahn followed his usual schedule and, as a result of his diligence, he had been able to make a fair amount of progress on Scthachs challenges. Though he was only on the fourth one, it was much easier than the previous three as, rather than focus on increasing his base Parameters, tempering his spirit, or refining his control; Vahn had been tasked with breathing life into the once-deste Training Orb. This involved him simply meditating in the center of a massive formation for hours on end, powering what Scthach inly referred to as a Terraforming Magic Circle. Due to his past experience with Terra, Vahn had very little trouble converting his Source Energy into the constituent elements necessary to create life so, by the time Scthach informed him the fourth challenge had beenpleted, a forest nearly 300km in diameter had appeared in the previously white void. He could have made it even bigger but, instead of focusing on the expansion, Vahn had apulsion to simply allow the life to develop as it pleased. Though order could introduce beauty in all things, there was always something captivating about seeing what form nature took without any external influence... Since she would never tell him the purpose until after he hadpleted a challenge, Vahn waited until he was apanying his Shishou through the forest to ask, "Was this challenge intended to increase my affinity with Life and Creation Laws?" Without sparing him a nce, Sctach shook her head before answering in her usual monotone, "It is difficult for others to stay in a ce like this. Ciel has been struggling since that man left for Japan, so I decided to give you an easier task, one which would make you both happy. You should prepare yourself; the next challenge will be more difficult than the othersbined." Hearing Scthach exin the reason he had been given such a simple challenge, Vahn couldnt help but raise his brows slightly. After all, she basically admitted the reason was a result of her concern for Ciel, not to push him beyond his limits. Unfortunately, hertter words all but guaranteed he would be experiencing a considerable amount of suffering so he ultimately decided not toment on the matter. After reaching their destination, a traditional Japanese house now surrounded by an expansive forest of lush greenery, Vahn saw Ciel hard at work doing squats while hefting arge obsidian rock on her shoulders. When she noticed their arrival, she finished her final squat before tossing the 5kkg stone statue on the ground and running over to issue a proper greeting. Though she would normally recover to her default state in an instant, Ciels current outfit, a skin-tight dark-blue bodysuit, had various seals to restrict her regeneration. As a result, ayer of sweat covered her body as the hair near her scalp was matted to her skin. Fortunately, as the bodysuit was provided to her by Scthach, it didnt actually reveal any of the finer details of Ciels body, sparing Vahn from having to avert his eyes. Once Ciel finished her greeting, Scthach gave her a small nod before emotionlessly stating, "If you continue as you have been, I will allow you to pursue that man in three years. This is slightly over five months in the outside so you neednt worry about anything major happening in that time. Focus on your training...the sooner youplete it, the sooner you will reunite with that man." When she first heard Scthach mention three years, Ciel became visibly deted but, upon being reminded of the time dtion within the Projection, she instantly became more fired up, pumping her fists as she eximed, "Righ! Leave it to me, Shishou...!" Without having to be told what she ought to do, Ciel returned to therge stone statue and, after taking a deep breath, she strained her body in order to heft it onto her shoulders. From there, she started her previous set from scratch while. Scthach observed this for a short while before giving a small nod and giving Vahn a sidelong look. Sensing his Shishou eye him up, Vahn averted his eyes from Ciel, a smile on his face as he said, "I still have a few hours. If there is time, I would like to begin your next challenge, Shishou." Since he was her student within the Training Orb, Vahn had made a habit of lowering his head every time he requested something from her. She showed him simr courtesies outside so this was the least he could do for someone who had helped to qualitatively improve his capabilities. It wasnt an exaggeration to say she had saved him years of aimless experimentation as, without her guidance, Vahn would have undoubtedly strayed onto various paths before arriving at a correct answer. In response to Vahns request, Scthach ced her hand on his shoulder, changing the surroundings from a lush forest to a vast expanse of white stone. The onlyndmark feature was a circr pool of molten red liquid, reminiscent of both blood and superheated metal. Vahn didnt really need to ask what her intentions were as, in the next moment, Scthach pushed him into the boiling pool while exining in a cold voice, "This pool extends one-thousand meters below the surface. As you dive further down, the heat and pressure will increase exponentially. At the very bottom, you will find a fragment of a spear. Retrieve it using nothing but your physical body..." After making direct contact with the peculiar liquid, Vahn quickly realized what it was made of. As a result, he barely had time to process Scthachs exnation as the pool, formed from a mixture of Destruction, Poison, and a myriad of other Elemental Energies dissolved his body like cotton candy in water. This wasnt enough to kill him but, for several minutes, Vahns existence became pain as he endeavored to reform within the destructive pool. Throughout this entire process, Scthach watched quietly from the side, waiting until he had reformed to give him a small nod and teleporting away. Seeing his demonic Shishou abandon him, Vahn let the upper half of his body rest against the side of the pool while doing his best to keep his lower body from dissolving into nothingness. He felt this training was to temper his ability to maintain his form despite whatever his enemies would throw at him so, while it would be a nightmare trying to reach the bottom, Vahn didntin. It was only a matter of time until he adapted to the pool and, with very few ways to train his [Rakshasa Body], this was actually a blessing in disguise. Scthach had told him he was only allowed to use his physical body toplete the challenge but, while this might prevent him from using his [Magia Erebea] transformations, it would be impossible to deny that his [Rakshasa Body] was part of his actual physique. Unfortunately, his Zhuque form all but guaranteed even greater pain due to the impurities contained within the pool so, for now, Vahn transitioned into his Xuanwu form to temper its already insane defenses even further... --- While his main body was struggling within the Training Orb, Vahns secondary body was within one of the rooms adjacent to the Knights Training Field and the primary Quest Board. Here, an isted space had been created for one specific purpose: tempering the bodies of the children using his Source Energy. Originally, Vahn had only helped Mordred and Sakura to temper their bodies, as they had learned of the process while he was training Gareth. Now, however, he ended up helping all the children after it became very clear that Mordred and Sakura had received considerable benefits from his daily care. At first, Vahn had some inhibitions about the whole process, as he feared the girls would begin to imprint on him in a strange way but, after seeing Zo? and Astrid saddened by his refusal, he didnt have the heart to refuse them. After all, while they werent his children, he had always tried to treat them as such. Since he would never refuse to help his actual children be stronger, Vahn didnt have the heart to refuse after seeing their puppy-like expressions. Fortunately, unlike how Mordred would sometimes misbehave, Mash, Zo?, and Astrid were all well-behaved girls. Though they would turn red up to their ears during the procedure, they had enough self-restraint to prevent things from bing too awkward. Thus, after a while, the event became just another part of Vahns peculiar schedule, one which earned him a fair amount of teasing from girls like Nobunaga and Aoko... Having justpleted a tempering session, Vahn removed his palm from Sakuras exposed back, a red handprint marring her fair skin as a result of the prolonged contact. Then, leaving her to wear her clothing properly, Vahn wiped down his hand while casually remarking, "Before he gets cold feet, have Alexe inside, okay?" With her face still flushed from the half-hour treatment, Sakura nodded her head in understanding before wiping her face with a cold towel and heading outside. There, a line of girls were all waiting their turn while, idling near the edge of the Knights Training Field, Alex periodically looked over with an apprehensive look on his face. Before Mash could head inside, Sakura quickly stopped her, exining the situation before they both went over to secure a very disagreeable Alex. Unfortunately, due to the vast difference in their strength, the boy ended up being forcibly dragged into the room. This wasnt the first time he had thought to find out what the girls were doing to be so much stronger but, due to his pride, he had never been able to muster up the conviction to head inside. Now, the choice had been made for him and, though he wouldment the mishandling of his pride, his strength would receive a marked increase over the following days... (A/N: Alternate Titles: One day = one week, one week = 1.8 months,Scthach is a bully,FBI-san, it is this person here...") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1375 - Maintaining Order

Chapter 1375 - Maintaining Order

As time passed outside the Projection, the World continued to develop or decline amidst the chaos. Many had formed smallmunities around the food distribution centers maintained by the Empire while an evenrger number wandered the expanding wastnds, looting, piging, and much worse. With information pertaining to various thaumaturgical principles easily found on any previouslyworked device, some hadmitted all of their time to develop their new skills. Though they werent nearly as powerful as actual Magi, the pressure of the Apocalypse allowed a few unique exceptions to rise up. Some of these people considered the current state of affairs as a chance to realize their darkest wishes and desires, now supported by supernatural powerscked by the vast majority. Much like the Magi that had proceeded them, those experiencing some degree of sess with the listed spells used them to persecute those weaker than themselves. This strengthened the convictions of the religiousmunities that had arisen in the aftermath of Vahns announcement so the two sides had been in constant strife with each other. One side believing themselves to be the children of God, fighting in the holy war mentioned in Revtions. The other believed they were very different kinds of chosen ones, those that had the ability to gain power and survive in this changing world. The boldest among them even believed they would gain enough power to topple the Emperor, seizing the world for themselves. This was one of the most dangerous side-effects of rampant change without human societies as, when arge power vacuum was created, people naturally fought to fill it... --- Sitting in an icy cold room illuminated by pale-blue lights, a beautiful woman with peculiar ck and white hair calmly sat along one of the two benches present within the chamber. Around her, a total of thirty nearly identical woman, each matching in facial expression and attire, were patiently awaiting her next series order as information of their current objectives danced in the periphery of their vision. Each of the women was wearing stylish yet functional white armor, trimmed with either silver or gold to denote a separation in rank. The only exception to this was their Commander, the woman the world hade to know as the Herald of the Emperor, Uesugi Kenshin. While she had done away with her previous outfit entirely, her armor was still distinctly oriental in design, albeit with a few western ents for the sake of unity. What truly separated her from everyone else was the fact her armor was predominately ck in design, ented with gold and crimson to make her stand out amongst the otherwise uniform toon of Homunculi. Even before Vahn had decided to move forward with his ns, Kenshin had been one of the few people operating away from Avalon on a daily basis. She had taken it upon herself to head one of the task forces charged with restoring order around the food production facilities, a task that kept her, and the battalion that served under her, extremely busy. This time around, Kenshin had received order to suppress two groups of enemies, one calling themselves the New World Order while the other was a supposedly a band of actual cannibals, people that relished in the vor of human meat. Fortunately, though perhaps not, thetter was the result of mass hysteria and starvation manifesting into a Demonic entity that quickly infected the minds of those with weak wills. So long as she could track the host of the Demon, rooting out the problem was a simple matter... Once the information pertaining to their mission had finished flickering across her vision, Kenshin removed the specialized contacts designed by Da Vinci, cing them into a small container. They always bothered her so she opted to keep them stowed away, relying on information provided to her by her Squad Captains and their support Companions to make tactical decisions. The moment Kenshin put away her contacts, the eyes of every Homunculus in the staging room were focused on her. Though this was no different from before, they were no longer splitting their attention between the data stream and Kenshin so, for a brief moment, the atmosphere became a little heavy. This was something Kenshin was used to, however, so she didnt even bat an eye as she exined, "Youre already aware of our Objectives. Squad 4 will be with me while Squads 7 and 8 will secure the food production facility and protect the citizens. Remember, buildings can be rebuilt easily so prioritize protecting the people as much as possible." Since they already knew the details of the mission, there were no questions amongst the highly capable force of Homunculi, something Kenshin was always grateful for. In truth, she mainly relied on her instincts during battle and, while some had referred to her as a tactical genius back in her era, there was a reason Nobunaga called her an idiot that only knew how to fight. When the mission began, Kenshin would leave most of the decisions to her Squad Captains as, while she had trained them all to be skilledbatants, their generations of knowledge and experience made them far more capable tacticians. This was knowledge shared between them so they always worked together seamlessly, forming the greatestbat force Kenshin ever had the honor of leading. She had absolute trust in these women and, after their training together, each of the Homunculi gathered around her had the same trust in her... As thisforting thought crossed her mind, Kenshin couldnt help but produce a small smile in timing with the lights shifting from blue to red. Then, without having to say anything, she, along with everyone else, dawned helmets that vaguely resembled foxes. These were each equipped with Heads Up Disys that allowed them to view the battlefield from above, track the location of allies, and mark enemies. At the same time, it allowed them tomunicate over long distances and, perhaps most importantly, see both mana and hidden magic formations. Ten seconds after the lights hand changed color, the entire staging area began to vibrate with a tremendous force. This caused even Kenshin to tense up as, from what she had heard from Da Vinci, there was a non-negligible chance the vessel they were in would be destroyed during each transfer. In truth, the chances of this happening were .0007% but, since there was always a chance something would go wrong, it was still considered non-negligible, at least in the minds of Vahn and Da Vinci. Since most soldiers were superstitious by nature, Kenshin couldnt help but worry that she would spontaneously die without having any chance to defend herself. Fortunately, after around thirty seconds had passed, the lights within the container turned green. A momentter, the far end of the room opened up, revealing an underground facility where a small team of operatives belonging to the As Temple, apanied by twice their number in Companions, was waiting for them. They had been the ones to establish the anchor point for the transfer and, with the forces of the Empire currentlycking, they were the division that worked alongside Chaldea to scout ahead and gather pertinent information. After exchanging quick salutes by lightly tapping the emblems over their chests, Kenshin and her Vice-Commander, a Homunculi named Nora, listened to the verbal report of the Artificial Human operative, a man named Xavier. He reported that the Demon had been present on the northern side of the city, hiding in a location with little conflict. It was obviously intending to corrupt other humans to bolster its number so, with a rough understanding of its location, Kenshin gave the order for Squad 4 to follow her while entrusting the secondary objectives to her two Captains. In total, including Kenshin herself, their forces consisted of 31 humanoids and 35 Companions so they had more than enough personnel to split between a few locations. After all, each Homunculi could be graded between a D and C-Rank Heroic Spirit while the Companions, borrowing from a shared pool of knowledge and a functionally limitless supply of magical power, were the ultimate support troops. They could use magical attacks strong enough to pierce barriers, heal lost limbs in a few seconds, and trace magical energy back to its source. This made them the primary force of the Empire, even if individual Heroic Spirits would be able to annihte hundreds of them with rtive ease. Using the HUD in her helmet, which was linked directly to thework of Companions, Kenshin reached their destination in less than three minutes. Even the slowest Homunculi in her forces was able to move at supersonic speeds so it rarely took more than a few minutes to initiate the first phase of their operations. Today didnt seem to be an exception and, after leading more than fifty missions over thest couple of weeks, Kenshin, Nora, and the other nine members of her Squad, immediately carried out their respective duties with machine-like precision. As the mainbative force within the entire toon, Kenshins duty involved tracking down the Demons host and rooting out the source of the current conflict. Thus, once their ry point was secured, she left Nora in charge as her two Companions clung to her body. They were a unique duo of fox-like Companions that had been hand-made by Da Vinci, each with a monochromatic coat of ck or white. Because of this, Kenshin had named them Hikari and Yami but, instead of what others would expect, it was the ck one named Hikari while the white was called Yami. With the HUD allowing her to see the radial pulses emitted by her Companions, allowing them to scan the interior of buildings, it didnt take long for Kenshin to find a small group of people hiding in the basement of an abandoned hospital. It, like many other hospitals, had struggled to keep up with a never-ending number of in-patients. Then, as the fear, fervor, and greed of the people hit a critical level, mass rioting and looking had brought it low. As a result, most Emergency Medical Services had shut down in the so-called First World Countries as, without supplies and constant military protection, it was impossible to treat the number of victims requiring aid. Though others might flinch at the sight of rampant destruction visible throughout much of the world, Kenshin didnt bat an eye to her surroundings. She fully believed in the future Vahn wanted to create and, while his actions may have set events in motion, it was the people who had given in to their destructive whims that brought the world to ruin. There were literally hundreds of millions of people just waiting for an opportunity to break free from the constraints of the previous system so, when the opportunity presented itself, the monsters hidden within the depths of their hearts broke out. These people would have been even more troublesome after the emergence of Angra Mainyu so, while things were certainly bad, they were inarguably better than what was bound to happen if Vahn had chosen to dy his ns. With this conviction driving her forward, Kenshin passed through the hallways of the hospital like a phantom, her movement causing no sound whatsoever. She was able to achieve this with the use of her actual skill but, if she wanted to, the armor and mask provided to her had Abilities that allowed her to bepletely invisible. Though most of her forces rarely made use of this functionality, it hade in handy during the times when they wanted to infiltrate crowds without drawing attention to themselves. By the time Kenshin came to a stop, she found herself standing outside the barricaded entrance of the hospitals reserve power station. There, she sensed eleven hostiles, her target, and a total of four signatures she temporarily assigned as victims. Since one was missing both of their legs, while the others were tied together by a series of chains, it was a rtively safe assumption to make... After pulling out a Wakizashi and Tanto, Japanese-style weapons with very short des, Kenshin cut through the barricade in an instant, entering the room with phenomenal momentum. Most of the targets werent even able to react to her entry, their expression barely showing the first signs of shock as she cut them down mercilessly. Then, without missing a beat, she pursued the only two targets that managed to react, the host of the Demon and a woman with icy-blue eyes that glowed in the low light of the room. Unfortunately for the duo, Kenshin wasnt the type of person that held back against her enemies so, before their feet even touched the ground a second time, she vanished amidst a tempest of blood and core, appearing right behind them. The Demon attempted to send bloody spikes erupting from its back but, just as the flesh began to expand, Kenshin had already vanished once again, this time appearing next to the catatonic woman strapped to a table. By the time the duo touched the ground, their bodies had separated into dozens of smaller chunks, each dissolving into a fine ck mist that was quickly bottled up by the waiting Yami... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Everyone thinks they are the protagonist until they get a sword through the chest o3o...,Companions are OP,The might of an A-Rank Heroic Spirit) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1376 - Order

Chapter 1376 - Order

Though it wasnt impossible for her to kill Demons, one of Kenshins mission objectives involved the capture of their target. Da Vinci was developing a method to detect the unique energy within Demonic entities, updating the Companions systems to be able to emte the function of Pure Eyes. She had originally tried to study Jeannes and Ghads eyes but, without removing them and performing a detailed analysis, this was an ultimately futile endeavor. Once Yami returned carrying the [Demon Sealing Jar], Kenshin ced it within a special satchel that used Imaginary Number Space to store objects without any time passing. It was still a work in progress but, with Interspatial Artifacts unable to store organic material, it was the best they could do until Da Vinci created a new prototype. To thank Yami for its hard work, Kenshin affectionately rubbed the obedient Companions cheeks before turning to the woman strapped to the table. There, Hikari was using magic known as High Heal, derivative magic that had been developed after researching items Vahn had produced with his unique ability. It used apletely different logic than standard Magecraft but, while the cost was several times higher than normal healing, the effects far exceeding the capabilities of modern healing spells. In less than twenty seconds, the woman strapped to the table had both of her legs restored so, to show her gratitude, Kenshin mussed Hikaris fluffy fur while muttering, "It seems I am indebted to the two of you once again~." Though the majority of third generation Companions were capable of speech, most still opted tomunicate using cute sounds. Thus, in response to Kenshins words, Hikari rubbed its head against Kenshins palm, a happy mewl escaping its lips. At the same time, Yami jumped up to her shoulder, rubbing its head against her cheek without minding the mask covering Kenshins face. While this was urring, the three conscious prisoners were staring at Kenshin with abject terror visible on their faces. Though they hoped the mask-wearing woman hade to save them, they, like many others, hade to fear the forces of the Empire. It didnt matter how many people they rescued as, from the perspective of the majority, the Empire was to me for everything that was happening. Prior to Vahns announcement, they had lived in ignorant bliss, wasting their lives away in the pursuit of personal gain at the expense of the so, no matter the kindness they were shown, most people hated the Empire to the core. Kenshin had be ustomed to people failing to express their gratitude so, after treating the woman on the table, she looked towards the three cowering women, stating, "You will be safer if you live closer to the food distribution centers. The Empire is slowly expanding its influence to all regions. Times are tough but, if you stay resolute, you will find peace and prosperity in due time." Hearing Kenshins words, one of the women began to tremble in frustration and anger but, due to the fear she was experiencing, wordspletely escaped her. The Empire was known for striking down dissidence without hesitation so, despite a strong urge tosh out andmbast Kenshin for the crimes of her Emperor, the trio could only shed tears. As for Kenshin, she flicked her wrist in a casual manner but, from the perspective of the girls, she hadnt moved at all. When they finally realized what had happened, their bindings had been cut and, as if she had never been there in the first ce, Kenshin had disappeared... --- After returning to the ry point, Kenshin removed her mask to take a breath of fresh air before stating in amanding tone, "Report." In response, Nora gave a curt salute before exining, "Squads Seven and Eight had to deal with a riot instigated by religious dissidents. Some of the peopleined about the quality and quantity of the rations they were given so Theralise ran a cursory scan of the crowd, using logic and reasoning to try and control the crowd. This resulted in a riot breaking out but, after apprehending those responsible for riling up the crowd, the rest calmed down quickly." Hearing Noras report, Kenshin couldnt help but release a sigh as this was amon urrence as ofte. Since those living away from the food distribution centers were generally hardliners and small factions, they sent agents to gather food from the Empire-controlled facilities. As the Empire only gave people enough food to sustain themselves and their immediate family, using a series of detailed scans to keep track of distribution, the total amount they obtained wasnt nearly enough for all the rebels they intended to feed. As a result, forces in direct opposition to the Empire, as if the people they were targetting were beneath them, freely robbed others, oftenmitting other heinous acts in order to support their personal agenda. This was additional evidence proving that the change introduced by Vahn was necessary as, with people defaulting to this type of behavior, it was a testament to just deep the corruption of society had be. Since she wasnt smart enough to consider the finer details, Kenshin could only do what she did best; defeat her foes and protect the people that required her help. With this in mind, she gave a curt nod to Nora before stating, "We will expose those with rtions to external factions, denying them ess to further supplies unless they are willing to adhere to Common Law. If they choose to ignore their own words, they will be cut off and exiled." Without questioning Kenshins orders, Nora gave another salute while eximing, "Understood!" in a resolute. She, like nearly every Homunculus serving under Vahn, hade to admire him far more than something as base as an Emperor. To them, he was basically their Savior and God, an idea that became even more prominent after he obtained a Divinity. Though it was kept a secret from him, a considerable number of Homunculi even gathered together to celebrate their God in a rather improper manner, often after hard training sessions. With Kenshins own Loyalty to Vahn being unquestionable, those that had trained under her had been influenced by her teachings and behavior. Thus, as their Egos developed, they had be rather zealous in their views, especially when seeing how those serving directly under Vahn, such as Gareth, improved. She had quickly reached a point where they couldnt defeat her without thebined effort of more than twenty Homunculi, a testament to how much she had grown since the start of their joint training... After regrouping with Squads 7 and 8, Kenshin stood atop the high wall surrounding the food production facility while Nora listened to the oral reports of the two Captains. There, she saw a veritable ocean of people gathered around, their numbers reaching close to two-million, more than half of which only lingered around for free supplies and food. Though this wasnt necessarily a bad thing, as that was the purpose of the facility, the number of dissidents intermixed among the general popce led to riots breaking out almost every day. Kenshin was reminded of the rampant slums that had been an issue during her era,wless areas where the poor and downtrodden intermixed amongst criminals to take advantage of the various Lords governing thend. They were often a breeding bed of violent crime and, though she had done her best to provide jobs to those inhabiting them, a surprising number of people opted to just leech benefits while doing the least amount of work possible. This current gathering was no different as, without police to enforce order; theft, robbery, murder, extortion, and sexual assault were all toomon... Since there were tens of thousands of people gathered in order to receive their weekly food and supplies, a considerable number of people noticed Kenshin atop the walls. Based on her armor, it was easy to deduce she was a high ranking officer within the Imperial forces so, from the moment she appeared, even those frustrated at the long lines became docile. Even without things like the inte to help spread information, most of the residents around food production facilities knew what each armor color represented so none of them wanted to caused trouble while Kenshin was around. Unfortunately, this wasnt an adequate method to maintain order as, if they kept someone with ck armor present at all times, people would gradually be ustomed to their presence. In time, those with lingering thoughts of dissidence would feel emboldened and, after a series of petty crimes, they would eventually resort to something extreme just to spite the person watching over them. The only real solution was extreme violence but, as this was against the policies of the Empire, the best they could do is restore order when things got especially out of hand. Eventually, themunity itself would rally behind influential figures in an effort to maintain order but, until people realize things werent going to return to how they were, the current chaos would continue. ording to Arks estimates, the current transitory period, eptance, wouldst for a total of three years. Once things reached that point, people would begin trying to rebuild society in ordance with the new order. This phase would take upwards of fifty years if left alone but, by building the Supercolonies and Sanctuary Cities, the Empire could reduce the time to around ten and twenty years depending on the damage caused by Angra Mainyu and other forces. Kenshin didnt have the best understanding of the Empires ns but, in order to make sure their enemies werent able to intervene, she hardened her heart to do whatever it took to ensure each phase was a sess. Thus, much to the chagrin of the people who had gathered to receive their supplies, she activated amunication device that transmitted her voice throughout the entire slum-like settlement. From there, her forces went around forcibly marking those who had ties with external factions, warning them against causing trouble in the future. By marking those responsible for the interruption of service, themunity itself would feelpelled to take action. Though this effectively turned the people against each other, it also promoted the idea that the Empires property should be protected. After all, without a supply chain to provide goods and services, the only reliable method to obtain food, medicine, and other important goods was by relying on the Empire. Eventually, a clear divide would exist between those advocating for the benefits of the Empire and those in direct opposition to it. Since those who fell in line would receive greater benefits than those sewing discord, more people would develop the mentality that it was better to simply give in to the Empires rule. After all, the Common Law would still apply to them so, at any given moment, a raid could ur on the settlement they were associated with, wiping them out in an instant... It had never been Vahns intention to conquer the world but, in order to preserve as many lives as possible, he waspelled to do so. Though his means might be considered underhanded, they were the most effective method to shift the mentality of people without directly oppressing them. Since the only other alternative was to allow them to victimize each other, often at the expense of those that simply wanted to live a peaceful lifestyle, it was necessary to bring those seeking order together in order to repel those clinging to the past. With one side having unlimited military power, infinite energy, and inexhaustible supplies, it was only a matter of time before the Empire extinguished all other forces. Though somemunities were bound to form outside of the Empire-controlled territories, they would still be bound by the Common Law so it didnt particrly matter how they chose to live. After all, Vahn believed that everyone should be able to live as they pleased, so long as it wasnt at the expense or detriment of those around them... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Da Vincis influence is extreme,Zealots can be scary...,Imagine, a world where your actions have consequences. A normal persons dream, a wealthy cunts nightmare) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1377 - Difficulties

Chapter 1377 - Difficulties

Though Europe didnt fit the traditional definition of a Continent, as it was just the western section of a muchrgerndmass, there was a reason the Mages Association had made it their core. It had thergest number of leylines present anywhere in the world and, with the exception of Egypt and a few regions of China, it had the closest connection to the Age of Gods. As a result, it served as a gateway of sorts for essing the Reverse Side of the World and, despite their doctrine directly opposing the existence of Thaumaturgy, even the Catholic Church had exploited this property for their own gain. Since Avalon was also located in Europe, it was the most obvious choice for building a Supercolony. It was the region that would be most heavily affected by theing convergence so, in preparation for what was toe, it was necessary to develop precautions against Gods, errant Spirits, and the Phantasmal Species that would soon return to the Surface. With this in mind, most of the Empires forces had been consolidated around modern-day Czechia, specifically around the former capital, Prague. Here, much of the historical city had been reduced to a t plot ofnd, one surrounded by a massive ivory wall a startling 50m in height. Though this was a rtively short wall from Vahns perspective, it was monstrously tall from the perspective of normal humans. Even the Great Wall of China was only around 12-14m at its highest point, making the ivory white walls of the nascent European Supercolony tower over most modern structures. For the people that had seen the wall be built in a short two weeks, they hadpletely given up any semnce of resistance against the Empire. Even the former citizens of Prague epted the loss of their city as, prior to the Supercolonies destruction, they were arranged temporary living quarters, ample food, and ess to various temporary facilities. This included an Immigration Office where, so long as you were willing to uphold the Common Law, you were provided with a Companion, a set of form-fitting clothes to wear under your normal attire, and, as a way to entice even more people, full treatment of any past medical issues. It hadnt been long since the world was set on its current path so, while information regarding the existence of Alchemy and advanced medicine had been made public, most people didnt have the time to focus on developing even basic potions. Thus, with Paracelsus and Tristana literally healing things like blindness, deafness, lost limbs, and chronic diseases, a considerable number of people had been willing to take the Oath of Citizenship in exchange for treatment. Though there was a bit of resistance to the Companions, as the catalog detailing their treatment was offputting for those who had never even had a pet, it didnt take long for their poprity to increase. After all, while adults could be skeptical to a fault, it was hard to hate something that was both cute while simultaneously helpful. The hardest part for most people was treating Companions as partners rather than pets. After that, it was epting the fact that, despite the number of children they had, a number of people were simply ill-suited to being parents. The Empire advocated that people be able to live freely but that didnt mean they were simply able to live however they pleased. If they had bad habits or poor parental skills, the Companions werent going to just stand around and watch a drunkard beat their wife and children. Their opinion in the matter meant absolutely nothing to the Common Law as no child deserved to suffer violence and mistreatment from the people they should have been able to trust above all others. It would take a while but, given enough time, people would learn to ept that being a parent didnt grant you the right to treat your children however you pleased. You had an obligation to do your best to protect and love them, regardless of your personal faults and burdens. If you couldnt do that, you didnt deserve to be a parent from the very beginning. No child deserved to suffer just because their parents were ill-suited to taking care of other people so, if necessary, the Companions would be the primary caretakers of the children; backed by the Empire. This reality was impossible for some people to ept so, despite considerable protests, the Empire did not hesitate to separate Companions and children from bullheaded parents. Those that tried to fight the process had their crimes publically exposed and, if they attempted to cause trouble, incite a riot, or nder the Empire would face expulsion from themunity. If they wanted to retrieve their children, they would need to prove themselves capable of parenting over a probational period, not stir up trouble just because they believed they were entitled to the lives they had created, regardless of whether or not their children were happy... --- Once the outer wall of the European Supercolony had beenpleted, Vahn had arrived alongside Boudica and Nero to survey thend and its surroundings. The chances of an enemy attacking were all but guaranteed so, in preparation for theing conflict, it was necessary for them to familiarize themselves with the terrain, the people, and environmental factors. Seeing the massive wall, with a circr diameter of 300km, Nero couldnt help but whistle, her hands on her hips as she mused, "To construct something of this magnitude in such a short period of time; the Empire is, truly, without equal. Umu, Im starting to feel motivated." Nodding her head in agreement, Boudica looked around at the vast expanse ofnd, the ce that would effectively be her dominion in the future. She couldnt even fathom what it would be like to have upwards of a hundred million people living in close proximity to each other but, trusting in the n formted by Vahn and his advisors, she decided not to question it. The only thing she had to worry about was protecting thisnd from those who would seek to bring it to ruin... While Nero and Boudica were familiarizing themselves with the region, Vahn was silently observing the people gathered outside. He could feel a palpable animosity present within themunity, one which needed to be dealt with before people were allowed ess to the Supercolony. Unfortunately, there was little he, personally, could do to remedy things as people were not so easily convinced. By the time the Supercolony had beenpleted, most of the people wanting to move inside would find themselves barred entry. After all, it wasnt meant to be a shelter where people just leeched off the resources of the Empire without contributing anything. Though most people would quickly fall in line when their livelihoods were at stake, Vahn knew a considerable number of dissidents expected to be allowed within the city. When they learned they couldnt get in, they would undoubtedly try to deter others from going inside and, in the worst-case scenario, attack those trying to gain entry. At times, Vahn was tempted to just use the Heavens Feel ritual to get rid of the people who had no intention of even trying to get along with others. Unfortunately, this would be the same as running away from a problem he had created so, no matter how difficult things got, he would continue to try and remedy things using less extreme methods. Eventually, he would cut off food and supplies to those still opposing the Empire as, if they had no intentions of changing, they would be left with no choice but to support their own way of life, still bound by the Common Law. Soon enough, the Common Law would be upheld with prejudice as it was the only way to convince those in opposition to the Empire to acquiesce. Until they were forced to face the consequences of their actions, those manipting others to secure power for themselves would never cease leading others astray. These were the types of people Vahn hated more than any other as, in order to keep their ill-gotten positions, they would resort to the cruelest acts imaginable, all while believing they were in the right... Just as Vahn was about to release a tired sigh, a fair white index finger poked him in the cheek. It belonged to none other than Nero and, upon seeing him look back at her, she smiled happily and said, "Even when things get difficult, you should continue smiling. Umu, a lot of people rely on that smile of yours so dont hide it away, Master~." Hearing Neros remark, Vahn issued a light-heartedugh while caressing the top of her head. This caused Nero to Umu proudly, her hands on her hips as she graciously epted his praise. She was the type of woman who enjoyed being praised without any shame so, even if there was a crowd of people around them, Nero would, at times, openly ask for head pats. Vahn had gotten used to this so, even without her asking, he had developed the habit of stroking her head whenever she was in his effective petting range. After a while, Boudica ended up giving Vahn a warning look so, as much as he enjoyed caressing Neros silky-smooth hair, he ultimately retracted his hand and said, "After you finish your survey, let me know what kind of forces you think youll need. If you feel uncertain about anything, Ark can help by making suggestions about personnel deployment and the allocation of resources. You dont have to worry about the construction efforts themselves as the Dwarves have agreed to help excavate andy the foundation. Within the next three years, this ce will be a marvel of engineering unlike anything the world has ever seen..." Since it wasnt really something that could be easily imagined, Nero and Boudica just smiled along with Vahn while imagining the grand city that was expected to emerge within the next three years. If not for the fact the walls they stood upon hadnt even existed a few weeks prior, they would find it very difficult to believe such a marvel of engineering could bepleted in such a short period of time. Now, they looked forward to it with great anticipation and, in order to make sure nothing ran amiss, they would do their best to protect the nascent Supercolony. --- Ovepping with his escorting of Nero and Boudica, Vahn was simultaneously idling about in his, Da Vincis, and Sophias workshop. He had originallye with the intention of discussing any changes to their initial projections but, after finding Sophia trying to test a pair of universal boots, all while Da Vinci busied herself with other work, he ended up babysitting his most brilliant yet troublesome daughter. Now, Vahn was walking on the roof with the Sophia monitoring various panels within her personal hovercraft. She used a pen-like stylus to quickly draft up new designs in one hand while, with no loss in focus, observing the readings of the boots while having her Papa perform various trials. In truth, it didnt really matter whether or not he had volunteered to assist, as her suit allowed her to fall from virtually any height without injury, but she still appreciated his willingness to assist. Since she had aspirations of building a personal spacecraft and moon base, Sophia hade up with several inventions that would allow her to easily traverse within a vacuum. These boots were no exception to this as, by relying on a neural link and an on-boardputer, they were able to adapt to virtually any surface by using millions of tiny nano-machines to prevent detachment. This, whenbined with her previous inventions, would allow her to freely navigate within a neutral or zero-g environment with considerable ease. Now, Sophia just needed to test their functionality in actual space, an environment where radiation and other factors needed to be ounted for. Thus, while her Papa was still messing around on the roof, she pulled out his ultimate weakness, her face forming a radiant and hopeful smile, her eyes glimmering with expectation as she asked, "Papa, can we go to space~!? I promise I wont wander off this time~!!" Hearing Sophias words, Vahn nearly fell from the roof but, due to the nanomachine tread, he ended up sticking without issue. Then, rather than answer Sophia directly, he looked toward Da Vinci to find her smiling toward him with an amused expression. This indicated she had already given permission to Sophia, so long as he was in agreement. Since he didnt have the heart to refuse such an earnest request from his brilliant little genius, Vahn ultimately released a small sigh before flipping down to the ground and answering, "Sure, that sounds like fun. Dont think I wont spank you if you break your promise though." As she had received a number of light spankings in the past, Sophia flinched atop her seat but, in the name of scientific progress, she couldnt be deterred by something as base as corporal punishment! (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dont you tell me how to raise my kids! *proceeds to beat them after drinking themselves into a drunken stupor* Aye knows was besht *hic* for them...!,Vahn surrounded by loyal women,FOR SCIENCE!) (A/N: As some already guessed, I havent been feeling well since yesterday so my schedule is all over the ce. Sorry for thete chapter today but I ended up sleeping for about eleven hours xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1378 - Shifting Tides

Chapter 1378 - Shifting Tides

Vahn very rarely turned his attention away from the he inhabited but, every now and then, he enjoyed basking in the vast and chaotic energies of space. Though there was a fair amount of radiation present, he waspletely immune to its effects since his body naturally filtered away anything harmful. He also had no DNA to damage so, even if he snuggled up next to a nuclear reactor for a few days, he would be none the worse for wear. Sophia, however, was not him so, while she was able to explore space, under close supervision, she did so using a craft that looked a lot like an adorable cartoon rabbit. It even had a snow-white hull, two eye-like sensorypartments, and flight wings that vaguely resembled angr ears. It was actually quite cute to behold and, while Sophia had inherited some troublesome traits from her mother, Vahn appreciated the fact they both designed things with an animal motif, rather than relying on more spartan designs. Though he didnt need to wear one, as he didnt need to breathe, Vahn was wearing a face mask that allowed him tomunicate directly with the shuttle. Using this, he was able to alert Sophia to any dangers he sensed and, if anything ended up threatening her from the outside, he would be able to deal with it without putting the craft in danger. After all, while Sophias craft was ahead of even the most advanced aerospace technology from the previous era, there were a number of environmental factors that posed a serious threat to her safety. Truthfully, Vahn had misgivings about even allowing Sophia into space but, knowing there was a fair chance she would venture out on her own, Vahn decided to directly assist in her research. It was one of the ways in which they got to spend some quality time with each other so, while it was more than a little disconcerting, he always enjoyed apanying her. Besides, the view simply couldnt be beaten, something Sophia seemed to agree with as he heard herment over thems, "Simply breathtaking..." Hearing the remark, Vahn silently nodded his head before hovering near the front of the craft and reminding, "Beauty often conceals great danger. We should finish up quickly before heading back home. You know I cant help but worry about you while were out here..." Following a peal of bell-likeughter, Sophia replied with a simple, "Understood, Papa~." before piloting her craft further out into space. They had previously been just outside of the Van Allen Radiation belt, an area where particles emitted by the sun gathered en masse, so, by heading just a few hundred meters, Sophias craft would be bombarded by radiation. This always made Vahn a little ufortable, despite knowing her shielding was perfectly capable of withstanding such radiation levels, so he made sure to keep pace in order to prevent any hypersonic space debris from causing problems. Then, once they were within the region with the highest concentration of radiation, he had Sophia stay safely within her craft while he personally stress-tested her newest inventions... --- Though it was currently the weekend, Mordred, Sakura, Mash, Zo?, and Astrid still made a point of attending the Clock Tower in order to build rapport with their fellow students. After all, more so than the educational aspect, the main reason for their attendance was to provide them with the chance to socialize amongst their peers. After all, even with the great changes that would be introduced in theing era, it was impossible topletely abolish politics. Even if it was just from a social point of view, the central figures of the Empire would always be held to a higher standard and, if they didnt meet expectations, it was only a matter of time before the people lost faith in their would-be rulers. In order to set a proper example for others to follow, all five members of the Imperial Quintet put in a considerable amountpared to their peers. They could almost always be found training hard orpleting various Quests, constantly improving themselves through their own efforts. Though they also had the benefit of Vahns attention, they used this as motivation to work even harder, opening a considerable power gap between them and the vast majority of students. Though anomalies such as Rani couldnt be ovee so easily, even Astrid had managed to get a few small advantages against her during their spars. Since even the mostckluster student within the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory had experienced a qualitative increase in strength, the progress made by the Imperial Quintet was even more noticeable. As a result, their group had expanded from their original five members to a total of seventeen, most of which were female. This included nearly every member of the top-ten, consisting of all five members of the Imperial Quintet and a host of students belonging to the As Temple. Though Rani was still held the 2nd Ranking, she noticed how quickly the girls from the Empire were growing so, while not exactly the mostpetitive person in the world, she waspelled to put in a greater amount of effort to secure her position. Ideally, she would be able to ovee Mordred and secure the top position but, the harder she fought during their spars, the more she realized that the former wasnt going all out. Rather, there was such a vast gulf in their capabilities that, without a specially crafted weapon, Rani couldnt rationalize being able to defeat her. Despite this difference in power, Rani was undaunted so, along with the other bat type Artificial Humans, she ended up spending much of her free time associating with the Imperial Quintet. It was an opportunity to observe the training methods and abilities of Mordred, Sakura, and Mash, so, even if she often found herself being inexplicably teased, Rani didnt let it affect her mentality or progress. Rather, spending time with the Imperial Quintet had taught her the importance of socializing as, in order to be even stronger, they freely shared information and honed their skills against each other without fear of undermining their own status and exposing their capabilities... Though the As Temple believed in the propagation of knowledge, there were still a number of restrictions to this principle as, in order to secure a position for themselves, many Alchemists kept a few secrets. Rani herself was the amalgamation of various secret technologies so, better than most, she knew how peculiar it was for the Imperial Quintet to be so open about their skills and abilities. This made them seem exceptionally confident, not in their current skills, but their ability to grow and develop faster than the people emting them. If someone could surpass them following the same path, it indicated they either hadnt put in enough effort or that the other person simply tried harder than them. They didnt scorn the efforts of others, nor did they try to suppress them. Instead, in line with the policies of the Empire, they encouraged their peers to work hard, often giving advice freely and without embellishment. As a result of their nature, appearance, and, perhaps most importantly, status, the Imperial Quintet had quickly be the most idolized group within the entire Clock Tower. Unfortunately, unless you were a student of the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory, it was rare to get a glimpse of them unless you encountered them on their way to, or from, the Aldnrnari College Commons. This led to a number of students lingering along the route whenever they had free times, some wanting nothing more than to catch a glimpse of the famous five while others, harboring the usual delusions of teens, prayed for a fateful encounter with one of the suspected Princesses... Today was no exception to this as, after finishing their morning lessons, Mordred could be found leading a ratherrge group of girls as they all jogged back to the Commons. They had formed into two neat lines and, without minding the fact she was making a scene, Mordred called out a military-style cadence to help everyone stay in pace. This was a prettymon urrence within the Clock Tower these days, serving as both a show of unity and a deterrent to anyone trying to solicit any of the girls belonging to the infamous Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory. At this point, nearly every student within the Clock Towermented the fact they hadnt tried to join the Department in its nascent stages. Not only was it filled with a considerable number of beauties but, after the recent purge, it became the most influential Department in the entire Clock Tower. At the same time, all major factions had been abolished so, while several smaller factions still existed, it seemed pointless to join any organization unaffiliated with the Empire. After all, while London hadnt been as impacted as other cities, theplete copse of the global economy and the massive shift from modernization all but guaranteed the Empire would be the only real faction in the future. Unfortunately, it was exceptionally difficult to be a citizen of the Empire unless you had a clean record or extenuating circumstances that forced you to act against your will. Those over the age of fourteen, who had a past marred with terrible offenses against humans, spirits, or even Homunculi, had little hope of bing official citizens of the Empire, at least without a considerable amount of effort. Their only option forward was to be ced into a probationary stage where they had to show very clear improvements in both character and mentality. It was only after passing a psychological evaluation, one that probed deep into their psyche, could they finally be liberated from the sins of their past. There had been a number of people who tried to get around this requirement by bing friendly with the allies of the Empire but, despite their best efforts, they had been unsessful. This made it clear to everyone, including the few Noble families that had survived the purge, that the Empire was not simply throwing around pretenses. The current era wasnt simply the shifting of power between one overlord to another but, on a much grander scale, it was the enforcement of an ideology where malicious intentions and opportunistic mentalities wouldnt get you far. The only way to align yourself with the Empire and prosper was to make a sincere effort to be better, both morally and objectively. You had to adhere to both the spirit and the letter of the Common Law as, any grievous vitions all but guaranteed death. The Empire seemingly had no mercy for people who attempted to game the system and get away with viting thew using wealth, status, and the privilege people had been born into. If you thought you could get away with something because of some misguided sense of superiority, only one oue awaited you. This realization hit a number of people rather hard as, with the copse markets, the severance ofmunications technologies, the grounding of nes, and the crippling of supply lines, even the wealthiest of families had no choice but to line up outside food distribution centers. Their pride was dragged through the dirt and, with the power possessed by the Empire, the best they could do was advise their progeny to perform well in school. The only hope a family had of surviving into the new era was by throwing their lot in with the Empire so, while many families had to swallow a very bitter pill, they did so in order to preserve their legacies... --- Unconcerned with the thought process of struggling Magus families, Olga was sitting listlessly in her Directors chair, wondering when Vahn would pay her a visit. Around her, monitoring the information obtained by CHALDEAS, five identical girls could be seen. They each had peculiar pink hair, pale-blue eyes, and petite figures that made them appear to be in their mid-teens. Though it was a rather peculiar sight to behold, what really made the girls stand out were theirrge cat-like ears, glistening with a metallic sheen, their perpetually smiling expressions, and the tattoos on their upper left arm, each showing a different number. At the same time, if you were to observe them very closely, you would be able to see a stream of data flickering across their eyes and, if you had superhuman hearing, a virtually inaudible whirring could be heard emanating from within their tiny frames. While appearing human at a nce, these girls were actually automatons created by Merem after thetter continued pestering Vahn, asking if there was anything he could do to help. Since Merem could createpletely unique forms of life at will, Vahn had conferred with Da Vinci and the others before tasking Merem with the creation of personnel that would be able to help maintain CHALDEAS without suffering from the same pitfalls as normal humans. As a result, they ended up with a rather adorable humanoid doll based on one of Toukos designs since Merem, by his own admission,cked creativity. For the same reason, Merem ended up producing a total of thirty of the same model, naming the entire series of doll-like girls Operator Daemons. This wasnt an incorrect designation either as, in spite of their appearance, each of the girls was, indeed, a Daemon. Instead of being an existence that fulfilled something like sexual desire, however, they had the sole focus of operating the systems of Chaldeas, ensuring everything was working optimally. This was the thing that made them happy so, while it was more than a little awkward, especially for the first few weeks, the tireless work ethic of the Operator Daemons had made a positive impression on everyone. Now, Olga often found herself with very little to do as, from the moment the Operators took over, they had performed their assigned tasks without a single error. They werent emotionless machines that were incapable of adapting to changing circumstances so, even if there was a small hup, they would quickly resolve the issue by working together seamlessly. This resulted in Olga spending most of her time just observing CHALDEAS in silence, still fulfilling her duties, albeit in a much less hands-on way than before... Just as Olgas boredom began to get the better of her, she noticed the beautiful sapphire-blue glow of CHALDEAS change slightly, immediately followed by one of the Operators stating, "Director, there seems to be a temporal anomaly in sector C-17. SHEBA is no longer able to detect 73% of the Sector using the Near-Future Observation Lens. Shall we send a team to investigate?" Though it wasnt umon for anomalies to appear, Olga couldnt help but get a little excited as it was always far more interesting to investigate a problem than just sit around. Thus, hearing Nanas report, named as such due to the 07 on her arm, Olga rose from her chair with a start, a smile on her face as she eximed, "Send observation probes to the site and inform Delta Team to be on standby for immediate deployment! Come on, Vahn is relying on us to do our jobs properly. We cant let any surprises interfere with the Empires ns~!!" Since she rarely had anything to do, Olga was always eager whenever something happened. After all, if she did well, Vahn would pamper and praise her even more than usual. She still had a weakness to being praised so, if the opportunity presented itself, she would give 110% to thepletion of any task. As for the Operators, they replied with a simple, "Acknowledged." while simultaneously carrying out her orders without even a momentary dy... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Cant wait to see a bunny battle cruiser xD...,Adapt or fall into obscurity,The birth of Realians...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1379 - Great Divide

Chapter 1379 - Great Divide

At the location designated as C-17 in Chaldeas archives, ackadaisical looking man with shaggy brown hair, a child-like girl with pure white hair, and a buxom woman wearing a stylish kimono all appeared on a metallic tform in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Simr to the child-like girl, the woman in the kimono had pale hair but, instead of being white, it had undertones ofvender. Next to the peculiar trio, five cylindrical containers, each roughly the size of coffins, were arranged neatly in a row. They were each marked with serial codes and numerical designations ranging from 001 to 005 and, even while sealed, a powerful aura radiated out from each of them. As a result, the clear skies overhead began to darken and, a stark contrast to their former calm, the sea began to roll with violent waves in a very short period of time. Taking in her surroundings, the kimono-d woman lightly hummed before musing, "So, this is the past, eh? It doesnt seem like the dystopic ce you imed it to be. You realize I wont hesitate to cut you down if you lied to me, right?" Hearing the buxom womans question, the shaggy-haired man snorted before making a gesture as if to push up sses. Finding the ridge of his nose barren, he settled on pinching it whilezily stating, "This is the furthest point we can jump back. Tracing back all future timelines brings us to this point, like a reverse Quantum-Lock. We need to find the source of the singrity and destroy it. The future of all words depends on our sess..." Without minding the shaggy-haired mans exnation, the woman wearing the kimono turned her attention to a point in space, her peculiar eyes flickering with a myriad of blues, pinks, and light greens. Then, faster than anyone present could perceive, one of the four swords tied to her obi had already been unsheathed. At the exact same moment, seemingly without any time passing at all, a small spherical probe fell from the sky, bisected cleanly in two despite having been several hundred meters away. Seeing the probe fall, the shaggy-haired man snorted once again before asking, "Still think this world is normal? The technology of this era shouldnt be able to detect us at all. This proves my conjecture. Something, or someone, created a singrity within the past. If we dont remove the cause, all future timeline will cease to exist. Trillions of potential lives, infinite possibilities, will be lost..." Instead of agreeing with the man outright, the kimono-wearing woman just lightly hummed as she looked around the area. Then, with another sh of her sword, another probe, this one emerging at a distance of several kilometers, was cut down. The fact their enemies had the ability to send out a series of invisible probes, each seemingly capable of teleporting short distances, was a cause for concern. It wouldnt take long for them to be swarmed and, while she was supremely confident in her abilities, protecting others had never been her forte. Deciding it was best to change locations, she sheathed her sword before picking up the white-haired girl and saying, "We need to move. I feel something...dangerous. If we stick around here for too long, dont me me if your ns fail before they can even take off." Shaking his head in response to the womans words, the man pulled out an egg-shaped device and, after pressing a series of runes, a spherical barrier surrounded the tform before it vanished into thin air. Momentster, a purple-d figure emerged from the void, two scarlet spears at the ready as her equally red eyes scanned the area. Sensing her enemies had faded, seemingly without a trace, Scthach couldnt help but furrow her brows. For a brief moment, she had sensed a phenomenally powerful opponent, one that stirred her dormant fighting spirit. Though the Chaldea Security Forces were well on their way, she preempted their arrival after using her irvoyance to determine all but one of them would have died. She knew Vahn wanted to avoid casualties as much as possible so, in order to prevent him from brooding, she decided to change the future by interfering in the present. After failing to find any traces of their enemies, Scthach squinted her eyes slightly before turning her back and preparing to teleport away. It was at this exact moment that a ripple, so subtle as to be non-existent, appeared from the void. This caused Scthachs eyes to widen and, despite her best efforts to evade the invisible wavepletely, it ended up passing through her left arm faster than even her perception could follow. At the same time, a deep crevasse appeared in the sea, seemingly cutting through the entire ocean and bisecting it in two. Though the pain of losing an arm didnt influence her at all, Scthach clenched her teeth as a pale-gold spear appeared in her right hand. Then, with a form beyond perfection, she threw the spear, seemingly toward nothing while shouting, "Gungnir!!" in a venomous tone. In response to her cry, the spear shed with a brilliant golden light before vanishing into thin air, a ck void left in its wake... --- In a non-existent location within Imaginary Number Space, the kimono-d woman, despite the protests of the shaggy-haired man, stood with two ornate katanas drawn. She had created a link between a future timeline and the present, attacking from the future to strike at the dangerous opponent she had sensed pursuing them. Her eyes allowed her to actualize the sess of any strike, irrespective of the time and ce it took ce. Simply by knowing when and where an opponent would be, she could strike their expected location before they reached it; leaving a lethal attack waiting for them while she was nowhere, and nowhen, to be seen. Despite this sure-kill move, her instincts told her that the enemy pursuing them wasnt the type to be taken down so easily. Thus, despite the fact attacks shouldnt be able to reach them within their non-existent location, she didnt drop her guard. This ended up being the correct choice as, around two hours after her attack, a brilliant sh of light illuminated the Imaginary Number Space. At the same time, a spearrger than a mountain appeared, its tip barreling towards their location at near-lightspeed. Though the golden spear seemedpletely unstoppable, the kimono-d woman, with a casual smile on her face, shifted her stance ever-so-slightly. Her feet traced a gentle crescent, seemingly moving in slow motion despite the fact the movement waspleted before the spear reached the tform she was standing on. By the time it actually reached her, the spears forward momentum had beenpletely arrested, stopping mid-motion as two distinct lines ran through its length. With an approving nod, the woman brandished her swords before slowly sheathing them and musing, "I cant wait to see what else youre capable of. Unfortunately, youll have to do better than this if you want to trade blows with me~." Following her musings, the womanpleted sheathing her swords, causing a slick chnk sound as the metal ovepped. Immediately following this sound, the massive golden spear exploded into a shower of magical fragments before dissolving into the Imaginary Number Space, its form shattered to the point of non-existence... Seeing the shower of golden light, the white-haired girl issued a monotonous ooooh~ while the shaggy-haired man, without even bothering to watch the exchange, continued working on the five containers. His power was several orders of magnitude lower than his sword-wieldingpanion so, if she couldnt stop their enemies, there wasnt much sense in mustering his own defenses. He would rather focus on important tasks than bother with matters outside his ability to influence. With this in mind, the man interfaced his device with the 001 container, inputting a runic-based code to overwrite the failsafes keeping the entity inside sealed away. This process took nearly five hours toplete but, from the perspective of the outside world, little to no time had passed. Then, with one final input, the previously mirror-like surface of the cylinder developed a crease along its side before abruptly opening amidst a cloud of icy cold vapor. Following the unsealing of the container, the aura emanating from inside increased exponentially for a brief moment before ultimately vanishing entirely a momentter. Then, from within the hazy mist, a delicate white hand emerged, grasping awkwardly at the air. This caused the shaggy-haired man to furrow his brow in annoyance but, deciding to keep his thoughts to himself, he grasped the hand to help the person within extricate themselves. From within the sealed container, a young woman with cream-colored hair and vibrant amber eyes emerged. She was attired in a ck formfitting bodysuit that looked like something out of a science-fiction movie while, near the bottom of the container, several pieces of equipment and armor were neatly arranged and waiting to be worn. Instead of focusing them, however, the woman looked into the shaggy-haired mans eyes, stating in a dull monotone, "Food..." --- Sensing the connection to her projected [Gungnir] being severed, Scthachs eyes turned cold. She then ced a rune on her arm to prevent it from bleeding out before sending a telepathic message to Vahn, exining the situation. Though she would have preferred to deal with things behind the scenes, this wasnt an enemy they could afford to keep hidden from Vahn. Rather, everyone would need to be prepared as the attack which had bisected the sea was something only a handful of them would be able to deal with... Considering who had been injured, Vahn issued an emergency summons of his war council, picked the children up from school, and retrieved Olga and Semiramis from their usual habitats. There was no way of knowing when and where their enemy would next appear as their ability to move through Imaginary Number Space meant they could, quite literally, appear anywhere. Since most of the operations of Chaldeas could be managed without being on-site so, Vahn felt better having the two close until they discovered the purpose of this unknown group of enemies. After all, someone that could cut off Scthachs arm, despite her being virtually immune to damage, couldnt be looked down on. If not for the fact she was still a Heroic Spirit, there was a good chance the limb wouldnt have regrown due to the lingering sword energy that prevented even time-based healing spells... Fortunately, there were only so many people in all of recorded history who could meet the standards of performing such an attack so it didnt take long for them toe up with a list of suspects. Then, with thebined efforts of Sherlock, Merlin, and Scthach herself, they narrowed the field down to one of three people, the most likely being Miyamoto Musashi. The technique used against Scthach carried a distinctly eastern feel to it so, if it wasnt Musashi, the only otherparable swordsmen were Suzuka Gozen and, somewhat awkwardly, the original Okita Souji. Regardless of who the attacker was, there were a few things they could be certain of. First, someone had been able to ess the Throne of Heroes and, based on the Temporal Anomaly detected by the SHEBAwork, it was all but guaranteed they were from the future. This was troublesome in various ways as, despite knowing of the existence of time travel, Vahn hadnt ounted for the fact that he would have to face attacks from the future. Though they wouldnt be able to travel further back than his current present, the fact any number of people from the future could interfere with his ns was an extremely troublesome matter. After all, this meant, if his enemies were capable, they could summon Heroic Spirits, send them back into the past, and then repeat the process. Even if it took them several years to summon each Heroic Spirit, it only took sending them to the same point in the past for them all to converge together. It was an extremely vexing realization as, with everything else that was going on, thest thing Vahn needed was an assault from time-traveling Heroic Spirits... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A strong enemy appears!?,Outside of time, space, and even existence...,Vahn and Thanos would have a lot to talk about) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1380 - Frustration Flow

Chapter 1380 - Frustration Flow

Following the emergency summons, where Vahn authorized the creation of a Greater and Lesser Grail, Vahn found himself feeling considerably tense. The most frustrating thing about the current situation was the fact that they couldnt just stop everything they were doing. After all, their enemy could stay hidden for several months, or even years, so there was no sense in holing themselves up in fear of an attack. To make matters worse, they didnt even know the intention of their attackers, only that they were both hostile and powerful... In order to ease his tensions a bit, Vahn ended up retiring to hid bedchambers and, after spending a bit of quality time with Artoria and Gray, he found himself ying with yas ears as he asked, "Can you not look into the future and tell me when and where they will appear next? At the very least, you should be able to give me their identities, right...?" Though she had gotten used to Vahns teasing, ya had a pouting expression on her face as this was the seventeenth time he had asked a simr series of questions. She didnt like repeating herself once, much less sixteen additional times but, as it was nigh-impossible to withhold her response, she begrudgingly answered, "I have been charged with observing you directly. With the current amount of mana you have provided, peering into the future for long periods of time is impossible. Your best option is to contact the 2nd Magician or use that toy of yours to try and discern their location..." Since he had already reached out to Solon in order to contact Zelretch, Vahn couldnt help releasing a sigh in response to yas words. He had been able to convince Zelretch to help out but, with the number of parallel and divergent timelines branching off from the primary time axis, finding a group of people in a single timeline was like searching for a needle in a functionally infinite haystack. In order to narrow down the search parameters, Zelretch needed to know the approximate location of where the unknown attackers would appear in the future. Since they knew neither the motive or the ultimate goal of these time travelers, however, the best he could do was pick a random location and observe the flow of time until the emergence of Angra Mainyu. Even this wasnt guaranteed to be effective, however, as there was a very real chance their attackers wouldnt appear in any of the divergent timelines at all. Assuming their ultimate goal was to assassinate him, the time travelers would only be bound to the primary time axis when they chose to manifest themselves. Since he didnt exist even a few seconds into the current time axis, it was impossible to ascertain when and where they would appear unless he was the one to draw them out. Vahn didnt mind acting as bait to draw out the people who had harmed his Shishou but, if it turned out their goal was something else, he would basically expose himself for nothing. His attempt to try and bait them out might send them into hiding for an even longer period of time. After all, if they had the confidence to fight head-on, they would have already done so from the start. Even if they didnt know about his existence directly, they would have felt the echoes of his influence throughout all future timelines so, at the very least, they had to know of his ability to summon a multitude of Heroic Spirits... Realizing he was pushing himself into a corner, Vahn stopped ying with yas ears, allowing her to snuggle into her usual spot as he apologetically rubbed her back. He was already taking action to try and prevent further casualties by piloting the Hanging Gardens over the Indian Ocean. He even had Arcueid and Aoko to keep himpany so, much to Semiramis chagrin, so there was little he could do that he wasnt already doing. With the functionally limitless resources of the Empire, it would only take ten days for a miniature version of the Greater Grail to bepleted. Once it was prepared, the ever-reliable Maxwell would be able to power it to capacity in an instant. ya warned that exploiting the Heavens Feel ritual would rapidly destabilize the world but, so long as it was used in moderation, there wouldnt be too many detrimental effects. Once the ritual was prepared, Vahn could effectively have one wish granted with each passing year. This, unfortunately, meant he wouldnt be able to make use of the Greater Grail the moment it waspleted but, as there was always a chance Da Vinci would find a way to elerate the process, it was better to finish it sooner, rather thanter. Fortunately, even without the Greater Grail, the addition of Aoko to the Empires forces meant they always had the ability to greatly increase their strength. She could draw a persons potential forth in the present, even elerating their age by several years if necessary. Though they could have some pretty devastating consequences on a persons body, it wasnt something the Empire couldnt deal with. Even if Da Vinci didnte up with a solution, Vahn was confident his [Hands of Nirvana] and Source Energy would enable him to remove any seque. If it came down to it, Vahn was fully prepared to ask Aoko to use her ability, even on the children. They were his greatest concern and, with Scthach and Merlin, reversing their ages back to normal wouldnt be that difficult. It was infinitely better than them losing their lives in a surprise attack and, after what Scthach had experienced, it was obvious their enemies had the ability to transition into Imaginary Number Space. Worse yet, they had the ability to locate spatial coordinates while inside, something even Da Vinci had struggled to make any headway on... --- Though he kept trying to force himself to rx, Vahn found it hard to break free from his current cycle of exasperation and perturbance. Even the efforts of those around him only helped to alleviate his concerns for a short while as, without knowing exactly what his enemies motives were, he simply couldnt rx. After all, even Scthach had been caught off guard so, at any moment in time, Vahn felt as if an unstoppable de of destruction would bisect the Hanging Gardens in an instant. Since this was a very real possibility, he couldnt help but tap the armrest of his Throne, at least until Arcueid took it into her own. For what felt like the ten-thousandth time in thest few hours, Vahn released a sigh before turning his attention to Arcueid and muttering, "Sorry, I-" Without letting him continue further, Arcueid justy her head against his chest and said, "If you stay like this, youre giving them an advantage they didnt earn. Youre already trying to lure them out so, until they appear, there is nothing more you can do. Rx...here..." Toward the end of her words, Arcueid took the hand she had grabbed earlier, pressing it into her soft bosom as she added, "Can you feel my heartbeat? It might be a little quickened but its not due to fear. After all, when were together, what can hurt us...?" Hearing Arcueids words, Vahn nearly released another sigh but, just as he was about to respond, a loud yawn sounded throughout the Throne Room as Aoko, wearing nothing but a white blouse held closed by a single button, sat up on the bed before sleepily asking, "Are you still brooding? This isnt like you at all. Stop fretting over what other people are doing and start taking meaningful action. Im up for another round if itll stop you from this little emo pity-party youve got going on." To emphasize her words, Aoko lightly flicked the remaining button on her blouse, sending it flying across the Throne Room like a bullet. As a result, her fair white breasts, tipped with ruddy peaks, came into view. If not for the fact she paled for a brief moment, followed by a heavy blush, it would have been quite the tantalizing disy. Instead, it was rather amusing so, for a brief moment, a smile spread across Vahns face as he picked up Arcueid and mused, "If not for my constitution, I fear the tow of you would drain me dry..." If she was red before, it was nothingpared to how scarlet Aokos face had turned as a result of Vahns words. The way he spoke almost made it sound like she was a nymphomaniac, a thought that caused her body to burn up as memories of the past couple of days shed through her mind. Not a day had gone by where she, Vahn, and several other women, didnt enjoy a tumble in the sheets so, while it hadnt crossed her mind previously, Aoko began to wonder if she had turned into a pervert without realizing it... Before her mind coulde up with an answer, Aoko was startled to awareness as Arcueid pushed her body down onto the bed. Then, without any hesitation whatsoever, the golden-haired Princess began to lightly suckle her left nipple, sending shivers through Aokos body and setting an explosion off in her mind. Then, as if to cement the thought, a ticklish, hot, and electrical feeling began to run up her right thigh as Vahn gently caressed it with his magical hands. This caused her body to heat up as an agonizing itch began to emerge from deep within, practically screaming, youre a pervert as it sent echoes through her entire body... --- Three days following the initial incident, a small ripple appeared in the void, this time within one of the existing Bounded Fields covering the Surface Texture. Here, a Spiritual Land rich with alchemical resources could be found, the former territory of the now-defunct Three Monarchal Lords. Though it had been ransacked for most of its material goods at this point, the Bounded Field was still going strong and, while they no longer had any association with the families they once served, there were a number of former vassals that had made the Spiritual Land their home. Emerging from the ripple were two women, the first being the same sword-wielding woman who had severed Scthachs arm. Apanying her was a woman with olive-brown skin, visible due to the fact she wore highly revealing white armor. She had striking blue eyes, white hair, and, adding a peculiarity on top of her scantily d form, two rabbit-like ears poked out from the top of her head. Despite this, she had a fierce expression on her face and, warpaint covering her body, and a towering physique, she drew a rather intimidating visage. ncing around the area like a hawk searching for its prey, the somewhat muscr-woman hefted hernce in hand while stating in a deep and husky voice, "This is to be our base? Other than the barrier covering it, there are no fortifications whatsoever...in fact, it looks like a battle already tore through this region before our arrival. Are there no other options? Why do we not take the fight to our opponents? I am not fond of hiding away like a coward." Hearing the muscr womansint, the kimono-d beauty shrugged her shoulders in a disinterested manner before half-heartedly exining, "Dont ask me what that man is thinking. Im only here to fight strong opponents and to help save the world. With how strong our enemies are, it would be pretty senseless to just throw ourselves at them. If youre in a hurry to die an honorable death, dont let me stop you..." Even as she spoke to herpanion, the kimono-d woman pulled out one of her swords as, in the distance, one of the few Magi inhabiting the barrier had just sounded a silent rm. Soon after, a series of poorly constructed golems began to charge toward them but, seemingly without moving her sword arm in the slightest, the woman casually walked through their ranks. They passed by her as if she waspletely invisible to them, causing the spartan-like woman to heft her hoplite shield and prepare forbat. Before any of the opponents could reach her, however, their steps slowed to a crawl before, less than a meter from her position, each one split into cleanly cut stone debris... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ns within ns within ns,Lets be real, Aoko has been a pervert since the very beginning~,Casual stroll...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1381 - Restless Dragon

Chapter 1381 - Restless Dragon

After nearly a month of searching, without a single sign of their enemy, the tensions around the Empire had gradually decreased. Nobody was foolish to believe it had been an isted incident but, with more than half a year passing within the Projection, Vahn had other things to worry about than some unknown enemy. Circe had given birth to a second daughter, named Petra, and, in anticipation of an enemy attack, two groups of Heroic Spirits had been summoned. While Vahn had used the summoning system to bolster the Empires forces, one of the summonings was a test to see if the Greater Grail,pleted by Illya, Iris, and Da Vinci, was functioning properly. Though it would take some time to make a wish using the tower-like golden chalice, summoning a group of Heroic Spirits wasnt that difficult. As a result, Sakura, Mash, Zo?, and Astrid had been given a chance to make a contract with a Heroic Spirit, Servants that would protect them from harm at all times. Since the Heavens Feel summoning system had a fair number of restrictionspared to his own, it was only capable of summoning one of each Servant ss. Fortunately, this didnt really matter in the grand scheme of things so, after a rather tense ceremony, Sakura ended up summoning a Rider ss Heroic Spirit known as Medusa. She was a rather buxom woman with a mature figure, long legs, a visored face, and silky purple hair that reached all the way to her ankles. The summoning of Medusa came as a small shock to Rin and Artoria but, since Sakura seemed to have a high affinity with the visored woman, the former only expressed her concerns in private. As for why they had been worried, it was due to the fact that Medusa was the same Heroic Spirit that Sakura had summoned during the Fifth Holy Grail War. Rin was slightly worried that Sakura would somehow recover her past memories but, with no memories to recover, Vahn managed to ay her concerns without issue. Fortunately, the summons of Mash, Zo?, and Astrid didnt raise nearly as many concerns. Mash had won the lottery by summoning the Saber ss, often considered the strongest of the Seven main Servant sses. Better yet, the Heroic Spirit she summoned was Richard the First, a fanatic who had ceaselessly pursued relics rted to Arthurian Legends. He also bore the title of Lionheart and, while he was a little quirky, his skill with the sword even allowed him to pressure Artoria. Though this was primarily due to his Agility, which could reach EX-Rank while using his [Godspeed] Skill, it was still amendable feat. After Mash, the next to summon their Servant had been Zo?, obtaining the Lancer ss Heroic Spirit, d III, as her Servant. Though his legacy was cause for some concern, as he wasnt known as d the Impaler without cause, the rather domineering man had a True Neutral affinity and, with Merlin attesting to his virtues, his summoning didnt cause any problems. Rather, in exchange for his service, the only thing he wanted was the abolishment of the Drac legacy as it had painted him out to be a monster for no better reason than to sell books and nder his name. Though it seemed like a moderately wasteful wish, Vahn didnt mind agreeing to ds request as it wasnt that difficult to achieve. He couldnt use their first wish to grant the request but, once things had settled down, using the Holy Grail to erase the legacy of Drac was a simple feat. At the very least, they could expose the truth of the matter so that, in the future, people didnt associate d with the atrocitiesmitted by a wayward Dead Apostle Ancestor... Following Mashs and Zo?s examples of summoning rather famous individuals, Astrid ended up surprising nearly everyone by summoning the Archer ss Servant, Atnta. This was surprising for a number of reasons but, considering Astrids affinity for animals, and her general disinterest in men, it wasnt hard to see the parallels between her and the famous Huntress. What had surprised Vahn was the fact that, despite having human parents, no Divinity, and no Skills rted to transformation, Atnta had feline ears and a tail. Vahn felt like she was a Cat Person that had somehow made the transition between Records as, in conjunction with her feline attributes, she even had an exceptionally lithe body filled with flexible bones. This,bined with her wild unruly hair, which transitioned from leafy-green at her bangs, lime green starting from her scalp, and pale yellow, almost white, near the small of her back, gave her a distinctly inhuman appearance... When she had first been summoned, Atnta hadnt bee all that enthused about her situation but, after experiencing the Memory Link with Astrid, she immediately became resolved to protect, not just her, but all the children. She was also familiar with Circe, Medea, Heracles, and even Medusa so, after mellowing out a bit, she became rtively docile, at least around Vahn. This was due to the fact that her wish was to protect all the worlds children so, after learning Vahn had used his wish to the same effect, she no longer harbored any hatred towards him. Fortunately, though she allowed him to pet her regrly, Atnta took her vows towards Artemis and Apollo very seriously so, even though she was rather weak to petting, she hadnt developed any tender feelings toward him. Though she had jokingly told him that she would marry him if he could beat her in a foot race, Vahn knew she would only do so out of obligation, not love. While he did, in fact, ept her challenge, this was mainly to prevent her from falling victim to her vow as it would cause a few issues if she was forced to marry someone she didnt love. While Atnta had been fast, almost ridiculously so, she wasnt even in the top five when it came to maximum potential speed within the Empire. Though Vahns natural speed also didnt make the cut, he more than made up for it with [Shundo] and [Vis Maxima], allowing him to maintain a steady lead throughout their entire race. This hade as a shock to Atnta but, as they had already agreed to allow him to make a singr request from her, Vahn surprised her a second time by having her vow never to marry someone she didnt love. Since he had already defeated her in a footrace, she had aplicated expression on her face but, after a moment of deliberation, ultimately relented... --- With his enemies stillying low, Vahn had focused on increasing his strength far beyond his past capabilities. He was determined to reach the point where he would be able to defeat Scthach in a direct battle as, after she lost an arm to an unseen enemy, it became clear that his current strength wascking. Though he would undoubtedly win in a prolonged battle, especially with [Magia Erebea] and the support of various Tier 5 entities, Vahn wanted to reach the point where his individual power was all he needed to win. Fortunately, or perhaps not, he had been convinced by Scthach to summon even more versions of her, so, now, instead of two Shishous, there were a total of seven. As a result, the Empire was safer than it had ever been but, in exchange, Vahns training had truly be hellish. After all, even one Scthach was a monster so, now that there were seven unique versions of her,bined with the fact she could make clones of herself; Vahn started experiencing auditory and visual hallucinations of his Shishou whenever he was cking off... Since Scthach qualified for virtually every Servant ss, with the exceptions of Saver, Foreigner, and Moon Cancer, Vahn ended up summoning the Ruler, Assassin, Saber, Archer, and, in order better to protect the children, the Lily version. Fortunately, as she had a proper understanding of where his limitsy, Scthach had the wherewithal to avoid teasing him in her fourteen-year-old form. This meant he only had to deal with her other six forms during training as, more often than not, the Lily version of Scthach was proactively watching over the children, putting his mind at ease. The upside to Vahns current situation was that the longer his enemies dyed appearing, the more powerful he, and the Empire as a whole, would be. It had only taken him four weeks inside the Projection to reach the bottom of the Well of Destruction so, with an additional twenty-four weeks to focus on other challenges, he had managed to clear all the way to the ninth. As a result, most of his Parameters had reached the quantifiable limit and, given a few more months, Projection-time, he was confident in being able to obtain his second Divinity. All he needed was to continue focusing on breaking through his limits as, at his current rate of growth, even S-Rank Heroic Spirits wouldnt be able tost more than a few minutes against him... ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Vahn Mason] Age: 158 (Ageless) Race: Progenitor God, *sealed* Parameter: [Nasuverse: 1-5] Strength: 50A++ Endurance: Agility: 48B Magical Power: EX Good Luck: 26D Circuit Quality: EX Soul Tier: 4 (Divine Soul) [Karma]: 7,314,989,223 [OP]: 8,048,703,448 Noble Phantasm: [Enkidu:SSS], [Gate of Babylon(False):S], [L?vateinn(Alpha):S], [L?vateinn(Beta):S], [L?vateinn(Gamma):S], [L?vateinn(Delta):S], [L?vateinn(Epsilon):S], [L?vateinn(Zeta):S] Origin: [?] Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:A], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth:A], [Chainbreaker:SS], [Veil of the Traveler:SS], [Hands of Nirvana:SS], [Type Omega:SSS], [Executor of Akashas Will:SS], [Laces Key:SSS], [cksmithing:S], [Alien God: EX], [Charm: EX], [Martial Soul:A] Magic: [Magia Erebea:SS], [Administrative Function: Space Lock:SSS], [Soul Imprint: EX], [Soul Transference: EX], [Great Sage:EX], [Magic Cancel:B], [Charisma:D] Magecraft: [Magical Trigger:SSS], [Primordial Rune:S], [Trace:SS], [Reinforce:S], [Gradiation Air:S], [Enchant:S], [Alchemy:S], [Shundo:SS], [Reflexio:S], [Cantus Bex:SS], [Melodia Bex:SS], [Vis Maxima:S], [Sagitta Magicka:B], [Od Conversion:EX], [Mass Telelportation:C] [Alien God] Rank: EX Passive: Recognition from the World as a God from another world. Those bearing this Skill are able to vite the Common Sense of the world, affecting various Textures and manipting reality to suit their needs. (A/N: This is basically how the Root System interprets Vahns Domain.) [Charm] Rank: EX Passive: The ability to influence others, increasing their infatuation. Twice as effective on members of the opposite sex. At this rank, even inert stone and emotionless automata are susceptible to the users Charm. Active: Overwhelm a targets mind,pelling them to fall madly in love with the user. Even with a strong will, this conclusion cannot bepletely mitigated. [Martial Soul] Rank: B Passive: Denotes the usersprehensive understanding of their own body, allowing them to emte any martial art, skill, orbat style at the same Rank or lower. [Soul Imprint] Rank: EX Passive: The user has the ability to infuse their soul into other objects. Active: Allows the user to fragment their soul, splitting their form or infusing it into various objects. Even if these objects are destroyed, the fragment will invariably return to the user. [Soul Transference] Rank: EX Active: Allows the user to transnt the souls of other people into vessels of their own creation. This Skill grants the target with D-Rank [Regeneration], B-Rank [Od Conversion], and EX-Rank [Foreign Body Immunity]. [Great Sage] Rank: EX Passive: Greatly increases the efficacy of unique Magecraft against all modern and ancient forms of Magecraft. Against Magecraft of the same Rank, this Skill artificially increases the users Magecraft by one full Rank. (A/N: This is a Skill unique to Vahn and Da Vinci. It is basically the result of them using Evas Magic System to develop apletely new school of Thaumaturgy.) [Magic Cancel] Rank: B Active: Forcibly nullify all Magecraft of the same Rank and lower. (A/N: Vahns ability to essentially prevent other people from using Magic within his domain.) ----------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: You get a summon, you get a summon, everyone gets a summon~!,Atnta met her match,Seven circles of Hell) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1382 - Growth...?

Chapter 1382 - Growth...?

As part of his ninth challenge, Vahn had to dodge a series of needle-like projectiles, each around the size of a chopstick. While this alone wasnt that difficult, he had to do so for an entire hour, all while his arms were bound. To make things even moreplicated, his feet were forcibly separated by a bar, forcing him to rely almost exclusively on [Shundo] and his footwork to evade the ever-increasing number of projectiles. If he was hit by a single one, his time would not only be reset but, as a result of their speed, he was all but guaranteed to be turned into a porcupine if he lost his bnce even for a moment... Thus far, Vahn had been able tost upwards of forty minutes but, with the speed and number of projectiles gradually increasing, those final twenty minutes seemed insurmountable. Despite this, he could be found with his wrists tied behind his back, his feet shifting inplex patterns as his body bent and bowed like a willow in the wind, at least to those who could actually trace his movements. From the perspective of a normal person, Vahns upper body seemed to blue unnaturally, almost as if he were a graphical glitch in the real world. Since Scthach was basically trying to have him break through quantifiable limits, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that his Agility would be reality-defying if he managed toplete her challenge. With the exception of his curiously low Luck Parameter, Vahns Agility was the Parameter he stood to gain the most benefits from improving. Though he could easily achieve EX-Rank speed using [Magia Erebea]s Emperor of Light form, that was an extremely costly transformation that, for the time being, couldnt be controlled. After all, he had to literally aim away from the in order to move at his maximum speed as, if he aimed elsewhere, the devastation caused by his movement could level an entire Country, on the low end. In his transformed state, Vahns movement generated a force of 2.7 Terajoules of energy which, when modified by his Source Energy, equated to an explosive yield of 6.5 megatons of TNT, 27 Petajoules of energy. This gave his movements alone nearly half the force of the most powerful warhead that had ever been detonated by mankind, all condensed within a point the size of an average man. If he wasnt careful, puncturing a hole straight through the mantle of the wasnt an impossibility. Since his Emperor of Light wasnt a form to y around with, Vahn wanted to increase his base state to the point where, unless he was backed into a corner, he wouldnt need to transform at all. While he actually thought the transformations were pretty cool, there was a certain impact that went with the image of a normal person doing the impossible. He wanted to reach the point where, even if he wanted to pluck the stars from the sky, it would only take extending his hand slightly. This may seem like an exaggeration but, with how strong those at Peak Tier 5 seemed, it was all but guaranteed he would eventually reach a point even beyond his imagination... For now, however, Vahn could only grunt in annoyance as a scarlet-red needle pierced his right calf. In the next moment, several dozen needles pierced various points of his body and, if not for the fact he used [Shundo] topletely escape the encirclement, thousands more would have followed suit. With one needle stabbing into his right eye socket, dislodging the glimmering orb within, Vahn had to turn his head away due to his mild embarrassment. Fortunately, he was able to dislodge it pretty quickly and, after a few seconds, the rest of the needles had been removed. At the same time, one of the three Scthachs tormenting him appeared next to him, expression frostier than a tundra as she coldly stated, "You onlysted thirty-eight-minutes-and-twenty-two-seconds. This is your worst time in thest fifty-three attempts..." Understanding there was no point in making excuses, Vahn just answered with a small nod before saying, "Ill do better this time. Come, lets not waste time. I want to make our enemies regret giving me time to grow stronger..." Though she nodded in response, a neutral expression on her face, Scthach sent chills through his body when she said, "If you dont surpass your personal best on the next attempt, Ill increase the size of the spreader-bar by three centimeters. If you dont want to be doing the splits by the end of this challenge, youll focus your mind instead of wasting your breath..." --- Though his training was extremepared to everyone elses, that didnt mean Vahn was the only person working hard to be stronger. Rather, even before the Temporal Anomaly a month prior, nearly every resident of the Ivory Castle spent several hours, every day, improving. With things like the Quest Board to keep them motivated, you could almost always find a handful of people within the Knights Training Field, the Primary Training Orb, or traveling around Avalon toplete various Quest Objectives. Among the people training hardest, Fenrir was at the head of the pack with more than four-hundred Questspleted and seventeen million Variable Experience saved up. She had actually earned a lot more than this but most of it had been invested in her various Skills, Magic, and Magecraft. Her main reason for saving up now was to unlock the [Full-Body Transformation] Skill, something she had seen used by Hati to great effect. With [Full-Body Transformation], Fenrir would be able to tap into her heritage as a Vanargandr and, at least for a time, transform into an actual wolf. While this may not seem that impressive at first, the fact she could freely alter her size, increasing her offensive, defensive, and magical capabilities, was the main selling point. When going all out, Hati was able to exceed fifty-meters in height, her fur bing nigh-imperious to both physical and magical attacks. Though she had to sacrifice some of her mobility, the ability to cause absolute devastation to her surroundings, overwhelming entire armies, more than made up for this. Truthfully, the main reason Fenrir wanted to unlock the Skill was due to the fact she had once seen her Master riding atop the giant Hatis head. Another time, she had shrunken down to the size of a wolf pup, happily dozing away in their Mastersp with a contented expression on her face. Though Fenrir could do thetter whenever she pleased, her pride as the Alpha Vanargandr didnt allow her to be less capable than her subordinate. This mentality caused the Skill to appear within her Skill Tree for a whopping 20,000,000VE so, in order to obtain it, Fenrir had been Questing in overdrive. Today, in order toplete one of her Quest Objectives, Fenrir was walking across the bottom of the sea, her lungs straining painfully as she hefted a heavy limestone block over her head, using a membrane of magical energy around her bottom paws to prevent them from sinking into several meters of muck. Around her, several Undine watched curiously, their presence both an annoyance and a smallfort as, even if an ident urred, they would undoubtedly step in to assist. Fortunately, even if it made her feel like she would ckout at any moment, Fenrir couldnt actually drown. Even if she relented to the pressure and tried to take a breath, filling her lungs with briny seawater, she would only experience excruciating pain and frustration, never death. Her regeneration and energy reserves meant she could even survive in a vacuum without too much trouble so, even if the pressure reached upwards of a thousand times normal atmospheric levels, she could persist. Still, this didnt mean it was a pleasant experience in the slightest, but, in order to obtain the final three-million Variable Experience, she was determined toplete her Quest. She only needed to cover 1,000km with the stone before moving on to her final Objective: defeating a Sea Serpent or a Giant Squid in a contest of strength without using magic. This might prove difficult for others but, with her teeth and ws, Fenrir waspletely confident in her ability to secure victory... --- While Fenrir was making headway on her Quest, Mordred, who generally apanied her when she wasnt at school, dangled her legs off the edge of the pier, fishing rod in hand. Since it was a humid and balmy Summer day, she elected to wear nothing but a ck bikini top with mes, a matching set of bottoms, and a pair of denim shorts just so her Chichiue and Hahaue wouldntin too much. If not for the fact she didnt bother to button the front, giving her a somewhat slovenly look, she wouldnt have looked all that different from the models in the magazines she used to peruse. Next to Mordred, her Guardian, the massive white lioness, King,zilyy at her side while,ying against her, a boy with tanned skin, raven-ck hair, and ruby-red eyes, stared aimlessly toward the horizon. This was none other than Kamiya, Nobunagas son and, by his own volition, Mordreds usual tag-along follower. He ever referred to her as Aneue so, at least until he became a proper man, she obliged by calling him Otouto and, at times, brat. Kamiya had never been the most patient boy but, knowing he would get knocked upside the head if heined, he opted to remain quiet while periodically sneaking nces at his Aneue. Originally, he had tried to fish alongside her but, while much stronger than the average three-year-old, it only took getting pulled off the pier once, courtesy of arge tuna, for him to abstain from trying again. There was no way Kamiya could get away with stealing nces without her notice but, rather than stop him, Mordred just made a mental note of how many times he shifted around, pretending not to gawk. She didnt particrly mind his mild precociousness but, when he did something to annoy herter, she would let him have it for each nce he stole. It would be bad if he became too cheeky in the future but, if it could motivate him to secure more wins against Daiki, she didnt mind giving him a bit of sisterly love and encouragement. Mordred didnt think much of Kamiyas developing crush. Rather, because of how often Isanna and Naavi doted on Daiki, she would feel a little guilty if she didnt do the same, in moderation. Kamiya was a very hard-working boy and, due to having Nobunaga as a mother, he was often teased, albeit lovingly. This had turned him into a rather prideful boy who didnt speak all that much so, instead of being yet another person to pressure him, Mordred liked to think of herself as the ever-reliable big sister. With this in mind, Mordred remained rtively silent until she felt something take hold of her line. Then, with a smile on her face, she looked back at Kamiya, startling the boy and sending him into a small panic until she said, "Hey,e over here. There is something biting. Here, Ill help you reel it in this time, okay~?" Having followed Mordred for much of his life, Kamiya didnt really have the will to disobey the words of his Aneue, especially when she had that smile on her face. Thus, with a reddened face, he moved with a bit of trepidation in his steps before sitting in herp. This caused his ears to turn red, made worse by the fact that Mordred forced the rod into his hands, her voice tickling his ear as she walked him through the process of reeling in the fish. Though it was a real trial, in various ways, Kamiya had learned to enjoy fishing by the time he managed to reel in the palm-size carp... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Scthach is getting tired of hearing excuses xD...,Fenrir is always working hard...!,Irredeemable...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1383 - Curse

Chapter 1383 - Curse

After failing toplete Scthachs challenge, even after nine hours had passed, Vahn, covered from head to toe in scarlet needles, released a tired sigh. After his training in the Well of Destruction, even direct damage to his Spiritual Body did little to phase him so, while it felt like he was being scorched from head to toe, he didnt so much as flinch while looking up at his Shishou. She was standing just above his head so he was able to see a rather tantalizing sight, made all the more enticing by how much effort he had put into trying to im it... With the exception of girls like Fenrir, Scthach could always tell what Vahn was thinking so, knowing he was having idle thoughts immediately after his training, she released a rare sigh before squatting down, her finger tracing a line across his cheek as she muttered, "At this rate, youllplete all of my challenges well before ten years pass. How is it youre able to constantly surprise me yet, at times like this, I cant help but feel frustrated with your progress...?" Though Scthach knew the answer to her own question, she was curious about Vahns response. He had a penchant for saying different variations of the same words over and over again but, despite it annoying her quite a bit, she never truly got tired of hearing them. Vahn couldnt im to truly understand his Shishou but, after more than three years, he chose to believe he had a decent understanding of her character. Thus, in response to her question, he gave a confident smile, grabbing her wrist with his hand as he answered, "I told you before, many times, in fact...no matter how impossible it might seem, I would make you fall in love with me~." Hearing Vahns words, Scthach made a show of rolling her eyes and, after pulling her hand free, she retorted by remarking, "Yet, here I stay, one of the few women who have yet to fall to your insatiable appetite...I wonder...just how long will you keep me waiting...?" Since this wasnt the first time they had a conversation like this, Vahn wasnt too taken aback by his Shishous words. Instead, he forced the needles out of his body, moving to a seated position so that it was easier to talk before saying, "Even if I could im you now, your heart would never be mine if I reneged on my vows. Id rather have a lifetime at your side than squander everything for a few hours of passion." Find Vahns words to her liking, Scthach nodded her head in approval before adopting her usual cold and distant tone as she warned, "Ill force you to summon me as a Berserker or Avenger ss if you break your promise...keep that in mind, Master..." With seven Shishous already pushing him far beyond his limits, Vahn paled slightly when he heard Scthachs words. He could only hope she wasnt being serious but, knowing her as long as he had, Vahn knew better than to doubt her words. He could imagine her forcibly summoning a version of herself using the Greater Grail so, with a defeated look on his face, Vahn fell backward against the hard white stone and just stared at the endless abyss above for a few minutes... --- Around the same time that Vahn wasmenting his Shishous ever-increasing expectations for his growth, a little girl with ashen-white hair, expressionless blue eyes, and a perpetual smile on her doll-like leisurely strolled through the streets of what many would describe as a post-apocalyptic wastnd. With her frilly white dress and pure white stockings, she was like a singr ray of light in an otherwise dreary world. Unfortunately, with the copse of polite society, the world wasnt a safe ce for a young girl to wander on her own. Though the majority of people gave the unnaturally pristine girl a wide berth, her delicate and frail appearance still caught the interest of various dark-hearted individuals. Some harbored licentious and deviant thoughts while others, having lost themselves to the darkness of the current world, merely wanted to capture her, locking the girl away like a dove in a cage. After Vahns wish, crimes against children had be all but impossible and, with most innocents being whisked away by Gods Light, there were very few people that still attempted to target young children. This didnt mean there were none, however, as the distinctck of a police force resulted in the vast majority of people giving in to their instincts and desires. Thus, despite knowing there was little hope in sess, two brutish-looking men with haggard appearances followed closely behind the fair-skinned girl as she turned into an alleyway. What surprised the men was the fact that, rather than continue on her way or try to run, the girl had turned to wait for them, the smile on her face growing to almost unnatural proportions. This caused one of the men to ce his hand on the shoulder of the other, muttering, "This doesnt feel right at all..." Though he had been about to suggest they retreat, both men couldnt help but gawk as the young girl they had intended to victimize lifted up the hem of her skirt. This caused the more deviant of the duo to adopt a vile grin as he shrugged off his friends hand and said, "Its no wonder there is still a brat like this running around. The little bitch probably gets off on this type of shit...!" In response to the mans words, the little girl began to giggle yfully, inciting both men to throw what little inhibitions they had away. There was a loophole to the strange phenomenon that had gued their kind over thest few months as, if the other party was willing, they were able to do whatever they wanted, so long as it didnt turn to violence. Unfortunately for the duo, the moment the girl revealed the contents of her skirt, their fates had been sealed. Rather than childish or delicate undergarments, what came into view was an endless ck abyss as, faster than either man could scream, ck tendrils erupted from beneath the girls skirt, enveloping their bodies and covering their mouths. Then, to their horror, the flesh touched by the tendrils began to slough away, turning to a fleshy liquid goop. To make matters even worse, the only thing either of them felt was a seeping chill pass through their bodies. There was no pain, no anguish, just a finite chill that terrified them beyond madness. By the time a minute had passed, all that remained of the men were ckened bones and rotten flesh. Despite this, both men were still alive, their skeletal visages fixed in horror as their eyes, left untouched by the corruption, stared at the little girl with an imploring gaze. Instead of offering them a reprieve, however, she merely giggled, her lifeless blue eyes momentarily showing a sadistic glee as she exined, "You enjoy making others feel helpless to sate your own desires. This is because you are unable to empathize with their suffering. Now, I have given you the opportunity to reflect upon your past decisions. Enjoy an eternity feeling the helplessness you forced onto others~." Seemingly satisfied with her own words, the little girl gave an approving nod before turning away from the duo. Then, as if remembering something she had forgotten, the girl showed a surprised expression before remarking, "Ah! I forgot to ask what your names were! Dont worry, I promise to never forget you. Youll just have to be Mr. 43 and Mr. 44 from now on, ehehehe~." Hearing the girls words, the two skeletal men fell into even greater despair, their bodies shivering due to their mental anguish and the perpetual cold that had gripped them... --- Less than three minutes after the white-haired girl had disappeared, a gentlemanly man with ink-ck hair and a mature beauty with long, raven-ck hair, appeared in the alleyway. When they saw the now-familiar sight, the man issued a light hum as he walked from one end of the alleyway to the other, his cane making a rhythmic tapping sound the entire way. The two men on the ground didnt know what to make of the strange man who had appeared but, seeing the emblem of the Empire embroidered into his suit, they screamed within their minds, begging for death. Understanding the mens intentions, the ink-haired man, Sherlock, gave an apologetic smile before exining, "My apologies, gentlemen, but I cannot offer you that which you seek. You neednt worry, however, as mypanion here will ease your suffering." Hearing Sherlocks remark, the beautiful woman issued a sensualugh that caused even the skeletal figures on the ground to feel a heat rising in their bodies. This was simr to stepping inside a warm building during a snowstorm so, for a brief moment, hope was ignited in the duo. Unfortunately, what the woman offered was not absolution or release. Instead, like a glutton who had found a delicious meal, she seductively licked her lips before making a biting motion. In the next moment, the light faded from both mens eyes as every memory from the moment of their birth had been devoured in an instant. This did nothing to liberate them from the chill piercing through their bodies but, without knowledge of anything else, they became empty husks without a single thought astray from the cold permeating their entire being. Seeing the increasinglymon sight, Sherlock took a longer than average drag of his ornate pipe before breathing out a pale mist and asking, "You ate everything, correct?" In response to Sherlocks question, the raven-haired woman answered with a seductive smile as she closed the distance between them, her waist swaying like a snake as she mused, "How could I ever defy my beloved Master~?" Without minding the woman pressing herself against his body, Sherlock continued to stare off into the distance with a ruminating gaze. At the same time, however, his right hand, now bereft of his usual cane, snaked around her thin waist. Even when she licked the nape of his neck and bared her teeth, he acted as if it was perfectly natural as, for the past month, this had be his norm. Following a mild prick, Sherlock was able to witness the final moments of the two men, finding the same white-haired girl that had been present during the previous incidents. This mildly frustrated him as, even with his brilliance, CHALDEAS, and several pseudo-omniscient beings, they had been unable to trace this peculiar white-haired girl. She didnt leave behind a single trace at all, almost as if she didnt exist outside the minds of her victims... Understanding this was a very real possibility, Sherlock absentmindedly smoked his pipe, wondering how he would catch a culprit that didnt actually exist. At the same time, hispanion, Lilith, kept herself busy bypping up his blood, her tongue dutifully cleaning even the smallest droplets of blood. If she got his cord dirty, Sherlock would punish her by closing off his mind, a delicacy she had be particrly fond of ever since contracting with him. By the time Sherlocks neck had been cleaned, his would nowhere to be seen, two small horns had started to protrude from Liliths scalp. She had trouble maintaining her disguise while excited so, at times like this, her Daemonic nature revealed itself. Fortunately, Sherlock had an aura that naturally deterred anyone from interfering with his investigations so, even if they would normally pass by the alleyway on their way to whatever it was they were doing, pedestrians would give the location a very wide berth. With Lilith finished with her meal, Sherlock released another cloud of smoke before saying, "We will return. At this point, I fear the best course of action is to request the assistance of the Emperor. Take these two and store them away with the rest. Once we discover a way to destroy their bodies, we will give them the death they sought in life." Hearing Sherlocks orders, Lilith waved her hand, lifting both mens bodies using her own form of Telekinesis. Then, like she had the previous victims, Lilith threw their bodies into Imaginary Number Space. There, they could be safely stored for thousands of years without a single second passing so, once a countermeasure against the immortal curse had been found, they could either return to the alley, freeing the men trapped inside, or just leave them there for all eternity. (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Vahn,(O_____O)...,Lilith has been tamed!? What an elementary question (o 3 o)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1384 - Timing

Chapter 1384 - Timing

Though he usually divested his time between multiple groups of women, there were moments when Vahn enjoyed rxing with just one girl at a time. Thus, while he was performing his usual rounds, he decided to surprise Lakshmibai, interrupting her training to see if she would apany him. Since it was very rare for the girls to refuse his offer, Vahn soon found himself escorting the loveable olive-skinned beauty through the verdant orchards of Avalon. Vahn was quite fond of his homnd but, when he explored alongside one of his lovers, it always felt even more fantastical than normal. It was such a calm and serene ce, especially inside of the Projection, so they could wander unobstructed for hours if they really wanted to. Unfortunately, despite having several times more than others, time was often a raremodity for Vahn. Thus, rather than wander aimlessly, he brought Lakshmibai to arge clearing, a ce used by the Dryads as a site for various rituals. Within the projection, however, it was just a ce filled with a mass offorting energy, filled with warmth and carrying the fragrance of flowers and honey. It wasnt her first time visiting the rather popr location but, feeling the familiar warmth wash over her exposed shoulders, the wind blowing gently through her hair, Lakshmibai hummed contentedly before resting her head against Vahns shoulder and saying, "Thank you for taking me out today...it made me happy to see you show up unexpectedly..." Hearing Lakshmibais words, Vahn wanted toment about how hard she had been working these past few months but, knowing there were better ways to spend their time, he opted to remain silent, resting his cheek against the top of her head. He knew she wasnt really satisfied with her progress but, instead ofining about it, Lakshmibai continued to push herself even further. There were days where she would be training upwards of 15-16 hours straight, only stopping when others came to check on her. Thus, rather than talk about training, Vahn just relished their time together, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere and the scent of lemon that wafted from her hair... Unfortunately, as was too often the case when he was with Lakshmibai, Vahn sensed a spatial ripple in the Transfer Room, followed by the emergence of Sherlock. He had just gone to check on Tiamat so, if Sherlock was looking for him, which was almost always the case, Vahn would have to deal with him using this form. This would undoubtedly make Lakshmibai sad and, while she was always very understanding of such things, Vahn knew it ate away at her more than she would ever admit. Refusing to make Lakshmibai sad, Vahn preempted the Master Detective, telepathically stating, "I am indisposed of at the moment. Please confer with Da Vinci or Merlin unless it is a matter that requires my immediate attention." Then, without waiting for a response, he blocked externalmunications, telling ya to monitor the situation and to inform him if it was something important... Since she was always attentive to Vahns subtleties, Lakshmibai hadnt missed the mild perturbance in her Masters eyes. She could easily guess something was amiss as, during theirst three times alone together, something always came up. His not saying anything showed that he had elected to ignore whatever the trouble was and, while this made her happy, she ultimately nestled against his chest and said, "You are the Emperor...your duties shoulde before me. Please, dont worry about me, Master..." Opting to ignore Lakshmibais selfless remark, Vahn wrapped his hand around her waist, pulling her close to his body as he stated, "I am a Father, a Master, and a Lover before I am an Emperor. You, of all people, should be aware of this. Dont tell me youve grown bold enough to push me away when Ive already made the decision to stay...?" Having already dedicated her everything to Vahn, in more ways that one, Lakshmibais expression becameplicated when she heard his words. Then,pelled by his silence, she turned her pale-pink eyes up at him, a thinyer of moisture present as she replied, "I would never..." in a sheepish and demure tone. Hearing Lakshmibais response, Vahn allowed a smile to rece his previously solemn expression. It had been a bitcking in spirit but he could feel the sincerity contained within her words. Thus, in an effort to reward her loyalty, he traced his finger across the choker around her neck before lowering his head to steal her lips. This was generally enough to make her forget about everything else and, while there was a brief moment of palpable trepidation, it didnt take long for Lakshmibai to dutifully reciprocate his affections... --- Having heard Vahns words echo in his mind, Sherlock merely issued a thoughtful hum as he pulled out his pipe, this time without lighting it. He knew Vahn wasnt such a thoughtless individual so, after a few seconds of silent rumination, he inly stated, "ya, I know you are listening. If you help me with this task, your Master will be free from interruptions and I will be able to carry out my assigned duty without being forced to dally. In exchange, I will tell you a method to get closer to your Master in the future...what say you?" Though she would normally never appear in front of another person, Vahns order,bined with Sherlocks offer,pelled ya to manifest in her human form. Then, with a cold expression on her face, she stated, "I am unable to forge contracts in my current state. If you want my help, you must provide the information before I offer my assistance. I refuse to trust your words alone..." Sherlock had already anticipated yas response so, without beating around the bush, he gave a small nod before exining, "Its elementary, really. All you have to do is tell him directly what you would like him to do. Though there are limits to this, he will not refuse if you are sincere. If you do this for a long enough period of time, he will be more susceptible to listening to other requests so it is the fastest way for you to achieve your objectives. Im certain you can verify this based on the data you have collected over the past three years." Without having to think about the feasibility of Sherlocks words, ya immediately shook her head, exining, "As I am, it is impossible for me to make such direct requests. All past attempts to directly influence Vahn Mason have resulted in failure. Your advice has no merit-" Before ya could continue, Sherlock caused blue electricity to dance across her body as he lifted his hand, interrupting her to say, "What you have tried in the past has no relevance to the present. It isnt difficult to reason that your past attemptscked sincerity. The next time you are alone with him, you need only express your desire to be treated well and, so long as you state this clearly, he will undoubtedly oblige. So long as you do not try and deceive him, Vahn is a rather simple fellow to get along with..." Hearing Sherlocks exnation, ya remained silent for several long seconds as lines of runes ran across her irises. When they finally faded away, she gave an approving nod before asking, "What is it you require? Know that I cannot take any action that vites the restrictions ced against me." With ya being far more agreeable than before, Sherlock allowed a small yet victorious smile to spread across his lips as he exined, "I am tracking an entity that seemingly does not exist in the physical world. I understand it takes an immense amount of power for you to view all subsequent timelines but, if it is just a singr timeline, I believe you will be able to manage. With that in mind, I would like you to view my future along the current time axis. Tell me, where is the location I am set to investigate in the pursuit of this mysterious entity?" Since Sherlocks request was, in fact, a rtively simple feat, ya briefly closed her eyes, her senses briefly focusing on the annoying Detectives future. Though even this wouldnt be truly urate, as even the act of revealing the future would change it, ya didnt particrly care if the end result was different than what he desired. She had already received the information she required so, even if Sherlock ended up walking to his death, it mattered very little to her. After obtaining the requested information, ya inly stated, "You will appear at coordinates: 41.38514 N, 2.17342 E to investigate five victims within an abandoned warehouse at 20:29:21:08, Coordinated Universal Time." Hearing yas response, Sherlock pulled out an ornate pocket watch which, upon being opened, immediately calibrated to UTC+00:00. With this, he calcted he had approximately seventeen minutes to reach his destination so, after snapping the fob of his watch shut, he gave a polite bow to ya before immediately teleporting outside of Avalon. There, Lilith was obediently waiting for him, now having returned to her secretarial appearance after calming down. Then, without any hesitation, he repeated the coordinates given by ya, intent on pursuing the white-haired girls in the equally white dress... --- With Sherlock departing Avalon, ya no longer bothered to manifest herself within the Transfer Room. Instead, back within Tiamats Marble Phantasm, she turned her eyes up at Vahn, grabbing his wrist with her hands and interrupting his petting. As ya had never proactively stopped him from petting her, Vahn was slightly surprised by her actions, asking, "Did something happen?" in a concerned tone. At the same time, Tiamat cocked her head adorably to the side, the white crosses in her eyes bing more prominent as if to say, Why are you interrupting?, even if her expression didnt change in the slightest. Though it didnt qualify as being alone with him, ya knew this was one of the few chances she would get to actually put Sherlocks advice to the test. Since she had already received permission to move forward, she ignored Vahns question, moving his hand from her head to her chest. Then, in a serious tone, she inly stated, "I want you to do more...I dont like only getting my head pat and my cheeks yed with. I would like you to do more..." Hearing yas confession, Vahn couldnt help but momentarily nk as, from what he could tell, she was actually being sincere. This, however, didnt make a lot of sense to him as he couldnt even begin to fathom what had set her on this course of action. It was obviously rted to Sherlock but, given yas usual behavior, he never expected she would directly converse with, much less fall to the Master Detectives machinations. Still, just as Sherlock had stated, Vahn had very little resistance to women being straightforward and honest about their desires. His Divinity was one reason but, aftering to coexist with ya, to the point he didnt like being separated from her for long periods of time, it was hard to refuse such an earnest request. The soft feeling against his palm didnt make the decision any easier and, if not for the presence of Tiamat, he might have readily epted... Just as Vahn was thinking about how to gently refuse yas request, thetter held his wrist a little tighter and, for a brief moment, she had a fretful look in her eyes. This caused his words to get stuck in his throat. Instead, the next sound toe out of his mouth was a sigh of acquiescence since, for a very long time, he always knew things would eventually develop to this point. ya had be an ever-present fixture in his life so refusing her earnest appeal would cause him to feel awkward and, more than a little, guilty. Thus, despite knowing it wasnt the best course of action, he put a little bit of force into his right hand, his fingers moving skillfully as warm energy flowed from his palm and into her body... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lakshmibai is a good woman,Elementary, dear ya,The world in his left hand, the embodiment of humanitys will to survive in his right...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1385 - Abyss

Chapter 1385 - Abyss

Ever since the copse of modern society, the most prosperous groups, outside of those who quickly acquiesced to the Empire, were the various gangs and religiousmunities. Both typically relied on fearmongering and extreme violence to maintain control over their territories. Thus, if you wanted to avoid bing a victim, the only viable options were to either flee or be an active member of the local gang. Even this didnt guarantee your safety, however, as many regions had bewless wastnds where territorial disputes and squabbles over supplies became increasinglymon. In the early days of the fall, gun violence had reigned supreme over most regions but, with no way to replenish their stock of ammunition, people defaulted to increasingly visceral and medieval methods of violence. As a result, it wasnt umon to see people walking around with tire irons, kitchen knives, baseball bats, golf clubs, and even pieces of driftwood. Most simply hoped to deter attackers but, in an increasing number of cases, these formerly innocuous items became deadly instruments... From atop a rtively colorful building in Barcelona, Spain, a city once reputed for its art and culture, Sherlock silently observed several small groups of people patrolling, many doing their best to avoid each other. He could see that most of them were afraid, fearful of the world and the dark days ahead of them. Their everyday lives were now wrought with uncertainty so, in order to preserve even the most minuscule amount of control over their destiny, they banded together for fear of being alone and isted in an unforgiving world. After exhaling a thin line of smoke from his slightly parted lips, Sherlock, to no particr listener, muttered, "Tis a shame, really...I had never underestimated humanity as a base and barbaric species but, to see them brought low in such a short period of time...I cant help but mourn being born as a human myself. These people join groups in order to resist violence but, by throwing their lot in with one of the very groups perpetuating said violence, they iste themselves from everyone else...such foolish creatures..." Though she knew he hadnt been addressing her, Sherlocks remark elicited a sensuousugh from Lilith, her voice carrying a peculiar echo that stirred the instincts of most men to action. She then wrapped her arms around him from behind, resting her head against his back as she mused, "Even if they were twice as hopeless, you would still do your best for them, wouldnt you~? That is the charm of humanity, really. They are brought into this world without purpose, their lives holding no meaning beyond what they, themselves, have decided. Though easy to manipte, there are always outliers who appear in each generation, distinguishing themselves from the norm and elevating their entire species as a result...they are so full of...potential..." Without minding the soft feeling pressing against his back, Sherlock gave a curt nod in response to Liliths words before cing his pipe into a small container and saying, "Well, shall we get to work, my curiouspanion? The stage is already set, lets not keep the other actors waiting..." --- Hugo had never been fond of violence. Though he was muchrger than other boys his age, more than a head taller than most, he had always been what many refer to as a gentle giant. Before the fall it had been his dream to be a Veterinarian but, now that the world had gone to hell, he had been forced by his cousin, Carlos, to join the local gang in order to protect his family. His only other option had been to flee but, with a sick mother and a younger sister, this had been unthinkable. From the moment he firstid eyes upon his little sister, Hugo felt as if she had been an angel who had blessed their lives with her presence. Though she had lost a bit of this charm as she grew older, he would still do everything in his power to keep her safe. She, nor any child, deserved to suffer in this cold and dark world, a ce where former neighbors, people you had been friendly with for years, turned into people that would readily stab you in the back for a couple of canned goods. Were it up to him, Hugo would have used Gods Light to take all of the children away from this hellish world. Though their families would have been devastated, it was better than forcing them to live in a world and society that had seemingly abandoned them. There was no hope of pursuing a peaceful life any longer as, rather than get better with time, things had only be more chaotic as people became increasingly more familiar with witchcraft and magic. Hugo had been raised as a fervent Catholic thus, while others learned how to start fires with their hands or shoot balls of darkness from their fingertips, he relied on his brute strength and his belief in God to keep him safe. He, like many others, believed this was the onset of the End of Days, the precursor to the War between Heaven and Hell. They had already seen the advent of the Devil so, in anticipation of Christs return, he hardened his heart with each passing day, dreaming of one day seeing the Kingdom of God after the end of these seven years of torment... It was abination of his beliefs, his family, and his nature, that propelled Hugo, upon seeing a little white girl in a strange white dress, to flusteredly whisper, "Hoi! Chico, get out of here! Its not safe to be out on your own like this!" Rather than obey the man nearly twice her size and several times her weight, the little girl cocked her head to the side, aplex expression on her face as she stated, "You should leave this ce. If you are here when the others arrive, something terrible will happen..." Hearing the little girls remark, Hugo looked over his shoulder, his face colored with anxiety and doubt as his cadres voices revealed just how close they were to his position. He had originally left the group to relieve himself so it wouldnt even take them a few seconds to reach the alleyway he was located. When that happened, something terrible might happen to the little girl before him so, fearing for her safety, he made a shooing gesture, hushedly eximing, "Get out of here! Go home, get! Andale! Andale!" With an expression growing increasingly more frustrated with each passing moment, the little girl eventually stamped her feet in response to Hugos insistence, shouting, "You should be the one leaving, you, you dumb idiot! Do you really think its normal to encounter someone like me in the middle of an alleyway like this...!?" Though he somewhat expected the little girl to scream and run away, Hugo never expected her to suddenly shout directly at him. She showed absolutely no fear and, processing her words, he quickly understood she wasnt a normal girl. Despite this, he couldnt just ignore his brotherly instincts so, even as his survival instincts screamed at him to run away, he ultimately snatched up the shouting girl and took off running. One of his fellow gang members had called out when he heard the girls shout so, without thinking, Hugo just ran as fast as his trunk-like legs could take him. Contrary to expectations, the little girl didnt outright resist being carried. Rather, she became almost unnaturally docile, her body turning limp as a chill passed from her body and into his arms. If not for the fact she was ring at him, Hugo would have believed he was holding a corpse, something he had the misfortune of experiencing several times in thest few weeks. This made the little girl seem even more dangerous and, before he knew it, Hugo could feel tears pouring from his eyes as, even if he managed to run away, he didnt really know what to do after this. Seeing the giant-like man suddenly break into tears, the white-haired girl released a frustrated groan before rolling her eyes andmenting, "You really are an idiot..." in a dull tone. Then, before Hugo could respond, a wiry-looking man with anky frame, deeply set eyes, and arge nose cut off his path. From behind, his other threepanions quickly caught up as, while strong, Hugo had never been fleet of foot. With a malicious grin on his mouse-like face, thenky man in front began to tap a rusted machete against his leg as he coldly stated, "Where you going, cabrn? Why you tryna run away and keep the good stuff to yourself? Cmon, ese, hand over the girl and we wont have to tell the boss you tried to run away..." Following the wiry mans words, one of the men behind Hugo was the next to speak up, saying in a cautious tone, "Hoi, Hugo, dont do anything stupid. Come on, man, give up the girl. Think of Carlos and Nina..." Though he was surrounded on all sides, Hugo would never forgive himself if he just abandoned someone he had tried to save. His instincts told him the girl didnt actually need his help but, with her appearance, his nature overwhelmed the voices in his head that told him to run away. Besides, it was already toote to back down now as, even if he gave up the girl, the wiry man, Alonzo, would never let him go. Even if he wasnt the one to do the deed, he would undoubtedly tell their boss what he had done, sealing his fate. Knowing there were no paths forward, Hugo clenched his teeth and resolved to make one. He held the girl a little tighter and, without bothering to respond to the mens words, charged forward with the momentum of a mountain. This caused Alonzo to startle like a cockroach when the lights were turned on but, due to his violent nature, he still managed to swing the machete in his hand. As a result, Hugo got a shallow cut along his left shoulder but, in turn, he barreled through Alonzo like a car crashing through a fruit stall. Unfortunately, though the de of the machete had be dull over the past few weeks, the encrusted blood and other feces it had umted made even small nicks turn into nightmarish wounds when they got infected. Hugo had seen many of Alonzos victims beg for death due to the intense fevers and other detrimental effects so, if he didnt clean his wound soon, he was all but guaranteed to suffer the same fate. Before that, however, he would take his mother and sister to the nearest food distribution center as, even if it was operated by the Devil, they could find shelter there for a short while... Just as Hugo was about to turn the corner and disappear into another alleyway, a thunderous crack range out, followed by an impact, intense pain, and a searing sensation... Hugo knew he had been shot but even this wasnt enough to immediately stop him. Though his knees began to feel weak, his head murky, and his feet like lead, he continued forward; His will to protect his family giving him the strength to continue... As Hugo continued to force himself to take one step after the other, the girl in his arms suddenly released a frustrated sigh. In the very next moment, another thunderous crack echoed through the alleyway they had just departed, this time knocking Hugo off his unsteady feet. At the same time, the girl in his arms broke free, seemingly without any difficulty, avoiding the fate of being crushed under his weight. Then, with a pouting expression on her face, she looked down at him andined, "I might have told you to run away but I never said to take me with you! Really, you are such a stupid fool...!" Hearing the little girlsints, Hugo attempted tough but, after being shot in the lung, the best he could do was issue a pained cough before saying, "Run away...I dont know what you want to do but dont do it...just...run away...please..." Instead of obeying Hugos wishes, the little girl huffed in response to his words before unhesitantly walking toward the group of three men barreling down the alleyway. This caused rm bells to ring in the mens minds but, before they were able to regret their course of action, the girl extended her hand. With this simple action, the darkness in the alleyway became absolute, all light fading away in an instant as inky shadows enveloped the men. For a brief moment, the only thing that could be seen was the icy blue eyes of the girl, zing like ghostly mes within the abyssal ck void that had enveloped the alleyway. Following this, against allmon sense, a toothy grin appeared within the darkness, expanding far beyond the bounds of a persons face. It continued to grow, forming a maw of shark-like teeth that, upon reaching several meters across, opened to reveal a swirly abyss. At the very center of this vortex, a singr eye could be seen staring out, its iris zing with a malicious purple light that far exceeded the illumination of the two ghostly blue eyes floating in the void... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Purpose is something to you give yourself...,A gentle giant,If you gaze into the abyss long enough, you will find yourself, not the observer, but the one being observed~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1386 - Perspective

Chapter 1386 - Perspective

There were some things that the minds of men were simply incapable ofprehending. Though they were given limitless imaginations, allowing them to rationalize even abstract concepts, there were times when they were presented with things they simply couldnt, or instinctually resisted, trying to understand. Such was the case with the massive maw of teeth, the swirling vortex within, the malicious purple eyes, and the absolute darkness that made them doubt whether or not they even existed... The only thing the men knew for certain was the chill that now permeated everything they once believed to be themselves. It was this,bined with an overwhelming sense of dread, that allowed them, at least for the time being, to know they still existed. Whether or not they were still alive was another matter entirely, however, as all other feelings had long-since faded away. Even the passage of time had stagnated to the point where they didnt know whether ten seconds or ten years had passed... Fortunately, just as the maw seemed to close around them, the vortex within shredding them apart in its chaotic tide, a sound simr to ss breaking cut through them like vicious shards. In the next moment, they fell like marites with their strings cut, the light in their eyes having faded almostpletely as the white-haired girl, with furrowed brows, eximed, "Who is it!? You dare interrupt Bettys vengeance...!?" In response to the girls outburst, the rhythmic tapping of a cane could be heard as, from the far end of the alleyway, an inky-haired gentleman wearing a modified Inverness coat appeared. This caused the girl, self-identified as Betty, to glower as she muttered, "You are the one that has been following Betty...a dog of that heartless man..." Hearing the girls biting remark toward Vahn, the man issued a light hum before tapping his cane on the concrete, stating in a polite tone, "As this is our first time meeting, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sherlock Holmes, Master Detective. Though it is not the first time Ive been called a dog, I would rather you address me in a less abrasive manner." As Sherlock introduced himself, several mechanical limbs appeared from within his coat, each ending with a golden magnifying ss adorned withplex runes. This caused the girl to take a few steps back, her expression darkening as she venomously stated, "To think, even someone as famous as you is now nothing more than a dog serving the Empire. Tell me, are you proud of what your Master has done to this world...!?" Ever the gentleman, Sherlock allowed Betty to finish with her outburst before stating in the same casual tone as before, "Ill not deny that things progressed in a rather...regrettable...way. However, I have little to do with the decisions made by our idealistic Emperor. All I seek is the truth in all things. Now, please enlighten me, Miss Betty...if you are so upset by the actions of the Emperor, what, might I ask, gives you the right to pass judgment onto more than fifty men and women? Tell me, why do you always have a sadistic smile on your face when watching them suffer?" Rather than respond to Sherlocks words, Betty clenched her teeth before spontaneously pulling up her skirt, revealing that, unlike the rest of her pure white outfit, she was wearing ckce panties,plete with tiny white ribbons. Though this was noted by Sherlock, his expression didnt change in the slightest. Instead, he waited for several seconds, his open pocket watch ticking loudly in his left hand. Seeing Sherlock unharmed, Bettys expression became darker than ever before as she released the edges of her dress and asked, "Are you a eunuch or something? How can you feel nothing when a woman is exposing herself to you?" Hearing Betty refer to herself as a woman, Sherlock cocked his eyebrow in mild surprise, an action that caused the white-haired girls brows to twitch. Then, to further exacerbate matters, he inly stated, "Youll have to forgive me...Im afraid women of your...stature...dont suit my preferences. Still, I must thank you for confirming my suspicions. Im curious, do you have any actual powers outside of messing with peoples minds? If not...well, Im afraid this will be a little anti-climactic." Incensed by Sherlocks words, Betty hunched over, her hands extended slightly to her sides as she began tough in an eerie kukuku pattern. From beneath her perfectly straight bangs, her blue eyes shimmered with a cold light as she asked, "You think you can defeat me? You, a dog who cant even begin toprehend the truth you seek!? Well, bear witness, Sherlock Holmes, to the endlessness that transcends all things!! You want the truth? Fine! Experience it for all eternity...!" Following Bettys outburst, it felt like the entire world had started to tremble, everything from the ground beneath their feet, the buildings in their surroundings, and even the void itself quaking as a result of the aura radiating from her body. This was enough to change Sherlocks expression to a far more serious one as, contrary to his initial spection, it seemed that Betty did, in fact, possess a considerable amount of power... Before Sherlock could interrupt whatever Betty had nned, thetter began vomiting an endless stream of ck liquid as her previously white hair and dress shifted to a shade of purple akin to an inky ck. At the same time, her dress seemed to be more organic, gaining a hide-like quality as the frills turned into sharp, fang-like protrusions. Even her previously fair skin gained a purple hue while, affected by the encroaching inky-ck liquid, her legs became pitch ck, losing their shape and bing something akin to a mass of darkness... Despite realizing he had erred, Sherlock remainedpletely calm in response to Bettys sudden transformation. Though he couldnt understand exactly how strong she was, he was able to deduce that her power was stillcking inparison to the more monstrous entities associated with the Empire. Thus, while pulling out his pipe and stuffing a pinch of tobo into the end, he muttered, "Lilith, be a dear and help our friend here calm down, will you?" Immediately following Sherlocks words, a sensuous voice, appearing from the voice itself, stated, "As you will, Master~." Then, just as Betty seemed like she was preparing an attack, Lilith, appearing in her true form, appeared right in front of her. This caused Betty to immediately shift the target of her attack but, before she could execute it, Liliths wed hand, covered in sleek ck scales, closed around her neck. In the next moment, they were both propelled toward the sky at hypersonic speed, the buildings in the surroundings copsing due to the force of Liliths leap. Though hisbat potential wasnt exactly low, Sherlock could tell at a nce that Betty was far stronger than him. Leaving her to Lilith was the most efficient course of action so, while they were wreaking havoc within the sky above, he made his way over to the unconscious Hugo. The other men were beyond salvation at this point but, from the very beginning, Betty had gone out of her way to spare the giant of a man. Sherlock wasnt arrogant enough to consider everyone who opposed the Empire as evil. He, like Vahn, epted that the things they were doing werent good, at least from the perspective of humanity. Though humans would undoubtedly prosper under the rule of the Empire in the future, the main purpose behind Vahns actions had been to ensure everyone was allowed to be happy, not just humanity. Thetter had squandered the they lived on, subjugated their own species, and wiped out thousands of others. It would be impossible to create a prosperous world without drastic change so, while most humans hated the Empire, nearly every other race saw Vahn as a ray of hope, a chance to return from the brink of extinction. Still, this meant there would be many people, both good and evil, who opposed the Empires rule. It was easy to see from Bettys modus operandi that she wasnt necessarily a bad person. Rather, most of her victims had been rather vile individuals her predated on others. Her power seemed to trigger in response to wicked thoughts and ill intent so, if you harbored no such intentions toward her, she was effectively powerless...well, at least in her base state... Assuming that Betty was part of the same group that had appeared a month prior, there was a good chance their enemies considered themselves the Heroes trying to save the world. Since this wasnt far from the truth, it created quite the quandary from the Empires perspective as, with Vahns nature, he was unable to go all out against those who, on a fundamental level, were justified in their actions. Because of this, it was up to those who supported Vahn to prevent him from having to interact with these types of people as, if he had to crush Heroes fighting for justice, it would undoubtedly weigh heavily on his heart and mind... While wondering how he ended up with such a paradoxical Master, Sherlock bent down, cing his palm against the unconscious Hugos back, healing him in an instant. At this point, he had mastered every form of Thaumaturgy, at least in theory, so he was able to use nearly every spell that had been recorded within the records of the Empire. His only real weaknesses were hisck of reserves and, as a matter of principle, his unwillingness to fight unless it was absolutely necessary. Fortunately, Lilith had no such principles so, high in the sky above Barcelona, a rather terrifying battle was taking ce between her and an ever-expanding mass of darkness. Despite thetter seemingly having no form at all, it would, at times, appear like a mass of ck flesh with a vortex-like maw filled with vibrant yellow teeth. In the next moment, however, it would look more like a storm cloud, albeit one that moved around and proactively attacked the phantom-like Lilith at every opportunity... Despite the fact that her opponent was growing progressively stronger with time, Lilith was enjoying herself quite a bit. There was still a vast gulf between her and the amalgamation of darkness so, with this being the first time she could cut loose in thousands of years, she wanted to enjoy the moment to the fullest. Thus, rather than try and end it as swiftly as possible, she would periodically form long spears of pure white light, each more than ten meters in length. These caused Betty great pain and, even though the darkness continued to increase in size, Lilith could tell her attacks were eating away at the formers stamina. In a desperate attempt to deal some damage in return, the ck cloud shifted into its more organic form for a brief moment, the end facing Lilith opening to reveal a blood-red vortex filled with row upon row of teeth. At the back of its throat, a furiously luminescent purple eye could be seen and, despite the fact it didnt have anything like an eyelid, it was very easy to tell it was angry. As if to emphasize this, it shot out a purpleser that, despite Liliths best efforts, she was unable to evade. Instead, she used her wings to envelop her own body, protecting herself from the magical attack that cut through the skies, reaching far out into deep space... When the thick beam of purple light faded away, Liliths wings unfurled to reveal her undamaged figure and the seductive smile on her face. She couldnt help but lick her lips in anticipation and, if not for the fact Sherlock was watching her, she wouldnt have been able to resist giving in to her more carnal urges. Since it would be increasingly difficult to hold back, as pain only made her more excited, Lilith decided to bring an end to the fight. She flicked all six of her wings, ascending so quickly it appeared as if she had teleported several thousand meters in an instant. Once she reached the pinnacle of her ascent, a pulse of energy erupted from her body, carrying with it a tremendous force that dispersed all of the surrounding clouds and even affecting the buildings below. Then, shrouded in an aura of purple energy, she descended from the sky with meteoric force, crashing into the mass of darkness and dispersing it in an instant... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Betty. Sherlock is stone-cold xD...,Even Master Detectives arent without faults,Lilith be like, "Harder...(UwU)") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1387 - Unknown

Chapter 1387 - Unknown

With the unconscious Hugo floating behind him, Sherlock made his way over to where Lilith had crashnded after her battle against Betty. There, he found a 30m wide crater, fortunately away from any heavy poption centers. Lilith had enough wherewithal to aim away from pedestrians so, while the battle had done a fair amount of damage to the surroundings, it was infinitely better than what would have happened if they fought on the ground. Seeing Lilith carrying a battered and unconscious Betty with her tail, using it to choke the seemingly young girl, Sherlock showed a rare frown but, instead of rebuking her, he asked, "Is that necessary?" Without a moments hesitation, Lilith immediately nodded her head, exining, "That thing inside of her needs to be sealed away. Even if her unconscious state, it would still be able to take control of her body. If I let go of her or gave her any leeway to move freely, I imagine she will run away before we are able to get our answers." Understanding Liliths concerns, as Bettycked an actual corporeal form, Sherlock just nodded his head before stating, "Wrap your tail around her body, rather than her neck. Restricting her arms is certainly better than walking around dangling her by the neck..." Though she didntpletely agree with his assessment, as it was far safer to have the option to crush Bettys neck at a moments notice, Lilith never refused the orders of her Master. Thus, with a number flick of her tail, she tossed Bettys unconscious body before catching it, this time around the body instead of the neck. To make sure she wouldnt wake any time soon, however, she put in a little more force than was absolutely necessary, causing a quiet cracking sound while forcing the air out of Bettys lungs. Sherlock lightly shook his head upon seeing Liliths actions but, despite his own misgivings on the matter, he wouldnt intervene. He had already underestimated Betty once, so, until he knew what it was that had been sealed inside her body, he couldnt afford to show her much leniency. She was a very serious threat and, if his spection proved truth, she only existed when people were actively perceiving her. If she was able to escape, capturing her a second time would prove inordinately more difficult... What Sherlock couldnt understand, at least for now, was why Betty had been allowed to freely roam, seemingly without purpose. Her words implied her association with the group that had appeared the previous month but, as they had yet to directly appear, it didnt make sense for them to let a childish girl wander around freely. The only rational exnation was that she was intended as nothing more than a distraction but, with the way Bettys ability manifested, this didnt seem likely. This meant they were either trying to get a feel for the Empires ability to monitor the or, in the most troubling of cases, Betty was meant to serve as bait to draw them out... Seeing as how nobody had appeared, even after the battle hadpleted, Sherlock reasoned that her allies were eitherte or, despite his instincts telling him this wasnt the case, they really were just trying to get a feel for the Empires observationwork. Assuming this was the truth, it implied that, despiteing from the future, their enemies were unaware of Chaldea. At the same time, however, this entire plot could just be a means to get one of their people inside an Imperial facility as, if at any point they stopped observing Betty, there was a very good chance she would escape... Since there was no way of knowing to whole truth through mere spection, Sherlock needed to gain more information. Betty herself could be a treasure trove but, with that darkness inside of her, it wasnt exactly safe to try and probe her mind. Thus, taking advantage of his unique Skills, Sherlock pulled out a pocket journal and began writing his hypothesis within. He could instinctually determine whether or not his spection was urate from writing it down but, as he enjoyed mental puzzles, it was rarely his go-to method. Though it spoiled the game quite a bit, Sherlock discovered that all of his guesses were urate, at least to an extent. This implied his enemy severelycked information but, considering the fact they had hidden away for more than a month, this wasnt exactly news. What bothered him was the fact that Betty was meant to be used as bait but, despite several minutes having passed, neither he nor Lilith had sensed anyone. Pulling out his pocket watch, Sherlock checked the time, finding it close to 21:00UTC. If they didnt show up before then, he would be forced to escort Betty to one of their extraction sites toe up with a method to monitor and contain her. Da Vinci would undoubtedlye up with a solution in the near future but, until such a time, it was his responsibility to prevent her from wandering freely... With time passing uneventfully, Sherlock snapped his watch shut before saying, "Well take these two to one of the As Temples facilities. Can you teleport with her in tow? It would be unfortunate if she was able to escape the moment we try to move her." Hearing her Masters question, Lilith issued her characteristic giggle before unabashedly iming, "Worry not, my Master. This girls power isnt directly rted to Space. I dont quite understand it but, so long as she is bound by my tail, her powers are effectively sealed~." With Liliths assurance, Sherlock waited for another three minutes before giving her permission to teleport them. Though it was somewhat disappointing that their other enemies hadnt revealed themselves, it at least provided him with more information. After all, if Betty was intended to be used as bait, yet her allies failed to appear, this meant they were either ipetent or, after seeing Liliths powers, decided against intervening. Just as this thought crossed his mind, Sherlock noticed something that caused his expression to turn dour in an instant. The moment Lilith initiated her teleport, Bettys figure vanished in the blink of an eye. In the next moment, they were outside one of the As Temples sites, bereft of the young girl they had put so much effort into capturing... --- From within a dark, dreary, and unnaturally moist room, a man with a long face, dour expression, and pitch-ck eyes sat hunched over a writing desk. The shadows in the room seemed to coil about in an unnatural way and, despite being in the middle of a forest, the room rocked about, much like the cabin of a ship. There was a heavy odor of salt on the air and, from the roof, murky water droplets persistently dripped onto the barnacle and moss-ridden floor. At the moment of Bettys disappearance, the mans pen, an ornate instrument carved from a strange ck bone, came to a stop. Immediately after, the once-dark room became a perfectly normal, well-lit and cozy, cabin. Rather than a single gasntern to light the entire room, there was a fire crackling in the nearby firece and, if not for the persistent odor of salt and fish, it would be impossible to associate this rather homely dwelling with the deste scene moments prior. Despite the change in his surroundings, the long-faced mans expression hadnt changed in the slightest, his eyes seemingly staring at something in the distance, far beyond what normal people could perceive. It was almost as if his expression had been frozen in time as, even after rising to his feet and staring directly at the firece, he never blinked. Instead, the mes flickered in his eyes for several minutes before he picked up the book he had been writing in, a strange leather-bound book with ckened hide stitched together on both covers. Unlike a normal book, the one in the mans hands was covered in various runes and, despite how the surfaces seemed smooth at a nce, closer inspection revealed an intricate pattern that seemed to writhe about unnaturally. The longer you stared at it, the more it would seem to move about and, if you listened closely, even the sounds of breathing could be heard emanating from within... Hugging the book to his chest as if he were afraid to lose it, the man walked to the closed door of his cabin. Once there, he just stared nkly for several seconds as previously invisible runes slowly came into view, each flickering with orange light, much like a me. This phenomenon eventually expanded to cover the entire room, revealing tens of thousands of seals that had been put in ce throughout the rtively small cabin. Once the orange light faded away, the sound of several locks being removed could be heard on the other side of the door which, unlike normal rooms, locked from the outside. It was only after fifteen locks had been removed that the door finally opened, revealing a white-haired girl in a pure white dress. At a nce, this girl looked exactly like the Betty that had been captured by Lilith but, rather than ghostly blue eyes, she had pale-red irises that seemed to absorb, rather than reflect, light. Though his expression somehow looked even dourer, as a result, the long-faced man smiled at the young girl before reaching out his hand to pat her head. At the same time, a shaggy-haired man, nearly hidden behind a mountain of books and documents, peered over to ask in azy tone, "How did it go? Were you able to lure out anyone interesting?" Hearing the question directed toward him, the long-faced man looked directly at the shaggy-haired man, his ck eyes somehow bing even darker as he solemnly stated, "Sherlock Holmes and a demonic woman named Lilith. Thetter was able to defeat the darkness...she is a true monster..." As if he had fully expected such a response, the shaggy-haired man just gave azy nod before turning back to his own work and saying, "Take it easy for a couple of days. Well let them stress out trying to figure out what happened. If that man is truly Sherlock Holmes, he wont be able to let this mattery. Once things settle down, well draw him into a moreprehensive trap..." Since he had been writing almost non-stop for the past five days, the long-faced gave a solemn nod in response before reaching out his hand to the white-haired girl, asking, "Will you read me another story...something pleasant?" Though her expression didnt change in the slightest, the doll-like girl readily grabbed the mans hand with her own, answering in a soft and delicate tone, "Of course. You have worked hard. It would make me happy to read for you." Hearing the white-haired girls reply, the long-faced man released a sigh of relief. Though he hadnt expected her to refuse, it wasforting how quickly she agreed to his request. Her stories were like a ray of sunshine, brightening his dreary existence. Until he was once again forced to delve back into the dark abyss, he wanted to experience her light for as long as possible. It gave him something to hold onto when the darkness threatened to im what little remained of his sanity so, despite being the elder between them, the man allowed himself to be pulled along by the girl. He was like an old and weary seafaring vessel being guided through a port by a tiny, yet steadfast, tugboat... (A/N: This will probably be the only chapter today. My housemate brought the sickness into our apartment once again.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1388 - Significance

Chapter 1388 - Significance

With nothing to distract him, Vahn ended up spending several hours at Lakshmibais side, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere of the forest clearing. Though they kissed and cuddled a fair amount, their time together was mainly spent feeding each other delicious morsels of food and just talking. Vahn always enjoyed moments like this as, while it was certainly enjoyable to have sex all the time, even he would begin to feel something was wrong if that was the only way he spent time with his women. Fortunately, while Lakshmibai had be a very open woman, one who enjoyed sex a little bit too much, she fundamentallycked the ability to take the lead. She always allowed him to take the lead so, unless he told her to do something, there was little chance of things spiraling out of control like when he was with Nobunaga or someone like Ishtar. These two, in particr, were rather notorious for leading things toward sex but, considering one was a prideful conqueror, while the other was a literal Goddess of Sex, this wasnt all that unexpected. Things like that made moments like this all the more important so, while it was somewhat tainted by his petting parade with ya and Tiamat, Vahn enjoyed just lounging about. There was something soul-cleansing about being able to use a beautiful womans plump thighs as a cushion while having her hand-feed him grapes. Better yet, however, was when their roles were reversed as, in stark to his calm and rxed demeanor, Lakshmibai became extremely bashful when doted upon... If not for yas ill-timed request, Vahn would have been able to enjoy this peaceful moment to the fullest. Though he would be lying if he said he wasnt enjoying what was happening on both ends, it was also extremely awkward due to his past inhibitions and the presence of Tiamat. Thettercked an Ego of her own but that did little to stop her from emting ya. She also had the instincts of a Primordial Goddess of Creation so, from the moment his petting devolved beyond a simple disy of affection, the white crosses in her eyes gained a pink color. Now, Vahn had to deal with a bound woman affectionately rubbing against him while ya, a stark contrast to how she would react to simr touches in the past, straddled his right leg while releasing heated gasps. It was honestly a little perturbing as, even when he went all out previously, she would show virtually no reaction whatsoever. This implied she was allowing herself to be influenced by his touches and, while it was certainly interesting, Vahn couldnt help but feel fretful as the blue-skinned beauty rubbed her lower body along his thigh. Though she stillcked a sexual organ, there was still a palpable warmth, a characteristic squishiness, and, against all logic, gradually increasing moisture. Truthfully, Vahn was very interested in the peculiarities of yas body but, as her behavior was far removed from how she normally acted, he found it difficult to take advantage of the situation. Part of him still had considerable inhibitions toward her and, knowing how potent her affection was, he restrained his growing urges for fear of how she would behave in the future. Based on how far she was taking things after his earlier acquiescence, it was clear that ya would need clear direction in the future or she might even be worse than Hestia had been at the onset of their rtionship... Just as Vahn was thinking about how best to restrain yas overbearing affection in the future, the woman in question surprised him by suddenly resting her head against his chest, her body trembling madly as a phenomenal amount of liquid covered his leg. He didnt have to ask to understand what had happened but, seeing yas pale-blue body be slightly translucent, Vahn couldnt help but ask, "Are you okay...?" in a concerned tone. Before ya could answer his question, Vahn found himself at aplete loss for words as, while ya continued to lean against him, Tiamats eyes brightened considerably. At the same time, her water-like hair coiled around his leg and yas lower body, intermixing with the fluids produced by thetter. Her hair was cool and pleasant to the touch but, knowing Tiamat was basically absorbing yas bodily fluids, all while licking his neck with her impossibly long tongue, he didnt really know how to feel about the current situation... Lending to Vahns incredulity even further, Tiamat didnt seempletely satisfied with what she had obtained from ya so, after clearing the evidence, her hair began to coil around thetters thighs. This was enough to apparently return ya to her senses as, with a re reminiscent of how one would view their mortal enemy, she looked toward Tiamat and firmly stated, "Stop." Like someone who had received a severe shock, Tiamat immediately bounced away from Vahns body, flying back several tens of meters in an instant. The white crosses in her eyes had turned red in an instant and, rather than flowing gently from her scalp, her hair now rolled chaotically like the sea during a storm. Then, much to Vahns surprise, Tiamat freed her right arm from its constraints, her hand forming into a vicious w covered in ck scales as she bared her shark-like teeth at ya... As interesting as a battle between two Tier 5 entities would be, Vahn knew Tiamat fundamentallycked the ability to hold back. Thus, before things could get out of hand, he repeated yas words, stating, "Stop." in amanding tone. This caused the red-hue to Tiamats eyes to fade away in an instant, her hair regaining its usual calm state. She even returned her hand to its previous position, despite the chains no longer binding it in ce, seemingly incapable of realizing she had broken free in the first ce. With Tiamat temporarily pacified, Vahn released a sigh of relief before habitually cing his hand on yas head and saying, "You should calm down as well. You know better than most that Tiamat has no control over her actions. Come, unless you want things to revert to how they were, you should try and make up with her..." Hearing Vahns words, ya, for the first time in her long existence, wanted to scream. She wanted to point out that Tiamat was just an empty shell, incapable of emotions and fundamentally unable to evenprehend what an apology was. However, after observing Vahn for more than three years, she knew these types of arguments werepletely useless against him. She also couldnt ignore his orders so, while it made her feel more frustrated than she even thought possible, ya floated over to Tiamat and obediently apologized... Vahn was actually aware of yas frustration but, as this was a chance for both of them to grow, he pushed her to make amends. Though it could backfire on him in the near future, Vahn was confident in his ability to pacify ya, even if she somehow became vengeful. He just needed to treat her well in the future as, with her bing increasingly more honest with her emotion, it was only a matter of time before their rtionship became something more genuine. He had seen her develop from an emotionless being to an adorable woman with a propensity to pouting so, if he put a serious effort into guiding her, it wouldnt be that difficult to stabilize her mentality. With this in mind, Vahn surprised ya considerably by cing a simple kiss on her forehead after she returned to his side. Then, while guiding her over to Tiamat with his hand on her hip, he smiled affectionately and said, "Thanks. I know it isnt easy for you." This was enough to cause yas face to transition from pouting to confusion and introspection. He could lines of data-like runes flickering across her irises, evidence that she was eithermunicating with Akasha or putting a lot of effort into processing something... While ya was distracted with her own thoughts, Vahn unabashedly grabbed Tiamats right hand, pulling it away from her neck. This caused her to tilt her head to the side, her mouth parting slightly as an Owaaa... escaped her lips. She then began to wiggle around her fingers with a smile on her face, seemingly just now realizing her hand was freed from its shackles. Seeing Tiamats innocent reaction, Vahn couldnt help but smile before asking, "Can you free your other limbs now? Go ahead and give it a try..." In the past, Tiamats chains had proven impossible for even Okitas [Purgatory Sword] to break so it was quite a surprise when he saw how easily she pulled her hand free. He had tried to have her do so in the past but, after struggling for several hours, the ancient golden chains hadnt budged in the slightest. This meant that Tiamat was growing progressing stronger with time and, while this wasnt exactly a surprise, Vahn was hopeful she would develop an Ego in the near future. As she waspelled to follow the orders she had been given, Tiamat wasted no time in trying to break free from her restraints. Since most of the chains binding her right hand had also bound her left, it didnt take much effort for her to liberate both hands. Her legs, however, proved far more difficult and, even after generating enough power to cause the void to tremble around her, they remained unmoved. Since the bindings of Tiamats legs were far moreprehensive than the ones on her arms, Vahn wasnt surprised she was unable to break them. Thus, before she could destroy the surrounding space with her raw power alone, he ced his hand on her head, softly ordering, "That is enough. You did well, Tiamat." Hearing Vahns words, Tiamat immediately stopped exerting her power and, in response to having her head caressed, a happy smile spread across her face. She might not realize emotions in the same way as others but, with her instincts still intact, Tiamat was still capable of understanding things like happiness. This was one of the reasons why Vahn couldnt give up on beings like her, Skoll, and even ya as, in the grand scheme of things, patience, understanding, and a basic appreciation for life were all that was needed to nurture a nascent Ego... One of the things Vahn would never understand is how many people, for no clear reason, looked down upon others. This wasnt just unique to humans, either, as all sapient species seemed to have this trait. Even more nonsensical was the fact that, if theycked a group to oppress, they turned against their own race, creating social and ss divides in order to elevate the few over the many. In truth, Vahn knew it was the influence of Karma and various Laws that led to this phenomenon but, as the peoplemitting these atrocities rarely took this into ount, it seemed senseless. Knowing he would have to contend against these forces for the rest of eternity, Vahn couldnt help feeling just a little helpless. Though this wasnt enough to deter him from the path he had chosen, as there was simply too much at stake, it was evidence of the fact he still had a long way to go, both as a God of Creation and Destruction... Eventually, a time woulde where Vahn became one of the things he hated the most, a passive entity that allowed evil to exist as a matter of course. He knew, the more he intervened, the harder it would be to secure his own happiness. Thus, at some point in the distant future, he would ultimately have to remove himself from the equation, bing the lynchpin of a reality where atrocities may very well bemitted in his name. In the past, Vahn had never even considered this but, as his power and responsibilities continued to increase, he began to understand the perspective of Gods and higher-tiered entities. He was slowly beginning to understand the futility of taking proactive action as, with such vast disparities in power, the matters of mortals became increasingly more mundane and insignificant. Though it would likely take him thousands of years to reach the point where he stopped caringpletely, Vahn resolved to never turn a blind eye to senseless oppression. Even if he had to be a literal God of Order, it was one of the things he would neverpromise on... (A/N: I am still very sick. Pray for me xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1389 - Insight

Chapter 1389 - Insight

As much as he would like to just lounge about all day, Vahn was often a very busy Emperor. He still needed to make his usual rounds so, while dealing with Tiamat and ya, he escorted Lakshmibai back to the castle. There, before parting ways, the two embraced for a considerable amount of time, Vahns hands wandering to Lakshmibais pert and plump posterior as she tip-toed to kiss him more easily. Since he knew she would most likely be returning to her training, Vahn didnt want to rile Lakshmibai up too much so, after several minutes of cat and mouse between their tongues, he set her down and whispered, "It would make me happy if you were to join me this evening..." Hearing Vahns invitation, Lakshmibais face became suffused with a ruddy hue, a radiant smile spreading across her face as she readily nodded her head and answered, "Ill be there. I wouldnt miss it for the world..." Finding Lakshmibais response to his liking, Vahn grabbed both sides of the beautiful womans face before giving her one final, passionate, kiss. When they finally parted, a thread of saliva connected their lips for a brief moment before finally breaking as Lakshmibai licked her lips. Then, to send her on her way, Vahn gave her rump a light smack, knowing full well how much she enjoyed such things. --- Shortly after his parting with Lakshmibai, Vahn emerged from Tiamats Marble Phantasm with ya, once again, returning to her usual perch. She needed a phenomenal amount of Magical Energy to carry out his orders so, even if their rtionship had changed considerably over thest few hours, there were some things that remained the same... Since he had already started to make the rounds with his other body, starting with a visit to Aokos sister, Vahns first order of business was finding out more about Sherlocks recent visit. With this in mind, he had ya fill him in on most of the details while heading toward his and Da Vincis shared Workshop. At this point, it would be more urate to refer to the Workshop as Da Vincis and Sophias but, as he still worked there when he had the opportunity, Vahn wasnt willing to relinquish his im just yet. Yes, Sophia had basically coopted his stations as her own but, as this just gave him an excuse to work alongside her, Vahn upheld the illusion he was still a permanant fixture within the progressively more futuristic Workshop... Every time Vahn visited the Workshop, there was always something new and exciting to discover but, this time around, a very different scene awaited him upon his entry into the climate-controlled room. There, he found Da Vinci nestled into a sleek semi-hemispherical chair that, much like Sophias usual crafts, floated off the ground using gravitational stabilizers. What was truly surprising about the scene wasnt the fact Da Vinci was sitting in the chair but, rather, it was the fact Sophia was cuddled up against her that took Vahns breath away. He rarely saw them having normal mother-daughter interactions so, for a brief moment, Vahn felt as if he had interloped onto something sacred, his presence tainting an otherwise pure moment. Since there was no way to enter the Workshop without Da Vincis notice, thetter partially opened her right eye, staring at Vahn with a knowing smile on her face. Despite this, she didnt say anything and, instead, kept gently stroking Sophias back. Then, a few secondster, a second Da Vinci poked her head out from the adjacent corridor, gesturing for Vahn to follow. As the soundproofing and security of the Workshop were the best in the entire Ivory Castle, simply closing a door made it virtually impossible to hear what was on the other side. Thus, after entering into the corridor connecting to the sleeping quarters and Da Vincis primaryboratory, Vahn issued an apologetic smile as he muttered, "Its good to see the two of you getting along. Ive been worried you are overworking yourselves these days..." Seemingly finding his words amusing, Da Vinciughed in her usual elegant manner, her hand covering her mouth like a noblewoman. Afterward, her eyes fluttered yfully as she mused, "We actually spend most of our time together, you know~? Even if were not standing over each others shoulders twenty-four-seven, just working in the same space brings us closer. Now,e along, I have some things to show you." Since he knew from personal experience how truthful Da Vincis words were, Vahn gave a small nod in response before dutifully following along and finding himself in the familiar chamber that housed Ark, Mother, and Shadow... Without even needing to inform Da Vinci as to the reason behind his visit, she led him over to Arks primary disy, tapping a few runic icons as a three-dimensional projection of a young boy waved in the corner of the screen. This was the Avatar that Ark had chosen for itself so, knowing it could see his reactions, Vahn waved in turn, smiling at the blue-haired boy wearing sagely garb. Seeing the interaction between the two, Da Vinci issued a sonorous giggle before lightly poking Ark with a stylus and saying, "Ark, be a dear and run the simtion ording to these parameters. Feel free to use the Environmental Projection Medium if necessary~." After lightly rubbing his side, where Da Vinci had poked him with her stylus, Ark then performed a courteous bow as theboratory spontaneously changed appearance, turning from a futuristic room filled with various pieces of technology to a small alleyway in an instant. Though she couldnt even remotely emte the full effects of Vahns domain, Da Vinci had made a fair amount of headway in developing a device that effectively mapped a persons surroundings. This was carried by people like Sherlock, Kenshin, and Scthach when they went out on away missions. As a result, they could yback events with extreme rity, so long as the person operating the device was still conscious. As a result of Da Vincis iprehensible brilliance, Vahn was able to witness Sherlocks encounter with the enigmatic Betty in high-definition. After all, the device was directly connected to a persons senses so, with Sherlocks observational prowess, even granules of dirt and the texture of clothing was visible within the simtion. He wasnt the type to overlook even the most minute details so you could even find rats skulking around behind dumpsters or maggots festering within the sizeable piles of trash... After observing the simtion from start to finish, including the moment where Betty had vanished into thin air, Vahn asked, "What did Sherlock say about all of this? He must have developed a theory by now, correct?" Though he didnt spend too much time with Sherlock, Vahn had the distinct impression he wasnt the type to rx in the middle of a case. Since even he coulde up with a few working theories, it was all but guaranteed that Sherlock had eithere up with the actual answer or, at the very least, close to it. Da Vinci, having already anticipated Vahns follow-up question, tapped one of the runes on the screen and, in response, an image of Sherlock was projected on the monitor, exining, "My initial deduction, while not wrong, wasnt entirely urate. This entity, Betty, seems to be the product of another. They seem to have the ability to alter the perception of select individuals, manifesting the entity known as Betty virtually anywhere. From what has been observed, it can be deduced that the Betty we see is not actually a real person and, as soon as her connection to the source is cut, she will cease to be until manifested elsewhere." Hearing Sherlocks exnation, Vahn couldnt help but frown as, even if Betty had just been some kind of unique Daemon that affected peoples minds, she would have been exceptionally dangerous. Now, it turned out that she likely wasnt even real, just the projection of someone elses ability, one that could, albeit to a limited extent, alter reality. This meant, even if they destroyed Betty, she would never be defeated as, without eliminating the person who was manifesting her, there was no limit to the number of times she could be formed... Fortunately, as Vahn suspected, Sherlock already had a working theory, confidently stating, "Based on the evidence, it is possible to make deductions regarding the person behind Betty. After all, there are very few noteworthy examples of innocent girls turning into eldritch horrors that can also directly affect the minds of men and women. Though the likelihood is only around 87%, it is safe to assume Betty is the creation of a Heroic Spirit intrinsically rted to Lovecraftian Mythos, specifically Howard Phillips Lovecraft or Lin Carter. The former is far more likely but, given how Betty referred to herself as The Darkness, thetters association cannot bepletely ignored." Since Vahn had spent a considerable amount of time with Azathoth, he was very familiar with H. P. Lovecraft and his association with the Outer Gods. The man basically had an Innate that allowed him to peer directly into the Dimension of the Outer Gods through his dreams, linking together with the original Azathoth to experience the horrors of the Universe thetter had created. Thus, even before Sherlock had pointed it out, Vahn had already made the assumption that H. P. Lovecraft was the man behind the enigmatic existence known as Betty. The problem was, without knowing where Lovecraft was hiding, it was virtually impossible to stop him from manifesting Betty or, as Sherlock pointed out, The Darkness. Fortunately, their enemies had the mentality of Heroes so, even if left alone, Betty wasnt a genuine threat to the Empire. Rather, if not for the horrible state she left people in, Vahn would have ordered Sherlock to focus his efforts on other things. After all, every time something bad happened, the Empire would automatically take the me for it. They couldnt just let someone go around leaving behind immortal corpses to suffer for all eternity... With this in mind, Vahn preempted what Sherlock was about to say, stating, "The next time Betty, or something simr, manifests, I will deal with it personally. I imagine they willy low for a short while so, when something happens, please notify me...also, thanks for all of your hard work." Hearing Vahns remark, Sherlocks smile widened almost imperceptibly but, rather than agree, he politely stated, "As much as possible, I will resolve this matter myself. I will not rest until I track down the true culprit and expose them directly. Your Majestys consideration is appreciated but there are other matters that require your attention. You can leave this to myself and Lilith. Worry not, however, as we will keep you informed as things continue to develop." Understanding that Sherlock was a rather prideful individual, Vahn elected not to press the man too much. After all, he had already taken Lilith off his hands and, though he was never ordered to do so, he even proactively traveled around the world to solve cases. Interfering at this point would be the same as saying he had lost faith in Sherlocks abilities thus, at least for the time being, Vahn gave an understanding nod, stating, "Ill leave in your capable hands. If there is anything you need in order toplete your investigation, inform me immediately." As if he had been waiting for those exact words, Sherlock showed a rare, genuine, smile as he readily stated, "If it is not an inconvenience to His Majesty, please consider summoning my assistant, John Hamish Watson, in the near future. While I do rather enjoy thepanionship of Madam Lilith, Im certain you can understand the need to have a male confidant..." Hearing Sherlocks request, Vahn was tempted tough aloud but, keeping his image in mind, he just gave an understanding nod, saying, "Ill see to itter today. Since its been a while, we can all go out and have a few drinks while you get your partner caught up to speed. Im certain everyone can use a break after thisst month." Since it would be improper to refuse a direct invitation, Sherlock graciously epted Vahns offer as, while he wasnt exactlyining, being away from Lilith for a few hours would, indeed, be nice... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lakshmibai likes it rough o3o...,Da Vinci saw Detective Pikachu...,Who would have thought that Lilith, Queen of the Subi, would be a handful~?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1390 - Drama

Chapter 1390 - Drama

Meeting expectations, another month had gone by without any appearance from the elusive Betty. This indicated that her creator was either being extra cautious, taking measures to avoid leaving any evidence whatsoever, or, as was far more likely, they were involved with something going on behind the scenes. At this point, it was all but guaranteed that their enemies were hidden away within a sub texture as none of the probes they had sent to observe the various Bounded Fields on the Surface had noticed any abnormalities. Though it was possible they had ventured inside one of them without notice, the fact two months had passed without a single sign of them indicated this was not the case. Without any leads, other than the ones Sherlock fabricated using his uniquebination of Skills and Innates, the Empire had no choice but to focus on more pertinent issues. They couldnt keep waiting around for the enemy to attack so, in preparation for whatever would be thrown at them, Vahn had been making use of the Throne of Heroes to a borderline gross extent. With the exceptions of Sir Agravain and Sir Kay, all of the former Knights of the Round Table had now been summoned. Vahn had taken into consideration the fact he would be establishing the European Supercolony first so, with the majority of Heroic Spirits being more powerful within their homnd, it was a good opportunity to get things out of the way. As a result, they learned that Sir Agravain and Sir Kay were technically both still alive but, considering Add possessed a fraction of thetters spirit, this wasnt particrly a surprise. Following the summoning of the Knights of the Round Table, Vahn figured he might as well go for plete sets, much like a collector of various goods. He would need a phenomenally powerful force to contend against the Gods and police the entire so, with Astolfo already existing as a central figure within the Empire, Vahn opted to summon the Pdins of Charlemagne, sans the infamous Emperor himself. Though Vahn had been tempted to summon Charlemagne, Astolfo and the then-summoned Rnd had convinced him otherwise. ording to them, Charlemagne was a benevolent ruler but, as could be expected for someone of his era, he had been a principal follower of the Roman Catholic Church. He had even been christened as the Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope, giving him the divine right to rule over the known world. In other words, Charlemagne was a religious zealot of the highest order and, while many had called him just, history had always been written by the victors of conquests. Since even Rnd, the leader of the Pdins of Charlemagne, was against summoning his former lord, Vahn knew better than to give in to his curiosity. This was only emphasized even more when he summoned the sibling duo of Bradamante and Rinaldo, cousins of Rnd and Astolfo. The former had been someone ardently loyal to Charlemange but, given a choice in the matter, she would rather he be left to rest. By the time Vahn had summoned half of the Twelve Pdins, any thoughts he had of summoning Charlemagne had been swept aside. Thest thing he needed was a religious zealot to unify the scattered followers of the Roman Catholic Church, reviving the functionally pointless organization despite the proven existence of ya. Charlemagne was a man who had received everything from God so, upon being summoned into the present, it was all but guaranteed that he would turn against the Empire that had, for all intents and purposes, destroyed the Roman Catholic Church. This would make things difficult for the former Pdins so, rather than sew discord in his own Empire, Vahn decided to simply avoid summoning him. The fact Charlemagne had Skills like [Gods Resolution], [Holy King], [Great Emperor Privilege], and [Ceremonial Reformation] further cemented this idea... --- As could be expected from summoningrge groups of rted people, there was a bit of drama within the Empire but, as this just made things livelier, Vahn didnt particrly mind. Truthfully, he was just d that people like Bradamante werent pining to gain ess to the Inner Sanctum. In fact, she seemed to have a particr fondness for her cousin, Astolfo, so Vahn had been able to see the pink-haired Knight running all over the ind in order to escape the rather violent twin-tailed tsundere. Other than moments like that, the only real drama had been a result of the former divide between the Knights of the Round Table but, as the present had nothing to do with events from more than fifteen hundred years ago, things settled down pretty quickly. It helped that Gareth had been one of the first to be summoned as it was her death,bined with Artorias handling of things, that caused the original split. Though Gaheris couldntpletely forgive Lancelot for what he had done, the fact Gawain and Gareth had forgiven the former Knight of the Lake went a long way towards rebuilding trust between them... In truth, most of the actual drama within the Empire was rted to Vahn and the Inner Sanctum so, for reasons he couldnt quite put into words, it was nice to see other people experiencing a bit of drama. It always made for pleasant conversation while they were all drinking together and, though it was impossible topletely bridge the divide between them, Vahn felt closer to his malepanions when they had troubles of their own to talk about. It had be increasingly more difficult to talk about his own so it meant a lot that they trusted him enough to bare their hearts to him, at least while intoxicated... It was no secret that, while his position was enviable, none of the men who knew of Vahns affairs would ever willingly trade ces with him. The only two people who could truly empathize with him were Ozymandias and Alexander but, whilst they had both harbored harems of more than a hundred people, the difference in status had ensured things never became an issue. Alexander, in particr, could go months or years at a time without even caring about some of the women in his harem so, while the number eclipsed Vahns, the effort they put in was iparable. To make matters even worse, Vahns harem had be increasingly more convoluted with the passage of time. At times, it even felt like there were no real restrictions limiting its growth as, a few weeks after he first had sex with Illya, Iris, too, had shared his bed. Just recently, he had even made love to Nero, an affair that hadsted nearly thirty hours due to her sheer unwillingness to admit defeat. Now, the only real harem candidates he had yet to do the deed with were Jeanne, Okita, Medea, Semiramis, and, for entirely different reasons, Medusa. Vahn still held some small hope that girls like Jeanne and Okita would find love elsewhere but, as he never really did anything to push them away, it was, truthfully, only a matter of time. The same could be said for Medea but, as she had be very close with Medusa, there was little chance of her taking the initiative before her friend. Vahn was pretty sure they had even made a promise with each other to that extent so, once Medusa was finally ready to advance their rtionship, it was all but guaranteed that Medea would follow suit. Now, the only thing Vahn could really hope for was that Mash, Zo?, and Juliet wouldnt fall for his charms. If they followed the example of Astrid, that would be for the best as, much like he had towards Tina, Vahn felt extremely awkward having basically reared them as his surrogate children, only for them to fall in love with him as a result. He wanted them to be happy and, while he would do his best to help them find that happiness, it would be healthier if they found it outside of his bed-chamber. Fortunately, Mash had been getting along exceptionally well with Richard and, though it was more than a little troubling, Sakura had privately told him about her crush on Ghad. This hadnt exactlye as a surprise but, knowing she had enough trust in him to openly admit her feelings, Vahn felt both gratified and fretful at the same time. Ultimately, however, the former won out, so, after a very long heart-to-heart conversation, Vahn basically told Sakura that she was free to love, so long as she took the necessary considerations, chiefly her age, into ount. Though he would never allow his children to be in a toxic or exploitative rtionship, Vahn had already made the decision to never interfere with their love lives. Even if they made a mistake, this was part of the growing process and, so long as it wasnt associated with a tragedy, he wouldnt even punish the men or women that had broken his childrens hearts. After all, he wasnt exactly a paragon of virtue when it came to rtionships so, to prevent needless rebellion, Vahn tried to be as understanding as possible when it came to his childrens problems. He would rather theye to him seeking advice and counsel rather than try to keep something a secret as, after the incident with future Tina, Vahn had learned a very hard lesson aboutmunication... In the grand scheme of things, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that he, and many of his children, would live forever. Any number of things could happen in that time so, rather than drive a wedge between them in the first few decades of their life, Vahn wanted to establish himself as someone they could trust when things didnt go their way. He would never proactively spoil them but, when it came to the things they needed, he would always be there to provide for them. This was one of his most important duties as a father and, though it was more painful than he imagined, Vahn was able to bear the peculiar heartbreak associated with having your children grow up, a supportive smile on his face throughout... Soon enough, this would be a very important skill to possess as, with Isanna and Naavi both having already matured, there was a very real chance he would be tested in the near future. After all, Isanna was a troublingly promiscuous girl and, now that her appearance was almost the same as her mother, it was all but guaranteed something would happen. She even floated around in her raiment most of the time now and, though her pseudo-Divinity rted to Love had actually decreased from 95% to 88%, Vahn had the distinct impression this was due to the nature of the Divinity changing. If things continued to develop as they were, it wasnt hard to imagine Isanna and Daiki bing lovers in the near future. Both Isanna and Naavi were drawn to him far more than was normal for siblings but, unlike her older sister, Naavi was very level-headed. As for Daiki, he was troubled by his doting older sisters but, despite hismentations, he couldnt be away from them for very long without falling into a state bordering on depression. Ishtar and Ereshkigal werent particrly worried about their daughters ending up with Daiki, as it was verymon for rted Gods to be lovers, but, as could be expected, Rin was more than a little troubled by the notion. Though she was one of the mothers of all three children, Daiki, in particr, was her baby. She knew there wasnt actually a gic rtion between her son and the two Vanir but, considering they were formed in the same womb, it still felt wrong. What really weighed heavily on Rins heart and mind was how Isanna and Naavi looked almost identical to Ishtar and Ereshkigal, despite the fact they werent even five years old. She had even mistaken Isanna for Ishtar once when she saw the former floating around with Daiki contentedly sleeping with his face in her bosom. It was only when Isanna called her Mama that Rin realized it wasnt actually Ishtar, something that caused her a few restless nights after the fact. When it came down to it, the thing that really frightened Rin was the fact that her son was basically growing up with his path pre-determined. Though he got along decently with everyone, the love he shared with his two sisters was abnormally strong, far beyond even that of close kin. While this wouldnt have been much of an issue if they developed at the same rate, the fact the two Vanir already looked like young women was terrifying to her... It had taken a considerable amount of effort for Vahn to assuage Rins concerns over the matter, helped inrge part by Ishtar, Ereshkigal, and Artoria. Together, they had been able to convince her that the most important thing was for them to be tolerant and patient parents. If she started to try and distance Daiki from his sisters, that would only cause all three of them to resent her so, the only thing she could really do was try and guide all three of them to the best of her ability. Since most of Isannas more troublesome aspects had been reigned in by Vahn, his words had a lot of weight when it came to convincing Rin to be patient. Children, even those born with limited-omniscience, simply didnt know better when it came to such things. They needed their parents to guide them with patience and understanding, not disgust and intolerance. Since Rin truly loved all three of them, it would only end in tragedy if she tried to intervene forcibly. Not only would her heart suffer in the process but, as a result of her actions, Daiki, Isanna, and Naavi may evene to hate her. Hate was a very powerful motivator and, with the amount of power Isanna already possessed, thest thing they needed was for her to be rebellious. As things stood, she was actually a very obedient and responsible girl, despite her troublemaking tendencies. Though she did butt heads with Mordred on a number of asions, she rarely used even a fraction of her power, knowing, on a fundamental level, it was wrong to do so. This was an idea that had been instilled into her at a very young age and, after considerable guidance from Vahn, Isanna would likely continue using her power responsibly into the distant future. When it came to power scaling on the levels of Gods, authority and respect were two of the most important aspects of maintaining order. With this in mind, Rin was encouraged to be one of the people Isanna genuinely respected, not the primary source for any antagonistic feelings she would develop over time. It would take a considerable amount of effort but, with ardent support from Vahn, Ishtar, and Ereshkigal, the three people Isanna respected most, it wasnt impossible... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gotta collect em all...!,Vahn, God of Drama...,Poor Rin. It cant be easy being a mortal trying to raise god-like children...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1391 - Dense

Chapter 1391 - Dense

With little else to do, Vahn spent most of his time training, attending meetings, spending time with his children, and tending to his myriad of lovers. This was all he could really do to avoid stressing out over the fact his enemies were still skulking about in the shadows but, fortunately, even half of these things were enough to distract him. He genuinely liked spending time with everyone and, though his training was getting progressively harder, he was only his tenth of twelve challenges. Though he might confide in Siegfried or Karna about how stressful it was tending to the needs of so many people, Vahn, honestly, couldntin too much. There was nothing quite like waking up in the early hours of the morning with someone like Nero surprising him with an impromptu lesson for Artoria and Gray about how to properly fete a well-endowed man. Just seeing the fretful looks on the girls face as they watched Nero work was a sight to behold and, while not the best way to start the day, it was certainly near the top... Nero, as could be expected, was a very proactive woman and, though there had been an interim period where she was under the guidance of Boudica, it hadnt taken long for her to mingle with the rest of the Inner Sanctum. After all, while she may have a peculiar personality, the fact she could emte up to EX-Rank [Charisma] wasnt something that could be looked down upon. As a result of her close association with Artoria and others with remarkably high [Charisma], it had only ever been a matter of time until she was epted. Vahn could still remember the night when Artoria requested his presence in their chambers, only for Nero to burst in wearing nothing but white bridal lingerie momentster. Though he had sensed hering, the fact Artoria seemed prepared for Neros arrival indicated they had worked together to basically ensnare him. Thus, without too much unnecessary talk, Vahn ended up facing off against a whole host of women with simr appearances, an event that turned into apetition of stamina and technique against the equally skilled Nero. Fortunately, Vahns stamina was inexhaustible so, while Nero hadsted a lot longer than expected, his victory had been a foregone conclusion. After all, he hadnt even been going all-out as, unless it was someone like Illya, Aoko, Arcueid, or Ishtar, most women would end up a broken mess for a very long period of time after the fact. His union with the Tier 5 women had enhanced his capabilities far beyond the tolerance of most women so, out of consideration for his harem, Vahn generally paced himself to match their tempo. It was because of this that Nero ended upsting a considerable amount of time as, going at her pace, her stamina seemed inexhaustible. Rather than sex, it was almost like they were performing an increasinglyplex dance, bing one in a way not all that dissimr to the process of melding. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that she could rival Ishtar but, considering thetter had an actual Divinity rted to Sex, it could be said that Nero was peerless among her peers. This had also taught Vahn just how scary [Imperial Privilege: EX] could be as, midway through their intercourse, she had started to use Petting Laws and other emted techniques against him. Now, though Nero wasnt actually considered one of his wives or Empresses, she was often allowed to stay within his chambers. This wasnt an expression of favoritism, however, but by request of none other than Artoria herself. Thetter could be med for Vahn awakening his Sex Divinity and, for reasons he could only guess at, she seemed determined to rival him in the bedroom. Thus, despite Artoria being a modest woman at most times, she had request Nero to be her teacher, specifically with the intent of learning sexual techniques. Needless to say, Artoria was a very determined and dutiful woman so, ever since they hade to an agreement, Vahn had be rather fond of the time he spent in his chambers. Though this had always been the case, it was very different to have the women be both proactive yet submissive. In most situations, he was left to control the pacing so, to be serviced without having to guide them through the process, he was, understandably, pleased... --- Though he could almost always be found with a smile on his face, Vahns change in atmosphere had been noticed by everyone whomonly associated with him. He always seemed to be in a positive mood and, even if something troublesome came up, it didnt seem to phase him nearly as much as they would have expected. This could be seen in moments like the present where, after a particrly fierce bout of training, Mash had most of the bones in her left arm crushed by her own Servant, the Heroic Spirit, Richard the Lionheart. Richard was a handsome man with pale-golden hair, set with three crimson streaks, and simrly red eyes. He also had a thin and athletic build, standing at approximately 178cm and weighing roughly 66kg without armor so, with a generally amicable personality, he was very easy to get along with. His only real character ws were his obsession with Arthurian Legend and his indomitablepetitive spirit. The formerpelled him to name his personal sword [Excalibur] while thetter meant he was horrendous when it came to holding back. As the Heroic Spirit summoned by Mash, he had been charged with her protection and, as a result of his disagreements with Ghads training methods, he also be a secondary teacher for her. He wanted Mash to be more skilled in the use of swords and spears as, prior to his insistence, she had spent most of her efforts on learning defensive techniques, healing magic, and various support spells. ording to Richards take on things, Mashs desire to protect people, while noble, was wed on a conceptual level. After all, if the only thing she could do was protect, her enemies simply needed to learn how to circumvent her shield. If shecked the ability to incapacitate an enemy in the shortest amount of time, it wouldnt matter how strong her defenses were. There would always be a way for a determined enemy to circumvent her best efforts, rending them ultimately invalid. Richard wasnt known as the Wandering King for naught as, while on a battlefield, he moved about in enemy linespletely unobstructed. He had an Innate named [Godspeed] which, when used to its fullest, allowed his Agility to reach the EX-Rank in an instant. There was no theoretical limit to how fast he could move and, as a result of its influence over various Laws, Richard could, for about three seconds from his perspective, move unobstructed through time. Three seconds was a monstrous amount of time when you reached the apex but, when people like Aoko could emte the same feat almost indefinitely, it wasnt as powerful as it might seem. In fact, against opponents with considerable fate, massive amounts of Od, or other factors, the skill was all but useless as the amount of Magical Power required to influence such people was truly monstrous. He couldnt even activate it with Vahns domain as, due to the influence of thetters Source Energy, manipting Time was a luxury only Tier 5 existences could afford. Even without his ability to move beyond the flow of time, however, Richards Agility could allow him to reach near-lightspeed without too much strain on his body. Thus, he was a very proactive man on the battlefield and, as a result of his mentality, he wanted to help Mash grow much stronger. While this wasnt necessarily a problem, in and of itself, Richard was what many of the women referred to as a Prodigious Idiot. Rather than someone who had put in a serious effort intoprehending his Skills and abilities, Richard was the type that had been blessed with unbelievable prowess from birth. The very first time he had held a wooden sword, he managed to defeat every instructor arranged for him within three moves. By the time he was eight, he had already made a name for himself throughout Europe as a peerless swordsman without equal. This had earned him the title of Little Brave and, by the time he became a man, his courage had elevated him to the status of Lionheart. As was often the case among those naturally skilled in martial discipline, Richard had no idea why he was as skilled as he had be. To him, it was the result of his prowess and his sincere desire to be the greatest knight of all time. To others, however, he was an anomalous existence who had gained an inexplicable amount of power with an inordinately small amount of effort. He very rarely trained and, though he had tried to take on many proteges and establish his own version of the Knights of the Round Table, every single candidate had been broken as a result of his guidance. When asked direct questions such as, How do you perform that technique?, Richard would always answer withplete nonsense, despite his serious expression and tone. Even Vahn had been taken aback by his inability to convey simple technical information as, after making a direct inquiry from the young Knight, Richard had answered, You just go whoosh and then, when you feel a tingle in your wrist, you go fwaaaah as fast as possible. Despite his failings, however, Mash did her best to follow Richards training, albeit with a lot of input from people like Kenshin. She could understand his logic and, while she had no intention of harming people, reaching a point where she could disable them without much trouble would be ideal. It was with this conviction that she threw herself into Richards training and, as a result of trying to follow his inexplicable teachings, she ended up getting her arm crushed after trying to punch through an object. In Richards mind, the only thing you needed to do in order to overwhelm a target with high defense was hit harder and faster. This was possible for people like him as, with his ability to basically ignore some of the Laws of Physics, he wouldnt break froming into contact with objects at high speed. If that were the case, even moving about would be impossible as, the moment his foot struck the ground, his limbs would be destroyed. As for Mash, she was still a rtively normal young woman so, despite some serious misgivings in the back of her mind, she put her full power into striking a metallic pir she had no hopes of breaking. Had it not been for Richard bowing his head low enough to touch the ground,bined with Vahns positive mood, he would have been a lot harsher on the golden-haired youth. Instead, he punished the man by having him apprentice under Scthach for a week, allowing him to learn how senseless his own training had been by experiencing something simr. He also lost the privilege to train Mash without someone nearby observing, specifically Kenshin or one of the more level-headed Imperial Knights... Since he was a good-natured man, Richard epted his punishment with a resolute spirit. He also apologized to Mash, lowering his head despite his former status as a King. He had always held his status as a Knight in higher regard than the weight of his crown so, having brought harm to the girl he was pledged to serve and protect, there was little he wasnt willing to do if it could make amends. Fortunately, Mash was a very kind-hearted young woman so, rather than me Richard for his poor teaching methods, she simply smiled before softly stating, "Next time, Ill be sure to punch through it properly..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: TFW you kind of want Scthach to be even rougher with Vahn...,Richard is basically a Hero from an old JRPG xD...,One day, Mashu will learn to smashu~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1392 - Reality

Chapter 1392 - Reality

Though it had little to do with his own training, it was strangely refreshing to see someone other than himself suffering under Scthachs guidance. It made Vahn feel like a senior disciple watching as his junior did their best toplete their foundation training. Unfortunately, as there were seven Scthachs now, Vahn only caught very brief glimpses of Richards training, generally when he was just wrapping up with his own. The rest of his time was spent wholly focused on the challenges he had been assigned as, with each passing day, the pack of purple beasts seemed to grow more restless. It didnt seem to matter how much effort he put intopleting the tasks, rather, the harder he tried, the higher his Shishous expectations of him. If not for his otherwise fulfilling lifestyle,bined with his massive increase in strength, Vahn felt there was a non-negligible chance he would have been broken by Scthachs training. Since he had been able to persevere, however, the current him couldnt evenpare to the version of himself from a few months prior. He always seemed to be making leaps and bounds in his progress, to the point he could now fight against his Shishou for upwards of eight hours without suffering the fate of having his body and mind temporarily broken. Though he couldnt dodge Scthachs strongest spear attacks, which basically used the power of the Laws to bend causality, he could now avoid a hit to his vitals nearly half the time. This alone was such a drastic improvement that, the first time he pulled it off, Scthach showed a, very rare, expression of shock. Though he hadnt been able to take advantage of the gap in her mentality, the aftercare that day had been especially rxing. Vahn still had a long way to go before he was the strongest but, so long as he was serious about it, he could defeat most Heroic Spirits without even having to rely on his [Magia Erebea]. If they didnt have an A-Rank Noble Phantasm or advanced mastery over certain Laws, most Heroic Spirits would be hard-pressed to even damage him. His body tempering and reconstruction had reached such an advanced stage that, using his bare hands and forearms, Vahn was even able to deflect blows from weapons like [Excalibur], a weapon with a powerful holy element, with superficial wounds. By the time hepleted all of Scthachs challenges, Vahn had the distinct impression he would have be a real monster. Since this was only a fraction of the strength he would need to link the Records, however, he knew better than to assume he was truly strong. Rather, even if he was tens of times stronger than his current self, he would still be hard-pressed to deal any meaningful damage to Akasha and her superiors. In a way, he was much like a child ying within a calm bay, aware of the dangers beyond the reef but unable to trulyprehend their terror... Still, at least within the Root System, there was an ever-decreasing number of entities that could hope to even damage him, much less kill him. Even sealing him away was an ultimately futile action as his Source Energy,bined with his [Chainbreaker], allowed him to break through virtually any kind of seal. This even included his own [Enkidu], a Tier 5 artifact that should be able to restrain him with considerable ease due to his Divinity. Due to his training with Scthach, Vahn could still move around while bound by [Enkidu] and, if he pushed himself, even using his domain was possible. Though manifesting energy externally was still beyond him, he had never been all that good at it, to begin with... If he really wanted to, Vahn could wrap [Enkidu] around his forearms, using the resplendent golden chains as heavy whips that could eveny low the Gods. Though it wasnt his preferred way to attack, it had given him a few advantages against Scthach as, despite her prowess, she didnt actually have a counter to the higher-tiered artifact. They werent known as the Heaven-Binding Chains for naught and, if he used them skillfully, even the space around him could be sealed away with ease. When his climactic battle against Scthach came, Vahn knew [Enkidu] would be his strongest ally as, with her ability to hide clones within the void, sealing off the surrounding space was necessary. After her battle against the unseen swordsman, she now hid dozens of herself within the void so, when it came down to it, Vahn knew he might have to defeat more than a hundred Scthach, rather than just a single version of herself. In preparation for this, Vahn had been conducting secret training of his own within the Workshop. It wasnt the most realistic method but, using Da Vincis Virtual World, Vahn could battle against a truly infinite number of Scthachs. Da Vinci had asked him to help stress test the system in preparation for arge-scaleunch so, while the virtual version of Scthach was considerably weaker than the original, her numbers and the systems ability to learn over time, more than made up for it. Unfortunately, no matter how many updates Da Vinci had made to the Virtual World, it didnt seem to be able to properly ount for the existence of Innates. Vahn could still activate his [Will of the Emperor] within the Virtual Space and, due to the peculiarities of Source Energy, his ability to create and manifest items worked wlessly. This made absolutely no sense to Da Vinci, as physical objects should not be able to exist within virtual space, so Vahn was forced to spend a considerable amount of time helping her test the systems limits. Truthfully, Vahn didnt actually like the Virtual World all that much as, despite how fantastical it was from the inside, his sense couldnt be fooled so easily. He always had the feeling that, regardless of how immersive it was, everything he was witnessing wasnt real. It was strangely annoying so, unless he was training or directly assisting Da Vinci, he tried to avoid using it too often. To him, that 1.73% variation between reality and the virtual world was like being covered in ayer of grease, something palpable and annoying. The Virtual World was, admittedly, one of the most innovative and technologically advanced pieces of technology to ever exist. Vahns difort was primarily the result of his awareness and, to an even greater extent, his affinity with the Space element. It was discovered that the higher a persons affinity with Space, the greater the sense of incongruity they felt within the Virtual World. Ishtar and Aoko had been equally as affected when they gave the system a try and, though you could get used to it after a while, neither woman elected to do so. Fortunately, the Virtual World was merely one of the options Da Vinci had developed when it came to experience an immersive world. To that end, she had also developed the Environmental Projection Medium, basically replicated the methods used in the creation of a Sub-Texture using abination of Science, Technology, and Magecraft. Though it still had a long way to go, as the projected objects were effectively just solid holograms, it was possible to create very realistic representations of reality. Though it wasnt entirely urate, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that Da Vinci was developing a way to mass-produce Reality Marbles. She had already developed a version of the [Space-Time Orb] that could map the surroundings and make a perfect replica of the environment within. This was very useful for battling against opponents in high poption centers but,pared to the final product that Da Vinci envisioned, it was still a nascent technology. Eventually, Da Vinci wanted to merge all of her current technologies together, essentially creating a portable Reality Marble that could be activated by anyone who held the key. In its penultimate form, it would even be able to simte entires, a terrifying thought until you considered that most [Space-Time Orb]s already had functionally infinite space within. So long as they had enough energy, they would continue to expand without limit, emting real-world Laws and harboring life without issue. The hardest part of the equation was finding a way to actually store physical objects within what was effectively a purely Spiritual world. Vahn could manage this easily due to his Source Energy but, even after countless simtions based on the data she had collected, Da Vinci was no closer to finding a solution to this problem. While she had never believed anything to be impossible, there were some things that simply defied all exnations, both logical and irrational. Vahns ability to manifest solid matter within a virtual or spiritual environment made absolutely no sense whatsoever, as, even from the perspective of the system itself, it was unable to even analyze these objects due to the fact theycked the requisite data. The fact these anomalous objects could still interact with physical data constructs was yet another nonsensical development as the coding should be unaffected by anything not defined within the system. Even stranger was the fact that she could program a block to be indestructible but, as if his power overwrote the source coding, Vahn was still able to destroy them. Needless to say, Da Vinci was no closer to understanding theplexities of Vahns existence, even after observing him for several years. The more she learned about him, the more there was to learn as, despite every theory she came up with, he seemed to be able topletely shatter it with little to no effort. While this excited her to no end, as there was nothing she enjoyed more than trying toprehend the inexplicable, there were times when she would just lose herself in a fit ofughter after seeing him do somethingpletely outside her expectations... --- Hearing Da Vinciughing in a sonorous yet incredulous manner, Vahn could only smile wryly in response while Sophia, seeing her mother lose it, fretfully observed from the side. This wasnt the first time she had seen her mother snap but, as she was usually very calm andposed, it never got any easier seeing it. Thus, with a worried expression on her face, she looked toward the slightly glowing Vahn and said, "Papa...I wish you wouldnt just casually break mother..." As if he had been dealt critical damage, Vahn visibly tensed in response to Sophias words, his brows twitching slightly as she smiled and said, "I only did what she asked me to do...you know I cant help but do my best when your mother asks..." Though she nodded her head in understanding, there was still a visible hint of me in Sophias eyes as she walked over to where Da Vinci was curled up in aughing fit. Then, much as she had done in the past, Sophia pinched her mothers side rather forcibly, breaking Da Vinci free from the curse ofughter in an instant. Seeing her lovely daughters concerned expression, Da Vinci mustered her usual smile as she mused, "Oh, youre so cute when you worry, Sophia-chan~." while extending her hand to muss Sophias hair. This caused thetter to sigh in relief as, due to her emtion of Vahn, Da Vinci had made quite a bit of progress in herprehension of Petting Laws. Rather, due to Vahns influence, quite a number of people had developed a basic mastery of the once-obscure Law... Once Sophia had been pacified, Da Vinci turned her attention back to the waiting Vahn, her smile reaching all the way to her eyes as she mused, "There is never a dull moment when I work together with you...tell me, how do you feel?" In response to Da Vincis question, Vahn flexed his fingers a couple of times before popping his joints and answering, "It feels a lot different from my normal body but it doesnt feel off like it does within the Virtual World. Im guessing the presence of defined Spatial Laws has something to do with it." As this matched her own spection, Da Vinci nodded her head in agreement before pulling Sophia to sit on herp. Afterward, she pulled up a holographic panel and began typing a list ofmands while interrogating Vahn. The fact he had been able to manifest his Virtual Avatar in the real world, all while his actual body continued to rest peacefully at the side, was, once again,pletely outside initial projections. Since he could do it, there was a non-negligible chance others would be able to do the same so, in order to prevent Virtual Avatars from wreaking havoc on the real world, Da Vinci had to get a better understanding of both the real and virtual worlds... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Scthach is the ultimate tiger mom,Vahns existence defies logic xD...,Stay strong, Da Vinci-chan...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1393 - Eleven

Chapter 1393 - Eleven

Ideally, Vahn would be able to increase his strength without limit during the interval where his enemies prepared their own ns. If he really wanted to, it was possible to enter Azathoths, Tiamats, Arcueids, or even Aokos personal dimensions but, fearing he would be even more detached from the world, Vahn elected to just follow his usual schedule. Though he did, in fact, make use of these Realms, it was generally to rx and enjoy a few hours alone with the girls themselves, rarely to increase his strength. Vahn had been hunting within the forests of Avalon alongside Fenrir, Hati, Gareth, and, as could be expected, Atnta. Since it would be too easy otherwise, Vahn opted not to use his domain and, much like the girls themselves, he wielded an ornate wooden shortbow. It reminded him of his past as a skilled archer so, ever since Atnta first invited him to go hunting, Vahn had made a sport of things, inviting the more feral women in his entourage as a means of bonding. Unfortunately, this evening proved more eventful than most as, shortly after he had watched the girls sprint off into the forest, ya informed him, "There is an attack on the European Supercolony. Knight Tristan sustained critical injuries but was saved by Knight Lancelot. Thetter is engaging an enemy Heroic Spirit, the Child of Light, C Chinn." Vahn had turned serious the moment he heard yas words but, upon hearing who Lancelot was fighting, he couldnt help but nk as rare lightheadedness overtook him. He had never met the infamous spearman but, as one of Scthachs students, Vahn obviously knew his senior disciples well. C Chinn had been the protege Scthach was most proud of and, due to how famous his legend was, C was one of the mostmonly summoned Lancer-ss Heroic Spirits... After quickly recovering, Vahn sent a telepathic message to everyone he was connected to, Scthach included. Thetter instantly appeared at his side, even before he had finished the message, asking in a cold tone, "Are you certain...?" Though her expression didnt show it, Vahn had known his Shishou long enough to see how excited she was to encounter her former student. She had been the one to dismiss the idea of summoning C to aid the Empire, as he was rather notorious for doing things his own way, but, as could be expected, there was no way she would miss reuniting with her former most promising student, even if it was on the battlefield. While offering up a prayer to his senior disciple, Vahn offered a wry smile in response to Scthachs words. What he didnt expect was for her to instantly grab him, stating, "This will be your eleventh challenge." before teleporting them both outside of Avalon. It was pretty clear from her reaction that it wasnt up for discussion so, for entirely different reasons, Vahn offered another prayer to the rather unfortunate Hero... --- Though the distance between Avalon and the European Supercolonly was just under 2,000km, it took less than twenty seconds to reach their destination with Scthach literally tearing through the fabric of Space to transfer them. It would have actually been faster to just have ya perform the transfer but, perhaps as a result of knowing who was protecting the Supercolony, Scthach wasnt thinking clearly. C Chinn was undoubtedly a very powerful Heroic Spirit but, with six former Knights of the Round Table, a legendary Queen, and a battalion of Homunculi protecting the construction site, it was only a matter of time until he was defeated. Any of the Knights would be able to match him for a short period of time but, considering his opponent was Lancelot, there was little chance of himsting for an extended period of time. After all, with C already injuring one of hisrades, Lancelot would not give the infamous spearman any quarter... By the time Vahn and Scthach reached the European Supercolony, Lancelot, Gaheris, and Percival had surrounded a man wearing a form-fitting blue bodysuit trimmed with glistening silver trim. It was easy to see, based on garb alone, that the man was an apprentice of Scthach as, in the past, she had even tried to get him to wear something simr. The scarlet red spear made this even more apparent as, while less intimidating than those formed by his Shishou, Vahn could sense the Law of ughter emanating from C Chinns [Gae Bolg]. Just as Vahn was about to tell the others to back down, as it was pretty obvious Scthach wanted him to battle against C, he found himself at a loss for words as, without any decorum at all, she threw him through the air like a meteor with all her might. Though Vahn was able to right himself beforending, he still left a deep crater between Lancelot and C Chinn, sending both men jumping backward, shouting, "You dare interfere in an honorable duel!?" As the cloud of debris marking hisnding cleared away, revealing Vahn lightly patting down his clothes, Lancelot and the other Knights immediately bowed, the former eximing, "Forgive me, Your Majesty, I spoke out of turn...!" Hearing Lancelots remark, Vahn gestured for everyone to rise, stating in a firm tone, "Worry not. It is my mistake for intervening in your battle. However, these are special circumstances so, please, stand aside and protect the Supercolony. Given C Chinns presence, there is a chance other enemies are skulking about in the shadows." Though their first instinct was to protect their Lord, none of the Imperial Knights dared to disobey a direct order from Vahn. He had proven his skill on several asions and, even if he somehow fell in battle, even this wasnt enough to actually kill him. Thus, after issuing proper salutes, Lancelot led the others to secure the perimeter and scout for other enemies. The only one to remain behind was Boudica but, from the very beginning, she had been observing the battle from atop the perimeter wall, sword and shield at the ready... Seeing how the other had reacted toward Vahn, C Chinn had a battle-crazed smile on his face as she shouldered his spear and asked, "So, youre the one they call the Sage Emperor, eh? You must be pretty confident in yourself to send your men away like that. Even I would have had trouble with that purple bastard, you know?" Hearing C mention the color purple, Vahns brow nearly twitched as, despite knowing the remark was in regard to Lancelots armor, the fact Scthach was watching from the void made him strangely nervous. Fortunately, his training hadnt been for naught so, without letting it show on his face, he kept a calm andposed demeanor as he answered, "You know, Id really like to know the value of your Luck Parameter...I cant imagine it is higher than E-Rank..." The moment he heard Vahns remark, Cs expression darkened slightly as a dry and coarseugh escaped his lips. As Vahn implied, his Luck was notoriously low and, as a result of the peculiar way he had been summoned, it was even lower than normal. It was so bad that, at times, he would actually trip on t ground while, during his battle with Lancelot, he had even breathed in a live mosquito, something that should have been destroyed by the sh of their weapons... Feeling as if his pride had been attacked, C adopted a fierce expression with his spear pointed toward Vahn, saying, "Draw your weapon, bastard...Ill show you Luck means nothing in the face of true skill..." Since Scthach would probablymbast him for footing around the issue, Vahn answered C by pulling out a scarlet-red spear of his own. This was enough to cause the mans expression to darken even further as he lunged forward with incredible momentum, roaring, "Where did you get that spear from!?" Vahn was slightly surprised by Cs speed but, considering most Lancer-ss Servants had A-Rank Agility, it wasntpletely outside his expectations. Unfortunately for the blue-haired man, it was very difficult for the current Vahn to hold back against enemies who emitted killing intent so, using his own exceptional Agility, he deflected Cs onught of spear strikes using simr techniques. As could be expected, this incensed the man even further so, after performing an overhead strike andunching himself backward, he shouted, "Try and copy this...!" While sliding backward along the ground, a swirling vortex of red energy had surrounded the tip of Cs spear. It was a violent and malicious amalgamation of energy, one which threatened anything unfortunate enough to cross its path with death and, once it had reached a critical level, he instantly changed direction, elerating to several times the speed of sound in as he shouted, "Gae Bolg~!" in a voice that somehow reached Vahns ears before the attack was fired. Like a snake made of red lightning, Cs spear covered the rtively short distance between himself and Vahn in an instant. Despite this, Vahn was able to deflect it with his own, diverting the attack to the side with what appeared to be considerable ease. In the next moment, however, the world itself seemed to flicker for a brief moment as time began to stagnate. Then, with the sound of several panes of ss shattering, causality itself was rewritten, this time with the tip of Cs spear piercing toward his heart. It was here where Cs bad Luck really shone as, not only did Vahn have a considerable amount of experience dealing with attacks that altered causality but, due to Cs Noble Phantasm only being at B-Rank, it wouldnt have even been able to pierce him in the first ce. Thus, shocking the youthful spearman to the core, Vahns left hand seemed to move faster than time, appearing in two ces at once for a brief moment as he caught the tip of [Gae Bolg] with his bare hand. Before C could process what his eyes had just witnessed, he felt a subtle shift in the force acting on his spear. In the next instant, Vahns figure had vanished from his perception and, though his instinct allowed him to twist his body and strike towards Vahns new location, this wasnt remotely enough to deter his counterattack. As a result, Vahn stabbed through Cs leg with his own spear, deflected thetters with his left hand and, in less time than it took to blink, formed a second spear out of thin air before stabbing the man a second time in the chest. Vahn possessing [Gae Bolg] had been both a surprise and an insult as, with the passage of time, it was always possible to obtain the weapons of former Heroes. However, seeing how Vahn was able to create another [Gae Bolg] from thin air, C instantly realized the truth so, even as he was skewered with a third spear, he managed to smile, blood dripping from his lips as he asked, "How is she...?" With two more spears in hand, Vahn pierced through Cs right wrist while cing the tip of his second spear at the mans throat before answering, "Harsh but fair..." Hearing Vahns response, C beganughing in spite of the pain. Then, without caring whether or not Vahn was evil, he smiled appreciatively as he said, "Im d she was able to find someone else to mentor. Maybe youll be able to seed where I failed...hey, do me a favor, will ya...? The next time you see that woman...tell her...I died with a smile...so...as a Teacher...she should be able to live with one...hahaha..." Apanying his finalugh, C attempted to use one of the [Gae Bolg]s Vahn had stabbed into his body to perform onest counterattack. At the same moment, a white aura emanated from his body and, though the light had already faded from his ruby-red eyes, he managed to strike nearly as fast as Scthachs most powerful attack. Even this wasnt enough to take down Vahn, however, as close simply wasnt enough to cut it. Without even moving, he opened up a hole in his body, allowing the spear to pass through harmlessly as C, with a smile on his face, died on his feet... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hunting with the Animal-Eared Entourage,That Luck Parameter...,Can you even call it a Nasuverse fanfic unless there is at least one C Chinn death?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1394 - Trace

Chapter 1394 - Trace

It was only after C Chinns body began to disappear into particles of light that Scthach finally appeared from within the void. She manifested herself right in front of her former student, a wistful look in her ruby-like eyes as she muttered, "You always were a foolish boy..." Then, just before Cs body disappeared, Scthach gently ran her hand down his face, closing his lightless eyes to give him a more peaceful appearance... When Cs body finally disappearedpletely, Vahn could hear Scthach audibly inhale before she turned around, her gentle look nowhere to be seen as she stated, "I had not expected something like this to happen. Now that it has, only your final challenge awaits...once you have steeled yourself, find me on the Isle of Skye. I will await you at the ce where my legend began..." With her words finished, Scthach disappeared within the void, leaving Vahn at a loss for words. Thest few months had been rtively uneventful so it was rather disorienting to have things progress so quickly. Though he knew Scthach had been losing her patience as ofte, the appearance of C Chinn seemed to be the straw that broke the camels back. Now, the next time he met the purple-d beauty, it would undoubtedly be a fight to the death. Feeling more than a little exasperated, Vahn released a tired sigh before looking toward the top of the wall and waving down Boudica. In response, she unhesitantly jumped down and, even without reinforcing her body with mana, her physique alone was enough to withstand the 50m fall, even in full armor. Though shended rather roughly, without much grace, Vahn dutifully pretended not to notice as he turned his eyes toward where C had been standing moments prior... After taking a few deep breaths to collect herself, Boudica approached Vahns side, a confident and dignified look on her face as she asked, "Is there something you require of me, Master?" Answering Boudicas inquiry with a curt nod, Vahn exined, "Make sure nothing snuck in during the personnel evacuation. Once the Supercolony had been cleared out, well be performing a detailed sweep and scan of the entire region. C must have been sent here for a reason...well not rest until it is found." With her orders received, Boudica performed a knightly salute, striking her breastte with her gauntleted hand, before shouting, "Ha! I will carry out your orders without fail!" Afterward, she gave a courteous bow and, after being dismissed by Vahn, quickly set out to perform her duties. After watching Boudicas departing figure, cloaked in a thick white cape, Vahn released another sigh before turning his eyes skyward and expanding his senses through the area. Now that he was here, he waspelled to sweep the area a few times. Part of him was tempted to give chase and pursue Scthach directly to the Isle of Skye but, knowing he wasnt in the proper state of mind to face her in an unrestricted battle, this was the next best thing. Fortunately, or perhaps not, Vahns senses did, in fact, pick up the presence of an anomalous magical signature. Sensing it, he couldnt help but roll his eyes before muttering, "I suppose were not at the point where youll inform me every time something like this happens, huh?" Without replying to his question directly, ya made her intentions known by wiggling around and biting him a little harder than before. Truthfully, there were a lot of things she could tell Vahn but, as it would only stress him out even further, she never proactively fed him information. The only reason she had informed him about Tristan being attacked was due to a prior order, not out of her concern for the red-haired Knights safety. This information had to be paid for with Magical Energy so, unless Vahn fed her a phenomenal amount, there were limits to what she could actually provide him. Vahn, of course, knew that ya was still bound by the restrictions ced on her. This was actually a very good thing as, with the recent changes in her behavior, it would cause a lot of problems if she was able to act freely. Thus, while part of him wished she would be more proactive when it came to important matters, it, honestly, wasnt really her job. He already expected quite a bit from her so, as frustrating as her silence was, at times, Vahn couldnt hold her ountable... After teleporting to where the anomalous magical signature was, Vahn found a peculiar metallic box that, from appearances alone, seemed high tech. It had a sleek ck surface with aser-engraved runic pattern embossed onto its surface. This was a technology that Da Vinci had developed around two years ago but, as only Imperial Tech made use of such systems, seeing a foreign device possess a simr level of tech showed just how advanced their enemies were. Since nothing good woulde from leaving the device alone, Vahn ced his palm against its surface and, after a brief tug-of-war against whatever was controlling it, he forcibly took control of the object before throwing it into his Inventory. Then, passing his intent through the foreign magical energy, Vahn attempted to trace the energy back to its source. He had been able to send his intent around freely even before entering the Nasuverse and, with his mastery over Space Laws, it would be difficult to avoid his detection. Unfortunately, while Vahn was able to pursue the source for several seconds, whoever had been in control seemed to realize what was happening. In response, they sent an explosive pulse of magical energy through the original signal. This was simr to how Modern Magi used Counter Curses and, if he was a normal person, Vahn could even receive a bacsh if he continued his pursuit. Fortunately, he was anything but normal so, despite a small trickle of blood running down his nose, Vahn forced his way through the surge,tching onto the original signal and tracking the source to a mountain range near the border between Pakistan and China. Despite the constant lectures he received about taking action on his own, Vahn wasnt the type to just sit around while his enemy slithered in the shadows like a snake. He was already holding council back in Avalon, the benefit of having two bodies, so he instantly gave out mobilization orders while teleporting to the location, courtesy of ya. Momentster, several other ripples appeared in the surrounding space as, from within the void, Arcueid, Okita, and, as he knew she had been longing for battle, Altera appeared. Vahn was tired of just letting his enemies do whatever they wanted so, with a calm andmanding tone, he ordered, "Arcueid, I want you to pull this entire mountain into your Marble Phantasm. Okita, make sure none of the enemies are able to escape. If you have the option between killing or sparing them, lean towards thetter but do not be afraid to strike them down if they are dangerous. Altera, you will stay at my side...if there are any powerful enemies, I will let you take care of them..." Though Arcueid could manifest her Marble Phantasm with ease, pulling things from the real world into it was considerably more difficult. Despite this, she unhesitantly stepped forward and brought her hands together, much like she was praying. In the next moment, her aura seemed to cover the heavens themselves and, after a couple of seconds had passed, the night sky became a bright blue as she forcibly pulled everything in her surroundings into her Marble Phantasm. This left her gasping for breath but, after a minute or so of absorbing energy from the earth,bined with Vahn feeding her a considerable amount of Source Energy, she was back at full capacity. The moment Arcueids Marble Phantasm manifested, Okita vanished like a phantom from Vahns side, immediately followed by thetter muttering, "ORT, keep watch from above. If anything tries to fly away or forcibly intervene, feel free to capture or kill them..." With just a few simplemands, Vahn now had three Tier 5 existences acting on his orders while, back in Avalon, Aoko and Maxwell were helping to feed magical energy into his body. It wasnt the most efficient process but, with Maxwell being able to output an infinite amount of energy, Vahn would be able to muster a functionally infinite amount of his own. As a result, his normally green eyes began to ze with a divine blue light, his momentum seeming to rise even higher than the 8600m mountain before him. --- Mountains had always been a source of great mystery and mysticism, even dating back to the Era of the Gods. Most mountains were natural formations that came into being as a result of two tectonic tes moving against each other. As a result, the energies contained within the earth spilled out in these regions and, while not necessarily part of a Leyline, many acted as Artificial Leylines as a result. It was for this reason that so many Magi, Sages, and Spiritual Hermits had made their home atop mountain as, more often than not, many were direct portals to Spiritual Lands. A Spiritual Land was an area on the Surface Texture where the boundaries between the Surface and Reverse Sides, at times, became weakened. This allowed for various mutations in nts and animals, often resulting in the formation of treasure-grade medicinal herbs and powerful monsters. Since the strength of a Magus family was often directly rted to the number of Spiritual Lands under their influence, it wasnt umon to find powerful Bounded Fields wherever famous mountains existed. Due tocking the personnel to police them, and generally not caring about the resources inside, the Empire had left most Spiritual Lands to whoever felt like iming them. Eventually, the entire would be a Spiritual Land so, while there were certainly benefits to be had, the Empire would have to invest manpower it didnt have in an effort to im them. Most of them had been left to the Mages Association to police and, now, as a result of his half-measures, Vahn bore witness as, from within the subsumed Bounded Field, a veritable army of Golems and Magical Constructs poured out. Despite a seemingly endless sea of enemy forces, neither Vahn nor any of his allies showed any sign of perturbance. They all remained calm and collected as, when it came to true power, numbers rarely made much of a difference. A billion ants might be able to take down an elephant but even a billion times that number could do little against entities on the level ofary bodies. Vahn himself had yet to reach this level but Arcueid, ORT, and even Altera, easily qualified as Tier 5 existences. As there were some enemies within the air, a brilliant sh of emerald green light caused all other colors to fade into darkness as ORT, appearing much like an angr green spaceship, tore through every aerial enemy in seconds. At the same time, Okita was leaving behind cuts in the air that, even after several seconds passed, continued to sever the void. This caused a powerful and destructive gravitational force to suck in anything foolish enough to near the affected area and, as her attacks continued to build, lightning formed from reddish-ck energy began to dance between each of the rifts. Since it was a good opportunity, Vahn gave a small nod towards the patiently waiting Altera, saying, "Take care not to cause coteral damage to the mountain and your allies. You have enough power to wipe these enemies out with devastating your surroundings. Other than that, feel free to cut loose as much as you want." Hearing Vahns words, Altera simply replied with an, "I see..." before pulling her tri-colored sword out of her chest. In the next moment, she kicked off the ground with enough force to cause Vahns and Arcueids clothes to flutter as a shockwave of dust and debris crashed into them. This caused Vahn to issue a small sigh and, though she was slightly annoyed by Alteras actions, Arcueid decided to justugh it off. Then, entangling her arm with Vahns, she adorned a radiant smile on her face, asking, "Shall we go~?" https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1395 - Overwhelm

Chapter 1395 - Overwhelm

Like a dam breaking, unleashing a wave of destruction, Altera swept through the crowd of automatons with unstoppable force. She was like a living tempest as, even without sweeping her sword through enemies, her movements alone were enough to tear them asunder. There was little the unfortunate magical constructs could do, much like sailors swept up in a typhoon or a young child caught in a rip current, swept out into the unforgiving sea without a means to free themselves from the tragedy they had wrought. Vahn couldnt help but stall for a moment as he watched Altera in action, much like a pedestrian who had just witnessed a car crash. Part of him even felt guilty that his enemies sent out automatons in a vain attempt to stall for time as, in more ways than one, it showed a general disregard for their own creations. Since he had always been the type that appreciated everything he created, paving the way forward for it to develop an Ego, Vahn simply couldnt agree with methods like this. In order to bring this battle to an end as soon as possible, Vahn and Arcueid made their way to the mountain peak in an instant. As it had been pulled inside of her Marble Phantasm, Arcueid had near-absolute control over the surrounding space so, even though the entrance had been concealed by several meters of magically reinforced stone, she was able to simply create a new entrance with the sweep of her hand. Reality Maniption was a very powerful ability and, if she used it maliciously, Arcueid could likely kill everyone hiding inside without getting anywhere near them. With thebination of their abilities, Vahn and Arcueid were able to analyze the structure of the entire mountain in a very short period of time. As a result, they ended up in a vast chamber near the heart of the mountain, home to arge crystalline tree that was more than 50m in height. It glistened with green and gold light and, if not for the various monitors and machines burrowed into its trunk, it would have been quite the sight to behold. Since they had taken a more direct route, Vahn and Arcueidnded silently a few meters away from the trees base, circumventing all of the security measures that had been put in ce. This caused the man standing over the terminals to release a tired sigh as hezily looked back and stated, "You really do things your own way, dont you? Seriously, no regard for other peoples efforts at all..." After nodding in response to the mansint, Vahn casually extended his hand, manifesting [Enkidu] in their surroundings to seal off the surrounding space. Though Arcueid could achieve a simr effect using her own power, Vahn didnt want to leave everything to her. He was already here so, if there was something he could do to remove their enemys advantages, he would do so without hesitation. Seeing the resplendent golden chains now swirling around the room, the man released a tired sigh before plopping down in his chair and saying, "Tell me...what exactly are you? Ive spent more than two months trying to understand this world youve created. If I were allowed to be honest, I dont actually disagree with your methods. What I cant understand is what you are, where you came from, and how you came to possess this power..." As he spoke, the man briefly eyed Arcueid, fully aware of her identity and the power she had at her disposal. What didnt make sense was Vahn as, prior to setting his ns in motion, nothing like Vahn had ever existed. This frustrated him to no end as, unless he was able topletely split his timeline from Vahns, all of time was fated to converge at the point of Vahns present. This meant all of his efforts and hard work would be for naught as, depending on how things developed, his own timeline would never even be set into motion. In a way, it proved that free will had never existed in the first ce as, with a single persons existence, the variability of the future waspletely removed... Vahn hadnt arrived with the intent to make casual conversation so, rather than answer the mans question, he vanished from where he had been standing. This caused the man to tense in his seat while simultaneously trigger a device in his left hand. Aplex barrier formed from hexagonal panels immediately shielded his body, repelling Vahns strike with enough force to rupture the sleeve of his right arm. Even his muscle had ruptured slightly but, with his regeneration, he healed almost instantly as he continued pressing his palm against the barriers surface. With a paling expression on his face, thezy-looking man on the inside managed a wry smile as he remarked, "This shield can even block a Heroic Spirits Noble Phantasm...man, I really hate your type. I wasnt showing any kind of hostility yet you went out of your way to attack me. I guess this is why you are able to do something as messed up as throwing the entire world into chaos for the sake of your ambitions?" Hearing the mans words, Vahn squinted his eyes slightly, his pupils turning pale-gold as his right hand morphed into a w covered in azure scales. At the same time, individuals segments of the hexagonal grid began to crack, causing the man inside to pale even more. It was only at this point that Vahn decided to answer, stating in a firm and decisive tone, "Youve had more than two months to try and initiate a dialogue. Youve injured the people Ive cared about, plotted against my Empire, and took proactive measures to undermine the peaceful world Im trying to create. The time for talk is long behind us..." The moment his words trailed off, Vahns w tore through thest vestiges of the barrier, piercing into the mans chest. This wasnt meant to be a lethal blow but, after everything the man had set in motion, Vahn wasnt going to let him off easily. These types always knew a considerable amount of information so, while it would be simple to just finish him off, the absence of other enemies made killing him unwise. Frustratingly, Vahn realized the truth of the matter as soon as his hand entered the mans chest. This caused his eyes to ze like suns, his w clenching with tremendous force as he ripped out a flurry of mechanical parts and wires. At the same time, the shaggy-haired man seated within the shattered barrier offered a sly smile before mockingly stating, "Did you really think I would use my real body to send signals into Empire-controlled territory? As I said, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, Ive been watching and researching you for a while now. Though the loss of C is regrettable, dont think were going to be defeated so easily...!" Likely emting Vahn, the man waited until he had finished his exmation before pressing another device hidden away in his sleeve. Unfortunately, due to the presence of [Enkidu], sending signals was all but impossible so, with an annoyed grimace on his face, the man simply self-destructed instead of copsing the entire mountain range. His core was nearly as powerful as the one used by the current Rani IV so, while it wasnt enough to kill Vahn or Arcueid, it was more than enough to annihte the crystalline tree and his duplicate body. Following a pulse of magical energy, a brilliant white light erupted from the shaggy-haired mans body. Immediately afterward, Vahn was propelled backward with tremendous force, mming into the spatial lock formed by [Enkidu]. It felt like he was being crushed by an entire but, just as he was able to teleport out, Arcueid appeared to embrace his body. This caused all the pressure to disappear in an instant, the explosion flowing away from them due to Arcueids influence. Even the sounds of the explosion were unable to reach him so, with a tired sigh, Vahn pressed his forehead to Arcueids andined, "Im really starting to hate these people..." Though it wasnt all that dissimr to what he, Da Vinci, or Touko would do, the fact his enemies went to such extreme length to hide was remarkably frustrating. C may very well have been his only chance to obtain information about their overarching ns as, with his nature, it probably wouldnt have taken too much effort to convince him they werent the bad guys. Now, Vahn had to settle for having obtained the identity of the shaggy-haired man and securing the strange ck box that had been nted in the Supercolony. There was a chance he had chosen his form to mislead them but, based on the information provided by ya, the shaggy-haired automaton had the same presence and appearance as one of historys most famous mathematicians and inventors, Archimedes. This guaranteed the man had either found a way to transmigrate or, much like C, he was a Heroic Spirit. As for the ck box, his Inventory had yet to identify its function but, with enough time, all of its secrets would be known to him. Since the trip hadnt been aplete waste of time, Vahn enjoyed his embrace with Arcueid for a bit longer than necessary. The explosion had already faded away and, as a result of [Enkidu], most of the chamber had been left undamaged. This allowed a greater volume of mana to flow from the Artificial Leyline below but, given enough time, it would eventually return to normal. Now that things had reached this point, Vahn realized they needed to investigate and, if necessary, destroy all foreign Bounded Fields. They may even need to investigate other Subtextures as Avalon and the Wandering Sea were not the only ones in existence. Given how crafty Archimedes and his allies had proven to be, it wouldnte as a surprise to learn they had even ventured to the Reverse Side of the World. He would need to confer with Sherlock as, if it turned out they were forging alliances with the very Gods he was making ns again, there was a very real chance a war between the Surface and Reverse Sides would be necessary. He could only hope that, if they truly considered themselves heroes in the battle against evil, they wouldnt resort to such tantly destructive methods. As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Vahn was overtaken by a powerfulpulsion to sigh as, with his Karmic Value,bined with various other factors, there were likely very few lengths his enemies wouldnt go to. They coulde up with some contrived logic that it was better to entrust the world to a select group of Gods, rather than leave it in the hands of an Evil Emperor. Heroes werent exactly known for thinking things through so, as long as they were able to achieve the end they sought, the means used and the repercussions they faced rarely mattered... Though he didnt say it out loud, Vahn internally remarked that being the viin sucked even more than being the hero. Unless he really threw himself into the role that had been assigned him, doing all kinds of terrible acts, he would continue to be pressured from both sides of the spectrum. Ideally, he would be able to reach some kind ofpromise with the enemy group but, given their actions thus far, they were wholly dedicated to undermining his efforts... After shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Vahn nted a kiss on the concerned-looking Arcueid, returning the smile to her face. Afterward, they looked around the area for a short while but, due to the powerful explosion, all traces of the system that had existed previously had been erased. This left therger facility to explore but, as there were no signs of life anywhere within, it was best to leave it to the As Temples clean-up crew to investigate. Having made up his mind on the matter, Vahn exited the facility alongside Arcueid. There, amidst a sea of automaton corpses, Altera stood atop the shattered torso of arger specimen, her veil-like hair tossed gently by the frigid mountain wind. Though her figure gave her a somewhat emaciated appearance, she gave off the impression of both a Goddess of War and a flower that only bloomed amidst countless corpses. It was a strangely beautiful yet morbid sight, especially with the terrifying ORT hovering nearby, its de-like appendages waiting to ughter anything still living amongst the tens of thousands of automatons... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Altera, human-shaped natural disaster,Archimedes trying to be sneaky. Guess he didnt ount for ya being able to identify him in an instant o3o...,There are Heroes on both sides of a conflict) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1396 - Council

Chapter 1396 - Council

Even as the battle was ongoing, Vahn had been part of an ongoing war council back at Avalon. He was seated at the head of a massive three-dimensional diorama in his official regalia, Artoria at his side and every ranking military official gathered around them. Though it wasnt nearly as capable as CHALDEAS, the satellites produced by Da Vinci to enhance the SHEBAwork allowed them to view a detailed representation of real-world locations. It was still in its nascent state, making it roughly as useful as previous GPS satellites but, soon enough, they would have the means to observe even the density andposition of mana all throughout the world. Currently, Vahn was discussing the feasibility of investigating, securing, and destroying most of the worlds Bounded Fields. This would have long-standing effects on the as, while most existed solely to benefit the Magus families that had developed them, many prevented excess mana from the Reverse Side from leaking into the world. They also prevented monsters and other Phantasmal Species from freely roaming the countryside so, if they truly destroyed them, the Empire would have yet another problem to deal with. As the ranking military official, behind only Vahn and Artoria, Gawain was the one to offer a solution, saluting as he boldly eximed, "Your Majesty, though I am remiss to use them in such a way, would the simplest solution not be to send the Companions to investigate? Splitting our forces any further than we already have will only cause gaps within our existing securitywork. We cannot abandon our efforts to maintain order around the various food distribution sites so I do not see any solution outside of producing more Companions, Golems, or Homunculi..." Hearing Gawains suggestion, Vahn had to take a deep breath through his nose to remain calm. He actually hated the idea of mass-producing weapons and, as a result of his views on the responsibility of a creator, Vahn couldnt easily ept Gawains proposal. While it may, indeed, be one of the best solutions, they would be required to cross a moral boundary he wasntfortable even skirting. After ruminating over the matter for nearly a minute, Vahn ultimately shook his head, stating, "I will not pervert the Companions further. I was convinced to allow them to apany the Empires and As Temples Response Forces but only as support units. Changing tune and converting them into weapons, merely for the sake of convenience, isnt something Im willing to do..." As the words left his lips, Vahn couldnt help but briefly pass his gaze over everyone present within the room, each someone who, from a certain point of view, he had exploited. The primary difference between them and the Companions, however, was that they had at least some choice in the matter. There had yet to be a single Companion to develop a true Ego just yet and, though outlier like Skoll and a few of Astrids pack were pretty close, they were also fiercely loyal. Every Companion already had the ability to make individual choices but, as a result of how they were programmed,bined with their original function, there was little they wouldnt do to help. If they knew their deaths would benefit those around them, nearly every Companion would willingly march to their demise, most without hesitating in the slightest. Vahn didnt mind being seen as an Evil Tyrant who would do whatever it took, so long as it met his end goal, but that mainly applied to him, not the people around him. If he could, he would take care of everything himself, leaving his loved ones to live peaceful lives without any worries. He wouldnt be able to live with himself if he twisted the Companions, creatures who were meant to provide love and support, into weapons of war and ughter. Though it would put more strain on them in the interim, Vahn formted a n within his mind as, rather than simply refute Gawains words, he needed toe up with a solution. Thus, following his refusal of Gawains proposal, he added, "What the Empirecks is personnel. Though it is earlier than our initial projections, we will advance our ns of converting our allies and affiliates into citizens of the Empire. Our partnership with the As Temple has set a precedence so it is time for us to extend an olive branch to those who have been wanting to join us." Hearing Vahns words, there were mixed reactions amongst his concil but, as it was one of the better alternatives, none argued against it. Luvia, in particr, was inplete agreement so, after gaining permission to speak, she stated, "My family has been making preparations for some time now. After the copse of the Three Monarchal Lords, our Alliance has be the most powerful faction within the Mages Association. Various family Heads have been pressuring us to join the Empire so this is a good opportunity to put them to work, ohohohoho~." Vahn nodded his head in agreement but, seeing Aoko smiling wryly at the side, he asked, "Is there something that troubles you, Aoko?" Being put on the spot all of a sudden, Aokoughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head before answering, "Its just that...well, the Mages Association has always been a pretty messed up ce. It hasnt been all that long since they were brought to their knees so I cant help but worry about the future of the Empire if we directly mingle with them. Magi are nothing if not crafty and longsighted." Understanding Aokos concerns, Vahn gave another curt nod in response but, as it actually invited even more trouble trying to weed out dissidentspletely, he ayed her concerns, exining, "I believe the vast majority here understand the truth behind your words. This is the reason behind the establishment of the Common Law and the proliferation of the Companions. There is nothing we can do topletely root out things like evil and corruption as, given enough time, it wille from within our own ranks. The most we can do is take preventative measures and do our best to unify under a solitary idealogy, one that believes everyone has an inherent right to happiness. We cannot be afraid of dissidence as the desire to break free from the constraints of an established system is an intrinsic part of, not just humans, but the vast majority of sapient species..." Though it wasnt the first time she had heard Vahn say simr words, Aoko offered another wry smile in response before muttering, "I guess this is what makes you an Emperor, huh...?" Then, as if fired up by her own words, she adopted a more confident smile and eximed, "Alright! Im in! Thats how it should be, right? Living without any regrets!" As the mood had been growing increasingly tense, Vahn took the opportunity provided by Aoko tough in a lighthearted manner. Truthfully, her words struck very close to home and, while it would indeed be stressful, everything they were doing was for a better future. So long as he never madepromises, such as perverting the function of the Companions, the world would, one day, match his vision of the future. Since he had already hogged the glory of taking down an enemy stronghold, Vahn quickly recovered from his bout ofughter, stating, "Luvia, I will leave the matter of gathering prospective allies to the Edelfelt family. I imagine it has been a while since anything festive happened so feel free to organize a ball or something. Even if nothinges of it, Im certain the current family heads will jump at the opportunity to mingle with members of the Imperial Family." Though she had intended to hold a private banquet to negotiate with the members of the Alliance, Luvia found Vahns proposition far more interesting. Truthfully, she had never particrly cared about such things but, as it would be an event hosted by her family, there were ample opportunities to turn the affair into something far more interesting. This event would establish a precedent for how all other social gatherings between profligate families would go as, with the fall of the previous nobility, the Empire was set to redefine even the basics of etiquette. With her mind racing with the possibilities, Luvia had a radiant smile on her face as she confidently eximed, "You can rest assured, Your Majesty, I will make this an event to be talked about for years toe! I will need a few days to make the arrangements but I can have the guest listpleted by the end of the day. Would you like me to forward it to you~?" Seeing how happy Luvia was, Vahn couldnt help but adopt a gentler expression as he nodded his head and answered, "Yes, I would appreciate it. Please include a copy for Bedivere as well. He will be in charge of preparing the attendees from our side so it is important he knows who you have chosen to attend. This is an opportunity to officially debut Mordred and Sakura as First and Second Imperial Princesses so I would appreciate if you kept that in mind." Hearing her Chichues words, Mordred, who had been looking pretty bored at the side, suddenly sat up straight, blurting out, "Eh? Do I really have to do..." Before Mordred could even finish her words, both Vahn and Artoria turned their eyes toward her. As a result, her words trailed off, turning into a dryugh. If possible, she would like to continue keeping her status a secret as, while she was proud to be Vahns and Artorias daughter, Mordred didnt want it to be what defined her. The moment it was made public, she would always be treated as the First Imperial Princess, something she would, honestly, rather avoid... Vahn could see the momentary struggle in Mordreds eyes but, before he could say anything to ay her concerns, she recovered with a smile and said, "Ill make you proud, Chichiue, Hahaue. Just leave it to me." Despite her misgivings about bearing the title of Imperial Princess in an official capacity, it wasnt in Mordreds nature to disregard her duties. She respected her parents too much and, though it would ce a burden on her, it was nothingpared to what they had to bear on a daily basis. With this in mind, Mordred tried to bury the part of herself that harbored unspeakable delusions, adopting the best smile she could manage to avoid worrying them. Vahn and Artoria could easily tell that Mordred was forcing herself but, knowing she would now insist on attending, it was toote to address it at the table. They would have to discuss the matter in private as now was neither the time or ce to have such a conversation. However, as he didnt want her to assume he was shelving the issue, Vahn picked up his seal from the table, saying, "As there is little else to discuss, we will adjourn here and reconvene tomorrow at 10 AM. I will be returning from my excursion shortly so, if there is anything, please wait until then." Though there was actually quite a bit left to discuss, there was no need to have the entire emergency council gathered. Gawain could be trusted to organize everything and, by the time he held Court the following day, most of the less pertinent issues would be resolved. It didnt take a genius to understand that Vahn had brought the meeting to an end on her behalf so, while she did her best to adopt a remorseful expression, Mordred couldnt hide the small twinkle of happiness in her eyes. She felt guilty about worrying him but, knowing he cared for her to such an extent always made her feel happy. He often spoke about being a Father before an Emperor so, at times like this, she always felt gratified to be his daughter, even if it also left a bittersweet taste in her mouth... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Do not corrupt the cute...!,Luvia about to n a wrestling event instead of a ball...,Sweet Summer child...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1397 - Matters of the Heart

Chapter 1397 - Matters of the Heart

Shortly after calling the emergency council to a close, Vahn found himself back in his chambers with only Artoria and Mordred at his side. Even Gray had taken upon herself to step out for a moment as, while her status allowed her to be present for such things, she rarely stuck around for family matters. Even without asking, Vahn already had an idea about what was troubling Mordred. It was something he and Artoria had talked about at length in the past so, after taking a seat, Vahn asked, "Tell me, do you regret bing my daughter?" Without any dy in her response, Mordred adopted a serious expression on her face as she stated, "There is no way that could ever be the case! Chichiue is an excellent father, someone I respect with all my heart...!!" Hearing Mordreds instant reply, Vahn couldnt help but smile appreciatively but, taking advantage of her word choice, he added, "Not all your heart, I fear...there is a part that views me in a different light, is there not?" Though she already expected this line of questioning, Mordred paled slightly, her head hanging low as her bangs covered her eyes. At the same time, she balled her hands into fists, words escaping her as she didnt know the correct way to respond to such a question. Just as Mordreds eyes began to swim around for an excuse, she was liberated from her stupefied trance by a soft and warm hand being ced on her shoulder. When she looked up, she found her Hahaue smiling gently toward her and, though there was aplicated look visible in her eyes, she still whispered, "Calm down, Mordred. You should know better than most...your father isnt someone you should fear." Artoria wanted to say something to support her daughter but, understanding exactly what it was thetter wanted, she, too, was at a loss for words. After all, depending on how things went, there was a very good chance she would be losing her daughter in the near future. If she were forced to admit her innermost thoughts, Artoria wouldnt be able to deny that thest few years, while filled with various troubles but, had been incredibly fulfilling. She had learned from her failings as a Father and King and, though she believed she still had a long way to go, she liked to think she had be a capable Mother and Empress. Now, however, even though she had seen thising for a long time, she couldnt help but feel a small amount of anguish as, in a way, she had, once again, failed Mordred... Seeing the struggle in her Hahaues eyes, Mordreds feelings of guilt began to increase exponentially but, before she could say anything, a firm yet guiding voice reached her ears, calling her name and drawing her attention. Though she had known where the voice originated from, Mordred was still at a loss as, rather than conflict and struggle, her Chichiue had a calm and epting look on his face. His smile didnt seem forced and, rather than judgment or disappointment in his eyes, he looked at her the same way he always had, like a father trying to guide his daughter through her struggles... Though she would normally feel better just having her Chichiue smile at her, Mordreds feelings of guilt made it hard to even look at him, much less smile in turn. She hated that she couldnt control her own emotions properly and, as a result, she was on the verge of destroying everything that had made her happy in life. She felt lower than the greedy and depraved men and women that made up the vast majority of the human race as, even after obtaining happiness, she couldnt help but want even more...just like the people she hated most. Sensing a palpable increase in Mordreds negative emotions, Vahns smile faded slightly as he firmly said, "Mordred, raise your head.", drawing her eyes back to him. Then, before she could sink further into an ocean of negativity, he exined, "You have made a lot of progress over thesest few years. Even if I locked myself away into a [Space-Time Orb], no amount of time would be adequate to put into words how grateful I feel towards you. Being a father is the greatest purpose I have ever found and, seeing how much you have grown over thest three years, it fills me with hope and gives me the confidence to walk my own path..." Hearing her Chichiues words, Mordreds emotions began waging a war within her mind but, on the surface, she did her best to appear calm and attentive. She would normally be beside herself with glee to hear him say such things but, due to the circumstances, it felt like metal stakes were being driven into her heart. Though she had a few expectations about how things were meant to go, no amount of mental imaging could have prepared her for this increasingly tense conversation. It wasparable to the feelings she had felt while facing her Hahaue down in her past life, something she never wanted to experience a second time. As he had been closely gauging Mordreds reaction, Vahn fought to prevent his smile from turning awry. He knew Mordred had never been the type to indulge flowery words and long exnations so, in the hopes her downward spiral would cease, he released a tired sigh within his mind while raising three fingers, exining, "There are three choices avable to you. Though these are not the only three, they are what your mother and I came up with after a number of long discussions...I hope you will properly consider your choices before making a decision." Seeing that her now had Mordreds undivided attention, Vahn gave an appreciative node before holding up one finger and exining, "Your first option is to change your status from First Imperial Princess to First Imperial Prince. Before my meddling, you always identified as a man and Ive seen how you interact with Fenrir, Mash, and Astrid. If you pursue this path, you will live the rest of your life as a man and, when the timees, I will directly prepare you to rule in my stead." Though she expected any number of things, Mordred hadnt even considered the possibility she would be offered the chance to be a man. For a brief moment, her mind drew aplete nk as, in more ways than one, it was something she had always desired. Prior to being reborn, she had even considered the fact she had been born a female as a kind of curse. Though it helped that her father had also been female, making her feel a lot closer to the person she had most respected, she still had the mentality than men were, in many ways, superior. While Mordreds mind was still drawing a nk, Vahn held up a second finger, pulling her back to reality as he exined, "Your second option is to continue fulfilling your duties as Imperial Princess, increasing your status and prestige through your own efforts. This is simr to your current path but, towards the end, I can promise you something beyond your current ambitions. Rather than be the Emperor of one world, I will nurture you to be a being above even the Gods. If you choose this path...bing a Goddess, you will be able to stay at my side for eternity, helping me to shape, not just one world, but countless worlds. Also, as the standards for Gods arepletely different than those of mortals, I will...take you as one of my wives..." Hearing her Chichues final words, Mordreds breathing became audible and, though she managed to retain herposure, it was easy to see how much they had affected her. She was the type that always sought to rise above, gaining even greater power and authority. Being told she would be able to be a literal Goddess, ruling over countless worlds, there was no way she could ignore such an opportunity. Though it was true that she could have always followed this route, the same could be said for bing a male as, so long as she earnestly desired something, her Chichiue would not deny her... As this thought crossed her mind, so too did Mordreds awareness of her current situation. From the very beginning, her Chichiue had only been listing out options that had always been avable to her, not special deals that woulde and go if she refused them. If she really wanted, creating a fourth, fifth, or even a hundredth option was possible. The only thing he really cared about was that she was happy and, so long as it didnt interfere with the happiness of others, she was free to choose at her leisure. In timing with this conclusion, Vahn held up his third finder, adopting a somewhat wry smile as he added, "The third option is the easiest, really...you give up your status as Imperial Princess, denounce our parent-child rtionship, and follow a path simr to Illya. Truthfully, there is very little difference between your situation and hers. I would be a hypocrite if I refused you for no better reason than my ongoing rtionship with your mother. In a way, your situation is even lessplicated as, in much the same way as Gray, you were born into...unique circumstances." Hearing the third option provided, Mordred fought hard to prevent herself fromughing out loud, even as tears began to build in her eyes. It was both funny yet surprisingly painful to be reminded of the fact that she could always just throw away her status. Though her Chichiue treated her with the care and concern of an actual parent, they werent truly rted and, if she chose to be selfish and pursue her desires, the seemingly unbreakable bond they had forged as parent and child would be shattered in an instant. This thought was liberating but, at the same time, Mordred couldnt help feeling indescribable anguish... Seeing Mordred fighting back tears with an awkward smile on her face, Vahns own heart felt pained so, instead of discussing the matter further, he patted his right thigh and said, "Come, sit.", in a soft and gentle tone. As a result, he found himself practically tackled by the still armor-d Mordred as, for reasons she couldnt put into words, she began crying her heart out. Shortly after, Artoria came to sit at her side and, for the better part of twenty minutes, theyforted the crying Mordred as a Mother and Father should... --- Though she hated crying, Mordred couldnt deny that she always felt much better afterward. Her body felt lighter and, as she almost exclusively cried around her parents, there was always a soothing warmth that came along with it. She would never admit it but she enjoyed being pampered as, prior to her rebirth, Mordred had never been able to experience anything like the care and concern of a parent... After calming down enough to organize her thoughts, Mordred broke the silence by sitting straight and dering, "I refuse to give up my status as your daughter. I thought I would be happy being one of your women but I wont abandon everything I have worked for just to be one of many. I will be much stronger, strong enough toy even Gods low in a single blow. Then, no matter how much time passes, we will always be together...as family...and much more..." Mordreds words were directed to both of her parents but, as she was sitting on her Chichiuesp, it was hard not to stare directly into his eyes. They held a force that seemed to draw others in and, at times, Mordred had wanted to swim within their depths. With this in mind, she decided to just throw propriety aside for a brief moment and, knowing it would probably be thest time for many years, she wrapped her arms around her Chichiues neck and imed his lips aspensation for, well, a lot of things... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Not your average family tensions...,The choice is yours...,Prelude to the Dragons rise (UwU)...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1398 - Mental Preparations

Chapter 1398 - Mental Preparations

Vahn couldnt be certain his handling of Mordreds situation was the best but, considering how fervently she threw herself into training, it was better than letting her spiral in negativity. Though it did cause some awkward tensions between them, especially when he was doing things like helping baptize her body in Source Energy, it wasnt that different from normal. Rather, Mordred seemed a lot happier than before so, while things would eventuallye to a head in the future, Vahn decided not to worry about it too much. Fortunately, or perhaps not, he had far more pressing matters to attend as every version of Scthach, sans the child-like form she used to attend the Clock Tower, had vanished. She had traversed back to her homnd and, though only a few days had passed in the real world, a massive stone castle now stood along the banks of Loch Eishort. This was the location of Dunscaith Castle, the ce that had served as Scthachs home prior to her disappearance into the Shadow Lands. Like all Heroic Spirits, Scthach would be most powerful at the location where her legend had begun, so, when they next met, Vahn had little doubt she would be far stronger than he was used to. If the final challenge really was a battle to the death, the Isle of Skye, and even Scond itself, may not be able to withstand their sh. Fortunately, he had Arcueid on his side as, even if he tried to use one of Da Vincis modified [Space-Time Orbs], there were no guarantees it could withstand the strain of their all-out attacks. The only real preparations Vahn needed to make were mental as, after training under Scthach for years, part of him expected to lose. Though he wasntcking in confidence, there were times when Scthach forced him onto the defensive and, despite his efforts to reverse the momentum, she was almost always able to overwhelm him. The only way around this was to remove his mental blocks as, if he truly went all out, even he didnt know the full extent of his power. All he really knew was that, if it came down to it, even Aoko and Arcueid, two Tier 5 being, might not be able tost more than a few hours against him... To prepare himself for the climactic battle, Vahn left Artoria and Gawain to deal with most official matters while Luvia and Bedivere worked together to arrange the uing ball. Though he kept to his normal schedule for a few days, Projection Time, he spent nearly three full days doing little more than meditating atop Leviathan. As a result, his mind slowly becamepletely devoid of thought as his existence itself seemed to blend into the surroundings. The only thing going through his mind was the subtle sounds of the [Mantra of Eternity], its words just as imperceptible to him as the day he had first obtained it. Even Sis didnt know how powerful the [Mantra of Eternity] was but, at the very least, it was graded as SSS-Rank, even within the Nasuverse. This indicated that, from the perspective of The Path, it was an existence at the very peak of Tier 5, likely even Tier 6. The fact he had obtained it randomly in the past, when he most desired strength, indicated it was The Paths answer. If he focused on trying to master the [Mantra of Eternity], it was all but guaranteed he would reach the ridiculous amount of strength he needed. With that being the case, Vahn could even rationalize, as scary as it might be, there was even a chance it could be Tier 7. All Vahn really knew about the [Mantra of Eternity] was, when used, it made him feel greater than his usual self. It was almost like he was expanding, bing something far more than the person he currently was. If he gave himself to that feeling, Vahn had no doubt he would obtain something far beyond anything he currently possessed but, in exchange, there was a chance he would lose that which was more precious to him. Thus, for the time being, the [Mantra of Eternity] served as a means to rejuvenate his Spirit, rapidly replenish his Source Energy, and calm his mind. When Vahn finally opened his eyes, the bubble that had formed in the atmosphere, creating a void nearly ten kilometers across, slowly dispersed. Vahn then sloughed off theyer of ice that covered his entire body, blinking a few times to remove the kes sticking to his eyshes. Then, before he went down to inform the others he would be departing, he lightly caressed the top of Leviathans head, saying, "Thanks for the assist." In response to his words, Vahn felt a ripple pass through his shadow and, in the next moment, a soft voice answered, "You need not thank me...your growth is my reward. I look forward to seeing how far your efforts will take you." Hearing Leviathans supportive words, Vahn issued a light chuckle before taking a few phantom-like steps and leaping off the side of the 30km long whale-like serpent that made its home high above the clouds. He could just teleport down but, after a long session of meditation, Vahn always had the desire to experience the world. It was hard to describe just howfortable he felt at times like this and, though it wouldntst long, Vahn enjoyed the sense of oneness with the world around him. By controlling his descent, Vahn was able tond soundlessly atop the ivory-white walls of his castle and, for a brief moment, he enjoyed simply gazing out over the peaceful ind that was his home. It would take some effort but, one day, he would ensure everyone had the opportunity to experience this same kind of peace. Even if Karma and other factors ensured there was always conflict within the world, he would still make it a ce where those who sought it, could find peace. With a natural smile spreading across his face, Vahn gave onest look at his surroundings before expanding his domain. As a result, his peaceful state was reced with a phenomenal amount of information, to the point that Vahn was even aware of individual des of grass, theposition of the dirt, and every insect crawling around inside of it. Despite this, it was a very different feeling than the oneness he experienced during meditation as, rather than being just a part of something bigger than himself, he was now the center of everything within the bounds of his domain. Sensing Artoria alongside Gray, Nero, and Rin, Vahn teleported just outside the room the upied and, after lightly knocking, made his way inside. As per usual, Artoria, Gray, and Nero all rose to their feet but, having always been more casual regarding matters of propriety, Rin remained sitting with a cup of tea in her hands. Vahn didnt particrly mind this but, based on the wry smiles on Artorias and Grays faces,bined with Neros curious expression, he expected it wouldnt be long before thetter also dismissed with propriety. Though it would be nice to stay and chat for a while, Vahn didnt move from the threshold of the door as he inly stated, "I will be going." in a calm tone. He didnt need to exin where, exactly, he would be going as, prior to his meditation, he had already discussed the matter, at length, with most of the girls. Thus, in response to his statement, Artoria released an almost inaudible sigh before adopting a supportive smile and saying, "Go. I will take care of the Empire while you are away. We will all be awaiting your triumphant return..." Vahn had already been smiling but, hearing Artorias words, he couldnt help but reveal how happy her support made him, his smile widening until his eyes squinted slightly. Though she may not hold the central position in his heart, Artoria had been one of his lifes greatest blessings. Just like in the Record of Danmachi, things would have been a lot different if he didnt havepetent, powerful, and tolerant women at his side. With the exception of Fenrir, she had be the person he relied on the most in the Nasuverse and, knowing she would continue to support him far into the future, he nearly teared up on the spot. Seeing Vahns unexpected reaction, all four girls were more than a little taken aback as, while he wasnt exactlycking in expressiveness, it was rare to see Vahn appear vulnerable. Since she had been the catalyst for his reaction, Artorias supportive smile melted into a far more affectionate one as she glided over to his side and wrapped her arms around him. Their size difference made hugging while standing a little awkward but, much like how it would duringbat, her body had moved on its own... --- After finally parting ways with his infinitelypassionate Empress, Vahn could feel his momentum begin to surge up in anticipation for what was toe. His calm was slowly leaking away and, after a much longer embrace than was necessary, it felt like his Spirit had been supercharged with positive emotions. By the time he reached the garden, where Arcueid was tending to the flowers alongside a group of adorable Companions, Vahn had regained his usual, confident, smile. This caused Arcueid to greet him with one of her own and, after lightly patting each of the helpful Companions, she rose to her feet and quickly alighted to his side. Since his presence at this time could only mean one thing, she gingerly ced her palm over his chest, asking, "Is it time?" In response to her question, Vahn took her hand into his own, nodding his head as he answered, "Ill be counting on you." Hearing the magical words, Arcueids smile became even more vibrant as she tip-toed and nted a delicate kiss on his lips in response. Then, her sapphire-blue eyes putting to shame even the most beautiful gemstones, she happily replied, "You can always count on me~", before giggling and stealing another kiss as her reward. If it wouldnt undo all the preparations he had made, Vahn would have whisked Arcueid away to give her a real reward. She always behaved in a way that made him want to rx and spend more time with her but, with Scthach already waiting a few days for his arrival, Vahn felt a strongpulsion to seek her out. He didnt want to be seen as a coward in the eyes of his Shishou and, knowing she would be able to ascertain what he had invested his prep time on, Vahn elected to remain focused. Fortunately, though she could be quite greedy at times, Arcueid already knew Vahns intentions so she didnt do anything to rile him up further. She had learned quite a bit from her sisters in the Inner Sanctum so, if she really wanted to, it wouldnt be that difficult to egg him on. The main lesson she had learned, however, was to do her best to support Vahn as, when it really came down to it, there was little he wouldnt do to support them. Thus, even if her body always felt like it was on fire when they were together, she settled by just nestling into his embrace for a few moments, knowing there was a good chance she wouldnt be able to spend time with him for a few days. When Arcueid was finally done recharging, Vahn kissed the top of her head before pulling her along as he said, "Well fly to the Isle of Skye. I want to feel the cold wind against my face and body before facing off against my Shishou. There is always a chance something unexpected will ur so make sure you stay on your toes, okay...?" Though she nodded her head in understanding, Arcueid wasted no time in clinging to Vahns arm with a wide smile on her face. Flying through the sky was one of the things she enjoyed most so, to have Vahn to herself for even a few minutes longer, she was more than happy to apany him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Eternity echoes throughout all of time and space...,Endless Blessings : Infinite Tolerance,Prelude to the climax...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1399 - Perspective

Chapter 1399 - Perspective

With Dunscaith Castle being less than eight-hundred kilometers from Avalon, it was a distance even an Einzbern Homunculi could cover in less than an hour. Thus, while it was an enjoyable and scenic flight, Vahn reached his destination in just under twenty minutes. Even prior to the event people now called The Fall, the Isle of Skye had only ever had around 10,000 inhabitants. It, like much of Scond, had been rtively untouched by the times due to the efforts of both conservationists and, as could be expected, the many Magus families that could trace their lineage back to the Age of Gods. As a result, it was a beautifulnd filled with verdant ins, strange rock formations, and a host of peculiar forests, many rumored to be enchanted by Fae and Spirits. Now, with few exceptions, most of Skyes inhabitants had migrated east, seeking refuge nearrger poption centers. Though some remained behind, unable or unwilling to abandon their ancestral homnd, the ind now appeared devoid of human life. This included the nearby crofting vige of Tokavaig, a popr tourist destination. During his short flight, Vahn had only detected a total of seven people still inhabiting the vige, most of which seemed to belong to the same family. Since this was a personal matter, Vahn really didnt want to get others involved so, while it was more than a little disorienting for the unsuspecting family, he had ya teleport them to safety. Once his battle with Scthach came to an end, he wouldpensate them for their troubles, even if it meant having to build them a new house with his own two hands. Though it was called a castle, Vahn was surprised to find that Dunscaith was only about 25m across. It seemed less like a fortress than a stone-forged beach house as, while isted and in a defensible position, about 12m above the surrounding sea, it would have had no means to resupply during a siege. There was only a single drawbridge connecting it to the maind but, considering this was a gap of only seven meters, it seemed pointless for keeping anything but normal people out. Vahn had known that, other than her immediate family and students, Scthach had chosen to live isted from the rest of the world. Even then, he had expected something grander than a simple walled castle with nothing more than a smallplex, a 10m tall tower, and what appeared to be a stable incapable of housing more than three horses. Though it did radiate a certain majesty, as was the case with all castles, Vahn couldnt help but feel it was a very lonely sight to behold. Seemingly sharing this sentiment, Arcueid squeezed his hand with her own, worry visible in her eyes as she said, "Be careful..." in a somber tone. In response, Vahn ran his fingers slowly through her hair and, after nting a kiss on the top of her head, he replied, "I shouldnt keep her waiting any longer. Take care of everything else for me, will you...?" Though she could do little to hide her concern, Arcueid managed a supportive smile as she ced her hand overtop Vahns and intoned a simple, Un... in response. She was beginning to get a very bad feeling about everything so, while she didnt say it out loud, Arcueid was resolved to step in if things got too dangerous. She believed in Vahn but Scthach was famous for killing Gods, Divine Spirits, and various immortal creatures. There were no true absolutes in the world so, while it seemed impossible to kill Vahn, there was always a small chance something would happen... Vahn could see through Arcueids intentions but, knowing there wasnt much he could do to stop her from worrying, he opted to remain silent and just enjoy their final moment together. He could already feel the aura from within the castle beginning to build, however, so he opted not to remain idle for too long. Thus, after sending Arcueid off with a smile on his face, Vahn turned to the rather demure castle and made his way inside the only building on the rtively small outcrop. Upon opening the doors to the castles keep, Vahn found himself face to face with Scthach who, at the end of an 8m long path, could be found sitting on a rune-covered throne, forged from the same crystalline metal as her weapons. She was even wearing a deep purple gown, not all that dissimr to the one her Caster counterpart often wore. The only real difference was the fact that this version of the dress still had metallic pauldrons, trimmed with ck feathers, while, seated above her ruby-red eyes, a crown reminiscent of ck thorns, set with a blood-red gemstone, could be seen... Though she emanated a regal and invible aura, Scthach was actually just sitting casually on her throne, supporting her head with her right hand, one leg crossed over the other as shezily gazed at Vahn and muttered, "You dont seem all that impressed by my home...did you expect something grand like the Ivory Castle?" Not expecting the first thing out of Scthachs mouth to pertain to her castle, Vahn found himself at a momentary loss for words. Then, forcing him to swallow any kind of excuse he might havee up with, Scthach raised her hand, her momentum exploding out in an instant. As a result, Vahn was pushed back a few meters, enough to be sent flying from the keep if not for his surroundings having changed in a startling manner. A stark contrast to the rather homely throne room from before, Vahn now found himself in a vast chamber that was more than a hundred meters deep and thirty across. At the same time, his senses showed that the outside had changed into a veritable fortress, the previous tower now exceeding a hundred meters in height while the cliff upon which the castle was set increased to more than five hundred... Without needing to ask, Scthach righted her position on her throne as she exined, "You, of all people, should know better than to base everything off first impressions...Wee, Vahn Aldrnari Mason...to the Land of Shadows...my home." Though he had already sensed something was off, it was only after Scthachs words that Vahn was able to realize what was different about her. This caused his eyes to widen considerably, earning a rare smile from her as she nodded her head and stated, "It is as you suspect. Thanks to your efforts in summoning so many of my counterparts, I had little trouble performing the ritual to connect the Land of Shadows to the Surface World. What you see before you is no Spiritual Form...did you really think I would be content fighting against you with the limits of the Throne?" Hearing Scthachs words, Vahn couldnt help but feel a tumultuous stirring inside his heart as, even now, he could still feel his connection with all seven versions of her. He couldnt understand how the real her could coexist with the Heroic Spirit versions of herself but, considering who it was sitting across from him, Vahn didnt doubt her words. He honestly shouldnt have even been surprised as, even alone, Scthach was capable of iprehensible feats. With six of herself working in concert with each other, there were very few limits to what she could aplish... Seeing Vahn quickly recover hisposure, Scthach gave a small nod and, though she wasnt particrly known for her exposition, exined, "You should know...Im not like the other women you have surrounded yourself with. There are no great tragedies in my past and, while I did lose my father at a young age, that was normal during my lifetime. Rather, from your perspective, I should be considered an enemy...my past is not a secret to you...you know what I have done..." Though she was idolized as a great hero and an even greater teacher, the true history of Scthach was a much darker tale. Much like how Cs own story included events such as him killing his best friend, murdering hundreds, and evenmitting filicide; Scthachs was marred with tragedies she had set in motion. She treated her children with such disregard that, even if they were brutally raped or killed, she wouldnt intervene or mourn them. While this might have been driven by herck of emotions and the corruption of her [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground], it wasnt an exaggeration to say that, rather than a Hero, Scthach had been one of the most wicked viins of the entire Ulster Cycle... Despite everything she had done, however, Vahn genuinely believed that Scthach wasnt a terrible person. Her actions had been the result of her knowing when, where, and how people were going to die. Though she could have tried to fight against fate, preventing tragedies and bing a far greater Hero than recorded in history, this was all but impossible to aplish. Even Merlin couldnt fight against fate as, by taking proactive measures to set certain events in motion, you became the very lynchpin of your reality. This was the same reason Zelretch rarely intervened in events and, for much the same reasons as Scthach, showed disregard for virtually everyone around him... In essence, had she not known everything, Scthach would have likely walked a very different path than the one she had been set upon for thest twenty-two-hundred-years. Though there was a very good chance she would have be a true viin, that was simply the nature of most Heroes at the end of the Age of Gods. During her era, people with power were expected to act as they pleased as, even if they were spoken about poorly, fame gave people actual power. Most Heroes hadmitted a few atrocities during their rise but, when it came down to it, they still distinguished themselves as Heroes by setting themselves against greater threats to the people... Had he entered the Nasuverse around the time of Scthachs reign, it was all but guaranteed that they would have been enemies. In fact, Scthach may very well have been his greatest enemy as, with how she treated her people, students, and even family, he wouldnt have been able to forgive her. Now, however, she was just a lonely woman who had suffered for several millennia in solitude, burdened with a power she had never desired. She had already paid a heavier price than most could even fathom and, while her training had been harsh, Scthach had been one of his strongest pirs of support since entering the Nasuverse. With more than three years worth of experience dealing with his monstrous Shishou, Vahn knew she wasnt a bad person. Though she couldnt exactly be called good, she shared a lot of simrities with various Goddesses and, with her [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground] serving as a powerful curse, this wasnt all that surprising. Thus, rather than treat her as a human, Vahn looked at Scthach in the same way he would view a Goddess of Death and ughter. Yes, she had done many terrible things but, looking back on his own past, especially the past few months, Vahn knew he couldnt really be considered a paragon of virtue. With all of this in mind, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head in response to Scthachs im about being different from his other women. This caused her to give him a curious look but, before she was able to inquire, he preempted her by stating, "The past doesnt matter in the slightest. The woman I havee to know over thest three years is someone that I, and everyone else in the Empire, can rely on. You have helped to shape me into the man I am today and, while you may resent me for it, I know I have left an impression on you as well...you are not the cold woman your Innates have forced everyone, even yourself, to believe..." Hearing Vahns words, Scthach issued a rareugh, her deep voice sending shivers along his spine as she rose to her feet and stated, "You are right...feel proud, my foolish little disciple. In all my life, you are but one of three who have left an impression on my heart. Now, I will make you ept the responsibility your careless actions have wrought. Show me how far your greed and ambition can take you..." With her words trailing, Scthachs calm andcent demeanor instantly faded away and, before Vahn was able to answer in kind, he found himself on the receiving end of a cross-shaped red spear, its surface glistening with runes as it attempted to pierce his heart... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The calm before the storm,Heroes are immortalized by those who survive them,An insatiable desire, a crimson spear...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1400 - Roar

Chapter 1400 - Roar

Though he ended up crashing through the front doors of the castles keep, Vahn had managed to block Scthachs preliminary attack with his transformed palm. He had reached the point where he could activate his [Rakshasa Body] without even having to think about it, allowing him to transition between offense and defense in an instant. As Scthach had disappeared from her previous location after throwing the spear, Vahn twisted his head to the side while grabbing the spear with his right hand, seizing control over it as he swiped in a wide arc to the right. He found his attack blocked by a short spear in Scthachs own right hand as a second grazed past the artery in his neck. She as able to immediately change the trajectory of the attack with minimal effort but, by transforming only the right half of his body into his Zhuque form, Vahn was able to create an eruption of vermillion mes that elerated him outside of the attacks trajectory, burning Scthachs dress in the progress. Without even flinching, Scthach tore through his vermillion mes with incredible momentum, a series of five spears dancing around her, seemingly of their own volition. They even instantly moved to pierce the Elemental Stars he had sent out to deter her pursuit, a vain effort to buy enough time to better ascertain his surroundings. Vahn knew that the Land of Shadows couldnt be a simple ce and, as its Queen, Scthach was undoubtedly able to make use of various abilities rted to it. If he ignored their surroundings and just focused on her, it was all but guaranteed toe back to bite him. After all, this was and of the dead, a ce where Ghosts and several types of Spirits freely roamed. Since one of the main aspects of her legend included escorting warriors into her domain, Vahn needed to move the fight away from any foreboding buildings or structures. Though she was able to see through Vahns intentions without much difficulty, Scthach had always found it exceptionally difficult to keep him pinned down. She could easily overwhelm him whenever they traded blows but, due to the nature of Vahns body and the manifestation of his power, it was all but impossible to keep him in one spot without dealing critical damage to his mind and spirit. In an effort to keep him grounded, Scthach extended her hand forward, sending her spears cutting through the air before piercing into the void behind him. This caused arge red pentagram to form and, in the next moment, Vahn found himself barreling towards the ckened wastnd below. It was as if he had been impacted by a gravitational hammer and, like a nail, his penultimate fate saw him prate deep into the ground below. Understanding it would take a lot more to inflict any kind of meaningful damage to Vahn, Scthach extended her hand to the sky, forming a massive spear that was more than 20m in length. Its tip was shaped like a vicious drillbit and, as if to capitalize on this peculiarity, it began to spin at high speeds, the energy radiating from its surface enough to distort the space around it. Then, with the sweep of her hand, the spear shot forward like a ray of violent red light, impacting the area where Vahn had been buried. For a brief moment after impact, there was an eerie silence that pervaded the entirety of the Land of Shadows. Then, like the light of first dawn, a hemisphere of pulsing red energy began to expand outward like a bubble. It was able to keep its surface tension by the energy rapidly swirling but, upon expanding to more than 300m in size, it erupted outward with extreme violence, tearing through thend and destroying arge section of her castle in an instant. Scthach had never particrly cared about her estate so, after having decided to put her all into this battle, she wouldy ruin to the entire Lad of Shadows if necessary. Vahn wanted toy im to her and, as this ran counter to her original death-seeking intentions, he would need to force her into submission. This was the only way to keep her at his side and, if he wasnt able to make good on his promise, Scthach fully intended to keep him at hers instead... Never doubting that Vahn could survive the cataclysmic blow she had sent his way, Scthach began to perform a rhythmic dance in mid-air, red energy swirling around her like a vortex. In response to her actions, space within the Land of Shadows began to distort and, from within the void above her, a massive tear appeared. From within, a blood-red meteor that seemed to writhe and pulse began to emerge, red lightning dancing across its surface as a soul-shaking shriek began to echo through the surroundings. Though she had escorted countless warriors to the Land of Shadows, Scthach had also exiled all of the malicious and wicked individuals who lived their life without honor. She forcefully sealed them in an isted section of the Land of Shadows, creating an amalgamation of flesh and malignant energy that was several tens of kilometers in diameter, screaming for release... When the smoke from Scthachs cataclysmic attack finally faded, a Dragonoid entity that stood more than three meters tall could be seen hovering a few centimeters above the epicenter of a massive crater. Even Vahns usually handsome visage had faded away, reced by a vicious and judgmental expression, even if those werent his actual emotions. To further lend to his monstrous appearance, he had done away with his wings, sprouting four additional limbs in their ce, each set with a ming sword that radiated so much heat that, even two kilometers away, amidst fierce and bone-chilling winds, Scthach could feel it. With a rare smile on her face, Scthachs dance came to an end, her scarlet tongue briefly tracing her lips as the malignant mass of flesh above her sprouted hundred of thousands of toothed mouths. In the next moment, with the consistency of heavy rain, beams of negative energy rained down upon the Land of Shadows, each beam corroding an area of several meters on contact. Before any of the rain could reach him, Vahns maw opened wide, revealing two rows of angr teeth. This caused an invisible bubble to surround him, deflecting away the beams of malignant red energy before expanding outward with phenomenal speed. Though Scthach had tried to move beyond the effective range of the attack, she was surprised to find that even instantaneous action had proven too slow as, before she could even process what had happened, a mighty roar seemed to erupt from inside her mind as she was sent flying into the amalgamation of flesh above. Though Vahns Dragons Roar was one of his most powerful attacks, especially in his transformed state, it was only the precursor to his actual attack. Immediately following the unstoppable pulse of energy, severalyered eleration gates appeared before his open maw which, from within, could be seen glowing with intense azure light. At the same time, his scales grew more vibrant while the three-pronged horns on his head began to curve slightly, aplex runic pattern expanding across their surface. Without realizing it himself, Vahns Qnglng transformation had be slightly different than what he had grown ustomed to. It was likely rted to his emotional state but, rather than a coating of azure scales, more than half of his body now glistened with resplendent gold. Even the lightning that danced across his body began to emte this change but, with his focus entirely on Scthach, Vahn hadnt noticed it at all. With his Dragons Breath building up to a critical level, Vahn released it into the eleration gates, each forcibly kept stable by a mass of Source Energy. As a result, his already devastating attack was elevated far beyond its normal destructive capacity, elerating far beyond the speed of light. This caused the same pulse he had experienced in the past but, having anticipated it this time, an aura of pure Source Energy veiled his body, protecting himself and his cherished [L?vateinn]s. Though his breath was usually concentrated into a beam, the peculiarity of elerating an attack beyond the speed of light caused it to radiate out in all directions, seemingly without limit. Even Vahn was taken aback by this as, immediately following his attack, everything within view began to dissolve away into what Da Vinci referred to as Subatomic Ash. It was thepletely spent state of magical energy and, with nothing to keep it stable, it broke apart until it was smaller than even a preon before ultimately bing so small it couldnt be detected by even the most powerful of instruments. For several seconds after the release of his attack, Vahns surroundings became nothing but a cloud of ash, swirling about in the massive void he had created. It was like being trapped in a vacuum and, for reasons he couldnt ascertain, even the surrounding atmosphere was unable to copse in to fill the 300km void he had created. It wasnt until the cloud of absolute darkness finally faded away that the atmosphere finally tried to stabilize, copsing in on itself with phenomenal destructive force as a result of the pressure differential. At the time, Vahn couldnt even fathom how much damage his attack had done but, from where he was hovering, even the closest surface seemed a vast distance away. It reminded him a lot of when he would float high above the and, though he had never thought to try, Vahn had the distinct impression he might even be able to destroy a at his current level. Though there were quite a number of Noble Phantasms that qualified as Anti-World Noble Phantasms, it had never urred to him that he would reach anywhere near that level in his current state... Though he experienced a strange feeling of existential dread, Vahn was even more put off by the feeling of pride that welled up inside him. Part of him wanted to roar out triumphantly but, as this wasnt the first time he had transformed into his Qnglng form, he managed to keep it restrained. Instead, he flew upwards toward the massive tear in the sky above, the only thing that had survived his amplified Dragons Breath. As for the amalgamation of flesh within, it was now nowhere to be seen, much like Scthach herself. Even if his attack was twice as strong, Vahn wouldnt have believed it if anyone told him his attack had been enough to actually kill his Shishou. Thus, despite her apparent absence, he remained as vignt as his current state would allow, his [L?vateinn]s at the ready, crying out for a chance to do battle. What unnerved Vahn was that, even after several minutes had passed, Scthach was nowhere to be seen. He could only watch in silence as the tear in space began to mend itself, appearing much like a blot of misty ink that slowly shrank until vanishing into nothingness. It was only after this that Vahn began to feel nervous as, knowing his Shishou, there was no way she would just remain idle for more than ten minutes. Beginning to feel a little panicky, Vahn stowed away his morose [L?vateinn]s and began scouring the area using his domain. He flew from one end of the massive crater to the next, searching for any signs of Scthach, all while using [Enkidu] to forcibly reveal anything that might be hidden away in the void. There was always a chance that she was trying to lull him into acent state so, even after several hours had passed, Vahn hadnt dropped his guard as he continued his search for the woman he couldnt even rationalize killing... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ... .... .,.. ...,.- .-.. .. ...- .) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1401 - Realization

Chapter 1401 - Realization

Though he still couldnt believe it, Vahn eventually touched down on the edge of the massive crater he had formed, taking a seat along the periphery as his mind entered a daze. He refused to admit it could be over in such a short period of time as, while he had, indeed, gone all out, it shouldnt have been enough to defeat his Shishou. Her immortality was tied to the Land of Shadows itself so, with thetter still existing around him, Vahn couldnt believe she was dead... With little else to do, Vahn used the moment to reflect on the battle, staring at his own hands and the massive chasm that stretched out before him. He knew his destructive capabilities had reached a ridiculous level but, seeing how devastating his Dragons Breath had been, an empty feeling welled up inside them. This didnt feel like an amount of power that someone should possess but, despite this, Vahn knew he was barely at the starting point on his journey to bing Tier 7. One day, perhaps a lot sooner than he expected, entires, stars, gxies, and even universes would cease to be if he so willed it. Even entire multiverses would bend to his will and, though he was nowhere near that level just yet, even the Laws themselves would manifest in the way he chose. He would be able to create Gods, shape worlds with his will, and alter the flow of time on his whim. It was a truly terrifying amount of power, not only because he would possess it one day, but because others already did. With even ya absent from within the Land of Shadows, Vahn only had one person to talk to so, after falling onto his back and staring up at the ashen-gray sky above, he asked, ("What should I do, Sis? I know I need power but, what is the point of possessing it if I cant even control it well enough to avoid killing my own allies? I feel like Im bing a monster, not a God of Creation...will I ever be able to enjoy a battle at higher levels...?"). Immediately after his inquiry, Vahn could hear a sigh within the back of his mind but, when Sis finally spoke, she had her usual reassuring voice as she answered, (*Your ability to use Source Energy allows you to leap over the Tier gap and even damage people you shouldnt be able to harm. Just like how you are able to affect Artoria when she is using Avalon, there is no ssification of immortality that is beyond your means to destroy. I cant say whether or not you will ever be able to enjoy yourself in a battle but, as most of your conquests are against your enemies, is it not better to have the power to defeat anyone...?*) Though there was a lot of truth to Sis words, Vahn still missed the times when he had first started his journey. Before he had gotten wrapped up in trying to protect others, elevating his strength to ridiculous levels, he had been a bit of a battle junky. He used to enjoy the heart-pumping thrill of battle, letting his instincts take charge as he zipped around the battlefield at high speeds. Now, he had enough raw power that, if he was back in Danmachi, he would probably be able to crack open the head of Achron with his bare fists... Vahn knew that, as his power continued to grow and develop, even minor conflicts would turn into climactic battles with the fate of entire realms on the line. One day, rather than throw marble-sized Elemental Stars, he may be using actual stars, hurling them towards monstrous entities the size of Nebs. It seemed so ridiculous to think about but, with even Tier 5 being able to create a system-driven multiverse, it wasnt really an exaggeration. He still couldnt even begin to fathom what Tier 6 and 7 were like as, in the present moment, he couldnt even trulyprehend his own power... Fearing that Vahn may be falling back into his old habits, Sis voice became more prominent within his mind as she stated, (*There is no going backward, Vahn. Just as you encourage others to do, you need to have the strength to constantly move forward. There are no limits to The Path, only how you choose to use it. The power you seek is necessitated by your desires but that doesnt mean you will be forced to use it. When the timees, you can choose to seal your power away or even manifest as an Avatar amongst the many worlds you have created; just like the Gods in Danmachi...*). Hearing Sis guiding words, Vahn exhaled a tired sigh before rolling to a seated position and kicking off against the side of the massive hemispherical chasm. Though he still felt empty inside, he knew it was only a temporary phenomenon. He actually had quite a number of things to fill the void caused by his ever-increasing power so, rather than mull over it, taking action was the more sensible choice. Even if he reached a level of power that others couldnt hope topete with, that didnt mean he was out of options. If he wanted to, he could just be a teacher, helping hisrades, guiding his children along their own paths, and even setting others unrted people on their own. He didnt have to focus on his own life as the central point of all things as, with enough power, there were no limits to the options avable to him. The only thing he really needed to get better at was managing his Karmic footprint as, if he kept repeating the same cyclic behavior in every Record he visited, there would be no end to his troubles... --- After several hours of aimlessly flying around with no particr destination in mind, Vahn began mulling over ways to leave the Land of Shadows. He could still feel his link to the seven Heroic Spirits of Scthach so, if it came down to it, he could summon her Caster version to open a gate back to the real world. There was a good chance they were already aware of what had happened so, at the very least, he could learn whether or not the real Scthach had died. Truthfully, Vahn didnt understand how Scthach had been able to manifest the Land of Shadows in the real world, especially with her Heroic Spirits still present. After all, she wasnt a standard summon as, much like Merlin, Scthach had never actually died. It was for this reason that each version of her was linked together so, now that the original may have perished,mon sense stated they should have vanished alongside her. Inversely, so long as they were alive, Scthach would still have a vessel to inhabit, much like how he used his own bodies. Since it was easier to just ask Scthach herself about what had happened, Vahn touched down near the epicenter of the 300km deep crater, marveling at its size for a brief moment before opening his Unit Management and transferring Caster Scthach to his location. He could have used a Command Spell to aplish the same feat but, with his Unit Management able to circumvent all interference, it was the simpler solution. What surprised Vahn was the fact that Scthach manifested in what appeared to be a column of ice, reminding him a lot of Evas [Eternal Ice Coffin]. The only real difference was that Scthach had used [Primordial Rune]s to achieve the same effect, giving the cial pir a peculiar and ancient aura. Seeing the naked woman sealed away in the ice coffin, Vahn briefly considered summoning the Lily version of Scthach but, as the Land of Shadows was filled with the Laws of Death, it didnt seem like the best idea. She was the only version of Scthach that didnt have a direct link to the deathlynds so, while she had been linked to the other six, it was fundamentally different than the others. At one point, Vahn had an inkling that Scthach had insisted on her Lily version in the hopes of using it as a scapegoat of sorts. Now that things hade to this, he had the terrifying realization that this may have actually been the case. From what he could ascertain, Scthach had gone to great lengths to ensure that her other six forms had been sealed awaypletely. She had even made the coffins in such a way that, while still active, he couldnt send mana to any of them. This meant, after they ran out of internal Magical Power, all six of the sealed versions of Scthach would fade away... Realizing what she had done, Vahn gnashed his teeth hard enough to bloody his gums and, with a furious howl, he smashed the ground beneath his feet in a frenzy. Though her nature wouldnt have allowed her to go easy on him, it was obvious that Scthach had yed him for a fool. She had used him to effectivelymit suicide, removing any chance he had of preventing it. To make things even worse, she had forcibly transnted her original self into the current time axis so, even if he wanted to, summoning his Scthach would be impossible... --- While Vahn was raging within the Land of Shadows, the person responsible for his mental anguish was standing silently atop the Sage Aldrnari College Commons. Though she knew she had wronged Vahn considerably, this was all in the hopes of teaching him an important lesson. After all, unless he really wanted to be one of the very things he hated, Vahn had no right to decide her fate. She had been seeking death for thousands of years so, while she understood, and even appreciated, his intentions, this was the only course of action. So long as she was connected to the Land of Shadows, Scthach knew she would never be happy. It wouldnt matter if Vahn found a way to liberate her from the duty she had been assigned as, after being imprisoned for far more than the 2200 years that had passed in reality, her mental state had reached a point of no return. Though Vahn had rekindled some of her passions, the person she had be wasnt someone who was even worthy of staying at his side. Though her Lily version had been connected with the other six, this mental link would be severed once they ran out of mana. Then, finally, she would be liberated from her position as Queen of the Land of Shadows. She would no longer be burdened by the [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground] and, while her power would understandably decrease, she was still a peerless warrior. Now, she even had actual goals, breathing newfound vitality into her cold and deste existence. After seeing how powerful Vahn had be in such a short period of time, Scthach was wholly determined to be even stronger than her original self. She would not give in to the temptation of easy power and, even if it took hundreds of years, she would surpass herself in every way. At the same time, she would dedicate herself to the man who had forced himself to fall in love with her, all while forcing her to love him in kind. This was the least she could do for the man who had given her everything, including the release of death she had sought for the vast majority of her existence. Remembering the promise she had made with Vahn prior to the twelve challenges, Scthach couldnt help but allow a sincere smile to spread across her lips. This time, she would be a better mother than before as, even if she didnt really know how, Scthach knew she could rely on the other women in the Ivory Castle to help her. Now that she had finally been liberated from her fate, there was no end to the number of things she wanted to experience but, before that, Scthach started off by nting a vibrant [Primordial Rune] directly into her forehead... (A/N: Alternate Titles: TFW you identally kill the final boss with a glitch and the credits start to roll...,Vahns Temper Tantrum,The longest con) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1402 - Frustration

Chapter 1402 - Frustration

Though it took longer than he would care to admit, Vahn eventually managed to calm himself afterying waste to a considerable section of the Land of Shadows. It was hard to describe just how frustrated he felt but, after a bit of counsel from Sis, and even more introspection, he was able to ept that Scthach hadnt actually betrayed him but, just as he wished for all the people around him, she did what was necessary for her happiness. If he were being honest, Vahn had always felt guilty about the rtionship between him and his Shishou but, after cementing his convictions, it was hard to take a step back. He had wanted to help her but, from the very beginning, she hadnt desired help. She didnt simply want liberation from her situation but absolution for the life and decisions she had made. The fact Scthach had gone out of her way to prepare a version of herself without a connection to the Land of Shadows proved that she had, perhaps, shown him more consideration than he had shown her. He had been forcing her to live a life she did not want to live, using his selfishness and his convictions to drag her along with him. He was convinced he would be able to slowly change her perspective when, from the very beginning, that isnt what she had desired. It was hard to ept but Scthach had every right to do what she had, even if it gave him strong destructive urges. He even suspected there was some greater lesson she had wanted him to learn but, in his current state of mind, Vahn wasnt able to rationalize what it was. All he really knew was that he didnt like this oue in the slightest, even if he could understand her motivations. It might be childish but part of him vehemently resisted the decision she had made. Despite this, he resolved himself to let the mattery as, in the end, it was her decision to make. Perhaps the lesson she had wanted to teach him was the importance of moving on, pulling a page out of his own book and forcing him to ept that there were times when his selfish desires wouldnt be tolerated... Since he might as well ask the person herself, Vahn spent a fair amount of time sulking within the Land of Shadows before finally calming down enough to make his exit. He honestly didnt know how to face Scthach right now but, as there was little sense in avoiding her, it was better to get it out of the way sooner, rather thanter. The dynamic between them had been utterly destroyed so, in order to move on with his own life, he needed to reconcile his current emotions. Fortunately, while Scthach had left no way for him to leave the Land of Shadows, Vahn could use the Quest Boards as a waypoint to connect him to the outside world. Then, using his Qnglng transformation, he tore through the fabric of Space, finding it difficult but not impossible to rend with his ws. It took longer than expected, as most teleportations were nigh instantaneous, but Vahn managed to find his way back to reality using his fragments as a beacon. As a result, he ended up emerging near the Knights Training Field within Avalon but, with ya instantly appearing at his side, Vahn was able to teleport back to the Isle of Skye in an instant, reuniting with Arcueid. At the same time, he created a second body from the material of the Quest Board, using it to teleport directly to the Clock Tower. Though it would have been infinitely better to dpress by discussing the matter with Artoria and the others, Vahn didnt feel like dying things. He needed to understand Scthachs actual intentions as, despite resolving to respect her decision, he still hadntpletely epted it... Fortunately, undoubtedly seeing through him, Scthach had been waiting for his arrival atop the roof of the Aldrnari College Commons. She was wearing her military-style school uniform and, even from behind, Vahn could tell there was something different about her. This caused him to tense up and, though he had initially been preparing to confront her, Vahn found it hard to take even a single step forward as he asked, "Scthach...?" in an uncertain tone. Hearing her name called, the young woman standing on the edge of the building turned just enough that she could see over her shoulder. This was all Vahn needed to see in order to know the full extent of Scthachs n as,pared to the cold and borderline ruthless eyes he had be ustomed to, the young woman before him had a more innocent and curious glint to her ruby-red eyes. Just as Vahn felt his body temperature decrease significantly, his fears were actualized when she suddenly smiled in a perfectly natural way, happiness audible in her tone as she said, "Master, it is good to see you. I have been waiting...?" Though the original Scthach could act well enough to put even the most seasoned professionals to shame, Vahn could tell the young woman standing before him wasnt acting. She seemed to be genuinely happy to see him but, based on the inflection at the end of her second sentence, it was obvious she didnt know why. This caused Vahn to feel deted and, after pulling a chair out of his Inventory, he waspelled to take a seat, his head hanging in his hands. Seeing her Master in such a state, Scthach felt as if her heart was breaking. She didnt know why but, seeing him like this caused her immense pain. Thus, while it made her stomach flitter about a considerable amount, she quickly went to his side, cing her hand on his shoulder in the hopes offorting him. This, unfortunately, just resulted in him tensing up for a brief moment before deting even further, his shoulders drooping in an expression of defeat and exasperation... Suddenly, recing her anxiety from before, Scthach felt as if her brain was buzzing in frustration as, without thinking about her words, she eximed, "Raise your head this instant! This is no way for an Emperor to behave! How would the people who support you feel if they saw you like this!?" Hearing Scthach suddenly shout, Vahnzily raised his head to meet her gaze, finding her ruby-red eyes awash with variousplex emotions. Though her brows were furrowed, she seemed more embarrassed than angry,plete with a slightly flushed expression. This was so different from what he hade to expect from his Shishou that, in the back of his tumultuous mind, Vahn couldnt help but remark, ("She really did it..."). Though he didnt know to what extent she had gone, it didnt take a Master Detective to deduce that Scthach had modified and erased many of her memories. She had likely selected only the memories she considered most pertinent to living a normal life and performing her duties to the Empire. Though her strict nature still seemed to be intact, her personality had been altered so far beyond recognition that she was virtually a different person from before... Seeing her Masters lifeless eyes, Scthach couldnt help but frown deeply as she added, "This isnt like you at all...did something terrible happen? I can listen if you need someone to talk to...I dont like seeing you like this." Feeling Scthachs concern for him,bined with the fact she seemed entirely unaware of the fact she was the cause for his current state, a dryugh escaped Vahns lips. He didnt have words to describe how he felt right now but, apparently dissatisfied with his response, Scthachs frown deepened even further before she spontaneously pped him across the face, her hand turning into a blur as a loud Pa sounded out. With his natural resistances, Vahn was entirely uninjured by Scthachs p but, as it wasnt often someone dared to strike him in such a way, his mind immediately snapped back to awareness. At the same time, his left hand moved instinctually to prevent her second attempt to strike him. This caused Scthach to pale slightly but, with a frown still visible on her face, she muttered, "Finally..." in a somewhat hesitant tone. Realizing he had been acting in a rather shameful manner, Vahn briefly looked around the area before releasing Scthachs hand and saying, "Well, at least your violent streak hasnt changed..." Then, before she could respond, he plopped his hand down on top of her head, adding, "Dont worry about it...youve changed enough...too much, in fact. For now, I just answer want you to answer my questions, okay?" Though she still felt there was something off about her Master, Scthach ultimately nodded her head in response. She could tell there was something troubling him so, if she could make things easier by answering his questions, it was her duty to do so. Thus, after sitting down on the roof and patting her thighs, Scthach was surprised to find herself saying, "Come, rest your head. If it is within my ability, I will answer all of your questions..." Seeing the confusion on Scthachs face, Vahn could tell that her memories and character hadnt been fully reconciled just yet. This implied that the alteration was pretty recent but, while he was tempted to whisk her away to have Merlin try and recover them, Vahn ultimately just released a sigh beforeying with his head atop herp. This caused Scthachs face to redden slightly but, as she had been the one to offer, it was exceeding difficult for her to rescind the offer... Feeling thefortably soft and plump sensation against the back of his neck,bined with the fact he couldnt even see her face due to her ratherrge breasts, Vahn couldnt help but release a tired sigh. though this was the Lily version of Scthach, that didnt mean she looked like a child; quite the contrary. While shecked the raw sex appeal of her adult self, the current Scthach still had a rtively mature appearance, standing at 160cm with secondary sexual characteristics that put women like Rin and even Olga to shame... Knowing there was no way Scthach would have left him without any answers whatsoever, Vahn took it upon himself to break the awkward silence between them, asking, "You were waiting here for my arrival...is there something you were supposed to give me?" Though her mind had been racing from the moment her Master ced his head atop herp, Scthach immediately came to her senses when she heard him speaking. In response to his question, she was momentarily confused but, like someone being reminded of an important date, realization suddenly dawned upon her. In the next moment, she pulled out a small orb from her storage ring, answering, "I was supposed to give you this...?" in an uncertain tone. Seeing the [Memory Projection Orb] in Scthachs hand, Vahn couldnt help but release a heavy sigh of relief. If she hadnt prepared anything at all, he would have felt even more conflicted than he already did so, after gingerly epting the baseball-sized orb, Vahn unhesitantly activated it. While it could be problematic for Scthach to see a memory she couldnt recall, Vahn knew the original her wasnt the type to make such oversights. If there was any chance at all he would use it in the presence of her Lily form, she would have prepared countermeasures in advance. After all, she must have put a considerable amount of thought into this entire scheme so, if this ended up being her one mistake, he would be more than a little surprised... As expected, rather than a normal memory orb, Vahn felt his consciousness being pulled within. Lily Scthachs act of having himy down suddenly made a lot more sense as, while the nature of the orb had yet to be revealed, it seemed to function simrly to the pseudo-reality marbles that Da Vinci had been developing. Scthach had either stolen one of the prototypes or made use of her ridiculous capabilities, developing a version of her using [Primordial Rune]s and her mastery over various Laws... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn can be pretty selfish, at times o_o...,Some things change, others remain the same...,Scthach could give Loki a run for her money...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1403 - Closure...

Chapter 1403 - Closure...

When Vahn next opened his eyes, he found himself in the recognizablendscape of the Isle of Skye but, unlike the physical location he had visited earlier, it was several timesrger. In a way, it seemed to be abination of the Isle of Skyes features, ovepped with the Land of Shadows. He could even see Scthachs castle in the distance, standing majestic and tall beyond a vast gorge that was set with a titled tform, low on the sides and high in the center. To Vahns surprise, Scthach wasnt the first person he encountered with the orb but, lined up on the near-side of the gorge, several men and a few women awaited their chance to cross. Amongst them, he was instantly able to make out the appearance of a much younger C Chinn, now appearing to be around 15-16 years old. While some eagerly fought for their chance to take on the obstacles, he sat patiently at the side, idly conversing with another young man with handsome features, fair skin, and hazelnut brown hair. As soon as he saw the people gathered, Vahn realized that Scthachs orb was no simple artifact. She seemed to have stolen Da Vincis idea of making a version of the orb that others could interact with,plete with simted people. If this was the case, it meant he not only had the chance to witness Scthachs past but, depending on the orbsplexity, he could even influence how events yed out, much like when he entered a Record... Though it was tempting to engage with the youthful warriors lined up along the gorge, Vahns goaly at the castle further beyond. There, standing atop the castles curtain walls, two women, the first being Scthach and, based on hair color, someone Vahn could only assume to be her daughter. The thing that made this hard to believe was, despite Scthachs fierce and noble appearance, wearing her usual bodysuit, the young woman at her side appeared delicate and frail, a stark contrast to her mother. The moment he set eyes upon the duo, Scthachs ruby-reds locked onto him in spite of the several kilometers that separated them. He could see momentary confusion visible in her eyes but, momentster, this look changed to one of recognition as she leaped down from the walls. She didnt teleport around like the Scthach he hade to know but, with familiar phantom-like movements, she was able to leap across the vast gorge in an instant, bypassing the stunned challengers and sending one nearly careening to their death in the monster-infested waters below. Seeing the disregard Scthach showed to her challengers, Vahn released a small sigh but, knowing they werent real, he did his best to ignore them. Instead, he focused on the woman who appeared before him, her cold expression the same as the one he hade to rely on over thest few years. Though there were some palpable differences between the real one, he could sense that the version standing before him was a Memory Fragment so, while it wasnt the same as his Shishou, he could at least obtain closer by learning about her motives... Understanding why Vahn hade, Scthach offered a rare and apologetic smile as she muttered, "You seem dissatisfied...I suppose our fight didnt y out the way you expected? Tell me, did you do something ridiculous that brought it to a swift end? If not, I cant imagine why you would appear as upset as you are..." Hearing Scthachs words, Vahn couldnt help but wince slightly, earning a seemingly amused Oho... from the purple-d beauty as she began to eye him up. Then, without waiting for his response, she added, "Im d. If you hadnt gone all out, my n probably wouldnt have gone as smoothly as it had. For that, you have my gratitude...Vahn." Though he was about toin andmbast her for the duress she had put him through, Vahn found himself at a loss for words when Scthach called him by name. She only ever referred to him by his official titles or as her Master before so, while he had much to say, the words all got stuck in his throat due to the sincerity present in Scthachs expression and tone. He could even feel a sour feeling in his nose while, inside his chest, his heart felt like it had been gripped by her delicate yet firm hands... Seeing Vahns reaction, Scthachs smile increased marginally as she asked, "Do you want to hit me? It might make you feel better in the present but,ter on, Im certain you wille to regret it...you always were a soft man. Once, I had thought this was your greatest weakness but, now that we are here, in this dream-like ce, I havee to understand it is, perhaps, your strength. You proved to be the most reliable man I have ever known and, while you have innumerable ws, that turned out to be a good thing...didnt it? Without ws, it is impossible to improve...without improvement, you be something...inhuman..." Hearing Scthachs guiding words, Vahn inhaled audibly through his nose, doing his best to keep calm as he asked, "So, there really was a lesson behind what you did...? Tell me, Shishou, what am I supposed to have learned from this? That the people closest to me may betray me? That I need to be able to ept that, along the course of my eternal life, there wille times when those I want to protect will willfully choose death!?" In the face of Vahns outburst, Scthach remained perfectly calm, her smile dealing critical damage to both his heart and mind. It was only when he started taking deep breaths, a vain attempt to keep his cool, that she shook her head and answered, "Im afraid there is no great lesson this time...just like all of my teachings, it has always been up to you to interpret them. Im certain you will learn much from this setback and, in the future, you will be even stronger for it. If you were incapable of moving on from this, I wouldnt have had the resolve to go through with this..." Of all the things he wanted to hear from her, thest thing Vahn needed was for Scthach to state there was no greater meaning behind her decision. She was merely being selfish and, while she was well within her right, the fact she had chosen his hand to be the executor would weigh heavily on his mind for years toe. After all, he had always been aware of the fact that, at some point in time, it would be necessary for him to strike down his own allies or even his loved ones. He just never expected that moment toe so soon, not under these circumstances... Showing a rare bout of emotion, Scthach released a slightly exasperated sigh before closing the gap between them, forcefully pulling Vahns face into her chest. This caused him to tense up but, due to her mastery over Petting Laws, it didnt take long for him to calm down, his chest heaving up and down as he drowned in her calming aroma. After more than a full minute of silence between them, Scthach, with her fingers gentlybing through Vahns hair, said, "I know the main reason you came here...you wanted to know my reasons for doing what I did. Without knowing why I went back on my word, the only way you would be able to move forward is through the help of others. You were always the type that needed to rationalize why people took certain actions so...will you listen to my story...?" Without turning his face up to meet Scthachs gaze, Vahn justzily nodded his head in approval as, if he couldnt obtain at least a little closure, he wouldnt know how to interact with the young woman lending herp to him back in the real world. Though he would never mistreat her, the fact she had wronged him in such a way would make it borderline impossible for Vahn to open his heart to her. It was a painful thing, the feeling of betrayal, so he would do whatever it took to mitigate the feeling, even a little... With Vahn agreeing to hear her out, Scthachs smile softened slightly as she pressed his face even more firmly against her chest, hugging him close. Then, in a soft and guiding tone, she exined, "I wanted to be free...not just from my duties as the Queen of the Land of Shadows but, more so than anything else, I wanted to be free from myself. Though I never regretted my actions in life, I slowly became jealous after seeing how you treated other women. The day you denied my Friendship of the Thighs, I felt a strange sense of loss and, from that moment onward, I began thinking a lot about the type of woman I am.." As if finding her own thoughts troublesome, Scthach released a heavy sigh, one wrought with the sound of fatigue and regret. This caused Vahn to tense up as, with how things were going, he feared she might say something along the lines of not being worthy of him. If that was the reason behind her decision to effectivelymit suicide, he would never tolerate it. He simply wouldnt be able to ept that was the case as, if that were true, it would mean he was one of the primary reasons she had decided to move forward with her scheme... With her understanding of Vahn, Scthach knew better than to set off any major bombshells around him so, in the hopes of calming him down, she added, "I decided that I wanted to live a life free from the burdens of my past. As I was, there was no way I would be able to mingle with the other women in your life. After all, there were times when I even wanted to kill some of them in secret, freeing you from their burdens and giving you even greater motivation to improve..." Hearing Scthachs words, Vahn became statuesque and, for a brief moment, he nearly pulled away from her in disgust. This, however, would just be proving her point and, having already decided to ept the type of woman she was, Vahn forced himself to continue listening... Having expected a more dramatic response from Vahn, Scthach breathed a sigh of relief, her hold on him tightening even more as she exined, "Time and again, you have proven that my judgment was wed. You constantly shattered my expectations and, though I had sincerely desired to teach you all I knew, I quickly came to realize that this way of thinking was wrong. The Twelve Challenges I put you through were the best proof of this as,pared to the progress you made while trying to master your body, the strength you obtained in the pursuit of your goal far outstripped my ability to teach..." Though she knew her teaching methods werent inherently wrong, Scthach had learned, not just from Vahn, but from everyone around him, that her methods were antiquated. His influence on the world and people around himpletely shattered her expectations as, before she knew it, even she had been drawn in by his pace. At some point in the past, he had stopped being her student and, in many ways, became the person teaching her various important truths about the world... In order to make Vahn understand her choice, Scthach rested her head atop his, holding him as close as possible in the hopes of conveying her emotions. She had long since forgotten how to put them into words so, with no better way to express herself, she did so through skinship while softly whispering, "For longer than you might think, I have wanted our roles to reverse. I no longer want to be your teacher...no, this time, I want to be your student. I want to learn how to connect with the people around me. I want to learn how to experience and share happiness with others. I want to learn what it means to be a capable mother, not someone who treats their children as tools only to toss them away when they serve their purpose..." Toward the end of her words, Scthach grabbed the sides of Vahns head, forcing him to look up at her, hoping he could see the pain, anguish, and hope visible within her eyes. Then, though she had long forgotten how to cry, an almost imperceptibleyer of moisture built up across the surface of her eyes as she added, "I want to learn how to love and be loved...I want to live a happy life where I am able to work alongside others and help them move forward. I dont want to be the only one that is isted from everyone else...I want to be able to ept and tolerate others..." With nascent tears beginning to well up in her eyes, confusing even Scthach herself, Vahn could only stare nkly as she fretfully caressed his cheeks with her thumbs. He could see theplex emotions visible within her eyes, flickering like tiny mes within a once majestic bonfire. He knew this was the light of hope, not for oveing ones past, but severing the past and forging a new way forward. It wasnt the correct path but, when people had lost themselves, they didnt always know how to find their way forward without help. The previous Scthach would not have been able to ept this aid without viewing things through the filter she had developed over thousands of years so, in the hopes of finding the way forward, she decided to lose herselfpletely... Vahn had a lot he wanted to say to her but, as she wasnt yet finished speaking, he listened in awed silence as she exined, "Dont worry...I havent wasted these three years we were together. I knew you wouldnt be able to ept the path I have chosen easily so I took a few precautions. Since you were curious about how a Memory Fragment could influence a person, I merely sealed away most of my memories while reversing my conscious and subconscious minds. The woman you see outside is my inner self, the person I had always wanted to be but could never allow myself to be. She will be able to learn how to see the world in a different way than I ever could but, given enough time, we two will be one. This ce is meant to aid that purpose...I have set it up so that I will repeat the entirety of my past, this time changing my decisions to reflect the person I wish to be, not the Queen I had been forced to be. When the timees, I wish to meet with the version of myself that had observed you and, if she so chooses, everything I have be will be passed on to her..." Hearing Scthachs exnation, Vahn, once again, found himself at a loss for words. It was obvious she had remembered his stories about Eva and, though it was essentially an excuse, she went out of her way to serve as a test subject for one of the things that had most concerned him. After all, when he finally reunited with Eva, Vahn knew it wouldnt be easy for him to simply hand over her Memory Fragment, fusing the two into one. It didnt seem fair to the young girl he intended to save so, in the end, it would always be her decision to make. Now, long before his reunion with the golden-haired Vampire Princess, Scthach had taken it upon herself to show him what kind of effects a Memory Fragment could have on the original... Feeling the sourness in his nose reach a critical level, Vahn couldnt stop himself from frowning as tears began to build in his eyes. This was only made worse by the fact that Scthach herself seemed to be on the verge of crying, something he hadnt even considered possible in the past. He knew, in more ways than one, this would be their final parting as, even if she fused with the Lily version of herself in the future, the woman he hade to know would cease to exist. It was a heartbreaking realization but, as this was the path she had chosen, for both their sakes, Vahn held back his tears and, instead, embraced her tightly... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Turn back the clock...,Absolution neveres without a heavy toll,A Shishou to the very end...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1404 - Reluctant Resolution

Chapter 1404 - Reluctant Resolution

Though he was tempted to stay inside much longer, Vahn knew it would be easier for them both if he left sooner. They had already drawn the attention of the challengers who had gathered on the near-side of the gorge so, after embracing for several minutes, Vahn ultimately released his hold on the Memory Fragment. This action broke through thest vestiges of his defense, tears flowing freely as he smiled and forced himself to say, "I pray for your happiness...Im not sure how long it will take for me to forgive you for this but, no matter what, I will do my best to protect the legacy you left behind..." With what could only be described as a bitter and pained smile on her face, Scthach nodded her head in understanding. This action caused a single tear to escape her left eye, tracing the curve of her face before collecting as the point of her chin. She made no effort to wipe it away so, before they parted ways for thest time, Vahn reached out, liberating the single droplet and freezing it using his Source Energy. Though it wasnt a real tear, he could even manifest objects within the Virtual World so, with his Source Energy to sustain it, Scthachs tear had been immortalized for perpetuity... If her were being honest with himself, there was a lot Vahn wanted to say but, knowing the person he wanted to speak to was no longer with him, he ultimately turned away. This caused the knot in his throat to be even more painful, but, as this was the path she had chosen, he decided to respect his Shishous decision. He would probably never agree with her choice, but, in the grand scheme of things, it was hers to make. With Vahn turning away from her, Scthach learned what it meant to have your heart broken as, in a vain attempt to have him stay just a moment longer, she reached out her hand only for his body to vanish into thin air. As a result, she moved through the location he had been standing moments prior and, nearly tripping over despite her usually perfect bnce. Part of her couldnt believe he had just left so suddenly as, at least once, she wanted them to be together as lovers... Feeling an indescribable bitterness well up inside her, Scthach fell to her knees, and, to deter the group nearing her position, she created a pitch-ck barrier to obscure her figure and the sound emanating from within. She couldnt even remember thest time she had experienced such pain as, due to her nature as a Memory Fragment, she no longer possessed her troublesome Innates, including her [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground]. Though this had been part of her intentions from the start, as she wanted to live her life without their influence, Scthach, for the first time in a very long time, experienced true regret... --- Though injuries didnt trante between a spiritual simtion and the real world, Vahn wasnt surprised to find his real body had been shedding tears. Even the calming caress from the young woman whosep he had borrowed was within his expectations so, for several minutes, he justy there without saying a word. Now that he had left the orb, an extremely powerful seal prevented ess so, unless he went to great lengths to break it, there was no way for him to meet with the memory fragment belonging to his Shishou. Thus, with the flow of time inside matching the central time axis, it would likely be years before they were able to meet again. By then, she would have undoubtedly changed more than he could imagine, but, as he too was bound to change, Vahn repressed his urge to forcibly unseal the memories of the young woman showing concern for him... Fortunately, as Arcueid had beenforting him throughout the inexplicably painful parting, it didnt take too long for Vahn to regain hisposure. Despite this, he continued toy on the younger Scthachsp, organizing his thoughts and, though it wasnt exactly fair to them, shifting his negative emotions toward his enemies. Had Musashi not cut off Scthachs arm, Vahn wouldnt have been so easily convinced to summon five additional versions of her. If she had never learned about her Lily versions separation from the Land of Shadows, the chances of her putting this n into motion were negligible, at best. Thus, without a simple solution, there was a chance that several years would pass, time enough for him to potentially change Scthachs mind on the matter. Now, Vahn had learned a hard lesson about what it meant to respect the intentions and desires of those around him. He had once convinced himself that, if the people he cared about chose to die of natural causes, he would not interfere. He had even gone so far as to decide that, unless they put in the effort to obtain it, he wouldnt grant anyone immortality. These were both sensible and rtively simple promises to make but, now that he experienced the bitterness that apanied the reality he pursued, Vahn realized he had been childishly optimistic. In more ways that one, Vahn had be a very selfish person but, as he only ever wanted the people around him to be happy, he never considered this a bad thing. While this wasnt exactly wrong, it had done nothing to actually prepare him for the loss he was doomed to experience, so, in the future, Vahn realized he would need to be more resolute and decisive. Though he would never stop dedicating himself to the things he believed in, the final lesson bestowed to him by his Shishou was not one he would soon forget... --- After organizing his thoughts, Vahn surprised Scthach by suddenly rising to a seated position without notice. Then, before she could make any inquiries, he turned to her and said, "From now on, I am your Master in both name and purpose. I have been entrusted with the task of training you to the best of my ability so, if you choose to follow me, I will dedicate myself to guiding you in all matters, both martial and domestic. Tell me, Scthach, will you ept me as your teacher...?" Though she was overwhelmed by a sudden bout of confusion, Scthach wasted not time before bending the knee, her right hand covering her heart as she bowed her head and answered, "It would be my honor. I will not waste this chance you have given me, Master. With your guidance, I will aim to be one of the strongest in the world, second only to yourself..." Hearing Scthachs affirmation, Vahn nodded his head approvingly before saying, "Listen carefully, as I am about to impart to you your first lesson..." Not expecting to begin so soon, Scthach was momentarily caught off guard but, in spite of this, she managed a resolute, "Ha!" before raising her head and paying close attention to her Masters next words. Seeing how obedient Scthach was, Vahn felt a host of incongruous emotions but, borrowing a page out of his Shishous book, he kept a mask of abject calm as he stated, "My only desire is that you learn what happiness means to you and, so long as it doesnt infringe upon the happiness of others; I would encourage you to do everything in your power to obtain i. It is only when people have something they want to protect that they are able to obtain true power so, in order to avoid straying onto the path of corruption, find things worth cherishing. These things will be heavy burdens along your path but, without them, the only fate awaiting you at the end of your path is loneliness..." Though what Scthach had done wasnt something he could easily forgive, Vahn knew she wasnt wholly to me. If he hadnt changed his mind many years ago, forcing her to acquiesce to a life he had chosen, none of this would have happened. He was reaping the harvest of his own greed and, while he didnt regret the choice he had made, that didnt stop him from feeling bitter about it. Now, his only way forward was to move on and, though it wouldnt be easy, he would take care of Scthachs legacy so that when her two halves became a singr whole, she would be able to see that there were other paths avable to her. Hearing her Masters words, Scthachmitted them to memory while mentally carving them into her heart. She already knew the importance of using her power to protect and, though she had a feeling of incongruity while thinking about it, plenty of things worth cherishing came to mind, first a foremost being her Master. Thus, with a resolute look on her face, Scthach took a deep breath before answering, "I have received your wisdom, Master. I swear, I will not let you down." in a solemn tone. Resisting the urge to educate her on the many ways her counterpart had let him down, Vahn just nodded in response to his eager pupil. Then, after telling her to pay attention to her lessons and ordering her to continue protecting the children, Vahn alighted to Avalon. In the future, he would train her alongside the others but, for the time being, Vahn had a strong desire to retreat into the Inner Sanctum. He still needed to exin the situation to the others but, afterward, he intended to hole himself up in the Menagerie until he was calm enough to interact with his children without causing them to worry... --- Unaware of the mental anguish his mortal enemy was going through, the shaggy-haired man, Archimedes, was tirelessly typing away on a terminal within hisboratory, this one located so deep beneath the earths Surface that it was possible to cultivate and rear various mythical nts and animals. After collecting information about Vahn, Archimedes had determined that he had a fixation on Spirits and other creatures so, rather than rely on golems and automatons, his next strategy was to infiltrate Avalon using artificially created Fae. The ind was rumored to be a haven for all Spirits so, while humans may have trouble invading, it seemed rtively simple to send in a few Fae to infiltrate. He already had some sess probing the waters around the ind so, in the hopes of obtaining actual information about Avalon, he didnt mind investing the time required to nurture a few Spirits... While Archimedes was busy analyzing the data on his monitor, the woman Vahn and Co correctly presumed to be Musashi was busy performing routine maintenance on her cherished katanas. At the same time, the white-haired girl that served as the temte for the entity known as Betty was sitting nearby with arge picturebook on herp. She was apanied by a haggard-looking man with deep-set eyes and a long face but, as if his presence didnt disturb her in the slightest, she happily read the contents of the book while he stared, unblinkingly, at the pages... After reaching the end of the picture book, Betty? snapped it shut and, with a smile on her face, turned to the man and asked, "Did you like it? This one was called Little Red Riding Hood." In response to her question, the gaunt man dutifully nodded his head and, though it didnt suit his face in the slightest, a crooked grin spread across his lips as he said, "I liked the part where the Huntsman cut open the wolfs stomach..." Though Betty? smiled in response to the mans words, Musashi spontaneously stopped polishing her katana to remark, "Youre a real weirdo, you know that? You might not be so haunted by your thoughts if you stopped focusing on the morbid parts of every childrens story you read. I mean, seriously, are you trying to infect Alice with your creepiness?" Hearing Musashis words, the gaunt-faced man hung his head in shame but, in an effort to defend him, Alice jumped to her feet, shouting, "Mu-chan, dont be mean to Love-chan! He hasnt done anything wrong...!" With a little girl screaming in her face, Musashi raised both hands in a gesture of surrender before picking up her katana and saying, "Youre right, Alice. I was wrong. Will you please forgive me?" Though she continued to puff out her cheeks for several seconds, Alice ultimately nodded her head after Musashi brought her hands together in a pleading gesture. Before she let her off, however, she stated matter-of-factly, "You have to apologize to Love-chan, not me. If he doesnt forgive you...I...I wont forgive you either!" Fortunately, even without Musashis insistence, Lovecraft immediately chimed in, saying in a deep and brooding tone, "Alice, Musashi was only saying what was on her mind. You neednt go out of your way to defend me. I am well aware of my peculiarities and do not begrudge others for how they view me. Come, let Musashi go about her business. I hid away a slice of cake earlier so why dont we head to the kitchen to eat it...?" Hearing Lovecrafts response, Musashi gave him an appreciative smile and a thumbs up but, despite the temptation of cake, Alice wasnt appeased. She didnt like how everyone else was mean to Lovecraft just because he was different so, rather than let Musashi off the hook, she held up her oversized picture book, showing that the title had changed from Little Red Riding Hood to Hansel and Gretel. Then, before Musashi could escape to go patrol, she stated in a firm tone that didnt leave room for argument, "Read for us. If you read for us, I will forgive you." Seeing no way out, beyond forcing her way through, Musashi ultimately ended up releasing a profound sigh before epting the picture book from Alices hands. It was her fault for saying something insensitive but, as Lovecraft was just too strange, she couldnt help herself. Since she didnt want to upset Alice too much, Musashi decided to just acquiesce to her demands as, while patrolling was important, it was also incredibly boring. While doing her best to ignore the palpable chill radiating from Lovecrafts body, Musashi took a seat on the nearby lounge, allowing Alice to sit in herp while the gaunt-faced Lovecraft lingered over them like a ghost. This gave her a strong urge to refuse Alices request but, as she didnt like being called a coward, Musashi opened the book to the first page, reading, "This all happened a long time ago, in your grandmothers time, or in her grandfathers..." in an exasperated tone. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Two selfish people,The sh between ideals and reality is rarely without its fair share of victims...,Life goes on, whether you like it or not) (A/N: I left ament if youd like some insight into why Vahn seems to be acting like a prick.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1405 - Preparation

Chapter 1405 - Preparation

In preparation for the uing Imperial G, Vahn was meeting with Solon and a disgruntled Zelretch as they discussed implementing the Virtual World and assigning Companions as part of the standard curriculum. Since he would effectively be taking over the Mages Association after the g, it was necessary to implement rapid changes to emphasize this fact to the faculty and student body. With this in mind, Da Vinci had already prepared a localized Nexus specifically for use within the Clock Tower. As for the matter of Companions, there were several factories that could produce several thousand of the adorable creatures daily so, with the Purge being a recent event, it wouldnt be that difficult to issue them throughout the entirety of the Mages Association. As Solon had mellowed out considerably after bing Vahns Subordinate, much to Zelretchs chagrin, there was virtually no resistance against the idea of implementing the updated system. It had already be a hot topic amongst members of the student body and, while they wouldnt openly admit it, many of the faculty members were also eager to delve into the Virtual World. The rumor it could emte advanced Thaumaturgical processes with a negligible margin of error was too tempting to pass up as, using it, they could effectively test their theories without wasting any actual resources. The only person proactively against the idea, for various reasons, was Zelretch as, with his ability to freely traverse between parallel worlds, he had already seen several versions of the same tech. In almost every instance, Virtual Reality was either the result or the direct contributor to societal copse, as, with a virtual environment to meet all of their needs, people quickly lost motivation to live normal lives. He had even seen instances of virtual cults give rise to Cyber Daemons and Artificial Deities, entities that could influence the Virtual World and reality in equal measure. Vahn assured him that their system was different than the ones he had experienced but, as many of those very systems started off with simr intentions, he was skeptical. After all, once the global poption had been cated by the system, making it impossible for them to function without it, it could be used to manipte them with considerable ease. When this was pointed out, Vahn could only shake his head as, while Zelretchs words struck at the truth of the matter, the system designed by Da Vinci was far moreprehensive than what most people could rationalize. The Empire also took a hands-off approach to governance while also proactively encouraging people to engage in the real world. There were always people who sought real thrills so, if they promoted a system that elevated a persons status based on real-world aplishments, people would quicklypete for a better ranking. With a system that focused more on a persons merits than concepts like hereditary wealth and given status, future generations would be demonstrably more capable than their modern-day counterparts. There was even a system designed to track a persons Parameters, Skills, and other metrics so that they could distinguish themselves in a society that seamlessly blended the virtual world with the real world. Since there were people who would literally spend thousands of hours speed-running the same game for nothing more than recognition within a smallmunity, Vahn had little doubt that the system designed by Da Vinci would be a sess. Since it was all but impossible to change Vahns mind after he had already drawn a conclusion, Zelretch ultimately gave up with a defeated sigh. He had started looking a lot older these days and, though his red-eyes still zed with fervor and borderline madness, everyone that closely associated with him could see that he was beginning to lose his edge. Though he wasnt down and out just yet, it felt like each passing day made him less relevant as, with Vahn forcibly seizing control of the present, most tangential timelines were influenced by the echoes of his choices. Fortunately, while it became increasingly tiring to try and reason with Vahn, thetter never failed to provide delicious tea and a plethora of otherworldly delicacies. Zelretch could still remember the first time he had been treated to Dragon Steak, the most delicious and mana-rich foodstuff he had ever had the privilege to sample. Thus, while he would sometimes have the urge to just go all-out against the immovable Emperor, he managed to restrain it... This time, while discussing the uing Imperial G and the implementation of the Virtual World, Vahn had prepared baked apples. These had been grown selectively by the Dryads that now called Avalon their home and, as a result, they were even more delicious than the already legendary apples that had been present prior to their arrival. A single slice, while not enough to fill a persons stomach, provided them with enough nourishment for three days as, due to how the human body processed ingested magical energy, a single apple could effectively provide upwards of 60,000kcal. Since they were all monsters who had effectively infinite Magical Power, Vahn, Zelretch, and Solon were able to freely engorge themselves on the lightly baked, cinnamon covered, apple slices. This,bined with their choice between a mellow and fragrant tea, turned an otherwise tense conversation into a rtively pleasant experience. Even Zelretch found it hard to stay mad while, at the side, Solon absentmindedly nibbled on the slices with absolutely no consideration for appearances. Compared to the past, when they covered their body in various Artifacts, the current Solon could generally be found wearing nothing but a white robe, their usual medallion, and a total of three rings. This was a stark contrast to the dozens of Artifacts they previously wore but, after gaining a set of Magic Circuits, most had be redundant. They already knew how to activateplex Spells after thousands of years of research so, while the Artifacts could still be used to enhance their capabilities, they had been making a concerted effort to improve using the Quest Board. Ultimately, the main reasons behind Zelretchs annoyance with the changes to Solon were the fact he also wanted ess to the Quest Board but, much like Aoko and Arcueid, the Familia Crest had absolutely no effect on him. As a Tier 5 entity, Vahn was unable to give his Blessing to the elderly Magus and, as his pride wouldnt allow him to be subordinate to another, Zelretch had no choice but to listen to Solon drone on and on about their progress, all while he was forced to sit on the sidelines... --- After confirming the ns to implement the Virtual World and distribute Companions, Vahn shifted the topic, asking, "Will the two of you attend the g? I wont force you but, considering what it represents, your presence would be wee. I have already confirmed Director Asias participation so it would be problematic if you elected not to attend, Solon." Though even the thought of attending a social gathering made them feel nauseous, Solon didnt hesitate to nod their head,zily muttering, "I will attend..." Seeing his long-timepanion instantly acquiesce, Zelretch couldnt help but release a sigh as he reclined his head back, staring up at the sky as he answered, "I will also attend. Even if Im not a direct affiliate of the Empire, I would like to consider us more than acquaintances. This will be an important event so, while I will likely not attend future gatherings, I can make an exception on this asion." Hearing Solon and Zelretch agree to attend, Vahn issued a relieved sigh within his mind as, with their participation, things became a lot easier. He knew that, despite their willingness to join the Empire, the vast majority of Magus families still disagreed with his methods. They merely joined with the intent of preserving their family and legacy so, by having a greater number of powerful and influential figures appear in support of the Empire, most dissidents would think twice about plotting against them. Since their straightforward response had saved him a lot of time in trying to convince them, Vahn gave an approving nod before saying, "Soon enough, I will invite both of you to visit Avalon on holiday. I, too, would like to think we have made considerable progress toward bing friends so, to officiate things, inviting you into my home should suffice. Im aware it is something you have been interested in for quite some time, so, when the opportunity presents, I hope you ept my invitation." Though Solon was admittedly interesting in touring Avalon, a ce where thousands of Spirits now dwelled, it was Zelretch whom Vahn had directed hisment toward. Thetter had been skulking around Avalon every now and then so, with the promise of a future invitation, his tired eyes regained some of their lost vigor as he offered a toothy grin and answered, "It would be a great honor to tour your home, even for a short period of time. I look forward to the opportunity and pray ites even a single day sooner." As he had already made preparations for Zelretchs arrival, Vahn could actually invite the man at any time. The only reason he hadnt was due to the Empires rtively shaky internal affairs as, after the fiasco involving Scthach, things had be more than a little awkward. She had left an impact on a number of people so, learning the infamous Purple Monster had lost her life, many within the Inner Sanctum couldnt quite believe it. They, much like Vahn, didnt really know how to treat the Lily version of her while Ciel, having spontaneously lost her mentor, now apprenticed directly under Vahn. It would take some time for the reality that the original Scthach was no longer with them but, in the meantime, Vahn had started using the time he once used to train with his Shishou in order to mentor quite a number of people. He now taught a ss consisting of Fenrir, Gareth, Mordred, Sakura, Mash, Astrid, Zo?, Ciel, and, of course, Scthach. Though he still hadnt fully epted everything that happened, Vahn had been taking small steps forward with each passing day. It was at moments like this that his expansive support group came in handy as, without their constant care and guidance, Vahn would have holed himself up for days on end, basically throwing a tantrum. Instead, he had dozens of people pushing him forward, the principal offenders being those like Fenrir, Artoria, and, forpletely different reasons, each of his children... Vahn always wanted to set a proper example for his children so, rather than let them see him at his lowest, he forced himself to bounce back after exining the situation to them. Though they had never known Scthach in the same way as everyone else, Vahn knew they would feel begin to feel doubts if they were left out of the loop. He liked to be open and honest with them so, while it wasnt easy, Vahn had talked with each of his children, exining the situation so that they might understand why everyone was behaving differently than before... The hardest part of being a parent was taking into consideration how your children interpreted your behavior when you were experiencing things they might not understand. You constantly had to remind yourself that, even though you were hurting, your responsibility as a parent superseded everything else. If you took the time to wallow in self-pity, ignoring the people who relied on you more than anyone else, the negativity would only spread without end. It was easier to be honest with them as, while they may not understand exactly why you are hurting, they would still be able to empathize with you. The feeling of inclusion was a powerful factor when it came to raising your children as, if they felt involved, even in matterspletely unrted to them, they learned the importance of sharing their own troubles. Bottling things up was never healthy and, while it was important for everyone to have their secrets, keeping them at the expense of the people you loved was rarely the correct choice... (A/N: Alternate Titles: If there is a leaderboard, someone would do their best to get to the top of it...,Zelretch is he jaded,No matter how uncertain you feel, you should neverpromise the feeling of certainty your child has toward you. You are their rock. While you may be shaken and tossed about by the tumultuous seas of life, you are the anchor that keeps them from being swept away in the same current...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1406 - Flair

Chapter 1406 - ir

Following the conclusion of his meeting with Solon, Vahn, apanied by his new entourage, consisting of Okita and Altera, made a quick stopover at the Edelfelt mansion. Though he could send her a direct message, Vahn preferred to deliver news personally as, with the ability to teleport, other methods just seemed impersonal. He also knew Luvia herself would appreciate his visit so, with the silent and attentive white-haired duo standing on his nks, Vahn teleported into the foyer where, as per usual, an entire team of Maids and Butlers were waiting to greet him. Despite the The Fall, and the penultimate copse of the global economy, the Edelfelt family had continued to prosper. Luvia unashamedly made use of the Empires resources and, though her core forces still consisted of the Edelfelt elites, they had recruited tens of thousands in support of relief efforts all over the world. Since they were one of the only military forces in the world that still had operational aircraft and a small naval fleet, it hadnt taken long at all for Luvia to cement her family as one of the most powerful forces in the world. Though they were intrinsically rted to the Empire, the Edelfelt family was given autonomy to act in their own interests. As a result, they had been able to help people with the stigma of being directly associated with the Empire. The fact they still used technology from the old era encouraged a lot of people to rally behind them and, though there were quite a number of opportunists that had tried to take advantage of this, the solidarity of the Edelfeltbat forces prevented any major uprisings. After a short trek through Luvias fortress-like mansion, renovated as a courtesy of the Dwarves, Vahn found himself in an auditorium-sized training room. There he found U happily pping her hands while at the side while, on oversized wrestling ring, Oliva and Luvia were flying around like luchadores as they performed a variety of acrobatic feats. This wasnt entirely unexpected but, seeing that U had also been dressed up in an adorable little leotard, Vahn couldnt help but adopt a wry smile... Almost immediately after he had entered the room, Olivia slid underneath Luvia as thetter used the ropes of the ring to vault through the air. She managed tond nimbly after missing her catch but, before she was able to turn around, Olivia snaked up behind her with surprising agility, her arms wrapping around Luvias waist. In the next moment, despite their height difference, Olivia managed to bend backward, performing a perfect arch as Luvia was suplexed into the ring. As a result, her legs froze in a ratherpromising position but, fortunately, things came to a swift end when the referee slid across the ring on their stomach, quickly counting her out. With her victory determined, Olivia raised her first toward the sky, a victorious smile on her face as Luvia pretended to be knocked out. This caused U to fret a great deal as, while she was happy her Grandma had won, she was sad that her mother had lost. Her doll-like face formed into a worried expression and, seemingly determining her mother was more important than the match, she climbed up the side of the ring, shouting, "Mommy!" The moment she heard her daughter cry out, Luvia rose to a seated position, a vibrant smile on her face as she caught U out of the air. Then, while happily rubbing her cheek against thetters face, she chimed, "Ah, my darling U, your voice awakened me~! I feel ten times stronger than before, ohohohoho~." Though they were both well aware of the fact Vahn had arrived, Olivia and Luvia were still putting on their y so, hearing Luviasment, Olivia crossed her arms proudly and imed, "Youd have to be at least eleven, no, thirteen times stronger if you want to defeat me, kukukuku~." Hearing her Grandmas remark, U showed a serious expression and, as this wasnt her first time in this situation, she hugged her Mother tightly as she said, "I believe in you, Mommy! You have to go for the legs! If you go for the legs, you can win...!" As if her greatest secret had just been exposed, Olivia took a few faltering steps backward, surprise visible in her countenance as she eximed, "No! How did you learn about my injured left knee!?" Then, seemingly realizing something, she lightly pat her own chest before adopting a taunting smile and saying, "Well, its toote! The referee already dered my victory! If I rest properly, my leg will be good as new before our next match...!" With an expression that looked like she had swallowed a bug, U red at her Grandma before rising to her full height, a diminutive 85cm, as she shouted, "Ill just have to defeat you myself...!" Moving faster than Olivia could react, Uunched herself toward her Grandmas right leg. She still had a bit of trouble determining her left from her right, at least when it came to other people, but, in spite of this, Olivia fell to the ground, a howl of pain escaping her throat. Then, as U did her best to perform a leg lock, Olivia helped position her arms and legs properly, lending a rather ridiculous quality to the whole scene... While U was busy defeating her Grandmother, Luvia reclined onto her elbows, leaning her head back to smile at Vahn. This brought an even bigger smile to his face as, despite knowing Luvia had a lot going on, the fact she always made time to y with their daughter made him feel even more attracted to her than normal. There was nothing more beautiful and endearing than a good mother so, when they both had a free moment, Vahn decided he would reward her plentily. With her weakness targetted, Olivia ended up tapping out, unable to bear the pain of Us leg-lock. Afterward, U copied her Grandmothers previous disy, raising her tiny fist high into the sky to proim her victory. Just as she was about to cry out, however, she noticed Vahn standing at the side of the ring and, seemingly losing interest in the match, shouted, "Daddy~!" before running over without hesitation. Catching his airborne daughter out of the air, Vahn spun around a few times before pulling her close and giving her a firm hug as she happily wriggled about in his arms. This prompted Luvia and Olivia to rise to their feet and, after being waved away by thetter, all of the staff within the room quickly cleared out. While leaning against the rings ropes, her hair done up in two drill-tails, Olivia cheekily asked, "Are you stopping by for business or pleasure? My afternoon is free so I can help out with both if youd like~." Since he had already grown ustomed to Olivias propositioning, Vahn just rolled his eyes at her before exining, "Solon and Zelretch have agreed to attend the g. After this event, the Mages Association will unofficially be under the control of the Empire. I thought Luvia would like to know sooner, rather thanter, so I stopped by immediately after my meeting ended. Im d I did, too, as I got to see just how strong my little jumping bean has be." To punctuate his statement, Vahn gave U a kiss on the cheek, making a loud mwah sound that caused her to giggle happily before returning the favor. At the same time, Luvia adopted a far more serious expression than before, asking, "Will they be announcing their full support of the Empire or is the intention to officiate the current Alliance?" Rather than go into the finer details, Vahn set U onto his shoulders before saying, "Unless you are busy, we can talk about itter. For now, how about we enjoy a light lunch? Its getting pretty close to lunchtime and I have some time on my hands." Though he was generally very direct and honest with his children, Vahn didnt like talking about the affairs of the Empire in their presence. He liked to make them the center of attention, not bore them to death with long, and often droll, conversations. Understanding his intentions, Luvia hopped over the top rope,nding smoothly next to him with a smile on her face as she answered, "Certainly! Ill have the chefs cook up something scrumptious~!" Luvia wasnt particrly hungry but, as it was an excuse to spend time together, she wasnt going to pass on the opportunity. She and Vahn were generally very busy during the daylight hours so it had been a while since they dined together within the mansion. Though they almost always ate together during the evenings, it was hard to enjoy the moment to the fullest when there were between twenty and thirty people present... Before Vahn and Luvia could wander off with U, Olivia reminded them of her presence by saying in a firm tone, "Wait a minute you two love birds. Before you eat lunch, make sure to wash up properly. Dont go teaching U any bad habits or Ill put you into a full nelson when you least expect it!" Hearing Olivias warning, Vahn just waved his hand, tiny beads of sweat pooling together from the bodies of Luvia and U. At the same time, a fragrant aroma began to spread throughout the area, a technique he had stolen from Da Vinci. He had previously modified his Cleaning Magic to have a deodorizing effect but, as theck of an aroma caused a bit of incongruity, he spent a considerable amount of time learning how to infuse an aroma into his domain. With Vahn seeing through her n, Olivia clicked her tongue before hopping up and using the ropes to bounce herself backward. Shended nimbly on one of the corner posts before pointing down at Vahn in a theatrical way and proiming, "You cant use magic to solve everything! Be a responsible parent and take U to take a bath! Dont the Japanese teach the importance of skinship between a parent and child!?" Though Vahn was going to ignore Olivias outburst, his ns changed when U leaned against the top of his head, doing her best to look into his face as she said, "Daddy, lets go take a bath. I want to wash my hair and change my clothes." Since his childrens orders were absolute, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation, causing U to bob happily. Before he alighted from the room, however, he looked toward Okita and Altera who, from the beginning, had been standing like a pair of statues at the side. The moment he turned his eyes toward them, they seemed to boot up, eagerly awaiting his next order. Nipping any of Olivias ns in the bud, Vahn adopted a somewhat malicious smile as he said, "Will the two of you please keep the Edelfelt Matriarchpany? I wouldnt want her to feel lonely while Luvia and I take U into the bath. Dont worry, we wont be too long. Until then, however, ensure we are not disturbed." Hearing their Masters orders, Okita and Altera both nodded in understanding, the former saying, "I understand..." while thetter chimed a monotone, "I see...". Then, as if they had a highly advanced auto-targeting system, both girls locked onto the grimacing Olivia. She had been intending to invite herself into the bath but, as Okita and Altera were impossible to reason with, bypassing them would be all but impossible. If she made a serious effort to break into the bathroom, there was a very real chance they would be destructively hostile... Satisfied with Olivias response, Vahn turned away as Luvia followed behind, her amusedughter echoing throughout the expansive room. She enjoyed the interactions between her Grandmother and Vahn, even if it sometimes gave her a strong desire to reward her Grandmother with a fist to the top of her noggin. She, like Vahn, knew that Olivia was mostly just ying around but, as there was a part of her that seriously vied for a chance to get a taste of her husbands godly capabilities, she couldnt drop her guard... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Hyenas became the Kings of the Jungle,Wrestling is real, I swear~!,The ultimate matriarchal technique, Cougar Stalking Dragon~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1407 - Mingle

Chapter 1407 - Mingle

After a weeks worth of preparation, the day for the Imperial G finally arrived. It had been set to take ce at the Edelfelt mansion and, though the guest list contained well over a thousand total guests, there was still plenty of space within the massive, highly decorated, ballroom. Those that had attended parties at the Edelfelt mansion in the past werent all that surprised by the mor and decor but, considering the vast majority of invitees were new families, they were quite taken aback by the splendor. Though some rationalized that the Edefelt family had always done everything in a very showy manner, others interpreted the disy as her family showing off the benefits they had received from the Empire. During a time where nearly every other family was struggling, as it became increasingly difficult to acquire various goods and services, the Edelfelt family had continued to thrive. This had caused a number of people to feel bitter but, with fake smiles on their faces, they still flocked to the Edelfelt family in the hopes of obtaining their own benefits. The only path to prosperity was throwing your lot in with the Empire so, in order to preserve their family and legacy, most Magus families, both old and rising, sought to ingratiate themselves to the Edelfelts. Luvia was no stranger to people trying to cozy up to her for benefits but, with the Empire at her back, the only thing she stood to gain from any of them was authority. There were few benefits to associating with the older Magus families and, while they provided an ample workforce, even the up-anding families werent particrly beneficial to the Empire. Vahn had established a system with functionally infinite resources, including Magical Energy, so the value of everything had immediately be inconsequential... Fortunately, people themselves still had considerable value and, as Vahn intended to establish a system based on individual merit, there were quite a number of reasons to proactively socialize. It was impossible topletely remove the idea of perceived and inherited status from peoples minds so, given enough time, there was certain to be a perceived ss divide in the future. After all, if a reasonably powerful person made a name for themselves, acquiring great fame as a result, themon consensus of people would be to elevate that person and their family. Even without a mary system, people would never stop seeking to distinguish themselves from others. The vast majority of humans had an intrinsic desire to elevate themselves amongst their peers; This was one of the cornerstones of human society so, despite Vahns optimism, Luvia knew it was only a matter of time before someone exploited the system and tried to directly oppose him. To prevent Vahn from being blindsided by human nature, Luvia was willing to act as one of the many shields that protected his vision. The Edelfelt family had always been gifted with the ability to game the worlds system and, as thetest and greatest in her line, Luvia would elevate her status and fame to the point that, when others attempted to do the same, she could knock them down if they proved to be a threat. After all, in the world Vahn wished to create, one of the most powerful political tools would be dragging your oppositions reputation through the mud using the leverage you were able to obtain... --- With the Imperial G scheduled to start at 7 PM, most guests had made sure to arrive at least an hour early. Nobody wanted to show upter than the Guests of Honor so, even before the gates of the Edelfelt mansion had been opened, many had gathered in the periphery, patiently waiting for their chance to enter. This included the so-called high-brow members of society as, no matter how highly they regarded themselves, any status they held prior to The Fall had lost its meaning. Though some people still clung to old titles and holdings, it was no longer something they openly bragged about. It had be dangerous to stand out in the current political climate so, fearing the loss of what little they had been able to preserve, even former Nobles did their best toy low. Among the exceptions to this rule were those like Reines El-Melloi Archibald, the current Lord El-Melloi Archibald. While the status of Lord had all but lost its meaning over the past few months, she had spent decades trying to reim her family name and title so, as one of the first members of the Alliance, she unashamedly unted her status. While most people just silently lingered around the ballroom awaiting the arrival of the Emperor and his entourage, Reines, wearing avish, sapphire-colored, dress, wasnt shy when it came to drawing attention to herself. She, apanied by her husband, Waver, and her daughter, Ridley, wasted no time in approaching Luvia the moment she arrived. Her aura was enough to drive away the couple that had been previously conversing with Luvia who, upon seeing Reines, offered her usual business smile as she said, "Im d you were able to attend, Reines. We have a daycare set up if youd like to send little Ridley off to y with the other children." In response to Luvias greeting, Reines returned a cold and calcting smile of her own as she mused, "You are looking as radiant as ever, Lady Edelfelt. Tell me, when is His Imperial Majestys group expected to arrive? Rumor has it that the Imperial Family will be in attendance so I would like to properly introduce Ridley to her future friends and colleagues." As if acting on a cue, Ridley performed a prim and proper curtsy immediately after her mothers words. This caused Luvia to offer a polite smile in turn but, within the sanctity of her own mind, she couldnt help but roll her eyes. Reines had always been an opportunist but, if she kept trying to push her daughter forward without proper consideration, it was only a matter of time before she stepped on Vahns bottom line. Causing Reines expression to darken perceptibly, Luvia waved over two neatly dressed security personnel, saying, "Please escort Miss Ridley to where the other children are ying. Make sure she is well fed and properly entertained until her parents are ready to depart." Since Luvia was hosting the g, Reines didnt have the leeway to try and overrule her decision. She was well aware of the fact that her status couldnt bepared to the golden witch standing before her so, while it caused her eyes to sharpen slightly, she allowed Ridley to be escorted away before asking, "What is this about, Lady Edelfelt?" Now that Ridley was, albeit momentarily, removed from her mother, Luvia adopted a moderately serious expression as she answered, "I do not wish to see you and your family brought to ruin by yourck of consideration. The Empire is vehemently against the idea of exploiting children and using social gatherings like this to forge connections and arrange marriages. With how drastically things are changing, how far do you think your outdated sensibilities will take you? If you want to seed within the Empire, youll need to work on that character of yours." Though it didnt show on her face, at least from an outsiders perspective, Reines was incensed by Luvias words. She wanted to say something about how Luvia had just been lucky to jump on the bandwagon as a result of her rtionship with Rin but, knowing the former wasnt shy to violence, she opted to withhold herment. Instead, she did her best to remain calm, intertwining her arm with Wavers as she said, "Ill keep your advice in mind, Lady Edelfelt. Truthfully, I just want to provide my daughter with the opportunity to seed in this changing world. Surely, you will not begrudge me for thinking about her future..." Without footing around the issue or using flowery words, Luvia gave a curt nod in response to Reines words before saying, "If you are concerned about your daughters future, be a better person. You arent a fool, Reines. Though your interactions with Vahn have been limited, you have had plenty of time to properly consider things. If you keep trying to take shortcuts in an effort to increase your status and authority, youre going to hit a wall. If youre truly concerned about your daughter, stop treating her like a political tool." In the past, Luvia wouldnt have particrly cared about how Reines raised her daughter but, after bing a mother herself, her perspective had changed a lot. The way Vahn raised his children had left a deep impression on her and, after spending a considerable amount of time with U, it became impossible for her to empathize with anyone who treated their children as tools... --- After being separated from her mother, Ridleys doll-like face had been set into a tiny frown. She hated being treated like a child as, despite the fact she was only six-years-old, she had mastered the basic curriculum taught at the Clock Tower. Her mother had educated her to be far superior to her peers so, while others her age were filled with whimsy and a general zest for the world around them, Ridley, emting her mother, had already be a cold and calcting youngdy... Upon seeing a number of young children, many of whom were even younger than her, Ridleys face visibly darkened as she turned to her escort and asked, "Would it not be possible to have a private room? I am not feeling well and I would hate to get anyone else sick..." While others might be easily tricked by Ridleys words, the elite security forces of the Edelfelt family werent so soft. The room housing the children was the most heavily protected area of the entire mansion so, if there was an enemy attack, she would be much safer inside. Since it would also require them to send several people to watch over her elsewhere, the young man instantly shook his head, stating, "You will stay with everyone else. If you are feeling tired, rest on the sofa or eat some of the snacks provided. You neednt worry about getting anyone ill as you would not have been allowed to pass the barrier if you carried something infectious." Seeing how quickly her escort had shot her down, Ridleys face morphed into a dour expression as she issued a hmph and entered the room. Immediately afterward, the two men exchanged a knowing look between them before the man who had refuted Ridley just shrugged. They werent authorized to actually enter the room so, without idling about any longer, they quickly alighted to return to their duties... Despite her general loathing for other children, Ridley knew that everyone gathered within the room should be the sons or daughters of affluent families. With this in mind, she forced herself to at least make an introduction as, for all she knew, there could be children with a much higher rank and status than her own. She would eventually be forced to interact with her peers at some point in the near future so, rather than make a bad first impression, Ridley adopted her practiced smile before approaching the two oldest girls in the room, both having peculiar white hair. Even before reaching the two girls, Ridley felt a strange sense of incongruity as, for reasons she couldnt fathom, part of her felt a strong desire to actually befriend these two girls. She did her best to bury this thought in the back of her mind but, by the time she was standing in front of the strange duo, her smile became noticeably more genuine as she politely curtsied and said, "Good evening. My name is Ridley, daughter of Lord El-Melloi Archibald. If possible, I would like for us to be friends..." Though the older of the two girls just tilted her head cutely, the white-haired girl around her own age smiled in a way that made her seem much older as she answered, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ridley. My name is Aura and Im always happy to make new friends~." (A/N: Alternate Titles: If someone has power, someone else is coveting it,Luvia might be one of the best when ites to ying politics but that doesnt mean she is ying games >:D...,Its a trap...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1408 - Patience

Chapter 1408 - Patience

With nearly every attendee having already arrived, Vahn was patiently waiting to make his own entrance. He was intending to arrive precisely at the changing of the hour and, after that, other guests would not be allowed in. It wasmon for the Guests of Honor to arrive at social gatheringster than was reported. In the interval between the time they are scheduled to appear and the moment they actually appear, everyone would be paying close attention to new arrivals. Thus, in the past, anyone that wanted to draw attention to themselves or their status would arrive during that brief window. This was a political statement of sorts and, despite how foolhardy it would be in this situation, Vahn knew a handful of people would still take the risk... To bide time until his entrance, Vahn was helping to style and fix the girls hair, a skill he had all but mastered after well over a hundred years of practice. There were no limits to the shapes he could mold hair into and, due to the peculiarities of how hair behaved in some Records, they held their shape surprisingly well. Though this would be their official debut as Imperial Princesses, Sakura and Mordred had both elected to wear a modified military dress, rather than gowns. Neither girl had any interest in being treated like a delicate flower and, though Sakura once harbored an interest in being the type of princess found fairy tales, she quickly grew out of that phase after her training began. Now, she and Mordred were both wearing form-fitting white trousers, vermillion, military-style, blouses, and half-mantles that were colored white on the outside and red on the inside. Overall, both girls seemed more like Knights than Princesses. This would give the impression that the Empire was a military state but, after setting The Fall in motion, Vahn didnt particrly mind how others saw them. It was better than having people assume his children were political tools that were vulnerable to external pressure and assassination attempts. After styling Sakuras hair into a neat bun, simr to how Artoria and Mordred tied up their hair, Vahn smiled at her through the mirror, asking, "Are you nervous?" in a gentle tone. In response, denying her true feelings, Sakura shook her head and answered, "I have trained hard for this day. I wont allow myself to be bullied or embarrassed...!" Hearing Sakuras remark, Mordredughed at the side before jumping on her from behind and saying, "Thats the spirit, Sakura! Lets teach these smelly bastards not to look down on members of the Imperial Family~!" Though she was used to Mordreds excessive physical contact, Sakura quickly extricated herself before smoothening any wrinkles in her uniform. This was evidence of just how nervous she was, causing Vahn and Mordred to exchange a quick nce that basicallymunicated, take care of your sister. Mordred understood this well so, without any words between them, she just nodded before apologizing and helping Sakura fix her outfit. --- At seven minutes till 7 PM, 1308 people had gathered together in the spacious ballroom. This rtively small group of people normally represented the majority of power within the Mages Association but,pared to the people that had just arrived, even theirbined strength wouldnt amount to much. Just the presence of the robed individual with green hair was enough to cow every member of the Clock Towers faculty that was present within the room... Though they werent actually the strongest among the group of new arrivals, Solon led the way as Zelretch, Director Asia, Sion, and the infamous Professor Alpha followed close behind. Sion had already been exposed as the former Vice-Director of the As Temple so, while very few people could recognize who Director Asia was, the fact he was followed closely by two affluent figures in the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory spoke volumes about his status. While most of the attendees had turned statuesque with the arrival of such powerful figures, Luvia gracefully made her way over, her presence like a wandering star traversing a silent abyss. Then, further awing the crowd that had been gathered, the group headed by Solon was the first to give a polite greeting, something unimaginable to most. This sent ripples throughout those gathered along the periphery as, while Luvias status had always been presumed to be high, it now seemed a lot higher. Finding the gossip in the surroundings bothersome, Solon, now wearing their usual blindfold, lifted their rather fair hand, creating a bubble that blocked all sound as they asked, "When is Vahn expected to arrive? I only just arrived and I already feel like leaving..." Though she was actually feeling quite nervous to be standing before the infamous Director of the Mages Association, Luvia managed an unperturbed and elegant giggle before answering, "His Imperial Majesty will be arriving shortly. He has chosen to advocate for punctuality so he will be arriving at precisely 7 PM." Hearing what they had wanted, Solon gave a small nod before dispersing the soundproofing barrier and following behind Luvia as she guided them through the hall. Their action of simply walking to their destination caused the rest of the gs attendees to quickly disperse, giving the group a very wide berth for fear of triggering the infamous Directors ire. Though Solon looked like a child at a nce, even the former Monarchal Lords hadnt dared to oppose them so, with monstrous existences like Zelretch present, none were bold enough to approach the group and introduce themselves. With the purging of the corrupt Noble houses and the abolishment of various practices within the Mages Association, there was now a vast gulf between the lesser nobility and the most powerful members of the magusmunity. A massive power vacuum had also been created but, due to the Empires presence and influence, it was impossible for anyone to actually take advantage of this. The only group poised to take control was Luvias faction but, with her family having functionally limitless resources due to the Empires backing, the Alliance now served more as mediators than anything else. It was for this reason that so many families had reached out to her as, without a mediator, trying to negotiate with the Empire seemed all but impossible. Most people failed to get a proper read on Vahns character and, after he basically flipped the world on its head, few had the courage to even try... Amongst the group that dared to press their luck, there were only those such as Reines who, after seeing the Directors entourage, unhesitantly made her way over. Her family was one of the first to join the Alliance and, though they hadnt done much to earn the Empires support, this did little to stop Reines from taking advantage of her presumed status. Thus, despite feeling more than a little intimidated by the groups presence, Reines neared Solon before adopting a smile and saying, "It is rare to see you out and about, Director. I did not expect to see you at a social gathering such as this." Despite wearing an embroidered leather blindfold,pletely concealing their eyes, Solon had been staring at Reines from the moment she deigned to approach. This was more than enough to deter most people from approaching as, unlike Vahn, the fear of death wasnt something people could simply ignore. With their Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, anyone unfortunate to fall under Solons gaze would feel vulnerable and powerless, much like a normal human suddenly finding themselves in a den of hungry tigers. Without minding Reines actual words, Solon instantly shut her down by saying, "There is a fine line between bravery and seeking death. You would do well to consult with your husband before you end up making an irreversible error. He seems to have considerably more sense than you..." While Reines had been doing her best to adopt a casual demeanor, Waver, pulled along by her, had closed his eyes and lowered his head ever so slightly. He had often talked with Reines about her mistaken beliefs but, after obtaining so many of the things she had coveted for decades, she had been riding a high that made her previously cautious and calcting self seem like nothing more than a facade. She was too eager to seize greater power and authority, despite having done little to deserve it. In response to Solons words, Reines visibly tensed, her smile bing somewhat unnatural as she fought to maintainposure. Then, convincing herself that Solon was just a relic of the past, Reines gave a cursory bow before pulling Waver along to wait for Vahns arrival. If she could get close to the Imperial Family, it wouldnt matter what other connections she had... Seeing Reines drag away her husband, Solon just shook their head before turning to Zelretch and saying, "There are power-hungry fools in every era. Tell me, during all of your stints into the future, was there ever a timeline where that woman seeded?" Hearing Solons remark, Zelretchs toothy grin showed just how much effort he was putting in to avoidughing out loud. When he finally answered, Solons inquiry, he exined, "Prior to Vahns emergence, that woman was fated to lose her life after several failed ploys against the Archibald family. More often than not, she ended up getting tortured and killed by Bathomeloi Lorelei...as for the futures where she managed to seed, most of those were timelines where Magecraft had rapidly stagnated. As a result, she was able to use poisons and assassins to eventually secure a pretty high position for herself." Even before Zelretch had finished exining things, Solon had already imagined Reines to be a snake in the guise of a woman. If not for the fact Vahn keptpany with some of historys most notorious poison users, Solon would have been tempted to remove Reines from existence. With their Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, it was possible to directly strike the Origin of a person and, as a result, even memories rted to their existence would rapidly fade away. Understanding his long-time friend well, Zelretch lightly tapped Solons leg with the tip of his cane, saying, "Vahn isnt the type of person that will punish someone for ambitions alone. Let that woman make her own mistakes. If she does something heinous enough, you neednt lift a finger as only death awaits those who directly oppose the Empire." Though Zelretchs words hadnt been spoken aloud, many people in the hall had been trying to listen in on their conversation. As a result, those who had been harboring thoughts about trying to resist the Empire in the future suddenly changed their ns as, with his Operation of Parallel Worlds, Zelretch was the person who knew best about the future. Considering Vahn had already killed a considerable number of people, his words had even more weight to them... Around the time their thoughts turned to the infamous Emperor, the lighting in the hall began to dim, the only exception being near where Luvia had been entertaining guests. This was a tiered area where, throughout the duration of the g, an orchestra had been ying music. Located behind the conductors podium, two tiers higher than where the orchestra itself was ying, arge stage had been visible since the onset of the event. With all eyes focused on the stage, Luvia, having changed into apletely different sapphire-blue dress, made her way to the very center. Then, using Magecraft to enhance her already loud voice, she performed a polite curtsy before smiling as she said, "I would like to thank all of you for attending tonights event. Though I am acting as host of this evenings Imperial G, it wouldnt be much of an event without its Guests of Honor. With that in mind, please give light apuse for the Empires Steward, Sir Bedivere..." Following Luvias introduction, a fair-skinned man attired in formal wear that resembled both a butler and a military officer stepped onto the stage. He had a regal and noble appearance with perfect bearing, befitting of his status as both a Knight and Imperial Steward. As a result, many members of the audience were awed while a number of women, and even some men, began to harbor untoward fantasies regarding the handsome Knight... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Dao of Hairdressing,Reines death-seeking habits,Imagine learning most of the former Knights of the Round Table are still single...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1409 - Debut

Chapter 1409 - Debut

Despite having the attention of more than a thousand Magi, Bedivere showed an unperturbed smile on his face as he politely bowed to the assembly. Then, in a voice that had soothing quality, despite the firm undertone, he announced, "It is my esteemed privilege to announce the arrival of His and Her Imperial Majesties, the Sage Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, and his Dragon Empress, Artoria Aldrnari Pendragon." The moment Bedivere finished his introduction, a massive spatial tear appeared behind him, startling the entire assemge. From within, Vahn and Artoria appeared, arms linked, the lighting from above reflecting off the metalponents of their sleek formal wear. Vahn had been wanting to set a trend where people wore higher quality garments instead of just throwing together tacky, mass-produced outfits. He also wanted to make it normal for people to wear armor and carry around their weapons as, if he were being honest, it bothered him to see people behaving socently all the time. After spending nearly 150 years within the Record of Danmachi, a ce where cultures blended together like a hot pot, it had always bothered Vahn to see the hodge-podge uniformity of modern people. Unless you were wealthy, everyone bought mass-produced goods and, while various brands and logos set them apart, everyone wore very simr outfits. If you strayed away from this, people wouldbel you as a freak, ostracize, or even outright bully you. Only the wealthy and the affluent had been able to wear whatever they wanted so, in the future, Vahn wanted to shift the trend so that there was arger focus on the quality, rather than the quantity, of a persons attire. Embodying this trend, he wore a sleek ck napoleon-style blouse with golden tassels and, if you looked closely, an intricate series of runes could be seen sewn into the embroidery. Though he never really liked clothes that were restrictive around the cor, Vahn tolerated it as it helped to keep his back straight and his head facing forward. Toplete his outfit, Vahn had form-fitting onyx-ck gauntlets, which, much like his blouse, were covered in an intricate pattern of runes, nearly indiscernible to the naked eye. These gauntlets, much like his greaves, had been designed to be so thin that, at a nce, you would think he had prosthetic arms and legs. More impressively, however, was the mesh of haptic sensors that ensured virtually no loss in textile sensation and dexterity. They even perfectly adapted to their wearers biorhythm and internal temperature, simting warmth and creating an illusion of skin contact... The final part of Vahns outfit was a greyish-ck silken sash which, much like the rest of his outfit, was covered in ayer of runes. Unlike the rest of his attire, however, these runes stood out quite a bit, zing with golden light that emted the embers visible when cloth was set ame. This was meant to draw the eye and unnerve people slightly as, while it didnt seem as perturbing as his sleek ck gauntlets and greaves, the fact it was an S-Rank Artifact gave it an aura that terrified or enticed anyone closely observing it. When he first stepped out onto the stage, Vahn felt the eyes of everyone in the audience focus on him before, momentster, their gaze shifted, albeit briefly, to Artoria. She, too, was attired in sleek ck attire but, unlike Mordred and Sakura, she elected to embrace her femininity for this event. As a result, her main outfit consisted of three distinct parts: a removable sleeved top, a sleek, corset-like bodice, and a threeyered gown that, if you looked closely, vaguely resembled a flower. It extended all the way to her ankles but, as Artoria was used to fighting in a dress, it wouldnt exactly impede her movements in the slightest. Like Vahn, Artoria also had sleek ck gauntlets and greaves but, what really stood out was the fact that, unlike her typical, extremely reserved outfits, the separation between her bodice and top left a small window that showed off her cleavage. Da Vinci had even designed the bodice in a way that helped to ent her rather diminutive assets so, with Artorias already ethereal beauty, she radiated a slightly more mature aura than usual... Fortunately, most Magi were generally very sensitive to how others perceived them so, rightly fearing Vahns ire, none were bold enough to openly gawk. It hadnt been all that long since he silenced an entire crowd prior to the duel between Artoria and Lorelei so it was no secret he was rather protective of the women around him. Since Artoria had been introduced as his Empress, she immediately became a massivendmine within the hearts and minds of everyone gathered below. To further add to the anxieties of the crowd, Luvia performed a polite bow while, on the stage, Bedivere took a knee before lowering his head. At the same time, most of the Edelfelt security forces lowered their bodies at a steep angle, forcing everyone gathered to make a choice: either lower your head or be left as one of the few people standing tall. This caused bitter feelings in the hearts of the more prideful Magi, but, with very few exceptions, they all bowed low. As one of the only groups left standing, Solon, Zelretch, Zepia, Sion, and Da Vinci (Professor Alpha), drew a lot of attention. Solon, as the leader of the group, stood out the most as, with their unique attire and emerald-green hair, reaching all the way down to their ankles, they didnt exactly blend in with the surroundings. As a result, Vahns eyes passed over the group but, instead of forcing them to bow, he surprised the crowd by smiling as he said, "It is good to see you, Solon. I hope I didnt keep you waiting for too long..." Though it wasnt a very direct way to do things, Vahns words made it very clear that his position was higher than Solons. The casualness in which he greeted one of the most infamous figures within the Association was open to interpretation but, when Solon answered in kind, any doubts were removed as, to the horror of many, Solon politely nodded before replying, "Only a fool would dare to refuse a direct invitation from the Sage Emperor. It is my honor to have Your Imperial Majestys recognition..." Even Vahn hadnt expected Solon to respond in such an agreeable manner so, for a brief moment, his expression became more genuine as he issued a light chuckle. Then, so as to ease some of the tensions in the room, he raised his hand and stated, "Please, raise your heads. Your respect is noted but, for the time being, we are not your Emperor. Now, so as not to burden our hosts further, allow us to make a few introductions before proceeding with the rest of the g." Following Vahns words, everyone in the assembly raised their heads just in time to see Mordred and Sakura, followed closely by Alexander, Mash, Zo?, and Astrid exit through the spatial rift. The fact it had still been silently looming in the background terrified those who knew of the ridiculous amount of magical energy that would be required to perform such a feat. As for everyone else, they focused intently on the group of children that had exited the portal, waiting with bated breath to learn their identity and status. With Mordred, Sakura, Mash, Zo?, and Astrid wearing simr outfits, the only thing that set them apart, clothing-wise, were the golden emblems sewn into Mordreds and Sakuras cors. The others had simple gold buttons, imprinted with military rank, while Mordred and Sakura were decorated in what was quickly bing known as the insignia of the Imperial Family. Since Vahn and Artoria had the same insignia on their clothes, it wasnt difficult to deduce the status of the distinctly different young women. Matching expectations, Vahn raised his head proudly as he extended his hand toward Mordred. Thetter happily epted and, after pulling her to stand next to him, Vahn announced, "This is the First Imperial Princess, mine and Artorias beloved daughter, Mordred Aldrnari Pendragon, eldest of the Aldrnari Lineage." Hearing Mordreds official introduction, various thoughts were running through the Magi gathered within the ballroom. Mordreds name wasnt exactlymon and, with her connection Artoria, many made the immediate connection between the proud young woman on stage and the Knight famous for leading the rebellion against King Arthur. Despite this, none had the intention of ever bringing it up as the internal affairs of the Imperial Family werent worth probing into... Having been introduced by her Chichue, Mordred gave a Knights salute to the crowd, her right hand over her heart as her left was neatly tucked behind her back. She had a radiant and charismatic smile on her face and, despite being the center of attention, showed no signs of nervousness as she raised her chin slightly and proudly dered, "I am privileged to serve the Empire as both Imperial Princess and a future member of the Imperial Knights. I pray that our rtionships will be amicable and that my de never finds purchase amongst any that have gathered here this day." Though Mordreds words were more than a little audacious, the crowd below waspelled to give her an ovation in ordance with prior social norms. She was the daughter of the Emperor and the heir-apparent to the Imperial Throne so, even if her words pricked the dignity of many people, they had little choice but to apud. After all, rather than a casual threat, there was a certain weight to Mordreds words when you considered just how many people her father had already killed... Following Mordreds introduction, Vahn had her stand next to Artoria before extending his hand to Sakura. She readily epted it but,pared to Mordred, it was obvious to everyone how nervous she was. If the opportunity presented itself, many decided it would be better to try and approach the demure brte as,pared to Mordred, she seemed a lot more agreeable. With Sakura standing statuesque at his side, Vahn internally sighed before adopting a more serious look,plete with a threatening aura, as he said, "This is the Second Imperial Princess, my beloved daughter, Sakura Aldrnari Mason. She has a kind and caring nature so, should the opportunity arise, please treat her well..." Though the tone he used was polite, the hidden meaning behind Vahns words was clear due to the overwhelming pressure affecting nearly everyone; if you messed with his daughter, there would be a very heavy price to pay. His protective nature was well-documented and, ording to rumors, it was actually a plot against Vahns children that triggered The Fall. Thus, if they wanted to try and exploit Sakuras apparent vulnerabilities, a fate worse than those involved in the purge would undoubtedly await them. Hearing her fathers words, Sakuras smile became more natural, even if she couldnt help but feel a little exasperated. She appreciated his care and concern but, as this was supposed to be her debut, part of her wished he had let mattersy. Though she knew her weakness would entice the bolder men and women in the crowd, she wasnt a little girl that couldnt take care of herself. She liked to think she was a sensible youngdy and, while her explosive power was leagues beneath Mordred, she had enough reserves to overwhelm the vast majority of Magi in an instant. Still, Sakura appreciated her fathers support so, with a much calmer smile on her face, she saluted in much the same way as Mordred before stating, "I, too, am privileged to serve as both an Imperial Princess and a prospective member of the Imperial Knights. Though I do not like conflict, know that I am not fearful of necessary violence. Please, never give me a reason to strike you down..." Mordreds words had left quite the impression but, hearing even Sakura basically threaten them, the entire crowd was stunned. The more arrogant amongst them couldnt help but furrow their brows at the audaciousness of Vahns children but, much like the rest of the crowd, they all apuded. Even if Sakura was just a frail little girl, the fact she had monstrous parents backing her couldnt exactly be ignored. Even if they got the opportunity to teach the girls a lesson in the future, they would never do so unless they could be absolutely certain it wouldnt be traced back to them. Being recognized as an enemy of the Empire all but guaranteed death, a truth emphasized by a body count in the nine digits... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fashion master Vahn bites his thumb at your t-shirt, basketball shorts, and flip flops...,A Tyrannical Emperors children are also Tyrants~!?,Mess with the cubs and you only have yourself to me when Mama and Papa find you...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1410 - Easing Tensions

Chapter 1410 - Easing Tensions

Needless to say, the introductions of Mordred and Sakura had left a deep impression on everyone in the crowd. Vahns aura hadnt exactly helped to ease any of the tensions so, even when the lights came back on, the majority of people werent sure what to do with themselves. Some thought about just turning around and leaving but, as the doors to the ballroom had been closed prior to Vahns arrival, they feared the repercussions of trying. Seeing how uneasy everyone was, Vahn felt somewhat apologetic towards Luvia as it actually hadnt been his intention to ruin the mood. He always got carried away when it came to his children so, in a vain attempt to ease the tensions, he released a mellow and calming aura as he said, "This evening is meant to be a festive asion. Truthfully, we are easier to get along with than you might expect...so long as you do not do anything untoward. For the next two hours, enjoy food and drink provided as a courtesy of the Empire whilst mingling with each other. We also enjoy conversation so feel free to introduce yourselves." Though it wasnt as effective as hed have liked, Vahn could feel people begin to rx as a result of his calm aura and guiding words. He didnt imagine any of them would actually try and introduce themselves without a mediator but, so long as they didnt have any malicious intentions, Vahn didnt particrly mind conversing with anyone. The only reason he came off as an intense character was due to many Magi having untoward thoughts or malicious natures. At the very core, Vahn wasnt the type to seek conflict and, if he could get along with everyone, that would be ideal. What Vahn couldnt do waspromise with people who had malicious intentions as, the moment you showed any sign of weakness, they were like snakes primed to strike. If he was around kind and caring individuals, he could coexist with them without any trouble whatsoever. In fact, he preferred thepany of Spirits and Fae for this exact reason as, other than fulfilling their purpose, the only other thing they cared about was ensuring each member of their race could live happily. There were some obvious exceptions to this but, in general, entities with an assigned purpose were a lot easier to get along with. With nothing left to say, Vahn escorted Artoria off the stage, followed by his ratherrge entourage. After joining the congregation on the lower level, he made his way over to where Solon and the rest separated into smaller groups to interact with the crowd. Some of the invitees were students of the Clock Tower, including a few belonging to the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory, so the girls all had groups they could freely mingle with. As for Alexander, he immediately plowed through the crowd, making a beeline toward the buffet tables lining the far side of the hall... Before Vahn could reach Solons group, his way was blocked by the familiar figure of Reines and the deadpan expression of Waver. Vahn could see visible exhaustion in the mans countenance so, while he had been tempted to just bypass Reines, he internally sighed before halting his steps. Walking by Reines would be a pretty big p in the face and, given her character, she wouldnt take it kindly. He had already taken steps to try and help Ridley but, in the hopes of helping both Waver and Reines herself, Vahns brain began to mull over various solutions. Standing in the path of someone on the level of an Emperor was what many would consider foolish but, having a decent understanding of Vahns character, Reines had been willing to gamble. She had made sure to approach from Artorias side, leaving plenty of space to walk around if he decided to avoid her. Though this had its fair share of problems, Reines had been spreading rumors about her close association with the Empire and, even if she couldnt win Vahns favor, controlling how others viewed her was well within the scope of her power. After performing a wless curtsy, followed by Waver bowing politely, Reines smiled radiantly as she mused, "Your Imperial Majesties, it is a pleasure to see the two of you again. My husband and I have been wanting to express our gratitude ever since you visited our manor to heal his affliction. As this may not be the most opportune time, please allow us to pay you a visit in the future. My daughter, Ridley, also wanted to express her gratitude, but, due to her age, she was, unfortunately, whisked away..." Reines had made little effort to conceal her words so, while she hadnt said any lies, thepleteck of context made it very easy to misinterpret them. It made the rtionship between her and the Empire seem infinitely more intimate than it actually was. Just mentioning the face he had personallye to aid them was a pretty big deal but, as he didnt want to publically shame her, Vahn kept his usual smile as he replied, "Having you visit Avalon is a matter for the far future but, if you would like to take tea, Im certain Luvia can make the arrangements. Waver is a dear friend so I wouldnt mind conversing with him on asion. Of course, as his wife, you are more than wee to attend." Without directly refuting Reines words, Vahn shifted the focal point to Waver, making it clear to the peanut gallery it wasnt the Archibald family, but Waver himself, that had his favor. Since Reines has pointed out his previous visitation, mentioning its rtion to her husband, Vahn capitalized on the small oversight. As a result, despite the fact Reines was still smiling, Vahn could see a few additional purple and green bands within the pale-gray aura shrouding her body... Realizing what Vahn had done, Waver adopted a polite smile on his face as he bowed his head and answered, "To have His Imperial Majesty consider me a friend is a great honor. We will be certain to reach out to Lady Edelfelt in the near future. I am looking forward to drinking Your Imperial Majestys tea once again." Though his wifes vice-like grip caused him a bit of difort, Waver knew he had a part to y and, for both of their sakes, he did his best. Reines would probablymbast him for noting up with a way to elevate her status but, as her obsession was nearing the point of endangerment, he was hoping to resolve the matter in the near future. Hecked the ability to restrain her on his own but, with support from Vahn, it wouldnt be impossible. This time, instead of being dragged around, Waver was the one to lead Reines out of Vahns way as, if she were to say more, it would onlyplicate matters. Vahn had already made a public promise to meet with them and, despite their rtionship being peculiar, to the say the least, he gave them considerable face by calling Waver his friend. This was something Reines herself was very aware of so, even after Vahn and Artoria walked past them, she maintained a faultless smile before allowing Waver to lead her around, their roles suddenly reversed... --- After deflecting Reines away, albeit temporarily, Vahn neared the group now consisting of only Solon and Zelretch. Director Asia had wandered off to engage some of the students he had sent off to the Clock Tower while Da Vinci and Sion, neither fond of social situations, opted to alight to the private lounges adjoining the hall. They had only appeared as a matter of course so, after the g officially began, they had no qualms about excusing themselves. Da Vinci, in particr, had grown rather tired of people trying to court her as, even with a device to conceal her beauty, her association with the Empire garnered a great deal of attention... Immediately after Vahn reached afortable speaking distance, Solon created a soundproofing bubble. Following this, Zelretch released a heartyugh before adopting his usual sly smile as he said, "It may have just been my imagination but I would swear the temperature around that woman decreased by several degrees in an instant." Adding onto Zelretchs remark, Solon raised their head, looking directly at Vahn as they said, "That woman is a snake. I wont tell you how to handle your affairs but it would be foolish to trust her. That man has a few redeeming qualities but he is hopeless without the backbone to oppose his wife." Though he didnt exactly disagree with Solons assessment, Vahn was briefly tempted to remark that there was nothing wrong with listening to your wives. He could also be considered to be henpecked but, unlike the situation between Reines and Waver, his wives genuinely respected his opinion. Even if he was wrong, they would still support him to the best of their ability and, as a result, they would be able to aplish much more, together. Since Wavers situation was significantly different than his own, Vahn issued a light chuckle beforementing, "I suppose we cant all be fortunate enough to have amazing wives. Even though I try to count my blessings every day, a new one seems toe before Im able to finish." Hearing Vahns flowery remark, the tips of Artorias ears became almost imperceptibly redder. Her expression remained unchanged, giving off a dignified aura, but she couldnt hide the truth from him. This caused Vahns expression to soften as he lightly rubbed the hand she had interwoven with his arm. He rarely passed up a chance to appeal to his women and, considering Solon had already erected an obscuration and soundproofing barrier, he didnt mind taking advantage of it. Solon was no stranger to Vahns incessant wiling of women so, while Zelretch had an amused yet incredulous expression, the green-haired Magus appeared unphased as they muttered, "You really are a helpless fool...I suppose that is why so many women favor you?" With thetter half of their sentence being directed toward Artoria, indicated by Solons slight turn of their head, the former gave a small nod before answering, "Vahn is a capable Emperor but, before that, he is a father, a husband, a teacher, and much more. We all support his vision, hoping against nigh-impossible odds that the world will be a better ce through our efforts." This time, Solons expression changed quite a bit as, unadulterated exasperation on their face as they shook their head and muttered, "I take it back...it isnt Vahn, alone, that is hopeless; the whole lot of you are beyond helping...!" Finding Solons words disagreeable, Artorias brows furrowed ever-so-slightly but, before she could retort, Vahn eased tensions by saying, "Rx." Then, projecting his voice so that only Artoria could hear it, he added, "Solon is just a Tsundere. They dont know how to express themselves so they justsh out whenever they are flustered. Dont let it bother you." As she was familiar with the term, Artoria briefly imagined Solon with twin tails, flinging gemstones at people with a red face. Thetter seemed to sense her thoughts, their brows furrowing behind their blindfold as they asked, "What did that bastard tell you...?" Remembering how Solon always called Zelretch old bastard, the image of them being a Tsundere was cemented in Artorias mind. Thus, while her instinct as an Empress and Knight was to defend Vahns honor, she let Solonsment slide with a knowing smile. This only caused thetter to fume even more but, with arge audience, there was a limit to what they could say or do. Even the obscuration barrier wasnt perfect and, based on their bodynguage, a lot of assumptions could be made. Deciding to give Solon a bit of leniency, as he knew they were easily stressed, Vahn redirected the conversation, exining, "If nothing happens in the interim, well be making the announcement at precisely 9 PM. Until then, feel free to rest in one of the various lounges. Just make sure not to drop you guard...there is a decent chance some of some unexpected visitors making an appearance..." Hearing Vahns warning, Zelretch adopted a battle-hungry expression while Solon, a small frown on their face, asked, "What are the odds? For you to be informing us...they seem quite high." Though he kept a casual smile on his face, appearing perfectly normal to external observers, Vahns tone was firm as he unhesitantly answered, "There is room for variation but, based on our data, there is about a ny-three percent chance of something happening. It would seem another example will have to be made before the integrity of the Magusmunity reaches an adequate level..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Rx, guys, just act casually :D...*world burning in the background*,Vahns past training with Loki wasnt without results,Some things change, others remain the same) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1411 - Support

Chapter 1411 - Support

Though Vahn had no intention of using CHALDEAS to unreasonably persecute people who had yet tomit crimes, that didnt mean it wasnt extremely useful for determining when an attack woulde. While it wasntpletely urate, as any major event could drastically change the future, thebination of CHALDEAS, Sherlock, and Ark left very little room for variance. Since the Imperial G was a rtively important event, one which gathered many of the worlds most powerful people in one room, ascertaining whether or not something would go wrong was of paramount importance. Vahn couldnt risk seeding further doubts into the minds of the Magusmunity if he intended to use them to establish order. They needed to be confident and fearful of his power, believing he could protect them while knowing what fate awaited them should they choose to oppose the Empire. To this end, the Empire had made considerable preparations for what was toe. Though it wasnt obvious at a nce, the security of the Edelfelt Mansion, at least on this particr evening, was moreprehensive than could be imagined. So much effort had gone into the preparations that, even after half an hour had passed, there wasnt a single person in the hall who realized what was going on, outside of those who were informed directly... --- While Vahn and Artoria were making the rounds alongside Luvia, allowing people to introduce themselves, Mordred and Sakura were doing much the same. The difference was, even without a mediator to ease the tensions, people werent nearly afraid to approach them. After all, they had the appearance of fourteen-year-old girls and, after seeing how amicably they conversed with the other young men and women within the ballroom, the parents and colleagues of said children used the opportunity to weasel their way into the conversation. In many situations, the children belonging to the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory had either distanced themselves from their families or, in some situations, emancipated themselves with the support of the Empire. Despite this, their shameless parents readily tried to exploit their progeny, some even going as far as to try and smooth things over in order to receive some of the benefits their children had been able to obtain through their own efforts. Though the more prideful and confident students were able to deflect without much trouble, that didnt mean there wasnt any drama whatsoever. One particr example had been when Sakura was talking with one of few students she generally got along with, an intelligent-looking young woman with neatly trimmed orange hair who could always be seen wearing an eyepatch, Ophelia Phamrsolone. Sakura had befriended the girl after Ophelia hesitantly approached her, asking for advice on how she could improve as a Magus. Sakura was a lot easier to approach than Mordred so, when it came to the more demure and shy girls, she was quite popr. Now, however, Sakuras brows had furrowed slightly as a young man with long golden hair, reaching past his shoulders, approached their small group. He was dressed like an affluent Noble but, as if to further elevating himself amongst his peers, he elected to wear a pure white outfit that was enchanted to prevent dirt or stains. At a nce, the man had a very princely appearance but, while his blue eyes were striking, his face was formed into an expression that seemed to look down on everyone around him. Even as he approached Sakuras group, his expression hadnt changed much and, though he managed to perform a wless bow, Sakura couldnt shake the feeling he was looking down on, not just her, but all the girls gathered around her. Though nearly everyone knew who the young man was, Ophelia was the only one who had been affiliated with him in the past. Thus, when the man turned his icy gaze upon her, she shrunk next to Sakura, muttering, "This is Kirschtaria Wodime, the Head of a thousand-year-old Magus family. After Miss Animusphere left school to fulfill her duties, he became the next in line to be the Faculty Head of the Department of Astronomy..." With Ophelia fulfilling her responsibility, Kirschtaria seemed to immediately lose interest in her, adding, "It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Your Imperial Highness, Princess Sakura. I have heard tales of your beauty and prowess so it is truly an honor to meet you in person." Despite his flowery words, Kirschtarias expression didnt change much and, while he was being polite, Sakura liked him less with each passing moment. However, due to her status, it was harder than she would like to simply chase people away. If she did so in a drastic fashion, it would harm the other persons reputation a considerable amount and, as Kirschtaria hadnt done anything to proactively offend her, she was obligated to tolerate him. Forcing a smile onto her face, Sakura gave the handsome man a small nod before issuing him a slight warning by saying, "It is unfortunate, Lord Wodime, but I have heard very little of you prior to tonight. You must be quite capable to have won the favor of Lord Animusphere but, based on my friends reaction, I must ask that you kindly give us some space. Unless you have a matter of import to discuss, I would prefer to continue our discussion,dies only." Though his expression didnt change in the slightest, Kirschtaria blinked a few times in surprise, seemingly unustomed to being chased away. He held the current Rank 1 position for Most handsome man in the Clock Tower and, due to his status and prospects, the number of women desiring his courtship, both young and old, easily exceeded three digits. Not wanting to offend an Imperial Princess, Kirschtaria ultimately performed a polite bow, stating, "It is unfortunate but, if that is the wish of Your Imperial Highness, I will readily excuse myself. One day, I hope my aplishments are enough to earn your esteemed recognition..." After raising his head, Kirschtaria cast his gaze over Ophelia once again, his eyes squinting ever-so-slightly in an usatory manner before he turned away, his cape flourishing slightly as a result. He was obviously displeased about how things had gone but, with a dignified countenance and perfect bearing, Kirschtaria boldly passed through the group lingering around the periphery of Sakuras group, each looking for an opportunity to make their own introduction. When the gap created by Kirschtaria gradually closed, Ophelia released a tired sigh at Sakuras side before lowering her head and saying, "Im sorry about that, Sakura...Kirchtaria isnt actually a bad guy. He just doesnt know how to properly show emotions and, due to his family, the way he views others is...unpleasant. I used to look up to him but, after I left the Department of Astronomy in order to join the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory, we havent been able to see eye-to-eye. The Wodime and Phamrsolone families have had close ties for a long time so there is a good chance I would have been married off to him in the future. He didnt take kindly to the fact I ran away from my family as, while I did so for personal reasons, it was an indirect blemish to his pride..." Given how Kirschtaria elected to wear pure-white clothing, it was easy to see he was the type of man who abhorred uncleanliness. Even if it didnt actually have anything to do with him, any kind of blemish, even a perceived one, wasnt eptable. Kirschtaria aspired to be the perfect Magus and, as he had already been nominated as the next Head of the Department of Astronomy,bined with his nomination for the Rank of Pride, he had a lot of reason to consider himself above others. He was only neen this year and, even before the previous purge, he was considered one of the gems of the Mages Association. Unfortunately, as it was all but impossible to seed in the previous Association without having a certain kind of character, Kirschtaria embodied the Old Era to a startling extent. He appeared to carry himself with dignity and pride but, if you peeled back theyers of his character, you would find an arrogant young man who had never experienced any real setbacks. His family had never been one of the top ten but, with a legacy stretching back a thousand years, he had never been left wanting when it came to resources and opportunities. Though he certainly put in a great deal of effort, the fact he was always leagues above his peers had left a deep impression on the young mans mind. Part of Sakuras education included learning more about the former and current Magus families so, despite her earlier words, she knew a considerable amount regarding Kirschtaria, including his character and aplishments. Sherlock had made aprehensive profile of virtually every member of the Mages Association so, if she were to ess the system and elevate her request to a high enough level, she could even expose Kirschtarias deepest and darkest secrets. This wasnt something she could just arbitrarily decide, however, as the young man had been given a Pale Green status, meaning his threat level, from the perspective of the Empire, was negligible. The main reason Sakura had sent Kirschtaria away was out of consideration for Ophelia. She had learned a bit about the young womans past and, due to her sincere desire to liberate herself and forge her own destiny, Sakura had grown quite fond of her. Though she was part of therger group that revolved around Mordred, Sakura was also the leader of her own small social group, consisting predominately of shy and demure girls with gentle and kind natures. They all looked up to her so, if the opportunity presented itself, Sakura wouldnt just ignore them when they are in trouble. As a result of her personal resolve regarding the matter, Sakura nodded her head in affirmation but, rather than support Ophelias attempt to smooth things over, she inly stated, "You dont have to speak on behalf of others, Ophelia. You owe Lord Wodime nothing and, if it turns out he is truly a good man, he will distinguish himself through his actions. Putting pressure on you to try and get closer to me wasnt something a good man would do so, while I understand he isnt a bad person, that doesnt trante to him being a good one, either." Though her eyes revealed variousplex emotions, Ophelia still managed an awkward smile, understanding that Sakura was supporting her. It didnt seem to matter that her status as Imperial Princess had been revealed, Sakura was still the same caring person they had alle to respect over thest few months. She unified all of the girls who sought to change their fates but, due to being pressured their entire lives, had trouble deciding upon the best course of action. With Sakuras guidance, they had all made incredible progress in their studies and, though the future still seemed uncertain, they chose to believe in the Empires vision. They wanted to be able to choose their fates freely, not be forced into difficult situations for no better reason than the fact they had been born female. The Empire promised an equilibrium of status between genders and race, often with very serious consequences for violent offenders. Thus, while the Emperor was rumored to be a deviant with a harem exceeding hundreds of women, mostly Heroic Spirits, they still looked up to him. The fact he was able to produce children like Mordred and Sakura, people they greatly idolized, was more than enough reason for them to wholly support his vision. It helped that, despite the rumors that circted about him, Vahns appearance easily eclipsed even famous models. Since the girls all had his Familia Crest engraved on their bodies, he had, inadvertently, left a deep impression on their hearts as well... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Trying to surprise the Empire is quite difficult xD...,The embodiment of gentlemanly arrogance,Yes, FBI-san? Hes over here...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1412 - Crash

Chapter 1412 - Crash

With most power grids being taken down due to their influence on the environment and the waste they produced, the evening brought with it a veil of darkness, illuminated by nothing but the ocean of stars and the brilliance of the moon. As a result, it was a lot harder to get aroundte at night as, without anything to light your path, finding your way through the darkness was very difficult. As could be expected, there were some who thrived in this new environment as, with police and military forces being stretched thin, public order was at an all-time low. Though some regions had been less affected, such as areas where arge number of Magi congregated, the number of crimes taking ce at night had skyrocketed. In some areas, humans, due to the circumstances and an ever-increasing amount of mana in the atmosphere, had even developed night vision as a result. This was just one of many adaptations that had started to proliferate around the world as, following Da Vincis predictions, humanity was capable of rapid evolution when provided with adequate stimulus. This evening, the night was even darker than usual as, while the endless sea of stars slowly spun overhead, the moon was nowhere to be seen. While moonlight nights werent particrly rare, as it was simply the phenomenon where the earth casts its shadow over the moons surface, the fact it had been visible the previous night was a tell-tale sign that something was amiss. Though many overlooked this fact, entirely, there were some who noticed this incongruity almost immediately... Staring up at the endless sea of stars above, a man with pale white hair and tanned skin, attired in a casual outfit consisting of a ck hoodie and grey cks, pulled out a device simr in design and function to a cellphone. The primary difference was, instead of using satellites to transfer the signal, it sent messages through Imaginary Number Space, using a series of small waypoints to establishmunication. Though it was several times less effective than the system developed by Da Vinci, it still allowed almost instantaneousmunication, regardless of distance. With a deeply fatigued voice, the man held the Communicator up to his ear, saying, "Im calling off the operation. The enemy seems to have seen through our n..." Normally, when a Communicator was used, itpiled a message into a single sound bite before sending it through to the receiver on the other side. This was generally denoted by a soft bell-like chime, often immediately after a message was sent. Though it was possible for various factors to dy the process, there were very few that could actually block the signal without cutting off the connection to Imaginary Number Space. For these reasons, the man released a tired sigh as, even after more than thirty seconds had gone by, the expected ping never came. This wasnt the first time he had tried, either, so he was close to pulling his hair out in frustration. With the exception of their so-called leader, hispanions werent exactly the brightest bunch. Some of them were outright idiotic and, rather than run from a fight, they were the types that threw themselves into the unknown with confidence... After running his hand through his hair in an effort to remain calm, the man released a tired sigh before jumping off from his perch,nding on the ground more than eight meters below. Even on contact, his movements didnt make a single sound and, after rising to his feet, his figure seemed to blur into the surroundings beforepletely disappearing momentster. It was obvious they had already triggered the enemys trap but, as this was one of the few chances they had to strike a blow against the Emperor so, while his instincts were screaming at him to flee, he could only do so after confirming his allies had already withdrawn... --- Without noticing the discrepancy with the moon, a trio of women, each wearing outfits that didnt match the time period, directly approached the front gate of the Edelfelt Mansion. One wore an ornate purple kimono, covered in an artistic pattern consisting of various flowers. As for her other twopanions, one wore what could only be described as diatorial armor while the other, standing out in more ways than one, wore a skin-tight bodysuit, reminiscent of a scuba suit but covered in pale blue lines that gently pulsed in the darkness. As all three women were armed, the Edelfelt Security Forces immediately alerted the Command Center while simultaneously activating an extremely powerful barrier. This caused the woman at the front of the group, the kimono-d Musashi, to shoulder her katana with a smile on her face as she mused, "You guys are pretty quick to respond. Nice and decisive. Its a shame you chose to serve an evil tyrant..." Since Musashi had been walking forward casually, the fact she already had her sword drawn and resting on her shoulder caused the scalps of every man and woman manning the gate to tingle. It had happened without a single one of them noticing and, though the barrier seemed to activate without issue, the edges seemed to be flickering unnaturally. Normally, it would cast a visible blue light that pulsed with vitality but, a stark contrast to what they were used to, it now seemed like an old lightbulb on the verge of flickering out the moment something touched it. As if toplete this illusion, the woman standing to Musashis left, wearing extremely revealing white armor, reminiscent of an ancient diator, hefted her spear like a javelin, arching her body like a bow before loosing her spear like a beam of light. The Edelfelt Security Forces didnt even have time to move out of the way before the spear mmed into the barrier, shattering it without any suspense. It then contacted an area behind the gate, erupting into a plume of dust and debris as a shockwave akin to a truck of dynamite exploding shook the air and quaked the ground. Despite having tossed what appeared to be her only weapon, the bronze-skinned woman held out her hand and, after a sh of blue light, her spear returned to her side. Then, with her bunny-like ears flickering agitatedly, she asked, "What are we waiting for? Our enemies are going to run away if we just stand around doing nothing...!" Hearing herpanions shout, Musashi dug into her ear with her pinky, azy expression on her face as she answered, "You really need to stop stressing out over every little thing, Caenis. Were supposed to be luring our enemies out, not attacking them directly. There are over a thousand of those magic bastards inside. Do you really think they dont have the ability to defend themselves? Besides, that crazy Emperor went out of his way to personally assault our K2 base. You really think he is the type to just run away when we appear at his doorstep?" In timing with her words, a pir of reddish-ck light emerged from within the Edelfelt Mansion, destroying the front door and carving a channel through the ground. Despite this, Musashi made no effort to dodge as, while the beam of light seemed rtively powerful, most forms of Magic werepletely useless against her. The moment the beam of light angled upward, seemingly intent on cutting through them, it split apart into hundreds of smaller destructive rays after hitting the invisible barrier that represented her [Magic Resistance]. From within the destroyed section of the mansion, what appeared to be a very young woman emerged, her golden hair set into an ornate hairstyle that caused Musashis brows to raise as she asked, "Wow, how much time does it take to style your hair like that?" With a smile on her face, the young woman lifted her hand, creating a vortex of reddish-ck energy more than a meter across as she answered, "I have a very capable hairdresser who is able to fix it in under two hours with advance notice~" To punctuate her words, the golden-haired woman released a muchrger beam of magical energy, this time aiming it at the ground beneath Musashis feet. Since her [Magic Resistance] had little effect on her surroundings, this forced the pale-haired samurai to release a small sigh, the hand gripping her katana tightening slightly as she prepared to cut it, and the woman, down. Truthfully, Musashi didnt like bullying the weak so, unless the opponent was near her level, it was difficult for her to get serious. Fortunately, she had a hyperaggressive, spartan-like, woman at her side so, without having to raise another finger, Musashi watched with azy expression as Caenis jumped in front of her, hoplite shield raised at chest level. Unfortunately, while she was able to easily intercept the beam of light, the golden-haired woman seemed proficient in the use of her Magic, changing the trajectory in an instant to forcibly redirect Caenis shield. Moving with surprising swiftness, the golden-haired woman neared Caenis while thetter was still off-bnce, several smaller orbs of magical energy dancing around her body in controlled orbits. This was enough to genuinely surprise Caenis as, due to her Lancer ssification, she had A-Rank Agility. It was a nigh-impossible feat for a normal human to catch her by surprise but, lo and behold, she found herself at the mercy of a small and seemingly fragile maiden without even a shadow of fear visible in her wless countenance... Despite having been caughtpletely off guard, Caenis managed to kick off the ground with her right foot, twisting her body in a whip-like fashion without trying to defend herself. This was enough to cause the golden-haired woman to try and open up a distance but, as she had already prepared her magical attack, Caenis found herself being impacted by several beams of reddish-ck energy, about a fingers thickness in diameter. Though she was pushed back slightly, causing her kick to miss its mark by a few centimeters, Caenis waspletely undamaged by the womans attack. She also managed to recover almost instantly, jamming the tip of her spear into the ground to control her pivot and find her footing. In the next moment, she charged at the retreating figure of the golden-haired woman, spear angled low as she held her hoplite shield to cover her chest and the lower half of her face. With her attack impacting harmlessly against the bronze-skinned womans exposed body, the golden-haired woman, Olivia, silently cursed in the back of her mind. She was forced to perform short-range teleportation just to avoid being skewered, a spell that took a considerable amount of her Magical Energy to perform. At most, she could use it up to five times before her reserves werepletely drained, but, as it had been a long time since herst real battle, she still had a smile on her face. Tearing away the gown she had been wearing, Olivia revealed a dark-blue leotard that left very little to the imagination. Immediately afterward, a mana shroud covered her body and, while it wasnt too noticeable, all of her muscles became more defined. Then, without any fear at all, she charged toward Caenis, shouting, "Lets see what youre made of, girlie...!" Never expecting her opponent to suddenly charge after fleeing to safety, Caenis showed had a slightly incredulous look before immediately adopting a serious expression as she shouted, "Nice spirit! Come at me...!" At the end of her outburst, Caenis smacked against her shield with the side of her spear, creating a loud chnk and, for a brief moment, drastically increasing her aura. The red tattoos covering her body began to glow and, despite the evening being pretty temperate, steam began to rise from her body as she released a loud war cry and moved to meet Olivia head-on, discarding her spear and shield in the process. As a Greek warrior, Caenis believed wholeheartedly in honor and the sacred rite of dueling. She was well versed in all Grecianbat arts so, seeing Olivia wearing attire befitting a wrestler, she had every intention of demonstrating her own prowess in the ancient art. Wrestling was, after all, the purest form ofbat and, in her times, relying on weapons to strike down a much weaker, unarmed opponent, was heavily frowned upon. Though she didnt particrly care why her opponent had discarded her weapons, Olivia wasnt the type to back down from a challenge. Caenis was demonstrably taller than her but, as this was often the case, it ultimately didnt matter. Olivia was well versed in taking advantage ofrger and less nimble opponents and, despite her diminutive size, she was supremely confident in her raw power. With neither woman making any effort to dodge, Caenis and Olivia mmed into each other, thetter using her shoulder to strike at the formers diaphragm. This would be a crippling blow for most people but, much like how her [Gandr] had struck harmlessly moments prior, Olivia felt like she impacted a solid wall, her shoulder screaming in protest. At the same time, Caenis attempted to grapple her but, having anticipated her attack doing little to no damage, Olivia headbutted the formers chin while doubling the side of her mana shroud in an instant. Caenis head was knocked back by the sudden blow but, at the same time, she managed to wrap her arms around Olivias body. Just as she was about to squeeze, however, Olivia seemed to slip out of her grasp, almost as if she were covered in oil. She even managed to slide between Caenis legs, striking at the backs of her knees but, in much the same way as her previous attacks, there were no visible indicators of damage. Undaunted by her failures, Olivia attempted to wrap her arms around Caenis waist, intending to suplex her head into the marble pathway. This was where her luck ran out, unfortunately, as therger woman leaned forward while striking backward with her butt. While this might have been a rather silly attack, the strength of a Heroic Spirit couldnt be overlooked. Olivia ended up having the wind knocked out of her and, in the next moment, an elbow crashed down from above, hitting the crown of her head with enough force to dissipate her aura and rob away her consciousness in a single blow. Though Caenis hadnt put all of her strength into the attack, it was still enough to send Olivias body crashing into the ground below, cratering it slightly. Then, after rolling her right shoulder and shaking out her wrist, she remarked, "You were very skilled. This match was determined by an absolute difference in strength and the blessing I received from that fishy bastard. I would have liked to fight you on even footing but, unfortunately, you are my enemy..." With her words trailing off, Caenis opened her right palm, her spear reappearing in a sh of light as she aimed it toward Olivias back. The duel had alreadye to an end so Olivias life or death was her sacred right to decide. Had she not been on the side of an evil tyrant, Caenis would have had no qualms about sparing her but, given the circumstances, she waspelled to eliminate any and all enemies in her path... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Pollo lost his temper...,Musashi too imba,This was not a fair fight! How can it be an honorable battle when one side is resistant to magic and has imprable skin!? Im calling hax...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1413 - Clash

Chapter 1413 - sh

Due to her severe concussion, Olivia was in a deep state of unconsciousness,pletely unaware of her surroundings. Though a part of her subconscious mind cried out, demanding her to take action, Caenis wasnt just going to wait around for her to recover. Without any hesitation, the white-haired woman hefted her spear and, in a single swift motion, pierced through Olivias back, stabbing her in the heart. Though she had already beenying on the ground, Olivias body visibly deted, quickly losing thest vestiges of its vitality. When Caenis pulled her spear free, her body had bepletely limp, the light from her slightly parted eyes nowhere to be seen. Since Olivia had fought honorably, Caenis offered a courtesy bow to the deceased but, just as she was about to issue a few parting words, incredulity marred Caenis expression as Olivias body began to ke away. Before she was able to rationalize what had happened, Caenis felt an impact akin to being struck by a meteor. Though her flesh was imprable, giving her a considerable amount of durability, she wasnt actually indestructible. Her internal organs could still be damaged and, if the attack was from a B-Rank Noble Phantasm, or higher, her Skills offered little protection. This was the reason why she still carried around a hoplite shield as, despite the advantages provided by her blessing, it had a fair number of weaknesses... With her body being propelled like a high-velocity shell fired from a howitzer, Caenis left behind a channel of destruction more than 300m in length, shattering any obstacles in her path. When the dust cleared, Caenis could be seen struggling to rise to her feet, a considerable amount of blood flowing from her mouth, staining her body and the ground beneath. Even parts of her armor had been lost in the previous impact, leaving her without the pauldron of her now crooked left arm. At the location where Caenis had been standing previously, a man with a spikey ck hair and a grim expression could be seen, his leg returning to the ground after having justpleted a kick. His blue eyes were zing like will-o-wisps in the low-light of the courtyard and, with lightning periodically dancing across his body, he appeared much like a vengeful and unforgiving god. Appearing at the same time as the man, more than a dozen figures spontaneously surrounded Musashi and herpanion. From behind them, blocking the way out, a young woman with fair skin, gold hair, and stark blue eyes dropped down like a meteor. This was none other than Artoria and, without the need for words, she instantly brandished her [Excalibur], charging at the shorter of the two women with a furious expression on her face. Musashi was a little curious about the method used to spontaneously surround them but, as it didnt really matter all that much, she smiled toward the ck-haired man, musing, "So, youre the guy that threw the world into chaos and destroyed the future?" At the same time, herpanion pulled out a small handle that, at a nce, seemed eerily simr to the hilt and guard of [Excalibur]. Then, with a momentum that wouldnt lose out to Artoria herself, the woman spun around, a de of blue light erupting from the handle as she collided with the furious Empress. Though Artoria was usually pretty calm, there were a few things that could easily get a rise out of her, especially in abat situation. The thing that bothered her the most was the overwhelming number of people that had a simr appearance to her. She no longer believed it was wholly her appearance, as people like Nero were born long before her, but that didnt make it any easier to tolerate. The fact one of their enemies had, not just her face, but a mockery of [Excalibur], was more than enough to set her off... Vahn hadnt actually expected Artoria to suddenly rush her doppelganger but, as their fight quickly moved beyond the walls of thepound, he continued to re at Musashi, answering, "You know nothing about my goals and motivations. Im doing everything in my power to create a better future, not destroy it! Have you ever thought about what would happen if you somehow managed to beat me? Do you have the ability to lead the world onto a better path, preventing them from repeating the same mistakes!?" While Vahn had been directing his words toward her, Musashi had been taking in her surroundings, the smile never leaving her face. When he shouted thest few words, she turned to look at him, her peculiar bluish-purple eyes glowing slightly as she answered, "You know, Im not all that great at the whole arguing semantics thing. All I know is that, as a result of your actions, countless futures have been destroyed. You might very well be doing your best to make the world a better ce but, have you thought about all the fates you have severed in the process? The future may seem like a distant and abstract thing to you but, for the people living there, your actions endanger their very existence. Do you know the terror of being disced from your original world? Can you imagine what its like to know your entire reality has an expiration date based solely on the actions of a few people in the past, a ce most can never hope to reach...?" As if Vahns response had never mattered, Musashi ced her left hand on the hilt of her wakizashi and, in the next moment, it was already at thepletion of its arc. It was only after thepletion of the strike that Vahn felt his perception of timee to a crawl, the world around him fading into muted greys, the only exception being Musashis strangely glowing eyes... Even as he felt his connection with the lower half of his body cut off, Vahns aura erupted outward with the force of a tsunami. Musashis eyes widened slightly as, not only was she forced to defend herself, but, despite having bisected Vahn from shoulder to waist, his body seemed to regenerate in an instant. The discarded part dissolved into fine ck ash and, as if he was tearing through space and time itself, he appeared next to her, gauntleted hand outstretched toward her face. Just as his hand was about to make contact, Vahn felt his instincts screaming at him and, in less time than it took to form a thought, Musashi had vanished from view. The world was still the same muted grey as before but, by the time his mind began to process Musashis disappearance, Vahn felt as if his existence had been fragmented into tiny pieces, much like when he split his ego between several vessels. Though his ego was supposed to be indestructible, that didnt seem to matter to Musashi as, while unable to destroy it, she was, apparently, able to split it apart... Vahn struggled with controlling more than three bodies proactively so, to have his Ego cut into more than a hundred pieces in an instant, he was momentarily overwhelmed by the sensory overload, his individual chunks peppering the ground like pieces of shrapnel due to his speed. As for Musashi, she had an incredulous look on her face, her smile nowhere to be seen as, despite cutting Vahn into tiny meat cubes, his aura had been gradually increasing. Fortunately, due to his experience as a Doppelganger, Vahn was able to, quite literally, pull himself back together. Though it was far more disorienting than having his body pletely destroyed, his mind was no longer as fragile as it had been back in the Record of Danmachi. He knew that, so long as he refused to ept his destruction, there was nothing that could truly kill him. His Source Energypletely exceeded other energy systems so, no matter how great Musashis mastery of the Laws, she could never hope to destroy it, only disperse it. Seeing how quickly Vahn reformed his body, Musashi couldnt help but retort, "Seriously, you can heal from a wound like that and you want me to pretend you arent a monster? What are you, some kind of Divine Spirit of the Earth or something? Dont tell me your life is somehow connected to the. Seriously, you Demon King types are always such ridiculous existences. I bet you even have multiple forms or something. Tell me, how many phases am I gonna have to go through before you finally stay down...?" Not expecting Musashi to suddenly make game references, Vahns own expression became slightly incredulous as, prior to her words, he had been intending to transform into his Qnglng form. For a brief moment, it really did seem like she was the Hero facing down the Demon King. Not only was she an inordinately beautiful woman, but, if he gotpletely serious, his form really did be something quite monstrous... --- While Vahn was engaged in his battle against Musashi, all of the forces he had gathered to bait the trap were either watching in the periphery, aiding Artoria, or suppressing Caenis. Thetter had her armpletely shattered by Vahn but, after her tattoos glowed, causing a cloud of steam to erupt from her body, she had returned to an undamaged state. It was simr to how Heracles [Godhand] worked and, considering they were from the same era, there was a very good chance they drew from a simr origin. Facing down the incensed Caenis was none other than Kenshin and, despite the former possessing a considerable amount of speed and power, there was a significant difference in their level of skill. As a result, Caenis was constantly forced on the defensive as, every time she tried to proactively attack Kenshin, thetter would cut, stab, pierce, or even dismember her. It didnt help that, in the distance, a beam of crimson-red energy would strike at her joints, ignoring the imprability of her skin and causing a considerable amount of damage. Located atop a 177m tall tower more than eight kilometers away from the ongoing battle, the adult version of Nobunaga, crimson hair dancing in the wind, could be seen standing with a rifle that was longer than she was tall. This was one of the modified armaments she had developed alongside Da Vinci and, while it didnt have the charm of a Tanegashima rifle, it was caple of firing high-density, armor-piercing rounds. Each bullet was hand-made by Vahn himself, engraved with various different runes and infused with enough Magical Energy to rival an A-Rank, Anti-Divine, Noble Phantasm. There was no way Nobunaga could just sit at home like an obedient wife all the time so, during the previous war council, she insisted on participating. Though not nearly to the extent of Vahn, she was more than a little annoyed with how things had developed with Scthach. Since she also med the so-called Heroes for Scthachs rash decision, Nobunaga wouldnt be able to rest easily if she didnt personally participate in their downfall. Thus, while Okita and Jeanne protected her at the side, she watched the battle through her magically enhanced scope, enchanted to give her a brief glimpse into the future. Every now and then, Caenis would get annoyed by the constant long-range harassment but, with Kenshin blocking her way, there was no way for her to close the distance to the radio tower serving as Nobunagas perch. As a result, she had tried throwing her spear, its phenomenal momentum far more than what was necessary to cross the distance between them. Unfortunately for her, Jeanne, wielding a massive kite shield, was able to easily deflect her spear toss. Thus, with blood staining her body, Caenis, much like a Berserker, futilelyshed out at Kenshin as thetter continued to pressure her without a single exploitable gap in her movements... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Surprise spear-fucker...!,This isnt even my final form...!,Talk about beating a dead horse...)<--(Caenis ears, instead of being like a rabbit, are apparently horse ears. She is a very aggressive pony, I guess?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1414 - Embrace the Infinite

Chapter 1414 - Embrace the Infinite

After a few more one-sided exchanges, where his attacks never found purchase, Vahn came to a stop above a half-destroyed building, staring at Musashi with a deadpan expression as he asked, "What is the deal with your power? I know about the state of nothingness but its almost like your body isnt even really here..." Hearing Vahns suddenment, Musashis smile returned and, after wiping a bit of sweat from her brow, she answered< You tell me your secrets and Ill tell you mine. My sword can even cut through the origin of concepts yet, no matter how much I try to actualize your death, you just keeping back, stronger than before. Im actually starting to get a little winded here..." The moment she finished speaking, Musashi cut down with her katana, producing an invisible wave of energy that seemed to move beyond the time axis. As a result, Vahn ended up sliced from crown to groin in an instant, his two halves sloughing grotesquely for a brief moment before he reformed, seemingly without any trouble whatsoever. With an even dourer expression than before, Vahns right arm transformed into an organic-looking dragons head, his hand forming a maw that swelled with an immense amount of energy. Though he hadnt made much progress in manifesting his power outside his body, there was little he couldnt achieve internally. There were a vast number of creatures that could fire their energy in the form of beams and breaths, himself included, so Vahn had long-since developed techniques to circumvent his apparent weakness. Musashi showed an expression of mild surprise upon seeing Vahns right arm transform, but, in the next moment, an amused smile spread across her face as she twisted her body, shouting, "I knew it, you really do have multiple forms...!" while cutting through the beam. Though he wanted to just ignore her words and focus on the fight, Vahn was growing increasingly frustrated with the fact Musashi didnt seem to be taking the fight seriously. He wasnt going all out, as that wouldpletely ruin his ns, but that didnt make it any less annoying to be looked down upon. Thus, while focusing the massive beam of energy into a finer point, he eximed, "You cannot even begin to fathom how many forms I can take...!" Following his outburst, Vahn closed his maw-formed hand, causing his arm to swell up to several times the normal size as he used [Shundo] to appear near Musashis side. His forearm began to crack with the phenomenal amount of energy store within and, before his punch could connect, it ended up exploding with enough force to devastate the surrounding city block... Appearing just outside the st radius, Musashi had a wry smile on her face as she used wiped a trail of blood away from her mouth. She didnt know how he was able to achieve it but, despite the fact she could enter a state of nothingness, making her virtually immune to damage, his attacks still managed to inflict damage to her. Itpletely defied her expectations but, rather than feel any fear whatsoever, Musashi was beginning to grow increasingly excited. As she prepared herself for Vahns inevitable attack, Musashi received her biggest surprise of the night as, from within the explosion, an identical version of herself appeared. For a brief moment, she didnt know what to think but, in spite of this mental gap, her body still moved, cutting the imposter into seventeen pieces in an instant. Further increasing Musashi incredulity, the insides of her doppelganger were filled with such a heavy volume of Magical Energy that it existed in liquid form. Once exposed to the air, it rapidly expanded, epassing her body, and several hundred meters of the surroundings, in an instant. Musashis attack speed defied logic but her actual Agility was limited to the upper stages of B-Rank. Though her figure seemed to disappear at times, this was mainly due to her inability to ignore the flow of time and actualize the result she wanted using her exceptionally rare Mystic Eyes, known to few as Empyrean Eyes of the Heavenly Deity. Using these two unique traits, she could limit the flow of fate itself, constraining it to a singr path in order to guarantee the oue she desired. This was, ironically, simr to Vahns ability to act as a singrity, but, as the scale was iparable, it was hard to make this connection without aprehensive understanding of the ability... Bybining her state of nothingness with her Mystic Eyes, Musashi was able to actualize her ideal path, cutting through the explosion itself. As a result, though her body had been enveloped at close range, she was able to appear outside of the st radius in an instant. At the same time, the massive explosion itself, like a bubble popping, vanished in its entirety. Only a massive crater, containing her glowering doppelganger, remained in the aftermath. Though her [Battle Continuation: EX] would allow her to fight indefinitely, that didnt mean Musashi had inexhaustible stamina. She would eventually reach a point where her body would begin to fight, even after she had lost consciousness, so, before that could happen, Musashi sheathed her smaller Wakizashi, smiling wryly as she said, "You know, its kind of creepy stealing my form like that. I cant say Im fond of cutting apart someone that looks like me, even if I know its just an imitation..." In response to Musashis words, her duplicate adopted a simrly wry smile, answering, "You think its any easier being the one cut apart? Even if I dont cry out in pain, I can still feel every single one of your cuts. Earlier, you talked about being unable to see eye-to-eye but, have you ever had your body cut into hundreds of tiny pieces? You call me a monster but I imagine most of your enemies felt the same way before you ultimately cut them down like wheat..." Hearing rebuking words in her own voice, Musashi couldnt help but wince slightly before releasing a tired sigh and saying, "You world-conquering types always have a way with words, dontcha? Is that how youre able to convince yourself that what youre doing is right? The ends justify the means and all that, huh...?" Though she was about to point out the devastation Vahn had caused during their fight, Musashi only just now noticed thepleteck of people in the surrounding buildings. In fact, though they had been fighting for nearly twenty minutes, the only other signs of life were Vahnspanions and her own allies. She had been so focused on her duty of keeping Vahn busy that she hadnt noticed all of the signs that something was very wrong... Seeing the realization on Musashis face, Vahn issued a light chuckle, something the female samurai took exception to as there was nothing quite like hearing yourselfugh at your expense. Her katana moved before she even willed it to, severing Vahns head at the mouth. This was a very unpleasant sight to behold but, as it put a stop to hisughter, Musashi felt a little bit better as she pointed the tip of her katana at him and demanded, "What have you done!?" Rubbing his jaw to ease some of the numbness, still in Musashis form, Vahn answered, "What? Did you think we were just going to sit around as your side freely resorts to underhanded tactics? You keep insisting were the bad guys but,paring methods, can you really call yourself a Hero? How did you put it...ah, the ends justify the means, right...?" Having her own words thrown back at her, Musashis smile hadpletely faded away, a conflicted scowl recing it. From Vahns words, it wasnt difficult to understand the Empire had seen through their intentions, to an extent. In truth, she actually hadnt been fond of their n but, with the fate of all futures on the line, she had repressed her misgivings in order to perform her duty. After taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, Musashi lowered her sword, saying, "Feel free to call me a hypocrite, if youd like. We wouldnt have been forced into this situation if you hadnt appeared in the past, destroying everything the future had worked hard to obtain. I may not be smart enough to determine the best course of action, but, no matter how you spin it, what you have done to the world is inexcusable. You took the easy way out, choosing to wield your power as a Conqueror, not a Savior. Even if you had the best of intentions, your methods are beyond redemption..." As Musashi seemed quite fond of attacking immediately after speaking, Vahn preempted her attack by summoning [Enkidu], wrapping it around his forearms and wielding the attached spearheads in his hands. At the same time, he transitioned out of Musashis form as, with the exception of Boudica, she had some of thergest breasts he had ever seen. This gave him an urge to slouch forward and, though it didnt get in the way too much, Vahn was infinitely morefortable fighting in his base form. With Vahn discarding her form, Musashis eyes became intently focused and, with her words finished, a ghostly red me enveloped the de of her katana. She knew there was something off about her surroundings but, even with her perception and senses, she was unable to ascertain exactly what had happened. Thus, in order to create a path forward, she abandoned the mission that had been given to her, unleashing her full power for the first time... From Vahns perspective, it was like the world around himpletely disappeared and, other than Musashi and himself, nothing else existed. This was worrying for a number of reasons but, as he had already made ample preparations leading up to the battle, his resolute look didnt diminish. Even as his body refused to move, almost as if he had been stopped in time, his eyes zed with divine light, their intensity increasing exponentially with each passing moment... With all other concepts temporarily losing their meaning, even time and space themselves, Musashi took a slow and steady breath, her own eyes glowing mesmerizingly. Then, after angling her sword toward Vahn, her voice could be heard echoing throughout the void as she stated, "All me to show you the essence of the Five Rings. Behold what awaits beyond the pinnacle of swordsmanship, the state that transcends all things, returning them to zero. This single stroke epasses the concept of the void itself, severing all things, even existence...!" As Musashi spoke, a six-armed phantom appeared behind her, its skin a dull-grey as its eyes shed with a demonic light. It wielded a resplendent golden sword in each hand while, spinning behind its back, a Wheel of Dharma covered in a myriad of runes could be seen, their meaning, in Vahns eyes, depicting both the concept of eternity and a finite end. When he saw this, something inside of him seemed to break and, before Musashi could say another word, his hand, covered in golden scales, covered her mouth as he gripped her head. Though Vahn had surprised her several times thus far, Musashi was genuinely terrified when she felt his hand spontaneously sealed off her words. It should have been impossible for him to move within her Realm of Nothingness, much less attack her, so her mind drew aplete nk as she stared in abject shock at lean Dragonic figure grasping her face. Though there were exposed sections, each covered in a strange runic pattern, most of his body was covered in golden scales, each radiating a resplendent light that made it difficult to look directly at him... A stark contrast to Musashi, Vahn had a calm andposed expression on his face, the result of aforting rity overtaking his mind. At this moment, he felt as if nothing in the world could touch him and, though he could tell it wouldntst long, even this knowledge was strangelyforting. It was simr to how he would feel after meditating for an extended period of time, but, instead of feeling at one with the Universe around him, it was almost as if the reverse, for a brief moment, had be true. In a voice that caused the nothingness around them to gradually crack, golden light emerging into the previously empty space, Vahn exined, "All things are born from, and return to, Oblivion. While the concept of Zero is powerful, it always gives way to Infinity. The concept of Eternity may have its limitations, but, on the most fundamental level, existence is the preferred state of all things. Beyond all concepts, there is an intrinsic desire to exist that transcends all things...your Zero means nothing in the face of infinite possibilities...!" Following Vahns outburst, the phantom behind Musashis body also began to crack, the Wheel of Dharma behind its back shattering into infinitesimally small pieces. In the next moment, the infinite nothingness around them gave away to an even greater amount of golden light but, no matter how bright it became, the scales of Vahns body and the light within his eyes remained visible, almost as if his figure appeared directly within a persons thoughts... (A/N: Alternate Titles: "Whatys beyond the origin of all things, you ask? The intrinsic desire to exist, regardless of form, function, and purpose...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1415 - Resolution

Chapter 1415 - Resolution

Though Vahns presence was overwhelming, Musashi wouldnt be considered one of the greatest swordsmen in history if she was helpless in the face of her opponent. In fact, she held a secret close to her heart, one unbeknownst to any of her allies, Archimedes included. Thus, in response to Vahns words, she forced a smile, her lips curling against his palm as her aura erupted outward, bringing an absolute and invible void of darkness along with it. With renewed vigor, Musashi kicked against Vahns chest, not to do any damage but to use it as a substitute for solid ground. The aura radiating from his body gave her a feeling of weightlessness so, after using his vice-like grip as leverage, Musashi drew her Wakizashi, holding it in a reverse grip to cut through his arm. The collision between her de and his golden scales caused a high-pitched whine, apanied by a shower of sparks, but, as had been the case throughout her life, Musashi was ultimately able to cut through it. Using Vahns chest as a pivot, Musashi kicked away from him, but, in spite of her best efforts, his hand continued to grip around her face. More surprising was the fact that, instead of regenerating his arm, therger section of Vahns body disappeared into golden particles before he regenerated at the end of his severed arm... Musashis ability to cut off his arm didnt actually surprise Vahn. Rather, his recognition of her Skill seemed to be what allowed her to harm him. His instincts told him that, if he didnt acknowledge her power, it would be absolutely useless against him. At the same time, however, he feltpelled to acknowledge her skill as, while they didnt see eye-to-eye, Musashi was amendable swordsman. If he denied her aplishments for wholly selfish reasons, Vahn felt he would lose something very precious...something he would never be able to regain once discarded... After tightening his grip enough to cause Musashi to release a muffled groan, Vahn balled his right hand into a fist, forcibly repelling away the void she was desperately trying to expand. It was like she was trying to overwrite the concept of Infinite Possibility, recing it with the concept of Oblivion and Nothingness. However, as he had exined previously, existence itself was something sought after by forces far beyond both of them. If given a choice between existing and returning to oblivion, all things, including the Laws themselves, would choose to exist. Unless Musashi was toprehend the erasure of her own existence, the concept of Nothingness she embodied would never reach its full potential... With his own influence growing stronger with each moment, Vahn was able to impose his own rule over the strange realm they had found themselves in. Much like how Musashi had been able to rob him of the ability to move, as space and time themselves had lost their meaning, his movements had be increasingly smooth. At the same time, Musashi seemed to be slowing down and, though it was still impossible to trace the trajectory and motion of her de, Vahn felt he was on the cusp of being able to see it. Since there was little she could do to loosen his grip, Vahn eventually reached a point where his control over the concepts around them reached the point where he was finally able to act. This was proven when, in the next moment, his fist had already struck Musashis abdomen. Though she didnt seem to take much damage, a golden shockwave erupted out from her back, destroying arge part of the concept of Nothingness surrounding her body. Though she hadnt given up, Musashis movements had slowed to the point that, even after Vahn pulled back his hand, her body remained in the position it had been when he struck. The de of her katana, which had previously been invisible to him, now appeared to be moving in slow motion. Curiously, he was still unable to dodge the strike but this was primarily due to the fact that his own movements were still stagnant. The fact remained that, unlike before, he could now see her attacks, something that brought a slight smile to his face. Knowing she would be able to hear his words, as intent seemed to be perfectly conveyed within the realm they inhabited, Vahn loosened his grip on Musashis face, saying, "You genuinely believe what I am doing is wrong. Even I cannot profess that my decision was the correct choice, so, from the very beginning, I epted others would see me as a viin. However, there are many who also see me as a hero, one paving the way toward a better future, not specifically for humans, but all races. I want to save everyone but, no matter how much power I possess, it will never be enough in the face of fate and free will. The best I can do is bear the burden of my sins in the hope that, one day, things will be better than they are now. Though I may be severing countless futures, I am also building a stronger foundation, one that quantitatively increases the chance for sess and happiness, not just for the citizens of the Empire, but, everyone that will be born in the future...!" Borrowing a page out of Musashis book, Vahn ended his statement by grabbing her outstretched leg and, despite theck of solid ground beneath them, he easily hefted her body with one hand before mming it down. The predominately gold realm around them immediately copsed as a result and, in the next moment, time had began to flow normally as Musashiy beaten and broken within arge crater. Feeling a phenomenal amount of fatigue, Vahn was momentarily tempted to just leave Musashi to someone else but, before he could even consider who was most suitable, his world spontaneously split in two. This caused his mind to dull slightly and, as his transformation had already been on itsst vestiges, a plume of golden light erupted from Vahns body as the scales covering him vanished. He couldnt help but internally curse Musashis resilience but, at the same time, Vahn found himself respecting her tenacity quite a bit... Though most of her bones were broken, her consciousness long gone, Musashi was still able to rise to her feet, blood dripping from various wounds. Her beauty hadnt faded in the slightest, but, due to her injuries, she almost looked like a living corpse. The most troubling part was, while she didnt seem capable of walking more than a few steps, Musashis sword strikes were just as swift as before. She also stopped holding back so, even though he had already been cut into several hundred pieces, Vahn wasnt even given time to reform as her swords moved like a tempest, cutting him into smaller and smaller pieces... Feeling as if resistance was futile at this point, Vahn just went with the flow of her attacks, focusing his mind on preserving his Ego while sending a mentalmand to Da Vinci and, in turn, Arcueid. In the next moment, Musashis attacks suddenly came to a stop and, much like Olivia, her body began to ke away into motes of bluish-white light. This left only a cloud of reddish-ck mist within the massive crater that had been formed from her collision with Vahn... With the humanoid blender gone, the mist began to slowly coalesce into a humanoid figure, taking nearly twenty minutes before it became solid. By the time Vahn managed to reform his body, Artoria and the rest had gathered around him, each having won their own battles without too much trouble. Even after bing solid once again, Vahn could hardly move even a single finger as, if he stopped focusing on keeping himself together, he would quickly melt into a gooey ck mess. Despite this, Vahn forced a smile onto his face as, in more ways than one, this had been theirplete victory. It didnt matter how much damage Musashi had done to his spirit as, during their battle, his [Rakshasa Body] had made a remarkable breakthrough, reaching S-Rank. If anything, he actually needed to fall asleep as, only after he lost consciousness would he be able to receive the full benefits of this pivotal breakthrough. Unfortunately, there were still matters to attend so, while it took a considerable amount of effort, he began to telepathically question Artoria about the details of their operation. They had invested a lot of time and effort into baiting this trap, so, if Musashi and the others ended up being fake, just like Betty, Vahn wouldnt be able to rest until he personally checked every single Bounded Field on the Surface... Fortunately, in response to his inquiry, Artoria smiled as she exined, "Lady Arcueids efforts hadnt been for naught. Due to her influence, only one of the enemies seemed to realize they had entered into a Spiritual Projection. He managed to escape before we could track down his real body but the recovery of Musashi and Caenis proceeded without issue. As for the other woman, we believe she was reverse-summoned through the use of a Command Spell." Hearing Artorias response, Vahn felt considerable relief but, at the same time, he couldnt help but feel confused. This seemed to be visible on his face as, following her exnation, Artoria added, "Da Vinci said she will need some time to collect more data but, from what she can tell, Musashi and the Greecian woman named Caenis arent Heroic Spirits. Instead, they seem to be closer to Divine Spirits that have fused together with Heroic Spirits." Though it was difficult to believe, Vahn didnt question Artorias words as, with the prognosising from Da Vinci, it was likely very close to the truth. This also exined why Musashi ended up being a female, in spite of the fact that both Merlin and ya had imed her to be male. He had confirmed this through the Throne of Heroes as well so, while the Musashi he had fought was undoubtedly the real deal, there was obviously something different about her... --- While Vahn was taking a considerable amount of time to recover, the woman in question opened her eyes back in the real world. She felt incredibly fatigued and, due to the strain on her Spirit, it felt like her brain was going to split open. As a result, Musashi tried to rub her temples but, before she could even move a single millimeter, an invible pressure prevented her from moving... Before Musashi could make sense of her situation, a woman with maroon-brown hair and the most perfect facial features she had ever seen entered her vision. This had been necessary as, due to the force restraining her body, Musashi couldnt even turn her head. Even flexing her jaw was difficult as any muscle movement at all caused an oppressive pressure to resist the action. It was only after a few seconds passed that Musashi realized she was suspended in clear fluid as, with an apologetic smile on her face, the beauty before her ced her palm against the virtually invisible ss pane separating them, exining, "My name is Leonardo Da Vinci. You are currently suspended in a chamber that fixes your Spiritron makeup to a specific rhythm. It perfectly simtes any and all bodily functions so, while it may seem like you are breathing, it is actually the simtion driving your lungs to intake and expel the neutral ether solution surrounding you. Unless it is simted, you will find it all but impossible to take any action, even blinking your eyes..." Musashi couldnt help but feel shaken by Da Vincis words but, as it wasnt stimted by the system, her expression waspletely neutral. Despite this, Da Vinci could ascertain her stressed state due to the imnts showing the electrical signals firing within Musashis brain. Her true nature might be that of a Divine Spirit, but, much like a Daemon, Musashi was bound by the vessel she had chosen to emte. In an effort to ay Musashis concerns, Da Vinci adopted aforting smile as she exined, "Do not worry. We have no intention of keeping you imprisoned here. Vahn isnt very fond of restraining people against their will so, once he had awakened, you will be liberated from this chamber. I believe you are the most aware of how dangerous you can be, so, at least for the time being, please remain calm and, as much as possible, try to rx. While you may not be able to move of your own ord, this solution is providing nourishment for your body while also helping to replenish your mental and spiritual energy. If youd like, I can help you rx, but, youll have to trust that Im not trying to harm you..." Though there were few things more terrifying than being a prisoner in your own body, Musashi felt no animosity from Da Vinci. Thus, despite not trusting her in the slightest, Musashi forced herself to remain calm. Everything from her breathing to the twitching of her fingers and toes was outside of her control so, rather than stress out over something she could do very little about, she decided to take Da Vincis advice and just rx....at least until the situation changed... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Possibility vs. Nothingness,Thebination of Arcueid, Da Vinci, and Merlin has culminated into something terrifying...,I would not be able to remain calm in this situation...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1416 - Revelations

Chapter 1416 - Revtions

While the Empire had been repelling enemy forces, the Imperial G had continued without interruption. Rather, from the moment of the initial explosion, Luvia had taken control of the crowd, a confident smile on her face as she assured everyone this was part of the evenings festivities. Then, once she had received the signal that everything had been prepared, severalrge panels appeared throughout the ballroom, just in time to view the scene of Vahn sending Caenis flying with a single kick. Though it may not be the wisest decision to allow others to view how Vahn fought, as it might allow some of their enemies toe up with countermeasures, the person in question wasnt particrly worried about such things. People already treated him as a monster and, no matter what measures they came up with, he was confident in being able toe out ahead. This was emphasized by the fact that, no matter how much damage Musashi did to him, he kepting back with even greater momentum than before. While the battle between Vahn and Musashi had been the primary focus of everyone in the crowd, especially when he suddenly took on the form of Musashi, it wasnt the only one on disy. They also had the opportunity to witness the Phoenix Empress battle against a muted doppelganger of herself while, on other monitors, the one-sided suppression of Caenis could be seen. This was the battle that actually drew the most attention as,pared to the shy battles involving Vahn and Artoria, it was the only one the vast majority of them could follow... Kenshin had built quite a reputation for herself as a Commander of the Empires Response Forces so it was a wee opportunity to witness her prowess for themselves. They also couldnt help wonder about the origin of the unforgiving beams of red energy that would periodically strike Caenis, usually targetting her knee joints or the exposed areas of her abdomen. Some of these beams of light would cut cleanly through her body before devastating the buildings and streets in the surroundings. Of course, with the wide-spread destructive visible on the screens,bined with the audible sound of distant explosions, many of the more astute Magi realized something was wrong with the scenes on disy. Eventually, it was Goldolf Musik, whose family had been doing exceptionally well due to his early association with the Empire and Luvias Alliance, to ask the question everyone had wanted to know the answer to, chiefly, "Where are all the civilians?" Goldolf had never been an official member of the alliance but, with the death of Lorelei and the purging of many of the oldest Magus families, he had risen to the position of Department Head of the Faculty of Policies. As a result, he was in a position that allowed him to support the changes Vahn had been introducing within the Clock Tower, bing one of the principal forces helping to keep order, both within the Mages Association and the now-defunct Noble Faction. Hearing Goldolfs question, Luvia had her usual smile as she answered, "It would be quicker to give a demonstration." in a voice that easily reached everyone in the hall. Then, to the shock and awe of the entire assembly, Luvia waved over personal attendant, Sophia Mayweather. She was visibly pale but, as this was a duty that had been entrusted to her, Sophia pulled out an ornate golden revolver and, without much hesitation, ced it against Luvias temple before pulling the trigger. Needless to say, Luvias disy had a considerable impact on the crowd, briefly pulling everyones attention away from the monitors. After all, it wasnt often they saw a profligate on the level of Luvia suddenly have her brain matter spread out across the crowd. It didnt seem to be an illusion either as, immediately after the thunderous roar of the enchanted pistol, Luvias body fell limp against the stage, crimson blood flowing from the gaping wound in her head... Just as tensions reached a critical level, Luvias body began to ke away into motes of bluish-white light. This was a considerable relief to most people, as they assumed it was just an illusion, but, the more astute among the crowd quickly realized the truth of the matter. Their spection was proven correct when, momentster, Luvia flickered back into existence, her hand cradling the side of her head as she forced a smile and exined, "In preparation for an enemy attack, the Empire used the technology produced from its Magi-Science department to pull everyone, enemies and allies alike, into a Virtual Battlefield." Hearing Luvias exnation, more than half the crowd felt shaken as, even now, they were unable to distinguish between reality and a virtual representation of it. One person even cut their palm with a small dagger, watching in shock as their blood flowed naturally. Even the pain was indistinguishable from an actual wound, causing them to nearly have a panic attack as a strong desire to flee welled up inside them. Unfortunately, Luvia nipped any thoughts of departing the g early in the bud, adding, "Though the primary purpose of this g was to foster positive rtions between the Empire and the Magus Community, there were several other goals in mind. The Empire has alreadye to an agreement with the Mages Association and, in an effort to ensure every student is able to benefit from a simr quality of education, the Virtual World, a topic many of you were undoubtedly interested in, will now be implemented within the entire Clock Tower. This demonstration was to show the level of realism that can be attained within the Virtual World..." Though many were still shaken by the fact they had been trapped in a simtion without realizing it, a number of people within the crowd couldnt help but feel excited. These were the various Faculty members and researchers who had been wanting to gain ess to the Virtual World. While it was a little concerning to know that there were no discernible differences between the virtual world and reality, this was actually a good thing for them as, with the variables being functionally identical, they could conduct experiments using rare materials without having to waste them. As could be expected, a number of people wanted to ask questions about the Virtual World but, as she didnt want to draw too much attention away from the ongoing battles, Luvia simply stated, "The Virtual World is one of the Empires proprietary secrets. Even I dont know much about it, only that it can emte reality up to 99.937%. Also, though the actual ratio will be discussed at ater date, it is possible to control the flow of time within the Virtual World, allowing users to experience up to ten hours for every hour that passes in reality. More details will be made public in the near future so, for the time being, enjoy watching the battles on the monitors, ohohoho~." Luvias brief exnation created more questions than answers but, knowing the futility of trying to squeeze information out of her, many followed her advice. The only people bold enough to try and approach her for more details were the official members of the Alliance, so, unless they intended to throw their lot in with the Alliance, taking a wait-and-see approach was the best course of action. A number of Family Heads had been intending to join the Empire to gain ess to its resources but, if things developed in the direction Luvia seemed to imply, they may not have to lower themselves so readily... --- What Luvia hadnt told the crowd, for obvious reasons, was that they hadnt actually been pulled into the Virtual World. Rather, the current space was the culmination of Da Vincis research into methods to prevent coteral damage, Arcueids Marble Phantasm, and Merlins ability to invade the minds of every attendee of the Imperial G. Thetter had been proactively preventing people from realizing the true nature of the world around them, so, with the exceptions of people like Solon, Zelretch, and Director Asia, they were all easily convinced by Luvias words. To further enhance the effectiveness of the suggestion, even Spentas services had been called upon. Her natural calming aura pervaded throughout the entire Edelfelt Mansion back in the real world, so, while their minds and spirits were transnted into the Spiritual Projection, their actual bodies were kept calm and rxed state,ying in beanbag like cushions that had been prepared by the Edelfelt Security Forces that remained in the outside. Rather than a gathering of high society, the resplendent ballroom had be something akin to a massive slumber party from the moment Vahns procession had arrived. In fact, it was the dimming of the lights, the focus of the crowd, and the incredulous statements made by Mordred and Sakura that contributed to the transition taking ce without a hitch. When people experienced anger or surprise, they often prioritized those feelings over other incongruous emotions, especially during tense moments. The most difficult part of the entire process had been luring their enemies into the trap but, by disguising Arcueids Marble Phantasm as a normal Bounded Field, something their enemies would have expected to encounter, it had been easier than expected. As a result, they found Musashi, Caenis, and the unnamed Saber ss Heroic Spirit standing near the periphery of Arcueids Marble Phantasm. They appeared to be in a trance-like state and, by making sure no animosity had been directed toward them, they didnt even react as their weapons were taken away and their bodies were bound. Had it not been for the existence of the man they could only assume to be an Assassin ss Heroic Spirit, everything would have gone as nned. While they had actually ounted for the enemy having an Assassin on their side, they couldnt have ounted for the fact he either had EX-Rank [Presence Concealment] or an Innate rted to masking his presence. Even ya, Arcueid, and Merlin hadnt been able to determine his actual location, despite knowing he had also been trapped in their barrier. As existences that drew power from the Root, in one way or another, ya, Arcueid, Merlin, and any entity with a connection to Administrative Functions, was bound by certain rules and restrictions. As a result, Skills like [Presence Concealment] actually worked surprisingly well against them as, if it was beyond a certain level, no level of [irvoyance] or pseud-omniscience would reveal the location of their target. ya could literally be sitting right next to the Assassin, staring directly at him, but her mind would simply block his existence from her perception, much like Aqua. Fortunately, [Presence Concealment] had the specific weakness of being unable to conceal killing intent. Thus, from the moment an Assassin targetted you, anyone with reasonably high perception would be able to react. This made Rulers, Casters, Lancers, Archers, and Saber ss Heroic Spirits especially effective against Assassins while, on the opposite end of the spectrum, Riders, Avengers, Berserkers, and even Beasts, were weak against them. Though it was easy to assume that Beasts would be super-effective against Assassins, as they had senses that far eclipsed even the most astute Caster. However, due to the fact that nearly every Beast could be ssified as either a Tier 5 entity or a Greater Divine Spirit, [Presence Concealment] had the same efficacy against them as entities like ya and Merlin. This was a failsafe created by the Root itself as, without Skills like [Presence Concealment], there would be few actual counters against those qualifying for the Avenger or Beast ssification. As a result of the enemys unexpectedly high [Presence Concealment], their Spiritual form was able to prate the Edelfelt Mansion while Vahn and the rest were distracted. He managed to reach as far as the room where the children had been kept safe but, due to theplexity of the barrier set up in the area, he had ultimately failed to enter inside. After all, Vahn had left Aura inside and, while she couldnt bepelled to fight, protecting the Spenta and the rest of the children was something she did willingly. In the end, it wouldnt have mattered if the man had been able to kidnap any of the children as, with their actual bodies being safe in the real world, the n was doomed to fail from the start. All they managed to aplish was revealing their intentions, exposing their hypocrisy, and earning Vahns ire. Afterward, the man managed to escape pursuit and, soon after that, Arcuied felt as if something had left her Marble Phantasm. Since the unnamed Saber disappeared shortly thereafter, it was safe to assume he managed to flee through unknown means. Needless to say, Vahn wasnt at all enthused by the fact his enemies had proactively tried to take hostages. He was even less pleased by the fact they had someone that could evade almost all forms of detection, implying they had been using this Assassin to gather information. Even this wasnt a certainty, however, as it didnt make a lot of sense for the Assassin to idle for nearly three months without taking more proactive action. This implied the Assassin was a recent addition to the enemys roster or, at the very least, they had been keeping him concealed to take advantage of a blind spot within the Empires observationwork... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Better than a blockbuster movie,I feel bad for Sophia xD...,Yu Ilhan, is that you!?) (A/N: While it may seem a little ridiculous, [Presence Concealment] actually works simr to how I exined it. Assassins are actually meant to be a natural counterbnce within the World, a means to restore order. Many of the most powerful Assassins have a connection to the Counter Force and, the main reason they are unknown is that their existence is essentially erased after they be a Counter Guardian. Though anyone canmit murder, Assassination is actually something that fundamentally carries greater meaning, at least in the Nasuverse.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1417 - Flow

Chapter 1417 - Flow

Unless he entered a dreamscape or proactively chose to dream, Vahn rarely experienced a dream outside of his control. Rather, the only times he truly fell unconscious was when he had suffered a serious injury or made a major breakthrough. Other times, he was always, at the very least, vaguely aware of everything in his surroundings. He could turn off his domain and take proactive measures to try and close off his perception, but, even if he was in a deep meditative state, he was never truly unaware of the world around him. Vahn wasnt even sure if he could actually dream normally anymore as, the few times when he was certain he had lost consciousness, he always ended up in the same ce. There seemed to be a vast and endless expanse of nothingness sealed away inside of him but, at the center of everything, four of his closestpanions patiently waited, each awaiting the moment he would call upon their aid. These were Bih, Xunw, Zhqu, and Qnglng, the Four Sacred Beasts that represented the four cardinal directions and the myriad of elemental Laws that governed all of creation. With the passage of time, the emptiness within Vahn had gradually given way to an expanse that, in many ways, represented his domain. Though it took on a form simr to a star if viewed from the outside, the inside was filled with a gentle warmth that brought Vahn feelings of both serenity and an overwhelming, seemingly absolute, power. This was reflected in how the four majestic creatures, each possessing iprehensible power, readily bowed their heads. Compared to his past visits, Vahn now found his little realm to be filled with resplendent golden light and, while the massive trigram still existed, it was now set in highly polished ck stone. Seeing the trigram glowing with golden light wasnt what stood out the most, however, as, spreading out into the distance, a vast meadow of emerald-green grass now dominated the previously empty space. At the same time, Bih, Xunw, Zhqu, and Qnglng seemed exponentially smaller, to the point he could now see over their heads as he looked around and silently observed the changes to his inner world. Even without being told what had changed, Vahn had already formed an understanding of how his [Rakshasa Body] had been developing. Having his own version of the Four Sacred Beasts had made it pretty obvious and, though there were undoubtedly variations, it was pretty clear he represented the center since the start. This implied that his fifth transformation was actually a physical manifestation of the power and authority he wielded as Hunglng, the Dragon God of the Center. Hunglng was, in many Records, a primordial deity that represented the birth of creation and the changing of the seasons. Its domains were those of Space, Time, and Creation, things he had always been drawn to, almost instinctually. Even his Zenith Rank Quest, [Genesis Path: Dawn of Creation], required him to obtain mastery in these three Laws, almost as if The Path had granted him the Quest in order to foster the development of his [Rakshasa Body]. Vahn knew he didnt put as much effort into mastering his Innates as he ought to, but, with so many things he cared about vying for his attention, this was the price of happiness. If he turned his back to everything else and pursued power, there was no doubt in his mind that he would be able to obtain a monstrous amount of power in a very short period of time. After all, he had anticipated having to stay in the Nasuverse for more than a hundred years to reach Tier 5 yet, after a little more than three years, he was already beginning to feel like it was within his grasp... While the Gods and Deities within Records were stuck at their level for an eternity, he was able to grow without limit, facing no bottlenecks along the way. He was, quite literally, The Path itself and, as a result of his will, Vahn realized he had slowlye to represent change itself. His existence within a Record allowed for infinite possibilities within previously stagnant worlds, ces where the past, present, and future had already been determined. He was the only person within an infinite number of Records that could bring about real change, as, while it was possible to rewrite a story to have a different ending, that would simply produce another Record, one of countless like it... From the moment he entered a Record, its fate had been irreversibly changed and, while there were a myriad of potential futures, they would all inevitably fall in line, bing a singr path that was entirely decided by him. Even if he did nothing, his existence itself funneled countless timelines into a singr flow, bringing order to chaos. He was an absolute truth within the Record from the time he decided to enter and, as hisprehension increased, the Laws themselves, much like the Four Sacred Beasts, would bow to him... By the time Vahns small bout of enlightenment came to an end, he realized that Bih, Xunw, Zhqu, and Qnglng no longer even reached his knees. They now looked small and, at least in his eyes, somewhat cute. Then, as if in observance of this truth, they actually became more adorable, looking much like the baby versions of the animals they represented. This brought a smile to Vahns face and, after taking a seat, he allowed Bih to sit in hisp while the other three coiled around or nestled up against his body... --- When Vahn opened his eyes, he noticed that the world now seemed more vibrant than before he had fallen unconscious. He had always been able to perceive elemental energy and, if he focused, he could use his [Eyes of Truth] to decipher the secrets of some Laws. Now, however, it felt like he could see much more and, while it had always been visible around people like Artoria, he now saw the flow of fate, not just for people, but for everything. The only exception to this was himself but, with every single breath he drew, every flicker of his eyshes, and every beating of his heart, the flow of fate in the surroundings was altered. Though his power in his base form didnt seem to change all that much, Vahn felt his previous power was inconsequential in the face of his shift in perspective. People rarely thought about their influence on the world around them, but, after his battle with Musashi, Vahn felt it wasnt him reacting to the changes in the world. Rather, the world itself was being shaped by his every action, no matter how big or small. With this in mind, Vahnbed through the hair of the girl pretending to sleep at his side, watching as the flow of fate, previously imperceptible, changed with each caress. At the same time, Fenrirs tail began to lightly tap against the top of the bed and, while not nearly as much as his own, Vahn could see her influence on fate. Her fate seemed intrinsically tied to him, something he had always known, but, now, Vahn could feel the changes inside of her with each action he took... After a few minutes of enjoying her Masters caress, Fenrir grabbed his hand, hugging it to her chest as she asked, "Are you feeling better? Nobody will me you if you decide to sleep longer..." Vahn couldnt help but smile in response to Fenrirs words, but, as he prepared his reply, the words got stuck in his throat as something incredulous happened. He could feel the flow of fate around them begin to shift, bing various different currents. If he focused on any individual current, it would slowly be more prominent and, after a few seconds passed, at least from his perspective, he could even see images of what he could only assume to be the future... Feeling something wrong with her Master, Fenrir showed a worried expression before forcing him toy back as she said, "Please, rest...you have been through a lot. You dont have to push yourself all the time, Master..." Following Fenrirs words, Vahn noticed that most of the currents vanished, giving way for an entirely new set. At the very center of these, like the main flow of a river, he saw a vision of himself and Fenrir just rxing in his chambers for several hours. If he followed this flow long enough, however, it, too, began to split, some scenes showing him and Fenrir having sex while others showed different people showing up to check in on him. Realizing he hadnt simply gained the ability to see the flow of fate, Vahn felt both worried and, as could be expected, excited. He knew it would take a considerable amount of time to understand how to best use this power, but, for the time being, the concerns of his ever-faithful subordinate were far more important. If he were being honest, Vahn didnt want to know the consequences of his future actions as, if he began focusing on the future more than the present, he would be contradicting the very principals he stood for. Though it was safe to assume that his version of foresight was more urate than others, as it was based directly on his choices, Vahn ultimately decided it was better to just live in the moment. While the ability would undoubtedly prove useful in the future, especially when it came to tracking down his hidden enemies, that was a matter for then, not now. Thus, in an effort to ay Fenrirs concerns, Vahn hugged her body tightly, rubbing his cheek against the top of her head. Words were almost unnecessary between them so, even without him exining his intentions, Fenrir released a sigh of relief before reciprocating his affectionate nuzzling... --- Even before Vahn had awakened, his slumber had been closely observed by a number of different people. First and foremost among this group was ya, but, after sheepishly trying, and failing, to probe his mind, she ultimately retreated a fair distance. Even the brief contact she made with his subconscious mind gave off a dangerous feeling so, in the hopes of avoiding Vahns ire, ya made the decision to give him privacy. She also began preparing her first sincere apology as, when Vahn recovered, there was no way he wouldnt bring up the fact she tried to pry into his mind... Having witnessed yas failed attempt, Merlin knew better than to make one of his own as, even if Vahn was in a deep state of unconsciousness, he knew there was something protecting him. Thus, while Vahn slept, Merlin observed the strange flow of energy around him. It was unlike anything he had ever seen, almost like a whirlpool that sucked in everything around it yet, in spite of this quality, it didnt actually alter anything in the surroundings. Fenrir was even able toy at Vahns side for the entire fifteen hours he was unconscious,pletely unaffected by this strange phenomenon. All Merlin could be certain of was the fact that, while he slept, Vahn, despite appearing in a tangible form that could be interacted with, temporarily ceased to exist. Though he still had a physical form, it was like an infinitely more advanced version of the technique Merlin himself used to manifest on the Surface. It was like Vahn had bepletely separate from the rest of the World and, if not for this paradoxical state, the strange whirlpool would have undoubtedly destroyed everything around him. Though he didnt actually exist on the Surface, Merlin couldnt shake the thought that even he would be consumed if he ventured too close to the phenomenon generated by Vahn. It was for this reason he had everyone but Fenrir stay away as, much like Medusa, she seemed to be an extension of Vahn himself. Merlin wasnt entirely sure how this worked but, despite the fact they appeared to be unique and individual existences, Fenrir and Medusa gave off the same feeling as Vahn. Not only was the energy in their body identical, but, on a fundamental level, they seemed to originate from the same source...Vahn himself... (A/N: Alternate Titles: God of the Center,Vahn can now, quite literally, see the paths avable to him...,Fenrir and Master are one, always and forever (O,....,O)!!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1418 - Pacify

Chapter 1418 - Pacify

Thoughzing about in bed all day seemed like a pleasant idea, especially with goodpany at his side, Vahn knew he had other duties to attend. If he dyed dealing with Musashi and Caenis for too long, there was a good chance they would harden their hearts to resist him to their deaths. This was a less-than-ideal oue as, if possible, Vahn wanted to reach an ord with the group, bringing an end to their current conflict. While it may be true that Musashis group saw him as a viin, that didnt mean they were incapable of seeing reason. If he could convince them that the actions he was taking now were steps to ensure everyone could live a peaceful and happy life, there was a chance the conflict between their groups could be brought to an end. He would give them the opportunity to freely observe the changes his actions brought about and, deciding for themselves whether or not he was truly evil. If Musashis group insisted on fighting, even after his attempts to reason with them, Vahn would cut them down without mercy. He would not tolerate their hypocrisy, allowing them to throw the world into further disorder for their own selfishness. It may be true they wanted to protect the future, but, if it was at the expense of the past, they were, in many ways, worse than him. Unless their future was someprehensive utopia, it would be easy to tear apart all of their arguments as, in the end, he had yas and, by proxy, the Worlds interests at heart... After massaging the inside of Fenrirs ears with his thumbs, earning a contented cooing from the loveable Vanargandr, Vahn motioned to steal a kiss before smiling as he said, "Come, we shouldnt lounge around for too long. I can feel the others worrying so, even if I wanted to, sleeping would be impossible." Though she wanted her Master to rest longer, Fenrir wasnt going to argue against his decision. She gave him onest affectionate nuzzle, deeply inhaling his fragrance, before extricating herself from his body. Then, after a light tap of the gemstone on her cor, her lingerie-d figure was covered in form-fitting white shorts, a grey undershirt, and a long-sleeved fur-trimmed jacket with the emblem of the Empire on the shoulders. On the back, a muchrger emblem, depicting a wolfs head, served as Fenrirs own symbol, one which had been adopted by Hati as well. Before Fenrir could make way for him to go about his own business, Vahn pulled out the same brush he had gifted to her long ago, a nostalgic artifact that reminded them both of the home waiting for their return. This brought a smile to Fenrirs face and, even without having to convey his intentions, she happily sat in hisp and allowed him to brush her hair and fur... --- Even without having to call anyone to alert them of his awakening, Vahn was greeted by a whole host of women when he finally emerged from his room. Leading the pack was, as could be expected, Artoria, but, with the exception of those participating in active operations, nearly everyone else was also present. Vahn ended up nearly being tackled to the ground by Illya but, as he had felt her intentions before she even started to move, he was only pushed back a few steps as sheined, "I hate you..." in a tiny voice. Though he found her words somewhat amusing, Vahn resisted the urge to release a chuckle as he held her firmly in his embrace and countered, saying, "I love you..." in response. This caused her to adopt a look of me before she ultimately buried her face into his chest and answered, "I love you more..." in an even quieter voice than before... After pacifying Illya for a short while, Vahn went through the entire crowd of women, understanding he had worried them quite a bit. After all, it was exceptionally rare for him to actually be taken out ofmission, so, after being told by Merlin to stay away from him, they couldnt help but worry. Thus, before he moved on to more official duties, Vahn had the important responsibility of doing his best to ay the concerns of his myriad of lovers, all while marveling at the flow of fate surrounding each and every one of them. When things finally began to calm down, Vahn invited most of the girls to apany him to the dining hall. He had already produced a second body prior to exiting his chambers so, after therger part of the procession followed his main body outside of the Inner Sanctum, Vahn met with Artoria and Gray to discuss what had happened while he was asleep. Though he didnt actually need to ask, as it would have been pretty obvious if something unexpected happened, he knew it was important to Artoria that they had such moments together. As she had held herself back in the presence of everyone else, Artoria took the opportunity to sit at Vahns side when they were alone together. Though Gray sat on the other side of him, she had long grown ustomed to the presence of her distant descendant,ing to see her as an extension of herself, in many ways. Thus, Vahn found himself sandwiched by the near-identical woman, enjoying the softness of their bodies as Artoria exined, "Musashi is currently being held in the undersea istion facility prepared by the As Temple. Per her request, all other personnel evacuated the facility, leaving only Da Vinci to monitor her status. As for Caenis, she was moved to the Greend Research Facility, imprisoned in their lowest level with chains and magical seals." Vahn wasnt fond of imprisoning people, but, as he needed information from the two, he wasnt left with much of a choice. He had grown weary of this battle between their two forces so, if possible, he would like to bring the conflict to a swift end. Searching the Worlds Bounded Fields would require a significant amount of time and effort as, unless they arbitrarily decided to destroy them, an in-depth investigation would be required before deciding on the Bounded Fields fate. There was also the fact that, while they had taken various precautions, Archimedes seemed to be the type that meticulously nned everything. It was for this reason that Musashi and Caenis had been moved to locations far from the heart of the Empire as there was a very real chance the capture of the two was a part of his n. Their nature as Divine Spirits couldnt be ignored and, even if his tech was significantly less advanced than Da Vincis, it was already proven they had the ability to traverse Imaginary Number Space. To circumvent whatever Archimedes had nned, Vahn couldnt afford to sit idle for too long as, with each passing moment, the shaggy-haired inventor was undoubtedly forwarding his schemes. This made him, in many ways, the most dangerous opponent among the enemy forces as, from what they had been able to deduce, he was the mastermind behind everything. If they could take him out or reason with him, a lot of future troubles could be avoided. Archimedes had to know by now that, no matter what kind of scheme he came up with, opposing the Empire was all but impossible. His only real option was to discard his so-called heroic visage and aim for mutually assured destruction but, even then, his efforts would be in vain. At best, he would be able to cause mass destruction among the civilian poption,ying the me on the Empire in ast-ditch effort to drag their reputation further through the mud. Even this would ultimately prove futile, however, as, even if humans were pushed to near-extinction, he would just have to help them rebuild after dealing with Angra Mainyu. ya carried the gic sequence of every human, animal, and nt that had ever existed on the Surface World so, even if everything but Avalon was destroyed, they would eventually rebuild. Vahn had an infinite amount of time at his disposal so, even if he had to rebuild civilization from scratch, it was only a matter of time. There was no path to victory for Archimedes and his forces, so, if he could make them realize this, Vahn was hoping they would either return to the distant future or, at the very least, stop causing him so much stress... After listening to Artorias exnation, Vahn nodded his head in understanding before hugging both her and Gray close to him. He knew meeting with Musashi and Caenis was an urgent matter but, just as before, Vahn prioritized the things most important to him. Artoria and Gray both had unshakeable convictions toward him, but, after seeing the state he had been forced into, they would obviously be affected. Thus, before setting out to deal with their captives, Vahn spent a fair amount of time trying to ease the uneasy feelings lingering in their hearts and minds... --- Though nearly twenty hours had passed within the Projection, less than three hade and gone in the outside world. During that period of time, Da Vinci had continued to silently watch Musashi, her eyes rarely even blinking as she monitored the womans vitals and physical makeup. Divine Spirits were exceptionally rare, so, while she resisted the urge to perform experiments on the rather buxom samurai, Da Vinci still wanted to collect as much data as possible. There were so many secrets locked away within Musashis body, but, knowing Vahn would never forgive her,bined with her own inhibitions towards experimenting on unwilling participants, Da Vinci could only watch the monitors vigntly. Contrary to how most people would act in the same situation, Musashi was surprisingly calm, much calmer than expected. Da Vinci knew that Caenis had been a lot more difficult to deal with, so, she couldnt help but wonder what allowed Musashi to remain calm. The electrical activity in her brain was reminiscent of REM Sleep but, based on how other areas illuminated, it was obvious Musashi waspletely aware of her surroundings. This made her state appear simr to deep meditation, but, as there were many incongruities, Da Vinci couldnt be certain. Unfortunately, in Musashis current state, conversing in any meaningful way was all but impossible. Even if Da Vinci wanted to question her, it was simply too dangerous to do so, as, despite her own power being beyondprehension, intuition told her that Musashi would be able to cut her down. This feeling hadnt faded away even after Musashis weapons had been sealed away so, fearing what would happen if she panicked, Da Vinci had ordered the evacuation of the entire facility. Most of the unnecessary equipment had also been stripped away and, if it came down to it, the entire facility was set to implode as a final failsafe. Since they were more than 4500m under the sea, even the majority of S-Rank Heroic Spirits wouldnt be able to survive... Despite all these preparations, including making a faux-body using techniques simr to Toukos, Da Vinci had a distinct impression that Musashi couldnt be held. If she truly intended to escape, it was likely only Vahn, Arcueid, and Merlin could keep her at bay, as, since the time of her summoning, Da Vinci had only met a few existences that made her feel as if her knowledge amounted to nothing byparison. These were the various Tier 5 entities Vahn had identified and, while Musashi gave off a subtly different impression, Da Vinci could tell she was hiding something unbelievably powerful... Fortunately, Da Vinci had already been alerted to the fact that Vahn had awakened, so, with any luck, he would arrive before Musashi lost her patience. She didnt seem to be in a particr rush, but, if her intuition proved correct, which was almost always the case, this was primarily due to the fact that Musashi was trying to ascertain whether or not this was reality. After being captured the first time, it would have been pretty obvious that the Empire had the means to trick a persons senses, so, until she was certain the world around her wasnt an illusion, Musashi seemed to be practicing patience... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Taking care of what is important,Archimedes bes more and more like a viin with each passing day...,Da Vincis intuition o_o...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1419 - Pressure

Chapter 1419 - Pressure

With the chances of something going wrong increasing with each passing moment, it wasnt long before Vahn, apanied by Okita and Altera, appeared within the underwater research center located in the depths of the Arabian Sea. There, he found Da Vinci standing in front of a clear tank, silently observing the bound woman within. Though clothes got in the way of Spiritron Suspension, Vahns orders were to bind Musashis upper body with a straight jacket while allowing her to keep most of her normal outfit. The only things that were taken from her, other than her swords, were the ornaments tying up her hair, her earrings, and a jade tomoe ne that looked like half a yin-yang symbol. These all seemed to be Artifacts of indeterminate quality, so, in the hopes of preventing Musashi from escaping, they had been sealed away within Imaginary Number Space. With Vahns arrival, Da Vinci was able to breathe a sigh of relief as, for the first time in more than three hours, she took her eyes off Musashi, a wry smile on her face as she muttered, "You took your sweet time, didnt you...?" Hearing Da Vincis remark, Vahn offered an apologetic smile and, despite the fact her current body was just a doll, he ran his fingers through her hair before resting his head against hers and saying, "Thanks for keeping an eye on her...sorry for troubling you." As she hadnt actually been serious about ming Vahn for his dyed arrival, Da Vinci just lightly giggled in response to his words before cing her hand against his chest and saying, "You can make it up to meter..." in a teasing tone. Seeing Da Vinci resort to her usual antics, Vahn rolled his eyes before lightly pinching her side and adopting a serious expression as he turned his attention to Musashi. Then, without worrying about whether or not she would escape, he walked over to the control panel, cing his palm against the surface to disable it. This caused the fluid to gain a pale-blue luster, losing its suspended state and transitioning into an active state. As a result, Musashis body twitched and, after her eyelids fluttered a few times, she opened her eyes and began moving on her own once again. Knowing she could hear him, Vahn stated in a firm and resolute tone, "Wait until the fluidpletely drains. This chamber is a very delicate piece of technology so you wont earn any favors if you go out of your way to destroy it." Since she was still breathing liquid, Musashi was unable to speak, but, knowing Vahn would have the ability to read her lips, she asked, "Are you always this intense? Rx, Im not in any rush to fight you for a second time. Im guessing youre wanting to interrogate me or something, so, as long as you dont try any funny business, I dont mind conversing for a bit. Youre one of the few people that has ever matched me in battle, much less secured a victory. I can extend you the courtesy of answering a few of your questions." Vahn didnt really appreciate how easy-going Musashi was, but, after fighting against her, he knew this was just a part of her character. Since he could now see the flow of fate around her, he could tell she was serious about answering his questions, to an extent. In fact, if he focused on the individual currents around her body, he could see glimpses of the uing interrogation, including several instances where they ended up battling. Though basing his decisions on his foresight was ill-advised, Vahn was able to learn that Musashi, despite being bound, could break out whenever she wanted. As for her weapons, they seemed to be as much a part of her as Okita and Altera, meaning she could call upon them regardless of whether or not they were sealed away. Even if he managed to prevent her from manifesting them, however, Vahn saw one timeline where Musashi managed to get her hands on Okitas [Purgatory], something that was best avoided at all costs... Earning an incredulous look from both Da Vinci and Musashi, Vahn turned to the former and said, "Retrieve Musashis weapons. The negotiations will go a lot smoother if we show some sincerity..." Da Vinci had misgivings about following Vahns orders, but, believing he had his reasons, she didnt refuse his order. As for Musashi, she gave Vahn an appraising look as if she were trying to ascertain some veiled truth. This caused the flow of fate around her to be constrained to severalrger currents, many of which showed them exchanging blows after negotiations broke down. While this seemed to be a detrimental development, the fact most of these currents stopped at some point, each ending in Musashis death, gave Vahn an air of absolute confidence. Musashi didnt fear strong opponents, quite the opposite, but the feeling Vahn gave off was different than most. Rather than hubristic confidence, he gave off a feeling of absolute assurance, almost as if he was in control of everything. It was an ufortable and unnerving feeling, as, despite facing off against thousands of opponents, Musashi never got the impression that she couldnt win before. While waiting for Da Vinci to return, Vahn continued to observe Musashi until the liquid had drainedpletely. Immediately after that, the pressure differential caused a loud hissing sound, followed by a bit of icy-cool residue spreading throughout theboratory. Once the pressure had normalized, the crystalline ss sunk into the floor, allowing Musashi some freedom of movement. Despite this, she continued to stare back at him, her peculiar Mystic Eyes glowing with a subtle light as she seemed to be searching, and failing, to find whatever it was she was looking for. After several minutes of tense silence between them, it was Musashi who spoke first, her usual smile returning as she muttered, "It seems our battle was beneficial for your growth...as you are, I wouldnt be able to defeat you without sacrificing everything. Tell me, was that part of your n as well...?" In response to Musashis question, Vahn adopted a smile that didnt quite reach his eyes as he shook his head and answered, "Ill consider answering your questions once you start answering mine. After what your group tried, my patience has been worn thin. Depending on how these negotiations go, I may be forced to take drastic action to prevent your group from indiscriminately causing chaos and leading to even more unnecessary deaths..." Hearing Vahns response, Musashi couldnt help but frown as she immediately retorted, "Were not trying to cause chaos...were trying to stop you from destroying everything just to suit your vision of the future. We wouldnt have to resort to underhanded methods if your Empire didnt have such aprehensive stranglehold on the rest of the world..." Though it wasnt entirely unexpected, Vahn was unable to restrain his aura in response to Musashis absurd reasoning. Her words basically amounted to an excuse that allowed them to act however they pleased, so long as it was in opposition to the Empire. Thus, despite knowing it wouldnt really help his cause all that much, Vahns eyes began zing with a golden light as he shouted, "That isplete bullshit! Dont try to justify your heinous actions on such fragile grounds! Do you think Im a coward and a fool!? If your group wanted to oppose me, you could have literally sent a fucking message and I would willingly show up to face whatever you wanted to throw at me! Instead, you skulk around like snakes, causing trouble for other people, and even targetting innocent fucking children! Other than your group of selfish fools, have you even helped a single person since your arrival in this world!? How many unrted people have you killed just to further your goals!?" Feeling the aura radiating from Vahns body, Musashi was forced to take a few steps back, her face paling slightly as she did her best to resist the pressure. It was pretty obvious that he wasnt at all pleased by her choice of words and, despite wanting to deny his usations, she would be lying if she said there wasnt some truth behind them. Though it was primarily due to the Empires extensive informationwork, their group had been forced toy low and act behind the scenes, doing what little they could to interfere with the Empires ns... Not giving Musashi any breathing room, Vahns aura continued to swell, his gaze bing even more intense as he added, "I epted the fact people would see me as an Evil Tyrant, but, from the very beginning, the rest of the Empire has worked tirelessly to help people. Among them, I am your only true enemy, yet, in spite of that, you continue to harass and badger the very people trying their best to prevent further loss of life! Your group is full of cowards! There has never been a point in time have I been afraid of you! If you want to stop me, feel free to do everything you can against me! Come up with all sorts of ns, weapons, schemes, or whatever else you want! I will face it all head-on and destroy every attempt you make with my power alone! Stop relying on underhanded methods to try and exploit those around me, harming people who have literally done no wrong in a vain attempt to put pressure on me! Tell me, Miyamoto Musashi, which part of kidnapping innocent children is the most heroic!?" As Vahn was doing very little to hold back his aura, theboratory itself began to strain under the pressure as, in other parts of the undersea research center, various pipes began to burst. Musashi herself had to rely on her Nothingness just to stay on her feet as, without her weapons, the only way for her to resist Vahn was to use her final trump card. This would cost her everything, however, so she was extremely resistant to using it, especially after hearing his words. In the hopes of getting him to calm down, even just a little, Musashi did her best to adopt a sincere and apologetic expression as she groaned, "Calm down...I already said I would try and answer your questions. There is no need to lose your cool like this...seriously, I can understand why you are upset, but, will you really destroy this facility just to yell at me...?" Musashis words did very little to help Vahn calm down, but, as Okita and Altera were both silently watching him, he forcibly suppressed his anger. He had already conveyed the most important parts, so, if Musashi had any sense of ountability at all, she would consider his words. He really didnt care what kind of methods they tried to use against him, but, if they continued targetting the people he cared about, Vahn would crush them all. The only thing preventing him from doing so, thus far, is the knowledge that they are actual Heroes trying to resist against what they perceive to be a force of great evil. None of them had truly negative auras and, as he was still resistant to the idea of killing Heroes, Vahn wanted to at least try and reason with them. Despite going to great lengths to force himself to calm down, Vahns tone remained just as grim and usatory as before as he said, "You should have realized it from the past two battles, but, I am more than willing to ept responsibility for my actions, even if it means fighting directly against a group of Heroes that want nothing more than to see me ruined. I dont care what methods you use to try and defeat me, so long as it doesnt involve innocent bystanders and unrted parties. If you continue using these cowardly means to advance your agenda, dont me me for crushing your group of hypocrites. You have already seen it for yourself...my power grows exponentially with each battle. Do you really think Im going to keep idling about as your group continues to use even more underhanding means to achieve its goals...? This incident is yourst chance to prevent all-out war, so, during the uing negotiations, I hope you will properly consider your options..." Hearing Vahns words, Musashi was tempted to retort that he wasnt exactly leaving her any options, but, knowing he likely wouldnt take kindly to such remark, she just nodded her head and answered, "Yeah, Ill keep that in mind..." while praying for Da Vinci to return quickly... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Under pressure...pressin down on me...!,Vahn is an angry boi,The Heroes group is about to learn what happens when you y stupid games...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1420 - Admission

Chapter 1420 - Admission

When Da Vinci finally returned with Musashis weapons, totaling two katanas, two wakizashi, and an ornate tanto, thetter was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Though several conflicting trains of thought were currently guing her mind, having her bindings removed and her swords returned to her was a qualitative improvement. She could have broken free whenever she wanted, but, with Vahn within instantaneous striking distance, it didnt seem particrly wise to try and show off. While Musashi was busy tying her sheathes to her modified obi, Vahn was watching her vigntly while seated at a table pulled from his Inventory. He had Okita and Altera pull back, as there were too many currents that led to conflict while they were around, so, for the time being, it was just him, Da Vinci, and Musashi present within the underwater research center. Once her weapons were securely fixed, Musashi eyed up Vahn and Da Vinci before making her way over to the seat that had been prepared for her. She would normally exchange a few quips with her enemies, but, considering Vahns earlier disy, he obviously wasnt in the mood for such things. It was actually a little unnerving as, while her [Nothingness] and [Empyrean Eye] would allow her to escape virtually any situation, Vahns Infinity counteracted her ability better than she cared to admit. The moment Musashi sat down, Vahn pulled out a file from his Inventory, pushing it toward her as he said, "You arent the Musashi from our Time Axis. ording to the data we have been able to collect, our Musashi was a sixty-three-year-old man who died from lung cancer. He was a patient and solemn man who, in theter years of his life, dedicated himself to Buddha and the way of the sword. While you may, indeed, be Miyamoto Musashi, your status as a Divine Spirit leaves a lot of doubts about your identity..." Seeing the old man wearing tattered robes within the file, Musashi couldnt help but wince as she closed the document. She actually recognized the man in the file as, in the distant past, long before she had been disced from her timeline, the same man had appeared before her. He had been trying to escape a heavy downpour and, feeling sorry for him, Musashi had parted with her favorite sake, warmed by her own body. As an expression of gratitude, the man gifted her his sword mere moments before taking his final breath... Feeling a deeply rooted mncholy, Musashi adopted a serious expression on her face as she asked, "Is this man truly Miyamoto Musashi...?" Though he was annoyed by the fact Musashi hadnt answered his questions, Vahn squinted his eyes and answered, "I benefit nothing from trying to deceive you over the matter of your identity. I refuse to believe you arent aware of your true nature so stop footing around the issue. Tell me, where did youe from? How did you end up working with Archimedes? What is your groups true motive for invading my timelines?" Hearing the impatience in Vahns tone, Musashi released a tired sigh before pushing the documents back to him and answering, "Contrary to what you might believe, I am Miyamoto Musashi. As for the answer to your question...well, I dont really have a way to answer it? I left on a journey to pursue the path of swordsmanship to its extremes. In my pursuit, I ended up wandering into a worldpletely different from my own and, after trying to return, I found my timeline, my home, no longer existed. I cant even begin to fathom how much time has passed since then, but, after countless years, I ended up meeting with Archimedes..." Upon reaching this point in her story, Musashis expression became more serious as she exined, "I never liked that man, but, due to his efforts, Im able to stay within a single timeline without being randomly sent elsewhere. I also learned about the existence of Quantum Time-Locks and Temporal Singrities...really, this World is a ridiculous ce...haaaaa...." Since Musashi failed to borate, it was Da Vinci, with an expression of mild surprise, who exined "Quantum Time-Locks are a theoretical phenomenon concerning the existence of the Multiverse and infinite tangential timelines. Based on mine and Sherlocks research into the Second, Third, and Fifth Magics, I was able to form a hypothesis about the true nature of the world. Quantum Time-Locks are one of the hypothesized control factors of the World, ounting for and purging timelines without the possibility of divergence. I had never brought it up before, but, you should be able to confirm if this is the case by asking ya directly..." As Da Vincis words werent exactly spoken in secrecy, Musashi furrowed her brows while Vahn just nodded his head and said, "ya, I know you are listening. Come out." Following Vahnsmand, a woman with pale-blue skin, dark-blue hair, and violet eyes manifested at the side of the table. She had her characteristic emotionless expression and, knowing what Vahn was going to ask, she nodded her head and stated, "It is one of the methods used to cull worlds that end in the finite destruction of mankind. Due to my current restrictions, I am unable to determine if this woman is truly from a culled world. I am only charged with the Administration of timelines that branch from my original axis and have no knowledge regarding disced individuals..." While Musashi was struggling to try and make sense of what was happening, Vahn issued a light hum before asking, "You can still track her, right? I can see the flow of fate around her body so she should be bound to this Time Axis, at least for the moment." In response to Vahns question, ya nodded her head, answering, "As an...apology...I already used up the requisite energy toplete your request. There will be no problems..." Knowing ya was referring to her attempt to probe his mind, Vahn lightly squinted his eyes, but, as it was undoubtedly the result of an order from above, he decided to drop it. ming ya for trying to fulfill her duty was pointless, and, even if he could somehow leverage it against Akasha in the near future, associating with the powers that be brought various risks. He was already given the liberty of acting as he pleased, so, at least for the time being, Vahn couldnt afford to split his focus on forces he had no means of opposing... Seeing the confusion on Musashis face, Vahn gestured toward ya, saying, "I doubt youll believe me, but, allow me to introduce you to the Manifestation of Humanitys Will to Survive, ya. Despite thebels people force upon me, the truth of the matter is that I am doing my best on behalf of the World itself. Yes, a lot of people have died as a result of my choices, but, I have also taken measures to ensure the preservation of as many innocents as possible. Unless you intend to tell me the worlds you have visited were all some grand utopia, you have very little ground to stand on." Though she couldnt tell what exactly the predominately blue woman was, Musashi resisted the idea that she was actually the better-known half of the Counter Force. She had actually fought numerous Counter Guardians over the centuries, so, seeing how subservient the woman seemed to Vahn, she couldnt help but refuse the reality that had been presented before her. All she knew for certain was the fact that, even with her [Empyrean Eye], Musashi got the impression there was nothing she could do against the peculiar blue woman... It would have been convenient if Musashi believed his words, but, as ya had already informed him that the Strings of Fate worked on both her and Caenis, it no longer mattered. Even if negotiations ended up breaking down, locating the enemy base now became much easier. Now, it was really only a matter of time before Archimedes group fell, as, by meeting with Musashi like this, Vahn had been able to link together their fates. There was a tiny string that connected them, so, no matter what she had up her sleeve, Vahn would be able to track her down. Much like before, Musashi couldnt shake the feeling that Vahn was in control of the situation. It was surprisingly ufortable, as, even if she drew her de and fought it out with him, the most she could hope for was an internecine oue. Vahn seemed even stronger than he was thest time they had battled, while, inversely, her confidence had been shaken by the previous defeat. She didnt even know if everything around her was an illusion, but, based on the fact Vahn readily returned her weapons, it certainly felt like it... Electing not to give Musashi time to organize her thoughts, Vahn shifted in his chair, leaning forward slightly as he said, "So, youre someone who got disced from their original world...I can empathize with that. Though you seem to be in a state that wont believe anything I tell you, everyone close to me knows that I came here from a different world. One day, I intend to return to my world, but, until then, I will do everything in my power to make this world a better ce. You use me of cutting off various futures, but, in the end, Im opening up countless others. The primary difference is, as a result of the foundation I amying now, all races will have a greater chance of living a happy life, not just humans. If you cant see the injustice in humans wasting resources, taking advantage of each other, and killing the very itself, there really isnt much I can say to convince you...now, tell me, Im really curious about the perfect utopia that Archimedes hails from...tell me about the world you will die to protect..." Though she had aplicated expression for much of Vahns monologue, the aura around Musashi became as sharp as a de when she heard thest part. Despite this, Vahn continued to lightly tap his fingers atop the table, observing her with an unperturbed look that seemed to dare her to draw her sword. As a result, Musashi clenched her teeth and, faster than even the most precise instrument could capture, ced her sword at Vahns throat as she asked, "You really know how to piss people off; did anyone ever tell you that!?" Without bothering to defend himself, even after Musashis de pricked his neck, Vahn snorted through his nose and asked, "And I was supposed to be happy when you tried to kidnap innocent children? Sit down and stop deflecting every time I ask you a question! Dont tell me your world isnt a perfect utopia without things like crime, corruption, murder, and ****? You seem intent on ruining every effort were making to eliminate these things so you must have a pretty fucking good reason, right!?" Rather than shy away from Musashis de, Vahn allowed it to cut deeper into his flesh as he red at her, his rage gradually building to the point of an eruption. He hadnt even asked tried asking her to betray her allies, yet, in spite of showing considerable leniency, Musashi continually deflected or outright ignored his questions. He had even given her a fair amount of information, but, due to her apparent distrust, she didnt take anything he said at face value. Feeling the pressure released by Vahn rapidly increasing, Musashi clicked her tongue before falling back into her seat, her sword already sheathed as she crossed her arms andined, "Seriously, everything you do is so extreme...haaa..." Unamused by her response, the room around them became suffused with a golden hue as Vahn released both his aura and [Enkidu]. He had seen several currents where Musashi used her swords to cut apart Space in an attempt to flee. Thus, taking advantage of the fact she was a Divine Spirit, Vahn locked down the surrounding Space with [Enkidu], earning another click from Musashis tongue as she rolled her eyes and asked, "Is that really necessary...?" Growing increasingly annoyed with Musashis behavior, Vahns hand, which had been tapping on the top of the table, began to grow golden scales as he solemnly stated, "Last chance...if you keep trying to y games with me, dont me me for escting things. This is a serious discussion, and, after what your group pulled, I expect a proper response to my questions. If youre so eager to do battle, expect no quarter...neither for you nor your allies...your group was the first to throw away civility so it is only natural I return the favor, right...?" Though she had an overwhelming urge to cut Vahn into pieces, Musashi managed a smile that did little to convey any positive emotions. It was the kind of smile those consumed by the thrill of battle adopted in the moments prior to their death, the kind that allowed them to take countless lives with them. Despite this, Musashis voice was eerily calm as she answered, "Okay, fine, sure..Ill answer your questions. Archimedes world is a shit hole where mana dried up and, as a result, humanity tore itself apart! Most of the world became uninhabitable, relying on science and technology to preserve what remains of the human race! Are you happy now...!?" Finished with her outburst, Musashi kicked against the table in a huff, knocking it into Vahns chest as she muttered, "Fucking asshole..." in an annoyed voice. Despite this, it was clear that she was more than a little shaken, so, while her reaction caused the atmosphere around Vahn to solidify, he did his best to remain calm. Musashis admission of the truth was the first step towardspromise, so, if he followed her outburst with one of his own, he would lose the momentum he had generated. Seeing Vahn taking several deep breaths to calm down, Musashi squinted her eyes and asked, "So? What now, Mr. Emperor? Does it make you feel better about yourself to know that the future is just as fucked up as the present? Does it help to silence the voices of billions of people crying out for justice...?" After cing the table into his Inventory, Vahn rose to his feet, putting Musashi on guard as she prepared to draw her katana. What she didnt expect was for Vahn to turn his back and say, "You can leave. I already told you how you should approach this situation if you want to deal with me, so, feel free to contact me if you want to fight. Your admission of the truth exposes your previous hypocrisy so, if you have any sense at all, you will reflect on todays events. The Empire is truly trying to make the world a better ce, so, unless you cane up with a method to improve it, stop wasting my time with petty schemes. This is your chance to prove whether or not youre a Hero or just a fool that is being manipted for another persons agenda..." With his words finished, Vahn, hand d in golden scales, tore a gaping hole within the void. Unlike a normal tear, however, this was an actual spatial tunnel, surprising Musashi due to the fact Caenis could be seen chained up on the opposite side. She was even more surprised when Vahn looked back at her, saying, "I know you have the ability to cut through Space so take yourpanion and go. Pass on my warning to all of your allies as, depending on your next course of action, you will all be held ountable together..." Then, after grabbing Da Vincis hand, Vahn added, "There have been too many deaths...dont force me to kill good people just because youre a bunch of idiots..." (A/N: To all the people that choose to whine about the fact Vahn let Musashi go, without taking into consideration the context of the novel...well, I hope you have a pleasant day (^_^). To those with the patience to actually read the story and see how it develops, I hope you have an amazing day :D...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1421 - Apprehension

Chapter 1421 - Apprehension

Though she had a lot of misgivings about what was happening, Musashi didnt hesitate to cut free Caenis who, due to her hostile nature, needed to be bound and gagged. The trigger for her ability required her to release a loud war cry, so, while it wasnt something Vahn would generally resort to, it ultimately authorized the countermeasure. With Musashi cutting her free, Caenis ripped the gag free, liberating arge amount of saliva before wiping her mouth and saying, "I know you would be able to break free. Whats the n?" As she spoke, Caenis manifested her shield and spear, ready to immediately throw herself back into battle despite her rather one-sided loss. This was something Musashi could appreciate, but, knowing the futility of trying to fight against even Vahn alone, much less the strange blue woman at his side, she shook her head and said, "I didnt escape. Come on, lets get out of here before something else goes wrong." Hearing Musashis words, Caenis serious expression turned skeptical for a brief moment before she solemnly stated, "I am not afraid of a fight. You can run away like a beaten dog if you prefer. I wont withdraw before punishing the bastards that thought they could shackle and muzzle me without repercussions...!" Musashi wasnt really in the mood to deal with Caenis, so, after slicing open a spatial vortex, she smacked thetters backside with her sheath. As a result, Caenis was sent tumbling forward, her olive-brown skin taking on a reddish hue as she spat, "Musashi, you...!" before disappearing through the spatial rift. Without dying, Musashi also leaped through the spatial tear, exiting out in one of the Bounded Fields they had previously conquered. As Vahn pointed out, they had actually killed quite a number of people just to keep them from exposing the location of their actual base. Though Musashi had only ever struck down the ones targetting her, choosing to leave the rest to Caenis and C Chinn, it didnt change the fact she had a hand in their deaths... Though she was moderately distracted, Musashi swept her katana to the side, using the back of the de to strike Caenis in the neck as thetters spear passed harmlessly through her body. This was the usual result when her Nothingness came into y, as, for a brief moment in time, she basically didnt exist. Since Musashi hadnt hit her hard enough to do any real damage, Caenis was only sent sliding a few meters, a feral expression on her face as she shouted, "What do you think youre doing, Musashi!?" Without waiting for a response, Caenis lunged forward, the tip of her spear glimmering with lethal intent. This time, however, Musashi didnt allow it to touch her, using her sheath to smack the spear aside before whacking Caenis on the head. As could be expected, this only further incensed the white-haired woman, but, before she could shout out, Musashis sheath began tracing dozens of impossible to trace trajectories, striking at her head, neck, and joints until, momentster, Caenis was beaten and bloody on the ground. Brandishing her sheath to discard the blood caking it, Musashi glowered as she looked down at Caenis and said, "Dontsh out at me for preventing you from doing something stupid. The enemy is far stronger than we ever expected! You wont aplish anything by rushing at them without a n! Seriously, do you think having a horses ears gives you the liberty to act like an animal...?" In response to Musashis barb, Caenis ears twitched in frustration as she clenched her teeth and tried to sweep the formers legs. Unfortunately, this only had the result of Musashi using her sheath to intercept her ankle with a precision strike, shattering the joint painfully. Even this wasnt enough to deter Caenis, though, as she used the momentum of her sweep to attempt a grapple, passing straight through Musashis body and earning a painful whack on top of her head. Feeling she was getting nowhere, Musashi considered opening another spatial tear and tossing Caenis inside, but, knowing thetter, this would likely have an adverse effect. Thus, after taking a deep breath and releasing a tired sigh, she kicked over Caenis spear, saying, "Pick it up..." while adopting a drawing stance. Seeing her spear within arms reach, Caenis looked between it and Musashi, feeling a moment of trepidation before she grabbed her weapon and released a loud war cry. As a result, her wounds instantly healed, but, before she was even able to take a single step, Musashi appeared behind her, casually taking a few steps as she resheathed her katana. For a brief moment, Caenis froze in ce like a statue before, several secondster, she began coughing up mouthfuls of blood in a vain attempt to draw breath. Immediately after, she fell to the ground, her upper body separated from her lower half, leaving a steamy pile of entrails between the two halves. Without so much as a twitch of her eyshes, Musashi stared back at Caenis, stating, "I defeated you in singlebat, so, in ordance with your traditions, your life and death are mine to decide. Now, pull yourself together and lets talk about our options..." Though she felt a considerable amount of indignation, Caenis, like a monster out of a horror movie, began to rapidly regenerate her body. Her entrails sought each other out like a group of entwined eels, and, after a few seconds had passed, her upper and lower body began to pull together. By the time twenty seconds had passed, she was able to stand on her feet, her body and armor still stained with her own blood as she hefted her shield and spear, falling in step behind Musashi... --- While the drama was taking ce between Musashi and Caenis, Vahn was seated in afortable chair with Da Vincis faux-body sitting in hisp. His eyes glimmered with golden light and, much like how he had been able to send his intent around after awakening his Qnglng form, he could follow the String of Fate connecting him and Musashi, using it to track her location through both space and time. It could be due to her cautious nature, but, Musashi didnt immediately return to their base. Instead, she spent a considerable amount of time just traversing between various Bounded Fields, sometimes jumping back to a previous location. She seemed reluctant to even try and contact her allies and, as a result of her incredible intuition, it was obvious from her behavior that she could feel something was wrong, even if she couldnt ascertain what it was. Since he didnt actually need Musashi to locate the enemy base any longer, Vahn only spent a little over an hour watching her before blinking his eyes and returning to his senses. When he opened his eyes again, he found Da Vincis face only a few centimeters away from his own, and, seeing he had returned, she couldnt help but ask "She didnt return to their base, did she?" Unable to resist the temptation, Vahn lightly kissed Da Vincis nose, causing her to re her nostrils yfully as she tried, and failed, to bite his chin. This brought a smile to Vahns face and, in response to her question, he answered, "It doesnt matter. From the moment we captured them, the location of their base became known..." Though he wasnt nearly as proficient as Merlin, or even Da Vinci herself, Vahn manipted the energy within his domain, creating a three-dimensional projection of the moon. This caused Da Vincis brows to rise slightly, followed by her muttering, "Its no wonder theyve been able to hide away without slipping up. They arent even on the..." After nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn turned his eyes skyward, his intent passing through all obstacles in its path, traveling nearly at the speed of thought as he shortly found himself staring at the moon. Since he already knew of the existence of the Moon Cell, it wasnt all that surprising to him that Archimedes had chosen it as the ce to hide. Musashis mentioning of the fact his worldcked mana made it pretty clear that Archimedes didnt rely on any particr Bounded Field, but, much like Da Vincis tech, he exploited various Laws to achieve feats simr to Magecraft. Rushing up to the moon and dealing with Archimedes directly seemed like the most efficient course of action, but, knowing he had Administrative ess to the Moon Cell, part of Vahn was tempted to crush the mans ns the moment he thought sess within arms length. It was beginning to seem like Archimedes was anything but a Hero, so, with Musashi carrying his message, Vahn expected a considerable amount of discourse in their group. Ideally, Archimedes would take his words at face value, but, if he opted to continue with his schemes, Vahn would make good on his promise of crushing them. Since Musashi knew his capabilities better than most, she would undoubtedly try to deter Archimedes and, as a result, he would be able to take advantage of the rift formed between them. Vahn really didnt want to kill Heroes, so, if Musashi was able to convince others to face him directly, he didnt mind beating them down a few times, forcing them to see reason. At the very least, Vahn could ascertain whether or not Archimedes was holding onto a trump card more powerful than Musashi. If she began to oppose his ns, he would undoubtedly move to try and eliminate her before she could interfere. Vahn had the distinct impression Archimedes wasnt the type to tolerate people undermining his authority, so, with Musashi giving off the impression of a genuinely good person, albeit with a few troublesome quirks, it was impossible he didnt have a bigger card to y. Regardless of how things developed, Vahn would prepare countermeasures for anything the so-called Heroes would throw at him. They had already touched his bottom line several times, so, if they didnt reveal themselves after three days, he would treat their silence as a deration of war. He had given them a chance to do things in an above-board manner and, even if he had to tear apart their ns a thousand times, he wouldnt particrly care so long as they didnt resort to underhanded means. This was one of the quirks of his character, so, if they were true Heroes, they would actually be able to exploit it to their advantage... Vahn was the type that expected hardship and setbacks, using them as opportunities to increase his strength and temper his resolve. If he didnt have this type of personality, he would have never been able to withstand his Shishous teachings, fill his stomach with Circes food, and quenched his thirst with Semiramis poison. He wouldnt even care if a thousand assassins targetted him, so long as they informed him of the asion and made sure not to involve his loved ones. It may seem like a strange quirk to have, one that worried his loved ones to no end, but,pared to cultivating a mentality of fear, it was the lesser of many evils. In a way, it allowed him to ept a bit of responsibility for the wrongdoings he hadmitted in his life, as, despite often having the best of intentions, Vahn knew his actions were often extreme. He would not deny people a chance at vengeance, but, from the moment they shifted their focus to his loved ones, Vahn wouldpletely annihte them. Though his actions may have resulted in the loss of many innocent lives, Vahn had never proactively done so for personal reasons. The moment you began targetting people unrted to revenge, for the sole purpose of causing mental anguish or a feeling of loss in your actual target, you be irredeemably evil. Vahn would never tolerate such underhanded and unjustifiable acts, so, if Musashi didnt convey his intentions properly, she, alongside her entire group, would be annihted... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I kinda feel bad for Caenis...,Thats no Moon...!,Vahn is basically Korosensei at this point. Feel free to try and assassinate him as much as you want, but, if you target the people he wants to protect...there is literally nothing that can save you) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1422 - Rampant Change

Chapter 1422 - Rampant Change

Following the conclusion of the Imperial G, great changes were afoot in the Clock Tower and, as a result, the entire Magus Association. Though it was never overtly stated, the presence of Director Solon and Director Asia at the event made it clear to the politically affluent that the distance between the Empire and the Association had reduced considerably. There had been rumors circting prior to the G, but, now that the Virtual World was being implemented throughout every Department, there was no longer room for debate and spection. The Association had thrown its lot in with the Empire, and, if they wanted to avoid being swept aside in the wake of the changing era, the affiliates of the Association would need to do the same. Just as the various Family Heads and Faculty members were wondering how they might benefit the most from these changes, the announcement that Companions would be distributed became public knowledge. From this, it became apparent that the Empire wasnt even going to try negotiating with various affiliated families; you either acquiesced, receiving the exact same benefits as everyone else or you resisted and received none. There was no room discussion, and, if you failed to adhere to the guidelines regarding the proper care of your Companion, it was immediately taken from you. Not only were the Companions surprisingly cute and powerful, but, without one, you were denied ess to the Virtual World, and, on arger scale, lost virtually all benefits distributed by the Empire. Thus, while it was obvious that the Companions were basically the eyes and ears of the Empire, they werent left with many options, as, with the copse of the global economy and the gradual takeover of the Empire, it was either acquiesce or fall into obscurity. At the very least, most of the students and faculty members either readily or begrudgingly epted the Companions assigned to them. Though many were confiscated within a day, resulting in several students and faculty members either being suspended, expelled or fired, quite a number of students were happy to have the opportunity to be apanied by the inordinately cute creatures. The fact Companions served as powerful offensive and defensive guardians within the Spirit Tomb was more than enough to win over the vast majority of students. As for those who were expelled or fired, some were given the option of entering a probationary period while others, specifically those foolish enough to try and charm, enchant, or even dissect their Companions, were quickly dealt with by the Empires forces. While many considered it extreme, the Empire wasnt shy about trying and subsequently executing those who vited the Common Law to a grievous extent. It didnt matter how old your family was, how much authority they used to have, nor how much individual power you wielded. If you couldnt live withoutmitting acts of cruelty, exploiting others, or using your presumed power to suppress everyone around you, the end result was almost always death. In the future, Vahn intended to implement a less extreme punishment, but, due to the shifting of the Era, leniency couldnt be afforded to those trying to reap benefits amidst the chaos. While those with more magnanimous intentions would be ignored, or even celebrated, he had absolutely no patience for the snakes slithering about in the darkness, mistakenly believing they would rise to prominence through subterfuge and secret dealings. The existence of the Companions was an extreme inconvenience for those with vile and malicious intentions, as, in ordance with the regtions regarding their care, they would apany you virtually everywhere you went. Discarding them, sealing them away, manipting their senses, or taking any action that interfered with the fulfillment of their responsibilities would earn you an audit from the Empires forces. If it turned out you were directly engaged in criminal activities, your crimes would be exposed, and, while only those directly involved would be held responsible, no leeway was afforded to those of qualifying age. In ordance with the Common Law, children could be held ountable for their actions as early as the age of fourteen. While this didnt officially make them adults, a status requiring aprehensive physical and mental evaluation, it was an age where their actions could no longer be attributed to childish innocence. While obvious exceptions would exist, they would be handled on a case-by-case basis using the data and profile that had been umted by Mother, the Artificial Intelligence that monitored and regted the Companions. Essentially, from the moment you were considered an adult, either through age or action, you were required to strictly observe the Common Law. Since thesews really only ounted for basic things, such as the protection of certain Phantasmal Species, the observation of rights for every species, and the admonishment of vile and heinous acts, the Common Law was actually very easy to observe. You didnt even have to be a good person, just not a terrible one... --- In spite of the rtively simple structure of the Common Law, Vahn found himself sitting across from Solon as thetter, with a fatigued expression on their face,ined about the bacsh from the families still brave enough to file officialints. Many of these came from families with rtively decent principles, and, despite the fact they epted the Companions into their home, it didnt stop them fromining about the egregious actions of the Empire. So long as there was any wiggle room at all within a policy, there would always be people who tried to take advantage of perceived loopholes to either put pressure on the government or elevate their own status. It didnt matter if you had an endless amount of evidence to prove that punishment was justified, righteous people would still feelpelled to criticize and even protest the severity of the methods used to enact the punishment. The general consensus of most people was that death was too egregious a punishment for the vast majority of crimes, regardless of how heinous they were. It didnt seem to matter if the person being executed was a wicked individual who murdered, raped, ckmailed, kidnapped, and even tortured people without remorse. They would still argue that death was an extreme and unjust punishment, spewing various titudes and excuses to try and justify their perspective. It could be the result of his knowledge about transmigration and reincarnation, but, from Vahns perspective, death was a great mercy to those who had ruined countless lives for profit and pleasure. He didnt believe in imprisonment, as, not only did it require the allocation of personnel and excess resources, but, in the grand scheme, locking people away didnt fix them. Rather, it either broke or strengthened the convictions of people locked away, making them unable to adapt to life outside their prison or refining them into far more dangerous individuals. You rarely found absolution within confinement, as, if a prisoner actually reached that kind of mental state, they wouldnt even want to leave. While there were countless methods to rehabilitate people and set them onto a better path, doing so was setting a dangerous precedent as people would then argue that everyone should be given the same opportunity. This would require an ever-increasing amount of infrastructure dedicated to just fixing people who, depending on the circumstances, might not even want to be fixed. Since this led to people being trapped within the system, sometimes for decades at a time, it simply wasnt worth the allocation of resources. People might have infinite potential, but, unless they were willing to put in the effort to better themselves, investing resources into forcing them to be better was a fools errand. Vahn didnt delude himself into thinking his thought process was without fault, but,pared to the failings of the previous system, what he was trying to aplish was objectively better. He knew his perspective would change with the passage of time, but, with Ark, Mother, and Shadow coordinating with each other to draft policies, the final structure of society would depend on the needs of society itself. All he could do was bear the anger and contempt of countless people as he tirelessly worked to restore order and build a foundation for a better future... With this in mind, Vahn stopped Solon, midint, saying, "Tell those people I have no interest in other factions budding within the Empire. They are entitled to believe what they will, but, from the moment they begin advocating for their version of justice, they be enemies of the state. Unless they are willing to be civil officials, exposing all of their secrets for public scrutiny, I have very little interest in what they want to say. This is an obvious ploy to increase their status and establish themselves as a voice that can oppose Imperial Policy...honestly, Im offended they believe they have any right to question me after ignoring the problems within the Association for centuries..." Though not unexpected, Solon released a tired sigh when they heard Vahns response, as, in the end, they would be the ones dealing with the so-called righteous families. They knew full-well that Vahns views on the matter were urate, but, due to the policies of the Empire, it wasnt that easy to put pressure on groups openly adhering to the Common Law. Had it been a few months ago, it would have been a simple matter of threatening them into submission, but, after agreeing to adhere to the Common Law, Solon was limited in their means. Understanding he was basically shifting his problems onto Solon, Vahn adopted an apologetic smile, adding, "If you think there is someone more suited to the position of Director, feel free to nominate them. Preparations have already been made, so, once this fiasco with futuristic heroes is resolved, we can begin nting World Trees. When that timees, I imagine you wont be as interested in your position as Director, so, before then, you should consider talking with Zelretch. If he is unwilling, Da Vinci has already expressed that she is willing to take on the responsibilities." Hearing Vahns words, Solon became visibly less tense, a small smile on their face as they nodded their head and answered, "I doubt that old bastard would be willing to be the Director after I step down. Ill talk to him, but, if Da Vinci is willing, the position will most likely fall to her. Honestly, I would have nominated someone like Luvia or her Grandmother, Olivia. Their family might be a bit entric, but, considering they are already involved with the majority of Magus Families, it would benefit them greatly to have the authority of the Director." As he actually hadnt considered Luvia as a potential recement for Solon, Vahn was slightly taken aback by the suggestion. If he thought about it, Luvia was exceptionally qualified for the position as,pared to Da Vinci, she had an intrinsic understanding of politics. Thetter, much like Solon, was an extreme introvert and, though she would be able to manage her responsibilities with the support of Ark, Mother, and Shadow, Da Vinci would undoubtedlyment having to personally meet with the various Family Heads. Finding Solons suggestion surprisingly agreeable, Vahn found himself nodding in approval, a smile on his face as he stated, "I cant imagine Luvia will refuse. Though her individual power might be a littlecking, her political prowess and business sense are unmatched. She should be able to handle future negotiations without any major issues, and, considering her familys prestige, she would have an easier time being epted by the current affiliates...very well, thats what well go with. You did well to make such a suggestion, Solon." Hearing Vahns praise, Solons expression turned dour as, seemingly against their will, it made them feel a little happy. This had be a rtivelymon urrence as ofte, so, much like before, Solon snorted through their nose, muttering, "I only mentioned the obvious...I dont need you, of all people, to acknowledge me. If it prevents me from having to constantly clean up after you, I would obviously look for someone suitable..." Having grown ustomed to Solons reactions, Vahn just nodded his head with a knowing smile on his face. Afterward, he rose from his chair and, after stretching his body for a bit, said, "Ill discuss the matter with Da Vinci and Luvia. Odds are, Olivia will end up taking up the role of Association Director as Luvia intends to reveal her status as Keeper of the Imperial Seal in the future. There could be a few issues if she wanted to hold both titles, but, well see what she decides. Either way, you should begin making preparations to transition to the European Supercolony. Unless theye out of hiding by tomorrow, Ill most likely be dealing with the group of so-called Heroes in the evening. If things go well, youll be able to fulfill your dream by the weeks end..." With his words finished, Vahn gave a casual wave to Solon before turning his back and vanishing from within thetters private garden. This left Solon sitting in their chair, nursing a cup of piping hot tea as they inclined their head toward the sky and muttered, "Ive put my trust in you...dont let me down...you bastard..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Empire aint ying o_o...,Luvias [Golden Rule:EX] is the MVP,Solon, the six-thousand-year-old Tsundere) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1423 - Fate Tensions

Chapter 1423 - Fate Tensions

Shortly after leaving Solons garden, Vahn found himself in a rather precarious position, a deadpan expression on his face as he kneaded the uncharacteristically tender flesh of Olivia. She was wearing nothing but a folded towel to cover her backside, and, due to his insistence, a pair of dainty panties that left very little to the imagination. Vahn had originally arrived at the Edelfelt Mansion to discuss the matter of selecting a new Director, but, as Luvia had been in the middle of a meeting, Olivia inevitably managed to convince him to give her a massage. She had benefited greatly from his [Hands of Nirvana] in the past, so, whenever the opportunity presented itself, she was very insistent. Beauty was exceptionally important for women who liked to stand out, and, after Vahns care, Olivia could even rival her daughter and Luvia when it came to skin quality and pliability. Since it was easier to pacify Olivia by periodically giving her a massage, Vahn wasnt as against the idea as he used to be. She had permission from Luvia, so, with a bit of time to kill, Vahn didnt mind practicing one of the skills he had cultivated to the extreme. It helped that, over the past couple of days, Vahn had been experimenting with the flow of fate, seeing how each of his skills influenced the currents that flowed around a persons body. Though he could normally only see currents directly rted to him, it hadnt taken long to discover the fact he could also see what paths others might take. This required channeling Source Energy into their body, but, as he had already be extremely proficient at this, Vahn was now experimenting with directing and diverting the flow, setting people down specific currents without forcing them to acquiesce through words and actions. Fate and Karma had often forced him into difficult situations, but, in the grand scheme of things, this wasrgely due to the fact he didnt actually have a Fate. Instead, his actions influenced the fates of those born within the Records, fundamentally altering what should have been predetermined series of events. This had always been the case, but, now that he could see the Flow of Fate for all things, Vahn was infinitely more aware of his influence than he had been in the past. Theoretically, by taking just enough action to redirect a current, the person influenced would follow that path without fail. This gave him a fair amount of influence of a persons destiny and, while this wasnt exactly a good thing, Vahn knew it would be a necessary ability when he reached higher Tiers. He would one day be charged with the governance of entire Multiverses, so, unless he intended to always intervene direct, it would be necessary to manipte the fates of chosen individuals in order to ensure bnce. Though he was a long way from the point where it became relevant, Vahns knowledge had been expanding rapidly ever since his recent awakening. While he didnt specifically base his decisions on the things he had witnessed, seeing the multitude of paths everyone around him could potentially walk was very insightful. It allowed him to string together events like the pieces of an impossiblyplex puzzle, one where he could freely change the shape of the pieces... Making full use of his ability, Vahn absentmindedly massaged Olivias body, ignoring her less-than-muffled moans and exmations. It took some effort, but, after culling various currents that involved him and Olivia crossing lines that shouldnt be crossed, Vahn found a rather amusing path, one much smaller than the others. The only thing that mattered, however, was that the current existed, as, by making a concerted effort to strengthen the flow, it invariably became the route Olivia was set upon. To put his theory to the test, Vahn set a cushion on the ground before pulling out a bathrobe and saying, "That is enough for today. Im certain you still have other matters to attend, so, unless you intend to spend the rest of the day in bed, its time to get up." Olivia, with a ruddy and, admittedly, tantalizing expression, peered over her shoulder with a hungry look in her eyes. Despite this, she knew now wasnt the time or the ce to try and seduce Vahn, so, after lifting her trembling body, she attempted to rise from the massage table. At the same time, her towel slipped down and, due to the state Vahn had left her in, so too did Olivia. Since this was what he had seen in Olivias future, however, Vahn deftly slipped the robe onto her body without making direct contact. Though she had braced herself for a rough impact, Olivia was surprised to find her body wrapped in a white robe as she softlynded on a thick cushion. She was about to me Vahn for not catching her, but, seeing how things had developed, she was momentarily confused before realizing what he had done. Vahns recently acquired ability hadnt been kept a secret from her, so, seeing the casual smile on his face, Olivia couldnt help but pout as she protested, "How cruel...to think you would let an old woman fall down without even trying to catch her...what a brute..." While using a towel to wipe down his hands, Vahn shook his head in response to Oliviasint before pulling out a second towel so she could wipe down her sweat. At the same time, he casually rebuffed her, saying, "When you learn to pull your mind from the gutter, Ill begin treating you with the delicacy you deserve. You are a beautiful woman, Madam Edelfelt, but we both know it would onlyplicate things if I surrendered to your temptations. While you may have convinced yourself it would only be a temporary fling, I doubt any of the women around me, Luvia included, would be willing to believe that..." Hearing Vahns retort, Olivia rolled her eyes before fixing her bathrobe and releasing a sigh as she said, "Saying things like that makes it really hard to give up on having a taste for myself. I wouldnt have been able to rise to my position without being a little greedy...but, as I wouldnt want to make my great-granddaughter cry, Ill do my best to hold back. Still, you cant me me for trying...we Edelfelt women have always been fond of strong men...truthfully, you can only me yourself for being so capable~." As this wasnt the first time he had heard Olivias excuses, Vahn just nodded his head in response before saying, "Luvia should be finishing up soon. If you hurry along, you should be able to finish a quick shower before she arrives." Then, anticipating her response, he matched Olivias timing, a smile on his face as he said, "Ill help you fix your hair..." just as she asked, "Will you help me fix..." With Vahn already answering her question, Olivias words trailed off, her golden eyes glimmering in mild displeasure as she muttered, "I hope our future discussions arent as...frustrating as this one has been. I must admit, Im not fond of being interrupted. The next time you want to y with me, youd better be naked..." Since he wasnt actually trying to upset her, Vahn nodded his head in understanding, an apologetic expression on his face as he muttered, "Sorry..." in a sincere tone of voice. This earned him a sidelong gaze from Olivia, but, rather than say anything further, she quickly departed for the adjoining bath to take a shower. She knew Vahn wasnt truly the maniptive type, so, while it was a little annoying to be on the receiving end of his experimentation, she forced herself to calm down by ovepping her image of Vahn with a child who had just received a new toy... After following Olivias retreating figure with his eyes, Vahns figure vanished like a phantom before reappearing next to afortable lounge. He was feeling a little tired, so, with Olivia and Luvia both requiring a bit of time, he decided to take a few minutes for himself. This was, in many ways, one of the most useful aspects of his newfound ability, as, by reading the Flow of Fate, Vahn had a rough understanding of how much time he could divest into simply rxing. With about eleven minutes to himself, Vahn lightly tapped his abdomen afterying back on the lounge and kicking his feet up. In response, ya dutifully appeared in her Companion form, taking a seat in her designated spot. Vahn had been allocating a lot of his spare time to pampering and petting her, so, while it filled her with variousplex emotions, she tightly gripped his tunic before nestling against his chest as he ran his hand from her head, down the line of her back, and along her long tail. It was a different stimtion from having her body groped and fondled, but, knowing he was quite fond of petting, ya had learned to enjoy it quite a bit... Finding the Companion version of ya rather adorable, Vahn lightly poked her cheek as he mused, "Youve be a lot cuter these days...I still remember when you used to pout every time I rubbed your head or squished your cheeks..." Hearing Vahns words, ya lightly bit his chest, her teethpletely bypassing the fabric of his clothes to bite the flesh beneath. She could freely choose what her body affected, so, even if he was wearing full body armor, little could stop her ivory teeth from sinking into his flesh. When she pulled her mouth away, however, there wasnt a single sign to indicate she had broken skin, earning a smile from Vahn as he lightly kneaded her tail. Though he was certain yas behavior was rted to her primary objective, it was also true that she had changed a great dealpared to her original self. He would like to think this was the result of the time they had spent together, but, while this was undoubtedly a factor, making any meaningful progress would have been impossible had Akasha not forced her to acquiesce. Thus, while he had been feeling tempted to go further, especially in recent days, Vahn couldnt cross that line before he was certain she was free from Akashas influence. It was a morbid thought but Vahn didnt even need to specte in order to know that Akasha and her superiors would have experimented with his semen, attempting to produce offspring he would never have the opportunity to meet. Unfortunately for them, his semen might as well be empty air if he didnt proactively want to impregnate someone. Since he didnt actually have a gic sequence, insemination was more a matter of intent than anything else, at least in his case. Much like an actual True Dragon, Vahn could impregnate virtually anything, irrespective of whether or not it was capable of even bearing children. This had been confirmed by Da Vinci as, in an effort to understand his role in the formation of new life, they had conducted a number of rather strange experiments. While it was impossible to be certain, Vahns intention to create life worked functionally simr to a Creation, or, perhaps, a Fertility Divinity. His experiments with Da Vinci had produced various types of nt life from inert stone and, in the most extreme of experiments, a vacuum chamber that had been devoid of everything but a single test tube. This ultimately gave birth to a type of flower that could even bloom in space, feeding off radiation and converting it into electrical energy. Needless to say, Vahns body still had a lot of secrets, but, unless he was the one exposing them, it was impossible for others to take advantage of even a fragmentary part of his biomass. Thus, at least for the time being, he couldnt afford to develop any tender emotions for ya, as, if she wanted to be impregnated, he would have to refuse her. There was an inordinately high probability that their child would be stolen from her, and, due to the way she was programmed, ya might not even be aware of it. They could try for years to produce an offspring, believing they had failed while dozens of their children were used to further the experiments of Akashas superiors... Though it could just be paranoia on his part, Vahn wasnt willing to take the risk as, even now, he could visualize the cold and emotionless visage of Akasha with perfect rity. While it was possible they would remain patient, waiting for thousands of years before resorting to such methods, Vahn never underestimated those who devoted their everything to their experiments. Akasha was like an infinitely more powerful version of Da Vinci,pletely stripped from any semnce of morals and integrity... Until he could establish contact with Gaia and carry out his penultimate n, Vahn had little choice but to force ya to remain patient. He couldnt even turn on his View Affection without her aura overwhelming him for a brief moment, so, even if it wasnt actual love, it was painfully apparent how much ya hade to appreciate him. If he gave her the green light, it wasnt difficult to imagine ya pulling him into her personal realm and attempting to ravish him for an eternity, but, for the time being, she could only bide her time, enjoying his caress... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tenderizing the Obaa-chan o3o...,I can see the future...! Trunks is Vegetas son! There are more than two androids...!,yas affection is as heavy as a xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1424 - Habit Pressure

Chapter 1424 - Habit Pressure

Though the feeling of being watched had faded, Musashi spent nearly two full days transferring between various Bounded Fields beforeing to a stop outside a small forest shrine hidden away in the mountains of Japan. No matter how many worlds and timelines she had traversed, Musashi always found herself visiting her ancestral homnd whenever her thoughts were in turmoil. This was also the location they had designated for establishing contact if they believed the enemy had tracked them, so, understanding Caenis was close to her breaking point, Musashi brought her to a ce where they could both rest. As Divine Spirits, Musashi and Caenis didnt have to worry about food and water, but, as they were both humanoid Divine Spirits, they had never outgrown the habits. Musashi, in particr, was quite fond of Sake, but, having been born during the so-called Japanese Renaissance period, she also had a weakness for hard liquor imported from overseas. It was one of the methods she used to calm her mind outside of battle, as, despite achieving the coveted state of Nothingness, the vices she defined her life as a human were like an anchor for her Spirit... After unsealing a small barrier that prevented the Shrines offering box from being opened, Musashi pulled out arge gourd, a ceramic jar, and several shot sses. She then tossed one of the sses to the moody Caenis, adopting a smile as she said, "We probably have a few hours to kill before any of our allies show up. Come, have a drink with me and stop pouting. Its not like there wont be even more opportunities to fight. You need to learn to rx properly if you want to be truly strong." Though she had caught the ss thrown her way, Caenis immediately tossed it back, her expression still dour as she stated, "You know I hate that rice wine of yours. I prefer port wine and honey mead, not that bitter water you call alcohol..." Since it wasnt like she could force Caenis to drink with her, at least without beating her in a duel, Musashi just shook her head before taking a seat on the cold stone steps and enjoying a drink. The ceramic container she used was actually an item she had picked up in her travels after defeating a hermetic priest worshipping Inari Okami, one of the various Gods of Sake. It was a special ceramic jar that could produce a functionally limitless supply of high-quality sake, albeit at a rate of 12oz every five hours. If left within a Shrine dedicated to Inari, the sake within would ferment once the container was filled, bing richer and more vorful with each passing day. Thus, whenever she was busy with other things, Musashi would leave the ceramic container and her personal wine gourd stowed away inside the Shrine, visiting periodically to transfer the contents intorger ceramic wine jars that now filled the entirety of the Shrines interior. After emptying half the contents of the ceramic container without bothering to dilute the vorful alcohol within, Musashi released a hot sigh as her face almost immediately became red. Despite her love of sake, there was a reason her legend mentioned various drunken escapades and brawls. She had always been rather weak to all forms of alcohol, and, while she could even drink some Dwarves under the table, it only took a few mouthfuls of the potent liquor to get her drunk. Knowing how clingy and easily agitated Musashi got while drunk, Caenis had already disappeared into the surrounding mountains. There was little she could do against Musashi, even while thetter was drunk, so, after learning a harsh lesson several times in the past, Caenis set aside her pride and decided on a swift retreat the moment the disc-shaped ss reached herpanions lips. Though she had sensed Caenis disappear, tempting her to give chase, Musashi felt it was too much trouble pursuing the horse-like woman. Caenis foot speed easily eclipsed her own, so, while it was possible for her to cut off the formers retreat, Musashi felt it would spoil the taste of her alcohol if she went out of her way to exert herself. Sake was best enjoyed in goodpany or while behaving aszy as possible, so, rather than give chase, shey back against the cool stone, enjoying the fresh breeze and the gentle rays of the sun while nursing her faithful gourd... --- Several hours after Musashi had started her private drinking session, she ended up sprawled out in a slovenly mess atop the Shrines steps. Despite this, she still possessed an ethereal beauty, something that far exceeded the limitations faced by most mortal women. This was one of the perks of being a Divine Spirit, but, in spite of this, the man looking down on her partially exposed figure had a look of frustration and resignation on his face as he lightly nudged her with his foot, muttering, "Its time to wake up, Musashi...hey...hey, can you hear me...?" Seeing Musashi ignoring his attempts to wake her,ughing drunkenly in response, the man couldnt help releasing a tired sigh before wondering whether or not he should seek out Caenis assistance or call for additional support. Musashi was notoriously difficult to deal with while she was drunk, but, as someone who vehemently hated most men, Caenis wasnt exactly easy to deal with either. Deciding he would rather avoid another beating from the drunken Musashi, the man pulled out his Communicator, walking well away from the slumberingndmine to say, "Send someone else down. I cant deal with Caenis and Musashi while thetter is drunk." Following his transmission, the man looked around the area, trying to sense the location of Caenis before ultimately deciding to ignore her as he pulled an ornate sniper rifle, a bolt-action rifle that had risen to poprity in the 1980s due to its impressive uracy and portability. This one, however, had a sleek ck luster that seemed glossy at first, but, when observed closely, it actually absorbed the light around it instead of reflecting it. It was also possible to make out thousands of small runes that had been painstakingly engraved along its surface, indicative of more than a hundred different enchantments. Since it would take a bit of time for Headquarters to send support, the man decided to perform a bit of routine maintenance on his trusted firearm. While this wasnt exactly necessary, due to the fact he was a Heroic Spirit, it was a habit he had formed in his past life. This was simr to Nobunagas need to conduct maintenance on her weapons and, while not exactly the same, it had a few parallels with Musashis incessant need to drink herself into oblivion... By the time he had finished brushing down the firing pin and cleaning the chamber of his rifle, two additional figures had appeared within the mans perception. The first was the woman who had been assigned as his partner, much like how Caenis and Musashi had been paired together. She was the same Saber that had been assigned to assist during the previous mission while, at her side, Alice, the resident mascot of their operation, led the way by pulling the formers hand. Seeing the white-haired man in the distance, Alices face brightened into a lovely smile as she broke out into a fumbling run before diving toward him and shouting, "Brother Shirou~" in a happy tone. Though he caught Alice out of the air, Shirou had a wry smile on his face as he set her back on the ground and whispered, "Alice...I told you not to call me by name when were outside Headquarters. It is also too dangerous for you out here...who let youe outside?" Hearing her beloved big brothers words, Alice puffed out her cheeks adorably before ignoring his question and asking, "Are you not happy to see me...?" in an aggrieved tone. In response to Alices pouting, Shirou released a small sigh before adopting his mostforting smile, gently caressing her head as he replied, "Im always happy to see you, Alice. Its just...well, all big brothers cant help but worry about their little sisters. Since youre so adorable, I worry that any random stranger might try to pick you up and kidnap you...hahaha..." Finding her big brothers response to her liking, Alices smile returned even more radiant than before as she threw her arms around his neck and chimed, "Big brother is the best~!" before nting a kiss on his cheek. With a wry smile on his face, Shirou lightly pinched Alices cheek in response before rising to his feet and greeting his usual partner, his expression immediately bing a mask of professionalism as he said, "Berserker...are you the one who decided to bring out Alice?" Without any change in her expression, the woman with features simr to Artoria, the only exception being the color of their hair and eyes, stared nkly back at Shirou before answering, "Assassin...she offered me her cake...Besides, I dont like it when she pouts...it is troublesome...you should y with her more often..." As if having sessfully read a script, Berserker sent a thumbs-up toward Alice, earning a simr expression from the small girl who now clung to Shirous side. At the same time, Shirou released a tired sigh, something he found himself doing with increasing frequency ever sinceing to this world. Before things became more hectic, Shirou grabbed Alices hand, intending her to have her wake up Musashi while leaving Caenis to Berserker. The two had a bit of a rivalry between them, but, due to Caenis hatred of men, it was easier to let one of his femalepanions deal with her. Most of their group was actually female, the only exceptions being himself, Archimedes, Lovecraft, and another, so it wasnt difficult to have someone else rein her in. With Alice in tow, Shirou made his way over to where Musashi, now with her kimono slightly open, continued napping away with a silly smile on her ruddy face. Seeing this, Alice entered panic mode, pushing away her big brother as she shouted, "Brother Shirou, you cant look! Bad...!" Then, after making sure he was facing away, she went over to the sleeping Musashi, shaking her shoulders rather vigorously in order to wake her. After experiencing a nightmare where she was trapped on the open seas during a storm, Musashi woke to find the familiar face of Alice ring back at her. Though she was still considerably drunk, the angry face of the adorable little girl had a sobering quality to it, forcing Musashi to quickly fix her clothes as she sheepishly asked, "What are you doing here, Alice? Shouldnt you be back at home...?" Before she could finish her line of questioning, Musashi saw Shirou standing off to the side with his back turned, realization dawning on her at the same time as her expression reddened. She wasnt the type that cared if her body was seen by others, but, as Shirou had already resisted her teasing quite, she had developed a certain awareness of him that was hard to put into words. It wasnt anything remotely resembling love, but, as a man with a respectable character, it made Musashi feel slightly ashamed to behave in her usual slovenly manner around him... Seeing Musashis expression redden, Alices face immediately formed into a pout as she moved in a way to block the formers view, her posture simr to a mother scolding their child as she said, "You shouldnt be sleeping outside! If youre sleepy, you should return home and use your bed properly!" Musashi was at a bit of a loss as to how she should respond, but, fortunately, Shirou came to her aid, saying, "Dont me her too much, Alice. Musashi has been on the run for thest few days in order to avoid leading the enemy to our home. She was probably very tired so dont be too hard on her..." Grasping the lifeline that had been thrown to her, Musashi nodded her head, immediately adding, "Assassin is right. Caenis and I have been on the run without resting for two whole days so I couldnt help taking a nap while waiting. Please forgive me, Alice, I promise I wont sleep outside anymore..." Though her frustration had little to do with the fact Musashi was sleeping outdoors, Alice ultimately decided to forgive her after hearing her big brothers words. Thus, while not as vibrant as the smile she reserved for her big brother and favorite uncle, Alice adopted a kind smile before lightly patting Musashis head and saying, "You worked hard. Lets go home so you can get some proper rest." Musashi felt a slight urge to tear up in response to Alices perceived gentleness, but, as she wasnt absolutely certain it was safe to head back, she shook her head and said, "Id like to return but there are a couple of things I need to take care of before then. I know you dont like being away from your big brother, but, can you give the two of us a few minutes to talk? There is something very important I need to discuss with Assassin before we can all head back together..." Hearing Musashis words, Alice had aplicated expression on her face, but, with Shirou following up by saying, "Alice, be a good girl...please...", she begrudgingly decided to give them some privacy. She knew they needed to talk about the previous mission, and, while it made her a little upset to be excluded, Alice knew everyone just wanted to keep her safe. After Alice was out of earshot, Shirous expression immediately became serious as he asked, "Have you beenpromised? Tell me what happened after you were captured. Did they...do anything to you...?" Though she knew he wasnt alluding to anything sexual, Musashis already red face became slightly more ruddy as she issued a few coughs to cover up her embarrassment. Shirous face also became a little red once he realized the hidden meaning in his words, but, unlike Musashi, it only took him a few seconds to recover. When she did, Musashi also adopted a more serious expression, her drunken state quickly fading away as she began to recount the details of her battle against Vahn, the method used to contain her, and the rather one-sided negotiations that had led to her release... (A/N: Alternate Titles: [Endless Bottle of Sake:B],The advent of Assassin Shirou and Berserker!?,You better stay away from Musashi-chan you white-haired Octopus...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1425 - Foreboding

Chapter 1425 - Foreboding

Though she would normally embellish her tales quite a bit, Musashi knew it was neither the time nor the ce to mess around. Thus, in order to avoid upsetting Alice, she gave a rtively brief summary of events before ending things by saying, "We underestimated the Emperor too much. Though I hate to admit it, Im certain he held back during our fight. Though he doesnt seem to be the strongest in the Empire, he gives off the impression of someone without any limits. In our fight alone, I could tell he became much stronger...even the air around him had undergone a qualitative change..." Hearing Musashis recounting, and subsequent opinion, Shirou couldnt help but release a tired sigh as he ran his hand through his pale-white hair and muttered, "I wonder what excuse Archimedes will give this time around...we never should have followed that mans ns. The moment we stop caring about the methods used, we lose the right to call ourselves Heroes...what a drag..." While he had ultimately been convinced callous and logical leader of their resistance, Shirou, and many others within the group, hadnt beenfortable with the methods he had proposed. In fact, the original n involved more than half of them working in coordination with each other, but, as it became readily apparent this wouldnt work, Shirou had volunteered to get his hands dirty in lieu of hispanions. Not only did he have the means to infiltrate undetected, but, in the grand scheme of things, he was more of an Anti-Hero than the True Hero he had strived to be in life, thus making him the most suitable for the responsibility of bearing their groups sins... Seeing the dull look in Shirous eyes, Musashi released a sigh of her own before crossing her arms and adding, "After this mission, Im not even certain if what were doing is the right thing any longer. While I dont believe his words outright, I get the feeling the Emperors words werent meant to be misleading. Based on how he has acted thus far, it is safe to say he is the type that faces challenges head-on...Im not suggesting we just expose ourselves to him, but, if we continue to do things using Archimedes methods...I dont think our group willst very long..." Though he had yet to meet with Vahn directly, Shirou trusted Musashis judgment, so, while he had some personal grievances against the man, he nodded in understanding before stating, "A lot of us havent been seeing eye-to-eye with Archimedes for some time. If not for his Authority, I imagine he would have already been killed off by a number of our would-be allies...unfortunately, we still need him...without his power, this fight would be impossible to win." Musashi didntpletely agree with Shirou, but, as she wasnt actually a Heroic Spirit, she didnt have the same programming as the fourteen who had been summoned by Archimedes. She, like Caenis and a few others, had shifted backward in time alongside Archimedes while Shirou, and the rest of the actual Heroic Spirits, had only been summoned after reaching the current point in the Time Axis. Thus, she had a bit more freedom when it came to her way of thinking, but, unfortunately, the contract she had made prevented her from doing much about it. In response to Shirous words, Musashi just shrugged her shoulders before looking into the distance where Berserker and Caenis had appeared. Her Empyrean Eyes reflected a peculiar glow even as the day gradually gave way to the veil of night, bringing with it an umon chill that normally came onlyter in the year. This was an ominous sign, and, despite feeling as though Vahn was no longer observing her, Musashi found this disinterest even more terrifying. It was almost as if he didnt care what they did, almost as if he had seen through everything with his zing golden eyes... With the arrival of Berserker and Caenis, thetter of which had a dour expression on her face when she saw Shirou, it was nearing time for their departure. Alice had already returned to the group after ringing the Shrines bell, so, while waiting for the mass transportation spell to activate, Musashi gave the entire group a look before locking eyes with Shirou and saying, "I have a bad feeling...almost like something terrible is going to happen..." As Musashis intuition was rarely, if ever, wrong, Shirou adopted a serious expression in response to her words, asking, "Do you think it has anything to do with the Empire tracking the two of you? Even if they have the means to fool our senses and scanners, the quarantine measures back at HQ should prevent all forms of tracing. Once we return, we should be able toy low for a while beforeing up with a method to deal a blow to the Empire..." Hearing Shirous words, Musashi immediately shook her head, her own expression bing more serious as she said, "We shouldnt keep targetting the Empire. Even if he is our enemy, I dont think the Emperors words should be taken lightly. Our future ns should target him directly...this is what my intuition is telling me. The fact they arent even trying to track us makes it seem as though Vahn already knows the location of our base...its like he is testing us..." Musashi generally wasnt afraid of anything, but, as they were preparing for their return, she began to feel something akin to existential dread. It wasnt fear for her own life, but, after bing rather close to many of her currentrades, she didnt want to see them ughtered by the unforgiving Emperor. His warnings echoed in her mind, and, though there were no guarantees he would have actually spared any of them in the long run, Musashi felt certain that he would ughter them all if she didnt take his words seriously... Sensing the tension radiating from Musashi, everyone around her began to feel ufortable. Alice even hid behind Shirous back, clinging tightly to his hoodie as she whimpered, "Im scared...big sis is scaring me..." Since Musashi generally gave off a confident and easy-going vibe, even Shirou began to feel a little nervous, but, knowing it only took a bit of courage to keep hope alive, he forced a calming smile as he picked up Alice, hugging her close as he looked around at his allies and said, "No matter what the future may bring, we will face it together. The Emperor may be a terrifying opponent, but, so long as we stand united, there will always be hope. Come, let us return and discuss this with everyone else. If we put our heads together, well be able toe up with a solution...Im certain of it." If Vahn had been present, he would have noticed the flow of fate around Shirou shift, wrapping up everyone else in its slow yet steady current. As a result, even Musashi began to feel more confident, the smile returning to her face as she answered, "Thats right, isnt it? This has always been a war that put our lives on the line so it is senseless to start worrying about it now. I still feel its best to face the Emperor directly, but, as long as I have reliable allies on my side, I guess it doesnt make much of a difference." Musashis words werent exactly inspiring, but, immediately following her musing, Caenis adopted an eager expression on her face as she loudly eximed, "Yourecking the spirit of a warrior, Musashi! if the Empirees knocking at the gates, my spear will be the first thing to greet them! If I dont at least give that bastard a good kick, I wont be able to die with dignity...!" Even if it wasnt Caenis intention to be funny, Musashi nearly burst intoughter when she heard the formersst few words. She just now remembered witnessing Caenis get kicked by Vahn during their previous encounter, and, while this wasnt exactly funny, the fact Caenis never seemed to learn from her failures was strangely endearing. She was the type that could get beaten a dozen times, yet, even if her opponent was several times more skilled and powerful, she would unhesitantly throw herself at them, time and time again... Seeing Musashi covering her mouth, Caenis expression turned dour, but, due to the presence of Alice, she decided to restrain her urge tosh out. Alice was the glue that unified many within their group, so, while she had never been especially fond of children, Caenis didnt want to upset her. The doll-like girl could be especially troublesome when she was upset, and, despite a strong desire for battle, Caenis also wanted to just rx once they returned home. This would be difficult if Alice was upset with her, so, for the time being, she bottled up her frustration, deciding to expend it the next time she encountered the cowardly Emperor... After waiting for several minutes, a massive magic circle, this one possessing a uniquely mechanicalposition, appeared beneath the group. A few momentster, everyone within the confines of the magic circle began to glow with a pale-blue light as a mechanical voice echoed, "Scanplete. No anomalous readings detected." Before the spell couldplete, Shirou interrupted the process, stating, "Transfer us to the near-side Quarantine Bay. Have a team on standby for aprehensive analysis of personnel and make sure to sever any connections between HQ and Gaia for the next couple of hours. Also, inform the Chief Administrator that there is a reasonably high chance the position of HQ has already been exposed..." In response to Shirous words, theposition of the magic circle began to shift slightly, its gear-likeponents moving like the cog within a clock to change to facilitate their new destination. At the same time, the mechanical voice from before answered, "Acknowledged. Activating Quarantine procedures and informing pertinent personnel..." Once the voices words began to trail, the light around everyones bodies began to rapidly increase in intensity before, in an instant, they all vanished like copsing stars. It was a rather strange sight to behold from the outside, as, for the brief moment before the transfer waspleted, it was like they had imploded inward on themselves, being sucked into a singrity of bluish-white light that rippled outward once they vanished... For those experiencing the transfer, there was a feeling of mild nausea, but, after a few seconds had passed, these symptoms faded in their entirety. This left the group standing idle in a futuristic room that was covered in smooth metallic walls adorned with bands of light that periodically flickered on their surface. There was no furniture at all within the space they had been isted, but, after a few minutes had passed, mechanical automatons began to carry in anything they would need to rx as the Quarantine procedures were carried out. Shirou left Alice in the care of Berserker, earning a mildly annoyed expression from thetter and an aggrieved pout from the former. As he had to discuss things with Archimedes, however, Shirou spent a bit of time coaxing Alice before entering one of the adjoining rooms alongside Musashi. She would need to give another first-hand ount of everything that had happened, and, while the likelihood of Archimedes following their suggestions was slim, at best, it wasntpletely hopeless. He was a man of logic and reasoning, so, as long as you made a convincing argument, backed up by facts, he would take your opinion into consideration when he adapted his future ns... What awaited Shirou and Musashi after they entered the isted room was a barren chamber with a false-mirror on one side, much like an interrogation room. The mechanism that allowed both sides to see each other had already been activated, and, despite the fact he had been in the middle of an important project, Archimedes wasted no time in heading over after hearing the message issued by the SE.RA.PH system. Before so much as a greeting could be exchanged between them, Archimedes leaned into the thin microphone situated on the control panel hidden beneath the mirror, asking, "How certain are you that we have been exposed? I want to know everything that happened in the sixty-three hours that have passed since the failure of the previous mission...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dirtying ones hands...,Womens intuition...,The advent of the protagonist aura...!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1426 - Small Ripples Build Into Mighty Waves

Chapter 1426 - Small Ripples Build Into Mighty Waves

Though it didnt strictly follow his training with his Shishou, Vahn was doing his best to help each of the children slowly break through their limits. As a result, part of his evening schedule, the part that had been dedicated topleting Scthachs challenges, had now been dedicated to spending time with, and training, Mordred, Sakura, Zo?, Astrid, Gareth, Scthach, and, due to the circumstances of the former, Ciel. Now that he was in charge of training, Vahns sessions often brought a lot of curious observers and a few temporary students, but, as he took his duties very seriously, most only lingered for a short while before wandering off to deal with other matters. They didnt want to get in the way of childrens time with Vahn, and, though Ciel, Gareth, and even Scthach didnt qualify as children, their circumstances made them exceptions. Currently, Vahn was watching attentively as each of his students, their power restricted by a series of magical or physical seals, pulled statues depicting themselves in triumphant poses. These were much lighter than the variant he had used during his training, but, taking their age and current physical development into ount, it would be unrealistic to expect them to pull upwards of 2,000,000kg as children. Ultimately, it was the Parameters of each person that decided how much weight they were intended to pull, as, while it varied based on factors like Race, Skill, and Innates, each Parameter provided a quantifiable increase in attribute they modified. Thus, if two humans had 20D Strength, they would be able to lift and move the exact same amount of weight if all other factors were equal. If there was any difference at all, this could be attributed to their Skills, Innates, or pure, undiluted, Willpower... With her Strength being the highest, at 39B+, Mordreds statue, showing her posing with her sword nted in the ground and a confident smile on her face, was nearly twice as heavy as everyone else in her group. Despite this, she had a resolute grin as her muscles strained enough to be outlined in her form-fitting attire, showing off both her desire to be stronger and her athletic figure. She had pulled out several meters ahead of the rest of the pack, and, with the passage of time, each of the seals designed to weaken her became less effective. The penultimate point of this kind of training wasnt to help the children increase their Strength, but, ultimately, it taught them that limitations, both mental and physical, could be ovee. Mordreds experience with the [Ouroborous Seal] gave her a fair amount of resistance to magical restraints, so, as could be expected, she was able to distinguish herself from her peers. Her only realpetition was Scthach and Gareth, but, for a variety of reasons, it wasnt actually fair topare them. Scthach actually needed to be sealed by an Artifact on the level of [Enkidu] just to be restrained like the rest, and, while her Parameters hadnt increased much since her summoning, Gareth had an edge against everyone else since she had been apprenticed to him for a longer period of time. Her mind had basically been reprogrammed to ignore the existence of limits entirely, so, at times, she could even outshine Mordred when it wasnt a direct contest of strength. Fortunately, while the former Heroic Spirits certainly set themselves apart from the crowd, it wasnt as if the other children were falling far behind. Sakura and Mash, in particr, had been breaking through their limits with each passing day, setting an example for the other children to follow. This was important, as, while it was inarguably better to break through your limits without having others topare yourself to, having rivals made the process infinitely more enjoyable... After pulling her statue the requisite 500m, Mordred wasted no time in abandoning her post, making a beeline directly toward Vahn. She still had several seals restricting her joint movement and magical energy, but, as if they meant nothing to her, she leaped through the air, covering nearly a hundred meters as she shouted, "Chichiue, Im finished~!" in a happy tone of voice. Vahn was already used to Mordreds antics, but, as it would set dangerous precedence if he just let her do whatever she pleased, he extended his hand, locking her into ce using his domain. Despite this, Mordred just snickered in her characteristic shishishi manner before creating a foothold in the air and attempting to cover the remaining distance. This had be something of a game, not just between him and Mordred, but all of the children. If they were able to reach him directly, he would provide an ample reward, and, so long as it was tame, he would even acquiesce to a single request. Despite the promise of greater rewards, none of the children, including Mordred and Scthach, had been able to approach without his permission. Though they would be able to reach him pretty easily if their restraints were removed, Vahn had be increasingly proficient in controlling both Space and Time after his awakening. He had even made a startling amount of progress toward achieving a Divinity in both, reaching 93% in Space and 87% in Time after three weeks in the Projection, and, in preparation for what was toe, a few months within Azathoths dimension. The only thing Vahn was mildly annoyed with was that his progress in Creation fluctuated between 98 and 99%, despite the fact he had even attempted to replicate the creation process of Jade, the tiny white lotus he had developed back in the Record of Danmachi. He could recall the process with absolute rity, yet, in spite of spending a considerable amount of time attempting to create a new form of life, it didnt give the same feeling as when he produced Jade... Though Vahns mind had wandered slightly, Mordred was unable to prate within a meter of his body. It was almost like an invisible wall blocked her passage as, after getting this far, she could even press against empty Space, simr to someone pressing their face and body against a window. This continued for several minutes straight before she ultimately gave up, allowing the invisible force to repel her backward a few meters, a smile on her face as she mused, "Ill be able to reach you one of these days, just you wait...!" Hearing his tomboyish daughters remark, Vahn lightly chuckled before reversing the direction of energy within his domain, pulling her closer to him. He then nted his hand on her head, ruffling her golden hair as he retorted, "I have no doubt about that at all, Mordred. For now, however, Ill be forging the path ahead...hahaha-oof...!" Though he had seen iting, Vahn still ended up getting the wind forced out of his lungs when Mordred suddenly gave him a tight bear hug, whispering, "Just dont go somewhere I cant reach..." in an uncharacteristically solemn tone. In response to this, he just silently hugged her head to his chest, stroking her hair in a calming gesture. He knew she was worried about the recent changes in his behavior, much like every resident within Avalon, but, as he had already decided not to run away anymore, Vahn wouldnt be abandoning her, or anyone else, ever again. Unfortunately, as his n couldnt be exposed to Akasha and her superiors, he was unable to convey things in a way that put the girls at ease. From their perspective, his rapid increase in power and the subtle shift in his behavior were red gs, but, when it came down to it, he hadnt really changed all that much. Though he could now see the Flow of Fate and had a much better understanding of his influence on the world around him, it didnt change the person he was, He was just behaving in a more responsible manner now, a stark contrast to the whimsy and worry he was known for in the past... To ease Mordreds concerns, Vahn allowed her to sit in hisp, leaning against her back as they watched everyone else finish up their training. She was the type that enjoyed physical contact and the feeling of security it brought, so, if he could serve as a shelter for her heart and spirit, Vahn didnt mind ying the part he had been given. Mordred was working hard to reach godhood through her own efforts so she deserved a reward every now and then. Though this didntst too long, as it only took a few minutes for Scthach and Gareth to finish their sets, it was enough to keep her motivated for more strenuous training. With Mordred vacating hisp, Vahn rose to his feet and, while it always filled him with a sense of incongruity, he dutifully pat both Gareths and Scthachs heads after the two young women tried, and failed, to prate the solidified Space around him. Then, after removing the golden bindings that had been retraining Scthachs power, Vahn watched as she and Mordred began their usual sparring session while Gareth happily sat at his side. Though a considerable amount of time had passed, at least from his perspective, Vahn still felt it would take a long time before he was used to the new Scthach. The way she eagerly tried to fit in with the others,bined with the fact she was often smiling, were things he should be grateful for. Despite this, he was always filled with a sense of mncholy, and, understanding this was derived from his selfishness, an even stronger feeling of guilt. Since there was little he could do to affect Scthachs original decision, Vahn knew he should be doing everything in his power to make her current self happy. She worked really hard to listen to hismands, and, despite everyone behaving awkwardly around her, she did her best not to let it get to her. Though she would asionally spend some time with Spenta, further strengthening the guilt in his heart, the current Scthach was doing her best to live her life to the fullest. Vahn kept telling himself to move on, but, no matter how often he repeated the words, the feelings he had bottled up would sneak up on him every time he remembered his failure to save his Shishou. Even if she didnt me him, he couldnt help but feel there was more he could have done. He also remembered the overwhelming aura of sadness present around her Memory Fragment and the fact he had readily turned his back on her. In hindsight, this had been a rather heartless thing to do, and, if he had the opportunity, Vahn would have liked to apologize to her... While these thoughts gued his mind, Vahn watched the sparring session between Mordred and Scthach with a casual smile on his face. It was obvious from the smiles on their faces that they both enjoyed the thrill of battle, and, though Mordred would grimace every time she was sent tumbling backward, she never gave up, bounding back with progressively greater force. As for Scthach, she had a look of excitement on her face, but, every now and then, she would look over, locking eyes with him a look that sought praise and approval. Even if he wasnt quite at the point where he truly meant it, Vahn would always smile and nod a little whenever their gazes crossed. This caused Scthachs expression and aura to both brighten, but, with Mordred perfectly aware of what was going on, stirring her jealously slightly, the two would soon be locked in an intense battle, each trying to show off. Vahn didnt entirely approve of this, but, so long as they showed proper sportsmanship after the fact, he didnt mind if they got a little out of hand in their efforts to earn his praise. Both girls had unreasonably high expectations for him, in their own unique ways, so this was just another one of his responsibilities... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Breaking through the limit,Mental Bottleneck,The futurees, whether or not you are ready to ept it) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1427 - The Pursuit of Power

Chapter 1427 - The Pursuit of Power

Though helping the children be stronger was important, Vahn invested an equal amount of time towards increasing his own strength. A time woulde when he allowed the under his charge to move and act freely, but, until such peaceful times were upon them, he needed to take it upon himself to act as the vanguard against their enemies. This was one of his most important duties, and, while there were various operations going on without any involvement on his part, that didnt mean he could afford to becent. With less than four hours left before the deadline he had decided for the Heroes, Vahn was doing his best to push his power andprehension to greater heights. Fortunately, there were still a number of people within the Empire who, to an extent, were stronger than him. Though he would be able to defeat most of them, assuming he went all out, their base strength and capabilities far exceeded his own, often to a ridiculous extent. Vahns greatest strength, other than the fact he was the living manifestation of The Path, was that he rapidly improved in the middle ofbat, and, to some extent, he had virtually limitless options for both attack and defense. Most entities, including Tier 5s, specialized in very specific abilities, so, with a concerted effort, it was possible to control, seal, or even kill them. Even Gaia, the itself, had been defeated by her own creations, entities that were, in some regards, infinitely weaker than her. The Tier System was not an absolute representation of power, but, depending on the circumstances, it was more of a metric that denoted a persons potential. While there would certain times within a Records history where a Tier 5 could be without equal, they werent guaranteed to be the strongest from the start. The various Protagonists within a Record were the perfect example of this, as, despite being rtively weak at the beginning of their respective plots, they could even rise above the Gods if their Fate allowed. Vahn intended to learn more about Fate in the future, as he seemed to have a certain affinity for it, but, for the time being, his personal power took precedence. To this end, he found his gaze locked with a pair of wine-red eyes with uncharacteristically white pupils. This was none other than Altera, but, instead of wielding her devastatingly powerful [Photon Ray], the tri-colored sword of light that freely controlled the elements of water, fire, and wind, she was wielding a scarlet-red ymore that was covered in various runes. Though Alteras [Photon Ray] wasnt enough to take him out ofmission, it caused indiscriminate damage to her surroundings, and, at times like this, her allies. Thus, for the purpose of their training, Altera was given a recement armament, while, circling behind him, Okita wielded her [Purgatory] as the two worked together to subdue him. With the loss of his Shishou, Vahn had few suitable training partners, so, in an attempt to shatter his limits, while simultaneously teaching Altera to control his power, he ended up facing against the two pale-haired, dark-skinned, borderline emotionless women. They were the only ones who could easily emte the ruthlessness of real enemies, and, while he couldnt go all-out against them, Vahn felt as if hisbat prowess greatly increased during their exchanges... Without any discernible hesitation in her eyes, Altera waved around the massive ymore in her hand as if it was lighter than a feather. Though there was no actual wind present within the field they were fighting in, her hair gracefully flowed in a way that never obstructed her movements. This gave her an ethereal quality, but, if you let yourself be distracted by her veil-like hair, it wouldnt even take seconds before you found yourself on the receiving end of her de... The moment Vahn believed Altera was about to charge him, he felt a small ripple within the void, not in the present, but within the various currents flowing around him. As a result, he was able to use his [Laevateinn] to deflect Okitas nking blow. Then, before he could even motion for a counter, Altera had already reached him, her de aiming for the center of his chest. With his arm spontaneously erupting in a shower of golden light and scales, Vahn managed to grasp the de with his bare hand. At the same time, he kicked out with his left foot, sinking it into Alteras lithe frame and causing her to bow backward before beingunched like a cannonball into the thick stone pirs decorating the training field. Then, before Okita could bisect him with her sword, Vahns body flickered for a brief moment, a golden pir of light shooting out from his back as arge wing bat Okita away before instantaneously disappearing. Though he still had a long way to go, Vahn had been working on seamlessly transitioning between his base and Hunglng state. He had lost the ability to use his other forms ever since gaining this penultimate transformation, so, while it was taxing on his reserves, he was doing everything in his power to try and master it. Fortunately, it had the versatility of his other four formsbined, so, while it would take some time, Vahn knew it wouldnt be long before people began referring to him as the Golden Dragon Emperor in the future... From within the rubble created by their respective crashes, both Altera and Okita appeared without any visible injuries on their bodies. Though Okita wasnt particrly tough, possessing only C-Rank Endurance, her affinity with Light and her connection to the Counter Force allowed her to mitigate and recover from most damage in a short period of time. As for Altera...she was a bit of a monster, in more ways than one, so, unless her body waspletely annihted, an impossible feat due to the indestructibility of her core, she would quickly revert to her natural state. It was their ability to recover,bined with their S-Tier capabilities, that gave Vahn the confidence to train with Altera and Okita. The only others who could reasonably trade blows with him were Illya, Arcueid, and Artoria, but, for various reasons, Vahn tried to avoid seriously battling against them. He made an exception for Artoria, as she would oftene to him for her own training, but, no matter how much he forced himself, striking Arcueid and Illya just made him feel ufortable... Despite his apparent distraction, Vahn was able to flicker away from a massive wave of destructive energy, provided courtesy of Altera, without any discernible difficulty. Then, with two [L?vateinn]s in hand, he received the blows of both women as they appeared like phantoms at his nks. His feet sunk into the ground, causingrge spiderweb cracks to radiate outward, but, without showing any difort on his face, Vahn parried the two blows before stowing away his battle-hungry swords. One of Vahns major advantages against the two girls was that, in spite of their skill with the sword, they only had B-Rank Strength. His own had broken through quantifiable limits during his training, so, with EX-Rank Strength at his disposal, Vahn was able to deflect their blows in spite of the ocean of magical energy they forced into their des. Though his body was still burdened by the chaotic energy swirling that attempted to tear him asunder, courtesy of Altera, this was nothingpared to the destructive capabilities of his own attacks, something his body could shoulder without much difficulty. With his palms facing outward, Vahn sent a wave of energy crashing into the two girls, this time with enough force to send them flying several hundred meters in an instant. Then, before they could get too worked up, he shook his hands a few times to rid them of the numbness still present within as he said, "Thats enough for today. Thank you both for your assistance..." Almost immediately after Vahns words fell, Altera and Okita appeared at his side, thetter looking a bit worse for wear, but, after a few seconds, only her clothes showed any signs of the damage she had rued during their battle. Fortunately, Da Vinci had made considerable breakthroughs in her [REquip] system, so,bined with the fact his Memory Fragment further enchanted each of their outfits, it wouldnt take long for even Okitas appearance to return to normal. This was important for women like Okita, as, due to her nature, she had a tendency to care very little about the state of her clothes, especially in a battle. Though he wasrgely immune to such things, Vahn still had to suppress a sigh when he saw Okitas left breast exposed, her expression showingplete disregard for things like shame and propriety. Several people had tried to teach her these things in the past, but, despite their efforts, Okita would generally follow their exnations by simply asking why it mattered. She didnt care if she was seen naked, and, since she was only ever exposed around people she had seen naked countless times, she didnt understand their difort. In ast-ditch attempt to address Okitasck of sensibilities, the girls ended up asking her rhetorical questions about how she would feel if men other than Vahn saw her nude figure. This hadnt ended well, however, as Okita took their words a little too seriously, to the point of even drawing her sword when Ghad greeted her in passing. If not for the fact she had been with Jeanne and Gareth at the time, things likely wouldnt have gone well for the unsuspecting Knight, despite the fact he hadnt actually done anything wrong... Since it would take a few minutes for Okitas clothes to repair themselves, Vahn ultimately decided not to mind the matter. Instead, he extended his hands and began to stroke the heads of both girls, asking, "How is it, fighting without activating your Noble Phantasms? Do you feel as though youre making any progress...?" As neither girl seemed to understand the concept of being roundabout or dishonest, both readily exined their feelings about the training, starting with Okita stating, "It makes me ufortable, pointing my de at you. I try to ignore my apprehensions, but, at the moment when Im going to strike, I feel hesitant..." Despite the fact she didnt show any discernible hesitation during their sparring session, Vahn wasnt surprised by Okitas words. She was fiercely loyal, to the point of being directlyparable to girls like Fenrir, Jeanne, and Gray. From the moment he had summoned her, she had assigned him as the central aspect of her own existence, so, despite agreeing to be his training partner, Okita would always have some apprehension about actually harming him. Having slowlye to ept the way Okita viewed him, Vahn could understand her difficulties, so, in order to ay her concerns, he transitioned his hand from the top of her head to her cheek, gently caressing her soft brown skin as he said, "Youre one of the few I can rely on for this, Okita. I know it is difficult for you, but, in much the same way, I find it difficult to strike you. The thing that allows me to do so is the knowledge that, through our efforts, we will both be much stronger..." Though she stillcked the ability to properly express herself, Okita leaned into his palm, her eyes closed with to reflect that she enjoyed his caress. Then, in response to his words, she muttered, "I will continue doing my best..." before opening her silvery eyes and staring up at him silently. This caused Vahns heart to palpitate a few times, not solely due to Okitas beauty but the knowledge that, with a few words, the woman before him would do anything for him. Fortunately, Altera was in attendance, so, before Vahn could get swept away by the peculiar current, her monotone voice brought him to his senses as she inly stated, "I do not like this sword. It feels like it will break every time I swing it around. Next time, I want to use one of Masters swords..." Following her statement, Altera swung the scarlet-red ymore with a bit of force, hitting against the void as if it was a solid object. As a result, the de fractured into tiny pieces, leaving only the handle and guard for her to hold up as if to say, You see?, with an usatory glimmer in her eyes. Vahn knew Altera had sneakily mixed her Destruction Laws into the de as she smashed it into the void, but, as it was only during moments like this when she expressed herself. Thus, with his hand still resting on her head, Vahn lightly chuckled before saying, "Youll have to ask for their permission first. If they allow you to wield them, I dont have any problem lending one of my [L?vateinn]s to you. Before that, however, you have to prove to me that you are capable of holding back properly. I know you may not see the point, but, Id like for you to be able to spar against someone other than Artoria and myself..." As this wasnt the first time she had heard her Master repeat such words, Altera just replied with a curt, "I see..." before falling silent once again. She truly didnt understand her Masters desire to have her get along with others, but, seeing how he cared for his other weapons, Altera acknowledged that his intentions were sincere. It wasnt just him, either, as, from the moment she was summoned, many had been trying to teach her what it means to use her power in non-destructive ways, despite the fact she was still used to annihte their enemies... With this thought running through her mind, Altera tilted her head to the side, surprising Vahn by asking, "Is there a point to a weapon that cannot destroy...? Will theree a time when my power is no longer necessary...?" Since Altera very rarely asked questions unless it was in response to an order she didnt understand, Vahn was momentarily taken aback. At the same time, however, he could feel the flow of fate around him increase in strength, almost like he would be swept up in the current. This made it seem like his next words would have a massive impact on the future, and, considering both the power and nature of the woman before him, this wasnt an exaggeration. Without sending his energy into her body for an extended period of time, Vahn was unable to see the path Altera would take, but, as he could still see his impact on the future, he had the option of following the currents and looking for a future where she seemed happiest. This ended up being a mistake, however, as, aftertching onto one particr stream, Vahn found himself staring up at a giant humanoid with bluish-white skin, impossiblyrge hands, and eyes that zed like the sun... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn has be OP...,Okita is a good girl,The future is full of surprises, and, in Vahns case...spoilers...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1428 - Purpose Revelations

Chapter 1428 - Purpose Revtions

Though he was separate from the massive giantess by both Space and Time, Vahn could still feel the overwhelming pressure radiating from her body. It was like being pressed down, not by a mountain, but an entire. She was even looking directly at him, but, considering he always saw the visions from his point of view, this wasnt too surprising. What did surprise him, however, was that the giant woman vaguely resembled Altera, alluding to the fact they were intrinsically rted to each other... Just as this thought crossed his mind, Vahn was broken from his reverie as Altera inquisitively asked, "Master...?". It was obvious she still expected an answer to her previous question, but, due to the size and presence of the peculiar giantess, Vahns thought processes had temporarily stalled. He knew he would be encountering the actual giantess in the near future, but, for the moment, he had the duty of helping guide Altera onto a less destructive path. Understanding she was referring to herself when she asked if there was a purpose to a weapon that couldnt destroy, Vahn smiled sagely as he exined, "The purpose of a weapon depends primarily on two factors...the person wielding it and the will of the weapon itself. Weapons may be used to cause destruction, but, in the hands of those who desire to protect, it can be used to preserve, and, even create, life. In the hands of a true master, a sword can be used to sever sickness, destroy curses, or even alter the flow of fate. Destruction can be achieved through various means, often without the use of an actual weapon, so, in a way, it is the least unique way in which a weapon can be used..." To emphasize his point, Vahn removed his hand from Alteras head, waving it through the air around them to cause a ripple within the void. As a result, one of therge pirs developed massive cracks and, a momentter, it began to copse under the strain of fragmented Space. Though it could be argued as weaponizing the Laws themselves, Altera would end up falling into his trap if she were to point it out. After all, while capable of immense destruction, the Laws existed to give structure and form to all things. It was up to the user to determine how they were used, but, no matter how great their mastery, the purpose of the Laws remained unchanged...and infinite. Though she didnt understand the meaning behind her Masters words, this was nothing new, so, after a brief moment of reflection, Altera asked, "What is my purpose...? My impulses tell me to destroy, but, everyone else tells me this is a bad thing. This makes me feel lost and confused...I dont understand why it is bad to destroy bad things? Tell me, Master, why do you get to destroy as you please? Why must I restrain my impulses when there are bad things happening and enemies waiting for a chance to destroy me? Wouldnt it be better to destroy civilization and be rid of everyone that can do us harm...?" Based on Alteras line of questioning, it was easy to see she had been putting a lot of thought into this, perhaps since the time of her summoning. Though he felt it was a little strange for her to ask him these questions just as he was about to head off to the Moon Cell, the flow of fate around her indicated it was instigated by something he had done. Unfortunately, he couldnt see into the past, nor could he know how other people influenced the world around them without direct intervention. Since Altera seemed to be basing her reasoning around his actions, Vahn spent a moment sorting his thoughts before answering, "There is no easy answer to your questions, Altera...objectively, the only thing that allows me to act with impunity is the power I wield. However, if I were to truly act without consideration for others, I would never be happy. I would find myself alone, as, even if I was able to make people fear and respect me, they would never open their hearts to me. Without these kinds of bonds, people begin to feel empty inside, and, after a while, everything else seems to simply lose its meaning...tell me, Altera, is there truly nothing you care about beyond destruction?" Hearing her Masters words, Altera only felt greater confusion, but, hearing his final question, she adopted aplicated expression before muttering, "I like having my head pat...I also like the taste of sweet foods...the apples grown in the hills are my favorite..." Though it was a little awkward to hear Altera prioritize head pats over other things, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation before asking, "These things, would they exist if they were destroyed...?" As she had never actually thought about it before, Altera couldnt help but frown when she heard her Masters words. If someone wanted to destroy the things she liked, she would destroy them first, so, with a resolute look on her face she said, "I see...you destroy things to protect other things and let them grow..." Vahns smile turned slightly awry when he heard Alteras remark, his hand plopping on her head as he exined in an exasperated tone, "It is more important to create and build than it is to destroy. If people always resorting to destroying things, the orchards wouldnt even exist. Though other apple trees might be found elsewhere, they wouldnt have the same quality. The apples you enjoy are the result of several people spending countless hours cultivating and caring for them...while your desire to protect them is not wrong, you wouldnt have anything to protect without building it up in the first ce..." Hearing her Masters words, Altera fell into deep thought for several tense seconds before simply replying with her characteristic, "I see..." in her usual monotone. Despite her affirmation, Vahn had the distinct impression that Altera hadnt actually understood what he was trying to convey. She was the type that understood things better if they were shown directly, rather than exined. Thus, after sorting through his thoughts, Vahn said, "I will assign both of you a new mission..." The moment these words left his mouth, both Okita and Altera became more attentive, their gazes focused as they awaited his orders. This was a habit he wanted to break, but, as it was convenient at times like this, Vahn gave a small nod before exining, "Once I return, I will teach you how to grow and care for various nts and animals. Your mission will be to work alongside each other to create a garden filled with life. When you are finished, it will be a private ce where only the people you have chosen may enter...also, for every unique nt and animal you properly care for, I will give you a suitable reward...the more difficult the endeavor, the greater the reward I will bestow..." Though neither Altera nor Okita understood the real purpose behind their Masters words, it didnt actually matter. To them, his orders were absolute, so, while they had no particr interest in animal husbandry or gardening, they were determined toplete their mission. This was something that Vahn was very aware of, so, while it was a bit cheap on his part, it was worth taking advantage of their nature if it meant they learned something important... --- Since Okitas clothing had already repaired itself, Vahn decided it was best to let them get an early start, so, after exiting the [Training Orb], he took them to visit Iris. She was the best option when it came to teaching the taciturn duo, as, during Artorias attempts to get Altera to fit in, thetter had spent a few months acting as Iris escort and personal attendant. The hope was that Iris would be a good influence on her, but, in spite of her efforts, Altera remainedrgely unchanged. After entering the Library, where Iris still dutifully carried out her responsibilities, Vahn raised his hand in greeting as the woman in question brightened up at his arrival. When she saw who was with him, however, she adopted a false pout, muttering, "And here I was thinking you had stopped by to spend time with me...Im going to tell Illya youre bullying me again..." Though he was used to Iris teasing, the hair on the back of Vahns neck stood on end, as, thest time Iris had ined to Illya, he ended up getting crushed by thetter after she spontaneously increased her size to around sixteen meters. This wasnt an intolerable weight, but, considering she had been naked at the time, Vahn nearly suffered a trauma as a result of her body greedily seeking him out, even in her overgrown form. Even Illya had panicked at the time, so, while it wasnt exactly likely, Vahn couldnt help but feel a little unnerved by the possibility an ident would ur... Since there were very few things that could make Vahn pale, Iris knew what he was thinking about. Her own smile became a little awkward before she made a point of loudly clearing her throat and asking, "What brings the three of you here? Did you need my advice on something...?" In response to Iris question, Vahn gestured to Altera and Okita, exining, "If possible, I would like you to teach these two how to properly care for nts and animals. Ill prepare a private [Sub-Space Orb] here in the Library so you shouldnt be inconvenienced too much...can you do this for me, Iris?" Hearing Vahns request, Iris covered her mouth and issued a womanly giggle before answering, "But of course. In exchange, I expect you will build a small cottage or a vi within the orb, correct? Make sure there are at least five bedrooms, arge bath, and, as a precaution, a private area with adequate soundproofing~." Vahn didnt have to ask why they would need a soundproof room within the private orb, as, despite her motherly nature, Iris had a few hidden sides only he and Illya knew about. Thus, without having to really think about it, Vahn nodded his head and said, "That shouldnt be a problem. Ill also install argeke to serve as both a water source and a pool. Other than that, is there anything else youll need...?" Since it was hard not to get excited about a private residence, Iris spent several minutes throwing a bunch of random thoughts and ideas at Vahn. This caused him to sit across from her with a wry smile while, at his side, Altera and Okita just listened in silence. The only thing that mattered to them was thepletion of their mission, but, with how excited Iris seemed to be, even Altera began to feel as though the garden they would be making was something special. If not, it didnt make sense for Iris to be so excited about it, so, even if she didnt really understand the purpose of the mission she had been assigned, Altera began looking forward to it...just a little. --- While his secondary vessel was dealing with the trio of white-haired women, Vahns main vessel was holding counsel with Merlin, Artoria, Gray, Gawain, and, as she had been manifesting more often as ofte, ya. They were discussing his uing assault on the moon, and, as it was an important topic for discussion, the giantess that had appeared when he tried to view his fate in rtion to the flow around Altera. Though she was unaware of anything happening beyond thes atmosphere, ya was still aware of the identity of the White Titan, a being denoted as Velber: 02 when using the same system that designated him as Type: Omega. ording to ya, Velber: 02 was an offshoot of an alien entity that appeared within the Sol System every 14,000 years. This being, a Rogue Star known as Velber, would station itself beyond the edge of the Oort Cloud, beyond the influence of Sol, and, after scanning the Surface of each, shed parts of itself with the intent to eliminate any and all life detected. It was for this reason that every, with the exception Gaia, appeared barren and lifeless. Nearly thirteen-thousand-years prior, Velber had shed off three fragments of itself and, as a result, most life within the Sol System had been destroyed. The only reason there were any survivors at all was due to the intervention of Sol itself. After seeing the havoc a foreign star was causing, its own fragments, the entities immortalized as Gods of the Sun, took the battle directly to the invaders. Unfortunately, every beyond Gaia ended up bing a victim in this rtively short war as, the further away from their parent star, the less power each God of the Sun possessed. It was for this reason that Velber positioned itself beyond the Oort Cloud, more than 15,000,000,000,000km away from Sol, well outside of its influence. There, it could freely harass the outers and, while it had ultimately been repelled, nearly all life within the Sol System had been lost in the process... In the end, Gaia herself remained rtively unscathed, but, by the end of the battle, most of the first generation Gods had beenpletely wiped out. Velber: 02 and single-handedly wiped out nearly every pantheon and, if not for the sacrifice of Mars, the principal God of War for which the Roman God was named after, all life would have been lost. Even then, however, Velber: 02 was not actually killed, only repelled. While all of this information was important, it was what ya exined next that really caught the attention of everyone in the room. ording to the memories she had inherited from Gaia, the few remaining Gods gathered the blood and essence of Velber: 02, sealing it away within a human body in the hopes of using them as a weapon against subsequent invasions. Unfortunately, this would-be weapon was beyond their power to control, so, in their desperation, they ended up sealing her away, using an entire mountain range to keep her contained. Ultimately, due to the shifting of tectonic tes and various other factors, this humanoid weapon was eventually discovered by a nomadic tribe known as the Huns. From that moment on, the legend of Att the Hun and Etzel were born, two legends representing a warrior known as the embodiment of destruction. She had inherited the sword used to repel her original self, [Photon Ray], and, with it, she knew no equal on the battlefield. As a result, her tribe conquered much of the known world, and, if not for the betrayal of herst wife, Kriemhild, Siegfrieds vengeful widow, she likely would have conquered Rome and prevented the rise of modern civilization in its entirety. Instead, she ended up manipted in another womans scheme for revenge, and, instead of losing her life honorably on the battlefield, Att ended up choking on her own blood after suffering a brain hemorrhage... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Those with innocent minds ask the hardest questions...,Illya and Iris are both scary..., Chapter 1429 - Reluctance Resignation

Chapter 1429 - Reluctance Resignation

While the flood of information pertaining to Alteras and the Sol Systems past was pretty interesting, Vahn earned incredulous looks from nearly everyone as he stated, "Well...unless I am mistaken, this White Titan, Velber: 02, should still be within my authority to control. Unless youre trying to allude to the fact that Archimedes group has something to do with the Velber Star, it doesnt really matter what happened in the past. Well deal with any enemy standing in our way, regardless of whether or not they are alien, God, Hero, or human." Though there were no guarantees that Velber: 02 would obey him, Vahn could be certain that Velber itself would fall under his authority as Type: Omega. As for the White Titan herself, she seemed to be sealed inside of the Moon Cell, so, even if he didnt have authority over her, he had Administrative Authority over the Moon Cell itself. He could also request assistance from Crimson Moon, but, as the group of so-called Heroes were inarguably more dangerous than Altrouges faction, at least for the time being, it would have to wait untilter. In response to Vahns confidence, Merlin showed a slightly troubled smile as he advised, "You should remain cautious, Your Majesty. As you are so fond of stating, there are no absolutes. I believe you are well acquainted with how quickly things can spiral out of control when you assume nothing can go wrong..." Hearing Merlins advice, Vahn was reminded of the incident where he fled his previous world, and, as could be expected, the most recent events involving Scthach. This caused him to frown slightly, his eyes passing over everyone else in the room before he ultimately nodded his head and said, "Youre right...which is why Ill be going to the Moon Cell alone. I cant go all-out with allies present, so, until I have a better grasp of the situation, I will be resolving it on my own." Though it wasnt outside their expectations, nearly everyone present had expressions revealing their dissatisfaction and worry. Even Artoria adopted a deep frown, wasting no time in saying, "You cant just do everyone on your own, Vahn! You promised that you would trust us more! Even if were not as strong as you are, none of us here fear death! Im not going to let you go alone, not this time...!" Ever since the incident with Scthach, everyone within the Inner Sanctum could see how heavily it weighed on Vahns heart and mind. His most recent awakening only exacerbated the concerns they had been feeling, so, to hear him advocate going off on his own once again, Artoria was unwilling to remain silent. She trained hard every day to be useful to the Empire so she couldnt help but feel a considerable amount of frustration every time she was left behind while Vahn ran off to fight against their enemies. As it was pretty rare for Artoria to have an outburst, especially with others present, Vahn was at a loss for words. He knew she was right, and, at several points in the past, he had made promises to trust, not just her, but all of them. Instead, he usually only brought the most powerful people in the Empire along with him, often serving as backup forces as he personally dealt with their enemies. This was the safest and most efficient option, and, though he knew it also caused the girls left behind a great deal of frustration, he couldnt help but want to protect them. Though it didnt actually need to be said, as everyone present knew how he felt, Vahn adopted an apologetic expression as he muttered, "I just dont want to lose any of you..." in a somber tone. Since the loss of Scthach was still fresh on his mind, it was easy to hear the pain in his voice. Despite this, Artoria balled her hands into fists, her eyes moistening as she shouted, "We dont want to lose you, either! More than physical pain, mental anguish, or even the fear of death, the thing Im most afraid of is you spontaneously disappearing. I wont allow you to leave me behind...I refuse...!" Hearing an equivalent amount of pain in Artorias words, Vahn felt like his heart had been tightly gripped by the golden-haired beauty. This caused him to release an audibly tired sigh, exasperation clear to see in his expression as he smiled wryly and said, "Im not going anywhere...even if I were, I promise I will take everyone with me. This is a battlefield though...if something happened to any of you, I wouldnt be able to live with the regret..." Even if his words were out of concern, Artorias expression hardened when she heard Vahns words. This caused him to avert his eyes slightly, as, even without anyone saying anything, it was easy to see they didnt take kindly to his words. After all, they hadnt been inscribed on the Throne of Heroes as a result of their cowardice. Even if they had to face insurmountable odds, they wouldnt hesitate if it meant they could fulfill their duty, protecting their honor and dignity in the process... Realizing he was out of line, even if they were his honest feelings on the matter, Vahn took a deep breath before meeting Artorias gaze and saying, "I understand. It was wrong of me to try and take care of everything on my own. You arent flowers that need to be locked away within a garden...nor are you so fragile that you require my constant care and concern. Youre all amazing, and, together, there is little we cant aplish..." Though his words werecking in spirit, Vahn tried to be sincere when he was speaking. He actually did trust in everyone that had been gathered under his banner, but, knowing just how strong some enemies were, his first instinct was always to protect. He couldnt help but me himself whenever something bad happened, so, whenever things became especially dangerous, he would rather deal with it on his own than expose anyone else to danger. Unfortunately, even the best of intentions became overbearing restraints in the minds of the ones being protected. Vahn knew how hard everyone worked and, if he really thought about it, even he wouldnt have been able to take such a refusalying down. Even when he was weak, he would do everything he could to help out those that were stronger than him. Thus, even though it was never easy, he, for what felt like the hundredth time, told himself to believe in the people around him... --- Once things had settled down a bit, everyone began formting a multi-phase n that included establishing contact, ascertaining the enemys intentions, and, if necessary, invading and conquering the Moon Cell. As for the participants, the first phase would include Vahn, Artoria, and Da Vinci. They would try ande to an ord with the Hero group, but, if negotiations broke down, the Imperial Knights would then move in, led by Gawain, Kenshin, and Lancelot. There was no way of knowing exactly how big the Moon Cell was, so, after establishing a foothold, the Imperial Knights would establish a Forward Operations Base. From there, they would determine exactly how many troops and resources would need to be allocated to the upation of the Moon Cell, determined by Gawain and verified by Da Vinci. She was the most qualified to understand the situation within the Moon Cell, so, while Gawain secured the area with the Empires forces, most of the logistical matters would be dealt with by her. If possible, Vahn would like to avoid an actual invasion, as it contradicted previous statements he had made, but, if the Heroes intended to continue skulking around like snakes, he wouldnt hesitate to squash them. At this point, it was all but certain that Archimedes had some scheme rted to Velber: 02, so, even if the Heroes were willing topromise, they would still be expelled from the Moon Cell. There was no way Vahn was just going to let the errant inventor do whatever he wanted using technology that was designed to monitor and record things, not cause chaos and destruction. If negotiations broke down, the capture or elimination of Archimedes was their highest priority. He was the apparent ringleader behind everything so removing him from the equation seemed to be the most effective means of reaching an ord. Though it was possible someone else was pulling the strings, this would be brought to light after they managed to track down the original and expose his ns. There was still a chance that Archimedes was an actual Hero, but, as a result of his character, it was impossible to leave him to his own devices. People that were willing to use any means to achieve their goals were dangerous, especially when they could order their subordinates to target children. This,bined with the fact he had been able to produce an army of nearly 50,000 automatons in a rtively short period of time, made Archimedes one of the most dangerous elements amongst the group of would-be Heroes. The problem was, the real Archimedes was undoubtedly protected by their groups most powerful forces. Musashi was likely one of their strongest cards, but, considering who they were dealing with, Vahn wouldnt have believed her if she stated she was their most powerful. She might have the most individual strength, but, when it came to Heroic Spirits, the most powerful often had Reality Marbles that effectively functioned as entire armies. Vahn could still remember how powerful he felt while using Gilgameshs [Gate of Babylon] so, with the Throne of Heroes ssifying it as an E~A++ Rank Noble Phantasm, the odds of more powerful abilities existing was high. Both Artorias [Avalon] and Nobunagas [Three-Thousand Worlds] were qualified as EX-Rank Noble Phantasms, so, in the grand scheme of things, it seemed impossible that Archimedes didnt have a few equivalent trump cards. Until they were able to force the enemy to reveal their hand, most of the direct engagements against enemy Heroic Spirits would be handled by Vahn and Artoria. Though exceptions would be made if it was an emergency situation, only Gawain, Lancelot, and Kenshin were authorized to meet the enemy Heroes head-on. Everyone else was required to form teams with at least one A-Rank Heroic Spirit, and, unless it was mandated by the situation, their objective was to secure the Forward Operations Base, not chase after enemies. Fortunately, Gawain had performed excellently as Commander of the Imperial Knights and, after the summoning of the former Knights of the Round Table, the Empires forces had qualitatively improved in regards to individual prowess. Nearly every Homunculus had received some form of military-style training at this point,pletely of their own volition, so there were now more than seven-thousand active and reserve members of the Imperial Militia. As for those that had gone on to be actual Knights, they numbered 735, each nominated by their respective instructors and knighted by Vahn himself. The seamless coordination between Einzbern Homunculi made them an awe-inspiring force on the battlefield, so, while Vahn couldnt help but worry about the albino troupe, their results as part of the Imperial Response Force spoke for themselves. Everyone who was given the opportunity to lead one of their teams spoke highly of them, to the point that Gawain had even taken on three Homunculi as his personal Esquires, personally teaching them the skills necessary to rise to the position of Knight Commanders themselves in the future. This would be the first major military operation conducted by Imperial Forces so, in a way, this was a litmus test to determine whether or not they would be useful in future campaigns. The fact each of the knighted members qualified as D+ or even C-Rank Heroes inspired a bit of confidence, but, the true test would be whether or not they can actually do anything to more powerful Heroic Spirits. If it was Vahn, he would be able to sweep through the Imperial Militia with impunity, so, while he didnt look down on them, he hoped the armaments he and Da Vinci had produced would be enough to sustain them against anything the enemy might throw their way... (A/N: Im going to be busy for the next two days so, unless I can free up some time, there will only be one chapter of EPIC and one chapter of Babel per day. Sunday, however, Im intending to publish an updated release schedule (in calendar format), so, for those of you who like structured releases, that is something to look forward to. The schedule will be posted on both my ******* and Discord so feel free to stop by and say hi on the server if you havent done so (^ _ ^)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1430 - Conviction

Chapter 1430 - Conviction

Due to his usualbat style, Vahn rarely went out of his way to wear anything like armor. At his level, there were very few instances where armor actually served any purpose, but, in order to show solidarity between himself and his forces, Vahn donned the same outfit that he had worn during the duel between Artoria and Lorelei. Though it didnt match his usual style, which typicallybined muted colors like ck and grey, Vahn found the style adapted from Artorias era rather suitable for war. He was especially fond of the furred cloak, as he thought it look cool, but, more than anything else, Vahn just liked matching Artoria. She gave off a regal and dignified appearance when she donned her armor, so, despite the fact it was somewhat ufortable, Vahn was inspired by her example. (A/N: [Charisma] OP) With his preparations ready, Vahn thanked Gray and Gareth for their assistance, rubbing both girls heads before teleporting everyone to the staging area, therge courtyard that served as an area to rally troops and conduct parade. There, more than fifteen hundred people had gathered, each with simr armor that denoted their rank and upation within the Imperial Militia, the majority being Shieldmaidens and Pikewomen. Since there was little they could do against actual Heroic Spirits, thebat forcesprised of the Einzbern Homunculi had been taught to maintain a defensive line. The Shieldmaidens were outfitted with shields that, alone, would struggle to block B-Rank spells. Together, however, they could form a massive defensive wall that, ording to Da Vincis calctions, could block an A-Rank, Anti-Ind Noble Phantasm. This was due to the fact that the shields, while wielded by individuals, were all part of a unified Set. Vahn had painstakingly forged each of the shields by hand, imbuing them with an ability known as [Unbreakable Phnx]. This ability amplified the Physical and Magical Defense of every shield used to form a defensive wall, so, while the Homunculi might not be able to match against the average Heroic Spirit, only the most powerful had any hopes of breaking their defensive line. To support the Shieldmaidens, the vast majority of Homunculi were outfitted with long pikes, each upwards of six meters in length. What made these pikes special wasnt simply their sharpness and durability, which would allow them to easily prate magically reinforced metals with ease. What really made them exceptional was the fact that, despite their appearance, they were actually A-Rank magical staves. By channeling their magical energy into their pikes, the Homunculi could shoot out piercing beams of elemental energy. The element could be adjusted to deal with enemies, but, no matter which was used, they were capable of dealing heavy damage to both physical and magical barriers. They could even be charged for upwards of three minutes, greatly amplifying the amount of damage they were capable of outputting by converting the focused beams into condensed energy that, on contact with a target, would explode to cause massive area of effect damage. Though there were actually a number of different roles each member of the militia could fill, such as Shock Troopers and Combat Healers, these positions were entirely dependent on the situation. As a result, the only group that really stood out amongst the assembly of nearly identical women were the troops led by Kenshin. They were each outfitted in armor that gave off a distinctly Japanese feel, looking more like Samurai than Knights. Seeing all of the units gathered together, Vahn couldnt help but be ovee by a sense of awe, as, despite their rtively small numbers, their momentum filled him with power. He could feel the eyes of nearly everyone shift to him the moment he appeared and, though it was always a little awkward to have thousands of ruby-red eyes staring fervently toward him, Vahn still managed an appreciative smile as the entire assembly saluted him due to Gawains outburst... --- After putting the soldiers at ease, Vahn stood in a loose circle with his usual War Council, listening as Gawain reported, "Your Majesty, we havepleted equipment checks and have ample supplies to form and maintain a defensive line for upwards of six months. Troop morale is at an exceptional level with each and every member of the Imperial Militia fullymitted and capable of fulfilling the duties they have been assigned. We are ready to move on your orders." Following Gawains report, Kenshin nodded her head in affirmation, adding, "This is something weve been looking forward to for nearly three years. These girls have dedicated themselves wholly to the Empires goals, but, more importantly, they all believe in Your Majestys dreams. If ever a timees when you feel any kind of doubt, recall this scene. Notice there is no fear or hesitation in any of their eyes, only resolution and the sincere belief that they are contributing to a noble cause." Even without Kenshins reminder, Vahn was well aware of the status he held in the hearts of nearly every Einzbern Homunculi. All of them treated him as their Savior, but, due to his actual status as a God, many hade to proactively pray to and worship him. This had been the case even before he had summoned Jeanne, but, after being exposed to the highly devout woman, seventy-three percent of Homunculi had transitioned from being Subordinates to True Believers. As a result, Jeannes status had changed from True Believer to Apostle, a title she shared with Kenshin, Lakshmibai, and, as could be expected, Fenrir. If he ordered them to, Vahn had no doubts in his mind that every Homunculus would willinglyy down their lives for his cause. This awareness ced a heavy burden on his shoulders, but, as a result of his [Will of the Emperor], it also filled him with immense power and confidence. After letting Gawains and Kenshins words sink in for a moment, Vahn gave an understanding nod before stating, "While they are willing toy down their lives for the Empire, it is our duty to ensure this is never required. I have high expectations for each and every one of you. Show me the results of your efforts..." Immediately following Vahns words, everyone gathered in their circle performed a full salute, Artoria included. Then, in preparation for theing upation, the various Commanders returned to their individual units while Vahn, apanied by Artoria, Gray, and Gareth, returned to the interior of the Ivory Castle. There, they found nearly every resident of the Inner Sanctum waiting to send them off, the children included. Though he wasnt going to be away for a terribly long period of time, Vahn was still heading off for what could, technically, be considered a war. Even if he would be leaving one of his bodies behind to protect Avalon, it would be stuck in focused meditation in order to supplement his rather ridiculous energy expenditures. Thus, if the battle turned into a prolonged engagement, it could take several weeks, projection-time, before he saw any of his children again. For many of the children, this was their first time seeing their Papa wearing his armor, but, after the momentary awe wore off, they adopted the same expressions as their mothers, being concern and, in their own way, support. The only real exceptions to this were those like Mordred and Isanna, the former showing a slightly annoyed expression while thetter had a mischievous glint in her eyes. Vahn had already talked to Merlin and Ishtar about keeping an eye on Isanna, as her pseudo-divinity rted to War could cause some problems. This was especially true for the Vanir, as, unlike normal Gods and Demigods, their Divinity wasnt tied to thes authority. As a result, they could freely use their power even on others while Goddesses like Ishtar and Ereshkigal would quickly lose their power as they moved further away from the. With Merlin and Ishtar watching her every move, Vahn wasnt too worried about Isanna sessfully sneaking out, so, after exchanging words with most of the other children, he caressed the pouting Mordreds head and reminded, "You still have a responsibility to fulfill within the Clock Tower. This isnt a battle for things like status or glory so dont let it get you...you dont see Fenrir trying to force me to bring her along, do you...?" Hearing her name uttered, Fenrirs ears twitched slightly while, with a defeated look on her face, the pouting Mordred released a sigh before saying, "At this rate, there wont be any battles left for me to fight..." Though he had been putting a lot of effort into cultivating a calm and collected demeanor at times like this, Vahns brows perked up in response to Mordreds words. This brought a lot of attention to him, resulting in Mordred looking around confusedly before staring up at him with a simr look. As a result, Vahn released a dryugh before ruffling her hair and saying, "It would be nice if that were the case. Unfortunately, even if there are periods of peace, the path I walk passes through countless battlefields. Trust me, Mordred, you will have your fair share of battles...for now, please just focus on bing stronger..." Hearing her Chichiues words, Mordred felt a twinge of guilt, as, toward the very end, she could hear the concern in his voice. This wasnt the same as the concern a parent would have for their children, rather, it sounded a lot like the tone used when you knew the other party was going off on a suicide mission. Since she had led Shock Troopers in her past life, Mordred knew this tone better than most, so, even without him borating further, she was reminded of her current aspirations. If she became a God, it was to be expected that, in the future, other Gods would be her opponents... Realizing the future battlefields were on a much grander scale, Mordred felt like her motivation had been rekindled, changing from a bonfire into a raging inferno. She was still a little disappointed that she couldnt apany her Chichiue in the present, but, as this was primarily due to her weakness, the only person she had to me was herself. Thus, with a resolute look on her face, she nodded her head in understanding, firmly stating, "I will be much stronger...I swear to you...to myself..." Though he had already seen this scene, Vahn felt vindicated hearing Mordreds response so, after nting a kiss on her forehead, he ruffled her hair again and said, "I believe in you, Mordred. You fill me with pride each and every day so I have no doubts you will greatly exceed my expectations..." If her motivation could bepared to an inferno, before, Mordred felt like the fire inside of her was akin to a sr re after hearing her Chichues words. She could feel her body, literally, begin to heat up and, though it earned her an exasperated look from her Hahaue, her face had be visibly red as a wide smile spread across her face... --- With Mordred temporarily pacified, Vahn was forced to give most of his daughters a goodbye kiss, either on their cheek or forehead, before departing alongside Artoria. When they were alone, making their final preparations for the assault on the Moon Cell, she released a tired sigh before saying, "As a mother, I cant help but be worried about that girl. Tell me, Vahn, will things be easier once I ascend to godhood...?" Though Artoria had already epted Mordreds affections for Vahn, understanding how she must feel, that didnt make it any easier. Even if Mordred really was just a clone of her, she hade to truly ept the troublesome girl as her daughter. Mordreds aplishments filled her with pride and, in many ways, it was her desire to ensure the formers happiness that led to Artoria epting her feelings toward Vahn. Truthfully, Vahn didnt really know how to answer Artorias concerns despite having an inordinate amount of experience with simr circumstances. Thus, in response to her question, he released a sigh before saying, "Honestly...it is up to you. I havee to learn many things about Divinity, but, in the end, the way it manifests is up to the weilder. Even then, however, I believe the most important thing is staying true to yourself. It is fine to be ufortable with something, Artoria, so I hope you never have to force yourself to think or believe something that contradicts your character..." Vahns words werent exactly what she wanted to hear, but, knowing things like this were never easy, Artoria nodded her head in understanding. She had already made her decision, discussed it at great length with various people, and, most recently, even began helping Mordred in her pursuit of even greater strength. Thus, while it filled her heart with a moderate amount of difort, Artoria fully intended to support her daughter. She just liked to vent her frustrations to Vahn, as, while she would never admit it, his efforts to calm her always made her happy... Even without Artoria vocalizing her feelings, Vahn hade to understand almost everything about her character over thest few years. Her resolute nature was one of the key elements that gave him the confidence to carry out his own duties as an Emperor. This was something he had conveyed to her several times in the past, so, during moments like this, he dutifully fulfilled the role she required of him. As for her discussion about godhood, that had never really mattered...rather, if anything was going to influence Artorias mentality, it would be her draconic heritage. The fact Artoria had been the one to spearhead the situation that led to the development of his Sex Divinity showed just how much her bloodline influenced her decision making. While it was still in its nascent stages, Vahns experience with Terra and Alexa allowed him to see the signs of Artorias slow, but inevitable, awakening. The more they fought alongside each other, and the more he showed off his own draconic forms, the more prominent the changes in her behavior became. Thus, every time a battle approached, Vahn couldnt help but offer a silent prayer, hoping Artoria remained the same woman he hade to love, no matter how much she changed... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Waifu squad, assemble...!,The battles have only begun,I wonder how long it will be before Artorias transitions from Phoenix Empress to Dragon God Empress...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1431 - Tremor

Chapter 1431 - Tremor

After listening to Musashi recount the events of the preceding days, Archimedes had a grim expression on his face. He didnt consider himself an emotional person, often finding it one of the principal weaknesses of the human race, but, at this moment, he couldnt help but feel indignant. If Musashis words were true, it meant they had very little time to act, even though time was one of the things they should have had a surplus of... While Archimedes was still hanging his head, an expression of deep thought visible on his face, Shirou took the liberty to interrupt, saying, "If the Emperor really does know the location of our Headquarters, we should take his previous warnings into consideration. The amount of power he has at his disposal makes it difficult to fight defensively. Most of usck the means to fight in a vacuum so we need to begin making preparations to take the fight to him." Immediately following Shirous words, Musashi nodded her head, adding, "Going by his words, it seems like the Emperor has been tolerating our group specifically because were Heroes. Now, it feels like he is testing us...if we fail to meet his expectations, I get the feeling things wont end well for our group..." Hearing the twos remarks, Archimedes showed a dull expression before shaking his head and saying, "This is likely just an effort on their part to get us to expose ourselves. The fact they were led around by Lovecraft is evidence enough to discredit the possibility the Emperor is aware of our location. Even if he does arrive, I have already prepared countermeasures against anything they can throw at us. Unless he intends to destroy the entire moon, well be able to trap both him and allies without difficulty..." Having been the one to fight against Vahn, Musashi didnt take kindly to the fact Archimedes so easily dismissed her warning. She showed a rare frown, her tone harsh as she stated, "Listen here you arrogant asshole! If you keep underestimating that man, were all going to get killed! None of our ns have aplished anything beyond pissing him off. If your next n fails, how many of us will lose their lives as a result of your negligence!?" The entire time Musashi was shouting, Archimedes just stared back at her with the same dull look on his face. This was one of the things he hated the most about people, and, though Musashi was not a human, the fact she emted their emotions made her weak, at least mentally. Even if he used logic and reasoning to try and convince her, she wouldnt actually listen as, much like other humans that acted based on their emotions, she had already convinced herself that she was right. Instead of arguing, Archimedes just typed a fewmands into the terminal before him. At the same time, the mirror-like partition separating them turned into a disy, allowing Musashi and Shirou to read the information presented. It was only when they started reading that Archimedes exined, "Based on the information you provided, we were able to gain some insight into the true identity of the entity calling himself Vahn Mason..." Seeing the data on disy, Shirous face formed into a frown as he muttered, "Yellow Emperor Huangdi...so he is some kind of Dragon God?" In response to Shirous question, Archimedes stated, "The Moon Cell has existed for more than 4.6 billion years. It has observed the Earth since it was nothing more than a cloud of space debris. In its records, the entirety of human history, including the feats of every Hero that has ever existed, can be found. In all of these records, the existence of Vahn Aldrnari Mason cannot be found...it is as if he appeared, quite literally, out of nowhere." Hearing Archimedes exnation, Musashi showed a troubled expression, asking, "Does that mean he is like me...?" At the same time, she recalled the fact that Vahn had openly admitted to being from a different world, something she had also conveyed to Archimedes while exining what had transpired since the battle. Archimedes just shrugged in response to Musashis question, answering, "I cant know for certain without analyzing the person in question. What I can say with some certainty, however, is that his existence has fundamentally changed since the time he first emerged in Fuyuki City, Japan. Since then, he went from being a marginally powerful person to a literal God over the course of a short few months. Even more nonsensical is the fact that the Moon Cell only has limited information on the Emperor and the Empire he has founded...almost as if there is something directly interfering." Following his words, Archimedes changed the disy to show a view of Avalon from a birds eye view. Then, after typing in a fewmands, several filters ovepped the image until, much to the surprise of Shirou and Musashi, a massive serpentine creature appeared above the ind. Anticipating their questions, Archimedes continued to type away on his terminal while exining, "This creature is another anomaly within the current time axis. There is no mention of its existence in any of the Moon Cells records and, if not for the interference it causes in scans, discovering it would have been impossible. The truly troubling thing is, even though I am able to identify its size and proportions, there is no method to determine exactly what it is... almost like it doesnt exist..." Though he had never underestimated the Empire, Shirou paled slightly after seeing the creature of impossible proportions. Before he could ask any questions, however, Archimedes went on to add, "From what I have been able to determine, there is a high probability that the Emperor used the Greater Grail to cement himself as something akin to a lynchpin of reality. It was only after the conclusion of the Holy Grail War that his power began to increase beyondprehension. Worse still is the fact that, by unknown means, he seems to have gained ess to the Throne of Heroes, potentially using a route linked to the Root itself..." The more Archimedes exined, the louder the rm bells in Shirous and Musashis minds. They had already known the Emperor acted a Temporal Singrity, but, seeing how quickly his power and influence had spread, courtesy of the graphics provided by Archimedes, it felt like the time to act had alreadye and gone. Despite this, neither gave up; instead, their convictions had only strengthened, resulting in Shirou stating, "He must be stopped. Treating the world like it is some kind of sandbox is inexcusable." Though he didnt share Shirous bravado, Archimedes nodded his head in approval, saying, "That is the entire reason you were summoned. Even if our methods arent the kindest, they are nothingpared to the damage caused by the Emperor. We may have to get our hands dirty, but, if left to his own devices, the Emperor will continue to act with impunity, ruining billions of lives without remorse. Tell me, Musashi, do you really think we can trust the word of someone like that...?" Hearing Archimedes question, Musashis resolute looked dissolved into a conflicted expression as, despite how extreme his actions were, she didnt get the impression Vahn was evil. Even if his words had been an attempt to deceive them, his actions hadnt exactly been roundabout. He was the type that seemed to throw himself into conflict, facing enemies directly rather than relying on subterfuge and deceit. He also seemed to genuinely care about the people he wanted to protect, rather than treating them like tools to further his agenda... Seeing Musashis conflicted look, Archimedes had to fight hard to prevent a sigh from escaping his lips. Part of him even wanted to shout at her for being so emotional, but, recognizing this was a contradiction of everything he stood for, he forced himself to remain calm. Instead of focusing on Musashi, Archimedes turned his attention to Shirou, who, despite giving off an aura of skepticism, seemed convinced. This made things a lot easier, as, for reasons that defiedmon sense, Shirou had be one of the central figures in their resistance. He had a way of drawing people to him, and, though he was remiss to admit it, Archimedes needed the idealistic man to control some of the more troublesome members of their group. Without waiting for Musashi to respond to his previous question, Archimedes decided to issue a smallpromise, saying, "I will take the information you provided into consideration. There is a small probability that the Emperor was telling the truth, so, in an effort to ascertain the veracity of his words, we will establish contact. Based on your ount, he wont take drastic action against us until we do something he considers underhanded. Thus, we will reach out to the Empire and, so long as they do not demand we expose ourselves, I see no reason not to take advantage of his proposal..." As Archimedes rarely changed his mind, Musashi and Shirou were left momentarily at a loss for words. This caused the shaggy-haired inventor to roll his eyes before rising to his feet, releasing a long yawn, and saying, "Ill entrust the matter of sending a message to you, Assassin Shirou. As for you, Musashi...return to control center forty-seven when you get out of Quarantine. If the Emperor does know the location of the Moon Cell, well need to take appropriate measures. Im sure youd like the chance to get your revenge so Ill need your assis-" Before Archimedes could finish his words, a small tremor could be felt by everyone present. In the next moment, the fluorescent lighting transitioned from a vibrant white to a cautionary red . At the same time, the walls began disying red, blue, and green arrows. These, in order, indicated the location of enemy forces, injured allies, and medical stations, respectively. Though not entirely unexpected, Archimedes expression hardened as he muttered, "It would seem we havepany..." before turning around and addressing the air on his way out of the room, saying, "SE.RA.PH., cancel override quarantine protocols and direct all pertinent personnel to control center forty-seven. Begin preparations for the activation of Automaton on my order..." --- Unaware of what was going on inside, Vahn was floating above the surface of the Moon with a slight frown on his face. Though he had the ability to locate Musashi and Caenis using the Strings of Fate, the Moon was still massive. It had a diameter exceeding 3,400km, and, while only a fourth the size of Gaia, it wasnt something he could explore in a short period of time. This left him with the option of burrowing into the Moon directly, or, as he was currently doing, striking the surface with enough force to alert those hiding within to his presence... After waiting for a full minute, Vahn pulled out three golf-ball-sized Elemental Stars, releasing them toward the surface of the Moon. This caused Artoria, who had been floating next to him, her face masked by a rather ornate helmet, to say, "Perhaps they wish to feign ignorance...cowards..." in a rather icy tone. Though Artoria couldnt breathe in space, she would still be able to survive indefinitely due to her unique constitution and infinite mana reserves. Her main reason for wearing a helmet was due to the pressure differential, and, while it might not lead to death, suffocating wasnt exactly pleasant. It also allowed her tomunicate directly with Vahn, so, contrary to her belief that a true warrior always showed their face, Artoria, temporarily, had hers concealed. In response to his Empress words, Vahn just shrugged dismissively as the Elemental Stars, having reached critical mass, erupted in massive plumes of destructive energy. He intended to gradually increase his output with each round, starting from one and stopping only when someone came to stop him. If they wanted to pretend they werent inside, he could continue making arger hole in the Moon, drilling through to the core if necessary... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Moon Cell is worse than Big Brother,Archimedes glib tongue,Hello? House Keeping~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1432 - Burrow

Chapter 1432 - Burrow

After boring a hole several hundred meters across and a few kilometers deep, Vahn released a sigh into the surrounding vacuum. He had expected an almost instantaneous response, so, after twenty minutes had passed, he began to feel a little awkward. Though the Moon was technically dead, as Crimson Moon had been killed by Zelretch, he still felt a little guilty about arbitrarilyying waste to its surface. Since he didnt know how deep the Moon Cell actually was, Vahn decided to save his Elemental Stars for the time being. Then, after having Artoria back away, made possible by her [Mana Burst] Skill, he extended his hand toward the surface of the Moon, his arm transforming into a muscr appendage covered in golden scales as he muttered, "Zhqu, lend me your aid..." in a voice audible despite the fact they were in a vacuum. In response to his request, Vahns arm swelled, vermillion mes breaking through the gaps between his scales as a massive octagonal magic circle expanded from his palm. It grew to more than 50m in diameter, appearing much like an eight trigrams formation with a massive void in the center. It was from this void that a fiery gateway opened, allowing a massive pheasant-like bird to, quite literally, erupt into existence amidst plumes of vermillion mes. Though the gateway was only 50m across, the bird that had emerged from within spread its wings to cover more than 300m, waves of me following its every move as its five-colored plumage danced gracefully despite theck of gravity. Then, with a piercing cry that resonated with the surrounding space, it dove towards the surface of the moon, shifting into a meteoric form that blended together vermillion and emerald mes in an indescribably beautiful manner... Despite its movements appearing slow and graceful, Zhqu impacted the surface of the Moon in an instant. This caused arge portion of the lunar surface, forming a perfect circle precisely 9km across, to sink inwards as the surrounding space was converted into a pure Yang Elemental Energy. This was, in many ways, simr to a Reality Marble, but, instead of creating an isted space, it imprinted itself onto reality, much like Neros Noble Phantasm or ORTs [Crystal Cavern of the ughter God]. While it may seem to contradict his intention of avoiding further destruction, Vahn had unwavering trust in Zhqus control over mes. It only burned what it chose to burn, so, even if it burrowed all the way through the Moon, any structures would be left entirely untouched. The only downside was, it cost him a ridiculous amount of energy to manifest the Four Divine Beasts, leaving him nursing an arm that had turned into an appendage resembling a still-burning piece of charcoal... As she never liked seeing Vahn injured, Artoria gracefully floated over to his side, cing her hand against his ckened flesh to transfer some of her Magical Energy into his body. This did very little to ease the pain he was feeling, but, knowing she just wanted to help, Vahn managed a smile as they began to descend into the perfectly cylindrical tunnel Zhqu had left in its wake. By the time they reached Zhqus actual position, it hade to a stop around 235km beneath the surface, floating soundlessly above a rainbow-hued membrane that, at a nce, appeared to be a massive crystal. What surprised them, even more, was the fact that this crystal was indiscernible to the Photonic Crystal Pirs used to seal the Welsh Dragon, a material that had been instrumental to the development of all Spiritron rted technologies... With its Master appearing, Zhqu bowed its head low and, in a feminine voice that inspired a calm state of mind, stated, "I humbly request your forgiveness, Sovereign One. My power is not enough to influence this mysterious substance..." Vahn hadnt even thought to me Zhqu so he was actually a little surprised to hear her demure plea. As a result, he adopting a calming countenance as he extended his hand to stroke the center of her fiery crest. This caused her to release the peculiar cooing sound only birds could manage, and, if not for the massive difference in their size, Vahn could easily imagine the massive bird affectionately nuzzling against the palm of his hand. After calming Zhqu, Vahn allowed her to return to his body, filling him with an incredible amount of power and mending his wounds in an instant. His total reserves decreased while the Divine Beasts were summoned, so, while he liked to spend time with them, doing so in the real world was still a little too taxing at his current level. Still, the fact his evolution allowed him to call upon them, at the expense of losing the ability to borrow their transformations, was something that always brought a smile to his face. He could still remember the time when Mordreds Guardian, King, first met Bih, as, despite the fact one was a lion while the other was a lioness, she ended up submitting to him in an instant... With Zhqu having cleared out arge area for them to explore, Vahn was able to conclude that the majority of the Moon, at least in their location, was one massive crystalline geode. His domain could probe upwards of thirteen kilometers in his base form, so, from what he could ascertain, this meant the true form of the Moon was hollowed geode that was approximately 3,000km in diameter. What most people believed to be the Moon was just a 235kmyer of space residue that had built up over the course of 4.6 billion years, concealing a perfect sphere formed from Photonic Crystals. Since even a thumb-sized piece of the substance was enough to create an Artificial Intelligence on the level of Ark, it was a truly awe-inspiring discovery that, under different circumstances, would have left a deep impact on civilization... After marveling at the beautiful structure for several minutes, Vahn ced his palm against the warm surface, muttering, "Now, how are we supposed to get inside...?" to nobody in particr. His domain wasnt able to prate the crystal membrane, and, due to the nature of Photonic Crystals, even the most powerful Noble Phantasms would be hard-pressed to leave a single scratch on the surface. Any damage they did would be ignored as a result of the quantum state of the material, which, in all but a few circumstances, would return to its default state in an instant. Vahn was one of the few people that could actually damage Photonic Crystals, a benefit provided by his Source Energy, but, at least for the time being, he was unwilling to do so. He knew the Moon Cell was older than the Moon itself, so, even with the death of Crimson Moon, the system governing the massive supeputer was still alive. It undoubtedly had an Ego of its own, and, due to his status as Type: Omega, Vahn knew it would obey his orders so long as he didnt direct it to vite its primary objective. Since he didnt want to leave a bad impression on the governing system of the Moon Cell, Vahn had to find something like an entrance. Fortunately, he knew such an entrance existed, as, in many of the materials he had obtained to further Da Vincis research, such an entrance was generally found in the early 2030s to thete 2100s. The only problem with this was, no matter how much he had searched for details on the entrance, it was a very closely guarded secret. Though the coordinates had to be stored somewhere, it was impossible to find them in any historical documentation, as, preceding the discovery of the Moon Cell, humanity is usually on the brink of extinction due to war. Without exception, the Moon Cell had always been discovered after mana had started to fade, and, in the hopes of securing their future, humanity began expanding into space. Prior to this, the Moon Cell remained in an idle state, observing the development of Gaia and closely record the actions of every entity that had ever existed on her surface. This meant there was a slight chance the entrance didnt exist, but, considering Archimedes and his team were able to get inside, Vahn knew there had to be an entrance somewhere. After organizing his thoughts, Vahn turned to Artoria, mentally activating hisms as he said, "I dont want to damage the Photonic Crystals just yet. The Moon Cell will likely be one of the pirs that supports the Empire so we should avoid damaging it as much as possible. Even if it is able to repair itself, I imagine the system governing its maintenance wouldnt be too happy with us." Though she could understand Vahns concerns, Artoria frowned inside of her helmet, asking, "Is this truly the wisest decision? The enemy may misinterpret your unwillingness to damage the Moon Cell as a sign they can freely hole themselves within. If they have a way topletely seal the entrance, leaving no traces, what will we do?" Knowing there was a considerable amount of truth behind Artorias concerns, Vahn mulled over his options for a few minutes before nodding his head and saying, "Youre right. There is a chance the entrance isnt in a fixed location so searching for it could ultimately prove futile. I guess Da Vinci is going to have a lot of Photonic Crystals to study in the near future..." Following his words, Vahn gestured for Artoria to give him a bit of space. Then, after taking a few deep breaths, despite the fact he was in a vacuum, he calmed his mind to the best of his ability. He had be increasingly proficient at clearing his thoughts in recent days, and, by paying attention to the Flow of Fate around him, he was able to strengthen the current that led to his desired mental state in the shortest period of time. After around twenty seconds of oppressive silence, Vahns eyes opened to reveal golden irises that zed like stars within the shadowy valley carved by Zhqu. His body then began to swell up, his height rapidly exceeding eight meters before he began to take on a distinctly inhuman appearance. Large wings sprouted from his back, radiating an intense golden light from their leather membrane as resplendent golden scales sprouted across his entire body. By the time their light began to fade, he had grown to a height exceeding twelve meters and a length exceeding twenty. His wings were evenrger, covering nearly thirty-five meters in length while, along his back, de-like ridges ran down the length of his body, extending into a thick, ive-like tail. With a draconic visage that inspired awe and reverence in any who bore witness to its glory, Vahn inspected hisplete dragon transformation, basking in the indescribable feeling of power that radiated from the center of his chest. Each breath the drew caused the gaps between his abdominal ting to radiate intense golden light, and, if he inhaled deeply, Vahn felt like he would be able to release a powerful breath that could destroy anything in its wake. Since using his Dragons Breath actually took a considerable amount of his reserves, Vahn ignored the urge to devastate his surroundings. Instead, he used his powerful front ws, set with fourrge talons and a thumb-like appendage, to begin tearing away at the Photonic Crystals below. They were extremely resistant, but, with a palpable amount of Source Energy radiating from his body, his intent to tear it apart overwrote their ability to instantaneously repair. Thus, with speed that could humble even the most advanced excavators, he tore awayrge chunks of the beautiful crystal, stowing them away in his Inventory as he quickly burrowed into the crystalline structure below... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Zhqu, I choose you...!,Thats a big ass crystal...,The descent of the Dragon God xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1433 - Photonic Abyss

Chapter 1433 - Photonic Abyss

While Vahn was busying himself with burrowing through the outer shell of the Moon Cell, the group of would-be Heroes had gathered around Archimedes in the room designated as Control Center 47, a deadpan expression on his face as he read the report issued by SE.RA.PH. Gathered behind Archimedes, a group of neen people had gathered, each with appearances that distinguished them amongst normal people. Some wore outfits that represented specific periods in humans history while others, despite wearing normal clothes, gave off monstrous, ethereal, or, even godly, vibes. Amongst the group, primarilyprised of females of various shapes and sizes, a handsome man wearing a suit of gaudy golden armor stood out. He had pupilless green eyes that refracted light in much the same way as emeralds, but, despite wearing an ornate crown atop his head, he gave off a slovenly and scornful aura as he droned, "Hooo...that man seems to be trying his best, no~? Tell me, Archimedes, why have you gathered us here~? Dont tell me you cant even handle a single intruder on your own~?" Without a single change in his expression, Archimedes continued to monitor therge disy as he answered, "That man, as you call him, is capable of destroying Photonic Crystals with raw physical power. Even if you were to strike at it for a thousand years, you would not be able to leave so much as a single scratch upon the Moon Cells surface. I would suggest you prepare yourself for the battle toe, as, amongst everyone here, you are the most at risk of being put to death as a result of the Emperors nature..." Hearing Archimedes retort, the man released a shrillugh that carried undertones of incredulity and scorn before adopting a crooked leer and shouting, "Do you think Im afraid of some overgrown lizard!? Its good that his scales are made of gold because I could use a new pair of greaves...!!" This time, instead of Archimedes responding, it was Musashi who stated, "Shut up, Jason. You are the most useless person in our entire group. Im not in the mood to give you another beat down so keep your mouth shut." Jasons expression immediately darkened when he heard Musashis words, but, as she had always made good on her promises, he could only grind his teeth in frustration. Fortunately, he wasnt left to sufferplete indignation, as, in response to Musashis words, two women stepped out. The first had doll-like features, with porcin-white skin, lc hair, and a petite frame. As for the second, she had distinctly eastern features, including jade-like skin, silky ck hair, pale-blue, almond-shaped eyes, and, most notably, a willowy figure d in a silken, cheongsam, robe. Being the first to step out, the lc-haired girl shouted, "Musashi! I wont allow you to insult Jason as you please!" while brandishing a staff that was longer than she was tall. As for the cheongsam-d woman, appearing marginally older than her counterpart, she kept her calm andposed look on her face as she politely stated, "Forgive me, Lady Musashi, but, I believe your actions are uncalled for. Now is the time when we should be uniting our strength to repel our foes, not sewing conflict and discord amongst ourselves." Despite the womans demure and polite countenance, Musashis eyes briefly flicked to the ded fan tightly clenched in her hands. She could also sense magical energy flowing through the silken scarf floating gracefully behind the woman, knowing it could move with lightning speed to bind her foes. Never one to shy away from most battles, Musashi adopted a battle-hungry expression on her face, cing her palm against the hilt of her katana as she muttered, "Behold, a true hero. Witness how he cowers behind women with a snide smile on his face, even as his balls shrivel into his stomach~." Jasons face paled in response to Musashis taunting, but, before he could shout out in his defense, a ripple passed through the entire room, epassing them all. In the next moment, he, along with everyone else, found themselves in some kind of za. The most concerning part, however, wasnt the za itself, but, high in the sky, a neb of swirling energy could be seen amidst a vast expanse of zeros and ones. Preceding any questions, Archimedes, now floating in the air before the group, stated, "If you are so eager to do battle, take it out on the Emperor and his forces. This is a digitalized Reality Marble that has been created by the Moon Cell itself. Originally, I had wanted to dy things until the end of this year, but, given the circumstances, we have no choice but to fight. If possible, try and convince that madman that were taking his previous warning seriously. The more time you can buy, the better the chances of sess." Without exining further, Archimedes tapped on a small window that had appeared in thin air, his figure, along with several others, vanishing in an instant. This left a group of fifteen behind, including the vast majority of Heroic Spirits, Musashi, and Caenis. As a result, Jason immediately tried to take charge of the situation, but, before he could open his mouth, Shirou preempted him by saying, "I will go and meet with the Emperor alongside Musashi. There is a chance we will be able to avoid a fight, but, in preparation for negotiations breaking down, each of you should make your own preparations. Im certain Archimedes has constructed this Reality Marble in a way that is beneficial to our side so use this as an opportunity to familiarize yourself with it." Immediately following Shirous words, Jason adopted an incredulous sneer as he droned, "Eeeeeh!? Does anyone else hear a dog barking~!?" Then, without waiting for a response, he began tough in a cackling manner before pulling along the doll-like girl and adding, "Come on, girls. We dont have to listen to his mongrels prattlings. Lets find a nice and isted ce to cut loose and have some fun. Let that idiot go and die on the front lines like the dog he is, ahahahaha-grk...!" Just as Jason began to walk away, Musashis figure vanished from view, reappearing behind him in an instant and whacking the back of his head with her sheath. This caused Jason to bite his tongue hard enough to draw blood before he copsed onto the ground, his eyes rolled back as spittle and froth leaked from his mouth. The fall of Jason caused the two women who had previously defended him to each exim, but, by the time they turned to face Musashi, she, alongside many of the others, had already vanished. Thus, with bitter expressions on their faces, they helped each other shoulder the unconscious Jason before carrying him off to safety... --- Though he had expected some kind of response from the enemy side, Vahn hadnt anticipated that, after digging through nearly three kilometers worth of Photonic Crystals, he would suddenly be cast into a seemingly infinite expanse of space just as his ws found purchase. The strangest part wasnt that he had entered what appeared to be a Reality Marble, but, based on what he could tell, it gave off the same impression as the Virtual World. The primary difference between was, instead of being a virtual avatar, Vahn could feel that he was in his normal, draconic, body... Since there was nothing like gravity, nor any visiblendmarks to guide him, Vahn just floated within this peculiar space for several minutes. It wasnt until shes of light began to illuminate around him that he began to move again. This wasnt the result of his choice, however, but the restrictions that had suddenly been ced on him. As a result, he found himself oriented towards the direction that now became the ground, while, numbering in the thousands, strange automatonsprised of red and ck material began to manifest around him. Without any prompting, these vaguely humanoid automatons began charging at him, many using their pointed appendages to strike at the golden scales on his body while others, shaped like swords, shields, and even war hammers began to impact against his hide without causing any damage. While this was going on, Vahn silently observed them, his golden eyes zing with understanding as he saw passed the vertices making up their form, peering directly at theplexwork of code that governed their behavior. Vahn could even see through magical formations formed by higher-tiered beings so it took very little effort for him to interpret the runic coding that drove the automatons logic. As a result, he was able to understand their function, and, after a few minutes, he expanded his domain, stating, "Stop." in a firm tone. In response, the seemingly mindless automatons all froze in ce, transitioning from red to a gentle blue as he reverted back to his human form. Though it would take much longer to gain aplete understanding of the space he had entered, Vahn was about to ascertain that he was in a Virtual Reality Marble created by the Moon Cell. Each of the automatons surrounding him were known as Anti-Viral Attack Programs, designed with the sole purpose of expelling and deleting foreign entities. Unfortunately, while their attacks should even be effective against Gods, they were virtually powerless against him due to his past experiences within the Virtual World. If it were the same as Da Vincis system, the Moon Cell should have been able to eject him whenever it pleased, but, from what he could tell, there was an underlying logic that prevented this from being the case. It was almost like the Moon Cell invited things into it, allowing them to run rampant within a simted environment entirely under the governance of the system. What confused and intrigued Vahn was the fact that, despite clearly recognizing him as an invasive element, the Moon Cell seemed to obey the influence of external forces. Its structure seemed to change in rtion to the expectations of those within, emting an environment that allowed them to express their power with fewer restrictions. As a result, just by standing in one spot for a few short minutes, the floor, which had previously been a panel of solidified blue light, now became a series of marbled tiles while, around him, the Ivory Castle slowly manifested into existence... While he was curious about the true nature of the Moon Cell, Vahn momentarily discarded wayward thoughts, turning his attention to the peculiar arrangement of ones and zeroes above as he stated, "I invoke my authority as Type: Omega. Whoever is in charge of the Moon Cell, appear before me. Also, block any and all forms of observation involving secondary and tertiary sources. Nothing I say or do is to be disclosed to anyone but the primary Administrator without my direct permission." Though he didnt know how the Moon Cell was structured, Vahn knew that everything within had to be monitored by the governing system. Thus, even without establishing direct contact with the entity in charge, it should still be able to hear and understand his orders. Immediately following hismand, Vahn felt a ripple pass through the surrounding virtual space, much like a Bounded Field being activated. At the same time, the feeling of being watched, which had been present from the moment he was pulled inside the virtual space, faded away. Then, after a few seconds had passed, one of the nearby automatons transitioned from blue to amethyst, its form changing rapidly into something vaguely humanoid, albeit with wing-like protrusions and arge metallic disc hovering above its head. Unlike the previous automatons, Vahn was unable to see through the structure of the entity before him, so, while not necessarily the case, it gave off the impression of a Tier 5 being. Then, in response to his previous words, it stated in a synthetic voice, "Input epted. Elevating entity, Vahn Aldrnari Mason to the position of Chief Administrator. Do you wish to be transferred to the Primary Terminal or the Main Core?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: The golden cuck appears,Furiously hits for 0 damage...,Top 3 anime betrayal moment) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1434 - Authority

Chapter 1434 - Authority

Shortly after inheriting the position of Chief Administrator, Vahn found himself in yet another vast, seemingly infinite, space. Unlike before, the sky in his new location devoid of everything but a hazy mist that radiated pale white light. Below, what appeared to be an emerald green sea stretched out far beyond the horizon, yet, in spite of its apparent liquid state, Vahn was able to walk on its surface without as if it were solid ground. Dotting the ndscape, countless pirs floated at various depths, while, at the center of everything, a massive cube,prised of several digitized cubes, could be seen suspended in space. In a way, it looked like a three-dimensional object that hadntpletely rendered, many of the vertices giving way to reveal a golden sphere, surrounded by source code, within. Though it felt like he was only a few hundred meters away from the golden sphere, Vahn had the impression he was actually an infinite distance from its location. The variousyers of code on the inside made his brain feel fuzzy just looking at them, and, though several orders of magnitude less advanced, he felt as if the cuboid structure before him was simr to the Root System itself. Since he had begun to bleed from both nostrils after observing the data stream for several seconds, Vahn manipted his blood to form a tiny bead before turning to the silent automaton and asking, "What authority do I have as Chief Administrator? Exin your assigned purpose and the functions of the Moon Cell." Without any dy in its response, the purple automaton replied in its characteristic synthetic voice, stating, "Command Acknowledged. Answering the first query. As Chief Administrator, you have the authority to: assign secondary objectives, initiate root protocols, suspend non-vital systems, and alter the permissions of other designates. Answering the secondary query. The existence you know as the Moon Cell has three primary objectives, seventeen-thousand-four-hundred-and-ny secondary objectives, two primary functions, and seven secondary functions, and neen tertiary functions." Fearing the automaton would begin listing all of its functions, Vahn interrupted its exnation, a wry smile on his face as he said, "Just tell me your primary objective and the primary functions avable to me as the Chief Administrator." Following Vahns interruption, the automaton briefly paused before answering, "Amendment to the previous inquiries has been acknowledged. Updating response to amendment. Answering amended inquiry. Primary objectives include the observation of SS-C3PB: GAIA, monitoring the development of life upon its surface, and creating a backup of all information umted prior to its destruction. Answering the second amended inquiry. As Chief Administrator, you are allowed direct ess to all non-vital systems for the purpose of observation and data collection. Primary functions include the ability to move freely within the Photonic Abyss and initiate procedures to establish contact with the Root System." Hearing the automatons response, Vahn fell into silent contemtion, as, going by its exnation, he didnt actually have the authority to expel Archimedes and his entourage. Thus, after sorting his thoughts, he asked, "Can I assign or transfer authority to other people?", followed by the automaton replying, "Answering inquiry. Only if they are on the list of authorized personnelpiled within the Primary Terminal. Administrative rights cannot be given to entities ssified as a threat to primary objectives." Since his own authority seemed rather limited, even as Chief Administrator, Vahn wasnt surprised by the automatons response. Just like ya, it waspelled to fulfill its primary function, and, though he had some liberty to influence it, arbitrarily introducing change was difficult. Thus, he shelved the idea of immediately transferring authority to Da Vinci, instead, saying, "Transfer me to the Primary Terminal, or, any area where I can monitor everything else within the Moon Cell. Also, if such a thing exists, make an exception for Artoria Aldrnari Pendragon. I want her transferred to the same location as me." Though Vahn could use his Unit Management to summon Artoria to his side, he wanted to see if the Moon Cell could transfer others. He had asked her to be patient and wait for him outside, but, with the passage of time, she would undoubtedly be increasingly stressed out. After all, they were supposed to be invading the Moon Cell together, not waiting for him to figure things out and make sure it was safe for her to venture inside. Unfortunately, in response to Vahnsmand, the automaton immediately stated, "It is impossible to transfer anyone without the requisite permissions. ess to vital systems can only be achieved in the event that contact with the Root System has been established. An existing request for ess to the Root System already exists. Would you like to supersede the existing request and forcibly initiate the procedure to establish contact?" Feeling the Flow of Fate around him suddenly surge, Vahn peered into the near-future to find that an even simr to the Holy Grail War would be initiated if he replied in the affirmative. Instead, he didnt hesitate to shake his head, stating, "No, do not initiate proceedings. Also, cancel the existing request and restrict further ess to any external functions that have no been directly approved by me." Vahn didnt have to inquire in order to understand that Archimedes had been the one to initiate the previous request. He likely intended to use the Moon Cell in a manner simr to the Greater Grail, using its connection to the Root System in order to have his wish granted. As such an event would bring far too much trouble, he decided to nip it in the bud. After all, while the Flow of Fate showed that he would undoubtedly win the event, there were many troublesome scenes depicted within the same current. In response to Vahns order, the automaton shed its light a few times before saying, "Command has been executed. Do you wish to continue transfer to the Primary Terminal?" With the visage of Archimedes shing across his mind, Vahn smiled knowingly in response to the automatons question, answering, "Proceed." in a curt tone. In the next moment, he found himself in an extremely clean room that reminded him of the control room for CHALDEAS. There, on the verge of pulling his hair out in frustration, Archimedes could be seen hunched over, his fingers typing away with such intensity their movement was hard to follow. Unfortunately for Archimedes, every inquiry andmand he typed into the terminal was answered with a massive ess Denied notification. Though he seemed to be trying to circumvent this block, typing a series of runic coding into what appeared to be amand prompt, he hadnt been able to make much progress. After all, the Moon Cell was one of, if not the, most advanced pieces of tech in the entire Sol System. If it could be so easily hacked, at least in any meaningful way, that would be a farce in and of itself. Since Archimedes apparently hadnt noticed him, Vahn walked up behind the man, cing his palm on the formers shoulder rather roughly. In response, Archimedes turned statuesque, his rampant typinging to an instantaneous halt as his heavy breathing sounded throughout the otherwise empty chamber. Then, after swallowing hard, he slowly turned his head, finding Vahn standing there with a smile that didnt quite reach his eyes... Before Archimedes could say anything, Vahn interrupted him, stating in a tone that left no room for argument, "Sit down and remain silent. You will speak when I have given you permission. Do not test my patience, Archimedes. The moment you try anything, anything at all, expect to die..." Without waiting for a response, Vahn forced Archimedes to take a seat before navigating through his Unit Management and transferring Artoria. If he kept her waiting much longer, things would be increasinglyplicated. The moment Artoria appeared within the Primary Terminal, the lighting within shifted to red, but, as he had already seen this, Vahn inly stated, "She has my permission to be here. Worry not, as she has no intention of damaging the Moon Cell and its systems. If she tries, I will personally intervene to protect the station." Though it gave off the impression that it wanted to argue, the purple automaton ultimately issued a synthetic, "Acknowledged." before the lights immediately shifted back to a neutral blue. Seeing how easily Vahn convinced the Moon Cell of his intentions, Archimedes tried to give voice to his incredulity, but, the moment his mouth began to open, he found a startling hot de tip resting against his tongue, followed by Vahn stating in a venomous tone, "I did not give you permission to speak..." Archimedes felt more indignant in thest few minutes than he had over thest fifty years, causing his expression to turn exceptionally dour. He didnt really care that his tongue was being scaled by the ambient heat of Vahns [L?vateinn]. What really bothered him was the fact that he was being looked down on by a man who, at least in his mind,cked the qualifications to do so. Vahn was the embodiment of everything he hated in humans: petnt, emotional, and overbearing when it came to anything that contradicted their beliefs. Unaware of the hypocritical thoughts swirling through Archimedes mind, Vahn returned [L?vateinn] to his Inventory while making a mental note to clean it properlyter on. Then, after pulling out two more chairs, one for himself and the other for Artoria, he sat down in front of the glowering man, his smile gradually fading away as he stated, "Though I can understand your reasoning behind trying toy low, the methods youve been incorporating over the past few months seem specifically designed to annoy me. Had I not spent a fair amount of time thinking things through, the start of the meeting would have marked the end of your life..." Though he was doing his best to control his emotions, images of Scthach briefly shed through Vahns mind. At the same time, his skin gradually shifted from a healthy tan to a progressive fairerplexion, followed by golden scales slowly growing from the erged pores on his arms, legs, and face. More noticeable, however, was the ever-increasing pressure within the room, so potent it even caused Artoria to grimace slightly... If not for Artorias presence, Vahn imagined he would have just crushed Archimedes, bringing an end to everything then and there. It would take very little effort, as, despite believing Archimedes had the means to protect himself, the reality of the situation proved otherwise. It was all but guaranteed such countermeasures existed, but, having never expected the spontaneous seizure of the Moon Cell, all of his ns had been undermined before they could be implemented. Taking sce in the fact he had near-absolute control over the current situation, Vahn took several deep breaths to calm himself before pulling out a vial of murky white liquid, saying, "This is a high-quality recovery potion. Apply it to your tongue...we have much to discuss." Having few options other than acquiescence, Archimedes stared at the vial in Vahns hand before ultimately removing the cork and downing its contents. This caused the blisters on his tongue to quickly heal, restoring his taste buds and allowing him to taste the mellow, honey-like, fluid as it coated his throat and spread warmth through his body. Without waiting for Archimedes topletely recover, Vahns eyes gradually shifted from gold to a ghostly blue as he said, "I will give you one opportunity to exin your actual reasons foring to the past. Feel free to twist your story and embellish it as much as youd like...just know I am able to see through falsehoods to peer at the truth. The greater your lie, the harsher your punishment...know this, not as a promise, but an incontestable truth..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Rotton potatoes are OP,Vahn be like, "Hello there...",One final chance for transparency...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1435 - Truth

Chapter 1435 - Truth

True to his word, Vahn allowed Archimedes to make his case, sitting silently as the man exined the state of his world, the war leading up to humanitys near extinction, the discovery of the Moon Cell, and his awakening as a Security Administrator. ording to Archimedes, mana began to fade within his world shortly after the moonnding in 1969. This was also the beginning of what most people refer to as the Era of Modernization, the period where Science and Technology slowly peeled back the veil of Fundamentalism, opening the eyes of society to the truth of the world. Coinciding with the changing of the times, internal strife slowly split the Mages Association into several smaller factions. Following their decline, two new organizations, the Western European Plutocracy, and the South East Asian Alliance rose to prominence, functionally splitting the world into two distinct halves. China, the de facto leaders of the S.E.A.A, managed to dominate the global economy due to their stranglehold on industrialization. Unfortunately, due to poor nning and even worse oversight, the overabundance of stic and chemical waste ended up leading to a mass extinction of most marine life due to global warming and a sharp decline in the amount of oxygen within the worlds oceans. While the S.E.A.A. was shouldering the me of thes rapid decline, ushering in economic sanctions and the boycott of various goods, the Western European Plutocracy began a meteoric rise due to the fact they had been advocating for greener, more efficient, alternatives. They were also responsible for the development of various telmunications breakthroughs, and, prior to the copse of the global economy, they had already been developing shuttles capable of exiting atmosphere and traversing space. With the panic revolving around thes rapid deterioration, people around the world turned their eyes skyward, dreaming of worlds beyond. This led to an exponential increase in funding for space-faring technologies, elevating the leading family of the Western European Plutocracy, the Harway family, to celebrity status virtually overnight. What people didnt expect was, the moment the Harway family rose to prominence, securing a ce for themselves at the pinnacle of society, the hopes and dreams of many were shattered in an instant. This wasnt due to any great betrayal on the part of the Harways, but, after more than a decade of unfair treatment from the rest of the world, various terrorist organizations, with strong connections to the S.E.A.A., began spreading chaos throughout the world. By the time the truth was exposed to the public, it was already toote, as, on December 25th, 2022, seventeen nuclear warheads were detonated in various world capitals. By the changing of the calendar year, the Third World War had begun, crippling the global economy and leaving millions fleeing for their lives. While the onset of the Third World War hade as a surprise to many, history recorded that the actual conflict onlysted for neen months. In this rtively short period of time, however, an estimated 1.3 billion people had lost their lives, many due to radiation sickness, famine, and the inability to secure clean drinking water. Diseases once thought extinct imed millions and, even after the war, gic mutations led to a startling decline in the number of births, decreasing the global poption from 8.1 billion to 3.9 billion by 2030. Due to the acidic nature of the worlds oceans, most shorelines were rapidly eroded, pushing what remained of humanity ind. This was when the true brilliance of the Western European Plutocracy made itself known once again, as, in anticipation of the worlds decline, they had already prepared various facilities to slowly reim the Earth. They publicized the existence of various underground cities, and, tobat the global depression, they even introduced the worlds first Full Dive Virtual Reality system, a means of escaping reality and finding purpose in the fantastical world of the NET. As a result of their efforts, the Harway family quickly became the most profligate family in the entire world. Many even considered them the de facto rulers of the human race, primarily due to the fact that much of the worlds infrastructure revolved around their businesses. People began to spend most of their time on the NETs and, integrating the global and digital economies into one cohesive entity. At the same time, the Harway family established a massive space elevator and a colossal space station that was more than 30km in diameter. While purporting they were making preparations for humanitys colonization of others, the Western European Plutocracypletely shut down space travel for other organizations. This wasrgely due to the fact that, during the previous World War, the vast majority of satellites had been destroyed. Though some argued that they should have ess to the same shielding technology that had been developed to protect the Space Elevator, this was considered proprietary hardware and, after the recent World War, the exchange of such technologies became heavily restricted. What most didnt know was that, following the moonnding in 1969, the Astronauts had found more than just a barren rock waiting for their arrival. They ended up conducting a secret mission into the Moons Umbral Sea, the shadow area of the Moon that was rumored to conceal many a secret. There, they discovered an indestructible Monolith, taking detailed photographs and soil samples before covering up the discovery. Due to their association with various affluent families within the United States, the Harway family, alongside twelve others, learned of this undisclosed secret. As a result, they began researching the Monolith, discovering it served a simr purpose to the legendary Rosetta Stone. The text on its surface was written in thirty-seven differentnguages, including many that had ceased to exist thousands of years prior. The existence of the Monolith, alone, was enough to usher in apletely new era, but, due to its contents, its discovery waspletely hidden from the public. This was due to the fact that, after the message was interpreted, the existence of the Moon Cell became known. More importantly, a small fragment of the same material as the Monolith had been discovered, situated in the center, much like a keystone. After further study, this fragment was revealed to house various blueprints and diagrams, many far more advanced than anything that had been developed on Earth. Using the knowledge contained within the Keystone, the Western European Plutocracy quickly rose to power during the decline of the Mages Association. They set their sights on the far future, developing advanced technologies in secret while the world slowly marched towards destruction. It was only once humanity had been crippled, preventing anypetition for the Moon Cell, that the Harway family, the leaders of the Western European Plutocracy, moved to im the coveted Vault of Heaven for themselves. Once the Moon Cell had been officially opened, Archimedes had been summoned to act as an Advisor and Security Administrator. When the expedition led by the Harway family arrived, he was there waiting for them, guiding them through the various facilities and informing them of the rules that governed the Moon Cell. Though this ultimately led to conflict, the Moon Cell was capable of producing an endless amount of Attack Programs,ying waste to the Harway familys forces until they ultimately acquiesced. The only way to gain ess to the information provided by the Moon Cell was to earn the right to ess it. This was achieved bypleting various challenges, the vast majority of which took ce in the Virtual Reality Marbles manifested by the Moon Cells primary control program. As a result, the Harway family began developing Virtual Reality for themselves, both to train their own people while simultaneously preparing sacrifices. In order to trigger one of the Moon Cells challenges, an increment of 128 people was required. When the requisite number of people had been gathered, willingly, an event simr to the Holy Grail War would be implemented, pairing each member with a Servant based on the data that had been umted by the Moon Cell over the past 4.6 billion years. They would then fight in a contest spanning seven weeks, beginning with a week-long preliminary, to reduce the number of contestants to 128, and six weeks of one-versus-one duels. Once a victor had been determined, they would be allowed to visit the Moon Cell itself, therge cuboid structure that housed the Main Core. There, a connection to the Root was established and, though not quite on the same level as the Greater Grail, it could grant virtually any desire, so long as it did not involve the destruction or management of the Moon Cell itself. --- The entire time Archimedes was giving his history lesson, Vahn was peering into the multitude of currents flowing around them. This allowed him to view hundreds of instances of the Moon Cell Holy Grail War, many of which involved participants from the Empire and various other forces that had, somehow, been selected by the Moon Cells control program. What never changed, unless he went out of his way to allow it, was the fact that he won every single time. While it inted his ego quite a bit to know that there were virtually no measures to prevent him from securing victory, the main reason Vahn peered into the various currents was to ascertain the true nature and intentions of Archimedes. He knew the man wasnt being forthright with him, but, instead of interrupting, he just lightly tapped his finger each time Archimedes deflected or footed around an issue. Archimedes had noticed the physical tell performed by Vahn, but, as exposing the truth would be the same as choosing death, he couldnt simply give up. He kept telling himself that there was no way Vahn could know the truth, unless, of course, he also came from the future. However, due to the authority previously granted to him by the Moon Cell, he had been able to ess Parallel Worlds and directly monitor the Quantum Time Axis. A singrity, regardless of whether or not it was in the past, present, or future, would be noted by the Moon Cells Observational Lens, unless, of course, Vahn came from outside this observational field... As this thought crossed his mind, Archimedes gradually fell silent, and, though it was almost like putting a gun to his head, he asked, "What do you know of the Umbral Star...?" Vahn wasnt in the mood to be questioned, but when it came to this particr topic, he couldnt help but smile slightly as he inly stated, "Less than Id like, more than you can imagine." Sensing no falsehood in Vahns words, Archimedes expression darkened considerably, even though his face appeared as though all the blood had drained out of it. Then, with a voice that trembled with both fear and anger, he muttered, "Even if you kill me...you cant stop the return of the Umbral Star...you, your Empire, everything...it will all be destroyed..." Despite Archimedes remark, Vahns smile didnt fade in the slightest, as, based on Akashas past exnation, his designation even gave him authority over Sol, much less a Rogue Star like Velber. Even if this wasnt the case, he was confident in being able to repel, if not outright destroy, the so-called Umbral Star. It had been repelled by various Sun Gods, so, with nearly a thousand years to prepare for its arrival, Vahn wasnt even remotely worried. Without bothering to dignify Archimedes words with a response, Vahn turned to the automaton that had been silently observing them from the side, saying, "I believe Archimedes is no longer qualified for his current position. With your blessing, I will be rid of him for you..." Hearing Vahns words, Archimedes pulled out a small crystalline baton, causing a ck ripple to spread out, simr to a Reality Marble. An ocean of stars began to dot the horizon, but, before he was able to fully activate his Noble Phantasm, Artorias de pierced his chest to the hilt. She had been closely observing him, and, though Vahn could have easily intervened, she wanted to share in his burdens whenever possible. With his Noble Phantasm shattered, Archimedes made a vain attempt at pulling out [Excalibur], but, the moment his gloved hand touched the de, holy light began to burn him. Immediately thereafter, the automaton seemed to have made its decision, stating, "Archimedes will be listed as an existence that threatens the Moon Cell, revoking his current rights and preventing all future summons. A new Security Administrator will be designated following his deletion." Following the automatons words, a red barrier repelled Artoria from Archimedes, dividing the space within the Primary Terminal. At the same time, Archimedes body began to rapidly ke away, revealing a ssy purple substance that looked like corrupted data. It started from his limbs and the wound around his chest, quickly spreading to cover his body as he bent and, releasing a primal scream in the moments before he waspletely annihted... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Feels like writing satire...,Being able to see the Flow of Fate is incredibly broken xD...,Archimedes final words, "Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-!!!!") (A/N: This is thest chapter for today so Ill let the readers decide. If youd like for me to actually go forward with the Moon Cell Holy Grail War, let me know. Otherwise, Ill be proceeding with a few other events I have nned, wrapping up the Nasuverse arc over the next hundred chapters, give or take.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1436 - Unknown

Chapter 1436 - Unknown

With the death of Archimedes, one of Vahns most significant troubles had been eliminated from the equation. Though there was a fair chance some of the other Heroic Spirits could continue to oppose him, this wasnt particrly concerning, as, like all people, they would be forced toply with the Common Law if they wanted to avoid destruction. This wasnt up for debate, so Vahn still expected conflict between his, and the Heros, forces. Unfortunately, after discussing matters with the Control Program of the Moon Cell, Vahn learned that he couldnt use it to observe and spy on others. He also didnt have ess to the data that had beenpiled over thest 4.6 billion years, unless, of course, he earned the right to peer into the past after winning the Moon Cells version of the Holy Grail War. Though it was a tempting thought, Vahn wasnt particrly interested in the idea of holding the tournament-style event, as, based on the information provided by the Control Program, nearly every participant would end up losing their lives. There were ways around this, but it was still an event that, at the most fundamental level, was designed to sacrifice hundreds of people in the hopes of storing their souls within the Moon Cells memory banks. It used these fragmented Egos to produce what many would refer to as NPCs, non-yer characters, which were just Artificial Intelligences used to establish a standalone virtual society. In essence, the Moon Cell took advantage of the fact that humanity often reached it when civilization was on the decline. Then, by luring them in with the promise of wishes, it would fulfill the desires of a single person in exchange for the souls of hundreds. This, in turn, allowed it to continue observing humanity for all eternity, as, even if all biological life was extinguished, it could monitor them within a controlled, virtual environment. While he was privy to this information, Vahn quickly came to discover that there was very little he could do, even as the Chief Administrator. His only real power, outside of initiating the Holy Grail War, was teleporting within the Photonic Abyss. Yet, this was also limited as the Moon Cell had restrictions that guaranteed the privacy of anyone essing the system. Archimedes could use it to spy on people, but this primarily the result of his designation as the Security Administrator. This had allowed him to g specific individuals as threats to the Moon Cell operation, gathering information on potential risks and removing them. Fortunately, with the exceptions of entities like Musashi and Caenis, everyone that had been pulled into the Moon Cells Photonic Abyss had effectively been trapped inside. This meant, even if he just returned home and ignored them, the Heroic Spirits summoned by Archimedes would be confined inside the Moon Cell for all eternity. Their only means of escape, at least without the aid of Musashi, was to participate in, and win, the Moon Cell Holy Grail War. From this revtion, Vahn could deduce that Archimedes had intended, over time, to either summon 128 Heroic Spirits, or, based on his use of automatons, create Artificial Humans to serve as sacrificial pawns. There was even a chance that he had intended to use the Empires forces to trigger the event, as, so long as there was an adequate number of participants, the preliminary phase could be initiated... Needless to say, Vahn was greatly relieved by Archimedes death, despite the fact the Moon Cell, having now been activated, was pelled to initiate the procedure to ess the Root. If it was left to its own devices, it would slowly create Master Candidates using the data it hadpiled, setting the stage for future troubles if ignored. Thus, he would need to closely monitor the Moon Cell, doing his best to limit the number of people inside so that the faux Holy Grail War cannot be initiated and exploited by third parties. Fortunately, so long as he left a single powerful guardian inside, they should be able to win any unexpected Holy Grail Wars without much effort. After all, the Master Candidates each received apatible Servant, so, with two Heroic Spirits fighting side-by-side, the chance of anyone being able to defeat them was slim. He could also use his Chief Administrator position to ess the Far Side of the Moon, an Imaginary Number Space that was used to quarantine the still-living Velber: 02. Vahn wasnt in a particr rush to meet with the infamous White Titan, as, in most of the visions he had peered into, they end up fighting. From these same visions, he learned that she, basically, just wanted to be left alone, biding her time until the return of the Umbral Star. Since this was an event that was scheduled to take ce around the year 3030, Vahn had more than a thousand years to prepare, ample time to form countermeasures against virtually any threat... --- Before heading off to confront the group of would-be Heroes, Vahn decided to wait around for the selection of a new Security Administrator. He was given ess to the list of avable candidates, so, while it wasnt his decision to make, he could still give his input on the matter. He would have to work alongside the new Security Administrator, potentially for hundreds of years, so it would make things a lot easier if he could convince the Control Program to select someone amicable. After perusing the file for a considerable amount of time, finding names like Sherlock and Da Vinci both listed, Vahn ended up asking, "I noticed this list doesnt contain any Gods or Demigods...is there a reason for this?" In response to his question, the purple automaton, using the same synthetic voice as before, stated, "Answering inquiry. The beings known as Gods inherit their authority from their Parent Star or have it bestowed unto them by theary System they inhabit. The Moon Cell is capable of emting this phenomenon. However, due to potential conflicts of interest, Gods and Demigods are excluded from the standard selection criteria. Many have strong ties to specific beliefs and ideals, making their existence a danger to the Moon Cells operations." Vahn was tempted to nominate this Records version of Hestia, but, knowing how troublesome the Greek and Roman Gods were, giving them an excuse to interfere with the Moon Cell didnt seem like the best course of action. Thus, he ultimately decided to leave the decision to the Control Program, albeit after reading the Flow of Fate and determining there wouldnt be any issues. As a result, the Control Program ended up selecting a Russian-American Philosopher named Ayn Rand, the woman who hadid the foundation for the philosophy of Objectivism. --- Without knowing of Archimedes death, Musashi, apanied by Shirou, Berserker, and Caenis. Thetter had a unique Skill known as [Pursuit of Vengeance: A], so, as long as she recognized someone as her enemy, she could track them virtually anywhere, even crossing Time and Space. In the distant past, approximately four thousand years in the future of a divergent world, Caenis had used this Skill to track down and ultimately kill Poseidon, stealing his Divine Authority in the process. It was the ying of Poseidon, relying on the help of many others, that ultimately elevated her to the status of a Divine Spirit. Since then, Caenis had made it her mission to hunt down and ughter any men who believed they could use their status and authority to have their way with women. No matter how much time had passed, she had never forgotten the shame of that fateful day, using it as fuel to propel her through the vast ocean of eternity without losing her way. With Caenis leading the way, it didnt take long for the group to reach a half-formed Ivory Castle, which, as a result of Vahns departure, had started to fragment at the edges. Despite this, several thousand Attack Programs were waiting in the vicinity, protecting the region with zeal befitting of actual Knights. They had even formed rows and columns, emted the formations expected of a real army. There were even twelve powerful figures seated atop horses, interspaced among the army of automatons like actualmanders preparing for war. Seeing the sight with crystal rity, despite being several dozen kilometers away, Shirou exined, "I dont like this...there are twelve shadows at the back, each giving off dangerous auras. Based on our knowledge of the Empire, I assume these shadows are meant to represent the Knights of the Round Table...how irksome..." Musashis eyesight wasnt as developed as Shirous, but, even without his [irvoyance:C], she was able to sense the power contained by the twelve figures. This stirred up her desire to battle, but, at the same time, her intuition told her there was something wrong about this situation. Vahn wasnt the type to hide away while others fought his battles. He had even personallye to attack the Moon Cell, so it made no sense for him to be hiding away inside his castle while strange automatons fought on his behalf. Never doubting her instinct, Musashi turned to Caenis, asking, "Are you certain Vahn is inside? This doesnt feel right..." Hearing Musashis question, Caenis gave her a pointed stare, but, knowing the former was generally right about such things, she didnt immediatelysh out. Instead, she focused her senses for several minutes before saying, "Im not sure...that bastard is different from normal people. It always feels like there are multiple versions of him spread out. I can still sense his presence in this area...almost like it is the castle itself...?" Musashi frowned slightly in response to Caenis words, but, seemingly having thought of something, Shirou followed by adding, "This ce functions simrly to a Realy Marble...in other words, this is a part of the Emperor. He must have used this castle to lure us out...maybe he already knew of Caenis Skill before releasing you. Our safest option is to have me scout the interior while the three of you stay posted outside. Try to establish contact with the others while Im gone..." Without waiting for a response from the three girls, Shirou pulled up his hoodie before lifting the scarf around his neck to reveal that it was a bava, concealing all but his eyes. Then, in an instant, his figure seemed to dissolve into the surroundings, his presence vanishing shortly thereafter. As this wasnt the first time Shirou had gone on a dangerous solo mission, Musashi just released an exasperated sigh before muttering, "That guy is always so eager to ce himself in danger..." Hearing Musashisment, Caenis snorted through her nose in response, adding, "He just wants to show off. All men are a bunch of idiots who only think with their lower body, not their brains. Even if he pretends to be a nice guy on the surface, his true nature is no different from that golden bastard." Since Caenis rarely passed on an opportunity tombast the very existence of men, Musashi rolled her eyes in response to the horse-like womans retort. It was impossible to reason with her, leading to Jason referring to her, not-so-affectionately, as an obstinate donkey. This, of course, resulted in him getting thrashed pretty severely, but, considering most of the women in their group had beaten him up, that was par for the course. With the exception of his personal dolls and the ever-annoying Change, most of the Heroes actually disdained Jason quite a bit. He was a coward that hid behind others, yet, despite his weakness, he touted himself as some great Captain, destined to lead others. His Noble Phantasm was one of the most powerful in their entire group, but due to the conditions required to trigger it, he was all but useless in a short engagement... Thinking of Jason, Musashi couldnt shake the feeling that he would suffer a rather tragic fate in the near future. It was easy to imagine him saying something to offend Vahn, and, given what she knew of thetter, he wouldnt be very tolerant towards the infamous Captain of the Argonauts. To this end, she could only hope that Jason wasnt the first of their group that Vahn encountered. Fortunately, he had A+ Luck, making Brynhildr, the Valkyrian woman who couldnt even walk a few hundred meters without tripping over her own feet, the most likely target... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Moon Cell is like a baby version of the Root System,Caenis is quite the feminist...*cough*,Someone with the same Luck rating as Lakshmibai!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1437 - Irksome

Chapter 1437 - Irksome

Vahn was curious about the Control Programs decision to call upon a philosopher to serve as its next Security Administrator, but, as it had very little to do with him, he simply introduced himself to the rather dour-looking woman before parting ways a few minutester. He had other matters to attend and there would be plenty of time to familiarize himself with both her and the Moon Cell in the near future. Since Ayn refused to offer him any information regarding the locations of the Heroes, Vahn ended up having the Control Program just drop him off back in his original location. It was easier to think when you were surrounded by a familiar setting, and, though it wasnt the real Ivory Castle, having an appearance closer to the original, Vahn didnt mind borrowing Artorias wooden Throne for a bit. Once it was just the two of them, something he could confirm using abination of his instincts and senses, Vahn had Artoria take a seat at his armrest before asking, "What do you think, Artoria? We can either meet with the Heroes and negotiate with them individually or summon our people in order to shore up the defenses of this digitalized Ivory Castle. We also have the option of just ignoring them, at least until the poke out their heads and cause trouble..." Due to the nature of the Moon Cell, Vahn was no longer able to use the String of Fate that tied him and Musashi together, at least for the time being. He would need to contact ya and have her reactivate the ability, as, after being transferred inside the Virtual Reality Marble, the previous string had vanished. It undoubtedly still worked, but, at least for the moment, he didnt even know where to begin searching. Since it was a very serious matter, Artoria fell into deep thought for several minutes before she ultimately answered, "Though it is always best to end things without a conflict...I fear the morale of our people will diminish if their preparations were for naught. Even if it is only to secure this ce for a short period of time, I believe it is best if we give them a stage to perform on. Those women fear being made useless more than they fear death...we should respect their resolution and desire to serve." Finding Artorias point agreeable, Vahn ended up nodding his head before closing his eyes and focusing on his Unit Management function. He had already confirmed with the Control Program that summoning outsiders wouldnt initiate the procedure of establishing contact with the Root, an event that required an adequate number of willing participants to trigger. Since they would be arriving within the Moon Cell for an entirely different purpose, there was little chance of anything going wrong, something he had confirmed by viewing various currents. Just as Vahn was about to initiate a mass transfer, a singr, obscure, current caught his attention. As a result, he opened his eyes, turning his head towards a stained ss mural that lined the high walls of the Throne Room. At the same time, Artoria followed his gaze, her eyes sharpening as she manifested her [Excalibur] and shouted, "Show yourself!" due to her [Instinct] triggering. In response to Artorias outburst, space seemed to contract within an area, almost like individual molecules were being pulled from nothingness to form the outline of a person. This only took a few milliseconds, but, from Vahns point of view, he had been able to witness the entire event in slow motion. He found the technique rather interesting due to the fact that, prior to knowing the man was going to attack, the would-be assassin didnt even seem to exist... After fully manifesting, a rather tall man, standing at 187cm, wearing ck trousers, ck shoes, and a ck hoodie dropped down from his perch. When he lifted his face, silver eyes with a very subtle tinge of gold came into view, peering through the gap between ck fabrics. Despite this, Artorias [Excalibur] dropped slightly, followed by her asking, "Shirou...?" in an uncertain tone. With his cover blown, Shirou ended up removing his hood and pulling down his face mask, a wry smile on his face as he said, "I guess hiding my identity doesnt work when youve already met the past and future versions of myself, huh?" Despite the fact she recognized the man standing before her, Artoria didntpletely lower her sword. Instead, she furrowed her brows deeply, stating, "You shouldnt be here...how is it possible for you to manifest a second time after bing a Counter Guardian? You arent the same man I knew...it is impossible..." Rather than refute her words, Shirou nodded his head in affirmation, exining, "Though I have the same memories, I am not the same Shirou Emiya you knew. It would be more urate to say I am how the Moon Cell remembers me, a pale imitation of a foolish mans dreams of bing a Hero. Even then...its good to see you...Artoria..." Hearing Shirous words, Artorias shoulders trembled lightly, but, from start to finish, her sword had continued to point toward him. This was noted by both Shirou, and, of course, Vahn, thetter of which slowly rose to his feet before cing his hand on Artorias shoulder. It was only after this that she lowered her sword, understanding that Vahn had taken control of the situation in order to ease her burden. Seeing Artoria shrink behind Vahn, Shirou took a deep breath through his nose, his eyes shining in the low light of the Throne Room as he turned his gaze upon the Emperor who had thrown the world into chaos. Truth be told, Shirou didnt actually disagree with Vahns views, only the methods he had used to bring them to fruition. Thus, if the circumstances had been different, there is a good chance they would have been on the same side, not opposing each other. Unfortunately, the die had already been cast, and, though he had a fair number of inhibitions about the current situation, Shirou was not the type to let his emotions interfere with his mission. That was an aspect of his character that had died in his youth, a time before he understood the true nature of the world and became the modern eras most infamous assassin. Understanding what Shirou intended, Vahn squinted his eyes slightly, cautioning, "I am not a foe you can defeat...if possible, Id like to avoid fighting, at least for the time being. That isnt even the reason you came here, is it? You wanted to determine the truth behind my words and discuss the terms of our future engagements..." Though Vahns words struck at the heart of the matter, Shirou proffered forth a wry smile, his mana beginning to surge as he said, "Youre right...that is the reason I came here. However, I also have a bit of a grudge to settle. I trust you arent petty enough to hold others ountable for my actions so Im afraid I cant really hold myself back...hahaha-" In the middle of hisughter, Shirou leaped backward, kicking up a plume of magical energy in a simr manner to [Mana Burst] as he pulled out two pistols, one ck, and the other white. As he pulled their triggers, runes glowed along the length of the barrels while, inside the chamber, pale blue energy created a swirling vortex that discharged the rounds within at a speed several times faster than even the most advanced, modern, firearms. After training with Scthach, who had harassed him with countless projectiles, Vahn developed the ability to identify various curses and effects through intuition alone. At times, he had less than a microsecond to respond, so, while the projectiles fired from Shirous pistols were quite fast, they moved a negligible speed from his perspective. Though it wasnt quite an urate depiction of the situation, Vahn even felt like he could slowly reach out, grabbing the engraved bullet out of the air like an inert pebble without any effort whatsoever... Ultimately, Vahn did extend his hand outward, but, instead of grabbing the bullets, he created two small tears in the fabric of space, seemingly absorbing them. In actuality, however, he had created an exit point behind Shirou, taking advantage of the fact he was still mid-leap to hit the mans left shoulder and right calf, fully aware that it wouldnt deal much damage to him. Feeling the impact of his own bullets against his body, Shirous eyes widened slightly as, from his perspective, Vahn had countered him without any discernible effort. Unfortunately, by the time his mind had processed this thought, the man in question had disappeared from view, followed by a much stronger impact that sent him sliding along the hard marble floor before mming into the adjoining wall. Without giving Shirou any time to recover, Vahn appeared at his side, coinciding exactly with the moment he impacted the wall. He used this as an opportunity to kick the defenseless man again, this time sending him crashing through the wall as he remarked, "If you try to activate your Noble Phantasm, I will cut off both of your arms." Hearing Vahns remark, Shirous mind began to race, as, after the second kick, that was the main thought running through his mind. This caused him to raise his head, staring at Vahn with shaken yet resolute eyes as he asked, "You can see the future?" while forcibly elerating the healing of his body. As it wouldnt matter if Shirou was injured or fighting at full capacity, Vahn didnt mind the mans attempt to heal his wounds. Instead, he maintained a calm andposed demeanor as he shook his head and answered, "Some may refer to it in such a manner, but, the true nature of my ability is to read the Flow of Fate. I dont simply see the future, Shirou Emiya...no, I see something much more concrete...the present, and the many paths avable to us all..." Following Vahns statement, he reached out his right hand, grabbing at the void just as Shirous body began to disperse. Then, before thetter could react, he mmed the man into the dense white stone with enough force to kick up a cloud of debris more than 10m high. This left Shirou, who had attempted to sneak attack him,pletely unconscious as blood dripped from most of his orifices. If he were being honest, Vahn didnt really like Shirou all that much, but, knowing he had great sentimental value to many people, killing him outright seemed wrong. While it may not be the real Shirou Emiya, Vahn knew he could provide the girls some degree of closure due to the fact he possessed the same memories. He could also sense a very potent Flow of Fate around the man, and, despite the fact Shirou had been trying to assassinate him, his aura was a pale blue, indicating he had no malicious feelings, only the purpose he believed in... --- Though they were still several kilometers away, Musashi and co could feel the fluctuations of a battle taking ce within the Ivory Castle. This caused the former to release a tired sigh while Caenis, ever-thirsty for battle, shouted, "We should charge in! That man might be an idiot but he is still our ally! We cant just stand and here and do nothing...!!" Musashi didntpletely disagree with Caenis sentiments, but, knowing Shirou and having a decent understanding of Vahn, she felt it would be foolish to intervene. Thetter wasnt likely to kill Shirou outright so it would only make matters worse if they were to throw themselves into the fray. Thus, rather than respond to Caenis outburst, she turned to Berserker, who, despite only a few minutes passing since Shirous departure, was now surrounded by empty stic wrappers as she ceaselessly devoured some kind of curry bread. Noticing Musashis gaze, Berserker blinked her amber-eyes in surprise before turning away and saying, "You cant have any..." in a threatening tone. This caused Musashi to release another sigh, followed by her asking, "Is Shirou okay? He should have contacted you, right...?" Before answering Musashis question, Berserker finished the rest of her curry bread,rge pieces vanishing with each of her tiny bites. Only after the final crumbs had vanished did she finally nod her head, exining, "He said to leave it to him...do not interfere..." Hearing Berserkers response, Caenis hissed through her teeth, hefting her spear and shield as she shouted, "Fuck that! Ill go in there and drag that dumbass out by his ass hairs if I have to!" Not expecting such a remark from Caenis, Musashi was temporarily at a loss for words, silence the former took as acquiescence. As a result, Caenis kicked off the ground with enough force to cover nearly the entire distance between their perch and the Ivory Castle in an instant. This caused the veritable wall of automatons to immediately react, each working together to form a defensive line as four of the shadowy figures moved to intercept... (A/N: Alternate Titles: You aint sneaky,An absolute difference in power...,Shirous cheeks just clenched...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1438 - Perspective

Chapter 1438 - Perspective

Though the Moon Cell was capable of generating Attack Programs with simr Parameters to Heroic Spirits, it couldnt copy their Skills and Noble Phantasms. Thus, while the shadowy figures radiated a powerful aura, it didnt take long for Caenis to overwhelm the four sent to block her. She could easily read their mechanical movements, using her long ive-like spear to shatter the crystalline material that formed their bodies. Eventually, perhaps realizing normal forces couldnt do anything to stop the intruder, the other eight shadowy figures moved to intercept. Around the same time, two figures appeared atop the bulwark of the castle, observing the ongoing battle with varying thoughts racing through their minds. Vahn, seeing therge army that had formed, was beginning to feel that the Photonic Abyss was full of potential. As for Artoria, she was still a little distracted after earlier events, but, seeing Caenis, most of her hesitation faded away, followed by her asking, "Should I capture her?" while gripping Excalibur in hand. Hearing Artorias question, Vahn ultimately shook his head, saying, "Well call the others so they can put their training to the test. Besides, I can tell you have other things on your mind. This time, allow me to be the one to say, Dont push yourself so much. Now that Archimedes is gone, there are few enemies we genuinely need to worry about, so, for the time being, focusing on matters of the heart and mind is the best route forward..." As he spoke, Vahn gently caressed the top of Artorias head, his fingers passing over her drooping ahoge a few times, trying and failing to get it to perk up. She was obviously in a depressive mood, and, after his experiences with Scthach, it wasnt difficult to empathize with her. He knew that, even if the man he had beaten wasnt the real Shirou Emiya, many people would want to talk with him. It was a way of achieving some kind of closure, as, in the case of people like Rin, Luvia, and Illya, he still held some significance within their hearts... Just as Vahn was about to suggest they head back inside to call the others, he felt the characteristic ripple of a Reality Marble being released. This brought his attention back to the battlefield, where, a stark contrast to the previous virtual space, a massive ocean had spread out toward the horizon. The sky overhead was now filled with ck thunderclouds, while, in the distance, Caenis could be seen standing atop a craggy rock that jutted out of this vast ocean like a sword. Though Caenis wore very revealing armor, at the best of times, Vahn stood with his mouth slightly agape as he saw her current appearance. Her body was almostpletely exposed, revealing green, fish-like, scales covering her arms, legs, and shoulders. What stood out the most, however, so long as you ignored her exposed breasts, was that her hair had changed to a deep, sea-green, reminding Vahn of Tiamat, albeit only slightly... From atop her rocky perch, Caenis lifted arge golden trident, pointing it directly toward Vahn as she shouted, "So, youve finally revealed yourself, Sage Dragon Emperor! Bear witness to my Divine Authority. Feel the wrath of all the worlds oceans as your-" Vahn was actually curious about the power behind Caenis attack, but, before she was able to release it, the space behind her rippled, revealing Musashi. Then, using one of her sheaths, she smacked the rambling Caenis with enough force to cause a shockwave as she shouted, "Werent you supposed to be trying to save Shirou!? How do you n to aplish that if you flood the entire castle!?" In response to Musashis words, Caenis simply fell to the ground, the whites of her eyes indicating she had been knocked unconscious. At the same time, her Realty Marble fragmented, followed by the sound of ss shattering as the vast, seemingly endless, expanse of ocean vanished. This also restored Caenis to her previous appearance, albeit with a certain water-logged quality... After exhaling an annoyed sigh, Musashi shouldered her katana while staring up at Vahn and Artoria in the distance. Then, with an awkward smile on her face, she waved at them before asking in a voice that covered the several kilometers between them without any difficulty, "If it isnt much trouble, can you return that hot-headed idiot to us? Id also like to talk about what you said thest time..." Since Shirou and Caenis had both attacked, Musashi felt a palpable amount of embarrassment when asking for their release. To her surprise, however, Vahn just nodded his head, answering, "Sure. Come inside and grab him. Afterward, there are a few things I wish to discuss." Musashi wasnt the only one surprised by Vahns words as, at his side, Artoria showed aplicated expression as she asked, "Are you really just going to let him go...?". To this, Vahn simply nodded his head, exining, "He has a pure, bluish-white, aura. Though his killing intent is the real deal, there is no real animosity in that mans heart. He acts out of duty, and, while that makes him very dangerous, it also makes him susceptible to being reasoned with. So long as he only points his de toward me, I dont really care how many times he tries to kill me." Hearing Vahns remark, Artoria released a heavy sigh, but, atop her head, the tiny bundle of hair that expressed her true feelings perked up slightly. Though she didntpletely agree with how Vahn did things, she always found it strangely endearing how he allowed people to oppose him. The vast majority of rulers would kill any opposition, regardless of the nature and character of the ones trying to kill them. Vahn, however, readily spared everyone, so long as the opposite party never went out of their way to harm others with malicious intent... --- A few minutes after his negotiations with Musashi, Vahn had finished summoning the vast majority of the Imperial Militia, having them rece thergely destroyed Attack Programs. Fortunately, the programs in question seemed to obey his orders without hesitation, returning to the Photonic Abyss without any hesitation. This made things easier on Gawain, Lancelot, and Kenshin as, with another military present, morale and order could both be negatively influenced. With more people present, the Ivory Castle had quickly grown to its actual size, and, though it would likely take a few weeks, even Avalon had started to take shape around it. This was intriguing to both Vahn and Da Vinci, but, with four rtively powerful enemies waiting for his arrival, he left thetter to research the phenomenon while he visited the holding-cell-turned-medical-ward where Shirou was being kept. Despite his injuries being rtively severe, it hadnt taken long for Shirou to regain consciousness. As a result, he had been talking with Artoria about the actual goals of the Empire, all while Musashi and the unnamed Berserker listened in. As for Caenis, she was still unconscious, upying the bed next to Shirous with her wrists bound with golden bracelets that allowed her freedom of movement, but prevented the summoning of her weapons. Musashi had informed them of Caenis aversion to being bound, something Vahn could empathize with, so, rather than tie her up to prevent her from causing trouble, he decided topromise. This was often the first step towards future cooperation and understanding, so, while he still held a small grudge against the horse-like woman, Vahn elected to bury the past and look toward the future. Upon entering the room, Vahn became the focal point of everyones gazes, followed by Artoria rising to her feet and politely greeting him. This caused Musashi to appear rather nervous while, but, as if the only thing that mattered to her were the snacks in her hand, the unnamed Berserker just spared him a momentary nce before returning to her meal. Artoria had tried to ask about her name, but, after being told Berserker several times, she ultimately decided to just ignore her. In an effort to ease the tensions in the room, Vahn gestured to prevent Musashi from standing, a smile on his face as he said, "That is unnecessary. You arent one of my people and Im not fond of pretenses. If a timees when you genuinely respect me, feel free to lower your head. Until then, we are more enemies and acquaintances than anything else..." Hearing Vahns statement, Musashi issued a dryugh, not sure of how to respond to such words. As for Shirou, however, he immediately opened his mouth to ask, "Your statement about allowing us to oppose you, so long as we dont target others...is it really true?" Though he would have preferred to make some light conversation first, Vahn didnt mind getting to the heart of the matter. Thus, after a casual nod, he exined, "I epted the fact that others would see me as a viin long before I took action. Society is structured in a way that resists changes in the status quo, so, even if I tried to behave like a Saint, many would still vilify me. The foundation of the world had been built on corruption so I was left with no choice but to tear it out by the roots..." As was often the case when he spoke such words, Vahns aura began to gradually increase, radiating outward like the warm, yet destructive, rays of Sol. This caused Musashi to lightly tap against the hilt of her katana while, still in his bed, wrapped in bandages, Shirou squinted before saying, "From what I have been able to ascertain...all of this was set in motion after someone tried to assassin...ate..." Before Shirou couldplete his statement, the aura around Vahn had spontaneously increased, his eyes shifting from aquamarine to a pale-gold in an instant. This was enough to rify things, causing Shirou to fall silent for a brief moment as he averted his eyes. Artoria had been trying to exin how Vahn wasnt a bad person, and, while it couldnt be denied that his actions had resulted in the deaths of millions, if not billions, the driving force behind Vahns actions was something most people would be able to empathize with... Despite feeling as though he would do something simr in Vahns case, Shirou still couldnt ept the fact that the formers actions had led to so much death and destruction. Thus, while he was able to empathize with him, he eventually mustered up the resolve to stare into Vahns golden eyes, his own zing with a silvery-white light as he said, "It is toote to undo what has been done...but the world deserves a chance at freedom. Your rule might result in a future with fewer crimes and less corruption, but it will be at the cost of what makes humanity envied by the other races...the freedom to choose how we live our lives..." Hearing Shirous remark, Vahn wanted toment about how naive and foolish it was, but, in the grand scheme of things, it wasnt exactly wrong. The only problem was, much like most humans, the young Hero prioritized his own race, elevating it to a special status where it was the center of pretty much everything. This was often the difference between a Heroic Spirit and those who went on to be Divine Spirits, as, more often than not, Heroic Spirits were extremely biased toward their original species. Understanding there was little point in trying to convince Shirou with words, Vahn just shrugged in a dismissive manner, saying, "You are free to oppose me. If youd like, you can even build a resistance or structure a society around your ideals. So long as they follow the Common Law, I dont really care how people choose to live. You are free to believe what you will; it has absolutely nothing to do with me. I will continue to do what I believe is right, not just for humanity, but every sapient species, and, most importantly, the itself...good luck trying to oppose me with your fragile and misguided convictions, Shirou Emiya...youll need it..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Behold, the power of my Nobl-,Vahn be like, "Come at me, breh",Both sides of a conflict have their Heroes. History determines how they are remembered) (A/N: I am fine, just got a mild case of food poisoning after eating some Chinese food. My city is also in Quarantine now so things are getting a little hectic around here. Make sure youre drinking plenty of liquids and taking care of yourselves.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1439 - Terms

Chapter 1439 - Terms

Unaware of the fact Archimedes had died, many of the Heroic Spirits he had summoned using the power of the Moon Cell continued to follow his previous order. They, unlike normal Heroic Spirits, werent bound by a Master-Servant contract. Archimedescked the mana capacity to summon two, let alone fourteen, Heroic Spirits, so, he relied on the technology harvested from Berserker and the Moon Cells ability to produce Heroic Effigies, mannequin-like constructs that served as the physical anchor for fragmented Souls. Despite being on the same side, the majority of the Heroic Spirits summoned by Archimedes would qualify as Anti-Heroes. This was a byproduct of using Altereactors as a catalyst to power the Heroic Effigies, but, as it also granted the summoned an increase to the damage they dealt against normal Heroic Spirits, it hadnt been an issue. Unfortunately, now that Archimedes was dead, it was only a matter of time before the entire group split apart due to their various personality ws. Though some were bound to venture forth on their own, others would band together based on their familiarity with each other. The best example of this could be observed within an isted section of the Photonic Abyss, where, in a very short period of time, severalrge Japanese-style temples hade into existence. One of these temples was muchrger than the others, but, with an endless sea of sakura petals flowing about gracefully, the entire region gave off a peaceful, yet terrifying, vibe. Located a significant distance from the scenic temple environment, far enough that it was impossible to see one from the location of the other, an ornate, Chinese-style pce could be found, seemingly floating amidst pale-golden clouds. In actuality, it was set atop a monolithic mountain that appeared to jut straight up in defiance of naturalws. As for the golden clouds, which carried a very pleasant and mellow aroma, they were caused by a pristine golden waterfall. This peculiar water flowed from a single stream that connected to a smallke within the pce. Despite this, theke never seemed to shrink, providing a constant volume of water to feed the adjoining stream. While its appearance was simr to something you might find in a painting, what stood out the most wasnt thendscape, but the creatures that inhabited it. There were rainbow-hued koi fish withrge pectoral fins swimming in the golden clouds, defying thews of gravity as they mingled about in a smallmunal group. Above them, dominating thend, various different kinds of rabbits could be seen happily frolicking around or nibbling on emerald-green clover weed. Some of these even had fantastical features, such as tiny horns or fluffy wings. The one that stood out the most, however, was the massive white rabbit that lounged near the golden pool, its size easily eclipsing an elephant as it curled up into a ball, appearing much like a ball of pure white mochi as it peacefully slumbered. Further distinguishing it from its kin, the giant white rabbit had a red lotus pattern on its head that, periodically, emitted ghostly red mes. Every now and then, a part of its body would also slough off, dropping to the ground before promptly turning into one of the hundreds of rabbits that came to reside within the strange pce. This was a very peculiar sight to behold, but, to the two women that sat peacefully at the side, enjoying tea, they paid the phenomenon no heed. It was only when one of the rabbits hopped over to their side that they even seemed to notice, extending their jade-like hands to pet the tiny creatures before sending them off the y... For a moment, it seemed like nothing could destroy the peaceful atmosphere within the pces courtyard, but, as if such things didnt matter in the slightest, Jason emerged from the nearby room, a dour expression on his face as he muttered, "I swear...one day, Ill make that bitch pay for daring toy her hands on a King...!!" Hearing the formers remark, the lc-haired girl amongst the duo produced a smile that didnt quite reach her eyes, while, seated across from her, the fair-skinned oriental beauty giggled mischievously as she mused, "You should not worry yourself over such matters, My Lord. Lady Musashi is simr to a barbarian with greater knowledge of the sword than the delicacy required of a woman. It will only tarnish your reputation if you associate with such people outside of military affairs." Though he wouldnt pass on the opportunity to embarrass Musashi, Jason still managed a smile in response to Changees words. The way she spoke elevated his position while insulting Musashi, two of the things that mattered the most to him, at least for the time being. Thus, with azy swagger in his step, he made his way over, taking the seat next to the lc-haired woman as he said, "I cannot deny the truth in your words, Fairy Change. You always know what to say to cheer me up...youre a good woman, you know that...?" Finding Jasons words amusing, Changee covered her mouth with the sleeve of her robe, giggling in an elegant manner. This elevated her charm a great deal, causing Jason to swallow hard as he stared into her dark eyes, each glimmering like the night sky. Unfortunately, though Changee seemed quite fond of him, she refused toy with him unless he agreed to marry her, denouncing other women in the process. Jason didnt mind the thought of being married to a heaven-defying beauty like Changee, but, as it would be him marrying her, rather than the opposite, his status would be lower than hers. While this was to be expected, as Changee was actually a Goddess, Jason found it impossible to lower himself to a woman, no matter their status. He was also rather fond of sleeping with the various beauties he encountered during his travels, so, while his urge to ravish the unblemished Goddess increased with each passing day, he ultimately satisfied his urges elsewhere. With that thought crossing his mind, Jason flexed his jaw a few times before releasing a frustrated sigh and saying, "Let me know if anything happens." Then, turning to the lc-haired woman, whose eyes seemed tock any semnce of life, he added, "You,e with me..." in amanding tone. --- After exchanging titudes between themselves for a few minutes, Vahn ended up exining the actual terms of his agreement with the Heroes Faction. He exined the purpose of the Common Law, discussed the function of Companions, and, most importantly, learned more about their forces and the ns set in motion by Archimedes. Though it was hard to call him evil, the methods employed by Archimedes,bined with the fact he was basically ushering in the destruction of humanity, werent points in his favor. Thus, as part of their agreement, they had to reveal the location of each Bounded Field used by their forces. All of Archimedes projects would be shelved, and, while research into weapons and such wasnt actually against the Common Law, the types that could be designed were limited. Ultimately, Vahn didnt care what methods the Heroes used to try and defeat him, so long as it didnt involve innocent lives or cause irreparable damage to the environment. He wasnt going to just strap himself to a table and let them st Anti-Divinesers at him, but, so long as they informed him that they had prepared something, he wouldnt mind breaking it for them. The moment they vited the Common Law, however, these restrictions would no longer apply, and, though it may not end in their death, as idents happen, there was a very good chance they would lose a limb or two... Once everything had been discussed, Vahn nodded approvingly, stating, "In summary, your group is allowed to freely oppose the Empire. If you want to challenge me, you must submit a request and designate an approximate time and location. Communication between our forces will be handled by the Companions that will be assigned to your group, and, should any of your forces refuse to honor these terms, they will be held individually ountable. Is there anything else...?" Surprisingly, the person to answer wasnt Shirou or Musashi, but, rather, the Berserker that had now been identified as Altria X Pendragon, a strange woman hailing from a Universe where, apparently, the vast majority of people and animals were Servants. She wasnt one of the Heroic Spirits that had been summoned by Archimedes, rather, much like Caenis, she had apanied him in an effort to flee the pursuit of a troublesome assassin. Without beating around the bush, Altria stated, "If I do not intake enough calories, my body will shut down. I do not care about fighting. If you can provide me with Japanese sweets, I would rather avoid conflict." Hearing Altrias words, Shirou and Musashi were awoken from their previous stupor, but, before they could say anything, Caenis eyes snapped open as she shouted, "You traitorous wench! How can you betray your own allies for something like sweets!?" Though she wasnt able to manifest her weapons, this didnt stop Caenis from throwing herself at Altria, seemingly intent on strangling the much smaller woman with her bare hands. Unfortunately for her, Vahn had already seen this event y out, so, before she covered even half the distance to Altria, he appeared like a phantom to block her path. This caused Caenis to change her target to his face, her gauntleted right hand smashing into his cheek with a sound simr to metal colliding against metal. At this point, Vahn could ignore damage below A-Rank, so, while Caenis certainly packed a punch, he wasnt even pushed back a single millimeter by her blow. Then, before she could react, he palmed her exposed abdomen, causing her to heave a mouthful of fluids onto his chest as she took a few shaky steps back. This was due to the fact that, instead of letting the force radiate out like a normal strike, he contained all of it within her body, exploiting her invulnerability by letting the force echo around inside of her. Due to having her diaphragm struck, Caenis found it difficult to release a battle cry, so, for several long seconds, she red at Vahn as her body trembled with enough force to crack the marble floor. At the same time, Vahn stared back at her with a pointed expression, stating, "Nobody should have to fight if they dont want to. Your entire group fought on the premise of defeating me, yet, from the very beginning, you were just being exploited by Archimedes. You are free to continue fighting for what you believe in, Caenis, but you have no right to force others onto the same path." Though he had a bit of empathy for the horse-like woman, knowing what she had suffered through in the past, Vahn also found her character rather grating. She was an unbelievably headstrong and proud woman, quick to both anger and violence. It wasnt difficult to imagine her doing something drastic just to spite him, so, among the group of would-be Heroes, her name was near the top of the list when it came to death-seeking... After recovering enough to breathe, Caenis red back at Vahn, their gazes matching perfectly due to their shared height. This caused the tension in the room to gradually build, eventually reaching a climax as she venomously stated, "I hate men like you...people who think they can do whatever they want, whenever they want. This whole setup is just a farce to show off how powerful you are, isnt it? Does it make you happy, seeing us jump through hoops onmand as you drive us further apart from each other!?" Hearing Caenis remark, Vahn inhaled through his nose, restraining a sigh as he slowly stated, "My gender has no relevance to the current situation. I am doing what I can to ensure that fewer lives are lost. Even before your groups arrival, I took action to protect children around the world. When I set my n in motion, I even used the power of the Holy Grail to protect the innocent, giving them new lives in worlds of their choosing. Though this distanced them from their families, those close to each other would end up in the same world, free from the chaos my actions have wrought..." As Vahns wish wasnt exactly public knowledge, everyone, with the exception of Artoria and Altria, was surprised by the sudden revtion. Shirou even asked, "So the light that transports people...that is the result of a wish you made using the Holy Grail?" Feeling the momentum shift in his favor, Vahn unhesitantly nodded in affirmation, adding, "I may be willing to bebeled as the enemy of humanity, but, before I am an Emperor, I am a father. Though I was remiss to separate families, I took measures to ensure that everyone transferred ended up their ideal world. There are a functionally infinite number of Earth, so, while they will undoubtedly face a few hardships, the vast majority of people sent away will lead peaceful and happy lives. Some even get the chance to live the lives of Heroes within the worlds of their choosing, and, if they truly desire it, returning to this world isnt out of the question...in fact, I intend to use a future wish to that effect, at least once things settle down." Hearing Vahns response, various thoughts raced through Shirous mind, not least of which was the fact he spoke about making wishes like it was nothing to him. Archimedes had already suspected he had ess to the Throne of Heroes, but, based on these revtions, it seemed more urate to say he had a version of the Greater Grail that could be used, likely with some kind of cool-down period... Before Shirou could think of his own response, a dull, monotone,pletely destroyed the tensions that had built up, resulting from Altria asking, "So, will you give me candy? Im tired of eating potato chips and curry bread every day. If you give me sweets, I will even fight for you..?" In response to Altrias words, Caenis seemed to regain her vigor, but, with Vahn blocking the way, she found it difficult to rush forward. She kept convincing herself that she wasnt afraid of him but the feeling he gave off was like facing a wall that pierced the Heavens. While not impossible to scale, she didnt even know where to start climbing as there wasnt a single sign of purchase to be found anywhere on the impossibly sheer surface... After staring down Caenis, Vahn turned his eyes away from her, matching gazes with everyone in the room before settling on Altria and saying, "Since you are willing to fight, I believe it is best that you stay with your current allies, at least for the time being. If its just sweets, I dont mind parting with a few to keep you sated. I have some experience dealing with women who have an insatiable appetite so Im confident youll be satisfied." Following his words, Vahn tossed over one of Avalons apples, a delicious fruit that was filled to the brim with mana and vitality. Though it was slightly tart, this created a perfect contrast to the apples natural sweetness, elevating its taste even further. Altria wasnt particrly fond of apples, but, as she generally ate anything handed to her, she didnt hesitate to take a small bite of the ruby-red fruit. To her surprise, it was much sweeter than a normal apple. More importantly, however, was the fact that the apple contained a startling amount of mana, almost like it was a low-grade mana crystal shaped to emte an apple. This caused her to scarf it down in a series of tiny bites, devouring even the core while everyone just watched on in silence. After finishing off the juicy apple, Altria used a small handkerchief to wipe her mouth, dabbing the edges of her lips before saying, "I will fight you. In exchange, you will provide me with more apples. If you dont...I wille and take them?" Hearing Altrias words, Vahn allowed a smile to spread across his face, but, while she was certainly endearing, he knew what fate awaited them both if he allowed her to spontaneously join the Empire. Her appearance all but guaranteed she would be a member of the Inner Sanctum, so, for the time being, Vahn would rather she fight on the side of their enemies. At the very least, he wanted her to want to join the Empire of her own volition, not just because he lured her in with candy... Since [Avalon Apple]s could be purchased from the system shop for only 8OP each, Vahn purchased a thousand of them before stowing them into a spatial ring for Altrias use. She already had a watch-like device that could create a pocket dimension, but, unlike the spatial ring, it couldnt preserve the freshness of goods for a long period of time. What Vahn didnt expect was, immediately after handing over the spatial ring and exining its use, Altrias amber eyes glowed slightly, revealing a hint of emotion. At the same time, a could hear a tell-tale notification within his mind, causing his smile to turn slightly awry as he pretended not to notice it. As a result, a different notification sounded within his mind, causing him to dull slightly as, against his will, Altria became listed as one of his Followers... Deciding it was best to extricate himself from the current situation, Vahn turned his attention back to Caenis, stating, "If you have a problem, feel free to take it out on me until your hearts content. Dont go causing trouble in your own group, especially after throwing around baseless usations." Then, turning to Musashi and Shirou, he added, "Now that Archimedes is out of the picture, I recognize the two of you as the leaders of the Heroes Faction. I will give you forty-eight hours to convince others to fight alongside you. After that, I will take matters into my own hands...now, go, allow me some peace of mind for a few hours..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Photonic Abyss is a magical ce~,Jason is over here digging his grave even deeper...,Vahn cant catch a break...? This is why you dont feed stray animals...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1440 - Discord

Chapter 1440 - Discord

After being kicked out of the Ivory Castle, Shirou, Musashi, Caenis, and Altria passed through the literal army of Einzbern Homunculi for the first time. This resulted in Caenis, quite literally, growling at the ruby-eyed women while Shirou, having dealt with Illya in the past, couldnt help but make theparison between the army of women and his original selfs half-sister. Seeing theplex expression on herpanions face, Musashi lightly elbowed him in the side, asking, "What, having regrets about leaving so many beauties behind? We always have the option of joining the Empire, you know~?" Now that she didnt have to worry about Vahn crashed down on her like the literal Heavens, Musashi was in a great mood. She didnt mind the resolute stares following her every move, knowing full-well that the horde of women wouldnt attack her unprompted. Even if they did, she was confident in her escape, as, unlike the majority, she could easily flee from the Moon Cell or descend into apletely different world if the situation became really dire. Understanding Musashi was back to her old self, Shirou just offered a polite smile without exining the reason for his mncholy. Even without asking, he could guess the previous Holy Grail War had something to do with the Einzberns as they were the central family involved in its operation. This had brought back a few less-than-pleasant memories, including the time his past self had been forced to watch as his sister was murdered by Gilgamesh. Remembering the arrogant golden demigod caused Shirous hands to form into fists, an action that hadnt gone unnoticed by hispanions. Before they could ask, however, he preempted them by saying, "We should track down Jason. I dont imagine well be able to convince him but we should at least try before he ends up getting us all pulled into something. Now that Archimedes is dead, I cant imagine hell be willing to follow the orders of others..." With Shirous reminder, Musashi released an annoyed groan, hand rubbing her temple as she said, "I know, right? I can already imagine that dumbass demanding to be ced in charge, only to end up driving us further apart. Should we just kill him and be rid of his foolishness...?" Caenis rarely agreed with Musashi, but, hearing herst remark, she readily stated, "Ill do it. I would my left arm to see that mans face contorted in pain and disbelief as thest traces of life drain from that conceited prick." As both Musashi and Caenis were known for being battle-junkies, Shirou wasnt too surprised by the fervor they disyed. Rather, with few exceptions, most of their allies would readily kill Jason if they believed it wouldnt cause problems. Unfortunately, Jasons Noble Phantasm wasnt something that could be looked down on, and, with his astonishingly high Luck, getting the jump on him with any kind of killing intent was borderline impossible. His Luck was enough to be reality-altering, making it possible to beat and bully him, but exceptionally difficult to plot his death. Fortunately, if it truly came to that, it was all but guaranteed that Musashi could finish the job. Even if Jason managed to activate his Noble Phantasm, she would be able to ovee it without outside assistance. She was one of, if not the, strongest people on their side. The only two with any hope of victory against her were Raikou and Abigail, two of the original five that had willingly apanied Archimedes to the past. As for everyone else, there was a good chance the battle would end before their minds even processed what had happened. After considering their options, Shirou dared to look directly at Caenis, saying, "We shouldnt plot the death of our allies so readily...Jason is a despicable man, but he is still a Hero. If we dont even try to reason with him, we wouldnt even be able topare ourselves to the Emperor, much less stand in opposition to him. He is willing to engage in diplomacy so we should at least make an effort to do the same..." Though she was nearly overwhelmed by an urge to punch Shirou in the face, Caenis was ultimately able to restrain herself. Still, she wasnt even remotely satisfied, so, after loudly harumphing, she said, "Yeah, sure, well do it your way. I wonder what kind of face youll make when that manpletely ignores your attempts to persuade him? If you get caught in his Noble Phantasm, dont expect me to pull you out." As he was actually fairly confident in being able to deal with Jasons Noble Phantasm, Shirou decided against arguing, opting to simply smile in response. He might not be able to target Jason that easily, but, if it was just surviving for a short while, he could easily persevere until Musashi managed to deal a knockout, or fatal, blow. Her Empyrean Eyes pretty much ignored causality altering effects, making Jason easier to deal with than some normal human beings... Seeing Shirou smile before walking away from her, Caenis was no longer able to restrain herself. She quickly covered the distance between them, thrusting with an open palm towards his lower back, an attempt to temporarily disable his legs. Unfortunately, Shirous body just dissipated into thin air, his figure, scent, and aura dispersing into the surroundings until it was impossible to distinguish it from the ambient mana emted by the Moon Cell. Incensed that her attack had missed, Caenis instantly shouted, "Coward!" at the top of her lungs, ignoring the fact she had attempted to sneak attack him. In response to this, Musashi and Altria just gave her deadpan stares, the only sound between them a result of the [Avalon Apple] thetter was ceaselessly devouring with small bites. --- Seated naked atop a gilded golden throne, Jason had a sneer on his face as he nursed a ss of wine in his left hand. He was amusing himself by having his would-be wife, Medea, painstakingly lick every millimeter of his feet. She, too, waspletely naked, the only exception being therge cor he had forced upon her, demoting her from her original status to nothing more than a pet and sex ve. Though it wasnt the real Medea, Jason couldnt help but treat her poorly as, even now, the trauma she had instilled in him often awoke him deep in the night. He could still remember how she, in her misguided love for him, mechanically ughtered everyone that barred his path. Because of her, he was treated as a monster, but, due to his weakness at the time, he had little choice but to rely on the gift given to him by Aphrodite. He would never admit it, but Jason was absolutely terrified of Medea. Even when they first met, she had basically forced herself upon him like a crazed zealot. Though she was an unbelievably beautiful girl, that image was forever tarnished by a multitude of bloodstained memories. He would never be able to forget the sheer madness in her eyes as she looked toward him with a smile, begging for his praise despite blood and gore dripping from her face and hair... As this thought crossed his mind, Jason saw the ruby-red liquid in his left hand. This caused a shiver to run through his body, followed by an overwhelming amount of nausea that forced him to throw aside his cup and run for a nearby potted nt, discarding the contents of his stomach into the dark brown mulch. Even this wasnt enough topletely rid him of his nausea, however, as the robotic Medea appeared at his side almost instantly, gently stroking his back. Feeling his disgust well up, Jasonshed backward, striking Medea across the face as he shouted, "I dont want to see your face right now...!!" Despite having been pped, Medea continued to stare back at Jason with a smile on her face, even as a trickle of blood ran from her nose. Then, in response to his previous statement, her figure burst into particles of bluish-white light, nowhere to be seen. This allowed Jason to breathe a little easier, as, following his outburst, Changee dutifully appeared, moving gracefully to his side with a look of concern on her impably beautiful face. Though she knew he didnt like to be asked about it, Changee lightly caressed Jasons back, asking, "Did you have a shback? Do you want me to make you some ginger tea? It will help to settle your stomach..." Knowing how foolish it would be tosh out at Change, Jason did his best to ignore the face she always asked him questions he didnt want to answer. He hated seemed weak, especially in front of women, so he ultimately just remained silent, focusing on his breathing. It was when Jason wasmenting the fact that he didnt recruit enough women onto the Argo that his intuition kicked into high gear. His nausea faded away in an instant, returning a confident, albeit arrogant, look to his face. This surprised Changee, though not as much as when he said, "Someone is thinking about killing me...? I feel like that horse bitch has it in for me...damn, this is the thanks I get for taking that bitchs bastard of a son onto my ship?" Hearing Jasons words, Changees face formed a frown, making the world around her seem less vibrant as a result. She knew a lot of the other Heroes didnt like Jason but she didnt imagine any of them would actually try and kill him. She knew better than to even question if his intuition was right, however, as he was remarkably sensitive to anything pertaining to his own safety. He would oftenin to her before they went out, iming that someone was going to beat him up and asking for her protection. All of these prophesies proved true, and, while it could be argued that Jason was the one that set them in motion, the fact he had an A-Rank Skill rted to self-preservation couldnt be ignored. Fortunately, less than a minute after he had started to pace around the room, Jason came to a stop, a confused expression on his face as he muttered, "I guess not...? Someone must have scolded her. Ha! Serves that bitch right!! I can just imagine the sour look on her face, hahahahahaha-!!" Though it seemed like the crisis had been avoided, Jason was a very paranoid man, so, after he hadughed for a good minute or so, he unsheathed the shortsword at his hip. It was a very ornate item, covered from pommel to guard in pure gold. As for the de, it was a pure silver that refracted light in much the same way as a gemstone, allowing it to sparkle when viewed from any angle. Knowing what Jason was about to do, Changee took a few steps back, her hands neatly folded in herp as she watched on with a smile. Thus, without any interference, Jason extended his arm, the de of his sword pointed toward the ground as he released the handle and said, "I am the Master of my life, Captain of my own Destiny. Come, faithful allies, Heroic Spirits of an Era long past; Set sail with me once again! [Astrapste Argo: The Dazzling Ship that Splits the Heavens]!!!" Despite the fact his chant had multiple verses, Jason was somehow able to finish it before his de struck against the marbled flooring. When it did make contact, a ck field seemed to spread from its point, expanding to cover around twenty meters. At the same time, figures walked out from the shadows, taking on physical form as they came to stand at Jasons side. This included the previously dismissed Medea, now without injury, but, far more noticeable were the two armored swordsmen, a petite archer, a handsome bard, and a behemoth of a man standing at more than 250cm in height... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Memories are echoes from the past, whispering in a persons mind like the sirens who summoned sailors to their demise...,Mama Raikou, is that you!?,Setting course for his own ass whooping...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/mn5xMbE Chapter 1441 - Prelude to Chaos

Chapter 1441 - Prelude to Chaos

Due to the nature of the Photonic Abyss, finding someone else wasnt a difficult feat to achieve. The abyss itself was an endless virtual space, but, unless someone was nearby, it didnt simte an environment or its Laws, reducing waste and saving processing power. Thus, it was only when people inside that the environment began to change, perfectly adapting to suit the entities within, even allowing fish to swim around in the air as if it were water. As a result of the phantasmal nature of the Photonic Abyss, it was possible to find other people by simply following the existing paths. Though these paths could be unstable, often as a result of the various Attack Programs that aimlessly wandering about, anyone with the capabilities to clear the path could quickly find other people. Everything was connected, one way or another. With his unique Skill, [Nameless Hero:EX], derived from the fact his original was never inscribed on the Throne of Heroes, Shirou was able to functionally erase his existence from the perception of others. The only people this Skill didnt work well against were those who knew the original, as, despite ya having erased his existence from the world, their Od allowed them to remember he existed. This was the reason he had needed Musashi and Caenis to serve as a distraction during the previous operation, as, the moment he got anywhere near Artoria, she would undoubtedly be able to sense his presence. Due to the nature of his Skill, Shirou was able to walk right past massive Attack Programs, some the size of blue whales, without drawing any attention. He would only be revealed if he decided to attack, but, knowing Caenis needed something to relieve her stress, he elected to leave them be as he searched for the location of Jason and his other allies. Dealing with him before Caenis could cause a conflict would save them a lot of trouble. Fortunately, while the Photonic Abyss was functionally infinite, it took less than an hour before he discovered the firstndmark, a dirt path that seemed to float atop nothingness. It had several red Torii-style gateways, leading to what appeared to be an ancient Japanese city in the distance. This caused Shirou to manifest, his body forming together in an instant as he considered following the path or taking a detour. He knew full-well that Jason couldnt be found along the left path, but, as he needed to convince everyone, starting with those closest to him wasnt a bad idea. As he considered his options, Shirou heard the sound of feathers ruffling in the wind, followed by a swift pitter-patter of footsteps. Then, appearing from atop the nearest Torii, a petite young girl, standing at only 130cm in height, jumped down,nding silently on the ground. When she raised her head to stare back at him, Shirou smiled awkwardly before saying, "Benienma...it is good to see you again. How are Raikou and the others?" In response to Shirous greeting, the young girl, wearing a modified kimono that seemed to be formed ofrge feathers, perked up slightly before bowing politely and saying, "Shirou-dono, I am pleased to see you in good health. Have youe to stay the night or were you intending to send a message to Raikou-sama? I just opened an Enma-tei so you can be my first customer, free of charge." Since Benienma had the ability to see through lies, Shirou knew better than to try and deceive her. She didnt carry around a katana that was longer than she was tall for decorative purposes, so, if you intended to deceive her, you needed to prepare yourself both mentally and physically. Though Benienma had the appearance of a child, she was actually a yokai, an Oni Spirit that had existed since 1885. She had burgundy hair, cut short to frame her face, with a long ponytail that was impossibly straight and t, transitioning from burgundy to gold at the end. To prove that she wasnt human, she had a sparrows beak poking out between her bangs, while, seated in the hat atop her head, a rather creepy sparrow, stared unblinkingly at anyone speaking to Benienma. It had a rounded, ball-like, body matching the color of Benienmas hair, and glowing red eyes set in an abyssal ck circle that also housed its metallic ck beak... While Benienmas peculiar appearance stood out quite a bit, especially with a long katana at her side, what truly made her stand out were her clothes. She was wearing a smock-like kimono that only reached her waist. Beneath that, she wore a too-short ck skirt, but, to protect her dignity, she also had a pair of form-fitting hot pants on underneath. As for the rest of her outfit, she wore a feathered mantle that extended into tworge sleeves, much like a pair of wings. Toplete the outfit, she also wore an apron made from severalyers of white downy feathers, finishing things off with a pair of ck geta that artificially increased her height from 130cm to 135cm. Overall, Benienma was a very adorable creature, so long as you ignored her milky-white pupils, how the beak on her head would periodically open, and the persistent gaze of demonic sparrow that nested within her hat. These things made it readily apparent that Benienma wasnt a human, a lesson many had, unfortunately, learned the hard way. If you werent aware of her true nature and ended up telling a lie, she would either shave off a portion of your skin or, depending on the nature of the lie, attempt to slice off your tongue. This was the manifestation of her legend as the Shitakiri-Suzume, the Tongue-Cut Sparrow. Though he was confident in being able to escape, Shirou wasnt all that fond of lying in the first ce, so, with a wry smile on his face, he exined, "I was actually searching for Jason. I dont mind paying a visit to your Enma-tei, but it will have to wait until I finish my other business." Hearing Shirous response, Benienma showed a slightly saddened expression as she muttered, "I see..." in a deted tone. Immediately afterward, she turned tail, leaping up to the top of the Torii and scampering away with such speed it was nearly impossible to follow her movements. Despite this, her voice still reached his ears without any issues, adding, "I will prepare a room and keep the bath warm in preparation for your visit." While it wasnt that noticeable when you were talking to her, as she spoke with minimal mouth movements, the most peculiar part of Benienma was that she could speak coherently, despite theck of a tongue. She had the [Ventriloquism: EX] Skill, allowing her voice to carry vast distances without any interference from things like wind or, in the most extreme cases, physical barriers. She could use this to easily catch opponents by surprise, making use of her A++ Rank Agility to strike them before they realized her true location. If he were being honest, Shirou was a little perturbed by all the girls that had been summoned using Raikou, herself, as a catalyst. They were all a type of Yokai, giving them a myriad of strange, and often lethal, abilities. One, Shuten-douji, even had the ability to phase her hands through any person that had ingested her alcohol, removing their bones while leaving their organs and blood vesselspletely intact. It was a terrifying ability that made anyone think twice about sampling the Demonic Dragons Wine she was reputed for. Since the Yokai summoned by Raikou had seemingly all gathered together, Shirou was in no hurry to meet with them, at least on his own. It was never safe to associate with Yokai alone, as, simr to the Faeriesmon in European Folklore, they could mess with your perception of time. As a result, you could spend weeks drinking a single cup of sake or engaging in a conversation, even if it only seemed like a few minutes from your perspective. Now that she was gone, Shirou realized he had been too hasty in agreeing to Benienmas offer to stay at her Enma-tei. She had likely influenced him with her yokai aura, making it impossible for him to make rational, spur of the moment, decisions. Now, he would have to visit her Enma-tei in the future, as, with the passage of time, her ability would manifest in the form of a grudge, a very powerful curse that could even im the lives of powerful Onmyouji and Gods. Realizing his mistake, Shirou released a tired sigh before taking a seat and waiting for the others to arrive. There were only two other paths to take, and, while this gave him a 50% chance to track down Jason, it could be increased to 100% with Caenis ability. Considering where he might end up if he made the wrong decision, Shirou felt it was best he exercised some patience. He didnt want to encounter someone like Tamamo-no-Mae or Brynhildr on his own, both women who had a very dangerous inclination towards the opposite sex. In fact, due to the conditions used in their summoning, most of the Heroic Spirits summoned by Archimedes had some severe personality ws...himself included. --- Unbeknownst to Shirou, one of the more troublesome women in their group had, for reasons only she was aware, stumbled across the Ivory Castle. This was a woman with remarkable beauty, sleek red hair, and a lithe, yet mature, figure. What stood out the most, however, was the chariot upon which she stood, pulled along by a host of immacte ck stallions, each possessing muscr bodies and silken manes. They were perfect equine specimens, their bodies radiating the kind of majesty you would expect from a King, not a horse. Without losing to her cherishedpanions, the woman also radiated an aura of confidence as she viewed the Ivory Castle in the distance, her crimson red tongue slowly licking her lips as she considered conquering it. She had been summoned for a very specific purpose, so, after idling around for several months, she had started to lose her patience. Thus, without thinking too hard, the womans smile grew into a sadistic grin as she mused, "Its been a long time...I wonder how my beloved sister is doing~?" Following her musings, the woman lifted a peculiar spear, simr in structure to [Gae Bolg], but, rather than a deep scarlet, it possessed a sapphire blue hue. She raised this spear high into the sky, causing a phenomenal amount of mana to surge out from her body as she shouted, "Heed my call to arms! Armorican warriors, answer your Queens summons! Be a tide of death thatys waste to my enemies! Drown them in my fervent passion! [Tochmarc Emire Coincind]!!" In response to the womans outburst, a massive calvary of skeletal riders, each riding crystalline horses made from the same sapphire blue materials as her weapon, formed into existence. They numbered more than six-thousand, each possessing long spears that, on their own, could rival C-Rank Noble Phantasms. Together, theirbined might qualified them for the EX ssification, as, so long as the woman provided an adequate amount of mana, they would regenerate without end. As a result of therge cavalry appearing, a vast in appeared between her position and the location of the Ivory Castle, providing ample room for maneuvering. This caused the smile on the womans face to twist into an expression of maddened glee as she pointed her spear towards the majestic fortress and shouted, "Ride forth! Defeat my enemies! Let the Empire quake under the might of my, Queen Aifes, might...!" Though they didnt have lungs, the skeletal warrior managed to release a phenomenal war cry, spears raised high as they charged down the sloped in leading to the Ivory Castle. From a distance, they looked like a wave of sapphire blue water pouring into a basin, but, as gaps began to open in their charge, it became very apparent that an enemy army was approaching the Ivory Castles mighty walls... (A/N: Alternate Titles: So many broken Skills...,Yokai are terrifying o_o...,Aife descends...!!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1442 - Control

Chapter 1442 - Control

Though not outside of expectations, as he had already seen the battleing, Vahn was still a little surprised that someone would try and charge a static fortification with calvary. He couldnt help but wonder what kind of person would issue such an order, so, while Gawain, Kenshin, and Lancelot tookmand of the defense, he stood atop one of the many wizard towers, apanied by Artoria, as they both gazed out over the horizon. Voicing what he had been thinking, Artoria asked, "Does she not appear simr to Scthach? There are clear simrities between them...even their weapons are simr..." Nodding his head, Vahn answered, "If I had to guess, she is most likely Scthachs older sister, Aife. I have heard a bit about her so that ridiculous chariot and those horses are a dead giveaway." As the legends surrounding Scthach and C Chinn were well known to her, Artoria was privy to most of Aifes own legend, including the fact she had, for a time, been considered the equal of her sister in battle. While this hadnt made much sense, as Aife ended up losing to a version of C who had yet toplete his training, she should still be a capable warrior. Preempting Artorias question, Vahn shook his head, calmly stating, "This may very well be the only battle they have the opportunity to fight. Most of the Captains and Commander should be capable of taking down Aife so there is no reason for us to intervene." Understanding Vahn had likely seen the oue of the battle, something he could guarantee by taking no actions, Artoria decided not to press the matter. He had already exined how his ability works, so, if he was confident things would go well, there was no need to worry. She just needed to remain vignt, ready to step in if things seemed like they were deviating off course... Though the current Ivory Castlecked its usual defensive and magical formations, it still had sturdy walls, heavily reinforced by [Faerie Rune]s and Dwarven craftsmanship. Thus, even siege weaponry, enhanced by magic, would be hard-pressed to deal substantial damage to the majestic walls, much less the spears of calvary soldiers. As a result, Gawain had the Militia take turns releasing devastating volleys of magical energy, raining one-sided destruction upon the crystalline warriors attempting to breach the castle walls. While some might imagine that mounts gave the cavalry an advantage in regards to mobility, the truth of the matter was that the Homunculi could easily match the pace of a fighter jet, much less a supercharged horse. This allowed them to easily respond when the calvary split, attempting to leap over the tall walls and invade the interior of the castle. At the same time, Kenshin led her forces from the backside of the castle, where tall cliffs could usually be found, using the newly created route to nk the enemies with devastating effectiveness. Kenshin wasnt known as the Goddess of War for nothing, so, by happenstance, her attack came exactly at the most inopportune time for the enemy forces. They had just been splitting to try and surround the castle, leaving less than half of their numbers to meet with the three-hundred elites led by a total of eight Kenshin. She even led the charge directly, riding atop Houshoutsukige, her trusted steed that could gallop at a pace easily exceeding the speed of sound. With her eight-branched spear in hand, Kenshin tore through enemy lines with impunity, shattering both the skeletal warriors and their mounts with ease. Her attacks even prevented the regeneration of every soldier she cut down, her mastery over the Laws allowing her to severe their connection to Aife. This hadnt gone unnoticed by the vermillion-haired woman, who, from the moment Kenshin took to the battlefield, had been ring at Houshoutsukige with a covetous expression. While her own steeds were like masterworks carved by the Gods, there was no way they could hope topete against Kenshins Houshoutsukige. Thetter was capable ofpeting against B-Rank Heroic Spirits, and, while it didnt give the same impression of beauty as Aifes beloved pets, the aura that surrounded it, much like a famous General, inspired feelings of awe in anyone who bore witness to his majesty. Aife had originally been intending to lure out Scthach, but, seeing Kenshin unceremoniously carve a path through her Noble Phantasm, she was no longer able to sit idle. She grabbed the golden reins of her chariot, shouting, "Onwards!" in amanding tone. At the same time, she pulled one of the sapphire blue spears resting in apartment at her side, allowing her to replenish her stock as she used the lethal blue spears as projectile weapons. Though Kenshin was the focus of her ire, Aife thought to get even with her by targeting the formers forces. Unfortunately for her, the unit trained by Kenshin wasnt dealt with so easily. The toon and Squad Leaders had been paying close attention to her movements from the start, so, in response to her movement, they quickly banded together, forming a dome-like structure using shields that had pulled out of interspatial artifacts. As a result, the spears thrown by Aife impacted harmlessly against the barrier they had erected, creating a vibrant, bluish-white, light in the process. Immediately after her opening attack, Aife pulled hard on the reins of her chariot, a vain attempt to try and evade several powerful attacks that had been sent her way. While the [Primordial Rune]s she had carved into her chariot and embossed into the bridles of her horses would protect them against most ranged attacks, her instincts screamed at her to evade. Unfortunately, while her stallions could keep pace with Houshoutsukige, the barrage of attacks loosed by Tristan, famous for never missing a target, proved more than a match for her defensive measures. Tristans Noble Phantasm, [Failnaught], was a bow forged from his favorite harp, capable of firing vacuum arrows that moved swiftly enough to hit even the fastest Heroic Spirits. While the might of each arrow left something to be desired, the fact he could fire off dozens in a single second made his assault like a persistent stream of destruction, overwhelming anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in the tempestuous onught. Taking advantage of one of the main weaknesses of a chariot, Tristan had aimed the majority of his arrows towards the second row of horses, overwhelming the defenses in that singr area to easily kill the otherwise defenseless creature. As a result, its body went limp, causing the entire chariot to crash due to the interference caused by its corpse. As there were few things she cherished more than her stallions, Aife released a feral cry in response to one of their deaths. At the same time, she arched her body in a perfect throwing motion, tossing her primary spear towards the red-haired Knight standing atop the castles bulwark. This attack was strong enough to tear through the void itself, sending ripples of blue lightning coursing through the area as it reached its target in what appeared to be an instant. What Aife could have never expected was, despite the swiftness of her attack, someone was able to interfere, stepping in front of the entirely unperturbed Tristan and catching it out of the air. For a brief moment, her thought process came to aplete halt, gawking in disbelief as a purple-haired Knight reigned in her secondary Noble Phantasm, wielding it as if it were his own. Though they were more than a kilometer apart, she could see his lc eyes, filled with a resolute light as he arched his body simr to her own, throwing the spear back at her with even greater force... Though not on the same level as someone like Artoria, Aifes [Instinct]s could be directlypared to Mordred. As a result, her body moved even before her mind couldpletely process everything that had happened. This allowed her to toss out a handful of small gemstones, each inscribed with an Algiz Runes iid with the blood of her Ancestors. These were heirlooms that were passed down to each generation, making them one of the most powerful protective charms that could be created using [Primordial Rune]s. Due to the swift action of her body, Aife was spared the indignity of being struck down by her own spear. This did little to pacify the horror she felt, however, as the attack dished out by Lancelot was able to tear through fouryers of protection before it finally lost its power. Since eachyer would be able to protect against an A-Rank Noble Phantasm, this left her considerably shaken, her senses dulling as a powerful urge to flee took root in her heart. In the brief moment where Aife was distracted, Kenshin appeared at her side, startling the red-haired warrior queen as she pointed her spear at the formers neck and stated, "This battle is your loss. Will you concede or fight till your death? Make your choice!" Momentarily bereft of her weapon, Aife was at a loss as to how she should respond to Kenshin. She didnt want to concede defeat, but, ording to the traditions of her people, she had little choice in the matter. Thus, after clenching her teeth and forcibly holding back tears, she begrudgingly stated, "I surrender..." in a shaky tone. At the same time, her soldiers began to dissolve away into motes of white light. Shortly thereafter, her chariot and horses also vanished, leaving Aife surrounded by a trio of Kenshin, a resentful look on her face as she averted her eyes in shame. Despite Aifes apparent surrender, Kenshin didnt drop her guard for a moment, waiting until the former was restrained using the same artifacts used on Caenis. Her weapon was also confiscated, leaving Aife staring pointedly at the group of women before asking, "What will you do with me? I have already surrendered so there is no honor to be found in shaming me further..." Hearing Aifes remark, Kenshin stared at her curiously, stating, "You will, most likely, be meeting with the Emperor. You share a lot of simrities with one of ourrades so I imagine he wishes to speak with you before releasing you to yourrades." Not expecting Kenshins remark, Aife showed an expression of disbelief as she asked, "What do you mean by that? I had thought the situation with Musashi and Caenis was ridiculous...do you mean to tell me that your Emperor is truly foolish enough to just release his captives without-" Before Aife could finish her statement, a sh of light passed through the periphery of her vision, far faster than she could react. Then, with a smile that didnt quite reach her eyes, Kenshin, while wiping away a small amount of blood from her sword, stated, "You would do well not to insult our Emperor. Take a look around you...Im not the only one offended by your words." Without minding the fact her cheek was bleeding, Aife turned her head, matching gazes with several hundred Homunculi, each looking at her with a murderous glint in their ruby-red eyes. Their focused gazes were enough to even send shivers through Vahns body, so, feeling the killing intent wash over her like a baptism, Aifes body began to tremble as she swallowed her words and lowered her head. Seeing the warrior womans reaction, Kenshin released a small sigh, finding the red-haired beauty rather pitiful. Despite this, she offered no words of kindness, as, over thest three years, Kenshin hade to view Vahn in a simr light to Bishamonten. He was her God, Master, and Lover so she would never tolerate someone arbitrarily ndering his name, especially if they were an enemy. This was a notion she shared with everyone in her battalion, each devout believers in Vahn, willing toy their lives down without hesitation for his cause... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I kind of feel bad for Aife xD...,Lancelot dont y o_o...,Insulting a God in front of his most devout believers...unwise (UwU)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1443 - Internal Strife

Chapter 1443 - Internal Strife

Due to the fact they needed to clear a veritable horde of Attack Programs along the way, it took a little more than two hours before Musashi, Caenis, and Altria caught up to Shirous location. By then, the surroundings had changed even more than before, shifting from a dirt path floated in mid-air to a forest that now spread through the area. More surprising, at least for Shirou, was the fact that a small cottage had manifested around him, its interior filled with various different weapons he had been fond of using in his lifetime. It was like one of the safehouses he would frequent in between missions, a ce where he could rx andy low when things got particrly hectic. Seeing peculiar dwelling up close, Musashi couldnt help asking, "Did you make this or did the Moon Cell make it for you...?" Since he had been given a lot of time to think about the specifics, Shirou quickly assembled his rifle, answering, "The Moon Cell seems to respond to the subconscious desires of its inhabitants, creating a territory in which they can rx. I imagine the terrain is determined by the most powerful person in a given area. I cant be certain, though, as I met with Benienma earlier...she seems to have built the Enma-tei she had been talking about in the past." Though she had already assumed the Japanese-style region was the domain of Raikous group, the mention of Benienma caused Musashi to frown slightly as she asked, "Did something happen...?" Understanding Musashis concerns, Shirou issued a dryugh, answering, "I ended up epting an invitation to spend the night. When the timees, I may have to trouble you..." Hearing Shirous response, Musashi released a tired sigh, rubbing her forehead in an exasperated manner before saying, "Sure, but youll have to buy the drinks. Dont think Ill let you off easy if any trouble arises, though. Dealing with a few Oni is one thing, but that Raikou woman is in a league of her own when ites to troublesome opponents." Remembering her first encounter with Raikou, a shiver ran through Musashis body. This wasnt due to the fact that Raikou was powerful, however, but as a result of her nature. The woman gave off the impression of an intelligent and rational person, but, the moment you triggered her true nature, she was like a demon. The fact she could keep other troublesome figures in line without any issue was a testament to how scary she could actually be. It wasnt for no reason she had be known as one of the most famous figures in Japanese folklore... Seeing Musashis reaction, Shirou felt guilty, as, if he had been more cautious, refusing Benienmas invitation wouldnt have been that difficult. This was always the case when dealing with Yokai, but, due to the impression given off by the petite sparrow, it was hard to remain on guard around her. She wasnt actually a bad person, possessing a kind and caring nature, but that didnt exactly make her any less dangerous. Deciding to shelve the matter untilter, Shirou allowed his rifle to disperse into particles of mana before pulling out a modified SMG and saying, "We should find Jason as soon as possible. Im also worried about Alice but she should be fine with Lovecraft and Abigail watching over her..." Though Abigail was, potentially, the most dangerous person in their entire group, her power was kept in check as a result of Lovecrafts influence. She was rather fond of the gaunt-faced man, and, though she spent most of her time cooped up in her own room, Abigail also got along well with Alice. Thetter wasrgely immune to her influence, so, whenever Lovecraft had been busy with his writing, Alice would often keep Abigailpany. Understanding that time was of the essence, Musashi nodded her head in agreement before turning to Caenis and saying, "Well leave choosing the path to you. I get that you like to destroy things, but try and leave the monsters to us. The sooner we track down Jason and pass information to everyone else, the sooner well be able to do our own thing." Caenis didnt like being used as a bloodhound, but, knowing there was a fair amount of truth behind Musashis words, she just snorted before hefting her spear and shield. Then, without sparing them a second nce, she picked one of the split paths that had formed, bolting off at a pace even Heroic Spirits would struggle to keep. This caused Musashi and Shirou to exchange wry smiles, but, as even Altria had already taken off running, they didnt have time to just stand around idling. --- While Shirou and Co were fast approaching, the man in question, Jason, was sitting with a sneer on his face as a rougish-look individual with windswept golden hair sat over a basin filled with rainbow-hued liquid. He appeared to be in histe twenties, and, though very sparse, a divine aura radiated off the young man as his eyes rolled back into his head, the result of inhaling the strange chemicals within the basin. After several minutes of inhaling the suspect liquid, the man turned to Jason, his voice reminiscent of someone talking in their sleep as he stated, "Impossible...cant see...the future is uncertain..." As this wasnt the first time he had heard something simr, Jason erupted from his throne, shouting, "Youre absolutely useless...!!" in a high-pitched voice. In response to Jasons remark, the handsome man just offered a polite smile, his eyes rolling forward to reveal sky-blue irises as he smoothly answered, "I suppose Ill be returning then. Since Im useless, dont bother calling me for a while~." With those parting words, the man vanished into motes of bluish-white light, leaving Jason ring with clenched fists as he attempted to restrain himself. He knew no good woulde from trying to force Idmon toe back, as, unlike most Noble Phantasms, he didnt haveplete control over his. The entities inside, while not their true selves, expressed the same personalities they had in life, so, if he managed to piss them off, his Noble Phantasm drastically weakened. Fortunately, he had Changee there to remind him, "Lord Jason, please, remember what Archimedes said. The future is being affected by the existence of the Sage Dragon Emperor. Unless his influence can be removed, attempting to predict the future is all but impossible." Hearing Changees words, Jason was able to forcibly calm himself down, even if his frustration had only increased. He hated not knowing what the future held, even if most prophecies ended up being vague, at best. It was still better to know, as, when it came down to encountering powerful foes, any amount of information was better than going in blind. After taking a few deep breaths, Jason exhaled a long sigh before offering a smile that didnt quite reach his eyes as he said, "Thank you, Faerie Changee. Your words have helped to calm my spirit..." Then, without waiting for her response, he looked toward the duo that had been ying dice at the side, saying, "Castor, Pollux, lend me your ear. I require your aid..." Instead of responding to Jason, Pollux, identifiable by the fact he rarely wore anything to cover his upper body, flipped a cup containing six dice, ring at his brother, who, in response, stated, "Ill go with odds..." in a venomous tone. Then, still ignoring Jason, Pollux removed the cup, revealing dice with a value of twenty-seven. This caused Castor to grimace, his teeth clenched tightly as Pollux unceremoniously punched him, sending his half-brother twin tumbling a few meters as he loudly guffawed. Seeing the duo ignore him, Jason continued to stare in silence, his face appearing grimmer with each passing second. Then, just as his blood pressure reached a critical level, Pollux looked over at him, a crooked smile on his face as he rubbed the stubble along his jaw and asked, "What do we get out of it, eh? You know we dont like fightin your battler for you, Captn. Gotta learn to be a real man one of these days." Unlike Jason, who had delicate and handsome features, Pollux, a son of Zeus, was rather ugly. He stood at startling 228cm tall, with a build that could only be described as heroic. He was a veritable wall of muscle who spent most of his life out at sea, wrestling serpents, giant squids, and various other sea creatures. It was for this reason that he and his brother Castor, whom he had shared his Immortality with, became the patron saints of ancient sailors, representing St. Elmos fire and the Constetion of Gemini. Jason was no stranger to Polluxs barbaric nature, so, while it incensed him to have his masculinity questioned, he forced a smile and said, "That horse bitch, Caenis, might being for my life. If she turns out to be our enemy, I dont care what the two of you do with her. Im really not asking you for much, only that you confirm whether or not that group of mongrels is trying to kill me." Hearing Jasons words, Polluxs face formed into a frown while, at the side, Castor rose to his feet and asked, "Caenus? Isnt that the name of Coronus father? Are you trying to pick a fight with us, Captain?" Feeling killing intent radiating off the duo, Jason paled slightly as he shook his head and exined, "No, no, you have it all wrong! The Caenis Im talking about is a female! She is a bit muscr for my tastes, but she is the same woman that Poseidon had taken a liking to in the past! Youre free to go and confirm it for yourself if you dont believe me...!" Before Castor and Pollux could respond, a wispy green projectile whizzed by Jasons head, bloodying his ear as a cold feminine voice stated, "I will go...you despicable scoundrels can stay here and keep each otherpany. To think, people actually consider you to be Heroes...pathetic." Though Pollux found Jasons expression amusing, he took exception to the womans words, his face darkening as he shouted, "Shut your mouth, Atnta! I had enough of your crap back when we were alive! You dont have Artemis here to protect you any longer so dont tempt me, brat! You might not have any charm, but Ill still make you a woman if you keep pushing your luck...!!" Hearing Polluxs remark, Atnta, appearing almost identical to the Heroic Spirit summoned by Astrid, showed a resolute expression as she readied her bow. Green energy began to swirl around her in response to the lightning that flickered across Polluxs right arm, but, before a fight could break out between them, a deep voice echoed through the chamber, silencing everyone with a simple, "Enough..." Following the booming voice, a muscr man one full sizerger than Castor and Pollux stepped into the room. His skin was a deep bronze color, appearing much like tempered iron, and, though his facial features were even more horrifying than the twins, his aura inspired fear and respect, even in other Demigods. As a result, Pollux took a step back, and, though she continued putting on a strong front, even Atnta lowered her bow, clicking her tongue as if she had been looking forward to a fight. Seeing the appearance of the mountain-like man, Jasons expression visibly brightened, but, before he could say anything, the man red at him, stating, "You are still the same coward..." Then, turning to Pollux, he added, "Your licentious ways are what got you and your brother killed. You pointed out that Artemis is no longer here to look after Atnta, but how many times did Zeus have to save you when you dug yourself into trouble? If youre not going to help, return to the abyss and stay put. If you continue behaving like viins, I will crush all three of you..." A stark contrast to the bravado they had wielded toward Jason and Atnta, Castor and Pollux could do little more than grind their teeth in response to the mans harsh rebuke. They were well aware of the fate that would befall them if they chose to make the man their enemy, so, while his words were enough to make their blood boil, Pollux, with a grim expression on his face, ultimately replied, "There is no need for that...we were just joking around, isnt that right, Atnta?" Instead of responding to Polluxs words, Atnta leaped down from her perch alighting from the room with a simple, "Im going..." as she passed the bronze-skinned man. This earned her a slight nod from the massive man who then, as if blocking the passage, crossed his arms, alternating his gaze between Jason, Castor, and Pollux. This was enough to exponentially increase the tensions in the room, even after Jason tried tough things off, saying, "Geez, Heracles, is this any way to treat your own allies? Were all friends here, right? I mean, the three are you are practically family so there is no reason for such hostilities, haha...ha...ha..." After ring Jason into silence, Heracles snorted aggressively through his nose, superseding the formersmands, stating, "If you are going to stay outside, prepare for battle. Worry about the rewards once youve aplished something. If that fool ends up dying, youll also disappear. Keep that in mind before you do something stupid..." With his words finished, Heracles stopped ring at the trio, turning his eyes upon Changee who, from the start, had been standing silently at the side with a smile on her face. She noticed his gaze and offered an elegant wave in response. To this, Heracles gave a courteous nod before promptly turning, his instincts telling him not to get involved with the unassuming woman. She gave off the same feeling as Goddesses like Athena and Hera, so, while he was always respectful to the Gods, he would rather not get involved with them a second time... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dont mess with Yokai,Greek Heroes arent very Heroic...,Heraclesying down thew) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1444 - Explanation

Chapter 1444 - Exnation

Though a far cry from her peak capabilities, Atnta still had A-Rank Agility, allowing her to cover vast distances in an exceptionally short period of time. She moved swifter than the wind, leaving few traces of her existence as she zipped passed various Attack Programs, the majority of which didnt even react to her presence. Only those with flight capabilities, or those designed with speed in mind, were able to trace her path. By the time they shifted from a neutral blue to a vibrant red, however, they already had arrows sticking out of their bodies, followed by small explosions that either killed or disabled them. Atnta had always been skilled at hunting on the move, an ability that had allowed her original self to hunt down the legendary Calydonian Boar, a Phantasmal Beast created by Artemis toy waste to the Calydonian region. She had been the only one capable of wounding the creature, abination of Artemis blessing, her reputed speed, and her ability to manipte the wind to guide her arrows to their target. As a result, she drew first blood against the beast, allowing other Heroes to eventually deal a fatal blow, saving all of Greece in the process. Now, as a result of the skills her original self had polished, Atnta moved with impunity through the Photonic Abyss, bypassing a startling amount of foes along the way. She only began to slow after seeing a massive, plesiosaur-like Attack Program in the distance, its length more than 30m. It was also capable of swimming through the air, floating several hundred meters above the ground as it bombarded the terrain with massive, reddish-ck,sers. Huntingrge game always got her excited so Anta wasted no time in drawing her bow, shaping Wind Elemental energy into three vibrant green arrows. Before she was able to loose them upon the massive creature, however, she sensed a strange fluctuation that made her hair stand on end. In the next moment, the 30m long Attack Program was bisected in two, its individual halves slowly sliding away from each other before ultimately exploding secondster... Atnta had already assumed the people engaging the creature were her quarry, so, rather than let the monsters death bother her, she quickly made her way over to the site of the battle, finding three women and one man spread out over the uneven terrain. They, or at least the man, also noticed her, his pale-gold eyes glimmering with a subtle silver light as he calmly stared back at her. Though generally not fond of men, for a variety of reasons, Atnta didnt get the same impression as usual when seeing the white-haired man before her. He reminded her a lot of Paris, a delicate boy with a gentle nature. Unlike Paris, however, the man before her gave off the impression of someone that had born heavy burdens, much like a soldier that had spent an inordinate amount of time upon the battlefield. While she was somewhat interested in the mans story, Atnta ultimately decided to simply ignore him, turning her eyes upon the muscr woman with horse-like ears, surprising thetter by asking, "Are you Caenis?" Due to the nature of Atntas existence, Caenis hadnt even noticed the feline woman sneaking up from behind her, causing her ears to perk up in surprise as she spun around, spear brandished as she shouted, "Who are you!?" in a higher pitch than normal. Having dashed back more than a hundred meters by the time Caenis had turned around, Atnta just ran her fingers through her hair, answering in a dull tone, "I am Atnta. Based on your features, you must be Caenis, correct?" Hearing Atntas introduction, realization donned on Caenis, followed by her spear lowering as she offered a rare smile and answered, "I remember you now...yes, you are that little brat that ran around with the Argonauts back in the day. Did Jason send you to guide us?" Though Caenis didnt get along with most people, those like Atnta were the exception. Not only was she a woman worthy of respect, but, much like herself, Atnta had suffered greatly as a result of both men and God alike. She knew the original Atnta for a brief moment, and, though they had only exchanged a few words, Caenis hade to empathize with the womans plight. As for why she hadnt recognized the famous huntress, it was due to the fact that nearly sixteen hundred years had passed since theirst meeting. Back then, Atnta also had a rtively normal appearance, bereft of the feline traits she currently possessed... Sensing no hostility from Caenis, Atntas grip on her bow loosened slightly, followed by a slight shaking of her head as she answered, "Not exactly...? I was sent to ascertain whether or not you had malicious intentions. That coward got spooked by your killing intent and has been panicking ever since." Hearing Atnta refer to Jason as a coward, Caenis couldnt help but release a loudugh as she shouldered her spear and said, "That pansy would be started by his own shadow if he saw it in the middle of the night. Though I wouldnt mind leaving that man to rot on a pike, Im not going to kill him for no reason..." Though she wasnt exactly lying, even Caenis didnt quite believe her own words, causing Atnta to frown slightly. Fortunately, Shirou had approached, leaving Musashi and Altria to finish off what few enemies remained. The Photonic Abyss seemed to produce a functionally infinite amount of Attack Programs, but, so long as you cleared out an area, they wouldnt respawn in the same location. Thus, by clearing out an area, you could give yourself some breathing room by establishing and growing a territory. Ignoring the re Caenis sent his way, Shirou held up his hands in a disarming manner as he stated, "My name is Shirou...Shirou Emiya. We havee with the intent to share information. Many things have changed in thest few hours. Before Jason ends up doing something that causes trouble for everyone, we wanted to meet with him and exin the new situation. Tell him that he doesnt need to worry. Unless he starts a fight, none of us have the intention of trying to harm him..." Though she didnt sense any falsehood in Shirous words, Atnta got the distinct impression that, if it came down to it, the pale-haired man wouldnt hesitate to kill Jason. This was a problem, as, while she cared very little about the arrogant man, she didnt want to just vanish into thin air. At the very least, it was strangelyfortable staying inside the mysterious abyss every Argonaut existed within prior to being summoned, so, if possible, she wanted to avoid Jasons death. Shirou could tell his words hadnt been able to convince Atnta, causing his smile to turn wry as he lowered his hands and added, "Its fine if you just pass on the information to him. If he just chooses to stay put, we dont have any pressing need to interfere in his life. Ultimately, the person he needs to worry about is the Sage Dragon Emperor. Thetter has only given us forty-eight hours to reach a consensus. If Jason is unwilling topromise...there is a good chance he will die a very painful and gruesome death..." Compared to before, Atnta could hear the sincerity in Shirous words, despite their gravitas. This made it seem like there was no room for discussion, implying that death was an absolute, impossible to avoid, oue. With her own existence threatened, Atnta showed a resolute expression, saying, "Tell me. I will do my best to convince him. That man is a coward who prioritizes his own survival over everything else. If he can be convinced that his death is a certainty, he should be willing topromise..." Shirou didnt harbor much hope that Jason would actually acquiesce to the Empires Common Law, but, as it would be unnecessarily cruel to leave him in the dark, he still exined the situation from start to finish. This left Atnta slightly pale, her expression showing clear disbelief as it was hard to imagine someone as powerful as Shirou described. If not for the presence of Musashi, one who had easily cut down a veritable army of enemies, she wouldnt have been able to believe it... --- Around the same time that Shirou was convincing Atnta, Vahn found himself face-to-face with a woman possessing many shared features with his Shishou. It could almost be said they were twins, if not for the fact one had deep purple hair while the others was closer to vermillion. Even their outfits were simr, with Aife wearing a skin-tight bodysuit that was sparsely covered in pale-gold ting. If not for her royal-blue cape and the small diadem she wore to represent her status as a queen, her aesthetic would have been virtually identical to Scthachs... After the initial shock wore off, a period of timesting less than a single second, Vahn initiated the conversation, stating inly, "You are Aife, elder sister to Scthach...tell me, what end did you expect, attacking my people and assaulting my fortress with such disregard? Though an honorable death is the right of everyone warrior, the fact you surrendered so quickly shows this was not your intention." Hearing Vahns remark, Aifes face became somewhat red due to embarrassment and shame. This was always the worst part when surrendering to an enemy, as, more often than not, female warriors experienced great shame before they were finally released. She knew little about the Sage Dragon Emperor, as it hadnt been all that long since she was summoned. What she did know, however, was that he had an entire army filled with beautiful, and devout, women. Taking a few deep breaths topose herself, Aife met Vahns gaze without shying away, answering, "I came to meet with my sister. I had hoped to lure her out by making a scene. Unfortunately, as you can see, I seem to have overestimated myself...your forces are truly mighty, Sage Dragon Emperor..." Toward the end of her statement, Aife performed a courteous bow, as, after suffering defeat, things like titles and status meant very little. In her era, it wasnt umon for survivors to be stripped of their titles andnd upon surrendering, the only exception being when the victorious party showed leniency. She had conquered many territories by taking advantage of this principle, gaining vassals by sparing and assimting various ns into her own. Since Aife had a lot of simrities with Scthach, Vahn was slightly perturbed by her elegance and the amount of emotion she disyed. Thus, in response to her praise, he took a deep breath of his own, asking, "You havent heard from Shirou and Musashi, I presume?" Hearing the familiar names, Aife showed a contemtive expression before ultimately shaking her head and saying, "I have not personally conversed with either in recent memory. After we separated previously, I wandered around the area, ying strange monsters before stumbling upon the mighty walls of Your Majestys fortress. After that...well, it is as you see..." Seeing Aife draw attention to the golden essories linked around her wrists and ankles, Vahn gave a small nod before pulling a chair out of his Inventory and saying, "Sit. This could take a while. Before that, however, allow me to exin what happened to your sister. Afterward, you will be free to go. I know of your culture and traditions, but, this is no longer your era. You are free to live as you please, so long as it does not vite the Common Law. Now, before you ask questions, allow me to exin the situation...starting with the death of your sister..." Though she had been expecting many things, hearing Vahn mention her sisters death was not one of them. As a result, Aifes mindpletely nked for what felt like several hours, unable to muster any thoughts at all as she passively listened to his recounting of events... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Im fast a fuck booooooi~,A meeting between a horse and a cat,RIP Aifes mind...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1445 - Laying the Foundation

Chapter 1445 - Laying the Foundation

By the time Vahn had finished detailing the events surrounding Scthach, leaving out most of the sensitive details, Aife had be slightly catatonic. She had always felt a powerful rivalry towards her younger sister, who, from the time they were young girls, had excelled in everything. There were many factors that increased the tensions between them, especially when it came to C, but, despite having fought an actual war against each other, she never harbored hatred toward her sister, only a desire to im victory. As a result of her incredulity, Aife ended up shaking her head, stating, "Youre lying...you must be.", even though she could tell that Vahn was speaking the truth. She just couldnt ept that her sister had died, even if part of her was relieved that Scthach finally found the peace she had sought. Vahn had been gauging Aifes reaction through the entire conversation, so, seeing how shaken the red-headed woman was, he felt slightly relieved. Scthach had rarely talked about her older sister, as the two had spent much of their life separated from each other, so it was a relief to see that Aife still cared. Unfortunately, it was a little too early to allow her and the Lily version of Scthach to meet, as there was no way of knowing what kind of seque woulde about as a result. Rather than refute Aifes words, Vahn allowed his true feelings on the matter toe to the surface, his eyes showing the mncholy that still existed within his heart. This was enough to cause a lightyer of moisture to cover Aifes eyes, but, other than adopting what could only be described as a pouting gesture, she didnt cry. She simply chose not to believe his words, even if, in her heart, she knew her little sister was gone. Before things could devolve any further, Vahn exined the situation surrounding Archimedes and the agreement he had reached with Shirou and Musashi. This didnt seem to matter all that much to Aife, however, at least until he added, "Your sisters legacy still exists in this world. One day, when the conflict between our two sides has settled, you wille to learn the full story surrounding her final moments. Even if you choose not to continue the fight, you must show me that youre able to live in this world without causing unnecessary harm...I will not tell you how to live, but, if it infringes upon the rights all people deserve, expect repercussions..." Though she was still honor-bound to fight for Archimedes, the fact he had already died allowed Aife to make her own decisions. She was intending to join the Empire, both as a matter of course and to ascertain the truth of her sisters death, but, after hearing Vahns words, she realized it wouldnt be a simple matter. His words made it clear that, even if she ended up surrendering, that didnt mean she would be allowed within Avalon. She was still his enemy until she had proven herself worthy of trust, a stark contrast to how things had been done in her own era. Considering howmonce things like treachery and betrayal had been, however, she could somewhat understand his concerns... In truth, Vahn was tempted to ept Aife into their ranks, as, with the six [Seal of Binding] he had obtained long ago, he could effectively designate himself as the Master of any Heroic Spirit. Though this required the targets acquiescence, often requiring the death of their former Master, he didnt imagine Aife would refuse his offer after her previous defeat. The only thing that prevented him from using them was the fact that his Unit Management made the item virtually useless for anything other than forcing a target to obey. While it would certainly make things easier for him, Vahn felt it was important to have something like the Heroes Faction. He was hoping to use them as the foundation to develop the counterpart to the Mages Guild he intended to establish in the near future. It was important for people to feel as if they had the means to escape the confines of the Empire, and, though all people would be bound by the Common Law, they could experience freedom by rising through the ranks of the Mages and Heroes Guilds. Though it was possible to create the Heroes Guild using his own forces, people would be more open to the idea of joining the force that, for a time, directly opposed the Empire. This was why Vahn had encouraged Shirou to build his own faction, traveling around the world and uniting people towards amon goal. Even if this goal was to resist the Empires control, it wouldnt really matter, so long as the Common Law was still upheld. With this in mind, Vahn refused Aifes request to join the Empire before it even left her lips. She had a shy Noble Phantasm that would leave a deep impact on people. Thus, having her on the side of Shirou and Musashi would be optimal, especially given their small numbers. There had already been instances of mutated animals reported throughout the world, so, pretty soon, monsters would likely begin emerging. The people would need something to rally behind and there were few things more inspiring than seeing an entire army of crystalline warriors holding the line. Aife was unaware of Vahns true intentions, but, with the intent of setting out to prove herself worthy of his trust, she carried a copy of the Common Law with her upon leaving the Ivory Castle. While she didnt ept the fact that Shirou and Musashi had be their de facto leaders, she still intended to meet with them, helping to convince the others. The Empires forces were too strong for them to directly contend against, so, rather than fight an all-out war, shifting their focus to Vahn alone would save them a lot of time and effort. It was time they stop hiding in the shadows, bing the Heroes they purported themselves to be... --- Having heard the details from Shirou, Musashi, and Caenis, Atnta quickly returned to Changes Moon Rabbit Pce. She harbored little hope that Jason would actually acquiesce, but, if she could convince him that his death was assured if he didnt, he should at least pretend to obey. Then, they could only hope that the Sage Dragon Emperor didnt have the means to see through Jasons usual facade, dooming them all as a result of his inability to lower himself to others. With her speed, Atnta was able to quickly reach her destination, bounding up the steep terrain of Changes territory as if it were t ground. When she reached the top, shended silently near the same ledge she had jumped from previously, her cat-like ears twitching as her nostrils red almost imperceptibly. This allowed her to ascertain whether or not Jason had summoned anyone else while she was gone, something she would rather avoid due to her general dislike towards the majority of the Argonauts. Fortunately, with the exception of a considerable number of rabbits, there didnt seem to be any new presences within the ptial structure. Thus, with silent movements, Atnta followed the wine-like aroma that always permeated Jasons body, quickly tracing the pungent fragrance back to its source. Since Atnta produced virtually no sound while moving, Jason nearly spilled his drink after seeing her enter the periphery of his vision. As a result, he adopted his characteristic scowl, shouting, "I told you not to sneak up on me like that! Cant you wear a bell or something!?" Hearing Jasons remark, Atntas face formed a deep frown as, in the distant past, he had actually tried to gift her a cor with a bell attached. Shortly after that, she ended up leaving the Argo, but, due to the nature of his Noble Phantasm, she now found herself apanying the hateful man, this time with her very existence on the line. Feeling a palpable bitterness on her tongue, Atnta red at Jason, venomously stating, "I came back with information pertaining to the continuation of your life. Now, I dont feel like exining it to you." With those parting words, Atnta turned tail, alighting from the room with swift movements that were impossible for someone like Jason to follow. This left him glowering with an expression that alternated between red and white as he tried to forcibly calm himself. He knew Atnta would just ignore him if he ended upshing out at her, so, while he wanted nothing more than to drag her back by the tail, his reason,bined with the fact she was much stronger than him, kept him at bay. Understanding she wasnt likely to disclose the information to him, Jason turned to Medea, a tired look on his face as he said, "Go and find out what Atnta has learned. Return to me as soon as she discloses the information to you. Dont dally...go..." With a demure bow, followed by a smile that never seemed to reach her eyes, Medea answered, "Of course, Master." Afterward, tiny, faerie-like wings appeared behind her back, allowing her to quickly follow after Atnta, a resolute look recing her previous smile. Since it was a matter pertaining to her beloved Masters life, Medea couldnt forgive Atnta for being so selfish as to keep the details to herself. She intended to give the cat-like woman a piece of her mind, albeit after politely inquiring about the details of her previous excursion... Knowing Medea would carry out his orders without fail, Jason released a tired sigh before plopping onto his throne and muttering, "I miss the open seas..." before closing his eyes and recalling his past glory. He missed being able to freely travel, going on various adventures with hisrades as they fought against the forces of nature to im fame and fortune. Though some had treated his group as a band of pirates, the fact he was a King, supported by many Demigods and Heroes, gave him the moral high ground in most situations. Jason missed those simpler times, a time when City Lords and Kings would flock to the Ports every time his ship neared their cities. They woulde bearing gifts of gold, wine, and other treasure, all in the hopes of requesting his assistance or preventing trouble. These offerings always gave Jason an overwhelming feeling of supremacy, as, during those days, he had been a disenfranchised prince, his throne imed by another. Despite that, other Kings and Lords lowered their heads to him, dreading the consequences of triggering his ire... Due to his reflection, Jason didnt notice when a woman gracefully sat at his side, a jade vase in hand as she dutifully filled his cup with fragrant plum wine. This broke him free from his reminiscent state, forcing a sigh from his lips as he unhesitantly epted the proffered cup and said, "I usually do my best not to appear weak in front of others. Thank you, Change, for never looking at me with eyes filled with scorn...truly, you are a good woman...haaaaa-" Hearing Jasonspliment, Change released a peal of sonorousughter, sounding much like a gentle, soothing, bell. This brought a smile to Jasons face, allowing him to rx a bit after stressing out over thest few hours. He hated being cooped up in one ce for a long period of time, but, if he had someone like Change at his side, it wouldnt be all that bad. She was caring and attentive in a way that Greecian women couldnt quite match, something he wasing to appreciate more and more with each passing day. If not for their difference in status, Jason wouldnt hesitate to make Change his woman. Regrettably, the current dynamic between them meant that he would be hers, something his pride didnt allow. Though it might not matter to some, as the end result was pretty much the same, it was a very important distinction, at least within Jasons mind. The other party being a Goddess only made him want her even more, as, if she agreed to be his, it would elevate his status even higher... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Loki would be proud,Jason would do surprisingly well in the Record of One Piece...Cavendish, is that you!?,There is a meeting point between Pride, Hubris, Vanity, and Conceit. Jason exists at that intersection. He is basically a CN protagonist...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1446 - Out of Time

Chapter 1446 - Out of Time

After Aifes attack, things became rtively peaceful within the faux Ivory Castle produced by the Moon Cell. Though a number of Attack Programs could be seen wandering in the distance, they didnt seem willing, or able, to enter within established territories. Thus, while waiting for Shirou and Musashi to return, Vahn spent much of his time idling about with Artoria, listening to reports from his Commanders, and aiding Da Vinci in her research. During this interval, the situation within the Moon Cell had been conveyed to everyone back in Avalon, including the fact that a version of Shirou had been summoned. This hade as quite a surprise to Rin and Luvia but, far more than either of them, Illya wanted to meet with her brother once again. Prior to her death, Illya had been preparing to forge an alliance with Shirou and Rin, setting aside her past struggles in the hopes of spending her final days amongst her family. She knew the Holy Grail would eventually im her life, as she had been its vessel, so it was a great tragedy that, just when she thought happiness was within her grasp, it was taken from her. Gilgamesh had in her Servant before ultimately murdering her, all while Rin and the original Shirou were powerless to do anything but watch... Vahn promised Illya that she would be able to meet with Shirou, but, due to her nature as a Beast of Gaia, leaving the was out of the question. Cath Palugs existence was tied to the itself, so, even if Illya tried to leave, the Bounded Field surrounding the would prevent her from doing so. Even if she could break through it, her power would quickly fade away, much like the Gods who borrowed their Divine Authority from Gaia. This was a failsafe to prevents from warring against each other, imposed upon them by the Root System, expressed through the various Gods of the Sun. Though he didntpletely agree with the structure of the Root System, Vahn had slowlye to understand its significance. It was difficult to create a system that allowed people to advance without limits, especially while cing restrictions on how they were allowed to act. He struggled with exercising authority over a single, much less an entire multiverse. As a result, he was, slowly but surely, beginning to understand why entities like Akasha and her Superiors behaved the way they did... Ultimately, just like what he was trying to do with his Empire, Vahn would have to delegate various responsibilities to other people. He would one day possess the power to govern all things, but, in exchange, he would have to sacrifice many of the things that made him happy. He imagined this was the reason why powerful Gods often created lesser Gods to govern in their stead, freeing up time for them to pursue the things that interested them. It was an exceptionally selfish thing to do, but, when you were looking at things through the lens of eternity, even billions of years of wanton phndering seemed inconsequential... As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn eyed the sleeping Artoriaying against his chest, her golden hair slightly messy as it clung to her smiling face. They hadnt had sex, as doing so inside the Moon Cell seemed rather senseless, but it didnt stop them from cuddling with each other. Seeing the smile on Artorias face, Vahn couldnt help but produce one of his own, promising he would do everything within his power to protect, not just her smile, but everyones. It wouldnt be easy, but, eventually, they would find the correct answer together. The Path always created a way forward, so, as the physical manifestation of the iprehensibly powerful artifact, there were no limits to what he could aplish... --- Though not entirely unexpected, Vahn was surprised when nearly forty-eight hours had passed, yet, in spite of this, Shirou and Musashi had yet to arrive. As a result, he found himself sitting on the edge of the bulwark, Artoria at his side as they both looked out over the horizon for any sign of the groups arrival. With less than five minutes left, Vahn, with his arms crossed, began to lightly tap his bicep with his index finger. His ability to read the Flow of Fate allowed him to ascertain whether or not they were actually going to show up, but, in spite of this, Vahn continued waiting. He knew for a fact that the duo had taken his words seriously, so, based on their failure to appear, it was pretty obvious that something had happened. Once the countdown in his mind reached zero, Vahn released a small sigh before saying, "It looks like well have to handle this matter personally. I cant say Im surprised...things never seem to go as smoothly as Id like." Hearing Vahns words, Artoria released a sigh of her own before dutifully manifesting her armor and asking, "Are we going?" in an inquisitive, yet resolute, tone. Nodding his head, Vahn answered, "Im interested in the Moon Cell but I have no intention of just idling around here for days on end without aplishing anything. There are many things that require my attention back on Gaia so lets wrap this up as quickly as possible." Following his words, Vahn began to levitate from the bulwark, apanied closely by Artoria as they alighted into the sky. They had already conveyed their intentions to Gawain and Kenshin, so, even though it seemed like they had spontaneously left, the Ivory Castle was already in a state of high alert. There was even a powerful, dome-like, barrier that now protected the entire structure, courtesy of Da Vinci, so, even without their protection, the Ivory Castle wouldnt fall so easily... After ascending a few hundred meters into the air, Vahn gazed out over the horizon, viewing the various paths that hade into existence over thest two days. He could see a veritable ocean of Attack Programs littering the area, including many airborne enemies, so, rather than fly to their destination, he turned his eyes skyward and said, "Transfer me to the nearest foreign territory." Immediately after his words fell, Vahn found himself at the base of what appeared to be arge mountain, courtesy of the Control Program. His authority as the Chief Administrator allowed him to move freely within the Photonic Abyss, and, though he might not be able to teleport directly into someone elses territory, teleporting nearby wasnt an issue. Seeing the rather sizeable mountain, Vahn assumed the enemy was moderately powerful, but, even after expanding his domain to try and sense them, nothing appeared within his perception. This indicated they could either hide from his senses or, far more likely, they simply werent home. As a result, Vahn teleported to the only interesting location within the mountain, the mouth of arge cave that was structured simrly to the entrance of a temple. Unlike the mountain, which was covered in ayer of ice and snow, the interior was exceptionally hot, almost like standing at the mouth of a volcano. Vahn could also sense that, the deeper you went, the hotter things became, eventually reaching upwards of 15,000 degrees after reaching the heart of the mountain. Since this temperature was achieved through magical means, even the majority of Heroic Spirits wouldnt be able to tolerate the heat. Vahn, however, could even bathe in the mes of Zhqu without being burned, so, while Artoria had started to sweat a little, he was entirely unaffected. After confirming that the mountain was, indeed, empty, Vahn scanned it with his domain onest time before saying, "It seems we missed whoever owns this ce. Since there arent even Attack Programs here, I doubt they would appreciate us snooping around too much. Lets go to the next location before returning hereter on." Since she was already feeling ufortable near the mouth of the cave, Artoria had no qualms about leaving the strange temple behind. As a result, they took to the sky once again, moving to an area beyond the scope of the mountain territory before having the Control Program transport them to the next location. To the surprise of both Vahn and Artoria, their next destination was also a series of mountains, albeit much smaller than the 13,000m tall mountain from before. It alsocked icy peaks, instead, possessing a verdant forest of blooming cherry blossom trees, each glowing slightly. There also appeared to be a small vige, reminiscent of one of the rural Japanese viges that could be found in the far north of Japan, ces that still focused heavily on tradition. Since he was quite fond of cherry blossoms, Vahn found this particr territory rather appealing, but, before he could appreciate it fully, a pulse of sorts emanated from therge temple located within the valley between two mountains. When this pulse struck them, Vahn found his telekinesis canceled, forcing him to fall a few meters before he was able to create a foothold within the void itself. Even this onlysted for a short period of time, however, causing him to eventually just drop to the ground alongside Artoria. With a thoughtful expression on his face, Vahn looked around the area, muttering, "This ce is even closer to a Reality Marble than the false Ivory Castle. There is some kind of authority that influences everyone that enters within, much like Ozymandias and Neros Real Marbles..." Though she had already reached a simr conclusion, Artoria nodded in affirmation, sword at the ready as she asked, "Do you think they are hostile?" Since he had already spread his domain, easily covering more than a third of the massive territory, Vahn quickly shook his head, exining, "Im certain the owner of this territory has already sensed us, so, based on the fact were not already under attack, I dont think they are hostile. Rather, I get the impression we are being invited inside...?" Following Vahns words, the trees in the surroundings seemed to shift, creating a path that was lit with tiny papernterns. It was actually kind of creepy, but, as it was also rather scenic, Vahn lightly hummed before extending his arm to Artoria, asking, "Shall we?" Not expecting Vahns sudden offer, Artoria was momentarily at a loss, nearly linking her arm with his while still holding [Excalibur]. This caused Vahns smile to widen, earning him a pointed re from Artoria, who, despite herself, still linked arms with his. Then, even though they were clearly being baited into a trap of some sort, they enjoyed the rather pleasant scenery of the glowing cherry blossoms,plete with arge moon floating overhead in the spontaneous night sky... --- While Vahn and Artoria were enjoying their moonlit stroll, a tall and curvaceous woman leaned over a reflecting pool, observing them with a thoughtful smile on her face. She was attired in what appeared to be a purpletex bodysuit, clinging to her figure and leaving little to the imagination. To conceal at least a little bit of her dignity, she had an insignia-d cloth covering her chest, tied to her body with a rope that extended around her neck and nks. She also had a simr cloth to cover her front and backside, but, due to the volume of her hips and thighs, this did very little to prevent the majority of people, men and women alike, from gawking. Toplete her outfit, the woman wore form-fitting leather gauntlets and greaves, elevating her to the status of femme fatale with therge katana dangling loosely at her hips. It, much like the woman herself, stood out quite a bit, as, instead of a normal sheath, it wasrgely covered in the fur of a tiger, appearing much like a tail. If not for the womans long purple hair, tied loosely near her ankles, it would have been her third most distinguishing feature... With violet eyes that glowed within the low light of the room, the woman traced her index finger across the surface of the reflecting pool, disturbing the image as she muttered, "This must be the Sage Dragon Emperor mentioned by Shirou-chan...he certainly gives up quite the presence. And that woman at his side...she is also a Dragon? How peculiar..." For a brief moment, the woman considered whether or not she should pass judgment on the duo that had trespassed her territory, but, seeing them enjoying their moonlit stroll, she felt it would be wrong to interfere. Instead, she disturbed the surface of the reflecting pool, returning it to a neutral state as she called out, "Ibaraki-chan, were going to have guests soon. Tell Kiyo-chan to prepare a banquet before informing the others to be on their best behavior~." In response to the womans words, a petite figure with pale-blonde hair released a groan as she removed therge ck stone bs that had been pressing on her legs. She had been forced to sit in seiza with weights on herp after previously upsetting the purple-d woman. Now that she had been freed, she wasted no time in bolting from the room, answering, "L-leave it to me...!" without looking back. This caused the purple-d woman to giggle elegantly, but, for a very brief moment, a glint shed across her eyes as she looked toward the weight that had left a small hole in the floor... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fine...Ill do it myself...,Into the Demons den...,That glint though...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1447 - Impunity

Chapter 1447 - Impunity

The longer Vahn and Artoria followed the path set for them, the more the scenery seemed to change around them. At first, there were only floatingnterns, but, after a few minutes passed, will-owisps, known as hitodama in Japan, could be seen manifesting in and out of existence through the breaks in between trees. Their appearance was apanied by the sounds of bells or the echoingughter of children, two rtively innocent sounds that inspired trepidation when heard under the veil of night. Though she wasnt actually afraid, Artoria clung a little bit closer to Vahn, finding herself enjoying the moment more than expected. It had be a little chilly in the surroundings, but, at Vahns side, a gentle warmth permeated from his body, keeping the cold at bay. This encouraged her to rest her head against his shoulder, his casual and calm demeanor allowing her to drop her guard, albeit just a little. Eventually, Vahn and Artoria came to a crossroads, a split in the path that was marked by what appeared to be a dog-headed monk statue. It held prayer beads in its left hand, pointing to the left path with its right. The curious part was, even with his domain, Vahns perception was blocked the moment he reached the crossroads, causing him to lightly muse, "It seems theyre taking the theme of Yokai to the extreme..." Hearing Vahns utterance, Artoria stared at him in confusion, imploring him to add, "Yokai are a type of Spirit that exists in the in-between spaces, exploiting the gaps in human perception to exist beneath human society. They can exist alongside humans without drawing attention, only standing out when you lose your path or are led astray. Due to modernization, the vast majority of Yokai are extinct so I had been thinking about offering those that remain Sanctuary..." Though many Yokai were dangerous existences, they were rtively harmless if you knew how to behave around them. There were some obvious exceptions but the majority of Yokai were more mischievous than harmful. They generally fed off things like fear, bemusement, intoxication, and pleasure, meaning they rarely ever killed their victims. Unfortunately, like other Spirits, they were prone to human corruption, so, depending on the circumstances, it was possible for a Yokai to be led astray, bing horrifying monsters as a result. Using his ability to read the Flow of Fate, Vahn could glean some insight into his opponents by observing their appearance and abilities. This didnt directly reveal their identities, but, when it came to certain historical figures, you only need a few clues to ascertain the True Name. While this required aprehensive understanding of various legends, Vahns mind functioned simrly to a library, housing a wealth of information that he, and, more importantly, Sis, could ess at their leisure. After taking a sneak peek at what was toe, Vahn furrowed his brows slightly before resuming a neutral expression as he exined, "The way this is set up, either path would lead us to the exit of this territory. Since the world of Yokai exists between the boundaries of reality, the gateway can only be found within the mind...feel like getting lost with me?" Though she was curious about the reason behind Vahns momentary frown, Artoria decided not to ask, instead, answering, "Ive told you before, have I not? I will follow you anywhere, no matter where we end up." Hearing Artorias response, Vahns expression became tinged with affection, followed by her face bing red as he leaned down to give her a kiss. She wanted to retort that this was neither the time nor the ce, but, due to her past experiences with Vahn, her body reacted on instinct, lips parting slightly as her eyes closed. When trespassing the domain of Yokai, feelings ofpanionship could keep you from being led astray by their various tricks. Feelings of love were infinitely more powerful, however, allowing you to break free from powerful illusions and even counter the effects of some Yokai. He knew this was necessary to prevent Artoria from getting befuddled once they were inside, as, even if they didnt have malicious intentions, Yokai simply couldnt help but act as their nature dictates. By the time Vahns lips parted from Artorias, their surroundings had changed once again, this time to a well-lit district of traditional Japanese houses. The streets were lined with orange and red papernterns, but, most notably, a number of strangely shaped creatures, each attired in yukatas, kimonos, or other traditional Japanese grabs, could be seen walking around, seemingly without noticing the armor-d duo in the center of the street. Artoria immediately became alert once she noticed the various monsters in the surroundings, but, before she could do anything regretful, Vahn turned her gaze back to him, whispering, "The majority of these Yokai are just Programs created by the Moon Cell. They are like Artificial Yokai, each programmed to perform a very specific sequence of events. Unless you interact with them, they will continue to carry out their programming without taking notice of your existence." Hearing Vahns exnation, Artoria nodded her head in understanding before taking in their surroundings once again, this time with a curious, yet cautious, glint in her eyes. She saw many street vendors in the area, giving the street a simr vibe to a Japanese festival, but, instead of normal food, there were things like live octopus tentacles, eyeballs, and bat wings lining the stalls. She even saw a Yokai that was shaped like a giant eyeball wearing samurai armor, eating a bowl of ramen that tired to proactively squirm away from its chopsticks... Before Artoria could begin asking questions, Vahn pulled out a few sticks of dango, a Japanese sweet made from mochiko, the dumpling form of mochi. She had a petite figure, but, in spite of this, Artoria was actually quite the glutton. Since her first exposure to modern cuisine had been Japanese food, she had be rather fond of rice-based dishes and Japanese sweets. He knew her appetite would be stirred by the presence of food, so, before she gave in to her curiosity and tried to purchase something from the stall, he provided something to temporarily satiate her. After Artoria thanked him and began snacking on the multi-colored dango, Vahn exined, "If you are ever offered free food within a Yokai society, always refuse. The taste might be out of this world, but, depending on the nature of the Yokai, you could end up transforming into an animal, forgetting you were ever human. They have a fondness for gold and barter, however, so youll be fine as long as you pay in advance." Hearing Vahns words, Artoria swallowed a mouthful of dango, her expression paling slightly as she made a mental note not to stray far from Vahns side. He seemed to understand the nature of the world they had wandered into, so, while it was tempting to follow the sound of festivities and the aroma of fragrant food, she focused her mind, remembering the reason they hade here in the first ce... --- While it not exactly necessary, Vahn and Artoria ended up changing into clothing that was more suitable to their surroundings. He had always been rather fond of Japanese-style clothing, and, as Artoria was exceptionally beautiful in a kimono, Vahn was enjoying himself quite a bit. He liked to observe non-human cultures, finding their way of life far more interesting and honest than the vast majority of human societies. There was something calming about seeing a myriad of unique creatures interacting peacefully, as, in human society, people seemed to squabble over even the most arbitrary differences... Though the Yokai around him werent real, Vahn knew they were programmed to emte their original counterparts, thus, while he was in a bit of a hurry, he still enjoyed observing them for a short while. He was immune to the perception-altering effects of the district, so, while it could be dangerous for others to wander around, he could do so with impunity. Artoria was slightly more susceptible to the effects of the Reality Marble, but, so long as she was at his side, there was little chance of anything adverse happening... Eventually, Vahn and Artoria found themselves near arge wooden bridge spanning a ghostly green river. It was structured like a traditional Japanese bridge, possessing a graceful arc, a red coat of paint, and ornate handrails that appeared simr to elongated Torii gates. There were arge number of Yokai crossing the bridge, but, upon reaching the opposite shore, they would stall for a brief moment before turning away, their programming seemingly preventing them from traveling any further. Before crossing the bridge, Vahn lightly tapped Artorias arm, saying, "Dont look into the water. If you stare too long, your position will be reversed. Even if you cant drown, being pulled under by a Kappa isnt a pleasant experience..." As this was just one of many warnings Vahn had given her, Artoria nodded her head before tightly gripping his arm in response. At the same time, she couldnt help feeling a little embarrassed, as, unless he had seen something, Vahn wouldnt have bothered to warn her. This implied that each time he cautioned her about something, it was because a future version of herself had fallen into that very same trap, despite her increased caution. While this wasnt guaranteed, the fact she had been thinking about looking into the water moments prior indicated this was the truth... With Artoria sticking closely to him, Vahn led her across the bridge, a casual smile on his face as he looked forward with an unwavering gaze. Other than a disciplined monk, he doubted anyone would be able to trespass the territory of a Yokai with as much impunity as he could. This allowed him to rx his mind, even if he was also focused on perusing the Flow of Fate to prevent Artoria from doing anything remiss... Even before crossing the bridge, Vahn and Artoria could see arge ryokan, blocking the stone pathway that led deeper into the mountain. There were also several shrines located beyond, but, to reach them, you would have to either pass through, over, or around the traditional Japanese Inn. After staring at the somewhat cartoonish sign depicting sparrows and phrases such as Wee to the Enma-tei! and Weary travelers stay for free!", Vahn lightly chuckled before pulling Artoria inside. He knew Shirous group could be found within, so, after crossing over the threshold of the ryokan, he looked towards a fat sparrow that looked more like a toy than an actual bird, saying, "I havee to meet with the Proprietress. Please inform her of my arrival." As he spoke, Vahn extended his hand, producing a golden Ry, one of the various currencies used in Japan during the Japanese Rennaissance, the period known as the golden age for the Japanese Yokai. Without answering, the fat sparrow extended its beak, taking the Ry before fluttering off in a very unnatural manner. This caused Artoria to stare aghast in the creatures direction, as, prior to Vahn paying it, she couldnt even sense the peculiar Yokai. Previously, it had given off the impression of a lifeless doll, reinforcing the fact she was in a mysteriousnd wheremon sense didnt seem to apply. While waiting for the proprietress arrival, Vahn and Artoria stood within the genkan, a region with smooth stone tiles that was slightly lower than the wooden section representing the housing area of the ryokan. There, several pairs of slippers could be found, encouraging guests to remove their outside shoes so they could walk around without scuffing the floor. Traditionally, there would always be staff waiting to greet guests as first impressions, reception, and courteous service were the selling points of most ryokans. Had he arrived a little earlier, Vahn would have been able to enjoy this kind of hospitality, but, knowing this was part of the trap that ensnared guests, he led Artoria around for a bit before arriving. Now, they would receive Gomen-Nasai service, a form of apology that prevented the ryokans staff from trying to deceive them. Shortly after the sparrow yokais departure, a pitter-patter of footsteps could be heard, followed by a child-like girl bursting into the foyer with an expression of duress on her face. Then, without stopping, she leaped through the air, performing the motion for a dogeza before sliding across the wooden floor, stopping right in front of them as she eximed, "Please, forgive this lowly one for failing to greet you properly! My Enma-tei prides itself on courteous service so I vow to make it up to you, no matter your demands! Allow Benienma to show you the spirit expected of an Enma-tei!!!" Since he had already seen this scene y out before, Vahn just lightly nodded his head, while, at his side, Artoria had an incredulous look on her face. This was to be expected as, despite the fact Benienma was a rather famous Yokai, her appearance was was that of a young girl around 10-12 years old. Seeing such a person perform a mid-air dogeza was quite a surprise, but, due to how casual Vahn was reacting, she forced herself to adopt a simr expression... (A/N: Alternate Titles: You find yourself at a crossroads...what path do you take?,Artoria is too innocent to interact with Yokai xD...,Vahn is bullying Benienma-chan (?_?)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1448 - Reproach

Chapter 1448 - Reproach

After refusing Benienmas offer to stay in her premium suite, several times, Vahn eventually managed to convince the young Proprietress to show them to Shirou. She had tried insisting that her guests not be disturbed, but, after asking how long Shirou had checked in for, she begrudgingly led the way. Though Benienma wouldnt make her guests leave, she couldnt force them to stay longer than they had checked in for. The hard part was remembering how long you had been inside, as, despite only a few hours passing from your perspective, days, weeks, or even months could pass in the outside world. There had even been instances where humans wandered into a Yokai district for what felt like a few days, only to discover decades had passed since they were spirited away. All the while Benienma was leading the way, Vahn was having a staring contest with the spherical sparrow that was sitting atop her head. It was a curious yokai that seemed to possess an amorphous body, allowing it to freely pivot its face without having to move around. This was enough to creep out Artoria, but, as he technically possessed an amorphous form, Vahn was just stared back at the tiny sparrow with a casual smile on his face... Following Benienmas lead, the group arrived outside one of the premium suites, which, until they were standing outside,pletely blocked even Vahns perception. Privacy, or, more urately, istion, seemed to be one of the key selling points of the Enma-tei. Until the door was opened, it was almost like the interior was in apletely isted world, a feature Vahn was intending to learn more about when time allowed. For now, he just stared pointedly at Musashi and Shirou, thetter showing an expression of surprise while the former was half-naked, nursing arge gourd of sake in her embrace... Though he had already seen this scene, Vahn still ran his hand through his hair, taking a deep breath to keep calm before saying, "You know, I promised you wouldnt like it if I was required to convince your group. Should I consider your inability toplete a simple task a deration of war...?" Hearing Vahns words, Shirous wry smile turned into a serious expression, his face paling slightly as he answered, "It doesnt have toe to that. I expected something like this might happen so I met with most of our group prior to my stay here. Most of us are in agreement...as for the rest, we will try to deal with them on our own." As he had spent the previous two days gleaning insights into the future, Vahn couldnt simply take Shirous words at face value. Thus, rather than beat around the bush, he simply asked, "Who is the man with golden hair and the woman protecting him? If Im not wrong, they should be Jason and the Goddess Change..." Even without Shirou answering, Vahn knew he had hit the nail on the head based solely on the mansplexion. With this knowledge at his disposal, he raised his hand to silence Shirou, a cold glint in his eyes as he said, "I have already made my decision regarding that mans fate. You neednt concern yourself with him any longer. As for Change...she was never going to be abatant on your side. I will provide you with a supplemental Heroic Spirit to rece Jason, someone that should be able to pacify that Goddess wrath." Vahn didnt know why Change was so fond of Jason, but, if he had to guess, it was solely due to the fact he had tried to court her. She seemed to be the kind of person that dedicated herself wholly to the person that tried to win her favor, albeit with the unfortunate side-effect of isting them from everyone else. It could have been virtually anyone, and, until Jason was dealt with, she would use all of her power to support him. This would have made him a surprisingly dangerous opponent three years ago, but, at his current level, Vahn was confident in dealing with Jason in an instant. After hearing Vahn mention dealing with Jason, Musashis eyes rolled forward, her drunken state rapidly fading away as she stated, "You should leave Jason to us. There is a lot of resentment in our group regarding him, so, as strange as it might seem, dealing with him will be the glue that binds us all together." While she had been speaking, Musashi casually fixed her disheveled yukata, not minding the fact that Vahn, Artoria, and a silent Benienma were watching. She was many things, but a shy person was not one of them. If she was bothered by such things, she would wear a sarashi to bind her chest and an outfit that covered more skin, rather than a modified kimono that exposed her back and showed off arge portion of her thighs... In response to Musashis statement, Vahn met her gaze, a stern look visible in his eyes as he stated, "I dont remember leaving it open for discussion. We have had two negotiations prior to this, both ending in my opinion of your group lowering slightly. I have already decided to deal with this matter, making it a personal affair of the Empire. If you want to bond over something, travel around helping people or try toe up with a scheme to get back at me. Even if Jason is disgusting, he is still your former ally. If you try to unify everyone else against him, youll be nting the seed of doubt in the minds of your otherpanions..." Musashi was annoyed at the first half of Vahns words, but, hearing the reasoning in thetter half, the words that had been forming on the tip of her tongue ended up being swallowed. Vahn was the type that went at his own pace but, based on his words and actions, he was also the type that put a significant amount of thought into everything he did. He seemed to be in control of everything, even trespassing Yokai territory without any discernible difficulty... While Musashi still seemed to be at a loss as to how she should respond, Vahn turned his attention to Benienma, causing the petite Yokai to perk up as she asked, "Is there something, Kyaku-sama? If I can be of service, please, leave it to me-dechi...!" As this was his first time hearing Benienmas verbal tick, Vahn blinked in surprise, a smile spreading across his face as he resisted the urge to pat her head and answered, "Please inform the Master of the mountain we will be along shortly. Also, so you dont end up harming yourself, my official title is Sage Dragon Emperor. You may simply refer to me as Tenn-sama." Since identity was a very importantmodity within Yokai society, Benienmas improper method of addressing him could actually be used against her. Considering the presumed status of the other Yokai inside, leaving her uninformed would be unnecessary cruelty, one that could result in her own identity being stolen as a result. The master of the mountain seemed to be strong enough to keep everyone in line, but, seeing how Shirou and Musashi had been ensnared, it was pretty obvious she didntpletely inhibit their mischief. Hearing Vahns words, Benienmas eyes became round as saucers, but, more noticeably, the beak on her forehead had opened slightly. This peculiarity piqued Vahns curiosity, his instincts as a master of the [Hands of Nirvana]pelling him to learn the secrets of a Yokais body. Now was neither the time nor the ce, however, so he just offered a polite smile while waiting for the petite sparrow to recover her senses. After several long seconds, Benienma seemed to process his words, resulting in her bowing nearly ny degrees as she eximed, "Forgive me, Tenn-sama! I have been rude to you-dechi...!!" Seeing how Benienma reacted, Vahn was tempted to inform her that Artoria was also an Empress, but, as it seemed like she might genuinely copse, he elected to stop teasing her. Instead, he shook his head slightly, saying, "You neednt worry about such things. Now, please convey my message to your Master. Im certain she is already expecting us..." Hearing Vahns reminder, Benienma showed an exaggerated expression of surprise and, after a series of deep bows, she frantically stammered, "T-t-thank you for your clemency, Tenn-sama! Leave it to Benienma-dechi! I will inform Raikou-sama of your arrival this instant-dechi...!!" After another deep bow, this time exceeding ny degrees, Benienma quickly spun around on her geta before scampering off down the impossibly long corridor. It took her less than a second before she was no longer in view, leaving nothing but a few scattered feathers to indicate her departure. It was a rather amusing sight, forcing Vahn to restrain augh as Artoria muttered, "She is an excitable child, isnt she...?" Answering Artorias question, Musashi took it upon herself to exin, "Dont let her appearance fool you. The form Yokai take is used to deceive humans, not represent things like age. Beni-chan might look like an adorable little girl but she is actually around130-300 years old, if I remember correctly?" Since she had looked toward him for confirmation, Shirou nodded her head, adding, "The tale of the Tongue Cut Sparrow was originally published in 1885, but it was derived from an old wives tale that originated in the early seventeen-hundreds. Like Musashi said, you shouldnt let the appearance of a Yokai fool you. A number end up taking the form of children or young women to exploit the gaps in a persons mentality. This gives them a few weaknesses associated with normal humans, but, if you cant see through their true nature, even damaging a Yokai is difficult...well, thatst part probably doesnt apply to either of you." Due to the nature of Yokai, they were exceptionally weak to things like the Holy Element and Sealing, effectively making Artoria a hard-counter to even the most powerful of their kind. Rather, due to her existence as one of the pirs that supported the Surface world, there werent many foes that could even hope to damage her. As for Vahn...well, his existence itself was an anomaly, his capabilities hard to even conceptualize, let aloneprehend... Unaware of what Shirou was thinking, Vahn still had a casual smile on his face as he asked, "Will the two of you be joining us? It doesnt really matter, either way, but your presence could make things go a little smoother. If not, you should patiently wait outside this territory. Im not weak enough to get ensnared by the tricks of a few Yokai so you shouldnt be kept waiting too long." Since things quickly became troublesome whenever he had to deal with Yokai, Shirou refused Vahns offer to attend what he imagined to be an eventful banquet. As for Musashi, she was actually very tempted to join, but, knowing Shirou would be left to wait alone, potentially for hours, it was difficult for her to decide. They were supposed to be on the same side, so, if she abandoned him in order to enjoy a few more drinks, it would be a little difficult to face himter... Instead of waiting for the duo to make their decision, Vahn lightly shook his head, saying, "If you get stuck in here, that is your own problem." before turning away, Artoria following close behind. With Vahns reminder, Shirou and Musashi quickly alighted from the room, choosing to follow him to the entrance. The Enma-teis interior could be an inescapable maze if you let your mind wander so, while Musashi wouldnt have any trouble escaping, remembering to escape could be an issue if they were left alone. Fortunately, as a Divine and Heroic Spirit, they could easily manifest clothing to rece their yukatas without having to wait for Benienma to return their original attire.* After exiting through the ryokans back entrance, a small pavilion that connected to the path leading up the mountain, Vahn gave a curt nod to Musashi and Shirou, saying, "Were going." before linking his arm with Artorias. This action wasnt missed by Shirou, causing him to observe their departure in silence while Musashi, having made up her mind, eventually said, "Ill follow them. At least one of us should keep an eye on them, especially when they are dealing with the more troublesome members of our group. What will you do...?" Hearing Musashis statement, Shirou inhaled through his nose, his expression returning to normal as he answered, "Ill wait outside. You know I cant deal with Raikou, Shuten, and Kiyohime. Besides, my instincts are telling me to stay far away from that banquet..." Recalling how Raikou had persistently tried to get him to address her as Mother, with a crazed look in her eyes, a shiver passed through Shirous body. She gave off a more dangerous impression than everyone else in her group, so, while she was actually a very kind and caring person, on the surface, it wasnt a good idea to get involved with her. With his mind made up, Shirou gave a curt nod toward Musashi before vanishing into thin air, his presence disappearing along with him. This caused Musashi to issue a light chuckle, amused by how quickly he fled. She understood his concerns, as Raikou even scared her a little, but such tension was the spice of life. There were few things as exhrating as trying to keep your calm while surrounded by some of the most terrifying monsters in Japanese folklore, so, while she anticipated things going south, there was no way Musashi would miss the show. Without putting further thought into it, Musashi quickly caught up to location of Vahn and Artoria, following a few paces behind them so as not to interrupt the rosy atmosphere that had surrounded them... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Benienma invites you to stay as her guest...forever (?n?)...,The burden of memories inherited from another...,Musashi, fearless...or foolish?) *(A/N: Due to the etiquette of a ryokan, guests are encouraged to wear yukatas -informal kimonos- to emphasize the fact they are there to rx.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1449 - Demons Banquet (1/?)

Chapter 1449 - Demon''s Banquet (1/?)

After scaling nine sets of 108 stone steps, Vahn, Artoria, and their tagalong, Musashi, reached what appeared to be arge Shinto Shrine Temple. Much of the structure was formed from wood that had been painted in reddish-orange, ented with pale gold, deep cks, and a variety of vibrant colors to contrast the base white of the walls. As for the floor, it was all highly polished marble, embossed with the image of a serpentine dragon possessing eight heads. It didnt take aprehensive understanding of Japanese folklore to understand that the carving depicted the legendary Yamata-no-Orochi. This,bined with the various statues depicting other legendary monsters, made the Temple appear to be a ce where monsters were worshipped, or, more urately, enshrined. Even the murals adorning the walls appeared to depict various fables, strung together simr to a Parade of One-Hundred Demons... Taking Vahns silent observation as an opportunity, Musashi, owing to her Japanese origin, decided to speak up, exining, "This is the Friendly Demon Shrine. Dont let the name fool you though, as, while they may appear to be friendly on the surface, the demons within are more troublesome than anything else." Hearing Musashis remark, Vahn issued a light mmm before looking over his shoulder, a deadpan expression his face as he muttered, "An interesting thing to hear from someone who has caused me quite a bit of trouble..." As she couldnt exactly refute Vahns words, Musashis mouth hung open for a few seconds, closing only when the duo began moving forward again. She had wanted to warn him not to underestimate the Oni within, but, seeing how he was acting, Musashi decided to just let him dig his own grave. So long as it didnt turn into a full-blown conflict, she wouldnt mind seeing Vahn suffer a few setbacks, even if it was just wishful thinking on her part. After entering the Temple proper, Vahn had a small smile on his face as, waiting for them, Benienma and a host of chubby, sparrow-like, yokai were flittering about. Perhaps as a result of her inability to greet them properlyst time, Benienma had her hands neatly folded in herp, sitting in a proper seiza that allowed her to bow steeply toward them as she said, "Wee, Tenn-sama, Kg-sama. We are honored by your visit-dechi..." Hearing Benienma address Artoria as Kg-sama, Vahn gave an approving nod while, at his side, the person in question, raised her chin somewhat pridefully. She had been a little bothered by the fact that her introduction had been overlooked, but, as she was currently fulfilling her duty as an Imperial Knight, she tried not to let it bother. It was still nice to hear, however, so she couldnt help but adopt a smile of her own, all while Musashi stood silently in the background... --- Following Benienmas flock of sparrow-yokai, Vahn, Artoria, and Musashi found themselves in arge meditation hall that had been modified to suit a banquet. There, a buxom woman with hazy-purple eyes sat surrounded by three decidedly youthful looking figures. This included a scantily d Yokai with short purple hair, fair skin that was tinged with a slight purple hue, and two horns protruding from her head, possessing a slightly fleshy quality that transitioned from the color of her skin to dark red. Much like her scantily-d counterpart, there was another Yokai sitting close enough to the former that they could touch shoulders if either moved to the left or right. She also had horns protruding from her head, but, instead of possessing a fleshy quality, they seemed to pierce through her scalp, possessing a metallic sheen that transitioned from the color of wrought iron to rust-red. This wasnt her most prominent feature, however, as she possessed intricate tribal tattoos, extending from her blood-red hands to formplex bands around her body. Even this paled inparison to the fact that the youthful-looking Yokai was attired in a loose yellow kimono, matching the color of her hair. Due to the Yokais paleplexion and the way she allowed her kimono to drape off her shoulders, Vahn briefly ovepped the image of a banana with the rather feral-looking woman. This brought a smile to his face, but, as if she had sensed what he was thinking, the yellow-haired girl furrowed her brows slightly while, at the center of her head, a third eye squinted usingly toward him... While the horned duo stood out quite a bit, Vahn was more unnerved by the young woman who sat on the left side of the buxom, purple-d, host. Though he got a dangerous feeling from all four of them, this rather demure-looking woman, possessing light-green hair triggered a very different kind of reaction. She appeared to be nothing more than a delicate maiden at a nce, but, going by the set of ivory-white horns at the side of her head, branching into three distinct points, it was clear she was anything but normal... Almost immediately after gazing into the womans glimmering golden eyes, Vahn noticed her pupils contract into thin lines, her smile growing to almost unnatural proportions behind the fan she used to conceal the lower half of her face. This all but confirmed his earlier suspicions, this being that each of the Yokai present before him, excluding Raikou and Benienma, were descended from Dragons... As soon as this thought crossed his mind, the Yokai with short purple hair, her expression affixed in a perpetually seductive grin, mused, "My, my, this is rather unexpected...I had heard you were called the Sage Dragon Emperor, but I never expected someone so...tantalizing to appear..." Toward the end of her words, the scantily-d Yokai traced her wine-red tongue across her lips, all while allowing her kimono, which was left open at the front, to slide further down her shoulders. This allowed the functionally naked figure to be seen, covered by little more than a few ck bands that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. In response to the womans tant attempt at seduction, the banana-like Yokai showed a distressed expression on her face, eximing, "You! Dont think Ill let you take Shuten away from me!" with fire zing around her. For a brief moment, it appeared as though the yellow-haired Yokai was about to attack, indicated by the fangs of her lower jaw growing to the point they protruded from her mouth. Fortunately, Raikou and Shuten seemed against the idea of a direct engagement, the former adopting a smile that made the temperature in the surroundings drop several degrees while thetter openly stated, "My body is mine to give freely. Though I must admit, the thought of being taken is quite exciting~" Following Shutens words, an aromatic fragrance of fruit spread throughout the room, heavy with the scent of alcohol and pheromones. It was to such an extent that Vahn could feel a slight tickle in his nose, but, immediately after feeling his body heat up a bit, his natural resistances filtered out the effects. This caused Shuten to stare mischievously back at him, her own face appearing to be deeply intoxicated, even as Raikou rather unceremoniously smacked the back of her head with an iron fan... With Shuten nursing arge bump on the back of her head, Raikou adopted an admonishing look as she inly stated, "I told you two to be on your best behavior. Ibaraki-chan, Im still thinking about your punishment for damaging the tatami in my room. Do you really want to make things worse...?" Hearing Raikous words, Ibaraki paled slightly, something that seemed impossible due to her already fairplexion. At the same time, the mes emanating from behind her back faded away, sizzling out of existence as a cold sweat seemed to cover her body. As for Shuten, she didnt seem bothered by Raikous threats, giggling drunkenly as she propped herself up, leaning against the table with her elbows on the surface as she alternated between staring at Vahn, Artoria, and Musashi. As he had seen simr scenes y out in his mind, Vahn wasnt surprised by how everyone at the table was reacting to his presence. He was now in a state where the aura of a True Dragon naturally mixed with his original, the result of his previous evolution. Fortunately, while Shuten and Ibaraki both had dragons blood flowing through their veins, it seemed to be suppressed in a simr nature to Artorias. The real problem was the girl with pale-green hair as, from the time her pupils had contracted, he had been receiving notifications within his mind. At the same time, though it was almost inaudible, he could hear the girl murmuring something along the likes of, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine as if it were a mantra. This,bined with how her aura coiled around him like a serpent, made it clear she was both unhinged, and controlled by her draconic instincts. Fortunately, at least for the moment, the girl seemed to prioritize appearing as a gentle and demure woman, shyly hiding behind her fan as she periodically stole nces at both him and Artoria. This hadnt gone unnoticed by thetter, but, considering the killing intent that would radiate off of the woman whenever their gazes met, it would be stranger if Artoria hadnt noticed. Before things could get further out of hand, Vahn, maintaining a calm and confident demeanor, said, "I havee here for one specific reason, to ascertain whether or not you would abide by the terms I had previously set forth. I understand the nature of Yokai makes it difficult for you to easily mesh in a structured group. The Common Law, however, is written so that it doesnt conflict with the nature of most Spirits. It may be marginally more difficult for Heroic Spirits with legends pertaining to great tragedies, but, that is something we can deal with on a case by case basis..." Immediately following Vahns words, Shuten rose to a seated position, boldly stating, "Im not going to fight. I refuse. My nose is pretty sharp so I can tell you arent an evil person. Id rather join the side that is trying to create a better world for Spirits than fight against it. Even if I did intend to battle you, it would be in the dead of night, preferably within the confines of your chambers, ufufufu~" Rather than refute Shutens words outright, Vahn actually nodded his head slightly, not in affirmation of her words but due to the fact she was, more or less, following the script he had mapped out in his mind. This was one of the benefits of being able to see the Flow of Fate, as, using context clues from the scenes he had witnessed,bined with the information provided by Sis, he could easily control the flow of a conversation. Before Shuten could take advantage of his acquiescence, Vahn interrupted her, stating, "I do intend to make a safe haven for Yokai, but, Im content enough with the host of amazing women already at my side. If you could convince them to ept you, that would be one thing, but, based on your behavior, I cant see that happening. Im not going to invite chaotic elements into my home, no matter what form you take." For the first time since Vahns arrival, Shutens smile vanished from her, reced by a serious yet pouting expression. This caused Ibaraki to re daggers at him, but, before the fiery-tempered Yokai couldsh out, Vahn added, "If you do not wish to fight, you are free to live your lives in peace. I can provide a sanctuary, not just for you, but for all Yokai. You would still be bound by the Common Law, but, so long as you dont kill, maim, or traumatize others, expanding your poption and providing you with adequate resources is well within the means of the Empire." Though Vahn still intended to establish a Heroes Faction, he also understood that some of their current members werent exactly suited to the role of guiding humanity. Shutens and Ibarakis true names were undoubtedly Shuten-douji and Ibaraki-douji, two Oni who had devastated Japan during their respective eras. Shuten was even considered one of Japans Three Great Monsters, so, while he wouldnt kill her for simply doing as her nature dictated, she was simply too dangerous to be left on her own. The pheromone attack from earlier would have been enough to functionally lobotomize a normal human being, so, if she were ever let loose in a crowd, there would be absolute chaos... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Poor Musashi, relegated to a background character...,Hereabouts, there be dragons!,Vahns about to cripple the Heroes Faction before they even get a chance to act xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1450 - Demons Banquet (2/?)

Chapter 1450 - Demon''s Banquet (2/?)

Following his opening statement, Vahn ignored Shutens and Igarakis stupefied states, epting Raikous invitation to enjoy the banquet that had been painstakingly prepared by Benienma. The food prepared by a Yokai was unnaturally delicious, but, unlike normal Yokai, Benienma put a lot of effort into mastering her craft. Since it was difficult to refuse a meal after imagining the petite girl hard at work in the kitchen, surrounded by dozens of fat sparrows, Vahn found himself seated across from everyone else, nked by Artoria and Musashi. While still awaiting the foods arrival, Shuten didnt beat around the bush, asking, "This sanctuary of yours...what exactly does it entail? Going by your tone, it doesnt seem like we have any other options~?" Contrary to her slovenly behavior from earlier, Shuten had a slightly more serious expression, and, though her outfit was still in disarray, she had at least pulled her kimono back onto her shoulders. As for Ibaraki, she had fallen silent as, despite having already decided Vahn was her penultimate nemesis, her dream of a prosperous Yokaimunity helped to silence her anger. She also got a very dangerous feeling from both Vahn and Artoria, so, while she wasnt afraid of them, building up the resolve to fight against them wasnt that easy... In response to Shutens question, Vahn exined, "Ill make an exception and exin myself in a way you should be able to understand. In truth, I dont really care about ruling over humanity. My current actions are the result of several underlying issues that needed to be addressed in order to avoid an even greater cmity. In truth, my only real goal is making the world a safer ce where everyone, regardless of their origin and race, has a chance at happiness. When everything is said and done, the Empire will be an isted regtory force. The actual governance of the races of Gaia will be managed by aplex system that takes into consideration the needs of every race within the Empires domain." Though he didnt expect them to be able to follow along and envision the world he was trying to create, Vahn knew that most Yokai had the inherent ability to discern truth from lies. The moment they thought he was trying to deceive them, he would have lost all of his momentum, so, while it might not make a lot of sense to them, he didnt mind exposing his n. It didnt really matter if Musashi was also present, as, regardless of how things developed, she would continue to support the Heroes until the fighting ceased. Confident in his assessment, Vahn took a small sip of the crystal clear sake that had been set out on the table, enjoying its mellow vor and the way it burned his throat. Then, having given them a bit of time to process his words, he added, "Soon enough, the World will undergo even greater change as a byproduct of events that have already been set in motion. To ensure the survival of all species, including the itself, certain measures must be taken to unify and protect everyone. I will provide everything the Yokai need in order to not just prosper, this time without fear of being hunted to near-extinction. I even possess the power to summon Yokai from previous eras, not as Heroic Spirits, but in their original forms." Hearing Vahns words, everyone at the table, with the exception of Artoria, had various thoughts racing through their mind. The first to speak, however, was Raikou, asking, "Am I correct in the assumption that your power also extends to other entities? I dont get the impression that Kg-sama is a Heroic Spirit. Rather, she gives off an aura simr to Musashi-dono." Musashi was slightly surprised by Raikous words, but, before she could ask for confirmation, Vahn had answered, "It is even possible to summon Gods, Conceptual Entities, and Foreign Existences that others have never even heard of. I will not go into the specifics, but there are few restrictions when ites to my ability to summon others into this world." Even before Vahn had finished speaking, Raikous hazy purple eyes hade into focus, her aura increasing several-fold as she asked, "Can you summon my Kintoki-chan...?" in a somewhat shaky tone. At the same time, Shuten also perked up slightly, her expression showing she was paying far more attention to his response than everything else he had said. Rather than answer her outright, Vahn allowed his own aura to contend against Raikous, pushing hers back with a focused expression on his face as he said, "Calm yourself, Raikou. I already had the intention of conferring with your faction to determine which Heroes would be suitable to help expand your numbers. Sakata Kintoki is, indeed, one of the candidates to be summoned. For that to be a reality, however, you must remain calm. This isnt something you can force, and, the more you try, the less likely it is to happen." Though he was able to overwhelm her aura with his own, Vahn got the impression that Raikou was on the verge of exploding. She seemed to morph into apletely different person, bing an existence that dwarfed even Shutens by a considerable amount. Since thetter was rumored to have been the child of Yamata-no-Orochi and a powerful witch, this was quite a feat, resulting in his draconic nature being stirred slightly. Raikou was tempted to force Vahn to summon Kintoki, but, after processing his words,bined with how powerful his aura felt, she forced herself to gradually calm down. This was theplete opposite of her counterparts, however, as Vahns aura had the effect of exciting those descended from dragons, leaving even Artoria clenching her fists to avoid fidgeting. Vahn knew it wasnt exactly a good idea to rile up the trio surrounding Raikou, but, as part of him proactively refused to keep his nature concealed, he allowed his Hunglng aura to mix with his domain. This empowered all of his capabilities to unquantifiable levels, allowing him to react to virtually anything in a calm, yet overbearing, manner. It wouldnt matter if his opponent was one of the most powerful Gods in the entire Nasuverse, as, after fleeing from Tiamat in the past, Vahn had resolved himself never to run away again. Once Raikou began to calm down, Vahn slowly retracted his aura before mixing in calming energy from his [Hands of Nirvana] into his domain. This didnt go unnoticed by those seated at the table, so, before they reacted adversely, he exined, "This is a technique called [Hands of Nirvana]. It is originally a massage technique that elerates healing, but, as a result of my mastery, I can use it to disperse calming energy into my surroundings. It has absolutely no negative side effects, as, if I tried to use it in such a way, I would experience a bacsh of sorts." Since everyone present could basically determine whether or not he was telling the truth, simply being forward with them was enough to avoid most problems. This was another thing Vahn liked about many non-human races, as,pared to humans, they were far more honest, even if their nature revolved entirely around mischief. In order to reim the momentum, Vahn passed his gaze over everyone present, including the young woman with pale-green hair. She had yet to be introduced, but, based on various context clues, he was able to identify her as Kiyohime. ording to Japanese folklore, she was a normal vige girl who, after being spurned by the man she fell in love with, ended up transforming into arge serpentine dragon in order to give chase. When she finally caught up with him, she used her newly gained power to burn the man to ashes as he sought shelter within a temple bell. In the aftermath of that event, she ended up taking her own life, following the man she had loved even in death... Vahn wasnt quite sure how Kiyohime had inherited the blood of a dragon, but, based on how she was behaving, it was clear to see that her human sensibilities had been all but overwritten by her draconic instincts. She was stuck in a permanently delusional state, kept at bay by little more than a facade that threatened to disappear at a moments notice. Knowing he would need to deal with her sooner, rather thanter, Vahn looked directly into her golden eyes, stating, "I am not Anchin, nor his reincarnation. Ie from apletely different world so there is no mistaking it. I can help you to control your draconic blood, but, I will never pretend to be someone Im not in order to pander to your delusions." Kiyohime had been trying hard to keep herself under control since Vahns arrival so, hearing him suddenly speak in such a manner, she was at aplete loss. She could tell he was speaking the truth, as her sensitivity to lies had developed to an unquantifiable level. Thus, in an instant, it felt like her entire world was crashing down around her, causing white scales to begin growing along her hands and feet. At the same time, her horns turned from ivory white to a glossy ck color, at least until Vahn released his own aura in full, eyes zing like suns... Though it was somewhat cruel to the young woman, Vahn suppressed her weak bloodline with his own, forcibly stopping her transformation as he stated, "Do not throw a tantrum just because I have stated the truth. Behave yourself, Kiyohime. Dragons are prideful creatures so do not allow yourself to be controlled by your urges like some base creature. You will never be able to obtain what it is you desire if yoush out every time something doesnt go your way." Hearing Vahns harsh words, Kiyohime was on the verge of tears, her face forming an aggrieved frown as she reverted back to her human form. This earned him a few usatory looks, but, as the current Kiyohime was a danger to both herself and others, Vahn didnt regret his actions. He had seen a multitude of futures where she transformed into a massive white serpent, rampaging until Raikou managed to seal her away. This was the first of many steps on a long road to helping her break free from her burdens, allowing her to pursue real happiness, breaking free from her delusions. Ignoring the feeling of guilt that always came whenever he made a woman cry, Vahn took a deep breath to calm himself before saying, "Benienma should be along with the food shortly. Allow me to apologize for my harsh words, but, much like my current actions back on Gaia, it was necessary. Trust me when I say that you will recover, Kiyohime. It might not seem like it now, but you will have a lot of people supporting you as you learn to be happy. Isnt that right, Raikou...?" Following Vahns question, Raikou stopped ring toward him, embracing the crying Kiyohime in her rather voluminous chest as she answered, "Of course. Come, Kiyo-chan, I will bear all of your tears. Dont let that bullys words affect you..." Hearing Raikou refer to him as a bully, Vahns expression became slightly dull, especially when he heard Kiyohime muttered, "Mmm...he is a big bully..." in a sobbing tone. At the same time, Shuten was staring at him with an amused expression on her face while, at his side, even Artoria gave him an usatory look. Though she understood he had done so out of necessity, she still intended to reprimand himter for making a young woman cry. Fortunately, just as things reached tangible awkwardness, Benienma and a host of chubby, ball-shaped, sparrows frolicked into the room. They were pushingrge trays filled with dozens of different dishes, the fragrance of which was enough to elicit an audible growl from nearly every stomach at the table. Vahn had tried to time his dramatic outburst with the arrival of Benienmas dishes, but, as reading the Flow of Fate was harder than it seemed, he had been off by nearly two minutes. Fortunately, it didnt matter in the end, as, with the arrival of the food, even Kiyohime seemed to quickly recover, her golden eyes glimmering with expectation as a whole pig, nearly asrge as she was, was set before her. Though this seemed like way too much food for a normal human, it hardly qualified as an appetizer for most Yokai, much less a True Dragon... Seeing how quickly everyones moods improved, Vahn regained his casual smile, watching as the sparrow-like Yokai, despite being much smaller than the dishes they were carrying, managed to set them on the table without much difficulty. As for Benienma, she personally served the dishes she had prepared for him, Artoria, and Musashi. What Vahn didnt expect, as he hadnt focused too much on the food while peering into the Flow of Fate, was for Benienma to set a peculiar dish in front of him, her face flushed with a ruddy glow as she exined, "As an apology for my past transgressions, please enjoy my rarest delicacy, split kushiyaki-style sparrow-dechi..." As Benienma exined what she was serving him, Vahn noticed the beady eyes of every sparrow-type Yokai staring at him, threatening him to refuse her offering. It didnt help that Musashi, upon seeing the grilled skewers,mented, "Oh, grilled sparrow? I used to eat that a lot when I was still a brat. If youd like, I know a few good sake that pairs well with it~." Immediately after Musashis bold words, the eyes of everyone sparrow-yokai, with the exception of Benienma, shifted toward her. Their looks seemed to say, you had better sleep with one eye open from now on, stunning Musashi into silence just as she was about to uncork her gourd. It was only at that moment that she seemed to realize what kind of birds the several dozen Yokai were, despite the fact they always followed Benienma like she was their leader... Using the opportunity Musashi had created, Vahn offered a wry smile in response to Benienmas intense stare. Then, after picking up one of the skewers, he unhesitantly took a small bite of the tender meat, causing her to visibly flinch before resuming her intense stare. It was only when he stated, "Its delicious..." that Benienma finally rxed, an exasperated sigh escaping her lips that didnt quite suit her appearance. Then, just as Vahn took a second bite, he nearly choked when she muttered, "Im d...if you didnt like it, I was going to offer myself aspensation-dechi. My meat is quite tender, so Im certain you would find it ptable-dechi." After her rather dangerous remark, Benienma adopted a happy smile on her face before taking arge wooden spoon and cing a veritable mountain of rice on his te. Then, with that same smile on her face, she held up her spoon, remarking, "Tenn-sama, make sure to savor everyst bite-dechi! If you dont, youll get the chop, ufufufu~!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn taking control,Dont bully the snek...!,Benienma is scary-dechi...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1451 - Demons Banquet (3/3)

Chapter 1451 - Demon''s Banquet (3/3)

Fortunately, even if he was tasked with eating all the food on the table, Vahn wouldnt have any issues. His body could process a functionally infinite amount of food, o allowing him to consume hundreds of kilograms without even gaining a single himself. This was due to his ability to convert anything he ate into a micron of Source Energy, marginally increasing his reserves based on the amount of mana, or Divine Energy, contained within. After watching Vahn engorge himself with the massive bowl of rice she had prepared for him, Benienma gave a contented nod before making her way around the table, serving tea and filling everyones tes in sequence. Everyone got a slightly smaller portion of rice than him, but, when you considered even the smallest portion was nearly 3kg, it was quite a bit more than a normal person could eat. It was fortunate that none of them even remotely fit the description of what could be considered normal. Even Artoria, despite the fact she always weighted precisely 42kg, could put away nearly half her body weight in a single sitting. It wasnt umon for her to have several tes stacked together whenever they ate meals, the result of her gluttonous nature and the fact that the food served at the castle was always delicious. Since he didnt have to worry about Artoria finishing her portions, Vahn cast a curious gaze upon Musashi, finding her shoveling awayrge portions of rice using a pair of engraved chopsticks she had seemingly pulled out of thin air. Upon noticing his gaze, she made a show of half-turning her body, a warning look in her eyes that seemed to convey, Im not going to share. With an amused smile on his face, Vahn shook his head in response to her silent statement before pulling out a porcin gourd vase. It had an ivory white base set with an ornatepiszuli pattern depicting a fox entangled by flowers. It was quite the artistic container, but,pared to the rich sake contained within, the immacte porcin gourd held no value. As a connoisseur of various alcohols, Musashis instincts were stirred the moment Vahn pulled out the gourd. Before she could ask for a cup, however, he squinted his eyes toward her in what appeared to be a yful manner, throwing her own words, "Im not going to share." back at her. Though it was quite obvious, Vahn never intended to eat Musashis food. He also knew she had just been messing with him, but, when it came to teasing people, he held an absolute advantage against all but a select few individuals. Thus, before Musashi could recover from her shock, he let the porcin gourd float gently across the table, saying, "As this is our first meeting, consider this a greeting gift. Though it may be a trifling thing, I hope youll ept it." Since Raikou seemed to be a practitioner of Shinto Buddhism, meaning she didnt partake of alcohol, Vahn sent the gift towards the eagerly anticipating Shuten. This was basically his way of bribing the somewhat troublesome Yokai, as, not only was the sake of the highest quality, it was specially chosen due to the nourishing effect it had on Oni. As someone who had even epted a gift of poisoned sake, despite knowing it was poisoned, Shuten happily embraced the porcin gourd with a drunken smile on her face as she mused, "I will graciously ept your gift. Tell me, Tenn-sama, what kind of alcohol is contained within this charming vessel~?" Even without removing the cork, Shuten could already tell that the sake contained within was of the highest quality she would ever have the chance to sample. It even seemed to greatly exceed the quality of her Providential Oni Poison Sake, losing out only due to the sentimental value held by thetter. While ignoring the bitter look he was receiving from Musashi, Vahn exined, "This is a special type of sake known as [Inaris Grace]. As the name suggests, it is a product of the Patron Goddess of Sake, Inari kami. What makes this one unique, however, is that it belongs to the Inari kami of a different world, giving it special qualities youll not find elsewhere." As she listened to Vahns words, Shuten deftly removed the porcin bottles cork, ignoring the worried look on Ibarakis face as she unhesitantly drank directly from the container. Though this was considered improper, especially considering she always had a sake cup on hand, thetter was tainted by her usual blend. Since she couldnt resist the allure of new sake, procuring a new cup would require effort she wasnt willing to spare... After sampling little more than a sip of the aromatic wine, Shuten felt like she had suddenly been transported to a different world, a ce where shey naked amidst a field of flowers as the warm rays of the sun kissed every inch of her body. It was a very pleasant sensation, causing her body to gradually heat up as a fluttery feeling spread her mind and body, intoxicating her in a way she was rarely able to experience. Back in reality, Shutens face had melted into a euphoric expression, a ruddy blush coloring her cheeks that gradually extended toward her neck, along her pointed ears, and up her horns. All of this was from a single sip of the potent sake, a type of alcohol that was better suited to the ptes of Gods, rather than demons or humans. It wasparable to the Soma that had been produced by the God of the same name back in Danmachi, albeit infused with qualities that made it suitable for an Oni to ingest... After several seconds had passed, Shuten spontaneously erupted into a drunken giggle while tightly hugging the container of sake in her bosom. This caused some of its contents to spill out onto her body, spreading the fragrance of sake through the entire room in a manner simr to the pheromone attack she had released earlier. As a result, everyone, excluding Vahn, felt a pleasant heat spread through their bodies, almost as if they were sunbathing on a cool Spring day... To prevent any trouble from arising, Vahn lightly twirled his index finger, manipting the wind to contain the fragrance before it could actually intoxicate everyone. Some of the sparrow-yokai had already copsed, their fat bodies rolling around along the smooth marbled surface with peculiar human smiles on their faces. It was a little creepy, but, as was often the case with Yokai, Vahn was more amused than perturbed by the disy. Using his telekinesis, Vahn made sure to tightly cork the porcin container, exining, "That is a special sake that canpletely revitalize an Onis body with a single sip. You should try mixing it into your favorite wines in the future, diluting it down a bit instead of drinking it directly. As you can see, it is a little too potent for direct consumption, hahahaha~." As even Benienma was stumbling around while trying to pour drinks, it was pretty apparent that the contents of [Inaris Grace] werent to be underestimated. It basically qualified as a weapon, as, despite being a simple bottle of sake, it was actually an item on the upper ends of A-Rank. It had cost him a startling 300,000 Origin Points within the shop, but, after his most recent ventures, OP wasnt much of a concern for him at the moment. -------------------------------------------------- [Inaris Grace] Rank: A (Divine) Use: A Sacred Wine gifted by the Goddess Inari to her betrothed, the Great Demon King, Shuten-douji. It carries the original hopes of its creator, bestowing feelings of bliss and satiety to whoever is fortunate enough to sample its contents. When given generously, this sake has a vor akin to a warm Spring day, but, if taken greedily, even the most stalwart of Gods may be forced into a deepatose state. "Drink, and be merry!" -------------------------------------------------- Though it might be considered cheating to purchase an item that had been gifted to another worlds Shuten-douji, Vahns very existence was basically the ultimate cheat. This was something he had graduallye to ept, as, while he still intended to work hard to obtain his power, it never hurt to share his blessings with others. If he could buy an item that made people happy, he had very few qualms about doing so... After recovering enough of her faculties to interact with her surroundings, Shuten offered a rather slovenly smile as she slurred, "Ay likish yuu boyaaa. Neksht tiem, ayll give you sum wakame sake ash thanksh..." Hearing Shutens remark, Vahn quickly shook his head, stating, "That is unnecessary. If you want to thank me, just make sure to follow the Common Law in the future. You will be a leader within the Yokaimunity so it is important that you set a proper example for everyone else to follow." In response to Vahns words, Shuten puffed out her cheeks to form a rather adorable pout as sheined, "Jest you wait...ayll get you evenshully..." before falling backward, still hugging the container of sake in her arms. This caused Ibaraki to re at him, but, as she knew there werent any tricks concealed within the sake, she had no grounds to reallyin. Raikou, having witnessed the incident from start to finish, looked toward Shuten with a helpless expression on her face before staring at Vahn and asking, "Do you really intend to take care of these girls? I wont forgive you if you treat them poorly. They may be a little mischievous, but I believe they are still good children." Understanding Raikous concerns, Vahn gave a small nod before saying, "Youre wee to visit the Yokai District whenever youd like. Even if the Heroes Faction is meant to stand in opposition to the Empire, that is no reason for us to fight at every opportunity. Meeting together like this and sharing a few drinks every now and then will help prevent any genuine animosity from developing between our two sides. We might not see eye-to-eye on some things, but that is no reason for any hatred to develop between us." In his ideal world, Vahn would be able to fight against his enemies without any hard feelings. He wouldnt mind relinquishing the power and authority he had seized for himself if his opponent genuinely believed in the path they pursued. There was no need to arbitrarily kill in order to seize power, as, in the grand scheme of things, that was more an act of cowardice than anything else. If you had such little conviction in your beliefs that you couldnt ept them being challenged by another, you were little more than a tyrant and a despot. Vahn had always liked stories where former enemies were able to reach an understanding with each other, eventuallying together to make the world a better ce. A continuous cycle of killing only contributed to more hatred than was necessary in the world. It was for this reason he didnt mind if others opposed him, as, after what he had done, they had every right to do so. So long as they didnt lose themselves to the negative feelings that came with seeking vengeance, forcing their hatred upon others, he had few reasons to actually kill them... Hearing Vahns reply, Raikou offered what could only be described as a motherly smile as shemented, "You are a good child. Though yourecking in discipline, I can see that you are not the evil person people make you out to be. Tell me, Tenn-sama, what is your mother like? If you are orphaned, I dont mind caring for you in her stead...?" Understanding she didnt mean for her words toe off as rude-sounding, Vahn managed to shrug off Raikous remark without too much trouble, answering confidently, "My mother was an amazing woman. She loved me with all her heart, hoping for my happiness above all else. She is one of the reasons I seek to create a world where everyone can be happy. Her love is one of my most powerful motivators, and, without it, I wouldnt be the man I am today...thank you for your offer, Raikou, but Ill have to refuse..." Though Vahn hadnt exactly told any lies throughout the banquet, there was an unquestionable sincerity in his voice when speaking about his mother. This was enough to even cause Shuten to peel open her eyes, while, around the table, everyone looked toward him with slightly stunned expressions. As for Raikou, her smile had increased marginally, bing more affectionate as she muttered, "Im happy for you...its a shame, though, as I would have liked to be the mother of such a filial child..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: A table full of gluttons,Taming an Oni with sake...,Things may change, but a mothers love is eternal) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1452 - Divergence Unity

Chapter 1452 - Divergence Unity

Following the conclusion of the banquet, Vahn, Artoria, and Musashi were escorted to the edge of the Yokais territory by Benienma and her flock of sparrow Yokai. She seemed to consider it part of her duties as the owner of an Enma-tei, ignoring the fact they hadnt actually been her guests. Still, Vahn found the petite Yokai rather endearing, and, if not for the ever-watchful sparrow seated atop her head, he wouldnt have been able to resist giving her head a pat. With a casual smile on his face, Vahn lightly muttered, "Please, raise your head. You have shown us an adequate amount of hospitality. Thank you, Benienma-okami. Once you open your Enma-tei in the capital, we intend to patron your facility. Im looking forward to experiencing the services your ryokan provides." As she could easily deduce if the other person was lying, Benienma was so excited by Vahns words that the feathers around her cor red up to emphasize her agitation. She then smiled radiantly, taking advantage of her child-like features to appear more as a poster girl than a proprietress as she happily eximed, "Un~! Ill pull out all the stops next time-dechi! I look forward to your patronage, Tenn-sama, Kg-sama!!" Following her outburst, Benienma performed another series of bows before skipping back up the path with her arms spread out in excitement. She really gave off the impression of a child, causing Artoria to mutter, "She is quite adorable, isnt she? Im rather curious about visiting her ryokan. The next time, lets go together..." Hearing his Empress words, Vahn was tempted to give her a big hug, but, due to the presence of Musashi, he just smiled and answered, "Of course. I imagine the Enma-tei will be pretty popr in the future. Before I go with anyone else, Ill make sure to book a room for us. Due to how time flows within the Yokai District, we can afford to stay for a few days without much time passing back in the real world." Though she didntpletely understand the meaning behind Vahns words, as she wasnt sensitive to the flow of time, Artoria nodded her head in agreement. Then, in a burst of bluish-white magical energy, she discarded her kimono, donning her armor once again. As for Vahn, he quite liked the feel of a yukata, so, for the time being, he elected to continue wearing it. He could always change before the battle against Jason, even if it wasnt actually necessary to do so. Turning to Musashi, who had been in a dour mood ever since he refused to produce more sake for her, Vahns smile faded away as he remarked, "You would think were long-time friends with how you expect me to treat you. Though I dont actually mind sharing drinks, even with my enemies, do you consider it normal for an Emperor to pay tribute to someone who has tried to assassinate them?" Hearing Vahns remark, Musashi was at a loss for words, realizing she hadnt really done anything to deserve a reward from Vahn. He had gifted the sake to Shuten after identifying her status amongst the other Yokai, basically winning them all over by sessfully taming her. The Yokai would be citizens of the Empire in the near future, a stark contrast to her, the enemy of the Empire. Before Musashi could beat herself up over her own thoughts, Vahn surprised her by pulling out a small porcin container, this one much smaller than the gourd gifted to Shuten. She managed to catch it out of the air despite her absentminded state, earning a small nod of approval from Vahn before he exined, "That is a special drink known as [Shj Sake]. As a Divine Spirit of Japanese origin, I dont need to tell you what it represents. Now, lets us be on our way. Though only a few minutes have passed since our separation, I would feel guilty if we left Shirou waiting for too long." Without waiting for Musashis response, Vahn linked his arms with Artoria, escorting her down the final few steps. By the time the reached thest one, their figures had vanished, departing the realm of Yokai. As for Musashi, she stared at the small porcin container in hand, a thoughtful expression on her face as she muttered, "You really like messing with people, dont you...? To give an alcoholic a legendary sake, knowing they cant drink it...hahahahaha...!" Though her words indicated the small container was useless to her, Musashi still loosened her cor, inserting the surprisingly warm object into the valley of her breasts. She knew Vahn had undoubtedly machinated things to y out like this, as, due to her nature as a Divine Spirit, it was impossible for her to discard an offering. Now, she would always carry around a constant reminder of the fact that there were a number of paths still open to her... --- As he was considered an ally, Shirous small shack was still present on the path leading into Raikous territory. He didnt imagine Vahn would have any trouble tracking him down, but, when the man in question appeared merely fifteen minutes after their separation, he showed a confused expression, saying, "I expected you to stay for a while...were there any problems?" Vahn wasnt exactly a stickler for rules and formalities, but, hearing Shirou question him as if it were perfectly natural, he couldnt help but feel slightly annoyed. He hadnt missed the nces the young Hero had been stealing at Artoria, so, instead of answering the question, he stated, "Im going to be meeting with Tamamo-no-Mae after this. You will go with Musashi to gather your otherpanions to discuss supplemental Heroes to rece those youll be losing. While youre at it, tell Sut-Typhon and Lovecraft that Azathoth is already on our side...I dont care if they decide to punish sinners for their misdeeds. Arbitrarily, spreading fear and chaos will not be tolerated. Even Outer Gods are not exempt when ites to the Common Law." With nothing else to say, Vahn released a burst of aura, pushing Shirou back a few steps as he and Artoria took to the sky. Thetter seemed like she wanted to say something, but, as she had also felt Shirous eyes lingering on her, she elected to simply follow her husband. While they may have simr memories, the man below was not the same person she had made a promise with. He was nothing more than a pale imitation of the man she had dedicated her heart to, someone who would sacrifice himself if it meant protecting others. The Shirou she knew was a stalwart protector, not an Assassin who had strayed so far from his path that he was betrayed by his own allies... Seeing the duo take off, Shirous eyes reflected a deep mncholy. He then released a tired sigh, muttering to himself, "Im not even the real deal. Letting someone elses memories influence me...Ive be soft. She seems happy following that man. Dont let your emotions get in the way..." After convincing himself, Shirou ran his fingers through his hair, slicking back his bangs to change his natural hairstyle to the one he defaulted to whenever he was trying to be resolute. This was the same style that his future self had worn when they met during the Holy Grail War, an event that felt, quite literally, like a lifetime ago. Though he had convinced his future self that he wouldnt follow the same path, fate was a fickle mistress and time had the ability to weather away even the strongest of convictions... As numerous regrets gnawed away at his mind like parasitic worms, Shirou felt a fluctuation in the surrounding space, followed by the emergence of Musashi. Based on how she was looking around, it was obvious she was searching for Vahn and Artoria, causing him to smile wryly as he exined, "He already took off. Theyre going to be visiting Tamamo next. Tell me, what exactly happened while you were inside?" Hearing Shirous question, Musashi was reminded of the peculiar events that took ce during the banquet. This caused her to released an exasperated sigh, pulling out her personal gourd of sake as she said, "Youre gonna want to have a drink. Come inside and take a seat. Ive got a lot to tell you about thest three-and-a-half hours..." --- After flying a fair distance from the location of Shirous safehouse, Vahn brought himself and Artoria to a stop. He realized he was behaving a little childishly, so, after thinking about it for a few minutes, he looked toward Artoria and said, "Sorry...I guess you can say Im a little jealous, even if I shouldnt be. It might sound a little hypocritical, especially with so many women at my side, but I dont like the way that man looks at you." Before responding to Vahns words, Artoria closed the remaining distance between them, discarding the metallic sections of her armor as she gently embraced him. His jealousy actually made her a little happy, even if it also made filled her heart with feelings of guilt. As for the matter of his harem, she, nor the vast majority of the women supporting him, were bothered by it. He treated them well, often going out of his way to try and make them happy, so they had very fewints outside of their concern for his mental wellness... Feeling Artorias warmth, Vahn found his tensions slowly melting away. Even the smell of her hair had a calming effect on his mind, resulting in him embracing her closely to enjoy her fragrance even more. This, of course, made Artorias heart beat a little quicker, so, before things got out of hand, he ultimately loosened his grip on her body, resting his head against hers as he muttered, "Truly, you are too good for me..." Hearing Vahns characteristic remark, Artorias smile became somewhat wry, followed by her cing her hand against his face and stating, "Youre just enough for me. Even if part of my heart belongs to someone else, thergest pieces are filled with love for you. No matter how much time passes, this will always be the case. Never forget it...that is your responsibility as my husband, my lover, and my Master..." Punctuating her words, Artoria ignored her usual inhibitions, stealing a kiss from Vahn to prevent him from saying anything further. He had a bad habit of using flowery, often unnecessary, words, so, before he could get up to his usual habits, she decided to convince him directly. Since it was pretty rare for Artoria to go on the offensive, Vahn happily entangled his tongue with hers. He knew she had been a little frustrated ever since he released his draconic aura, so, now that they were alone, this type of behavior wasnt wholly unexpected. He could also feel her aura envelop his body, its color a vibrant gold mixed together with passionate pinks, representing her mountain-sized affection for him... By the time their lips parted, Vahns mood had improved considerably, an affectionate smile on his face as he stared into her slightly hazy silver eyes. This caused him to swallow audibly, but, as now was neither the time nor the ce for such things, he managed to restrain his urges, saying, "Let us be on our way. The sooner we resolve this matter, the sooner we can return. I have been waiting to give you something for some time...I believe it is time..." Borrowing Artorias tactic, Vahn punctuated his statement with a kiss, basically conveying that it was meant to be a surprise. Then, after relinquishing her from his embrace, he ran his fingers through her hair, love and affection visible in his gaze as he slowly separated from her. This gave Artoria an urge to follow after him, but, as her instincts were telling her to wrap things up as quickly as possible, she held back, donning her armor instead. With their hearts and minds healed by each others presence, Vahn and Arotia set their sights on the sky above. Though there seemed to be nothing there, they knew the Control Program was aware of virtually everything taking ce within the Photonic Abyss. Thus, with renewed confidence, and a bit of expectation visible on his face, Vahn stated, "Teleport me outside of Tamamo-no-Maes territory." in a decisive tone of voice... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Benienmas Enma-tei will be world famous-dechi!,Echoes of a man that no longer exists...,Onwards, to the vulpine waifus domain...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1453 - *Spoilers Title at End*

Chapter 1453 - *Spoilers Title at End*

Situated a considerable distance from the other territories, to the point of being virtually inessible to anyone but Heroic Spirits, arge Japanese pce could be found. It was structured simrly to an ancient castle,plete with a tiered structure, tiled roofs, tall walls, and a variety of ornate statues, each a work of art in and of themselves. After teleporting nearby, Vahn couldnt help but marvel at therge ptial structure, finding it quite beautiful under the golden rays of sunshine that cascaded down from the faux star above. It, and the city surrounding it, gave off the impression of a capital city filled with wealth and vitality, a veritable utopia, at least from above. Though he didnt bother to venture into the streets below, Vahn could see various humanoid figures walking about, each wearing clothing that didnt suit the time period. Instead of informal wear, such as a yukata or a tunic, they were wearing long hooded cloaks, seemingly made from some type of stained ck leather. To make them even more creepy, each person, be they adult or child, wore the visage of an animal to cover their face. These masks were formed from a base of zed porcin, painted with ents of bright red, gold, and ck. While the presence of thousands of masked people was perturbing in its own right, the fact none of the entities below had feet was more troubling. Instead, they had wispy appendages that seemed to be formed from shadows, leaving a trail of ckened footprints behind them wherever they went. It made the otherwise vibrant capital feel polluted in a way...full of life on the surface, but, if you took a closer look, you would find a group of veiled shadows that hid away from the resplendent golden light from above... Since he already knew what would happen if they ventured into the city, Vahn elected to ignore the surrounding capital, setting his sights on the pce in the center. There, if you had eyes that could see such things, a spherical barrier that roughly resembled a chubby fox could be seen. It reminded him of the sparrows that followed Benienma around, but, instead of an amorphous bird, it was a cute fox with an intricate pattern depicting nine tails along its surface. Deciding to transition to where the head of the barrier was located, coinciding with the location of the castle gate, Vahn found himself face-to-face with even more masked figures. Unlike the shadowy citizens popting the capital, however, these ones were rather tall, each adorned in the traditional robes of an onmyoji,plete with ringed staffs and conical hats. They also had masks to cover their faces, and, though it wasnt meant to be amusing, Vahn found it interesting how their porcin fox ears protruded through their hats... Though the men seemed to serve as pce guards, they remainedpletely silent even as Vahn led Artoria through the front gate. Other than following with their eyes, they made no effort to try and bar Vahns passage, simply watching as he made his way further into thepound. This was more than a little creepy, but, knowing there werent any guards inside the pce itself, Vahn didnt mind their gazes, passing the hundred or so masked figures with impunity. Upon reaching the second set of gates that connected to the pce itself, Vahn turned to Artoria, a serious expression on his face as he said, "The entity beyond these gates wields immense power. If ites down to a fight, I fear even Avalon might not be able to protect youpletely. While I wont ask you to stay behind, promise me you will focus on preserving your life if things go south...I would never forgive myself if something happened to you." Hearing Vahns words, Artorias expression became even more serious than before, clear conviction visible in her gaze as she answered, "I will not fall. It was only moments ago that I promised to stay at your side, forever. That included facing your enemies, even if it means exposing myself to danger. Even if the opponent is far beyond me, I will simply push through my limits until Im able to secure a victory. I trust in you, Vahn. Please, trust in me as well...now, let us be on our way." Without waiting for his response, Artoria pulled Vahns hand while pushing open the heavy wooden doors as if they were made from styrofoam. This returned the smile to Vahns face, as, for once, he was pulled along by one of his women, rather than them following behind and basing their reactions on the things he did. It reminded him of how Loki, Hephaestus, and Fortuna would do things, never questing whether or not he trusted them. They always took the action they thought necessary, their status as Goddesses giving them the confidence to push through any obstacle barring their passage. --- After trespassing silent halls for several minutes, Vahn and Artoria found themselves near the center of the pce, a massive pavilion that didnt quite match the external decor. Though it clearly had simr Japanese ents, the floor had transitioned from ornate carpets and neatly organized tatami to thick marble bs. More startling was the fact that, despite being inside of the pce, the interior pavilion seemed muchrger than the structure appeared from the outside. It was an impossibly vast area that seemed to stretch upwards into eternity, its walls appearing simr to fragmented data that and fused together with stone blocks... What made the pavilion even stranger were the various statues that upied the surroundings, each depicting soldiers with horrified looks that had been perpetually frozen in time. Some were oriented in the opposite direction, as if they were trying to flee, but the vast majority were facing inward, their weapons drawn as they appeared to be charging towards the figure lounging upon the throne at the far end of the room... Following theirbined line of sight, Vahn could see a young, exceptionally beautiful, woman. She had umon pink hair, set into two lively pigtails that jut out from the sides of a massive ribbon that was situated behind two vulpine ears, each possessing a reddish-orange color, simr to a foxs fur. As for her attire, she wore a loose kimono that, even to those unfamiliar with Japanese traditions, resembled a white bridal gown,plete with red ents and an ornate obi. This greatly enhanced her already beautiful appearance, but, what stood out more than anything were the nine wispy tails that danced aboutzily behind her body, each reminiscent of mes... Despite several hundred meters separating them, the vulpine women could feel Vahns gaze, even if his eyes didnt so much as move a single micrometer. This caused her previously neutral expression to shift into the characteristic smile only vulpine woman would manage. She squinted her eyes in an inherently seductive manner, the red mascara surrounding them making her gaze seem passionate, yet predatory. At the same time, her lips curled up slightly at the side, extending a little further than was natural, yet, in spite of this incongruity, it had a way of captivating mens hearts. Vahn could feel a powerful charm try to affect his mind, but, even if he hadnt already anticipated it, such tactics were virtually useless against him. Thus, with the same slight smile on his face, he walked forward with Artoria, stating in a calm tone of voice, "You must be Tamamo-no-Mae-." Interrupting Vahns words, Tamamo mused, "And you are Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the infamous Sage Dragon Emperor that has thrown the world into turmoil..." while ying with her long, fringe, bangs, At the same time, her tails became more vibrant, spreading a significant amount of heat through the room that seemed to say, e no closer. Rather than deny Tamamos words, Vahn answered with a curt nod before saying, "Things are never quite that simple, but that is the short of it. I will not deny my crimes, however, this will not stop me from trying to make the world a better ce. I havee here-." Without letting him finish, Tamamo once again interrupted Vahns words, stating, "Youe seeking an ord with this vulpine beauty. Yet, despite everything you have to offer, you cannot give me the thing which I seek. Do not feign ignorance with me, boy. We both know I am a Bunrei, a fragment of something far more powerful...something you wish to tame, yetck the means to do so. After what you have done, youll be lucky to leave this ce alive, much less convince me to obey your will~." As Tamamo spoke, Vahn could feel the Flow of Fate around him be tumultuous and disorderly. It was like a series of intertwined rivers had suddenly converged together, forming a vast ocean that threatened to drown anyone reckless enough to venture into its currents. This was something he had yet to experience, causing his brain to stall for a brief moment as Tamamos eyes shifted from a pale yellow to a resplendent gold, eclipsing even the sun in their vibrance. After moving from her lounging position to a seated one, Tamamo stated inly, "Archimedes may have been a scoundrel, but he was also the man I had contracted to. He had promised to grant my penultimate wish, something your existence would deny me. Therefore, you only have two options, child of a foreign star...you will be my betrothed, dedicating your everything to me. Otherwise, you, that woman beside you, and everything you have endeavored to build...I will destroy it all. I will allow you to experience the same helplessness you have bestowed upon others...what say you?" Prior to this encounter, Vahn hadnt realized how much he had been relying on reading the Flow of Fate when it came to making decisions. He was suddenly at a loss as to how to respond, despite the obvious answer being to outright refuse Tamamos proposition. While making her his bride was notpletely out of the question, this would set a dangerous precedent. More importantly, her words made it very clear he would be hers, rather than the other way around. She would likely force him into a powerful contract, fully intent on keeping him locked away under the threat of destroying everything he held dear... Needless to say, Vahn wouldnt allow someone to arbitrarily endanger his loved ones, so, even if this was just a test, his aura exploded outward as he red at Tamamo and said, "Ill make a third option, choosing my own path...!" Though his aura was typically more than enough to overwhelm his foes, Vahn was slightly shaken when, after releasing his full might, it seemed to be forced back into him. His domain, which had previously spread for nearly a dozen kilometers, was restricted to less than a single meter. At the same time, Tamamos smiled had be simr to a demons, the corners of her mouth nearly reaching her slit-like eyes as two sun-like irises stared back at him in amusement... In the brief moment where Vahn was considering whether or not to attack, an intense surge of heat mmed into both him and Artoria. Their surroundings also changed in an instant, changing from a battlefield filled with stone soldiers to an indescribablyrge temple. It was almost like he had been shrunken down to the size of a mouse, as,ying before him, a woman that was more than thirty meters tallyzily on her side, an amused expression on her vulpine face. Compared to Tamamo, the woman before him was even more beautiful, and, though they shared many simrities with each other, their differences were likeparing a golden chalice to a rusted bronze cup. Even Vahn, who had seen numerous indescribable beauties, was at aplete loss as he stared nkly at the magnificent giantess lounging before him, helpless as her aura threatened to consume him... Vahn couldnt help but ovep the woman before him with the Tiamat he had encountered back in the Record of Danmachi. She was simply so far beyond his current level that, even if he fought, there seemed to be little hope in victory. He had told himself that he would never run away again, but, in the face of nine-tailed Goddess, all of his instincts were screaming at him to flee. Fighting would only amount to bing her ything, freely toyed with at her leisure until she either got bored with or outright erased him... Overwhelmed by the womans aura, Vahns fight or flight response resounded a unanimous flight, so, without further hesitation, he turned toward Artoria, eximing, "We need...to..." before paling. Instead of the stalwart woman who had promised to remain at his side for all eternity, Vahn saw a red-hot [Excalibur], straining under the intense heat radiating from the Goddess before him. Nothing else remained, not even her armor that had been enchanted to the point of being able to resist even an A-Rank Noble Phantasm. There werent even ashes, just a slowly melting sword... Awaking him from his stupor, a melodious voice echoed through the vast, impossiblyrge chamber, stating, "You made the wrong choice...now, you have onest chance. You took something precious from me so I expectpensation. Offer yourself to me or despair like everyone else in the world you have created...these are you only two options, ufufufufu~." --- Title: April Fools Day is Malicious (A/N: Alternate Titles: Shadows beneath the light of the Sun,Venturing forth without fear,Feelings of absolute despair...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1454 - Alternative Path

Chapter 1454 - Alternative Path

Situated a considerable distance from the other territories, to the point of being virtually inessible to anyone but Heroic Spirits, arge Japanese pce could be found. It was structured simrly to an ancient castle,plete with a tiered structure, tiled roofs, tall walls, and a variety of ornate statues, each a work of art in and of themselves. After teleporting nearby, Vahn couldnt help but marvel at therge ptial structure, finding it quite beautiful under the golden rays of sunshine that cascaded down from the faux star above. It, and the city surrounding it, gave off the impression of a capital city filled with wealth and vitality, a veritable utopia, at least from above. Though he didnt bother to venture into the streets below, Vahn could see various humanoid figures walking about, each wearing clothing that didnt suit the time period. Instead of informal wear, such as a yukata or a tunic, they were wearing long hooded cloaks, seemingly made from some type of stained ck leather. To make them even more creepy, each person, be they adult or child, wore the visage of an animal to cover their face. These masks were formed from a base of zed porcin, painted with ents of bright red, gold, and ck. While the presence of thousands of masked people was perturbing in its own right, the fact none of the entities below had feet was more troubling. Instead, they had wispy appendages that seemed to be formed from shadows, leaving a trail of ckened footprints behind them wherever they went. It made the otherwise vibrant capital feel polluted in a way...full of life on the surface, but, if you took a closer look, you would find a group of veiled shadows that hid away from the resplendent golden light from above... Since he already knew what would happen if they ventured into the city, Vahn elected to ignore the surrounding capital, setting his sights on the pce in the center. There, if you had eyes that could see such things, a spherical barrier that roughly resembled a chubby fox could be seen. It reminded him of the sparrows that followed Benienma around, but, instead of an amorphous bird, it was a cute fox with an intricate pattern depicting nine tails along its surface. Deciding to transition to where the head of the barrier was located, coinciding with the location of the castle gate, Vahn found himself face-to-face with even more masked figures. Unlike the shadowy citizens popting the capital, however, these ones were rather tall, each adorned in the traditional robes of an onmyoji,plete with ringed staffs and conical hats. They also had masks to cover their faces, and, though it wasnt meant to be amusing, Vahn found it interesting how their porcin fox ears protruded through their hats... Though the men seemed to serve as pce guards, they remainedpletely silent even as Vahn led Artoria through the front gate. Other than following with their eyes, they made no effort to try and bar Vahns passage, simply watching as he made his way further into thepound. This was more than a little creepy, but, knowing there werent any guards inside the pce itself, Vahn didnt mind their gazes, passing the hundred or so masked figures with impunity. Upon reaching the second set of gates that connected to the pce itself, Vahn turned to Artoria, a serious expression on his face as he said, "The entity beyond these gates wields immense power. If ites down to a fight, I fear even Avalon might not be able to protect youpletely. While I wont ask you to stay behind, promise me you will focus on preserving your life if things go south...I would never forgive myself if something happened to you." Hearing Vahns words, Artorias expression became even more serious than before, clear conviction visible in her gaze as she answered, "I will not fall. It was only moments ago that I promised to stay at your side, forever. That included facing your enemies, even if it means exposing myself to danger. Even if the opponent is far beyond me, I will simply push through my limits until Im able to secure a victory. I trust in you, Vahn. Please, trust in me as well...now, let us be on our way." Without waiting for his response, Artoria pulled Vahns hand while pushing open the heavy wooden doors as if they were made from styrofoam. This returned the smile to Vahns face, as, for once, he was pulled along by one of his women, rather than them following behind and basing their reactions on the things he did. It reminded him of how Loki, Hephaestus, and Fortuna would do things, never questing whether or not he trusted them. They always took the action they thought necessary, their status as Goddesses giving them the confidence to push through any obstacle barring their passage. --- After trespassing silent halls for several minutes, Vahn and Artoria found themselves near the center of the pce, a massive pavilion that didnt quite match the external decor. Though it clearly had simr Japanese ents, the floor had transitioned from ornate carpets and neatly organized tatami to thick marble bs. More startling was the fact that, despite being inside of the pce, the interior pavilion seemed muchrger than the structure appeared from the outside. It was an impossibly vast area that seemed to stretch upwards into eternity, its walls appearing simr to fragmented data that and fused together with stone blocks... What made the pavilion even stranger were the various statues that upied the surroundings, each depicting soldiers with horrified looks that had been perpetually frozen in time. Some were oriented in the opposite direction, as if they were trying to flee, but the vast majority were facing inward, their weapons drawn as they appeared to be charging towards the figure lounging upon the throne at the far end of the room... Following theirbined line of sight, Vahn could see a young, exceptionally beautiful, woman. She had umon pink hair, set into two lively pigtails that jut out from the sides of a massive ribbon that was situated behind two vulpine ears, each possessing a reddish-orange color, simr to a foxs fur. As for her attire, she wore a loose kimono that, even to those unfamiliar with Japanese traditions, resembled a white bridal gown,plete with red ents and an ornate obi. This greatly enhanced her already beautiful appearance, but, what stood out more than anything were the nine wispy tails that danced aboutzily behind her body, each reminiscent of mes... Despite several hundred meters separating them, the vulpine women could feel Vahns gaze, even if his eyes didnt so much as move a single micrometer. This caused her previously neutral expression to shift into the characteristic smile only vulpine woman would manage. She squinted her eyes in an inherently seductive manner, the red mascara surrounding them making her gaze seem passionate, yet predatory. At the same time, her lips curled up slightly at the side, extending a little further than was natural, yet, in spite of this incongruity, it had a way of captivating mens hearts. Vahn could feel a powerful charm try to affect his mind, but, even if he hadnt already anticipated it, such tactics were virtually useless against him. Thus, with the same slight smile on his face, he walked forward with Artoria, stating in a calm tone of voice, "You must be Tamamo-no-Mae-." Interrupting Vahns words, Tamamo mused, "And you are Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the infamous Sage Dragon Emperor that has thrown the world into turmoil..." while ying with her long, fringe, bangs, At the same time, her tails became more vibrant, spreading a significant amount of heat through the room that seemed to say, e no closer. Rather than deny Tamamos words, Vahn answered with a curt nod before saying, "Things are never quite that simple, but that is the short of it. I will not deny my crimes, however, this will not stop me from trying to make the world a better ce. I havee here-." Without letting him finish, Tamamo once again interrupted Vahns words, stating, "Youe seeking an ord with this vulpine beauty. Yet, despite everything you have to offer, you cannot give me the thing which I seek. Do not feign ignorance with me, boy. We both know I am a Bunrei, a fragment of something far more powerful...something you wish to tame, yetck the means to do so. After what you have done, youll be lucky to leave this ce alive, much less convince me to obey your will~." As Tamamo spoke, Vahn could feel the Flow of Fate around him be tumultuous and disorderly. It was like a series of intertwined rivers had suddenly converged together, forming a vast ocean that threatened to drown anyone reckless enough to venture into its currents. This was something he had yet to experience, causing his brain to stall for a brief moment as Tamamos eyes shifted from a pale yellow to a resplendent gold, eclipsing even the sun in their vibrance. After moving from her lounging position to a seated one, Tamamo stated inly, "Archimedes may have been a scoundrel, but he was also the man I had contracted to. He had promised to grant my penultimate wish, something your existence would deny me. Therefore, you only have two options, child of a foreign star...you will be my betrothed, dedicating your everything to me. Otherwise, you, that woman beside you, and everything you have endeavored to build...I will destroy it all. I will allow you to experience the same helplessness you have bestowed upon others...what say you?" Hearing Tamamos words, Vahn was liberated from his momentary stupor, his expression returning to a rxed state as he answered, "I will choose the third option, following my own path. I may be able to help fulfill your wish, but, even if you cast away your current form, you would not be able to take everything away from me. You would not have allowed your Bunrei to suffer such a tragic fate if that were the case..." Though she was tempted to interrupt him, Tamamo was amused by Vahns words, allowing him to finish before musing, "Is that really the case, I wonder~?" The moment Tamamos words fell, a powerful aura swept through the area, crashing into Vahns and Artorias bodies as every statue in the surroundings turned to ash. By the time they had recovered their senses, their surroundings hadpletely changed, be a massive temple-like mausoleum. At the very center of this structure, where Tamamo had been sitting previously, a vulpine humanoid, nearly thirty meters from the tips of her ears to the soles of her feet, could be seen lounging before them. Though the woman before him shared many simrities with Tamamo, Vahn found it hard to directlypare the two. If the former could bepared to a pretty porcin doll, the woman before him was like a natural marvel, a work of art beyond the capabilities of even the most skilled craftsman, be they God or mortal. Her size only made this more apparent, elevating her to a transcendental status that simply couldnt be grasped by natural perceptions... Finding Vahns reaction amusing, the giant nine-tailed fox giggled, her voice echoing throughout the vast chamber. Her tails also flickered around behind her, each reminiscent of sr res, radiating an immense heat that could rival the corona of the sun, exceeding millions of degrees despite the fact it had little influence on the surroundings. She, much like Zhqu, had full control over how her mes affected the surroundings, releasing just enough heat to force Vahn and Artoria to sweat. Despite feeling like he could just marvel at the womans figure for days on end, Vahn ultimately just shook his head, a wry smile on his face as he muttered, "Youre quite breathtaking in your true form. I wonder, would you rather me continue referring to you as Tamamo-no-Mae or by your True Name, Sun Goddess Amaterasu...?" Hearing Vahns words, Amaterasu squinted her eyes slightly, answering, "Even if you are also a God, do you think it wise to address me without honorifics? This may be little more than a projection, but Im confident in being able to discipline a pair of lizards, ufufufu~." This time, it was Vahns turn tough, as, despite Amaterasu phenomenal aura, his own was slowly pushing back against hers. While she was much stronger than him, there was still an insurmountable gap between her Divine and his Source Energy. He also had a high affinity with Yang Element, so, while the heat radiating from her bake his clothing, he only felt an annoyingly itch feeling due to his [Magia Erebea] constitution. Amaterasu wasnt fond of Vahns outburst, but, as she didnt want to endanger the life of her Bunrei, releasing more of her aura was out of the question. Instead, she took advantage of the fact that he had walked toward her, extending her hand out with surprising swiftness before gently flicking him with enough force to send him crashing through the surrounding walls. This wasnt enough to cause any substantial damage to him, but, as it achieved the effect of stopping hisughter, Amaterasu was content with the result... After liberating himself from the surprisingly realistic rubble, Vahn made a mental note not to overtly tease giantesses in the future. He should have already learned his lesson from Illya, but, perhaps as a result of Amaterasus beauty, he wasnt thinking as clearly as usual. This, and his inability to read the Flow of Fate, was affecting him more than he would have liked to admit. He would need to reflect on his overreliance on the rtively powerful ability, as, much like Innates, there were no actual limits to the number of things that could counter it... Before returning to Amaterasus mausoleum, Vahn allowed his own aura to surge outwards, repelling the sun-like aura that dominated the surrounding space. At the same time, his size rapidly increased, a feat he would find difficult to pull off in the real world, but, knowing this was an illusory space, all he needed was a bit of willpower to freely change his surroundings. By the time he had broken through the walls surrounding Amaterasus chamber, Vahns height had increased from 185 centimeters to 31 meters. This earned him moderately surprised looks from both Amaterasu and Artoria, thetter of which had already drawn her [Rhongomyniad], preparing for a tough battle. Gesturing for Artoria to stand down, Vahn took in his surroundings from his new perspective, finding the previously vast chamber to actually be rather small. If Amaterasu was toy down directly on the floor, she wouldnt even have enough space to extend her arms without contacting the side walls. In fact, now that he saw the room from a simr perspective as the massive Goddess, he noticed it was actually just a small shrine, appearing much like a prison cell despite itsvish decor... As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn inly asked, "Do you wish to leave this ce? Even if this is an illusion, I feel it isnt all that different from your actual location..." Though she had half-expected Vahn to try and push her down, Amaterasu never expected him to suddenly offer her freedom. This brought a genuinely surprised look to her face as she asked, "Did you know of my agreement with Archimedes? Are you trying to toy with me?" Shaking his head, Vahn exined, "I knew there was a reason you agreed to help him, but, much like Musashi and Caenis, I thought you had simply been fooled. Now, I see the truth...you wanted to use the return of the Umbral Star as a means to escape the Reverse Side of the World. If the Surface was destroyed, the restrictions ced upon the Gods would be loosened, allowing for their subsequent return...you intended to abandon the in order to obtain your freedom..." While she didnt like how Vahn phrased it, Amaterasu made no effort to deny his ims, stating, "I am a Goddess of the Sun. Being sealed away within the I was meant to govern is ridiculous. Thest time, I refused to fight against Velber and ended up being sealed away in a ce removed from the Time Axis. This time around, I dont care if I lose my life. I would rather die fighting against the cmitous star than rot away for an eternity. If you can truly free me from this ce, I wouldnt mind calling you Master...or, perhaps, Goshujin-sama~?" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn took a seat on the ground before Amaterasu, answering, "I have already relinquished the authority to make those kinds of decisions to my wives. You are very beautiful, this is something I cant deny. However, beauty, power, and even Divine Authority do not determine the quality of a woman. Im surrounded by many amazing women, so, even if your offer is tempting, Ill grant your freedom without such constraints. All I ask of you is the same thing I ask of all people, that you abide by the Common Law and live a life without suppressing others..." Hearing Vahns words, Amaterasus tails flickered around behind her in a manner eerily simr to Haruhime, indicating mild frustration. It didnt show in her expression but she was clearly dissatisfied with his words, specifically the parts concerning the quality of a woman. She wouldnt be a Goddess of the Sun if she didnt possess a certain amount of pride, so, even if she was tempted to ept his terms, Amaterasu ultimately stated, "You may rule over the, but I am responsible for the entire Sol System. If you are not my Master, why should I care about the insignificantws you have created to govern your people...?" Though he nearly responded by saying, So you can be free, Vahn ultimately restrained himself as it could easily be misconstrued as a threat. Then, he manipted his body to produce arge sakazuki, the saucer-like cup that often apanied sake sets. Afterward, under the scrutinizing gaze of the Sun Goddess, he filled the saucer with a mixture of sake produced from his own body. Buying arge enough quantity from the system shop would cost him a fortune in OP, so, while it wouldnt exactly rival legendary brands, Vahn knew from experience how tantalizingly sweet the fluids produced by his body could be. After filling the saucer nearly to the brim, Vahn held it out towards Amaterasu, exining, "You are too eager to ingratiate yourself to others. If you were sincere in your desires, it would be difficult for me to push you away. I have a small trauma rted to women going out of their way to service me, fearing they had no other option. The women I prefer are those who can move toward their goals without feeling inhibited by their rtionships. Happiness is something people find when working alongside each other, not something one person grants to another..." Hearing Vahns remark, Amaterasu couldnt help but give him a skeptical look, asking, "And what is this sake supposed to signify? My current self is nothing but an illusion, do you think it will have any effect on me, even if you mixed something into it?" Finding Amaterasus remark rather humorous, Vahn issued a light chuckle, which, due to his size, echoed through the surroundings with thunderous force. Even Amaterasus vulpine ears twitched, her expression turning slightly dour as she scrunched up her nose at him. This caused Vahn to stopughing, remembering how easily she had sent him flying previously. His size might have increased, but, while this might have an effect on his physical strength, it did little to increase his actual power. In order to avoid Amaterasus ire, Vahn adopted a wry smile, exining, "This sake is nothing more than an offering. I may not be a Japanese Emperor, but I am aware of the customs when ites to making a request from a Goddess. After this is over, I will begin making preparations to liberate you from your temporal istion. Until then, your Bunrei can apany me, viewing the world I wish to create with her own eyes. I hope that, by the time preparations you are ready to be summoned, you will be convinced that the Empire is not some malicious force..." What Vahn didnt say was, even if Amaterasu decided to oppose him, her power was limited by the same restrictions that forced Gods to the Reverse Side. He also had authority over Sol itself, so, while he didnt know the exact method of establishing contact with it, it shouldnt be that difficult to figure out. If it ultimately came down to it, sealing Amaterasus power wasnt out of the question, even if it would only be as ast resort. Though she could sense greater meaning behind Vahns words, Amaterasu didnt detect any direct falsehoods within them. Thus, after eyeing the crystal clear liquid in the sakazuki cup and noticing a strangely tantalizing rainbow hue refract across its surface, she ultimately offered an amused smile, saying, "Very well then. I will entrust my Bunrei to you. If you go back on your words or try to harm her in any way, dont me me for being impolite..." Following her words, Amaterasu downed the entire cup of sake in a series ofrge gulps, seemingly unconcerned about the looks she was receiving from both Vahn and Artoria. Then, after finishing the contents of her cup, she released a girlish Pahaa~! before smiling radiantly and saying, "It seems I underestimated the quality of your offering...fuuu...its been a long time since Ive felt my body burn like this. The next time we meet, Ill be expecting something of simr quality...dont disappoint me, Tenn-sama~." Before Amaterasu had finished speaking, Vahn and Artoria could feel the world around them distort, their surroundings bing hazy as the pulse that had originally repelled them seemed to invert, pulling them forward. At the same time, the thousands of statues which had previously been turned to ash reformed, almost like time reversing, as they once again found themselves in the expansive pavilion housing the now-sleeping Tamamo... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Deja Vu?,Amaterasu, Ivee to bargain...,An illusory ability that can even rival the Dick Wizard...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1455 - Aspirations

Chapter 1455 - Aspirations

Seeing the sleeping Tamamo, curled up atop her cushioned throne with a contented smile on her face, Vahn turned to Artoria, earning a small sigh from her when he remarked, "She is pretty cute, isnt she?" Though she knew Vahn was only speaking his mind, Artoria gave him a slightly pointed look as she answered, "You really have a thing for women who possess animalistic features, dont you? Youll be wanting her to stay in the Menagerie, then?" While the thought was somewhat tempting, Vahn shook his head in response to Artorias question, saying, "As I told Amaterasu, that would be setting a dangerous precedent. I can empathize with her tragic past, sure, but-: Before Vahn was able to finish, Artoria released another sig, saying, "You dont need to try ande up with an excuse. I cant speak for all of us, but we understand your nature and the unique form of your love. We understand our responsibility regarding that Divinity of yours, so, as long as you never lose sight of what is important, I dont think any of us mind if you have other lovers. Rather, it seems like a lot of trouble could be avoided if we just allowed you to love freely..." Vahn found himself at aplete loss for words in response to Artorias. His first instinct was to feel guilty, ming himself for his licentious ways, but, preempting his guilt, Artoria added, "There is no need to feel guilty. You are not simply an Emperor, but a Dragon God whose influence will only grow with the passage of time. We understand the nature of Dragons, so, if it will help you grow stronger, we all decided to support you. Youll never be able to rx until you possess enough power to rule over everything so we will continue to push your forward until you achieve your goals." Though he still felt a tinge of guilt, Vahn couldnt help butugh in response to Artorias words, his jubtion impossible to contain. Truthfully, he felt it was impossible to pass through the Nasuverse without expanding his harem further. It might have been possible if he restrained himself more early on, but, now that he was trying to conquer the world and pave a way forward for every race, a lot of things would be simplified if he could act freely. While it might be considered egotistical by some, Vahn was certain he could satisfy virtually every woman, regardless of their origin and tier. It was something he had be unnaturally good at, so, with the Nasuverse having an inordinate number of powerful female figures, forging bonds toy a stronger foundation would make things much easier in the future. He hadnt verbalized it to anyone, but he fully intended to subsume the entire World in the future, taking it with him when he travels to other Records. Azathoth was capable of sustaining a Universe inside itself and, after observing and interacting with it for a long period of time, Vahn had garnered some insights into how he could achieve something simr. In the end, it came down to the fact that the Soul was vast and infinite,pletely without limits or boundaries. Manifesting a Realm seemed to involve extending a piece of your Soul into an object or a location, allowing the world within to reflect a fraction of the endless space that existed within the Soul. Vahn was still far from reaching Tier 5, but, more so than anything else, he was confident in the durability of his Soul. He had be one with The Path, the source of all energy within the Tier System. In a way, this meant that everything in existence was already a part of him, but, the most important takeaway, at least for the time being, was that sealing things within his Soul wasnt even a difficult feat to achieve. He had already sealed Evas Memory Fragment, so, while it would put a bit of strain on him, Vahn was certain he could one day seal a. The fact Azathoth could contain an entire Universe also indicated that, in the distant future, he would be able to do the same... As this thought crossed his mind, followed by a powerful conviction to never leave behind any of the people he cared about, Vahn caressed the side of Artorias face. This caused her to swallow adorably before closing her eyes and slightly parting her lips, an open invitation that caused Vahns heart to palpitate just as madly now as it had during their first kiss... --- After waiting for nearly an hour, Tamamo began to stretch her body in a manner reminiscent of a cat before finally raising her head to meet the gazes of Vahn and Artoria. Her vulpine ears twitched, and, seemingly confused, she tilted her head to the side, asking, "Are you my Husband...?" Unlike before, the current Tamamo only had a single, somewhat stubby, vulpine tail. The nine me-like tails from before had been the result of Amaterasu manifesting herself through Tamamos body, greatly increasing her power in exchange for overtaxing her magic circuits. Though he would have denied her im an hour prior, Vahn smiled in response to Tamamos inquiry, answering, "That is up to you, Tamamo. Do you wish to be my bride?" Seemingly confused by his words, Tamamos ears twitched adorably as she said, "I had a long dream. I dont remember everything that happened, but it was a terribly sad dream. It became happy toward the end, though. I dreamt that a bright like broke through the darkness, bringing warmth to my cold and tired body. It told me that, when I awoke, I would find the man that would be my Husband. Is that not you...?" Going by Tamamos words, Vahn was certain that Amaterasu had done something to her memories. He would have Merlin look into itter, but, for the time being, he adopted a gentle smile, extending his hand to stroke Tamamos head and ears as he exined, "My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor of the Aldrnari Empire. Though you are not my first bride, I would be happy to have you, Tamamo-no-Mae." Though she still seemed a little confused, Tamamo giggled happily in response to his caress. Then, surprising him somewhat, she pounced on him from her seated position, hugging his body tightly as she chimed, "My husband is an Emperor, how lucky...! Make sure you pamper me lots, okay, Tenn-sama~! I may be quite beautiful, but I require a lot of upkeep, ufufufu~." Vahn was a little taken aback by Tamamos words, but, rather than rebuke her, he justughed in a light-hearted manner before extricating himself from her grasp and saying, "There are many things you will have to learn about the Empire. For now, the most important thing to keep in mind is that I seek harmony amongst my various lovers. This beautiful young woman here is my Empress, Artoria Aldrnar Pendragon. She, and many others, will help teach you everything you need to know..." As if only just now noticing Artorias presence, Tamamo cocked her head to the side, causing her ears to flop somewhat adorably as she lightly issued a light hmm. Then, seemingly having made a decision, she nodded her head a few times before saying, "Since you arrived before me, I will not hold a grudge against you. Please, teach me well. I want to be a proper bride so that I can make my husband happy~." Artoria hadnt missed the fact that Tamamo said the words my husband, so, while she had a smile on her face, she made a mental note to discuss the vulpine womans behavior with Fenrir, Rin, and Luvia. Though it was only a matter of time before Tamamo realized the futility of trying to be something like Vahns favorite, it was best they curb any problematic habits she might have early on. In response to Tamamos words, Artoria gave a curt nod, saying, "Much has changed since the time you originally manifested. I, along with many others, will help to guide you properly. In the end, your own efforts will determine your position within the Inner Sanctum. Vahn doesnt go out of his way to y favorites so believe me when I say you should avoid causing trouble." Though she listened attentively, Tamamo didnt really take Artorias words to heart. She didnt mind if her husband had multiple wives, as this was only natural. The only thing that mattered to her was being the closest person to him, not out of a desire for greater power, but as a matter of personal pride. Thus, while she didnt intend to cause any trouble, there was nothing Artoria could do to stop her from trying to make Vahn love her even more. Seeing through Tamamos intentions, Artoria just took a slightly deeper breath through her nose before looking toward Vahn and asking, "Will we be returning to the Ivory Castle or moving to deal with Jason?" Understanding why Artoria mentioned returning to the castle, Vahn eyed the predominately white wedding Kimono that Tamamo was wearing. Amaterasu had likely been anticipating his arrival after the previous visit by Shirou, dressing her Bunrei up in preparation for this particr development. It would also make things a lot easier in the future if he dealt with Tamamo before she had the chance to cause any trouble. He knew the effect he had on women, so, while her true nature wouldnt really change, she would measure her future actions with more consideration. Since moments like this were the most suitable for using his ability to read the Flow of Fate, Vahn fell into deep thought for a moment before answering, "The longer we ignore Jason, the more harm he will cause to his surroundings. Even if he is harming people that dont really exist, its not something I can ignore. We will deal with him before returning to the Ivory Castle. Afterward, I will meet with the remaining Heroes to discuss their recement members before we return to Avalon. Though this has taken less time than originally anticipated, Ive grown somewhat weary of this virtual space." Though she had actually enjoyed being able to spend a considerable amount of alone time with Vahn, Artoria was also in agreement with his words. They both had a lot going on back in Avalon, so, while thest few days had been rather pleasant, it was time for them to return to their other duties. Thus, despite wanting to apany him everywhere he went, she said, "I will apany Tamamo to the Ivory Castle. While you deal with Jason, I will educate her on the unwritten rules of the Inner Sanctum. When you are finished, we will be awaiting your arrival..." Vahn was somewhat surprised by Artorias words, his brows perking up slightly as he asked, "Are you certain?" Without showing any visible hesitation, Artoria nodded her head, exining, "Im aware of Jasons history with the original Medea. That makes him your personal enemy, not the enemy of the Empire. I intend to remain at your side into perpetuity, but that does not mean I will interfere with personal matters. You will be able to act with fewer inhibitions if I am not around...from what I know of that mans history, he deserves everythinging to him." Hearing Artorias words, Vahn was tempted tough, but, as it was a matter concerning life and death, it didnt really seem appropriate. Rather, while Jason certainly deserved punishment, it wasnt necessarily his right to met it out. If he took things too far, he would end up umting negative karma on behalf of someone who, in the end, wasnt even worth the effort to torment. He couldnt let Medea get involved with this matter, so, unless something unexpected urred, Vahn intended to deal with Jason swiftly, and, even if he didnt deserve it, cleanly. Though ns rarely survived contact with the enemy, Vahn gave a small nod, both in response to his thoughts and Artorias intentions. Then, after removing his hand from Tamamos head, much to thementation of the happy fox, he said, "Ill escort the two of you back. Those shadows outside wont be happy that Tamamo is leaving so well have to cut a path through. I can break the barrier outside without too much trouble, but I feel it would be a waste to destroy this cepletely..." Artoria was slightly surprised by Vahns words, but, being the entity sealed within, Tamamo balled her hands into fists, excited eximing, "Alright! Im totally gonna cut loose and teach those meanies a lesson!" This time, Vahn didnt try to stop hisughter, ruffling Tamamos hair as he said, "Sure, feel free to go wild. Just try to avoid damaging the surroundings and dirtying your kimono. It would be a shame to ruin your wedding dress before it can fulfill its purpose..." Hearing Vahns words, realization donned upon Tamamos face, followed by a somewhat silly smile as she mused, "Right, right~? Dont worry, Tenn-sama, Ill make sure my dress remains pristine and untouched until you get the chance to mess it up, ufufufu~." With her words finished, Tamamo manifested arge mirror from thin air, its edges adorned with eight circr rings while its interior, rather than reflecting a clear image, disyed a scene shrouded in mist, simr to water vapor rising from ice. The surrounding temperature even dropped several degrees, a rather curious phenomenon considering Tamamo was the Bunrei of a Sun Goddess... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns infinite blessings...,Kimono-waifu secured?,Jason is fucked) (A/N: Ill be out for much of the morning so there may not be another chapter untilte in the afternoon. Make sure youre all properly taking care of yourself during these trying times. I know it isnt easy, but I believe we can all make it through this if we stay vignt...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1456 - Bypass

Chapter 1456 - Bypass

Contrary to what might be expected from the fragmented spirit of a Sun Goddess, Tamamo used abination of ice and fire elemental maniption when battling. She was also much faster than a traditional caster, relying on her agility to dark between foes, sting them with close-range spells or casting long range curses over arge area. This had the effect of significantly reducing the speed of her foes, covering their body in ayer of ice that seemed to prate weaker magical defenses with ease. For reasons only Tamamo would know the answer to, the Onmyoji, soldiers, and even the shadowy citizens outside were programmed, not to keep others out, but to keep her trapped within. Though she could break free whenever she wanted, Vahn and Artoria both felt it was a rather strange way for her territory to develop. She had effectively built a prison for herself, indicating that her past, even after hundreds of years, still haunted her. Fortunately, Tamamo seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit during their short stint to escape the pce and its surrounding barrier. She sted through the offensive formation the Onmyoji had set to repel her,ughing somewhat maniacally as she rained downrge chunks of fire and ice, simr to what you might expect during an apocalyptic scene. Tamamo wasnt known as one of Japans Three Great Monsters for nothing, and, though she gave off a very different impression than Shuten, it was hard to determine which of them was scarier. After all, despite his intention to preserve the peculiar capital city for future research, Tamamo either forgot or simply didnt care about his intentions. Rather, if not for the fact she was a Divine Spirit, rather than a Servant, Vahn didnt think it would be difficult to convince others she was a Berserker, especially after watching herugh uninhibitedly while sweeping over the capital like a natural disaster... After Tamamo was satisfied with the destruction she had caused, she darted up to where Vahn and Artoria had been patiently waiting for her to finish venting. Artoria had initially intended to help out, but, seeing how indiscriminate Tamamos attacks were, she ultimately decided to simply join Vahn as he watched the event y out with a wry smile on his face. He knew it was never a good idea to get in the way of a woman when she was venting, so, with the shadowy figures below being nothing more than modified Attack Programs, he saw no reason to intervene. With a happy smile on her face, Tamamos ears twitched a few times as she asked, "Shall we be on our way, Tenn-sama~? I am eager to see our love nest with my own eyes, ufufufu~." Since her rampage had taken a little longer than expected, Vahn just gave a curt nod in response to Tamamos question before turning his eyes skyward and saying, "Transfer us to my territory." This earned him a curious look from Tamamo, but, as their surroundings instantly changed following hismand, she became more distracted by the massive castle than her previous question. Before Tamamo could wander off, Vahn startled her by gently pinching the tip of her pointed vulpine ears, saying, "You cant wander around on your own while youre here. Everyone gathered below is an important citizen of the Empire. Follow Artorias lead and make sure you treat them with care and respect." Though she had been originally been intending to go exploring, Tamamo nodded in affirmation to Vahns words, smiling as she said, "Yes, of course, Tenn-sama. I will be on my best behavior; this I can promise you. Now, hurry along to deal with your matter. I will draw a bath and dutifully await your triumphant return to the castle, ufufufu~." After ruffling Tamamos paradoxically soft yet bristly hair, reminding him a lot of Fenrir, Vahn turned to Artoria, giving her a curt nod as he said, "Ill leave here to you. Dont worry, I wont be too long..." Punctuating his words, Vahn used his mastery of Petting Laws and [Hands of Nirvana] to caress the side of Artorias face, running his fingers through her fringe bangs. He was tempted to kiss her, but, knowing it would trigger Tamamo, he settled on just resting his forehead against hers, a disy of affection he had be quite fond of in recent months... With both girls seeing him off, Vahn turned his eyes skyward and said, "Transport me to Changes territory." Immediately following Vahns words, his figure disappeared from view, leaving Tamamo and Artoria staring at the spot he had been hovering moments prior. Then, at nearly the exact same moment, they looked toward each other, Tamamos smile curling up at the sides while Artoria just stared with a contemtive expression on her face. She felt like Tamamo was going to get herself into trouble in the near future, so, in the hopes of mitigating some of the fallout, she said, "Come, there is much for us to discuss. The nature of the Empire is likely very different from what youre imagining, so, if you really want to make an impression on Vahn, you will listen closely." Hearing Artorias words, Tamamos ears and tail twitched a few times, but, as Vahn had told her to listen to the petite Empress, she offered a polite smile before saying, "Certainly, Kg-sama. Though I believe my own experience will suffice, please, advise me well, ufufu~." --- As could be expected from a Goddess, Changes territory was quite the sight to behold, even at a distance. Though not as impactful as Tamamos capital city, the mountain housing Changes pce had a certain phantasmal quality to it, almost as if it had been pulled directly from a popr Chinese novel depicting Immortal Cultivators. It wasnt something youd ever find in the natural world, but, in spite of this, it possessed what could only be described as a natural, albeit ephemeral, beauty... Unfortunately, Vahn wasnt afforded much time to take in this natural splendor, as, moments after he was teleported outside the mystical pce, three lightning-fast arrows, each aiming for a vital point, tore through the air. He was able to repel these by simply condensing the space around him, simr to how he would prevent Mordred and others from trying to approach him. Without waiting for a second volley of arrows, Vahn teleported right next to his attacker, stunning the cat-like woman and causing her to perform a series of backflips and other acrobatic maneuvers as she released several bursts of sporadic arrow fire. This was only possible due to the fact Vahn was somewhat unwilling to strike her, as, even if she wasnt real, the fact she looked and acted simr to the Atnta he knew made it difficult to strike. With a slightly apologetic smile on his face, Vahn easily deflected the false Atntas arrows, saying, "You are quick on your feet...however, it is a bit slowpared to the original. It seems Jason cant manifest your powers to their fullest..." As all of her attacks had been swat away without any effort, Atntas brows furrowed into a deep frown as she said, "You speak as if you know my original..." Immediately following Atntas words, Vahn nodded his head, pulling out a shimmering golden apple as he said, "The wish of your original, it is something I have sworn to realize. Please, do not make me fight you..." Seeing the golden apple in Vahns hand, Atntas face contorted into one of shock and disbelief. Though it was possible he had obtained a different golden apple, the way he spoke indicated he was intimately familiar with her original self. This made her feel a small amount of resentment toward him, but, after several seconds of silence, she was able to recover enough to ask, "Did you cheat...?" Understanding what Atnta was asking, Vahn shook his head, exining, "You gifted me this apple, saying I could use it against you if I was willing to ept responsibility. Instead, I defeated you using my own ability, freeing you from the burden you had forced upon yourself. Now, you spend much of your time silently watching over my children, protecting a kind-hearted girl named Astrid, and, when there is a full moon, we all go hunting together...you can be quitepetitive..." Hearing Vahns words, Atnta lowered her bow, a tired sigh escaping her lips as she muttered, "It is a little unfair, telling me these things..." Vahn didnt disagree with Atntas words, but, as it was better than having to fight and defeat one of the people he cared about, he didnt regret his decision. Instead, he pulled out one of the apples grown on Avalon, tossing it over to Atnta as he said, "For what its worth...I would have liked to save you as well..." After catching the apple out of the air, Atnta just snorted in response to Vahnsment. Then, without sparing him another nce, she alighted from the room, vanishing without a trace... Though it wasnt exactly his fault, seeing Atntas retreating figure caused Vahn to harbor a little more hatred toward Jason. Atnta might not be one of his women, at least not in the traditional way, but that didnt mean he felt nothing for her. It wasnt easy, knowing he was effectively killing a version of her that, to an extent, possessed at least a fragmentary desire to live... As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn turned his gaze to the right, staring toward the lumbering figure that had been observing his actions with a steely gaze. Then, much like how he had dealt with Atnta, he silently muttered, "Your wife and children are alive..." Immediately following the light utterance, Vahn felt an oppressive aura descend upon him as the man, Heracles, asked, "Is this your scheme? Would you have me believe you have summoned all of the Argonauts, pacifying each of our most earnest desires?" Shaking his head in response, Vahn exined, "That may be something I do in the far future, but not any time soon. You came into my service at the end of the recent Holy Grail War. As for Atnta, she was summoned by a youngdy named Astrid. Other than the two of you, the only other member of the Argonauts I have summoned is Medea, the version of her who had yet to experience the tragedy wrought upon her by Aphrodite and Jason...her aunt, Circe, had been rather insistent..." Hearing Vahns words, Heracles expression became solemn and serious. He wasnt foolish enough to believe Vahns words outright, but, based on what his instincts were telling him, there didnt seem to be a reason for him to lie. It was impossible to know just how vast the difference in their power, but Heracles got the impression that even his original self wouldnt be able to bridge the gap between him and Vahn. While Heracles still seemed to be measuring his options, Vahn slowly extended his hand, offering a [Projection Orb] to the somewhat overbearing demigod. This earned him a pointed re, but, after saying, "It is an item that records memories as images...determine the truth for yourself.", Heracles ended silently epting it. Though he was still suspicious, Heracles grim face visibly rxed once he saw the images that were being projected onto the adjacent wall. They showed a rtively spacious house near a port, but, far more importantly, he could see several familiar figures, including his own. He seemed to be teaching his sons how to properly moor a small ship, an uncharacteristic smile on his face as Therimachus did his best to emte severalplex knots. Just as Heracles was beginning to wonder where his wife was, he could suddenly hear the voice of another woman asking, "Are you filming them again?", followed by the image changing to show a woman with white hair and red eyes. Then, revealing the truth of the matter, he could hear his wifes voice answer, "I cant help it. These are blessed days. Were it possible, I would capture every single moment of our happiness, preserving them forever. One day, if my husband loses his way, I pray he will find strength in these recorded moments, freeing him from the burdens forced upon him by that vile woman..." Even without asking, Heracles could easily imagine who Megara was talking about, his expression forming an almost indiscernible smile. He still didnt fully believe in Vahns words, but, even if it was just an illusion, it was a pleasant scene to witness. It was also something he was willing to protect, as, much like Atnta, he understood the true nature of his current existence. Like all of the Heroes summoned by Jason, he was nothing more than a bastardization of his original self, an iplete replica derived from the formers memories of him. As a result, he was unable to recall several important events throughout his life, especially if they were memories prior to the time he set sail aboard the Argo. Thus, even if it wasnt real, Heracles felt closer to the images projected onto the wall than any of the ones that had been fabricated as a result of Jasons poor recollection... As this thought crossed his mind, Heracles looked down at Vahn, saying, "Ill going to keep this..." before turning his attention back to the projection. This earned him a silent nod from Vahn, who, understanding the meaning behind Heracles words, bypassed the mountain-like man, making his way further into therge ptialpound... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Never underestimate an Imperial Courtesan,Poor Atnta (T ^ T)...,Not all battles need be fought with violence. Understanding is, in many cases, the most powerful weapon. "The most supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting" -Sun Tzu) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1457 - Fragile

Chapter 1457 - Fragile

With Heracles and Atnta out of the way, Vahn knew the vast majority of Jasons power had been sealed away. His Noble Phantasm seemed to require that he convince those within to support him, something he would find extremely difficult without Heracles aid. While Jason was the actual Captain of the Argo, more than seventy of its eighty-five recorded members had sailed at the behest of Heracles. If he had not been able to trick Heracles into sailing with him, the majority of Jasons exploits would be forgotten by time. Had he not been favored by the Goddess Athena, he wouldnt have even had a ship to sail upon as it had been the direct result of her efforts that the legendary vessel had been constructed. Put simply, Jason was only a Hero because he had been chosen to be a Hero by one of the notoriously corrupt Olympian Gods. Had Athena not taken exception to Jasons uncle usurping his throne using unscrupulous means, he would have been little more than a pampered prince. He was nothing but an opportunist who had everything handed to him on a golden tter, freely exploiting everyone around him in order to secure what he believed to be his destiny. With these thoughts serving as fuel for the me that had begun to ze within him, Vahn made his way through the surprisingly calm and serene pce. Its interior beauty, while drastically different in structure, wasparable to the Ivory Castle. Though it was a little strange to have rabbits watching him pass in silence, it was nothingpared to the peculiarities that could be found within the Yokai District. Rather, if the circumstances had been different, Vahn would have liked to pet and feed the curious creatures, finding their unique appearances rather charming... While making a mental note to bring Astrid and the others to y within Changes pce in the future, Vahn made his way through an archway veiled by curtains that seemed to be formed from the night sky. The fabric was cool to the touch, and, as his hand passed across the surface, it was like watching a neb expand through an endless sea of stars, mesmerizingly beautiful yet destructive... Immediately after passing through the starry veil, Vahns figure vanished like a phantom, evading what appeared to be a ship oar that had been converted into a spear. Despite its rtively simple appearance, the unique weapon was actually a Noble Phantasm, an artifact formed from the same wood that had been used in the construction of the Argo. It had an ability that allowed it to shatter any kind of armor on contact, and, though its de was rather dull, the might of the man wielding allowed him to bludgeon his opponents to death with impunity. Unlike Atnta and Heracles, Vahn held no sentiments towards Castor and Pollux. Rather, from what he had seen and heard of their exploits, even referring to them as Heroes was rather ridiculous. Two of their most famous exploits included the kidnapping and subsequent **** of the Leucippides, two women who were already happily betrothed to other men, and the raiding of various cattle-farms, feats they carried out with impunity due to the fact Pollux having the Divine Protection of Zeus... Needless to say, Vahn felt little more than ire for the burly twins, grabbing Pollux by his curly hair before tossing him toward the surprised Castor with the force of a freight train. This wasnt enough to deal damage to either of them, but, with six [L?vateinn] skewering their ovepped bodies, the gobsmacked Heroes werent even afforded the time to bellow their intended string of curses before their bodies were consumed by dark red mes. After erecting a soundproofing barrier around the two burning Demigods, Vahn turned his attention to the beautiful woman standing silently at the side. Though he had already seen her while reading the Flow of Fate, Vahn was still a little surprised by Changes beauty. She had the type of appearance that simply couldnt be described with words, making any attempt to do so seem nderous. It was the type of beauty that transcended cultural divides, elevating her to what some would refer to as, a beauty that could topple nations and incite war. What surprised Vahn was the fact that, despite her beauty, Change didnt seem to possess an ability rted to charming others. It was verymon for Goddesses of her stature to have such abilities, something he always found rather strange since their appearance alone was enough to ensnare the vast majority of men... As it would have been rude otherwise, Vahn gave an appreciative smile towards Change, stating, "It is a unique pleasure, bearing witness to such a beautiful woman. The legends surrounding you fail to do justice to your transcendental beauty, Goddess Change. Had the circumstances allowed, I would have liked to enjoy a cup of tea with you." Hearing Vahns words, Change covered the lower half of her face with her silken sleeve, giggling in a manner that allowed her sonorous voice to carry throughout the surroundings. Then, with her eyes squinting slightly, she mused, "Your words do me a great honor, Sage Dragon Emperor. I, too, would have liked for our first meeting to be on friendlier terms. It seems, however, that our paths are fated to converge as enemies..." Though listening to Change speak was pleasant, Vahn raised his hand, causing her words to trail off, allowing him to say, "Jason is unworthy of your protection and affections. He is a vile and cruel man who only thinks of his own benefits, freely exploiting others without consideration for countless lives he has ruined. I can reunite you with your original husband, Hou Yi, freeing you from having to seekpanionship from such a despotic man..." Change had been intending to speak on behalf of Jason, but, hearing Vahns offer, her heart began to race a little faster as she asked, "Do you truly possess such power? Even the Jade Emperor would not be able to make such a promise. How can I know you arent trying to deceive me, exploiting the vulnerabilities within my heart for your own benefit...?" Vahn knew Change was trying to lump him together with Jason, but, as his words were actually the truth, he waspletely calm as he answered, "If you are willing to use your Noble Phantasm to seal this ce and put Jason into a deep slumber, I can go and summon Hou Yi right now. My only fear is that, given your nature, you would be unable to face him while Jason still lives. Even if he is nothing more than a Heroic Spirit, his existence is a stain upon your marriage..." Hearing Vahns words, Changes face formed into a pout, her countenance capable of garnering the pity of the Heavens themselves. This made Vahn feel an extreme amount of guilt, but, as this was the best route avable to him, outside of trying to make Change his, he had little choice. While some of his women had past rtionships, the thought of being involved with a married woman didnt sit well with him. He knew that Change still had deep affections for Hou Yi, so, while it was somewhat cruel to pressure her like this, it was inarguably the most effective method to avoid a battle. After several long seconds of silence, Change ultimately released a mncholic sigh before lightly muttering, "Your words pierce my heart deeper than the most steadfast spear...if what you say is the truth, I cannot bar your passage. My greatest regret in life is stealing the Pill of Immortality from my husband, leaving him to roam the earth as a mortal while I was trapped within the Moon Pce. To repay my debt to him, there is little I wouldnt do..." As Changes words began to trail off, Vahn nodded his head, adding, "You are a good woman. Im certain that, even at the very end of his life, Hou Yi continued loving you dearly. Now, the two of you can live together, healing the wounds of the past and building a foundation for a better future. There is no need to force yourself on behalf of Jason, a man who is wholly unworthy of your affections." Though she didntpletely agree with Vahns words, as Jason seemed rather pitiable from her point of view, Change didnt openly refute them. He had even pleaded for her help before fleeing to the deepest part of the Moon Pce, forcing the doll-like woman he habitually mistreated to create several powerful barriers in the hopes of preserving his life. It was an undeniably cowardly act, one that would have earned him great scorn during her era. She only tolerated his behavior because she had already promised to protect him, making it easy to overlook the fact he was basically sacrificing her if the enemy proved more than she could handle... The moment this thought crossed her mind, Change released a deeply mncholic sigh before taking a few steps to the side and bowing politely toward Vahn. He understood this was her way of showing acquiescence while simultaneously agreeing to his terms. Thus, after returning a small bow of his own, Vahn passed by the still-bowing Change, muttering, "Thank you...I promise that you will be reunited with your husband by the days end. Take this time to harden your heart...I will not force you to speak the truth, but honesty is the foundation of a healthy rtionship. It will be much easier for him to hear the words from you than learn them from another..." Understanding what Vahn was trying to tell her, Change shoulders shook slightly as she hung her head in abject shame. Though she hadnt truly betrayed her husbands trust, the fact she had been willing to allow Jason to marry her would always weigh heavily on her heart. The truth of the matter was such that, out of respect for her actual husband, Change was unwilling to remarry. Hou Yi was, and would forever be, the man she had dedicated her heart to. Thus, while it wouldnt be easy, she intended to follow through on Vahns words, hardening her heart to speak the truth to the man she had wronged so many times before... --- With even Change out of the way, there was nothing to stop Vahn from reaching the hidden vault where Jason had concealed himself. It would have been difficult for others to sense, but, due to the nature of his domain, Vahn was able to identify the void within his perception, pinpointing the vault behind a jade statue depicting a massive four-eared rabbit with arge gemstone embedded into its forehead. After admiring the work of art for a brief moment, Vahns eyes transitioned from a calm aquamarine color to a radiant golden hue. He then took a deep breath, focusing his mind as he extended both hands, grabbing Space itself. The barriers erected by the false Medea were exceptionally powerful, especially by modern standards, but they would be hard-pressed to stop a B-Rank Noble Phantasm, much less an attack that couldnt even be quantified. Though it was tempting to torment Jason for everything he had done, Vahn didnt want to earn any negative karma on behalf of the false Hero. Jason simply wasnt worth the blemish that would follow him until he ultimately left the Record, so, without any discernible hesitation, Vahn forcibly copsed the Space around Jasons hiding spot, violently tearing apart everything within the vault. This would invariably include the false Medea, something that caused Vahns heart to twist painfully in his chest, but it was still the best oue. By reading the Flow of Fate, Vahn had seen dozens of different timelines where Jason relied on dirty and underhanded means to try and secure an edge against him. Many of these included him trying to use Medea as a human shield, so, rather than face the vile man directly, Vahn decided it was best to simply crush him without a direct confrontation. This also prevented any unnecessary damage to the Moon Pce, and, though it was now a perfect fixture within his memories, Vahn wouldnt have to directly witness the crazed expression of the doll-like Medea as she fought well beyond her limits to try and protect Jason... In the end, without ever meeting Jason directly, Vahn ended uppletely destroying the virtually powerless man. As a result, all of the false Heroic Spirits he had summoned disappeared in motes of bluish-white light, including Atnta and Heracles. The former, after alighting from the Moon Pce, found a ce devoid of Attack Programs, and, after several minutes of staring at the apple Vahn had gifted her, she ultimately ended up taking a small bite before muttering, "Its delicious..." in a small voice. As for Heracles, he spent his final moments with an uncharacteristic grin, watching as his sons sessfully applied his teachings, pride visible on his, and his counterparts faces... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Gemini Twins...,Burdens of the Heart...,What truly matters...) (A/N: Some may not be satisfied with Jasons end, but, what did you expect? He was a weakling who, without the protection of multiple Skills and an inordinate amount of Luck, would struggle to defeat even a squad of Einzbern Homunculi. Vahn has never been the type to let his enemies monologue, so, with the ability to peer into the future, Jasons fate was all but decided. There is no value in even tormenting the man, as, in the end, he is nothing more than a Heroic Spirit, not the original.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1458 - Eager

Chapter 1458 - Eager

After dealing with Jason, Vahn ran his hand through his hair in a self-calming gesture before making his way back to where Change was waiting. She had a somewhat forlorn expression on her face, so, with a gentle smile on his own, Vahn muttered, "This was one of the best ways this could havee to an end. If you are feeling lonely, Im certain the other Heroes will readily wee your presence. I will return by the days end with Hou Yi in tow..." Hearing Vahns words, Change offered a small smile in return, saying, "Thank you...I can tell that this wasnt easy for you..." while politely lowering her head. Though he was tempted to just shrug dismissively, Vahn ultimately nodded in response to Changes words. Jason was only a threat if ignored, so, by eliminating him early on, a lot of future troubles had been avoided. Still, that didnt make killing him easy, as, due to the nature of his Noble Phantasm, it was almost like killing people he cared about. Though this was pure sentimentality on his part, it still left a bad aftertaste in Vahns mouth... After exchanging a few parting words with Change, Vahn alighted from the Moon Pce without looking back. At the same time, he made a personal promise to treat Medea, Atnta, and Heracles better, even if this was only to ease his own heart. It had been some time since he exchanged toasts with the powerful Hero and, though he spent a fair amount of time with Medea and Atnta, Vahn knew there was more he could do for them... With these thoughts crossing his mind, Vahn flew several hundred kilometers in a rtively short period of time beforeing to a stop and saying, "Transport me back to my territory." In response to his utterance, Vahn felt a mildly annoying pull in his gut, followed by his surroundings changing in an instant. He could see that his territory had expanded a considerable amount in the few hours that had passed since he and Artoria set out. This was worth paying attention to, but, as he had other thoughts upying his mind, Vahn only spent a few seconds scanning Avalon with his domain before teleporting directly into the false Inner Sanctum. Vahn found Artoria and Tamamo patiently waiting for him in the room that, back on Gaia, had been converted into the Menagerie. It seemed that the Moon Cell was unable to replicate the changes he had made, but, after visiting the throne room, Vahn was already aware of this. This didnt stop Artoria and Tamamo from making themselvesfortable, however, enjoying tea as the former did her best to catch thetter up to speed on the Inner Sanctums affairs. Sensing Vahns arrival before they actually noticed his appearance, both Tamamo and Artoria turned their gaze toward him. Immediately afterward, Tamamo bounced up to her feet, darting over to his location before sitting in seiza, bowing slightly as she mused, "Wee home, Tenn-sama. I have already prepared a bath and a meal. Which would you prefer: dinner, a bath, or, perhaps...me~?" Hearing Tamamos offer, Vahn issued a light chuckle before ruffling her strawberry pink hair and saying, "Im pretty greedy, you know? If you give me an offer like that, Im tempted to take all three of them." With a smile blooming across her face, Tamamo was prepared to hop up to her feet and strip down in an instant, but, before she could, Vahn added, "Patience, Tamamo. There are some things I need to discuss with Artoria. Be a good girl and wait patiently in the bathroom. Ill be along shortly." Though the order was slightly askew, Tamamo wasnt going to disobey her husbands words, so, with a bit of pep in her step, she quickly alighted for the steamy bathroom. It was a little inconvenient, as she was still wearing her wedding kimono, but she didnt actually care about its integrity. Rather, she still harbored a small hope that Vahn would tear it off from her, spicing things up a bit. It was always more fun when things got a little intense, especially if the act was carried out without any malicious intentions... After watching Tamamo depart, Vahn turned to Artoria, who, recognizing the look in his eyes, asked, "Are you okay?" Without beating around the bush, Vahn released a small sigh before answering, "I will be, once we return home. For now, will you be joining us...?" Understanding his intentions, Artoria shook her head, saying, "Even if she is behaving like that, this is still an important moment for Tamamo. I will go and discuss the organization of an upying force with Gawain. Well need to arrange personnel on the surface and within the Moon Cell if we want to prevent foreign upation and any unexpected activation of the Moon Cells functions. Da Vinci has already mentioned constructing a Bounded Field around the entire Moon, but shell need both time and resources toplete the project." As he had already heard about Da Vincis terraforming projects, requiring the nting of a World Tree, Vahn nodded in understanding to Artorias words. The Moon was the first step to branching out into the rest of the Sol System, so, while it would take a few years to achieve, Vahn knew it was only a matter of time before the barren surface became filled with lush greenery, unique fauna, and a small poption of sapient creatures... --- After escorting Artoria to the entrance of the Inner Sanctum, Vahn watched her retreating figure for several long moments before his figure vanished like a phantom. Then, while still wearing the yukata he had adorned earlier, he loosened his obi before entering the bath, where, with an expectant smile on her face, Tamamo was patiently waiting. She had set arge white towel on the ground so that her kimono wouldnt be dirtied, but, due to his Divinity, Vahn was able to ascertain her true nature without any difficulty. From the moment she was a young girl, to the moment she had been chased out of the capital, the original Tamamo had been an Imperial Courtesan in the service of Emperor Toba. Though she was eventually elevated to the status ofdy-in-waiting, destined to be his fourth wife, things had gone awry when her existence as a kitsune was exposed by a traveling Onmyouji. Vahn knew he had much to learn about Tamamos true past, but, for the time being, the important takeaway was that she was inordinately skilled when it came to matters between men and women. Though she had very few actual partners, it wasnt for no reason that she had be the Emperors favorite Courtesan, the polite way of referring to a prostitute among the upper-ss. Tamamos specialty, other than obedient service, was pandering to the ego of powerful men, happily ingratiating herself to others by reducing her status to that of a pet. She liked to be pampered quite a bit, but, simr to Anubis, Tamamo had masochistic tendencies, enjoying being treated roughly, so long as the feelings of her partner were genuine. If someone tried to force her, they could really only me themselves for the torment they would experience as a result of her curses and illusions... Knowing what Tamamo expected from him, Vahn reached his hand near the base of her neck, tracing his fingers along her smooth skin as if, at any given moment, he might start choking her. This caused Tamamos pupils to dte slightly, her smile curling up at the edges when he forced her to look up at his face, her voice gaining a sultry undertone as she asked, "Tenn-sama~?" Hearing the seductive growl contained within Tamamos voice, Vahns own smile became marginally more pronounced as he inly stated, "Ill remove it for youter...for now, strip. I want to see if your beauty extends beyond your gem-like eyes and tantalizingly-inviting lips..." If he hadnt insisted he would remove itter, Tamamo would have insisted that Vahn force her to remove her kimono. Since she hadnt detected any falsehood in his words, however, she didnt mind saving the main event untilter, happily loosening her obi and allowing her fair white shoulders to slip out. This also revealed that fact that, much like Amaterasu, Tamamo was well-endowed, a deep and inviting valley that, at a nce, seemed to eclipse even Jeanne and Iris in size... Not missing Vahns momentary shift in focus, Tamamos expression turned into a curious and teasing one as she asked, "Does Tenn-sama like them big or small? Im not fond of using it, but I can freely change my size and shape using [Transformation]. See...?" To prove her point, Tamamo made her bust increase from a sizeable 86cm to an eye-opening 95cm, enough to strain at the fabric of her kimono despite the fact she had already loosened it. This would have awed most men, but, as the ability to change their form was actually prettymon amongst his women, Vahn just smiled appreciatively as he answered, "I have no particr preference. Though there are times when I preferrge breasts, Ive never had anyints about smaller sizes. Rather, they have their own charm..." Once again sensing no falsehood contained within Vahns words, Tamamos vulpine ears twitched a few times, her bust shrinking to a size that could easily fit in the palm of his hand. This also caused her kimono to slide down her shoulder, exposing her fair white skin and two buds, simr to cherry blossoms, toe into view. Understanding she was testing him, trying to feel out his preferences, Vahn smiled in amusement at Tamamos antics, lightly tracing his thumb around her exposed nipple as he said, "They are cute." Taking things several steps further than necessary, Tamamos actual size rapidly decreased, changing her figure until it had reached a rather dangerous point. This was enough to cause Vahns smile to turn slightly awry, even if he had already seen iting. Truthfully, her figure wasnt all that different from Circes, but, knowing she was messing with him, he began to pat her head instead of touching her body, stating, "Dont push yourself..." Not understanding Vahns words, Tamamo tilted her head to the side, capitalizing on her innocent appearance as she muttered, "Tamamo-chan isnt pushing herself though~?" In response to her words, Vahn finished loosening his obi, allowing the folds of his yukata to open, revealing himself for Tamamos benefit. This caused her face to disy a seductive blush, believing she had found his strike zone, but, when she averted her eyes from Vahns face to take in his full appearance, she instantly understood the meaning behind his words... After recovering from her stupor, Tamamos size adjusted to a happy medium between her default and busty counterpart. This allowed her to rx a bit, but, as Vahn wasnt exactly normal below the belt, she still felt a little nervous as she mused, "Tenn-sama is quite magnificent...truly, there has never been a man more worthy of the title Sage Dragon Emperor..." Punctuating her words, Tamamo wasted no time in bending forward, her lips lightly kissing the tip of Vahns ns as if it were the most natural thing to do at the moment. As for Vahn, he decided to let her service him during their bath, as, when they returned to the bedroom, things were bound to get a lot more intense. One of the primary reasons behind his rapid bedding of Tamamo was to prevent her from causing trouble back in Avalon, so, while he didnt intend to go all out, Vahn was prepared to meet, and exceed, her expectations... Unaware of the fate that awaited her, Tamamo began to eagerly service Vahn, finding his scent, aura, and vor to be somewhat addictive. They made her body rapidly heat up, turning her cheeks red and causing her tail to twitch about in agitation. She was used to being in control during such times, but, even though he was just watching her with affection and amusement visible in his expression, Tamamo had the distinct impression everything was within Vahns control... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tamamos waifu power is quite high,The first steps to conquering the Sol System, nay, the entire Gxy...!,Vahn spooked the loli out of her...xD) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1459 - Leading

Chapter 1459 - Leading

Nearly an hour after their yful foray in the bath, Vahn was sittingfortably at a low-lying table, an amused expression on his face as Tamamo dutifully fed him bits and pieces of food using chopsticks. She had changed back into her wedding kimono, and, somewhat amusing, kept feeding him dishes filled with eel, Ginko nuts, and umaimo, each intended to increase his libido further. Vahn knew what Tamamo was trying to do, but, as such things werepletely useless against him, he didnt mind teasing her by eating far more than his fill. It was interesting seeing her fidget about excitedly, all while trying to put on the act of a demure and attentive wife. Eventually, after feeding him what must have been more than twenty dishes, Tamamo asked, "Are you beginning to feel full, Tenn-sama? I would feel terrible if you were to suffer an ailment of the stomach. Perhaps we should stop here...?" Rather than answer Tamamo immediately, Vahn extended his hand, picking up a saucer filled with hazy-white sake, downing the cups contents before saying, "Thanks for the meal, Tamamo. Dont worry, I made sure to leave space for dessert..." Understanding the meaning behind his words, Tamamos tail began to twitch more aggressively behind her back, bringing arger smile to Vahns face. Then, after setting his sake cup back on the table, henguidly rose to his feet, stretching his body before picking up a surprised Tamamo in a bridal carry. Though she seemed more eager for what was toe than he was, Tamamo smiled seductively while resting her head against Vahns chest, saying, "My, you certainly seem excited, Tenn-sama. There is no need to be in such a rush, you know~? Tamamo will properly satisfy all your needs, no matter how extreme they might be, ufufufu~." As he had already carried her over to the bed, Vahn set Tamamo down just as her words came to an end. This allowed her to turn onto her hands and knees, wiggling her butt seductively as she scurried further into the bed he had set out. As a result, Vahn was able to see the fair white hairs that grew on the underside of her tail, poking through therge red ribbon that adorned the back of her obi. The rest of her tail was the traditional rusty-red color associated with most foxes, so, it created a strangely tantalizing contrast with the rest of her tails coating... Just as Tamamo had reached the head of the bed and was about to invite Vahn to join her, she was slightly startled when an invisible force tugged her back towards him. When she looked back, she could see Vahn with a teasing smile on his face, gesticting as if he were telling her toe toward him. This made her feel a little giddy with anticipation, so, while it wouldnt have required much effort to break free, she made no effort to resist his telekic pull. Once she was within his grasp, Vahn reached his hand out, stroking Tamamos butt through the fabric of her kimono as he said, "You have a thin waist but a discernibly plump butt...I had seen it during the bath, but, now that youre shaking it right in front of me...you cant expect me to simply ignore it, can you...?" Hearing Vahns words, Tamamo giggled mischievously while writhing about under his surprisingly stimting hand. Then, with squinted eyes and a raspy, inviting, tone, she muttered, "If it pleases Tenn-sama, my butt, my tail, even my ears...they are yours to do with as you please~." Rather than respond to Tamamos words with his own, Vahn simply smiled in response, increasing the amount of energy he was putting into his [Hands of Nirvana]. This caused a shiver to run from the base of her tail to the top of her head, temporarily recing her seductive smile with a look of mild shock as he began massaging near the base of her tail. Before she realized it, Tamamo was sticking out her butt a little more, following the movements of his hand with a progressively ruddy face. Vahn could even feel her body rapidly heat up through the silken lining of her kimono, bringing a smile to his face as he said, "I am going to teach you a very important lesson, Tamamo. You see, while I dont mind being serviced...it isnt wrong to say I am more fond of satisfying my women. I often go out of my way to make sure they are able to feel the greatest amount of pleasure their bodies and minds can tolerate...are you prepared to receive my affection...?" To punctuate his statement, Vahn sent a wave of Source Energy through Tamamos body while pressing his thumb into her sacrum bone. This tranted into a mild pain that quickly gave way to far greater pleasure, interrupting her attempt at a response. Instead, she was forced to release a sonorous moan, her back arching slightly as her nails dug into the fabric of the bed, tearing the sheets and digging deep into the foamy mattress. Seeing the destruction caused to the rtively durable mattress, Vahn made a mental note to be wary of Tamamos nailster on. For the time being, however, he continued to gently stimte the same spot, forcing her tail to twitch madly in response. As a result, Tamamo clenched her teeth in a vain attempt to stifle her voice, but, failing to do so, she peered back at him and saying, "Please dont tease me, Tenn-sama..." Hearing Tamamos plea, Vahn stopped pressing into her sacrum bone, focusing more on her soft rump as he said, "You didnt answer my question..." Though she was initially confused by his words, Tamamos mind quickly recalled what Vahn had said previously. She found this rather amusing, but, as it wasnt that umon for powerful men to request such things, he adopted an imploring expression as she whined, "Tamamo wants it...I cant live without Tenn-samas affection any longer. Please, ravish Tamamos body...let me feel your affection deep inside me~." Vahn was slightly taken aback by Tamamos words, but, as they were also quite stimting, he issued a light chuckle before squeezing her butt rather firmly. Then, causing Tamamos tail to flicker madly, he pulled at the obi holding her kimono together, tearing away the fabric with a bit of force. This seemed to be strangely important to her, so, while it seemed somewhat wasteful, Vahn wanted their first time together to be memorable. With nothing binding the cloth to her body, Tamamos kimono came loose, allowing Vahn to pull it away from her with a few tugs. She made a pretense of resisting, issuing a few girlish squeals in the process, but it hadnt actually taken much effort to remove the previously pristine garment. As a result, he was able to see her naked body once again, this time from one of his favorite angles... Though she was a petite and fair-skinned woman, appearing in herte teens or early twenties, Tamamos figure was rather enticing. She not only had a rather sizeable bust, measuring to just over 86cm, but her butt was equally as plump, trailing only 1.3cm behind her bosom. Since she also had a thin waist, measuring 57cm, and rather thick thighs, Tamamos figure could only be described as deceptively mature. After all, a kimono was well-suited to hiding a womans figure, so, with Tamamo only being 160cm in height, she gave off the impression of a dainty young girl while fully clothed... After tracing his finger down the line of Tamamos back, eliciting a hot sigh and a hazy look from the eager kitsune, Vahn gave his best predatory smile as he said, "I guess its time for dessert..." Without waiting for Tamamos response, Vahn grabbed the sides of her waist, pulling her hips closer to him before nestling his face near her hairless slit, probing the palpitating vulva with his tongue. This was a rather new experience for Tamamo, as she was almost always on the giving end, so she couldnt help but feel a little helpless while wondering what kind of man her husband was. These types of thoughts didntst long, however, as she felt his unnaturally long tongue hit a few sensitive spots, almost like he knew exactly where all of her weak spots were... As was often the case with Goddesses, and those descended from them, Tamamos love juices were uncharacteristically sweet, and, in more ways than one, highly addictive. Though Vahn was immune to their influence, it didnt stop him from enjoying the unique vor, reminding him of a curiousbination between citrus and honey. It even made his tongue tingle slightly, the result of her Divinity interacting with his [Magia Erebea] constitution. One of the funnest parts of performing cunnilingus on his lovers was experiencing the ways in which their interior folds reacted to his experimental probing. He never grew tired of seeing their reactions, and, when he got serious, even women like Ishtar and Nobunaga would quickly submit to his ceaseless exploration. Tamamo proved no exception to this, as, despite only a few minutes passing since he started, she was practically straddling his head, her back arched in a precarious arc as her nails dug deep into the bedding. Since her body had practically been in heat from the moment they went into the bath together, Vahn knew it was rather mean to dy things for too long. Thus, after gently tracing the tip of his tongue near Tamamos cervix, causing her body to tremble on the verge of a powerful climax, he pulled away, allowing her a moments reprieve as she stared back at him with a lost, confused, and moderately annoyed expression on her face. Being denied an orgasm was never pleasant, so, despite the fact she had been enjoying each moment thus far, Tamamos rity returned with a vengeance when the stimtion suddenly ceased. This caused Vahn to issue a light chuckle, lightly smacking her butt as he said, "Dont worry, Im not trying to tease you." To prove the veracity of his words, Vahn extended his hand to Tamamo, waiting for her to grab it before pulling her to face him. Then, before she could fully understand his intentions, he forced her onto the bed, lifting her right thigh as he dexterously guided himself to her entrance. This was enough to cause a look of abject shock to pass over Tamamos face, but, before she was able to utter so much as a single syble, a choking sound escaped her throat as he forced his way deep into her steamy depths. For several seconds, Tamamo found it impossible to breathe, an intense pressure filling up her insides as a phenomenal wave of pleasure wreaked havoc throughout her body. It was only when Vahn pressed his hand against her diaphragm that a gasping moan escaped her lips, followed by a period of heaving as her mind and body struggled to adapt to the sudden stimulus. Tamamo was feeling more excited in these few moments than she had in her entire life, but, as everything was all so new to her, she found it impossible to organize her thoughts. All she could do was go along with the flow, leaving everything to Vahn as he toyed with her body in ways she never thought possible. He exposed parts of her she didnt even know existed, carving his name into each of them as hey im to her everything. It was a slightly terrifying experience, but, as his presence also brought her a strange feeling offort, Tamamo found herself sinking deeper into an abyss of pleasure with absolutely no desire to resist... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tamamo was not prepared,Vahn is a tyrant,RIP vulpine waifu...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1460 - Aftercare

Chapter 1460 - Aftercare

After nearly seven hours had passed, Vahn was hugging Tamamo from behind, her tail serving as a soft cushion between them as he continued to grind against her. She had tuckered herself out after aughing fit thatsted more than twenty minutes, her body flushed with a ruddy hue that made her seem even more beautiful with a glisteningyer of sweat. While holding her body tightly, Vahn persistently bit, licked, and kissed around Tamamos neck, eliciting gasps and moans from the dazed kitsune as she absentmindedly licked his fingers. This had been going on for a while, but, as he was enjoying the startlingly hot sensation and pleasant tightness that clung to his member, Vahn didnt mind continuing. This wasnt because due to his selfishness, rather, every time he tried to extricate himself from her rhythmically pulsating depths, Tamamo would adopt a rather pitiable expression before pleading that he continue. Though she didnt mind dutifully servicing her husband, Tamamo had always wanted a man that could keep up with her. Vahn, however, greatly exceeded her expectations, pushing her beyond the limits of pleasure. She felt like they had be one person, their hearts and bodies linked in a way she had never thought possible. Thus, whenever he tried to pull away from her, she would feel panicky and frightened, fearing the good feelings would never return... Vahn could sense Tamamos fear, so, in between leaving hickeys on her neck, he would whisper kind words to pacify and coax her. He would also gently nibble around the base and points of her ears, knowing how sensitive they could be through personal experience. Unfortunately, all good things eventually came to an end, so, after hugging her frail-seeming yet incredibly durable body, stretching her insides beyond their natural limits, he released anotherrge volume of potent semen. This vital fluid contained an incredible amount of Source Energy, so, due to her nature as a Divine Spirit, Tamamo would feel like her own energy was overflowing. This caused her toes to curl as her body attempted to arch, prevented by how firmly he held her in his embrace. Though it was somewhat painful, Vahn allowed Tamamos sharper-than-normal teeth to sink into his fingers. This was to prevent her from choking or swallowing her own tongue, so, while it was a little painful, it was almost negligiblepared to what he had experienced in the past. Illya had, at times, takenrge chunks out of his body, so,pared to how extreme things could get, this first encounter with Tamamo had been rtively tame... After attempting to extricate himself once again, Tamamo seemed to return to her senses in an instant, whining, "Nooo..." in a voice that seemed to be on the verge of sobbing. This made Vahn feel a little guilty, but, repeating the words he had said to her countless times, he said, "I promise, there will be more chances for us to be together in the future. It breaks my heart to see you like this...wont you give me a smile...?" Rather than smile, Tamamos face formed into a pouting expression as she buried her face into a nearby pillow. This made Vahn feel a little awkward, his face forming a wry smile as he sat next to her and gently stroked her hair, ears, and tail. He knew she wasnt really mad, rather, he seemed to have awakened a selfish aspect of her character. Since he could see the Flow of Fate, he knew she would bounce back the moment he moved to leave the room, returning to her bubbly andscivious personality... While petting Tamamos body, Vahn looked at what remained of the bed, now a destroyed mess of fabric and foamy mesh. Since this bed had cost 85,000 Origin Points, it felt like a bit of a waste, but, as he quite enjoyed his time together with the vulpine women, Vahn didnt mind it. Rather, it was strangely fun to destroy the surroundings whenever he was pleasuring his women, elevating the experience far beyond simple love-making... For a brief moment, Vahns mind slipped to the devastating consequences of his intercourse with Arcueid, reminding him that she, and everyone else, was waiting for his return. With this in mind, he lightly spanked Tamamos pert white posterior, saying, "Well take a quick bath before meeting with Artoria. I still have important matters to attend, but, before that, Id like to introduce you to the rest of our family." As if her pouting from before had been nothing more than an illusion, Tamamos ears perked up in response to Vahns words. She quickly moved to a seated position, a vibrant smile on her face as she answered, "Certainly, Tenn-sama. Ill wash your back for you~!" Though he had gone easier on her in thetter half, Vahn couldnt help but smile in amusement after seeing how quickly Tamamo recovered. He could see her body was still trembling in the echoes of a persistent pleasure, but, when it came to doing her duty, Tamamo was surprisingly diligent. If it was for the person she had dedicated herself to, Vahn imagined there was very little she wouldnt do to satisfy their needs... -------------------------------------------- Name: [Tamamo-no-Mae], [Daji], [Kay], [Bao Si], [Mikotto] Age: 3,091, [Ageless] Race: Nine-Tailed Divine Fox Spirit, Goddess(sealed) Loyalty: (-), [Eternal Loyalty(conditional)] Soul Strength: 5(sealed) Karma: 114,093,552 State: [Active] Skills: [Vessel of the Sun Goddess:Innate:EX(sealed)], [Tamamo-no-Mae:Innate:EX(-)], [Child of Destiny:Innate:A], [Witchcraft:Innate: EX(SS)], [Songmaiden of Moonlight:Innate:C], [Shapeshift: A], [Foxs Wedding: EX], [Curses: EX], [Divinity: A], [Bridal Training: EX], [Sexual Techniques: S], [Dancing: A], [Singing: A], [Service: A], [Cooking: A], [Court Etiquette: B], [Territory Creation: C] -------------------------------------------- From the moment he had epted Tamamo as his bride, her Loyalty value had defaulted to the Eternal Loyalty parameter. This allowed him to understand a bit of her true nature, and, though there would undoubtedly be some drama, he didnt have to worry about her going out of control. Rather, with [Bridal Training: EX], she seemed to have the ability to influence other women around her, turning them into suitable, service-oriented, brides... So long as he never divorced her, Tamamo would continue to dutifully serve in the capacity of what she believed to be the perfect wife. If she could be convinced that getting along with the others was necessary, her perspective would undoubtedly shift to reflect this. Now that he had given her a proper incentive, Vahn just needed to introduce her to everyone before leaving her in the care of the Menagerie. Under the guidance of girls like Fenrir and Circe, it was only a matter of time before adapted to her new environment, prospering among the rest of his women. With this thought in mind, Vahn enjoyed another long bath with Tamamo, allowing her to wash his back using her own body and a thin towel. Then, despite her protests, he forced her to allow him to wash her in turn, paying special attention to the areas around her tail, ears, and inner thighs. He had done a number on her during their seven-hour session, so, while her constitution would allow her to recover quickly, Vahn elerated the process using his [Hands of Nirvana]. Tamamo enjoyed being pampered quite a bit, so, even if she enjoyed servicing others more, she had noints about her new husbands treatment. Rather, her expression made it appear as if she were slightly drunk,plete with hazy eyes, ruddy cheeks, and a somewhat silly smile. She also giggled whenever he washed around her sensitive bits, fluffy and pleasant feelings welling in her chest and spreading through the rest of her body... By the time the bath hade to an end, nearly forty minutes had passed. Vahn then spent more than half-an-hour brushing Tamamos hair and tail before helping her pick out a brand new set of lingerie and a new kimono. She hadnt been too keen on the idea of lingerie, but, after trying on a few silken garments, finding they ented her beauty quite a bit, she ended up picking a pair of ckce panties and a matching brassiere. As for her kimono, she was able to manifest a highly revealing outfit that, in a way, served as her Divine Raiment. Vahn felt Tamamos outfit was a little too revealing, especially with how much cleavage it showed off, but, as they were the clothes she was mostfortable in, he wasnt going to force her. It was still tamer than some of the outfits worn by Fenrir, Okita, Circe, Nobunaga, and Mordred, so, there wasnt much he could say. Rather, he was more worried about the fact that Isanna and Naavi both enjoyed wearing their Divine Raiments, outfits far more revealing than most swimwear... After going through the process of helping each other dress, ending with Vahn wearing his usual outfit, earning him a bit of praise from Tamamo, even though she also remarked that he looked better in more traditional wear. He knew she was talking about the yukata he was wearing earlier, but, while he certainly borrowed a lot of eastern inspiration, Vahn defaulted to more western-style clothes due to his experiences in Danmachi. This included trousers, tunic, sash, and a belt that was more for appearances than functionality. He would even wear his gauntlets and greaves at times, albeit only when he was trying to appear more intimidating. Vahn liked to wear stylish and cool clothing, but, more so than anything else, he just liked to befortable. It was for this reason that he didnt begrudge others for their choice in clothing, so long as they took into consideration things like time, ce, and asion. While it was ultimately the fault of those who gawked and made rude remarks, he knew the me wasnt solely on the offender when one party wore highly revealing, skin-tight, clothing. Beauty was something to be admired, so, if provided with the opportunity, very few people would pass on the opportunity to appreciate it... --- With Tamamo in tow, Vahn teleported to one of therger banquet halls near the Knights Training Field. This was colloquially known as the Soldiers Mess, and, though they didnt exactly need to eat, thanks inrge part to the Ouroboros Seal, there were a few hundred Einzbern Homunculi enjoying a meal together. They, like Vahn, enjoyed the act of social eating, and, considering the quality and vor of the foods, it helped to improve morale quite a bit. Upon seeing an ocean of beautiful women immediately turn their eyes toward her husband, both fervor and adtion visible in their gazes, Tamamos expression became one of abject panic. This elicited a light chuckle from Vahn, understanding what she was thinking. Her fears werent entirely unfounded, especially due to thepulsion of his Divinity, but Vahn had built up a tolerance to the frighteningly loyal women. Vahn knew that if he ended up sleeping with even a single Homunculus, it would be like rolling a snowball down a freshly powdered mountain. He was the type to make excuses and proactively seek a justification for his actions, so, if he ended up crossing that line, there would be no way of turning back. He would feel guilty about refusing the affections of the other Homunculi, so, after a single slip-up, his harem would undoubtedly grow from double, to quadruple, digits... Though it would take a while, Vahn knew many of the Homunculi would eventually begin to seekpanionship elsewhere. Many of the former Knights of the Round Table had already begun to court a few, the only exceptions being Lancelot and Ghad. The former still med himself for his past lifes failings, so, for the time being, he wasnt really looking for love. As for Ghad, that was another issue in and of itself, as, with the ability to see the Flow of Fate, Vahn had seen quite a number of timelines where he and Sakura end up together. He had even looked far into the future once, finding Sakura training what appeared to be a younger version of herself, all while wearing the armor of an Imperial Knight... (A/N: Alternate Titles: How to spoil your kitsune-waifu,Another Tier 5!?,The downside to being able to peer into the future...) (A/N: For those wondering how Tamamo can be considered Tier 5, just consider the fact that, at her maximum potential, she is even able to destroy the Moon Cells Core in a single kick. She can even defeat Velber 02 without much difficulty, making her stronger than even EX-Rank existences such as the Olympian Gods.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1461 - Golden Boy

Chapter 1461 - Golden Boy

After deciding to leave Vahn and Tamamo alone together, Artoria carried out her duties as both Empress and the Commander of the Imperial Knights. On paper, she actually had more authority over the Imperial Militia than Vahn,rgely due to the fact that thetter was more inclined to deal with things on his own, rather thanmand forces. Thus, while the direction of the Empire was dictated by Vahn, Artoria was in charge of making sure everything was running smoothly, dutifullymanding her former Knights of the Round Table. Artoria had already discussed the allocation of their forces with Gawain, deciding they would only rotate in a single battalion to protect the false Avalon at any given moment. They still needed to allocate the majority of their forces around the, so, until the Mages Association could pick up the ck, focusing on the Moon Cell was arger priority for Da Vinci, rather than the Imperial Militia. Fortunately, Da Vinci was more than capable of handling matters, both within the Moon Cell and on the surface. So long as she was provided with adequate resources, she could easily construct a massiveboratory on the surface, preparing it for colonization within a few months time. So long as the Moon Cell didnt intervene, which could be avoided so long as they didnt endanger any of its functions, she could even cover the entire surface in a protectiveyer. Vahn had harvested several hundred tons of photonic crystals during the time he had attempted to burrow into the Moon Cell, so, with even a thumb-sized piece being capable of producing an AI on the level of Arc, Mother, and Shadow, she was very enthusiastic about the future. All of her previous photonic crystals had been purchased by Vahn through the system shop, at more than a million OP for a single gram of the coveted material, so his previous haul was a tremendous boon. Da Vinci was in such a good mood that, rather than refuse Artorias offer to enjoy a meal together, she happily epted. Now, they were sitting near the head of one of therge dining tables, each making idle conversation as they sampled the rather luxurious dishes prepared by those that had volunteered. Even the least-proficient Homunculus was more capable than a world-ss chef, so, being the glutton she was, Artorias side of the table was filled with empty tes as she attentively listened to Da Vinci drone on about future projects. It wasnt until Vahn spontaneously appeared that their conversation came to an end, followed by nearly everyone in the banquet hall rising to their feet as a courtesy to the Emperor. Then, after he put everyone at ease, Artoria and Da Vinci alighted to his side, thetter eyeing up Tamamo for a brief moment beforementing, "It seems the rumors of your beauty were not exaggerated. My name is Da Vinci. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Tama-chan~." Few women were immune topliments and, though Da Vincis words sounded yful, there was a discernible sincerity to them that elevated her status in Tamamos mind. Thus, while she had originally felt threatened by Da Vincis overwhelming beauty, Tamamo managed a polite smile as she answered, "You are also quite beautiful, Lady Da Vinci. Its no wonder Tenn-sama is immune to my charms with so many splendid women at his side, ufufu~." Following Tamamos remark, the two beautiesughed in their characteristic manners, earning a wry smile from Vahn while Artoria simply released a small sigh. Then, without beating around the bush, she asked, "Will we be returning soon?" As it was the primary reason he had tracked her down, Vahn nodded his head, answering, "I still need to speak with the Heroes Factionter on, but I wanted to summon Sakata Kintoki and Hou Yi before anything unexpected happens." Vahn hadrgely recovered, but he was still feeling a little mncholic about what had happened within Changes Moon Pce. He could easily visit Medea and Atnta using his other body, but that would require him to shift his focus from the Moon Cell to the Projection. Though he had all but mastered controlling a body inside and outside of the Projection at the same time, it was a lot easier to control the actions of his vessel outside than it was to manage his affairs inside. Though he had only been away for a little under four days, that tranted to nearly a month in the Projection. Many things had passed in that period of time, so, while he was very interested in the Moon Cell, Vahn was intending to leave Da Vinci in charge of all projects rted to it. He was also going to evict most of the Heroes Faction, allowing only Change the option to remain, should she decide against fighting. --- After Artoria sent someone to inform Gawain about their departure, Vahn teleported back to the, instantly feeling refreshed. At the exact same moment, a second ya manifested at his side, taking her usual position on his shoulder as he used Unit Management to transport Artoria and Tamamo to his side. As it had been more than a thousand years since thest time she was on Gaia, Tamamo took a deep breath before exhaling loudly andmenting, "The air seems fresher than I remember. I can also sense arge quantity of mana in the environment. It feels like my whole body is being nourished~." Hearing Tamamos remark, Vahn exined, "The concentration of mana in the atmosphere in other ces might be a bit sporadic, but, here in Avalon, you wont have to worry about such things. Now,e along. Ill introduce you to everyone before helping you get situated in your new home. There will be plenty of time to explore the ind once day breaks." Immediately after hearing Vahns words, Tamamo pounced onto his arm, grabbing it with a happy smile on her face as she answered, "Certainly, Tenn-sama. I cant wait to see what our love nest looks like, ufufufu~." While lightly chuckling in response to Tamamos words, Vahn extended his free hand to Artoria, linking arms with both beauties before entering the Projection and informing everyone of their return. Nobody was surprised by the fact Vahn brought another woman home with him. Rather, there was a betting pool to determine how many he would return with, averaging out to three and maxing out at nine... Though Artoria had already told him that she and the others had discussed his nature, Vahn was a little troubled by Nobunagas little game. He decided to punish herter on, albeit after he dealt with his duties as both a father and an Emperor. With this in mind, Vahn helped Tamamo get situated in the Menagerie, leaving her in the care of Fenrir before departing to spend time with his kids. A lot could change in a month, so, while his secondary vessel exited the Projection to activate the Throne of Heroes, Vahn opted to spend as much time as necessary to catch up with his children. This was even more important than going to pacify his women, something they understood well enough to leave him to his own devices... When it came to using the Throne of Heroes, Vahn needed only to enter the Welsh Dragons Chamber. There were no other preparations necessary, as, even without informing Maxwell of his intentions, Da Vinci had created several high-capacity batteries that could easily power therge summoning circle, each filled nigh-instantaneously by the gentlemanly Demon. This was one of the most cheat-like aspects of Maxwells existence, something Da Vinci had taken full advantage of in her research. After walking to the center of the summoning formation, Vahn briefly paused as he considered the fact this was his first time entering the Welsh Dragons Chamber alone. This resulting in him looking at his surroundings for a brief moment, admiring the crystalline structure before setting his eyes on the massive dragon that had been sealed using pirs form of Photonic Crystals. Vahn had always been curious about the origin of these pirs. Fortunately, the Welsh Dragons revival wasnt that far off, bringing a smile from Vahns face as hemented, "Im d you arent a female, hahahaha~." In response to Vahns words, Siss own echoed within his mind, musing, (*If you say such things, you are practically asking for something to happen.*) Though he knew she was just teasing him, Vahn shook his head, answering with his thoughts, ("I have already seen it. My ability to read the Flow of Fate may not be perfect, but it wouldnt make a mistake regarding the gender of a True Dragon. I just hope Shuten, Ibaraki, or Kiyohime are able to take a liking to him. The former seems to have an interest in Kintoki, but there is no way for her topete against Raikou. Shell be looking for a new partner so Ill have to prepare one if I want to avoid future troubles...") Using his ability to read the Flow of Fate, Vahn had already seen numerous future timelines where Shuten endeavored to be one of his women. Though she still remained in the Yokai District, isting herself in much the same way as Semiramis, there were a few futures where she ended up in conflict with the girls visiting Benienmas Enma-tei. While most of these disputes ended with nothing more than a few bruises and broken bones, it would save him a lot of trouble if he could pair her with another powerful True Dragon. For now, Vahn knew there was no sense in worrying about the future, as, even with the ability to see the Flow of Fate, events more than a few days distant were pointless to observe. Unless he decided to follow a specific current without deviating in the slightest, every action he took shaped the future in a different way. Thus, for the time being, he activated the summoning circle, letting his consciousness sink into the Throne of Heroes... After looking around the now-familiar expanse of empty space, Vahn made his way over to the Throne of Heroes, essing the terminal with practiced finesse. It didnt take him long to find his timelines version of Sakata Kintoki, but, out of consideration for Raikou, he invested a few hours attempting to iste hers. This involved narrowing down timelines by looking for versions of the buxom woman that couldnt be summoned, as, while the Throne had very few restrictions, it was impossible to summon the exact same Hero twice. Eventually, Vahn narrowed down his search to thirteen likely possibilities, limiting the selection of Servant sses to Berserker, Rider, and Lily. Though he had little doubt Raikou would appreciate the opportunity to raise Kintoki a second time, Vahn knew the man himself would take exception to the predicament. After discovering Kintokis [Mad Enhancement] was only E-Rank, despite being a Berserker ss Heroic Spirit, Vahn decided to give summoning him a try. The Rider version of him seemed to be a little unique, at least going by the Skills listed, so, considering nearly every version of Raikou had [Mad Enhancement: EX], Vahn felt summoning him as a Berserker was the lesser of two evils. With his selection finished, Vahn found himself back in the real world, watching silently as a man with an exceptionally muscr body and a golden bowl-cut hairstyle manifested. He was dressed in clothes that didnt even remotely suit the time period he had been alive, causing Vahn to worry he had summoned the wrong man. He not only wore a wide-cored dress shirt, but he even had on a pair of cks formed from synthetic fibers, a technology that didnt exist until centuries after his death. What stood out the most, however, were his various golden essories, including what appeared to be a Rolex watch and arge belt buckle with the word GOLD boldly disyed... As he hadnt been transmigrated, Kintoki was fully conscious immediately after being summoned. This allowed him to stare back at Vahn with his zing blue eyes, reminiscent of the sky on a clear day. Then, after a few seconds had passed, he pulled a pair of rose-tinted sunsses out of thin air, covering his eyespletely before saying, "Yo, I guess youre my new Chief, eh? You could use more gold, you know? You got the whole cool aspect down, but you look prettyme in all that grey and ck." Hearing Kintokis words, Vahn raised his brows slightly before smiling in amusement. He didnt care for formalities all that much, allowing him to pretty much ignore the mans rude remarks. It was still amusing, however, as he knew Kintoki would be fighting against him in the future. Thus, with an amused smile on his face, he stated, "I summoned you with the purpose of providing aid to my enemies. Specifically, you will serve under your former Lord, Minamoto-no-Raikou." The moment he heard Vahns words, Kintoki fellpletely silent, lowering his head slightly as hisplexion, momentarily, paled. Then, in an apprehensive voice that didnt suit a man of his stature, he asked, "So, youre one of Mas enemies? You were actually able to fight against her?" Though Kintoki would be his enemy in the future, Vahn didnt mind answering his questions. He harbored a bit of resentment towards the Heroes Faction, but no actual hatred. Thus, despite the fact they were in a rather sacred ce, Vahn brought out a table, two chairs, and a few bottles of alcohol before getting Kintoki up to speed. The mans expression upon learning that Shuten and Ibaraki had also been summoned was rather priceless, resulting in him emptying an entire bottle in one go... After a few drinks, Kintoki ended up asking, "You gonna summon the other three?", referencing hispanions among the Four Heavenly Kings. To this, Vahn dismissively shrugged, stating, "It depends on the needs of the faction youll be joining. Im afraid a division will ur in your sides forces if I were to summon all four of you. Besides, I think Raikou wouldnt mind having just you aspany, at least for a short while..." Understanding the meaning behind Vahns words, Kintoki took another drink directly from the bottle, releasing an exasperated sigh as he answered, "Yeah, I know what you mean. Ill try to help her condition a bit. It shouldnt be that hard if you remove those monsters from the equation..." Though her referred to them as monsters, Vahn could sense that Kintoki didnt harbor any hatred towards Shuten and her kin. Rather, based on the knowledge he had about those involved, there was a preexisting rtionship between Kintoki and Shuten. Thetter had disguised herself as a human, growing fond of the young Heavenly King after their first meeting. Despite this, he helped Raikou hunt Shuten down, severing thetters head and spelling the end of their fledgling tryst. Vahn knew there was a lot more to the story between Kintoki, Raikou, and Shuten, but, as it wasnt his business, he decided not to probe into it. He was intending to block the usual Mental Link that apanied summoning a Heroic Spirit, so, if he spied on Kintokis memories while denying thetter ess to his own, Vahn would feel guilty. Thus, rather than respond to Kintokis remark, he just tipped sses with the man, downing the contents of his own cup withoutment... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tamamo feels threatened...,Maxwell + Rheingold = infinite resources,I kind of feel bad for Kintoki xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1462 - Conflicted

Chapter 1462 - Conflicted

After enjoying a few drinks with Kintoki, Vahn decided to take care of summoning Hou Yi so that he could make good on his promise with Change. He also just wanted to get this matter with the Heroes Faction taken care of, freeing up time to focus on other, infinitely more important, things. Soon after this thought crossed his mind, Vahn found himself inside the Throne of Heroes, a wry smile on his face as he noticed Hou Yi only qualified for three sses: Archer, Avenger, and, of all things, Moon Cancer. Thetter was, ording to their small sample size, a ss that had enmity towards the Moon,pelling them to seek its destruction. Since this obviously wouldnt sit well with the Moon Cell, Vahn made the rtively easy choice to summon Hou Yi as a normal Archer ss Servant. Vahn had always been somewhat curious about Hou Yi, as, even during his time in Danmachi, he and the man had shared some fate with each other. Many of Vahns archery skills had developed as a result of the legendary archers influence, and, while he didnt make use of them all that often these days, the [Yi] arrows were still some of his most powerful weapons. He had even been trying to recreate a version for himself, albeit with very limited sess... After confirming his selection, Vahn found himself back in reality, watching as an unsurprisingly handsome man manifested in front of him. He had sleek ck hair that was bound in a knot atop his head, and, as could be expected from the husband of the most beautiful Goddess in Chinese mythology, his facial features were world-ss. The only thing that seemed off, even if it made a lot of sense, was the fact that his muscr frame and thick arms could be seen bulging through his traditional Chinese hanfu robes. He was even more muscr than Yan Qing, the Assassin that had appeared during the previous Holy Grail War... As Vahn was eyeing up one of the few people that could be considered an idol to him, Hou Yi was doing much the same, his hawk-like eyes staring back at the man who had summoned him. Then, in a surprisingly soft tone of voice, he said, "I do not believe someone of your caliber is in need of my skills. Your power is deep and unfathomable, akin to an abyss that can swallow everything. Tell me, why have you summoned me into this world?" Though Vahn was slightly taken aback by Hou Yis words, he wasnt actually that surprised by the mans judgment. The legendary archer possessed an Innate called [Eye of Discernment(true):EX], an ability that seemed to allow him to determine the capabilities, and weaknesses, of everything he set eyes upon. As for how Vahn knew this, it was due to the fact that, while unable to list actual Innates, the Throne of Heroes interpreted some Innates as Skills that pertained to a Heroic Spirits legend. In response to Hou Yis inquiry, Vahn adopted a casual smile before inly answering, "I came to an agreement with the Goddess Change. I promised her that I would summon you, allowing the two of you to reunite. The decision to stay is up to you, but I will still take you to see her as part of my agreement." Hearing Vahns words, Hou Yis expression turned into one of disbelief before, like ice melting, his expression softened into a reminiscent smile as he muttered, "Change...it seems the Heavens still have eyes. I have dreamed...hoped this day woulde..." Though it was obviously impossible to see the Moon from deep underground, Hou Yi still turned his eyes toward the ceiling, directing his gaze towards where, previously, he could never reach. Seeing the fondness contained in Hou Yis eyes, Vahn buried any regrets he had about not trying to make Change his own. There were several currents that led to this development, but, as Hou Yi was someone he had respected a great deal, despite never meeting, it didnt seem right to usurp his ce in Changes heart. He still felt some guilt regarding Shirou Emiya, and, though he didnt regret it in the slightest, Vahn still felt sympathetic towards the originals fate. After dashing this thought from his mind, Vahn nodded his head toward Hou Yi, saying, "If you are ready, Ill be taking you to meet with Change. Im not sure she had prepared her heart, but that is something the two of you can work out as husband and wife. What say you?" As he had spent hundreds of years watching the Moon in yearning, Hou Yi didnt beat around the bush at all, answering, "Please, take me to her. My heart aches every moment we are apart. I have waited for this day for far too long...please, keep me no longer, I beg of you..." Though it waspletely unnecessary, Hou Yi attempted to perform a kowtow toward Vahn, his emotional turmoil preventing him from thinking clearly. Fortunately, Vahn quickly prevented him from doing so, borrowing a Chinese expression, saying, "A man should only bow to his ancestors, his benefactors, and his teachers. I am merely following my agreement with Change. There is no need to prostrate yourself before me, Hou Yi." Hearing Vahns words, a seed of deep respect had been nted in Hou Yis heart, bringing a rare smile to his face as he said, "I understand. You are, however, my Benefactor. If not now, allow me to express my gratitude after reuniting with my wife." Since he couldnt force the matter, Vahn agreed to Hou Yis intentions, stating, "If those are your true feelings, I will ept them graciously. For now, allow me to make good on my promise. The words of an emperor are as precious as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Let us alight." Vahn had already discussed his intentions with Artoria and the rest, so, without beating around the bush, he rose through the atmosphere like a God ascending to the Heavens, covering the 384,400km distance between Gaia and the Moon in a few short minutes using his Lightning Emperor transformation. He could have reached it in an instant using his Emperor of Light, but, as this would have caused him to crash into the surface of the Moon, he opted for a form that gave him more control. Upon reaching the surface of the Moon, Vahn tried establishing contact with the Moon Cell, an ultimately futile attempt. Fortunately, the massive crater left by Zhqu was still present, allowing him to reach the actual Moon Cell, cing his palm against its surprisingly warm surface before being transported inside. For a brief moment, he had been considering harvesting a bit more photonic crystals, so, perhaps understanding his intentions, the Moon Cell didnt afford him the opportunity... Once he was inside the Photonic Abyss, Vahn eyed his rarely used Command Spells, activating two in order to summon Kintoki and Hou Yi to his side. They didnt have an adequate amount of Loyalty for him to summon them using the Unit Management function, and, considering they were going to be enemies in the future, Vahn decided to keep his actual capabilities a secret. It might not matter in the end, but it was still better to be safe, rather than sorry. Seeing the strangeness of the Photonic Abyss, Kintoki couldnt help but mutter, "Man, this ce is giving me some bad vibes. Whats the deal with the numbers floating in the sky?" Following Kintokis gaze, Vahn and Hou Yi both looked up at the dome-like sky, dominated with a series of ones and zeroes. If you were more observant, however, you could ascertain that these numbers were formed from an exceptionallyplex series of runes. Unfortunately, no matter how fast you moved, reaching them was an impossibility. The Photonic Abyss was a functionally infinite space, so, while they seemed close enough to reach, Vahn knew the futility of trying to get close enough to observe the runes directly. Rather than answer Kintokis question, Vahn said, "Well stop by the Moon Pce first. Change is probably waiting anxiously for Hou Yis arrival. Besides, I dont think youre in too much of a hurry to meet with Raikou and Shuten, correct...?" Hearing Vahns words, Kintoki awkwardly stroked the back of his head, a thug-like grin with wry undertones visible on his face. He wanted to say he wasnt worried, but, knowing both Raikou and Shuten, he couldnt bring himself to lie. With no arguments, Vahn had the Control Program teleport them directly to the Moon Pce. It was the same as he had remembered, but, despite only a few hours passing, a lonely and tense atmosphere had permeated the premises. Feeling Hou Yis emotions spike, Vahn guided them down into therge pavilion with the smallke and the sleeping Jade Rabbit. Thetter opened its eyes upon sensing their presence, but, after a cursory nce at the three intruders, it immediately dozed off. Around the same time, arge clump of its fur sloughed off, turning into a rather adorable rabbit with floppy ears and a small horn on its head, gesturing for them to follow... Though it would undoubtedly be an interesting scene to witness, Vahn didnt feel it was his and Kintokos ce to intervene. Thus, rather than follow along with the rabbit, he handed Hou Yi a [Seal of Binding], exining, "Give this to Change. This will make her into your Master, but, as she wouldnt have any Command Spells, you dont have to worry about her forcing you against your will. I will return to check on you in a few days. I hope everything goes well for the two of you, Hou Yi." After epting the preferred item, Hou Yi stared at it for several seconds, considering whether or not he should just return it. He felt greatly indebted to Vahn, so, while he possessed his pride as a former god, following the former didnt seem to be a disgraceful choice. Unfortunately, before he could make up his mind, Vahn had already vanished from sight, understanding Hou Yis intentions and subsequently ignoring them. Even if Change wouldnt be abatant within the Heroes Faction, Vahn felt her presence would be necessary for the groups survival. She was actually quite powerful, and, though there was little chance they would even be able to speak with her, many people would gather under the banner of Heroes just to catch a glimpse of her beauty. Idtry was one of the primary pirs of support for any cause, so, the more handsome and beautiful the Heroes were, the more inspired their followers would be. Besides, while he had strayed from the path of an archer, Vahn had always wanted to test his skills against Hou Yi. The man himself might have some misgivings about fighting against his Benefactor, but, as someone with a righteous heart and a Lawful*Good alignment, it shouldnt take much to convince him to fight. Soon after this thought crossed his mind, Vahn found himself floating above the small mountain valley that contained the Raikous pavilion and the Yokai District. This time, he couldnt rely on the help of Artoria to get lost, so, rather than head inside, he and Kintoki waited near the crossroads where Shirous small hideout was located. After a few minutes had passed, a pitter-patter of footsteps could be heard, followed by a familiar figure leaping down right in front of them. This was none other than Benienma, but, while she was still wearing her usual feathery outfit,plete with a downy apron, Vahn noticed she also carried an ornate katana with her. Unfortunately, the moment she saw who her guests were, Benienma entered a panic, taking her katana and allowing the fat sparrow-like Yokai nesting in her hat to consume it without a trace... Vahn had wondered about the purpose of the chubby head ornament, but he never expected it to serve as Benienmas storage. This caused many questions to spring up in his mind, but, as he would have plenty of time to discover their secrets in the future, Vahn preempted her greeting by smiling as he said, "Good evening, Proprietress Benienma. Please, guide us to Lady Raikou." Having her greeting interrupted, Benienma froze in ce for a brief moment, her expression fixed in an adorable stupor before she finally snapped to her senses, eximing, "Hai, Tenn-sama! Please, follow closely. Benienma will show the way-dechi!" Hearing Benienmas exmation, Vahn lightly nodded his head, while, at his side, Kintoki gave him a hard look from behind his sses. As Sis had proactively blocked the normal Mental Link, Kintoki had very little information about Vahns identity, other than the fact thetter was the man who had summoned him. Hearing a Yokai refer to him as Tenn-sama, meaning Emperor, came as a small shock. Various thoughts began to race through Kintokis mind, but, before he could organize them into a cohesive structure, a shiver ran through his body as, in the distance, a familiar purple figure could be seen waiting on the path, smiling toward them... While Kintoki was having trouble finding his words, Vahn had a casual smile on his face as he said, "It is good to see you, Shuten. Have youe out to greet us? Im surprised that Ibaraki isnt with you." Though she had been staring toward Kintoki, Shuten turned her attention toward Vahn when he addressed her, a somewhatscivious smile spreading across her lips as she mused, "Ibaraki is a bit tied up at the moment. As for why I came out...well, let us pretend I just wanted to enjoy the moonlight. Its a shame, though, as the night air is quite cold...perhaps Tenn-sama would like to warm my body~?" Since Shuten was wearing the same outfit from before, consisting of an unbound purple kimono that left her bodypletely exposed, it wasnt difficult to imagine she would get cold, at least if she were a normal person. Instead, her slightly ruddy cheeks and the thinyer of sweat coating her fair skin gave off the impression of a heated drunk, rather than someone trying to escape the cool evening air... Kintoki, upon hearing Shutens words, lightly snorted through his nose, earning the attention of the mischievous Oni. However, instead of addressing him, she tried to approach Vahn, arge red saucer of sake appearing in her hands as she said, "I promised to allow you a taste of my wakame sake. Is Tenn-sama too busy to refuse the invitation of a lonely maiden~? You can leave that boy to Benienma-chan. I know a pleasant ce where we can enjoy the moonlight together~." Vahn knew Shuten was just trying to make Kintoki jealous, but, knowing things never worked out between them, almost as if they were fated never to be together, he didnt immediately refuse her offer. He also knew Raikou wouldnt be able to think clearly after reuniting with Kintoki, so, with a few hours to spare, he answered, "I dont mind apanying you for a short while. Im afraid Ill have to refuse your wakame sake, however. While it is certainly a tempting offer, Im not ready to ept that kind of responsibility...hahaha~." Though she had intended to be a little insistent, Shuten hadnt expected Vahn to actually agree to her invitation. This caused a small amount of conflict in her heart, but, due to the nature of Yokai, it was impossible for her to retract her invitation. Instead, herscivious smile became prominent as she strung her arm around Vahns, leaning her soft body against his as she mused, "It would seem I have the devils luck this evening. Well then, shall we go, Tenn-sama~?" Without answering Shutens words directly, Vahn gave a small wave to Benienma before tossing a [Seal of Binding] to Kintoki. He gave the small stamp-like seal a nce before turning his attention back to the retreating figures of Vahn and Shuten. Then, after Benienma insisted he follow along, he gave a small nod before turning his back, hands in his pockets as the light from the false Moon above reflected off his sunsses... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Even Vahn has Idols o3o...,Hou Yi is a good man,Some paths, despite intersecting at many points, are ultimately fated to diverge...) (A/N: For those confused by Vahns behavior, well, it is actually pretty straightforward. He knows what kind of being Shuten is, so, while it may seem cruel to Kintoki, only tragedy awaits them if he tried to support their rtionship. Kintoki doesnt have the ability to rein in Shuten, so, eventually, her nature would bring great harm to both of them. As for Raikou, she is a little unhinged, treating Kintoki as both a son and a potential lover. She is an Omega-ss Yandere, so, even if it was only the result of her nature, Shutens attempts to seduce Kintoki would eventually cause them to fight to the death...it is veryplicated.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1463 - Insurmountable

Chapter 1463 - Insurmountable

Though he already knew the concepts of Space and Time could be freely manipted, there was no better example of this than the Yokai District. While allowing Shuten to lead the way, Vahn was able to perceive Space contracting and distorting around them. As a result, they ended up tens of kilometers away from their starting location, finding themselves at a traditional Japanese vi that was located deep in the mountains. It was hard to imagine Shuten running through the streets in the same way as Benienma, so Vahn had been wondering how she was able to quickly intercept them. Now, he understood that she had, quite literally, just decided to take a walk. She likely had even more influence over the Yokai District than Raikou, so, by simply choosing her destination, it was almost as if the world around them contorted itself to make her passage easier... Seeing the curious look on Vahns face, Shuten just giggled seductively before pressing her body into his right arm, asking, "I wonder, are you the type that is more interested in the journey, rather than the destination? Youre alone in the mountains with a beautiful woman on a moonlit night. I believe there are better ways to spend our time, no~?" As Shuten spoke, Vahn could smell a potent aroma of fruit, flowers, and alcohol. It attempted to invade every opening of his body, even seeping into his pores. Though Shutens actions could qualify as an attack, Vahn just smiled in amusement as he allowed the invisible energy to invade his body. Much like he allowed Semiramis to try and poison him, a habit she had gotten over in recent days, Vahn didnt mind Shutens attempts to get him drunk. It was as much a part of her nature as the desire to breathe for most terrestrial life, meaning she had very little control over the unique pheromone-based ability. Seeing Vahns calm, smiling, expression, Shuten knew her [Alcoholic Scent of a Fruit] was unable to affect him. This was generally only possible if the other party was an ascetic monk, protected from her influence by a type of divine protection derived from abstinence and temperance. She could smell a strong aroma of women lingering around Vahns body, so, while the possibility of him being some kind of monk wasnt zero, Shuten wouldnt have believed anyone if they told her he was abstinent. More affected by her own ability than Vahn was, Shutensplexion had turned ruddier, her blush tainted with a slight purple hue. She also felt emboldened by the fact Vahn hadnt reacted negatively to the activation of her ability, allowing her to attempt slipping his hand between her thighs as she stared up at him with a seductive smile. Vahn preempted Shutens attempts to escte the situation too quickly by allowing his fingers to trace her abdomen. At the same time, he activated his [Hands of Nirvana] to their limit, doing his best to map her body during the brief contact, targeting various nerve clusters in the process. To Shuten, this felt simr to a small electrical shock, but, rather than tense up, her tensions began to rx as a tantalizing heat spread from the tips of his fingers, coursing through her body... As could be expected, Shuten abandoned her intentions to sneakily ce Vahns hand between her thighs, breathing heatedly as he gently stroked her abdomen. This caused a pink cloud of vapor to escape her lips, spreading an even more powerful aroma than before through the area. This time, her ability affected more than just Vahn, extending into the surroundings, rotting quite a number of sakura trees in an instant... Seeing this phenomenon, Vahn reaffirmed his decision to keep Shuten isted within Avalons future Yokai District, as, without at least A-Rank Magic or Poison Resistance, even Heroic Spirits would be brought low by her passive Skills. He could understand why she was considered one of Japans Three Great Monsters, considered the least destructive, but most dangerous, of the three. Ignoring the intoxicating miasma that had started to seep from the surroundings, Vahn picked up Shutens petite figure, startling her slightly and eliciting a seductive giggle from her purple-hued lips as she mused, "Tenn-sama is quite bold~." Following her musings, Shuten began to lightly rub her horns against Vahns body, surprisingly him by how paradoxically soft, yet hard, they felt. He could even feel their heat through the fabric of his clothes, a stark contrast to how uncharacteristically cool Shutens body felt in his arms... After making his way inside the nearby vi, the only ce that appeared unaffected by Shutens aura, Vahn carried her to the central chamber. This was a small room with various different types of sake containers adorning the surroundings, an impartial chaise lounge, and a single low-lying table. The floors were covered in tatami mats, making themfortable to walk on, while, near one of the corners, a rather disorderly futon could be seen... Vahn could smell a scent other than Shutens but, from the moment he entered the chamber, his ability to map his surroundings became highly restricted. There was even an effect that caused the flow of time to stagnate by a factor of ten, bringing a smile to Vahns face as this actually made it easier for him. Avalon flowed at a rate of 7:1, so, with Shutens chamber flowing at 10:1, he was freed from his mental burden of trying to pilot two bodies with drastically different flows of time. Though Shuten half-expected Vahn to carry her over to the futon, she wasnt surprised when he set her down gently atop the cushions surrounding the ornate wooden table. She knew her Skill had no effect on him, so, unless he had suddenly been captivated by her charms, dragging him to the bed would be difficult. Shuten felt this was a bit of a shame, really, as his draconic aura had an even more potent effect on her body than her most powerful sake... Seeing Vahn sit across from her, rather than at her side, Shuten adopted a yful pout, muttering, "Tenn-sama really knows how to toy with a maidens heart." while puffing out her cheeks. Chuckling in response to Shutens remark, Vahn pulled out a sake set from thin air, setting it out on the table as he exined, "Your charms arent wasted on me, but your appearance and nature are problematic. If I had any confidence that you wouldnt try something, I wouldnt mind drinking at your side. For now, how about we get straight to the point of this little rendezvous...?" Hearing Vahns words, Shutens drunken expression seemed to melt away, reced by a slightly more serious, yet equally seductive, look. Then, as if she was unaware of the meaning behind his words, Shuten took the bottle of sake from the table, removing the cork with a single deft motion before tilting the container to its side. This caused the crystal clear liquid to fill the space between her closed thighs, creating a small pool as the ck bands around her lower body dissolved away into tiny ck particles. Rolling his eyes in response to Shutens antics, Vahn made a small gesture with his index finger, manipting the spilled sake to climb up her body while saying, "We both know that isnt the reason I came here." Just as the sake was about to snake up Shutens neck and enter her mouth, Vahn manipted it to create a small bubble, pulling it away from her body before heating the interior to evaporate it in an instant. He also pushed the table forward slightly, ensuring that Shutens naked lower body was kept hidden away, all while maintaining eye contact with the unamused Oni. To Shuten, the idea of wasting sake was intolerable, to the point she had readily drank poisoned wine during her previous life. Thus,pared to before, she was even more serious as she asked, "Oh, I wonder what Tenn-sama had in mind? I only wanted thepany of a capable man to keep my body warm. You epted my offer, yet, here I am, sitting alone as the cold evening air prates deeply into my bones..." In response to Shutens words, Vahn caused the temperature in the surroundings to rapidly heat up, exceeding the temperature of a sauna as he brought out another container of sake and said, "I wish to challenge you to a drinking contest. As my victory is assured, I will allow you to set the terms of our wager. What say you, Shuten-douji...?" If she was pretending before, Shuten was nowpletely serious, the aura surrounding her body bing solemn as she stared back at Vahn with glimmering purple eyes. Then, with a wave of her hand, one of the sake containers from the surroundings floated over, its sizerge enough to be cradled in a persons arms. At the same time, she pulled out three differently sized saucers, thergest being 15m in diameter. Once her preparations were made, Shuten filled all three cups, exining, "Well see how far your confidence can take you. These saucers are enchanted, their effects varying based on the quality of the sake poured within. We will take turns providing the sake and choosing which container we will drink from. As for the stakes...well, I have promised to serve the man who can oust me in a drinking contest. If you win, I will give you my everything. If I win, you will stay here for ten years, satisfying my every desire. It is possible to reduce the time of your service, but, based on Tenn-samas confidence, I see no reason to discuss the specifics~." Knowing Shuten would simply request his bones as a keepsake, Vahn opted to ignore Shutens goading, smiling as he picked up the smaller of the three saucers. His ability to read the Flow of Fate allowed him to choose the least dangerous cup, but, in order topletely defeat Shuten, he had no qualms about choosing the most dangerous. As a result, he took nearly twentyrge gulps from the deceptively small container, emptying the entire saucer before showing her the interior. Shuten had a smile on her face when Vahn picked the smaller saucer, but, seeing how easily he downed nearly two gallons of sake, she stopped underestimating him. Her pride, however, didnt allow her to take the easy way out, so, instead of choosing the medium-sided saucer, the safest option, she selected thergest, emptying the boiling contents into her stomach before releasing a steamy, pink-hued, sigh. As their contest continued, Vahn knew Shutens powers would only be stronger. While she would eventually get drunk, her tolerance increased exponentially with the passage of time. If he allowed her the time to adapt, it was possible they would spend several days drinking before he was able to win. Thus, while his victory was already assured, Vahn wanted to eliminate any doubt in Shutens mind that she could win against him. Since the sake in the middle container had magically evaporated, Vahn quickly filled the three cups, this time allowing Shuten to choose first. This caused her eyes to widen slightly, as, due to the quality of Vahns sake, all three cups were exceptionally dangerous, at least for her. It wasnt for naught that the sake in his hands was known as [Oni Killer], its effects several times stronger against to notoriously affluent alcoholics. Seeing the amused smile on Vahns face, Shuten squinted her eyes slightly, her smile curling up at the edges as she unhesitantly picked the most dangerous option. The results of the contest didnt actually matter to her, so, rather than let high-quality sake go to waste, she made the most of the moment, her body trembling as the powerful alcohol spread through her system. Even before Shuten had finished her cup, Vahn picked up the second-most dangerous option, ignoring the fact it contained a poison strong enough to kill a whale as he downed it all in one go. By the time they had both finished their portions, Shuten had a blush extending to her neck while, due to his unique constitution, Vahn was entirely unaffected by both the alcohol and poison. Shuten was beginning to realize Vahn wasnt full of false bravado, but, to put him to the test, she gestured to the side, pulling a small crimson container toward them. The contents, once poured, had a simr appearance to fresh blood, but, in spite of this, Vahn unhesitantly selected the most dangerous option, proving to Shuten he either knew the secret to the saucers or had terrible luck when it came to random selection... While watching Vahn down the contents of his saucer, Shuten smiled slyly as she exined, "This is a type of sake known as [Virgins Cry]. Against a maiden, it is able to make them feel as though their entire body is being ravished by a horde of virile demons. As for men...well, I dont believe I have to tell you what kind of effect it has~?" Though his body filtered out the effect almost instantly, Vahn still felt a slight pain in his lower body, almost as if his penis was going to melt away. This made him feel slightly nauseous, but, by the time he set the cup back on the table, hisplexion hadpletely recovered. This caused Shuten to issue a light chuckle as she picked up her own ss, eyeing the bloody contents within before ultimately throwing back her head and downing the entire saucer. True to her words, Shuten felt like her body was being ravished, causing her to copse onto the ground, pained moans escaping her lips as she writhed about for several minutes. These quickly turned into sonorous sounds of pleasure, but, due to the soundproofing barrier he had erected, Vahn was freed from having to hear Shutens cries as he did his best to ignore the immoral sight. Though this was ultimately futile, as he was perfectly able to sense it within his mind, Vahn still did his best to avoid looking directly, filling the cups on the table before patiently waiting for her to recover... While a normal human woman would be broken after a single sip, causing them to hallucinate for several days before ultimately falling into aa, Shuten recovered after only a few minutes had passed. Then, with a drunken and noticeably content look on her face, she giggled mischievously before picking up her cup and toasting the air. Shuten knew Vahn wasnt pulling his punches, but, in spite of this, she fearlessly devoured the contents of her cup before releasing a hot sigh that was tinged with a girlish squeal. Then, with a silly smile on her face, her body copsed like a marite, her head nearly mming into the table as she immediately lost consciousness. Fortunately, while it wouldnt have mattered, either way, Vahn had seen thising, so, rather than let her bump her head, he supported her with his telekinesis while downing the contents of his own cup. After seeing how far Shuten was willing to go, Vahn decided to wrap things up by using the same sake he had gifted to her during the previous banquet, [Inaris Grace]. As a result, Shuten entered into a giggling fit, interrupted only by the periodic hup as her body radiated a startling amount of heat. Each of her breaths caused a palpable aroma of fruit to spread through the area, causing even Vahns to feel warm as he rose to his feet, picking up Shutens delicate body andying her to rest in the nearby futon. With Shuten out ofmission, Vahn cleaned up the sake set, stowing the remaining alcohol in his Inventory before leaving the room. He was unable to navigate the area using his senses, but, with his ability to ready the Flow of Fate, finding his way was a rtively simple matter. As a result, he quickly found his way to a much smaller room than Shutens, opening it to find a blindfolded, bound, and gagged Ibaraki, tied in the shibari fashion with a deep flush covering her entire body. Seeing Ibarakis dangerously youthful figure bound in such a way, Vahn couldnt help but release a small sigh as he made his way to her side. Then, taking advantage of the fact she was drunk off of Shutens aura, he untied her body, fixing her loose kimono before carrying her to the formers room and allowing them to rest in the same futon. Based on the fact Ibarakis mellow aroma had been present in the room, it wasnt hard to imagine that they usually slept in the same bed. Thus, in order to pacify both Oni, Vahn let them keep each otherpany before taking a seat out on the veranda, enjoying the perpetual full Moon and the lingering aroma of fruit as he sipped high-quality sake in silence... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Shutens persistence,The Pride of an Alcoholic, Vahn aint got time for lollygagging) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1464 - Insufferable

Chapter 1464 - Insufferable

As even a sip of [Inaris Grace] was enough to make Shuten intoxicated, it took several hours for her to recover from her drunken stupor. When she awoke, she found Ibaraki clinging to her with a happy expression on her face, arge volume drool leaking from her mouth. This wasnt that umon, but, considering the circumstances, her expression turned into a deadpan as she silently cursed, "I didnt think that man was such a coward...haaaa..." If he had heard Shutens remark, Vahn would have had a simr expression on his face. Instead, her words awoke Ibaraki, who, due to her poor sleeping habits, had nearly slipped out of her kimono. She slovenly scratched her exposed stomach, sleep clouding her judgment as she saw Shutens serious expression and asked, "Shuten, what is the matter...ei?" Hearing Ibarakis question, Shutens expression defaulted to a mischievous smile as she mused, "Ara? You were so vigorousst night...did you truly forget everything~?" The moment her brain processed Shutens words, Ibarakis expression became froze into a look of abject shock. Various thoughts began running through her mind, causing her face to turn a deep shape of red as she began to mutter, "Awawawawawa...?" Seeing Ibarakis reaction, Shuten couldnt help but giggle as she ran her finger along the yellow-haired Onis exposed abdomen, sending a shiver through the former and causing illusory steam to rise from her head. Then, overwhelmed by the steamy thoughts clouding her mind, Ibarakis brain shut down, causing her to faint as a silent awawa continued to escape her lips. Teasing Ibaraki was one of her guilty pleasures, but, with other matters to attend, Shuten ignored her surprisingly innocentpanion, snaking her way out of the room. It didnt take her long to find Vahn sitting on the veranda, his yukata exposing part of his chest as he leaned against a pir, casually drinking a fragrant, steamy, sake. When he saw her appear, he only offered a slight smile in response before adjusting his position, lightly tapping the spot next to him. Never one to refuse such invitations, Shuten giggled mischievously before making her way over and taking a seat next to him. She had left her kimono back in her bedroom, so, other than ck bands covering a very small part of her body, she was basically naked. Even this didnt seem to elicit a reaction from Vahn, however, causing her to wonder if he simply didnt find her charming. Before Shuten could ask, Vahn preempted her, exining in a calm tone, "There are a number of women at my side with featuresparable to yours, including the mother of two of my children. Do not concern yourself over such meaningless things as appearance and preferences. The most important thing, at least in my opinion, is that your desires are sincere, not selfish..." Though he still intended to try and arrange a partner for Shuten, Vahn knew she would be able to see through him if he tried to be roundabout. Thus, he spoke a partial truth without going into the finer details, punctuating his statement by offering her a small cup of sake. It was weakpared to anything they had used during the drinking contest, but, as it was a product of the Dryads that called Avalon home, Vahn was partial to the sweet, mana rich, taste. Since she didnt detect any falsehoods in Vahns words, Shuten graciously epted the cup of sake before leaning against his shoulder and asking, "What is her name? How many women do you have at your side...?" While he had no need to answer such a personal question, Vahn stared at the contents of his own cup for several seconds before answering, "It is hard to say, really. This is not my original world. In my travels, I have met many amazing women, siring various children between them. Even now, Im certain that my actual harem isrger than the number of women I sleep with...it is aplicated matter, to be sure...as for the woman youre curious about, her name is Circe..." Shuten wasnt actually surprised by Vahns words, as, even though it was undetectable through normal means, she could smell dozens of scents intermingling with his own. This included the familiar aroma of Tamamo, leaving a slightly bitter aftertaste in her mouth as she didnt get along well with Amaterasus Bunrei. Now that she had staked a im to Vahn before her, Shuten found her fondness for the vulpine woman decreasing rapidly... Rather than waste her time thinking about others, Shuten just giggled in response to Vahns words, musing, "Im envious. I wonder, Tenn-sama, what does it mean to be sincere when you surround yourself with so many women? Is it so wrong to simply desire a physical connection?" Hearing Shutens question, Vahn took a sip of his sake, organizing his thoughts before releasing a hot sigh and answering, "Honestly, I cant really answer that question. Im nearing 160 years old, yet, despite being involved with actual Goddesses of Love, I cant confidently im to understand itsplexities. All I know is, I would do anything for those girls, even letting them go if that was their true desire..." Though he would fight tooth and nail to keep them, Vahn would never force any of his women to stay at his side. It might cause him some pain, but, unless they had betrayed him, he would always do his best for their happiness. This was his responsibility after selfishly injecting himself into their lives, reshaping, for some, what it means to be happy... Sensing the conviction in Vahns words, Shuten found herself staring reflectively into her own drink, emting the formers actions from moments prior. Truthfully, she didnt understand his words, but, with one of her parents being an unfeeling Dragon God and the other being a vile and crazed Witch, this wasnt entirely her fault. She had lived true to her desires from the moment she had be self-aware, never regretting her actions even as her head was severed from her body... As this thought crossed her mind, Shuten absentmindedly stroked her neck, a reminiscent smile on her face. Then, out of curiosity, she asked, "Does Tenn-sama possess the ability to see into the future~?" While it wasnt an incorrect way to view things, Vahn knew his ability didnt match what Shuten was thinking. Thus, after filling his cup again, he answered, "I can see the various paths towards the future, not the future itself. Every action, no matter how big or small, has a subtle effect on the Flow of Fate...I see things as a series of currents, some intersecting, others fusing together. It isnt easy to exin exactly what I see, but calling it the ability to see the future isnt urate...it would be more urate to say I see possibilities...endless, never-ending, paths..." Hearing the profundity contained within Vahns words, Shuten couldnt help but issue a sonorousugh, her voice echoing through the surroundings. Then, with an amused smile on her face, she lightly poked Vahns chest with her finger, musing, "Such a powerful yet unfortunate ability...I do not think I would be able to live happily with such a burden on my shoulders... Tenn-sama is an even greater man than I thought~." After rolling his eyes in response to Shutens teasing, Vahn grabbed her hand, preventing it from snaking between his thighs. This caused the unrepentant temptress to snicker before finishing the contents of her cup and asking, "I wonder, what intentions does Tenn-sama have for? Now that I am your possession, I can only hope you have properly considered my uses. Given that power of yours, perhaps you have even decided my fate~? How overbearing, ufufufu~." Understanding what Shuten was insinuating, Vahn turned to stare directly at her as he stated, "If I had already decided your fate, I wouldnt havee here like this. You are free to make decisions on your own. So long as your actions do not bring harm or interfere in the happiness of others, I will do my best to make sure you, and all Yokai, are able to live peaceful lives. Defeating you in a drinking contest was just to make sure you would properly consider my words, rather than discard them the moment something catches your interest..." Sensing the shift in Vahns aura, Shuten realized she had offended him with her previous words. In spite of this, her smile only became more pronounced, giggling mischievously as she leaned her head against his shoulder. She found his thoughtfulness amusing, and, though it was more than a little overbearing, it didnt really bother her. Rather, even if he became possessive and wanted to treat her as an object, she wouldnt really mind it... As this thought crossed her mind, Shuten tried to extend her ivory fingers towards Vahns waist, earning a light p on the wrist in response. This only incited her onwards, however, causing her to giggle, once again, before musing, "Im certain Tenn-sama has some kind of n. Unless it is something truly unexpected, however, you wont be able to stop me from pursuing you. Even if you were to exile me from the Empire and forbid me from entering, I would continue yearning for you until you took pity on me. I wonder, will a thousand years of painful abstinence be enough to show my sincerity~?" Following Shutens statement, Vahn could feel the Flow of Fate around her converge into a muchrger stream. Though it still deviated at many points, his prior words seemed to have awakened her interest in a dangerous way. This was one of the downsides to being able to see the Flow of Fate, as, unless he used it to measure all of his decisions in real-time, never thinking on his own, it left him susceptible to surprises like this. As she could read his thoughts as they formed, Sis couldnt help but sigh within Vahns mind, her voice possessing an usatory tone as she said, (*You are bing more careless after hearing Artorias words. Youre on the verge of repeating the same mistakes as before, allowing yourself to be swayed by the moment rather than taking hold of it...*) Not expecting Sis sudden reproach, Vahn broke eye contact with Shuten, causing even greater misunderstandings as he mentally retorted, ("What am I supposed to do? Should I try to shut her downpletely? I dont think shes joking about waiting for a thousand years...I might be here that long, but it will be troublesometer, wont it...?") While waiting for Sis response, Vahn lightly swat away Shutens hand again, eliciting a giggle that was slowly starting to grate on his nerves. As for Sis response, she inly stated, (*You have said it yourself, many times, in fact. You arent responsible for the happiness of everyone, only making sure they have the chance to be happy. If she wants to hole herself away for a thousand years, that is her own prerogative. That just gives you more time to arrange things so that she will be happy for ten-thousand years after that. Dont let her words pressure you, as it only incites her further...!*) True to Sis words, Shuten was bing emboldened by Vahns reactions, her eyes glimmering with amusement as she decided on a less direct method. Instead of trying to sneakily cop a feel, she began snaking her hand down her own body, asking in a sultry tone, "Did you enjoy watching me drink the [Virgins Cry]? The men that ravished my body looked a lot like you, Tenn-sama~." As her fingers approached the paper-thin ck bands covering her lower body, the fabric began to rapidly peel away. Since her outfit left little to the imagination, however, this didnt have much of an impact beyond causing the fruity aroma in the air to be more potent. As for Vahn, he just gave her a deadpan stare before surprising her as he extended his hand toward her chest... Shutens heart began to beat a little faster, but, as soon as Vahns fingers contacted her soft flesh, a startling jolt of electricity passed through her body. This wasnt the same stimting energy that she had felt before, however, but an unfiltered shock that ran through what constituted a Yokais version of the central nervous system. As a result, she released a simr wawawa sound as the unconscious Ibaraki, her toes curling before she copsed against the cold wooden floor... Understanding Shutens body converted even physical pain to pleasure, Vahn wasnt too worried about causing her any actual harm. His attack would just leave her stunned for a bit, allowing him to rise to his feet, saying, "Forcing people to acquiesce by doing outrageous things isnt sincerity. Trying to earn my pity in such a way will not end the way you expect. In those thousand years you keep locked away, I will undoubtedly meet hundreds of women, siring thousands of children, all while living a fulfilling life. If you are serious about pursuing me, consider all of my previous words and think about their actual meaning." Without waiting for Shutens response, Vahn tossed a warm nket over her body before slowly rising into the sky. Momentster, his figure hadpletely disappeared, his next destination the location of the Heroes Faction. A few hours had passed since he entrusted Shirou with gathering them, so, after using his ability to read the Flow of Fate, confirming that they had mostly gathered, Vahn decided it was time to wrap things up... --- Back on the veranda where Vahn had left her, Shuten stared toward the sky, continuing toy on the hardwood floor even after her faculties had recovered. She noticed he had left her a parting gift of sake, likely as an apology of sorts, but, rather than sample its contents, she took his words to heart, considering their deeper meaning. This ultimately didnt amount to much, however, so, deciding it was something she could figure out after establishing the Yokai District on Avalon, she rolled over to where Vahn had been seated, curling up around the still-warm spot andforting herself beneath the nket he had given her... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Teasing the banana~,TFW the entity that shares your thoughts is tired of your shit xD...,Shuten is really helpless...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1465 - Valor

Chapter 1465 - Valor

Finding himself floating above a coliseum-like structure, surrounded by the statues of various Greek Gods, Vahn had a slight frown on his face. His parting with Shuten had soured his mood a bit, so, to see several 10m tall statues, each depicting nearly-naked Gods, he couldnt help but release a tired sigh. To make matters even worse, there was a 15m tall statue of Ares, depicted holding the head of a defeated enemy as if it were a trophy... As many of the Olympian Gods were fated to be his future enemies, Vahn had a slightpulsion to kill anyone that was truly loyal to them. He knew this territory couldnt belong to Caenis, as she held a considerable amount of hatred towards the Gods, so it could only belong to the scarlet-haired young woman, who, at that present moment, was battling against Shirou in the middle of the arena... Based on appearances, the young woman seemed to be around sixteen-to-eighteen years old. She possessed a lithe, athletic, figure that was easily discernible through her thin clothing,prised of tanned leather and white cloth. What stood out the most, however, was her scarlet red hair, tied in a bun simr to Artorias, and the zing red sash she wore around her hips. It gracefully followed her every movement, and, while it annoyed him slightly, Vahn felt herbat style was a fusion between Tionas and Tiones... Despite her rather petite frame, standing at only 159cm in height, the scarlet-haired womans blows carried enough force to shatter the hard floor of the coliseum, appearing much like small explosions. As for her movements, theybined animalistic intensity with the grace of a prima ballerina, letting her transition between offense to defense seamlessly. It was actually a sight to behold, not because Shirou was in a half-beaten state, but due to the untapped potential that radiated from every fiber of the womans body... As he had been proactively training people since the death of Scthach, Vahn had developed the habit of observing his students movements and determining how they could improve. As he had an almost wless understanding of the human body,bined with a unique sensitivity to all forms of energy, he had be adept at giving proper advice. Thus, while watching the woman beat Shirou until he was sent crashing into the far wall, Vahn couldnt help but internally remark, ("Despite being a Heroic Spirit, that woman seems to have a lot of untapped potential...how curious...") Privy to his musings, Sis heard Vahns words, leading her to remark, (*Is this the birth of a new bad habit? Are you going to start training your enemies to defeat you now...?*) Though it wasnt enough to make him fluster, Vahn felt slightly embarrassed hearing Sis words. He med the womans youthful appearance, making her appear simr in age to Mordred and Mash. In truth, he was thinking about making her a rival for them, not grooming her to be another one of his rather earnest disciples. He knew Sis was aware of this, but, perhaps as a result of him getting cornered by Shuten, she seemed to be in a bad mood. Knowing what he was thinking, Sis sigh could be heard in the back of Vahns mind, followed by her saying, (*Im not in a bad mood, Im just worried about you. I dont want to see you doing anything that will lead to future stress. There are very few enemies that can threaten you in this Record, so Im afraid you will becent and start acting as entric as your past self...*) Vahn knew Sis was referring to how he behaved towards the end of his time in Danmachi, back when he felt as if nothing could stop his meteoric rise. This left him feeling exposed and vulnerable when he encountered an enemy that could actually threaten him, causing him to panic and, ultimately, flee from his world. It was one of the greatest shames he had ever experienced, an incident derived from his naivete; his singr, true, regret. Though his mood had decreased a fair amount, Vahn felt sobered by Sis reminder, nodding his head in understanding before timing his entrance to match the collision in the arena... With his mastery of [Shundo] and a deep understanding of Space Laws, Vahn was able to appear in between Shirou and the unnamed woman in an instant. Then, before either of them could react, he extended his hands toward them, repulsing them by spreading his aura outward explosively. To their credit, both Heroes were able to keep their footing, avoiding an embarrassing oue and earning an approving nod from Vahn. Having yet to meet Vahn, the scarlet-haired woman didnt hesitate tounch herself toward him, releasing a sonorous battle cry as the sash around her body began releasing a divine light. This was enough to get Vahns attention, but, without having to intercept her attack, Musashis figure blurred into existence, deflecting the explosive blow with her sheath as she shouted, "Stand down! This man is the Sage Dragon Emperor! Youre not his opponent...!" Vahn was slightly amused by the fact that Musashi hade to his aid, but, unlike how he normally presented himself, he had a serious expression on his face. Sis words were still fresh on his mind, so, while he was tempted to mess around a bit, he realized this wasnt exactly the situation to do so. He was supposed to be enemies with these people, and, though there was no hatred between them, it wasnt proper to mess around inside of enemy territory. Hearing Musashis words, the scarlet-haired actually seemed more excited, a smile spreading across her face as she eximed, "Good! I wanted to see how strong this so-called Emperor was for myself! Stand out of the way, Musashi! Let me test his mettle for myself...!" Rather than stand aside, Musashi ced her hand on the hilt of her katana, a serious look on her face as she said, "I wont let you endanger our entire group for your own selfishness. If you want to issue a formal challenge, that is one thing. If youre going to suddenly attack when were supposed to be negotiating, youll be forcing my hand..." Though there was a vast difference in their individual skill, the scarlet-haired woman, known as the Queen of Amazons, Hippolyta, was undaunted. She had been looking forward to a rematch since thest time Musashi defeated her, and, while this wasnt exactly the best opportunity, such things didnt matter to a true warrior. Before Musashi and the unnamed woman could begin their brawl, Vahn interrupted, saying in a calm tone, "Move aside, Musashi. If she wants to fight me, I will ept her challenge." Since the woman was unarmed, Vahn adopted a loose stance, his hands forming a shape simr to ws as an almost imperceptible aura of a white tiger appeared around him. This caused the smile on the womans face to fade in an instant, her expression bing serious as she said, "Move aside. If I dont get a chance to see his skills for myself, I see no reason to follow the guidelines he has set for us..." With Vahn already epting Hippolytas challenge, Musashi could only release a tired sigh before looking toward Shirou and seeing a simrly exasperated expression on his face. As for the rest of theirpanions, they had mixed reactions upon seeing Vahns sudden arrival, but, as few people were against watching a good fight, they couldnt help but feel slightly expectant. This included a trio of children, two possessing the characteristic features of Betty while the other, the oldest, had an aura that even made Vahn feel slightly threatened. Knowing he would learn their actual identities in a rtively short period of time, Vahn lowered his sense of gravity in preparation for theing battle. He intended to match the woman in speed and power, escting only when she became frustrated and began using shier skills. This was a way to test his own skills, and, though he didnt have any intention to actually train her, it also allowed him to test the depths of the young womans potential... The moment Musashi and Shirou exited the field, the scarlet-haired beauty pointed towards herself with her thumb, announcing, "I am Hippolyta, daughter of Ares, Queen of the Amazons. Show me the power that has brought this world to ruin. If you are foundcking, do not me me for striking you down in the name of justice...!" Hearing Hippolytas words, Vahns brows slightly furrowed as he repressed the urge toment how foolish it was to say such a thing prior to a battle. If he were to use her same logic, it gave him the right to decide her life and death based on whether or not he found hercking. While he was aware of the customs centered around Hippolytas culture, he still had a slight urge to reprimand her for such a foolish remark... Following her righteous spiel, Hippolytas sash began to glow with Divine Light, spreading to her legs in an instant. This allowed her to kick off the ground with speed greatly exceeding the A-Rank, causing an eruption of dust and debris that only appeared after she had reached his side, her small feet packing a phenomenal amount of power as she attempted to kick him in the head. For a brief moment, Vahn had shbacks to his first fight against Tiona, but, as he had grown a lot since then, his body moved even without him willing it to do so. He was easily able to catch her by the ankle, surprisingly her slightly, but, before her brows could even raise fully, he had already spun, throwing her with meteoric force towards wall furthest from the spectators. Her 50kg body smashed into the wall with enough force to break through itpletely, causing the stands above to copse as several tons of stone and debris rained down upon her from above. As he had mainly just diverted her force away from him, Vahn was a little surprised by just how much damage Hippolytas attack had done. Though he had felt a spike of Divine Energy at the moment of her attack, the overall output was far higher than expectations. It was fortunate he had diverted her attack to the far side of the arena, preventing a case of friendly fire due to the hot-headed Amazon Queens inability to properly control the Strength and Destructive Laws coursing through her body... Without waiting for Hippolyta to recover, Vahn took in an unnaturally long breath, that, despite its length, waspleted within a millisecond. Then, after sliding forward in a graceful arc that brought him close to the ground, a phantasmal white tiger formed around his body,unching forward with its jaws open when he brought his palms together, emting a set of jaws. This attack moved slow enough that even the children in the stands could perceive it, but, in spite of this, it smashed into the area concealing Hippolyta in less time than it would take to blink... Though Vahns attack was significantly shier, it actually contained a simr amount of destructive potential as Hippolytas. He was serious about matching her power, so, while the shockwave created by his strike seemed to tear through nearly a quarter of the coliseum, this wasrgely due to the fact its structure had beenpromised by Hippolytas explosion... Now that it was Hippolytas turn, Vahn adopted a defensive pose once again, his expression as calm and serene as a cidke. Even when arge boulder came crashing towards him, weighing several hundred kilograms, he simply extended his hand, pointing it like a de. This caused the boulder to split in two the moment it entered within ten meters of his body, sliced apart by solidified Space and crashing harmlessly at his side. From behind the boulder, Hippolytas slightly bloodied figure could be seen, a valiant expression on her face as she released a loud Ha! while trying to break through his defense with an ax-kick. What she didnt expect was for her heel to strike against solidified Space. This allowed Vahn to exploit the gap in her defenses, exhaling a cloud of vapor as his slowly pushed upward. The moment Vahnpleted his motion, Hippolyta felt as if a mountain had mmed into her from the direction of the ground. Her body wasunched skyward, her kicking leg forcibly hyperextended to the point of nearly snapping as the force of her own kick was leveraged against her. Though Vahn could no longer transform into his previous four forms, the power they granted had, in a way, always been his. So long as he partially transformed into his Hunglng form, he could freely use the powers of Bih, Xunw, Zhqu, and Qnglng. This allowed him an exponential increase in all of his capabilities, pushing him well beyond the threshold used by the Root System to quantify Parameters. The only thing that hadnt broken through the limit was his Luck, but, considering the kind of life he lived, Vahn didnt really mind it all that much... Despite one of her legs being made useless, Hippolyta managed tond nimbly on a single foot. It looked like she could easily continue the battle, but, instead of charging a third time, she asked in a not-so-polite tone of voice, "Are you looking down on me!? You could have easily struck me while I was in the air. If youre not going to take this seriously, I will personally vow to hunt you down, never stopping until one of us is dead...!" Vahn was tempted to roll his eyes in response to Hippolytas words, but, when it came to her type, he knew she was very serious about her ims. Thus, rather than dignify her outburst with a verbal response, golden light erupted from his body, momentarily blinding the spectators. This also caused Hippolyta to jump to the side, but, at nearly the exact same moment that her feet left the ground, an invible power closed around her neck, stopping her evasive maneuver in an instant. Hippolyta felt her airway closed off in an instant, but, even if this hadnt been the case, drawing even a single breath would have been impossible. She felt a wave of heat and pressure spread through her body, forcing all of her muscles to contract and lock. Thest sound to escape her lips was a half-croaking groan, almost like a frog that had been stepped upon by a careless hunter. Then, just as her brain began to process the pain she was experiencing, shepletely cked out, her body going limp in Vahns resplendent golden ws... After removing his palm from Hippolytas abdomen, Vahn set the proud warrior on the ground, his expression still a mask of calm as he looked toward Musashi and said, "She will be out for an hour or so. If your side has anyone capable of healing, they should take a look at her leg. I can treat it, but I doubt she would be very happy once she woke up." Despite Vahns casual tone, his partial-transformation made his voice significantly deeper, causing it to echo throughout the entire arena, lending it an unmistakably intimidating quality. Even Musashi felt a little nervous when Vahn turned his attention toward her, their previous battle still fresh in her mind. As a result, sheughed in a somewhat awkward manner before picking up Hippolytas body and saying, "I tried to warn her..." Since he knew she was just trying to ease tensions, Vahn shrugged his shoulders dismissively as his transformation wore off. This caused the oppressive aura within the coliseum to fade away, allowing those who had experienced its pressure to breathe easily. As a result, several sighs could be heard, confusing the children who, due to Vahns careful control, hadnt experienced the same pressure as everyone else... --- Fortunately, there were several people capable of using healing magic among the Heroes Faction. As a result, Hippolyta was allowed to rest within the coliseums stands as a doll-like girl named Alice did her best to treat the valiant Amazons injuries. Vahn was slightly curious about Alices body, as he noticed that she, and her twin sister, both had artificial bodies. This was a stark contrast to the Betty that had appeared before, but, as it wasnt his business to probe, Vahn would wait until the topic came up in a more organic fashion. He spected that Alices body was simr to the dolls created by Touko, but, based on the fact her joints could be seen clearly, the workmanship was iparable to those produced by Aokos sister... While leaving Alice to tend to Hippolytas wounds, Vahn manifested arge circr table, allowing everyone to take a seat so they could discuss the specifics of their rtionship. This would include making proper introductions, and, once everything else was resolved, they would discuss adding more Heroic Spirits to supplement the groups diminishing numbers... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Olympians are so screwed xD...,Talk shit, get hit,TFW you have to rely on your mortal enemy just to supplement your numbers...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1466 - Agreement

Chapter 1466 - Agreement

After a quick round of introductions, Vahn finally learned the identities of each member of Heroic Spirit making up the Heroes Faction. This included a silver-haired beauty with a unique hairstyle that gave her silvery locks the appearance of wings. She was attired in a sleeveless ck battledress that was sparsely covered by an ornate purple armor. The length of her skirt allowed arge portion of her milky-white thighs to be seen, but, while she was certainly a sight to behold, the ornate armor covering much of her arms and legs made it clear she wasnt to be trifled with. What stood out the most, other than the mystical amethyst-colored spear she hugged like she was afraid to lose it, was the womans demure countenance. She radiated a rather terrifying aura of the Divine, but, in contrast to this, she had a troubled expression on her wless face, her purple eyes glimmering on the verge of tears. She also kept looking between him and Shirou, averting her eyes whenever anyone looked back at her... When Vahn learned the woman was named Brynhildr, one of Odins Valkyrian daughters, he couldnt help feeling surprised. She was so different from the Brynhildr he knew thatparing anything but their beauty would be impossible. His Brynhildr was a proud and dutiful woman, her bearing perfect except for the moments when he would tease her. As for this Brynhildr, Vahn had the impression she would break into tears the moment anyone said a single mean thing to her... Though the introduction of Brynhildr hade as quite a shock, Vahns expression didnt reveal his true thoughts, allowing the next Heroic Spirit, a white-haired beauty with ruby-red eyes, to introduce herself as Tomoe Gozen. She wore a short-skirted white kimono with red ents, bound together by an obi with a hexagonal pattern embroidered into the surface. To conceal her lower half, she wore a pair of hakama-like trousers, colored with a matte purple that was trimmed with white. This was the reverse of the pattern of her sleeves, colored white with a simr matte purple pattern towards her red-gloved hands. Toplete her outfit, Tomoe wore pure white tabi, bound by red-banded clogs that had a slight heel to them. As her only piece of armor, she wore a segmented pauldron on her right shoulder, formed from four pieces of red ting, ented with gold. This gave off the impression she was either a specialized swordswoman or an archer, especially with how she tied her silky white hair up into a high ponytail, tied in ce by a red looped ribbon. Overall, Vahn found Tomoe to be one of the most stylish Japanese women warriors he had ever seen, but, more important than that, he waspelled to ask, "Are you not an Oni?" in a curious tone. Though Tomoe looked like a top-ss Japanese beauty, albeit with white hair and red eyes, the fact she had slit-like pupils and a slightly demonic aura gave away her true nature. Despite this, her aura fluctuated slightly, revealing surprise her expression didnt show as she replied, "I cannot answer that question." in a soft, rxed, tone. Despite Tomoes response, Vahn wasnt deterred, exining, "I intend to support the establishment of a Yokai District within Avalon. As an Oni, you are wee to join them. I will not forbid you from fighting alongside the Heroes, but, many humans wont be able to ept you once they learn what you are. You may be able to conceal it now, but will you be able to do so once you begin battling...?" Hearing Vahns words, Tomoes expression showed a small amount of conflict, a thoughtful glimmer passing across her ruby-like eyes. As Vahn mentioned, she was born as a Half-Oni, the byproduct of a man-eating demon and an unfortunate human mother. Though she had lived much of her life as a human, doing her best to conceal her true nature, she was ultimately forced to hide away, bing a Buddhist nun, fearing the persecution of her children. Humans had been an intolerant species since time immemorial, so, if they learned her true identity, there was bound to be tension and conflict... After several long seconds of silence, Tomoe ultimately reestablished eye contact with Vahn, calmly stating, "I dislike conflict. I prefer to live amongst nature, far from the struggles of men. However, my pride as a warrior does not allow me to abandon a fight. So long as mypanions possess the will to oppose the Empire, I will stand with them. Should a daye when peace returns to this world, I will consider your offer..." Following her statement, Tomoe gave a polite bow, lowering her head respectfully before returning to a neutral position and falling silent. This earned her an appreciative nod from Vahn, who, finding her character to be respectable, looked toward Shirou, stating, "Ill leave it to you. If I find out Tomoe is being mistreated by the people she is trying to help, dont me me for ack of kindness..." Having Vahn re at him, Shirou felt a strong urge to smile wryly, but, knowing the former seemed to have some enmity with him, he maintained a serious expression as he said, "Dont worry. Even if we build our own society, we will ensure they follow Common Law. I wont ept things like racism and intolerance when were supposed to be unified against amon enemy..." Despite being themon enemy Shirou was referencing, Vahn nodded his head in approval before turning his attention to the child-like entity seated next to the gaunt-faced H. P. Lovecraft. She had delicate features, including fair white skin, creamy beige hair, and soft blue eyes, but, in spite of her apparent innocence, she radiated the most terrifying aura within the group. As for her attire, she was wearing a long-sleeved, pleated, one-piece dress. It had an inky purple color and was trimmed by a pattern of butterflies along the hem. Several dozen tiny bows adorned her neck and hair, many with the same inky-purple color as her dress, but, to create a slight contrast, she also had a few orange ones mixed in. Toplete her outfit, she had on a type of undergarment that was popr in the colonial and victorian era, known as pantaloons, or, in some circles, pumpkin pants. Seeing Vahn look toward her, the frail young girl immediately returned a smile, disying two rows of angr teeth that distorted her otherwise innocent expression. Then, holding up a patchwork bear that had an inordinate amount of arms and legs, she happily exined, "Hello! Im Abigail, Abigail Williams." while using her concealed hands, hidden within the sleeves of her dress, to force the bear to wave. Since he had always had a soft spot for children, Vahn wasnt perturbed by Abigails sharp teeth and borderline nightmarish aura. He returned a kind smile in response to her greeting, saying, "You are a very polite youngdy, Abigail. My name is Vahn, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. It is a pleasure to meet you." As most people werent very nice to her, Abigail was pleasantly surprised by Vahns kind words, her expression beaming as she eximed, "It is nice to meet you, Vahn~!" in a happy tone. Despite Abigails rtively innocent appearance, everyone except H. P. Lovecraft and the doll-like Heroic Spirit sitting next to her seemed unnerved by the exuberance she disyed. Though some were less affected, such as Shirou and Musashi, everyone else became tenser the more excited the young Abigail seemed to be. This was due to the fact that, as Abigails excitement increased, so too did the invisible aura of dread surrounding her body... Though Vahn had considered removing Abigail and Alice from the Heroes Faction, he knew it would devastate the two seemingly-young girls. This would only exacerbate matters, so, rather than try and force her, Vahn maintained a gentle smile as he asked, "If it isnt too much trouble, can you introduce me to your friend?" Excited by Vahns words, Abigail held up her bear, but, before she could say anything, the former lightly shook his head, rifying, "Your other friend..." In an instant, most of Abigails excitement seemed to fade away, her expression bing a perfect mask of neutrality as she answered in a dull tone, "Are you certain...?" Before Vahn could nod his head, Shirou was the one to say, "Your Majesty...I dont think its a good idea to bring out Abigails friend with so many people around..." Though he understood Shirous concerns, Vahn inly stated, "Abigail is one of yourrades. The more you fear her, the more influence the entity within has over your mind. Dont get wrapped up in thoughts of negativity. So long as you treat her like an actualpanion, rather than ostracizing her, she poses no threat. See how easily Lovecraft and Alices sister are able to tolerate her presence? All of you should just treat her as the innocent child she is, rather than ming her for the thing that is inside her." Without waiting for anyone to respond to his rebuke, Vahn smiled toward the expressionless Abigail, stating, "Please, Id like to meet your friend." Hearing Vahns words, Abigails previously blue eyes transitioned into a pale-red that was timed with a hue of purple. Then, reaching between her neatly parted bangs, she removed the two bandages forming an x-shape on her forehead... As if some mighty seal had been broken, a phenomenal aura radiated outward, originating from a keyhole-shaped void located at the center of Abigails forehead. Looking into this void would be enough to cause those with weak wills to lose their minds, but, having dealt with Azathoth for a long period of time, Vahn was entirely unaffected as he established eye-contact with the eldritch entity housed within the young girls body... Before things could get out of hand, Vahn released calming energy through his domain, mitigating the effects of the entitys influence as he mused, "So, you must be Sut-Typhon, the Outer God known as the All-in-One, One-in-All..." In response to Vahns words, the glowing purple eye concealed within the keyhole on Abigails head began to release a ghostly purple me, its aura increasing exponentially, seemingly with the intent to overpower the calming energy released by the former. This caused Vahn to deadpan as he stated in a pointed tone, "Azathoth will not be pleased with your behavior..." Though its aura didnt immediately disappear, Sut-Typhon began to gradually retract its horrifying energy as a deep, resonating, voice echoed, "We do not fear Azathoth...he is powerless, so long as he continues to sleep..." Despite its words, Sut-Typhon continued to retract its aura, the ghostly me within the key turning mellow as it added, "You are an anomalous existence that is immune to our influence...tell us, what is your intention, forcing our host to reveal our existence...?" Smiling in response to Sut-Typhons question, Vahn inly stated, "Transparency. You are not one of the Heroic Spirits summoned by Archimedes. You apanied him from the future, not to protect the world, but to destroy it...isnt that right?" Hearing Vahns words, nearly everyone at the circr table became tense, while, inside of the small keyhole, the purple eye squinted slightly as it answered, "We do not care for such things. All things will ultimately fall prey to the perpetual flow of time. Our existence merely serves as the key, opening the gates to other worlds. We did make a contract with the man known as Archimedes, but, now that he is dead, we have no obligation to carry out our end of the bargain. For now, we will observe this world and protect our host from harm..." Vahn knew that, to an Outer God, lying waspletely meaningless, as, even if they dont possess a physical manifestation, they were boundless entities unaffected by the flow of time. Though they had an rming influence on the world around them, causing people to go mad simply by existing, they never took proactive action unless it was to fulfill a contract. In order to prevent a future catastrophe, Vahn nodded in understanding to the eldrich entities words before saying, "You know the influence your existence has on the world around your host. To prevent any futureplications, you will need to form a contract. If you are unwilling, I will severe you from your host, sealing you away in Azathoths dimension..." Hearing Vahns words, the eye within the keyhole began to burn brightly, but, as Sut-Typhon could also sense the truth contained within the formers statement, it didnt actually try to attack. Though they were all timeless beings, every Outer God had an instinctual fear of Azathoth, as, in contrast to the concept of eternity they represented, thetter could bring a finite end to everything. Azathoth was the one contradiction to their existence, representing a singr absolute thatpelled other Outer Gods to never oppose it. After several tense moments, Sut-Typhon eventually asked, "What are the terms of your contract? So long as thepensation is adequate, we will abide by your terms..." Shaking his head, Vahn exined, "Though I will list out the terms and conditions, your contract will be bound to Abigail herself. In exchange for sealing your powerpletely, allowing her to decide when and how it is used, you will be given an annual supply of this..." While speaking, Vahn pulled out a tiny, rainbow-hued gemstone. Its beauty, however, wasnt what stood out the most, rather, it was the phenomenal amount of pure vital energy radiating from within. This was a delicacy Outer Gods were especially fond of,pelling them to form binding contracts in exchange for human sacrifices. If not for their particr fondness for this energy, humans would have no hopes of even earning their notice, much less their assistance. Sensing the phenomenal amount of vital energy contained within the crystal, enough to equate to several thousand human lives, Sut-Typhons eye shone greedily within the keyhole. It didnt matter to them how Vahn had acquired the crystal, but, as it was far more enticing than simr offers it had received, Sut-Typhon wasted no time in answering, "We agree to your terms. So long as our hosts life is not in danger, we will allow her to use our power as she wills it. If you renege on your end of the bargain, however, our curse will spread throughout your Empire, sowing chaos and discord for a thousand years..." As Sut-Typhon would have no way of carrying out its threat, Vahn was very tempted to roll his eyes in response. Even if the eldritch entity could release such a powerful curse, he had multiple ways to be rid of it, including sealing away Sut-Typhon itself. Such threats only applied to those much weaker than itself, and, with several Tier 5 entities at his side, any one of them would be able to remove the Outer God from existence. Before tossing over the gemstone, Vahn gave a curt nod, adding, "For the sake of convenience, I will provide ten of these gemstones as an advance payment. This will cover the terms of the contract for ten years, increasing by one year for each gemstone provided. Do you ept?" Considering they would be lucky to get a few hundred sacrifices during thepletion of a single contract, Sut-Typhon found Vahns offer irresistible. They were basically receiving the vital energy of ten-thousand people just to do nothing. Thus, even though it didnt possess a mouth to smile, Sut-Typhon used Abigails face to form a vicious grin as it said, "We agree to your terms." Hearing Sut-Typhons response, Vahn used his telekinesis to pass over ten rainbow-hued gemstones, each a crystallization of his blood. He knew just how much power was contained within his blood, so, rather than offer up sacrifices to the eldrich God, this was the easiest way to deal with them. it also carried the intent of purification, so, with the passage of time, Vahn was certain the mysterious God would eventually begin to change. Most importantly, however, it guaranteed that Abigail would be able to live a rtively peaceful life, so long as she didnt develop a character that proactively used Sut-Typhons power to cause harm... After receiving the gemstones, Sut-Typhon wasted no time, forcing all ten through the keyhole in Abigails head. This caused a loud crunching sound to echo through the room, but, after several long seconds of chewing, much of its aura faded away. Then, in a much softer tone than before, it uttered, "We have received the payment. From now on, we will slumber within our hosts body. Farewell, Vahn Aldrnari Mason..." Following its words, Sut-Typhons eye began to close, turning the interior of the keyhole into an inky ck void. At the same time, Abigails eyes transitioned back to their original blue, confusion visible on her face as she tilted her head to the side and asked, "Hmm? Sutty went to sleep? How strange..." When Sut-Typhon was in control over her body, Abigails consciousness was sealed away. This was how she was able to maintain her childish innocence, despite the fact she had an impossibly ancient eldritch God sealed within her head. While she might be immune to the aura of madness that Sut-Typhon had released, seeing nightmarish scenes of people ughtering each other would have left a pretty deep impression on a childs mind... To alleviate her concerns, Vahn offered a gentle smile as he exined, "Sutty was worried you would be unable to make other friends, so, for the time being, it has decided to slumber. If you focus really hard, you should still be able to use its power. For now, you should just try to make friends with all of the big brothers and sisters in the Heroes Faction." Hearing Vahns words, Abigail showed an innocent, excited, smile as she asked, "Can Abby really be friends with everyone!?" Rather than answer Abigails question directly, Vahn looked around at the Heroes gathered around the table, encouraging them to speak. Though some of them still had awkward looks on their faces, they had witnessed the establishment of the contract with Sut-Typhon. Thus, with Abigail no longer emanating a terrifying aura, it was hard to unfairly distance themselves from her, causing Shirou to be the first to say, "Of course. Abby is a good girl. As Heroes, were more than happy to be friends with you." Shirous emphasis on the word Hero basically put everyone seated around the table on the spot. If they were to mistreat a young child that had never done anything wrong, referring to themselves as True Heroes would be rather difficult. Thus, with Sut-Typhon sealed away, nearly everyone seated at the table expressed an interest in being Abigails friend, causing the girl to fidget about excitedly in her chair, a wide smile on her face... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tomoes design is, honestly, one of the best,Vahn is over here bullying Sut-Typhon xD...,Abby deserves a thousand friends, at the very least...!) (A/N: For rity, this is the list of the Heroes Faction members: Musashi, Caenis, Tamamo, Abigail, Altria, Raikou and Alice apanied Archimedes from the future. Those summoned by Archimedes include: Shirou(Assassin), Shuten-douji(Assassin), Ibaraki-douji(Berserker), Kiyohime(Berserker), Chu Cinn(Lancer), Brynhildr(Lancer), Aife(Rider), Hippolyta(Rider), Nursery Rhyme(Caster), Lovecraft (Caster), Benienma(Saber), Jason(Saber), Tomoe Gozen(Archer), and Change(Archer).) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1467 - Ground Rules

Chapter 1467 - Ground Rules

With the matter of Sut-Typhonrgely resolved, the only people Vahn had yet to be introduced to were Lovecraft and Alices twin. When it came time for them to introduce themselves, however, the gaunt-faced man inly stated, "I am but a man present in a century not his own. Many refer to me as Howard Phillips Lovecraft. Those who know me understand the folly of suchbels..." As for Alices twin, she just lightly muttered, "Nursery Rhyme..." without further introduction. Vahn was slightly surprised that even a Conceptual Entity had been summoned by Archimedes, but, based on Nursery Rhymes appearance, it was more likely that Alice had called upon her. As for why Betty shared the same form, albeit more organic, Vahn assumed that had something to with both Lovecraft and Abigail. Though others may be unaware of such things, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to say that he had downloaded most of the recorded history of humanity into his mind. Thus, using the context clues avable, it was possible to specte that Betty was meant to be Abigails sister, another one of the victims associated with the infamous Salem Witch Trials. As for why she looked like Alice, that was something only those involved in her creation would be able to answer... With all of the introductions out of the way, Vahn was the one to open the dialogue, stating, "Now that were all more familiar with each other, let us discuss what constitutes appropriate action and the autonomy that will be provided to your group. So long as your group adheres to the Common Law, the Empire will not directly intervene in your affairs. Even if you decide to build a country, we will recognize your sovereignty, once again, in ordance with the Common Law. You are free to make use of thend and its resources, im territory, and even establishws. Even then, you will be bound by the Common Law, meaningnd cannot be owned, nor can resources be withheld from those who need them. If you require assistance from the Empire, obtaining supplies from the Supercolonies and distribution centers can be arranged..." As Vahn spoke, he handed out documents to aid those who were struggling to keep up with what he was saying. Ultimately, the structure they decided on would be up to them, but, in the hopes of avoidingplications, Luvia had drafted a seventy-three-page stack of documents that detailed any and all actions they were authorized to take. These were simr to the forms given to anyone with the aspirations to establish a semi-permanantmunity or build a country, as, ultimately, it didnt really matter to Vahn how humanity divided their living space. So long as they didnt bring harm to the, he wouldnt even care if a random, sapient, True Dragon imed a mountain or two as their territory... While many were still reading the first page of the documents, Vahn continued, adding, "Though you can choose another name, your group is currently recognized as the Heroes Faction. To that end, you are expected to act in ordance with such principles. So long as it is in the aid of the people you wish to protect, there are very few actions prohibited to you. Using any underhanded means to secure a better position for yourselves, however, will not be tolerated. This means, any attempt to encroach upon Imperial Territory, or, any attempts to exploit circumstantial loopholes within the Common Law, will not be tolerated. If you turn to page forty-seven, there is an outline mentioning the acquisition of resources within previously allocatednds. War has always been a foolish and barbaric practice, so, in lieu of this fact, most conflicts will be settled viapetition using designated representatives..." As they had realized the impossibility ofpletely ridding war from the world, Vahn and Da Vinci hade up with a system to serve as a stop-gap until a more-permanant solution was found. This included various contests, functionally simr to the Olympics, and, perhaps most importantly, virtual battles. Vahn had already developed the technology to allow students to fight freely back in the Record of Danmachi, so, with Da Vincis help, the system had been refined to the point of allowing world-shattering battles to be waged in apletely virtual environment. Soon enough, the entire world would be connected using the Virtual World, so, in order to incite people to improve themselves, ranking tournaments and contests were necessary. This was one of the most important responsibilities of the Heroes Faction, as, once the world began to get back on track, people all over the globe would see their exploits as they fought against the champions selected by the Empire. The way Vahn was orchestrating things, the current Heroes Faction would openly stand against the Empire, specifically opposing policies he enacted. He would pretend to acquiesce to some of their demands, artificially inting their status and authority in the minds of their supporters. Thus, when the time came where people were beginning to delve into the Virtual World, Shirou and his cohorts would be paving the way, representing the free people against the Empire. In the end, Vahn knew various countries would rise up, establishing themselves and creating their own champions. Even now, ces like South Korea, China, and India were beginning to reach a point of stability, establishing smallmunities that, very loosely, adhered to the Common Law. Though they still had a very long way to go, the existence of superpowers, magic, and a myriad of other abilities, had inspired a number of people to move towards the future, rather than cling to the past. Ultimately, while the Empire would reign as the most powerful force in the world, its true purpose was to simply regte and guarantee the rights of all peoples, regardless of factors like race, age, and gender. Vahn didnt care about ruling over the world, but, if he found another ruler wanting, he would not hesitate to eliminate them. Eventually, only those who adapted to the Common Law would be able to reach a position of authority as any egregious vitions would invariably result in death... After reading through much of the document, the benefit of super-human perception, Shirou had aplicated look on his face as he stated, "This document only lists appropriate actions that can be taken against the Empire. What about the rules of engagement regarding our attempts against your life...?" Though Vahn had essentially designated Shirou as the de facto leader of the Heroes Faction, he couldnt help but feel exasperated about how direct the mans question had been. He couldnt shake the feeling the man didnt take him seriously, and, while Vahn didnt generally care about formalities, hearing Shirou speak so casually about such a serious topic stirred his ire. Despite his personal feelings on the matter, Vahn maintained a solemn and serious expression on his face as he answered, "There are no rules of engagement. You need only to inform me of the time and ce. You can even set the terms yourself, so long as they are not skewed in such a way that prevents me from taking action. Im not going to just sit in a spot you designate and let you try to seal me for hours on end, obviously...As for things like assassination, you are free to try and kill me at your leisure. If it affects the daily lives of my family and other innocents, however, know that you invite a fate worse than death upon yourself." Understanding he had managed to annoy Vahn, Shirous smile became wry as he answered in an awkward tone, "Ill keep that in mind...thanks..." Hearing Shirous response, Vahn squinted his eyes slightly, adding, "Also, while my reputation is already in an irrecoverable state, you would do well to keep in mind things like respect and basic propriety. If you appear in public, attempting to smear or disrespect me, do not expect me to idly tolerate your foolishness. Unless you are stating objective facts, attempting to manipte people by misconstruing information will be considered a vition of the Common Law." Vahn knew better than most how information could be manipted to take advantage of evenrge poptions. People could be exceptionally intelligent, but, when you gathered them intorge crowds and allowed information to spread freely, it was invariably misconstrued, twisted beyond recognition. This was often exploited by those in power to elevate their status and harm their opponents, twisting public opinion to serve selfish ends. He preferred transparency, so, the moment anyone tried pulling such a feat, Vahn would expose thempletely,ying everything about the other party bare before ultimately deciding their fate... Being red at by Vahn was never pleasant, especially when he was releasing his aura. Shirou felt like he would eventually get used to the pressure, but, every time this thought crossed his mind, it actually seemed to increase. Thus, with the best smile he could manage under the circumstances, he said, "None of us here would ever resort to such underhanded means...well keep your words in mind so that others dont try..." Though notpletely satisfied by Shirous response, Vahn gave a curt nod before saying, "If there are no other questions, well discuss the acquisition of new forces. Sakata Kintoki and Hou Yi have already been summoned as supplemental forces. They are both exceptionally powerful, but I can still summon four more Heroic Spirits. If you havente up with your own list, I havee up with a few suggestions of my own." As they hadnt actually discussed the matter of their reinforcements yet, Shirou gave a small nod in response to Vahns statement, asking, "Who did youe up with? I am slightly curious." Once again resisting the urge to retort Shirous casual remarks, Vahn lightly squinted his eyes before looking toward Brynhildr, startling her quite a bit. Though it was impossible to achieve, she seemed to be attempting to hide behind her spear, her amethyst eyes averted as tears began to build along their edges. Due to his interest in Norse Mythology, Vahn had researched it quite a bit, both in the Record of Danmachi and within the Nasuverse. Thus, he was familiar with the demure Valkyries rather tragic legend, primarily as a result of its parallels with Siegfrieds. As a result, Vahn couldnt help feeling sorry for her, leading him to say, "I will summon Sigurd, the King of Warriors." The moment Vahns words fell, Brynhildr practically leaped to her feet, tears streaming from her eyes as she eximed, "Can you really do such a thing!? Please, tell me it is so...!" Despite the fact there was arge table separating them, Brynhildr managed to fly over it in an instant, grabbing Vahns hand with both of her own as she floated just a few centimeters away from his face. This was a rather awkward position to be in, but, as he had already seen iting, he maintained a calm smile, answering, "I do not make a habit of lying. Regardless of who else is chosen, I intend to summon Sigurd to aid your cause." Brynhildr felt like her heart was going to explode at the thought of being reunited with her lost love. Though she knew it would be impossible to resist the urge to try and kill him, she still loved him very deeply. Even if they were only together for a brief moment, she would be able to live in this world without regrets... Vahn didnt know what Brynhildr was thinking, but, as it was a little awkward to have her flittering about while hugging his hand into her rather voluminous chest, he politely stated, "Please, take a seat. We have three other candidates to discuss. If you want to reunite with your husband sooner, remain calm and be patient..." Realizing she had been invading Vahns personal space, Brynhildrs expression turned crimson as she embarrassedly retreated to her chair. This allowed Vahn to breathe a sigh of relief, ignoring the looks from the other Heroes as he looked toward Tomoe, earning her attention as he stated, "I cannot do so at this time, but I am also able to summon your-" Before Vahn could finish, Tomoe shook her head, saying, "I am humbled by your consideration, Tenn-sama. However, I have already made peace with my loss. Though one of my lifes greatest regrets was not being at my husbands side during his death, I lived for nearly sixty years after his passing. During that time, I even watched my own child grow old, start a family, and raise children of his own. I am content with the life I have lived. I will not besmirch their memory by forcing them to live a life I have decided upon." Following her words, Tomoe bowed to the point her forehead was nearly touching the table. As for Vahn, he felt slightly awed by the respectable warrior. He was a little ashamed that he didnt possess a simr level of maturity, elevating her to the status of a lesser-idol within his heart. It was a shame they would have to meet on the battlefield, but, when it came down to it, fighting against honorable and valiant opponents was one of lifes greatest pleasures... --- Due to Tomoes words, most of the other Heroic Spirits seemed to lose interest in suggesting someone. This allowed Musashi to step in, nominating legendary figures such as Yagy Munenori, Sasaki Kojirou, and Suzuka Gozen. Ironically, these were three of the candidates for her original identity, something Vahn found rather amusing. Despite this, he didnt think it would be wise to summon someone as principled as Munenori, a man reputed to be rather judgmental, especially against westerners. After mentioning this, Musashi also agreed with him,menting that Munenori was a bit of a hard ass. As for Kojirou and Gozen, the former had actually appeared during a previous Holy Grail War, albeit as an Assassin. This was a chance for him to redeem his honor, this time being summoned as a Saber ss Servant instead of the rather ignoble Assassin ss. As for Gozen, Vahn mentioned the fact that she was an Yokai, but, seemingly unconcerned by this, Musashi just responded by saying, "Honestly, I just want to fight her. You dont have to summon her if you are that worried." Upon hearing Musashis rather careless remark, Vahn had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. He couldnt deny that he was also somewhat interested in the oue of the duel, forcibly stopping himself from perusing the Flow of Fate to find out how it ends. After all, Gozen was considered by Merlin and Scthach to be one of the greatest swordswomen to have ever lived, something Vahn couldnt help but be interested in experiencing for himself... With no other names put forth, Vahn was preparing to wrap things up when Altria, who had been ceaselessly devouring apples during the entire discussion, suddenly stated between bites, "You should summon...my other half...I want to beat her..." Not expecting Altria to speak up, Vahn tilted his head slightly, asking, "Your other half? You mean, someone that shares your appearance...?" Nodding her head, Altria exined, "I have an Altereactor Core. She has a Cosmo Reactor. Our signatures allow us to track each other through dimensions. She will eventuallye looking for me. It will be funny to see her forced to fight on the same side...kukuku..." As he couldnt help but feel a little curious, Vahn peered into the current that had formed in the wake of Altrias proposal. There, he saw a slightly older-looking version of Artoria looking more than a little frustrated as Altria snickered in the background. It was slightly amusing, but, knowing Artoria would probably be a little upset if he proactively summoned another version of herself... The moment this thought crossed his mind, Vahn couldnt help but smile as, earlier that same day, he had promised to give Artoria her gift. Once she obtained that, she wouldnt be nearly as upset by the existence of simr people. Thus, rather than deny Altria her mischief, Vahn gave a slight nod, eliciting the second genuine smile he had seen on her otherwise emotionless face... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Shirou is digging himself a hole xD...,Tomoe is very respectable,Altria is surprisingly mischievous...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1468 - Surprise (1/?)

Chapter 1468 - Surprise (1/?)

Around the same time that he was discussing the summoning of Heroes, Vahn had freed up a bit of time, seeking out Artoria. He didnt want to surprise her by summoning a doppelganger of herself without any forewarning, but, more importantly, he wanted to resolve the matter of her surprise. It wasnt something that needed to be taken care of immediately, but, once she learned the specifics, there was a fair chance she might me him for not bringing it up sooner. Though Vahn could take a sneak peek into what the future held, doing so would spoil the surprise for both of them. He was very curious about the result, but, in order to share the moment with his beloved Empress, he diligently went in blind. After all, regardless of how things ended up, Vahn was certain Artoria would appreciate it quite a bit. Carrying this conviction with him, Vahn sought out Artoria, finding her lounging in their room. This wasnt all that surprising, but, perhaps as a result of the stress she had umted throughout the day, Vahn was amused to find her wearing nothing but a blouse and panties as Gray straddled her back, massaging Artorias shoulders. It was a rather intimate scene, quickly turningical when he startled them both by suddenly opening the door. While Gray showed an expression of mild shock, Artoria nearly knocked her out of the bed when she suddenly flipped over and tried to cover herself. She looked like she had just had a heart attack, her face paling as a cold sweat quickly developed across her body. When she saw who had entered the room, however, her face became beet red as she eximed, "You...cant you knock or something!?" Electing not to tease her too much, Vahn simply smiled, muttering, "Sorry, Ill keep that in mind..." as he walked over to the bed. He knew she would quickly realize how foolish it would be to require him to knock on his own bedroom. She was simply surprised, as, whenever he made time for his children, Vahn would stay with them for upwards of a day, on the low end... While Artoria was recovering, Gray managed a slight smile, bowing as she politely stated, "Good evening, Master." The fact she was in her lingerie made this quite the appealing sight, earning an appreciative nod from Vahn as he answered, "Sorry to interrupt." in an amused tone. Hearing her Masters words, Grays smile only widened as she resisted the temptation tough, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she stated, "We were just getting to the good part too..." The moment Gray finished her words, a white blur mmed into her head, knocking her off bnce as Artoria, with a crimsonplexion, readied another pillow and eximed, "Traitor...!" --- After waiting for both Artoria and Gray to change into more suitable attire, Vahn preempted their questions, exining, "I wanted to give you an update on the events taking ce in the Moon Cell. Before I end up summoning anyone else, I also wanted to give you the surprise I promised. Though it could wait untilter...well, lets just say this will make things slightly easier for me? Hahahaha~." Now that she was fully clothed, Artoria had regained her calm demeanor, her expression forming a slight deadpan as she inly stated, "You intend to summon another person that looks like us, dont you?" Hearing Artorias words, Vahn turned statuesque, earning a pointed look from his beloved Empress, who, with her arms crossed, added, "Your surprise better be good. Im already expecting that glutton and battle junky to begin clinging to you in the future. You summoning more doesnt evene as a surprise at this point..." Contrary to how she behaved when others were present, Artoria could be exceptionally shrewd when they were alone. Though she was also prone to bouts of embarrassment, she became a force to be reckoned with whenever she regained her momentum. Despite the slight pressure he experienced under Artorias silvery gaze, Vahn felt as though he had an absolute advantage this time around. She seemed to notice this as well, her anger beginning to subside even before he answered. So as not to lose the momentum, Vahn took a deep breath, adopting a serious expression as he said, "After what happened with Scthach...I invested a lot of time trying toprehend everything that had happened. Ive also been speaking with both ya and Merlin about concerns I have had for a long time, trying to grasp concepts regarding Space and Time. Im so close to obtaining a Divinity in both, so a lot of my self-study rtes to both subjects..." Artoria didnt know what Vahn was getting at, but she began to feel more than a little nervous. Even Gray was showing an exceptionally serious expression, feeling as though she was bearing witness to an important, historic, moment. With the attention of both women fixated on him, Vahn allowed himself to smile slightly, adding, "I promised to continue looking for ways to treat your current condition. I had discovered the solution some time ago, but, as I had many concerns, I never mentioned it. Thesest few days have changed my perspective a considerable amount, so, now that I have had time to consider it properly, I think it is time toe forward with my findings..." Even without asking, Artoria knew what Vahn meant when he was referring to her condition. She could feel her jaw begin to tremble slightly as she balled her hands into fists, doing her best to try and stay calm as he exined, "Your Chrono Dissia, it is not the result of you freeing Caliburn from the stone. Rather, from that moment in time, it was your inability to move forward that caused your body to cease developing. You were too focused on being the King others had always expected you to be, following the path they had set without deviating. By the time you pulled the sword from the stone, you had be that King, never changing from that moment onwards..." Hearing Vahns words, Artoria lowered her eyes slightly, memories of her past welling up, including many things she hade to regret. Though she had started letting these things go, there were still a few things that haunted her, even to this day. Before Artoria could begin wallowing in the memories of her past, Vahn extended his hand, gently lifting her chin so that they were staring directly at each other. Then, before continuing where he left off, he softly stated, "You havee a long way, Artoria...you are no longer that young woman who was forced to bear a burden others thrust upon you. Raise your head, smile, and feel prideful of the progress you have made...the people you have touched..." cing her hand overtop Vahns, Artoria was able to calm down considerably, a smile recing the conflicted expression on her face as she answered, "Youre right...the person I have be cant bepared to my past self. Sometimes, I forget...thanks for reminding me...Vahn..." As it was virtually impossible to resist, Vahn reduced the already shrinking distance between them, kissing Artorias lips in a delicate manner. He was tempted to go further, but, as he was starting to get a little excited for what was toe, he tempered his resolve, pulling away after a few seconds had passed. Now looking like a demure maiden, Artoria had a slight flush on her face as she awkwardlybed her fingers through her hair. In truth, she was also tempted to continue, but, far more than Vahn, she was eager to experience what his words seemed to promise. Contrary to her expectations, albeit only slightly, Vahn went on to exin, "That is the primary cause behind your bodys physical development. The real problem, however, is the contract you attempted to establish with ya. Even though we havergely treated your trauma, your Soul is still linked to your original body. Time is an illusory concept, having no bearing on the Soul itself. Thus, while your original body remains removed from the Time Axis, your current vessel will default back to that state, even if someone like Aoko were to elerate you time by millions of years..." As Artoria had started to dete slightly, Vahn began to lightly caress her cheek, a smile on his face as he asked, "Do you think I would tell you these things arbitrarily? Calm yourself. Take deep breaths and rx..." Following Vahns guiding words, Artoria took several deep breaths, leaning into his palm slightly with her cheek. Once she had calmed down an adequate amount, he went on to exin, "I spent a lot of time looking into the methods employed by Scthach to link the Land of Shadows with the current Time Axis. I also discussed your original fate with Merlin, learning the conditions required for your return as the King of Utopian Avalon..." Once he reached the part concerning Artorias fate, Vahn felt a little awkward, but, knowing she would want to know the full details, he continued, adding, "One of the requirements was for your contract with ya to be annulled. This would have resulted in the death of your original body, but, due to the nature of your existence of the pir of the world, your physical body is simply a vessel. Your Soul, in the form of a Greater Divine Spirit, would have been transferred to Avalon, awaiting the worlds destruction before allowing you to return, this time in your true form..." Though she knew Vahn would go on to exin, Artoria couldnt help but furrow her brows slightly, asking, "So, I have to die...no, you have to destroy my original body...?" As she had hit the nail on the head, Vahn felt even more awkward, his smile turning wry as he said, "I can retrieve your original body from the severed Time Axis using the Throne of Heroes. Since you are currently inhabiting this vessel, this would cause your original body to break down into dust, ceasing to exist. The death of your physical body serves the purpose of creating a permanent gateway with True Avalon, one only you can open. From that moment onward, you would be able to summon True Avalon at will, but, most importantly, it will remove your Chrono Dissia entirely. Your true nature is that of a Greater Divine Spirit, one with Draconic heritage...once you are willing to ept that, there will be no limits to your future..." Even before he had finished his exnation, Vahn could see hesitation budding within Artorias silver eyes. Her aura had also be slightly chaotic, so, while it was somewhat unfair to her, he leaned in close, bringing his mouth near her ear as he whispered, "You will also be able to bear children..." The moment her brain processed what Vahn had just said, which took a surprisingly long period of time, Artoria felt a resolution bubble up inside of her as she firmly stated, "Im ready. I hadnt even thought about my original body in thest few years, so there is no sense in fretting over it at this point. Let us be done with this. Do it. Quickly." Vahn wasnt too surprised by Artorias fervor, as he knew she had been thinking about having an actual child even before the recent matter with Mordred. Bing thetters mother had been one of the most pivotal moments in her entire life, but, while she cared about Mordred deeply, it was impossible for her to quell the desire to bear one of her own. She had envied the fact that others were able to get pregnant, seeding thoughts of inferiority and causing her to, at times, question her value as a woman... --- With Artoria having made up her mind, another version of Vahn, who had been waiting patiently in the Welsh Dragons Chamber, opened his eyes. In the next moment, he found himself in the familiar ck space, standing a few meters short of the Thrones terminal. Though Artorias name was actually greyed out, as she was already summoned, Vahn had already performed an experiment to ascertain whether or not his method world work. In the end, all he had to do was select the [Transmigration] option, and, though there was a fair chance her Ego would be transnted into the new body, the end result would be the same. All that really mattered was that her physical vessel was destroyed, allowing the gateway to True Avalon to be established. If he had to transfer her soul into another vessel for a few minutes, it wouldnt make much of a difference... Fortunately, Vahn was spared the additional effort as, after confirming his selection, he watched as the familiar bluish-white particles came together before ultimately dispersing. Her body didnt even manifestpletely, but, within the Unit Management list, Vahn was able to confirm that her Chrono Dissia had disappeared. The only step remaining was for her to activate [Avalon], then, alongside Artoria herself, he would learn exactly why Merlin kept telling him he was in for a pleasant surprise... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mmm, Artoria showing why she is the top waifu in the Nasuverse...,Its easy, really, we just have to kill you~!,Im getting vertigo up here...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1469 - (Surprise 2/2)

Chapter 1469 - (Surprise 2/2)

Vahn wasnt foolish enough to trust Merlinpletely, but, when it regarding things like Artorias happiness, the flowery magus could be pretty reliable. Thus, knowing Artorias true form would be a reflection of her ideal self, it didnt matter what she ended up looking like. So long as she was happy, there was no reason for him not to be. Originally, Artoria was fated to wait within the confines of Avalon for tens-of-thousands of years, her body remaining unchanged due to the few emotions she was able to cling to during her istion. It was rather tragic, really, but, now that he had changed her fate sopletely, such concerns would never be required. Now, they walked a parallel path, and, no matter what difficulties they faced, they would be able to meet them together... After verbalizing these thoughts and exining the process to Artoria, Vahn watched as his beloved Empress nervously activated her [Avalon]. He and Gray had also been affected by her tensions, but, as they had simr ideas of showing support, they managed to maintainforting smiles as a veil of light shrouded Artorias body. Vahn could feel his heart begin to race madly as butterflies began to flutter around in his stomach, abination that, despite his age, made him feel giddy. Then, with widening eyes, he watched as the proud and noble swordmaiden he hade to love began to shrink at a startling rate. Merlins smile suddenly flickered across his thoughts, causing his hands to ball into loose fists as the light began to fade away, revealing a version of Artoria even more petite than Circe... Unamused by the trickery, Vahn turned his attention towards the ceiling, stating, "If you dont break this illusion, so help me..." Following Vahns words, augh could be heard echoing in the surroundings as a hazy figure came into existence a few meters away. This was, of course, Merlin, who, upon seeing the look on Vahns face, ceasedughing. Then, after lightly coughing a few times, he said, "Youll have to forgive me, Your Majesty. If I were to pass on such an opportunity, I would regret it for my entire life..." As even Artoria was ring at him with a rather vicious gaze, Merlin waved his hand through the air with an apologetic smile on his face, erasing the illusion he had cast over her body. Truthfully, he was just a little upset by the fact Vahn hadnt thought to inform him of his intentions. This was his way of getting even with him, as, while it may be a much more important even for the three of them, it was still a moment he had wanted to bear witness to... With Merlins illusion broken, Vahn couldnt help but gawk, his mouth hanging open rather sillily as even Grays eyes became as round as saucers. As for Artoria herself, she hadnt been able to see all of the changes to her body, but, seeing the tworge mounds that threatened to burst through her dress, arge grin had spread across her face. It was only when she looked up with an expression of pride that she realized just how much she had changed, as,pared to before, where she had to crane her neck just to look up at Vahn, she was now only a few centimeters shorter than him... Vahn realized he had slightly underestimated Artoriasplex about her femininity, as, now that she was in her true form, it was impossible to evenpare her to her past self. She had be a startlingly beautiful woman, possessing mature features that greatly exceeded his expectations. Even Boudica would be hard-pressed topare herself to Artoria, as, while she had shapely and natural-looking breasts, Artorias seemed wless, holding their shape perfectly despite their size... While the changes to her bust were the most notable, Artorias figure as a whole now possessed an indescribable quality to it. Though it was possible to use words to convey her beauty, any attempt to do so just seemed wrong, almost as if it was a libelous remark that blemished her otherwise perfect existence. The only way to describe her changes without it sounding like an insult would be to using the words mature beauty, as even describing her as godly seemed inadequate... Seeing Vahns unbroken stupor, Artoria could feel a swell of emotions from deep within. Though he had always looked at her with love and affection, one of Artorias secret desires had always been to take Vahns breath away with her feminine charm. She had wanted to be a woman that could stand at his side, nay, a proud Empress that could match his stature. Though it didnt seem to bother Vahn, it had always made Artoria feel self-conscious whenever she imagined how others perceived them when they were seen together. After all, Vahn was a tall and handsome man who could change the atmosphere of an entire room just by entering it. Inversely, while she also garnered a great deal of attention, the fact she looked even younger than some of his children was a great blemish on her pride. Now, she was confident she could stand at his side with pride, rather than forcing herself to radiate dignity she didnt believe she possessed... Unaware of Artorias true thoughts, Vahn slowly regained his senses, but, even after several minutes had passed, he couldnt find words to speak. This caused the smile on Artorias face to grow, and, though it might be awkward to some, she didnt mind allowing Vahn to gawk until he was satisfied. His gaze made her feel beautiful, and, if not for the presence of Merlin, she might have given in to the urge to pose for him. As Artorias own excitement grew, nearly every set of eyes in the room looked downward, confusing her slightly. It wasnt until she followed their gaze that she realized the reason behind their peculiar line of sight, as, snaking around happily behind her body, a silvery-white tail had made its presence known. This was enough to cause Artoria herself to gawk, her stupor turning into abject shock as she reached out, confirming it was attached to her body... Seeing Artorias shocked expression, Vahn was finally able to recoverpletely, an amused smile recing his previous, stupefied, expression. Then, before Artoria could embarrass herself, he gave a pointed look toward Merlin, stating, "I believe you have seen enough, yes?" Hearing Vahns words, Merlin awkwardly rubbed the back of his head, saying, "Well, I suppose you are right. Before I go, just let me say a few words, okay?" Without waiting for Vahns permission, Merlin made his way over to Artorias side, surprising her, once again, due to how much her height had increased. Previously, she had been stuck at 154cm, but, after the changes to her body, she was now a startling 173cm tall. As Merlin was only 178cm in height, Artoria was able to easily maintain eye contact with him, a fact that caused a small smile to return to her face. The moment he reached Artorias side, Merlin surprised everyone present by reaching out his hand, stroking the top of her head as he said, "Youve grown..." in an affectionate tone. This wasnt meant to be a sarcastic remark, rather, based on the sincerity visible in Merlins countenance, it was like a father praising his daughter. Artorias expression immediately turnedplicated upon hearing Merlins words, her nose turning slightly sour. Truthfully, she had always considered Merlin a surrogate father to her, as, while he may have had the same expectations as everyone else, he always stood by her. He was the one who cared for her as a child, taught her how to use her sword, and, most importantly,forted her whenever she was feeling doubtful or lonely... Though she didnt cry, Artoria was very clearly on the verge of doing so as she closed her eyes and muttered, "Thank you..." in a low voice. At the very end, however, she added on one final word that only Merlin, who had been staring directly at her had been able to discern, father. This caused his own eyes to moisten, but, not wanting to make this moment about him, he issued a softugh as his body faded away, leaving the trio to their own devices... With Merlins disappearance, Artoria felt a strange feeling of loneliness, but, with Vahn and Gray still present, a feeling of fullness spread through her body as she returned their smiles with her own. As a result, her silvery-white tail began rhythmically tap the floor, causing a slight blush to develop across her cheeks due to the awkwardness of having an appendage she couldnt control... --- Though it had been obvious due to her physical transformation, Artorias True Dragon blood was no longer sealed. Fortunately, most likely as a result of her own views on the matter, her transformation was only a partial one. With a bit of effort, it wouldnt be long before she was able to conceal her draconic featurespletely. Vahn, however, encouraged the opposite, as, rather than suppress her bloodline, it would be a lot healthier for her to master it. Artoria was troubled by the fact she now had a rather thick tail protruding from her backside, but, as she could also feel a phenomenal amount of power within her body, her jubtion greatly exceeded any of her concerns. She also knew that Vahn had a thing for women with exotic features, so, while it was undoubtedly the result of her dragon blood, Artoria silently spected the true reason behind the sudden emergence of her tail... Vahn would probably reprimand her slightly if he knew her thoughts, but, Artoria was much happier with her current form than her previous self. Part of her had always felt strangely possessive of him, so, to have him look at her with such intrigue and want, it made her feel greatly vindicated. Though she would never even think of forcing him to give up other women, she had grown to feel prideful of the fact that, while he may be surrounded by beauties, she had been the one chosen as his Empress. Now that she had be her true self, Artoria was feeling more confident than ever before. It was like all of her repressed emotions were beginning to break free from their bindings, allowing her to feel truly liberated for the first time in her life. She could vividly imagine the reactions of every other woman in the Inner Sanctum, and, though she felt slightly apologetic towards them, Artoria felt as though she hadpletely eclipsed her other selves... After admiring the changes to her body in a standing mirror for nearly twenty minutes, Artoria met Vahns gaze through the reflection, her eyes bing slightly sharper as a smile spread across her face. He had been watching her with an amused yet possessive look on her face, while, at his side, Gray had a visibly envious look. While she would never openly state it, Grays envy made Artoria feel even more vindicated, her pale white pupils contracting slightly to form slits. This gave her a slightly predatory look, especially with her silver eyes glimmering slightly in amusement. She had the appearance of a cat who had found a mouse to y with, but, rather than act on this emotion, Artoria turned to face them, her expression softening slightly as she muttered, "It seems your surprise not only met my expectations but greatly exceeded them...I suppose I should thank you, shouldnt I~?" Though Artoria could pull off being yfully seductive before, her current form radiated a mature aura that nearly caused Vahn to swallow, hard, upon hearing her husky voice. It had deepened a lotpared to before, now possessing a quality that could make a persons skin turn to goosebumps the moment they heard it. This wasnt due to disgust, however, but due to how sensual her neutral tone had be. Without waiting for Vahns response, Artorias clothes began to dissolve into motes of silvery-white light, not to reveal her naked body, but to change into somethingpletely new. Even she didnt know what form it would take, however, as she was merely following her instincts, activating one of the powers she knew slumbered inside her body. All she knew was, based on her intuition, Vahn would greatly appreciate it, so, regardless of what form it took, she would make full use of it. To Vahns surprise, two silvery-white horns protruded from Artorias head, appearing reminiscent of rabbit ears. More surprisingly, however, was how her bun partially loosened, allowing her beautiful golden hair to flow freely, while, in lieu of the form-fitting blue dress from before, Artoria was now wearing what appeared to be a white bunny suit. It was a highly revealing outfit, leaving very little to the imagination due to the various sections of exposed skin. Though staring at any part of Artorias body would be worthwhile, Vahn found his eyes drawn to her long, slender, legs. They were now covered in a pale blue mesh that, at a nce, appeared to be fish next hose. If you were to look closely, however, you would notice that the individual segments were actually thin blue scales, each glistening like the smooth underbelly of a snake. It was, honestly, one of the most beautiful and tantalizing things he had ever seen, causing Vahns own draconic instincts to act up as a strong desire to conquer his beloved Empress welled up inside him... Artoria could feel a startling heat pass through her body upon seeing Vahns gaze, but, feeling an equal desire to tease him, she chose to remain where she was, smiling seductively as she said, "This seems to be my Divine Raiment...hmm, I suppose it is true that rabbits often represent good fortune. I wonder if this form increases my own...shall we put it to the test~?" Hearing Artorias words, Vahn was able to ascertain several things, but, while he was certainly curious about her Divinity, that quickly fell to the wayside when his own words echoed through his mind. He knew what Artoria was referencing when she mentioned putting her fortune to the test. This caused his aura to begin swelling against his will, his eyes shifting from aquamarine to glimmering gold. In turn, Artorias silver irises also began to glow, her pupils expanding and contracting slightly as their emotions caused an infinite loop of increasing tensions... Though he actually had a lot of other important things going on, Vahn still found himself saying, "It is too dangerous to do it here...well end up destroying a part of the castle..." Rather than answer his words, Artorias eyes squinted slightly as a phenomenal, seemingly infinite, amount of energy emanated from her body. In an instant, their surroundings had changed from their shared chambers to an endless field of blooming flowers. Then, in a surprising act of aggression, she stepped forward, smiling greedily as she said, "Ive waited long enough..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns curse,I may not be your father, but I am your daddy,The Goddess of Fortune ces her bet...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1470 - Conquest

Chapter 1470 - Conquest

Sensing Artorias momentum building, Vahn got the impression that, even if he wanted to refuse her, she wouldnt be willing to take no for an answer. Her behavior reminded him of how Terra behaved whenever she got excited, but, rather than a gentle and serene aura, Artorias was like a tsunami that threatened to overwhelm anything in its path. Even the various currents that represented the Flow of Fate seemed to be pulled along by her momentum, significantly reducing the number of potential oues... Vahn could feel his own aura surging in response to Artorias, tiny golden scales emerging along his arms and legs as a result. She was a full Tier stronger than him, but, perhaps as a result of his lineage being much stronger, his significantly weaker aura was actually able to contend against, overwhelm, and even suppress her surging power... After approaching within thirty centimeters of Vahns body, Artorias movements came to a stop, her glimmering silver eyes staring back at him with intense passion visible within. Then, surprising the already ck-jawed Gray, who was beginning to feel out of her depths, Artoria slowly turned around, facing away from Vahn. This wasnt the most surprising part, however, as, immediately after turning away, Artoria began to slowly bend forward, using her tail as a counterbnce as it snaked up Vahns leg, abdomen, and chest before nearly flicking him in the nose... As he was insatiably curious to see what Artoria would do, Vahn had arge grin on his face as he allowed her to do as she pleased. When her tail finally passed the bridge of his nose, it didnt stop, rather, much like Artoria, it continued to move forward, creating a near-circr arc as it extended nearly to her head. What made this truly eye-opening wasnt the beauty of her tail, however, but the wless butt and tantalizing mound that came into view. Then, as if to drive him beyond the point of reason, she let herself fall back slightly, pressing up against his lower body while staring back at him with a taunting smile on her face... At this point, even Vahns horns had started to grow out, his expression bing even greedier than the one she had earlier as he tightly gripped her thin waist with his partially transformed ws. His pupils contracted to the point of being thin lines, but, before abandoning his reasonpletely, he managed to say, "Gray...stand back...I need to teach this Dragon temptress a lesson..." Though Artoria was clearly submitting to him, Vahn knew he still needed to prove himself to her, as, due to the fact she was currently much stronger than him, her own instincts were slowly beginning to cloud her reason. Fortunately, power wasnt the ultimate deciding factor between Dragons, as, just like how Fafnir had been obedient to Alexa, blood purity and the hierarchal nature of Dragons could supersede everything else. Obeying her Masters orders, Grey manifested a pair of bat-like wings, her figure vanishing like a phantom as she began to fly away at hypersonic speeds. Her own instincts had been warning of the intense danger she had been in, but, as this threat came from her Master and Lady, she obviously couldnt run away of her own volition. Thus, Vahns words had freed her from a heavy burden, even if arge part of her still wanted to remain at their side, despite the danger... The moment Gray moved beyond his perception, a few bands of golden lightning began to flicker across Vahns body. Then, using his paradoxically fearsome yet beautiful ws, he tore away at the surprisingly durable fabric of Artorias raiment, revealing the maddeningly hot flesh beneath. He had been able to feel it through the fabric of their clothes, but, the moment she waspletely exposed, Vahn felt a literally wave of heat and pheromones wash over him, causing his own body temperature to rapidly increase. Though he was slightly awed by the neatly trimmed arrangement of golden hairs that, quite literally, glimmered in the sunlight, Vahn was more focused on the steaming hot cavern that seemed to taunt his sensibilities with each small palpitation. He wasnt able to hold himself back at all, allowing his aura to violently tear apart his clothes rather than unequipping them. Then, with a borderline crazed look in his eyes, he positioned his almost painful erection at Artorias entrance, her Holy elemental energy causing a sizzling sound to spread through the surroundings before he buried his full length deep inside her body... Apanying a pained gasp, a pair of beautiful white wings erupted from Artorias back, appearing much like angel wings, but, rather than soft and delicate, they shimmered with a metallic quality. For a brief moment, Vahn felt like he was going to be repelled by the Holy aura pulsing with each beat of her heart, but, as he had already tightly gripped her, his ws deformed her tender yet durable flesh, refusing to let go... Artorias instincts were screaming at her to resist, not because she was afraid, but because part of her refused to be dominated by Vahn. Arger part of her, however, wanted nothing more than to be conquered by him, so, ignoring the conflict in her heart, her wings began to beat slightly, her aura pulsing madly as Vahn pressed into her from behind. He even ended up pushing her to the ground, causing thendscape around them to begin tearing apart due to the chaotic energy created due to their conflicting auras. Even he didnt understand what waspelling him, but Vahn ended up forcibly pinning Artoria,pressing the Space around them as he bit into the tender underside of her tail. This caused her to release a pained yet sonorous moan, her voice loud enough to cause the void to tremble as nearly a kilometer of the flowery field, in the direction she was facing, was obliterated by her roar. Despite this, Vahn continued to cling tightly to her, refusing to let the energy that was literally tearing apart his body repel him from her... Though she was being pressed down with enough force to tten a mountain, Artorias wings were still able to thrash about with impunity. Her feathers cut deeply into Vahns flesh, and, if he hadnt been forcibly keeping her tail under control, she wouldnt be able to resist trying to fling him from her body. She was currently still winning the battle within her mind, but, due to how new everything was for her, Artoria couldntpletely control her own body. This was something Vahn instinctually understood, so, while he generally tried to avoid being rough, the scene ying out within the now-destroyed flower field didnt even remotely resemble consensual love-making. To resist the energy radiating from Artorias body, Vahn had alreadypleted his own humanoid dragon transformation. His own scaled golden wings fought vainly to try and suppress Artorias far more beautiful, angelic, wings. A momentary break in his concentration all but guaranteed he would be thrown away, fundamentally changing the nature of his and Artorias rtionship. Though they would still end up having sex, their positions would be reversed, and, while this had its own charm, Vahn had never liked being on the receiving end... Eventually, despite the guilt it seeded within his heart, Vahn had little choice but to grab Artoria by the neck, forcibly changing positions so that he was on his back, supporting her body. Then, using his wings, he tightly embraced her from behind, squashing her tail between them and sinking his teeth into her shoulder. This caused Artoria to respond with another loud roar, but, as it was aimed toward the sky, the surroundings werent nearly as damaged. It also managed to tear apart arge section of his wings, but his regeneration was more than adequate to prevent her from escaping... Though he had rarely ever taken advantage of the fact, Vahns [Magia Erebia] constitution effectively made him a Shinso Vampire. As a result, he was able to absorb a persons life force and energy by forcibly draining their blood, something he had only ever experimented with, never used proactively. Artoria, however, was simply too strong after her transformation, so, if he didnt weaken her, there was little chance he would be able to maintain his diminishing lead. While trying to ignore how delicious Artorias blood tasted, Vahn continued to tighten his hold on her body, his own strength rapidly increasing as his bloodline gradually suppressed hers. Eventually, after nearly twenty minutes, he could finally feel her strength begin to decrease. This gave him the leniency to begin grinding against her from below, her insides mping around him madly as if to deny his conquest. Fortunately, after another half-hour, they reached a state of equilibrium, turning into an absolute advantage for him from then onwards... After a tiresome battle, Artoria hadrgely fallen silent, her breaths long and deep, tinged with a sonorous growl that could be heard emanating from her throat. To Vahn, it sounded a lot like she was purring, stirring him onward as he continued to cradle her body in his arms, probing against her deepest parts with impunity. Her body would tremble and vibrate with each of his thrusts, sending a small pulse of energy that, despite her weakened state, attempted to repel him. It was as if her body adamantly refused to submit to him, but, with an unbreakable grip that could conceivably shape coal into diamond, Vahn wasnt going anywhere... Eventually, Vahns wings embraced Artoria even tighter, anticipating her reaction as he released a heavy flow of semen directly into her depths. This caused a literal eruption of energy, simr in scale to a nuclear explosion to erupt from her body. Vahn had prepared himself, but his wings still ended up being destroyed, leaving him to keep Artoria suppressed using his arms and teeth. Fortunately, despite the explosion of energy, Artoria didnt try to run away. Rather, as her energy began to rapidly replenish using the phenomenal amount contained within his semen, the tensions of her body began to melt away. Then, after releasing a contented sigh, shey limp against him, a dazed smile on her face as her pupils began to dte due to intense euphoria. Realizing her body was no longer resisting him, Vahn was able to release a sigh of relief, his grip loosening without actually letting her go. He began to kiss her neck, still feeling apologetic despite the fact it had already healedpletely. This elicited an amused giggle from Artoria, who, in spite of her dazed state, managed to turn her head and muse, "Ill have to get even with you for biting my tail...the shoulder wasnt that bad, but I felt like my brain was going to explode when you bit my tail. Ive been stabbed through the heart and it wasnt evenparable to the amount of pain I felt when you bit me..." Vahn felt incredibly guilty hearing Artorias words, causing him to lightly kiss the tip of her tail. This elicited another peal ofughter from the beautiful draconic Goddess, who, having already started to recover her faculties, used her tail to lightly flick his nose as she said, "You can stop squeezing me so tightly now...my body has already submitted, just like my heart and mind. It seems I really was lucky today, umu~." Hearing Artoria emte Neros characteristic phrase, Vahn was slightly stupefied. Still, he obediently released his grip on her body, allowing her to sit up, and, with his penis still inside her, turn around so that they were facing each other. Since he had been holding her from behind from the beginning, Vahn had actually forgotten just howrge Artorias breasts had grown. Now, as her raiment had all but been destroyed, he could witness their perfection directly,pelling him to stare in awe... Satisfied by Vahns reaction, Artoria had a seductive smile on her face as she began to trace gingerly trace his muscles with her index finger. Then, while rhythmically tightening her abdominal muscles, she stated in a soul-trembling voice, "You have worked hard, my Emperor...now, allow this Empress to service you as a wife should...we have all the time in the world. Rx your body and allow me to show you the depths of my love..." Without waiting for his response, Artoria capitalized on her seductive appearance, biting her lower lip as she began to gently move her hips in a circr motion. This elicited a long sigh from Vahn, his lower body awash in indescribable pleasure, even if it also felt like he was being purified. He had yet to ascertain exactly what Divinities she possessed, but Artorias [Divnity: EX] was the highest he had ever seen. This gave an unquantifiably Divine quality to her previous Holy energy, meaning there was a very real chance his body would be destroyedpletely if he lost focus. Thus, while he wanted to take her advice and just rx, doing so woulde at a considerable cost. Fortunately, with such an awe-inspiring beauty bouncing around on his hips, Vahn would be the greatest fool in the world if he allowed himself to lose focus... (A/N: Alternate Titles: How to tame your Dragon Goddess,Vahn got that gewd s,Artoria has always been rather gluttonous :3...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1471 - Consent

Chapter 1471 - Consent

After an inordinately long period of love-making, even involving Gray once things had calmed down, Vahn wasying in arge bed amidst an endless sea of flowers. Though several days had passed, the sky was still the same crystal clear blue it had been when Artoria first dragged Gray and him inside. As for the outside world, not even a single second had transpired, as, for the time being, her power had effectively removed them from the Time Axis. Though Vahns connection to his other vessels was severed, causing them to effectively cease existing, he wasnt particrly concerned about dealing with the Heroes Faction and finishing things up at the Throne of Heroes. Sure, his sudden disappearance would cause a fair amount of confusion, but, after spending several days with the carnivorous Artoria and the demure Gray, he wasnt too concerned with mild inconveniences he had caused others... Breaking him free from his thoughts, Artoria huskily whispered in his ear, "How pleasant would it be to just stay here for eternity...fumuuu..." Vahn couldnt deny that it was a tempting thought, but, knowing she wasnt actually serious, he gave her perfectly pliant rump a light smack, stating, "It isnt good to be too indulgent. From now on, we can visit this ce and spend as much time as we like together. Staying too long will cause us to stagnate and lose our sense of purpose. I dont mind how greedy youve be, but Id be disappointed if you lost your sense of responsibility..." Rolling her eyes in response to Vahns words, Artoria snuggled up to his side,ining, "You know I was only joking. Though I wouldnt mind staying longer, I know we have to return shortly. I cant wait to see the look on everyones faces when they see what Ive be..." Though Artoria wasnt usually so vain, decades of suppressing herself and believing shecked any redeeming qualities as a female had taken its toll. She didnt intend to gloat, but part of her needed the vindication of seeing how the others reacted to her new self. Now, she wouldnt have to feel inferior to other women, including those who had given birth... As this thought crossed her mind, Artoria couldnt help but lightly stroke her own abdomen, an expectant smile on her face that didnt escape Vahns notice. He decided to emte her action, his fingers sending threads of energy into her body that allowed him to see the budding life that now gently pulsed within her womb. It wasnt going to be a normal pregnancy by any stretch of the imagination, but, keeping true to his word, Vahn made certain that Artoria was with child before they stopped to rest. She now had a uniquely pliant egg within her uterus, prevented from escaping due to a small barrier of Divine Energy. This had been created naturally by Artoria, who, desiring to experience what it was like to be pregnant, seemed to have developed an Ovoviviparous womb. This allowed her to produce eggs, but, instead ofying them, they were nurtured inside her body... At this point, there were very few things that could truly shake Vahn, so, while Artorias current state was rather unique, it didnt change how he felt. He was looking forward to the birth of his future child, wondering what form it would take considering he and Artoria were both Gods, True Dragons, and, to an extent, Spirits. Not peeking would be one of the hardest things he ever had to do, but, knowing Artoria wouldnt take kindly to having the surprise ruined, he already resolved himself to remain patient... While Vahn and Artoria were lost in their own little world, Gray was staring toward the azure sky above with a dazed expression. She was stillpletely naked from their earlier bout, but, with only her Master and Lady present, it didnt bother her. Rather, she enjoyed the gentle breeze as it flowed across her skin, cooling the passionate me in her body. Though she was supposed to have limitless stamina, Gray found it impossible to keep up with the two True Dragons, especially when one had a Divinity rted to Sex. She was perfectly fine on the outside, but, after several days of intense passion, Gray couldnt help but feel greatly relieved by the fact her Master mentioned leaving. Even now, as shey sprawled out at his side, she felt like her Master was still inside her, almost as if it had be an inseparable part of her existence. In truth, it was Grays state that had brought an end to their fun, causing Vahn and Artoria to feel slightly ashamed of themselves. They made a silent promise not to go overboard in the future, at least when others were involved. After all, Artoria was now a Tier 5 existence, so, much like Aoko, Arcueid, and Illya, she needed to be more considerate of others. As for Vahn, he generally did his best to avoid pushing the girls beyond their limits, but, due to how diligent she had be, it was easy for Gray to push herself too far... --- After lounging about for a few hours longer, Vahn felt it was time for them to return to the outside world. Watching them wear their clothes after several days spent naked was a little disheartening, but, as they obviously couldnt continue to walk around naked, it couldnt be helped. Fortunately, both looked just as good dressed up as they did naked, returning the smile to Vahns face as he helped to brush and braid their hair. Compared to before, when her hair barely extended past her shoulders, Artorias lustrous golden locks now extended all the way to her perfectly pert posterior. This wasnt the longest hair he had to deal with, a titled split between Semiramis and Medusa, but it was still a considerable increase from before. Despite the volume, Vahn had developed a particr fondness for upkeeping the hair of his women. He enjoyed pampering them, and, while the charm might be wasted on others, he felt privileged to be able to run his fingers through her satin-like hair. It was strangely cool to the touch, emanating a pleasant, mellow, aroma that tickled his nose and brought a smile to his face. Fortunately, while some women were strangely protective of their hair, Vahn had only ever receivedpliments for his efforts. Even Artoria, who never used to consider such things necessary, always seemed to enjoy his care and attention to detail. It helped that, even though he wasnt directly in contact with their scalp, Vahns Petting Laws still took effect, greatly rxing the tensions of any who fell under his series of high-quality brushes andbs. After nearly an hour, Vahn set Artorias hair into a neatly packed french-braided bun. He didnt leave a single stray hair unattended, the only exception being her fringe, her rather heroic looking bangs, and the still-present ahoge that danced about happily atop her head. It wasnt nearly as thick as it used to be, but, much like the rest of her hair, it had increased in length. Now, it formed a gentle arc that seemed to defiantly resist the pull of gravity as it dangled about like a lure, drawing the eye of anyone fortunate enough to stare upon her countenance. Vahn had tried to brush down the defiant clump of hair, but, as if it was offended by the attempt, it only stuck out even more proudly to spite him. This was both mysterious and amusing, as, despite the fact he was nearing breakthroughs in Creation, Time, and Space Laws, Vahn still didnt know how an ahoge could retain its form. It was one of the greatest mysteries of the Nasuverse, and, though he understood what it represented, even Da Vincis research hadnt been able to ascertain their secrets... As she could see Vahns antics within arge handmirror, Artoria had an amused smile on her face as she asked, "Are you done ying around, Vahn?" Hearing Artorias remark, Vahn lightly poked her ahoge a few times, causing it to wiggle about in protest. Then, with a matching smile on his face, he answered, "It is enjoyable." before packing up his hairdressing tools and adding, "Well, I can always tease it more in the future. For now, we should be going. Are you ready...?" With Artoria nodding her head in affirmation, Vahn turned his attention to Gray, who, as a form of apology, enjoyed having her hair tended to even before Artoria. Seeing her Master turn his gaze upon her, Gray couldnt resist smiling as she softly stated, "I am also ready, Master." Much like Artoria, Gray still had a prominent ahoge on her head, which, as a result of his attention, had startled to twitch somewhat excitedly. This was one of the more amusing qualities of the strange clump of hair, as it was often far more honest than the person themselves. Vahn had even likened it to a Chienthropes tail in the past, finding it enhanced the adorable factor of a woman considerably. After giving both girls ample head pats, Vahn had Artoria return them to Avalon, a rather jarring experience as it almost felt like Space was copsing around, while, inversely, Time seemed to flow outward. This wasrgely due to Artorias inexperience in managing the transition, but, as it allowed Vahn to feel the two mysterious forces in a way he wasnt quite used to, he made a mental note look into the phenomenonter on. As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn turned his attention to Artoria, feeling his mind nearly nk for a moment as her beauty washed over him. Even though they had spent several days together, he knew it would take a while to get limated to just how beautiful she had be... With Artorias smile exacerbating things, Vahn lightly chuckled to cover his embarrassment before saying, "I wont tell you not to use your Marble Phantasm, but Id prefer if you didnt take things too far. I know you, Artoria...please dont disappear for months at a time, just to increase your strength. If you intend to spend a lot of time inside, please inform me so I can apany you." Hearing Vahns words, Artoria averted her eyes slightly, a light blush on her face as, prior to Vahns warning, she had been intending to return the moment he left. She feltpelled to test the limits of her new power, but, as she could literally do this at any time, Artoria nodded her head, smiling as she answered, "I understand. Worry not, Vahn. Unless it is during an emergency, I will never use my Marble Phantasm without your knowledge. Besides..." Though she didnt change into her raimentpletely, two rabbit-like horns popped out of Artorias head as she leaned forward slightly, entuating her now voluminous chest as she added, "It will be a lot more interesting to have thepany of my Emperor~." Despite having spent the better part of six-days locked in battle with Artoria, Vahns could feel his tensions increase as a fire began to spread through his body. She had be a lot more tantalizing than before, and, undoubtedly as a result of her change, Artoria radiated confidence from every fiber of her being. This did a number on his draconic instincts, something she was undoubtedly aware of if her own flushed cheeks were any indicator... Before her Master and Lady could get out of hand a second time, Gray released a loud cough in an attempt to shatter the tensions. As a result, Vahn and Artoria averted their intense gazes away from each other, slightly embarrassed looks on their faces as the former rubbed the back of his head and said, "I should be going...Im interested to see the reactions of everyone, but I also want to return to the children before they worry. Not much time has passed since I left, but Penelo was pouting when I decided to stop by." Recalling what Vahn had mentioned nearly a week prior, Artoria gave an understanding nod before adopting a slightly more serious expression and adding, "That woman you wanted to summon...you have my blessing. Just make sure she doesnt run around doing anything strange. Honestly, Id feel better if you brought both her and the white-haired one back to the Castle. Even if they arent really rted to us, none of the women who share simr appearances will befortable if they end up in the clutches of another man..." As Artoria squinted toward the end of her words, Vahn understood what she was trying to convey. It wasnt exactly news to him, but, even without her saying it, he knew she was basically telling him not to let the women fall prey to Shirou. What he didnt know was, while he might still have affection for the original, Artoria had no such attachment to the Assassin ss Heroic Spirit. Artoria felt troubled by the fact he possessed the originals memories, and, now that her draconic heritage hade into full effect, part of her even wanted to erase him. True Dragons were possessive and greedy creatures by nature, so, now that she had greater rity regarding the situation, Artoria even besmirched her previous reminiscence. The Assassin Shirou was a threat to many of the things she cared about, and, though there was a negligible chance he would be able to seed, the fact he opposed her husband stirred her ire. Any blemishes upon Vahn were attacks to her own pride, something that didnt bother her much in the past. Now, however, Artoria felt as if it was one of the most important things, something she needed to protect at all costs... Unaware of his Empress changing mentality, Vahn apanied her and Gray to the entrance of the Inner Sanctum before splitting his body once again. His connection to his previous vessels had been severed the moment he had been pulled outside the Time Axis. This wasnt because he couldnt keep the link, but, as a result of the functionally infinite time dtion, he had experienced a brief moment where everything seemed to have stopped. If he hadnt cut the connection manually, he would just be stuck there for a literal eternity before a single second passed within the Marble Phantasm. Vahn was unique in the fact that, regardless of how stagnant the flow of time became, he was always able to perceive it. This prevented him from being sealed using any form of temporal maniption, but, if he was caught off guard, it could be extremely taxing on both his body and mind. Despite this, he still considered it a Blessing, as, without it, beings like Akasha would have just been able to freeze his body, studying him for trillions of years without him even realizing it was happening. Though he wouldnt be able to perceive them if they were just watching, the moment they tried to do anything, his awareness would elerate to the point he could perceive their actions. One day, Vahn knew he would reach a simr point to Artoria, Arcueid, and Aoko, able topletely separate himself from the Time Axis at will. Once he reached that point, he could idle about for eons at a time without even a second passing in reality. This wasnt an inherently useful ability, but, when he reached the point of being able to create his own Realm, it was the same as having functionally absolute control over the flow of time. He would even be able to fly from one end of the Universe to the other without a single second passing, peering into the endless abyss that stymied the endless expansion of Space and Time. For now, however, Vahn was more focused on the present moment. Thus, while sending one of his bodies to clear up matters with the Heroes Faction, he ventured deep below Avalon, finding himself in the Welsh Dragons Chamber. Now that he has Artorias permission, he was going to summon the Heroes Faction reinforcements. He was quite looking forward to their reaction when he booted them from the Moon Cell, so, in order to realize this reality sooner, Vahn activated the summoning circle with a slight smile on his face... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A monochromatic womans existential crisis,Vahn, God of Hairdressing,True Dragons are very possessive creatures (UwU)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1472 - Summoning Party

Chapter 1472 - Summoning Party

Starting off his summoning party, Vahn cycled through the information listed on the Thrones terminal before selecting Sigurd and summoning him as a Saber ss. Though his legend had striking simrities with Siegfried, to the point they were both fabled to have killed Fafnir, they were, in truth, entirely different beings. The principle difference between them, excluding their actual origins, was the fact that Sigurd wielded the legendary [Gram], a demonic sword that had been reforged after being destroyed by Odin. As for Siegfried, his [Balmung] was derived from a fragment of Sigurds [Gram], but, rather than an artifact that had been passed down since time immemorial, it had been forged by the Nibelungen tribe as a Holy, Dragon ying, sword... Perhaps as a result of his status as Siegfrieds precursor, Sigurds Parameters and Skills were all a fair amount higher. In fact, other than the strength of their Noble Phantasms, with Siegfrieds able to reach EX-Rank when overloaded, Sigurdpletely outssed Vahns faithful friend. Though the formers [Armor of Fafnir] would undoubtedly allow him to contend against Sigurd, it seemed that thetter was more than a match for the legendary Dragon Knight. Curious what form the King of Warriors would take, Vahn confirmed his selection, returning to the outside world to witness the return of Northern Europes Greatest Hero. What he saw didnt disappoint, as, despite Sigurds rtively short height, standing at only 178cm, he stood out as a rather heroic and intimidating personage. Though it was impossible to make out his appearance, as he seemed to be wearing some kind of futuristic armor, Vahn found the structure of his wolf-like helmet and sleek ck clothing to be quite cool... Improving Vahns evaluation even further, Sigurds helmet released a hissing sound, followed by a small burst of steam as the helmet depressurized. Then, simr to Mordreds, the helm began to change shape, magical mechanisms activating to transform it into metallic cor that seamlessly integrated into his body-armor. This allowed Vahn to see Sigurds appearance, reminiscent of an intellectual with handsome features and icy-blue eyes. What stood out the most, however, was his rather unique hairstyle, silvery-white on the sides and onyx-ck down the center. It was spiked in a stylish manner that, whenbined with the ck-rimmed sses adorning his face, gave him an appearance simr to a modern fashion model, rather than a Hero from Germanic folklore... As Sigurds appearance was simply too modern, Vahn couldnt help but raise his brow, asking, "I didnt summon the wrong person, did I? You are the Great Hero from the V?lsunga Saga, Sigurd, correct?" Without showing a single change in expression, almost as if he were a machine, Sigurd replied in a very terse manner, dully stating, "Indeed." before falling silent. He didnt seem to have any care or concern for why he had been summoned. Rather, he was simply awaiting orders, his sense of duty and purpose superseding everything else. Vahn was impressed by Sigurds bearing, but, as he wanted to quickly wrap up the summoning procedure, he simply nodded his head, saying, "Good. I have summoned you for the purpose of aiding a group known as the Heroes Faction. One of their members is Brynhildr, the very same Valkyrian woman from your own legend. I had taken pity on her plight, so, while it may not have been fair to you, I have called you nheless. I will not force you against your will, but I would appreciate it if you are able to restore a bit of happiness to that tragic womans life..." Though there wasnt a single change in Sigurds expression, Vahn hadnt missed the fluctuations in the mans aura. The mention of Brynhildr had caused his previously cid aura to turn slightly chaotic, but, by the time he had finished exining things, it became mellow and calm. From this, it could be deduced that, at the very least, Sigurd still had some affection for the forlorn beauty, even if his response was a simple, "Understood." Quickly realizing Sigurd was the type of person that treated their words like precious gold, Vahn didnt waste too much time trying to converse with him. This was probably for the best, as, due to how peculiar Sigurds outfit and equipment were, it was pretty hard not to inquire about them. It might not be his main focus, but Vahn was still a cksmith, so, seeing the unknown materials that made up Sigurds body-armor, he couldnt help feeling curious... After having Sigurd wait at the side, Vahn activated the Throne of Heroes a second time, now with the intent to summon Sasaki Kojirou. ording to the ount of both Rin and Artoria, there was no ount that a swordsman named Sasaki Kojirou ever actually existed. This was one of the reasons Vahn hadnt contested Musashis desire to summon the man, as, while he may not have existed in the current Time Axis, it was all but certain he manifested in others. After all, Musashi herself was the one who had dueled, and, ultimately killed, the famous samurai. Since the Throne of Heroes could even summon Conceptual Entities, manifesting a swordsman who never existed in the current Time Axis was a simple feat. Even if he was a fictional person, his legend had been recorded upon the Throne. This essentially made him the concept of Sasaki Kojirou, but, considering Heroic Spirits werent actually the person themselves, it wasnt incorrect to say this was the case for everyone. After confirming his selection, making sure to designated Kojirous ss as Saber, Vahn found himself back in the real world, watching as a 176cm tall Japanese man with indigo hair began to manifest in front of him. He was attired in a traditional light purple hakama, a simr kimono, light purple tabi, ck geta, and a dark-purple haori. Purple seemed to be his absolutely favorite color as, looking on his back, even his long katana was sheathed in a dark-purple scabbard, its de and handlebining to extend nearly the full length of his body. Though this was often the case with every Heroic Spirit, Sasaki Kojirou was a rather handsome man, especially with his indigo hair tied in a high ponytail. Its length managed to reach the small of his back, and, though it didnt make much sense, his bangs were neatly arched in a way that allowed them to frame his face, extending nearly to his corbone. His most striking feature was his indigo eyes, however, as they seemed to radiate a peculiar light, despite also seeming to be impossibly deep and unfathomable. Preempting Vahns words, Kojirou, with a serious expression on his face, asked, "You are my Lord? Why have you summoned me into this world...?" As he still had two more people to summon, Vahn kept his introduction and exnation rtively brief, stating, "My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor, ruler of the Aldrnari Empire. I am not your Lord, though I am the one who summoned you. As for your purpose, I have called upon your services to aid a faction of Heroes. The decision to join them is ultimately your own to make. However, you should know that the person who suggested you be summoned is none other than your former enemy, Miyamoto Musashi, albeit a female version." Kojirou looked like he was moments away from drawing his sword when he heard mention of Musashi, but, hearing thetter half of Vahns statement, he had an incredulous expression as he asked, "He became a woman...?" Amused by Kojirous reaction, Vahn allowed himself to smile as he exined, "It is aplicated matter. All you really need to understand is that there are multiple, virtually infinite, worlds. There is even a female version of Sasaki Kojirou somewhere in the multiverse, so, while it may seem like a stretch, know that my words are the truth. Soon enough, you will witness the reality with your own eyes." Though it was difficult to believe, Kojirou nodded his head solemnly in response to Vahns words. At the same time, his hands balled into fists, as, even if it wasnt the Musashi he remembered, it was still his arch-nemesis. Now that fate had brought them together again, he would not rest until he was able to cross des with his old enemy, vindicating him of his past selfs greatest shame. Vahn could sense the de-like intensity radiating from Kojirous body, but, as the main reason Musashi had suggested the formers summoning was so that they could fight, he wasnt going to interfere. Rather, a healthy rivalry could allow them both to be much stronger, so, as long as it didnt devolve into a blood feud, he didnt mind a bit of conflict within the Heroes Faction. After introducing Sigurd and having Kojirou wait along the periphery, Vahn entered the Throne, only now realizing he was summoning four Saber ss Heroic Spirits. This filled him with a strong temptation to change things up, but, as Suzuka Gozen only qualified for the Saber, Assassin, Lily, and Alter Ego sses, it didnt seem wise to use her. Rather, by reading the Flow of Fate, he was able to see the rather aggressive fox-like Yokai attacking him with her sword, frustrated by the fact she had been summoned as a child... As the Assasin and Alter Ego versions of Gozen also seemed rather troublesome, Vahn just went ahead and summoned her as a Saber. He knew this version of her would eventually be one of Tamamos servants, but, as her swordsmanship and intelligence allowed her topete with both Musashi and Da Vinci, Vahn was quite looking forward to it. Though he would never say this to the woman in question, her bashful expression was already imprinted in his mind, her charm as a kitsune not wasted upon him... With his selectionplete, Vahn watched as a young woman, standing approximately 164cm tall, manifested before him. She had pale, strawberry-beige, hair, and, as could be expected of a kitsune, two fox-like ears situated neatly atop her head. They were much smaller than Tamamos, but, with her pale-gold, paradoxically serious yet mischievous eyes, Gozen had her own unique charm. Unlike Sigurd, who had the appearance of a futuristic warrior, Gozen looked like someone who was cosying a character from the Heian period. She was attired in a red Shirabyshi outfit that gave her a number of simrities with a Shrine Maiden. She even had on a ck tate-eboshi hat, red hakama, and a red suikan, a robe that was often worn over lighter garments. What stood out the most, however, was the fact that she didnt seem to be wearing panties, but, considering the garment didnt exist during her time period, that wasnt exactly wrong... Meeting Vahns gaze, the edges of Gozens mouth curled into a smile as she said, "My, you are a rather handsome one, arent you? In fact..." Looking away from Vahn for a brief moment, Gozen stared at Sigurd and Kojirou standing off to the side, adding, "You are all quite handsome..." Though he didnt know exactly how Gozen would be Tamamos subordinate, Vahn was able to make a few assumptions. She radiated a rather haughty aura, much like one of the young noble heiresses that attended the Clock Tower. The look in her eyes gave off the impression that she did not consider others on the same level, but, considering she was the only child of the Demon King of the Fourth Heaven, dispatched to rule over a chaotic Japan, this wasnt entirely unexpected. Drawing Gozens attention back to him, Vahn gave her a simr introduction and exnation as Sigurd and Kojirou. His status as an Emperor seemed to intrigue her a fair amount, but, when she learned she would be sent away to fight alongside another faction, she seemed to lose interest, asking, "Do I really have to do something so troublesome? Ill fight if I have to, but I dont really want to get involved with another persons mess. What do I get out of helping a bunch of people I never met? Id rather stay in the Empire and enjoy this new life of mine. Come on, Tenn-sama, I promise Ill make it worth your while~." Sounding like a teenager going through her rebellious phase, Gozen seemed to have absolutely no interest in joining the Heroes Faction. She reminded Vahn of the duo of students who had tried to proposition him shortly after his entry into the Nasuverse. In fact, by using his ability to read the Flow of Fate, Vahn knew it would take virtually no effort to solicit the haughty kitsune. She seemed to be a bit of an opportunist, so, after learning his status, securing a ce at his side be one of her chief priorities. Despite his reduced opinion of the woman standing before him, Vahn had already said he wasnt going to force any of them. He knew Musashi had selfishly requested the summoning of Gozen in order to fight against her, not specifically to secure thetter as an ally. Rather, due to her nature as a Yokai, Vahn would have extended the same offer to her as the one he had given Shuten and the rest. Remembering he couldnt judge her by the values of a human, Vahns impression of Gozen no longer decreased. Then, offering a polite smile, he exined his intentions to establish a Yokai Distinct within Avalon, something she seemed more than a little interested in. After all, she was basically a Yokai Princess, born from the union between a Demon God and a Fox Spirit. Though this status meant very little in the present, most Yokai would recognize her status as a result of the hierarchal nature of their society. While not directlyparable to True Dragons, Yokai recognized certain subsets of their species as being innately superior to others. They elevated those such as Tengu, Kitsune, Dragons, and Oni to a much higher level than the myriad of other species present within theirmunity. This was due to the fact that Lesser Yokai were able to benefit from the miasma that naturally radiated from more powerful Yokai, allowing them to sustain themselves in exchange for service. It was for this reason that so many sparrow-type Yokai lingered around Benienma, so, with Gozen being a Kitsune who also possessed A-Rank [Divinity], she would undoubtedly rise to a simr status as Shuten. It wasnt difficult to imagine Gozen trying to usurp Shutens ce as the ruler of the Yokai District, but, while thescivious Oni would undoubtedly reign supreme in the moonlit realm, the position of strongest would ultimately fall to Tamamo. Once Gozen encountered the legendary Bunrei of Amaterasu, she would experience suppression simr to what other Dragons experienced around him. Though Gozen might have enough power to defeat both Tamamo and Shuten, doing so was virtually impossible, as, should she even try, her own status would bepromised irreversibly... Unaware of the existence of Tamamo, Gozen was more than happy to be a member of the Yokaimunity, a smile on her face as she answered, "That sounds a lot more interesting than running around with a bunch of so-called Heroes. Ill make sure to build arge residence that is suitable for Tenn-samas status. I trust youll be visiting often, yes~?" With what could only be described as a too-eager look on her face, Gozen attempted to move a little closer to Vahn, her vulpine ears twitching slightly. In response, he couldnt help but smile in amusement, saying, "Certainly. Im looking forward to Lady Gozens hospitality..." Gozen seemed satisfied by Vahns response, but, if she knew he was intending to bring over both Artoria and Tamamo, the smile on her face would have quickly faded away. The moment she met the two possessive women, both with far greater heritage and bloodline, Gozen would have little choice but to acquiesce. Even without peeking into the future, Vahn could imagine the bitter look on her face as she was relegated to the status of a handmaiden, dutifully serving Tamamo in the hopes of trying to win his affections... After having Gozen join the others at the side, Vahn proceeded with the final summon. When he approached the terminal, he, once again, considered whether or not he should pull a prank on the one being summoned. Though it seemed rather cruel, the person being summoned generally wouldnt care about such things, as, from their perspective, it was only natural they existed in such a state. Alexander was a bit of an outlier in the Lily department, but that wasrgely rted to the scope of his legend as the King of Conquerors... Though it took nearly two hours, Vahn was finally able to iste who he believed to be the Altria from the Servant Universe. This was achieved by filtering for versions of Altria Pendragon that had already been summoned, matching them with the Skills listed within his Unit Management. It had taken a while due to the sheer number of worlds that existed, but, due to his efforts, Vahn was able to find a surprising number of women named Altria Pendragon, all from the same Time Axis. Of the thousands of names listed, only a few had the [Cosmo Reactor] previously mentioned by Altria. After a few more tweaks, Vahn was able to narrow the possibilities down to three, virtually identical, versions of the same woman. The only difference between them was the period of time in which they seemed to appear, separated by a few thousand years. This made it seem as though they were the reincarnation of the same person, though, without summoning each of them, it was impossible to be certain. What Vahn found interesting was the fact that, with each iteration, Altria seemed to get much stronger. The final version of her even possessed a version of Rhongomyniad, qualifying as almost every Servant ss, including Avenger, Beast, Foreigner, and Savior. This made her seem rather scary, causing Vahn to peer into the Flow of Fate to help guide his decision. What he saw caused him to pale slightly, as, out of curiosity, he ended up peeking at the Savior version of Altria... While most other versions seemed to be a rtively mature version of Artoria, Vahns mind began to stagnate when he saw the childish, almost chibi, version of the same woman. She appeared no older than ten years old, but, in stark contrast to her appearance, she wore virtually no clothing. Instead, her limbs seemed to be formed of the fabric of Space, appearing much like the night sky, filled with stars. As for the rest of her body, it still seemed to be formed of flesh, her nonexistent breasts covered by nothing more than a thin band of fabric. What stood out the most, however, so long as you ignored the fairy-like wings on her back, was that her lower body was covered by nothing more than a belt. Fortunately, she didnt seem to possess a sexual organ, indicating she was some kind of synthetic life form, functionally simr to ya... Deciding against summoning a child-like version of his wife, especially after just awakening her draconic nature, Vahn turned his attention to another current. This time, he focused peeked in on the Foreigner version, as, due to the nature of Foreigner ss Servants, they were often powerful and mysterious. What he found was a mature version of Artoria, appearing in her mid-twenties... For reasons he could only specte, the Foreigner version of Artoria seemed to be attired in a white bikini, fastened together by blue strings. She had a strange top that only covered her arms and shoulders, leaving her rather developed bodypletely exposed for all to see. What stood out the most, however, was the fact she was wearing a blue cap, her hair tied into a ponytail that was reminiscent of Mordred. As for why this was strange, it was due to the fact that Vahn could see an ahoge, seemingly poking through the hat as it glistened like a piece of gold fabric... Though he could summon the weaker, more petite, version of Altria, Vahn feltpelled by the womans ahoge to summon the Foreigner. Not only was she much stronger, possessing several EX-Rank Skills, but, based on what he had been able to ascertain, she also possessed some kind of mechanical suit. This was too interesting to ignore, and, knowing she would almost certainlye to reside in Avalon, summoning a stronger, more mature, version seemed prudent. While confirming his selection, Vahn was d he had taken the time to help Artoria obtain her true form. The version of Altria he was summoning was around the same height as her, but, going by their figures, there was a clear disparity between them. Thus, if he had summoned Altria prior to Artorias awakening, she likely wouldnt have taken it too kindly. Now, even though another beauty that shared simr features had been called, she was currently more concerned with the reactions everyone had to her new form... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sigurd be like, "...",RIP Gozen,TFW the strongest version of your waifu has the appearance of a grade-schooler with exhibitionist tendencies...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1473 - GPF Special Forces, Mysterious Heroine XX Takes to the Field!

Chapter 1473 - GPF Special Forces, Mysterious Heroine XX Takes to the Field!

Upon finalizing his selection, Vahn watched, his expression one of abject curiosity, as a feminine robot manifested before him. It was surprisingly tall, standing on some kind of thrusters that not only allowed it to move freely within atmosphere but travel at near-light speeds outside of it. The four, pointed, wings on its back served to aid in this purpose, acting as stabilizers in conjunction with therge, ted, skirt that adorned its waist. At a nce, the figure before him appeared to be fully mechanical, a robot designed to appear feminine by having secondary sexual characteristics arbitrarily added to its figure. The truth of the matter, however, was that it was actually a very thing aether-nano mesh, covering the body of the startlingly beautiful woman beneath. It was a piece of technology several generations superior to anything that had been developed by the Empire, so, if Da Vinci managed to get her hands on it, transitioning to a space-faring civilization would be a simple matter. Unaware of Vahns thoughts, the machine, possessing a rather sleek full-helmet that had two, vaguely cat-like, antennae tilted its head to the side. Then, hefting the double-sided spear in her right arm, a version of Rhongomynyad possessing two points and arge shield attachment, she aimed it directly toward his face, a synthetic voice stating, "You are not of this world. If I do not find your answer satisfactory, I will have no choice but to eliminate you. Now, tell me, for what purpose have you called me to this world? Has the Saber invasion somehow spread beyond my Universe...?" Though she was addressing Vahn, the machine-like female turned her attention briefly to the three Sabers standing off to the side. None of these were her targets, however, so she cast her gaze upon the massive dragon looming a few dozen meters away before returning her attention back to Vahn. He gave off an otherworldly aura, something that didnt seem to match the natural world. As her primary duty had been the elimination of Foreigners, her sensors were calibrated to detect their anomalous energy signatures. Vahn wasnt overly fond of having a spear shoved in his face, especially one possessing both the Holy and Star elements, but he managed to maintain a smile on his face as he said, "Lower your weapon, Altria Pendragon. Though it isnt incorrect to say I am your enemy, there is no animosity between us. When we do fight, well do so in a venue where innocent lives will not be pulled into the conflict. Does your sense of justicepel you to ughter innocents to achieve your goals?" Hearing Vahn state her True Name, Altria hesitated for a brief moment before pointing her spear away from his face. Then, in much the same way as Sigurds rather futuristic helmet, Altiras began to transform, parting to reveal the face of a beautiful woman with slightly innocent features. She currently had a conflicted look, her glimmering-blue eyes possessing a quality simr to stardust as she adopting a pouting expression and said, "I dont harm the innocent..." Not expecting the somewhat adorable response, Vahn raised his brows slightly, resisting the urge to release a light chuckle as he remarked, "Howmendable..." --- Much like he had for Sigurd, Kojirou, and Gozen, Vahn exined the reason he had summoned Altria, surprising her by the mention of her Alter form. In fact, the moment she heard mention of the formers existence, she adopted an even more obvious pout than before, stating, "Im wont fight on the same side as that woman. You said they were a group her Heroes, right? Why do they have someone that wants to destroy the Universe on their side? Can you exin that!?" That Altrias concerns were understandable, especially considering the dynamic between the two of them, Vahn hadnt gotten the impression that her gluttonous counterpart was evil. Rather, she seemed pretty content with just spending her time idling about, enjoying various different types of food without a care in the world. Though her battle with Artoria had been rather intense, there had never been a point where she expressly exerted herself in an attempt to kill, maim, or cause unnecessary anguish. She just fought because she was supposed to, making her rtively tame if the situation didnt require her to take up arms. Vahn did his best to convey his thoughts to Altria, but, as if she simply couldnt tolerate the idea of working with one of her targets, she ended up pointing her spear toward him, saying, "You truly are a despicable and evil man! Youre trying to force me to aid my enemies in order to entertain yourself, arent you? Dont think you can fool me so easily! I am a Cosmic Sheriff, a member of the Gxian Police Force! You are under arrest for the uwful exploitation of Servants...!" Realizing he had underestimated Altrias rather intense character, Vahn found himself at a slight loss, his skin tingling due to the energy radiating from the holy spears tip. It didnt seem to matter to her that he was currently her Master, meaning his death would also result in her own erasure... In an attempt to deescte the situation, Vahn raised his hands in a cating manner as he said, "I am not going to force you to fight, Altria. Like everyone else, you have the right to choose how you spend this opportunity you have been provided. I understand the responsibility thates with summoning Heroic Spirits into the world, so, while Im unaware of thews dictated by your Gxian Police Force, it is senseless to im I am in vition of them. This is not your world, nor even the same Universe...even if you arrested me, what then?" Though she didnt stop pointing her spear towards Vahns face, Altria adopted another pouting expression, her cheeks puffing out as she issued a frustrated muuu. The standard procedure was to detain criminals before turning them over to the Inter-Gctic Federation for processing. Since the Gxian Police Force didnt even exist in this world, something she could confirm using the sensors in her suit, there was no judicial council to enact the Laws that dictated her action. Rather, given Vahns position and political status, pointing her spear directly at him would have earned her a harsh rebuke from her superiors... Seeing the expression on Altrias face, Vahn realized she was actually pretty gullible. While this was an endearing quality in some, the fact she wielded enough power to potentially injure even a Tier 5 being made her pretty dangerous. That spear in her hand seemed even more dangerous than the infinitely powerful [Rhongomynyad] wielded by Artoria, so, while it didnt seem like she could make full use of its power, Vahn wasnt going to underestimate her. Quickly making up his mind, Vahn took advantage of Altrias current mental state, using a guiding tone as he said, "You are a Foreigner to this world, a Heroic Spirit that is fundamentally different in nature to the existence you represented back in your home Universe. Ill admit, it was unfair of me to thrust you into the current situation. I dont wish to see you be a criminal...tell me, if I were to free you from the contract that binds you, how would you choose to live? So long as it does not endanger the lives of my people, I will support your decision." Hearing Vahn mention she would be a criminal, Altria began to feel slightly flustered, as, in her past life, she spent a lot of time just trying to clear her name. She no longer had the support of the GPF, so, even if she wanted to quote Intergctic Law, there was no such organization to back up her ims. This effectively made her a vignte within Vahns world, meaning she was viting severalws, acting withplete disregard for the current situation... With Altrias eyes swimming around in their sockets, Vahn realized he had put too much pressure on the rather naive woman. This made him feel a little guilty, so, after releasing a gentle stream of calming energy through his domain, he softly muttered, "There is no reason to panic. Just take a few deep breaths...here, follow after me..." Perhaps as a result of their Master/Servant rtionship, Altria was surprisingly obedient, following Vahns rhythm as he walked her through a breathing exercise. This allowed her to gradually calm down, rity returning to her gaze as a thoughtful look flickered across her pale, starlight-blue, eyes. He could tell she was thinking about his previous words, but, as he was somewhat curious to see how long she would continue following his lead, Vahn walked her through the same exercise until her brain began to feel a little fuzzy from oxygen saturation... After shaking her head to clear the tingling feeling, Altria felt a lot calmer, her expression forming a familiar smile as she demurely stated, "Im fine now...thank you..." Nodding his head, Vahn didnt beat around the bush, asking, "So, did you think about my words? As I said before, I wont tell you how to live your life. So long as you follow the Common Laws that have been established by the Empire, you are free to do as you please." As she had spent thest few minutes thinking things through, Altria began to absentmindedly fiddle with her fringe bangs, a rather girlish, and moderately surprising, disy. Then, with her gaze lingering on the various people and features present within the Welsh Dragons Chamber, she answered, "I dont want to fight on the same side as that woman. If she is your enemy, I will stay with the Empire. You do not seem to be as vile and wicked as I expected. I want to see what form your Empire takes...if...if you turn out to be a bad guy, I might have to fight against you..." Vahn was tempted to ask what she would do if he turned out to be a good guy, but, considering the influence her counterparts would have on her, that was all but a foregone conclusion. Just by letting them experience the Memory Link, most righteous Heroic Spirits would willingly contribute to his cause. If he allowed Altria to experience his past, it wasnt difficult even remotely difficult to imagine what kind of reaction she would have... As the end result was the same, regardless of his actions, Vahn gave an understanding nod in response to Altrias statement, smiling as he said, "So long as you do not harm the innocent, I am willing to ept your challenge any time. I can sense you possess a phenomenal power, so Im actually looking forward to sparring with you a few times. For now, however, there are a few other things we need to discuss. Afterward, Ill help you get situated." Hearing Vahns response, Altrias smile blossomed even further, earning her a tongue click from Gozen. This caused Altria to give the curious kitsune woman a questioning look, confused about the unexpectedly hostile reaction from the woman she had never met. Unfortunately, her reaction seemed to exacerbate matters, causing Gozen to cross her arms with a glowering expression that conveyed mild disdain. Before things could escte further, Vahn interceded, sending a pointed look towards Gozen that caused her to avert her eyes in a pretense of shame. This only further confused Altira, but, before she could make any inquiries, Vahn began to direct them out of the Welsh Dragons Chamber. He still had much to discuss with them., and, with time counting down to the moment he booted the Heroes Faction from the Moon Cell, it was better to wrap things up sooner, rather thanter. There was still much left to do, but, now that things had developed to this point, Vahn knew it wouldnt be long before everything was neatly following his arrangements... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Da Vinci is going to have a field day...,A surprisingly adorable, yet hot-headed, maiden,Just ording to keikaku...(T/N: Keikaku means n)) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1474 - Ebb and Flow

Chapter 1474 - Ebb and Flow

When everything was said and done, the Heroes Faction ended up being forced out of the Moon Cell, their penultimate destination being Mt. Emei, one of the Four Sacred Peaks located in Southern China. Here, Change established their official headquarters, iming the 3100m tall mountain as the first official stronghold of the Heroes Faction. From there, they were free to do pretty much anything they wanted, so long as they followed the Common Law while doing so. Almost immediately after the Heroes Faction had settled down, a not-so-unexpected separation in their forces urred, chiefly as a result of a few of the more prideful Heroic Spirits refusing to be led by Shirou, even with Musashis support. As a result, Hippolyta ended up migrating west, seeking out her ancestral homnd near modern-day Turkey. This had led to a bit of conflict in the region, but, after a very brief skirmish, Hippolyta was able to im the northern region of Terme, renaming it to New Themiscyra. Vahn hadnt been fond of her rather overbearing disy, but, after a brief period of negotiations, he allowed her to im the territory so long as she allowed Companions to freely roam thends. If she hadnt acted in self-defense during the initial attack, however, he would have forced her to retreat, regardless of whether or not she had the support of Caenis, and, somewhat unexpectedly, Aife... The penultimate goal of Hippolyta was the establishment of a Paradise of Women, an area where females could flee to in order to seek greater strength. It was meant to bepletely off-limits to men, as, after her death at the hands of Heracles treachery, Hippolyta had lost all faith in the more barbaric sex. As for why Caenis and Aife followed her, the formers reasons were pretty transparent. Caenis simply hated men, and, though she wasnt fond of Hippolytas appreciation for Ares, their shared heritage and desire for battle brought them together. It only took Hippolyta disying her prowess in battle to convince her, so, now that they were free to act as they pleased, Caenis felt that building a paradise for women wasnt the worst way to spend her time. It would take a fair amount of time, but, due to the nature of the current world, it didnt take long for their numbers to increase beyond five digits after they began epting refugees. The biggest issue with Hippolytas n was the fact that many refugee women had families, with the obvious inclusion of some sons. Since it would be a grievous vition of the Common Law for her to forcibly exile the children, they established a secondary, outer, region along the outskirts of New Themiscyra. Here, males under the age of fourteen, a number Hippolyta had borrowed from the Common Law, were allowed to stay with their mothers. As for those older than fourteen, they were forced to venture out on their own, expected to take care of themselves from that moment onwards. While this kind of society seemed unnecessarily biased, it would serve as a strong contrast to themunities within the Supercolonies. Since the women fleeing to New Thmiscyra had willingly done so, Vahn didnt directly intervene with the establishment of the new city, built courtesy of Aife and her army of sapphire-blue automatons. As it was rtively difficult to enforce the Common Law at the present moment, severalmunities had been established in the wake of The Fall. Many of these were male-dominated societies, as men were, more often than not, more aggressive and ambitious than their fairer counterparts. As a result, many charismatic and exploitative men had taken over their localmunities, taking advantage of and often suppressing females. The Empire had destroyed thousands of buddingmunities that operated on such principles, but, regardless of how many they destroyed, others would pop up soon thereafter. Though this changed depending on things like region and culture, it was difficult to argue against Hippolytas and Caenis beliefs when there were countless examples of much worse societies. Even if there were also regions that were dominated by a few rtively powerful females, often reversing the dynamic between men and women. Though they were the minority, a saddening number of thesemunities came about as a result of those very same women being mistreated by their male counterparts. Factors like stress could greatly increase the rate at which supernatural powers developed, so, with many people suffering as the result of selfishness within theirmunity, rapid shifts in power weremon. As this often led to the previously oppressed group turning around to oppress the ones who had treated them poorly, it had be a rather vicious cycle in some regions. Thus, while the existence of a female onlymunity would undoubtedly cause problems, Vahn would tolerate it, so long as they followed the Common Law... Fortunately, while Hippolytas actions were rather contentious, the Heroes Faction, as a whole, had been able to expand its influence at a monstrous rate. The current transitory era could be surmised as a period in which strength and superpowers reigned supreme. Thus, whenever someone with far greater power than normal appeared, it garnered a lot of attention. While arge number of countries had copsed under the economic strain and subsequent copse of modern infrastructure, those with more structured political systems had managed to survive. This mainly included rtively small countries, such as Japan and South Korea, but, despite a period of ongoing political turmoil, even China and the United States of America had been able to crawl their way back to prominence. Though their original governments had copsed entirely, the organizations and families that had established those governments in the first ce had continued to survive. They had hundreds, if not thousands, of years to make preparations for such events. Thus, while modern society had quickly copsed, they were able to slowly reim their nations due to the existence of several powerhouses that already existed prior to The Fall. As could be expected, this type of dynamic led to manyrge countries being divided into various smaller territories, each governed by a powerful or influential family. This, in turn, led to a fewrge scale conflicts, the majority of which were swiftly brought to an end by Imperial intervention. As a result, battles were decided by the number of powerful and influential people one side possessed, as, in ordance with the Common Law, dueling had been legitimized as a method of settling civil disputes. With literal Gods, Demigods, Generals, and legendary warriors on their side, the Heroes Faction had been able to quickly expand their influence by allying with the more righteous families. At the same time, the aid they provided to the people greatly strengthened their poprity, restoring hope and inspiringmunities toe together, working towards amon goal. This didntpletely eliminate the number of people who got drunk off newfound power, but, regardless of how strong they became, there was little they could do in the face of a Hero. Even prior to The Fall, the concept of a Hero had captivated the hearts and minds of people all over the globe, aided by the advent of cinematography and expressed through mediums such as video games. It was difficult to find a person who didnt have a favorite superhero or a specific power they believed to be the most powerful. Thus, when literal Heroes began to appear, striking down viins, ending bloody conflicts, and providing aid, the people readily rallied behind them, hoping for relief. With careful political maneuvering,bined with forging alliances with the right people, it was only a matter of time before the Heroes Faction became one of the most influential forces in the world. It helped that, rather than seize control of the regions they provided aid to, they left the governance to the people. This made their actions appear selfless, but, more importantly, it prevented the Heroes from bing too well known. People could be exceptionally selfish, so, when someone with power appeared, doing their best to help, society began expecting them to help, forcing their burdens on others in order to live easier lives. There had already been a few attempts topel the Heroes Faction to rise against the Empire, but, by exposing the mastermind behind these movements, most rebellions were quickly quelled. While this had the consequence of some people linking the Heroes Faction and Empire together, this rarely grew beyond the point of rumors. It was hard toy usations on a group that had worked to save millions of lives, especially when they had the support of various political factions, including many traditionalist families. Since it was one of the few opportunities they had to secure their sovereignty, the most powerful families had quickly realized the significance of the Heroes Faction. Though some were on the fence, at least in the beginning, their minds were made up once they realized the Empirergely ignored the groups actions. This made it apparent that the Empire tolerated the existence of the Heroes Faction, affirming that the Common Law wasnt just a series of convenient restrictions that could be ignored at the Empires discretion. Many of the more forward-thinking countries had started to structure their system of governance around the Common Law, even before the advent of the Heroes Faction. Thetters existence just proved the veracity of their assumptions, allowing them to more confidently secure their power and influence without fear of repercussions. The greatest difficulty any country or faction faced in the present was the avability of resources, but, so long as you followed the spirit and letter of the Common Law, the Empire readily provided aid. This required the visit of an Auditor and a systematic analysis of needs, versus wants, but, as it all but guaranteed they were able to keep their people fed, most vying for power didnt mind sacrificing a bit of privacy. There was no way to directly oppose the Empire, so, rather than paint a target upon themselves by resisting, they endeavored to reap as many benefits as possible. Vahn didnt particrly care how many nations, countries, kingdoms, andmunities survived The Fall, as, from the very beginning, he didnt intend to directly govern. The Empire had already staked a im to thend required for the construction of the Supercolonies. This would allow him to provide protection and sanctuary to all sapient races during theing convergence. Thus, so long as they were willing to follow the Common Law, he saw no reason to directly intervene in the governance of other countries. In the end, trying to exercise plete control was pointless, as, due to the nature of the Universe and the existence of the Karmic System, you would only invite greater tragedy upon yourself. Even if he eliminated all evil within the world, the next set of enemies would eithere from outer space, or, infinitely more troubling, other dimensions. He could seal off the Time Axis, preventing people from moving backward to invade his present, but, no matter how hard he tried, closing off the withoutpletely isting it was impossible. Vahn knew that the Olympian Gods could all be ssified between S and EX-Rank, putting them on par with existences such as Arcueid. Though she would ultimately be able to defeat them, the Divine Authority wielded by the Olympians would make them exceptionally troublesome opponents. This was especially true for Zeus, who, ording to Merlin, had enough power to potentially inflict mortal wounds upon the itself. He was also a notoriously aggressive and self-entitled God, so, once he returned from the Reverse Side, it was all but guaranteed he would try and secure his ce as the primary God. Fortunately, with adequate preparations, the Divine Authority of Gods could be restricted. Better yet, due to the nature of Divinity within the Nasuverse, the Olympian Gods would actually get weaker as time passed. After all, their power was derived from much older Gods, many of which were still alive and well on the Reverse Side. Once the convergence reached a certain point, older generations of Gods would begin to return, the Divinity they possessed superseding that of younger generations. Eventually, Goddesses like Ishtar and Ereshkigal would be far more powerful than most Olympian Gods, as, while not the oldest, the Gods from Ancient Sumeria, Babylon, and Mesopotamia were some of the oldest. They were the generation of Gods that had seized power from Tiamat,ying the foundation for the Surface World, and, subsequently, ensuring the Age of Gods woulde to an end... In order to prepare for far greater threats, Vahn couldnt afford to worry too much about the matters of the outside world. Fortunately, with thebination of CHALDEAS, his ability to read the Flow of Fate, the analytical ability of Sherlock, and the systems created by Da Vinci, the Empire didnt have to worry about being blindsided by future events. Most troubles were settled before they became even greater threats, and, due to theprehensive nature of their forecasting, Vahn could even delegate specific personnel to deal with threats. Though there were no such things as guarantees regarding the future, especially when powerful foes were involved, the ability to read the Flow of Fate allowed Vahn to make reasonable assumptions. He could peek into the future of anyone epting Quests to determine whether or not they would face any substantial danger in the process. This allowed him to more confidently allow his subordinates, students, and children to venture out into the outside world, dealing with the various monsters that had started to appear around the world. By delegating responsibilities to other people, Vahn was able to focus more on the internal affairs of the Empire, chiefly concerning the development of Avalon, the Yokai District, and the ever-growing poption of Fae and other Spirits. He also spent a lot of time teaching his students, including most of his children, as, due to the nature of the Projection, they grew faster than bean sprouts. By the time he had been in Nasuverse for a year, more than six had passed within the Projection. As a result, Isanna and Naavi appeared fully grown, and, while his other children grew at a substantially slower rate, his youngest, a son born to Olga, was nearing 21 months old. He was a quiet child, but, as most of his children proactively took care of each other, Vahn and Olga never had to worry about their son, Hans, being left out. Rather, Naavi had taken after her mother, so, whenever she had free time, the kind-hearted Vanir could always be found watching over her younger siblings. Fortunately, with the exception of Artoria, there were no other pregnancies within Avalon, at least for the time being. Though some were more than a little tempted to be mothers, such as Tamamo, Nero, and Kenshin, they had other things they were more interested in. The former had be the de facto ruler of the Yokai District,rgely due to the fact Shuten simply didnt care. As for Nero and Kenshin, they had been working tirelessly to support the construction of the Supercolonies, often to the point of requiring Vahn to directly order they take some time off... Though Nero had been notorious for delegating responsibilities to others, history also showed that she had been willing to personally lead the charge when she believed it was required. Now that she was no longer gued by incessant migraines, she was even more focused and resolute than before, almost to an overwhelming extent. Fortunately, as a result of her [Imperial Privilege] granting her A-Rank [Charisma], even her excessive actions were interpreted favorably by those she interacted with. She had even been able to win over arge portion of the refugee poption around the European Supercolony, restoring order to the rtively chaotic region. As a result, the number of citizens acquiescing the Imperial rule had been increasing faster than initial projections, proving just how powerful Skills like [Charisma] could be at higher ranks. In truth, Neros zeal was actually the result of the changes to Artoria, as, despite her best efforts, she found herselfcking inparison to the aptly titled Dragon Empress. Thus, rather thanpete in a contest she couldnt hope to win, Nero decided to prove her value by excelling in the purpose that had been assigned to her at the time of her summoning. This wasnt really necessary, as Vahn always showed consideration for all of his women, but, much like the other women, Nero couldnt help but feel slightly threatened by Artorias changes... Though she had always been the most influential woman in the Inner Sanctum, Artorias status had been elevated a considerable amount after her evolution. Not only did she carry herself with even greater dignity and confidence, but, due to the nature of her Divinities, even Goddesses like Ishtar were somewhat cowed by her presence. This was due to the fact that, against expectations, Artoria actually had a Dragon Divinity, which, whenbined with her Fortune and Fate Divinities, made her an exceptionally terrifying existence. Only someone like Arcueid could directly contend against the current Artoria, but, as she possessed no desire to fight for status, spending most of her time reading or drinking tea with other members of the Inner Sanctum, Artoria was left unchallenged. Rather, there had been none to challenge her even before the change, so, now that she had be a Dragon Goddess, her position had virtually been secured. The only one with any desire to directly contend against her was Mordred, but, as this manifested in the desire to simply train harder, that wasnt exactly a bad thing... (A/N: Alternate Titles: People can be profoundly stupid,This is starting to sound like the back story for BNHA...,Uncontested Goddess of Dragons) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1475 - Changing Tides

Chapter 1475 - Changing Tides

While rxing in a steamy bath of emerald-green water, Vahn reclined with his arm hooked around the shoulders of Nobunaga, absentmindedly massaging her breasts as she leaned against him with a somewhatscivious expression. At the same time, his right hand danced about whimsically, shaping the water of the onsen into the form of a serpentine dragon. Though he no longer had something as convenient as Essence to aid him, Vahn had reached a level of mastery that allowed him to freely manipte the elements within his domain. This required an intense level of focus, making it difficult to use in battle, but it was perfect for rxed moments like this. After all, there was something mesmerizing about watching a glimmering, emerald-green, wyrm dance about above the surface of an onsen, lit only by the moonlight above and various candles in the surroundings. Once he had the shape the way he wanted it, Vahn took a slow and steady breath before closing his hand, gradually forming the shape of a fist. In ordance with his will, the nine-meter-long serpent began to shimmer, its body gaining an ephemeral solidity that was reminiscent of the phenomenon of surface tension. After several tense moments, Vahn released his held breath, forcing the steam from the surrounding onsen to clear away in an instant. Then, retracting his hand, he smiled as the serpentine dragon was able to keep its form, coiling above the surface of the onsen as if it were solid ground. It no longer required his direct control, moving ording to an intent-based program that allowed it to function with a simr capacity to a golden retriever. As this wasnt the first time he had done something simr, Nobunaga lightly pped the surface of the water, making small sshes that seemed to alert the confused serpent. It turned its eyes toward her, gazing with transparent green orbs as it recoiled back slightly, emting the sort of trepidation you would expect from an abandoned stray. It was only when Nobunaga stated, "Come on...Im not going to hurt you~." that the serpent began to hesitantly approach, snaking across the surface of the onsen without breaking the surface tension. Vahn watched with bated breath as his creation approached within arms length of both Nobunaga and himself. It allowed her to gingerly ce her hand upon its snout, freezing in ce for several seconds before tentatively nuzzling against the palm of her hand. This caused the edges of Vahns smile to curl up slightly, but, as if to spite him, a ripple spread across the surface of the serpentine dragon. Immediately thereafter, it burst apart like a bubbling, spilling forth its mineral-rich contents and causing Nobunaga to release a somewhat grating peal of sonorousughter... Rolling his eyes, Vahn lightly pinched her exposed nipple, forcing herughter to cease, reced by a rather adorable groan as her body trembled. This earned him a punch to the chest, but, unless he proactively allowed himself to take damage, Vahn was immune to any attacks beneath the A-Rank. As a result, he released a light chuckle instead of a pained groan, lifting the glowering Nobunagas face to steal her lips. Though this resulted in her lightly biting his tongue, seemingly intent to draw blood, Vahn had long-since grown used to her antics... --- After a brief stint of fun within the onsen, Vahn and Nobunaga emerged from the changing room with contented smiles, arms linked. They were both attired in loose-fitting yukata, allowing steam to rise from the exposed bits of flesh that had soaked a little too long in the startlingly hot waters. This resulted in Nobunagas skin practically glowing, a ruddy blush visible on each exposed bit, including her near-crimson face. Though they had happy smiles at first, Vahns expression became somewhat awkward, as, waiting for them on the outside of the changing room was a rather ruffled-looking Benienma. She had a habit of partially transforming whenever her tensions were high, so, while she still looked like an adorable young girl, her body had inted slightly as a small frown adorned her face. This actually increased her adorable factor, especially with the puffed out downy feathers around her neck, but Vahn elected to keep this observation to himself as he averted his eyes, finding Nobunaga doing the same... With an expression akin to a serious pout, Benienma shook her finger toward Vahn and Nobunaga as if she were lecturing misbehaving children, eximing, "This is your fifth warning, Tenn-sama! I told you not to y around in the bath! Even if you clean up after yourself, think of the guests who have to use the water after you-dechi...!" Deciding not to point out the fact that others werent supposed to use his onsen, as it was meant to be reserved for him and his wives, Vahn lightly scratched his cheek as he said, "Forgive ourck of consideration. The baths here at the Enma-tei are simply too pleasant not to enjoy to the fullest..." As she was exceptionally weak topliments regarding her ryokan, Benienma struggled to keep an upset expression, forcing herself to maintain a stern look as she answered, "D-dont think Ill let just let you off-" Before Benienma could finish, Vahns smile became more pronounced as he said, "Its the truth. Why else would Ie here so often? Everyone agrees with me, isnt that right, Nobu...?" Further overwhelming the young sparrow, Nobunaga nodded her head, a serious expression on her face as she answered, "The onsens here are world-ss. As the Proprietress, you should be proud of that fact. Even this Demon King is impressed with your facilities." No longer able to maintain her stern expression, Benienma had a gleeful smile on her face as she cupped her cheek and bashfully eximed, "Oh! You two are too much-dechi~! How can I stay mad at guests? Customer satisfaction is paramount-dechi~!!" Seemingly forgetting her original purpose, Benienma began to walk away, her feathers puffing up happily as she added, "Dinner has already been prepared. When you are ready, just ring the bell and it will be delivered directly to your room, dechi~! I added looooots of love, so Im certain youll enjoy it~!" Despite the corridor seeming infinite in length, it didnt take Benienma much time to reach the end, her figure disappearing as she rounded a corner. This left Vahn and Nobunagaughing like two kids who had pulled off a sessful prank. Then, arms still linked, they began to navigate thebyrinthine corridors, finding themselves at their room in a startlingly short period of time... --- With more than six-months passing in the outside world, the Yokai District had grown exponentially in size. The flow of time within varied from location-to-location, but, even if you were simply to walk the perpetually moonlit streets, time would stagnate by a factor of three. As a result, an average of eighteen months had passed within the peculiar dimension that existed in the in-between spaces of Avalon, essible only by getting lost or having an invitation from one of the thousands of Yokai that resided within. Avalon had experienced an explosive growth in its poption as ofte, eclipsing more than eighty-thousand residents. Though the vast majority of these were Yokai, Spirits, and Fae, approximately six-thousand humans hade to reside in the port city located on the southern end of Avalon. These were mostly orphaned children who had shown considerable progress over thest six months, but, after various changes within the Mages Association, there were also a number of Faculty members and students from the Clock Tower. Considering his encounter with the Heroes Faction took ce a little more than seven months after his arrival in the Nasuverse, a lot could change in six-months. Now, the world had slowly started to move towards stabilizing, and, though construction was ongoing, even the European Supercolony had started to take in its first citizens. Now, it wasnt rare to find people walking around with their Companions, smiles visible on their previously gaunt and downtrodden faces. Though the majority of people still considered the Empire a tyrannical faction headed by a vile and wicked Emperor, sentiments amongst asylum-seekers had changed considerably. Those who lived in close proximity to food distribution centers had quickly adapted to the Common Law, finding their lives had actually improved beyond expectations. Even public order was all but guaranteed, as, the moment someone stepped out of line and tried to cause trouble, Imperial forces would appear to settle the dispute in an instant. It would likely take several generations for people to truly ept the changes brought about by the Empire, but, as most people simply wanted to live stress-free lives, they were quick to acquiesce in the face of convenience. The Empire not only provided food and shelter, but, so long as you obeyed the Common Law, you didnt even have to work. You could spend days on end without leaving your room, investing all your time in reading the hundreds-of-thousands of books and manuals that were provided by the Empire, studying anything that interested you, magic included. Due to the avability of information, strict adherence to the Common Law, and an ever-increasing amount of mana in the environment, a growing number of people had started to disy proficiency in the use of Magic. This was especiallymon near the nascent Supercolonies, as, seeing massive cities built in a short period of time was an eye-opening experience. People had be increasingly captivated by the mysteries of magecraft, opening their minds to the infinite potential represented therein... While these developments were important, Vahn was most grateful for the fact that he now had a considerable amount of free time. He now did most of his training using Arcueids and Artorias Marble Phantasms, freeing up his schedule to spend time with his children, teach his students, and tend to his women. As a result, he felt as though his life had be infinitely more fulfilling, even if each day brought a fair amount of, generally pleasant, drama... --- With a deadpan expression on his face, Vahn stared at the slovenly figure that was sprawled out across his and Nobunagas futon. Then, turning his eyes to the surroundings, popted by several empty containers of liquor, he dully asked, "How many times does this make, Shuten...?" Despite Vahns tone, Shuten giggled in her characteristically seductive manner, rolling onto her stomach and supporting her head with her hand and elbows as she answered, "Didnt I tell you? I wont give up unless you kill or chase me away~." Shaking his head, Vahn released a tired sigh, turning to Nobunaga to find a mixture of amusement and mild frustration visible in her countenance. She actually got along fairly well with Shuten, but, as it wasnt easy to get a few days alone with Vahn, the presence of her fellow connoisseur of fine sake had soured her mood, albeit only a little. Seeing the look in Nobunagas eyes, Shuten slightly squinted her own, the smile on her face growing a bit as she mused, "Ara~? I wonder if you have forgotten our promise so soon? Tell me, Nobunaga-sama, who was it who teased me to her hearts content, promising to invite me drinking with Tenn-sama~?" Hearing Shutens words, a small amount of panic could be seen in Nobunagas eyes, her face gaining a ruddy hue as she looked between the mischievous Yokai and Vahn. Fortunately, rather than appear even remotely upset, Vahn just lightly chuckled, asking, "Im guessing she got you drunk before riling up your sadistic nature?" Before Nobunaga could reply in the affirmative, Shuten adopted a pouting expression, saying, "Hey, that isnt fair, Tenn-sama. Even if she is your wife, you cant show favoritism like that. Regardless of the circumstances, its true that she yed me without remorse. Is that not so, Nobunaga-sama~?" Rolling his eyes in response to Shutens words, Vahn wrapped his hand around Nobunagas waist, a confident smile on his face as he said, "I know Nobunaga better than anyone. She might get out of hand at times, but she wouldnt do anything I didnt approve of. If you got yed by Nobunaga, it is because you willingly incited her sadistic nature after getting her drunk." With Vahn taking her side, Nobunaga couldnt help but adopt a sly smile, squinting her ruby-red eyes in amusement. As for Shuten, she pursed her lips slightly, seemingly thinking about how to best respond but ultimately finding herself unable to refute Vahns words. Thus, rather than rely on words, she rolled onto her back, looking upside-down at them as she lightly stroked her lower abdomen and said, "Even if I used underhanded tactics, Nobunaga and I still came to an agreement. Is Tenn-sama willing to annul such an agreement after the price has already been paid...? How tyrannical~." Shrugging his shoulders in a dismissive response, Vahn turned his attention to Nobunaga, ultimately leaving the decision to her. This caused her to shrug in turn, her smile turning slightly askew as she said, "Well, I wouldnt want to be called a liar. Besides, Shutens alcohol is quite nice. I wouldnt mind sharing a few drinks before sending her off." Knowing it wouldnt end with just a few drinks, Vahn issued a dryugh before ultimately nodding his head and saying, "Very well, then. I dont mind cutting loose before my battle tomorrow morning. If this bes a habit, however, Ill issue aint to Benienma. Dont think Im not aware of the fact youve been using my onsen as you please, Shuten..." Shuten wasnt surprised to hear that Vahn had learned of her arrangement with Benienma, but, as she had promised thetter it wouldnt be revealed, it put her in a somewhat awkward position. She wasnt even remotely afraid of Benienma, but, when it came to things like customer satisfaction, the petite sparrow could be pretty scary. It was also possible for her to be banned from the Enma-tei, preventing her from entering without viting the Common Laws that Vahn had imposed on the entire Yokai District. While formting a n to win Benienma to her cause, Shuten pretended to be unaffected, gigglingsciviously as she pulled out arge bowl of fruit, seemingly out of thin air. Then, in a sensual and husky tone, she ced arge grape against her lips, letting it sit there for a few moments before sliding it into her mouth and loudly crunching it. Only after this disy did she smile in amusement, answering, "Worry not, Tenn-sama. So long as you visit me more often, I can promise this wont be a habit, ufufufu~." Lightly snorting through his nose, Vahn guided Nobunaga to sit across from Shuten, leaving a fair amount of distance between them. Then, to make his point clear, he manifested arge kotatsu to separate them, earning an amused cackle from Nobunaga and a pouting expression from Shuten... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn over here casually creating water elementals...,People are too easily pacified in the face of convenience x_x...,Some things change, others remain the same) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1476 - Reflection Under the Moonlight

Chapter 1476 - Reflection Under the Moonlight

As an Imperial Suite, Vahns usual room at the Enma-tei had arge pavilion attached to it. This was an area where he could enjoy the fresh evening air and admire the perpetually full, abnormallyrge, moon above. He found the sight rather mesmerizing, possessing a calming quality that encouraged people to reflect on their actions... While Vahn was enjoying the gentle caress of the night air, Nobunaga and Shuten were both passed out in the room, nary a single piece of cloth between them. This wasrgely the result of their own efforts, but, as was often the case, Vahn ended up getting pulled along by the momentum of the two drunkards. Fortunately, no matter how insistent they were, he had a policy to avoid making any kind of rash decisions when alcohol was involved, even if he couldnt get drunk. Once Shuten became emboldened, Vahn ended up silencing both her and Nobunaga, albeit after a very long period of sonorousughter, soul-trembling moans, and hours of heavy panting. He had used his [Hands of Nirvana] to great effect, leaving the two women flushed from head to toe as their bodies ovepped atop the disheveled futon. There were various bottles of sake in the surroundings, so, at a nce, it looked like the two had simply drunken themselves into oblivion. When they finally awoke, however, they were little doubt they would remember everything that had happened to them the previous night... Remembering how things had yed out, Vahn couldnt help shaking his head slightly, muttering, "I still get pulled along too easily by the momentum of others...I wonder if this can be attributed to the peaceful times Ive been experiencing as ofte...?" In response to his inaudible musings, Sis went out of her way to answer, (*You certainly do get more whimsical whenever things slow down. The root cause, however, stems from the fact you are, on the most fundamental level, an empath. Were this not the case, you wouldnt have been troubled by the situation with Mordred and Alexa. If you put your foot down, they would certainly be hurt. With the pass of time, however, they would eventually recover, finding a new path for themselves, aided by your unwavering love as a parent.*) Not expecting Sis to suddenlyment about Mordred and Alexa, Vahn couldnt help but frown. He hadnt actually done anything with Alexa, as she was off in another Record entirely, but it was true he had been thinking about her on asion. Rather, he had been thinking about Danmachi a lot during this inordinately long period of peace, wondering if he was doing right by his original family by living happily in the present. Vahn knew all of his original women would undoubtedly want him to take his time, enjoying himself in the process of obtaining power. They would want him to be happy, not some mindless machine that only knew how to seek strength. Still, that didnt mean he was free from guilt, especially during long periods of peace. His life was so fulfilling right now that, at times, he would even feel inclined to ignore his training in lieu of spending more time with his children... After running his hand through his hair, Vahn released a profoundly deep sigh, producing arge volume of steamy vapor as he internally remarked, ("Ill try and put my foot down more often in the future...still, I dont regret my choices. Mordred works harder than almost anyone...Ive always had a soft spot for earnest women. It was my selfishness that made things unnecessarilyplicated...") Rather than refute Vahns words, Sis issued a soft Nn before saying, (*That is, indeed, the case. Even if your actions were the result of peculiar circumstances, you were still a little too hasty. Dont get me wrong, Vahn. Im not actually ming you for your decisions. Rather, Im more trouble by the fact you allow them to weigh upon your mind. I dont want to see you regress into a depressive state of mind, making mistakes you could have otherwise avoided...*) Hearing Siss words, Vahn lightly nodded his head, remembering the mistakes he had made toward the end of his time in the Record of Danmachi. He had even squandered a considerable amount of Karma due to his mental state at the time, wasting nearly 150 years of effort in an instant. That was one of the biggest mistakes he had made, as, ording to Sis, even evading Akashas notice would have been a simple feat with that much Karma... The higher Tier the Record, the moreprehensively powerful the forces governing it should be. If he wasnt careful, just entering a Record would draw a lot of attention to himself, directing the focus of every powerful entity towards him. He was actually very lucky that something like the Root System existed, as, depending on the circumstances, any reasonably powerful entity would be able to kill or imprison him, at least for a time. Entering into more powerful Records safely would require an inordinatelyrge amount of Karma, so, while he was tempted to just pick up Eva in the future, Vahn knew he would probably be stuck there for a short while. He would need to defeat the Mage of the Beginning and bring about some kind ofsting change in the world, such as curing diseases or proliferating magical knowledge to the masses. This was the only way to guarantee their safety in future Records, as, even if he could keep everyone safely locked away inside his Soul, manifesting them in the real world would expose them to danger... Though he could build and expand his Empire in each Record he visited, Vahns experiences over thest few years had shown the futility of such actions. It would be better to transport his Empire with him between each Record, allowing it to expand and grow internally, rather than arbitrarily imposing his will onto others. He would, of course, take a stand against anything he felt was morally incorrect, but, rather than build his Empire from scratch, iming territory and shaping the world to match his vision, Vahn felt it would be far more liberating to act freely, much like a vagrant, wandering, Hero... Imagining wandering around like an Adventurer, Vahn couldnt help but smile as he shook his head and made his way back inside. It was easy to imagine the kind of life you wanted to live, but, when it came down to it, he knew his nature could never overlook things like corruption and the suppression of races. He would likely destroy the nobility of most Records he visited, liberating the people and, if not outright changing the system to reflect his ideals, he would, at the very least, invite them to stay in his own internalized Universe... The instant Vahn stepped inside his room, finding Nobunaga and Shuten still sprawled out on the futon, his senses alerted him to the arrival of a guest. Immediately afterward, a loud crashing could be heard from the direction of the pavilion, followed by a shrill, somewhat panicked voice shouting, "Shuten! Shuten! Ivee to save you...!!" Following the outburst, another crashing sound could be heard as Ibaraki broke through the wall, her expression showing concern and frustration as she sniffed at the air like a bloodhound. Then, seeing Vahn staring at her with a deadpan expression on her face, she hoped backward, pointing her finger usingly as she shouted, "Its you! Smelly Dragon...!" Mimicking Ibarakis actions, Vahn pretended to be just as shocked, pointing towards the petite Yokai as he shouted, "Banana-oni...!" Hearing the nickname that had been assigned to her, Ibaraki seemed to take critical damage, falling a few steps backward as her already paleplexion turned ghostly. If not for the fact Shuten had been the one to assign her the nickname, she would have immediately pounced upon Vahn with the intent to kill. Instead, her eyes swam around in their sockets as she didnt know whether she should be happy or sad to be addressed as such... While Ibaraki was struggling with her thoughts, Vahn adopted a casual stance with his arms crossed, asking, "What are you thinking, Ibaraki? Even if youre worried about Shuten, how do you think she and Benienma are going to react when they see the damage youve caused to the ryokan? This is the third time youve charged in like this...are you incapable of learning your lesson?" As if she only just now realized where she was, a cold sweat could be seen spreading across Ibarakis body as she muttered, "An Oni...isnt afraid...of such things..." Even before Ibarakis words had finished, a swift pitter-patter of footsteps could be heard echoing through the corridors, causing her expression to pale even further as she contemted running away. Before she could even try, however, Vahn appeared behind her like a phantom, grabbing the back of her obi and lifting her up like a kitten as he said, "Youll only make things worse by trying to run..." Though she was tempted tosh out and attack Vahn, Ibaraki was bound by a contract that made it impossible for her to attack him. Thus, she could only il her arms and legs powerlessly, shouting in a stressed voice, "Unhand me, you Smelly Dragon...! I am a proud Oni of Mt. Ooe! I will not stand for this indignation...!!" Rather than obey Ibarakis demands, Vahn tucked her under his arm, ignoring her attempts to break free as he opened the partition connecting his suite to the rest of the ryokan. There, with her sword tucked behind her back as if her tiny body could keep it concealed, Benienma had a smile that didnt quite reach her eyes as she said, "Forgive me, Tenn-sama, I noticed...a disturbance..." Before she finished her words, Benienma noticed Ibaraki tucked under Vahns arm, now pretending to be knocked unconscious as shey limp in his embrace. This did little to convince the glowering sparrow, however, as Benienma unhesitantly used the sheath of her katana to smack Ibarakis butt, eliciting a pained scream from the banana-colored Oni. Then, as if she had been the one wronged, she began to il her arms and legs, shouting, "Turn me around you smelly dragon! I wont just...!" Interrupting Ibarakis shouting, Benienma smacked her backside a second time, eximing harshly, "You be quiet! Youre going to interrupt the guests...!" Though Benienma was much weaker than her, Ibaraki was unable to muster up any defense against the formers attacks. She knew Shuten would only get more upset with her, so, rather than continue tosh out, she clenched her teeth, holding back tears as she tightly gripped her blood-red hands into fists. Seeing Ibaraki calm down, Vahn allowed her to stand on her own, ignoring her crocodile tears as she rubbed her butt. The truth of the matter was that her Endurance was high enough to be graded as A+, so, while Benienma certainly smacked her with considerable force, it wasnt enough to do any real damage to her. Rather, Ibaraki had a tendency to try and get out of trouble by acting pitiable, a behavior that often got her teased by the far more domineering Shuten. Benienma was fully aware of Ibarakis usual tactics, however, so her expression remained stern as she said, "I will have you pay me back with your body-dechi. I will have you clean all of the baths using a bucket and cloth. If you refuse, I will ban Shuten from visiting for a month-dechi." Though she wouldnt have cared if she was the one banned from the Enma-tei, Ibaraki knew Shuten would be very upset if she was disallowed entry. Thus, with an expressionparable to someone that had just swallowed a bug, Ibaraki begrudgingly answered, "Its just a bit of cleaning...whats the big deal? Do you think an Oni cant clean baths? Ill clean them all with a bang, just you wait...!" Hearing the zeal contained in Ibarakis words, Benienma gave an approving nod, her smile returning as she said, "Thats the spirit-dechi~! With that kind of motivation, you should be able to finish them all in around one-hundred hours. Lets go. Ill have Akaname-san help you out with cleaning the first one-dechi~!" Upon hearing the words one-hundred hours, Ibarakis expression paled, as, after giving her word, she couldnt retract it. This was the same reason she couldnt resist against Vahn, as, while he hadnt done anything to rein her in, Shuten hadprehensively ensnared her in a trap. If Vahn wanted to, he could even peel her flesh and eat it like jerky, and, due to the nature of her contract, she would be forced to serve it to him on a silver tter. Of course, Vahn would never do anything like this, but, no matter how nice he was to her, Ibaraki hated him for the fact Shuten would quickly abandon her to spend more time with him... Feeling as though Vahn was to me for every bad thing in her life, Ibaraki red at him with actual tears in her eyes, an incredibly frustrated expression on her face as she shouted, "You Smelly Dragon bastard! Stupid, pervert, Lolic-." Before Ibaraki could continue shouting, Benienma smacked the top of her head with arge wooden spoon, stating, "That is no way to speak to Tenn-sama! If you keep making trouble for our guests, I will have you mopping the entire floor on your hands and feet-dechi...!" Though Vahn was her most important guest, he was also the man most of them recognized as their Master. Thus, Benienma couldnt tolerate Ibarakis thoughtless words, her expression forming a pout as she brandished a wooden spoon like a sword. Then, bowing steeply towards the silently observing Vahn, she began to apologize, only for the former to raise her up, saying, "Dont mind it, Beni. Ibaraki is just worried about Shuten. Shell calm down once thetter wakes up and returns home." With her Master saying as much, Benienma just nodded her head in understanding before giving the banana-colored Oni a pointed look out of the corner of her eye. This caused Ibaraki to audibly click her tongue, averting her eyes and refusing to make eye contact with anyone. Then, without looking up at Vahn, she said, "If you bully Shuten, I will eat you...smelly dragon..." Without waiting for a response, Ibaraki quickly departed the room, bolting down the corridor with a frustrated expression on her face. As for Benienma, she took a few steps backward to prevent Vahn from stopping her, bowing several times before giving chase. This left Vahn standing in the threshold of the door, arms still crossed as he watched the two child-like girls run through the impossibly long corridor. Then, staring over his shoulder, he looked at the figure standing further inside, saying, "You should be more honest with Ibaraki. If you keep sneaking out or tying her up, she will only get more stressed out..." Shrugging her shoulders as if it had nothing to do with her, Shuten made her way over to Vahns side, now wearing her loose-purple kimono. She had been intending to step in and deal with Ibaraki herself, but, seeing how easily Vahn and Benienma dealt with the situation, it didnt seem necessary. Despite Shutens apparent disregard, Vahn knew she actually cared deeply about Ibaraki. She rarely showed it around others, but, when they were alone together, Vahn knew she fawned over her much younger counterpart. He had even seen multiple timelines where Shuten transformed into a literal monster, almost exclusively as a result of something happening to her surrogate daughter... After reaching Vahns side, Shuten wasted little time in invading his personal space, using her foot to close the sliding partition as she said, "I wouldnt have to sneak out if you would visit us more often. If youre worried about Ibaraki,e and stay with us for a few days. If you treat her well, Im certain she will grow on you, ufufufu~." Hearing Shutens usual proposition, Vahn released a tired sigh, extending his hand to rube the top of her head as he said, "We both know it isnt that simple. If I came to visit, she would begin tosh out even more. She doesnt like when you pay attention to other people. This is why I keep telling you to push her to make more friends. Other than Spenta and her little posse of Companions, who else can be considered Ibarakis friend?" Shrugging a second time, Shuten attempted to lean against Vahns body, a thoughtful look in her eyes as she answered, "Ive tried, you know? She keeps going on and on about how an Oni doesnt need friends. I think she feels threatened by the others. She rarely even leaves the Yokai District. The only time she even ys with Spenta is when I take her with me to visit Nobunaga-sama." As he was well aware of everything Shuten was telling him, Vahn just shook his head, releasing yet another sigh before muttering, "Maybe I should send Spenta to stay with the two of you during the uing Spring Celebration..." Though it sounded like he was asking for Shutens opinion, Vahn was closely monitoring the Flow of Fate, attempting to peer into the future to determine whether or not Spentas presence would be a positive influence on the rambunctious Oni. Unfortunately, the opposite seemed to be true, as, for a brief moment, he saw Ibaraki cackling happily as she tried to force Spenta to down arge basin of sake... Clearing that thought from his mind, Vahn then considered whether or not he should just train and discipline Ibaraki directly. He knew this would result in her turning even more rebellious, but, so long as he kept at it, she should eventually mellow out. The biggest problem with this, however, was that Shuten would persistently intervene, drawing out the process considerably. The only way to prevent this was to personally deal with Shuten, but, as there was really only one way to turn her docile, that was easier said than done... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sis be like, "I dont care what you do, just be happy while doing it.,Benienma vs. the Banana Oni?,Other People: "You cant just sex away all your problems!", Vahn: "Are you sure about that? There are no limits o_o...!") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1477 - A Curious Tradition

Chapter 1477 - A Curious Tradition

With the dawn of a new day approaching, Vahn gazed out over Avalon, watching as the first rays of sunshine began to crest the horizon. It was currently mid-January so a palpable mist had settled over much of the ind, drawing out the inherent mysticism that one might expect from such a legendary location. Vahns fondness for Avalon had only grown with the passage of time. Not only was it indescribably beautiful, but it also represented everything he believed in. It had be and where all manner of creatures could live in peace, be they human, Fae, or even Dragon. Though there were certainly a few issues here and there, chiefly involved the more free-spirited creatures, things rarely developed beyond a point where they couldnt be settled with dialogue, negotiation, andpetition... As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn couldnt help but smile as he ced his pinkies in between his lips, curling his tongue slightly to release a piercing whistle. It was loud enough to cause a few birds in the nearby trees to startle awake, but, most importantly, it served to announce the end of yet another exciting evening. Before the echoes of his whistling had faded away, Vahn saw two figures emerged from the mist, each attempting to outpace the other. This was none other than Fenrir, her expression a mask of focus as she darted over the uneven terrain, refusing to fall behind the slightly faster Atnta. Under normal circumstances, both girls would have been able to close the distance in an instant, but, in order to even the ying field, certain restrictions had been put in ce. These prevented the use of Skills and Magic, forcing them to rely solely on their physical bodies to swiftly navigate the terrain. They even had seals ced on their arms, legs, and abdomens, serving to restrain their movements and restrict the flow of energy within their bodies. This reduced their maximum speed to just under 400km/h, a fraction of the thousands they could manage unrestrained... As the duo moved closer to his position, the distance between them was gradually reduced. This made it apparent that Anta had a demonstrable lead on Fenrir, but, not to be outdone, thetter adopted a borderline feral expression as transitioned to running on all-fours. This gave her a slight edge, but, due to her affinity with the wind, Atnta was able to further increase her speed, staying just ahead of her staunchest rival. Fearing she would lose, Fenrirs body began to glow with an icy-blue light, the fur on her arms and legs bing more prominent. Unfortunately, this caused the seals on her body to glow with a dark red light, undermining her attempts to bend the rules in her favor. As a result, her speed drastically reduced, allowing Atnta to open even more distance between them, far more than she would be able to ovee... Without bothering to confirm her lead, Atnta continued to move as fast as her body would allow, quickly reaching Vahns side. Then, as had be customary between them, she pulled out arge, rather monstrous-looking, Horned Wolf, gingerly cing it on the ground at his feet before taking a knee and adopting a somewhat expectant look on her face. Fenrir arrived momentster, presenting her own spoils, an elk-like creature that had horns reminiscent of tree-branches,plete with a few sparse leaves. Before bestowing his praise upon the two, Vahn gave a curt nod, smiling as he turned his attention to several other figures approaching. This included the familiar figures of Hati and Mordred, but, as a rtively recent addition, there was also a peculiar youth with predominately white hair. If you were to look closely, however, you would see an undercoat of ck, but, even more noticeable, there was a pair of tiger-like perched atop their head,plimenting the moderately thick tail poking out of their tunic... As if fueled by the fact his Master was looking toward him, the peculiar youth more than doubled his speed, waving excitedly as if to gain Vahns attention as they shouted, "Maaaaaster, I caught a super big prey~!" Unlike the others, who proudly presented their catch at Vahns feet, the youth nearly ran directly into him after pulling out a strange bull that was partially covered in scales. It easily weighed several tons, but, as if it was lighter than a feather, the youth hefted it above their head, leaving deep footprints in the rtively soft earth. Using his telekinesis, Vahn was able to prevent himself from being overrun,ughing lightheartedly as he said, "Bih, did I not tell you to behave? Youre going to upset your big sisters if you dont pay more attention..." Seemingly confused by his Masters words, Bih tilted his head adorably to the side before turning his attention to the glowering Fenrir and Atnta. It was only after he looked towards them that he even seemed to notice their presence, causing a shiver to run through his body as he instantly made a gesture of surrender and said, "Ah, Aneue, Nee-chan, I didnt see you...Im terribly sorry...!" Hearing Bihs apology, Atntabed her fingers through her hair, muttering, "Its fine..."in an uncharacteristically soft tone. She had a soft spot for children, and, though it was a little annoying to have someone steal her spotlight, she didnt have the heart to me the youthful White Tiger. As for Fenrir, however, she knew discipline was important, so, rather than let Bih off, she adopted a stern look and said, "Sit!" while pointing to the ground. With his ears folded t, Bih obediently listened to Fenrirs, his Aneues,mand. Fortunately, he didnt have to listen to her lecture for very long, as, shortly thereafter, Hati and Mordred reached the top of the hill where Vahn had been sitting. Then, much like their predecessors, they pulled outrge game from thin air, setting it on the ground before Vahn to be evaluated. So as not to waste everyones time, Fenrir let Bih off with a very brief chiding before taking a knee next to her own catch. This was emted by Bih, who, due to the circumstances, ended up at the far end, lining up next to Hati. Despite this, he still had an expectant smile on his face, appearing not all that dissimr to a kid in a candy store. Seeing the humanoid manifestation of the White Tiger, Vahn couldnt help but smile affectionately. Bih had be something of a son to him over the past few months, training alongside his other children and fostering a healthy rivalry with Kamiya and Daiki. Though he was much stronger than them in his true form, the youthful appearance he had in his humanoid transformation allowed him to use less than one percent of his power, a restriction put in ce to ensure he was able to manifest without issue. To summon a whole Divine Beast, Vahn would end up tanking more than 80% of his reserves just to keep them manifested for a short period of time. This also caused a significant amount of damage to his body, so, in the hopes of mitigating this, he had been experimenting with summoning weakened versions of them that could be powered up during an emergency. Bih was just the first of the four to be summoned, taking on the form of a human child to reflect the fact his animal form was that of a tiger cub... After evaluating everyones prey, Vahn adopted a serious expression as he said, "Atnta has, once again, imed the prize for being the swiftest hunter. The prize for the most difficult hunt, however, goes to Mordred. Though she and Bih both hunted a Nightmare Beast, it is easy to see that her attacks were far more precise, causing significantly less damage to the hide and internal organs..." Though they would be satisfied just hearing his opinion, Vahn made sure to properly evaluate each persons hunt. He properlymended them for everything they did well, and, though he used a harder tone, he also encouraged them to correct their mistakes. This was especially so for Bih and Hati, as, due to their rather vicious styles, they had a habit of bringing back iplete, borderline unusable, remains. With his evaluationplete, Vahn adequately caressed each persons head, fluffing the ears of those who had them and rubbing the fringe of those who didnt. Then, once even Atnta had a contented smile on her face, he asked, "In ordance with traditions, the victor is allowed to make a small request. So, Mordred, Atnta, what would you like as your prize...?" Without missing a beat, Mordred raised her hand up as if she wanted to be called upon, eximing, "I want a kiss, this time with a bit of tongue! I wont let you cheap out on me likest time, Chichiue!" Though he rolled his eyes in response to Mordreds usation, Vahn still nodded his head, gesturing for her toe closer. This caused Mordred to practically pounce over to him, arms behind her back as she stood on her tiptoes, lips puckered in expectation. Unfortunately for her, she also made the novice mistake of closing her eyes, allowing Vahn to smile cheekily as he gave her a quick peck on the lips before poking her nose with his tongue... Opening her eyes, Mordred had a moderately confused expression on her face. It was only when she saw the cheeky smile on her Chichiues face that she realized what he had done, causing her to puff out her cheeks in frustration before saying, "Hey, that isnt...!!!" Just a she was about to express her dissatisfaction with her reward, Mordreds eyes widened into full circles as Vahn tilted her chin up, stealing her lips a second time. She could feel his tongue enter into her mouth, probing around with impunity before tracing her own. This caused her heart to beat like a drum in her chest, but, just as her mind reached the point of allowing her to reciprocate, Mordred was shocked to discover it had alreadye to an end... Seeing the stupefied expression on Mordreds face, Vahn lightly chuckled, tracing her bottom lip with his thumb as he said, "Thatll be enough for now. Keep working hard, Mordred." Following his encouragement, Vahn affectionately ruffled Mordreds hair before turning to Atnta, finding her blushing red as an apple. His gaze caused her to avert her eyes, and, as she was prone to due when feeling nervous, Atnta beganbing her hand through her hair, feigning disinterest. Unfortunately for the feline huntress, she suffered from the same ailment as other Cat People, being that her ears and tail gave away her true emotions. Though she pretended to lose interest, much like a normal house cat, her tail would gently sway and curl. Then, if you tried to look away, she would bepelled to shift her attention back toward you, eventually resulting in her getting closer if she felt you had actually stopped paying attention to her. Though he was tempted to bait her into trying to earn his attention, as it was a rather adorable habit, Vahn knew it could easily take several hours before she finally gave in. The presence of other people made her less honest, so, rather than beat around the bush, Vahn just gestured for Atnta toe closer to him. Atnta wouldnt be able to voice her desires around others, but, with his ability to read the Flow of Fate, Vahn could make a reasonable assumption about her request. Thus, once she got close enough to easily caress, he surprised her by gingerly wrapping his arms around her body. This caused her tail to twitch in frustration, but, rather than try to pull away, she just lowered her face, hiding it from view as he gently stroked her hair and back... After several seconds of silence, Atnta ultimately broke free from Vahns embrace, adopting an annoyed expression as she muttered, "I didnt ask for that..." Rather than argue, Vahn just gave a curt nod in response, smiling as he said, "I suppose that was just my selfishness acting up. What can I say? You looked very...huggable?" Hearing Vahns words, Atnta beganbing through her hair, refusing to make eye contact with anyone as she said, "Whatever...I didnt really have anything I wanted so I guess Ill ept that aspensation..." The moment her words fell, Atnta tapped the gemstones on her bracelets, deactivating the seals on her body. This caused a powerful gale to spread through the surroundings, courtesy of the green aura shrouding her body. Then, without looking back, she darted away, her destination the pristine white castle visible in the distance... Following Atntas departure, Mordred threw her hands up in mock exasperation, remarking, "That woman never relents. She acts like you dont make her purr like a cat in heat whenever youre alone together...really, what a waste..." Shaking his head, Vahn looked toward Mordred with a reproachful look in his eyes as he said, "What have I told you about badmouthing others, Mordred? Even if you arent directly insulting her, it isnt nice to say such things. Now, take Bih with you back to the castle. Youll bete for your morning training if you idle for too long." Though she still wanted to remark on Atntas behavior, Mordred obediently nodded her head in response to her Chichiues words. Truthfully, she was just jealous of the fact that Atnta already got to spend time with her Chichiue, but, knowing she wasnt too far away from reaching her goal, she decided not to let it get to her. Instead, she yfully ruffled Bihs hair, saying, "Come, Ill take you to visit King. She broods when youre not around so cheer her up for me, will ya?" Bih wasnt too fond of other people petting him, but, hearing Mordred mention King, a youthful smile spread across his face as he replied, "Sure! Leave it to me~!" Despite the fact Bih was a tiger, he had grown rather fond of King. Though this first manifested in the form of him bullying her a bit, as he feltpelled to dominate the only other big cat living in the Ivory Castle, it quickly turned into a rather peculiar friendship. King was rtively subservient to Bih, but, as if he was unaware of this, the youthful White Tiger pampered the once-proud lioness quite a bit... Seeing Mordred sprint down the hill, allowing Bih to ride her shoulders, Vahn couldnt help but issue a light chuckle. Then, after stowing all of the captured prey, he turned to the Vanargandr duo that remained behind, smiling even wider as he gestured for the two girls to approach. This instantly improved both of their moods, and, as he still had some time to kill, Vahn decided to spoil them for a bit. He knew they were still excited after spending thest few hours of the evening hunting, so, in order to help them rx, he spent the better part of an hour grinding his [Hands of Nirvana] before spending almost double that brushing their hair and fur... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Shota Bih appears!?,Cats are inherently tsundere...if not, they are, without exception, assholes...,Fenrir still gets the best reward (UwU)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1478 - Dynamic

Chapter 1478 - Dynamic

Time spent with Fenrir was never wasted. By the time Vahn was preparing to head out, his mood had improved considerably. This was something that had never changed between them, so, after dealing with the drama wrought but Shuten, Vahn happily replenished his reserves of Fenrirs healing energy. As for Hati, she was just a convenient bonus, one he had grown rather fond of, even if she also had a propensity to be rather insistent when she was in the mood... Fortunately, whenever Fenrir was around, Hati was uncharacteristically obedient, even more so than she was toward him, her Master. This wasnt simply due to the fact that Fenrir was stronger than her, however, but more so due to the nature of their existence. The Vanargandr species was yet another race that had a rtively defined hierarchy, so, with Fenrirs body beingprised of Source Energy, she had a suppressive effect on members of her own species. Hati had even been stronger than her at the time of her summoning, but, in spite of this, Fenrir had been able to im victory in ten-out-of-ten bouts. From the moment their dynamic had been established, Hati became significantly more docile and attentive. Fenrir had been educating her on what it meant to be a good girl, so, despite being an entity that was infamous for their hatred, Hati got along pretty well with everyone. The only notable exception to this was Sol, but, as their legends somewhat pitted them against each other, this wasnt all that unexpected. Rather, the biggest surprise in their dynamic was that Hati got along well with Siegfried, who, after a series of extenuating circumstances, actually ended up getting Sol pregnant. Though Sol had originally been summoned as a Heroic Spirit, Vahn had no qualms about giving her a real body when the rtionship between her and Siegfried began to get serious. She shared the same desire to protect the peaceful state of Avalon as the silver-haired Dragon Knight, so, after a lengthy period where everyone spected whether or not they would end up together, Sol ended up being the one to approach Siegfried. From the moment Sol cracked the infamously durable Dragon Knights armor, Siegfrieds poprity seemed to explode. He was now involved with four different women, and, perhaps as a result of his draconic heritage, it hadnt taken long for him to knock up all four. This had been a rtively major event when it first came to light, as, prior to that moment, many of the Einzbern Homunculi didnt seem to rationalize that they could truly get pregnant. While it couldnt exactly be called a trend, several other Homunculi ended up bing pregnant shortly after the women in Siegfrieds harem. These were mainly the women that were involved with the former Knights of the Round Table, but, more surprisingly, one ended up getting impregnated by a member of the Faculty that had migrated from the Clock Tower. This was a youth named Thomas Anderson, an Assistant Professor that, as could be expected, worked as a member of the Faculty of Creation, specializing in Alchemy. When Vahn first learned of the young mans rtionship with one of the Einzbern Homunculi, he had been pleasantly surprised. This served as validation of his belief that the Homunculi would be able to find their happiness without requiring direct intervention. Rather, due to their beauty and nature, it wasnt that difficult to win one of them over. So long as your emotions were sincere, and you made a concerted effort to woo them, they would eventually open up to you. In celebration of the unexpected surprise, Vahn ended up stunning the already exuberant youth by crashing a party his friends had thrown him. He couldnt pour the man a drink, nor could he stick around for very long, but that didnt stop Vahn from congratting the man and providing severalrge bottles of expensive wine as a gift. This had caused a bit of stir amongst the other members of the Faculty, as could be expected, but there were no other major consequences other than Thomas reputation exploding through the roof. Vahn knew there were actually a considerable number of hopeful men, both young and old, who had their eyes on the Einzbern Homunculi. After all, they were exceptionally beautiful women, who, under the right conditions, would never age a single day. While thetter part wasnt a publically disclosed fact, their beauty, alone, was more than enough to entice the average man. Unfortunately, for most, it was impossible for them to court one of the dutiful Homunculi, as, even if they had been vetted by the Empire, their status as Magi was a massive detriment against them. The Einzbern Homunculi had suffered greatly at the hands of Magi, umting thousands of years of painful memories. Thus, even if the opposite party was a rtively good person, that wasnt even remotely enough to win their attention, much less their favor. You needed to possess an unwavering kindness, the type that allowed you to persist through great adversity, so long as you would be able to help others. If you didnt possess this self-sacrificing quality, something that had been imprinted onto nearly every Homunculi due to Vahns actions, you had very little chance of sess... --- After a rather lively morning, both within the Enma-tei and Ivory Castle, Vahn was seated in his not-so-private study, apanied by Artoria, Gray, Arcueid, Tamamo, and Illya. Thetter had imed hisp as her personal seat, a triumphant look on her face as she enjoyed the somewhat resentful expression on Tamamos face. This had be amon urrence between them, but, despite appearances, they actually got along rtively well when he wasnt around. Tamamos knowledge of Magecraft and Curses was borderline encyclopedic, and, so long as Vahn wasnt involved, she made an effort to get along well with every member of the Inner Sanctum. This wasrgely an attempt to elevate her own status, but, with Artorias position being unshakeable, she had settled on increasing her rapport with the others over a long period of time. Unfortunately, the moment he was around, she seemed to forget her ns entirely, proactivelypeting against the more honest girls that vyed for his attention... Ignoring the staring contest between the animalistic duo, Vahn maintained a calm disposition as he stated, "Ill be heading out pretty soon. Afterward, I intend to stop by the Hanging Gardens to check up on Semiramis before stopping over at the European Supercolony. Ill be bringing Nero back with me, so lets have a small celebration when I get back. I already discussed it with Benienma so she has reserved the entire Enma-tei for our use. The Yokai District has gotten pretty safe as ofte, so I want to take along the children as well." Though Yokai couldnt resist trying to startle and fool people, every resident of Avalons Yokai District was forced to obey the Common Law. It was possible for the most powerful Yokai to dictate thews of the entiremunity, so, in order to gain ess to the rapidly developing region, they had little choice but to obey. Fortunately, while this put a bit of stress on some of the more infamous Yokai, it hadnt be an issue due to [Das Rheingold]s infinite supply of enchanted gold. While the primary nourishment for a Yokai was negative energy derived from emotions such as fear, they were especially fond of the inherent energies contained within purified metals. This was one of the reasons they loved gold so much, as, in lieu of other energy sources, it acted as a delicacy that was rtively hard toe by. In Avalon, however, Gold was exceptionallymon. As a result, the vast majority of Yokai were rtively content with asionally pranking Faculty and students that managed to wander into the moonlit dimension. They would even guide them out after the fact, so, while a few students had filed officialints, there hadnt been any major issues. Artoria didnt share Vahns confidence regarding the Yokai District, but, knowing he would have gone through great lengths to confirm their safety, she ultimately nodded her head, stating, "Very well. We will spread the word through the Inner Sanctum while you are gone. If there are any issues while you are away, do not hesitate to summon me. I still owe that airheaded woman for thest time..." Remembering her previous indignation, Artoria couldnt help but release a small amount of her aura, increasing the tensions in the room to an almost palpable level. Fortunately, she managed to quickly rein it in, causing a very faint blush to spread across her cheeks as she politely bowed and said, "My apologies..." toward everyone gathered. Waving his hand to, Vahn lightly chuckled to ease the tensions in the room, musing, "Its no big deal. As for Altria, well, you can just settle your dispute with her in the future. I want to wrap things up fast today, so I wont be taking anyone with me. Thest time, things got a little too chaotic so I want to try and avoid a repeat incident, hahaha~." Hearing Vahns words, Artorias face became even redder, as, during theirst few encounters with the Heroes Faction, she had been the one to lose her cool. She had always rather fond of battle, so, with her draconic instincts enhancing her pre-existing zeal, it was hard to restrain herself when there were strong opponents. Thest time, Vahn even had to forcibly order her to pull back, resulting in a rather awkward apology after the fact... Seeing Artorias reaction, Vahn lightly tapped Illyas back, causing her to hop up from hisp, albeit with a bit of reluctance. Then, without minding the looks he got from the other girls, he approached Artoria, framing her face with his hands and gently massaging the sides of her head as he said, "You have nothing to be ashamed of. Even I get more than a little excited during a battle, so dont me yourself for having fun. Just focus on further mastering your powers so that, when the timees, we can continue to stand side-by-side on the battlefield." To punctuate his words, Vahn pulled Artoria up, causing her body to leave the sofa so that he could kiss her. She had grown rather fond of more forceful disys of affection, so, while it still made her a little ufortable to show affection around others, she no longerined about it. Rather, at times, she would be the one to initiate things, pleasantly surprising Vahn with an unexpected kiss, or, on some asions, a light squeeze of the butt when she didnt think others would notice... After a prolonged kiss,sting for nearly a full minute, Vahn gently lowered Artoria back to the sofa, leaving her with a slightly hungry look in her glimmering, silver, eyes. For a brief moment, she even seemed to consider pulling him into her Marble Phantasm, but, knowing the others would notice the irregrities caused by its activation, she decided against it. She knew better than to rile up Arcuied and Illya at the same time, so, while it was certainly tempting, Artoria convinced herself to wait until Vahn returned in the afternoon. Understanding his Empress thoughts, Vahn sent her a yful wink, a somewhat cheeky smile spread across his face as he said, "Ill be going now. Take care of things while Im gone." Though she met his cheeky smile with a look of me, Artoria still nodded her head in affirmation, ever the obedient and faithful wife. This quality of hers grew stronger with each passing day, aided by her expectations as a mother and the guidance that Tamamo had been giving to all the women inside the Inner Sanctum. Her inordinately long pregnancy had given her a lot of time to mellow out, so, while her instincts as a True Dragon were still somewhat problematic, Vahns appreciation for her had only grown... As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn looked down to see Artorias toned abdomen, still as t as the day she first transformed. She had already been pregnant for over three years at this point, but, as she was insistent on nourishing the baby with her own energy, it wasnt an exaggeration to say she still had decades to go. Though the process could be greatly elerated if they conducted the same ritual used in Alexas birth, Artoria didnt seem to be in a rush to bring the child to term. She seemed to genuinely enjoy being pregnant, often having him pamper her quite a bit whenever they were alone in her Marble Phantasm... Seeing where Vahns eyes had wandered, Artorias smile became infinitely more affectionate as she said, "Finish your goodbyes and get going. Well be waiting for you to return..." Towards the end of her statement, Artoria affectionately rubbed her lower abdomen, making it clear she wasnt just talking about her and the other women. This caused Vahn to lightly chuckle, his smile a mixture of amusement and infatuation as he nodded his head and conducted the usual departing ritual of hugging, kissing, and petting everyone in the immediate vicinity. Fortunately, there were only five people present this time, so, after around twenty minutes, he departed the Projection with a contented smile on his face, determined to wrap things up quickly... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Siegfried is so trendy xD...,Thomas is a True Hero...,Holy Pregnant Dragon, Batman! That is a long pregnancy...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1479 - Tension

Chapter 1479 - Tension

Though it paled inparison to the Supercolonies being constructed by the Empire, several walled cities had already been constructed in the aftermath of The Fall. These were meant to be bastions for humanity, ces where chosen survivors could escape the ever-growing poption of monsters that now roamed the countryside... A stark contrast to the nearby metropolitan ghost town, one of the most prosperous cities toe into existence, Post-Fall, was the former residence of the Emperor of China, the historicalndmark known as the Forbidden City. It, much like the Clock Tower in London, had previously served as a public face to conceal greater secrets. Now that the world had descended into chaos, this facade was no longer necessary, so, while much of the surrounding cities had been brought to ruin in the wake of The Fall, the Forbidden City stood proud like an unblemished gemstone. Unlike the Magecraft and Sacrament used by the Mages Association and former Holy Church, China had been practicing a unique method of energy maniption known as Taiji for millennia. This was a philosophy that predated even the most ancient Chinese civilizations, founded upon the principles of Yin-Yang theory, the Five-Elemental Forces, and, more recently, the Chinese Zodiac. Users of the Taiji Arts were colloquially known as Practitioners, but, due to recent trends, many had adopted the term Cultivators. They were the very same people most Chinese fantasies and folklore was derived from, so,pared to orthodox systems of Thaumaturgy, they relied heavily on the use of physical arts, principally represented by hundreds of martial schools. The ultimate goal of every Cultivator was to oppose a concept known as Heavens Will, represented by Gaia and ya. They believed that, by refining their Qi, thebination of physical and spiritual energies referred to as Mana by Magi, they would be able to strengthen their Soul directly, elevating themselves beyond mortality and allowing them to enter the realm of Immortals. Unfortunately, opposing Heavens Will was not a simple feat, so, while the average Cultivator was far stronger than Magi of the same level, they teaued much faster than skilled Magi. It often took hundreds of years for a Cultivator to break through the Houtian level, achieving a state where their Spirit Body fused together with their Physical Vessel. This state, known as Xiantian, allowed them to achieve a form of biological immortality, but, without the aid of various treasures, achieving this level was something many could only dream of. In all of China, there were a total of thirty-seven Xiantian-ss Cultivators, the vast majority of which belonged to one of three ancient families. Of these thirty-seven Cultivators, thirteen belonged to the Aisin family, nine belonged to the Zhou family, and seven belonged to the Khun family. As for the remaining ten, they were the patriarchs of various families, some with records predating the Shang Dynasty, a period between 1570-1045 BCE. Due to the avability of rare materials and resources, most ancient Chinese families had been at odds for centuries, if not longer. They proactively hoarded materials to cultivate their Descendents, proactively interfering in the Martial Paths of other, less-established, families. This had allowed them to strengthen the foundation of their own families, but, as a result, China had never been able to rise to prominence before the Modern Era. Now, setting aside past differences and representing a more unified front, twenty of the thirty-seven Xiantian-ss Cultivators had gathered together within a massive Spiritual Formation. This was their version of the Bounded Fields produced by Magi, but, instead of using Magic Circles and powerful Catalysts, they relied on various treasures to gather the Energy of Heaven and Earth, powerful seals, and runic symbols. This achieved a simr effect to the Projection used in Avalon, but, rather than refer to it as such, the colloquial term used to define the interior space was The Realm of Spirit and Illusion. Though each of the elderly men gathered within the chamber was a powerhouse that had achieved biological immortality, none of them were bold enough to speak out in the presence of the trio that had gathered them. This included a young man with white hair, a robust Chinese man with fair skin and handsome features, and, most hatefully, a Japanese woman with soft-pink, almost silver, hair... Due to past conflicts, most orthodox families in China had a fair bit of hatred toward the Japanese, regardless of their origin. They were also a strictly patriarchal society, cing heavy emphasis on the development of males over their female counterparts. This was a byproduct of various female figures bringing entire dynasties to ruin, so, despite the beauty and skill possessed by the woman standing before them, the majority refused to truly respect her... Annoyed by the hateful looks sent her way, Musashi began to lightly tap the hilt of her katana, her eyes squinting slightly with a taunting smile on her face. This was enough to cow most of the men present, who, in spite of their pride, knew better than to seek death against a far more powerful foe. She had already beaten most of them rather severely, so, even if they resented her quite a bit, theycked the courage to openly state the disdain they concealed in their hearts. Shaking his head at Musashis antics, Shirou said, "Leave them be, Musashi. They might be bigoted, but they arent evil. The people still need their leadership so just ignore their petnt pride..." Hearing Shirous remark, Musashi began tough uninhibitedly, much to the chagrin of the twenty elderly figures gathered in the room. One, no longer able to bear the indignation in silence, gripped his hand into a fist, stepping forward to ask, "Lord Shirou, Ancestor Yi, are you certain that man will even bother to show up? What if he decides toy waste to the Forbidden City? Though we would never doubt the strength of the Heroes Faction, are we not risking too much by exposing ourselves like this?" Turning his attention to the elderly man with streaks of silken ck and white hair, Shirou couldnt help but frown slightly. Fortunately, Hou Yi was present as he had grown tired of dealing with these relics of the past, the youngest of which was more than three hundred years old. Freeing Shirou from the burden of having to answer, Hou Yi adopted an amicable smile as he said in a soft tone, "The Esteemed Patriarchs and Lords need not worry. While the Sage Dragon Emperor is a terrifying foe, he does not engage in wanton destruction. Despite his past actions, he is an honorable man who fears no challenge. So long as we are forthright in our actions, we need not fear his wrath." As Hou Yi was one of their Ancestral Gods, even if he had previously been stripped of his title by the Jade Emperor, the Throne of Heroes gave him an effect simr to [Charisma: EX] amongst those of Chinese descent. His presence had been instrumental to the meteoric rise of the Heroes Faction in China, and, though Shirou was the official Leader, the difference in their treatment was like that of Heaven and Earth. With shimmering eyes reminiscent of young children meeting their Hero, all twenty Xiantian figures nodded their heads in understanding, many openlymenting on Hou Yis wisdom. This brought a slightly wry smile to the former Gods face. As for Shirou and Musashi, they exchanged exasperated looks, both finding it senseless that they were hated for no better reason than being born Japanese. Deciding to interrupt the elderly groups never-ending praise, Musashi released a bit of her Sword Intent, silencing everyone in the room. Then, with an uncharacteristically neutral expression, she said, "It is almost time. I cant imagine the Emperor showing upte to an official challenge. You all might be useless in the uing battle, but you should still be able to provide some form of protection to the surroundings, right...?" Though they wanted to rebuke Musashi for her thoughtless words, none of the Xiantian figures had the courage to step forward when she was still releasing her Sword Intent. She was a barbarian that wouldnt suffer reproach in silence, so, unless they wanted to spend several days recovering in a bed, they had little choice but to grind their teeth in silence. This time, it was Hou Yis turn to shake his head, but, rather thanment on Musashis behavior, he said, "Lady Musashi is correct. After extending an invitation, the Sage Dragon Emperor will not afford us additional time to prepare. We have been preparing for forty days, lets not waste our efforts over insignificant squabbles. We have gathered here as allies, unified toward amon goal. If we allow past grievances to divide us, the path to Heaven will be close off." As if they hadnt been sending murderous res toward Musashi just moments prior, each of the elderly figures nodded sagely in response to Hou Yis words. They acted as if they had been given some great enlightenment, some even stroking their beards with distant looks in their eyes. Seeing the reaction of the old fogeys, Musashi just rolled her eyes before turning to Shirou and saying, "Ill be going ahead. If the Empress shows up, Ill do my best to draw her attention. Will you be fine...?" Hearing Musashi address Artoria by her title, Shirou couldnt help but adopt a bitter expression as he said, "Ive already epted reality. Dont worry, even if she shows up, Ill be fine. Do what you think is necessary to secure victory. Well be relying on your skills to buy us some time." Nodding her head in understanding, Musashi gave Shirou a light pat on the back, a vain attempt tofort his weary soul. She knew the drastic changes to Artoria still influenced him even to this day, as,pared to the sentiments that had been present during their reunion, the only emotion shared between them seemed to be disdain. Artoria had even severely injured him on one asion, visible scorn visible in her countenance as she seemed to consider striking him down permanently... After leaving the mausoleum-like room behind, Musashi was finally able to breathe easier. She couldnt stand the stuffy feeling of being cooped up in the same room as so many relics, especially when the majority hated her guts. If they were stronger than her, she had no doubt they would see fit to punish her for daring to slight them, something she found ratherughable considering they were supposedly righteous Cultivators. Recalling how some of the men looked at her with covetous eyes, Musashi released a tired sigh, her fingers twitching on the hilt of her katana. She often found herself wondering why she bothered to stay with the Heroes Faction, but, remembering the changes to Artorias personality and the effect it had on Shirou, she never found the resolve to partake of Vahns offering. With this thought crossing her mind, Musashi found herself holding the bottle of [Shj Sake] in her hands, tempted to just drink it and be done with it. All she had to do was remove the cork, and, after a single swig of the legendary alcohol, her fate would be tied to the Vahn. She would no longer have to run around at the behest of a bunch of old men who viewed her greater disdain than they would a stray dog. She would be able to spend her days idling about in Avalon, drinking sake,zing about, and fighting powerful foes whenever she pleased... After absentmindedly loosening the cork, Musashi allowed a bit of the heavenly fragrance within to tickle her nose. The only thing that prevented her from drinking it was the feeling of guilt that would gue her whenever she thought about how Shirou and the others would react to her betrayal. She could easily imagine Alice and Abigail crying for hours on end, their sorrow slowly giving away to far more negative emotions. Though she considered herself a pretty selfish person, Musashi didnt want to be hated by children that looked up to her as a big sister. Just thinking about it made most alcohols taste nd, so, even if she was highly tempted by the lifestyle promised by the Empire, she ultimately tightened the cork before cing it into her deep cleavage. As an immortal being, Musashi knew there was no need to rush into anything. Though they were at odds with the Empire, it wouldnt be long before most conflicts ceased entirely. One of the purposes of todays battle was to give an example of Vahns power to the old fogeys that had been gathered, as, despite being globally resented, few people feared him as much as they should. This had caused the Heroes Faction a number of problems, as, with the passage of time, more and more people had begun to demand they take action against the Empire. No matter how much they insisted it was better to focus on surviving in the changing world, there would always be a subset of themunity that mistakenly believed it was possible to return things to normal. They were an exceptionally vocal part of themunity, so, every time a Hero stepped in to defeat some terrifying monster or prevent an uprising, demands for a revolution would sound out for weeks on end. Knowing most of these events had been set in motion by the thirty-seven Xiantian figures that ruled over China, the Heroes Faction had decided to try and settle the matter by disying their power inparison to the Emperors. They had set a multiyered trap that, by design, should even be able to seal away a God. This was one of the benefits of being able to summon Vahn to a location, but, even if they set hundreds of such formations, Musashi knew they would be useless in the face of his Infinite. Thus, despite more than a month of preparation, she would undoubtedly have to face off against the rather domineering man once again, a battle that was as frustrating as it was fun... Remembering herst duel against Vahn, a small shiver ran through Musashis body. Following this, she could feel her body begin to heat up slightly, culminating in a hot sigh escaping her lips. Even if she tried to forget, her body still remembered their battle. It was like a part of his existence had been carved into her own, the echoes of their exchanges still present within her bones. She knew this was the result of his peculiar energy wreaking havoc inside of her body, but, as there was little she could do to resolve it, Musashi often found herself looking forward to the next time they crossed swords... As this thought crossed her mind, Musashi began to slowly draw her katana, exposing a small part of the de as she muttered, "It looks like Im in for another restless night..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Someone mixed a CN in my EPIC!,Smells like bigotry up in here...,Echoes of battles past, sounding far into the future...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1480 - Entering the Forbidden City

Chapter 1480 - Entering the Forbidden City

Though it was infinitely faster to teleport using yas assistance, Vahn opted to fly whenever he set out for battle. He enjoyed the sensation of the cold air against his skin, the feel of the wind through his hair, and, most importantly, the rising anticipation he could feel welling within. Even if there was a vast disparity between him and his opponents, he couldnt help but get excited every time he set out. Seeing a massive storm on the horizon, a smile spread across Vahns face as he mused, "I wonder if they prepared any surprises for me..." Following his musings, Vahn elerated to several times the speed of sound. The golden aura that generally lingered around his body became suffused with a vermillion glow, and, despite the dark ck clouds ahead appearing incontestable, he cut through them with tremendous force, waves of energy rippling out to annihte the building storm in an instant. With clear skies marking his passing, Vahn couldnt help but release an uninhibitedugh, his voice carrying for several thousand meters with ease. Even the people who had been seeking shelter from the storm were able to hear him. Some even went as far as to kowtow, lowering their heads and bodies to the ground as they prayed to various Gods, none of which were him... Though it didnt really bother him, as he hadnt done anything to be worshipped, Vahn felt slightly annoyed whenever he heard people praying to other Gods. This wasnt due to any enmity, however, but, due to the prayers being directed at his actions, he was able to hear their murmurs like hushed whispers in the back of his mind. As there were several thousand people who proactively worshipped him, Vahn had already gotten used to hearing the voices of his believers. Still, it slightly grated on his nerves whenever other Gods were mentioned, as, for one reason or another, their names were a lot louder in his mind than the contents of the prayers themselves. It was as if the World was snitching on the people that attributed his feats to other Gods, allowing him to bestow curses upon them if he was so inclined... Vahn would obviously never go around arbitrarily cursing people, so, while it was mildly annoying to hear the prayers of random people, it did little to spoil his mood. He actually found their ignorance somewhat amusing, giving him a strong urge to descend upon the world just to see the reactions on their faces when they realized who they were praying to... Fortunately, while he was prone to teasing others, this wasrgely directed towards people he was close to, not random people. He had more important things to do than mess around with a bunch of people minding their own business, so, rather than pay much attention to them, Vahn cut through the atmosphere like a golden meteor, tracking the location of Shirou and the others using the String of Fate. --- Averaging around 4,300km/h, Vahn reached his destination in just under two hours. He was a little surprised to see where the strings were directing him, but, guessing there was a reason behind the choice in location, a smile spread across Vahns face. This would be his fifth battle with the Heroes Faction since their establishment. The previous four battles had all taken ce in expansive Bounded Fields, so, while he was certain they had something prepared, it was a wee change of pace. After considering whether or not he should just drop-in, Vahn decided to go with a more subtle approach. He never liked destroyingndmarks, something the Heroes Faction was, no doubt, aware of. There was a chance they had prepared the venue for that specific purpose, but, as it didnt really matter, Vahn slowly descended until he encountered an invisible membrane. Feeling the Space attempt to repel him, an amused smile spread across Vahns lips as his right hand became d in golden scales. This allowed him to grab the Space itself, ripping arge hole in it, and the invisible barrier. With a degree of ease that would leave most Formation Masters shaken, Vahn forcibly entered the Spiritual Formation that surrounded the Forbidden City. He found the interior even more impressive, as,pared to the rather thin concentration of Mana outside, the inside was several hundred times denser. In fact, it seemed like the Forbidden City had been built atop a leyline, colloquially known as a Dragon Vein to Taiji Practitioners. This allowed them to draw from a functionally infinite supply of Mana, but, as if not content with this amount, the formation maintaining the barrier seemed to draw in everything for several hundred kilometers... Shaking his head, Vahn muttered, "How greedy...instead of trying to nourish thend, they treat it as nourishment for themselves...makes me want to break their little toy..." Though he had been cking over thest few years, Vahn actually had a considerable amount of experience with arrays and formations. He had recorded the knowledge for tens-of-thousands of books on the subject, so, even at a nce, he could see through the nature of the array being used. It was a type known as a Grand Spiritual Gathering Array, a means to concentrate energy from the environment to power more powerful formations. Though powerful, it had far more detriments than merits, and, if not for the leyline providing a functionally infinite supply of energy, the surroundingnd would have likely died long ago. Had they been more patient, establishing a Five Elements Array would have been able to achieve a simr result, but, instead of siphoning the vitality of thend, it would have increased it. Though this was a process that would take decades to achieve, the effects would be permanent, allowing various nts and animals to be cultivated within. In fact, while the start-up may take a while, the final result would be far greater, as, with a leyline feeding it, Beijing would have be a Spiritual Land in less than a single generation. Vahn could tell that the people who created the Grand Spiritual Gathering Array were infinitely more concerned about their own progress than the well being of their people. They siphoned the energies that would allow others to grow stronger, refining them into various treasures and pills for their own consumption. To make matters worse, this type of formation was able to siphon Mana, not just from the surroundings, but the nts, animals, and, most problematically, the people. Unless they had the ability to control and regte their Mana, people would experience a variety of health issues if they were exposed to such an array for a long period of time. Vahn even spected that the Grand Spiritual Gathering Array was responsible for most of the health issues that had been rathermon in Beijing. Most people attributed this to environmental conditions, as China had the highest carbon emissions of any other country, but that didnt seem to be the case now that he was seeing it first hand... Though they werent in direct vition of the Common Law by taking advantage of the leyline and siphoning Mana from the environment, it was a grievous vition to be stealing it from others. The array had obviously been set up to create some kind of equilibrium with the environment, but, even if that were the case, the effect it had on people was unforgivable... Deciding he would address the matter of the arrayter, Vahn began to descend towards what he knew to be the Pce of Heavenly Purity. It was thergest of the three halls that represented the Inner Court, the region in which the Emperor and his Officials would have governed the nation. The other two halls were known as the Hall of Union and the Pce of Earthly Tranquility, but, with the Strings of Fate pointing towards the double-eaved building in the center, Vahn decided he could always explore the others at ater date. Almost immediately after touching down within the central courtyard, Vahn sensed the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. All sound around him seemed to fade away, and, as if emerging from the void itself, a lithe female figure with sleek-ck hair and golden eyes appeared out of nowhere. She was attired in what appeared to be a form-fitting bodysuit that was concealed by a velvety-red, thigh-length kimono. This matched the red scarf that followed her movements like a pair of wings, but, as he was more focused on the tanto aiming towards his neck, Vahn didnt have time to wonder about the peculiarities of its movements... Just as the pitch-ck de attempted to pierce his neck, Vahns figure vanished from view, his form seeming to disperse into the surroundings. This caused the womans eyes to sharpen, her spinning in an unnatural motion to reverse her de as she swept it towards seemingly empty space. In the next moment, Vahns figure manifested in the new location, but, rather than dodge a second time, he had a slight smile on his face as he caught the de with his bare hand, saying, "It is good to see you as well, Danz. I imagine you were sent to escort me...?" Despite nodding her head in affirmation, the woman, none other than the legendary Kat Danz, twisted her body at an impossible angle, a de protruding from the tip of her toe as she attempted to strike his temple. Vahn was able to deflect this with his free hand, but, as if it had been her intent to upy both hands, apartment in Danzs abdomen opened, an upgrade from thest time she had attempted to assassinate him. From within the mechanicalpartment, several shadow shuriken tore through the air without making a sound, covering the short distance in an instant. Unfortunately, despite the sess of the attack, Vahn was left entirely unharmed as, even with the Shadow Elements ability to prate both physical and magical defenses, he was immune to most attacks under A-Rank. Unless it was a Light Elemental attack, or another form of purified energy, there was little hope in breaching his defenses through normal means. Seeing her attack fail, Danz muttered in a cold monotone, "You are tough..." before giving up any resistance. She could still continue fighting, but, as her primary mission was to act as Vahns escort, going all out was impossible. The only attack she had that could reasonably harm him required she detonate her core, but, as this would result in her death, she could not activate it for fear of failing her mission. After chuckling in response to Danzs taciturn statement, Vahn returned her tanto while eying her body with an appraising gaze. Though she was a Kunoichi from the Warring States period, her true nature was that of an Artificial Human that, with the exception of her core and brain, waspletely mechanical. This allowed her to freely modify and upgrade herponents, each concealing deadly weapons that made her a feared, ever-evolving, Assassin. As a craftsman himself, Vahn was very interested in Danzs masterful design. Not only was she an extremely powerfulbatant, ssified as a B-Rank Heroic Spirit using Da Vincis system, but her aesthetic was very pleasing to the eye. At times, he had even been tempted to summon her creators, but, as Kashin Koji and Fuuma Koutarou both had Chaotic*Evil alignments, they didnt seem suited to the task of working alongside the Heroes Faction... Noticing Vahns gaze, even with her back turned to him, Danz emotionlessly stated, "Staring...is not polite..." Though Vahn hadnt actually been staring at her, he still offered an apologetic smile in response to her usation, answering, "Sorry about that. I cant help but be interested in your design. One day, when things have calmed down, Ill introduce you to a masterful Doll Maker. She has developed her craft to the point of being able to emte humans with 100% uracy, without sacrificing the perks thate along with being a mechanical life form." Still with her back turned to him, Danz issued a light hum before surprising him slightly when she said, "Touko Aozaki...we have searched for her...she must be in Avalon...?" Adding a bit of inflection to turn her statement into a question, Danz turned around to look directly into Vahns face, seemingly trying to ascertain the truth without requiring a response. Since it wasnt exactly a secret, however, he just smiled and said, "Yes. She has been staying there for close to eight months at this point. Youll need more than A-Rank [Presence Concealment] to break into Avalon, however, so Id advise against it. Even if you did manage to track her down, she is more than capable of holding her own against a B-Rank Heroic Spirit." Sensing no falsehood in Vahns words, Danz showed the briefest hint of a frown on her face before turning around and muttering, "Troublesome..." Hearing her remark, Vahn couldnt help but lightly chuckle, even as a thin, virtually invisible, needle tried to puncture his eye. Danz didnt enjoy having othersugh at her expense, so, with his habit of teasing women with cold personalities, Vahn had grown ustomed to her sudden assassination attempts, many triggering imperceptibly, even to him. After stowing the sheenless ck needle in his Inventory, Vahn decided it was time to stop ying around. He could sense a powerful force resonating through the surrounding Space, and, though it didnt exactly concern him, he still had a face to uphold. There seemed to be a few hundred sings of life in the surrounding area, including more than twenty rtively powerful figures. Thus, while it was certainly fun to tease Danz, he decided to restrain himself until her next assassination attempt... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Casually destroying storm systems*,OnLy ThE cHoSeN cAn OpPoSe ThE hEaVeNs...,A mechanical waifu? Sounds like an Otakus wet dream...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1481 - Terms

Chapter 1481 - Terms

While following Danz deeper and deeper into aplex underground system, Vahn was using his domain and enhanced senses to perform aprehensive scan of his surroundings. Though there were a number of countermeasures against this, his senses had only ever increased after his arrival in the Nasuverse. Some things were still able to block them, especially if they were rted to Innates or higher Tiers, but, here, beneath the Forbidden City, he could spread his senses with rtive impunity. Vahn was sometimes tempted to go into a situationpletely blind, as it made things slightly more interesting, and, by proxy, more exciting. However, this was only ever an inclination, not something he would evermit to. He believed there was never a situation when you should arbitrarily look down on your opponent, so, while there were times when he wasckadaisical, Vahn forced himself to overestimate, never underestimate, his enemies. It was better to assume they had some tricks up their sleeve, often in the form of Innates, than assume there was nothing they could do against you. As this thought ran through his mind, Vahns aura began to gradually increase. This was enough to get Danz to send him a cautious nce, but, seeing the smile on his face, she continued leading the way in silence. This was only her second time experiencing Vahns aura up close, but, as she was an entity that prioritized the mission over her life itself, Danz was able to suffer the burden without showing any discernible difort. After being led to arge antechamber, Vahn observed a set of massive double-doors, each set with a golden, four-wed, Chinese dragon. The doors were approximately nine meters in height, making the two lifelike dragons appear both majestic and intimidating. They were even enchanted to put a fair amount of pressure on anyone who entered the chamber, but, with his own surging outward like an unstoppable tide, Vahn just lightly smiled as he muttered, "I suppose Im expected to just saunter into the trap...is that right?" Rather than refute his words, Danz nodded her head in affirmation before forming a seal with her hand and disappearing in a rapidly dispersing cloud of smoke. This left Vahn lightly chuckling, but, as he had already guessed the intentions of the Heroes Faction, he didnt mind ying along. At times, he was rather fond of showing off, so, while it was obvious they had taken this into consideration, he wouldnt be the superviin people made him out to be if he didnt enjoy a little theatrics. With that thought crossing his mind, Vahn raised his hand towards the massive set of doors, sending an invisible pulse of energy crashing into them. Each was more than a meter thick,rgelyprised of enchanted Gold, but, as if they were sheets of paper, Vahn used his telekinesis to crumple them in an instant. This caused a violent and thunderous sound to echo through the area, but,pared to the booming crash that urred when he sent the pseudo-sphere flying, it was rather tame... Once the echo began to fade away, Vahn made his way slowly into arge chamber that appeared to be around 500m in diameter. The chamber itself was circr in shape, but, located at the very center, arge octagonal arena could be seen suspended above a seemingly bottomless pit. He could sense Space and Time distort within the abyssal depths, indicating it had been constructed in such a way that, if anything fell inside, they would continue falling for eternity. Though Vahn had been admiring the ratherplex setup, a light frown reced his neutral smile as an elderly man, with a white beard nearly reaching his waist, shouted, "Those doors were artifacts that have been passed down for three thousand years! You im yourself an Emperor, butck the dignity expected of the title! Do you have any idea where it is you-" Before the surprisingly fair-skinned man could finish his outburst, Vahn appeared before him like a phantom, towering over the elderly figure by nearly twenty centimeters. This caused the mans eyes to widen, but, before he could retract the finger he had been using to point in Vahns direction, the entire hand seemed to simply vanish. It was only at that point that the man seemed to realize who he had been using, his face paling as he instinctually activated a strange technique that allowed him to glide across the floor in an instant. Others might have trouble keeping up with the mans movements, but Vahns golden eyes followed him with ease. This caused a primal fear to well up within the mans heart, especially when he heard the words, "Wrong choice..." pierce through the void, shaking him to the core. If the man had kowtowed or apologized for his actions, Vahn would have temporarily afforded him a bit of leniency. Instead, the man took evasive action, and, though it wasrgely the result of muscle memory, the fact he had drawn a shortsword from the jade ring on his finger made him an enemy. Seemingly moving in slow motion, Vahn extended his hand towards the man, who, despite using a high ranking movement technique, now appeared to be stationary. Everyone was able to perceive his movement, but, due to the nature of the Laws, they were unable to take any action as he slowly closed his hand, chaotically twisting the Space around the man so that his arms and legs rotated a total of 720 degrees. This wasnt enough to kill him, but it would leave him thinking twice before he decided to arbitrarily offend an Emperor that had effectively conquered the World... Unable to defend against an attack that directly bent Space around him, the elderly man released a feral-sounding scream, startling hispatriots to the core. Some, specifically those from the same family, had thought to intervene, but, fearing the consequences of doing so, they could only pale as their kin was dropped like a ragdoll after losing consciousness. They were too fearful to even try and confirm his death, waiting until Vahn dully said, "Treat his wounds..." before finally moving. Turning his attention away from the group of ancient men, Vahn matched gazes with Hou Yi, finding the man smiling wryly with an intricate wooden bow in hand. Prior to Vahns arrival, Hou Yi had made it clear to the Xiantian Elders that they should remain silent and observe. He didnt expect one of them to feel emboldened enough to try andmbast Vahn, but, in hindsight, he realized it wasrgely their fault for not sending someone to open the doors. Even if he was an enemy, Vahn was still an Emperor, so, while they were basically asking him to walk into a trap, dismissing with courtesy was a mistake on their part... Understanding what must be going through Hou Yis mind, Vahn offered an almost indiscernible hint of a smile before adopting a more serious expression as he said, "We have epted the challenge of your faction, presenting ourselves out of due consideration. Tell us, Hou Yi, what challenges has your faction concocted to test this Emperors mettle and might...?" Though Vahns words contained a certain whimsy to them, the tone he used was forceful enough to cow the majority of Xiantian Elders. Each of his words seemed to pierce through them, straining both body and spirit in equal measure. In Taiji terms, this was a phenomenon known as Spiritual Pressure, but,pared to what they were capable of outputting, it was likeparing a bucket of water to a vast, seemingly infinite, ocean. The weakest among them nearly fell to their knees, but, out of a vain sense of pride, they would rather bleed from their seven orifices than lower themselves to another... Fearing Vahns presence would cause every member of the Xiantian Elders to copse, Hou Yi gave a respectful bow before indicating towards the octagonal arena in the center, exining, "This ce is known as the Divine Battlefield of Heavenly Ascendance. It is a totem gifted to Qin Shi Huang by the Jade Emperor, a means by which the Chinese people might ascend to the realm of Divinity in a world absent of Gods..." While he was somewhat interested in the history of the ce, Vahn lifted his hand, stating, "We have made arrangements forter today. Though the history of this ce intrigues us, the purpose of our visit is to do battle, not make idle conversation. Now, who will be my opponent?" As it actually provided them with a slight advantage by not disclosing the significance of the arena, Hou Yi didnt insist that Vahn remain patient. Rather, he knew thetter was actually just ying the part that had been assigned to him, as, during their past confrontations, Vahn was generally very amicable. He had even visited the Terrestrial Moon Pce on several asions, staying for tea and conversing on the subject of archery while Change served them both tea. Hou Yi was actually very grateful for everything Vahn had done, but, understand the necessity of the Heroes Faction, he remained a part of it. Thus, even if he feltpelled to make things fair by giving a proper exnation, he ultimately gave an understanding nod before saying, "Very well then. At Your Imperial Majestys behest, we shall proceed to the main event. Put simply, we would like you to fight against our representative within the Divine Battlefield of Heavenly Ascendance. Should you emerge victoriously, we have prepared a tribute attesting to Your Imperial Majestys prestige...as for the terms regarding each individual battle, that is for the contestants to decide. Are these terms to your satisfaction?" Going by Hou Yis words, Vahn spected there were certain restrictions that would be ced on him during the battles, but, so long as things were kept fair, he didnt particrly mind. Thus, after a brief period of contemtion, he nodded his head, stating, "We ept." before vanishing from the viewing tform and reappearing in the arena. He immediately noticed that the Space within began to increase in density, but,pared to what he was used to experiencing during his training, it was almost negligible... As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn heard a voice suddenly resonate through the surroundings, its tone deep and powerful as it stated, "Heavens Will is Eternal. The Path of Eternity is wrought with Trials and Tribtions. Thou who seeketh to oppose Heavens Will, prove thine might against those who would bar your passage. Only the Mighty may oppose the Heavens." Immediately following the words, Vahn felt an oppressive force press down on his entire body, much like a mountain attempting to bring him to his knees. At the same time, an Eight Trigrams formation began to light up along the periphery of the arena, powered by the Mana that had been gathered by the Grand Spiritual Gathering Array. He could much of his power being suppressed by the mounting pressure, but, no matter how intense things got, his knees didnt so much as tremble, much less give way. Rather than panic, Vahn showed an expression of mild intrigue as he observed the powerful sealing array. He could tell it was a special seal that affected everyone within the arena, but, while the inside experienced a significant amount of pressure, it also seemed to prevent attacks from the outside. It was structured in such a way that, were you to try and attack from the outside, your attack would be amplified greatly before being thrown back at you with greater speed and intensity. Vahn suspected there was more to the array than met the eye, but, with his first opponent appearing on the opposite side of the arena, he adopted a slight smile as he said, "You know, its really unfair to me to have you as my first opponent. Does Brynhildr know you are here...?" Before answering, Vahns opponent pushed up his ck-rimmed sses, icy-blue eyes shimmering as he said, "We told her the battle wasnt until next week..." Restraining the urge tough, Vahns smile curled up at the edges as he pulled out [L?vateinn ], igniting its brackish-mes as he mused, "That makes things a lot easier for me. Now, draw your sword. Show me the power of the King of Warriors...!" Rather than immediately adopt a battle stance, the intellectual-looking man, Sigurd, pushed up his sses a second time, inly stated, "We have to set the terms before engaging. If we fight without respecting the conditions set, we will be thrown to the Abyss below..." Feeling like the wind had been taken out of his sails, the mes around [L?vateinn ] extinguished in an instant. Though he managed to maintain a calm expression, Vahn wasining inside the back of his mind, recalling Hou Yis words about the terms for each battle. It seemed like he had to make a wager against his opponents, and, depending on the terms agreed to, the Divine Battlefield of Heavenly Ascendance would ce even greater restrictions on them... Vahn was never fond of being restrained, but, so long as they didnt try to cheat, he was willing to humor them. Thus, after resting [L?vateinn ] on his shoulder, he gave a curt nod, asking, "So? What are your terms? Im certain you have already thought of something, correct?" Nodding his head in affirmation, Sigurd exined, "Our lives are intrinsically rted to Dragon kind. I wish to contend against the might of yourplete transformation, contesting it with my own. We will determine which is stronger, my [Dragon Kind Modification: EX], or your full transformation..." Not expecting Sigurd to challenge his Hunglng transformation from the onset, Vahn felt slightly confused. It was possible they simply intended to overtax his reserves, but, unless he held himself back a considerable amount, the fight would be settled very quickly. Sigurd was certainly powerful, worthy of his title as the King of Warriors, but,pared to the might of the Yellow Dragon, there was a vast disparity between them... Shaking his head, Vahn set the matter aside, deciding to, instead, ask, "So, do we also get to set a condition?" Somewhat surprisingly, Sigurd also shook his head, answering, "Only the challenger has the right to issue a condition. As the person being challenged, you are the representative of Heavens Will within the Divine Battlefield of Heavenly Ascendance. I do not understand the specifics, but it is designed to allow the strong to refine their skills against opponents that would normally be too weak to prove a challenge..." Hearing Sigurds exnation, Vahn was tempted to release a heavy sigh, but, instead ofining, he decided to just humor them for a bit. He could break through the array whenever he pleased, so, rather than shatter it immediately, using the arena for its intended purpose seemed marginally more interesting. Besides, he rarely had the chance to use his Hunglng form outside of training. This was a rare opportunity, as, more often than not, the battles simply never escted to that point. Having made his decision, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation. As a result, an invisible forced tried to surge into his body, seemingly with the intent to force his transformation. This caused him a mild amount of annoyance, but, after snorting through his nose and shattering the invasive force, Vahns body began to rapidly increase in size. Fortunately, the arena had a simr function to the one used during Artorias and Loreleis duel, allowing the battlefield to be muchrger on the inside than it appeared to be from the outside... After several tense moments, Sigurd found himself staring up at a majestic and, admittedly, terrifying golden dragon. He felt like the Heavens themselves had fallen on him, but,pared to the Xiantian Elders in the stands, he seemedrgely unaffected. They had all fallen to their knees, disbelief visible in their expressions as, despite Vahns appearance resembling a western dragon, it was impossible to ignore the eastern influences in his design. As a result, the most powerful among them gave voice to the thought that was running through all of their minds, shakily stating, "Yellow Dragon Emperor...". (A/N: Alternate Titles: Knock Knock,Do you know the breadth of the Heavens!?,Well, alrighty then. Maximum no-chill it is...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1482 - Majesty

Chapter 1482 - Majesty

Though his increased size made him a much easier target for skilled foes, Vahn was actually quite fond of his Hunglng transformation. It always made him feel like an untouchable God, and, while he certainly wasnt immune to damage, the vast majority of attacks couldnt even reach him, much less cause him injury. Thus, in order to make the most of the moment, he did something none in the room expected,ying down on his stomach, crossing his forelimbs, and rhythmically tapping his tail with enough force to cause powerful reverberations through the pir-like arena. As he had never faced off against Vahnsplete transformation, Sigurd showed a brief hint of surprise in his generally cid expression. Consuming the [Heart of Fafnir] had sealed away the vast majority of his emotions, turning him into a cold, intelligent, and fearless warrior due to his unique Skill, [Crystallized Wisdom]. It granted him such a boon that, if intelligence had been one of the quantifiable Parameters in the Nasuverse, Sigurds would be very near the peak of what humans, even those descended from Gods, could reach. He wasnt an outlier like Da Vinci and Gozen, but, when it came to decision-making, there was a reason why people called him the King of Warriors... Seeing Vahn adopt a passive stance, Sigurds [Helm of Fafnir] activated, shrouding his face with an angr and stylish helmet. It,bined with his bodysuit, actually allowed him to survive in virtually any environment, even the vacuum of space. In the past, he had even used it to invade the Mountain where Byrnhildr had been sealed, passing through magically mes cast by none other than Odin, all to save the tragic Valkyrian woman. This wasnt out of love, but, upon seeing her beauty for himself, even the emotionless King of Warriors had been smitten. With no other battle preparations, Sigurd hefted his greatsword, the legendary [Gram]. It was one of the most potent Dragon ying Noble Phantasms, capable of even smiting immortal with a curse that rent most defenses useless. It even looked pretty cool, at least in Vahns opinion, possessing two des formed of ruby-red crystalline metal,pletely devoid of anything like a guard, as, against the kind of foes Sigurd faced, such ornamentations were simply inefficient... Though his Agility was only B-Rank, Sigurds Parameters were capable of doubling whenever he was facing off against Dragons. He also had a version of [Primordial Rune], given the subssification of Warrior as he could only use them for enhancing his physique and power. His futuristic armor had these runes engraved into their surface, allowing him to freely regte their activation with nothing more than a thought. After appearing a few meters away from Vahns location, Sigurds body mmed into what appeared to be an invisible wall. His charge actually carried enough force to cause cracks to appear within the void itself, but, with his A+ Rank Endurance, he was entirely unharmed as he quickly recovered, two zing blue runes on his gauntlets as he struck a vertical blow with [Gram], a wall of ghostly mes erupting into existence as a result. Unfortunately, no matter how many boons he had against Dragons, Sigurd would be hard-pressed to ovee Vahns mastery of Space and Time. Though it looked like he was just allowing Sigurd to attack freely, he was actually condensing Space to the point it had be a near-indestructible solid. Unless the opponent also had the power to rend Space, approaching within ten meters of his body was all but impossible. Seeing his wall of mes crash into the same invisible force, Sigurd seemed to pause for a very brief moment. In the next, however, his [Gram] shifted from ruby-red to a sapphire-blue, runes ring to life across its entire length. With his mastery of [Primordial Rune]s, Vahn was able to understand Sigurds intentions, but, rather than take any countermeasures, he squinted his eyes in intrigue. Not leaving Vahn in suspense, Sigurd drove his sword forward, piercing into the invisible membrane with tremendous force. This causedrge spatial cracks to develop, but, despite spreading for several tens of meters, the tip of his de only pierced thirty centimeters into thepressed Space. Undaunted, the runes in Sigurds sword began zing with intense and violent energy, but, instead of exploding outward, it began to condense, forming a physical de. This was the state of [Gram] when it was fully active, requiring that his opponent be a high-ranking Dragon just to take effect. As a result, the rank of his Noble Phantasm was elevated from A to A++ Rank in an instant, reaching very near the point of the unquantifiable EX-Rank. As if refusing to bow down to a Dragon, [Gram] began to produce a shrill metallic sound as its de began to slowly increase in length, piercing through the spatial membrane. The previous cracks even began to erupt with blue mes, seemingly produced from the void itself. It was a dazzling sight to behold, but, no matter how impressive an attack appeared, it took more than re to ovee Time and Space... In exchange for extending his des length nearly three meters into the spatial member, Sigurd had destabilized the surrounding Space, specifically near him. As a result, the beautiful blue mes were actually the result of a bacsh, the chaotic energies threatening to tear him apart. Spatial fractures were able topletely ignore conventional defenses, so, while his Endurance and armor were both exceptional, pieces of thetter had begun to ke away after cracking violently under the pressure. Vahn was actually impressed with Sigurds resolute disy, as he seemedpletely unwilling to back down. However, thest thing he needed was a crazed Valkyrie hunting him down, crying tears of blood as she attempted to avenge her lover. Thus, rather thany idle as Sigurd tore his body to pieces, Vahns slowly lifted his body to a seated position, squatting on his disproportionately small hind legs as he puffed out his chest. Following a brilliant glimmering of gold, Vahn spread apart his wings to their full length, seemingly in an instant. As a result, a powerful pulse of energy erupted with him as the epicenter, crashing into Sigurd andunching him like a cannonball several hundred meters. More surprisingly, at least to the Xiantian Elders atop the viewing tform, the arena itself began to crack as sections of the ancient array began to fade. Seeing the iprehensible disy of might, those left standing could no longer resist falling to their feet, their pride shattered in the face of their greatest Ancestor. One man even started crying, behaving as if he was a child trapped in a nightmare instead of a six-hundred-year-old man who had seen the rise and fall of entire Dynasties. This would have normally earned him reproachful remarks from his kinsmen, but, seeing the power disyed by the Yellow Dragon Emperor, they were at aplete loss for words... Vahn hadnt actually been intending to destroy the array so early, but, rather than shrink back and reduce his momentum, he felt more emboldened by the destruction. This was one of the downsides to his Hunglng transformation, even if it was also one of his greatest strengths. The pride of a True Dragon wasnt something that could be discarded easily, and, much like the Divinity of a God, giving in to its influence brought an incredible amount of power. Abiding by his instincts, Vahn began to slowly ascend into the air, his wings spread wide as his rather lithe figure came into view. He took on the form of a western dragon, but, instead of having a figure suited to walking on all-fours, he maintained a vaguely humanoid physique. He actually thought the slender and muscr formplimented his resplendent golden wings quite a bit. Others seemed to agree with this sentiment, as, every time he came to his full height, Vahn could see awe, fear, and reverence in the countenance of all who viewed him... Spreading his arms to the side, further increasing the pressure within the arena, Vahn inly asked, "Are you satisfied...?" while looking between Sigurd and the audience. Hearing Vahns address, the Xiantian Elders dared not answer, each bowing low as if preparing to kowtow at a moments notice. As for Sigurd, he pulled himself free of the far wall, several parts of his armor now missing. He didnt hesitate to jump back into the arena, the de of his sword growing to nearly ten meters in length as he confidently stated, "I am unconvinced." Following his rather bold im, runes glowed along Sigurds greaves, greatly enhancing his Agility and allowing him to bound through the air as if it was solid ground. The upper-half of his helmet had been shattered in the previous collision so it was possible to see the expression in his icy-blue eyes,pletely bereft of fear. It was actually rather admirable, but, despite thinking this, Vahn did not hesitate to use his tail to flick the man out of the sky, mid-step. Despite his size, Vahn suffered no reduction in speed whatsoever. Rather, due to his attunement with Space and Time, his rtive speed was even faster than his base form. As for his perception, it had been enhanced to the point that, the faster his opponent was, the slower they seemed to move. He was nearing the point where he could even iste himself from the Time Axis, so, while not on the level of a Spiritron Supeputer, capable ofputing trillions of processes simultaneously, he wasnt far off... This time, when Sigurd emerged from his personalized hole, his left arm had been shattered beyond recognition. He also suffered tremendous internal injuries, but, as if it was someone elses problem, he still managed to lift [Gram] with his right hand, stating, "I am unconvinced..." in an unperturbed tone. Vahn didnt know whether tough or cry at Sigurds obstinance, but, fortunately, he didnt have to talk the man down as Shirou, appearing out of thin air, prevented the machine-like mans charge. He had his arms spread wide, a severe expression on his face as he shouted, "Sigurd, think of Brynhildr! If you die here, you know what she would do!" As if he had only remembered Brynhildr, realization seemed to flicker across Sigurds eyes. He then gave a curt nod, shouldering his weapon as he answered, "I understand. Sorry." With no other words necessary, Sigurd turned away from Shirou, leaping up to one of the eightrge viewing tforms that encircled the arena. There was a teleportation ward that had been set up in the area, allowing them to move between the Forbidden City and their Headquarters. This not only allowed them to surprise Vahn, preventing him from knowing who he was going to be facing, but it also allowed them to quickly retreat to mend their wounds. Seeing the taciturn man run off, Shirou released a tired sigh before turning his attention towards the twelve-meter tall golden Dragon. If you included his tail, Vahns overall length exceeding twenty-two meters. His thirty-five-meter wingspan made him seem even more majestic and intimidating, almost like a small star that had taken the shape of a dragon. It was almost impossible to even look at him, not simply due to his brilliance, but the fact that his existence seemed to suppress everything else in the vicinity... As Shirou had appeared next to his previous opponent, Vahn was staring down at the white-haired man with a neutral expression on his face. It was actually pretty difficult to be expressive when he was in a dragon state, as even a smile looked like he was baring his fangs, but everyone seemed to somehow understand what he was thinking. Thus, rather than show confusion, Shirou smiled wryly, stating, "I am not your next opponent..." Hearing Shirous words, Vahn was tempted to snort, but, as he had already grown used to the mans behavior, he decided to simplynd on the arena, stating, "Time is a preciousmodity, one which is highly sought after, even by those with immense power. We have agreed to face your champions, but that does not mean we will be kept waiting. Make haste, Shirou Emiya." Following his words, Vahn stretched his wings and neck before furling the former andying back down on the arena floor. He needed to conserve his energy, and, though he could transform back whenever he pleased, the restrictions of the arena seemed to be trying to force him to remain in his Hunglng form. This is what made him assume they were trying to stall things out, as, if hecked the ability to break through the array, it was very possible their n would have been a sess. Though he knew Vahn would, despite his words, continue waiting patiently, Shirou also knew it was important to at least give the overbearing Dragon some face. Fortunately, it seemed like he had left Artoria behind, as, when they were together, both were even more overbearing than normal. During theirst encounter, Artoria, alone, had severely injured more than half their forces over a perceived slight. It had been a rather disheartening experience, so, while he was slightly saddened to see Vahn alone, Shirou was also grateful that the aptly named Dragon God Empress was not present... (A/N: Alternate Titles: TFW you go Plus Ultra and the enemy doesnt even have to move...,*Casual tail smack*,Shirou and Vahn have a lot of enmity between each other xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1483 - Troublesome

Chapter 1483 - Troublesome

After waiting for longer than he would have liked, Vahn was beginning to lose his patience. As a result, he began to slowly increase the amount of pressure his aura put on the array, causing small bands of golden electricity to dance through the void. At the same time, he began to lightly tap the arena with his talon, each tap causing the entire stage to tremble slightly as his golden eyes began to ze with increasing intensity... Being red at by Vahn, Shirou was feeling more pressure than anyone else in the room. Even he was starting to wonder what was taking so long. He assumed the dy had something to do with Sigurds condition, as Brynhildr would have undoubtedly made a scene, but it shouldnt have taken this long. If the next person didnt show up soon, he, or Hou Yi, would have to enter into the arena a little earlier than expected. Fortunately, just as the tensions seemed to reach a dangerous level, a fluctuation urred near the teleportation ward. Vahn sensed this before anyone else, causing him to turn his head out of curiosity. When he saw who appeared, however, his face formed the closest thing to a deadpan expression that a Dragon could manage, the vibrance of his eyes dimming slightly as he internally remarked, ("This is going to be a long day...") Appearing atop the viewing tform was a woman with vibrant red hair that seemed to flow away from her scalp like mes, ending in a ponytail. Unlike a normal human, she also had hair growing from the sides of her face, giving her a monkey-like appearance, simr to a macaque. Her expression was perpetually fixed in a confident grin, set with two rtively bush eyebrows that, much like her hair, seemed reminiscent of mes above her ruby-red eyes. Though the woman wasnt a heaven-sent beauty, she was still rtively attractive, especially with her fit and shapely figure. She wore a sarashi-style wrap to cover her rtively buxom chest, and, though she had a golden chainmail shirt, it hung loosely from her left shoulder, leaving the right side exposed. Toplete her outfit, she had a golden band around her head, set with phoenix plumes, red kung-fu trousers, ck feet wraps that were patterned like storm clouds, and, most notably, an ornate red and gold staff... While the womans appearance was rather unique, what really stood out was the fact that her arms and legs were covered in rust-red fur. Though this could be mistaken as part of her clothes, closer inspection would reveal that the covering was, in fact, part of her body. What made this most apparent was the rtively thick, monkey-like, tail that was often wrapped around her waist like a belt... As Vahn wasmentin his fortune, the monkey-like woman stood on the edge of the balcony, a toothy grin spreading across her face as she mused, "Wahaha, whats this, whats this? What a strange-looking lizard. I wonder, is your asshole also gilded with gold~?" With the same deadpan expression as before, Vahn released an annoyed sigh before rising to his full height and saying, "Still pretending to be a woman, you damn ape...?" Seemingly finding Vahns words quite funny, the monkey-like woman began to snicker and cackle, kicking and rolling in the air as if gravity had no bearing on them. Then, as if realizing exactly what Vahn had said, the froze in mid-air before flipping onto their feet and shouting, "Im not an ape! Youre an ape! Your entire family is a group of apes! Im a proud monkey! See this majestic tail!? How many apes do you know that have tails, huh? Are you some kind of lizard-brained idiot!?" Snorting through his nostrils with enough force to create a small shockwave, Vahn rolled his eyes and asked, "How long are you going to continue stalling? Dont tell me the Great Sage Equal to Heaven is afraid...?" Almost immediately after thest syble escaped his maw, Vahn felt a mild destructive pulse pass through his body as the monkey-like womans staff mmed into the spatial membrane that protected him. She seemed to have taken offense to his usation, her eyes zing like mes as she shouted, "I even bullied that Jade Emperor brat. Do you think I, Sun Wukong, am afraid of some shiny asshole who cowers behind a wall!?" Following her initial attack, Wukong brandished her [Ruyi Jingu Bang] a second time, leaping back as the staff grew to more than ten meters in length, and three across, smashing into the spatial membrane with tremendous force. It was a weapon that weighed 7,960kg by default, but, based on Wukongs intentions, it could increase to 81,000,000kg in an instant, growing to more than 150m in the process. Needless to say, Wukong was a physical powerhouse, and, though she had no understanding of things like Space and Time, it didnt matter. By simply wanting to deal damage, she was able to ignore most defenses and obstacles, the result of their Divinity and an irrational understanding of Strength Laws. This was one of the reasons Vahn didnt like fighting her, as, not only did she talk a lot of crap, but all of her attacks actually caused him a considerable amount of pain... Though his spatial membrane was still holding up, Vahn wasnt going to just remain idle as the enraged monkey continued beating on him. His body radiated an intense light, enough to blind most people, as he spun around, smashing his tail into Wukong as she attempted a third strike. This sent her flying like a meteor, crashing into the wall and causing a small cave-in when one of the viewing tforms copsed. Wukongs [Golden Chainmail Shirt] actually made her invulnerable to most attacks, but, with his Source Energy, Vahn could still hit through her defenses. This meant they both had the means to deal significant damage to the other party, but, in his transformed state, Vahn had a significant advantage over her. Unfortunately, Wukong actually had several other forms of immortality, so, even if she could be beaten down, she bounced back even faster than Heracles... Proving Vahns point, Wukong burst forth from the rubble, steam flowing from various wounds on her body as her blood seemed to simply evaporate. Then, in a somewhat feral tone of voice, she shouted, "Suck on this, ya shiny cunt...!" before increasing the size of [Ruyi Jingu Bang] enough to block his vision. Though his spatial membrane held up, Wukongs attack caused fractures to spread more than a hundred meters, shattering part of the arena and causing the surrounding space to tremble. Vahn was also given a considerable migraine, vanishing just as quickly as it had set in. Then, resisting the resonating shockwave generated by the pir-like staff, golden light ran from his abdomen to his throat before culminating into a soul-shaking roar. Wukong had a ferocious grin on her face while attacking, but, seeing the golden light erupt from Vahns maw, her confidence quickly receded as she muttered, "Oh, fu-" Before she could finish her expletive, Wukongs body was bathed in golden light, its radiance so bright that even shadows seemed to be erased from existence. Fortunately, Vahn had constrained the beam somewhat, preventing it from causing too much destruction as it tore through hundreds of meters of stone, piercing through the Forbidden City and continuing even beyond thes atmosphere... Though Wukong was rtively fast, she didnt have the ability to dodge attacks that, ording to Da Vincis calctions, were roughly 73% the speed of light. This was actually the slowest Vahn could make the attack go, as, when he went all-out, it was impossible to quantify just how fast his Dragons Breath was able to travel. It could even strike entities that existed beyond the Time Axis, so, theoretically, it could travel from one side of the Universe to the other before a photon could cover a single attometer. By the time he closed his maw, a perfectly cylindrical hole had been carved at a roughly thirty-degree angle in the ceiling. As for Wukong, she was nowhere to be seen, but, while others might be worried for her safety, Vahnzily eyed the hole her body had created previously, asking, "Do you really think you can hide from my senses, little monkey?" At a nce, the hole seemed to bepletely empty, but, if you were to look very closely, it was possible to spot a few strands of fine red hair. In response to Vahns words, these hairs began to slowly levitate, before, momentster, erupting into plumes of white smoke. By the time it cleared away, there were a total of twenty-three Wukongs littering one side of the increasingly destroyed arena, each with cheeky, taunting, smiles. Snorting through his nose, Vahn spread his wings wide as he asked, "They say that ten million ants can even topple an elephant. Is that what you had in mind...?" Hearing Vahns words, each of the Wukongs furrowed their brows, chorusing, "Are you trying to say we are just ants? If so, youre one deformed elephant. Is that why you cover yourself in gold?" Rather than dignify Wukongs remark with a verbal response, dozens of magic circles began to emerge on the interior of Vahns wings. This was one of the benefits of being a True Dragon, as, while he could certainly emte the feat in his human form, Dragons were simply wired to be able to spam Magic. He still struggled with manifesting it outside of his body in a cost-effective manner, but, if it was just serving as a glorified artillery tform, that wasnt too difficult... Further enhancing the power of his attack, Vahn chanted, "Gather, 101 spirits of light, shoot at the enemy. Magic Archer, Convergence of 101 Light Arrows!" Following Vahns chant, 101 beams of pure white light erupted from his wings, each, despite their name, only moving around Mach 10, roughly 12,000km/h. This allowed agile opponents to easily evade a few, but, when there were more than a hundred, things became marginally more difficult. As each of her clones was able to think and act on their own, the horde of Wukongs each took evasive action to try and evade the magical barrage. Their [Golden Chainmail Vest] would have been able to protect them from most magical attacks, but, after having fought against Vahn in the past, Wukong knew it wasnt exactly wise to tank his attacks. She wasnt too fond of pain, so, while she would heal from almost any injury, avoiding damage was preferred, rather than taking it... Of the twenty-three clones, neen were pinned down by the unforgiving barrage of magical arrows, each able to bend at nearly ny-degree angles in order to home in on their target. This allowed Vahn to seemingly blink through Space in an instant, appearing like a burst of golden light as he snatched the suppressed Wukongs with his ws, ripping them to pieces or crushing their bodies in an instant. His Strength had long reached the EX-Rank, so, if he managed to get his hands on something, no amount of conventional resistances could save them. Fortunately, due to the nature of Wukongs clones, there was no blood and gore. Rather, when he destroyed them, they shattered into small stone fragments, almost as if they were nothing more than statuettes. This was due to the fact that Wukong was originally a Stone Monkey, born from a magic stone that was cast off the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit. Their true nature was closer to a Divine Spirit than anything else, albeit one that had established itself, for a time, as a demon... By the time his rampage had ended, Vahn had dealt with all but one of the Wukongs, making it the original by proxy. She had the ability to produce upwards of a hundred clones by shedding her fur, but, in exchange, her power was equally divided amongst each of them. She also only had a single [Ruyi Jingu Bang], so, while her other armaments could mysteriously be copied, it wasnt too difficult to discern who the real Wukong was. After watching Vahn destroy her other bodies, Wukong showed an impressed expression on her face as she shouldered her staff and mused, "Wow, quite brutal, arent ya? Im starting to think we have some enmity between us. I wonder...did myment about your shiny asshole make you a little butthurt? Wahahaha~!" Feeling his eye twitch slightly, Vahn began to slowly ascend into the sky as he muttered, "I should have just summoned Sanzang...I suppose this is what I ought to have expected when I summoned a Trickster God with more muscle than brains..." Seemingly finding Vahnsment amusing, Wukong began tough as she brandished her staff and said, "Hey now, there is no reason for remarks like that. I already became a woman. Shouldnt you be a little more grateful? That monk wore her britches so tight she probably had to spend an hour each night just removing the stains. Dontpare me to her. Arent we having fun?" Rolling his eyes, Vahn remarked, "Fighting against you is enjoyable, but hearing your voice is the stuff of nightmares. If youre going to change your appearance into a woman, the least you can do is change your voice as well. Do you know how weird it is to hear your gravelly voice when your body is like that?" Hearing Vahns remark, Wukong beganughing uninhibitedly, her voice deep and resonating, a harsh contrast to her appearance. The whole reason she adopted her current form was to mess with Vahn, so, hearing himin, she felt both amused and vindicated. Unfortunately, due to how costly her Skills and abilities were, she was already beginning to run low on Mana. Her only method to extend the fight was to use her Reality Marble, but, after what happened thest time, doing so provided more benefits to Vahn than herself... Despite being considered a rtively famous idiot, Wukong was also a notorious trickster. She had even fooled some of the wisest Gods and Goddesses in the Nine Heavens, so, despite herughter, her mind was actually mulling over various solutions. By the time it seemed like Vahn was going to attack, she had regained her confident smile, enjoying the look on his face as she said, "Well, I guess that was enough for a warm-up. I never got to state my condition, so none of this counts. Seriously, werent you trying a little too hard? The fight hasnt even started...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Youve gotta be kidding me...,Vahn is kind of OP...?,This fe really knows how to monkey around xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1484 - Might

Chapter 1484 - Might

Hearing Wukongs rather ridiculous ims, Vahn slowed descended until his feet touched the ground. Immediately afterward, arge eruption of golden light radiated from his body, causing the surrounding array to fracturepletely. Each of the runic symbols maintaining its structure went dark, and, by the time the light cleared away, he could be seen standing in his humanoid dragon form as he dully stated, "The battle began the moment you attacked us. Ready yourself, Wukong..." Immediately after his words fell, Vahns body vanished from view before suddenly emerging from a spatial tear to the left of Wukong. She attempted to sweep her [Ruyi Jingu Bang] towards his rib cage, but, as the scarlet-gold staff made contact with Vahns body, it passed throughpletely harmlessly. In the next moment, Wukong felt a phenomenal impact from behind, causing her to arch backward as Vahns tail smashed into the small of her back. For reasons Vahns even Vahn wasnt entirely sure of, sweeping opponents with his tail always seemed to cause critical damage. He could feel more than half of Wukongs thoracic and lumbar bones shatter under the force of the impact, momentarily crippling her lower body and causing the exposed skin to turn brackish-purple due to internal hemorrhaging. She even coughed up a heavy volume of blood, but, as if it was only a minor inconvenience, Wukong used her staff to lift her body, extending its length to vault through the air as a massive amount of steam erupted from her wounds. With Wukong leaping through the air, an expectant look shed across Vahns eyes as a golden light began to spread through his domain. Dozens of eleration gates began to appear in the surrounding Space, and, though it had a significantly different impact, the various des, spears, and other weapons caused the nearby Shirous eyes to widen as he retorted, "Youve obtained the [Gate of Babylon]!?" Obviously ignoring Shirous distraction, Vahn began to release projectiles towards Wukong, each traveling upwards of Mach 10. Most of these were unable to prate through the invulnerability provided by the [Golden Chainmail Vest], but, even if they dealt no actual damage, they were still able to knock her around a bit. Her invulnerability didnt negate damage in the same was as his own immunity. Rather, it simply made her very, very, hard. Though her [Cloud Walking Shoes] allowed her to freely move through the air as if it was solid ground, Wukongs actual Agility was only B-Rank. This made evading Vahns attacks difficult, as, due to the nature of his domain, he was able to easilyunch attacks from her blindspots. Even standing her ground was impossible, as, the moment she became stationary, simultaneous blows would strike from various angles. Getting frustrated due to the constant barrage,bined with her diminishing reserves, Wukong adopted a rather vicious scowl as she shouted, "You liza-" Interrupting Wukongs outburst, Vahn appeared like a phantom directly in front of her, a serious look on his face as he stated, "We are the Sage Dragon Emperor. Checkmate." Before Wukongs mind could fully even process his words, Vahns palm came to rest against her exposed abdomen. This seemed to be a rtively powerless attack, but, as he hadpressed all of his momenta into the blow, manipting it to wreak havoc within her body rather than allowing it to dissipate naturally. As a result, most of Wukongs internal organs had been ruptured, a heavy volume of blood erupting from her seven orifices as she immediately lost consciousness. Now that he was no longer in hisplete transformation, Vahn was reminded of just how small Wukongs body was. Though she had a fit and shapely figure, her actual height was only 145cm, making her even shorter than petite women like Circe. This actually made her taller than she was supposed to be, as the original Wukong was only around 122cm, but,pared to her weight, her height was rather negligible. Despite her diminutive size, Wukong was close to 180kg, so, with [Ruyi Jingu Bang] still gripped tightly in her right hand, Vahn had to heft nearly 8200kg just to support her body. Fortunately, even if she was ten times heavier, Vahn would be able to easily support her with a single hand. Instead, as there was a very real chance she would awaken to bite or bash him, he elected to use his telekinesis, dangling her unconscious body as he returned to the center of the arena. After confirming that most of Wukongs injuries were rapidly healing, Vahn turned his attention to Shirou and Hou Yi, asking, "Now that your array is broken, what are your intentions?" Hearing Vahns question, Hou Yi released a tired-sounding sigh before answering, "I had hoped to avoid causing too much damage to the surroundings. It would seem our n been for naught, but, before we surrender the fight, we would invite Your Imperial Majesty to one final challenge." Without having to think about it for too long, Vahn nodded his head, curious about what kind of back up n they had concocted. The Heroes Faction had grown considerably over the past six months, so, while powerhouses like Wukong were certainly troublesome, there were at least three people who greatly exceeded the Monkey Kings prowess in battle. At the very least, he was still expecting Musashi to make an appearance, as, given her nature, she couldnt pass on a chance to do battle against a strong opponent. As he had a decent understanding of Vahns character, Hou Yi knew he would be disappointed if they called him out without providing an actual challenge. Thus, while their original objective had already been achieved, striking fear into the hearts of the Xiantian Elders, he pulled out his ornate wooden bow and said, "We had nned for eight contestants to do battle. Is His Imperial Majesty willing to continue...?" Seeing Hou Yi pull out his bow, Vahns expression became more serious, his eyes shifting back to their zing gold color. Though Hou Yi wasnt all that fast and powerful, his skill with the bow wasparable to Musashis with the sword. He didnt even have to move during a battle, his arrows defying all rhyme and reason as they suppressed his opponents with oppressive might. Vahn had even asked the man for a few lessons, as,pared to the skills he had once prided himself in, he was practically a novicepared to Hou Yi... Realizing Hou Yi was still waiting for his response, Vahn briefly shifted his attention to Wukong before ultimately nodding his head and saying, "We ept. This time, you should alle at once. Show me the might of your Heroes Faction." As he spoke, Vahn pulled out one of Da Vincis upgraded Virtual Reality Marbles, one specifically designed to withstand several blows from an EX-Rank Noble Phantasm. It would eventually break down if the interior Space became unstable, but,pared to fighting in the open and severely damaging both the environment and the surrounding infrastructure, it was infinitely better. Seeing the familiar orb in Vahns hand, Hou Yi couldnt help but smile wryly. Though it would have negated the effectiveness of their trap, it would have saved them a lot of future troubles if he had used it sooner. Now, once the shock and awe wore off, the various Xiantian Elders and Patriarchs would undoubtedly throw a fit about the destroyed arena. It was an artifact that had been passed through the generations for millennia, so, even if they wanted to repair it, doing so would take a considerable amount of time and effort... Acquiescing to Vahns demand, Hou Yi gave a curt nod towards Shirou, who, after releasing an exasperated sigh, attempted to retrieve the unconscious Wukong. This brought an amused smile to Vahns face, as, despite his best efforts, Shirou could only pick up Wukong herself, not the [Ruyi Jingu Bang]. Since she wouldnt release it, this led to him having to strain his body by overtaxing it with [Reinforcement] Magecraft just to move her. Due to the rtive awkwardness of the situation, some of the Xiantian Elders had made a partial recovery, reveling in the struggle of the Japanese Hero. As for Wukong, they didnt hold her in the same regard as Hou Yi, as, due to their bias and Wukongs actual legend, they didnt consider her a Hero. Rather, she was considered to be a menace even in the Nine Heavens, earning the ire of many Gods, including the Jade Emperor and Empress. To prevent unnecessary remarks, Hou Yi gave the gathered Elders a pointed look, causing them to remain silent as they endeavored to regain their lostposure. They had been shaken by the disy of power they had witnessed, but, despite appearing cowardly mere moments prior, they quickly fixed their robes, adopting proud looks as they began to silently discuss the previous two battles. With his enhanced hearing, Vahn could hear the man referring to him as the reincarnation of the Yellow Emperor. One even went as far as to suggest they officially join hands with the Empire, not out of consideration for what it stood for, but what they believed it represented. After all, if Vahn was the reincarnation of their greatest Ancestor, they could pander to their own egos by iming his rule represented Chinese dominion over the entire. Shaking his head in contempt, Vahn made a mental note topletely shatter the Great Spiritual Gathering Array, rather than simply alter it. He hadnt really interacted with the Elders, but, based on the fact most had dark grey, slightly stagnant, auras, they werent good people. While not evil, their rule had undoubtedly caused great suffering to the people they were meant to protect, likely for no better reason than to consolidate their own power. They were simr to the Nobles he had purged from the Mages Association, so, once everything was settled, he would send someone to audit them... While making arrangements for a second purge, Vahns senses detected a rtively powerful Space fluctuation. Turning his head, he saw four familiar figures had appeared, including Shirou, who, after dropping off Wukong, returned looking somewhat worse for wear. He only had C-Rank Strength, so it had been a considerable challenge to carry the unconscious Monkey King, leaving him rtively fatigued despite only a few minutes of exertion. Fortunately, as Vahn suggested an open brawl, he would have plenty of time to recover as, with the inclusion of Hou Yi and Musashi, they had more than enough people to keep him at bay... Though it was a little petty, Vahn found Shirous state rather amusing, causing the edges of his lips to curl up almost imperceptibly. While he didnt exactly hate the man, Vahns appreciation for him had waned considerably over thest few months. There were several reasons for this, but, more so anything else, it was the mans attempt to save Sakura and Illya that irked him the most... After the changes to Artoria, Shirou got it into his head that the Empire had the means to forcibly change and brainwash people. While this wasnt exactly false, especially with people like Merlin present, being used of manipting people was never pleasant. Shirou not only resented him for erasing Sakuras memories, but, learning she had be his daughter, he even went as far as to use Vahn of grooming her to his liking. Needless to say, Shirous actions had caused a fair amount of drama, forcing him into a difficult situation where he turned most of the original Shirous friends against him. Rin had been one of the most affected, but, when it ultimately came down to it, Artorias and Illyas reactions had been the most extreme. After all, while the Heroic Spirit possessed many of the same memories as the original Shirou, they were not the same person. Having a pretender try to interfere in their lives, spewing titudes as if he knew what was best, had quickly turned what sentiments remained into borderline resentment... In a way, Shirous existence was rather tragic, but, considering this was the direct result of his selfishness, Vahn had no condolences for the man. Rather, if not for the intervention of Artoria, he would have killed Shirou for daring to interfere in the affairs of his family. After all, he was the one to actually abandon Sakura, so, rather than throw around me, Shirou should have apologized with his head to the ground for his past failure. He had been so blinded by his self-righteousness that he left a young girl to suffer for decades due to his negligence... Feeling his emotions begin to rise, Vahn forcibly restrained himself, maintaining a smile on his face as he alternated his gaze between the other three Heroes. This included the always sensual-looking Raikou, an even more muscr Kintoki, and, most notably, Change herself. The inclusion of thetter was actually a pleasant surprise, as, since the beginning, she had never actually made an appearance on the battlefield. He knew she had an exceptionally powerful Reality Marble, but, as for its form and function, Vahn waspletely in the dark. Seeing Vahn pass his gaze over them, Raikou released a sensualugh, covering her mouth with her left hand while holding Kintokis arm with her right. As for Change, she performed a polite bow, being the first to break the silence by saying, "It has been too long, Your Imperial Majesty. It seems my husband and I will be in your care today. While it may be forward of me, I hope you will show appropriate mercy during theing conflict." Adopting an appreciative smile, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation to Changes request. She had always been very polite and respectful, so,pared to Heroes like Wukong, Vahn had far more appreciation for her and her husband. Once all of this was over, he would probably even join them for tea, albeit only for a short while. Following Changes polite greetings, Kintoki was the next to speak, raising his right hand and simply stating, "Yo. Looking pretty golden. Nice." in a roguish tone. This earned another giggle from Raikou, who, immediately afterward, stated, "Now, now, Kintoki-kun, you know better than to speak that way to Tenn-sama. Does Mama need to punish you~?" Hearing Raikous words, Kintoki paled slightly, but, before things could get out of hand, Vahn came to his aid, saying, "Do not mind it, Lady Raikou. We are well aware of Kintokis nature at this point. He meant no disrespect in his words, so there is no need to reprimand him at this time." As if she was troubled by Vahns words, Raikou cupped her cheek with a small pout, seemingly contemting what to do. In the end, however, she gave an understanding nod, answering, "If Tenn-sama says it is okay, I will forgive you. When we return, Ill have to discipline you properly, however..." Though he was generally an overbearing and easy-going person, Kintoki was unable to oppose Raikous teachings. She was, in many ways, the most important person in his life, so, while her behavior caused him a fair amount of stress, it was easier than dealing with her tears. He hated to see her tears more than anything else in the world, so, if it would make her happy, he didnt mind ying the part that had been assigned to him... As this thought crossed his mind, Kintoki gave another small nod before muttering in a voice that was meant for only Raikou, "Yes, Mama..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: *THWACK*,Shirou royally fucked up...,Does this count as filial piety?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1485 - Truth

Chapter 1485 - Truth

With Raikou, Kintoki, Change, Shirou, and Hou Yi present, the Heroes Faction was only missing one contender. Traditionally, this would be Musashi, but, due to the nature of her nothingness, it was all but impossible to detect her before she appeared. Fortunately, while Musashi might be undetectable through normal means, Vahn had seen her appear within the Flow of Fate. He wasnt exactly sure when she would arrive, but, even if someone else was to take her ce during the event, he was confident she would make an appearance near the end... In an effort to trigger the event, Vahn turned his attention from the new arrivals, directing his gaze to Hou Yi as he asked, "Where is your final contender? We have already decided to wrap things up quickly, so it would be in all of our best interests to proceed to the main event." Though Vahns words sounded overbearing, none present doubted the fact he could back up his bravado with results. Thus, rather than show any offense, Hou Yi nodded in understanding, saying, "Had things gone as intended, Lady Musashi would have appeared towards the end, fighting Your Imperial Majesty in your weakened state. We cannot truly fathom Your Imperial Majestys power, so, as remiss as I am to say, we must rely on underhanded means just to bnce the ying field..." Towards the end of his words, Hou Yi offered an apologetic bow, holding the position for several seconds before raising his head and adding, "In lieu of recent developments, I fear we must rely on another to take her ce. As for who...Im certain Your Imperial Majesty has already foreseen it..." As he had, indeed, been taking a peek into the near-future, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation to Hou Yis im. There was only one other Heroic Spirit present, and, though she was nowhere to be seen, Vahn knew Danz was lingering within the void. She might be an Artificial Human but, due to her nature as a Heroic Spirit, she could freely transition between her Spiritual and Physical forms. As a result, she could freely conceal herself within the void, taking advantage of her A-Rank [Presence Concealment] to evade his senses. Deciding it would be more interesting to allow her to surprise him, Vahn stopped sneaking peeks at the future, smiling as he asked, "Shall we begin?" Without waiting for a response, Vahn activated the [Virtual Reality Marble], creating a projection that perfectly matched even the location of rubble within the real world. If you were to venture above the surface, you would even find the Forbidden City, replicated down the most minute details. You would have to travel nearly 100km from the center of the [Virtual Reality Marble] to find any discrepancies. Beyond that point, the world became a vast and empty wastnd. Eventually, it even became a white ne, extending outward for approximately three light-years before the orb was no longer able to properly render the virtual space. As there were no other major preparations necessary, Vahn raised his hand towards the ceiling, a mass of swirling energy appearing in his palm as he said, "Lets open things up. Its a little stuffy in here." Immediately following Vahns words, ck light could be seen spreading within the mass of energy in his hand, an indicator that a singrity had been formed. This caused Hou Yi to draw his bow, but, despite releasing an arrow that seemed to teleport through the void, it wasnt enough to deter the destructive energy gathered within Vahns palm. Using the forearm of his left hand in a vain attempt to deflect Hou Yis arrow, Vahn grimaced slightly before saying, "Its toote. Witness the power we have been cultivating since our ascension. Since it seems you called me here to demonstrate my power, it would be rude of us to hold back!" Ignoring the fact he was quickly turning into a pincushion, Vahn condensed the Space around him to prevent others from attacking as he shouted, "Fixate! Seize! Load magic, Void Emperor!" Following Vahns echoing shout, a vibrant white light seemed to cut through everything, temporarily blinding anyone looking directly at him. Then, apanied by what sounded like a distant vibration, one which caused peoples instincts to scream in protest, the light seemed to rapidly retract, rather than fade away. By the time visibility had returned, the eerie vibration had increased exponentially in intensity, to the point of resonating within the hearts and minds of everyone bearing witness to the maddening event before them... Where Vahn had previously stood, an amorphous blob of what appeared to be pure void could be seen attempting to form a human shape. It seemed to be struggling greatly to aplish this, but, despite the rather awkward movements, it caused catastrophic damage to the surrounding Space. It was like a living spatial tear, representing a gravitational singrity that, againstmon sense, was slowly gaining physical form... Despite the cracks spreading through the area, causing reddish-ck lightning to tear through the surrounding arena, Hou Yi leaped high into the sky, shouting, "We must stop him before he finishes his transformation! That is not a power that should exist in this world...!" Immediately after shouting, Hou Hi began to charge a phenomenal amount of energy into a single arrow, his muscles straining with enough force to spontaneously annihte his tunic. This left his muscr body exposed, allowing those with enhanced perception to see a dragon pattern lighting up across his body. It quickly coiled around his torso before making its way along his left arm and flowing into the ornate wooden bow, causing vibrant golden light to spread across its surface as the drawn arrow began to distort the already chaotic Space. While Hou Yi was preparing his Noble Phantasm, the other members of the Heroes Faction hadnt been sitting idle. Shirou had attempted to overwrite the surrounding Space by releasing his Reality Marble, but, before he could even finish his incantation, blood spurted from his arms, the result of his muscles rupturing due to a bacsh. Fortunately, Change was there to heal him, mending his wounds while Kintoki used his physical body to try and shield them. Entrusting Shirou to Change and Kintoki, Raikou had followed the example of Hou Yi, leaping into the air. Instead of charging her attack from a distance, however, she propelled herself directly toward the expanding singrity, a fearless look reflected in her dark-purple eyes as she incanted, "A strong foe stands before us. Come forth, Divine Messenger of the Ox-Head King. Be a manifestation of my memories, the echo of my beloved allies. Together, we will strike at the heart of our fated enemy, purging sin from this world! Ox-King Storm Call - The Inescapable Net of Heaven! Burn my foe until not even ashes remain...!" Though her incantation contained several verses, Raikou was able toplete it before she neared the spatial anomaly that had appeared. In response to her call, vibrant purple lighting tore through the area, culminating into four identical copies of Raikou, the only exception being their individual weapons. Each wielded a weapon representative of the Four Heavenly Kings, being a naginata, bow, ax, and zanmato, respectively... While her doppelgangers unleashed powerful attacks against the anomalous blob, Raikou began to build up even more purple lightning, this time infusing it directly into her katana. The de turned a vibrant purple that was hard to look at, its force strong enough to rupture Space and Time as she unleashed it towards the mass presumed to be Vahn. As a result, a veritable pir of anti-demonic purple lightning, more than ten meters in diameter, smashed into the nebulous void, forcing it to lose its form but ultimately proving ineffective at destroying it. Though it might have seemed like her attack simply wasnt strong enough, Raikou had felt more than ny percent of its power siphoned away in an instant. This was even more troublesome, as, from what they had gathered, Vahn should be rtively weak against elements such as Lightning. If even her Ox-King Storm Call was unable to affect him, despite being able to seal away entities such as Shuten and Ibaraki with ease, they were in for a tough battle... Just as this thought crossed her mind, Raikou felt her body forcibly pulled away back, two muscr arms hugging her body mere moments before she was sucked into the rapidly growing gravitational well. When she turned her head, she saw Kintoki with an awkward smile on his face, his sunsses no longer present as they had been sucked in by the expanding gravity. This allowed Raikou to see the concern in his eyes, causing her heart to melt as they were both pulled to safety by a tether that had been produced by Shirou. With Raikou cleared from the st area, Hou Yi wasted no time in finishing his own incantation, his voice sounding unnaturally calm as he stated, "Vestige of Divine Authority. Remnants of the God of Archery. Strike down those whose pride has victimized the innocent. I offer all that I am in the name of peace. Behold the arrow that darkened the Eight Blessed Suns. Sr Devastation...!" During Hou Yis chant, a phenomenal amount of energy had torn through the surroundings, ripping apart much of the arena and obliterating it. If not for Changes Jade Rabbit protecting the Xiantian Elders, they would have been destroyed by the ambient energy. Fortunately, their lives were briefly extended, allowing them to witness one of their greatest Ancestors perform a feat immortalized in legend... Without paying any attention to his surroundings, Hou Yi became one, not with his bow, but the arrow he had fired. Time seemed to slow to a crawl, his perception of his surroundings fading to the point only he and Vahn existed. He could feel himself tear through the condensed Space as if it was a thin vapor, the tumultuous energy having no effect on him as he approached a state infinitely close to enlightenment... After what felt like an inordinately long period of time, Hou Yi felt himself pierce into the nebulous void, his perception nearly being snuffed out in the process. Before this could happen, however, he felt his mind expand, extending far beyond Vahn and the Forbidden City. For a brief moment, it felt like he had be one with the Universe itself, but, just as quickly as it came, this sensation faded into obscurity, reced by what appeared to be a Sun, albeit only 30m in diameter. As stars werent exactly things that could be stared at, nearly everyone present was forced to either avert their eyes or shield them. It wasnt until the nascent star began to shift into an iridescent ck that they were finally able to see a phenomenon simr to a sr eclipse. It was pitch ck in the center, but, along the periphery, vibrant white light could be seen cascading in wisps. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, the star simply copsed, shrinking to the size of a marble before blinking out of existence in an instant... Though they werent foolish enough to believe Vahn was dead, as his real body was still outside of the [Virtual Reality Marble], nearly everyone present was surprised to see his nebulous form vanish. It waspletely beyond their expectations, Vahns confidence still fresh on their minds. Though he had a propensity for showing off, he almost always had the means to back it up, often in ways they couldnt evenprehend prior to witnessing them... As if to meet this expectation, an impossibly small ck dot appeared in the area where Vahn had been standing previously. By the time anyone even noticed it was there, a ghostly voice could be heard echoing through the surroundings, sounding slightly amused as it said, "The Void is eternal. It cannot be destroyed. Even when the Universes fades to nothingness, the Void will remain, patiently awaiting the formation of a new Universe and the endless possibilities represented within. Witness one of the few absolute truths..." Following the soul-shaking voice, the tiny ck dot quickly expanded, growing to the size of an adult male. Though itcked the fine details, such as individual fingers, toes, and facial features, everyone present knew the anomalous figure was Vahn. Instead of being pitch-ck, however, he now appeared to be formed from the fabric of the Universe itself, swirling gxies and countless stars visible within his body. Witnessing the scene, even the members of the Heroes Faction were stunned to silence. Even Hou Yi and Change felt like they were gazing into Eternity itself, a vast and unfathomable power that simply transcended everything else. They couldnt even sense Vahn, only an existential dread that promised absolute destruction if they attempted to oppose it. After all, even if you were a True Immortal, able to survive for billions of years without expiration, you would still expire an infinite number of years before Eternity came to pass... Without speaking further, Vahn extended his hands outward, breaking those with stronger wills free from their stupor. Ultimately, it didnt matter what they tried to do, however, as, from the perspective of Vahn, they had stopped movingpletely. You would need to be Tier 5, able to exist outside the Time Axis, to have any hope of confronting his current form. Thus, before lightning could even begin to flicker across Raikous body, light capable of causing existential dread began to emerge from the center of his being as he muttered, "Reg Mundi...Birth of the Universe..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn low-key wanting to spend time with Musashi...,What kind of boss fight starts at the final phase!?,O____________________O) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1486 - Intent

Chapter 1486 - Intent

Vahns penultimate goal within the Nasuverse was to be able to absorb the, or, at the very least, Avalon, into his Soul. He had spent a considerable amount of time in this endeavor, studying the Realms of Arcueid, Illya, Aoko, Tiamat, Azathoth, and, most recently, Artoria. Since the flow of time within a Realm, referred to as a Marble Phantasm in the Nasuverse, could bepletely severed from the Time Axis, Vahn had a functionally infinite amount of time to perform his research. As a result, he had already spent years researching the phenomenon further, increasing his age by nearly a decade in thest six months. This brought him infinitely closer to his goal, and, though it often felt like he was still at the starting line, Vahns understanding of his true nature had allowed him to reach a level of power beyond his past selfsprehension. The Path was an existence that exceeded the Tier System in its entirety. It was something beyond even concept itself, serving ad the foundation that allowed for such things to exist. There were no limits to The Paths capabilities, its only restrictions being theprehension of the user and their willingness to discard everything, bing something more. If he sincerely desired it, discarding all other thoughts, Vahn would be able to reach a pinnacle of power that even the most powerful beings within the Records were unable toprehend. The only thing that held him back was his humanity, his desire for freedom, and, most importantly, his family. These were things he would never give up, and, while it would undoubtedly let him be stronger in a short period of time, Vahn believed this was a dead-end path. After all, what was the point of power when your very reason for obtaining it was lost in the process? As these thoughts crossed his mind, Vahn opened, not his eyes, but his awareness of everything. It was simr to the omniscience he had experienced during his battle against Heracles, a state that, at the time, was so overwhelming that it threatened to sever his connection to the Record. Now, Vahn had reached a point where, unless he willed it so, the only thing that could eject him from a Record was the Quest function, as, even if they tried their hardest, Akasha and her Superior would never be able to erase his existence. This was power only he, as The Path itself, possessed... Though he no longer had a body to speak from, Vahns voice seemed to echo through the nebulous cosmos that hade into existence as a result of his [Reg Mundi], stating, "Conscience is not the result of chance. It is not born from the creation of the Universe, rather, the Universe only exists in response to the conscience desire to be. So long as the possibility of existence remains, there are no limits to the ways in which it can be expressed. Eternity is merely the framework. Reality is merely the byproduct...now, Awaken." One of the most powerful forms of Magic was Authority, the ability to manifest your intent, and, at times, shape reality to your expectations. So long as you had a strong enough Willpower, controlling life and fate itself wasnt beyond the realm of possibility. Rather, even when he began to awaken his powers back in Danmachi, Vahn had experienced this power first hand. He had been able to order those with weaker wills to simply vanish, turning them to dust and effectively erasing them with, not with the word itself, but with the intent contained within... Following Vahnsmand, partictes seemed to gather from within the void, quickly coalescing into the shape of five naked bodies. This hadnt exactly been his intention, so, immediately after they were given form, Vahn found himself stating, "There is no shame in the form of existence. It is in the pursuit of individuality that we seek to hide, concealing the beauty of creation behind facades, both real and abstract. Free will is the burden ced upon sapient life,ying the foundation of all paths, past, present, and future. To protect that which you hold dear, the right to Conceal has been given." Before any of the Heroes could even begin to understand what was happening, their bodies became shrouded in garments that appeared to be woven from the fabric of the Cosmos. The only exception to this was Kintoko, who, perhaps as a result of his confidence, remained almostpletely naked. The only thing covered were his eyes, concealed behind sunsses that were formed from the same material as everyone elses clothes. As they had manifested next to each other, Raikou seemed to lose interest in their peculiar situation, staring at Kintoki with an appraising look before smiling as she said, "Kintoki-kun...it seems we need to have a long discussion once we return..." Even before Raikou had finished her words, clothes manifested to cover Kintokis body. At the same time, he rubbed the back of his head, saying in an awkward tone, "Dont me me for this, Ma. Even I know better than to walk aroundpletely naked..." Seeing the interaction between the two, everyone else was in a slight stupor, unable to understand the situation they were in. They seemed to be floating in outer space, but, despite an apparentck of atmosphere, they were able to breathe with rtive ease. Change and Hou Yi even felt like they had returned to the Heavenly Jade Realm. There was such an extreme amount of Heavenly Energy, also known as Divine Energy, that their Divinity seemed to be gradually increasing in purity. As if sensing their thoughts, a majestic voice that seemed to emanate from everywhere stated, "The various Heavens are Realms given shape by the Intention of powerful beings. This is not Heaven. It is a Realm of Possibility, a nk te by which Infinite Potentials can be realized. Here, the influence of the Laws has no meaning. Even Space, Time, and Fate did not exist before they were observed. Here, Expectation and Intent reign supreme, fueled by Willpower and empowered by the Soul..." Following his exnation, Vahn willed himself into existence, further stunning everyone present by appearing as a being that dwarfed evens. His skin no longer possessed the nebulous quality from before. Instead, his upper body was left bare, gentle golden light radiating a calm and peaceful aura that seemed to stretch outward without limit. As for his lower body, it was veiled by the fabric of Space, sewn together by runic constetions and patterned with distant Nebs. Atop his head, a nine-pointed symbol formed of golden light appeared like a halo, while, behind his back, a dharmic wheel, formed from pale-gold and covered in countless runes, appeared to slowly revolve. Seeing Vahns appearance, even Shirou couldnt shake the feeling he was standing before an all-powerful God. There was a greater disparity between the current Vahn and all of thembined than the disparity that would exist between a normal human and a single ant. The human would be able to kill the ant with ease, but, depending on the circumstances, the ant could still sting or bite before its death. Even if theybined all of their powers, however, they would be unable to cause even a small amount of damage to the current Vahn, as, despite appearing right before them, they would need to travel more than five-hundred-thousand kilometers just to reach him... While everyone was still stunned, Vahn exined, "This entire space exists within me. What you see before you is nothing more than an Avatar, a physical manifestation of my Will. All things, including Time and Space, are rtive. In truth, I can only maintain this ability for three seconds in reality. Yet, due to the rtive nature of all things, an eternity could pass within this ce before my energy runs out. If I so desired, it would be possible to seal you within this ce for Eternity. Unfortunately, that would require that I stay within, as, much like reality itself, it must be observed to maintain its form..." Hearing Vahns exnation, Hou Yi decided to speak out, asking in a hesitant tone, "Is this ce truly another Universe? Have you reached the level of the Primordial Creation...?" As deception was meaningless in this state, Vahn shook his head in response to Hou Yis question, answering, "Not yet." in a decisive tone. Though it wasnt wrong to say he was capable of creating a nascent Universe, his understanding of the Laws was severelycking. He would not be able to create life from scratch, and, unless he closely observed those within, they could cease to exist at any given moment. To make matters even worse, there was a chance that any reasonably powerful entity sealed within would simply be able to escape, endangering the entire Universe by targetting his body back in the real world. Ultimately, unless he could reach Tier 5, Vahn was limited to emting their capabilities. Actual Tier 5s were able to maintain their Realms without any actual effort. Rather, it was a natural part of their existence, and, while it was possible for others to influence the form of their Realm, destroying it was virtually impossible. As for his, it was closer in form and function to a Reality Marble, albeit infinitely more powerful... Rather than feel any kind of relief at the fact that Vahn wasnt yet at the level of Primordial Creation, Hou Yi was shaken by the confidence contained in his voice when stating Not yet. Vahn seemed to possess no doubts that he would eventually reach that point, and, after witnessing this incident, both Hou Yi and Change believed this was the case. This meant, at some point in the future, Vahn would even exceed the Jade Emperor and reach the level of Tao, rivaling the Three Pure Ones to be a manifestation of the myriad paths in which people take in life. As he was aware of all things within his domain, Vahn could sense Hou Yis thoughts, finding them to be rather interesting. After all, he was, quite literally, The Path. His existence already transcended the Three Pure Ones mentioned in Taoist Philosophy and Mythos. Once his Soul Tier advanced, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that he could be the Creator of his own Universe. By the time he neared the peak of Tier 5, even creating a Multiversal System wasnt beyond the realm of possibility. Comforted by the thought he was slowly beginning toprehend the path he was walking, Vahn adopted a smile as he said, "Trying toprehend the nature of my being would require being near the same level. I am not bound by the pinnacles in which you can imagine, as, much like this space itself, I represent infinite possibilities...not just for myself, but for all things. There are no limitations, only the restrictions ced upon us by Fate, Karma, and ourselves..." Toward the end of his words, Vahn manifested a small star in his hand, smiling benevolently as he sent it hurling toward the unsuspecting group. This caused them to panic quite a bit, but, with the exception of Change and Hou Yi, the others werent able to freely move in an environment without gravity. As a result, the [Elemental Star], traveling nearly a third the speed of light, enveloped Raikou, Kintoki, and Shirou. Then, before Change and Hou Yi could retreat to a safe distance, the star began to expand, growing from 30,000km to nearly 3,000,000km in diameter in an instant, enveloping them before they could even embrace each other one final time... Though it wouldnt have been impossible for them to resist, only Innate abilities and those that had been cultivated through a concerted effort could be used within Vahns [Reg Mundi]. Things such as Divinity had no effect as, within the nascent Universe, the Laws themselves had yet to be defined. The majority of Gods couldnt even use their Divinity beyond the boundaries of the Global Bounded Field, so, here, in a ce where Gaia and ya simply didnt exist, they would have to rely on their own powers, not those granted to them. Content with the results of his experiment, Vahn gave a curt nod, internally stating, ("It seems even power and authority are a matter of perspective...at this rate, my ns will beplete long before Akasha and her Superiors begin to suspect anything...") In response to his musing, Sis gave an amused chuckle before adopting a slightly serious voice and stating, (*You still need to be careful. They may be none-the-wiser within the Virtual World, but, who knows what will happen if you attempt to meddle with reality? There are several Tier 5 entities that are bound to Gaia. You need to earn her cooperation if you want to avoid any future troubles.*) As his thoughts coincided with Sis, Vahn was well aware of what he had to do in order to ensure his n was a sess. Fortunately, the wish he had made nearly two-months prior had set the stage, so, after taking care of a few loose strings, he was ready to carry out his n. The most important part was increasing his own power, but, with the assistance of Artoria and the rest, he had a functionally infinite amount of time to cover that particr issue. With his thoughts organized, Vahns smile began to slowly fade away as he looked around at the nascent universe is had created. It was vast and infinite in scope, but, while it was possible to find a myriad ands and stars, it waspletely barren of life. Since he could sense everything, it was a rather disheartening realization that allowed him to understand why Gods were so eager to create life. Shaking his head, Vahn cleared away any sentiments he had for his creation, his golden irises taking on a pitch-ck, abyssal, coloration as he extended his arms and dered, "Interim Mundi...Return to Oblivion..." The moment Vahns words fell, it was almost like an analog television had been shut off, causing all of reality to simply blink out of existence. The only thing that remained was a single, infinitesimally small, point of light, but, without anything there to observe its existence, it, too, slowly faded from existence... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Is this Heavens Will...!?,The biggest of bois...,All things originate from and return to Oblivion...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1487 - Wake

Chapter 1487 - Wake

As the flow of time between his internalized Universe and reality werepletely separate from each other, not even a single second had passed since Vahn forcibly pulled everyone inside. Even the light he had produced had yet to fade, and, though it quickly copsed, his Void Emperor form was still active. Due to the Mental and Spiritual strain they had experienced, each member of the Heroes Faction was brought to their knees. As for the Xiantian Elders, they hadpletely lost consciousness, their Willpower to weak to even manifest within the [Reg Mundi]. Though they would eventually make a full recovery, the weakest among them would probably spend the next few days in aa. Fortunately, despite feeling like his everything was going to break apart, Vahn was able to remain standing. This might have been his first time forcibly pulling others inside, but it wasnt the first time he had activated [Reg Mundi]. It had been his main focus over thest few years, and, in the hope of mastering it, he even restricted the development of his Creation, Time, and Space Divinities. Though it would allow him toplete one of his Zenith Quests, affording him a ridiculous amount of OP and plentiful rewards, Vahn had learned the importance of patience. There were still numerous Optional Objectives as part of the Quest, but, more importantly, he had no intention of borrowing a Divinity from the Root System. His current Divinity was intrinsically tied to the, so, while it still functioned properly within the Moon Cell, the omniscience and power it provided were useless when he ventured further outward. Like other Gods, Vahn borrowed the Divine Authority that had been granted to him. Though it was still his power, it would be taken away the moment he exited the Nasuverse. There was no actual way to prevent this, but, if he couldprehend a higher-tiered Divinity, one linked directly to Sol, or, ideally, the Root System itself, the amount of insight he would gain was iparable. After all, there was a big difference between obtaining omniscience tied to a and omniscience tied to a sr system. If he could achieve theter, there was a very real chance he could create a sr system of his own, preventing some of the problems he was bound to face in the not-so-distant future... Content with how things had gone, Vahn couldnt help but smile as he spread revitalizing energy through his domain. At the same time, he deactivated the [Virtual Reality Marble], find his body had be a pincushion for various shadowy kunai and shuriken. This nearly caused him to burst outughing, especially when he saw the realization in Danzs eyes. She immediately tried to create a distance from him, but, due to having been in the middle of an attack, Vahn was able to reach out, grabbing her wrist as he mused, "I was wondering where you were..." Since Danz hadnt appeared within [Reg Mundi], Vahn was able to indirectly discover one of the few weaknesses of the [Virtual Reality Marble]. It might be able to create a near-perfect projection of reality, but, if the target existed in an intangible Spiritual form, it seemed they were unaffected by its activation. As a result, Danz had been free to attempt his assassination, taking advantage of the fact his body wasrgely defenseless while he, and everyone else, had their conscience pulled inside. Without saying anything, Danz activated a mechanism in her forearm, discarding the hand that had been grasped by Vahn. Then, from her forearm itself, mes nearing 4,000 degrees Celsius shot out, epassing much of Vahns upper body and allowing her to create some distance between them. Unfortunately, despite performing several acrobatic maneuvers, Danz felt her body gripped by an oppressive force the moment she came to a stop, almost as if an invisible hand and enveloped her entire body beneath the neck. When the mes and smoke faded away, Vahn could be seen with his hand outstretched, a wry smile on his face. He was using the unnamed spell, Mage Hand, a spell Eva had taught him prior to the far more advanced Telekinesis. It was an Apprentice-Level spell, but, in the hands of a Magister, it could be extremely effective in sealing an opponents movement. Since Danz only had D-Rank Endurance and Strength,bined with an inherent weakness to Magic, there was little more she could do than spit a ck needle that had been concealed within her mouth. Catching the needled between his fore and middle fingers, Vahn lightly chuckled before stating, "You are one of the most determined members of the Heroes Faction. The battle is already over, however, so you can stop attacking." Hearing Vahns words, Danz immediately ceased trying to resist, her rigid body bing simr to a marite that had its strings cut. The reason for this was, unlike many of the other Heroic Spirits that had been summoned to aid the Heroes Faction, Danz was still under hismand. He had a limited number of [Seal of Binding] at his disposal, so, while it was possible to obtain more through the updated System Shop, it was easier to simply summon Heroic Spirits that would dutifully follow orders. This was also why he couldnt easily abandon the thought of analyzing Danzs body, as, if he really wanted to, she would allow him to do so without any real resistance... Discarding idle thoughts, Vahn turned his attention to Hou Yi and Change, his expression turning slightly apologetic once he saw the trepidation visible in their eyes. They had been given a glimpse at his true power, so, even if he made an earnest effort to remain their friend, there would always be a small amount of fear present in the back of their minds. After all, to them, he was an existence that was already on the level of the Jade Emperor, a being that they simply couldnt afford to offend. Seeing the look on Vahns face, Hou Yi returned an apologetic one of his own as he helped support Change. Thetter had a simr expression, but, due to her kind nature, she was able to manage a smile as she said, "I shall carve this day into my heart. To bear witness Your Imperial Majestys power with my own eyes...this little onecks the words to properly express her gratitude..." Despite being unable to stand on her own, Change attempted a polite bow, but, before she could do so, a gentle force pushed against her, preventing her unnecessary actions. At the same time, Vahn stated in a soft yet firm tone, "I appreciate the sentiment, but such formalities are unnecessary. While it may prove difficult, I would rather things remain the same as before. It would sadden me if the two of you were to suddenly act like strangers." Hearing Vahns words, Change nodded her head in understanding before honestly admitting, "It will take some time..." while lowering her head politely. This action was mimicked by Hou Yi, but, by the time he raised his face, much of the previous difort had vanished. After all, he and his wife both owed Vahn an unpayable debt, so, while it would be difficult to behave normally around him, it was an effort they were more than willing to make... Seeing Hou Yis expression, Vahn felt some of his tensions fade away, reced by a feeling of relief as he turned his attention towards the others. Raikou and Kintoki didnt seem all that affected by the experience, but, perhaps due to their enmity with each other, Shirou had a distant look in his eyes. He was the closest thing to an actual human within the Heroes Faction, and, considering how recent his legend was, it wasnt all that surprising for him to be at a loss after experiencing something far beyond mortalprehension. Under normal circumstances, Vahn wouldnt particrly care about Shirous mentality, but, fearing the man might genuinely break, he went out of his way to ask, "Is this the limit you have decided for yourself?" Hearing Vahns question, a bit of light returned to Shirous eyes as he furrowed his brows and asked, "What are you talking about?" Without losing his patience, Vahn gave a small nod before answering, "The words I spoke were not an arbitrary deration. So long as you endeavor to seek greater understanding, there are no limits to a persons growth. Even those elderly men above have the resolution to seek immortality, despite being normal humans. If you convince yourself there is no hope, that bes your reality. Time is always moving forward, Shirou Emiya...it will not wait for you..." Shirou was taken aback by Vahns words, but, before he could say anything, thetter already turned his attention away, seemingly to emphasize a point. This caused Shirou to feel bitter, and, for a brief moment, he was tempted tosh out against Vahns arrogance. From Shirous perspective, he was a man who had been given everything from the start. His power also increased at an exponential rate, making a mockery of the effort others put in... In the end, the only thing that kept Shirou fromshing out was the fact he was well acquainted with the unfairness of the world. His original self had spent decades fighting against this unfairness, but, in the end, it was his own unfair power that had allowed him to do so. He had even borrowed the power and influence of others to act with impunity, causing trouble for the people he should have cared about the most. As a result, he ended up losing everything, even the life he had dedicated to the salvation of others. Remembering the hostility disyed by Artori, Rin, Illya, and even Luvia, Shirou couldnt help but release a tired sigh. They had used him of being selfish and egotistical, and, after mulling over the facts, he had to agree with them. He had always done whatever he thought was best, often ignoring the advice of people that only had his concerns in mind. This had always been the case, even during the Holy Grail War, where, even after losing his life and being saved by Rin, he continually did things at his own pace, forcing others into difficult positions... While Shirou was having an existential crisis, Vahn was helping everyone else recover using various alchemical concoctions that had been produced by Paracelsus. Many of these used [Avalon Apple]s as an ingredient, so, rather than the bitter taste of medicine, they were mildly sweet and refreshingly tart. Once everyone had recovered enough to move around without any issues, Vahn gestured toward the fallen Xiantian Elders before saying, "It will probably cause you some hassle, but Im going to destroy the array around the Forbidden City. Ill also be sending Kenshin to conduct an audit of the various settlements that have been popping up as ofte. I dont care what reasoning they use, they do not have the right to arbitrarily siphon the mana of others. Even in the information that has been provided to the public, there are plenty of less destructive arrays present. Ill give them two weeks to rece the arrays that currently exist. Future offenses will require punitive measures to be taken..." As he had already warned the Xiantian Elders of the possibility, Hou Yi gave an understanding nod as he said, "The Heroes Faction will take care of it. After today, I cant imagine any of the major families in China opposing your decree. They are a prideful bunch, but, more than anything else, they seek to preserve the lives of themselves and their families. You were able to easily destroy an array that was supposed to be capable of restraining even Gods. Even if that wasnt entirely true, it was something they believed to be true. Now, for fear of losing the power they had consolidated over generations, I imagine they will do everything in their power to appease you." Vahn was well aware of everything Hou Yi was saying, but, as it really didnt matter all that much, he gave a dismissive shrug before saying, "Ill entrust the matter to you. It was never my intention to try and rule the world so I have little interest in such politics." After witnessing Vahns power, Hou Yi wasnt even remotely surprised by the formers words. Though he had always said something simr, there was a big difference between the titudes spewed by a simple God and a Primordial Deity. Vahn would be unable to increase his strength so drastically if he didnt fully believe in the things he said and did, so,pared to before, his words carried infinitely more weight. Rather, it was pure egotism for humans to believe Vahn regarded them highly enough to even want to rule them... As this thought crossed his mind, Hou Yi couldnt help but look at the unassuming and cordial man before him. At a nce, he didnt really seem like an Emperor, much less a God. Instead, he seemed like an idealistic young man who simply wanted to live peacefully. Despite this, he was an entity that transcended everything, a being without any limits to its growth. This was, honestly, a little terrifying, but, knowing the next Primordial Deity was a kind-hearted man, Hou Yi couldnt help but feel a small amount of relief...the Heavens knew how tyrannical some Gods could be... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Patience is a virtue,Danz is very determined xD...,Vahn be like, "Rule the world? Id rather just mofu mofu and go on a pic..." *realization hits him* "Actually, I think Ill do both. Clean this up for me, will ya?") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1488 - Divergence

Chapter 1488 - Divergence

After briefing Hou Yi on some of his future ns, Vahn was preparing to be rid of the Great Spiritual Gathering Array when a familiar figure of Musashi appeared within thergely destroyed arena. She had an incredulous look on her face, and, after seeing how casual everyone was behaving, adopted a slightly annoyed expression as she asked, "Dont tell me...I missed the battle?" Though he hadnt exactly forgotten about Musashi, Vahn was caught off guard due to her timing. He had already calmed down from the previous battles, so, while he didnt mind continuing, it no longer felt right... With a wry smile on his face, causing Musashi to give him a pointed look, Vahn stated, "It seems the battle has alreadye to an end. The agreement was to fight...eight...battles..." As he spoke, Vahn felt like the temperature in the surroundings was steadily dropping. At the same time, Musashi had lowered her head, her bangs concealing her face as a rather demonic atmosphere began to permeate around her. Then, while slowly drawing one of her katanas, she stated in an eerie, reverberating tone, "So...youre gonna leave? Just like that...?" Seeing Musashis reaction, Vahn lightly furrowed his brows. He knew she was a bit of a battle maniac, but, after their previous battles, it didnt make sense for her to be so eager. Rather, thest time they fought was nearly four months prior, as, during theirst encounter, she ended up engaging Artoria in a rather climactic battle. He had to step in at thest moment, as, due to theirpetitive nature, both women were on the verge of killing each other after getting too enthralled in their battle... The moment Vahn began thinking back to thest battle, he felt his perception of time slow down a considerable amount. Before he could react, his left arm was already spinning through the air, albeit without any blood spilling. Instead, the limb dissolved into nothingness, reced by a new one as he flickered out of existence. In the next instant, he appeared right in front of Musashi, a stern look on his face as he asked, "Youre so eager to do battle? Fine, Ill keep youpany..." Following his words, Vahn was preparing to activate a [Virtual Reality Marble], but, in response to his question, Musashi just shrugged her shoulders, saying, "Meh, its whatever. Im not gonna impose if youre already finished with everything. I guess Im just annoyed that I missed the timing?" With the [Virtual Reality Marble] still in hand, Vahn had a somewhat awkward expression on his face, as, after Musashis attack, his blood had started to boil. He was just about to get in the mood, so, to hear such a half-hearted response, he couldnt help but feel as though the wind had been taken out of his sails. This situation reminded him of the instances where Nobunaga had intentionally riled him up, only to refuse his advances due to prior arrangements... Seeing the look on Vahns face, a smile returned to Musashis as she mused, "Now you know how I feel. So, what are you gonna do? Wanna go? I could go either way at this point..." As she spoke, Musashi cast her eyes toward her allies, briefly pausing when she saw the defeated look on Shirous face. This caused her brows to scrunch, a bitter taste spreading through her mouth that stirred her alcoholic cravings. It was pretty clear something major had happened, but, as that didnt really concern her, she turned her attention back to Vahn, awaiting his response. Having noticed the minute changes in Musashis expression, Vahn felt the timing for a battle hade and gone. She would undoubtedly ept his challenge, allowing them both to release some of their tensions, but, once everything came to a conclusion, it was difficult to say whether or not they would be satisfied. Without any stakes, such battles were little more than glorified spars, so, regardless of how much fun they had, it would seem pointless after the fact. As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn fell into a momentary daze, his attention drawn to one of the most prominent currents flowing around him. When he gazed into it, he saw a scene that caused his heart to palpitate a few times, and, if not for his control, he would have beenpelled to swallow... Noticing the subtle change in the way Vahn was looking at her, a look of suspicion shed across Musashis eyes. She knew he had the ability to peer into future possibilities, and, depending on his choices, he could guarantee certain oues. This wasnt all that dissimr to her [Empyrean Eyes], but, from their previous encounters, she knew his ability was marginally more advanced. He was the only person she had evere across, with the exception of Munenori, who was able topletely counteract her ability to actualize an intended oue. Like the proverbial cat, Musashi couldnt help but feel curious about Vahns subtle change, causing her to lean forward a bit as she asked, "What did you see...?" Though he knew she wasnt trying to seduce him, Vahns heart beat a little faster due to Musashis posture. Her intrigued look also enhanced her beauty considerably, nearly causing him to avert his eyes on instinct. Fortunately, nearly two-hundred years of experience with women didnt leave himpletely defenseless against their charms. As a result, he managed a wry smile, maintaining eye contact as he muttered, "I saw something...very tempting..." Hearing Vahns answer, various thoughts ran through Musashis mind. This included a fair number of dangerous thoughts, causing herplexion to flush slightly as she adopted an uncharacteristically bashful smile as she muttered, "It must have been quite something for an Emperor to be tempted in such a manner..." At this point, the current had increased to the point that, unless he diverted course, all future actions would lead toward the same path. As a result, Vahn had to slowly inhale through his nose in order to avoid making a rash decision. He couldnt deny it was an unbelievable temptation, but, when it came to certain bridges, there was no turning back once crossing. Depending on his choice, he would have to make a lot of changes to his current ns... Due to his hesitation, Vahn noticed that the current had started to disperse into many smaller paths. At the same time, Musashi averted her eyes away from him, her unnaturally beautiful eyes reflecting the image of herpanions in the Heroes Faction. She seemed to be reconsidering her thoughts, giving Vahn a strange feeling of unease that was hard to put into words. As a result, his body began to move before his mind willed it, his left hand gently turning Musashis face back toward him as he asked, "Would you like to join me for a drink...?" For a brief moment, uncertainty shed across Musashis eyes, but, almost immediately thereafter, the dispersing current converged into a powerful flow as she answered, "Youll have to provide the drinks. I wont ept any cheap alcohol either...mypany is pretty expensive, you know?" Though her word choice was a little suspect, Vahn couldnt help but lightly chuckle in response to Musashis teasing. Then, without exining anything to the other members of the Heroes Faction, he teleported them away from the Forbidden City. This made it appear as though they were going off to have a climactic battle elsewhere, but, while this wasnt exactly wrong, the form of the battle was significantly different from expectations. The only one who seemed to sense the peculiarity of the departure was Shirou, but, after everything that had happened, he simply sighed before saying, "We should return..." in a tired voice. --- Due to varying time zones, Japan was a little more than eight hours ahead of Avalonian time. As a result, it was alreadyte in the evening when Vahn and Musashi appeared near thetters secret hideout, the ce where she kept all of her alcohol. It hadnt really changed much over thest six months, but, due to the increase in monsters and the asional appearance of Phantasmal Beasts, a powerful barrier had been erected to keep others out. Seeing the familiar terrain, Musashi began to feel strangely unnerved, but, as she wasnt exactly a maidencking in experience, she summoned her usual bravado, smiling as she teased, "I guess it shouldnte as a surprise that you know about this ce. I wonder, is there anything you dont know? It always feels like were dancing in the palm of your hand..." Though he knew she wasnt expecting an actual answer, Vahn shook his head, exining, "Though I knew of the location of this ce, I knew nothing about it. It might not make a lot of sense, but, in a way, you are the one that brought us here. As for knowing everything...that isnt really urate. As a God, I have a limited form of Omniscience, but, in the grand scheme of things, I just go with the flow of thing..." Hearing Vahns words, Musashi issued a dryugh, crossing her arms as she said, "You know, people dont really expect you to exin everything to them. Honesty is good and all, but it...kind of ruins the mood when you go out of your way to expose things. Now, it feels like youre implying Im the one that set all of this in motion. Make no mistake...I followed you here..." Realizing he had been a little thoughtless in his behavior, Vahn released a sigh before lowing himself to the ground and saying, "Sorry. Honestly, Im just a little nervous. It might sound a little cliche, but, no matter how much time passes, my heart still beats quickly when Im alone with a beautiful girl. In a way, it makes me feel like I need to say bold things in order to impress them..." Following Vahns example, Musashi also took a seat on the ground, making use of the cushion that had appeared out of thin air. She hadnt missed the fact that Vahn snuck in apliment, causing a smile to spread across her face as she said, "Youve got a silver tongue, dont ya? I wonder how many women youve wiled with such flowery words...?" In response to Musashis question, Vahn showed a serious and calcting expression on his face, almost as if he was trying to find the solution to aplex equation. This caused Musashis smile to nearly break, the side of her mouth twitching as she internally remarked, ("Why is he acting like I just asked him about the number of meals hes eaten in his life!?") Deciding it was safer not to given an exact answer, Vahn ultimately shook his head, stating, "More than I ought to. In a way, it is one of my biggest ws. Still, I cant help but be drawn to beautiful and powerful women. If I were to refuse their sincerity, I believe I would regret it for a long time...it might not be possible, but Id like to live without regrets." Snorting through her nose, Musashi epted the cup of sake Vahn had extended to her, adopting a chiding tone as she said, "If I didnt know better, Id say you havemitment issues. I mean, Im not in a position toin, but...well, lets just say Ive never been fond of the double-standards when ites to sexuality. I want you to be honest with me, Vahn...if...if I let you have sex with me...are you going to be angry if I have sex with other people?" Though he didnt really expect Musashis question, Vahn didnt react in an adverse manner, allowing her to breathe a little easier. Instead, he showed a thoughtful expression before answering, "Though I have earned a fair number of lectures as a result, I have always advocated that everyone is free to love as they please. I do everything in my power to make sure my women are satisfied, but, if a time came where they sought thepanionship of another, I would ept that. So long as they were honest about the situation, it would be hypocritical of me tombast them for something I am guilty of..." Surprised by Vahns response, Musashi couldnt help but look at him as if she were looking at an idiot. His words made sense, but, given his nature, it was hard to imagine him being okay with any of his women straying away. Rather, even if he was okay with it, Musashi imagined his harem wouldnt take kindly to the betrayal. All of the women around him seemed unnaturally faithful, in a way that greatly exceeded a natural rtionship. Artoria, in particr, seemed more concerned about Vahns pride and honor than he was, willing to put her life on the line to protect it... Deciding it was best not to think about Vahnsplex love life, Musashi downed the remnants of her cup before setting it to the side and saying, "Youre a real weirdo...well, whatever..." Following her dismissive words, Musashi pulled the cord binding her obi. In the next moment, her soft, impably-shaped, breasts were out in the open. She generally wore a loose-fitting, highly revealing, kimono, so, without its bindings, the garment could be removed in mere moments. If she really wanted to, she could discard all of her garments in an instant, removing thest piece before the first even touched the ground. To further exacerbate matters, she never wore a bra or panties, both as a result of the time period she had been born in and personal preference... Seeing Musashis exposed breasts, Vahn could no longer resist swallowing, further egging her on by the unexpected reaction. She knew he was very experienced, but, contrary to expectations, Musashi found the current Vahn rather cute. A sudden urge to tease him began to well up inside her, but, as her instincts cautioned her against such actions, she, instead, got straight to the point, asking, "Well, its your move...show me what all the fuss is about..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Musashi be like, "Its been, like, ten minutes! It cant be over!",This has to be some kind of bullying... -Shirou, 2015,Im not sure if this is the result of fearlessness or ignorance...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1489 - Relapse

Chapter 1489 - Rpse

Musashi was an exceptionally beautiful woman, and, perhaps as a result of her nature as a Greater Divine Spirit, her body could only be described as wless. Her skin was without a single blemish, possessing a healthy glow that was noticeable no matter how well her body was lit. This,bined with her mature physique,plete withrge, perfectly shaped breasts, full hips, a toned butt, and some of the most tantalizing thighs Vahn had ever seen made it exceptionally difficult not to push her down. Rather, matching his previous statement, Vahn would regret it quite a bit if he refused her invitation... Contrary to his inner thoughts, Vahn quickly regained hisposure, tearing his eyes away from the two plush mountains crested with pale-pink cherry blossoms. He found Musashi staring at him with a considerable amount of expectation in her eyes, but, despite a strong urge to flit the immacte woman away, Vahn firmly stated, "There is no going back beyond this point, Musashi...I dont sleep with women casually. You are a beautiful woman, and, though I would regret it immensely if things-" Without covering her breasts, Musashi fixed her seated posture, clicking her tongue before stating, "I expected as much...youre kind of an asshole, you know that? Do you really think Im a loose woman or something? I mean, I know you dont think that, but your words are pretty inconsiderate. I dont really understand things like love all that well, but I wouldnt just sleep with someone I didnt like..." Though she maintained a calm countenance, Musashis voice became noticeably hoarse toward the end of her statement. She was telling the truth when she said she didnt understand things like love, but, despite their rtively peculiar rtionship, she had grown fond of Vahn. He was a little scary at times, but, for a thrillseeker who had journeyed through hundreds of worlds, such things were the spice of life. There were very few people that made her feel truly alive, so it was surprisingly painful to hear Vahn trying to dissuade her from a decision she already struggled with immensely... Seeing the look in Musashis eyes, Vahn took a deep breath while internally remarking, ("I wonder how many times Ill need to see a scene like this before I learn my lesson? Haaa...") Shaking his head, Vahn adopted a gentle and soothing tone as he muttered, "Im just worried about you...even if I hold myself back...well..." Hearing Vahns words, Musashi gave him a look of me before wiping away a nascent tear and saying, "Youre an idiot. The only reason Im going forward with this is to help make up my mind. It is normal for people to make mistakes. Even if I end up getting in over my head, that is a problem I can work through after the fact. Youre a good man, Vahn Mason. I know you wont just leave me alone if Im struggling...besides, youre not the only one who would regret it if things ended here..." As if to prove her point, Musashi shamelessly maneuvered her hand beneath her skirt-like kimono, pulling it out to reveal a thread of viscous liquid. This stopped any response Vahn had been forming in its tracks, his mouth gaping slightly as he saw the thread hold for several seconds before breaking into shimmering partictes. Vahns Divinity had made him very aware of Musashis state, but, there was a big difference between sensing something and seeing the proof with your own eyes. He suddenly became hyper-aware of Musashi, noticing the light blush coloring her cheeks and the small amount of trepidation visible in her beautiful, gem-like eyes. With the exception of Da Vinci, she had the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen, so, after seeing the uncertainty contained within, Vahns guilt swelled up before falling to the wayside, reced by a rising conviction... After rising to his feet, Vahn extended his hand to the slightly startled Musashi, causing her a small amount of confusion before the ultimately smiled and epted his outstretched hand. At the same time, due to her obi having loosenedpletely, her kimono opened to reveal, not just her breasts, but her immacte figure in all its glory. This caused Vahns eyes to widen slightly, earning a light chuckle from Sis when he internally remarked, ("I almost made a big mistake..."). Capitalizing on the rising tensions, Vahn pulled an entire cottage out of his Inventory. He was able to store objects up to 1,000m3,rger than most mansions, so he always kept a few portable domiciles in storage. While he didnt mind having sex in the open, he wasnt really an exhibitionist, so, unless it was a unique circumstance, retiring to afortable bed was always preferable. Despite seeing a Japanese-style cottage appear out of thin air, Musashi wasnt really surprised. When it came to Vahn, discardingmon sense was the norm. If you tried to understand his sensibilities, you would probably lose your mind, so, rather than disy a surprised reaction, Musashi just stated, "Well, thats convenient," beforeughing as he led the way inside. As it was meant to be a ce where he could rx and enjoy a bit of privacy, the cottage had high defensive capabilities, a built-in stealth function, powerful soundproofing, an expansive wardrobe full of unique garments, and, most importantly, a resilient bed andrge bath. It even had self-repairing capabilities, as, after experiencing numerous climactic battles, Vahn had learned the necessity of such a function... Though she had little to say about the existence of the cottage itself, Musashi was more than a little surprised by its interior structure. It was actually muchrger inside, reminding her of the structure of the Yokai District. This was for good reason, too, as, despite spending a considerable amount of time just lounging about, Vahn had seriously researched the Spatial anomalies associated with buildings within the Yokai District. The cottage was actually a miniaturized version of the Enma-tei, albeit in the form of a cottage instead of a ryokan. Before Musashi could start asking any questions, Vahn brought her into a room with arge futon that was nearly 30cm thick. A softer bed was not necessarily the best choice when it came to more intense activities, so, taking Musashis heritage into ount, he selected something she would befortable with. He actually had a number of different cottages within his Inventory, including a few that were specifically reserved for certain women... With the bed in sight, Musashi tensed up for a brief moment, allowing Vahn to surprise her quite a bit when he suddenly lifted her into a princess carry. This brought her back to her senses, a teasing smile developing across her face as she said, "You seem pretty excited...should I be worried?" While carrying her over to the futon, Vahn couldnt help butugh in response to Musashis remark. A strong desire to tease her began to well up inside his heart, but, after upsetting her previously, he decided to leave that kind of behavior untilter. For now, he was determined to make amends for his past mistake, ensuring she got the most out of this experience. He intended to pamper her until she was the one to push him down, knowing it would be more meaningful for Musashi if she felt she was able to get even with him... Unaware of Vahns schemes, Musashi soon found herself on the surprisinglyfortable futon. It was much thicker than normal, but, despite feeling soft to the touch, it didnt sink much due to her weight. Rather, it was hardly indented at all, a strange phenomenon that could only be found in A-Rank bedding. Had she known it was essentially on the level of a Noble Phantasm, even Musashi wouldnt have been able to conceal her incredulity... Without bothering with the true nature of the futon, Musashi leaned backward, supporting herself with her elbows in a half-hearted attempt to seduce Vahn. She couldnt help but feel curious about his reactions, so, seeing his eyes briefly flicker towards her inner thighs, Musashi smiled somewhat mischievously as she closed her legs shut. Rolling his eyes, Vahn went out of his way to manually remove his tunic and undershirt, revealing an athletic physique that, when tensed, allowed nearly every muscle in his upper body to be visible. As a result, Musashi found herself at a momentary loss for words, admiring the form she hadnt been able to properly appreciate during their battles. She was, honestly, a little surprised about how perfect his figure was, her heart palpitating like a maiden in spite of her age and experience... Taking advantage of Musashis stupor, Vahn adopted a calm demeanor as a professional aura began to pervade the atmosphere surrounding him. This left Musashi even more confused, causing her to pause when he suddenly said, "Remove your kimono and roll onto your stomach. You wanted me to help convince you, so allow me to show you why Im called the Godhand..." Musashi wanted to retort Vahns sudden bout of confidence, but, as curiosity had always been one of her biggest weaknesses, she ultimately rolled onto her stomach as directed. It was a little exciting to have her back to him, and, though she couldnt see his face, Musashi could feel his gaze wander across her body. Everywhere he looked, she would feel an exciting tingle, causing her body to tense up slightly whenever he fixed his intent on her butt and her already glistening garden... Feeling Vahn approach, Musashis pert butt became even more prominent as she tensed up, flexing her awe-inspiringly perfect glutes. Her expectations then began to run wild, but, just as she imagined Vahn trying to grope her buttocks, Musashi was surprised to feel his hand on the small of her back, a small surge of electricity running through her body as he began to carefully trace the crease of her spine. This caused a contented sigh to escape Musashis lips, further surprising her by how quickly his touch was able to rx her body... Before Musashi could inquire about his intentions, Vahn adopted a guiding tone as he said, "This is something highly coveted, even within Avalon. Dont worry, the time inside the ce flows at a rate of seven to one. We have plenty of time to do more strenuous deeds...for now, just rx and enjoy the moment. Trust me, you wont regret it..." Punctuating his words, Vahn began to gently massage a few of Musashis pressure points, finding her skin paradoxically soft yet resilient. She actually had a considerable amount of tensions built up in her body, surprising him a bit since she always carried herself in ackadaisical manner. He hadnt expected her to have umted so much stress, causing him to wonder what the Heroes Faction had been up to when he wasnt looking... Though she was tempted to retort that a massage was boring, Musashi found herself unwilling to make such a statement when an extremely rxing pulse began to enter her pressure points, much like an electric massager. She couldnt help but wonder what kind of control someone must have to be able to cause their internal energy to vibrate in a rhythmic manner. Rather than ask, however, she decided to take Vahns advice, epting the butterfly-shaped cushion he had provided so that she wasnt crushing her ample bosom whileying face-down... With Musashi being surprisingly obedient, Vahn began a long massage session, starting off with just his Petting Laws and raw skill. As she grew gradually more rxed, he began stimting parts of her body with his [Hands of Nirvana]. He had grown considerably more skilledpared to his past self, so, rather than forcing people into a promising state, Vahn could skillfully manipte them to prevent an adverse reaction. Now, he could build anticipation and expectation in the recipient body, causing Musashi to feel paradoxically rxed, despite a growing frustration... At first, Musashi was surprised that Vahns massage technique had nearly caused her to climax, but, after nearly an hour of being near the brink, a small urge to cut him into ribbons began to spread in the back of her mind. She had the distinct impression he was teasing her, but, with howfortable her body felt, she didnt have the heart to interrupt the massage. All she knew was, if he didnt hurry things up, she would have to take matters into her own hands... Against expectations, Musashi actually managed tost far beyond the tolerance threshold of most people. Vahn had anticipated her losing patience when he began to perform a deep tissue massage on her thighs, but, showing inhuman tolerance, Musashi persisted. She seemed to be waiting for him to take the initiative, leaving Vahn in a rtively awkward position since he already made the mental preparations to let her take charge. He wouldnt have any problems with taking the lead, but, after his experience with women like Tsubaki and Nobunaga, Vahn knew it would be more meaningful if their first time wasntpletely one-sided... In an attempt to push her over the brink, Vahn hesitated for a brief moment before saying, "Turn over. Ill massage your front side next..." Hearing Vahns words, Musashis mental processes slowed to a crawl. It had been nearly two hours, and, though it was a very pleasant two hours, there was no way she could continue waiting. Though she ultimately rolled over, removing the cushion sandwiched between her breasts, Musashi didnty on her back. Instead, she looked at Vahn with a slight frown marring her beautiful face, an expression that could serve as an artistic representation of impassioned frustration... After staring at Vahn for a few seconds with nothing more than heavy breathing to break the silence, Musashi adopted a borderline pouting expression as she said, "Youre messing with me..." Fearing she had misunderstood his intentions, Vahn shook his head, but, before he could exin, the expected oue urred. Musashi had beenpletely triggered, a determined expression on her ruddy face as she somewhat forcibly pushed him onto the futon. Then, with a slightly dangerous smile on her face, she said, "Youve got a lot of nerve..." as her eyes began to glimmer with mesmeric light. Not expecting Musashi to use suddenly use her [Empyrean Eyes], Vahn was at a momentary loss as a surprising amount of pleasure suddenly enveloped his lower body. She had actually used her ability to realize a desired result, manipting causality in a way that made it so that they were already having sex. He could have countered this if he had been prepared, but, with no measures taken to prevent it, Musashi had ensured the inevitability of their intercourse... With a pleasant tremble running through her body, Musashi released a sigh of profound relief as she leaned over Vahns body, pressing her chest against his. She actually felt a little guilty, but, after two hours on the brink, it was impossible to wait any further. Though it felt like her insides were being stretched beyond their limits, she experienced an emotion akin to relieving an agonizing, impossible to reach, itch. This caused her to fall into an absentminded state, enjoying the chaotic reverberations of a powerful orgasm as shey limply against Vahns body... Though things had developed a little differently than he had anticipated, Vahn didnt particrly mind Musashis rather forceful methods. Rather, he had already prepared himself for an attack, so, a stark contrast to how he would normally react in such a situation, he found himself enjoying it. Her insides were cooler than expected, but, likely as a result of the exceptionally long period of forey, her stimting folds eagerly writhed around his member, greedily epting his full length. He was also enjoying the feeling of her impossibly soft breasts pressed against him, so, while waiting for her to make a partial recovery, Vahn began to fantasize about how he would y with them in the near future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dont underestimate a womans convictions, especially if they have been alive for thousands of years...,Vahn has be adept at scheming...,Musashi, "I am inevitable...") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1490 - Realization

Chapter 1490 - Realization

After recovering her senses, Musashinguidly lifted her body, exhaling a contented sigh as she stared down at Vahn and mused, "Good boy...youre surprisingly obedient. I half-expected you to ravish me while I was out of it..." Seeing Musashis glistening figure straddling his hips, Vahn found it difficult to reproach her choice of words. Instead, he caused his member to twitch inside of her, increasing the size marginally and causing her eyes to widen. He was already bigger than anyone she had ever dealt with in the past, and, if not for the exceptionally long session of forey, it would have been impossible to ept his full length without a bit of difort. If his size increased further, Musashi feared he might actually break her, so, rather than continue teasing him, she began moving her hips slighting, biting her lip as if she hadnt said anything previously... Finding Musashis reaction somewhat cute, Vahn smiled as he began fondling her soft, scarily pliant, breasts. They were as smooth as satin, and, due to her excitement, her cherry blossoms were in full bloom, standing proudly as they demanded his attention. Since he didnt want to push her too hard just yet, Vahn decided to act on his internal musings, leaning forward and lightly nibbling the brazen protrusion. Though it was a little surprising, causing her to issue a soft gasp, Musashi didnt mind Vahns antics in the slightest. She was tempted toment that he looked like a baby, especially when he began to gently suckle on her teet, but, just like before, her instincts cautioned her against doing so. It was actually a little scary, as, every time she even thought about doing something to seize the initiative, a sense of foreboding would well up inside of her, increasing her excitement. Deciding to hug Vahns head, making it a little easier for him to suckle her breasts, Musashi began to yfully run her fingers through his hair. His hair was surprisingly soft and fragrant, so, following her instincts, Musashi began to gently sniff around his scalp. At the same time, Vahn was skillfully rolling his tongue around her nipple, causing a ticklish, stimting, and slightly burning sensation to spread through her chest. He also began guiding her hips, his hand sinking into the flesh of her buttocks in order to meticulously prod all of her most sensitive spots... Upon realizing what Vahn was doing, Musashi felt mildly rmed as it was very clear he was holding back. His understanding of her body was increasing at an iprehensible rate, causing shivers to run through her body every time he tentatively poked one of her weak spots. She couldnt shake the feeling she was walking along the edge of an abyss, one which threatened to consume her entirely if she lost focus... Giving her a glimpse of what was toe, Vahn released Musashis breast with a pa before tracing a path up the smooth mound with his tongue. When he came to her corbone, he yfully nibbled the bone, causing a feeling simr to electricity to surge through her neck and shoulder. Then, as she craned her head in a vain attempt to escape his pursuit, Vahn began to ascend her neck, nting a series of electrical kisses before stopping halfway and using his tongue to slowly trace the location of her carotid artery. Since he was, technically, a Shinso Vampire, this caused an instinctual response in Musashi, sending powerful shivers through her entire body. Enjoying her surprisingly innocent reactions, Vahn cracked a somewhat evil grin as he reached up with his left hand, caressing her cheek and forcing her to meet his gaze. She had fretful look in her eyes, but,pared to the passionate ze covering them, it was negligible. Thus, after tracing her bottom lip with his thumb, Vahn slowly leaned forward,pelling Musashi to close the remaining distance. It was a little out of order, but this started the first of many long and passionate kisses they would share moving forward. Though she had actually had sex numerous times over the millennia, it was one of Musashis most well-guarded secrets that, in that time, she had only ever kissed two people. The first time was out of simple curiosity, back when she was still a young girl. As for the second time, nearly a decadeter, it had actually been granted to another woman, once again, out of curiosity. She had always struggled to understand things like love, so, for a brief stint in her long life, Musashi had experimented quite a bit. Compared to the others she had kissed, Vahn was considerably more skilled, his tongue leading hers around like a veteran. Musashi found it more pleasant than she had imagined, his saliva possessing a curiously sweet, mildly intoxicating, quality. This was due to the Source Energy mixed into his bodily fluids, a potent elixir for a Divine Spirit like herself. Of course, she had no way of knowing this, but, as it wasparable to some of her favorite alcohols, Musashi found herself be unnaturally fond of Vahns saliva, suckling his tongue andpping any excess that collected at the sides of his lips... Vahn was pleasantly surprised by Musashis eagerness when it came to kissing as it allowed him to slowly guide her to greater pleasures without overtly startling her. He even managed to reverse their previous position, guiding Musashi onto her back and allowing her to grasp his head as he moved to grab her legs. She was a little surprised when he pushed up her knees, but, with her flexible body, it didnt cause her any difort. Rather, as it made it easier for him to move, sonorous moans began to emanate from her throat, briefly interrupting their kiss as her strained lungs sought fresh air... Musashi didnt actually require oxygen to sustain herself, but, as she had been emting her human self for millennia, it was hard to escape the habit. Vahns actions had left her feeling suffocated, as, with each of his movements, it felt like her insides were beingpacted. It was an exceptionally pleasurable feeling, but, every time he pressed into her deepest part, Musashi couldnt help tensing as an uncharacteristically girlish moan escaped her lips. In truth, it was actually a little painful, but, as pain was one of the few things that made her feel alive, Musashi never once considered asking him to go easier on her... Eventually, despite a desire to savor more of Vahns saliva, Musashi had little choice but to separate her lips from his as her body neared a pinnacle of pleasure she had never known. It was a little scary, but, despite her previous dislike for being pushed onto her back, Musashi unhesitantly wrapped her arms around Vahns muscr body. Most men seemed too eager to try and dominate their partners in the bedroom, but, for reasons she wasnt entirely sure of, Vahns presence had a calming effect. It didnt feel like he was pushing her down, rather, she felt like his body a bastion, protecting her heart and mind as feelings she never knew threatened to overwhelm her... With Musashi clinging tightly to his body, Vahn began to gradually speed up, moving from targetted attacks to a deep and steady piston. Though she didnt have the same condition as Luvia, he hadnt missed the sonorous undertones in her moaning every time he knocked against her cervix. She was far from being a masochist, but it seemed like she had a certain fondness for pain. Thus, in order to train her body in preparation for even greater pleasures, Vahn began to rhythmically knock at her womb, causing it to dte slightly as it descended to receive him. Though Musashi seemed to be trying to lock her legs around him, Vahn continued holding her in position, nearly pushing them parallel to her shoulders. He was using them to maintain his angle, so, while a mating press had its charms, he didnt want to change position when they were both on the verge. Instead, he began to piston rapidly enough to make a rather obscene smacking sounds, each thrust causing small shockwaves to pass through Musashis body, carrying a wave of pleasure with them. Feeling a sudden and intense emotion, bordering on existential dread, Musashi clung to Vahn with as much strength as she could manage, releasing a loud, unrestrained moan. It almost sounded like she was issuing a warcry, the tone increasing a full octave when she felt a sudden rush of heat and a phenomenal amount of energy entering her body. It felt like an explosion had urred within her womb, causing Musashis eyes to open wide as a tidal wave of pleasure, far beyondprehension, began to wreak havoc in her body. Due to her nature as a Divine Spirit, Musashi was extremely susceptible to purified energies. She had virtually no resistance against his Source Energy, so, simr to others with her constitution, her first time with Vahn was bound to be a character-defining moment. His aura alone was enough to make Fae and Spirits fond of him, so, experiencing his Source Energy directly, it was almost like taking a powerful, addictive, aphrodisiac. This was further exacerbated by his Divinity, elevating his potency to the point it caused bouts of absentmindedness in women for days after the fact... By the time Musashis body had started to calm down, ten agonizingly long minutes hade to pass. Her entire body was covered in a thickyer of sweat, smelling reminiscent of cherry blossoms, and, even after the fact, she had to take a few more minutes just to catch her breath. While this was going on, Vahn dutifully guided the energy to nourish her body, gently massaging her abdomen and chest to make it easier for her to breathe. This was all witnessed by Musashi, her left forearm resting against her head as steamy breaths escaped her glistening, pale-peach, lips... Seeing the rity gradually return to Musashis mesmeric eyes, Vahn adopted a slightly apologetic expression as he said, "The first time is always a little surprising. You probably already noticed it, but my bodily fluids contain an incredible amount of pure energy. This is one of the reasons the people around me grow so quickly, as it is one of the most powerful forms of nourishment in this world. I can even unlock a personstent potential, removing bottlenecks and allowing them to be exponentially stronger in a rtively short period of time..." Though they were somewhat ridiculous, Musashi didnt doubt Vahns words, as, more than most, she was very sensitive to the state of her body. She had pushed herself beyond theprehension of most people, entering a level less than one out of a billion was able to reach. Thus, while it wasnt by a great amount, she could feel that her body had be stronger. More scarily, however, she also felt like herprehension of Nothingness had increased, something she had pursued to the point of transcending humanity... After organizing her thoughts, Musashi wiped away the sweat from her brow before supporting her body with her elbows and looking at where she and Vahn were connected. It might be indiscernible to others, but she could see a peculiar luminescence radiating from her body, almost like her womb was glowing. It was hard to describe exactly how this made her feel, but, having pursued strength for her entire life, Musashi eventually met Vahns gaze, smiling as she asked, "Is there a limit to this little boost of yours...?" Hearing Musashis question, a ratherrge grin spread across Vahns face as he said, "There are none whatsoever. In fact, as I grow stronger, so, too, does the potency of my energy. The only restriction is your bodys ability to process the energy I produce. Due to your underdeveloped Magic Circuits, you would struggle to process more than 5% of the energy, even with my help. Your nature as a Divine Spirit makes the conversion a lot easier, but the material doesnt affect the capacity of a container..." Though Musashi was able to use a bit of the Counter Force, her Od reserves couldnt evenpare to the average student in the Department of Unified Thaumaturgical Theory. The energy of her body was stored in her cells, rather than her Magic Circuits. This was prettymon for Heroes that relied on their physical power, rather than magical capabilities. As for Musashi, she had reached her current level based almost exclusively on her skill andprehension of Sword Laws. Though she could use a Skill simr to a Noble Phantasm, it wasnt an exaggeration to say even her most basic sword strike had reached the EX-Rank... After listening to Vahns exnation, Musashi fell into a period of deep thought, staring at her lower abdomen as the energy contained within continued to course through her body. Then, with a serious look on her face, shepletely derailed Vahns train of thought, asking, "Do you have a stopper or some kind of seal? Im familiar with the use of talismans to increase conception rates. Knowing you, you should have something simr, right? I dont want anything to go to waste." Realizing Musashi prioritized strength a little more than he expected, Vahn couldnt help but smile wryly as he exined, "That wont be necessary. Unless I willed it to remain, my bodily fluids would evaporate in an instant. Even if it was sealed away, it would break down within twenty-four hours, making it impossible to contain. Im hoping this isnt a one-time thing, so there is plenty of time to increase your strength in the future..." Hearing the awkwardness in Vahns tone, Musashi felt a little embarrassed. She hadnt really thought about it, but her request was rather brazen. Now that she tried imagining the end result, she could feel her cheeks heat up slightly at the thought of wearing a paper seal on her crotch. She didnt even wear panties, so, while she would have tolerated it in order to increase her strength, Musashi realized it would have been very embarrassing if Vahn acquiesced to her ill-thought demand... Knowing Musashi would probably do anything to try and increase her strength, Vahn startled her by extricating himself from her depths. This caused her to panic slightly, her hands darting to cover her crotch in an effort to prevent the energy-rich fluids from escaping. Unfortunately, the volume wasnt something that could be suppressed so easily, but, before she couldmbast him, Vahn brought her stunned silence as he said, "If youre willing, one of the best methods is to drink it directly. I might have to leave in the next couple of hours, but we still have plenty of time to have fun. How about it?" Realizing what Vahn was suggesting, Musashi didnt even consider her options before nodding her head and saying, "Sure. Ive actually wanted to try feting someone but most people are dirty. Even your body aroma is pleasant, so I have some expectations. The only problem is...I dont think I could actually take that monster of yours into my throat. We can try using these? Ive heard men are fond of women with big breasts. Might as well put them to good use." As if to tempt him further, Musashi began to jiggle her voluminous breasts with an expectant smile on her face. She was surprisingly demure during the act, but, when it came to the conversational aspects of sex, Musashi waspletely bereft of inhibitions. Rather, even after Vahn pulled out of her, a pleasant reverberation continued to spread through her body. Having sex with him was a lot better than she expected, so, now that she had a suitable partner, there were a lot of things Musashi wanted to try... Vahn had already expected sex with Musashi to be somewhat fun and experimental, so, rather than refuse her, he issued a light chuckle before pulling out afortable chair from his Inventory. She seemed confused at first, but, after seeing him take a seat and lean back, Musashi quickly caught on to his intentions. Thus, with an expectant smile, she sandwiched his surprisingly hot member with her breasts, using her hands to mold them as she lowered her head, parting her peachy lips and taking his ns into her mouth without any discernible hesitation... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Teasing the Dragon is dangerous...,An addict is born...,Even Nobunaga isnt this bold O_O...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1491 - Subtle

Chapter 1491 - Subtle

Several hours after entering the portable Japanese cottage, Vahn and Musashi could both be found rxing in arge bathtub filled with hazy-green water. The former had a content smile on his face, arm hooking around Musashis shoulders as thetter reclined against him with the look of someone who had survived a dangerous battlefield. She had a somewhat distant look in her eyes, but, despite ack of focus, there was a considerable amount of satisfaction visible in her countenance. While letting her mind wander, Musashi absentmindedly traced her finger along the various lines of Vahns body,zily asking, "Is it always like this with you? I can see how you are able to keep so many women loyal to you...youre a beast..." With his ego sessfully stroked, Vahn couldnt help butugh in response to Musashis musings. It always made him feel slightly vindicated whenever he heard such ims, bringing arge smile to his face before he answered, "I pace myself based on my partner. Youre pretty amazing to havested for thirteen hours..." Punctuating his statement, Vahn lightly pinched Musashis still-erect nipple, causing a hushed moan to escape her throat. In the next moment, however, she dexterously extended her hand beneath the surface of the water, gripping the most delicate part of Vahns body while turning her eyes up at him with a threatening smile. Amused by Musashis silent threat, Vahn returned a smile of his own as he stared into her eyes and let him sleeping dragon speak for itself. This caused her hand to instinctually squeeze, but, refusing to sumb, it wasnt long before his dragon surfaced menacingly. As a result, Musashi issued an awkwardugh, quickly retracting her hand before resting her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes, seemingly intent on pretending she had done no wrong... Vahn could have let her off, but, despite appearances, he could sense Musashis expectations quickly rising. Less than two hours had passed in the real world so he still had over half a day to stay inside the cottage without endangering his schedule. Though he wanted to go and spend some time with Semiramis, as she would undoubtedly be expecting him, he could still spare a few minutes to lightly punish Musashis impertinence... With this thought crossing his mind, Vahn ran his fingers up Musashis neck before gently guiding her chin to tilt toward him. This caused her to open her eyes, a slight ze already spreading across their surface as she stared back at him. Then, with an affectionate smile on his face, Vahn brought his lips close enough to brush against Musashis as he said, "Point your butt toward me..." before lightly licking her lips... --- After a considerable stint within the bath, Vahn and Musashi were sitting side-by-side outside the cottage, enjoying a few drinks before his departure. She forced him to hand over more than a dozen premium sake, pointedly reminding him that her time was an expensivemodity. Despite this, she poured him a considerable number of drinks, rarely filling her own cup. This was uncharacteristic for her, but, after everything that had happened over thest couple of hours, Musashis usual cravings had beenpletely pacified. epting yet another cup poured by Musashi, Vahn swirled around the contents as he asked, "What are you going to do from now on?" Hearing his question, Musashi knew it wouldnt be long before Vahn departed to handle his other affairs. This made her feel strangely lonely, causing her to release a small sigh before answering, "Id like to say I will just follow you back to the Empire...but I cant just up and leave the Heroes Faction. I might not care about their mission all that much, but I would feel guilty if I left without at least trying to exin things. I dont want Alice and Abigail to hate me...besides, I still owe that damned monkey for stealing my reserve stash..." As her answer wasnt outside of his expectations, Vahn gave an understanding nod before downing the contents of his cup and saying, "After my actions today, I think the goal of the Heroes Faction is going to change. Once things start to settle down, know that you always have a ce in Avalon. Ill tell the others what has happened...Artoria might be a little aggressive during your next battle, but she is a good woman. As for Wukong...give her a few smacks for me..." Amused by Vahns words, Musashi giggled in an uncharacteristically feminine manner before, once against, resting her head against his shoulder. She had let her hair flow freely, so, contrasting her usual wild ponytail, her pale-pink locks fell gracefully around her shoulders. It gave her a delicate and demure appearance, something she very rarely showed others. Vahn, however, had be a unique existence in her heart, as, not only did he satisfy her in ways she never even thought possible, he allowed her strength to grow further than her efforts alone would allow... --- As was the case with all good things, Vahns time with Musashi eventually came to an end. He didnt actually have to leave so abruptly, but, knowing Semiramis would be upset if he wasnt considerably early, it was better to end things on a high note. With this in mind, Vahn decided to spend what remained of their timebing and styling her hair. Musashi actually wanted him to pick a new style for her, so, after imagining how she would look with various styles, Vahn settled on a modified version of her original. He actually preferred her wild and untamed look quite a bit, so, rather than making a drastic change, he opted to braid the few loose strands she normally allowed to flow freely. This gave her a slightly more tidy appearance, but, at a nce, there wasnt much of a change from before. His intent was to emphasize that, while he had made his mark upon her, he still respected the person she had been before their tryst... Seeing the braid that now fed into her usual ponytail, Musashi had a satisfied smile on her face as she slowly ran her fingers along its length. It was very subtle, but, as she hadnt changed her style in several centuries, it left quite an impact. She half-expected Vahn to tie her hair up like Artorias, as, from what she had seen, it seemed to be a very popr style in the Empire. Even a considerable number of female students had started to style their hair simrly, emting the Empress they hade to fear and respect. After staring at herself for a full minute, Musashi returned the hand mirror to Vahn, saying, "Thanks for today. It might sound a little strange, but I really needed something like this. Ill be relying on you from time to time, so give me a way to contact you. After what youve done to me, Im expecting you to take full responsibility. If you try and shirk your responsibilities, dont me me for charging into Avalon to punish you." Despite the joking tone she used, Vahn knew Musashi was actually very serious about charging into Avalon. She was, in many ways, like a humanoid typhoon. It was impossible topletely tame her, so, if you neglected her, she had the capacity to be a living natural disaster. While her rampage might not harm anyone, the amount of damage she could cause to buildings and obstacles in her path wasnt something that could be ignored... As he had already prepared for situations like this, Vahn pulled out a pale-purple ring formed from an enriched version of Jadeite. Besides functioning as an interspatial ring, it also served as a direct line ofmunication with the paired essory, the pendant Vahn often wore outside of battle, an exact replica of the one he had crafted to match Lilis. Since the real pendant would turn to dust if he tried to remove it from his Inventory, Vahn had made a copy to serve as one of the many reminders of the home he needed to return to. After handing over the ring and exining its functions, Vahn couldnt help but release a sigh, as, despite nodding her head, Musashi didnt seem to be listening. She was too busy admiring the ring after forcing him to quickly ce it upon her ring finger. It wasnt the first time someone had tried giving her such a gift, but, as she never had any real interest in the people making the offer, she had refused each and every one of them. This was the first real essory she had received from another person, bringing a smile to her face as it made things seem more official between her and Vahn. While Musashi was distracted by her ring, Vahn sneakily reached his hand around to her backside, lightly pinching the exposed flesh as he said, "I wont force you, but you should start wearing panties in the future. If it bothers you too much, I can also enchant your skirt so that it automatically blocks any attempts to peek..." As it was strangely satisfying to hear Vahn fret over such things, Musashi exaggeratedly nodded her head in approval, patting him on the shoulder as she said, "Now that were together, it is natural for you to start worrying about me. Still, I really dont like how restrictive underwear feels. Ill wear them if you want, but Id rather go with that enchantment. To be honest, though, it doesnt really matter if others sneak a peak. Im not ashamed of my body and its not like they would be able to do anything to me. Rather, if someone tried to desperately see up my skirt, that seems like a pretty good reason to test my de, doesnt it?" Musashi was born in an era where undergarments had yet to be widespread. In fact, before western imperialism became the trend, it was heavily frowned upon to wear undergarments that might be visible through a kimono. Many had considered it unnatural, nothing more than a scheme to sell unnecessary garments for additional profit. After all, what was the point of wearing expensive clothing that nobody was supposed to see? Thus, much like Gozen and Tamamo, Musashi elected to gomando, not caring about the wayward eyes of others. Since he wasnt going to force her, especially after saying he wouldnt, Vahn spent a few moments enchanting Musashis clothing with Circes unique Enchantment of Modesty. It manipted cloth in such a way that, no matter what angle you tried to view from, it would always obscure your vision. It also protected from most forms of irvoyance, so, even if someone tried to be a voyeur using the rtivelymon technique, their attempts would end in failure. Noticing how her clothes shifted slightly when she moved around, Musashi was mildly intrigued by the enchantment, adopting a teasing smile as she said, "Give it a try. I want to see the effect with my own eyes." Shaking his head, Vahn exined, "If you want to be seen, the enchantment doesnt work. I wouldnt mind taking a look if you insist..." Though she was tempted to take him up on the offer, Musashi felt like things might go the same way as they had in the bath. This was an enticing thought, but, fearing she might be a pervert if she spent too much time with Vahn, Musashi ultimately shook her head, saying, "Maybe next time. I should get back to headquarters and I know you already have somece else to be. I already have a method to contact you, so get going. When we both have some free time, lets meet up and enjoy a few more drinks together." As he really did need to get going, Vahn didnt refute Musashis words. Before he left, however, he pulled her closer to him, allowing her breasts to rest against his chest as he sealed her lips with his own. Their current rtionship was a little peculiar, but it was still a rtionship. This made Musashi his woman, so, following the tradition he had established long ago, Vahn dutifully said his farewells before resting his head against hers and promising to meet again soon. Then, with an affectionate smile on his face, his figure slowly faded from existence as ya teleported him away... Seeing Vahns figure disappear, Musashi maintained her smile, holding it for several seconds after he hadpletely vanished. Then, like a marite with its strings cut, she plopped down onto the cold stone tiling, letting her body sprawl out as she stared towards the vast ocean of stars above. It had been a long time since she felt this tired, but, rather than exhaustion derived from exertion and fatigue, pure contentedness had pervaded her entire being. Even now, she could feel the echoes of pleasure that Vahn had left inside her body, almost as if they had never separated. Thus, rather than return to the Heroes Faction Headquarters, she decided to make use of the cottage Vahn had left behind, calming the fire in her body by soaking in an icy bath... --- Almost immediately after his separation from Musashi, Vahn found himself within the Throne Room of the Hanging Gardens. Semiramis was nowhere to be seen, but, leading from the Throne to the bed-chamber behind, a trail of ck rose petals had been meticulously strewn about. This caused a smile to spread across Vahns face, as, internally, he remarked, ("It seems today is going to be one of those days...") Usingposite magic to make sure there was no trace of Musashis scent on his body, Vahn began following the trail of rose petals, peeling off his top in the process. He could have easily unequipped it, but, with several pieces of ck and gold fabric strewn about, discarding his own seemed like the proper thing to do. Stopping just outside of Semiramis bed-chamber, Vahn noticed the pair of ckce panties that were hanging from the door handle. He doubted she would actually let him have sex with her, as she absolutely abhorred relinquishing control, but, at the very least, her defenses were lowered. If he let her take the lead, there was a chance he would get to experience her charms for a short while. They had only had sex three times, each sessionsting fewer than fifteen minutes, but, knowing it was only a matter of time before she relented, Vahn hadnt lost hope... After opening the door, Vahn found Semiramis admiring herself in her standing mirror near the corner of her room. It was difficult to see through her raven-ck hair, as it covered most of her body from behind, but she seemed to be wearing nothing but a topless bodice, stockings, and a garter belt. Though she would probablysh out at him for surprising her so suddenly, seeing Semiramis in her battle attire brought arge smile to Vahns face. (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Stares menacingly with its one eye*,When a woman changes hairstyle, it is an important moment o3o...,A never-ending cycle...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1492 - Contact (1/?)

Chapter 1492 - Contact (1/?)

Around the same time as his arrival in the Hanging Gardens, Vahns main body was making his daily rounds back in Avalon. Azathoth didnt seem to get particrly lonely, but, if he didnt spend time with Tiamat, thetter might actuallye looking for him. This could quickly turn into a dangerous situation, as, despitecking the desire to harm others, Tiamatas curiosity endangered herself and others. Though it was even less developed than when Fenrir first transformed, the current Tiamat could now vocalize her thoughts and feelings. She had be a lot more expressive as well, often disying a happy and gentle smile on her face as she haphazardly created various life forms to inhabit her own personal Marble Phantasm. When Vahn arrived to check on her, he found several dozen miniature versions of Tiamat ying with her children. It was actually a little frightening, as, due to her fragmented though process, the vast majority of her creations would be treated as misshapen abominations. There was even arge, anomalous blob of lumpy, fur-covered, meat, so poorly designed that it didnt have an anus, only a mouth and atrophied appendages. It had eaten itself into obesity, kept alive by little more than the love of its mother, the same entity who had designed it so that it would never be able to leave her... Almost immediately after his arrival, Vahn heard a low, delicate, voice softly call out, "Master..." as a phenomenal pressure descended upon him. In the next moment, one of Tiamats bodies, standing at 160cm tall,pletely unbound, appeared next to him. She wasted no time in jumping on his body, clinging to him with a happy smile on her face as she rubbed her cheek against his chest and added, "You e back...Im d..." Though she still hadrge double-arched horns and a long, dragon-like tail, Tiamat had been able topletely remove her bindings after a considerable amount of effort. That same day, she spoke her first few words, indicating the chains had done more than bind her powers. They seemed to suppress all of her emotions, leaving only things like fear, uncertainty, and purpose behind. His Source Energy had slowly overwritten this effect, allowing her to experience a diverse range of emotions, that, with time, allowed her topletely remove the shackles that bound her heart and mind. While Tiamat was happily clinging to him, Vahn brought his arms around her body, phasing through her watery hair before tightly embracing her in turn. This resulted in herrge horns and dexterous tail wiggling about excitedly, a peculiar yet adorable sight that Vahn had be rather fond of. He had always appreciated those that were more honest with their emotions, so, while she had be a little dangerouspared to her previous self, Vahn was always happy to see Tiamats progress. Interrupting the affectionate embrace, a rather cold voice echoed in the surroundings, stating, "Do not ignore me." Hearing the voice, Vahn turned his head to the side, a rxed smile on his face as he replied, "Come now, ya, you know better. You shouldnt be envious of your sister. After all, you get to spend most of the day with me. Now,e here..." Though she had a slight pout visible on her face, ya still moved as directed, snuggling up next to her Master with her rather sensual body. Unlike Tiamat, her appearance had changed considerably over the years, both as a means to appeal to Vahn and fulfill one of her primary objectives. She had closely observed his rtionships, altering her appearance to match what she believed to be Vahns preferences. The current ya stood around 165cm tall, her body appearing more fit than voluptuous due to the excessive number of warrior women around Vahn. She had somewhat modest breasts, slightly over the qualifications for a B-Cup, but, most notably, her thighs and butt were almost disproportionatelyrge. It wasnt to the point of appearing incongruous, especially with a rtively thick tail protruding from her lower back, but it was very noticeable. She still had the same pale blue skin and white hair, but,pared to her rtively short and neat style from before, yas hair cascaded down, nearly reaching the floor when she was standing. As for her remaining features, she had eyes like amethysts and, seemingly for the purpose of petting, two fox-like ears in addition to her usual, elf-like ears... Vahn always had a fondness for women with exotic features, so, in more ways than one, he found yas appearance very appealing. She, like her sister, also had an impossibly soft and smooth body, so, at times, Vahn felt like he could just squeeze and hug the duo for hours without getting bored. In fact, he had done so on several asions, finding them exceptionally suitable as hug-pillows when he was taking a nap... After embracing the duo for several minutes, Vahn lightly stroked their backs, saying, "Okay, we can hug moreter. I came to spend time with Tiamat, but I also want to check the status of the Temple. Once Im done, we can y to our hearts content." Though both girls were rather spoiled, neither ever opposed his decisions, especially if he gave them in the form of orders. They quickly released his body, both showed varying degrees of reluctance. To appease them, he had to caress both of their heads, stating, "It wont take long," before giving each a kiss. This was generally enough to return Tiamats, but, due to her peculiar nature, ya appeared discontent until he caressed his hand along her abdomen. She would never be satisfied unless she got more than Tiamat, as, for reasons even she couldnt put into words, ya felt envious of her far more innocent counterpart. Vahn knew that the root cause of yas envy was the fact that Tiamat, even with her nascent Ego, was far more free than she was. Tiamat was no longer a part of the Counter Force, so, unlike ya and Gaia, she was free from Akashas influence. Rather, her only purpose, prior to the changes he had introduced, was causing destruction and regressing the world to its primordial state. She was the catalyst for an event that would now never take ce, freeing her to live however she pleased. Unfortunately, until he enacted his n, Vahn couldnt free ya from her burden. He hade to understand that, while not impossible, breaking free from the authority of the Root System was the same as transcending it. ya would either need to pass through the Root, a feat that was all but impossible due to the very restrictions ced upon her. Thus, in the hopes of enacting his ns and freeing everyone, Vahn found himself at the massive Temple located at the very center of Tiamats Marble Phantasm. Set atop a massive Ziggurat, a rectangr stepped tower, the Temple of Gaia was a structure that easily rivaled the Parthenon in size. The interior walls were covered from floor to ceiling in gem-like tiles, each arranged to depict countless different creatures. At the deepest section of the Temple, a massive ck b, appearing much like an altar, could be found blocking ess to arge well of immeasurable depth. Behind these two peculiar facets, lining the furthest wall, three pedestals could be found, two containing 10m tall statues of Tiamat and ya. As for the center pedestal, it was left unupied, but, near the base, written in ancient Sumerian characters, the words Gaia, Mother of All could be seen. After approaching the pitch-ck b preceding the bottomless well, Vahn ran his hand along the surface, causing millions of ghostly blue runes to light up along its surface. Only the centermost area was left empty, forming a circr void where various offerings could be made in the hopes of luring Gaia out of her self-imposed istion. Despite sharing the same Origin, even ya and Tiamat couldnt make direct contact with Gaia. The former had a non-interference policy imposed upon her very existence, and, though Tiamat should be able to make contact, she simply didnt understand how to go about doing so. She had all of her original memories, but they were a jumbled and indecipherable mess. It was almost like having every book that had ever been written at your disposal, but, rather than any organized structure, they had been shredded to pieces before being thrown into the same pile. It wasnt impossible to find what you were looking for, just exceptionally difficult. If he really wanted to, Vahn knew he could meld with Tiamat, allowing him to trace her existence to the moment she separated from Gaia. However, this wasnt absolutely assured, and, until she had an understanding of the significance behind such acts, Vahn wouldnt have sex with Tiamat. ya would also take exception to the fact that her counterpart was able to experience something denied to her, so, rather than step on andmine capable of destroying continents, Vahn had used the Greater Grail created by Illya to simplify matters. While it was impossible to contact Gaia using the Greater Grail, Vahn was able to learn a variety of different methods to establish a connection. The simplest among them was to construct a sacrificial altar, sacrificing thousands of lives in an ancient ritual. Fortunately, much like the situation between him and Sut-Typhon, Vahn could forgo the use of such a brutal method. This was the main purpose of the bottomless well, a construct that was meant to represent a direct link to the core of Gaia. It was precisely 6,378km deep, and, though it didnt connect to the itself, the fact Taimat shared an origin with Gaia meant it should be possible to establish contact through her Marble Phantasm... After waiting for the runes to spread throughout the entire Temple structure, even descending down the well, Vahn pulled out a ceremonial gold dagger, slicing his wrist to the bone. This wasnt entirely necessary, as he could just forcibly eject his blood, but the feeling and intent behind such rituals were often the most important aspects. Thus, without allowing the wound to heal, Vahn watched as his blood was soaked up by the pitch-ck b, almost as if the smooth surface was actually a void with infinite capacity. Once he had discharged approximately a kiloliter of blood, Vahn allowed the wound on his wrist to heal instantaneously. At this point, the runes had changed from pale blue to a vibrant gold color, the result of the stone b interpreting the energy contained within his blood as Divine. If he pushed it even further, it would begin to shift into a deep magenta color, but, as that had nearly destroyed the Temple in a previous experiment, Vahn opted to y it safe. With his preparationsplete, Vahn gave a curt nod toward Tiamat and ya before they all knelt down, bringing their hands together in a gesture of prayer. Then, with as much sincerity as he could manage, Vahn chanted, "Oh Goddess, Source of Gods and Mortals, All-Fertile, All-Destroying Gaia, Mother of All, Who brings for the bounteous fruits and all variety of flowers. Sacred Maiden who anchors the eternal World in our own, Immortal, Blessed, Crowned with every Grace. Deep bosomed Earth, filled with sweet ins and fields of fragrant grasses, kissed by the purifying rain. Around you fly the beauteous stars, eternal and divine. Come, Blessed Goddess, and hear the prayers of your lost children..." As Vahn incanted his prayer, the runes lining every surface began to shine with such resplendence that it was impossible to see anything else. This made it appear as though Space had been distorted into a realm of pure gold, a realm filled with endless warmth and, to those sensitive to its presence, longing. From the very center of the golden space, a tiny green light emerged from nothingness, its own radiance increasing in intensity, appearing much like a growing star. This light approached to within a few centimeters of Vahn before sending out wispy green tendrils of energy, some caressing his face while others poked and prodded other areas of his body. Vahn had experienced this phenomenon before, so, while it seemed like he would be able to finally contact Gaia, he knew better than to move even a single muscle. Thest few times he had tried, she instantly retreated, taking the golden light with her. Afterward, she would not respond to his call for several days, the shortest period of time being six. Thus, in the hopes ofpelling her to stay, he had been generating calm and gentle energy through his domain, allowing her to entangle with it like a curious child... After several minutes had passed, Vahn was considering whether or not he should take a chance when a soft, sad-sounding, voice stated, "You are not one of mine...you are...different...you are...my Master...?" Rather than immediately answer, Vahn slowly raised his head to stare directly at the green light, causing it to quickly retract. This time, however, it didntpletely disappear, almost as if it was waiting for his response. Thus, with the calmest and most gentle tone he could manage, Vahn said, "I want to save you..." Though he could have tried to order Gaia, preventing her from running away, Vahn felt it would be cruel to do so. She seemed afraid and uncertain, a far cry from how taciturn and cold ya had been during their first meeting. In fact, given how fervently Gaia had tried to destroy her own creations, it wasnt an exaggeration to say she was the most emotional of the trio. It was difficult to even imagine how terrified she must be, knowing the creatures she both hated and loved were slowly tearing her apart, harvesting her for resources, not to preserve their lives, but for selfish gain... Sensing the subtle change in Vahns aura, Gaia shrunk back, wavering like a me on the verge of burning out. She could sense his anger, and, though it wasnt directed toward her, it made her feel sad and frightened. His aura had been calm and pleasant before, so, in the hopes of returning him to normal, her voice softly stated, "Please...dont be angry...Im sorry..." Hearing Gaias words, Vahn couldnt help feeling guilty, forcing him to rx his mind and focus on restoring his aura to a calm and peaceful state. She seemed sensitive to even subtle changes in the emotional state of others so he would need to take that into consideration in the future. For now, he focused on calming down before saying, "I would like to talk with you more...there are many things I need to tell you. I dont want you to live in fear. I want to save you, preventing others from harming you..." Vahn was hoping his sincerity was able to reach her, but, surprising him, Gaia actually answered, "I am aware...Master is kind...Im scared..." Though he couldnt be certain, Vahn got the impression that Gaia was telling him she was afraid toe out. She had already been hurt by her own children, and, to make matters even worse, her love manifested in the form of ya, an existence that protected the very people killing her. He couldnt me her for being afraid, as, due to the restrictions on her body, Gaia would even be susceptible to normal human beings, forbidden from even trying to protect herself... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Commenters be like, "Where is Semiramis!?",ya is persistent,There are few greater tragedies than a child turning against a loving parent...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1493 - Contact (2/2)

Chapter 1493 - Contact (2/2)

After anticipating this encounter for years, Vahn had already put a lot of thought into how he would convince Gaia. More than that, however, he really did just want to protect her, finding her existence to be one of the greatest tragedies he had ever encountered. Nobody deserved to be isted from everything, and, while it might make her feel safe, Gaia would never be happy if she never broke out of her shell and experienced new things. In the hopes of ensuring a better future for them all, Vahn adopted an apologetic smile as he said, "I promise you...I will never allow harm to befall you. Please, trust me. Nobody should be forced to live alone...afraid of the very world they represent..." Since Gaia seemed sensitive to even the most subtle change in emotions, Vahn allowed her to feel the sadness in his heart. He wanted her to know that she wasnt alone, that someone understood the things she had gone through, even a little. He had felt this way even before seeing the awe-inspiring form of CHALDEAS and his encounter with Tiamat... Though she didnt understand why Vahn was sad, Gaia felt her own sadness increase seeing him in such a state. He had such a pure andforting aura, so it didnt seem right for him to be sad. Thus, albeit with extreme reluctance, she muttered, "I will trust...Master..." Following the soft, almost inaudible words, the green mass of energy began to rapidly contract. This was simr to the times when Gaia ran away, taking the golden light with her. This time, however, a strange feather remained behind, suspended in the air. Seeing the pure white feather surrounded by an iparable mass of Holy Energy, Vahn felt like his body would disintegrate just bey remaining in its presence. A hazy ck mist had even started rising from various parts of his body, the purity in her aura so great that even Spenta, an entity that existed to purify virtually all evils, couldntpare in presence and magnitude. Despite a strange sense of unworthiness, Vahn stretched out his hands, allowing the feather, less than 10cm in length, to rest in his palms. He noticed it was surprisingly heavy, but, before he could get an urate grasp on its weight, light burst from within the cmus, blinding him in the process. At the same time, the weight of the feather seemed to disappear entirely, reced by a soft, downy, feeling... Once his eyes regenerated, Vahn found a thin, seemingly weightless, young woman curled up in his arms. She had skin fairer than white jade, rivaling polished porcin in quality. Though she was very thin, almost painfully so, her overall height was around 160cm. She was clothed in a pure white dress that was so smooth to the touch that it almost felt ephemeral, giving the impression she would slip through his grasp without a moments notice... Though her dress was otherworldy, Gaias appearance dwarfed it by quite a bit. Topliment her fair skin, she had free-flowing, pure-white hair. It cascaded from the top of her head in a graceful yet uninhibited manner. What surprised Vahn the most, however, was that she had several ahoge, three of which were greater than 15cm in length. This gave her a peculiar charm, but, having a rough idea of what ahoges represented, Vahn couldnt help but clench his teeth slightly... Almost immediately after his jaw tightened, Vahn felt a soft voice echo through his mind, whispering, "Master...do not be mad...hatred is bad...it is like poison..." Despite the words clearlying from Gaia, the person themselves didnt so much as twitch her brows, much less move her lips. She remained unmoving, seemingly lifeless, in his arms. If not for the fact she was radiating more vitality than he had ever seen, it would have been easy to mistake her for a lifeless doll...albeit one carved by the greatest craftsman that had ever lived... After recovering his senses, Vahn held Gaia a little closer, asking, "Are you unable to move?" in a soft tone of voice. Surprisingly, Gaia quickly answered, alleviating his concerns as she stated, "I do not remember how...I will try harder..." while twitching her brows. Though it wasnt all that surprising, especially given Gaias pure white hair, Vahn was stunned when he saw her eyelids part to reveal ruby-red eyes. Their interior even possessed a faceted quality, much like an actual gemstone. This was undoubtedly the result of some iprehensibly powerful Mystic Eyes, as, just by looking into them for a brief moment, Vahn felt his consciousness being drawn into them. There were even mysterious runes dancing about within her pupil, but, in spite of his curiosity, Vahn dared not look too closely. Like someone waking from aa, or a very long dream, Gaia had a distant look in her eyes, unable to focus on anything. She had been using her perception to sense the world around her for a very long time so it was strange to be seeing for the first time in millennia. Everything was simultaneously clear and blurry at the same time, giving her a spaced-out appearance as her pupils expanded and contracted in a peculiar, somewhat eerie, manner. Understanding she was trying very hard, Vahn made no effort to rush Gaia. Instead, he organized his thoughts, wondering how he should proceed now that he had his hands on one of the final pieces of the puzzle. His short-term ns would have to change drastically, as, in her current state, Gaia would require a significant amount of attention. This didnt necessarily need toe from him, but, based on the impression he got, she wouldnt want to be apart from him after he promised to protect her. Fortunately, while Gaia had rtively youthful facial features, her body was rtively mature. Though it looked like she hadnt eaten anything in a very long time, this wasnt necessarily an issue as all Tier 5 beings were able to alter their appearance. Her powers might be restricted, but that shouldnt stop her from being able to slowly change her appearance over the course of a few days. She might even be able to reach a simr degree of development as Tiamat, her original body... Though she was vaguely aware of what her Master was thinking, Gaia was more focused on trying to control her vision and move parts of her body. It was like trying to flex muscles she didnt even know she had, and, if not for theforting presence of her Master, Gaia wasnt sure she would ever try to master the body that had been given to her by Akasha. It seemed like a great hassle, and, after what she had experienced in the past, she wasnt in a particr hurry to walk amongst the residents that treated her true body negligently... After nearly half an hour, Gaia had reached the point of being able to focus on an object. She was also able to raise her hands slightly, opening and closing them in an awkward, almost mechanical fashion. Unfortunately, while she was making some progress, Vahn got the answer to whether or not she would be able to transform a lot earlier than expected. Her skin became increasingly white as plumes of feathers started to emerge from her body. This wasnt a particr issue, as it actually enhanced her appearance quite a bit. Rather, it was the fact that several wing-like appendages had started to grow from her back. They possessed an amorphous quality that allowed them to gradually pile up, but, most surprisingly, her weight never increased in the slightest... By the time another ten minutes had passed, enough wings had flowed out of Gaia to fill much of the standing room. She seemed pretty embarrassed by this, as, despite her inability to control her body, she managed an almost imperceptible blush as she said, for the umpteenth time, "Sor...ry..." Rather than rebuke her in the slightest, Vahn continued to hold Gaia in his embrace, a gentle smile on his face as he whispered, "Its okay...youre doing your best. Dont give up..." After weakly nodding her head, Gaia did her best to try and get the phenomenon under control. This had the effect of gradually slowing down the increase of wings, but, despite her best efforts, it didnt stoppletely. Fortunately, while it was a rather strange sight to behold, the amorphous wings had an unbelievably soft texture. They also radiated a gentle warmth, so, while he was already buried to his waist, Vahn didnt particrly mind. Instead, he continued to encourage Gaia to do her best while Tiamat and ya watched silently from the side. ya would generally be annoyed by this kind of situation, as it interfered with their time together, but, perhaps due to the fact Gaia was her, literal, other half, she was showing a considerable amount of patience. As for Tiamat, she just yfully dangled her legs while sitting on the edge of the ck stone b. She seemed to be enjoying the incident quite a bit, arge smile that revealed her shark-like teeth visible on her face... --- Vahn generally tried to limit his usage to just two vessels, but, if he was moving at the same flow of time, managing up to five could be achieved without too much trouble. Thus, while his secondary body was off being pampered by Semiramis, something he couldnt easily walk away from, Vahn had to create a third body from the Quest Board located in the Knights Training Field. Establishing contact with Gaia was a major event, so, in order to avoid any hups, Vahn needed to inform everyone about what was going on. He would also need to make use of one of their Marble Phantasms, as, despite the significance of the event, Vahn had no intention of altering his schedule. He had promised to take the children to the Yokai District that evening, so, even if he had to spend a few months inside a Marble Phantasm, it was better than lying to his children. As if by divine providence, Vahn spread his senses through the Ivory Castle, finding Artoria, Arcueid, Illya, Iris, and Gray all within the same location. They seemed to be having a tea party, and, based on the seating arrangement, it was easy to see that Artoria was hosting. With the exception of Iris, everyone else in the room sensed the fact that Vahn was looking at them. They hadnt reached the same level as Fenrir, but Artoria, Arcueid, and Gray were extremely sensitive to his intent. As for Illya, her ears immediately perked up as she hopped out of her seat, an expectant smile on her face. She had the most attuned senses of the entire group, and, despite having be more tame over time, Illya became like an excited puppy whenever he spontaneously appeared. Even before he hadpleted his teleportation, Illya had already leaped through the air, arms open as she shouted, "Master~!" before happily snuggling into his embrace. This had be amon urrence these days, to the point Iris didnt even bother to tease him. Instead, she giggled in her usual elegant manner before adopting a mature smile that always seemed to possess a seductive undertone. Before exining his business, Vahn hugged Illyas body firmly, lifting her off her feet slightly as their tongues intertwined. This caused her body to tense up excitedly, her ears droopingzily as her tail began to flicker happily behind her. This, too, was part of their ritual, as, more than most of the other women, Illyas emotional state required her to express her affection. She would get stressed out if he didnt take a few liberties with her, causing her to go on the offensive as a result. As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn realized the number of aggressive women in his life had been on the rise. With the recent addition of Musashi, he had to worry about Tiamat, Ishtar, Illya, Arcueid, Aoko, and, whenever she was feeling bold, Nobunaga. Artoria had also be a bit of a problem, but, as she always considered the time, ce, and asion, she and Aoko were the most stable. Thetter was only ever a problem after she lost a fight or got into an argument with her sister, incidents that were, fortunately, very rare. After a longer-than-necessary kiss, Vahn released the panting Illya, smiling as he said, "Its good to see you, too..." Finding his words amusing, Illya giggled in a girlish manner before giving Vahn another firm hug and saying, "You shoulde and visit us more often. It has only been a few days, but I get lonely when its just mother and me." Without making a verbal promise, Vahn just nodded his head in affirmation before gently stroking her back so she would release him. He didnt mind spending time with Illya, not in the slightest, but there were other matters to attend. He also wanted to keep it a surprise that he needed to use one of their Marble Phantasms, as, if she learned about it too soon, Illya would insist he uses hers before they can even discuss things. It was important that he didnt show too much favoritism, so, even if there was a good chance he ended up using her Marble Phantasm, it would be after the entire group agreed to it... Unaware of Vahns thoughts, but sensing he had a surprise in store, Illya decided to remain patient as she hopped into hisp and nestled against him. She was happy just to be able to spend even an additional second with Vahn, as, over the years, her love for him had only grown. It had gotten to the point that she couldnt even sleep alone any longer, as, without someone at her side, she would feel a strong urge to track him down. Fortunately, there were a lot of rades who understood this kind of emotion, including her very own mother. As a result, Illya never had to feel lonely. Rather, thest few years had been far greater than she expected. The only thing that could have made her happier was getting pregnant, but, as she had made a promise with both her mother and rival, Illya decided to wait until she was older. As tempting as it was, bing a mother, Illya wanted to be able to fight alongside Vahn before worrying about the well-being of their child. She, alongside Fenrir, Medusa, and a few others, had all made a promise to protect their Master, no matter the cost. Having a baby would divert her focus for a considerable amount of time, and, though she had a functionally infinite amount inside her Marble Phantasm, it wasnt exactly a suitable environment to raise a child... Unaware of Illyas machinations, Vahn just absentmindedly stroked her fluffy hair and tail, exining the situation regarding Gaia. He rarely concerned himself with the schemes and private affairs of his lovers, trusting them with all his heart. No matter what they decided, he would do his best to try and support them, doing whatever it took to make them happy. In turn, they always considered how he would react, altering their ns and working together to achieve collective happiness. Thus, even if Illya sometimes gave off a scary vibe, he continued to smile all the same... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A life that must be protected,*slowly drowns in fluffy white wings*,Fenrir is the true mastermind o_o...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1494 - Complex

Chapter 1494 - Complex

After discussing the matter at length, it was decided that, once she was willing to ept others, Arcueid would be Gaias primary caretaker. They would also be using her Marble Phantasm in order to aid in Gaias physical rehabilitation. As for her mental rehabilitation, that would require a concerted effort from everyone in the Ivory Castle, but, until she was ready to face arge number of people, Spenta would be asked to apany her. Though Illya had made a case for using her Marble Phantasm for Gaias rehab, she quickly perished the thought when Vahn coaxed her by saying he would stay with her after everyone returned from the Yokai District. As a result, she started considering who she should invite along with them, chiefly focusing on members of the Menagerie and her own mother. If she could convince the right people, they could even turn it into an extended vacation, albeit one filled with indulgence, debauchery, and a fair amount of training... Once everyone was on the same page, Vahn left it to them to inform the rest of the Inner Sanctums residents. Gaia would be one of the Empires greatest secrets, as, if her presence was known, it exponentially increased the danger to her, and, by proxy, the. Though almost nothing could outright kill Gaia, her death would mean the effective death of all Spirits, nts, animals, and even microbial life forms. Though it wouldnt be an instantaneous process, wind erosion and other factors would make the surface of the inhospitable to life, forcing its inhabitants to flee the fate they had wrought themselves. It would be a mild inconvenience, but Vahn had already resolved himself to apany Gaia in order to facilitatemunication and meaningful interactions with others. The sooner she could open her heart to others, the happier she would be. This would also guarantee the sess of his future ns, so, even if it took months, or, even years, he would help break Gaia out of her shell. Then, for the first time in her long existence, she would, hopefully, be able to experience what it was like to be free... --- While his main and tertiary bodies were busy dealing with the emergence of Gaia, Vahns second body was enjoying Semiramis soft and supple thighs as she used a cotton swab to gingerly clean his ears. She was still wearing the same outfit from before, leaving her upper and lower bodypletely exposed, but, as that only made the experience more enjoyable, Vahn had a contented smile on his face as he split his focus on what was happening in Avalon. Taking advantage of her Masters rxed state, Semiramis set aside the cotton swab, gently stroking his hair with her right hand as she deftly pulled out a vial of pitch-ck liquid. Then, with a curious smile on her face, she began to pour it into his ear canal. This caused a sudden and intense burning sensation in Vahns ear, but, in spite of the pain, he just lightly chuckled, allowing the poison to fizzle out after momentarily perforating his eardrum. Once the poison was inert, Vahn rolled so that he could see Semiramis twin peaks, her glimmering golden eyes, and her slightly sadistic smile. As strange as it might seem, her attempting to suddenly poison him was the same as saying she was in the mood. It was impossible for her to be honest with her feelings, so, rather than vocalizing her desires, she would rather give him liberties after failing in her attempts. The more potent the poison used, the more eager she was for attention, a dangerous, yet strangely adorable, quirk... With the edges of his smile curling up, Vahn held out his hand, eliciting a Hmm? from Semiramis as she gingerly ced her own against his. She still had golden stakes running through her hand, but, with his ability to freely shape his body, Vahn was able to facilitate them. This made him one of the few people actually able to hold hands with Semiramis, but, more importantly, it was a method that allowed him to lock her hand in ce. Despite knowing it was a trap, Semiramis willingly allowed Vahn to capture her hand. She also made no attempt to escape when pulled her body to the side, uttering a seductive, "Brute..." whilezingnguidly against his firm body. She was actually in a pretty ufortable position, but, rather than make things easier for Vahn, she began tracing the stake in her free hand across his body, eliciting a sound simr to metal scraping across metal... Semiramis only ever used the term brute when she basically wanted him to do everything. This was a positive oue, but, as he knew she was trying to train him, Vahn lightly rolled his eyes while she was fixated on his body. Her personality didnt allow her to be the one being manipted, to the point she had invested several months just to create the illusion that she was in control. Whenever they were alone, most of themunication between Vahn and Semiramis was based on verbal cues and properly interpreting bodynguage. These were things he was forced to pay close attention to, as, depending on her mood, she would spontaneously forbid him from doing more. It was a little frustrating at times, but, as it was a unique experience, Vahn didnt mind ying her little game. Rather, it made visiting her pretty enjoyable, as, unless he used his ability to read the Flow of Fate, it was like solving aplex puzzle, one that promised ample rewards if he was sessful... Following Semiramis cue, Vahn freed her left hand before quickly adjusting her hips so that she was effectively straddling his face. He could see a very small amount of glistening moisture between her pale white thighs, apanied by a slight smell of fruit. There was an approximately one-hundred percent chance she had applied some kind of poison, but, without minding that face, Vahn held her hips rather firmly before gingerly tracing his tongue around her sensitive bead. Before proceeding any further herself, Semiramis sat back, shamelessly using Vahns face as a seat in order to fix her long hair. Even if it wasnt exactly the case, she enjoyed the thought of being able to smother him, pretending her body wasnt quickly heating up as she casually collected her massive volume of hair, binding it several metallic mps. This was a long and arduous process, but, due to how much hair she had, it was necessary if she wanted to avoid getting it caught and entangled... After nearly half an hour, Semiramisplexion had be suffused with a ruddy and sensual glow. Her body was also covered in a very thinyer of sweat, causing her to glisten slightly in the low light of the room. As for Vahn, he had dutifully paced himself so that she would be able to fix her hair without interruption. This always made Semiramis feel like he was a loyal puppy, but, as their positions could reverse very quickly, she never dared to vocalize such thoughts. With her hair neatly braided and bound, Semiramis breathed a sigh of relief. Immediately afterward, she felt a jolt run through her body as Vahns tongue pressed into one of her most sensitive spots. It wasnt enough to make her immediately climax, but she had to bite her finger in order to suppress it. Then, before he could push her over the edge, she pulled her hips forward, quickly extricating herself from his assault. This left Vahn on the bed, looking like a man who had just been pulled from the sea as his face and hair werepletely matted with love juices. Semiramis knew better than to look directly at Vahn during moments like this, so, pretending she was unaffected by his tirelessly assault, she ran her fingers through her fringe bangs, saying, "You did well...I suppose a reward is in order, wouldnt you agree~?" Due to her impassioned state, Semiramis voice sounded even more seductive than normal. Instead of answering her, however, Vahn just let his dragon speak for itself, causing it to twitch impatiently in response to her words. If he tried to make a verbal plea, she would just tease him at both of their expense. Thus, without saying a single word, he grabbed her hips, using his thumbs to separate her slightly swollen vulva, extending his tongue towards her palpitating entrance. With another wave of pleasure flooding her body with endorphins, Semiramis released a sonorous, yet subdued, sigh. Then, with a gratified smile on her face, one she never allowed others to see, she brought her face closer to Vahns member, running the tip of her golden stake across its length. She was always surprised by howrge it was, but, as her body was somehow able to amodate its full length, she also felt a strange sense of pride when seeing it up close... Though she was tempted to tease her Master even longer, Semiramis knew he was very capable of denying her release. Her body had already started to ache, the tingling sensation quickly bing an unbearable itch. Thus, rather than meander about excessively, Semiramis lightly kissed the tip of Vahns penis, her ck lipstick leaving a small imprint on the glistening protrusion. This was another form of poison, but, rather than one intended to cause seizures or cardiac arrest, it was designed to increase blood flow to the penis, preventing it from flowing back. Under normal circumstances, Semiramis poison was effectively a death sentence, as, after a few hours, the blood would begin to stagnate, causing it to rapidly turn gangrenous before ultimately falling off. For this reason, it was called [Subus Kiss], allowing the victim to experience great pleasure prior to their death. Against Vahn, however, the poison had virtually no effect, causing his ns to briefly swell before returning to normal in less than a second. Rather than be annoyed, Semiramis had be fond of Vahns resilience against her poisons. In the past, it had troubled her a great deal, but, with long periods of time between each of their meetings, she had a lot of time to think. She knew Vahn treated her better than she actually deserved, so, while she could never admit it, Semiramis was very thankful to him. He epted her selfishness without a single sign of perturbance, and, though she knew her efforts were futile, Semiramis appreciated the fact he at least pretended to be tamed by her... As this thought crossed her mind, Semiramis used one hand to pull aside her bangs before grabbing the base of Vahns penis with the tips of her fingers. The golden stake in her hand was inconvenient at times like this, but, if she tried her best, it wasnt really an issue. Vahn would neverin about her rtively inexperienced actions, giving her as much leeway as she needed to improve at her own pace. This was another thing she appreciated about his character, as, before meeting him, Semiramis had always felt men were selfish beings who thought more with their lower body than their brains... Emboldened by her own thoughts, Semiramis began to tracer her tongue around the tip of Vahns ns, her perpetually gloved hands awkwardly stimting his length. It was always surprising how sweet Vahns bodily fluids were, but, as it was infinitely better than what most experienced women would expect, Semiramis felt a strange attraction to the startlingly hot meat rod. Thus, after licking the tip for a few seconds, she tried to mentally prepare herself before parting her lips and lowering her head... --- Things with Semiramis always progressed very slowly, so, by the time things actually started to heat up, more than seven hours had passed back in Avalon. In that time, Gaia had made a decent amount of progress in controlling her body, reversing the flow of wings that had erupted from her back. She even managed to reabsorb the vast majority, but, as if they were supposed to be there, she still had three pairs, each wrapping around her body as if to protect it from harm. Unlike normal wings, Gaias were amorphous in quality, allowing them to smoothly curve around her body as if they werepletely bereft of bones. As for the feathers themselves, they were smoother than even the softest downy feathers Vahn had ever experienced, sharing the same quality as Gaias body itself. He, honestly, didnt know how he was able to keep ahold of her for so long as, from the moment she first appeared, Vahn felt like he was going to drop her. He even spected that, if not for Gaia wanting to be held, it would bepletely impossible to hold onto her... As she felt guilty about not being able to control her body properly, Gaia had a fretful look on her face, almost like a child that was admitting to her parent that she had done something wrong. This transition hadnt been missed by Vahn, so, before she could say anything, he held her a little tighter and said, "You did well. Those wings of yours are very cute, not something you should be ashamed of..." Despite her Masters words, Gaia still felt guilty, causing her to lightly cling to his shirt as she softly stated, "Master is kind...I will continue doing my best..." Now it was Vahns turn to feel guilty, an apologetic smile on his face as he hugged her close and said, "I know you will...I believe in you, Gaia. Now, take as much time as you need...Ill be here with you..." Though it was weak, a very small smile returned to Gaias face as she leaned her head against her Masters chest and intoned a delicate Nn.... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Room of Spirit and Time has nothing on Marble Phantasms,Rtionships take on various forms...,You can do it, Gaia! Fight-o!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1495 - Black Rose

Chapter 1495 - ck Rose

After a rtively short period of time, Vahn found himselfzing about, his head, once again, making use of Semiramis thighs. He could feel their warmth even through her dress, and, though it was hard to notice, a familiar scent of fruit still lingered in the air. Though he was somewhat disappointed that they didnt have sex, Vahn didnt particrly mind it. He had plenty of partners to appease any of his urges, and, though he could ask anyone to give him the same kind of treatment, he was quite fond ofzing about with the raven-haired beauty. She seemed to enjoy watching him sleep, and, though she rarely vocalized her true feelings, the way shebed through his hair with a slight trace of a smile made her affection clear. While enjoying the sensation of her silken gloves, Vahn mused, "This situation seems very familiar..." in anguid tone. Hearing Vahns musings, Semiramis elf-like ears perked up slightly as she traced her finger along his neck and answered, "You should be grateful...there was a time when men would battle to the death just for a chance to see my beauty. Truthfully, I spoil you quite a bit...Master..." Rather than refute her words, Vahn lightly chuckled before nodding his head and saying, "Truly, I am a blessed man..." Following his statement, Vahn grabbed Semiramis hand, gingerly nting a kiss on her fingers as he added, "Thank you..." With her ears drooping a bit, Semiramis couldnt help but avert her eyes, a vain attempt to hide the almost indiscernible blush on her face. She always felt conflicted whenever he said things like this, as, for a brief moment, it made herment being unable to do the same. Had their situations been reversed, Semiramis would have quickly lost patience if the other party was significantly weaker than her. She didnt understand how he was able to tolerate her selfishness with a smile. He didnt even get upset when she refused to have sex with him. Instead, he helped her get cleaned up and dressed before dutifully fixing her hair. If she had his power, Semiramis would have used it without any hesitation, bending him to her will and forcing him to serve her like a loyal dog. She would indulge herself every day, turning him into a mindless ve that couldnt live without her. Then, once he had served his purpose, she would leave him discarded and broken, obtaining a new toy to satiate her urges... Though he never used it, Vahn had the power to directly order people, and, due to the disparity in his power, others would bepelled to obey. She was very aware of this fact, so it always troubled her that he simply never used it. He could evenpletely corrupt her heart, making her a ve to his body. Instead, he treated her well, epting all but the darkest parts of her with a rxed smile on his face... As this thought crossed her mind, Semiramis lightly poked Vahns cheek with the golden nail sticking out of her palm, muttering, "That power is wasted on you...fuuuu..." Raising his brow, Vahn ignored the fact that Semiramis nail was nearing his eye, stating, "That may be so...still, it is my power. How I use it is up to me...is that not that the privilege of possessing such power?" Finding Vahns words irrefutable, Semiramis gave a small nod, answering, "Quite right. However, those with power should be more decadent. After all, if not them, who had the right to be? Even if it causes problems, culture is advanced by moral declines and the shifting of power. You are, at times, too perfect...your ideals, the way you behave, they leave little fault to be found. These are not the traits of an Emperor, but a God that rules over from on high..." Though they sounded wrong, Vahn knew there was a fair amount of truth behind Semiramis words. In fact, her words struck at the heart of the matter, as, when people gained absolute power, it always resulted in rampant corruption. This caused discourse and chaos, but, given enough time, something would transpire to copse the broken system, implementing necessary change before restarting the cycle anew. What Vahn was trying to aplish was, in the minds of many, simply impossible. Even if he created an entire Realm, only allowing good people to inhabit it, corruption would still take root. It wouldnt matter if he manipted the hearts and minds of every single resident, as, in the face of Time, there were no true absolutes, only possibilities. The Universe would always seek equilibrium, so, unless he also created a Realm inhabited by bad people, contradicting everything he believed in, breaking the cycle was impossible. Despite knowing this, Vahn was unperturbed by Semiramis remarks, closing his eyes with a smile on his face as he said, "Then Ill just be a God Emperor...simple as that. Eventually, Ill reach a point where nobody can tell me how things should be. I will determine how they are, shaping the world ording to my vision. Even if I make a mistake, Ill just correct it and start over...it is better than just watching people ruin the world for mundane things like profit and the illusion of control..." Hearing Vahns words, Semiramis wanted to call him a fool, but, while others would undoubtedly fail in the pursuit of such an ideal,paring him to others was even more foolish. He had been able to aplish more in a few years than entire Empires and Dynasties throughout history. Thus, despite the wisdom contained within the words, there were none who could actually tell Vahn what he could and couldnt do. All of his restraints were self-imposed, as, with his power, nothing could stand in his way. As this thought crossed her mind, Semiramismented the fact she couldnt be Vahns Empress. It might not provide her any real authority, but, as his status and power increased, so too would her prestige. She would even be able to live forever, indulging in his affection and the endless wealth of the Empire. Now, she was little more than a poisonous rose, one kept safely tucked away in a private garden. Lamenting the fact Vahn wasnt a ve to his desires, Semiramis joined him in looking toward the roof, a longing look in her eyes. She knew things couldnt remain this way forever, even if that was an actual option. Eventually, she would grow tired of her current way of life, desiring more than the peaceful silence andpanionship of a few unique individuals. She wanted power, knowledge, and, though it contradicted the beliefs she had founded her character on; Semiramis wanted Vahn to love her even more... Without realizing she was speaking aloud, Semiramis muttered, "I want to be a Goddess..." in a subdued tone. Her current lifespan was limited to a few hundred years, and, though Vahn would be able to extend it indefinitely, Semiramis wanted more power. At this rate, she would be left further in the way of other women, decreasing her status and prestige by proxy. There was even a chance that, given enough time, even the weakest member of Vahns entourage would surpass her in power... With apetitive glimmer shing across her eyes, Semiramis was startled when Vahn suddenly said, "That can be arranged. You already possess numerous pseudo-Divinites and C-Rank [Divinity]. It would take some effort on your part, but, if you were earnest, reaching Godhood would only take a few years." As she still hadnt realized she had spoke aloud, Semiramis was slightly confused by Vahns words, her eyes squinting in suspicion as she wondered how he was able to see through her. This didnt prevent her from heeding his words, however, causing her to consider them seriously before asking, "What method do you have in mind? I am aware that having sex with you increases power, but that does not mean Ill..." Before Semiramis could finish, Vahn shook his head, stating, "You just need to use the Quest Board. If youplete a few simple Quests each day, your power will gradually increase. There are a number of Quests that only require you to read certain books or conduct specific experiments. In your case, I imagine there would even be some rted to concocting poison. You would be able to increase your power without even altering your current schedule." Though she was annoyed by the fact Vahn had interrupted her, Semiramis listened closely until he had finished speaking. Then, with her eyes squinted even more than usual, she asked, "And you did not think to mention this sooner...?" As he had already exined the Quest Board in great detail, Vahn gave Semiramis a deadpan look until she ultimately averted her eyes. She had even done a few Quests in the pasts, but, as they had been rather tedious, she never considered epting more. One had even required her to read the same grimoire a total of ten times, not counting if she skimmed over sections she had already been able to memorize. Thus, despite knowing the many benefits it provided, Semiramis hadpletely forgotten about it until Vahns sudden reminder... Deciding not to press her on the matter, Vahn rolled to a seated position, causing Semiramis to turn her attention back to him, asking, "Are you going...?" Nodding his head, Vahn exined, "There are actually a lot of things going on back in Avalon right now. I even had to make an extra body just to make sure I could spend time with you." Since he knew it would make her slightly flustered, Vahn sent a yful wink towards the end of his statement. This caused Semiramis to lightly hmph, crossing her arms with a pouting expression on her face as she said, "If you had something important to do, you should have said something. Who am I to interfere in the affairs of the great Sage Dragon Emperor...?" Understanding she was just asking him to verbalize how important she was to him, Vahn smiled as he reached out his hand, caressing the side of her face as he said, "You are my beautiful ck rose, a delicate flower I cant but appreciate in spite of its many thorns. If I werent afraid you might wilt, I would take you around with me wherever I went, proudly disying your beauty to the world..." With her face still forming a small pout, Semiramis turned her eyes up at him, saying, "So, I really am nothing more than a trophy...how shameless, keeping a Queen as a prize to be unted..." Instead of retorting her words, Vahn just lifted Semiramis chin, stealing her lips and entangling with her sharp tongue. He knew that, if he did actually take her around with the intent to unt her, she would enjoy everyst moment of it. She had a considerable amount of vanity, and, if it allowed her to see him pressuring any who dared view her with covetous eyes, she wouldnt be able to hide her smile. Toward the end of their kiss, Vahn roughly cupped Semiramis pert buttocks, lifting her onto the tips of her toes. This caused a sonorous moan to escape her lips, followed by a painful prod to his chest, but, undaunted, Vahn continued to kiss her passionately for another minute longer, stopping only when she jerked her head away, gasping for air. Before she couldmbast him for his roguish behavior, Vahn took advantage of the fact Semiramis had turned her head to the side, whispering in a heated tone, "If an Emperor cant be decadent, who else has the right~?" Punctuating his statement, Vahn gently bit the tip of Semiramis long ear, causing her to shudder as she attempted to drive the nail of her left hand into his chest. This barely managed to even prick him, however, leaving her helpless as he gently massaged her ear with his tongue. Feeling like her ear was burning, Semiramis fought hard to prevent a moan from escaping her lips, tilting her head to the side in a futile effort to escape Vahns clutches. It was only when her tensions were nearing the peak that Vahn finally stopped, causing her to feel both rm and frustration. She would have med him for soiling her dress and panties, but,pared to being denied an orgasm, that was inconsequential... Understanding her anguish, Vahn let Semiramis settle on her feet before embracing her, mustering as much affection as he could manage before saying, "Even if it is a burden for you, know that I love you..." Hearing the unexpected confession, Semiramis felt as though her mind had nked, her expression defaulting to aplicated pout. Such words always did critical damage to her heart, causing her toy awakete at night thinking about her life choices. It was really unfair of him to say such things when she was in this state, and, for a brief moment, Semiramis almost began whimpering until a very gentle warmth began to spread through her body... Truthfully, Vahn knew he was being a little heavyhanded, but, having sensed the subtle changes in Semiramis emotional state, he knew she would need some encouragement. She couldnt spend the rest of her life inside the Hanging Gardens, so, with his ns beginning to elerate, he needed to give her a small push in order to ensure her happiness. Without forcing her to reveal her flushed face, Vahn allowed Semiramis to lightly headbutt his chest, gently stroking her hair as he said, "I left a present for you...when Im gone, youll have about twenty minutes before things get intense. Ill make it up to you during my next visit...either that, or you can stop by Avalon. There is a ce Ive wanted to take you for a while...Im sure youll enjoy it..." Finished with his words, Vahn kissed the top of Semiramis head before giving her onest firm hug. Afterward, he released her body, leaving her standing with her head hanging low, face veiled by her hair as she tightly clenched the hem of her dress. Even the tips of her ears had turned scarlet at this point so it wasnt difficult to imagine what her expression must look like. Slightly saddened by the fact Semiramis still couldnt be honest with him, Vahn lightly sighed before saying, "I will visit you again around the same time tomorrow. Take care of yourself, Semiramis..." With his farewellpleted, Vahns figure vanished from within the Hanging Garden, immediately followed by Semiramis plopping to the ground. She had been forcing herself to stand, so, now that he was gone, a resonant moan escaped her lips as an agonizing amount of pleasure began to build in her body. It was fortunate she was able to freely teleport within the Hanging Garden, allowing her to blink back to her bed. There, she began to writhe around, a surprisingly girlish smile on her face, golden eyes glimmering as she sensually intoned, "Master is such a beast...so tyrannical...ufufufu~" (A/N: Alternate Titles: This is a familiar ceiling...,A buxom, sadistic, tsundere...,Semiramis actually grows her hair out in order to hide her ten-thousand ahoge...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1496 - Preparations

Chapter 1496 - Preparations

Though he would have liked immediately returned to Avalon, Vahn had one final stop before doing so. He had already to return with Nero, so, rather than teleport to Avalon, he appeared outside of a buzzing and vibrant city with tall was, and, most notably, a massive tree situated the exact center. Seeing the emerald-green tree, its leaves glimmering in a myriad of colors, Vahn felt couldnt help but feel slightly reminiscent. He knew Yggy wouldnt even perceive his absence, but, much like the rest of his children, Vahn missed her dearly. She had always been such a kind and caring child, and, though he could rx under the current crystalline tree, it simply wasnt the same. Shaking his head, Vahn cleared his thoughts before vanishing into thin air momentster. When he next appeared, he was within one of the five ptial structures that had been constructed within the European Supercolony. There, surrounded by a handful of fluffy Companions, Nero was taking a nap while lounging atop an ornate throne, her features making her appear fragile and delicate as silent breathing emanated through the otherwise empty chamber. Nero often worked herself tirelessly, even pulling long hourste into the evening to ensure there were no issues with the European Supercolony. The only reason she was currently resting was due to the previous message, stating Vahn would be arriving around 2 PM. Thus, in order to make sure she was free to receive him, Nero had taken a rare break. As for why she ended up falling asleep, the five adorable Companions surrounding her could be med for that. Their aura was very rxing, so, if you cuddled with them for too long, you would feel an almost irresistible urge to just take a nap. Seeing the golden-haired beauty peacefully slumbering, Vahn actually felt a little guilty having to disturb her. Unfortunately, just be appearing, he had already set off a chain reaction, as, noticing his presence, one of the Companions chimed in an adorable voice, "Its Master!" Immediately after the first, the other four Companions peeled open their eyes, each showing gleeful expressions as they began eximing things like, "Master!", "Master hase!", "Master,e y with us!". Apanying their cries, two of the Companions even hopped off the throne, waddling adorably over to his side to grip his legs and snuggle against him with happy smiles. Though they were still waiting for the first truly sapient Companion with an Ego to appear, Vahn was always amazed to see how much progress had been made. He wasnt the only one, either, as the tiny creatures had be exceptionally popr after the preliminary difort faded. After all, it was hard to hate a creature that proactively did its best to make you happy, keep you safe, and help you grow stronger; especially if it was also cute... Due to the noise caused by her adorable entourage, Neros ahoge perked up slightly as her eyelids slowly peeled open, revealing the emerald-green irises beneath. A smile instantly spread across her face, further amplifying her wless features as she muttered, "To think we would awaken from a pleasant dream, only to find an even more pleasant sight standing before us...perhaps we have yet to truly awake...?" As she spoke, Nero appeared to move verynguidly, but, by the time she finished her musings, she was already standing near Vahn, her hands stretched out as if she was going to caress his face. Then, so gingerly that it was almost impossible to feel her touch, Neros fingers came into contact with his cheeks, causing her smile to increase a great deal as she said, "Our Master has personallye for us. Today is a blessed day, umu..." After confirming that Vahn was real, Nero leaned forward, standing on the toes of her left foot as she raised her right somewhat theatrically. At the same time, she lightly ced her lips against his while, in the surroundings, rose petals had started to flitter into existence. It was quite the sight to behold, but, with a beauty in his arms, Vahn had more important matters to attend... --- Several minutes after his arrival, Vahn was lounging upon the Throne of the Consul, the ornate chair that could easily fit three people seated side-by-side. He had Nero curled up in hisp, giggling as she asked, "What did you think of our performance? Was it enough to stir your bosom and arouse your passions? Umu~." Seeing the petals still lingering in the surroundings, Vahn lightly chuckled before nodding his head and answering, "It is always a pleasure, Nero. Even without the theatrics, however, your beauty alone is more than enough to captivate me." Finding her Masters words to her liking, Nero giggled happily while squirming about atop hisp in an effort to feel even closer to him. Then, after a series of several nods and a few gleeful umu, she happily mused, "Well said! Such words are enough to ignite the me in our bosom into a raging inferno! Umu, mayhaps, if the fates allow, this one shall reward her Masters courteous diligence~?" If he wasnt absolutely certain things would turn into a petition of sorts, Vahn wouldnt mind taking Nero up on her offer. Unfortunately, while he had a few hours to spare, that wouldnt actually be enough unless he went all-out against the otherwise insurmountable woman. Thus, as remiss as he was to refuse the offer, Vahn lightly shook his head, exining, "The fates are not kind this day. I have other matters to attend, including a few pertinent to the Empires prosperity. Instead, I will have you apany me back to Avalon. Many of us will be retreating into Arcueids Marble Phantasm for an extensive period of time. Youve been working hard as ofte...a vacation will, no doubt, enhance your beauty even further." Hearing her Masters words, Neros smile stretched to its limits as the thought of apanying him for a long period of time was a rare privilege. The presence of others wouldnt diminish this, rather, it was always more exciting when other members of the Inner Sanctum were involved. The passage of a few years within Avalon had brought about several changes, and, though she would asionally butt heads with some of the stronger willed women, Nero now got along with the vast majority. After learning the details of what her Master had in mind, Nero was even more excited, as, based on the context, there would only be a handful of people present, potentially for months. She felt like the fates were smiling upon her this day, rewarding her for several months of hard work. The only thing that could have made it better was if Boudica also apanied them, but, as the red-haired beauty had never developed an intimate rtionship with Vahn, it would be somewhat awkward asking her to attend... With Nero up to speed, Vahn briefly considered whether or not he should inform Solon of what had happened before ultimately deciding against it. It wasnt that he didnt trust Solon, rather, after thetter became the Guardian Spirit of the World Tree, their Loyalty had skyrocketed. He could even get away with taking liberties, such as patting Solons head, without any verbal protest. They would still glower at him, but, if he wanted, the peculiar green-haired Spirit would begrudgingly acquiesce to his selfishness. The simple fact of the matter was, due to Gaias significance, it was better to prevent outsiders from learning about her. Solon would undoubtedly want to meet Gaia, but, until he could be certain there was absolutely no danger, Vahn would keep her protected within Avalon. He wouldnt bring her out until his n had been enacted, but, more important than that, he would never force her to venture outside unless she was willing. Having made up his mind, Vahn embraced Nero tightly, teleporting them back the rtively short distance to Avalon. She could have easily returned on her own, not even taking an hour to do so, but it was always more meaningful when he personally went to pick his women up. They appreciated it a great deal, and, while it wasnt exactly efficient, matters of the heart often required delicacy, rather than expediency... --- Shortly after the return of his second vessel, Vahn felt as if rity had been restored to his mind. It was always easier to have all of his bodies experiencing the same flow of time, allowing him greater control over his thoughts and actions. Though it might be a little too early for her, Vahn met Gaias gaze, saying, "There is a ce I would like to take you. It may be a little scary, but Id like to introduce you to my important people. In the future, they will also do their best to protect and make you happy. It may take some time, but Id like it if you became friends with some of them..." Despite being inside Tiamats Marble Phantasm, Gaia was aware of almost everything taking ce on her body. This didnt just include the Surface, either, but every Texture and Sub-Texture. After all, they were all a part of her. Thus, while she had been cradled in her Masters arms, Gaia knew what he had been up to in the outside world. Rather, if she sorted through her memories, she could see every action Vahn had ever taken since entering her world... After staring in a daze for nearly a full minute, Gaia slowly nodded her head before nestling against her Masters chest and saying, "As long as Im with Master...I feel safe..." Feeling warmth spread through his heart in response to Gaias words, Vahn put a little more strength into his embrace, assuring her, "I will protect you..." ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Quest: Gaias Champion] Rank: SS Objective(s): Protect Gaia until departure from the Record. Optional Objective(s): Increase Rapport between Gaia and ya(0/100), Increase Rapport between Gaia and Tiamat(0/100), Help Gaia make Friends(0/10), Summon Grand Servants to protect Gaia(0/7). Rewards: 900,000,000OP, Gaias Loyalty permanently increased to Eternal Loyalty, 1x[Emblem of the Guardian God] Failure Condition(s): Expulsion from the Record, Failure toplete Main Objective Penalty: N/A ----------------------------------------------------------------- Though his feelings were sincere, Vahn hadnt expected a Quest to suddenly appear out of thin air. It was actually a little annoying, as, for a fleeting moment, Gaia had smiled radiantly before closing her eyes and intoning Nn in a contented tone... Doing his best to regte his emotions, Vahn decided to just be happy for the additional boon. Even though he didnt really need a quest to tell him he should protect her, it was never bad to have extra rewards. It also gave him a basic idea of what he could do to ensure Gaias happiness, helping her to make friends, and, most importantly, making her feel safe. Vahn did his best not to let it affect him, but he was actually a little shaken by the fact there was an Optional Objective to summon Grand Servants. They were, without exception, the most powerful Heroic Spirits in existence. There was only one for each of the seven primary sses, and, despite a concerted effort, Vahn had been unable to summon a single one of them. This always made him feel a little worried, as, depending on the circumstances, the Grand Servants could have appeared as the enemies of the Empire. While it was something he would need to verifyter, the fact it showed up as an Optional Objective led Vahn to believe that the requirement for summoning a Grand Servant was permission from Gaia herself. They supposedly only appeared when the world was endangered, so, with Gaia now exposed and vulnerable, there was a good chance her greatest protectors would answer the call. If this turned out to be true, Vahns ns would be iparably smooth moving forward. After all, a single Grand Servant was generally all it took to prevent cataclysmic events, rivaling even beings like Cath Palug in might... Ignoring the temptation to immediately test his assumption, Vahn turned his attention to Tiamat and ya. They had been patiently observing everything that has been going on, seemingly with no end to their patience. Tiamat, especially, appeared just as happy as when he first arrived, if not more. As for ya, she had actually altered her appearance slightly, forgoing her general nakedness in lieu of a form-fitting, somewhat futuristic-looking, bodysuit. This, strangely, enhanced her appearance quite a bit, causing Vahn to raise his brows slightly before smiling approvingly. With the attention of both girls focused on him, Vahn stated, "This time around, I will have the two of you apany me. Gaia will need everyones support and this is a good chance for the two of you to get along with everyone else. Tia, youll have to be on your best behavior. As for you, ya, I trust you havee to understand the value of ingratiating yourself to the others. The fastest method to realize your goal is to win the sincere approval of everyone else. I wont force you, but, at the very least, Id like you to get along with your sisters..." ya lightly frowned in response to her Masters words, finding them troublesome. She, of course, knew there was a fair amount of truth behind them, but, with the exception of the most powerful in Vahns entourage, everyone else seemed beneath her. She didnt have anything to say to them, as, in the grand scheme of things, anything worth talking about couldnt be disclosed. The only shared topic they could discuss was her Master, but, as she had built up some resentment towards all of his lovers, ya had no particr interest in getting along with them... After sorting her thoughts far quicker than even the fastest supeputer, ya ultimately nodded her head, stating, "I will cooperate..." in half-hearted tone. She could, at the very least, associate with her two sisters, as, at least in Gaias case, they had the same objectives. Thetter was also her other half, so, while Tiamat was something of a nuisance, ya could tolerate her if it meant being able to spend time with her Master and counterpart. Though he could tell ya had no interest in associating with the members of the Inner Sanctum, Vahn wasnt going to force her. He would likely need to take action immediately after implementing his n, but, by then, she would be freed from the restrictions ced upon her by Akasha. This was potentially dangerous, as there was a fair chance she might attack the others, but, after spending so much time together, Vahn believed ya would never do anything to intentionally harm him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: What is love without theatrics and drama?,Unexpected boon,Vahn over here nting dangerous gs...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1497 - Entrance

Chapter 1497 - Entrance

With three of the most powerful beings on the, including the itself, in tow, Vahn exited Tiamats Marble Phantasm. The others, including Artoria, Arcueid, Illya, Iris, Nero, Fenrir, and, of course, Spenta, were already waiting for them outside, eager to both assist in Gaias rehabilitation and spend more time together. In actuality, nearly every member of the Inner Sanctum had volunteered to enter Arcueids Marble Phantasm, but, as that would unnecessarilyplicate things, it was decided to split everyone up into smaller groups. This would prevent Gaia from feeling overwhelmed, and, to a lesser extent, it would also ensure everyone was able to make the most of the experience. If there were too many people at once, Vahn wouldnt be able to properly attend each of them, so, with the exception of Spenta and Arcueid, he limited the number of attendees to five. Upon seeing Gaia for the first time, nearly everyone present was dumbfounded by her presence alone. The only exceptions to this were Arcueid and Illya, the former feeling as though she had known Gaia her entire life. As for Illya, she had be a Beast of Gaia after her fusion with Cath Palug, so, rather than awe, she seemed nearly as excited as when he showed up unannounced, causing her to quickly run up and exim, "Wow, she is quite adorable, isnt she!?" Against expectations, Gaia didnt show any apprehension towards Illya in the slightest, a small smile spreading across her face as she inexplicably extended her hand. This caused Illyas pupils to contract slightly, her smile bing more pronounced as she unhesitantly allowed Gaia to gently caress her head. While this was going on, everyone observed with a mixture of reactions, many showing expressions of amusement while others were still awed by Gaias aura. While Gaia was still petting Illyas head, Vahn rxedly announced, "We will handle introductions once were inside. Arcueid, please go ahead and activate your Marble Phantasm." Hearing Vahns words, Arcueid blinked back into focus, smiling radiantly as she said, "Of course, " before bringing her hands together and causing a pulse to spread through the area. In the next moment, they were all within her personal world, a near-perfect replica of Gaia, albeit without any humans. Though others might not have noticed it, Vahn could feel Gaia rx considerably once they had entered into Arcueids Marble Phantasm. She then began to look around, a curious glimmer in her ruby red eyes as she gazed towards everyone in turn before stopping when she got to Fenrir. Seeing Gaias gaze stop on her, Fenrir pointed toward herself, an amicable smile on her face as she said, "Fenrir. I am of Masters trustedpanions. One day, I will also be the strongest. I may be weak right now, but I will do my best to protect you." Smiling in response to Fenrirs introduction, Gaia softly chimed, "I know you...I know all of you...I have been watching...for a long time...thank you...Masters precious people...my children..." Hearing Gaia suddenly refer to them as her children, nearly everyone present felt a great deal of warmth spread through their bodies. It was a feeling simr to hearing your actual parent express their love after being apart for a long period of time. As a result, they could feel a stinging feeling in their noses, and, though nobody outright cried, the sentiments were still there... Seeing how things were developing, Vahns concerns rapidly faded away. He didnt expect any major issues, especially with Gaias calming aura, but it was still a relief to see how fond everyone had be of her. This was good for a number of reasons, as, not only would it greatly reduce the time it took for Gaias rehabilitation, but, equally as important, it would undoubtedly leave a deep impression on Tiamat and ya. Tiamat was still very childish and innocent so it would be good for her to interact with others in a controlled environment. As for ya, she was often cold and distant towards everyone, but, after seeing how quickly Gaia was epted, Vahn was hoping she would mellow out. Even if she only got along with those present, it would be a marked improvementpared to the past... As a n began to formte in his mind, Vahn looked toward Arcueid once again, saying, "Well be here for a month, at the very least. Can you create a pavilion for us to rest in?" With the ability to freely manipte reality within her Marble Phantasm, Arcueid didnt hesitate to nod her head, asking, "How many rooms?" as a glowing white sphere manifested in her hands. If you looked closely, the interior depicted the surroundingndscape, albeit with small grid lines and spatial coordinates. Closer inspection would even reveal their group itself, standing idly in the middle of a verdant in... After briefly considering Arcueids question, Vahn stated, "Something simple will be fine, for the time being. I will have to trouble you with constructing additional facilitiester, but, before that, I propose we enjoy tea and snacks while getting to know each other better. I intend to maintain up to five bodies while were inside, so well work out the finer details once everyone is more familiar with each other." The moment Vahn finished speaking, Arcueid gave a small nod before focusing on the sphere in her hands. Then, seemingly formed from nothing, a fully furnished Japanese-style pavilion came into existence with them standing in the central courtyard. There was even a small pond and a zen garden with threerge stones surrounded by soft sand. As nearly everyone present could produce grand structures in a short period of time, there wasnt even a hint of surprise on any of their faces. Even Fenrir had developed an ultimate Magic called Dominion of Eternal Ice, allowing her to create a ptial structure formed entirely from Yin, Ice, and Darkness Elemental Energies. It took nearly all of her Mana to do so, but, so long as it existed, she would quickly be able to recover while simultaneously reducing the speed of, and ultimately freezing, her opponents. Satisfied with Arcueids choice, Vahn gave an approving nod, saying, "Thank you, Arcueid. Youre amazing, as always." Though she had already been smiling, Arcueids expression blossomed into a radiant expression upon hearing Vahns remark. It always made her happy to beplimented and, after spending a few years together, her feelings for him had onlypounded. If he wasnt holding onto Gaia, only Artoria would have been able to stop her from pouncing on him in glee... Sensing the shift in Arcueids mental state, Vahn had to resist smiling wryly, both as a result of her overwhelming emotions and the looks he was receiving from everyone else. Fortunately, they had all gathered for a specific purpose so, before things could get out of hand, he said, "Come. Let us head inside. Also, feel free to change into something morefortable. Though we are gathered to aid Gaias rehabilitation, this is also an opportunity for us to strengthen our bonds. For the time being, everyone should rx and enjoy this next month to the fullest. If you feel the need to train, focus on mental development. No fighting." Hearing Vahns words, Artoria, Fenrir, and Illya appeared as though they had received some kind of mental attack. They had developed the habit of training to an incessant degree, never skipping a single day unless something important was going on. It would be difficult for them to just sit still, for a month, but, as he was intending to maintain five bodies, Vahn wasnt worried they would get stressed out... --- Meeting expectations, things within the Marble Phantasm preceded without incident. Gaia was surprisingly open to engaging with the others, and, though she would be anxious when he wasnt in the same room, she still did her best. It was actually rather inspiring, leaving a positive impression on everyone that interacted with her. Due to her calming aura, Gaia was even more effective than Spenta at giving people peace of mind. Just seeing her seemed to cause negative emotions to fade away, causing a strange feeling of relief the moment you walked into the same room as her. This was different from Spenta, who, despite having a calming aura, generally relied on direct contact. As for Gaia, it was actually very difficult to approach within a few meters of her, causing anyone who ventured too close to feel a rising concern, almost as if they were approaching an extremely fragile object. Unless Vahn was holding onto her, it was absolutely impossible to approach Gaia without her expressly allowing it. This seemed to be a kind of failsafe to prevent any harm froming to her, as, depending on the circumstances, her death also meant all life on the would slowly die. As a result, she could purge malicious intentions, and, if the person approaching her had any kind of negative energy, it would be purified almost immediately. He obviously wouldnt test it, but Vahn assumed that Gaias barrier was an exponentially more powerful version of Fafnirs Innate. She wasnt able to protect herself, but, even if you attacked her with an EX-Rank Noble Phantasm, it would simply disperse the moment it came into contact with the invisible field surrounding her. It even dwarfed Artorias [Avalon] in power, but, considering Avalon was just a small part of Gaias existence, it wasnt all that surprising that she had the more powerful version. The only people able to approach Gaia freely, with the obvious exception of Vahn, were Tiamat, ya, and, as could be expected, Illya. They were functionally incapable of even thinking about trying to harm her, and, in the case of Illya, she had basically be an obedient pet. This wasrgely due to the influence of Cath Palug, but, as Illya was still aware of her actions, it wasnt too much an issue. Rather, it was an excuse for her to cuddle with both of her Masters at the same time, a benefit unique to her. Far more troublesome than Illyas shift in behavior was the fact that Fenrir, despite a concerted effort, was simply unable to get anywhere near Gaia. She harbored no malicious intentions, but, due to her affinity with Yin and Darkness, it would cause her considerable pain if she attempted to vite the invisible domain of protection around the delicate Mother Goddess. This made Gaia herself extremely apologetic, but, with Fenrirs insistence she had done no wrong, the two were still able to converse cordially from a distance. Though it wasrgely conjecture, Vahn spected that the actual reason behind Fenrirs inability to approach Gaia was the existence of her [Devour] Innate. While others would struggle to do any real harm to Gaia, Fenrirs Innate even allowed her to convert Source Energy more efficiently than any other. She was also able to devour anything she was able toprehend, so, while there was a vast disparity in power between her and Gaia, Fenrirs Innate was actually very effective against the former. After all, she understood Gaias true nature as the itself, something she could easily devour if she devoted herself to the task. Innates were heavily influenced by a persons perception andprehension, so, while Fenrir would struggle to devour more abstract Laws, even indestructible objects were subject to her power. The only things that were immune to her ability were things she was convinced she could not devour. In her mind, the only thing she absolutely could not devour was her Master. While she would never proactively bare her fangs towards allies, Fenrir always carried the notion that allies could, one day, turn into enemies. If that happened, she had already made the resolution to do whatever it took to defeat them, even if it meant destroying thempletely. Fenrirs Loyalty was, simultaneously, her greatest strength and greatest weakness. It left gaps in her mentality that could be exploited by clever foes, and, if she was feeling lonely, her emotional state would quickly diminish over time. She had made significant progress since her creation, but, no matter how much time passed, she was always happiest when she was with her Master. Even a few days apart would begin to make her feel sad, and, if several weeks or months passed, she was susceptible to mood swings and bouts of depression. Fortunately, with Unit Management, Vahn could easily summon Fenrir to his side in an instant. This would only work if they were in the same Record, but, as it would take exceptional circumstances for them to, somehow, end up in different worlds, this wasnt a major concern. As for them being apart in other ways, that, too, wasnt really a problem, as, no matter how much time passed, Vahn was still reliant on Fenrirs presence. She was one of the constants in his life, so, if they were apart for too long, she wouldnt even need to seek him out; he would go to her. The biggest issue within the Marble Phantasm wasnt Fenrirs inability to approach Gaia. Rather, it was the intimacy he shared with everyone else. It quickly came to light that Gaia shared senses with both Tiamat and ya. She had also born witness to every moment in human history from its inception, including every moment of intimacy and tragedy that had ever taken ce. As a result, she had always been apathetic to such interactions, but, now that she had a body, she expressed an unexpected eagerness to experience such things herself. Vahn knew Gaia was undoubtedly being influenced by Akasha, but,pared to ya, it was a lot harder to refuse her sincerity. When she had first made it known that she shared senses with her sisters, Vahn had been hugging her gently from behind as they conversed with Fenrir. Her face had be gradually more flushed, and, just as he was fondling yas tail, a small moan had escaped her lips, followed by a tail spontaneously sprouting from her lower back. Though she appeared delicate and fragile, to the point it was hard to even formte uncouthly thoughts, Gaias knowledge was unparalleled. She still appeared exceptionally innocent, but, unless he intended to stop spending time with Tiamat and ya, Vahn was in a difficult position where he couldnt actually refuse her curiosity. She wanted to be touched directly, and, with his interactions with the others being well known to her, to the point she could describe them with perfect rity, it was hard to tell her she wasnt ready for such things... This was one of the problems with exceptionally ancient beings, as, despite her looks, Gaia had actually birthed hundreds of Gods, Goddesses, and thousands of other species. She was, quite literally, the Primordial Goddess of Earth, the Mother of All Terrestrial Lifeforms. Even his own Sex Divinity was an authority he borrowed from her, something she admitted to bestowing him after personally acknowledging his prowess. Vahn had always known that his Divinity was tied to the, but, hearing Gaia mention she had given it to him, he couldnt help but feel a little shaken. He knew that both she and ya had an exceptional degree of Omniscience, but, it was hard to rationalize just how much they knew until they began dropping bombshells. In yas case, she was unable to peek into Bounded Fields, but, when it came to Gaia, she was aware of everything that had ever taken ce on her body from the moment she first became aware. One of the only exceptions to this was ORTs Marble Phantasm, as, despite existing on the Surface, it altered reality to create apletely alien environment, a ce where Gaia and ya had no authority. Fortunately, while Gaia was apparently aware of everything that had taken ce within Artorias, Arcueids, Illyas, Aokos, and Tiamats Marble Phantasms, she was unaware of anything that took ce within Space-Time Orbs. She also didnt know about anything that had taken ce inside of the [Virtual Reality Marble]s, and, most importantly, she wasnt even aware of the existence of his faux-Marble Phantasm. Though he existed within the Record, Vahn had assumed that his Realm waspletely separate from everything else. After all, it was a projection of his Soul, so, no matter how powerful Akasha and her Superiors were, they should be unaware of anything that happens within. If they had tried to peek, he, or, more specifically, Sis, would have been able to detect it. It wasforting to know that Gaias Omniscience wasnt absolute, but, knowing she had been able to witness many of his most intimate moments, it left him in a difficult position. He couldnt easily refute her requests, as, even if he did so, she would still experience everything Tiamat and ya experienced. Thus, despite it never having been part of his intentions, the third day within the Marble Phantasm was colored with the sonorous intonations of a frail voice... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Artoria, Fenrir, and Illya be like, "My gainsssss...!",Sphere of Protec!,The quiet ones are always the most dangerous o_o...) (A/N: I have had a fever since yesterday afternoon. I will be sleeping most of today.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1498 - Restraint

Chapter 1498 - Restraint

Though they were impossible to distinguish from reality, at a nce, every Marble Phantasm had a few unique qualities depending on the user. In Arceuids case, her Marble Phantasm made it so that it was always the night of a full moon. As for Artorias, hers was almost theplete opposite as it was always afortable spring day, a world filled with lush greenery and blooming flowers. There were other reasons, but the primary cause for anomalies within a Marble Phantasm was that their users typically had a loose understanding of the Laws. Though they were able to functionally manipte reality on a whim, the structure of this reality was entirely dependent on their grasp of the changes introduced. This was why, in Vahns case, he could create a nascent Universe, but, while it appeared much like any other Universe at a nce, the scale was askew. Not only were thes and stars much smaller than they should be, but, no matter how much time you spent searching, you would never find natural flora and fauna. Due to these traits, Vahn, or, more specifically, Da Vinci, had been able to glean various insights into the true nature of Reality. This included the nature of Divinity itself, which, on the most basic level, served as a means of stabilizing Laws within a given area. For this reason, rather than saying Divinity gave you mastery over the Laws, it was more urate to say you gained a small amount of Authority over how those Laws functioned within your world. The best method to create a stable Reality, was, in essence, creating or recruiting entities capable of expressing and governing specific Laws. This was the primary purpose of Gods, and, much like he had experienced in Danmachi, it was also the reason for the restrictions ced upon them. If a God didnt serve their purpose adequately, the Laws they governed would be unstable, and, if their Authority had been high enough, they could severely alter, or even destroy, the fabric of Reality itself. To prevent this kind of arbitrary destruction, the most powerful forces within a Record seemed to function more as a control than anything else. They consolidated the greatest amount of power for themselves, and, in order to prevent things from going haywire, they limited how much power the Gods within their World could possess. This was the presumed reason behind the separation of Heaven, Hell, and the Mortal Realm back in Danmachi. As for the Nasuverse, due to its higher tier, the primary regtory body was the Root System. Beneath that, the very stars ands in the night sky all represented their own Realms, each possessing Tier 5 Primordial Deities that had the ability to assign, strengthen, and weaken the Divine Authority of entities within their Realm. In the end, Divine Authority basically amounted to giving permission for those within your Realm to make use of specific Laws. This required noprehension of said Laws, as, regardless of how the Record manifested, the Laws, themselves, were a constant. How they manifested might vary, but, on the most fundamental level, even the strongest beings in the Record were unable to alter the structure of the Laws. When it ultimately came down to it, the most important aspect of governing a Realm was having greater Willpower and focused Intent. You didnt even need a stronger Soul Tier than the beings you ruled over, as, without your permission, most of what made a person powerful simply didnt apply with a Realm you had created. After all, a God of Fire would find it very difficult to fight in a world where they no longer governed fire. If their opponent could, literally, turn the world into an ocean around them, that just furtherplicated things. If he wanted to ensure the sess of his n, Vahn would need several powerful beings at Tiers 4 and 5 under his control. Their presence would serve to stabilize his Realm and ensure it wasnt arbitrarily torn apart by other powerful entities with simr Soul Tiers. Without them, he risked the entire Realms copse as forces that opposed his rule, possessing incredible Willpower, refused to be restrained. This would be a very serious issue he would have to face, and, in the end, Vahn knew he would even need to tolerate powerful forces of opposition just to ensure the bnce of his Realm was maintained. It seemed a little ridiculous, as he would be the most powerful being in his Realm, but, due to the nature of Reality itself, it was impossible to excise absolute control in a world with free will... In the midst of these thoughts, Vahn was absentmindedly stroking the naked figure of a delicate woman with fair skin, free-flowing white hair, and gem-like eyes. She wasnguidly sprawled over his body, her back resting against his chest as he caressed up and down her abdomen. She, like ya and Tiamat, didnt actually have defined sexual organs. This gave her a somewhat doll-like appearance, but, in spite of this, she, like her sisters, was able to react just like any other woman... As further proof of this peculiarity, Vahns fingered lightly traced over what would have been the mons pubis of a normal woman, causing a tremble to run through Gaias body as a small amount of moisture began to flow from between her thighs. There was nothing for it to flow from, but, like a saturated sponge, a fragrant, sweet-smelling, slightly-viscous liquid would ceaselessly flow from between her thighs whenever she was excited. Though she didnt actually require sleep, Gaias eyelids slowly peeled open as if she was waking from a peaceful slumber. Then, grabbing his hand, still dripping with her sweet nectar, shezily guided his fingers to her lips, suckling on them without any hesitation. At the same time, from the surroundings, more movement urred as four more versions of Vahn, each adorned with up to two naked beauties, began waking everyone from their peaceful slumber. While his other bodies were attending to others, Vahn lightly kissed Gaias shoulder, while, curled up between his thighs, another petite woman with white hair lifted her head before stretching her body rather adorably. This was none other than Illya, and, for reasons only she was fully aware of, she had slept with her face nestled against his sleeping dragon. Her hot breaths had tickled him all evening, and, at one point, she had partially awoken and, much like a sleep-walker, began to dutifully lick and suckle his member as if it was muscle memory... As this memory yed across his mind, Vahn and Gaia watched as Illyas eyes darted to his lower body, a slightly predatory look in her eyes before they moved slightly, this time staring between Gaias thighs with mild temptation visible. Immediately after that, however, she noticed she was being stared at, causing her body to tense up as a heavy flush spread across her face. She hadnt fully awoken, and, while she would adamantly deny it if pressed by others, the truth of the matter was that Illya had always been a closet pervert, even after her fusion with Cath Palug. Moving to a seated position, allowing Gaias pert and smooth butt to fall into hisp, Vahn carried out the usual ritual of calming Illya down, petting her head and ears until she became docile. This was made considerably easier with the presence of Gaia, as, due to her calming aura, even anger and hatred would fade away, much less embarrassment. The previous night had proved just how dangerous this trait could be, but, despite none of them actually requiring sleep, it also helped everyone to rx and calm down after the fun hade to an end. With drooping ears, closed eyes, and a contented expression on her face, Illya issued a gleeful ehehehe~ while enjoying, not just Vahns caresses, but Gaias as well. She had fully embraced her identity as a Beast of Gaia at this point, her nature reminiscent of Fenrir whenever she was with her respective Masters. This made Illya seem even cuter than normal, but, due to wanting to appear that way, her size had actually shrunken down slightly. She no longer had the appearance of a woman in herte teens or early twenties. Instead, she had shrunk down to around 153cm, and, though her breasts hadpletely reverted, they were now palm-sized, making her easier to pet and cuddle... While one of his bodies was dealing with Gaia and Illya, another version of Vahn was tending to Artoria alone. Since he had five bodies, three versions of himself had paired off with two people while two versions, by lottery, had tended to just a single person. The fortunate victors had been Artoria and Nero, but, considering they had A+ and EX-Rank Luck, this wasnt too surprising an oue. As for why there were two versions of himself freed up for a single person, this was due to the fact that Fenrir had spent the night with Spenta, as, regardless of her age, there as no way he would allow the exceptionally innocent Conceptual Entity to participate in such an event... Seeing the rather licentious sight of a full room of naked people, including five versions of her husband, Artoria was in a slight daze as Vahn untangled and fixed her hair. The previous night had been unlike anything she, or any of them, had ever experienced before, so, in stark contrast to her usual vigor, she waspletely out of it. This was abination of her contented feelings and the calming effect Gaia had on everyone in the room, making her feel warm and fluffy on the inside. After sorting her thoughts, Artoria turned to face Vahn, not even bothered to conceal her wless figure as she softly stated, "This shouldnt repeat too often...if this became the norm, I fear those with weaker wills would be prone to depression. That kind of euphoria is dangerous, even if there are no adverse effects on the body..." Understanding Artorias concerns, Vahn gave a small nod, answering just as quietly, "I had simr thoughts. Though it would be quite the sight to behold, I understand the dangers of apleteck of inhibition. Well only ever do this kind of thing within the confines of the Marble Phantasm, and, even then, in moderation. If there are ever any innocents nearby, it should be avoided at all costs. I feel guilty for Fenrir, but, it terrifies me to imagine what would have happened if someone like Spenta wandered in...haaaa..." Due to the nature of his Divinity and the enhancement provided by Gaia, the sealed chamber had be an area with few, if any, inhibitions. Vahn had been able to maintain a modicum of control,rgely in part due to his [Will of the Emperor], but the effects it had on others was very dangerous. Even Artoria had be exceptionallypliant, but, infinitely more troublesome, Vahn had felt very little resistance to anything. He barely avoided having sex with Tiamat, ya, and Gaia, and, at one point, Iris had easily convinced him to alter his appearance to the point of being dangerously youthful... When the minds of sapient creatures were in an incredibly rxed state, they were susceptible to suggestion and maniption. Though it was possible to resist with adequate Willpower, the effect Gaia had was almost invible under the right conditions. As a result, everyone had discarded even the pretense of inhibitions, and, under the influence of his Sex Divinity, the sealed chamber had be a Realm of pure debauchery. If not for Sis and his [Will of the Emperor], there would have been nothing to stop him from ravishing ya, Tiamat, and even Gaia. Fortunately, Gaia seemed to respect his intentions, so, when things got especially dangerous, her aura was ultimately what allowed everyone to calm down. She had been unaffected by the state she had helped to induce, allowing her to serve as the voice of reason when everyone else was almost wholly focused on experiencing new pleasures. Had this not been the case, things would have gotten even further out of hand, potentially endangering all of Vahns ns, forcing him to remain in the Nasuverse much longer than intended... After looking around the room, making eye contact with his other selves, Vahn took advantage of the fact Artoria was still facing him, stealing a rtively tame kiss before saying, "We should take a bath. It feels like my body is covered in something and I dont even sweat..." Though he didnt intend to make her embarrassed, Artoria lightly blushed in response to Vahns words. She knew exactly why he was dirty, and, remembering the previous night, it caused her face to quickly transition through various shades of red before she ultimately nodded and said, "I agree. Ill have everyone use the bathhouse on the western side. You should go to the east before checking on Fenrir and Spenta. Even though Arcueid sealed off this space, I cant help but feel a little worried about them." Had he not already confirmed they were unaffected by the previous incident, Vahn would have shared Artorias concerns. Still, he knew it was important to check on them personally, and, out of consideration for the fact she had missed out on a rather significant event, Vahn was intending to pamper Fenrir all day. He would acquiesce to all of her demands, but, knowing her, this meant he would probably spend the entire day just lounging about in his Vanargandr form. Fenrir was extremely sensitive to his mental state so she would be able to sense how overtaxed his mind and spirit were from the previous evening. Though it was somewhat shameful for him to admit, Vahn needed the unique peace of mind she brought in order to recover. It would be very dangerous if he became ustomed to the level of pleasure he experienced the previous night, both for himself and others. Vahn primarily focused on the emotional connection that was formed whenever he had sex with others, but, due to apleteck of inhibitions, he ended up enjoying the pleasurable aspect a lot more than was healthy. He already had more sex than most people could evenprehend so it would be disastrous if he became addicted. It was important to have some kind of restraint, as, without them, there were no limits to how base and animalistic people could be. Carnal pleasures were a dangerous thing, and, if Arcueid hadnt properly sealed the chamber, even the innocent Spenta might not have been spared his greedy ws... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn affirmed his belief that everything should be done with proper respect for moderation. Spenta might technically be safe, but, after crossing that line, his self-respect would be lost. From there, very few things would be off-limits, and, if this became amon event, there was even a chance his own children and students could get wrapped up in the event. Everything would rapidly spiral out of control, and, by the time he met up with Eva and began trying to link the Records, he would have be unrecognizable from his past self...the man who had won the respect, admiration, and love of countless people... Imagining a version of himself with a seemingly limitless harem that had no boundaries, Vahn felt a shudder run through his body. For a brief moment, the version of Leh from the Divination appeared within his mind, her eyes turned up at him as she eagerly attempted to satisfy both of their sexual urges. This had terrified him in the past, rightfully so, and, while he was willing to make exceptions for those like Mordred, Vahn would be aplete failure as a parent if he had no inhibitions toward his own children. With his mind made up, Vahn didnt even need to exin his intentions as Sis dutifully answered, (*It is done.*) in a calming voice. Immediately afterward, he felt his senses dull slightly as his aura and domain became marginally weaker. This caused everyone in the room to shift their gazes to him, but it was Gaia who asked, "Why...?" Understanding her confusion, Vahn lightly pats Gaias hair, ttening her myriad of ahoge as he exined, "There is no use in having a power that endangers the people I care about. It was very useful, but Im more than capable of taking care of my women without such a crutch. There is far greater meaning in spending time learning about your partner, growing alongside one another as your love blossoms into something greater. You may struggle to understand it right now, but I will help you to understand the meaning behind these words in the future..." Towards the end of his words, Vahn firmly embraced Gaias body, understanding why she would be a little upset. After all, he had just discarded the Divine Authority she had bestowed upon him without any forewarning. This was simr to throwing away the gift of someone who, very rarely, handed out presents. She had every right to be a little upset, but, if it meant he could protect the things he cared about, there was no part of himself that Vahn wasnt willing to throw away...even his Divinity. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bnce in all things,Debauchery Tea Party,Sacrificing everything for power is a sign of weakness. Sacrificing power for everything else is a sign of strength. Power can be easily quantified and expressed. Character Growth, however, is EX-Rank by default) (A/N: Update. Still feeling sick, but much better than yesterday.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1499 - Small Steps

Chapter 1499 - Small Steps

With the loss of his Sex Divinity, Vahn felt as if a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He hadnt lost any of his prowess, but,pared to before, he now had to put more effort and focus into his partners needs. Fortunately, he knew most of their bodies even better than they did, so, while he lost the ability to instinctively sense when they were in the mood, satisfying them wasnt a difficult matter. Rather, things had be even more intimate than before, as, rather than letting his Divinity help guide his actions, he had to default to closely observing them. Prior to obtaining his Divinity, Vahn had always closely monitored the state of his partner, using his wealth of experience to determine the best course of action. He couldnt always know exactly how they wanted to be treated, but, in a way, making mistakes and learning made the experience far more interesting. Things became more experimental, fresh, and, as a result, his partners had also be a lot more honest. They now directly conveyed what they wanted, sometimes far more vocally than he would have expected... A stark contrast to her usual motherly appearance, the current Iris was wearing an extremely skimpy outfit form from a malleable material that easily clung to the skin. With a set of golden horns on her head and a whip-like tail that came to an end in a heart shape, she matched what many believed a Subus should look like. She even had the physique to match,plete withrge breasts, a pliable butt, thick thighs, and a thinyer of subcutaneous fat that made her entire body soft and slightly squishy. Though she was normally a very reserved woman, with a slight propensity for teasing others, the current Iris was skillfully dancing atop Vahns waist, ascivious look in her ruby-red eyes as she sonorously intoned, "Ah...thats good~! Hit that spot again...! Nnn...I can feel you stretching out my insides...ufufufu, youre going to ruin my body at this rate~." Despite her words, Iris was happily bouncing her hips with enough force to cause loud smacking sounds to echo throughout the room. This was one of the few times she had ever gotten Vahn to herself, so,pared to her usual self, she was a little too eager. As for where she got the outfit, it was, of course, one of Da Vincis inventions. She had modified a few of the [REquip] systems to function simrly to faux Divine Raiments, allowing a host of unique outfits to be produced based almost entirely on a persons thoughts and feelings. Manifesting even a false Divine Raiment required a significant amount of Mana, but, with a body produced by Vahn and the ability to harness functionally infinite energy from the itself, Iris had little trouble maintaining a host of interesting outfits. In the past, she had even produced a version that allowed her to emte some of Illyas bestial traits, creating a dangerous gap that left a very deep impression in Vahns memory. He could still remember the scene of her pinning down Illya as she waggled her butt towards him, an eager and inviting look in her eyes that left no room for discussion... With his fingers sinking into her fleshy butt, Vahn bucked Iris with enough force to send a visible ripple through her body. This also propelled her forward, causing her voluminous breasts to press into him as she intoned an amused, "Oh my~." before extending her tongue to greet his. Then, as their tongues continued to intertwine, Vahn continued for rhythmically pound from below, using the durable springs of the mattress to maintain a steady pace while using his hands to prevent her hips from bouncing too far. In the end, Iris toes began to curl as she tightly hugged his neck and whispered heatedly in his ear, "You can feel it, right~? My womb has descended, begging for your seed. Fill me up until Im bursting, ufufufu~." Though she couldnt get pregnant unless they both wanted a child, Iris had be somewhat addicted to creampies. Rather, all of the women who had the ability to absorb and convert mana were rather fond of feeling their insides stretch due to his voluminous release. It not only brought them to a peak of pleasure most couldnt even fathom, but it also provided a marginal increase to their power while helping to restore their stamina. As he had developed the habit of almost always cumming inside, Vahn didnt hesitate at all when he heard Iriss words, grunting as he said, "Take it...!" Immediately following his words, Iris arched her back into a seated position, eyes squinted shut as she shouted, "Aaaaahn, I can feel it! Its erupting inside me~!" at the top of her lungs. Her change in position also caused her to be seated flush against hisp, sealing his semen inside of her and causing her lower abdomen to bloat slightly. When the pressure finally reached beyond a certain threshold, a pa sound could be heard, followed by a considerable amount of heat and moisture covering Vahns inner thighs... With a distant look in her eyes, Iris continued to sit on hisp for more than a minute, her mouth slightly agape as a small amount of drool flowed from the side. She had a simr appearance to someone who had a little too much to drink, her face suffused with a ruddy hue and an apparentck of awareness as a powerful tremor ran through her body. Then, just as the echoes began to fade away, she looked down at Vahn was heavily zed eyes, smiling seductively as she said, "Its a shame I cant keep you to myself..." Though he knew she was just ying around, Vahn lightly smacked Iris butt, causing a girlish moan to emit from her throat. Then, before she could convince him to continue, Vahn couldnt help but grin as he remarked, "Rather than bing more honest, Id say youre bing more greedy. That Subus outfit suits you a little too well...its a shame, really, but well have to wrap things up here. Its already been close to eleven hours. Were supposed to be leaving today, so well have to continue where we left off at ater date." After finishing his statement, Vahn gave Iris butt another firm smack, causing another sonorous moan to escape her throat before musing, "Youre a big, mean, bully...". Immediately afterward, however, she leaned down, tightly hugging his neck and giving him a long and passionate kiss. Then, before separating, she licked the tip of his nose, adding, "I still love you though~." Finding her words satisfying, Vahn couldnt help but release a somewhat boisterousugh before surprising Iris as he raised his body so that they were seated hugging each other. Then, despite his earlier words, he decided to take her for another round, this time taking it nice and slow as the two kissed each other passionately for an additional half-hour... --- While four of his bodies were making the most of the remaining time in the Marble Phantasm, the prime Vahn was walking backward, holding Gaias hands as she took faltering steps forward. She could already walk unaided, but, if she tried to move too quickly, her feet would get wrapped up in themselves. This became even more prominent when he separated from her, causing her to fall over almost immediately, but that wasnt entirely unexpected. Gaia had spent several millennia as little more than an incorporeal Spirit, and, even now, she had a fair amount of inhibitions toward maintaining a physical form. She saw herself as vulnerable and exceptionally weak, so, despite having an indestructible body with limitless physical potential, her countenance and physique matched her self-perception. It was so bad that, if someone else tried to help her walk, she wouldnt even be able to stand, much less move forward... The most paradoxical thing about Gaias state was that, if she really wanted to, ignoring things like gravity was well within her power. She should be able to fly around freely, phase through objects, and even manifest her body wherever she wanted. These were things she was well aware of, but, due to her mental blocks, simply maintaining a physical body was already pushing her limits. Optimistically speaking, it would take several months for Gaia toplete the first phase of her physical rehabilitation. As for her mental rehab, that would undoubtedly take several years, if not considerably longer. Fortunately, time was something they had plenty of, so, while it would be a mild inconvenience, Vahn was willing to stay by her side until she was ready to walk on her own. It was, truthfully, the least he could do for someone who would remain at his side for millions, if not billions, of years... After a few minutes of sustained walking, Gaias face had formed into a strained pout, her fairplexion turning slightly pale as she struggled to keep pace with his greater gait. She was not able to experience fatigue in the same way as normal people, but, just as he was able to overtax his mind and spirit, so too was Gaia. Thus, despite having the physical strength to continue, Gaia ended up tripping forward, falling into Vahns waiting arms with tears building up in the corners of her eyes as she muttered, "Im sorry..." Shaking his head, Vahn performed the usual ritual ofbing his fingers through Gaias hair as he whispered, "Shhhh...Youre doing fine. That was thirteen more steps than your previous record. We have plenty of time for your rehabilitation so keep your head up high and continue trying your best. You are a lot cuter when you smile..." Though it wasnt immediate, Gaia forced a smile on her face, but, if you looked into her gem-like eyes, it was possible to see the sadness contained within. She was actually pushing herself quite a bit, but, no matter how much hard she tried, her body just ignored her. The only time it seemed topletely obey her was when she was doing naughty things with her Master. His presence had a calming effect on her body, so, when they were closer together, she felt safe, secure, and, to a greater extent, whole. After resting in her Masters arms for a few minutes, Gaia felt like strength had slowly returned to her body. She could feel his mysterious energy spread through her vessel like a nourishing wave, qualitatively increasing the purity of her own. This was something that excited her quite a bit, and, even without orders to collect it, she would have happily done so. If she wasnt afraid it would be an inconvenience to him, she would have liked to emte her sister,tching onto his body and just suckling his nourishing energy until thest stars burned out in the night sky... Feeling Gaia spontaneously bite his tunic, gently sucking the piece of fabric with her eyes closed, Vahn had to forcibly restrain himself. She had developed a suckling habit over thest thirty days, and, at times, got a little carried away due to her curiosity. He found this incredibly adorable and highly endearing, but, as it could quickly be a problem in her adult form, he lightly tapped her back, breaking her out of the momentary reverie she had fallen into. Realizing what she had been doing, evidenced by a small stain on her Masters tunic, Gaias face became slightly red as she fumbled for words. Before she was able to, however, he lightly tickled the underside of her chin, smiling as he said, "If you can make it to a thousand steps, Ill allow you to ride on my shoulder, at least for a short while." Hearing her Masters words, Gaias body spontaneously shrunk until she was roughly 40cm tall. At the same time, her features became closer to those of a Companion, albeit one with several fluffy, three pronounced ahoge, andrge, ruby-red, eyes. She had learned this from observing ya, and, while she was still unable to walk around on her own, she was able to easily cling to his body like a powerful ma whenever she transformed... Seeing Gaia shrink down, Vahn wasnt actually all that surprised. She had very little control over her body, so, when she got excited, her form changed to reflect her desires. This had caused her a considerable amount of embarrassment, as, even when she tried to control herself, her clothes would be increasingly transparent, eventually fading from existence. She would also grow the features of her sisters whenever they were being stimted, a trait that was as adorable as it was tantalizing. Rather than force her to change back, Vahn unequipped his tunic, hugging Gaia to his body as he said, "You can have a little. Afterward, youll have to get one-thousand steps, though. If not, well be soaking in the bath while everyone else is having fun. Rewards are supposed to follow sess, so youll have to work extra hard during your next attempt. Okay?" As it was hard to calm down when her Masters exposed shoulder was right in front of her face, Gaia obediently listened to his words before readily nodding her head. Then, without a word, she opened her mouth to reveal rows of pearl-white teeth and a ruby-red tongue. They were normal at first, but, as she moved her mouth close to his neck, they immediately transitioned into sharper canines, sinking into his flesh without any resistance before forming a seal and sucking his blood rather greedily... --- Immediately after her sister began sucking their Masters blood, yas expression formed into a small frown. She then began eyeing him like a predator eying its prey, earning a light chuckle from Vahn and a confused tilt of the head from Tiamat. At the same time, Arcueid and Fenrir gave him curious nces, leading Vahn to exin, "Im giving Gaia a small incentive, " before turning his attention back to ya and adding, "Dont be jealous. You have received a number of benefits due to Gaias influence. There will be plenty of time for you to drain my energy in the future." Though she wanted to refute on principle, ya knew there was undeniable truth within her Masters words. Thest thirty days had greatly exceeded preliminary expectations, so much so that it made her second-guess her past behavior. Now, she was even seated around a circr table, listening attentively as her Master conversed with others. Every now and then, she would even chime in of her own volition, something she never would have even considered in the past... Understanding what ya must be thinking, Vahn gave a small nod, further stating, "Well be leaving pretty soon to allow others to rotate in. There will be plenty of time for you to reap even greater rewards. For now, let us enjoy thesest few moments. Is it such a bad thing, enjoying tea with yourpanions...?" ya couldnt help but frown in response to her Masters words, but, rather than try to argue, she turned her attention to the contents of her cup. She, like everyone else at the table, was provided with a very special type of tea, sweetened with cubes crystallized from her Masters blood. It was significantly less satisfying than consuming his blood directly, but, prior to her sister being given the opportunity, ya had actually thought she was quite fortunate... After considering her response for several moments in real-time, ya looked between Fenrir, Arcueid, and Tiamat before staring back at her Master and answering, "Master is correct...forgive me. I did not mean to cause amotion..." As the past ya would neverpromise, much less apologize, Vahn smiled widely in response to her uncharacteristic words. She had made considerable progress over thest thirty days, and, though there was often ack of sincerity behind her words, it was much better than before. There was even a chance, that, by the time Gaias rehabilitation was over, ya would have, at the very least, started to break out of her shell. Thus, with a satisfied smile on his face, he yfully winked at her, saying, "Good girl..." in a teasing, yet affectionate, tone. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Iris is a carnivorous woman o_o...,Must be hard to rehab when you dont even want to exist...,Meanwhile, Tiamat is sitting at the side, eating the entire cup...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1500 - Spiral

Chapter 1500 - Spiral

In the end, it took an additional six full months for Gaia to reach a level where she was able to walk without the direct support of another person. During this rehabilitation period, nearly every resident of the Inner Sanctum had been given the opportunity to enjoy a much-needed vacation, including Vahns students. This had included Mordred, Mash, Sakura, Zo?, Astrid, and Scthach. As for Ciel, she had departed for Japan nearly two months prior. Vahn was aware that Shiki had started to develop a faction of his own, led by none other than his younger sister, the current head of the Tohno family, Akiha Tohno. Thetter was a brilliant, decisive, and decidedly ruthless woman, who, post-Fall, quickly rose to prominence after allying with a few older families and crushing various yakuza groups. Upon her reunion with Shiki, she had even gone as far as to divorce her husband, who, dayster, vanished from the face of the earth. When Vahn first met Akiha, a cool beauty with long ck hair and deep-blue eyes, she had given him a very simr impression to Loki. She was an extremely calcting woman, but, if he was asked to define her most noteworthy trait, it was a borderline obsession with her brother. At some point in the past, she had sacrificed half her life to preserve Shikis, and, from that moment on, she had been a doting, yet possessive, younger sister. She constantly worried about him since their youth, feelings that eventually became a deep and passionate love once they matured. If not for the fact Shiki had died at a very young age, there was very little doubt that he and Akiha would have be husband and wife. This wasrgely due to the fact that they werent rted by blood, causing Akihas inhibitions to vanish in their entirety. The only thing that had prevented them from being together was the resistance of her family, but, after bing the Family Head and ruling with a decidedly heavy hand, there were none to oppose her decisions. A few years after Shikis death, Akiha had ended up marrying a man from another orthodox family of demon hunters. This was a purely political marriage, and, even after several years of marriage, Akiha had never so much as allowed her husband to touch her. When it came time to produce an heir, they even used a surrogate mother, as, in Akihas heart, the only man worthy of her was the one she had given half her life and all of her heart to. Needless to say, Vahn had a few inhibitions regarding Akihas ruthless behavior, but, considering the sincerity she showed towards the Empire, he decided to ignore it. She was extremely thankful for the fact that he had returned Shiki to her, and, from the moment of their first meeting, she had dutifully followed the Common Law. Her only realint seemed to be that her brother had, very quickly, gathered many of his former lovers. In the end, however, she tolerated their presence, as, with how drastically the world was changing, having powerful and loyal allies was a must. If the Tohno family was ever to oppose the Empire in the future, it would undoubtedly be the result of Shikis heroic ideals. Even then, however, he would have to somehow convince Akiha, but, after losing him the first time, there was little chance she would allow him to do something so dangerous. She was an exceptionally intelligent woman, so, while Shiki seemed incapable of understanding the consequences of his actions, she was smart enough to prevent him from doing anything that would endanger all of their lives. In exchange for Akihas loyalty, Vahn had privately used Nirvana Rebirth on her, as, after giving up half her life to Shiki, she would be nearing the end her own by the time she turned forty. This was a secret he had promised to keep, and, though it wasnt intended to be used as leverage against her, Akiha seemed to interpret it as such. Thus, unless something extreme happened, she would keep a close watch on Shiki, forcing him to focus on protecting their home, rather than fighting a foreign Empire. She also had the support of many of Shikis former lovers, as, much like Akiha, they were not in a hurry to see the resurrected Hero suicide against a seemingly unstoppable force... --- After emerging from Arcueids Marble Phantasm for the seventh time, Vahn had a reminiscent smile on his face as he looked around at the familiar Ivory Castle. He had been missing his children quite a bit, as, from his perspective, it had been a little more than seven months since he saw themst. This wasnt a particrly long period of time, but, after experiencing a few drastic changes, reestablishing a baseline would be necessary... As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn turned to the six young women, passing his gaze over each of them with a fewplex emotions in his heart. A lot of things could change in a month, and, due to various circumstances, he was now a little too close to some of the girls. Mash had even used the opportunity to confess her feelings a few days after entering the Marble Phantasm, resulting in a few unexpected developments, the majority of which were machinated by Mordred. With the exception of Astrid and Sakura, most of Vahns students had developed a strong crush on him. This had originally started off as gratitude and respect, but, due to the progress of their training and the massage treatments they had received, their emotions had blossomed into something that couldnt simply be exined away as puppy love. Rather, Mash seemed wholly intent on joining his personal entourage int he future, her Loyalty having already exceeded five digits in value. For a time, Vahn had hoped Mash might develop a crush for her Heroic Spirit, Richard, but, despite openly admitting he was very handsome, she never developed any affections for him. Rather, it was very difficult to like someone who, due to their carelessness, often caused you considerable harm. His training often resulted in several broken bones, and, if not for the existence of several powerful healers within the Empire, Mash had little doubt his actions would have resulted in her bing a cripple. At this point, Mash was a young woman of neen, and, though she didnt believe she was worthy of her Masters affection, she still mustered up the courage to confess. This wasrgelypelled by Mordred, who, taking advantage of the fact they would be alone for an entire month, pressured the other girls into doing things they otherwise wouldnt have even considered. Mashs confession near the very beginning was only the very tip of the iceberg, and, though things never developed to the point of no return, even Vahn was surprised by how dangerous Mordreds [Charisma] could be when she was left to her own devices. It wasnt for no reason that she had been able to be the leader of a rebellion despite having no particr interest in leading a coup. Her words, actions, and confidencepelled people to get pulled along by her whims, and, due to a surprising understanding of Vahns character, many of her ns ended in minor victories. By the time three days had passed in the Marble Phantasm, it became normal for a version of Vahn to sleep in the same room as the girls, each wearing animal pajamas. This led to small events such as pillow fights and such urring, but, after a few more days had passed, things escted to the point of yful wrestling and excessive cuddling. From there, Mordred managed to convince the others, even Scthach, to try and pressure him into ying games like Truth or Dare. At first, Vahn had prevented things from getting out of hand by directly expressing his views on how they should behave as young women, but, before he realized it, even Sakura was on Mordreds side, convincing him it wasnt a bid deal. Rather, there had been a time when it made her sad that he was unwilling to take a bath with him, back when he had first been identified as her father. She had been fond of the small amounts of intimacy and kinship she had been able to experience in the past. Now, she had someone she liked, so, with Mash being her best friend, Sakura wanted to support her. With even the voice of reason within the group corrupted by Mordred, Vahns only hope was to use Arcueid as a recement. Unfortunately, she instantly betrayed him the moment he invited her to stay in the same room with the girls. She enjoyed the sleepover structure they had been using since a few days prior, and, though her time with Vahn was always worthwhile, Arcueid was weak when it came to experiencing new things. She had always wanted to attend a slumber party, and, though she had the appearance of a very mature woman, that didnt stop her from wearing a set of adult-sized ko pajamas and allying with the other girls... Vahn managed tost a few more days against thebined assault of Mordreds faction. In the end, however, he was left without a path of retreat, as, due to his insistence, the mood within the Marble Phantasm had been gradually decreasing. Mash even thought she was to me for ruining everyone elses fun, leading to an awkward scene where she apologized with her forehead touching the ground. That had been the straw that broke the cames back, as, more than anything else, Vahn was weak against sincerity and misced me... After a long heart-to-heart with Mash, and a light spanking for Mordred, Vahn ended up giving in to the groups demands. As a result, he learned just how dangerous the curiosity of adolescents could be. With the exception of Sakura, who was only around fourteen, everyone else was either ageless or between the ages of seventeen and neen. Though their appearances didnt exactly reflect this,rgely due to the treatments they had received, they were still young women who, as a result of their circumstances, had a lot of pent up curiosities. Even Astrid wasnt an exception to this, despite having a very strong preference for members of the same sex. Though things had been rtively tame at first, involving the confession of various personal secrets, such as who liked who, things quickly devolved when Sakura, of all people, dared Zo? and Astrid to kiss. This started off as little more than a light peck on the lips, but, after a series of teasing remarks, courtesy of Mordred, the two ended up making out for nearly a full minute. Vahn realized he should have stopped things then and there, but, due to the recent memory of Mashs apology, he ended up falling into the pace of people much younger than him. Things became more troublesome when, immediately after the first serious dare, Astrid eyed Arcueid with glimmering eyes, daring her to leave the buttons of her pajamas undone for the remainder of the game. It was the kind that buttoned up from the front, so, after Arcueid unhesitantlyplied, it was possible to see her whitece bra and the fair skin of her abdomen. This elicited an audible gulp from Astrid, causing nearly everyone present, included Arcueid, tough. With Arcueid behaving as if everything was normal, Vahn had missed another opportunity to bring the game to an end. As a result, the buxom Divine Spirit immediately zeroed in on him, her sapphire blue eyes glimmering with eagerness and expectation as she dared him to kiss her. Unfortunately for them both, Mordred instantly pointed out that the person issuing the dare couldnt make others do anything directly to them. This resulted in Arcueid pouting for a brief moment as her eyes wandered around the group before stopping on Mash... Arcueid was aware of the fact Mash had confessed to their Master, so, with the intention of helping out her junior, she happily gave up the opportunity to the bashful,vender-haired, beauty. This was where things began to truly spiral out of control, as, after kissing Mash, Vahn had set a precedent that allowed for further esction. After a rtively tame kiss, Mashs eyes had zed over slightly, causing Vahns heart to palpitate a few times due to her fiercely blushing face. She was already a very beautiful young woman so it had left a deep impression on his heart after seeing how happy she was with a simple, three-second kiss. Her eyes contained an umon amount of devotion, and, for a brief moment, Vahn found himself drawn toward her dampened lips like a ma. The only thing that stopped him from doing so was how silent the surroundings had be, as, due to how intensely he and Mash were staring at each other, everyone present was holding their breaths in anticipation... When Mash noticed where her Master was looking, confusion shed across her eyes as if she had only just then remembered where they were. Immediately afterward, she retreated back to her seat, covering her crimson face by pulling down the hood of her dog-pajamas. She had never been more embarrassed in her entire life, but, if you were to look closely, it was easy to see she was very happy as her mouth curled into a natural smile despite her perturbance. With the ball in his court, Vahn proposed the idea of bringing the game to an end, earning a series of mildints from everyone except Scthach and Mash. Thus, in ast-ditch effort to break the downward spiral, he asked Astrid what her dream was. In the past, she had only wanted to surround herself with animals so he was genuinely curious whether or not her goals had changed over thest few years. What Vahn never expected was for Astrid to rather boldly state, "If possible, I would like to be an attendant in Masters harem. There are so many beauties within the Inner Sanctum, I dont think I would be happy anywhere else. If its Master...I wouldnt mind doing naughty things..." When he had first heard Astrids response, Vahn felt as though he had stepped on andmine that exceeded an A-Rank Noble Phantasm. He had somewhat expected Astrid to get involved with one of her ssmates, specifically Rani or a young red-head named Martha. They had all gotten along very well with each other, so, hearing her spontaneously admit to wanting to join his harem, specifically so she could spend time with his women, his mindpletely nked out... Without waiting for her Master to recover, Astridpletely undermined his vain attempt to try and deescte things, targetting Arcueid a second time, albeit with the intention to help. She dared the over-eager golden-haired beauty to give Vahn a passionate kiss, causing Arcueid to happily pounce on him. Then, like a group of eager students, all of the girls within the circle fell silent, observing with unblinking eyes as Arcueid greedily kissed their Master without inhibitions. The kisssted for several minutes, and, by the end of the unexpectedly intense disy, nearly everyone was sitting with their legs tightly closed... In hindsight, Vahn realized it had been a mistake to include Arcueid without exining his intentions clearly. She had a cheerful and easy-going personality, so, if given the opportunity to do something fun and exciting, she was quick to get carried away. She had spent a considerable amount of time in self-imposed istion, binding her own body with chains to restrain her destructive impulses. Now, she was free to live the life she had always imagined, free from all of the things that had forced her to live a cursed existence. When Arcueid finally pulled her lips away from Vahns, there was a thin line of saliva still linking them for a brief moment. She quickly got rid of this by licking her lips in an inadvertently alluring manner, and, before the tensions could fade, she continued to stare directly into his eyes, saying, "I dare you to kiss Mash in the same manner..." In the days following the first game of Truth or Dare, the atmosphere within the Marble Phantasm had be tense with excitement and skewed expectations. Vahn had severely underestimated the curious nature of adolescents that had aligned with each other towards amon goal. As a result, skinship becamepletely normal within the group, their animal pajamas bing something akin to sexy Halloween costumes. As for his rtionship with Mash, things developed a lot faster than he expected, culminating in her proactively entering the bath with little more than a washcloth to cover her voluminous breasts, leaving her lower halfpletely exposed... Had Mash note to some kind of secret agreement with Mordred, Vahn knew he would have undoubtedly emerged from the Marble Phantasm with another lover. Mash had a natural charm, a caring personality, and a hard-working nature. What made matters even worse was that, prior to the events within the Marble Phantasm, most of the women within the Inner Sanctum had alreadye to expect that she would eventually join his harem. This made it difficult, if not impossible, to refuse her sincerity, as,pared to some of his wayward lovers, Mash was a very loyal and earnest young woman... Fortunately, Mash seemed intent on increasing her strength by a considerable amount before she acted on her emotions. It wasnt exactly necessary, as Vahn, very rarely, had any kind of expectations or requirements for his women. It actually bothered him how some of them needed to feel worthy of his affection, even though they were already amazing women. Though he understood where they wereing from, it still made him feel a considerable amount of guilt when he saw someone push themselves for approval he would readily grant them. Still, he would never force them to give up on the path they had decided for themselves, so, if Mash was serious about increasing her strength, he would support her until she believed herself qualified for his affections... (A/N: This is a bit of a strange chapter. People kept mentioning Shiki, and, due to a past donation, I had already promised to try and include Mash into the harem. The Nasuverse arc ising to an end rtively soon, so, while it isnt a pressing matter, I felt this was an opportunity to extrapte on a few things. I am aware of how awkward the chapter is, but, unless you had a rtively tame youth, I dont believe it is necessary to exin how dangerous young adults can be if they believe they can get away with it. Besides, I had already established that Vahn had been nourishing the bodies of his students. This requires them to, at the very least, expose their bare backs to him. After this happens a few hundred times, it would be strange if nascent feelings didnt develop.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1501 - Consequences

Chapter 1501 - Consequences

After exining the situation to Artoria and the others, Vahn found himself sitting in seiza next to Arcueid. Standing over him, much like a tribunal of judges, Artoria, Rin, and Luvia all had expressions of mild exasperation on their faces. None of them were really surprised about the developments with Mash, as it coincided with expectations. Rather, the main reason they were upset was that Vahn had allowed himself to get pulled into the pace of his students in the first ce. Rin was especially upset, as, while Vahn hadnt done anything with Sakura, the fact he basically made out with people right in front of her was a problem in and of itself. With an intimidating and usatory light flickering within her deep-blue eyes, Rin crossed her arms and asked, "Are the two of you trying to corrupt our daughtersmon sense? Ive barelye to terms with the fact she is crushing on someone much older than her. Thest thing I need is Sakura developing strange thoughts of what is, and isnt, appropriate. What if Isanna learned about these little games of yours, did you think of that...?" Hearing Rin mention Isanna, Vahn lowered his head slightly, answering, "I understand my mistake. I should have given more consideration to the situation, bringing someone along that could help to keep the girls in line. I did not expect things to devolve so quickly...I let my emotions get the better of me..." Truthfully, Vahn had severely underestimated Mordreds ability to unify and lead the group. She was even able to convince Sakura and Scthach to support her by making the entire thing about showing support for Mash. She used his empathetic nature against him, taking advantage of the fact he had virtually no resistance against women he had helped. He knew how tragic Mashs past was, so, from the moment he saw her apologizing with tears in her eyes, he had already lost the battle. Rin didnt seem satisfied with Vahns response, but, before she could say anything further, Artoria shook her head, saying, "We know better than most what kind of man our husband is. Both he and Arcueid share me in this incident, but the true culprit remains Mordred. Even I failed to notice her intentions this time around, so, unless we intend to punish everyone, there is nothing more to say on the matter. We will decide upon Vahns punishment before letting the mattery. I understand your concerns, Rin, but, when we were around her age, did our curiosities not get the better of us...?" Though she had started to calm down, Rins frown returned with a vengeance when she heard thest part of Artorias statement. She didnt like to think about the events of the Fifth Holy Grail War any longer, and, after the rtively recent incident with the false Shirou, it had be something of a sore spot. While she did have some fond memories of those times, as Artoria was suggesting, it was also a period where she umted various, lingering, regrets. Seeing the change in Rins expression, Artoria showed a small frown of her own, her voice bing a little deeper as she intoned, "Rin..." Hearing Artoria utter her name a second time, Rin released a frustrated sigh before throwing up her hands and saying, "Fine! Youre right, okay!? Even then, we cant go easy on him. Luvia, imagine if it was U involved in this event. How would you feel?" The moment she heard Rins question, Luvia nearly caused her to copse by inly stating, "I dont believe this is such a big deal. It is healthy for children to be curious and bold. If they bottle up all of their emotions, they will be unstable and easily exploited. Now, if Vahn tried to do anything to U, I would probably castrate him. However, this isnt the case, is it? Sakura may have witnessed the event, but she didnt directly participate in anything that would have harmed her development. Even if she begins experimenting after this, she is already of age by the Empires standards." Though her rtionship with Luvia had improved considerably over the years, there were often times when she and Rin would still butt heads. They have very different views on what constitutes proper behavior as a member of the nobility. Rin came from an orthodox magus family that prided itself on its prestige and dignity. This was the direct opposite of Luvia, who, from the moment they had first met, did everything in an open, excessively shy, manner. She could even wear a skin-tight leotard in public without blushing in the slightest, taking great pride in both her beauty and physique... Remembering who she was dealing with, Rin appeared unsteady on her feet, her hand rubbing her forehead as she said, "Right. I almost forgot that youre an idiot that likes to show off..." Rather than appear offended, Luvia justughed in her characteristic ohohoho~ manner, further annoying Rin. Fortunately, before they could start arguing with each other, Artoria quickly stepped in, saying, "We will mete out a punishment suitable to the offense. Tonight is supposed to be the night when the children get to explore the Yokai District. The greatest punishment we can assign is denying Vahn the opportunity to explore along with them. While everyone else is wandering around, he will have to remain back at the Enma-tei, waiting patiently for our return." Since the flow of time within the Enma-tei was different than the rest of the Yokai District, Artorias punishment essentially required him to house sit for several days while everyone else had fun. He had actually been looking forward to seeing his sons and daughters walking around in yukatas and kimonos as they ran between the festival-like Yokai District, enjoying themselves to the fullest. Thus, when he heard Artorias words, his expression turned mncholic in an instant... Seeing Vahns reaction, most of Rins annoyance faded away in an instant, causing her to sigh before saying, "The children were looking forward to tonight even more than this idiot. It wouldnt be fair to them if we suddenly told them he wouldnt be apanying them. Besides, he would still have Gaia and ya with him, so, unless we forced him to sit like a statue, he wouldnt be alone." Agreeing with Rins assessment, Artoria and Luvia both nodded in understanding. As for Vahn, his mood had improved considerably, enough to boldly offer his own terms, stating, "There is no need to mete out the punishment immediately. A month of istion within one of the Marble Phantasms should be more than adequate. I can spend the entire time in closed meditation, abstaining from all other forms of training." Vahn was the type that had to do something, as, despite lounging around quite a bit, he generally kept between two and three bodies active at a time. Even Gaias rehab had been a form of training for him, allowing him to practice controlling up to five bodies without too much trouble. Preventing him from moving his body, forging, and conducting research; all of these were suitable punishments that wouldpel him to seriously reflect on his actions. Since it just didnt seem right for the person being punished to decide the method, Rin adopted a small frown before saying, "That will be unfair to the person whose Marble Phantasm you use. There is also a high chance the person assigned to watch over you would keep youpany. I dont think any of us would be able to tolerate your isting yourself for an entire month..." By the time she was finished speaking, Rin began to realize they were virtually incapable of actually punishing Vahn. They could lecture him severely, and, due to his nature, he would take their words very seriously. However, when it came to actually punishing him, they would simply feel too guilty to follow through. Even she couldnt stay mad at him for more than a few days, as, after everything he had done for both her and Sakura, Rin felt it would take several lifetimes just to pay the interest she owed him... Just as Rin began to second guess herself, Luvia quickly took notice, shaking her head slightly with a knowing smile on her face. Then, deciding to give her former rival a hand, she crossed her arms in a haughty manner, saying, "It is simple, really. Vahn hates dealing with politics so well have him spend the next few days traveling to various food production facilities. We can also have him meet with the leaders of several rising factions, forcing them to think twice about their future actions. The number of influential people who wish to curry favor with the Empire cant even be counted." Hearing Luvias proposal, Vahn could already feel his motivation beginning to fade. Even if he spent less than ten minutes with the leaders of each faction, it would take him several weeks. It wasnt just a simple matter of forcing his views on others at this point, as, if they were a legitimate faction, they were already following the Common Law. Luvia wouldnt send him to groups that were scheduled to be audited or eliminated, so, if they went with her suggestion, his free time in the real world would all but vanish. As they were very aware of Vahns distaste for politics, Artoria and Rin brief nces before ultimately nodding their heads and saying, "We agree," deciding Vahns fate for the next few months. As for the golden-haired beauty at his side, Arcueid, she got off rtively easy. Her punishment was to work as a maid within the Inner Sanctum for an entire week. This included living with and working alongside the current staff, but, most importantly, it meant she was forbidden from sleeping with Vahn for an entire week. Despite her punishment being rtively tame, Arcueid appeared even worse for wear than Vahn. She had initially thought it would be fun to be a Maid for a short period of time, but, when she heard the restriction, her eyes lost their light. Though it wouldnt be the longest period of time she was apart from Vahn, she had just spent thest seven months with him. Even a few hours apart would feel like a long time, making a week feel like an eternity... --- While his main body was receiving the tribunals decree, another version of Vahn had seated within Merlins Wizard Tower, discussing the possibility of summoning a Grand Servant. He had a lot of time to consider the matter over thest seven months. As a result, Vahn no longer felt like it was a good idea to summon them, as,pared to normal Heroic Spirits, they would be difficult, if not outright impossible, to control. He had even seen a possible timeline where a masked man who could only be described as Death Incarnate immediately beheaded him the moment he was summoned... After listening to Vahns conjecture on the matter, Merlin pulled his attention away from the pair of kittens curled up in the formersp, stating, "The Grand Servants would be powerful allies, but, at this point in time, there is no pressing need to call upon them. If you do decide to summon one of them, however, allow me to suggest the Grand Rider. Certain restrictions prevent me from revealing their identity, but, with your abilities, I believe you are more than capable of ascertaining their True Name." As a few currents had be more prominent as Merlin spoke, Vahn was able to divert part of his focus, peering into each of them for a brief moment. It took a few minutes, but, after searching more than a hundred different currents, he found a version of himself within the Welsh Dragons Chamber. It was impossible to know whether or not the person in his vision was the Grand Rider, but, based on her attire, it was a rtively safe assumption. Though she showed off enough cleavage to turn heads from several hundred meters away, her outfit resembled that of a ship captain. Seeing the woman in his vision, Vahn blinked back to awareness with a frown on his face, asking, "Is she supposed to be some kind of pirate? She gives off the impression of someone with less restraint than even Aoko and Nobunaga. Do you really think it wise to invite another unrestrained beauty into the Empire?" Finding Vahns words amusing, Merlinughed in his characteristically annoying manner, saying, "Oh my, is His Imperial Majesty finally beginning to show restraint? Today is an auspicious day~!" With his brow twitching somewhat violently, Vahn deadpanned at Merlin, stating, "It seems my age is beginning to catch up with me. Refresh my memory, would you? I cant seem to remember the name of the person who suggested I summon people like Semiramis and Nero...." As if he waspletely unaffected by Vahns tone, Merlin lightly chuckled before spontaneously adopting a more serious countenance as he asked, "Do you me me...?" Taken aback by Merlins rapid shift, Vahn briefly paused to consider his response, remembering all the moments he had shared with the people suggested by Merlin. Though it might not have made a big difference if he had never met them, Vahn didnt regret the time he had spent with either of the unique women. Rather, if he knew about their pasts and circumstances, there was a good chance he would have summoned them regardless of whether or not Merlin had suggested them... Deciding to drop the matter, Vahn deflected, asking, "Can she be trusted?" in regards to the woman presumed to be the Grand Rider. Contrary to expectations, Merlin lightly shrugged his shoulders before answering, "That woman only cares about profit and adventure. So long as you line her pockets, she will dutifully serve the Empire in all its endeavors. As for whether or not she can be trusted...well, with the exception of Artoria and myself...she is the only person allowed to reside within Avalon. As for her purpose, I cannot say until she has been summoned..." Though Merlin liked to mess around, Vahn knew he always considered the interests of the Empire when giving advice. Thus, while it would undoubtedly cause him a few headaches, summoning the Grand Rider seemed to be the correct choice. He had already foreseen how the Grand Assassin and Grand Saber would react, so,pared to them, the buxom ship captain seemed rtively tame. If he peered into the currents that involved his interactions with her, she could even be found drinking with Nobunaga and Kenshin, enjoying herself quite a bit... Tracing back the same current, Vahn tried to find out the womans name, but, as he was unable to see the Flow of Fate within the Throne, it seemed her identity would remain a mystery until he was able to enter inside. Fortunately, based on the fact she appeared at all, he could confirm that it was possible to summon Grand Servants so long as he had the permission of Gaia. Considering she was happily curled up in hisp, adopting an appearance simr to a cat covered in downy feathers, this wasnt really an issue... (A/N: Alternate Titles: When will you learn *deep breath* that your actions have consequences!?,RIP Arcueid xD...,Someone drown this man...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1502 - Support

Chapter 1502 - Support

Due to the nature of the Yokai District, existing in the in-between spaces on the edge of reality, the primary methods of entry were to either wander aimlessly or be invited inside. Yokai were a bit of an exception to this rule, but, unless they had permission to stay inside, even they would be unable to venture within for a long period of time. Fortunately, due to his status, Vahn had permission to freely enter and traverse the Yokai District. So long as he desired entry, Shuten, Tamamo, or Benienma would sense his intentions, opening the way for him and his guests. There, they would enjoy a Guests of Honor status, allowing them to wander about without having to fear the repercussions of normal Yokai mischief. In fact, unless a member of the Empire went out of their way to stir up trouble, the Yokai within were surprisingly courteous. This wasrgely the result of their desire for gold, but, as the Empire had plenty to spare, it wasnt really an issue. After spending a month within Arcueids Marble Phantasm, most members of the Inner Sanctum were pretty content. They had originally intended to stay at the Enma-tei for a few days, but, after spending an entire month lounging about, this desire hadrgely diminished. Instead, they discussed the topic amongst themselves for a bit, deciding who would chaperone the children alongside Vahn. In total, the number of people entering the Yokai District decreased from more than thirty to a much more manageable - members. This included the chaperones: Vahn, Ereshkigal, Fenrir, Hati, and Gareth. As for the children, the only ones old enough to explore freely were Isanna, Naavi, Kamiya, Daiki, and Sophia. As for others, U spent a fair amount of time outside the projection, and, though she was old enough to participate, Circe hadnt allowed Penelo to attend. She could be a little overprotective, so, despite knowing it was safe, Circe forbade Penelo and Petra from leaving the Projection before their magical studies wereplete. While Vahn and the other chaperones would be watching over the children, two more groups would also be handling various tasks, both led by other versions of Vahn. As for their purpose, the support group would be keeping tabs on some of the more powerful Yokai, preventing any idents, while the other group would be assisting Benienma with making preparations. Though they would only be staying for a few days, it was still difficult for one humanoid yokai to prepare baths, meals, and other services for more than a dozen people. She might have a veritable army of sparrow-like Yokai, but it was hard to have too many expectations for a group thatcked hands to work with... --- With only a few minutes remaining until they were scheduled to leave, Vahn was waiting with arge smile on his face as he saw everyone arriving infortable yukatas and stylish kimonos. There was something about the traditional Japanese garments that appealed to the senses, giving men a calm and dignified appearance while tremendously enhancing the natural beauty of women. Just seeing Isanna and Naavi with their hair neatly tied up made Vahn feel simultaneously proud and concerned. As for Kamiya and Daiki, the former had slowly developed into a rather cool young man while thetter, in stark contrast, possessed the qualities of a schr, including delicate features, sharp eyes, and a calm personality. Vahn took great pride in all of his children, so, seeing how much they had grown, it always brought a smile to his face. Yes, he was immensely concerned about Isanna and Naavi, as they now look almost identical to their mothers, but that didnt change her love and affection for each of them. Thus, while it was a little overkill, there would be a primary chaperone escorting them while another followed the groups from the shadows. While he might not be able to protect them so easilyter in their life, he would never risk their safety while they were still minors... Seeing Kamiya gradually distancing himself from the group, Vahns smile became imperceptibly wry as he vanished like a phantom from where he had been seated, appearing behind the ck-haired, red-eyed, youth. His sudden disappearance had drawn the notice of nearly everyone present, but, as it wasnt exactly rare for him to vanish, none of them showed surprise. Rather, with their senses, only Daiki hadnt noticed his sudden appearance behind Kamiya. Feeling a sudden weight on his shoulder, Kamiya straightened his back, his body bing slightly tense as he looked back and muttered, "Chichiue..." in an uncharacteristically demure tone. He was usually a very confident and somewhat overbearing youth,rgely due to the influence of Nobunaga and Mordred, so it was rare to see him with a thoughtful expression on his face. Sensing his sons internal conflict, Vahn sent a thread of calming energy into Kamiyas body before saying, "Tonight, Id like to explore the Yokai District with you. How about it...?" Before Kamiya could answer, Isanna adopted a pouting expression, remarking, "But I wanted to walk around with Papa..." Without losing his smile, Vahn just sent a nce at Isanna before turning his attention to Naavi and Ereshkigal in turn. He actually had intended to apany their group, as, in more ways than one, it was dangerous for Vanir to move about freely. Isanna, Naavi, and Daiki would all walking around the Yokai District together, so, as thergest group, Vahn was going to watch over them with Ereshkigal and Gareth. Isanna knew she had said something selfish, so, before anyone else vocalized, she adopted an apologetic expression and said, "Sorry...I was just looking forward to walking around with Papa..." Though she often did and said things on impulse, Isanna wasnt actually as selfish as she could have been. She was also quick to apologize for her wrongdoings, causing Vahn to return her an approving nod as he said, "Well have plenty of time to exploreter. Tonight, I want to spend some time with Kamiya. You should focus on enjoying the evening with your brother and sister. When you return to the Enma-tei, Ill have a surprise prepared for everyone I didnt have a chance to apany, okay?" Without arguing, Isanna nodded her head in understanding. She was happy spending time with her siblings, so, while it would have been more fun to walk around with her Papa, it would still be a fun evening. --- Once everyone had gathered, Vahn opened the entrance to the Yokai District by simply having each group stand outside a random room. Then, after sending a signal to Tamamo, he opened to door to reveal the interior of a small shrine. It was a rather strange sight for those who had never witnessed it, adding a certain mysticism and charm to the moon-kissednds on the opposite side. Before sending anyone through, Vahn reminded, "You are free to explore, but, no matter what, you have to stay with your chaperone. It is possible to get lost in an instant if you arent paying attention, so, if you do get lost, find a ce to rest and wait for someone toe pick you up. Remember, the entities inside are also our people. Some may look and behave in strange manners, but that is not an excuse to look down on or insult them. If you feel as though they are antagonizing or offending you, it is not your ce to settle the dispute. The day wille when you each have authority and power to wield. For now, it is our responsibility to deal with such things. Do I make myself clear...?" As all of his children were very obedient, Vahn couldnt help but smile widely when they all nodded at nearly the exact same moment. He was very proud of the people they were bing, and, while it wasrgely due to the efforts of their mothers, it made him feel gratified as their father... After waiting for everyone else to depart, leaving on him and Kamiya remaining, Vahn lightly pat his son on the shoulder, asking, "Want to talk about it?" Hearing his Chichiues question, Kamiya released a sigh unbefitting a child. Then, with a small frown on his face, he honestly answered, "Aneue promised toe with me tonight. When I went to ask if she was ready, she told me she was busy even though she was just sitting around with her friends..." Even before Kamiya had finished speaking, Vahn realized what the problem was. His son had always been rather fond of his older sister. This wasrgely due to the fact that Mordred had helped take care of him ever since he was a baby, changing his diapers, bathing him, and doting on him nearly every day. She also took an active role in his education, teaching him what it meant to be a man that was capable of leading other men. He was the eldest son within their familiar hierarchy, so, due to her unique quirks, Mordred spent much of her free time looking after Kamiya. Vahn was aware of the puppy love that Kamiya had developed for Mordred, but, after discussing it with Artoria and Nobunaga, he decided to let the matter run its course. They werent blood-rted, and, before Mordred began to aggressively pursue him, Vahn wouldnt have been too troubled if they ultimately ended up together. While some might see it as grooming, Mordred possessed no such intentions towards her step-sibling, so, if something did develop between them, it would have been the result of Kamiyas adolescence, not direct maniption. Put simply, Kamiya, much like his arch-rival, Daiki, was a bit of a sis-con. He had always been a little jealous of the attention Daiki received from his Onee-sans, so, with Mordred treating him well since before he could even remember, it wasnt difficult to understand why he would be attached to her. Understanding the crux of the matter, Vahn decided to be honest with his son, exining, "While it was wrong of her to make a promise and not keep it, Mordred has experienced more than a month since this afternoon. She, and the others, entered a special area where time flowed much faster than within the castle. For me, more than seven months have passed in a simr amount of time, so, while I may be a poor substitute for your sister, Id like it if we spent some time together." Hearing his Chichiues exnation, Kamiya was a little confused, but, knowing time flowed in many different ways, he ultimately nodded his head. He didnt really understand it, but, as his Chichiue was always very honest with them, Kamiya knew more than a month had passed for his Aneue. He knew a lot could happen in a single month, so, while he was still a little upset, it was never boring to spend time with his Chichiue. Aftering to terms with what had happened, Kamiya looked up at his father, asking, "Can I really choose where we go? What if I want to go exploring in the mountains or something...?" Without even having to think about his response, Vahn smiled in amusement as he said, "You know the policy of the Empire. So long as you do not infringe upon the rights of others, you are free to live and act as you please. While you are still too young to make such decisions on your own, I will never discourage you from exploration when we are together. Even if you wanted to fly up to the moon or dive to the bottom of the ocean, I would follow along to keep you safe." Toward the end of his statement, Vahn ruffled his sons hair, an even bigger grin on his face as he said, "You are a Mason, the son of the Sage Dragon Emperor. Possessing a free spirit and the desire to protect others is the benchmark of our family. Now, lead the way. Tonight is your night, my son. Whenever you wish to go, I will follow..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Guests of Honor,Is Kamiyas true name actually Genji...!?,*Ill make a man out of you begins to y in the background*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1503 - Challenger

Chapter 1503 - Challenger

While the children were enjoying their first taste of another world, another version of Vahn slowly ascended a set of winding stone steps. There were massive red tori gates framing the entire path, giving any who ventured forth a feeling as though they were passing into another dimension. If you didnt have an invitation, this peculiar path would lead anyone who ventured inward around in an endlessly looping circle. Even if you tried to backtrack, you would never find yourself back at the entrance, giving the sense of descending indefinitely. Vahn actually found such gimmicks kind of cool, as, if you bounced a ball down the path, it would eventually appear behind you from above. This path was essentially thebination of a powerful illusion and looping multiple spatial points. If you knew the trick behind it, breaking free was actually rtively simple as you needed only find the boundaries of the loop, destroying the Tori responsible for ensnaring you in the first ce. Due to the peculiarws and restrictions governing Yokai, even their most nefarious traps required the inclusion of a failsafe, a means by which those trapped within could free themselves. They were unable to create truly inescapable traps, and, unless their victims met certain conditions, even killing them was off-limits. Thus, so long as you had a proper understanding of the rules, dealing with the majority of Yokai was rtively simple. Rather, they treated their life as little more than a game, one where they took great pleasure in just messing around and enjoying life to the fullest... After reaching the top of the path, Vahn found a familiar figure waiting for him at the entrance of an expansive ptial shrine. They were wearing an outfit reminiscent of a Shrine Maiden, but, instead of a full-length hakama, they wore a skirt that wouldnt even extend past their palms. In a way, this was even worse than Circes original outfit, as, whenever she moved around, anyone with even a decent level of perception would be privy to quite the sight... As he was already quite used to this, Vahn brought his hand to his chin in a thoughtful manner, his eyes shifting to gold for a brief moment as hemented, "Your skirt is .8 centimeters shorter than thest time I saw you. It seems you havent given up, eh, Suzuka?" Rather than show any sense of shame, Suzuka smiled mischievously, her fox-like ears twitching as she brought her finger to her lip and mused, "This little one has no idea what Tenn-sama is talking about? We are just a lowly handmaiden...how could we ever harbor any intentions~?" Towards the end of her words, Suzuka gave a polite bow before taking a few steps back and turning around. This made her skirt appear even shorter, and, if not for her fox-like tail obstructing the view, it would have been possible to see a lot more than just Suzukas slightly exposed butt cheeks. She seemed to be going all out this time around, as, when she walked, her tail would sway from side-to-side, almost hypnotically. After dealing with other vulpine women, including Haruhime, Shizune, and Tamamo, Vahn was less affected by their trickery than most. He knew Suzuka was just trying to win his favor in an effort to improve her standing, as, after challenging Tamamo for supremacy, she ended up getting defeated pretty severely. This wasnt because Tamamo was stronger than her, quite the opposite, but due to the authority possessed by the former. The duel had also forbidden the use of killing techniques, so, despite possessing enough skill to even rival Musashi, Suzuka was ultimately suppressed by the three-tailed Tamamo. Though he couldnt deny it was tempting, as Suzuka was an incredibly beautiful woman, Vahn had a considerable amount of resistance to those who only saw him as a way to increase their standing. If her feelings were more sincere, he probably would have pushed her down long ago. Instead, she still looked down on him quite a bit, believing he would ultimately relent to her charms. This hadnt won her any favors amongst the women in the Inner Sanctum, but, as she quickly realized the danger of opponents like Artoria, Suzuka set her sights on ruling over the Yokai District... As Vahn was absentmindedly following along, he noticed a very small fluctuation in the surrounding space. Immediately thereafter, a small statuette fell off a disy stand, causing Suzukas ears to perk up as if she were surprised. At the same time, her tail also raised in alert, exposing her rtively small yet perfectly sculpted butt. More noticeable, however, was the pristine, seemingly untouched mound that bisected the two immacte cheeks, forming a perfect line crested with a chrysanthemum. Vahn raised his brow slightly at the sight, not simply due to the fact she was exposing herself to him, but because of how she picked up the statuette. Rather than squatting down, she elected to bend at the waist, presenting her exposed bottom and holding the position for several seconds. For a brief moment, she even sneaked a peek at him through her legs before waggling her butt slightly in an effort to entice him further... Rather than push her down, Vahn had a sudden urge to smack Suzukas backside. As a result, a light chuckle escaped his lips before he adopted a look simr to an Art Critic, saying, "Exquisite...almost like a pure, shaven, peach..." While speaking, Vahn had started to approach Suzuka, causing her breath to quicken as she began to tense up in anticipation. Unfortunately, just as she was searching for the words to further entice him, she felt a surge of electricity run through her body, preempted by an impact and the sound of something hard striking flesh. With her bnce disrupted, Suzuka fell forward while eximing, "Eeei...!?" in a surprisingly girlish tone. Her hands instinctually moved to protect her butt from further abuse, nearly causing her to fall face-first only the hardwood floor. Fortunately, Vahn spared her this fate, but, rather than thank him, Suzuka had tears building up in her eyes as she shouted, "You brute! Even my father never spanked me before...!" Hearing Suzukas outburst, Vahn lightly rolled his eyes before remarking, "Im not your father. I am your Emperor. Have you forgotten...?" Though she could still feel her butt pulsing due to the pain, Suzukas expression immediately shifted from a look of me to a demure blush as she lowered her eyes and answered, "This little one could never forget her Masters, Tenn-samas, greatness. If...if it pleases Tenn-sama, this little one would be happy to receive another punishment..." Following her statement, Suzuka pulled up her skirt to reveal a red handprint on her left butt cheek. Then, with a heavy blush on her face, she clenched her teeth and closed her eyes in anticipation of her punishment. Seeing his handprint, Vahn felt a little guilty, so, after releasing a tired sigh, he lined his hand up with the mark, using [Hands of Nirvana] to heal it almost instantaneously. This caused Suzuka to open her eyes in confusion, finding her Master staring directly at her, exasperation visible in his countenance as he said, "Sorry...I got a little out of hand. For now, return to your room or attend to your duties. I know the way." Finishing healing Suzukas butt, Vahn let her stand normally as he walked past her without looking back. This left the vulpine woman staring at his back, her golden eyes glimmering thoughtfully even after he vanished around the corner. Then, with a small frown on her face, she rubbed her still tender butt before muttering, "Damnit. So close...!" as she turned away and retreated toward her room with uneven steps... --- After escaping Suzukas vulpine temptations, Vahn made his way towards one of therger rooms at the back of the shrine. Then, after taking a breath to steady himself, he opened the sliding bamboo door to find an increasingly familiar sight waiting for him on the other side... In the past, Tamamo had been exceptionally clingy, but, after spending time in the Menagerie, she mellowed out quite a bit. When he asked her to serve as a counterbnce for Shuten, she had dly epted the responsibility, establishing a sizeable territory for herself in a single evening. Afterward, she spent most of her time cooped up within her shrine, basically living the life of a shut-in. Though she still took her duties very seriously, most matters were resolved by her Shikigami, beings simr in structure to the masked entities that had appeared in the Moon Cell. With little to do, Tamamo spent most of her time holed up inside her room, either ying games, viewing his memories, or eating various sweets. She even had a Virtual World Terminal installed, so, half the time he visited, Vahn found her sleeping inside the protective capsule with a ratherscivious smile on her face. What made matters even worse was the fact that, by some twist of fate, she wasnt the only one who had given in to such a depraved lifestyle... Despite having already announced his presence, Vahn was left standing in the doorway with a wry smile on his face as he saw four figures engaged in an intense battle. Other than Tamamo giving a quick, "Ah, one moment!" none of the others even acknowledged his presence. This caused Vahn to release a small sigh as he pulled a plush beanbag-style chair out of his Inventory and plopped down. While the battle between the four girls was certainly intense, it wasnt as if they were fighting in the real world. Rather, they were ying a game called Street Tournament 5, a fighting game that had been quite popr before The Fall. It had even developed an international following, coinciding in the development of a Championship Series to determine the best yers from around the world... If said best yers were to see the current scene, they would have beenpletely captivated by the sight of four world-ss beauties. When their eyes eventually turned to the screen, however, any thoughts of trying to impress the four would fade away, reced by sheer incredulity. After all, due to the nature of Heroic Spirits, ying the game normally would be impossible. Instead, they were ying a version of the game that ran at 20x normal speed, rebnced by Ark so that the characters had massive health pools and bnced hitboxes. In order to withstand the inputs of Heroic Spirits, arcade controllers that qualified as B-Rank Artifacts had been developed. Anything weaker wouldnt be able to survive a heated match, as, when things got tense, controllers were sometimes sent flying. There had even been an incident where Tamamo transformed into a giant fox after suffering defeat one-hundred times in a row, destroying half of her shrine before she was finally pacified. As for her opponent, it was none other than Tomoe Gozen, the Yokai woman who had, in the past, refused to live within the Yokai District. A stark contrast to her proud and noble self from the past, the current Tomoe was wearing a loose white t-shirt, a partially unzipped ck hoodie, and, of all things, ck spats. She currently had an expression of intense focus as her hands dexterously manipted the controls, their trajector nearly invisible to the naked eye. She had lost the countenance of a warriormitted to dying on the field of battle, instead, bing a person who enjoyed experiencing hundreds of different lives through the characters in video games. Seeing how much fun Tomoe was having, Vahn didnt really have much to say about her unexpected kinship, not with Tamamo, but the other two girls nking her... As had be a bad habit of his, Vahn turned his eyes to the two pert mounds covered in glossy ck material. Tomoe wasnt the only one in the room wearing spats, as, to her left,ying on her stomach and creating quite the sight to behold, Altria could be seen absentmindedly eating pocky as her hands danced across her own controller. She had arrived in Avalon merely three weeks after the first conflict with the Heroes Faction, iming it was too troublesome to help clean up the mess in China. Vahn had always felt a little guilty about bribing Altria to fight on the side of the Heroes Faction, so, when she began to randomly appear around Avalon, he had gone out to meet her. There, he came across an even more troublesome sight, as, by happenstance, the other Altria had been conducting some kind of field test in the area. As a result, the two near-identical women began fighting it out in the middle of the sea, their attacks sending shockwaves that caused minor damage to a few nearby fishing vessels. After intervening in the fight, and mediating a very long discussion, Vahn agreed to let the taciturn glutton reside within Avalon. As a result, her counterpart, who now simply went by X, also decided she would stay, purported to keep watch and make sure Altria didnt do anything wicked. This had caused Vahn a few headaches around the time, but, with Artoria having already dealt with X prior to the incident, things had been rtively calm. Now, seated to the right of Tomoe, wearing a blue cap, blue windbreaker, and spats of her own, X could be seen furiously mashing the buttons of her controller. She had an extremely frustrated look on her face, her eyes tearing up slightly, as, on the screen, her character was being caught in what appeared to be an infinitebo by Tomoes. She was trying to break out of it by button mashing, but, with a look of absolute focus, Tomoe was able to maintain thebo without dropping it for even a moment. With her character trapped in an inescapablebo, X tossed her controller with enough force to embed it in the ceiling, eximing, "This isnt fair at all! How are you able to do so much damage with a handicap!?" Without a single change in her expression, Tomoe began engaging Tamamos character while inly answering, "You fought well. I am simply better at this game than you are." Hearing Tomoes response, X mussed her hair in frustration, knocking her cap off and exposing a full head of silky golden locks. Then, with an exasperated sigh, she fell backward,ying on the floor and only just then noticing Vahn seated behind them. Her mental faculties seemed to have shut downpletely as her sapphire-blue eyes, still moist from her whining, quickly began to dry out due to her unblinking gaze... Since the others were still focused on the game, Vahn lifted his hand in a greeting gesture, stating, "Yo." in a casual tone. This seemed to liberate her from the stupor she had found herself in, causing her to instinctually zip up her windbreaker as she adopted an awkward smile and asked, "How long have you been sitting there...?" As X was stillying on the ground, looking up at him, Vahn couldnt resist the urge to tease her, answering, "Since before you got wrecked by Tomoesbo. What did I tell you about breaking controllers? You havent even worked off your debt for the previous seventy...or was it eighty?" Though the Empire had functionally inexhaustible resources, that didnt mean they could be used and squandered arbitrarily. Rather, most things were created with a specific purpose in mind, and, unless it was something you naturally produced, all materials and requests were handled by Ark. If you were unqualified to work with the materials requested, the would simply be denied to you. As for instances where people destroyed or damaged the goods they were supplied, there were various penalties, mostly resulting in the offender having to pay off their debt by either assisting in research projects or performing manualbor. Hearing Vahns words, Xs face paled slightly as her eyes began swimming around for some kind of excuse. Then, causing him to deadpan, she adopted an awkward smile before lowly unzipping the upper half of her windbreaker... Causing X to nearly jump due to her surprise, a cold monotone echoed through the area as Altria, without even turning to look,mented, "Lewd..." Now in a seated position, X had tears in her eyes as she red towards Altria and said, "Dont call me lewd! Arent you the one who behaves like a cat!?" Due to Xs distraction, Altria ended up suffering a swift defeat at the hands of the opportunistic Tomoe. This caused a very small change in her expression, her amber-eyes glimmering slightly as she pushed her controller forward and sat up. Then, seemingly egged on by Xs words, shenguidly crawled toward Vahn on her hands and knees, stopping just short to raise her hand like a cats paw and dully intone, "Nyaaa..." Since their appearances were very simr, albeit with variations to skin, hair, and eye color, X always took critical damage when she saw Altria behaving shamelessly. This was further exacerbated by the fact that Vahn unhesitantly extended his hand, lightly caressing the underside of Altrias neck as he said, "Good kitty~." With a victorious glimmer in her eyes, Altria made a v sign with her fingers before taking things a step further by crawling forward andying with her back against Vahnsp. This wasnt the first time she had done something simr, so, without showing any real surprise, Vahn pulled out a few snacks from his inventory and began feeding her as if it was perfectly natural... Seeing the shameless duo, X looked like she was on the verge of pulling out her Rhongomyniad and eliminating evil from the Universe. Before she could act, however, Tamamo suddenly shouted, "No! I can still aim for a reversal...!" just as her character was KOd by Tomoe. This caused her to turn into a living statue for a brief moment, while, at the side, Tomoe just giggled before saying, "It was a good match. As expected of my greatest rival." Though she was still deted by her loss, Tamamos ears perked up in response to Tomoesment about being her rival. This caused a small smile to develop across her face, but, rather than challenge the undefeated Oni to another match, she turned towards the sight of her Master coddling another woman. For a brief moment, a me of envy began to burn in her chest, but, seeing her Master smile back at her, Tamamos negative feelings melted away in an instant as she mused, "It seems a new challenger has appeared~." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Someone get this woman a drink...!,Bunch of degenerate gamers xD...,Some say Heaven is a ce on Earth (UwU)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1504 - Stardate 1803.15

Chapter 1504 - Stardate 1803.15

From within a circr room lined with sensors and disy panels, a handsome man with flowing blonde hair stood somberly atop an elevatedmand tform. He was attired in a stylish white military dress uniform,plete with ents of gold. Pinned to his breast were more than twenty medals, neatly arranged, and highly polished. He was a veteran of many battlefields, and, though he had only recently be the Captain of his own vessel, a XM-ss Frigate, he was determined to distinguish himself further. Within the same room as the Captain, known by his peers as Cyrus D. Kennedy, thirteen of his most trustedpanions manned various consoles, each assigned an important duty intrinsic to the operation of their craft. Should they fail in their assigned tasks, the operational efficiency of their ship would suffer greatly, causing hups within the onboardputer that, in the heat of battle, could cost them greatly. Like Captain Kennedy, each member of his crew had light hair colors, attractive features, and, most notably, angr ears framing a face set with striking blue eyes. They were each proud members of the Eternal Elfheim Empire, a well-respected affiliate of the Pangctic Coalition of Unified Sovereign States. They were a proud and noble race who, under normal circumstances, carried themselves with the dignity expected of Officers of the Imperial Navy. This had earned them a considerable amount of respect and adtion from their peers, but, now, as if this pride had been nothing but an illusion, their eyes showed a considerable amount of fear and trepidation. Though he masked it well, Captain Kennedy also felt uncharacteristically nervous, as, visible on the various monitors lining the room, a total of 173 enemy vessels could be seen. Their own side had a mere sixty-two vessels, and, though these were not insurmountable odds, it was the structure of the enemy ships which inspired fear. They, unlike the sleek and organic designs employed by the Eternal Elfheim Empire, were horrific vessels patchworked together from various conquered civilizations. The methods used in their construction made them appear to be demonic in nature,plete with sharp protrusions, angr frames, and paint jobs that were inspired by various predatory creatures. The Pangctic Coalition may be the most powerful and respected collective within the Geoserra Super Cluster, but, when it came to the most universally feared, they werent even in the top three. These positions belonged to the horrifyingly adaptive Primals, the mysterious and undefeated Nine Devas, and, most notoriously, the scourage of the Universe, the Freedom Armada. Despite its name, the Freedom Armada was essentially a gathering of vile and wicked Space Pirates, brigands who plundered entire worlds and waged endless wars against other factions. They ignored all existing treaties, extinguishing countless lives, and, worst of all, ssing the surfaces of more than a thousand conquered worlds just to prevent others from settling them. Their actions were what led to the formation of the Pangctic Coalition itself, but, rather than be cowed, the Freedom Armada had openly dered war mere hours after the treaty had been signed. Now, after the destruction of three of their frontiers, the Eternal Elfheim Empire had sent its gship, the Yggdrasillia, apanied by three Super Dreadnaughts, eleven Destroyers, twenty-two Corvette-ss Light Cruisers, five Heavy Frigates, and aplement of twenty support vessels. This was one of the most powerful force the Empire could spare without leaving its back exposed, as, in failed attempts to stop the Freedom Armadas advance, many civilizations had lost their homeworld after sending an intercepting fleet. It only took a handful of ships to ss the surface of a world, so, with the Freedom Amada simply ignoring most rules of engagement, everyone aboard the Spear of Frey could onlyment the depravity of their enemy... While waiting for his orders from the gship, Captain Kennedy continued to stare solemnly at the onboard disys. The enemy had already heated their weapons batteries, so, at any given moment, sub-light sma could be flung from the enemy vessel at more than 200,000km/s. By the time the systems detected the attack, it would already be hitting them, as, from the moment they saw the tell-tale sign of blue light, the sma would have already reached them. The only effective means to avoid enemy sma andser bombardment was to take advantage of the vast distances between ships, constantly moving around in order to overtax the oppositions targettingputer. Unfortunately, despite this being well known, the Fleet Admiral had ordered their entire armada to maintain formation, protecting the thirteen-kilometer long Yggdrasillia, the ship that was supposed to be protecting them... If he were in charge, Captain Kennedy would have used the Yggdrasillia as a lure, taking advantage of its ridiculous shields to draw enemy fire as the rest of the fleet split up to pick off enemy vessels. Staying in a formation was basically suicided, as, the moment a lob of sma hit your shields, it was only a matter of time before it burned through. This was due to the fact that heat had a hard time siphoning away in the vacuum of space, allowing materials to retain their temperature. This was very useful when designing weapons, but, when you were on the receiving end of a sma attack, you could onlyment your misfortune... As this thought crossed his mind, Captain Kennedy began to see illusions of the enemy firing their main guns. This caused his body to tense up, but, as no impact came, he knew it was just his nerves beginning to get to him. If the Admiral didnt give an order soon, he might not be able to resist the urge to simply defect. It was better to live and fight another day than to die following the n of a group of imbeciles who were better politicians thanmanders... Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Captain Kennedy turned to his First Officer, a young woman with longer than average ears and a neatly arranged bun formed from her golden hair. This was one of the most popr hairstyles for females as ofte, and, seeing how it ented her beauty, Captain Kennedy could understand why. Unfortunately, the one time he had asked her out, she wasted little time in quoting the Imperial Code of Justice, specifically referencing the conduct of Senior Officers. Captain Kennedy wasnt sure why this thought suddenly came to mind, but, as if they were on the same wavelength, the First Officer pushed up her sses before lightly muttering, "If we both make it through this...Ill take you up on that drink..." As sound traveled pretty far within the Command Room, several other Officersughed in response to the womans, Lieutenant Elissas, remark. Captain Kennedy was no exception, his tensions rxing considerably as hisughter joined his subordinates. They were well aware of how grim this situation was, but, as this was the path they had chosen, there was little sense inying me. Rather, if they wanted to survive, it would require near-perfect cooperation, their minds and bodies moving like a singr, organic, being... In the middle of hisughter, Captain Kennedy was alerted by a small ping in the back of his mind, indicating am line had been opened. This was something they all heard clearly, cooling the atmosphere on the bridge and returning everyone to a state of focus. Once they had all resumed their positions, Captain Kennedy gave a small nod, stating, "Go ahead and patch them through, First Lieutenant." Following a curt response from the young man at thems station, the central disy monitor experienced a momentary flicker, transitioning from a view of the battlefield to a proud-looking man with leaf-green hair nearly reaching his lower back. His features even made the members of Captain Kennedys crew seem average inparison, especially with his ornate military dress and the crown of golden branches adorning his temples. With machine-like precision, Captain Kennedy immediately saluted the mans image, earning a very small nod of approval before the man said, "Detailed instructions have already been sent to your onboardputer. You will direct your vessel to the coordinates listed before engaging the enemy fleet. As you are undoubtedly aware, this is not a battle we can hope to win. It brings me shame to admit, but, even if we prayed to the Great Spirit for protection, this would still be our shared grave. However, to protect what we must, there is no path of retreat left. An evacuation order has already been issued, so, in order to ensure the greatest number of survivors, we must fight and hold the enemy here." As the man spoke, aplex battle simtion began to disy within Captain Kennedys vision. His vessel, like many others, had effectively been assigned to go on a suicide run. They were expected to charge into enemy lines likemon foot soldiers, taking out as many ships as possible before their own was ultimately destroyed. To make matters even worse, the battle strategy didnt show the path of the Yggdrasillia, a sure sign that the gship would be beating a hasty retreat soon after the fight began. Clenching his teeth with enough force to cause pain in his mrs, Captain Kennedy did his best to maintain a neutral expression as he promptly saluted and answered, "Understood! Eternal Glory to the Elfheim Empire...!" Without even bothering to salute in turn, the green-haired man gave an almost indiscernible nod before his image flickered out. This left the bridge eerily silent, the only soundsing from the persistent whirring of distant machinery and the subtle sound of the environmental control system. Seeing the looks his crew was sending toward him, Captain Kennedy felt like he had somehow failed them. Despite this, he maintained the calmest countenance he could manage, stating, "We have our orders. As unpleasant as they may be, there are people counting on us. The enemy outnumbers our fleet nearly three-to-one. Im expecting us to take out at least four ships before we get eliminated. It might not matter to those bastards up top, but we still have our pride to uphold." Though they werent exactly motivated by their Captains words, everyone on the bridge gave him a proper salute before manning their posts once again. Then, after a series of deep breaths, the pilot, a young woman with somewhat wild hair, began to slowly propel the ship forward along, joining the suicide charge of more than half their fleet... Almost immediately after their ship began its advance, the enemy vessels sprung to life, their crude engines releasing hazy blue exhaust into the cold void of space. Their surfaces began to glow with the tell-tale signs of an energy shield, and, from within the vicious maw-like cannons lining the hull of their ships, massive lobs of superheated sma began tearing through space, promising death and destruction to anything unfortunate enough to be struck. Fortunately, the weapons systems of the Freedom Armada were several generations behind the average Coalition vessel. Though their sma projectiles could travel upwards of 200,000km/s, the vast distance between vessels meant it could take several seconds to hit a target. In that time, their position would have changedpletely, requiring advanced systems to predict how your enemy would move. This required an incredible amount of processing power, as, while it might be a simple feat to targets and asteroids, hitting ships traveling anywhere between 10~30% the speed of light was exceptionally difficult... Seeing superheated sma pass within the periphery of the monitors, Captain Kennedy felt like he could feel it singing his skin. They had missed by several kilometers, but, all things considered, that was actually a very close first volley. Fortunately, sma weapons took a long time to charge, so, for a brief moment, their ship was able to pass through the rain-likeser fire, their own weapons now white-hot. The Spear of Frey was equipped with three primary sma cannons, seven-hundredser batteries, and twelve torpedo bays. It also had a total of sixty Interceptors, single-man crafts, and a seventeen Mechs, humanoid vehicles that were generally used for precision strikes on stationary facilities. This was a rare payload for most Frigates, but, as this was his first ship after obtaining his coveted rank, Captain Kennedy had sunk his entire fortune into outfitting it. Now, he somewhat regretted his past decision, but, considering the circumstances, having more firepower was better than having less... As the targeting algorithm disyed a value over seventy percent, indicating the uracy of their weapons, Captain Kennedy wasted no time in shouting, "Set a dy of twenty seconds between the firing of each cannon. I want no more than a minute of downtime before we have enough charge to sink one of these despots!" Following his order, both Weapons Officers answered in acknowledgment as the frontmost cannon released a massive blob of superheated sma. This caused their own shields to ripple slightly, but,pared to the devastation it could cause, a loss in shield integrity was a small price to pay. Due to the rapidly shrinking distance, the Spear of Frey was able tond a direct hit on an enemy ship, a crude vessel that looked vaguely like a fish with saw-like teeth. The sma had cut into the aft section of the ship, enveloping the barrier like sticky msses. As a result, it phase-shifted from blue to after just six seconds, dealing crippling damage to the rear thrusters. Because of this, it was left virtually helpless when, fourteen secondster, another blob of sma tore through it, this time without any obstruction. Seeing the enemy ship destroyed, Captain Kennedy could feel a rush of adrenaline surge through his veins, forcing a smile to his face. Unfortunately, before he could evenmend his Weapons Officer for a job well done, a massive impact jarred everyone within the bridge. A loud hissing sound could be heard as, for a brief moment, all of their systems flickered out. Though they rebooted less than a secondter, the lighting in the room had shifted from a gentle blue to a cautionary red as a steady stream of ice-cold vapor began to flow from the damage environmental control system. Resisting the urge to swear, Captain Kennedy cried out, "Damage report!" in amanding tone. This was enough to break his crew from their stupor, allowing the Engineering Officer to report, "We took a grazing blow to the port side. Shields are holding at seventy percent but arge amount of electromaic radiation managed to seep into our systems. Ny-twoser batteries have been taken offline and ECS is in critical condition. Repairs are underway, but it will take four hours before everything is back online!" Hearing the report, Captain Kennedy shook his head, stating, "By repairs. We dont have one hour, much less four. Have our men sortie before theunch bays suffer too much damage. Keep firing at the closest enemy ship. Do not let these bastards have the satisfaction of taking us without a fight!" Following their Captains orders, everyone aboard the bridge continued to work swiftly, even as the temperature gradually dropped below freezing levels. They knew this was theirst hurrah, so, even as their eyshes began to develop ice crystals, they continued working diligently. As a result, they were able to eliminate a total of five ships, crippling three and destroying two before their own was listing through space without auxiliary power and thrusters. They had effectively be a very fast-moving rock, hurling through space at nearly 40,000km/s... By all rights, their ship should have been destroyed in the battle, but, as if it refused to go down so easily, the Spear of Frey had even survived a sma strike that tore away more than twenty percent of their mass. This elicited a light chuckle from Captain Kennedy, who, with what little remained of his strength, began to pin in the self-destruct codes into hismand console. He would not let his ship be scuttled and scavenged by the Freedom Armada, so, before they could invade and murder what remained of his crew, he intended to destroy itpletely... Just as his finger was about to reenter the code a second time, confirming the destruction of his pride and joy, Captain Kennedy gave onest look at his crew, new little more than frozen corpses still manning their consoles. They had fought well, and, after this, he intended to meet up with them at the Central Hub to discuss how things had gone. If possible, he would like to team up with them in other games, preferably one without a toxicmunity like the so-called Freedom Armada... Shaking his head, Captain Kennedy began to pin in the self-destruct sequence one final time. His finger then hovered over the Confirm option, nearly pressing it when arge sh of golden light suddenly flooded the only functional disy. This brought his attention away from the transparent panel that only he could see, his eyes turning round as saucers when he saw the scene ying out before him... --- Aboard the illustrious gship of the Elfheim Empire, the Rank 27 yer, Magnus Alpha Illustri had an expression that could only be described as someone who had eaten shit. His handsome face had been twisted into a sickening scowl, as, blocking his path of retreat, arger-than-average mech with wings of golden light dominated the center disy. It was only 8m tall, an ant inparison to the 13km long Yggdrasillia, but, as if their positions were reversed, the predominately white mech stood in their line of retreat without moving. Before he could even curse his fate or shout out any order, Magnus nearly bit the tip of his tongue as a powerful shockwave ran through his ship. Immediately afterward, several more disy came to life, each depicting one of five masterfully designed mechs, each equipped with armaments that no other yer had been able to acquire. One, designed to look simr to a woman with fox-like ears and three tails, even wielded a staff that, against all rhyme and reason, was able to create massive spears of ice and evenrger balls of me... Magnus, feeling as though he had smashed his face into a metal te, regained his bnce before shouting, "I dont care if people say they are unbeatable! Sortie all the troops! Fire all the cannons! I swear, if I lose my rank over this, Im cklisting you all fr-" Interrupting Magnus exmation, a golden ripple appeared above him, producing an 8m tall Mech with a white base, golden ents, and six angr wings formed from golden light. In its right hand, it wielded a bident formed of pale gold, and, at a nce, everyone who saw this figure would liken it to a God of War. Unfortunately, among high-level yers, the existence of this mech was akin to the Harbinger of Death... As if it was searching for something, the mech looked around the bridge for a brief moment before looking down at Magnus, who, upon seeing the legendary figure, lost feeling in his legs. Then, after remaining silent for several seconds, the mech pointed its bident toward Magnus throat, surprising everyone by how dexterous the act was. After all, few people could pilot a mech with any finesse, so, seeing someone able to lightly prick a persons neck, despite using a massive weapon, it was a sight to behold. With a deep voice that caused everyone within the bridge to lose hope, the mech inly stated, "You are unworthy of your position. Sacrificing your men in order to preserve your own life...you are not fit to rule..." Hearing the voice rebuke him, Magnus expression turned even dourer than before. He attempted to rise to his feet in order to face the mech directly, but, the moment this thought crossed his mind, he experienced a sense of incredulity as his perspective began to spin. Then, after a painful impact, his eyes widened for a very brief moment as he saw his own body slouched a few meters away. Thest thing he saw before being ejected from the game was the image of the Deva of Light producing a rapidly growing sun from the palm of his hand... (A/N: Alternate Titles: This...is this still EPIC?,One final hurrah...!,Arena Closers have spawned) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1505 - Thematic Universe

Chapter 1505 - Thematic Universe

From within the cockpit of his personalized mech suit, Vahn reclinedzily with his feet propped up against the console. Though there were analog controls present, there were secondary and tertiary systems that used the pilots brainwaves and an onboard AI to allow for greater ease of movement and proper restraint. After all, even the most advanced mechanical systems could not properly replicate organic movements once the machine exceeded a certain size. Due to the square-cubew, as the surface area of an object doubled, its volume cubed. As the size of an object increased, the material used in its construction would quickly exceed its tensile and shear strength, leading to catastrophic breakage and copse. This could be gotten around when it came to architectural marvels, but, when you were designing something meant to move around at high speeds, rather than stay in one spot, size was one of the greatest limiting factors. Fortunately, there were a number of methods to work around physicalws, especially when you had magic at your disposal. Not only was it possible to produce a myriad of unique materials using Alchemy, but, with the use of Artificial Magic Circuits, Reinforcement Magic, and various other Enchantments, producing a mech that defiedmon sense was a simple matter. Though it required an incredible amount of magical power and control just to operate it, this wasnt much of a restriction to those on the level of Heroic Spirits. Though some people were quite fervent about learning how to pilot mechs, very few people had been able to incorporate magic into the design process. Most people were still rtively new with magic, and, despite having a world where they could master it much faster than normal, the vast majority spent their time just having fun. This was the charm of the Virtual World, as,pared to the stress you faced in reality, living a free and uninhibited life without fear of true death allowed people to do things they would, otherwise, never try. At this point, the Virtual World had nearly six-million active users, not including Companions and other forms of Artificial Intelligence. As for the number of worlds present within, there were seven thematic universes where, depending on your choices, you could basically live a second life. You could ept Quests,plete Objectives, and, depending on your efforts, greatly increase your social status. There was even a global leaderboard that kept track of thousands of different values ranging from mastery in specific Skills to overall achievement score. What made the Virtual World truly captivating, however, was the fact that your efforts within the game were rewarded outside of it. Due to how realistic the simtion was, technical Skills and theprehension of certain concepts directly tranted back to reality. Better yet, you could exchange achievement points for a number of benefits, including actual equipment, elixirs, and even rare treasures. As a result, sess within the Virtual World was, slowly but surely, bing synonymous with sess in the real world... Unfortunately, due to the highlypetitive nature of the game,bined with the rtively greedy nature of humanity, there were a number of people that willfully took advantage of others. The top ranks were almost exclusively dominated by opportunists and descendants from various Magus families. They had a significant advantage against the average yer, and, as a result of feeling suppressed in the real world, they used the Virtual World to release stress. Fortunately, due to the restrictions active within the Virtual World, there was no danger of anyone experiencing something truly traumatic. You could even turn off things like pain, and, due to how the Virtual World interfaced with your mind and spirit, it could actively block any kind of stimulus you didnt want to see. This meant, unless you wanted to see it, things like blood and gore would simply be filtered out by your mind. As for more traumatic events, such as sexual assault and ****, this waspletely impossible unless you entered a restricted private world. Even then, if you did anything the other party didnt consent to, you would receive a warning. Further action could lead to punitive measures being taken against you in reality, so, while there was an unsurprisinglyrgemunity of role-yers, there had only been a few instances of people pushing their luck and tempting fate... Still, Vahn couldnt help but feel slightly annoyed by the number of people that treated everyone else like stepping stones. Thus, whenever he visited Tamamo or felt like releasing some stress, he would enter the Virtual World, partnering up with a few of the girls in order to punish the yers that treated others like sacrificial pawns. This had made them a popr topic of discussion in themunity, even if there were also a considerable number of influencers who used them of cheating and ruining the game. It was amazing what people thought they could get away with when they were hidden behind a username and didnt know the true identity of the people they were insulting. The fact that Vahnrgely ignored them served to fuel the mes of the more passionate yers, but, after getting a temporary ban and a warning from the Mother System, they generally quieted down. After all, nder and rabble-rousing were both outlined within the Common Law, so, if you took things too far and tried to incite an incident, you would face the consequences. Though it was impossible topletely eliminate toxicity, the Virtual World was a rtively stable environment, one enjoyed by nearly every user. This wasnt just limited to humans, either, as, with advancements in the subversion technology, Heroic Spirits, Yokai, and even Fae had been able to enter within. They could experience creating an avatar, exploring the various thematic worlds or simply mingling with the ever-growingmunity of yers. Of the seven thematic worlds, the one Vahn enjoyed the most as the Tamer Universe, a ce that sealed off other abilities and forced people topete using captured monsters that required a considerable amount of time and effort to train. This world could be entered by Companions, so, when people were first exploring the Virtual World, they often gravitated towards it. Because of this, it was the safest of the seven thematic worlds, having restrictions that even prevented the use of foulnguage. Unfortunately, he didnt get to spend too much time in the Tamer Universe, as, due to how busy he was in the real world, Vahn mainly entered the Virtual World alongside others. Once inside, he was able to teleport to the location of people that had been gged by Mother, and, after closely observing their behavior, he would determine what measure of punishment they deserved. If he found them irredeemable, at least within the current setting, he would destroy their avatar, forcing them to create a new one from scratch... As if it had nothing to do with him, Vahn continued toze about within his cockpit, even as his mind piloted his mech to tear apart the Yggdrasillia, destroying it from the inside. He was more interested in what was happening on his shared monitors, as, while he dealt with the gship, Tamamo and Tamoe had teamed up to destroy the infamous Freedom Armada. As for Altria and X, the former was cloaked against the backdrop of space, periodically sniping enemies using a pitch-ck rail gun. Thetter, much like Tamamo and Tomoe, was causing rampant destruction, but, instead of teaming up with others, X took advantage of the fact she had been a mech pilot for years, tearing through enemies with impunity. This wasnt the first time he had seen the girls enjoying themselves a little too much. Rather, they had be somewhat addicted to essing the Virtual World, oftenining about the fact they were only allowed to spend four hours inside each day. They enjoyed teaming up in most of the thematic worlds, and, as a result, were some of the top-ranked, if not the top-ranked, yers in each. Tomoe, in particr, was rather famous, as, not only was she Rank 1 on four of the seven thematic universes, she was also the Rank 1 overall... While thinking about the rankings, Vahn looked at his own profile, seeing his rank had dropped to 517th ce. He didnt spend that much time in the Virtual World, and, if not for the fact he had a 100%pletion rate in both PvP and PvE content, evening winning a few small tournaments, he would have dropped much further... After briefly considering whether or not he should improve his rank, Vahn dismissed the idea. He had far more important things to attend, and, as interesting as the Virtual World was, itcked the same charm as reality. Besides, while the gap was slowly closing, the Moon Cell made the current Virtual World pale inparison. Thinking about the Moon Cell, Vahn began considering whether or not he should make contact with Velber 02. He had already confirmed that she was sealed away in an abyssal prison that was simr in structure to Imaginary Number Space. It was virtually impossible for her to escape, and, at least for the time being, she wasnt even trying. She had even created several barriers around herself, seemingly still in recovery after her battle against Mars nearly fourteen-thousand years prior. Until the Umbral Star returned to the Sol System, Velber 02 would remainpletely inactive. If everything went as nned, he would have departed the Nasuverse long before the emergence of Angra Mainyu, much less the return of the Umbral Star. Thus, with Altera gradually beginning to open up to others, Vahn didnt really see the need to approach the alien entity. She was extremely hostile, and, even after peering into thousands of different currents, things always ended with her attacking anyone entering her ship. Since she was a Tier 5 entity, this didnt end well for anyone, including Artoria and Arcueid... With thoughts of the terrifying White Titan on his mind, Vahn was moderately surprised by the sound of a proximity rm. Though he still had plenty of time to dodge, the attack hade from an enemy Mech wielding a massive b of metal that only vaguely resembled a sword. It had a white-hot edge that caused the surrounding space to distort slightly, and, due to a strange grey mist surrounding the mech itself, his sensors hadnt detected the curious craft until it was attacking. After a very brief moment of confusion, Vahn craned his head to the side, musing, "This person has [Presence Concealment]...?" Though he hadnt expected an answer, a gentle voice resonated within his cockpit, stating, "It is the effect of a unique artifact that can only be obtained by being the first yer to sessfully defeat one-hundred opponents without being detected. Your opponent is the Rank 7 yer, Shadow, one of the leaders of the Freedom Armada." Hearing Mothers exnation, Vahn lightly hummed to himself before timing the activation of his thrusters with the lunge of his opponent. He managed to evade the de with mere centimeters to spare, and, with his arm extended, decapitated the enemy mech with ariat. Though it was an impressive feat, obtaining a unique artifact, establishing a faction that treated other yers and NPCs as resources was unpleasant. Even if they werent real, grossly mistreating NPCs for your own amusement wasrgely frowned upon. In fact, if you took things too far and enjoyed it a little too much, you could even be gged for counseling after a full psychological evaluation... If people wanted to experiment and do cruel things, they had their own private worlds to make use of. The thematic universes, however, were ces where yers were meant to gather and work together to achieve impossible feats. It ruined the experience for a lot of people when they came across factions that acted without even a small amount of consideration for others. While this wasnt expressly prohibited, as it added to the realism of the simtion, taking things too far was never a good thing... With most visual sensors located within the head of a mech, Vahns opponent was left blinded by the unavoidableriat. As a result, they activated their thrusters to full, seemingly intent on trying to run away. Unfortunately, as abilities in the outside world could directly trante into the Virtual World, Vahn was able to freely teleport, cutting off the path of the escaping mech and skewering it with his bident. As there was always a shortg before a yers awareness waspletely cut off from their avatar, Vahn used the opportunity to activate hisms, saying, "Try living a less despicable life in the future. You have a lot of skill. Dont squander it being a petty viin." With his words finish, Vahn swept his bident to the side, tearing apart the grim-reaper-like mech and causing it to explode. He didnt even bother to recover the coffin-shaped artifact that was left behind, allowing it to float within the vast expanse of space. It would probably end up in someone elses handster on, and, while it was pretty cool, he could easily create an artifact that provided even better concealment. In fact, Altrias mech was the best example of this, as, unless you traced the trajectory of her shots, spotting her with scanners and sensors waspletely impossible... As if she could sense his thoughts, Altria appeared shortly after Vahn had finished dealing with Shadow. Her mech was a custom model that appeared feminine in structure, albeit without any unnecessaryponents. What stood out the most, however, were the sensors on her head, which vaguely resembled cat ears, and the long tail that protruded from the back of her mech. It was mainly for cosmetic purposes, but, when her rifle was low on ammunition, she could plug her tail into its side, powering it with her Altereactor Core. Opening herms, Altrias characteristically cold voice could be heard, asking, "Are we almost done? This is kind of boring. Im getting hungry." Altria was the type that enjoyed analog games in the real world rather than spending her time in the Virtual World. It was a lot easier to use a controller than it was to move around, straining your body for very little gain. She enjoyed idle games more than those that required an actual effort, so, despite being ranked within the top twenty in almost every thematic universe, Altria cared very little about climbing higher. Nodding his head, Vahn answered, "Ill call back the others. When we return, Ill let you taste the apple pie baked by the Dryads. They gave me nearly a hundred to share with others." Though mechs didnt have faces, Vahn imagined the ocr sensors on Altrias widening slightly as she pounced toward him. This caused their two mechs to collide rather violently, but, as if that didnt matter in the slightest, Altria began to scrape her head against his chest ting, emitting a dull, Nyaa~ through herms. As she only acted cutely whenever food was involved, Vahn could only sigh in exasperation to Altrias behavior. Though he wasrgely to me for indulging her, he couldnt help but wonder where she had learned to emte a spoiled cat. Now, whenever he visited Tamamo, they would sometimes end up in a light spat to determine who got pampered by him. This wasnt necessarily a bad thing, but, when Tomoe and X got involved, things could quickly spiral out of control. Regardless of how troublesome things got, Vahn didnt particrly mind, as, in more ways than one, it was actually kind of refreshing. He enjoyed ying games with the group of shut-ins, and, though she could be somewhat petty at time, Tamamo was still one of his wives. Spending time with her was always worthwhile, and, while not pertinent to his future ns, her cooperation was necessary to eliminate a few troublesome variables... With the integrity of his hull slowly beingpromised by Altrias actions, Vahn roughly pat the back of her mech, saying, "The others are already on the way back. Get ready to return. Also...try not to fight with X tonight. I have other things going on, so I wont be able to mediate properly if anything happens." Rather than immediately respond to his words, Altria seemed to enter a thoughtful state before holding up three fingers before quickly changing to two and saying, "Two apple pies..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: I can control is with my mind powers~!,RIP tryhard yers...,Altria is a master when ites to negotiating) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1506 - Awkward Tensions

Chapter 1506 - Awkward Tensions

With a feeling of incongruity simr to awakening from a very realistic daydream, Vahn awoke to find that he was no longer alone. His vision was partially obstructed by a pair ofrge, vulpine, ears, and, if the feeling in his lower body was anything to go by, the culprit could only be Tamamo. She had to have dyed her dive into the Virtual World, taking advantage of hiscent state to invade his pod... After enjoying the feeling of the two soft mounds pressed against his chest, Vahn inserted his hands beneath Tamamos short skirt, grabbing her fleshy butt. She, like others from her time period, elected to go without underwear, so, from the moment he had awoken, Vahn could feel an rming amount of moisture pervading through the fabric of his trousers. It was as if he had spilled a cup of hot tea in hisp, soaking through to the seat below... Before saying anything, Vahn enjoyed the strawberry fragrance of Tamamos hair before asking in a soft tone, "What are you nning...? The others are going to notice..." No longer pretending to be unconscious, Tamamo raised her face so that she could stare directly at her Master, answering, "I want them to notice...it makes me feel envious when you pamper others. I can ignore it if they are your lovers, but it makes my heart ache when you ignore me to y with my friends..." Deciding not to point out that Tamamo hadrgely ignored him when he first arrived, Vahn, instead, gave an understanding nod before nting a simple kiss on Tamamos lips. At this point, the others had already awoken from their own pods, but, as if he hadnt noticed their stares, Vahn continued to coax Tamamo until she returned to her usual, bubbly, self. She enjoyed disying her affection more than most, so, while it also made her feel a considerable amount of embarrassment, Tamamos body had gradually heated up due to the presence of an audience. Though Tomoe had the good sense to avert her eyes, a very slight blush coloring her cheeks, Altria and X continued to stare attentively. The former didnt really have much of a reaction, simply looking at the scene in silence. X, however, had both hands covering her beet-red face, observing the scene by peeking through the gaps between her fingers. She was pretty weak against any over disys of affection, earning her the attention of Altria, who, seeing X peek through her fingers,mented in a dull monotone, "Pervert..." Like a cat that just had its tail stepped on, Xs body flinched a considerable amount as she red at Altria and shouted, "Im not a pervert! Youre the pervert...you...you dumb cat...!" Rather than retort Xs usation, Altria just nodded her head slightly before retrieving a small bag of baked apple chips from her pocket dimension. Then, like someone enjoying a feature-length movie, she began to unabashedly munch on her snacks while watching the scene with visible curiosity in her amber eyes. Seeing Altria ignore her, Xs faced formed an adorable pout as she puffed out her cheeks and balled her hands into fists. A very small amount of moisture began to build in the corner of her eyes, and, if not for the fact she already owed the Empire a considerable debt, she would have tried to settle the score with her Arch-Nemesis. Deciding to ignore Altria, X issued a light hmph before briefly turning her attention back to the duo snuggling within the egg-shaped pod. This caused her ears to redden slightly, followed by a feeling simr to her Cosmo Reactor beginning to overload. It was a scary yet exciting feeling that made the ahoge on her head squirm about through the brim of her cap. When he had first seen Xs ahoge, Vahn had been tempted to pull it out, as, against any reasonable exnation, the defiant tuft of hair was seemingly able to protrude through anything she wore on her head. It didnt matter if she was wearing a cap, a helmet, or even a wig, Xs rather sizeable ahoge would poke through, seemingly sprouting from the material itself. This had confounded by him and Da Vinci, but, whenever they tried to press her for answers, X became extremely bashful, refusing to even talk about it, much less allow it to be researched. Feeling as though her reactor was about to go critical, X tore her eyes away from the scene. It was only then that she noticed Tomoe already ying another game, this time using a handheld console that had been quite popr before The Fall. What made this scene peculiar, however, was the fact she was sitting in the beanbag chair brought out by Vahn, using her breasts to support a cup as she absentmindedly drank from it using a straw. Seeing the rather incredulous sight, X began to wonder if she was the weird one since she usually enjoyed spending time with these weirdos. This caused her eyes to gravitated towards the futon she normally used for sleeping purposes, a messy area that was encircled by a mountain of tes, a wall of empty soda cans, and an ocean of empty candy wrappers. In fact, her area was the messiest part of the entire room, something she hadnt really noticed until just now. With her face turning even redder than before, X began to clean up the area around her futon in a slight panic. This caught the attention of Altria and Tomoe, the former adopting a sly smile while thetter, after realizing what X was doing, paused her game and decided to help out. She primarily just wanted something to distract her from the muffled moans that periodically echoed throughout the rtively cramped room. They made it hard to focus on her game, and, while she could have simply left the room, doing so, somehow, felt even more awkward. The moment Tomoe moved to help X, Altrias eyes briefly shed before she made her way over to the pod containing Vahn and Tamamo. This, obviously, caught their attention, briefly stopping the moderately licentious act as both stared at the deadpan girl with confusion. Then, adding to their incredulity, she squatted down so that her eyes were nearly level with Tamamos butt, saying, "Dont mind me. I am just curious." Following her words, as if it was perfectly normal, Altria lifted up the back of Tamamos skirt, her face briefly forming a frown as she remarked, "Oh...you arent having sex?" Though Tamamo didnt mind having an audience, Altrias actions made it feel as though her heart was going to burst. Her tails moved to obstruct the view of her delicates, and, though she had a lot to say about the taciturn womans behavior, her immediate response was to bury her face into her Masters chest. If her ears werent covered in fur, they would have bepletely red due to the overwhelming amount of embarrassment she was feeling. Not entirely sure what she had done wrong, as Vahn and Tamamo didnt seem to mind the fac other people were present, Altria showed an expression of mild confusion. She had be rather fond of Tamamo, so, while such things never mattered to her in the past, it made her feel slightly anxious to see the vulpine woman hiding her face... Realizing what was going on, Vahn sent a wave of calming energy into Tamamos body, hugging her tightly for a few seconds before whispering, "If youre going to me someone, me me. Look, she is worried about you. She thinks you are going to start hating her..." Hearing her Masters virtually inaudible words, Tamamos ear twitched a few times before she slowly turned her head to see Altrias expression. Her own was still a dangerous shade of red, but, feeling a small amount of concern, she wanted to see the usually emotionless womans response. If she were being honest, Altrias expression left a lot to be desired, but, after cohabitating for more than a year, Tamamo was well acquainted with the womans neutral mask. She could see a very small amount of fear in Altrias eyes, and, though it was almost difficult to discern, her brows were lightly furrowed in an expression of consternation. Seeing her long-time roommate show a rare emotional response, Tamamo felt like a heavy sigh was released from the depths of her heart. It was hard to stay mad at someone who didnt even seem to understand what they had done wrong. She was also the one who set events in motion, so, while she didnt feel much better, Tamamo decided not to me her. Instead, she let her tail light bat Altria in the face, causing her to blink a couple of times in confusion... --- Located on the opposite side of the Yokai District, another version of Vahn was staring nkly into the distance, earning a yful, "Are you thinking about another woman~?" from the purple-haired Oni a short distance away. This earned him a pointed look from the predominately yellow figure that separated them, but, as if he was immune to her glower, Vahn ignored Ibaraki and answered, "That is one way to put it..." Dissatisfied by his response, Ibaraki lifted her blood-red hand, flexing it with enough force to cause the veins to protrude as sheined, "This is why I dont like you! Even though you already have Shuten, you ignore her for other women! Youre even worse than an Oni...!" Seeing the furious expression of the Banana Oni, Vahn exhaled somewhat exasperatedly through his nose, causing the veins near Ibarakis temples to throb as the eye within the center of her forehead began to glow with a fiery light. It looked like she was about to explode at any moment, but, before she could so much as utter a single curse, Vahn silenced her by spontaneously patting her head and saying, "Stay quiet. Shuten has been inviting me here for a long time. Are you going to chase me out after I finally decided to pay a visit...?" Ibaraki was ring up at Vahns hand as if she wanted to bite his wrist with her sharpened teeth, but, hearing his words, she quickly calmed down. This was for the best, as, from behind her, Shuten had been smiling a little toorge, her eyes nearly squinted shut as the temperature around her rapidly decrease. It wasnt just her, either, as, from beneath the kotatsu they were all seated around, a light ruffling could be heard as Kiyohimes head poked out from beneath the cloth, her dragon-like eyes glimmering with murderous intent. Realizing she had nearly triggered two of the only people she feared, Ibarakis paleplexion had be ghostly white. She didnt evenin about Vahn patting her head, deciding it was best to follow his instructions and just stay quiet. Seeing Ibaraki be obedient, even if it was only temporary, Vahn smiled at Kiyohime, causing her bloodlust to dissipate in an instant as she returned one of her own. Then, as if she was suddenly very embarrassed, she retreated back under the kotatsu. She had actually been hiding there since earlier, so, now that her Master had discovered her presence, Kiyohime no longer just passively observed his legs and feet from a safe distance... Though he felt a slight moisture envelop his big toe, Vahnrgely ignored it. He had already grown ustomed to her rather peculiar behavior, and, since it was much better than having to deal with her sneaking around the castle, he didnt mind giving her a few liberties. He even formed a contract with her in the past, restraining her yandere urges by allowing her to stay within the Menagerie for a few days out of the month. She got along surprisingly well with Circe and Medusa, so, while she was still a little unhinged, Kiyohime had made considerable progress over the past few months... With Kiyohimes antics reminding him of the reason behind his visit, Vahn turned his attention back to Shuten, who, understanding what was happening beneath the kotatsu, smiled with a devilish look in her eyes. This, too, was something Vahn had be ustomed to, so, rather than show any real difort, he stated, "I wont go into the details, but a little more than seven months have passed since ourst meeting. I had a lot of time to think, and, after discussing the matter with almost every member of the Inner Sanctum, I havee to you with a proposal." Hearing Vahns remark about seven months, Shuten nearly frowned, but, due to his tone, she was able to maintain her smile. Rather, she actually had to prevent her smile from bing evenrger, exposing her growing excitement. Meeting Shutens expectations, Vahn stated, "We came up with a schedule to ensure everyone was able to release their tensions and enjoy some time off. Originally, you werent going to be included, but, after thinking about it...I decided it was probably for the best if I spent more time with you. The main purpose of this excursion is to increase your rapport with others, but, so long as you make an effort, I will do my best to make sure you leave satisfied..." By the time he finished exining things, Shutens purple eyes had started to glow likenterns. The smell of alcohol and fruit had be so thick that Ibaraki nearly facented in the table, her face a dark shade of red as drool escaped from her fang-filled mouth. Even Kiyohime wasnt unaffected, as, despite emanating the fragrance from her pores, the most potent aroma originated from between Shutens milky-white, subtly purple, thighs. Further increasing Shutens excitement, Vahn exined, "For now, Nobunaga, Kenshin, Aoko, Ibaraki, and Kiyohime will be joining us. In the future, you will have to learn to get along with others...if you cant, well, I dont really need to tell you how things will go..." As if the terms didnt matter in the slightest, Shuten zeroed in on the fact she would be able to stay with Vahn for an extended period of time. She could feel her body yearning up form the inside, his promise about making sure she was satisfied still buzzing in her ears. Even the tips of her horns had started to turn a few shades redder, and, if not for Ibarakis obstruction, she would have pounced on him the moment she heard his words. Though he had given up his Sex Divinity, Vahn could feel the desire radiating off Shutens body. If he turned on his View Affection, he had little doubt that her aura would be writhing across his body in a possessive, greedy, fashion. Her fragrance alone had be potent enough to be palpable, a thinyer of moisture spreading across every surface of the room, skin and clothes included. It made his eyes burn slightly, but, due to his constitution, Vahn wasrgely immune to the more serious effects of her aroma. Feeling that things were reaching a dangerous point, Vahn manipted the air within his domain, forcing fresh air into the room as he said, "This is one of the things youll need to work on...for now, lets end things here. Im busy watching over the children tonight so I cant stay here for too long. Ille to receive you after three-to-five days, Standard Projection Time." Shuten felt an almost irresistible urge to prevent Vahn from leaving, but, understanding now was the time to be on her best behavior, she forcibly restrained herself, seductively biting the knuckle of her index finger with enough force to draw blood. Then, after adopting a predatory look that could even give the original Fenrir a run for her money, Shuten lightly muttered, "Understood..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: X is a Pervert... -Altria, 2017,Kiyohime, the Guardian of the Kotatsu,Shuten is scary o_o...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1507 - Growth

Chapter 1507 - Growth

Though the night wasntpletely without incident, the children were able to enjoy exploring the Yokai District without obstruction. Rather, the majority of Yokai they encountered, while mischievous, were also very polite and helpful. They happily exined away the childrens curiosities, performing a few small tricks in exchange for small, bean-sized, nuggets of gold. There was even a point where arge crowd of Yokai had gathered, happily staging an impromptu circus for the trio of Isanna, Naavi, and Daiki. Ironically, the only group that encountered any real trouble was the one Vahn was in, Kamiyas. The boy had been emboldened by his Fathers words, and, though he didnt proactively seek trouble, he wanted to explore all the regions that seemed off-limits. As a result, they ventured onto antern-lit path that encircled the mountain containing Ibarakis vi, a ce that was usually left empty due to the fact she spent the majority of her time following Shuten. Compared to other territories within the Yokai District, Ibarakis was poorly maintained by design. It was also one of the few areas where monsters could be found, a matter that wasrgely ignored to allow Yokai with more predatory instincts to hunt fresh prey. As a result, it was possible to find a few dangerous entities walking around, but, despite the warning of several kindly Yokai along the way, Kamiya had fearlessly chosen to enter the jungle-like region. As he had already promised to allow Kamiya to lead the way, Vahn chose not to outright discourage his sons behavior. Courage and curiosity were the traits of the adventurous, and, though it was still a little too early to allow him to explore freely, Kamiya was actually very strong for his age. Nobunaga and Mordred had been rearing him as a strong man since before he could even speak, and, with an arch-rival like Daiki, they had both grown at an exceptional rate. It was because of this that, when a medium-sized, wolf-like, monster appeared, Vahn watched patiently as his son forcibly restrained the trembling of his body... From the perspective of the wolf, it couldnt even detect Vahns presence. Thetter hadpletely melded his aura with the surroundings, so, while he was still visible, hisck of presence allowed him to move freely without triggering barriers or alerting otherwise skittish animals. He was even able to fool Isannas perception, spying on her whenever she would sneak out of the castle to frolic amongst her forestpanions. Emboldened by the fact his enemy was just a child, the wolf showed no sign of fear as it began to slowly circle Kamiya, steamy vapor erupting from its maw with each heated breath. This was enough to terrify even the average adult, but, undaunted, Kamiya held a ck Bokken in his hand, while, on his chest, a green rune, shaped simrly to a four-armed monkey, could be seen shining. If he was in any actual danger, the Four-Armed Adamant Ape would immediately emerge, giving the wolf-like monster more than a simple fright. After circling to Kamiyas nk, the wolf waited until the boy moved to change his position, its eyes glimmering with murderous intent as it pounced toward him. This caused Kamiya to tense up for a brief moment, but, as if guided by an unseen force, his body dutifully obeyed his original intent. This brought arge smile to Vahns face, as, from his perspective, he could see the trajectory of Kamiyas attacks before he even moved. This was exactly the same phenomenon he witnessed when someone like Bell or Artoria fought, their powerful fate helping to guide them to victory. With movements greatly exceeding those expected of a child, Kamiya was able to evade the wolfs leap with a side-step, sweeping his bokken across the bridge of its nose. This startled the aggressive creature quite a bit, but, as it hadnt taken much damage, it just shook its head a few times before snarling at the heaving youth. This was Kamiyas first actual battle, so, despite having participated in several spars, his heart was beating like a drum due to the surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins. Due to his panicked state, Kamiya made the novice mistake of taking his eyes off his opponent, his ruby-red irises flickering toward the direction of his father for a brief moment. The presence of thetter allowed him to rx more than he should of, creating a gap in his mentality that left him wide open as the wolf lunged a second time. Unable to evade in time, Kamiya brought his bokken up to protect his body, intercepting the maw of the wolf as it tackled him to the ground. He could feel its sharp nails begin to press into his skin, but, due to the protection of the Four-Armed Adamant Ape, his flesh became even harder than steel. This didnt immediately click for Kamiya, however, as he was more focused on the vicious maw of canine teeth that was intent on ripping out his throat. Just as it seemed like the wolf would have some sess, its body was jerked backward in an instant, leaving Kamiya both scared and confused as he continued to pant on the ground. It was only after a few seconds had passed that he noticed his father holding the now-obedient wolf by the scruff of its neck. It didnt even try to break free, its body bing statuesque as its tail curled between its legs. Before Kamiya could do anything like apologize, Vahn gave an approving nod, saying, "You did well for your first real battle. Though you made a mistake towards the end, most people cant even keep their senses when facing a monster for the first time. Here, I want to show you something..." Following his words, Vahn gently tossed the wolf to the side, causing it to roll and slide for a few meters before it managed to recover enough to bolt off into the woods. He didnt me it for just following its instincts, so, knowing it would meet its end at the hand of a hungry Yokai, Vahn saw no reason to dirty his own hands. It was better for Kamiya to think there was still danger in the woods, keeping him on his toes for the remainder of their little adventure. After half-forcing Kamiya to sit in hisp, Vahn pulled out one of his oldest [Memory Orb]s, the one showing his first encounter with a Goblin. He was not ashamed to reveal his moments of weakness to his children. While he enjoyed their borderline deification of him, it was more important to teach them the importance of effort and growth. They needed to know that, while some were born strong, only those who made a sincere effort would be able to reach the peak... --- While his other three bodies were attending various affairs, Vahns fourth body was having a fun time within the rather lively kitchen of the Enma-tei. There were dozens of chubby sparrow yokai flittering about with tiny aprons wrapped around them, and, though she had threatened to hit him with adle, Vahn couldnt help but smile when he saw Benienma tip-toeing on a stool just to be able to reach the countertop. He was tempted to ask why she didnt either change the size of her body or construct lower countertops, but, as she was surprisingly defensive about her stature, he primarily focused on preparing ingredients alongside none other than Medusa. Using her hair like additional hands, Medusa was able to handle a variety of different tasks all at once. Once, in the distant past, Vahn had even joked about her learning how to wield dozens of swords all at once. She had taken this a little too seriously, and, as a result, she had learned how to use knives and swords with a surprising amount of finesse. Now, she could cut several ingredients all at once, leaving Vahn to wash and process them. Originally, Vahn had been intending to help cook, but, the moment he offered, Benienma reacted as if he had plucked out her tail feathers. It took several others convincing her before he was allowed to step into the kitchen, the so-called womens battlefield. Unfortunately, he was only allowed to help prepare the ingredients, while, at their respective stations, Benienma, Circe, and Medea, all wearing rather adorable aprons, seemed to be engaged in a rather intensepetition. Circe and Benienma both had Innates rted to cooking, and, though they recognized each others skill, both imed themselves the superior chef. As for Medea, she had learned a fair amount from her Aunt, and, while her cooking couldntpare to the two monsters, her meals gave everyone the impression of home cooking. The vor might not be the best, but you could tase the amount of care she put into each dish. This earned her a significant amount of praise from virtually everyone who had sampled her cooking, including Circe and Benienma. In fact, after tasting Medeas cooking for the first time, Benienma asked Medusa to be her apprentice, iming she had what it took to be her sessor... Medea, as could be expected, refused Benienmas offer, but, at least once a month, she would stay at the Enma-tei for a few days to learn more about cooking, cleaning, and attending others. Vahn knew the reason for this, but, out of consideration for the person in question, he pretended to be unaware. Instead, whenever Medea would randomly ask him to sample her new dishes, Vahn would savor each and every bite, enjoying the presence of the devoted young woman, who, with the passage of time, had blossomed into adulthood. Though she was still somewhat petite, the current Medea had grown from her original height, just under 149cm, to her present height, 160cm. She still had a very youthful expression and softyer of subcutaneous baby fat, but,pared to her delicate physique from before, Medeas femininity was in full bloom. She had matured considerably, doing away with cute, fairy-like, clothing in lieu of elegant gowns and dresses. She had even let her hair down, discarding her ponytail and allowing her silky hair to fall gracefully around her shoulders. At this point, the only thing preventing Vahn from pushing Medea down was the fact she seemed intent on bing a perfect wife. As a result, she had be the understudy of Circe, Tamamo, Benienma, Fenrir, and, most concernedly, Nero. They had been teaching her their various specialties, cultivating her into a motherly woman that, for a variety of reasons, actually terrified Vahn. It was like they were grooming her into an ultimate weapon to use against him, and, due to his unwillingness to undermine her efforts, Vahn was powerless to prevent her evolution... Due to controlling five bodies at once, Vahns awareness was a littleckingpared to normal. As a result, he hadpletely missed the fact Medusa called out to him. It was only when a section of her hair morphed into an admittedly cute white snake, its tongue tickling his ear, that he noticed she was trying to get his attention. Her pouting expression inadvertently caused him to smile, earning him a few small pricks from her hair-formed snakes in protest... Though not to the extent of Medea, Medusa had also matured quite a bitpared to her past self. She was now around 158cm tall, and, though the development was slow, she had started to develop in the ces expected of a mature woman. The most notable changes could be seen in her butt and thighs, but,pared to her previously nonexistent breasts, her borderline B-Cups were a marked improvement. Curiously, Medusa had stopped proactively molting by the time her appearance reached its te teens. She could have continued until she became a buxom beauty, but, for reasons she had never vocalized, Medusa stunted her own growth. More surprisingly, however, was the fact that, despite looking forward to it in the past, Medusa had never had sex with him. She was always present when he got intimate with other women in the Menagerie, but, other than heavy petting and a few acts of service, they never went all the way. In the past, Vahn had tried to ascertain what had changed, but, much to his surprise, Medusa had refused to exin her intentions. Instead, she simply stated she was waiting for something, leaving him to guess the meaning behind her words. At the time, Vahn had been somewhat concerned about Medusas behavior, but, with a Loyalty value exceeding three-million, he knew she wasnt conspiring against him. Rather, simr to Fenrir, she was one of his most loyalpanions, someone who had vowed to walk alongside him until the ends of Eternity. She was also very clingy when they were together, and, though they had never had sex, the number of intimate moments they shared made her feelings transparently clear. Since he wanted to respect her intentions, Vahn hadnt pressed Medusa to reveal her intentions. He wanted his Subordinates to have a certain level of independence, so, while he could have ordered her to reveal the truth, doing so would be a grievous breach of trust. If he tried to force her, it would be a betrayal of everything he believed in, and, while Medusa would undoubtedly forgive him, there would be a drastic and irreversible shift in the dynamic between them... Though she couldnt know her Masters thoughts, Medusa could sense that he was thinking about her. This made her feel somewhat giddy, bringing a small smile to her face as she pretended not to notice. Her hair, however, was surprisingly disobedient at times like this, so, against her will, several tiny snakes had formed, each nting tiny kisses on her Master, eliciting a light chuckle in response. This caused her face to flush slightly, while, in Vahns mind, hemented, ("How could I not trust such an adorable creature...?") (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Casually picks up monster wolf by the scruff*,Medeas bridal training,The sneakiest of sneks is also the most adorable) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1508 - Authority

Chapter 1508 - Authority

While his other four bodies were enjoying their time within the Yokai District, Vahn''s ''original'' self was high above the clouds, seated atop the massive Leviathan. He had the chibi-esque vessels of Gaia, ya, and Tiamat all snuggling up together within hisp, each looking simply adorable as they contentedly enjoyed his petting. Though he could have done it anywhere, Vahn felt as though his mind was always clearer when he sat atop the Leviathan. There was something about the ''impossibly''rge creature,bined with the overview of the world below, that allowed him to better reflect on his actions. Here, he felt as if, for a brief moment, he was detached from the rest of the world, much like a god looking down on a world of their own creation. In truth, there were a number of reasons behind Vahn''s decision to sit atop the Levithan. The main one, however, was simply to experience a shift in perspective. As for why he felt this was necessary, it was due to the sapphire blue orb that existed only in his perception. This was the form his Map had taken after subordinating Gaia, the grossest representation of his current authority. Vahn''s Map Function not only allowed him to map the surrounding terrain, but, if it was a territory owned by himself or his subordinates, he could mark and track enemies, teleport allies, and, most importantly, ''search'' for anything within the boundaries of his dominion. So long as it was within the bounds of his dominion, he could find any person, animal, nt, or mineral with a simple thought. It was an invible power, which, whenbined with his ability to freely move his intent, provided a level of irvoyance that even Tier 5 beings like ya couldn''t match. The best thing about the current situation was that, as the itself, Gaia''s subordination allowed him to view, not just the Surface, but the Reverse Side as well. In fact, he could view all Textures, not just those people were familiar with. This not only included secret locations, such as the Wandering Sea, but, far more importantly, it even disyedpletely isted regions, most notably Avalon and the ''Heart of the World''. In total, there were more than a hundred sub-textures, some of which had greater dimensions than the entire surface area of the. This fact wasn''t too surprising, as Vahn had already known this to be the case; however, there was a drastic difference between imagining something and seeing it for yourself. There was even a world where every piece ofnd floated high atop the clouds, and, no matter how far he sent his intent, Vahn never found anything ''below'' them. It was like an endless and eternal sky, a world where people relied on majestic airships and flying mounts to move between sky inds, some the size of continents... Unfortunately, despite a keen interest in each of these unique Textures and Realms, trying to search through them manually would take, quite literally, thousands of years. The ''interior'' of Gaia was like a small universe, something very few people could even imagine. However, with dozens of [Spirit-Time Orb]s, [Time-Space Orb]s, and Da Vinci''s many creations, Vahn wasn''t all that surprised. There didn''t seem to be an upper limit to the number of Dimensions and Sub-Dimensions that could upy a single point in Space and Time. The Projection of Avalon was a good example of this, but,pared to the Root System, which denoted entire universes as ''single'' points, even it paled inparison. Though he intended to explore quite a bit in the future, Vahn''s current objectives included marking known threats, such as the surviving Dead Apostle Ancestors, and any potentially dangerous entities, chiefly the various Gods that were expected to cause trouble in the future. Using the search function, Vahn was able to identify the location of his targets no matter how distant or isted they were. He could even spy on them directly, allowing him to store their appearances in his memory,piling a profile for each of his future opponents. Ultimately, phase two of Vahn''s n included eliminating threats before the convergence could take ce. Before that, however, phase one included recruiting various allies, not as Heroic Spirits, but by visiting them in person. He would reason with those who were willing to listen, liberating them from the prisons they had been trapped in for eons. As for those who wished to contend against him, they would suffer a tragic fate in order to ensure the sess of phases three and four... With this in mind, Vahn finished marking a few thousand different threats before using the search function, this time to locate Amaterasu. He had a preexisting agreement with her, and, now that her Bunrei had been able to experience the true nature of the Empire, he was hoping she would be one of his first allies. He was even prepared to negotiate directly with Type: Sol, arranging for Amaterasu to be a ''True God'' by strengthening her Divine Authority... Immediately after confirming Amaterasu as his search, Vahn saw his map update, zooming in on a massive temple that waspletely isted from other Sub-Textures. It was a ce that existed outside of Time and Space, but, due to the fact it still resided on the ''Reverse Side'', Vahn was able to pinpoint the location without incident. Then, by guiding his intent, he was able to probe the interior of the temple, finding the familiar figure of Amaterasu in a statuesque state. Seemingly in response to his intent, Amaterasu''s eyes began to ze like small suns as time around her quickly adapted to the rate at which Vahn''s flowed. Then, as if she could ''see'' him, she turned her attention towards the point in space where his intent was located, her eyes squinting in amusement as she muttered, "My, aren''t you full of surprises...?" Though he was not physically within Amaterasu''s isted Sub-Texture, Vahn had learned how to speak through his intent even back in Danmachi. Thus, without having to teleport into her dominion, he answered, "If it is something I have set my mind to, there is nothing that can prevent me from fulfilling a promise. Thest time we met, I promised to liberate you from this prison, allowing you to return to the Surface. All I require in exchange is your word as a Goddess. So long as you obey the Common Law, you will be free to live as you please." Hearing Vahn''s words, Amaterasu squinted her eyes even further, her nine, fiery, tails gently swaying behind her as she seemed to contemte his offer. As a Goddess of the Sun, her dignity demanded that she repay favors and debts without fail. Being indebted to another was the same as lowering her status, so, even if Vahn didn''t demand payment, she ''had'' to give him something. The problem was, he was granting her freedom from an eternal prison, forcing an unpayable debt unto her shoulders... While she couldn''t see his face, Amaterasu knew Vahn wasn''t proactively trying to take advantage of thews and restrictions imposed upon Gods. This was even more troublesome, however, as sincerity was likepounding interest when it came to the repayment of debts. If she epted his offer, she would bepelled to repay her debt, trapped within an endless cycle by her own pride. In a way, it was like recing one prison with another, exchanging walls for chains formed from obligation... After a rtively short period of time, Amaterasu nodded her head slightly, stating, "We will obey the conditions you have set. In exchange, you must erect a shrine for us within your home. Gods require the acknowledgment of sapient organisms as a form of sustenance. Oftentimes, quality is far greater than quantity. If you will not allow us to govern your world, you must enshrine as the Guardian Deity of your House. In exchange for offerings from your descendants, we will protect your Empire and its people until the final setting of the sun..." Though Amaterasu''s remark matched his expectations, Vahn couldn''t help but internalize a sigh. He couldn''t help but feel a little guilty, as, from the very beginning, he ''knew'' things would proceed in a simr manner. This didn''t diminish the sincerity in his words, however, as he had every intention of allowing her to live freely. Unfortunately, much like ya and Gaia, she would bound by certainws and restrictions,pelling her to think and act in a certain way. In the future, he would liberate her from thispulsion, but, for the time being, the best thing he could do for all of them was rely on her power. Without having to put too much thought into it, Vahn expanded his domain using his ''intent'' as the origin point. He had already prepared for Amaterasu''s response, filling a massive sakazuki cup with the same ''sake'' he had provided herst time. It was a potent elixir that had a sizeable quantity of his blood mixed into it, enhancing the vor and potency to a level that would cause even the greatest God of Wine to experience an existential crisis. Seeing the familiar rainbow-hued liquid, Amaterasu made no attempt to hide her appreciation for the offering, gulping audibly as she fixed her posture. She had beenying down all the other times he saw her, so, seeing Amaterasu sitting properly, Vahn felt exceptionally small inparison. Her standing height was close to 50m, bringing her pretty close to 28m when sitting in seiza. This gave her an equivalent stature to a nine-story building, an overwhelming sight that was greatly amplified by Amaterasu''s wless features... For a brief moment, Vahn felt like he had been caught watching the sunrise, onlying to his senses when Amaterasu brought cup to her lips and slowly savored its contents. At the same time, he heard a notification sound within his mind, indicating her intent to be his Subordinate. This was a little awkward, but, as it also coincided with expectations, Vahn epted it without hesitation. It would be very difficult, if not impossible, for him to free her without subordinating her first. Now, however, he could teleport her directly to the Surface using his Map Function and Unit Management. It was an unbelievably powerfulbination of system functions, and, in the future, it is what would allow him, and others, to freely trespass other Textures. This was a grand irony, in a way, as so many people were quick to im ownership ofnd and territory, ignoring the simple fact that the had been around for billions of years before their selfishness determined such a thing. Vahn would never understand whatpelled people to believe they ''owned'' anything they didn''t build themselves. Even the concept of most governments didn''t make sense to him, as, in the grand scheme of things, it was ''ridiculous'' to im sovereignty over anything but yourself. Nobody had an ''inherent'' right to anything they did not expressly obtain through their own efforts. If people could ept this, respecting the worlds which granted them life, things like corruption, pollution, and war would cease to be. Instead, they pursue personal interests, consolidate wealth, and suppress others for entirely contrived reasons; actions which ultimately result in the copse of entire civilizations. In the end, Vahn wasn''t conceited enough to believe that his method was the ''best'' solution. Rather, he fully expected to make mistakes along his path towards the brink of Eternity. However, no matter how far he strayed from his original intentions, there were certain things he refused topromise on. He would never ignore the suppression of people for arbitrary reasons such as race and gender. He would also do everything in his power to ensure all people, regardless of their origin, were given the right to seed. Everyone deserved happiness, and, no matter the circumstances of their birth, children had an intrinsic right to be protected. It didn''t matter what their parents or family had done, he would never allow a child to suffer for the sins of their ancestors. Even the concept of ''inherited'' sin made him sick to his stomach... Finished with her sake, Amaterasu released a hot breath before remarking, "How peculiar...to think this sake can even burn my, a Goddess of the Sun''s, throat...fuuuu...." Awakened from his train of thought, Vahn ''looked'' up at Amaterasu, exining, "Since you enjoy it so much, I''ll make sure you have an ample supply once your shrine ispleted. Now, I''m going to transfer you to the Surface. Before that, you need to adjust your size. Your current form is certainly majestic, but it will cause a few problems if you want to roam freely..." Hearing Vahn''s words, Amaterasu smiled teasingly before saying, "A simple matter," as her body began to rapidly shrink. However, this was ''only'' her body, so, after a few awkward seconds, a much smaller Amaterasu emerged from her discarded clothes, her ''full glory'' on disy. Then, despite it being little more than an excuse, her smile became even wider as she exined, "We can sense it, the change in status between us. From now on, you have the responsibility of our Master, even if you refuse the title. You will need to provide for us, and, in exchange, we will give all of ourselves to you." While others might be awed by the sight before them, Vahn wasn''t exactly surprised. He expected something like this to happen from the moment he first met Amaterasu when she was in possession of Tamamo. The Bunrei of a Goddess would have inherited many of its traits, including a baseline for their personality. Since Kitsunes were rather famous in Japan for ingratiating themselves to others, often serving as guardians, friends, lovers, and wives, Amaterasu wasn''t an exception. Rather, as the nature of a God could be shaped by the beliefs of their followers, Amaterasu''s nature as a vulpine woman as an order of magnitude greater than that of Tamamo and Suzuka. She had even tried to ''force'' him to marry her Bunrei the moment they met, and, during their encounter, every single one of her actions possessed a certain seductive quality... After briefly admiring the sight before him, Vahn surprised Amaterasu quite a bit when he suddenly transferred her to the top of the Leviathan. She obviously hadn''t expected such an ''instantaneous'' transfer, but, as could be expected from a Tier 5 entity, she quickly recovered, her smile bing even more seductive when she saw Vahn''s actual body. However, immediately after that, her eyesnded on Gaia, ya, and Tiamat, freezing her in ce before she could take a single step. Though Amaterasu was a Goddess of the Sun, she, like other Gods of her nature, was contracted to the she resided on. Thus, Gaia''s and ya''s authority, at least within theary Bounded Field, was higher than her own. The fact they were both curled up in thep of the man she had just pledged herself to caused her heart to begin beating rapidly, her thoughts racing to make sense of the current situation. Understanding Amaterasu''s confusion, Vahn offered a polite smile before pulling out a high-quality kimono for her to wear. He knew she had the ability to manifest a raiment, but, at least for the time being, he intended to humor her. Though he would eventually have to inform her of the fact he was already married to a different Amaterasu, giving him strong apprehensions about epting her as a lover, that could wait untilter. For now, he intended to get her up to speed on everything that had happened during his stay within the Nasuverse. From there, they would discuss his future ns, and, once everything was said and done, his n would officially be set in motion... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn be like, "Wee to ''my'' world..."'',''Baited and outsmarted'',''Imagine Amaterasu''s face when she sees her loli counterpart xD...'') <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: Chapter 1509 - Acceptance

Chapter 1509 - eptance

After a lengthy exchange of information, Amaterasu was up to speed on everything pertinent to his background. She was expectedly surprised to learn he came from Outside, giving her a new perspective, one which made him infinitely more tantalizing a prize than before. Fortunately, she seemed somewhat spooked by the existence of ya, Gaia, and Tiamat, so, even if she became a little more aggressive, Vahn didnt have to worry about her trying to reverse their status. Instead, it seemed like she was happier than before, almost as if the revtion of his origin had removed a great burden on her heart. During the conversation, Vahn also learned the method for contracting Sol. It required a certain ritual to be performed during a total sr eclipse, as, even with her Divine Authority derived from the sun itself, Amaterasu had no way to actually approach it. Even the most powerful Gods of the Sun were just fragments cast off by Sol in the distant past, small pieces of its Divine Authority that were given form after establishing a contract with thes they were meant to govern. In exchange for the right to govern all life on thes surface, Gods of the Sun were tasked with protecting the from external threats. Unfortunately, at least in Amaterasus case, the corruption of humanity was a factor that couldnt be ounted for. Unlike other species, which were generally very subservient to their creators, humanity had been an outlier species since the very beginning. ording to Amaterasu, she had once been nothing more than a miniature sun,cking even a name, much less a physical appearance. Then, one day, much to her surprise, she suddenly found herself enshrined within a temple that was meant to worship her. From that moment onwards, the nature of her existence began to slowly change. She was no longer simply worshipped as the Sun itself, but, due to the opportunistic nature of humanity, she became bound to the original lineage of Japanese Emperors. Her power had been so weakened at the time that she was forced to bear the child of her would-be High Priest, a greedy and licentious man who used their offspring as a political tool to conquer all of Japan. Needless to say, Amaterasu quickly grew tired of the way humanity mistreated her. Even her form had been grossly influenced by their desires, changing her from a woman with elegant features to one more befitting of a pet. This gradually increased her hatred for humanity, but, with no way to resist their corrupt beliefs, she had little choice but to be an obedient pet. It was only after Velbers attack that she was given the opportunity to break free, but, as a result of her attempt to abandon the, she was punished by being sealed inside of it, forced to share Gaias fate... After hearing Amaterasus ount of events, verified by both ya and Gaia, Vahn couldnt help but feel sorry for her. Though he understood the need for a system of control, he felt it was a little ridiculous for beings like Gaia, Tiamat, and Amaterasu to be subjected to suffering at the hands of much weaker entities. They were basically forced to serve their purpose, and, no matter how that purpose was perverted by others, they had no means to resist it. Amaterasu was even imprisoned outside of the Time Axis just because she wanted to break free, forciblybeled as one of the Evils of Man, used of being a representation of the very greed that had bound the Goddess against her will... As she could somewhat understand the thoughts going through Vahns mind, Amaterasu couldnt help but smile seeing the concern visible in his eyes. It made her feel greatly vindicated, both as a result of kindness and the fact that he wasnt from their world. Him being from the Outside was far beyond expectation, making her feel as though she had won some kind of lottery even before he exined his designation as Type Omega. When she learned that he even had Authority over Sol itself, Amaterasu had to restrain her urge to just push him down then and there, her tails flickering like mes due to her excitement. Vahn wasnt unaware of Amaterasus impassioned state. Rather, he would need to be incredibly dense not to understand her intentions when she was leaning forward with a hungry look in her eyes. If not for the protection provided by ya, Gaia, and Tiamat, he had very little doubt she would have already pounced on him. Her nature had been twisted by humanity to such an extent that she had very little control over her actions. This made her a living embodiment of greed, and, if not for the restrictions ced upon her, there was little that could stop her from taking what she wanted. Truthfully, Vahn felt a considerable amount of empathy towards Amaterasus plight, so, while he had a fair amount of resistance to involving himself with Goddesses that shared simr origins to his existing wives, he was already considering making an exception. He could easily imagine his Amaterasu rebuking him if he shunned the vulpine Goddess affections, so, with the Nasuverses Amaterasu being intrinsic to his ns, Vahn had very little resistance against her. After forming his resolve on the matter, Vahn surprised Amaterasu quite a bit by stating, "You may find it hard to believe, but I fully intend to free you from the burdens and restrictions that currently bind your actions. When the timees, should you still desire a union, I will not refuse you. Until then, I must ask for your patience. My empathy makes me susceptible to the wants and desires of others, but my guilt makes it difficult for me to ept those who cannot refuse me. Though it may not be much of a constion, know that these three are in a simr situation..." Following Vahns gaze, Amaterasu saw the three rtively adorable creatures snuggling together in hisp. She felt a strong urge to retort his statement, but, before the words could reach her lips, various other thoughts forming in her mind. There were a number of ways to gradually lower his defenses, so, while she felt relieved by his promise of freedom, Amaterasu felt like it would be a fun challenge to try and win his affections before then. She would have to be a little sneaky about it, but, with her Bunrei already in Vahns favor, the most difficult step had already been taken care of... Vahn didnt miss the mischievous glimmer in Amaterasus eye, but, feeling she deserved to be a little selfish, he opted to ignore it. He had already made up his mind on the matter, so, regardless of what happened, the only real oue would be an eleration of his ns. Once Phase Four had beenpleted, the restrictions binding beings like her, ya, and Gaia would be removed, so, in the grand scheme of things, her mischief would just fuel him to work harder... --- At the exact same moment as Amaterasus transfer to the Surface, Tamamos ears perked up as her tails became ramrod straight. She had been in the middle of a match to determine who was going to sit in Vahnsp for the next ten minutes, so, with her body tensing up, Altria mercilessly cut her character down. It was only after the victory screen came up that Tamamo came back to her senses, her eyes widening as she shouted, "Ah! No fair! I want a rematch...!" Before Tamamo had even finished her outburst, Altria had pounced onto Vahnsp, her back leaning against his chest as she shot a victory sign towards the disgruntled kitsune. This caused Tamamo to tear up slightly, but, without her needing to protest further, Vahn brought a smile to her face as he said, "Altria, go ahead and give her a rematch. She froze up because of something I did so it really isnt fair to decide things like this." Hearing Vahns words, Altria issued a light hmm, seemingly considering his words. At the same time, however, she imperceptibly wiggled her hips, her soft butt grinding against him, almost as if to convince him to take her side. Feeling the soft sensation pressing against his lower body, Vahn felt somewhat helpless. He knew Altria spent 99% of her time cooped up inside so he didnt know where she was learning how to tempt him like this. He imagined she had picked up a few things while diving in the Virtual World, but, as she only ever entered with other people, it didnt seem likely. The only reasonable answer was that she was learning it from either Tamamo or Suzuka. However, considering the nature of both women, this was equally hard to believe... As Altrias actions became increasingly more obvious, realization donned upon Vahn as he saw the expressions of Tamamo, Tomoe, and X. He could also feel Altria bing emboldened, so, without having to consider it further, Vahn realized that the primary culprit was himself. She had learned from observing his interactions with others, and, due to his tolerance, her curiosity was all she needed to justify her actions. Before things could develop any further, Vahn, somewhat shamelessly, offered, "How about this. Altria can sit in myp while the two of you have a rematch. If she wins, she will get to stay for the remainder of her time. If she loses, Tamamo will get to sit on myp for half an hour...sound fair?" Instantly realizing things were less favorable for herself, Altria furrowed her brows slightly, stating, "Unfair. Favoritism. Shameless." Though there was certainly some truth to Altriasints, Vahn reminded, "Tamamo is one of my wives. Technically speaking, she is the only one in the room that has the right to sit in myp..." As if she only just remember her marriage to Vahn, Tamamo immediately puffed out her chest in pride, a cheeky grin on her face as she eximed, "Thats right! Thats right~! Im nice enough to let you sit on my husbandsp, the least you can do is ept a fair match! If not, I might just keep him for myself in the future~?" Compared to how elegant and respectful she was in the past, the current Tamamo had be a little uninhibited. While this wasnt necessarily a bad thing, as she was clearly happier sharing a room with the three girls, it was still a startling contrast from her courtly behavior in the past... Seemingly fired up by Tamamos words, Altria showed an uncharacteristically serious expression as she stated, "I will not lose..." before picking up her controller. This caused the fire in Tamamos eyes to ze in equal measure, so, after a brief setup period, their rematch began in earnest. Generally speaking, Altria made a concerted effort to move as little as possible throughout the day. She was, inarguably, one of theziest people in the entirety of Avalon, at times spending the entire day justying in bed watching anime. It took a concerted effort to get her to do anything, often involving the promise of food and sweets just to earn her attention. Now, as if her past self was just a facade, Altria was leaning forward slightly, cing her full weight on Vahnsp as she aggressively controlled her on-screen character. This was her aptly-named serious mode, something she typically reserved for life and death battles or contests involving her favorite foods. She didnt even seem to notice that she was grinding against a very sensitive part of his body, and, if not for Vahns control, a catastrophe might have urred... Needless to say, Altria ended up securing victory, showing an uncharacteristic amount of hubris as she boldly stated, "If I get serious, you arent my opponent." Hearing Altrias remark, Tamamo ground her teeth in frustration, her expression one of textbook vexation. Then, like a gambler on a losing streak, she shouted, "You hateful vixen! I want another rematch! Best-of-three! Winner takes all!" As if tonight was the night she decided to practice her expressions, Altria adopted a look that could only be described as haughty, saying, "Dont say things youll end up regretting. If you lose, youll have to grind your teeth all evening. Im afraid youll be nothing but gums by the time Vahn has to return..." Tamamo, as could be expected, took exception to Altrias remark. Before she could actually do something she might regret, however, Vahn interceded, saying, "Dont try to bait her into a trap, Altria. As for you, Tamamo, dont let your pride and vanity blind you. I dont mind humoring these little games, but Im not a prize to be won and exchanged freely. I visit your room to rx and cut loose, not watch the two of you gamble away your friendship." Like a deted balloon, Tamamos body slouched slightly, her tails and ears drooping somewhat pathetically as she muttered, "Im sorry...". As for Altria, she seemed to realize she had gone too far, adding, "I am also in the wrong..." before rising from Vahnsp. This would have been a fine way to end things, but, seemingly without anymon sense, Altria than pat-down Vahnsp for a few seconds before offering it for Tamamos use... --- With their evening explorationplete, the children had returned to the Enma-tei, finding the peculiar ryokan just as interesting as the outside world. The girls, in particr, enjoyed the open-air onsen while the boys, the sounds of their ying echoing through the night as Vahn, nked by his two sons, enjoyed the crisp evening air. They had the mens bathpletely to themselves, so, after teaching them the proper etiquette, all three were rxing in the emerald-green water with cool towels on their heads. Since it was a good opportunity, Vahn decided to ask Daiki how the evening with his sisters had gone. In response, his son, very politely, recounted everything from the moment they entered the Yokai District to the moment they arrived at the Enma-tei. His tone made it seem like he wasnt interested in anything that happened, but, despite this, Vahn could tell he enjoyed exploring thentern-lit district. He just forced himself to behave in a mature manner due to the fact his sisters appeared so much older than him. Vahn often felt guilty about Daikis predicament, but, as his son also seemed genuinely happy to be doted on, he allowed matters to take their course. Even Rin had slowlye to terms with the fact that Daiki would likely end up with Isanna and Naavi, so, at this point, the best Vahn could do was properly educate them, expressing tolerance while encouraging restraint. He knew it would cause even more problems if he tried to drive them apart, so, rather than drive a wedge between them, he would support their choice. They might have shared the same womb, but, as Da Vincis test had proven, they werent actually rted by blood. Rather, Isanna and Naavi, as Vanir, had no gic material whatsoever... (A/N: Alternate Titles: TFW humans are so egotistical theybel a Goddess as an Evil of Man,X is just watching from the side with a deadpan expression...,Poor Daiki xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1510 - Transitory Phase

Chapter 1510 - Transitory Phase

With the childrens excursionpleting without incident, their long istion within the Ivory Castle hade to an end. From then on, they were allowed to roam the ind, visit the Castle Town, and explore the Yokai District. Though they required at least two escorts, not including Companions and Guardians, it was a considerable amount of freedompared to before. As for the reasons behind this, it was to ensure they developed independence and knew how to interact with people outside of the Castle. They would be starting school pretty soon, so, to avoid any catastrophic developments, it was best they learned how to interact with other children. While his whelps were beginning to spread their wings for the first time, Papa Dragon was hard at work eliminating future threats. To this end, he met with his War Council and the activebatants within the Inner Sanctum. Their goal was rtively straight forward, involving the formation of Elite Task Forces that had the sole responsibility of tracking down hidden enemies on the Surface. As for enemies hidden in other Textures, Vahn would personally lead their forces. If it was an enemy that could be defeated by others, he would allow them to push their limits. With the exceptions of entities such as the Olympians, there werent too many enemies that could pose a genuine threat to the most powerful forces within the Empire. Artoria would be able to take on most foes, and, if it came down to it, Illya, Arcuied, Aoki, and even Amaterasu were willing to step in. They were each capable of rivaling some of the most powerful entities in the world on their own, so, with a host of Anti-Divine armaments at their disposal, the majority of errant Gods could only grit their teeth in frustration. Further increasing the incredulity of his foes, Vahn could freely spy on them with his intent, collecting information on their strengths, weaknesses, and vulnerabilities. He could even expand his domain in the area for a brief moment, releasing Elemental Stars from within his Inventory to severely injure or even kill them. This hadpletely incensed some of his opponents, as, due to various restrictions, it was impossible for them to do anything about it. Even if a target had the means to backtrace his intent, theycked the means to breach through to the Surface. It was possible for them to manifest for short periods of time, but this required a specific set of circumstances, often involving arge scale ritual, to achieve. Even if they still had followers on the Surface, however, CHALDEAS would quickly discover such arge-scale event. Thus, while some had tried, every effort had been quickly undermined by a quick response from the Empires Special Task Force, often headed by Kenshin. Ultimately, if he really wanted to, Vahn could sit on his Throne and simply nuke his enemies without ever having to lift a finger. He had stockpiled more than a hundred-thousand Elemental Stars over the years, some possessing the destructive potential topletely annihte small countries. This was more than enough to deal with the vast majority of enemies, but, in the hopes of allowing hispanions to grow, Vahn only used this method when he wanted to irritate particrly annoying foes. Though he had a long list of targets to badger, the three at the very top were none other than Zeus, Hera, and, for a variety of different reasons, Aphrodite. He had even invited Heracles to watch as he pestered Zeus for nearly six hours, enraging the unnaturally pale God to the point he beganying waste to his own Temple. This had been quite therapeutic for the normally taciturn Demigod, putting a smile on his face that hadsted for several days following the event. Unfortunately, even if he released the majority of his Elemental Stars simultaneously, the chances of killing Zeus were very slim. He, and the other Olympians, were Tier 5 beings who, ording to Gaia, came to her world from beyond the Sol System. They had arrived in the wake of their counterparts, the Roman Pantheon of Gods, deaths. This was just after Velber 02 wiped out other Gods, allowing the Olympians to rule over a desecrated Surface world. As for why the Roman Gods were credited as being modeled after their Greek counterparts, this wasrgely a maniption of the facts due to the vanity of the Olympians. They would never admit to stealing the Divine Authority of others, so, with none to contest the facts, history was altered for no better reason than to pad the Ego of Alien Gods. Vahn wasnt actually surprised to learn that the Olympians were Aliens, as,pared to the majority of other Gods, their mon sense was simply nonexistent. With the exception of Hestia, they were some of the most prolific troublemakers in history, constantly interfering in the affairs of mortals just because they were bored. It was impossible to even fathom the number of tragedies their selfishness had wrought. They were also responsible for the majority of Demigods, with Zeus, alone, siring more than a thousand. History only recorded a total of 54, but, with Hera killing the vast majority, it wasnt surprising that the rest faded into obscurity. From what Vahn had seen, Zeus had never learned his lesson, so, even after being forced to the Reverse Side, an advanced Greek civilization formed almost entirely of Demigods now existed. It was a rather startling discovery, but, in the grand scheme of things, it didnt change what had to be done. Zeus, and nearly every other Olympian, would need to be destroyed. Their nature made it impossible for them to coexist with others, so, from the moment of the convergence, they would not hesitate to wreak havoc in order to reim the world... --- Though the main focus of the Empire had shifted to eliminating its enemies, that didnt mean it was their only focus. Rather, due to Vahns ability to locate virtually any enemy, there wasnt much suspense when it came to tracking down and eliminating individual targets. Arcueid had quickly dealt with most of the Dead Apostle Ancestors, and, after learning of Vahns ability, Merlin had teamed up with Vivian to confront Morgan. She had been hiding away in a sub-texture that was actually connected to Avalon, essentially hiding in in sight. Vahn wasnt privy to how things had gone down, as it was a rather private matter, but he knew Morgan was still alive after the encounter. She seemed to have reached some kind of agreement with Merlin and Vivian, so, for the time being, she, nor anyone for that matter, wasnt much of a concern for the Empire. Instead, Vahn felt like he spent 90% of his time just lounging about inside of Marble Phantasms, improving his rtionships and reducing the tensions between each of the sub-sections of his harem. Though his harem was basically self-managing, Vahn knew there were various factions that hade into existence. The most obvious group was the Menagerie, consisting of women with more animalistic traits and rather straightforward desires. The most influential, however, was the group formed around Artoria, including most of what X referred to as saber-faces. This was the faction that basically ran the day-to-day operations of the Empire, elevating their status and giving them a lot of power during court proceedings. Other than the Menagerie and Imperial Factions, the most noteworthy were the Yokai, Japanese, and, due to her individual influence, the Da Vinci Faction. Thetter, with the exception of outliers such as Artoria and Fenrir, had the most influence in the entire Empire. Nearly every major project and endeavor was headed by Da Vinci and her expansivework, cementing her position as the most intrinsic existence to the Empires sess. As for the other two factions, the Yokai could be considered an isted subgroup while the Japanese Factionrgely existed as a byproduct of Vahns fondness for the culture. Though the Empire drew from a significant amount of European influence, Vahn had always felt morefortable in traditional Japanese architecture. This was due to the fact that his first real home had been Tsubakis, a traditional Manor that allowed him peace of mind and reminded him of his roots. As a result, Avalon had slowly be a region that blended two distinct cultures into one cohesive structure. The existence of the Yokai District further aided in this cultural blurring, to the point you could sometimes find people, including Vahn and members of the Imperial Family, walking around in traditional yukatas and kimonos. --- True to his word, Vahn had kept his promises to people like Shuten, periodically spending months at a time tending to her selfishness. As a result, she had actually started to mellow out a bit, albeit only after a considerable amount of coaxing. The hardest part of the process had been taming Ibaraki, but, after learning about her weakness to sweets, particrly macaroons and mochi, she, too, had mellowed out quite a bit. Now, all he had to do in order to pacify her was produce a bag of macaroons, earning a few remarks about offerings and what it means to be an oni before she ultimately snatched them away. Fortunately, though Shuten had been rather aggressive in her pursuits, Ibaraki showed no interest in the opposite sex whatsoever. She seemed to consider the act a form of submission, so, at least for the time being, only Shuten could push her down. This saved Vahn a lot of stress, as, unlike thescivious Shuten, Ibaraki was unable to alter her appearance. As a result, her figure was much like Kalis, reminiscent of an emaciated, yet exceptionally powerful, young girl. Not having to worry about Ibaraki had removed a great burden from Vahns heart, allowing him to more easily tolerate the rather dangerous affection of Shuten and Kiyohime. The former could get out of hand very quickly if you allowed her to. As for thetter, she had little to no control over her draconic heritage, so, when it finally came time for them to have sex, it became another contest to determine dominance. She had even transformed into a half-serpentine dragon, the lower half of her body, starting from the waist, bing simr to a snake. When Vahn first saw Kiyohimes transformation, it had actually been a little mortifying as her body had extended for nearly twenty-three meters. Fortunately, this state didntst too long, and, after breaking free from her attempts to bind and ensnare him, her body ultimately returned to normal. Then, in order to ease her heat-like symptoms, he tended to her for nearly three hours before she was, temporarily, satisfied. Afterward, she had be nearly as clingy as Medusa, but, after a few small incidents, she began to calm down, begrudgingly sharing him with the others. Needless to say, Yokai could be moderately terrifying when they were impassioned, but, once you adapted to the intensity, they had their charms. This was especially so for Shuten, as, much like Da Vinci, her ability to alter her appearance,bined with the natural fragrances produced by her body, made her as tantalizing as a forbidden fruit. He even got to sample her naturally produced wakame sake, learning that her love juices put the vast majority of alcohols to shame. In the end, it was his eptance of Shutens wakame sake that caused the greatest change in her behavior. From that moment on, she mellowed considerably, and, when asked, it was apparently rted to the fact that, under normal circumstances, her sake was basically a death sentence for anyone fortunate enough to savor it. The fact that he had survived was proof, at least for her, that they were fated to be together. Thus, following the penultimate moment where he waspping sake from between her thighs, she became considerably less aggressive. The following day, she had even started to wear her kimono properly, surprising virtually everyone by how demure she had be... --- While the developments with Shuten and Kiyohime were noteworthy, the changes Vahn had least expected came from other sources. This included Musashi officially joining the Empire, apparently after a drunken confrontation with Wukong, and, more surprisingly, a rapid esction of tensions within Tamamos ptial shrine. The former had been somewhat expected, as Musashi had beenining about the Heroes Faction during each of their rendezvous. Thetter, however, came as aplete surprise, leaving Vahnpletely gobsmacked. During one of his usual visits to Tamamos shrine, Vahn had immediately noticed a not-so-subtle shift in the atmosphere. When he actually met up with the girls in their room, it had been cleaned from floor to ceiling, and, though they didnt openly make their intentions clear, everyone in the room had done away with their more casual clothing, donning loose-fitting kimonos. This, alone, was enough to indicate something was going on, but, with a fresh scent of citrus andvender in the air, it didnt take the deductive reasoning of Sherlock to determine they had bathed before his arrival. There was a time in his life when Vahn had been particrly dense, but, ever since arriving in the Nasuverse, he had proactively sought to change that part of his character. As a result, he was able to understand their intentions immediately, but, rather than overtly call them out on it, he decided to y along. In the end, it was brought to Vahns attention that, ever since Altria had started showing a greater interest in him, she and X had gotten into a number of arguments. It apparently bothered X quite a bit that Altria, someone who basically shared her appearance, behaved like a stray cat whenever she was around him. This led to Altria pointing out the number of saber-faces that already existed in his harem, something that X had been doing her best to simply ignore. Ultimately, after a considerable amount of mediation from Tamamo, things somehow progressed in the direction of using the Virtual World to experience some of Vahns more popr memories. He had allowed Da Vinci topile everything he was willing to share, and, though it still had a long way to go, Ark and Mother had been able to construct a detailed simtion of the Danmachi Record. This was currently only essible to members of the Inner Sanctum, but, in the future, it was scheduled to be the eighth thematic world once bncing had beenpleted. After spending what amounted to months just sorting through Vahns most precious memories, X had effectively been brainwashed by Tamamo and Altria. As for Tomoe, her emotions were veryplex, but, in the end, she ended up getting pulled along by the momentum of her three best friends. It was hard for her to even imagine life outside of their cozy little bedroom, so, after a very long period of discussion, they had unanimously decided to forgomon sense, going so far as to make a pact of sisterhood and vowing to support each other... Vahn didnt really know what to say in response to the sudden revtions by the shut-in group, but, as Altrias behavior had be increasingly risque, he wasnt too surprised. Rather, if not for the inclusion of Tomoe, he wouldnt have even required an exnation. X had always shown a fair amount of interest in his disys of affection, so, despite her protests, Altrias usations of her being a closet pervert were spot on. Tomoe, however, was generally a very sensible woman, and, though she would sometimes address herself in the third person when she was flustered, making her seem pretty cute at times, Vahn hadnt expected her to acquiesce so easily. Regardless of their reasons, Vahn could tell the girls were sincere, so, with four beauties wearing nothing but loose kimonos staring expectantly toward him, it was virtually impossible for him to refuse. Thus, much to the chagrin of Suzuka, he spent the evening enjoying the various different ways in which X could express her embarrassment while Tamamo and Tomoe helped assuage the ever-growing curiosity of Altria. This had gone on for nearly half a day, and, by the end of it, Altria wasnt the only one behaving like a spoiled kitten demanding treats... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn, God of Griefing,TFW you learn Shutens sake can even liquefy the bones of an average human...,Nyaa~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1511 - Confession Intent

Chapter 1511 - Confession Intent

With the incessant sound of clicking echoing through her ears, X''s brows lightly furrowed as she slowly peeled open her eyes. For a brief moment, a look of confusion could be seen in her eyes, as,ying next to her, a naked Tamamo was snuggling against, not just her, but the startling warm andfortable body beneath her. Like someone awakening from a night of heavy alcohol consumption, realization hit X like a freight train as she looked up, finding the familiar face of Vahn staring back at her. The moment their eyes met, a flood of heat and anxiety began to spread through her body, following by a contraction of the muscles in her most sensitive area. This caused her face to rapidly shift to a rather severe shade of red as memories of the previous evening began to rey on her mind. Though she would never admit it, X had been rather curious about the rtions between men and women for quite some time. She had been ranked number 7 on the Inter-Gctic Federation''s most coveted beauty charts, so, whenever she was conducting missionsside, a number of men had attempted to solicit her. She turned down every single one of them, but, after the fact, she couldn''t help but wonder what would have happened if she epted their offer. ording to the research she had conducted, a woman''s first time was supposed to be a painful and bloody affair, so, after experiencing a night of unimaginable pleasure, X felt she might really be a pervert. She felt as though she had enjoyed herself ''too much'' and, at one point, she even allowed Altria to convince her to ''team-up''. They had taken advantage of the moment when Vahn was busy with Tamamo and Tomoe, changing into zip-up hoodies that had cat ears on the top and a dangling tail in the back. This had been the only piece of clothing they were wearing at the time, and, after the fact, X remembered joining Altria in behaving like a cat in heat,plete with a gratuitous amount of licking... Now that her memories were catching up to her, X realized she was still wearing the same exact dark blue hoodie from the previous evening. It was still slightly damp with sweat, suffused with a powerful aroma that possessed bittersweet and strangely pleasant quality. She was even tempted to just bury her face into Vahn''s chest for a while longer, pretending to have never met his gaze in order to buy time for her heart to settle. Unfortunately, while it was still an option, X was very aware of the fact that the lower half of her body waspletely bereft of clothing. To further exacerbate matters, Vahn wasn''t wearing any clothes at all, the heat from a certain part of his body transmitting into her own, spreading like a wildfire. It was a strangely frustrating heat, not solely due to thepromising position she was in, but because of how her body reacted to it. She could feel a small trickle of moisture between her thighs, causing her face to turn a very dangerous shade of red... Just as it felt like she was going to be overwhelmed, X was surprised when Vahn suddenly embraced her warmly, calming energy flowing from his body and suppressing the heat in her own. This caused her to breathe an unintended sigh of relief, but, without taking note of this, she just rested her head against his chest and focused on calming down. Around the same time, Tamamo also stirred awake, but, after quickly realizing what was going on, she pretended not to notice, stretching her still-naked body before donning a loose kimono and joining Altria and Tomoe. With Tamamo ''abandoning'' her, X suddenly began to feel very nervous, but, before she could say anything, Vahn''s gentle words tickled her ears, softly stating, "Shhh...it''s okay. You did nothing you need to be ashamed of. Just rx your body and try to calm down..." Hearing Vahn''s soothing words,bined with the calming energy pervading her body, X was able to calm down much faster than she expected. For a brief moment, she even entered a dazed state, her eyes losing their focus as she internally remarked, ("Right...I didn''t do anything wrong...I''m not a pervert...") Unaware of X''s self-hypnosis, Vahn continued to gently stroke her back, lightly patting it every now and then to stir the calming energy. This was actually an effort to prevent a hypnotic state, but, due to her delusions, Vahn underestimated how weak X was against such things. As a result, he was more than a little surprised when she suddenly began licking his chest. Then, before he could make sense of the sudden change, X surprised him even more by very lightly uttering, "I''m a good kitty, nyaa~." Vahn wasn''t sure what had flipped X''s switch, but, knowing it would be dangerous to let her get too carried away, he just hugged her a little tighter, answering, "That''s right...if you behave properly, I will give you plenty of treatster on, okay...?" As if she had heard the magical words, a radiant smile spread across X''s face as she snickered in an admittedly adorable ''nyahaha'' manner. This caused Vahn''s own smile to turn slightly awry as a slight realization crossed his mind. He had a rtively decent understanding of how the mind worked, and, during times of intense stress, it was often easy for people to ''default'' towards the simplest train of thought. X had seemingly interpreted her behavior from the previous night as ''normal'', and, perhaps as a result of seeing Altria behave like a spoiled kitten so often, she had defaulted to a mentality that allowed her to justify her actions. Since there was a fair chance she would have a negative reaction if he were to suddenly tell her that behaving in such a way was wrong, Vahn decided to just let matters take their course. So long as she didn''t develop a split personality, it wasn''t actually that big a deal. He didn''t have a lot of ground to stand on when it came to lecturing people about ''normal'' behavior in a rtionship, so, as long as she didn''t use it as an ''escape'' from feelings of shame and guilt, she would eventually reach a kind of equilibrium, much like Lefiya and Illya. Once X''s heart had settled at a natural rhythm, Vahn gave her another few pats on the back before saying, "It''s time to get up. We can''t stay in bed all day." Without arguing, X nodded her head, pressing against his chest until she was straddling his hips with her full weight. This causes a glimmer to sh across X''s eyes, and, from his perspective, Vahn had to admit she was an exceptionally beautiful woman. The partially unzipped hoodie basically demanded him to pull it the rest of the way, but, knowing things would only spiral out of control if he gave in to his usual antics, he just smiled before lightly smacking her bottom. For a moment, X had been considering whether or not it would be appropriate to do anything while her privates were in contact with Vahn''s. When she felt the light smack, however, wayward thoughts vanished from her mind, resulting in a bashful smile as she muttered, "Sorry..." in a demure tone. Vahn was going to immediately respond by saying she had done nothing wrong, but X had quickly separated from him, tapping the wristband of her left hand and causing a blue screen to project in the air. She quickly sorted through various different lists, selecting an option that caused a pair of white panties to materialized. Immediately afterward, she activated the [REequip] system, wearing a set of [Aegis Mk-U] that took the form of hot pants. This left very little to the imagination, and, due to the stark contrast between the ck material and X''s fair skin, it was a rather tantalizing sight to behold. Just as Vahn was about to follow up, exining she had nothing to apologize for, X surprised him a third time, quickly tying her hair into a loose bun before pulling out a version of her blue cap that had ear-like protrusion on the top. It actually suited her a little too well, leaving him at a momentary loss for words as X noticed his stupor and snickered. Realizing his behavior was somewhat enforcing the idea that it was okay to behave like a cat, Vahn began to worry about X''s future. As a result, he habitually found himself peering into the Flow of Fate around her body, a simple matter due to the sheer volume of Source Energy currently flowing within her lithe and athletic frame. What he found caused his mind to temporarily nk, as, in his vision, he found Altria and X wearing ''sexy cat'' cosy, seemingly getting along ''very'' well with each other... As reading the Flow of Fate around others could urately predict their future, assuming he didn''t try and divert their course, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that X was intending to go ''all-in'' when it came to behaving like a cat. Her mechanical suit already had vaguely cat-like features, but, in future iterations, Vahn could even see a tail protruding from her backside. If he peered even further, it was even possible to find a version of X with ''actual'' cat ears. This indicated she underwent some kind of procedure, or, infinitely more likely, implied he had used the Modify function of The Path to change her race... While it was tempting to see X slowly transitioned into a Cat Person, Vahn''s smile turned wry as he said, "You don''t have to push yourself to behave like a cat. You''re already an amazing woman. Don''t let assumptions and misunderstandings change the person you are. After all, I liked you even before you began acting like this..." Hearing Vahn''s words, everyone in the room, not just X, showed expressions of mild surprise. He had spoken in an honest and straightforward manner, rather than whispering, so everyone had been able to hear the concern in his voice. As a result, Altria and Tomoe developed contemtive expressions, while, at the side, Tamamo had a vibrant, somewhat proud, smile on her face. Being the one Vahn''s words were directed towards, X suddenly felt incredibly bashful, using the brim of her cap to hide her eyes as she pressed her fingers together and intoned a demure ''Nn...'' before answering, "I''ll remember it...thank you...I...I like you too..." Following her ''confession'', X pulled down the brim of her cap even further, hard enough to pull it off her head. At the same time, her ahoge was waggling violently enough that, if it went any faster, Vahn could imagine it firing off a sword beam as someone shouted, ''Saaaaaibaaaa~'' in the background. As the curious image manifested in Vahn''s mind, he was broken free from his stupor when Altria, like a bullet, mmed into him. This wasn''t aplete surprise, as he sensed her movements before she even left her seat, but her words still managed to catch him off guard, stating in an icy monotone, "No fair. I liked you first. Why did you confess to X before me? Jerk. Stupid. Idiot. Du-" Before Altria could continue to berate him further, Vahn lightly chuckled before tightly wrapping his arms around her petite frame and muttering, "You''re right. It is important to say such things clearly, isn''t it? Here, let me make it up to you..." Following the trailing of his words, Vahn lifted Altria''s chin so that she was facing him, stealing her lips for several seconds. Then, once her body began to rx in his embrace, he separated and said, "I love you, Altria." Having only expected Vahn to say he likes her, Altria''s mental faculties seemed to grind to a halt in an instant. She just stared nkly at him for several seconds, her amber-like eyes seeming to stare straight through him, peeling away any falsehoods. Then, contrasting any expression she had ever shown previously, Altria''s face became a vibrant shade of red before she spontaneously rested her head his chest and muttered, "Baka..." before following it up with words that were too quiet to hear. --- Vahn had been in the middle of an arduous forging process while the events within the Yokai District were taking ce. This caused a very small gap in his mentality, resulting in Aeterna shouted, "Vahn, no good...!" in a melodious voice. Then, without sticking around, she quickly flitted several hundred meters away in an instant, leaving Vahn to condense his domain in an attempt to prevent a massive explosion. Unfortunately, as he had been practicing a new forging method, one derived from a manual that had cost nearly half of his reserves, a startling 5,000,000,000OP, Vahn wasn''t able to prevent the violent reaction from going critical. As a result, nearly half of hs Workshop was enveloped by crimson-red mes. Fortunately, his ability to control energy within his Domain had reached an almost ridiculous level, allowing Vahn to contain the explosion to around 10m in diameter, albeit at the expense of trapping himself inside. By the time he managed to get the energy under control, Vahn could only sigh in exasperation as he saw the perfectly spherical void that now existed in his Workshop. The repairs wouldn''t actually take too long, but, as this had been a very important experiment, he couldn''t help but lightly chastise his other self for getting caught up in the moment. Yes, he was in full control of his other bodies, but, as the stimulus they experienced was different, Vahn couldn''t always prepare himself for how he would react when one of his women did something especially adorable. Shaking his head, Vahn had an apologetic smile on his face as he looked at the charred-ck de held firmly by his cksmithing tongs. Its overall shape was evocative of a traditional katana, but, if anyone from his previous world knew what method he was using, their eyes would have widened in both shock and glee. This was because, rather than a normal de, the now-fragmented piece of metal was the basic structure of an Asauchi, the nascent state of a Zanpakutou. Bleach had been one of the few mangas Vahn had been allowed to read during his captivity so he always had a moderate amount of interest in obtaining his own Zanpakutou. They were weapons that were nourished by the Ego, taking a shape that best suited their wielder''sbat style. Vahn had a keen interest in seeing what form his own Zanpakutou would take, so, with a sudden influx in his OP reserves, he decided to invest in the [Asauchi Production Method]. Vahn had no intention of abandoning his [L?vateinn] series, but,pared to a weapon that would grow and evolve with his Soul Tier, they would eventually be obsolete. This was a truth he had learned after losing the dozens of different weapons and painstakingly forged armors. There were even times when his own transformations destroyed all of his equipment in an instant, leaving him with a fair amount of regret once things had settled down. It was possible to circumvent the destruction of items by manufacturing them with the [Soulbound] property, but, as these armaments used your own reserves to manifest, more powerful weapons and armor quickly sapped your strength. This often made it easier to simply use your reserves to directly enhance yourbat strength or increase your speed. Oftentimes, it was better to ''avoid'' damage in its entirety, rather than rely on your equipment to tank it for you. If your opponent was unable to hit you, speed and offense were the most effective forms of defense. Since a Zanpakutou was constantly being nourished by the energy contained within the Ego, Vahn anticipated it wouldn''t have the same weaknesses as other soulbound equipment. Rather, awakening a Zanpakutou seemed to provide a qualitative increase in strength, speed, and, at times, even things like spiritual energy and perception. The most important aspect, however, was that the Zanpakutou took on the form most suited for their wielder''sbat style, simr to a Pactio. There was even a chance the two techniques could bebined, so, in order to greatly strengthen his allies, Vahn was determined to master the method of producing an Asauchi before leaving the Nasuverse... After cing the destroyed de into a metallic box, Vahn brought his hands together and offered a prayer. Though it hadn''t been fully formed, an Asauchi was simr to a nascent form of life, so, if he didn''t properly respect them, forging aplete one would be difficult. Intent was one of the most important aspects of forging, so, if he wanted to create a Masterpiece, Vahn''s mind, body, and spirit needed to work in conjunction with each other. Thus, rather than continue forging, he spent two full hours apologizing to the broken de, promising to reforge it into the masterpiece it deserved to be... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''This is not my bed...'',''Vahn used ''confession''...IT''S SUPER EFFECTIVE!'',''Standing on the precipice of a phenomenal power'') Chapter 1512 - Retreat

Chapter 1512 - Retreat

Deciding it was best to practice when there were fewer distractions, Vahn performed some minor repairs to his Workshop before throwing the entire thing into his Inventory. He could always seek out the assistance of Aoko to finish it up, as, in the past, she had expressed an interest in learning forging and engraving. She was actually pretty talented at it, though,pared to her sister and the Dwarves beneath Avalon, she still had a ''very'' long way to go. After emerging from the [Sub-Space Orb] that contained many of his and Da Vinci''s production facilities, Vahn expanded his domain to get his bearings before moving down a long corridor that seemed to stretch on forever. Despite this, he appeared at his destination almost immediately, the result of Da Vinci''s restructuring most of their Workshop to function simrly to the Yokai District. Whenever he thought about the rapid breakthroughs his inordinately beautifulpanion made, Vahn couldn''t help but feel both proud and exasperated. Da Vinci was one of the most important allies he had gained in the Nasuverse, and, despite his many failings, it was Merlin''s suggestion of summoning her thatpelled Vahn to trust him. The flowery magus was always thinking about the future of Avalon, so, even if it felt like he was just ''trolling'' at times, Vahn still took his advice to heart... Stepping into a rather messyboratory, Vahn was stopped near the entrance by a vaguely egg-shaped drone with tiny rabbit ears. It quickly scanned him before the panel on the front, showing a pixted ''angry'' face, changed to show a happy ''=^ w ^='' before stating in the familiar voice of Sophia, "Wee to my Laboratory, Papa! I''m a little busy right now, but, if its an emergency, you can find me in Test Chamber 03~!" Though he had wanted to check in on Sophia and spend some time with her, she had inherited her mother''s trait of not liking unexpected interruptions to her work. She preferred to have him arrange a meeting in advance, but, due to his rtively whimsical nature, Vahn usually showed up unannounced. He felt it was somewhat silly to have to schedule a meeting with his own daughter, but, knowing she was always serious whenever she stated she was busy, Vahn decided to give up on this particr visit. After scheduling an appointment with Chii, Sophia''s self-modeled Artificial Intelligence, Vahn departed the Workshop, stopping in the adjoining corridor for a brief moment to consider his next actions. He still needed to wrap things up in the Yokai District, so, with a bit of time on his hands, he could either make preparations for the afternoon Raid or meet up with Aoko to request ess to her Marble Phantasm. Since it seemed prudent to strike while the iron was hot, Vahn lightly poked Aeterna through herntern, asking, "Do you want to go on a long trip with me...?" Not expecting such an offer, Aeterna''s mes became a vibrant violet hue as she poked her head out and eximed, "Yay! Aeterna will go with Vahn! Let''s go! Let''s go~!" Bolstered by Aeterna''s cheering, Vahn handed her a marble-sized crystal formed from his blood before teleporting near the Knight''s Training Field. It was still early in the day, so, with his domain not showing Artoria, Vahn correctly assumed she would be inside the Training Orb. She primarily used her Marble Phantasm when she wanted a serious workout, but, in order to build rapport and improve morale, she often filled in for Kenshin when thetter was conducting field operations. Unsurprisingly, Vahn found Artoria wearing what appeared to be a kendo uniform, guiding more than a hundred ''students'' through proper sword forms. She was only wearing the hakama and gi, so, whenever she moved, her breasts would shake somewhat violently as her long golden hair gracefully followed her movements. It was almost like finding a resplendent golden dahlia in a grove filled with white roses, her beauty several orders of magnitude above even the inordinately beautiful Homunculi... Sensing Vahn''s presence the moment he entered the Training Orb, Artoriapleted one final set before firmly stating, "For now, everyone split into groups of four. One person will be on the defense while the other three attack them. If you get hit in one of your vital areas, the person thatnded the blow will move into the center. Now, move!" In response to Artoria''s order, all one-hundred Homunculi released a synchronous ''Ha!'' before immediately splitting into groups of four. As for Artoria, she used [Shundo] to vanish from her previous location, reappearing next to Vahn''s side with a smile on her face as she said, "I did not expect you at this time. Did youe to ask permission for something?" Without beating around the bush, Vahn gave a curt nod, exining, "I want to master this forging technique before the Raid this afternoon. It won''t have an immediate effect, but this technique will provide a qualitative increase to our overall strength in the future. If she is willing, I intend to make use of Aoko''s Marble Phantasm." As she was already aware of the fact Vahn was working on a new technique, Artoria just nodded her head, stating, "If you''re going inside for training, you should take Olga and Lakshmibai with you. It feels like Olga has been pregnant even longer than me at this point so it would be best if you spent some quality time together before helping with the birth. If you''re going with five, take Rin and Sakura with you as well. Rin has been holing herself up in her towertely and I feel like Sakura would benefit from spending time away from Mordred." Though it was a little outside his original intentions, Vahn wasn''t going to argue with Artoria, as, for a number of reasons, she generally knew best. Besides, he felt the same way regarding Olga''s pregnancy, which, at this point, felt like it had been going on for years. This was primarily due to the fact she rarely stayed inside the projection, splitting the majority of her time between Chaldea and visiting her father in London. Thus, while it had been over a decade from his perspective, it had been little under nine months from Olga''s... --- Taking Artoria''s advice to heart, it wasn''t long before Vahn had gathered Aoko, Olga, Lakshmibai, Rin, Sakura, and, due to Olga''s insistence, her former Governess, Trisha Fellows. Olga had grown increasingly anxious during her pregnancy, so, about four months into things, Vahn had made a concerted effort to reunite her with the woman who basically served as her surrogate mother. This had greatly alleviated Olga''s anxiety, and, ever since then, Trisha had been living alongside her as an attendant and Midwife. Ignoring the perpetually cold gaze of the middle-aged woman, Vahn gave Aoko the go-ahead to pull them into her Marble Phantasm, an endless field of glowing blue flowers beneath a sky that was perpetually filled with an Aurora. It was a breathtaking sight to behold, and, due to this being the Marble Phantasm mostmonly used by Nobunaga, Shuten, Kenshin, and other Japanese women, a thirteen-room Japanese vi,plete with an open-air onsen, could be found nearby. As this was the first time many of them had been inside Aoko''s Marble Phantasm, Vahn allowed the glowing red-head to enjoy their praises for a brief moment before saying, "I''m going to set up my Workshop a few kilometers from here. Unless it is an absolute emergency, my Workshop is off-limits until specified otherwise. I''ll be keeping at least one version of myself inside the vi, but, if I''m performing a task that requires a lot of focus, I may have to seclude myself for a few hours at a time." Everyone was already aware of the purpose behind this particr visit so nobody was surprised by Vahn''s words. Immediately afterward, however, Lakshmibai and Sakura simultaneously asked, "Is there anything I can do?" Not expecting someone else to speak out, Lakshmibai and Sakura stared at each other for a brief moment, smiles spreading across their faces. In response to their inquiry, however, Vahnughed in a light-hearted manner, exining, "Once I finish cleaning things up, I''ll show everyone around my Workshop. As for helping out, that is what I have this little cutie for..." Beingplimented always made Aeterna very happy, so, in response to her Master''s words, she created a gradient of different colored mes, giggling happily with a haughty smile on her face. Seeing Aeterna trying to show off, Vahn smiled affectionately before lightly stroking under her chin and adding, "One of my main reasons foring inside is to spend time with all of you. The best thing you can do to help is enjoying our time together. I''ll be in my Workshop and here at the same time, so, let''s all do our best to make the most of our time. At the very least, we''ll be in here for a few weeks so just rx and cut loose." Following up on Vahn''s words, Aoko nodded confidently, exining, "We have all kinds of neat and interesting things inside. There is even a fully stocked kitchen, a game room, and a massive open-air onsen. Come on, I''ll show you around!" As Aoko took great pride in the things she had built in her Marble Phantasm, she couldn''t help but want to show it off. She also had a way of pulling people along with her momentum, so, with the exception of Olga and Trisha, everyone followed her for a quick tour. Once everyone else had left, Trisha was the one who asked, "Will the baby really be born in this ce? Are you not concerned something may go wrong?" Hearing Trisha''s words, Olga also showed an expression of uncertainty, her hand instinctually moving to her almost spherical belly as she muttered, "Vahn..." in a demure tone. Gesturing for the two to calm down, Vahn stated without any hesitation, "There are absolutely no problems. Even if you were to travel to a thousand different worlds, there is no guarantee you will find someone with even half the skill and experience I have at delivering children. Just rx and rest your body as much as possible. I''ll be here for you every step of the way." Though Trisha wasn''t entirely convinced by his words, Olga seemed to rxpletely, a loving smile on her face as she moved close enough to give him a small peck on the cheek, following it with a sincere, "Thank you..." --- Since he hadn''t set a deadline for mastering the [Asauchi Production Method], Vahn decided to forgo immersing himself in the process until Olga sessfully gave birth. He would not be able topletely focus on forging while she was still pregnant, so, other than improving the quality of his tools and meditating for a few hours a day, he spent most of his time taking care of what mattered most, his family. Using upwards of five different bodies, Vahn was able to help Rin with her research, spend quality time with Sakura, go drinking with Aoko, idle about with Laskhmibai, and, most importantly, keep Olga from having a mental breakdown. This was one of the greatest benefits of using the Marble Phantasms, as, not only did it allow him to have as much time as he needed, it also allowed him to practice controlling more vessels simultaneously. At this point, Vahn had be adept at using three bodies, rtively decent at using five, and, if he really pushed himself, a total of seven were possible. This had the unfortunate effect of making his actions somewhat robotic, however, so five was his manageable limit, at least for the moment. Still, this was more than enough to spend time with each member of his harem, even without the use of Marble Phantasms. With them, however, Vahn had all the time he would ever need, even if it meant he was aging several times faster than everyone else. Fortunately, no matter how much time passed, Vahn''s appearance only changed to reflect how he wished to present himself. He could freely change his shape, size, race, and, during a few unique circumstances, gender. Thus, despite nearing 190 years in age, Vahn wasn''t particrly worried. It was nothingpared to the 150 years he had spent rearing Alexa, and,pared to Eternity, it was apletely negligible amount of time. The only ''danger'' was that, at some point, he might stop caring about other things. However, based on the fact he only seemed to be ''more'' involved with the passage of time, Vahn wasn''t concerned. Rather, for a variety of reasons, he was growing more eager with each passing day... Chapter 1513 - The Miracle of Life

Chapter 1513 - The Miracle of Life

Though most of her efforts went into her Knight Training, Sakura had never cked when it came to learning medical skills and magic. She had often helped to treat minor injuries during training, and, if there was anything ''major'' going on, her father had allowed her to be present as his assistant. Now, for the seventh time in her life, Sakura was watching the miracle of life with a moderately paleplexion on her face. Despite the queasy feeling in her stomach, she showed no hesitation when it came to following her father''s instructions, and, after three hours of hardbor, she bore witness to the birth of a beautiful baby boy. Then, with steady hands, she epted the newborn into her hands, fighting back a sour feeling in her nose as she gave her baby brother his first bath before handing him over to his mother. Seeing her baby for the first time, Olga''s strained expression became filled with love and warmth, tears pouring from her eyes as she held the bundle close and whimpered, "Thank you...thank you so much..." As could be expected, nearly everyone present had tears in their eyes, including the usually cold and serious Trisha. She even had to turn away, fanning her face with her hands in a desperate attempt to fight back her rising emotions. After making sure there would be noplications, Vahn epted the towel offered by Sakura, an affectionate smile on his face as he said, "You did well. Go get some rest." The moment she heard her father''s words, Sakura felt a considerable amount of pride, managing a radiant smile despite the tears rolling like precious beads down her porcin cheeks. Then, joining her mother, they were the first to leave the room, quickly followed by Lakshmibai and a considerably pale Aoko. With Trisha the only remaining bystander, Vahn approached the side of the bed, his own tear ducts softening as he ran his fingers through Olga''s hair and said, "You suddenly look even more beautiful. I''m so proud of you both..." Due to her sobbing, Olga issued a rather awkwardugh before nuzzling against Vahn''s hand as she said, "You know...an hour ago...I wanted to kill you...now...I''m...just...so happy..." Barely able toplete her words, Olga began to sob even louder than before, her tears like refined pearls of bottled up emotions. She had so many doubts about whether or not she would be a good mother, but, now, seeing the smiling face of her son,bined with thefort of Vahn''s presence, it felt like every emotion she had been keeping since childhood was pouring out of her... Though there was a lot she wanted to say, Trisha quickly realized she was in the way, bowing politely and muttering, "Please excuse me..." with tears still building in her eyes. Then, without waiting for a response, she quickly did an about-face, alighting from the room under the gazes of Vahn and Olga. Turning away from the direction of the door, Vahn continued to stroke Olga''s hair, smiling as he said, "It seems Trisha is more emotional than she lets on. How about making her the godmother?" With both of her hands upied, Olga relied on Vahn to wipe away her tears as she answered, "Yes. I''d like that...thank you...so much..." Having learned his lesson in the past, Vahn resisted the urge to tell Olga she didn''t have to thank him. Instead, he sat on the side of the bed, cradling both her and their newborn son as he said, "I love you...always and forever..." --- Following the birth of his son, Hans, Vahn spent nearly two weeks without leaving Olga''s side for more than a few minutes at a time. Being a new mother came with a lot of anxieties, but, fortunately, she had Trisha and Rin to help out and give advice. His responsibility in the matter was making sure both she and Hans were happy and healthy, but, considering thetter was nearly 3.5kg at birth, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say he was ''very'' healthy. Interestingly enough, Hans'' Guardian was the first ''mechanical'' Guardian amongst Vahn''s children. It was a peculiar creature known as an Etherlite Strix, a type of owl that had synthetic feathers, metallic bones, sapphire-like eyes, and cobalt-blue talons that had a hypodermic quality. These rather fierce talons gave it the ability to rapidly drain both the fluids and magical energy from an object, allowing it to sustain both itself and Hans through their shared link. Vahn was very interested in the idea of a mechanical entity that could grow and evolve, as it was very simr to the Companions, so he had high hopes for Hans and his Guardian. For now, however, there were more important matters to attend, so, with a considerable amount of inspiration, Vahn returned to his forge after the initial two weeks. He still kept a version of himself back in the vi, but, with the inspiration of fatherhood driving him, Vahn felt like he could forge an entire, much less a few Asauchi... --- With eyes that zed like golden stars, Vahn took slow and steady breaths. Every time he exhaled, a phenomenal cloud of vapor would erupt, parts turning into ice crystals while the rest evaporated in an instant. In the end, however, all of the vapor would evaporate, as, resting atop an anvil formed of Divine Gold, a brilliant white de radiated enough heat to copse the space around it. Contrasting the phenomenal heat, Vahn''s surroundings were filled with a bluish-ck liquid formed from pure Yin Elemental Energy, its temperature so extreme that time stagnated in the vicinity. If not for thebination of his domain and Source Energy, Vahn''s body would have been simultaneously frozen and incinerated, his body torn apart into its constituent pieces by the collision of Space, Time, Yang, and Yin Elemental Energies. Due to the extremes of temperature, Vahn had to relocate his Workshop more than ten-thousand kilometers from its original location just to feel assured that his family was safe. This process was so dangerous that, ording to the manual, it could even critically injure the Soul. While this was an obvious exaggeration, as the Soul was something that transcended the Tier Systempletely, it was safe to assume that the Ego wouldn''te out unscathed if the process ended in failure. In order to keep her safe, Vahn had to coax Aeterna to stay home by offering her a small mountain of rare metal to simply ''burn'' away. Even then, she had thrown a tantrum for several hours, calming down only after he expressed how worried he was for her safety. He had to exin to her how sad he would be if something happened to her, all while feeding her tiny pieces of candy and stroking her ming hair... Fortunately, after he sessfully coaxed her the first time, Aeterna seemed to have forgotten she was every angry in the first ce. Instead, she yed around in the hearth he had produced for her, and, with permission from Aoko, spent a considerable amount of time just burning the endless fields of glowing blue flowers. It was actually a little terrifying to see her cut loose, as she wouldugh with uninhibited glee, but, since Aoko didn''t seem to mind, Vahn elected to simply let her be... Now, in a state of absolute focus, Vahn spent seven hours just forming a workable tube of metal that was formed entirely from his body. The original process required a rare material called [Spiritualized Metal], but, as even a single gram cost 30,000,000OP, Vahn had learned how to perfectly emte it using his Source Energy. This meant he only had twenty-four hours to work it into its final form, but, with each failed attempt costing nearly a billion OP, he didn''t have much of a choice. Working [Spiritualzed Metal] required keeping it hot enough to pletely annihte'' everything in the surroundings while simultaneously chilling it with purified Yin Elemental Energy. Since the mes used were formed from Yang Elemental Energy, establishing a careful bnce was necessary, as, with a single mistake, the Yang would either try to consume the Yin or, inversely, bepletely quenched by it. The aspect of this process that Vahn found most peculiar was the fact it required him to ''excite'' the metal by striking it with a massive hammer that weighed nearly 300,000kg. This made the energy in the metal turn violent, but, before it could erupt outward, a surge of Yin-infused liquid would flow into the chamber, creating a violent hissing sound as the ''water'' almost instantly evaporated. So long as he regted the amount perfectly, the metal would be cooled down just enough to keep it stable, allowing him to, very slowly, shape it into the form of a de. Though this wasn''t actually necessary, as the final form could anything from a bat to a simple lump, the intent that went into the forging process was of paramount importance. An Asauchi was a manifestation of ''Infinite Potential'', so, if you were half-hearted in your efforts, the final result would be a ''dead'' de. With his intent focused to extreme levels, Vahn stoodpletely naked with what appeared to be a massive ck mallet, his muscr body poised and ready to strike. He waited until the luminance of the metal began to fade, an almost imperceptible shift in luminance, before striking in a perfect arc, the force enough to send powerful ripples through Space and Time. In response, the metal glowed with a brilliant golden light that, for a brief moment, created the illusion of a roaring dragon before it was mercilessly quenched by the yin-infused liquid. By the time the ''steam evaporated away, Vahn was already poised to strike another heavy blow, his intent never straying from the glowing piece of metal for a single moment. In total, the Asauchi forging process required 999 hammer strikes before it was considered a sess. If the metal ''gave up'' before then, it meant you had failed to properly control your strikes, breaking the ''spirit'' of the nascent de. Inversely, if you failed to reach an equilibrium at the 999th strike, the metal would erupt violently, attempting to punish the one foolish enough to try and tame it. While most would question the credibility of such steps, pointing out that the metal wasn''t able to express itself in such a way, those aiming for the peak of cksmithing knew better. All of the most sessful Master Smiths considered the act of forging to be ''creating life'' and ''shaping existing life into a new form''. They greatly respected their tools and infused their intentions into their materials with the same fervor as a parent trying to raise their children to be sessful. As a result, some of the most skilled Master Smiths were, quite literally, able to create sapient weapons. After forging a total twenty-four [L?vateinn]s, Vahn knew better than most how his intentions could shape the ''personality'' of a weapon. Though none of them possessed a true Ego, at least for the time being, he was able to clearly sense their intentions, their desire for battle. This could even be sensed by people who had never held a weapon, so, whilemon sense might argue against it, only fools were limited by such constructs... Approaching the 999th strike, Vahn''s focus increased to the point that, for a brief moment, the only things in existence seemed to be him and the nascent sword. He felt as though time was slowing to a stop, a phenomenon simr to two warriors about to trade final blows with each other. A moment of hesitation would be the same as death, so, with his intent surging like a tidal wave, Vahn allowed his hammer to crash down on the glowing-hot de as a flood of Yin Elemental Energy, colder than anything in existence surged in to consume them both... Despite feeling as though trillions of needles had pricked each of his constituent molecules, Vahn''s glowing golden eyes could still be seen within the ''darkness''. His intent never wavered away from the de for a single moment, his will alone seeminglypelling it into existence. Then, as if to answer his intentions, the de, rather than cooling, seemed to absorb the energy used to heat it. This allowed the phenomenally cold liquid toe into direct contact with it, but, rather than break, the de was like a miniature ck hole as it sucked in everyst drop of the bluish-ck fluid. In a surprisingly short period of time, Vahn found himself staring down at a rather nondescript de, which, seemingly dissatisfied with its form, sharpened itself to the point where simply looking at it caused pain. Then, causing a massive grin to spread across Vahn''s face, the de began to tremble atop the anvil as an invisible pulse spread outwards for several meters. This caused a dull sensation simr to ''static'' within his mind, almost as if someone was trying to use Telepathy but didn''t know how to speak... Ignoring the impossible sharp edge, Vahn picked up the de without any hesitation, a proud smile on his face that was typically only reserved for his children. Then, using [Hands of Nirvana], he began to send calming energy into its body, softly stating, "It''s okay...there is no reason to rush things...take your time..." As if it could understand his words, the de''s trembling quickly ceased before emanating a crisp, bell-like, sound. This caused Vahn to issue a light chuckle, his gleeful mood impossible to contain as he sat down on the ground and pulled out a polishing rag. He still needed to create a handle and a guard, but, before that, he wanted to bring his glorious creation to a mirror-like shine... ------------------------------------------------------------------- [Nameless] Rank: Unique Slots: 0 P.Atk: (-) M.Atk: (-) Ability: Nameless Asauchi(-), Spirit Imprint(-), Spirit Evolution(-), Spirit Catalyst(-), Spirit Rending(-) A masterwork formed from the culminations of its creator''s intent and the desire of the de itself to exist. Though still immature, this de possesses limitless potential. After receiving nourishment from its wielder for an extended period of time, this de will develop its own identity, shaping itself into the form most suitable for itself and its user. In total, there are three stages of evolution, but, in the right hands, there are no limits to an Asauchi''s growth. Restrictions: After imprinting, fuses with the user until death. Chapter 1514 - Kinship

Chapter 1514 - Kinship

After spending a considerable amount of time polishing his new Asauchi, Vahn spent a few more hours adding the finishing touches. This included fashioning an ivory white handle wrapped in golden cord, a golden guard embossed with the motif of a dragon, and,st but not least, a sleek ck sheathe that, like the handle, was wrapped with a golden cord. Unlike other weapons he had forged in the past, Vahn elected not to imprint the Asauchi with his Maker''s Mark. It was his hope that, by leaving it unmarked, it would be able to grow in a direction of its own choosing, bonding with its user rather than representing his legacy as a cksmith. Thus, in lieu of imprinting the de itself, Vahn carved a small taiji formation on the de cor, a testament to the fusion of Yin, Yang, and Intent that had given it form. When everything was finished, Vahn had been working without rest for a total of thirty-nine hours. In spite of this, he felt none of the usual fatigue. Instead, he feltpletely invigorated, his mind, body, and spirit experiencing a subtle change that was hard to put into words. The closest thing he couldpare it to was the sensation he felt after creating Jade, the Fire Elemental Lotus that represented the birth of his Creation Divinity in the Record of Danmachi. Vahn knew he hadn''t actually obtained a new Creation Divinity, as it would have been reflected in his Status, but, in spite of this, he felt like he had obtained something ''greater''. He even suspected it was rted to an Innate, but, until the ability actually manifested, it was impossible to be sure. The only thing he knew for certain was that the unnamed Asauchi, with the exception of his children, was his greatest creation. Holding theplete katana in his hand, Vahn admired its edge for several seconds, an affectionate smile on his face as he ran his index finger along its length. Then, after creating a massive pir that could be likened to Adamantine in hardness, he swept the de at a thirty-degree angle, cutting in a smooth arc that didn''t produce a single sound. Despite being more than three meters away, well outside of the Asauchi''s de length, Vahn had a wide grin on his face when a ''line'' appeared along the glossy ck surface. Then, under the force of gravity, the upper half of the pir ''slipped'' free from the bottom half, leaving a mirror-like surface in its wake. Though the Asauchicked attack power and an ability that enhanced its sharpness, the de''s edge was unlike anything Vahn had ever seen. Its sharpness was directly linked to the amount of energy channeled into it, and, due to acting as a near-perfect catalyst, it had unmatched sharpness when his Source Energy was fed into it. Thus, even though his understanding of Sword Laws and Sword Intent were both shallow, Vahn''s mastery over Space and Time allowed him to cut anything that was within the effective range of his domain. Putting his theory to the test, Vahn set up several pirs in a line, standing so that one was blocking his view of the other three. Then, relying on his perception alone, he struck out towards the massive pir, but, instead of leaving a line in its surface, the sound of metal against metal could be heard as the third pir in the line crashed to the ground. This caused Vahn tough out uninhibitedly before spontaneously conducting onest experiment, this time cutting towards his own arm with arge smile on his face. Initially, Vahn expected the Asauchi to simply ''stop'' once it reached his skin, but, as fate would have it, the de cleanly passed through his arm without obstruction. He could feel an incredibly painful sensation, but, at a nce, his arm was perfectly fine. There wasn''t a single sign of injury, but, for a brief moment, Vahn was unable to feel anything but searing pain as he struggled to even twitch his fingers. Since an Asauchi was a weapon that was supposed to be used by Soul Reapers, its attacks had little to no effect on the physical body. Instead, it targetted the Mana and Spiritual Bodies directly, cutting the flow of energy and paralyzing the affected limb in the process. It was very simr to the effect of [Mercy], the S-Ranked Dagger that Vahn had used during his conflict against the Dwarves of the Iron Hills. This effectively meant physical defense waspletely useless against Asauchi''s, requiring you to protect yourself with Spiritual Energy if you wanted to avoid bing a cripple. Confirming his theory, Vahn, very slowly, ran the Asauchi through the ck pir. As expected, the de slid through the material without any obstruction whatsoever, leaving no traces of any kind of structural damage. It wasn''t until he ''wanted'' to cut the pir that he felt any kind of resistance, but, despite the hardness of the material, the sensation was simr to cutting through a stream, following the direction of the current. Satisfied with his discoveries, Vahn held up the Asauchi so that the de was level with his face as he said, "You''re really amazing...I can''t wait to see how powerful you be in the future..." In response to his light utterance, the Asauchi released a high-pitched ''ting'', simr to a tuning fork being struck with a metal rod. It was a very pleasant sound, and, though it was subtle, Vahn was able to feel the excitement of the Asauchi. It seemed to enjoy being praised, bring a smile to Vahn''s face as he internally remarked, ("How cute...") --- Though the process of forging an Asauchi was exceptionally tedious, it was only the first step in the formation of a Zanpakutou Spirit. It could take several years for the Asauchi to finish imprinting on its user, requiring them to keep it on them at all times. This meant that, even when you were eating, sleeping, or taking a bath, you always had to have your Asauchi on you. It was simr to raising a child, and, if you neglected it, even for a short period of time, the nascent spirit would actually begin to shun you, refusing to give you its name. Carrying around a 115cm katana for upwards of ten years would be a hassle, but, considering the Spirit within would remain at your side until death, this was a small price to pay. Vahn was also quite fond of his precious creation, so, rather than ten years, he was hoping his Zanpakutou Spirit would awaken within a few months. The process for awakening seemed to depend entirely on your bond with the Asauchi itself, so, with high hopes for the de, Vahn felt it wouldn''t be long before he met his eternalpanion. Unfortunately, while he had enjoyed his time within the Marble Phantasm, it had already been close to six weeks since they entered. Thus, after spending a few days limating to the Asauchi, carrying it around with him everywhere he went, Vahn decided it was time to leave. He felt it was actually bad to try and rush the process of awakening his Zanpakutou Spirit, much like forcing a child to grow up too quickly, so, rather than stress over it, Vahn would let matters take their course. It would manifest when it was ready, and, until then, he would continue to live his life, allowing it to view and interpret for itself what kind of person he was. Before informing everyone of his decision, Vahn spent onest night just lounging about with each of them. This included spending some quality time with Rin and Sakura, arguing with Aoko over the importance of runic magic, cuddling with Lakshmibai outdoors, and, most importantly, sharing a bed with Olga as they cradled their newborn son between them. She had blossomed into motherhood in a very short period of time, so, while it was a little shameless, Vahn enjoyed getting pampered by the progressively more beautiful Olga alongside his son... --- Following his emergence from Aoko''s Marble Phantasm, Vahn updated Artoria on everything that transpired while he was inside. She wasn''t too surprised that he had managed to seed, but, upon seeing the Asauchi for herself, her eyes had widened considerably. Unfortunately, he had to refuse her request to handle the infant de, as, more than other factors, contact with others during the imprinting phase could greatly increase the time it took for a Zanpakutou Spirit to form. After separating from the slightly dejected Artoria, Vahn teleported to the outside of Nobunaga''s room, a wry smile on his face as he contemted going inside. He had been thinking about Musashi ever since hepleted the Asauchi, but, sensing what was happening inside the room, Vahn felt it might be better for him toe backter... Shaking his head, Vahn released a small sigh before opening the door and stepping inside. There, he found a half-naked Musashi with a light blush on her face as Nobunaga, ever the deviant, left quite a number of hickey marks on the former''s exposed breasts and neck. As there were very few people who could enter her room of their own ord, Nobunaga only gave a brief nce toward the door, her expression forming a mischievous smile that starkly contrasted the abject shock visible on Musashi''s. She generally wasn''t very shy, but, not expecting Vahn to suddenly appear, Musashi cutely pushed Nobunaga away, covering her breasts as she said, "I can exin...!" Despite being pushed off the sofa rather unceremoniously, Nobunaga was cackling like a demon as she rolled around on the floor. This caused Muasash to feel even more embarrassed, but, before she could find an excuse, Vahn just shook his head with a wry smile, saying, "Don''t mind it. I''m perfectly aware of how wily Nobunaga can be. Besides, this is pretty tamepared to thest time we were inside Aoko''s Marble Phantasm." Hearing Vahn''s dismissive words, Musashiughed awkwardly in turn before saying, "Yeah, I guess you''re right? Still...isn''t your reaction a little too tame...?" As if to answer in Vahn''s stead, Nobunaga rose to her feet with nothing but a loose shirt and dark red panties on, exining, "Please. Do you really think Vahn would worry about things like this? This is nothingpared to the ''performances'' I have put on with Kenshin. What kind of man wouldn''t be able to enjoy the kinship between two beautiful women? Besides, even if I y around every now and then, that idiot knows full well who my heart belongs to...isn''t that right, my beloved Master~?" Following Nobunaga''s statement, she allowed her shirt to fall free from her body, revealing a highly detailed tattoo that covered much of her back, left shoulder, left breast, and arm. Though its primary function was to enhance her attributes, much like the seal he had designed for Tiona, the true reason behind Nobunaga''s tattoo was, simply put, because she thought it was cool. She liked to pick outfits from various punk rock groups from before The Fall, and, seeing a few models with intricate tattoos, she had wanted one of her own. Though there were a number of interesting aspects of Nobunaga''s tattoo, the most prominent was the Japanese-style golden dragon that coiled around a heart above her left breast. There was also a series of runes forming a circle, and, if you understood the structure of Divine Words, you would be able to read, ''A Demonic Heart devoted to a Dragon Emperor. To my beloved, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, I dedicate my Mind, Body, and Soul.'' Seeing Nobunaga''s exposed figure, wearing nothing butce panties and the tattoo he had spent nearly three days toplete, Vahn could feel his pulse begin to race as he returned a smile and said, "It seems there is a Demon King in need of vanquishing..." Incited by Vahn''s words, Nobunaga''s smile spread until her prominent canines were on full disy. Then, after snaking her way over to his side, her hips swaying seductively the entire time, Nobunaga pressed her chest against his, musing, "I have already given you my everything...now, how about we enjoy a few drinks while discussing the reason for your visit. Afterward, you can ravish us both like the greedy dragon you are~." Following her words, Nobunaga began to gently bite Vahn''s corbone, her arms linking around his waist to give his butt a tentative squeeze. Though he was well aware of it before entering the room, Vahn could tell that Nobunaga''s switch had been flippedpletely. Her face was slightly red, and, with a heavy aroma of alcohol present within the room, it wasn''t difficult to imagine why. She and Musashi had both gotten drunk, leading to Nobunaga bing even bolder than usual. In this mode, there was very little she wouldn''t do if she thought it was fun or interesting. As a result, each of her usual drinking partners had fallen to her errant clutches, the only exception being Shuten, who, triggered by Nobunaga''s teasing, showed thetter what it meant to be an Oni... With a few hours to spare until the afternoon Raid, Vahn decided to take Nobunaga up on her offer, but, with the Asauchi in hand, he had to create a second body. This caused the two women to show expressions of mild rm, both having already learned how ''dangerous'' multiple versions of him could be, but, before they could panic, he amusedly exined, "Rx. This body of mine can''t really do anything right now. You don''t have to worry...I''m not going to bully you..." Hearing Vahn''s words, Nobunaga and Musashi couldn''t hide the fact they were relieved. It was all but impossible for any singr woman to deal with Vahn, so, if he were to manifest multiple bodies, things quickly shifted in his favor. Hisbined assault was too much for even women like Artoria and Arcueid to bear, as, when he worked together with himself, Vahn was far more terrifying than any Demon King... Chapter 1515 - Underlying Issues

Chapter 1515 - Underlying Issues

AAfter teasing the two Japanese beauties for several hours, one version of Vahn remained behind to take care of Nobunaga while the other, after helping her recover, ventured into his personal Training Orb with Musashi. As could be expected, Musashi expressed a keen interest in the Asauchi, so, despite a strong desire to just sleep for the rest of the day, her curiositypelled her to follow after him. She was eager to see for herself what the mysterious, slightly intimidating, katana was capable of. With her face still somewhat red, Musashi performed a few simple exercises, allowing Vahn to enjoy quite the view until she drew her katana and asked, "So, how are we going about this? Did you want to fight it out or what?" Shaking his head, Vahn exined, "This Asauchi might have no limits, but it is still young. With your level of skill, there is a non-negligible chance you might even be able to cut through it. I don''t want to leave it with any trauma, so, for the time being, I just want your opinion on its basic qualities." Letting her katana rest on her shoulder, Musashi issued a light ''hmm'' before nodding her head and saying, "I guess that makes sense. It is a little strange that a sword needs to mature, but I can''t deny there is something special about that beautiful de of yours. I can feel my blood boiling just seeing it up close like this..." As someone with an extremely close kinship with her own des, Musashi''s sensitivity to the ''spirits'' contained within was second to none. She treated her own katana as if they were her precious family members, often spending several hours just polishing each of them. Vahn even suspected that, if she was given an Asauchi, Musashi might awaken a Zanpakutou in weeks, rather than years. Under the mesmeric focus of Musashi, Vahn spent a little more than an hour just demonstrating all of the Asauchi''s basic capabilities. This caused Musashi to be increasingly excited, and, by the end of the demonstration, he got the impression that the only thing preventing her from pouncing on him was the fact she was still fatigued from before. Musashi knew Vahn was a bit of a showoff, but, after seeing the Asauchi in action, she felt he had every right to be. Though his skills were extremelyckluster, the de itself more than made up for its Master''s inadequacies. It was a masterpiece far removed from the realm of normalcy, and, though it might notpare against her greatest de, the [Myoujingiri Muramasa], she got the impression it wouldn''t be long before her most cherished possession paled inparison to his beautiful de. Unable to resist, Musashi approached until her face was just a few centimeters away from the highly polished Asauchi, a greedy look in her eyes as she stated, "I want one. You have to forge me one. I won''t forgive you if you refuse." Seeing how eager Musashi was, Vahn couldn''t help butugh as he watched her gaze be stern in response to him sheathing the Asauchi. For a brief moment, he even imagined her trying to steal the de from his hands, but, rather than use a ''direct'' method, a mischievous smile spread across her face as she began to pull at the front of her kimono, saying, "Come on...we can work something out, can''t we~?" Rolling his eyes, Vahn resisted bopping Musashi on the top of her head, inly stating, "I intend to forge several Asauchi in the future. For now, I need to observe the progress and development of the original. When the timees, you''ll have the chance to wield one of your own. Before that, you''ll have to make peace with your current des. It would be extremely detrimental to the development of an Asauchi if their wielder used other weapons. If you want to obtain a weapon that will be able to match your limitless potential, you''ll have to be willing to part with your current katanas." Though she wasn''t too surprised by Vahn''s words, as he had already exined the basic nature of an Asauchi, Musashi''s excitement quickly diminished when she realized the truth behind his words. Even then, however, she was willing to ept an Asauchi, albeit only after ''retiring'' her current des. The path towards the peak required both resolution and sacrifice, so, while it felt like a piece of her heart had been buried with each of them, this wasn''t the first time Musashi had to exchange her des for something more suited to her strength. After forming the proper resolution, Musashi''s expression became especially serious as she said, "I''ll be relying on you when the timees..." Even without her going into greater detail, Vahn understood the implication behind Musashi''s words. The only way she could part with her des is if they had ''died'', so, after his Zanpakutou Spirit had been awoken, he would need to shatter them in battle. This would be the best method to leave her without any regrets, as, if they were shattered by a more powerful sword, her katanas would be able to rest in peace knowing they had fought against a worthy foe. --- With the afternoon Raid quickly approaching, Vahn was making his final preparations for theing conflict. To this end, he made a quick trip to New Thymyscira, finding it had changed quite a bit since hisst visit only three weeks prior. There was now arge Coliseum near the center of the city, while, in the port, several Grecian longships could be seen, each ''manned'' by crews of nearly one-hundred females. It was a rather strange sight to behold, as, due to Hippolyta''s insistence on traditional wear, it looked like they were filming a movie set in Ancient Greece. Looking around, Vahn could see tens of thousands of women wearing chiton, peplos, sandals, and shawls. For undergarments, the majority wrapped their chest in a garment known as a strophion, but, every now and then, you would see small groups that wentpletely topless. It would have been a sight to behold if not for the fact the majority of them looked rtively average, their appearances marred even further due to how some carried themselves around with an unnatural ''arrogance''... Shaking his head, Vahn flew over to the Coliseum, unsurprised to find Hippolyta in the middle of the arena with a few young girls. They were being pitted against a bull-like monster that was covered in various wounds, each member dressed in roughly the same manner as Hippolyta herself. From this, it was easy to determine the girls were being trained as Amazoness warriors, but, unlike the rtively unforgiving practices he had observed in Danmachi, Hippolyta fought alongside them, seeming to build rapport while also preventing them from sustaining any serious injuries. Since the trainees outnumbered the bull seven-to-one, they were able to use spears to harass it from all sides, hitting its blind spots every time it tried to attack. As a result, the bull eventually sumbed to blood loss, falling to the ground and kicking up a small plume of dust in the process. This elicited squeals of excitement and crude war cries from the young girls, while, in the viewing stands, several thousand women between the ages of twenty and thirty-five loudly cheered for them. Deciding it was best not to make a big scene, Vahn released a small amount of his aura, drawing the attention of Hippolyta but leaving others none-the-wiser. Seeing Vahn sittingckadaisically atop the Coliseum''s walls, Hippolyta''s face formed into an almost indiscernible scowl. She also didn''t want to make a scene, as, after losing against Vahn five times, shecked the pride to face him while her people were watching. The majority of her citizens had been irreversibly corrupted by their former societies, so, until she could rear a generation of true Amazons, any setbacks could lead to a rapid copse of their nascent society. Just as Hippolyta was thinking about the best course of action, she was slightly surprised to see Vahn simply ''vanish'' into thin air. Momentster, however, she heard a voice right next to her ear, causing her body to tense without anyone''s notice. Afterward, she felt both relief and frustration,forted by the fact Vahn decided not to make a scene but annoyed by his ability to whisper directly into her. After forcing the crowd to disperse, much to the annoyance of the more haughty women, typically belonging to the ''older generation'', Hippolyta quickly made her way over to her private residence, a rather homely abode considering her status as Queen. She believed that gaudiness and excess led tocency and waste. The only things that should adorn an abode were trophies obtained during battle and conquest. Everything else should go towards the infrastructure, strengthening the nation rather than lining the pockets of fat politicians and opportunists... Finding Vahn standing in front of the only real decoration in her house, a statue of her patron god and father, Ares, Hippolyta couldn''t help but frown as she muttered, "You really have no sense of shame, do you? Entering a woman''s house without their permission..." As if he had only just noticed her presence, Vahn turned around with a look of confusion on his face, brows raised as he asked, "Does it really bother you so? You don''t even have any servants or guards to protect your residence." Snorting through her nose, Hippolyta crossed her arms, stating, "My possessions belong, in equal measure, to my people. Now, speak, why have youe here...?" Though Vahn had never expected Hippolyta to suddenly begin respecting him, he couldn''t help but deadpan in response to her words. By ''right'', he could have imed Hippolyta as his prize after their first battle, but, not wanting to deal with a misandrist, he would rather remain enemies with her than invite her bigotry into the Empire. He tolerated the existence of New Themyscira, but, based on how things were going, this might very well change in the near future. Hippolyta might put on a bold front, but Vahn knew tensions in New Themyscira were growing with each passing day. There were a number of women who bastardized the concept of Amazons, using it as a means to try and suppress men. If not for the presence of the Companions, some of the children might have even been brutalized, or worse, by the more extreme members of the growing faction. It was somewhatughable, but, due to their past experiences with men, a number of women quickly got out of hand when the social dynamic had been reversed. They made no attempt to differentiate themselves from the men who had wronged them. Instead, they used their past trauma as a means to justify horrible acts and behave however they pleased, hiding behind the banner of Hippolyta and iming themselves as Amazons despite having never earned the title. If not for Hippolyta''s and Aife''s efforts to quell the growingmunity of bigots, sentencing some to death due to vitions of the Common Law, he would have already removed the sovereign status of New Themyscira... As if she could sense Vahn''s thoughts, Hippolyta became noticeably pale, her peach-colored skin gaining a somewhat sickly color as her confidence seemed to evaporate. Despite this, she managed to avoid backing down, her expression perpetually fixed into a courageous visage as she red back at him with her scarlet-red eyes. It was hard to say whether Hippolyta was fearless or foolish, but, considering she was only seventeen years old, Vahn refused to let her behavior leave a deep impression on him. Once she matured, most of the dissidence within her budding nation would be dealt with, so, rather than let it bother him, he just rolled his eyes before saying, "I won''t go into any details, but I''ll be having a showdown against the Olympianster this afternoon. I wanted to inform you and Caenis beforehand. There is nothing you can do to stop it, but you have the right to know." Hearing Vahn''s unexpected statement, Hippolyta looked at him like she was viewing a drunkard, her expression turning incredulous as she asked, "What are you talking about? Did you hit your head...?" Rather than answer her question, Vahn looked around the area, asking, "Where are Caenis and Aife? I don''t sense them anywhere within the City." Though she was annoyed by Vahn''s deflection, Hippolyta didn''tment on it, ring at him for a few seconds before answering, "They are searching for Amazoness candidates and informing others of the existence of New Themyscira. You have undoubtedly noticed it, but the people in this region leave a lot to be desired. There was even a group who tried to denounce the existence of my father, causing disruptions outside of the city with their ministrations. I''ve started to lose hope in the people of this region, so we decided to recruit some fresh blood from more distant territories..." Even before Hippolyta had finished her exnation, Vahn had already confirmed Caenis'' and Aife''s locations using his search function. He could see that Aife was wandering around Nothern Europe while Caenis had actually made her way over to South America. After verifying Hippolyta''s statement, Vahn gave a light hum before closing his Map and saying, "I have finished what I came to do. Is there anything you wanted to discuss before I depart? I noticed an increase in the number of luxury goods in your recent supply requests. Mind exining why your city needs two-thousand kilograms of gold? Even if the Empire''s resources are infinite, that doesn''t mean we''ll just hand them out without consideration for what they''ll be used for. If you''re going to continue increasing your demands, you''ll need to allow more Companions in the city." Not expecting Vahn to suddenly shift the conversation to the subject of supplies, Hippolyta clicked her tongue. She had the impression he was messing with her, as, with his informationwork, there was no way Vahn wasn''t aware of why the needed gold and other precious minerals. This was one of the reasons she still disdained him, as, despite having such an extreme amount of power, he liked to y word games and dance around matters at the expense of others. Crossing her arms, Hippolyta inly stated, "A lot of it will go into the production of golems and the formation of more powerful defenses. I doubt you will fork over anything more precious, so we need gold to use as a catalyst for Aife''s magic. Some will be used to produce weapons and armor, used to rear the budding generation of Amazons. You know better than anyone how chaotic this world has be. Without suitable weapons and armor, my people cannot battle against an ever-increasing monster poption." Emting Hippolyta, Vahn also crossed his arms, his expression returning to a deadpan as he asked, "So, the Empire has the burden of equipping and protecting your people? Aife''s Noble Phantasm is more than suited to the task of dealing with most enemies. We also have thousands of automatons providing security aroundrge poption centers. Tell me, Queen of the Amazons, why should the Empire proactively equip a foreign nation with weapons when we''re already protecting your borders for you...?" Angered by Vahn''s words, Hippolyta smashed one of the pirs of her own home, shouting, "Don''t give me that crap! A civilian poption that can''t even protect itself is a liability! Are you intending to cripple other nations just to keep them under the Empire''s thumb!? We''re already following those ridiculousws of yours! What more do you want from us!?" Without changing his expression in the slightest, Vahn inly stated, "Tolerance. I am aware of the effort you have made to improve conditions, but your methods are simply outdated. You have seen for yourself how previously established societies havepletely ruined their people. Even now, in the wake of The Fall, the number of people making a concerted effort to increase their strength is less than three percent of the global poption. Everyone wants free handouts, no matter whether it is housing, food, or entertainment. Even within the nascent Supercolonies, this is a serious issue that will take several generations to removepletely. Your policies will only serve to inte the egos and greed of people who want to reap the reward of other people''s efforts. Tell me, what will you do when more than ny percent of your poption is resistant to fully adopting the culture you are so proud of? Will you drive them away? Will you kill them?" Hearing Vahn''s increasingly harsh words, Hippolyta''s expression morphed into one of sheer vexation and frustration. She was well aware of the truth behind his words, but, unless she was willing to take a step back andpromise on her own beliefs, there was nothing she could do about each of the issues he pointed out. All she could do was personally rear a young generation of Amazons, hoping they were able to bring about the change she wanted to see in her people. She believed that, once others saw what females were truly capable of, the dissidents within her society would slowly begin to change for the better... Seeing a lightyer of moisture spread across Hippolyta''s eyes, Vahn repressed a sigh as he closed his eyes and forcibly calmed down. He had already said enough to force her to reflect, so, instead of pushing her even further into a corner, he stated, "We will send the supplies at the beginning of next month. This time around, I will not force you to ept more Companions. However, I expect you to seriously consider whether or not this society of yours can sustain itself. Your culture always relied on war and plunder to reduce its numbers and umte resources. This isn''t an option in the present day, so, without handouts from the Empire, can you truly survive? Would you be able to rear the next generation of Amazons with pride,mbasting the existence of men despite relying on the grace of an Emperor just to keep your people fed and armed?" With each of Vahn''s statements like heavy blows, Hippolyta began to feel somewhat lightheaded. It felt like everything believed in was being questioned, and, unless she was willing to refuse all future shipments of supplies, there was no way she could refute his words. Without the Empire, it would be impossible to sustain the growing poption of New Themyscira. Some women even migrated over a thousand kilometers just to seek refuge in her city, many without actually contributing anything... Chapter 1516 - Aldrnarimachia (1/5)

Chapter 1516 - Aldrnarimachia (1/5)

Though he shouldn''t really care, as Hippolyta''s problems were the result of her own willfulness, Vahn couldn''t help but give her a bit of advice. His words were a little harsh, but, if she took them to heart, there was a chance her nation could thrive. For now, herck of experience was bound to cause her a considerable amount of stress. There was even a chance that she, like a sad number of Heroes before her, would be ''broken'' under the strain of trying to lead a bunch of people who saw her as nothing more than a means of securing their own self-interests. Back when Hippolyta had been alive, the Gods were still causing trouble in the world. There was also constant war and strife, ensuring the Amazons, a group that worshipped war, always had a battlefield to fight on. This allowed them to regte their poption, but, more importantly it was a method of empowering themselves during a time when most women were treated as little more than bargaining chips, often exchanging them for a breeding pair of goats or a pen of chickens. It was so bad that, at one point in time, it was normal for orphaned females to be the property of their Uncles or Cousins, forced into marriage as early as their first periods. While the current state of the world wasn''t exactly pleasant, it was still significantly better than the average ancient civilization. The existence of Common Law made such arrangements impossible, and, with a Companion at their side, the average child had no need to fear an adult. The rights of children were one of the most highly protected aspects of the Common Law, and, depending on the severity of a vition, people could be put to death even for minor vitions. Ultimately, the founding principles of Amazoness society had no grounds to stand on the modern world. Though it worked now, during a time of uncertainty, things would undoubtedly take a turn for the worse once the poption of New Themyscira reached a certain point. There were simply too many people with extremist views taking up residence within the nascent nation, and, without a ''real'' enemy to fight against, they would eventually tear themselves apart due to infighting. Eventually, Hippolyta would need to put her foot down just to keep order. This would only make things worse, however, as public opinion would undoubtedly turn against her once she began to use violence against her own poption. Dissidence would grow in the shadows, and, with their morale broken, an increasing number of people would simply bezy, keeping their heads down and leeching off the resources of New Themyscira, resources obtained from the Empire... --- After returning to Avalon, Vahn spent the remainder of his time idling about and making a few minor preparations. Then, around three in the afternoon, he gathered every majorbatant in the War Room, the ce where his War Council generally assembled. Seeing everyone fully geared out in increasingly more futuristic weapons and armor, provided as a courtesy of Da Vinci, Vahn couldn''t help but smile. His own confidence swelled up just seeing everyone with resolute and determined expressions on their faces. Though most of them would not have the chance to fight, as the enemies were simply too powerful, Vahn could tell they would not hesitate to throw themselves into the fray. Taking the initiative to lead the discussion, Vahn had everyone quiet down before showing arge projection of fifteen figures. Of these, only six were highlighted, including three distinctly alien-looking males and three beautiful, yet equally alien, females. These were the targets for today''s raid, the figures representing Zeus, Poseidon, Ares, Hera, Artemis, and Aphrodite. As for the other nine figures, the majority upied apletely separate sub-texture, leaving only Demeter as an outlier amongst their potential targets. With everyone''s attention focused on the projection, Vahn exined, "Our primary goal is the elimination of Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, and Aphrodite. If we can eliminate them, reaching an ord with the others is not impossible. At the very least, I would like to avoid killing Demeter, but, due to her rtionship with Aphrodite, there is a fair chance she would want to take revenge. We''ll deal with that when the timees, so, for now, let''s discuss our n of action..." Following his opening dialogue, Vahn changed the projection to show a rather futuristic city that was seemingly situated in a starry void. There, countless Demigods lived rtively peaceful lives under the rule of Mount Olympus, a crystalline mountain that was nearly the size of present-day Australia. This mountain was actually an amalgamation of pure mana, harvested from the people that resided within the rtively small nar texture. It was used as nourishment by Zeus and the other Olympians, but, within his visions, Vahn had confirmed it would also be weaponized once the marble-skinned God was pushed to his limits. One of the greatest benefits of being able to view the Flow of Fate was the ability to ''simte'' future battles by viewing various currents. Though it was impossible to guarantee things went as nned, it was the most powerful tool for information gathering as Vahn could see his opponents use their trump cards before he ever faced them. This allowed him to strategize, prepare ample countermeasures, and, by picking the right people for the job, it was possible to all but guarantee a certain oue. With this in mind, Vahn exined, "We''ll need to keep Zeus away from the other Olympians to prevent him from subsuming their power and authority. If he is pushed into a corner, he won''t hesitate to betray and absorb his fellow Gods, so, to prevent him from bing even stronger, we must separate him from the rest. This also means we''ll need to prevent the others from going to his aid, so, while I am distracting Zeus, each of you will separate into teams in order to deal with other Olympians..." Though they had already discussed the n several times in the past, Vahn reiterated the tasks that everyone had been assigned. He would have Altera face off against the God of War, Ares, as there was simply no way he would ignore the existence of the Photon Ray in her possession. She also had a near-absolute advantage against him, as, due to the nature of her existence, Altera was able to slowly siphon his Divine Authority. This was an important aspect of Phase Three, but, more importantly, it gave Altera the chance to cut loose for the first time in years... While Altera was stealing Ares'' Divine Authority, Artoria, Amaterasu, Arcueid, and Illya would be doing much the same. As for everyone else, several other tasks had been assigned, including the destruction of Mount Olympus at the hands, or, more specifically, teeth of Fenrir. She had the ability to devour the ''Heart'' of Mount Olympus directly, and, in doing so, her power would greatly increase at the expense of Zeus''st resort. Fortunately, while his battle with Zeus would require a considerable amount of focus, Vahn still had a number of ways topletely overwhelm the other Olympians... Though the discussion had taken more than two hours, only seventeen minutes had passed in the outside world. This gave them close to twelve hours to finish preparations, but, due to how eager everyone was for theing Raid, nearly everything had been finished prior to the meeting. As a result, Vahn decided to move up his schedule slightly, donning his own armaments before tightly clutching the Asauchi as he said, "Let''s do this...!" Following a loud hurrah from a veritable army of females, Vahn created a live feed to show what was urring on the other side before teleporting, not just himself, but Tiamat into the very heart of Mount Olympus. At the same time, he transferred Artoria and Illya to the location of Hera while simultaneously transporting Altera into the center of arge Coliseum, Amaterasu to arge bow-shaped space station, and Arcueid to an eerily organic-looking craft with tworge, mushroom-like protrusions... --- Though he had seen it through his intent, Vahn had to admit that the majesty of Mount Olympus was difficult to evenprehend in person. Unfortunately, he didn''t have much time to admire it, as, immediately after teleporting, a thunderous roar, literally causing lighting to ripple through the surrounding space, eximed, "Who dares vite the sanctity of my chambers!?" Without flinching in the slightest, Vahn stared back at a tall man with skin that seemed to be cut from bluish-white marble. He had an overall height of 246cm and an impossibly muscr frame that would cow even the mostmitted bodybuilders. His golden eyes seemed to glow like small suns, and, with his majesty mane of white hair, flowing seamlessly into his beard, Zeus had what could only be described as a ''striking'' presence. Currently, after creating several powerful barriers in a desperate attempt to get some peace and quiet, Zeus was lounging in arge bed with half a dozen women, none of which were Hera. The most disgusting part of this, however, was the fact that one of the girls was simultaneously Zeus'' daughter and granddaughter, a woman who had been reared by her own Mother-Sister to serve as a recement when thetter began to break. Fully aware of all the monstrous acts Zeus hadmitted, Vahn''s answer to his outburst was to pull out an Elemental Star from his Inventory, smiling maliciously as he sent it hurtling towards the incensed God. Seeing the familiar orb, Zeus'' anger became transcendental as he released an overwhelming aura of bluish-white thunder. The force was so great that his bed, and the women upying it, simply disintegrated into nothingness as the furious God charged forward with the momentum of a tidal wave. Vahn felt some regret about the deaths of the six women, but, knowing they would have readily sacrificed themselves to grant Zeus even more power, there was little he could do. In fact, most of the residents of the futuristic city below had been brainwashed by Aphrodite to unhesitantly give their lives to power the Gods, so, while Vahn would have liked to liberate them, doing so was all but impossible. Even Merlin would struggle to modify the memories of a Demigods, meaning the vast majority of the Texture''s residents were their enemies... Without having to block Zeus'' charge himself, Vahn stood idly as Tiamat seemed to appear out of thin air, her mouth parting to reveal two rows of sharp teeth as she released a sonorous, "Aaah~." In response to her cry, an exceptionally powerful barrier appeared, receiving Zeus'' attack without much difficulty. Seeing a nearly-naked female appear before him, a greedy look immediately shed across Zeus'' golden eyes as he shouted, "Good! I hope this woman is important to you! I can''t wait to see the look on your face as I ravish her in front of you...!" Following his outburst, Zeus released an even greater volume of lightning, instantly creating a few cracks on Tiamat''s barrier as he released a feral shout. He had a truly sickening expression on his face as his figure towered over the much smaller Tiamat, arms spread wide as if he was prepared to grab her the moment the barrier shattered. Tiamat''s only response to Zeus'' provocation was to release another sonorous shout, creating two more barriers, each more powerful than the previous one. At the same time, Vahn vanished from sight, appearing behind the enraged God, stating in an icy monotone, "I have never seen a more disgraceful God..." as he swung the Asauchi in his hand. Zeus had previously been naked, but, feeling the ripple in the surrounding Space, his raiment burst into existence. This included a massive golden shield, the legendary [Aegis], an armament that could even sustain direct blows from some EX-Ranked attacks without buckling. What he didn''t expect was for his assant to simply cut at empty air,pletely missing the shield by several centimeters. Just as Zeus was about to ridicule his opponent for ipetence, he felt a searing pain pass through his body, interrupting the flow of Divine Energy in his veins. This came as a considerable shock, causing him to instinctually use his Divine Authority over the Sky to teleport a safe distance from the source of danger. At the same time, he left a golden scepter behind, the upper half of which was a brilliant blue lightning bolt. Vahn could feel the Space around him ''solidify'', seemingly intent to keep them in ce as the unbelievably powerful artifact began to release a torrent of lightning that was capable of tearing through virtually all defenses. Even Tiamat''s barrier wasn''t able to hold up, being pierced as if it were little more than paper. Fortunately, as he had other bodies present, Vahn simply teleported her to a location deep beneath a seemingly infinite expanse of ocean. At the same time, arge grin was stered on his face as he ignored the rampaging lightning, gripping the [Thunderbolt] with his bare hands... --- Finding herself in the middle of an expansive Coliseum, Altera looked around with a disinterested look, her wine-red eyes showing apleteck of disregard even as a rhino-sized creature tried to trample her underfoot. Her only reaction was to raise her seemingly powerless arm, extending her delicate fingers to simply ''catch'' the charging beast, stopping its momentum in an instant... With no wars to fight, Ares had very few ways to entertain himself while simultaneously dealing with his destructive urges. Thus, soon after they were forced to the Reverse Side of the World, he had built arge Coliseum. Here, powerful monsters were bred from the lineage of dragons and other Phantasmal Species, some of which could even give weaker Gods a run for their money. Ares never expected that, in the middle of a scheduled match between two diatorial factions, a strange woman with bronzed skin, white hair, and virtually nonexistent clothing would appear out of thin air. Her presence immediately reminded him of the Amazons from ages past, but, feeling a familiar presence inside of her, his blood began to boil before his mind could make sense of what he was experiencing... Seeing the woman about to be run over by an Armored Praxa, Ares'' red eyes began to glimmer in interest, as, instead of moving, the woman simply raised her hand, stopping a monster that could ughter even trained diators with ease. Then, with a simple ''push'', she forced the monster to fly back a few meters, seemingly without any effort whatsoever. Though he didn''t know who the woman was, Ares found himself leaping into the arena before he even realized it. Something about her called out to his soul,pelling him to do battle against her. It was an irresistible urge, and, when the woman suddenly turned her attention to him, he was unable to even find words as he released a loud warcry, leaping toward her with his spear pointed toward the tri-colored gemstone embedded in her forehead... Altera didn''t know who the bronzed-skin man charging toward her was, but, the moment she saw him, a strange sense of familiarity welled up inside her. This didn''t cause her to hesitate when it came to drawing her weapon, however, as, based on the man''s actions, he was undoubtedly an enemy. Enemies were meant to be destroyed, so, before the man''s spear could get anywhere near her, she swung [Photon Ray], creating a massive wall of mes that crashed into the man''s body before sending him flying with meteoric force into the far wall... Chapter 1517 - Aldrnarimachia(2/5)

Chapter 1517 - Aldrnarimachia(2/5)

After teleporting away from his attackers, a thin trail of golden blood flowed from Zeus nosed as he used a nearby pir to support himself. He had long discarded the ability to feel pain, so, feeling the searing sensation that seemed to have cut through his entire body, he didn''t know what to think. All he really knew was that the sword wielded by his assant wasn''t natural... Wiping away the thin trail of blood, Zeus adopted an almost contemptuous stare as he looked at the glistening substance and remarked, "I will rip that man''s flesh apart...he will suffer until thest stars in the night sky grow dark..." Almost as if in response to his utterance, Zeus sensed a ripple in the surrounding Space. His golden eyes began to ze with even greater intensity as he raised his right hand and roared, "You damned monkey...!" Following Zeus'' outburst, a phenomenal amount of lighting began to dance through the room, but, in spite of this, a look of incredulity shed on his face. He felt as if something was missing, his hand grasping at empty air, as, before his eyes, the figure of his most hated enemy appeared with a smile on his face. Understanding what Zeus was trying to do, Vahn''s smile became even more vicious as he asked, "Are you missing something~?" in a taunting tone. Immediately after the words left his lips, Vahn felt an overwhelming sense of danger as Zeus'' figure appeared within his vision, hidden behind a massive white fist. He felt like time had stagnated to a considerable degree, allowing several thoughts to race across his mind as Zeus'' fist smashed crashed into him with enough force to sink an ind. Due to Zeus'' Divine Authority over the Sky granting him dominion over the surrounding Space, it took a considerable amount of effort to use skills such as [Shundo]. Thus, rather than dodge, Vahn grit his teeth as a phenomenal amount of golden light erupted from his body. At the same time, he tried to manipte the force of Zeus'' attack, repelling it back at him. Unfortunately, while this was able to mitigate the physicalponent of the attack, several different types of destructive energy still transmitted into his body, searing his bones and organs from the inside as he was sent hurtling towards the peculiar glyph-lined walls of the massive chamber... Seeing his enemy smash into the wall, leaving a significant amount of destruction in his wake, Zeus allowed an arrogant smile to spread across his face. Before he could taunt his enemy, however, he noticed that his right arm had several cracks extending all the way to his elbow. His hand had also been ruined beyond recognition, ivory white bones, pale blue sinew, and golden blood forming a pulpy mass at the end of his forearm... Now that he was observing the state of his body, Zeus'' chaotic mind calmed down, reced by an icy cold sensation. He began to analyze the situation faster than most supeputers, organizing his thoughts and trying to make sense of the current situation. Then, in a booming, yet calm tone, he decided to buy time, asking, "Tell me, what grievances are there between us? Whatpels you to oppose the King of Gods?" Emerging from the hole Zeus had helped him to create, Vahn had an equally calm expression as he inly stated, "You are an errant and corrupt God who has ruined countless lives. There may not be a personal grudge between us, but you have harmed people I care about. To prevent even greater tragedies, I will eliminate you here and now." The moment he heard his assant''s words, Zeus beganughing, his voice carrying enough force to produce small cracks in the surrounding Space. Then, with a smile wide enough to show off his dark-blue gums and pearl-white teeth, he stated, "When I am done with you, I will imprison your soul for eternity. I will peel back theyers of your memory, exposing the identity of everyone you have ever loved. Then, when I am satisfied with torturing you, I will track down your friends, family, and anyone else you have ever gotten along with. You will spend your days begging for a reprieve that will nevere, watching as the people you care about are broken. In the beginning, the will beg for you to save them. In the end, they will curse the fact they ever met you." Though Vahn had seen hundreds of encounters with Zeus, his ability to read the tye Flow of Fate didn''t include the ability to discern sound. He had underestimated just how vile and despicable Zeus'' threats could be, but, rather than show any sign of being upset, he actually felt vindicated. Someone like this couldn''t be allowed to exist in the world he wished to create. Rather than dignify the errant Zeus'' threats with a verbal response, Vahn just smiled as his aura and domain began to rapidly condense. This caused Zeus'' expression to turn fierce, but, before either of them moved from their starting positions, the proud God released a pained grunt as a phenomenal amount of pain began to wrack his body. With the painpounding each moment, Zeus'' eyes widened in fury as he shouted, "What trickery is this!?" Choosing to simply ignore Zeus'' outbursts, Vahn pulled out several thousand Elemental Stars from his Inventory, spreading them in the surroundings. He took advantage of the fact Zeus had no idea what was happening to charge directly at him, now in his half-dragon transformation. Thick bands of golden lightning began to spread through the surroundings, preventing Zeus from teleporting away by forcibly seizing control over the surrounding Space, albeit only temporarily. Angrier than he had ever been in his entire life, Zeus barreled toward his attacker, his fury so great it could be felt throughout the entire Texture. He had no idea what was causing him so much pain, but, if he could defeat the draconic man before him, he was certain it would go away... --- While his second body was contending against Zeus, Vahn''s main body was within the throne room of a massive underwater vessel. From the outside, it looked vaguely like a crossbow in shape, but, from the interior, it had a very sleek and futuristic design that was obviously constructed in a way to resist incredible pressures. Currently, Vahn had Zeus'' [Thunderbolt] in his left hand and the Asauchi in his right hand. The former was embedded into the chest of a man with simr features to Zeus, albeit with cobalt-blue skin, a mane of ocean-blue hair, and a massive golden crown embedded into the top of his head. This was none other than Poseidon, who, under thebined assault of Tiamat and the oppressive force of [Thunderbolt], feel surprisingly quickly. While keeping Poseidon under control, Vahn seemed to be absentmindedly swinging his Asauchi at empty air. The truth of the matter was that he was exploiting the fact he could attack anything within his domain, striking Zeus with impunity while his main body continued to distract him. This wouldn''t be able to kill Zeus, but, so long as nothing unexpected urred, it was more than enough to keep him from thinking clearly as other phases of the n were carried out... Even with [Thunderbolt] embedded in his chest, Poseidon''s aquamarine eyes glimmered with a fierce vitality, clutching at the surging bolt of lightning as he said, "You...you will never get away with this...I don''t know who you are...but you will suffer for this...!" Ignoring Poseidon''s threat, Vahn looked toward Tiamat, smiling as he said, "Go ahead and eat up." Hearing her Master''s words, Tiamat smiled wide enough to disy a rather fierce maw of teeth before happily chiming, "Okay~! Leave it to me, Vahn!" More than the man who had his brother''s weapon embedded in his chest, Poseidon feared the strange woman who had easily suppressed him moments prior. He had been virtually powerless against her, his Divine Authority simply ''ignoring'' hismands. As a result, his ship was currently sinking to the bottom of an unfathomably deep ocean. Soon, the barriers protecting his true body would break down, and, though it wouldn''t immediately kill him, descending past a certain depth made it virtually impossible to break free... Fortunately, though Poseidon certainly didn''t think so, he wouldn''t have to worry about such an end, as, without any hesitation in the slightest, the strange woman began to tear his true body apart. She was like an unstoppable beast of destruction, her delicate fingers sinking into nearly indestructible metal before pulling it away with the ease of a child plucking flowers. In less than a minute, she had been able to tear her way to the location of his concealed core, mortifying Poseidon to the point of shouting, "No! No! No! You can''t touch that! Stay away...!!" Completely ignoring Poseidon''s protests, Tiamat''s smile became even more vicious, growing beyond the boundaries of normality. She even managed to surprise Vahn slightly, as, instead of stopping, the corners of her mouth began to ''tear'' away at her own skin, fracturing her face like porcin. After a few seconds, this phenomenon had extended all the way to her corbone, followed by the terrifying sight of Tiamat''s ''mouth'' opening like the unhinged jaws of a snake... As she instinctually knew the core would explode if she took smaller bites, Tiamat used her ability to restructure her body, increasing her size and altering the shape of her mouth. She would have liked to simply increase the size of her body to the point of being able to swallow the core like a piece of candy, but, due to the size constraints of the underwater vessel, more ''extreme'' methods had been required. The end result was unchanged, however, allowing her to swallow the basketball-sized core in a single gulp, leaving both Vahn and Poseidon gawking with wide eyes and pale expressions... With the massive core swallowed, Tiamat''s stomach had expanded to the point that, at a nce, she appeared to be pregnant. Though it was a little ''higher'' than normal, theparison could still be made, causing Tiamat herself to smile ''lovingly'', caressing her belly as she said, "I did it, Master. Are you proud of me...?" Though the scene of Tiamat devouring the core had been burned into his memory, Vahn managed a smile of his own as he said, "You did great. When we return, I''ll make sure to pamper you a lot." Hearing her Master''s response, Tiamat''s smile blossomed even further as she ignored the slowly dissolving Poseidon, leaping into Vahn''s embrace and nuzzling against him. She had reduced the size of her horns a long time ago, so, while they were still present, they no longer got in the way when she wanted to cuddle the people she liked. With Tiamat''s belly rapidly shrinking, indicating the core was being ''digested'', Poseidon''s time was very limited. Using thest bit of his energy, he released his grip on the [Thunderbolt], grabbing the leg of the man who had brought this cmity upon him, stating, "I curse you...may you never know a peaceful night for your remaining days..." As Poseidon''s words trailed off, Vahn felt a surge of malicious energy enter his body. It even tried to invade his Ego, but, less than three secondster, it waspletely expelled. This caused thest bit of light in Poseidon''s eyes to fade, an expression of incredulity as his lips soundlessly mouthed the word ''monster''. Rolling his eyes, Vahn pulled the [Thunderbolt] out of the floor,menting, "Calling other people monsters immediately after trying to curse them for eternity...how petty..." With Tiamat''s belly having already returned to its t stated, Vahn lightly rubbed the area with his palm, eliciting a happy giggle from the draconic Goddess before she spontaneously kissed him on the lips. Absorbing the Divine Authority of a God with dominion over the Ocean was a very potent form of nourishment for her, filling her body with fluttery feelings. She didn''t want to wait untilter for her reward, so, when Vahn touched her belly, Tiamat greedily sought out his lips. --- While Poseidon had fallen rather quickly, as it was almost impossible to even use his Divine Authority against the ''Primordial Goddess of the Seas, the first God to fall had actually been Ares. It had taken very little time for his humanoid vessel to be destroyed by Altera''s [Photon Ray]. Afterward, he tried to get an advantage against her using his True Body, taking on the form of a giant mech that looked reminiscent of a Spartan Warrior. Altera could not receive blows from Ares'' 20m long sword, but, with her small size and high Agility, she was able to evade him with considerable ease. Most importantly, however, was that her Divinity was derived from Mars, the precursor to Ares. This,bined with her [Civilization Erosion], allowed her to drain a little bit of his Divinity with every blow. By the time Ares realized what was happening, Altera''s Divinity had increased from B to A+, eliminating the only advantage the proud God of War had. Despite knowing he had already lost the battle, Ares only grew more excited as he swung around his sword with enough force to create devastating cyclones. He held nothing back, rending the ground asunder and destroyingrge sections of the Coliseum without care. It didn''t even phase him when Altera created a massive pir of pure destructive energy, severing his left arm and leaving a massive hole in his shoulder. Instead, heughed, his synthetic voice carrying an unrivaled thirst for battle as he shouted, "Great! You are the opponent I have been waiting for! Come, let''s see if you can take my serious blow...!!" Burning what remained of his Divinity, using it as fuel for one final attack, Ares pointed his sword to the heavens. A massive de of brilliant red energy then extended more than 1km in length before he cut towards the tiny figure that had pushed him beyond his limits. Taking Ares'' words literally, Altera stood her ground, the tri-colored de of [Photon Ray] swirling in her hands as she faced the monstrous torrent of energy directly. For a brief moment, there was even a small smile on her face, an exceptionally rare sight that would have earned her a double-take from nearly everyone in Avalon... At the exact moment before Ares'' de impacted her position, Altera raised [Photon Ray], the de expanding to more than 3m across as a vortex of energy extended outward at the speed of light. It smashed through Ares'' ultimate attack like a bullet crashing through a ss rod before piercing the God''s already spent core. Due to the energy contained within Ares'' attack, arge portion of the already devastated city was enveloped in a brackish inferno of pure destruction. Even Altera wasn''tpletely spared from the aftermath of the sword energy dispersing, but, with her A-Ranked Endurance and [Natural Body] at EX-Rank, the burns across her body healed almost instantly. The only indication she had suffered any damage at all was the fact that part of her veil had burned away. Her clothes had also sustained a small amount of damage, but, due to the ''precautions'' Vahn had taken in designing her new outfit, it repaired itself at a rate visible to the naked eye. When everything was said and done, Altera was standing on the mechanical body of the deceased Ares, her eyes gazing off into the distance as her hair, driven by nonexistent wind, flowed gracefully at her back... Chapter 1518 - Aldrnarimachia (3/5)

Chapter 1518 - Aldrnarimachia (3/5)

Prior to the battle between Vahn and Zeus, a beautiful woman with fair skin, an immacte figure, and long golden hair could be foundying listlessly within a bed that could easily fit one-hundred peoplefortably. She had pale amethyst eyes that seemed to glimmer with starlight, and, though her outfit gave off the impression of regal nobility, formed from a pale-pink robe lined with downy feathers, the fact her dark red lingerie was on full disy gave her the appearance of a high-ss courtesan rather than what she truly was, a Queen of Gods. Whilenguidlyying on her bed, the woman, Hera, was absentmindedly poking her crown, a pout visible on her otherwise perfect face as shezily droned, "You have a beautiful wife waiting for you but choose toy with your own descendants...haaaa..." After releasing a tired sigh, Hera threw her crown with a bit of force, embedding it into the magically reinforced marble that constituted the base material of her pce. Then, floatingzily from the bed, her pale amethyst eyes began glimmering with malicious intent as she muttered, "Shall we see what kind of excuse he hase up with today...?" Though she had mellowed out considerably since her time on the Surface, Hera still harbored a great deal of hatred for Zeus'' illegitimate children. She had tried to be more generous, treating all of his children and grandchildren as her own, but, at times like this, Hera couldn''t help but want tosh out. Zeus had forced her to stay within the pce he had constructed to serve as her cage, stating it was for her own protection. Hera was very aware of the recent attacks, as she had also been a victim to them, but, even after she had been targetted within the pce, her husband insisted it was safer. This had caused Hera a great deal of frustration, as, whenever her husband was with another woman, she was able to sense it. She knew he had spent thest few days engaging with more than a hundred different women, using the recent attacks as an excuse to lock her away so that he could act without inhibitions. What Hera never understood was why her husband bothered to sleep with other women in the first ce. She could freely alter her size, shape, and appearance. She was also far more durable than the most powerful Demigods, and, even if he wanted to try something ''dangerous'', she never refused to y along. There were even times when she thought her shame would kill her, but, as it was for her beloved husband, she pushed through, performing countless acts unbefitting of a Queen of Gods... Shaking her head, Hera continued to ogle herself within a massive mirror while holding up various different outfits to her chest. She was intending to interrupt her husband''s fun, but, knowing what would follow, she wanted to look her best for him. Their make-up sex was one of the few times she felt her husband still loved her, so, despite knowing it was just a facade, Hera was very reliant on the passionate act to avoid losing her mind... Just as she felt like she had found a suitable outfit, a flowing robe formed from silk that glittered like the stars, Hera sensed a disturbance in the very core of her being. Her eyes instantly widened as her expression quickly devolved into one of panic. She could sense something terrible was happening to her husband, something far greater than the spontaneous explosions that had made all of their lives miserable. Before Hera could teleport to her husband''s side, a ripple of malevolent energy spread throughout her pce. At the same time, the floors, walls, and ceiling all turned into fleshy masses,plete with pulsating veins and the distant throbbing of a heart. It was a grotesque sight, but, rather than show disgust, Hera''s expression remained one of concern as her mind continued to search for ways to aid her husband. While Hera was still focused on other things, the shape of her pce quickly morphed into a vast, cavernous, structure. It was only when she heard the sound of distant footsteps that her expression changed from concern to unbridled wrath, her pale amethyst eyes bing cker than ink as she looked toward the duo that had imprisoned her... Creating a very stark contrast between each other, the first figure was a tall woman wearing pristine white armor thatplimented her more feminine attributes. Beneath that, she wore a battledress formed from royal blue cloth that was lined in pale gold runes, each reminiscent of Divine Words. As for the second figure, she was much smaller, and, instead of wearing armor, she wore a form-fitting bodysuit that still left areas of her abdomen, thighs, and back exposed. Most of her body had a very lightyer of pure white fur covering it, and, atop her head and poking out from her back,rge ears and a squirrel-like were the only features that stood out more than her glowing purple eyes. Before Hera could demand they introduce themselves, the smaller of the duo turned to therger one, asking, "Is this little girl really our target? She looks more like a high-schooler than a Queen of Gods..." Though Hera had a mature figure, her overall height and weight were only 155cm and 44kg. She was around the same size that Artoria had been before her transformation, back when she was still in the body of a perpetually fourteen-year-old young woman. This,bined with the fact Hera also had a very youthfulplexion, made her seem a lot younger than she actually was. If she was dressed up in a uniform, she would be indistinguishable from a freshman, albeit one withscivious tendencies... Hera was considerably offended by the words of the eerie animalistic girl, but, the moment she lifted her hand to punish the foul-mouthed ''brat'', both figures seemed to vanish. This caused Hera''s eyes to widen considerably, her gesture turning into a sweeping motion that caused five barriers of holy energy to surround her body. Then, bringing her hands together in a gesture of prayer, she began to rapidly chant a spell using Divine Words, her aurapounding exponentially with each verse. While iparable to Goddesses like Hecate, Hera had a considerable mastery over illusion, curses, blessings, and transfiguration. She specialized in decreasing the fortune of others and shapeshifting them into more monstrous forms, turning humanity against them and causing them to suffer tragic fates. One of her favorite past times had been tasking Heroes with the subjugation of monsters, the majority of which were the illegitimate sons and daughters of her husband. What Hera could have never expected was that the moment she was nearing thepletion of her spell, the sound of ss shattering echoed through her ears, though not before an ivory-white spear pierce through her chest from behind. She barely managed to turn her head to the side, locking eyes with the older of the two women, one with golden hair and silver irises set with slit-like pupils. The woman had a serious and solemn look on her face, her eyes shimmering with intense focus as she inly stated, "Your mistake was failing to summon your Guardian before trying to attack...now, rest in peace. I pray that you find sce in your next life..." Understanding it took a lot more than piercing the heart to ensure the death of a Goddess on Hera''s level, Artoria released a swirl of holy energy from [Rhongomyniad]. It quickly formed into something resembling a pure white star, enveloping Hera''s entire body and breaking down into its constituent particles before beingpletely extinguished after seven minutes. [Rhongomyniad] was a weapon that served as one of the pirs holding up the Surface, keeping it separate from the Reverse Side. It was one of the restricting factors that even sealed Goddesses like Amaterasu, so, against entities trapped on the Reverse Side, it had an absolute advantage. It was also an undeniable truth that, at her current level, Artoria was stronger than virtually every Olympian. This even included Zeus, but, due to thetter''s Divine Authority, she would be unable to muster her full power against him. Just like Ishtar, Zeus'' Authority as a ''King of Gods'' allowed him to siphon the Divine Authorities of those who followed him. It also gave him a significant advantage against other Gods, as, unless they had a simr amount of Authority, their power would be greatly restricted. This was one of the main benefits of being the highest God within a Pantheon, and, without it, it would be impossible to keep other Gods in line. Hera also had a considerable amount of Authority as the Queen of Gods, but, due to having nearly died in the distant past, requiring her to fuse with a woman named Europa, she had be much weaker. The true reason for her swift defeat, however, was the fact she had been trapped inside of Illya''s Marble Phantasm, a realm of ughter that had the ability to reduce the grade of a person''s Divinity by up to two stages. Hera''s weakened Divinity had only been B-Rank from the start, so, with her power being reduced to D-Rank, she barely even qualified as a Demigod, much less a Queen of Gods... Though it was a little anti-climactic, Artoria and Illya didn''t drop their guards for even a moment. Defeating Hera was only one of their assignments, and, though she was a priority target, this was primarily to prevent her from harassing and empowering others, not because her power was great. Rather, she was the weakest of the Olympians at present, specializing in magic that made her better suited to a support role than a primarybatant. With Hera out of the way, Olympus was leftrgely unprotected. Though there were hundreds of elite Demigods and powerful automated systems to repel intruders, none of these posed a threat to the indomitable Tier 5 duo. Illya, alone, was able to cut a path of destruction through thousands of human-sized automatons, but, with Artoria having donned her raiment as the Goddess of Fortune, it was only a matter of time until theypleted their secondary objective: drawing the attention of Olympus'' defenders. --- Ignoring the sounds of countless explosions, a rather adorable figure with night-blue fur and scarlet eyes could be seen devouringrge chunks of a vibrant gold crystal. This was none other than Fenrir, but, rather than appear in her humanoid form, her current appearance was closer to that of a ratherrge husky cub, albeit withrge ears and a fox-like tail. Fenrir currently felt very excited, as, despitecking the power to fight against her Master''s enemies, she had had been given one of the most important tasks: destroying the Heart of Olympus. Here, the energy from the continent-sized crystal mountain was condensed into a few drops of brilliant golden liquid. This was condensed Divine Energy, and, under normal circumstances, a single drop would be enough to drastically increase even a God''s power. A mouthful was enough to grant a mortal eternal youth, and, if you were already a Demigod, consuming a chalice of the coveted material was enough to elevate you to actual Godhood. Due to its myriad number of uses, even Zeus wouldn''t arbitrarily squander [Sacred Divine Water], a single drop of which was used to produce the legendary [Nectar of the Gods]. Thus, over the course of several thousand years, a small basin had filled with the coveted liquid. Above it, a massive golden crystal, simr in appearance to [Das Rheingold], condensed the energy from Mount Olympus before forming it into a drop every three to ten years. Not caring about the significance of the crystal in the slightest, Fenrir had burrowed into the Heart of Olympus like therva of a caterpir. She had also stolen all of the [Sacred Divine Water], securing it safely within her near-indestructible cor. It actually took a considerable amount of restraint to stop herself frompping up the tantalizing golden liquid, but, knowing her Master had a use for it, Fenrir took her frustrations out on the crystal that produced it. She could feel her power increase at a rate that, admittedly, terrified her. However, since her Master had already told her everything would be okay, Fenrir didn''t hesitate in the slightest, even as the white sections of her fur began to glow with a pale golden light... Chapter 1519 - Aldrnarimachia (4/5)

Chapter 1519 - Aldrnarimachia (4/5)

Simr to how Alexander''s physique would change under the influence of his [Zeus Thunder], Zeus also experienced a qualitative strength increase every time he mustered his power. In fact, being the origin of the ability, Zeus'' version was much stronger than the one bestowed upon his children. Not only did it increase his power by a considerable amount, but it also enhanced his endurance, agility, and, from what Vahn could deduce, his Divinity itself. Compared to when their battle first began, Vahn could no longer directly exchange blows with Zeus. The marble-skinned God''s blows carried enough force topletely overwhelm any kind of defense, tearing away Vahn''s scales even when the attacks barely grazed him. To further exacerbate matters, it was bing increasingly difficult to move, as, the more Zeus unleashed his Divine Power, the more influence he had over the surrounding Space. He even had a startling mastery over Gravity, changing its direction midbat without even batting an eye. Vahn''s flight was primarily achieved through the use of gravitational anchors or Telekinesis, so, with Zeus constantly changing the direction of gravity, it was extremely disorienting. Fortunately, it wasn''t beyond his ability to cope with, and, though Zeus'' power was mighty, it was obvious his body could not withstand the power increase for very long. After all, if he could increase his power without any side-effects, there was no reason for someone like Zeus, especially after constant harassment, to stay in a weakened state. Zeus was well aware of the internal damage his body was sustaining, but, as he could always make a new vessel, he didn''t bother holding back. Thus, with a mighty roar that caused space to fracture, he wrapped his body in a veil of lightning, drastically increasing his strength and speed. His figure then vanished from view, and, before the sound of the thunderp shook the surroundings, the back of his fist was already connecting with his assant''s folded wings. For a brief moment, Vahn felt like his insides had been cooked as a phenomenal amount of energy coursed through his body. He didn''t even feel the impact of his body smashing into the wall until a sudden surge of heat brought him back to his senses. Most of his scales had turned to molten g on the right half of his body, and, after tanking a direct hit from Zeus, his right wing was a tattered mess of seared flesh and charred bone. During the brief moment when Vahn was taking in the amount of damage he had sustained, Zeus created a sphere of lightning more than ten meters across. Despite its size, it was still able to move at the speed of lightning once thrown, homing in on its target and striking at speeds upwards of 300,000km/h. This wasn''t actually that fast in the grand scheme of things, but, when someone was pinned down by thousands of tons of rubble, half of their body melted, it was more than enough. Seeing his viewpletely obstructed by an orb of bluish-white energy, Vahn attempted to release a dryugh, but, before a single syble could be formed, he was already enveloped. Even a normal lightning bolt could reach temperatures exceeding five times the surface temperature of the sun, so, with his Divine Energy powering it, Zeus orb of lightning easily exceeded 50,000 degrees... Though he wasn''t able to sweat, Zeus wiped at his brow with the back of his hand, watching as his attack left a deep channel of molten stone in the surrounding structure. He could sense that his foe was still alive, but, with his lightning causing cracks to appear across his body, attacking so soon was a bad idea. Not only would he disperse the energy from his previous attack, but there was a chance he would leave a gap in his defenses. He was already in constant pain from the phantom attacks that continued to slice through his body, so, now that he had the opportunity, he was attempting to find the source. Just like any God with Divine Authority, Zeus had a limited form of Omniscience that allowed him to see and know everything happening within his dominion. This was an active ability, however, so, like other Gods, he only activated it whenever he needed to know something specific. The sudden influx of information was never a pleasant thing to experience, but, feeling as though something was very wrong, Zeus shifted his focus away from the battle to get a better grasp of the situation... Immediately after activating his Omniscience, Zeus'' eyes so much lightning that they incinerated in an instant. Despite this, he could still ''see'' clearly, his rage burning with fury he never even thought possible as he shouted, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" Unfortunately, no matter how much he tried to force it, Zeus found that he could not teleport away, a golden radiance making long-range teleportation impossible. At the same time, an annoyingugh could be heard echoing through the surroundings, followed by the manifestation of his most hated enemy out of thin air. With an almost sadistic smile on his face, Vahn fixed his gaze upon Zeus, golden eyes zing as he said, "It''s a curious thing, Omniscience. Though it is an unbelievably powerful ability, the burden it ces on the user makes it very unpleasant to use. Tell me, Zeus, King of the Usurpers, how does it feel to be at the mercy of another? I wonder if you can empathize with your vic-" Not waiting for Vahn to finish, Zeus shed in front of him, lightning ripping through his own body as he squeezed the former in a tight bear hug. Then, surprising even Vahn, the errant God opened his mouth far wider than normal, biting downward with the obvious intent to decapitate him. This caused Vahn to recall the legend of Zeus devouring his own children, fearing they would one day grow strong enough to oppose him... As the thought of having his head bitten off wasn''t exactly pleasant, Vahn opened his own mouth wide, his teeth bing more angr as a vibrant golden light erupted from his throat. It wasn''t a full-powered Dragon''s Breath, but, considering the circumstances, it was better than nothing. To his surprise, however, Zeus'' head didn''t immediately explode. Instead, he seemed to be breathing in the energy, the interior of his mouth turning into a vortex that seemed capable of devouring anything. Rather than stop, Vahn ramped up the amount of energy he was releasing, his facial structure slowly bing more draconic as his body began to rapidly increase in size. He didn''t care that Zeus was rapidly healing, his wounds closing up as the intensity of his lightning increased exponentially. After all, while Zeus was certainly able to absorb the energy within his attack, his body had absolutely no way to process Source Energy. He couldn''t even sense its presence, allowing it to freely build up like a ticking time bomb. Zeus, unaware of what Vahn''s intentions, began to grow somewhat giddy in anticipation. He never expected the energy produced by his foe to be so refined, rapidly replenishing his reserves before slowly increasing his maximum capacity. This was a startling discovery, and, though he had intended to kill Vahn and be done with it, he now began considering other uses for the would-be assassin. He had already lost most of his kin, so, at the very least, some remuneration was in order... The moment Zeus began considering ways to capture each of the intruders, Vahn''s jaws snapped shut as spikes erupted from his body. This wasn''t enough to get Zeus to release him, but, as this was never his intention, he couldn''t help but smile with the ignorant God tightening his grip. By the time he realized something was amiss, Vahn changed the nature of the Source Energy within Zeus'' body, giving it a very corrosive, anti-divine, property. Feeling like his very soul was on fire, Zeus released a pained howl as his grip on Vahn tightened to the point of shattered thetter''s bones into powder. Despite this, Vahn began tough like a battle crazed lunatic, even as arge volume of blood and organ fragments erupted from his mouth. This fragments stained Zeus'' face and beard, but, due to Vahn''s [Magia Erebea] constitution, they quickly evaporated, returning to his rapidly regenerating body. Without his notice, Zeus'' marbled skin began to turn brackish in some regions. Then, like a stain spreading through cloth, his body began to turnpletely ck asrge parts of his flesh began to slough off. When he first noticed this irregrity, his entire left arm had broken off as a result of the muscles and tendons around his shoulder decaying rapidly. This should have allowed Vahn to break free, but, instead of escaping, the spikes produced by his body formed powerful binding, keeping Zeus from trying to flee. Realizing he had fallen into his attacker''s trap, Zeus fury began rapidly increasing, but, unlike before, his aura only diminished in response. The lightning he attempted to channel only caused his body to break apart even faster, resulting in the lower half of his body, including his legs, to slough away and crash to the ground. Then, no longer under the protection of his aura, the detached limbs practically turned to ash in an instant, leaving nothing but a ck residue in their wake... With the lightning in his eyes slowly fading away, ck blood began to flow from Zeus'' eyes, nose, mouth, and ears as he muttered, "I...kill...you...mon...ster..." Rather than continueughing, Vahn''s expression became solemn as he stared back at Zeus, the radiance in his golden eyes dimming slightly as he watched the proud God''s hair began to fall out. It only took a few seconds before he waspletely bald, allowing the encroachment of his energy to be witnessed in real-time. By the time five minutes had passed, Zeus'' marbled skin had turned pitch ck, gaining a quality simr to charcoal as it began to fragment away inrge chunks... --- Under normal circumstances, the death of his avatar would only be a mild inconvenience to Zeus. His true body, a massive interster gship that was more than three kilometers in length, had a factory that was fully capable of creating a new avatar. Unfortunately, upon activating his Omniscience, Zeus quickly realized that things wouldn''t be that simple... After dealing with the overly affectionate Tiamat, Vahn had teleported to an area of seemingly empty space. What made this ce unique was the existence of a three-meter long ''keyhole'' that floated in the void, hidden against the backdrop of an endless ocean of stars. Inserting [Thunderbolt] into the peculiar keyhole, lines simr to a circuit board spread across empty air before solidifying into a massive gateway that slowly opened. Inside, a seemingly endless amount of treasure could be found, but, most importantly, a massive ship that looked like a stone head with two massive sails floated in the exact center. It actually looked a little ridiculous, but, rather than let it bother him, Vahn approached the giant face, searching for a way inside. Truthfully, Vahn found it a little odd that the True Bodies of the Olympians were massive spaceships, but, considering Gaia was a literal, it wasn''t too strange. What made less sense was the fact they imnted their conscience into significantly weaker vessels, leaving themselves vulnerable to subterfuge if their avatars were distracted. Zeus had tried to cover for this weakness by sealing his true body within an Imaginary Space pocket, but, perhaps fearing they might ''betray'' him, he didn''t even leave a single guard to protect himself... Shaking his head, Vahn flew to the backside of the massive spacecraft, finding a crystalline orb where most ships would have thrusters. It glistened like an impossiblyrge emerald, having dimensions of more than fifty meters across. More surprisingly, however, was the fact it caused small ripples in the surrounding space. From this, Vahn theorized that the ship manipted the space around it, rather than moving through space itself. This meant that, so long as it had enough power, Zeus'' true body would be able to move through space at faster than light speeds, ignoring physicalws by, quite literally, bending them around itself. If not for the danger it posed, Vahn would have tried to recover the crystal for Da Vinci''s research. It would have undoubtedly propelled the technological advancements of the Empire even further, but, considering they already had Faster Than Light technology, courtesy of X, it wasn''t that important. Having made up his mind, Vahn entered the small ess port that was located in the stern of the ship. It wasn''t exactly an awkward location for an ess port, but, considering the ship was Zeus'' true body, a shiver still ran through Vahn''s body as he made his way into the cold interior. Having [Thunderbolt] in his possession made things very easy, as, in order to make use of it, his aura was almost identical to that of Zeus''. Thus, rather than try to keep him out, every door opened to allow easy ess to the interior, even as Vahn approached the location of Zeus'' core. Seeing the vibrant golden orb, Vahn couldn''t help admiring it for a brief moment as he considered the true nature of the Olympians'' existence. Their true bodies were actually giant spacecraft, but, much like the creatures from Danmachi, their consciousness and energy were derived from a core. They were basically just superputers that had obtained an Ego, elevating them far beyond the level of a traditional Artificial Intelligence... Unfortunately, for one reason or another, Zeus, and many of the Olympians, had decided to lead rather tyrannical existences. They had usurped the Divine Authority of other Gods, cementing their ce at the pinnacle of a world that had already suffered a great tragedy. Their actions had resulted in the suffering of countless individuals, so, without further hesitation, Vahn turned to Tiamat, a wry smile on his face as he said, "I hope you''re still hungry..." Hearing her Master''s words, the cross-shaped white pupils within Tiamat''s hazy pink eyes began to radiate a shimmering light as a rather vicious smile spread across her face. Then, in a manner simr to her consumption of Poseidon''s core, she devoured the entirety of Zeus'' core in a single terrifying gulp. Vahn felt it was even creepier to see a second time, but, rather than look away, he watched on with morbid fascination as Tiamat''s ''maw'' quickly reverted back to a happy smile... --- With Zeus taken out of the picture, the only remaining Olympians within the Olympus Sub-Texture were Artemis, Aphrodite, and Demeter. Of them, only Aphrodite was a primary target, but, due to her rtionship with Demeter, the two Goddesses had teamed up to face off against Arcueid. As for Artemis, she had the misfortune of being pitted against Amaterasu, who, due to the vast disparity in their power, continued to toy with the former like a cat who had stumbled upon a tiny mouse. A stark contrast to her past self, Amaterasu''s current appearance, rather than sexy and mature, could be called ''cute''. She had long-since discarded her raiment, which had given her the appearance of a dancer from the middle-east. Now, she wore a short-skirted ck kimono, a red obi tied in a bow, a ck haori that extended all the way to the floor, and a pair of ck geta. All of her clothes seemed to be a little too big for her, as, instead of a mature and voluptuous physique, she now had a ''very'' youthful figure. This was the result of Vahn showing her a [Memory Orb] containing the Amaterasu he was married to, something he immediately came to regret, as, ever since that moment, she had been teasing him incessantly about his preferences... Now, like a child who had discovered the process of using a magnifying ss to burn ant, Amaterasu had a sadistic grin on her face as she casually deflected Artemis'' arrows into the structure of her true body. This caused thetter, a mature beauty with fair skin, thick thighs, toned butt, and a startlingly voluptuous chest, to grit her teeth in frustration. Her body was already covered in severe burns, and, though she was slowly regenerating, her previously pristine white hair had nearly been singed to the scalp. Taking advantage of the moment Artemis'' attacks stopped, Amaterasu waved her hand, creating a miniature sun thatzily homed in on the former''s location. It moved very slowly, but, in spite of this, Artemis was nearly on the verge of tears as she did her best to evade the persistent mass of intense heat. Even from a distance, however, her hair and clothes began to ignite, causing her immense pain as her Divine Energy was slowly consumed by Amaterasu''s far more powerful Divinity... Seeing her prey running around, Amaterasu''s smile became even more malicious as she habitually licked her lips. Though it was a title forced upon her by humanity, she wasn''t known as an Evil of Man for no reason. She was very obedient towards Vahn, primarily due to their contract, but, when it came to her ''enemies'', Amaterasu was without mercy. She knew her Master would reprimand her for being unnecessarily cruel, but, after being sealed away for long, she couldn''t pass on the opportunity to bully another Goddess. With her nine, me-like, tails flickering behind her, Amaterasu continued to watch Artemis struggle with a smile on her face. It wasn''t until she sensed the disappearance of the most powerful aura that she finally decided to end things. She had been given the option of sparing her prey, but, rather than allow more petition'' to exist, Amaterasu adopted a rather vicious smile as she mused, "It seems our ydate muste to an end. You should have stayed in your original Universe, ufufufu~." Following the sound of Amaterasu''sughter, another sun formed into existence, this one growing at an exponential rate until it hadpletely enveloped Artemis'' true body. This was an attack capable of emting Sol itself, so, for a brief moment, the interior of the miniature star was able to surpass fifteen million degrees, leaving no trace of the bow-shaped starship that had existed prior... Chapter 1520 - Aldrnarimachia(5/5)

Chapter 1520 - Aldrnarimachia(5/5)

Despite spending weeks formting a n to efficiently defeat Zeus, Vahn was still surprised by how quickly the errant God had fallen. His original n had even required the activation of [Lace''s Key] and thebined efforts of Artoria and Amaterasu. At no point in any of his visions did he see Zeus attempt to devour his energy directly, reinforcing the idea that Fate was constantly shifting in ways that were difficult, if not impossible, to predict. The only surefire way to ''know'' the future seemed to involve not doing anything at all, so, despite all his efforts, Vahn was still victim to the whims of Karma and Fate. Even then, he could only urately predict the future of other people, requiring that he never intervene in their lives after the fact. Since this was impossible, he needed to remain constantly vignt, shaping his future with his own hands rather than relying on visions he had seen among countless currents... While his main body was busy reflecting and gathering treasures, Vahn''s second body, which had been used to battle against Zeus, teleported down to the surface. There, he found Altera standing atop the ''carcass'' of arge humanoid mech. Around her, hundreds of automatons and a number of powerful Demigods had been trying to avenge their fallen God, but, with a literal tempest formed from the Laws of Destruction, very few attacks had any hope of prating her defenses. Sensing the spatial fluctuations, Altera turned her hazy pink eyes toward the direction of her Master, her expression formed into a rare smile that seemingly had the effect of stunning anyone fortunate enough to witness it directly. Understanding Altera was uncharacteristically happy, Vahn returned a smile of his own, asking, "Did you have fun...?" Seemingly confused by his words, Altera tilted her head to the side slightly, asking, "Fun...? Mmm...it is hard to say...I can feel my heart beating faster...is that what it means to have fun...?" Now it was Vahn''s turn to be confused, as, over thest couple of years, there were plenty of times when Altera seemed to enjoy herself. This left him at a loss as to how he should answer her, leading to a rtively tense silence as she stared at him, eagerly anticipating an answer. Not wanting to leave the ashen-haired maiden waiting, Vahn ultimately just smiled a little wider as he said, "It is hard to say. If it is something you look forward to, even without needing to do it, there is a good chance you find it fun. Tell me, if I didn''t task you with defeating Ares, would you have still enjoyed trading blows with him...?" Before answering, Altera adopted a thoughtful expression as she used [Photon Ray] to sweep aside a few of the more powerful attacks heading their way. She noticed that none of these attacks had the effect of making her pulse quicken. Instead, she was beginning to gradually lose her patience, feeling that even the most powerful Demigods present wereparable to ants... After forming her thoughts, Altera''s smile hadrgely faded away as she said, "He was a worthy foe. I would have liked to battle him again...even if I wasn''t ordered to do so..." Though itcked spirit, Vahn was satisfied with Altera''s answer, nodding his head as he said, "If that is the case, I''d say you enjoyed yourself quite a bit. I''m d. I''ve been worried about youtely so it is a great relief to see you smile, even a little." Hearing her Master''s rey, Altera brought her hand to her face, gingerly feeling around her lips as if to confirm whether or not she was actually smiling. Vahn could only smile wryly when he saw this before turning his attention to the small army of Demigods that were, even now, fervently trying to mount a counter-offensive... Truthfully, Vahn felt somewhat apologetic towards this collective of immacte individuals. Though their faith wasrgely the result of conditioning and brainwashing, they were still losing their parents and Gods. Their rtively peaceful lives had been brought to ruin as a result of his desire to remove future threats, and, though they were undoubtedly enemies, he couldn''t help but pity them. Shaking his head, Vahn cleared his thoughts before arriving next to Altera and saying, "We should go. We''ve already done enough damage...let''s leave these people alone..." Though she believed it was better to remove all potential enemies, Altera didn''t refute her Master''s words. Instead, she moved close enough that their bodies were nearly touching before gently resting her head against his chest. In response to this, Vahn habitually began to stroke her head, earning a few biting remarks from their surroundings as they vanished into thin air... --- Unaware of the deaths of their kin, Aphrodite and Demeter were doing everything in their power to try and buy time until reinforcements arrived. They quickly realized that their opponent, Arcueid, was far more powerful than them, and, if not for Demeter''s unrivaled defensive magic, they would have already suffered a rather gruesome end. Aphrodite''s vessel was a woman with vaguely angelic features,plete with two pairs of vermillion wings. Though the outermost pair had two ghastly red skulls attached to the primary arch, they did little to detract from the Goddess'' otherwordly beauty. She had an immacte figure that could be clearly discerned through her semi-transparent silk garments, and, though her forehead stood out quite a bit due to her sparse bangs, the rest of her hair was a rich vermillion on the outside and a luminescent gold on the inside. It extended well past her shapely hips and tender thighs, flowing around her body like a fiery waterfall. A stark contrast to Aphrodite''s exuberant and tantly scious appearance, Demeter had features that could only be described as motherly. Her figure was even more shapely than Aphrodite''s, but, instead of appearing overtly seductive, her full chest, shapely hips, and milky-whiteplexion gave off the impression of someone well-suited to rearing children. Her facial features were delicate and kind, her full lips fixed in a perpetual smile as a gentle, infinitely patient, light radiated from her soft purple eyes. She even had wheat-colored hair formed into a loose braid that extended all the way to the backs of her knees, while, behind her, a massive golden wheel depicting the four seasons, slowly revolved like a physical magic circle. Of the two Goddesses, Arcueid was having a lot more trouble with Demeter. Not only did she have exceptionally powerful defensive magic, but, with the futuristic glove in her right hand,bined the sickle-like staff wielded in her left hand, she was able to instantly cast wide-range offensive magic. To make matters worse, the spells she used caused massive trees and other forms of flora to sprout in an instant, rapidly filling their surroundings. While trees and nts weren''t typically difficult to deal with, it was another matter entirely when the nts, seemingly possessing a mind of their own, proactively sought to entangle you. Their bark was also harder than enchanted steel, and, even without being entangled directly, Arcuied could feel her power draining away. There were even flowers that continually produced fragrant spores, which, if inhaled, caused mushrooms to sprout within the lungs. These same spores also tried to invade the bloodstream, causing tumorous growths that would erupt into fungal colonies mere seconds after the first propagation. If not for her phenomenal strength and absolutely ridiculous vitality, Arcueid would have suffered a great deal at the hands of Demeter. Instead, her eyes glimmered with an intense blue light as shergely ignored the effects of Demeter''s magic. She was able to break free from any bindings in an instant, and, though she had yet to break through the Goddess'' barrier, massive cracks appeared every time she mmed her fists against it. This,bined with the fact she was rapidly adapting to the invasive energy, making the attacks progressively less effective, forced Demeter to stay on the defensive as Aphrodite, missing three of her four wings, slowly bled out behind her... Despite being on the back foot the entire fight, Demeter still had a kind smile and a patient glimmer in her eyes as she formed a globule of green energy in her right hand and said, "Please stop...there is no need for us to battle so intensely. I''m certain we can reach an ord if we justmunicate and try to understand each other..." Immediately following her plea for peace, Demeter released the orb of energy in her hand, causing a gentle pulse to spread through the area. In an instant, all the nts she had created began to swell up in size as Arcueid''s throat swelled painfully. Severalrge mushrooms began to protrude from her mouth before dissolving away due to the magical anti-bodies she had developed. Then, in response to Demeter''s contradictory words and actions, Arcueid condensed a monstrous amount of energy in her right fist before mming it into the rapidly regenerating barrier. Though her barrier remained, Demeter was forced back a few steps as a small trickle of golden liquid began to flow from her left nostril. She was actually pushing herself quite a bit, consuming her own Divinity to increase the strength and regenerative qualities of her barrier. Her only other option was to siphon energy from the world below, but, refusing to ce such a burden on her own ''children'', Demeter ignored the insistence of Aphrodite and continued burning her own essence... Seeing her aunt pushed back, Aphrodite grit her teeth before pushing the motherly Goddess aside and shouting, "Get out of the way! She is obviously here for me! I don''t need your protection...!" Following her outburst, Aphrodite formed a sticky swirl of golden energy, releasing it toward the rampaging Arcueid like a tidal wave. Her actual offensive power was one of the worst amongst the Olympians, but, when it came to influencing the mind and manipting a person''s will, there were few who could even hope to contend against her. Being covered in the viscous yellow energy for the third time, Arcueid''s expression became dour as she red back at the vermillion-haired Goddess and said, "That won''t work on me...do you think I can be controlled by someone like you...?" After having been controlled for much of her life by Michael Roa Valdamjong, Arcueid''s had a nigh-absolute resistance against mental maniption. Her Love for Vahn also provided her a significant increase against such abilities, causing the six-digit value to drop by a few points before the effect of Aphrodite''s attack waspletely mitigated... Rather than back down, Aphrodite''s expression became even more resolute as she shouted in a shrill tone, "Oh yeah!? We''ll see how you resist this then, you...you sow...!" Raising her hands above her head, Aphrodite began to gather arge quantity of the sickly yellow energy, forming a sphere more than five meters across in an instant. She refused to believe anyone was capable of resisting her influence, her amber-eyes glimmering with madness as thoughts of how she would make her attacker suffer were already ying through her mind. Just as Aphrodite was preparing to release her most powerful attack, the surrounding temperature suddenly skyrocketed. Most of Demeter''s nts spontaneously caught fire, and, if not for the pale aura that enveloped Arcueid''s body, she, too, would have been ignited as a peal of eerieughter began to echo in the surroundings... As if they were unfurling from the void itself, a whispy tail of me, followed by eight more, began to manifest out of thin air. They quickly formed into a ''ball'' that looked reminiscent of a tiny sun before ''blooming'' like a flower to reveal a child-like figure with a mischievous, borderline sadistic, smile on her face. Her tworge ears and sakura-pink hair gave her a rather cute appearance, but, with vibrant red markings around her light-squinted eyes, she also radiated an unnatural amount of feminine charm. With the smile on her face curling up at the edge, Amaterasu brought her index finger to her bottom lip as she mused, "Ara~? Are you having a bit of trouble, Arcueid-chan~?" Before Arcueid could respond to Amaterasu''s teasing, Aphrodite unleashed the now ten-meter wide ball of sickly yellow energy, shouting, "You can both die together...!" Moving her gaze almostzily toward the approaching sphere of energy, Amaterasu simply raised her hand, stopping the massive globule in mid-air. Then, like a drop of water that had fallen onto a hot pan, the energy began to sizzle before evaporating away entirely in less than three seconds. With an incredulous expression on her face, Aphrodite appeared to be on the verge of tears as she shouted, "Who the hell are you people!? Why are you attacking us like this!?" Completely ignoring Aphrodite''s outburst, Amaterasu briefly nced toward Demeter, a predatory glimmer flickering across her eyes before quickly fading away as she turned to Arcueid, asking, "Why are you holding back~?" For a very brief moment, an awkward silence persistent in the air as a result of Amaterasu''s sudden question. Aphrodite''s expression became even worse, and, though her smile didn''t fade away, there was a visible surprise in Demeter''s pale-purple eyes. This was exacerbated quite a bit when Arcueid, as if it was an irrefutable truth, simply stated, "I think Vahn would be upset if I killed them both. He is already going to be somewhat depressed after this battle is over...I didn''t want to make things more difficult for him..." Hearing Arcueid''s response, Amaterasu released a slightly exasperated sigh before muttering, "Both of you are too soft...the only way to prevent chaos is to either subjugate or ughter the other Gods. Mercy will only invite future troubles and increase the amount ofpetition..." Towards the end of her words, Amaterasu looked towards Demeter with an usatory expression, confusing the motherly Goddess and earning an understanding look from Arcueid. In spite of this, however, she was insistent, stating, "He does so much for us...I just want him to be happy..." Realizing she wouldn''t get anywhere trying to convince Arcueid, Amaterasu decided to ignore her, focusing, instead, on the vermillion-haired Goddess. Aphrodite was one of their primary targets, so, even if she ultimately decided to spare Demeter, the same courtesy would not be extended to the errant Goddess of Love. She was simply too dangerous, and, while not as bad as someone like Zeus, the total number of victims suffering due to Aphrodite''s whimsical ''love'' exceeded seven digits. She had a bad habit of brainwashing and controlling others,pletely disregarding their free will and ruining countless lives, including Medea''s, in the process... With no discernible hesitation, Amaterasu created a massive ball of golden mes, shaping it into a small sun before releasing it towards both Demeter and Aphrodite. This caused Arcueid to show an expression of panic, but, before she could take action, Amaterasu telepathically sated, ("You are too short-sighted. Those bodies are not their true forms so stop stressing out over nothing. Demeter is still floating around near the surface so you should have just destroyed this entire ship from the very beginning...") Stunned by Amaterasu''s reminded, Arcueid could only stare nkly as the miniature sun impacted Demeter''s barrier, fragmenting it in an instant. She attempted to form a recement barrier in the brief interval before the sun reached them, but, due to the intense heat, such a chance never came. Her body, much like Aphrodite''s, was incinerated to ash almost instantaneously. The only thing left behind was Demeter''s giant seasonal wheel, her sickle-shaped staff, aurel wreath tiara, and what appeared to be a futuristic gardening glove. With a wave of her hand, Amaterasu created a spatial lock around the four artifacts, ensuring they could not be recovered easily. She knew her Master would be upset after she toyed with Artemis in a rather vicious manner, so, rather than return empty-handed, she intended to offer her spoils of war in exchange for praise. She had grown rather fond of his peculiar sake, and, though she would never admit it, his warmth was even more addicting than his offerings... Thinking of her Master, Amaterasu was eager to wrap things up, so, seeing Arcueid standing idle at the side, she adopted a rtively serious expression, stating, "Get on with it. Who knows what this parasite is capable of if you leave her be? Destroy her core or consume it, I don''t care which. Just do it before our Master is finished with his business. I don''t know about you, but I''m eager to return to the Surface. I hate the feeling of being trapped on the Reverse Side..." Following her words, a slight shudder ran through Amaterasu''s body before she quickly vanished from view. As for Arcueid, she released a small sigh before shaking her head and searching for the location of Aphrodite''s core. She was very aware of thetter''s wrongdoings, so, after finally locating the sickly yellow core, she immediately destroyed it without a second thought... Chapter 1521 - Transient

Chapter 1521 - Transient

After picking up Altera, Vahn teleported directly to Mount Olympus'' centermost region, a massive chamber that, at a nce, appeared to be an open amphitheater. Here, thousands of automatons modeled to look like Greek soldiers could be found covering nearly every surface of the floor. There were also a number of humanoid figures that must have been Demigods, but, due to the amount of damage they had sustained, it was difficult to ascertain what they must have looked like during life. Amidst this veritable ocean of corpses, arge wolf-like creature with ghostly blue mes covering the majority of its body could be seen devastating the few surviving members of Olympus'' security forces. This was Illya in her transformed state, now appearing almost exactly like a grown version of Cath Palug, appearing simultaneously adorable yet ferocious at the same time... Though Illya''s transformation drew the most attention, Vahn''s senses easily detected the presence of his beloved Empress, bringing a smile to his face when he saw her walking along the periphery like an untouchable Goddess. She was wearing her bunny-like raiment, but, contrasting past versions of the peculiar attire, she also had on a pure white fur coat that gracefully flowed as she moved. Since she was constantly using [Avalon], all damage was mitigated in its entirety, and, as a result, she was able to capture and disable her foes with impunity. What was truly terrifying about Artoria''s abilities wasn''t the fact she had almost unrivaled offensive and defensive might, but, as a Goddess of Fortune, she could control Luck in a simr way to Naavi. As a result, her foes would randomly trip, fail to release their spells, or evenmit friendly fire as a result of unexpected deviations in their attack trajectory. There was even one instance where a pir, seemingly undamaged from the fight, spontaneously cracked before pinning an unsuspecting group of automatons to the ground... Due to being awed by the presence of his bunny-like Empress, Vahn was nearly swept off his feet when a bluish-white figure spontaneously appeared in his periphery, nuzzling against him with soft and squishy fur-covered cheeks. This was obviously Illya, causing him tough aloud while rubbing his own cheek against her giant face. She was currently around five meters tall and seven meters long, excluding tail and ears, so her head was big though that he couldn''t even wrap his arms around her properly. Seeing their hated enemy suddenly appear elsewhere, a group of Demigods, led by a burly man with bronzed skin and unkept purple hair, raised a golden spear in the air as he shouted, "The beast flees! Give it no quarter...!" Following his outburst, the man threw his spear with enough force to create a series of shockwaves. In spite of this, Illya just flicked her tail, seemingly at random, batting the projectile aside as if it was little more than a toothpick. This didn''t actually deter the Demigods from continuing their advance,rgely due to the conditioning they had experienced since birth, but it made it very clear where they stood in rtion to Illya''s power. While still snuggling with Illya, Vahn adopted a wry smile as he looked towards Altera and said, "I''ll leave it to you." Without requiring rification, Altera became like a living tempest as she charged to meet the group of Demigods directly. They were a little stronger than those on the surface, but, against a Tier 5 who embodied destruction, the oue was determined before the battle even began... --- Having looted most of the treasures contained within Zeus'' vault, Vahn was carrying arge number of Divine Artifacts in a sling over his back. He hadn''t been too surprised to find Artifacts belonging to the other Olympian Gods present, as, at some point in the distant past, there seemed to be some kind of conflict among the Olympians. Though the others were still alive in another Sub-Texture, they had basically been imprisoned there in their Avatars, their true forms having already been destroyed. Now that Zeus'' tyranny had been brought to an end, Vahn was intending to either put Demeter in control or negotiate with the surviving Olympians to have them rule over the Olympus Texture. The surviving Demigods still needed the leadership of their parents in order to ovee this setback, and, since he wasn''t willing tomit genocide, Vahn had the responsibility of cing a suitable guardian in charge of them. Fortunately, Demeter seemed to be the most caring of the Olympians, choosing to live among them rather than rule from above. It shouldn''t take much effort to convince her to pursue peace, allowing her to guide the remaining Demigods away from the pursuit of vengeance. She would also have the support of Goddesses like Hestia and Hecate, so, with careful administration, there was a fair chance those born in Olympus would one day be able to live amongst the Surface dwellers without causing too much trouble. With this in mind, Vahn quickly teleported back to the Surface, turning over the Divine Artifacts to Da Vinci so that she could begin studying them immediately. It would take some time, but, with Da Vinci leading the project, it wouldn''t be long before she uncovered all of their secrets. Knowing her, there was even a chance she could reverse engineer the Olympians themselves after scrutinizing the data and examining Demeter''s True Body. This, of course, required the cooperation of Demeter herself, so, after reuniting Tiamat with ya and Gaia, Vahn returned to the Reverse Side, this time teleporting near what appeared to be a giant ''fruit'' that had been cracked open. Demeter was responsible for food production, waste management, and the harvesting of natural resources. She was also responsible for terraformings, making them conducive to lifeforms that, in essence, provided sustenance for the Gods. As a result, her True Body was a peculiar sphere with a greenish-blue exterior and a pink, somewhat fleshy, interior. The top had two pink wings that didn''t seem to serve a purpose, while, near the base, a strange metallic protrusion, set with a giant eye, closely observed the daily lives of her ''children''. One of the main reasons behind why Demeter was spared, other than the fact she didn''t seem nearly as corrupted as the other Olympians, was her True Body housed a databank simr to the Moon Cell. Inside, billions of different lifeforms had their gic code sequenced and stored. At the centermost region, there were even tens-of-thousands of fleshy nodes that served as artificial wombs, allowing her to birth a breeding poption of virtually any species the Olympians had ever encountered. It wasn''t an exaggeration to say that, with a bit of help, Demeter could effectively repopte entires. She even had a Divine Authority rted to Motherhood, one brought with her, not one she had usurped from another. This made her exceptionally important to the Empire, as, even if she was unwilling to cooperate directly, there was a good chance she would allow Da Vinci to research and analyze her systems in exchange for peace between the Olympus Texture and the Empire... Not too surprisingly, Demeter''s True Body began to open as Vahn neared the surprisingly fragrant interior. There was a mellow, fruity, aroma that seemed to pervade the senses, and, though it was a little strange to see velvety membranes of flesh expand and contract like automatic doors, Vahn was able to proceed without any discernible difort. Rather, the deeper he descended into Demeter''s True Body, the more potent the fragrance became, eventually reaching levels of saturation that could rival the rainforest in humidity. By the time Vahn reached the innermost region of Demeter''s True Body, he was forced to create a membrane of protection around his body just to prevent his clothes from being soaked through. A palpable pink mist made it impossible to see more than a few meters, but, through his domain, Vahn was able to sense thousands of different organisms writhing about within bioluminescent incubation chambers. It was a rather unnerving sight, as Demeter''s interior was almost indistinguishable from a living organism. There was even an omnipresent heartbeat, and, if you listened closely, the sounds of biological processes such as blood pumping could be heard. Fortunately, after spending some time in Illya''s Marble Phantasm, Vahn had grown ustomed to such sights. This didn''tpletely remove the feeling of incongruity in the back of his mind, but, as it ultimately didn''t matter, he approached the only isted incubation chamber among thousands. There, through a slightly transparent membrane, he could see a child-like version of Demeter curled up in a fetal position, rapidly advancing through the stages of development at a rate visible to the naked eye. Though it was a strange sight to witness, Vahn couldn''t help feel a small amount of fascination as he ced his hand against the thin membrane, sending threads of Source Energy into the interior to try and understand the properties of the luminescent fluid. This caught the attention of the budding life within, causing ''Demeter'' to open her eyes, staring back at him with a perpetual smile on her face... Just as Vahn was expecting Demeter to begin speaking to him, a different voice sounded out from the surroundings. His senses werergely obscured within the body of a Tier 5 entity so Vahn hadn''t noticed the arrival of a young woman with uncannily simr features to Demeter. The only difference was, rather than wheat-colored hair, she had pale purple locks and slightly sharper features. She alsocked Demeter''s perpetual smile, her face fixed into a look of me as she asked, "Are you the one who destroyed my mother''s body...?" Though not exactly urate, Vahn didn''t try to refute the woman''s usation. After all, Amaterasu and Arcueid were acting on his behalf, so, even if he didn''t destroy Demeter''s body, he still held a bit of responsibility in the matter. Thus, with a small nod, he answered, "In a sense..." before summoning [Enkidu] to prevent the woman''s attack. Seeing resplendent golden chains appear out of thin air, the woman, Persephone, manifested what appeared to be a futuristic-looking scythe. This was the limit to her resistance, however, as [Enkidu] had already locked down the surrounding space before contracting to bind her in ce. As a result, her power waspletely sealed, causing Vahn to offer an apologetic smile as he added, "Though it is understandable that you would be upset, there is little sense in battling within this ce. Do you intend to injure Demeter''s True Body and destroy her still-developing avatar...?" As she couldn''t muster up any power whatsoever, Persephone had little choice but to listen to the invader''s words. She realized there was a fair amount of truth contained within them, and, if he really had destroyed her Mother''s previous Terminal, she had virtually no hope of defeating him. Thus, with a rather venomous look in her eyes, she muttered, "I won''t attack...so can you remove these chains?" Shaking his head, Vahn answered, "I wasn''t born yesterday. You can wait there until Demeter finishes developing. At this rate, I don''t imagine it will take more than an hour...?" Seemingly able to hear him, the teen-like Demeter within the incubation chamber nodded her head before, once again, curling into a fetal position with her eyes closed. She seemed to understand the futility in trying to resist, showing no discernible signs of retaliation in any of the currents Vahn was peering into. The only time she showed any hostility was when he injured or threatened the purple-haired Demigoddess, so, rather than rile her up, Vahn pulled out afortable chair, choosing to rx as the scythe-wielding beauty cursed him from within a soundproof barrier... --- With the inclusion of Altera, and Vahn himself, the battle within the amphitheater concluded after a rtively short period of time. In the end, a little more than three-hundred Demigods had survived the conflict, around five percent of the total number of casualties if you included automatons and other support machines. As for why they had been spared, this was primarily due to the influence of Artoria''s Divinity, allowing those with higher Luck to survive otherwise critical injuries. Ignoring the hateful stares of the seriously injured Demigods, Vahn released an internal sigh as he looked towards Artoria, Altera, and Illya, forcing a smile as he said, "You all did well. Zeus ended up falling faster than expected, so, after we pick up Fenrir, we can return home. I''ve already picked up Amaterasu and Arcueid so she is thest one remaining. Circe has already cooked up a sizeable feast so we shouldn''t keep everyone waiting too long." Though they could tell Vahn was beginning to feel down about the amount of death that had been wrought as a result of his actions, Artoria and Illya decided to remain quiet. They wouldfort him after the celebration had ended, once everyone was preparing to retire for the evening. This wasn''t exactly their first time having tofort their empathetic lover, so, once everything had settled, they would take him into one of the Marble Phantasms until he had made a full recovery... Without anyone protesting his decision, Vahn teleported everyone to the hidden chamber that once housed the Heart of Olympus. Now, the house-sized crystal had vanished in its entirety, reced by a rather ''fat'' wolf that wasying belly up with its tongue hanging out. Usually, Fenrir would waste no time in greeting him the moment he arrived, but, due to the difficulty of digesting the Heart of Olympus, she had passed out after growing to the size of a small cottage. It was probably the first time in her life she had been genuinely full, a contented smile visible on her canine face as the usually insatiable vortex in her stomach slowly processed the golden crystal that had inted her belly. As he had already seen this scene in his visions, Vahn wasn''t really surprised by Fenrir''s current state. Everyone else, however, had incredulous looks on their face, as, a stark contrast to the midnight-blue she was known for, Fenrir currently had vibrant gold fur. She looked like a fluffy golden wolf pup that had been scaled to gigantic proportions. The only parts of her body that weren''t gold were the tip of her tail, her underbelly, the fur around her paws, and the markings on her face. These ced became a vibrant white that seemed to radiate a small amount of light, further cementing the fact that Fenrir had undergone a ''very'' drastic change. Before the other could recover from their stupor, Vahn took the initiative to copse into Fenrir''s thick coat of fur, causing her body to twitch happily as he nuzzled her underbelly and exined, "It isn''t something you have to worry about. Once her body finishes refining all of the energy contained within the Heart of Olympus, her fur color will return to normal. This is just a byproduct of absorbing too much Divine Energy for her body to process all at once. Once she is able to convert her magical energy properly, it will take on a dark blue color with a ghostly tinge..." Due to the phenomenal amount of Divine Energy she had absorbed, Fenrir''s body was currently a lot warmer than normal. In fact, just snuggling against her gave Vahn a strong urge to nap as her aroma and warmth always made him feel calm and rxed. Now, these two things were even more potent, so, for a brief moment, Vahn couldn''t even hear the responses of Artoria and Illya until thetter had called out to him several times. Seeing the girls looking toward him with concerned expressions, Vahn justughed in a lighthearted manner before saying, "You have to try this. Once she returns to normal, her fur will feel somewhat cool to the touch. Right now, it''s like resting against a warm cloud..." Though Artoria and Illya didn''t immediately move, Altera was the type that took things literally, so, after hearing her Master''s order, she also plopped face-down against Fenrir''s underbelly, nuzzling into the thickyer of ridiculously soft fur. From Vahn''s perspective, it was almost impossible to see her, almost like she had concealed herself within tall, pure-white, grass... Chapter 1522 - Weakness

Chapter 1522 - Weakness

After a little over an hour had passed, the luminescent liquid began rapidly draining from Demeter''s incubation chamber. She now had the appearance of a woman in her mid-tote thirties, possessing somewhat pale, wheat-colored, hair that nearly reached her calves. She had a different kind of charm than the Demeter he hade to know and love, but, from an objective point of view, there were a lot of simrities between the two. Both had motherly figures, wheat-colored hair, gentle eyes, and a perpetual smile that could seemingly tolerate just about anything... Though it didn''t particrly seem to matter, Vahn averted his eyes when Demeter first raised her body and emerged from the incubation chamber. When she noticed his reaction, Demeter tilted her head to the side, a small amount of confusion visible in her gaze as she asked, "What use is there in turning away at this point...?" Hearing Demeter''s question, Vahn just waved in a dismissive manner, stating, "There is a difference between watching someone develop in a chamber and then conversing with them naked. Now, wear your raiment properly, we have much to discuss." Rather than immediately follow Vahn''smand, Demeter silently observed him for several seconds before turning her attention to her daughter, Persephone. It broke her heart to see the girl bound in chains, so, much to Vahn''s surprise, she stated, "I will cover myself when you release my daughter..." Realizing she had misunderstood something, Vahn turned to face Demeter, his brows raised slightly as he said, "I''m not particrly shy, you know? I was trying to give you a bit of face, allowing you to preserve your dignity. If you insist on standing there in the buff, I''m not going to force you." To further emphasize his point, Vahn brought out another chair from his Inventory before leaning back in his own and waiting for Demeter''s response. He hadn''t particrly cared about things like nakedness until others made a big deal about it, so, rather than allow Demeter to convince herself she had some kind of leverage over him, Vahn didn''t mind enjoying the view. Seeing Vahn staring back at her with a small amount of appreciation visible in his gaze, it didn''t take long for Demeter to realize he wasn''t putting on a front. She also knew his forces had either killed or sealed away the other Olympians, so, rather than endanger herself and the lives of her children, she came to the conclusion that it was better to simply acquiesce to his demands. After releasing an inaudible sigh, a sh of golden light enveloped Demeter''s body. When the light faded away, she was wearing a rather revealing raiment that left very little to the imagination. Even her chest was barely covered by two triangr sections of cloth that were fastened by atticework of deceptively flexible gold wire. The most curious aspect of these metallicponents was the fact that, rather than cutting into her skin, they followed the contours of her breasts and body perfectly. Though Demeter was an exceptionally beautiful woman, Vahn couldn''t help but feel that her raiment further enhanced her beauty. He even found himself wanting to sneak a peek behind the thin green cloth that barely covered her pantiless lower body. This was in spite of the fact he had already seen herpletely naked just moments prior... With an approving nod, Vahn snapped his fingers, allowing [Enkidu] to disperse in an instant as he said, "Tell your daughter to behave herself; I did note here to fight." Understanding her daughter''s nature, Demeter bowed politely in response to Vahn''s order before turning her attention to Persephone and saying, "My beloved Persephone...thank you for worrying about me. Now, however, your concerns threaten everything we hold dear. Worry not. Even if I must lower myself, my heart would never break so long as I am able to keep all of you safe. Please, do not make this more difficult than it has to be." Vahn couldn''t help but feel a little awkward hearing Demeter''s words, even if they were sessful in convincing Persephone to stand down. After all, he was actually seeking topromise with her, not force her to ''lower'' herself... Shaking his head, Vahn decided to simply ignore the matter, gesturing for Demeter to take a seat so they could things morefortably. There was no sense in trying to convince her he had no ulterior motives, especially after killing the other Olympians, so it was better to just exin his intentions and allow his actions to speak for themselves. --- Due to the differences in the flow of time, several hours had passed since thepletion of the Raid. By the time his discussion with Demeter had begun, they had already finished celebrating their victory. Now, with most of the children curled up at his sides, Vahn was enjoying a brief moment of supreme bliss, courtesy of Fenrir. She was still in her overgrown state, and, after waking, didn''t mind letting her body be used as a bed. Rather, so long as they weren''t jumping around or horseying, she liked to cuddle with others while in her ''Heaven Devouring Wolf'' transformation... With Penelo and Petra curled up in his arms, looking more like twins than siblings born more than a year apart, Vahn couldn''t help but feel as though his life was blessed. He felt somewhat mncholic knowing the struggles that would be faced by the Demigods of Olympus, but, with enough time and effort, they would eventually rebuild. The key was just ensuring they didn''t grow and develop into a civilization that was solely focused on revenge against the Surface world... Withholding a sigh, Vahn stared at the sleeping faces of his lovely daughters,forted by the fact they were both smiling happily. If not for his children, and children the world over, he wouldn''t even bother with all these troublesome matters. Fortunately, if everything went as nned, this would be thest time he had to build an Empire. In the future, he would live life more freely, traveling around like a Vagrant Hero that punished the vile and wicked with impunity. At this point, Vahn had already grown weary of things like politics, so, in future Records, he decided to live like the wind, moving about freely without ever settling down. He already had a home back in Danmachi, and, now that he had built an Empire and was on the verge of creating his own Realm, it seemed like a waste of time to rebuild in other Records. Instead, he would continue to develop the growing Realm within his own Soul, using it as a safe haven to protect the things he cared about as he moved between the Records. Though it might be somewhat childish, Vahn still had aspirations of living like an actual Hero, rather than an overbearing Emperor. He still liked to imagine what it would be like to live as the characters of various novels, anime, and even video games, experiencing their stories and shaping their worlds ording to his decisions. Unfortunately, though he didn''t regret it in the slightest, his character made this very difficult. It was nigh-impossible for him to simply overlook injustices, so, whenever he came across a broken system, Vahn''s instinct was to try and ''fix'' things. This wasn''t necessarily a bad thing, but, when there was an infinite number of Records, some of which contained an infinite number of Universes, his efforts had very little effect on the nature of reality. Even in the Nasuverse, his primary concern was just a single world among countless iterations of that same world, not the Record in its entirety. Understanding there was no way for the current him to ''fix'' everything, Vahn decided it was better to just strengthen the foundation he had already built. His main goal was still to return home, so rather than establish an Empire in every Record he visits, he would strengthen what he had already built. He could move people into his personal Realm until it became a literal Universe, all while living the free and unfettered life he had originally sought at the beginning of his journey. Just imagining what it would be like to freely roam the Records without having to worry about his loved ones being endangered brought a smile to Vahn''s face. He had already reached a point where ''death'' had virtually no meaning to him, so, as long as he kept everyone safely inside his Realm, the machinations of his enemies meant absolutely nothing. He would be an absolute nightmare for his enemies, freely traversing their territory, destroying their prized possessions, and eliminating any who thought themselves above thew... --- After listening to Vahn''s proposition, Demeter wasn''t quite sure what to think. She could agree with him when he mentioned why Gods such as Zeus had to die, but, when he started exining his n of wiping out all ''errant'' Gods, she began to feel ufortable. Even without understanding Vahn''s true power, Demeter got the impression he was an exceptionally dangerous individual. His ideals threatened the very essence of Gods, reducing them from existences meant to rule to nothing more than the foundation by which everything else was built upon. He was a zealous man who seemed to genuinely believe that the main purpose of power and authority was to elevate and protect others. Demeter couldn''t see eye-to-eye with Vahn''s principles, but, knowing he might very well eliminate her if she became an obstacle, she continued to smile throughout the entire conversation. She held the belief that humanity, and other sapient creatures, ''needed'' the Gods to rule over them. Without the guidance of higher forms of existence, they would tear themselves apart and lead themselves to ruin. Fortunately, in spite of his dangerous ideal, Demeter felt a small amount of gratitude in regards to Vahn''s ''mercy''. Had he been more resolute and extreme, there would have been no hope for the continuance of her people. With her death, it was only a matter of time before her children began to fight amongst themselves, setting themselves back thousands of years just to determine who among them was the most suited to lead. Even then, due to the inherent pride possessed by the majority of Demigods, the fighting would never truly stop. They would continue to undermine their progress for millennia, potentially even sabotaging their very existence once someone got their hands on one of the forbidden weapons that had been researched in the ancient past... Realizing just how close they had been toplete extinction, Demeter stared back at Vahn with a thoughtful glimmer in her eyes, asking, "I understand your ambitions...tell me, what must I do to earn the favor of the Empire? My power, alone, will not be enough to prevent my children from being led astray. They need an authority figure to govern over them...I am too tolerant to be harsh when they misbehave..." Though she could be strict when necessary, Demeter''s ''Divine Authority of the Mother'' made it difficult for her to properly mete out punishment. The more prideful among her children were bound to stray from the flock, gradually pulling others to their side. Eventually, she might even find herself the victim of her own children''s schemes, and, much like Gaia, she would be unable to muster the resolve to fight against them seriously. Without waiting for Vahn''s response, Demeter caused Persephone to grit her teeth hard enough that her gums began to bleed, stating, "As the one to y Zeus, it is only right that you be the new King of the Gods. I may be unworthy, but I will do my best to support you as your Queen..." Hearing Demeter''s words, Vahn''s expression became marginally more serious as he exined, "That should not be necessary. I intend to bring Athena, Hecate, and Hestia to support you. Though I have a few disagreements with her, Athena should be more than capable of meting out punishment when necessary. Hecate is also extremely wise, and, though her personality is somewhat abrasive, I believe she is more than capable of restraining Athena''s more troublesome aspects..." Without any hesitation at all, Demeter shook her head in response, stating, "Without an absolute ruler, it would be impossible to prevent infighting amongst the Gods. Athena and Hestia have also lost their Aletheia, so, if anything happened to their Terminals, they would die. Lastly, all three of the Goddesses you mentioned are Virgin Goddesses. Athena and Hecate, in particr, have an extreme prejudice towards men, and, due to her nature, Hestia would not be able to oppose them. More than seventy percent of the city''s poption is male so it would not be wise to install Athena as a ruler..." While Demeter was making her case, Vahn was peering into the Flow of Fate to see whether or not her words rang true. Unfortunately, as he only saw things from ''his'' perspective, every vision rted to the Olympus Texture involved him trying to settle some kind of dispute. It was impossible to know what those disputes entailed, however, requiring him to make assumptions based on contextual evidence. All he knew for certain was that, shortly after bringing Athena, Hestia, and Hecate to the Olympus Texture, he would have to step in just to prevent them from fighting. With a frown on his face, Vahn tried to imagine elevating someone like Heracles to the status of a God, but, unless he forced the matter, convincing Heracles to rule over Olympus was impossible. He was perfectly content with living the life of a very powerful fisherman, and, despite being given the option of seeking revenge, he had refused. Heracles would do everything in his power to ensure the safety of Avalon, but, when it came to external affairs, he had absolutely no interest in things like Quests and Adventures. After thinking about it, Vahn realized that Demeter''s words held a considerable amount of truth. Just like on the Surface, the world seemed to ''need'' an absolute ruler. Without something like the Empire to enforce the Common Law, society would still be spiraling towards self-destruction. The strongest beings in the world would continue to hide in the shadows, fighting for power and authority among their closed circles while humanity, as a whole, was blissfully ignorant. The poprity of the Virtual World,bined with his own desire to freely explore the Records, allowed Vahn to understand that most people simply didn''t want to think about suchplicated matters. They craved structure, and, even if they were suppressed, they would still find a way to establish a baseline that allowed them to build the most convenient lives avable to them... Shaking his head, Vahn reaffirmed his decision to never get involved directly with politics when he visits future Records. In the Nasuverse, however, he was already ''all in'', so, after thinking about it for a few minutes, courtesy of the Projection''s time dtion, he answered, "I do not form rtionships based on convenience. Unless your emotions were sincere, I would never be able to open my heart to you. While you may consider such things inconsequential, they are very important to me...I would never force anyone against their will. There is always an alternative solution." Hearing Vahn''s response, Demeter''s expression softened almost imperceptively as she stated, "There is no greater love than the love of a mother. For my children, there is nothing of myself that I would not sacrifice willingly. You might question the sincerity of my love, but, if it is to ensure their safety, I would willingly give my heart, my mind, my everything...do not look down on a Mother''s love." It was fortunate that Vahn had multiple bodies, as, after hearing Demeter''s words, he couldn''t help but release a frustrated groan. Demeter''s words were like a cleaver cutting into his very soul, as, no matter how powerful he became, Vahn''s ''absolute weakness'' was the love of a Mother. In his mind, there truly was nothing more powerful, so, after hearing the conviction in Demeter''s words, he felt a considerable amount of guilt, questioning what kind of monster he had be to put such a caring mother in this kind of situation... Though she didn''t understand the reason behind Vahn''s sudden change, Demeter felt as though his terrifying aura had shriveled up in an instant. He suddenly seemed more ''vulnerable'' than before, a stark contrast to the man who had resolutely talked about killing countless Gods to further his goals. For a brief moment, she even felt as though he was one of her children, her maternal instincts giving her a strong urge tofort him... Unaware of the ''switch'' he had flipped within Demeter''s heart, Vahn appeared calm andposed as he said, "Very well...you have convinced me. I suppose this will make the integration between the Surface and Reverse Side smoother..." Understandably dissatisfied, Persephone wasted no time in shouting, "This is ridiculous! Even if you are more powerful than Zeus, I''m not going to give my mother to you! We finally have the chance to be free! I would rather die than ept this...!" Hearing her daughter''s words, Demeter''s smiling expression turned into a reproachful look as she firmly stated, "That is enough, Persephone. You may be willing to face your death, but that does not mean I am willing. If you try anything, I will have to stop you. Are you willing to harm me just to seek your own death...?" As if she had taken critical damage, Persephone became unsteady on her feet, never taking her eyes away from the hateful man who had invaded their lives. She resented Zeus for treating both her and her mother like ythings, so, having another tyrant take his ce, Persephone couldn''t help hating the man who had reced him. In her mind, Vahn was no better than Zeus, a depraved and power-hungry individual who would make their lives a living hell for his own amusement. Seeing her daughter continue to re at Vahn, Demeter furrowed her brows ever so slightly as she stated, "Go to your room. You are forbidden toe out until Ie to retrieve you. I want you to think about the consequences of your actions and the effects they would have on others. When you have calmed down, we will talk about this matter together." Despite gripping her scythe with enough force to make her knuckles turn white, Persephone, with tears building in the corner of her eyes, obediently listened to her mother''s words, storming off into the unseen depths of Demeter''s True Body. This earned a sigh of relief from Demeter, her expression showingplicated emotions as she looked back to Vahn and said, "Please, do not me her. She has lived a very difficult life under the rule of Zeus. We have all experienced difficulties as a result of his whims." Even without Demeter trying to convince him, Vahn wouldn''t have taken the matter to heart. In fact, he would have been more surprised if Persephone didn''t hate him. After all, his actions had been the primary catalyst which led to the destruction of her mother''s previous avatar. In a way, their current situation could be seen as him putting pressure on Demeter, forcing her obedience in exchange for guaranteeing the safety of her children. Resisting the urge to rub his temples, Vahn lightly shook his head, stating, "It is a small matter. I will let my actions speak for me. Zeus was a monster who ruined the lives of countless people, both God and mortal. Though some wouldbel me with the same sins, I have always acted in a way to ensure the prosperity of all sapient life. I have never once sought to suppress others for things like personal gain and amusement." Despite feeling as though he was trying to justify his actions, Demeter didn''t doubt that Vahn was far better than Zeus. Not only was he more powerful, but he also listened to the reasoning of others. If she had tried to convince Zeus of something, he would have either ignored her or punished her for suggesting something he hadn''t thought of himself. Then, several monthster, he would make the same suggestions, and, if anyone pointed out the origin of his ''wisdom'', they would suffer a cruel punishment for daring to slight him. A stark contrast to Zeus, Vahn gave her the impression of a warm and gentle soul who had been led astray by his convictions. His aura, once he calmed down, became purer than anything she had ever sensed before, and, though it didn''t show on his face, she could tell Persephone''s words had caused him a bit of heartache. Thus, despite fearing him quite a bit, Demeter couldn''t help but view Vahn as yet another one of her children, someone that required her care and affection. She might not be able to free him from his convictions, but, at the very least, she couldfort him whenever his burdens became too great... Chapter 1523 - Waves

Chapter 1523 - Waves

Though it hadn''t been his original intention, none of the Inner Sanctum''s residents were surprised when Vahn expressed his desire to restructure Olympus. Rather, they seemed to have anticipated it, Da Vinci even going so far as to prepare an administrative system to help govern in his stead. There had never been a doubt in her mind that his busy-body nature wouldn''te into y. Thus, with a vested interest in the technology of Olympus, she had prepared numerous measures to ensure order and stability returned to the devastated region. In the end, Vahn became the new ruler of Mount Olympus, even if it was in name and title alone. The actual governance was left to the system designed by Da Vinci, leaving the Gods acting as little more than guarantors. This left Goddesses like Athena rtively bitter, but, after losing against every mainbatant within the Empire, Vahn included, she stopped causing trouble. As for Hestia and Hecate, the former turned out to be more entric than expected while thetter, after a reunion with Circe and Medea, became surprisingly agreeable. She still pestered him like an In-Law, but it was nothingpared to the expectations he had built up after their first meeting... With Olympus serving as the prime example, Vahn''s intentions shifted from arbitrarily killing Gods to negotiating with them. He was already well aware of the fact that most Gods weren''t actually evil, so, with the exception of Gods who were known to mistreat other races, Vahn wasn''t unwilling to reach apromise. Most Gods would give way to a higher authority, and, with Gaia, ya, Tiamat, and Amaterasu on his side, it didn''t take much to ''convince'' them to either obey or stay within their own Textures. Regardless of whether or not they chose to obey the Common Law or remain in their own Textures, Vahn forced every God to sign a binding contract, not with him, but with Gaia. Their Divine Authority was ''borrowed'' from her, so, if they ever went against the terms they had agreed upon, their powers would be stripped from them. As for the few Sr Deities that remained, they were either freed from their prison, subsumed by Amaterasu, or sealed away with the Textures they had be fond of... When everything was said and done, more than three years had passed on the Surface, equating to more than twenty within the Projection. A lot had changed in this period of time, including most of Vahn''s children growing into teens that spent most of their time outside the Projection. The only real exception to this was Sophia, as, after attending school for a single day, shepletely lost interest in even trying to associate with her ''peers''. As a result, she had grown into a beautiful young woman who could give Da Vinci, Isanna, and Naavi a run for their money. In this same time period, a number of changes in the interpersonal rtionships between the Inner Sanctum''s residents had urred. The most noteworthy change was brought about by the maturity and subsequent ''graduation'' of the Designer Babies. Vahn had even officially knighted Sakura, Mash, Astrid, and Zoe once they graduated from the Clock Tower and passed their Knight Selection Trial. As for Alex, he decided to follow in Siegfried''s footsteps, bing a wanderer who helped everyone he came across. This resulted in him gradually bing the youngest member of the Designer Babies, allowing even Juliet, a proud Maid of the Inner Sanctum, to surpass him. As could be expected, the Knighting of Sakura and Mash had some rather immediate consequences. This included epting Mash''s feelings, and, after several hours of tense silence, granting Ghad permission to marry Sakura. With this, the former happily became a permanent member of the Inner Sanctum whilst Sakura, as if to drive a stake into Vahn''s bleeding heart, ended up getting pregnant less than two months after her honeymoon. Though he was well over two-hundred years old at the time, Vahn felt more nervous about being a grandfather than being a father. There was something about seeing his daughter going through the stages of pregnancy that worried him to no end. As a result, he took his frustrations out on Ghad, forcing the reserved Knight to tolerate his grievances until Sakura intervened, lecturing him quite a bit in the process. After that, Vahn could onlyin to Rin, who, unlike him, seemed to take the matter in stride... Despite his misgivings, Vahn dutifully delivered his grandson once Sakura was ready to give birth. It was a rtively awkward affair, but, with Sakura herself asking that he perform the procedure, it was impossible for him to refuse. Afterward, though he never actually hated Ghad, Vahn suddenly felt like the man had be a part of his family. Seeing him on the verge of tears as he and Sakura held their firstborn son made it impossible to have any hard feelings toward him. Rather, if it came down to it, Vahn had no doubt in his mind that Ghad would sacrifice everything to protect his daughter, making him more than worthy as both a husband and father... Following the birth of his grandson, Ren Aldrnari Mason, meaning ''lotus'', only Artoria remained with child. This concerned many of the Inner Sanctum''s residents, but, knowing it wasn''t even considered ''long'' from the perspective of a True Dragon, Vahn wasn''t too worried. The only thing preventing the little hatchling from being born was the fact that Artoria enjoyed being pregnant. She felt no need to force the matter, either, so, whenever someone brought it up, she would simplyugh it off. Using his ability to read the Flow of Fate, Vahn knew that Artoria''s pregnancy, on average, wouldst around one-hundred years. He could, of course, speed up the process considerably, but, after seeing Artoria lyingzily on the sofa, affectionately stroking her belly, any desire he had to force the matter had evaporated. Instead, he would often join her, gently embracing her from behind as theyzily on the sofa for hours at a time... --- With a stern expression on his face, Vahn stared back at the woman, who, at this point, had be a carbon-copy of his Shishou. The only difference was, instead of wearing a purple bodysuit, she was attired in the regtion armor of the Imperial Knights. This always created a sense of incongruity in Vahn''s heart, but, in spite of this, he wielded the yet-unnamed Asauchi in his hand, adopting a loose stance as he muttered, "Your move..." Without any visible hesitation, Scthach''s body became a blur of white, gold, and dark purple as she turned into a veritable tempest. Her spear, colored in a characteristic blood-red, created vibrant trails of light that cut off all paths of retreat. Some of the trails even altered causality, bending cause and effect to ensure the attack couldn''t be dodged. Seeing the torrent of blows targetting each of his vital points, Vahn''s pupils transitioned from their usual aquamarine to a vibrant gold for a brief moment. Time seemed to stagnate in response to this change, allowing him to see the always-interesting sight of Scthach, her body twisted in multiple forms that were all melded together into a singr whole. Though she only wielded a single spear, her movements split into seven unique trajectories, each as real as the others... After admiring Scthach''s ever-impressive disy of skill, Vahn''s body began to move without him needing to direct it. In the time it took for his fist to make contact with her abdomen, he could have counted to more than a hundred, but, in actuality, not even a millisecond had passed. It was like the world had been frozen around him, allowing only his painfully slow movements to proceed without pause... Immediately after his fist made contact, Vahn felt as if time had sped up thousands of times in an instant. Most of Scthach''s attacks spontaneously ceased to exist, leaving only a single trail to swipe harmlessly next to his face as the woman in question was sent flying like a cannonball. This wasn''t even remotely enough to take her out of the fight, however, leaving the hair on Vahn''s neck tingling as a spatial tear appeared right behind him. With a quick twist of his head, Vahn managed to evade the sudden sneak attack, the edge of the spear nearly cresting the tip of his nose. At the exact same moment, Scthach created a foothold in mid-air, using [Koku Shundo] to immediately close the distance as her previous spear erupted in an explosion of scarlet energy. She ignored the shockwave that impacted her body, attempting to nt her own palm against her Master''s chest, but, like a mantis catching a cicada, Vahn''s hand instantly moved to grasp her wrist. Once the fiery plume of energy faded away, Vahn was revealed to have an amused smile on his face. His hair was forced to the side in a ratherical fashion, but, as if it remembered the shape it was supposed to be in, it quickly fixed itself as he said, "You never cease to amaze me. Tell me, how have your matches with Mordred been going...?" After staring at where her Master was holding her wrist, a very light flush colored Scthach''s cheeks as she answered, "She has improved a lot, but I''m still leading with 2473 victories and zero losses..." Hearing Scthach''s answer, Vahn felt like he could hear Mordred crying out for justice in the back of his mind. He knew they had a bit of a one-sided rivalry between them, but, with Scthach improving at a monstrous rate, it was very difficult to surpass her. Even without the [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground], she subconsciously remembered all of her skills and abilities. The only thing that prevented her from winning against him was the vast, almost insurmountable, difference in Parameters. Releasing Scthach''s wrist from his grasp, Vahn nearly chuckled when he saw her how disheartened her expression became. She had be rather fond of him over the years, and, though there was always a bit of distance between them, Vahn appreciated her quite a bit. At this point, the only thing preventing them from moving forward with their rtionship was the inhibitions he had developed after the death of her ''original''. Even then, it would only take her expressing her intentions for him to finally relent... Though she was unaware of her Master''s thoughts, Scthach seemed to be building up her courage as she absentmindedly stared at his lips. She had received a lot of advicetely, but, knowing of the trouble her original self had caused, she was afraid he would ultimately refuse her. After that, there would be no way to heal their rtionship, so, despite the assurance of others, she was afraid to give voice to her feelings... Due to the ''support'' of others within the Inner Sanctum, Vahn and Scthach often found themselves alone together during normal training hours. He had also been lectured quite a bit about pressuring the heart of a maiden, so, after seeing Scthach gradually lower her eyes, Vahn released an internal sigh before asking, "How do you feel about me, Scthach? And no, I don''t mean as your Lord and Master...tell me truthfully how you feel..." To give her a little courage, Vahn gingerly traced his finger along Scthach''s chin,pelling her to look up at him as their faces became marginally closer together. This caused her eyes to gradually widen, and, after swallowing audibly, she answered, "I don''t...know...all I know is that my heart hurts when we are apart...I want to be at your side...I want to be wanted..." While not exactly the words he was looking for, Vahn internally remarked ("Close enough...") as he slowly closed the remaining distance between their lips. It probably wasn''t fair to think she actually knew what love was, as, even after thousands of years, her original wasn''t able to figure it out. All she really knew was an instinctual desire to break free from the loneliness locked away deep within her subconscious. This was something he could grant her, so, without further ado, he decided to teach her what love was using his own methods... After a long, passionate, and surprisingly tame kiss, Vahn separated his lips from Scthach, who, from the very beginning, had practically frozen in ce as she instinctually reciprocated his kiss. He could tell she was forcibly restraining her own desires, allowing him to do everything in spite of the fact her body ''wanted'' to respond more fervently. Understanding his responsibility, Vahn eyed the Asauchi in his right hand before splitting his body in two. This caused Scthach''s eyes to open even wider than before, her face turningpletely scarlet as wayward thoughts began racing through her mind. Seeing his former Master-turned-Apprentice''s reaction, Vahn struggled to restrain hisughter as he lightly pat himself on the shoulder and exited the training orb. He still had numerous uncertainties regarding the Asauchi, especially with nearly thirty-seven years passing, so Vahn was unwilling to let it separate from his ''main'' body. As a result, he could only leave himself to deal with Scthach, taking the Asauchi to y elsewhere... --- After finding a ce atop one of the Ivory Castle''s Wizard Towers, Vahn gazed out over Avalon with a contented smile on his face. It was still the same peaceful and pristinend as before, but, with the passage of time, the overall poption had eclipsed ten million. If you looked towards the direction of the port, it was now possible to find tens-of-thousands of aesthetically pleasing buildings, manybining the sensibilities of Japanese architecture with more futuristic designs. With his domain now stretching more than eighteen kilometers, Vahn could ''see'' the myriad peoples of Avalon going about their daily lives with smiles on their faces. Humans weren''t even the dominant poption so it was possible to see Companions, Fae, and even Yokai walking around. They all lived in rtive harmony with each other, rarely requiring direct intervention. Even then, it was usually just to settle a drunken dispute after a few colleagues had too much to drink. At this point, the first three phases of Vahn''s n were nearing, or at,pletion. The only thing he was waiting for was the construction of the Supercolonies, but, with steadily rising support and rapid technological advancements, it wouldn''t be long before they werepleted. He had even used the Holy Grail created by Illya to deal with some growing issues, primarily things like disease and famine, so things were going exceptionally well, all things considered... With his smile gradually increasing, Vahn turned to the Asauchiying across hisp, musing, "Now, if only I could get you to wake up...seriously, how long are you going to keep sleeping? Am I doing something wrong...?" Originally, six years was supposed to be the average for awakening a Zanpakutou Spirit, but, due to his usage of Marble Phantasms and Spirit Time Orbs, Vahn''s age was nearing 250 years old. Now, it felt like a literal lifetime had passed since he forged the Asauchi, but, other than the asional hum, it showed no signs of awakening. It was a truly troublesome matter, especially with a certain sakura-haired sword otaku constantly pestering him about forging another... In response to Vahn''s musings, the Asauchi released a pleasant hum, which, in his ears, sounded like it was saying, "Don''t rush me. I''ll wake up when I''m good and ready!". Shaking his head, Vahn issued a dryugh before pulling out an oil rag and meticulously polishing the Asauchi''s de. This caused it to release a steady and persistent hum, seemingly satisfied by the fact he was spoiling it. Though he would never vocalize it, Vahn was pretty sure his Zanpakutou had already awoken, but, as it was very spoiled, it pretended to remain asleep. He had no way to confirm this, however, so, rather than make a big deal out of it, he patiently awaited the day when its voice resonated in his ears. This process could probably be sped up if he faced a powerful opponent, but, with few enemies posing a legitimate threat to him, this wasrgely just spection... Chapter 1524 - Horizons

Chapter 1524 - Horizons

(A/N: Voting is finally enabled. The problem was apparently rted to the fact Zoe''s name uses a special character, even though it has been that way for months. Let''s show the ranking we''re not ying around \u003e:D!!) As time continued its perpetual march forward, Vahn''s time was split between research, helping to babysit Ren, and, every now and then, going on small Adventures. There were quite a number of Textures with everything from floating inds to rivers that flowed and spiraled through the air. These were mysticalnds filled with Phantasmal Species and all manner of unique races that had diverged from humanity millennia ago. This added a sense of wonderment that couldn''t be found in something like the Virtual World, so, after dealing with the various ''rulers'' of these Textures, the amount of traffic between them and the Surface world was gradually increasing. Previously, there were a number of powerful entities that had eagerly sought to return to the Surface. Even if they had massive Realm-like Textures to rule over, they didn''t like that they were basically imprisoned on the Reverse Side. Thus, in an effort to convince the more apprehensive Gods and Goddesses, Vahn had allowed many of them to explore the Surface world for a short period of time. He also promised to create pathways between the Surface and the Reverse Side, removing the need for a chaotic merger between the myriad Textures. It would take a considerable amount of time to create aprehensivework, but, so long as you had ess to the transportation nexus, it was possible to traverse more than three-hundred different Textures. This number was gradually increasing at a rate of one gate every 2-3 days, so, by the end of the year, an additional 120 Textures would have been added, effectively converting Gaia into a pocket universe. Knowing how amazing Gaia was, Vahn would still get a little upset when he heard reports about amunity viting the Common Law by trying to dump their waste into rivers or oceans. There were still a number of people who didn''t think the Empire would enforce the more ''inconvenient'' aspects of the Common Law, so, despite countless instances of people being punished, others, as if it was some inherent instinct, would readily pollute the environment. Fortunately, even with millions of peoplemitting minor offenses, it was nothingpared to the amount of waste produced in the ''Modern Era''. Now, things like industrial factories no longer existed. Chemical and Nuclear nts had been effectively ''erased'', and, with most vehicles being banned, the volume of emissions had decreased to a negligible amount. These factors,bined with the fact that Gaia had been receiving an ample amount of ''nourishment'', all but guaranteed she would live on into perpetuity... --- With a characteristically casual smile on his face, Vahn was enjoying the gentle rays of the sun as he absentmindedly observed a pleasant scene. A few meters away from his position, ying in the shallows of a pristine blueke, Gaia, Spenta, Tiamat, and another white-haired beauty were all happily ying together. If former members of the Holy Church were to witness this scene, they would be unable to hide the shock on their face, not just because of the white-haired woman''s identity, but because she was wearing a pure white one-piece swimsuit while happily ying with others... As if reacting to some unspoken cue, the young girl who had been sitting at his side, possessing simr features to the much older white-haired woman, mused, "You never cease to amaze me...I never would have thought that child would be able to find happiness. To see her happily ying with others... it''s almost enough to make me think you had no ulterior motives..." Hearing the voice of the young girl, Aura, Vahn turned to meet her seemingly blind eyes, smiling as he said, "Everything people do for others is done with ulterior motives. Even if it is just to make someone else happy, there is always an underlying reason driving us to act. It doesn''t matter what my original intentions were...Mavis is much happier apprenticing under Vivian than she ever was as the Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Church." Rather than refute Vahn''s statement, Aura gave a small nod before returning a smile of her own and saying, "I suppose that is all that really matters. I have yet to see you try and exploit her gifts, so there isn''t much I can say on the matter. I only hope that things can remain like this for a very long time...peace is often too fleeting..." Vahn was well aware of how quickly things could transition from peace to absolute chaos, so he couldn''t help but nod in response to Aura''s words. At the same time, however, he was gingerly poking ya''s feline abdomen, earning a stink eye from her before she rolled over to protect her belly. This allowed him free ess to her back, so, without any hesitation, Vahn began to caress her soft fur while staring at the invisible screen within his mind... ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Quest: World Power] Rank: SSS Completion Grade: SS Objective(s): Defeat a total of ten Dead Apostle Ancestors designated by the Holy Church:(13/10), y or subordinate Solon Yggdrasil, Director of the Mage''s Association(1/1), y or subordinate Mavis Maxwell, Pontiff of the Holy Church(1/1), y or subordinate any weilder of True Magic:(1/1) Optional Objective(s): Purify the Crimson Moon Curse from Arcueid Brunestud:(1/1), Destroy the Enforcement Division of the Mage''s Association:(8/8), Destroy the Burial Agency of the Holy Church:(5/8), y or subordinate one of the three Monarchal Lords associated with the Mage''s Association:(1/1) Reward(s): 8,000,000,000OP, 1x[Heaven''s Mandate], 1x[Seal of Heaven], 1x[Imperial Regalia], 1x[Crimson Moon Tiara], 3x[Anti-Origin Dagger], 1x[Sword of the Lord] [Heaven''s Mandate] Rank: Unique Use: Upon activation, allows the user to make a contract with the current Ruler or Guardian of the world. If they are sessful, all life within a specified dominion will be aware of their status as the designated Ruler of the World, granting them nigh-absolute Authority within the dominion they have been assigned. Restriction: Vahn Aldrnari Mason [Seal of Heaven] Rank: Unique Use: Allows for a singr decree to be acknowledged by the World. This decree will be an absolutew within the dominion assigned to the user. Vition of said decree will result in the offender being punished by the World. Restriction: Heaven''s Mandate must be in effect. [Imperial Regalia] Rank: Unique Use: Allows the transfer of Authority granted by [Heaven''s Mandate]. The wielder of this dagger is recognized as the designated Ruler of the World. Restriction(s): Heaven''s Mandate must be in effect. This item can only be transferred willingly. [Crimson Moon Tiara] Rank: SS P.Def: 0 M.Def: 2300 Abilities: Blessing of the Crimson Moon(SS), Mind Enhancement(S), Mind Resistance(S), Indestructible(S) A beautiful silver tiara rumored to be cast from the light of the full moon. Greatly increases the wearer''s mental rity while providing an equal increase in mental resistances. When worn by its rightful owner, it increases all parameters by an amount corresponding to phases of the moon. It is most powerful on the night of the Full Moon, temporarily doubling the wearer''s parameters for a brief period of time. Restriction(s): Arcueid Brunestud, Anyone with Yin-Elemental Affinity [Anti-Origin Dagger] Rank: Unique Use: So long as the user knows the Origin of the target, this weapon has a high chance of causing instant death. [Sword of the Lord] Rank: Unique Use: A ceremonial item used in session rituals. After being soaked in a person''s blood, the de of this sword will glow with a mystical blue light. This effect can be triggered by all direct descendants, making it a viable method to determine familial ties during session disputes. ----------------------------------------------------------------- With Phase Four looming on the horizon, Vahn had been forced to decide whether or not he wanted toplete certain Quests. He obviously didn''t care much about the one assigned to him by Akasha, but, when it came to Quests like [World Power], the benefits were too good to simply ignore. Unique items such as [Heaven''s Mandate] were phenomenal unlocks, and, with a constantly fluctuating pool of OP, it was always better to have more. Though it would be difficult to achieve, Vahn wanted to stockpile around twenty-billion OP before leaving the Nasuverse. This could be achieved instantly if hepleted his Main Quest: [Genesis Path: Dawn of Creation], but, as it felt like a waste to obtain a Divinity just as he was preparing to leave a Record, Vahn decided against it. He also wanted to try andplete each of the Optional Objectives, so, for the time being, he really only had [Gaia''s Champion] and [Ruler of a Thousand Realms] for substantial OP gain. Since [Gaia''s Champion] would bepleted the moment he exited the Record, the only Quest Vahn could focus on was [Ruler of a Thousand Realms]. Even this didn''t require him to do much, however, as the Main Objective was simply establishing a transportationwork between the Surface World and the myriad Textures on the Reverse Side. It was only a matter of time until hepleted it, rewarding him a substantial, yet deceptively small, 1,000,000,000OP. With [Gaia''s Champion], this would only bring him to around fifteen-billion, so, if he wanted to meet his goal, Vahn still needed to earn five-billion Origin Points prior to his departure... Truthfully, five-billion OP wasn''t actually that much in the grand scheme of things. He passively earned nearly a billion OP every year, so, if he decided to live frugally, Vahn would be able to stockpile plenty. He also had the option of simply grinding out a few Quests, allowing him to spend time with his children while exploring various worlds. There were no limits to the number of options avable to him, leaving Vahn spoiled for choice. The only thing that dishearted him was the fact that, with the passage of time and the introduction of things like the Virtual World, Vahn had grown weary of Quests. While they were immeasurably useful, allowing him to grow exponentially stronger in the pursuit of his objectives, Vahn felt like they removed a bit of his individuality. He didn''t like the feeling of acting ording to Objectives as it almost made him feel like a machine. Shaking his head, Vahn decided to stop worrying about things he had full control over. He wasn''t forced to ept Quests, and, if he really wanted to, he couldpletely ignore them. There was no sense inining about extra benefits, so, rather than create an issue out of nothing, Vahn decided to do something more productive... Ignoring the curious gaze from Aura, Vahn cradled ya in his arms as he rose to his feet. At the same time, he unequipped most of his clothing, leaving only a pair of shorts. This was enough to alert ya, her violet eyes ''ring'' at him usingly as he returned a mischievous smile and lept through the air, shouting, "Cannonball~!" before sshing into the refreshingly cold water... --- While one version of himself was off ''bullying'' ya, Vahn''s main body was seated on his Throne, patiently listening to reports about the various affairs of the Empire. This was the most boring part of his day, and, though he had gotten used to it, Vahn still felt it was somewhat tedious. If not for the fact there were more than a hundred people present, each following decorum to perfection, he might not be able to resist slouching while listening to Gawain drone on for more than half an hour. Fortunately, towards the end of his report, Gawain wrapped things up by saying, "We have received a missive from Admiral Drake. Her fleet encountered an ambush from a foreign Empire in the Blue Sky Texture. There were no casualties on our side, but Princess Mordred crashed her ship into one of the enemy airships..." As Vahn had just been thinking about joining Mordred and Nobunaga on their excursion into the Blue Sky Texture, he was pleasantly surprised to hear Gawain mention them. This brought a small smile to his face as he muttered, "That doesn''t surprise me...Mordred has always been the type to fight her battles using more ''direct'' methods..." Hearing their Emperor''s words, the assembly, now consisting of arge number of Gods, Spirits, and Fae, dutifullyughed in response. They all knew how ''spirited'' Mordred could be and this wasn''t the first time reports of her exploits had reached the assembly. Since it was a good opportunity, Vahn gestured for silence before asking, "So, did Admiral Drake request for reinforcements? If so, I may intervene personally..." Shaking his head, Gawain adopted a slightly wry smile as he exined, "I''m afraid the second part of the missive includes a request that Your Imperial Majesty ''not'' intervene. Admiral Drake, Vice-Amidral Nobunaga, and Princess Modred have expressed an interest in handling this matter themselves..." If not for the audience, Vahn felt as though he would have deted like a balloon immediately after hearing Gawain''s words. This was another reason why he harbored the desire to just travel freely in future Records, as, in the Nasuverse, his movements had be restricted. If he wanted to force the matter, he could do pretty much whatever he wanted, but, due to their desire to grow strong and support the Empire, he had to give everyone else a chance to spread their wings... Restraining a sigh, Vahn gave a curt nod before dismissing Gawain and asking, "Are there any other matters that require our attention? If not, we will move to the next phase of proceedings..." --- While Vahn was tied down by his responsibilities as an Emperor, Nobunaga was at the helm of a massive airship that was more than three-hundred meters in length. It was a beautiful craft that borrowed various Japanese aesthetics in its design, including a tiered bridge that looked like a five-story Pagoda. As for the rest of the ship, the hull was predominately ck while the railings and support structures were painted a rich crimson hue. The only other dominant color was gold, but this was primarily used to adorn the massive cannons that lined the port and starboard sides of the ship. Though it defied conventionalws of physics, Nobunaga''s ship, the ''Sixth Heaven'', was able to glide through the air with surprising grace. It required neither sails nor thrusters to keep it alight. Instead, it used an advanced system of gravitational anchors and graviton tethers to allow it to maneuver just as easily in the atmosphere as it could outside of it. Currently, Nobunaga had split off from the main fleet, taking advantage of the Sixth Heaven''s size to draw the attention of their enemy, the Melchiore Empire. They were a rather tyrannical bunch that had conquered hundreds of floating inds within the Blue Sky Texture. This made them one of the most powerful forces in the unique Texture, as, unlike others, itcked a pantheon of Gods to maintain order. Instead, it had a few powerful Divine and Elemental Spirits that weremonly worshipped as local deities. Some of these qualified as Tier 4 entities, but, due to ack of Divine Authority, they were little more than pseudo-immortal beings with limited mastery over various Laws. After cresting around a mountain that was more than 8km tall and 23km wide, a vicious smile spread across Nobunaga''s face as she pulled out a small gemstone and shouted, "Battle stations, on the double! I don''t want to see a single personzing about! If I find out anyone was cking off, I''ll nt a bullet so far up your colon you''ll be tasting iron for the next six months...!" Following the rather crudemand, hundreds of crew members, each wearing matching uniforms and apanied by Companions, began their battle stations. There were a number of anti-air cannons and defensive batteries on the deck of the Sixth Heaven, so, even if they weren''t operating one of the 128 main cannons, everyone had something to do. The only exception to this was the specialized boarding crew, the only group wearing armor amongst the entire crew. Leading the boarding crew, wearing a rather futuristic red mechanical suit that was designed to look like a sleek dragon, was none other than Mordred. After crashing her ship into one of the enemy vessels, both ships ended up ''sinking'' into the endless abyss of clouds below. Fortunately, their uniforms were equipped with tracking beacons that allowed the crew to be teleported in the event of an emergency. She had been able to relocate her entire crew to the nearby Golden Hind before personally piloting her rtively small ship into the belly of her enemy. Since then, she had her Captain''s license temporarily revoked, but, as it was infinitely more fun to lead the boarding party, Mordred didn''t particrly mind... With the Sixth Heaven rapidly approaching a small fleet of enemy vessels, Mordred donned her helmet,pleting her draconic look as she activated herms and shouted, "Let''s show these bastards who the skies really belong to! Onwards! For the glory of the Empire...!!" Chapter 1525 - Brink

Chapter 1525 - Brink

With one of the prerequisites of Phase Four requiring the awakening of his Zanpakutou Spirit, Vahn found himself riding on the back of Zhuque in her Vermillion Bird transformation. Thirty-seven years was a long time, even for a normal person, so Vahn had made startling progress in his mastery over [Rakshasa Body] since his evolution. In the past, he had always relied on linking the reserves of every single one of his vessels, putting a heavy strain on his body whenever he wanted to manifest one of the Divine Beasts. After discussing the matter with Da Vinci, however, Vahn pioneered a method of basically turning his vessels into storage containers, rather than batteries and receivers. Borrowing a page from Naruto, Vahn created a literal well of Souce Energy within his dantian, the core of his ''Mana Body''. Once he had mastered this process, he couldpletely iste this energy from the rest of hiswork, allowing it to work as a reserve battery in the even his normal reserves were depleted. This was important as the more vessels he had the more batteries avable in the event of an emergency. By using the energy sealed away in his dantian, Vahn was able to summon the Four Divine Beasts without taxing his primary reserves in the slightest. This provided him a monstrous increase in his overall capabilities, as, on their own, the Divine Beasts could be equated to weaker Tier 5 beings. He could also feed more energy into them, and, during an emergency, they could infuse their own into his body to greatly empower him for a short period of time. Though it wasn''t anything new, Vahn''s progress in his Innates reinforced the idea they were his most powerful assets. Now, he could rx as Zhuque elerated to near-light speeds, her majestic wings, spanning more than 300m across, leaving vermillion streaks that lingered in the void, causing it to tremble in her wake. It was a truly breathtaking sight, but, whenpared to the gentle warmth and indescribable beauty of her feathers themselves, it was marginally less impressive... After a little more than 150 hours of travel, Vahn could sense the ''edge'' of Sol''s dominion, the outer edge of what Pre-Fall Astronomers called the Heliopause. Here, rather than get colder, space rapidly heated to near 31,000 degrees Celsius, the result of superheated partictes of matter being caught in the rtively thin membrane that separated Sol''s dominion from Interster Space. In the past, Vahn had spent a short time traversing Interster Space, but, other than a few moon-sized asteroids and nigh-invisible gas giants, he didn''t find anything interesting. It did help him to confirm that not alls were alive, but, considering he was soon to depart the Nasuverse, such knowledge wasn''t pertinent to his situation. He hade to the very edge of the Sol System for a singr purpose, so, after directing Zhuque tond on aoid 1/6th the size of Gaia, Vahn drew the Asauchi as he stood in the middle of a pitch-ck world illuminated by little more than Zhuque''s mes. While doing a few warm-up stretches, Vahn turned toward the massive Vermillion Sparrow, sending a quick telepathic message. In response, she gave a simple nod before her body turned into arge plume of vermillion mes. This served two purposes, alerting the beasts that called the dark world home while also allowing Zhuque to adopt her human form. Once the mes finished condensing, an eastern beauty that could easily rival Chang''e in beauty had appeared. She was wearing a vermillion ptial gown that cascaded from her body, flowing past her feet before ending in wisps of me. Her hair was a rich brown, bordering on ck, that was styled into a loose bun that allowed most of her hair to gracefully fall around her shoulders. She had skin as fair as white jade, a figure that was poorly concealed by her loose garments, and a countenance that would cause people to instinctually lower their heads in reverence. As the surprisingly tall woman gracefully approached him, Vahn couldn''t help but admire Zhuque''s celestial beauty. The way her hips swayed was as natural as the reeds of a weeping willow gracefully flowing in the breeze. He found everything about her aesthetically pleasing, from the way her sleeves emted the wings of her true form to the small me-like mark that was situated between her two sword-like brows. Her emerald-green eyes radiated both intelligence and sensuality and her lips had an almost maic quality, drawing the eyes of anyone in close proximity... With an expression that was simultaneously bashful yet proud, Zhuquebed her delicate fingers through her hair, her voice as sonorous as a perfectly tuned musical instrument as she asked, "Was the journey pleasant for you, my Lord? I hope you found my backside to your liking..." Restraining augh, Vahn smiled widely before adopting a contemtive look, rubbing his chin as he mused, "It was a very pleasant experience...for a while, I even though about burying myself into your feathers. They always look sofortable..." Hearing her Master''s response, Zhuque''s pretense of a graceful and sultry woman shattered in an instant, a ''too-eager'' look on her face as she cupped her cheeks, writhing about as she said, "I-If that is what m-m-my Lord desires, I, no, this lowly one would be more than willing~!" No longer able to restrain hisughter, Vahn''s voice echoed through the thin atmosphere of the dark, shaking the void and startling both Zhuque and the creatures skulking in the shadows. Before she could begin to pout or apologize, Vahn extended his hand, gently caressing Zhuque''s soft and unsurprisingly hot cheek as he said, "It is still a little too soon. You four are as precious to me as my own children...there wille a time when we can be together, but, for now, I can only ask for your patience..." Punctuating his words, Vahn gave Zhuque a small peck on the lips before running his thumb across them with a smile on his face. This was enough to return the smile to Zhuque''s face, her expression turning into that of a demure maiden as she turned her eyes up at him and answered, "We will be together forever...I can wait..." Truthfully, the only thing keeping Vahn fromying a hand on Zhuque was the knowledge that she was a part of him. She was a manifestation derived from his Innate, so, for reasons he couldn''t fully understand, Vahn felt a considerable amount of trepidation towards advancing their rtionship. It was like an instinct in the back of his mind, warning him that, if he were to have sex with Zhuque, the nature of his Innate would change. With his departure from the Record fast approaching, Vahn didn''t want topromise his ns just to increase the size of his harem. The Four Divine Beasts were an intrinsic part of his power, and, no matter how much time passed, Zhuque would always be a part of him. He had a functionally infinite amount of time to make it up to her, so, for the time being, he decided to y it safe... Tearing his eyes away from Zhuque''s affectionate gaze, Vahn swung down with the Asauchi, slicing through the hill-sized monster that hade barreling toward them. Its body seemed to be formed from the same ck rock as theoid itself. This gave it the appearance of a massive golem, but, rather than being powered by a core, the creatures had multiple hearts pumping luminescent green blood through their bodies. Undaunted by the fact it had been sliced in half, the creature discarded its rocky shell, both halves quickly regenerating to create two smaller creatures. Their blood, which had flowed like a smallke, quickly corroded away the ssy ck rock that marred the surface of the barrenoid. It had such a low pH value, that, in its active state, it rated between -38 and -43, making it one of the most acidicpounds that urred ''naturally'' in the Sol System. Seeing the true form of the monsters, vaguely reptilian creatures with multiple protrusions that allowed them to ''wear'' the environment like a hermit crab, Vahn couldn''t help but smile tauntingly as he said, "Well, you''re some ugly bastards, aren''t ya~?" Though sound didn''t exactly travel well in a virtually non-existent atmosphere, it didn''t stop the monsters from releasing an extremely high-pitched frequency as they attempted to rip Vahn and Zhuque apart with their taloned limbs. The former dealt with this by simply side-stepping into the monster''s blind spot, casually tracing the Asauchi through its body to strike at one of the massive hearts hidden within the reptilian creature''s body. As for Zhuque, she didn''t bother to dodge at all, allowing the monster''s talons to phase through her body like a child quickly swiping their fingers through a me. Unlike a mischievous child, the reptile that had attacked Zhuque released an even shriller noise than before as every part of its body that came into contact with the unassuming beauty had been turned to ash in an instant. It might be able to survive in an environment exceeding forty-thousand degrees, but, with Zhuque''s ''core'' averaging around three-million, very few things could attempt to harm her without suffering the consequences. Seeing Zhuque emte a Logia Fruit user from One Piece, Vahn couldn''t help but feel a tiny amount of envy. He had tried fully elementalizing his body with [Magia Erebea], but, no matter how much he tried, his body still remained rtively ''solid''. His limbs could still be sliced, and, though they would heal in an instant, it was a stark contrast to how Zhuque could simply ''ignore'' attacks. She also made it seem so effortless, a stark contrast to the concerted effort required to maintain one of his various Elemental Emperor forms... Knowing her Master was thinking about her, Zhuque gazed toward him with a happy smile on her face as the fiery sash that usually wrapped her body made short work of her attacker. This, too, was done without any effort on her part, almost as if she was simply ''above'' having to exert herself... While returning a smile of his own, Vahn used [Shundo] to evade the ive-like tail that had tried to bisect him, appearing at the monster''s back like a phantom. His Asauchi cut through its exceptionally hard carapace without leaving a single mark, striking directly at the Spiritual Body of the creature in an effort to preserve the integrity of its internal organs. Da Vinci had asked him to bring back various samples so he needed to at least collect a few corpses intact. With itsst remaining heart ''cut'', the massive reptilian creature crashed to the ground with enough force to create a tremor. Its overall length was close to sixty meters, one-third of which was just its tail. More surprisingly, however, was the fact that this was only a baby. Despite this, it could easily rival a C-Rank Heroic Spirit, making them rather popr opponents within the simtions back on Avalon. After collecting the body, Vahn shouldered the Asauchi before turning to Zhuque and asking, "Will you join me for an evening stroll~?" Like a child who had just been bribed with candy, a bubbly atmosphere surrounded Zhuque as she happily approached his left side. She always enjoyed walking with her Master, and, though the Dark World wasn''t exactly the most scenic ce to explore, she hade to appreciate it quite a bit. This was the fifth time they had visited this particroid, so it had started to grow on her... --- While his main body was off exploring the cosmos, another version of Vahn was within a quarantined area of his and Da Vinci''s Workshop. His Inventory was linked between all of his vessels so he could instantaneously transport foreign materials and samples for processing. This was greatly appreciated by Da Vinci, so, whenever she needed to move arge number of materials, she unashamedly called upon his services. Vahn always enjoyed spending time with his most brilliant lover, so, whenever she needed his help, he was quick to acquiesce. She had basically conditioned this kind of response from him, but, as the reward always brought a smile to his face, Vahn didn''t particrly mind. Rather, just seeing Da Vinci walking around in nothing but a bra, panties, andb coat always stirred something deep within him, demanding he takes action... Despite being separated by several physical and magical barriers, Vahn was still able to smell the tantalizing aroma that always lingered around Da Vinci''s body. He could even feel her gaze casually tracing the contours of his body, causing a small tingling sensation everywhere her pastel-blue eyes lingered. After organizing the samples so they could be processed more easily, Vahn turned his attention to the maroon-haired woman who always seemed to have a smile on her face. She was watching him with a yful glimmer in her eyes, leaning forward against the console in a way that showed off her voluminous chest. Feeling a familiar buzzing in his mind, a wolfish grin spread along Vahn''s lips as he mused, "It seems someone is in a good mood..." With her smile bing even more prominent, Da Vinci pressed a button on her console, activating the speakers within the sealed chamber. Then, much to Vahn''s wonderment, she stated, "Sophia told me there is a boy she likes~." Of all the nonsensical and abstract things Da Vinci had ever told him, Vahn found her current words the most unbelievable. His mouth began to hang open in sheer incredulity as every part of his brain that was able to form words simply shut down. Finding her lover''s reaction amusing, Da Vinci input amand to save a screenshot of his current expression. She enjoyed his surprised reactions more than any other as it made him seem cute and wed, a stark contrast to how many saw him. It was also her way of getting revenge against him for all the ''surprises'' he gave her, some of which still kept her awake for days on end. Knowing he would want more details, Da Vinci exined, "It is a handsome young man named Ethan Thompkins. He is the Rank 13 yer in the Adventure World. She seems to have been smitten by his wanderlust and naive personality...honestly, I was quite surprised. If you''d like, you can take a look at his filester on. I had Ark and Motherpile a dossier...he seems to be a good boy, even if he is a little daft..." Though he was interested in the man his brilliant daughter had apparently fallen for, Vahn shook his head in response to Da Vinci''s offer to review his file. Sophia was an unbelievably intelligent woman, perfectly capable of making her own decisions, so he didn''t have much to say on the matter. Instead, he gave Da Vinci''s scantily d figure a curious look, asking, "Why are you telling me this now...?" Seeing the look in Vahn''s eyes, Da Vinci couldn''t help but smile even wider. She appreciated that he was always quick on the uptake, even if he sometimes asked pointless questions. Her only answer to his question was to slip out of herb coat, revealing her immacte body. She had never stopped improving upon the form and function of her vessel so she had only be even more beautiful with the passage of time. It was to the point she had to wear powerful artifacts just to prevent the other members of the Inner Sanctum from questioning the value of their own appearance... As was often the case when Da Vinci ''revealed'' herself, Vahn couldn''t resist the instinctual urge to swallow. His throat suddenly felt exceptionally dry as a powerful thirst began to well up from deep within his psyche. If there weren''t severalyers of protection between him and Da Vinci, he might not be able to resist the urge to push her down then and there... Feeling Vahn''s eagerness permeating through her very existence, Da Vinci''s body began to rapidly heat up. Though she enjoyed seeing his surprised expression more than any other, it was the hunger in his eyes that made her feel the greatest amount of vindication. Her beauty was something she had dedicated exclusively to him, so, if he didn''t appreciate her properly, she would find a way to punish him. For now, however, his reaction was enough to set her body alight with a passionate me, so, after squinting seductively, she turned her back to reveal a tail not all that dissimr to Artoria''s as she exited through the door and said, "I''ll be waiting, my Master~." Seeing Da Vinci''s tail, Vahn understood why his instincts were acting up even more than normal. This caused a somewhat predatory grin to spread across his face, his eyes transitioning to a vibrant gold as small scales began to protrude along his arms and legs... Chapter 1526 - Curiosity

Chapter 1526 - Curiosity

After nearly half a year of battling monsters on the edge of the Sol System, Vahn found himself face-to-face with an anomaly he had never expected: a Rogue. Unlike the variousoids and asteroids he had visited, a Rogue was aary body on the outside of the Sol System. It was a seemingly lifeless ce that had been battered by interster winds and radiation, but, deep beneath its surface, a vibrant ecosystem was thriving. The itself was alive, so, after passing through the atmosphere, Vahn ended up passing into a highly restrictiveary Bounded Field. At first, Vahn wasnt sure whether or not the was actually alive; It was possible that a powerful entity had simply made the Rogue its home. However, the truth quickly came to light when a peculiar race of humanoid entities appeared. They were a bipedal species that was roughly three meters in height, possessing glossy white exoskeletons, three sets ofpound eyes, and a total of four limbs, two of which were much smaller than the primary appendages. Though the creatures resembled ants, it wasnt incorrect to refer to them as vaguely humanoid due to their bipedalism and opposable thumbs. They also possessed a rtively high degree of sapience, as, despite ack of clothing, they carried rudimentary tools and attempted tomunicate rather than immediately attack an invasive species. While the existence of a sapient race didnt confirm that the was alive, Vahn quickly learned the truth after following the first group into a massive spatial array. They were still in a tribal stage of development as a species, but, in spite of this, they had a unique system of magic that used a subtly different form of mana. This was the first sing of thes sapience, but the most important clue was the fact that the spatial gate connected to apletely isted sub-space, a Texture. After finding himself in a Texture that seemed to consist of a singr massive nt that radiated countless roots from a massive spherical core, Vahn knew he had entered a truly unique ce. He followed the ant-like organisms along one of the smaller roots, an extension that was nearly 3km in diamter and thousands of kilometers in length. They were surprisingly quick, able to casually move at a pace of around 300km/h so it didnt take them too long to reach the central region, an area that was roughly the three-quarters the size of the Moon. A stark contrast to the lifeless surface, the interior of the core was bursting with countless lifeforms. There was also a thrivingmunity of the ant-like creatures, many living like the stereotypical Elves by choosing trees as their abodes. They also seemed to live alongside nature, the females choosing to adorn their slightly pink carapaces with various types of flowers. As for the males, they seemed to be the designated hunters of themunity, painting their carapaces with rudimentary camouge so they could better blend into the environment. The only pure white creatures Vahn had encountered was the group that had apparently been sent to retrieve him. They seemed to be special amongst the ant-like peoples, earning reverential disys from every group they passed by, regardless of age or gender. After several hours of travel, Vahn found himself on the outside of a porous construct that was filled with a shimmering green liquid. The structure itself spanned nearly ten-kilometers in diameter, and, after being escorted this far, his white-carapaced escort lowered themselves to the ground, nting their faces to the patterned wood flooring as a drop of the green liquid began to separate from therger body. Much to Vahns surprise, the liquid quickly changed into a form that roughly resembled a fusion of himself and Zhuque. Immediately after that, however, it attempted to probe his mind, either to try andmunicate or read his memories. This earned a spiteful look from Zhuque, but, with a quick gesture, Vahn was able to pacify her as he allowed Sis to share some of his memories. He assumed the strange entity was the consciousness of the, or, at the very least, one of its Gods. It didnt seem hostile at all, so he didnt see any problem with sharing a few of his less-destructive memories with it. Proving its vast intelligence, the entity opened and closed its mouth a few times, testing its vocal cords before saying, "You havee...a long way...why?" Smiling in response, Vahn measured his words carefully as he answered, "I have note to harm you or your people. I may seek knowledge and power, but it will not be at the expense of peaceful creatures." Seemingly satisfied by his response, the entity paused for a moment before giving a slow nod and saying, "You are very powerful...my power has no effect on you...very strange...very terrifying..." Not really knowing how to respond to such words, Vahn just smiled wryly in response. It was much easier to allow the entity to go at its own pace, allowing it to organize its thoughts. If he talked too quickly and tried to force matters, there was a non-negligible chance they might be hostile. For now, they seemed genuinely curious, possessing a child-like innocence that was both intrigued by, and wary of, strangers. After several rather awkward moments of silence, the unnamed entity emted a smile as it said, "If you seek knowledge and power...we can make an exchange...?" --- Following his initial contact with the entity, whichter introduced itself as Xyabaaz, Vahn spent several days exchanging knowledge and information with it. As a result, he learned that they were a rtively young that had only recently developed sapient life around three-thousand years prior. What was more surprising was the fact it was initially part of the Sol System, cast off from the rest of theary bodies during its protary phase. Since then, it had been trapped in the ebb and flow of the gxys gravitational tides, denied the protection of Sr Deity. Mosts would be unable to survive without the protection of a star, as there was a surprising amount of destructive alien lifeforms, but Xyabaaz had been rtively fortunate. It had managed to develop sapience at around 1.9 billion years old, much sooner than the average. This allowed it to protect itself from the various cosmic entities that wanted to siphon the energy from its core. It was able to trap them in various Textures, using its powers as a Tier 5 entity to slowly eliminate alien lifeforms while learning more about life in general. Needless to say, Vahn and Da Vinci were both ecstatic to meet an entity like Xyabaaz. Their existence provided great insight into the formation ofary consciousness and what qualified a as a living creature. This knowledge would be of paramount importance if he wanted to create stars ands with a consciousness, two things necessary if he wanted topletely stabilize a Realm and turn it into a Universe. To thank Xyabaaz for their insights, Vahn provided it with a Photonic Crystal that contained a vast archive of information. This would allow it to create a host of different life forms, and, if it wanted to, it could even advance the technology and culture of its indigenous species, ushering in a new age of prosperity that might even allow them to reim the Surface. While some might argue that it wasnt a good idea to empower a with such knowledge, Vahn felt that Xyabaaz was a peaceful entity. Its only sapient species coexisted harmoniously with Xyabaaz itself, removing the need for things like Gods entirely. Even its method of dealing with alien invaders was rtively pacifistic, choosing to seal them away in various Textures instead of creating lifeforms to try and eliminate them directly. Once he learned that there were entire Textures filled with-devouring monsters, Vahn couldnt resist asking for Xyabaazs permission to enter. It was very apprehensive to allow this, but, due to his nature as Type Omega, it ultimately relented to his plea. As a result, Vahn found himself in a deste Texture that could easily rival the Textures of Hell and Hades back on Gaia. He even suspected it was this kind of Texture that gave rise to the concept of a Netherworld itself, a ce where malevolent were sealed away until they expired... With Xyabaaz only having a total of five Textures, it only took a few months for Vahn topletely clear out all of the monsters that had invaded it over thest 2.4 billion years. The majority had been cannibalized by other monsters, so, with a few exceptions, the only entities remaining were powerful Tier 4 monstrosities and their brood. This allowed him to umte a significant amount of OP in a rtively short amount of time, but, most importantly, at least for his future ns, his positive Karma had shot through the roof. Evenpared to his aplishments in Danmachi, Vahn had obviously achieved far greater feats in the Nasuverse. As a result, he had even eclipsed twenty-billion total Karma, the majority of which was positive in alignment. After all, while he hadmitted acts that some might consider beyond redemption, his reasons for doing so were not malicious. He had always held himself ountable for the things he had done, even going as far as to allow himself to be seen as a viin in order to make the world a better ce for future generations. The value and alignment of Karma depended heavily on a persons perception and the underlying reasons behind their actions. If a person didnt know what they were doing was wrong, they would not generate negative Karma even after killing another person. Inversely, if you convinced someone that even thinking about bad things was wrong, they would generate negative Karma as a result of their own wayward thoughts. This was something Vahn didnt personally agree with, but, without a much greater power, there wasnt much he could do about the apparent whims of Karma and Fate... --- As one of the only things dying the activation of Phase Four, Vahn found himself sitting atop the Leviathan, a wry smile on his face as he held the Asauchi and asked, "Why wont you awaken? Did I do something wrong when I was forging you...?" Seemingly annoyed by his words, the Asauchi released a low hum in protest, the de trembling as if it had been struck by a ball-peen hammer. This was proof that it understood what he was saying, but, no matter how hard he tried, Vahn simply couldnt get it to awaken. It seemed like the Asauchi itself actually wanted to awaken, but, for reasons he had been unable to deduce, it simply couldnt... Shaking his head, Vahn released a tired sigh before pulling out his usual oil rag and polishing the mirror-like surface of the Asauchi. This was enough to get it to calm down, eliciting a pleasant hum that caused the void to tremble slightly in response. Though his Zanpakutou Spirit had yet to awaken, Vahn knew the Asauchi was, inarguably, his most powerful weapon. It had grown exponentially stronger after nearly forty years of careful maintenance and a steady supply of Source Energy. He had even been able to shatter one of Musashis swords in a direct collision, earning little more than a nick on the edge of the Asauchi. At this point, Vahns skill with the sword had greatly eclipsed his mastery with both the spear and bow. After all, the Asauchi even protested when he was using the [Thunderbolt], making it almost impossible to use another weapon. It even seemed to know when one of his other vessels was using a different weapon, releasing an aggressive hum that allowed it to break free from its own scabbard. After nearly forty years, Vahn had moved through the ranks of [Swordsmanship] before evolving the Skill and reaching the pinnacle of [Master Swordsmanship]. Now, he had stepped into the realm of [Grandmaster Swordsman], and, though he still paled inparison to monsters like Musashi and Suzuka, he could still secure a victory against them using his other skills, primarily [Laces Key]. Though he had never fully mastered it, Vahn could now activate [Laces Key] without losing his sense of self. The curious thing was, the more he mastered it, the lower the rank of the Skill itself. It had eventually degraded to S-Rank, but,pared to the base Skill, [Instinct], it was still monstrous. Musashi even equated it to the state of Nothingness, meaning he was technically able to make use of both supreme states of swordsmanship, something that shouldnt be possible. Remembering the look on Suzukas face when he countered her EX-Ranked [Trichiliocosm], a small smile spread across Vahns face. In hindsight, their duel had actually been rather silly, but, due to his victory, Suzuka had been forced to properly wear panties. This didnt really matter in the long run, as she became a member of his harem shortly after the incident, but it was still a fond memory to look back on... Shaking his head, Vahn finished wiping the excess oil from the Asauchi before cing it in its sheath. It was gettingte and tonight was a rtively significant event, being the celebration of his 250th birthday. He had now been in the Nasuverse for nearly ny-five years, and, considering most of this time had been spent training and preparing for the next Record, Vahn had decided to officially begin Phase Four. Vahn realized there was a very real chance his Asauchi may never awaken into a Zanpakutou Spirit, so, before he could be even morecent, he decided to move forward with his ns. He had originally been intending to wait until he had been in the Nasuverse for one-hundred years, but, after failing to reach Tier 5 through normal means, now seemed like the best opportunity to take a leap of faith. He needed something to trigger his awakening as a Tier 5, something he couldnt find in the Nasuverse due to his existence as Type Omega... --- With his mind made up, Vahn attended the grand celebration of his 250th birthday, an event that was celebrated worldwide. There were still a lot of people who hated him, but, with the advent of the Supercolonies and the rampant spread of the Virtual World, people under the age of twenty-five had started to greatly appreciate the Empire. Thus, while Avalon was throwing an ind-wide celebration, massive events were simultaneously taking ce in the Supercolonies and the Virtual World. While his secondary vessel was attending the celebration, Vahns main body had entered the Moon Cell. There was onest thing he wanted to try before moving forward with Phase Four, challenging the White Titan, Velber 02. If even she couldnt push him to the point of achieving Tier 5, there was virtually nothing within the Root System that could manage it. He was simply too powerful, and, due to his designation as Type Omega, the most powerful entities in the Sol System, readily subordinated themselves to him. Though she could probably win easily after subsuming the Divinities of various Gods and consuming an ample amount of Source Energy, the original Amaterasu would struggle to defeat Velber 02. This made the White Titan stronger than nearly every God that had ever existed on the Surface, including many Sr Deities,bined... Vahn had always wanted to test his strength against the infamous White Titan, so, after ignoring the protests of Ayn Rand, he entered the Far Side of the Moon Cell. There, he found a massive cacoon-like structure formed from a bluish-white material that was closer to chitin than metal. He knew this was supposed to be Art of the Stars, a factory that functioned in a simr manner to the True Forms the Olympians. It was able to produce a type of automaton known as an Anti-Cell, creatures that had the ability to corrupt and consume the data constructs that were created by the Moon Cell. Fortunately, after its initial invasion of the Moon Cell, Velber 02 lost the ability to mass-produce her Anti-Cells. Now, her ship had be little more than a defensive cacoon, protecting her damaged body until the inevitable return of the Umbral Star. Though he was somewhat interested in the Ark of the Stars, Vahn set aside his curiosity as he pulled out the Asauchi and teleported into the ships interior. This earned him the attention of the sixteen-meter tall giantess that was slouching on what appeared to be a massive Throne. Her amber eyes immediately locked onto him,pressing the surrounding space as her surprisingly deep voice resonated through the area, asking, "How lost must you be to end up in a ce like this...?" Since he already knew she would attack him, no matter what he tried to say, Vahn just pointed the Asauchi towards the bluish-white titaness who loosely resembled Altera, stating, "I havee to test my limits. Show me the power that shook the Heavens during the Age of Gods...!" With an expression of mild incredulity, Velber 02 tilted her head to the side, seemingly confused by his words. Then, with no build-up at all, her massive hand seemingly tore through Space and Time, her expression immediately turned wicked as she attempted to crush him in an instant. Instead, her attack hit empty space, followed by Vahn appearing right next to her face, the Asauchi swing in a wless arc. Though she had faced against Gods with Authority of Space and Time, Velber 02, designated as Sefar, was surprised by her opponents ability to ignore the spatial lock she had created. She even felt a considerable amount of danger from the tiny de he held in his hands, causing her body to shrink to 160cm in an instant. Her speed was directly tied to her size, so, with her opponent able to move faster than her systems could process, she switched to a form that would, hopefully, allow her topete... Despite Velber 02 evading his attack, Vahn let his attackplete as if she had never dodged. As a result, a massive gash opened up on the surprised titaness neck. Dark blue blood began to pour out in arge amount, and, for the first time in her life, she felt pain. This caused her body to release an incredible radiance, followed by the release of a destructive pulse of energy that nearly annihted Vahns body in an instant. It had expanded like a bubble that turned the surroundings into a ck and white still, almost as if Time itself was being shattered by Velber 02s destructive energy. Feeling as though his body had turned to lead, Vahn attempted to force his dragonification as the surprisingly petite Velber 02 appeared right in front of him. Her eyes were now zing with a dark red hue, but, most notably, at least to Vahn, her neck still had the injury he had left on her moments prior... With her giant hands, which were still big enough to wrap around her preys body, Sefar grabbed her would-be assassin, smiling viciously as she said, "You are weak. However, I find your arrogance to be somewhat endearing. My istion has awakened the desire forpanionship. I will keep you here, separating your mind and body. You will be my pet and an Apostle of the Umbral Star. After I learn all of your secrets, I will grant you to power you seek. You will act as my agent to destroy this hateful ce..." Hearing Velber 02s words, Vahn couldnt help but burst out intoughter. This confused the White Titan a great deal, causing her to tighten her monstrous grip around his body. Unfortunately, it was already toote for her, as, back on Gaia, another version of Vahn had justpleted his chant. As a result, Vahns main body transitioned into his Emperor of Light form, a radiant smile on his face as severalyers of eleration gates appeared around his body. Then, like a star going supernova, a mass of energy erupted from his body, transcending the speed of light with unparalleled destructive force... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Xyabaaz has worked hard...,The result of 95 years,Exploooooooosion~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1527 - *Spoilers Title at End*

Chapter 1527 - *Spoilers Title at End*

Under normal circumstances, Velber 02 had the intrinsic ability to absorb all forms of energy, even magical and divine. She used it as a stimnt to increase the size and density of her body, greatly increasing her physical power and durability in exchange for a severe reduction in speed. The only caveat to this [Magic Energy Absorption] was that it was unable to absorb pure energy without any intent behind it. She needed her opponents to use carefully developed skills, abilities infused with the knowledge their civilization had cultivated since its inception. When any kind of sapient life developed or used a magical ability, even on the divine level, there was no practical method topletely remove their intent from it. This, in a way, tainted the energy that was being used, shaping it ording to the users will so that it would enact an unnatural result. In essence, techniques, magecraft, magic, and even divinity were all methods of subtly influencing the natural order of the world. If left unchecked, those that developed knowledge and techniques would eventually grow into the Universes most terrifying parasites, consuming everything in their path for no better reason than finding a greater meaning that simply didnt exist. The Umbral Star was one of countless cleaners that roamed a specific region of the Gxy. It had the singr purpose of eliminating all intelligent life before it gained the ability to proliferate further than its host world. It, like other Stars of the same designation, saw sapience as the most threatening thing to the continuation of life within the Universe. Thus, like eliminating a parasite or treating an infectious disease, it created antibodies in the form of Anti-Cells. These were civilization-destroying entities that, in their final stage of evolution, could even rival the power output of a sun. Then, once their duty waspleted, they would self-destruct, destroying the knowledge and techniques they had absorbed so that such dangerous elements would no longer exist. In the past, Sefar had been defeated just as she was about to enter her sixth evolution, granting her an amount of energy roughly 1/10th that of Sol. She was only one stage of evolution away from her mature formed, granting her a power rating of roughly 380,000,000 and allowing her topletely wipe out all sapient life on Gaia. Instead, just as she reached a critical stage in her development, she suffered grievous injuries from the God of War, Mars, before ultimately being defeated by the proto-type that would eventually serve as the foundation of the Holy Sword, Excalibur. Now, once again, Sefar was facing against a form of energy so pure that it seemed to touch at the origin of all things. There didnt seem to be any rhyme or reason behind the skill her opponent was using, almost as if it wasnt a technique at all. Instead, he seemed to simply be exploding, a sudden and spontaneous phenomenon that emted the event that ushered in the creation of all things. It was apletely unreasonable ability, something that sapient life should have never been allowed to infringe upon... With her amber-eyes now having turned the same ashen-grey as the rest of her body, Sefar looked toward empty space, incredulity that only thought in her mind as she watched her enemy create a new body from nothing. At the same time, her own had already started to ke away, and, if not for the fact they were in a virtual space, she would have already been deleted entirely. Instead, she was able to see the birth of a being formed from a light so brilliant and pure that she couldnt help but reach out with her destroyed limbs, muttering, "Beau...tiful..." as her body turned to dust. Though his body hadntpletely reformed, Vahns intent had remained intact even after the self-destruction of his vessel. This allowed him to hear Velber 02s final words, causing a small amount of confusion to spread through his mind before vanishing entirely momentster. He had other things to worry about right now, chiefly the screaming sword that he had tossed into a sub-space pocket to ensure its protection... Seeing the de tremble with enough force that it was warping slightly, Vahn adopted a sad smile on his face as he attempted to coax it, saying, "Until you awaken, I have to take precautions to make sure you arent endangered. Do you have any idea how devastated I would be if you were to die as a result of my own carelessness...?" Even after nearly forty years, Vahn still felt a small amount of guilt whenever he recalled events like the destruction of Skoll V2 and the death of Scthach. He even suspected it was thoughts like those that prevented his power from growing even faster, much like heart demons. They were just two of the most notable instances of his power running wild, so, until he could master his current power, his progress would always be limited by his own fear and trepidation. The only way around this seemed to be pitting himself against powerful foes, using them as a whetstone to further hone his skills while simultaneously increasing his strength. Perhaps sensing the genuine concern in its wielders voice, the Asauchi calmed down rather quickly before releasing a gentle hum in response. This eased some of the tensions in Vahns body, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief as he ignored the several kilometers of emptiness around him, pulling out an oil rag to polish his cherishedpanion... --- After defeating Velber 02 in a rather anti-climactic fashion, Vahn had confirmed his suspicions about the Nasuverse. It was still a Tier 5 Record, but, due to the restrictions of the Root System, there were very few enemies that could actually push him to his limits. His Source Energy allowed him to hit way above his weight ss, and, due to his designation as Type Omega, the most powerful entities in the Root System simply couldnt go all out against him. Many were even his lovers, making it impossible for him to push himself beyond his limits for fear of identally killing people he cared about... With these realizations, Vahn decided to finally initiate Phase Four: absorbing Gaia into his nascent Realm and simply leaving the Nasuverse. This wasnt just the physical manifestation of Gaia, either, but the entirety of the. The was currently considered his territory, so, while his domain wasnt nearlyrge enough to subsume it, he could interface with theary Bounded Field itself to ensure the sess of his n. He had already tested this by overwriting the Virtual Reality Marble created by Da Vinci, allowing him to pull everything inside into his Reg Mundi, even Tier 4 and 5 beings. Vahn had taken special care to ensure that Akasha and her superiors were unaware of his ns, even going so far as to keep Fenrir in the dark. If his intentions were discovered, there was little doubt in his mind that they wouldnt resort to extreme measures. They could even try to forcibly extract one of his lovers, or, even worse, one of his children. If that were to happen, he would have no choice but to use a [Dimensional Anchor] to seal the Record. Then, until he had be stronger enough to link the Records, he would have to live with the guilt of his failure for thousands of years... After fleeing from the Record of Danmachi, Vahn had more than his fair share of regrets. It had been nearly a hundred years since his departure, and, though he was undoubtedly on the cusp of reaching Tier 5, reaching Tiers 6 and 7 would likely take a monstrous amount of effort. The only way he could reasonably achieve them was by entering higher-tiered Records, so, after mentally preparing himself for the lectures toe, Vahn found himself seated atop the Leviathan, waiting until the end of his birthday celebration before calling Gaia, Tiamat, and ya to his side. Though Tiamat was a bit of an exception, Gaia and ya were Omnipresent within theary Bounded Field. Even if they werent manifested in their physical bodies, they constantly observed his every action, never tiring, never distracted. There wasnt a single action he had done outside a few unique circumstances that hadnt been witnessed by them,pelling him to remain cautious for nearly a hundred years. Now, it felt like a substantial weight had been removed from his shoulders, bringing a sincere smile to his face as he caressed the three adorable women and said, "I have not been fair to the three of you..." With more than enough time to mature mentally, Tiamat was the first to show concern, a worried expression marring her beautiful face as she rebutted, "Dont say that...you have always treated the three of us well. Even now, I feel blessed to have been given the opportunity to meet you...my heart is filled with pleasant feelings each and every day..." Nodding her head in agreement, Gaia adopted her ever-radiant smile before taking things a step further and giving him a firm hug as she added, "Before I met you, I was always afraid. Now, for the first time in my life, I have real friends. I have lived a fuller life in these few years than the billions I have existed for previously. Even if I had billions more, I would never be able to properly express the gratitude I feel in my heart..." Feeling Gaias calming aura flood into him, Vahn couldnt help but release a lightheartedugh as he reciprocated her hug. She had been a blessing in all of their lives, and, ording to Da Vinci, Gaias happiness had effectively transmitted through the entireary Bounded Field. Now, flowers and crops grew aplenty, and, though there was an ever-increasing number of monsters, there were also a growing number of Elemental and Nature Spirits that proactively aided people. As a result, people, in general, were bing much happier and healthier than they had ever been... With a growing smile on his face, Vahn turned his attention to the youngest of the three sisters, the ever-haughty and slightly tsundere ya. She was the only one who seemed to read more into what he had said, asking, "Are you done ying around...?" Despite the serious look on yas face, Vahn could see an almost imperceptible purple hue on her pale-blue cheeks. She was significantly less honest than her two elder sisters, but, after nearly ny-five years together, Vahn could read her like an open book. He knew she was growing excited, and, if he turned on his View Affection, there would undoubtedly be an iprehensiblyrge volume of pink aura violently coiling around his body. Instead of answering yas question, Vahn just gestured to both her and Tiamat, pulling all three of the sisters into his embrace. He wanted them to feel the love he had for them, but, most importantly, at least for the time being, he needed to create a gap in their mentalities. It would take virtually no time at all for Akasha to forcibly rewrite their coding, so, before the ever-present observers could act, he sincerely stated, "I love you all..." as he released a sealed version of himself from deep within his Soul, Reg Mundi already active... --- Ever since elevating Vahns status to the highest priority by Termina Nasu itself, more than half of the System Administrators had been transferred to observe and analyze his behavior. There were, quite literally, thousands of people working in conjunction with one another, some assigned to watch over Vahn himself while others were assigned to observe and analyze his creations and progeny. Many of the less-important systems had even been shut down or paused in order to allocate more staff, with the most important task being the analysis and reproduction of the mysterious energy produced by Vahn himself. The ultimate goal of Termina Nasu was the reproduction of Proto Root: Project Eden, the primordial state of all things before consciousness. At that singr point, before time itself, everything existed simultaneously. It desired to return to that point, back when everything was a unified whole, perfect and stable. It believed there was no higher purpose for consciousness than to achieve that absolute state of order, as, for that single yet seemingly eternal moment, all things were equal, unblemished, perfect, and unified. In the pursuit of that absolute state of perfect, Termina Nasu had spent an unquantifiable amount of time creating variable Systems in an effort to reproduce the Proto Root. It had been doing this since before it had obtained awareness, and, no matter how many times it failed, it had never waned in its desire to pursue that original state of being. Now, for the second time in the passage of a seemingly endless amount of time, Termina Nasu was watching alongside the extensions of its will, observing one of two anomalies that had ever existed. It wanted nothing more than to understand their origin and the powers they could wield, especially those possessed by the second entity: Vahn Aldrnari Mason. He had a unique form of energy that seemed to be the closest thing to the Proto Root that had ever existed. They were eager to see what he would create with this energy, and, because of it, Termina Nasu had allowed him to run rampant within the Root System: Akasha. Seeing Vahn ovee obstacles and perform feats that shouldnt have been possible had awakened the excitement that had long-since faded from nearly every resident of the Outside. For some, it had been trillions of years since they even blinked, much less express an emotion. Now, however, several thousand sets of eyes had simultaneously widened in shock as their target had simply vanished into nothingness. This wasnt an exaggeration, either, as the very space and time that had existed in the area around Gaia, extending all the way to the orbital field of the Moon Cell, had ceased to exist. The only thing left behind was a gaping void that nearly copsed into a ck hole. From the centermost terminal, which had been elevated like a heavenly throne, Akasha had the most notable expression of all. Her status had been upgraded considerably as a result of being the one to process Vahn, and, more-so than even Termina Nasu itself, she had taken an interest in his life. In her own way, she had grown attached to the curious anomaly, and, though her requests were frequently denied, she often advocated for greater freedom on his behalf. She had even started to believe that the act of monitoring him was wrong, as it was undoubtedly skewing the results. For a brief moment, Akasha felt a small amount of vindication, followed by an urge tombast those who had ignored her warnings. Even if Vahn was gone from their sensors, she knew for a fact he was still alive. Her instincts told her that, even if she destroyed the Root System in its entirety, he would, somehow, continue to live on. Thus, while everyone else was beginning to panic, a sincere smile that didnt escape the notice of Termina Nasu briefly appeared on her lips... --- Located within an unfathomable void where even the Laws themselves couldnt reach, a single figure could be seen sitting atop an unbelievably ancient stone dais. At a nce, this figure seemed to be formed from the same material as the stone dais itself, but, as if its previous state had been nothing more than an illusion, it spontaneously appeared vibrant and full of life. It was almost like the Laws had been breathed into existence the moment the figure exhaled a sigh of relief. After confirming the existence of two tiny marbles located deep within the confines of his Soul, Vahn couldnt help but release a sigh of relief. He found it a little strange that they were smaller than even the memory fragment of Eva, but, rather than mull over the reasons for this, a radiant smile spread across his face as he looked around at the familiar void. To his surprise, he actually found two small spheres orbiting around him, which, upon closer inspection, actually seemed to be perfect copies of Gaia and the Moon Cell... Before Vahn could ask, Sis exined, (*Remember, this ce is a personal Dimension created by The Path itself. It is the location of your Soul, the ce your true self resides while exploring the various Records. Now that you have taken Gaia and the Moon Cell into your Soul, it is only natural that they appear here. Enkidu and Evas memory fragment are bonded to your Ego, so, unless you subsumed them entirely, they would never appear here.*) Hearing Sis exnation, Vahn had a lot of questions, and, unlike thest time he entered this ce, he was clear-headed. Fortunately, Sis was well aware of the thoughts running through his mind so, without him needing to ask, she exined, (*The amount of time you can spend in this ce is not unlimited. If you remain too long, you would begin to lose your sense of self as your power grows exponentially when in direct contact with The Path. At your current level, you would be able to stay for around eight hours without any seque. As for your concerns regarding those inhabiting Gaia, they do not experience the flow of time in this ce. In fact, it would be more urate to say that Time does not exist at all. The only thing propelling it forward is your observation of its passage...*) Vahn was a little surprised that his time was limited in a ce where the Laws of Time didnt even exist, but, rather than question it, he simply nodded his head and began focusing on more important tasks. He had saved up a phenomenal amount of Karma, and, after departing the Record with Gaia in tow, he had alsopleted the [Gaias Champion] Quest. This afforded him an additional 1.5 billion OP and a variety of Unique items, one of which woulde in handy the moment he entered a new Record and tried to ess his Realm. As a result, Vahn couldnt help smiling as Sis began a detailed exnation of what exactly his Karma could be used for... ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Quest: Gaias Champion] Rank: SS Completion Grade: S Objective(s): Protect Gaia until departure from the Record. Optional Objective(s): Increase Rapport between Gaia and ya(1,038,392/100), Increase Rapport between Gaia and Tiamat(3,993,519/100), Help Gaia make Friends(43/10), Summon Grand Servants to protect Gaia(2/7). Rewards: 1,500,000,000OP, Gaias Loyalty permanently increased to Eternal Loyalty, 1x[Emblem of the Guardian God], 1x[Tri-Force of Wisdom], 1x[Tri-Force of Courage], 1x[Tri-Force of Power], 4x[Pendant of the Earth Goddess] [Emblem of the Guardian God] Rank: Unique Use: An emblem that grants the user the protection of Gaia, the Primordial Goddess of the Earth. So long as Gaia lives, the recipient cannot be harmed by anything with origins derived from the Earth. Restrictions: Vahn Aldrnari Mason [Tri-Force of Widom] Rank: Unique Use: Grants the user iparable wisdom, leading them to always make the correct choices in their actions. For those descended from Gaia, this item also grants them immeasurable magical might, the ability to heal others, and the ability tomune with all creatures. Notice: Can be fused with the [Tri-Force of Courage] and [Tri-Force of Power] to grant a single wish. [Tri-Force of Courage] Rank: Unique Use: Grants the user iparable courage, allowing them to ovee all adversity, no matter how great or small. For those descended from Tiamat, this item also grants them immeasurable resistance to all forms of magic, mental maniption, and negative status ailments. Notice: Can be fused with the [Tri-Force of Wisdom] and [Tri-Force of Power] to grant a single wish. [Tri-Force of Power] Rank: Unique Use: Grants the user iparable power, allowing them to reign supreme over all other entities. For those descended from ya, this item also grants them invulnerability, vast physical strength, and a functionally limitless amount of magical power. Notice: Can be fused with the [Tri-Force of Wisdom] and [Tri-Force of Courage] to grand a single wish. [Pendant of the Earth Goddess] Rank: Unique Use: A pendant bestowed to those cherished by Gaia. So long as the recipient shares simr feelings, this pendant will protect them from harm within the confines of Gaias domain. Those with powerful bonds may even use a small amount of Gaias power, greatly increasing their regeneration when in contact with the ground. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Title: Departure (A/N: Alternate Titles: Remove the pestilence o_o...!,Akasha aint so bad after all...?,Vahn basically just yeeted himself from existence xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1528 Karma : Fate

Chapter 1528 Karma : Fate

Leaving Vahn ckjawed, Sis went on to exin that the primary use of Karma, outside of simply acting as a bncing factor, was to determine whether or not the Soul would receive any benefits during their reincarnation. This ranged from rtively simple things, such as being born into wealth and status, to moreplex things, such as receiving actual wishes. She even revealed that, under certain conditions, the value of a persons Karma could qualify them to receive a system not all that dissimr to The Path. Though The Path was a one-of-a-kind artifact that transcended the Tier Systempletely, it was far from the only system in existence. The only truly unique aspect of The Path was that it provided the user ess to Source Energy, and, under the right conditions, could freely evolve. Depending on the desires of its user, it could even unlock the functions of other systems, or, more shockingly, alter the nature of a Record. As Vahn had already learned, every Record had its unique qualities, be it the Falna from Danmachi or the Prana from the Nasuverse. Though they used the same set of Laws as a foundation, the way said Laws manifested within the Record was in ordance with the restrictions ced upon it. In a way, it was almost like the Laws were the Source Code of all realities, but, depending on the whims of their Creators, the Records could take various shapes. With enough Karma, it was possible to alter the restrictions of a Record, basically forcing it to obey a certain system. This basically meant, so long as you had enough Karma, you could superimpose new restrictions onto an existing Record. In the most extreme cases, you could even turn a Record with aplex set of rules into a game where you were the only yer. It was even possible to implement things like Leveling in a world where such concepts never existed, quantifying reality itself to make it easier for the user to grow stronger... Vahn wasnt quite sure what to think when he heard this, but, seemingly unconcerned about the fact she had already blown his mind, Sis went on to add, (*Three of the most powerful uses for Karma, at least at your current Soul Tier, include subsuming the fate of others, altering causality to prevent any Overseer-ss entities from detecting you, and, perhaps most powerful of all, deciding the reason behind your entry into the Record. This is basically choosing a Main Quest from the start, one which will irreversibly alter the Flow of Fate within a Record. In your case, it can be something as simple as finding Eva, or, if you really want to push your limits, you can even choose something along the lines of saving the world.*) Hearing Sis exnation, Vahn couldnt help but smile wryly as he asked, "Is that why so many stories about transmigration include the Protagonist being summoned as a Hero to defeat something like a Demon King?" Though she didnt have a body, Vahn could imagine Sis shrugging her shoulders as she answered, (*I cannot say for certain, but I believe that to be the case. Technically speaking, all Records have a fixed Fate, a predetermined route from the moment of their creation to the inevitable cessation of Time. If not for the existence of The Path, you would also be bound by this same restriction, living countless lives, many without ever knowing the purpose your existence serves...*) Not expecting Sis to say something so serious, Vahn was mildly surprised, but, after thinking about it, he just shook his head and sighed. Truthfully, he didnt like the structure of reality, especially after being a singrity among an infinite number of Records. Because of his perspective, he knew there was no such thing as good and evil, only the transient state of being a Soul experienced at a specific point in Space and Time. In essence, the cruelest and most irredeemable murderer could, depending on the circumstances, reincarnate into an actual Saint in another life. Since Time didnt actually exist, they could be on their trillionth reincarnation, never knowing the stimulus their Soul had experience in the vast stream of Eternity... Worried that Vahn might be entering a depressive state, Sis tried to cheer him up, saying, (*Even if that is the case, there is intrinsic value in existence itself. The Soul cannot be med for wanting to experience new stimuli, as, without this most basic desire, reality itself would cease to be. Instead of worrying about such things, you should focus on your goals. I need not remind you of the purpose you have found in your own existence, do I...?*) Understanding Sis was worried about him, Vahn issued a lightheartedugh while looking at the tiny blue sphere orbiting around him. Her words were right, of course, and, no matter what the true form of reality was, he had plenty of reason to continue forward. He was determined to save Eva, increase his Soul Tier, link the Records, and, one day, reunite with his mother. If it was possible, he would also like to thank Klyscha, and, though it might not really matter, understand the truth of his origin... Feeling more motivating, Vahn asked, "I understand the part about choosing a Main Quest, but how exactly does subsuming someone elses Fate work? Do I be them, or does my existent prevent them from being born? Im not sure I would befortable with stealing someone elses identity..." Vahn had no problem with living his own life and shaping the world around him in ordance with his actions, but, if it really came down to it, he wouldnt take over as the main character of a Record. He would rather live alongside them and lend a hand, even if it meant bing responsible for the Fate of the Record itself, much like in Danmachi. Fortunately, Sis readily exined, (*As you have seen for yourself, there are certain entities within a Record that are directly tied to its Fate. Under normal circumstances, the Record will attempt to try and maintain its structure by manipting events to ensure a certain oue. If you subsume the Fate of another, you would inherit their significance to the Record, not their identity. In other words, depending on their circumstances, they may live apletely normal life or suffer a tragic fate. It all depends on the time period in which you enter the Record and the actions you take throughout your life.*) Though it wasnt the most straightforward exnation, Vahn could somewhat understand what Sis was trying to convey. Put simply, he could subsume the fate of a Records protagonist, meaning he would have an ability simr to the [Child of Destiny] Innate. This would essentially grant him the protection of Fate itself, likely issuing him Quests in ordance with his destiny. It was somewhat simr to choosing a Main Quest directly, but, instead of knowing his final objective, he would be susceptible to the whims of Fate to ensure the Records stability. Vahn wasnt exactly fond of the idea of basically following a script, so, at least for the time being, he had absolutely no interest in subsuming someone elses fate. The protection of the Record would be like receiving the designation of Type Omega all over again, ultimately restricting his growth to what the Record decided. The only real benefit seemed to be entering a Record where the Protagonist was fated to obtain some iprehensibly powerful treasure... Like a sudden epiphany, Vahn imagined entering a Tier 7 Record where the Protagonist was fated to go from a rtively weak mortal to the absolute pinnacle of their respective Omniverse. This would all but guarantee he reached Tier 7, but, in exchange, he would be walking someone elses path, one with untold difficulties that were bound to arise as a result of the decisions he made. Shaking his head, Vahn decided it was better to walk his own path, living the life he had chosen, not someone elses. After all, he was the manifestation of The Path itself, a singrity that embodied the infinite possibilities inherent in reality itself. There were no shortcuts to true power, and, if he started now, he might be something unrecognizable from the man he aspired to be. Though he had already made up his mind, Vahn decided to ask, "What happens if I decide not to use my Karma at all? With The Path, there are already no limits to my growth. While it would certainly be interesting to superimpose game mechanics onto a fantasy world, there are downsides to being able to quantify power. Besides, Ive always been able to hit above my weight ss...not knowing where I stand in rtion to others seems interesting..." After experiencing twoplex systems, Vahn was starting to feel as though simple systems, such as those that appear in One Piece and Dragon Ball, were infinitely better. He would rather see his Power Level than be able to measure all of his parameters and attributes individually. It was also somewhat stressful to systematically raise things like Skills, Magic, and Development Abilities. Having them at a low rank just felt wrong,pelling him to try and increase each of them. This wasnt a problem at lower levels, but, as his strength increased, there were hundreds of different things that required his focus. Understanding his thoughts, Sisughter echoed in Vahns mind before she exined, (*This was actually your saving grace in the Nasuverse. It was because you didnt use your Karma that you came into contact with Akasha and were designated as Type Omega. This seems to be a failsafe of sorts to ount for benevolent individuals who have no wishes they want granting. In essence, it guarantees you experience fortunate encounters that ensure you are able to live a rtively peaceful life.*) Hearing Sis words, the smile on Vahns facepletely froze as what she had just exined settled in his mind. He had always felt things had gone too smoothly from the moment he first entered the Nasuverse. Though it had been very stressful, he ended up encountering a powerful entity who not only provided him with a slue of powerful abilities but, during a time when he was confused, he had even been given an objective to focus on. Now, he learned this was the direct result of his careless action, a failsafe to prevent him from getting eliminated in an instant. After releasing the most profound sigh he had ever mustered, Vahn fell back onto the stone dais, his eyes reflecting the infinite nothingness above as he muttered, "Now I feel like aplete idiot...I was so worried over thest ny-five years, even though I was basically living life on easy mode..." Seemingly to alleviate his self-admonishment, Sis interrupted Vahns thoughts, stating, (*The Path is always taking your desires into consideration. Even if you are uncertain, it will help you find a way to obtain what your heart truly desires. In the case of the Nasuverse, you were lonely after separating from your family so you ended up in a situation where the hole in your heart could be filled. You also wanted to prove yourself as an Emperor, so, through your own actions, you managed to eventually dominate an entire. Towards the very end, you even extended your reach beyond the bounds of the Sol System...dont discredit your own aplishments, Vahn. You might have been given an exceptionally powerful designation, but,pared to how easy things could have been, you chose an iprehensibly more difficult path...*) With the smile returning to his face, Vahn rolled to a seated position, saying, "Youre right. Even in the end, I never really followed the path Akasha wanted for me. I even ignored a Zennith-level Main Quest, choosing my own way forward. Now, even though Im still Tier 4, I even have a nascent Realm inside of my Soul, one capable of sealing even powerful Tier 5 beings...hahahahaha~" Realizing how broken he had be as a result of his paranoia, Vahn couldnt help butugh out loud. As Sis had sated, he could have taken advantage of his designation as Type Omega, bing a powerhouse thatmanded the verys and stars. Instead, he set his sights on shaping the world in ordance with his vision, an endeavor that had taken years of concerted effort. He might not have been able to reach Tier 5, but he was now 95 years wiser and infinitely more experienced. In the grand scheme of things, knowledge, experience, andprehension of the Laws were the most important factors behind a persons strength. Soul Tier was more of a ssification of their potential than anything else. It effectively determined the pinnacle a person could reach, not how strong they were. Because of this, Fenrir was able to fight against some Tier 4 entities when she had barely reached Tier 3. Now, even though he would have to remake his body and train from scratch, it wouldnt take him long at all to reach even greater heights... Feeling excitement begin to well up inside of his chest, a massive grin spread across Vahns face as he said, "Use some of my Karma to prevent whatever Overseer that governs Evas Record from being able to see me. As for the rest, well let Fate decide! I intend to live without inhibitions in Evas world, so I cant wait to see what kind of things Fate throws my way!" Even if it seemed wasteful, Vahn felt it was better to unlock system functions through his own efforts. He already had some functions he rarely used, so, rather than get some arbitrary function that might influence his decisions, he would rather keep what he already had. He also had no desire to choose a path prior to entering the Record, even if it would make finding Eva a lot easier. The Quest function might very well be one of his most powerful assets, but, when it came to living freely, it was one of the things that restricted him the most. Though she was tempted to make some suggestions, Sis could feel how excited Vahn was to simply go with the flow. His bad habits would undoubtedly act up,pelling him to intervene in things he really shouldnt, but, at least for now, he was excited about living a free and unfettered life. She was interested to see how far he could take things, so, knowing his Karma would guarantee his life wasnt too stressful, she dutifully obeyed his instructions before asking, (*Is there anything else you would like to do? You still have six hours and forty-three minutes left before you are forced to leave this ce.*) Eager to enter a new Record, Vahn shook his head in response to Sis inquiry. He had a bad habit of overthinking things, so, rather than let himself get distracted, he would rather follow through on his convictions. The less he knew about the options avable, the more interesting life would be once he finally entered a new Record. Besides, he had already trained in ordance with the magic system of Evas Record, so, in a way, he already had a supreme advantage. After all, she was one the strongest beings in her Record, being one of the few S-Rank threats in existence. This put her on the level of an Ancient True Dragon, an existence that could support an Empire for thousands of years due to its monstrous might. Sensing his thoughts, Sis decided not to keep Vahn waiting in suspense. She was the most aware of his bad habits, so, before he could change his mind, she used Evas memory fragment as a beacon to locate her original Record. This reflected as the [Akamatsuverse: 2-5] in Vahns view, cing it at around the same level as the Nasuverse. Then, after one final confirmation, darkness reced their shared perspectives, followed by a familiar passing through various viscous membranes... --- Though it was his third time experiencing it, Vahn felt like he was going to throw up when he felt his non-existent gut being violently tugged in various directions. His momentum continued to increase until it felt like he was moving much faster than the speed of light, and, though he didnt have eyes to see, he could feel various colors pervading his existence. He was starting to believe these were the Laws themselves, as, the more he passed through, the more real he felt. Towards the very end, it even felt like he could reach out and grasp the colors directly, but, before he could extend his non-existent hand, he found himselfying on what appeared to be a marbled floor. Vahn had no idea when and where he would be entering the Akamatsuverse. The only thing he knew was that it should be around the time when Evas memory fragment was made. He remembered her saying it was around the time of the Great Magic War, so, if his memory served him, which it always did, it should be around 1982 in the Record. As for whether or not he would end up on Earth or the Magical World, Vahn would only know that once he got his bearings. Spreading his domain, Vahn resisted the urge to groan as it had shrunken from around 38km to an almost pitiful 9km. This was still better than when he first entered the Nasuverse, but, after growing strong enough to shatter mountains and cause small earthquakes, Vahn couldnt help but feel as if he had be even weaker than a normal person. His senses even indicated this was the case, as, within 9km from his position, he could sense tens of thousands of people with more powerful auras than him... As Vahn was trying to make sense of his current situation, he sensed an anomaly in his domain. It was almost like a ck of presence, simr to when Freya had used her cloak in the past. This sent off rm bells in his mind as his immediate surroundings looked identical to a bedroom. He also noticed a diorama of sorts sitting on a shelf that looked eerily simr to the orb that had originally contained Evas memory fragment. This confirmed he had entered around the time of its forging, but, much to his chagrin, his arrival seemed to be in timing with its activation, not its production... Feeling his body tense up, Vahn turned toward the direction of a rather ornate set of doors, a wry smile on his face as a petite young girl with golden hair and beautiful blue eyes entered the room. At a nce, this might have led some to believe the girl was Eva, but, instead of fair white skin and a perpetually angry expression, the girl that entered the room had bronzed skin, curved horns, and a pair of fur-covered ears sticking out from the sides of her head. Her expression had also been fixed into a mischievous smile, much like a child who had sessfullypleted a prank, but, once she saw someone was in her room, caution and fear immediately reced her smile as she shouted, "Guards! Someone! There is an intruder in my room...!!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Karma basically lets you buy cheats xD...,Subsuming Fate is a very powerful ability...,He has nobody to me by himself (UmU)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1529 Reason

Chapter 1529 Reason

Though he would have liked to exin it was just a simple misunderstanding, trying to convince a group of armed guards he had no intention of harming their beloved princess, despite sneaking into her room wasnt exactly easy. Fortunately, instead of trying to outright kill him, the armor-d soldiers pinned him to the ground with halberds infused with paralysis magic. They werent able to actually paralyze him, but, at least for the time being, Vahn decided to y along as they dragged his limp body through the corridors of a massive pce. With the ability to spread out his domain in a 4.5km radius, Vahn was learning much about the world he had found himself in. Based on the concentration of mana in the environment,bined with the fact there were various different species present, it was safe to say he was in the magical world, more specifically, the Hes Empire. This was one of the benefits of knowing the Record prior to entry, as, during his training with Eva, Vahn had read thousands of books rted to the history, geography, and even thews of the Magical World, Mundus Magicus. Seeing the emblem embossed on the knights armors,bined with the fact there were hundreds of banners hanging in the pce, Vahn knew he had been transported into the heart of the Hes Empire, the Southern Capital, Tougen. Many residents referred to this particr city as Shangri-La due to the prevalence of mercenaries, gambling, and the world-famous Coliseum, but, in reality, it was also a hotbed for human very. Hes was home to nearly half the poption of Demihumans within Mundus Magicus, numbering roughly 340 of the 700 million non-human species. This made them one of the most powerful factions in the entire Magical World, as, overall, there were roughly 500 million total humans split between four continents and various countries. Though he could change into something other than a human, Vahn was curious about how he would be treated. Racism was actually ouwed in the Hes Empire, and, though there millions of human ves, most were former ve traders or criminals who had been captured by the Empire. They likely assumed he was either an assassin or a ve trader, the penalty for both being a life in the Coliseum. There, if he could win one-hundred consecutive victories, Vahn would be able to reim his rights as a free citizen, and, depending on the situation, request a reward from the Emperor, Michael Bashireia Herasu De Vesuperisujimia. As could be expected, the heavily armored Imperial Knights roughly dragged his body to a holding cell within the dungeon located beneath the pce. Here, criminals suspected of treason and other political crimes were kept imprisoned until the Emperor or one of his Magistrates was able to decide on a suitable punishment. Fortunately, unless he had actually killed a member of the Royal Family, it was all but guaranteed he would be sentenced to fight in the Coliseum, a ce that gathered more than 500,000 visitors on a daily basis. After being dragged to an empty cell, Vahn was thrown in rather unceremoniously by therger of the two Imperial Guards. He was a bronze-skinned man with vibrant golden pupils and pale blond hair that was visible beneath the cracks of his spartan-style helmet, so, as could be expected, he was not all that enthused by the fact a human man had snuck into the princess chambers. He had a very fierce glint in his eyes, and, seemingly dissatisfied with leaving mattersy, he handed his halberd to hispanion and said, "Let me teach this piece of shit a lesson..." Vahn was many things, but a punching bag was not one of them. He could make exceptions during training, but, as he hadnt actually done anything deserving of a beating, he escaped his bindings in an instant, flipping to his feet. This was more than enough to surprise the two guards, allowing him to close the distance in a split second, a smile on his face as he said, "Sorry, but you kind of asked for this..." Without giving either of the men a chance to react, Vahn swiftly jammed his fingers into the opening between their helmets and breasttes. His overall power had been drastically reduced, but, due to the nature of the dungeon, the Imperial Guards were unable to use magic. Their halberds and armor were still enchanted in such a way that allowed them to be used, but, without physical enhancement, it was impossible for them to keep up with his speed and precision. Like marites with their strings cut, both guards copsed to the dungeon floor, creating quite a bit of noise in the process. This earned him jeering and demands from the few prisoners locked away in the dungeon, but, with more important matters to attend, Vahn ignored them. Instead, he focused on the group of guardsmen charging toward him and the barricade that was being erected near the entrance of the dungeon. With a wry smile on his face, Vahn couldnt help but internally remark, ("How is it that Im already in a position to be a criminal the moment I enter this world? I wonder if this is to make it easier for me to track down Eva...") Since Eva was one of the most infamous criminals in the entire magical society, to the point of being used in childrens bedtime stories, bing infamous himself would draw the attention of the same forces hunting her down. This served the dual purpose of allowing him to simultaneously eliminate the people chasing her while also obtaining information on her location. If he used his Magia Erebea, there was even a chance Eva herself woulde seeking him out... With various thoughts running through his mind, Vahn casually deflected the halberds being jabbed toward him. The halberds were actually able to fire magical arrows, but, perhaps as a result of being in the Imperial Pce, they were holding back. This allowed him to exploit the small gaps in each of their attacks, surprising the entire toon of jailers as his strikes easily prated their magical and shock-resistant armor, causing them to copse in a single blow. Ny-five years of fighting against Grandmaster and Master ss warriors had tempered Vahns skill to an extreme level, so, even without a weapon, he could fight enemies much stronger than him. This wasnt even the tip of the iceberg when it came to his overall capabilities, but, unless he decided to go all-out, revealing his hand too early would draw unnecessary attention. There were a number of enemies who could even give Eva a run for her money, so, at least for the next few months, Vahn wanted to focus on increasing his strength. Before he realized it, seventeen armored guards were littering the ground around him, earning Vahn a few hateful res from the palisade of guards who hadpletely sealed the entrance usingrge magical shields that linked together. They had also closed the three reinforced gates that separated the dungeon from the Imperial Pce, each formed from a specialpound that made them close to indestructible, at least using magic. As could be expected from a ce called the Magical World, Magic was a supreme existence within the Akamatsuverse. Though there were also Knights and Magi-Knights, some of which used internal Ki to power their abilities, the most powerful people in the world were still Magi. This resulted in the advancement of technology that both made use of and directly countered Magic. There were even a few special alloys thatpletely sealed magical power, much like the kairoseki was so popr in the Record of One Piece. Seeing the blockage, Vahn adopted a wry smile as he said, "You know, I really didnt do anything to earn such hateful res. All of these men are simply knocked out. After a few hours, they will wake up and be ready to beat up defenseless prisoners with gusto. As for the matter with your Princess, I dont even know how I ended up in that room. I had no intention of harming anyone, and, if I hadnt been caught, I would have left the pce without a fuss." Being professionally trained guardsmen, none of the men responded to Vahns words. Instead, they gripped their shields more firmly, leveling their halberds toward him until a robust man wearing less armor than the rest said, "Even if that were the truth, we cant let you walk out of her so easily. You are guilty of trespassing the Imperial Pce, breaking free from your prison, and injuring members of the Imperial Guard. The Magistrate will hear your plea when the timees. For now, return to your cell and behave. If this is truly a misunderstanding, prove it through your actions!" Vahn was actually rather surprised by the reasonable argument of the Hes man he assumed to be the Warden. He was also looking forward to honing his skill in the Coliseum, so, surprising the entire group of guards, he nodded his head and said, "Sure. If that man hadnt vited thew by trying to beat a prisoner who had yet to be sentenced, none of this would have happened. I was being pretty cooperative until unnecessary violence was involved." As if it was a small matter, Vahn gestured in a what can you do manner before turning around and entering his still-open cell. Then, to further cement his point, he closed the doors, allowing them to lock in ce. This would have been enough topletely seal the magical power of other people, but, due to the nature of his Source Energy, he only experienced a mild difort. It was like trying to breathe in a pressurized environment, causing a heavy feeling in his chest and a small buzzing in the back of his mind. Not expecting their quarry to simply lock himself inside a cell, the groups of guardsmen remained in formation for several minutes until the Warden finally sent a team to confirm whether or not the bars were secure. Afterward, they began to check the bodies of their fellow guards, confirming they were, in fact, unconscious. Most didnt even have visible injuries, a state which was confirmed when one of their healers checked their condition. Seeing the armored men and women busying themselves on the other side of the bars, Vahn gave a curt nod of approval before smiling toward the Warden and closing his eyes. This earned him a hard look from the burly individual, who, sensing their captive was an exceptionally dangerous individual, sent a team to gather members of the Sealing and Magus Corps. Afterward, he walked over to the cell, asking, "What is your name?" in a stern tone. Hearing someone address him, Vahn peeled open one of his eyes, inly answering, "Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor." Though he didnt have an Empire in the Akamatsuverse, Vahn took pride in the status he had built up over more than two-hundred-years. It didnt matter what titles and monikers others might give him in the future; he was, and would forever be, the Sage Dragon Emperor. The only person who could change this was himself, so, while he certainly intended to be a Vagrant Hero, that didnt mean he would lower his head and y the part of a fool... The moment he heard Vahns introduction, the Warden felt as though his legs had be rubbery, requiring him to grab the bars of the cell to remain standing. He could feel an overwhelming aura of dignity radiating from Vahn when he called himself the Sage Dragon Emperor, and, for a very brief moment, it almost seemed like his eyes had shed with a golden light. Doing his best to ignore the subtle trembling of his body, the Warden focused his own golden eyes on Vahn, stating, "You can call me Warden Pelias. Ill be in charge of your-" Before Pelias could continue, Vahns smiled faded away as he stated, "If you intend to insult me by calling my title into question, do not me me for being rude. You are not my subject, and I have never been fond of formalities. However, if you think I will tolerate slights to my honor and dignity, you are gravely mistaken. I sit in this cell by choice, not because you have imprisoned me. Should a timee when you and your men forget yourselves, well, lets hope it doesnte to that..." Even if his power was nowhere near what it had been at during his peak, Vahns Innates were still functioning in all their glory. By activating his [Will of the Emperor] and infusing a bit of his intent into his domain, anyone with weaker willpower would feel a spiritual suppression. If he condensed his aura to the limits, he could even kill people with a weaker Soul Tier. As for those near his level, he could still stun them for a brief moment, regardless of how powerful they might be. Though he was able to remain standing, Pelias noticed that the majority of his soldiers copsed in an instant when Vahn was making his threat. It wasnt just them, either, as the prisoners within the Dungeon also copsed, some clutching at their chest due to the fact they had cked auras. As for those further away, Vahn didnt want to cause too big a scene, so, with the exception of a few of the more sensitive individuals, everyone outside the dungeon hadnt even noticed what he had done. Struggling to prevent himself from cking out, Pelias stared back at Vahn with a visible amount of horror in his eyes as he muttered, "Ill...make sure...my men...follow procedure..." Satisfied by the mans response, Vahn gave a curt nod of approval, his aura vanishing in an instant as he said, "As one would expect from a member of the prestigious Imperial Guard. If you were unable to follow your ownws, where would you get off expecting others to obey them? Now, you have a job to do, Warden Pelias. See that I am not kept waiting too long." As if he had just received an order from his own Emperor, Pelias nearly saluted on impulse before catching himself in the act. This caused his eyes to visibly widen, and, after swallowing the knot in his throat, he sheepishly answered, "I will personally inform the Magistrate of your situation...I know not when she will be free to see you, but Im certain it will be at the earliest possible moment..." With nothing else to say to the man, Vahn gave a small nod of acknowledgment of before, once again, closing his eyes. He was trying to organize his thoughts and make sense of his current powers and abilities, so, rather than focus on the group of shellshocked soldiers, he turned his attention to the various screens in his mind... ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Vahn Aldrnari Mason] Age: 250 (Ageless) Race: Ancient Dragon, *sealed* Parameter: [Akamatsuverse: 2-5] Offense: 252 Defense: 398 Mobility: 303 Base Power: 953 Soul Tier: 4 (Divine Soul) [Karma]: 108 [OP]: 22,001,843,221 Skills: [Will of the Emperor:SSS], [Rakshasa Body:S], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome:B], [Eyes of Truth:A], [Chainbreaker:S], [Veil of the Traveler:SSS], [Hands of Nirvana:SSS], [Divine Artisan:C], [Grandmaster Swordsman:E], [Archmage:S], [Expert Cooking:B], [Hand of God:S], [True Friend of the Elements:S] Magic: [Magia Erebea:SSS], [Pactio:SSS], [Shundo:SSS], [Koku Shundo:SS], [Cantus Bex:SSS], [Mellodia Bex:SS], [Vis Maxima:SS], [Sagitta Magicka:S], [Reflexio:S] [Divine Artisan] Rank: C Denotes the wielder as a master who has reached the level of the Gods. Be it magical or mundane, there are no limits to their capabilities as a craftsman. Even the elements themselves can be shaped by a Divine Artisan. [Grandmaster Swordsman] Rank: E Denotes the wielder as a swordsman who has pursued the pinnacle, reaching a level most mortals cannot even fathom, much less reach. It is said that, in the hands of a Grandmaster Swordsman, even a de of grass can be used as a deadly weapon. [Archmage] Rank: S Denotes the wielder as a Magus who has mastered all manner of magical skills and abilities. When an Archmage first ascends, it is said that every other Archmage in existence would feel a tremble in their Soul. [Hand of God] Rank: S Denotes the wielder as a Physician who has mastered both life and death. ording to legends, this skill has only ever manifested in True Gods specializing in Medicine and Alchemy. With a single turn of their hand, they are able to decide whether someone lives or dies. [True Friend of the Elements] Rank: S Denotes the wielder as someone who is beloved by the Spirits. So long as the Rank of this skill is higher than another, the Spirits within an area will always side with the wielder. Due to the nature of this skill, it makes the wielder virtually immune to Spirit-based Magics. ----------------------------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: "A, shit. Here we go again...,95 years as an Emperor doesnt just fade away xD...,I thought he was supposed to be nerfed o_o...) (A/N: For those curious, Negi, the MC of Negima, has a Base Power of around 500. As for Eva, due to her body never aging/change, her Base Power is only 300. A Magic School Graduate would have, on average, 100BP, whereas gifted teacher would clock in at around 300-500. Base Power is, obviously, not a determination for a persons overall strength. This will be exined in more detailter on. As an example, however, know that Eva would clock in at around 15000, when she is serious, cing her even higher than Demon Gods and Manifested Gods, averaging between 6500~9000 depending on their number of believers.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1530 Surprises Abound

Chapter 1530 Surprises Abound

Seeing his current Status, Vahn couldnt help smile due to the excitement that was welling up inside his chest. He had always assumed that his training with Eva would pay off when he finally visited her Record, but, seeing it for himself, he couldnt help feeling vindicated. With these Skills and Magic, it wouldnt really matter too much if he was weaker than others in his base state, as, when he powered up and transformed, there would be very few people that could match him. Upon first awakening in the Akamatsuverse, Vahn had been surprised to sense so many people with a stronger aura than him, but, now that he knew where he was at, it wasnt too shocking. The Hes people had powerful bodies and strong magical power by default. They also had an average lifespan between 300~500, depending on their mastery and control over Magic. Unfortunately, despite a very high Base Power, their aptitude for external magic, much like his own, was exceptionally limited. This forced them to rely on Magic that enhanced their body, but, more than anything else, they relied on various technological advancements to rival their foes. If it came down to a fight using raw physical prowess and martial techniques, Vahn had an absolute advantage against most people. He might have lost his ridiculously overpowered [Laces Key], but it wasnt as if all his knowledge and experience faded away. He had umted so much experience fighting against true masters in their fields of expertise, elevating him to a level where his skill, alone, would allow him to fight much stronger opponents. When you included things like his Source Energy and [Magia Erebea], one of the most powerful abilities in the entire Akamatsuverse, it wasnt much of an exaggeration to say he was already S-Rank. Now that he had gotten his bearings, Vahns excitement for the Akamatsuverse had increased quite a bit. With a few months of training, he would be able to move around with impunity, as, despite the presence of a few truly monstrous individuals, the average power level for skilled foes shouldnt be more than 500. This could be modified with various spells, but, considering his own were S-Rank or higher, that wouldnt matter too much. He was also one of only seven Archmages that should exist in the current Timeline, meaning only people on the level of Eva, Jack Rakan, and Filius Zect should be a match for him... Considering his current location, Vahn was anticipating his meeting with the man who even Eva had called a living cheat character. He likely wasnt nearly as strong now as he would be after the Great War, but, based on what Eva had said, Jack was a monster that could improve exponentially when he encountered strong opponents. He was known by titles such as the Ultimate Hard Worker, and, after earning his freedom in the Coliseum, he even became the undisputed King of Mercenaries, Jack of the Thousand des. At this point in time, Jack would have already imed his most noteworthy titles, and, though Vahn wasnt able to sense him, he knew the man had close ties to the Imperial Family. He was one of the few people who had ever won his freedom through the hundred-bout gambit, and, for a variety of reasons, was popr with the First and Third Imperial Princesses. The Third even looked up to him as an older brother, so, after arriving in the formers room, Vahn was expecting Jack to pay him a visit at some point... Feeling his draconic blood boil in excitement, Vahn had to forcibly calm himself down as the ground around him had started to tremble. He didnt have perfect control over this new body of his, so, for the time being, he needed to remain calm and focus. There was also a matter of extreme importance that required his attention, so, after regting his breathing, aided by the Mantra of Eternity, he let his consciousness slowly sink into his Soul Realm. This was a simr process to sinking his mind into a [Space-Time Orb], but, instead of a physical object, he was attempting to enter his own Realm... --- Before he even realized it had happened, Vahn found himself in an endless expanse of space. Unlike normal space, however, the sky was infused with an omnipresent rainbow hue, something that would only be discernible to him. This was a very good sign, but, before he could even get his bearings to try and find Gaia, a massive meteor came hurtling toward him. By instinct, he nearly obliterated it from existence, but, after seeing what the object was, his mind drew a nk, allowing two fiery feet to smash into his face, apanied by a raspy yet high-pitched, "Baaaaaakaaaaaaaa~!" Though it did absolutely no damage, the figure continued to bicycle kick Vahns face over and over as he just stood there trying to make sense of the current situation. He didnt know where this little girl hade from, but, seeing her scale-covered legs, her long, whip-like tail, and the two curved horns poking out from the sides of her head, he almost assumed she was his daughter. She even had aquamarine eyes and pointed ears, and, though her feet, tail, and horns were red hot with mes, it was very apparent this was normal for her... Seeing that her attacks were having no effect, even after a three-thousand hitbo, the petite girl seemed highly dissatisfied. Her tomboyish face formed into an expressive pout, tears building in the corner of her eyes as she asked, "Why did you leave me...? You said...we would always be together..." Though he had made simr promises with quite a few people, Vahn was pretty sure he had figured out the girls identity after analyzing the structure of her mes. This didnt really make much sense, however, causing him to tentatively asked, "Laevateinn...?" As if her previous expression had been a facade, the petite girl absolutely beamed when she heard Vahns words. Then, with a startling amount of strength, she pounced on him, squeezing his body hard enough that, if he had breakable bones, they undoubtedly would have shattered. Her horn was also stabbing him in the chest due to her height only being around 118cm, but, as she seemed to be genuinely happy, Vahn didnt mind it. Instead, he briefly flicked his eyes to his Inventory, confirming all twenty-four of his Laevateinn series des were still inside... By process of elimination, Vahn could only draw the conclusion that the petite girl, appearing to be around ten years old, was his Zanpakutou Spirit. He had been unable tomunicate with her in the past, but, now that they were inside of his Soul, it wasnt too surprising that she could manifest as a physical spirit. Rather, he felt like an idiot for not trying this method in the past, causing a dryugh to escape his throat as he gently stroked the girls dark-brown hair... --- After coaxing Laev-tan into calming down, Vahn was able to confirm that she was, indeed, his Zanpakuto Spirit. Due to her unique connection to his Soul, she was able to move around inside his Soul Realm, even when Time had yet to flow. This was due to her consciousness experiencing things like Time at the same rate as his conscious mind, basically making her an existence outside of Time within his Realm... Though existence outside of time was typically attributed to beings at Tier 5, or higher, Vahn wasnt too surprised by Laev-tans capabilities. Within his own Realm, he could even spontaneously create deads and y with them like marbles if he really wanted to. Until he wanted it to exist, even things like Time would not have any effect inside his own Realm. Thus, as an extension of himself, it was only natural that Laev-tan was able to move around with impunity. The real question was, how did his Zanpakutou turn into a Loli Dragon that seemed to have stolen the name of his most prized sword collection? Since there was no harm in asking directly, Vahn went ahead and did so, earning a mischievous grin from Laev-tan as she answered, "Though you couldnt hear me, I was always watching~! I know you created a bunch of brothers and sisters before forging me! I also knew that you were sad about not being able to use them anymore, so I became like this~!!" At the end of her exmation, Laev-tan turned into a plume of brackish-crimson mes, her body transforming from that of a petite young dragonling to a ymore that was nearly 2m in length. It had a scorched de forged from a ckened metal that was filled with cracks, much like his very first Laevateinn. The biggest difference was, instead of a draconic visage that created a cross-guard, Laev-tans guard had two curved horns, and, though others might not see it that way, the draconic visage seemed somewhat cute inparison to his previous creations... Before he even realized what he was doing, Vahn grabbed Laev-tans handle, earning a surprisingly girlish squeal in response. Her normal voice was somewhat husky, almost like she was pretending to be a boy, but her voice while transformed was almost sonorous. It reminded him of the pleasant hum she would emit whenever he was polishing her de, an action that, in hindsight, now seemed a little awkward... Ignoring the peculiar feeling in his gut, Vahn reminded himself that Laev-tan was just a sword, one that required careful and continued maintenance. He couldnt just stop taking care of her now that she had finally awakened, so, rather than let it bother him, he just began swinging her around with a smile on his face. She also seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit, releasing a gleefulugh as massive plumes of crimson mes were released from her des edge. Though it was hard to be certain, as he had nigh-absolute power within his Realm, Vahn noticed that Laev-tan gave him monstrous control over a unique kind of me. It wasnt actually that hot, burning around 1600 degrees, but, unlike normal mes, it had a solid quality simr to magma. It also had a brackish quality to it, and, after creating a pir of Adamantine, Vahn confirmed his suspicions as he watched Laev-tans mes rapidly eat through the dense metal. Simr to the original Laevateinn, Laev-tan seemed to have mes that burned persistently, even in a vacuum. They also possessed a rather ridiculous corrosive property, eating through virtually any kind of material rtively quickly. It seemed to make use of an amalgamation of Destruction, and, of all things, Space Laws. He was able to sense the viscous mes copsing the space around the point of contact, forcibly separating the bonds between molecules so that they were easier to digest for the Destruction energy... Unable to contain his excitement, Vahn joined Laev-tan in herughter, swinging her through empty space and causing a veritable neb to form from all the brackish mes she had produced. Since her mes were infused with Space Laws, they could even burn space itself, and, most importantly, tunnel through space. Vahn had always been able to attack virtually anywhere in his domain, so, as a result, Laev-tan seemed to have copied this ability. Now, he could direct her mes through his domain, manipting them to appear virtually anywhere within his field of control. It was one of the most broken abilities he had ever possessed, bringing a massive grin to his face as he created giant swirls and vortexes of brackish mes... Vahn had always assumed his Zanpakuto would be powerful, especially under the influence of his Source Energy, but he had never expected Lave-tan to be so amazing. In many ways, she was his ideal weapon, allowing him topletely dominate the area within his own domain. Fire had been one of his principal affinities ever since his time in Danmachi, so, more than any other element, Vahn feltfortable around mes. There had even been a time when he imagined conquering multiple Records with his original Laevateinn, and, while it wasnt exactly the same, Laev-tan seemed to have inherited that legacy... --- After several hours of brandishing his new Zanpakuto, Vahn was finally able to calm down, albeit with a massive grin on his face. Then, seemingly forgetting that Laev-tan was a Loli Dragon Spirit, he began to trace his fingers along her de, an appreciative gleam in his eyes. It wasnt until he heard a peal of ticklishughter that he came back to his senses, feeling slightly flustered despite his advanced age. Turning Laev-tan upside down, Vahn gingerly released her handle, allowing her to revert back to her half-dragon form. Much to his surprise, she was breathing a little heavily. There was also a thinyer of sweat covering her body, almost as if she had justpleted an intense workout. Seeing how tired Laev-tan appeared, Vahn realized that, for one reason or another, she seemed to have stamina. This wasnt normal for a Zanpakuto, so he had her turn around, disying her back so that he could ce his palm between her shoulders. She was wearing an outfit that consisted of a sporty ck top, a pair of ck panties, ck leggings, ck wristguards, and a ck bodysuit that covered her exposed abdomen and thighs. It wasnt exactly the most appropriate attire for someone with her appearance, but, considering she was nearly forty, even if Zanpakuto didnt age, Vahn didnt let it bother him. Instead, he focused on the interior of her body, finding it was surprisingly close to an actual True Dragons... Since it was a good opportunity, Vahn asked, "What made you choose this form, Laev-tan?" With the haughtiness you would expect from a True Dragon child, Laev-tan puffed out her virtually non-existent chest, proudly dering, "Master has always treated girls with cute appearances very well. I wanted to be pampered lots and lots, so I became like this before I even noticed, ahahaha~!" Hearing the rather spirited response, Vahn released a light chuckle before ruffling Laev-tans boyish hairstyle. Her hair didnt even extend past her shoulders, and, due to the structure of her eyebrows and how her bangs parted in the front, she could probably give Astolfo a run for his money when it came to crossdressing. Rather, for reasons he couldnt fathom, Vahn could imagine Laev-tan trying to emte his style of dress, appearing as a rather heroic youth who swung around a giant sword... Shaking his head, Vahn cleared his thoughts before giving Laev-tan one final pat on the head and saying, "We should go to the others. Now that you have a form like this, Id like it if you were able to be friends with everyone else. When I return to the outside, I may not be able to carry you with me at all times. I should be able to create a permanent link so you can see what Im doing though." Laev-tan seemed upset when he mentioned not being able to carry her around, but, after hearing thetter half of his words, a toothy grin returned to her face. She had the characteristic sharp teeth of most True Dragons, so, when she smiled, it was abination attack of adorable and terrifying at the same time... --- Though he mentioned having to find the others, Vahn was able to locate Gaia instantaneously with little more than a thought. This allowed him to find the surprisingly radiant blue orb that represented the heart of his Empire. It was simply floating in the middle of an endless expanse of space, but, due to the fact time was frozen, there was still light illuminating more than half of it. Vahn was unable to understand how he could see the, as there shouldnt be any light refracting off of it, but, as that wasnt really important, he dutifully descended into the isted world with a curious glimmer in his eyes... If a physical being were to move through stalled Time, the amount of destruction simple movements would cause couldnt even be fathomed. Even the act of breathing would be like setting off infinite nuclear warheads once Time began to flow. Fortunately, it was possible to remove yourself from the Time Axispletely, allowing you to freely move through Space without affecting the world around you. This required mastery of both Space and Time, but, here in his own Realm, Vahn could basically ignore such requirements. Confirming his suspicions, Vahn returned to where he had embraced Gaia, ya, and Tiamat, finding all three girls just as frozen as the rest of the world. This was a very peculiar thing to witness, and, for a brief moment, Vahn began to feel a little mischievous. It was a shame he couldnt actually interact with anything, but, if he really wanted to, Vahn could pull quite a number of pranks with this kind of ability. If he were more childish, he could look up the skirts or dresses of his lovers, but, considering he could just as easily ask them to remove them, such antics were ultimately pointless... After burying his more childish urges in the deepest recesses of his mind, Vahn spent a few minutes thinking before tentatively saying, "I grant the three of you simr Authority to what you possessed in your original Record. You are allowed to move outside the Time Axis, though never with the intent to cause harm to others..." Since he was basically the Administrator or Overseer of his own Realm, Vahn tried shaping reality ording to his intent. Even if he couldnt properly imagine what he wanted, it should be possible to actualize his intentions by simply municating with the Realm itself. He could even stop and start the flow of time with a thought, so, using words, he should, theoretically, be able to do anything. Proving his conjecture, Gaia, ya, and Tiamat burst into life, all three falling forward due to the fact they had been leaning into his chest moments prior. This had brought a small smile to Vahns face, at least until all three of them began to phase through physical objects with distant looks in their eyes. They were propelled forward due to their previous moment, their bodies limp, seemingly lifeless... Feeling a panic well up from within his heart, Vahn quickly recovered the trio with a wave of his hand, bringing them to his side and cing his hands against the chests of Gaia and ya. Hecked the ability toprehend their structure in the Nasuverse, but, now that he was the Overseer, Vahn was hoping he could understand what was wrong with them. Fortunately, before he could even send a single thread into their chests, yas eyshes flickered almost imperceptibly as her lips began to twitch... Realizing what was going on, Vahn released a sigh of relief as he continued to hold all three girls in his embrace. From their perspective, they had basically awakened to find themselves without any of the restrictions that previously influenced their actions. With the exception of Tiamat, the true forms werent the vessels he was holding onto, but the itself and the consciousness of humanity. In the simplest terms, they would need to relearn how to control their vessels from scratch... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Its almost like restarting a game you already mastered xD...,The eternal curse is going strong~!,I kinda feel bad for the sisters. Imagine having the same restrictions for billions of years, only to be forced to y by different rules in a single instant xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1531 Confirmation

Chapter 1531 Confirmation

Due to his Realm existing in apletely separate Temporal Axis than the standard Time Axis of the Akamatsuverse, Vahn didnt have to worry about anything happening to his body on the outside. In fact, even if he idled in his Realm for eons, no time would pass in reality. If not for the fact they were influenced by two entirely separate sets of Laws, it might have even been possible for him to train in thefort of his Realm, growing exponentially stronger in the real world. For now, however, that would have to wait until he was at a high enough Soul Tier to rectify the differences in Laws between Records. Fortunately, even if he couldnt grow stronger, that didnt mean he was unable to umte more experience. If hisprehension was high enough, there was nothing stopping him from using the things he learned inside his Realm in the outside world. This made it a perfect training ground to test certain theories, and, with enough time and effort, it was only a matter of time before he could move things from one Record into the world of another. Even if he couldnt find a way on his own, Da Vinci would undoubtedly figure something out. He could now tell her all about The Path and the Records, so, with her unwavering determination, she might even find a solution in a rtively short period of time... --- With thoughts of how he would exin things to everyone back in Avalon upying his mind, Vahn spent the better part of seven weeks just helping Gaia, ya, and Tiamat familiarize themselves with their vessels. It actually only took Tiamat around five days before she was bouncing around excitedly, but, due to the nature of their existence, it took Gaia and ya much longer. Perhaps as a result of her rtively recent rehabilitation, Gaia managed to move around without too much trouble after around 655 hours. In actuality, no time had passed at all, but, due to his ability to perceive its concept, Vahn could still keep track of the recovery process. Because of this, he knew it had taken ya around 1156 hours, even if she should have been able to recover much sooner. It could be due to the fact they were no longer under the influence of the Root System, but Gaia and ya both experienced subtle shifts in their personality. Gaia became even more bubbly than she had been in the past, bing quick friends with Laev-tan. As for ya, she was still an intellectual tsundere, but,pared to her past self, she seemed far more bashful. She even took advantage of the fact he was taking care of her, greatly extending her recovery time just so he would pamper her a little more. It wasnt until Tiamat outright asked if they were allowed to have sex that ya made a very sudden and miraculous recovery... Since his main concern had already been dealt with, Vahn surprised all four girls by answering, "Yes. Now that you are free from the constraints of the Root System, there is no danger in having sex. You can even get pregnant and have a baby, though I would ask that you limit yourselves to just one for the time being." Like a trio of True Dragons, the pupils of Gaia, ya, and Tiamat all became fine lines as the eyed him like a juicy piece of meat. As for Laev-tan, she didnt even seem to think about trying to include herself, seemingly knowing the answer. In fact, she was likely the most attuned person to him right now, her Ego functioning as a second imprint upon his Soul. They were basically a singr entity, so, while she certainly enjoyed being pampered, the thought of having sex or rearing children had never crossed her mind... --- After removing the restriction on the three carnivorous sisters, Vahn learned just how scary women could be when they were starved for affection. This was true for all three of them, as, despite being the mothers of various Gods and Phantasmal Species, Gaia and Tiamat had never actually had sex. It wasnt something that was really necessary for Tier 5 entities. As a result, they became a little crazy due to their draconic heritage. It wasnt as bad as when Artoria first became a Dragon, but, for nearly as long as it took them to recover, Vahn wasnt allowed to leave the trio unattended. Surprisingly, the most demure of the three ended up being ya. Gaia and Tiamat were rtively honest with their feelings, allowing them to very clearly state what they wanted. ya, however, had spent so much time distancing herself from everything, solely focused on her duties, that she wasnt able to properly convey her wants and needs. It almost felt like she was getting revenge for making her wait so long, forcing him to seek her own and behaving much like a disinterested cat until he got her in the mood... Fortunately, no matter how carnivorous the trio was, Vahns prowess within his Realm could never be matched. He never tired, and, no matter how powerful they were, it was virtually impossible for them to get any real advantages against him. Even when it felt like Tiamat was going to break him due to her excitement, his body held firm, ensuring his victory in more than a hundred bouts. By the end of their typical sessions, there were times when she struggled to even maintain her form, turning into a semi-transparent mass of primordial ooze with a rather silly smile on her face... Of the three, Gaia was the most reserved, even if she was also equally as honest as Tiamat. She was very eager to try new things, but, rather than go to extremes, she seemed to enjoy the emotional connection more than anything. There were times when they just stayed locked together for several hours at a time, embracing each other as her wings coiled around him like a cacoon. Vahn found this to be very rxing, and, as it was a stark contrast to his usual intercourse, he quickly became fond of the very long and slow sessions of love-making... If there was anything to in about, it was the somewhat voyeuristic nature of Laev-tan. She was a very curious creature, and, though she never asked to try things herself, there were a number of instances where she would be attentively observing, her eyes glimmering with a curious light as she hovered a few centimeters away from where the fun was taking ce. To make matter worse, she would spontaneously ask questions or try to give advice on what she thought would be more fun. Once, leading Vahn to sit her down for a long talk, she even tried poking him in the butt aftermenting how cute it was... Fortunately, after a stern talking to, Laev-tan became surprisingly obedient, watching things y out with an ever-intrigued smile on her face. She seemed to be happy when he was happy, and, though it was a little unnerving at times, her innocence was rather endearing. It helped that, instead of trying to insist he pamper her humanoid form, Laev-tan enjoyed being polished and caressed as a Shikai. In her mind, her Shikai was her true form, and, if not for her desire to appear cute and fit in with others, she might not even have a humanoid form. Since it had be something of an unbreakable habit, Vahn dutifully polished Laev-tan around five times a day. He would also practice with her for a few hours every day, allowing her to release her tensions. She had a very tomboyish nature, and, if she sat around for too long, she would begin to grow restless. This was directly tranted to Vahn through their mutual connection, so, whenever he could free up some time from the trio of True Dragons, he would teleport an iprehensible distance away so they could both cut loose. --- Before he had realized it, even though he had been keeping track of every single day, nearly four months had passed since Vahn entered his Realm. He was starting to feel as though he had been inside for too long, so, after discussing it with the three sisters, he decided it was about time for him to return to the real world. They would remain inside the Realm to stabilize the Laws, but, until he was confident there wouldnt be any issues, everything else would remain frozen. As he had yet to reach Tier 5, there was a non-negligible chance things would simply break if he were to start Time before stabilizing the Laws. There wasnt even a sun to illuminate the, so, if he didnt awaken Amaterasu and help her create a proper true body, Gaia would lose its luster and be a world devoid of natural light. Though it was possible to creates and stars out of thin air, this only functioned due to the fact that things like gravity and other naturalws were currently under hisplete control. This would not be the case when he turned his attention away from the Realm, however, meaning star basically explode the moment he turned away. Even worse, the bonds between atoms might not even hold up properly, meaning everything would simply turn to cosmic dust. This wouldnt actually kill anyone, as even the Law of Death didnt exist in his Realm, but it would be a big issue if he had to basically reform the bodies of nearly a trillion people... In order to get his Realm up and running, Vahn was intending to do things in phases, starting with the assignment of Authority to Tier 5 beings. They would serve as the foundation that ensured the stability of the Record, basically serving as his pantheon of Primordial Gods. Then, once everything was in order, Time and Space could be more defined, rather than existing as little more than potential. From there, he could begin awakening Tier 4 entities, assigning them weaker, more niche Authorities that would ensure bnce within the confines of theary Bounded Field. With a full pantheon of Primordial andary Gods, Vahn was confident his Realm would be able to remain stable, even when he was focused on other things. For now, it would have to remain in a state of suspension. Fortunately, due to the quirks of The Path, he could still convert entities such as Fenrir and Medusa into their core forms. They were the only people he was guaranteed to be able to take outside, so, once he had enough power to do so, he would eventually summon them. Though he couldnt be certain, Vahn had started to suspect that the reason why Medusa chose to stunt her growth was so that she would have an advantage when he moved to a new Record. At his current level, it would likely take months, at the very least, before he had enough power to summon Fenrir. As for the adorably sly snake, it probably wouldnt take more than a month before he had the ability to summon her. She was much weaker than Fenrir, so, for a while, she may be his only realpanion in the outside world. Since he wouldnt get any answers by stalling, Vahn spent onest night of passion with all three sisters, promising to return often. He had left all three of them with an egg, so, even if they were lonely, their instincts would keep them preupied. As for how long it took for the eggs to hatch, that was ultimately up to him. At the very least, he wanted them to wait until he had jumpstarted the Realm, but, depending on the circumstances, it could be much sooner. After all, he was very curious about how powerful his children would be when their mothers were things like an actual and the manifestation of humanitys will to survive. There was even a chance they could fill the roles of some much-needed Primordial Gods, further stabilizing the Realm... --- Opening his eyes, Vahn noticed that the Imperial Guard who had been yawning prior to his entry into the Realm was still stuck mid-yawn. This confirmed that no time had passed while he was inside the Realm, bringing a satisfied smile to his face. Then, startling the guards who had been eyeing him from a distance, he extended his hand and said, "Set alight the all-consuming me, Laevateinn...!!" Without needing to manifest his Asauchi, a plume of brackish-crimson mes erupted from Vahns right hand. When it faded away, a 185cm long ymore with a smoldering de had manifested, its presence alone enough to cause people to copse to the ground. This was quite a surprise, even to Vahn, but, remembering how Captain-ss Shinigami were able to achieve the same effect, it wasnt too unexpected. Rather, even in the [Asauchi-Production Manual], it mentioned that the awakening of a Zanpakutou Spirit could ce a heavy strain on the physical world, potentially endangering the lives of normal people. Understanding that Laev-tan was basically just trying to show off, Vahn lightly tapped the draconic visage on the guard, saying, "Restrain your aura. Were not fighting anyone." Though it wasnt immediately, Laev-tan ultimately retracted her aura, releasing an annoyed hum that caused crackling sounds to emanate from her de. She couldnt speak in this form, but, after being together for several decades, Vahn could still understand her. As a result, he just shook his head with a wry smile, promising, "Well have plenty of enemies to fight against. For now, Im just happy to see you in the real world like this..." Understanding the anatomy of Laev-tans sword form, Vahn gently caressed the area of the de that was her back when she was in human form. At the same time, he somewhat roughly scratched the area that represented the top of her head, earning a pleasant hum in response. Though she had a tomboyish personality, she was exceptionally weak to being pampered. After all, he had carried her with him for nearly forty years, spoiling her quite a bit in the process... --- Despite seeing their prisoner pull a sword out of thin air, none of the Imperial Guardsman made any attempt to confiscate it. Some even pretended not to have noticed while others, after processing the scene before them, went to report to the Warden. They needed to report that their prisoner was able to use Magic within an area where orthodox forms of Magic would be useless. This was an important discovery, as, with the exception of Royal Magic, only Ancient and Spiritual Magic could be used so freely. Vahn was perfectly aware of the fact he was showing off, but, after realizing the power currently in his possession, most thoughts ofying low had faded away. While he couldnt directlypare his capabilities to his Master, it was a simple truth that her magical power was actually very low. She was unable to be stronger due to the nature of her body, requiring her to supplement her power by sucking blood. The thing that made her so powerful was her absolute mastery over certain Elements and Laws, elevating her from around 300 Base Power to levels he couldntprehend. All he knew for certain was that, in her prime, Eva was even able to kill Demon Gods in a single blow. At the present moment, Vahns power was a little unstable due to his recent arrival in the Record. By the time he fully limated, he should be able to increase his Power Level to around 8100. This was without the use of Magia Erebea, so, if he really pushed himself, even exceeding 20,000 wouldnt be a stretch. It all depended on whether or not his power level would teau beyond a certain point... Vahn wouldnt know for certain where he stood in rtion to others until he fought against powerful foes. Theoretical strength meant nothing when fists and magic started flying, so, unless they tried to use underhanded means, Vahn was still considering epting his punishment. He wouldnt allow them to put a ve cor around his neck, but, if it was just fighting in the Coliseum, he was actually looking forward to it. For now, however, he just pulled out a fresh cloth from his Inventory, ignoring the stares from the Imperial Guards as he began to polish Laev-tan... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Seven weeks...,Laev-tan is very curious (UwU)~!,I kind of feel bad for these Imperial Guards...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1532 Interrogation

Chapter 1532 Interrogation

Jagoda Bracht Kochanowska was a fifth-generation Magistrate that had proudly served the Hes Empire for nearly sixty years. Her family had been proud supporters of the crown since the advent of Mundus Magicus itself, so, when she heard that a human male had been discovered in the room of their beloved Third Princess, she couldnt help but take the matter to heart. Though Princess Theodora was the Emperors youngest daughter, she was the only one in the line of session who had been able to contract their Guardian Spirit, the Sacred Dragon that had watched over the Imperial Family since the dawn of the Hes Empire, Vrixho Nagasha. This instantly elevated her to the status of Crown Princess, and, though she was a little spirited by nature, her intellect and magical power had earned her the appreciation of the Imperial Familys supporters. Even before she had been designated as the Crown Princess, Princess Theodora had been doted on by nearly every member of the Imperial Family. She was their pride and joy, and, one day, she would be the voice of the Empire abroad. Because of this, it was unforgivable that someone had any kind of intentions toward her, especially given her age. As one of the races with inherent magical power, the Hes peoples had always lived much longer than the vast majority of Mundus Magicus citizens. Because of this, there was a policy that required you to be around the age of sixty to be qualified for a position of status and authority. This was also the age when you were officially considered an adult, even if their bodies reached physical maturity around the same time as humans. Princess Theodora currently had the appearance of a human child around the age of twelve, but, in Hes Years, this made her just under four years old. Things like the matter of her marriage couldnt even be talked about until she was ten, approximately thirty-three in Human Years. Thus, despite her insistence that she was already old enough to take care of herself, everyone fawned over her like the child she was. She was the baby of the Emperor, and, due to her outgoing personality, she was also the idol of the Hes people... --- After listening to the various reports regarding their intruder, Jagoda had a grim expression on her face. Now only had he spontaneously appeared in the Princess room, bypassing all of their security, but it was reported that his magical power couldnt be sealed. If he hadnt imprisoned himself, they might not have even been able to capture him at all. This was a blemish on the Imperial Guard, and, due to the nature of the offense, a slight against the Imperial Family itself. Staring at the sickly pale man before her, Jagoda stated in an icy tone, "Warden Pelias...please rify the reasons behind your insistence on calling this criminal an Emperor. Are you trying to insult the Imperial Family...?" As there was a startling difference in power between normal members of the Hes race and the few Aristocratic Families, Pelias couldnt help but tremble under the Magistrates pressure as he said, "He addressed himself as such, Your Honour. My men...we were unable to do anything against him at all. I have no intention of insulting the Imperial Family, but that man isnt normal...Im not even sure he is human..." Remembering his encounter with Vahn, Pelias felt a shiver pass through his body as a suppression far greater than the one released by Jagoda permeated through his very existence. His instincts told him that they should not man an enemy out of that man, no matter the cost. Normally, Jagoda would havembasted Pelias for his failure, docking his pay and cing him under house arrest until further notice. However, as one of the strongest people in the Hes Empire, one of the requirements of holding an official position, she had also sensed the dangerous aura emitted by their prisoner. Even now, as she was listening to Pelias report, a sense of danger lingered in the back of her mind, stimting her flight or fight response. Shaking her head, Jagoda waved her hand in a dismissive manner, stating, "You have leave for three days. Once this matter is settled, you will be evaluated forpetency before I finalize my decision. Since you have no previous record of wrongdoings, you will most likely be let off with a light rebuke. You are dismissed." If not for his training, Pelias might have fallen to the ground the moment he was shown lenience by the usually cold Magistrate. His body and mind were both strung out ever since he left the dungeon, so the only thing keeping him going was decades of experience and pure willpower. He knew he was in for a rough night, as, despite never being in any real danger, it felt like he had juste out of a deadly battlefield. Now, memories of the past were already encroaching his mind, filling his thoughts of regret and self-doubt as nightmarish scenes began to resurface from the deepest recesses of his subconsciousness... Seeing the shellshocked man depart the room, Jagodas expression became serious as she repressed a sigh. She was beginning to feel a bit of the nervousness that reared up every time a difficult battle was approaching. This was a feeling she had almost forgotten after bing a Magistrate, her duty shifting from the battlefield to the courtroom after decades of service on the various frontlines that existed due to tensions between the Hes Empire and most Human Nations. Shaking her head, Jagoda rose to her feet, approaching a locked wardrobe that contained all of her battle equipment. She also felt there was something off about their prisoner, so, rather than arrive unprepared, she began donning her armor while saying, "Inform the Prime Minister and the General of what has taken ce. They are undoubtedly already aware of the situation, but it is best to keep them up to speed. I have a bad feeling about the man who professes himself an Emperor..." Posted near the entrance of the rathervish study, two women wearing an ornate version of the armor worn by Imperial Guards immediately saluted in response to Jagodas words. They quickly set off to carry out her orders, leaving their Master to ruminate over theing battle... --- With nothing better to do, Vahn split his time between polishing Laev-tan and making his cell morefortable. He rather enjoyed seeing the distant looks on the faces of the Imperial Guards, so, with around two hours to kill, he had converted the interior of the cell into avish,pletely furnished, bedroom. Now, he was enjoying a cup of piping hot tea, an amused smile on his face as he focused on familiarizing himself with the surrounding mana. As his [Archmage] status made readily apparent, Vahn was one of the most knowledgeable people in the entire Magical World when it came to Magical Theory and Practical Application. He might not be able to manifest its phenomenon easily in the outside world, but, due to the prevalence of Elemental Spirits, this didnt really matter. Even now, unbeknownst to the Imperial Guards, there were dozens of Spirits lingering within his cell, some climbing on his body while others fumbled around with the ornate silverware he had pulled out. Vahn knew it had something to do with his Source Energy, but, ever since his time in Danmachi, the Spirits had always been fond of him. Now, they would be one of his greatest strengths, as, with few exceptions, Spirit Magic had no counter. It could even be used when your Magic waspletely sealed, and, in some countries, you were considered a skilled Magus after forming a contract with a single Intermediate Elemental Spirit. As for Advanced and Greater Elemental Spirits, they were things only the strongest Magi in existence were able to form a contract with, often allowing them to leave their name in history as a result. Thanks to his [True Friend of the Elements], Vahn had an advantage that would earn him the envy of virtually every Magi in Mundus Magicus. Better yet, even if his enemies had contracts with Spirits of their own, they would be hard-pressed to convince them to fight against him. Vahn couldnt wait to see the look on his enemies faces when they realized their greatest ally simply refused to obey theirmands. It was bound to be amusing, especially with his most powerful ability... So long as they werent someone on Evas level, Vahn already knew how to counter and outright cancel Magic Spells within the Akamatsuverse. He had been able to put this into practice even in the Record of Danmachi, bing an absolute nightmare for any Mage that relied on things like chants and ritual magic. Unless they were faster than him, which was virtually impossible, he could even reverse the flow of magical energy, turning their own attacks against them. This was his most powerful ability within the Akamatsuverse, especially whenbined with his effective immunity to Spirit-based Magics. As his excitement for the future continued to rise, Vahn couldnt help but smile radiantly when he sensed a rtively powerful individual heading towards the Dungeon. Using his intent, he was able to see it was a Hes woman with bronzed skin, curved horns that framed her head, and the blonde hair that seemed characteristic of their species. She also had reddish-brown eyes, and, based on the fact she was wearing some rather decent equipment, Vahn suspected she didnte with purely peaceful intentions. Unfortunately, perhaps as a result of the fact he had yet to limate to the Akamatsuverse, Vahn was currently unable to read the Flow of Fate. He could still sense its presence, but, simr to trying to find your way in a room after the lights went out, it was very vague. You would either need to wait until your eyes adapted or be forced to fumble around like an idiot, even if you knew the location of every piece of furniture. Preempting the womans arrival, Vahn rose to his feet, earning confused stares from the guards as he picked invisible Elemental Spirits off of his body. To them, it looked like he was grasping at empty air before setting things down on the circr cafe table he had purchased from the shop. This caused a few of them to think Vahn was just a crazy person, but, after seeing him pull a king-sized bed out of thin air, none were willing to speak out. By the time the guards announced the arrival of the Magistrate, Vahn had finished picking most of the Elemental Spirits off of him. There was still a Wood Spirit that had managed to crawl up his left trouser sleeve, but, unwilling to take off his pants with an audience of thirty people, Vahn ignored it as he smiled towards the expressionless beauty approaching his cell. Rather than a Magistrate, she looked like a proud General that was preparing to lead an army into battle,plete with a winged helmet that was tucked under her left arm... Seeing Vahn for the first time, Jagoda was certain he wasnt a normal man, not in the slightest. While it was very different from her own Emperor, there was a dignified aura that lingered around his body. More noticeably, however, his demeanor made it seem as though nothing could hurt him, reminding her of their Empires Guardian, one of only four Ancient Dragons in existence, Vrixho Nagasha... Without minding the womans battle-ready demeanor, Vahn gestured with his hand, startling nearly everyone present by unlocking the gate of his cell. Then, as if pulled by an unseen entity, the gates soundlessly opened as he gestured towards the second seat at the cafe table, asking, "Will you join me for tea...?" After flexing the muscles of her jaw a few times, clenching her teeth, Jagoda gave a small nod before mustering up all of her courage and stepping into the rathervish cell. She didnt bother herself by thinking about where the furnishings hade from. Instead, she was focused entirely on the cells upant, her previous impression growing stronger by the second. Using his Telekinesis, Vahn pulled out Jagodas chair, allowing her to take a seat before sitting in his own chair and musing, "Caution is amendable trait, but, under certain conditions, some might misconstrue it as a threat...tell me, what are your intentions, Lady Magistrate?" As if reminded of her own status, Jagodas expression turned sharp as she firmly stated, "My name is Jagoda Bracht Kochanowska, Imperial Magistrate of the Hes Empire. My purpose is in, I uphold thew and mete out punishment to those who vite it. To that end, I require your cooperation in order to ascertain the truth of the current matter." Before she had finished speaking, Jagoda pulled out a statuette of a blindfolded woman holding a set of scales. Even without her exining, he knew it was an item known as a [Jurist Scale], a rather valuable artifact that had the ability to discern whether or not someone was telling the truth. She also had a ring hidden beneath her gauntlet, a far more valuable artifact known as the [Comptina Daemonia]. It allowed the user to know the name of anyone they saw, and, after performing a veryplicated ritual, it was even possible to determine their True Name. This was very useful in the event of facing off against higher tiered Demons and Spirits, as, if you knew their True Name, it was possible to exercise power over them. Withoutmenting on the statuette, Vahn maintained a casual smile as he said, "You may proceed when you are ready. So long as it is not a sensitive matter, I have no problem answering any of your questions." Though she wasnt fond of the fact Vahn had phrased things to sound as though he was giving her permission, Jagoda buried her resentment, pulling out a small hand recorder and a notepad before asking, "What is your name?" Without missing a beat, Vahn inly stated, "Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor," his expression unchanging as he sensed the fluctuations in the [Jurist Scale]. With a curt nod of her head, Jagoda followed up her opening question, squinting her eyes as she asked a series of rapid-fire questions, "What country do youe from? How did you end up in the chambers of the Third Imperial Princess? What is the significance of the title Sage Dragon Emperor?" Amused by the womans attempts to try and pressure him, the edges of Vahns smile curled up a bit as he calmly answered, "I hail from Avalon, Capital of the Aldrnari Empire. As for how I ended up in the chambers of your countrys Princess, even I cannot say. When I opened my eyes, that is where I found myself. As for the significance of my title...I would think it is rather apparent? I am the Emperor of the Aldrnari Empire." Seeing the [Jurist Scale] remain dormant, Jagoda could feel her pulse begin to elerate, forcing her to rely on a breathing exercise she had learned during her days in the Academy. She was able to see Vahns name hovering above his head, indicating he was, at the very least, telling the truth about his actual name. As for the rest of his identity, however, part of her refused to believe it,pelling her to ask, "Where is this Aldrnari Empire you hail from? I have heard of a country called Avalon, but it only exists in stories of the Old World..." The Old World was the colloquial term coined by residents of Mundus Magicus when referring to Earth. While this might seem a little hubristic, as they referred to their own as the New World, it was not aplete exaggeration. Though technology was rtively rare in Mundus Magicus due to the monopolization of the Aristocracy, it was several generations superior to anything found on Earth. Instead of immediately responding to Jagodas inquiry, Vahn poured himself a cup of tea, enjoying the fragrant aroma for several long seconds before answering, "Such questions cannot be answered in a way that would satisfy your curiosities. All you need to know is that, at least for the time being, I harbor no ill-will towards the Hes Empire. I am not the agent of a foreign country, nor did I have the intention of harming your Princess. In fact, had I not been confused by the events leading to my arrival, I would have alighted the Pce before anyone knew I was here." Seeing the [Jurist Scale] continue to remain idle, Jagoda couldnt help but frown as she stated, "You seem to be telling the truth...assuming that is the case, this has just be a far moreplicated matter. Even if you are not an enemy of the Hes Empire, we cannot allow the Emperor of a foreign nation to freely wander about our territory. It is also true that, regardless of your intentions, you have trespassed the Imperial Pce and injured dozens of Imperial Guards. Even if you were acting out of self-defense, you still vited thews of the Empire. Those who attempted to harm you will face a punishment of their own, but, regardless of the circumstances, the facts are clear...you are a criminal within the Hes Empire..." As if it didnt particrly concern him, Vahn issued a light hum before musing, "I am well aware of my wrongdoings. Had I not been, I would not have allowed myself to be imprisoned like this. To that end, so long as you do not resort to anything excessive, I am willing to seek absolution. I have never once considered myself above thew, so I will face my punishment with dignity. Just remember who I am and the title I bear...so long as you do not forget yourselves, I will tolerate your Empiresws..." Hearing Vahns words, Jagoda had a terrible sense of foreboding that was further exacerbated when the [Jurist Scale] suddenly indicated he was lying. This seemed to surprise the man himself, causing a light chuckle to escape his lips as he winked and said, "At the very least, I can promise not to go out of my way to harm the innocent. If anything were to happen, it would be the direct result of a w in your Empires system. So long as my bottom line is not tested, I am a rtively harmless individual..." Following Vahns words, the [Jurist Scale] immediately returned to a state of bnce, indicating he was telling the truth. This left Jagoda without an immediate response to his statement, her mind racing to process the information she had obtained during the interrogation. She was intending to have the [Jurist Scale] checked for any kind of anomalous tampering, but, seeing the scales move in response to Vahns words, their weight increased exponentially... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Hes Emperors Pampered Princess...,Vahn about to take this world by storm...,The weight of an Emperors promise is immeasurable (UwU)...) (A/N: I was going to post this after the reset tomorrow, as today is supposed to be my rest day, but I decided to just release it now. This is going towards my 100k promised words though, so keep that in mind if you want to scrutinize me at the end of the week xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1533 Intentions

Chapter 1533 Intentions

Unable to decide the fate of an Emperor on her own, Jagoda had the Imperial Guards prepare one of the suites typically reserved for housing foreign dignitaries. These were well-furnished rooms that were dutifully attended by the Imperial Pces service staff. They were also equipped with powerful defensive spells that made it very difficult to break in, and out, of the rooms interior. This effectively made the rooms veryvish cells, ensuring foreign dignitaries werent saboteurs and spies. Fortunately, Vahn was verypliant with their demands, even agreeing to allow members of the Sealing Corps to ce a powerful barrier around the room. He didnt seem to particrly care what methods they used to try and keep him contained, so long as they didnt tarnish his dignity. Rather, much to the chagrin of Jagoda and the Imperial Guard, he seemed to find their efforts amusing, his face fixed in a perpetual smile that radiated confidence. It was almost as if he believed nothing could harm him, frustrating quite a number of people... --- Several hours after requesting an audience, Jagoda found herself bowing low reverentially before a man with a sturdy figure, a kind smile, a mane of golden hair, and, most notably, two zing golden eyes. He was a veteran of hundreds of battles, granting him an inherent ferocity that belied the great wisdom he had umted over nearly three hundred years as Emperor. This was none other than the Four Emperor of the Hes Empire, Michael Bashireia Herasu De Vesuperisujimia, the man known to many as the Great Lion of the South. Having heard Jagodas report, Michael, simply known as Mike or Leo to his friends, had a thoughtful look on his face as he asked, "So, youre telling me the man that mysteriously appeared in the room of my daughter is the Emperor of an Empire we have never heard of? How certain are you...?" With her head still bowed low, Jagoda unhesitantly answered, "I had Magister Orlich to analyze the [Jurist Scale] to ensure it hadnt been tampered with. Based on his analysis, there is reason to believe that man, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, is telling the truth." Hearing Jagodas response, Michael issued a low hooo... before leaning to the side and using his hand to support his chin. He didnt doubt the veracity of Jagodas ims, but, based on the title that was associated with Vahn, things could be troublesome. It could just be something arbitrarily made up, much like his own Great Lion of the South, but, considering it included his status as an Emperor, it was dangerous to make assumptions. Terms like Sage and Dragon werent things that couldnt be overlooked, with the former belonging to a very rare ssification of Alchemists and thetter belonging to one of the most powerful species in Mundus Magicus. In the Magical World, the majority of Magical Creature, including Demihumans, possessed the ability to transition between a humanoid form and a bestial form. Generally speaking, the stronger an entity was, the more convincing its human transformation was. This had always been a contentious issue for the more zealous factions among the Demihumans, but, when it came to ssifying the power of Dragons, Demons, and Spirits, their ability to disguise as humans often directly represented their overall power. This held true even for their Guardian Spirit, who, every now and then, manifested as a kindly old man to hand out candy to children in the streets. Though it wasnt likely, there was a non-negligible chance that Vahn, who seemingly appeared out of thin air, was a type of Dragon. They had a very strong connection to the Spirits, more so than even the High Elves of Elfenhof. Since it was reported that Vahn was able to manifest items and freely use magic, even in a cell designed to inhibit its use, it was obvious he had a very powerful connection to the Spirits. This was something that could be overlooked, as, during the reign of his father, Michael had witnessed a coastal citypletely ttened by the Greater Elemental Spirit, Gnome. From then onward, he never underestimated the might of Spirit Magic, even going so far as to issue research grants to ensure their most brilliant minds were constantly making breakthroughs in its usage... After organizing his thoughts, Michael turned his gaze back to Jagoda, asking, "You said he is willing to ept responsibility for his crimes...what do you make of this?" Realizing what her Emperor was asking, Jagoda paused for a brief moment before saying, "I believe he wants to test himself...there is an aura of supreme confidence that permeates the air around him, almost as if he fears nothing. If my spection is correct...I believe he is trying to test us...as for what his true purpose is, I cannot say. All I know for certain is that my instincts are screaming at me to not underestimate him..." As one of the most powerfulbatants within his Empire, Michael had also felt the terrifying aura that was released when Vahn summoned Laev-tan. He had even convened an emergency council to discuss the matter prior to Jagodas arrival, ultimately culminating in his daughter being taken away to a safe location. The fact Vahn had appeared in her room was enough of a reason to temporarily remove her from the Pce, as, due to her rather spirited nature, there was a very real chance she might sneak into the dungeon to visit her would-be assassin. Restraining a sigh, Michael looked toward the direction of the Coliseum,menting the fact that Jack had recently departed to subdue a rampaging sea monster near the coast. He was still young, but, if they were to go all-out against each other, Michael wasnt sure he could win without wasting some of the Empires trump cards. The youth had even picked a fight with their Guardian Spirit as part of his request for securing a hundred victories in the Coliseum. In the end, neither had been able to get an advantage against the other, but, as a result of that encounter, Jack had be another one of the Empires Guardians. Remembering the battle between Jack and Vrixho, a smile spread across Michaels face. He had quite a bit of fondness for the rather barbaric youth, even allowing his youngest daughter to treat him like an older brother. If not for Jack being half-human, making it impossible for the Aristocracy to ept him, he might have even engaged the two once his daughter matured. Unfortunately, even if he was to make an exception, Jack would die of old age long before the time of their actual wedding... Shaking his head, Michael looked back at Jagoda, stating, "I believe your spection is correct. There is a fair chance this Sage Dragon Emperores from a world beyond Mundus Magicus. At the very least, we can be rtively certain he holds no ill-will towards my daughter. If he is as powerful as the reports make him out to be, I fear she would have already been taken or killed. For now, we will test his capabilities by having him fight in the Coliseum. I am tempted to pardon him, but, based on your ount, I believe he wants to fight. This would imply he has some knowledge of ourws, so, until we can ascertain exactly how dangerous he is, it is best to simply observe. Once Jack returns from his subjugation, we will see how he matches up against the reigning Champion..." Hearing her Emperor mention Jacks name, Jagoda had to restrain a sigh of her own as she recalled the man barging into the Pce several times over thest few years. There was almost nothing they could do about him, as, even after offending some of the more troublesome factions, he hade out unscathed. The Second Prince has even hired an Assassin graded as an S-Rank threat, but, three days after epting themission, the Assassin ended up crucified in the central courtyard of the Second Princes estate. If she were being honest, Jagoda felt Jack was one of the greatest threats to the Empire, but, in spite of this, the Emperor and the Third Princess seemed fond of him. Jack would even call the Emperor by his nickname, and, on one asion, he even helped the Third Princess sneak out to go view matches in the Coliseum. He was apletely unfettered individual who simply did as he pleased, a veritable nightmare for those who were tasked with upholding thew. After all, even if they pinned crimes on him, he would simply regain his freedom by battling in the Coliseum... Ignoring her own apprehensions, Jagoda lowed her head even further, saying, "Your will be done." in a respectful tone. Then, after being granted permission to leave, she slowly rose to her feet, keeping her head bowed and taking nine steps back before turning around. She now had her orders, so, even if Vahn was an Emperor, she would carry out the will of her own. As for her personal feelings toward Jack, they meant absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things. His power had removed quite a number of threats to the Empire and its people, so, even if his mere presence infuriated her, she was able to tolerate him for the sake of the Empire... --- Much like when he had first entered the Nasuverse, Vahn had some difficulty trying to sense certain areas with his domain. Unlike the Nasuverse, however, it didnt take long for him to probe such areas with his intent, even entering the most secure regions of the Imperial Pce without notice. Even if it was an area protected by powerful ancient wards,pletely separating the interior space form the outside, he was able to send his intent forward all the same. When it came to gathering information or spying on people, Vahn had reached a level that would horrify anyone with secrets to keep. He could even spy on Tier 5 deities like the Olympians, so, when it came time for Jagoda to meet with the Emperor, Vahns intent was right there alongside her. As a result, his casual smile had turned into an excited grin after hearing the Emperors orders regarding his treatment. Though it wouldnt take much effort for him to simply leave and track down someone like Jack using his own means, Vahn didnt want to bebeled as a criminal just yet. He would rather be feared and discussed behind the scenes rather than have an international bounty ced on his head. While this might not matter in the long run, the Great Magic War was less than two years away. Many powerful figures would appear during that time, and, at one point, one of the most legendary groups to ever grace the Magical World would be formed, Rubra. While history never specifically stated when the battle would ur, Vahn knew that Rubra would be in direct contention to the group backed by the Mage of the Beginning, Cosmo Entelecheia. If he timed things correctly, dealing with the Mage of the Beginning might change from a difficult feat to a rtively simple matter. Thus, while he had no intention to join Rubra directly, Vahn believed it wouldnt be such a bad idea to befriend them. This was, of course, assuming he didnt meet up with Eva early on and increase his power to monstrous levels... As it stood, Vahn didnt have the intention of being directly affiliated with any nation. However, that didnt mean he wouldnt be involved with them during his travels. He had always possessed a fondness for so-called Demi-humans, and, at some point, he was bound toe across injustices he simply couldnt ignore. Even now, he was able to detect some of the Pce staff walking around with ve cors on their necks, and, like every country, there seemed to be a mind-numbing amount of shady dealings taking ce beneath the surface. Even if he didnt n to settle in a specific location, part of being a Vagrant Hero was being a busy-body that was hated by the Aristocracy and loved by the people. So long as his power and mobility transcended their ability to deal with, he could basically do whatever he wanted. He already had the intention of pretty much freeing most ves he encountered, and, if he discovered them, it was all but guaranteed he would bury any disreputable organizations. This would undoubtedly undermine the bnce within nations, creating a power vacuum that would be readily filled by other criminals, but, if he kept it up, even the vilest individuals would begin toy low. With Eva being famous enough that mothers used her name to scare their children into obedience, Vahn was intended to be a name that caused criminals, including Nobles, to tremble. He might even dabble in recing world leaders with dangerous mentalities, preventing theing war, or, at the very least, stopping it from reaching the point of bing Great. He already nned to visit Ostia, the so-called Holy Land of the Magical World, once he finished limating to the Record. If he took action early on, he would be able to prevent the countrys destruction, avoiding the loss of millions of lives and the forceful envement of tens-of-millions of innocents. Most historians still debated what exactly transpired to trigger the onset of the Great Magic War, but none of them argued which nation had suffered the most. Ostia was currently the most scenic nation in the entire Magical World, and, though its technology suffered behind some of the more forward-thinking nations, its magical might was second to none. It was considered by many to be the literal heart of Mundus Magicus, representing the oldest nation in existence, Vespertatia. Their Royal Family were the only wielders of Royal and Ancient Magic in the entire world, and, ording to spection, they were descended directly from the Life Maker, one of many aliases belonging to the Mage of the Beginning. Even if his primary goal was to find, save, and protect Eva, that didnt mean Vahn would turn a blind eye to everything else. He wouldnt just let some evil organization do whatever they wanted behind the scenes, especially if it involved the sacrifice of literal millions of people. Rather, unless he wanted to go picking fights with the Greater Elementals and Guardian Spirits, battling against the members of Cosmo Entelecheia was the best possible way to polish his skill. This would also set back the ns of the Mage of the Beginning, an enemy he would undoubtedly have to face in the future. Eva would not simply abandon the Record until she had her revenge, and, after making a promise, Vahn would go to extreme lengths to keep it... With a light knock sounding from the reinforced wooden door of his suite, Vahn retracted his intent and said, "You may enter..." in a calm tone. He already knew who had arrived so he wasnt phased in the slightest when Jagoda, apanied by two rtively powerful people, entered the room. Without beating around the bush, Jagoda stated in the firmest tone she could manage, "After careful deliberation, your sentence has been decided. In ordance with Title 8, Chapter 38, sub-sections 10 and 23, you have been sentenced to diatorial service for a period not exceeding two years. During that time, so long as you are able to secure one-hundred consecutive victories, you will be pardoned of all wrong-doing, your record expunged, and your name cleared. Do you have any questions?" Rather than answer immediately, Vahn rose from the edge of his bed, causing the rather brutish man behind Jagoda to ce his hand on the hilt of his sword. He looked like the type of person that had lived his entire life on the battlefield, his bronzed body covered in dozens of scars as a rather potent killing intent permeated through his aura. As for the other man, he had the appearance of an elderly schr, but, of the two, Vahn knew thetter was far more dangerous. Ignoring the re he was receiving from the 213cm tall man, Vahn returned a casual smile and said, "Very well. As I stated previously, I am willing to be held ountable for my wrongdoings. However, I also remember stating you should not forget my status..." With SSS-Rank [Shundo], Vahn appeared behind the trio before his original body showed any signs of dispersing, adding, "Addressing an Emperor as you isnt exactly appropriate...I will overlook it in this instance, but you would do well to remember basic propriety in the future..." Without waiting for Jagodas response, Vahn departed the open door, causing the waiting toon of Imperial Guards to form a phnx-like formation as they slowly backed away from him. They would not attack until instructed, but, when a loud metallic sound echoed in the surroundings, some of the less disciplined men nearly fired their paralyzing beams on impulse. After all, it wasnt every day you saw the Commander of the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Court Mage copse in an instant... As if he hadnt just knocked out two of the most powerful people in the Hes Empire, Vahn held out his wrists to the encirclement, a smile on his face as he asked, "Shall we depart...?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: There is no contest between a Dragon and a Lion~,Vahn about to rain on the parade of so many people xD...,Bullying is not okay...!!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1534 Bottom Line

Chapter 1534 Bottom Line

Knocking out two civil officials would normally earn him additional sentencing, but, considering the Commander of the Imperial Guard had ced his hand upon his sword, Vahn had ample justification to act. It was also a simple truth that, instead of treating him like a dignitary, which required proper usage of his title, they were still looking down on him. This didnt really matter in the grand scheme of things, but, if someone looked down on him, Vahn wouldnt hesitate to return the favor... With his arms bound in magical shackles, Vahn allowed himself to be escorted to a docking station on the west side of the Pce. Here, hundreds of fish-like airships, literally known as Airfish, could be seen lined up within maintenance hangars. These were crafts generally used by the Imperial Guard to respond to threats outside the city, but they were also used to simply move from the Pce to other areas of the Capital. Airfish were one of the mostmon forms of long-distance transport in the entire Magical World, withrger vessels even being known as Air Whales. Seeing the unique crafts up close, Vahn imagined Da Vinci and Sophia would both appreciate their structure quite a bit. It was interesting to see so many different types of Airfish, some modeled like sharks and minnows while others, for reasons he could only specte on, even had the appearance of clownfish and tuna. This lent a certain novelty to the Airfish, and, under the right conditions, the presence of arge number of Airfish could make the sky seem like a vast ocean... Since the Imperial Pce towered over the rest of Tougen like a veritable mountain, the easiest way to depart the massive structure was by using an Airfish. There were physical gates and passages you could pass through, but, as that would take literally hours, it was rare to see anyone but members of the Imperial Guard wandering about the base of the Imperial Pce. This was, of course, by design, allowing the members of the Imperial Family and the upper echelons of the Nobility to basically live a separate existence from the plebian masses. Vahn didnt disagree with the principle of distancing yourself from those you ruled over, but, as the line of thinking of most Nobles was to elevate themselves above others, he found mountain-sized Imperial Pce excessive. If you intended to directly rule someone, you should live among them and try to understand their needs. Lowering your subjects just so you could elevate yourself further only resulted in the development of negative sentiments and the propagation of corruption. This allowed criminal organizations to run rampant behind the scenes, sowing the seeds for future rebellions and the forceful change of power. Were it not for the existence of Vrixho Nagasha limiting the line of session to a single heir, there is a chance the Hes Empire would have fallen long ago. Any nation that relied on very and the existence of public distractions to ensure order had already undermined their foundation. It was for this reason, that, during the Great Magic War, nearly every member of the Imperial Family was wiped out. The only surviving members were the Emperor himself and the Third Imperial Princess, thetter surviving only as a result of the actions of Rubra. Repressing a sigh, Vahn looked out over the admittedly beautiful Capital City, noticing everything was surprisingly well maintained. Though there were a few examples of high technology, most used magical energy as a power source. Littering was also treated as a rather serious offense, and, if you were found piling up waste or disposing of things improperly, you would quickly find yourself in a prison cell or serving time as a diator. Due to the prevalence of Spirits, every nation ced a heavy emphasis on ensuring the environment was properly cared for. Upsetting the Spirits could, quite literally, lead to the death of a nation, as, in the most extreme cases, annoyed Earth Elementals would simply move to a more pleasant area. This would result in widespread famine, as, without a proper bnce in the Elemental Spirits, producing staple foods was impossible. Thend would quickly be a wastnd, encouraging even more Spirits to simply leave the area in search of better prospects. If he were being honest, Vahn found this type of system rather endearing as he hated the idea of destroying the environment for things like profit. Here, unless you made a contract and came to an agreement with the local Spirits, mining was virtually impossible. While it was a simple matter to try and collect small amounts of ore, setting up arge-scale operation would literally result in massive earthquakes and cave-ins. The Spirits did not tolerate arbitrary destruction of the environment, and, based on the number of ruins present throughout Mundus Magicus, it was obvious some countries had learned this the hard way... --- After around twenty minutes of flight time, the result of strict limitations on the speed Airfish could travel in residential areas, Vahn saw a massive Coliseum that was nearly 800m in diameter, roughly four times the size of the famous Roman Coliseum. It also had magical defenses that rivaled those present within the Imperial Pce, with the Arena itself having exceptionally powerful barriers. Vahn even felt as though his most powerful attack might not be able to prate these barriers, at least in his base state. Generally speaking, Airfish were only allowed tond in designated areas known as Fishports, but, as a vessel belonging to the Imperial Guards, the one carrying Vahn was able tond near a specialized docking station that was reserved from the exact purpose of turning over prisoners. There were even different processing areas depending on the severity of a persons crimes, the most notable of which including stripping people bare of their possessions and cing ve cors around their necks... Vahn hadnt expected it to be a pretty sight, but, seeing children wearing little more than rags as they were forced through the processing line and issued shackles and a cor wasnt pleasant. The systematic nature of the entire process left a bad taste in his mouth, starting with the newly arrived diators being stripped downpletely naked. They were then doused in cold water for several seconds before being forced to stand in a long queue, bodies shivering as they awaited their turn to receive new garments... Any excitement Vahn had about the Magical World quickly evaporated when he saw such scenes. He knew many of the children were orphans who sought to be diators in order to improve their living conditions. They were much like the Supporters in the Record of Danmachi, innocents who had been forced into their situations as a result of events outside of their control. Now, due to the failure of the ruling ss, they had to put their lives on the line just to avoid starvation... With his smile nowhere to be seen, Vahn began emanating a terrifying aura that caused everyone in his immediate surroundings to tense up. There were few things he hated more than seeing children exploited by the very society meant to protect them, especially when the Imperial Pce was filled to the brim with artifacts that disyed their vast wealth. It almost felt like they were more focused on simply disying their wealth to other members of high society than actually using it to ensure the prosperity of their people... Feeling someone tug at the chains connected to his shackles, Vahns instinctually jerked his arms in response, sending the foolhardy member of the Imperial Guard flying several meters. This caused the other members of the Imperial Guard to draw their weapons as Jagoda, sensing things had gone south, attempted to defuse the situation by shouting, "Stay your arms! You do not have the order to attack...!" While Jagoda was attempting to get control of the situation, Vahn broke free from his shackles in an instant, his body vanishing like a phantom. Before anyone sensed his new location, a crashing sound could be heard echoing through the area, following by a pained groan. When they turned towards the direction of the sound, they could see a rather fat man wearing an outfit formed from the hide of various animals. He had a pig-like face, an eye patch covering his left eye, and arge whip that was visibly stained with blood still clutched in his hands. Recognizing the man as one of the Coliseums Quartermasters, a position given to those meant to assign quarters, rations, and clothes to new arrivals, Jagoda quickly realized the reason for Vahns actions. She turned her eyes towards the group of provisional diators, a group that would need to train for a few years before officially fighting in the Coliseum. There, a young Cat Beastman could be seen curled up on the ground, a rather vicious whip mark along her exposed nk. She had tried to refuse to have a cor ced around her neck, resulting in the Quartermaster punishing her for stepping out of line... Before Jagoda had fully processed the situation, the Quartermaster embedded into the wall becamepletely limp, the bloodied whip falling from his hands. Around the same time, another crashing sound resonated through the area, this time the result of a sadist-looking Dragonfolk being thrown with enough force that he crashed through one of therge holding cells, his body separating into several distinct pieces due to the reinforced cell bars. As could be expected, things quickly became chaotic once two people were killed in roughly the time it took to take a single deep breath. Those that didnt truly want to be diators felt emboldened enough to make a break for it while those who felt they didnt have a choice just curled into balls, hands covering their heads to show they were resisting. They didnt know what was going on, but, after experiencing numerous hardships, theycked the will to fight against the Enforcers of the Coliseum. Like an unstoppable tempest, Vahns figure could be seen appearing and disappearing around the processing area. Those who were notorious for their mistreatment of ves were met with gruesome ends while those who were simply doing their job only suffered light injuries. It was like watching a one-sided ughter, as, due to the ferocity and swiftness of Vahns attacks, many of the workers had yet to even realize what was happening. Some even tried to appeal to the group of Imperial Guards nearby, but, fearing things would only get further out of hand, Jagoda ordered her men to capture the escaping prisoners without interfering in the onught. This ultimately resulted in her own men being spared Vahns fury, albeit at the cost of the Imperial Guards prestige... --- After effectively killing or crippling more than half of the Coliseum personnel tasked with handling iing diators, Vahn appeared in front of Jagoda with a deadpan expression on his face. This caused her body to tense up, but, remembering the disys of power he had shown, she managed to avoid drawing her weapon, muttering, "Regardless of the circumstances, this incident amounts to a case of mass murder..." Shaking his head, Vahn rebuffed Jagodas statement, saying, "This was justice. Do not pin the failings of your system on me, Madame Magistrate. I am well aware of your penal code, specifically the areas that define the treatment of ves and ditorial potentiates. I need not tell you this is a disgusting vition of your own Empires ownws, yet, based on how casually the Coliseums personnel went about their business, even in the presence of Imperial Guards, it is clear this is the norm. You expect me to obey yourws when you only selectively enforce them? Preposterous." Vahn had fully intended to just go with the flow, but, after seeing a grown man smiling sadistically as he whipped a literal child, hepletely lost interest inying low. Those who allowed him to act in such a way shouldered the same sin, so, from his perspective, the Imperial Guard had no ground to stand on. The only thing that prevented him from rampaging further was the fact that, despite their gross ipetence, most members of the Imperial Guard had lighter auras. Jagodas, in particr, had been a muted blue with bands of gold, indicating she was a calm, rational, and fairly righteous individual... Understanding the truth contained within Vahns words, Jagoda could only clench her right fist as she made a mental note to punish Deputy Magistrate charged with ensuring the Coliseum properly followed Imperial Law. She would also need to talk with the Imperial Guards tasked with maintaining order around the Coliseum, as, much like Vahn had pointed out, the behavior of the Quartermaster was entirely out of line. The problem was, even if that were the case, Vahn had no right to impose his form of justice onto them. His actions vited both the Spirit and Letter of the Law, ruing nearly a hundred felony offenses in less than five minutes... Ignoring the venomous look Jagoda was giving him, Vahn passed his gaze over the Imperial Guards as he added, "If you are unwilling to fulfill your obligation, do not me me for taking matters into my own hands. If you wish tobel me as a criminal, feel free to do so. I have never cared about the opinion of hypocrites who only mete out justice when it is convenient. Now, this is thest chance I will be affording you...if you continue showing me such disgusting sights, you only have yourselves to me for the oue..." Causing a few members of the Imperial Guard to take a step back, Vahn extended his hands so that new bindings could be put into ce. He had already stated he was willing to ept punishment for thews he had vited, but, during his first meet with Jagoda, he also promised that he would only take action when his bottom line was touched. This remained the case, so, unless they tried to force even more crimes onto him, ignoring the fact he was taking action as a result of their negligence, he still intended to serve time in the Coliseum. Seeing Vahns outstretched hands, Jagoda resisted the urge to remark how pointless it was to bind him when he just kept breaking them. Instead, she snatched a pair of shackles from one of the shell-shocked Imperial Guards, sping them around Vahns wrists before personally escorting him to the area reserved for processing prisoners with high social status. It actually wasnt that umon for public officials to end up serving time in the Coliseum, so, for a variety of reasons, their processing and treatment was exponentially better than normal ves and diators. At this point, Jagoda just wanted to be rid of Vahn, leaving him for someone else to deal with. She felt like he was a cmity that had befallen the Empire, but, much like Jack, it didnt seem like there was anything they could do about him. She would need to further discuss this with the Emperor and other public officials as her instincts told her this wasnt even the tip of the iceberg when it came to the trouble Vahn would bring them... --- While Vahn was causing headaches in the Hes Empire, four figures had only recently arrived in one of the eleven Gateports that connected Mundus Magicus to Mundus Ventus, the Old World. Among them, a youth with somewhat spiky and untamed red hair could be seen looking around, his muted brown eyes glimmering with excitement. Behind him, a bespectacled man with raven ck hair that was styled back in a way to make him appear more youthful, couldnt help but release a sigh as he said, "Nagi, I thought I told you not to go running around...youre behaving like a country bumpkin entering arge city for the first time..." Hearing the older mansint, the youth, Nagi Springfield, justughed in a carefree manner before saying, "Come on, Mr. Konoe, give me a break! This is my first time in the Magical World! THE Magical World! How could I not be excited!? I cant wait to meet powerful opponents and explore all kinds of hidden regions! I also want to try riding, no, taming a Dragon...!" Unable to keep up with Nagis fervor, Mr. Konoe, full name Eishun Konoe, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away his sweat, issuing a dryugh in response. As for his other twopanions, the one with delicate features and pale purple hair just smiled as he softly stated, "Go easy on him, Eishun. To Nagi, this is a mysticalnd that had filled his dreams for years. Allow the boy to spread his wings." Following up with what the purple-haired man said, the youngest-looking of the four, appearing even younger than the twelve-year-old Nagi, added, "Sanders is right. Besides, if you try and keep that birdbrain restrained, hell just peck at you until you let him go. This is an opportunity for him to grow much stronger, so dont get in his way. I only allowed you toe on this trip because of that old man of yours. If you interfere in my students growth, Ill deport you back to the Old World." Turning his head to the fair-skinned youth with spikey white hair and amber eyes, Eishun adopted a slight frown on his face as he said, "Hey, he is my student as well. Dont try and steal credit for all of Nagis progress. Besides, where do you get off calling other people old? Arent you like six-hundred years old or something...?" Hearing Eishuns remark, the youth, appearing no older than ten, just waved his hand in a dismissive manner, remarking, "Dont you know? Youth is all about spirit! Even if I were ten times older, Id still be young at heart! Besides, if were talking about-" Before the youth could finish, the purple-haired man, true name Albireo Imma, squinted his eyes as a rather dangerous smile reced his previously harmless expression. Then, in an icy tone, he mused, "Oh? Dont mind me, Young Master Zect. Please, do go on~." Despite being the strongest in the group, the youth, known as Filius Zect, elected not to finish his statement, issuing a wryugh before running over to his disciples side. He had fought against Al a few times in the past, and, though he had won each of their bouts, he hadnt so much as caused the purple-haired monster to sweat. Their battles always ended up with Al simply giving up, seeming none the worse for wear while all his opponents were left struggling for air. He was a true monster, and, even after trying to ascertain Als true identity, Zect had only discovered an unfathomably deep mystery that seemed to trace back to the very origins of Magic itself... Seeing Zect run off to engage in mischief with their shared disciple, a smile spread across Als face as he mused, "Muuuu...and I was really curious, as well. Tell me, Eishun, do you have any idea what Zect was trying to say~?" Hearing Al address him, Eishun noticed the amount of sweat on his brow increase exponentially as he released a dryugh and answered, "I have absolutely no idea...hahaha..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Spirits dont mess around,The Hes Empire is so fucked xD...,The greatest mystery in the entire Akamatsuverse is the true identity of Colonel Sanders o_o...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1535 Disparity : Undercurrents

Chapter 1535 Disparity : Undercurrents

After an expedited stage of processing, Vahn found himself in a room that was closer to a high-end hotel than a cell. It looked a little dated, almost like a fusion between ancient roman architecture and modern sensibilities, but it was infinitely better than the amodations of normal diators. They had even assigned a beautiful Demihuman ve to serve as his attendant, a mistake that resulted in the woman miraculously disappearing, leaving behind an undamaged ve cor. In the Akamatsuverse, ves were supposed to be a protected ss that, unless their contracts had specified otherwise, were meant to be properly cared for. Instead, most experienced vers happily took advantage of loopholes within the system, finding leverage against their product that allowed them to control every aspect of their lives. If a ve had their weakness abused and decided to ept the conditions of their so-called Master, they could even be beaten or killed in the middle of a public square and it wouldnt be considered a crime. This was absolutely ridiculous, but, like the fools they were, most people med the ves for giving permission to be treated in such a manner. It was a system that med the victim instead of the people proactively exploiting others, a truly ludicrous arrangement that Vahn obviously wouldnt tolerate. Thus, when they brought a scantily d woman to attend him, Vahn graciously epted before promptly disabling the supposedly tamper-proof cor and teleporting her away with some supplies and equipment. After being warned by the Imperial Magistrate, the overseers and other Coliseum personnel didnt even bother to ask where Vahns attendant went. Instead, they recovered the ve cor for analysis before leaving a pushcart full of food in the room. Afterward, they quickly alighted without so much as even attempting to lock the door. Seeing the group flee his room, Vahn could only shake his head before walking out onto the open veranda. His amodations were truly ridiculous, almost like he was a guest of honor instead of a prisoner. It wasnt just him, either, as there were several rooms simr in structure to his, each having soundproofing barriers and an elevated view of the arena below. Vahn already knew about the rather drastic ss divide that existed in Mundus Magicus, but, seeing it first hand, he couldnt help but feel a marginal amount of incredulity. He knew things would get a lot better after the Great Magic War, as around 13% of the global poption would be victims of the conflict, but that didnt matter in the present. Right now, he could sense thousands of people suffering just within the vicinity of his domain, many from entirely preventable circumstances... With the Coliseum being the most frequented area of the entire city, even more so than the red light district, there were between 80~100,000 people present at any given moment. It only shut down for a few hours each night, allowing fierce battles to be fought for nearly eighteen hours a day. It was a truly sad sight to behold, as, despite the state of their own bodies, there were thousands of people on the verge of starvation loudly cheering for the bloody affair below. Many even gambled away the pittance they had earned from a day of hardbor, desperately hoping to win big instead of saving their money and investing it into other things... Seeing the crowds frenzy from within the confines of his soundproof barrier, Vahn couldnt help but release a sigh. Even in a world where currency had basically been ouwed, people still found ways to gamble and exchange benefits. Instead of using real-world currency, they traded favors inside the Virtual World. There had even been a ck market that popped up out of nowhere, but, due to their strict observation of the Common Law, at least in the real world, it was difficult to take action against them. Vahn was well-aware of the fact that the world tried to impose a careful bnce between positive and negative karma. You had to constantly remain vignt, as, the moment you turned a blind eye to certain issues, they would quickly evolve into even greater problems down the line. It was one of the most frustrating aspects of existence, but, without it, Vahn knew people couldnt be happy. Free will could not thrive in a Utopian environment, as, at some point, people would simply be bored... Shaking his head, Vahn turned away from the arena before returning to hisvish room and enjoying a hot bath. He knew the folly of trying to save everyone, so, following the unwritten creed of Vagrant Heroes, he would only save those right in front of him. He would be a nightmare to those who exploited others, eventually making the world a better ce by simply instilling fear into the hearts of any who intended to rule over others. At the same time, he would help the needy that crossed his path, rewarding their persistence in acknowledgment of the fate that had brought them together... --- Unaware of the storm brewing within the Hes Empire, a powerful undercurrent had already taken hold within the self-proimed, Greatest Nation in the Magical World, Megalomesembria. Here, it was possible to see thousands of Airfish flying about, and, unlike other regions of the Magical World, various other forms of transport, such as automobiles and air scooters were present. There was also a distinctck of flora and fauna, as, due to the progressive views of the Megalomsembrian Senate, most Elemental Spirits had long-since fled the outwardly beautiful but inwardly rotten nation. Though Megalomesembria also had the infamous Magic Council, self-assigning themselves the title of Greatest Mages in Mundus Magicus, the overall poption consisted of less than 1% Magi. Unlike other regions of Mundus Magicus, where anyone with the talent could learn, the study and practice of Magic within Megalomesembria were restricted to the upper ss and military. They believed the unrestricted practice of Magic only caused problems, so, unless you joined the military and worked hard to prove your loyalty, practicing Magic without permission all but ensured you would be sent away for re-education. Despite their stance on Magic, Megalomesembria had turned itself into the leading Superpower due to their unrivaled economy and iparable military might. They were also the only industrialized nation in the entire world, allowing them to make scientific advancements and breakthroughs that kept them ahead of the rest of the world. In fact, with very few exceptions, every piece of advanced technology that entered the market had originated in Megalomesembria. These devices were very expensive exports, so, unless you were extremely wealthy, obtaining advanced technology was very difficult. As could be expected, the Megalomesembrian Confederacy was thergest association of human settlements within Mundus Magicus. They were situated in the far North within a region that once held a vast amount of Aetherium, Orichalcum, and Mithril Ore deposits. Most of these mines dried up long ago, as a result of the Elemental Spirits abandoning the area, but there was still enough to allow them to sustain their ever-expanding industry. As for other materials, such as food and clean water, they simply imported them in from other countries, often by strongarming weaker nations into extremely one-sided deals. The only countries that could directly rival the Megalomesembrian Confederacy were the Hes Empire and the Vespertatia Kingdom. Every other country either had to acquiesce to the brutish Superpower or form alliances with other nations, specifically Hes and Vespertatia. Unfortunately, even with stronger physiques and a greater affinity for Magic than humans, the various Demihuman races still struggled under the oppressive might of the Megalomesbrian Senates Armada. After all, it took years to train and condition powerful Mages and soldiers, the majority of which could be killed by a single well-ced shot from a Magic Rifle. What confounded most residents of Mundus Magicus was the fact that Megalomesembria had been able to rise as a Superpower despite upsetting the Elemental Spirits. They had somehow developed a method to circumvent the wrath of nature, and, ording to some of the Greater Elemental Spirits, some of their brethren had even died by means they were unaware of. This was something that was difficult for most schrs to believe, as, due to the nature of their existence, Spirits were supposed to be immortal. The truth of the matter, known only to a select few members of the Megalomesembrian Senate, was that their sess wasrgely the result of contracting powerful Demons, a species hailing from the Demon World that existed on the Reverse Side of Venus. They were remnants of a highly advanced civilization that, in the ancient past, even began spreading its roots through the gxy in the search for Absolute Immortality. Instead, the only thing they found was the key to their civilizations ruin, and, after several apocalyptic wars, the only survivors were those that fled to the Reverse Side, much like how some humans had abandoned Earth, fleeing to the Reverse Side of Mars, the true location of the Magical World. Demons had vast knowledge, and, though it had thinned through the generations, they made use of a unique Magic derived from destruction, darkness, and corruption. They were the natural predators of Spirits, as, unlike other races, who borrowed the power of Spirits, Demons could consume them in their entirety. This characteristic could be passed down to their children, so, after several hundred years of intermingling, most of the affluent families within Megalomesembria had some genealogy tracing back to the Demons of Venus. Though it was a very well-kept secret, the truth of the matter was that nearly every member of the Magic Council borrowed their power from a Demon. They had even used this as the temte for the creation of the Pactio system, one of the pirs of Western Magecraft back in the Old World. Without it, they would have struggled to find a footing within Mundus Magicus, as, unlike most Demihumans, humans were not born with an innate talent for Magic. With very few exceptions, most humans were unable tomune with the elements. They also had a difficult time sensing the mana in the environment, so, without specialized training, most humans struggled topete against the more magically inclined races. It was for this reason they focused on innovation and the advancement of technology, slowly bridging the gap between themselves and the other races without regard to the impact their actions had on the environment. Ironically, humans did possess an attribute that most Demihumanscked, an affinity with internal energy, colloquially known as Ki. Ancient humans had pioneered the usage of Ki, and, over several thousand years, various schools that could rival even the most powerful branches of Magecraft hade into existence. The only caveat was that mastering Ki required an inordinate amount of effort and several years of intense training. This was more effort than most people were willing to put into something, so, unless they were born into a traditional family, the easy solution was just master the use of enchanted equipment and artifacts. A Magic Pistol could even kill a Master Martial Artist in a single shot, so, rather than put in the effort to improve, they focused on creating weapons that made the efforts of others irrelevant. Due to the cultivation of a supremacist mentality, one which ced humans above all other races, it was only natural that animosity existed between Megalomesembria and other nations. This had been the catalyst behind several wars, some of which had wiped entire countries off the map. Now, with a surprisingly long forty years since thest war, tensions had begun to build due to an ever-growing poption and a constant demand for imported foodstuffs. The biggest weakness of the Megalomesembrian Confederacy was that their destructive nature and disregard for the environment made it virtually impossible to grow healthy crops. They were able to grow staple goods within specially constructed greenhouses, but, without steady shipments from the Old World and the various countries they forced to supply them, their people would constantly be on the verge of starvation. Thus, whenever their poption grew beyond their means to supply it, it became necessary to wage war. With a growing number of people fleeing the territories, the Megalomesembrian Senate had already made preparations to close the borders. They had been stockpiling supplies for years, but, as could be deduced from the constantly increasing prices, everyone knew a war wasing. This was both a result of greedy merchants and the machinations of the Megalomesembrian Senate itself, as, when the people feared starvation and constant intion, they joined the military in record numbers. They would need a constant supply of footsoldiers and fodder to upy conquered territory, so, with war imminent, greater incentives had been used to bait in new recruits while the Media, the government-controlled propaganda machine, began spreading nationalistic and xenophobic sentiments. Though most citizens knew their government was exceptionally wed, they were easily swayed by the vocal minority and a constant bombardment of propaganda. After all, while there were arge number of Demihumand ves in Megalomesembria, a truth most people epted as normal, they still got riled up at the mere thought of human ves in Demihuman countries. This was the result of fundamentalist indoctrination at a very young age, teaching children that the human race was simply superior, making it wrong for them to be enved to others. When you only ever saw scenes of Demihumans beating and mistreating human ves in the Media, it was simply easier to forget that humans treated most Demihuman ves much worse. Since that wasnt shown in the Media, however, people unrted to the ve trade pretended it wasnt really an issue. When they heard about something cruel happening to a Demihuman ve, they just shook their heads and acted as if it was just a rare exception,mbasting the ve owner for getting out of hand while ignoring the crux of the problem entirely... --- Gazing out over vibrant cityscape of Megalomesembria, which seemed even brighter during at night than it was during the day, a young man with green hair and silvery eyes couldnt help but smile in a sadistic manner as he saw a group of human children kicking a homeless Demihuman in an alleyway. Other people, including Demihumans, just walked by without doing anything to intervene, ignoring the scene entirely or hastening their steps to leave the area. From their point of view, it had nothing to do with them, so, rather than seek trouble and risk beingbeled as a Demihuma sympathizer, it was easier to just mind their own business... Interrupting his good mood, the youths face instantly morphed into a frown as he heard a knocking on his door. His body then flickered with an illusory light, changing his appearance to that of a much older man with swept-back grey hair, a wiry figure, and a neatly maintained goatee. Then, pulling out a pair of square-rimmed sses, he ced them upon the bridge of his nose before saying in a tone that grated on the ears, "Enter..." In response to the mans voice, a dull clicking could be heard as the door released itstch and then slid open with a hydraulic hiss. The other side revealed a burly man with an expression that seemed to be permanently affixed into a scowl. He had short ck hair that was slicked back using a rather high-quality mousse, but, giving him a somewhat demonic look, there were two long horns formed from hair that stuck out from his scalp. He also had pale-gold eyes that seemed to shine in the low light visible within the office, further lending to the illusion he was more demon than human... A stark contrast to the sadistic smile he had worn earlier, the now-transformed young man offered a kindly smile as he asked, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected visit, Senator Ricardos?" As if it was impossible for him not to appear demonic, despite being one of the only pure-blooded humans left in the Megalomesembrian Senate, Senator Ricardos adopted a massive, toothy, grin as he said, "Senator McGill, it is good to see you! I just wanted to stop by to discuss the military budget for this quarter. I noticed there were several million Drachma being allocated to a project that hasnt been approved by the Senate Majority. Im curious about what kind of excuse you have prepared for the Auditing Committee!? Gyahahahahaha~." Resisting the urge to simply kill the man and be done with it, Senator McGill issued a light chuckle of his own before gesturing to the nearby set of chairs and asking, "Shall we discuss it over a cup of tea? It has been a long time since I had the opportunity to host a member of the Finance Committee. This is a good opportunity to foster rapport between our divisions, so allow me to pour you a cup as we discuss the matter. After all, while I did not receive approval from the Senate Majority, Im certain you will find that my actions are all above-board. Were that not the case, there would currently be a set of prison bars separating us, ohohoho~." Hearing the confidence in Senator McGills tone, Ricardos squinted his eyes before gesturing to the group of armed soldiers behind them. If McGill didnt have a very good reason for his behavior, the men outside would arrest him for unauthorized use of government funds and treason. After all, they were on the verge of war, making such antics harder to overlook than they would have been during more peaceful times. Deciding to humor the old man for a short while, Ricardos epted a cup of Bolivian ck Tea, one of the rare imports from the Old World. He, like most of the Senators, had antibodies that prevented most poisons from having any effect on them, so, without worrying too much about tampering, he downed the piping hot beverage before releasing a contented sigh and saying, "Well, out with it. You already know my intentions so youll need a pretty good excuse to avoid some embarrassment." Acting as if he didnt mind Ricardos words, Senator McGill just issued another light-heartedugh before pulling out a handheld terminal used formunication. This brought a frown to Ricardos face, as, disyed on a small blue screen, a very familiar number was present. Though it could be a bluff, things would be very troublesome if he arrested someone acting under the secret orders of the Consul himself. Consuls held the second-highest rank in the Megalomesembrian Senate, and, until a Princeps Senatus was dered, they had unchecked authority regarding military affairs. Though it would undoubtedly be a setback in his own career, Ricardos couldnt simply assume that Senator McGill was telling the truth. There was a chance he was borrowing the authority of a Consul, an even greater offense, so he had no choice but to ept the terminal and press the call button. To his surprise, it almost immediately connected to the Consul, with thetter asking, "McGill? Why are you calling me thiste? Is there a problem with the project?" Before Ricardos could announce his presence, McGill gestured for him to remain silent, a kind smile on his face as he answered, "I just wanted to inform you that the second set of tests has gone well. If all goes as nned, Project Noctis will bepleted before the war is in full swing. I hope this news has made your evening even marginally more pleasant." In response to McGills words, a boisterousugh could be heard from the, followed by the Consul eximing, "Good, no, great, no, excellent! This is wonderful news, McGill! At this rate, your ce in the Conste is all but guaranteed! A few more years of service and I may very well be able to retire! Let me know when the next stage of testing begins. I want to see these special soldiers with my own eyes." Allowing Ricardos to remain silent, McGill continued to smile kindly as he stated, "I will keep that in mind, your eminence. Have a wonderful evening..." With the call having concluded, McGill took his terminal back from Ricardos hand, smiling with an amused expression on his face as he asked, "Will there be anything else, Senator Ricardos...?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: I have a feeling Vahn is about to cut loose in a dangerous way o_o...,Why does this sound so familiar...?,Is this the birth of a Shadow Emissary!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1536 Migh

Chapter 1536 Migh

Though it was customary to evaluate a new diators strength before arranging a match for them, Vahns previous act of wreaking havoc had invalidated the need for such measures. He was actually quite hated among the staff of the Coliseum, so, while others would start off by facing off against a few magical creatures, his first opponent was a rtively famous diator, someone who had been able to win 83 of their Hundred-Series matches. When Vahn first heard about his opponent, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes, ignoring the hateful looks he was receiving from the organizers as he prepared for theing fight. It ultimately didnt matter how they tried to scheme against him; in the end, he was just here to familiarize himself with the restrictions of the Akamatsuverse. Something that forced him to discard propriety was bound to happen, as, with the poprity of the Coliseum, various Aristocrats and Nobles would be observing his matches. While waiting for his own match to begin, Vahn absentmindedly observed the other contenders that mulled around the waiting room. There were a total of twenty-three people of various races, ages, and genders. Most wore rtively simple clothing, consisting of matted trousers and tattered tunics. Only those who had proven themselves in the Arena were given the chance to obtain better quality clothing and equipment, forcing new diators to fight with their bodies. Like the rest of the diators, Vahn was wearing rtively in clothes, but, a stark contrast to even the most well-equipped among them, his clothes were pristine and unblemished. This drew the eyes of nearly every person in the room, earning him a few hateful looks from the more prideful veterans in the group. Even then, they didnt try to make trouble, as, for reasons few people would be able to understand, Vahn gave off a natural and intimidating aura. If they could actually see why this was, it undoubtedly would have caused a few of them tough... Ever since he had arrived in the Akamatsuverse, Vahn seemed to have be a veritable ma for Elemental Spirits. At the present moment, there were more than a hundred lingering around him, and, despite his constant efforts to remove them, a new batch would quickly rece those climbing on his body. He didnt really have the heart to scare them away, so, with the most casual demeanor he could manage, Vahn simply pretended they didnt exist... When it finally came time for his match to begin, Vahn didnt even bother to remove the Elementals for his body when he rose to his feet. This caused some of them to release high pitched sounds, but, rather than fall normally, they would float to the ground like fallen leaves before bouncing after him with therger group. It almost felt like he had be a mother duck, unable to shake off a literal hoard of multi-colored ducklings... --- As the matches in the Coliseum were the most entertaining pastimes for most residents of the Hes Empire, a lot of effort went into organizing the event and hyping up the crowd. There were hundreds of official brokers to handle bets, monstrously powerful barriers to protect the crowd, and, though they were exorbitantly expensive,rge monitors that allowed those in the nosebleed seats to see what was going on below. In an effort to hype up the crowd and keep people interested, special announcers and referees had also been prepared. In the past, these roles had been filled by famous diators, but, due to a small shift in social dynamics, the most popr fight casters were beautiful women. Their voices carried a lot better over acoustics, and, with many casterspeting for poprity, it had be normal to see a few of the bolder beauties show off a fair amount of skin. Aiming for the number one caster position, Ursz Padi Glowacka wasnt shy when it came to riling up the crowd. She was a rather petite Hes woman with the same characteristic bronze skin, blonde hair, curved horns, and fur-covered ears as other Hesian women. What allowed her to shine were her tight leather shorts, the form-fitting top that hugged her voluminous chest, and the ornamental devil wings and tail that made her look like a subus. She was also provided a harness that allowed her to fly around the Arena as she excitedlymented on the events taking ce inside. This had made her rather popr among the fans, much to the chagrin of herpetition. Hearing the exnation from the producers, Ursz began to hype the crowd up by performing a few acrobatic maneuvers as she eximed, "The next match is sure to be a special treat! Not only are we going to witness the debut of a new diator, but his opponent is none other than the de of Darkness Bane, Zeigrein Lesiak~! And...whats this!? Im being told the new diator is responsible for the tragic events of yesterday afternoon! Will we be witnessing another bloodbath, or will the de of Darkness Bane enact justice on behalf of the tragic men and women who lost their lives in yesterdays attack!?" Though killing your opponent was supposed to be against the rules, a number of lives were lost in the Coliseum each day. There were no great penalities for identally killing your opponent, so, at times, the organizers used stronger diators to kill or cripple people that had offended them. This was generally frowned upon, causing an uproar whenever the truth was exposed, but few people did anything to try and change the broken system. All most citizens cared about was watching a bloody match and making money, allowing them to overlook such injustices entirely. Normally, a Fight Caster would never directly draw attention to the fact a match was one-sided, as it hurt the gambling odds, but the producers had made an exception this time around. They wanted to rile up the crowd and get them to hate Vahn. Not only had he killed Coliseum personnel, but he was also a vile human, an indiscriminate killer who had butchered more than fifty Demihumans without remorse. Rumors were already circting about the previous incident, so they had spun it in a way that made their people the victims by turning it into a racial issue. They didnt even allow Ursz to mention his name, simply mentioning his crimes in an effort to make him seem more like a monster. When the crowd saw what appeared to be a human male in histe twenties enter into the Arena, they immediately erupted. Though it was against the rules, some people unhesitantly threw their concession items, causing a shower of partially eaten food to phase through the Arenas barrier. It wasnt impossible to create a barrier that blocked physical attacks, but most magical barriers were just that, barriers that blocked magic attacks. This allowed the closer audience members to try and pelt Vahn with food, but, without getting anywhere near him, everything thrown simply deviated to the sides... Vahn wasnt surprised by the amount of hatred directed toward him, but, seeing Elementals readily block the things thrown at him, he couldnt help but smile slightly. This, of course, earned him even more booing and jeering, but, as he had never particrly cared about the opinions of people who were swayed by the machinations of others, he ignored them. Instead, he focused on the other side of the Arena, observing the entrance of his opponent. Standing at 193cm tall, Ziegrein was a mountain of a man with dark skin, spiky ck hair, tworge canine ears, and a bushy tail that was covered in as many scars as his bare chest. He was a member of one of the various Beastman tribes, specifically the ck Wolf tribe indigenous to the forests of Elysium, the Continent to the West. Though they were typically on the smaller side, there were a fewrger members of the tribe that were designated as Alphas due to their vastly superior speed and strength. Seeing the rather feral-looking man, Vahn looked towards his left ear, noticing more than half of the fluffy protrusion was missing. It always reminded him of the incident with Mn whenever he saw a damaged ear or tail, so he had to restrain a sigh as he looked towards the massive cleaver-like sword on the mans back, asking, "You dont think that is a bit excessive...?" Hearing his opponent speak, Ziegriens eyes sharpened like daggers as he shed his sharp canines and said, "Its perfect for ying beasts and monsters..." Shaking his head, Vahn ignored the cheering Ziegriens words had caused, holding out his hand with a wry smile on his face as he said, "Paw..." With his hair standing on end, Ziegrien didnt wait for the signal to begin, flexing his powerful legs to propel himself the 100m distance between him and Vahn in an instant. The sword on his back, which was more of a b of jagged metal than anything else, created a tearing sound as it shed through the air with surprising swiftness. Despite this, Vahn likened the attack to one performed by a weaker Einzbern Homunculi, meaning he was only around twenty times stronger than a normal human. Since it felt like he had literal seconds to block the attack, Vahn didnt immediately catch Ziegriens de out of the air. He noticed the Elementals got upset the moment the man unsheathed his de and tried to attack, his killing intent riling them up quite a bit. As a result, without him needing to do anything at all, some of the Elementals fused together before sting the unsuspecting swordsman with a barrage of fire, wind, and water elemental energy. Vahn knew his [True Friend of the Elements] woulde in handy, but he never expected it would cause the Elements to proactively defend him. This gave him the idea of traveling to the nine sacred regions that were governed by Greater Elemental Spirits. For Mages and Knights specializing in one or two elements, they would make a pilgrimage to these locations in the hopes of learning from the true masters of said element. They were already on his list, but, seeing how readily the usually docile Elementals attacked Ziegrien, there could be a lot of merit to visiting them sooner... As his opponent hadnt so much as moved a single centimeter, Ziegrien couldnt help but retreat a few meters, starting at Vahn like he was an actual monster. Most Magi needed staves or special rings to be able to cast Magic, and, even then, they required the use of incantations, chants, or activation keys. Seeing someone use Magic without the use of a catalyst or a chant was unheard of, unless, of course, you were an Elementalist. Believing his opponent was hiding somehow hiding his contracted Spirits, Ziegrien released a bright blue magical aura from his body, a type of natural reinforcement magic that functioned simrly to [Mellodia Bex]. It allowed him to greatly increase his speed, and, so long as his reserves held out, he would be able to resist weaker Magic attacks. Seeing his opponent release an aura, Vahns eyes flickered with a golden light as he used his [Eyes of Truth] to determine just how strong Ziegrein had be. He could see the mans internal energy surging like a fire that had gasoline thrown onto it. This made him much stronger than before, but, due to his weak foundation, there was no way he could keep it up for more than a few minutes. Shaking his head, Vahn lifted his right hand, revealing a katana nobody had noticed him pulling out. He adopted a rtively casual stance, but, the moment he did so, Ziegrein literally jumped back like he was evading a lethal attack. His evasion was so swift that he nearly impacted the physical wall of the Arena, his eyes widening as his pupils rapidly expanded and contracted. Vahn was quite surprised by Ziegreins reaction, causing him to issue a light hum before asking, "Is it the benefit of your enhanced instincts? Im surprised someone at your level can sense the difference in our skill...its no wonder you have lived until now." Though it looked like his opponent had countless openings, Ziegreins instincts were screaming at him to run away. His fight or flight response was issuing a resounding call for flight, quickly quelling any thoughts he had of fighting back. Instead, he pressed his back t against the wall, ignoring the protests of the crowd as he asked, "What...what are you...?" With his excitement almostpletely drained, Vahn dropped his stancepletely, looking toward the booing crowd as he answered, "I am Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor. You need not worry about forgetting it...from today onward, youll be hearing it often..." Before Ziegrein could ask what Vahn was talking about, thetter pointed his katana toward the sky, silencing the entire crowd as he said, "Set alight the all-consuming me, Laevateinn...!" From the moment Vahn released his Shikai, a heavy pressure spread nearly 10km in every direction from his position. His domain had more than doubled in size, its volume increasing by around ten times what it had been previously. As for his Base Power, it increased from 1,018 to 7,490, showing that power did, indeed, teau. A Shikai was supposed to increase its users power by around ten times, meaning he should have been at 10,180. Since the volume of his domain had increased, the only reasonable answer was that Base Power teaued at certain points, something he would need to learn more about as he familiarized himself with the world... Now that he had everyones undivided attention, Vahn let Laev-tan rest on his shoulder, smiling in a way that didnt quite reach his eyes as he stated in a voice that echoed from all of the monitors, "My purpose here is to seek absolution for my past actions, not perform for your entertainment. It is your own prerogative if you wish to observe my battles, but, if you deign to intervene in the future, do not me me for taking matters into my own hands. You came here to witness battles and make money, not act like a mob of petnt children. This is the only warning I will afford you...do not forget it..." Though his words were enough to cow most people, Vahn wanted to deter those who believed they could do whatever they wanted just because they were in a crowd. He would mete out punishment to the organizers for rabblerousing, but, for now, his goal was to teach a lesson to the masses. Thus, with a strike most people couldnt even perceive, he brandished Laev-tan in a smooth arc. From the perspective of others, he went from standing confidently to having alreadypleted his attack, a peculiar sight that almost made it seem as though the world had glitched. By the time their mental faculties began to catch up with them, the crowd could only stare in horror as a visible crack appeared on the barrier meant to protect them. Most had never even heard of such a phenomenon urring, but, much like a fish tank that had beenpromised, the crack spread in a jarring manner, apanied by a soul-shaking sound. Then, like fragmented ss, the part of the barrier that had been closed to Vahn simply shattered into pieces... Ignoring the ache in his arm, Vahn gave a small nod of approval to himself before turning his gaze to Ziegrein and saying, "You are free to go. In the future,e see me about that left ear of yours. I can help you heal it. I can sense that you are a good person, so consider it my apology for breaking your winning streak." As if only just then remembering why he was in the Arena, a small amount of Ziegreins willpower came back. His reason ultimately won out, however, causing him to nod his head in understanding as he picked up his previously discarded weapon and said, "Ill keep that in mind..." before quickly departing the Arena. After watching Ziegrein retreat, Vahn returned Laev-tan to her sealed state before looking up at the fight caster who, at this point, had fallen into the viewing stands. Her immediate reaction was to try and hide behind other members of the audience, but, realizing her intentions, everyone nearby had immediately moved away from her. This left her alone in a small void that had been opened in the previously packed audience, tears building up in corner of her eyes as she epted her fate... Ignoring the urge tough, Vahn adopted a casual smile as he asked, "Are you going to announce my victory...?" Hearing the terrifying mans words, Ursz felt her body tense up, but, when her mind actually processed them, she opened her eyes, tilting her head to the side as she muttered a somewhat adorable, "Yes...?" Vahn felt this Fight Caster was a bit on the ditzy type, causing his smile to turn more sincere as he gave a small nod, stating, "Proceed. I dont want to hold up the other matches." As if given newfound purpose, energy returned to Urszs body as she flittered up into the air, her voice a little higher than normal as she eximed, "A-And the victory goes to our newest diator, the Sage Dragon Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason! Lets all give him a round of apuse...!?" Despite the attempted fervor in Urszs voice, most of the crowd was still recovering from having their bodies and minds pressured by Vahns aura. He had held back considerably, as he might have identally killed someone otherwise, but they were still slow to recover. Those closest to the exits hade to their senses a little faster than most, but, due to their uncooperative limbs, they hadnt been able to flee very far. Without waiting for anything like apuse, Vahn gave an approving nod towards Ursz before turning around and departing the Arena. It wasnt until he hadpletely vanished that the majority of people began returning to their senses, but, even then, they werent quite sure what, exactly, had happened. It almost felt like a nightmare, one that left behind a partially shattered barrier that, even now, continued to crackle... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Elementals: "Its a race to the top...!" *scales Vahn like a mountain*,The curse of perfect memory (o_o)...,Vahn isntying low very well xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1537 Lure

Chapter 1537 Lure

Though it was possible to fight multiple matches in a single day, it was moremon to fight a single bout every two weeks. This was the main reason for the two-year sentencing, allowing you plenty of time to recover between bouts. In essence, Vahn had a little more than 1,374 days before his sentence would expire, as, in Mundus Magicus, one year was 687 days. There were systems and clocks that kept track of the date and time on Earth, but, for natives of the Magical World, this was the norm. After retiring to his room, Vahn rxed in his bed as he thought about his earlier actions. He felt like he might be taking things a little too far, even for him. The disgust and hatred that poured from the crowd like droplets in a rainstorm made him feel as though he was just wasting time. He didnt want to go back on his word, but, seeing the extent others were going to in order to sway public opinion against him, he was wondering whether or not it would be better to y nice. Shaking his head in exasperation, Vahn decided not to worry about it before turning his attention to a group of Earth Elementals that were forming adder as they tried to climb up the side of the bed. The nebulous little creatures worked together so naturally, making him wonder why people were so bad at it... Interrupting him from his thoughts, even though he had already sensed theming, Vahn said, "It is open..." before the servants outside could knock on the door. This caused the duo to fluster a bit, but, after a few seconds had passed, they managed to open the door, pushing in anotherrge cart of food. Since he could tell the girls wanted to ask something, Vahn sat up on the bed, a rxed smile on his face as he said, "Out with it. There is something you wish to say to me...correct?" Seemingly the bolder of the two cat-like women, the more petite girl stepped forward, cupping her hands around her mouth to make it harder for others to hear as she asked, "Did you really free Tilka? I heard one of the cooks say the girl assigned to attend you disappeared..." Not surprised by the girls inquiry, Vahn gave a curt nod that caused the feline duo to be a little giddy. They were both members of the Lesser Catkin tribe, so, unlike other Cat People, both girls had ayer of short fur covering much of their body, thick tails, and a dense coat of fluffy fur around their necks, forearms, calves, and paws. In a way, they were almost like a fusion between Fenrir and Illya, abination that made them, unfortunately, very popr as ves. Understanding what the girls wanted to ask, Vahn preempted them, stating, "There is nothing like a price. I can provide you with supplies and equipment, but youll be on your own from then on. If you are confident in your ability to make a better life for yourselves, I dont mind freeing you." Hearing Vahns words, even the demure beauty behind the petite womans back showed a hopeful smile on her face as she said, "We have friends outside of the Coliseum. If you can really remove our cors, we can escape the city and return to our homes. Well go-" Interrupting the woman before she could exin their n to him, Vahn adopted a wry smile as he stated, "It is best you keep your ns a secret. I cant be your benefactor or the guarantor for your n. Once I remove your cors and move you somece safe, youll be on your own. I dont mind if you tell people I helped you, but keep the methods I used a secret unless it endangers your life. Im not afraid of trouble, but try not to bring too much my way, okay...?" Vahn had always been against things like very, so, if he came across good people, he wouldnt mind helping them out. Though he couldnt be responsible for them after the fact, their gratitude would also provide him a small increase in strength due to his [Will of the Emperor], so, in a way, it was a win-win situation. He couldnt call himself a Vagrant Hero if he never helped anyone and just kept intimidating everyone who offended him... Without trying to argue, both girls fell very silent until the smaller one asked in a hushed tone, "What do we need to do...?" Rather than answer, Vahn gestured for the two girls to approach, surprising them both when he put his hands on their heads. Before they couldin, however, this surprise quickly turned to what could only be described as a melting expression. His [Hands of Nirvana] were still SSS-Rank, and, if not for how peculiar it was, Vahn was certain he would have developed a Skill rted to Petting Laws in every Record he visited. Feeling as though their brains had turned into a pleasant mush, both servant girls began to purr in a rather adorable manner, bringing a smile to Vahns face as he reached down and pressed his index finger to the small locks attached to their cors. It might not be possible for others to fabricate the key, but, with his understanding of the cors structure, Vahn could, very easily, disable the function that caused it to explode. He could even erase and modify ritual grade magic while it was still being chanted, so there was little a magical lock could do to stop him. While both girls were still in an absentminded state, Vahn removed both of their cors and tossed them onto the nearby table. Then, having made preparations for this inevitability, he pulled out two robes, a rucksack full of clothes, and a few other necessities that would aid in travel. There was even a tiny bag of gold nuggets, enough to exchange for more than enough Drachma to fund a long trip. By the time the girls wereing back to their senses, Vahn had already prepared everything they would need, handing it to them with a smile as he exined, "There are clothes, supplies, and other valuables in this bag. There is also a good luck charm inside. It might look a little silly, but there is a chance it will save your life in an emergency. Now, are you ready? It will be a problem if others see you now that your cors are gone." Hearing Vahns words, both girls instinctually touched their necks to confirm whether or not he was telling the truth. When they felt nothing but soft fur, tears began to well up in their eyes, but, before they could express their gratitude, Vahn just lightly chuckled and said, "Take care of yourselves..." as they both vanished. He might not have any actual teleportation Magic, but, with a 94% mastery over Space Laws, Vahn could bend the rules quite a bit within his domain... --- When two more ves were announced missing, the Coliseum Director couldnt help but punch a hole in the wall of his office. He had been warned by Jagoda not to seek trouble, but there was only so much he could tolerate. Now, one of his prisoners had not only killed dozens of his men, but he had also started arbitrarily freeing ves. There had also been reports of extra food, nkets, and other supplies just appearing out of thin air, interfering with the training of new recruits... With an expression that could make a Demon blush, the Coliseum Director, a Hes man named Igor Marceli Gayda, red toward his Assistant with a venomous gaze as he said, "If I find you snooping around that mans room, your mother and sister are history. Now, go tell those bastards to search all of the recruit quarters. If they find contraband, break the fingers of those who refuse to fork it over!" Though she wanted to remind the Director about the Magistrates words, the ve-turned-Assistant ultimately just gave a polite bow before quickly carrying out her Masters orders. She couldnt deny that the thought of freedom had crossed her mind, but, with a sick mother and a younger sister, her Master had more than enough leverage to keep her in check. It was for them that she abandoned her rights as a ve, bing literal property that could be killed, maimed, or even worse, without any repercussions for her Master... Seeing his Assistant leave the room, Igor plopped down in hisvish leather chair, running his hand through his spiky golden hair as he muttered, "What did I do to deserve another monster like Jack? If that bitch werent an Aristocrat, I would stop at nothing to make her my ve...haaa. This is going to give me an aneurism..." Feeling a powerful migraine sweeping over him, Igor pulled out a bottle of dark-brown liquor that would cost as much as a small house. It was usually reserved for special celebrations, but, feeling as if he deserved something to ease off the tension, Igor poured a finger into a ss before throwing back the entire shot in a single gulp. The burning sensation allowed him to reminisce of all the good times he had while partaking of the special alcohol, but, due to the unique circumstances, he felt as though there was an especially bitter aftertaste this time around... Sensing there was something more to the taste, a frown spread across Igors face as he inspected the ss in hand. He held it up to eye level, squinting to see if there had been anything stuck to the bottom. What he didnt expect was to see someone standing in the doorway to his office, causing the cup to fall from his hand as he stammered, "Y-Y-You..." Before Igor could rise to his feet and grab his trusty ax from the wall, the figure vanished from his view. Immediately afterward, a deathly chill ran through his body that caused his movements to slow to a crawl, his outstretched hand developing a thinyer of ice that quickly spread through the rest of his body. By the time his index finger reached the handle of his prized weapon, Igors body had been frozenpletely, his expression perpetually fixed into one of incredulity and horror... --- Though he appeared to be behaving within the confines of his room, the truth of the matter was very different than it seemed. Vahn wasnt able to create as many bodies as he could in the final few years he spent in the Nasuverse, but, with 95 years of practice, he had been able to push himself to manifest ten forms. This required being inside a Realm like a Marble Phantasm, but, so long as he had no distractions, he could keep them together without too much trouble. At his current level, the most Vahn could manage withoutpromising his reserves was creating a second body. This wasrgely due to his attempts to condense and store Source Energy within his Dantian. He wanted to summon Medusa and Fenrir as soon as possible, so, after determining there werent many worthwhile enemies to face, Vahn decided to be more productive with his time. It was probably a terrible idea, but Vahn decided to start cleaning up the Coliseum using a second identity, his Masters. She would probably kill him a few times once she learned the truth, but, in the hopes of trying to lure her out, Vahn had decided to borrow Evas appearance to teach some of the more troublesome people a lesson. This would allow him to remove a bit of the focus from himself, and, if she were paying attention to worldly affairs, Eva might actuallye to investigate. Vahn wasnt sure how long he would stay in the Hes Empire, but his instincts were telling him to stick around for a few months. He couldnt see the Flow of Fate very well, but he could still sense it to a certain extent. Unless he wanted to rush directly to Ostia, staying near one of the major yers in theing war would make tracking down and dealing with Cosmo Entelecheia easier. He knew they would have agents pulling the strings behind the scenes, so, after meeting with Jack, Vahn was intending to undermine their ns by weeding out the principal instigators behind the war. Even without confirming it for himself, Vahn knew that the Second Prince was going to attempt a coup immediately following the Third Princess kidnapping. This would ultimately end in failure, but it was a strong indicator he had ties to Cosmo Entelecheia. The fact they hadnt killed Theodora was a sure sign they had some use for her, especially as the contractor of the Ancient Dragon. If his spection was correct, Vahn imagined the agents of Cosmo Entelecheia basically bribing the Second Prince by promising to transfer or seal the Ancient Dragon into his own body. With both the Emperor and Theodora losing their lives in the conflict, he would be the only remaining member of the Imperial Family, so it was all but guaranteed he would receive the crown. He also had a powerful faction behind him, and, for whatever reason, had been ced in charge of the Coliseum. Based on how shoddily things were run, it was pretty easy to understand what type of character the Second Prince was. If he had been apetent and righteous leader, the people working under him wouldnt be a bunch of thugs who enjoyed beating children and exploiting ves. Jagodas reaction all but confirmed his suspicions, so, at some point in the near future, Vahn was expecting the Second Prince to send someone to negotiate with him. Regardless of what else happened, Vahn was certain Jack had already been recalled to try and deal with him. The Empire had a few measures they could resort to in order to deal with powerful people, including the use of Vrixho Nagasha, but such methods would result in a massive loss of face. To the type of people that embellished their dwellings just to show off to other affluent people, how others viewed them was a matter of supreme importance. They would go to great lengths to make others do things for them, avoiding any real responsibility unless it would further increase their prestige... As Vahn was humoring the thought of robbing the Pce blind, his other self appeared within the room. He was still transformed as Eva, so, for a very brief moment, Vahns heart ached as he saw the familiar figure of the lonely Vampiress. This was immediately followed by a feeling of awkwardness, causing him to revert his second vessel into an indestructible crystalline shard. To his amusement, the Elemental Spirits seemed to be very confused by the presence of two natural auras, fumbling about atop the bed in a fretful manner... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Fluff Sect grows stronger by the day,Thats a nice n you have there...it would be a shame if someone were to put it on ice o3o...,*fretful spirit sounds*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1538 Impending Clash

Chapter 1538 Impending sh

With the days stretching into weeks, Vahn split his time between familiarizing himself with the Akamatsuverse, making a name for himself in the Arena, helping people in need, and night lighting as Eva. All of these things sent waves throughout the Hes Empire, but, as expected, the rumors of the Dark Evangel appearing made other matters seem small inparison. Most people had yet to see how powerful he was for themselves, so it would take some time before he became a household name. Eva, however, had been the nightmare of powerful Mages for hundreds of years, even serving as a Demon Queen for a short period of time. Though Eva rarely appeared, there had never been any reports of her death, so, no matter how much time passed, people still continued to fear her. As a result, there were an increased number of guards patrolling the city, and, with a few exceptions, nearly every famous Mercenary group had been asked to return. To those within the Hes Empire, this was apletely normal urrence, but, from the perspective of other nations, it seemed like they were preparing for war. Tensions between the Hes Empire and Megalomesembria had always been high, so it didnte as a surprise to most that both sides were preparing for a conflict. Rather, the previous war had been nearly forty years prior, granting a period of peace longer than most people expected. This left many people on tenterhooks due to the fact that, when there were long periods of peace, it was often the calm before a muchrger storm. The war forty years prior had actually been against Eva herself, so, in actuality, tensions had been building for a much longer period of time than normal. In preparation for theing conflict, smaller nations had started to make their allegiances known by sending dignitaries and ambassadors to therger nations. Very few countries had the option of sitting on the sidelines, and, if you had any resources that might be pertinent to the war effort, you left yourself open to being subsumed by both sides if you attempted to remain neutral. It was better to choose a side early on, as it was infinitely better to be the City-State of arger nation rather than risk being consumed by thempletely... --- Though it was beginning to seem like each day brought worse news, there were still moments when people would gather in the streets to celebrate. One of these events revolved around the triumphant return of the King of Mercenaries, Jack Rakan. He had be the Hero of many people in the Hes Empire, so, seeing the muscr man return with the skull of a sea monster that was nearly 10m long, even without the body, massive crowds had gathered to apud his return. Whilemon sense stated the monster skull would be pulled along by a wagon, the truth of the matter was that Jack was carrying it with one hand. He had traveled thousands of kilometers with the massive skull in tow, supporting it above his head with a perpetual smile affixed to his face. This was enough to make those with lesser sensibilities question reality while others, having been fans of Jack for some time, just toasted the man with phrases like, As expected of Jack!. The tale of Jack Rakan was one of the most popr stories-turned-fables in the Hes Empire. He was the child of a Hesian father and a Human mother, an origin that caused him to be shunned and ultimately orphaned. Despite this, he never let anything set him back, vowing to be a true man without equal. Even when a gang had cut off his horns when he was a youth, his response was to put in more effort, growing even stronger. Then, instead of using his superior strength to kill the men and seek vengeance, he just beat them into a pulp without killing them, eventually bing their leader. Afterward, he reformed them into one of the most sessful bands of Mercenaries in the entire Empire, turning them from a group of rag-tag thugs to a respectable band with both fame and prestige to their name. What impressed most people, and ultimately changed their opinion of the half-blooded man, was how he kept his dignity no matter what setbacks he faced. Even when he was med for crimes he had nevermitted, resulting in him bing a diator in the Coliseum, he never harbored any hatred for the men who had framed him. Instead, he continued to grow exponentially stronger until he had ultimately won his freedom. This ultimately earned him the favor of the Imperial Family, and, as a result, he became a living legend at the young age of twenty-five... Despite being in hid mid-twenties, Jack was an exceptionally tall man that easily towered over most Hesians and Humans at 240cm in height. He also had broad shoulders, a tapered waist, and some of the most immactely sculpted muscles most people would ever witness. His golden eyes, spiky golden hair, and tanned skin only further increased his intimidation factor, and, if not for the smile that was almost always visible on his face, some would consider him fiercely intimidating by default. With nothing but an open red vest, white pants, brown boots, and a red bandana wrapped around his head, it was easy to see Jacks intimidating physique in all its glory. He didnt even bother to wear formal attire when attending events as the Imperial Pce, earning him the praise of the masses and the scorn of most Aristocrats. Unfortunately for them, no matter what they tried, restraining Jack had be a virtually impossible feat. He not only had the acknowledgment of their Sacred Dragon, but he also enjoyed the favor of both the Emperor and the Third Princess. These things,bined with the fact that he simply wouldnt die had slowly brought about change within the Empire, albeit at a very slow rate... --- After arranging for a shipwrightpany to process his prize, Jack marched through the crowded streets with a smile on his face, greeting a surprising number of people by name. He was in a bit of a hurry, but, due to his inability to simply leave fans hanging, it took him more than three hours just to reach the nearest Fishport. There, a contingent of Imperial Guards headed by Magistrate Jagoda had been waiting to both update him on the situation and escort him to the Pce. This brought a smile to Jacks face, as he had always enjoyed teasing the woman who seemed to have a broom pole stuck up her ass. With a massive grin on his face, Jack approached Jagoda, bending over slightly so that he didnt tower over her too much as he said, "Now this is a rare treat. It must be pretty serious if they sent you out to retrieve me. Tell me, did someone actually try and bully that Tomboy Princess while I was away...?" Though Jack usually spoke in a very genial tone, allowing him to get along with virtually everyone he met, his aura sharply increased when he mentioned the Third Princess. He was quite fond of the little rascal, and, after she began calling him Big Brother, Jack promised the Emperor he would protect her with his life. He had even threatened the Second Prince directly, leading to the botched assassination attempt that ultimately resulted in the Second Princeying low for nearly a year. Doing her best to prevent the twitching of her eye, Jagoda forced a smile on her face as she said, "It is improper for you to address the Crown Princess in such a manner. Now, to answer your question, it does not appear that the Third Princess was targetted. From what we have been able to deduce, it is highly likely this incident all started from a botched teleportation spell...we shouldnt discuss this outside. Come, Ill exin more on the way to the Pce." Hearing Jagodas exnation, a thoughtful glimmer shed across Jacks eyes as he craned his head in the direction of the Coliseum. This caused the Magistratesplexion to pale slightly, earning an amused chuckle from Jack before he ultimately turned back and said, "Sure. Lets go to the Pce. I wouldnt be called the King of Mercenaries if I did free work, right?" Relieved by Jacks words, Jagoda allowed a rare sigh to escape her lips as she watched him board the Airfish. They still didnt know exactly how strong this mysterious Emperor was, but, after seeing what he had done to the Arenas barrier, they knew he wasnt to be trifled with. Pitting Jack against him in the center of the city could have disastrous consequences, both socially and economically... --- Around the same time that Jack boarded the Airfish, Vahn opened his eyes back at the Coliseum with a slight smile on his face. He was honestly impressed by the mans presence, and, at his current level, Vahn was certain their battle would end in the Heros favor. Though he could guarantee victory if he went all out, Jacks aura, without any enhancements, gave him a Base Power of around 6000. He was known to be a gifted Magic Knight who excelled in both close-quartersbat and the use of long-range armaments. This made Jack an exceptionally powerfulbatant, but, what Vahn found most surprising was the fact that an aura simr to Magia Erebea could be felt hidden within his body... Though Jack clearly hadnt mastered it, Vahn would never mistake the identity of someone capable of using Magia Erebea. It was something he was intimately familiar with, so, even if he was good at hiding it, Vahn could still sense the tell-tale fluctuations of Evas technique. This would exin why Jack was considered Immortal, but, considering how unstable the aura was, Vahn felt it wasnt too long ago that he learned it. Rather, based on the circumstances, Jack seemed to be the person who had awakened Evas diorama... With a better understanding of how, exactly, he had ended up in the Hes Empire, Vahn rolled to a seated position, disying the veritable nket of Elementals that had piled atop his body. There were now thousands of the little creatures in his room, turning the oncevish chamber into a small greenhouse. At first, vines had started to grow from small cracks in the Coliseums structure, but, as the days went by, various other types of flora and some small fauna had begun to inhabit his room. Truth be told, Vahn enjoyed the pleasant atmosphere that permeated the now-deste region of the Coliseum. Very few people came to bother him unless it was to inform him of hising match, so it had been rtively peaceful over thest few days, rtive being the keyword. As for why, this could be attributed to the silver-haired beauty that was currently sunbathing out on the veranda... Sensing her Masters approach, Medusas eyelids slowly peeled open, revealing golden pupils that glimmered with affection. Her tail, covered in golden scales, began tozily snake around amidst her equally lively silver hair. Then, with a somewhatscivious smile on her face, she asked, "Hoo~? You seem very excited~?" Before Vahn could answer the mischievous snakes words, her hair parted like the red sea, revealing her pert buttocks wrapped in skin-tight, dark-purple, fabric. Her golden tail then curled up gracefully like a cobra that was about to strike, but, instead of appearing intimidating, the end began to wiggle in a yful manner like someone gesturing with their finger... With a wolfish grin spreading across his face, Vahn elicited a girlish kyaa~ from Medusa by using his telekinesis to lift her from the ground, pulling her into a princess carry. She took advantage of the close proximity to steal a kiss, her hair coiling around him as if to ensnare himpletely. This was a habit she had never been able to break, as the snakes in her hair were simply more honest than the petite Gorgon. After entangling their long and dexterous tongues for the better part of five minutes, Vahn began to feel his body heating up,pelling him to slowly untangle his tongue from hers. This earned him a look of me from the smiling girl, but, in spite of her pouting, her tail managed to unsp his belt buckle in a few deft movements. She had be very carnivorous since the time he had summoned her, a stark contrast to the patience she had shown back in the Nasuverse... Vahn would normally be all-for another twelve-hour-long mating session with Medusa, but, with the arrival of Jack, things had gotten a little moreplicated. Medusa wasnt like normal girls, so, when they had sex, it was a rather exhaustive process that left her unable to move after the fact. It was very pleasurable, but, due to being constricted for several hours at a time, Vahn had apprehensions about starting anything when there was a chance powerful enemies woulde knocking. Though not as sensitive as Fenrir, Medusa was able to understand her Masters intentions, so, with a seductive look in her glimmering golden eyes, she traced her very long tongue along his neck before saying, "There are other ways to have fun without having sex~." Understanding what Medusa had in mind, Vahns own eyes flickered gold for a brief moment as he carried her over to the bed. Fortunately, for reasons he was still looking into, the Elementals seemed to understand when not to y around. They quickly made arge space on the bed, retreating to the very edges before plopping down like a horde of little voyeurs. Ignoring the admittedly adorable blobs of energy, Vahn set Medusa onto the bed, and, after waiting for her to restrain her hair, he also settled into afortable position. Almost immediately after his back hit the bedspread, Medusas hair had practically stolen his trousers in an instant. Then, while a barrage of tiny snake kisses assaulted most of his body, Medusa extremely long prehensile tongue wrapped around his exposed member like thread on a spool... --- During the rtively short flight to the Pce, Jagoda updated Jack on everything they knew about the Sage Dragon Emperor. This included an analysis of his behavioral patterns and an exnation of his reactions to certain stimuli. Though there was an increasing number of incidents attributed to the Dark Evangel, Vahns actions in the Coliseum hadnt gone unnoticed. There were records of all the ves he had freed, the people that had mysteriously disappeared, and the changes that had taken ce in the vicinity of his room. There was even a dossier on Medusa, but, as they didnt know her identity, there was little more than a brief overview and a few telescopic images that showed her sunbathing on the veranda. After listening to Jagodas exnation, Jack had a serious look in his eyes that did little to inhibit the smile on his face. Strong opponents were always wee to him, but, hearing about Vahns exploits, he couldnt help but mutter, "So, Im basically dealing with a bratty lizard who has a Hero Complex..." Hearing Jack refer to Vahn as a bratty lizard, Jagodas expression became a wless deadpan as she sat silently for several moments before answering, "Basically..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Ultimate Hard Worker,Medusa taking advantage of the alone time with her Master (OwO)...,Bratty lizard xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1539 True Friend of the Elements

Chapter 1539 True Friend of the Elements

With three days passing since Jacks return to the Capital, Vahn was beginning to wonder whether or not the man was going to seek him out. What he didnt know was, despite many people calling him an idiot, Jack was an exceptionally cautious man when it came to his missions. He bnced his thirst for battle with careful nning, taking measures to ensure innocents werent harmed when he went all out. This was very important to him, as, despite his bravado and his generalck of respect for the Nobility, Jack genuinely cared about, not just the people of the Hes Empire, but all those who just wanted to live their lives in peace. Unaware of the machinations of his future opponent, Vahn spent his days idling about inside of his room, consolidating his power and spending time with Medusa. He was also conducting experiments with the various Elementals that had gathered around him, taking advantage of his affinity to learn a few tricks Eva had mentioned in the past. As a result, he managed to unlock the [Elementalist] Skill in a rtively short period of time, bing even more popr among the Elements as a result... --- With Medusazily watching from thefort of a hot bath, Vahn hovered a few centimeters above the surface of the bed, a pale-green aura shimmering around his body. The curious thing about this state, other than the fact he was floating in the lotus position, was that it was virtually impossible to actually sense his presence. He had veritably be one with nature, his aura permeating through his domain to the point it was less noticeable than a gentle breeze. Though it was impossible to sense him, looking directly at Vahn would have allowed you to see quite a number of peculiarities. His tanned-skin had be a healthy shade of brown, and, though it was less noticeable, his brown hair now had a slight tinge of green. What really stood out, however, were the pale green runes that seemed to grow across his body like vines, and, more than everything else, the two branch-like horns protruding near his temples. They vaguely resembled the horns of a Long-type Dragon, but, instead of ivory or gold, they were like two meticulously carved pieces of wood... Taking advantage of his affinity with the Elements, Vahn attempted to infuse natural energy directly into cells, much like how he would absorb magic during his [Magiea Erebea] transformations. He had been experimenting with absorbing and manipting external energy even as early as the Record of Danmachi. This experience,bined with the fact he was simply loved by all manner of Spirits gave Vahn a unique advantage over others, as, evenpared to a Druid that dedicated themselves to a forest or, Vahn affection for nature was unmatched... Without opening his eyes, Vahn slowly brought his hands together as if he were praying, causing therge gathering of Elemental Spirits to dance in response. Then, as Vahn slowly separated his hands, revealing a tiny seed-shaped mass of vital energy, the Elementals began to quickly gather into their respective groups. They had to freely fuse together, so, like a bunch of excited children, they began to dogpile on top of each other, formingrger masses that would eventually be high ranking Elemental Spirits. Seeing how excited the Elementals were, Vahn adopted an affectionate smile as he lightly muttered, "Now, now, there is no need topete. Youll all a chance so dont force yourselves..." As if they were perfectly capable of understanding him, the Elementals quickly mellowed out, their actions less vtile than before. Theycked individual consciousness and Ego, but, so long as you knew how tomunicate with them, the Elementals were surprisingly understanding. So long as you couldmunicate your intention to them, much likemunicating with the world through Magic, they would happily lend you a hand. They seemed to be genuinely happy to simply have people acknowledge their existence, and, under the right conditions, nascent Elemental Spirits would even gather together just to produce a form that mademunication easier. Perhaps as a result of his affinity to fire, the first group of Elementals to finish their fusion were the nascent Fire Elemental Spirits. As a result, Vahn manipted the tiny seed toward the giant globule that almost looked like a ball formed from gtine. It would be more urate to say it looked like a Slime, but, for reasons Vahn could only attribute to the Record, it had a rather adorable expression that looked like a caricature of a cat. (A/N: O w O) Without waiting for the seed to reach it, the nebulous Fire Elemental bounced through the air like a cat pouncing on its prey. It managed to devour the seed in a single gulp, causing a wave of energy to spread through its body as the mass of energy dissolved in an instant. Its semi-translucent body began to release an intense light, and, after a few seconds had passed, its body had shrunken from the size of a tub-sized basin to a far morepact and recognizable form... As Elementals were very sensitive to the perception of others, the final form adopted by the Lesser Fire Elemental was about what Vahn expected, a cat. In colloquial terms, it was a creature known as an Embercat within the Magicalmunity. Curiously, it had a physical form that resembled arge housecat with a tiger-stripe pattern, zing blue eyes, and an underbelly of soft white hair. If not for the ember burning on the edge of its tail, it would have looked indistinguishable from a very exotic-looking cat. Seeing his second sessful attempt at producing a Lesser Elemental from scratch, a happy smile spread across Vahns face. This seemed to please the Embercat, causing it to hop into hisp and nuzzle against his abdomen in an affectionate manner. In response, Vahn rewarded it with a few strokes along its surprisingly smooth and expectedly warm body before saying, "I still have a few more seeds to produce. Well yter, so behave yourself..." Hearing Vahns words, the Embercat turned its head up at him before tilted its head to the side with a mreow? escaping its mouth. It had never had to think before so it didnt understand his intentions well, requiring Vahn to point at the figure sunbathing on the veranda. There, what appeared to be a diorama of a mountain could be seen,plete with tree-like moss and detailed rock formations. If you looked closely, however, you would notice it was actually arge turtle, a rtively rare creature known as an Aspidochelone. They started off pretty small, much like all Lesser Elemental Spirits, but, if allowed to reach maturity as a Greater Elemental Spirit, they would, quite literally, be the size of inds. Understanding what Vahn wanted from it, the Embercat jumped down from hisp before trotting over Aspidochelone. Then, after tentatively sniffing around the base of the peculiar turtle, it jumped onto its back before making itselffortable. The Aspidochelone itself didnt seem to mind this at all, simply peeking out from its shell for a few seconds before returning to its dormant state. It was a type of Elemental that allowed all manner of creatures to live on its back, so, after confirming that it wasnt under attack, it simply acknowledged the Embercat as a new resident. Though it wasnt unexpected, as Elementals generally lived peacefully alongside each other, Vahn couldnt help but smile when he saw the Embercat curl up at the top of the Aspidochelone. It was like the proverbial tiger taking over a mountain, a rather amusing thought that made Vahn wonder whether or not the other Elementals would vaguely resemble the Divine Beasts... --- After a very long period of reflective meditation and gathering natural energy, Vahn ended up with five Lesser Elemental Spirits and a handful of nascent Elementals who were unable to coalesce into arger form. As could be expected, the five were formed from the primary Elements of Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, and, Wood. The rest, consisting of Light, Darkness, Ice, and Lightning were too small in number, so, unless he umted more, Vahn wouldnt be able to guide their evolution. Joining the Aspidochelone and Embercat, Vahn ended up with a Waterwyrm, a Wind Rabbit, and a Flower Sprite. As could be assumed from their names, these were Lesser Elemental Spirits of Water, Wind, and Wood, respectively. Waterwyrms were a type of Lesser Elemental Spirit that had some affinity with dragon-kind. They had vaguely serpentine bodies formed from watery-blue scales and heads that loosely resembled the fusion between a cat and a dragon. Vahn actually found it kind of cute, especially with its tiny limbs that didnt seem to have any purpose other than making it more adorable... Continuing the trend of adorable creatures, causing Vahn to think he might have a problem, the Wind Rabbit resembled the animal its namesake was derived from. The biggest difference was that it had a few patches of lime and emerald-green feathers sticking out nears its joints. Its ears were also muchrger than a normal rabbits, and, rather than serve the singr function of enhancing their hearing, the feathery appendages actually served as wings. It was a curious blend between avian and mammalian qualities, two things most people wouldnt imagine blending well... Not losing out in the cuteness department, the Flower Sprite had a vaguely feminine appearance that made it look like a fairy. Instead of human features, however, it had appendages that seemed to be formed from nts. Its winges wererge leaves, and, as its name implied, it looked a lot like a flower with its petal-formed dress and the flower-like headdress atop its head. It also hadpound eyes, much like an insect, and a tiny gemstone embedded in its forehead. Though the Flower Sprite was the smallest of the Lesser Elemental Spirits, allowing it to sit snugly in the palm of a persons hand, it was just as powerful as the rest. Its tiny figure belied a truly massive amount of magic power, and, during an emergency, it was able to bind enemies using deceptively powerful Wood Elemental Magic. On average, it took around one-thousand nascent Elemental Spirits to create a single Lesser variant, so, while the Aspidochelone seemed to be the strongest, they were all around 300BP. Though they would find it difficult to secure a victory, this actually made them stronger than all of the opponents Vahn had faced thus far, the strongest only having a BP of around 250. This put them on the same level as teachers in a Magic Academy, showing just why higher ranking Elementals were considered a threat to entire nations. It would take a while, but, with Elementals able to subsume natural energy from the environment, it was only a matter of time before the five Elementals he had summoned became much stronger. The best part, however, was the fact that they could regenerate from virtually any kind of wound, so long as there was mana in the environment. Since their presence naturally increased the concentration of mana, any ce that housed multiple Spirits would, quite literally, be a Spiritual Land on the level of a Sacred Grounds. Vahn wasnt sure how long he would be in the Akamatsuverse, but, at the very least, he would reach Tier 5. Since he didnt want to be directly affiliated with any country, he decided to simply make a territory for himself, a ce where Spirits and magical creatures could thrive. He felt a kinship with the Elemental Spirits, so, in lieu of expanding his Empire into the Magical World, he wanted to leave it in a better state than when he arrived. His actions were guaranteed to cause considerable damage to the environment, so, as penance for the mistakes his future self would make, Vahn was preparing to produce a few Greater Elemental Spirits to watch over the world when he finally departed. At present, there were a total of nine Greater Elementals inhabiting the various Sacred Lands of the Magical World. Assuming he didnt intervene, four of these were fated to lose their lives in the Great Magic War, leaving massive scars on the Magical World itself. The remaining five would slowly lose their power due to modernization, so, before that could happen, Vahn intended to provide a helping hand. He generally cared more about the worlds he visited than the people that inhabited them, so it made him feel somewhat mncholic just knowing the innocent Elementals would suffer as a result of conflicts that had nothing to do with them... As if they could sense his concerns, which very well might be the case, all but the Aspidochelone had congregated around Vahn. Even the nascent Elemental Spirits showed great concern for him, causing Vahns heart to lighten as he affectionately caressed each of them in turn... --- While Vahn was setting in motion events that would leave Magical Schrs ckjawed, Rakan had been idling within the Imperial Pce for thest three days. It had been a while since hisst visit, so he was enjoying teasing any reasonably attractive female that worked in the Pce. He also spent a fair amount of time teasing the Magistrate, as her reactions were nearly as priceless as those of the Second Prince... Walking through the vast corridors with a fresh handprint on his face, Rakan followed a familiar path until he reached the first set of doors Vahn had passed through after his arrival in the Record. These obviously led to the Third Princess room, and, after knocking loudly on the door, Jack couldnt help but smile widely as the slightly indented door mmed open. Immediately afterward, a dainty pair of feet mmed into his face, but, like an immovable mountain, he remained perfectly stationary as he said, "It is good to see you too, kiddo." After bounding off Rakans face and nimblynding on her feet like a gymnast, the Third Princess, Theodora Bashireia Herasu De Vesuperisujimia, affectionately known as Theo to her friends, matched his smile with one of her own as she remarked, "You big lug, how is it your head is even harder than a metal board? Its no wonder everyone calls you an idiot. How dense is that brain of yours~?" Rather than take offense to Theos words, Rakan released a boisterousugh that seemed to resound throughout the entire Pce. His voice was so loud that it forced Theo to cover her sensitive ears, a wry smile on her face as she eximed, "Are you trying to make me go deaf!?" Despite how loud his own voice was, Rakan could easily make at Theos words, causing hisughter to stop as he inly said, "I came to talk to the big lizard. Are you busy right now?" Shaking her head in a way that caused her long bangs to bob from side-to-side, Theo stated, "I have to take a bath pretty soon, but I can spare some time. Well have to go to the courtyard though. Vrix is huge so I cant summon him in the Pce." Having fought against the Ancient Dragon previously, Rakan knew exactly how monstrous its size was. It might only be around 120m long, but, when it opened its wings, Vrixho seemed to cover the sky with his 250m wingspan. He was several timesrger than the most advanced gships, and, if you failed to make adequate preparations, dealing any damage to him at all was impossible. He was virtually immune to both physical and magical attacks, teaching Rakan an important lesson, there were always greater heights to aspire toward. Eager to see the only person he had ever failed to damage, Rakans smile widened into a battle-crazed expression as he said, "Well then, lets get going! Hahahahaha~!" --- (A/N: It was alluded to previously, but Theo looks up to Jack quite a bit. She let her bangs grow out because Jack has unnaturally long bangs (Seriously, the boyo has Sephiroth syndrome). This is one of the many reasons people call her the Tomboy Princess. She does mature into quite the beauty when she is older, but the current Theo looks like a ten-year-old tomboy with short hair. She also likes to wear more manly clothes, much to the chagrin of the Governess assigned to take care of her xD...) (A/N: Alternate Titles: This might be the closest thing to a literal Sage Dragon mode...,Vahn, Lord of the Elementals,Jack be swaggering around the Imperial Pce like he owns the ce xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1540 Conviction

Chapter 1540 Conviction

Ignoring the variousints she received from her Governess and Maid escorts, Theo held onto Rakans hair like reins as she directed him towards thergest courtyard. She ignored the fact that he was already well-acquainted with the Pcesyout, and, believing children should be more spirited, Rakan made no attempt to correct her behavior. Instead, he smiled somewhat viciously at the people who tried to force Theo to get down, intimidating them into silence. Theo noticed what Rakan was doing, but, as she always felt like the Queen of the World while riding on his shoulders, she didnt mind. Instead, she actually felt somewhat envious of the fact he was able to basically do whatever he wanted. She had always dreamed of bing strong enough to wander around as free as the wind, but, due to her status as the Crown Princess, this was wishful thinking. At best, she could be an Imperial Envoy or a General in the military, traveling abroad only when it suited the interests of her nation... Due to Rakans rather monstrous gait, it didnt take long to reach one of thergest courtyards in the Imperial Pce, a ce generally reserved for the Imperial Family to rx. There were various types of flora, fauna, and, to make it more aesthetically pleasing, intricately designed aqueducts and small ruin-like structures. If you knew where to look, there were even a few secret areas that connected to various passages or hidden chambers, many of which were only known to their respective owners to prevent a purge instigated by members of the Imperial Family. With several hundred meters of open area, Theo hopped off Rakans back before ring at him and saying, "You better not peek..." Hearing Theos warning, Rakan burst intoughter, continuing until she lightly punched him in his seemingly indestructible eight-pack. This caused her to wince in pain, bringing an end to Rakansughter as he ruffled her hair and said, "No worries, Princess. I aint interested in brats." Though his words were said in a genial manner, a visible tick mark appeared on Theos brow as she began pounding Rakans chest, eximing, "I told you not to call me a brat you stupid monkey!" Rather than evade Theos blows, Rank began to twist his body so that she was hitting his side, a sly smile on his face as he mused, "Your massage skills are improving. A little to the left..." With triple tick-marks on her head, Theo took a few steps back in order to get a running start. This caused the smile on Rakans face to turn slightly wry, forcing him to evade the Princess attempt to dropkick him below the belt. Then, before she could recover, he waved over his shoulder,ughter resounding throughout the area as he walked behind a pir. Seeing Rakans walking away, Theo stuck out her tongue at him with a pretend-angry expression on her face. She was a little annoyed at Rakans teasing, but she wasnt really that upset. She hated how stuffy most people were around her, and, though he might be a littlescivious in his words at times, she knew Rakan was a gentleman. She trusted him more than the Maids assigned to help her bathe and dress, as, if it really came down to it, she knew Rakan would ce his life on the line to keep her safe. After waiting for a few seconds, Theo looked around the area for a bit, her pointed ears waggling a bit as she lifted up the hem of her blouse. She had only recently entered puberty, and, though it was really beginning to show, she still opted not to wear a bra. She didnt like the way they felt, and, with therge crest on her chest, she felt it would only get in the way. Summoning Vrixho used the crest as a gateway, so, if it was covered, she would end up destroying her clothes... Ignoring the burning on her cheeks, Theo puffed out her chest as she shouted, "Come forth, Vrixho Nagasha! Your descendent, Teodora Bashireia Herasu De Vesuperisujimia, requires your aid!" Following Theos call, light shot out from the crest on her chest like a projector that created three-dimensional images. It quickly coalesced into the form of a vaguely humanoid dragon with muscr arms, a tapered waist, powerful legs, an exceptionally long tail, and three pairs of de-like wings. It had the ability to change size, but, by default, it was around 120m in length, two-thirds of which was its ive-like tail. As for its wings, they were able to extend upwards of 250m, the ded segments capable of cutting through Superdreadnaught-ss Air Whales as if they were made of styrofoam... Though Vrixho had been in the middle of reading at a local orphanage, he never hesitated to answer the call of his contractors. Even if Theo only ever called him to mess around, he still released an awe-inspiringly powerful aura as he looked around, his slender head and sword-like horns swiveling as he searched for potential enemies. Realizing what he had been summoned for, Vrixho snorted through his nose as he used his tail like a whip, smashing the collum Rakan was hiding behind. This sent the muscr man smashing through a few trees,ughing boisterously the entire way. Seeing Vrixho immediately attack Rakan, Theo showed a small amount of panic as she eximed, "I didnt call you here to battle! Youre going to get me in trouble if you end up destroying things you damned lizard! That goes doubly for you, dumb gori! I know you can hear me...!!" Clicking his tongue, Rakan sneakily ced his massive greatsword back into the pocket dimension he kept with him. He knew the Emperor wouldnt care all that much, but, as others were bound toin, Theo would probably get grounded for a few weeks. The spirited brat hated being locked up more than anything else, so, after making a mental note to smack the dragon a few times in the near future, he dusted off his shoulders before making his way over... With Rakan backing down, Vrixho gave the closest thing to a taunting sneer he could manage before his body was enveloped in light. He rapidly decreased in size, bing an old man with long white hair, two dagger-like white horns, and a thick white tail protruding out of his long, flowing, robes. At a nce, he seemed to be little more than an elderly member of the Ancient Hes race, albeit with an aura that greatly eclipsed even the Emperors. Though he had acknowledged Rakans strength, Vrixho wasnt fond of how the man would often greet him with a punch to the face. The man seemed absolutely determined to break through his defenses, an inevitable event that Vrixho wasnt particrly looking forward to... Ignoring the glowering expression of the old man, Rakan raised his hand in a gesture of greeting as he said, "Yo. How have you been, old lizard? Scare any children recently?" Choosing to ignore Rakans question, Vrixho inly stated, "I know what you want to ask. You want to inquire about that man, the Sage Dragon Emperor, right? I already told both Mike and Theo not to mess with that man. Even if you manage to defeat him, the consequences will be disastrous. Even the Lord of Spirits is not as loved by the World as that man. If you manage to kill him, I imagine our nations death will not be far behind..." Though he had heard something simr from the Emperor, Rakan winced when he heard the words directly from Vrixho, asking, "Is it really that bad? How could someone like that just suddenly appear out of thin air? Did hee from the Spirit World?" Shaking his head, Vrixho exined, "There is and called Avalon within the Land of Spirits, but there is no Empire there. It is the resting ce of one of Mundus Ventus Great Guardians, Draigo mma, the Welsh Dragon. Though some refer to him as the Red Dragon Emperor, that is a drastic difference from the title Sage Dragon Emperor. As for that mans candidacy as an Ancient Dragon...my senses fail me. All I can say for certain is that his aura is like that of nature itself...it is unlike anything I have ever experienced." As Vrixho was one of the most powerful creatures in the entire world, Rakan couldnt take his word lightly. His smile faded awaypletely, reced by a serious expression that belied the excitement in his heart. He was looking forward to being able to battle against such an enigmatic existence, but, before that, he asked, "So, youre saying its fine as long as I dont kill him, right?" Hearing Jacks question, Vrixho snorted through his nose before saying, "With everything happening abroad, I am against antagonizing that...thing. We cannot afford to fight against Megalomesembria if we are simultaneously fighting against nature itself. Even without a contract, the Elements choose to protect that man. If you battle, there is no way of knowing how they will react. If famine and disaster strike the Empire, our people will suffer when the Megalomesembrian Shocktroopers sweep through ournds..." Though his fighting spirit hadnt been diminished in the slightest, Rakans expression became even more serious as he stated, "You speak as though we should just ignore him. Even if he is only killing people he thinks are evil, the stability of the Empire will be threatened if he takes it too far. Change is something that must happen gradually. If you force it, the people may not be able to adapt in time. I dont like it any more than the next person, but there is a need for underground organizations. If not for the ck Market, most people would never have the change to obtain rare elixirs and armaments to protect themselves..." After experiencing life as a slum-dweller, Rakan was well aware of the disparity that existed between the Nobility and the average citizen. He was doing his best to change things by bing a symbol for future generations to rally behind. Changing things forcefully would only result in even greater problems, as, despite their corrupt nature, the nobility was needed to ensure a power vacuum didnt form. While rebellion might make the people feel empowered, it did little to address the issues that immediately followed a sessful coup. The copse of the economy, alone, would result in millions of people dying from starvation, disease, and the criminal acts that resulted from desperate people simply trying to survive... Remembering the past, Rakan shook his head before adding, "Something must be done. If he cant be reasoned with, we would need to y or destroy him. Even if the Spirits riot, we can request an envoy from Elfenhof to act as an intermediary. If necessary, Im willing to conduct a pilgrimage to the Sacred Lands in order to request the aid of a Great Spirit..." Hearing the conviction in Rakans tone, Vrixho couldnt help but release a sigh as he said, "If anyone else were to say such things, I would have called them a fool. You, however, I can trust to remain true to your word. So long as you have the proper conviction, I have nothing else to say on the matter. All I ask is that you attempt to reach an ord before resorting to more forceful methods. Though I fail to understand his purpose, that man seems to be testing this nation. I believe you and he have more inmon than you think...so long as you possess righteous intentions, I do not believe he will try and kill you. The Spirits would never love someone with a malicious heart...if you can understand one another, I believe the Empires victory in theing war will be assured..." Understanding what Vrixho was trying to convey, Rakan nodded in a solemn manner, saying, "Ill be sure to keep that in mind. If what you say is true, it is inevitable that he and I exchange blows. In the end, Ill do what I believe is best for the Empire. Even if I make a mistake, Ill do my best to make sure it doesnt hurt the people." Without doubting Rakans convictions, Vrixho gave a curt nod as an appreciative smile spread across his aged face. He oftenmented the fact that Rakan hadnt been born into the Imperial Family. If the Empire had someone like him at the helm, they would undoubtedly prosper for hundreds of years. It was truly unfortunate that his lifespan was so limited, but, considering how most long-lived species viewed the world, it was perhaps for the best. Had Rakan been born as a full Hellesian man, his views would undoubtedly be very different than his present self... --- Though he hadnt bee particrly paying attention to things taking ce within the Imperial Pce, Vahn felt a subtle shift in the flow of fate. This caused him to put down the Embercat, his aquamarine irises shifting into the characteristic gold of his Huanglong form as a smile spread across his lips. He didnt know what had changed, but his instincts told him a powerful opponent had just shifted their focus toward him. This caused his draconic blood to boil, exciting the surrounding Elemental Spirits and causing them all to face the same direction... Sensing her Masters excitement, Medusas own began to grow, albeit for very different reasons. She, much like Fenrir, had an inexplicable desire to see him reign over everything. Though she had greatly enjoyed their time together, seeing her Masterze about had been steadily increasing the anxiety in her heart. She could sense his desire to explore the world, so it left an itchy feeling in her heart that simply couldnt be scratched. Now that her Master was releasing his aura, Medusa could feel her anxiety begin to subside as a potent heat began spreading throughout her body. She felt as if something inside her had just clicked into ce, and, before she even realized it, she was using her hair as a support so that she could embrace her Masters shoulders from behind. It just seemed like the most natural thing to do, and, as if proving this was the case, her Master didnt even seem to notice it. Instead, his aura had only be more potent as golden scales began to slowly sprout across his body... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mordred and Theo would get along,If Jacks bangs were reversed, he would basically be All Might xD...,The gentle embrace of a Gorgon...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1541 Storm Approaches

Chapter 1541 Storm Approaches

Ever since the arrival of the man known as the Sage Dragon Emperor, attendance at the Coliseum had declined. Though it was gradually recovering, the loss of personnel and the rumors regarding the Dark Evangel were enough to keep most people indoors. Others had already been stockpiling supplies in preparation for theing war, so, for the first time in years, attendance had decreased to fewer than 50,000 people. Fortunately for the weary Coliseum staff, on tenterhooks after nearly half their staff had either died or disappeared, things took a sudden and unexpected turn when the Sealing Corps, apanied by a squadron of Imperial Guards, appeared. This would normally be a disastrous event, as it would tank their profits even further, but, much to their surprise, the two groups had arrived with the sole purpose of reinforcing the Coliseums defenses. This was a much-needed stimulus, allowing them to recover some of the losses they had sustained after Vahn destroyed half their barrier. What the Coliseum personnel didnt expect was that immediately after the repairs were finished, an Imperial Decree was issued. This was both a blessing and a curse, as, immediately following the announcement, Coliseum attendance bounced back like never before. If not for the Imperial Guard anticipating a riot, they would have beenpletely overrun by the sheer volume of people trying to witness the historic moment with their own two eyes: the battle between the Eternal Champion, Jack Raken, and the Sage Dragon Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. Despite the impromptu nature of the event, more than three-hundred-thousand people had been crammed into the Coliseum stands. Everyone was gathered to witness the moment their Champion fought against the man whose name had recently started to circte throughout the Capital. They knew it would be a climactic battle for the ages, and, with the presence of the Imperial Guard, it was obvious the Imperial Family was closely observing this affair as well. This further excited the citizens who had been fretting over theing war, giving them a much-needed distraction from the worry that kept them awakete at night... --- Even without being directly informed of hising matchup, Vahn was well aware of the Empires machinations. He didnt particrly mind, however, as he had been looking forward to facing one of the Records strongest fighters, someone who would undoubtedly push the limits of his current capabilities. While waiting for the big reveal, Vahn idled about his room, enjoying the umonly affectionate Medusas care. She was normally very clingy, and, if not for his physique, most of his bones would have been pulverized as a result of her fervor. Now, however, she had turned rtively docile, using her hair to gently caress his body as she pepped his neck and shoulders with kisses. It seemed to be a very possessive disy of affection, but, for reasons Vahn could only specte, it made his heart feel even more excited for theing battle... With less than an hour until the match was officially scheduled to begin, Vahn could sense someone approaching his room. Rather than a member of the Coliseum staff, however, it was a Hesian man with a lean body, handsome features, and, most notably, venomous, disdain-filled eyes. He gave off the impression of someone that needed to be elevated above others, the type of man who would not hesitate to order the execution of any who offended him. Even if he was blind, deaf, and dumb, Vahn would have been able to guess this man was the Second Prince of the Hes Empire, Kacper Bashireia Herasu De Vesuperisujimia. As for why he was showing up now, Vahn didnt even have to guess the reason. He clearly wanted to rile him up in the hopes of killing or crippling Rakan, the man who had be the greatest thorn in his side... Without even bothering to knock, the entourage of the Second Prince opened the doors to Vahns room, their expression fixed into perpetually alert scowls. One, a rather beautiful Hesian woman, even stepped out in front of the rest, a hateful re on her face as she eximed, "You are in the presence of His Imperial Highness! Get up and bow your heads!" Rather thanply, Vahn just stared at the woman as if she hadpletely lost her mind, sitting on the bed bare-chest as Medusa massaged him from behind. This caused her to clench her teeth in fury, but, before she couldsh out, genialughter could be heard from behind before a soft and charismatic voice stated, "Stand down, Ruta. We havee here to express our goodwill, not seek trouble..." Before the voice had finished speaking, a handsome man appeared from between therge crowd of guards, his expression fixed in a smile that didnt quite reach his eyes. As for the woman named Ruta, she quickly stepped off to the side, lowering her head at a steep angle as she said, "My most sincere apologies, Your Imperial Highness!" As if he were truly magnanimous, the Second Prince issued a light-hearted chuckle before giving his permission to raise her head. Then, turning his attention back to Vahn, his gaze very briefly flickered to Medusa before seemingly losing interest as he said, "Tales of-" Having no interest in the Second Princes machinations, Vahn inly stated, "You have five seconds to remove yourself from my sight. If you havent fixed that snake-like nature of yours by the time of our next meeting, you will be spending the rest of your life in a wheelchair." Hearing Vahns words, the guards surrounding the Second Prince seemed ready toy down their lives at a moments notice. The Second Prince, however, saw the countdown Vahn had been doing with his fingers, a cold sweat spreading out across his body. He knew that, even if Vahn was only half as strong as Rakan, it was more than enough to crush his entourage. As a result, he held up his hand even before his mind could fully process his options, stating, "Fall back! We did note here to fight!" Without waiting for his entourage toply, Kacper turned around on his heels and departed the room. There was a lot he wanted to say, but, seeing Vahns countdown nearingpletion, his fight or flight response had directed him toward thetter. His ns wouldnt amount to much if he was dead, so, rather than provoke a man bold enough to call himself an Emperor with an actual Empire, he began thinking about how he should punish his men for kicking the proverbial hos nest... Rather than immediately follow after their Master, a few members of the Second Princes entourage decided not to heed Vahns warning. They stared in disdain with hands near their swords, practically daring him to take action. This was rather amusing, as, with the exception of the Ruta and the rather cold-looking woman who stuck close to the Second Prince, the strongest in the group had a BP of around 200. The moment Vahns hand closed, denoting his countdown hadpleted, Medusas hair formed a silver-white snake for each member foolish enough to ignore his warning. Then, before the Second Prince could order them to stop dallying, all eight people were turned to statues as beams of light impacted their bodies. Their armaments did absolutely nothing to protect them, leaving them stuck in a perpetual state of drawing their swords with taunting expressions on their faces... Seeing nearly half his entourage turned to stone, Kacper felt unbridled rage swelling up inside of him, both as a result of Medusas actions and the foolishness of his own men. He internally vowed to have his revenge, but, knowing there was a vast disparity between himself and Vahn, he wasted no time in shouting, "Were leaving!" This time, none of the Second Princes entourage dared dally, quickly falling into ce around him as he sped away from the scene. With the exception of the cold-faced woman, none of them dared to even spare their formerpanions a second nce, fearing what fate would await them if they looked back for even a moment... --- After watching the Second Princes party retreat, Vahn briefly cast his gaze upon the statues that now littered the entrance of his room. Medusa hadnt killed them, but, if they were left in that state for too long, death was all but assured. This was a strange quirk of Petrification, and, at least in the Akamatsuverse, it was possible for some types to preserve their victims for decades. There had even been instances of Adventurers being returned to life after spending more than a hundred years as a stone statue within the various ruins that dotted Mundus Magicus... Shaking his head, Vahn decided not to worry about the fate of the thug-like individuals, turning to Medusa with a smile on his face. Her eyes were still glimmering with ferocity, but, seeing him turn around, she quickly reverted back to normal, returning a smile as she unhesitantly asked, "Why did you allow that man to leave? Would the world not be a better ce without such disrespectful and arrogant people...?" Rather than refute Medusas im, Vahn nodded his head, stating, "Indeed...unfortunately, unless I intend to expand my Empire into this world, arbitrarily eliminating Aristocrats will cause too many problems. The Second Prince might be an arrogant fool, but he is also the rallying point for much of the Empires corruption. If he were killed, those supporting him would branch out and spread their corruption to others. Unless he does something the people disdain, such as attempting a coup, it is not as simple as simply eliminating him..." Though he would not have hesitated to kill the Second Prince if thetter had ignored his warning, Vahn was the type that waspelled to take responsibility for his actions. If he one day decided to purge the Nobility, he would have little choice but to take over the Hes Empire. It would be better to simply cripple the Second Prince and slowly eliminate the underground factions that caused the most discourse within the Empire, allowing the more righteous criminal organizations to flourish in their stead. Remembering why he disdained politics, Vahn shook his head in exasperation before saying, "This is not our battlefield...our fight will take ce on a much grander stage than a single Empire. Though I might lend a hand, the fate of the Hes Empire can only be changed by the people and those they have ced their trust in..." Unless hepletely eliminated the Nobles and began hand-picking representatives to govern, it would be very difficult to seizeplete control over the Hes Empire. The next best option was to either marry or support one of the candidates for the Throne, but, with no interest in ying the game of politics, Vahn would rather just be an existence that instills fear in the hearts of every disreputable Noble family. If he became strong enough, he could even act as a natural deterrent for war, bing a literal God that meted out divine retribution to any country whose ambitions grew beyond their borders... Nodding his head in approval of his own thoughts, Vahn rose from the bed, allowing Medusa to help him dress. There was less than half an hour until his scheduled match but he could already feel Jacks aura surging like a tidal wave. The mans aura shone almost as brightly as a star, and, though there was a small amount of ck near the very core, Vahn knew this wasrgely due to the [Magia Erebea]. The fact Jack was able topletely suppress this corruptive influence spoke highly of his character, and, if he had to make a guess, Vahn would be willing to bet the man had an Innate that was directly rted to Willpower. Willpower and Intent seemed to be two of the most powerful forces within the Records, so, more often than not, anyone with strong Willpower was a force to be reckoned with. They had the fastest growth rates, and, under the right conditions, could evenprehend the Laws in a rtively short period of time. As a result, Vahn could feel the blood in his veins surging with excitement as every cell in his body seemed to writhe about in anticipation. His own Willpower was nothing to scoff at, so, regardless of the fights oue, he was guaranteed to experience a monstrous increase in his own strength... With this in mind, Vahn gave Medusa onest kiss before leaping off from the veranda, drawing a lot of attention to himself as he crashed like a meteor into the Arena below. There, already waiting for him, a mountain of a man was already waiting for him, his bodyrgely concealed by an ornate mantle as he stood with a massive greatsword nted in the ground before him. He gave off a very solemn impression with his head slightly lowered, his eyes concealed by the shadow of his bangs and the red bandana firmly tied around his forehead. Seeing Jack from just a few hundred meters away, Vahn couldnt help but be impressed by the man. His aura was even more impressive than Heracles, giving the impression of a summitless mountain rather than a man. Vahn could even sense his power gradually increasing, tempered by the fervor of hundreds-of-thousands of people shouting his name. It was almost like he was a God, the shouts of his adoring fans giving him greater strength as a palpable aura of Fate permeated from his body... --- Though every fiber of his being waspelling him to take the initiative to attack, Rakans had full mastery over his emotions. He might pretend to be airheaded at times, but, were he to be given an actual IQ test, he would score somewhere in the 200 range. His true nature was hyperrational, and, though his thirst for battle was genuine, each of his fights had purpose. He did not enjoy bullying the weak, nor did he harbor vendettas against those who were stronger than him. All that mattered to him was pushing forward, bing an example for all those who would follow behind him... Raising his head, Rakans golden eyes glimmered with an intense light as he stared at his opponent for the first time. He could feel the natural aura that lingered around Vahn, making it impossible to determine the mans actual strength. The closest thing he could approximate it to was looking at a storm brewing on the horizon while at sea. Though it seemed distant, almost untouchable, even the most experience Sea Captain would feel an existential dread when they saw the clouds sweeping in their direction... Having experienced his fair share of natural disasters, an eager smile spread across Rakans face as he muttered, "Ive always wanted to try diverting a hurricane..." while drawing his greatsword from the Arena floor... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Match of the Century,With Great Poweres Great Responsibility,A man with purpose will never find his couragecking) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1542 Clash of Wills

Chapter 1542 sh of Wills

Seeing Jack pick up his sword, Vahns momentum exploded outward as his figure vanished from view. At this point, something like a starting bell waspletely pointless. The only thing that had any meaning was the sh of wills and the weight of their blows. It was either move forward or risk having his own willpower suppressed, something Jack seemed to understand well... Not expecting the match to start so suddenly, the casters were still in the process of hyping up the crowd. They werepletely caught off guard by the massive collision that urred in the center of the Arena, forcing an oppressive silence over the crowd as Rakan and Vahn locked des, gold and crimson violently colliding as a result of their tempestuous auras. Despite his height advantage and the size of his sword, Rakan wasnt able to secure any advantages in the first collision. Instead, he felt like a de was being pressed to his throat just by staring at the katana in Vahns hands. He was barely even able to react when the rtively thin de suddenly cut through his own like butter, forcing him to bend backward as his trunk-like right leg raised to strike Vahns nk. Seeing Jack dodge his attack, almost as if he had a very high rank of [Instinct], Vahn couldnt help squinting his eyes slightly. The angle of his sword changed in an instant, turning from an upward piercing motion to a downward arc as he attempted to cut into the mans left thigh. Dodging the kick was impossible at this point, so, rather than evade, he aimed for an internecine oue. His katanapletely ignored the thick aura of magical energy surrounding Jacks leg, slicing through the steel-like muscles and tendons with considerable ease as a momentous force mmed into his left side... From the perspective of the audience, they only saw Jack evade Vahns slice before thetter was sent crashing like a meteor into the far wall. This caused them to cheer uproariously, but, before a chant could be started, many watched in horror as a shower of blood erupted from Rakans leg. He didnt seem to be bothered by this in the slightest, but, in an instant, any illusions of his immortality had been shattered. A stark contrast to Rakan, whose white trousers had now been stained red, Vahn emerged from the cloud of debris without a scratch on him. Then, with a simple sweep of his de, all of the dust and debris were cleared in an instant. This was an impressive disy on its own, but, seemingly to prove just how sharp his sword was, a 100m long cut had been left in the reinforced stone behind him... Rather than disy even a hint of fear, Rakans smile only became more prominent as he remarked, "That is quite the de you have there..." before vanishing from view. Caught in the moment when he was about to respond, Vahns lips had barely parted when a heavy pressure appeared right behind him. He had severely underestimated Jacks speed, but, with several decades of experience, his body moved even without him willing it to. As a result, Jacks fist swept through the area where his head had been moments prior, the wind pressure alone strong enough to rend flesh from bone... Ignoring the pain from his eardrum rupturing, Vahn flowed around Jacks fist like a slow-moving stream around a rock. His sword seemed to move in slow-motion as he swept it in a smooth arc across the mans chest. To his surprise, there was very little feedback from this blow, causing Vahns brows to rise slightly as Jacks figure became slightly illusory, much like an afterimage... Before the image fadedpletely, a fistrger than his face tore through Jacks chest,pletely blocking Vahns vision. Vahns already raised brows attempted to rise higher, but, before the nerves could fire, it felt like the front of his skull had been smashed in as Jacks fist mmed into him. This was only the beginning, as, the moment the fist came into contact with his face, Vahn felt his body shudder as a result of tearing through space. Jack had used a skill simr to [Shundo] to force even more momentum into his punch, smashing him into the Arena floor with purely physical strength... As if a small-scale atomic bomb had been set off, a massive crimson explosion created a mushroom cloud that sent powerful shockwaves rippling across the Arenas protective barrier. At this point, the crowd had all but fallen silent, each member of the audience captivated by the scene below. Only a few, those closest to the barrier, had the wherewithal to question whether or not they were actually safe from harm... --- Vahn was trying not to reveal his trump cards, specifically [Magia Erebea], but, after being smashed into the ground by Jack, he realized his hubris. He was well-aware of the fact that Jack was stronger than him, but he hadnt expected the mans strength to be so drastic. His original intentions were to just enjoy the fight for a while before ultimately forfeiting the match and preserving the morale of the Hes people. They were on the verge of war, so, if he defeated their champion too easily, it would severely hurt their pride... What Vahn hadnt ounted for was the fact that Jack was well-aware of the fact that he couldnt afford to lose. He might not be going all out, but the force behind his blows was enough to end the fight in an instant, at least against normal opponents. His own enjoyment was a secondary concern when his peoples trust was on the line. If he fell here, everything he had been working for over thest few years would be undermined, irreversibly damaging his status as a symbol for the Hesian people... --- Though Vahn could understand Jacks will, as it was being directly transmitted from the mans fist to his face, his pride didnt allow him to simply give up without a fight. If he lost the match too quickly, his own legacy would be irreversibly damaged. He wanted to be a deterrent force that caused any who would harm others to second-guess their actions. A single decisive defeat would make this virtually impossible to achieve as people would have proof that he wasnt indomitable... Unwilling topletely undermine his own goals just to elevate Jacks status, Vahns aura exploded outward with even greater intensity than the previous explosion. He then buried both of his feet in the mans seemingly indestructible abdomen, forcing him back and causing blood to spurt from the cut across his chest. He hadnt been able topletely evade the previous sh, but, as if it didnt matter in the slightest, Jacks aura only surged with greater intensity as he shot forth a mass of pure magical energy from his palm. No longer intending to simply trade blows, Vahns expression became serious as he cut swept aside the ball of magical energy before vanishing from sight. Jack might be fast, but his movement ability was nowhere near the SSS-Rank. His instincts might allow him to react to any kind of attack, but, in a contest of pure speed, Vahn was confident he could win. In fact, with his mastery over Space, even someone with the same degree of mastery would be hard-pressed to read his movements. Seeing Vahn disappear, Rakan brought up his arms in a defensive stance, his senses strained to the absolute limit. He could tell that his opponent was serious now, so, if he dropped his guard for even a moment, it might spell his end. Vahns sword seemed to be able to cut through anything, and, no matter how much he tried to perceive its movements, all he saw was a sh of light and a feeling of being cut... As that thought crossed his mind, Rakan felt as if a de was tracing across his left shoulder. Even before his brain finished processing this, he had already dodged to the right, barely evading what seemed to be apletely invisible attack. Then, causing his eyes to widen in shock, he suddenly felt as though a prison of des had formed around him, severing any path of retreat... From the perspective of the audience, Vahn had appeared near the edge of the arena, his body slouched forward slightly with his katana sheathed at his side. At the same time, Rakans figure had be a blur as he seemed to glitch around the Arena. It was virtually impossible to follow his movements, but, everywhere the blue moved, move and more blood would mar the battlefield. It hadnt been too noticeable at first, but, after a few seconds had passed, even the people furthest in the back could understand what was happening. Like a tsunami sweeping over an ind nation, a deathly silence overtook the Coliseum as a result of the oppressive atmosphere weighing down their hearts and minds. To them, Rakan was an ideal to aspire towards, an invincible figure that could freely roam even the Imperial Pce with impunity. He represented everything they could be, someone that had risen from nothing to the pinnacle like a meteor tearing through the sky. Now, however, that same figure was dyed red in his own blood, his speed gradually slowing down until he ultimately had to stop dodging entirely... Despite more than a hundred cuts across his body, Jack never ceased smiling for even a moment. There was a dark shadow cast over his eyes, but, like two zing suns that illuminated the darkness, his golden eyes shone with unceasing vitality as he stared back at Vahn and mused, "Not bad at all. You may have made a mistake, though..." Remembering Jacks previous attempt to bait him with words, Vahns figure simply vanished like a phantom. Immediately afterward, a flower of blood erupted from Jacks shoulder, causing the smile on his face to be more prominent as he added, "After losing so much blood, there is nothing weighing me down...!!" As if to prove his point, a thick crimson aura surrounded Jacks body as hepletely vanished from view. It wasnt until nearly a secondter that the area he was standing in erupted from the force of his movement. At nearly the exact same moment, another eruption urred elsewhere, followed by a flickering golden light as Vahns figure smashed into the Arenas barrier, sending a few massive cracks through its surface... Feeling as though every bone in his body was broken, Vahn coughed up arge volume of blood as he stared in awe at the man posing like a statue that had just thrown someone. There was a swirl of blood creating a small vortex around his fingers, his movement so swift it had produced a vacuum that persisted even after he had be stationary. As for where the blood hade from, the ten holes in Vahns chest and abdomen were a fair assumption... Remembering Jack appear before him immediately after hepleted his [Shundo], Vahn couldnt help but agree with the assessment that the man was a living cheat. He had enough blood to easily incapacitate someone twice his size, but, as if injuries meant nothing to him, Jack just kept going. It was truly amazing, as, not only did he use his magical energy to stitch together his severed tendons and muscles, but his heart had slowed to less than six beats per minute. He prioritized blood flow to the brain, cycling the bare minimum to keep his organs from shutting down as he manipted his own body like a marite... With a smile spreading across his own face, Vahn wiped away the blood from his lips as he said, "It might not mean anything to you, but know that you have earned my respect. If you can survive this next blow, you will have earned a new title..." Though he had yet to unlock his Bankai, Vahn couldmunicate his intent to Laev-tan without actually releasing her. As a result, she happily transformed into her Shikai form, causing ripples to spread across the barrier as he jumped down to the Arena below. Since moving too much might break his concentration, Rakan continued to hold his pose, never losing his smile as he asked, "Oh? Im quite fond of collecting titles. If youve got a good one, Im willing to ept it..." Pleased by the fact that Jack seemed to have understood his intentions, Vahn smiled even wider as he answered, "It might sound silly, but, henceforth, you shall be known as Jack Rakan, the God of Perseverance...the person acknowledged by the Sage Dragon Emperor as an equal..." Finished with his words, Vahns aura surged immensely as body instantly transformed into his half-dragon state. The release of his Zanpakuto had already caused his aura to multiply by ten times, so, with the increased pressure from his Huanglong transformation, the Coliseum, the barrier, and even Space itself began to tremble as brackish-crimson mes erupted to cover the sky. Visibility within the Arena decreased until the only thing visible was a swirling vortex that promised death... --- Immediately after releasing what seemed to be an ultimate attack, Vahns transformation shattered due to the strain he had ced on his mind and spirit. He would normally struggle to produce even a small amount of Laev-tans mes, but, after consolidating energy over thest few weeks, energy he had intended to use for Fenrirs summoning, Vahn was able to fake it well. He hadnt been lying when he said Jack had won his respect, so, after apologizing to Fenrir in his heart, he decided to go all-out, at least from the perspective of the audience... With an umon amount of intelligence, Rakan had seen through Vahns intentions the moment thetters killing intent faded away. Others might not be able to sense it, but, as the person it had been directed toward, Rakan was extremely sensitive to such changes. As a result, he stopped trying to press the attack, waiting to see what Vahn had nned. After shing with the man a few times, a certain degree of trust had been built between them, something that could only be achieved after two powerful wills had shed against one another... After taking a few seconds to catch his breath, Vahn smiled wryly toward Rakan before saying, "Your love for this country is awe-inspiring. Im not entirely sure what you have nned, but I can tell you are doing your best. Now that Ive seen your power for myself, Ill leave this nation in your capable hands. When the Emperor asks, you can just tell him I went off to test some other people...when the timees, we will undoubtedly meet again. I look forward to seeing how much youve grown by then..." Having said everything he intended to say, Vahn prepared to teleport away when Jack surprised him by asking, "What is your connection to the Dark Evangel? Are you a Dragonfolk or a descendent of the Ancient Dragons?" Finding it humorous that Jack was attempting to gather information even when his body was on the verge of breaking downpletely, Vahn returned a smile as he said, "Just know you are most likely making a mistake in your assumptions. As for thetter part...well, lets just say there wille a time when that fellow bows his head to me. Now, no more questions. If you dont focus, there is a very real chance you will lose your life..." Just as he had throughout the entire battle, Jack merely smiled in response to Vahns words, stating in a genial tone, "Until I havepleted my objectives, I will continue pushing this body beyond its limits. You dont need to worry about me, bratty lizard..." Hearing Jacks method of addressing him, Vahns expression froze for several seconds before hisughter began to echo in the surroundings. His figure then vanished from view, hisughter still echoing as the mes began to converge on Jacks location. It was an attack that, by all rights, had the potential to kill the man. Despite this, Vahn had no doubt in his mind that he would be seeing the rather brazen hero in the future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Such speed, such power, such skill...is what I might be saying if I could see what was going on!,United States of Smash!,He ded, lol) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1543 Preparations

Chapter 1543 Preparations

Seeing a reddish-ck inferno sweeping through the Arena was enough to leave even the most die-hard fans of the Coliseum in stunned silence. To many, it was like witnessing the end of the world, and, if not for the hundreds of Mages reinforcing the barrier, those closest would have been feeling more than just an oppressive aura. From within one of the highly protected viewing booths that were reserved for members of the Imperial Family, one member of the audience was fretting more than the rest. More than almost anyone else in the Empire, she believed in Rakans strength, so, seeing the massive vortex of mes, ayer of moisture had covered her eyes as she turned to the old man next to her and said, "You have to help him! Please...!" Hearing the earnest plea of the young girl, the old man stopped stroking his chin, turning to her with a gentle smile as he said, "That man will not die so easily, Princess. Have a little bit of faith. You know he would tease you if he saw you with tears in your eyes..." Despite his words, the old man, Vrixho Nagasha, felt that things werent looking too good for Rakan. The mes swirling in the arena were unlike anything he had ever seen before, dealing magical, physical, and, most frighteningly of all, spiritual damage. Those who had suffered an attack on their spirit had a much harder time recovering than normal, and, in many cases, they could outright lose the will to live. It was one of the most painful experiences imaginable, not something you would ever expect to see from someone loved by the Spirits... Though her worries werent abated, Theo used the back of her sleeve to wipe away the tears and snot from her face as sheined, "Im not crying...that idiot doesnt even know the meaning of death...I would never worry about him..." As if in response to her words, the mes within the Arena rapidly contracted like an inverted explosion. Then, after converging for a few seconds, creating a fiery tornado that extended to the clouds above, they spontaneously dissipated. What she saw when the fire cleared left the deepest possible impression in Theos, the audiences, and even Vrixhos hearts, as, near the very center of the Arena, Rakan, body still smoldering, could be seen holding up his fist with a smile on his face... --- Seeing the charred-ck man clinging to life with the fervor of an Asura, one member of the audience, apanied by a woman with exceptionally long hair, couldnt help but smile as he mused, "Thebination of Willpower and Fate is terrifying..." Though his appearance had changed quite drastically, with rathe a rather wild hairstyle, two pointed ears, and a bushy tail, the man was none other than Vahn. He hadnt actually left the Coliseum after his final attack as there were still a few things he intended to aplish in the Capital. He was also genuinely curious about whether or not Rakan could survive, so, after a quick change of both appearance and aura, he doubled back to pick up Medusa and witness the mans moment of triumph directly. Having heard her Masters words, Medusa nodded her head in agreement, the venomous look in her eyes fading slightly as she remarked, "He has a long way to go before reaching Masters level, but he is closer than most. He will be useful in the future..." Finding hispanions words rather curious, Vahn raised his brow before giving her an inquisitive look out of the corner of his eye. She had be increasingly more calcting since her time in the Nasuverse, and, based on her words, it wasnt difficult to imagine she would dly try and manipte others on his behalf. This wasnt really necessary, of course, but it was something to keep in mind since it seemed like her personality was taking a slightly dangerous turn... Taking advantage of the fact most people had gonepletely ballistic with their cheering, Vahn, closely apanied by Medusa, alighted from the Coliseum. He had sensed both the Third Princess and her escort, so, while Jack was virtually on deaths door, Vahn didnt have to worry about him. The Magical World even had a few methods to revive the recently deceased so there was little chance the indomitable man, wielder of a powerful fate, would sumb to the machinations of some corrupt Prince... Confident in his assessment, Vahn, disguised as a Vanargandr, made his way to one of the few ces that had garnered his interest over thest few weeks: the Warriors Theater. He didnt particrly care about signing up to be an Adventurer or a Mercenary, but, considering it was one of the best ces to obtain information, stopping by was only sensible. Though he had a considerable amount of knowledge pertaining to the history of the Magical World, there were some things that were simply never mentioned in historical texts. It was all but impossible to find any urate ounts regarding Cosmos Entelecheia and the Mage of the Beginning. His presence also irreversibly altered the flow of fate, so, even if he decided to simply watch things y out, there were absolutely no guarantees things would adhere to the original timeline. Even toward the end of his battle against Jack, Vahn could sense the mans strength gradually increasing. This battle would undoubtedly lead to him bing demonstrably stronger than he should have been in the canon timeline so there was no way of knowing what he would be able to aplish. He might even rise up to be Emperor in the future, though, based on what Vahn could tell, the man seemed to have more of a Martyrs mentality than that of an Emperor... --- Passing through the doors of a building with a strangely bulbous structure, Vahn ignored the nces of the various Mercenaries and Adventurers within. The way he carried himself was more than enough to deter the majority from trying seeking trouble, and, despite her rather adorable appearance, Medusas aura gave people the impression of staring into the maw of a snake that was about to sink its fangs into your neck. Seeing the two new faces, a man who looked like a bipedal bull wearing a bartending outfit craned his head to the side and asked, "Come to register or issue a bounty?" Drawing a considerable amount of attention to himself, Vahn dropped an open pouch onto the counter. It was filled to the brim with silver and tinum coins known as Drachma, one of the primary currencies within Mundus Magicus. The values fluctuated quite a bit, especially in the period of time preceding and following a war, but the basic value ranged from 1~10,000, increasing in increments of 10 from bronze, iron, silver, gold, and tinum. Seeing the shimmering pile of coins, the bull-faced man hardened his expression as he red toward the greedier people in the bar before turning his gaze to Vahn and saying, "There is a fine line between boldness and stupidity...Even if youre confident in your strength, you would be remiss to underestimate the greed of the desperate. Now, out with it. Dont tell me you just came here to show off in front of your girl...?" Ignoring the mansment about boldness and stupidity, Vahn inly stated, "Give me all the information you have pertaining to the Dark Evangel and any A-Rank threats both local and abroad. I also want everything you have rted to dungeons and ruins, specifically those that are more than a five-hundred-years old." Hearing the man ask about the Dark Evangel, the broker decided that Vahn was just another fool who would find an early death in their search for fame. These types appeared every now and again, but, as it had nothing to do with him, the broker deftly scooped up the coin purse and said, "Give me a few minutes. Well have everything out to you after confirming whether or not this currency is legitimate." Towards the end of his words, the broker poured two shots of an expensive bourbon before leaving the bottle on the table, adding, "Special service." as he disappeared into the back of the establishment. Not worried about the drink being poisoned, Vahn threw back the shot in a single motion. As for Medusa, she tentatively smelled the aromaing from the shot ss before poking her tongue out and almost immediately retracting it. As a Gorgon, she had an especially sensitive tongue so she had never been fond of alcohol, much less the poor-quality bourbon that had been brought out as a special service. Finding Medusas reaction adorable, Vahn smiled as he lightly ruffled her hair. Then, before the men walking up behind him could speak, he said, "Go easy on them..." in a tone that was audible to the entire room. From beneath the mantle concealing Medusas hair and body, more than a dozen silvery-white snakes stuck out like bolts of lightning, striking the three ruffians before they could utter a single syble. Their bodies were immediately paralyzed, dropping to the ground like sacks of potatoes. One was even unfortunate enough tond face-first,pletely shattering his nose as blood began to pool beneath him. Though the three men werent exactly the strongest among them, even the most powerful Mercenaries in the bar could barely see the afterimages of Medusas attack. Some couldnt even tell what kind of attack she used, instantly quelling any desire they had to try their own luck. After scanning the bodies of the men and confirming their lives werent in jeopardy, Vahn gave an approving nod before saying, "Well done. If possible, try and avoid killing unless you feel as though your life is in danger. Id rather dirty my hands than see yours stained with the blood of fools..." Enjoying the caress of her Master, a happy smile spread across Medusas face as she rubbed her head against his palm. She would have actually preferred to inflict the men with one of her more potent poisons, but, knowing her Master disliked unnecessary cruelty, she did her best to restrain the urge. As for hisment about not killing unless her life was in danger, it wasnt something she would take to heart. If there was an enemy that deserved killing, such as those who insulted her Master, she would not hesitate to give them a miserable end... --- With three paralyzed bodies serving as a deterrent, things were rtively peaceful until the bull-faced man returned. When he saw the trio copsed on the ground, his face formed into a frown, but, instead ofmenting on it, he just handed over a literal crate full of journals, scrolls, and a special kind of crystal that stored information of various bounties. Picking up the crystal, Vahn infused a thread of energy into it, smiling as he saw various three-dimensional monsters projected into thin air. It was a curious fusion of magic and technology, but,pared to the terminals developed by Da Vinci, it was a littleckluster. Still, it had all the information pertaining to the monsters ecology, known habitat, and, most importantly for aspiring Mercenaries, their bounties. After tossing the crystal into his Inventory, earning an inquisitive look from the broker, Vahn asked, "What about the information on the Dark Evangel? I heard she has been seen in this area?" Hearing Vahns words, the bull-faced man dug into the crate full of documents, pulling out a dossier that was thicker than an encyclopedia as he exined, "This is everything pertaining to the Dark Evangel that has been collected over thest fifty years. You probably wont listen to my advice, but you shouldnt set your sights so high. Read through this information very carefully before you try and track down that monster. Thousands have walked this path before you, none aplishing anything more than increasing the body count..." Vahn didnt appreciate the man referring to Eva as a monster, but, as that was generally how most people thought of her, he suppressed his animosity. Though the man had a muted grey aura, he gave off the impression of someone who hated seeing people waste their lives. Since his current appearance made him look rtively young, mostly to match Medusa, the brokers intentions could be considered benevolent. Forcing a smile, Vahn gave a polite nod to the broker before stowing the entire crate into his Inventory and saying, "Ill keep your words in mind. Dont worry, while the Dark Evangel is my penultimate goal, I dont imagine our paths would cross too soon. Thanks for the information. You can keep the change as my gratitude for the special service." Without waiting for the mans response, Vahn turned on his heels and casually made his way outside. He hadpleted his objective, so, after onest stop, he would depart the Capital and be on his way. Mundus Magicus might only be around a third the size of the Earth, but it was still a vastnd withrge regions of unexplored territory. If the opportunity presented, he would venture into some of the ancient ruins that dotted thendscape. Some of these ces contained powerful relics, and, though they were likely worse than anything he could forge, it would still be useful to collect them. At this point in his ventures, Vahns primary goal would be to increase his prestige and create a name for himself within the internationalmunity. There were quite a number of people who would be willing to grant him a favor if he handed over some lost relics from the ancient civilizations that had fallen into obscurity. Eva, in particr, liked to collect such things, so, at the very least, Vahn could begin preparing his apology in advance. Though he would like to assume everything will go smoothly, Vahn knew how prideful and cautious Eva could be. It took literal decades for her Memory Fragment to truly open up to him, and that was only after a few drastic actions on his part. The real Eva was bound to be even more closed off than her counterpart in the orb, so, even with [Magia Erebea], she might not open up to him. Rather, there was a fair chance their first encounter would involve a great deal of bloodshed, even if he didnt put up any resistance at all. Shaking his head, Vahn decided there was no sense in worrying about his reunion with Eva until it hade to pass. Even if he had to suffer a bit, it was inconsequentialpared to the thousands of years she had tolerated him. There was even a chance he could avoid a fight by simply allowing her to view his memories. Once he could convince her of his sincerity, it was only a matter of time before her icy facade began to melt away, revealing the lonely girl that desperately sought thepanionship of others... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Birth of the God of Perseverance,When a currency has no meaning to you xD...,Eva is going to thrash this boy into next century) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1544 Fate, Empathy, or...?

Chapter 1544 Fate, Empathy, or...?

With a bit of time to kill until he enacted his n, Vahn spent a few hours just wandering the Capital with no particr destination in mind. He decided it was a good opportunity to take Medusa on a date, as, even in the Nasuverse, she very rarely left the Castle. The furthest she ever traveled was the nearby Castle Town, but, after other people began inhabiting it, she lost interest rather quickly. Though she got along decently with people like Circe, Shuten, and her counterpart in the Nasuverse, Medusa had always been rather anti-social. She didnt like how noisyrge groups of people could be, and, as a result of her long hair, she had to constantly remain vignt to avoid getting it dirty or having it stepped on. Most of all, however, she hated how entitled the average person behaved whenever they were curious about something. She didnt like being gawked at excitedly by people she had no interest in, and, when they tried to pester her with questions, she would not hesitate to snap at them with her hair-formed snakes. Were it up to her, Medusa would spend most of her days lounging about, sunbathing, taking long baths, and sleeping. If it wasnt something rted to poison, her rather sizeable group of snakepanions, or her Master, she had very little interest in it. Even then, she would rarely make time for the first two things unless she was feeling bored... As could be expected, Medusa wasnt enjoying the attention of random people gawking at her unique appearance. This caused her to stand closer to her Master, tightly hugging his arm as she red at anyone who got closer than a few meters to her body. The gaze of a Gorgon could not be underestimated, and, if anyone wasnt paying close attention, they would feel a cold shiver run through their body whenever her glimmering golden eyes passed over them... Seeing Medusa even ring at children and animals, Vahn internally sighed as he used his hand to gently close her eyes, whispering, "Just stay close to me and ignore everything else. I wont let anyonee close to you..." Though she could still sense the people around her, Medusa did her best to ignore them as she rested her head against her Masters arm. Despite her apparent disdain for pedestrians, she was actually enjoying the date quite a bit. Just spending time with her Master was enough to make her happy, so, despite a strong urge to just turn the chaotic city into a mausoleum of stone, she tolerated their presence for his sake... --- After exploring the more impoverished sections of the Capital, handing out quite a bit of food to families and children in need, Vahn decided it was about time for him to finish his business. The sun had started to descend over the horizon, transforming the Capital from an energetic and slightly chaotd into a mystical ce filled with magic and light. It seemed even alive during the evening than it was during the day as millions of people were still celebrating and discussing the events from earlier in the day. Ignoring the festivities in their entirety, Vahns shadowy figured descended onto one of the various balconies located around the Imperial Pce. He specifically chose a ce that was attached to one of the rooms belonging to the Imperial Family, bypassing any kind of security as most Imperial Guards were currently enjoying a celebration inside the Pce. This included most members of the Imperial Family, and, despite being on the verge of death hours prior, a mummified version of Jack could be found boisterously drinking at the Emperors side. Resisting the urge to crash the party, Vahn blended seamlessly into his surroundings before making his way towards the chambers of the Third Princess. He would normally teleport, but, after setting off an rm during his previous visit, he decided to channel his experiences in the Record of Danmachi, relying on good old fashioned stealth and concealment. You would have to be looking directly at him to even sense his presence, so, confident he could evade all but the Spirits themselves, Vahn flickered through the halls and corridors like a phantom... Learning his lesson from past experiences, Vahn didnt immediately enter the Third Princess. Instead, he probed the interior with his intent, confirming she wasnt curled up inside using an artifact that could even fool his detection abilities. Then, after deactivating the various spells that prevented outsiders from essing the room, he ventured inside to inspect the item that was responsible for the previous incident: a magical diorama of an ind. Though it was drastically different from the orb that had allowed him to learn [Magia Erebea], Vahn could sense a familiar aura infused in the meter-wide diorama that depicted a volcanic ind in the middle of a vibrant blue sea. If you looked closely, it was even possible to see a few tiny birds flying around in the sky, their wings moving so slow it was nearly impossible to perceive. Recognizing it was the type of diorama that allowed a physical body to enter, Vahn ced his hand on the surface before stopping himself. He hadnt been able to sense the location of the Third Princess, and, after cing his hand on the ss sphere, he could sense a subtle shift in the flow of fate... With a frown on his face, Vahn slowly retracted his hand from the diorama, asking, "Is my fate in this world somehow linked to that boyish girl?" Even if he wasnt specifically asking her, Sis readily answered, (*ording to the knowledge stored in your archives, her fate is intertwined with various legendary figures in this world. She will go on to be one of the members of Rubra, and, though their rtionship is not well-documented, there are excerpts mentioning her involvement in the future actions of Alba, the party created by Nagi Springfields son, Negi.*) As she spoke, Sis collected all the pertinent information for Vahn, formatting it in such a way that it yed across his mind like recalling a memory. This allowed him to understand what kind of existence the Third Princess was, leading him to mutter, "She seems to y a part in most of the major events that shape this world over the next thirty years..." Though one of the most important events involving Theodora was her kidnapping, it was this same event that led to her close kinship with the Queen of Vespertatia, the woman who would go on to marry Nagi Springfield, a man who was undoubtedly one of the protagonists of this Record. His party, full of legendary figures, yed thergest role in bringing the Great Magic War to an end, and, at an unspecified point in the future, he even defeated the incarnation of the Mage of the Beginning...twice. Shaking his head, Vahn decided to just bite the bullet as he ced his hand on the diorama and entered inside. His trillions of Karma had basically set him on a path that allowed him to either live freely, or, based on his decisions, shape the world itself. He might not have the divine protection of fate itself, but, so long as he didnt do anything drastic, his good fortune was virtually unparalleled... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn found himself standing in a clearing located within the forest surrounding the volcano. He could see a stone shelf that allowed water from a few small streams to form a broken waterfall that steadily trickled into arge, crystal-clear, pool. It was a beautiful sight to behold, but, standing out even more than the scenery itself, a petite woman with healthy brown skin, golden hair, and ivory horns could be seen ring pointedly at him with sapphire-blue eyes... Sensing the Third Princess magic power surging, Vahn raised his hand and said, "Stop." in an authoritative tone. The spell circle she had started to form immediately shattered, causing her eyes to widen as she leaped back, covering her breasts with one hand and pulling out a small wand with the other. Vahn didnt really want to fight, so, rather than chasing after her, he just turned around and raised both hands in a gesture of surrender. This wasnt enough to get the Third Princess to drop her guard, however, resulting in him taking a few bolts of light-infused [Sagitta Magicka] to his back. Despite this, he still didnt move, as, despite her Base Power actually being a little higher than his, there was no way her spells could break through the invisible membrane that was surrounding his body. Seeing her attack have no effect, Theo held up her wand and shouted, "Who are you!? How did you enter this ce!?" As he had changed both his race and appearance, Vahn was currently indistinguishable from his past self. This was something he hadpletely forgotten about, causing his mind to race for a brief moment as he decided on a rtively shameless course of action. Before he could implement it, however, Sis firmly stated, (*Absolutely not. How do you even rationalize that as a solution...?*) Feeling chided, Vahn awkwardly rubbed the back of his head before answering, ("Well, I just thought I could trick her...sorry...") As they shared the same thoughts, it was impossible to try and convince Sis that he had some kind of grand n. His idea of transforming into Theodora and pretending to be some kind of Spirit attached to the diorama was both arbitrary andpletely unnecessary. It provided no real benefits, and, once the truth came to light, he might be aughing stock when the tomboyish princess bbed to others about his ability to turn into a woman. With his poorly thought out n nipped in the bud, Vahn restored his appearance to one that the Third Princess would recognize. This, surprisingly, stopped any kind of resistance from the young princess. Instead, she released a loud sigh, followed by the sound of someone walking through the water as she moved to pick up her clothing. Then, despite it being unnecessary, she shouted, "You had better not peek!" in a threatening tone... --- Now properly dressed, Theo looked over at the man who seemed to appear and disappear as he pleased. This was the second time he had just spontaneously shown up, and, based on his arrival in the diorama, she was starting to piece together his true intentions. Showing none of the fear and fervor she had disyed previously, Theo unhesitantly walked over to Vahn, asking, "Youre searching for the Dark Evangel, arent you...?" Hearing the unexpected question, Vahn turned his head towards the young girl who was peeking around his body and staring up at his face. Her blue eyes glimmered like someone who was absolutely certain their conjecture was right, and, even without him answering, the sides of her smile began to curl up as she exined, "I was so bored after being sent to the safehouse that I spent a whole week thinking about why you had appeared in my room. With your power, it was pretty obvious you didnt have any malicious intentions or you would have never allowed those weak guards to take you~!" Seemingly very proud of herself, the Third Princess puffed out her chest with her arms spread akimbo as she added, "Though I keep a few treasures hidden in my room, I didnt find any of them tampered with after my return. This meant you were after something in in sight! With all the reports of the Dark Evangel suddenly appearing,bined with your ability to change forms, I am absolutely certain you were trying to lure her here...!" Toward the end of her exmation, Theo was pointing directly at Vahns face, her finger only a few centimeters away from his nose. She had on a mischievous smile that showed off all her pearly white teeth, and, despite her aura showing she was still very cautious, it was impossible to see any fear or trepidation in her demeanor. Rather than confirm the Third Princess conjecture, Vahn shook his head and said, "Things are a little moreplicated than you think. Still, I will give you credit for your astute observation. My primary reason for visiting tonight was to inspect this diorama. As for myst appearance, however, that was something I couldnt have predicted. Had I not been caught off guard, our paths might have never crossed..." Though she felt Vahn was being somewhat petty, Theo couldnt actually prove her ims so she just crossed her arms and asked, "So, what are you nning? This diorama was a gift from myte mother so I wont part with it easily. If youre looking for that scroll, I gave it to that big oaf with more muscle than brain." Hearing the Third Princess mention a scroll, Vahn understood why he couldnt sense one of Evas memory fragments within the diorama. It was likely a ce she had prepared in order to train the person who obtained her scroll, a method to decrease the amount of time it took to master the skill while also serving as a seal to prevent them from causing havoc in the outside world. It even had an impressive time dtion of 24:1, meaning a whole day would pass inside the diorama for every hour that passed in reality... Shaking his head, Vahn exined, "I have no intention of robbing you of your belongings. I have great respect for the love and affection shared between a mother and their child so your concerns are unnecessary. Rather, you could say that my reason for entering this diorama was to give you a gift. I had sensed your presence inside, and, after our previous encounter, a bit of fate seems to have formed between us. Tell me, Princess Theodora of the Hes Empire, do you have any wishes...?" Not expecting the subject of wishes toe out of nowhere, Theo showed an expression of surprise as she cocked her head to the side and asked, "Are you some kind of special dragon that grants wishes or something?" Hearing the Third Princess question, Vahn adopted a thoughtful expression, his eyes turning toward the sky for a few moments before he mused, "That is not too far from the truth...I have granted quite a number of wishes over thest hundred years or so..." Surprised by Vahns musings, Theo began to feel excitement bubbling up from the pit of her stomach as she asked, "So, can you like grant any kind of wish!? What if I want to be, like, the most powerful person in the world? No, how about the ability to freely teleport around, or, or, maybe something like the ability to breathe in outer space!?" Seeing how excited the Third Princess had be, Vahn felt a little guilty, but, after realizing he could actually grant all the things she mentioned, he began to ruminate before stating in a firm tone, "Wishes can be a double-edged sword if your convictions arecking. Those who wish for wealth often find themselves victimized by the people closest to them. As for power, that kind of thing is only useful when you want to protect something dear to you. Any kind of power that isnt meant to protect will slowly corrupt your heart, turning you into a tyrant thatcks even basicpassion..." Hearing Vahns tone, most of Theos excitement faded away, causing her to fall silent as she properly considered his words. Then, after several minutes had passed, she looked up at him and inly stated, "If there were no restrictions, there are only three things I would wish for in this life...the return of my mother...the prosperity of my people...and the freedom to travel the world. I hate politics and I dont want to spend my life cooped up inside castle walls..." Though he wasnt surprised that she would wish for herte mothers revival, her desire for freedom was something that caught him off guard. He knew she was something of a tomboy, but, based on all the achievements she umted over her life, Vahn never expected that one of her primary wishes was to simply travel freely. All of her wishes were things that deeply resonated with him, making him wonder if they really did have some kind of fate... After considering his response for several seconds, Vahn honestly stated, "The Soul is a veryplex thing, far more than even the most knowledgeable Archmage understands. Though it wouldnt be impossible, resurrecting your mother isnt something I can aplish without a considerable amount of preparation. I, too, lost my mother at a very young age, so, while it might be possible to reunite the two of you, trust me when I say she would be happier if you just lived your life to the fullest. Allow the dead the rest they deserve, as there is much more to life than the present moment we are bound to..." Taking note of the fact that Vahn stated it wasnt impossible, a very small seed of hope had been nted in Theos heart. His final words also left a deep impression, but, as the memory of her mothers passing was still fresh, she couldntpletely ept them. Even if she was unable to convince him to help her, just knowing there was a way to revive her mother gave her hope. Recognizing the look of conviction within the Third Princess eyes, Vahn couldnt help sighing in the back of his mind. He couldnt just tell her she needed to give up on meeting her mother again, as, based on what he knew of the Akamatsuverse, there was a good chance the spirit of thete queen still existed in a Realm somewhere. He knew earth had a few different versions of Heaven and Hell, and, though it wasnt as prominent as the Nasuverse, there was even an Age of the Gods... Resisting the urge to shake his head, Vahn adopted an understanding smile as he said, "Your other two wishes are rtively simple to achieve, so long as you are willing to work hard. As I said, power that isnt obtained leads to the heart falling to corruption. Freedom is very simr, as, depending on circumstances, the only thing that can grant absolute freedom is having the power to ignore all restrictions. As for the matter of your peoples prosperity...well, you dont have to work on that alone. Rather, the best thing you can do for your people is to empower them through education. Everything elsees down to weeding out corruption in higher government offices, recing them with people who serve the interests of the people, not themselves..." Hearing Vahns convoluted exnation, Theo adopted a deadpan expression on her face as she asked, "So, you dont actually grant wishes? You just give advice and tell people to work hard?" Ignoring the usatory tone used by the Third Princess, Vahn habitually plopped his hand atop her head as he exined, "I do have the power to grant wishes, but, if you are unable to appreciate the power granted to you, you are simply unworthy of them. Just look at Jack as an example of what someone can aplish if they possess the proper mentality. Tell me, what would you do if I gave you the power to freely teleport? Would you just run away from home, leaving countless people worried about your safety? Would you venture into danger, putting the life your mother had given you on the line...?" Though she would normally hate having someone rub her head, Theo was surprised by how natural Vahns hand felt atop her head. She felt as though her mind had be clear, her tumultuous emotions gradually stabilizing. This allowed her to properly consider the meaning behind his words, leading to her answering, "I think I would stay and continue trying my best for my Empire. Still, I would like that kind of power...just knowing I can leave whenever I want would make things a lot easier..." Vahn could easily empathize with the Third Princess words, so, after seeing the pleading look in her eyes, he pulled out three matching bracelets, exining, "These bracelets are linked by very powerful magic. Not only do they allow the wearers to sense each others locations, but, under the right conditions, they can allow for instantaneous transmission between each other. I want you to give one of these bracelets to Jack. The other will be kept on my person, leaving you with the final one. If a timees when you simply want to get away for a short while, you need only infuse your mana into the red gemstone. So long as I am not in an environment that will endanger you, I will transfer you to my side. When it is time for you to return, the bracelet kept by Jack will serve as a beacon that allows you to freely move between the two points. For now, this is all I will provide you...if you want your other wishes to be granted, you will have to work hard..." Even before she heard the exnation of the item, Theo had a massive grin on her face when she saw the glittering golden bracelet. She normally disliked jewelry, but, unlike a traditional essory, the bracelet provided by Vahn looked like an Ouroboros devouring its own tail. It had a pattern of sharp scales on the outside, and, giving it a somewhat intimidating look, its eyes shimmered with red and blue light. Better yet, when she ced it on her wrist, it resized to fit her perfectly, and, after trying to remove it, it slid off without any trickery involved... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Medusa be like *jiiiiii-*. Vahn be like (o. o),Is this good fortune?,Vahn is truly cursed o_o...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1545 Study : Abroad

Chapter 1545 Study : Abroad

After teaching the Third Princess how to properly use the bracelet, Vahn spent a bit of time just answering her questions and teaching her about Magic. The diorama had a time dtion of 24:1, so, even if he stayed inside for a few hours, it wouldnt make too much of a difference. Vahn knew the majority of Mages in the Akamatsuverse required a catalyst such as a wand or a staff to properly cast Magic. They were often formed of a magically conductive material and could be further engraved to enhance certain elemental affinities. This allowed specialists to greatly increase their power, but, as a result of using tools their entire lives, most Mages were helpless once they were disarmed. As a member of the Imperial Family, Theo had been drilled on manipting magical energy without a catalyst from a very young age. This was to ensure she could always defend herself in an emergency, but, due to her nature, she actually had more talent for reinforcement type spells than her actual elements, Light and Lightning. She was the type that would rather beat someone with her own hands and feet, but, due to the education imposed upon her, she was not able to truly shine. Though there was nothing wrong with bing a Magic-Knight, developing both Magical Power and Ki alongside each other, the Hes Empire still had dated views on how males and females who behave as members of the Aristocracy. The boys were often given an education rted to military strategy,manding troops, and wielding armaments. The girls, however, were taught to focus on etiquette, diplomacy, and long-range support spells. This might seem like a rather misogynistic system, but the primary purpose was to prevent female Aristocrats from falling into the hands of enemy nations. If a Prince were captured, they would generally be ransomed for a handsome reward before ultimately being returned to their home country. Princesses, however, often experienced far more tragic ends, often bing mere prizes that were used to unt the status of the ones who had been able to capture them. Their treatment was often far worse, as, even if they had a high amount of political value, that only further incentivized enemies to hold onto them in order to pressure and shame the country they had been stolen from. Sadly, much like every Record he had visited thus far, there seemed to be a disparity in the treatment between men and women within the Akamatsuverse. Vahn knew the reasons for this, but that didnt make it any easier to swallow. As a result, he didnt mind teaching Theo a few tricks that just might save her life in the future. He also encouraged her to learn from Jack himself, but, much to his surprise, she rebutted him. ording to Theo, Jack was a perverted idiot who doesnt know how to exin things in a way other people can understand. It seemed that she had tried to learn from him a few times, but, in the end, most of his lessons devolved into little more than repetitive exercises and livebat practice. Both of these things were very important for anyone who wanted to be strong, but, due to the vast power disparity, Jack wasnt really qualified to teach others. Most of his training methods also involved forming an armor-likeyer of red muscle to protect the body, so, after developing abs and biceps in a very short period of time, Theo decided Jacks training methods simply werent for her. Despite her tomboyish nature, Theo had been educated as a youngdy since birth so she still cared about her appearance. Just the thought of turning into a muscled gori like Jack had nearly deterred her from trying to be a Magic Knight, but, after learning about the existence of female Ki Masters, wielding monstrous power despite their petite and flexible frames, she became more motivated. Unfortunately, finding a Ki Master within the Hes Empire was very difficult as it was infinitely easier toprehend the mysterious internal energy in areas with limited mana. This meant the most proficient Ki Users typically came from Earth, remaining there until they had finished building their foundation. It was only after they reached the bottleneck faced by nearly every Ki User that they began their pilgrimage to the Magical World. Since it was virtually impossible to find an unaffiliated Master who was also willing to teach their secret techniques to outsiders, learning how to manipted Ki was no simple feat. It was even harder for someone like Theo, who, as a result of her Hesian heritage, already had a massive amount of magical power inside her body. This was true for all Hesians, but, as a member of the Imperial Family, Theos path was like the proverbial carp attempting to climb a waterfall in order to be a dragon. Fortunately, when it came to internal control, meditation, and even Ki techniques, there were very few people more knowledgeable than Vahn. He had, quite literally, millions of texts that directly rted to the topics, and, after a cursory analysis of Theos constitution and affinities, it was a rtively simple matter to set her on a rtively smooth path. He just needed to give her suitable cultivation, meditation, and breathing techniques. After that, he helped guide the energy in her body so that she could familiarize herself with properly circting Ki. Everything else would rely on her own efforts, but, with a 24:1 diorama, her potential would undoubtedly blossom in a very short period of time... --- After refusing Theos attempts to get him to remain for a few days, Vahn returned to where he and Medusa were waiting before canceling his manifestation and setting out under the cover of darkness. He had likely changed the fate of the Hes Empire quite a bit just by cleaning up the Coliseum, boosting Jacks reputation, and teaching Theo how to grow stronger. He would probably need to lend them a hand in the future, but, for the time being, he had set his sights on the most famous location of Mundus Magius: Ostia, Capital of the Vespertatia Kingdom. Though it would probably throw a massive wrench in the canon history, Vahn had never cared about sticking to conventions. He knew the country was ill-fated, having less than three years until its destruction, so there was little sense in just waiting around. It might be better to focus on increasing his strength until the Great Magic War began, but, in that time period, millions of people might die. While this had very little to do with him, Vahn wasnt the type of person that would just sit on the sidelines and allow the innocent to suffer for the sake of some plot. After reaching the fabled kingdom, Vahn intended to look around for a bit to see if he could uncover any of Cosmo Entelecheias henchmen. There was even a chance he would find their actual base of operations, and, though it would likely be very difficult to just storm the ce, it was an absolute advantage knowing where it was. If the members of Rubra had been able to storm the ce, the likelihood of them being able to stop him from teleporting around was slim. If he managed to create a spatial anchor to pinpoint the location, there was a fair chance he might even be able to simply nuke the location from hundreds of thousands of kilometers away using his Lightning or Light Emperor raiments. Imagining the looks on his enemies faces as he bombarded them from a distance they likely had no means to cover, a smile spread across Vahns face. He rarely yed fair when it came to viins, especially those who arbitrarily perpetuated things like very and the suppression of species. They likely had some grand ambition or some higher cause, but, regardless of the merit behind their argument, their methods had earned his ire. He might notpletely wipe them out, but, if they refused to pursue a less destructive path, Vahn would allow them to feel the helplessness of their victims... --- With the Magical World only being around a third the size of Earth, it only took a few hours to fly between the Hes Empire and the Kingdom of Vespertatia. He could havepleted the trip even faster, but, just like back in the Nasuverse, Vahn generally enjoyed flying around. He enjoyed the feeling of the wind passing through his hair, and, with various creatures such as giant birds and even dragons flying around, Mundus Magicus was truly a sight to behold from above. After passing a few ces he was interested in touring at some point, such as Elfenhof and Al Jamira, Vahn finally reached the pale-blue shores that denoted the beginning of Vespertatian territory. Here, the concentration of mana was higher than virtually any other region found in the Magical World, and, as a result, Vahn could see countless Elementals frolicking amongst the dense, ruin-pocked, forests. Though there was also the asional scene of some massive creatures fighting over territory, Vespertatia gave off the impression of and untouched by the corruptive influence of civilization... Ignoring his urge to just touch down and explore the forest for a couple of days, Vahn set his sights on a rather fantastic sight, even in a ce called the Magical World: a series of massive inds floating in the sky. This was the Capital of the Vespertatian Kingdom, an archipgo of floating inds that were collectively known as Ostia, home to millions. It was one of the few ces where you could find humans and demihumans coexisting without any racial tensions, as, due to the limited living space, Ostia was very selective about who could reside there. Vahn found the idea of separating civilization and nature in this manner to be a rather novel idea. Not only was it an awe-inspiring sight to behold, but, perhaps due to the limitations that came with governing such a nation, the inds were exceptionally peaceful. Though they had a military, the main focus of Vespertatia was on magical research, academics, and reiming lost arts through archeological surveys and the analysis of ancient relics... --- After passingrgely undetected through the various barriers that surrounded the series of floating inds, Vahn found a rtively discreet location to touch down. Flight magic wasnt particrly rare in Mundus Magicus, but, unless you had something like a broom or a unique artifact, you would stand out quite a bit. Since Ostia was a rtively restricted area, they had very strict policies regarding who entered and exited the city. Customs officials in the form of Valkyrie-like Knights were constantly on patrol for any suspicious individuals, walking around with rather futuristic devices that could identify a person from their magic signature. This was a countermeasure against Transformation, Disguise, and other forms of Magic that were well-suited to things like espionage. Though their policies seemed unnecessarily strict, it wasnt difficult to understand the reason behind their caution when you imagined the aftermath of massive inds falling from the sky. Ostia was effectively a collection of giant meteors that made the one that killed the Dinosaurs seem small inparison. They may only float around 5km above the surface, but that was more than enough to trigger a devastating mass-extinction event. This was one of the reasons that Ostia was able to act as a mediator in several conflicts, as, not only did they possess some of the strongest magic users in the world, but, even if you could fight them, the consequences were, potentially, very devastating. Seeing the inds for himself, Vahn could easily understand why Arika, the future Queen of Vespertatia, had chosen to crashnd Ostia into the continental shelf. Though this earned her the title of Queen of Cmity, it prevented Cosmo Entelecheia frompleting their main objective while also ensuring that Ostia could never be used as a weapon. It was something very few would be able to pull off in her position, and, if not for the fact she had effectively turned her entire poption into ves, Vahn would have had a great deal of respect for the woman who was undoubtedly one of the Records heroines... --- As Medusa stood out quite a bit, Vahn had split into two forms, one idling about in the forests of Vespertatia as his main body explored the magical city. He noticed that people used Magic for virtually everything in Ostia, be it lighting, climate control, and waste management. There was even awork of interconnected formations that spanned the entirety of the city, making it impossible to enter certain ces unless you had permission to. This made it even harder to infiltrate without first passing through Customs, but, after changing his appearance to one of the sleeping residents, Vahn was able to trespass freely. He didnt know what would happen if the formations detected the same person in two separate locations, but, regardless of what happened, he would be able to escape. Using his borrowed form, Vahn walked through the neatly maintained streets that were lined withrge buildings, some more than twenty-stories tall. Space was limited on Ostia so most buildings, including the monstrous pceplex located on its own personal ind, were built to upy more space vertically than horizontally. They were constructed from a type of white stone that appeared to be some kind of magically reinforced concrete. This would have given the city a very samey appearance, so, to offset this, various types of nts were grown in, on, and around each structure. Seeing how neatly maintained everything was,bined with how polite and respectful the citizens were in passing, Vahns first impressions of Ostia were quite high. It might feel a little bit stuffy, especially with vignt patrols constantly gliding between the buildings, but the vast majority of residents seemed truly happy. He hadnt seen a single instance of a stable human and demihuman family in the Hes Empire, but, here in Ostia, it seemedmon. This was likely due to many couples migrating to Ostia after falling in love, turning the city into a haven for those who were unfairly ostracized by their home countries. Though Ostia undoubtedly had its fair share of problems, poption and resources being the two most notable, it was easily the most progressive nation prior to the Great Magic War. This made it worth protecting, so, after spending more than an hour just watching people happily go about their lives, Vahn began making his way toward therger of the Pces located near the westernmost region of Ostia. There were more than a dozen total ptial structures, but, as was often the case, Vahn assumed thergest belonged to the reigning Queen, Anarchia Entheofushia, the sickly mother of the future queen, Arika Anarchia Entheofushia. The Ostian Royal Family was a matriarchal lineage that had developed the habit of naming their Descendents in ordance with their ancestral Matriarchs. This meant that, as the future Queen of Vespertatia, Arika inherited the name of her mother and grandmother. Her firstborn daughter would then inherit her name, and, until the line of session branched, this would continue regardless of how many names a person inherited. Vahn found this to be more than a little excessive, but, as his own Empire had quite a few unique traditions, he decided not to judge... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Theo about to be the new protagonist,Vahn actually managed to avoid stopping over at a country of Elves!?,Imagine a ninth-generation Queen (o .o)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1546 Noh

Chapter 1546 Noh

Far more so than the Imperial Pce of the Hes Empire, the pces designed to protect the Ostian Royal Family were surrounded by aprehensive set of barriers. With a cursory scan, Vahn was able to sense a total of thirty-nine, but, trusting his instincts, he spent the better part of an hour probing a total of 108 barriers. There was even one that sent out an invisible pulse of nigh-undetectable magical energy several times every second, scanning and mapping the interior for any sign of change. Vahn was confident in his stealth capabilities, but, seeing how ridiculous the defenses of the main Pce were, he had to consider his options properly unless he wanted to earn the ire of the Royal Family. This didnt particrly matter, but, with artifacts like Theos cloak, which had the ability to even fool his conventional scans, Vahn couldnt underestimate the capabilities of the Akamatsuverse. There were even entire schools of martial arts that revolved around killing Immortals, so, evenpared to the Nasuverse it had a few concepts that could setbacks his n quite a bit... After thinking for the better part of half an hour, Vahn decided it might be best to simply go forward with his actual identity. He was intending to make a name for himself, and, though it would probably be troublesome in the future, having connections to the Ostian Royal Family wasnt necessarily bad. He already intended to save the doomed nation, so, even if he wanted to try and y the part of a mysterious stranger, there were no merits. Rather, he was nning to draw out Cosmo Entelecheia by bing a thorn in their side, a n benefited from a more direct approach. With his mind made up, Vahn adorned the casual attire he often wore while fulfilling his duties as an Emperor. He had be quite fond of the outfit, and, though it made him seem like an anime protagonist that never changed their style of dress, this was actually very normal within the Records. Though things like fashion existed, a surprising number of people, including the residents of the Inner Sanctum, gravitated towards the same type of outfit. (A/N: Vahns casual attire is literally what he wears on the cover.) As if a switch had been flipped, a regal and mildly suppressive aura immediately radiated out from Vahn the moment he donned his usual attire. It wasnt as impressive as it had been in the Nasuverse, but, with hundreds of Elementals happily gathering around him, Vahn felt it would suffice for his intentions. By the time he had finished his preparations, Vahn noticed a total of thirty-five Magic-Knights converging on his position. He found their Valkyrian-like armor rather intriguing, as, in a way, it was simr to the exoskeletons that had been produced by Da Vinci. They were significantly less advanced, making them somewhat bulky and hard to move around in, but they were still quite remarkable to observe due to the skilled piloting of the Ostian Royal Militia... Seeing their quarry standing stationary, the Captain of the Squadron descended with a rather unnecessary hero-stylending before rising to their feet and saying, "State your identity and purpose! This is a forbidden area and you are not a registered citizen of Ostia! If you refuse to cooperate, we are authorized to use deadly force...!" With his hands casually folded behind his back, Vahn turned toward the man before calmly stating, "Inform your Queen that the Sage Dragon Emperor has arrived. I will give you three hours to pass my message and return to me. After that, I will enter the Pce directly. Know that I do not seek conflict with your people, but, if you attempt to bar my passage, I will have little choice but to act." Finished with his words, Vahn closed his eyes and pretended to ignore the encirclement that was meant to cut off his escape. This was enough to trigger a few rm bells in the Captains mind, so, rather than immediately ordering Vahns arrest, he pulled out a device that looked like arge pocket watch, but, instead of a clock face, it had an emerald green liquid inside of it. This was a device used to make an approximation of a persons strength and determine if they were hostile, but, much to the Captains surprise, it didnt seem capable of detecting the energy of the man silently standing before them. Suddenly feeling as though this was a matter above his paygrade, the Captain signaled for the encirclement to widen. He decided it was best to simply cordon off the area, report the situation to his superior officer, and request backup from other squadrons. There was even a chance the target was familiar with a member of the Royal Family, so, until more information could be obtained, treating him as a dangerous yet safe entity was the best way to mitigate casualties and coteral damage... Vahn was somewhat surprised by the level-headedness of the Captain, but, considering how peaceful and orderly Ostia was, it wasnt too surprising. It was a testament to how disciplined the Ostian Royal Militia was, a stark contrast to the rather disorderly Imperial Guards that had been present in the Hes Empire. He couldnt even sense one with a ckened aura, giving the entire squadron a very righteous vibe... --- After a surprisingly short period of time, roughly seven minutes, Vahn was surprised to sense more than two-hundred people surrounding him. This wasnt particrly noteworthy, but, as if they were a singr entity, all 219 members spontaneously adopted a position of attention. At the same time, a peculiar Airfish, shaped and styled much like a goldfish, approached from the direction of the Pce. It was apanied by a small squadron of shark-like Airfish that were basically the fighter jets of the Magical World, each capable of hypersonic speeds and equipped with twin-mounted magic cannons and a host of barrier-breaking missiles. Though the entire scene was quite something, Vahn took special note of the fact that there was a barrier around the goldfish-like ship that made it difficult to detect. It seemed to have a function that looped back the magical energy output of its engineers, recycling it to be used in the forward mana battery, a massive cannon that could even blow off the top of a mountain when fully charged. Even without having the situation exined, the actions of the Royal Knights and the emblem painted on the side of the goldfish were obvious indicators that a member of the Royal Family was on board. This was a rather curious development, as, even after introducing himself by his title, Vahn hadnt expected them toe out and greet him. This improved his opinion of the Ostian Royal Family quite a bit, as it was indicative of humility rarely found in Aristocratic lines. Withoutnding, the goldfish-like Airfish stopped around two-hundred meters from Vahns position, just outside the encirclement. Then, from the aft section of the ship, a young woman of around 14-15 years old leaped out, the hem of her pink dress fluttering gracefully as she descended silently to the ground. She had neatly trimmed golden hair that extended past the small of her back, and, despite her rtively small frame, there was a phenomenal amount of power swirling about inside of her. Sensing the presence of Divine Energy within the womans body, Vahn now understood why Royal Magic was so much more powerful than normal Magic. Higher forms of energy had the inherent ability to suppress others, and, especially when it was derived from higher Laws. He could tell that the pseudo-divinity contained in the womans body was the power of Creation itself, so, unless someone used the Laws of Destruction against her, she had a nigh-absolute advantage against most people... Waiting until the woman was only a few meters away, Vahn opened his eyes, a casual smile spreading across his face as he said, "You do me a great honor, Princess, personallying to receive me. It is no wonder the Ostian Royal Family is held in such high regard. Now, I am even more certain about my decision to lend you my aid..." Showing absolutely no change in her expression, giving her the appearance of an ice queen, the Princess stated, "I am Arika Anarukia Enteofyushia, Queen-Incumbent of the Kingdom of Vespertatia. Pray tell, Sage Dragon Emperor, why have youe here?" Towards the end of her introduction and questioning, Vahn noticed Arikas heterochromatic eyes flicker towards the Elementals in his surroundings. It seemed that there was more to her peculiar green and blue eyes than their beauty, causing Vahn to smile as he grabbed one of the Elementals from his shoulder and presented it to her. After staring at what most believed to be an empty hand, Arika attempted to grasp the tiny Wood Elemental, but, unlike Vahn, her fingers passed through it as if it didnt exist. The fact she had actively tried to grab it, however, was enough to confirm that she could actually see them. This showed she had a rtively pure heart, as, ording to most studies, the only people able to see Nascent Elementals, besides those with the innate talent, were children and exceptionally pure-hearted individuals. With his impression of the Princess improving by the moment, Vahn lightly chuckled before saying, "Dont let it bother you. The fact you can even see them speaks volumes about your character, Princess. As for the reason behind my visit, it is as I stated previously: I havee to provide aid. I only hope your status as Queen-incumbent is a precautionary measure, as it would be truly regretful if my arrival was toote..." Understanding the meaning behind Vahns words, Arika showed an almost imperceptible amount of surprise, asking, "You havee to help my Mother? Do you truly possess such capabilities?" Noticing the skepticism visible in Arikas eyes, Vahn resisted the urge to roll his eyes, smiling as he stated, "Though my primary title is Sage Dragon Emperor, those privy to the truth of my identity also know me as another name: Godhand. It does not matter the severity of the injury, the potency of the poison, or the power of the curse. So long as even a sliver of life remains, I can prolong it indefinitely." Though she would normally take such ims with a grain of salt, the rather ridiculous number of Elementals around Vahn lent some credibility to his im. When she first heard the reports of someone referring to themselves with three prestigious titles, Arikas first thought was that he was just some conman that wanted to win the favor of the Royal Family. She had originallye with the intention of driving him away, but, now that she saw him up close, hope began to return to her weary heart... After several seconds of silence, Arika surprised the surrounding Knights by saying, "There is no need for further caution. For the time being, the Sage Dragon Emperor is a personal guest of the Ostian Royal Family. Return to your duties." As the orders of their Queen were absolute, every member of the Royal Knights answered with a perfectly timed salute. Vahn even suspected the Commander and Captains had some kind of device that automated the reaction with the activation of an unnamed spell... Understanding that Arika was making a gesture of good faith, Vahn gave an appreciative nod before following behind her as she led the way towards her rather unique Airfish. Then, using seamless flight magic, she ascended towards the aft entrance of the ship without looking over her shoulder to see if he could do the same. This was rather amusing, so, giving in to his bad habit, Vahn used a nigh-instantaneous [Koku Shundo] to appear on the ships deck, his arms crossed behind him as he waited for her arrival. Seeing the strange man waiting for her, Arika fought hard to resist the urge to look over her shoulder. She had the distinct impression she was being messed with, so, after softlynding on the deck, shebed through her long bangs,mon in the Akamatsuverse, and asked, "Does the Sage Dragon Emperor enjoy showing off his skills?" Not expecting such aposed response, Vahns brows raised slightly as he stated, "When you are faced with a life of perpetuity, it is important to find ways to keep yourself entertained. I generally restrain myself during serious situations, but, when the conditions allow, I can be rather mischievous. I will not ask for your forgiveness, only that you do not take my asional teasing to heart." Hearing Vahns response, Arika gave an understanding nod before walking past him and descending into the ship. She was tempted to ask him about his age and origins, but, feeling as though he was trying to bait her, she decided to momentarily shelve her curiosity. The most important thing was confirming whether or not he could actually help her mother. If he turned out to be full of hot air, she would not hesitate to personally beat him down with her bare fists. Unaware of the judgment that had already been made against him, Vahn followed Arika into the ship, surprised to find itpletely empty. It could easily house a small group of people,plete with four rooms, a full-sized bath, and a kitchte, so he had expected there to be a small crew onboard. Instead, it seemed like the peculiar ship was Arikas personal craft, and, though it wasnt nearly as advanced as something like Ark, it actually had a rudimentary AI to keep it under control when she wasnt aboard... Noticing the surprise visible in Vahns eyes, a small feeling of pride welled up inside of Arika. It didnt show on her face, not in the slightest, but she always enjoyed the reactions of guests when they first entered her Airfish. It was something she had designed herself, and, though it was ultimately built by a team of specialist engineers, she still took great pride in it. After taking a seat at the helm, Arika began to manually pilot the Airfish toward the back of the main pce, the location of the Royal Familys personal Fishport. There, quite a number of unique Airfish could be seen, most of which were designed by Arika herself. She might not be very expressive, leading some to refer to her as Noh Mask Princess and Ice Queen, but that didnt mean she was without passions. It wasnt well-known outside of the Pce, but she was actually something of a battle and adrenaline junky. If not for her status as the Crown Princess, she would have liked to travel the world and enter international Airfish races, conquering the skies and bing Queen of the Airtrack. Unfortunately, with the burden of rulership ced upon her shoulders, Arika had to keep her passions under control. She could not afford to be emotional as the lives of millions of people were in her care. If she made a mistake, countless lives could be lost, and, with the threat of a global war lingering over her throughout her entire life, she had to be prepared to make hard decisions in order to protect her people. This was her fate as the future Queen of Vespertatia, something she could never escape... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "Deadly force? Heh...",Is this the power of fate!?,Feels like all good Aristocrats dont like being Aristocrats...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1547 Capabilities

Chapter 1547 Capabilities

After docking her Airfish in a personalized hangar, Arika led Vahn to a location deep within the confines of the Sun Pce, the central hub of the Royal Pce Complex. She didnt waste time trying to exin the significance of any of the structures, and, much to his surprise, Vahn noticed there were very few people living inside the massive structure. In fact, it was simr to a ghost town,plete with a rather dreary and depressive atmosphere. There werent even any guards, and, rather than rely on living servants or ves, the Pces maintenance was left to doll-like automatons and aprehensivework of enchantments that kept everything in a pristine state. Though it was just a guess, Vahn imagined the cold and distant countenance of Arika was the direct result of the Royal Familys apparent istion. Other than a few historical artifacts and the asional painting, there were no gaudy ornamentations in the pce. There were also no Noble families outside of the Ostian Royal Family itself, so, unlike other nations, there was no infighting. Rather, there was a startlingck of corruptive elements within the ce, almost as if the people within were far removed from the affairs and sensibilities of the outside world. After mapping most of the Royal Pce, including several hidden areas that his domain failed to probe, Vahn found himself outside a chamber that was seemed to shine like the sun. It was drastically different than the rest of the pce,plete with a bed that was infused with tens of thousands of gems known as Sunstones. The frame of the bed, formed from a silvery-gold alloy of Mithril and Sacred Gold, would be enough to fund the military spending of an entire nation for ten years. Though it might seem excessively gaudy, Vahn knew the true purpose of the bed was simply to preserve the life of its inhabitant, a frail-looking woman with features simr to Arika, albeit far more mature. Had her cheeks not sunken in, giving her a vaguely skeletal appearance, she would have easily been a world-ss beauty. Instead, she looked like someone with two feet in the grave, her body emaciated to the point that her joints were thicker than the limbs they supported... Despite appearing at though she was awaiting the arrival of the Reaper, the womans eyes still shone with a considerable amount of vitality. Her heterochromatic eyes showed absolutely no signs of fear or resignation, the emotionsmonly seen in the nearly-deceased. Instead, her eyes reflected incredible wisdom,passion, and a small amount of curiosity. If she still had the ability to speak, Vahn had no doubt she would have greeted him cordially despite having no idea who he was... Approaching her mothers side, Arika showed the closest thing to an emotion Vahn had seen, her brows furrowing slightly in consternation as she exined, "Mother, this man is called the Sage Dragon Emperor. Though I know little about him, his connection with the Elementals is unlike anything I have ever seen. He ims to be able to treat your condition. It might be due to my inexperience, but I have chosen to believe his words..." Hearing her daughters exnation, the sickly woman, Anarchia Entheofushia, offered a weak smile as she tried and failed to squeeze her daughters hand. She wanted to say that her time hade, but, seeing the hope contained within her usually expressionless daughters gaze, she didnt mind humoring her. She could also sense something peculiar about the man who was closely observing her with pale-golden eyes. It was almost as if he could see through all the truths of the world, but, rather than make her feel ufortable, a sense of relief spread through her tired body. Interpreting her mothers smile as consent, Arika hardened her heart before looking back at Vahn and saying, "I have ced my trust in you. If you try-" As he had long since grown tired of hearing such arbitrary threats, Vahn raised his hand to silence Arika, stating, "Do not insult me. You wille to learn that the promise of the Sage Dragon Emperor carries more weight than you can possibly imagine. I have stated I can cure your mother, and I will do just that. By bringing me here, you have already proven your worth as a Queen. Do not insult both of us by questioning your own judgment. Now, step aside." Though she was not fond of being interrupted and chided, Arika gave an understanding nod before following obediently moving aside. She wasnt entirely sure why, but his authoritative and firm tone made her feel at ease. She had never had anything like a father figure, so, for a very brief moment, Arikas wondered whether or not this was how it felt to be chided by your father... Unaware of Arikas thoughts, Vahn approached the sickly Anarchia, aforting smile on his face as he exined, "I will try to avoid anything too invasive, but you may have to suffer a bit of indignity. Dont worry, once Ive cured you, youll have plenty of time to find it in your heart to forgive me..." Ignoring the icy gaze burrowing into the back of his skull, Vahn gingerly picked up Anarchias wrist, testing her pulse and scanning her body directly. It didnt take him long to find out what the problem was, exining, "You overtaxed the energy hidden within your blood, causing an imbnce that your magical energy could not supplement. Now, in order to sustain itself, the energy in your blood is consuming your vitality directly, drastically reducing your lifespan..." Hearing Vahns prognosis, Arika took it upon herself to exin, "Two years ago, Mother used her power to preserve the life of her younger sister during childbirth. A few months after that, she fell very ill and no doctors had been able to exin the reason why. Is what you say really the truth?" Without turning to meet Arikas gaze, Vahn inly stated, "Though I understand the reason, I have grown weary of people questioning my skills. You have my gratitude for the information, but, if you are going to continue asking me questions, please leave the room..." Though he could understand why people would be concerned when the matter concerned a person they loved, he would never understand how they justified pestering him when he was already in the middle of treatment. Nothing he said ever ayed their concerns, and, if not for his supreme level of focus when it came to performing medical treatments, there was always a chance their meddling could lead to tragedy. Sensing the severity in Vahns tone, Arika loosely balled her hands into fists before choosing to remain silent. He seemed to know what he was talking about, so, at least for the time being, she decided to simply observe. If he ended up failing, however, she decided she would break most of the bones in his body before turning him over to the Academy Medical Center, giving apprentice physicians a chance to work with a critical patient... --- With Arika no longer providing any distractions, Vahn began to infuse his Source Energy into Anarchias body. It would be infinitely better if he removed her clothes and treated each part of her body directly, but, knowing this wouldnt end well, he decided to focus on stabilizing her condition. Additional treatments couldeter, and, while it was possible to heal her in a single sitting, Vahn felt it would be less jarring if he took his time. Anarchia would require a long period of rehabilitation just to restore the condition of her body, so there was no need to rush things. Feeling strength gradually return to her body, despite the fact Vahn was just holding onto her wrist, various thoughts began to race through Anarchias mind. She actually felt like he wasnt using his full capabilities, seemingly out of consideration for her state. Despite this, she could feel warmth and feeling returning to her limbs. She could even feel a burning sensation in her legs and toes, appendages that had started to turn gangrenous over the past few days. She had even been able to wiggle her toes slightly, something that should have been impossible due to their previous state of decay. Feeling Anarchia guide her intent through her own body, Vahn, with his eyes closed, gently squeezed her wrist, whispering, "I understand your surprise, but you shouldnt interfere with my treatment. Rx your mind and leave your body to me. By the time Im finished with this preliminary treatment, you will even be able to walk around. Remain patient and let me do my job..." Hearing Vahns words, Anarchia had a lot she wanted to say, and, based on the sore feeling in her throat, she knew it was possible for her to speak. Instead, she followed the example of her daughter, remaining silent and simply letting the mysterious man treat her aching body. Prior to his treatment, the only thing she felt was a tremendous amount of fatigue and an agonizing cold. Now, warmth had returned to her body, and, though it brought a considerable amount of pain, a rxed smile could be seen blossoming across her face... --- Nearly twelve hours after his treatment had begun, a small amount of sweat had umted on Vahns brow. He had kept his Magia Erebea constitution sealed whenever he wasnt night-lighting as Eva, so, contrary to his usual self, he could experience fatigue. More than physical, however, he was experiencing mental and spiritual exhaustion. Though it might look like he was just holding onto Anarchias wrist, it took an extreme amount of focus to guide his energy through theplex pathways of a humans body while only holding their wrist. It was simr to trying to imagine the structure of the human body in its entirety, ounting for more than seven-trillion nerves and an even more ridiculous number of cells... Fortunately, Vahn had the experience of literally creating bodies from scratch, including his own, so he was one of the best suited to such a difficult task. If he wanted to, he could create an entirely new body for Anarchia to inhabit, one that was indistinguishable from her current form. This, however, was something he would only do under very specific circumstances, not something he would do just to treat an imbnce of energy... To his surprise, Vahn could sense Arika pull out a handkerchief in order to wipe his brow, but, as it had already been twelve hours, he took the initiative to remove his hand, using his sleeve to be rid of the perspiration. This caused her to quickly conceal the handkerchief, and, as if he hadnt noticed it, Vahn focused on Anarchia, exining, "You are undoubtedly aware of it, but I cannot treat your body by just holding your wrist. Even without further treatment, however, it is possible for you to make a full recovery. So long as you focus on your rehabilitation and eat healthy foods, you should be able to move around freely in around four months." Surprising her daughter, Anarchia rose to a seated position, a subtle smile on her face as she asked in a very dry voice, "Tell me...how long...if you help...?" Before answering the Queens question, Vahn pulled out a cup of mellow tea, helping her to drink it as he exined, "If I am able to make use of all my techniques, you would be able to make a full recovery in as little as two weeks. Treating your body would only take a day, but, in order to recuperatepletely, you will need to slowly increase your food intake until you are able to fully process the nutrients within. Your body is still unstable, and, if you are not careful, there is a chance you will rpse." Having wetted her parched throat, Anarchia gave an understanding nod before eloquently stating, "My daughter was wise to have ced her trust in the Sage Dragon Emperor. Though I know not if there is anything you desire, the Ostian Royal Family owes you a great debt. Lest it endangers our people, know we will do everything in our power to repay your kindness." Surprising both women, Vahn waved his hand in a dismissive manner, remarking, "My skills as a physician would be wasted if I didnt use them to help good people. Things like money and favor have no value to existences such as myself. If your family wishes to repay me, you need only to continue being kind and caring to all peoples. Now, more than ever before, the world needs the caring andpassionate to guide the people through these trying times." Awed by Vahns benevolence, Anarchia securely stowed his words in her heart before saying, "The words of the Sage Dragon Emperor are a great honor. I will carry them with me until the end of my days, passing their significance onto the generations that follow." Hearing her mothers words, Arika also nodded her head, affirming that she had also taken them to heart. She even felt ashamed of the fact she had ever questioned Vahns credibilities, as, seemingly without any effort at all, he had been able to heal her mother. This elevated his status to a level she couldnt even fullyprehend, igniting her curiosity like an inferno... Seemingly just as curious, Anarchia went on to say, "I am curious, however...where does the Sage Dragon Emperore from? I mean no offense, but I have never had the pleasure of hearing about your eminence prior to today..." Waving his hand once again, Vahn shamelessly stated, "Let me backtrack a bit. If possible, Id like to dismiss with formalities. I am very proud of my title as Sage Dragon Emperor, but I have never been fond of excessive politeness. My actual name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason. As people I havee to recognize, you can simply call me Vahn. As for my origin, that is aplicated matter I cant really talk about. Just know that I am not from this world, my Empire does exist, and, yes, I am an Ancient Dragon. In fact, I am something a little bit higher than that, though, based on a variety of circumstances, I cant rify how." Though she was a little surprised by the sudden change in tone, Anarchia still managed an, "I see..." before adding, "Very well, Vahn. Please, feel free to call me Ana from now on. Though it goes against my principles to address someone outside the Royal Family without formalities, I believe this is a suitable situation to allow an exception. You are the benefactor that had saved my life, and, were it mine to give, I would have willingly dedicated my remaining days to your service. It is a shame, but, so long as I draw breath, I must attend my people." Hearing Anas words, Vahn issued a light chuckle before winking yfully as he said, "That is a real shame. Fortunately, like your people are lucky to have you, I am fortunate to have quite a number of people at my side. It might be a little shameless of me to admit, but my Imperial Harem has nearly reached a hundred people. I might not have any trouble ensuring their happiness, but I do feel a little guilty whenever I get involved with another woman." Though harems werent particrly rare, both Anarchia and Arika were a little shocked by the boldness of Vahns statement. They both got the impression he was messing with them, but, at the same time, his words carried a sincere undertone. As a result, Arika felt as if her hands had be slightly mmy while Anarchia, more experienced with such things, internally remarked, ("A Dragon, indeed...") (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn about to give this woman eternal youth out of spite xD,Listen to this guyining. Its only seven-trillion nerves and thirty-trillion cells. Ezpz,It seems like Vahn had grown more honest and direct...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1548 Secrets : Simple

Chapter 1548 Secrets : Simple

In order toplete Anas treatment, Vahn ultimately epted her offer to reside within one of the many empty rooms of the pce. There were a number of things he was curious about, but, more than anything else, he wanted to bait out Cosmos Entelecheia. He would not allow them to bring Ostia to ruin, as, despite its ws, it was easily the most progressive Kingdom in the Magical World. It served as an example of what the other countries could be, so, in lieu of expanding his Empire, he could lend them a bit of support in the hopes of making the world a better ce. Fortunately, due to how empty the pceplex was, Medusa didnt seem to mind staying for a few days. She even seemed to get along rtively well with most members of the Royal Family,rgely due to the fact they were very taciturn by nature. They could speak eloquently when the situation called for it, but, unlike normal people, they would spend hours at a time just sitting in silence, even when others were present. It was almost like they had no emotions or personalities, onlying to life when they were required to fulfill their duties as members of the Royal Family... In total, despite a history that dated back to the establishment of Mundus Magicus, there were only five members of the Royal Family. These were the former Queen, Anarachia, her younger sister, who was actually her niece, Vesperina, the incumbent Queen, Arika, and the daughter of Vesperina, a two-year-old girl with red pigtails and a perpetually nk expression, Asuna. As for the final member of the Royal Family, Vahn only knew that she existed, something Ana had attested to but could speak no further of. The Ostian Royal Family seemed to hold a number of secrets, but, the ones which stood out the most were the methods in which they ruled and their manner of reproduction. There were no Ministers anywhere within the pceplex, and, though there were quite a number of influential people within Ostia itself, the Royal Family seemed to have absolute authority in all state, civil, and military affairs. From Vahns perspective, the Ostian Royal Family were closer to Gods than a traditional family of Aristocrats. They seemed to solely produce female Descendents, and, after getting to know both of them, Vahn learned that neither Arikia or Asuna had a father. When he tried to inquire further, he was surprised to learn from Anarchia that, depending on the needs of the people and the state of the world, they would naturally produce offspring... --- The more he interacted with the Ostian Royal Family, the more incongruities Vahn noticed in regards to their existence. They were great rulers who cared about their people and the state of the Magical World as a whole, but, much like Greater Spirits or Gods, they seemed to exist only to fulfill their purpose. He could tell they werentpletely emotionless, as even Asuna had her fair share of quirks, but they willingly suppressed their own wants and needs in order to better serve the duties and responsibilities assigned to them. Even without exposing the truth, it wasnt difficult to extrapte that the Ostian Royal Family had basically been programmed to think and behave a certain way. Their lineage could be traced back to the Mage of the Beginning herself, so the most likely truth was that they had, quite literally, been created to govern the Magical World. They were simply too perfect as rulers, and, based on the orderly structure of their nation, despite theck of Ministers, it was obvious there were other factors at y to ensure peace and stability were maintained. With his knowledge of both the past and future, Vahn felt the existence of the Ostian Royal Family was a little strange. The fact they existed at all showed that, at some point in time, the Mage of the Beginning wasnt evil. Rather, ording to legend, Mundus Magicus had been created specifically to escape hatred and persecution back on Earth. It was intended to be a Utopia where Mages could live in peace and harmony, coexisting with nature and enjoying a life free from suffering. Vahn couldnt be certain when it had happened, but, at some point in rtively recent history, the Mage of the Beginning had simply given up on trying to create a paradise. She seemed to have grown jaded, and, based on his own experiences, Vahn could understand why. Creating a perfect world was simply impossible as the Universe itself always sought to create a bnce between positive and negative karma. This was inarguably one of the most frustrating truths about the world, and, if you have apassionate or empathetic nature, you were bound to face countless difficulties on your quest to ensure the happiness of others. As someone walking a simr path, Vahn could empathize with the difficulties that had been faced by the Mage of the Beginning. He still couldnt condone what she had done, however, so, regardless of the truth, they would likely remain enemies. She likely had a number of ways to justify her actions, but, with the fate of every resident of Mundus Magicus on the line, there was little chance they could reach apromise. At this point, it was better for her to die and reincarnate, freeing her from the broken existence she had be after straying too far from the path she had initially decided upon... --- Thirteen days after his arrival in Ostia, Vahn could be found in what some would consider a rather scandalous position. He had Ana, now looking more beautiful than ever,ying naked atop one of his massage tables. His hands moved slowly but with purpose as he meticulously massaged each of her major muscle groups. She had just recently finished an arduous session of rehabilitation so he was helping to loosen up her muscles while also removing any negative seque that may have appeared after pushing her recovering body to its limits... As was often the case during times like this, Vahn had an attentive audience of expressionless people watching from the side. These were obviously Arika, the near-identical, albeit far more mature, Vesperina, and, the only one with truly distinct features, Asuna. Unlike everyone else, the doll-like two-year-old had reddish-orange hair that was neatly tied, using golden ribbons, into pigtails. Even her eye color was inverted, making her left a sapphire blue and her right an emerald green, the exact opposite of the golden-haired beauties surrounding her. With his knowledge of the future, Vahn knew Asuna yed a major role in the ns of Cosmo Entelecheia. Though the details were not recorded in history, things such as her rescue during the Great Magic War and her future as one of the great heroes of the Magical World had been written down and passed into legend. This was no real surprise, as, after meeting her for the first time, Vahn had been gobsmacked at just how powerful the flow of fate around Asuna waspared to virtually everyone else... Though Arikas own fate was noteworthy, it was inconsequentialpared to the tiny girl that, over thest few days, had followed Vahn virtually everywhere. It was likeparing a puddle that formed after the rain to a literal ocean, and, after having her follow him around for a few days, Vahn felt as if his own fate was beginning to mix into the powerful flow that followed the admittedly adorable girl everywhere she went. He could, of course, simply ignore this, but, as it seemed like she would experience great tragedy if he left her alone, Vahn had been doting on Asuna quite a bit over the past two weeks... After firmly pressing into the final few pressure points of Anas body, causing a drawn-out sigh to escape her lips, Vahn pulled two towels out of thin air, one for himself and one for her as he said, "At this point, you could probably live for another hundred years without any problems. I have enjoyed these little sessions of ours, but, unfortunately, all good things muste to an end." Hearing Vahns words, Ana rose to a seated position, dabbing away her sweat without actually trying to cover her naked body as she said, "That is truly unfortunate. I have grown rather fond of these treatments. Your skills are truly befitting the title of Godhand." Having grown ustomed to Anas praise, Vahn shamelessly nodded his head, adding, "But of course. I am no braggart, so, if I say my skills are unrivaled, it is an objective truth. Though I might pale inparison to some specialists, my overall skill is something even gods would envy." Amused by Vahns words, Ana adopted a hint of a smile as she muttered, "Ah, yes, how could I forget such a simple truth? This Queen is grateful for the Sage Dragon Emperors lesson..." In response to Anas words, Vahn theatrically puffed his chest out while raising his chin high enough that he could stare directly at the ceiling. Then, after several seconds of silence, it was Asuna who stated, "Bad acting..." in a small voice. This shattered the tensions, causing Vahn to chuckle lightly as Ana, Vesperina, and Arika all adopted slight smiles... --- While waiting for Ana to return from her bath, Vahn, alongside Medusa, was preparing a meal for everyone as Arika and Asuna closely observed from the side. He had grown used to being observed by the taciturn duo over thest two weeks, so, while it was a little strange, Vahn let them do as they pleased. He knew they were simply curious, and, with little to do but research and train, they had made a habit of simply observing how he lived and behaved. When Vahn had first arrived in the pce, all food had been prepared automatically using a very advanced kind of Magic that automated the entire process from ingredient preparation to dishwashing. The tools had literally operated themselves, moving as though a full staff of ghosts had been preparing the meals. It was quite a sight to behold, but, after just two days of eating nd yet nutritious food, Vahn had decided to take matters into his own hands. Since then, he and Medusa had prepared food for everyone in the pce, adding variety and vor to the colorless lives of the machine-like women... Smelling the fragrant aroma wafting through the kitchen, Asunas tiny nose twitched a few times before she monotonously asked, "Vahn, what are you making...?" Hearing the expected question, Vahn issued a light chuckle before pulling out adle filled with a creamy red liquid and saying, "Come and have a taste. Be careful, though, as it is still a little hot." Without further questioning, Asuna hopped off the counter in a rather nimble fashion before making her way over to the proffereddle. Then, like a rabbit or a tiny kitten, she spent a few seconds just sniffing at the unknown substance before very tentatively licking a small amount. This caused her eyes to immediately widen, not because it was hot, but because it was much sweeter than expected. Enjoying the reaction of the usually expressionless girl, Vahn adopted a teasing smile as he exined, "This is my special curry blend,bining both sweet and savory vors in a way that is appealing to both children and adults. Is it suitable for the Princess pte~?" Adopting a tiny frown, Asuna, who was only around 86cm tall, looked directly at him as she stated, "I dont like it when you call me Princess." After cing thedle back into the pot, causing a defeated atmosphere to permeate around Arika, Vahn gently ruffled Asunas hair, saying, "Sorry, sorry, I was just teasing you a bit. Dont be too upset, okay, Asuna...?" Furtherpleting the illusion of a cat, Asuna closed her eyes whenever she received head pats, her mouth forming a shape simr to an inverted v as she enjoyed his habitual disy of affection. She only responded when he pulled his hand away, opening her eyes with a slightly aggrieved look as she muttered, "Okay..." before scampering over to where Arika was being moody. Seeing the look in the expressionless young womans eyes, Vahn maintained his smile as he picked up anotherdle and asked, "Mind giving me your impression as well, Arika? When ites to the food everyone enjoys together, the more input I have, the better it will be." Though it didnt show on her face, Arika seemed more than happy to give her input, walking over with graceful yet hasted steps before answering, "I understand. Since you go out of your way to prepare delicious meals for everyone, this is the least I can do." Since Arika hade over a little too quickly, the curry was still a little too hot to sample for a normal person. Vahn could have let her burn her tongue, but, knowing every member of the Royal Family had what some referred to as a cats tongue, he moved thedle away from her face and said, "Woah now, no need to rush. Let it cool down a bit before you taste it. It would be difficult to give your opinion if you end up burning your tongue..." Though she was near twice the height of Asuna, 163cm tall, Arika still had to turn her head up if she wanted to make eye contact with Vahn. This gave her expressionless face the quality of a girl pouting as she inly asked, "Do you enjoy teasing me so?" Ignoring Arikas usation, Vahn made a small swirl with his finger, creating a miniature air current to rapidly cool down the curry before presenting it to her and saying, "Let me know what you think." Though she still felt as though Vahn was teasing her, Arika only hesitated for a few seconds before sampling the curry. The first thing she noticed, other than the rich yet sweet vor, was that thedle was still a little hot. This made her feel a little guilty, but, knowing there was a fair chance he was still teasing her, she ultimately withheld her apology, saying, "It is a very sweet yet mellow vor...did you mix in coconut...and some kind of fruit?" Shaking his head, Vahn exined, "You might taste something simr to mango, but that is abination of the cumin powder, ginger, and honey. These would normally be even more mellow, but, by producing the curry powder using ingredients rich with magical energy, it is possible to create a bnce between the vors. So, what do you think...?" As if it was a serious matter, Arika lowered her head in contemtion for nearly a full minute before ultimately nodding her head and saying, "It is good. Thank you for letting me sample it." Choosing not toment about how long it took for Arika to say something so simple, Vahn just smiled before lightly ruffling the young womans hair as he said, "Youre wee, Arika." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Two empaths on a collision course,Vahn is like a strange creature to these girls xD...,Arika wants to be spoiled (UwU)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1549 Conflict : Acquiescence

Chapter 1549 Conflict : Acquiescence

Though there was a spacious dining hall that could have easily sat more than a thousand people without any issues, Vahn had taken the liberty to repurpose one of the smaller rooms nearest the kitchen into a family-sized dining room. He felt it was depressing to sit in such a massive hall with so few people, so, after discussing the matter with Ana and Vesperina, this was the solution he hade up with. Once everyone had taken their seats, with his own chair nked by Medusa and Asuna, Vahn made a show of things by slowly pping his hands. Every time he did, a new item would appear on the table, be it tableware, tes, or food. Magic was nothing new to them, but, as they were unable to understand the mechanics behind his Inventory, their eyes showed intrigue no matter how many times he awed them. Ever the inquisitive type, Asuna picked up her tiny spoon, asking in her usual monotone, "How...?" Hearing the oft-asked question, Vahn smiled in a way that caused Asuna to immediately pout as he inly, and honestly, answered, "Its because Im the Sage Dragon Emperor." Since his Inventory was actually like its own self-contained Realm, one where Laws didnt exist, it was not something that he could really exin. There were a number of different types of spatial artifacts and armament systems within the Akamatsuverse, but these were all rtively simple in both design and concept. Comparing his system functions to anything that actually existed was very difficult, and, as discussing The Path could have disastrous consequences, Vahn had little choice but to chalk it up to his existence itself. Ignoring the usatory re she was sending his way, Vahn scooped up a spoonful of curry before aiming toward the pouting princess face and saying, "Open up. Say aaaah~." Though her stare became even harder at first, Asuna ultimately relented after a few seconds, biting down on the spoon without making a sound. Seeing how well her daughter was getting along with Vahn, Vesperina adopted a slight smile with a motherly look in her eyes as she said, "Asuna is blessed to have someone to dote on her like this. It did not bother me much when I was her age, but, as I grew into a young woman, I began to feel as though something was missing in my life. It is a selfish request, but please continue to treat her well from now on..." Without minding the fact that her daughter was present, Ana nodded her head, adding, "I, too, ask that you treat Asuna well. Growing up without a father is a difficult thing. Truthfully, I would like you to treat my daughter in the same way. She might put on a strong front, but I am well-aware of the mes that burn within her heart. After all, I was young once. We all harbor the desire to experience the world beyond these walls, but, for the sake of our people, we must remain steadfast..." Hearing her mothers words, Arika lowered her head slightly, a slightly frustrated look in her eyes as she poked at the food on her te. Since he was seated across from her, Vahn could see all of Arikas reactions, and, after thirteen days of interacting with the residents of the pce, he couldrgely understand their emotions. Because of this, he offered an understanding smile before openly stating, "I can understand why you groom your sessors like this. The world outside is full of corruptive forces, things that lead good people astray or turn them into victims. There is no end to the number of people that would exploit those weaker than themselves, many without even distinguishing between adults and children...it is one of the things that I hate most about the world..." Though he kept it under control, everyone at the table could sense the wrath bubbling beneath the otherwise cid and serene aura that surrounded Vahn. Even the Elemental Spirits, which had now turned the pce into their yground, showed genuine concern for him. Poking one of the adorable little creatures in their belly, Vahns expression returned to normal, smiling as he added, "However, with a proper foundation established on truth and trust, children can grow up into stable adults. With adequate support and understanding from their parents and guardians, children are able to blossom in any kind of environment. Even if they must oppose the literal forces of darkness, they can ovee any adversity so long as they have the memories of the people they love and the willpower to push through anything..." Since Asuna was attentively staring up at him, Vahn smiled even wider as he affectionately rubbed her head, finishing up his rather convoluted speech by saying, "Though your system is one of the best in both the New and Old Worlds, it is too stagnant. Your descendants and inheritors might be able to be great leaders, but, when true adversityes their way, the regrets they have built up by now being able to pursue their interests are what will lead them to break. At that point, only things like love and thepanionship of others can put them back together...the things they hadcked as a child..." Though he was a little foolish at times, Ana was often impressed by the great wisdom Vahn showed during serious moments. She knew he was much older than he appeared, and, after two weeks of idle conversation during tea and mealtimes, she had learned quite a bit about him. His journey was one filled with both hardship and triumph, a tale depicting the rise of a young boy into something far greater than a man. Affirming her resolve, Ana looked toward Vesperina, and, after seeing thetter nod, she adopted the closest thing to a full smile she had ever shown, stating, "Perhaps it is time for a change. As Iy dying, my thoughts often wandered to the direction this world was headed. It seems that, with each passing year, Science gradually suppresses Magic. It seems people have be more interested in simple conveniences than enriching themselves and preserving the world we live in. I fear that, with the growing rise of Science and Capitalism, the very people you warn about will begin targetting us. When that timees, I do not want my daughter and my niece to suffer as the result of a dated system..." Understanding the direction the conversation was headed, Vahn shook his head, saying, "It would not be safe for them to apany me. Depending on the circumstances, I will even be the enemy of entire nations without hesitation. Though I will do what I can to aidpetent leaders, I am more an ally of the than the people who live upon it. Soon enough, my name will spread throughout the world to a simr extent as the Dark Evangel. Is that the kind of person you want your daughters to follow?" As if they were able to silentlymunicate Ana and Vesperina looked toward each other for a few seconds, making the princess caught between them turn statuesque, her own eyes showing a bit of conflict. Then, seemingly undeterred, Vesperina was the one to say, "I cannot think of anyone more qualified to protect my daughter than a man who can confront entire nations without fear. I would like for her to experience the outside world and live freely, even if it is only for a few years. We have both sensed something more to thising war, so it would put both our hearts at ease knowing the girls were safe at your side." Though he was tempted to put more thought into it, Vahn looked toward Medusa, and, seeing the small frown on her face, he shook his head and answered, "There may be some merit to your words, but you are ignoring the ramifications of allowing your daughters to follow a man who will be a wanted criminal in the internationalmunity. I intend to help a lot of people, but I will make an enemy out of virtually every Aristocraft and Noble who prioritizes themselves over their people. You do not want-" Even before he had finished his words, Vahn could see both women more than prepared to rebut him. Before either had the chance, however, Asuna pulled on his sleeve, her heterochromatic eyes showing a considerable amount of worry as she asked, "You are leaving...?" As the youngest among the four, Asuna was the least affected by the programming that seemed to influence the other three. Despite only two weeks passing, she had already started to open her heart after witnessing so many new things. The only thing she did prior to Vahns arrival was spend all her time reading and studying, rarely even speaking unless she was confused about something. Vahn, admittedly, had a soft spot in his heart for the doll-like girl, and, knowing her future, he had actually been tempted to take her with him. So long as she was at his side, Cosmo Entelecheia was bound toe chasing after him, making it a lot easier to bait them out. This would make a lot of things easier, but, from the moment he became her protector, he basically became responsible for the fate of the entire Magical World. There was even a chance that her powerful fate was the reason behind the mothers decision to entrust their daughters with him, a man who they knew very little about other than his affinity with the Elements... Seeing Vahn hesitate to answer, Asunas expression became downcast, her hand dropping from his sleeve as she lightly muttered, "I am not hungry...excuse me..." Without waiting for permission to leave, Asuna attempted to hop up from her seat, seemingly very upset by the sudden revtion. Thest two weeks had been very fun, and, though she had never expected Vahn and Medusa to stay forever, knowing they would soon leave filled her with emotions she didnt know how to express... Before Asuna could get more than a few steps, Vahn lightly shook his head, a wry smile on his face as his figure vanished from where he had been sitting. In the next moment, he appeared in front of Asuna, who, based on the expression on her face, wanted to rage more than she wanted to cry. Seeing someone bar her passage, Asunas brows furrowed deeply, but, before she couldsh out, a confused, "Meow...?" echoed in the room as a handsome cat obscured her vision. This was the same Embercat Vahn had created in the Hes Empire, now looking nearly twice asrge as before. It, like the other Lesser Elementals, now resided in a gemstone Vahn had created to serve as both a house and a catalyst for their power. All Spirits had the inherent ability to possess items, and, as one of the best catalysts for magic, enchanted gemstones were their preferred choice. Though she was still upset, Asuna eventually grabbed the Embercat that was nearly as long as she was tall. This would have been very ufortable for a normal cat, but, seemingly understanding the reason it had been called out, the Embercat just gave a light mewl before releasing a steady and surprisingly loud purr... Observing the Embercat behaving so obediently, Medusas expression became conflicted as the image of a certain blue-haired Vanargandr popped up in her mind. This caused a sigh to escape her lips, drawing almost every set of eyes in the room toward her as she said, "Master, just say yes. You will be more worried if you leave her behind...Im sorry for being selfish..." Understanding what Medusa must be thinking, Vahn repressed a sigh as he ruffled Asunas hair and said, "Lets return to the dinner table. You dont have to eat, but were going to be discussing some very important things. You can keep Ember with you, okay?" Though she understood Vahn was trying to coax her, Asuna also knew that things were headed in a positive direction. He hadnt expressly stated he would take her with him, but, based on the flow of the conversation, there was a fair chance this would be the penultimate oue. This gave her an empty feeling in her heart, as she didnt really want to leave her mother behind, but, remembering life before Vahns arrival, she didnt want to return to how things were. The most ideal oue was for Vahn to just stay with them forever, but, knowing he had a much greater purpose, she couldnt insist he abandon the world just to appease her own selfish desires... --- After coaxing Asuna back into her seat, Vahn discussed, in no uncertain terms, what he had nned during his travels. He was going to travel through all the Sacred Lands to nourish a new generation of Great Elemental Spirits, and, depending on the circumstances, he may very well enter violent and bloody conflicts with various countries. These were things unsuitable for children to bear witness to, but, seemingly unperturbed, Ana simply stated that the protection of the Magical World had always been the main duty of the Ostian Royal Family. Ana argued that, with a war on the horizon, it was impossible for Arika and Asuna to avoid conflict and bloodshed. Arika, in particr, would have held the responsibility of acting as an intermediary in an attempt to bring the war to an end. She would have been a fifteen-year-old girl trying to keep two Superpowers from colliding, an impossible feat even for Ana herself. Unless she found powerful allies to support her, she was predestined to face many hardships while trying to argue her case in the Megalomesembrian Senate and the Imperial Court. There was little chance either side would do anything to harm her, but, as the war waged on, it was bound to cause her great mental duress. As someone who knew the history of Mundus Magicus, Vahn understood things were even worse than Ana assumed. There was a considerable amount of truth behind her words, but, what she had no means to ount for was the existence of Cosmo Entelecheia. They had yet to reveal themselves to the world, so, until he or Alba managed to expose them, they would continue to threaten the very existence of the Magical World. Evan Vahn had no way of determining exactly who their agents were, as there were plenty of powerful people doing shady things, so he could only bait them out in the hopes of exposing their true colors. Though his ultimate goal was to find and rescue Eva, Vahn knew she would not be able to rest until the Mage of the Beginning and Cosmo Entelecheia werepletely wiped out. She was one of the few people that knew the truth about them, so, by provoking the evil organization, there was a fair chance Eva would seek him out. If not, he would wipe out all of Cosmos Entelecheia by himself, and, if necessary, the Mage of the Beginning as well. Eventually, Eva was bound to reveal herself as there was simply no way she would be absent for the final confrontation against her most hated enemy. With this in mind, Vahn guided the conversation towards a conclusion, looking direct at Arika as he asked, "What do you want to do?" As she hadrgely been excluded from the discussion, much to her chagrin, Arika was momentarily at a loss when she heard Vahns sudden question. She had actually already made up her mind after realizing the direction of the conversation, but, not wanting to sound too eager, she remained silent for nearly a full minute before answering, "I want to see the world beyond the pce walls. Even if it is filled with dangers, it is my duty to protect the world and provide aid to those in need. Ostia has been a bastion to those in need for thousands of years. However, we are limited in our capacity to ept those who require our protection. I believe it is time for us to take more proactive measures so I will meet with the Great Spirits and negotiate with those willing to listen. Together, I believe we can make this world the ce our Ancestors envisioned, a world where everyone can live in peace and harmony with the world we created together..." Not expecting a sudden speech, it was Vahns turn to fall silent as he allowed Arikas words to sink in. It seemed like he had already had quite an impact on her heart and mind, but, remembering she even had the conviction to crash Ostia to the ground just to prevent the destruction of the Magical World, it wasnt too surprising. Rather, Vahns opinion of her had improved quite a bit over thest two weeks, and, though he couldnt agree with the actions her future self had made in the original timeline, it was pretty obvious history didnt ount for all the variables leading to her decisions... With his mind made up, Vahn eased Arikas growing tensions by offering an approving nod as he said, "I have said it before, but you are truly qualified to be a Queen. The path you have decided on will be wrought with difficulties, but, so long as you stay the course, you will have my support. I look forward to seeing how both you and Asuna grow during our travels. To that end, make sure you get a proper nights rest. Well be setting out tomorrow morning, and, considering I will be training you from now on, youll need all the energy you can spare..." Though she didnt anticipate Vahns final warning, Arika radiated conviction from every fiber of her being as she replied, "I will be in your care from now on...please treat us well." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn always be picking up surrogate daughters in each Record...,Medusa is going to start molting at this rate xD...,RIP Akamatsuverse. A properly trained Arika and Asuna can conquer the entire Record with ease o_o...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1550 Truth : Embellishmen

Chapter 1550 Truth : Embellishmen

Following the rather eventful dinner, Vahn returned to his room with Medusa following close behind. She was in a rather dour mood so he would need to cheer her up a bit before retiring for the evening. Tonight was one of thest nights they would be alone together, so, despite having a lot of things on his mind, he decided to pamper her quite a bit while Asuna and Arika spent the rest of the evening talking with their mothers. Truth be told, Vahn wasnt even remotely surprised things had developed in this manner, as, from the moment he decided to save Ostia, his fate had already been tied to the doomed Kingdom. This was even before he knew what kind of people the Ostian Royal Family were, so, after meeting and living alongside them, it was impossible for him to ignore their future plight. Asunas powerful fate was just one factor, and, even if he decided not to ept her as a disciple, Vahn knew their fates would constantly align so long as he remained active in the world. In the end, regardless of the decisions he made, Vahn knew his influence on the world would not be small. Even if he didnt y an active role in politics, the mere act of supporting certain people or factions all but guaranteed their meteoric rise. As his reputation grew, so too did their status and prestige for simply knowing him. They could basically use his name as a weapon, and, depending on the circumstances, he may very well enact a purge if they had made adequate preparations. Though it was somewhat irresponsible of him, one of Vahns goals in the Akamatsuverse was to see how much he could shape the world through reputation and influencing others. He would still fight against the Mage of the Beginning and Cosmo Entelecheia, but, when it came to the world atrge, his primary involvement would be through carefully chosen figures. He wanted to see if it was possible to basically be something akin to the Guardian God of the world, ensuring peace and prosperity merely by existing. Vahn had already epted that he couldnt fix everything and, though it was possible, expanding his Empire through the myriad Records would only cause problems for himself and those he cared about most. Therefore, to remain true to his ideals, he hade up with the idea of living the life of a Vagrant Hero, who, through his actions, became a deterrent force that inspired both hope and fear. This would slowly shape the world in ordance with his vision, and, after a generation or two, society would begin to implement changes that took his will into consideration, even without him having to take further action... --- After an exhaustive session of mating,sting a little over twelve hours, Vahn was reclining with Medusayingnguidly against his chest. She had a zed look in her eyes, but, in spite of this, she had no trouble conversing as she absentmindedly listened to the beating of his heart. This had allowed them to talk about everything that had happened and everything that would happen in the near future. At this point, Vahn had an adequate amount of energy to summon Fenrir, but, out of consideration for Medusa, he had dyed it. He had discussed this with Fenrir herself back in his Realm, but, now that he had taken on two new disciples, dying her summoning would only cause problems. She could provide things for Arika and Asuna that he, as someone who might as well be their surrogate father, never could. These were things that Medusa simply couldnt be bothered with, so, in order to avoid future troubles, Vahn would need his loveable Vanargandrs assistance. Medusa was well aware of the fact that she had be an inconvenience to her Master, so, after seeing him instinctually move to prevent Asuna from storming off, she ultimately chose to discard her selfishness. She would have liked to keep him to herself for a while longer, but, in the end, she was happiest when he was living without restraints and dominating others. Her most sincere desire was to see him rise to the absolute pinnacle, even if she wasnt entirely sure why. It was almost like an instinct that refused to allow anyone stronger than him, one that made even the thought of him being suppressed by another ufortable... Feeling the perturbation in Medusas heart, Vahn lightly pinched her nose, smiling as he said, "You dont have to worry so much. No matter what happens to me, I will always bounce back with even greater power. If anything, I wish you would worry more about yourself, especially now. You arent weak, but your nature prevents you from bing as powerful as you could be. Now that you are expecting, I have a strong urge to just create a safe ce for you within my Realm so you will never have to experience danger..." Hearing her Masters concerns, Medusa just snuggled a little closer to him as she said, "It makes me happy when you worry about me. Even if I enjoy peace and quiet, I wouldnt want to be isted just to remain safe. I feel that Master will grow much faster if my power is weaker, so, until you stand at the pinnacle, I want to remain one of your motivations. I can be happy letting Fenrir chase after you because I know, no matter how much time passes, you will never abandon me. You are the Master I have chosen to follow, the most important half of my existence. Just being at your side is enough to make me happier than most." Not expecting such profound words from Medusa, Vahn felt a moderate amount of surprise as a feeling of warmth spread through his heart. He hadnt actually considered that Medusa remained weak just to encourage him to grow stronger. Though it sounded a little ridiculous to hear, simr to a well-thought up excuse of someone profoundlyzy, he could sense the sincerity in her tone. Her final few words were just the icing on the cake, making her seem even more adorable than she had been moments prior... Sensing her Masters thoughts, Medusa giggled mischievously before using her long tongue to lick at his exposed nipple. She liked being spoiled by her Master quite a bit, so, sensing he was in the mood to pamper her, Medusa wasnt going to miss out on the opportunity. There were only a few hours until it was time to set out, and, before that, her archrival would be summoned. Though it was a little petty of her, she decided to make sure Fenrir didnt have the opportunity to enjoy her reunion with their Master, choosing, instead, to make the most of it herself... --- With less than half an hour remaining until he was supposed to set out, Vahn sat with Fenrirs core in his hand, channeling a phenomenal amount of Source Energy into it. She had been able to reach Tier 3 after absorbing the Heart of Olympus and training for several decades, so, while she might lose out to the strongestbatants within the Empire, she was directlyparable to an S-Rank Heroic Spirit. Under the right conditions, she could even kill and devour Tier 5 beings, so,pared to Medusa, who might even struggle against Arika, Fenrir was already an existence who could move freely within the Magical World... ----------------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Fenrir Mason] Age: 103 Race: Vanargandr, True Dragon(sealed) Offense: 1337 Defense: 592 Mobility: 1740 Base Power: 3669 Soul Tier: 3 (Lord Soul) Karma: (-) Skills: [Insatiable Hunger(Innate):(-)], [Heaven Devouring Wolf(Innate): SS], [Queen of the Pack(Innate):B], [Lunar Cry: SS], [Freezing Roar: SS], [Chainbreaker: A], [Huntress: SSS], [Severing ws: SSS], [Archmage:B], [Apex Predator:SS], [Activation Key:SSS] Magic: [Cantus Bex:SSS], [Mellodia Bex:SSS], [Vis Maxima:A], [Shundo:SSS], [Koku Shundo:S], Facies Pallium:SS], [Sagitta Magica:SSS], [Crystallitatio Tellustris:SS], [Reflexio:SSS], [Hroovitnir:SS], [Nivis Casus:B], [Kosmike Katastrophe:D], [Aeterna cies:SS], [Nihil:(-)] [Queen of the Pack] Rank: Innate(B)*Innate Skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh* Active: Greatly bolsters the capabilities of all pack members based on morale. Passive: Provides a moderate status increase depending on the recognition of pack members. [Apex Predator] Rank: SS Use: Denotes an existence near the absolute pinnacle of a food chain. Wielders of this skill are able to inspire fear in others, regardless of perceived and literal differences in power. Against magical creatures, causes a suppressive debuff that reduces offensive and defensive capabilities depending on their nature. If the difference between the user and the target is extreme, there is a small chance topletely paralyze or even kill the target. [Aeterna cies] Rank: SS Use: Chantless magic that rapidly reduces the temperature of foes within five-hundred meters of the user. Can greatly reduce the mobility of affected individuals and cause frostbite after prolonged exposure. Chant: (-) [Nihil] Rank: (-) Use: An Ultimate Grade spell that infuses both Darkness and Ice Elemental Energy to create a field of Eternal Ice that has the ability to absorb Magical Energy. Rapidly drains the magical energy of the target, reducing their body temperature to a state nearing absolute zero. Chant: "Abyssal Darkness, consume all! Reduce my enemies to nothingness within a realm of Eternal Ice! Only death awaits those who would oppose the Queen of the Frozen Abyss! *Nihil*~!" ----------------------------------------------------------------- Seeing Fenrirs Status, Vahn couldnt help shake his head, a wry smile on his face as he wondered why his Base Power was so low. He was improving steadily, giving him 1592 BP after just five weeks of limatization, but it was still lower than he would like. In fact, even Asuna and Arika had higher BP than him, despite the fact they would have no real advantages in a fight. When it came down to it, Vahns BP wasnt an urate representation of his strength due to the fact it didnt ount for a persons reserves, aptitude, and control. If it did, his BP likely wouldnt even be quantifiable as his Source Energy provided an absolute advantage against all foes. He had even been able to fight Jack, whose BP had hovered between 6000~8000, despite the fact his own was less than a quarter before awakening Laev-tan... Sensing the core in his hands bing active, Vahn set aside his concerns about his actual power, smiling excitedly as a familiar figure formed into existence. Fenrir had reallye a long way since the time he had named her, evolving to be a wild beauty who stood at 162cm tall. Her figure was no longer that of an emaciated teen who appeared perpetually on the verge of starvation. She now had a lean and taut physique, her body maturing a considerable amount, and, instead of skin and bones, she had an almost wless bnce of fat and muscle. The only thing that hadnt grown much were her breasts, but,pared to her past self, B-Cups were a massive improvement... As she had manifested without clothes, Vahn was able to appreciate the natural beauty of Fenrirs athletic figure. She had be a breathtaking beauty, but, while some things changed, others had remained the same. She still hadrge ears atop her head, wild yet silky smooth hair, and, though it had be less prominent, she still has fur covering her forearms, calves, hands, and feet. He had grown rather fond of her paws, ws, and squishy pink paw-pads, so, despite having evolved quite a bit, Fenrir had retained them... Immediately after manifesting, Fenrir peeled open her scarlet-red eyes, her irises contracting from the light before quickly dting due to excitement. Then, showing off one of her more prominent traits, her long and impably smooth tail flickered behind her as she leaped forward, tackling him to the ground and nuzzling against him as she said, "Master~!" Feeling the smooth yet prickly sensation of Fenrirs fur, Vahn allowed a naturalugh to escape his lips as he affectionately nuzzled the Vanargandr who hadnt lost an ounce of her adorableness. She had matured quite a bit, but, when they were alone together, she was still his cute, affectionate, and most reliablepanion. The ferocity and cunning she disyed duringbat andpetitive hunts were nowhere to be seen. Instead, she was like a spoiled youngdy whose healing aura still brought him an unparalleled amount of relief... --- Nearly causing him to be te, Vahn spent the remainder of his time prior to the departure getting Fenrir up to speed while they cuddled together. She was already well aware of everything that had been going on since his arrival in the Akamatsuverse, but, as this was her first time manifesting in a new Record, it just felt right to enjoy each others warmth, even for a short while. Unfortunately, as he didnt want to set a bad example for his new students, Vahn couldnt dally for too long, so, after a rather long kiss, he helped Fenrir pick out an outfit before heading to where he was scheduled to meet his two disciples and their mothers. They had already been waiting for over half an hour, but, as he had already told them when he would be arriving, Vahn didnt feel too guilty about showing up with less than three minutes remaining. Seeing someone new apanying Vahn, the four members of the Ostian Royal Family showed a visible amount of intrigue in their eyes. They were all very curious by nature, so, understanding the question within all of their minds, Vahn smiled as he exined, "Though Medusa does not lose out in importance, this is my most faithfulpanion, the Queen of the Frozen Abyss, Fenrir. She will be apanying us throughout our journey, and, when I am unable to attend you, she will be both your guardian and mentor." Following her Masters introduction, Fenrir gave a courteous bow before adopting a slight smile and adding, "Though there is little my Master cannot do, there are some things that are best left to members of the same sex. When I am not assisting in your training, I will be teaching you some of the most important things youll need to know in order to stand near the top. In a way, I will be like your big sister, so, if there is ever anything you are concerned about, I will always be there to listen and lend a hand~!" Though Fenrir radiated a very different kind of atmosphere than Vahn, her aura was actually nearly identical to his. This was something every member of the Ostian Royal Family could sense, so, rather than question her origin, they automatically assumed she was a type of summoned Spirit, a unique kind that had been produced from Vahns body. After all, neither Medusa or Fenrir matched any of the races that existed in Mundus Magicus, and, despite their very apparent differences, the odds of two entities having the same aura were virtually impossible, even amongst twins... Understanding that Fenrir had been summoned to address some of their daughters more delicate needs, Ana and Vesperina adopted understanding looks as they returned a polite bow. Then, with a slight smile on her face, Ana said, "It is a pleasure to make the acquaintance of Vahns most faithfulpanion. It is a shame weck the time to be better acquainted. When time allows, I hope you will ept my invitation to tea. Until then, please take care of my daughter and niece. They are very important to me." Hearing Anas words, Fenrirs ears perked up slightly, smiling radiantly as she happily chimed, "I will be looking forward to that day. As for your childrens safety, you need not worry. We will not coddle them, but, so long as Master and I draw breath, I can personally guarantee their safety. Trust in your own judgment. You would not have allowed your daughters to follow him if you didnt believe in his strength. Even if the Heavens themselves fall, I can assure you that Master would be able to support them~!" Not expecting Fenrir to suddenly begin praising him, Vahns smile became wry under the amused gazes of the near-identical women. If not for his advanced age, he might have even blushed a little when Ana followed up by saying, "My, how reliable. It seems your Masters greatness is unmatched in all the realms~." As if she was the one being praised Fenrir puffed out her chest in pride as she unabashedly replied, "Of course! Master is the greatest~!" in an excited tone. (A/N: Alternate Titles: All ording to cake...,Da Queen has arrived...!,Fenrir whenever someone praises her Master: "Are...are you some kind of genius (O,...,O)~!?") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1551 Butterfly Effec

Chapter 1551 Butterfly Effec

Before Fenrir could be too excited, Vahn distracted her by ruffling her hair, eliciting a happy Ehehe~ from her in the process. At the same time, he looked towards the half-asleep Asuna, who, without the support of her mother, would have fallen down. It was obvious both she and Arika had stayed upte, but, due to her age, she had difficulties staying awake. Noticing Vahns gaze, Vesperina carried Asuna over to him, smiling slightly as she exined, "The excitement prevented her from going to sleep. I hope you wont be too hard on her." epting the 12kg girl from her mother, Vahn justughed lightly as he said, "No worries. I usually dont make anyone train prior to the age of four. Asuna is still a child so she has the right to behave like one." Though it looked like she had something to say about being called a child, Asuna felt a potent bout of drowsiness the moment Vahn held her. His body and aura were very warm, and, after he started to pat her back, her drowsiness seemed topound. As a result, she performed an adorable yawn before nestling her head into the crook of his neck and immediately dozing off. Seeing how quickly her daughter fell asleep in Vahns arms, Vesperina soundlessly chuckled before saying, "My worries have been abated. Take care of her, Vahn. She is my most precious treasure. She deserves a life beyond simply serving as a substitute ruler. I hope she is able to learn a lot and make plenty of friends while apanying you..." Even if she wasnt the most expressive woman in the world, Vesperinas affection for her daughter could be heard in each heartfelt word. It wasnt easy for her to entrust her daughter to another, but, wanting more for Asuna than she had been allowed, Vesperina decided to ce her trust in Vahn. It was almost like her daughter was instinctually drawn to him, and, seeing how caring he was toward her, she couldnt think of a better guardian for her daughter than the mysterious man loved by the world itself... Afterbing her fingers through her daughters hair for a few more seconds, Vesperina retracted her hand, and, after smiling onest time, moved to stand next to Ana. This prompted thetter to adopt a simr smile as she stated, "Well, I suppose it is time for you to depart. Vesperina has said everything I intended to say and I have already discussed everything else with my daughter. Myst remaining hope is that you will visit often." Understanding Anas concerns, Vahn nodded his head without hesitation, saying, "I have left spatial coordinates within the pce. We cant return every day, but I will be sure to bring them back when they are feeling lonely. This world actually isnt that big, so, even if were far away, I can rush over in a few minutes if it is an emergency." Hearing Vahns words, Ana and Vesperina both felt greatly relieved, both showing the closest thing to a sincere smile they could manage. As for Arika, she showed a fair amount of surprise, as, despite teleportation magic being rtivelymon, covering vast distances was no easy feat. Even Mages who specialized in teleportation could only cover a few kilometers at a time due to the interference of mana in the environment. Vahn, however, seemed absolutely confident in being able to teleport regardless of the distance, almost as if it required no effort... Before Arika could make up her mind to ask for more details, she was slightly startled when Vahn suddenly interrupted her thoughts, saying, "We will be using the Airfish you picked me up in. It will make our travels morefortable and I find that peculiar Airfish of yours to be rather charming." Since she had been intending to suggest they use one of her custom Airfish, Arika was pleasantly surprised by Vahns words. She was capable of flight magic, but, despite a desire for adventure, she didnt really want to sleep outside if it could be avoided. Acting as if it didnt particrly matter to her, Arika just answered with a curt nod before saying, "I understand. It will make transporting our luggage and supplies much easier..." Resisting the urge to roll his eyes and remind her of his Inventory, Vahn continued to lightly pat the sleeping Asunas back as he said, "Well then, we should be off. It will only be more difficult to part if we stand around much longer. This is only a temporary parting so it is best to get it over and done with." Without waiting for a response, Vahn began walking toward the Royal Familys private hangar with Fenrir and Medusa close behind. This forced Arika to hasten her pace in order to catch up, all while Ana and Vesperina remained standing with thoughtful glimmers in their matching green-blue eyes... --- After boarding the rather endearing goldfish-like Airfish, Vahn set Asuna to sleep in one of the two main cabins, leaving Fenrir to watch over her. He didnt want her to be alone when she woke up, so, knowing she would be spending a lot of time with Fenrir in the future, this was a good way to close the distance between them. As for Medusa, she quickly invaded the Captains cabin, iming it on his behalf despite the pointed look Arika sent her way. She felt as though the room should belong to her and Asuna, as it was her ship, but, rather than say anything, she passed through the rather spaciousmon area, entering the bridge. Vahn didnt particrly care where he stayed, but, considering he was supposed to be the girls Guardian and Master, he didnt prevent Medusas rather willful action. Instead, he spent a couple of minutes making sure Asuna was sleeping peacefully before heading to the bridge himself. There, he found Arika sitting at the helm, her bodynguage conveying, I am going to fly the ship and I dont care what you have to say about it. He found this rather amusing, but, rather than tease her, he just said, "Well, take her away. I might have a few destinations in mind, but this journey is more for your benefit than mine. If there is a ce you always wanted to visit, we can head there before we start our training." Not expecting Vahn to give her free rein to choose their destination, Arika was at a momentary loss before looking back at him and asking, "Are you certain?" Instead of answering the unnecessary question, Vahn plopped down at the weapons station before activating the terminal and familiarizing himself with the controls. Arika had shown him a lot of the different schematics the Academy Engineers had drawn up so he was already knowledgeable about the systems. He knew there were failsafes that prevented the weapons from firing unless the station had been activated by the Captain so there was no danger of an idental discharge. Seeing Vahn ignore her, Arikas brows furrowed slightly, but, rather than say anything, she fell into deep thought about their destination. There were a number of ces she wanted to visit, but, never expecting to leave the pce unless it was for official business, she didnt know where to start. This was something Vahn was well aware of, so, in order to allow Arika to express herself, he decided to let her choose their destinations and pilot the ship... After several minutes of silence, Arika looked over at Vahn to find him reclining with his hands behind his head. It was apparent he was serious about letting her choose the destination, so, with her mind made up, she ced her hands on the familiar controls, and, for the first time in her life, piloted the ship away from the city. This, alone, made her heart begin to beat a little faster, and, though it was almost imperceptible, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly. Noticing the subtle change in Arikas expression and demeanor, Vahn nodded in approval before rising to his feet and saying, "If you need me, Ill be up on the deck. I like the feeling of wind in my hair so Ill leave everything here to you." Hearing Vahns words, Arika turned her attention toward him, asking, "Are you not curious about our destination...?" Shaking his head, Vahn adopted a casual smile as he exined, "The most important thing is that it is a ce you are interested in. Im interested in every part of this world, so, regardless of where we end up, Ill make the most of it. The training I have in mind wont be easy, so, before we proceed, I want you to experience the world without following someone elses directions. Dont worry, even if you take us to some dangerous locale, Ill protect both you and Asuna." With his words finished, Vahn teleported up to the deck without waiting for Arikas response. This was as much her journey as it was his, and, as an outsider to this world, Vahn didnt have any real destination in mind. There were a number of ces he was interested in, sure, but he didnt want Arika and Asuna to feel like they were just tagalongs on his personal journey. Besides, if he were to venture to a ce like Megalomesembria right now, there was a fair chance he might just go on a rampage. Seeing Vahn teleport away in a sh of light, Arikas expression became more rxed, allowing a small sigh to escape her lips. She had actually wanted him to ask about their destination so it was a little annoying for him to just up and leave. This did little to temper her excitement, but, after seeing how kind and attentive he was toward Asuna, she couldnt help but feel slightly bothered whenever he left her alone... Realizing her thoughts, Arika shook her head somewhat violently before adopting a more focused look and pressing on the elerator. Her ship was equipped with a state-of-the-art 18 Prayer Spirit Pentagram Engine with forward and reverse thrusters. Its cruising speed was only around 750km/h, but, if she diverted all auxiliary power to the thrusters, it could elerate upwards of 4000km/h for short periods of time. This was nearly twice as fast as most military craft, so, during an emergency, it could be used to outpace almost every other Airfish on the market... --- Feeling the Airfish suddenly speed up exponentially, Vahn raised his brow curiously before looking down at the deck and muttering, "Is this tsundere princess trying to shake me off...?" Shaking his head, Vahn was seemingly able to ignore the drag forces as he walked toward the edge of the deck and leaned on the railing. He wasnt unaware of the thoughts running through Arikas mind, but, feeling she was too impressionable in her current state, he couldnt pamper her in the same way as Asuna. Though it was a very vague feeling, Vahn could roughly deduce how a persons fate influenced both themselves and others. Arikas seemed to guide her towards a specific course, but, whenever he was around, it would gravitate towards him in an attempt to link their fates together. This wouldnt be a problem in most cases, but, whenever he felt Arikas fate gravitate toward him, Vahns mind seemed to wander in an untoward direction as thoughts of protecting her for the rest of his life roused out of nowhere. After letting things get out of hand in both Danmachi and the Nasuverse, Vahn had decided to steel his heart in the Akamatsuverse. His primary purpose was to find and rescue Eva, so, until he finished his main objective, he wouldnt let himself be swayed by the puppy-like affections of girls younger than most of his children. He had an entire Realm of loving wives and passionate lovers who would dly keep himpany so, rather than grow his already expansive harem, Vahn would rather be a surrogate father or a patient mentor than the object of an impressionable girls affection. Arika, despite her external appearance, was a little too eager for the affections of another, and, as a result of her fate, she seemed drawn towards those with the power to affect the world. This would usually result in her meeting the protagonist of the world, and, after oveing numerous difficult trials together, they would eventually fall in love. Thus, by allowing Arika to periodically choose their destinations, Vahn was assuring that she would eventually meet her fated partner. If everything went as nned, it wouldnt be long before Vahn crossed paths with the legendary Rubra and their infamously powerful leader. He was very curious about the leader of the party, Nagi Springfield, as, based on historical ounts, the boy had already been rumored to be invincible at the young age of thirteen. He had even defeated Jack in all of their battles, constantly ecking out a victory against someonebeled as a living cheat character. This made Nagi seem like an absolute monster, and, considering he was able to defeat the Mage of the Beginning, twice, he may very well be the strongest person in the world for the next decade or so. Though Vahn didnt really care about things like fated encounters, as they lost their meaning from the moment he entered into the Record, he wasnt unwilling to make exceptions. Arika was simply too young for his current tastes, so, until she was able to grow, both physically and emotionally, he would not allow her to imprint on him. She should be with someone closer to her own age rather than arbitrarily clinging to the first rtively powerful person that treated her well as a result of her fate. If she came to develop sincere emotions for him over time, Vahn wouldnt mind reciprocating her affections, but, until he reunited with Eva, he would rather let matters take their course... --- Unbeknownst to Vahn, and everyone else for that matter, the flow of fate around the entire world had shifted the moment he departed Ostia. At the same time, the flow of fate around Asuna, who was currently curled up in the embrace of Fenrir, began to change in some not-so-subtle ways. Arge part of it seemed totch onto the loveable Vanargandr, and, after clinging to her for several minutes, it began to spread through the ship itself before scattering into the more abundant flow of the world. Then, like a penny thrown into a wishing well, ripples began to slowly spread throughout the fate of the entire world, most eventually fading into obscurity, but, as was often the case when it came to such things, others turned intorge, seemingly unstoppable, waves... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Asuna is precious,Vahn be schemin a lot since Danmachi,Fate about to end this mans whole career...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1552 A Brief Moment of Reflection

Chapter 1552 A Brief Moment of Reflection

As one of the closest countries near Ostia, the first destination Arika had decided upon was one of the nine Holy Lands, the Sacred City of Light, Nyandoma. It was and predominately inhabited by members of the various Demihuman Cat Tribes, and, as its names implied, it was an area under the protection of the Great Spirit of Light, Nyon Utu. Though there were many ces Arika wanted to visit, Nyandoma seemed like the best choice since it would take less than three hours of total travel time. She had stayed up nearly the entire night, so it simply didnt seem sensible to push herself by choosing a more distant location. Her Airfish might have an auto-pilot cruising function, but, if their flight path intersected with another ship or a group of migratory monsters, it could spell disaster... --- Despite arriving in the Record rtively recently, Vahn had a better grasp of the geography than most of its residents. His sense of direction and spatial awareness,bined with the fact he had a Map Function, made it almost impossible for him to get lost. Thus, even without asking about their destination, he already knew where Arika was taking them. Vahn had always been rather fond of Cat People so he was very interested to see what an entire country full of them was like. He already knew it was a moderately oriental country, borrowing a lot of inspiration from countries like Japan, so spas, saunas, and hot springs were popr tourist traps within the fantastical City of Light. These were things he had always been fond of, so, after a quick meeting with the Great Spirit of Light, he was intending to enjoy himself for a few days. Seeing what appeared to be an Ancient Japanese City looming on the horizon,plete withrge tiered pagodas,rge shrines, and a bevy of slope-tiled buildings, Vahns could feel his anticipation steadily increasing. It was like stumbling upon a treasure for the first time, as, due to their peaceful coexistence with nature, there were very few Airfish flying around Nyandoma airspace. Rather, there were quite a fewws preventing flight over residential areas, so, before Arika made the mistake of trying to fly directly over the city, Vahn teleported into themon area before entering the bridge through the main entrance... Though she enjoyed flying quite a bit, Arika had never been at the helm for several hours in a single sitting. She had also never flown while mentally fatigued, so, with nothing to keep her focused, she had been on the verge of dozing off for a while. When she heard the hissing of air that denoted the opening of the bridge doors, however, she snapped back to awareness in an instant, her expression a perfect mask of unwavering focus as she muttered, "We will be arriving in a few minutes." Resisting the urge to point out the small amount of drool visible near the corner of Arikas mouth, Vahn just gave a curt nod before saying, "We dont have a permit to fly over Nyandoma airspace so well have to eithernd outside the city or request ess to their private Fishport. Remember, this isnt Ostia so you cant just fly around with impunity." Hearing Vahns words, Arika lightly snorted through her nose before saying, "I am well aware of thews and policies of foreign nations. This ship is equipped with a concealment function, so I will find a ce for us to dock within the nearby finger mountains..." Rather than question the veracity of Arikas im, as she was undoubtedly very familiar with foreign policy, Vahn just nodded his head. There was no need to point out that she had been flying directly toward the city, only turning towards the mountains after his reminder. Instead, he said, "Once you find a ce to dock, well stop for a few hours to rest. Asuna probably wont wake up for five or six hours so it is a good opportunity for you to shower and take a nap. Ill wake you up when it is time for lunch." Though Arikas first instinct was to protest, saying she didnt require rest, she ultimately decided to remain silent after hearing him mention Asuna. The idea of a hot shower, a decently long nap, and a delicious meal was also very tempting, so, after a few seconds of silence, she stated, "I agree. Asuna is still very young so she needs adequate rest and nutritious food in order to spur her growth. After I find a ce to settle down, I will follow your advice for her sake..." Realizing it was probably going to take Arika quite a while to be able to converse normally, Vahn adopted a wry smile before handing her a handkerchief and departing the bridge. He didnt bother to exin what the handkerchief was for, allowing her to stare at it for several seconds before she brought her fingers to the side of her lips. Then, since he had already left the room, the briefest hint of an embarrassed flush colored her cheeks as she quickly wiped away the evidence of her dozing off... --- Designed during a period where she contemted running away from home, Arikas unnamed Airfish cameplete with a fully furnished kitchen, a sizeable bathroom with both a bath and a walk-in shower, a spaciousmon area, a decently-sized cargo bay, two crewman quarters, and, as could be expected, a ratherrge Captains quarters. It was also fully equipped with anti-pirate and anti-monster armaments, so, despite its cute appearance, the goldfish-like ship was actually an A-ss Superlight Cruiser, one capable of even scuttling a Dreadnought under the right conditions. After finding a good ce to dock, Arika activated an invisible gravity anchor that would prevent the ship from crashing into the nearby rocks before turning on the powerful cloaking device. The ship was usually undetectable by most forms of radar and magical sensors, but, when the cloaking function was activated, therge barrier surrounding the ship could refract light in a way that made itpletely invisible. This required a substantial amount of energy, crippling most of the weapons systems, but it was a small price to pay forplete concealment. With the ship sessfully docked, Arika released a tired sigh, reclining in the pilots seat for several seconds before ultimately rising to go enjoy a hot shower. The moment she exited the bridge, she could hear the sound of something sizzling from the kitchen, and, though it was currently very light, a fragrant aroma had already started to pervade the ship. This brought a slight smile to her face, as, in the past, she had never particrly cared about the taste of her food. Now, however, meals were a time to look forward to rather than just another block in her schedule. After enjoying the fragrance for a short while, Arika made her into the belly of the ship, the location of the crew cabins, cargo bay, and bathroom. She was still a little bitter about the fact her room had been upied by Vahn, but, after thinking about it during the flight toward Nyandoma, she could understand the reason. He hadnt been assigned Guardianship over her and Asuna, but, as a result of his status as both an Ancient Dragon and an Emperor, her mother had requested Vahn to take care of them. It simply wouldnt be proper for her to force him to stay in the crew cabin, as, not only was his status higher than her own, he was also the one taking care of and protecting them... While thinking about theplexities of her current situation, Arika began to peel off the pieces of her clothing, neatly folding them before cing them into a clothes bin. There was arge mirror in the bathroom, so, after stripping downpletely naked, she expressional stared at her own figure,plex feelings swirling in her heart. She wasnt a vain woman, but, based on what she had heard, she should be quite beautiful. Her hair was neatly trimmed and well maintained, her body was clean and unblemished, and, though she hadnt fully matured, she had filled out in the ces men should find attractive... After staring at the reflection of her body, Arika made eye contact with herself before extending her hand to touch the surface of the mirror. The structure of her face was equally as wless as the rest of her body, but, due to herck of expression, it almost seemed inorganic, much like a mask. It had never been an issue in the past, but, after seeing Asuna slowly be more expressive,bined with the zest that seemed to radiate around the woman named Fenrir, Arika was beginning to feel as though her face was a problem... Allowing a tired sigh to escape her lips, Arika turned away from the mirror, activating the magical formation that powered the steamy shower. She allowed the warm water to remove some of her fatigue and melt away the frustrations that had been growing in her heart, things she didnt fully understand. She somewhat wished that Vahn had arrived sooner, as, after seeing the difference in his treatment of Asuna and herself, she couldnt help feeling slightly envious. Now, even if she had the heart to ask him to spoil her, it simply wouldnt be proper due to her age... Leaning her forehead against the shower wall, enjoying the soothing vibrations of the hot water striking her scalp, Arika fell into a deeply contemtive state. She had discussed the matter with her mother, and, though she wasnt quite sure how to go about it, her mother had basically given her consent to do whatever she pleased. She was given permission to follow her heart, and, though she wasnt quite sure where it would take her, Arika knew she wanted something more, something she didnt fully understand... --- Though he wasrgely focused on cooking, Vahn was passively aware of everything taking ce in his domain. As a result, he wasnt unaware of the subtle changes Arika was undergoing, causing him to shake his head in mild exasperation. She was very confused right now, but, after traveling around and experiencing more of the world, Vahn was hoping she would stabilize a bit. The only reason she liked him was because he was the first reasonably powerful man that treated her well. She was stuck in a peculiar equilibrium between viewing him as something akin to a surrogate father and a future love interest, something he had encountered surprisingly often after entering a new Record... Shaking his head once again, Vahn began to dexterously flip the stir fry in his wok before letting it simmer on the stove. He had already made his decision, so there was no sense in letting it bother him too much. In fact, the more he allowed it to affect him, the worse the issue would be due to how perceptive young women like Arika could be. It would be easier to all-in on treating her like a child, as, even if she resented him externally, he knew she would be internally happy. At this point, the best thing Vahn could do to prevent the situation from getting further out of hand is making sure Fenrir didnt try to convert Arika and Asuna. She had a habit of conditioning others to view him in an excessively positive light, so, if left to her own devices, the number of people that could be ssified as his Believers would steadily increase. She also had a habit of cultivating those closest to him into being good girls, effectively instilling the idea of work hard and receive lots of pampering... --- The moment her Master started thinking about her, Fenrirs ears twitched slightly, her eyes opening to reveal a curious glimmer. She could sense he was thinking about somethingplicated, and, as the person who knew him best, she could guess what was troubling him. She basically had a sixth sense when it came to other people like her Master, so, from the moment she saw the members of the Ostian Royal Family, she saw them in a very positive light. After all, anyone who liked her Master was either exceptionally intelligent or a rtively good person... With this thought in mind, Fenrir looked toward the sleeping Asuna, finding the young girl to be an exceptionally adorable creature. Though she also had something very dangerous sealed inside of her, this was actually pretty normal for anyone her Master had taken an interest in. Using the back of her paw, which now looked almost indistinguishable from a human hand, albeit one covered in soft blue fur, Fenrir gently stroked Asunas bangs. She had always been rather fond of children, so, knowing how protective her Master was regarding them, Fenrir would not hesitate to protect them with every fiber of her being. This elevated Asunas status to a considerable extent, to the point she was only beneath her Master in terms of importance... As this thought crossed her mind, a smile spread across Fenrirs face as she pawed aside Asunas bangs and nted a kiss on her forehead. Then, like a mother embracing her child, she held the sleeping princess close, gently nuzzling her as a softyer of fur spread across her entire body... --- Sensing the changes in Fenrir, Vahn couldnt help but lightly chuckle as he threw all the food into his Inventory forter consumption. Then, deciding to get some fresh air, he teleported outside the ship to sit atop one of the rtivelymon finger mountains that existed throughout Mundus Magicus. These were massive, pir-like, structures that were typicallyposed of a type of dense white stone. Some were several hundred meters in diameter, making them exceptionally popr for hermetic Mages looking for a ce to build a retreat. Sitting on the very edge of the 1700m tall rocky pir, Vahn wondered whether or not it would only cause more problems if he were to introduce Arikia and Theo before they were originally intended to meet. Theo didnt seem as prone to imprinting on others as the taciturn Queen, but, with a bit of coaching from Fenrir, there was no way of knowing what would happen. Remembering hisst encounter with the tomboy princess, Vahn adopted a wry smile as he shook his head. Then, startling a flock of pterosaur-like creatures that had inhabited the surprisingly lush forest atop the finger mountain, Vahn began tough out loud without any inhibition. In the end, it was entirely up to him how things developed, so, rather than worry about future troubles, he would continue to live in the moment. He could even y matchmaker, and, if he really wanted to, there was nothing stopping him from sting entire worlds into oblivion... As if one some kind of divine cue, a thunderous explosion sounded just as Vahn reclined against the soft grass. This caused him to immediately revert to a seated position, his pupils expanding greatly before contracting as he looked toward another finger mountain that was copsing around twenty kilometers away. Then, from within a reddish-pink cloud of magical energy, arge dragon emerged like a meteor as it crashed to the densely forested area near the base of the mountain range... (A/N: Alternate Titles: An Otakus paradise,This chapter gives a feeling of Deja Vu...,It seems Vahn is, once again, practicing the ancient art of g-raising) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1553 Tensions and Frustrations

Chapter 1553 Tensions and Frustrations

Due to the existence of a seemingly infinite number of Magical Beasts and countless ruins, two of the most lucrative professions within Mundus Magicus included bing a Mercenary, hunting both people and monsters, or an Adventurer,pleting quests andmissions for the various research institutions and academies. Though it required a considerable amount of strength to rise through the ranks, the most sessful Mercenaries and Adventurers could make several hundred-thousand Drachma on a single bounty or quest. Since the average earnings of a citizen of Mundus Magicus were only around six-thousand Drachma each month, there was never ack of people aspiring to make a name for themselves in the two lucrative professions. The promise of substantial wealth was too great a draw for those who sought higher standing in life, so, even if the annual death count for Mercenaries and Adventurers sometimes reached six-digits, it wasnt enough to deter the courageous, foolish, and desperate... Among the most profitable creatures to hunt in all of Mundus Magicus were Dragons, specifically those of a non-magical nature. A single sessful hunt could easily a party upwards of three-hundred thousand Drachma. In some cases, this amount would increase exponentially, especially if the quarry had been pregnant or had started to develop a magical core. Unhatched Dragon Eggs could sell for over a million Drachma in the market, and, though they were exceptionally hard toe back, a Dragons Core was a treasure that could go on auction for more than double that amount. Unfortunately, hunting a Dragon was no simple feat as even the weakest subspecies had powerful magical resistance, durable scales, chemical breath attacks, and ws strong enough to rip through the armor of an Airfish with ease. If you managed to encounter one that had started to develop a Dragons Core, they could even use powerful Magic that could instantly overwhelm an unprepared party. As a result, most parties hunting a Dragon for the first time were either forced to retreat or risk beingpletely wiped out. This made Dragons the single most dangerous creatures in all of Mundus Magicus, ounting for nearly 20% of all deaths among even Veterans in the field. --- Seeing a group of four cat-like people attempting to take down a Dragon, each adorned in armor that was forged from various monster parts, Vahn felt both intrigued and disappointed. His intrigue was derived from the fact it was always interesting to see people struggling to ovee difficulties while his disappointment was entirely due to his expectations. He had somewhat expected therge explosion to have been caused by Nagi and his party, as Megalomesembria wasnt too far from the curiousnd of cat people, but it ended up just being a party of would-be Dragonyers. They had seemingly lined the Dragons den with a bunch of magical explosives, attempting to kill it without a direct encounter, but, either due to fate or happenstance, the heavily armored beast only suffered a few tears to the webbing of its wings and a couple of minor injuries. Vahn wasnt particrly fond of the idea of cheating by using explosives and traps, but, as there was literally a point when he did the same, he couldnt exactly me them. Strength was not easily obtained, and, due to various circumstances, most people never had the opportunity to proactively seek it. Most children started working at a very early age just to help support their families so they didnt really have the time to dedicate themselves to the thousands of hours it would take to slowly increase their strength. Their only real focus was only trying to be happy and keep their family safe, so, until they experienced some kind of setback, most people never proactively pursued strength... In an attempt to keep the Dragon from thrashing around and making the environment even harder to move in, one of the four Mercenaries, a young female Cat Person with features resembling more of a cat than a human, cast a spell that created bindings formed from light. Light-based spells were exceptionallymon amongst the various Cat tribes, especially around Nyandoma, but Vahn was still surprised to see how versatile the magic spell was. It had taken most of her magical power, but the young girl still managed to immobilize the Dragon long enough for thergest of the group, a muscr man with two tiny cat ears and a nub-like tail, to attempt beheading the beast. Using an ax that was nearly asrge as he was, the man strained the muscles in his arms as a thin aura of magical energy shrouded his body. His motion wasnt exactly smooth, but the ax eventually traced a lethal arc towards the thinnest section of the Dragons elongated neck. Unfortunately, even after putting his full weight behind the blow, the man wasnt able to cut through the exceptionally hard vertebrae in the Dragons neck. He would have been better off aiming for the fleshier bits in an attempt to sever its jugr, but, perhaps overestimating himself or underestimating the Dragon, his mistake was rewarded with the Dragon breaking free, now even angrier than before. As the closest target, the burly man quickly found himself knocked to the ground in the Dragons fury. It managed to sweep the mans legs using its whip-like tail, shattering his right femur in the process. Then, using its taloned ws, it pinned the man to the ground before opening its rather vicious maw, caustic spittle dripping from its teeth as a fiery light rippled between the gaps in its scales. In a desperate attempt to save theirpanion, the other female Cat Person, looking far more human than her counterpart, cast a spell that created a magical barrier between the burly man and the Dragons spittle. At the same time, the final member of the party, a young man who seemed to be from the Leopard tribe, attempted to blind or distract the dragon using his bow. Unfortunately, perhaps as a result of the rush of adrenaline, he was unable to hit the bowl-sized target despite his close proximity... Unable to deter to furious Dragon, the other members of the party could only watch on in horror as liquid-like mes erupted from the Dragons mouth, enveloping theirpanion before spreading through the area like water poured from a bucket. The Dragons breath was very simr to Napalm, making it impossible to extinguish using normal water-based spells. It also possessed qualities that allowed it to eat through armor with ease, so, if you were unlucky enough to take a direct hit, you were bound to sustain severe injuries. Seeing theirpanion enveloped in mes, the more bestial woman released a feral scream as she attempted to charge at the Dragon, her cane raised like a club. She didnt seem to care about the fact there was Napalm-like liquid between her and the Dragon, her fury and griefpletely overriding her sensibilities as she charged like a banshee towards the undaunted monster. Even the calls of herpanions did nothing to stop her charge, forcing them to choose between trying to help or fleeing before they, too, became victims. While it would have been perfectly normal to run in such a situation, as there was no way for them to win, the final man and woman stood their ground, conviction visible in their gazes. Vahn couldnt help but nod approvingly when he saw this, a smile spreading across his face as he casually stepped off the side of the mountain. Then, in a functional instant, he appeared before the woman charging through the mes, pushing her back with his right hand while creating a swirling vortex to absorb the Dragons second breath attack. Before the three could process what was happening, Vahnpressed the mes into his hand before vanishing from view. When he next appeared, he was right next to the Dragon, a tiny orb of me in his hand. This surprised even the Dragon, but, before it could do anything to defend itself, Vahn ced the tiny orb into its mouth, smiling as he said, "You can have this back." Though its own mes wouldnt be able to hurt it under normal circumstances, thepressed ball of energy wasnt something that could be looked down upon. The Dragons gag reflex had caused it to swallow the destructive me, and, without anything to keep it restrained, it released a violent eruption. The Dragons scales and muscles were durable enough to prevent it from exploding like a balloon, but, as its organs were significantly weaker, it copsed to the ground, dead, immediately following the muted explosion sound. Ignoring the three people gawking at him, Vahn reached his hand through the mud-like substance that was left in the wake of the Dragons mes. Then, causing everyone except the bestial woman to copse to the ground, he pulled out the burly mans body, still intact. He was a little worse for wear, especially with his right leg shattered, but he would survive. The thin membrane surrounding his body, provided as a courtesy of Vahn, had made sure of that... --- While his secondary vessel was dealing with the party of would-be Dragonyers, Vahns main body was still seated atop the finger-like mountain near Arikas Airfish. Even Asuna had more than enough power to protect herself from most threats, but, promising to keep them safe, he couldnt simply leave them unattended. There were creatures far stronger than non-magical Dragons in the Magical World, so, even if you were extremely powerful, dropping your guard could be fatal. There was even a group of monsters known as the Four Beasts of Cmity, devilish creatures capable of rivaling the Great Elemental Spirits. Not much was known about the Four Beasts of Cmity, as they seemed to appear and vanish at random, but their names and appearances were well-known. The most famous of the four was the so-called Dragon King, Arvayr, a mountain-sized Dragon that appeared amidst a horde of tens of thousands of lesser Dragons. The most dangerous, however, was the angelic being known simply as The Harbinger of Death, a monster that appeared as a femme fatale with anywhere between three to six sets of wings. She didnt seem hostile, with some ounts saying she even smiled and waved at people in passing, but, without exception, any region visited by the angelic beauty experienced great misfortune in the days that followed. The final two Beasts of Cmity were known as the Behemoth, a giant Mammoth that even made the mountain-sized Arvayr seem small, and the Leviathan, a surprisingly small serpentine Dragon that had a penchant for devastating port cities with massive tsunamis. The Behemoth was the most docile of the Four Beasts of Cmity, often appearing far away from cities and settlements, but, as could be expected from such a colossal creature, its mere steps caused earthquakes to spread for hundreds of kilometers. As for the Leviathan, it was easily the most hostile of the four, proactively appearing to sink any ships that were unfortunate enough to cross paths its path. It was rumored that Airfish had been developed as a direct result of the Leviathan sinking countless merchant and fishing fleets, drastically decreasing trade and making it impossible for ind nations and ports to flourish. ording to legend, the Four Beasts of Cmity and the Four Sacred Guardian Dragons had been created alongside Mundus Magicus itself. They were considered pinnacle existences that could only be defeated by each other, but, in the near future, that illusion would be shattered. Rubra, led by the currently unknown Nagi Springfield, would be elevated to legendary status overnight when it was discovered they had killed the Dragon King, Arvayr. Nobody knew how the conflict had started, but, ording to some historical ounts, it was apparently the result of Nagis attempt to turn the infamous Dragon King into his mount... Imagining a thirteen-year-old kid trying to tame a legendary King of Dragons, Vahn couldnt help but be reminded of his children. While most of their actions were rtively tame byparison, he could easily imagine someone like Vana trying to befriend a legendary dragon. She would thrive in a world where taming and befriending creatures was the norm, and, though there were a number of other reasons, she was the main inspiration behind the thematic virtual world rted to taming. Remembering the spirited Vanir, Vahn could feel a sour feeling in his nose, causing him to inhale a deep breath before releasing it in the form of a tired sigh. It had been nearly a hundred years since his departure from Danmachi, and, based on his current rate of growth, it would likely take several hundred more before their reunion. This was a moderately depressing thought, but, as he couldnt simply ignore Eva, Vahn was always fated to depart Danmachi at some point. He also felt a powerful draw to explore other Records, so, while his timing could have been better, Vahn knew the journey itself had been inevitable. After calming himself down, Vahn teleported back to the Airfish and decided to follow his advice to Arika, choosing to take a nap, or, at the very least, cuddle with Medusa. She was very sensitive to his mental state, so, whenever he felt sad or nostalgic, their roles would reverse and she would happily pamper him. She could use her hair like countless extra appendages, massaging and caressing his entire body as he used her modest yet impable soft breasts as a pillow. It wasnt quite the same as when he allowed someone like Artoria or Musashi to embrace him, but it was still enough to help calm his unsteady heart... --- After an hour-long shower, Arika emerged from the bathroom wearing little more than a towel and a pair of pure white panties. In her absentminded state, she had forgotten to prepare a change of clothes, but, rather than fret, she unabashedly walked through the ship in her near-naked state. She, like her mother, wasnt particrly worried about being seen by Vahn, and, during a few asions, they had even bathed together. The Royal Bath was a massive bath that could easily amodate over a hundred people without space being an issue. It was also one of the few instances where the Royal Family came together in order to rx and socialize, so, as a friend of the Royal Family, Vahn had been given permission to use the Royal Bath. Originally, Vahn had been asked by Vesperina to take care of Asuna, as she had been following him around like a lost puppy since their first meeting. He had been reluctant to agree, at first, but, after an upturned gaze from Asuna, he ultimately relented. From then on, it became rtively normal for everyone to bathe together, and, though it sometimes caused her to feel anxious, Arika did her best to behave as normally as possible. She had even offered to wash his back a few times, but, with the ever-present Medusa, he had been able to casually refuse her goodwill time and again. Finding herself near the entrance of the Captains cabin, Arika nearly stepped inside before catching herself at thest moment. She knew that, at the very least, Medusa would be inside, so, after a few moments of hesitation, she turned around and made her way downstairs. Most of her luggage was in the cargo bay so she had to dig through a sizeable pile of suitcases before finally finding the one with her sleepwear. This included everything from simple panties to far more intricate designs that included frills, ribbons, andce. She, like most women in Mundus Magicus, typically didnt wear a bra, but, at the deepest part of the suitcase, a semi-transparent set of ck garments caused a very slight blush to spread across Arikas face as she quickly buried them from view. After looking around to make sure nobody had noticed the parting gift her mother had given her, Arika released a sigh of relief before picking out a pair of pure white panties and pale-pink pajamas. Then, without bothering to find a changing room, she stripped out of her previous pair, bingpletely naked for a brief moment. This made her feel unusually nervous, but, suppressing the feeling, Arika quickly donned her sleepwear before returning to the bathroom for a brief moment to fold up her previous pair of panties... --- While Arika was taking her sweet time to return to the cabin, Fenrir was beginning to feel a little stressed out. Her senses were very sharp so she knew Arika should be returning at any moment, but, every time it seemed like she was heading back, the woman would wander off. This wouldnt normally bother her, but, sensing her Master was feeling lonely, Fenrir wanted to go to his side. She couldnt just leave Asuna alone, however, so, until Arika finally finished her preparations for sleep, Fenrir was forced to bide her time, her scarlet eyes glowing slightly in frustration... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Is this a new Monster Hunter expansion...?,Anyone else kinda feel bad for the Dragon King?,Fenrir be like, "Hurry the f**k up, you smelly Queen (\u003e,...,\u003c)~!") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1554 Peak

Chapter 1554 Peak

Feeling greatly refreshed, Vahn emerged from the Captains quarters with Fenrir and Medusa close behind. The former had shown up while he was being pampered by Medusa, her arrival marking a shift from peaceful rxation to far more affectionate cuddling. Now, Vahn was feeling energetic andpletely revitalized, more than ready to face whatever the Record would throw at him next... Finding the person responsible for his emergence, Vahn adopted an affectionate smile as he asked, "Did you sleep well, Asuna...?" As if she only noticed the presence of others when spoken to, Asuna, who had been sitting stock-still on one of themon rooms sofas, raised her head slightly, inly stating, "I am hungry." in her usual monotone. Hearing the taciturn response, Vahnughed out loud before pulling a tray of macarons out of his Inventory and saying, "Well eat a proper meal once Arika awakens. For now, how about you join us for some tea and snacks?" Though her expression didnt change much, it was easy to tell Asuna was excited by how quickly she jumped off the sofa, running over to his side with a pitter-patter of footsteps. She even tried to take one of the macarons from the te by standing on her tip-toes, tugging at his tunic in order to reach a little higher. Preventing Asuna from obtaining her prize, Vahn moved the tray out of reach, patting her head as he said, "Now, now, that isnt very proper. Come, well eat together, okay?" After failing to obtain a macaron, Asuna showed a visible pout on her face, but, hearing what Vahn had to say, she fell silent for a few seconds before ultimately nodding her head with an Nn. Then, as if she was programmed to behave as adorably a possible, she tugged on his sleeve in an effort to hasten the short trip to the sofa. Once there, she had him sit down first before hopping onto hisp and using his right thigh as her seat, a habit she developed during the times he would read to her back in the pce... --- Perhaps as a result of the noise transmitting through the hull, it wasnt long before Arika appeared from the small spiral stairs that connected themon room to the belly of the ship. She was still wearing her creamy silk pajamas, and, forcing Vahn to repress a sigh as he saw more than just the curves of her body. The top button of her blouse was undone, and, due to not wearing a bra, it was possible to make out two tiny buds due to how thin the beige-colored fabric was. Showing no outward signs of a reaction, Vahn simply smiled as he casually stated, "Just in time. We were just about to wrap up afternoon tea and enjoy a light lunch. Afterward, Id appreciate it if you help Asuna wash up in preparation for our journey to Nyandoma. I could teleport us over, but, as this trip is supposed to be your opportunity to explore and experience the world, we will be moving through the forest." Hearing Vahns words, Arikabed through her long fringe bangs beforezily nodding her head and taking a seat across from Fenrir. She was still a little tired, so, rather than waste energy putting on a front, she just picked up the cup of tea that had magically appeared before her, sampling the rich vor in contented silence... --- Following a rather hearty meal, consisting primarily of vegetable stir fry and fried rice, Vahn created a second body, surprising Arika and Asuna slightly. Clone techniques and spells werent umon in the Magical World, but, with their enhanced senses, even Asuna could tell this wasnt that kind of technique. As a result, she was the first to ask, "How...?" before immediately regretting it when she saw the teasing look in his eyes... Surprising the doll-like girl, Vahn honestly exined, "Now that the two of you are my apprentices, I will trust you to keep the secrets I tell you. Though the actual exnation is far moreplicated, it basicallyes down to the fact that I can freely alter and create new bodies. As you have noticed, these are not simple clones. I have to control both bodies simultaneously, meaning I experience the stimulus from all my vessels simultaneously. It is a little disorienting, but, if I really push myself, I can even produce upwards of ten versions of myself." Though he didnt try something like making eight more versions of himself, as it was simply too taxing for his current self, Vahn decided to demonstrate his transformation ability, ignoring his first instinct of transforming into a copy of Asuna. Instead, he became a chibi-version of his Vanargandr self,ughing mischievously in response to the visible incredulity visible on the two girls faces. This had the expected consequence of his chibi self being snatched and cuddled by Fenrir, but, with his main body still intact, Vahn smiled as he exined, "You will learn more about my true nature over the duration of your training. For now, it is easiest to think of me as an Ancient Dragon with control over Creation, Space, and Time." Showing the closest thing to an actual emotion Vahn had seen on her face, Arika had an expression of incredulity as she asked, "What is your true form?" Understanding what she might be thinking, Vahn just shook his head, exining, "I rarely go out of my way to disguise myself. What you see before you can be considered my true form as I have kept it for nearly a hundred years. Dont worry, Im not going to suddenly reveal myself as some strange creature with an amorphous form and thousands of eyes." Though she returned to a neutral expression, Vahn could tell that Arika was greatly relieved by his words, causing him to lightly shake his head before saying, "Well be departing. Ill leave a version of myself to safeguard the ship and keep Medusapany." Knowing Medusa wasnt fond of crowds, Vahn wasnt going to continue forcing her to apany them. Fortunately, as someone needed to stay with the ship, she had the opportunity to freely idle about, and, with his ability to produce extra vessels, it meant they could spend all day just cuddling if they really wanted to. Making no effort to hide her satisfaction, Medusa had a somewhat cheeky grin on her face as she added, "Dont worry, Ill make sure the ship is well guarded. Take your time and explore as much as you can. Even if youre away for a few days, I can guarantee nothing will happen~." Seeing the cheeky smile on Medusas face, Arika wasnt the only one feeling slightly annoyed by the mischievous Gorgon. Fenrir had a glowering look in her eyes, holding the miniature-version of her Master tightly as she said, "Make sure you behave, Medusa. If you cause any kind of problems, Ill be the one to punish you in our Masters stead." Hearing Fenrirs tone, Medusas hair automatically condensed to protect her backside as her eyes began to shimmer with a piercing light. She knew Fenrir was serious, but, doing her best to appear undaunted, Medusa adopting a taunting smile before trying to say a few biting words. Before she could, however, her Master interrupted, his hand plopping on her head as he addressed the group as a whole, saying, "Lets head out." in a casual yet firm tone. Without waiting for anyone to respond, Vahn then picked up Medusa in a princess carry, allowing Fenrir to retain his chibi-form, who, following hisrger selfs words, added, "Well be traveling on foot, so, unless you want to spend the night in the jungle, we should set out. Asuna will be setting our pace until she gets tired. Now, lets go." Since he was still being carried, Vahn pointed towards the stairs leading up to the deck, causing Fenrir to flicker near the base before leaping through the opening. She could be very clingy when he was in his Vanargandr form, but, when it wasbined with his chibi self, it was impossible to convince her to release him. He could transform back into his normal self, but, for the better part of half an hour after the fact, Fenrir would be in a dour mood... Seeing the rather incredulous sight of Vahn being whisked away by Fenrir, Arika remained standing in the same ce for several seconds. It wasnt until Asuna pulled at her dress that she came back to her senses, making eye contact with her adorable niece as thetter said, "We should go. I dont want to be left behind." Nodding her head in understanding, Arika picked up Asuna with no discernible difficulty, holding the girl in much the same way as a parent holding their child. Then, in a manner simr to Fenrir, her body flickered before vanishing from view. She had never actually used [Shundo] before, but, after seeing it once, both she and Asuna had been able to memorize it. This was an ability unique to the Ostian Royal Family, and, though it didnt equate to mastery, it allowed them to be some of the most prodigious Mages in existence with very little effort... --- Contrary to what some would expect when traveling with small children, Asuna small gait didnt slow the group by much. She was only a little over two-years-old, but, despite her small size and virtually non-existent muscles, she had enough strength to easily rival adults who had trained for years. She didnt move with assurance and confidence in her actions, but, after analyzing a problem for a short while, she was able to figure a way around or over most obstacles. The only thing that kept them from advancing even faster was the asional appearance of monsters, causing Asuna to quickly retreat behind Vahn despite having more than enough strength to defeat most enemies in a single blow. Rather than force a two-year-old to fight monsters several timesrger than herself, Vahn allowed her to hide behind him before giving Arika a small nod. This would often result in her staring at him for a few moments, but, once the monster began charging, she would manifest a golden longsword out of thin air before vanishing in a sh. Her skills werent very refined, but she was able to bisect a dinosaur-like monster that was more than 15m long in an instant before brandishing her de in a rather shy manner... Understanding Arika was trying to show off, Vahn just smiled in response, saying, "Well done. Your skills are a little unrefined, but your talent is exceptional. I have great expectations for you once we begin our training." Hearing Vahns praise, Arika showed no discernible signs of satisfaction as she swung her sword in a smooth arc, creating a golden trail with her magical energy. Then, in an icy monotone, she asked, "Are you going to make me fight everything? Im starting to feel as though Im the one protecting you. I have yet to see your true power, so it is difficult for me to ept such remarks..." Though not entirely unexpected, Vahn couldnt help but burst intoughter when he heard Arikas biting remark. This caused her brows to furrow slightly, and, if they had been closer to each other, he could imagine her trying to p him forughing so zealously in response to her words. Taking the initiative to speak, Fenrir adopted a serious expression on her face as she said, "Master is far stronger than you canprehend. I can tell that you are very powerful, but you are just brute-forcing everything without any real skill. Even without using his full power, Master could defeat you with technique alone." Arika hadnt actually been serious with herment, but, hearing Fenrirs remark, she couldnt help but feel a little offender, asking, "You think so little of my skill? Ill have you know that I trained hard to reach my current level. I mightckbat experience, but Im confident that I would be able to defeat you in a battle. Vahn might be very strong, but Im far from weak." Hearing Arikas words, it was Fenrirs turn to be slightly offended, her hair bing marginally more pointy as she inly stated, "You overestimate yourself. Its a good thing that my Master has been ced in charge of your training. With your mentality, you and your allies would suffer as a result of your hubris..." Though she knew there were a lot of people stronger than her, Fenrir had already lived for over a century. Even if Arika gave off a dangerous feeling, there were so many gaps in the womans stance that she might as well be aplete amateur. If they were to truly go all out against each other, it would not be a match at all, but a one-sided ughter... Before the two could start a rivalry based on hostility, Vahn instructed Asuna to stand off to the side before flicking his wrist and pulling out the sealed form of Laev-tan. This caught the attention of the two girls locked in a staring contest with each other, Arikas expression revealing a small amount of trepidation as Fenrir began to snicker mischievously. Without exining anything, Vahn exhaled a breath that seemed to echo in the surroundings as his body seemed to melt away. This caused Arika to instinctually assume a defensive stance, her sword held in a posture that would allow her to deflect most attacks from the front. Before she was able toplete the motion, however, Vahn had already appeared behind her, inly stating, "When both sides respect each other, a healthy rivalry can help you increase your strength exponentially. Unless it is a matter of honor, never allow your pride to dictate your actions. There are people in this world who have trained for hundreds, or even thousands, of years. Never assume you are at the peak, only that there will always be someone stronger." The moment Vahn finished speaking, hundreds of thin lines appeared across Arikas de before it shattered into tiny motes of magical light. Despite this, she didnt move from her defensive stance, almost as if her mind hadpletely stalled while trying to process the visual and audio stimulus she had received. It wasnt until Vahn lightly tapped her shoulder that she rebooted, her mouth opening as if to ask a question she didnt know how to form. Seeing the rather honest look on the usually expressionless womans face, Vahn adopted a smile as he answered, "I have pursued the pinnacle of swordsmanship for decades and have yet to reach it. I can confidently call myself a Grandmaster, but,pared to those who have dedicated their entire lives to the art, I still have a long way to go. Dont let this lesson be a setback. Rather, whenever you meet someone stronger than you, be grateful. It can be very lonely at the peak, and, without strong foes, even the most powerful entities in existence will begin to stagnate. After listening to Vahns words, Arika looked between him and the hilt that remained in her hand, a thoughtful glimmer in her heterochromatic eyes. She knew he was stronger than her, but, no matter how strong he was, she thought they could at least have a good match. Instead, she was powerless to even defend herself, and, ording to him, he wasnt even the strongest... Feeling as though her perspective of the world had broadened, Arika gave a brief nce toward Fenrir, seeing the somewhat hateful woman smiling haughtily back at her. This caused her to feel a small amount of indignation, so, unable to even understand Vahns power at her current level, she adopted apetitive look in her eyes as she answered, "I understand...thank you for the lesson..." without breaking eye contact with the wolf-like woman... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Asuna is quickly bing spoiled xD...,Arika, the Frog Queen,Fenrir be like, "OwO, whats this? Is someone seeking death~?") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1555 Pre-War Tensions

Chapter 1555 Pre-War Tensions

With the strongest monsters ranging between 300~650 BP, on the high end, the journey toward Nyandoma had proceeded without incident. The only tense moment was when Asuna had to go relieve herself, forcing Vahn to stand on the opposite side of the bush with a wry smile on his face. She didnt seem to care that Arika and Fenrir were both very powerful, refusing to let him leave her sight for even a brief moment. To further exacerbate matters, it took more than ten minutes just to convince her to go while his back was turned, leaving Vahn feeling unnaturally fatigued by the time they reached the outer walls of Nyandoma... Though humans werent barred entry into Nyandoma, traveling without identification was a serious issue. It was hard to enter foreign nations even during times of peace, so, with war lurking just over the horizon, it was to be expected that entry was even more difficult. This was especially true for the nations closest to Megalomesembria, so, before they could even stand in line to try and gain entry, Vahn and his party were approached by a few guards wearing, of all things, samurai-like armor. Before Arika couldplicate things by revealing her actual identity, Vahn gestured for her to stay back while smiling at the approaching guards. He could see the caution in their eyes and sense the tension in their bodies, but, in spite of this, both men had rtively calm and pure auras. They were just doing their jobs, so, rather than cause amotion, Vahn cupped his hands politely, asking, "Is there something you require of us?" Not expecting Vahn to speak in their native dialect, both men showed surprised expressions before suddenly bing even more alert. This left Vahn repressing a slight chuckle as he stated, "This is my first time visiting Nyandoma, but I am well versed in thenguage,ws, and culture. We are on a pilgrimage to visit the Nine Sacred Lands and chose Nyandoma as our first destination. Im certain the Great Spirit of Light would not turn away those who havee to seek his wisdom..." Though Vahns words werent enough to ay their concerns, neither of the men showed any overt hostility. The borders had yet to be closed so it was still possible to enter the country as long as you didnt have a warrant or a bounty. Nyon Utu, the Great Spirit of Light, was especially fond of people who came to seek his wisdom, so, if it was discovered they turned away a group on a pilgrimage, it would be a much bigger issue. After considering the matter for a brief moment, the senior of the two guards adopted a warning tone as he said, "Stand in line. You will be required to dere yourselves once you reach the gate. As long as you arent wanted, you will be allowed entry into the city. Tensions are pretty high these days, so try and avoid trouble once you are inside." Without responding verbally, Vahn just gave the two another cupped salute before returning to his group and joining the rather long line. Their presence didnt go unnoticed by the various groups of Adventurers and Mercenaries trying to enter the city, but, rather than seek trouble, the majority of people minded their own business. Causing a disturbance at the gate all but guaranteed you would be denied entry so even the more nationalistic Cat People kept to themselves, albeit after ring at Vahns party and performing some less-than-pleasant gestures... Rather than mind the group of bigoted individuals, Vahn just blocked Asunas view before shaking his head at Fenrir and saying, "Were not here to stir up trouble. You can just ignore weaklings like that. That goes for you too, Arika. Remember, we are just travelers right now. They are just stressed out due to the impending war. Unless they go out of their way to seek trouble, pay them no mind." As she was only ever taught how to converse with foreign dignitaries and politicians, Arika had no experience interacting with normal people. All she knew was that they were being disrespectful for no real reason, leaving a bad taste in her mouth that caused her expression to turn into a neutral deadpan. She wanted to force them to exin why they were so hostile, but, after hearing Vahns words, she just gave a small nod without lowering her guard... --- After nearly two hours of standing in line, it was finally time for Vahns group to pass through the checkpoint. Fortunately, the guards that had stopped them previously were still present, so, after dering their identity before a basketball-sized orb, they were allowed entry. The Hes Empire had never officially ced a bounty on him, and, after his showy battle with Jack, they werent in a hurry to do so. His current power was enough to deter even an Empire from seeking trouble with him, so, unless he began wreaking havoc within their borders, it was perfectly natural for them to simply pretend he didnt exist. The only real danger with passing through a checkpoint was Arika and Asuna being recognized as the Queen and Princess of Ostia, but, even after stating their names, the guards didnt seem to care all that much. They couldnt even imagine members of the Royal Family trying to enter the country through a normal security checkpoint, so, after confirming there were no bounties on either of their heads, both were able to pass without obstruction. Afterward, they were all given a special tile that would serve as their identification for a period of three days. This was the norm for those entering on a pilgrimage, and, if they wanted to stay longer, a more thorough screening process would be required. Once everyone had their identification tabs, Vahn allowed Arika to lead the way while letting Asuna ride on his shoulders. The amount of traffic at night was even greater than it would be throughout the day, as, unlike other countries, Nyandoma was considered a nocturnal city. Most Cat People had excellent night vision and were more active at night than during the day, so, once the gates closed for the day, the city came to life as hundreds-of-thousands of papernterns illuminated the entire nation. It was truly the City of Light, and, due to his fondness for eastern architecture, Vahn couldnt help but admire the nations beauty... Unfortunately, as was often the case when something was outwardly beautiful, the inside was less than pleasant. Nyandoma might be considered the City of Light, but that didnt mean it wascking in Darkness. Rather, the brighter the light, the further-reaching the shadows seemed to run, and, as a result of rising tensions, quite a few people were ring at Vahns party. Though most businesses still tried to attract them as customers, it wasnt difficult to imagine them hiking up the prices in an effort to extort them... Since she was a very sensitive young girl, Asuna wasnt blind to the way people were looking at her. As a result, her face was morphed into a slight frown as she lightly pulled at his hair and asked, "Do these people hate us? What did we do wrong...?" Shaking his head, Vahn adopted a slightly apologetic smile, exining, "It isnt that they hate us. It is more urate to say that they simply dont know us. They allow their assumptions to guide their behavior. This is normal during tumultuous times, especially before and after a war. Dont let them get to you, okay, Asuna? Remember, these people arent really bad and you havent done anything wrong." If possible, Vahn would have liked to let Asuna grow a bit more before she had to encounter things like bias and unjustified hatred. It wasnt fair for children to be burdened with such things, as, unless they had been led astray, all children were innocent. Adults who imposed their resentment onto the innocent were truly pathetic, and, despite understanding the underlying reasons, Vahn could never truly understand how any sensible person justified such behavior... Though she didnt truly understand, Asuna nodded her head in response to Vahns words, ignoring the hateful looks of some, and, instead, focusing on others. She noticed that only a few people were staring at them, specifically young adults and the elderly. The children and those around the age of parenthood didnt seem to mind them at all, their focus on more important things than people who had nothing to do with them... Seeing that it was only a few people directing their hatred toward her, Asuna lost interest in trying to understand why. Instead, she began ying with Vahns hair, wondering what he did to make it so soft. It seemed wild at a nce, but, whenever she ran her hands through it, it was simr to the finest satin. This made her feel slightly annoyed, but, knowing she could just ask him to wash her hair, Asuna decided not to let it bother her too much... --- Fortunately, despite a number of people showing hostility, none of them actually tried to impede the groups progress. Even without any action on Vahns part, Arika and Fenrir radiated the type of aura that made them very difficult to approach, albeit for different reasons. Arika had an extremely dignified and noble bearing that unnerved anyone with a weaker will. Fenrirs, however, was even more terrifying as it caused an instinctual fear in anyone who made eye contact with her. This had been the case as far back as the Record of Danmachi, so, with a Skill like [Apex Predator], only those with supreme confidence in their abilities would dare confront her. Since it was rare for a bigot to have even a marginal amount of power, this meant they had been able to walk around with rtive impunity, passing unobstructed for three hours. Finding a rather homely inn with an attached bathhouse, Vahn set Asuna on the ground, leading the way inside after grabbing her hand. He wasnt afraid she would wander too far, but, if she saw a cute Elemental or a tiny animal, there was no way of knowing what she would do. Very few animals enjoyed having strangers harass them, so, even if she didnt mean any harm, there was a chance she could injure herself or upset someone else... Despite noticing the peculiarities of Vahns party in an instant, the old woman seated at the counter showed no aversion to their presence. Instead, she smiled in the kindly way that only genuinely kind elders could manage, the wrinkles on her face forming evidentugh lines that had been eternally engraved into her countenance. A testament to her wisdom, the woman had a knowing look in her striking blue eyes as she said, "It must have been difficult for you to travel this far. It isnt much, but I can at least offer you a bowl of porridge and a hot bath as an apology. Of course, youll have to actually rent a ce to stay before I can amodate you..." Towards the end of her words, the woman looked between Vahn, Fenrir, and Arika before ultimately resting her gaze on Asuna. Her smiled became even more prominent when she saw the doll-like girl who shared quite a number of simrities with her cousin. This hadnt gone unnoticed by the older woman, so, as could be expected, she quickly misunderstood the rtionship between Vahn, Arika, and Asuna. Though Arika was only fifteen, this was going by Mundus Magicus years, meaning she was around twenty-eight ording to Earth-time. This wasnt really something Vahn ounted for, but, from the perspective of most people, Arika was more than old enough to be a mother. Thinking she was doing the couple a favor, the elderly woman smiled as she said, "It is rare to see a family traveling together during these trying times. You dont look like refugees, so I assume you are here to make an offering to the Utu-sama. Out of consideration, Ill offer you a family discount and arrange one of ourrger suites for your use. There are two bedrooms, so your escort will also have a ce to stay. How does 350 Drachma a night sound...?" Hearing the old womans words, Vahn realized she had misunderstood the groups dynamic, but, as there were already two rooms within the suite, he decided not to correct her. Instead, he pulled out a tinum coin, startling the woman slightly as he said, "Keep the change. It is refreshing to meet a kind soul after drawing the ire of so many during our travels. We will be staying for two nights and will not require meals." As a tinum coin had a value of 10,000 Drachma, it was very rare for people to use it as a means of payment. The average person barely made more than a thousand Drachma in a month so it was a rather substantial sum to just throw around, causing the old womans eyes to widen as she deftly slipped the coin into her sleeve. She could confirm whether or not it was realter, so, rather than risk offending her guests, she rang a small bell that was hidden under the counter. Less than a minute after the bell had sounded out, a young Cat Person around eight years of age came scampering into the foyer. She was an adorable little girl that drew a lot of simrities with Chloe, surprising Vahn for a brief moment until she asked, "Are these our new guests, Granya~?" While nodding her head, the elderly woman extended her hand, lightly caressing the head of her granddaughter as she exined, "These are our very important guests, Shiori. Guide them to ourrgest suite and make sure to exin our faculties properly, okay? You might be able to earn a bit of extra pocket money if you do well~." Though the old womans words were a little shameless, Vahn just lightly chuckled in response. Ana had given him a spatial artifact that contained several million Drachma before departing so he had more than enough to reward obedient bellgirls. He could also make a fortune just by creating and selling a single artifact so money didnt really have much value to him. Hearing her Grandmothers words, the young Cat Person, Shiori, showed a gleeful expression, her ears and tail twitching excitedly as she thumped her chest and said, "Leave it to me-nya~! Ill give them the Super Shiori Special-nyahaha~!" Laughing at her granddaughters antic, the old woman handed over a room key and two wooden slips that served as a bath keys. Nyandoma was famous for its public bathhouses, but, unless you paid for a special service, they were still split between males and females. Children below the age of five could freely enter both sides, but, if you were caught trying to pass the barrier of the opposite genders bath, a short stay in the local prison was the least of your worries. With the room key in hand, Shiori raised it up high, a beaming smile on her face as she eximed, "Follow Shiori-nyahaha~!" while wielding the key like a marching baton. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn behaves very differently when children are present o3o...,Asuna is a very astute young girl,Arika.exe has stopped running,Shiori will guide the way~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1556 Deciding Upon a Path

Chapter 1556 Deciding Upon a Path

Though it was called a suite, the lodging Shiori guided them to ended up being a rtively simple dwelling with two six tatami rooms, a foyer area where shoes could be stored, a simple kitchte, and a small bathroom. It was also sparsely popted with furnishings, but, as simple was better on some asions, Vahn was quite fond of the homely amodations. It inspired a certain sense of closeness, the type of ce a family or group of close friends would share while vacationing within the scenic City of Light... To reward Shiori for showing them the way and exining the Inns faculties, Vahn rewarded her with a silver Drachma piece and a special bag of candies that could help increase a persons mana capacity by a very marginal amount. To Shiori, they were just sweet candies, but, if she spread them out over a few weeks, they would help strengthen her foundation quite a bit. This would make life in Mundus Magicus easier, and, though it didnt seem like they were struggling to get by, Vahn was always eager to help good people like Shiori and her Grandmother... In a surprisingly miserly fashion, Shiori quickly hid the silver piece from view almost as smoothly as a magician who specialized in sleight of hand. Children in Mundus Magicus learned at a very early age to keep their wealth hidden from view. Even if you were very powerful, showing off your money was the same as inviting misfortune upon yourself, so, even before her shock had worn off, she had already hidden the money from view. Then, snatching the bag of candies out of Vahns hand, she giggled in a mischievous manner, saying, "Young Master is very generous, nyahahaha~." Hearing Shiori address him in such a respectful manner, Vahn couldnt help chuckle as he reached out his hand and absentmindedly stroked her head. The Cat People of Mundus Magicus didnt have the same traditions as those in Danmachi, and, though it wasnt particrly proper to pet those you didnt know, children were a universal exception. It was prettymon to see shopkeeps and those of the older generation stroking the heads of those younger than themselves, sometimes well into their teens. Though her Grandmother often warned her about letting outsiders pet her head, Shiori didnt try to evade Vahns extended hand. His presence gave her a feeling of warmth, and, though it was hard to exin, he even smelled like the sun. As a result, she allowed him to pet her head, finding his caress unlike anything she had ever experienced. Even without having to pretend, a contented smile found its way to her lips as she instinctually pressed her head against his hand. Even without using his [Hands of Nirvana], Vahns Petting Laws were effective against enemies and allies alike. He had cultivated them over hundreds of years at this point so it took little more than a simple touch to convey positive emotions to others. Prolonged exposure would turn his target into putty, however, so, after stroking Shioris head for a few seconds, Vahn retracted his hand, a subtleugh escaping his throat as she nearly stumbled in her attempt to pursue his palm. Before Shiori could ask for more head pats, Vahn adopted a fond smile as he said, "Run along now, Shiori-chan. Im certain you still have other duties to attend. Try not to eat those candies I gave you all at once, okay...?" Aftering back to her senses, Shiori rapidly bobbed her head, spiritedly eximing, "The Young Master is right-nya~! Thank you for the treats, nyahahaha~!" Not wanting to risk offending their special guest, Shiori gave a steep bow before departing down the adjoining corridor with her arms spread wide like an airne getting ready to take off. She was feeling more energetic than ever before, and, though she would keep it hidden from others, Shiori was eager to show off her tremendous fortune to her Grandmother... After following the energetic girls departure with his eyes, Vahn turned to the duo that had been staring at him for quite a while, smiling in amusement as he asked, "What, do you want me to pet your heads as well~?" Far more honest than Arika, Asuna didnt hesitate to nod her head, scamming forward and taking the initiative to ce his hand atop her head. Even before he began to move, she closed her eyes in anticipation, causing a wryugh to escape Vahns mouth as he lightly caressed her head. Seeing Asuna enjoying a healthy dose of head pats, Arika stared unblinkingly for a few moments before ultimately averting her gaze only to find Fenrir had returned from arranging the futons. She had a knowing smile on her face that caused Arika to feel slightly annoyed, but, rather than allow it to bother her, she walked past the hateful woman, saying in a tone audible to everyone present, "It is already gettingte. Asuna is still growing so it is important for her to eat routinely and rest often. It will be safer for us to traverse the city during the day time, so I suggest we take a bath, eat dinner, and retire for the evening." Even if her words were a means of deflecting, there was a certain amount of truth to everything that Arika had said. As a result, Vahn lightly pinched Asunas nose, causing her eyes to slowly peel open as he exined, "Youll be bathing with Arika and Fenrir from now on. Even if the public bathhouse allows children to enter both sides, Im certain you dont want strange people to stare at you, right? Besides, Ill need you to prevent the two of them from going at each others throats..." Though a pout had started to spread across Asunas face when she first heard Vahns words, a look of understanding quickly reced it as she nodded her head and answered, "I understand..." in her usual monotone. Her mother and aunt had told her numerous times that is was dangerous to allow a man other than Vahn to see her naked. They told her men could transform into terrifying wolves if they spotted a young girls naked body, so, hearing there might be strange men present, Asuna had no desire to expose herself to them. Not expecting Asuna to readily agree, Vahn was pleasantly surprised, a gentle smile on his face as he stroked her head and said, "Good girl. And dont worry, Fenrir is very skilled at washing. Listen to her and youll have super smooth skin and silky soft hair, okay~?" Hearing Vahns statement, Asuna turned her swiveled her head toward Fenrir, noticing she had very glossy hair despite its somewhat unkempt appearance. This caused a thoughtful shimmer to flicker across her eyes before she turned back to Vahn, nodding with a curt Nn escaping her throat... --- While the girls were enjoying their bath, Vahn decided to abstain since he could sense quite a few people lounging within the mens side. He didnt feel like being the center of attention amongst a group of guys, and, though he could change his appearance to that of a Cat Person, hiding when it wasntpletely necessary felt weird to him. As a result, he just lounged about within the room as his second vessel cooked alongside Medusa back at the Airfish. This was the reason he had told the olddy not to mind their meals, as,pared to the things he could prepare, most food left a lot to be desired. Though Vahn enjoyed sampling local delicacies, his fondness for cooking had existed ever since his time in the Record of Danmachi. He had even risen through the ranks in the virtual world revolving around cooking, securing the seventh position on the leaderboards. The only reason he couldnt go even higher was due to monstrous existences such as Circe, Benienma, and Medea, who, despite a general disdain for the Virtual World, enjoyed the thematic worlds cooking contests quite a bit. It had taken a while, but, after a considerable amount of coaxing, Vahn was able to convince Circe and Benienma to actually teach him their techniques. They had been very unyielding at first, saying the kitchen was a womans battlefield, but, knowing their weaknesses, Vahn was eventually able to wear them down. Benienma was very weak to gratuitous amounts of praise, and, if you found a way to reverse the usual dynamic, cing her on the receiving end of service, her brain would overload rather quickly. As for Circe, she was marginally more difficult to coax, but, after teaming up with his daughters, Vahn was able to convince her that cooking together was the pinnacle of what it meant to be a family... With three amazing teachers, including the easy to convince Medea, Vahn had quickly developed as a Chef, ultimately earning the seal of approval from all three. He was still far behind the trio in terms of skill, but, if he had genuinely tried to surpass them, Vahn knew he would have been stepping on andmine. They could be surprisingly scary at times, so, rather than offend the trio recognized as Gourmet Gods within the Virtualmunity, Vahn settled on bing good enough to simply put a smile on the faces of his family, friends, and lovers... --- By the time Asuna, Fenrir, and Arika had returned, each wearing specialized yukata that hade with the room, Vahn had already finished setting the table. He had also changed into a yukata, as it was nice to just rx every now and then, so he earned a nk look from Arika as Fenrir and Asuna unhesitantly sat around the table. They each upied the spots on either side of him, leaving the golden-haired Queen furrowing her brows slightly as she sat on thepletely opposite side of the table. Understanding his ce, Vahn smiled in response to the threes arrival, casually stating, "The three of you look very refreshed. Those clothes suit you well." Hearing her Masterspliment, Fenrir lightly tapped her tail against the tatami with a gratified smile on her face. As for Asuna and Arika, the former just gave her outfit a quick once-over before seemingly losing interest, turning her head up and asking, "Will you brush my hair again?" Since Asuna let her hair down to take a bath, her reddish-orange locks extended to the floor when she was seated. Her hair seemed to grow unnaturally fast, so, despite being only two-years-old, it nearly reached the middle of her calves. As a result, she had to tie it up in a rather unique style of twin-tails that used gold ribbons to extend the hair outward five centimeters on both sides. All of her outfits also had a strangely oriental feel to them, making her look like a tiny martial artist with her long-sleeved tunic, ck leggings, andceless shoes. As it had pretty much be his job to help Asuna fix her hair, Vahn dutifully nodded his head before using his chopsticks to pick up a tiny piece of fish. He found it rather amusing when Asuna immediately opened her mouth in anticipation, even if the food wasnt actually intended for her... Resisting the urge to tease her too much, Vahn extended the piece of fish toward Asuna, allowing her to chomp down on it as he looked Arika and asked, "How early do you want to set out in the morning? This is the first leg of your journey so we can walk around and explore for a bit if youd like. Some of the locals might not be too fond of us, but that is no reason not to enjoy the sights and sounds of the city. We can even register at this countrys version of the Adventurers Guild if you want to try and make a name for yourself as something other than a Queen." Without having to consider her response, Arika shook her head, exining, "I have never agreed with the Guild system. It should be the responsibility of the state to protect its people and manage things like trade and resources. Allowing people to privatize such services leads to conflict and a vast disparity between the living conditions of the citizenry. There is nothing wrong with seeking to make a fortune, but, to expect people to risk their lives just to make a living...I cannot agree with it at all. I would rather help people without the promise of a reward, content with the knowledge my actions have aided those in need. I do not believe in pitting the people against each other just to turn a profit..." Hearing Arikas response, Vahn couldnt help but admire the woman a little more than he already did. She could be a little prideful, but she was always thinking about what was best for the Magical World and its citizens. The Guild System was actually a very serious issue in most countries, but, due to the nature of the Magical World, densely popted with monsters, ruins, and massivebyrinths, most people considered it necessary. Bing a famous Adventurer or Mercenary was the only way in which most people could improve the quality of their lives, so, despite tens of thousands of people dying every day, there was no end to the number registering with the Guilds... You only needed to look at the countries that focused on education and the empowerment of their people to understand the ws inherent in the Guild System. The average graduate from one of the various Academies couldpletely wipe the floor with even a veteran member of the Guild. It was these same graduates that often rose to prominence within the Guilds, a fact most aspirants within themunitypletely ignored. They simply saw these graduates as children who were able to achieve a meteoric rise within the Guilds, so, without taking into consideration the disparity in both training and experience, many people overestimated their own chances at fame... The sad truth of the matter was that the most famous Adventurer parties and Mercenary groups were generallyprised of the failures from the Academies. Most of the nations that ced a heavy focus on academics didnt have the Guild System as they wanted to keep their talent within the country, not send it abroad. This meant, with very few exceptions, most graduates joining the Guild did so because their prospects back in their home country were bad. As a result, they sought to be famous Adventurers and Mercenaries, choosing to show off among people whocked proper training since they were unable topete against their actual peers... While continuing to passively feed Asuna, Vahn considered the matter of their identification before nodding his head and exining, "I agree with your views on the Guild System, but, with your and Asunas status, it will be a problem entering the territory of other nations, even if it is to lend a hand. You will need a new identity if you want to avoid causing an international incident. Bing the enemy of an entire nation is a simple matter for me, but, as a nations Queen, there are quite a few things you need to take into ount." Hearing Vahns words, Arika fell into deep thought for a few moments, staring nkly at the food on her te before raising her head, a resolute light in her eyes as she said, "I understand what you are trying to say, but I cannot agree. I do not believe you are an evil person, so, even if we have to take extreme measures, I believe it is for the greater good. Deposing corrupt officials, undermining illegal organizations, and providing aid to those in need...these are not things we should fear being associated with. Even if it causes an international incident, Ostia will not bow down to the tyranny of other nations who prioritize their own interests over their people. This journey is meant to represent a change from a passive approach to a more proactive means of fulfilling our duty. Though I will try and abstain from causing an incident, I will not shy away in the fact of corruption. Ostia has forever been a mark for nations who exploit their people, so, the moment we show weakness, our enemies will feel emboldened." Not expecting Arika to be so resolute, Vahn was at a loss as to how he should respond to her rather bold words. In the end, he settled on smiling widely, an appreciative glimmer in his eye as he said, "Well said! Trying topromise with people who only see others as a means to secure profit and power is a waste of time. Such people will only listen if they think it benefits them or if they believe their foe is simply too powerful to oppose. There is nothing wrong with being more forceful in your methods, so long as you never lose your sense of purpose!" Feeling Vahns aura radiating outward, Arika felt a giddy feeling in her stomach, her hand naturally moving tob through her fringe bangs as she nodded her head with a gratified Nn.... His words were strangely pleasant to hear, filling her with a peculiar sense of validation that seemed to permit her to push forward without fear of censure. She had always felt dissatisfied with the current state of the world, so, hearing Vahns supportive words, Arika couldnt help but feel a little excited about the future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The legacy of the Godhand has been passed unto a new world...,Guess the next Record is Tier 6 Shokugeki no Souma? Toriko? Fighting Foodons?,Giving a prideful woman a sense of validation is very dangerous o_o...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1557 Truth

Chapter 1557 Truth

Now that he had a better understanding of Arikas intent, Vahn exined his own to her, including his intentions to be a deterrent. This subtly changed the dynamic in their rtionship, as, due to his desire not to be directly associated with any nation, Vahn would continue to act as he pleased when the situation called for it. He would help Arika grow stronger and support her aspirations, but, in the end, many others would fall under his umbre. He wasnt going to act in the interests of the Ostian Royal Family, and, depending on the circumstances, she might have to fight political battles and such without his direct support. As she had never expected Vahn to be the guarantor of her authority, Arika had little to say about the shift in their dynamic. She understood that her actions were somewhat selfish, so, just knowing he would support her was enough to give her a boost in confidence. As his status grew, so would her perceived backing, and, if she put in an adequate amount of effort into her training, her power would increase exponentially. This was something she was absolutely certain of, as, after seeing the iprehensible disy of skill demonstrated by Vahn, Arika felt like her horizons had broadened beyondpare... --- Following the rather eventful dinner, there was little else to do other than make idle conversation or sleep, so, after cleaning up all the dishes, everyone retired to the same room. Asuna would insist on sleeping in the same room, so, rather than make an issue out of it, Vahn had asked Fenrir to transfer the futon from the second room into the first. She would be sharing a futon with Arika, but, as the two mattresses had beenid next to each other, Asuna wouldnt be too far away. Though it would have been possible to force Arika and Asuna to stay in their own room, Vahn took pity on the two girls who had lived istion for much of their lives. Asuna had already imprinted on him, so it was virtually impossible for him to break her heart by pushing her away. As for Arika, Vahn knew she would have put on a strong front, but, in reality, she would have felt lonely to be the only one staying in her own room. He might not be willing to reciprocate her burgeoning affections, but that didnt me he was going to force her to experience istion even after finally leaving Ostia. Fortunately, Asuna was a strong barrier, so, with Fenrirying on his left, Asunaying on his right, and Arikaying on the opposite side of her, the chances of any idents happening were slim. It was also fortunate, albeit a little strange to witness, that Asuna slept like the dead when she finally passed out. He noticed Arika didnt really move much at all after going to sleep on the Airfish so it was highly probable she shared the same constitution. This was a little worrisome, for a number of reasons, but, as it prevented the girls from moving around while they slept, Vahn felt it was a boon during times like this... --- As Asuna slowly faded off into thend of dreams, Vahn watched with intrigue as her presence itself seemed to fade away. Her biological functions slowed to a crawl, and, if you didnt observe her very closely, it was impossible to tell if she was even breathing. One of the scariest parts was, even if you opened her eyes, it was as if the life hadpletely drained from them. They didnt move or twitch in the slightest, and, if not for the phenomenal amount of electrical activity in her brain, Vahn would have assumed she didnt even dream... Confirming Asuna was asleep, Vahn rose to a seated position, finding Arikas eyes staring straight back at him as she curled up next to her younger cousin. Then, without raising her head, she asked, "Is there something else you wanted to discuss? Im not particrly tired, so I can humor you for a short while." Without beating around the bush, Vahn inly stated, "There is something you need to know since we will be traveling together from now on. It is about the truth of this world, the people instigating this war, and important matters regarding the future. I had originally intended to remain silent and allow you to uncover the truth on your own, but, after hearing the conviction in your tone, I believe it would be unfair to withhold too many secrets." Hearing Vahns words, Arika began to feel somewhat nervous, but, without letting it show on her face, she, too, rose to a seated position, inly stating, "Go on..." Ignoring the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn adopted a serious expression as he exined, "Though it has irreversibly changed due to my interference, I am privy to information regarding the future of this world. My knowledge is limited to what is recorded and passed down through the annals of history, but, prior to my descent, I memorized almost everything that was meant to take ce over the next hundred years. I possess encyclopedic knowledge regarding significant people, ces, and events..." Arika wasnt quite sure what she was expecting Vahn to say, but, the moment she realized he wasnt just messing with her, an uncharacteristically serious look appeared on her face. She was well aware of the existence of Magic that governed both Space and Time, but, after the Age of Gods hade to an end, such things had all but vanished. Vahns words made it sound like he hade from the future, but, as she listened on, it quickly became apparent that there was a lot more to it than that... --- Vahn knew he was taking a risk by revealing bits of the truth to Arika, but, if the Akamatsuverse was anything like the Nasuverse, being obscured from the perception of the Overseer implied there was a fair chance the current Time Axis simply didnt exist from their perspective. If they were absolutely omniscient, it would be impossible to hide from them, so, as he had experienced personally, it was far more likely that they were only truly aware of the things they were interested in. This meant, so long as he didnt attempt to establish contact with the Overseer, it was highly likely they oblivious to the changes he was making to the current Time Axis. Since his support of Arika and Asuna would drastically alter the course of fate, Vahn felt personally responsible for ensuring they were able to live happy lives. He had originally intended to guarantee this through less direct means, but, after hearing Arikas statements during dinner, he couldnt help but feel inspired by her conviction. She didnt seem like the type of person to be swayed by things like prophecies and predetermined fate, so, rather than keep her in the dark, he decided to bite the bullet, exining much about the truth of this world. This also included the part she was meant to y, the ultimate fate of her country, her fated meeting with Nagi, and, most importantly, matters involving the Mage of the Beginning and Eva... Needless to say, Arika was somewhat skeptical, but, after several hours of questioning, she seemed topletely believe his words. This left her feeling shaken and uncertain, but, after a long period of silence,sting nearly half an hour, she ultimately raised her head, stating, "The history you speak of never ounted for your presence, correct? That means everything that is currently happening is a deviation from the intended course of history. Depending on our actions in the present, even the most significant of future events could bepletely invalidated..." Nodding his head, Vahn reiterated, "In the original timeline, the fate of your mother and aunt was never recorded. You were announced as the Queen of Vespertatia after the war had begun, and, if not for Rubra, we would know very little about what took ce behind the scenes. Even then, it is impossible to know what happened to people like Vesperina, but, based on what happened with Asuna, it is safe to assume she had been killed during thetters kidnapping..." Hearing Vahns reminder, Arika looked towards the sleeping Asuna, her expression morphing into one of pain and conflict as she imagined what it must have been like for her cousin to experience so many tragedies. Not only was she kidnapped, losing her mother in the process, but it seemed as though her memories of the event had beenpletely erased. This might seem like a mercy, but, after hearing about Asuna fighting alongside her son, Arika couldnt shake the feeling her cousin had been manipted. She went from being a weapon used by the enemy to one used by the very people who were supposed to protect her, all without knowing the truth until months before she had little choice but to sacrifice herself for the sake of a world she knew nothing about... Though it could all be coincidence, Arika found it rather unbelievable that her son would end up as a teacher at the very school Asuna had been enrolled in during the exact period of time that Cosmo Entelecheia made aeback. It was obvious that everything had been carefully orchestrated, and, based on Vahns revtions, it seemed like her son had even been orphaned shortly after his birth. She hadpletely disappeared from the annals of history, and, despite being the strongest Mage in the entirety of Mundus Magicus, even her would-be husband vanished. To further emphasize the fact everything was part of some convoluted plot, it seemed that her son had been leftpletely ignorant of the truth, only finding out after he visited Mundus Magicus for the first time. After that, he was manipted by the people that were supposed to be the allies of his parents, people who had virtually ignored his existence until he became strong enough to be of use to them... Even if she knew there must have been a reason behind everything that happened, Arika couldnt help but feel a little sick to her stomach when imaging the actions of her future self. Just knowing she had enved her people, even if it was for their benefit, caused a shudder to run through her body. What made this even worse was the fact that, instead of doing everything she could to try and liberate them, she ran off to give birth to a child she wasnt even going to raise. There was a fair chance she had died during childbirth, but, based on the strengths of her supposed allies, it was far more likely that she had simply abandoned him in order to further some unknown objective... Sensing the chaotic fluctuations in Arikas aura, Vahn was preparing to console her until she looked back at him and said, "I do not care about such a dismal future. Now that I know the truth, I will do what I can in the present to make an even better future. Thank you for telling me these things. Even if there is a chance you are lying, the fact you saved my mother is irrefutable. Had you arrived even a few dayster, I would have been mourning her passing right now. For that, you have my endless and undying gratitude..." As she was speaking, Arika felt like she was beginning to understand why her mother had pushed her to follow Vahn. It wasnt simply to allow her and Asuna to experience the outside world, but, as they had discussed prior to the departure, following him ensured the survival of the Ostian Royal Family and the prosperity of Mundus Magicus. He had seeminglye to their world in order to protect it, and, though it was clear he was still keeping some things from her, Arika knew she had benefited greatly just by hearing him speak about the future... Understanding why her other self had made so many mistakes, a feeling of unbridled conviction swelled within Arikas chest as she firmly stated, "I want to be stronger." Hearing the spirited Queens words, Vahn nodded in understanding, a wry smile spreading on his face as he said, "That was always my intention. As I exined during dinner, I have my own path to walk. I will do what I can to protect the world, itself, but the prosperity of its people penultimatelyys in the hands of those who will lead them. You are one of the candidates I have recognized, but you are not the only one. Do you best to build strong bonds with those you encounter during your journey, as, in the end, they will be your strongest allies when ites to unifying the people and bringing peace to the Magical World." Though she didnt believe Vahn would y as inactive a role as he implied, Arika still nodded her head in understanding. At the same time, however, she wondered what she should do concerning the members of Rubra, and, most importantly, Nagi. Her current impression of the man was that he was an idiot, albeit a very powerful one. She didnt understand how her other self had fallen in love with him, but, after hearing about her two-year imprisonment and subsequent rescue, it almost felt like she had simply given up. The fact he was only fifteen-years-old was the most obvious sign that she had given up, as, based one what Vahn had said, this was his age in Mundus Ventus. If this was tranted into Mundus Magicus years, he would only be around eight years old, and, inversely, she would be well over thirty back on Earth. Members of the Ostian Royal Family aged very slowly, allowing them to live well over two-hundred years within the mana rich environment of Mundus Magicus. This tranted to nearly four-hundred years back on Earth so Arika could only think her other self had been desperate to be involved with someone who might not survive a quarter of her lifespan. He would gradually grow into an old man in a rtively short period of time, leaving her married to someone who looked several times her age despite being much younger. Arika didnt consider herself vain, but she simply couldnt understand what kind of circumstances had led to her involvement with Nagi. Knowing the future of their child and the fate of her cousin only filled her with even greater doubts, making it seem like she hadpletely lost her mind. Yes, she would do everything she could to protect Mundus Magicus and its citizens, but, no matter how she looked at the situation, partnering with a human boy just to produce a child they would both abandon didnt seem like the most effective solution. This wasnt even taking into consideration the fact Nagi had apparently imprisoned Eva in the same school that her son became a teacher at, ultimately leading to her bing his Master and turning him into an immortal vampire when he was only ten years old... Feeling as though everything was part of some contrived scheme, Arika resolved herself to handle things herself this time around. She wouldnt leave the fate of Mundus Magicus in the hands of her child and her cousin. Instead, she would take matters into her own hand, and, if she wasnt strong enough, she would simply be stronger. There were countless ways to extend her training time, and, with Vahns support, Arika was confident she could reach the pinnacle... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Someone put this kid in a sleep study...,Is this the legendary truth bomb, the rarest item in all of Fanfiction!?,Arika either just became the protagonist or the main heroine of the Record xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1558 Moving Forward

Chapter 1558 Moving Forward

Vahn couldnt be sure whether or not his decision was the correct thing to do, but, in the grand scheme of things, it was inarguably the right thing to do. He wasnt particrly fond of lying, and, though he would make exceptions when it came to governance and politics, he disdained the idea of manipting people. Even when he did machinate for a specific oue, it was never with the intent to take advantage of or exploit someone. Rather, it was often to bring an end to exploitation, or, depending on the circumstances, encourage someone else to better themselves. Unless he wanted to be personally responsible for the fate of the Magical Worlds poption, Vahn knew he would need to rear others that were capable of doing so. Though he wasnt fond of politics and the existence of mary systems, trying to impose the Common Law on every Record he visits, while not impossible, was impractical. He hadnt even managed to ensure order in his own Realm, so it would be exceptionally foolish of him to split his focus even further. People like Arika, Asuna, Theo, Jack, and Nagi were those who were originally intended to shape the fate of the Record. By supporting them, and others like them, he could ensure peace and prosperity without having to take proactive measures to govern. That could be entirely left to others, allowing him to be a deterrent force that only took action when the world was in danger. He would be akin to the Guardian God of the, christening new rulers and passing judgment on those who deviated from the path of righteousness. Ultimately, Vahn wanted to help the world, he just didnt want to be responsible for managing it. He would rather reunite with Eva and then fall into the background, shifting his focus from the world atrge to the affairs of his internal Realm. Then, once he had made adequate preparations, he would depart this Record for the next. He currently had no intention to subsume Mundus Magicus into his own Realm, as, at least for the time being, he didnt understand how to reconcile the differences in Laws. Thest thing he wished to happen was pulling the Magical World into his Realm only for it to bepletely destroyed the moment he did so... --- As could be expected, it took quite a bit of time for Arika to fall asleep, but, after she had done so, she, like Asuna, seemed to fall into a type of stasis. This seemed to be a unique trait of the Ostian Royal Family, and, if he wasnt wrong, it was almost as if their minds were processing and analyzing things whilst they slept. Their brain activity would increase dramatically from the moment they fell unconscious, only returning to normal between three and five hourster. From that moment on, they could be awoken without too much difficulty, but, before that, they seemed to ignore virtually all external stimuli. Had he any untoward thoughts, the girls sleeping habits could have been rather dangerous, but, even after revealing the truth to Arika, Vahn was still against reciprocating her feelings. If he did so, she would be an anchor that binds him to this world, forcing him to be more involved by virtue of their rtionship. He couldnt very simply ignore the struggles his own lover, so, from the moment he gave in to her budding emotions, Vahns fate would be tied to Ostia and the fate of the Magical World. Fortunately, while he couldnt exactly take things too far, Vahn had ample distractions to keep him from worrying about such things. Thus, while the royal duo slept, he snuggled up next to Fenrir in order to discuss her past, present, and future behavior. Her fervor toward him was a little infectious, so, even if a girl didnt particrly like him, they would start to after interacting with her for a long enough period of time. He also shared a considerable amount of me in this, but, as Fenrir would basically serve as an example for others, Vahn wanted to ensure she restrained herself, even if but a little... --- After falling asleep a little after 8 PM, Asuna awoke almost precisely five hourster, stating, "I need to pee..." in a dull monotone. As a result, Vahn and Fenrir found themselves with wry smiles on their faces as they stood outside the partially open bathroom door. Afterward, due to Asuna feeling wide awake, they kept her entertained by talking about, of all things, magical theory. This continued until Arika awoke, once again after around five hours of sleep. Then, until the sun came up, they all made idle conversation, enjoying an extended breakfast that included pancakes, tarts, tea, and juice. During the breakfast, Vahn transitioned from idle discussion to the matters of the day, asking, "Now that youve slept on it, what have you decided? I intend to meet with the Great Spirits to discuss the protection of this world. However, if you want to forge an alliance with them, it will be through your own efforts. I can provide my backing, but it will be up to you to convince them of your worth." Though Vahn had yet to meet the Great Spirits, he had an inkling they would be willing to lend him an ear, or whatever their equivalent was. Even the Great Spirit of Darkness and Ice shouldnt be too hostile to him, not just because of his [True Friend of the Elements], but because of the very nature of his Source Energy. To them, he was like their older sibling or something akin to a father figure, an existence they woulde to respect if for no other reason than the purity of his aura and his love for the. Arika, however, was just a human, and, though she was very special, he wouldnt be the guarantor that bound the Great Spirits to human desire and politics... Understanding what Vahn was trying to say, Arika nodded her head, a glimmer of conviction in her eyes as she stated, "I would like to meet with the Great Spirits. Even if I cannot win their favor, I will endeavor to win their trust. True prosperity can only be achieved when people live in harmony with the Elements." Approving of Arikas words, Vahn nodded his head in turn before smiling as he said, "Very well then. Our first destination will be the Shrine of Wisdom. Afterward, well have a day or two just to explore before departing Nyandoma. Unless you want to try and prevent the war in its entirety, we have just under two years to focus on your training. You know my reason foring to this world, so, as long as you keep that in mind, I will support any path you choose." Though she didnt believe Vahn would just stand on the sidelines, Arika gave a curt nod in response before inly asking, "When will we depart?" Rather than answer Arikas question, Vahn turned to Asuna, who, for quite some time now, had just been staring nkly as she listened to the conversation. She seemed to be in a passive state of data collection, absorbing everything she was seeing and hearing. Seeing the doll-like girl turn her head to meet his gaze, Vahns smile softened slightly as he asked, "Are you ready to go, Asuna? This journey is as much yours as it is your cousins. If there is a special ce you wish to visit, I will take you there." Seemingly considering his words, Asuna adopted a reflective look, her eyes briefly deviating to the left as if she were trying to recall something. Then, after several long seconds, she gave a small nod and said, "Mother told me to make lots of friends. I have read that it is normal for children to go to school in order to form bonds and learn more about the world. I would like to try going to school." Though he wasnt exactly surprised, Vahn didnt expect Asuna to suddenly mention something like attending school. It had actually been something he had thought about, but, until the Mage of the Beginning had been dealt with, allowing her to attend school was simply too dangerous. Even if he became a teacher and watched over her from the shadows, it was virtually guaranteed that Cosmo Entelecheia would target her. Even sending her to Earth wouldnt really be a solution as every major school teaching Magic was operated under the authority of the Magic Council stationed within the Megalomesembrian Confederacy... Realizing there wasnt a simple solution to Asunas request, as even enrolling her into a school for normal humans wasnt really an option, Vahn fell into deep thought. He could always try making his own school, recruiting teachers and students during their travels, but that created quite a number of problems. Most of the students he picked up would basically be orphans, and, unless he used the system he had implemented back in Danmachi, there was no simple way of unifying the curriculum and ensuring everyone had the best possible education to suit their needs... Understanding he would need to put a lot of thought into it, Vahn decided to temporarily shelve the matter, ruffling Asunas hair as he stated, "It will take some time, but I can promise you will be able to attend school at some point. Until then, why not try to be friends with Fenrir, Medusa, and the Elements? It is possible to be friends with animals, spirits, and even monsters, so dont limit yourself to only befriending other people, okay...?" Since she hadnt expected to be able to go to school immediately, Asuna wasnt bothered by Vahns words. Instead, she looked toward Fenrir, finding the curious woman smiling back at her. Then, after a few seconds had passed, her eyes drifted toward the fluffy ears atop Fenrirs head, smiling slightly when she saw them twitch in response. Havinge to a conclusion, Asuna looked back at Vahn, stating, "I understand. I will do my best to be friends with everyone." Though Vahn wanted to correct her and exin there were people she needed to be cautious of, he didnt intend to let Asuna out of sight until the danger had passed. Fortunately, she seemed to be an exceptionally smart youngdy, so, even if he didnt go into greater detail, she should be able to correctly deduce who she should, and shouldnt, trust. She also had the most powerful fate he had ever seen, so, regardless of what happened, Asuna would be able to be monstrously powerful, or, at the very least, umte allies who were willing to fight at her side. Confident in his reasoning, Vahn gently ruffled Asunas hair onest time before saying, "Thats that, then. Well head to the Shrine of Wisdom and decide on our next course of action after returning to the ship. Come, lets get you washed up and ready to go. Im looking forward to meeting the Great Spirit of Light in person." Though she nodded her head in understanding, Asuna didnt immediately get up from her seat at the low-lying table. Instead, she chomped down on onest cookie before raising her arms, clearly intending for him to pick her up. This caused Vahns smile to turn slightly wry, but, finding her antics to be somewhat adorable, he still dutifully picked her up, carrying her all the way to the bathroom as she continued to nibble on her cookie... --- As a nationprised of predominately nocturnal citizens, anything that wasnt considered vital to Nyandomas prosperity generally operated at very awkward hours. The only ces that were really open were the various tourist traps, but, with a war looming on the horizon, the number of tourists had sharply declined. As a result, Nyandoma became eerily silent during the day, but, if you were to look closely, you could still see quite a number of people just lounging about, absorbing the rays of the sun, or, quite literally, enjoying a catnap. Fortunately, due to how sparsely popted the streets were, Vahns party didnt have to suffer from the same hateful gazes as the previous night. Most of the people out and about during the day had little motivation to cause trouble, and, due to the principle belief that the early bird gets the worm, the majority of Mercenaries and Adventurers had already departed the city. This made it rtively easy to traverse, and, after a little over half an hour, Vahn was able to see the rather massive Shrine of Wisdom looming over every other building in the area. Seeing the shrine that had basically been carved into a small forested mountain, Vahn couldnt help but admire its beauty. It had a simultaneously ancient yet pristine feel to it, and, though the culture of Nyandoma was marginally different from Japan, there were still tori-like gates present. There was also a long stone path that seemed to zig-zag up the mountain, allowing people to leisurely climb the seventeen-thousand steps to the top. The other option included scaling what was known as the Path of Heaven, a series of stone steps that ranged between five and fifteen meters in height. This wasnt actually that difficult to traverse, but, due to the barrier around the mountain, it was virtually impossible for normal people to use Magic. As the only way to meet with the Great Spirit directly was to scale the Path of Heaven, Vahn looked toward Arika, asking, "Will you be okay without your Magic?" Rather than answer, Arika only briefly made eye contact with Vahn before taking a step forward and rather effortlessly leaping up the first step. The barrier didnt actually interfere with her ability to use Royal Magic, but, not wanting to cheat, she used the strength of her legs alone to make the leap. Seeing Arika ascending without much difficulty, Vahn turned toward Asuna, who, immediately after meeting his gaze, said, "I wont be able to make it." in a curt tone. Vahn would have actually been more surprised if the 85cm tall Asuna could leap five meters without any kind of boost. She could clear even higher obstacles with the use of Magic, but, unlike the other members of the Royal Family, Asuna couldnt use Royal Magic. Instead, she had something infinitely rarer, a type of Ancient Magic that hadnt existed since the Era of the Gods: Twilight Imperial Magic. ording to what Ana and Vesperina had told him, this was a type of Magic that allowed a person to create and destroy worlds. This meant Asuna was very likely a Tier 5 being, and, though she was currently very weak, her potential was absolutely monstrous... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn couldnt help but grin when Asuna suddenly lift her arms up high, clearly intending to be carried to the top. She might very well be the most important person in the entire Record, but, at least for the time being, she was just an adorable, slightly spoiled, little Princess. Rather than worry about what she would be, Vahn was more concerned about giving her the chance to be happy, so, after lightly tickling her sides, he picked her up into a princess carry before easily leaping up the massive stone steps... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn just wants to bezy with Eva (UwU)...,Mahou Sensei Vahn!?,Asuna is slowly taming the Dragon xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1559 Connoisseur : Revelations

Chapter 1559 Connoisseur : Revtions

After reaching the top of the mountain, Vahn found Arika waiting near the entrance to a rtively small shrine located behind the muchrger shrineplex. Near the very back, an entity that was closer to what some might describe as a Demon could be seen sitting in a meditative pose atop an ancient stone dais. It had a vaguely humanoid structure with a lean and muscr figure, but, rather than appear organic, its entire body seemed to be formed from a type of white metal with ents of gold. It wore a rather creepy-looking mask that loosely resembled a cat, while, at the sides of its head, four horns, tworge and two small, jutted out to form s-shaped curves. At a nce, some might mistake the entity for a statue that had been dressed up in monks robes, but, considering it was floating a few centimeters off the ground and was petting what appeared to be a Beckoning Cat, it was clearly alive. It also slightly changed the orientation of its head from the location of Arika, staring back at Vahn before shifting its gaze between Fenrir and Asuna. Breaking the silence, the creature extended one of its wed fingers, pointing towards Asuna as it said, "Unqualified...leave..." in a paradoxically soothing yet ghastly voice. Ignoring the demon-like entitys usation, Vahn looked towards the somewhat chubby cat in itsp, drawing the attention of the rather adorable creature as he mused, "Do you mind having your guardian stand down? I can be overprotective so things might not end well if he tries to antagonize this little one..." Surprising Arika, Asuna, and even Fenrir, the chubby white cat showed the closest thing to a smile that a cat could manage before answering in an incredibly deep voice, "How peculiar...to think there are still things in this world that can surprise me. Very well. Stand down, Lars. You would struggle to defeat those two beauties, much less that monstrous fe." The moment it heard the chubby cats words, the demon-like figure gave a curt nod, answering, "I understand, Lord Utu..." before restraining its rising aura. With tensions quickly dissipating, the chubby cat, Nyon Utu, making itself appear even more like a beckoning cat, waved its paw in a e hither gesture. In response to this, Vahn set Asuna on the ground, saying, "Stay with Fenrir. Ill be right back." Without waiting for Asunas response, Vahn lightly ruffled her hair before gesturing to Arika to stay back as he approached the mochi-like cat. It almost looked like a plushy that was designed to look like a cartoon character, but, if you looked closely, it actually had extremely fine fur that seemed to be formed from luminescent fibers. Its eyes were squinted shut, much like a contented cat enjoying a sunny day, but, during the brief moment when he had turned away, Vahn noticed its eyes open to reveal sky-blue with peculiar golden pupils... Ignoring the statuesque creatures prating gaze, Vahn startled Lord Utu by suddenly extending his hand and gently strokings its head. This caused its guardian to release a brilliant aura, much like the sun, but, before it could say or do anything it would regret, Utu inly stated, "Its fine. I already told you to stand down, didnt I? This man...means no harm...?" Though it hadnt noticed it at first, Utu quickly realized that Vahns hand emitted a soothing warmth that rapidly suffused throughout its body. This was a very pleasant sensation, causing it to fall silent for several seconds before saying, "You are quite good..." Smiling in response to the curious white creaturespliment, Vahn briefly activated his [Hands of Nirvana], greatly increasing the potency of his Petting Laws before retracting his hand immediately thereafter. This caused Utu to open its eyes like a cat that had just woken up to the sound of food being poured into its bowl, bringing a smile to Vahns face as he mused, "The texture of your fur is quite good. You also have a pliant body, almost like you dont even have bones...if I had to give you a rating, you have a pettability of eight out of ten...very nice..." Hearing Vahns remark, Utu had a very human-like expression of incredulity as it inly stated, "Ill have you know that my fur is the softest in all of Mundus Magicus. If Im an eight, nothing is a ten." Snorting through his nose, Vahn call her before Fenrir appeared at his side with Asuna. This caused the statuesque High Spirit to tense up, but, after being warned twice, it didnt try to release it aura a third time. As for Utu, it noticed Fenrirs fluffy ears and tail, its eyes bing slightly sharper as it inspected their quality and sheen... Lifting up Fenrirs deceptively heavy tail, Vahn began to casually stroke it as he exined, "You may very well have the softest fur, but that isnt what makes something pettable. Texture, pliability, smell, and even temperature all y a part. If someone were to pet or snuggle you for an extended period of time, they would eventually need to take a break. Your body is too warm and your fur is seems to be perfectly uniform without a natural flow. The direction fur grows can be very important, naturally leading the hand of the person petting from one end to the other without a feeling of incongruity." As Vahn spoke, he ran his hand along the length of Fenrirs tail. Her fur was not only soft, but it was very thick, allowing his hand to sink into the coat likebing through a fine shag carpet. Despite this, it would quickly regain its volume the moment his hand passed, guiding his palm forward like a surfer being drawn by gravity as a wave crests behind them. At the same time, Fenrirs tail twitched in a pleasant manner, a reaction that encouraged further petting... Though it might sound like Vahn was speaking nonsense, Nyon Utu seemed to take his words very seriously, nodding its head as it said, "I see...it is the bnce and harmony of traits that ensure the maximum pettability...my eyes have been opened...may I...?" Fenrir wasnt fond of letting other people pet her, but, feeling somewhat prideful at the moment, she gave a small nod before dexterously extending her tail towards the peculiar creature. Extending its paw in a rather unnatural manner, making it seem more like a slime-shaped cat than a vertebrate, Nyon Utu gently caressed Fenrirs tail. It immediately took note of the fact that the sleek fur was nearly as soft as its own, but, just as Vahn had said, the flow of her fur seemed to guide the hand in a specific direction. It was also cool to the touch, but, if you pressed deeper into the fur, it was possible to feel a bit of warmth that radiated outward from the core... After retracting its hand, Nyon Utu noded in a sagely manner as it said, "My hubris had prevented me from reaching the pinnacle...and to think, I even go as far as to call myself the Great Spirit of Wisdom...funyaaa~" Though even he had started to feel like this situation was a little strange, Vahn also felt inclined to nod his head before adopting a thoughtful expression and adding, "There is one thing that might elevate you to a nine..." Hearing words of hope, Nyon Utu looked toward Vahn with glimmering eyes, asking, "Truly? Is there a way forward for someone who had been blinded by arrogance...?" Stroking an imaginary beard, Vahn nodded his head a few times before nearly giving the High Spirit charged with protecting Nyon Utu an aneurism when he picked the chubby cat up. Then, choosing to let actions speak louder than words, he handed them over to Asuna. She had been looking at the peculiar cat with possessive eyes, and, though he would probably need to restrain himself more in the future, Vahn was still in a pampering phase. Nyon Utu immediately disyed the characteristic indignity of a house cat that had been picked up by a small child, but, after Asuna began to rub her cheek against the back of its head, it released a mewling sigh and said, "I see...my small size makes it easier to pet my entire body...is that it...?" Without beating around the bush, Vahn nodded his head, adding, "Your squishy body also gives you a high huggability factor. Children also have higher body temperatures, so, even if your body is a little warm, they wouldnt be ufortable. I would even argue that, when ites to being hugged by a child, you transcend ratingspletely." Amused by Vahns words, Nyon Utu released a strangely humanugh before extricating itself from Asunas grip and hovering in the air as it said, "You are very interesting. Even amongst Dragons, few are bold enough to tease a Great Spirit. Tell me, Friend of the Elements, why have youe here? Is it for the sake of that woman...?" Even without looking back, Vahn knew Nyon Utu was looking over at Arika, but, surprising both cat and woman, he shook his head, answering, "I have decided to support her, but that isnt the reason I have appeared. If she is to win your favor and trust, that will be through her own efforts. The main reason I came here today was to both meet and befriend you. I have already decided to protect this world so I would like to befriend those who havee before me." Sensing the truth contained within Vahns words, Nyon Utu stared back at him for several seconds before stating, "There are very few qualified to call themselves True Friends of the Elements. Other than our original creator, you are the only one I have ever seen. I am unable to determine how you came to be, but, for reasons I cannot fully understand, I feel as though you can be trusted. So long as you do not endanger this world, I would be d to call you my friend...?" Noticing the confusion on Nyon Utus face, Vahn smiled as he stated, "Vahn. My full name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, but you can just call me Vahn. As for my title, I am best known as the Sage Dragon Emperor." As it had already sensed the draconic aura within Vahns body, even addressing him as a Dragon just moments prior, Nyon Utu wasnt surprised by the introduction. Instead, it produced a cat-like smile, musing, "I will allow you to address me as Nyon. I would normally ask that you call me Utu, but, out of consideration for your skill and knowledge of petting, I will permit you to address me by my first name." Since Nyon had been floating in front of him, Vahn took advantage of the opportunity, extending his hand to pet the malleable Spirits head. It didnt offer any resisting to her caress, rather, much like a normal cat, it ran its body along his palm without requiring him to move. Then, like a scarf, it wrapped around his shoulders and said, "Introduce me to yourpanions. I am curious about thepany kept by a Sage Dragon Emperor. I would normally permit but a single question to each of my guests, but, out of consideration for our friendship, I will tolerate a longer conversation." Not minding the fact Nyon was using his shoulders as a perch, Vahn nodded his head, gesturing to Fenrir, Asuna, and Arika in turn, exining, "This is my most faithfulpanion, the Queen of the Frozen Abyss, Fenrir. As for this little cutie, she goes by the rather long name of Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia, the Twilight Imperial Princess. Lastly, the taciturn beauty with the golden hair is the current Queen of Vespertatia, Arika Anarukia Enteofyushia. She might not show it in her countenance, but she has quite a passionate and respectable character. I believe she may very well have what it takes to lead the people of this world to prosperity; a world where all races coexist in harmony with nature." Though her mind had momentarily stalled when Vahn referred to her as a taciturn beauty, Arika quickly recovered by the time he had finished speaking. She even suspected he had extended his introduction out of consideration for her, causing an almost imperceptible smile to appear on her face as she politely bowed and said, "It is my honor to meet the Great Spirit of Light, Nyon Utu..." As the nation closest to Ostia, Nyon was obviously aware of who Arika and Asuna were, causing its eyes to open slightly as it mused, "Hooo...to think the Queen of Vespertatia has entered my country in such a secretive manner. The Ostian Royal Family would have never done something like this in the past...tell me, are you trying to prevent the onset of war? Have you decided on more proactive measures than mere diplomacy~?" Feeling as though she was being tested, Arika raised her head, staring directly into the gaze of the Great Spirit of Light. She felt as though all of her thoughts and emotions were gleaned in an instant under its gaze, but, undaunted, she proimed, "Though I act out of duty, my desire to protect this world and its people is sincere. I will not ask for the help or protection of the Great Spirits...I will do what I can by using my own power, and, if it isnt enough, I will find allies who share my hope for a better future. I only ask that, when the timees, you will help your people see purpose beyond the veil of hatred..." Though it could not see through Vahn in the slightest, Nyon had been able to glean some insights from peering into Arikas most recent memories. This caused its eyes to widen in shock, as, due to her focusing on matters specifically rted to it, Nyon learned of its impending fate. It wasnt able to read all of her memories, but, as her conversation with Vahn was very recent, Nyon understood that the sun would soon set on the nation of Nyandoma... Just as its mind became slightly chaotic, Nyon was surprised when a calming warmth began to spread through its body, even without Vahn directly petting them. His aura was very gentle and warm, easing some of the fear and trepidation that had started to pervade their mind after spying on Arikas memories. It had also learned that Vahn specifically came to this world to protect it, so, while it might have been fated to die, his presence had already changed the flow of destiny. This realization caused them a considerable amount of relief, and, though they would normally never humor talks of supporting the ambitions of a mortal, Nyon decided to hear out the words of the woman backed by the Sage Dragon Emperor... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Great Spirit of Light is quite majestic (OwO)...,An unparalleled expert in the field,Great Spirit of Wisdom? More like Mind-Reading Hack...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1560 Shif

Chapter 1560 Shif

Vahn wasnt sure how much Nyon had gleaned, but, based on how the shift in the atmosphere, it was pretty obvious that chubby cat had gleaned something. This was his only major concern when exining matters of the future to Arika, as, in the Akamatsuverse, there seemed to be quite a few ways to read minds or share memories. There was even a species that seemed to possess this as an Innate, the descendants of the Elementals, the Elves. Bying into contact with other people, they were able to share everything from emotions and thoughts, to deeply repressed memories. Because of the nature of Elves, they had nearly been pushed to extinction in ages past, and, if not for an international treaty and the protection of an Ancient Dragon, they would have been wiped out long ago. The saddest part about this was, rather than for their own sake, Vahn suspected the only reason the Elves were spared was so that they could still be of use. They were worth a fortune in the ck Market, and, if you peeled back theyers of a so-called intelligence organization, you would almost always find a few Elves being manipted for their ability. One of the main reasons Vahn hadnt visited the diminutive Elven nation of Elfenhof was due to the fact that they simply didnt allow outsiders into their country. He would still be able to visit, as there were very few ces that could actually keep him out, but Vahn felt now wasnt the best time. Most of the Elves very rarely spoke, relying on direct contact tomunicate with members of their own species, so it wouldnt take long for him to be exposed. Their diminutive poption allowed them to know virtually every member of their species with a degree of familiarity that was unmatched by any others. The moment one of them came into contact with him, it would already bee toote to make excuses. After spreading his name through the internationalmunity, Vahn was intending to relocate the Elves to an area where they wouldnt have to fear the machinations of other countries. He was also intending to liberate any Elves he encountered during his travels, as, regardless of what excuses the host country mighte up with, the act of keeping an Elf isted from its people was, objectively, evil. Most were kept in nearplete istion to prevent them from so much as touching anyone they were not supposed to touch. This meant the only memories they ever came into contact with were those of criminals, spies, or enemies of the organization they were exploited by. It was a truly nightmarish way to live, and, due to magical seals ced on their bodies and minds, the only hope they had of release was being executed in order to prevent their intel from falling into the hands of others... --- While Vahn was thinking about the best way to protect the Elves from greed and corruption, Arika had finished conveying her hopes and dreams to Nyon, earning a small nod from the plush cat as it said, "Though you have quite the idealistic ambition, I can tell you are a realist who has put a lot of thought into this. You will struggle to move forward on your own, but, with the proper support and motivation, I believe you will go far...funyaaa..." Though it had been enjoying Vahns aura and caress, Nyon allowed itself to slink off his shoulders before approaching to within paws reach of Arika. This caused her to tense up slightly, but, instead of shying away, she held her ground as it ced a visible paw print between her brows, saying, "In ordance with the Ancient Covenant, I cannot follow and support you. Instead, I will grant you my Blessing so that, when you meet with my kin, they will be more inclined to listen..." Hearing Nyons words, Arika felt extremely gratified, but, before she could express it, her mind drew aplete nk when it leaned in and whispered in a surprisingly feminine voice, "My Blessing is said to increase a persons fortune in all manner of things. Im certain your efforts will bear fruit if you allow yourself to be more honest with your desires, nyafufufu~." Unable to respond, Arika could only stare nkly as Nyonughed at her expense before drifting back to Vahn and rubbing its body against his cheek. This caused a feeling of perturbance in her heart, especially when she saw the teasing glimmer in the peculiar Great Spirits eyes... --- After bidding farewell to Nyon, promising to visit again in the future, Vahn descended down the mountain with Asuna in tow. She was now carrying a tiny gtinous creature that radiated a gentle glow in her arms. It was actually very cute, possessing cartoonish features such as two nubs atop its head and a tiny tail that loosely resembled a kittens. This had been a parting gift from Nyon Utu, a Lesser Elemental Spirit formed directly from their essence, or, as Nyon themselves had put it, their child. Nascent Elementals were invisible to most people, but Lesser Elementals could be seen without too much difficulty. Among the Spirits associated with the Element of Light, Lucky Cats were especially rare, and, ording to legend, denoted a person as having the Great Spirit of Lights protection and favor. This was generally epted as truth in Nyandoma, so, with the adorable ball of light in two, most people who saw them even gave polite bows after realizing what exactly Asuna was holding. Vahn felt it was rather silly, not because of the respectful looks people were giving them, but due to the fact that Asuna had ced the gtinous creature on top of his head as she rode his shoulders. It was like he was wearing a buoyant hat, and, though it didnt actually bother him, Vahn would feel a modicum of embarrassment whenever a child would point andugh in the characteristic manner of Cat People. After reaching their inn, Vahn removed Asuna from his shoulders as the Lucky Cat leaped from his head andnded with a curious poi sound. It seemed to be able to bounce like a rubber ball, but, when it wanted to stay still, it could adhere to a surface without leaving behind a sticky residue. If this hadnt been the case, Vahns hair would have turned into quite a mess after having it washed by the peculiar creature along the way... Changing his focus from Asunas new friend, Vahn turned to Arika and asked, "So, what do you wish to do from here? We can probably stay here without any trouble now that you have the Blessing of Nyon. The Lucky Cat will also serve as a deterrent to most people, so there is no real rush to depart the city." Though she was also interested in exploring, Arika felt that now wasnt the best time to do so. The world was currently on the verge of a catastrophic war. She might not be able to outright prevent it, but, if she used the next two years to increase her strength and gather allies, they could bring it to a swift conclusion. To that end, she stared back at Vahn with a rather intense gaze, causing his smile to gradually turn wry due to the long silence the preempted her saying, "I want to meet Rubra before the onset of war. I also want to be stronger...strong enough to grasp my own fate and protect the things I wish to protect." As it would obviously be better to form a counter-organization before Cosmos Entelecheia began to carry out its ns, Vahn could understand where Arika wasing from. He was also somewhat interested in power and character of Nagi Springfield, so, before things got too far out of hand, he wanted to meet the fiery youth. Arika seemed to have developed a negative opinion of the young hero, but, when it came to the Protagonists of the world, they were rarelycking in charisma. There was still a chance Arika might fall for the youth, so, before she became even more resolute, Vahn wanted to, at the very least, have them meet each other... Nodding his head in approval, Vahn smiled as he said, "Well stay one more night be departing. Im not sure Rubra is presently active in Mundus Magicus so our next destination will be Ariadne to the West. They might be a City State of the Hes Empire, but their creed is fundamentally different from their Parent Country due to their focus on academics. Their Capital is even known as the City of Education, so, in order to keep my promise to Asuna, I would like to see the educational standard of this world." Hearing her name mentioned, Asuna turned her attention away from ying with the Lucky Cat, staring back at Vahn with a slight smile on her face. She had never doubted his words, but, knowing he was already taking measures to keep his promise, Asuna felt very happy. As a result, she walked up to Vahn, surprising him slightly by tightly hugging his waist... Feeling his heart soften, so too did Vahns expression as he began to affectionately stroke Asunas hair. This was observed by Arika for a few moments before she ultimately nodded her head, saying, "I understand. It is good that you are so considerate of Asunas needs. I, too, had desired to attend school when I was younger. I hope she is able to experience all the things we members of the Royal Family were never able to obtain..." Though she spoke eloquently and without pause, Vahn could sense the sadness contained in Arikas words when speaking about missed opportunities. This gave him an almost irresistible urge to sigh, but, instead, he gestured for Arika toe closer. This caused her to tense up, but, rather than shy away, she obediently moved until she was well within reach of his hand. While slightly shaking his head, Vahn began to caress the top of Arikas as he muttered, "I might not be able to meet all of your expectations, but you are allowed to behave like a child around me. Even if you are a grown woman and Queen, you are still very youngpared to me. I can pamper you a bit, so long as you keep things within moderation..." Arika felt strangely annoyed by Vahns words, but, knowing he was trying to be considerate, she fell silent for nearly a full minute before lightly nodding her head. If she were being honest with herself, she was somewhat envious of Asunas treatment, but, not wanting to be treated like a child, she just buried her minor resentment deep in her heart. Vahns words made her feel frustrated, but, in spite of this, his concern caused a feeling of warmth to spread, not just from her head, but from the same area where she buried most of her wants and desires... --- Since it was still pretty early, Vahn spent the remainder of the day escorting Arika, Asuna, and Fenrir around the capital city of Nyandoma. Most ces were closed, but there were still plenty of tourist traps and scenic venues to tour, so long as you had the money. Since finances were the least of his concerns, Vahn allowed the trio to enjoy themselves while rewarding the young children that were kind enough to show them around the area. This was rtivelymon within the country of Cat People, allowing the adults to man and operate the various businesses while entrusting tourists torge groups of very handsy children. Unfortunately for the mischievous little Cat People, Vahn didnt carry a wallet on him, and, despite their high-born status, Arika and Asuna didnt wear things like jewelry. Even his usual pendant was missing, as he had yet to reforge it, so the only thing they could have possibly stolen was Fenrirs cor. This, however, waspletely impossible, and, due to the natural aura that permeated from her body, even the boldest of the mischievous tour guides didnt dare tempt fate. Instead, they had grown into a veritable flock by the time Vahns group returned to the Inn,rgely due to the excess of treats and pocket money he handed out... Compared to the previous evening, very few people showed any hostility towards them, both as a result of the gentle light that seemed to radiate from Arika and the chubby cat that seemed to have be fond of riding atop Vahns head. The flock of children also deterred any potential trouble-seekers, as, despite their growing disdain for outsiders, they understood the reason for such arge group. Nyandoma was actually experiencing a recession right now, so, if they tried to get in the way of their own people making money, they were likely to bembasted by their peers and elders... Prior to entering the Inn, Vahn had the children line up to receive a bronze Drachma and a tiny bag of sweets. They had be surprisingly obedient after following him for a few hours, so, without trying to cheat or cut in line, all twenty-three children formed an orderly queue. They also didnt shy away from having their heads pat, allowing Vahn to lightly ruffle their unkempt hair before sending them off with a smile. There were actually a number of children with underlying illnesses and chronic diseases so Vahn was using the brief moment of contact to treat most of their conditions. The cookies he gave them were also functionally simr to the rations that had been developed by Da Vinci, so, even if they ate them all at once, the nutrient-rich substance would remain in their body, slowly digesting as they required sustenance. This would allow those who were on the verge of starvation to make a full recovery, and, though it wouldnt treat the underlying issue, it would drastically improve their chances of survival. Once all the children had departed, Vahn turned to the trio patiently observing them, smiling as he said, "Thanks for waiting. Now, how about something light and nutritious for dinner? The food we got from the stalls wasnt bad, but I can still recall the feeling of grease lining my throat. How about something like a garden sd and some rice pudding for dessert...?" Rather thanment on the dinner arrangements, Arika decided to confirm her suspicions, asking, "Did you treat those children?" Chuckling lightly in response to Arikas inquiry, Vahn just casually replied, "Of course. Didnt I say it back when I first treated your mother? What use is having such a skill if I dont use it to help those in need? Some of those children had sticky fingers, but, with war looming over their heads, they are just doing what they can to survive. Did their actions upset you...?" Without needing to think about it, Arika shook her head, stating, "No. You did the right thing. I just think that ability of yours is very strange. It doesnt seem like any kind of Magic I have ever seen or heard of. You were even able to treat my mother when others had abandoned all hope. If possible, I would like to learn such a mysterious technique. If it is a secret, however, please forget I mentioned it." This time, it was Vahn who shook his head, exining, "I dont mind teaching others, but the skill I use is one that takes decades to achieve even a marginal amount of mastery. It requires advanced knowledge of the physiology and structure of anyone you want to treat, and, without the ability to see the internal structure of your patient, it is almost impossible to use effectively. There is a chance you will do more harm than good, so, while I can teach you, using the technique before I have given my approval is forbidden. It is also one of my personal techniques, so, if you wish to inherit it, you would need to be my official apprentice and vow never to use it with the intention of causing harm..." Arika wasnt surprised to learn there were strict requirements to use such a mysterious technique, but, when Vahn got to the part about bing an official apprentice, the thought of addressing him as Master briefly passed through her mind. This caused a strange feeling in her stomach, but, without letting it show on her face, she waited until Vahn had finished speaking before answering, "I will keep that in mind." before turning around and retreating inside the Inn... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Damn, these Elves be tragic...,Im surprised Vahn doesnt have a Divinity rted to the protection of children at this point...,Doki-doki Arika Ojou-sama...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1561 Precursor

Chapter 1561 Precursor

After a rtively uneventful night, Vahn andpany departed the Inn, bidding farewell to the old matron and leaving a parting gift for the adorable Shiori. Vahn hade to know that Shioris mother had died a few years prior, and, due to various circumstances, they didnt know where her father was. As a result, her grandmother ended up bing Shioris guardian, taking care of her in spite of her advanced age. Fortunately, the Inn had quite a number of female staff, both young and old, to help take care of her. Since he had a soft spot for children, Vahn left a sizeable donation to help ensure the Inn was able to tide through the recession. He also left funds to sponsor Shioris education, but, if she wanted to continue working at the hereditary Inn, it could also be used to purchase things like clothes and other essential items. Ultimately, Vahn just wanted to give the adorable little girl a chance, and, since their fates had ovepped, even for a moment, he decided to reward the duo for their persistence and kindness... --- With the Airfish well on its way towards Ariadne, Vahn was adding the finishing touches to a hybrid [Sub-Space Orb] within the bowels of the ship. In the past, this would have required a stationary point to anchor the orb, but, after decades of practice, rooting a [Sub-Space Orb] to a mobile tform was a rtively simple feat to achieve. The only real downside was that it required a rather ridiculous amount of energy to sustain, but, with the Airfish having be home to a sizeable poption of Elementals, even this wasnt really an issue. Vahn had thought about purchasing or developing one of the high-end dioramas that were often used as resorts and retreats for exceedingly wealthy Aristocrats, but, as the spatial fabric was a lot more unstable than a rooted [Sub-Space Orb], he decided against it. He would have needed a few months just to simte the internal environment, and, even then, it would serve little purpose other than as a vacation home, albeit one with very powerful time-dtion... Afterpleting the rather arduous task, requiring a little more than four hours of focus, Vahn wiped away his brow before turning to face hisrge audience, asking, "So, did you enjoy the show? I dont usually have an audience for things like this. Hahaha~" In response to his question, Asuna wiggled out of Fenrirs embrace before scampering over to Vahns side and saying, "Teach me. I want to learn." Though she and Arika had a near-perfect memory, allowing them to emte pretty much any spell or technique they saw, replicating Ritual Magic, physically constructed Spell Formations, and Grand Magic Wards were significantly more difficult. If they could copy any technique with just a nce, the members of the Ostian Royal Family would have aplished more as a family of Artisans than members of Royalty. They also wouldnt have to spend most of their time researching Lost and Ancient Magics, trying to understand the techniques that had been inherited, and subsequently lost, from the Age of Gods. Ruffling Asunas hair, Vahn answered, "Certainly. There are other things you will have to learn before I can teach you this, however. Dont worry. Though your physical training will startter, I n to start teaching you Magical Theory pretty soon. Now, want to take a look inside?" Without any hesitation, Asuna nodded her head before raising her arms up high. This caused Vahn to softly chuckle, exining, "ce your palm on the orb and imagine yourself entering. I cant carry you everywhere, unfortunately." Hearing the exnation, Asuna slowly lowered her arms, falling into an oppressive silence for a few moments before nodding her head with an Nn. Vahn wasnt quite sure what to make of this, as she didnt seem upset or anything, but he didnt have too much time to think about it since Asuna quickly ced her palm against the orb, vanishing into thin air. Though the [Sub-Space Orb] only had a time dtion of 4:1, Vahn didnt want to leave Asuna alone for too long, so, after cing his palm on the orb, he turned to Fenrir and asked, "Shall we?" before vanishing immediately after. --- While his main body was ying Sandbox with Asuna, Fenrir, and, surprisingly, a number of Elementals, Vahn entered the bridge to inform Arika the orb had beenpleted. Her only response was a curt nod of acknowledgment and a simple, "I see..." before focusing on the viewport in front of her. This left Vahn feeling slightly helpless, a wry smile on his face as he recalled the incident that had turned the taciturn beauty into an ice queen... --- Shortly after arriving back at the ship, Vahn had announced his n to construct a [Sub-Space Orb] to afford them more storage space and a ce to train without causing damage to the environment and drawing unnecessary attention to themselves. This was unanimously agreed upon, so, in preparation for the orbs creation, they all worked together to clean the cargo bay and move important luggage to where it needed to be. Initially, everything was going rtively smoothly, as Vahn could just throw extra baggage into his Inventory, but things became a little awkward when Asuna tried moving one of therger suitcases, one possessing anti-theft features and a powerful barrier. This normally wouldnt be a problem, but, almost immediately after Asuna picked it up, an invisible field spread from her body, noticed only by Vahn. Since the suitcase had been one of hers, Arika had noticed Asunas actions and was about to take care of it herself, but, at that same moment, the suitcase simply burst open due to every magical barrier breaking down simultaneously. It didnt generate enough force to cause any real harm, thankfully, but that didnt mean it was incapable of causing damage, even if it was more psychological than anything else... As fate would have it, the suitcase in question was the one that held all of Arikas sleepwear, lingerie, and other delicate items. The force from the barriers breaking down was like a strong gust of wind, so, once the suitcase burst open, all of its contents spread around the cargo bay in an instant. Even this wasnt much of an issue, however, as Arika didnt seem to mind being seen naked. Rather, the problem urred when a certain piece of fabric managed to bypass Vahns defenses in a clearly fateful manner, smacking him in the face. Even before he removed the article, Vahn could already tell what it was, causing a wry smile to spread across his face as he peeled away the uncharacteristically clingy fabric. When his eyes were no longer obstructed, the first thing he saw was Arikas murderous expression, offset by a slightly red hue coloring her cheeks. She then blinked to his side using [Shundo], snatching the fabric with one hand and raising her other as if she was about to p him before pausing and hiding both behind her back and asked, "Did you see it...?" in an usatory tone. Rather than answer, Vahn just offered an apologetic smile that caused Arika to lower her head for several seconds before she muttered, "My mother gave them to me...I am not a perverted woman..." Vahn wanted toment that he knew Arika wasnt a pervert, but, before he was able to, she quickly alighted from the cargo bay. She didnt bother to help clean up or recover the other half of the lingerie set, leaving Asuna standing with a nk expression a ckce brassier hanging from one of her pigtails... --- Seemingly interpreting his thoughts through his silence, Arika lowered her head slightly as she muttered, "Youre thinking about it..." Rather than continue the streak of awkwardness, Vahn just casually nodded his head, saying, "That kind of incident isnt one that people easily forget. Besides, youre still pouting over it so I cant help but worry. You really shouldnt let it bother you so much. Its just a piece of fabric." Hearing Vahns words, Arika looked towards him with a hint of me in her eyes, but, after a few moments of silence, she nodded her head and answered, "Youre right. I shouldnt me you for what happened. Rather, I should have never epted those garments from mother in the first ce..." Though he noticed Arika kept stressing the fact that her mother was the one who gave her the risque undergarments, Vahn decided not toment on it. He was well aware of the type of person Arika was, someone who was so uncertain of her own thoughts and feelings that she couldnt be honest with herself. It was highly likely that Ana had given her the bat attire, not to be used, but to remind her daughter of the fact she had the option to choose her own destiny. Restraining an urge to sigh, Vahn adopted a slight smile as he answered, "Dont say that. After all, your mother was just thinking about your happiness. Besides, as I said before, they are just pieces of fabric. You are just too conscious of them because of their perceived use. In the end, however, it is not somethings perceived use that matters, but how it is used. A weapon can be used to save lives, and, inversely, something designed to protect can cause tragedy if used to bring harm. Regardless of what form something takes, the intent behinds its use is ultimately what matters the most. Even if you wore something simple and in, it could be a devastating weapon under the right conditions..." Turning to face Vahn, Arika noticed he had a casual yet serious look,cking the usual teasing glimmer in his eyes. He seemedpletely serious, and, if she thought about them seriously, his words actually held a surprising amount of truth. The intended purpose for something had little significance if it wasnt used for that purpose. Since she wasnt even bothered to be seen naked by him, why should she be bothered to be seen wearing more...? Though the words seemed to make sense, Arika couldnt help feeling more confused as she put even more thought into it. After all, even if there was truth contained within Vahns words, it didntpletely remove the significance of certain garments. A persons outfit could have great significance when it denoted their profession, status, or represented a significant event like a funeral or wedding... Noticing the confusion in Arikas eyes, Vahn shook his head, stating, "Youre oveplicating things. Im certain your thoughts are valid, but it doesnt really change the truth inherent in my words. Ultimately, it is up to people to determine what something is used for and what other things represent. We give purpose to things through our intentions, and, without something like conscious thought, reality, itself, wouldnt even exist..." With little else to say, Vahn decided to leave Arika to think things over for herself. Ultimately, the only perspective that mattered, in this case, was her own. He was well aware of the charm certain outfits possessed, but, even if a heavenly beauty wearing nothing but a garter belt and stockings appeared before him, Vahn wouldnt particrly care if she wasnt one of his lovers. He would certainly be able to appreciate their beauty, but, even if they attempted to seduce him, it would be for naught unless he reciprocated their affection... --- Hearing the sound of the bridge door open and close, Arika looked toward where Vahn had been standing moments prior, confusion still visible in her eyes. She could understand what he was trying to say, but, due to the conflicts in her heart and mind, epting them as truth was very difficult. Rather, part of her was annoyed by the fact he reacted in such a casual and calm manner despite her spending thest few hours fretting over whether or not he thought she was a pervert... Releasing a tired sigh, Arika leaned back in the pilots seat, allowing the cruise control to keep them on course as she stared toward the ceiling. In hindsight, she wasnt entirely sure why she had been so bothered in the first ce. She was well aware of the fact that Vahn harbored noscivious intentions or untoward thoughts regarding her. He seemed to acknowledge her as a member of the opposite sex, even showing a bit of appreciation at times, but there was still a vast gulf that separated them due to their status, age, and experience... Realizing her thoughts implied she wanted to reduce the distance between them, Arika felt a momentary panic that caused her to look around to confirm she was still alone. Once she had confirmed this, she breathed a sigh of relief while lightly pressing her palm to her chest. She could feel her heart palpitating in an unsteady rhythm, its tempo several times faster than the norm... Shaking her head in self-admonition, Arika muttered, "Vahn is right...Im making things more than they need to be. Im behaving in a contrary manner, envious of Asuna being treated like a child despite expecting to be treated as an adult...now, Im even throwing a tantrum over an incident that no one is to me for...haaaaa..." After allowing another sigh to escape her lips, Arika looked back towards the ceiling, her eyes losing their focus as she absentmindedly uttered, "Maybe it wouldnt be so awkward if I grew ustomed to wearing such garments regrly...I wonder how he would react..." As that thought crossed her mind, Arika pulled out a tiny piece of ck fabric that seemed less like a pair of panties than a collection of strings andce. It was a type of underwear that had been imported from Mundus Ventus, and, though they used to be exceptionally rare, a few of the more risque designs had be rtively popr. Arika had never understood the draw of such pointless clothing, as it was both ufortable and didnt really cover up anything, but, now that she was closely observing thergely transparent fabric,plete with a thin string near the back, she couldnt prevent the burning feeling in her cheeks... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn pulling out the usual hacks,Magic canceling is OP (UwU),They are t-backce panties. Pinterest is your friend) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1562 Approach

Chapter 1562 Approach

Though the distance between Nyandoma and Ariadne was only around 7,000km, it generally took between two and three days to traverse. They had to fly around Hes controlled airspace, and, due to the restrictions ced on most flight technology within Mundus Magicus, Airfish were generally limited to traversing specific Air Streams. There were ways around this, primarily through the use of magical catalysts and other fuel sources, but these were significantly less efficient. In total, there were thirteen circr magic currents that existed within the upper atmosphere of the Magical World, and, so long as you used these for travel, most Airfish could fly indefinitely. Though some were hybrids that could make use of traditional fuels, the majority made use of a special type of engine that recycled magical energy from the environment. These were generally referred to as Prayer Spirit Engines, but, as their true form was just an exceptionallyplicated Array that made use of interconnected pentagrams, the full name was Prayer Spirit Pentagram Ritual Formation. Due to theplex nature of Formations and Arrays, it took several years for even the most skilled Magical Engineers to construct a Prayer Spirit Engine with more than tenponents. This typically meant thatrger Airfish, such as Air Whales, required multiple engines to remain afloat. Even then, they had to rely onprehensive auxiliary systems, often drawing power from a hybrid engine, or they would simply fall out of the sky. A stark contrast tomercial Airfish, Arikas ship made use of a single 18 Prayer Spirit Engine, a marvel of Magical Engineering that had been designed by Arika herself. This allowed it to directly contend against muchrger Airfish, and, when it came to speed, it could even outpace specialist craft that had been specifically designed to overtake other ships. It truly was the Queen of the Skies amongst Ultralight Cruisers, and, as a result, it was also the nightmare of any Sky Pirates that were foolish enough to mistake its endearing design as a sign of weakness... --- Though there were areas where clear skies could be found, all of Mundus Magicus Air Streams were densely popted with a perpetualyer of white clouds. There were also countless rocks of various shapes and sizes, which, in defiance of thews of gravity, listed aimlessly through the Air Stream. These rocks were often responsible for scuttling the ships of lesser experienced pilots, but, despite living most of her life in the pce, Arika was an exceptionally gifted pilot. As a result, she was able to dive in and out of the cloud sea without fear, relying on her super-human reaction time and split-second decision making to evade any obstacles. A stark contrast to Arikas skills, the eight remaining ships pursuing them were quickly reduced to seven after failing to evade a pir-like stone that gracefully ambled through the sea of clouds, propelled only by the wind. At the same time, the Anti-Demon Lightning Cannons located near the aft section of the ship urately targetted the remaining craft, peppering their barriers or forcing them to take evasive action to avoid destruction. Despite the rather intense scene ying out before him, Vahn had a rxed smile on his face as he sat atop the deck. He would periodically swat away physical projectiles and missiles that were shot toward them, but, other than that, he allowed Arika to deal with the situation herself. He knew she enjoyed the action quite a bit, as, after their previous engagement with a band of pirates, she had a rare smile on her face that even surprised Asuna... Seemingly losing it over the death of severalrades, one of the only custom Airfish amongst the pirates, looking simr to a hammerhead shark, broke off from the rest. Immediately thereafter, two fiery lines erupted from the aft section of the ship, greatly increasing its speed. It was attempting to pass through the magical barrier surrounding the ship so it could use the javelin-like protrusion on the bottom to release powerful lightning magic at close range. This was a risky maneuver, but, if it could be pulled off, it was almost guaranteed to disable the ship due to lightning elemental energy having the ability to disrupt the flow of magical energy. Under normal circumstances, a mid-sized ship like Arikas would struggle to deal with a smaller craft designed to pursue and harass a target. Unfortunately for her enemies, Arika wasnt a conventional pilot, nor was her Airfish constrained bymon sense. As a result, she performed a maneuver that few would even attempt with a mid-sized vessel, rolling her ship belly-up so that the twin cannons on the underside could still be of use. Then, before the desperate pirate could prate the barrier, it was sted out of the sky before Arika quickly righted the ships orientation, executing the entire maneuver in a single smooth motion. After the death of their presumed leader, the remaining six ships gave of pursuit, attempting to flee in multiple directions to reduce the number of casualties should their quarry decide to turn around and be the hunter. Unfortunately for the remaining pirates, their ckened auras had already determined their fates. The moment they turned to flee, invisible lines passed through space much faster than most people could perceive. Immediately thereafter, every ship was cleanly cut into two distinct parts, their pilots killed in an instant as Vahn returned to his seat, casually pulling out an oil rag to polish Laev-tan... --- With the battleing to an end, Arika exhaled a sigh tinged with a bit of warmth as she flipped a switch on her console, disabling Attack Mode. As a result, the lighting on the bridge shifted from red back to a neutral white color. At the same time, the extra terminals that had surrounded her station, giving her a panoramic view of the situation, slowly faded out of existence in a rtively futuristic manner, while, at the side, Fenrir could be seen stretching her body as she said, "That was kind of fun~." Though she wasnt particrly fond of the woman, Arika felt it would be petty of her to not offer praise when it was due. As a result, she adopted an almost imperceptible smile, stating, "Your skills as a gunner are impressive. Had you missed the final target, we may have sustained a direct impact on our stern. Good work." Hearing Arikas praise, Fenrir made an ok gesture with her paw before rising to her feet and saying, "I wouldnt have been able to hit them if you didnt roll the ship at the correct moment. You deserve just as much praise for your piloting as I do for my uracy. Im sure Master will have something to say about it once he returns~." The moment she heard Fenrir mention Vahn, Arika turned her attention towards the screen that showed the upper deck of the ship. There, Vahn could be seen polishing his cherished sword with a calm and reflective look on his face... As if there was nothing outside his perception, Vahn immediately raised his head when she looked at him, smiling back at the small camera present near the base of the Airfishs dorsal fin. In the very next moment, he appeared within the bridge itself, sheathing his katana as he said, "The two of you did very well." Since he had appeared next to Fenrir, Vahn began habitually petting her head as he turned to Arika and asked, "Did you have fun, Ms. Queen of the Skies...?" Though she knew Vahn was teasing her, Arikabed through her fringe bangs, her face a mask of calm as she answered, "Indeed. The more Sky Pirates we can eliminate, the safer the Air Streams will be for both people and merchants. You did well by not letting any escape..." Hearing Arika praise him, Vahn lightly chuckled, barely resisting the urge to tease her further as he simply stated, "Thanks." before asking, "How long until we reach Ariadne? Im actually surprised we have encountered so many Sky Pirates near a City-State famous for its Aerial Knight Squadron." Tapping an icon on her console, a holographic panel showing the entirety of Mundus Magicus came to life in mid-air. Arika then pressed on one of the 288 squares, each denoting an area equivalent to 640,000 square-kilometers. The one she clicked on disyed runes that, when tranted, denoted a small dot near the very center as Ariadne, and, a little to the East of that, a small green blip could be seen slowly moving across the map... Truthfully, Vahn could have just looked at his own map to confirm their location, but, knowing Arika would want him to ask, he did so. She took being the Captain of the ship pretty seriously, so, unless he deferred to her every now and again, she would be moody. With the map visible to everyone in the room, Arika pointed at the red icon near the center, a slight smile on her face as she exined, "Were approximately 284km away from Ariadne. At our current cruising speed, we should reach our destination in just under twenty-three minutes. Though we will have to undergo an inspection, Ariadne allowsmercial and private Airfish to operate within the city limits. If I reveal my identity, we should be able to berth the ship within the Imperial Academys private dock to avoid the inspection entirely." Though it would likely cause an incident, Vahn understood the merits involved with docking at the Academys private dock. It was easy to imagine the Grandmaster of Ariadne and the Arch-Dean of the Academying out to greet them. This would give them a considerable amount of freedom when it came to exploring the Academy City, but, in exchange, they would be closely monitored or escorted by the Ariadne Mage Knights. Vahn wanted to avoid politics, but, in order to grant Asunas request, he also wanted to observe the various Academies and Research Institutions within Ariadne. He might even be able to enroll Asuna into one of the more prestigious Academies, even if only for a few months. This would undoubtedly limit his movements, but, with the ability to produce multiple bodies, Vahn wasnt too worried. With his mind made up, Vahn nodded his head, saying, "Well go through official channels this time around. I made a bit of a scene in the Hes Empire not too long ago, but they never officially put a price on my head. Im somewhat curious to see how they will react once they learn I have appeared in Ariadne." Though it would be a simple matter to conceal his identity, Vahn was intending to make a name for himself. He wasnt trying to hide away, and, though it would ce a small burden on Arika, she was already prepared for the consequences of pursuing her ambitions. She wasnt afraid of the political bacsh of beingbeled an associate of someone who would undoubtedly be wanted, as, in the grand scheme of things, her reputation was more than enough to cast doubts on anyone that wanted to nder her name. Hearing Vahns response, a look of conviction shed across Arikas eyes as she said, "I understand. I will do my best to secure allies within the Imperial Academy. With the support of the Ostian Royal Family, there is a chance Ariadne could be convinced to split off from the Hes Empire before the onset of war. Even if that is not the case, I am confident I can find people willing to support my goal of creating a better world." Resisting the urge to chuckle, Vahn smiled in response to Arikas words, reminding her, "Youre free to act as you please, but dont forget your training. Unless something goes awry, there is a chance we will be staying here for a few months. Also, there are times when we will act independently from each other, but, if you feel it is necessary, I will always be at your side. You dont have to feel guilty or afraid of relying on me, as, until you finish your training, I am responsible for your safety. I might not fight your battles for you, but that doesnt mean Ill allow others to harm you." Though she wanted to say she didnt need his protection, Arika understood there were people in this world who greatly exceeded her in strength. In the past, she would have performed her duties without taking this into consideration, but, after seeing Vahns strength, she knew there was a vast gulf between her and the top. Thus, in response to his words, she lightlybed through her hair, a slight smile on her face as she answered, "Ill keep that in mind...thank you..." Seeing Arika ying with her fringe bangs, a tell-tale sign that she was happy, the edges of Vahns smile curled up slightly as he added, "Im going to help Asuna get ready. She is pretty excited to be able to tour the Academy City so she has been reading a lot of books about Ariadne ever since we set out. Since meeting with the Grandmaster and preparing amodations will probably take a few hours, Ill be splitting my body into three, one to apany you, one to protect Asuna, and the other to guard the ship..." As he was exining his intentions, Vahn lightly ruffled Fenrirs hair, adding, "Though it will be a little boring, Ill have you apany Arika and me. I want you to try and memorize the scent of the Grandmaster and any other important officials. We might have to go hunting at some point, so it will make things easier if you can track them onmand." Hearing the word hunting, Fenrirs smile became a toothy grin before she answered, "Leave it to me. Even if they try to hide in another dimension, Ill be able to sniff them out without fail~." Though it might sound like an exaggeration, Fenrir could actually lock on to a persons scent and trace it to the location where they had entered another Dimension or Realm. This hadnt really been necessary after theary body of Gaia became his territory, but, never the type to ck off just because her skills werent needed, Fenrir continued to polish her senses to an extreme degree. She also enjoyed hunting together with the more bestial members of the Menagerie, so, while she still lost out to Tier 5 beings like Illya, Fenrirs sense of smell was nigh-unparalleled. Feeling a bit prideful of his faithfulpanion, Vahn ruffled Fenrirs hair a little harder, causing the mischievous Vanargandrs tail to waggle as she nuzzled against his palm. This earned him a pointed look from Arika, but, without minding it, Vahn began using both hands to dig into Fenrirs fluffy fur, continuing even after being kicked off the bridge... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Arika, Aerial Ace, Queen of the Skies,Vahn about to educate the people of the Academy City (UwU)...,You think the Godhand can be daunted with a mere gaze!? Heresy!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1563 Tensions

Chapter 1563 Tensions

As the Western-most territory of the Hes Empire, Ariadne enjoyed the benefit of being one of the furthest territories from the Megalomesembrian Confederacy. Though it was surrounded by various monster-infested forests, it also had direct ess to the sea, arablends, and, most importantly, an inordinately high concentration of Elemental Spirits. This made it one of the most enchanting ces in Mundus Magicus, and where ancient schrs had congregated to appreciate the splendor and research the phenomenon of the Magical World. Ariadne had remained one of the most beautiful and scenic ces in the entire Magical World ever since it was first established more than thirteen hundred years ago. This would have normally made it a hotbed for migrants and refugees, but, due to their founders desire to preserve the untouched beauty of thend, they had exceptionally strict immigration policies. Unless you were a member of the faculty or a student within one of the academies, the longest any visitor could stay was seventy days out of a 687 day calendar year. The only exceptions to this were if you had received a special permit from the Grandmaster or the Emperor, thetter being far moremon, and exploited, by members of the Nobility. Originally, Ariadne only upied a little more than 850 of its 269,000 square kilometers of territory. The rest of thend was either untouched or upied by orchards, vineyards, and a few other types of non-destructive agricultural facilities. Over time, however,rge swaths ofnd had been cleared to construct grand estates and summer homes for the Empire. To further exacerbate matters, many of these estates were only constructed for the purpose of exploiting thend of its resources, often without providing any benefits to Ariadne. Though the overall size of the Capital hadnt changed in more than a hundred years, the amount ofnd upied by agricultural estates had grown to more than 30,000 square kilometers in the same amount of time. This had been a point of contention between Ariadne and the Empire ever since it became a City-State. Now, with war looming on the horizon, the Empire had even begun pressuring Ariadne to allow it to build a Military Base and Air Field to the West of the city, stating it was for the citys benefit and protection despite the Ariadne Mage Knights being one of the most elite forces in the entire Empire. The Grandmaster of Ariadne knew that, if she were to acquiesce to the Empires demands, it would be the effective end of her country and the principles it had clung to for more than a millennium. If they had Imperial Forces on both sides of them, they would be effectively be cut off from the rest of the world,pletely subsumed by the Empire. Not only would they require a ridiculous amount ofnd and resources to support their new base, but, after securing their position, it wouldnt be long before members of the Nobility began asking why Ariadne needed something like a private military when the Empire was so magnanimously protecting it. In the end, Ariadne would be stripped of its autonomy in its entirety, and, within a few generations, the poption would likely explode in order to further the profits of the Empires Nobility... --- Seated within the highest tower in all of Ariadne, a middle-aged woman with long blonde hair and two curved horns that jut out from the sides of her head in an s-shape could be seen sitting at an ornate wooden desk. She was nursing a cup of piping hot ck coffee, slowly savoring the contents of her porcin mug as she stared at what appeared to be a much younger version of herself. This was the womans daughter, the current Headmistress of the Imperial Academy, and, should Ariadne still have a future, her sessor as Grandmaster. Though she already knew her daughters answer, the woman, Grandmaster Sidra Avenarius, offered an apologetic smile as she said, "The Emperor has, once again, expressed his desire to unify our two families. The Second Prince seems quite taken with you and continues to press His Imperial Majesty to arrange your betrothal..." Hearing her mothers words, the young woman, Seras Avenarius, adopted an expression of visible disgust as she inly stated, "With all due respect, Madam Grandmaster, I would rather leap naked into the Cerberus Canyon than be that vile mans ything. I have expressed this in writing to both the Emperor and the Second Prince. This is just another petty scheme of theirs to try and seize ournd for their personal gain. They are already beginning to demand we move our forces to the Eastern border despite trying to justify the need to construct a military base in the West...it is truly disheartening..." Rather than show any concern for her daughters moderately treasonous tone, Sidra just took a sip of her coffee before nodding her head and muttering, "Fortunately, the more they insist that a new base is necessary, the easier it is to avoid sending reinforcements to the border. The Emperor is also not as greedy as his son and the members of his Court, so, unless something drastic happens, he is not likely to support the growing movement to seize Ariadne. Unfortunately, we will probably have to cede even morend so that he can appease the Grand Dukes faction...haaaaa..." Feeling exhausted despite being on her fifth cup of coffee for the day, Sidra ced the cup down onto its saucer before linking her fingers together with her elbows on her desk and stating, "Well, it might not be all that bad. The reason I called you to my office is to task you with an important duty. You see, the Princess of Vespertatia has requested permission to berth her vessel within the Imperial Academys private docks. Im uncertain as to the purpose of her visit, but, considering the timing, it undoubtedly has something to do with theing war. As for why she woulde here instead of heading straight to the Imperial Captial...well, I can only make assumptions. Regardless, I want you at my side when I meet with Her Highness." Understanding the implication contained within her mothers words, Seras felt a small amount of anticipation as she performed a curt salute and said, "I understand. I will personally ensure that the Princess stay is a pleasant one." Nodding her head in approval, Sidra rose to her feet, and, despite wearing what appeared to be a prim and proper womens business suit, including a pencil skirt, began to stretch her body. She still had a number of years before retirement, but, with thebined stress of dealing with the Empire, managing the Academy City, and leading the Ariadne Mage Knights, her body was constantly filled with tensions. She was only thirty-seven years old, but, despite the longevity of her species, she had a few troublesome wrinkles that detracted from her once-famous beauty. As she had served under her mother for years, learning everything she would need to know in order to fulfill her future responsibilities, Seras had long already gotten used to how slovenly she behaved in private. She honestly couldnt really me her, and, though she was proud of the fact she would one day serve as the Grandmaster of Ariadne, Seras wasnt particrly looking forward to the side-effects that came with such a strenuous duty. Rather, due to the constant insistence of the Second Prince, she was already beginning to feel the pressure. Two years prior, Seras had been engaged to wed one of her former ssmates, a handsome boy who had left quite an impression on her in their youth. He was, fortunately, a member of a rather prestigious family, so, after a brief period of discussion regarding the benefits both families would obtain, they were formally engaged. Unfortunately, soon after their engagement was announced, her fiances body was found along a riverbank, his face bloated beyond recognition andrge parts of his body missing. The reports stated the cause of death as drowning due to intoxication, but, as her fiance had never been known to drink, Seras had always suspected foul y. It didnt help that, shortly thereafter, the Second Prince came to give his condolences before subsequently offering to ept her as his bride... Remembering the abhorrent experience, even Seras shoulders began to feel a little stiff, but, unlike her mother, she had yet to dismiss with propriety in its entirety. She was currently on duty as both Headmistress of the Imperial Academy and Vice-Commander of the Ariadne Mage Knights. If she cked off in private, Seras was afraid she might slip up in front of her subordinates, so, at least for the time being, she did her best to show discipline at all times... --- Though Arika was already considered the Queen of Vespertatia, her appointment had never been made public. Until then, she could only address herself as the Queen-incumbent, but, as that was only valid within Ostia, itself, her official title abroad was Crown Princess of Vespertatia. She was also the official Ambassador of the Ostian Royal Family, so, immediately after dering herself, a contingent of Mage Knights, once again looking like a group ofnce-wielding Valkyries, came out to escort her. Seeing the group of thirty heavily armored knights gliding through the air, Vahn couldnt help but be reminded of the Proto Dragon Suits that had been designed by Da Vinci. Thetter allowed the wearer to trespass virtually any kind of environment, and, though they required quite a bit of skill, even with an onboard AI, they were true marvels of Magic and technology. As for the winged armor used by the Ariadne Mage Knights, they were significantly less advanced, but, due to their unique design, Vahn found them rather charming. Noticing the reminiscent smile on her Masters face, Fenrir, even without asking, knew what he was thinking about. As a result, she moved closer to him, deftly linking her right paw with his left hand before resting her head against his shoulder. In response, he gripped her paw a little tighter before gently leaning over and kissing the top of her head... Arika had also noticed the look on Vahns face, but, before she could ask if he was interested in the Enchanted Armor of the Mage Knights, she was left bewildered by the abrupt disy of affection between him and Fenrir. She had only recently allowed them back onto the bridge, so she couldnt help feeling slightly annoyed by the fact they were shamelessly cuddling together without minding their surroundings... Forcing herself to simply ignore the affectionate disy, Arika turned her attention to the primary viewport, saying, "Well be mooring shortly. If youre going to sneak out with Asuna, you should do so soon. If not, wait for me on the deck. Once Ive anchored the ship, I wille out to join you..." Understanding Arika was basically kicking him off the bridge again, Vahn answered with a curt nod before departing, hand-in-paw, with Fenrir. He could feel Arika follow their departure with her eyes, but, rather than react to it, Vahn continued to fawn over Fenrir as if he were oblivious. Truthfully, Vahn knew he was being a little unfair towards Arika, but, if she did inevitably fall in love with him, she would need to ept his rtionships with other people. Even if she were a thousand times more amazing, there was no way he would simply abandon his other rtionships in order to appease her. Thus, rather than shy away from disying affection while she was around, Vahn did so rather shamelessly. He had already informed her about his harem and the primary reason he hade to this world, so, unless she opened her heart and epted others, there was simply no way he could reciprocate her burgeoning feelings... --- Not that he was surprised to see them, Vahn smiled wryly as he saw his other self emerge from the bridge alongside Fenrir. This didnt go unnoticed by Asuna, who, after craning her head to see what he was looking at, turned to face him, asking, "Is it time to go?" In response to his nod, Asuna hoped up from Vahnsp with a hup, quickly grabbing a few snacks from the table before downing the remnants of her tea. Then, picking up her rather cute backpack, she hefted it onto her back and said, "Im ready." in a marginally excited monotone. Though he assumed it had something to do with her powerful fate, Vahn was surprised at how cute he found all of Asunas behaviors to be. She was more than a little spoiled, and, rather than asking for things, she always said what she wanted with a straight face. He would normally try to curb this kind of behavior, but, perhaps as a result of her kuudere-like nature, it only made the adorable doll-like girl more endearing... Before picking Asuna up, Vahn pulled out a handkerchief to wipe away a bit of powdered sugar and crumbs from around her mouth. She made no effort to resist his actions, rather, whenever he doted on her, Vahn could feel Asunas aura swell slightly due to how happy she was. It didnt show on her expression unless something major happened, but she was a lot happier ever since they had begun their journey than she had been back in the pce. Once Asunas face was clean, Vahn gave her a quick once-over to make sure she had everything she needed before they set out. She was currently wearing a frilly cored smock dress with a bright red ribbon tied around her neck. This was a stark contrast to the qipao-like robe she often wore, and, toplement it, she also had on a frilly ck skirt with white trim, ck leggings, and a pair of dark-red leather shoes. All of this,bined with therge backpack that served as a container to house the Lucky Cat, made her look like an adorable young preschooler attending ss for the first time. Though he was the one to pick out the clothes, Vahn couldnt help but nod in approval before smiling as he said, "It seems you have everything. Im not too worried you will run off, but try and stay close to me at all times, okay?" Rather than answer, Asuna just looked up at him with a nk expression, her ahoge twitching a few times before she reached out and grabbed his hand. This caused Vahn to lightly chuckle, and, after waving towards Fenrir and his counterpart, he teleported himself and Asuna down to the streets of Ariadne, a city almost exclusivelyprised of schools and dorms that perfectly blended victorian architecture with various fantasy elements... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Greedy Nobles? Whoda thunk,Comment section be like, "New harem candidate?",Asuna is receiving signals from the mothership with her antenna...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1564 Reception

Chapter 1564 Reception

After being escorted to the Imperial Academys private dock, Arika skillfully piloted the Airfish into one of the hundreds of individualized hangars. This was an area only essible to the wealthy and affluent, so, as could be expected, everything was exceptionally high-end. Not only was the security stronger than amercial Fishport, but, if you could afford it, there were teams of exceptionally skilled mechanics and engineers that could help maintain, or even customize, private Airfish. While waiting for the Princess to get changed, Vahn stood on the upper deck with Fenrir at his side, smiling in amusement at the amount of attention directed toward them. Though it was normal for a foreign dignitary to bring an entourage for protection, his casual dress,bined with Fenrirs wild style, made them stand out quite a bit. Even the trio he assumed to be the highest-ranking officials in Ariadne had a look of visible skepticism in their eyes, especially the fat man whom Vahn assumed to be the Arch-Dean elected by the Empire. Fortunately, even if the man radiated an aura of ipetence, he had enough wherewithal to not offend the escort of the Ostian Royal Family. There were a number of arrogant and prideful people in both the Empire and Confederacy, but,pared to the prestige of the Ostian Royal Family, even the Emperor and members of the Conste could not match up. They were the lineage responsible for the formation of Mundus Magicus itself, and, due to their wise leadership over the millennia, the Ostian Royal Family enjoyed unparalleled public support. If you were to somehow offend a member of the Ostian Royal Family, or, heavens forbid, be caught conspiring against them, even the citizens of the Confederacy would turn against you. Ignoring the urge to hop down and mess with the trio, Vahn waited patiently for Arika to appear in a strapless white dress, which, surprisingly, showed off a generous amount of cleavage. Toplete the outfit, she had on a peculiar mantle that left the shoulders exposed but covered her vicle and neck like a sweater. As for the fabric, it was just as pure white as the rest of her dress, creating quite the contrast as it, like her hair, extended past her knees. Seeing Arika at full power, Vahn couldnt help but admire her a bit. She was only fifteen, but, if he converted that into years back on Earth, she was well over twenty-eight. She also radiated an aura of dignity that elevated her beauty from world-ss to godly, making her feel untouchable despite the fact she was standing right next to him. It was quite the contrast to how she generally behaved in private, reminding him that she was more than just a taciturn beauty who was weak to teasing and had an umon obsession with unique Airfish... As could be expected, nearly everyone present gave a slight bow the moment Arika appeared on the upper deck. She might not be a Princess of the Empire, but she was indisputably the highest-born Aristocrat of the Magical World. Her family had been the shepherds of Mundus Magicus since its inception, and, whenever tensions erupted into conflict, they were often the ones who suing for peace and providing aid to the beaten, downtrodden, and disced. If the members of the Ostian Royal Family were undeserving of respect, none within the Magical World would be found worthy. Without requiring a chant, Arika effortlessly levitated from the deck beforending gracefully near the trio using her flight magic. Then, in a voice that was both soothing yetmanding, she gave a very slight bow of her own before saying, "Thank you for your consideration. I understand how my sudden arrival might have inconvenienced you. For that, please ept my apology." Holding the highest standing among the trio, though the Arch-Dean would certainly argue against it, Sidra adopted a polite smile as she said, "It is our honor to host a Princess of Vespertatia. Unless the Princess is in a hurry, please allow us to demonstrate the hospitality of Ariadne. I have asked the staff to arrange a room, and, should it suit Your Highness fancy, our most talented Chefs have been gathered to prepare a feast." Though she had never left the pce, Arika was well-versed in the subtleties of politics and polite speech. She understood the woman, who she assumed to be the Grandmaster, was demonstrating her goodwill while also indirectly inquiring about the purpose behind her sudden arrival. Thus, after a polite nod, Arika answered, "I have heard great things about Ariadne and its hospitality. Though I fear it will be an inconvenience to your staff, I wouldment the missed opportunity to experience their prestigious skills." Smiling wider in response to Arikas words, Sidra nodded her head, stating, "I will see to it that Your Highness ispletely satisfied. Now, please forgive myte introduction. I am, as Your Highness has no doubt suspected, the Grandmaster of Ariadne, Sidra Avenarius. This youngdy to my right is my beloved daughter and Headmistress of the Imperial Academy, Seras. As for the esteemed and iparably patient Lord to my left, he is none other than His Imperial Majestys chosen delegate, the Arch-Dean of Ariadne, Hugo Bolek." Hearing Sidras introduction of him, Hugo puffed out his barrel-like chest with repletion as a genial smile that didnt quite reach his eyes spread across his umonlyrge lips. He had the general countenance of a pig who had been dressed up in human clothes, but, as if his prestige was as high as the Emperors himself, Hugo demonstrated a wless bow before extending his jewelden hand with the intention to grasp and kiss the back of Arikas. Though she knew what Hugo was attempting, Arika kept her hands at her sides, offering little more than a slight nod before remarking, "Thank you for your courtesy, but the Ostian Royal Family does not have a tradition that allows casual contact. Please, raise your head, Lord Bolek." As a rather portly individual, Hugo had been struggling to support his lowered posture as Arika was speaking. When he finally raised his head, it was impossible to discern whether or not he was upset or simply exhausted as he pulled out a handkerchief, wiping away a bit of sweat from his ruddy face as he mused, "How unfortunate. It would have been the high point in this lowly middle-aged mans life to receive the courtesy of someone as beautiful as Your Highness. I suppose I will have to settle for simply...making your acquaintance..." Allowing his words to trail off, Hugo, like everyone else present, shifted their attention to the duo that had touched down gracefully next to the Ostian Princess. The man radiated an indescribable aura that made it impossible to see through him despite his rtively casual yet high-quality garb. As for the woman at his side, she wore clothes that werent exactly suitable to be an attendant or bodyguard of Royalty. Her midriff waspletely exposed, and, though it wasnt umon, she wore form-fitting shorts that left her milky-white thighspletely visible. This was a little strange, as, a stark contrast to her exposed lower body, she wore a vest-like tunic with long sleeves that covered much of her chest and arms... Fenrir was never fond of being stared at, especially by people like Hugo, but she maintained a calm and dignified countenance as she stood next to her Master. Vahn, however, exhibited a smile that could send shivers through the body of a Devil, staring directly at the fat man as he said, "If you do not restrain yourself, dont me me for allowing her to rip your eyes out. Your status might allow you to throw your tremendous weight around in the fringe territories of the Empire, but youll find no quarter from me should you forget yourself." Tearing his eyes away from the delicate line of Fenrirs midriff, Hugo red at Vahn with a reddened face as he forcibly restrained an outburst, asking through clenched teeth, "Might I inquire as to the identity of this...gentleman...?" Surprising everyone present, Arika turned to Vahn as if asking for permission to speak, waiting for him to nod before turning back and saying, "Allow me to apologize for the misunderstanding. This man is neither my escort nor my bodyguard. He is a personal friend of the Ostian Royal Family, the benefactor of my Royal Mother, and the Guardian of Mundus Magicus: Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor." Hearing Arikas introduction, everyone present reacted as if their mental faculties had temporarily stalled. This was further exacerbated when she offered a polite bow towards Vahn before stepping slightly to the side, clearly indicating the difference in their status. Without waiting for the trio to recover, Vahn gave a slight nod toward Arika before turning toward the stupefied group and exining, "As I have expressed in the past, I have no intention of making an enemy out of the Empire. Your matters only concern me when I am around to observe them. If I find you are unqualified for the title you lord over others, you only have yourselves to me for the oue. You will keep that in mind the next time you covet something beyond your reach. There is a foul stench that permeates your very existence, Lord Bolek. If you wish to avoid bringing shame to your Empire, you will remember your ce and fulfill your duties responsibly. If this is beyond your capacity, I can assure you there are many others waiting to take your ce..." Since he could feel the mans mana begin to surge, Vahn allowed his aura to permeate through the area as he squinted his eyes. This was enough to cause the girthy man to immediately rethink his decision, and, fortunately for him, he was just in time. Had he been a millisecond slower, and had her control slipped even the slightest amount, he would have lost both of his eyes. Instead, Fenrir slowly retracted her ws, nearly grazing the mans pupils due to how much his body was shaking. Though he doubted it was enough to set the man on a more righteous path, Vahn gave a small nod of approval as he added, "The next time you exploit your position, please prepare yourself for the consequences. Depending on the nature of the offense, you will either receive a merciful death or spend the rest of your life as a cripple. You have been warned." Finished speaking to the man, Vahn casually lifted his left hand, forcibly teleporting the man away. It was generally considered impossible to teleport someone with an active magic barrier, but, despite the transition between Records, Vahns mastery over Space was 97%. He still had to ovee the resistance of their barrier, but, unless they had a reasonable degree of mastery over Space Magic, it didnt require too much effort to teleport others. The Arch-Dean might have been a capable Mage in his youth, but, after decades of decadence andcency, his skills had atrophied even more than his muscles... Seeing Vahn forcibly teleport the Arch-Dean, Sidra and Seras were both visibly shaken. Though the Arch-Dean wasnt particrly famous as a Mage, he had various artifacts on his body and several anti-magic formations sewn into his clothes. He would literally need to deactivate the barriers on his body in order to make use of a Gateport or Teleportation Ward. This made Vahns act of easily teleporting him away a terrifying feat, causing Seras to swallow audibly as her mother managed a polite smile, bowing slightly as she said, "It is a great honor to stand in the presence-" Shaking his head, Vahn adopted a more natural smile as he interrupted Sidra, saying, "There is no need for such formalities. I am not your Emperor, nor have I done anything worthy of your respect or obeisance. I can perceive that the two of you are qualified rulers, so you have no need to lower your heads to me. My purpose here is to simply observe and y witness to the events of history as they transpire. I will only act to prevent things like the exploitation of power or the destruction of the environment. At other times, I am generally an agreeable person. Isnt that right, Fenrir, Arika...?" Arika had a lot to say about Vahns interference, but, remembering he had stepped in to prevent Hugo from trying to pressure her with libidinous intent concealed within his countenance, she was currently feeling slightly vindicated. Thus, when prompted, she gave a courteous nod, a slight smile on her face as she mused, "The grace and humility of the Sage Dragon Emperor are as boundless as the Heavens..." Hearing the teasing undertones in Arikas voice, Vahn blinked in surprise, but, before he could say anything, Fenrir eximed, "Thats right! Master is the most magnanimous and kind person in the entire world! So long as you arent a bad person or a bully, there are no lengths he wouldnt go to in order to help someone~!" Feeling a very subtle increase in the amount of blood flowing to his face, Vahn habitually stroked his chin as he mused, "See what I mean? Though it would be appropriate to address me as the Sage Dragon Emperor during official proceedings, feel free to simply refer to me as Vahn at other times. I did note here to put pressure on you and your country. Rather, I am considerably interested in academics and schrly pursuits. Should the opportunity present itself, I would like to tour some of your facilities and observe the curriculum in effect..." Though she was equally as confused as she was tense, Sidra maintained a polite smile while looking between Vahn, Fenrir, and Arika. Things had developed in an unimaginable way, but, after a lifetime of associating with annoying Nobles, her bearing wasnt easily broken. She could also read between the lines, so, after seeing Vahn step in to deal with Hugo, a number of suspicions yed across her mind as nodded her head and answered, "When the timees, I will personally escort you around our campuses. I am quite proud of our facilities and I am equally as curious about the impression of someone with the title of Sage Dragon Emperor. It is readily apparent we have much to learn from a peaceful association with someone of your esteem, Vahn." Satisfied by Sidras response, Vahn gave an appreciative nod before looking towards her daughter and doing the same. This caused the young woman to open her mouth as if she was going to say something, but, seemingly unable to find the words, she penultimately remained silent with a light flush coloring her cheeks. Vahn found this rather amusing, as she seemed like the serious type, but, knowing it would only cause problems if he teased her, he just nodded toward Sidra, saying, "I look forward to it..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn seems to be more aware of Arika...,A pig coveting swans meat,Old habits die hard xD...) (A/N: Hey, just a reminder to those who have forgotten. While it might not be pertinent to the plot atm, Vahn is still developing his Realm. He also spends a fair amount of time inside a Sub-Space Orb, so, rather than his perspective spontaneously changing, literal months might be taking ce between each chapter from our jank Emperors perspective.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1565 Trepidation

Chapter 1565 Trepidation

Around the same time that Vahn was stressing out the Grandmaster and her daughter, his other self was walking through the Academy City with a wry smile on his face. The streets actually werent that popted, as most students attended sses and lectures during the day, so Asuna was able to run around freely. This drew quite a bit of attention from the staff and students earning extra money by working at the various canteens, cafes, and shops that catered to the citys residents. After all, while not particrly rare, it was umon to see a human running around the streets of Ariadne. This made her stand out quite a bit, but, a stark contrast to how they were treated when first arriving at Nyandoma, most people viewing Asuna for the first time couldnt help but smile. Though she never wandered more than a few meters away from Vahn, earning him a considerable amount of teasing from the more mature residents of the city, Asuna fearlessly interacted with even the most peculiar races inhabiting the city. This included a four-meter tall man who looked like a Cyclops, and, surprising even Vahn, a woman with leathery skin, elongated forelimbs, and the facial features of a bat. The womans smile would have cowed even the more courageous people back on Earth, but,pletely undaunted, Asuna politely greeted the woman without a single sign of fear or trepidation. Seeing how Asuna interacted with others, Vahn couldnt help but feel a little proud, an affectionate smile spreading across his face that earned him a considerable amount of attention. This included the bat-like woman who had gifted Asuna a flower, her smiling taking on a slightly teasing look as she mused in a surprisingly smooth voice, "Your daughter is as courageous as she is cute. It is rare for a human to teach their children to be so tolerant of other species. It might not mean much, but, please, ept my gratitude. I wish everyone could be so kind..." Not expecting someones heartfelt gratitude, Vahn was at a momentary loss for words, missing the opportunity to correct the misunderstanding. Asuna, however, immediately shook her head, stating, "Vahn is not my father. He pampers me a lot, but he is the Guardian of Mundus Magicus, the Sage Dragon Emperor. Dont be sad, okay? Vahn will make this world a better ce. Believe in him." Seemingly satisfied with her speech, Asuna showed a modest smile before pulling out a tiny bag of cookies and handing it to the stupefied woman. These were mechanically epted by the woman, who, much like the others present in the surroundings, showed expressions of confusion. The words Sage Dragon Emperor stood out quite a bit, and, despite being located far from the Capital, rumors of the battle between Jack Rakan and the Sage Dragon Emperor had rapidly spread throughout the Hes Empire. Though he could have tried to smooth things over, Vahn adopted a casual smile as he said, "Worry not. As my adorable littlepanion stated, I am the Guardian of Mundus Magicus. I do not harm the innocent. Your Grandmaster is already aware of my presence, so, please, do not be afraid." Hearing Vahns words, the bat-like womans eyes opened to disy a reasonable amount of fear, but, feeling no hostility radiating from the kind-faced man, she forced a smile on her face as she said, "I...I never imagined I would have the opportunity to speak with an Emperor...if I have-" Shaking his head, Vahn offered a sincere smile as he calmly stated, "There is no need to show fear or obeisance. I am happiest to see good people living their lives peacefully. Though it might not be possible, it would please me if you continue behaving as if I was just a random person enjoying the scenic beauty of your city..." To emphasize his words, Vahn gazed at his surroundings, marveling at the blend between victorian-style architecture and magical technology. Though not as impressive as the splendor of Ostia or the majesty of the Imperial Pce, Ariadne had a calming atmosphere, and, though subtle, Vahn could detect the smell of books and magical tomes pervading the entire city. It was a ce where people dedicated themselves to their studies, some traveling thousands of kilometers just for the chance to improve the quality of their lives after graduation. Though there were some elements that could be improved upon, Vahn felt that Aridane, in some ways, was even better than Ostia... As that thought crossed his mind, a wry smile spread across Vahns face as three schoolgirls dressed in matching uniforms flew overhead. They were each riding rather generic straw brooms, amon method of travel within Mundus Magicus, and, due to the fact most female uniforms included skirts as part of the dress-code, those with keener senses were able to behold a rather dangerous sight. If not for the fact stripping battles were part of the culture in Mundus Magicus, making nudity less of an issue thanmon sense would dictate, Vahn would have had some words for the Grandmaster. Turning his attention back to the bat-like woman, Vahns smile returned to normal as he extended his hand towards Asuna and said, "Come, Asuna. We shouldnt cause these good people any more stress than we already have." Hearing Vahns words, Asuna adopted a slightly saddened expression as she asked, "Did I do a bad thing?" Though she already felt slightly guilty after hearing Vahns words, the bat-like woman showed an expression of remorse when she heard Asunas tone. She wasnt the only one either, but, being the cause of the disturbance, the bat-like woman beat Vahn to the punch, answering, "You have done absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. People are just scared of things they do not understand...it is obvious the Sage Dragon Emperor is a kind person. Once we get to know him better, Im certain we can all live happily alongside one another~!" Turning back toward the bat-like woman, Asuna stared into her face for several tense moments, her heterochromatic eyes seemingly looking straight through her. This was a rather unnerving thing to be on the receiving end of, but, before things got too bad, a small smile spread across Asunas face as she bobbed her head and stated, "Youre right. Understanding is the key to living in harmony. Im sorry for causing you trouble." Following her apology, Asuna gave a polite bow towards the bat-like woman before repeating the action a number of times toward the surroundings. Afterward, she scampered over to Vahns side, grabbing his outstretched hand. In the next moment, surprising everyone present, the peculiar duo vanished into thin air, almost as if they had never existed. There wasnt even a single sign of a magic circle, an iprehensible disy that all but confirmed his identity... Feeling the tensions rapidly draining from her body, the bat-like woman sat down in a nearby chair as other females students and faculty members gathered around her. Most people generally gave her a wide berth, but, as someone who had directly interacted with the Sage Dragon Emperor, she suddenly became the center of attention as everyone began gossiping about the newest arrival to the Academy City... --- As a circr city with a diameter of only 33km, Vahn could easily traverse all of Ariadne within a few seconds. His domain had already grown to near 5km, so, even without using teleportation, he could effectively appear anywhere in the city using a few seamless [Shundo]. This was considerably more cost-efficient than forcibly tearing through Space, so, with Asuna in tow, Vahns figure could be seen flickering through the air beforeing to a stop at the ledge of a massive clocktower. Compared to Mundus Ventus, Earth, the buildings in Mundus Magicus was truly monstrous. Most of the buildings he had seen had ceilings greater than 5m in height. As for the clocktower, one of four massive structures that dominated the four cardinal districts of Ariadne, it stood a majestic 430m in height and 60m from face-to-face. It was a true marvel of engineering, and, without Magic, it would have copsed under the strain of its own weight. After all, unlike the reinforced superstructure of a skyscraper, using rebar and concrete to bear tremendous loads,ndmarks like the clocktower were almostpletelyprised of heavy metals and marble... Since there was still twenty minutes until the clocktower released a thunderous chime that echoed throughout all of Ariadne, Vahn ced Asuna on the ledge before taking a seat. Asuna, as could be expected, showed absolutely no sign of fear as she emted this action. She even began to dangle her feet off the ledge while staring out over the rather scenic cityscape, falling silent for several long moments before asking, "Is it normal for people to be scared of things they dont understand? I can tell people just want to live peaceful lives, so I dont understand why they dont make more effort to get along with each other...if everyone understood each other, wouldnt all conflicts cease...?" This wasnt the first time Asuna had asked him some rather difficult questions, so, rather than show any kind of surprise, Vahn adopted a thoughtful expression as he exined, "In a perfect world, that might be the case. Unfortunately, to ensure stability, the Universe must exist in a state of bnce. It is possible to increase the understanding between people, but, so long as they have personal wants, desires, and interests, there will always be conflict. It is our burden, as people who desire a better future for all, to endeavor. So long as you are happier to see people smile, our battle will never be in vain. The moment those with power turn a blind eye to suffering, those who seek to gain through the exploitation and suffering of others will not hesitate to act..." Despite her age, Asuna seemed to understand the deeper meaning behind Vahns words, nodding her head with a look of thoughtful contemtion on her doll-like face. She was very mature for her age, and, though cut from a different mold than someone like Sophia, it was clear that Asuna was a startlingly intelligent youngdy. This ced a heavy burden on Vahns heart and mind, as, if he led her astray, there was no way of knowing what kind of impact Asuna would have on the world over a small misunderstanding... After remaining silent for more than a minute, Asuna raised her head, staring directly at him as she asked, "Is that why you wish to be a deterrent? Are you trying to alleviate the burden on good people...?" Hearing the unexpected query, Vahn found himself at a loss for words before recovering his senses and releasing a light chuckle as he answered, "That was certainly one of my intentions, but the true reason is a lot simpler. My primary reason foring to this world was to save a single person, and, once I aplish that goal, I want to do my best to make her happy. Me bing a deterrent and supporting good people is just a method to ensure I have plenty of time to spend with the people I care about. Though I will never turn a blind eye to suffering, I havee to realize that I cannot be personally responsible for every world I visit. Thus, rather than do everything myself, I havee to the conclusion that it is better to support kind and caring people like you and your cousin. It is my hope that, when the timees for my departure from this world, there-" Without waiting for him to finish, Asuna showed an expression of shock and consternation as she tightly gripped the fabric of Vahns tunic and eximed, "You cant leave! I dont want you to go!" Surprised by Asunas sudden outburst, Vahn was caught with his mouth slightly open as he stared into her blue-green eyes. Though she didnt tear up, a visibleyer of moisture had started to form across their surface. He could see a vehement refusal contained within their depths, and, though it was ultimately futile, Vahn could feel the flow of fate around Asuna surging into him, seemingly in an attempt topel him to stay. Though it had only been a few weeks since their meeting, Vahn knew Asuna had imprinted on him quite a bit. This wasrgely his own fault, but, as he simply didnt have the heart to ignore her after witnessing the type of environment she grew up in, this kind of oue was inevitable. He had also resolved to protect her from Cosmo Entelecheia, so, even if she hadnt been entrusted to him by Vesperina, Vahn would have watched over her from the shadows. Feeling like her tiny hands had gripped around his heart like a vice, Vahn adopted an affectionate smile as he pulled Asuna into his embrace and whispered, "Now, now, there is no need for that. It isnt as though Ill be leaving this world any time soon, Asuna. In fact, I might stay for hundreds of years before departing. You dont have to worry about me ever disappearing into thin air, okay...?" Hearing Vahns words,bined with the calming energy surging through her body, Asuna was able to breathe a sigh of relief before issuing a subdued Nn.... Despite this, she didnt let go of his tunic, clinging tightly to the fabric as she rested her head against his chest... --- Experiencing the same scene with all of his bodies, the version of Vahn guarding the Airfish released a tired sigh as he absentmindedly ran his fingers through Medusas hair. He wasnt exactly upset by Asunas behavior, but, due to his past experiences, Vahn felt like a few dangerous gs had already been raised. The matter with Arika was troubling enough, so, before things could get further out of hand, Vahn decided to elerate his ns to enroll Asuna into school. He would need to get her to interact with children her own age before her training began, as, from that moment onward, it was like rolling a snowball down a freshly powdered slope... Though age differences might not matter too much in the vast flow of eternity, Vahn always had a hard time returning the affections of girls he had basically watched grow up. He was aware of the concept of grooming, and, though he never acted with such intentions in mind, Vahn always felt a considerable amount of guilt whenever familial love evolved into desire and longing. Though Asuna clearly didnt see him as a father figure based on her words to the bat-like woman, that didnt make it any less worrisome. There were few things more disconcerting than an intelligent yet precocious child, especially when they had a powerful fate and could use Magic... As thoughts of the future began to dance across his mind, Vahn briefly considered whether or not it would be prudent of him to further his rtionship with Vesperina. Unfortunately, as he had learned in every Record he had visited thus far, this wasnt likely to be a solution. Rather, if he had chosen to stay within the Sun Pce, Vahn had the distinct impression he might be more than just close friends of the Ostian Royal Family... Remembering the figures of the two inordinately beautiful women in the bath, Vahn released a sigh that was slightly tinged with warmth. Then, after staring up at the ceiling for several minutes with a distant look in his eyes, he internally mused, ("I need to hurry and find Eva...") (A/N: Alternate Titles: Asuna be like, "Not the Papa...!",The burden of being a good person,Vahn is a riajuu that only gets stronger when he explodes...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1566 Ripples, Waves, and Repercussions

Chapter 1566 Ripples, Waves, and Repercussions

With the concurrent arrival of the Princess of Vespertatia and the infamous Sage Dragon Emperor, rumors spread like ripples, not just within Ariadne, but throughout the Empire as a whole. After all, the former was practically a legendary existence among the peoples of Mundus Magicus, and, after his battle with Rakan, Vahn had be amon topic of discussion. People had taken notice of the fact that the Empire had never ced a bounty on him, and, after his deeds within the Coliseum came to light, specifically his actions of freeing ves and eliminating corrupt officials, a number of people had begun to view him in a very different light. Without knowing the purpose behind Arikas and Vahns visit, spection and hearsay were able to run rampant throughout the Empire. Some believed the duo had allied to either prevent the war or root out corruption, instilling hope in the hearts of those who wanted to live in peace. Others, such as members of the Second Princes and Grand Dukes faction, wasted little time in trying to pressure the Emperor into a more decisive response. They feared that their interests in Ariadne were directly threatened by the presence of Arika and Vahn, but, unable to do anything about the former, they, at the very least, wanted thetter removed. Unfortunately for the Second Prince and the Grand Duke, the Emperor directly refused to organize a military response against someone who apparently had the ability to teleport vast distances in an instant. They had no way to pin him down, and, due to the growing tensions between Ariadne and the Empire, sending a fleet into their territory might as well be a deration of war against one of their strongest allies. The Emperor knew that, immediately after entering a conflict with Ariadne, the Megalomesembrian Confederacy would invade from the East. This would force them into a war on two fronts, drastically reducing public support and troop morale, two of the most important factors when determining the oue of a war. He would not undermine the war effort just to further the agenda of a dissenting faction that seemed more concerned with their own profits than the survival of the Empire. After growing tired of hearing the same arguments time and again, the Emperor ultimately dangled the word treason over the heads of his younger brother and second son. This wouldnt be enough to stop them from conspiring behind the scenes, but it was more than enough to force their silence during Court proceedings. As for what they did on their own time, using their own assets, he didnt particrly care. If they wanted to pick a fight with an Ancient Dragon, it would fall on their heads to deal with, not the Empire and its people. Though he turned a blind eye to it, the Emperor was well aware of the ambitions of his second son and younger brother. They ultimatelycked the power and support to actually make a y for the throne, so, even if they machinated behind the scenes, it didnt matter so long as their actions were a benefit to the Empire. Now, however, their actions directly threatened the stability of the Empire at a time when unity was of paramount importance. If they did not properly conceal their hand, he would be left with no choice but to execute them for the crime of treason. Despite knowing the fate that would await him if his son seeded in his coup, the Emperor didnt have the heart to order the execution of his own child. Though he would do so if forced, the burden would eat away at him like a poison of the mind, forcing him to install his daughter as the Empress before she was ready to rule. Even if she would have the support of Vrixho, he didnt want to ce such a heavy burden on a child, so, until her time as Empress came, Michael wanted Theo to enjoy her life to the fullest... --- Though he was aware of the rumors circting throughout Ariadne and the Empire, Vahn had more on his mind than politics. He had already started training Arika, and, after a series of discussions, he had decided to teach a few sses in the Imperial Academy, specifically acting as an Advisor in the Junior Division of the Academy. This was originally to allow Asuna the opportunity to attend school and interact with children her own age, but, as fate would have it, the Academy was actually divided into Divisions based on gender. Since the Imperial Academy had been specifically developed to cater to the needs of the Nobility, it would create a lot of problems if there was a mixed curriculum. Thest thing most affluent families wanted was for their heirs and progeny to develop rtionships outside the arrangements that had already been made for most of them. Marriage was a powerful political tool that was used to forge or strengthen alliances between different families. Some children even had their marriages decided from the moment they were born, so, to prevent any idents from urring, males and females were almost entirely separated until graduation. Due to his unique status, Sidra made an exception to the existing policy, allowing Vahn to be an Advisor within the Junior Division of the Imperial Academy. This made him the only male among a faculty and student body consisting entirely of females and curious young children. It didnt even take three days before a fan club had formed, forcing a wry on Vahns face whenever a gaggle of admittedly adorable Demihuman girls flocked around him in order to have their membership cards signed. To further exacerbate matters, Vahns looks and general demeanor made him very popr among members of the faculty. He was constantly refusing dinner invitations and a few more direct offers forpany. One chienthropic woman with droopy ears and a shaggy tail was even bold enough to directly gift him a duplicate of her room key, packaged neatly in her still-warm panties. Though he ended up teleporting the gift back into her room following the incident, theycy garment had reappeared in his desk the following day, this time attached with a note imploring him to hold onto it, just in case... Needless to say, Vahn was feeling a very unique kind of fatigue, but, with Asuna quickly bing the most popr girl in her ss, he persevered. He actually had quite a bit of experience refusing solicitations, so, seeing Asuna bing more expressive with each passing day, Vahn decided not to let the advances of his co-workers bother him. It wasnt as if they had malicious intentions, and, if he hadnt wowed them so many times with his knowledge, sometimes teasing them in the process, things probably wouldnt have devolved so quickly. This was often the case, so, rather than shift the me to others, Vahn epted his responsibility in exacerbating the situation, choosing to tolerate their affections while doing his best to properly guide the growing number of young girls that came to him for everything from simple questions about homework to far more personal problems such as bullying or troubles back home... Because he was so willing to listen to everyones problems, Vahn had basically be a guidance counselor and emotional anchor for some of the more troubled children. Not only did he seriously listen to their concerns, but, if it was something he could help with, he would either offer advice or personally resolve the problem. Some even came to him with outright mortifying ims, so, after a very serious discussion with Sidra, a schrship had been created to support anyone suffering from victimization and persecution, the children of Nobles included. After crippling and killing quite a number of people, Vahns name spread even more waves through the Empire, but, after the crimes of the used had been made known, public outrage was directed more towards the Nobility than himself. There had even been a trafficking ring that targetted young and underprivileged children, specifically those who performed well academically, but, due to their background,cked the funds to further their education. They were pressured to do things that no child should ever be forced to experience, and, worst of all, the Arch-Dean had been the one selling their files, taking advantage of his position to ess the entire student directory. Though Hugo had been publically executed for his crimes, it did little to mend the growing divide between Ariadne and the Empire. Grandmaster Sidra outright refused the appointment of a new Arch-Dean, casting doubt upon the Emperor and the selection process itself. After all, Hugo had been personally appointed by the Emperor, and, though this had been more than thirty years prior, allowing more than enough time for someone to be swayed by corruption, the people didnt care for such excuses. All that mattered to them was that yet another Noble had taken advantage of his position tomit egregious crimes for personal gain, tarnishing the reputation of all. In the hopes of easing the tensions between Ariadne and the Empire, the Emperor rescinded more than seventy percent of thend permits that had been issued. Since many of the Nobles with ties to Ariadne had been involved in the Arch-Deans scandal, the Grandmaster would never allow the property to be retained by the offending families. One of thergest estates had more than thirty yrooms that had been used tomit all manner of heinous acts, and, thanks to the efforts of Vahn, they had more than enough evidence to prove the involvement of several Noble families. After learning about the trafficking ring, Vahn wasted no time in raiding the estate, acting before those charged with burning the books and hiding the evidence were able to. As a result, a number of families had their rankpletely revoked, and, for the first time in more than a hundred years, Ariadne was almostpletely liberated from Imperial intervention. This had nearly prompted the Grandmaster to dere independence from the Empire, but, with war looming on the horizon, such actions would adversely impact Aridane just as much as the Empire. This was where one of Vahns biggest problems came from, as, in an attempt to restore diplomatic and public rtions with Ariadne, an Ambassador had been selected to represent the Empire. While this wasnt umon, ripples spread throughout the Empire and abroad once it came to light that the Third Imperial Princess was the one assigned the duty. Though she would have always held the title at some point, as was customary for all members of the Imperial Family, the fact Theodora had only recently turned eleven years old made the appointmentpletely unexpected. In the original history, Theodora hadnt been appointed the position of Ambassador until after the Great Magic War had begun. To others, her nomination seemed like a desperate attempt to restore rtions with Ariadne, but, knowing what he knew, Vahn suspected, and subsequently confirmed, that she had been specifically chosen to prevent him from causing further damage to the Empire. It wasnt known to others, for a number of reasons, but the Emperor, Vrixho Nagasha, and Jack Rakan were well-aware of the fact that Theo had received guidance from Vahn. They also believed they had a good read on his character, so, understanding he was less of an enemy than they were to themselves, the Emperor confidently assigned the task to his daughter. This served a number of different purposes, but, most importantly, it allowed them to put a positive spin on Vahns actions while simultaneously guaranteeing Theos protection. The main hope was that Theo would be able to convince Vahn to allow her to take credit whenever he rooted out corruption within the Empire. They couldnt prevent him from exposing the vile and wicked acts of the more unscrupulous Nobles, so, rather than instigate a conflict that would cause even more problems, they were hoping that Vahn would help to secure Theos future position. This would allow them to preserve the reputation of the Imperial Family while simultaneously increasing Theos favorability amongst the people. She was already very popr, so, if her first action as Ambassador helped to repair the rtions with Ariadne while subsequently addressing the matter of corruption among the Nobility, her poprity would skyrocket... What the Emperor had ounted for, but couldnt do anything about, was that his daughter was a very spirited girl. She didnt particrly care for things like politics and reputation, so, rather than fullymit to the responsibilities of an Ambassador, she spent most of her time pestering Vahn to help with her training. As a result, she had developed a friendly rivalry with Arika and Fenrir, to the point that hardly a day passed without them sparring for hours at a time. Truthfully, Vahn was somewhat grateful for Theos inclusion in the training as her presence diffused a lot of the burgeoning tensions between Arika and Fenrir. The former had been growing frustrated after failing to win any of her matches against Fenrir. She wasnt exactly prideful, but, after suffering a number of one-sided defeats, Arika couldnt help harboring a bit of resentment toward the easy-going Vanargandr. She believed that Fenrir was proactively trying to embarrass her, as, whenever he was around, Arika was bound to suffer a quick and decisive defeat. Due to her growing affections, Arika didnt like appearing weak and helpless in front of Vahn, so, every time Fenrir defeated her, a small amount of resentment would take root in her heart. It wasnt until Theos arrival, allowing her to view things externally, that Arika realized the truth of the matter. Rather than trying the shame other people, Fenrir simply got more excited whenever her beloved Master was watching her fight. This was the same for Theo, and, after thinking about it, Arika knew she also put in more effort when Vahn was watching. He was more than just a teacher to them, so, whenever he was around, they couldnt help but want to show off. Her resentment toward Fenrir was entirely fabricated, the result of a burgeoning inferiorityplex that made her feel ashamed to disy weakness in front of the person whose recognition she desired... The trigger for Arikas realization came after Theor had suffered an exceptionally one-sided defeat at the hands of Fenrir. Had it been her, Arika would felt extremely bitter, but, due to her outgoing personality, Theo didnt seem to mind her loss in the slightest. Rather, she took advantage of the fact she had suffered a number of injuries to get Vahn to personally attend her wounds, earning a fair amount of praise throughout the process. This caused her to realize how petty she had been, as, immediately after the treatment, Vahn caressed both Fenrirs and Theos heads with an appreciative smile on his face, a stark contrast to the wry look he would give her whenever she walked away to treat her own wounds... Following her realization, Arika sought out Fenrir in private, offering a sincere apology for the way she had been behaving. From then onwards, their rivalry had be marginally more friendly, and, rather than pouting whenever she suffered a defeat, Arika would ask for advice and put more effort into her training. As a result, she received more praise from Vahn, and, though not nearly as much as Asuna, she was gradually bing more expressive. She also became something of a big sister to Theo, helping the young Hesian improve her skills as a Mage and offering advice to help her be a better ruler. The kinship between Arika and Theo wasnt unexpected, as, even in the original timeline, the two had been rtively close. The problem arose when Theo acquired the knowledge that Arika, Fenrir, and even Asuna often shared the same bath with Vahn. Rather, due to Asuna pouting or giving him the silent treatment whenever he tried to convince her to bathe with Fenrir or Arika, it had be rtively normal for them to share the same bathe and bed. Though he would like to say his rtionship with Arika and Asuna was strictly tonic, bordering on familial love, Vahn wasnt dense. Arika had stopped wearing her full set of pajamas to bed, often foregoing the use of bottoms, and, after a while, she even began wearing more intricate types of panties. Previously, she had always worn rtively in white panties, and, though they were made of a type of stic silk, they were considerably tamepared to the red or ckce panties she often wore only to sleep in... Needless to say, Theo had been quite surprised by the revtion, as, prior to that moment, she just assumed Vahn was a close friend to the Ostian Royal Family. She, like everyone else, had absolutely no idea that Vahn had been cohabitating with the two Princesses. Such information would cause a considerable amount of turmoil should it be made public, but, rather than concern herself with such things, Theo instead focused on how unfair the arrangement was. Sheined that Vahn had already seen her naked, but, rather than take responsibility, he just taught her a few tricks before running away without even offering an apology... When Vahn heard Theos usations, several days after the inciting incident, he was left at a loss for words. Theo clearly didnt view him in the same way as Arika, but, after learning she was the only one being left out, she insisted they all bathe together from then onwards, pointing out that he had already built an onsen and a beach house within the 24:1 diorama. Rather than part ways after their training, she argued it was not only more efficient to bathe together, but, after already deciding to help Arika create a better world, it was a method to strengthen their bonds. In the end, Theo just wanted to spend more time with everyone, as, despite her poprity, she had very few friends in the Empire. Her position didnt allow her to get close to others easily, and, after the death of her mother, she had struggled to remain positive. Though the training wasnt easy, she was having more fun ying with everyone than she had at any other moment in her life. She had also grown rather fond of Vahns pampering, and, though she hadnt developed any tender feelings toward him, she had even more trust in him than she did Rakan and her own father. Vahn had learned a lot about Theos past after spending days at a time training her, so, after a long discussion regarding boundaries, he ultimately relented. From then onward, their bathing party had increased from four to five, and, due to her outgoing and somewhat mischievous nature, it wasnt long before Theo waspletely ignoring the boundaries he had tried to establish. There was a brief period where she behaved bashfully, but, after getting used to sharing a bath with others, it became just another opportunity for her to y around and have fun, often at Vahns expense... (A/N: Alternate Titles: It is hard to be both an Emperor and a father,Chienthropes can be pretty dangerous (OwO)...,The dangers of living alongside people whose very existence qualifies as a fateful encounter xD...) (A/N: Since it wasnt expressly stated, a little more than three weeks have passed since Vahn arrived in Ariadne. With the Sub-Space Orb and Diorama, around three months have passed. Also, I have a migraine so this might be the only chapter for the Friday block. It took me almost six hours just to write and edit this.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1567 Longing

Chapter 1567 Longing

Located lightyears from any habitable worlds, an iprehensibly vast crystalline pce,rger than somes, could be seen slowly revolving through Space. There werent any nearby light sources, with the closest star being twenty-two lightyears away, but, seemingly cast by the crystal itself, the entire thing glowed with a mysterious rainbow hue. It was quite the sight to behold, but, more than the pce itself, the expansive neb surrounding it created a truly wondrous sight. It would constantly shift to create various different shapes at the whimsy of its creator, sometimes taking the form of beautiful women, other times appearing as a variety of adorable creatures... Near the very center of the pce, a massive crystal lotus that was more than 30km in diameter stood out among the vast structure. At the very center of this lotus, which was open to the vast expanse of space above, several figures could be seen lying in a circr bed that was more than 100m in diameter. Several resplendent orbs of light could be found constantly rotating around this bed like miniature suns, but,pared to the beauty of the figures theyzily encircled, they appeared in and unextraordinary... Lying amongst the veritable ocean of beauties, Vahn could be seen absentmindedly waving his hand toward the distant neb, a contented smile on his face as he shaped it into the figure of a naked Artoria. This earned him a light pinch from the girl to his right, and, though she wasnt even remotely mad, Artoria huskily asked, "You would rather stare at a distant and ephemeral version of me than the real thing curled up at your side~?" Hearing Artorias teasing remark, several same-soundingughs could be heard in the surroundings as Vahn issued a light chuckle. He was currently using five bodies to contend against the seventeen beauties that shared the massive bed with him, and, as a result of his contented bliss, all five of him emted the actions of his main body. Fortunately, there were women on every side, so, when he turned to kiss Artoria, the other versions of him turned to kiss Gaia, Lakshmibai, Atnta, and, Mash respectively. This nearly restarted the orgy that had ended only twenty minutes prior, but, as it had already been going on for nearly fifteen hours, only those at Tier 4, and higher, had the stamina to keep going. Following a long session of kissing and cuddling, Vahn felt it was nearing time for him to return, so, while one version of him was politely refusing Medeas attempts to service him, his main body was seated between Artoria and Gray, exining, "Ive already been here for twenty-seven days. If I stay too long, I might not have the willpower to return~." Though Vahn had primarily been speaking to Artoria, everyone present heard his words, causing an immediate shift in the atmosphere. They had all been enjoying themselves quite a bit during Vahns stay within the Realm, but, hearing him mention departing, they knew better than to try and entice him to stay. Every resident of the Inner Sanctum, and many who lived outside of it, hade to a mutual understanding with each other after their Awakening. Vahn had exined the truth of The Path, and, by proxy, revealed the true nature of his existence. As a result, a massive shift urred in the Inner Sanctum, and, more than ever before, those closest to Vahn wanted to support him in his journey towards the absolute pinnacle of existence... Feeling the spontaneous shift in the atmosphere, Vahn issued another light chuckle before settling into an affectionate smile as he said, "Try not to use the Crystal Pce too much while Im away. Ill only be away for seven days in the real world, so dont push yourselves too much. Remember, Tier is more a measure of potential than anything else, so, even if you be exceptionally powerful in the Realm, youll have to train from the ground up in other Records. Even then, dont push yourself trying to reach the pinnacle just so you can help me. Now that I have the Realm, just knowing you are safe is enough to keep me going for thousands of years..." Since his intent was unrivaled within his Realm, everyone was able to feel the sincerity contained in Vahns words, but, ever the teasing cynic, Nobunaga mused, "Were supposed to believe you when you need seventeen of us just to deal with the stress caused by a few brats~?" Rather than show any offense at all, Vahnughed in response to Nobunagas words, as, in a way, she was right. Though their most recent orgy was more to spread his love than anything else, the main reason he entered the Realm this time around was to release stress. Fenrir and Medusa were able to ease most of his tensions, but, perhaps as a result of his past experiences andpounding power, it was impossible for him to bepletely satisfied with just two people. He was constantly afraid of breaking them, as, even if he used a potent Sub-Space Orb, they would be worn out long before his tensions werepletely released. The scariest part was that both girls were willing to be broken in order to satisfy him, especially Fenrir... Afterughing his heart out, Vahn returned to his affectionately smiling state as he mused, "Can you really me me? You all be more beautiful each time I see you. Even if you didnt try to tempt me, I cant help but want to spend time with everyone...Im serious...there are times when I just want to whisk each of you away just to spend hundreds of years together. It would take at least that long to properly disy how much I love each one of you..." Though it might have been a small exaggeration, Vahn was very serious when he spoke. He still felt a small amount of guilt knowing he had so many amazing women and not enough of himself to go around. There were even times when he thought about creating isted Time Axes just so he could spend a lifetime together with each of the girls. He knew that, in the vast flow of eternity, it was all but guaranteed that his path would diverge with most of them. They might stay at his side for tens of billions of years, but, at some point, they would still diverge. Thus, rather than force them to live forever as part of an expansive harem, Vahn often thought it would be fairer to them if he devoted himself to just one girl for a few thousand years... Hearing Vahns words, it was Amaterasu, in her adult form, who said, "Save your sentiments, boya. I would dare to speak for everyone here when I say we are more than satisfied with how things have developed. Even if you did whisk us away at your leisure, you would end up breaking us unless you ced heavy restrictions on yourself. Since none of us want to see you hold back on our ount, it is better to keep pushing forward. Were all big girls, so, even if you cant give us your attention all the time, we have plenty of ways to keep ourselves upied~." Toward the end of her words, Amaterasu began to entangle her dexterous tails with Tamamos and Suzukas, causing their faces to flush slightly. Amaterasu had been dutifully taking care of her two descendants ever since she and Vahn first had sex. She was basically punishing the two for keeping him to themselves for so many years, ming the duo for not trying harder to help her out... Since he knew Amaterasu was mostly just teasing the two girls, Vahn just smiled wryly, shaking his head as he said, "Yeah, I know. Youre all amazing women in that regard. Its one of the reasons Im so smitten with each of you. Still, I cant help but want to do more...hahahaha~" As if they were mentally linked, nearly everyone present nodded concurrently in response to Vahns words, but it was Artoria who hugged him tightly as she said, "Its things like that whichpel us to work harder as well. We all want to do more for each other, so dont stress yourself out worrying whether or not were pushing ourselves too hard. Rather, it would make us happier if you didnt let yourself get stressed out so easily...it would break my heart if our purpose became little more than helping you to relieve stress...one day, I will stand at your side again. Never forget our promise, no matter how much time passes...okay?" Without saying anything, Vahn just nodded his head while allowing Artoria to hug his face against her impably soft bosom. He knew she was speaking for all of them when she said her words, as, from the moment he revealed the truth, they had been working even harder just to reach him. Da Vinci had even tried to convince him to create a Space where time flowed hundreds of times faster than normal, just so she could find a solution to reconcile the differences between the Records even sooner. Their support was his greatest strength, so, even if he wanted to just keep them locked up for their own safety, Vahn was also proactively searching for a method to allow them to manifest in the outside... After enjoying the sensation of Artorias breasts and body heat, Vahn lifted his head, a loving smile on his face as he said, "I will never forget my promises..." --- Peeling open his eyes back in reality, Vahn was unsurprised to find his surroundings unchanged from the time of his submersion into the Realm. Asuna and Fenrir were curled up on his left side, thetter hugging the former from behind. On his right, Arika could be seen wearing nothing but ckce panties and a blouse with all of its buttons unfastened. She wasnt the oneying next to him, however, as they were separated by none other than Theo, who, after a healthy amount of pestering, now shared a bed with them whenever they slept inside the diorama. Though it was somewhat shameful to admit, Theo was one of the main reasons Vahn had visited the Realm. She was even worse than Arika at times, as, seemingly due to her trust that he wouldnt do anything, she had absolutely no inhibitions toward him. She would often pounce on him during their baths, and, though it was never withscivious or lustful intentions, she was a little too curious about his body. Now, making even Arika seem demure and sheepish, Theo was tightly clinging to him in her sleep while wearing nothing but a pair of side-tie panties that, due to her poor sleeping habits, hade undone long ago... Turning his head to the side, Vahn could see Theo happily drooling on him, using his shoulder as a pillow as she nestled flush against his body. She was, admittedly, a very adorable girl, and, despite her still-developing figure, she would be over twenty back on Earth. This was one of the problems that Vahn had been dealing withtely, as, due to the sensibilities he had cultivated, a person could be considered an adult as early as fourteen in the Empire. Girls like Arika, Theo, and even Asuna all matured at a rate that was inconsistent with his sensibilities, causing a great deal of conflict in his heart and mind whenever they behaved in certain ways. This was only further exacerbated by the fact that, in some areas of Mundus Magicus, humans were considered adults by the time they reached the age of eight, making them fifteen back on earth. If they waited until they were fifteen by Mundus Magicus standards, their actual age would be close to thirty, half the average lifespan of a normal human. Because of things like this, Vahn was having trouble trying to reconcile what was considered appropriate, especially with Theo bing more promiscuous and Arika growing increasingly bold... If he were being honest with himself, Vahn knew he didnt actually have any real problems, rather, he was just overthinking things. This was one of the downsides to having a Realm, as, despite only ten weeks passing since his arrival in Mundus Magicus, six years had passed from his perspective. It felt like he had already been searching for Eva for a long time, and, with so much time to think, the problems with Arika, Theo, and even Asuna, had only been exacerbated. Once, when he was helping treat a bruise on Arikas inner thigh, the expectant look in her eyes and the slight blush of her face was nearly enough for him to push her down then and there... Tearing his gaze away from Theos sleeping face, Vahn just stared nkly at the ceiling for several moments as he discussed solutions with Sis. His nature made it very difficult for him to not meet the expectations of the people around him, and, due to the fact hecked a fate, he was like a void that sucked in and influenced the fate of others. Prior to his entry into the Record, everything had a fixed fate, so, even if he did nothing, his very breaths irreversibly changed the flow of fate for the entire Record. As a result, those with powerful fate would eventually be drawn to him, and, unless he went out of his way to avoid and deter them, problems like this would repeat in every Record he visits in the future. The only solution seemed to be subsuming the fate of another, but, as that would ce all kinds of restrictions on him, it wasnt a real solution. He would rather be a ma that attracts fate based on his actions than base his actions on a predetermined flow of fate. It might sound a little contrary, but it was the path that allowed him the greatest amount of freedom. Yes, it might cause him a fair amount of stress during moments like this, but, objectively, he didnt really have any problems. His stress was entirely the result of his own inhibitions and the fact he cared about trying to maintain some semnce of self-control. Were this not the case, he very well might have epted all of the offers he had received at the Imperial Academy, as, for reasons like rted to the Records creator, almost every woman in Mundus Magicus was inordinately beautiful. Evenpared to Danmachi and the Nasuverse, the Akamatsuverse was filled with enough unique and exotic beauties that Vahns heart was always itching out of curiosity. Even amongst the various Cat People, there were more than twenty different sub-species, some infinitely more bestial than others. He had even seen a woman with bronzed skin and rabbit-like ears who was so beautiful that he was nearly the one to solicit her. She had been wearing nothing but white shorts and a blue top, and, though not as potent as someone like Da Vinci, Vahn felt drawn to her aroma. Though it was a natural and somewhat earthy smell, something most people wouldnt even take notice of, it tickled his heart enough that he even went out of his way to look into her identity after the fact... With his perfect memory, Vahn could easily recall the exotic woman with crystal rity, causing him to shake his head in self-admonishment. He had literally just returned from his Realm and his mind was already beginning to wander. This was one of the downsides to having a different external form than his internal one, as, despite feeling extremely content within his Realm, Vahn felt as though the tensions of his real body hadnt been addressed in the slightest. He didnt understand why, but he had been feeling anxious the entire day, even after spending hours with Fenrir and Medusa. He had thought entering his Realm would help remove the feeling, but, now that he had returned, Vahn felt it return with a vengeance... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns, literal, Crystal Pce,Everyone is doing their best (^ _ ^),Seems like Vahn wants to learn how to multiply from a bunny girl) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1568 Agony

Chapter 1568 Agony

Despite an earnest effort from Fenrir the following morning, Vahn still found himself feeling tense as he sat in the office Seras had prepared for him in the Imperial Academy. He had decided to take a break from his duties as an Advisor, but, not wanting Asuna to miss out on an opportunity to y with her friends, he kept a version of himself nearby at all times. Watching her wow both her friends and the teacher always brought a smile to his face, and, even though he was still feeling anxious, it didnt prevent him from finding enjoyment in everyday life. With the exception of Fenrir, Medusa, and Laev-tan, everyone else waspletely oblivious to his current state. Asuna seemed to have sensed something, but, after some light coaxing, she returned to her normal, smiling, self. She was slowly transitioning from a taciturn, doll-like, girl to one with a very outgoing personality. Theo and her ssmates had,rgely, been a positive influence on her, and, though bing an Advisor had caused him a few problems, Vahn didnt regret it. Just seeing Asuna smile was enough to brighten his day, and, though it didnt get rid of the anxiety in his heart, it made things a lot more tolerable... --- While his main body was watching over Asuna, another version of Vahn could be found seated on the edge of a partially destroyed bed. He was currently staring at nothing in particr as he used an oil rag to mechanically, yet skillfully, polish Laev-tan. Behind him, sprawled out on the bed with one arm covering her eyes, Fenrir could be heard breathing rather raggedly, her body tinged with a ruddy hue as she did her best to recover. Her sweat-covered body was unbelievably tantalizing, but, after going at it for nearly seven hours, Vahn, despite her protests, had to give her a break... Hearing Fenrirs breathing gradually calm, Vahn turned his attention toward her, an affectionate yet apologetic smile on his face as he watched her chest rise and fall. The brief interlude had apparently allowed her mental fatigue to catch up to her, so, despite not requiring sleep to recuperate physical exhaustion, Fenrir had passed out. This wasnt unexpected, however, as Vahn had been proactively infusing calming energy into his domain specifically for that purpose. It pained him to see her trying so hard to ease his tensions, so, after realizing the anxiety in his heart wasnt going anywhere, Vahn decided to remove the burden from her, at least for a few hours... After watching his hard-workingpanion sleep for nearly half an hour, confirming she wouldnt be waking any time soon, Vahn rose to his feet and began to stretch his body. He was still as limber and flexible as usual, but, no matter how hard he tried, the tension simply wouldnt fade away. Even Sis didnt understand why he was having such a reaction, reporting what he already knew; there was absolutely nothing wrong with his body. His heart was pumping regrly, there werent any kind of chemicals pumping through his system to make him feel anxious, and, from what they could tell, it didnt seem like he was being influenced by anything externally. Vahn had even pushed his [Will of the Emperor] to its limit, fracturing Space-Time just from the pressure his aura exerted on the void... Exhaling an uncharacteristically heated sigh, Vahn shook his head before openly asking himself, "What the hell is wrong with me? Is this the interference of an unawakened Innate...no...maybe its an indicator that Im nearing the peak of Tier 4...?" Resisting the urge to tear at his own hair, Vahn created another version of himself to keep Fenrirpany before departing the [Sub-Space Orb]. He didnt really need something like fresh air, but, feeling a strong desire to get out and do something, Vahn decided to trust his instincts. If he didnt find out what was wrong with him pretty soon, he was afraid he might actually lose it... --- Though he would generally walk around without concealing himself, amicably interacting with the residents of Ariadne, Vahn made an exception this time. He felt like the attention he would normally receive was toxic to his current mentality, his mind to wandering the moment an attractive woman so much as smiled at him. The itchy feeling in his heart demanded attention, so, from the moment he sensed the opposite partys interest, Vahn was seized by an urge to just give in to his instincts... Before he realized it, the disguised Vahn, appearing as a in young man with dark brown hair and no noteworthy features, was standing outside a poorly maintained gate. When he noticed where his instincts had taken him, Vahns released an exasperated sigh that earned him even more attention from the Guard monitoring entry into the lesser-known Academy. He didnt seem all that enthused by the fact some random passerby was standing outside the gate, so, after hearing Vahn sigh, the pug-like man asked, "Do you have business here, kid? If not, Im gonna have to ask you to leave..." Rather than respond immediately, the image of a woman with a toned body, short golden hair, and two rabbit ears danced across Vahns mind. He could vividly recall the seductive smile she had sent his way, and, though it was imperceptible to others, he could smell her aroma lingering around the gate. Fortunately, or perhaps not, he could sense her in the middle of a lesson, her slim and athletic figure now covered by a set of robes as she, unaware of his presence, earnestly tried to teach the less-fortunate children who attended the underfunded Academy... Shaking his head, Vahn looked toward the progressively more disgruntled guard, saying, "I came to make a donation to the school. Give this package to the Principal once he returns. Inform him that the Sage Dragon Emperor will be keeping an eye on how the funds are used..." Breaking his transformation, Vahn returned to his default appearance as he pulled out a small box filled with Drachma. Both of these things were enough topletely cow the dog-faced man, the folds of his brow multiplying as he stepped against the back wall of his security booth and tried to stammer out an apology. To this, Vahn just shook his head, passing over the box before teleporting away in the blink of an eye... --- Appearing several kilometers outside Ariadnes borders, Vahn consolidated a phenomenal amount of energy in both of his palms before sting it towards the sky. His first instinct was to destroy the surroundingndscape, but, feeling this wouldnt be fair to the environment and the Elementals, he directed his frustrations toward the sky. He hadnt felt this way since the time Tiona had first kissed him more than two-hundred years ago. Back then, he had destroyed an entire forest despite being infinitely weaker than his current self, so, using what little self-control remained, Vahn directed his frustrations skyward, tearing a massive hole in the cloud coverage above... Afterpletely emptying his reserves, Vahn allowed himself to fall backward onto the ground, a lightyer of sweat covering his brow. His breathing was also ragged, but, after a few seconds, it gradually returned to normal. At the same time, a tiny Wood Elemental emerged from the ground a few centimeters away from his face. It seemed to sense his frustration, as, after staring at him for a few seconds, it waddled over and began to lightly pat his head... Understanding the adorable creature was trying tofort him, Vahns offered a wry smile as he gently picked up the Elemental, allowing it to sit on his chest as he muttered, "Im okay...Im just a little frustrated..." Since nascent Elementals couldnt really understand andmunicate with people, Vahn wasnt surprised when the Wood Elemental just tilted its head to the side. Instead, he lightly rubbed the tiny Spirits head, causing it to release gleeful squeaking sounds. This drew the attention of other Elementals in the area, and, after a few minutes had passed, Vahn had more than a dozen of the tiny creatures either trying tofort, or beingforted by, him... Seeing so many Elementals gather for him, a natural yet apologetic smile had spread across Vahns face as he came to a seated position and said, "Sorry, little ones, but I cant stay here for too long. I doubt the Mage Knights will just ignore someone releasing an ultimate-grade attack spell so close to the city. Return to your homes and be well." Even if they couldntmunicate properly, Elementals were sensitive to intent, so, after hearing Vahns words, they quickly dispersed. Some vanished into the ground while others, quite literally, faded into thin air. Thest to vanish was the first Wood Elemental to show up, but, after giving him another light pat, it, too, jumped into the ground. Its departure caused a tiny flower to sprout from the earth, seemingly as a departing gift to try and cheer him up... Chuckling lightly to himself, Vahn picked up the tiny white lily, admiring it for a few seconds before muttering, "Eva...I wish you were here right now..." As the words left his lips, Vahn seriously considered using the pieces of the Tri-Force to find Evas location, but, before he could make up his mind, ayer of frost spread for hundreds of meters as an icy cold voice, emanating from the void, asked, "Oh? And what would you do if she was...?" For a variety of reasons, Vahns body seized up, his heartbeat elerating to hundreds of beats per minute as his body began to visibly shake. This seemed to amuse the voices owner, a girlish giggle echoing through the surroundings as his shadow expanded to several times its natural length. Then, from within the darkness, a shadowy figure with ruby-red pupils slowly formed into an unbelievably beautiful woman with a voluptuous figure. His shadow seemed to cling to her body, bing a ck leather dress that barely contained her bosom while leaving her leather pantiespletely exposed... With what could only be described as an evil smile on her face, the mature, golden-haired, beauty traced her pointed nail, covered in blood-red polish, along her bottom lip. She seemed amused by his reaction, her icy voice taking on a sultry undertone as she mused, "How adorable...to think you could have such an innocent reaction despite ying around with so many women..." Unable to find any words to express his current emotions, Vahn found himself burying his face into his hands in a vain effort to calm down. His breathing had be even more ragged than when he exhausted all of his energy, and, despite his best efforts, his body continued to tremble as he used everyst bit of self-control in his being to restrain himself. His first instinct was to tightly embrace the woman, but, fearing she would vanish into thin air, likely after thrashing him, he forced himself to remain calm... Though she was beginning to think his reaction was a little extreme, the woman, Eva, felt slightly vindicated. She had been watching Vahn for a few days at this point, and, after seeing him go at it with Fenrir and Medusa-like animals, she had been growing increasingly annoyed. The only reason she hadnt left was due to the fact that he possessed one of her dioramas so she was interested in whether or not he would use her scroll. He was already very powerful, so, depending on whether or not he could control the Magia Erebea, she would have to kill him before he could wreak too much havoc... As this thought crossed her mind, Eva recalled how Vahn had addressed her, his voice containing a palpable longing. His reaction had caused her to momentarily forget why she had revealed herself, but, now that she remembered, her expression turned icy as she asked, "Tell me, boy...who allowed you to call my name so affectionately? I dont sense my imprint on you, so you couldnt have used my scroll..." Hearing Evas question, Vahn slowly raised his head, surprising her by the volume of tears that were flowing down his face as he answered, "There is so much I want to tell you..." Seeing Vahns expression, Eva felt slightly taken aback as a pang of guilt spread through her heart, causing her expression to be severe as she stated, "Well, out with it...Im listening...dont test my patience...boy..." Though she didnt understand the reason, Eva began to feel extremely nervous after seeing Vahns tear-stricken face. Her mind began to race as she attempted to recall whether or not they had met in the past, but, considering most of the people she encountered were either dead or had no idea who she was, this was unlikely. Vahn clearly knew who she was, but, rather than fear, he seemed to emanate abination of pain and relief... Feeling his time was limited, as Eva would likely run away the moment the Mage Knights showed up, Vahns panicky feelingpounded as he hastily exined, "There isnt enough time for me to tell you all the things I have bottled up. Just know that I have mastered the Magia Erebea, and, even if it might seem impossible, I came to this world at the behest of your memory fragment. Ill let you beat me up or even kill me as many times as you want, but, please, Eva, let me save you..." Hearing Vahns words, Eva showed an incredulous expression before immediately transitioning into an icy look as she venomously stated, "I dont need saving...what, do you think Im some weak brat that cant take of her own problems!? Do you even know-" Before Eva could continuembasting him, Vahn created a small projection using his source energy, disying Evas true form. This brought an immediate cessation to her words, as, even if Vahn had been able to obtain one of her scrolls, he shouldnt have been able to deduce her true form. There was no way one of her Memory Fragments would reveal the truth, not without something extreme urring... Taking advantage of the silence, Vahn slowly awakened his Magia Erebia constitution, causing Evas expression to transition from suspicion to shock as she asked, "How...?" Understanding what Eva was truly asking, as there was simply no way someone should be able to conceal her own technique from her, Vahn smiled wryly as he repeated, "There is so much I want to tell you...please give me the chance..." Though her instincts were telling her to get as far away from Vahn as possible, there were simply too many questions that Eva wanted answers to. Thus, after an oppressive silence, she red back at him, venomously stating, "If I find your exnationcking, I will show you despair beyond your wildest imagination..." Without waiting for Vahns response, Eva blinked behind him in an instant, grabbing the cor of his tunic before sting off with enough force to create massive cracks in the ground. Then, like a rocket ascending to space, she dragged Vahn away at a blinding speed, far faster than the group of Mage Knights would be able to follow... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir is working hard...,Vahn wants to smash them buns buns...,This...I...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1569 Anguish

Chapter 1569 Anguish

As one of the southern-most nations in Mundus Magicus, Ariadne was located very close to a cial, snow-covered, in. With Evas speed, she could easily traverse several thousands of kilometers per hour, so, after a few minutes of passively letting her pull him along, Vahn found himself in a vast, frozen, tundra. Then, rather unceremoniously, Eva tossed him into the wall of an ice sheet, embedding his body into the surface without fear of actually killing him. Deciding that any kind of resistance would be counterintuitive, Vahn allowed himself to crash into the wall, copsing part of the ice sheet in the process. Even then, he didnt do anything that might scare Eva off, resulting in him being embedded upside down in the ice wall as she came to hover in front of his face, demanding, "Speak. Tell me the truth. If you lie to me, Ill teach you the true horror of being an immortal..." Without dislodging himself from the wall, Vahn extended his hand, pulling a [Memory Orb] out of his memory as he exined, "I have your Memory Fragment with me, but, until you are able to understand the truth, I will show you some of my memories. These are just some of the moments I shared with you...moments the Eva from my world gave her permission to share..." Though she was familiar with the concept of Memory Fragments and Phantasmagoria, Eva did not immediately activate the [Memory Orb] Vahn had given her. Instead, she spent more than half an hour analyzing the unknown orb, shifting her gaze between it and Vahn in an attempt to understand both. Sensing no hostility whatsoever from Vahn, Eva ultimately repressed a sigh as she inserted a thread of mana into the orb. Immediately thereafter, she saw a scene that made her want to bury Vahn even further into the ice sheet, as, disyed in ultra-high definition, she could see her true form eagerly suckling the neck of a brown-haired youth. This wasnt too unexpected, but, seeing her Memory Fragment wearing nothing but a transparent babydoll, a slight flush colored her cheeks as she immediately deactivated the orb, ring at Vahn as she shouted, "Stay here! Dont move even a muscle...!" Seemingly confident he would go anywhere, an icy blue shroud enveloped Evas body as she teleported several kilometers away. Then, after patting her chest a couple of times, she pulled out the orb, staring at it for several minutes before inserting her magical energy. Even if there was a chance the images were doctored, the expression on her Memory Fragments face had stuck in her mind. She seemed happier than should be possible, so, despite a strong urge to just bury Vahn under the ice, Eva watched silently as the version of herself in the orb showed a number of expressions she hadnt shown in centuries... --- Despite several hours passing, Vahn didnt even think about trying to dislodge himself from the ice sheet. Even if he had to wait for days, weeks, or even months, he would do so in the hopes that Eva would return. There was no way to know whether or not she was testing him, so, even if he had to dedicate a version of himself to living within the ice sheet, he would do so without hesitation... Fortunately, shortly after the sun had gone down, Eva appeared from within the void with a look of disdain on her face as she stated, "Ill admit, your skills are impressive. Even I cant see through the method you used to fabricate those memories. What, did you expect me to fawn over you like a bashful maiden after seeing such a ridiculous disy? You clearly dont know me as well as you deign to believe..." Shaking his head, Vahn exined, "Everything in that orb is the unfiltered truth. Aftering to understand each other, your memory fragment and I fell in love. For thousands of years, the other you taught me everything she knew about magic, life, and so much more. Even if I had a hundred years to convey everything you mean to me, it wouldnt be enough. I have wanted to meet the real you for so long, Eva, I-" Releasing her aura like a tidal wave, Eva interrupted Vahns heartfelt words, screaming, "Dont call my name with such familiarity! You might have been able to fool a fragmented version of me, but did you really think that would be enough to convince the real thing!? What, are you expecting me to suddenly spread my legs and let you have your way with me!? What do you want from me, you, you, you perverted bastard!?" Though Vahn was slightly surprised by Evas outburst, he showed no signs of perturbance, an affectionate smile on his face as he answered, "I want you to let me save you. For thest one hundred years, not a day has gone by when I didnt think about the promise we made. Even if you nevere to love me, I have already prepared my heart. So long as I can save you, I will be happy just knowing you are free from this life that has been forced upon you..." Hearing Vahns words, Eva couldnt help but clench her teeth in frustration, as, despite the tiny voice in her mind protesting, she could see the desperation in Vahns eyes. Each of his words seemed iparably sincere, and, towards the very end, she could hear practically hear his heart breaking when he mentioned her never loving him. This caused her to feel a pang of guilt, but, refusing to believe his words so easily, she asked, "You said you had my Memory Fragment, right? Where is it? Show me!" Despite feeling his bones creak under the pressure of Evas aura, Vahn showed no sign of difort as he shook his head and exined, "After I learned Magia Erebea, your Memory Fragment began to dissipate. I was able to seal it away inside of myself. I can return it to you, but, you have to be absolutely certain before I do. Even if your memory isnt perfect, you will still experience thousands of years of loneliness. Though I believe it-" Without waiting for Vahn to finish, Eva shouted, "Do you think Im unfamiliar with loneliness!? I dont care what you have to say! Give me my Memory Fragment before my patience runs out and I begin ripping you limb from limb!" Forcibly restraining a wry smile, Vahn just nodded his head in response to Evas demands. In a way, this was the best possible oue, so, without dawdling, he allowed his intent to sink into his body. There, curled in a fetal position, the Memory Fragment of Eva had contained to slumber, a peaceful smile on her face. At times, he would just observe her for hours on end, and, on more than one asion over thest century, he had thought about ways to give her a body of her own... Understanding that the Memory Fragment of Eva wanted nothing more than her original self to be saved, Vahn only hesitated for a brief moment before undoing the bindings of [Enkidu]. It was a shame that Scathachs n to meld with her lily self didnt go as nned, leaving him with little understanding of the influence Evas Memory Fragment would have on her original self. In the end, the original Scathach had only said a few words to her lily self before giving her twin a firm hug and wishing her well. She hade to the conclusion it was better for her lily self to slowly unlock the memories on her own, rather than inherit them all at once. Eva would not have this option, however, as her Memory Fragment was already on the verge of breaking down at the time she had been sealed... Seeing resplendent golden chains begin to unfurl from Vahns body, Eva had to force herself to remain calm. Her first instinct was to teleport away, as the chains gave her a very dangerous feeling, but, sensing no bloodlust or malicious intent from Vahn, she held her ground. He had been passive to the point of allowing her to freely handle him without any resistance, so, while she didnt exactly drop her guard, Evas instincts told her that Vahn would never harm her... From within a golden ripple that had formed near Vahns chest, Eva watched with a deadpan expression as a naked version of herself emerged from within him. She wasnt entirely sure why, but the sight had annoyed her quite a bit. If not for the link she sensed the moment her Memory Fragment emerged from his chest, she would have thrashed the perverted man for daring to keep her naked body contained within his... Without bothering to wait until her Memory Fragment hadpletely emerged, Eva ced her palm on the formers head. Immediately thereafter, the Memory Fragment vanished into thin air, never to be seen again. This caused a pained look to immediately appear on Vahns face, earning him a snort from Eva as she muttered, "Stay here..." Seeing Eva disappear a second time, the tensions in Vahns body rxed considerably, even as a mncholic sigh escaped his lips. He had kept her Memory Fragment within him for so long, that, without it, it felt like a part of him was missing. Even if this was the best oue, as Eva was bound to open up to him, even just a little, it didnt make the loss of the Memory Fragment any less painful. Rather, the longer Eva was gone, the more mncholic he began to feel... --- This time around, Eva teleported a lot further away from Vahn, as, from the moment she had absorbed the Memory Fragment, powerful emotions began to overwhelm her. Memories that had been umted by a Memory Fragment were experienced in reverse, so, the first thing Eva experienced was the overwhelming sadness that came from parting with Vahn. She could also feel the love, longing, and, most importantly, the hope her other self possessed for Vahn. These emotions caused her heart an unspeakable amount of anguish, and, as a result, a loud cry escaped the real Evas mouth as she began to thrash about within therge crater formed from her crash... Like a movie rewound at an incredibly fast speed, Eva saw and experienced all of the things her Memory Fragment had done with Vahn. It was so much more than she expected, and, if not for the brief interludes where her Memory Fragment longed for Vahns return, Eva felt as though her mind would have simply broken from the strain. Fortunately, though it certainly didnt feel like it, her body, including her mind, would repair regardless of the mental strain she had experienced. This had actually caused her to develop split personalities due to the synapses of her brain being perpetually fixed as those of her ten-year-old self, but, as this was one of the things that allowed her to persist for so long, Eva had graduallye to ept her other selves... Unaware of the passage of time, Eva continued to process the memories inherited from her Memory Fragment. They became a lot easier to tolerate beyond a certain point, allowing her to witness Vahns regression into a rather cold and distant boy. When the memories finally neared the beginning, Eva began to feel a small amount of resentment and envy toward her Memory Fragment, but, when she saw how Vahn had reacted to her sucking his blood, most of her feelings were reced with guilt. She understood better than anyone else the kind of person she was, so, despite knowing how wrong her actions were, she could easily imagine teasing him and drawing his blood without permission... Recalling Vahns blood, Evas guilt began to gradually fade away, reced by a rising heat in her body. Though she had never experienced it herself, her Memory Fragment had drawn his blood rather excessively. There were times when she didnt even require his blood at all, but, after a while, it became something of a ritual between them; one that became increasingly more intimate as her Memory Fragment grew bolder... Now that the memories began to reconcile within her mind, allowing her to recall them as if they were her own, Eva couldnt help but cover her face. She hadnt even noticed when it had happened, but she had already reverted back to her true form, steam rising from her head as she remembered the art gallery she had disallowed Vahn entry into. Though she knew what was going through her Memory Fragments mind at the time, Eva simply couldnt believe how bold her other self had be as her rtionship with Vahn grew... As that thought crossed her mind, memories of Terra gradually began to surface, causing Eva to begin shouting, "No, no, no, no, no, no! How could you do such things you dumb bimbo!? What happened to your pride!? Gnuuuuu, that isnt me! No way, no how~!!!" Shaking her head in vehement denial, Eva began considering whether or not she should use memory erasure magic to be rid of the shameful memories. Before she could, however, she recalled the name she, Vahn, and Terra hade up for thetters child. This was one of the most vivid memories in her mind, indicating just how important a moment it had been for her Memory Fragment. She could also recall all the tender emotions she had been experiencing at the time, so, after a while, Eva just released a sigh before curling up into a ball and hugging her knees... --- Despite watching the sun descend and ascend three times, Vahn remained embedded in the ice wall without moving from his position. He had already exined the situation to everyone back in Ariadne, so, for the time being, all training had temporarily ceased. If not for the fact he still had to watch over Asuna, he might have even dispelled all of his bodies. He was fully focused on the current moment, refusing to let his mind wander as he patiently awaited Evas return. He refused to believe she would run away after experiencing the love he shared with her Memory Fragment, so, even if he couldnt see her, he believed she was silently watching him from within the void... Though it would have been a simple matter to just check his View Affection to deduce what Eva was thinking, Vahn willed himself to avoid peeking. He wanted to trust in the bond they had built together, so, no matter how much time passed, he was determined to remain in his spot until he was forced to move. Even then, he could only pray for the one who moved him, as, even thinking about it, Vahn felt righteous indignation that promised great suffering for the one who mistakenly dislodged him... Fortunately, by the time the sun was setting on the fourth day, Vahn sensed a subtle ripple in the void, followed by the appearance of a figure that instantly caused his nose to burn with a sour feeling. Tears began to cloud his eyes, but, seeing Eva wearing a pure white dress as she bashfully looked away from him, Vahn didnt dare to blink. He was afraid she would disappear the moment he did so, never again appearing before him... Seeing tears begin to pour up Vahns face, Eva felt an extreme amount of guilt. Each of the speeches she had painstakingly constructed no longer seemed relevant. Instead, a conflicted look appeared on her face as she gripped the hem of her dress, tears welling in her own eyes as she mumbled the three words Vahn most desperately needed to hear, "Please...save me..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Aint nobody got time for Alternate Titles right now...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1570 Angs

Chapter 1570 Angs

Hearing Evas words, Vahn felt as if all the tensions of his body melted away in an instant. His tears didnt stop flowing, but, rather than appear pained and hopeful, a silly smile had spread on his face as an awkwardugh resonated from his throat. It was impossible to describe how he was currently feeling, only that he was happier at this moment than almost any other. Only the births of his children and a few of the more climactic moments between himself and some of his lovers could even hope topare... Seeing Vahns stupid expression, Evas face became red up to her ears as she gripped the edge of her dress even tighter. She was also feelingplex emotions, but, more than any other, embarrassment reigned supreme. Thus, after watching Vahn sobbinglyugh for more than a minute, her brow began to twitch as she rushed at him, grabbing the front of his cor and extricating him from the ice shelf with an, "Are you not finished, you, you giggling idiot!?" Though his smile didnt diminish, Vahnsughter ceased as he righted himself in mid-air and stared back at Eva. She seemed shorter than he remembered, but, considering his height had increased to 185cm, this wasnt too surprising. This didnt stop him from causing her to tense up quite a bit, however, asking, "Can I...hug you...?" Hearing Vahns request, Eva felt like her heart was trying to climb up through her throat in an effort to make itself known. Her first instinct was to pounce on Vahn the moment she heard his words, but, fearing he would notice her rapid heartbeat, her body became statuesque as she mechanically averted her eyes and asked, "What does that have to do with saving me...?" Surprising Eva, Vahn unhesitantly nodded his head, saying, "Treating your condition is very simple. I have spent more than a hundred yearsing up with various solutions. In the end, it isnt treating your condition that will save you. Your happiness is the most important part of the equation. Even if you dont choose me, Ill do everything in my power to help you mend-" Without waiting for Vahn to finish his words, Evas figure disappeared like a phantom as she appeared next to him, her tiny fist driving into his cheek. She had worn the white dress to try and convey feelings she couldnt properly put into words, but he still had the audacity to talk about whether or not she had chosen him. Yes, she might not have vocalized it properly, but he shouldnt be that much of an idiot... Though Evas punch had been strong enough to dislocate his jaw, it wasnt even a fraction of her full power. As a result, Vahn was able to see the angry look on her flushed face, realization dawning on him as his bones moved back into ce with an audible pop. Then, with a gentle smile on his face, he slowly hovered closer to her tense body, wrapping his arms around her small frame and embracing her delicate body. Feeling Vahns warm and familiar embrace, Eva felt a sour feeling in her nose, but, refusing to cry, she, instead, buried her face into his chest as sheined, "Youre a colossal idiot at times...you know that?" Rather than vocalize his response, Vahn just slowly nodded his head while hugging her a little closer than before. She had dropped all of her barriers, so it was up to him to keep the cold at bay. His body heat transmitted into her unobstructed, slowly melting the ice in her heart as afortable warmth spread around them. Even the frozen tundra began to warm up slightly, ice turning into gentle streams of water that converged into tiny rivers as they flowed toward the setting sun on the horizon... --- Even after several hours had passed, Vahn continued to hold Eva as if he was afraid she would disappear the moment he let go. Despite this, she made no attempt to escape, the tensions in her body gradually giving way until she hadpletely rxed in his embrace. In many ways, this was the first time in hundreds of years that she was experiencing the genuine warmth and affection of another person, so, even if itsted for several days, breaking away wasnt the first thought that came to mind... With most of her inhibitions melting away like the surrounding snow and ice, Eva sneaked a peek at Vahn, finding him staring down at her with what could only be described as a loving expression on his face. This caused her already warm body to heat up even further, her face turning beet red as she clenched her teeth in mild frustration. She might have the memories of her other self, but, in more ways that one, that actually made it harder to vocalize her own thoughts and desires. Recognizing the look in Evas eyes, Vahns smile turned even more affectionate as he lifted her body, earning a surprised yelp from the bashful maiden as he cupped her butt in order to raise her up. At the same time, his tunic seemed to melt away, leaving his lean and muscr body exposed, exponentially increasing the amount of warmth he was radiating. This caused Evas face to turn even ruddier, but, after ring at him for a few moments, her eyes turned to his exposed nape, an audible gulp sounding out before she tentatively sunk her teeth into his neck... The moment Vahns blood began flowing into her body, Eva felt as if a fire had been lit at the very core of her existence. Things just didnt quite feel real before, but, after tasting his sickly sweet, energy-rich, blood, it was like everything simply clicked into ce. She found herself sucking his blood with enough fervor to drain any other dry in an instant, but, no matter how much she drew, it seemed like Vahns body contained more than she could ever drink... While Eva seemed to be losing herself in the moment, Vahn was enjoyed the heat spreading through his body. Instead, he enjoyed the numbing sensation as he began absentmindedlybing his fingers through Evas ankle-length golden hair. It took quite a bit of self-control to prevent himself from just pushing her down then and there, but, considering the state of her body, this wouldnt exactly be proper. He had long-since discarded his inhibitions about her physical appearance, but, unless Eva was the one to ask for it, Vahn would help treat her condition before trying to advance their rtionship further. After engorging herself far more than was necessary, filling her body with a truly phenomenal amount of magic power, Eva removed her mouth from Vahns neck was a pa. At this point, all of her inhibitions hadpletely faded away, and, before she even realized it, Eva was lightly kissing Vahns neck and shoulder as if it were perfectly natural. She had so many memories of such intimate acts that, for a brief moment, shepletely forgot herself, stopping only when Vahns hand began lightly stroking the small of her back. Now redder than she had ever been, Eva instinctually broke away from Vahns body, turning her back on him as illusory steam rose from the top of her head. Her expression was fixed in a look of incredulity as she cupped her cheeks with both hands, internally cursing her Memory Fragment for imnting such memories in her body... Without waiting for Eva to turn back to him, Vahn approached her from behind, embracing her a second time. This caused her to startle, but, after writhing about for a few moments, she eventually calmed down, a hot sigh escaping her lips as she asked, "So, how are you going to treat my condition? You said you thought up a number of solutions. Tell me." After nodding his head, Vahn kissed the top of Evas before answering, "There are a number of solutions, but the three simplest rely on your intentions. Depending on which you want to focus on, I have different treatments to represent the past, present, and future. Keep in mind that, no matter which one you choose, I can always give you other treatments whenever you want...you arent shoehorned into choosing just one path. So long as you believe it will make you happy, I will do my best to meet your expectations..." Hearing Vahns words, Eva wanted toin to him about being roundabout, but, knowing he had probably put a lot of time and effort into finding these solutions, she, instead, gave a small nod, muttering, "Tell me..." Holding Evas frail body a little closer, Vahn exined, "I know the true identity of your enemy, the person who made you like this. No matter what you choose, I will defeat them and liberate you from the fate they had decided for you. To that end, the option representing the past is to separate the malignant energy from your body in its entirety. From that moment onward, you will be a normal girl once again, albeit one with a phenomenal amount of power..." The moment she heard Vahn reference the person who had turned her, Evas body tensed up a considerable amount. She could feel her already hastened pulse rapidly elerate, hatred swelling up from the deepest recesses of her heart and mind. She wanted nothing more than to tear that person apart with her bare hands, so, despite a strong desire to be a normal girl once again, Evan knew such a thing was impossible. Even if Vahn could make her human, she would remain irreversibly broken, a monster until death... With a somewhat crazed look in her eyes, Eva slowly shook her head, her voice trembling as she said, "Tell me the other options..." Vahn could sense an overwhelming amount of negativity permeating through Evas aura, but, as he was well-aware of the reasons why, he just held her close as he exined, "The second option is rted to the present, and, in many ways, it is the simplest solution of all. I have the power to create life and transfer the souls of living creatures into new vessels. I can create you a new body, one with infinite potential that matches your preferencespletely..." Turning her head up to face Vahn, Eva had an incredulous look on her face as she asked, "Are you serious?" Nodding his head, Vahn exined, "I have even been able to create vessels for Gods, so I am absolutely confident. I could make you look like your adult self, or, if you want to experience a real change, I can even alter your racepletely..." Hearing Vahns words, Eva turned her eyes away from him, snorting as she asked, "And what, be a bunny girl so you can stalk me whenever youre feeling horny...?" Though he had alreadye to understand that Eva had been watching him for a few days, bing the source for his frustration, Vahn still felt a little embarrassed when he heard her words. Still, it wasnt entirely his fault, causing him to mutter, "I was only acting like that due to your presence...because you were nearby, my body was in an agitated state. No matter what I tried, I just couldnt deal with the frustration welling up inside of me. If you hadnt decided to reveal yourself, I might have even gone crazy by now..." Even before Vahn had finished speaking, Eva began to remember how increasingly frustrated he became during the period she was observing him. It hadnt even clicked in her mind that she was the root cause behind his behavior, causing her face and body to burn up when she realized the deeper meaning behind his words. His hands, which had been wrapped around her waist, his palms resting on her stomach, now felt exceptionally hot to the touch, almost as if they were scalding her skin through the fabric of her dress... Despite noticing Evas fidgety state, Vahn didnt show any signs of releasing her. Instead, he ced another kiss atop her head before adding, "You would be very cute as a bunny girl..." Though her first instinct was to nt Vahn hundreds of meters into the ground, a very steamy image invaded Evas mind when her brain processed his words. Since she hadnt reconciled the fact he could give her an adult body, she saw a vision of her current self with rabbit ears as Vahn pushed her down from behind. As a result, her mental faculties came to aplete halt as an illusory explosion of steam erupted from the top of her head... Vahn knew he was going to pay for teasing her so much, but, as that wasnt necessarily a bad thing, he restrained a chuckle before exining the final option, stating, "Thest option will guarantee your happiness in the shortest period of time. I willpletely seal the malignant energy within your body, allowing you to keep your body and develop naturally. You can stay at my side and slowly increase your strength as we both endeavor to make the world a better ce, together. We will defeat the Mage of the Beginning, and, though it wont be easy, Im certain you will learn to open up to people once again. I know your true self is someone who cares for her friends greatly...you were able to open up to Fenrir and Terra, so I know you can open up to the others as well..." Hearing Vahns words, Eva slowly came back to her senses, a slight mncholy visible on her face as she muttered, "You seem so sure of yourself...what makes you think I want to join that harem of yours? Do you really think Ill be happy knowing you are-" Without waiting for Eva to finish her words, Vahn lifted her chin, raising her face toward his own so that he could nt a kiss on her lips. It was an awkward angle, but, remembering the kind of person Eva was, he knew it would be more effective to show her through his actions that trying to convince her with words. Once again, Evas first instinct was to break free from Vahns grasp andmbast him for daring to kiss her, but, the moment their lips made contact, her resistance melted away. Instead, she felt a painful longing in her body as the wants and desires of her Memory Fragment gradually melded with her own. She had been lonely for so long that there were times when she would cry herself to sleep, desperately craving just a single person to share her burdens with... After a long and progressively more passionate kiss, Vahn separated from Evas lips, his mind losing its focus as he saw her dangerously tantalizing expression. He could tell she needed more convincing, but, until she had made her decision, thest vestiges of his restraint made it impossible for him to go further. Fortunately, it didnt stop him from helping her make the decision, so, while gently caressing her slender neck, Vahn stared directly into Evas hazy blue eyes, saying, "Eva, I want to stay at your side forever...you might think Im a bastard, but I need you more than you know..." Hearing Vahns words, rity began to return to Evas gaze, a small frown developing on her face as she was preparing to point out how greedy and perverted he was. Before she could, however, her mindpletely nked when Vahn asked, "Evangeline...will you marry me?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: O_O...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1571 Acquiescence

Chapter 1571 Acquiescence

Seeing the look in Vahns eyes, Eva could tell he waspletely serious about asking her to marry him. This caused a surge of emotions to crash into the tidal walls of her mind, dashing her sensibilities and filling her body with feelings of anxiety, trepidation, and warmth. Despite this, her first instinct was to shout, "Absolutely not! No way!" Fearing Vahn might start kissing her again, Eva quickly broke out of his embrace, her face a deep shade of red as she spun around, ring at him as she added, "You cant just propose to me like this! Have youpletely lost your mind!? Did you think I was going to say yes just because you kissed me...!?" Seeing Eva back away from him, her tiny hands protectively guarding her body, Vahn couldnt prevent a wry smile from marring his expression as he answered, "I was hoping you would at least consider it...Im serious, you know? You might think Im just a fickle pervert, but you also know my feelings are sincere. My love for you has only grown over these hundred years...even if you dont want to marry me, at least give me a chance to show you how much I love you..." Though her heart was beating madly in her chest, Eva forced a glowering look on her face as she harumphed and said, "Even if your feelings are sincere, that doesnt mean Ill just ept them. You are well aware of the kind of person I am...I might be able to ept a few girls, but I know you have more than just a few. Do you think I would be happy watching the man I love fawning over other women? I mean, really...?" Even if it as a slip of the tongue, Vahn, and Eva herself, noticed when she mentioned the man she loved. Her face, somehow, became even redder than before, and, though he knew it was probably a bad idea, a silly smile spread across Vahns. Then, earning an incredulous look that seemed to ask, are you insane?, Vahn nodded his head, stating, "If you give me the chance, I am absolutely certain I can make you happy." Nearly falling out of the sky due to the amount of mental damage she had taken, Eva felt weak when Vahn unhesitantly caught her in his arms. She instinctually tried to push him away, only to find that she couldnt muster any strength at all. This made her feel a palpable amount of frustration, tears building in her eyes as sheined, "Youre a real jerk..." in a small voice. Withoutmenting on her usation, Vahn, once again, firmly held Evas body, holding her head to his chest as he muttered, "I love you..." in response to all of her insults. Shembasted him quite a bit, but, no matter how harsh her words were, Eva never made an earnest effort to pull away from him. She allowed herself to be held, absentmindedly listening to his heartbeat while mumbling insults for well over an hour... --- Though she never agreed to marry him, Eva eventually calmed down enough to converse, an absentminded expression on her face as she straddled hisp and leaned against his chest. It stood out quite a bit, but Vahn had purchased a bed simr to the one her Memory Fragment had used. This gave her a sense of familiarity that allowed her to remain calm, even though it felt like her body was burning up from the inside... While affectionatelybing his fingers through Evas long, golden, hair, Vahn asked, "Have you made your choice? Remember, there is nothing forcing you to settle on a single option. I will do everything in my power to make you happy, Eva...no matter what you choose..." Understanding the hidden meaning contained in Vahns words, Eva released a snort as she less-than-gently pinched the flesh near his waist. There wasnt much to grab, as Vahn didnt seem to have an ounce of fat on his body, but she could still find purchase with her incredibly sharp fingernails. Satisfied by Vahns silence, Eva organized her thoughts for a few moments before answering, "I have thought about this day for so long...now that Im spoiled for choice, I dont know what to pick. I want to be more mature, but I dont want to abandon my body. I might have broken a long time ago, but this is still me. Even if it would make me stronger, I wouldnt be satisfied unless I can rip that bastard apart using the same power they forced upon me..." Though it didnt show on his face, Vahn felt an extreme amount of relief after hearing Evas words. They might be somewhat dangerous, but, in the grand scheme of things, keeping her body and moving forward was the best way to ensure her happiness. If she learned to ept and love herself, she would be able to gradually open her heart to others. He knew she felt an extreme amount of guilt due to her actions as a Demon Queen, so, if there was any hope for absolution, it was through epting herself and moving forward. Meeting expectations, Eva lifted her head from his chest, staring up into his eyes with a fretful expression as she asked, "Will you still love me, even if I stay like this? I wouldnt mind having my power sealed so that I can mature, but, if that doesnt work, would you be able to love this body that has no feminine charm? Would you be ab...!?" Without waiting for Eva to finish, Vahn allowed his natural reaction to speak for him, startling the petite vampire princess quite a bit. Her first instinct was to lift her butt, but, preventing her from going anywhere, Vahn ced his hands on Evas hips, forcing her to stay put as he said, "You already knew the answer before you asked...I love all of you, Eva...I epted everything about you long ago...the good...the bad...everything..." Punctuating his words, Vahn ran his left hand up Evas spine, his [Hands of Nirvana] working in overdrive as he traced the line of her back through the fabric of her dress. This forced a girlish moan to escape her lips, her face bing so dark it was nearing purple as she stared back at him with teary eyes, biting her bottom lip. This was enough to cause Vahn to swallow, hard, as his sensibilities began to recede faster than the tide prior to a tsunami... Though Vahns expression brought her a considerable amount of vindication, Eva also felt an increasing amount of anxiety as an aching feeling spread through her body. She found herself cing her hand on Vahns chest, lightly pushing away from his body as she murmured, "Not yet...Im not ready..." Like a me that just had a bucket of water poured on it, Vahns passions extinguished in an instant, his expression turning gentle as he said, "Sorry...Ive been a little frustrated as ofte. Dont worry...I will never force you against your will..." Ignoring the urge to remark about him shamelessly embracing her at his leisure, Eva showed a slight smile in response to his words, issuing a demure Nn... as she nestled against his bare chest. Then, after a long period of silence, she muttered, "I choose the third option...I will give you a chance to prove your love to me...so long as your method doesnt permanently seal my power, I want to try growing up...then, when Im older...I...I might consider your offer..." Feeling uncontainable jubtion, a massive smile spread across Vahns face, but, before he could embrace her even tighter, Eva added, "Im only going to give you one chance...if I catch youying a hand on those brats before I give you my permission, dont me me if I decide to castrate you with my bare hands. I cant do anything about your current women, but Im not going to y second fiddle to girls who still smell of their mothers milk..." Though it didnt fade awaypletely, Vahns smile became less pronounced as he nodded his head and answered, "I already told them about you, so they shouldnt have anything to say on the matter. Besides, Im not exactly trying to expand my harem...my only reason foring to this world was to save you and defeat the Mage of the Beginning. I might have a weakness against beautiful women who show sincere affection toward me, but that doesnt mean Ill just ept anyone...I dont want to hurt you any more than you have already been hurt..." Hearing Vahns words, Eva couldnt help feeling a little guilty, but, in spite of this, she issued a light snort before remarking, "You say that, but who was it standing outside a gate like a horny mutt stalking a rabbit? Tell me, did she also have sincere affection toward you...?" Feeling as though Eva was never going to let him live that moment down, Vahn just released a silent sigh, the smile on his face turning wry as he whispered, "If someone wasnt hiding in my shadow like a voyeur, I wouldnt have been so stressed out at the time..." With an aghast, bright red, expression, Eva stared back at Vahn as if he hadpletely lost it. She had only just agreed to give him a chance, yet, in spite of her magnanimity, he dared to say such things to her? Even if his words were true, there were some things you just didnt say to ady you were trying to woo! Realizing he might have gone too far, Vahn adopted an apologetic expression, averting his eyes as he muttered, "Sorry...I just..." Shaking her head, Eva maintained an angry expression as she said, "No. Dont apologize. Im just now remembering how much you like to tease people. Just this once, Ill let you get away with anything, so, be honest with me. Was your attraction to that woman really just because of my presence? If she were to solicit you, would you really be able to say no? There were plenty of women who solicited you while I was observing, but she was the only one who made you act like aplete idiot. Tell me why. I promise not to be angry." Though he didnt believe her words in the slightest, Vahn still nodded his head, answering, "I liked her smell...though I was also curious about what it would be like to have sex with a rabbit girl, the main thing that attracted me was her aroma. Its hard to exin, but its the truth..." Not expecting Vahn to mention he was attracted to the womans smell, Eva didnt really know how to respond. She was tempted to smell her own aroma, but, realizing how embarrassing it would be to sniff her armpits while seated in Vahnsp, she, instead, asked, "Oh? And what do you think about my aroma...?" Even if he could understand why she would ask, Vahn was still a little surprised that Eva would ask him such a thing. As a result, he hesitated for a brief moment before leaning forward and audibly inhaling. This caused Evas face to turn bright red as she pushed his face away from her and said, "Dont just smell me at your leisure...!" Unable to resist, Vahn beganughing in a light-hearted manner, even as Eva was pushing his face away from her. He hadnt exactly forgotten how she was like, but it was refreshing to see her behaving like this. It reminded him of the time they spent together in the orb, and, though it would probably take some time, Vahn believed it wouldnt be too long before Eva became the same affectionate woman in his memories... Seeing Vahnughing like an idiot, Eva showed a slightly incredulous expression on her face as she internally remarked, ("Did I really fall in love with this shameless bastard...?") --- After calming down, Vahn discussed the matter of sealing the malignant energy inside Evas body, exining, "Im going to use a technique called Nirvana Rebirth to revert each of the cells into your body back to their natural state. As for the malignant energy in your body, I will seal it away within your dantian using a special seal known as the Taiji Inversion. This will allow you to ess the energy in the event of an emergency, but, unless you break the seal of your own volition, you will remain a normal, albeit powerful, human girl. You will lose the ability to use Magia Erebea, but, in exchange, you will be able to increase your internal reserves using the techniques your Memory Fragment had learned in the past. By the time you remove the seal, you will have be far more powerful than your current self..." As she had memories regarding the Nirvana Rebirth, and many of Vahns techniques, Eva wasntpletely unfamiliar with the process. Because of this, she stared at Vahn with a look of me in her eyes, asking, "So, I need to relinquish control over my body, allowing you to do whatever you want while I have no chance to resist?" Since he could tell Eva was joking with him, at least a little bit, Vahn unashamedly nodded his head, adding, "Ill also need to use the Convergence of Heaven and Earth to bring you back. I have improved a lot since thest time you experienced it, so expect quite a surprise when you wake up..." Now with a red face, Eva red at Vahn, muttering, "You just dont know when to quit...Im starting to think you wont be satisfied until I discipline you properly..." To emphasize her point, Eva allowed the nails on her fingers to grow until they were about ten centimeters in length. She also had a rather vicious and sadistic smile on her face, but, rather than show any kind of fear, Vahn just smiled as he answered, "It has been a while...so long as you dont get out of hand, I wouldnt mind letting you discipline me a bit..." Hearing Vahns shameless remark, Evas face became an even deeper shade of red, her nails retracting in an instant as she balled her hand into a fist, clocking Vahn with enough force to send him skidding across thendscape as she eximed, "Youre really pushing it, you know that!? If you arent willing to shape up, dont me me for taking matters into my own hands! Do you really want me to bully you in front of those brats...!?" Rising from a distant snow bed, Vahn rubbed his swollen cheek, which, due to Evas energy still lingering in the tissue, had nearly reached the size of a softball. Though it rapidly began to shrink, it was still surprisingly painful, so, after recovering, Vahn smiled wryly as he stared back at the little girl in attack mode, answering, "Sorry...Ill try not to tease you too much..." Noticing Vahn didnt say he would stop teasing her, a tick mark appeared on Evas brow, but, instead of attacking him a second time, she released a tired sigh before falling onto the bed and saying, "Im too tired to deal with you right now. Get over here and give me a massage. I need to limber up before I start beating you for real..." Though he knew Eva was actually telling him to use the Nirvana Rebirth on her, Vahn also felt she wasnt joking about beating him up after the fact. Rather, regardless of whether or not she was angry going into the procedure, he knew it was inevitable that she would beat him after the fact. The Convergence of Heaven and Earth was rather merciless, and, given Evas nature, she wouldnt be able to calm down with venting a bit. Despite knowing he was in for a bit of pain, the atmosphere around Vahn became serious as he nodded his head and answered, "Understood. Leave it to me." Seeing the resolute look in Vahns eyes, Eva internalized a sigh before rolling over onto her stomach and mumbling, "Nn...I believe in you..." before adding, "Even if you are a perverted idiot..." in a voice he couldnt hear. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nothing to see here. Move along.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1572 *Spoilers: Title at End*

Chapter 1572 *Spoilers: Title at End*

Though he would never admit it to the person in question, Evas small stature and delicate features made the process of Nirvana Rebirth a lot easier than it otherwise would have been. The entire procedure only took around seven hours, and, though this wasrgely due to his familiarity with Evas body, even Vahn was surprised with how smoothly everything went. Having sealed away all of the malignant energy in her body, Vahn admired Evas beauty for a few moments before ultimately flipping her over onto her stomach. Her figure was still a little underdeveloped, but, after sharing so many intimate moments with her in the past,bined with his longing to reunite with her, Vahn had grown rather attached to Evas appearance. This didnt stop him from doing what was necessary, however, so, after tracing his palms along her impably smooth skin, sending a fresh wave of Source Energy into her body, Vahn pressed his index and forefingers near the base of her neck and spine before bringing them together rather mercilessly. Like a daisy chain of explosions being triggered all at once, energy flowed through all of Evas nerves, erupting like fireworks during a celebration. Her eyes snapped open so wide that, for a brief moment, it looked like the might jump out of their sockets. At the same time, a difficult to describe expression marred her previously perfect face, a mix of abject horror, shock, and, most notably, iprehensible pleasure. For several seconds, no sounds were produced by her throat, but, after a while, a pained and guttural moan escaped her lips as her body curled up into a ball. She had arched her back during the preliminary surge, but, aftering back to awareness, Eva put a lot of effort into restraining her moans entirely as she tightly squeezed her legs and allowed a tremble, unlike anything she had ever experienced, surge through her body. Nirvana Rebirth always made people extremely sensitive, so, after spending seven hundred years in a state where her body rapidly regenerated and filtered out most stimulus, Eva was woefully unprepared for the sudden surge of pleasure. Her regeneration provided no bastion for her this time around, and, if not for her incredible tolerance and strong will, she wouldnt have been able to avoid crying out. Fortunately, Vahn wasnt just there to watch, so, while Eva was curled up into a ball, his hands danced across her body, calming energy flowing into her through his palms. This was also to make sure there were no seque that been left behind by the Convergence of Heaven and Earth, something he constantly worried about despite having never made a mistake. Ignoring her teary-eyed re, Vahn continued to gently stroke Evas body as he exined, "The procedure went without a hitch. It might be difficult right now, but this is proof that your natural biological processes have reverted to normal. Your body is sensitive due to all of your nerves and cells being restructured. Once your brain gets used to interpreting the unfamiliar stimuli, youll be able to move around and live like a normal person..." Even without hearing Vahns exnation, Eva was very aware of the changes that her body had undergone. Though it wasnt gone, she felt as though her vampiric attributes had beenpletely suppressed, her regeneration included. This filled her with extreme relief, but, as a result of the tempestuous pleasure wreaking havoc in her body, it was hard to express other emotions. She felt a sensation simr to a limb falling asleep, but, instead of an arm or a foot, it was her entire body. The most frustrating sensation came from her lower body, as, despite her dder being empty for centuries, Eva felt like she was constantly peeing herself due to the volume of fluids escaping her body... --- Nearly half an hourter, Eva was still curled up on the massage table, but, unlike the first few minutes, she appearedpletely calm as she stared toward nothing in particr. She didnt seem to mind that he was still caressing her body, so, in the hopes of hastening her recovery, even just a little, Vahn was using Petting Laws to help her rx and remain calm. He knew she was thinking about a lot of things right now, as, after seven hundred years of painful longing, she was suddenly just a normal girl once again... Without saying anything, Eva surprised Vahn slightly by suddenly tracing one of her ruby-red nails along her own palm. The razor-sharp point easily cut into her flesh, causing a refreshing amount of pain as she watched her own blood begin to flow from the wound without closing up. It wasnt until Vahn grabbed her hand and traced his finger along the thin line she had cut that it began to heal, closingpletely after a few seconds... Seeing the blood that remained on her palm, even after the injury healed, Evas mind finally began to rectify that she wasnt imagining things. As a result, a few crystalline tears began to pool at the corners of her eyes, but, before she could begin crying, Vahn surprised her quite a bit bypping at the traces of blood on her hand. This caused her still aching body to rapidly heat up, but, instead of stopping him, Eva just watched in silence as hepletely cleaned away the blood on her hand... Though he could have wiped away the blood with a towel, Vahn felt it would leave a deeper impression on Evas mind if he used a more intimate method to clean her injury. It wasnt too difficult to imagine her doing the same if he had an open wound, so, following her example, he took advantage of the situation, stopping just short of sucking on her fingers as he smiled and asked, "Are you feeling better...?" Not expecting Vahn to suddenly ask her a question, Eva averted her eyes to the side, her face nearly as red as the blood that previously stained her hand as she answered, "Yes...you can let my hand go now..." Rather than immediately obey, Vahn grasped Evas hand with both his own, asking in a slightly hopeful tone, "Do I have to...?" Hearing Vahns plea, Eva gave him a sidelong look without turning to face him, choosing to remainpletely silent before ultimately squeezing his hand as her response. This brought a relieved smile to Vahns face and, after resting his forehead against their ovepped hands, he muttered, "Thank you..." in a sincere tone... --- In the end, Vahn remained at Evas side as if she were an in-patient for the better part of a day. It was only when her stomach released a tiny growl, causing her face to immediately turn beet red, that they finally changed locations. Ignoring Evas protests, Vahn carried her like a princess back to the bed, and, after making sure she wasfortable, he pulled out enough appliances and kitchenware to fully stock a kitchen before cooking a number of food items he knew she enjoyed. He could have pulled out fully cooked dishes, but, having learned how to cook specifically to make people happy, Vahn wanted to convey his emotions through his cooking. Eva was especially weak to such sentiments, and, as she hadnt officially epted him yet, Vahn was pulling out all the stops. Seeing Vahn wearing an apron as he happily prepared food for her, Eva found herself tightly hugging a pillow as she watched him from the side. The aroma of the food made her stomach growl even louder, but, with most of her face concealed by the fluffy pillow, she didnt feel the urge to turn away. Rather, seeing how happy he was, Eva could feel a warmth spread through her heart, and, if not for the aching of her body, she might have even smiled... Since he didnt want to keep her waiting too long, Vahn made a te full of saucer-sized pancakes before cutting up a few fruits into bite-sized pieces and baking them in the oven for a few minutes. He knew Eva had a bit of a sweet tooth, and, though it might have been better to make something like rice porridge or parfait, it wasnt as if she was actually injured. Without forcing Eva to get out of the bed, Vahn had her sit up properly before pulling out a bed tray and setting the food out for her. Then, understanding her needs before she had to vocalize them, Vahn pulled out an ornate teapot, filling the ceramic cup he had set out for her moments prior. He also gave her a half ss of milk and orange juice, but, knowing she was infinitely more fond of tea, Vahn made sure to prepare her favorite kind. Though she already knew Vahns character, Eva was still a little taken aback by how attentive he was being. He hadpletely ceased his teasing from the moment she had awoken, and, as if he was even more relieved than she was, an affectionate smile was perpetually stered on his face as an aura of relief permeated his entire being. This caused the warm feeling in her chest topound exponentially, but, due to the state of her body, it also made her feel more than a little frustrated... In an attempt to calm herself, Eva picked up the tea Vahn had poured her, the tensions of her body easing slightly as the familiar aroma pervaded her senses. Then, after emptying her cup in a single go, Eva released a hot yet contented sigh before looking toward Vahn and musing, "I forgot how resourceful you were...I guess thats a point in your favor..." Hearing Evas pliment, Vahns smile became marginally more pronounced as he poured her a new cup of tea and answered, "Thank you. I have worked hard to reach this point. Once my bodypletely adapts to this world, I will even be able to manipte Space, Time, and Creation. There is a lot we need to discuss, Eva. For now, however, I just want you to focus on being happy. If there is anything I can do, please dont hesitate to let me know..." Though she knew he didnt mean anything perverse by his words, a light flush colored Evas cheeks as several thoughts announced their presence within her mind. Even the tiny voice that would normally seed caution and doubt within her mind was telling her to lock down the affectionately smiling man seated at her bedside. It whispered promises of vengeance and conquest, but,pared to normal, it was much quieter than before, almost as if it was gradually fading away... As that thought crossed her mind, a small smile developed across Evas face as she decided to forgo a response. Instead, she focused on the meal in front of her, periodically alternating between the sweet and fluffy pancakes to the tart and crisp fruit. She had actually forgotten what it was like to even feel hunger and satiation, causing the smile on her face to gradually grow in size as Vahn watched silently from the side. It was only after she had eaten her fill, a surprisingly satisfying feeling, that Eva stated, "I will have you exin everything to me in as much detail as possible. I know there are some things you cant talk about, but, everything else, I want to know." Nodding his head, Vahn was prepared to tell Eva everything he could about himself, the future of this world, and his intentions for the future. Before he could, however, Eva neatly arranged her silverware on the bed tray before adding, "Before that...I wanted to thank you. I still havent made up my mind, but, if I dont do something to thank you, I think I might regret it for the rest of my life..." Even without her exining her intentions, Vahn could feel his heart begin to beat rapidly as Eva became progressively more sheepish. Her face had bepletely crimson, but, rather than avert her eyes, she stared directly at him, stating, "I want to experience everything directly...all of the things you did with my Memory Fragment...I want you to do them to me..." As if she couldnt realize what she was saying, Evas eyes became round as she finally averted her gaze away from his. She did her best to remain outwardly calm, but, within the confines of her own mind, she was screaming like an embarrassed banshee. She knew she wouldnt have done this if her body was normal, but, with so many memories of intimate acts ying across her mind, Eva couldnt help but feel a mix of envy and curiosity... Of all the things Eva could have said, Vahn was least prepared for the words that had just left her mouth. He was expecting her to maintain her front for years, forcing him to go to extreme lengths before finally relenting when he was near the breaking point. This was so far outside his expectations that he didnt really know how to respond. However, knowing he would be a fool to ask if she was certain, Vahn found himself answering, "That, and more..." Hearing Vahns response, Eva felt the muscles of her lower body contract as a giddy feeling began to spread throughout her body. She felt like she had just given a predator free reign inside a farmhouse, but, even as Vahn discard the tray and slowly climbed into the bed, she didnt try to run away. Instead, a nasally and ticklish moan escaped her throat as she allowed him to lower her to the bed, his teeth lightly nibbling on her corbone... --- Shortly after his foray with Eva had begun, Vahn couldnt help but release an exuberantugh as abject jubtion and relief spread through his body. His crazed reaction earned him a few incredulous looks from everyone around the dining table, but, preempting everyone else, it was Theo who asked, "Im guessing things went well? If so, then, congrats! Im happy for you, Vahn~!" After giving the bronze-skinned girl a side-long look, Fenrir piggybacked Theos words, an expectant smile on her face as she added, "Youve worked hard, Master. Im looking forward to seeing Eva again. Now my Ice Magic will be even more powerful, ehehehe~." Nodding his head, Vahn interrupted Arikas and Asunas congrattory words, a massive grin on his face as he said, "It might take a few days to fully convince her, but Im certain Eva will be traveling with us from now on. I hope everyone can get along with her. It might not be easy at first, but, so long as you remember that Evas true nature is that of a kind and caring girl who just wants to make friends, everything will go well. Asuna, Ill be counting on you to melt the ice around her heart, okay~?" Though she wasnt quite sure what Vahn was asking of her, Asuna didnt have to think before smiling as she answered, "Leave it to me~." Since she was seated right next to him, Vahns smile became even more pronounced as he affectionately ruffled Asunas hair. She was quickly turning into a reliable youngdy, the kind who could listen to other peoples problems and help them out with a smile. This had made her one of the most popr girls in school, and, though this was partially due to his growing fanbase, the fact Asuna melded into the environment so seamlessly always brought a smile to Vahns face. Seeing Vahn stroking the smiling Asunas head, Arika released a small sigh, but, at the same time, she was also looking forward to meeting Eva. She knew the rumors of the Dark Evangel, but, knowing Vahn hade to this world specifically for the notorious Demon Queen, Arika couldnt help but feel a certain amount of curiosity toward her. At the very least, she wanted to know what made Eva so special, so, after drawing his attention, she offered a small smile of her own, saying, "Im also looking forward to meeting her. Im certain there is much I can learn from her..." before turning her attention back to her meal... Title: Amorous (A/N: Alternate Titles: How is everyone doing today? Good? Good.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1573 Release

Chapter 1573 Release

With a zed look in her eyes, Eva watched the sunset from within a cozy double-slipper tub that was perched on the edge of a massive ice shelf. The frigid environment, cold enough to turn freshwater to ice in mere moments, seemed to have absolutely no effect on the steaming hot bath. Rather, even when the wind lightly caressed her skin, it carried with it afortable warmth, a stark contrast to the biting chill that could im the life of a normal human in fewer than five minutes... Exhaling a steamy sigh, Eva allowed her body to sink a little deeper into the water, staring up at the face of the man cradling her from behind as she muttered, "There is something poking my butt..." Instead of denying the im, Vahn just nodded his head, stating, "That is pretty normal in this kind of situation..." After staring up at Vahns face for a few seconds, a deadpan expression on her face, Evazily rolled her eyes before reaching between her legs and grabbing the offending member. Then, with an usatory tone to her voice, sheined, "Excessive..." as a ruddy glow began to spread across her cheeks. Withoutmenting, Vahn reclined his head back, his arms resting on the sides of the tub as he let Eva do whatever she wanted. She forced herself to act boldly, but, if pressed, she would immediately be skittish and standoffish. He quickly learned it much easier to allow her to experiment on her own, reacting only when she directly tempted or enticed him. This made it a lot easier for her, and, while it was more passive than he would have liked, Vahn had learned to enjoy her fumblings and curiosities... Feeling her heart racing quite a bit, Eva swallowed audibly before closing her legs around the startlingly hot member. She didnt move around much, but she allowed it to press against her most sensitive spot, her breathing bing progressively more ragged as she felt the heat flow into her body. She could feel a growing desire to rub her thighs together, but, knowing this would only make things worse, Eva released a hot sigh before leaning back and saying, "Help me cool down..." Hearing Evasmand, Vahn brought his hands from the sides of the tub, his left delving into the water to rest on her abdomen as his right lightly cupped her breast. Though he took the liberty to lightly mold her left breast, Eva didnt reprimand him. Instead, she released a contented sigh, her tensions fading as a cooling sensation reced the growing heat in her body. She had grown rather fond of Vahns touch, as, with a simple wave of his hand, he could bring her great pleasure or great relief, entirely dependent on her mood... After rxing against Vahns body for the better part of a minute, Eva felt a light pinch that caused her eyes to slowly peel open. She didnt stop it immediately, but, after Vahn began to lightly trace his index finger around her areole, she muttered, "Youre pushing your luck..." Removing his hand from Evas breast, Vahn just lightly chuckled before kissing the top of her head and musing, "Maybe Ill really get lucky one day..." With a bit of redness spreading across her cheeks, amon sight these days, Eva pulled her body further up, exposing her modest figure to the open air as she said, "Its about time for us to get out. My fingertips already look like dried prunes. See?" Seeing Evas wrinkly fingertips, Vahn adopted a moderately amused smile as he mused, "I can see that..." in a lighthearted tone. Then, without dawdling, he elevated from the tub in a single swift movement while simultaneously shifting Eva to a princess carry. In the past, she had tried to protest this, iming she could walk just fine on her own, but, after a week of pampering, it had be normal for him to carry her around everywhere they went... --- While watching Vahn skillfully brush her hair through therge mirror he had prepared for her, Eva broke the silence, stating, "Ive already been gone a lot longer than expected. If Im going to apany you, there are some things I need to retrieve from my hideout first. I also need to prepare an adequate disguise, so it will probably be a few days before I return. There arent too many people who know my true form, but, Id rather not risk being hunted down while my powers are sealed. Besides, I dont want those brats seeing me like this...they might get some strange ideas..." Since they had already discussed her disappearing for a few days, Vahn wasnt too surprised by Evas words. He knew there were some things she still wanted to keep secret, so, until she was ready to open her heart to him, he wasnt going to push her. Instead, he smiled back at her through the mirror, an affectionate glimmer in his eyes as he said, "You know you can call me if anything happens. Even if Im on the other side of the, I would bore through the core itself to reach you in the shortest period of time~." Rolling her eyes, Eva pulled her left leg up into the chair, resting her cheek on it as she said, "Just dont go chasing bunny girls while Im gone...pervert..." Hearing the familiar remark, Vahns smile became slightly wry, but, instead ofmenting, he continuedbing through Evas silky, golden, locks. At this point, he was half-expecting her to show up disguised as a bunny girl when she appeared in Ariadne. She seemed inordinately concerned about the fact he had stalked the woman to her ce of work, so, in a misguided attempt to appeal to him, Vahn could easily imagine Eva doing something rather silly in order to make a statement in front of the other girls... Keeping his thoughts to himself, Vahn took the initiative to braid Evas hair in a waterfall braid. He felt it suited her quite a bit, and, though she had quite a bit of hair to work with, Vahn had hundreds of years of experience dressing hair. His fingers were impossibly dexterous, and, if he observed the flow of the individual strands, he could prevent painful knots and snags with rtive ease. This made him everyones go-to whenever an important asion or event wasing up, as, even if they were going with the same style, he could always fix it in a way that brought it very-near perfection. Though she wanted toin about Vahn doing as he pleased, Eva could never quite find the words to stop him. He would always fix her hair in a way that perfectlyplimented the outfit she was wearing, and, even if she scrutinized it for an hour after the fact, it was almost impossible to find a single loose strand. Rather, when it came to pampering others, Vahn was exceptionally skilled at even the most mundane tasks... Like adding the final touches to a masterfully designed cake, Vahn threaded a ck ribbon through Evas hair before tying it into a small bow at the back of her head. The entire process had taken around forty minutes, but it perfectlyplimented the gothic lolita style dress she was currently wearing. She only ever wore white when they were spending time together, so, even before she had brought it up, Vahn had already discerned Evas intentions the moment he saw her dress. This was the main reason he had chosen such aplicated style, as, even if it was just forty minutes longer, he wanted to spend more time with her. Seeing the look in Vahns eyes, Eva repressed a sigh as she hopped out of the chair and said, "I wont be longer than three days. If I dont arrive before the sunrise on the fourth day, I give you permission toe and find me. Now, stop looking like an abandoned puppy ande over here..." Expecting Eva to give him a goodbye kiss, Vahns mood improved slightly as he closed the distance between them in an instant. At the same time, however, Eva tossed a red candy into her mouth. A small cloud of red magical energy erupted from her body like a dust explosion, and, before Vahns eyes could react, Eva had wrapped her arms around him, her impably soft breasts pressing into him as she stole a deep kiss. The pill she had tossed into her mouth was known as an [Age-Decieving Pill], a highly coveted item in the ck market that created a physical illusion that allowed you to freely modify your age and appearance. A stark contrast to her true appearance, the adult Eva stood at roughly 178cm tall, and, while it might be just an illusion, her body was nearly wless with bust, waist, hip measurements of 88, 69, and 88, respectively. The only incongruity was, despite her body feeling real, including a perfect transmission of body temperature, her weight hadnt changed. She was only 130cm tall in her original form, so, despite having grown quite a bit, Evas adult form only weighed a little over 25kg, roughly 56lbs. Despite the feeling of incongruity, Vahn wasnt shy when it came to reciprocating Evas deep kiss. Her personality seemed to changepletely when she was in her adult form, so, rather than show any embarrassment or inhibitions, she, for a brief moment, gave off the aura of a carnivorous woman. She even snaked her leg between his thighs while letting her nails sink into his chest with enough force to tear the fabric of his shirt... Feeling a now-familiar ache begin to spread through her body, Eva separated her lips from Vahns, a thin trail of glossy liquid linking them together for a brief moment before she licked it away and mused, "Behave while Im gone...if I find out you were ying around, I really will punish you..." To emphasize her words, Eva traced the nail of her index finger across Vahns cheek, cutting a thin line simr to a de. Though it healed instantly, the meaning still got across due to the predatory glimmer in her eyes. It was almost like she was apletely different person, but, treating her no differently than before, Vahn held her loosely in his embrace, an affectionate smile on his face as he said, "Ill be waiting..." Adopting a smile of her own, Eva nted a few more kisses on Vahns lips, holding the back of his head as if refusing to let him escape. It was only after a few minutes had passed that she finally released him, a seductive glow suffusing her cheeks as she mused, "Try not to miss me too much, brat..." Content with her final barb, Evas smile curled up at the edges as her body vanished into thin air. As for Vahn, he just rolled his eyes slightly before releasing a somewhat sad sigh, already missing her despite the fact she had just disappeared. Then, after cleaning up all the signs of their cohabitation, a pale golden aura shrouded his body as he took to the sky, enjoying the feeling of the frigid air as he set his sights on the distant Ariadne... ---- With Eva departing long after sunset, everyone back in Ariadne had already retired for the night. As a result, Theo had already returned to her room for the night, but, in spite of this, Vahn still had a half-naked woman lying next to him. Arika had grown increasingly bold as ofte, and, though she still entered a state simr to stasis while asleep, she had reached the point of curling up at his side, her hand resting on his chest or abdomen. Fortunately, even if he was feeling a little tense after his foray with Eva, Vahn had the always-eager Medusa to keep himpany while Fenrir cuddled Asuna. Though they couldnt be as intense as usual, the result of Medusa belly beginning to swell, Vahn still enjoyed entangling with her for hours at a time. They had the entire [Sub-Space Orb] to themselves, and, though it only had a time dtion of 4:1, that was more than enough for ate-night liaison. With her hair tightly entangling most of Vahns body, coiling around even his neck, Medusa released rhythmic gasps as her insides twisted, turned, and writhed about in response to the invasive heat that seemed to pervade the entirety of her inner sanctum. There was very little movement involved whenever they had sex, but, despite appearing immobile on the outside, her insides were violently coiling around him. This would go on for upwards of twelve hours at a time, bringing great pleasure to both of them... While Medusas insides seemed to be trying to grind him into meat paste, Vahn was nibbling on her pointed, elf-like, ear. At the same time, despite her hair trying to stop his movements, he gently massaged around the base of her tail with his left hand while holding the tail itself in his right. Though it was covered in metallic scales, Medusas tail was actually very pliant, and, as was often the case, it was also the most sensitive spot on her entire body... Feeling her Master kneading her tail, Medusas mouth and eyes closed as a small whimper escaped her throat. She wasnt in any pain, but, having her weak spot yed with, Medusa felt a surge of pleasure that was difficult to cope with. It was enough for her just to be linked together with her Master, so, when he stimted her even further, it took every bit of restraint she had just to avoid having her voice resonate through the surroundings with enough force to crack crystal... Hearing Medusas whimpering, Vahn stopped nibbling on her ear, and, after staring into her golden eyes, he ran his hand along the length of her tail while whispering, "You dont have to hold back...your voice is very beautiful...I want to hear it..." Punctuating his words, Vahn grabbed the tip of Medusas tail, and, though it wasnt the most sensitive spot, it still sent shivers through her body. She knew what he was going to do, so, in preparation, she took several deep breaths before coiling around him with more than enough force to crush steel. Then, simr to the Convergence of Heaven and Earth, Vahn linked the nerves in Medusas tail, tracing his left hand across the top ridges while tracing the fingers of his right hand along the underside... With a voice that could humble even the greatest opera singers, Medusa released a sonorous cry that could be heard for several kilometers. Had he been a normal person, everything from Vahns eardrums to his organs would have ruptured as a result of the physical shockwave that always followed Medusas outburst. He even assumed she had an Innate rted to her voice, as, in the past, Da Vinci had determined that the sounds produced by her cries were able to resonate with physical matter, shattering and rupturing even magically reinforced metals. This was the main reason Medusa tried to hold back her voice, but, unafraid of the consequences, Vahn always felt a small amount of vindication whenever she screamed Master... (A/N: Alternate Titles: And here we see a Tsundere in its natural habitat...,Adult Eva likes to tease people even more than Vahn~,MAAAAAASTAAAAAAAAAAAH~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1574 Bloom

Chapter 1574 Bloom

While waiting for Eva, Vahn had little else to do other than fall back into his old schedule. He had let everyone enjoy a vacation while he was dealing with Eva, but, now that his tensions had been dealt with, he could easily provide them with the amount of attention they required. Most importantly, he was no longer stressed out by the growing intimacy and skinship he shared with the girls. Rather, it was actually somewhat cute to see them eagerly fishing for his attention, and, though it might lead to future troubles, he decided to justugh off their antics like he would his growing fanbase... With a casual smile on his face, Vahn was dodging the iling of the bronze-skinned beauty, who, in spite of her best efforts, simply couldntnd a hit on him. She was surprisingly deft at hand-to-handbat, possessing inherent flexibility, impable bnce, and a talent for Ki, but, even if she stepped in at her fastest speed, Vahn would either evade or deflect her attacks to the side, casually exining how she could improve in real-time. This allowed her to improve quickly, but, after a few minutes, Theo would always get riled up, attempting a big attack or trying to pull a trick... In an attempt to take the fight into a grapple, Theo pounced like a cat toward its prey, a thin shroud of magical energy appearing around her body. This provided a qualitative increase in her speed and mobility, but, at the apex of her pounce, Theo found her vision obstructed by Vahns open palm. In the following moments, a sense of weightlessness seized her body, and, before her brain processed everything that was happening, she found herself staring up at a familiar expanse of blue sky. There was no feeling of impacting the ground, only the feeling of cool grass against her sweaty body as a silhouette stared down at her from above, musing, "Until you can freely move in the air, leaving the ground is a death sentence against a skilled opponent. You lose the ability to dodge, and, while it is an effective way to catch some opponents by surprise, the loss of power is rarely worth it..." Hearing Vahns exnation, a smile spread across Theos face before she began tough in a light-hearted manner. It had been impossible to get anyone to train her properly back in the pce, so, even if she feltpletely exhausted, the urge tough was too strong to resist. Her pointed ears, which looked like elven ears covered in a thin coat of white fur, would gently waggle whenever sheughed, earning a slight smile from Vahn as he extended his hand to help her stand... Though she epted Vahns outstretched hand, a mischievous sheen shed across Theos eyes as herughter immediately ceased. Then, using Vahns arm as leverage, she attempted to ce him in an armbar by wrapping her thighs and legs around his arm. Unfortunately, the moment she twisted her body in an attempt to pull off the maneuver, a thin golden aura shrouded her body as she was tossed, rather unceremoniously, through the air. She tumbled head over heels a few times, but, as if it was just a fun carnival ride, Theosughter could be heard echoing all the way up until the point she crashed harmlessly into the sea... Shaking his head, Vahn pulled out a towel to wipe Theos sweat away from his arm before turning his gaze to the side, locking eyes with the other golden-haired beauty waiting for her turn. She, like Theo, was wearing a version of the [Aegis MK-U] that looked like a sports bra and hot pants, so, as could be expected from such form-fitting garments, there wasnt much left to the imagination. This was something Vahn hadrgely gotten used to, but, seeing Arika staring at him with a hungry look in her eyes, it was hard to resist sighing in appreciation as he pulled out Laev-tan and said, "Let me see how much youve improved..." Without a moment of hesitation, Arikas hair began to fan outward as a golden ymore appeared in her right hand. Then, following the sound of a muted shockwave, Arikas figure flickered out of existence before reappearing next to him in an instant. She had been steadily mastering [Shundo], but, without needing to look toward her, Vahns easily deflected her sweeping blow toward the sky. His de seemed to move in slow motion, but, no matter how much she enhanced her speed and strength using her colossal reserves, Arika could neverplete her attack before it was deflected... Clenching her teeth, Arika guided her sword into a controlled arc, using the momentum of Vahns deflection to prepare a follow-up strike. At the same time, she stepped in quickly in an attempt to try and knock him off bnce with her shoulder. Unfortunately, in much the same way he had dealt with Theo, Vahn stepped into the gap in Arikas movement. It was hard to redirect your momentum when you hadmitted to an attack, so, if your opponent was faster and more skilled, any wasted movements were easily exploited... As he side-stepped toward the front of Arikas body, Vahns right hand swept toward the pommel of her ymore. This prevented her from trying to perform an impromptu sh, the t of her own de pressing into her exposed nk and causing her to lose bnce. She didnt fall over, but her body spun around a few times before she was able to recover. It was amusing to see how she could even turn a fumble into a graceful movement, but, before Vahn couldment on it, Arikas figure had already vanished a second time... Feeling the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, Vahns eyes widened slightly as a massive golden crescent bisected him at the waist. The energy de, traveling several times faster than the speed of sound, was able to cut through the adjacent forest, only stopping after it carved arge gully in the nearby mountain. This was a rather impressive disy, but, rather than appear satisfied, Arikas face showed disbelief, trepidation, and concern as she watched the two halves of Vahn split apart... Before she could even cry out and [Shundo] to Vahns side, all of Arikas mental processes ground to a stop when a familiar voice casually asked, "What are you looking at...?" from right behind her. With rounded eyes, Arika attempted to spin around, but, part-way through the movement, a finger poked into her cheek, somehow arresting her momentumpletely. On the other end, she could see Vahns casually smiling face tinged with amusement as he retracted his hand and said, "Unless you have confirmed the death of your opponent, never make assumptions. Did you really think you had cut me in half so easily~?" Without dignifying Vahns words with a verbal response, Arika found her left hand moving before she had willed it to do so. It was like an instinct was driving her to p him, but, as if to emphasize his invulnerability, Vahn didnt even bother dodging as her hand swept through him like a phantom image. This ended up being the case, as, in the next moment, a familiar sensation plopped down on her head, followed by afortable flow of energy as a voice echoed from behind her, saying, "You have every right to be mad. However, this is training so you wont be easily deceived by your future opponents. Ill apologizeter, so, for the time being, focus on trying tond a hit on me before you even humor the thought of identally killing me..." The moment she felt Vahns hand leave her head, a glowering look spread across Arikas face as she twisted her body in a graceful arc, sweeping backward with her sword. Then, for the better part of an hour, she fervently attempted to release her frustrations on the smiling man until her body waspletely covered in sweat. Even then, she pushed herself beyond exhaustion, only stopping when Vahn grabbed her de with his bare hand, taking advantage of her depleted reserves to snap it in an instant... --- Following another long session of training, Vahn made good on his promise to Arika, apologizing by helping wash her back and hair as she hugged her knees and pouted. At the same time, though he had told her it wasnt necessary, Theo was spiritedly scrubbing his with arge sponge. She had tried to tease him bythering up her own body and pouncing on him, but, after a literal spanking, she had, momentarily, be a little more obedient. As for how their rtionship had evolved to the point of him spanking her backside, well, this wasrgely due to Theo herself and a few remarks from Fenrir. Though she had taken his words into consideration, restraining herself quite a bit, it was impossible to stop Fenrir from preaching the principles of being a good girl. She had exined the concept of earning rewards for good behavior, going into great lengths about the many benefits that could be obtained. Inversely, she also exined what constituted bad behavior, using Theos recent mischief as an example. Vahn wasnt entirely sure what had been said, but, after that, Theo directly requested that he spank her whenever he thought her antics had gone too far. She seemed to believe it would help her mature into a proper adult, citing that proper discipline was important between a Master and Disciple. Truthfully, Vahn felt like Fenrir had inadvertently nted andmine in his path, but, after refusing to spank her, Theo became even more rambunctious and bold. She even waggled her pert brown butt in his face a few times, resulting in the penultimate moment when he tanned her hide for the first time. Afterward, she became demonstrably more demure and bashful, cutting back on most of her antics. It was only during and after training that she would resort to her usual antics, the result of a biological predisposition to get very excited during and after battles... Finished with washing Arikas hair, Vahn lightly uttered, "Lean back a little..." before using a gentle torrent of hot water to rinse away the suds. This allowed Arika to stare up at his face, but, without minding her gaze, Vahn supported her body with his palm, quicklypleting the process before smiling as he said, "Youre good to go..." After guiding Arika back into a seated position, thetter stood up from the mineral-rich waters of the onsen, her long hair covering much of her figure but still leaving the curves of her body visible. She was clearly still a little upset after being toyed with during their training, but, after standing in silence for nearly half a minute, Arika uttered a demure, "Thank you for washing my hair..." before slowly levitating from the water and alighting from the bath. Realizing that Arika might have just been standing in front of him to allow herself to be seen, Vahn developed a slightly wry smile on his face as he watched hernd at the side, the water on her body evaporating even before she stepped into the changing room. This left him alone with Theo, and, as a result, she became more emboldened, throwing her arms around his neck from behind, her naked body pressing into his back as she teasingly whispered, "It seems like big sis is rapidly falling in love with the big bad dragon~." Without reacting to Theos provocation, Vahn slowly rose from the bath, allowing her to hang from him as he casually answered, "I am well aware. However, she is a little too young and inexperienced for me to reciprocate her feelings. Though she likely has a number of reasons at this point, she only loves me because she doesnt really know how to love anyone else. I am merely the first person she has shown a special interest in, and, due to my nature, she feels safe by entrusting herself to me...is it not the same for you, Princess...?" With a light blush coloring her cheeks, Theo released her hold on Vahn, taking a few steps back as a timid smile spread across her face. She could understand what Vahn was trying to say, as, over thest few days, she had started to wonder if she was also falling in love. He made her feel safe, and, if she were ever in any danger, she knew he would stop at nothing to try and save her. This gave her a strong desire to stay at his side, and, due to how epting he was of their selfishness, Theo often found herself wondering just how much she could get away with... Rather than respond directly to Vahns words, Theos expression softened slightly as she said, "You know...if we were back on Earth, I would already be twenty-one-years-old, more than old enough to drink and vote in most countries. I even had my first period when I was seven, so, from a biological point of view, Im already more than ready..." Towards the end of her words, Theos eyes wandered down Vahns body, swallowing hard when she looked directly at his sleeping member. She hadnt really thought about matters like love before her appointment as Imperial Ambassador, but, after observing the intimacy between Vahn and Fenrir, it was hard not to feel a little curious. Her appointment was also something that was only supposed to be given to adults, for obvious reasons, so, all things considered, Theo had gradually convinced herself she was more than mature enough for a physical rtionship... Without losing his smile, Vahn just shook his head before calmly stating, "Youre in the same boat as Arika. Even if your argument is sound, you simplyck the life experience to make such decisions. In a normal society, you would have learned about these things by growing alongside your peers, but, as a member of the Imperial Family, you have been isted from others. Now, you have a chance to break away from most of the restraints that have kept you bound, so, after imprinting upon me, you have developed a subconscious desire to strengthen our rtionship, believing it is the best way to ensure your happiness. What you feel isnt true love, Theo, it is the result of your curious nature and a desire for liberation...you just want to experience new things and be free..." Hearing Vahns words, Theos ears drooped somewhat pathetically, as, despite her desire to refute them, she couldnt really argue against them. She didnt really understand how she felt, but, as Vahn had stated, she just feltfortable and secure around him. If she sincerely asked him to, she knew he would allow her to live apletely different life than the one that had been decided for her by fate. He had even answered many of the questions she had about the future of this world, including those rted to her marriage... Though she wanted to serve her people and fulfill her duties as Empress, Theo didnt really want to sacrifice everything in that pursuit. She still wanted to be happy, so, knowing she had been forced into a political marriage to strengthen ties within her own family, it was hard to look forward to the future. She actually knew the person she was fated to marry, and, though he wasnt really the worst candidate, imagining herself loving the man was impossible. Not only was he weak, but, as a result of his familys wealth, he had lived a decadent and wasteful life thus far... Seeing the mixture of confusion, mncholy, and frustration in Theos countenance, Vahns smile softened slightly as he said, "Youre thinking too much, Theo. The answer is actually very simple, you know?" Hearing Vahns words, rity returned to Theos sapphire-like eyes as she heard him add, "You were able to grasp your freedom the moment you became my student. No matter what others decide, you are the only person that can make decisions regarding your life. Even if you wanted to lead the Hes Empire down apletely different path, I would support you from behind the scenes and help you find allies, like Arika, who are willing to share your burdens. So long as you never be the type of person who exploits others for personal gain, you will always have my support. There is no need to rush things, Theo...happiness isnt looking toward the future and fretting over events toe. Happinesses from making the most of each passing moment, forging strong bonds, and constantly pushing yourself to be something greater..." Though it would take a while to process thempletely, Theo felt considerably relieved by Vahns words. At the same time, however, she keyed in on a few key phrases, a look of confusion marring her expression as she asked, "How can I make the most of each moment if Im not allowed to act on my instincts and urges? Even if what Im experiencing isnt love, there are still plenty of things I want to try. I cant even imagine experimenting with other people, so how old do I need to be before you are willing to ept me...?" Not expecting Theo to immediately bounce back and adapt his words to the current situation, Vahn smiled wryly as he exined, "There are differences between personal and shared happiness. If you only think about your own happiness without considering the circumstances and feelings of others, you will gradually be a greedy and selfish person. Though you are a beautiful young woman, I do not have those types of thoughts and intentions toward you. That may change in the future, but, for the time being, I cannot answer your question..." Since she didnt want to be the type of person she hated more than any other, Theo fell into a state of deep thought. She noticed he didnt openly state it was impossible for them to be together, so, if she persisted, there was still a chance. It wasnt as if she was in a particr rush to further their rtionship, so, rather than fret over it, she decided to just focus on her training and continue their cohabitation. It was fun to spending time with him, and, if Fenrirs words rang true, she could slowly close the distance between them. If her emotions did turn to love, Theo was confident he wouldnt turn her away... Imagining Vahn doing his best to ignore her advances, a mischievous smile spread across Theos face, her moodpletely restored. This caused Vahns smile to turn wry, but, when she asked him to help wash her hair, he didnt refuse... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is a bully...,Fenrir is unstoppable,Eva about to bury some pretenders xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1575 Foundation

Chapter 1575 Foundation

Though it was inarguably beneficial, the downside to using time dtion was that a rtively short three days could, very easily, turn into months. This was especially true with Theos Resort, as, with a time dtion of 24:1, seventy-two hours was, quite literally, seventy-two days of training. Though the girls were not using the diorama efficiently, each having daily lives and duties to live, they still used it for about ten hours each day. This equated to an average of 254 hours a day, so, by the time three days would have passed in reality, Vahn would have been waiting for his reunion with Eva for an entire month... Fortunately, even with Theos antics and Arikas growing boldness, most of Vahns stress had simply evaporated into thin air. He had already achieved his primary goal of finding Eva, so, even if it took a few years topletely save her, Vahn was confident she would open her heart to him. It would likely take the death of the Mage of the Beginning before she was truly liberated from her fate, but, with Asuna, Arika, and Theo at his side, that, too, was an inevitability. Asuna, in particr, had more potential than Arika and Theobined, so, if they made proper use of the diorama, she might be able to defeat the Mage of the Beginning on her own... Due to the unique structure of the Akamatsuverses Magic System, it was possible for even children to be monstrously powerful in a very short period of time. It was a world where talent, affinity, and control could easilypensate for years of experience. Nagi was one of the best examples of this, as, despite being between thirteen and fifteen-years-old during the events of the Great Magic War, he was known as the Invincible Thousand Master. His son, Negi, would also go on to save the world when he was around ten-years-old, so,pared to most Records, the Akamatsuverse was a veritable paradise for anyone with innate magical talent. Vahn had yet to meet Nagi, but, based on the difference between Arikas and Asunas fates, it was safe to assume thetter had the capacity to surpass them both in a short period of time. Rather, if she really wanted to focus on bing stronger, Asuna could, very easily, reach the pinnacle of the verse before the Great Magic War even began. This was the scariest thing about artifacts like Theos Resort, as, if they were exploited to their fullest potential, you could umte twenty-four-years of experience over the span of a single year in the outside world. Truthfully, Vahn didnt understand why such dioramas werent exploited more during the original timeline. He suspected they were actually being used, but, despite going up against a threat against the entire sr system, it seemed like the heroescked the conviction to fullymit to exploiting one of their greatest assets. After all, if Nagi or Negi spent just a few months inside a diorama, they would have be monstrously powerful in a very short period of time. There was, quite literally, no sense in sending children between the ages of ten and fifteen to fight against sr-system level threats when they could have easily umted more experience and power within a diorama... The only reason Vahn could think of was that the heroes simply didnt want Nagi and Negi to waste their youths away training, but, for such concerns to be relevant, they wouldnt be charged with the literal fate of the world. It was extremely hypocritical to expect children to fight against the enemies of the entire world, yet, in the original history, Negi, a ten-year-old boy, was charged with leading a literal ss of middle-schoolers into a climactic battle to save everyone. There were even a number of historical ounts that mentioned some of the students bing ves, all while the so-called Heroes, who could have easily secured their freedom, seemingly ignored them. They let a group of fourteen and fifteen-year-old girls, many of which had no ties to the Magical World, be victims of a system they had more than enough power to change... Though Vahn understood hardships were necessary to allow people to grow, he would beat the hell out of anyone who tried to convince him it was necessary for young teenagers to experience very and sexual harassment in order to grow. He might even cripple them on the spot, forcing them to watch from the sidelines as he proved just how ridiculous their ims were. After all, what need did they have for power if they were literally rearing children to fight their battles for them? --- Realizing he was letting Arikas words get to him, a wry smile appeared on Vahns face as he stood with his hands behind his back, watching silently as his thirty-three adorable students did their best to try and hit the center of a target 15m away. Though they were only between two and three years of age, going by the Mundus Magicus system, even the youngest was able to, at the very least, hit the target. This was actually very impressive, as, prior to Vahns arrival, most children werent even able to use the Beginners Incantation until they were around four years old. The students under his care, however, were already able to manifest their elements, something even prodigies werent able to achieve without careful guidance. Needless to say, Vahns prestige as an Advisor had rapidly increased in a very short period of time, to the point that the Grandmaster had even asked for advice on rewriting the basic curriculum that was taught in all Academies. Unfortunately, while there was a qualitative increase in the results of every Academy, there were no repeats of the miracle Vahn had performed. He had basically turned his entire ss into a group of prodigies, and, by offering advice to other teachers, the cause of him being solicited so often, the quality of education within the Junior Division of the Imperial Academy had increased by a startling amount. Though he had hosted a number of private seminars, some attended by the Grandmaster herself, the main reason his students grew so quickly was, simply put, Vahn, himself. Not only was he very patient in guiding the children, but, as a result of his growing poprity, his [Will of the Emperor] had a subtle influence on their minds. They gradually became more studious and hard-working, all in an effort to try and earn his recognition. As a result, he would reward them with a few words of praise, a periodic pat on the head, or some treats that helped to strengthen their foundation. This,bined with the fact they were constantly baptized by the energy within his domain, had allowed even his least talented student to surpass those nearly twice her age. So long as he was nearby, Vahn could help replenish his students reserves and prevent the onset of fatigue. This allowed them to focus and persist for longer periods of time, greatly elerating their growth and gradually increasing their confidence. Though it also had the side-effect of making each of his students hyper-aware of his presence, as they would feel more at ease when he was around, Vahn didnt really have to worry about them growing too attached to him. Their affection was very innocent, and, though a number of his students became even more excitable than puppies when he was around, this was actually rtively normal. Even back on Earth, the education of young children was often left to female teachers, as, during their developmental period, children imprinted on authority figures quite a bit. Thus, it was simply safer for children to be taught by female teachers, as, depending on their racial traits, young boys could be cowed bypetent male teachers, bing hyper-aggressive during their adolescence topensate for how passive they were in their youth. As for young girls, their first crush could be a powerful influence on their preferences for the rest of their lives, often leading them to choose a partner that was simr to their fathers or the first male authority figure they had imprinted upon. Fortunately, despite an ever-growing fanbase, Vahns status was so high that even the more fervent children understood the futility of their affections. Though they might have grandiose delusions of romance, the difference in status created an insurmountable gulf. They understood that, unless he was the one to take an interest in them, the chances of their affections bearing fruit was negligible, at best. As a result, they banded together with like-minded people, sharing their hopes and dreams with others in order to lessen their burden and make the most of their burgeoning emotions while they had the opportunity to do so... With the same wry smile on his face, Vahn watched as one of his students identally lost control over her magic. The magical energy began to swirl around her outstretched palms, and, though it wouldnt cause too much damage, Vahn appeared at her side in an instant, dissipating the spell and pulling her back behind his body in the same motion. This earned the attention of the entire ss, but, before they could begin to group out of curiosity, Vahn just smiled toward them, saying, "There are no problems. Please, continue your practice." Though they were still curious, everyone, with the exception of Asuna, replied with cheerful voices ofpliance before immediately returning to their practice. As for Asuna, she scampered over, her twin-tails bouncing adorably until she reached his side and asked, "Is everything okay?" Lightly ruffling Asunas hair, Vahn answered, "Estelle just had a bit of an ident. As I told everyone else, there is nothing to worry about..." Hearing Vahns words, Asuna gave a small nod before looking behind him, finding a girl with neatly trimmed white hair, fur-covered ears that drooped downward, and a dog-like tail that was currently curled between her legs. She was clinging to the overcoat Vahn wore while teaching, seemingly very afraid. If you listened closely, however, there was a barely-audible sound of breathing that could be heard as she buried her face into the fabric of Vahns coat... After scrunching up her nose slightly, Asuna gave onest look at Vahn before running back to her own spot. This left thetter chuckling silently to himself, understanding what Asuna wanted to say even without her vocalizing it. Despite this, he still lightly pat Estelles head, calmly stating, "There is no need to be afraid. Come, Ill watch over you for a little bit and give you some advice. I know you have a lot of talent, Estelle. Will you show it to me...?" The moment she heard his words, Estelles ears perked up, her tail regaining its vigor as she happily eximed, "Okay~!" before finally releasing his coat and returning to her spot. Then, earning a few envious looks from the nearest girls, she began disying her rtively rare lightning magic. Vahn, of course, noticed the looks from his other students, offering them a slight smile that caused them to eagerly return to their own training... --- Noticing the subtle change in Vahns expression, Grandmaster Sidra raised her brows in curiosity, asking, "Oh? Did something interesting happen~?" Lightly chuckling in response, Vahn nodded his head, stating, "My students are always very spirited. Im certain their futures will be filled with color and excitement." Reading more into Vahns words than he intended, Grandmaster Sidra replied with a light chuckle of her own before saying, "They are blessed with the Sage Dragon Emperors grace. How could they not enjoy a brighter future? Im already pulling strings to try and convince some of your students to be future teachers within the Academy. At their current rate of growth, most of your students will be ready for the standard graduation by the time they are five. They have all be monstrous talents within the Academy...it is actually rather terrifying, you know~?" Seemingly agreeing with Sidra, albeit for very different reasons, Arika and Seras both nodded their heads. The only one who didnt seem to agree with Theo, who, after snickering in her usual manner, said, "Unless youre a bad guy, Vahn isnt scary at all. You should see him whenever Asuna is trying a difficult technique for the first time. One time, he even used High-Grade healing magic just to treat a scrape on her knee. So long as you dont do anything bad, you dont even need to be intimidated by him. Hes really just a big old softie~." Even if her words werent exactly wrong, Vahn gave Theo a deadpan stare, effectively adding fuel to the fire if herughter was any indicator. Then, deciding to ignore her, he looked back to find Sidra and Seras with an amused glimmer in their eyes. Seras had enough wherewithal to cover it up the moment he stared back at her, but, unlike her daughter, Sidra behaved far more casually, smiling in amusement as she said, "Its no wonder your poprity has grown so quickly. I have even received a report saying that you gave out a sizeable donation to one of our poorer Academies. Ariadne is truly blessed to have such a kind and caring individual watching over it..." Hearing the insinuation and hope contained within Sidras words, Vahn lightly shook his head, but it was Arika who stated, "Vahn is the Guardian of Mundus Magicus. Unlike the Nine Great Spirits and the Four Sacred Dragons, he cannot be the guarantor for a specific country. The moment Vahn bes affiliated with any specific country, that country bes a weakness that can be targeted by others. By spreading his influence globally, his power can serve as a deterrent to keep those who would harm others in check. It is our responsibility to lead and guide our people, not Vahns." As it was something they had discussed quite a bit, Theo also took the opportunity to add, "Arika is correct. Vahn might protect and empower certain people, but he can never be tied to a nation that already exists. If he had publically affiliated himself with Ariadne, it would have been difficult to prevent a war from breaking out." Well aware of the truth contained within Arikas and Theos words, Sidra showed a sad smile, but, in the depths of her light-purple eyes, a mischievous glimmer could be seen as she muttered, "That is truly unfortunate...Im certain the people of Ariadne would have been ecstatic if someone like Vahn had be the new Arch-Dean. I suppose I should just be grateful for the altruism you disyed by helping remove so many detrimental elements within the administration. I only hope your efforts are not undermined the moment you depart the city...perhaps his Imperial Majesty will properly rein in the other members of the Nobility this time around..." Hearing Sidras words, Theos usual smile faded away, a serious expression marring her face as she said, "You need not concern yourself with such things, Grandmaster Sidra. Once the war hase to an end, I will personally helpy the groundwork for Ariadnes independence. I hope that, when the timees, you will work alongside me; not for our mutual benefit, but for the benefits of all people within Mundus Magicus. Ariadne has the best teachers in the world, but, due to its limited size, it can only amodate so many people. I would like to build schools and academies within the Empires territory, providing an education to the young and underprivileged so that the entire nation will prosper..." Not expecting Theos words, Sidra raised her brows before smiling as she said, "Had you said these things a few months prior, I probably wouldnt have believed them. Now, however, I feel hopeful for the future of Mundus Magicus..." Seeing Sidra look toward him, Vahn returned a smile of his own as he said, "If those in power unite, it wont just be the Magical World that prospers. Magic has been kept a secret for too long, limiting its development for no better reason than consolidating power and maintaining the status between the rich and the poor. My main priority is protecting the world itself, so, soon enough, rapid change in the status quo will ur. Ariadne is in a unique position, but,pared to Ostia, the standard of education is stillcking. If you wish to remain relevant in the changing world, you must be ready to make the necessary changes to ensure the prosperity of all peoples, not just yourselves..." Though Ariadne prided itself as a ce that would ept even Death itself as a student, that didnt mean they waived tuition fees. They were against polluting the natural beauty of thend by trying to convert it into farnd, so,pared to most nations, they were extremely reliant on imports. If not for the Hes Empire, they would have been forced topromise on their ancestors beliefs a long time ago. If Ariadne wanted to remain relevant in the future, they had no choice but to expand beyond their borders and establish schools in other countries. They could still consolidate their brightest within the ancestral city, but, with an ever-growing poption and an extremely limited amount of space, it was impossible for them to remain independent withoutpromise. The Founders of Ariadne had been well-aware of this fact, so, before it became a problem, they implemented numerousws to prevent poption growth before ultimately forging an alliance with the Hes Empire. As the principal sessor of the founders, Sidra understood the impossibility of true independence, so, hearing Vahns words, she took them to heart, smiling as she looked at Theo and said, "I believe Ariadne stands to benefit much from continued association with the Empire~." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Time-Dtion is OP,*sniffing intensifies*,At this point, Im surprised Sidra isnt trying to hitch her daughter with Vahn xD...) (A/N: I forgot to mention it, but Im taking a short break atm for birthdays. My brothers birthday was on the 24th and mine is on the 27th, so Ive been a little preupied xD. I will always release at least one chapter a day though, so long as Im not in aa or something.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1576 Relax

Chapter 1576 Rx

With two days having passed, Vahn greeted the third with abination of excitement and a fair amount of trepidation. He was looking forward to his reunion with Eva, but, as was often the case in these types of situations, he couldnt shake the feeling something had gone wrong. The longer the third day dragged on, the more worried he became. Each time the clock sounded a new hour, his mood would worsen slightly, and, by the time afternoon hade, he beganmenting hisck of foresight. He was confident he would be able to track down Eva, as Fenrir had memorized her scent for him, but, if he had been smart about it, convincing her to form a Pactio would have saved a lot of time and effort... While contemting whether or not Eva was going to test him by making him search for her, Vahn heard a light knock at his door. He had already sensed the person on the other side, so, after raising his head from hisrge wooden desk, he forced a smile to his face, stating, "Enter..." in a rxed yet firm tone. After a bit of fiddling with the knob, the door opened to reveal a young girl with raven-ck hair and bright green, slightly luminescent eyes. She was a bit older than the students in his ss, but that wasnt particrly umon. Vahn allowed anyone to visit his office when he was inside, so, even if one of the teachers randomly showed up, he would greet them with a smile and ask if there was something troubling them... Seeing the young girl stall at the doors threshold, Vahns expression softened as he asked, "Wont youe and take a seat? I just finished brewing a pot of tea so your arrival is very timely. If youd like, I also brought some sugar cookies from home. These ones have a bit of mint mixed in, so they are quite refreshing with tea~." Though she didnt say anything, the raven-haired girl trotted over to the opposing chair with a tiny smile on her face. This wasnt her first time visiting the office so Vahn already knew the best way to coax her into rxing and opening up to him. She would generally show up every 2-3 days without any real intentions other than to spend a few minutes in his office, but, knowing what she had gone through in the past, Vahn never felt inconvenienced by her behavior. While using telekinesis to fill the girls cup, Vahn pulled a tray of light green cookies from inside his Inventory, cing them on the opposite side of his desk. She quickly reached for one, and, seeing a smile blossom across her face as she savored thebination of peppermint tea and mint cookies, Vahn pulled out a quill and began writing nothing in particr. It would be a little awkward to just stare at her, so, knowing she could take several minutes just to greet him, he had learned to let her muster up her courage without applying any direct pressure. After around five minutes had passed, the smile on the girls face gradually fell away as she lowered her head and muttered, "I had another nightmare..." cing his quill down, Vahn adopted an apologetic expression as he linked his fingers together and lightly asked, "Do you want to talk about it...?" Rather than answer, the girl, named Naomi Karasu, lowered her head even further, clutching tightly at the hem of her skirt as she shook her head. She didnt like talking about her dreams, and, though she hade to trust Vahn more than anyone else, it was difficult to open her heart after what she had experienced; something far worse than a nightmare. Understanding that this was one of the times when Naomi just wanted to feel safe, Vahn increased the amount of calming energy within his domain. At the same time, he gave a small nod toward the young girl, following it by whispering, "You can stay as long as you need...if you ever want to talk, I will be here to listen..." After answer with a small nod of her own, Naomi picked up another cookie, nibbling away at it like a chipmunk with her bangs covering the upper half of her face... --- Since he often entertained more than twenty visitors a day, Vahn had modified his office to be able to alter its size and shape with a dial hidden beneath his desk. He could reduce its size to a rather cozy 5x5x3m,plete with an old bookshelf and a persistently crackling firece. If he needed to amodate arger group, however, the interior could space could be increased to 100x100x8m in an instant. This was regrly used to deal with the periodic raids conducted by his fan club, but,pared to the most important feature of his office, the ability to alter its size was negligible. Stunning even Grandmaster Seras, who had the ability to create weaker dioramas over the period of a few months, Vahn had created a second dial that allowed him to adjust the flow of time. The base rate of flow was 2:1, as it helped him keep track of things happening within the Academy, but, when it was necessary, there were two additional markers that disyed 4:1 and 10:1. This was the benefit of studying the Yokai District for the better part of forty years, and, though it had taken a few weeks to adapt the principles within the Akamatsuverse, a 98% mastery over Time had helped quite a bit... With a bit of help from his calming energy, Naomi was eventually able to fall asleep after curling up in thefortable chair he had set out prior to her arrival. He knew she had a number of difficulties sleeping, so, whenever she showed up, Vahn allowed her to sleep as long as she needed. As for why he didnt just erase her memories of the trauma that had urred, well, that wasrgely due to the fact that precision memory erasure was very difficult. Without an ability rted to dreams or perusing memories, Vahn had no way of entering into the young Naomis mind to erase only the bad things. The only option was topletely erase her memories, but, considering this would also take away the memories of her family and friends, it wouldnt exactly be fair. Doing so would also require him to take responsibility for her well being, as, without memories, even remembering how to read and write would be impossible. She would have to start her education from scratch, oblivious to her situation until she developed enough to understand what exactly had happened to her. Though erasing memories was always an option, it was something Vahn wanted to avoid. In many ways, it was even worse than death, as, unless you had no friends or family, losing your memories ced a heavy burden on everyone you cared about, not just yourself. You would also reach a point where you wanted to know why your memories had been erased, seeking the truth andshing out at the very people who wanted to protect you. This could quickly turn into despair once you finally obtained what you were searching for, so, unless he was willing to take responsibility for the person afflicted, Vahn wouldnt erase someones memory. If they had reached a point where they could no longer see hope, he would rather give them the mercy of death than see them suffer for the rest of their natural lives. Seeing the raven-haired girl curled up with a rxed smile on her face, Vahns own became slightly pained as he shook his head and released a sigh. He would never understand why people did such terrible things to children, and, after experiencing this kind of thing so often, Vahn had reached the point where he simply didnt want to know. Though some people had good reasons for bing a monster, Eva being a good example, there were far too many people that performed vile deeds just because they thought themselves above others. This couldrgely be med on their parents and upbringing, but, regardless of the circumstances, Vahn generally felt it was better to kill such people and be done with it. Returning them to the cycle of reincarnation was infinitely better than trying to redeem them, as, at any point in time, they could quickly rpse into an even worse monster than before. After shaking his head to clear negative thoughts, Vahn closed his eyes and began to focus more on the Academy. He was constantly paying attention to his surroundings but there was a big difference between doing so passively and actively. If he focused hard enough, he could envision everything in crystal rity, and, while it ced a heavy strain on his mind, he could perceive individual strands of grass and the literalposition of the soil. It was a phenomenon very close to omniscience, and, if he really wanted to, Vahn could even spy on people by looking into his own memories. Just by having his domain active, Vahn was basically recording everything in the surrounding 10km in ultra-high definition. If he wanted to, he could peruse his memories like an unrestricted camera, moving through walls and entering ces he had never directly observed. He could even sneak into secure areas and listen in on the conversations of people he had never met prior to recalling them in his memory. This was exceptionally useful when he was conducting investigations, and, not that he would ever use it for such a thing, it would even allow him to spy on people changing or bathing whenever he wanted. Chuckling lightly at his own thoughts, Vahn began to guide his intent around the Academy, closely observing anyone, or anything, that seemed even remotely suspicious. If he ever found something that felt off to him, he could basically y his memories in reverse, tracing the suspicious persons movements from the time they entered the premises. Fortunately, most of the people that gave him a strange feeling either turned out to be his fans or people who had experienced an awkward event earlier in the day. He had even seen a teacher acting cold and apathetic throughout the entire day just because she had tripped rather earlier that morning, her robe rolling up to reveal a surprisingly childish pair of panties. She had been so embarrassed after the event that it turned her into an ice queen for the remainder of the day, followed by a subsequent change in wardrobe... --- After a little over four hours had passed, equating to less than thirty minutes outside his office, the sleeping Naomi slowly peeled open her vibrant green eyes. She noticed a snug nket was draped over her body, and, as always, a warm andfortable feeling had pervaded her entire being. This was the main reason she kepting back to Vahns office, as, evenpared to the short period where she had returned home, this was the only ce where she feltpletely safe. As if he only just noticed her awakening after she had been staring at him for nearly a minute, Vahn showed a pleasantly surprised expression before adopting a kind smile as he softly asked, "Feeling better...?" Hearing Vahns question, Naomi nodded slowly before turning her eyes up at him and sheepishly muttering, "Thank you..." Smiling radiantly in response, a technique that dealt critical damage to people who viewed him in a favorable light, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Im d to hear that. Now, I think it is about time you run along and return to ss. The lunch break will end shortly and I wouldnt want you to miss out on any important lessons. Just remember, if you ever want to talk, Ill be here to listen..." Though she didnt really feel like returning to ss, Naomi didnt want to inconvenience Vahn too much, so, after neatly folding up the nket, she gave a steep bow before turning to leave. It felt a little lonely to depart, but,pared to before, she now felt rxed, and, though it was only slight, a bit of happiness and color had returned to her monochromatic world. Opening the door, Naomi was surprised to find someone standing on the opposite side, feathers popping out from her head due to her surprise. Her mother was a member of the Karasu tribe, so, whenever she was startled, the feathers she kept concealed would pop out against her will. These actually made her look cute, but, considering they were one of the reasons she had suffered in the past, Naomi had been keeping them hidden as much as possible... While not as extreme as the half-crow girl, the woman on the opposite side of the door showed an expression of surprise before adopting a gentle smile as she said, "I didnt expect the door to open so suddenly. If I startled you, please forgive me." During the interval when Karasu was frozen stock-still, the woman, wearing the characteristic white robes and white cloak of an Assistant Professor, performed a polite bow. She held this posture until Naomi returned to her senses, her feathers slowly retracting until, like magic, they seemed to blend seamlessly into her hair and body. Then, with a reddened face, she performed a slight bow of her own before sheepishly eximing, "No...its fine...I should be going...!" Without waiting for the teachers response, Naomi ran past her like a bolt of lightning, her bangs obscuring the upper half of her face as she quickly alighted from the room. This left the teacher with a wry smile on her face, but, after watching Naomis round a corner, she turned her attention towards the man staring at her with a deadpan expression from within the confines of the room. Her smile immediately blossomed like a rare flower as her pale-green eyes squinted in a subtly seductive manner as she asked, "May I enter...?" Before answering, Vahn briefly looked towards the tworge ears that angled backward slightly at the top of her head. She seemed to sense his gaze, causing them to twitch before angling further back as if trying to hide from his view. Then, without waiting for his response, she stepped into the office before closing the door behind her and deftly turning the lock in a single swift movement. It was an extremely skilled maneuver, and, if not for his enhanced senses, Vahn might have missed the moment when she used a chantless magic circle topletely nullify the sound... The moment the door was closed, the woman showed a somewhat bashful smile, her rabbit-like twitching slightly as she clutched the hem of her robe and muttered, "I heard about what you did for the children...I know you probably dont think much of me, but I have always felt like we had a connection ever since I saw you at the bar...if...if you arent against it...I would like to thank you for everything you did for us..." Without waiting for Vahns response, the woman began to lift up the hem of her skirt, revealing a pair of ck panties that perfectlyplimented her bronzed skin. This wasnt what stood out the most, however, as, rather than aplete pair of panties, hers had a distinctck of fabric around the crotch... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is finally thinking about Pactios~!,Stay strong, little birb,Vahn is about to learn how to multiply o_o...) (A/N: I want to thank everyone that wished me a happy birthday. I appreciate it more than I can put into words \u003c3.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1577 Comfor

Chapter 1577 Comfor

Seeing the rather tantalizing sight, Vahn raised his brows slightly before stroking his chin with an appreciative look in his eyes. She mightck the refinement of someone like Arika but she was still one of the most beautiful women he had seen in the Akamatsuverse. Her inordinately long legs and plump thighs were just two of her most noteworthy features, but,pared to her perfectly shaped backside and the healthy glow of her brown skin, even those lost out. Her sandy-golden hair, rabbit ears, and wlessly sculpted breasts served to further enhance her beauty, but, the thing that made her appear almost irresistible was the seductive look in her pale-green eyes as she slowly licked her lips... Having observed Vahns gaze, the rabbit-eared woman seemed to interpret his silence as consent, her hands releasing her skirt as she walked over with a longer-than-average gait. She stopped just opposite of Vahns side of the desk before taking a seat on the edge, smiling as she asked, "Do you find my appearance to your tastes...?" Without hesitation, Vahn nodded in a sagely manner, but, when he opened his mouth to answer, he surprised the woman by saying, "I prefer your true form, but, if you want to keep ying around, Id be a fool to refuse...is this the disguise you decided upon?" Hearing Vahns words, the woman scrunched up her nose in an admittedly adorable manner before turning her head to the side and haughtily stating, "I have no idea what youre talking about..." Rather than argue, Vahn slowly rose to his feet, walking around the desk until he was standing next to the rabbit-eared woman. Then, without showing any inhibitions at all, he pulled her waist closer to his to initiate a very passionate kiss. To his surprise, her weight had actually increased to around 44kg, but, after a detailed scan with his senses, he realized she was just using a rtively advanced magical formation to artificially increase her weight... Leaving no time for the woman to adapt to his pace, Vahn ran his left dexterously hand along her right nk, passing over her perfectly plump buttocks before running it down her smooth thigh. At the same time, he leaned into her slightly, forcing her to arch backward as he lifted up her right leg using his left hand. Then, using his right hand as a support, he guided her toy against the top of the desk before she fully realized what was happening. Her eyes widened in response to the sudden change in orientation, but, without letting up, Vahn continued to entangle his tongue with hers as his right hand caressed along the interior of her thighs, invading the humid confines before gently probing something smooth, hot, and moist... Though she had been patting his chest in a vain attempt to get him to pull back, the womans eyes widened even further at the sudden stimtion. In response, her aura surged outwards, and, if not for the protective barriers he had erected during the restructuring of his office, Vahns body would have been sent flying through the walls after she sted him away in panic. Then, with a beet-red face, she red at him while hugging her robe, eximing, "You...you...you beast...!" Hearing the usual insult, Vahn just chuckled lightly before rising to his feet and asking, "You dont want to y anymore? You even went out of your way to prepare a garment like that...Id hate to waste your preparations and leave you disappointed, Eva..." As if she was an actual bunny girl, Evas ears twitched in frustration, her expression a perfect blend of anger, embarrassment, and bashfulness. Fortunately, the other two emotions eclipsed her anger, so, after ring at him for a tense twenty seconds, Eva released a pouty hmph before crossing her arms and saying, "If you were convinced it was me, you should have been more resolute in trying to refuse my advances. Like this, its like you dont care about appearances at all...you stupid pervert..." Rather than answer directly, Vahn surprised Eva by causing his body to rapidly transition between several different forms. It was almost like waves were passing across his body, each one changing everything from his height, weight, build, facial features, and race. She already knew he could freely change forms, but, seeing how skilled he had gotten at it, Eva had a reasonably incredulous look on her face. After settling on a form that lookedpletely different than any Eva had ever seen him in, Vahn made his point by asking, "If this was my true form, would you suddenly hate me...?" Hearing Vahns question, Eva frowned deeply as she began to scrutinize his form with her now icy blue eyes. Her transformation hadntpletely broken, but, due to her previous flustering, her size had shrunken slightly as her eye reverted back to their natural color. It actually made her even more beautiful, but, rather than vocalize this, Vahn waited silently as she examined his current, rtively in, appearance... Though Vahn was nowhere near as handsome as he usually was, giving her an urge to make a few biting remarks, Eva found herself unable to vocalize her thoughts. Every time she tried, the words would get stuck in her throat, and, though it was subtle, a pang of guilt would well up inside of her whenever she thought about insulting him. It was very difficult to proactively insult the people you cared about, a realization that caused Eva to release a mncholic sigh as she answered, "It doesnt matter what you look like...I..." Unable to finish her words, Eva hung her head slightly, but, without prominent bangs to cover her eyes, her expression was stillpletely visible. As a result, Vahn deliberately made his way to her side before pulling her into a hug, his form reverting back to normal as he held her head close to his chest. She had always enjoyed listening to his heartbeat, so, whilebing his fingers through her slowly growing hair, Vahn held her shrinking body close to his, whispering, "Im d you came back, Eva...thank you..." --- After reverting back to her true form, Eva was curled up in Vahnsp as the two reclined in a sofa thetter had pulled out of his Inventory. Neither had said anything for more than half an hour as Eva continued to straddle his hips, her head resting against his chest. They were both aware of the fact she was still wearing crotchless panties, but, as if it didnt cause his heart to itch, Vahn focused his gaze on the crackling fire while gently caressing Evas body. He had a feeling she wouldnt mind if he took a few liberties, but, after several weeks apart, at least from his perspective, Vahn was more than content with just being together like this... Breaking the silence, Eva surprised Vahn quite a bit when she suddenly murmured, "Dont let it go to your head...but I also missed you...specifically your cooking. Now that my biological processes have returned, I seem to get hungry all the time...you have to take responsibility..." Chuckling lightly in response to Evas words, Vahn hugged her a little tighter as he whispered, "I am always ready and willing to take responsibility..." Though she snorted through her nose, Eva didnt issue one of her usual biting remarks. Instead, she buried her face into his chest while hooking her arms around his body. She could hear the sincerity in his words, and, after isting herself in a diorama for several months, Eva hade to miss Vahn greatly. His cooking was one of the reasons, but, more than any other, it was his warmth that finally convinced her to return. It was a potent warmth that seemed to pervade her entire body, but, rather than feel oppressive and stifling, it brought her an unmatched sense offort and security... Before she realized it, Eva had fallen asleep within Vahns embrace. A contented smile had spread across her face, and, seeing it, Vahns became especially affectionate as he held her gently cradled her body in his arms. Though it was a very different kind of suffering, Eva was even more tragic than girls like Naomi. Eva desperately needed someone else to rely on, but, as a result of her monstrous strength, others ended up relying on her instead. This ced even more burdens on her, as, despite the facade she maintained, Eva was actually a very kind girl at heart. She was the type that would do everything in her power to help those she cared about, but, fearing they would suffer as a result of the powerful enemies she had made, Eva always did her best to keep them at an arms length. She would rather iste herself and face her enemies alone, refusing to let other people help her for fear of having to bear responsibility for their deaths for all eternity... Vahn knew that Eva had done some terrible things throughout her lifetime, but, at no point did she ever proactively target the innocent. Though she was responsible for events like the Fire of London, burning nearly ny-percent of the city to the ground, only six people out of the 80,000 residents had died in the resultant ze. This was an extraordinarily low amount, showing just how much Eva cared about preserving the lives of the innocent. She might consider herself irredeemably evil, but, from Vahns perspective, she was one of the most caring and noble people he had ever met... After picking a few strands of golden hair from her face, Vahn raised her bangs before nting a gentle kiss on her forehead. This caused her brows to furrow slightly, but, after a few seconds had passed, a happy smile spread across her face as she nestled closer to him. She was an unbelievably adorable girl, and, if it was to protect her smile, Vahn reasoned that he wouldnt mind beingbeled as a Demon King, or, perhaps, a Demon Dragon Emperor... --- After sleepingfortably for more than ten hours, Evas eyelids slowly peeled open, her stomach loudly protesting its emptiness. This would normally cause her to blush madly, but, the moment she opened her eyes, Eva could see Vahn deftly forking up a piece of cheesecake before presenting it to her with an affectionate smile on his face. This also caused her to flush quite a bit, but, rather than a palpable feeling of embarrassment, it was more so the result of her bashfulness. She could feel her heartbeat gradually begin to elerate, and, after tasting the rich and creamy taste, her expression instantly morphed into one of gleeful satiation as Vahn continued to feed her... Once the slice of cheesecake had vanished into thin air, Vahn produced a cup of chamomile mint tea to help clean Evas pte and satiate her thirst. It was a little awkward, as she was still nestled pretty close to his chest, her pert bottom resting against hisp, but Eva didnt seem to mind it too much. She straightened her back, suddenly appearing more elegant than usual as she gracefully emptied the contents of her teacup. Then, after releasing a contented sigh, she smiled back at him and mused, "It seems there is still some hope for you. Thanks for the cake and tea~." Though her words were a little roundabout, Vahn didnt particrly mind. He was quite fond of how headstrong Eva could be, as, once she let down her guard, she became one of the most affectionate women he had ever known. Rather, once she had started to open her heart, she quickly became the type of person you needed to be careful of, as, after hundreds of years, there were countless things that Eva was eager to try... As if reading his mind, Eva attempted to toss a tiny red pill into her mouth, but, before she was able to, Vahn caught her wrist, smiling as he whispered, "There is no need to rely on such things in order to feel confident. You are a beautiful woman, Eva...never force yourself on my behalf..." Punctuating his words, Vahn prevented Evas response by sealing her lips with his own, guiding her right hand away from her face and deftly removing the [Age-Deceiving Pill] hidden within. He knew she felt infinitely more confident in her adult form, but, if she continued relying on such things just to express herself, it would be yet another burden on her heart and mind. She had only just started to take steps in the right direction, so, unless it caused her significant stress, he wouldnt let her rely on such crutches when they were alone together... Eva felt a small amount of indignation in response to Vahns actions, but, after a few seconds had passed, she was more focused on the fluttery feeling in her body as she reciprocated his kiss. She didnt exactly have arge sample size to draw from, but Eva was pretty sure that Vahn was better at kissing than the vast majority of people. Not only was his tongue skilled at guiding hers, but his saliva was unnaturally sweet, possessing simr qualities to his blood. Every time she swallowed a bit of it, Eva felt her giddiness increase as a tiny me was lit in her body... Feeling a familiar ache, Eva separated her mouth from Vahns, tucking her head close to his chest so he couldnt steal another kiss while she was trying to calm down. Any thoughts of running away had faded during the time they had nestled together in silence. She was no longer willing to give up his warmth, as, during thetter half of their separation, she fell into a depressive state that made both eating and sleeping difficult. Evas original intention had been to have Vahn search for her, but, after realizing even her favorite cake wascking in vor, it wasnt long before she found herself in Ariadne. She wanted to return to Vahn immediately after arrival, but, unable to muster up the courage for such a direct approach, she spent much of the morning spying on the bunny girl he had previously stalked. She wanted to test him to determine whether he was truly loyal to her, but, perhaps due to her inability to discover the source of the smell Vahn had mentioned, he had seen through her in an instant... Remembering how bold Vahns previous actions were, Eva could feel the fire in her body growing in intensity. She became hyper-aware of her lower body, and, though Vahns dragon was peacefully slumbering, she could still feel its outline. Her breathing gradually became more ragged, and, after a few seconds had passed, Eva could feel a light trickle that caused her face to be beet red. At the same time, however, Vahn firmly embraced her body, and, like a benevolent rain passing over a forest fire, the heat in her body gradually subsided as a gentle stream of calming energy pervaded her entire existence before pooling in her heart... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn does not fear the buns buns (UwU)~!,A much-needed warmth,There is no need to rush...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1578 Appearances

Chapter 1578 Appearances

With the school day nearing its end, Vahn was helping Eva choose outfits while she made subtle adjustments to her physical appearance in front of a standing mirror. She was wearing little more thancy ck lingerie, and, after more than two hours in front of the mirror, she had be a rather striking beauty. Vahn had tried to convince Eva to remain in her base form, but, despite his efforts to convince her, she insisted on wearing a disguise. She pointed out that, while it might not bother him, it bothered her to be seen as a child by others. She had already agreed to help him train the girls in preparation for theing battles, so, until her physical body matured adequately, Eva was determined to keep up appearances when teaching them. Though Vahn wanted to convince her otherwise, Eva won the argument by inly stating she didnt want to be associated with someone who others believed had a preference for children. It made her happy knowing he appreciated her true form, but, knowing others would view their rtionship in a different light, Eva wanted to preserve both their reputations. Thus, unless he was willing to stay in the diorama with her for a few months, allowing her to quickly mature, she would need a form that allowed her to walk around in the outside world. Truth be told, Vahn was more than willing to spend a few years living alongside Eva in the diorama, but, due to the drastic difference in the flow of time, it would make it a lot harder to protect Asuna. The only way he could guarantee her safety was to allow her to stay in the diorama as well, but, as this was the trigger for everyone staying inside for a few months, he was apprehensive about it. Asuna, Arika, and Theo were already spending between 240~300 hours within the diorama with each passing day, so, unless they quit using it altogether, they would age ten years for every year that passed in the outside world. On Earth, this would equate to around neen years, so, if they just idled in Ariadne for a few more months, Asuna might very well start looking like a youngdy in a very short period of time. As for Theo and Arika, they were already in the midst of blooming into world-ss beauties, and, if he spent such a long period of time with them, Vahn knew something was bound to happen... In the end, Vahn agreed with Evas decision, so, when he wasnt helping to test the modifications she had made, he was helping choose her outfits. She was able to manifest clothes on her own, but, as magically created garments were exceptionally rare, it would stand out if she wore them around people who were sensitive to such things. They were also extremely susceptible to disarming magic, so, with the option of wearing high-quality clothes provided by Vahn, many of which would cause a stir within the magicalmunity, her choice was simple. --- By the time Eva was satisfied with her appearance, nearly five hours had passed. Her final form was that of a beautiful woman with stylish golden hair, a mature figure, and, after trying on more than a hundred outfits, she ended up choosing an outfit that made her look simr to a secretary. This was infinitely better than her original outfit, giving her an appearance simr to a dominatrix, but it was still a little surprising to see her settle on something so simple. Doing away with her usual gothic-style garments, Eva decided upon a simple white blouse, a ck pencil skirt, a thin white belt, ck pantyhose, and a pair of ck heels. These might look in on other people, but, due to the alterations she had made to her body, Eva was strikingly beautiful. She also hadnt changed her style of lingerie, so, if you looked closely, it was possible to see the outline of her ck bra beneath the white blouse. This,bined with her sleepy expression, casual smile, and striking blue eyes, gave Eva what could only be described as a sultry appearance, causing Vahn to audible swallow when she looked towards him and lightlybed through her fringe bangs... After experiencing a momentarypse in mental acuity, rity returned to Vahns gaze as he smiled appreciatively and said, "Remarkable. Though I feel inclined to mention I prefer the real you, I cant help but admire the effort you put into your appearance. It really is breathtaking, Eva...unbelievably so...." Though shezily rolled her eyes at Vahnsment about preferring her true form, Evas offered an even more sultry smile as she yed with her bangs and mused, "Just this once, Ill allow you to do whatever you want to me...show me your appreciation through your actions..." Seeing Evas hand move towards the top button of her blouse, Vahn felt the urge to tug as his own while resisting the urge to swallow. The stability of her aura and the look in her eyes indicated how serious she was, so, for a brief moment, he nearly discarded all propriety and inhibitions. Instead, he made his way over to her side, staring directly into her icy blue eyes as he extended his hand and tenderly caressed her head. Her Memory Fragment had once confided in him that, more than any other disy of affection, she enjoyed having her head pat, so, despite earning a momentary re, Vahn continued to stroke her head with an affectionate smile on his face... After a few seconds had passed, Evas angry facade slowly melted away as she muttered, "You are a real idiot..." Despite her words, Eva stepped a little closer to him, gently wrapping her arms around his body as she nestled her face into the nook of his neck. She nted a single light kiss on the exposed skin before nuzzling against him for a few moments as he continued to stroke and caress her head and hair... --- Completing her outfit, Eva wore a stylish trenchcoat that did little to conceal the impressive figure hidden beneath. She also carried herself with confidence and dignity, cowing anyone who tried to make eye contact with her as she walked alongside Vahn. Since thetter was so popr, she drew a considerable amount of attention from both staff and students, a fact she seemed to enjoy quite a bit considering the amused smile on her face as she loosely linked her arm with his. Though Vahn wasnt particrly fond of standing out in such a manner, he didnt bother to correct Evas behavior. Rather, if anyone were to ask what their rtionship was, he would unhesitantly say they were lovers. This was proven when their path was blocked by a group of thirteen well-dressed youngdies, each rather fervent members of his fan club. Earning himself a pointed nail to the side, Vahn shamelessly introduced Eva as his fiancee, a rather silly smile on his face as he said as he exined, "This is Katherine, my fiancee. There is a chance she will be an Advisor in the future, so make sure you get along properly~." Hearing Vahn introduce the mystery woman as his fiancee, the group of girls showed incredulous expressions on their faces. Some even red toward Eva as if she had taken something precious from them, their fervor enough to even cow the outwardly confident ice queen. Fortunately, before her facade was seen through by the group of young girls, Vahn adopted a serious expression as he asked, "Is this how we treat other people? I had thought you were all kind and hardworking youngdies, but it seems I was mistaken..." Emphasizing his disappointment, Vahn went ahead and addressed each of the young girls by name, a disheartened and slightly pained look on his face that caused each of them to lower their heads in shame. People quickly broke down when you singled them out within a group, and, due to the fact he had always treated them well, they felt exceptionally guilty for behaving selfishly. As a result, all thirteen girls quickly apologized, and, as a show of gratitude, Vahn adopted his usual smile before giving each of the girls a light head pat and a few cookies to share amongst themselves. After passing the blockade, Vahn guided Eva for a few meters before she pointedly stated, "I dont remember agreeing to marry you..." Hearing the slightly chilly remark, Vahn just smiled as he softly answered, "You underestimate just how important you are to me, Eva. Unless you fall in love with someone else, I will continue to do everything in my power to convince you to marry me. Even then, I will support your happiness to the best of my ability...consider it my selfishness, but Impletely serious..." Without minding the fact there were a considerable number of eyes focused on them, Vahn caused Evas eyes to widenpletely as he stole a quick kiss from her lips. This earned them a few girlish squeals from the surrounding, while, at the entrance to various ssrooms, a few of the Professors were eyeing Eva with a deadpan stare. They could all see the blush she was trying to conceal on her face; envy and longing appearing in their expressions as they wondered what was so special about her to be chosen by Vahn... Resisting the urge to bury Vahn into the floor, Eva hung her head in silence for a few seconds as she did her best to ignore their surroundings. She was normally very confident while assuming an adult form, but, ever since her vampiric nature had been sealed away, her split personalities had gradually started to fuse together. Though it would probably take years for them to reconcilepletely, the current Eva felt extremely bashful despite the fact most of their audience was children younger than ten years of age. (A/N: Eva goes by Earth time.) Though he might have to suffer a bitter on, Vahn was proud to have Eva at his side. He knew the only reason she cared about the opinions of the young students was that some of them were pretty close to her apparent age. This was also the primary reason she had wanted a disguise, as, if they saw her walking with him in her true form, some of the students might get strange ideas. After all, if Vahn was seen with someone around their own age, there was a non-negligible chance they would mistake their own chances. As for the teachers, they might assume he was an actual lolicon, ruining the reputation he had built after exposing the trafficking ring run by the former Arch-Dean... Now that he thought about it, Vahn realized that Evas foresight was greater than his own. He was a little too confident that things would go his way, as, for thest couple of decades, that had always been the case. He even had a massive karmic boon to ensure things would go smoothly, so, unless he did something extreme, the odds of anything going wrong were slim. Still, this didnt mean that everything would always go his way, so, prior to reaching Asunas ssroom, he lightly squeezed Evas hand and muttered, "Sorry...Im just a little too happy right now...please dont be too mad at me..." Hearing Vahns words, Eva released an audible sigh, her shoulders slouching briefly before she lifted her head and quickly regained herposure. His words actually resonated quite deeply within her heart, but, as everything was happening so quickly, she still felt a bit of trepidation. She had actually decided to stay at his side for the foreseeable future, but, until they had spent more time together, she simply couldnt vocalize the truth. Instead, she adopted a slightly usatory look in her eyes as she muttered, "I know you didnt mean to upset me...youre just an idiot...dont worry, Im beginning to get used to it..." Understanding Evas words amounted to forgiveness, Vahns mood quickly recovered, the edges of his smile curling up as she squeezed his hand in turn. There was still a light blush on her face, and, though she was looking away from him, Vahn was still able to sense it. This made him feel greatly vindicated, but, having learned his lesson, he decided not to push his luck by pointing out the red coloration at the tips of her ears... --- Though she would normally spend an hour or so ying with her friends after ss, Asuna could currently be seen dangling her feet from one of the benches that were interspaced throughout the Academy. Since she wasnt interacting with anyone, she had defaulted to her neutral expression, a listless look in her eyes as she absentmindedly observed a few students riding brooms of various different shapes and sizes. Asuna had always been a very curious and introspective girl, so, whenever she saw something new, she couldnt help but wonder how it worked. She would also contemte on the nature of things, wondering what drove people to make certain decisions and institute certain policies. Thus, with a nk look on her face, she couldnt help but wonder what the Grandmaster was thinking when she made the age for wearing skirts the same age that students were allowed to fly on brooms... While others might not have the visual acuity to see clearly, Asuna was able to discern the pattern and make of every pair of panties that shed overhead. Most were rather in, but, every now and then, a pair of very adult panties would sh across her vision. She couldnt help but wonder whatpelled some students to wear such risque undergarments at a young age. They were obviously trying to appear more mature than they actually were, but, while Asuna could empathize with this mentality, she didnt understand why they would focus more on appearance rather than improving theirprehension and fixing their behavior... Thinking about girls who didnt quite act their age, Asuna recalled the changes that had urred in her cousin and Theo. They slept in the same bed so she had noticed the change in Arikas choice of sleepwear from the very beginning, understanding it was a paradoxically direct yet roundabout way to appeal to Vahn. As for Theo, she was even more direct, often forgoing everything but her panties when she got the chance to sleep next to Vahn... After seeing the changes in Arika and Theo, Asuna began wondering whether or not panties held some kind of secret that had simply escaped her. She had even asked Fenrir for advice, but, rather than give her a pair of adult panties, she had been given a simple pair with a tiny paw print on the front. Sheter showed these to Vahn, and, matching what Fenrir had said, heplimented her on how cute they were. Even now, the memory of his smile made her heart palpitate irregrly, so, for thest couple of days, Asuna had been ruminating over the mystery of panties, wondering whether or not it was better to be cute or mature... Before her senses had detected the abnormality, Asuna noticed the clump of hair that Vahn referred to as an ahoge twitch. This caused a smile to spread across her lips, and, after spreading her senses through the area, she instantly pinpointed Vahns location. Immediately after she saw him, however, a tiny frown spread across her face as she saw the woman clinging to his arm. It was only for a brief moment, however, as she quickly recalled everything Vahn had told her about Evas tragic existence. Hopping off of the bench, Asuna approached Vahn and the presumed Eva, giving the former a firm hug before turning to thetter, extending her hand as she said, "My name is Asuna. Vahn has told me a lot about you. I hope we can be friends." Seeing the young girl masterfully shift through emotional states, Eva was slightly taken aback, but, as Vahn had already told her a lot about Asuna, she quickly epted thetters outstretched hand, offering a smile of her own as she said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Asuna. Vahn praises you often during our talks so Ive been looking forward to meeting you. Im not sure about bing friends, but I will do my best to answer your questions during training. I taught Vahn and Fenrir everything they know about Magic, so Im quite confident in being able to guide you as well..." Though she took note of Evas nomital remark about bing friends, Asuna didnt take it to heart. Instead, she offered an even bigger smile than before, squinting her eyes happily as she said, "Im looking forward to it~!" in an excited tone. (A/N: Alternate Titles: The dangers of a diorama...,Evas already falling hard xD...,Asuna has the makings of a great Schr...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1579 Focus

Chapter 1579 Focus

With Eva holding his hand and Asuna riding on his shoulders, Vahn leisurely made his way back to the estate that had been appropriated for Arikas and Theos shared usage. It was the former estate allocated to the Arch-Dean so there were plenty of rooms avable after most of the vile mans belongings had been discarded. Now, much like the Sun Pce, it was a rather empty and deste-feeling ce, as, even with Theos attendants insisting they take care of her, there were no servants or staff anywhere within the vicinity. After making his way to the estate, Vahn waved down one of the Ariadne Mage Knights that guarded the exterior of the premises, exining that Katherine would be staying inside from now on. They wouldnt exactly be able to bar her passage into the estate, but, to prevent any kind of misunderstands, her picture was taken so it could be disseminated throughout the two contingents of guards assigned to protect the property. With the formalities out of the way, Vahn escorted the duo inside before setting Asuna on her own two feet, saying, "Theo has already returned so go and y with her for a bit. Ill give Eva a quick tour and well all head inside the diorama after your cousin returns." Contrary to expectations, Asuna shook her head, stating, "You should introduce Eva to Theo. Were all going to be living together, so it is better for us to spend time with each other. If the two of you are always alone, it will slowly drive us apart. I like the way things are...I dont want them to suddenly change." Asuna was well-aware of the fact that Vahn prioritized Eva over her cousin and Theo. Because of this, she was afraid everything would change now that Eva had arrived, ruining the peculiar happiness they had all found together. Thus, rather than let Vahn immediately wander off with Eva again, she insisted they all spend time together. Seeing the serious look on Asunas face, Vahn was at a momentary loss for words. As for Eva, she seemed to find the pig-tailed girls antics amusing, chuckling lightly before saying, "Dont force yourself, Vahn. I already know theyout of this ce and Im not afraid to meet the two brats youve been doting upon." Shaking her head, Asuna preempted Vahns response, saying, "You shouldnt insult others like that, Eva. Everyone will be happier if we are kind and considerate to each other. Come, let me show you the way." Without waiting for her response, Asuna grabbed Evas wrist, surprising thetter quite a bit due to how strong she was. Asuna had grown quite a bit since the time she started attending the Imperial Academy, increasing from 85cm to 91cm, but she was still very tiny. Despite this, she had several times the physical strength of an average adult, even without using Magic to amplify her power. As a result, Eva found herself being pulled along with an incredulous look on her face, her instincts telling her to pull free by her pride preventing her from yanking her hand away from a child... --- Due to Asunas insistence, it wasnt long before the group found themselves within one of the more highly decorated rooms within the estate. Rather than extravagant pieces of artwork and luxurious furnishings, however, the interior was styled more like a modern gym than anything else. There was a bed located on the furthest side of the room, but, other than when she was lounging about, Theo never actually put it to proper use. Instead, she spent most of her free time training her body and cultivating, the former allowing her to increase the density of her pink muscles while thetter allowed her to remain slim and flexible. Hearing the door open, Theo, who had been supporting herself upside down with just the tips of her fingers, instantly opened her eyes. Seeing Vahn and Asuna brought an immediate smile to her face, but, seeing the mystery woman apanying them, she couldnt help but scrunch her brows slightly as she quickly flipped upright. Then, while wiping away her sweat, shenguidly approached the trio, putting a little more emphasis into the swaying of her hips without realizing it. Seeing the bronze-skinned woman wearing a form-fitting ck top and bottoms, Eva couldnt help but furrow her own brows slightly. She knew this horny woman was one of the girls who had been pining after Vahn, and, though she had made mental preparations for meeting the two women, it apparently hadnt been enough. Before she even realized it, Eva found herself smiling coldly as she venomously asked, "Is this one of the little girls who has been clinging to you...?" Though Vahn frowned slightly, it was Theo who answered, her voice as chipper and friendly as always, "You must be Evangeline. Vahn has told us a lot about you. Youre even more beautiful than he mentioned~." Being weak topliments, Eva found herself at a momentary loss, her expression bing slightly conflicted. This allowed Theo to keep the momentum in her favor, smiling radiantly as she added, "Though this is our first time meeting, I feel like we will be good friends. You are the reason Vahn came to this world, so Im very grateful. If not for you, things would have yed out a lot differently, so, while it might not be my ce, please ept my gratitude on behalf of the world~." Having been made aware of future events, Theo knew things would have been rather dreary if not for Vahns intervention. She had even read her own biography, so, despite feeling slightly frustrated, Theo was genuinely grateful for Evas presence. Were it not for her, Vahn would not havee to this world, and, as a result, she would have unwittingly walked the path that had been decided for her. Now, she had the opportunity to grow much stronger, and, with Vahns support, she even had the power to seize her own destiny... In order to properly convey her gratitude, Theo performed a courteous bow at the waist, a gesture, which, due to her status, was typically reserved for her father. She really was grateful to the golden-haired beauty staring back at her with a mildly incredulous look, and, knowing how powerful Eva was supposed to be, bowing respectfully felt appropriate. Realizing that none of the people around Vahn were ever normal, Eva shifted her gaze away from Theo, ring at the smiling man to her right. His wry smile gave her a palpable urge to punch him, but, after restraining herself, she looked back at Theo, her voicecking sincerity as she said, "Thanks..." Hearing Evas words, Theo raised her head to reveal a wide smile on her face as she eagerly asked, "Would you like to train together with me? I have all kinds of neat equipment we can use. Vahn says youre one of the strongest people in the world, but it never hurts to do a bit of physical training~!" Though she was working to be a mid-range Magic Knight, Theo had an inclination for getting up close and personal during battle. Her people had an instinctual hunger for battle, so, despite possessing monstrous internal reserves, Theo felt that bombarding her opponent from afar was simply boring. Instead, she wanted to be like Vahn and Rakan, strong enough to instantly close the gap between her and her opponents, shattering their barriers with her bare fists and darting around the battlefield like a sh. As someone who had never worked out, as her muscles simply couldnt develop, Eva felt apprehensive about epting Theos proposal. She was also a little worried that her body would turn into a lump of muscle if she started exercising while she was still developing, so, after a moment of looking around at the various pieces of exercise equipment, she shook her head and said, "I understand the merits of exercising your body, but, even without that, it is possible to possess incredible physical might. If they had proper control, even a ten-year-old could lift several tons without issue. During our future training, I wont be teaching you how to get strong. Instead, Ill be showing you how powerful you already are..." Despite being one of the strongest people in the Akamatsuverse, Evas reserves only gave her a Base Power of around 300. Though this had been steadily increasing ever since she had her vampiric nature sealed, the thing that made her so terrifying was the fact she had near-perfect control over the magical energy in her surroundings. Herprehension elevated her to the point that she was able to subtly influence the Laws, and, when it came to controlling Ice and Darkness, she was, virtually, without equal. Seeing the slight doubt within Theos eyes, Eva used telekinesis to pull over a rack of weights, some of which denoted a value of 500kg. Then, after stacking them atop each other, she used the very tip of her finger to bnce the entire stack. Her actual physical strength was only that of a ten-year-old girl, but, in spite of that, Eva was able to bnce several thousand kilograms without showing any signs of exertion. Theo wasnt aware of Evas true power, but, seeing how easily she could support the weights without any fluctuations of magic power, the young Hesians eyes had rounded in shock. While continuing to casually support the stack of weights, Eva exined, "Raw power is often meaningless without proper control. Even if you find a Ki user lifting massive boulders in the middle of the mountains, they usually arent training their bodies. Instead, they are refining their control by putting themselves into situations where failure could mean death. One of the basic training methods to practice precision Ki control even has the user bncing on the tip of a metal spike using a single finger. If muscle training was the key to strength, you wouldnt see so many Masters with seemingly frail bodies. Proper control, technique, and willpower are the keys to bing strong." Hearing Evas words, Theo was growing progressively more excited. Vahn had told her many of the same things, but, due to how ridiculously powerful he was, it was difficult to take his words at face value. Even when she became much stronger, it felt like the distance between them was rapidly increasing. It was almost like, the stronger she became, the better she was able toprehend the vast and insurmountable gulf that existed between them. Seeing how eager Theo was, an amused smile spread across Evas face as she was preparing to magnanimously offer the girl some advice. Before she could, however, Asuna stunned the entire room by gesturing toward one of the few weights she hadnt picked up. Itzily floated over to her finger, and, after a few seconds, she was able to bnce it on the tip without too much trouble. Though it was only 50kg, this was still an impressive feat, one that most adults, skilled Mages included, wouldnt be able to emte. Seemingly satisfied with her feat, Asunas face blossomed into a smile as she looked toward Vahn for validation. This caused thetter to chuckle in amusement as he ruffled her hair and said, "Asuna is always amazing..." before using his own telekinesis to guide the weight back to its rack... Though it wasnt the first time she had seen Asuna perform such a feat, Theo still felt slightly envious after seeing how easily she emted Evas actions. This didnt cause her smile to fade away, however. Instead, she smiled even more radiantly as she eximed, "That was amazing, Asuna! Now I know who toe to when Vahn and Evangeline are busy~." As if it was a matter of course, Asuna nodded her head, returning a smile of her own as she said, "Im not qualified to teach others, but I can give you advice." Following Asunas response, Theo quickly snatched her up, hugging the frowning girl tightly as she rubbed their cheeks together and eximed, "So cute! Ill be relying on you a lot in the future, ehehehe~!" --- While waiting for Arika and Fenrir to arrive, each escorted by a version of Vahn, Theo did her best to try and apply Evas teachings. Unfortunately, while she was able to bnce a few tens of kilograms on her finger, the straining of her muscles indicated that she was still relying on her raw power. As a result, Eva began walking her through some basic exercises to improve her control, while, at the side, Asuna was steadily increasing the amount of weight she could bnce on one finger... Fortunately, before Theos pride as a big sis could be destroyedpletely, another version of Vahn arrived alongside Fenrir. Thetter was already aware of Evas arrival, but, despite her mental preparations, she still tensed up slightly. She hade to respect Eva during the time she had spent within the orb, but, even after a hundred years had passed, she still had a slight trauma regarding Evas neglect and attempts to bathe her... After performing a little wiggle to remove the tensions from her body, Fenrir adopted a happy smile as she flickered next to Eva, ignoring thetters warning look as she wrapped her arms around her and said, "I missed you, Eva~!" Though she had quite a few memories regarding Fenrir, Eva still felt awkward being hugged by the surprisingly soft Vanargandr. It annoyed her that the former ignored the fact she didnt want to be hugged, pulling her into an over-affectionate embrace that gradually caused her face to redden. She wasnt used to such acts of familiarity, but, despite a strong desire to toss Fenrir aside, she tolerated thetters antics with a wry smile, stating, "It is good to see you as well..." Hearing Evas response, Fenrirughed mischievously before hugging her tightly one more time, whispering, "Master really did miss you a lot. Please dont be too mean to him. He might put up with it, but it will hurt his heart if you take things too far..." After saying what she wanted to say, Fenrir released Evas from her clutches, a radiant smile on her face as her scarlet red eyes met thetters icy blues. Though it wasnt discernible to most, Eva was able to read a lot in the formers gaze, and, after recalling how she had been treating Vahn, she began to feel a little ufortable. He treated her like a princess, waiting on her hand and foot while constantly paying attention to her needs, yet, in spite of this, she often used harsh words to rebuke him. There were even times when she was the one to rile him up, constantly testing him as if trying to expose his true nature... Before Eva could begin feeling too guilty, Fenrir issued a slight giggle before saying, "Master is happy, so there is no need to feel guilty. Besides, he loves you just the way you are. Im just being a little selfish since I dont like it when people are mean to Master. A little bit is fine, just dont take it too far, okay...?" Without waiting for Evas response, Fenrir looked toward the version of her Master that was teaching Asuna, her ears perking up as she quickly made her way over to them. As for Eva, she was left contemting Fenrirs words, onlying back to her senses when Theo asked, "What was that about?" Though she was slightly startled by the unexpected question, Eva showed a rxed smile on her face as she exined, "Fenrir is another one of my students. We had a few disagreements in the past, but there is no bad blood between us. Now, focus on your training. If I feel you arent making a proper effort, dont me me if I forbid you from sharing a bath and bed with Vahn in the future." Hearing Evas words, Theo showed an expression of abject shock, disbelief visible in her eyes as she failed to find words of her own. She wanted to say that it wasnt up to Eva, but, knowing she was the reason Vahn hade to this world, Theo couldnt bring herself to vocalize her thoughts. Instead, she became even more serious than before, fully focusing on her training until Arika arrival twenty minutester... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Asuna is very wise...,Fenrir will protect her Master (o,...,o)~!,Theo and Arika just hit a wall xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1580 Tensions

Chapter 1580 Tensions

Seeing Eva for the first time, Arika couldnt help but makeparisons between herself and the infamous Demon Queen. She wanted to understand what made Eva so special that Vahn would even traverse between worlds and through time just to save her... Realizing the direction of her thoughts, Arika internally rebuked herself before forcing a polite smile onto her face. She was actually very grateful toward Eva, as, without her, Vahn might not have evere to this world. Without him, her mother would have died, her Kingdom would have fallen, and, up until the moment of her disappearance, she would have beenpelled to make countlesspromises. Thus, despite a feeling of perturbation in her heart, Arika did her best to maintain a polite smile as she bowed toward Eva and said, "It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Evangeline Athanasia Katherine McDowell." Though she hadnt missed the momentary glower that shed across Arikas eyes, Eva offered an amused smile of her own as she said, "You must be the current Queen of Vespertatia. Vahn has told me about your ambitions...I wont tell you to give up, but, at your current level, saying you have even a one-percent chance of sess is a stretch. Are you going to just keep relying on Vahn to solve all your problems...?" Hearing Evas words, Arikas smiled melted away into a neutral expression as she instinctually replied, "Are you...?" before realizing what she was saying. The moment Arika retorted Eva, a palpable tension spread throughout the room. Evas smile faded away in an instant, but, before she couldsh out and do something regrettable, Vahn stepped between them, saying, "It is normal for some awkwardness to exist in the beginning, but, regardless of what happens, I want the two of you to remember that you are allies. Even if you dont see eye-to-eye on some things, your ultimate goals are simr. If you are honest and forthright, I know you will be able to reach an understanding..." With Vahns intervention, Arika was predisposed to back down. She hade to ce a lot of value in his words, and, though it wasnt at the level of calling him Master, she greatly respected him as a Mentor. Eva, however, didnt back down so easily, her expression turning slightly severe as she said, "I understand what youre trying to say, but your way of doing things isnt exactly forthright, Vahn. If you put your foot down and properly considered the responsibilities you assign-" Shaking his head, Vahn adopted a somewhat pained smile as he said, "Eva...please, think about your next words properly. This isnt the real you. Youre letting Arikas words affect you too much..." Eva didnt appreciate being interrupted by Vahn, but, with everyone focused on her, including three versions of Vahn, she ultimately seeded in calming herself down enough to say, "Fine...just dont forget what you promised me..." Though it wasnt the best answer, Vahn nodded his head in understanding, adding, "Youre a good person, Eva...I believe in you..." Hearing Vahns heartfelt words, Eva just snorted as she crossed her arms and asked, "Are we going inside or are we just going to idle around here all day? We have a lot to talk about, so dont dawdle for too long." With her words finished, Eva took the initiative to enter the diorama, not out of a particr sense of urgency, but in an effort to calm down. She knew she was just being petty, but, knowing there were two other golden-haired girls eyeing her man, she couldnt help but feel a little annoyed. Vahn was, in many ways, the first person she had ever thought about spending the rest of her life with. Even if it was only until they defeated the Mage of the Beginning, she wanted to at least keep a version of him to herself... Understanding Eva needed time to cool down, Vahn prevented the others from following after her too soon, saying, "I know it wont be easy, but please try and consider the type of life Eva has been forced to live. She has been suffering for nearly six-hundred years, unable to form bonds for fear of having to watch everyone she cares about dying from old age. She was forced to bear unspeakable pain and hardship, denied the opportunity to even take her own life. I understand Evas pain better than most, so, while it might be unfair of me...I must prioritize her happiness and mental well-being over others...I refuse to be another source for her suffering..." Hearing Vahns words, Arika and Theo felt extremely conflicted, but, in the end, neither tried to say anything to change his mind. Asuna, however, tightly gripped his sleeve, unwillingness visible in her gaze as she said, "I dont want things to change. Will you make other people sad for the happiness of one person? Dont you care about us, Vahn?" Seeing the look in Asunas eyes, a pang of guilt spread through Vahns heart as he kneeled down and gave her a firm hug, answering, "Of course. No matter what happens, I will keep my promises to everyone. I just cant be responsible for everyones happiness, Asuna. Eva needs me a lot more than most people...dont worry, once she begins to open her heart, Im certain we can all find our happiness together. Besides, you dont have to worry about things changing too much...it will just be a little moreplicated than it was before...Im not going to leave you behind and disappear, okay...?" Though there were still some visible misgivings in her eyes, Asuna ultimately nodded her head as she returned Vahns embrace. She knew how important promises were to him, so, hearing him say he wouldnt leave her behind, she felt a little better. Her biggest fear these days was waking up to suddenly discover his familiar warmth nowhere to be found. She might not have cared if he never appeared, but, now that she had spent more than three-hundred days alongside him, she couldnt evenprehend how devastated she would feel. He had be her most important person, and, after talking with her mother, Asuna had already decided to spend the rest of her life with him... Feeling Asunas unwillingness to let go, Vahn released a silent sigh as he picked her up into a ko hold, lightly patting her back as she clung to his neck. A lot of her selfishness had faded away after she began attending the Academy, but, at times like this, she was the same spoiled princess he had promised to protect nearly seven years prior. He couldnt even imagine actually abandoning her, as, more so than Arika and Theo,bined, the adorable pig-tailed girl had really grown on him... While lightly bouncing Asuna in his embrace, Vahn turned towards everyone else, his other selves included, saying, "Its already been a few minutes. Eva has had a few hours to calm down by now, so it should be safe to enter. Please keep my words in mind...I know it wont be easy, but you are both strong, kind, and capable...I believe in you..." Though Arika merelybed her fingers through her hair without responding, Theo seemed quite taken with Vahns words. A wide smile had spread across her face as she puffed out her chest and boldly dered, "Leave it to me, Vahn. Ill show you just how quickly I can melt the ice around Evas heart. When I do, youll have to give me plenty of rewards, okay~?" Toward the end of her words, Theo pounced on the closest Vahn, her modest breasts pressing into him as she rested her cheek against his chest and added, "Just let me recharge real quick...mmm..." As skinship wasnt exactly umon between him and Theo, Vahn didnt mind her behavior too much. She was a very hard-working girl, and, though it would probably earn him a few needlessly harsh words from Eva, he still stroked her head with a smile on his face. He didnt have to heart to suddenly start shunning her, so, while certain changes would undoubtedly have to be made, things like this were simply a matter of course. Understanding that every minute outside equated to twenty-four within the diorama, Theo released Vahn a little earlier than she would have liked. The fact he still allowed her to hug him already made her feel greatly relieved, so, with a smile on her face, she sent him a yful wink before making her way over to the diorama and disappearing in a sh of light. This left Vahn with a wry smile, shaking his head before looking towards Arika and asking, "Do you also need to recharge...?" Though the thought had certainly crossed her mind, Arika quickly shook her head before making her way over to the diorama without offering a verbal response. This left the three Vahn alone with Asuna and Fenrir, thetter taking the opportunity to say, "Dont worry too much, Master. Just like her Memory Fragment, Eva is a good girl at heart. She just feels like her happiness is threatened by people who havent had to experience real suffering. Once she sees them making an earnest effort to grow stronger, she will slowly open up to them. Stay strong, okay...?" Finished with her words, Fenrir offered her best smile by using her fingers toically push up the edges. This caused tensions Vahn hadnt even been fully aware of to slowly melt away, his shoulders rxing slightly as a sincere and appreciative smile spread across his face. Then, with an approving nod, Fenrir flickered next to the diorama, cing her palm against its surface and vanishing in much the same way as Theo and Arika. Seeing Fenrir vanish, Vahn repressed a sigh as he gave Asuna a few firm pats on the back, his voice gentle as he said, "Its time for us to head inside. We still have much to discuss..." --- With a time dtion of 24:1, the five-minute interval preceding Theos arrival was experienced as the passage of two-hours from Evas perspective. This gave her plenty of time to explore the interior of the diorama, her expression turning from anger to intrigue as she inspected the resort-like facilities that had been constructed within. Not only was there a fully furnished beach house, but, for reasons likely rted to pure recreation, a short pier had even been constructed. There were several smaller vessels moored at the side, simr in structure to jet skis, but, what really caught her attention was the fishing vessel moored on the opposite side. Though it wasnt impossible to trap living creatures inside a Sub-Space Orb, the majority would die off rtively quickly unless they had inordinately high vitality. Even growing nts was exceedingly difficult, as, without a proper catalyst to maintain their growth, even the most resilient forms of flora would quickly decay. This was the main reason countries didnt use Sub-Space Orbs topensate for ack of arablend, as, in the most extreme cases, even people would begin to fall grievously ill after staying inside for long periods of time. She had already noticed something was different about the diorama during her preliminary search, but, after seeing the fishing vessel, Eva finally realized the source of the incongruity. She suddenly became aware of the sounds of nature in her surroundings,plete with the chirping of birds and the rustling of small fauna going about their daily lives. Kicking aside the upperyer of dirt even revealed several types of soil creatures, fragile creatures that were virtually never found within Sub-Space Orbs. After absentmindedly staring at the thriving sub-surface ecosystem, Eva began to recall all of the effects Vahn had on the lifeless space he had shared with her Memory Fragment. She had forgotten just how ridiculous his capacity for nourishing life was, turning a ce where life shouldnt be able to exist into an area rich in flora and fauna. This had originally confounded her Memory Fragment, but, after hundreds of years, she had slowly grown desensitized to the abnormality. Now that she was seeing the changes to a diorama she had constructed, Eva couldnt help but feel a little shaken. Vahn had already told her that he was close to bing a God of Creation, but, as it was difficult to trulyprehend what that meant, it hadnt really resonated with her. Now, sensing the utopian levels of vitality present within the diorama, she began to seriously consider what kind of impact he would have on the Magical World as a whole... Sensing a fluctuation in the surrounding space, Eva teleported to the location of Theos entry into the diorama. The small smile that had appeared on her face quickly faded away when she realized it wasnt Vahn, but, by the time Theo had noticed her presence, Eva had adopted azy smile as she casually remarked, "You certainly took your time...I trust the others are on their way?" Hearing Evas question, Theo returned a vibrant smile as she spiritedly eximed, "Dont worry, the others shouldnt be too far behind. Vahn will be a littlete, though. Asuna was pouting a little bit, so hell probably spend a few minutes calming her down. She was worried you were going to take Vahn away from her; she is quite attached to him, ehehehe~." Furrowing her brows slightly, Eva couldnt stop herself from asking, "And youre not...?" With an evenrger smile on her face, disying most of her pearly whites, Theo rather shamelessly stated, "Im actually super attached, you know? I just decided to prove to both of you how serious I am, so get ready. Even if you are mean to me, Im determined to be your friend so that we can all be happy together, shishishishi~." Not expecting Theo to say something so bold, Eva was at a momentary loss for words, waiting until Theo stopped snickering to ask, "Are you an idiot...?" As if she had just been given the highest form ofpliment, Theos already massive grin seemed to reach its maximum size as she unhesitantly eximed, "Isnt it normal to act like an idiot when youre in love? Doesnt Vahn just make you want to try all kinds of new and fun things? Even if you told me you havent done anything, I wouldnt believe you, you know~?" Recalling some of the things she had done with Vahn, Eva couldnt stop her face from bing slightly ruddy, further fueling Theosughter. This made her feel extremely annoyed, especially since she couldnt easily refute the shameless womans words. Thus, instead of trying, she adopted a provoking smile as she stated, "Im not an idiot because I am actually able to do whatever I want with the man I love. Youre just a brat pining after something-" Before Eva could finish her words, a small ripple urred in the surrounding space as Arikas figure came into view. Immediately thereafter, Theo preempted Evas attempt to continue, inly stating, "You should remember those words. Vahn cares about you a great deal, so it is a little annoying to see how you behave. Arika and I have been trying hard to slowly win Vahns affection...you have no right to look down on our emotions when you cant even be honest with yourself..." Not expecting Theo to suddenly turn serious, Eva experienced another momentary loss for words, her mouth parting slightly as if she wanted to say something but simply couldnt. Then, despite not understanding the situationpletely, Arika gave a small nod, her expression turning serious as she resolutely added, "Dont underestimate us..." in a decisive tone of voice. (A/N: Alternate Titles: This aint no cold war,Vesperina is the mastermind!?,Theo aint ying...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1581 Essentials

Chapter 1581 Essentials

Entering the diorama, Vahn found Eva acting standoffish toward Arika and Theo while Fenrir observed silently from the side. Fortunately, the moment they noticed his arrival, they acted as if everything was perfectly normal, Eva adopting azy smile as she mused, "I was starting to think you got lost." Deciding it wasnt the best time for banter, Vahn just smiled wryly in response to Evas words before saying, "Lets move to the beach house. Im sure everyone is starting to get hungry, so Ill cook something up while everyone else prepares for dinner. Fenrir, help Asuna wash up for me, okay?" Asuna didnt really want to separate from Vahn right now, but, when he passed her over to the waiting arms of Fenrir, she reluctantly let go. As for Arika and Theo, they naturally intended to share the same bath, so, while Vahn and Eva moved towards the beach house, they moved as a group towards the onsen located further up the mountain. The moment the other girls were out of earshot, Eva broke the tense silence, saying, "Those brats practically dered war on me...you really have a way with young women, dont you...?" Hearing Evas barb, Vahnughed dryly in response before shaking his head and answering, "I dont mean to make people fall in love with me...I just want them to be happy. It was never my intention for things to develop like this..." Snorting through her nose, Eva didnt hesitate to retort, saying, "At your age, you should have more awareness than this. Just how many times have you repeated the mistake of pampering girls to the point that they dont even want to look for other partners? People are instinctually drawn tofort and things that make them feel secure. You pamper them to the point that it is impossible for them to rationalize being with other people. After all, who in their right mind would give up all the benefits you provide for something that isnt evenparable!? If they continue to follow you, they have ess to resources, get to eat delicious food, and, even if you pretend to put up walls, you still pamper and dote on them in excess...even if wasnt your intention for things to develop like this, youve done very little to deter their advances. I mean, for crying out loud, Vahn, youve been sharing the same bed with them for almost a year!" Though she didnt really want to yell, Eva found it hard to hold herself back after Theos and Arikas deration of war. She knew Vahn could easily manage several women at a time but it was still frustrating knowing how avable he made himself. He could have easily be the type of mentor that the girls looked up to and respected, but, instead of watching them from afar and offering advice when they needed it, he constantly allowed himself to get pulled into their pace. Rather than try to refute Evas words, Vahn just gave a small nod before choosing to remain silent. Everything she said aligned with his own thoughts on the matter, and, if he had put his foot down from the start, things would never have developed this far. Instead, he continually went along with the flow of events, inadvertently taking advantage of the casual way in which Ana and the other members of the Ostian Royal Family treated him. Now, he was even sharing a bed with two women he proimed to have no interest in, yet, in spite of this, allowed them to sleep next to him wearing very little clothing... Seeing Vahnb his fingers through his hair in a familiar self-calming gesture, Eva released a tired sigh before grabbing his arm, surprising him as she muttered, "Those three are already too far gone...just promise me that youll be more considerate of your future actions...if this is going to work, I need to know that you arent going to get distracted by everything with a big butt or exotic features...stop teasing women you arent involved with and stop letting people you arent in a rtionship convince you to do things you know arent a good idea. Seriously, what did you expect to happen when you allowed a promiscuous princess to sleep next to you in nothing but her underwear...!?" Though Eva was obviously showing him a bit of leniency, the more she talked, the more upset she seemed to be. She didnt let go of his arm, but, as the pitch of her voice raised, her nails began to sink deeper into his flesh. Despite this, Vahn didnt make any attempt to argue, as, objectively speaking, she had hit the nail on the head. He really hadnt done much to stop them from growing increasingly bold. Rather, he even went out of his way to convince himself their behavior wasnt a real problem, allowing matters to take their course as he continued to pamper,pliment, and tolerate them... Releasing a tired sigh, Vahn did his best to sound sincere as he looked into Evas angry eyes and answered, "I promise to do better, Eva...I dont want to betray your trust...I just..." Shaking her head, Eva interjected, saying, "I already said what I wanted to say. Just remember your promise and there wont be any problems. As for those brats...as long as they are willing to make an effort, I wont say anything about your rtionship with them. You canty a hand on them until they be much stronger, though...I will never approve of anyone that might be a liability..." Understanding that Eva didnt really want to discuss the matter, Vahn just nodded his head, a serious expression on his face as he muttered, "I will keep my promise..." Hearing the sincerity in Vahns tone, Eva answered with a nod of her own before falling silent with her head resting on his shoulder. She originally had a lot more to say, but, after the brief encounter with Arika and Theo, Eve realized it would be difficult to make them give up. As for Asuna, that was even more hopeless. She could tell the girl waspletely attached to Vahn, and, unless something major happened, this wasnt likely to change. Though Vahn had already exined Asunas origin and the original course of history, Eva was still shocked by how much potential the young girl had. Her talent was truly monstrous, and, if she trained for a few years, Eva could easily imagine Asuna surpassing her. She was also the literal lynchpin of Mundus Magicus, so, even if Vahn had wanted to entrust Asuna to someone else, Eva would have called him a massive idiot for even considering it... Unaware of Evas silent thoughts, Vahn guided her all the way to the massive beach house he had constructed before breaking the silence, saying, "There is arge bath located at the end of the hallway. Ill let you wash up while I prepare dinner. I would join you, but my other selves are currently busy taking care of other tasks. Still, if you want me to-" Without waiting for Vahn to finish, Eva lightly snorted through her nose, saying, "If I gave you a reward so quickly after reprimanding you, you wouldnt learn your lesson. Go cook the food. Try and behave for the rest of the day...if you do, I might give you a real reward..." Taking advantage of the fact she was still in her adult form, Eva allowed her hips to sway as shenguidly made her way toward the bath. She knew it wasnt exactly the most opportune moment, but, afterying it into Vahn for several minutes, she had started to feel a little guilty. Thus, in the hopes of lifting his mood slightly, she did her best to appear as sexy as possible while her back was turned to him, hiding the subtle blush creeping onto her cheeks... --- While his main body was preparing dinner, Vahn was consolidating the energy of his other vessels, separating their energy from the primary work shared by each version of himself. He hadnt expected to find Eva so soon, but, now that he had, it was time to start speeding up his ns a bit... Originally, Vahn had intended to take his time gathering information during his pilgrimage to meet with each of the Great Spirits. He had intended to support Arikas growth and help her forge alliances with powerful groups like Rubra so he wouldnt be charged with ensuring peace and prosperity for the entire Magical World. Now, however, he had the current Queen of Vespertatia and the future Empress of the Hes Empire fawning over him, and, based on Evas words, it was pretty clear they were serious about pursuing him. Though he still wanted to avoid bing directly involved with politics, Vahn knew he was going to have to take a more proactive role in future events. To that end, he needed to build his own faction, help strengthen the girls, forge a few alliances, and, most importantly, spread his influence beyond Ariadne. Vahn knew he had already stayed in the scenic Academy City for too long, and, though he wanted Asuna to enjoy attending school, he had already noticed her growing increasingly bored with the curriculum. Her theoretical knowledge could evenpete with most of the teachers, and, though she enjoyed spending time with her friends, the difference in their capabilities had slowly created a gulf between her and most students. Regardless of his own ns, Vahn would allow Asuna to remain in the Academy, but, knowing her, she would insist on apanying them. This wouldnt change even if he left a version of himself to look after her, as, despite his warnings, she insisted on using the diorama alongside everyone else. She didnt seem to particrly care about aging faster, rather, despite starting off younger than most of her ssmates, she was far more mature than most graduates. Thus, even if she did age quickly, Asuna didnt see this as a negative as it also meant her power and knowledge would increase exponentially... Realizing why Eva mentioned three brats, all of Vahns vessels simultaneously released a sigh. He wasnt actually that surprised, as Asuna had been very reflective ever since theirst visit to Ostia, but, knowing the young girl had set her sights on him, he couldnt help feeling a little sad. She would undoubtedly grow into a world-ss beauty, but, knowing this change would also denote the loss of her innocence, Vahn was already beginning to miss the adorable twin-tailed girl that followed him around like a lost puppy... Shaking his heads, Vahn began to focus on the task at hand, bringing his palms together as runic markings began to spread across his bodies. At the same time, aplex magic circle began to form in front of him, one radiating a jade green light while the other flickered with an ocean blue,plete with ripples spreading across its surface. Then, from the center of both magic circles, strange tunnels seemed to form as two figures quickly manifested from within. Though he was feeling exhausted, in more ways that one, Vahn managed a smile as he saw a familiar youth with predominately white hair standing next to a woman with dark green hair. The former had distinct ck striping within his hair, and, at the top of his head, two rounded earsplimented the thick tail that protruded from his backside. As for the woman, she had a beauty that could even rival Zhuque,plete with a long ponytail and a mature figure, but, if you were to peek beneath her form-fitting purple kimono, you would find something rather unexpected waiting for you... Preempting the twos usual greeting, Vahn gestured for them to rx, smiling as he said, "It is good to see the two of you, Xiao Bai, Fairy Xuan...Ill be relying on you a lot in the near future." Hearing Vahns words, the young white tiger yfully flexed his arms as he eximed, "Great! Ive been waiting to show off my skills! Im already getting pumped up...!!" As for the woman affectionately referred to as Fairy Xuan, she offered a rather motherly smile, her voice simr to the sound of distant waves gentlypping at the shore on a sunny day as she said, "It is our pleasure to be of service~." Nodding toward his two fiercely loyalpanions, Vahn rose to his feet exining, "Xiao Bai, Im going to have you assist in the training of a few people. This world uses the concept of Ki and Im interested to see how you can adapt it with your fighting style. As for you, Fairy Xuan, Ill have you help me collect information. You already have all my knowledge about this world. I want you to use it to expand an informationwork withing Megalomesembria. If I go there now, I probably wont be able to control myself, so, until I have made adequate preparations, I want you to spread your influence as far as possible. Can you do this...?" As if it was a small matter, Fairy Xuan giggled like a mother who just saw their childmit a bit of mischief before smiling as she answered, "Though we dare notpare ourselves to Master, we are confident in our ability to gather information. Given enough time, we might even be able to take over the entire country before Masters arrival~?" Though it sounded like a gross exaggeration, Vahn wouldnt be too surprised if Fairy Xuan actually managed to pull off such a feat. She was remarkably intelligent and possessed the inherent ability to charm both sexes. Most importantly, however, was her ability to traverse a sub-dimension by slipping into pools of water. There, she could travel incredible distances in a short period of time, but, more pertinent to the task of gaining information, she could listen to listen in on conversations and directly spy on people from even a single droplet of water... Not wanting to lose out, Xiao Bai, named as such due to his rather childish mentality, pumped both of his fists as he eximed, "Yosh! Leave everything rted to martial arts and training to me! Ill turn all of Masters students into Grandmasters in the blink of an eye~!!" Since he was the type that didnt understand the concept of personal space, Xiao Bai always got very close to people whenever he was excited. As a result, Vahn could easily reach out his hand, stroking the 135cm tall tigers head as he said, "Im counting on you. Just try not to go overboard. Remember, not everyone gets as excited about martial arts as you. This is a good opportunity for you to learn how to be a proper teacher so make sure you pace yourself and pay close attention to how others react to your training. Ill be around to give advice, but, in the end, I want to see how far you can grow while teaching others." Though Xiao Bai showed a contented smile while having his head pat, he still listened very intently to his Masters teachings. Thus, immediately following Vahns words, he adopted a cheeky smile as he reiterated, "Leave it to me~!!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: There is a reason why Eva is the Master xD...,Fairy Xuan has many secrets (UwU)...,Were about to see a showdown between a Bakatiger and a Bakadere...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1582 Groundwork

Chapter 1582 Groundwork

Once everyone had returned from their baths, Vahn introduced Baihu and Xuanwu to the girls, exining their origins and briefly mentioning Zhuque and Qinglong. He would eventually manifest all four of the Divine Beasts, so, before any me could be assigned, Vahn went on a tangent trying to exin Innates and the myriad ways in which they could manifest. This left the girls with all kinds of questions, but, promising to exin more about the nature of Innates in the future, Vahn guided the conversation back on track once everyone had filled their bellies. As even Asuna knew quite a bit about future events at this point, Vahn didnt beat around the bush when giving his opinion on using Theos diorama. He had slowly strengthened it by reinforcing the interior space and introducing thousands of Elemental Spirits inside, so, in many ways, it was one of their most powerful assets. It had be a highly resilient world where they could rapidly increase their power in aparably short period of time. This would allow them to be adequately prepared for all future battles, but, in exchange, they would slowly burn away their youth. Originally, Vahn had been intending to deal with most of Cosmos Entelecheia himself, but, now that things had reached this point, he knew Arika, Theo, and even Asuna would want to fight. They knew the roles they were originally intended to y, but, rather than shy away and leave their fates in the hands of others, they had been proactively working to change them. Arika was determined to make the world a better ce, and, though she was still somewhat bratty and tomboyish, Theo had been spending as much time studying as she had been pushing her limits. As for Asuna, she had a rather scary amount of talent, and, though Vahn was certain he would always have the edge, it wasnt too difficult to imagine her reaching a point where she could contend directly against him... By the end of the discussion, it was decided that they would remain in Ariadne until the end of the current school year. This was a period approximating 139 days, and, if exploited fully, it equated to around five years in Mundus Magicus or nine years in Mundus Ventus. By then, there was a chance that even Asuna would have be a world-ss powerhouse, as, in the original timeline, Negi had been around the same age when he helped to save the world. As for why they had decided to wait, this wasrgely due to the fact that Theo likely wouldnt be able to apany them on their journey. Due to her status as the Princess of Vespertatia, Arika could travel virtually unobstructed within the Magical World. Theo, however, was the Crown Princess of the Hes Empire, one of the two primary factions responsible for perpetuating theing conflict. Though historyy the me on Cosmo Entelecheia, they wouldnt have been able to trigger a war if the Empire and the Confederacy hadnt been making preparations for thest forty years. In the end, they just used Cosmo Entelecheia as a convenient excuse to justify their warmongering, and, if not for the actions of Rubra, the Great Magic War would have likely continued for years. Since it would only cause problems if she traveled abroad, Theo was intending to either remain in Ariadne or return to the Capital. If she was confident in her strength, she wanted to try and root out some of the corruption that had encroached upon her homnd, and, if possible, prevent the onset of war. She didnt want to see her people dying as the result of some scheme, so, even if she had to make herself a target, Theo was willing to oppose the warmongering faction directly. She might not have much political power, but, as the future Empress, she was already popr with the people. She could rapidly expand her influence with a few achievements under her belt, and, with the support of Vrixho, Jack, and her father, she already had a sturdy foundation for her tform... --- As there wasnt much sense in discussing matters for the far future, as everything was subject to change, thest topic of conversation regarded the daily schedule and general living arrangements. To everyones surprise, Eva decided not to introduce too many changes, stating, "The damage has already been done." She did, however, warn that it was a privilege that could be taken away if she believed Arika and Theo were cking off. To that end, she would be taking charge of their training in the near future, as, despite Vahns power andprehension, his sensibilities made him ill-suited to training girls who were targetting him. Since Eva had been the one to teach Vahn and Fenrir, not just Magic, but the use of internal energy, neither Arika nor Theo opposed having her be their teacher. Rather, they seemed determined to show her how serious they were, so, when prompted, they readily agreed. As for Baihu, who had nearly dozed off several times during the discussion, he would also be learning from Eva while also serving as a sparring partner and secondary teacher for everyone, Vahn included. Though Eva would likely win in a serious fight, Xiao Bais understanding of martial arts and internal energy was leaps and bounds ahead of hers. It might take him a while to reconcile the differences between internal energy maniption and the Akamatsuverses concepts of Ki, but, once he figured it out, he would be a true nightmare for Mage purists. He was already a Grandmaster in more than a dozen different martial arts, and, when it came to his own Heavenly White Tiger form, the feats he was capable of outright defied logic. With thebination of Evas and Xiao Bais teachings, anyone would be able to reach the pinnacle if they were willing to put in the effort. Since they also had virtually unrestricted ess to resources, it was only a matter of time before Arika and Theo became world-ss powerhouses. As for Asuna, she would primarily learn from Vahn, as, unlike Arika and Theo, she had already be his official apprentice. Asuna had a remarkable talent for swordsmanship, reinforcement magic, and ki maniption. What ultimately led to her bing his apprentice, however, was the fact that she couldnt properly use magic outside of her body. She could emte virtually any spell she had seen, but, as a result of her unique constitution, it became increasingly difficult for her to externalize her magical power due to the Innate magic canceling ability she seemed to possess. This effect had only grown stronger with the passage of time, so, by the time she reached maturity, there was a fair chance that Asuna might not be able to use external magic at all. Recognizing this wasnt exactly a bad thing, as Asuna would be a literal nightmare for even the most powerful Mage, Vahn began teaching her swordsmanship directly. He also helped Arika and Theo polish their skills, but, as they had other things they specialized in, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for them to reach the stage of Grandmaster swordsmanship. Instead, they would reach the pinnacle of their own paths, Arika bing an Archmage, and, if she continued refining her skills, Theo would undoubtedly be a Grandmaster Martial Artist. Ultimately, it was very difficult to reach the pinnacle of any given path, so, unless you focused on one, you might find yourself unable to master any. This was a mistake Vahn had made himself, and, if not for the guidance of Scathach and Musashi,bined with his forging of the Asauchi, the path towards Grandmaster might have remained closed to him. Instead, he focused his mind on a single path for nearly forty years, and, as a result, reached a stage where he could directly contend against the greatest swordsman who had ever lived. Vahn didnt want Arika and Theo to make the same mistakes as he had, so, rather than make them his official apprentices, he had helped them along their own paths. He still intended to forge them Asauchis of their own, but, as the base state could even be a simple brick, this wouldnt shoehorn them into the path of swordsmanship. Rather, he was intending to make Arika a ded staff, and, though it would take an excruciating amount of effort, Vahn intended to forge Theo a simple pair of gauntlets. Though he could save time by forging her some trench knives or knuckledusters, Theos style made heavy use of grapples and throws. Vahn wanted their Asauchis to furtherplement their fighting style, so, rather than inhibit Theos ability to grab things, he intended to enhance it. The feelings of the wielder greatly influenced the form and personality of the Zanpakuto Spirit so Vahn wanted her to genuinely appreciate the gauntlets he had forged her, not feel inconvenienced by them. If everything went as nned, everyone within his group would be equipped with a Zanpakuto. This would greatly amplify their capabilities, and, due to having nothing to do with Magic, it would allow them to continue fighting even if they entered an area where Magic was restricted. This made them far more versatile than Pactio Artifacts, though, when the time came, Vahn intended to make use of both. Due to the nature of a Pactio, Vahn wanted the girls to properly establish their foundation before proposing the unique contract, as, unlike a Zanpakuto, it relied more on his reserves than their own power. He didnt want them to be reliant on borrowed power, as, not only would this restrict their growth, but, the moment the connection was severed, they would basically be crippled without the Artifact they hade to rely upon. This could lead to several worst-case scenarios and bad ends, so, rather than have them be reliant on a borrowed power, Vahn wanted to help the girls establish a stable foundation that allowed them to pursue any paths that interested them... --- By the time the discussion hade to an end, it was already past the time when everyone would normally rest in preparation for the next days training. Xiao Bai and Asuna had already passed out, so, in ordance with the arrangements that had been made, Vahn carried the sleeping princess to the room she would share with Fenrir and himself. As for Arika and Theo, they benefitted quite a bit from Evas arrangements, as, unlike before, they would be sharing a bed with just Vahn. This meant they could both sleep beside him, and, without having to worry about Asuna, they were free to take even bolder action in the future. Eva had already warned the two not to get any strange ideas before theypleted their training, but, knowing where the real problemy, she told Vahn not to do anything stupid before retiring to her own room with another. As for Xiao Bai and Fairy Xuan, the former reverted to his cub form in order to sleep in the same bed as Vahn, Fenrir, and Asuna. Thetter, however, hastily departed the diorama, eager to get a jump start on the important mission her Master had assigned her. She could travel several times the speed of sound within her watery sub-dimension so it wouldnt even take her an hour to reach Megalomesembria. Then, using her unique set of skills, she would quickly cement her ce as an information broker before slowly expanding her influence throughout the entire Confederacy. Vahn had a lot of trust in each of the Divine Beasts, so, even if Fairy Xuan used a few underhanded methods, he knew she would never do anything that would touch his bottom line. Rather, he could easily imagine her freeing a bunch of ves, and, as a result, he would likely gain quite a number of followers. They were nearly as fervent as Fenrir when it came to their loyalty towards him, so, even if he tried to rein them in, they would preach their dogma as if it was perfectly natural... --- After retiring to a room with Eva, thetter released an exasperated sigh almost immediately after the soundproofing barriers had been erected. Then, with a slightly troubled expression on her face, she looked toward him and asked, "There are a lot of things you cant tell me, arent there...?" Understanding what she was alluded to, Vahn nodded his head, exining, "Trust me when I say Im not trying to keep secrets from you, Eva. There are just some truths that cannot be exined unless certain conditions have been met. I cant even exin these conditions or the consequences, as, the moment I do, terrible things will begin to happen..." Seeing the conflict in Vahns eyes, Eva just shook her head, stating, "Youre too big of an idiot to try and deceive the people you care about. I know you will eventually tell me everything, but, until that timees, I want to know everything else. You said more than a hundred years have passed since you parted ways with my Memory Fragment. Since youve already seen my memories, it is only fair that I get to see yours...I want to see what you experienced to be the man you are today..." Before Eva had finished speaking, her body began to rapidly shrink, her clothes bing loose as her mature figure gave way to a petite and delicate frame. In the end, the only thing she was left wearing was an oversized dress shirt, as, even with her belt, the pencil skirt she had been wearing slipped to the ground. This gave her a rather dangerous appearance, but, as Vahn had already grown fond of every version of Eva, he just smiled in appreciation before making his way over to her side... --- While his main body was snuggling up with Eva on afortable sofa, the version of Vahn that was left at the mercy of Arika and Theo currently had a wry smile on his face. Arike had taken a page out of Theos book, and, other than a pair of ckce panties, she waspletely naked. She had also taken things a few steps further than normal, choosing toy as close to him as humanly possible, her face only a few centimeters away from his own as she used his shoulder as a pillow... Though Arikas expression had be a mask of neutrality, she couldnt hide the flush that had slowly crept down from her face, tinging her blossoming body with a sensuous red glow. To further exacerbate matters, she had started to heat up noticeably, and, despite the room being rather cool, a thinyer of sweat had spread across her body. She wasnt overtly trying to seduce him, but, after the previous encounter with Eva, she was pushing herself a bit further than her rational mind would normally allow... A stark contrast to Arika, Theo was behaving as if everything was perfectly natural, and, based on her appearance, natural was the best way to describe the current situation. She had only ever worn panties in the past, so, with only one logical development remaining, shepletely discarded the tiny fabric, curling up next to him as naked as the day she was born. Despite this, she showed none of the difort visible in Arikas countenance, a satisfied smile on her face as shey next to him and unashamedly nestled her leg between his. She was actually the cause behind Arikas decision to discard her usual top, as, the moment they entered the room, Theo rapidly undressed before, quite literally, jumping into the bed... Now, with an impassioned girl on his right and a naturalist on his left, Vahn could only do his best to remain calm as he shifted his focus to other things. Fortunately, Arika was gradually able to calm down after around two hours had passed, her body temperature returning to normal as most of her biological processes slowed to a crawl. She actually became rather cool to the touch, and, though it was a little strange to have someone cling to you unmovingly, Vahn was able to rx knowing she would be out of it for at least five hours... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Diorama supremacy,You get a Zanpakuto! You get a Zanpakuto! Everyone gets a Zanpakuto~!,Eva basically threw a lump of meat to a group of hungry lionesses...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1583 Slow and Steady

Chapter 1583 Slow and Steady

With Eva and Baihu taking charge of Arikas and Theos training, Vahn had a lot more free time than before. Asuna was still a little too young to do any arduous training, so, when they werent working on her foundation, he spent his time teaching her how to focus her mind and rx. She had quickly mastered the basics of a meditation technique known as the [Observation of Heaven and Earth], so, while she sat in her adorable little gi with a sword across herp, Vahn focused on strengthening his bond with Laev-tan. It had only been a little over six years since he awakened his Zanpakuto, but, due to how close they were, Vahn was certain he would be able to obtain his Bankai with a little more effort. The only real requirement was being able to manifest your Zanpakuto Spirit in the real world, and, thanks to the experience he had umted in his Realm, he already had a head start on most people. Laev-tan was also quite eager to manifest in the real world, so, with the two of them working together, Vahn was confident the adorable little dragonling would be running around in the near future... Without actually breaking her meditative state, Asuna opened her green eye, sneaking a peek the rather incredible sight across from her. Despite having no presence at all, to the point she couldnt sense him with her eyes closed, Asuna could see a projection of a rtively adorable dragonying with its head next to him. She knew it wasnt just an illusion, either, as, every now and then, it would peel open one of its softball-sized aquamarine eyes to stare back at her. Then, with a calm smile on his face, Vahn would say, "Focus and rx..." in a soothing tone of voice. This time around, Asuna noticed that the dragon seemed to be sleeping, so, while maintaining her meditative state, she passed the hour absentmindedly staring at Vahns face. She liked to see how long she could go before he noticed she was staring, concealing her intent so wlessly that even Vahns attuned senses couldnt detect her gaze. He had been teaching her how to sense the intent of others, but, even more importantly, he had also been teaching her how to conceal her intent by maintaining a calm and serene state of mind. If she formed no thoughts, people could not predict her actions, and, once her skills had reached a certain level, she would naturally transition into the state of Nothingness. Asuna couldnt help but feel that Vahns swordsmanship had reached a point beyond even the most powerful Ancient Magic. It was also one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen, as, when he got serious, Asuna felt as if Vahn became one with everything. His form, while casual, gave off the impression that there was nothing he couldnt cut. Rather, she felt as if the sh of light across his de contained the entire Universe, its edge the dividing line between the concepts of creation and destruction. She had even seen him perform ridiculous feats like cutting off his own arm, but, rather than bleed, the blood in his veins continued to flow unobstructed, seemingly leaping through space and time without realizing it had been cut... Without the ability to form thoughts, Asuna didnt realize the eyes of the dragon had opened until she saw the smile on Vahns face. Instead of telling her to continue, however, he slowly opened his eyes, their color transitioning from a resplendent gold to a gentle greenish-blue as he asked, "Shall we grab some lunch?" As if responding for her, Asunas stomach released an adorable growl that caused a subtle blush to spread across her cheeks as her thoughts returned. She hadnt noticed it while meditating, but, now that Vahn had mentioned it, Asuna realized she was extremely hungry. Thus, after attempting to rub away the blush on her cheeks, she nodded her head and answered, "I want something sweet..." Knowing Asuna would pout if he pointed out how adorable her actions were, Vahn just nodded his head before sheathing Laev-tan and saying, "Ill let you have a slice of cake after you finish eating a proper meal. Come, Ill make you some chicken, rice, and sweet potatoes." Hearing Vahns words, Asuna scrunched up her nose slightly, inly stating, "I dont like the texture of sweet potatoes. They make my stomach feel weird..." Remembering the expression on Asunas face thest time he made sweet potatoes, Vahn knew she wasnt just being picky. Thus, after a brief moment of consideration, he said, "Ill make some sweet-deviled eggs then. I recall you enjoying them quite a bit." Even before Vahn had finished speaking, a smile had spread across Asunas face as she hopped to her feet and eximed, "Yes! I love them~." in a happy tone of voice. Then, after tying her Asauchi to her back, she quickly ran over, grabbing Vahns hand and pulling him towards the kitchen... --- Immediately after Vahn left the meditation chamber, a rather adorable doll with mint green hair and eyes followed his retreat with her eyes. She had mannequin-like limbs with visible ball-joints, tworge ears that served as sensors, and was attired in a dark-blue dress with a white mantle and light green tie. Overall, she had the appearance of a maid, but, with two bat-like wings and a lifeless expression in her eyes, she also gave off the impression of a Killer Doll, something straight out of a horror movie. Following Vahns departure, the doll leaned backward, her body sinking into its own shadow before reappearing several kilometers away. Then, earning herself a light punch from the woman who was supposed to be her Master, she raised her hand and inly stated, "Your boy toy has just started on lunch. If you hurry, you might be able to cook alongside him, Mistress." With a deadpan expression on her face, Eva red at the tiny doll, saying, "I thought I told you to stop saying things like that, Chachazero..." As she couldnt feel pain at all, Chachazero just allowed her head to remain tilted from Evas punch, a deadpan expression of her own as she retorted, "Why are you upset, Mistress? I wonder who was the one chugging coffee this morning after staying up all night ying around...?" With a visible tick mark on her head, Eva threatened, "Dont make me reverse the position of your arms and legs you damn walnut head..." Undaunted by her Masters threats, Chachazero puffed out her non-existent chest, stating, "Im not afraid of you, Mistress. Ill just get Vahn to fix me and then have him scold you for being a bully. Do you dare~?" Though she now had a glowing expression on her face, Eva decided to ignore the troublesome doll as she turned her attention to her two students. Theo was currently doing upside-down push-ups while supporting a massive boulder with her feet. As for Arika, she had a grimace on her face as she attempted to emte the kata performed by Xiao Bai. The boyish tiger was impossibly flexible, and, though his movements werent impossible to emte, Arika generally carried herself in an elegant and rigid manner. Shecked the inherent flexibility of Theo, so, over thest few months, she had been struggling to increase her bodys natural range of motion. Seeing the two girls struggling, Eva couldnt help but smile in a slightly sadistic manner, causing the lime-haired Chachazero to pointedly mention, "Mistress, your evil is starting to leak. Are you feeling constipated? Maybe you can get Vahn to rub your belly if you dress up like a puppy?" Grabbing the top of Chachazeros head in a vice-like grip, Eva pivoted like a major league baseball pitcher as she tossed the brusque doll with enough force to create multiple shockwaves... After seeing Chachazero turn into a sparkling light that disappeared in the distance, Eva released a small snort before teleporting next to Theo and saying, "Wrap it up, brat. Its almost time for lunch so go wash up." Earning a disapproving snort from Eva, Theo tensed up when the former appeared next to her. As a result, the boulder she had been bncing on her feet fragmented into multiple pieces as a result of her energy going out of control. She ended up buried under a small pile of rubble, an awkwardugh escaping her mouth as she extricated herself, uninjured, from the remains. With her arms crossed, Eva warned, "The point of your training is to allow you to focus and remain calm at all times. If you dont perform better in the afternoon, youll lose bathing privileges for the rest of the week." Understanding that Evas threat was more of a promise than anything else, Theo quickly ceased herughter, answering, "Right. Ill try harder." Though she still had her arms crossed, Eva gave an approving nod after seeing the resolute light in Theos eyes. She knew the young Hesian wasnt actually cking off, but, without a small push every now and then, she would gradually growcent. Training could be extremely boring and monotonous at times so it was important to remind yourself why you were going through so much trouble. Feelings like love and affection could be powerful motivators, so, whenever Arika and Theo started to lose focus, Eva would threaten to remove their Vahn privileges. Since she also bnced this out by giving Vahn permission to pamper them, it kept the duo working hard. They still had a long way to go before they reached the pinnacle, and, with her own strength gradually increasing with each passing day, Eva was slowly increasing the bar so that they might even surpass her past self... Without sparing Theo any additional words, Eva appeared before Arika the moment thetter had thrown a punch. Unlike Theo, she wasnt even remotely surprised by the sudden appearance of her would-be Master. Instead, her eyes be sharper as she rotated the energy into her body, subtly shifting her weight so that all of how power was contained in the rtively simple-looking strike. Noticing the subtle shift, a smile spread across Evas face as she performed a counter-motion with her wrist, catching Arikas fist in her palm and causing a twisting ripple to run through thetters arm. This caused Arika to grimace in pain, but, as this wasnt the first time she and Eva had this kind of interaction, she was able to guide the energy in a less-destructive fashion through her body. As a result, arge shockwave erupted from her shoulder, but, other than a light bruise, she managed to avoid any serious injuries. Nodding her head in approval, Eva stroked her chin, saying, "Seems like youre making a little bit of progress. Its a shame most of your opponents wont appear right in front of you. This afternoon, Ill show you a few yoga poses that are pretty popr back on Mundus Ventus. If you think Xiao Bai is flexible, youll cry yourself to sleep after seeing Vahn sit on his own head~." Imagining a decapitated Vahn sitting on his head, a small grimace appeared on Arikas face as she wiped away her sweat and said, "Im working on it...I can already hold a side-split without straining my joints and tendons..." Crossing her arms, Eva retorted, "A lot of girls can do a side-split without any practice whatsoever. I bet Asuna could even arch her body enough to put her feet on her head. You have a long way to go before you can be proud of your aplishments." Hearing Evas remark, Xiao Bai seemed to be excited, asking, "Like this!?" as he created a near-perfect circle by arching his back and leg. This was even more advanced than what Eva had in mind, as, rather than lying on his stomach, he bnced himself perfectly on one leg. Seeing Xiao Bais disy, Eva was at a momentary loss for words before ultimately nodding her head and saying, "Very impressive. I would expect nothing less from one of the Four Divine Beasts created by Vahn..." Always happy to be praised, Xiao Bais smile be even more pronounced as he began tough in a light-hearted manner. As for Arika, she had paled slightly after imagining how painful it would be to stretch your body in such a manner. At the same time, she also imagined Asuna easily pulling it off, as, when it came to her younger cousin, it was easier to imagine her doing something difficult than finding something she couldnt do... Though she cared for Asuna dearly, Arika always felt slightly envious of her younger cousin, not just because of her talent, but because she got to spend the most time with Vahn. If she and Asuna had been the same age, Arika knew she wouldnt have been able topete with her. Fortunately, even if things werent progressing as quickly as she would have liked, she still had an absolute advantage over Asuna due to the difference in their age. Though it might be a little petty, Arika was absolutely determined to experience a number of things before her younger cousin matured enough to steal the limelight... Feeling determination spreading through her body like a tiny me, a look of conviction appeared in Arikas eyes as she said, "Ill be able to do something like that in the future. I wont give up until I am limber enough to rival a circus performer." Resisting the urge to call Arika a clown, Eva just gave a small nod before saying, "Vahn has already started preparing lunch. Go wash and get changed. Theo was cking off a bit so Im giving you the first block this afternoon. Make sure you use your time properly." Hearing Evas words, a natural smile spread across Arikas face as her pupils dted slightly. Eva hade up with a system to allow them to spend some alone time with Vahn. Though the purpose of this time together was to allow Vahn to refine the energy in their bodies, Arika, Theo, and even Eva had be very fond of the process. Though it generally involved Vahn cing his palm against their exposed abdomens, things would sometimes escte to the point of a full-body massage. It was difficult to describe how pleasant his massages were, but, after the fact, you would feel as though all the tensions in your body had been released. This made it easier to manipte both Ki and Magical Power, so, in the days that followed a massage, their training would be iparably smooth... Since it had been a few days since herst massage, Arika knew there was a good chance that Vahn would offer his services. This caused her body to heat up slightly, and, though she tried not to smile too much, Arika couldnt hide her excitement as she alighted toward the bath, determined to give her body a detailed cleaning... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Is this Ultra Instinct!?,RIP Chachazero...,The legacy of the Godhand xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1584 Tremble

Chapter 1584 Tremble

With Asuna dangling her feet at the side, Vahn lightly hummed a song as he mixed together the ingredients for everyones lunch. Around him, preparing additional ingredients and side-dishes, a total of three identical doll-like women were silently supporting him. They had each been created by Evas Innate skill, [Doll Maker], and, though they were mass-produced automatons with limited cognition, they skillfully took care of things like cooking and cleaning. Like Evas partner, Chachazero, each of the dolls had mint-green hair and eyes, but, unlike the chibi marite, they were modeled to appear around 16~18 years old. Since their main function was to provide support, primarily assisting with cooking and cleaning, each was attired in an old-fashioned Maid outfit, and, if not for their visible joints, unnaturalplexions, and the cat-like antennae that framed their heads like a pair of stylish headphones, they would have been indistinguishable from normal, aesthetically pleasing, human women. By making use of a magical link, giving them a limited hive-mind, the Chachameido were able to work alongside each otherpletely seamlessly. This made the process of cooking simr to an assembly line, and, if not for his presence, meals would always be prepared quickly and efficiently. Unfortunately, without an actual skill rted to cooking, the dolls were limited to emting dishes prepared by first-rate or expert Chefs. This wasnt bad, not in the slightest, but,pared to Vahn, it was like the difference between eating sand and a perfectly cooked Dragon Steak. Even if he made something as simple as Onigiri, Vahns food always tasted inordinately good due to the influence of his Source Energy and the heart he put into every meal. As a result, he became the de facto Chef within the group, preparing meals with a smile in the hopes of putting a simr smile on everyone elses faces. Since even Eva didnt have the heart toin about his cooking, Vahn was quite proud of every meal he prepared... With most of the cookingpleted, Vahn quickly washed his hands, and, after drying them off on a towel he kept tucked into his apron, he smiled towards one of the Maids, saying, "Chachasan, Ill leave the rest to you and your sisters. Youre free to arrange things as you please." Hearing Vahns orders, the doll known as Chacha 003 neatly folded her hands before performing a perfect bow as she said, "I understand, Master. We will have everything prepared shortly. Thank you for your efforts." After a curt nod in response, Vahn folded up his apron before he and Asuna exited into the dining room. There, the eldest Chachameido, Chachaichi, was dutifully serving tea to everyone while her youngest sister, Chachanana, was setting the table. Though they both stopped to give him a polite bow, they quickly returned to their work as Eva, with a smile on her face, mused "I smell something pleasant. I wonder what youve prepared today~?" Rather than reveal the surprise, Vahn sent a yful wink toward Eva before passing his gaze around the table as he said, "Youll have to look forward to it. Im certain youll be pleasantly surprised..." As Vahn spoke, he gauged the reactions of everyone at the table, and, though it was very subtle, he quickly picked up on a citrusy aroma lingering in the air. His draconic senses could directlypete against Fenrirs base state, so, while he selectively blocked most pheromones, Vahn had memorized the unique aroma of hispanions. He could also detect the traces of the various different soaps and oils they used, so, even without Arika giving it away by quickly averting her eyes, he knew what she had in mind for the afternoon. Contrary to what Arika and Theo believed, Vahn actually decided whether or not he would massage them based on the preparations they had made beforehand. He had warned all of them about the dangers involved with receiving too many of his massages, so, even without him putting an actual restriction on it, the girls would remain patient for around five-to-seven days before they began to give him hints that they wanted one. This usually involved using a higher quality soap, so, whenever Vahn smelled the familiar aroma, he instantly understood their intentions. Tactfully choosing to keep his thoughts to himself, Vahn just smiled slightly as he took his seat next to Eva. Then, for the remainder of the rather pleasant lunch, he made casual conversation about the girls training and the various rumors circting around Ariadne... --- After entrusting Asuna to Eva for her afternoon theory lessons, Vahn, apanied by a tense and silent Arika, made their way to an isted chamber beneath the beach house. Since it was a good way to nourish the Elementals that had made the diorama home, there was now an undergroundwork filled with various different types of workshops, production facilities, and ateliers. Vahn had even constructed a massive forge near the once-faux, now-real, volcano. It was truly amazing to see what Elemental Spirits could aplish when put to task, as,pared to the state he had found it in, the interior of the diorama had practically be a real world. Once inside the sealed, heavily reinforced, and soundproofed chamber, Vahn turned to Arika with a gentle smile on his face as he repeated the same warning as usual, saying, "Though this procedure will help unlock your potential, continued exposure will severely limit your growth. While this might help fool those in the outside world, you still need to properly consider whether or not you want to remain in your current state for the next couple of decades..." Though she had appeared very nervous after entering the room, Arikas expression became serious when she heard Vahns words. Then, with the same conviction she showed when talking about her ambitions, she calmly answered, "My appearance has no bearing on my ability to perform my duty. Even if I am stuck this way for a hundred years, it will be worth it if I can bring prosperity and peace to Mundus Magicus..." Seemingly emboldened by her own words, Arike lightly touched the tiny amethyst attached to the choker around her neck. Immediately thereafter, her clothes dissolved away into motes of magical light, the resolution on her face faltering slightly as a blush quickly spread through her cheeks. She had be progressively more aware of her own body as they spent time together, her elegance andposure giving way for more maidenly emotions. Without gawking, Vahns smile became slightly affectionate as he answered, "Very well...you cany down on your back or stomach..." Though this wasnt her first time receiving a massage, Arika always felt exceptionally nervous in the moments leading up to the procedure. If shey on her back, Vahn would give her a cool towel to cover her eyes and forehead, but, if shey on her stomach, she might even fall asleep due to howfortable and pleasant the process was. This was always very embarrassing as she would always wake up in her bed several hourster, much to the amusement of Eva and Theo. After considering her options, Arika swallowed hard before awkwardly climbing atop Vahns hand-made massage table. Hundreds of years of experience had led to him developing his own model, a version that could, quite literally, change form to suit the recipient of his massage. It was graded as an S-Rank Artifact within the Akamatsuverse, making it an object that even exceeded the heirlooms and sacred treasures of most Kingdoms. Seeing Arikay on her back, Vahn gave a small nod before pulling out a white towel and soaking it in a bucket of chilled water he had pulled out of his Inventory. She would quickly be feverish if she could see him massaging her body, so, after triggering a catastrophic nosebleed during one of their past sessions, this was the solution he hade up with. Though blocking her sight made her even more sensitive to his touch, not being able to see allowed her to remain rtively calm during the preliminary stages of the massage. Then, once she had rxedpletely, he could remove the cool cloth, allowing her to either observe the process or just rx with her eyes closed. After wringing out the cloth, Vahn folded it into a thin strip before carefully cing it over Arikas heterochromatic eyes. In response, she released a relieved sigh, and, though it would take a while for her tensions topletely rx, she was already beginning to calm down. She had a breathing technique rted to the cultivation method he had given her, so, after a few deliberate breaths, her chest began to rise and fall at even intervals as he gingerly lifted her hand, starting with massaging her fingers and joints... --- Vahn noticed it every time he gave Arika a massage, but the structure of her body was functionally identical to both her mother and Vesperina. At this point, he was absolutely certain they had been artificially created, and, though Asuna had apparently been birthed by Vesperina, there werent any seque to indicate she, or Ana, had ever given birth. It was possible they had simply regenerated to a default state, but, considering their cells decayed like a normal persons, albeit much slower, it didnt make sense for them to recover sopletely. Though they each had their own ego, it was rather obvious that the members of the Ostian Royal Family were programmed to think a certain way. Even Asuna, despite being two-years-old at the time, had this mentality hard-coded into her. She was fully dedicated to the purpose she had been given, and, prior to his intervention, she had rarely even spoken to her own mother. This seemed to be perfectly natural from Vesperinas perspective, and, if he had never shown up, Asuna would have kept studying for upwards of sixteen hours a day without even thinking about taking a break. From what he had gathered, Asuna hadnt even been taught how to read and write. ording to Asuna, herself, she had always known how to read and write. Her very first memories were of her reading books, and, even though she couldnt recollect everything from her first year of life, she could recount the information she had read from books with near-perfect rity. This implied that, shortly after her birth, she had already begun researching Magic without any prompting, almost as if it was an instinct. Asuna was the most anomalous member of the Ostian Royal Family, but, other than the structure of her Mana and Spirit Bodies, she actually had the same basic structure as every other member. Other than the purity of her aura and the subtle differences in her affinity, Asuna was functionally identical to her mother, grand-aunt, and cousin. There was seemingly no gic deviation, only a difference in the purity of their energy. While systematically linking all of Arikas nerves, to the point her entire body would vibrate when he lightly pressed one of her pressure points, Vahn couldnt help wondering if her hair color would gradually change from pale-gold to the characteristic orange of Asuna. If she tied her hair up into twin-tails and stood next to Asuna, it would almost be like looking at past and future versions of the same person, albeit with inverted eye colors. As the two ovepped in his mind, Vahn could easily imagine a younger version of Arika, a slightly cold expression on her face as she buried her nose into thick magical texts. Though it was a rather adorable image, as studious children were especially cute, Vahn couldnt help but feel it was a little sad. He couldnt really do anything about it now, but part of him would have liked to help Arika in the same way he had helped Asuna. Though the end result might have been the same, she would have had a happier childhood if he had intervened earlier... Shaking his head free of negative thoughts, Vahn ran his ring and middle fingers down the line of Arikas abdomen. Her recent focus on physical training really showed, and, though she didnt have visible abs, it was possible to make out their shape when she tensed up. She had a lean and athletic figure, and, though her development had slowed considerably due to the effect of his massages, it wasnt as if shecked the charms of a mature woman. Rather, she was actually very beautiful, and, due to the concessions made by Eva, Vahn felt she was bing more attractive with each passing day. With a slight smile on his face, Vahn lightly massaged the pressure points around Arikas abdomen, the thumb of his right-hand pressing into her supple yet firm flesh. At the same time, without even a tiny fluctuation in his expression, he lightly pressed the index and middle fingers of his left-hand into some of the more sensitive pressure points of Arikas body. He took special care to avoid any kind of direct contact, but, in order to ensure the greatest possible result, Vahn needed to channel his energy through every part of her body. For a variety of reasons, the core of most females was directly linked with their uterus. It was the organ that gestated and nourished new life, and, under certain circumstances, it also served as a secondary nexus for containing power. This is the reason why females, especially virgins, had far more magical power than their male counterparts. There were even some cultivation techniques, simr to the method practiced by Circe, that created a literal core within the womb. Unfortunately, as was often the case, there were also quite a number of techniques designed for men that actively stole this energy from females in order to nourish their own... Ignoring the heated sighs that would periodically escape Arikas lips, Vahn took care to make sure there were no blockages in the unique pathways between her dantian and uterus. Vahn hade to understand that these pathways were instrumental in determining whether or not a woman was able to give birth. If they were closed, it was virtually impossible for them to get pregnant, and, as a result of how delicate they were, it was actually very easy for them to be blocked or damaged by the energy from the dantian. Even powerful shockwaves or strenuous activity could sever them, and, if they werent treated early on, most powerful women actually became infertile as a result of trying to increase their strength. Ironically, especially for female cultivators, one of the best methods to strengthen the pathways between their dantian and uterus was to have sex. Most males, even those without an affinity for it, possessed yang elemental energy in their semen. This was one of the elements that allowed for the creation of new life, and, after mixing with the inherent yin in a females body, most of which was concentrated in their egg cells, a baby would be produced. When an egg wasnt present, however, that same yang energy was absorbed by the pathways in the uterus, making them more resistant to damage, and, in some situations, greatly strengthening the recipient. Vahn obviously wasnt going to inject his semen into Arikas body just to help her grow stronger, but, as his Source Energy could emte all kinds of energy, he could use it to directly nourish the pathways in her body. It was a shame he hadnt figured this out until a few decades prior, as, if he understood the principles behind it, Vahn might have been able to treat the Gods in Danmachi without having to bind them with Enkidu. At the very least, he could havee up with an even better solution to the various problems faced by half-breeds like Tsubaki... Remembering the beautiful bronze-skinned woman, a reminiscent smile spread across Vahns face as he removed his hand from Arikas lower abdomen. This caused her to release a profound sigh of relief, as, despite how pleasant the treatment was, it could quickly be unbearable. No amount of calming energy could prevent the gradual ache that would spread through her body in response to the heat that flowed from Vahns fingertips. If she had been a Cat Person, going into heat would have been inevitable as the treatment, quite literally, had the side-effect of increasing fertility and encouraging ovtion... Unfortunately, though she wasntining, Arika didnt have much time to breathe. Rather, she knew what came next, so, in preparation, she began to focus on her breathing, clenching her teeth as she inhaled and exhaled through her nose. She couldnt see it, but she could feel her legs gently pried apart, supported byfortable cushions that allowed her to sy out without straining her muscles and tendons. Then, causing her jaw to quiver despite the clenching, Vahn began to slowly and methodically massage the muscles of her inner thighs... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Chachameidos Assemble!,The Godhand knows no boundaries,Eva be like, "And you seriously expected them to fall for other people...?") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1585 Blossom

Chapter 1585 Blossom

Due to theprehensive nature of the procedure, more than three hours had passed by the time Vahn pulled out a warm towel, covering Arikas naked body as he said, "Take a few minutes to calm down before trying to move. Lets not have a repeat of thest time, okay...?" Rather than respond, Arika justzily nodded, her forearm resting on the towel covering her eyes as she inhaled deep and impassioned breaths. Since the room was slightly chilled, each of her breaths caused a considerable amount of steam to expel from her lungs, adding to the thin vapor that was rising from her body. She had an appearance simr to someone who had just gotten out of a hot bath, her body suffused with a sensuous red glow, her glistening skin reflecting the low light of the chamber... Without minding the tantalizing sight behind him, as he had just spent thest three hours dutifully attending it, Vahn filled a marbled basin with ice water. Arika wasnt really in danger of overheating, the perks of having a powerful constitution nourished by magical and divine energy, but, as she still had more training in the afternoon, rapidly cooling down was necessary. Without it, she wouldnt be able to move properly, much less focus on her training, so, while it might seem a little extreme, the ice bath was very necessary. It was also very healthy, helping alleviate inmmation and improving blood flow after the blood vessels open back up, so Vahn often used this method to help the girls recover. After waiting for a few minutes, Vahn approached Arika, gingerly removing the towels covering her body and eyes. Her slightly parted lips and the zed look in her gem-like eyes were a particrly dangerousbination, but, even if there was a visible amount of expectation contained within, it did little to shake Vahns heart. Instead, he pulled her weakened body into a princess carry, allowing her head to rest against his chest as he carried her over to the icy cold bath. Arika already knew what wasing, but she still sharply inhaled as her body was lowered into the water. For a brief moment, it felt like the heat of her body would resist the unforgiving cold, but, the moment this thought crossed her mind, it was like someone had poured ake of water onto a fiery patch. The ze covering her eyes melted away in an instant, her mental acuity returning as the icy water reached up to her neck. Though it was always a very jarring experience, Arika issued a sigh of relief almost immediately after her back came to rest against the marbled basin. The cold water was actually a mixture formed from thebination of Water and Yin Elemental Energies. This made it impossibly cold, but, rather than feel ufortable, it was extremelyfortable. It also had the effect of nourishing Yin Elemental Energy and enhancing beauty, so, despite not caring about such things in the past, Arika and Theo had both be particrly fond of the unique solution... While her body soaked in the icy water, Arika absentmindedly covered her chest as she stared back at Vahn, her voice calm and steady as she muttered, "Thank you...it was very pleasant..." As it was actually very rare for Arika to express her gratitude, Vahns smile curled up at the edges as he casually remarked, "Youre very wee. Im always happy to put my skills to the test and show people why Im called the Godhand. Though it has caused me some troubles, it is one of the things I am most proud of." Towards the end of his words, Vahn held up his left hand, allowing a subtle rainbow glow to spread through his fingers before illuminating his palm. This caused the ambient energy in Arikas body to act up, but, thanks to the yin-infused water, she just chuckled silently before submerging down to her nose. Understanding she wanted to focus on her recovery, Vahn issued a light chuckle of his own before turning around and preparing her a change of clothes. Then, knowing Theo would likely be arriving within the next half hour or so, he began wiping down and cleaning the massage table. He also put down an absorbent cloth underneath, as, when it came to Theo, there was about a fifty-fifty chance she would pee herself halfway through the procedure. This was actually verymon whenever he massaged mortal women, so, after more than two hundred years of experience, Vahn had be ustomed to dealing with the cleanup. Most never even realized they had relieved themselves, so, as a professional courtesy, Vahn never brought it up... --- A few minutes before she had to leave, Arika slowly extricated herself from the still-icy water. As if she hadnt cooled down in the slightest, a hazy white mist rose from her body, but, rather than from heat, it was due to the intense chill that had pervaded her entire body. It was so extreme that, for a brief moment after she emerged, her steps left pure-white footprints, freezing the floor in her wake. Despite this, she showed absolutely no difort as she used her magical energy to quickly dry off so that she could properly wear the clothes Vahn had prepared for her. Though he cast Arika a nce when she emerged from the bath, Vahn didnt say anything, averting his eyes politely until she was properly attired. Even if it was just a skin-tight Aegis, leaving very little to the imagination, it was still better than gawking at someone while they were naked. He might bergely immune to such things, but, knowing how she felt about him, Vahn tried to maintain a sense of propriety. It was all but guaranteed they would be in a rtionship within the next few years, but, until then, Vahn intended to adhere to the promise he had made with Eva... Around the same time that Arika had finished getting dressed, Vahn felt a presence appear near the beach house. He could guess who this was without needing to shift his intent toward her, so, with a wry smile on his face, he casually remarked, "Theo is about to burst in. Id give the entrance a wide berth for the next couple of seconds..." As she was just preparing to say her goodbyes and depart, Arika halted in ce the moment she heard Vahns words. This ended up saving her some awkwardness, as, around the same time that she would have approached the door, it was kicked open by a scantily d woman with bronze skin and a wide grin. Before she had even taken three steps into the room, her clothes had been sent flying through the air as she shouted, "My turn~!" in an excited shrill. After side-stepping Theos charge, Arika looked toward Vahn, nodding politely before running her hand through her fringe and departing. As for Theo, she had already hopped onto the table, belly down as she nestled into the soft cushion that deformed to amodate her budding breasts. Seeing the mischievous Hesian nestle into the massage table, Vahn ran his hand through his hair as a self-calming gesture. He was very aware of what she had in mind, but, knowing she would pout quite a bit if he didnt y along, his wry smile slowly turned into a severe look as he made his way over to her side... Though she pretended to bepletely oblivious, Theo was aware of Vahns encroaching presence, her shapely butt perking up slightly in expectation. Leg strength was very important for virtually all forms of martial arts, and, after learning about Vahns preference from Fenrir, Theo had put a lot of effort into honing the muscles in her calves, thighs, and glutes. She wanted to appeal to him as best she could, and, though she had never vocalized it, she had grown rather fond of being disciplined... Restraining a sigh, Vahn adopted a stern tone as he asked, "What did I tell you about kicking in my door and interrupting Arikas time...?" As if she had only just realized what she had done wrong, Theo adopted an apologetic facade as she buried her face into the circr hole in the massage table and muttered, "Im sorry...I just got excited thinking about the massage..." A stark contrast to the demure tone used in her apology, Theos toned but was trembling slightly, seemingly intent on drawing attention to itself. It was actually quite the sight to behold, easily one of Theos greatest assets, but, feeling slightly exasperated, Vahn couldnt help but release a sigh as he lifted his hand before striking down and elicited a crisp smacking sound as his palm sent a ripple through the tender brown flesh. This caused Theos toes to curl slightly as a squeaking moan briefly pierced her tightly closed lips... --- After giving the slightly masochistic Hesian a few firm smacks on the rear end, Vahn mechanically scolded her before finally proceeding to the massage. Her punishments had be more of a y than anything else, but, as she had made actual arrangements with both Arika and Eva, Vahn yed along. He didnt have any particr issues with her developing deviancy, as, rather than Anubis, her behavior was more in line with that of Tiona. She couldnt help but get excited when fighting strong opponents, so, aftering to associate pain with excitement, Theo had always been a time bomb for developing masochistic tendencies. Even beforeing to the Akamatsuverse, Vahn had known the Hesians had a bit of a reputation for their sadomasochistic natures. Most of the women had curved horns on their heads, and, due to their fondness for ck leather and tight clothing, quite a number of humans associated them with Subi. Some Hesians even yed off this image, wearing artificial devil tails and wielding whips inbat. The fact they were descended from Dragons gave them a talent for taming both beasts and monsters, and, unless you were inordinately skilled, whips were actually extremely difficult to deal with when your opponent was skilled in their use. Fortunately, due to the difference in their strength and status, Theo had deviated towards the path of a masochist rather than developing sadistic tendencies. Though this would inevitably cause him a few headaches, it was still better than the reverse. Eva already had a number of sadistic tendencies, likely contributing to Theos condition, so it would have be an even bigger problem if the two ever teamed up. Like this, he could stay in control of the situation, as, ording to Anubis, very few masochists shifted their loyalties once they had decided on their Master... While worrying about Theos future, Vahn continued to glide his hands over her body, pressing a little harder than absolutely necessary. She had chosen toy on her stomach ever since she learned it required more pressure to reach the most important nerve clusters. This,bined with the fact it was a little harder to breathe, were all the reasons she needed to make her decision. The fact it also allowed her to show off the results of her training was just an added bonus. Vahn didnt particrly focus on the butts of his clientele when he was giving massages, but, even if he exined that, it wouldnt stop Theo from believing it. She always paid more attention whenever he was massaging her butt and thighs, so, even if he showed the same amount of consideration for the rest of her body, it would always seem like he was focusing more on her butt. This was basically an example of confirmation bias, but, as he did actually have a slight preference for girls with toned butts, Vahn didnt make an effort to correct the misunderstanding... --- Since she wouldnt be returning to training, Vahn extended Theos massage to around three-and-a-half hours. Most of the additional time was actually focused on her feet, as, over thest few weeks, she had been trying to master an advanced form of [Shundo]. As a result, she spent all of her time within the diorama barefoot, seemingly trying to resonate with the ground. By providing extra care to the nerves in her feet, he could increase their sensitivity quite a bit, and, though it made it a little difficult to walk on rough surfaces, Theo actually enjoyed it quite a bit... After finishing the procedure, Vahn gave Theo one final smack on her right butt cheek before firmly stating, "Get up. Youve had enough time to cool down while I was massaging your feet. I want you to walk around for a few minutes while I prepare the bath. Dinner has already been prepared so try not to take too long..." Unlike breakfast and lunch, dinner was eaten at irregr intervals as everyone finished their training and went to bed at different times. The only person with a consistent schedule was Asuna, and, as a result, at least one version of Vahn. Rather, unless she was in ss or learning theory from Eva, there was always at least one version of Vahn watching over Asuna at all times. This was primarily to keep her safe, but, at the same time, it was also due to Asuna herself. Though she would no longer pout, Asuna would enter a reflective state whenever they were apart for any length of time. She would quickly lose her motivation, and, almost as if she had regressed to her original state, she would just absentmindedly absorb information. After a few hours had passed, she would be listless and slightly unresponsive, answering most questions in as few words as possible. Fortunately, Asunas behavior had nothing to do with feelings of depression or sadness. Rather, she became unresponsive after entering a pseudo-meditative state, apparently to speed up the flow of time, at least from her perspective. She had grown progressively more bored with the curriculum at school, so, whenever she wasnt ying with her friends, Asunas would gradually stop thinking. All of her responses would be automated, and, unless it was something she was interested in, she would stay in that state, only rebooting once Vahn showed up... Without bothering the censor herself, Theo released a sensuous giggle in response to having her butt spanked. She was tempted to try and convince Vahn to spank her a few more times, but, after stating his piece, thetter had already walked over to the bath. This caused Theo to yfully pout, but, rather than call out to him, she lifted her exhausted yet revitalized body, steeling herself for a few moments before stepping onto the cold floor. Despite her preparations, however, a girlish yelp escaped her lips as a torturous twinge resonated within her secret garden with each of her steps... Ignoring the sound of Theos impassioned panting and giggling as she walked around the room, Vahn dutifully filled the marbled basin. At the same time, back on the surface, he kept himself distracted by skillfully running a brush through Asunas and Fenrirs silky hair in preparation for bed... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is very professional (UwU)...,RIP Hes Empire,I kind of wish I could just turn off my brain like that xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1586 Paradigm Shif

Chapter 1586 Paradigm Shif

With the time dtion of Theos Resort Diorama, days quickly turned into weeks, and, slowly but surely, weeks coalesced into months. This was more than enough time for great changes to ur, sentiments to changes, and dynamics to shift. Vahn was able to see Asuna grow like a bean sprout, and, though they werent exactly close, Eva and Arika hade to tolerate each other. As for Theo, she actually got along fairly well with Eva, her persistence slowly, inevitably, whittling away the walls around the former Demon Queens heart. Though there were quite a number of hups along the way, such as Eva getting her first period and Theo requesting he be a very different kind of Master for her, things had been rtively peaceful. Vahns strength had notably increased, and, though she had moments where she would be super serious, Asuna had be a rather lively girl. It was rare to see her without a smile, and, showing just how prodigious she truly was, she managed to awaken her Zanpakuto Spirit after a startlingly short 719 days. Vahn had already forged Asauchis for Eva, Arika, Theo, Fenrir, and even Xiao Bai, but,pared to Asuna, they were advancing at a snails pace. Her Zanpakuto, Kyo, allowed her to defeat Theo in a number of spars, and, though there was still a pretty big gap in their abilities, she even managed to catch Arika by surprise quite a few times. Asunas speed and strength were monstrous for a girl that hadnt even turned eight years old, but, what made her truly terrifying, other than herpletely broken Zanpakuto, was the fact she had already started to encroach upon the concept of Nothingness. She could seemingly fade in and out of existence, and, though it wasnt as shy as Laev-tan, Asunas Kyo had no discernible counters. Though it looked like a simple ck Tanto with a lotus-like Tsuba, Asunas Kyo, seemingly inspired by his ability to cut anything within his domain, was able to cut anything within her field of vision;pletely ignoring things like distance. What made this truly terrifying was that the damage was based on her perception rtive to her target, so, if she cut a distant object like Phobos or Deimos, one of Mundus Magicus two moons, it would create a massive gulf across the visible surface of the moon... If not for her ability costing an incredible amount of Spiritual Energy, to the point she could barely even use it a single time, Asuna would be even more monstrous. Still, as she was only seven-years-old, going on eight, this feat was already bordering on iprehensible. She would only be even stronger in the future, and, once she obtained Bankai, she might not even have any opponents left in the Akamatsuverse. Fortunately, even with her monstrous talent, it would take several decades, at the very least, before she is able to reach that point. Spiritual and Mental energies were difficult to train as they relied on things like knowledge, experience,prehension, and literal age. These werent things that could be ovee with talent, so, until she matured physically, emotionally, and spiritually, Asuna would struggle to unlock her full potential. She would still be able to surpass all of her peers, growing far stronger than most people could even rationalize, but there would always be an upper-limit to her growth based on her age and experience. The thing that made most Protagonists so powerful, other than the protection of Fate, was the fact they were constantly experiencing, and oveing, difficult situations. They were constantly forced to ovee the limits of both their body and mind, elevating evenplete idiots to a level that even the most prodigious and talented youth could never hope to match. In some stories, the Main Characters were even able to ovee people thousands, if not millions, of times older than them in a rtively short period of time. This seemed like utter nonsense from an objective point of view, but, considering the path he had walked, Vahn didnt have much room to talk. Rather, there were a number of instances where he wondered whether or not he, himself, was just the main character in someone elses story... --- With a cid smile on his face, Vahn absentmindedly observed the five people meditating beneath the artificial waterfall he had constructed. This was a training method to help them enter a deeper state of meditation, and, despite her monstrous power, even Eva wasnt spared. She was seated at the very center of the group, her developing body covered in a weighted white Gi as mischievous Water Elemental Spirits guided the waterfalls flow to impact directly atop her head. One of the biggest changes to ur over thest few months was the revtion of Evas true form. She had made the mistake of teasing Asuna in the bath, and, as a result of thetters Magic Cancel acting up, Evas transformation had been broken in an instant. This caused her to enter a depressive and antagonistic state for a couple of days, but, after realizing even Arika didnt care about her true form, she eventually got over it. Rather, after realizing the true tragedy of Evas existence, Arika and Theo be more sympathetic toward her plight. Going by standard Earth time, which was the system they had unterally agreed to use, nearly four years had passed since Theo arrived with her diorama. This was more than enough time for nascent and burgeoning emotions to evolve into something far more powerful, so, as time passed, even the normally taciturn Arika had been losing her patience. She wasnt nearly as bold as Theo, but, during one of their massage sessions, she had enough wherewithal to grab his wrist, an impassioned look in her eyes as she guided his hand toward her most sensitive spot... Follow the revtion of Evas true form, Arika and Theo had tempered their growing passions quite a bit. Arika, in particr, seemed to lose all of the animosity she had umted during the rather harsh training. Though she didnt exactly be close to Eva, she seemed to lose the motivation to hate her. She, alongside Theo, had even apologized for her behavior. This caused a fair amount of awkwardness, as Eva was weak against sincerity, but, by the end of it, Vahn was on kissing terms with all three girls... While the other five residents of the diorama were seated beneath the waterfall, Asuna, wearing a sukumizu-style school swimsuit,plete with her name and ss number sewn across the chest, popped up from beneath Vahn. For reasons that only Sidras ancestors, or the creator of the Record would know, the victorian-style city had adopted traditional Japanese-style uniforms within most of the higher level Academies. The students in Asunas ss typically wore a modified sailor uniform, and, during gym ss, they even wore trimmed white t-shirts and bloomers. Seemingly bored, Asuna reached up, her body almostpletely emerging from the water so that she could grab his ankle. In the next moment, Vahn felt an iprehensibly powerful force pulling him downward, but, like an immovable mountain, he remained in ce, a slight smile on his face as he mused, "Youll have to try a lot harder than that if you want to move me..." Herpetitiveness triggered, a serious look reced Asunas mischievous smile as she said, "You asked for it...!" Following her words, Asunas weight seemed to increase exponentially as the waters surface began to bow inwards, appearing concave. It was almost like she was bending reality to her will, and, even though he had already obtained Divinities rted to Space and Creation, Vahn was still unable to prevent the spatial anchor he had formed from being destroyed. Asunas authority within Mundus Magicus seemed to overwrite everything else, and, though this wasnt the first time he had seen her do something nonsensical, he couldnt help feel abination of intrigue and surprise as he was penultimately yanked into the water. Seemingly satisfied by her sess, Asuna had a massive grin on her face as she used her tiny hands to squish his cheeks beneath the water. Then, using his chest as a springboard, she kicked off with a bit of force, creating a small shockwave as she darted through the water much faster than any non-magical fish could manage. She obviously intended for him to catch her, but, before giving in to his adorable Apprentices antics, Vahn surfaced to find everyone except Xiao Bai, who seemed to have fallen asleep, staring back at him. With a wry smile on his face, Vahn discarded his training Gi for a pair of swim trunks as he said, "Its already been a few hours. How about we all take a break while I bring over a grill and cook up some barbeque...?" Before anyone could answer his question, Asuna, like an alligator slowly closing in on its prey, snuck up from behind Vahn, the water around her surging in response. This was the true reason for Vahns wry smile, as, when she got excited, Asuna could be rather overbearing. He could stop her without too much trouble, but, understanding she was just having fun, he was helpless as the wave carrying the mischievous loli crashed into him, pulling him under as she hugged his neck from behind. Since she had grown rather tired of meditating, Eva was the first to discard her Gi, revealing a rather adult white bikini. She had matured quite a bitpared to her past self, growing from 130cm to amendable 149cm, but her figure hadnt exactly blossomed into the mature beauty she often disguised herself as. Despite this, she radiated a considerable amount of pride and self-confidence as she pulled out a scrunchie to tie up her hair, saying, "Last one inside has to-" Without waiting for Eva to state the terms, Arika, Theo, and Fenrir leaped from the ledge they had been sitting on, Gi flying through the air to reveal the swimwear they had on underneath. The only exception to this was Theo, who, for a variety of reasons, decided to forgo wearing anything at all underneath her Gi. This wasnt too umon for her, but, before she was able tond in the water, Eva grabbed her by the horn, holding her in the air as she shouted, "Go get a swimsuit, you damned exhibitionist...!" Despite being tossed rather unceremoniously towards the shoreline, Theo justughed in response to Evas words as shended nimbly on the embankment. Then, still naked, she bolted like a bronze blur into the surrounding forest, herughter continuing to echo as flocks of birds took to the sky... After briefly considering sending an ice-infused Sagitta Magicka towards the retreating Hesians exposed butt, Eva ultimately shook her head, choosing to ignore the perverted woman. Instead, she jumped a few meters into the air, curling up her legs to perform a cannonball that disced nearly all the water in the basin... --- While three versions of himself were enjoying an impromptu swim break, another version of Vahn was enjoying a very different form of rxation within the Sub-Space Orb he had created inside of Arikas Airfish. The time-dtion had been modified to allow a 12:1 flow, and, due to how upied everyone else was with the diorama, it basically served as a personal paradise for him, Fenrir, and, Medusa. Though her gestation was rather slow, taking nearly twenty months, Medusa ended up giving birth to two adorable little girls: Stheno and Euryale. These two names were traditionally associated with Medusas older sisters, appearing within the texts of various different Records, but, as if to forcibly break some kind of g, Medusa decided to assign the two legendary names to her daughters... Like their mother, albeit even more adorable, Stheno and Euryale had the ability to shapeshift their maroon-red hair into various tiny snakes. Stheno was much better at this than her younger sister, but, unlike her older twin, Euryale had seemingly inherited his draconic bloodline. She had two tiny horns growing from above her temples, and, though it was only a few centimeters long, she also had a rather thick tail protruding from her lower back. Sthenocked horns and a tail, but, with her pointed ears, silky-smooth hair, phenomenal magic power, and potent poison, she wouldnt lose out against her sister. Rather, despite the fact she was only seventeen-months old, it was very apparent that Stheno would grow into a beauty. She even had an Innate that was directly rted to charming, and, though her body was much weaker than her younger twins, she seemed to be developing quite a bit faster, both physically and mentally... A stark contrast to her older sister, who had already grown to 79cm in height, Euryale was a rather petite 68cm. She was also exceptionally quiet, and, though she was just as clingy as her older sister, she wouldnt cry when separated from him. Instead, she would just be mncholic, remainingpletely silent as she followed you with her pale-red eyes. She rarely ever smiled, and, even after learning how to speak, she very rarely spoke more than a few broken words. Vahn was, honestly, a little worried about Euryale, but, whenever he turned on his View Affection, her aura always showed that she was happy and content. She was just a very quiet and shy girl, a stark contrast to what he had expected after seeing the Innates she was born with. One gave her a phenomenal strength, to the point she identally broke most of her toys, while the other, called [Descendent of the Dragon God], caused her tail to grow longer, scales to sprout on her arms and legs, and, most notably, gave her a pair of leathery, scale-covered, wings. Ideally, Euryale would be a reliable Vanguard, but, in spite of her physical blessings, she was a rather docile girl. She didnt even move around that much, a stark contrast to the hyperactive and ever-eager-for-attention Stheno. Fortunately, when thetter wanted to y, Euryale would never refuse, and, though it was very clear Stheno had a rather dominant personality, she seemed to care about her younger sister quite a bit. In fact, some of the first questions she had ever asked were in regard to Sthenos well-being, sincere concern visible in her countenance as she asked why Euryale was always so quiet... From what he could tell, there was absolutely nothing wrong with Euryale. Rather, she was a lot like her mother, and, if she didnt have to do anything, she would choose to do nothing. She seemed to enjoy being doted upon, and, though she would never proactively try to read, she enjoyed being read to quite a bit. At times, her tiny dragon tail would even tap lightly, manifesting the happiness that never seemed to show on her face... Regardless of his daughters quirks, Vahn loved them both dearly, and, though they would spend upwards of ten hours a day just sunbathing together, it never felt like a waste of time. Rather, this was necessary for the girls to grow properly, as, much like their mother, they needed to periodically molt in order to mature. This was the main reason Stheno developed so much quicker than Euryale, as, unlike her younger sister, she was very active, even while sunbathing. She also enjoyed soaking in the bath, and, whenever it was time to eat, she could eat nearly a tenth of her body weight in a single sitting... (A/N: Alternate Titles: If you tease Asuna, you will pay the price...,Theo is too far gone...,Euryale would make an excellent Nara...,Click on paragraphment if you want to see adult Stheno and Euryale) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1587 Everything in Due Time...

Chapter 1587 Everything in Due Time...

Having obtained Divinities rted to Space and Creation, Vahn was only a few Objectives away frompleting the Zenith Quest, [Genesis Path: Dawn of Creation]. He hadpleted all but one of the Optional Objectives, but, if he really wanted to, it was surprisingly easy to create a few unique lifeforms, especially with his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]. The only real downside, if it could even be called that, was that he would end up with a few more exceptionally loyal subordinates... One of the most important aspects when obtaining a Divinity rted to Creation, even though it seemed rather contrary, was understanding that you should never arbitrarily create anything. As he had learned through his used of the [Keeper of the Akashic Tome], the things you create and name became an intrinsic part of your own existence, so, if you misused the ability to Create, it would be very difficult to obtain a Divinity rted to it. Fortunately, though it had caused him innumerable problems, Vahn had always been an empath, so, even before he meandered down the path of Creation, he never wandered far. He couldnt help but care deeply about the things he created, his instinctspelling him care for, spend time with, and love them. This was what truly separated Creators from those who used their mastery over the Laws to artificially create life, and, as a result of the love he felt toward his own creations, Vahn, rightfully, took exception to those who treated their creations as tools... --- Thoughprehending the Laws of Time were exceptionally difficult, especially with his existence representing a singrity within the Time Axis, Vahn had been on the cusp of a breakthrough for a considerable amount of time. Fortunately, he had Da Vincis brilliant mind to aid him, and, though they might not seem like the best reference to draw from, Vahn could find inspiration in fiction. He knew all fictional worlds, including those based on real-world events, had the capacity to be a Record of their own, so, while some authors took extreme liberties with concepts such as Time, the Laws were so mysterious and abstract that they had no trouble manifesting in virtually any form... If Vahn really wanted to, he could create a story where fire naturally flowed like water, and, rather than oxygen and nitrogen, the people of that world could breathe the void itself. He could make up apletely ridiculous story, and, so long as it became rtively popr, a Record would be born from it. Thus, even if it seemed like a waste of time from a scientific point of view, he had purchased millions of fictional novels, storing them as information within his mind. Then,rgely thanks to Sis, he was able to sort through the information, filtering and constraining it into a digestible form that, to an extent, reflected the true nature of the Laws. Ironically, the only thing preventing Vahn from obtaining a Divinity rted to Time was himself. He had known it was possible to reverse the flow of time even back in Danmachi, demonstrating the process for Riveria quite a number of times, but, ever since learning he was a singrity within the Time Axis, Vahn had convinced himself it was impossible to travel back in time. Though this was still true, Vahn had ignored one fundamental w in his logic; while it may not be possible to travel to a point in time prior to his entry into the Record, there was nothing preventing him from inverting the flow of causality and entropy, effectively reversing Time... When Vahn realized his mistake, he quickly retreated into his own Realm to put the theory to the test, and, as a result, he watched in awe as everyone, including Tier 5 beings like ya, Gaia, and Tiamat, moved backward through Time. Though they were still able to perceive that something had happened, they were unable to understand the cause of the incongruity, interpreting it as a feeling of Deja Vu more than anything else. Upon realizing the power he held in his hands, Vahn was like a child with a new toy, as, within his Realm, he didnt have to worry about running out of energy. He could even reverse the flow of Time for the entire Realm all at once, but, much to his surprise, Vahn learned that the flow of Time within other Realms was unaffected by his changes. It could be due to the fact he wasnt a true Tier 5, but, during his experimentation, Vahn ended up causing Azathoth and Da Vinci quite a bit of confusion... After a series of long lectures, Vahn spent a few months learning how to properly manipte the flow and direction of Time within a controlled environment. This, once again, reminded him of how truly brilliant Da Vinci was, as, after granting her the authority to govern Time, she became the one teaching him. Because of her, he came to realize that Time, as Sis had always told him, simply didnt exist. It was just another aspect of Space, a conditional function specifically tasked with observing the direction of entropy and record the location of individual particles along the Time Axis. Though it could be very difficult toprehend, the easiest experiment to show the rtionship between Space and Time involved created an isted temporal field, simr to a Sub-Space Orb. If you then destroyed an object within the field, taking special care not to use literal Destruction Laws, its constituent particles would basically be spread all over the ce. No part of it would actually be destroyed, only converted into a different state. Most people would mistakenly believe that, if you reverse the flow of entropy around the object, it would simply revert back to its original state, but that wasnt the case. Depending on how long you waited, the individual particles ejected from the object might have moved outside your domain of control, so, unless your domain was the universe itself, reverting something to its original state was virtually impossible. In fact, if you constrained the temporal field to the dimensions of the original object, reversing entropy might not even leave you with ten percent of the original object... Fortunately, Da Vinci was never constrained by setbacks, and, having pioneered some of the most advanced quantum and spiritronputers in existence, it didnt take long for her toe up with a solution to this problem. She referred to this as creating a Save State, borrowing the term from a concept that existed within video games. Since Time didnt actually exist, you could effectively trick distant particles into returning to their original position so long as you established a domain of control before the object was destroyed. In other words, you created a Checkpoint to serve as a quantum reference point, and, so long as your domain of control was never destroyed, you could effectively create an entropic loop. If you created a trigger that activated upon death, it was possible to have the person infinitely revert back to that same point in Space-Time, and, so long as it remained, they were, effectively, immortal. Though the results could have been skewed by the fact they did their research within his Realm, it was possible to find countless examples of video-game mechanics within fictional universes. This meant there were an infinite number of Records where the world was structured like a game, and, if he thought back to Sis exnation prior to entering the Akamatsuverse, it was very possible that all Records met this criterion. If he had used his Karma more proactively, he could even turn a Record like Naruto or One Piece into a world with a Leveling System and other RPG elements... --- Following his emergence from within his Realm, Vahn wasnt surprised when he felt his existence surge outward. Since this wasnt the first time he had obtained a Divinity, however, there were no major, heaven-shaking, phenomena created by his ascension. Instead, it was a perfectly natural transition, his Time Divinity forming a pale-grey fragment that seamlessly fused with the golden Creation and bluish-ck Space Divinities. They came together to form a tri-colored gemstone that, very slowly, siphoned away a bit of the Source Energy produced by his Soul Realm. Seeing the indescribably beautiful gemstonezily floating within him, a calm smile spread across Vahns face as he cupped his hands together like someone about to draw water from a river. Near the very center, tiny kes of green energy began to manifest from the void, coalescing into a tiny green lotus that seemed to be formed from pure, unblemished, crystal. Then, while releasing a very pleasant hum, it began to slowly blossom into life... Whenever Vahn thought about creating life, his thoughts always took him back to the time he had created Jade, his first true creation. It always made him feel a little sad whenever he recalled the tiny white lotus formed from Pure Fire Elemental Energy, but, knowing they would meet again, he never allowed his mncholy to negatively influence him. Instead, it was one of the catalysts that allowed him to be a Creator, his memories of that time serving as a constant reminder of both his sesses and failures... With the tiny green lotus floating in his right palm, Vahn manifested an equally beautiful blue lotus in his left hand, smiling affectionately as he said, "Celeste...meet Norn..." Responding to his words, the sapphire blue lotus released a mystical blue light as a resonant chime echoed through the surrounding space. This caused the light emanating from the emerald-green lotus to dim slightly, but, after a few seconds had passed, it gradually recovered before releasing a gentle hum. The two sounds blended together almost perfectly, and, without him directing them to do so, the two loti came closer before seamlessly fusing into a vibrant aquamarine green lotus. Vahn hadnt expected the two loti to suddenly fuse, but, considering the intrinsic rtion between Space and Time, he wasnt too surprised. Instead, he tenderly caressed the petals of thebined lotus, eliciting an indescribably pleasant sound for the duo. It was impossible to describe, but, upon hearing it, Vahn felt as if he was bing closer to the origin of all things. It even reminded him of the Mantra of Eternity, and, though he was capable of experiencing it, his mind couldnt process the truth contained within the mysterious sound... After admiring the fused duo for several hours, Vahn coaxed them apart before having them both return to their dormant state. He had a very specific purpose in mind for the Elemental Loti he had created, and, until he linked the Records together, he wanted to keep them safe within the storage dimension of his Unit Management Function. They were the purest form of Elemental Energy, and, as a result, they were extremely susceptible to all forms of corruption. If they somehow fell into the wrong hands or developed destructive tendencies, the amount of devastation they could cause was simply unimaginable. Thest thing Vahn needed was for Fate to see the Elemental Loti, and, discovering they had no fate of their own, using them as it pleased. He knew best how inconvenient Fate could be to those who had none, so, until he bestowed them their True Names, Vahn wanted to keep them safe. They had the potential to be the principal representatives of the Laws within his unified Record, so, until he linked Danmachi and reunited them with their big sister, he wanted to avoid assigning them True Names and exposing them to the whims of Fate and Karma... --- Before emerging from his seclusion, Vahn created enough vessels to attend to his numerous duties before turning his attention to the system interface and staring at his Zenith Quest. He now had the option toplete it whenever he wanted, but, if he wanted to obtain the greatest rewards, he still needed toplete the [Divine Father] Option Objective. This required him to create a total of ten unique lifeforms, but, despite being over 273 years old, Vahn had onlypleted five out of ten. Fortunately, four of the five had actually been created after he entered the Akamatsuverse, as, for a number of reasons, Zanpakuto were all considered unique existences. With the three Elemental Loti, Lave-tan, and Kyo, Vahn had alreadypleted half of the objective. If he waited for everyone else to awaken their Zanpakutos, he would naturallyplete the final objective, so, rather than stress over creating more life, Vahn just decided to wait. At the very least, Musashi and Eva should be able to awaken their Zanpakuto in a rtively short period of time, and, even if it took a few years, Arika, Theo, and Fenrir should be able to figure it out. The only real variable in the equation was Xiao Bai, as, despite having his own Ego and personality, he was still just an extension of an Innate. He might never be able to awaken his own Zanpakuto, as, on the most fundamental level, even his form and personality werepletely dictated by Vahns perception... Shaking his head, Vahn smiled calmly as he mused, "So long as I continue to believe he can awaken his Zanpakuto, there is no reason he wont be able to..." As Innates had no limits whatsoever, there was nothing dictating that they were unable to produce life. Rather, there were Innates that specifically rted to the creation of life, so, with enough time, Vahn was certain the Divine Beasts would be truly unique existences. Confident in his conjecture, Vahn casually stepped through Space and Time, instantly appearing at the beach house without requiring any energy whatsoever. At this point, Theos Resort Diorama had basically be a Sub-Realm of his, so, within its confines, he had an almost inexhaustible amount of energy. In fact, if Evas words were to be believed, the number of nascent Elementals within the diorama had reached the point of being able to directly contend against the Magical World itself... It only took a few hundred nascent Elementals to ensure the health and prosperity of arge city, and, in the entirety of Mundus Magicus, there were only a few million of the intangible creatures. Whenever their poption within a given area grew beyond a certain point, they would naturally fuse together, so, generally speaking, the actual poption of Nascent Elemental Spirits depended wholly on the amount, andposition, of mana within the environment. As an endless factory producing Source Energy, Vahns influence on his surroundings was, as Eva put it, absolutely terrifying. His presence, alone, could slowly convert an illusory or spiritual space into a physical world, and, when he stayed in one area for an extended period of time, the number of Elementals would increase at a phenomenal rate. His influence was so extreme that, if you were to walk around the constantly expanding ind, encountering Lesser Elemental Spirits wasnt even umon. If you ventured to the areas where the concentration of elemental energy was higher, you would even find Intermediate Spirits with enough sapience to converse. Though there werent any Greater Elemental Spirits just yet, it was only a matter of time before one finally appeared. The Aspidochelone, in particr, had already grown to the size of a small ind, and, if you sat on the beach long enough, you would eventually see itzily circling the main ind at around 2km/h. If you were especially lucky, you might even see it lift its massive head out of the water for a few minutes, its wrinkled face forming a vaguely human smile as it peered through you with seemingly blind eyes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The burden of a Creators love...,Da Vinci, the ultimate cheat function,Vahn the type of guy that puts on a VR headset and slowly transform it into a real world...) (A/N: This chapter, despite its length, took over six hours to write xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1588 Time Flows Like an Endless River

Chapter 1588 Time Flows Like an Endless River

On an artificial ind constructed entirely of ice, five figures were seated within the void. These were Vahn, Eva, Fenrir, Theo, and, as she often tagged along with her Mistress, Chachazero. They had gathered to witness the climactic battle between Arika and Asuna. This was meant to be thetters graduation, and, despite only being around eleven-years-old, Asuna was actually the one pressuring Arika... After fighting for more than twenty minutes, the enchanted pink gown that made Arika look both graceful and elegant had be tattered in several ces. Despite this, she actually looked even more beautiful, not just because of the smile on her face, but because her garb nowplemented the rather peculiar weapon she swung around gracefully with both hands. Though she had deadpanned the first time she called upon it, Arika had grown increasingly fond of her Zanpakuto ever since she awakened it. It had the appearance of a shattered two-handed sword, but, instead of a normal handle, it had integrated a magical staff that greatly enhanced her magical capabilities. The only reason she had disliked it was due to its appearance, but, much like the old adage, looks could be very deceiving. Once she learned how powerful it was, Arikas became very fond of the fragmented de, and over thest few months, even the way she carried herself had gradually begun to change. She had been mellowing out for quite a while, but, ever since she learned the name of her Zankapkuto, Kossetsu-shi-ta-Hokori, literally tranting to Fractured Pride, she seemed to take it as a wake-up call. As a result, she had been treating people better, and, though she wasnt exactly outgoing, she wasnt the same cold beauty she forced herself to be in front of others... Showing off one of the more unique aspects of her Zanpakuto, Arika infused a phenomenal amount of magic power into the fractured de. As a result, a de of purified elemental erupted from the broken de, extending to more than a hundred meters as she swept it toward the equally fierce as she was petite, Asuna. The de looked like it could sever the horizon, splitting Heaven from Earth, but, without paying it much mind, Asuna released an invisible pulse of energy that caused the de of light to simply dissipate the moment it came near her. Though she knew of her cousins ability to negate magic, as thetter continually made use of the ability, Arika couldnt help but click her tongue slightly as she attempted to block Asunas charge... Despite her own Zanpakuto appearing as a tiny ck Tanto, the force behind Asunas blows was terrifying, to say the least. Not only did shepletely shattered Arikas barriers just by being near her, but, despite the fact she was only 125cm tall, weighing less than 25kg, Asunas blow sent Arika smashing into the icy teau below with meteoric force. Taking advantage of the brief moment when Arika was embedded in the ice, Asuna shouted in a high-pitched, excited, tone, "Do it now, guys~!" In response to Asunas outburst, a toon of blue, white, and ck globules of elemental energy gave cutesy salutes. Immediately thereafter, the ice and snow began to swirl like a tempest around the location of Arikas impact. It took less than three seconds for a massive tornado that was more than a hundred meters across to form, the interior temperature rapidly decreasing to around -200 degrees Celsius. Though Asuna had gradually lost the ability to use external magic, she had never lost the ability to see Nascent Elementals. Rather, her affinity with the Spirits had increased by association with Vahn, so, as part of her training, Asuna had learned how to directlymunicate with them, ignoring the need for a contract. This was a truly enviable ability, and, other than higher-tiered Spirits, Vahn and Asuna were two of the only people capable of achieving such a feat. At this point, Asuna was the closest thing to a true protege Vahn had ever had, as, despite being a Master, an Advisor, and a Teacher, he generally observed and guided his students growth without interfering too much. Asuna, however, had earnestly wanted to learn his techniques, and, due to her prodigious nature, he ended up teaching her a lot more than he originally intended... After a few minutes had passed, the tornado gradually faded away to reveal a twisted-column of vibrant bluish-white ice. At the very center, as if she had been frozen in both space and time, Arika could be seen mid-charge, her expression clear and calm as she seemed to gaze directly at Asuna floating above. Seeing the fighting spirit in her cousins eyes, Asuna inhaled deeply before kicking up arge cloud of condensation as she exhaled. The smile on her face gradually faded away, reced by a dull and distant look in her eyes as she raised Kyo high in the sky. Before she could strike down, however, a series of magic circles seemed to blossom from the void, surprising her slightly as, instead of trying to affect her directly, they began to form a vacuum. Instinctually choosing to conserve her magical and spiritual energy, a hazy white mist began to rise from Asunas body as a thin trickle of blood flowed from her nose. She wasntpletely immune to the rapid decrease in pressure, but, despite feeling slightly dizzy, her mind was calm and focused as she deftly cut through the surrounding magic circles. This caused a powerful implosion, but, long before it could affect her, Asuna dropped towards the pir of ice like a bolt of lightning,nding on the periphery with her sword angled in the motion of a sh... After taking a few breaths to steady herself, Asuna did her best to stand, but, having lost all feeling in them, her legs werepletely unresponsive. This was a little unfortunate, as she had wanted to strike a cool pose after finishing her technique. Instead, she was stuck kneeling on the ground, lines of blood trickling from her eyes, ears, and nose as a thunderous cracking sound resonated through the icy teau. Though she still had a long way to go, Asuna was already at the Master level in swordsmanship, so, in response to her grazing blow, the entire pir of ice was ultimately bisected. The ambient sword energy prevented the two halves from sticking together, so, after the initial cracking sound, the two pieces began to fall away from each other. At the same time, a line gradually appeared on Arikas shoulder, and, as if she had several times more blood than a normal human, a massive red crescent was formed as blood erupted from the wound. Despite having a wound that would cause a normal person to split apart, Arika was able to remain standing, her magical energy forming threads that bound her flesh together as she used powerful healing magic to mend it. This left Asuna with a wry smile on her face, especially when she saw the massive grin on her older cousins... Using all the strength the could muster, Asuna managed to rise to an awkward squatting position, but, before she could take a step forward, Arika used an unnamed magic spell to manipte the surrounding ice and snow directly. Since it wasnt a magical attack, Asunas [Magic Cancel] did little to protect her. As a result, she ended up buried under a few meters of ice and snow as Arika, feeling anemic, copsed backward with a satisfied smile on her face... --- From within thefort of Vahnsfortablep and warm embrace, Eva gave an approving nod, stating, "The only thing Asuna iscking at this point is experience and resolve. If she had properly followed instructions, she would have been able to defeat Arika with that final blow. She held back and ended up paying the price for underestimating her foe..it seems you have been too soft on her, Vahn." With his arms loosely wrapped around Evas waist, Vahn casually shook his head, nearly dislodging Chachazero from her favorite perch. Then, with an appreciative smile on his face, Vahn firmly stated, "Asuna is a kind-hearted girl. If she never has to kill, I would feel greatly vindicated as her Master. It takes very little effort to reap the life of another...having the power to take a life, and choosing not to, is a lot harder..." Hearing Vahns words, Eva couldnt help but roll her eyes before leaning back against his chest and saying, "Sparing an enemy is the same as inviting misfortune upon yourself and the people you care about..." Rather than refute her words, Vahn gave a slow nod before saying, "Youre not wrong...however, my words still ring true. The only way to sever the cycle of hatred in the world is to disypassion and understanding to allies and enemies alike. Even if you possess overwhelming power, people will always oppose your rule if you use force...peace is derived from the willingness of those in power topromise with their enemies. If you make an effort to understand the wants, needs, and desires of your people, you can prevent most conflicts..." Though she could understand the grains of truth contained within Vahns words, Eva still shook her head, quietly muttering, "There will always be outliers who revel in the pain and suffering of others. Even if you could provide people with limitless resources, they would never bepletely satisfied. So long as things like Greed, Lust, Gluttony, Sloth, Envy, Wrath, Pride, and Apathy exist, the conflicts will never cease..." Hearing the mncholy in Evas words, Vahn held her slender figure a little tighter as he said, "True enough...however, so long as there is an intrinsic desire within all people to find happiness, the path we walk remains the correct one. The moment people like us lose faith, even greater tragedies will be wrought in the wake of our apathy...imagine a world where good people just gave up the fight for a better future...the innocent will suffer the most..." Feeling Vahns warmth flowing into her body, Eva released an slightly exasperated sigh, but, as she was preparing her response, Theo was the one to ask, "How long are we going to keep sitting here? Asuna is still buried in the snow and Im a little worried that Arika has lost too much blood. Magic doesnt treat anemia, you know...!?" Giving Theo a look as if she was aplete idiot, Eva pointedly stated, "Who taught you something like that? Light Magic might only mend wounds but true Healing Magic repairs damaged tissue by drastically increasing the rate of cell division. This incites the replenishment of red and white blood cells, so, as long as she has magic power, Arika can easily heal the majority of wounds and ailments. Have you somehow be dumber over thest four years...?" In response to Evas rtively harsh words, Theo just rubbed the back of her head, a wide smile on her face as she released a cutesy tehehehe~. This caused Evas eye to twitch quite a bit, but, before she was able to exacerbate the situation, Vahn interjected, firmly stating, "Eva." Though she wasntpletely cowed, Eva deted slightly in response to Vahns words, her head lowering almost instinctually as she shrunk in his arms. A lot could change in four years, and, after spending night after night perusing through Vahns memories and having dozens of heart-to-heart conversations, it was pretty easy to incite her guilt. She had been making a sincere effort to try and be nicer to people, but, whenever she got frustrated, she was still prone to saying things she wouldter regret... --- After retrieving Asuna from the snow and checking Arikas shoulder, the entire group, including Eva and Xiao Bai, were rxing together in the hazy green waters of the onsen. Thetter had a childish personality, so, after spending enough time around him, even Eva had dropped her guard around him. Though she insisted he transform into his tiger cub form, he didnt particrly mind since he enjoyed swimming around in the murky water with a contented smile on his face. Over thest few months, it had bemon for everyone to take a bath together. The only exceptions to this rule were Zhuque and Qinglong, the former of which had an aversion to water while thetter had been guarding the diorama after a would-be assassin managed to breach the perimeter and sneak into Theos room. It was fortunate that the diorama had basically be a world at this point, so, despite their efforts to try and break it from the outside, the only thing the assassin managed to do was alert Vahn to their presence. As a Mage capable of producing a Phantasmagoria, a world based on memories, Eva was adept at peering into the minds of others to obtain information. They quickly discovered who had sent the assassin, but, despite his willingness to deal with the problem, Theo insisted that the matter be left to her. She might have given into her deviancy in private, but, when it came to her official duties as an Ambassador and future Empress, she became exceptionally serious. Though the assassin had seemingly been sent by her older brother, Theo was confident that he was being used by their Great Uncle, the Grand Duke. She wouldnt forgive either of them, but she knew her Great Uncle was the principal corrupting force on her brother. He had even tried to meddle with her in the past, so, now that she had be one of the strongest people in the entire world, Theo was determined to handle the affairs of her family personally... Since the time of their separation was fast approaching, Eva, Arika, Fenrir, and even Asuna allowed Vahn to pamper Theo quite a bit. Though they could meet whenever they wanted, as Vahn could literally move Theo to his side using Unit Management, her randomly disappearing in the middle of the night would cause quite a number of problems. Thus, unless it was an emergency, Theo would be handling matters within her own country until Cosmo Entelecheia had been exposed. With that in mind, Theo, sanctioned by even Eva, had been behaving as spoiled as she possibly could, at least when she wasnt training. Currently, wearing nothing but a ck cor around her neck, Theo was enjoying having her body and hair washed by Vahn. Unfortunately, due to the presence of Asuna, she couldnt have him wash her directly, but, as Vahn was able to manipte the water to swirl around her body in an incrediblyfortable manner, Theo was enjoying herself quite a bit. It wasntparable to his direct touch, but, knowing there was plenty of time for them to y aroundter that evening, Theo decided to just focus on enjoying the moment. The only time her voice escaped was when Vahn scrubbed the interior ridges of her horns, an especially sensitive area that caused her lower body to twinge quite a bit ever time he ran his fingers across their surface... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Asuna is quite the bully xD...,The truest tragedy is when good people stand by and do nothing...,Theo is a good girl (UwU)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1589 Tantalizing

Chapter 1589 Tantalizing

Though it was nice to just sit back and rx at times, Vahn rarely actually slept. Even if he stayed in bed at night, emting sleep, his mind was always constantly active. Using multiple vessels took a fair amount of focus, so, in many ways, it was the only time of day where he could just stop, think, and reflect on his actions. Ever since arriving in the Akamatsuverse, Vahns evenings had been rtively peaceful. He had the privilege of sneaking off to spend time with Fenrir and Medusa while he sat in his office back at the Academy, and, if he was really stressed out, he could always retreat into his Realm, spending literal years inside if necessary. Though this could be med for his oversight regarding Arika and Theo, as he would downy their actions after spending weeks, or even months, back in his Realm, but, overall, it allowed him ample time to contemte his decisions. This gave him the appearance of a very resolute, focused, and stable person back in the Akamatsuverse, but, despite all his experiences, there were still times when Vahn could get flustered. Unlike most nights, where he would share one bed with Eva, another with Fenrir and Asuna, and the final with Arika and Theo, Vahn found himself in the precarious position of sharing a room with just Theo. Arika hade to sleep in the room he shared with Fenrir and Asuna, and, somewhat against expectations, Eva had given him permission to do whatever he wanted. Normally, this was her way of telling him she wanted to do something intimate, but, this time around, she wasnt talking about herself... Opening the door to the room he generally shared with Arika and Theo, Vahn found quite the sight waiting for him. Thetter, a stark contrast to her usual nakedness, was wearing pure white lingerie that perfectlyplimented her healthy brown skin. To further exacerbate matters, the design was of the intricatece variety, and, having memorized his preferences, she even wore matchingce stockings with a garter belt... After running his eyes up Theos healthy body, admiring her taut and athletic figure, Vahn saw the only contrasting garment on her entire body. Everything else waspletely white, but, around her neck, a stylish ck cor with his initials embossed on the inside stood out quite a bit. It was a gift he had given her for her twenty-second birthday after, once again, asking if there was anything she wished for. Now, she was a little over twenty-five years old, and, after more than five years together, their rtionship had evolved in a number of ways... Seeing Vahns gaze settle on her cor, a beaming smile spread across Theos face as she politely folded her hands, lowering her forehead to the bed from a kneeling position as she said, "Wee back, Master." Hearing Theos greeting, a moderately wry smile spread across Vahns face as he closed, and locked, the door behind him. It was unlikely things would develop to the point of them having sex, for quite a number of reasons, that didnt mean things wouldnt get intense. Theo might not beparable to someone like Anubis, but, considering thetter was hundreds-of-millions of years old, it wasnt really a fairparison to make... Without answering Theos greeting, Vahn made his way over to the edge of the bed before gently raising her face with his right hand. He could see the expectation and trust contained within her sapphire blue eyes, softening Vahns expression as he began to affectionately caress her cheek. In response to this, Theo dutifully rubbed against his palm, behaving much like a cat as she mewled in a sensuous tone, "Masters hand is so warm~." --- As she had been restraining herself ever since the revtion of Evas true form, Theo had a lot of pent of frustrations and desires that needed releasing. She had developed a bit of a service-minded mentality, but, more than anything else, she enjoyed obedience and discipline ys. Though it was a strange sight to behold, Vahn had watched her evolve from a tomboyish princess to a burgeoning woman who, at times, would eagerly emte various animals. She also enjoyed being teased quite a bit, so, after a session of very heavy petting, things rapidly developed in the most rewarding way for someone like Theo. Now bereft of her bra, allowing her rather shapely and beautiful breasts to hang freely, Theo found herself bound to the headboard with a blindfold covering her eyes. The mostpromising part of her current position, however, was the fact that her ankles were bound to the same headboard. She was quite flexible, allowing her to maintain the posture without too much difort, but it was still an extremelypromising position for a future Empress to be in. Despite this, she was breathing rather heavily, and, if not for the porous gag in her mouth, she wouldnt have been able to hide the smile on her face. Though he wasnt really a sadist, Vahn had never been shy when it came to fulfilling the desires of the people he cared about. Theo had endeared herself to him quite a bit, so, even if it caused him a bit of difort, he hade to enjoy the sonorous cries and moans during their little ys. Thus, rather than disy any kind of aversion, he had a fascinated smile as he used a silvery-white feather to tickle her abdomen and the exposed section between her panties and stockings. Rather than use a normal feather, the object in Vahns hand was actually a Unique rank item called a [Tantalizing Pinion]. It had the function of drastically increasing sensitivity, and, while not as potent as his [Hands of Nirvana], the effect was virtually irresistible. He had even gotten yelps out of Arika and Eva in the past, and, though it had earned him panda eyes, Vahn didnt regret his actions. The scariest thing about the [Tantalizing Pinion], as its name implied, was that it tormented and teased a target without ever giving them release. In other words, even if he used the tip to tease Theos nipples, abdomen, or clitoris, she would never be able to climax from it. Instead, she would only grow increasingly sensitive, her legs trembling madly as she began to pull at her bindings in a vain attempt to find release. Fortunately, Vahn wasnt actually a sadist, so, the moment he noticed Theos excitement begin to transition into genuine frustration, he dutifully rewarded her patience. This was the reason behind the trust in her eyes, as, even if she allowed herself to fall further into her deviancy, Theo knew she would always be safe in his care. He was very attentive to her wants and needs, and, whenever she felt like things were bing unbearable, the amount of pleasure and relief that followed was well worth the wait. Noticing Theo was approaching her limit, causing the exceptionally durable bed to creak under the strain of her brute force, Vahn set aside the [Tantalizing Pinion] before gingerly cing his palm on her abdomen. This caused her to turn statuesque in an instant, her agonized moans ceasing as she releasedbored breaths through her nose, her blindfolded eyes staring towards where his hand had made contact. Due to her own insistence, Vahn, as the Master, had trained Theos body to the point that, without his permission, it was very difficult for her to climax. Inversely, the moment he gave her permission, her body would eagerly respond, so, after waiting for her to regte her breathing, Vahn stated in a firm tone, "Hold it..." Following hismand, Vahn put a bit of pressure into his middle finger and ring fingers, pressing into the lower part of Theos abdomen. Rather than stimte a traditional pressure point, however, he was massaging the muscle and tissue above her womb. Though he would never use it against a normal person, Vahn had further researched the phenomenon of lockpicking alongside Luvia and Da Vinci. As a result, he had learned how to train the uterus to be more sensitive without needing to use Nirvana Rebirth to restructure itpletely. Further increasing Theos sensitivity, thetter, after finding out about the benefits of bing his subordinate, requested that he use his Unit Modification to alter some of her preferences. He would normally refuse such a request, but, after talking about it a number of times and giving her a whole year to think about it, Theo still wanted to experience it. She hade up with a rather profound excuse, saying, "It is the privilege of the Submissive to be changed and sculpted by their Master..." In the end, Vahn only acquiesced to Theos plea after discussing the matter with Eva and taking a long break inside of his Realm. This gave him plenty of time to think about the peculiarities of his rtionship with Theo, ultimately epting his responsibility as her Master. She had already had her cor for nearly two years by then, so, even if he wanted to try and deescte things, it was a little toote. There was also the fact that Theo, ording to Eva, was a hopeless idiot who knew what she wanted better than most... With the indirect stimtion to her uterus, Theos jaw began to quiver madly as she did her best to repress her urge to climax. At this point, she had reached a state where it felt like she was stuck in a perpetual yet unsatisfying climax, a frustrating sensation simr to a leaky catheter. Despite this, she dutifully persisted, her face flushing madly as Vahns fingers slowly crawled down her abdomen, tracing the line of her panties. Then, as if finding a breach in her defenses, his startlingly hot fingers began to slowly descend, her breathing ceasing entirely as her toes curled in anticipation... After slowly tracing his hand across Theos smooth and unbelievably moist slit, Vahn gently probed herbium with his middle finger, stopping at the first joint. They had never advanced to the point of intravaginal y, deciding to wait until they became an official couple before crossing that line. This was for the best, as, when he got serious, Vahns forey, alone, could leave a woman feeling impassioned for hours. It wouldnt matter how many times he made them climax, as, after having sex for the first time, they would rarely be satisfied until he had released himself inside them a few times. Though he didnt probe very deeply, it was more than enough to reach the most sensitive part of Theos entire body, the tiny veiled bead hiding near the top. Before contacting it, however, he used his thumb to press into the pressure point between her abdomen and mons pubis. Then, in a firm yet guiding tone, hemanded, "Cum." The moment she heard his words, Theos back attempted to arch, but, due to her wrists and ankles being bound to the headboard, she didnt get very far. It was more than enough for his finger toe into direct with her clitoris, however, so, before the first wave even hit her, a powerful surge of electricity ran through her body as a tremendous volume of intravaginal fluid erupted from her inmed mound. It had enough force to cause a small spritz through her stained white panties, and, though it wasnt his first time seeing her squirt, Vahn was still mildly surprised by the intensity... Waiting until Theos mad twitching turned into a rhythmic undtion, Vahn unfastened the sp that kept her gag in ce, allowing her to sonorously cry, "Maahshtaaa~" as a fair amount of drool ran down the corner of her lips. She instinctually extended her tongue out, probing at empty air as her body continued to drown in a seemingly endless surge of pleasure. Her training ensured that she would continue climaxing for several minutes, only stopping after she had lost consciousness or when he had given his permission. Rather than fishing for a kiss, Theo was actually looking for proof that she had done well, so, with a calm smile on his face, Vahn inserted the index and middle fingers of his right hand into her mouth. His hand waspletely soaked with her love juices, and, in response to their taste, Theo began to eagerlyp them up, licking every nook and cranny of his right hand as he used his left to caress her head. Though some women chose to enjoy the reverberations of their climax for as long as possible, Theo had a service-oriented mentality. She was only allowed to stop climaxing after she finished cleaning his fingers, so, fearing she would lose consciousness before she was able to service her Master, she eagerly sought an end to her own pleasure. If he tried to move his fingers away from her, she would even strain her neck in an attempt to follow them, dutifully licking from the tips of his fingers to his wrist. Then, when she was confident she had finished her duty, she would begin to lightly suckle on the very tip of his index and middle fingers... Despite a feeling of incongruity, Vahn couldnt help but admire the beautiful bronze-skinned beauty with the tips of his fingers in her mouth. Though her nature didnt exactly align with most peoples concept of normalcy, he found her honesty rather endearing. He actually felt they were very simr people, but, due to the differences in their origin and upbringing, their inclinations were almost the exact opposite of each other. Theo demonstrated her tremendous trust by allowing him to have full control over her body, but, rather than relinquish control, she was actually liberating herself without fear of censure. This was something he could never do, so, for a number of reasons, Vahn had a great deal of respect for the future Empress, regardless of howpromising her position seemed. Rather, no matter what kind of position she was in, Vahn felt like Theo only became more beautiful with each passing moment... Deciding not to keep her waiting, Vahn extricated his fingers free of Theos mouth, an affectionate smile on his face as he softly said, "You can stop cumming now..." Like a marite with its strings cut, all the tensions drained from Theos body as a profound sigh escaped her lips. Then, still blindfolded, she looked directly at him, a radiant smile on her face as stated with full sincerity, "Thank you, Master...it was even more amazing than usual..." Though it was a peculiar sight to see a blindfolded woman show a sincere smile, especially with her wrists and ankles bound in an awkward position, Vahn had grown ustomed to it. Rather, it made his heart itch quite a bit when he saw her like this, so, before he unfastened the sps keeping her ankles and wrists bound, he leaned over her contorted body, removing the blindfold and rewarded her with a very deep, passionate, kiss... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Clothes can be more erotic than nudity (U w U)...,Bruh, this aint just ying any longer...,Theo has been training hard o3o...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1590 Endure

Chapter 1590 Endure

Though she was quite strong, Theos stamina was not unlimited, so, after ying around for the better part of three hours, the fun gradually came to an end. Afterward, she was beyond exhausted, but, like an affectionate cat, shey across Vahnsp, emting the sound of purring as he stroked her hair and body. His hand would meander about periodically, but, more often than not, it would end up near Theos butt, causing her to nuzzle against him whenever he gave it a gentle squeeze... At the same time that Vahn was caressing her body, Theo was returning the favor, a silken glove on her right hand as she absentmindedly stroked his still-erect member. There was a zed look in her eyes, and, though they had never had sex, Theo had be rather fond of her Masters marginally oversized meat rod. It was a little excessive, but, much like the man it belonged to, it was incredibly warm, and, despite appearing intimidating at a nce, she knew it would never hurt her. Rather, at some point in the not-so-distant future, she knew it would bring her unparalleled pleasure and an unequivocal sense offort. Seeing Theos mouth edge closer to his shaft, Vahn lightly smacked her butt, muttering, "It seems the kitty isnt quite satisfied..." Without any discernible sense of shame, Theo released a sonorous Nyaa~ beforenguidly raising her body to a seated position. Then, after a bit of adjustment, she was straddling his waist, herbia wrapping around his startlingly hot rod so that she could grind against him. She was exceptionally tired, but, knowing they would soon be parting ways, Theo didnt want to just fall asleep and waste the night away... Understanding Theos thoughts, Vahn just lightly shook his head, a wry yet affectionate smile on his face as he extended his hands to pinch her perky nipples. They were a lighter shade than the rest of her body, their base coloration a pale pink that made them stand out quite a bit. If not for therge crest at the center of her chest, they would have been the most dominant feature amidst the gentle brown slopes. If he were being honest, Vahn was a little annoyed whenever he saw Vrixhos crest, but, unless Theo wanted it removed, he had no intention of bringing it up. Instead, he intended to learn a little more about Vrixhos character when the opportunity presented itself... Due to her Masters use of [Hands of Nirvana], Theos hips gradually slowed to a stop as she steeled herself against his teasing. She was forced to bite her lip, her eyes shut as she fought the urge to try and stop his actions. What she didnt expect was, just as it started to be unbearable, he moved his hands from gently rolling her nipples to cupping her face. Her fur-covered ears began to waggle against her will, and, even before she opened her eyes, Theo already knew what her Master had in mind, her mouth parting in anticipation. After pulling Theo close enough that their lips could brush against each other, Vahn surprised Theo quite a bit by whispering, "I want to form a Pactio with you..." Though she would normally wait for permission, a shudder ran through Theos body as a heavy volume of love juices erupted from her lower body, staining Vahns stomach and the bed beneath. Her first instinct was to apologize, but, before she could form the words, Vahn sealed her lips with his own, gently kissing her until she was able to calm enough to answer, "Please...I want it...a Pactio with Master..." --- Not far from where he was sharing an intimate moment with Theo, a very simr scene was ying out in the room Vahn shared with Eva. She was also wearing nothing but silky white lingerie, and, as a precaution against him going too far with Theo, she had been keeping himpany for thest three hours. She had resolved herself to having sex, but, knowing she wasnt truly ready, Vahn had managed to keep his sensibilities despite having two youthful beauties allowing him to lead them as he pleased... With Eva straddling hisp in much the same way as Theo, Vahn ran his thumb along her bottom lip, an impassioned yet reflective look on his face as he muttered, "She said yes...are you ready?" Hearing Vahns question, Eva swallowed hard, a ruddy hue extending all the way down to her neck as she answered, "Just do it..." Without waiting further, Vahn began to kiss Eva rather passionately as a magic circle seemed to draw itself beneath the sofa. Even the creator of the Pactio system might not be able topete with him in its use, so, even without using the special chalk, Vahn was able to produce the magic circle in less than three seconds. Generally speaking, the person with weaker magical power would be the Ministra in a Pactio, but, due to the influence of his Source Energy and the willingness of the participants, Vahn was able to retain his status as the Magister. This was extremely easy with Theo, as she sincerely viewed him as her Master, but, in Evas case, Vahn had to spend thest three hours convincing her to entrust herself to him. Though this had been made easier by the four years they had spent together, it was still difficult for Eva to fullymit to a rtionship. Even now, Eva still believed she was beyond redemption, so, rather than say she didnt trust him, it was more urate to say she didnt trust herself. Thest four years had helped to melt the walls around her heart, but, until she couldplete her vengeance, she was unable to allow herself to move forward. She had a fear deeply rooted in her heart that warned her of ever getting truly close to people, a trauma engraved into her very existence by the Mage of the Beginning... As the light from the magic circle began to gradually fade away, a rather ornate tarot-like card fell to the ground. It was customary to grab the Pactio card to determine what kind of Artifact had been obtained, but, without minding the card in the slightest, Vahn and Eva continued to kiss for nearly ten minutes before thetter finally turned her face to the side, gasping for air. Seeing Evas tomato-red face, Vahns smile became even more affectionate as he gently guided her to look back at him. Her icy-blue eyes appeared slightly hazy in the low-light of the room, and, even if she tried to hide it, Vahn could see the love contained within. Thus, despite knowing she would be troubled by his words, Vahn mustered up all his sincerity, stating, "I love you, Evangeline Athanasia Katherine McDowell...if that card shows the symbol for Eternal Partners, I hope youll finally ept my proposal..." Hearing Vahns words, Eva furrowed her brows quite a bit as a conflicted look shed across her countenance. She had recently been considering whether or not she wanted to live the life of a mortal after they defeated the Mage of the Beginning. Immortality had brought her a lot of pain, but, despite her misgivings, she ultimately nodded her head before asking in a meek voice, "If it doesnt...are you finally going to stop proposing to me every day...?" Without any dy, Vahn shook his head, inly stating, "No way. If it doesnt say Eternal Partners, that just means Ill need to work harder in the future. Ive told you countless times, Eva...no matter what, Im not going to give up on you. Even if you-" Before Vahn could say anything about her falling in love with someone else, Eva covered his mouth with both of her hands, a slightly angry look on her face as she said, "I told you not to say stuff like that..." After waiting for Vahn to nod his head, Eva removed her hands from his mouth, leaning over to pick up her Pactio card. She was actually extremely nervous, as, for a number of reasons, she could easily imagine it showing the symbol for eternity. Vahn held the most important position in her heart, and, if he had been more forceful in his methods, she wasnt confident she could actually resist him... As this thought crossed her mind, Eva cautiously flipped over her Pactio card at an angle that Vahn wouldnt be able to see. The moment she saw her own appearance on the card, the redness of her facepounded. Illusory steam began to rise from her head, and, without even reading the runes and text on the cards face, Eva hid it against her chest, shouting, "You cant look...!" on instinct. Before Vahn could try to coax her into showing him the card, Eva floated free from hisp before taking things a step further by teleporting away. This left the former with a wry smile as he sat alone and naked on the sofa. He was tempted to give chase, but, knowing how quickly Eva could resort to violence when she was like this, he decided to give her a minute or two to calm down first... --- Knowing it wouldnt be too long before Vahn came looking for her, Eva found a secluded ce in the middle of the jungle. Then, after manifesting some clothes to properly cover her body, she, very slowly, took a peek at her Pactio card. The image on the surface caused a fresh shade of crimson to creep onto her face, but, rather than look away, Eva inspected it closely, her throat feeling tense and dry as she read the words Socium Aeternum near the bottom. Though she had thought herself prepared, Evas legs became weak when she read the words. This actually wasnt too surprising, but, when she saw what she was wearing in the Pactio image, it was hard to remain calm. After all, rather than a normal raiment or artifact, the version of herself in the image was, quite literally, wearing a white wedding dress. She was even holding what appeared to be a bouquet of Orange Blossoms, five-petaled lily-like flowers that represented eternal love. Feeling a little overwhelmed, Eva buried her face into her hands in a vain attempt to try and calm herself down. Whenever she peeked between the cracks of her fingers, however, the card was still there, a vibrant smile visible on the veiled woman depicted in the card. Part of her was tempted to activate it, but, knowing Vahn would appear shortly, she quickly dismissed that thought. Then, for a very brief moment, she considered ripping up the card then and there, but, imagining the look on Vahns face, she simply didnt have the heart to do so. Realizing she had made an irrevocable mistake, Eva couldnt help but lightly mutter, "Fuck..." as she stared nkly back at the card. She knew Vahn wouldnt force her against her will, but, now that it hade to this, it was almost impossible to refuse his proposal. Rather, she had already agreed to his terms before and after making the Pactio, so, even if he didnt insist, her pride wouldpel her to agree. This made her feel simultaneously exhrated and terrified, feelings of warmth contending against the urge to pull out her own hair... Just as Eva began to consider the viability of running away, she sensed a subtle fluctuation in the surrounding space. This was Vahns way of letting her know he was about to arrive, as, if he really wanted to, even she wouldnt be able to sense his movement through the void. Others had to force a transfer using a phenomenal amount of magic power, but, as if it took absolutely no effort at all, Vahn was able to walk through the void to reach his destination in an instant. Realizing it was impossible to run away, Evas shoulders drooped slightly as a familiar warmth appeared to her right. She made no attempt to stop Vahn from picking up the card, her long bangs more than capable of covering her eyes when her head was lowered... --- Though he was momentarily distracted by the stunning image of Eva in an ornate white dress, Vahn managed to tear his eyes away long enough to read the words written across the bottom. He could feel his heart palpitate before his brain fully processed them, but, having noticed Evas state before he arrived, he did his best to restrain his excitement. He wanted nothing more than to flit away into the moonless sky with her in his embrace, but, until she had officially said yes, doing something so extreme probably wasnt the best idea... Since he might not get a better moment, Vahn decided to push his luck a bit by moving to the front of Eva and taking a knee. Her head raised slightly in response to his actions, so, taking advantage of the opportunity, Vahn preferred one of his proudest masterworks. Like every wedding ring he had forged, it was the absolute pinnacle of what he could achieve as a cksmith, and, though it looked rtively simple, it was one of only two SS-Rank Artifacts he had ever forged... ---------------------------------------------------- [Endurance] Rank: SS (Divine) P.Def: 0 M.Def: 0 Abilities: Indestructible(Divine), Yin Elemental Affinity Increase(SS), Magic Nullification(S), Physical Nullification(S), Abnormal Status Immunity(S), Soulbound(Unbound) Use: Permanence: For the duration of three minutes, the user ispletely impervious to all forms of harm, cannot be bound, and has unlimited control over Yin, Darkness, and Ice Elemental Energy. (Warning: Item destroyed after use.) ---------------------------------------------------- Feeling a powerful resonance with the ring proferred forth by Vahn, Evas eyes instinctually followed its movements. Part of her was terrified by it, but,pared to the overwhelming anticipation that was steadily rising within her heart, it waspletely negligible. She knew Vahn must have forged it himself, and, despite never seeing it before, Eva had the distinct impression the ring was an intrinsic part of her, something precious and irreceable... Though he had proposed thousands of times before, this was the first time Vahn had brought out a ring. This added a palpable amount of gravitas to the situation, to the point Eva didnt even register the long speech Vahn had prepared. It was only when he called her name that she pulled her eyes away from the ring, meeting his loving gaze as he asked, "Eva...will you marry me...?" Unlike all the other times he had asked her, Eva didnt immediately answer. Instead, she just stared at him, her blue eyes showing an iprehensible mix of emotions, all buried behind a surprising mask of calm. This continued for nearly an entire minute, her expression slowly transitioning into a deadpan as she averted her eyes and answered, "Fine...Ill marry you...idiot..." Unable to contain himself any further, Vahn wrapped up Eva in his arms, and, like a rocket aiming for a distant world, he took off into the night sky,ughing like an idiot the entire way... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Oh my...,Eva stealing the show xD...,Rocket man~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1591 Understanding

Chapter 1591 Understanding

Around the same time that Vahn was being berated by a flustered and embarrassed Eva, Theo was eagerly trying on her raiment. Though itcked the designation of Eternal Partners, the rarest type of Pactio, it was anything butmon. Near the bottom of the card, where is denoted the type of Pactio that had been formed, Theos had the words Servitum and Fides in bold text. This literally tranted to Servitude and Faith, so, while not nearly as rare as Eternal Partners, it demonstrated that the rtionship between them was rather unique, to say the least... Fortunately, while Theo was very serious about their rtionship as Master and Sub, she was, first and foremost, a future Empress who enjoyed brawling. Her raiment consisted of a ck halter-top that left most of her back and shoulders exposed, ck armbands that covered her arms down to the fingertips, and a rather baggy pair of white trousers that tapered at the calves. Toplete the outfit, she had a hempen rope tied around her waist, light ting hanging on the sides, and leather wrappings around her feet that left the toes and heels exposed. Overall, Theos outfit made her look like a martial artist, and, with her unique Asauchi, consisting of ted gauntlets, it wasnt difficult to imagine her physically beating her opponents into submission. As for her Artifact, Arma Asura, it took on the form of a flower-patterned golden disk that floated behind her back. From this disk, tworge white arms would manifest, each capable of imitating her movements or acting independently to protect her body. It was an exceptionally suitable Artifact for Theo, and, though it would take some time to master, she was bound to be a monster at hand to handbat. Since she was using Vahns energy to manifest her Raiment and Artifact, Theo found herself filled to the brim with energy. If not for them being inside, Vahn could easily imagine her attacking him just to test her Artifact on a strong opponent. Fortunately, despite being a little excitable at times, Theo was a rather sensible young woman who took others into consideration. It was currently veryte at night, so, rather than try to convince him to do battle, she deactivated her Artifact before straddling hisp in her Raiment and expressing her gratitude until the sky outside began to illuminate... --- After they had both calmed down a bit, Vahn sat with Evas back to his chest as they perched upon the branches of a massive World Tree. It was only around a year old but its height had managed to exceed 100m under the influence of the rather ridiculous amount of Elemental Energy that existed within the Diorama. Now, it served as a secondary line of defense, protecting the stability of Space and Time within the Diorama. Even if an enemy was literally capable of destroying a, they would find it extremely difficult to destroy Theos Resort Diorama. It had effectively be a Sub-Realm at this point, and, in the future, Vahn was intending to use it to shelter the beaten, downtrodden, and exploited. At the very least, he wanted to provide sanctuary to the Elves, as, no matter how much time passed, it was hard to imagine people giving up on trying to exploit them. While discussing various matters of the future, including their wedding, Eva made it very clear that she didnt want to get married until they defeated the Mage of the Beginning. This wasnt much of a hurdle, but, as if to light a fire under his butt, she took things a step further by saying she wanted to preserve her chastity until their honeymoon. This hade as quite the surprise, as, more often than not, she was the one enticing or trying to seduce him. It didnt take long for Vahn to realize Eva was cing the restriction on herself, not him, so, after a rather potent silence, he ultimately nodded his head. He knew it wouldnt actually take much effort on his part to convince her otherwise, but, imagining how meaningful it would be if their first time was on their honeymoon, he decided to just go with the flow... When Vahn nodded his head, Eva felt an incredible amount of relief. She was afraid that she would gradually lose her desire for revenge if her rtionship with the over-affectionate idiot progressed even further than it already had. Now, even if she lost her patience and became desperate, she was confident Vahn would be able to rein her in. He ced an inordinate amount of value in each of his promises, so, unless somethingpletely unexpected urred, she didnt have to worry about doing anything stupid before obtaining her revenge... More confident in Vahns restraint than her own, Eva shimmied around until she was face-to-face with her new fiance. Then, after linking her arms around his neck, she whispered, "Youre a real idiot, you know that...?" beforeying her head against his chest. Rather than take offense to Evas words, Vahn just lightly chuckled, his arms gently embracing her body as he replied, "I love you too, Eva..." Feeling a sour sensation in her nose, Eva took a few deep breaths to calm down. Then, even though it caused her to feel embarrassed to the point of wanting to scream out, she managed to reply in a meek, almost inaudible, tone, saying, "I love you too...dummy..." --- Having stayed up all night, Eva and Theo both appeared exhausted by the time everyone gathered together for breakfast. This was noted by everyone present, but, rather than say anything, everyone just enjoyed breakfast in rtive silence. It was only when the table had been cleared that Eva broke the silence, surprising even Vahn by saying, "Though it wont take ce any time soon, Vahn and I have agreed to be wed..." Immediately following Evas announcement, an oppressive silence descended upon the table before Theo, showing a bit of confusion on her face, asked, "Werent the two of you already engaged...?" As Vahn often referred to Eva as his fiancee, nearly everyone outside of the Diorama believed they were engaged. This had been the case for more than four years, so, with Vahn and Eva sharing a bed every night, Theo, Arika, and even Asuna had all assumed they were actually engaged. Hearing Theos response, Eva found herself at a loss for words. She suddenly felt like she had fallen into some kind of carefullyid trap, but, knowing Vahn, this was extremely unlikely. It wasnt that he was incapable of scheming, but, when it came to the people he cared about, he was transparent to the point that even Asuna could see through him. After recovering her senses, Eva extended her left hand to show the ring Vahn had given her after she epted his proposal. It didnt stand out much at a nce, but, once you looked directly at it, it seemed to gradually pull you in. It seemed to be progressively more beautiful the longer you stared at it, and, after learning about its effects, even Eva had beenpletely gobsmacked... Seeing the ring on Evas finger, another silence permeated the room as everyones eyes fixated on the simple yet exceptionally refined white band. Even Arika, who had grown up never caring about such ornamentations, couldnt help feeling captivated by the blue gemstone at the center. It gave off the impression of looking into the night sky, almost as if an entire cosmos had been condensed into the size of a pea. Preempting any requests to have rings of their own, Vahn broke the silence, a calm smile on his face as he produced a few neatly packaged gifts, saying, "While it might notpare to an engagement ring, I put my heart and soul into forging each of these. I hope you will ept them..." Without leaving anyone out, Vahn passed around gifts to Arika, Theo, Asuna, Fenrir, Xiao Bai, and, much to their surprise, the entire assortment of Chacha sisters. Even Chachazero ended up getting a brand new set of knives, each graded as B-Rank armaments. She had a propensity for cutting things up, and, before Eva was forced to take her first life, Chachazero had done her best to keep her safe, dispensing of anyone who conspired against her Mistress with malicious intentions...(A/N: Eva was born in the 1400s. Not exactly the best time period to be a pretty young girl without a ce to call home...) Though they couldnt bepared to an SS-Rank engagement ring, none of the girls showed any signs of disappointment when they opened their presents. Arika ended up with an S-Rank bracelet that not only enhanced the efficacy of her spells, it also stored nearly three times her own reserves. It was a more advanced version of the essories he had produced for Haruhime in the past, and, over time, Vahn intended to give her a matching set to greatly amplify her capacity as a Mage... Since few gifts couldpare to the cor he had already gifted to her, at least within Theos mind, Vahn had to spend a bit of extra time on her present. Her box ended up being the biggest of all, as, on the inside, a full-body membrane was neatly folded within. It was a special type of garment that was worn like an extra set of skin, perfectly matching Theos original skin tone. What made it truly special, other than its defensive capabilities, was the fact that you could channel magic power into the membrane to exponentially increase its resistance and weight. Though its maximum weight was only 200kg, this could effectively multiply the force behind Theos strikes while also allowing her to drastically increase the effectiveness of her training. After learning about the effects of the peculiar skin-like clothing, Theos sapphire-blue eyes were glimmering with excitement. She nearly stripped then and there to wear it, but, after a warning look from Eva, she alighted to a nearby room to change in a more discreet manner. When she returned, her appearance hadnt changed in the slightest, but, when she pounced on Vahn, it felt like he had been hit by a truck due to her weight effectively quintupling... Once Theo had finally calmed down, Vahn helped Asuna properly wear her gift. She had taken up the habit of wearing bells in her hair, seemingly with the intent to further train her ability to sneak up on him, so, after a bit of consideration, he decided to give her a hand. She was already immune to most physical and magical attacks, so, rather than infusing resistances into the bells, he did his best to make them as durable and sensitive as possible. Unless you channeled an extremely precise amount of magical energy into the bells at all times, they would release a persistent and pleasant tune. Even opening the box was enough to cause the four bells to ceaselessly chime, and, due to how difficult it was to route precise amounts of magical energy through the hair, it took Asuna several minutes to get them under control. Despite this, she had a happy smile on her face, pouncing on him in much the same way as Theo the moment she got the bells under control... Wrapping up the present opening session, Fenrir opened hers to reveal a voucher that allowed her to make any singr request of him. As for Xiao Bai, he received a pair of manacles that, much like Theos present, also had the function of increasing their weight. Instead of 200kg spread out across the body, however, they each weighed 50kg, and, when activated, increased to 500kg. Five-hundred-kilograms wasnt much for someone like Xiao Bai, so, to make them even more useful for training purposes, Vahn enchanted them to be attracted to each other. Unless you maintained perfect control, even separating them would be difficult, so, if he wasnt careful, even someone like Xiao Bai risked serious injury while performingplex moves and techniques. Without waiting, Xiao Bai readily wore the metallic manacles around his ankles,ughing excitedly once he realized how difficult even walking would be. He was a hopeless training junkie, so, while others might feel inconvenienced by such a gift, he could hardly resist the urge to go on a long sprint. As for Fenrir, she decided to hold onto her voucher, an excited glimmer in her eyes that told Vahn she already had something in mind regarding its use... --- Once everyone had opened their presents, the atmosphere within the dining room had improved considerably. This took a bit of the wind out of Evas sails, but, as nobody had been surprised by the mention of her engagement to Vahn, she decided not to care. She had expected a bit of drama, but, due to Vahns intervention, everything had been neatly concluded. The only thing remaining was to discuss the arrangements she had made with Arika and Theo, so, after appreciating the sweets Vahn had prepared, she dragged the two into her private room. The moment the door closed behind them, the atmosphere around Arika and Theo changed quite a bit, both showing varying degrees of seriousness. Even Theo could guess what Eva wanted to talk about, so, taking the initiative, she asked, "How long do you want us to wait...?" Resisting the urge to wince in response to Theos question, Eva adopted an apologetic expression as she answered, "I asked Vahn to wait until our honeymoon...unless something changes, we wont be married until after we defeat the Mage of the Beginning. I know this is a little unfair to the two of you, but I dont want us to get distracted before weplete our objectives...we all have things we want to aplish. Vahns love is more potent than a drug...I was afraid I would lose my desire for revenge and end up leaving everything to him..." Surprising Eva somewhat, Arika was the first to nod, her expression turning even more serious as she said, "I understand your concerns. After spending these four years together, even I have had thoughts of entrusting everything to Vahn. I once believed I would be able to stand proudly with him supporting me from behind, but, after experiencing his memories, I cant help but question my capacity as a ruler. There are times when I just want to request him to fix our world, but, knowing he intends to move on someday, I am unable to ce the burden of my own responsibilities on his shoulders..." Nodding her head in agreement, Theo added, "If I didnt take a firm stance, Im positive that Vahn would have returned to the Capital to eliminate all of my enemies. Entreating him to be my Master was all I could do to prevent myself from begging him to be my Emperor, shishishi~." Towards the end of her words, Theo affectionately rubbed the cor around her neck, a somewhat goofy smile on her face as she continued to snicker. This earned her pointed looks from both Eva and Arika, but, even without experiences like the previous night, she was confident she would never regret her decision to submit to her Master... Deciding to ignore the masochistic idiot, Eva turned her gaze toward Arika, inly stating, "Then we need to discuss how well proceed from now on. If we leave everything to that idiot, were bound to be just another group of women that relies on him to solve all our problems. Im already a big enough burden as is...I dont want to be a useless woman who just watches from the sidelines as Vahn fights my battles for me..." Hearing Evas words, Theo finally stoppedughing as she, alongside Arika, nodded her head in firm understanding... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The birth of the Bronze-Skinned Asura...,Anti-climactic xD...,TFW the person you like is a literal God without any perceivable limits...)(A/N: Click thisment to see what Theos raiment and artifact look like.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1592 Small Steps Forward

Chapter 1592 Small Steps Forward

While willfully ignoring the conversation between Eva, Arika, and Theo, Vahn was helping Asuna prepare for her big day. Today was thest day of the school year, and, considering she was going to be traveling the world with them, it was thest time she would be attending the same ss as all her friends. Though this didnt seem to bother Asuna too much, Vahn still wanted her to be able to say a proper goodbye. Since it was thest day of school, making it a half-day, everyone had been allowed to wear casual clothes. Vahn had prepared a prim and proper dress for her, but, perhaps indicating she was about to enter her rebellious phase, Asuna surprised him by refusing to wear it. Instead, she opted to wear afortable white t-shirt beneath a red cashmere tank top. This suited her fairly well, but, seeing the rest of her ensemble, a number of questions sprouted within Vahns mind as he asked, "Are you sure you want to wear that...?" After lightly scrunching up her face into a bitter expression, Asuna matter-of-factly stated, "I dont want to have to wear dresses all the time like Arika. Clothes like this are morefortable. Besides, dont they look cute?" Restraining an awkwardugh, Vahn did his best to smile casually as he answered, "You would look cute in anything, Asuna. Im just worried the skirt might be a little too short..." Though it wasnt the first time Asuna had worn a skirt, she normally wore pants, leggings, or spats to cover herself. Her current outfit was a stark contrast to her normal wear, as, not only was her skirt much shorter, barely covering the upper-third of her thighs, but, other than her striped socks, she wore nothing else to cover her legs. This made Vahn feel slightly fretful, as, even though Asuna had vehemently refused to be his daughter, he couldnt help worrying about her... As if it wasnt a big deal, Asuna crossed her arms with a rtively casual expression on her face as she said, "You really dont have to worry so much. Even if a pervert did try to look at my panties, I would just beat them up. Besides, Im almost five and all the older students wear short skirts. Since Im already qualified to graduate, I dont want to continue wearing childish clothes. These are a lot morefortable and I kind of enjoy the breeze." Hearing Asunas logical retort, Vahn couldnt help but adopt a wry smile. She had be a lot more personable and outgoing over the years, but, at the core of her character, Asuna was still a very frank youngdy. Unless you had a reasonable argument to convince her otherwise, she was the type that stuck to her decisions once they had been made. She was very simr to Aoko in that regard, and, while it wasnt exactly a bad trait, Vahn often found himself in awkward situations as a result of her willful personality. Realizing there was no sense in trying to argue, as everything Asuna said was the truth, Vahn just plopped his hand down on her head, adopting his usual smile as he said, "I sometimes forget just how mature you are...if this is what youre mostfortable with, I wont force you to change..." Though she was used to getting her way, Asuna still smiled radiantly when she heard Vahns words. She actually just wanted him to start seeing her as more of an adult, and, though it was a little early, she wanted to start sculpting her future image. She had researched adolescence quite a bit so she was confident she could fast-track through all the developmental stages. It would take a few years, at the very least, but she should be able to get Vahn to recognize her as a woman by the time she was nine years old. Though she wasnt against waiting until she was ten, her instincts told her that it would be harder to convince Vahn if she didnt take the necessary steps early on... Unaware of Asunas forward-thinking mentality, Vahn dutifully brushed her hair before helping tie it into her usual style. He had tried to style it in other ways, but, after humoring him, she would always ask him to change it back. When asked why she was so attached to the style, she would remark that it simply felt right. She even wore the style to bed, so, for more than 95% of her life, the only real exception being during baths, Asuna always wore her hair in twin-tails. Immediately after Vahn tied the bells to her hair, Asuna hopped up from the chair, a radiant smile on her face as she gave him a quick hug, saying, "Thank you." Then, without waiting for his usual response, she dodged his hand, picking up her backpack as she added, "Im gonna visit Grandpa Qing. Ill be waiting outside." The moment Asunas words fell, her figure vanished into motes of magical light. This denoted her departure from the Diorama, leaving Vahn smiling awkwardly as he looked to Fenrir and asked, "Did I miss some kind of major development...?" As if she was seriously considering her response, Fenrir brought her index finger near the corner of her mouth, pressing into her squishy cheek with a thoughtful look on her face. Then, after around a minute of reflective silence, she answered, "Asuna has always been a good girl, but she is also very clever. She already has Master wrapped her little finger, so this is probably a way to make you more conscious of her? Do you want me to check and see if she is wearing adult panties...?" Hearing Fenrirs question, Vahn felt like his thought process had ground to a stop as he imagined the adorable Asuna following a simr route to her cousin. As Fenrir stated, she was a very clever young girl, so, after Arika and Theo established a precedent, she would have grounds to argue that it wasnt a big deal if she did the same. This thought caused him to take a seat on the chair Asuna had been using, a potent feeling of exasperation momentarily overtaking him. Vahn was well aware of the fact that Asuna had decided to pursue him, to the point he had even discussed the matter with Vesperina, but, in spite of this, he wasnt prepared for her to start taking proactive measures so soon. He could tolerate her aiming for him in the distant future, but, if she suddenly became precocious, he wouldnt really know what to do. Mentally, she was more mature than most adults, so, if she got serious, she would be even worse than Tina with her ridiculous luck... Though she would normally go tofort her Master, Fenrir discreetly pulled out a tiny crystal to record his current state. She had be very close to Asuna over thest four years so she had a decent understanding of the fateful girls character. She was very sensitive to anything concerning Vahn, so, if Fenrir showed his current state to her, Asuna was bound to change her approach. If she believed her actions were causing Vahn genuine duress, there was no way she would continue using the same method. After recording the scene for a few seconds, Fenrir pocketed the tiny crystal in the pouch she had kept at her hip for more than a hundred years. It wasnt the original one her Master had gifted her, but, ever since the time she used to carry around her favorite brush, Fenrir had always kept a small pouch on her side. Her current one effectively served as a pocket dimension, as, with the exception of her cor, she had never liked wearing essories. She kept all her interspatial rings inside of her pouch, each neatly arranged on an indestructible silver chain... With the crystal safely stowed away, Fenrir approached her Master, grabbing his head and allowing his face to nestle into her breasts. They werent thergest, but she was supremely confident in their softness. She knew her Master was more interested in her ears, tail, butt, and paws than her breasts, so, while others might worry about it, Fenrir didnt particrly mind. Instead, she used an unnamed transformation magic to make her body even softer, lightly humming the same tune she had stolen from Tiona nearly a hundred years prior... --- Unaware of the piddling existential dilemma she had put Vahn through, Asuna was enjoying a few snacks as she sat atop thep of a kindly middle-aged man. Though he had delicate features that made him appear simr to someone in their mid-twenties, there were streaks of grey and white in his otherwise long ck hair. He wore ornate white robes that made him appear like an Immortal cultivator, but, much like Vahn in his previous Qinglong transformation, the man had two antler-like azure horns and long, elf-like, ears. Though everything about the man stood out quite a bit, his azure-blue eyes, set within a handsome, cold, and detached face, were his most noteworthy features. Those with lesser willpower would find it very difficult to stare directly at the man, and, if he turned his eyes upon them, they would feel an instinctualpulsion to look away. Those daring enough to make eye contact with him would find a pair of golden slits that seemed to look straight through them, rending their soul asunder as if the Heavens themselves were about to pass judgment upon them... Completely ignoring any intimidation factor the man might have, Asuna fearlessly dangled her feet from atop the mansp. He had tried to intimidate her in the past, but, the moment she found out his weakness, he had little choice but to acquiesce to the pampered princess demands. People wouldnt think it by looking at him, but the draconic man, Qinglong, was exceptionally weak when it came to beingplimented. After convincing him to allow her to sit atop hisp, pointing out that Vahn let her sit on his, Asuna had managed to pacify him with a fewpliments. He was especially weak to beingpared to Vahn, so, after saying hisp was nearly asfortable as thetters, Grandpa Qing became the second person to dote upon her. After eating a few of the animal crackers that Grandpa Qing had prepared for her, Asuna disyed her most radiant smile as she said, "Thanks for the snack, Grandpa Qing. Your baking skills improve every time I taste your cookies!" Hearing Asunaspliment, Qinglongs long ears twitched slightly as he averted his cold gaze to the side and remarked, "It is to be expected...I have put a lot of effort into improving..." Resisting the urge tough, Asuna just nodded her head, an even wider smile on her face as she added, "I cant wait to try the next batch. Though I still like Vahns best, your cookies are getting pretty close to his. Im looking forward to the day you are able to bake just as well as him~." Though it was very subtle, a slight smile appeared on Qinglongs face as he heard Asunas words. He used to feel troubled by her referring to him as a Grandpa, but, after dealing with her antics for thest month, she had grown on him. She was also important to his Master, so, even if he wanted to correct her behavior, he had learned to tolerate her. Rather, he felt she was also pretty cute, and, though shecked the dignity of a Dragon, she was still very impressive... Just as Qinglong was about to question Asuna about the results of her training, Qinglong smoothly transitioned her from hisp to the floor as he rose to his feet. He sensed the subtle fluctuations in the surrounding space the moment it had been initiated on the opposite side, so, by the time Vahn, Eva, Arika, and Theo appeared, he was already on his feet. His dignity as his Masters most powerful subordinate did not allow him to disrespect him in any way. Unless Vahn directly gave him leniency to sit, Qinglong would never be caught idle in his Masters presence. Cupping his hands in a highly reverential manner, Qinglong bowed low as he said, "This lowly Qing greets the Supreme One..." Having already grown ustomed to Qinglongs greetings, Vahn cupped his hands politely in turn, a casual smile on his face as he answered, "It has been less than a day since ourst meeting, but it is good to see you in excellent health, Qinglong. Please, raise your head. Tell me, did you notice any rats skulking about...?" After raising his head, Qinglong gave a very slight nod as he exined, "Though there has been an increase in the security presence around the estate, it has not deterred several people from trying to scout the perimeter. As per Masters request, I have ignored those with the wherewithal to stay outside the estate. Fortunately, after thest batch was dispatched, none have been foolish enough to enter the premises directly..." Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn turned to Theo, a concerned look in his eyes as he lightly stated, "After today, this will be your matter to resolve...just remember-" Before Vahn could continue any further, Theo grinned wide enough to show her teeth as she flexed the muscles of her right arm, saying, "Im not a dainty maiden, Vahn. Just you wait, Im going to turn the Empire on its head after I return. At this point, I might even be able to give that idiotic gori a run for his money~!" Though the odds of her defeating Jack were very slim, Vahn knew there was a fair amount of truth behind her words. He didnt know how strong the man had be since their battle, but, if he was the same as before, the current Theo wouldnt be helpless against him. Her Pactio might even allow her to directly contend against him, and, if she managed to awaken her Zanpakuto, she might even be able to win outright... Understanding Theo was trying to prove herself in her own way, Vahn just adopted an affectionate smile as he extended his hand to caress her head. She had worked hard to continually surpass her limits over thest four years, so, while it was easy to forget at times, Vahn knew she was already one of the strongest people in the world. He also knew she wanted him to trust her, so, while he couldnt help but worry, he could, at the very least, keep his concerns hidden... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Asuna is scary o_o...,Tsundere Dragon,Vahn still has trust issues after more than 270 years xD...) (A/N: Regarding Asunasments about being 9-10 years old. This would make her between seventeen and neen-years-old in a world where it is normal for people much younger to get married and have children. Mundus Magicus might have advanced technology, but, unless you are born into the privileged ss, essing it is almost impossible. Depending on the country, between 25-30% of people dont even survive until adulthood. This is a world where exiting your walled city or vige, even for a few hours, might very well end in a violent death. Even foraging in the woods is extremely dangerous, as, at any point in time, some magical creature might make you its lunch xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1593 Gifts, Promises, and Partings

Chapter 1593 Gifts, Promises, and Partings

Though the actual graduation was only for Senior students, there was a small ceremony at the end of each school year to celebrate the sessfulpletion of the grade. It was also one of the only days throughout the year where outsiders were allowed to enter the Academies, so,pared to the norm, there were quite a number of people moving about. As a result, Vahn found himself being pestered by quite a number of profligate families and minor Nobles, many taking advantage of the fact he had advised their children to try and foster a positive rtionship with an Ancient Dragon. Fortunately, with very few exceptions, most of his students were able to dissuade their parents from trying to pester him. They hade to venerate and admire him quite a bit, so, for the most part, it was the families of his fans that pestered him. This included quite a number of people who wanted to hire him as the private tutor for their children, but, as Vahn had no interest in such things, he did his best to politely refuse them. In most situations, this was more than enough to deter people, as, after purging quite a few disreputable Nobles, there werent many who wanted to offend him. The only families Vahn didnt immediately send away were those of the students he had counseled over thest few months. This included the family of Naomi, who, upon learning of his impending departure, spent nearly every lunch period in his office. She had gradually opened up to him about her problems, and, to the best of his ability, Vahn helped to rebuild her confidence. She still had a long road to recovery, but, after talking through her problems and making an effort to be one of the best students in her year, she was able to smile a lot more than before... Though he wasnt too surprised, Vahn had a wry smile on his face as he hugged the crying Naomi in his arms. Her mother, father, and grandmother all had simrly wry smiles, but, more than anything else, they had sincere gratitude visible in their countenance. Though they would have preferred not to experience such a tragic sequence of events, their family had prospered from Naomi mustering up the courage to ask for Vahns help. All of their debts had been absolved, and, most importantly, their daughter had received a number of blessings to ensure a prosperous future. Not only was her schoolingpletely paid for, no matter how long she wanted to stay, but, out of consideration for the trauma she had experienced, the Grandmaster had promised Naomi a position as an Associate Professor once she decided to graduate... After a fair amount of coaxing, Vahn managed to get Naomi to stop crying long enough to say, "It is good to cry...emotions arent something that should be bottled up...Still, I dont want you to feel sad about our parting. Rather, I want you to see this as an opportunity to show me just how much you can grow without my help. You are a smart girl, Naomi, and, believe it or not, your heart is very strong. If you continue to look forward, there is no limit to what you can achieve. When I return to Ariadne in the future, I want to be able to praise your aplishments...do your best, not for me, but for yourself...okay?" To punctuate his words, Vahn hugged Naomis trembling body tightly, gently caressing her small back until she managed to calm down enough to answer, "Ill do my best..." in a meek, sobbing, tone of voice. Hearing the young girls response, Vahn slowly released her from his embrace, a radiant smile on his face as he said, "Im so proud of you, Naomi...here, I want you to have this. It isnt much, but, whenever you feel lost, it will help show you the way forward..." As was often the case when someone received a gift, Naomis mood improved quite a bit as she looked at the curious octagonal pendant Vahn had given her. She noticed it had a sp on the front, and, after opening it, the interior revealed a peculiarpass. Instead of pointing towards the direction of North, however, the red arrow seemed to be pointing directly at Vahn no matter how she moved it. Noticing the direction of the arrow, Vahn issued a light chuckle before exining, "This is known as the [Sparrows Wayfinder]. In the hands of a skilled user, it will allow them to locate everything their heart desires. Here, without looking, try and focus on your mother while staring at the red arrow..." Having developed the habit of always listening to Vahns counsel, Naomi stared at the red arrow while doing her best to imagine her mother. Though it continued to point at Vahn for the first few seconds, it began to gradually flicker the more she focused on her mother. Then, pointing through her, the arrow locked in on the location of her mother, bringing a happy smile to her face as she looked toward Vahn for praise. This caused the arrow to immediately snap back to him, but, as she had managed to follow his instructions properly, Vahn lightly chuckled before ruffling her raven-ck hair... --- After finally seeing off Naomi and her family, Vahn rejoined Eva, who, for quite a while, had been staring at him from the side. She wasnt really mad, but, with a serious look on her face, she didnt hesitate to ask, "Was that a good idea? If other people find out about the use of that Artifact, there is a good chance she will be targetted." Though there was some truth to Evas words, Vahn shook his head, smiling wryly as he asked, "What Artifact are you talking about...?" Hearing the unexpected question, Eva frowned deeply as she consideredmbasting Vahn for how casually he was treating such a serious subject. The moment she tried to recall the Artifact, however, she was surprised to discover that she couldnt actually remember what he had given away. Rather, she couldnt even remember who he had given the Artifact to... Understanding Evas confusion, Vahn took the initiative to exin, "It is an ancient magic spell from another world, one known as the Fidelius Charm. It is a spell designed to conceal a secret within the Ego of an individual, making the contents of the secret impossible to discern. Unless they are able to pry the information from me, nobody will be able to recall the function of that Artifact or who I had given it to. Even her family would immediately forget about it the moment they look away, so, unless something unexpected happens, she should be safe from harm." Though he had ced a number of other enchantments on the Artifact, Vahn didnt feel the need to mention them. He obviously wouldnt give such a powerful item away at random, so, after failing to use the uniquepass to locate the Mage of the Beginning, Vahn modified it to protect the girl whose bravery had saved hundreds. Though he would have always discovered what the former Arch Dean was up to, there was no way of knowing how much time would have passed before then. She might not see it that way, but Naomi was a hero to the students who had suffered alongside her... After trying and failing to recall who and what they were talking about, Eva eventually released an exasperated sigh, crossing her arms as she said, "I sometimes forget how ridiculous you are...is that charm in one of the books we have in the library or is it something floating around in that endless expanse you call a mindscape...?" Withoutmenting on Evas barb, Vahn pulled out an ancient-looking text with the words, How to Keep a Secret written across the surface in golden-leaf. Then, before he could hand it over, Eva snatched it out of his hands with a greedy look in her eyes. She had always been the type to put a considerable amount of effort into her magical studies and research. Without this quality,bined with her genius-level intellect, Evas life would have been a lot harder... After stowing away the text in her own pocket dimension, Eva turned to Vahn, a teasing smile on her face as she asked, "So, how much longer are we going to idle around here? Dont you have a big fan meet to attend? Those brats would be disappointed if you didnt show up." As it was alreadymon knowledge that he would be leaving Ariadne at the end of the school year, Vahns fan club had been nning a grand event for thest two weeks. To make matters even worse, it had been officially sanctioned by the Grandmaster. It was even on the brochure that was being passed around to visiting parents, designating two hours of time immediately following the graduation ceremony taking ce in the main venue. Though there was still more than half-an-hour until the graduation ceremony was supposed to start, Vahn decided it wouldnt be the worst idea to attend. He was very aware of his poprity, so, if he could make the day special for the graduating ss, there was no harm in attending. They had helped contribute to the growth of his power in the Akamatsuverse, so, while it would certainly be a little troublesome, it was the least he could do in return. Deciding there were no serious downsides, Vahn nodded his head, extending his hand to Eva as he said, "Shall we alight, my beautiful Fiancee~?" Hearing Vahns address, Eva lightly snorted through her nose, but, rather than refuse, she dutifully extended her own hand. Then, earning quite a number of envious looks, she walked alongside him as they went to retrieve Asuna... --- As it was impossible to have any proper interactions when Vahn was around, as he quickly became the center of attention, Asuna had been alone with her ssmates for much of the morning. Some had gone off with their parents to visit Vahn in his office, but, for the most part, everyone gathered together for one final celebration as ssmates. They had all put in a considerable amount of effort to be the most prodigious ss in the entire Academy, so, while there was still a bit of tension between some individual students, everyone generally got along well with each other. Without the distraction of Vahn, Asuna was the center of attention, especially with her peculiar style of clothing. She wasnt the only one wearing casual clothes, but, unlike her ssmates, her clothes seemed to be imported from Mundus Ventus. This stood out quite a bit, as, for the most part, even the children of rich and affluent families still wore old-fashioned clothes made from cotton, linen, or wool. Only a few people could afford clothes made from silk and synthetic fibers, so, despite their rtively simple design, Asunas clothes seemed like high fashion to most of the impressionable young girls. Asuna didnt particrly enjoy being the center of attention, but she had always done her best to try and make as many friends as possible. She wasnt able to understand the behaviors and thought processes of some of her ssmates, but, for the most part, she had figured out how to get along with most people. The key seemed to be simply listening to their concerns and showing an interest in what they were interested in. A surprising number of people just wanted to be heard, so, even if you didnt actually care about what they were talking about, simply showing an interest was enough to win over even proud and haughty Nobles... After being pestered about her clothing for quite a while, Asuna perked up slightly when one of her ssmates, a girl that started wearing her hair in twin-tails a few months prior, asked, "Arent those different from your normal bells, Asuna...?" Though she had been smiling the entire time, Asunas face brightened up when someone asked about her bells, happily answering, "Vahn gifted them to me just this morning. Im d someone noticed. Thank you, Amalia~." Hearing they were a gift from Vahn, nearly ever girl surrounding Asuna eyes the pair of golden bells framing her twin-tails. Amalia even seemed like she was on the verge of trying to snatch them, but, knowing there was a drastic difference between Asuna and herself, she stayed her hand. It was well known that Asuna was a Princess of Vespertatia, so, even if she was tempted to use the status of her family, Amalia knew the only thing she would aplish was disappointing Vahn... Restraining the urge to chuckle in response to her ssmates greedy eyes, Asuna adopted a casual smile as she said, "There is no need to fret. Knowing Vahn, he has prepared gifts for the entire ss. You just need to wait until he shows up..." Toward the end of her statement, Asunas ahoge twitched in a tell-tale manner. Everyone who had been listening to her instantly turned their heads to the entrance of the ssroom, their expressions lighting up as Vahn stepped inside. Then, like a school of fish shoaling, they all migrated over as a singr mass to surround Vahn and Eva. This was par for the course whenever Vahn entered the ssroom, but, triggered by Asunas promise of presents, they were even more eager than normal. Fortunately, as had been prophesied, Vahn had, indeed, prepared presents for everyone in the ss, teachers included... To prevent any kind of argument or infighting, Vahn had procured high-quality magic brooms for each member of the ss. These were more advanced than anything on the market, and, unlike the traditional variety, consisting of a simple wooden handle and bound straw, they were more practical and stylish. Not only were they curved in a way that made them easier to sit on, but, unlike most of themercial brands, they had hinged footrests to allow for greater bnce and control. This was typically only seen in brooms designed for racing, but, as it didnt really make sense not to include them, Vahn made sure to incorporate them. Though some of the students werent too enthused by the fact their presents were brooms they werent even allowed to use, their mood instantly improved when they found out Vahn had made each of them by hand. Not only did they have his Makers Mark embossed into the side, but, unlike a traditional magic broom, they were all B-Rank items with several powerful enchantments ced upon them. This included anti-theft and auto-pilot functions, but, most importantly, they came with B-Rank Shock Mitigation and a toggleable propriety function that obscured the view of anyone looking up at the girls from below. He had also discussed the matter with Sidra, so, unless they got into an ident or caused trouble, everyone in his ss was allowed to freely ride around the city afterpleting a mandatory course on broom etiquette. Once they learned about this, the only thing preventing Vahn from being stampeded by the excitable horde of students were the brooms themselves... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Stay strong Naomi (T ^ T)...,Asuna is very meticulous (O x O)...,Vahn just became an enemy of every tourist lingering around the female Academies of Ariadne xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1594 Obligation

Chapter 1594 Obligation

After extricating himself from the flock of over-zealous students, Vahn, apanied by Eva and Asuna, attended the Seniors Graduation Ceremony. His arrival at the venue garnered a fair amount of attention, and, after some skillful diplomacy on behalf of Grandmaster Sidra, he ended up being wrangled into handing out the graduation certificates while Eva and Asuna watched from the VIP viewing area. Though Vahns poprity was emphasized by the female poption of Ariadne, it wasnt as if he was unpopr with the male staff and students. Quite a number of people looked up to him, and, on the weekends, he would often give open lectures that anyone was allowed to attend. He always did his best to treat all students fairly, and, so long as they didnt do anything to offend him, Vahn was, generally speaking, very personable and easily approached. Thus, while not as extreme as the reactions from the female students, even the male graduates appeared nervous and excited while receiving their graduation certificates from the legendary Sage Dragon Emperor. There were even a few who froze up when he extended his hand to shake theirs, their faces going red after hearing the audience chuckle in response... Originally, the graduation ceremony was only supposed to take around half an hour, with students quicklying on stage to receive their certificates, but, due to Vahn giving advice,bined with the tarrying of certain students, it took nearly three times as long. As a result, the ceremony ended up flowing into the Fan Meet that had been scheduled by Grandmaster Sidra. Vahn suspected this had been her reason for convincing him to hand out the certificates, but, as it didnt really take up any additional time, he didnt particrly care. Instead, he maintained an approachable smile as he transitioned from handing out diplomas to signing memorabilia. As could be expected of the residents of a magical world, the members of Vahns fan club had gone all-out when it came to their idtry. One of the top ten members had even managed to convince her family to produce various, limited-edition, figurines. This ended up being surprisingly lucrative, so, after the sess of the first few batches, it became possible to find his figurines in nearly every store that sold souvenirs and niche goods. There were even a few miniatures that showed his battle against Jack Rakan,plete with a surprisingly realistic depiction of Laev-tan. Vahn wasnt particrly fond of his likeness being used to generate profit, but, as it had happened in every Record thus far, he wasrgely immune to it. He was also pretty sure that Eva had been the one to start the trend, so, rather than make a big deal out of it, Vahn allowed his more zealous fans to do whatever they wanted. So long as they didnt do anything extreme, such as producing things like dakimakuras, anatomically correct figurines, or charms that supposedly contained his hair, their behavior was rtively harmless... --- After a few exhaustive hours of dealing with fans, Vahn, having reunited with Arika and Theo, was attending a banquet that specifically catered to the upper echelons of society. Eva and Asuna were also present, but, after getting annoyed by thescivious, envious, or curious looks from a number of people, the former ended up leaving early. As for Asuna, she didnt particrly care how people looked at her, and, though she was generally very sociable, shergely ignored anyone that tried to approach her while he was distracted by other conversations. As members of the Ostian Royal Family, Arika and Asuna garnered even more attention than Vahn himself. Though it wasmon knowledge he was protecting them, rumors of his neutrality had also circted amongst the more profligate families. He was considered to be cut from the same cloth as Ancient Dragons such as Vrixho, Yggdrillia, Ildarion, and Lisriltra, so, as long as you didnt vite the terms of some arbitrary covenant, there was no particr reason to fear him. Every Ancient Dragon had a specific creed they followed, and, after his actions in the Hes Empire and Ariadne, various rumors regarding what he could and couldnt do had already be part of the mon knowledge. Some of these rumors were pretty ridiculous, but, as most worked in his favor, Vahn had never taken steps to correct them. Not only did their misunderstandings allow him a considerable amount of freedom, but, if his enemies lowered their guards by mistakenly believing he had certain restrictions, he could easily use that to his advantage. Fortunately, even if they believed they were rtively safe from repercussions, it only took Arika and Asuna retreating to his side to deter most people from approaching them. Even if you were told by a reputable source that a dangerous magical creature was actually harmless, the number of people who would willingly enter a cage with one was very limited. Vahn already had a few hundred deaths under his belt, so, even if they hadnt done anything wrong, the fear of what could happen was enough to deter even the more opportunistic individuals... While watching a number of people try to muster up the courage to approach their table, Vahn had an amused smile on his face as he turned to the woman seated to his left, asking, "Have you grown tired of socializing...?" Hearing Vahns question, Arika ced her wine ss on the table, her expression a perfect mask of neutrality and elegance as she answered, "I have never been fond of parties and social gatherings. I am even less fond of pretense, false decorum, and needless pandering. It is gatherings like this that inevitably lead to corruption. They pretend to be forging connections for mutual gain, but, when it ultimatelyes down to it, their ultimate goal is to secure the greatest amount of benefits at the least cost to themselves..." As there were powerful barriers surrounding their private table, Arika wasnt particrly concerned about being overheard berating the other guests. A significant number of people had approached her in the hope of trying to discuss the probability of a trade agreement with Ostia. She wasnt too bothered by this, but, whenever she guided the conversation towards what they were doing to help their people, the conversation would quickly be awkward. Though she didnt expect them to suddenly invest all their wealth into making the world a better ce, the excuses they came up with in order to shift the burden of responsibility to others quickly wore away her patience. Arika had already been aware of the ws of the Guild System and the privatization of businesses, but, ever since she left Ostia, she was constantly reminded of just how bad things had gotten. Prior to Vahns intervention, even a purely academic city like Ariadne had been a breeding ground for the vile and corrupt. Money seemed to make the world go round, and, if you didnt have any, there was no end to the number of people who would readily take advantage of you. There had even been an officially sanctioned department that was tasked with providing loans to students, literal children, in exchange for signing a magically binding contract thatpelled them to serve within the Empires military for upwards of eight years. (A/N: This equates to around 15 years on Earth o_o...) Hearing Arikas biting words, Vahn couldnt help but wonder if this was how others felt whenever he went on a tirade. He actually agreed with her, but, for some reason, it simply sounded wrong when it wasing from her. Part of him even wanted to defend the people she wasmbasting, as, in a way, they were simply doing what they could to guarantee their own happiness. The world might be a better ce if everyone was more selfless, but, in the end, it was very hard for people to endanger themselves and their families on behalf of someone elses cause, no matter how righteous it might be. Deciding he had a responsibility to prevent Arika from bing too jaded with other people, Vahn adopted a thoughtful smile as he calmly stated, "When the system is broken, it is very difficult for those affected to bring proactive change. Unless they have considerable power and influence, they stand to lose everything in the event of failure. There cannot underestimate the lengths those with vile and wicked hearts will go to in order to protect their interests. The only solution to corruption is to convince those responsible to have a change of heart or somehow assure them there are greater advantages to pursuing a different course of action. People are far more opportunistic than they are altruistic, so, unless they are forced to change, most people would even willfully ignore the plight of others...more often than not, it simply isnt worth it for them to get involved." Not expecting Vahn to argue against her, Arika couldnt help but furrow her brows in consternation. She wanted to rebut him, but, more often than not, Vahns words ended up striking at the heart of the matter. He was much younger than she originally believed, but, in the end, he was still far older and more experienced in such matters. He had also risen to godhood through his own efforts, and, prior toing to their world, he had expanded the influence of his Empire throughout an entire world. Though his actions were rather extreme, he had effectively reformed an entire world in less than a single generation... Understanding Arika needed more convincing, Vahns smile turned slightly wry as he added, "Even we arent an exception to this rule, Arika. If you were less opportunistic, things between us would have progressed much slower. As for me...well, in a way, this entire situation is the direct result of me taking advantage of my knowledge to alter events I found distasteful. Though I havee to genuinely respect your character and ambition, my original intent for visiting Ostia was to search for enemies and prevent Asuna from being used as a weapon...in hindsight, the fact I spent thest few years training her seems rather hypocritical..." Though thest part of his statement was more of a jest than anything else, Vahn wasnt surprised when he felt his right sleeve being tugged. When he turned his head, he found Asuna staring up at him with a very serious expression on her face as she said, "It was my decision to train. All you ever did was treat me well. You never tried to convince me to be stronger in order to fight against anyone. If you start saying things like that...I will be super angry at you..." Hearing Asunas remark, Arikas expression returned to normal as she added, "Asuna is correct. You should fix your bad habit of assuming me and responsibility for everything. Simr to Asuna, it was my decision to set out on this journey. I pushed myself to be stronger in the pursuit of my own beliefs, and, as you pointed out, I willfully took advantage of your knowledge for that purpose. I now see the lesson contained within your words...instead ofying me on others, I just need to continue doing my best to bring about the change I want to see...is that it?" Forced to choose between looking left and right, Vahn lightly squeezed Asunas hand with a smile on his face before turning to Arika and answering, "I suppose that is the easiest way to put it. More often than not, that is really the only thing we can do. So long as we continue doing our best, it is only a matter of time until we bring about some kind of change. Whether or not that is good or bad doesnt really matter. Even if we make mistakes, we can always improve upon them and simply do better the next time around. In my personal experience, persistence,bined with hope, is all that is necessary for good to triumph over evil...overwhelming power also helps..." Realizing he was making a joke, Arika subtly rolled her eyes before picking up her wine ss and taking arger-than-average sip. Then, finding a bit of courage, she rose to her feet with a look of conviction on her face, smiling slightly as she said, "Persistence and hope...Ill keep that in mind..." With those parting words, Arika alighted to where the Grandmaster was entertaining some of the more affluent guests. She knew her words might not have much of an impact right now, but, when she managed to change the upper echelons of society, those in the lower rungs would selectively recall the fact she had approached them. Then, in the pursuit of their own interests, they would rally behind her cause as if they were the very champions of righteousness... --- At the same time that his other vessels were attending other tasks, one version of Vahn could be found seated atop the highest point in Ariadne, the tower that served as Sidras office. He had Theo seated at his side, and, though it wasnt their first time watching the sunset, the atmosphere around them was unusually solemn and mncholic. Though the usual warmth was present, the knowledge they would be parting in a few short hours weighed heavily on both of them. Vahn hadnt intended to fall for Arika and Theo, but, after more than four years together, they had both managed to weasel their way into his heart. If not for his promise with Eva, it wasnt difficult to imagine how things might have developed between them. Their personalities actually paralleled Ais and Tiona to a scary degree, so, every now and then, Vahn couldnt help but be reminded of his first time. It was a rather awkward memory, but, even without his perfect memory, Vahn was certain he would have never been able to forget the penultimate moment where his journey truly intersected with others for the first time... Regardless of how much time passed, Vahns desire to return home never faded. Rather, it became progressively stronger, so, whenever he was reminded of the past, Vahn would be reminiscent, reflective, and focused. This made it even harder to part with those he hade to care about, but, knowing it was for the best, he didnt try to convince Theo to stay. She was determined to follow her own path, not for him, but to prove herself and test her own limits. She didnt want to be entirely reliant on him, so, unless she asked for help, it was his duty to support her from behind... Shortly after that thought crossed Vahns mind, Theo surprised him quite a bit by absentmindedly muttering, "I want to have a baby..." After blinking a few times in surprise, Vahn turned to face Theo, a gentle smile on his face as he looked into her upturned eyes. He was about to say something, but, before the words could form on his lips, she added, "Not now...but eventually...it might be selfish of me, but, if you really do leave this world one day, I want something to remember you by...I cant leave this world and abandon my responsibilities as Empress, so, even if it is a bit shameless of me, I want to increase your reasons foring to visit me...if you have a family here, I can rest easy knowing you will eventually return..." Hearing the sadness and longing in Theos voice, Vahn couldnt help but feel as though she had gripped his heart in her hands. Various thoughts began running through his mind, but, before any could take form, he answered, almost as if by instinct, "I promise..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: The return of Vahn dakimakuras...!?,Asuna putting her foot down xD,Theo used Ainzs favorite move, Grasp Heart...its super effective!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1595 Focus

Chapter 1595 Focus

With the sun having long set over the horizon, Vahn found himself standing on the bow of Arikas Airfish, the aptly-named Custos Rosea, literally tranting to Pink Guardian. He was enjoying the feeling of the evening air running through his hair, while, back on the deck, Fenrir and Eva leaned against the guardrail, silently watching him. Eva wanted to admonish Vahn for fretting over nothing, but, whenever she mustered her courage to try and approach him, she would ultimately get cold feet. She didnt really know what to say, but, seeing him like this made her feel ufortable. His rtionship with Theo wasnt that close, so it was a bit disconcerting to see how much their separation had affected him. It actually made her feel a considerable amount of guilt, as, on several asions, she had wondered whether or not it would be for the best if she just disappeared... Fortunately, after idling for a little over an hour, Vahn turned around with his usual smile. There was still a mncholic gleam in his eyes, but,pared to how he was behaving earlier, it was a marked improvement. This allowed Eva to breathe a sigh of relief, her concerned expression rxing into an uncharacteristically sympathetic look as she said, "Its good that you came back to your senses. Your behavior directly affects everyone onboard...if you need to talk..." Remembering Vahn could simply retreat into his Realm to recuperate for as long as he wanted, Eva was ultimately unable to finish her statement. She wanted him to rely on her more, but, as that was a two-way street, it was hard to give advice when she often bottled up everything. Vahn didnt need her coddling, and, unless she was willing to be more honest, it would be hypocritical of her to force him to- Unable to finish her train of thought, Eva found herself being embraced by a familiar warmth, her face buried into Vahns chest as he softly stated, "Thank you, Eva. Now that were finally engaged, Ill be sure to rely on you more often..." Though she was slightly startled by Vahns words, Eva was even more surprised when Vahn stopped her from replying with a kiss. Then, under the light of the twin moons, he continued kissing her for several minutes before finally letting her stand on her own two feet. By the end of it, her face was a deep shade of crimson, and, as a result of the chaotic state of her mind, the only reaction she could manage was ring at him with upturned eyes and a slight pout... --- Having calmed down a bit, Vahn returned to the interior of the Custos Rosea to put everyone elses minds at ease. There, he found a rather heartwarming sight, as, despite their age difference, Asuna had quickly be friends with Euryale. They were ying a card game that was even popr in a ce like Mundus Magicus, as, unlike traditional trading cards, the monsters and heroes were able to level up and grow over time. Rare and high-level cards could actually sell for tens-of-thousands of Drachma, but, despite the costs involved, it was still very popr... Noticing Vahns arrival, Asuna and Euryale, without needing to say anything, simultaneously came to the conclusion of suspending their match. They helped each other pick up their respective cards while Stheno, who had beenzily lying on the sofa with a fashion magazine, readily tossed it to the side as she pounced over with a radiant smile. Her maroon-red hair, which now extended well past her feet, became suffused with a violet hue, the tips morphing into rather vicious-looking snakes as she constricted Vahn hard enough to pop his back... Rather than showing any difort, Vahn just chuckled lightly as he wrapped up the adorable little Gorgon in his arms. Her hair had always been very honest, simr to her mothers, so, whenever she got excited, it was easy for her to lose control. Fortunately, after the preliminary crushing force, the tension in her hair would quickly reduce to a more tolerable level. Head pats sped this process up, so, after a few seconds had passed, Vahn managed to transition Stheno to his left arm, bringing her face close enough that she could sneak a peck on his cheek before tightly hugging his neck. By the time Vahn was preparing to take a seat, Asuna and Euryale had finished cleaning up their card game. As a result, he ended up having to produce two extra bodies, one to amodate the two girls while the other sat between Fenrir and Eva. Around the same time, Arika, having noticed the gathering due to the interior surveince system, emerged from the bridge. She upied the remaining sofa on her own, lightly shaking her head in response to the questioning look that had briefly shed across Vahns countenance. With the exception of Xiao Bai and Medusa, everyone currently onboard the Custos Rosea had gathered together within themon area. As for Zhuque and Qinglong, they had been tasked with the protection of the Ariadne and Theo, respectively. Vahns intuition told him that something might happen in Ariadne following his departure, so, for the time being, he had Zhuque watching over the Grandmaster and her daughter. As for Qinglong, Vahn trusted him a lot more than Vrixho, so, until Cosmo Entelecheia had been exposed, he wanted the former to protect Theo. She was more than strong enough to fight her own battles, but, due to her character andck of experience, Vahn couldnt help but worry about her. Prior to their separation, Vahn had entrusted Theo with the [Tri-Force of Power], so, unless she was in mortal peril, Qinglongs primary responsibilities would be shadowing her from the void, helping gather information, and assisting in her training. Theo was descended from Vrixho, so, while it was currently sealed, she had the potential of awakening her draconic heritage. Theo was already capable of performing a weakened version of a Dragons Roar, so, with the proper guidance, she was bound to reach her full potential even without her Diorama. The only thing she really needed was powerful opponents and sufficient external pressure, so, even if it made him very nervous, Vahn wouldnt interfere with the internal affairs of the Empire unless she directly asked for help... --- With everyone gathered, Vahn spent a few moments to ay their concerns about his mental state before reiterating their current objectives. They had already discussed them at length over thest few years, but, now that they were officially underway, it felt like a good idea to reaffirm everything from scratch. Thus, after quickly preparing tea and snacks, he exined, "ording to the reports I have received from Fairy Xuan, Rubra has already made quite a name for itself over thest half a year. They have even managed to win the favor of a few Senators, elevating them to the status of Special War Power within the Confederacy. Though there are several indicators showing they dont actually sympathize with the Megalomesembrian Senate, it seems like they are already determined to fight against the Hes Empire in theing war..." In the original timeline, Megalomesembria had been the ones to instigate the war, but, due to a few internal conflicts, the Hes Empire had managed to win a number of key battles pretty early on. As a result, Megalomesembrai had been forced on the back foot almost immediately after the onset of war, losing all westward momentum. This caused a few of the greedier Nobles in the Hes Empire to petition for a reverse invasion, shifting the objective from protecting territory to conquering and seizing Confederatends. While it wasnt umon for the tides of battle to shift in the wake of an attempted invasion, the majority of historians and schrs heavily criticized the Hes Empire for their actions. After all, thends upied by the Confederacy werent exactly prosperous, so, other than Megalomsembrian technology, there was very little to gain from a reverse invasion. To make matters worse, they had to upy several other countries just to establish an extended supply line, forcing them to shift a considerable amount of resources to support the frontline. This left the Capitalrgely unprotected, and, due to rampant conscription, famine and economic instability quickly followed after a number of water sources had been poisoned. As a result of their desire to monopolize and seize Megalomesembrian technology for themselves, rather than try to negotiate for it, the Hes Empire ended up grossly overextending their forces. It became progressively more difficult to protect their supply lines, and, after a climactic battle near the Argyrian frontier territories, they ended up suffering a major defeat at the hands of none other than Rubra. Prior to the battle near the Argyrian Sea, Nagis party had primarily focused on aiding the people affected by the war. Though they had conducted a few raids on supply lines, bing known as The Great Nagi Guerri Knights, they hadnt proactively participated in the war. It wasnt until the Empire began razing fishing viges to try and starve out the Confederacy that they became fed up with the state of affairs, pushing back with extreme prejudice. From that moment onward, Nagi had be known as the Red-Haired Demon of the Confederation, as, without any help from the rest of his party, he managed to wipe out three battalions of Imperial soldiers, sinking seven Air Whales in the process... After realizing how terribly they had erred, the Hes Empire attempted to remedy the situation by hiring Jack to hunt down Nagis party. They had originally tried to conscript him, but, as the leader of the most powerful band of Mercenaries, that hadnt gone over too well. His troupe had taken up the responsibility of protecting various towns and viges, so,pared to the Aristocrats who had caused them to suffer great hardships, his poprity, forck of a better term, was extreme. In the end, it took the Emperor agreeing to shift arge number of forces away from the frontlines to convince Jack to mobilize. This ended up saving countless lives, as, shortly following the shift in the wars momentum, an especially harsh winter swept across the Empire. This would have made it even harder to maintain the already dwindling supply lines, so, even after a number of Nobles had attempted tobel Jack as a traitor for joining Rubra, many within the Hes Empire considered him a Hero. He was so well-liked, in fact, that, following the abduction of Theo, the attempted coup of the Second Prince, and the exposure of Cosmo Entelecheia, many within the Empire began to vie for Jacks im to the throne... Ideally, the war could be prevented in its entirety, but, unless he was willing to deal crippling blows to both the Empire and the Confederacy, resulting in tens-of-millions of deaths, it was impossible to stop. Both sides were simply too eager for the conflict, and, as a result of decades of propaganda, a majority of the public fully supported the idea of going to war. For many, it was their only chance to distinguish themselves and earn promotions for meritorious deeds and dutiful service. If not for the tides shifting twice in a rtively short period of time, coinciding with famines and economic instability on both sides, the Great Magic War likely would havested for several years. Thus, when it was revealed that the true masterminds behind the war were Cosmos Entelecheia, a group with the penultimate goal of destroying the world, the Empire and the Confederacy didnt hesitate toy all me upon them. In the end, the Great Magic War hadnt evensted an entire year in Mundus Magicus before the destruction of Ostia. Following the destruction of Mundus Magicus oldest Kingdom, both sides formed a loose alliance to battle against the forces of Cosmo Entelecheia, but, other than supporting Alba, they actually contributed very little. Rather, Megalomesembria was still under the influence of Cosmo Entelecheia for years following thepletion of the war, and, if not for the timely efforts of Nagi and his party, Arika would have been executed as part of a conspiracy they had propagated... As it stood, the best course of action was to bring the war to an end as quickly as possible. In order to aplish that, Arika would need to forge alliances with influential figures and both sides. Theo was already the best possible ally they could hope for within the Empire, so, if they could meet with Rubra before the onset of war, they would have a lot more options moving forward. Nagi might be an idiot, but, as this was often the case when it came to protagonists, allying with him wouldnt be a detriment to their cause. Rather, unlike a burgeoning protagonist like Bell or a fallen Hero like Shirou, Nagi possessed a truly phenomenal amount of power, to the point ofpelling Fairy Xuan to express her concern... In hindsight, Vahn realized it would have saved him a lot of problems if he sought out Nagis group early on, but, despite a fair amount of headache, he didnt particrly regret how things had turned out. Not only had he encountered Eva early on, but, despite his initial inhibitions, Vahn hade to respect and love both Arika and Theo. They had grown on him over thest four years, and, though it might have been more convenient if they had ended up with someone else, he would now fight for them if it really came down to it... Though it was bound to create some awkward tensions, Vahn was looking forward to meeting the party that, at least for the time being, was entirelyprised of men. He had made friends in both the Nasuverse and Danmachi, but, as a result of his empathic nature and bad habits, Vahn found it very difficult to forge genuine rtionships with other males. This issue was further exacerbated by the number of beautiful women who apanied him, as, even if their intentions were pure, it was hard not to admire a beauty when they were right in front of you... Vahn was often surrounded by some of the most beautiful women in the entire Record, and, as a result, it was very awkward for other males to hang around him. Though not impossible, it wasnt easy for members of the opposite sex to maintain tonic rtionships. There was a reason Envy and Lust were two of the cardinal sins, as, after prolonged exposure, it was virtually impossible to prevent positive emotions from turning into covetous desire. Once the seed of attraction had been sewn, even if it waspletely one-sided, it was hard to stop your imagination from running wild. As a result, you would begin to interpret things like kindness and familiarity as interest and physical attraction. Eventually, you would even convince yourself that the other party was having the same kinds of thoughts that had started to develop within your own mind, forcing you to confront them in the hopes of confirming your suspicions. From that moment onward, it was no longer possible to maintain a tonic rtionship, as, once desire had taken root in a persons heart, it would either blossom or begin to fester... Fortunately, while he had dealt with a fair amount of drama, Vahn had never had to contend against another for the affections of someone he loved. More often than not, he was actually the one being pursued by a member of the opposite sex, so, for the most part, there was no realpetition. As a result, he had missed out on the opportunity to forgesting bonds with other men. Though he was able to befriend them rtively easily, it was only a matter of time before things turned awkward as a result of his many rtionships. Even dauntless characters like Alexander had gradually distanced themselves from the members of the Inner Sanctum, pointing out that men could never thrive in an environment where the petition was already decided... While it was probably toote to ensure a seamless integration of their two groups, Vahn was still looking forward to meeting the members of Rubra. Even if Jack had yet to join, he believed he would be able to get along with people like Nagi rtively well. There was also a skilled swordsman in the group, so, while the difference in their skill had likely created an unbridgeable gap, Vahn was looking forward to seeing the legendary Shinmei-ry techniques for himself. Even their most basic techniques were effective against Ghosts, Spirits, and Immortals, and, by the time they reached the level of Swordmaster, they could even cut through concepts. Since the technique scroll was listed at 300,000,000OP in the shop, Vahn had high expectations for the man rumored to y Dragons and cut through lightning with a wooden sword... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Eva on the defensive...!,The corrupt Nobles be like, "Yes, it was all the fault of Cosmos Entelecheia! They are so vile and greedy! Absolutely shameless!",Alexander is very wise...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1596 Echoes in the Shadows

Chapter 1596 Echoes in the Shadows

Shortly after Vahns departure from Ariadne, located deep within the most secretive region of the entirety of Mundus Magicus, a group of people dressed in flowing ck robes had gathered near the base of an empty throne. Each had their expressions shrouded by habit-like hoods, and, further increasing their resemnce to members of the clergy, every member wore a crimson-red chasuble with gold trim. The front of the garment roughly formed the shape of a keyhole near the bottom, while, flowing behind them, the garment split into four distinct de-like points. Near the center of the group of seven, standing less than two-thirds the height of every other member, a child-like woman with golden eyes that shone through the shadows cast over her face turned to the tallest member of the group, a dark-skinned man with simr golden eyes, asking, "Were you able to ascertain where the irregrity is heading? Our Revered Mother is eager to reim the Key of Twilight. If we miss this opportunity, it will take hundreds of years to create another Key. Failure is not an option." Meeting the gaze of the child-like woman, the inordinately tall man had a fierce yet stoic expression on his face as he answered, "That monster possesses the Power of the Gods and never rests. He has never once taken his eyes off the Key. Unless we reveal ourselves and seize the key by force, there is no practical way to recover it. To furtherplicate matters, he possesses the ability to manifest in multiple locations, and, from what my shadows have been able to discover, he can freely change his appearance and magical signature. His transformation is no simple illusion, either. Even with the Eye of Veritas, it was impossible to see through his disguise..." Rather than show any sign of perturbation, the child-like woman raised her head in response to the mans words, an intrigued smile on her face as she mused, "It seems Our Revered Mother is correct in her assessment. This irregrity seems to have crossed through the Abyss. Based on his actions thus far, it seems he has some knowledge of future events. How curious..." Hearing the musings of the young girl, every other member present showed expressions ranging from consternation to vehement disdain. They had been pursuing world peace for hundreds of years, but, the moment they were on the brink of achieving their objective, several anomalies had emerged. Not only had one of their most senior members defected, rearing a humanoid weapon that threatened to undermine all their ns, but, to make matters even worse, an Ancient Dragon, apparently from the Abyss itself, had emerged out of thin air... Unable to restrain his anger any longer, a burly man with heterochromatic eyes, one green, and one blue, shouted, "This is ridiculous! Let me deal with that bastard! Id like to see how that damn lizard is able to survive my Rupturing Fist...!" Losing her intrigued smile, the young girl red back at the man, her eyes zing like suns within the shadow of her hood as she inly stated, "For that man to have passed through the Abyss, he must havee into contact with the Witch of the Abyss. Since the time of his arrival, however, the Abyss has be nigh-impossible to ess. We can still send things through it, but trying to store and retrieve objects has be impossible. If that man has enough power to seal the Abyss, he is not an opponent we can afford to underestimate. Would you undermine twenty-six-hundred-years of effort and nning for the sake of your pride alone...?" Though the girl held the greatest status amongst them, the burly man didnt seem to particrly care as he immediately eximed, "Its a hell of a lot better than just standing around! Are we just going to keep waiting for our enemies to grow stronger and stronger!? Theyre already calling that brat created by the traitor invincible. If he is that strong as a snot-nosed brat, how powerful do you think hell be by the time he matures!?" Undaunted by the mans shouting, the young girl continued ring at him, a sly smile spreading across her face as she mused, "Hooo~? Is Archon of Might, Adonaios, afraid a snot-nosed brat will surpass him in power? Are you sure you arent just eager for a rematch against Iao?" Hearing the name of the traitor casually uttered by the young girl, everyone, including Adonaios, had dour expressions. Then, discarding proprietypletely, Adonaios massive fist smashed into the young girls head. This caused the upper half of her body to dissolve into pale-pink mist, but, as if she had suffered no damage whatsoever, the girl reappeared a few meters away, a dull expression on her face as she ordered, "If you wish topromise everything Our Revered Mother has tried to aplish, then go. Know, however, that you will also be considered a traitor the moment you act as you please..." Following the eruption of a golden aura, the burly mans robes disintegrated into nothingness. His expression was filled with vengeful fury, but, without the covering of the robe, his peerless physique came into view. It was like every muscle on his body was sculpted to perfection, while, flowing from his head, a wild mane of reddish-brown hair began to writhe about against the pull of gravity as his phenomenal magic power surged through the vast stone chamber... Before Adonaios could take action, the dark-skinned man pulled apart the sleeves of his robe to reveal unnaturallyrge, wed, hands. At the same time, his figure seemed to melt into the void before reappearing between Adonaios, his robes swirling around his feet as if they had merged with the shadows. His magic power couldntpete against the burly adonis, but, as one of the Shadow Apostles of the Mage of the Beginning, his power could tear through virtually any kind of barrier at near-light speeds. Rather than immediately attack, Adonaios slowly walked until he was standing right in front of the dark-skinned man. His height increased from 193cm to 250cm over the course of his rtively short journey, and, rather than teau, his power continued to increase with each passing moment as he stared down at the undaunted man and said, "Get out of my way, Dynamis. Do you think a puppet has any right to block the passage of an Archon? If our Master wont discipline her brat, Ill have to do it for her..." Hearing Adonaios words, two of the remaining four hooded members flickered next to Dynamis, their expressions severe as the shorter one, a man with spikey white hair, red eyes, and silvery-white gauntlets said, "Youre going too far, Adonaios. Master ced Sophia in charge while she is away. If you continue like this, you really will be a traitor..." Without backing down, Adonaios snorted through his nose, his magic power continuing to surge as he said, "Its not like that brat can die. Im just going to teach her a lesson. If she thinks she can just insult me as she pleases, she is in desperate need of a reality check. Now, get out of my way before I teach you a lesson as well..." With Adonaios refusing to back down, the trio guarding Sophia continued to release their auras, their power creating ss-like fractures within the void. Though these healed in an instant, Space was gradually beginning to destabilize around them. Despite this, none of the men backed down until a figure, upying the once-empty throne, stated in a ghostly voice, "Enough..." Even before the single word had fallen, nearly all of the magical energy within the room vanished in an instant. The only exception to this was the man named Dynamis, but, immediately after hearing the voice, he quickly retracted his magic power as he kneeled reverently towards the figure seated on the throne. With the exception of Sophia, who now appeared simr to a mature woman in her early thirties, every other member present within the stone chamber emted Dynamis actions. This included Adonaios, who, after calming down, began to realize just how much he had erred. He considered himself one of the most devoted followers of their Master, but, after hearing Sophiapare him to the traitor, he hadpletely forgotten him... Without looking, Adonaios could feel the gaze of his Master linger on him for several seconds. He could feel a pressure akin to a mountain pressing down on him, but, rather than offer any kind of resistance, he kept his head lowered in subservience. Even if he wanted to, there was absolutely no way he could stand against his Master, as, if she wanted to, she could strip away his power or even erase his existence itself with a singr thought... Fortunately, after several seconds of tense silence, the cloaked figure, which seemed to be formed from the same shadowy fabric as Dynamis cloak, turned to the woman named Sophia, its ghostly voice carrying a gentle undertone as it said, "It has been some time, Sophia...are you well?" Unlike everyone else present, acting as if their lives were on the line, Sophia continued acting in a casual manner, a natural smile spreading across her beautiful face as she answered, "My days have been rtively peaceful since my appointment as the Master of the Gravekeepers Pce. Though it seems like things are beginning to develop in an interesting direction, I am perfectly content. Thank you for your consideration, Mother..." Waiting until her daughter raised her head, the cloaked figure, known to many as the Lifemaker or the Mage of the Beginning, gave a curt nod before saying, "I have failed to make contact with the Root of Apocrypha. Ever since that mans arrival, the past, present, and future have shifted in ways even I cannot see. I do not know the full extent of the shift, but, as more time passes, I can feel the tapestry of fate slowly coalescing into a single stable thread..." While others might not be able to notice it, the Mage of the Beginning, Ialda Baoth, had be increasingly aware of Vahns influence. She was not able to influence the past, but she had always been able to peer into it. Ever since Vahns arrival, however, this ability had be more restricted, and, much to her surprise, several events that were supposed to have taken ce had now ceased to be. It was like history was rewriting itself to allow for the mans existence in the present, almost as if he had be the lynchpin of reality... Though it was an admittedly terrifying thought to imagine an existence that could rewrite reality just by virtue of its existence, Ialda was not particrly concerned. Rather, while it did not rekindle her faith in man, knowing there were truths yet unrevealed gave her hope. She had even sensed the World Soul shift in response to Vahn, elevating him to Apotheosis and allowing him to overwrite the Master Program without the Code of the Lifemaker. This was something iprehensible since the time of the Great Severance, the Absolution of Man, and the end of the Age of Gods. From the moment of the Great Severance, it became impossible for Gods to manifest for any great length of time. It took a considerable amount of Belief, numerous sacrifices, and a Grand Ritual just to create an Altar upon which they could use their power. Even then, there were various restrictions in ce, restrictions, which, if vited, would result in the True Death of the Manifested God. It was for this reason the Code of the Lifemaker had been created, and, without it, it shouldnt be possible to exercise the Authority of the Gods within Mundus Magicus. Ialda was extremely interested in Vahns existence, not just because of its anomalous qualities, but because it represented the removal of the restrictions that had directly contributed to the downfall of Man. Ever since the Great Severance, an event that was supposed to absolve Man of all sin, past, present, and future, the bnce of World had been destroyed in favor of stabilizing the other eight Realms. As a result, the World became a breeding ground for Sin, a yground for the corrupt who believed all their actions, no matter how heinous, were already forgiven. Following the Great Severance, Ialda had led countless innocents who became victims in the World that had been forsaken by the Gods. She had tried to create a paradise for them by converting the entirety of Inverse Mars, the Reverse Side of Mars, into one massive Altar. This allowed her to have unlimited Authority within Mundus Magicus, and, over time, she used that power to ensure peace and prosperity by creating a Phantasmagoria that ovepped reality. This power had given form to all the various magical and demihuman creatures that popted Mundus Magicus, creatures who, originally, were meant to dutifully serve Man. Unfortunately, the gue of Sin gradually spread from Mundus Ventus, the Old World, to Mundus Magicus, the New World she had created. Even in a perfect world, where they wanted for nothing, Man had been led astray by their errant wants and desires. Some began to see the creatures meant to serve them as equals, and, over time, this gave rise to rebellious thoughts. People quickly forgot the truth, and, in pursuit of their own interests, ideologies, and greed, they began warring amongst themselves, avariciously seeking more. In hindsight, Ialda realized she had been deluded to believe in a version of Man that had already been forsaken by the Gods. She had felt guilty about suppressing them with her absolute power, so, after providing them everything they needed to prosper, she ced a seal upon the Code of the Lifemaker. This effectively sealed her own power, and, seemingly out of spite for trying to seed where it had failed, the Root of Creation cursed her with an ability only it was supposed to possess, The Resonance. The Resonance allows and forces its wielded to feel the emotions of everyone and everything within the physical World. As a result, she was burdened with infinite empathy, a state which quickly drove her to madness. It was such a heavy burden on her mind that her physical body had been destroyed in its entirety, and, if not for the spiritual immortality she had obtained afterbining the White of Mars and the ck of Venus, she would have been erased after being forced to experience the pain, suffering, and death of everything in an instant. Despite experiencing iprehensible suffering, Ialda had felt vindicated by the Root of Creations attempt to punish her transgression into its domain. This allowed her to gradually recover her sense of self, and, though it was impossible to stave off the insanity that perpetually encroached upon her mind, it became the fuel that allowed her to endure into the present. The experience had also given her several ideas regarding permanant solutions, and, until she could bring all suffering to an end, Ialda was whollymitted to her cause. Now that Vahn had appeared, Ialda couldnt help but take an interest in his anomalous power. His ability to wield the Authority of the Gods with apparent impunity was reason enough to secure and study him, but, more than anything else, it was his ability to alter reality without directly influencing the past that drew her attention. If she could understand the principle behind his power, she might even be able topletely erase the memory of the past. This would allow her toplete most of her objectives with rtive ease, as, if they didnt remember why they were fighting, most people would ept the paradise she offered without resistance... As that thought crossed her mind, a crazed smile spread across Ialdas face as she raised her head, her ghostly voice akin to the whispers of Death itself as she said, "The time for war hase..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Its rarely a good thing when people are dressed like priests in a fantasy novel...,to be like, *heavy breathing*,Ialda is actually a very tragic existence...kinda simr to Olga from Fate Grand Order...)(A/N: There are A LOT of simrities between the Akamtsuverse and Nasuverse when you research them o_o...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1597 Onward

Chapter 1597 Onward

Though it wasnt exactly difficult, heading to Megalomesembria early was the same as inviting a considerable amount of trouble. They Megalomesembrian Senate wasnt exactly known for being reasonable, so, unless they intended to get wrapped up in politics and bureaucracy, there was no particr reason to rush over. At best, they would be able to get in contact with Rubra, but, at this point in time, convincing them without revealing the truth would be difficult. As Arika had pointed out numerous times, it was very likely that the people supporting Rubra were either directly rted to Cosmo Entelecheia or the Mage of the Beginning personally. At this point, she was thoroughly convinced they were the ones who had motivated her to basically turn her son into a weapon. After all, people like Nagi didnt just spontaneously appear out of nowhere. Megalomesembria had a nigh-absolute monopoly on the rearing of young mages back on Mundus Ventus, yet, despite Nagi having attended one of their schools, they were unaware of his monstrous talent? Reaching the pinnacle through ones own efforts wasnt impossible, but, far more often than not, it required you to have capable teachers. More importantly, you needed a strongwork of support to prevent your talent from being quashed early on. Even Vahn hadnt been able to get around this, and, without people like Tsubaki, Hephaestus, and Scathach, it would have taken him a considerable amount of time to reach his current level. The only way to reasonably increase your strength over a short period of time without support was if you were simply fated to be that strong. Even then, you would need to either be a machine or a literal sociopath, as, unless you had the mentality that sacrificed everything for power, even the most talented individuals would be limited by their connections and bonds. These very same things were the key to obtaining true power, but, until you had experienced hardship and ovee your natural limits, most bonds were a burden to progress. For someone like Nagi, who had literally dropped out of school due to his airheaded nature and apparent ck of talent, the only way he could have be so powerful while remaining hidden was if monstrously powerful individuals protected and guided him. He would have needed a ce to train in absolute secrecy, as, with his type of character, it was impossible for him not to stand out. Not only was he supposed to be rtively handsome, but, rather than hold himself back in at all, he was known to, quite literally, do whatever he wanted... The penultimate reasons behind Vahns decision not to approach Megalomesembria, other than his own self-awareness, was due to the fact that Eva actually knew Albireo Imma. Though they had very few interactions in the past, he had apparently been around for thousands of years as a few of Evas associates were also familiar with the mysterious mage. This made him even older than the Mage of the Beginning, as, ording to Evas oldest associate, a Vampire Noble who had lived for more than twelve-thousand-years, Albireo Imma had been present prior to the copse of the Venus ancient civilization, a time when mankind had still been living in caves back on Earth. Vahn wasnt particrly worried about the true power of Albireo Imma, as he had ultimately failed to defeat the Mage of the Beginning, but, as he had learned several times in the past, it was better to overestimate people, rather than underestimate them. Thus, during the discussion regarding their next course of action, he agreed to go with their original n of visiting the various sacrednds. Before that, however, he wanted to visit Elfenhof, as, during the early stages of the war, they were one of the first ces that had been razed to the ground. Though the Elves were protected by one of the four Sacred Dragons, a Wood-Elemental Dragon named Yggdrillia, they were constantly victimized by other nations. The reason for this was rather simple, as, despite all of her power, Yggdrillia wasrgely immobile. She was simr to Terra in that regard, so, if you targetted the periphery of her territory and ravaged thend, her only real option was to shore up her defenses and protect those closest to her. Despite being four of the most powerful beings in Mundus Magicus, the Sacred Dragons suffered from a pretty major weakness. Not only were they rtively slow, but, the moment they moved to the frontlines, they would leave their territorypletely exposed. They were also rtively massive creatures in their true forms, so, even if their resistances made them immune to most physical and magical attacks, they could still be overwhelmed and temporarily pinned down. During the previous war, Vrixho had even been sealed away for nearly six months, forcing Hes into a defensive battle until they were finally able to free him... Vahn had already decided to protect the Elves, so, before they could be victims in the early stages of the war, he intended to move them into the Diorama. This would undoubtedly garner a great amount of attention, but, when it ultimately came down to it, Vahn didnt particrly care. He still intended to be a deterrent, so, rather than hide away, he would continue to act in an open and above-board manner. The conspiracies of his enemies didnt matter in the slightest. Rather, the moment they tried to nder him or ce a bounty on his head, Vahn wouldnt hesitate to expose, punish, or outright eliminate them... --- Though it would have been possible for the Custos Rosea to fly directly to Elfenhof from Ariadne, it was better to keep the capabilities of Arikas modified Airfish a secret. Thus, rather than fly through Empire controlled airspace, they decided to head North towards Zephyria, a nation that served as a central trading hub between the Empire, Ariadne, Sirenum, and Granicus. It was strategically located in a region that served as and bridge between the continents of Elysium and Noachis Terra, two of the four major continents of Mundus Magicus. While not nearly as famous as Granicus to the North, Zephyrias location made it a gathering ce for Merchants, Schrs, and Mercenaries. It was considered the third wealthiest nation in the entire world, and, as the name Zephyria implied, it was also one of the nine sacred grounds. As for how it was able to maintain its sovereignty in such close proximity to Hes, this wasrgely attributed to the Great Spirit of Wind, the self-proimed Great Spirit of Freedom, Brave Enlil. As the most whimsical and vindictive of the Great Spirits, very few people were willing to make an enemy out of Brave Enlil. He had even flown all the way to Megalomesembria before, teaming up with the Great Spirit of Water to create a series of massive hurricanes that devasted the continent of Tempe Terra. If not for the intervention of the other Great Spirits, primarily the Great Spirits of Light and Fire, the nations surrounding Megalomesembria might have beenpletely wiped out in the wake of Brave Enlils vengeance. Though Megalomesembria had prepared several countermeasures to deal with Great Spirits since then, the event served as an effective deterrence against all nations. This was one of the reasons so many people gathered in Zephyria, but, perhaps even more important than Brave Enlils presence, it was the unique geography and the mentality of the people that kept them there. While it wasnt nearly as impressive as Ostia, a nation that floated gracefully through the sky, the Free-Nation of Zephyria was located high atop a unique mountain range. It was a region heavily popted with finger mountains, and, while thousands of bridges had been created to connect the unique structures, the most popr methods to get around included Airfish, Air Bikes, and, as could be expected, Magical Brooms. It was the only nation built in the center of an Air Stream, and, as a result, it was possible to fly around with considerable ease. Over time, Zephyria had literally be known as the City of Freedom, and, as a result of nearly every resident having the means to fly around, it had be the central gathering hub for those aspiring to be Sky Pirates or Skyfarers. It was also the birthce ofpetitive Airfish racing, so, if you wandered to the edge of one of the finger mountains, it was all but guaranteed that you would find a race in progress. There were even night races, and, though crashes weremon, it didnt deter hundreds-of-thousands of adrenaline junkies from flocking to the legendary city above the clouds... --- Though she did her best to conceal it, everyone aboard the Custos Rosea could tell that Arika was excited to visit Zephyria. It was one of the ces she wanted to visit the most prior to starting her journey, and, while it wasnt at the top spot, it was still her number two. The only ce she wanted to visit even more was the Noctis Labyrinthus, as, despite people exploring it for hundreds of years, there were always new Artifacts emerging from within its depths. Some of these items even seemed to originate from other worlds, or, at the very least, originated from civilizations that predated the creation of Mundus Magicus. Even though her family had records that dated back to the origin of Mundus Magicus, there were absolutely no records rted to the origins of the Noctis Labyrinthus. It was simply discovered at some point, and, since then, those aspiring to make a name for themselves and test their fortunes had probed its seemingly boundless depths. What made the Noctis Labyrinthus truly mysterious was the fact that it seemed to be growing at a slow but perceptible rate. This made some people believe it was alive, but, after tens-of-thousands of expeditions and hundreds of years of exploration, this hadrgely been proven false. Rather, by some unknown means, the Noctis Labyrinthus seemed to subsume the ruins of various civilizations all over Mundus Magicus. It seemed like the expansion of the mysterious region was the same as the natural encroachment of nature, and, after an uncertain amount of time had passed, ruins that had vanished from the surface would simply reappear inside or around the Noctis Labyrinthus... Arika was eager to explore the Noctis Labyrinthus, but, knowing there were more important things to attend, she wasnt in a particr hurry to probe its depths. She was more concerned about the state of Mundus Magicus and its peoples, so, unless it somehow became necessary to explore the Labyrinth, the odds she would ever enter it were slim. There were a number of better ces to train, and, with Vahn able to produce and create virtually any kind of Artifact, the strange region lost a lot of its appeal... --- As the Custos Rosea drew ever-closer to Zephyria, the number of Airfish traversing the Air Stream gradually increased. This marked a notable increase in the number of Sky Pirates targetting them, but, even without support, Arika was more than capable of outmaneuvering even the most skilled pilots. Her strength and focus had increased by a rather ridiculous amount of thest four years, so, even without Fenrir manning the weapons terminal, she was able to eliminate entire squadrons of Sky Pirates without any assistance whatsoever. While Arika was enjoying the thrill of piloting the Custos Rosea, Vahn was reclining against the base of its dorsal fin with Eva nestled next to him. A few meters ahead of them, Asuna, who seemed to be searching for her identity these days, was now wearing a grey tunic with a dark-blue haori. It was a rather casual look that loosely resembled the clothes Vahn wore, and, if not for her decision to wear beige hot pants, she would have given off the impression of a rather adorable swordsman from the Orient. Despite her age, Asuna was able to stand atop the Custos Rosea without being affected by the wind pressure in the slightest. Even when Arika performed ridiculous maneuvers like barrel rolls or flying upside down, she was able to remain stable without any discernible difficulty. Rather, as a result of her aura and burgeoning mastery over the state of Nothingness, Asuna could outright ignore the effects of the tempestuous wind. Though her hair was still buffetted, it flowed gracefully at its own pace, and, though her clothes werent particrly thick, they only lightly rustled as she wielded the pitch-ck Kyo, cutting down enemies hundreds of meters away without moving from her starting position. Asuna wasnt able to freely use her Zanpakutos ability just yet, but, if it was within three-hundred meters, she could create pressure waves and sword beams capable of slicing through reinforced magical metals. She had already reached the rank of Swordmaster, and, though she had a long way to go before reaching Grandmaster, the only thing holding her back was ack of opponents. She was unable to go all-out against the people she cared about, so, despite being surrounded by some of the strongest people in the Record, Asuna had reached a slight bottleneck. As part of her current training, Asuna was tasked with disabling any enemy ships that managed to approach within her effective range. She was prohibited from killing anyone directly, but, if the Sky Pirates ended up crashing after losing control over their Airfish, that was their own fault. It was their own bad Karma that pitted them against one of the Records Protagonists, but, unless it was a real threat, Vahn didnt want Asuna killing anyone directly. Instead, she was tasked with cutting specific cables or disabling the Airfish by severing one of its wings. This left the destiny of the pilots in their own hands, and, unless they made a serious of grievous mistakes, even a novice would be able to guide a partially disabled craft into a safending... With her degree of skill, Asuna had no problem urately hitting her targets. Thus, to kick things up a notch, Vahn had asked Arika to disable the Custos Roseas shields. This meant any stray attack could cause serious damage to the hull, but, despite some of the attacks moving close to the speed of lightning, Asuna was able to urately predict them. Her spatial awareness was amazing, so, the moment she noticed an enemy Airfish lining up to try and fire its weapons, Asunas [Shunpo] would leave behind a perfect after-image as she appeared within the attack vector. This was generally all it took to prevent the attack, as, even without proactively deflecting it, her [Magic-Cancel] was able to harmlessly disperse the magical energy just by being in proximity to the attack. Without needing to block the attack, Asuna focused on her counter, her pitch-ck Tanto cutting through the void to disable the enemy vessel as pirs of lightning harmlessly smashed into the invisible membrane that surrounded her body. Then, before her afterimage began to disperse, she would reappear in her original location with a neutral expression on her face. Despite this, Vahn and Eva could both tell that Asuna was trying to show off, knowing smiles appearing on their faces as they continued to leisurely observe the aerial battle until its conclusion... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Colonel Sanders is a sneaky old fart (UwU)...,Dont fuck with the Great Spirit of Wind xD...,Asuna takes after her Master (o 3 o)...) (A/N: Airfish dont rely on lift and drag forces to fly through the air. It would be more urate to say they float, so, even if they lose an engine, they would gradually list through the air like a boat that lost its propulsion.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1598 Entering Por

Chapter 1598 Entering Por

As a nation without any official Administration of governance, order within Zephyria wasrgely maintained by the various Merchants Groups, Mercenary Troupes, and, most notably, the Skyfarers Association. Thetter was not only responsible for the various different types of races that were so popr within the country, but, as their name implied, they managed everything from distribution to the policing of Airfish and other vessels. Prior to the existence of the Skyfarers Association, the most powerful force in the region had been a notorious fleet of Sky Pirates known as the Scarlet Armada. It wasnt until their leader formed a pact with Brave Enlil that Zephyria transitioned from awlessnd of brigands to a nation where various peoples gathered in the hopes of seeking wealth, fame, and, most importantly, freedom. There were still numerous bands of Sky Pirates that called the nation home, but, so long as they were inside its borders, even the most notorious bands followed the Sky Pirate Code that had been written by the first Queen of the Skies, the Founder of the Skyfarers Association, the Legendary Crimson Scarlet. The Crimson Scarlet had been so famous and revered during her era, that, when you first entered the borders of Zephyria, you would pass one of the thousands of statues depicting the legendary Sky Pirate. Each was approximately twenty meters in height, and, though it was strange to imagine, her statues formed a perfect circle that denoted the borders of Zephyria. Seeing the woman who looked eerily simr to Francis Drake, albeit with a loose braid that flowed from her wild hair, Vahn couldnt help but wonder what kind of person the Crimson Scarlet must have been. She must have been quite something to form a pact with a Great Spirit, and, if rumors were to be believed, it was the destruction of one of her statues that prompted the temperamental spirit to devastate the western coast of Tempe Terra... As she often apanied Vahn throughout the entire day, Eva hadnt missed the admiration that briefly shed across his eyes. She had also seen the statue, so, with an usatory look and a sly smile on her face, she asked, "Oh? Are even statues in your strike zone now~?" Hearing Evas remark, Vahn justughed in a lighthearted manner before exining the simrities between the Crimson Scarlet and Francis Drake. He also made sure to rify that Drake wasnt part of his harem, as, despite admiring her quite a bit, there was no way they could be together. Drake was a libertine who wholly dedicated themselves to hedonistic pursuits; someone who saw little to no difference between a paragon of virtue and a rogue scoundrel. She wasnt a bad person, not in the slightest, she simply believed people should be honest with themselves, and, rather than show restraint and pursue longevity, they should make the most of their transient existence to live as free and unfettered as possible. Though she disdained the vile and wicked, especially those that suppressed and tried to control others, she would rarely go out of her way to save others, iming, "If people were not so attached to their fleeting little lives, it would be impossible for them to be suppressed by others." In Drakes mind, people allowed themselves to be held back by their attachments. She genuinely believed that if the underprivileged began tomit suicide in mass, those who hoarded wealth and elevated themselves above others would be forced to change. After all, wealth and status only mattered when you had people to lord it over, so, ifmoners simply stopped caring about the restrictions ced upon them, such things would lose all meaning. She believed that people should be able to love freely, drink merrily, and if there was something they were interested in, they should be able to pursue it without fear of censure. Though Drakes mentality was very dangerous, it actually coincided with many of Vahns personal beliefs, so, rather than create conflict between them, they had mutual respect for each other. Drake appreciated the merit-based societal structure he had made, and, though she didnt agree with him on quite a number of things, she wasnt the type to proactively oppose anything. The only thing she really cared about was her own pleasures and pursuits, so, as long as she was allowed to sail, even under the banner of the Empire, she was happy. Fortunately, though she had solicited him hundreds of times, nearly every time they drank together, Drake was the type that understood that no meant no. Though she would tease him about being a hard-ass and a tease, she would never pressure or force anyone into having sex with her. Instead, she would simplyugh off their rejection before finding someone else to keep her bed and body warm for the evening. Then, with the dawn of a new day, she would try again, always epting no for an answer but never giving up on the things she wanted to obtain... Not expecting Vahn to suddenly sing the praises of a woman she had never met, Eva just rolled her eyes at him before remarking, "Its hard to tell which of you is the bigger idiot..." Hearing Evas remark, Vahn smiled affectionately as he wrapped his hands around her waist, holding her loosely in his embrace as he teasing mused, "Im willing to be the biggest idiot in the Universe if it means youll continue to love me..." Towards the end of his words, Vahns voice became progressively more heated as he brought his face closer to Evas. Her ears quickly turned red, and, by the time their lips were close enough to brush against each other, a ruddy hue had bled into her cheeks. The fact Vahn had stopped short allowed her to discern his intentions, but, rather than reward him with a kiss, she snapped her teeth in a biting motion before extricating herself from his embrace and saying, "Well be docking soon. I need to get changed..." Though Vahn didnt prevent Eva from walking away, he wasnt going to let her go that easily. Their rtionship had developed to the point that they often teased each other, so, just as she began to descend belowdecks, he reached out with his hand, lighting pinching the air. He was able to ignore most magical barriers, so, at the exact same moment, Evas body flinched quite a bit as she covered her butt with both hands. Then, after ring at him with rosy cheeks, she fled into the depths of the ship, hands still covering her butt... --- Unlike other countries, which had a limited number of ces to dock, Zephyria had thousands of small ports. Since Airfish were themon mode of transportation, nearly every finger mountain had a number of piers that protruded out from the rocky structure, many with dozens ofrge and medium-sized vessels moored around them. Most of these were located above a certain height, as, once you descended below the markers that were painted across every single mountain, you would officially enter the Cloud Sea where tens-of-thousands of Airfish flew about with little to no actual order or guidance... Though most pilots entering Zephyria for the first time would be intimidated by the disorderly sight of thousands of Airfish flying about, Arikas expression disyed a look of absolute tranquility. Even when foreign Airfish came within a few meters of their craft, she skillfully made adjustments to their course, deftly evading even the fastest-moving crafts. This drew a considerable amount of attention from a number of curious individuals, as, not only did Arikas Airfish stand out quite a bit, her skills as a pilot were as clear as the endless blue skies above the Cloud Sea... After skillfully navigating towards the heart of Zephyria, a massive structure that linked together a total of thirteen mountains came into view. This was the headquarters of the Skyfarers Association, the safest region within Zephyria, and the location of several globally famous Merchant Groups and Mercenary Troupes. They formed a perimeter around the Skyfarers Association, and, though there were a number of different factionspeting against each other, most came together for mutual protection and profit. Since she had no intention of hiding her status during her journey, Arikamunicated her identity and intentions to the Skyfarers Association. The Communications Officer who answered the call was more than a little surprised that the Princess of Vespertatia had visited, but, after a few minutes had passed, they were given permission to moor their vessel within the Associations primary dock. This was typically reserved for the most prestigious Skyfarer crews, but, given Arikas status, the ranking members of the Association were more than willing to make an exception. After following a small escort vessel, Arika effortlessly piloted the Custos Rosea into the hanger as Vahn, apanied by Eva, Fenrir, and Asuna stood on the deck. Arge crowd had already started to form, as, despite being a private dock, there were more than six-thousand vessels moored inside, many belonging torge crews of Skyfarers. Since the average crew of Skyfarers consisted of more than forty people, including engineers, doctors, and various other support personnel, there were a considerable number of people present within the lively hangar. There were even various open bars and market stalls present, much like an actual seaside port... Due to how quickly rumors and information could travel in port, a considerable number of people had gathered for the sole purpose of seeing a Princess for the first time. This included a number of burly and uruly-looking figures, many choosing to forgo any type of garments to cover their upper bodies. Most were extremely tanned and muscr individuals, and, the moment they saw beauties like Eva and Fenrir, they showed absolutely no sense for propriety as they began to catcall, whistle, and holler out to them... Under normal circumstances, Vahn would quickly teach the unruly bunch a lesson, but, given the identities of the two women they dared call out to, he just smiled slightly as the two released an oppressive, chilling, aura. The surroundings had, quite literally, dropped by several degrees in an instant, and, after a few seconds had passed, ice began to spread across metallic surfaces as Eva and Fenrir coldly stared at the few people who hadnt been cowed by the initial release of their aura. Seeing even scar-covered men avert their eyes from the two beauties, Vahn couldnt help butugh out loud. Even the port officials who hade out to wee them had be statuesque, and, if not for their pride and responsibilities, they might have dispersed with the weaker willed amongst the crowd. By the time Arika had emerged on the deck, less than a tenth of the original crowd remained. These were generally the Captains and Officers of various Skyfarer crews, people that wouldnt easily back down even in the face of impending destruction. They would have never earned the recognition of the Skyfarer Association if theycked courage, so, while they promptly ceased their catcalling, their pride prevented them from dispersing with the rest... Arika wasnt particrly surprised by the tense and chilly atmosphere that had descended upon the docks. Instead, she showed the same calm and dignified countenance she disyed every time she acted in an official capacity. To onlookers, she gave off the impression of a Goddess that descended upon the mortal world, as, after four years of arduous training and hundreds of massages, Arika had greatly exceeded conventional standards of beauty. Though the same could be said for Fenrir, Eva, and even Asuna, they werent trying to radiate a regal aura, so, for the moment, Arika stood out far more than anyone else on the deck... After passing her gaze slowly over the crowd, Arika gracefully alighted from the deck, her pale-pink dress following her movements as if she was submerged in water. This gave her an ethereal quality, and, afternding, the officials sent to greet her were so stunned by her presence that their mental faculties seemed to have ceased entirely. As a result, they stared back at her with ck expressions of adtion, their mouths slightly agape as they stood statuesque before her. Realizing the other party was unfamiliar with general practices and courtesies, Arika took the liberty of breaking the silence, calmly stating, "We intend to stay in Zephyria for a number of days. It would be convenient if the Skyfarers Association is able to amodate us. Finances are not an issue, so, if you could make the necessary arrangements, we would be grateful." Hearing Arikas words, the port official regained his senses, standing ramrod straight as he stated a little too loudly, "U-Understood! I will make sure to pass your request to my superiors!" Then, as if only then realizing their original duty, they added in a meek tone of voice, "I have been tasked with escorting your party to meet with the Admiral. She had wanted toe personally, but, due to the unexpected nature of your visit, she was unable to break her prior arrangements..." Showing no sign of perturbation, Arika gave a small nod towards the port official before leniently stating, "That is perfectly understandable. Please, lead the way." Feeling as though he had received a great mercy, the port official exhaled a profound sigh of relief before turning to hispanions and saying, "Prepare the transport and send someone to pass on the Princess message. Its not every day we get to show a Princess our hospitality so look sharp!" Though it was a little foolish to say such things in front of the person they wanted to impress, the number of foreign dignitaries that frequented Zephyria could be counted on one hand. Since it was a rtivelywlessnd, especially beyond the borders, most Aristocrats and Nobles gave the area a very wide berth. Even a Super Dreadnaught might not be able to trespass Zephyrian airspace safely, so, prior to Arikas arrival, they had never entertained Royalty. Without minding the impropriety disyed by the port official, Arika turned toward Vahn, her eyes silently asking whether or not he would be apanying her. This matter, technically, had nothing to do with him, but, after spending so much time together, she felt morefortable when he was around. Vahn was very aware of this fact, so, without footing around the issue, he surprised quite a number of onlookers by manifesting a second version of himself. Then, alongside Fenrir, he nked Arika while his main body, apanied by Eva and Asuna, vanished into thin air... --- Shortly after the Custos Rosea docked within the Skyfarers Association, rumors of Arikas arrival had already circted through most official and back channels. This garnered a considerable amount of intrigue amongst the general popce, but,pared to the stir it caused within the undergroundmunity, this was negligible. Her arrival waspletely unprecedented, but, rather than see it as an opportunity to make a name for themselves, many promptly decided toy low for a while. Only the truly foolish would dare target a Princess of Vespertatia, as, even if you did manage to pull it off, you could never im credit for it. Announcing the truth was the same as inviting death upon yourself, and, in the most extreme circumstances, it might even result in the destruction of Zephyria itself. Ostia might be a neutral country, but, without an exceptionally powerful military, maintaining that neutrality would have been impossible. Their fleet was capable of linking together to perform Grand Ritual Magic without having to go through the usual process of preparing thend and mobilizing thousands of Mages. Under the most extreme circumstances, they had more than enough power to, quite literally, erase a country off the map. This had happened a number of times through Mundus Magicus history, and, though it was typically used as ast resort to protect the Magical World, the memory of such events didnt fade with the passage of time... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Drake be like, "YOLO~!",Frogs coveting the meat of swans,Only the truly foolish would dare target a Princess of Vespertatia (O w O)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1599 Malicious Inten

Chapter 1599 Malicious Inten

While waiting for the Admiral alongside Arika and Fenrir, Vahn, apanied by Eva and Asuna, decided to explore Zephyria. It was particrly popr as a tourist destination, thanks inrge part to the Sky Pirates that patrolled its periphery, but, as could be expected from the infamous City of Freedom, there were a number of activities to alleviate ones boredom. Though the most popr activities were participating in or watching the various races taking ce around the city, there were also a number of casinos and entertainment centers present. There was even a theme park located to the North of the Skyfarers Association Headquarters, a ce teeming with magically powered roller coasters and other thrill-seeking attractions. Unfortunately, even if they wanted to go thrill-seeking, most rides simply lost their charm when you could move faster than them. Even Asuna could achieve bursts of speed close to 4500km/h, close to ten times the top speed of the fastest roller coasters. When you ounted for the fact she could fly for short periods of time, most thrill-seeking activities simply couldntpete. Instead of choosing where they should go, Vahn allowed Asuna to explore freely while he and Eva followed close behind. It was important for Asuna to be able to act independently every now and then, as, despite her age, she was both very mature and incredibly powerful. She needed to be able to interact with the world around her without others telling her what to do. This included allowing her to make mistakes and resolve her own problems, so, even when a group of slightly older boys called out to her, Vahn and Eva vanished into the void, watching her from afar... Though Asuna was still young, she already had the makings of a beauty. This,bined with the fact she was wearing high-quality clothes while walking around with obvious intrigue on her face, made her stand out quite a bit. Several people had already marked her as an outsider, and, though most illegal activities generally urred in the lower levels, closer to the ground, there were still a number of Sky Pirates, Mercenaries, and other disreputable types that walked around without any particr regard for others. Assuming Asuna was the daughter of a wealthy merchant, several people had already marked her as a potential target. The sword on her back didnt deter them in the slightest, but, in order to avoid scrutiny, they sent their younger members to ost her. These were children they had picked up in the slums located near the base of the finger mountains, so, as could be expected, they were eager to prove themselves and had very few inhibitions about targetting other children... Despite looking in theplete opposite direction, Asuna easily side-stepped a blond-haired boy that was nearly forty-centimeters taller than her. He had attempted to bump into her in order to try and use her of knocking into him, but, despite a concerted attempt to m his shoulder into her tiny body, he ended up losing his bnce and nearly tripped as a result of her effortless evasion. As if she had only just noticed the group of boys that had loosely surrounded her, Asuna tilted her head slightly to the side as she inly asked, "Why did you try and shove me? Did someone tell you to cause a scene...?" Without waiting for the boys response, Asuna directed her attention towards a group of four men and one woman sitting near an alleyway. She instantly understood what was going on the moment she saw the expression in their eyes, so, before the blond-haired boy could sessfully grab one of her twin-tails, Asuna swat his hand aside before flickering away. Feeling an incredibly sharp pain in his hand, the blond-haired boy released an anguished scream as his right hand dangled limply from his wrist. This drew a considerable of attention, but, before the majority were able to make sense of the situation, a loud crashing sound could be heard as the bald man eyeing her was sent flying by the much-smaller Asuna. At nearly the exact same moment, she kicked the knee of another man, using it as a springboard whilepletely shattering it. It was only at that point that the other three people responded, but, simr to a graphical glitch, Asunas body couldnt be seen clearly as she made short work of the other three. From start to finish, it took less than three seconds for Asuna to process the situation and deal with it in the most efficient way possible. In the end, there were the bodies of five adults lying limply on the ground, while, at the side, the blond-haired boy, abandoned by his friends, cradled his broken wrist with tears streaming down his vengeance-filled face. He didnt dare attack, but, if looks could kill, Asuna would have been ground into meat paste by his re alone. Ignoring the gazes of the surrounding pedestrians, Asuna stared back at the boy, her smiling face now an emotionless deadpan as she inly stated, "If you continue down this path, the only thing you will aplish is hurting yourself and others. Only weaklings and cowards me the people they intended to victimize. I hope you are able to make better decisions in the future. Not everyone will show you the same mercy I have today." Having said what she intended to say, Asuna continued on her previous path, this time locking eyes with anyone intently focused on her. Her previous disy was enough to deter most people, but, at the same time, it also garnered her a considerable amount of attention from those who considered themselves powerful or wanted to recruit strong members into their crews. To many, Asuna was like an unpolished gem, and, if they could recruit her, it was the same as securing a powerful ally for the future... Before she could even get out of earshot from the blond-haired boy, Asuna found her path blocked by a woman with long orange hair and a tanned body. She stood out quite a bit with her pleated skirt and a matching checkered blouse that was tied together at the front like a bikini top. The rest of her outfit consisted of a blue trenchcoat, arge brown satchel, several belts, a whip, a series of small daggers, and, most notably, an oversized blunderbuss pistol. She also had on a blue cap that cameplete with a pair of goggles, but,pared to the rest of her outfit, it didnt stand out as much... With her arms crossed under her modest yet shapely breasts, the woman showed a friendly and excited smile on her face as she said, "Youve got moxie, kid! Names Mitty, but you can just call me Capn. How bout joinin my crew and sailin through the skies together? Most of my crews female so you wouldn have ta worry about any of these mangy bastards tryin tay their mitts on ya~!" As she didnt sense any hostility from the woman and herpanions, Asuna offered a polite smile before bowing slightly and answering, "Thank you, but I have no intention of joining anyones crew. I already have travelingpanions and we are already on an important mission." Hearing Asunas response, the woman theatrically smacked her own forehead, her smile not fading in the slightest as she eximed, "Of course sumn as amazin as youd already have a crew! Damn, thats a real shame! Guess its mah own fault fer not scoutin ya sooner! Well, if you ever change yer min or need sumn ta find a rare treasure, member us, would ya? Aint none better at searchin for treasure as me n my crew, Fortunas Favor!" Following her rather bold im, Mitty released a rowdyugh before patting Asuna on the shoulder and turning to her crew, saying, "Come on, girls, lets make merry before thess rejection gets me in the slumps! Ahahahaha~!" With the womansughter echoing in her ears, Asunas smile became slightly wry as each member of Mittys crew either pat her on the shoulder or ruffled her hair. At the same time, from within the void, Vahn and Eva couldnt help but lightly chuckle at her expense... --- After waiting for nearly an hour within a museum-like office that was lined with hundreds of scale models of Airfish, Vahn, Arika, and Fenrir all turned their attention towards a door located discreetly around a pir at the back of the room. From the other side of the door, a woman with burgundy-hair, caramel skin, and a shapely figure entered. She was attired in a frill-cored blouse with puffy sleeves that showed off her ample cleavage, a leather bodice, and form-fitting leather chaps that seemed to be on the verge of tearing apart due to her muscr and toned thighs. As for the rest of her outfit, she had on fingerless gloves, a red sash, a belt with a skull motif, leather boots, and, most notably, a stylish ck captains jacket with a red cor that hung off her shoulders like a Marine Admiral from the Record of One Piece. Vahn was slightly surprised by the Admirals beauty, not just because she had a striking and heroic visage but because she was unmistakenly a descendent of the Crimson Scarlet. They were virtually identical to each other, the only differences being their hair-style and apparent age, so, after seeing the Heroic figure in the flesh, Vahn couldnt help but admire her. She was like a less chaotic version of Drake, and, despite a rather vicious and confident appearance, her aura was calm and cid like the sea before a powerful storm... After tracing her pale blue eyes over everyone else present, the Admiral situated her gaze on Vahn, her brows furrowing almost imperceptibly as she said, "I apologize for the dy. The meeting took longer than normal once word of your arrival reached the council. Though we are privileged to y host to a Princess of Vespertatias party, the reputation of the Sage Dragon Emperor is such that our investors cant help but feel nervous by your presence..." Since she was looking toward him while speaking, Vahn offered a casual smile in response to the Admirals words, following them by stating, "I do not go out of my way to seek trouble. Rather, it is the actions of others that invite my wrath upon them. Unless they have a guilty conscience, there is no reason to fear my presence." Hearing Vahns response, the Admiral furrowed her brows even further as she added, "We have our own means of keeping the peace. It is not your ce to pass judgment upon our people. If you find something amiss, report it to the proper authorities or inform me directly. I would rather resolve the situation personally than leave it to an outsider. If you are unwilling topromise, I would ask that you leave this country and never return. Zephyria has enough trouble without some random dragon acting like a vignte within itsnds." Rather than showing any offense to the womans abrasive words, Vahn couldnt help but smile as he inly stated, "I will take action where I deem necessary. The affairs and interest of Zephyria mean very little to me. I will protect Mundus Magicus, and, if I see something that needs correcting, I will do what I must to resolve it. You are free to try and stop me, but, if you think it is nobler to side with criminals, I will have little choice but to treat you as an aplice for trying enabling them..." By the time Vahn had finished speaking, the Admiral had a glowering expression, her pale-blue eyes shimmering with magical light. Despite this, she radiated no actual hostility. Instead, the glow in her eyes gradually faded away, a tired sigh escaping her lips as she muttered, "How troublesome..." Following her exasperated disy, the Admiral walked over to a cab located behind therge desk near the back of the room. She opened the ornate wooden doors to reveal several shelves of rare alcohols, crystalline cups, and shot sses. Then, after taking a swig from a particrly fragrant whiskey, she dexterously grabbed a few sses with her fingers, setting them on the desk before asking, "Im familiar with the vices of Dragons. Tell me, do Princesses of Vespertatia drink? Im not fond of discussing business without a few drinks to warm my body." Since the conversation had been between Vahn and the Admiral, Arika had been patiently standing at the center of the room the entire time it was taking ce. As for Fenrir, she had been ring at the Admiral with her scarlet eyes, but, as thetter hadnt shown any actual hostility, she also chose to remain silent. In response to the offer, Arika lightly shook her head, answering, "I do not have the habit of social drinking. If it will ease tensions, however, I will not insist that you refrain." Though she wasnt surprised by Arikas response, the Admiral couldnt stop herself from rolling her eyes as she filled up two 8oz sses with a rich brown liquor. Then, without asking directly, she sent a nce towards Fenrir while holding the bottle over a third ss. Understanding the Admirals intent, Fenrir shook her head before stating matter-of-factly, "I would rather drink the alcohol provided by Master. That might be a very expensive brand, but,pared to Masters, everything else might as well be water." Hearing Fenrirs remark, Vahn couldnt help but lightly chuckle at the fact that she never missed the opportunity to somehow praise him. This drew an annoyed look from the Admiral, but, rather than back down, he nodded affirmingly before stating, "Fenrir is correct. That bottle in your hand should be the famous Sirens Tears, a rare import from Sirenum. The quality isnt bad, but,pared to the brands I keep in stock, there really is noparison. I even have wines brewed by literal Gods, their potency so great that a single drop could turn a small pond into potent alcohol." Noticing the skepticism visible in the Admirals gaze, Vahn punctuated his statement by pulling out what appeared to be a green ss bottle that had been left at the bottom of the ocean for several centuries. It was covered in brackish markings, and, at several spots on the surface, living barnacles could be seen. Despite this, what truly stood out was the pulsing green light that emanated from the bottle, its rhythm matching that of a beating heart... With the peculiar bottle in hand, Vahn walked over to the Admirals desk, picking up one of the empty sses as he exined, "This is a type of rum known as the [Call of Cthulhu]. Those with weaker wills would be overwhelmed after a single swig. If you have the courage to empty an entire bottle, it is said that you would even be able to stare into the abyss without flinching..." Despite its rather peculiar external appearance, the rum poured by Vahn was a crystal-clear brown liquid with a reddish tint. It emanated a potent aroma of fruit and medicine, but, most notably, just looking at the liquid was enough to captivate most people. It was almost like there was a voice in the back of your mindpelling you to drink the aromatic beverage, and, before she realized it, the Admiral had already epted the ss proffered by Vahn. It wasnt until the liquid was already pouring down her throat that the thought of it being poisoned crossed her mind, but, by then, it was already toote for regrets... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Imagine Asuna bncing on the front of a roller coaster without any of the straps...,Side Story: Mittys Grand Adventure~!,Vahns bad habit is acting up...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1600 Into the Abyss

Chapter 1600 Into the Abyss

Contrasting any expectations she might have had about the peculiar reddish-brown liquids, it had a rich, smooth, and powerful vor. It created an illusion simr to drinking liquid me, but, instead of burning her throat, it brought an extraordinary feeling of satisfaction as the heat spread through her stomach before warming the rest of her body. She couldnt prevent a hot sigh from escaping her mouth, fogging up the empty ss she had yet to pull away from her slightly parted lips... Though the alcohol had the stated effect, Vahn wouldnt give someone a drink they were unable to tolerate. The [Call of Cthulhu] was infinitely more effective on those with vile, greedy, and unhinged characters. The Admiral didnt give off the impression of someone who had been corrupted by the darkness of the world. She likely dealt with some of the worst kinds of people, but, despite that, her aura remained pure, stable, and vast. After holding the position of drinking for several seconds, the Admiral seemed toe back to her senses enough to pull the ss away from her lips. She appeared unaffected by the potent alcohol, but, the moment she tried to set the ss on the table, the truth was revealed. Not only did she fail such a simple action, but, as if she had partaken of an entire keg, her legspletely buckled from the subtle movement. As much as he would have enjoyed supporting the Admirals body with his own, Vahn, instead, used his telekinesis to prevent her from copsing. Then, in response to the fact she had drawn an ornate magical flintlock, somehow aiming it directly at his forehead, he created a small barrier between the hammer and firing pin, preventing it from shooting no matter how many times she absentmindedly pulled the trigger. Since she had a number of reasons to be hostile towards him, Vahn didnt take offense to the Admirals instinctual reaction. Rather, the fact she had enough wherewithal to draw her weapon at all was rather impressive. If she had been a normal person, she would have cked out the instant the cup left her lips. The [Call of Cthulhu] might go down smoothly, but, like the tide heralding a massive storm, it would continue to swell and encroach upon the mind until all but the strongest had been drowned in its wake... After guiding the Admiral to sit in her own chair, Vahn took a seat across from her before putting another ss on the table. Her pale blue eyes still glimmered with a bit of intelligence, but, if you looked closely, it was almost like her pupils had be like ink blotches. The darkness within had gradually started to encroach upon the surrounding iris, and, given enough time, it would create a phenomenon where her entire eyes were covered in an inky ck substance. If left untreated, inky tears would begin to pour down her face, and, preceding the loss of her mind, she same substance would begin to flow from her ears, nose, and mouth. With her eyes still focused on him, Vahn filled up the second ss before reminding her, "Though it might not make a lot of sense, the only treatment is to drink even more. The moment you down the entire bottle, the effects of the alcohol will vanish in their entirety. I would encourage you to finish it down to thest drop...if you give up halfway, Im afraid things might not end well for you..." Finished with his exnation, Vahn poured a ss of the same substance for himself. It was unique in the fact that, no matter how many sses you filled, it always had enough to fill ten sses for each person participating in the bout. The moment one person finished their portion, the effects of the alcohol would vanish for everyone, so, even if the Admiral failed the challenge, there was little danger of her falling to its influence. Seeing Vahn down his ss in a few massive gulps, the Admiral turned her hazy blue eyes toward her own cup. It was hard to form any coherent thoughts but her instincts told her that Vahn was just toying with her. This filled her with a palpable amount of indignation, so, after witnessing him refill his ss, she lifted her own, a resolute glimmer in her eyes as she downed the contents in a single sitting before mming the cup on the table and stating, "Another...!" Rather than immediately refill the Admirals cup, Vahn finished his own before setting it down and saying, "Fenrir. Fill mine and the Admirals sses, will you?" Though she had originally intended to join the drinking game, Fenrir dutifully received the pulsating bottle with her paws. She made sure to fill her Masters cup first, earning a trenchant look from the Admiral, but, as thetters opinion didnt matter in the slightest, Fenrirpletely ignored her... --- Seeing Vahn spontaneously begin a drinking game with the Admiral of the Skyfarers Association, Arikas expression had be a perfect deadpan. She thought she had be used to Vahns whimsical nature, but, at times like this, she was reminded of just how peculiar the man she had fallen in love with truly was. Though he didnt seem to do it consciously, Vahn had a way of tearing down the walls surrounding a persons heart. She had first noticed this during his stay in the Sun Pce, but, after observing his interactions with people like Nyon Utu, Evangeline, and Grandmaster Sidra, Arika couldnt help but feel fascinated by Vahns capacity for endearing himself to others. Fortunately, Vahns capabilities seemed to be derived from his empathic nature and his exceptional eye for people. He had a way of bringing out the best in others, so, from the moment he showed an interest in someone, they were all but guaranteed to experience great fortune. This was particrly true for those closest to him, and, though it was difficult to admit, Arika was a little ashamed of her past selfs hubris. Arika had never thought herself weak, but, if shepared her current self to the person she was prior to meeting Vahn, it was almost ridiculous how much she had grown. Though her progress was inconsequentialpared to Asunas, Arika felt as though she could fight against a hundred of her past self without even breaking a sweat. Despite this, she felt nowhere near her limits, and, so long as she continued to push herself, Vahn would undoubtedly help her reach even greater heights... As this thought crossed her mind, Arika couldnt help but smile as she observed the Admiral nearly fall over in her chair. This was probably the part of her that had changed the most, as,pared to her past self, she no longer felt jealous whenever Vahn interacted with other women. She hade to understand that he simply enjoyed teasing people, and, though Vahn had an admittedly massive harem, he was very sincere with his emotions. Rather, as a result of his unequaled capacity for care andfort, Vahn was often on the receiving end of others pursuit... --- After nine sses of the progressively potent alcohol, all rational thought had faded away from the Admirals mind. She didnt know what was keeping her going at this point, but, every time she saw the smug look on Vahns face, a voice in the back of her mind pushed her to say, "Ahnuverrrr..." in a dull, sensuous, tone of voice. She didnt even seem to notice that the surroundings were writhing about like a living creature, as, for the time being, the only thing that seemed to matter was proving herself against the man seated across from her... Hearing the Admirals slurred words, Vahn offered an appreciative smile as he admired the woman half-sprawled across her desk. She couldnt even sit up straight, and, due to her drunken state, her previously neat appearance had now turned slovenly. Her face was suffused with a ruddy hue, and, in an effort to cool her feverish body, she had been tugging at the cor of her blouse. Fortunately, despite her untamed and heroic appearance, she properly wore a bra beneath her blouse, so, even when she began to absentmindedly unfasten the buckles of her leather bodice, she didnt expose herselfpletely... Deciding to concede the victory, Vahn gave a small nod toward Fenrir before setting his own ss on the table. He had already received numerous benefits from the drinking game, so, before things got further out of hand, he decided to take a step back in order to preserve the Admirals pride. She gave him a simr impression as Tsubaki and Musashi, so, if he managed to win against her, things would probably be troublesome during his stay within Zephyria. Without thinking about Vahns actions in the slightest, the Admiral managed to half-raise her body. The [Call of Cthulhu] had a property that made it impossible to cheat by spilling the contents, so, even though arge quantity of the reddish-brown liquid escaped from the side of the Admirals mouth, slinking down her neck and staining her white blouse, she was able to empty its contents after a fewrge gulps. Immediately thereafter, as if the potent alcohol had never existed, all signs of presence, including the contents of Vahns cup, evaporated into thin air as rity returned to the Admirals gaze. As if she had just awoken from a realistic daydream, the Admiral didnt immediately react to having her rity restored. Instead, she looked between her empty ss and Vahns expression, her own a mixture of confusion and disbelief. She was certain she had been drinking moments prior, but, now that she had awakened, even the taste of the liquor had been forgotten. Instead, she actually felt a little parched, almost as if she had gone the entire day without a single drop of liquid. Awakening the Admiral from her stupor, Vahn adopted a wry smile as he said, "Though Im certainly notining, you might want to fix your attire before we continue our conversation. Beige suits you, by the way. It matches your oliveplexion well..." Hearing Vahns remark, the Admira turned her attention to the state of her dress. She had unfasted most of the sps of her bodice, so, instead of hugging her body tightly, her blouse had loosened to the point it was nearly falling off one shoulder. Her jacket had also fallen off, crumpling up in her chair, so, rather than a proud Admiral, she currently appeared more like a tavern wench. Rather than react flusteredly, the Admiral just frowned slightly before quickly arranging her clothes. She didnt even bother asking Vahn to look away, as, evenpared to other regions, nakedness wasnt considered a big deal within Zephyria. It wasnt known as the City of Freedom for no reason, and, though most women properly covered themselves, there were quite a few who decided to just bare it all or wrap their breasts with a simple cloth. Almost immediately after fixing her clothes, the Admiral turned her attention back to Vahn, her pale blue eyes glimmering with intensity as she said, "Youve a lot of gall for a shitty lizard. Do you enjoy messing with us puny mortals that much? If you keep looking down on us-" Before the Admiral could finish speaking, Vahns smile gave way to a serious expression as he said, "You insult both of us with such poorly conceived words. Am I supposed to pretend you didnt give me a ssced with a tasteless poison? Besides, I didnt force you to drink, you partook of your own volition. If I had malicious intentions, I needed only to prevent you from finishing the bottle to ensure youpletely lost your mind. Do not insult me at your leisure, Descendent of Scarlet. Im not fond of formalities, nor do I mind harshnguage; but, if you think you can get away with freely insulting me, you are sorely mistaken..." Though she was notpletely cowed by the pressure released by Vahn, the Admiral fell silent in response to his words. The poison within the sses was only intended to loosen the tongue and decrease the inhibitions of the other party. She hadnt intended to cause them any harm, but, even if she tried to rify her intentions, it wouldnt really matter. The fact remained that she did, indeed, try and poison him... Taking advantage of the Admirals silence, Vahn regained his usual smile as he added, "I never look down on other people. Rather, if you knew the true nature of my existence, you would undoubtedly feel like a fool for uttering such words. I represent the infinite potential of all things, and, unless you earn my ire, I generally try and help everyone I meet. Though the [Call of Cthulhu] has the potential for catastrophic misuse, it is actually a blessing if used without malicious intent. Now that you have finished the bottle, any alcohol you drink will temporarily strengthen your body based on its quality and potency. You can now drink as much as you want without ever having to worry about cking out or suffering the detrimental effects of alcohol toxicity. You can still get drunk, but, unless it was something brewed by a God, the chances of you losing rity are slim, at best." Hearing Vahns exnation, a look of disbelief shed across the Admirals eyes. Then, after eying the bottle she had brought out previously, she uncorked it before downing nearly half its contents in a single go. This was enough to make a normal person ckout drunk, but, other than a pleasant feeling of warmth and a tipsy feeling, her mind remained clear. She also felt a familiar dulling of her senses, but, other than a slight g between her thoughts and actions, there were no other adverse effects from downing nearly 400ml of a liquid with 62% alcohol... Realizing the gift Vahn had given her, the Admiral couldnt help but rub her temples in, her husky voice suffused with a bit of drunken warmth as she muttered, "How troublesome..." before quickly adding, "Im not going to thank you. This was not a gift I asked for, so, regardless of your intentions, I do not feel indebted to you. I will, however, apologize for my previous words and actions. Also, as it urs to me that I had never introduced myself, you may address me as Katarina. Most know me as the Dauntless Katarina but my actual name is Katarina Hawkins. Considering how you previously addressed me, I doubt it would surprise you to know I am the great-granddaughter of the Crimson Scarlet..." Deciding to ignore Katarinas remark about not thanking him, Vahn just nodded his head, a casual smile on his face as he answered, "Though it seems my reputation has preceded me, I suppose it is only proper that I introduce myself. Feel free to address me as Vahn, but, if the situation calls for it, it would be prudent to refer to me as the Sage Dragon Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. As for this lovable young Vanargandr to my right, she goes by the name Fenrir Mason, Queen of the Frozen Abyss. I dont particrly mind manners and such, but, when she is around, you should take care not to identally insult me. She can be pretty sensitive when ites to defending my honor..." Hearing her Masters introduction, Fenrirs scarlet-red eyes glistened with a murderous light, and, though it appeared cute to Vahn, Katarina felt her body tense up in response to the rows of sharp teeth revealed by her smile... (A/N: Im going to start polling for the next Record. Keep in mind that the next Record is the final Record Vahn will be visiting (Tier 6+). Though there will actually be a lot of other Records appearing in the story, they wille into y after Vahn has linked the Records. The actual Epilogue of EPIC is supposed be 500+ plus chapters, including short stints of various characters in various worlds, so, even if Vahn doesnt visit a verse you are interested in, there is always hope for the future~! Poll will be listed at the end of every chapter and in the paragraphments for easier copy+pasting.) http://.easypolls/poll.html?p=5ee6438ae4b017b74559fd5b https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1601 Meander

Chapter 1601 Meander

While arrangements were being made to meet with the Braven Enlil, Vahn and Eva continued to shadow Asuna from within the void. As could be expected from someone with such a powerful fate, Asuna was a ma for trouble, but, after four years of training, there werent a lot of people who could hope to harm her. After all, she was immune to external magic, and, if she entered the State of Nothingness, the vast majority of physical attacks would simply phase through her. Though she was far from the level of Grandmaster, Asuna could enter into the State of Nothingness even faster than Vahn. It was like there was a switch in her mind that she could toggle at her leisure, so, even if you somehow managed to bypass her incredible perception, catching her off guard was virtually impossible... Unaware of Asunas capabilities, a number of people had targetted her during the rtively short stint into Zephyrian territory. It was actually a little ridiculous to see so many groups try to approach her in such a short period of time, as, for the most part, criminal activity wasnt thatmon above the Cloud Sea. The heart of Zephyria was heavily policed by the Skyfarers Association, and, though every Merchant was either affiliated with a criminal organization or a famous band of Sky Pirates, they worked hard to prevent people from making a scene on their turf. If egregious crimes were perpetrated in their territory it would negatively impact business, so, whenever an incident urred, those involved in the altercation would face a very severe punishment. This was well-known amongst the residents of Zephyria, so, to see so many people targetting Asuna, Vahn and Eva couldnt help but feel a little exasperated... Fortunately, even after a group tracked Asuna for nearly a half-hour before attempting to intercept her along her path, she was able to deal with it easily. At nearly the exact same moment the group tossed a toward her, one specialized in sealing magical power, Asunas figure became a realistic afterimage until the simply passed through her. By the time it hit the ground, every member of the offending party was nursing various degrees of injury, the majority of which would leave them crippled for life without proper treatment. Though some might consider it excessive, Vahn had taught Asuna to target and crush the joints of her opponents to quickly take them out of the fight. The fact they were targetting a child was more than enough reason to cripple them, so, even if it was somewhat perturbing to see herpletely shatter someones knee or elbow, it was their fault for pursuing such a path in life. If she didnt have the power to protect herself, her end would have been far more tragic than their life as a cripple, so, in a way, they actually got off easypared to what Vahn or Eva would have done to them... --- After exploring for nearly five hours, Asuna was beginning to get a little bored. There were a lot of interesting things to see and do, but, without someone to experience them with, it all seemed like a waste of time. She would normally walk around with Vahn or go bounding from rooftop to rooftop with Fenrir, so, now that she was left to her own devices, Asunas interest and intrigue were rapidly dwindling. Fortunately, just as she was thinking about calling out to them, Vahn and Eva appeared out of thin air, the former with his usual smile while thetter had a slightly incredulous expression on her face as she said, "Youre a real ma for trouble, you know that?" With her mood improving considerably the moment Vahn and Eva appeared, Asuna adopted a wry, slightly mischievous, smile as she answered, "I wore this outfit to try and stand out, but this isnt the kind of attention I expected. Ahahahaha..." Somewhat amused by Asunas remark, Vahn issued a light chuckle of his own before asking, "Were you able to enjoy yourself today?" Without having to think about her answer, Asuna bobbed her head a few times before answering, "I like theyout and thisnd. Though it isnt the same as Ostia, a city above the clouds is pretty cool. The people seem vibrant and full of vitality. If not for the ruffians and scoundrels that call this ce home, it would be a wonderful country to live in..." As thest few words left her lips, Asunas expression subtly shifted, her brows furrowing slightly as she asked, "I dont understand, Vahn...whatpels people to try and make a living by exploiting and taking advantage of others? I even noticed boys and girls younger than me with vicious looks on their faces, each eager to cause harm to another person without cause..." Hearing Asunas question, Evas expression turned a littleplex. Vahns, however, remained calm and cid as he softly exined, "More often than not, they simply dont know any better. They are born in an environment where it is considered normal to behave like that, and, unless they want to be victims themselves, they victimize others. It takes a lot of courage to break free from such a cycle...more courage than most have..." Before letting his words trail off, Vahn began to lightly pat Asunas head, causing her eyes to squint contentedly. The conflict she was feeling rapidly melted away, but, unwilling to just leave the matter lying, Vahn added, "The more important thing we can do is enable those at the rungs of society by establishing a system that allows them to ovee their initial standing. We can provide them the opportunity for education and pressure those in power to implementws that prevent those with malicious intentions from acting freely. It wont be easy, but, so long as you never give up trying to make the world a better ce, it will gradually be one..." Though she had heard simr words hundreds of times in the past, Asuna answered with an Nn in response to Vahns usual spiel. She was already well-aware of her own responsibilities as someone with both status and power; so, rather than feel upset by the behaviors of other people, she actually just wanted him to pat her head... After caressing Asunas silky-smooth hair for a short while, Vahn retracted his hand, turning to Eva as he said, "Lets get something to eat before heading back. Arrangements for our stay have already been made so we can return whenever we want. Well probably go visit the Great Spirit of Wind in the morning, but, based on what the Admiral has said, winning him over might not be that easy." Curious about what he meant, Eva tilted her head slightly, asking, "Oh? Are you surprised that the most whimsical Great Spirit is difficult to deal with~?" Before responding to Evas words, Vahn lightly chuckled before grabbing both hers and Asunas hands. Then, while walking towards a nearby tavern, he answered, "Meeting with him wont be an issue. If Arika wants to win his favor, however, shell need toplete a challenge. Brave Enlil seems to enjoy testing people by sending them on random quests or asking them to hunt down rare and valuable treasures. Since there is a pretty important raceing up, there is a fair chance Arika will be asked to participate. I imagine she would enjoy that quite a bit, so, depending on how things go, well either stick around in Zephyria for a few weeks or travel to another country until the race is scheduled to begin. Im leaning towards thetter as I dont really want to get caught idling around after spending so much time in Ariadne." Understanding Vahns concerns, Eva nodded her head, adding, "Im actually surprised that none of our enemies have tried to interfere with us until now. At the very least, I expected a group from the Immortal Killers toe and track us down. This is the longest period Ive gone without having to repel a group of would-be assassins or crazed zealots. It actually feels a little strange not to have arge group of people hunting me..." Despite being one of the strongest existences in the entire verse, Eva had constantly been pursued over the years by various different groups. The most fervent were the organizations that believed it went against the natural order for anyone to obtain immortality. They were a bunch of lunatics that spared no expense to track down and eliminate anyone that had obtained immortality, even if their target might be a child or a victim of someone elses experimentation. Eva had wiped out a number of powerful organizations over the years, but, despite her best efforts, it didnt take long for a recement organization to take root. At this point, her bounty was so high that you could effectively build your own country if you managed to sessfully kill or capture her, so, no matter how many people she killed, there would always be someone hunting her down... In response to Evas utterance, Vahn gently squeezed her hand with his own, a gentle smile on his face as he said, "Even if theye, we will repel them together. I dont think there is any reason to worry though. So long as we continue acting in an open and above-board manner, I doubt anyone will suspect you are the legendary Dark Evangel. Were also escorting two Princesses of Vespertatia, so, even if they suspect something, they would have to measure their actions and find proof before taking action..." Though Eva wanted to caution Vahn about underestimating their enemies, thest four years had taught her that he really wasnt. Rather, his power was just that great, and,pared to how strong she was four years ago, her own had increased exponentially. It was hard to discern just how strong she had be, but, if she went all out, Eva was confident she would be able to wipe the floor with most of her past enemies. In fact, if it werent for Vahns presence, she would have already gone off to seek revenge against various individuals and organizations... As various figures shed across her mind, Eva did her best to simply ignore them as she rested her head against Vahns shoulder. Though she wouldnt allow him to fight her battles for her, she wasnt going to insist that he leave everything to her either. They now walked the same path, and, while it was difficult for her topletely open her heart to him, Eva couldnt imagine ever returning to her life of solitude. She might not be able to admit it openly, but she had already decided to follow him for as long as he would allow. Feeling Evas head rest against his shoulder, Vahn gave the top of her head a kiss as he led her and Asuna into the nearby tavern. Their entrance drew a lot of attention, but,pared to when Asuna was alone, nobody tried to bar their passage. The moment anyone even considered such a course of action, they would spontaneously feel an existential dread descend upon them, so, even though the trio took their time to eat, none were bold enough to disturb their meal... --- A few hours after the Custos Rosea had docked within the private port of the Skyfarers Association, a group of rather roguish individuals casually sauntered over as if they were approaching their own vessel. They had already lined the pockets of a number of officials, and, though Arikas Airfish stood out quite a bit, its design was considered childish or silly by most. Thus, despite a fair amount of attention earlier in the day, most people had quickly lost interest in the peculiar goldfish-like vessel. Though a number of Skyfarers prided themselves on being decent and respectable Transports and Treasure Hunters, a veryrge portion of their number was made up of Sky Pirates who had decided to go legit. Despite this, they still had a fair number of vices, so, after observing Arikas ship for the entire afternoon, determining it wasnt guarded, they decided to take advantage of an easy mark. It was clear, at least in their eyes, that the Princess wascking in experience, so, out of consideration, they had decided to teach her a lesson about leaving her property unguarded. While leaving half their group to watch the surroundings, the other half leaped onto the deck of the Custos Rosea before the leading figure, a woman with tanned skin and several scars covering much of her toned body, pulled out a series of bells. These were rtivelymon magical tools that had the ability to detect hidden magic circles and traps. Though they would break after a few uses, mostpetent groups carried a number of the mass-produced magic tools with them... Noticing the bell in her hand remained silent, the leader of the group had an incredulous look on her face as she remarked to her nearbypanions, "This Princess is even greener than I thought. Unless they have the ability to conceal their traps and barriers from detection, it seems this ship is without even basic security. Unbelievable." Hearing the womans remark, the group was split betweenughing, jeering, and prematurely celebrating an easy haul. One man, anky figure with mouse-like traits, even descended into the interior of the ship in order to try and loot a few choice goods before his actions could be noticed. This was prettymon among Sky Pirates, and, unless you were caught in the act, most Captains turned a blind eye in order to keep morale high. Though many noticed theirpanions scheme, most had the wherewithal to turn to the woman, waiting for her decision. At times like this, it was generally best to rely on instinct, but, even after several seconds of tense silence, the woman couldnt feel anything wrong with the current situation. She couldnt sense anything other than the engine, and, based on how silent it was after the first crewman descended, it didnt seem like there were any mechanical traps lying in wait for them... After nearly half a minute of silence, the woman ultimately shook her head before adopting a fierce look as she said, "Strip it bare. We wont scuttle the ship, but well take everything inside. Make sure to leave all the important systems intact or else the Association mighte breathing down our necks." Hearing their Vice-Captains orders, the men and women aboard the deck became excited as they made their way into the interior of the ship. They then began to spread out to target different parts of the ship, but, before anyone could make it more than a few steps, they were stopped when one of the people attempting to enter the cargo hold eximed, "Thomas!? What the fuck!?" Having descended after everyone else, the Vice-Captain was the closest to the stairs leading into the cargo hold, so, before anyone else could inquire, she asked, "Johnny, what did you find!?" in a barking tone. Unfortunately, the only answer to her question was a tense silence that descended upon the entire group like a pressure front. Then, followed by a light tapping sound, a figure with long white hair and glimmering golden eyes appeared from within the depths of the ship... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Everything is better when you are with people you enjoy being around,Eva is eager for vengeance...,Petrified, both literally and figuratively xD...) Poll Link: http://.easypolls/poll.html?p=5ee6438ae4b017b74559fd5b https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1602 Lurking

Chapter 1602 Lurking

As he kept a version of himself back at the Custos Rosea, it didnt take long for Medusa to inform Vahn of what had transpired. At the same time, back at the banquet that had been prepared to entertain them, his genial smiled turned into a disappointed frown as he shook his head and said, "It seems the public order in Zephyria is even worse than expected..." Though there were a number of other people present, the Admiral, Katarina, was the first to react to Vahns words. Her expression instantly became more fierce as she passed her gaze around the room before asking, "Did the Sage Dragon Emperor notice something amiss? We will send someone to address the matter promptly." Shaking his head a second time, Vahn exined, "A group of seventeen people managed to approach our vessel and board it without any port officials interceding. Is the security of the Association sox that they are incapable of noticing nearly twenty approaching the craft of foreign dignitary within their own private docks?" Hearing Vahns words, Katarinas expression turned progressively dour. Then, following the exnation, she looked towards an exceptionally tall man with a unique handlebar mustache that flowed into his sideburns, saying, "Beckham, see that Her Highness craft is well guarded for the remainder of her stay. Have someone investigate the on-duty officials to find out which of the mangy curs allowed something like this to happen. If they are unwilling to talk, have the coin melted down and swallowed by the bastards." Despite the ruthlessness of themand, the man named Beckham didnt seem particrly concerned by his Admirals order. Instead, his expression turned solemn and determined as he said, "Aye. Ill see to it. If I cant get to tha bottom of this, Ill put myself forward to be drawn an quartered." Without dying further, the man named Beckham briefly gazed toward the two people who had apanied him to the banquet. Then, together, they quickly alighted from the room as Katarina turned to the rest of the assembly and said, "If it turns out any of you were involved in this, Ill personally see to it that your properties burn. Thatll be a mercypared to what the Sage Dragon Emperor would do to you. Now, get out of here. The ale and wine have bittered from this news." Though several people looked like they had something to say, Katarina hadnt been elevated to the position of Admiral by virtue of her birth. She had worked her way up through the ranks bypleting countless difficult quests and earning the respect of Brave Enlil himself. Prior to her appointment, she had also made a name for herself by ruthlessly crushing the top five Sky Pirate crews over the course of a single year. Her reputation had been forged from hard effort and bloody conquest, so, rather than doubt her words, mostpeted to be the first to alight from the room... Of the original twenty-six guests, only four chose to dawdle after the Admirals warning. These were some of the most affluent people in all of Zephyria, and, though they were well-aware of the promise contained within the Admirals words, they were undaunted. After all, despite the status she held, it wasnt as if Katarina was the ruler of Zephyria. Her position might be one of the highest in the entire country, but, unless she had the support of the Council of Seven, her authority was limited to the Skyfarers Association. Seeing the four choose to ignore her words, Katarinas expression became especially vicious as she asked, "Have you forgotten where you are right now? There is a fine line between pride and arrogance...need I show you where it lies?" Of the four who chose to remain, the first to speak was a man with a broad chest and arms as thicker than most peoples thighs crossed his arms as he said, "It is you who forgets yourself, Admiral. We represent a majority in the Council of Seven. Are you trying to force us away so that you might pander to a foreign power in secrecy?" Hearing the mans words, Katarinas expression became venomous but it was Arika who said, "You should leave. Ostia has no interest in establishing trade rtions with Zephyria so your worries are unfounded. The only thing you aplish by behaving in this manner is earning my disapproval. I have no interest in your pursuit of profiteering." Not expecting Arika to speak out, the burly man was slightly taken aback by her words. The same could be said for his otherpanions, the only exception being the woman among the group. She had a ratherscivious look, and, due to her unique choice of garb, she had the appearance of a very sessful gypsy woman. Breaking the tense silence with her sonorousughter, the woman passed her gaze over Arika as if she was appraising a rare treasure before saying, "It be seeming to me dat de Ostians be knowin better den to cultivate their flowers without thorns. Id rather be avoidin a prick so let me be away. Only fools be makin a fuss in de presence of a dragon." With her words finished, the gypsy-like woman passed her appraising gaze over Fenrir before briefly lingering on Vahn. Then, without another word, she alighted from the room, her waist snaking in a hypnotic pattern that drew the eyes of her threepanions until she ultimately departed. After having fallen silent for several seconds due to the womans departure, the atmosphere in the room had be slightly awkward. Even the burly man from before seemed to have lost his momentum, his brows furrowed slightly as he looked around the room before settling on the Admiral and saying, "This matter involves the entire Council. If it is discovered that you are prioritizing your benefits over Zephyria, I will be the first to censure you. Dont be ying games, Katarina." Hearing the mans words, it was Katarinas turn to cross her arms, her expression cold enough to chill ice as she said, "Piss off, Kurtis. The next time you pull something like this, dont me me for putting you in your ce. You mustve had a bit too much to drink if you think you can get away with insultin me on my own turf. Were it not for the presence of the Princess and the Sage Dragon Emperor, youd be lucky to avoid spendin the next three weeks in a wheelchair. Now, get the fuck out of my home." With an incensed expression on his face, Kurtis red back at Katarina, but, before he could say anything, Vahn chimed in, his casual smile fading as he said, "Leave. Now." The moment Vahn spoke, an oppressive aura descended upon the room in an instant. This left the trio without words, and, after looking directly at Vahns glowing golden eyes, any bravado they had been able to muster rapidly evaporated like a tidal pool on a hot day. They were well aware of his reputation, so, after an oppressive silence, even Kurtis, the wealthiest Merchant in all of Zephyria, decided to retreat without another word... --- Having finished their meal, Vahn, apanied by Eva and Asuna, had been leisurely making their way back to the Skyfarers Association. The city seemed to be more alive as the sun went down, but, unlike when Asuna had been wandering around previously, none tried to bar their passage. Though some bolder individuals tried to call out to Eva, it only took an icy cold re to immediately deter them. As for the women eyeing up Vahn, the presence of Eva and Asuna was more than enough to prevent them from approaching. It was almost impossible topare themselves to Evas beauty, and, though she wouldnt hesitate to correct them, the vast majority of people assumed Asuna was the child of the inordinately attractive duo... Seeing Eva cause a trio of drunkards to fall onto their butts with a single nce, Vahn couldnt help but issue a light chuckle. This earned him a not-so-gentle elbow from Eva, who, after the first few dozen people called out to her, quickly grew tired of it. Since Eva had infused Ki into her blow, Vahnsughter was cut off by the air being forced out of his lungs. A sharp pain radiated from his ribs, and, though it healed almost instantly, it was always a little surprising to experience the potency of Evas attacks. His durability was a match for magically reinforced metals, but, due to the nature of Ki, Eva managed to fracture four of his ribs with rtive ease. Rather than make a big deal out of it, Vahn just smiled wryly before wrapping his hand around Evas waist and pulling her a little closer to him. He hadnt missed the guilt that briefly shed across her eyes after she elbowed him, so, before she could fall into a dour mood, he took the initiative to hold her closer. She wasnt fond of public disys of affection, so, by drawing her closer to him, Vahn was freeing her from the obligation of having to apologize. Understanding Vahns intentions, the tips of Evas ears became red. The confidence she had been showing moments prior quickly faded away, but, in spite of this, fewer people dared to call out to her. Instead, a considerable number of people began copsing on the spot, their consciousness robbed by the convergence of Vahns aura. This caused quite a scene, but, as it had nothing to do with them, Vahn continued to lead Eva and Asuna unobstructed... --- Resisting the urge to pass out, a main with pale-green, almost white, hair leaned against a wall for support. His expression showed a mixture of disbelief and terror as he used his right hand to try and stymy the flow of blood from his nose. Around him, a number of other individuals had already copsed, many bleeding from their seven orifices due to the wave of pressure that had spontaneously descended upon them. Using what remained of his willpower, the man pulled out a handful of pills before voraciously shoving them down his mouth. Anyone aware of the true nature of the pills would have been mortified to see such a scene, as, despite their exterior structure, each contained an artificial, intermediate-level, Spirit. They were traditionally single-use items that could be used to save a persons life in a dangerous situation, but, as if he was a monster given human flesh, the man unhesitantly devoured the contained, horrified, spirits. Feeling power surge through his body, a greenish-blue aura surrounded the mans body as the sound of crackling lightning surged through the room. His uncharacteristically spiky hair became even more prominent, and, after a few seconds had passed, lightning began to coil across his body. Immediately thereafter, his figure vanished from view, followed by the sound of a tumultuous thunderp. The temperature within the room increased to several thousand degrees in an instant, but, without caring about the pawns he had left behind, the man hastily alighted from Zephyria at the speed of lightning... After covering thousands of kilometers in an instant, the man crashed into the ground with meteoric force. When he emerged from the long trench his crash had formed, his body was in an even more ragged state than before, the lower half of his face and much of his upper body covered in blood. Despite this, he refused to fall, his expression vicious and unrelenting as he pulled out a magical re and muttered, "That monster cant be allowed to wander freely. All of our efforts will be for naught if we continue ignoring him..." With a fiery determination welling inside his heart, the man aimed the re towards the sky, a fierce glimmer in his eyes as he used thest vestiges of his strength to pull the cord. Almost immediately thereafter, a pale-green orb of light ascended into the sky, but, unlike a normal re, it didnt explode or linger at its apex. Instead, it vanished into the void, and, if not for the trail that was left behind, all signs of its existence would have faded away shortly thereafter. Having sessfully set off the re, the man allowed his tired body toy against the side of the crater. Darkness began to encroach on the edges of his vision as the cautionary words of his Master yed through his mind. She had warned him against approaching within fifteen kilometers of their target, but, unwilling to cower in fear, he unhesitantly entered within the danger zone. He was confident that he would be able to evade Vahns detection, and, when thetter showed even a moment ofcency, he intended to recover the Key of Twilight and receive his Masters praise... Though he wasnt sure what had caused Vahn to suddenly attack them, the man was certain their intentions hadnt been seen through. Instead, it seemed like an indiscriminate attack that targetted anyone with malicious intent within a certain radius. The most terrifying thing about this ability, other than the fact it happened instantly, was that it seemed topletely ignore all magical barriers and protective charms... Moments before his consciousness faded into darkness, the man noticed the length of his shadow extend before condensing into an inky ck substance. From within, a figure with dark skin, darker hair, and glimmering golden eyes appeared. His body was attired in flowing robes that seemed to be formed from the shadows themselves, the hem orbiting his figure as if he was the eye of a storm. Staring down at the man with pale-green hair, a contemptuous look shed across the dark-skinned mans face, his voice deep and resonating as he said, "Secundum...I always knew it would be your hubris that led to your end..." Though the light had already faded from his eyes, the man named Secundum had yet to lose consciousness. His loyalty and sense of purpose were the strongest amongst his brothers and sisters, so, until he had passed on his message, he would not allow himself to rest. Forcing back his hatred and resentment, Secundum grit his teeth hard enough to draw blood before stating, "Listen closely...you defective piece of trash...we cannot allow that monster to hold onto the Key of Twilight...everything were working toward...will be undone...if we dont do anything..." With the same contemptuous expression on his face, the dark-skinned man, Dynamis, just shook his head before saying, "Master told you to stay away and observe. I will report your failure alongside your final words..." Hearing the mans words, Secundums expression turned even more vicious, a small amount of light returning to his eyes. Before he could say or do anything, however, a sickening feeling spread through his body. He could feel the life draining away from him as a series of shadowy spikes prated his body and began to coil around him. Then, as if the ground had be quicksand, he began to sink into his own shadow, an almost inaudible, "Dynamis..." escaping his lips before he waspletely subsumed. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Leave. Now.,Doki-Doki Eva-chan,Vahns domain is actually very terrifying (o w o)...) http://easypolls/poll.html?p=5ee6438ae4b017b74559fd5b https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1603 Duty

Chapter 1603 Duty

Though Vahn might not pay as much attention as he should to the things happening within his domain, that didnt reduce its efficacy in the slightest. He often spent the evening hours, when he was supposed to be sleeping, perusing through the information he had umted throughout the day. This was how he typically uncovered incidents and investigated persons of interest, as, so long as they were within his domain, he could track all of their activities up until the moment they exited his range. When Vahn didnt have time to sort through his own memories, as controlling anywhere between three and five bodies required a fair amount of focus, Sis was always there to serve as a backup. She was infinitely better at processing information, and, though her capabilities rapidly diminished when Vahns mind was in disorder, she had always been his greatest ally. Her only real weakness was that, when Vahn was wholeheartedly focused on a specific task, such as forging, her focus would equally as upied by the same subject. Fortunately, with Vahn meandering about and being zy, Sis had plenty of time to focus on other things, so, while she hadnt noticed it immediately, it didnt take her long to create a perfect three-dimensional representation of the location Secundum had been hiding in. This was the same ability that Vahn used when he navigated his own memories, but, unlike how he simply moved around his intent, Sis actually used a faux body. Though she would willingly change to reflect any form Vahn had decided for her, Sis kept it a secret that she already had a body. She would never allow him to try and separate them, as there was no form of intimacy closer than what they currently shared, but, knowing he would eventually want to meet her, she had conceived the closest thing to an ideal big sister that existed within Vahns mind. This image had changed with the passage of time, but, while her figure had been modified quite a bit, there were a few things that had persisted since Vahns time in Danmachi. As she was his big sister, Sis had healthy brown skin that was simr to Vahns. Due to the early influence of people like Mn, Tina, and Choe, however, her default appearance was that of a Cat Person. She had short hair that was like a fusion between Vahns and Chloes, but, unlike the vast majority of Cat People, her figure was anything but lithe. She was very petite, only standing around 158cm tall, but, simr to Arnya, she had an uncharacteristically voluptuous body. Her breast could easily contend against the bustier women in Vahns entourage while her tail, despite appearing like a traditional Cat Persons, was inordinately thick and fluffy. Vahn might not be aware of his own preferences, as he willfully blocked them, but Sis was able to peel back the veil to peruse his deepest and darkest thoughts. He might not have a preference for women withrge busts, but, when he thought of fort, resting in the bosom of a busty woman was the fastest way to calm him down. He had never stopped longing for his mother, so, whenever he experienced difficulties, he instinctually sought thefort of the more motherly women in his expansive harem. Though he wasnt aware of it, Sis had helped to cultivate this dependency within Vahns mind, as, when he lost himself, she would piece him back together and hold him closely in order to bring him back. She was the reason he often felt surrounded by warmth when he was at his lowest point, and, even if everything else turned against him, she would remain tofort his broken heart. Wearing an outfit simr to a simple viger girl, Sis moved through Vahns mindscape with a smile not all that dissimr to Chloes. The yful Cat Person had made one of the deepest impressions on Vahns heart, and, while others might take uprger ces in his heart, they were built atop the foundation that Chloe hadid. If not for her efforts, he would have walked a very different path, so, no matter how much time passed, Vahn would fondly recall that sunset, the moment when he first decided, wholeheartedly, to pursue something... --- As if the world around her was a remarkably detailed hologram, Sis was able to freely travel through objects to reach her destination. She could also speed up, pause, or reverse the flow of time within Vahns memories, so, after reaching the location of Secundums hideout, located in one of therge supports holding up the world-famous Golden Pce of Zephyria, a massive casino, she reversed time up until the point Vahns domain no longer ovepped with the area. Though she would allow Vahn to discover things on his own, Sis was the primary contributor to all of his hunches. They shared the same mind and memories, so, to make things easier for him, she had developed a habit of learning new things and sorting through information on his behalf. This allowed her to provide the answer when he asked, but, more importantly, it allowed him to quickly connect the dots between certain events since she had already done so on his behalf. To him, it was like remembering something he already knew, and, considering she was a part of him, Sis happily allowed him to take credit for her efforts. After realizing the man was part of the enemy forces, Siss yellow-green eyes began to glow with a bit of intensity. She was capable of using all the same Innates as Vahn, so, for the better part of five hundred hours, she dutifully analyzed the structure of Secundum and his cohorts. She internalized everything he had said, all the orders he had issued, and, since it was often important for Vahn to know such things, she referenced all of Vahns knowledge on psychology to evaluate his character. Vahn would generally act decisively when it was required, but, after the fact, he couldnt help but wonder what had made people into the monsters they became. His empathy was one of his most powerful traits, and, though many didnt deserve it, he would often seek to vindicate them within his mind. There were even times when he would pray for and mourn the lives he had imed, as, despite his ruthlessness against enemies, Vahn felt considerable guilt whenever he harmed others. By putting in the effort to understand his enemies for him, Sis could make things a lot easier for Vahn. The moment he began having doubts, he would default to the knowledge she had obtained on his behalf. This would drastically decrease the amount of time he spent brooding, and, as they were opinions derived from his own knowledge and thought processes, Sis had already confirmed that Vahn would reach the same conclusions if left to his own devices. She simply made the process more efficient, allowing Vahn to quickly recover so that he could focus on the things he cared about more than anything else: his family, friends, and loved ones... Confident she hadnt missed anything, Sis casually waved her hand, erasing the three-dimensional representation of Vahns memory. Once it hadpletely faded, the only thing left was a tiny green fragment. This was actually a piece of Vahns ego, so, as if it was one of the most precious items in all of existence, Sis cupped it between her hands, hugging it close to her chest as her surroundings changed to reflect an ancient storehouse. As the Mediator between Vahn and The Path, Sis was privy to a bit of information that the former simply wasnt able toprehend at his current level. She was even aware of the nascent structure of his unawakened Innates, and, when he was ready, she would work hard to help himprehend them. Amidst the rows of countless bookshelves, scroll racks, and woven storage containers, Sis bypassed countless versions of herself. Rather than clones, however, they were her at different points in what Vahn perceived to be Time. They existed to serve as a bookmark of sorts so that Vahn never forgot anything, and, though she was able to perceive them, none of her past selves were able to perceive and interact with her. They were all trapped in static loops, and, even if she walked through one of them, they would just phase out of existence for a brief moment before refreshing the loop anew. Though she didnt regret it, Vahns desire for her to develop an Ego had ced quite a number of restrictions on her capabilities. Without the static versions of herself, there was a chance even she might forget something. Fortunately, so long as the fragments were safely archived, she would be able to reacquire the information in a rtively short period of time. The flow of Time within the archives flowed at a rate of 1000:1 based on Vahns perception, so, for every second that passed for him, she would experience approximately sixteen minutes and forty seconds... After approaching the centermost region of the archives, the location of a massive spherical mass that disyed Vahns current field of perception, Sis gingerly ced the tiny fragment of ego back in its original location. Then, alongside ny-nine other versions of herself, she sat around the spherical disy, her expression instantly changing to match her other-selves. Though they would sometimes have wry smiles on their faces whenever Vahn did something silly, their default expression was one of profound intrigue and love. Even if he was performing the most mundane of actions, there had never been a single instance where they grew tired of watching over their adorable little brothers growth... --- After a long discussion with Katarina regarding the existence of corruption within Zephyria, Vahn retired to two different rooms to rest for the evening. In one room, he shared a bed with Fenrir, Eva, and Asuna, while, back at the Custos Rosea, he enjoyed snuggling up with the mother-daughter trio of Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale. As for Arika, she ended up cuddling up with the chibi tiger form of Xiao Bai, as, unlike Ariadne, the security within Zephyria was simply terrible. Though the odds of her being targetted were slim, the chances that someone might discover Vahn and Arika sharing the same bed were very high. This could be circumvented by using the Diorama, but, as it took a considerable amount of time to set up, Arika agreed to sleep alone for the evening. Fortunately, she had Xiao Bai and a number of Elementals to keep herpany, and, while this was enough to draw a fair amount of attention, it wasnt really abnormal considering Arikas status... Vahn had actually been tempted to transform into a Vanargandr Puppy form to apany Arika, but, fearing it would establish a dangerous precedent, he decided against it. He knew how adorable he was in such a form, and, though he could always refuse, he could easily imagine Asuna, Eva, and even Fenrir convincing him to let them carry him around. He wasnt yet ready to be delegated to a mascot character that was carried around by others, so, at least for the time being, he decided to let Arika grow ustomed to the fact there would be nights where they simply didnt sleep together... Though he wanted to reach a point where he could attend to every member of his harem, that was still a distant dream. Until then, the girls around him had toe to terms with the fact he wouldnt always be around them. This was easy for most, but, as they had spent such a long period of time together, Arika and Theo had actually been spoiled quite a bit. If they did ultimately follow him into other Records, they needed to be ready to integrate into hisrger harem, so, while there would be plenty of time for them to be intimate with each other, they had to understand they couldnt always be intimate... After sorting through his thoughts and slowly easing his own guilt, Vahn began to finally rx his mind. Everyone except for Fenrir had already fallen asleep, but, as she only ever slept when it was absolutely safe, this wasnt a surprise. He also couldnt sleep properly when there were potential enemies about, so, while diffusing calming energy into his domain, Vahn conducted his usual ritual of sorting the days memories. He spent most of his time focusing on the things happening around him than paying attention to distant matters, so, whenever the opportunity presented itself, he did his best to rewind his memories to see if there was anything he had overlooked. As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn recalled the fluctuation he had sensed during his evening stroll with Eva. Immediately thereafter, as if he was moving through time and space itself, he found himself within a confined location beneath the nearby Golden Pce. Though there were no signs of enemy activity in the present, as everything had been melted and burned away, he was able to rewind the clock to a point prior to the destruction. Seeing the man with pale-green hair, Vahn couldnt help but internally frown. He could tell what kind of existence the man was at a single nce, and, though he had never seen such pills being used, he could sense the presence of Elemental Spirits within. This made him feel a little incensed, but, considering the man was also an Artificial Spirit, there was nothing intrinsically wrong with him subsuming other artificial spirits. Only the method was questionable, but, considering the end result was the same, he decided not to let it bother him too much. After suppressing his anger, as there was very little he could do about events that had alreadye to pass, Vahn began analyzing the scene in greater detail. It didnt take much effort for him to make sense of what had happened, and, though he felt guilty about the lives that had been lost when the man fled, Vahn imagined himself smiling wryly in response to the stupefaction visible on their faces. Even he hadnt intended to expose a member of Cosmo Entelecheia during an evening stroll, so, to see such an event y out, Vahn couldnt help but feel a mixture of incredulity and amusement. Even after searching Ostia and Ariadne in painstaking detail, it had been impossible to find the trail of Cosmo Entelecheia. This had always troubled him quite a bit, and, though he had never vocalized it, Vahn had started to worry that Cosmo Entelecheia simply didnt exist in the current timeline. The chances of this being true were exceptionally slim, but, as there was no way to urately determine how his presence had impacted the original timeline, Vahn could only continue moving forward. Now that he had confirmed both the existence of Cosmo Entelecheia and the fact they were already aware of him, Vahn felt as though a substantial weight had been removed from his shoulders. It was always easier to take action when you had a basic grasp of the enemys intentions, so, now that he knew they were trying to recover Asuna, he had a considerable amount of leverage against them. If he yed it smart, he could even predict their future actions and entrap them, so, until the evening had passed, Vahn spent several tens of hours scouring over the scene for additional information... (A/N: Alternate Titles: (O o O)...!,Vahn still craves his mothers warmth (T ^ T)...,Vahn be like, "Look at how easily I can understand things! I am a master detective (O,...,O)~!") http://.easypolls/poll.html?p=5ee6438ae4b017b74559fd5b https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1604 Spiri

Chapter 1604 Spiri

Early the next morning, when everyone had gathered together to eat breakfast, Vahn exined everything he had noticed the prior evening. This had be a rathermon urrence, and, though it was initially surprising to know just how much he was capable of sensing, being able to see a projection of his memory made exnations a lot easier. Not surprisingly, Eva and Arika had both met people very simr to the man named Secundum in their lifetimes. The former likened his existence to a High Spirit that had been infused with the body of a Demon. This was penultimately confirmed by Arika, as, within the records of Ostia, the temte for all Spirits, including those like Secundum, existed. Though there was a difference between real and artificial spirits, all were the result of giving form to magical and elemental energy. The form and function of Spirits could change drastically depending on their of origin, and, prior to the structuring of Mundus Magicus, there had been no native Spirits on Mars. Theponents allowing for their existence had always been present, but, without the presence of sapient life, it was exceptionally rare for even Nascent Elementals to form. Vahn wasnt too surprised by the revtions made by Eva and Arika. Rather, knowing the Ostian Royal Family were descended from the Mage of the Beginning, it made sense that they would be aware of the formation and fabrication of Elemental Spirits. As for how beings like Secundum came to use Demons as a temte, that wasnt a surprise when you considered the Ancient Civilization of Venus, which gave rise to the Demon tribe, predated both Mundus Ventus and Mundus Magicus by more than ten-thousand years. Considering her experiments to turn people like Eva into True Vampires, the odds of Ialda being a Vampire Noble were exceptionally high. The only other potentiality was that she was a member of the Demon tribe that rose to prominence following the fall of the ACV. This seemed to make the most sense, and, though there was a chance she was something more, such things were generally never recorded in history. The only way to discover the truth was to uncover it directly, but, by the time they encountered the Mage of the Beginning, the opportunity for dialogue would havee and gone... --- Based on their new findings, the group spent thetter half of their breakfast discussing whether or not they should make changes to their n. It was possible to extrapte a substantial amount of information based on the fact that Cosmos Entelecheia had revealed themselves in such a manner, and, knowing they were already trying to recover Asuna, it was all but guaranteed that the catalyst for war had been triggered. In the original timeline, the Great Magic War was preceded by months of escting tensions and several small skirmishes between the Megalomesembrian Confederacy and the Hes Empire. The inciting incident, however, had been the invasion and subsequent burning of Elfenholf, home of the Elves. Vahn had no intention of allowing the Elves to be victims in yet another war between the two major superpowers, so, depending on how things went with Brave Enlil, there was a fair chance they might simply ignore the Spirits Quest in order to prevent a tragedy. This was a matter of principle, as,pared to virtually every other country, Elfenhof had absolutely nothing to do with the war. It was always the victim, and, due to their long lives, difficulty producing offspring, and various other limitations, they constantly lived with the threat of extinction looming over their heads. With his foreknowledge of the future, Vahn would find it difficult to hold himself back if he failed to prevent the razing of Elfenhof. It already took considerable self-control to stop himself from taking action simr to what he had done in the Nasuverse. This urge had be even stronger after his promise with Theo, but, knowing the futility or repeating his actions in every world, Vahn resolved himself to continue along the path of a Vagrant Hero and deterrent. With this in mind, Vahn wrapped up the breakfast discussion by saying, "After saving the Elves, our main objective will shift to luring out and exposing Cosmo Entelecheia. We could try and decry theing war, but, until something happens to shift the public interest, it will be nigh-impossible to prevent it. Instead, we will split our focus between diplomacy and taking decisive action to prevent the war from getting out of hand..." Having made up his mind on the matter, Vahn allowed his words to trail off as he turned to Arika and added, "Currently, there is a considerable amount of spection concerning the rtionship between myself and the Ostian Royal Family. As a result, it would be exceptionally difficult for you to engage in diplomatic affairs if we continue traveling together. It wont be easy on you, but, in order to fulfill our mutual objectives, we will need to create the illusion that we have parted ways following the events in Elfenhof. I will continue to travel with you in secret, but, unless you are in a situation you cannot resolve on your own, you will have to act in your own capacity as Princess and Queen of Vespertatia..." As she had already been expecting something like this to happen, Arikas expression didnt change in response to Vahns words. She had discussed this very matter with both Theo and Eva, so, even if he didnt propose it, she would have done so in the near future. Their duties diverged quite a bit in the grand scheme of things, and, if he wanted to be an effective deterrent, Vahn needed to be able to employ drastic measures when the situation called for it. What surprised Arika was the fact that Vahn said he would continue traveling with her in secret. She had expected him to assign someone to protect her, simr to Theo, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear that they would continue traveling together. As a result, though it didnt show on her face, she was actually feeling a little giddy as she asked, "Am I to act as a lure to draw out Cosmo Entelecheia and Rubra...?" Restraining a wry smile, Vahn slowly nodded his head, exining, "If you are acting in your capacity as a Princess of Vespertatia, it is all but guaranteed that Cosmo Entelecheia will attempt to pull you into their schemes. They will be unable to target Asuna using conventional means so they will likely try and ascertain what kind of rtionship I have with Ostia before using you as bait to try and lure me out. There is a chance they might target civilian poptions to achieve the same result, but, as that would drastically increase the chances of exposing themselves, they are more likely to focus on political maneuvering to try and put us at a disadvantage." Understanding what Vahn was getting at, Arikas expression became progressively more serious as she said, "I understand my duty to this world and its people. I am confident in Theos ability to lead the Empire onto a better path, so, even if I have to mingle among snakes, I will do what is necessary to ensure the prosperity of Mundus Magicus. We have already discussed the matter, and, this time around, we will make sure the Empire and Confederacy ept responsibility for their actions. It will take a while, but we will endeavor to eliminate the need for a deterrent entirely..." Though he had grown ustomed to Arikas speeches, Vahn was still a little surprised by the fervor in her voice. A smile gradually spread across his face, and, though he felt a little guilty putting her in such a difficult position, he knew she didnt feel forced. Thus, rather than say something excessively flowery, he spoke the first words that came to his mind while staring into her gem-like eyes, a smile on his face as he softly uttered, "Thank you..." --- With their n of action decided, it wasnt long before Vahn, apanied by Arika, Asuna, and Fenrir found themselves at the entrance to Brave Enlils abode, the Free Spirit. Unlike the residence of most Great Spirits, Brave Enlil didnt bother to enshrine himself. He had never been fond of worship and reverence, so, rather than a temple, his abode was actually just a simple tavern. He enjoyed drinking alongside the other residents of Zephyria, and, so long as you were prepared for random tavern brawls and boisterouspetition, anyone was wee into the home of the rather temperamental Spirit. When Vahn saw the rather homely tavern for the first time, he couldnt help but smile. It reminded him a lot of the Hostess of Fertility, not just because of the warmth that radiated from its interior, but because there were a number of beautiful yet powerful women working within. They even wore custom outfits that were a blend between the traditional garb of a tavern wench and a maid. Seeing four new customers arrive, a woman with sunkissed skin, sandy-blonde hair, and tiny horns protruding above her temples quickly made her way over. She had a weing smile on her face, and, simr to how Arnya would greet customers, she enthusiastically eximed, "Wee to the Free Spirit Tavern! If this is your first time visiting, I can give you a basic rundown of our rules and a sample of the daily special free of charge~!" Though they hade to meet with Brave Enlil, Vahn didnt refuse the womans offer. He knew the Great Spirit had taken note of their presence the prior day, so, even if they didnt approach him, the odds of thetter approaching them was high. The food served in the Free Spirit was also rtively famous, so, even though they had just finished breakfast, sampling some of the seasonal delicacies wouldnt hurt. After guiding them to their table, the waitress took the liberty of introducing herself, a radiant smile on her face as she chimed, "My name is Calliope! The tavern is pretty empty around this time of day so Ill be serving you throughout your stay. Would you like an exnation of the rules~?" Though he could have referenced his memory for the information, Vahn could tell the woman was eager to exin, so, on behalf of everyone at the table, he nodded his head, smiling as he replied, "If you would be so kind, please, exin..." Happy to oblige, Calliope smiled wide enough to show off her prominent canines before exining, "The price of food is based on your rank and perceived wealth. If you are unwilling or unable to pay, you are allowed to attempt a dine-and-dash or put on a show for the rest of the customers. Even if you have no talent, you can generally work off your tab pretty quickly if you are willing to suffer a bit of embarrassment. If you want to try a dine-and-dash, there are no real penalties unless you get caught so feel free to give it a go. You dont have to worry about being barred entry into the Tavern or anything like that, but, if you do get caught, be prepared for a punishment game, okay~?" Upon mentioning the punishment game, a slightly sadistic look shed across Calliopes pale-pink eyes. It was readily apparent that she encouraged people to try and run, and, after cross-checking the information with what was recorded in his mind, Vahn understood why. The punishment game was generally decided by the waitress based on the behavior of their clients and the overall price of the food and drink provided. The most heinous punishment seemed to be public spanking with a horsewhip while the rest of the tavern cheered on from the sidelines so it wasnt too surprising to see a sadistic glimmer in the over-excited waitress eyes... Rather than ask further questions, Vahn just chuckled lightly in response to Calliopes words before saying, "For now, well take two pints of Drowning Dog, a ss of water, and a cup of orange juice. Well also try the special you mentioned previously. Free food never hurt anyone, right?" Hearing Vahns final remark, Calliope couldnt help but giggle mischievously before winking back at him and saying, "Right~? Ill go grab your drinks. The food will take around twenty minutes. Is that okay~?" With Vahn nodding his head in affirmation, Calliope quickly alighted towards the double-doors near the side of the bar. At the same time, seated at the bar, a roguish-looking individual with windswept dark green hair looked over at Vahns table with azy, hungover, expression. His face was covered in a fair amount of stubble, and, based on his attire, it would be easy to mistake him as either a Sky Pirate or a rather unsessful Skyfarer. Seeing the man look over, Vahn offered a knowing smile before making a sleight of hand gesture with his right hand. Immediately thereafter, a pint of emerald-green liquor appeared in front of the man, startling him quite a bit if his expression was anything to go by. After the initial shock wore off, however, he issued a boisterousugh before fearlessly raising the ss to his lip and taking a fewrge gulps of the fragrant alcohol. Then, earning a pointed re from the female barkeep, he dangled the ss in his hand, a teasing smile on his face as he slurred, "Check it out, Julie. You cant cut me off so easily!" After staring at the ss in the mans hand, the barkeep, Julie, turned her attention towards Vahns table with an angry look on her face as she shouted, "Oi, listen up you brat. Dont go givin this lout any more to drink, ye hear? Next time you go shillin out your own product, Ima start chargin you for solicitin our customers." Preempting any kind of response from Vahn, the green-haired man adopted a rather fierce look on his face as he said, "Oi, oi, oi, dont go threatening my friends, Julie. Dont make me spank-" Before the man was able to finish speaking, Julie used the rag dangling from her hips to whip the man in the face. A loud smack echoed through the tavern, and, as a result of his drunkenness, the man promptly fell off of his stool, knocking over a table in the process. Despite this, and arge red mark on his forehead, the man justughed it off, his loud voice echoing through the tavern as he continued toy in the rubble... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Arika is a good girl,Smile, Sweet, Sister, Sadistic~!,Gyahahahaha~!) http://.easypolls/poll.html?p=5ee6438ae4b017b74559fd5b https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1605 Trus

Chapter 1605 Trus

After lying on the ground for the better part of a minute, the green-haired man promptly performed a kip-up, leaping from his back to his feet in a single deft motion. Then, no longer appearing drunk, he made his way over to where Vahn and co were seated, azy smile on his face as he asked, "So? Out with it. What brings a couple of Princesses and their Dragon escort into my abode?" Though it had been pretty obvious from the start, the green-haired vagrant-like man was none other than the Great Spirit of Wind, Brave Enlil. He was the only Great Spirit that routinely took on the form of a human, and, unlike the rest of his kin, he enjoyed interacting with people. His fondness for people was so great that, several hundred years prior, he even took on a human lover, the one and only Crimson Scarlet. In response to the Great Spirits question, Vahn brought a chair out of his Inventory so the man could sit near the edge of their table. He then produced another pint of the same green liquor from before, a type of ale that was fermented from the sap of a World Tree, saying, "As I told Nyon previously, my primary reason for visiting is to meet and befriend the Great Spirits. I have decided to protect this world so I figured it would be prudent of me to meet those who came before." Sensing no falsehoods in Vahns words, Brave Enlil plopped onto the chair that had been set out for him, ignoring the pint of alcohol as he said, "I thought I smelled that fat cats aroma in the air. You, Goldilocks, show me your forehead." Though she didnt particrly enjoy being addressed by a nickname, Arika decided not to let it get to her. Instead, she just lifted her bangs, and, after a few seconds had passed, a tiny paw print began to illuminate. This caused Brave Enlils brows to rise slightly before he shifted his attention back to Vahn, asking, "What is your rtionship with this woman? Nyon wouldnt just entrust their Blessing to anyone. Are you her guarantor or something?" Shaking his head, Vahn adopted an appreciative smile as he inly said, "Arika doesnt need something like a guarantor. Though I do support her, she is perfectly capable of achieving her goals without my assistance. She managed to convince Nyon through her own words, and, if you give her a chance, I believe she will be able to win your trust as well." Hearing Vahns words, Brave Enlil adopted a thoughtful expression as he shifted his focus to the paw print on Arikas head. Nyon didnt just give out their Blessing arbitrarily, and, though there was no true leader among them, the chubby cat often acted as the voice of reason when they gathered together. Because of this, Brave was very indebted to them, so, after a moment of silence, he adopted a challenging smile as he said, "Sounds interesting. As fate would have it, I even have the perfect Quest for you...how about it, you willing to ept, Princess?" Though others might be prompted to ask about the conditions of the Quest, Arikas adopted a serious expression as she immediately replied, "So long as it does not go against my beliefs or require me topromise my integrity, I will ept. My only concern is that I would not be able toplete it before official duties require my attention." Understanding that Arika was talking about theing war, Brave adopted an amused smile as he said, "Looks like Nyons blessing really has affected your luck. You see, a good friend of mine has been stressed ever since the Confederacy began snooping around in their territory. I want you to go and lend a hand." Even without Brave exining in greater detail, Arika could guess who he was talking about, as, in the original timeline, one of the Great Spirits in by Megalomesembria had been the Great Spirit of Water, Eulimene Ea. They had never forgotten the indignities they had suffered at the hands of Eulimene and Brave, so, during the early stages of the war, Megalomesembria made a concerted effort to kill all of the Great Spirits bordering their country. Since the home of Eulimene Ea was rtively close to their next destination, Arika didnt have to consider her response for very long. Rather, ensuring the safety of Great Spirits was one of her primary objectives, so, even if Brave Enlil hadnt asked, she would have done her best to prevent Eulimene Eas death. The sea may be exceptionally dangerous due to the rampaging of the Leviathan, but, without its plentiful bounty, millions would starve. Eulimene Eas territory, Al Jamira, was the only maritime nation in the entire world, so, while it was possible to fish elsewhere, they contributed to nearly 40% of Mundus Magicus seafood market. This would have normally made them an exceptionally wealthy nation, but, as a result of their rtively unique culture, most Al Jamirans cared very little about stockpiling wealth. Instead, they exchanged their catch for raw materials and resources, refusing any long-term contracts and forbidding the establishment of corporate entities within theirnds. As a result, they lived rtively simple lives, but,pared to almost every other nation in the world, they were, inarguably, one of the happiest groups of people in the entirety of Mundus Magicus... Refusing to allow one of the few gems of Mundus Magicus to be destroyed as a result of the Confederacys greed, Arikas expression became especially serious as she stated, "I will carry out this task without fail." Amused by Arikas response, a massive grin spread across Brave Enlils face as he said, "I can see why my friend here is so taken with you. Youre quite the passionate woman, aintcha?" Not expecting Brave Enlils remark, the tips of Arikas ears became slightly red as she found herself at a momentary loss for words. Vahn, however, didnt hesitate to take advantage of the opportunity, smiling as he said, "She certainly is..." --- While the meeting with Brave Enlil was ongoing, Vahn, apanied by Eva, decided to investigate the remains of Secundums hideout. It had beenpletely destroyed during the mans flight, but, unless certain measures were taken, it was almost impossible to erase all traces. Everyone had their own magical signature, and, when powerful magic was used, it greatly affected the bnce of mana and elemental energy within the air. When powerful beings traded blows, it was possible that their energy would persist for thousands of years after the conflict, so, even if Secundum had ssed the entire hideout, it wasnt enough to erase his presence. Instead, it made him easier to track, as, unlike a normal High Spirit, his Demonic temte had a corruptive influence on his surroundings. This created noticeable gaps in the density of elemental energy as the Nascent Elementals in the environment proactively avoided filling it back in. With his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn could even see the infinitesimally small magical particles that existed within the interior Elementary Particles, so, unless they had an abnormally powerful Innate, escaping his notice once he had found your trail was virtually impossible. As a result, it only took around five minutes before he and Eva found themselves near the crater created by Secundums crashnding. Seeing the 130m long channel that had been carved in thend, Vahn couldnt help but frown. At nearly the exact same moment, Eva spoke the words that had crossed his mind, her voice ice-cold as she said, "The person who recovered the body...they have simr abilities to my own. They have ess to the ck of Venus and seem to be able to move through the shadows. Do you want me to force it open...?" Though it would be exceptionally difficult, there were few people as gifted in the maniption of Darkness and Shadows as Eva. If she forced it, following after the shadow user through their own Shadow Dimension wasnt impossible. The only problem with this, other than an exceedingly high probability of traps, was that it might take them directly to the enemy hideout... Charging straight into the enemys base wasnt necessarily the worst course of action, but, from that moment onward, it would be impossible to predict their actions. There was even a chance that the shadow dimension simply didnt connect to the enemy base. This might result in them exposing their hand for no real benefit, but, rather than refuse, Vahn decided to leave it up to Eva, saying, "Ill follow your lead. This is your revenge so I will support your decision." Hearing Vahns remark, Eva released an exasperated sigh, but, despite her efforts, she was unable to prevent the corners of her mouth from curling up. Then, following a period of reflective silence, she shook her head before saying, "I have grown a lot stronger than I ever thought possible, but, even if I went all out, Im not sure of my chances against that freakish monster. If our spection regarding her origin proves true, it might not even be possible to kill her without relying on that chibi..." Disheartened by her own words, Eva released another sight as she walked over to Vahns side and rested her forehead against his chest. This resulted in thetter dutifully wrapping his arms around her body, greatly easing her tensions by recing them with a gentle warmth. The opportunity to track down her most hated enemy was difficult to pass up, but, understanding the significance of gathering information and consolidating power, Eva fought back the urge to follow her instincts... While holding Eva in his embrace, Vahn considered her remark regarding Asuna. He also suspected that the Mage of the Beginning wouldnt fall so easily without the so-called White of Mars, but, as it seemed to be little more than the power of Creation, he should be able to defeat her without any major issues. Even if that wasnt the case, Vahn was confident their Zanpakutos would be extremely effective, as, unlike normal weapons, they were specialized in damaging the Spiritual Body and Ego directly... --- After taking a few minutes to recharge, Eva extricated herself from Vahns embrace, her expression defaulting to her usual calm and confident mask as she said, "After parting ways with Arika, I want to get in contact with some of my former associates. I might not have anyone I can call a friend but there are a few people I believe we can trust. While you go around ying Hero, I want to focus on gathering information and building an organization to directly oppose our enemies." Though he was unable to prevent a slight frown from developing across his face, Vahn didnt refute Evas words. It was important to him that his women retained their independence, so, as long as she didnt take things too far, he wouldnt interfere with her actions. Instead, he decided to support her, saying, "When the timees, Ill put you in contact with Fairy Xuan. It hasnt grown as quickly as I would have hoped but she was still able to establish herself in the Megalomesembrian underworld." Hearing Vahns supportive words, Eva felt a bit of warmth spread through her chest. She was a little worried that he would try and convince her against taking action on her own so it was a great relief to hear him support her in spite of his protective instincts. It showed just how much trust he ced in her, and, though she sometimes felt undeserving of his love, Eva hade to appreciate it more than she ever thought possible... Feeling emboldened, Eva closed the distance between herself and Vahn, this time wrapping her arms around his neck as she pressed her breasts against his chest. A teasing smile naturally spread across her lips as she brought her face within a few centimeters of his before saying, "It urs to me that I havent been rewarding you properly as ofte...shall we return and take advantage of our time together~?" Though Vahn had been intending to ask about Evas associates, as even her Memory Fragment had rarely talked about her rtionships with other people, he decided to shelve it untilter. Evas switch often flipped atpletely random times, and, if he missed the opportunity to share some intimacy with her, he was bound to regret it. Thus, around the same time she lightly nibbled on his bottom lip, he instinctually moved his hands to grab her plump posterior before teleporting them back to the Custos Rosea to take advantage of the empty Captains quarters... (A/N: Sorry for thete/short chapter. Im getting ready to move between the 20th~25th so there are a few things requiring my attention. Ill try to get out two more before the reset, but I cant make any promises atm. Also, Ill be closing the poll early due to botting so youll have until the end of the day to cast your vote. Ill be taking the top three and throwing them into a randomizer and announcing the winner tomorrow morning.) http://.easypolls/poll.html?p=5ee6438ae4b017b74559fd5b https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1606 The Changing of the Tides

Chapter 1606 The Changing of the Tides

Two days after their arrival, Vahns party departed Zephyria in rtively high spirits. The infamous City of Freedom wasntcking in charms, but, if they stayed there too long, Vahn knew he wouldnt be able to avoid causing a scene. He had decided to give Katarina a bit of face by informing her of the issues, but, as was often the case, he couldnt exactly ignore crimes in progress. As could be expected of a nation that catered to Sky Pirates, Mercenaries, and Merchants, there was a fair amount of unpleasantness within Zephyria. The boarding of the Custos Rosea and the several attempts to try and kidnap Asuna were only the tip of the iceberg. Things got exponentially worse once you delved beneath the cloud sea and descended into the perpetual gloom that represented the city beneath the clouds. Though the had tried to show some restraint, Vahn had helped more than seven-hundred people return to the cycle of reincarnation during his short stint through the slum-like city. This caused a bit of a headache for Katarina, but, instead of apologizing, Vahn promised to return at some point in the near future. He was quite fond of the idea of a City of Freedom, but, if it only promoted the freedom of those willing to exploit others, they had a long way to go before they could pretend to represent such an ideal... --- Unlike the journey to Zephyria, where they were gued by various Sky Pirates, their departure was rtively smooth sailing. This resulted in Arika feeling a little bored, but, as peace was always better than discourse, she didnt openlyin. Instead, she put the Custos Rosea on assisted piloting mode, allowing Asuna to man the helm while she joined Vahn up on the deck. Though she could be rather honest in the bedroom, Arika still had trouble disying her emotions in other settings. She simply didnt know what to do with herself, so, unless others initiated, she had a habit of remaining absolutely silent for several minutes at a time. This made her appear aloof and distant on the surface, but, if you were able to peer into her mind, you would discover she was a just an adorably awkward young woman... Fortunately, even if she didnt know how to seize the initiative, Arika was actually a very docile and receptive woman. The only time she would refuse anything was if Vahn went out of his way to tease her. If he remained silent, however, he could even hold her from behind, his hands gently stroking her abdomen as they stared out of the horizon together. She enjoyed being held quite a bit, and, if they were alone together, she would sometimes look up at him, her heterochromatic eyes revealing her desire to be kissed... --- Unaware of the benefits her kindred sister was receiving, Theo could be foundying listlessly with her feet pointed skyward. Herbat style emphasized flexibility quite a bit, so, even if she wasnt proactively training, it had be a habit for her to stretch and strain her body. After more than four years of hard training and equally hard y, Theo, rather than feeling lonely, found herself profoundly bored following Vahns departure. Fortunately, she received a message to return home almost immediately, and, after a little more than a day, she was able toy in her own bed for the first time in years. It was a very nostalgic andfortable feeling, but,pared to the warmth of her Master and his inordinately soft mattress, it left a lot to be desired... While lost in her thoughts, Theo transitioned from pointing her toes toward the ceiling to spreading her legs and doing a wless split. This was significantly more difficult than using your body weight to force a split, but, as flexibility was one of her strongest points, Theo could pull it off with extreme ease. She had eclipsed the level of most ballerinas and contortionists, and, though it was impossible for her topete against people like Fenrir and Xiao Bai, Theo was confident she would be able to assume any positions her Master favored... After idling about for several hours, Theos ears perked up a few moments before a rhythmic knock sounded on her door. She quickly jumped up to her feet, and, after lightly caressing the amethyst embedded in her cor, her mesh-covered figure was adorned in proper clothing. Then, despite the distance being rtively short, she used [Shundo] to instantaneously close the distance, surprising the middle-aged woman and team of Maids waiting outside when she yanked the door open. Though she was used to Theos antics, the bespectacled woman restrained a sigh as she pushed up the ridge of her sses and sternly said, "A Princess of the Hes Empire should endeavor to carry themselves with dignity and decorum at all times. Please show more consideration for the title you bear, Princess Theodora..." Without minding the womans words in the slightest, Theo smiled wide enough to disy both rows of pearly whites as she happily mused, "Szarlota, its good to see you~!" Hearing Theos familiar address, the serious-looking Szarlota was unable to restrain herself further, a tired sigh escaping her lips before she adopted a slight smile and said, "It is good to see you in such high spirits, Theo. Did you enjoy your time outside of the Pce?" Nodding her head exuberantly, Theo continued to smile widely as she answered, "It was great! I got to meet so many unique and interesting people! Princess Arika was very wise and the Sage Dragon Emperor was unbelievably powerful. Im so much stronger now that even Jack might not be able to win against me, ehehehehe~." Not expecting such bold words, Szarlota and her entourage of Maids were at a loss as to how they should respond. Before they could, however, an inordinately tall man seemed to appear out of thin air, his figure towering over Szarlota as he stared down at Theo and mused, "Oho, it seems our little tomboy has grown quite a bit in her time away from home..." Hearing a voiceing from right behind her, Szarlotas body tensed up quite a bit as the Maids in the surroundings red at Jack, visibly flustered as they eximed, "How dare you regard Princess Theodora in such a rude manner!?" Without minding thements from the peanut gallery, Jack continued to look down at Theodora, his golden irises glimmering in the shadow of his headband. He could sense a phenomenal power slumbering within her body, and, though he was well-concealed, even Qinglong didntpletely evade his senses. His couldnt actually sense him but Jacks instincts told him there was something very powerful looming around the Pce ever since Theo returned... Undaunted by Jacks intimidating presence, Theo continued to smile as she crossed her arms and said, "Im serious. I might not be able to win if you decided to go all out, but, if you fight like you normally do, Im confident in my chances. You shouldnt underestimate how much effort I put into bing stronger." Unable to hold himself back, Jack released an uproariousugh in response to Theos words. Even without her drawing attention to the fact, he could tell she had be much stronger than before. In fact, it was almost unbelievable how stronger she had be. The only thing she seemed to becking was actual experience and killing intent. As for raw power, her petite body, against all rhyme and reason, seemed to radiate an iprehensible amount of strength. It was enough to make his blood boil, and, if not for the fact he saw her as a mischievous younger sister, he might not be able to restrain his urge to battle her... Suppressing his thirst for battle, Jack adopted an approving smile as he said, "Your father wanted to see you, brat. It seems those old sharks in the Megalomesembrian Senate have lost their patience. There have already been a few skirmishes along the eastern frontier so it wont be long until a war breaks out. You might not get a chance to fight on the frontlines, but youll be expected to support the troops and perform some diplomatic duties. I hope youre prepared, kiddo...the political world aint a pleasant ce for the naive and faint of heart..." Surprising even Szarlota, Theo adopted a serious expression in response to Jacks words. Her casual and friendly demeanor faded away in an instant. In its ce, a calm and capable countenance that befitted a ruler. This was quite a surprise for everyone who knew Theo closely, and, though it was a positive development, it didnt feel right to see her show such a solemn expression. Despite this, all were silent as she eloquently stated, "Though I might beckingpared to someone like Princess Arika, I am not the same young girl who departed the Empire many months ago. I still have much to learn, but, if they think they can take advantage of my naivete and inexperience, I have considerably more to teach my contemporaries..." Showing a serious expression of his own, Jack nodded approvingly in response to Theos words. She had clearly obtained more than just power during her time in Ariadne, and, though she was severely underestimating her enemies, her current mentality was a qualitative improvement. Though it was a little sad to see her grow up, Jack knew it would be necessary if she wanted to be apetent Empress in the future... --- After refusing the assistance of her Governess and Maids, Theo changed into a flowing white robe before making her way over to meet with her father. She would normally wear casual clothes, as her father doted on her quite a bit, but, as it was her first official summons as Imperial Ambassador, she wanted to make a positive impression. Numerous members of the Imperial Court would be present, and, though there was some merit in pretending to remain childish, she wanted to start establishing herself sooner, rather thanter. Seeing his daughter wearing ceremonial garments, the Emperor, much like the rest of his Court, was more than a little surprised. He was used to his daughter disregarding court etiquette entirely, and, though he would lightly reprimand her, he didnt particrly mind her childish antics. Rather, when she was younger, he would even allow her to sit on hisp while listening to his Ministers report on the various affairs of the Empire... Ignoring the incredulous gazes from her surroundings, Theo approached within ten meters of her fathers throne before cupping her hands together and bowing low as she said, "Princess Theodora greets His Imperial Majesty." Though it was the proper way to introduce herself, Michael couldnt help but feel slightly saddened by his daughters formality. He hadnt expected her to have matured so much, as, ording to the period reports he received, she was still the same vibrant and outgoing girl he knew and loved. This was likely an act of some sort, but, despite knowing this, he couldnt help but restrain a sigh before firmly stating, "You may rise. It is good to see you in good health, Theodora..." With her hands cupped together, allowing her sleeves to ovep slightly, Theo continued showing the proper courtesies as she adopted a polite smile and answered, "I am gratified to hear such kind words. I see that Father is also in good health. It would seem I owe a debt of gratitude to the Gods and Spirits that watch over our beloved Hes." Ignoring the stuffy feeling in his chest, Michael adopted a smile in response to his daughters words before turning his attention to Jack. Thetter noticed his gaze and shrugged in response, earning a few hateful res from the surroundings. Despite this, none had the gall to speak out of turn, as, in preparation for theing war, Jack had been elevated to the status of Special Grand Marshal. He didnt have any official authority over troops, but, during a state of emergency, he was even able to countermand the orders of the Commanding General. Though he would need a good reason to do so, this was an unprecedented amount of authority for a moner, and, unless Jack lost the favor of the Emperor, few could speak out against him within the Court... Seeing Jacks casual response, the Emperor felt a small amount of relief as he internally remarked, ("At least some things never change..."). Then, turning his attention back to his daughter, he buried his difort as he adopted a serious expression and said, "Report on your progress in Ariadne..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is even more efficient than Truck-sama,This girl has fallen hard...,RIP Emperor Michael. Your daughter is already gone xD...) (A/N: I already closed the poll. Ill leave two options in thements section, so, if you want me to spoil you, feel free to upvote. If you want to be surprised, feel free to upvote the second option~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1607 Willfulness

Chapter 1607 Willfulness

With the prompting of her father, Theo dutifully exined how the tensions between Ariadne and the Empire had been lessened during her stay. She left out most things rting to Vahn, but, having already discussed it with both Eva and Arika, she made sure to mention her kinship with thetter. It would greatly strengthen her position if she had the support of the future Queen of Vespertatia, as, evenpared to the Imperial Family, the Ostian Royal Family was beloved by the people. Needless to say, Emperor Michael was pleasantly surprised by his daughters unexpected kinship with Arika. It was extremely beneficial for the Hes Empire, thergest Demihuman nation, to have a positive rtionship with the country that represented a Holy Land for all Demihuman tribes. They might not benefit much during the war, as Ostia was traditionally a neutral third party, but, when it came time to rebuild, they were sure to recover much faster with the support of the most magically advanced nation in the world. Unfortunately, while the kinship between Theo and Arika was an extremely beneficial rtionship for the Empire, the promises she made with Ariadne were bound to cause considerable tensions in the Inner Court. Her words effectively guaranteed the independence of Ariadne following the war, and, while this wasnt necessarily a bad thing for the City-State, it represented a significant financial loss for the Empire. The research conducted by Ariadne and the specialist products they produced ounted for nearly seventeen percent of the gross-domestic-product of the Hes Empire. This,bined with the fact they were responsible for producing some of the greatest Schrs, Mages, and Artificers within the Empire, made it exceptionally difficult to allow them independence. When you included the value of theirnd and its resources, it was even harder to agree, as, ording to confidential reports, there were traces of Chronoton within some of the more remote regions. A single gram of Chronoton was worth nearly 170,000,000 Drachma, and, if used in the production of weapons, it had the ability to either stop Time or disy a target through the Time Axis by a few hours. This was exceptionally useful against powerful foes, as, if you could send them a few hours into the future, you were able to effectively remove them from the battle. If you took that time to create a powerful seal in the area where they had been previously, it was possible to capture even S-Rank criminals without much difficulty. The most important aspect of Chronoton was that it could even transnt or seal a target through the most powerful of magical barriers. There was virtually no counter to it, and, in the distant past, it had been the cause of countless wars. It didnt matter that it required mining more than a hundred million tons of ore just to produce a single gram, as, once it had been refined, its value more than made up for the cost. While Michael didnt particrly care about Ariadnes independence, he couldnt simply ignore the fact they were in possession Chronoton, even in its unrefined state. It was the same substance that led to Vrixho Nagasha being sealed in the past, so, if it was ever weaponized against them, it could spell the end of the Empire. Thus, after hearing about Theos promise, he remained silent for several seconds with his eyes closed before adopting a serious expression and saying, "We understand the reason for the tensions between Ariadne and the Empire. However,pared to the many benefits we have given them throughout the centuries, the actions of a few outliers should not jeopardize more than a thousand years of coexistence. Recognizing the Sovereignty of Ariadne also directly conflicts with the interests of the Empire so I fear your promise might have been made in vain..." Though it was true that Ariadne had be something of a yground for corrupt Nobles, it was also true that the Empire had granted them numerous concessions over the years. Allowing them to preserve their territory was already a unique exception, and, if not for the close kinship between the founders of Ariadne and Emperor of the time, such an arrangement would have been impossible. It had even been given tax-exemption status during previous wars, a blessing most City-States could only dream of obtaining. Despite her opponent being both the Emperor and her father, Theo did not back down. Instead, her expression became even more serious as she firmly stated, "Change and progress are necessary for a nations continued prosperity. If Hes wishes to remain relevant in theing era, we cannot be held back by personal interests and tradition. It is high-time the Empire forges a route toward the future that doesnt rely on conflict to promote advancement. If we continue along our current path, I fear it is only a matter of time before our arrogance and greed lead to our downfall." Surprised by his daughters words, Michael raised his brows slightly. He was actually impressed by the conviction contained within her voice, but, before he could remark, someone else beat him to it, shouting, "Audacious! Your words are an insult to everyone who hadid down their lives to ensure the prosperity of the Hes Empire! We are a species born and bred for battle yet you ask us to go against our nature in order to pander to weaklings? Where is your pride as a Princess of the Hes Empire!?" As if she hadnt heard the outburst of her older brother, Theo continued to stare at her father with a look of conviction in her eyes. She would not waste time arguing with fools who only pursued their own interests, and, though it was heartbreaking, she had already made the mental preparations to prevent theing coup. Seeing the unwavering conviction in his daughters eyes, various thoughts began running through Michaels mind. It was clear that a lot more had changed during her stay in Ariadne than the reports had stated. She radiated a considerable amount of confidence, and, when he focused his senses, he was shocked to find that he couldnt actually see through her. Though it wasnt noticeable at first, it was like her aura had be unfathomably, and, the more he tried to understand the depth of her power, the greater it seemed... Before matters could exacerbate, Michael raised his hand to silence the growing discord within the Court. Then, in amanding tone, he stated, "Leave us. Rakan, Klemens, you will remain." Hearing their Emperorsmand, many within the Court disyed proper courtesy before quickly alighting from the Throne Room. The only exception was the Second Prince, Kacper, who, against standard etiquette, decided to remain. The changes in Theo made him feel more threatened than ever before, and, though his Grand Uncle tried to usher him out of the room, he refused to leave before he could make his case. Though he noticed his sons belligerence, Michael didnt want to shame him before the rest of the Court. He was already a very troubled boy, and, despite his many failings, Michael still cared for his second son greatly. He was the result of the union between Michael and his childhood sweetheart, so, with thetter dying during Theos birth, the Emperor had always been more tolerant than he ought to be whenever it concerned Kacper. Unfortunately, as a result of being coddled for much of his life, Kacper had developed a powerful sense of entitlement. This came to a head following the birth of Theodora and her selection as the Crown Princess, as, prior to that moment, he had always been his Fathers favorite. This caused him to believe he was next in line for the Throne, and, as a result of his childishness, he had been readily exploited by the more divisive elements within the Imperial Court. He was convinced that Theo had stolen both his birthright and his mother, so, unlike the rest of his siblings, he had always harbored a considerable amount of hatred toward his younger sister... --- Once everyone had cleared out of the Throne Room, leaving only the Emperor, the Prime Minister, Vrixho Nagasha, Jack Rakan, and his sister, Kacper didnt hesitate to state, "Forgive me, Father, but I cannot simply ignore this matter. Theodora has clearly been ced under the influence of that vile creature. At this rate, the Empire will be brought to ruin by Theodoras naivete. It is not my ce to question Fathers wisdom but it is clear that Theodoracks the qualifications to properly fulfill her duties as an Imperial Ambassador. She is far too young and impressionable for such responsibility!" Though it was clear to everyone that the Second Princes actions were the direct result of envy, his argument was actually very sound. By the standards of the Empire, Theo was far too young to hold a position of authority, but, due to extenuating circumstances, she had been appointed a position traditionally held by the more senior members of the Imperial Family. An Imperial Ambassador was often tasked with directly negotiating with foreign nations, so, more often than not, only those with a considerable amount of experience were assigned the post... For a brief moment, Michael started to consider his sons words, but, almost immediately following thetters outburst, Theo calmly stated, "Age is not the only metric for maturity. There are people younger than me serving proudly within our military. We allow them toy down their lives for our great nation yet coddle the members of the Aristocracy who are supposed to set the example that others follow. If my age is to be a point of contention, I will stake my status as Crown Princess in the Rite of Challenge." Hearing Theos words, Michael, Vrixho, and the Prime Minister, Klemens Jozef Sirzega, couldnt help but show expressions of shock. As for Kacper, he had a look of incredulity that quickly turned to a dour expression due to Jacksughter... Though it was rare for a member of the Aristocracy to undergo the Rite of Challenge, it was one of the most intrinsic parts of Hesian culture. By undergoing this ceremony, youths could be elevated to the status of adults by proving themselves in a series of challenges against their seniors. This was the final challenge many recruits faced before bing soldiers, and, so long as they were able to survive the ordeal, their age would no longer matter in ordance with Imperial Law. Since he had been making an argument based on their traditions, Kacper found himself at a loss in response to Theos words. She had every right to undergo the Rite of Challenge, and, as a member of the Imperial Family, it was all but guaranteed she would seed. The only real requirement was to pass a written test and challenge three opponents who were considered her seniors. Despite her boyish nature, Theo had always been an intelligent girl, and, even without the power granted to her by Vrixho, even mediocre members of the Imperial Family were often far stronger than the talented member of the Nobility... Before Kacper coulde up with an argument against Theos inalienable right to undergo the Rite of Challenge, he found himself in a renewed state of incredulity as his father said, "Very well, Theo. I recognize the validity of your request. However, considering the circumstances, I believe it would be for the best if you allow me to choose your opponents. Are you willing...?" Without any hesitation whatsoever, fighting intent could be seen in Theos gaze as she nodded her head in acquiescence. Then, leaving the Second Prince with a stupefied expression on his face, the Emperor stated, "Since your brother stands in contention to your status as Imperial Ambassador, he will be the first of your three opponents. Afterward, I will have you face off against a Captain of the Imperial Guard. If you are able to perform well against them, you will be free to choose-" Unable to restrain her growing excitement, Theo dismissed with courtesy entirely as she eximed, "I want to fight against Jack!" Hearing his daughters exmation, Michael, Kacper, Klemens, and Vrixho were at aplete loss for words. As a result, the only sound within the Throne Room for several seconds was the sound of Jackughing, his aura gradually spreading through the chamber before he spontaneously stopped and answered, "I ept your challenge! Show me how much youve grown, brat!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Muh interests tho...,Theo dont y unless her Master is involved,This is a little more than a small ripple xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1608 Longing

Chapter 1608 Longing

As it wasnt his first time seeing something simr, Vahn wasnt too surprised by the existence of a tree more than three-hundred meters in height. It was unquestionably awe-inspiring, but, after nting a few World Trees and seeing a whose core was one massive root system, giant flora didnt have much of an impact. A stark contrast to Vahns stoic appreciation, Asuna had an excited expression on her face as she stood atop the dorsal fin of the Custos Rosea. She had only ever seen such massive trees in Vahns memories, so, seeing the true body of Yggdrasillia for the first time, she couldnt help feeling a little impressed. She could sense an incredible amount of vitality radiating from it, and, though it seemed tock the purity of Vahns, it was like a vast and endless ocean that caused greenery to spread out to the ends of the horizon... Seeing Asuna perfectly bncing atop the Custos Roseas dorsal fin, her unique white hooded cloak gracefully flowing without concern for the actual wind pressure, a gentle smile spread across Vahns face. She had stopped changing her clothes more than ten times per day, and, though her style was bound to evolve over time, her current fashion identity suited her exceptionally well. It gave her the impression of a modern-day samurai, but, if you actually analyzed the outfit, itcked even a single piece of traditional garb. Simr to Theo, Asuna now wore an extremely thin mesh that was worn like a second skin over her body. It even covered the fingers and toes, but, instead of being flesh tone, she settled on a matte ck that would allow her to better blend into her surroundings. As for its maximum capacity, she was even more talented than Theo when it came to the maniption of Ki, so, when activated to its fullest potential, Asunas weighed an impressive 300kg. As she couldnt just run around in a ckpression mesh, Asunas basic attire consisted of a pair of white jean shorts and a moderately baggy ck t-shirt. Overtop this, recing the haori she had been experimenting with previously, she wore a stylish white parka with tworge pockets, fur-lined sleeves, and a matching, fur-lined, hood. As for the rest of her outfit, she wore a pair of gloves that greatly increased her grip strength, and, as she often found it difficult to stand on any surface, she had a pair of sneakers with the ability to selectively stick to even sheer and inverted surfaces. With her appearance, Asuna could easily be mistaken for a model, but, in Vahns mind, every part of her screamed protagonist. He had noticed it in both Danmachi and the Nasuverse, but,pared to normal people, the main characters stood out quite a bit. It was almost as if everyone else in the Record hade to an agreement to dress rtively in and uniform. This made it rtively easy to deduce who was important to the world, and, though there were a number of exceptions, it was even possible to intuit whether or not someone would be powerful based on specific traits. Though it wasnt as noticeable in Danmachi, the Nasuverse had a number of temtes that clearly disyed the preferences of the original creator. The Saber-Faces were the most obvious example of this, but, when it came to the truly powerful, white hair with anybination of red, blue, silver, or golden eyes indicated an inordinately powerful person. After that, the main traits you needed to watch out for were golden hair, and, perhaps most importantly, whether or not they had an ahoge. Generally speaking, you would never see an ahoge on a normal person, so, the moment you saw someone walking around with the characteristic tuft of hair, it was virtually guaranteed they had a part to y in the overarching story of the Record. This was especially true if the ahoge had what he and Da Vinci had coined special features, as, unless they existed foric relief, only those who had a central part to y in the Record had an expressive or functional ahoge. Back in the Nasuverse, there were some people whose ahoges were so expressive that they would even disy question marks or stand up straight when they were confused or startled. The one that stood out the most, however, was the mysterious ahoge possessed by X. It had the ability to detect other Saber Faces halfway across the Universe, and, in the most extreme cases, even allowed her to sense their presence within different dimensions. These functions,bined with the fact it could poke through solid metal without causing any damage, made Xs ahoge one of the most unique in the entire Nasuverse. Though it wasnt as extreme as Xs, Asunas ahoge seemed to possess a function that allowed her to urately pinpoint the location of hidden enemies. It would twitch whenever someone tried to pull off a sneak attack against her, and, whenever it came to Vahn, specifically, Asuna could even detect him in the State of Nothingness. She even seemed to know when he was thinking about her, as, the moment he looked up at her with a smile, Asunas ahoge twitched slightly as she turned to face him with a radiant smile of her own. Without worrying for her safety, Asuna unhesitantly leaped down butt-first, her knees tucked up as if she was going to do a cannonball. This was another habit she had developed, and, as she had proven her willingness tomit to the deed, Vahn tried to avoid letting her impact the deck like a 323kg mortar round that also had the ability to ignore magical barriers... After being caught and held in a princess carry, Asuna released a girlish snicker, yfully dangling her legs as she asked, "Ive never seen such a big tree. Do you think they would get mad if I climbed to the very top?" With a wry smile on his face, Vahn shook his head in response before stating, "Based on historical ounts, the Elves descended from Yggdrillia in much the same way that the Hesians descended from Vrixho. It is safe to assume she also has the ability to read a persons memories and intentions through touch. Once she understands the purpose behind our visit, I doubt she will mind allowing you to climb her branches." Hearing Vahns words, Asuna became even more excitable, a mischievous glimmer shing across her blue-green eyes as she asked, "Have you heard of the legend that has been passed down since ancient times? They say that if you make a heartfelt promise beneath Yggdrillias canopy, your fates will be intertwined..." Though he knew what she was trying to say, Vahn showed a thoughtful expression on his face as he mused, "Maybe I should ask Eva to apany me..." in a in tone of voice. This resulted in Asuna puffing out her cheeks slightly, but, rather than remain bitter, she opted to rest her head against his chest, closing her eyes and forcing him to continue holding her until she was satisfied... Seeing Asunas admittedly adorable pout, Vahn issued a silent chuckle before hugging her a little closer to his body. She knew how to y him like a fiddle, and, even without an arbitrary promise between Yggdrillias canopy, their fates were already intertwined. Her powerful fate wasnt able to directly influence him, but, unless he proactively resisted it, the mysterious energy flowed around his body like a steady current. It didnt provide the same benefits as it had in the Nasuverse, but, after more than four years at the pampered princess side, he could clearly perceive the flow of fate around Asuna. At this point, even Eva had been infected by Asunas fate, and, though it wasnt able to change her tsundere traits, it was one of the contributing factors that allowed her to ept Arika and Theo. The incident with Evas transformation being broken was just one of the many ways in which Asunas fate influenced the sequence of events, and, if left unchecked, everything would be wrapped up in the phenomenal current that flowed around her. The scariest thing about Asunas fate was how it seemed to influence events based on the actions of those around her, not just herself. Her fate was one of the main reasons they had been able to meet with Braven Enlil so easily, as, more often than not, the whimsical Great Spirit would vanish for literal years at a time. He very rarely appeared in public unless something major happened, yet, as if he had been waiting for them, they easily found him within his abode... Though it seemed almost nonsensical, Asunas influence on fate was so great that she might as well be the Goddess of Fate within the Akamatsuverse. She didnt control it consciously, but, so long as she understood his intentions, Vahn was certain that Asunas influence on fate would adapt itself to suit his needs. She was effectively the lynchpin of the Magical World, and, so long as she believed it was necessary, the world would, quite literally, change in ordance with her perspective. If Vahn wasnt careful, any ill-thought teachings or poorly-constructed promises conveyed to Asuna had the potential to shape reality itself. He had confirmed this by conducting a number of rtively safe experiments, most designed by Da Vinci, and, without exception, each had proven his theory. It was for this reason that he rarely left Asuna unattended. He also made sure to be roundabout when it came to making promises, as, depending on the circumstances, the fate of the entire world could be changed with a few innocent words... Unaware of Vahns thoughts, but knowing he was thinking about her, Asuna hummed a happy tune as she continued to yfully dangle her legs. She realized it didnt matter whether or not she made a promise with Vahn, as, ording to Fenrir, he always reciprocated honest and earnest feelings. So long as she continued working hard, it was impossible for Vahn to ever abandon her. This was one of the reasons his harem had grown so much, and, though she felt a little guilty about it, Asuna had already decided he was the one she was fated to spend the rest of her life with. At this point, all she needed to do was mature. Until then, she was just grateful to be able to spend more time with him, and, with even Eva preparing to leave for a period of time, it seemed like they would have plenty of opportunities to spend time together... --- As home nation to an endangered people, Elfenhof waspletely closed off from the rest of the world. Anyone found without 50km of the massive forest that housed the Elven people would be found guilty of viting an international treaty. This treaty allowed them to be killed on sight, and, if they were found to be involved in the trafficking of Elven people, the punishment was even more severe. In the most extreme cases, they would have a special seed nted inside of their body that eventually sprouted into a tree that could easily live for a thousand years. These trees were able to seal the consciousness of the person inside, forcing them to experience a stationary life where they could do little but photosynthesize and absorb moisture from the soil... Though it was a mortifying thought, nearly every tree within the vast forest surrounding Elfenhof had been grown from the body of someone involved in Elf trafficking. The only exception was the Forest of Life that surrounded the base of Yggdrillia. The trees there were grown from the bodies of Elves who either lived till old age or suffered from an ailment that would have imed their life. They would be the foundation that supported their people, and, though they would be unable to move freely, many of the trees grown from the bodies of Elves grew exponentially taller, wider, and stronger than those produced by other races. It wasmon for the families of those within their second phase of life to live around, tend to, or even live inside the trees of their Ancestors. This didnt cause any pain to the trees, and, with the ability to read emotions and thoughts through touch, it ensured that the Elvenmunity was built upon the strongest bonds imaginable. Their most casual form ofmunication among Elves involved gingerly cing their hands upon the other persons face or holding hands as they walked. When it came to close family and friends, however, hugging, affectionately cuddling, and cing foreheads against each other was the norm. As a result, it wasmon to find Elves affectionately hugging trees, and, if you approached the very center of Elfenholf, dozens could be found resting against the massive trunk of Yggdrillia with contented smiles on their faces... As their most ancient ancestor, the Elves greatly revered Yggdrillia, affectionately referring to her as their Guardian Goddess and the Mother of the Forest. Nearly every newborn Elf that was baptized in the emerald-green waters that pooled around her trunk, and, with few exceptions, any important ceremony was conducted beneath her canopy. She was an intrinsic part of their lives from the time of their birth to their inevitable rebirth as Children of the Forest, so, whenever they could afford the time, Elves both young and old would flock tomune with their beloved protector... Seeing her children peacefully slumber beneath her branches, Yggdrillia did her best to make them feel safe and protected. She cared deeply for each of them so it always broke her heart every time she noticed someone missing from among the ever-dwindling poption. It wasnt that there were no new births, but, every time a war was on the horizon, the number of kidnappings would increase exponentially. Things were especially bad this time around, and, in recent years, the poption of Elfenhof had decreased by nearly fourteen percent... Fortunately,pared to her sensitive children, Yggdrillia was much better at hiding her emotions. She was able to convey love and warmth through her trunk, while, near the summit of her canopy, her physical manifestation released a disheartened sigh. She worried it was only a matter of time before Elfenhof was destroyedpletely, as, with the advancements of both Magic and Science, the respect for life had gradually dwindled with the passage of time. She had even seen visions of her beloved nation burning, and, though it wouldnt kill her, there was a fair chance her true body would be destroyed in the near future... Thinking of the worst, Yggdrillia, appearing as an Elvan woman with uncharacteristically brown skin, brown hair, and shorter-than-average ears, tucked her knees up to her chest so that she could hug them. She appearedpletely naked, but, unlike a normal woman, she didnt possess secondary sexual characteristics or reproductive organs. Instead, her body was covered in intricate white runes that glowed within the shadow of her own canopy. Her pale blue eyes, disying a mncholy that had been cultivated over thousands of years, stared out over the horizon, hoping and praying for a miracle that had nevere... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "Seent.",Asuna and Haruhi would get along,Fate can be pretty scary...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1609 Penance : Salvation

Chapter 1609 Penance : Salvation

Though they had arrived on a mission of peace, Vahn had Arika moor the Custos Rosea a few kilometers outside the Forest of Penance. It wouldnt take much effort for him to charge into the heart of Elven territory, but, as a gesture of goodwill, he decided to approach from the front. He also wanted to inspect the infamous forest personally, as, depending on the circumstances, there was a fair chance he would be burning it down in the near future. Vahn could understand the reasoning behind sealing people into trees, but, as it seemed a little excessive to imprison people for more than fifteen times their average lifespan, he wouldnt just ignore them. They might have wronged many people throughout their life, but, with reincarnation being a very real thing, it was always fairer for them to simply return to the cycle anew. The weight of their Karma would determine the quality of their next life, so, rather than force them to atone in the present, allowing them to reincarnate was the juster oue. With this thought in mind, Vahn slowly roamed through the gloomy, fog-filled, Forest of Penance with Eva, Arika, Asuna, and Fenrir in tow. The forest was filled with a depressive aura that lingered in the surroundings like the atmosphere of a funeral wake. It was incredibly eerie, and, with several unique magical barriers present, most trespassers would experience a host of nightmarish illusions while passing through. Fortunately, even without Vahn taking action, Asunas ability to negate magic caused a bubble just under five meters in diameter to form around her. Though it was generally impossible to use magic within the boundary of this field, it allowed them to pass through the forest with impunity. Even an unexpected attack would have little effect on them, as, unless it was purely physical, it would never be able to prate the wispy, invisible, field. The only weaknesses of Asunas magic canction was that it had no effect on internal magic, ki, and illusions that directly affected reality. This meant someone like Merlin would be able to easily deal with Asuna, and, though your barriers wouldnt work, using physical attacks against her were highly effective. Though this assumed you had some way to deal with her State of Nothingness, a truly skilled individual would be able to work around the gaps in Asunas defense. Though she had gotten the better of him in a few situations,rgely thanks to her powerful fate, Vahn served as a perpetual reminder that you could never underestimate your foes. Higher forms of energy could often ignore even Innates, and, if yourprehension of the Laws was higher than your opponent, even indestructible foes could be cut. He often caught Asuna by surprise when he used magic within her field of canction, so, rather than be dependent on the skill, she had learned to treat it as an auxiliary ability. The most amazing thing about Innates was their ability to adapt and evolve with their user. They had unlimited potential for growth, but, if you became dependent on them, you were bound to experience some suffering. Rather, the best way to develop an Innate was simply to use it while making an earnest attempt to grow stronger. Trying to develop the Innate directly actually limited its growth, as, much like the description stated, they were impossible to identify. Their penultimate form and function were based on the capabilities and character of their user, so, even when he had made an earnest effort to try and develop them, Vahns progress had been limited until he made a concerted effort to improve himself, rather than the Innate... --- While walking through the Forest of Penance, Vahn would periodically ce his hand upon the twisted trunk of a dead-looking tree. It was said that the color and vitality of the tree was based on the nature of the person it was grown from, so, while many looked rtively normal, some were as twisted and ckened as could be imagined. Though he had experienced it with several prior trees, Vahn felt a little perturbed by the lukewarm feeling transmitted through his palm whenever he ced his hand against a tree. It was simr to touching the driest and most craggy skin imaginable, and, after spreading his senses throughout the tree, Vahn could detect a phenomenal amount of negative energy as the twisted and atrophied nerves continuously pulsated in agonizing pain. Near the very center of the tree, there were even modified organs and the remnant of a skeletal system that had been stretched and twisted into a form that guaranteed the greatest amount of suffering. Even if it was the result of their own actions, Vahn couldnt help but sigh every time he investigated one of the ckened trees. Some were hundreds of years old, but, due to the nature of the curse, they were unable to adapt to the pain. Even if they truly wanted to repent, they were not given the option. Instead, they were forced to live on for centuries, their bodies wracked in pain without any hope for relief. Some, perhaps the perpetrators of heinous crimes, had even been vandalized, and, though it was different than normal blood, a brackish-red liquid slowly oozed from scars that had been left behind by hatchets, swords, daggers, and arrows... While shaking his head in mild exasperation, Vahn sent a powerful ripple of Source Energy through the tree he was investigating. This resulted in a spontaneous copse of the nervous system, and, though it would be unimaginably painful, the process was so quick that they wouldnt even have the time to process it before they were dead. After destroying the eleventh tree, Vahn turned to look back at Arika and Asuna, his expression solemn and serious as he stated, "Punishments like these are unjust. No matter how heinous their crime, forcing people to suffer is never justified. I am not without ws in this regard, but, if at all possible, I would like you to avoid repeating my mistakes. If you do not provide people a means to repent, you are simply being cruel, self-righteous, and vindictive..." Hearing Vahns words, both Arika and Asuna nodded their heads in understanding. They were well aware of the mistakes Vahn had made, as, rather than try to cover them up, he was always open and forthright about them. He had taught them that mistakes werent something you should be ashamed of. Rather, it was important to openly acknowledge the mistake, as, the harder you tried to conceal it, the more it would haunt your future decisions. Seeing both girls nod, Vahns mood improved marginally. Before moving on, however, he offered a silent prayer for the departed, as, despite the misdeeds of the person during their lifetime, the Soul was without sin. Event he most vile criminal could be reborn as a saint under the right conditions, so, rather than pray for the deceased, Vahn offered a prayer for the new life that would result from a Souls departure... --- Perhaps as a result of Asunas magic cancetion, it took more than two hours for the first group of Elves to encounter Vahns group. Even then, they were genuinely shocked by the groups arrival, to the point the leader of the group stared ck-jawed at them for several seconds before nocking an arrow and shouting, "You are trespassing upon protected grounds! Set aside your weapons or we will be forced to fire upon you!" In response to the androgenous mans shout, the four Elves apanying him all nocked arrows of their own. Each had blonde hair and deep green eyes, and, unless you looked closely, it was very difficult to determine their actual gender. The only tell-tale sign was that the females had rounder ears, as, with very few exceptions, even the bustier Elves within the Akamatsuverse rarely exceeded a B-Cup. As for the males, they never grew facial hair, and, unless they achieved the status of High Elf, they appeared just as fair and feminine as the females of their species... Fortunately, Vahn could even discern the differences between identical twins without any difficulty, so, when it came to determining gender, he had no trouble at all. Thus, even though all five of the Elves look exceptionally simr to each other, he could discern that three were male and two were female at a nce. This wasnt particrly important, as there was virtually no separation between genders in Elven society, but it made things a little easier when conversing. Rather thanply with the mans demands, Vahn remained calm and casual, a gentle smile on his face as he said, "If we arrived with malicious intentions, the Elementals would have informed you of our arrival. Please, lower your weapons and hear our reason before jumping to conclusions..." Though he was speaking softly, Vahns words carried a considerable amount of weight, as, during the brief period when he was speaking, hundreds of nascent Elementals readily prepared to defend him. These werent visible to most Elves, but, as one of the more sensitive races, every member of the patrol party was able to sense their presence. They could sense the natural aura around Vahn, and, though they instinctually refused to believe it, they couldnt shake the feeling his affinity was even greater than their Ancestral Mothers... After several tense moments, the supposed leader of the group slowly lowered his bow, but, even after pointing it toward the ground, he kept the arrow nocked. There were no limits to the number of tricks humanity coulde up with in the pursuit of their ambitions, so, even if his instincts told him Vahn could be trusted, his wisdom and experience prevented him from lowering his guard. Instead of reproaching the man for his behavior, Vahn gave an approving nod as he, very slowly, raised his hand. His gesture caused the five to tense up at first, but, after another long period of silence, they seemed to understand his intentions. They were a species thatmunicated more with bodynguage and physical contact rather than speaking, so, seeing Vahns rxed posture and outstretched hand, it didnt take a leap in logic to realize what he was trying to say... As the natural aura around Vahn was only growing stronger with the passage of time, the leader of the Elven patrol ultimately nodded toward hispanions before quivering his arrow and slinging his ornate wooden bow. Then, exhibiting the meticulousness and grace associated with his race, he trepidatiously approached the group, his footsteps leaving absolutely no traces upon the grass and soil below... Without hurrying the process, Vahn just continued to smile disarmingly with his hand outstretched. It didnt matter if it took ten minutes or ten hours, as, from the moment the man touched his palm, everything would be clear. He was the furthest thing from an enemy they could imagine, and, depending on the circumstances, he would be the greatest benefactor of the Elven people. Unaware of the significance of his action, the leader of the patrol group gingerly ced the tips of his fingers against Vahns. Immediately thereafter, a phenomenal amount of information began to enter into his mind. This not only conveyed Vahns intentions in Elfenhof, but, most importantly, it showed the paradise he had prepared for them in a short four years. Better still was the fact that it was all shown from the perspective of Vahn, so, in the mind of the patrol leader, it was like viewing the world from the perspective of a God... Like someone that had ced their hand on a hot stove, the elven man retracted his hand with a start. This alerted hisrades, but, before they could misunderstand the situation, he gestured for them to stand down, eximing, "Lay down your arms! This man is not our enemy! Come, see what I have seen...!" Simr to a child that had just discovered something incredible, the man was eager to share what he had experienced with everyone else. He quickly approached hispanions, and, though they showed a bit of trepidation at first, their eyes rounded when they made contact with the man. Even indirectly, the memories inherited from Vahn were unlike anything they had ever experienced, and, while it wasnt impossible to fabricate such things, the aura permeating through the surroundings now made a lot more sense. Finding the reactions of the Elves rather humorous, Vahn couldnt help but lightly chuckle as he pulled out a few ratherrge crystals. He had already conveyed his intention to the Spirits within the Diorama, so, with the exception of the Aspidochelone, he brought all of the evolved Elemental Spirits with him. This included the Lucky Cat received from Nyon Utu and the Nether Panther that had imprinted upon Eva, so, with the exception of an Intermediate Lightning Elemental Spirit, Vahn had the makings for his own entourage of Great Spirits. Though they were already convinced, seeing the myriad Spirits surrounding Vahn was enough to change the excitement visible in the Elves countenance to reverence. They had already heard the rumors of the Sage Dragon Emperor, and, at several points over thest few months, the Council of High Elves had even considered sending out an envoy to make contact with him. The fact Vahn had arrived on his own volition made a deep impact on each of them, and, though they didnt have the tradition of bowing, all fives Elves lowered bowed respectfully towards the gently smiling man standing before them... Waving his hand, Vahn manipted the wind elemental energy within his domain in order to have the group raise their heads. This surprised them quite a bit, but, before they could say anything, he preempted their response by saying, "I believe there are more pertinent matters to attend. I would like to meet with your Ancestral Mother. Please, lead the way..." As they were well aware of his intentions at this point, the leader of the patrol group didnt hesitate to nod his head, signaling to hisrades before saying, "It is an honor to escort the Sage Dragon Emperor and hispanions." Following the mans words, the other Elves formed a protective formation around Vahns group. It wasnt really necessary, but, as a courtesy, they wanted to properly escort the man that might very well save their race. They didnt know what they would have to exchange for his protection, but, after seeing the World Tree within his memories, they had exceptionally high hopes for the future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Unnecessary Cruelty,Mistakes are the tools used to shape the future,One Touch Man...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1610 Inten

Chapter 1610 Inten

As it was exceptionally rare to have visitors within Elfenhof, the presence of Vahns group stood out like an artificial sun shining in the evening sky. It was a fearful and confusing event that caused the older Elves to quickly secure the younger generation in aplexwork of underground tunnels while the few warriors and mages among their poption quickly congregated around the peculiar procession. Though the reaction of the Elves seemed excessively cautious and hostile, Vahn knew they had a very good reason for behaving as such. Their total poption had been reduced to fewer than six-thousand, and, without the protection of Yggdrillia, they would have been wiped out long ago. This made them extremely cautious of outsiders, as, throughout history, there were numerous examples of former allies turning into just another group trying to exploit them. Fortunately, as a race that could read memories, intentions, and emotions through touch, there was no need for anyplex exnation. It only took the members of the escort party making physical contact with their kin to convey everything that needed to be said. This was an extremely coveted ability, as, not only did it allow them to pass knowledge from one generation to another, it virtually invalidated the need for aplex political system. There was no need for falsehoods, and, as they had always lived in close-knitmunities, finding an Elf selfishly pursuing their own interests was exceptionally rare... --- While the Elves were busy exchanging information through touch, Vahn had a curious glimmer in his glowing blue eyes. He was trying to identify what made the Elves of the Akamatsuverse different than their counterparts in other Records, but, other than a few subtle differences, there was nothing that particrly stood out. Their ability to read and exchange memories actually seemed to parallel his ability to meld with other people. This actually made it seem even more intimate, but, unless he was overlooking something, it didnt actually seem to be the result of an Innate... Unaware of what was going through Vahns mind, Eva and Arika had awkward expressions on their faces as they watched the Elves silentlymunicate with each other. It was very strange to see so many people holding hands, touching each others faces, and cing their foreheads against each other. This incongruity was exacerbated by the fact that most of the Elves remained silent in spite of the clear excitement that was visible on their faces. It looked like they would happily cry out at any moment, but, rather than do so, they would just smile radiantly while happily embracing their fellow Elves... A stark contrast to Eva and Arika, Asuna and Fenrir had rtively in expressions. The former had a curious glimmer in her eyes, and, after watching the scene y out for several minutes, she didnt hesitate to approach Vahn and grab his hand. To his surprise, he could feel something simr to her intent invade his body, probing around like an inquisitive traveler who had just entered a city for the first time. Fortunately, Sis was always paying very close attention, so, rather than forcibly repel and potentially injure the mischievous young genius, she allowed Asuna to ess the memories directly pertaining to her. At the same time, Vahn recovered from his incredulity, a wry smile on his face as he said, "It isnt polite to peek into someones memories without permission, Asuna. Everyone has their secrets, and, if you arent careful, you can experience a terrifying bacsh if your target made preparations beforehand..." As it was surprisingly difficult to speak while your intent was perusing something else, Asuna had a dull expression on her face as she nodded mechanically in response. She was doing her best to try and retract her intent, but, as if it was some kind of exceptionallyfortablebyrinth, she found herself lost within theplexwork of Vahns Spiritual Body. Part of her even considered never returning to her body, but, as this wasnt exactly an option, she didnt resist when Vahns intent, like a reliable adult finding a lost child, guided her return. Seeing the rity return to Asunas eyes, Vahn lightly pinched her nose before saying, "Promise me you wont use that ability on anyone that doesnt properly understand it. In the worst-case scenario, you might not even be able to return to your own body. Not everyone has the ability to control and guide their intent, and, more often than not, the mind reacts violently to external probing. Well add this ability to your future training. Until you have proper control, I dont want you to use it when Im not around." Feeling uncharacteristically fatigued, Asuna issued a rather adorable yawn before rubbing her right eye and answering, "I promise. I just wanted to try it out and you seemed like the best choice. Im sorry if I troubled you..." Knowing Asuna didnt have any malicious intent, just childish curiosity, Vahn adopted a gentle look in his eyes as he affectionately rubbed her head. He also had a bad habit of trying out new abilities without properly considering the consequences, so, rather than rebuke her, he promptly decided he would help her master the ability. It would further enhance her already ridiculous capabilities, and, if used without malicious intent, it was one of the most honest forms ofmunication imaginable. With thebination of her mental exhaustion and Vahns petting, it didnt take long for Asuna to sumb to the Sandmans call. Fortunately, she was still very petite, and, though the ck mesh on her body increased her weight by 300kg, Vahn had no trouble holding her in a ko-carry. She had matured to the point where she didnt like being carried like a child, but, as she couldntin while asleep, Vahn defaulted to the most convenient hold. Having witnessed the incident from start to finish, Eva couldnt help but remark, "That brat can be pretty terrifying at times..." Hearing the remark, Vahn issued a light chuckle, gently patting Asunas back as he answered, "The capabilities of a person should not determine how they are treated. There is nothing even remotely terrifying about such an adorable little creature...please remember that." As children could be extremely perceptive of how others viewed them, Vahn couldnt help but feel a little worried about Asunas future. She had an outgoing personality, but, as a result of her peerless capabilities, others were bound to feel suppressed by her existence. He knew this quite well, as, due to his own capabilities, it was almost impossible for him to have any close male friends. The best he could hope for was a master-protege rtionship, as, even if he went to a ce like Naruto or One Piece, it would be impossible for him to go at the pace of the main characters he once admired... Though it would undoubtedly be enjoyable to just go with the flow, Vahns character and mentality made it impossible for him to ignore wrongdoings taking ce right in front of him. He would not be able to ignore the actions of the Celestial Dragons, and, if he went to a ce like Naruto, there was even a chance he would outright adopt the titr main character. He would then spend years bringing reform to the ninja world, removing elements like Danzo and Orochimaru long before they reached the pinnacle of their power. This would change the story on a fundamental level, and, while not exactly a bad thing, Vahns thoughts on the Records had changed quite a bit since his journey began... When he first set out in the Western Forest nearly 260 years prior, Vahn had aspirations of visiting countless Records. He had always dreamed of being a character within the various stories he had read, and, though it was a little selfish, he wanted to use his knowledge of said stories to improve upon the plot. He wanted to save various characters, grow stronger, and, as he didnt understand theplexities of an actual rtionship, there were even a number of female characters he had been crushing on. He even thought about using his knowledge to make them like him, ignoring the fact he would essentially be grooming them by directly manipting their circumstances and taking advantage of their vulnerabilities. Now that he had matured a bit, Vahn knew it was actually very selfish of him to enter into a Record. As a result, he had an obligation to either make the world a better ce or empower those with the ability to do so. His power was quickly reaching a point where he was more involved with the forces keeping the Record together than the characters involved in the actual plot. Though this could be circumvented by entering a version of the Record with a higher tier, this would either fundamentally change the plot and its characters, or, far more likely, result in a world where the original plot took ce in just one small part of a muchrger multiverse. After having ample time to prepare for the Akamatsuverse, Vahn had started to realize that it would be progressively harder to increase his Soul Tier if he knew what to expect from a Record. He needed to get out of hisfort zone, and, though it would undoubtedly cause him to experience a few hardships, he needed to contend against unknown danger rather than arbitrarily n around variables he was already aware of. Though it was currently a matter for the far future, Vahn had already decided that his next Record would be a variable world ranging between Tiers 1-6. Sis had informed him of the impossibility of oveing a Tier 7 entity, as they could literally imagine your existence away, so, in order to reach Tier 7 himself, he would need to ovee beings at the peak of Tier 6. This would require those at Tier 6 to be evil entities, so, rather than enter a more structured world, he would have to enter one where even a normal person could conceivably rise to the pinnacle. The downside to entering a Record where everyone had the potential of reaching the peak was that they were usually founded on a hierarchal structure. Though there would be infinite exceptions to this rule, these would typically be governed by good T6 entities, so, for his purposes, Vahn needed to choose a Record that was fundamentally wed. This virtually guaranteed the existence of a strength-based social hierarchy, and, as was often the case in such scenarios, it meant there would be a considerable number of people suffering from tyranny and corruption. Vahn knew he grew the fastest when there were powerful enemies using their power to suppress others. Thus, if he entered a Record where even the Gods proactively suppressed people, his growth would be truly monstrous. He would fight his way all the way to the top of the Record, and, though it would be impossible topletely eliminate evil, reaching T7 should allow him to, quite literally, alter the Laws of the omniverse. He could create a system that rewarded the virtuous more than the wicked, and, though this was bound to have problems of its own, he would have a literal eternity to address them... --- Seeing Vahn fall into one of his characteristic ruminations, Eva couldnt help but roll her eyes before looking between Arika and Fenrir. She didnt bother toment on Vahns remark about how she should treat Asuna, as, even without him telling her, she had no intention of treating the young girl poorly. Rather, she was quite fond of the twin-tailed monster, and, though there were times when she was annoyed by Asunas behavior, she generally just used it as an opportunity to tease Vahn. Noticing Evas gaze, Arika offered an uncharacteristically wry smile before crossing her arms and lightly shrugging. They were both aware of the fact that Vahn had ambitions far beyond their world, but, at least for the time being, he couldnt tell them about it. Despite this, they ced a great deal of trust in him, as, even without an exnation, they knew he would always do his best to make the world a better ce and help as many people as possible. This was a sentiment they all shared, so, even if Vahn could be a bit awkward at times, neither of the golden-haired beauties faulted him for it... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Touching intensifies...,Asuna would make a great Uchiha...,Vahn about to show some cultivators the breadth of the Heavens...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1611 Empathy

Chapter 1611 Empathy

After more than an hour of awkward greetings, Vahn was finally guided to the base of Yggdrillia by all seven of the High Elves that governed Elfenhof. They werent necessarily the most senior of their species, but, as even the weakest among them was contracted to a High Elemental Spirit, they were, by a wide margin, the most powerful members of their race. Though it was possible for more to exist, most High Elves were recognized as such after sessfully contracting a High Spirit. Since it was almost impossible for two High Elemental Spirits of the same Element to upy the same region, the maximum number of High Elves that existed within a given territory rarely exceeded nine. As for why there were only seven, this was due to the fact that two of the High Spirits that were traditionally passed down through sessive generations had been killed during the previous war. It was very difficult to cultivate a new High Spirit, and, with only older Elves ever leaving Elfenhof, it could take several hundred years to nourish an Intermediate Spirit into their far-more-powerful High variant... After guiding Vahns party to the base of the massive 343m tall tree that represented the true body of Yggdrillia, the leader of the procession, a High Elf named Ruvyn, turned to the group and politely inclined his head before saying, "Wee to our most sacred grounds, the base of the World Trees descendent, our Ancestral Mother, Asha Yggdrillia..." Though there was a lot more he wanted to say, Ruvyns words gradually trailed off when a rather petite figure, standing only 154cm tall, dropped right in front of Vahn. It was a seemingly naked woman with healthy brown skin, long brown hair, pale-blue eyes, and pointed ears. What stood out the most, however, were the glowing runes that covered much of her body. They didnt appear to have much meaning at first nce, but, with his ability to interpret the structure and meaning of anything that could be converted intonguage, Vahn instantly knew the woman looking up at him with a mixture of incredulity and curiosity was none other than Yggdrillia herself... With upturned eyes and slightly raised brows, Yggdrillia stared directly into Vahns eyes for several seconds before slowly extending her rune-covered hand to touch his face. This was rather awkward, but, knowing the traditions of the Elves, Vahn managed to avoid smiling wryly as her surprisingly warm hand caressed his cheek. He couldntpletely conceal his thoughts, however, so, almost immediately after she made contact, Yggdrillia showed an apologetic expression as she withdrew her hand and muttered, "Im sorry...I..." Shaking his head, Vahn earned a pointed look from Eva, Arika, and even Asuna as he caught the demure young womans wrist. This amount of contact was more than enough to establish a stable connection, but, following the initial flow of events, he returned her hand to his cheek and allowed her to peer into his mind. Things would go a lot smoother once she understood his intentions, and, as time was rather limited, he wanted to use the most direct means to achieve his goal. Rather than appear startled, Yggdrillia showed more anxiousness than anything else in response to Vahn grabbing her wrist. She could sense a phenomenal aura lingering within his body, and, though it seemed impossible, she couldnt shake the impression that his energy was even purer than the original Yggdrasil she was modeled after. It had an almost irresistible pull to it, and, after her hand came into contact with his face, Yggdrillia felt as though her mind had been broadened to concepts far beyond the original scope of her abilities... Since there was a fair chance Yggdrillia and her children would be apanying him even after he departed the Record, Vahn decided to let her see and experience far more than what he had shown the rest of the Elves. He didnt reveal anything he shouldnt, but, at the very least, he imnted the methods to greatly improve the strength of the Elves in her mind. Even if he didnt take them with him, the methods he had provided would allow future generations of Elves to greatly exceed the average strength of their contemporaries... Without realizing it, Yggdrillia had ced her remaining hand over Vahns heart, her eyes seeming to stare off into eternity as vital energy leaked from her body. This caused various different types of flora to spontaneously erupt into existence, but, with Vahn regting most of it back into the base of the mighty tree, nothing too drastic had urred by the time he peeled Yggdrillias hands away from him. Feeling her connection severed, a rather pitiable expression spread across Yggdrillias face as she turned her pale blue eyes up at Vahn. Though she didnt say anything, it was clear that she wanted to continue touching him. Rather, had he not taken the necessary measures to seal off his draconic aura, there was a fair chance she would want to do a lot more than just touch his face... Offering an apologetic smile, Vahn brought Yggdrillias hands together before releasing them as he said, "Though I find your form ofmunication novel and straightforward, there are many things I cannot afford to reveal. Be content with what I have provided..." Following his words, Vahn ruffled Yggrillias dark brown hair. It was incredibly smooth to the touch, and, as was often the case when it came to such beings, it cascaded down to her ankles. This greatly enhanced her charm, and, if he wasnt already involved with so many women, Vahn had the distinct impression she would have smitten him with her cute and vulnerable appearance. Everything about her screamed, please help me, and, if not for the vast ocean of energy surging through her body, it would be easy to mistake her as apletely helpless maiden... Though he wasnt exactlyining, far from it, Vahn had a number of draconic women in his harem. Even Fenrir had reawakened a mysterious draconic bloodline, so, if at all possible, he wanted to avoid adding too many from the outside. Theo was already a ticking time bomb, and, though Eva had been opening up to the idea of him having multiple lovers, he didnt want to arbitrarily increase the number by adding every powerful and exotic female he met into the mix... With this in mind, Vahn resisted his almost instinctual urge to tease the pouting Yggdrillia. Instead, he gently caressed her head, skipping all other formalities by asking, "So, what is your decision? The war between Megalomesembria and Hes draws nearer with each passing day. Moving everyone is a simple matter, but, if you want to transnt the entire forest, it will take a few days." Recalling the expansive paradise Vahn had created for them, including images of what seemed to be an actual World Tree, Yggdrillia didnt have to think about her decision. She had virtually given up all hope that her children would be able to avoid destruction, yet, just when things had started to turn grim, Vahn showed up out of thin air. There was still a chance he was trying to deceive them, but, believing it was impossible for someone with malicious intentions to have such a pure aura, she readily chose to believe in him. The only thing Yggdrillia was confused about was why Vahn had chosen to help them. Thus, before agreeing to move the entire poption of Elfenhof, she asked, "Why do you want from us? There is nothing we can give someone with so much to give others..." Shaking his head, Vahn adopted the sincerest smile he could manage as he said, "The only thing I want from you and your people is for you to be happy. What you have been forced to experience simply isnt right. Since the world has failed you, I will create a world where you can live without the fear of being hunted down for the sake of profit and politics. If you want to repay me, work hard to prevent Elves from following in the same path as the other races. I will be sending other victims to reside in that world, so, when the timees, I hope your people will be able to guide them to live a better life than the one that had been decided for them here..." Though she had doubts about other races cohabitating with Elves, Yggdrillia didnt think it would be a problem so long as Vahn continued to watch over them. At the very least, she could groom a few powerful children to be the protectors and guardians of the Elven people so that a repeat incident will never ur. She would never allow her children to suffer again, so, while she would do her best to adhere to Vahns request, her foremost priority would always be the Elven people. After forming her resolution, Yggdrillia gave an understanding nod before adopting a demure smile as she said, "My children have always pursued peace and coexistence. So long as they are willing to peacefully cohabitate with us, we will never be the first to draw blood. I will treat all the children of your Realm as my own...so long as they never forget the reason why they were allowed there in the first ce..." Sensing the resentment contained within Yggdrillias words, Vahn couldnt help but release a small sigh. He couldnt actually me her for harboring a bit of negativity towards the people that had persecuted her children for thousands of years. Mothers could be extremely overprotective, and, if he had been forced into a simr situation, Vahn knew he would have gone on a rampage if his own children had suffered a simr fate. Thus, rather than offer words of reproach to try and correct her point of view, he expressed understanding as he said, "I will never allow what you are worried about to happen." Since she could sense his intentions through the palm of his hand, Yggdrillia knew Vahn wasnt just offering false promises. He might not be able to truly guarantee nothing would happen, but, for the time being, he was serious about preventing a repeat of the same tragedy. This was more than she could have ever hoped for just hours prior, so, in a heart-wrenchingly adorable manner, Yggdrillia demurely peered up at Vahn as she said, "Thank you...I choose to believe in your words. Please, call me Asha from now on. You will be the Guardian God of the Elven people from now on...though you seem to have some inhibitions towards me, it would put my heart at ease if you permitted me to serve you..." Hearing a familiar ping in his mind, Vahn did his best to maintain a sincere smile as he said, "Very well. Henceforth, you will bear the title of Dragon Priestess. It might be redundant considering you are an Ancient Dragon but that is the title traditionally bequeathed to my most fervent believers..." Though it was indeed a little redundant, Asha didnt mind beingbeled as Vahns Dragon Priestess. It was amon term that had existed since the Age of the Gods, and, though she had abandoned the practice a few hundred years ago, there had been a time when the title of Dragon Priestess had been passed down just like the title of High Elves. They had always been the spiritual leader of the Elven people, and, much like how Theo was able to summon Vrixho, her Priestess had been able to freely manifest both her physical form and power... With a bit of hope visible in her pale blue eyes, Asha nervouslybed through her bangs as she asked, "Does that mean you will be marking me...?" Understanding what Asha was talking about, Vahn lightly chuckled before nodding his head and saying, "Sure. After we transnt your True Body into the World Tree, I will ce my mark upon your back. For now, it is more important for us to gather your people and transport them into the world I have prepared. I dont doubt there are many eyes and ears keeping tabs on Elfenhof, so, before anyone can react to what we are doing, I want toplete transferring everyone over." Though she felt a surprising amount of disappointment, Asha decided to abide by Vahns words. Her people were far more important than the fulfillment of her desires, so, rather than insist he inscribe his mark upon her, she was willing to wait. She wasnt quite sure whatpelled her to desire his mark so badly, but, the longer she spent around him, the more Asha felt like it was her ce to remain at Vahns side... Doing her best to prevent a pout from showing on her face, Asha nodded her head in agreement before turning to Ruvyn, wordlessly extending her hand. He understood her intentions perfectly, so, with as much reverence as he could muster, Ruvyn approached Asha and allowed her to ce her hand upon his face. Immediately after that, he shared what he had learned with everyone else, and, like a ripple spreading through a pond, each of the Elves began touching each other to convey the intentions of both their Ancestral Mother and Guardian God... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Other races: Spend hundreds of years to produce a High Spirit. Vahn: Exist for a few years, casually producing several...,Asha be like, "Well hello there...",Vahns has a lot of luck when ites to Dragon xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1612 Transfer

Chapter 1612 Transfer

With permission from Asha, Vahn escorted Arika back to the Custos Rosea so that she could bring it closer to the base of Yggdrillia. Then, over the course of three days, they transnted nearly three-hundred thousand trees into the Diorama before Vahn burned down the rest of the forest. This had drawn the attention of numerous third parties, but, after chasing away a few envoys, the move waspleted without any major incidents. When everything was said and done, Vahn helped tether Asha to the World Tree he nted within the aptly named Garden of Avalon. This resulted in the death of her True Body, and, as a result, the tree at the center of Elfenhof rapidly decayed. Fortunately, so long as she had enough energy, Asha would have very little difficulty creating a new body for herself. This was due to the fact that Ancient Dragons were basically just an evolved form of Great Spirit, a unique variant that was directly linked with Mundus Magicus itself. So long as the Magical World existed, the Four Sacred Dragons would continue to be reborn from the ambient energy within the itself. They would retain all their memories, and, as an added perk of being the worlds protectors, they would gain resistance to whatever had killed them. The only thing that prevented this from being exploited was the fact that it would generally take around a hundred years for their body to reform anew. Now that she had been transnted into the World Tree, effectively bing its Guardian Spirit, Asha was no longer tethered to Mundus Magicus. This was bound to cause a magical imbnce in the outside, but, as the effects could be mitigatedpletely by the existence of Elementals, Vahn had decades to correct the imbnce. Besides, it wasnt like anyone could reallyin when a ce like Megalomesembria had been allowed to wreak havoc on the environment with impunity for nearly two-thousand years... --- Abiding by his original promise, Vahn wrapped up the transntation of the Elves by engraving his Familia Crest onto Ashas back. She had been rather eager to receive it, so, almost immediately after the final tree had been moved into the Diorama, she wasted no time in petitioning him to engrave it upon her body. Her zeal had been annoying both Eva and Arika, so, before things could be even more awkward, Vahn decided to just get the ritual over and done with. Vahn had already carved his crest upon the backs of Arika, Theo, and Asuna, but, due to the runic symbols carved into Ashas body, it took a lot longer than normal. She had aplex engraving of the original Yggdrasil carved onto her back so it took several hours for him to restructure it in a way that allowed her to continue using her druidic and nt-based abilities. Symbology was one of the most important aspects to using nature-rted magic and spells, so, while they werentpletely necessary, Ashas power would decrease exponentially without the runes covering her body. Fortunately, though he might not be able to call himself a Grandmaster, Vahn had yet to meet a single person more adept than himself when it came toying formations and modifying the core structure of runes. He had the ability to interpret the meaning of runes on an instinctual level, so, while he might be limited by his Soul Tier at times, hisprehension allowed him to modify the existing structure of runes without much trouble. This would generally be considered impossible under normal circumstances, but, much like how a street artist could twist words and letters into a more artistic form, Vahn was able to perform modifications without altering the original meaning of the runes. After nearly five hours, Vahn had reshaped the glowing white runes on Ashas back to make a shape simr to a wreath. Then, within the gap formed from healthy brown skin, he engraved a marginally smaller version of his Familia Crest. This allowed him to discern Ashas parameters, skills, and magic, but, as such things had lost their meaning with the passage of time, Vahn only briefly scanned them before saying, "Its done. Put on some clothes." Hearing Vahns words, Asha slowly peeled open her eyes beforezily raising her body and issuing an admittedly adorable yawn. The process had taken much longer than expected. It was also veryfortable, so, after the first half-hour had passed, she gradually began to doze off. She had been a little worried about offending Vahn, but, as she never sensed any anger or frustration from him, it was safe to say he didnt particrly mind if she slept on thefortable table he had prepared. While rubbing away the moisture from her eyes, Asha peered over at Vahn with one eye, asking, "Is that an order? I dont particrly like wearing clothes. I feel closer to nature when Im naked." As Asha was very simr to Terra, sans draconic features, Vahn was well aware of her preference for being naked. This was exacerbated by the fact that nakedness didnt seem to be that big a deal in the Akamatsuverse, but, as it would set a bad example if she was always naked, Vahn adopted a wry smile as he said, "I wont force you, but, when you are around other people, I would appreciate it if you wear clothes. Did you not like the dress I gifted you...?" Hearing Vahns final remark, Asha awoke with a start, both hands waving from side to side as she hastily answered, "No! Its great! I love it!" Remembering the unique dress that Vahn had given her, a flowery garment that literally changed forms with the seasons, Asha suddenly felt extremely guilty. She actually liked the dress quite a bit, but, as she had lived the majority of her life without clothes, it felt weird to suddenly start wearing them... Though he wasnt proactively trying to tease her, Vahn found all of Ashas reactions rather amusing. She was an inordinately adorable woman, and, with pointed ears and healthy brown skin, she had a unique charmpared to other Elves. Unfortunately, as he could be rather obstinate after making up his mind, Vahn had already developed a fair amount of resistance to her charms. The fact he had Eva watching over him like a hawk also prevented him from misbehaving more than he should... With a light chuckle, Vahn resisted the urge to pet Ashas head as he said, "Im d. Now, run along and get changed. The banquet has already started and Im sure your children will feel more at ease after you arrive. My other self is already there so you dont have to worry about whether or not I will be in attendance." As he had already answered her question, Ashas words got stuck in her throat as her expression morphed into one of demure embarrassment. Then, after casting a quick nce toward Eva, she quickly alighted from the small chamber, three pairs of pixie-like wings sprouting from her back as she ascended towards the massive World Tree towering in the distance. Immediately following Ashas departure, Eva released an exasperated sigh before remarking, "You really have a way with women, dont you? Is this really how all-female dragons behave around you? Thatst look of hers was like a puppy that had been beaten and abandoned by its mother...haaa..." With a helpless smile on his face, Vahn lightly shrugged his shoulders before answering, "Im pretty sure it has more to do with the purity of my energy than anything else. Ive temporarily sealed my draconic aura so that shouldnt be the reason. Rather, Ive always been rather popr with Spirits, especially those rted to nature. Being a God of Creation doesnt exactly help...hahaha..." Remembering that Vahn was, indeed, a God of Creation, Eva couldnt help but roll her eyes as she made her way over to his side. She knew Ashas behavior wasnt actually his fault, as he had been taking proactive measures to avoid exacerbating the situation, so, rather than me him, he linked her arms around his neck and said, "Even if you did the right thing, this incident is going to draw a lot of negative attention. The Elves have always been a valuablemodity in Mundus Magicus so there is no way those old snakes will just let their precious resource be taken from them." As if a switch had been flipped within his mind, Vahn began releasing a subtle yet oppressive aura from his body as he wrapped his hands around Evas waist and answered, "Let theme. So long as I have something to protect, my power is infinite. I have been pretty lenient thus far, but, if they think Ill just stand by as they nder my name and conspire against me, I will be forced to remind them of their mortality..." Hearing the conviction in Vahns voice, Eva could feel a heat gradually spreading through her body. She still had a bit of a sadistic side, so, whenever she heard him talk about punishing the same fools who had made her life a living hell, she couldnt help but get a little excited. The fact they would be parting rtively soon also filled her with more trepidation than she had anticipated, and, if not for the promise they had made, she wasnt sure she could be able to restrain herself. Furtherplicating matters, Vahn began to gently massage the area just above Evas butt. She could feel the heat in her body increase, and, as she hadnt done anything to stop him, he slowly snaked his hands down until he was directly massaging both her cheeks. He put enough force into his hands to lift her body from the ground, and, as was often the case in recent days, it wasnt long before they were passionately entangled atop the nearby massage table... --- With the Custos Rosea having long departed in its stealth mode, several ships from surrounding countries had started tob the destednd that was once Elfenhof. The majority of these ships belonged to the nearby countries of Moeris and Antigone, but, as could be expected, there were a number of military vessels belonging to both the Hes Empire and Megalomesembrian Confederacy nearby. The Elves had always been an important asset to them, so, with reports saying the country had spontaneously erupted into mes, they couldnt ignore it. What Vahn couldnt have anticipated was that among the fleet of whale-like vessels belonging to Megalomesembria a much smaller Airfish could be seen flitting about without any consideration for standard military protocol. There was nothing particrly noteworthy about this Airfish, as it was a rtively standard model, but, standing atop its outer hull, a youth with two shades of dark red hair could be seenckadaisically holding a wooden staff whose end roughly resembled a lightning bolt. Behind the youth, an even younger-looking youth with white hair, silvery eyes, and perpetual blush marks on his face had an amused smile on his face as he answered his proteges previous question, exining, "Contrary to the reports, it doesnt seem as though a battle took ce here. Though the forest was certainly set ame, there is no notable damage to the terrain. The interior forest is alsopletely missing, so, rather than a battle, it seems like someone actually dug up the entire forest and moved it elsewhere..." Hearing his Masters exnation, the red-haired youth nodded his head, an expectant smile on his face as she said, "Well, regardless of what really happened, I still want to track them down. Theres no way I can ignore a chance to fight against something like an Ancient Dragon. I can already feel my blood boiling in expectation!" Understanding his proteges character well, the white-haired youth issued an amusedugh before pulling out an ornate telescopic device. It was an extremely valuable Artifact known as the Hermes Looking ss, and, if used properly, it had the ability to track a target by allowing its user to view a vision of past events. Though a skilled opponent could evade its scope, trying to hide the removal of an entire forest would be a difficult feat, to say the least. By adjusting the focus of the telescopic lens, the white-haired youth was able to catch a glimpse of Arika, Asuna, Eva, and Fenrir transporting trees into arge crystalline diorama. The presence of Eva startled him quite a bit, but, curiously, no matter where he looked, he could not find a single trace of the man known as the Sage Dragon Emperor. It was almost like he didnt exist, but, if you looked closely, it was possible to discern the after-effects of someone very powerful using various skills and abilities... After forwarding and rewinding time numerous times, the man closed the telescopic lens and said, "They headed South. Based on their departure vector, I would assume they are headed for either Vairocana or Al Jam. There are Great Spirits in both locations so it is likely they will appear in both destinations at some point. If I were them, I would probably head to Vairocana first. Though, given the actions of the Sage Dragon Emperor thus far, I dont imagine he will try toy low...how curious. I cant help but wonder about the origins of this mysterious Ancient Dragon..." Nodding his head in agreement, the red-haired youth pointed his staff towards the South, an eager smile on his face as he said, "Then what are we waiting for!? Lets give chase! They cant have gone that far in just a few hours! I cant wait to see the strength of an Ancient Dragon for myself!" Understanding the futility of trying to dissuade his young protege, the white-haired youth issued a small nod before also turning his gaze toward the South and muttering, "It seems fate has diverged ever since your arrival...I truly hope you arent our enemy, Vahn Aldrnari Mason..." After seeing his Master nod, the red-haired youth was no longer paying any attention to what the former was saying. Instead, he popped open a small hatch that led to the interior of the Airfish, an excited smile on his face as he yelled at a distinctly Japanese-looking man, eximing, " Rubra is going rogue! Tell that quintuple-horned bastard that he can shove his regtions up his ass! Were going dragon hunting...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Schrs hate him!,Seems like Eva has reced her thirst for blood with a new kind...,Vahn be like, "Hold my Realm...Im bout to end this mans whole career...") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1613 Undercurren

Chapter 1613 Undercurren

Unaware of the fact he had a hot-blooded hero on his tail, Vahn was hanging out on the deck of the Custos Rosea with Fenrir and Asuna. They were keeping an eye out for any roaming bands of Sky Pirates, but, due to the importance of Al Jam to the entire Magical World, the security in the region was inordinately high. They had even been hailed by a number of security patrols, but, after realizing who the ship belonged to, they quickly cleared a path. Since then, a few Airfish had been following them at a distance, most acting as silent escorts while a few were there just to keep tabs on them. As more time passed, Vahns association with the Ostian Royal Family became increasingly stronger. At the same time, information regarding the Custos Rosea had been disseminated through various informationworks, so, while the reaction was a bit slow, it wasnt surprising that various groups had started following them. There was even a chance some of the vessels were acting in the interest of Cosmo Entelecheia, but, as they had a tendency to conceal themselves, it wasnt that likely. What Vahn found most amusing was the fact that the majority of the ships stayed just beyond what most assumed his domain radius to be. This implied that he already had the attention of the various Guilds, but, considering the actions he had taken, this wasnt too surprising. The Hes Empire had undoubtedlypiled an entire dossier on him, and, as was often the case, they would have spread that information in order to line their own pockets. As for Megalomesembria, they had even put out a bounty on his head, but, perhaps fearing the repercussions of making it public, it had only spread through the undergroundmunity in absolute secrecy. It not for the presence of Fairy Xuan, they might have even been able to get away with it. Instead, they were leaving a vast trail of evidence in their wake, and, when the time came, Vahn would hold them ountable for their crimes... With their unofficial escort keeping potential pirates at bay, it wasnt long before the ind nation of Al Jam came into view. It was roughly half the size of Australia, and, from a distance, it had the appearance of a massive jungle surrounded by densely popted seaports. Nearly the entire coast was lined with a 100m tall seawall, and, instead of a traditional pier system, there was a surprisinglyplex yet archaic-looking system of pulleys designed to extract ships from the pristine waters below so they could safely moor in drydock. Though there were various Airfish ports located around Al Jam, very few crafts were allowed over the ind nation itself. Their people lived rtively simple lives, and, though they did import quite a number of goods, finding a traditional market or grocer was impossible. Instead, they were famous for their expansive bazaars and allowing people to pay for meals and such by performing manualbor or simple tasks. Eulimene Ea was rather famous for her hatred of Megalomesembria so she vehemently refused to allow for a simr system to exist in her own country. This would have normally made her a prime target by the infamous Confederacy, but, due to her political mindedness, Eulimene had forged a number of powerful alliances with various countries. Targeting her nation was the same as targeting an essential lifeline for hundreds-of-millions of people, so, in the distant past, even Ostia hade to their aid a number of times. Fortunately, as the Ostian Royal Family had long enjoyed a friendly rtionship with Al Jam, Arika was able to fly the Custos Rosea ind. This area was typically off-limits unless you were a member of the aboriginal poption and their families, but, as a Princess of Vespertatia, as members of the Ostian Royal Family, Arika and Asuna were obvious exceptions... After being allowed tond within one of the few private Airfish ports located ind, Vahn and Co departed the Custos Rosea. There were nearly a hundred natives gathered to greet them, and, once again enforcing the fact that nakedness wasnt a big deal in Mundus Magicus, Vahn couldnt help but smile wryly when he noticed that there was an equal distribution between males and females going without tops. The majority of these bare-chested individuals were exceptionally fit, and, as was the tradition in Al Jam, most of their torsos and thighs were covered inplex tattoos that disyed their various feats. Though not the aptestparison, the average Al Jamn bore an uncanny resemnce to the Samoan natives back on Mundus Ventus. They had healthy bronzed skin that glistened under the sunlight, and, though there were some shorter members among their tribes, even the average adult female was close to 190cm in height. The taller members of their species could easily exceed 220cm in height, and, rather than appear fair and frail, even the older members of their tribes had bodies simr to Olympic level swimmers. The only difference between an Al Jamn and a human native of Samoa was the fact that, instead of rounded ears, they had slightly pointed ears. If you pulled these forward, you would find a set of rudimentary gills. They also had noticeable webbing between their fingers and toes, and, though it was impossible for them to live beneath the surface, they could stay submerged for hours at a time without too many issues... At the forefront of the group of natives, an exceptionally muscr man that stood approximately 232cm in height approached with a friendly smile on his face. He had a thick mane of frizzy ck hair that was loosely tied into a ponytail, and, though he wasnt conventionally handsome, Vahn could easily imagine him being ady killer in his youth. The bands of grey hair visible near his scalp indicated he was well over a hundred years old, as, due to their exceptionally healthy lifestyles and lifelongmitment to protecting nature, the average lifespan of an Al Jamn was close to two-hundred years old. Sensing no hostility from the man, Vahn was quite surprised when therge fellow wrapped him in a bear hug as he loudly eximed, "Wee to Al Jam, friends!" Following his exmation, the man set Vahn on the ground, and, without missing a beat, stunned Arika by giving her an equally big hug. He then tried to do the same with the rest of the group, but, after realizing his intentions, Eva outright teleported away while Fenrir and Asuna promptly decided to hide behind Vahn. Rather than show any offense, the man released a good-naturedugh, his pristine white teeth literally catching the light from the sun as he smiled and said, "It seems yourpanions are rather shy! Here, take these shell nes. Everyone in Jam is one big family so it is customary to greet people as if they are long-lost kin. These nes will let people know you arentfortable with being embraced. We usually only wear them when we are sick, but, as outsiders, you are free to use them as a protective charm." As the man spoke, he passed out shell nes to everyone in the party, but, when it came time to receive his own, Vahn politely refused. He was actually fond of cultures that treated everyone as kin, and, though there were some pretty drastic differences, they reminded him of the Xenos. They were yet another aspect of Danmachi that he missed, so, while it might result in some difiture, Vahn wanted to observe and respect the unique culture of the Al Jamn people. Seeing Vahn refuse the ne, the massive man showed an equally massive grin as he tossed the ne over his shoulder and eximed, "My brother! It is good to see you! Hahahahaha!" Disying even more familiarity than before, the unnamed Al Jamn man wrapped his trunk-like arms around Vahns body, lifting him from the ground slightly as he hugged him tightly. Then, with his massive arm thrown over Vahns shoulder, he turned towards the surrounding group and said, "Everyone! Id like you to meet my new brother...!" Then, as if only just remembering an important part of meeting new people, the turned to Vahn with a wry smile on his face and asked, "What is your name again...?" Amused by the mans carelessness, Vahn issued a light-heartedugh of his own as he said, "Others call me the Sage Dragon Emperor but you can just call me Vahn. It is good to meet you...?" Without any pause to consider his response, the man beat his chest with pride as he eximed, "I am the Great Warrior, Feleti Tamotu Naea! You may call me Motu! All my brothers and sisters do!" Finished with his own introduction, Motu turned to the crowd, and, in an even louder voice, stated, "Everyone! Id like you to meet my brother, Vahn! He has returned to us after wandering outside for a very long time. Lets do our best to show him why Al Jam is the greatest country in the world!" In response to Motus outburst, the crowd began to loudly cheer. Some of the tattooed individuals even began dancing, and, after a few minutes had passed, it was like an annual festival was being celebrated within the private Fishport. Large groups of people began to arrive from outside, and, as if it was perfectly normal for them to hold grand celebrations, many came bearing baskets of fresh fruit, fish, steamed vegetables, and jars of what would be considered expensive alcohol beyond the borders of Al Jam... --- At the same time that Vahn was enjoying the impromptu celebration of the Al Jamn people, an inordinately tall and muscr woman was staring into a reflecting pool located in the center of an underwater temple. She had the characteristic brown skin of the Al Jamn natives, but, instead of ck ink, the many tattoos covering her body glowed with a bioluminescent green color. This same color was reflected in her eyes, and, in the depths of the sea, her body was the only thing repelling the seemingly infinite ck abyss encroaching upon the undersea temple. Seeing the image of Vahn reflected in the ghostly glowing pool, the woman cracked an intrigued yet predatory smile as she mused in a husky voice, "Very interesting...it seems the rumors of a new Ancient Dragon werent exaggerated. The only question is whether or not your presence marks the beginning of a new era or the cataclysmic end of the old..." Following her musings, the woman made a swiping gesture with her hand, and, as if it was a simple touch screen, the reflecting pool changed to show an entirely new image. This time, instead of the smiling Vahn, it disyed the rather incredulous scene of an inordinately small sea serpent with various metal instruments carelessly attached to its body. It was kept restrained by massive runic chains, but, as it tossed and turned about in the throes of pain, these bindings would gradually loosen, and, at times,pletely fracture. If anyone knowledgeable was to witness the scene, they would be absolutely mortified, as, rather than a simple serpent, the creature reflected was none other than the infamous Leviathan. It had been captured at great cost to the Megalomesembrian Senate, and, though it wasnt well-known, it was their painstaking efforts to capture the Beasts of Cmity that dyed the Confederacys usual warmongering. They had wanted to weaponize the creatures, but, even after investing more than twenty years, the most they had been able to aplish was seriously pissing off the infamously temperamental Leviathan. The muscr woman, Eulimene Ea, had always had a love-hate rtionship with the Leviathan, but, as it was just another creature born from the Ocean Mother, she also empathized with its plight. As a result, she had made several attempts to try and free it over the years, and, knowing the purpose of Arikas visit, she was tempted to request Ostias assistance in exposing the Confederacys attempt to weaponize one of the few internationally recognized threats. Capturing and sealing it was one thing, but, as they were literally trying to use it against other people, there was a chance Ostia could be convinced to take more proactive measures against the increasingly destructive superpower. Though she knew the chances were slim, Eulimene knew there was still merit in making the capture of Leviathan public knowledge. Now was the best time to do so, as, even if they wanted to try and put a spin on things, the impending war made it a lot harder to make excuses. They werent exactly known for respecting international treaties and conventions, but, the more evidence that could be levied against them, the easier it would be to mobilize the various neutral powers into action. Contrasting her rather staunch and dauntless appearance, Eulimene Ea released a tired sigh as she thought about the monstrous entity that was the Megalomesembrian Confederacy. She had always disdained their methods, yet, in spite of her efforts to rally people against them, most nations were afraid tomit to decisive action. They were lulled into a sense ofcency by the promise of wealth, power, and mutual benefit. Instead of rising against the tyrants who were gradually bringing the entire world to ruin, they hid away in theirvish manors and expensive mansions, happily living opulent lifestyles using the wealth their people had generated... Shaking her head, Eulimene made her way over to a small pool near the side of the chamber, and, with an expectant smile on her face, mused, "Its been quite a while since I enjoyed a drink with a dragon..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Imagine having to pull fishing vessels up the Cliffs of Dover...,When youre here, youre family~!,Eulimene basically looks like a slightly more feminine version of Ioi. She he thcc) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1614 Nature vs. Nurture

Chapter 1614 Nature vs. Nurture

With Arika and Asuna following after Eva soon after the party began, Vahn was left to mingle amongst the Al Jamns with just Fenrir. She also wasnt particrly fond of crowded ces, but, having spent time amongst the Xenos and members of the Menagerie, it didnt bother her too much. She would even sitfortably next toplete strangers, and, so long as they didnt try anything suspect, she could even tolerate being touched by people beneath a certain age. To Fenrir, the only thing that really mattered was being able to stay with her Master, and, as he enjoyed spending time with the Al Jamns, her impression of them wasrgely positive. The only realint she had was the fact that the females among the natives kept trying to separate her from her Master in order to participate in various dances andpetitions. Defeating them didnt deter them in the slightest, rather, the moment they realized she was actually very powerful, it had be apetition among the Al Jamns to see who could defeat her... Seeing Fenrir arm-wrestling a woman nearly twice her size, Vahn joined the rest of the Al Jamns inughing once the burly woman was sent tumbling almost immediately after the match began. This might have annoyed others, but, rather than take offense to being sent flying, the burly woman justughed along with everyone else as a few members of the crowd helped her from the ground. This scene had repeated a number of times, and, almost immediately after the previous woman was sent flying, another sat down to take her ce. Having witnessed the dainty wolf girl send more than a dozen female Warriors of the Sea flying, Motu had an amused yet appreciative expression on his face as he remarked, "Your friend is really something, isnt she? Its amazing how she can hide so much power in such a tiny body!" Hearing Motus remark, Fenrirs ears twitched in annoyance. Her opponent, who had been putting all her weight and power in trying to move Fenrirs paw, abruptly felt an irresistible force, and, much like those who had preceded her, she, too, was sent tumbling into the surrounding crowd... Noticing Fenrir was a little annoyed, Vahns expression softened a bit as he said in a voice that easily reached the disgruntled Vanarganders ears, "She has put in a lot of effort to grow strong. She is my most trustedpanion, and, though it might sound a little rude, I can confidently say that she has no opponent here in Al Jamilia. Unless she is significantly stronger than the other Great Spirits, even Eulimene Ea wouldnt be able to secure any advantages against Fenrir..." Though they didnt react in a hostile manner, it was clear from the silence that permeated through the area that Vahns words werent exactly well-received. It was never pleasant to hear someone say the person you idolized was weaker than another, and, in the hearts of many Al Jamns, Eulimene Ea was both their Goddess and the ideal they pursued. Their entire culture was centered around the teachings she had bestowed upon them, so, hearing Vahn casually mention that Fenrir was stronger than their Goddess, the atmosphere suddenly became very awkward. Rather than disy any regret or perturbation, Vahn just issued a light chuckle before saying, "Just as your prior remark, my words were not intended as an insult. I was merely stating the truth. Fenrir is one of the strongest people in the entirety of Mundus Magicus as a result of her own efforts. This is an objective truth that should be celebrated, not something you should take offense to. If you will not take my word for it, perhaps you should ask the person herself...?" With most eyes focused upon him, everyone followed Vahns gaze as he looked towards a woman, who, despite her size, had managed to infiltrate the celebration without anyones notice. When they finally realized who the person was, nearly every Al Jamn attempted to perform an action simr to a kowtow, but, before they were able, the woman stated in an amused tone that seemed to echo through the surroundings, "There is no shame in weakness. We live in motion, constantly moving to and fro in order to avoid being swept away by the current of history. To be weaker is a blessing, as, if there were none stronger, you would begin to stagnate. Do not fear those stronger. Look toward them as a goal to be ovee. Life is too short for fear. If youve time worry over such insignificant things, it is better spent having fun, fighting, feasting, or fucking. Tell me, have you gathered here to mourn my weakness and fight my battles? Do you think me a child that needs to be coddled...?" Stupefied by Eulimene Eas speech, even Vahn found himself at a loss for words. This was doubly so for the Al Jamns, but, after a few seconds of heavy silence, the tense atmosphere waspletely shattered by Eulimene Eas uproariousugh. Then, under the anticipatory gazes of the crowd, she made her way over to the upturned barrel where Fenrir had dominated several opponents, an eager smile on her face as she looked down at the petite Vanargandr and said, "Come. I wish to be tested by the Sage Dragon Emperors most trustedpanion..." Without waiting for Fenrirs response, Eulimene Ea sat down in the challengers seat before resting her tree-like arm on the barrels base. Her biceps were nearly 45cm thick, so,pared to Fenrir, it was like an adult preparing to arm-wrestle against a child. Her hand wasrge enough to surround thetters pawpletely, but, rather than shy away, Fenrir adopted an intense and focused look as she ced her arm atop the barrel and said, "I will not hold back..." Hearing Fenrirs remark, Eulimene Eas smile became even more pronounced as she grabbed the formers paw and said, "Life gives no quarter. You are either ready to face it or you will be broken. Show me your strength." The moment she finished her words, Eulimene Ea tightened her grip. She was slightly surprised by the initial softness of Fenrirs fur, but, almost immediately thereafter, it felt like she was grabbing a piece of indestructible metal. This caused her fighting spirit to increase exponentially, and, though a bit of blood began to trickle from her palm, she clenched Fenrirs paw like a vice as Vahn personally refereed the match... --- Though there were individual differences between them, the average Great Spirit had a Base Power of around 6500. Considering the average citizen of Mundus Magicus only had a BP of 2, this made them exceptionally powerful, but, whenpared to their ability to freely manipte their element, their BP was inconsequential. They would almost always win a war of attrition, and, unless you could somehow sever their connection to the, they were effectively Gods within the Magical World. Unfortunately for Eulimene Ea, she wasnt using her element to fight against Fenrir, so, immediately after the match began, her forearm was nearly torn off as a powerful shockwave mmed into the barrier Vahn had erected. Fenrirs BP had increased to 7300 during her training, and, since she had always specialized in physical reinforcement and internal energy, there was, simply put, an extreme difference in their strength. It wasnt even apetition, and, if not for her ability to turn into water and reform like a Logia user, Eulimene Eas arm would have beenpletely mangled. Despite her instantaneous defeat, Eulimene Ea reacted simrly to all the other people who had lost to Fenrir. She even yfully dangled her arm as it reformed,ughing boisterously before extending the regenerated limb towards Fenrir and saying, "It seems your Master wasnt exaggerating! You are indeed very powerful!" Though she didnt generally care about the praise of others, Fenrir ears perked up slightly when she heard Eulimene Eas words. Then, settling the matter on a positive note, she graciously shook hands with the burly Great Spirit. This caused a stir among the surrounding Al Jamn, but, when people like Muto began tough and celebrate, it wasnt long before everyone else joined in. From there, as if they hadnt already been celebrating for half the day, an entirely new celebration was started... --- Following his Masters hunch, the red-haired youth, Nagi Springfield, directed his former teacher, Eishun Konoe, to fly to Vairocana. Unfortunately, after several hours of searching, it became pretty obvious that his target, the Sage Dragon Emperor, hadnt visited the famous forest city. With his Master insisting they wait for Vahns arrival, Nagi found himself exceptionally bored. He would normally pass the time by training his body or practicing his magic, but, after getting hyped up for a battle that never came, it was hard to get motivated. In order to alleviate his boredom, Nagi convinced his Master, Zect Filius, to apany him on ate-night raid. He had heard a lot about the Great Spirit of Woods beauty, and, though it wasnt exactly proper, the thought of breaking into the Forest of Serenity to catch a peek of the famous beauty was pretty exciting. He had tried to visit during the day, but, without an appointment, the horned priestesses, members of the Wood Dragon tribe, would not let him pass. Nagi had always been rtively popr with thedies, but, even after trying to work his charm on the taciturn priestesses, the only reaction he got out of them was a slightly troubled look. It was like they had no emotions, but, after observing closely, he noticed their tails, which were simr to living tree branches, would twitch or wiggle in response to his flirtatious remarks. He found this extremely interesting, but, after asking one of the priestesses if he could touch her tail, she ended up pping him hard enough to leave a visible imprint... Since even her priestesses were pretty charming, Nagis curiosity towards the Great Spirit of Wood, Tamaki Damu, had only increased. When he got like this, there was very little that could get in his way, so, rather than try to rein him in, Zect decided to apany his young protege to keep him out of trouble. Nagi had always been slightly perverted, but, when it came down to it, he wasnt the type to actually do anything promiscuous or licentious. He was just a very curious boy, and, though he was very interested in the opposite sex, he would almost immediately return to his training after sessfully flirting with or teasing a cute girl. With his Masters help, it took very little effort for Nagi to sneak past the barriers that had been set up to prevent outsider ess to the Forest of Serenity. His Master specialized in the usage of Light-Elemental Magic, and, with a bit of preparation, he was able to cast a forbidden-grade camouge spell that could even bypass standard magical barriers. This was one of the few magic spells Nagi hadnt been able to learn, as, no matter how much he begged and pleaded, his Master refused to even teach him the chant, much less theplexities of the spell... Seeing how they were able to literally walk through the advanced barriers created by a Great Spirit, Nagi, who had been walking with his staff slung over his shoulders,ined, "You know, Master, if you actually taught me this spell I wouldnt have to bug you so often..." Hearing his young proteges remark, Zect couldnt help snorting through his nose before adopting a deadpan expression as he said, "I would be a fool to teach you a spell like this. You already mess with Eishun enough as is. If I gave you a spell like this, there would be no end to your pranks. I have enough trouble just keeping you from offending people you shouldnt so spare me from having to clean up even more of your messes..." Rather than take offense to his Masters words, Nagi adopted a wry smile while rubbing the back of his head. He knew he had caused a lot of trouble for his Master, but, after he was finally freed from that prison-likeboratory, he had found even the most mundane things interesting. He refused to return to how things used to be, so, even if it got him into trouble, he wanted to fly freely using the wings he had obtained through his own efforts. Seeing the awkward smile on Nagis face, Zect repressed a slight sigh, smiling as he said, "After you mature a bit and find someone youre willing to settle down with, Ill teach you this spell. By then, it will be your wifes problem. For now, just be thankful I tolerate these little excursions of yours..." As he really was grateful for everything his Master had done for him, Nagi adopted a smile of his own as he said, "Thank you, Master...now, I wonder if the Great Spirit goesmando? I noticed all those stuck-up priestesses didnt wear panties. I guess their tails get in the way? Hmmm...this merits more research!" Having already grown used to Nagis habit of deflecting whenever he felt embarrassed, Zect lightly chuckled before adding, "Indeed. It is important to understand the ecology and characteristics of other races. You never know when such information might prove useful...ufufufufu~" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir is strong (O w O)...,More Logia users...!,Whats this? Hidden depth in a shonen protagonist!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1615 Recourse

Chapter 1615 Recourse

After several hours of party and dance, with many Al Jamns falling asleep under the open sky, Vahn was reclining against a carved tree trunk with his arm thrown over Fenrirs shoulder. Across from him, Eulimene Ea was chugging the contents of a y potrger than a watermelon. She was rather fond of brandy and rum, so, as a show of gratitude for the Al Jamns reception, Vahn had passed out a few barrels of high-quality rum that had been purchased from the system shop. This had been well-received by the friendly people, and, though he felt a little guilty about it, Vahn didnt mind drinking several of their proudest Warriors of the Sea under the table. Having emptied the y pot, with a fair amount of spilling down her throat and onto her chest, Eulimene Ea tossed the container aside and said, "Tell me, Vahn...why have youe here? Is it on behalf of those children...?" Understanding she was likely referring to Arika, Asuna, and perhaps even Eva, Vahn shook his head and said, "It isnt that simple. Truthfully, I have no interest in the politics of this world. I have alreadypleted my initial objective, and, if not for the bonds I have forged during my stay, I would have moved on long ago. Now, I just want to help the people I care about while keeping a close eye on those who have the potential to lead this world toward a better future. If possible, Id like to avoid having to bear responsibility for this world...there are far more important matters that require my attention..." Though he had the distinct impression he might not be able to stay out of things for much longer, Vahn still wanted to avoid bing personally responsible for watching over the world. He wasnt bad at it, but, even back in the Nasuverse, he hadnt particrly cared about governing over others. In fact, he didnt believe anyone should have such authority, as, regardless of how intelligent, kind, and capable they were, people would always be more invested in their own interests than the lives of other people. This is why he supported the system developed by Da Vinci. It certainly had its own set of problems, but,pared to individuals, it was infinitely better at monitoring and regting a society than something like a Monarch or an Emperor... Somewhat surprisingly, Eulimene Ea nodded her head in agreement, adding in a wise, soothsayer-like tone, "Everyone is responsible for their own life, their own happiness. It is enough that you do not use your power to suppress others. There are those far weaker than you who lord themselves over others as if they were Gods. They use the power and trust they received from the people to exploit those they are obliged to protect and guide. So long as you never lose sight of what is most important: family, friends, loved ones, and nature, nobody has the right to question your decisions. To live, be free, and protect what is important...there is no greater purpose for power. You have no obligation to use it for anything else..." Though he didnt agree with everything she said, Eulimene Eas words resonated with a lot of Vahns intrapersonal thoughts. He believed those with power had a responsibility to use it, and, though his mentality had changed a lot since the time of his naive heroics, he concluded that thecency of the good was the greatest opportunity for the wicked. He was unable to ignore such inequity, so, even if it brought him a substantial amount of trouble, Vahn aspired to be a symbol. Whether or not people saw him as good or bad didnt matter. The only thing he really cared about was that the vile and wicked knew there would always be consequences for their actions... As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn lightly shook his head in self-admonition before looking up at Eulimene Ea and saying, "You should meet with Arika. Her quest might be her own but I respect what she is trying to aplish. Im not in a position to publically support her, but, if it came down to it, I woulde to her aid. This has nothing to do with an affiliation with Ostia or the Kingdom of Vespertatia; I have simply grown fond of her." Understanding what Vahn was trying to say, Eulimene Ea took a deep breath before suddenly rising to her feet and saying, "I will meet with her. Before that, I only have one question for you..." With nothing to lose, Vahn wasnt worried about what Eulimene Ea might say. Thus, without having to think about it, he issued a small nod, encouraging her to speak. In response, she simply asked, "Is it true that you are the Guardian of this world?" Though it wasnt exactly false, Vahn didnt hesitate to shake his head before exining, "My desire to protect this is purely personal. It isnt derived from any actual duty, just a personal sense of responsibility and an intrinsic desire to protect the natural beauty of the world. If you are worried about Megalomesembria, dont be. I have already decided to take active part in this war, and, when the dust begins to settle, they will either reform or face annihtion..." Eulimene Ea was slightly disappointed when she heard Vahns initial response, but, hearing what he said after, a massive grin spread across her face. She was most worried about the fact that, even if they lost the war, Megalomesembria would just redouble its wanton destruction of the. She had tried to stir the other Great Spirits to action, but, with the exception of Brave Enlil, all the others were more concerned with guarding their territory than protecting the. This had caused her a great deal of frustration in the past, so, hearing Vahns words, she couldnt help but burst out intoughter when imagining the vexed looks on the faces of the Megalomesembrian Senators... --- After Eulimene Easughing fit, Vahn arranged ate-night meeting between her and Arika. Time of day had no real meaning when you could spend days at a time in a Sub-Space Orb. Thus, when she learned that Eulimene Ea was willing to meet her, Arika ceased her training before washing up and donning a formal dress for the meeting. She knew it was a little excessive, especially considering Eulimine Ea was basically wearing a modified swimsuit, but, regardless of the other partys culture, she considered it proper to disy due courtesy and etiquette when meeting the de facto leader of a foreign nation. Fortunately, other than a few teasing remarks, Eulimene Ea didnt particrly concern herself with the style and garb of others. She wore very little simply because it was morefortable and more convenient. What Arika chose to wear had nothing to do with her. The only thing that mattered was the intent, so, knowing Arika was trying to be respectful and courteous, she extended simr, albeit less refined, courtesies. They were able to talk without any discernible awkwardness between them, and, after hearing about the reason for Arikas visit from the person in question, Eulimene Ea ended upughing boisterously before giving her Blessing freely. Without a guarantee that Vahn would help Arika to achieve the task she had in mind, Eulimene Ea decided to forgo mentioning it entirely. She pitied the Leviathans plight, but, knowing it would just cause wanton destruction if released, letting it remain in captivity was for the best. The impression she got from Vahn was that he would eventually take matters into his own hand, so, even without mentioning it, he was bound to discover something after contending against Megalomesbria. She had originally intended to bring it up after the war officially began, so, rather than try and force the matter and unnecessaryplicate things, she would wait for better timing. With nothing else to discuss, Eulimene Ea extended an invitation to greet the dawn while partaking of a few drinks, but, having spent nearly thirteen hours celebrating, even Vahn was starting to feel a little tired. Thus, rather than ept her invitation, he gifted the Al Jamn people enough grain and wine to tide them over for several months. He also gifted them many hard to obtain spices, and, as Arika had already discussed the plot to conquer Al Jam, Vahn gave Eulimene Ea a simr bracelet to the one he had previously given Theo. It was a version designed to be a single-use item, but, if Al Jam was ever facing a peril it could not ovee, Vahn promised he woulde to their aid... --- When everything was said and done, Vahn was enjoying three very different kinds of baths. In one, he was rxing in a small tub with Eva reclining against him, while, in another, he was watching on with a wry smile as Asuna tried, and failed, to help Euryale wash her hair. He knew her struggle well, as, despite several years of concerted effort, even Medusa often struggled to control her hair. Since she always asked him to help wash it, Vahn was intimately familiar with trying to wrangle the rather disobedient hair, so, seeing Asuna suffer a simr fate, he couldnt help but feel a small amount of vindication and a fair amount of amusement. Fortunately, even if Euryales hair periodically tried to nip or bite Asuna, her snakescked the rather terrifying fangs visible on the viper-like hair of Stheno. Instead, hers were simr to pythons, and, though they had teeth, they werent venomous in the slightest. They were also unable to break the natural defenses of Asunas body, so, even if it was a bit of a struggle, she wasnt in any real danger. Rather, even if Euryales hair tried to constrict her, Asuna could easily slip out by making use of the State of Nothingness or by creating a frictionless barrier across her entire body... Vahn had previously been surprised by how well Euryale and Asuna got along, but, after asking thetter for the reason, he was more surprised by the answer. It seemed that Asuna had been able to understand Euryale without thetter needing to speak, and, ording to her, the young Gorgon was actually very talkative. She justmunicated through nonverbal and tactile cues instead of using words to conveyplex thoughts and emotions. Though it made him feel a little guilty to have overlooked such an obvious things, Vahn couldnt really be med for his oversight. Euryale struggled to exin her feelings, and, every time he was around, she would just cling to him or snuggle up against him without saying anything. All he knew was that she was rtively happy, and, unlike her big sister, she wasnt in any hurry to do much of anything... While thinking of the eldest of the gorgon twins, Vahn turned his attention to where Stheno, now appearing like a young girl on the verge of pubescence, was sunbathing against a t stone. She was maturing at an elerated pace, and, unless he put his foot down, it likely wouldnt even take two years before she exceeded the physical maturity of her own mother. Medusa appeared to be a petite woman in herte teens, but, despite appearing distinctly younger, Sthenos bust was already on the verge of overtaking her mothers... Based on her current rate of growth, Stheno was bound to grow into a voluptuous beauty within a dozen or so molts. She was determined to mature as quickly as possible, and, when he inquired as to her reason, Vahn was both gratified and extremely worried when she answered, "I want to grow up quickly so I can punish all the bad people who prevent Papa from spending more time with us!" Fortunately, Stheno didnt recognize people like Eva, Arika, Theo, and Asuna as bad people. She was a remarkably intelligent young girl, so, while she still had a lot to learn about social dynamics, she recognized that her enemies were, very specifically, his enemies. She seemed to have inherited the part of Medusas nature that wanted to fight, and, though she was still physically weaker than the lesser-developed Euryale, her potential as a Mage had even surprised Eva. Stheno, while not as prodigious as someone like Asuna, had already mastered Elementary Magic to the point of being able to freely cast it without chants. She was also inordinately gifted in the use of Telekinesis, and, as a result of her Innate, all of her offensive magic had an inherent corrosive effect. This would have been more than enough to allow her unlimited growth, but, to further emphasize her suitability for magic, the individual snakes formed from Sthenos hair could autonomously cast all of her spells. Though it was an ability copied from her mother, Stheno was able to create a total of seventeen snakes with her hair. This effectively turned her into a one-woman magic squadron, and, even if she just stood stock still and focused on defense, she would be able to overwhelm most enemies just by the sheer volume of spells cast. Her only real weakness, other than ack of experience, was that all of her snakes drew from the same, admittedly massive, reservoir of energy. She could quickly drain her energy if she wasnt careful, and, though she the terrifying ability to absorb the energy and life force of others, Vahn wasntfortable with encouraging its development... --- While his other two bodies were enjoying baths of their own, a third version of Vahn was rxing in a private bath with just Arika. They would be parting at some point over the next few days, so, while she would usually behave unnecessarily detached around others, she was currently acting both bold and obedient. She had taken the liberty to straddle hisp, and, though it caused her face to burn a rather dangerous shade of red, she managed to link her arms around his neck in a manner she had obviously copied from Eva. If not for his promise with Eva, Vahn had little doubt that he and Arika would currently be having sex. She had an impassioned look in her eyes, and, though it was very subtle, she was slowly and purposefully moving her hips. She wasnt bold enough to move around too much on her own, but, if he took the initiative to rock her hips or squeeze her butt, she would bite her lip without offering any form of protest. This was an exceptionally adorable response, and, under normal circumstances, Vahn wouldnt have been able to resist eating up the tantalizingly beautiful woman... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ioi OP,Being a father aint easy...,When the kuudere bes deredere...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1616 Rumor : Insigh

Chapter 1616 Rumor : Insigh

With the dawn of a new day, Vahn made breakfast for everyone before discussing their next n of action. They, technically, didnt have anything else to do in Al Jam, so, depending on her decision, they would either double back to Zephyria or escort Arika back to Ostia. The war was already in its early stages, and, though it hadnt officially begun, it only needed a single inciting incident before things quickly got out of hand. Fortunately, as he had ced markers in both locations, Vahn could escort Arika to both Zephyria and Ostia without having to spend days flying back and forward. The only downside to this was that it would cut into their time together, but, as a woman with strong convictions, Arika didnt hesitate to choose the most efficient method avable. Thus, after a hearty breakfast and a few hours in the Space-Time Orb, Vahn, apanied by Arika and Asuna, teleported back to Zephyria. At this same time, he said his goodbyes to the friendly Al Jamn people before piloting the Custos Rosea, which had effectively been gifted to him by Arika, towards the East. Vahn didnt need an Airfish to get around, but, with the Space-Time Resort and Garden of Avalon on board, exposing the Custos Rosea to danger carried too high a risk. Thus, before the war began, he intended to find a rtively secure location that would serve as both a sanctuary and a rallying point for the members of their faction. This would technically give his enemies something to target, but, in actuality, Vahn intended to create his actual base on Phobos, therger of Mundus Magicus two Moons. In essence, Vahns hideout in the real world was meant to serve as a red herring. It would be more of a bastion for the Elementals than anything else, and, though it was only a matter of time before it became a significant location, the most his enemies would aplish by attacking it was pissing him off. He actually intended to avoid causing too much coteral damage in the future, but, if they employed scorched earth tactics or tried attacking his base using tactical grade magic, Vahn would not hesitate to answer in kind... --- Though Vahns ability to teleport great distances was rtively well known within the underground intelligencemunities, Katarina nearly had a heart attack when he suddenly appeared inside of her office. She even pulled out her magical pistol the moment she detected the anomalous energy in the room, but, using his bare hand, Vahn casually grabbed the projectile out of the air, smiling as he asked, "Is that any way to greet an old friend?" Seeing who had entered her office without permission, Katarina plopped back into her chair, a tired sigh escaping her lips as she protested, "When you told me you would return soon, you neglected to mention you would be teleporting directly into my office. This is supposed to be a ce where I can cut loose and deal with private affairs without having to worry about outsiders storming in. Do magical barriers and defensive artifacts mean nothing to you...?" Not expecting Katarina to openly protest, Vahn felt a little awkward, but, rather than apologize, he tossed over a crystalline gourd filled with a red liquid, exining, "A gift. Though it will cause a bit of difort, mixing that into your bath will inhibit the effects of aging while also making your skin more resistant to external magical power." As she had initially assumed it was some kind of alcohol, Katarina was at a loss for words when she heard Vahns exnation. Before she could say anything, however, he added, "We came to meet with Brave Enlil but I couldnt sense him anywhere. Do you know where we can find him or when he will return to the City?" Though she would have liked to provide an actual answer to Vahns question, Katarina deftly ced the sk of unquestionably priceless liquid into the drawer of her desk before exining, "Unless it is something important, Brave never exins where he is going or what he intends to do. He ims it will spoil the surprise if he tells people what he is going to do before he returns. Since he has the ability to move at lightning speeds, he is just as likely to be on the other side of the as in the next country over. If I had to make a bet, I would wager he went to investigate the rumors involving your actions in Elfenhof..." Remembering the reports she had received from the intelligence division, Katarina couldnt help but frown as she added, "ording to some reports, you imprisoned the entire Elven poption before burning the entire country of Elfenhof to the ground..." Rather than showing any sign of perturbation in response to Katarinas cautious tone, Vahn issued a light chuckle, his eyes shifting from aquamarine to a pale-gold as he asked, "Oh? And who, pray tell, is spreading such rumors? Do you actually believe them...?" Without having to consider her response, Katarina didnt hesitate to shake her head, saying, "I have heard several reports, but, based on your usual modus operandi, I cant imagine you would do such a thing. If anything, you are far more likely to protect the Elves rather than wipe them out. If Im not wrong, your primary reason for burning the forest was to liberate those who had been sealed within the so-called Forest of Penance." As someone who had grown up alongside criminals, mercenaries, merchants, and pirates, Katarina had always been rather sharp. Her intuition had always been uncanny, and, during her days as a Skyfarer, her gut feelings often spared her and her crew from disaster. She also considered herself adept at judging someones character, so, unless the Elves had been secretly engaging in some kind of heinous act, it was impossible to imagine Vahn wiping them out... Seeing the absolute certainty visible in Katarinas eyes, Vahn was once again reminded of how scary a womans intuition could be. She was actually spot on, so, after a brief moment of tense silence, an appreciative smile spread across his face as he said, "Youre really something...well, your suspicion is correct. What might surprise you, however, is that Yggdrillia forged a contract with me, rather than the other way around. You are free to make of that what you will, but, in the end, all it means is that the Elves are nowpletely off-limits. If I find any being mistreated, there isnt a force in the entire Magical World that could prevent me from bringing their captors to justice..." Though the Skyfarers Association didnt specifically keep in Elves in captivity, Katarina was aware of the existence of several within the undergroundmunity. She could tell that Vahn was giving her an advance warning, and, unless she wanted to invite a cmity upon Zephyria, she needed to take action to either liberate or kill the Elves illegally kept locked away. Some simply couldnt be spared, as, if Vahn encountered some of the older Elves, which were broken beyond recovery, it was all but guaranteed that his wrath would expand further than the organizations responsible... In an effort to ease the growing tensions, Katarina habitually rose from her desk, pulling out a few shot sses as she asked, "Do you have time for a drink? I dont know when Brave will return and I cant imagine you will stick around and wait for him. I can send a private missive to the Free Spirit Tavern to have them inform him of your arrival. He can basically travel anywhere in the world in just a few seconds, so, if there is a ce he can meet you, I imagine he will seek you out the moment he receives the message." Vahn wasnt particrly in the mood for drinking, but, noticing Katarina had only produced sses, he decided to humor her by pulling out a few random bottles. She had a penchant for alcohol even before receiving the benefits from [Call of Cthulhu], so, after obtaining practical immunity to things like alcohol poisoning, Katarinas fondness for the substance had only increased. He even began to suspect she had an Innate rted to alcohol, but, without observing her for a long period of time or engraving his crest upon her back, there was no way to be certain. ording to the exnation given by Sis, The Path actually had an external analysis function, but, due to his unique perspective and the influence of his [Eyes of Truth], he had never unlocked it. He could have easily unlocked it during his time between records, but, fearing it would make the world seem even more like a game or simtion, Vahn had decided against it. He had even grown tired of seeing his own Status, so, while it was undoubtedly a very powerful ability, he would either be reliant on the information it provided or it would quickly lose its novelty when even des of grass and individual stones had their own information windows... After filling two cups, Vahn lightly clinked his ss against Katarinas before downing the contents of his own and answering, "The person that needs to speak with him is Arika. Ill be taking her back to Ostia after this, so, unless something changes, he should be able to find her there." Finished with the contents of her own ss, Katarina casually set it atop her desk while her mind processed everything Vahn had just said. It wasrgely considered impossible to teleport anywhere near Ostia, as the magic supporting the floating nation prevented such spells from functioning, but, based on his words, this didnt seem to apply to him. There was always a chance he would teleport to a nearby location and thenplete the rest of the journey using other methods, but, given that it was more normal for Vahn to do inexplicable things, Katarina doubted this was the case... As this thought crossed her mind, Katarina briefly turned her attention to Arika, who, since the time of her arrival, had just been standing patient at the side. As for the little girl apanying her, who was also rumored to be a Princess of Vespertatia, she was curiously inspecting the numerous scale-model Airfish that lined the room. Neither showed any particr reaction to Vahns words, so, while it was possible they simply didnt care, the more likely scenario was that they were well aware of the infamous Sage Dragon Emperors capabilities. Resisting the urge to shake her head, Katarina took the initiative to refill both sses before raising her own and saying, "Ill see to it that the message is conveyed without fail. The next time you visit, I hope youll enter the country properly. Zephyria might purport itself as the City of Freedom but that isnt an open invitation toe and go as you please. At least give us a little time to prepare so we dont end up arbitrarily offending you...Im already busting my ass off to try and weed out some of the more troublesome elements of the City so I would appreciate it if you didnt add to my stress..." Seeing Katarina rub her shoulders for effect, Vahn was tempted to offer his services as a masseuse, but, almost immediately as the thought crossed his mind, Sis muttered, (*Vahn...seriously...?*) Quickly dismissing his wayward thoughts, Vahn adopted a wry smile before downing the contents of his ss and answering, "Ill keep that in mind. You are apetent leader so I trust you will do what it takes to make your nation into a true City of Freedom. I cant promise anything, but, if you need my help, feel free to pass a message to me. Ill be pretty indisposed during the war, but, after the fact...well, lets just say Ill be encouraging proactive reform in every nation..." Finished with his ss, Vahn set it down on the desk, and, without waiting for Katarinas response, he turned to Arika and Asuna, asking, "Are the two of you ready to return?" Though she was slightly annoyed by the fact Brave Enlil had departed so unexpectedly, Arika didnt allow it to show on her face. She didnt expect that she would be able to meet with the other Great Spirits until after the war anyway, so, setting the matter aside, she nodded her head and answered, "I have made my preparations." Hearing the conviction in Arikas voice, Vahn nodded his head in approval before approaching her side and linking hands with both her and Asuna. This might be a cause for misunderstandings to ur, but, as he wanted to believe in Katarinas intelligence and capacity as a leader, Vahn didnt think she would say anything. Before teleporting away, however, he sent her a friendly smile that didnt quite reach his eyes, causing her to swallow instinctually before turning her attention to the sses and bottles atop the desk... (A/N: Alternate Titles: This isnt even my final base!,Vahn doesnt like people that spread false rumors (O x O)...,Oh, look, what a pretty ss...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1617 Surprise

Chapter 1617 Surprise

Contrary to what Katarina might have believed, it was actually difficult for even Vahn to teleport in and out of Ostia. If not for the spatial anchor he had created during his stay, with permission from Ana, he would have been forced to either tear through space or approach the floating capital city from the outside. Ostia, as the literal heart of Mundus Magicus, still had countless secrets to uncover, and, though he had never found any sign of their movements, Vahn suspected that Cosmo Entelecheia was actually deeply entrenched within the peaceful nation. The fact that the Ostian Royal Family was descended directly from the Mage of the Beginning was all the proof needed to support this theory, but, even after probing around for several weeks, Vahn had failed to uncover even the smallest trace of the enigmatic organization. With at least one Tier 5 on their side, a very powerful one at that, the most obvious answer was that Cosmo Entelecheia had hidden the core of their organization within a Realm. There was little chance that The Mage of the Beginning would have left the heart of Mundus Magicus exposed, so, with the Magical World existing on the Reverse Side of Mars, it was virtually guaranteed that other Textures existed. The tricky part was locating the entrance to these Textures, as, depending on the skill of its creator, a Realm could be hidden away in something as small as a marble. Other Realms, such as Heaven and Hell, actually required the death of the physical body as a catalyst for opening the way, so, while it wasnt likely, there was a chance that Cosmos Entelecheia had taken refuge in a Spiritual ne, rather than a physical one... --- Emerging from the location of the spatial anchor, Vahn wasnt too surprised to find that Ana and Vesperina were nearby enjoying tea. They had worked out the location of the anchor a long time ago, and, though he had created multiple auxiliary points, Vahn had always teleported to the one he had created in the guest room. Since the time of his stay, however, the room had been turned into a library-like study, and, when they had nothing better to do, Ana and Vesperina had made a habit of lounging about within his former chambers. Showing absolutely no surprise on their uncannily simr countenances, the two cousins elegantly rose from their seats, smiling in perfect synchronicity as they said, "Wee home." Ignoring the fact both women were dressed in nightgowns that were reminiscent of the type used during the Victorian Era, Vahn returned a smile as he epted Anas casual embrace. At the same time, Asuna leaped into her mothers arms, earning an amused giggle from Vesperina, who, despite her dainty appearance, easily picked up her daughter and asked, "Have you been having fun?" Without any suspense, Asuna beamed in response to her mothers words before happily eximing, "Its great! Every day is filled with new and exciting things. Just recently, I made a ton of new friends among the Elven children Vahn saved!" Amused by her daughters zeal, Vesperina issued another motherly giggle as she carried the former over to the nearby lounge and said, "I would like to hear more. Will you tell me more stories of your travels~?" Always eager to talk about her training and all the interesting things she was able to experience while following Vahn, Asunas expression brightened up even more, her eyes glittering like gems as she intoned a happy, "Nn~!" --- While Asuna was catching up with her mother, Vahn, Ana, and Arika decided to give them a bit of space, alighting to a nearby kitchen to manually prepare lunch. This had be a habit every time Vahn visited, as, after enjoying his home-cooked meals, Ana, Vesperina, and virtually everyone else, had developed a particr fondness for his cuisine. It used various rare ingredients, and,pared to the meals prepared by emotionless automatons and magical spells, there was an insurmountable difference in quality. Despite being a Queen, Ana had a surprisingly shameless personality, so, while Vahn was preparing everyones meal, she would casually pick out ingredients and partiallypleted dishes to snack on while conversing with her daughter. This action was imitated by Arika, but, to her credit, she at least helped out by cutting up vegetables and peeling fruit. She had grown to feel guilty about watching the process like it was some kind of amazing spectacle, and, though her cooking skills were on the level of a natural disaster, she could at least prepare ingredients without issue. Ana obviously took note of the changes in her daughters character over time, so, every time they were together, she would take the opportunity to tease her, ignoring Vahns presence as she asked things like, "So, have the two of you done the deed? Should I be expecting grandchildren any time soon~?" Though she defaulted back to her taciturn personality around her mother, Arika couldnt prevent a crimson hue from coloring her ears and cheeks in response to Anas teasing. Despite this, she would actually answer the questions, causing Vahn to suppress a wry smile when she stared at the back of his head and said, "Not yet. At this point, I believe it will have to wait until marriage..." Arika had originally been intending to reference Evas marriage to Vahn, but, perhaps as a result of her hidden desires, the words hadnte out as anticipated. She realized this almost immediately, but, without missing a beat, Ana capitalized on the opportunity, showing mock astonishment as she mused, "Oh my~! Did he already propose to you or do I need to have a heart-to-heart with my Son in Law~?" With her face gradually approaching the color of blood, Arika averted her gaze away from the back of Vahns head as she muttered, "That is unnecessary...I said something inappropriate..." Hearing Arikas remark, Vahn released an audible sigh before setting the stove to a low boil so that he could turn around and say, "What nonsense are you saying? At this point, it is all but confirmed that you are my woman. Even if I dont want to get involved in politics, Im not a coward that would put his loved ones into a difficult situation just to avoid some trouble. Once this fiasco with Cosmo Entelecheia is dealt with, I will dly take you as my wife. Rather..." Though it was a little early, Vahn surprised both Arika and Ana by lowering himself to one knee. He had been thinking a lot ever since he made his promise with Theo, and, though he wanted to avoid having to subsume the entirety of Mars, transnting a single Texture shouldnt be too difficult. He had already made some breakthroughs in that regard, so, while he had been intending to wait until after his wedding with Eva, Vahn didnt hesitate to produce a pale-gold ring set with a unique gem that looked like thebination between a sapphire and emerald fused to form a yin-yang symbol. ---------------------------------------------------- [Harmony] Rank: S (Divine) P.Def: 0 M.Def: 0 Abilities: Indestructible(Divine), Supreme Ultimate(S), Magic Nullification(S), Physical Nullification(S), Abnormal Status Immunity(S), Soulbound(Unbound) Use: Oneness Before Duality: Allows the user to burn their future potential, drastically increasing their present strength. The aftereffects of using this ability can be mitigated entirely by sharing the burden with another. (Warning: Item destroyed after use.) Restriction: Arika Anarchia Entheofushia ---------------------------------------------------- Resisting the urge to excitedly exin the effects of the ring, Vahn casually retrieved the stupefied Arikas hand, cing the ring near her finger as he asked, "Arika Anarchia Entheofushia...will you do me the great honor of bing my wife?" Brought back to her senses by Vahns words, Arika actually retracted her hand as if she had been electrocuted. Then, hiding her beet-red face, she released a surprisingly girlish groan before parting her fingers slightly, ring at him as she said, "This isnt fair at all..." Vahn was a little confused by Arikas words, but, rather than rise to his feet, he continued to smile at her, presenting the paradoxically beautiful yet simple-looking ring. He had always believed that the true beauty of a womany in her smile, so, despite putting an inordinate amount of effort into the forging of various wedding bands, Vahn made sure they never stood out more than the wearer. This was very important to him, but, despite its rtively simple appearance, Ana and Arika were unable to take their eyes off the perfectlyplementary band... Misunderstanding the situation, Ana decided to give her daughter a little bit of a push by extending her own hand and musing, "Well, if my daughter isnt willing, I certainly wouldnt mind...ufufufu~." Before her mother had finished her statement, Arika snatched the ring out of Vahns hand, holding it protectively near her chest as she eximed, "Mother! You..." Noticing the teasing look in her mothers eyes, Arikas words ended up trailing off, her face turning a shade darker as a feeling of dizziness spread through her mind. Everything was happening far too quickly for her mind to process, so, before things could get further out of hand, she decided to take a seat, resting her forehead against the cool countertop under the worried gazes of both Vahn and her mother. To ay their concerns, Arika made a dismissive gesture before exining, "I just need to cool my head a bit..." Though he was tempted to use his Hands of Nirvana and Petting Laws to provide assistance, Vahn got the distinct impression that Arika wanted to sort her thoughts without his help. Thus, with a wry smile on his face, he gave an understanding nod before turning his attention back to cooking. This earned him a slightly dubious look from Ana, but, having spent so much time with him, Arika knew Vahn was actually being considerate rather than apathetic. She could sense that his focus never left her, and, if she needed him, he wouldnt hesitate to drop everything toe to her side... With a small smile spreading across her face, Arika closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the cold countertop. She was actually very excited that Vahn had proposed to her, but, as it conflicted with the promise she had made with Theo, her mind was in a state of disarray. They had be far closer than normal sisters during their time in the Diorama, and, after the announcement of Evas engagement, all three of them had discussed the matter of marriage. In the end, Arika and Theo promised that, if either of them were to ever wed Vahn, they would do so together. They had evene up with a n to unify the various countries of Mundus Magicus, but, as that was a matter for the far future, Vahns sudden proposal hadpletely caught Arika by surprise. She had even expected that he would wait until after Asuna had reached maturity, as, even if nothing had happened between them, it was obvious to everyone that the two shared an enviable affinity with each other. Asuna was practically a miniature version of Vahn, and, though he appeared to have a fair amount of resistance against her, the truth of the matter was that Asuna actually had a near-perfect understanding of his tolerance and what she could get away with... She was apprehensive to admit it but Arika knew she wouldnt have been able topete with her younger cousin if they were the same age. Asuna was more intelligent, exceedingly talented, and, most importantly, she was able to read Vahn like a book. She was extremely attentive to all of every aspect of his character, and, though she never directly manipted him, she had the confidence to forge and temper an unbreakable bond between them. She also put an inordinate amount of effort into her training, and, at times, she even managed to resist Vahns usual rewards in order to obtain an even greater rewardter on... Suppressing a sigh, Arika slowly opened her palm to stare at the ring Vahn had undoubtedly put a considerable amount of effort into forging. She knew the best course of action would be to return it, but, having already seized it, she felt reluctant to do so. She knew Theo wouldnt actually be mad at her for cementing her engagement a little early, but, knowing today was the day she temporarily separated from Vahn, Arika felt the timing was simply the worst... As this thought crossed her mind, Arika slowly lifted her body, her expression a perfect deadpan as she stared at Vahn and said, "You can be the biggest idiot in the world at times..." Hearing Arikas remark, Vahns expression be apologetic, but, before he could say anything in his defense, he was pleasantly surprised to hear her say, "I will ept your proposal, but, before we confirm anything, you must propose to Theo as well. We made a promise together and I dont want to feel as though I have betrayed her trust. You will also need to discuss this matter with Eva, and, after this war hase to an end, the three of us will work out the details regarding the ceremony." Having agreed to Vahns proposal, Arika suddenly felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. A natural smile began to spread across her face, and, though she was tempted tob through her hair, as was often the case when she was nervous, she managed to restrain the urge as she asked, "Isnt there something you should say at a time like this...?" The moment he heard Arikas words, Vahns figure turned into a phantom image as he appeared at her side. Then, under the gleaming eyes of Ana, he habitually pulled Arika into his embrace, a loving smile spreading across his face as he said, "Youre an amazing woman, Arika...I love you..." With nothing else to say, Vahn punctuated his words by stealing Arikas lips, and, though she would normally nevermit such an act in front of her mother, she decided to make an exception as she graciously reciprocated her Fiances passion, matching it with her own... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Realms within Realms within Realms. Realmception!,Anas shamelessness pays off!?,Is this the influence of Asunas fate or Arikas fortune~?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1618 Sacred Rite

Chapter 1618 Sacred Rite

Following his proposal to Arika, Vahn had been convinced to spend, at the very least, one night in Ostia. Ana wanted to celebrate her daughters engagement, and, considering it would have been a little awkward to leave immediately after his proposal, Vahn didnt have much ground to refuse. As a result, he once again shared a bath with the members of the Ostian Royal Family, and, though this was nothing new, things became admittedly more awkward when Ana attempted to educate both Arika and Asuna in how to properly wash a mans body. Vahn was admittedly used to being used in educational demonstrations, but, with the other party being his mother-inw, his primary instinct was to refuse. Surprisingly, though sheter exined the reason, Arika took her mothers side on the matter. She felt guilty about the fact she had been allowed to leave the pce and follow a different path than the one normally decided for members of the Ostian Royal Family. This was an opportunity that had been denied to her mother, so, while it caused her a considerable amount of shame and embarrassment, she supported Anas mischief and went with the flow of events. Though it put him in a ratherpromising position, Vahn wasnt particrly unwilling to have his body washed by Ana. Thus, with Vesperina also contributing her consent, he ended up in one of the few situations where he found it legitimately difficult to hide his own embarrassment. Ana made up for the fact that she had no real experience by being exceptionally bold, and, though this wouldnt normally be enough to embarrass him, thebined curiosity of the entire Ostian Royal Family was enough to color the ears of each of his avatars... --- Preceding Vahns objectively enviable situation by a few hours, another man was experiencing one of the worst days of his entire life. He was forced to stand in the middle of a private arena as more than a hundred of the most prestigious members of the Imperial Nobility watched on in uncovered curiosity. Across from him, casually performing a series of light stretches in a garment that left little to the imagination, his much younger sister had ackadaisical smile on her face as she warmed up for their impending match. Under normal circumstances, the man, Prince Kacper Bashireia Herasu De Vesuperisujimia, would have relished the thought of being able to teach his younger sister, Princess Theodora Bashireia Herasu De Vesuperisujimia, a lesson. His pride did not allow him to consider, even for a moment, that he would lose against someone barely a quarter of his age. It didnt matter that she was the future Empress who had received the Blessing of Vrixho, as, in his mind, her im to the throne was illegitimatepared to his own... Despite knowing he was much stronger than his sister, Kacper had a ckened expression as he listened to the spection from the surrounding Nobles. They didnt even try to censor themselves, and, much to his chagrin, the majority seemed to be in favor of his sisters victory. Some even went as far as to propose private wagers, but, with few willing to bet on his victory, these remarks quickly became more of a joke than anything else. With even better senses than a normal Hesian, Kacper could hear most of the crowds remarks. He could even recognize most of their voices, so, aftermitting them to memory, he swore to make each and every one of them pay for insulting their future Emperor. It didnt matter if most of them were just joking around, as, after he rose to power, he intended to shape Hes into an even more powerful nation, one which would gradually conquer the entire world in his name... Assured of his own victory, Kacper red back at the person he hated most in the entire world, his blue eyes zing with an intense ferocity as he said, "You should surrender this farce. If you choose to go forward with this, I will not hold back. Though I will do my best not to injure you too seriously, idents within the arena are asmon as the clouds in the sky..." Hearing her brothers warning, Theo just giggled mischievously before adopting a wide grin as she said, "Ill hold you to your words. If you held back, this would be over too quickly~." Understanding the implication contained within his sisters words, Kacpers expression became even darker as he looked toward his father, asking, "It is not my ce to question the Emperors vast and immeasurable wisdom. However, I must advise against moving forward with this match. Theodora is still a child. I fear I cannot afford the repercussions of identally injuring the future Empress of the Hes Empire..." Though he noticed the murderous glimmer in his sons eyes, Michael repressed a sigh as he stated in a firm tone, "As per tradition, none shall be held ountable for any idents that might ur during a Rite of Challenge. If it is determined that one side has an undeniable advantage over the other, the referee will intervene to prevent injury." Almost immediately following the Emperors statement, a senior member of the Aristocracy, Earl Stanis?aw Jaruzelski, issued a courteous bow as he stated in a deep voice, "If it pleases his Imperial Majesty, it would be my honor to preside over this match." Though he was originally intending to have Jack referee the matches, Michael took a brief moment to consider the Earls request. This wouldnt have been a consideration under normal circumstances, but, as Theo had noticed, the Earl was actually the father of the man she was fated to be engaged to. This caused her nose to scrunch up slightly, but, as she wasnt in a position to protest, she chose to remain silent as her father made his position. Unfortunately for Theo, her father decided to give the Earl a bit of face, opening his eyes to state in amanding tone, "Very well. We have supreme confidence in the Earls power and judgment." Gratified by the Emperors words, Earl Staniw leaped through the air beforending nimbly in the arena. He had previously been the ranking General of the Northern Fleet, so, while nowhere near his prime, mediating a battle between two junior members of the Imperial Family wasnt an issue. Both Kacper and Theo wanted to protest having the Earl referee their match, but, as neither had a good reason to refute, they remained silent. Questioning the Earls qualifications would be both an insult to the man in question and a repudiation of the Emperors decree. This would be a grievous faux-pas, so, rather thanin, the brother and sister set their sights on each other, both eager for the battle toe. Noticing the duo was more than ready to begin, Earl Staniw couldnt help but disy an amused smile as he dutifully dered, "This is a sacred rite to determine whether or not the Third Princess possesses the strength to qualify as an adult under Imperial Law. Her opponent, the Second Prince, has graciously offered himself to test the mettle of his younger sister. If both contestants are ready to begin, you may salute the Emperor and take your stances." As the Rite of Challenge had several customs that must be followed, both Theo and Kacper obeyed the Earls direction. For Theo, this was more than just a battle to determine whether or not she was strong, as, even if they lost all three battles, a person could still be considered an adult based on their actions and behavior. Inversely, if they behaved childishly throughout the proceedings, there was a chance they could be denied recognition and ced under a probationary period. This was something she wanted to avoid at all costs, so, while it made her feel stiff and stuffy, Theo did her best to appeal to the audience by disying her maturity. As for Kacper, his reputation had never been that great amongst members of the Aristocracy, so, if he misbehaved during one of their most sacred rites, he risked losing what little face he had left... With their father giving them leniency to raise their heads, Theo adopted a low stance that was an exact copy of the Heavenly White Tiger form. She had sparred with Xiao Bai almost every day over a four year period, so, while she had developed her own hybrid form, the foundation of her style was directly inspired by the flexibility and power demonstrated by the admittedly adorable white tiger. Seeing his sister squat low with her hands extended like ws, Kacper snorted disdainfully as he extended his hand to the side and manifested a massive ck de. Weapon Summoning and its derivative skills were the foundation embedded into every member of the Nobility, as, despite their vast reserves of magical power, very few had the capacity to be a true Mage. They had always been more adept at reinforcing their body to deal with enemies at close and mid-range, so, seeing his sister forgo the use of weapons, seemingly intent on conserving her magical power, Kacper was nning to teach her a harsh lesson... The moment Earl Staniw called out for the match to begin, Kacper adopted a defensive stance as he shouted, "Melody of Battle, Double my Speed!" (A/N: I decided to go with simple trantions of magic spells to make it easier to read.) With a pale-green aura surrounding his body, a vicious smile spread across Kacpers face. Melodia Bex was an Intermediate-Grade Reinforcement Magic, and, though many could use it, mastering it to the point of manifesting a stable aura was difficult, generally taking years of concerted effort. This was his greatest advantage against Theo, as, no matter how talented she was, there was a vast gulf in their experience due to the age gap... Just as this thought crossed his mind, Kacpers mind dulled as he noticed the figure of his younger sister turning into a wispy haze. At the exact same moment, an awkward-sounding voice echoed from behind him, saying, "You are thinking too much. If you dont trust your instincts more and pay better attention to your surroundings, this is going to be over very quickly..." Recognizing who the voice belonged to, Kacper spun on his heels, his oversized sword drawing a deadly arc towards the wryly smiling Theos neck. To his surprise, she didnt even try to dodge, the de cleaving through her so smoothly he didnt even feel any feedback. This caused a massive grin to spread across his face, but, before he could celebrate the death of his most hated person, a powerful force mmed into his left cheek. The next thing he knew, he was embedded into the far wall, while, in the center of the arena, Theo awkwardly scratched the back of her head. She had held back a lot to try and make the fightst longer, but, even without using any special techniques, her brother seemed incapable of even following her movements... After fighting with monsters nearly every day over a four year period, Theo hadpletely lost the ability to gauge her own strength. She was actually the weakest among those who trained inside of the Diorama, so, after continuously breaking through her limits to try and ovee people much stronger than herself, Theo had forgotten what it was like to fight against someone weaker. She did her best to hold back so they could enjoy a prolonged battle, but, much to her surprise, her brother was significantly weaker than she imagined... --- Though he knew his daughter had gotten much stronger during her time in Ariadne, Michael was at aplete loss for words after seeing her disy. He was watching the match from the outside, so, by all rights, he should have been able to see her movements without any difficulty. Instead, he saw Theos body flicker, and, in the next moment, she had soundlessly appeared behind Kacper without thetters notice. The Emperor knew a lot more had happened in Ariadne than the reports mentioned. The choker around his daughters neck had drawn a considerable amount of attention, and, though she didnt seem to be aware of it, he had seen her absentmindedly caressing the band numerous times over thest few days. It was clear she had received more than just simple lessons from the Sage Dragon Emperor but nothing could have prepared him for her monstrous increase in strength. It was almost like she was apletely different person, and, though it seemed absurd, he got the impression his fate wouldnt be much different than his sons if they traded ces. With even the Emperor harboring such thoughts, it was easy to imagine what was going through the minds of the various Aristocrats in attendance. They were utterly gobsmacked by Theos speed, and, though he had confidently dered himself capable of referring the match, even Earl Staniw was at aplete loss for words. He actually thought his senses were ying tricks on him when he saw two Theos appear within the arena, and, for a brief moment, he even considered stepping in when the Prince swept his sword towards the Princess throat. Realizing that the young girl wryly smiling was even more powerful than himself, Earl Staniw was both mortified and excited. He had already been negotiating the marriage between his son and the future Empress, and, unless something drastic changed, there was no reason for the two not to be wed. His family was directly responsible for goods moving in and out of the country, so, while their wealth couldnt bepared to the Imperial Treasury, they were one of the primary reasons it had grown so extensively over thest couple of centuries. Remembering his purpose for being inside of the arena, Earl Staniw returned to his senses, his voice much louder than before as he dered, "Princess Theodora has won her first match with an impable disy of both speed and power! I dare say we have gathered together to witness the birth of a true prodigy! This is a tremendous omen of good fortune! Glory to the Hes Empire!" Awakened by the Earls outburst, many of the loyalists within the crowd echoed his cry, shouting, "Glory to the Hes Empire!" before following it up with a resounding, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Third Princess...!!!" Hearing everyone cheer for her, Theo began to feel even more embarrassed. She was grateful for their support, as it would make things much easier in the near future, but, seeing her brother still embedded in the wall, she began to feel guilty about using him as a stepping stone...just a little... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ara Ara~ intensifies...,Saitama vs. King!,Just a teenie tiny amount...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1619 Anticipation

Chapter 1619 Anticipation

With her first battle ending in such a decisive manner, a brief interlude was called in Theos Rite of Challenge. The Second Prince was in dire need of medical treatment, and, though a Captain of the Imperial Guard was nothing to scoff at, it was clear to everyone that Theo had surpassed that level by a considerable amount. Despite the presence of more than a hundred Aristocrats, including many of the strongest people in the entire Empire, less than ten were able to follow Theos initial movement. To everyone else, it was like a second version of herself had teleported behind the Second Prince in an instant. She was even able to strike before Kacper had finished chanting his spell, but, demonstrating a masterful amount of control, she retracted it at thest moment. Needless to say, Theo was much more than prodigious. The speed and control she demonstrated put her on the level of a tactical weapon. She had already qualified for this ssification due to her ability to summon Vrixho Nagasha, but, as that was a purely situational power, it had more meaning from a political perspective than a military one. Now, however, it was easy to imagine the youthful Princess sinking Superdreadnaughts with her own power. They hadnt even seen her go all out just yet, but,paring her speed to others capable of simr feats, it was hard to say who was faster... Within the Hes Empire, there was a special rank of General that had existed since ancient times. It was a special designation given to war powers who could directly contend against enemy fleets and armies without the support of the Imperial Military. This was a level of power typically attributed to natural disasters, so, in recognition of that fact, the sobriquet bequeathed unto such individuals was known simply as: Storm General. In the present day, there were only five individuals in the entire Empire who qualified for the title of Storm General. These were the Emperor himself, the First Princess of the Hes Empire, the Admiral of the Northern Fleet, Jack Rakan, and, as could be expected, Vrixho Nagasha. Due to their unique status, however, none had been given the legendary sobriquet, as, for social and political purposes, their other titles greatly exceeded the ancient honor. The only person who would have qualified was Jack, but, prior to his appointment as Special Grand Marshall, he was publically recognized as both a Hero and an official Guardian of the Empire. Now that Theo had demonstrated an almost iprehensible amount of speed and control, many among the Aristocracy were curious to see if she could actually take down a Superdreadnaught on her own. They even appealed to the Emperor to have one of have her challenges modified to allow her to quantifiably demonstrate her power, as, even if she did fight against Jack, there would be no practical means to assess her strength. Michael was very interested in his daughters strength, but, as such things were better kept private, he was against destroying military assets just to give others a clear understanding of her strengths and potential weaknesses. This would give some people reasonable justification to have her sent to the frontlines, and, after shepleted her Rite of Challenge, refusing such calls would be difficult. Since it was ultimately his decision to make, Michael refused such a demonstration, stating, "Theos power is a blessing upon the entire Empire. Her growth, however, had little to do with anything we provided for her. She reached her current level through her own efforts and it is my desire that she continue growing and improving at her own pace. Once this challenge hase to an end, she will be free to choose between continuing her duties as Imperial Ambassador or advancing her strength through private training and tutge. I will hear no arguments on the matter." With the Emperor putting his foot down, there was no longer any leverage to openly discuss the matter. It had now be a private affair, and, though his decision could be modified, it would be through private dealings rather than political dialogue. This was a setback for those with thoughts of how best to use Theos strength, but, as such things were par for the course when it involved the Imperial Family, they were used to it. They would just need to organize their case and approach the Emperor in confidence. He might care greatly about his own family, but, when it came to choosing between his children and the interest of the Empire, he was duty-bound to consider what was best for the entire nation... --- After a prolonged discussionsting nearly four hours, it was ultimately decided that Theo would be allowed to skip her second challenge. Her next bout would be against Jack, but instead of a private affair, their showdown would take ce in the Coliseum. This was something that Theo, herself, had advocated for, as, not only did it allow her to demonstrate her power, it served the dual purpose of increasing her poprity while also improving citizen morale. Generally speaking, it was improper for a member of the Imperial Family to participate in any public matches unless they were specifically being tried for a crime. This directly affected the image of the Imperial Family, as, even if it was meant to be a harmless exhibition, there would always be a faction willing to support anyone able to contend against the Aristocracy. They didnt care about the actual consequences of their actions, as, in the minds of many, things would simply be better if the people in power were reced by someone else... Fortunately, Jack was a sensible man who publically admonished anyone who tried to prop him up as the leader of a new faction. He was the type that always considered the repercussions, so, even if he had a number of grievances with various members of the Aristocracy, he generally handled them within the bounds of the existing system. He didnt want to see his country torn apart by a civil war that directly benefitted their enemies. Instead, he was determined to bring change by correcting the system from the inside. This would likely take more life than he had to give, but, by inspiring young minds to reach for ever-greater heights, he believed he would leave the world in a better state than how he found it... --- With the details sorted out, the Imperial Guard took to the streets to announce the battle between their beloved Third Princess and the man who had risen up to be the Hero of the entire Hes Empire. This wasnt a match-up that anyone had expected, so, at first, there wasplete disbelief within the public forums. It wasnt until the Imperial Magistrate used the public broadcast system to verify the deration that the city exploded into rumor and spection. Theo had always enjoyed a special ce in the hearts of many citizens, as, ever since her debut as a child, her infectious personality and outgoing nature had distinguished her among other members of the Imperial Family. They might have given her the moniker of Tomboy Princess, but, rather than an insult, it was a term of endearment. She had be both their pride and their hope for a better future, and, though it would be many years before she was crowned Empress, much of the dissent within the Empire had been quieted by her actions. Though they had misgivings about their most treasured Princess fighting against the undisputed Hero of the Empire, most people were still looking forward to the fight. Logic told them that there had to be a reason for the match, and, though it had already been mentioned that the battle was the result of Theo attempting the Rite of Challenge, the fact it had been publicized at all indicated there was a chance she could win. This seemedpletely ridiculous in theory, but, as they would find out the answer the following day, people began swarming around the Coliseum to secure their seats a full day in advance... --- While a tumultuous fervor was spreading throughout the capital, the two most-discussed people in the entire Empire were having a casual chat in one of the Pces many gardens. Since he felt too awkward to inquire directly, the Emperor had entrusted Jack with finding out more about Theos actions in Ariadne. People didnt just be world-ss powers overnight, and, even if the Sage Dragon Emperor did favor his daughter, her actions implied a deeper bond. This wasnt necessarily a bad thing, but, fearing his daughter might reveal some devastating truths, Michael had Jack act as a mediator. It would be a lot easier learning the truth in the form of a casual report than hearing it directly from his daughter, so, while part of him wanted to remain ignorant, his status as Emperor demanded that he know the specifics... Though he wasnt particrly fond of being asked to pry into the affairs of his little sis, Jack was equally as curious about Theos time in Ariadne as her father. His blood still boiled every time he thought about his previous battle with Vahn, so, with a teasing smile on his face, he asked, "Tell me, rascal, is this Rite of Challenge meant to be retroactive or did you have something else in mind?" As she had already been anticipating such a question from Jack, Theo adopted her characteristically mischievous smile as she answered, "You could say its a bit of both. At the same time, however, it is probably a lot different than what you and father are thinking. Though something might happen in the future, the only thing that really matters is that Ive seized control of my own fate. Even without the support of the Sage Dragon Emperor, I will guide the Empire toward prosperity and help shape the future of the entire Magical World using my own power!" Despite feeling surprised by the fervor of the young woman seated across from him, Jack didnt let it show on his face. Instead, he adopted an approving smile, musing, "Youve really grown up in the time that I havent seen you. Im going to miss the brat that used to ride around on my shoulders every chance she got. Its a shame, really, I was looking forward to documenting your growth with my neck and shoulders." Having long grown used to Jacks casual pervertedness, Theo wasnt even remotely affected by his teasing remark. She could tell he was trying to measure her reaction in an attempt to obtain even more information, so, instead of disying even a hint of timidity, she adopted a predatory smile as she mused, "Hmmm, be grateful you ever had the opportunity. Now, you should take the rest of the day to prepare yourself for tomorrows match. If you underestimate me, you might not even know how you lost~?" Though her words werecking a certain oomph, Jack couldnt help but disy a simr smile as the thought of fighting a powerful opponent always got him excited. He could tell that Theo was hiding a tremendous amount of power in her body, so, while it would be difficult for him to go all out against her, it was bound to be an incredible fight. This was what his instincts were telling him, so, after a brief staredown with theparably petite princess, he beganughing boisterously as he turned around and departed for the exit. Seeing Jack walk away, a fiery glimmer reflected in Theos eyes as she followed his departure. It was surprisingly hard to restrain her urge to fight him then and there, as, for reasons she couldnt wholly understand, her instincts were screaming at her to defeat him in battle. She had previously only felt this way towards her Master, so, dismissing other factors, it was most likely the consequence of her draconic heritage acting up. Her Master had helped to purify her bloodline, and, though it was still inactive, their separation had seeded a powerful longing in the depths of her body. Theo had always been very fond of Jack ever since she was a child. He was her hero and the person she looked up to more than anyone else. Even now, this view hadnt really changed, but, due to her recognition of Vahn as her Master, part of her vehemently resisted the idea of yielding to any other man. She knew her defeat wasnt the same as submitting, but, regardless of the reality, a tiny voice in the back of her mind simply refused to ept defeat. Unbeknownst to the person in question, Theos sapphire-blue eyes had developed a ring of silver around her slit-like pupils. Her usually vibrant and zest-filled eyes momentarily reflected an icy and resolute glimmer as a golden light appeared on the back of her hand. This caused her eyes to revert back to normal, but, even after raising her hand to take a better look, the golden light, shaped like a perfect triangle, continued to glow amongst two identical, albeit faded, icons. Remembering her Masters exnation of the Artifact he had gifted her, an expectant smile spread across Theos face. She was unable to use her Pactio without causing a fair amount of trouble for all of them, so, prior to their parting, her Master gifted her one of the three pieces of an Artifact known as the Tri-Force. The other two pieces had been given to Arika and Asuna, but, while Wisdom and Courage were both incredibly useful, Theo felt that Power was the most useful of the three... Feeling a phenomenal amount of energy coursing through her body, Theo waspletely unaware of the subtle changes urring to her appearance. Her horns became slightly sharper than before, and, though it wasnt noticeable due to the skin-tone mesh she was wearing, the lines of her body became more refined as a tribal-like pattern of runes spread across her forearms, calves, abdomen, and lower back... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Conspiring Nobles? What a novel thought...,RIP Michael,Wasnt there some kind of saying about absolute power...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1620 Impact 1/?

Chapter 1620 Impact 1/?

With Arika managing to bar her mother from the room, Vahn was able to enjoy a rtively rxing evening in the formers bed-chamber. As for Asuna, she decided to spend the rest of the night with her mother. This allowed him and Arika to enjoy some alone time, but, undoubtedly as a result of her promise with Theo, the golden-haired beauty elected to wear a proper nightgown for the first time in quite a while. Vahn was somewhat infamous for pushing his lovers to their natural limits, but, regardless of how much time came to pass, he would never force them into apromising position. He knew Arika would give in pretty quickly if he was more insistent, so, rather than test her resolution; he spent the entire evening just hugging her tightly from behind. This allowed Arika to gradually unwind, and, though it took much longer than usual, she eventually managed to fall asleep in his arms... --- Due to how early they had slept the previous evening, there were still several hours until sunrise at the time of Vahn brushing Arikas hair and helping her prepare for the day. They would be parting shortly after breakfast, and, though it took minimal effort for them to reunite, their next meeting was bound to be in a few weeks. She would be spending a lot of time away from Ostia, and, though he had offered to apany her in his transformed state, she had surprisingly refused because she didnt want to rely on him in the execution of her duties. Even if he didnt do anything, Vahns presence implied, not that he might do something, but that he would take action when presented with a scenario he didnt agree with. This wasnt inherently a bad thing, but, from a political perspective, it was akin to carrying around a nuclear warhead set to explode at a moments notice. Arika wanted to settle things using her own power, so, while it would have set her heart at ease to have him apany her, suchcency wasnt necessarily a good thing when mediating between warring nations. Though he didnt disagree with her, Vahn wasnt oblivious of the peculiar flow of fate that had been lingering around, not just Arika, but virtually everyone he had encountered as ofte. Even Eva had not been spared, and, ever since his arrival within Ostia, an almost tangible flow had been present around both Ana and Vesperina. This was unquestionably the result of Asunas drastic influence on fate, but, while it was somewhat concerning, it all-but-guaranteed the safety of everyone under its influence. Vahn actually encouraged his women to be more independent, so, while it wasnt easy for him, he had no intention of interfering in the decisions of Theo, Arika, and even Eva. They all had the means to protect themselves, and, though they had their pride to uphold, he knew they would not hesitate to call upon him if they encountered a serious threat. Thus, rather than insist that she allow him to apany her, Vahn just returned an affectionate smile as he loosely braided her hair and said, "I believed in you even before our engagement. Now, I am absolutely certain you will be able to reach your goals..." Hearing Vahns remark, a small but lovely smile spread across Arikas face as she stared back at him through the mirror and muttered, "My husband is a Dragon God of Time, Space, and Creation...this will be a simple matter to attend. Then, when everything is said and done, I will have you reward me plentily..." Though she had a serious glimmer in her eyes, Vahn noticed a considerable amount of expectation within Arikas Blue-Green irises. This caused an itchy feeling in his heart, as, despite being far more reserved than someone like Theo, Arika didnt particrlyck boldness. Rather, drawing even moreparisons between her an Ais, she was inordinately curious and highly receptive. She was already the type of woman that wanted to try new things, so, once they finally crossed that line, it was easy to imagine Arika blossoming in the bedroom... Imagining the taciturn beauty in her experimental phase, Vahn couldnt help but swallow slightly, an action that was noticed by the woman in question. Her smile curled up a little more than usual, and, for a brief moment, an amorous light shed across her eyes as she teasingly affirmed, "Im looking forward to it..." --- With her excitement reaching palpable levels, Theo found it impossible to get even a wink of sleep the night before her battle against Jack. She had eventually noticed the less-than-subtle changes to her body, but, feeling as though they granted her even greater power, Theo didnt particrly mind them. Rather, she felt the mysterious runes actually entuated her beauty, and, though she wasnt able to interpret their meaning, Theo noticed they would glow like mes whenever she channeled her magical power through her body. While admiring the glowing runes covering her naked body, Theo sensed the presence of a group of people approaching her room. She quickly shimmied into the mesh her Master had gifted her,pletely concealing the ming runes, and, with a simple touch of a gemstone, a uniquebat outfit manifested to cover her body. The outfit consisted of a ck sports-bra, a matching martial arts hakama, thin leather bracers, and footwraps simr in style to the type used by kickboxers. Even prior to emting her Master, Theo had always been fond of the color ck, so, with the exception of the golden trim and sash, her entire outfit was ck. She felt itplimented her skin tone quite a bit, and, based on the reaction of her Master, he was in agreement. Now, she had the appearance of a skilled martial artist, and, though the outfit left her abdomen, back, and shoulderspletely exposed, Theo wasnt even remotely ashamed to disy the body she had sculpted for both her and her Masters sake... Ignoring the preliminary knocking on her door, Theo struck a few poses in the mirror, admiring her own form with an admittedly silly smile on her face. One of her only regrets over the four years was that she hadnt matured nearly as much as she would have liked. She knew her age was the primary reason for the inhibitions her Master had shown her, and, though he hadrgely gotten over them, it seeded a desire in her heart to be a mature beauty. Undoubtedly as a result of the Tri-Force of Power, Theo noticed that she had experienced a bit of a growth spurt during the tumultuous hours when she had been denied sleep. She had grown from around 155cm to 161cm in a single evening, and, though they werent that big, it seemed like her breasts had be even more shapely than before. She still had a fair amount of growth ahead of her, but,pared to her previous appearance, she had matured substantially. Her only moderate concern was that her ears had be slightly longer, and, though it wasnt particrly rare among the Hesians, she noticed the fur covering them had be slightly denser than normal... While she was pinching the tufts of fur growing from the very ends of her ears, Theo heard a much louder knock on the door. This actually startled her a bit, as, for a brief moment, she hadpletely forgotten the people waiting outside to escort her. She had been too busy thinking about how her Master would react to the changes to her body, but, knowing him, he would be satisfied so long as she was happy. This thought caused Theos ears to waggle happily, but, with yet another knock on her door, her mood did aplete one-eighty as she shundod next to the door and flung it open with a bit more force than was absolutely necessary... --- Simr to when Vahn had battled against Jack, the Coliseum was filled beyond its natural capacity. It was exceptionally rare to see a member of the Imperial Family battle in the arena, much less one as young as Theo, so, despite most people saving up in preparation for the war, even the more miserly individuals ended up forking over their Drachma in order to try and secure a seat. There were some rumors circting about the exhibition being a ploy to arbitrarily inte the perceived power of the Imperial Family, but, regardless of the actual circumstances, bouts that involved Jack were always a sight to behold. Fortunately, though it had ced a heavy strain on the organizers, the event was scheduled to take ce pretty early in the morning. This was a blessing for those who had been waiting ever since the previous days announcement. They had been packed into the stands like sardines, and, though this was par for the course during major events, finding an opportunity to rest or relieve yourself was all but impossible. The moment you vacated your spot, someone would unhesitantly fill it in, so, after securing a ce for themselves, most people refused to even make room for the few people trying to leave. To prevent tensions from boiling over and potentially causing a riot, the Emperor, who had decided to attend the event alongside his eldest son and daughter, gave permission to proceed earlier than was originally scheduled. The Coliseum was already packed beyond capacity, so, with Theo and Jack waiting in the wings, he felt it was appropriate to begin sooner, rather thanter. It also helped that he was just as eager as the rest of the crowd to see Theos performance, so, after a quick broadcast to inform everyone of the change, met with uproarious apuse, things were finally set to begin... --- Though she was a little surprised by the sudden change in schedule, causing her to pause mid-warmup, Theo wasnt even remotely disappointed. Instead, she lightly pushed against the ground, transitioning from the tips of her fingers to her feet, smiling radiantly at the Coliseum staff sent to inform her of the changes. This brought a light blush to the person in question, as, despite being a female, Theos presence was infectious to the point of being indiscriminate. This was another small benefit of possessing the Tri-Force of Power, as, rather than a raw increase in power, it provided the user with True Power. Depending on the person you asked, the answer would change, but, in essence, the highest form of power was always Authority. As a result, the wielder of the Tri-Force of Power emanated what could best be described as a tyrannical yet reliable aura. It allowed them to inspire allies and terrify foes, and, so long as they possessed an adequate amount of ambition, its wielder would gradually rise to prominence, regardless of the political climate. This was the main reason Vahn had given Theo the Tri-Force of Power, as,pared to Arika and Asuna, she would benefit the most from its use as she slowly cemented her position within the Empire. Due to the presence emanated by Theo, the Coliseum personnel remained statuesque even after the former had departed the waiting room. Her face had be beet red, and, though she had never harbored an inclination towards the fairer sex, she noticed her heart was racing as a number of rather untoward thoughts raced across her mind. This filled her with conflict, but, more than anything else, a desire to see Theo emerge victoriously had been seeded within her heart... --- Unaware of the influence she had on other people, Theo waited for the announcer to introduce her before entering into the arena. The crowd practically exploded in response to her emergence, and, though there were a few ufortable gazes mixed into the bunch, Theo could feel her blood boil in excitement as the respect and adtion of the crowd washed over her. She had always dreamed of standing in the arena someday, but, never in her wildest fantasies did she imagine that her first opponent would be none other than the person regarded as the strongest. Seeing Jack standing on the opposite side of the arena, his figure cloaked in a ceremonial purple cape that draped all the way to the ground, Theo could hardly contain herself. This was obviously noted by the man in question, but, while he was just as eager to begin, a look of surprise shed across his eyes as he noticed the subtle changes urring to her body. He could feel her power surging outward, and, though it seemed like she was still in control, Jack got the impression she was on the verge of going berserk at a moments notice. Having watched Theo grow up since she was a toddler, an uncharacteristic frown appeared on Jacks face as he muttered, "Not good...it seems like that damned lizard gave her something she wasnt ready to control..." As this thought crossed his mind, Jack briefly considered canceling the match, but, knowing the crowd might literally erupt if he tried, his next thought was to end the fight as quickly as possible. He didnt know what kind of power Theo was using but his gut told him things would be a lot more troublesome if he didnt end it quickly. This was bound to cause some dissatisfaction among the crowd, but, as there were far more important things in life than poprity, he was willing to put his reputation on the line to protect his little sis... With his mind made up, Jacks expression became uncharacteristically serious as tiny bands of gold electricity began to surge across his body. The ceremonial cape covering his muscr body ended up disintegrating in an instant, and, immediately following the announcers deration, his figurepletely vanished from view. In the very next instant, three explosions sounded out in the arena, one from Jacks starting point, another from Theos, and the final resulting from a collision with the barrier protecting the crowd from harm... Stupefying both the onlookers and the person in question, Jacks body was the one sent flying, as, at her starting point, Theo stood squat with a gauntleted fist extended. A web of cracks had spread nearly twenty meters from where her feet had embedded into the ground, but, other than sinking slightly, she hadnt moved from her initial position. This surprised even Theo quite a bit, but, rather than demonstrate any kind ofcency, she released a loud battle cry as she charged to meet the uninjured Jack head-on... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Oh my...,Theo is quite feisty~,Bruh O_O...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1621 Impact 2/?

Chapter 1621 Impact 2/?

Against even the wildest of expectations, the bout between Theo and Jack was neither one-sided nor the pretentious exhibition many had expected it to be. Instead, it was an intense battle where, against all odds, theparably petite Theo was able to go blow-for-blow against a man known to shatter mountains with his bare fists. Even more ridiculous was the fact that, while she was pushed back a number of times, the person sent crashing into the walls of the arena, time and again, was actually Jack. Though he wasnt really sustaining any serious injuries, Jack was unable to exercise the full extent of his power for fear of critically injuring, or even killing, Theo. As a result, he had been unable to find the sweet spot between Theos defenses and her actual durability. Even breaking through her aura took an extraordinary amount of effort, and, though he hadnt noticed it at first, subsequent strikes had revealed there was a thin mesh covering her entire body. This paper-thin membrane, against all expectations, was actually harder than most metals he had struck, and, due to its flexibility, the vast majority of his attacks werepletely mitigated... In an effort to confirm his suspicions, Jack took advantage of the moment when Theo had leaped into the air to generate a massive shockwave with his aura. As a result, she was sted high into the sky, but, once again demonstrating a surprising degree ofbat proficiency, Theo actually bounced off of thin air before flickering through the void like a phantom. He recognized this as the advanced movement technique, Koku Shundo, but, as it often took years just to master the basics, it was quite a surprise to see Theo bounding around freely. Sensing an impending attack, Jack crossed his arms as an appreciative smile spread across his face. This looked like a defensive posture to most, but, just as Theos figure appeared in front of him, his own vanished. In the next instant, his hand had been spread wide, and, like a top suspended in the air, Theo was left rotating rapidly before her body inevitably crashed into the ground, hard. Jack realized it would be impossible to end the fight without injuring Theo, so, in an effort to try and end things before they got too far out of hand, he resolved himself and decided to apologize after the fact... Though she hadnt sustained any actual damage, Theo felt the wind forced from her lungs by the unexpected impact. Despite this, she was able to recover almost instantly, an excited smile on her face as she attempted to sweep Jacks legs out from under him. To her surprise, however, a wispy golden aura pulsed from his body just as her foot was about to make contact with his tree-like legs. The pulse acted as a cushion of sorts that perfectly dissipated the force of her own blow. As a result, there was a brief moment where her movement had ceasedpletely, and, in that exact moment, Jacks fist, which wasrger than her entire head, smashed into her impromptu guard. For the first time since the start of the match, Theo experienced what it was like to be bounced across the arenas floor like a rock skipping across ake. At the end of her rtively short journey, her body crashed into the incredibly durable barrier surrounding the arena. She learned that it was actually much harder than the floor itself, but, before she could evenment this fact, Theo opened her eyes to see another fist barreling directly toward her face... With very little time to dodge, Theo attempted to raise her guard as she craned her flexible body to the right. In the same motion, she kicked outward with her left leg, but, from just the air pressure of Jacks fist alone, she was sent smashing back into the barrier as his fast made direct contact with her arm. She felt her own first smack into her face as an overwhelming force surged into her body, pain emitting from the bones of her left arm as it seemed to conform to the shape of Jacks fist. Surprising them both, Theos arm didnt actually break from the impact, and, though it felt like she had momentarily cked out when her head mmed into the arenas barrier, she hadnt sustained any visible injuries. A ki-infused shockwave had clearly passed through her body, but, as if she waspletely immune to damage, it dissipated almost instantly. In its wake, recing the momentary pain, a feeling of exhration swelled up inside Theo that made it impossible to restrain the smile spreading across her face... Jack sensed there was something very wrong with the current situation, but, even faster than his superhuman reactions, Theo managed to grip the thumb of his right hand. He was suddenly seized by the feeling his digit had been trapped in an unbreakable vice. By pure instinct, he seeded in pulling away his hand and creating some distance between himself and Theo, but, in the process, all the flesh from his thumb had been less-than-cleanly removed... Even Theo was surprised by her own strength, but, rather than show any perturbation, she crushed the surprisingly grilled piece of flesh in her hand. Then, kicking the ground with enough force to cause a literal eruption, Theo turned into an extended blur as she attempted to capitalize on her advantage. She knew Jack could regenerate from such wounds without too much difficulty, and, if her Masters words were to be believed, which they always were, it might not even be possible for him to die. Thus, without questioning why the ground around her had started to turn into magma, Theo continued to rain down meteoric blows on an uncharacteristically serious and focused Jack... Though Theo seemedpletely oblivious to the fact, Jack, and everyone else observing the fight, had mixed reactions to the changes urring in the arena. To their amazement, confusion, and a wide range of other emotions, Theos horns had actually started to branch. At the same time, three more horns had sprouted from her head, two above the original pair and one from her crown. They had the same ivory white color as usual, but, instead of a gentle curve, they became more angr, and, even from a distance, the crowd could tell they were inordinately sharp. It if had just been her horns, the crowd wouldnt have been too surprised, but, from the small of her back, just above her butt, a rather thick white tail had sprung from Theos body. Her hands and feet had also visibly transformed, and, though her clothes and mesh kept most of the changes hidden, a peculiar pattern that glowed like a yellowish me began to spread from her hands and feet, slowly snaking its way up her arms and legs... Perhaps the most notable change, at least from the perspective of Jack, was that the once-white sclera of Theos eyes had turnedpletely ck. As for her eyes, they had lost their pristine blue color, shifting into a glistening amber that, like the smile on her face, exhibited an incredible thirst for battle. She seemed to bepletely enthralled by the battle, but, rather than appear drunk on power, Jack was surprised to find rity within Theos draconic visage... Hoping to confirm his suspicions, Jack stepped backward slightly faster than Theo had delivered her blow. At the same time, he did something he would undoubtedly receive severalints aboutter, grabbing Theos horns and pulling her off bnce. To some, this was akin to hitting below the belt or targetting the butt or bosom of a woman, as, even more so than other parts of their bodies, the horns of a Hesian could be very sensitive. Even Theo hadnt expected Jack to sudden yank her by the horns, so, without any suspense, she ended up mming face-first into the ground with enough force to create a small crater. Despite this, she was more distracted by the painful throbbing emanating from her horns, and, though she was actually fond of small amounts of pain, Theo couldnt help but tear up slightly as she held her head and sobbingly muttered, "You asshole...I hate you..." Jack obviously felt guilty for what he had done, but, as he needed to confirm Theos state of mind, it was one of the best methods avable. She didnt seem like she was going to stop attacking him any time soon, so, in an effort to buy some time, he had to resort to the rather shameless method just to calm her down. This earned him a shower of booing from the crowd, but, without worrying about them, Jack adopted an apologetic smile as he said, "Sorry, kid. I needed to confirm you were still with us. Have you noticed the state of your body?" Hearing Jacks words, Theo inspected her own body, but, unlike the crowd, she didnt show any particr surprise. Instead, she adopted a glowering look as she said, "You pulled on my horns for such a stupid reason? You really are a dumb gori...dont expect me to forgive you..." Though she was actually very surprised by the changes to her body, Theo didnt think it merited having her horns pulled on. She suspected there was a different reason behind Jacks actions, but, regardless of what he might say, she wouldnt be content until she had gotten even. Thus, before he could say anything further, she formed her hands into ws as a pair of stylish ck gauntlets formed around them... Feeling a shudder run through his body like a bolt of electricity, Jacks figure became illusory as a gauntleted fist pierced through the area where his groin had been moments prior. He could feel a cold sweat begin to develop across his body, as, after failing her attack, Theo red at him with the characteristic look of a woman scorned. Though her slightly puffed cheeks made her appear rather adorable, the determined vindication visible in her eyes promised extreme pain the moment she managed to get her hands on him. To further exacerbate matters, she had the absolute support of the crowd, who, despite their curiosity regarding Theos changes, felt Jack deserved a beating... --- While his daughter was chasing Jack around the arena like a cat trying to crush a grasshopper, the Emperor, Michael, had a serious expression on his face as he briefly turned to Vrixho and asked, "Do you know what happened to my daughter?" With a serious expression of his own, Vrixho, appearing like a kindly elder, lightly shook his head before saying, "I cannot be certain, but it would seem that Theo has awakened the bloodline of the Ancient Hesian people. Were that the case, however, I should have been able to sense it. Instead, it seems like there is a foreign power stimting the blood in her body. It is even suppressing the connection between myself and Theo, though, from what I can ascertain, this doesnt seem to be intentional. It is more like Theo, herself, is subconsciously suppressing the power I have bestowed her..." Though their words werent spoken very loudly, Vrixhos exnation was heard by everyone in the private booth reserved for the Imperial Family. This included the First Prince and Princess, thetter of which, without minding the fact she was talking over her father, asked, "Are you saying that Theo is resisting the contract with her own power? Does that not imply that power is nearing your own, Great Ancestor...?" Nodding his head, Vrixho adopted an uncharacteristically solemn expression as he exined, "At her current rate of growth, I imagine Theo will surpass me within the next three years. She still has a long way to go, but, at her current level, she would be able to overwhelm most Great Spirits without assistance. Its like there is an infinite mass of energy contained within her body, and, over time, her capacity to wield it seems to be growing alongside her own reserves..." Hearing Vrixhos statement, all three of the Imperials were surprised, as, based on his testimony, it implied that Theo didnt simply have the potential to surpass an Ancient Dragon, it was virtually a guarantee. If the energy within her body was truly infinite, that meant the only limit to her growth was the passage of time. This had numerous implications, but, most importantly, it guaranteed that the Empire would be entering a new era, one built upon the foundation of Theos power... Turning her attention back to the battlefield, an appreciative smile spread across the First Princess face. She was considered one of the most powerful people in the entire Empire, but,pared to Jack and her much younger sister, there was a vast gulf. Despite this, she didnt consider it a bad thing, as, unlike the Second Prince, she had always been in the faction that heavily doted upon her beloved younger sister. Theo was the treasure of the Imperial Family, and, as if fate was rewarding their adtion, she ended up being the greatest of them all... As this thought crossed her mind, the First Princess, Malin Bashireia Herasu De Vesuperisujimia, was surprised to hear her father groan, "It seems the fate of the Empire is already in the grip of the Sage Dragon Emperor..." Though Malina was aware of Theos appointment as Imperial Ambassador, she had been busymanding the Southern Fleet along the Argyrian border. The impending war had upied all of her focus so, despite hearing various rumors regarding the Sage Dragon Emperor, she was taken aback by her fathers utterance, worriedly asking, "Father...?" As his eldest two children were part of his circle of trust and two of his mostpetent militarymanders, Michael decided to be forthright with them, pointing out, "Have you noticed the choker around Theos neck? I had Henryk attempt to analyze it but the only thing he was able to determine it had a concealment function. Despite that, Theo doesnt even try to conceal it...I trust you understand my meaning?" Remembering the purpose of this event was toplete Theos Rite of Challenge, both Malina and Casimir, the First Prince, frowned. They both cared deeply for their younger sister, so, understanding their fathers implication, neither was all that enthused about it. Her age was one reason, but, more than that, it was the fact that she was disying a choker. This implied that she was in a submissive rtionship, and, while that wasnt necessarily a bad thing, it became a major issue when the other party was a contentious element or a foreign power. Though he empathized with the thoughts of his children, Michael surprised them by shaking his head and saying, "You are not to intervene in this matter. Not only has Theo made her choice, but the power she received is undoubtedly due to the Sage Dragon Emperor. Even Vrixho isnt certain of victory, so, for the time being, it is best to allow Theo to be willful. She has already demonstrated an uncharacteristic amount of maturity for her age, and, though it remains to be seen just how far his influence reaches, it is likely that the Sage Dragon Emperor has already extended his influence into the affairs of both Ariadne and Ostia. He has also transported the Elves somewhere beyond our ability to detect, so, for the time being, there are no benefits in prying into his private affairs." Despite feeling as though he had aged several years during a single exnation, Michael, like many long-lived Hesians, had a habit of trusting his gut. It had gotten him through numerous battles in the past, and, though he had never fought on the frontlines, he had famouslymanded both the Northern and Southern Fleets through several sessful campaigns. Thus, even if it made his blood boil quite a bit, Michael decided it was best to simply support his daughter. Her actions might result in aplete shift in the social and political dynamic of the Empire, but, at the very least, she would have more than enough power to reign supreme... Almost as soon as that thought crossed his mind, Michael witnessed his daughter dropkick Jack in the face, and, though it didnt do much damage, it sent him tumbling backward with two trails of blood flowing from his nose... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Theo is a tough cookie,Booooooo...!,Michael is surprisingly wise for an idiot who lets his son do whatever he wants...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1622 Impact 3/3

Chapter 1622 Impact 3/3

After a cat and mouse gamesting several minutes, with Jack almost wholly on the defensive, it was beginning to seem like Theo would actuallye out on top. Her strength had already made a deep impression on every member of the audience, and, though none of her moves were shy or over the top, the entire arena had been turned into a field of fiery brimstone by the mere act of her jumping around. This made it a lot harder to see what was actually going on, but, whenever she and Jack would trade blows with each other, visible shockwaves would m into the arenas barrier and cause the surrounding temperature to increase slightly. As the person on the receiving end of Theos onught, Jack knew better than anyone else just how powerful she had be. He had even sustained a number of internal injuries from the blows that had managed to slip through his guard, and, if he lost focus for even a moment, it felt like his body would be fragmented and burned by what he had dubbed Earth-Fire Ki. Though infusing elemental energy into Ki wasnt particrly rare, it typically required abination of hand seals, talismans, and special techniques to manifest it externally. During this process, the Ki would be converted into the elemental energy, and, though it was still considered a Ki-based attack, it would be more urate to call it Ki-fueled. Keeping Ki infused in the attack would generally cause it to dissipate, so, unless you were already at the level of a Master, externalizing an attack that used both Ki and elemental energy was exceptionally difficult. Theo had obviously reached a level that qualified her as a Master, but, while her attacks andbat style were highly refined, Jack was able to sense that she wasnt proactively fusing elemental energy into her Ki. Instead, her Ki seemed to inherently possess both Fire and Earth Elemental Energy. This was surprising on its own, but, even more so was the fact that the energies didnt conflict with or try to devour each other. The two worked in perfect concert with each other, and, as a result, Theo was able to both petrify and burn targets using otherwise normal attacks. While her attacks were troublesome in their own right, the most troubling aspect of Theos Ki was the influence it had on her surroundings. The ground where she walked would dry up in an instant, and, if she stood in one area for an extended period of time, it would even begin to crack apart and produce strange yellow mes. These mes not only caused the temperature to skyrocket but, as their name, Earth-Fire, implied, they had the ability to dry out and ultimately petrify even the water molecules within the air. This caused a phenomenon simr to ashing, and, though his own aura was able to stave off the effects, even Jacks skin had be rough and coarse due to prolonged exposure. Needless to say, Theo had be terrifyingly strong in an inordinately short period of time. This wasnt necessarily a bad thing, as she was clearly in control of her actions, but, depending on how it was used, such extreme levels of power could easily be a corrupting force. This was especially true when the weilder was still young, so, while he felt proud of Theos growth, he couldnt help but curse Vahn for bestowing so much power on an innocent and outgoing young girl... Blocking another one of Theos strikes, resulting in his palm nearly turning to stone, Jack released a paradoxically appreciative yet tired sigh. His serious look rapidly rxed into a maic smile, and, though his eyes continued to ze like tiny suns within the shadow of his seemingly indestructible bandana, their light appeared more caring than fierce. This caused Theo to lose the momentum she had been building, but, instead of dropping her guard, she used Shundo to open up a gap before asking, "Whats gotten into you?" Before answering Theos question, Jack stared at the cracked skin of his palm before gently shaking his head and saying, "Its nothing. Just know that Im proud of how strong youve be. It would have been better if you obtained this power when you were older but I guess we dont always get a choice in the direction of our growth..." Hearing Jacks rather mncholic remark, Theo scrunched up her face slightly as she said, "Youre acting weird, Jack. This was the path I chose by myself, for myself. Im not sure what youre thinking, but I cant help feeling as though you have misunderstood something. Though I absolutely received a number of blessings during my training, Im here today because of my own efforts. I trained hard every single day to exceed my limits, and, no matter how far Igged behind everyone else, I never gave up pushing myself in order to reach my goal. It made me happy to hear you say youre proud of me, Jack, but, as this is a power I obtained through tireless effort, its painful to hear you speak as if I didnt earn it..." Seeing the dispirited look on Theos face, Jacks smile became a little awkward as he found himself at a loss for words. Her mention ofgging behind others rung a lot of rm bells in the back of his mind, but, knowing he had wronged her, there were more important things to worry about. Thus, in an effort to make it up to her, he adopted an actual stance for the first time, a battle-hungry grin on his face as he said, "Sorry about that, kid. Im just being a little sentimental. Youve really grown a lot since thest time I saw you...now, show me the limits of your power!" Immediately following his outburst, a massive crimson aura erupted from Jacks body like a raging inferno. All the blood that had caked his body seemed to evaporate in an instant, and, though his natural regeneration had always been high, even his thumb began to heal at a noticeable rate. At the same time, his spiky hair became even more pronounced as the long bangs that usually framed his face began to re upward against the pull of gravity. Theo knew Jack had been holding back since the beginning of the battle, but, feeling his aura up close, most of her fighting spirit dried up in an instant. His figure seemed to rapidly increase in size, and, before she realized it, he seemed to be towering over her like a mountain. This nearly triggered her fight-or-flight response, but, after facing even greater auras during her training, she was able to remain rtively calm as she roared, "Sound the Call for Battle! War Goddess Herald, grant me the Greatest Output! Vis Maxima~!" Though it didnt stand out quite as much as Jacks, Theos aura made it appear as though her entire body was wreathed in peculiar yellow mes. Fortunately, elevating her presence even above that of the Legendary Hero, the smoldering fires throughout the arena seemed to awaken in response to her call. Several pirs of Earth-Fire spontaneously erupted into existence, and, though it wasnt obvious to the average onlooker, the more perceptive members of the audience noticed an earthenyer slowly creeping across the surface of the magical barrier... Being the most perceptive in the entire Coliseum, Jack quickly realized the problem of a prolonged engagement, so, before the barrier could bepromised his aura surged even more as his figure vanished from view. At the same time, seemingly echoing through the void itself, his voice could be heard uttering, "Rakan Impact!" as he reappeared behind Theo. Abination of magic and ki had been forcibly amalgamated into a rudimentary sphere in his right hand, and, though it wasnt a true fusion of the two energies, the destructive potential contained within was monstrous. Surprised by Rakans imperceptibly fast Shundo, Theo barely even had the time to widen her eyes as a feeling of weightlessness preceded an excruciating amount of pain. It felt like all the nerves in her body were screaming out in protest, and, following the massive explosion generated by Rakans trademark ability, Theo found herself buried beneath several tons of rubble that had been formed from the 300m long trench carved by her body. Rakan wasnt sure about the threshold of Theos defensive abilities, but, based on his prior analysis, she was at least durable enough to tank the main cannon of an Air Whale. This wasparable to the output of his Rakan Impact, so, while she was bound to suffer a few light injuries, it shouldnt be enough to take her out of the fight. Thus, before she could emerge from the trench, he leaped high into the air, demonstrating remarkable flexibility as he arched backward and roared, "Rakan for the Hell of it Right Hand Punch...!" Following the ratherical outburst, Rakan threw what appeared to be a normal punch toward the ground. In response, a pir of dirt more than 100m tall erupted from the ground as both the barrier and the Coliseum itself visibly shuddered. When the dust began to settle, the outline of a fist could be seen imprinted into the arena floor, extending nearly ten meters into the durable surface material. At the very center, Theo could be seen holding up her arms in a crossguard, and, much to the surprise of everyone present, she appeared to be virtually uninjured. Having felt the feedback of his attack, Jack knew Theo hadnte out unscathed. He wasnt sure why she appeared uninjured, but, having felt her bones strain under the force of his blow, he knew she wasnt indestructible. Instead, she seemed to possess an ability that provided both durability and near-instantaneous regeneration. Deciding to put his theory to the test, Jack bolted forward the moment Theo rolled to her feet and attempted to create some distance between them. She actually managed to react to his speed this time, releasing an explosive burst of Ki from her palm, but, like an emboldened youth spitting into the winds of a hurricane, her attack shattered instantly as a bit of the explosion rebounded and hit her. At the same time, Jack grabbed her outstretched wrist, his eyes seeming to turn into brilliant stars as he shouted, "Rakan Mega Wild Throw...!" Like a dreidle released from its string, Jack spun around at several rotations per second, creating a literal vortex among the dirt and debris in the surrounding. Then, at the exact moment Theos body ckened from the centrifugal force, the momentum of his spin was converted into pure downward force as he mmed her body into the arena hard enough to send a visible ripple through the floor. As a result, the entire arena seemed to descend a few centimeters as Theo, disying the cks of her eyes,y embedded surprisingly shallow in its surface... Though it seemed like he had won, Jack didnt lower his guard for even a moment. This ended up being the correct choice, as, in the blink of an eye, Theo regained consciousness, her dislocated shoulder instantly setting itself as she attempted to grab his wrist. Realizing the only way to end the fight was to either capture orpletely overwhelm her, Jack evaded Theos attack by leaping upward once again. Then, ounting for the fact she would try to avoid, a serious glimmer shed across his eyes as he shouted, "Rakan Ten Thousand Simultaneous Strikes...!" While far from ten-thousand blows, Rakan released a series of punches so swift that his upper body seemed to twist and distort due to the warping of Space and Time. At the same time, simr to his previous Rakan for the Hell of it Right Hand Punch, pirs of dirt and debris seemed to erupt from the arena floor. Instead of one, however, the entire arena seemed to ascend as literally hundreds of pirs were created in the exact same moment. There wasnt a single gap within the attack, and, in the aftermath, roughshod buildings located kilometers from the Coliseum began to copse from the tremors generated. As he was beginning to be familiar with the threshold of Theos durability, Jack knew his rather showy attack wouldnt be able to defeat her. He just wanted to pin her down in preparation for his next attack, as, unlike his Ki-based abilities, his Magic took a considerable amount of prep time. Though few people associated him with anything even remotely resembling a Mage, Jack had been recognized as one of the Top Ten Mages in the entire world by the Imperial Court Mage. This wasnt due to proficiency with magic, however, but the result of his truly monstrous reserves and his ability to seemingly analyze the structure of virtually any spell. This had allowed him to defeat several opponents using their own magic against them, and, though he might not be as proficient as the original, he could make up for it through sheer volume of magical power. ounting for the Earth-Fire that would emit from Theos body the moment her aura recovered, Jack began performing a series of poses in mid-air as he chanted, "Yo, wake up youzy Undine. I need your help in dealing with a troublesome opponent. If you donte out, Im going to give you a spanking the next time we meet! Rakan Style Water Binding...!" As the intent and structure of a spell were often more important than the chant itself, Jack liked to add a bit of ir to the spells he had copied. He always enjoyed seeing the vexed and vengeance-filled expressions of the arrogant Mages whose spells he had bastardized as, not only did it reduce their focus, it was a rather vicious blow against their ego. Too many Mages enjoyed unting their abilities over normal people, so, whenever he got the opportunity, Jack liked to take them down a few pegs... Following Jacks chant, a phenomenal amount of water seemed to appear out of thin air, swirling in the center of the arena. It eventually formed a bubble more than twenty meters across, but, despite being nigh-ipressible in its normal state, Jack was able to forcibly shrink the size of the sphere by cupping his hands together in a crushing motion. When everything was said and done, the size of the sphere had reduced to around twelve meters, forcing the trapped Theo into a fetal position as runes began to emerge across the surface of the water. Though it was still in a liquid state, the runes surrounding the sphere caused it to behave simrly to a solid. They had the effect of literally stagnating time within the sphere, so, from the perspective of onlookers, it appeared as if the interior was moving in slow motion. This had effectively brought an end to the battle, as, even if Theo had the strength to break out, it could be argued that Jack had ample time to simply kill her if he really wanted. This was one of the advantages of using sealing magic in the Coliseum, as, the moment you effectively trapped your opponent, it was considered a victory by default. With that being the case, Jack quickly dispelled the sphere to reduce the risk of Theo suffering any ill effects. Magical energy and Ki could mitigate even the pressure differential in outer space for a time, but, depending on the circumstances, people could still be affected by chemical imbnces and the internal conversion of both gases and liquids. There had been numerous cases where the target of a sealing spell ended up dying from dpression sickness hours after the battle hade to an end. This was another reason why sealing magic was recognized as a victory condition, as, on asion, it was effectively a death sentence... --- Understanding the rules of the Coliseum better than most, Theo couldnt help but release a slightly disappointed sigh once the sphere of water dispersed. She never expected to win against Jack, but, from the moment he stopped holding back, she couldnt even defend herself. He was considerably faster than she expected, and, though she had seen his attacks from the perspective of an onlooker, experiencing them directlypletely shattered her expectations. It was almost like being hit with a literal mountain, and, even if she wanted to dodge, the pressure released by the attack made it feel like she was training in the special chambers created by Vahn. There, the density of Space could be adjusted to suit the needs of the user, and, though it didnt exactly affect gravity, it made even the most basic movements feel as though you were moving through a pool of mercury... Remembering how easily both Vahn and Asuna could move within the super-dense Space, Theo quickly recovered from her brief mncholy. One of the first things her Master had taught her was that there were no actual limits to a persons growth. There were various things that could prevent them from reaching the pinnacle of their potential, but, so long as she never recognized setbacks as an excuse to justify cking off, she would continue to grow exponentially stronger. Her four years of hard training had proven this, and, though she had a lot of help in oveing her bottlenecks, it was still her own willpower and resolve that allowed her to reach her current level. With this in mind, Theo surprised Jack quite a bit by spontaneously pointing her finger towards him and boldly dering, "You won this round, Jack! Next time, you might not be so lucky! The moment you start cking off, Ill leave you in my dust! Consider that a promise from the future Empress of the Hes Empire~!" Having noticed Theos depressive state, Jack had been intending to try and console her. As a result, he was slightly taken aback by how quickly she bounced back her to usual self. Even her horns had started to gradually retract, and, as if she hadnt been fighting like a demon mere minutes ago, she had a smile that perfectly encapsted the tomboyish princess beloved by the Empire. This caused the crowd to explode into a truly thunderous apuse while Jack, the target of Theos bold words, just smiled as he said, "Guess Ill need to work harder..." before adding, "It seems the future of the Empire is in good hands..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: When burning just isnt enough,Serious series...,Defeat is just another step on the path towards true strength) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1623 Overwatch

Chapter 1623 Overwatch

Seeing Theo waving excitedly in response to the thunderously apuding crowd, a smile spread across Vahns face as he extended his hand towards Asuna and said, "Lets go. It seems like Theo is doing just fine on her own. Welle back once things settle down." Hearing Vahns words, the fiery light in Asunas eyes quickly diminished as she adopted a radiant smile, grasping the formers hand as she answered, "It was an amazing fight. That man, Jack Rakan, is just too strong. I can see why you acknowledged him." Nodding his head, Vahn exined, "Though not as incredible as you, his talent andprehension are phenomenal. If he continues to battle against strong opponents, he will continue to grow much stronger. There is a reason he was a mainstay in Nagis party in the original timeline..." Noticing a subtle shift in the flow of fate, Vahn allowed his words to trail off, restraining a wry smile as he turned to Qinglong and said, "Continue to watch over her for me. It seems to be a temporary transformation but I want you to keep an eye out for any seque. If she shows signs of duress, let me know immediately." Having received his Masters orders, Qinglong didnt hesitate to bow low as he firmly stated, "This lowly Qing will see to it without fail. Even if it requires that Iy down my life, I would not hesitate to protect Lady Theodora. Please, be at ease, Supreme One." Though he was used to Qinglongs highly reverential speaking habit, Vahn couldnt help but issue a dryugh before pulling Asuna along and saying, "I have absolute confidence in your capabilities. It isnt without reason that I designated you as the leader of the Four, Qinglong. Farewell." With nothing else to say, Vahn gave a curt nod to the fiery-eyed Qinglong before stepping into a surprisingly stable spatial rift. At the same time, Asuna waved spiritedly towards the reverent True Dragon, eximing, "See youter, Grandpa Qing~!" just as the rift snapped shut. Follow the disappearance of his Master and Young Mistress, Qinglong cracked a rare smile as he lifted his head and turned his attention back to the arena. The trust his Master had ced in him was his greatest treasure, and, as all dragons were ought to, he would do everything in his power to protect both his pride and his treasures... --- Emerging from the spatial rift, Vahn found himself onboard the Custos Rosea. The automated lights came to life in response to his presence, but, even with their illumination, the interior of the Airfish felt somewhat cold and lifeless. Breathing a bit of life into the chilled atmosphere, Asuna released his hand before trotting off, her twin-tails bobbing behind her as she said, "Im going to make tea! You should go and grab Euryale so we can go exploring afterward~!" Seeing how bubbly Asuna was being, Vahn chuckled lightly in response before taking a seat in themon area. At the same time, within the Sub-Space Orb where he had been sunbathing with Eva, Medusa, Euryale, and Stheno, he lightly tapped the side of the former, saying, "I just got back with Asuna. It seems like everything is going just fine in the Empire. Theo is still growing stronger and it seems like the Emperor has already realized the reality of the situation and decided to support her." Hearing Vahns statement, Eva stretched her body like a lithe cat beforeying against his chest and saying, "I told you that girl could take care of herself. Now, tell me, did you propose to her as well?" Shaking his head, Vahn exined, "It didnt seem like a good time. I realize I jumped the gun a bit when it came to Arika. Theo might be a little upset that I dyed things, but, knowing her, she will bounce back quickly with a sincere apology and a bit of pampering..." Finding Vahns words amusing, Eva lightly chuckled before rising to a seated position and saying, "It would make things a lot easier if you had that same level of confidence when it came to allowing us to pursue our own goals. Ill be leaving in a few days and I dont want to catch you sneaking around in the shadows. There are some things I dont want you prying into even after we depart from this world...in exchange, Ill try not to get too upset when you inevitably add more women to your ever-growing harem..." Though part of him was tempted to say that his harem would grow no further, Vahn knew himself better than that. The most he could do was limit its growth, and, after experiencing the efficacy of proper restraint in the Akamatsuverse, he was confident things wouldnt get too out of hand in the future. There wasnt much he could do regarding Arika, Theo, and even Asuna, but, at the very least, he could avoid adding any other women to his harem before departing the Record. At this point, Vahn hade to expect that women with powerful fates and higher tier Souls were bound to be inordinately beautiful. This made it hard not to take notice of them, and, if they just so happened to have a tragic past, his mind was primed to try and help them. This wasnt necessarily a bad thing, but, as he had learned time and again, the way he handled them and the restrictions he imposed upon himself were both very important. Vahn knew the only thing he really needed to do in order to deter most potential love interests was to modify his physical appearance or increase his apparent age. Though there was a niche group of women who preferred older men, appearing middle-aged, or even older, would allow him to easily interact with younger individuals without fear of them imprinting upon him. This would also make it easier for them to separate in the future, as, rather than worrying about them chasing after him, he could give them a small push towards a more suitable partner for themselves. With just a few small adjustments to his appearance, Vahn was confident he could pull off the role of a kindly grandfather or a wise mentor. He had actually been fond of mentor characters such as Jiraiya from Naruto and Makarov from Fairy Tail. They were a little perverted at times, but, due to their age and position, most feelings directed towards them were those of respect, adtion, and trust. This put them in a rather enviable position where they were allowed to act with impunity, as, unlike how people reacted towards children, the elderly could easily inspire fear and respect in a world where most died young... Though Vahn didnt want to look like an old man, imagining himself as a middle-aged man with long greying hair, a full beard, and zing golden eyes actually made him a little excited. He felt it would be pretty badass to appear like a weak and whimsical old man in one moment just to turn around and release a soul-crushing amount of pressure in the next. It would also allow him to get away with messing around and even teasing people without causing misunderstandings, so, with the next Record potentially serving as the foundation for his own, Vahn was tempted to make the most of it before he inevitably reached the top... Seeing the somewhat silly smile on Vahns face, Eva rolled her eyes before jabbing him with the tip of her nail and saying, "Sometimes, I just want to crack open that head of yours to see what youre thinking about..." Ignoring the thin trail of blood left in the wake of Evas poke, Vahn just lightly chuckled, grabbing her hand to prevent sessive pokes as he said, "It shouldnt be that long before Im able to show you directly. For now, lets get out of here. Asuna is making tea and wants to go exploring. Do you want toe with?" As her wanderlust had faded hundreds of years ago, Eva wasnt particrly interested in exploring the uninhabited ind where Vahn had moored the Custos Rosea. She had already looked around for a bit after they first arrived, so, while she did rise from the lounge, she ended up trying her hair into a loose bun as she said, "I feel like going swimming. Im certain that little brat would be happy to have one of you to herself so how about we sneak off and explore an undersea cave?" Since they had been sunbathing previously, Eva was already wearing a white bikini that left very little to the imagination. She had matured quite a bit over thest four years, and, though she still had a ways to go before reaching the level of her adult form, her figure had already started to blossom in all the right ces. This was something Eva was very aware of, so, while she had never been particrly shy, she enjoyed wearing clothes that disyed her developing figure... Rarely one to refuse the invitation of a beautiful girl, especially when they were his fiancee, Vahn dutifully admired Evas figure before meeting her gaze and answering, "Id be a fool to refuse. Let me just ask Stheno and Euryale if they want to go exploring. Afterward, Ill keep youpany for as long as youd like." Punctuating his statement with a yful wink, Vahn earned a less-than-subtle roll of the eyes from Eva as she crossed her arms and said, "Hurry along. If you leave me waiting, Ill go without you. The Gods know Im more than capable of tending to my own needs..." Understanding what Eva was referring to, Vahn briefly paused to imagine the sight of Eva trying tofort herself. It was something he had witnessed numerous times in the past, but- Interrupting Vahns thoughts, Eva tossed a condensed ball of water toward his face, exploding on contact. A bit of red had started to creep into her ears, as, even if she was the one to start it, seeing the stupid look on Vahns face was embarrassing. She had always been the type that was weaker to words and thought than actual action, so, before Vahn could make an excuse, she shouted, "Dont just stand there like an idiot! Hurry it up or I really will leave without you...!" With his face and hair still dripping with ice-cold water, Vahn lightly chuckled in response to Evas embarrassing state before using Shundo to evade a secondary ball of water. He knew she wouldnt actually leave without him, as, even if her words were true, she much preferred having his assistance rather than tending to her needs alone... --- After enjoying some tea and pastries, Vahn emerged the Custos Rosea with Chachazero riding his head and Euryale held in his left arm. Stheno had refused toe along so it was just him, Asuna, Euryale, and, seemingly to keep an eye on him, the miniature Chachazero. Though it wasnt even remotely necessary, Asuna and Chachazero had both changed into tan safari outfits,plete with a traditional pith helmet and goggles. As for Euryale, she wasnt particrly interested in dressing up, so, as was often the case, she wore a simple maroon smock overtop pure white pumpkin pants. She couldnt wear normal panties due to her ratherrge tail, and, while the shop provided many solutions, she actually enjoyed wearing the rather adorable undergarment as restrictive clothing made her feel ufortable. Vahn actually felt pumpkin panties were the most ideal undergarments for girls under a certain age range so he had no problems with Euryales choice in garments. It was infinitely better than Stheno, who, much like her mother, disliked wearing panties entirely. She would rather gomando while wearing spats or leggings, and, while Vahn wasnt exactly okay with this, it was exponentially better than her attempts to wear a cocktail dress with a low neckline, a short skirt, and no panties... --- With Chachazero holding two tufts of his hair like the reins of a horse, Vahn, Asuna, and Euryale explored every centimeter of the ind inhabited only by nascent elementals and a few rtively weak monsters. These were easily dispatched by Asuna without any real difficulty, and, though he only allowed her to fight the absolute weakest of the bunch, even Euryale managed to defeat two monsters that looked like overgrown ostriches with bulbous eyes, bald heads, and green plumage. Asuna had taken it upon herself to help Euryale control her strength, so, while she was still very young, she didnt have too much trouble against weak opponents. It was actually rather cute, as, at the present moment, Euryale was only 123cm tall. Seeing her swing around a sword nearly as long as she was tall reminded him of a scene straight out of an anime, and, based on her appearance, it wasnt difficult to imagine her being the main character or a heroine. Rather, due to the nature of the Records, it was virtually guaranteed that countless versions of her existed for that very purpose. Though it was a rather incredulous thought, Vahn knew it was possible for him to encounter people who looked identical to others he had met inpletely different Records. He should even be able to find the Record where Fenrirs likeness originated, a thought that was simultaneously as exciting as it was terrifying. He wasnt entirely sure how he would react in such a situation, as, for a number of reasons, his Fenrir had be an intrinsic part of who he was. Encountering another version of her just seemed wrong, so, while he was actually very interested in the Record her appearance and character originate from, he would do his best to simply avoid it... --- Sensing that her Master was thinking about her, Fenrirs eyes snapped open, her irises disying an uncharacteristic icy-blue that quickly reverted back to her usual scarlet. She had been meditating in the heart of an icy cavern located within the Garden of Avalon. Here, Elemental Spirits representing Ice and Darkness intermingled amongst each other, and, though it was a rather mysterious sight to behold, there was even a tiny blue moon radiating Yin Elemental Energy hovering in the very center of the chamber. With her ears perked up, Fenrir seemed to be listening for something that no-one else could hear. She even craned her head rather adorably, elevating one of her fluffy ears over the other as if she was straining to hear something very distant... Failing to sense anything, Fenrirs ears ckened as she rose to her feet, causing various Elementals to go tumbling in the process. She didnt have the [True Friend of the Spirits] perk like her Master, but, as someone who shared the same aura, Fenrir was a ma for Elemental Spirits of Darkness, Ice, and Water. Since their presence greatly increased the efficacy of her training, Fenrir developed a habit of allowing them to crowd around her, but, unlike her Master, she didnt have the patience to remove each of them individually. Noticing their de facto leader departing, a giant wolf that was a perfect split between ck and white peeled open its sapphire blue eyes to ask, "Are you returning to Father?" Momentarily pausing, Fenrir turned to face the giant wolf, a smile spreading across her face as she exined, "I could sense Masters thoughts. He doesnt seem to need me right now, but I feel like I should go to him. Take care of this ce while Im gone, Libra." With her words finished, Fenrir rapidly departed the Diorama. As for the wolf named Libra, it just issued an extended yawn before crossing its paws andying back down. There werent actually any dangers within the Garden of Avalon, as, even with the presence of monsters, the sheer volume of Elemental Spirits prevented any from running wild. Thus, while it was prepared to stake its life to protect the miniature moon floating above, it wasnt particrly worried about anything happening while Fenrir was away... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn so sneaky,Old Man Mason,Lazy Wolf) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1624 Increasing Tensions

Chapter 1624 Increasing Tensions

After arriving at the northern-most end of their little private ind, Asuna and Euryale were happy to discover a small cove with a small beach and a rocky region filled with tidal pools. This stirred the curiosity of the young Asuna, and, though she wasnt that interested in the micro-ecosystems within the tide pools, Euryale still followed along with Chachazero in her arms. Knowing the duo would be getting hungry rtively soon, Vahn allowed the girls to enjoy exploring as he pulled out a few beach chairs, arge parasol, and a grill. Then, without even needing to jump into the water, he waved his hand and used Telekinesis to extract a variety of different fish from the nearby sea. It wasnt that he didnt enjoy fishing the normal way, but, as Asuna could eat several kgs of food in a single sitting, Vahn didnt want to keep the young glutton waiting too long. It was around the time he was preparing to skin and clean the fish that Vahn sensed the approach of a familiar presence. A natural smile spread across his face, and, though she had yet to appear, he still happily mused, "It seems Ill need to prepare a bigger lunch~." Appearing almost immediately after her Masters musings, Fenrirs ears seemed to droop slightly before immediately perking back up when she saw the formers smile. Then, despite there being no real need, she exined, "I sensed you were thinking about me and decided toe over. Should I go and catch something from the ocean...?" Before answering, Vahn made ae-hither gesture with his hand, affectionately stroking Fenrirs head the moment she got into range. He was always happy to see her, and, if he hadnt known she was in the middle of cultivation, he would have invited her toe along. Thus, rather than put her to task, he scratched the sweet spot near the base of her ears as he said, "Leave lunch to me. Take a break, watch over the girls, or go swimming. I already set out some beach chairs so you can also try sunbathing. Even if you cant tan, it can be pretty enjoyable to nap under the sun." Though she heard her Masters words, Fenrir didnt immediately reply. Her head was all fuzzy from the pleasant sensation spreading through her head, and, for a brief moment, it almost seemed like her foot was going to start tapping as she squinted her eyes contentedly. As tempting as it was to keep petting his adorablepanion, Vahn brought Fenrir back to reality by framing her face with his hands and giving her a small peck on the lips. She immediately blinked back to awareness, and, seemingly having considered each of the options, answered, "Im gonna go swimming. Ill make sure there arent any hidden hazards in the water so that Asuna and Euryale can go swimmingter on." With her mind made up, Fenrir pounced on her Master, tightly squeezing his body and nuzzling against his chest for a few seconds before releasing him and using magic to change into a dark-blue bikini. She had never particrlycked confidence in her figure, but, after several stages of maturation, Fenrir hade to embrace her wild femininity. She would never show off in front of other people, but, when it was just her Master around, she enjoyed being seen. Understanding his responsibility, Vahn shamelessly admired Fenrirs figure, his eyes lingering on her bushy tail and the almost imperceptibly lighter areas around the edges of the swimsuit. She might not be able to tan, but, whenever she was stripped naked, certain areas of Fenrir were slightly paler than the rest of her body. Vahn always found this slight contrast extremely tantalizing, and, though nakedness was certainly beautiful, the allure created by barely concealing such areas was even more potent than a Sirens call. Satisfied by her Masters response, Fenrir yfully waggled her tail a bit before taking a few steps and leaping high into the air, producing a wless arc that allowed her to dive in the exact center of the cove. It was a lot deeper than a traditional, seemingly formed from a massive impact, so, even though she leaped high into the air and produced a membrane of ki to reduce friction and protect her swimsuit, there was no risk of identally hitting the bottom. Vahn had little resistance to Fenrirs temptations at the best of times, so, with one version of himself engaged in some rather deviant acts with Eva, he actually needed to run his fingers through his hair a few times, benefitting from the use of his own Petting Laws. It was challenging not to get riled up when a version of himself was already doing something best left for the evening hours. Fortunately, Asuna and Euryale were distracted by Chachazero wearing a creature that resembled a hermit crab on her head, so, at the very least, he didnt have to worry about the former giving him one of her characteristic knowing looks... --- Having stumbled across the Great Spirit of Wood while she was bathing in a spring, Nagi and the rest of Rubra had been forced to beat a speedy retreat when Tamaki Damu, backed by more than a hundred Priestesses, transformed into a horde of Wood Dragons in an attempt to capture them. Fortunately, despite appearing like a piece of junk on the outside, the Airfish employed by Rubra had been modified and enchanted to the extreme. It could easily outpace a normal Airfish, and, though it wasnt fast enough to outrun a horde of angry Dragons, Nagi and Zect had been able to deter a prolonged pursuit by paralyzing nearly thirty percent of the horde using lightning magic. This wasnt really the preferred method of dealing with a problem they had created, but, as it didnt seem like Tamaki was willing to forgive them, they were left with little choice in the matter. Now, after arriving on the outskirts of Al Jam, Nagi had a depressive atmosphere about him as he had just learned about Vahns departure nearly two days prior. This made it impossible to track him using his Masters artifact, and, to make matters even worse, there were no information brokers in Al Jam to lend any insight into Vahns potential destination. All they knew was that he had gone East, and, after traveling several hundred kilometers, his vessel had simply vanished from the view of those attempting to keep tabs on him. Causing even greater confusion, they had received information that the Princess of Vespertatia had reappeared in Ostia. This all but verified the rumors that Vahn had the ability to freely teleport vast distances, as, if the information was urate, the Custos Rosea had been more than six-thousand kilometers from Ostia at the time of its disappearance. There was a chance they had doubled back after evading their pursuers, but, as that seemed like apletely unnecessary waste of time, it was far more likely that Vahn had teleported the Princess back to her homnd while the Custos Rosea continued heading eastward. Needless to say, Nagi was extremely frustrated by the fact he had missed his opportunity to battle against the increasingly infamous Sage Dragon Emperor. As a result, he was wearing nothing but swimming trunks as heynguidly atop his staff as if it were t ground. Beneath him, the bodies of severalrge sea monsters would periodically flicker with electrical currents, as, in an attempt to cool his head, he had gone a little wild... While the red-haired youth was seemingly lost in thought, a silhouette nearly three times the size of a blue whales appeared beneath the surface of the water. Its size and outline rapidly became more pronounced as a spiral horn pierced the waters surface, followed by a monstrous entity that looked like a narwhal covered in ayer of bony spines and protrusions. It attempted to devour Nagi in an instant, but, at the exact moment its massive maw emerged from the water, the former appeared to flicker out of existence. Carried by its phenomenal momentum, the narwhal-like creature emerged nearly thirty meters from the water before crashing back down with tremendous force. Its overall length easily exceeded one-hundred meters, so, while it hadnt fully emerged from the waters surface, it generated a miniature tidal wave of seawater and froth as its colossal figure crashed back into the sea. Then, in an attempt to either flee or line up a second sneak attack, the massive creature angled its body downward and began to dive, its four-pronged tail breaking the seas surface for a brief moment. Denying the creature any further opportunities, Nagi appeared at the exact moment it was about to begin its descent. He grabbed its tail with a single hand, and, against all conceivablews of physics, pulled the colossal beast out of the water, grinning confidently as he shouted, "Hey now, whats the rush? I went through all that effort to give you a chance to ambush me. The least you can do is stick around for a few minutes...!" Unable to understand human speech, the narwhal-like creature just floundered helplessly in the air as its body crashed towards the seas surface. Before it could hit, however, Nagi appeared beneath it, striking upward in an action pose as a massive shockwave emanated from his palm. This not only bounded the 500,000kg creature back into the air, but it also caused arge indentation in its side that subsequently copsed into a geyser of blood and gore. Clicking his tongue, Nagi used a chantless short-range teleport spell to evade the shower of gore, reappearing several meters away as heined, "How can something so massive be so fragile? Did you really have to die after a single hit!?" Though it wasnt actually dead yet, the narwhal-like creature had a hole in its siderge enough for a small Airfish to pass through. Its blood caused the already tumultuous surface of the sea to turn a deep shade of crimson, and, for the umpteenth time that day, surrounding shoals of fish were given the opportunity to engorge themselves upon prey that usually made a light snack out of them... Seeing the scene of carnage, Nagi, who was standing on the air as if it were t ground, shook his head in exasperation before turning to the figure that had appeared like a phantom nearby, asking, "Werent magical creatures supposed to be scary powerful? Everything Ive faced so far is just super weak. When am I going to get to fight something strong, Master?" Despite appearing like a ten-year-old youth, Zect stroked his chin in a sagely manner before saying, "It isnt that they are weak, you are just too strong. Dont worry. Soon enough, youll have plenty of powerful opponents to test your skills against. You just need to increase your reputation and show some results in theing war. As your fame and notoriety increase, the number of people trying to prove themselves by defeating you will gradually increase. For now, you should remain patient and continue to hone your skills further. You are already very powerful, but, due to your age, there are quite a number of individuals who could wipe the floor with you." Rather than take offense to his Masters words, Nagi disyed an excited smile at the prospect of facing powerful opponents. He knew there were actually a number of Demons more powerful than himself, as, like his Master, they had thousands of years to improve their strength. There were also beings like the Great Spirits, Ancient Dragons, and even Manifested Gods, so, while the majority of magical creatures didnt pose a threat to him, there were a number of true monsters just waiting for him to defeat them... Feeling more motivated, the staff floating behind Nagi began to spin rapidly, lightning shing across its wooden exterior as his aura spread caused a massive depression in the seas surface. At the same time, Zect released an exasperated sigh before raising his hand and saying, "Come with the intent to kill." Immediately after he heard his Masters words, Nagi surged forward so quickly that it appeared as if he had teleported. Then, causing the sea to turn concave for more than a hundred meters, his fist impacted his Masters palm with enough force to create a visible vacuum, repelling the surrounding atmosphere and causing lightning to dance across the periphery... --- Though they could feel the effects of the battle all the way from the maind, the Al Jamns were instructed by Eulimene Ea not to send anyone to investigate. She had already been approached by Albireo Imma after the arrival of Rubra, and, though she would normally never acquiesce to the demands of a stranger, the man gave her the impression of an unfathomably deep abyss. Thus, on the grounds they would not harm the people of Al Jam, she agreed to ignore their actions out at sea. Fortunately, Albireo didnt seem to mind when she lied and told him that Vahn was never even in Al Jam. Instead, he just smiled before pulling out a book that gave her a dangerous feeling, asking a number of seemingly random questions before snapping it shut and departing like a phantom. This had given Eulimene Ea a strong urge to smash his face in, but, trusting her instincts, she decided to let him depart without obstruction. The sooner his group left, the sooner peace would return to Al Jam, and, though it probably wasnt necessary, their departure would allow her to try and contact Vahn in the hopes of passing on a warning... (A/N: Alternate Titles: (O w O)~!,RIP Narwhal-san...,A group of true monsters...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1625 Developmen

Chapter 1625 Developmen

Though she hadnt been able to emerge victoriously, Theos demonstration was more than enough to qualify her as an adult. Her performance easily put her among the strongest, not just within the Empire, but the entire magical world. This,bined with the fact she had already been performing her duties as an Imperial Ambassador, made it very difficult to argue against her qualifications, and, though there were a few who tried, the Emperor quickly shut them down. Michael wasnt particrly enthused about the fact his daughter had seemingly be submissive to a foreign entity, but, after seeing how powerful she had be, it was toote toin. The simple truth of the matter was that he actually expected something to happen prior to sending his daughter to mediate the issues in Ariadne. It was the fact she had already received the favor of the Sage Dragon Emperor that led to her being designated as an Imperial Ambassador, and, though he never intended for this particr development, Michael had tried to take advantage of the situation to further the interests of the Empire. Fortunately, though it was never easy, it wasnt as if Theo was his first daughter to walk down such a path. Rather, during the transition from adolescence into adulthood, all Hesians would undergo a phase where their instincts heavily influenced their decision-making process and the adult they would develop into. All of his children had gone through the same process, and, generally speaking, it was following this phase in their life when most people were considered true adults. By the time most Hesians reached maturation, they would have fallen into one of three categories depending on their social status and a variety of other factors. In the case of Aristocrats, they would generally develop slightly sadistic tendencies as a result of their background and the general power disparity between Nobles andmoners. This was especially true if they attended a ce like the Imperial Academy, as, with very few exceptions, they would drastically eclipse their peers in virtually all aspects rted tobat. With the exception of Theo, all of Michaels children had developed along the expected route, and, at one point in time, the First Princess even had a collection of various different races. A number of these former ves had grown to be her most trusted officers and bodyguards, and, with the exception of a peculiar human boy, all of them were inordinately powerful. This had been the main purpose of her collection, as, rather than see them waste their potential away for the entertainment of others, Malina had secured them for her own personal interests. Though there were times when things got out of hand, it was generally considered a rite of passage for members of the Aristocracy to recruit their own bodyguards, confidants, and even servants. This not only gave them the opportunity to vent some of their frustrations and curiosities, allowing them to gradually mature while concurrently allowing them to develop an eye for people as they slowly filled their entourage with capable subordinates. In many situations, especially when they were younger, an individual Noblespetency could be evaluated based on thepany they kept. If they surrounded themselves with yes men or simple sex ves, they were generally looked down upon or outright disdained. The same could be said if their subordinates werent expressly loyal to them, as, if they were able to be converted by others, it negatively reflected the quality of their leadership and overall charisma. Under normal circumstances, the subordinates of an Aristocrat should be willing toy down their lives for their Master without a second thought. This was the main reason why it was somon for Aristocrats to develop slightly sadistic tendencies, as, without the ability to inspire reverence and instill discipline into ones subordinates, securing their status would be very difficult. For this reason, it was rare for outliers like Theo to appear, as, without considerable support, overwhelming power, and remarkable intellect, other Aristocrats would not hesitate to try and exploit them. With the majority of Aristocrats having moderately sadistic tendencies, they would not overlook the existence of someone with a submissive or potentially masochistic nature. This was especially true when the person in question was a member of the Imperial Family, so, while very few were brazen enough to openly discuss the matter, there were numerous discussions taking ce behind closed doors. There was a lot of spection regarding who had conquered the willful Third Princess, and, as could be expected, there were also detractors disparaging the fate of their Empire should it fall into the hands of someone with a submissive personality. Fortunately, regardless of what was said, Theos power,petency, and birthright all but assured she would hold the title of Empress. She had more than enough power to secure the position, and, with the support of various influential figures, even openly opposing her was difficult. Doing so was the same as inviting misfortune or death upon themselves, as, if the spection was to be believed, there was really only one person who could have tamed their Princess. This wasrgely hearsay, but, considering the consequences, very few were willing to ask for rification or put the theory to the test... --- Following an impromptu city-wide celebration that rocked the entire capital, Theo found herself, once again, within her fathers Throne Room. This time, the only people present were close family and confidants, so, unlike her previous visit, things were a lot less formal as she happily received her fathers half-hearted yet sincere congrattions. Though she understood what was likely weighing on her fathers mind, Theo wasnt going to be the first to broach the subject. Rather, even if someone tried to force her to disclose the truth, she had absolutely no obligation to answer. Her position as Crown Princess actually afforded her a variety of privileges she had never taken advantage of, and, now that she was recognized as an adult, the only person who could reasonably hold her ountable was the Emperor himself. Thus, unless he asked her about the truth in confidence, she would hold it near and dear to her heart until she eventually reached a point where she could proudly dere it to the entire world. Seeing the unperturbed smile on his daughters face, Michael couldnt help but repress a sigh as he forced a smile and said, "It seems you grew up the moment I took my eyes off of you. Your mother, Gods bless her, would have been proud to see the women youve grown into..." Not expecting her father to suddenly mention her mother, Theo felt a sour sensation in her nose, but, having decided to behave more maturely, she fought back the urge to tear up. Instead, she did her best to smile even more radiantly as she answered, "Thank you, father. Though I might make a few mistakes along the way, I will do my best to lead the Empire towards an even brighter future. I will make both of you proud; I swear it." Though it could be attributed to the naivete of youth, Michael, and everyone else present, could see the conviction in Theos eyes. Various thoughts raced across their minds, but, ere anyone else could react, it was Vrixho Nagasha who stated, "The road you travel is bound to be wrought with various hazards and hardships. Never forget the conviction you feel at this moment, Theo. Not only will it prevent you from being led astray, but, one day, it will be the torch you pass down to guide future generations. We all believe in you." Hearing Vrixhos statement, the atmosphere became somewhat solemn, but, more than anything, his words deeply resonated with everyone present. This included the eldest Princess, who, despite her fathers insistence, intended to get to the bottom of the events leading up to Theo possessing a choker. She didnt want her beloved younger sister and Empire being manipted by some strange dragon that seemingly came out of nowhere, but, if she really thought about it, it was almost as if Theo was returning to their roots. After all, the Empire wouldnt even exist if not for the forbidden union between Vrixho and the Hesian woman who gave birth to the first Emperor... Realizing the direction of her own thoughts, Malina couldnt help but frown slightly as she took a long and hard look at the choker around her sisters neck. This didnt go unnoticed by Theo, but, rather than shy away in the slightest, she raised her chin slightly as if to say, You can look all you like but dont even think about touching it. As everyone could see the brief interaction between the two sisters, the First Prince, Casimir, broke the awkward tensions by inly asking, "What are your intentions now that you have sessfullypleted your Rite of Challenge? If youve no other considerations, it would greatly improve the morale of our troops if you demonstrated your power on the frontlines. Though it was a fair question to ask, nearly everyone within the Throne Room looked toward the First Prince with a glowering expression. Even Vrixho wasnt an exception to this, stating, "This was not a war sought by Theodora. I will not prohibit her participation but it is senseless to ask her to fight when even senior members of the Aristocracy have yet to make their move. Do not treat my inheritor as a weapon for the convenience of fools who would lead the Empire to its destruction." Contrasting his usual calm andposed demeanor, Casimir rapidly waved his hands from side to side as he hastily rified, "Youve misunderstood my intentions! I would never think about turning Theo into a weapon. I just thought it would motivate the soldiers on the frontlines if she showed off her power in another exhibition match. Theo is beloved by the people, so, if they see how hard she is working to be stronger, I thought it might motivate them to work harder..." Seeing how almost everyone was still ring at him, Casimir turned to one of only two people who hadnt taken offense to his words, Theo herself. She still had a vibrant smile, and, noticing his gaze, offered an even more radiant version as she unhesitantly shot down his proposal, saying, "I n to continue serving as an Imperial Ambassador and Auditor. Im actually against this war, and, though there is little I can do to prevent it, I n to do everything in my power to bring it to an end. There is something fishy going on behind the scenes and I wont rest until I expose the corrupt fools who think they can treat the Empire like it is a tool to further their personal interests." Surprised by his sisters statement, Casimir found himself at aplete loss for words. The same could be said for his sister, but, as they were better informed regarding Vahns nature, the Emperor, Prime Minister, Vrixho, and Jack werent particrly surprised. Thetter evenughed a bit before adopting an expectant smile and saying, "I always knew the Empire was bound to be flipped on its head with a tomboy princess at the helm. I cant wait to see the expressions of those despicable old snakes when they get pulled out of their hidey-holes by the future Empress. Count me in, brat!" Much to the chagrin of the First Princess, who had once failed to turn Jack into her subordinate, the uncouth man burst intoughter following his outburst. At the same time, Theo adopted a cheeky grin as she stood, arms akimbo, and snickered like a child who had justpleted a prank. This was always something that had annoyed her, as, despite her best efforts to be a reliable older sister, the person Theo had most imprinted upon was the unrted Jack. Crossing her arms in a characteristically haughty disy, Malina gave Jack a sidelong re, earning the attention of the brutish individual as she said, "I believe it would be prudent if the Special Grand Martial measured his words more carefully. I have always found your influence on my younger sister to be problematic. If I find out youve been nting thoughts in her head-" Before Malina could finish her words, the left side of Jacks smile curled up as he said, "It has been five years, Princess. I know I spanked you pretty hard but thats no reason to act butthurt every time we see each other." If not for the thin coat of white hair covering them, everyone present would have been able to see the tips of Malinas ears turn red as she continued to re at Jack without any noticeable change in expression. Then, after several seconds of silence, she casually raised her hand before chanting in a dull monotone, "Shatter bone. Lapis Niger...!" Following Malinas simple chant, several ck stones, each shaped like spearheads, formed out of thin air. At the same time, a series of tiny magic circles appeared, some with the function of greatly increasing speed and rotation while others enchanted the stone spears to have a homing property. Overall, this process took like than .3 seconds toplete, and, following Malinas pointing, they all fired toward Jack with several times the force of a specialized magical bullet. Though the stones might have posed a threat to most people, Jacks only response was to hold his hand up to shield his face as the ck stones smashed into his body, forearm, and palm. They had absolutely no hope of prating the thinyer of Ki that enveloped his body like an imprable wall, a truth Malina knew all too well. In fact, she was responsible for giving Jack one of his most famous aliases, calling him, That damn guy who you can stab with swords all you like and it wont do a thing, dammit! Unsurprised by the failure of her attack, Malina elected topletely ignore the brutish man as she looked back at her sister and advised, "Please dont do anything that would unnecessarily endanger your life. If you ever need help or advice, I am always willing to make time for you. Never forget that your big sister is always on your side, Theo." Having said what she intended to say, Maline decided it would be best to leave before she caused a biggermotion. She knew Jack wasnt shy when it came to making a scene, so, if she took things too far, the one to suffer would be her. He had actually gone as far as to spank her in the middle of an Imperial G after winning a bet. Though this was the result of her own hubris, her pride made it impossible to forgive him, as, following that incident, she was too embarrassed to even stay in the Capital. As a result, she became the Commander of the Southern Fleet, a post she had held for thest five years in the hopes that people forget the incident entirely... --- Seeing his eldest daughter depart, Michael gave Jack a pointed look that caused the mans gaze to break away from the First Princess backside. She was one of the most beautiful women in the entire Empire, and, though Jack tried to be rtively respectful to the Imperial Family, there was a reason numerous women referred to him as a perverted gori. He primarily acted as such to keep people off-kilter, but, as a healthy man who had a considerable interest in strong women, even he couldnt help but admire beauties like the First Princess. Maintaining his pointed look, Michael did his best to repress a sigh as he gazed into the eyes of the most powerful man in the Empire, stating, "Spare me from having to exin to another family why my daughter is no longer avable to be wed..." Finding the Emperors remark rather amusing, a massive grin spread across Jacks face as he rubbed the back of his head and saying, "Gimme a break, Michael. Even my boyish good looks wouldntst if I was assaulted every day by Miss ck Rock Shooter. Dont worry, you wont catch a mutt like me trying to mix with a member of the Imperial Family." Though Michael wasnt fond of Jack referring to himself as a mutt, he still took the mans words to heart, nodding curtly as he said, "That puts my heart at ease. The Gods know I have enough trouble with my youngest running rampant..." Seeing her father direct his attention toward her, Theo emted Jacks action, rubbing the back of her head and smiling mischievously without showing even a hint of remorse in her crystal clear blue eyes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Its not just a phase! This is who I am!,Thats a long time to be butthurt,I feel like Michael is going to be forced into early retirement...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1626 Garden : Growth

Chapter 1626 Garden : Growth

Though it was undoubtedly the result of his actions and interference, the war between the Hes Empire and the Megalomesembrian Confederation had yet to break out. Both sides were prepared for an extended and bloody war, but, after the sudden and unexpected destruction of Elfenhof, the leaders of each camp had decided upon a wait-and-see approach. At the same time,rge groups of Mercenaries had beenmissioned to gather information on the Sage Dragon Emperor and his location. This included a group of famous Immortal Hunters from Mundus Vetus, as, following their departure from Zephyria, rumors had begun to circte asserting that the Dark Evangel had joined hands with the Sage Dragon Emperor. With Fairy Xuan supplying him with information, Vahn was rarely in the dark about any significant stirrings in the underworld. He knew the rumors were undoubtedly the result of Cosmo Entelecheia trying to make things difficult for him, but, regardless of their efforts, it would make no difference in the end game. Thus, rather than worry about the machinations of fools, he spent the remainder of their time together spoiling Eva and constructing his secret base on the Lesser Moon, Deimos. Though Mundus Magicus was located on the Inverse Side of Mars, it was actually possible to fly away from the and find yourself in the actual Sr System. This was due to the magical field surrounding Mundus Magicus working like a spatial membrane that connected the Inverse Side to the Outside, removing the need for projected celestial bodies and allowing those within the Magical World to freely gaze into the night sky without fear of discovery. Unfortunately, the moment you exited Mundus Magicus version of aary Bounded Field, you would find yourself staring down at a barren and lifeless covered in rust-red sand and dust. It was nothing like the vibrant world located on the Inverse Side, and, unless you had a spatial anchor or a magical beacon to guide the way, you could bore straight to the core without finding a trace of Mundus Magicus. Fortunately, Mundus Magicusary Bounded Field extended nearly 20,000km from thes surface. This allowed both Phobos and Demios to orbit within its bounds, as, at the furthest point of their orbits, the former was around 9600km away while theter skirted the edge at 19,312. Due to its proximity to the edge of Mundus Magicusary Bounded Field, Vahn decided upon Deimos as his base of operations. This would make it exponentially harder for them to be detected, as, despite having ships capable of easily traversing the vacuum of Space, international treaties had prevented any country from doing so. Any attempt to create and station a force in Space would be met with a military response, not just from other countries, but from Ostia itself. During his investigation, Vahn had discovered that Phobos had actually be hollowed out to perform a function simr to the Moon Cell. It orbited the a little more than three times per day, and, though it was significantly less advanced than the ancient archive that had been converted into Da Vincis Workshop, it was still very impressive. The only downside was that it had fallen into a severe state of disrepair, and, though it was still able to perform its functions, the interior was inhospitable to all forms of life. Just cleaning up the radiation leaking from its core would take several years, so, while there was undoubtedly much to learn from such a facility, Vahn wasnt particrly concerned with unlocking all the secrets of the Akamatsuverse. Since it was all-but-guaranteed that the facility on Phobos belonged to the Ancient Civilization of Venus, Vahn spent a bit of time creating a massive formation using modified Yi arrows toy the foundation. The formation only had two functions, one that concealed it and another that allowed it to gradually stockpile energy directly from the void. This energy would be stored within each of Yi arrows, and, if he ever discovered the ancient archive was being used by his enemies, Vahn would not hesitate to blow the entire moon out of the sky to deny them the opportunity... With Phobos effectively rigged to explode at a moments notice, Vahn set his sights on the much smaller Deimos. It only had a mean radius of around 6.2km, so, rather than call it a Moon, it seemed more apt to refer to it as an asteroid that had been trapped in Mars orbit, circling the once every thirty hours at a speed of 4,858km/h. Due to its size, it was actually possible for a reasonably powerful person to leap from the surface of Deimos with enough velocity to escape its weak gravitational pull. Rather, Vahn almost felt like he was going to fall off the fast-moving asteroid at any given moment, as, with gravity being less than 3266 times that of Earths, only 0.003m/s2, he was practically weightless. Fortunately, regardless of how ridiculously small Deimos was, Vahn had little trouble navigating its surface. He could freely move through both Space and Time under ideal circumstances, so, after an hour or so, he managed to burrow into the porous core of the icy rock before spending the better part of three days hollowing out and reinforcing the entire structure. In the end, he created arge spherical cavern that was approximately 4km in diameter, repurposing much of the original Deimos to increase the density of the surrounding walls. Vahn didnt want to affect the orbit of the minuscule moon too much, so, from start to finish, he did his best to avoid changing its overall mass and velocity. Then, once everything wasplete, he set the Garden of Avalon at Deimos gravitational center. This would allow it to float freely within the perfectly spherical chamber he had created, but, knowing any random impact from an asteroid had the potential of altering Demios course and center of gravity, Vahn reinforced its position with an exceptionally powerful gravitational anchor. To further protect the Garden of Avalon and make the interior space hospitable to anyone entering or exiting the former Diorama, Vahnyered hundreds of protective formations and defensive arrays along the interior surface. Once this wasplete, he requested the aid of several Elemental Spirits within the Garden of Avalon, effectively remodeling the interior hollow into a fantastical garden that was rich with flora and microbial life suitable for such a low-gravitational environment. This caused a semi-permanant raincloud to form around the Garden of Avalon, but, as this created the illusion of a tiny world suspended in the Heavens, Vahn was rather satisfied with the result. Thus, after six days of hardbor, persistently searching for just the right bnce between form and function, he chose the seventh, a Wednesday, to enjoy a much-deserved rest... --- While his main body had been hard at work thousands of kilometers above the surface, the rest of Vahns vessels had been lounging about almost excessively. Though he still dutifully trained every single day, setting an example for his young protege to follow, the rest of the day was spentzing about, pandering to Eva, and pampering virtually everyone. There was even a two-day period where they all just camped along the beach,plete with cracking open watermelons, swimming in the sea, barbeque, sunbathing, and stargazing. Overall, it had been a rather pleasant week, which, due to the Sub-Space Orb, amounted to nearly thirty days of rest and rxation. This might seem a tad extravagant, but, when they had the option to spend upwards of seventy to one-hundred-sixty-eight days for every week that passed, it wasnt that bad. Instead, it provided them with ample time to focus on training, research, and rxation, abination that allowed for considerable progress without having topromise on happiness. Though he understood the merits of hard work, Vahn had never forgotten the lessons taught to him by Tsubaki. He knew the importance of cutting loose and rxing, so, immediately following his morning training with Asuna, everyone would take a bath around the same time while another version of himself prepared breakfast alongside the Chacha Sisters. After breakfast, he would use one of his vessels to watch over Asuna and spend time with his children while the others attended Eva, Fenrir, and Medusa. He could push himself to maintain five bodies without too much trouble, so, as long as Medusa didnt hole herself up inside the Sub-Space Orb, there was enough of him to go around... --- Having justpleted the construction of their secret base, Vahn adopted a rxed smile as he continued to rub his hands along Evas exposed back, his fingers sinking into her soft flesh as the light from the sun reflected tantalizingly across her slightly tanned skin. She had made a concerted effort to spend more time in the sun, so, to prevent even the smallest of blemishes from appearing, Vahn made sure to dutifully coat her entire body in an oil-based sunscreen obtained from his ever-handy and infinitely stocked system shop. Making sure to leave no spot unattended, Vahn allowed his left hand to glide across Evas pert yet pliant butt, his fingers gingerly tracing her intergluteal cleft. This earned him a slightly annoyed look from the person in question, but, despite her face turning a progressively deeper shade of red, she made no attempt to stop him. Instead, she just released a mildly exasperated sigh, allowing him to continue applying the sunscreen down her thighs and calves before ultimatelyping to a stop at the tops of her feet. With her backsidepletely covered in the fragrant oil, Eva took the initiative to roll over before Vahn could attempt something like lightly smacking or groping her backside. She didnt particrly mind it, but, after seeing how far Theo had fallen, she wanted to avoid being led astray by Vahns inordinately skilled hands. Just having him apply sunscreen brought her an indescribable amount offort, and, if she didnt force herself to stay awake, it was very easy to descend into a contented slumber that couldst for several hours... Understanding his adorable fiancees thought process, the edges of Vahns smile curled to express amusement as he ced his hand on her abdomen and said, "I just finished installing the Garden of Avalon. Do you want to take a look after I finish applying your lotion?" Willfully ignoring the hand caressing her abdomen, Eva adjusted her position on the towels Vahn hadid out for her before answering, "Ill check it out after I return. Ive already seen the inside of the Diorama and I dont see any reason to travel that far just to take a look. Im also unable to use that convenient little method of yours, so, for the time being, it is best I avoid going there unless it is an emergency. A secret hideout serves little purpose if our enemies are able to track and discover its location." As he already anticipated her response, Vahn wasnt particrly surprised by Evas logic. Instead, he just gave a curt nod before tracing his hand up her body and dutifully applying ayer of sunscreen to her budding breasts. They were far from the sizeable G-Cups of her Adult form, but,pared to the virtually non-existent breasts of her perpetually prepubescent self, they had grown substantially. They were already nearing the pinnacle of a B-Cup, and, due to a specialized diet and an extremely specific exercise routine, it wouldnt be long before Evas true form could be ssified as a mature beauty. Though she couldnt make sense of his thought process at times, Eva was able to read Vahn like an open book most of the time. As a result, she instantly understood what was going through his mind as he shamelessly fondled her breasts with an appreciative glimmer in his eye. This caused her ears to regain the red hue they had only recently lost, but, rather than correct his behavior, she allowed him to do as he pleased. He had stopped teasing her overtly, so, as long as he didnt get too out of hand, she could tolerate a bit of mischief and wayward thoughts. After triple-checking to make sure he hadnt neglected a single micron of Evas bared breasts, Vahn moved on to applying sunscreen to her neck, shoulders, arms, hands, and fingers before returning to his base station near her navel. Then, after administering an admittedly excessive amount of the fragrant oil across her abdomen and torso, he used a towel to wipe her down before using his index finger to clear out the remnants from her belly button. This earned him another pointed stare from the red-faced maiden, but, considering what was toe, it seemed pointless toin about having her navel yed with. Unwilling to leave a single spot of his fiancees body unattended, Vahn gradually worked from Evas abdomen down to the exceptionally tender region between her navel and the immacte shrine of purity below. This was the point when Eva would normally turn away and grit her teeth, but, likely as a result of her impending departure, she continued observing the process from start to finish, biting the back of her index finger throughout... --- Around the same time that Eva was struggling to hold her void, Vahn was helping Asuna, Euryale, and even Stheno apply sunscreen to their bodies. Unlike Eva, however, they were already wearing their swimsuits, and, rather than applying it directly, he just made sure they had properly applied it to themselves. Thest thing he needed was Stheno or Euryale imprinting on him in a problematic way, and, though this didnt seem too likely, Vahn had already been bitten too many times to say it was impossible. Fortunately, whenever his children were around, Asuna ceased her usual mischief and adopted the facade of a reliable older sister. She would patiently walk Euryale through the process of applying her sunscreen, and, though they didnt particrly get along, she would do her best to interact with Stheno, answering questions and offering advice when applicable. This had initially annoyed the eldest of the two gorgon sisters, but, having failed to gain even the smallest advantage against her rival, Stheno had gradually begun to mellow out over time... Confident she hadnt missed any areas, Stheno, wearing an intricate purple swimsuit that normally wouldnt suit someone her age, snaked her way over to her fathers die, a sly smile on her face as she smoothly asked, "Did I miss a spot, Papa~?" Offering a smile that was equal parts wry and affectionate, Vahn gestured for Stheno to give a quick pirouette before answering, "It seems like you got everything. Good job, Stheno." Gratified by her fathers praise, Stheno offered a sultry-looking smile that had none of the intended meaning as she leaned forward, naturally pressing her breasts together as she presented her head for petting. All of her behavior radiated a natural sex-appeal, and, though he knew she didnt even think about such things, Vahn couldnt help but feel a little concerned about his daughters future as he extended his hand to habitually caress her head. Though it could be argued that he should be more worried about her future partner, Vahns fatherly instinctspelled him to consider any man fortunate enough to date one of his daughters exceptionally lucky... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Thats no moon...!,Oh my...,RIP Sthenos future husband(read as ve)) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1627 First Contac

Chapter 1627 First Contac

After an exhaustive search that produced no leads,bined with growing tensions on both sides, the Megalomesembrian Senate ultimately moved forward with the election of a Dictator. This title granted a single person the absolute authority of the state to deal with a military emergency, and, following the copse of the Megalomesmbrian Monarchy, it was the highest position of authority in the entire Confederation. What made the position of Dictator unique among other official titles was that the designate didnt have to be a member of the Senate prior to receiving the post. Instead, the position was often held by the most senior Legatus, the Confederations version of a High-Ranking General Officer. This was a precautionary measure designed to prevent Senators from using the position to further their own political agenda, requiring a three-fourths majority just to designate candidates for the position. Needless to say, the designation of a Dictator was tantamount to an official deration of war, so, before the candidates could be finalized, the Emperor gave his consent to engage the Confederate fleet along the Argyrian border. The icy region was the location of thergest freshwaterke in the entirety of Mundus Magicus, and, every time there was a major war between the two superpowers, it often served as the most important battlefront that determined victory or defeat. Immediately following their Emperors decree, the Southern Fleet,prised of a five-hundred-meter long Superdrednaught, three three-hundred-meter long Airborne Motherships, seventeen two-hundred-fifty-meter long Cruisers, thirty-seven one-hundred-eighty-meter long Destroyers, one-hundred-neen Airwhales of various size, and countless AAS-ss Individual Assault Craft charged over the Argyrian border. Their mission was to secure the side of Argyre upied by the Confederation, the Naval State of Besperus, in the hopes of establishing a Forward Operation Base that would allow them to surround Megalomesembria from the West and South. Fortunately, depending on who you asked, the Megalomesembrian Fleet was more than prepared for the Hes Empires assault. Their fleet was also muchrger, so, while the strength of an average Confederate soldier was much lower than their Hesian contemporaries, they had unquestionable air superiority. They had also stationed three of their Superdreadnaughts along the Argyrian border to protect a new Prototype gship, the Svanhvit. This was a monstrous vessel that was nearly an entire kilometer in length, and, while it took a monumental amount of resources to operate, it was equipped with ten of the most powerful military assets in the Confederation, a type of autonomous Magical Construct known colloquially as War Gods or Demon-God Soldiers depending on the side you were fighting on. With the average Demon-God Soldier standing one-hundred meters tall and possessing a Base Power of 2800, calling them Gods wasnt entirely based on hubris. The average citizen of Mundus Magicus only had a BP of 2 without years of schooling or special training, so, from the perspective of normal people, they were iprehensibly powerful. After all, even a Magic School Graduate was considered inordinately powerful with a BP averaging around 100, and, even if they trained for decades, it was exceptionally difficult for even skilled Magic Teachers to exceed 300BP. This was the reason Dragons were considered so powerful, as, even without magical power, their average BP was between 500~800 depending on their age. Fortunately, despite having nothingparable to a Demon-God Soldier, which secretly took tens-of-thousands of sacrifices to produce, the Hes Empire had always been known for its inordinately powerful knights, summoners, and beast tamers. They even had a batallionprised of more than a thousand Dragon Riders, which, under the right conditions, could rout an enemy fleet or decimate a ground army using superior mobility and overwhelming firepower. While summoned beasts and tamed monsters might not seem particrly useful in an aerial battle between two aerial fleets, this was far from the truth of the matter. After all, even immature magical creatures were exponentially more powerful than themon residents of Mundus Magicus. They often had phenomenal reserves of magical energy, and, with considerable training, they could even be used in Ritual Magic Formations to cast devastatingly powerful spells against enemy forces. Though the average Demon-God Soldier could sweep through hundreds of summoned and trained magical creatures, their production requirements made it impossible to deploy them without ample consideration. Losing even a single one was the equivalent of losing a Superdreadnaught, as, with a few exceptions, the average BP of a 500m vessel was approximated to be 2500. This didnt ount for the personnel on board, which greatly affected a vessels effective output, but, from a logistical standpoint, it was a lot easier to rece a thousand personnel than it was to manufacture a single Demon-God Soldier. Due to both sides exercising a certain degree of caution, the Empires blitzkrieg quickly devolved into an exceptionally slow push into Confederate-upied territory. They had to maintain a tight formation to benefit from the magical link that allowed ships to transfer energy between each other to power ritual magic and barriers. This was a capability vessels within the Megalomesembrian Fleet didnt possess, so, as one of their few advantages, the Empire slowly advanced while deploying their elite ground forces to disable anti-air batteries andmunications arrays. Using their superior numbers, exceeding the Southern Fleet by a factor of three, the Confederation attempted to slowly surround the advancing formation. This was noticed by the Vice-Amiral of the Southern Fleet, but, rather than give up their advantage, he directed the fleet to adopt a formation that would allow them to create a massive spherical barrier over the region they had captured. This would effectively trap them within Confederate territory, but, at the same time, it effectively cut off ess to the Great Lake of Argyre, the most important tactical objective in the region. Seeing through the Empires intentions, the Commander of the Svanhvit, Legatus Dalmas, a favorite to hold the position of Dictator, took it upon himself to authorize the deployment of three Demon-God Soldiers to halt the advance of the Empires ground forces. At the same time, he instructed all three of the Superdreadnaughts to ascend high into the sky. This was a maneuver that would allow them urately target the enemy fleet with their main batteries, but, at the same time, it also left theirparably soft underbellies exposed to enemy fire. As could be expected, the Empire did not hesitate to focus fire on the Svanhvit and the other three Superdreadnaughts. It would be a major achievement to so scuttle even a single Superdreadnaught during a war, as they were often protected by the rest of the fleet, so the Empire couldnt resist the bait that had beenid out for them. This diverted a considerable amount of fire from the deployed Demon-God Soldiers, and, though it nearly crippled two of the Confederations Superdreadnaughts, it allowed them to prevent the Empire from securing their foothold. With Demon-God Soldiers capable of producing spears that could prate the most powerful of magical barriers, the Empire was gradually forced to withdraw before the colossal figures could get into a position to skewer their rtively exposed underbellies. They had tried to repulse the massive automatons by using Anti-Demon Lightning Cannons designed specifically to counteract the rather infamous entities, but, as could be expected, Megalomesembria hadnt cked off when it came to upgrading their most powerful military assets. Though other countries might have be somewhatcent during the extended peace that had followed the previous war, Megalomesembria wasnt considered the most preeminent military superpower for naught. Technological innovation wasnt even their main focus, yet, time and again, they were leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of the world. They invested between seventeen and twenty percent of their annual budget on the military, so, every time a war broke out, they always enjoyed an overwhelming advantage in the early stages of the campaign. Fully aware of the so-called countermeasures against the greatest military asset, Megalomesmbria had produced a number of War God that were distinctly different than the rest. The standard variety was predominately white in color and possessed a humanoid figure that allowed them to userge scale versions of existing magical spells. These were still the mostmon model avable, as they werent exactly something that could be recycled, but, rather than deploy this variety, the three War Gods sent to halt the Empires advance had a unique ck coloration. At the cost of being able to use most external magics, the ck variation of the War God had been given the ability to absorb magical energy and convert it into raw physical power. This characteristic wasnt known to the Empire, so, without hesitation, countless magical munitions were expended in a vain attempt to halt trio of onyx-skinned monstrosities. This wasntpletely ineffective, costing one of the colossal automatons an arm, but, with the ability to regenerate using the magical energy it had absorbed, it was inevitable that the Empire was forced to retreat. Even prior to the initiation of the battle, the Empire had little hope of being able to secure asting advantage against the Confederation. This wasnt the first time they had contended against the rival superpower, so, rather than risk losing ground when the Megalomesembrian Fleet pushed into their territory, their penultimate goal was to force the Confederation to reveal some of its cards. The only way to win a war against Megalomesembria was to starve them out and formte countermeasures against their advanced weaponry, so, while the battle ultimately ended in their defeat, it was a small victory towards the war effort. In the end, the Empire managed to retreat without any substantial losses while the Confederation was forced to withdraw two of its Superdreadnaughts for repair. This subsequently forced Legatus Dalmas to rescind his candidacy for the position of Dictator, and, though this wasnt considered a grievous loss from the perspective of the Senate, Vahn couldnt help but find the turn of events a little interesting. In the original timeline, Legatus Dalmas would have ascended to the position of Dictator by a vote of 273 for and 27 against. He was a true loyalist of the Confederation and had held the position of Legatus for more than seventeen years. This made him one of their most experiencedmanders, and, while he had made his fair share of mistakes during the war, his tactical brilliance was credited as the principal factor behind the Empires defeat during their counter-invasion. Though it wasnt like Legatus Dalmas would no longer participate in the war, being demoted to the position of Conciliar Imperatum, effectively making him little more than an Advisor, was bound to have far-reaching consequences. His recement, earning only three votes over the necessary 225 required for candidacy, had only been a Legatus for three years. To make matters even worse, they had never even participated in a war, and, though they were a top graduate of the Confederations International Tactical Command Academy, their career advancements had been more so the result of political maneuvering thanmand prowess. Needless to say, the average soldier within the Megalomesembrian military wasnt all that enthused by the appointment of an untested leader to the most coveted position in the entire Confederation. It didnt help that, almost immediately after his appointment as Dictator, the rtively young forty-seven-year-old man, Lars Laetorius Primulus, wasted no time in promoting several of his friends and confidants to other high-ranking positions within the military. This included implementing his Uncle to the position of Magister Militum, the highest rank a person could hold within the military. Though it wasnt particrly umon for a Dictator to ce people they trusted in a position of power, the fact his Uncle was a former Consul didnt go over well with many people. Unfortunately, the provisions established by the Constitution of the Megalo-Mesembria Confederation allowed an appointed Dictator virtually unchecked power so long as it directly rted to their duties. Since the appointment of a Magister Militum was well within the scope of their authority, it would take more than a three-fourths majority within the Senate to even contest the decision... --- While the affairs of Megalomesembria were worthy of notice, Vahn wasnt particrly concerned by the unprecedented developments within the infamously corrupt Confederation. It didnt matter who had been designated as their puppet ruler, as, behind the scenes, the organization with the greatest amount of power was the secret society established by the Demon Nobles of Venus. Behind them, it was the members of Cosmos Entelecheia pulling the strings, so, in the end, it didnt matter if it was the Dictator or the Megalomesembrian Senate; neither was truly in charge. It had always been a matter of time until Vahn was forced to butt heads with both the Empire and the Confederation, so, rather than worry about the inevitable, he was focused on more important matters. Though there had yet to be a public deration of war, even children would be able to tell that the conflict had already begun. As a result, Eva could no longer dy her departure, so, after a few more days within the Space-Time Orb, they were entangled in a long embrace near the border of Tempe, a nation of Mercenaries and Treasure Hunters that bordered the Holy Land of Wealth and Mystery, the legendary Noctis Labyrinthus. Tempe also happened to be the actual Holy Land for wielders of Earth Magic, but, despite a general interest in all the Great Spirits, Vahn wasnt in a hurry to meet the infamously obstinate Tempe Terra, the Great Spirit for which the Continent itself was named. They were known to spend most of their time cooped up within an ever-changing Labyrinth beneath the Capital, so, unless you were willing to ovee thousands of traps and countless monsters, gaining an audience with them was nearly impossible... Ignoring all matters rted to the Great Spirit of Earth, at least for the time being, Vahn continued to hold Eva, his expression somber as he asked, "Do we really have to part like this? Im not sure my heart can-" Preventing Vahn frompleting his words, Eva tiptoed to give him yet another peck on the lips before adopting a chiding tone and saying, "I have already exined it to you countless times, you stubborn oaf. Just as you have things you must attend without me, there are some things I need to resolve on my own. Now, unhand me. The sooner I depart, the sooner we can reunite. Neither of us will be happy if I have to force you to release me..." Though he knew she was being serious, Vahn didnt immediately release the stern-looking blonde. Instead, he held her even closer, deeply inhaling her fragrance as he affectionately nuzzled the nape of her slender neck. It was only after several more minutes had passed that he finally released the red-faced beauty, caressing her face onest time as he reiterated, "I love you, Evangeline Athanasia Katherine McDowell. Even when the final star in the night sky burns out, you will forever upy one of thergest and most important ces in my heart..." Taking note of the fact that Vahn said one of thergest ces in his heart, Eva couldnt help but turn her eyes up at him. Despite this, she chose to refrain frommenting on his choice of words, forcibly restraining her embarrassment as she stated, "You kept your promise and saved me from an eternity that I did not choose. Though I cannot promise you another eternity, I swear that we will be together until my ego has faded away into nothingness. The Gods know you would probably drown the heavens with your tears if I actually had the heart to leave you..." Punctuating her words, Eva ced her hand atop Vahns heart, nting one final kiss upon his lips before pushing away several tens of meters. Then, like a phantom dissipating into the void, her red-faced figure vanished from view. In its wake, a cold chill spread through the area, but, hidden within the veil of the icy wind, a familiar warmth and a pleasant fragrance continued to linger for several seconds following Evas departure... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I would not want to be a soldier on the ground...,When the system itself is a corrupt farce, it doesnt matter who is on top,Thats amore...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1628 Bearings

Chapter 1628 Bearings

Try as he might, Vahn was unable to avoid falling into a depressive state following Evas departure. Fortunately, as was often the case, he could rely on his Realm to make a gradual recovery. He ended up spending the better part of five weeks focused on watching over his Empire, spending time with his children, babysitting his grandson, and tumbling through the cosmos with his myriad lovers. One of the benefits of having functionally unlimited power based on perception and intent was that it allowed Vahn to do virtually whatever he wanted. He could create distant stars just by pointing at the night sky, and, even more fantastical, he could link them together to make visible constetions linked together by silvery bands of light. This had originally caused quite a stir among the residents of his Realm, but,pared to the shock they experienced upon their awakening, it wasnt all that concerning... --- With his return to the outside fast approaching, Vahn spent his final few hours seated on a Throne that appeared to be constructed from a solidified form of Space. In hisp, an inordinately beautiful woman with long white hair, ruby-red eyes, various wings, and a pure white dress nestled closely as they watched the gradual formation of a. It was currently little more than a ming ball, but, given enough time, it was bound to be a filled to the brim with life. Vahn had actually abstained from the creation of any life-bearings within his Realm, as, from his perspective, a dead was too dangerous. He had grown quite fond of the system present within the Nasuverse, and, with his Realm incorporating many of the same Laws, it just made sense to create Celestial Bodies with an Ego. As could be expected, creating a living was a marginally moreplicated than producing something like an Elemental Lotus. Fortunately, with a literal among his lovers, Vahn had an advantage few people could even conceptualize. His offspring with Gaia, an unbelievably cute little girl named Silva, ended up being aary Spirit. She possessed an Innate called [Terra Genesis], and, as the name implied, it allowed her to create and develop a from scratch. There were several things that upied Vahns attention within his Realm, but, regardless of his state of mind, he always split a part of himself to bear witness to Silvas growth as a. There was just something about watching a form that brought him unparalleled peace of mind, and, with an inordinately beautiful woman to share the experience with, it had be one of his favorite things to do in the entire Realm. Ever since the birth of Silva, Gaia had mellowed out considerably. She still had moments when she could be scarily aggressive, but, more often than not, she could be found contentedly watching the development of her daughter. Silva had be the most important part of her existence, and, like any good mother, she didnt want to miss even a single moment of her beloved childs growth... --- After sitting in silence for several days, Vahn began to lightly caress Gaias abdomen as he said, "It is time for me to return." Understanding Vahns intentions, Gaia ced her hand overtop his before closing her eyes. Several minutester, an unbelievably adorable girl with long silver hair, three pairs of angelic wings, a pure white dress, and energetic gold eyes came darting toward them like a homing missile. She had the appearance of a child around three years of age, but, due to the temporal bubble surrounding herary body, her chronological age was closer to three million. Knowing what to expect, Gaia had already alighted from Vahnsp, clearing a path for the silvery bullet mere moments before it crashed into the wryly smiling man with enough force to shatter the space-formed Throne. Though she wasnt really aware of anything when she was developing as a, Silva always had the feeling that a very long period of time had passed every time she saw her Papa. Thus, whenever her mother called for her, she woulde rushing to greet him, crashing into him with the force of a smalloid as she happily eximed, "Papa~!" Contrasting the destruction of his Throne, Vahn was entirely undamaged by his adorable daughters meteoric charge. Then, as if she didnt weigh close to septillion kilograms, he casually picked her up into a ko carry, smiling affectionately as he gazed into her diamond-shaped pupils and said, "You certainly seem to be in high spirits." Nodding her head with clear excitement visible in her expression, Silva happily exined, "My core finished filtering out most of the lighter elements that were gathered during its formation. It wont be long before my otheryers begin to take shape and my crust begins to form~." Even if it felt like she was sleeping during the process, Silva was still aware of the changes taking ce in her body. As a result, she had helped Vahn glean some insight into the natural formation ofs, important knowledge any Creation God should possess. Knowing she would want to show him the results of her efforts, Vahn chuckled lightly in response to his daughters words before gradually descending toward the fiery. As for Gaia, she was unable to enter into the Bounded Field of another, even if it belonged to her daughter, so, after watching their departure with a smile, her figure seemed to fade into the void. She spent more time than she ought to away from her actual body, so, whenever Vahn was spending time with their daughter, Gaia would return to make sure everything was okay. She also used it as an opportunity to visit everyone back in Avalon, and, though they were a little rambunctious, she enjoyed spending time with her niece and nephew... --- Opening his eyes back in the Akamatsuverse, Vahn took a moment to collect his bearings before teleporting back to the ind he hadmandeered. His Realm had given him plenty of time to organize his thoughts, so, immediately after his arrival, he sought out Asuna and Fenrir, the only two people left in the hideout. He had already moved Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale to Deimos, so, except for Chachazero, the Chacha Sisters, and an ever-growing poption of Elemental Spirits, Vahn didnt have much to worry about. Sensing Vahns presence at nearly the same time, Fenrir and Asuna shifted their focus to the void as the former seemed to apparate out of thin air. Their reaction caused a smile to spread across Vahns face, and, as a result, the expressions of both girls visibly brighten as they stood up and moved over to his side. Preempting their questions, Vahn made a gesture to indicate they shouldnt worry before saying, "It is time for us to make our move. Now that the war has begun, we will be taking action to bring it to a swift conclusion..." Having said as much, Vahn shifted his focus to meet Asunas gaze as he added, "The enemy might try to use your status as a Princess of Vespertatia against us. Rather than try to hide it, however, it is fine if you want to embrace itpletely. The political positions and opinions of people who have been swayed by corruption have no real value. If you want to be a Hero representing Ostia, I will support you. My purpose in this war is to act as a deterrent so you are free to choose your own path without fear of legitimate censure." Understanding she was one of the reasons behind the current war, Asuna had already made ample mental preparations for all kinds of schemes. She also valued Vahns teachings more than the ideals of the Ostian Royal Family, so, regardless of what others said, she had already chosen her path. With a resolute look that could rival her older cousins, Asuna stared directly into Vahns eyes as she said, "I will not let the greedy and corrupt decide the fate of this world. Titles like Princess, Hero, or even Demon Queen have no real meaning. I will do what I think is right, even if it requires me to cut down countless enemies." Though it made him feel slightly guilty to hear a young girl utter such words, Vahn still nodded his head in approval as he extended his hand to rub the top of Asunas head. She was far more mature than her age would indicate, and, at times, she even made him feel rather childish. Thus, regardless of his apprehensions, Vahn recognized that Asuna was already capable of making decisions about her own life... While continuing to stroke the giggling Asunas head, Vahn shifted his gaze to Fenrir, saying, "This will be an opportunity for you to demonstrate your power as well. Our future enemies will be even more powerful, so, before we move on, I want to see how much you have grown. Remember, our priority should always be to preserve life. I might not be a paragon of proper restraint, but, if it can be avoided, I would rather those I care about not be killers capable of striking down enemies with no remorse..." Though she could control it perfectly at normal times, Fenrir still had a penchant for losing control of herself in the heat of battle. This was especially true when facing off against powerful opponents orrge groups of enemies, and, in the worst-case scenario, she would even enter a berserker blood frenzy. In this state, the only person who could pull her back was Vahn himself, so, while Fenrir was more than capable of battling against some of the strongest enemies in a Record, she was generally kept as a reserve force. Well aware of her own inadequacies, Fenrir wasnt even remotely upset by her Masters words. She knew how quickly she could descend into a feral state, so, when she wasnt busy carrying out her other duties, most of her time was spent meditating and learning how to control her emotions. It was something she had been working on for more than a hundred years, so, hearing she would be given a chance to fight, Fenrir did her best to remain calm as she said, "I will keep Masters words in my heart. Unless my hand is forced, I will do my best to avoid killing anyone unless it is absolutely necessary...!" Knowing how much effort Fenrir had put into her training, Vahn had absolute confidence in her self-restraint. It didnt matter how many times she proved this valuation wrong by losing control, as, regardless of anything else, she never stopped trying to control herself. She couldnt be med for an Innate that had been bestowed upon her as a result of his actions, so, even if she lost control a thousand more times, Vahn would never stop believing in the loveable Vanargandr. Sensing her Masters thoughts, Fenrirs tail began to wag happily as she rubbed her head against the palm of his outstretched hand. This earned her a calctive look from Asuna, and, after a few seconds of consideration, Vahn quickly found himself cornered by two over-affectionate girls... --- As one of thergest cities in Mundus Magicus, Tempe was home to one of the eleven Gateports that connected the Magical World to Earth. It was also a gathering ce for Mercenaries, Bounty Hunters, Explorers, and anyone else seeking to make a fortune using unique skills and magic. As a result, it was the ce where most of the groups searching for Vahn had gathered, so, shortly after entering the city, Eva wasnt surprised to hear several people talking about the various rumors that had been circting even before the war... Unaware of the identity of the cloaked woman making her way through the streets of Tempe, a man with spikey orange hair and a scar over his left eyemented to one of hispanions, "You hear the rumor saying the Dark Evangel was made into a sex ve by that Sage Dragon Emperor guy?" Ignorant of thendmine her friend had just stepped on, a purple-haired woman wearing an almostically oversized witch hat answered, "Wait, isnt the Dark Evangel supposed to be a brat? I didnt know an Ancient Dragon could be a pedophile...makes you wonder what he was really doing during his stay in Ariadne..." Though many had heard the rumors mentioning Vahns purge, information and rumors had a habit of being distorted the further it was from the source. There were many reasons for this, but, on the most fundamental level, it was the propensity of people to spread gossip and jokingly insult people more powerful than themselves that led to such distasteful alterations. Piggybacking off hispanions words, the spiky-haired man began to loudly guffaw, earning a number of annoyed looks before he added, "I guess being an Ancient Dragon doesnt guarantee you have a Dragon of your own. Maybe it makes him feel bigger if he targets younger women?" Seemingly finding his words hrious, the man was about to release another gratingugh before he noticed the stunned looks of hispanions. They all had stupefied expressions on their faces, and, when he followed their gaze, a simr expression appeared on his own before quickly being reced by a look of abject terror. At that exact same moment, a truly excruciating amount of pain began to spread through his body as his below-average dragon, frozen solid, fell to the ground... --- Without sparing the man a second look, Eva retracted her hand into her sleeve before hastening her pace. She was intending to use the Gateport to return to Mundus Vetus, as, following the war nearly five-hundred years prior, most of her formerpanions had returned to Earth. It was a lot easier for their enemies to hunt them in Mundus Magicus, so, while Earth wasnt exactly the best ce to live as a Mage, it was the first choice when it came to hiding away for long periods of time. Eva didnt have anyone she could truly refer to as a friend, but, after living for nearly seven-hundred years, she had met a few people she could trust. Like her, they had all been cursed with some form of immortality, so, while they didnt always see eye-to-eye, the burden of eternity allowed them to empathize with each other. After all, most of the people they had ever known were dead, so, in the end, immortals really only had each other forpany... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *casually lifts the weight of a*,Trust in the Goodest Girl,RIP Tiny Dragon-chan...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1629 Presence

Chapter 1629 Presence

After missing the opening engagement with the Confederation, Malina eagerly returned to her post as Commander of the Southern Fleet. She had a considerable amount of stress that needed venting, but, rather than arbitrarily order an assault, her first order of business was convening an emergency war council. She gathered together everyone with the rank of Captain and above aboard the Hes, a massive vessel that resembled a hammerhead shark with a length of 750m. The Hes had been the gship of the Hes Empire for nearly three hundred years. Despite this, it was still one of the most advanced pieces of Magical Technology that existed outside of Ostia. It was the byproduct of innumerable man-hours and several of the most brilliant minds that had been produced between the Empire and Ariadne. Most importantly, it was constructed around an artifact that resembled a small sun contained within an unidentified bronze-like metal. Though they had never been able to harness the power of the immensely powerful artifact fully, the schrs and engineers of Ariadne had managed to develop a system that provided the Hes with a functionally infinite supply of magical power. The only limit to its output was the machinery used to siphon the power of the miniature sun, as, after prolonged use, even the most magically resistant materials would begin to melt. If not for this restriction, the Hes would have been truly invincible, as, with an endless supply of magical power, its offensive and defensive capabilities greatly dwarfed even Megalomesmbrias most significant innovations. --- With many of the most senior officers of the Southern Fleet gathered around a realistic diorama that disyed the conditions of the battlefield in real-time, Malina turned to a wrinkly man, who, despite his advanced age, still radiated an intimidating aura. His named was Andrzej Ko?ciuszko, and, for nearly two hundred years, he had dutifully served the Empire as Admiral of the Southern Fleet. Offering a rare smile, Malina gave a respectful nod toward Andrzej before saying, "I have read the reports. Before I make a decision, however, I would like to hear the opinion of my senior officers. It is no secret that this is my first time participating in a war. Though my power is great, I know there is still much I can learn from the Empires best and brightest. Now, Admiral Ko?ciuszko, please start us off. What is your opinion regarding the ck Demon-God Soldiers and the recent appointment of Dictator Primulus?" Immediately following Malinas inquiry, Andrzej gave a respectful bow before raising his head, his voice sounding like a rumbling echo from deep within the earth as he said, "Responding to the First Princess query...I think the fools in the Megalomesembrian Senate have finally lost their minds. It is iprehensible to me that a man like Legatus Dalmas would rescind his candidacy so easily. He is one of the Confederations most extreme loyalists, not someone who would step down due to the pressure of a few pencil-pushing politicians. Though this is an opportunity for the Empire, it seems clear to me that there are great changes afoot within the Confederation. As for those ck Demon-God Soldiers...I fear the only effective means tobat them is with overwhelming magical might, high-powered non-magical munitions, or an inverse-sealing formation." Nodding curtly in response, Malina added, "I also feel there is something very strange taking ce in Megalomesembria. We will need to capitalize on this opportunity and strike before they manage to reorganize their troops and sort out their internal affairs..." As she was speaking, Malina was also performing a few hand gestures, changing the scene within the diorama to rey the previous battle. It wasnt a perfect representation of everything that had transpired, but, so long as it was picked up by their scanners, they could review previous battles toe up with countermeasures to specific military assets or tactics. After finding one of the ck Demon-God Solider, a rtively simple feat considering their size, Malina brought her index fingers and thumbs together before spreading them apart. This caused the image to zoom in considerably, and, with a simple tap against the air, it allowed everyone in the room to witness the colossal automaton having its arm blown off after a few Anti-Demon Lightning Cannons ovepped fire on a single spot. Though the ability to absorb magical power was troublesome, it wasnt the first time such weapons had appeared on a battlefield. They were never easy to deal with but, time and again, history had shown that even the most powerful defensive artifacts had weaknesses. So long as you understood the mechanism behind something, it was possible to develop numerous countermeasures. Most of the time, however, simply hitting it harder was enough to destroy even indestructible objects... With the scene continually reying the destruction and subsequent regeneration of the ck Demon-God Soldiers arm, Malina adopted a serious expression as she added, "Though developing countermeasures would be prudent, this scene shows they are not as powerful as they seem. It will be troublesome to focus fire on a single point, but, based on these readings, a Superdreadnaughts main battery should be able to overwhelm their defenses. Our priority should being up with a way to restrict their movements. So long as we can pin them down, the Hes or the Averof should be able to eliminate them." As they had already discussed methods of dealing with the ck Demon-God Soldiers, none of the officers present within the situation room were surprised by the First Princess words. Despite this, they continued to disy deferential respect with one woman, a Vice-Admiral named Maria Wittek, bowing politely as she said, "The First Princess insight is exceptional. When the opportunity arrives, know the Kadaj is ready and willing to serve as the lure. I have supreme confidence in my crew and my beloved vessels mobility." Though it was clear that the Vice-Amidral was fishing for military merit, the same could be said for virtually every member of the Imperial Fleet and Army. One of the only ways to increase your social status was through military merit, and, though she had already reached a coveted position, people like Maria were nothing if not ambitious. She had already obtained the title of Baroness, but, as this was only a single-generation ssification, she eagerly sought to prove herself in order to be anded noble. Rather than admonish Maria for being over-eager, Malina gave an approving nod before saying, "It seems the Empire is not wanting for brave and bold individuals. Very well. I will entrust the capable crew of the Kadaj with this task. I look forward to-." Before Malina could finish regurgitating practiced lines, the lighting within the room shifted from a calm and cool blue to a focused and intense red. At the same time, a subtle vibration could be felt by everyone in the room, shaking a nearby porcin tea set. Without demonstrating even a semnce of panic, Malina adopted an amused smile as she added, "It seems our foes cannot wait. Admiral Ko?ciuszko, you are with me. Everyone else, return to your posts and prepare for battle." Following Malinas words, everyone in the room gave a curt salute before blinking out of existence. With the exception of Admiral Ko?ciuszko, everyone else in the room had been a projection, as, no matter how confident she was in the Hes superiority, Malina wasnt foolish enough to gather all of her senior officers in one ce. That was the same as inviting the enemy to use the Gate spell to assassinate them, a rathermon tactic that was used frequently in virtually every war. Using her own version of the Gate spell, shrouding her body in a pale green light, Malina teleported directly to the Bridge of her ship. Arriving even faster than her, shrouded in a cloak of crackling blue electricity, Admiral Ko?ciuszko was already demanding a situation report. In response, the on-duty Communications Officer, wearing a rather futuristic set of headphones, calmly answered, "Scanners have detected arge, unidentified, object within the Mesosphere. Immediately after it appeared, a pir of light approximately twenty meters in diameter descended upon Lake Argyre. Updating the image on the main disy." With a soft blip echoing through the bridge, the disy previously focused on the distant Svanhvit changed to show arge hole in the center of Lake Argyre. It was a rather peculiar sight to behold, as, rather than rush back to fill in the void, an unseen barrier seemed to repel the tumultuous waves caused by the initial explosion... After a brief moment of stupefaction, Malina was about to order the man to adjust the disy, but, as could be expected from a seniormunications officer aboard the Imperial gship, the man had already queued up amand to split the disy. The left side continued disying therge hole near the exact center of Lake Argyre, while, high in the sky, far beyond normal sensor range, a glimmering golden dot could be seen slowly descending from the upper atmosphere. As the corner of the disy showed that it was being magnified to the maximum, Malina didnt try and order the man to enhance the image further. Instead, she furrowed her brows for several tense moments before asking, "What is the reaction of the Megalomesembrian Fleet? Are they preparing an attack?" In response to her inquiry, the disy changed to show the enemy encampment once again. The enemy was in a state of high-alert, but, rather than forming up for an offensive, their movements indicated they were preparing their defenses. This sounded rm bells within Malinas mind, but, as the First Princess of the Empire, she did not allow it to show on her face. Instead, she maintained a perfect mask of calm as she said, "Open themand line." With a direct link established to all ships within the Southern Fleet, Malina took a slightly deeper breath to calm herself before stating, "Move into a barrier formation and prepare for a defensive engagement. The enemys capabilities are unknown but there is nothing the Hes Empire cannot ovee when we stand united. I have high expectations for all of you." Following their Princess-Commanders orders, the Southern Fleet quickly moved into their assigned positions, forming three concentric circles around the Hes. This process customarily took several minutes toplete, but, in preparation for Megalomesembrias counterattack, many vessels were already close to their assigned positions. As a result, it only took around 73 seconds before arge magical formation more than 8km in diameter appeared. From the edges, hexagonal panels formed of pure magical energy began to manifest into existence, linking together to gradually form a giant dome around the entire Southern Fleet... --- Seeing the massive barrier take shape, Vahn couldnt help but admire the sight. He found the idea of linking together hundreds of massive ships to form ritual-magic to be rather novel, and, though there were numerous weak points that could be exploited by powerful individuals, it was still very impressive. It showed what people were able to achieve when they joined hands toward amon goal, feats even Gods would not be able to perform without a considerable number of preparations and a concerted effort. Unfortunately, as his goal was to act as a deterrent, Vahn had little choice but to take the Southern Fleets efforts and crush them underfoot. Before that, however, he had other problems to deal with, as, hidden beneath the surface of Lake Argyre, a phenomenally powerful foe wasying in wait. Originally, Argyre was supposed to be the dominion of the Great Spirit of Ice, but, after countless conflicts, it had eventually disappeared. This had left arge temple located at the bottom of Lake Argyre unupied, and, without anyones notice, the Confederation seemed to have converted it into a research facility of sorts. This normally wouldnt have merited such an extreme response, but, when he noticed what they were researching, Vahn couldnt help but feel his anger rising alongside a palpable sense of excitement. Spreading his glimmering golden wings to their full length, covering nearly 130m from tip to tip, Vahn began to inhale deeply. Threads of elemental energy began to converge from the surrounding void, and, simr to a tailed beast condensing a bijudama, a massive sphere of bluish-white energy began to form above Vahns maw as he leaned his head back. It wasnt nearly as strong as his actual Dragons Breath, but, as he didnt want to annihte theke entirely, condensing elemental energy into a sphere more than three-hundred meters across allowed him to deal immense damage while also instilling fear and terror into onlookers... --- While Vahn was busy channeling his inner-chuuni high above the clouds, a marginally beaten and bloodied serpentine creature continued to writhe about in the thickyer of frozen mud that had formed on the bottom of Lake Argyre. It had suffered considerable injuries from the pir of light that smashed into its body, but, as that same attack had liberated it from its prison, the intelligent serpent released a maddening roar after coiling its body and facing the Heavens. It could sense an overwhelmingly powerful foe targetting it, but, rather than run away, it was eager to release the fury it had umted over decades of experimentation. Responding to the serpents, Leviathans, roar, the surrounded water began to twist and writhe as it broke free from the energy preventing it from crashing inwards. At the same time, several massive columns of water erupted from the surface of Lake Argyre, extending all the way to the cloudyer and causing a massive storm front to spontaneously form above the thousand-kilometer-wideke. With the icy waters crashing in around it, Leviathans wounds began to heal at a rate visible to the naked eye. What remained of the phosphorescent blue blood on its exterior quickly dispersed into the surrounding waters, and, as if they were excited by its presence, the elemental energy within the water began to surge with even greater intensity. The surface of Lake Argyre began to glow with simr blue light to the Levithans blood, and, around the same time that Vahn released his attack, the center of theke began to surge upwards at several hundred meters per second. Much to Vahns surprise, the surging pir of water took on a form simr to the Leviathan itself. It then opened its watery maw to reveal a swirling vortex of glowing blue energy that erupted to form a massive water spout the coiled like a living creature as it mmed into his slowly descending ball of condensed elemental energy. The energies within the water spout caused the darkening clouds to ice over in an instant, but, more surprising, at least for the Levithan, it had absolutely no effect on the dense sphere gradually descending toward thekes surface. As the swirling vortex of ice and water was its most powerful attack, the Levithan no longer tried to fight against the unknown dragon floating far outside its effective range. It had always been rather cowardly, and, after decades of imprisonment, it was in no hurry to return to captivity. It had a lot of frustrations it still needed to release, so, rather than fight against an overwhelmingly powerful foe, it would rather return to the open ocean and sink a few unsuspecting fishing vessels... --- Though the watery visage of the Levithan continued to try and contest his faux-bijudama, Vahn was not fooled by its trickery. He had already locked onto the surprisingly small serpent, but, rather than give chase, his second vessel, apanied by Asuna and Fenrir, moved to cut it off near the mouth of the Argyrian River. There was no reason for him to defeat the legendary creature on his own, so, rather than reduce the impact of his demonstration by chasing after a sneaky serpent, he continued to linger majestically in the sky as the ball of energy, like a small sun, slowly sunk into Lake Argyre... (A/N: Alternate Titles: So many famous people (OwO)...,Bigger, bigger, bigger...perfect!,*Darude Sandstorm begins ying*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1630 Deterren

Chapter 1630 Deterren

While the Hes Empire was still confused by the happenings in the center of Lake Argyre, high-ranking officers on the side of Megalomesembria knew exactly what had transpired. They quickly ryed this information back to their superiors, while, high in the sky, the entity they believed to be the Sage Dragon Emperor began his descent. After witnessing the strangely humanoid-looking dragon easily chase away one of the Beasts of Cmity without any discernible difficulty, the reaction of most people would have been to flee, or, at the very least, avoid drawing its attention. The Megalomesembrian Fleet, however, was not deterred in the slightest. Rather, after having one of their most valuable facilities wiped out in an instant, the Magister Militum didnt hesitate to order a counter-offensive. Having received their orders, the Megalomesembrian Fleet did not hesitate to engage the distant Sage Dragon Emperor. They had weapons specially designed to target distant opponents at a high elevation, so, immediately after their orders were received, hundreds ofser-like beams of magical energy ascended into the sky at rtivistic speeds. Though Vahns reaction time could actually eclipse rtivistic speeds, responding to attacks from outside his domain was still difficult. Fortunately, before he deigned to appear in the skies, he had actually snuck into both encampments, so, rather than be blindsided by the sudden volley, he was able to bend Space along the periphery of his domain, diverting even the much slower projectiles that had been hidden among the initial volley. As they had been expecting to confront the Sage Dragon Emperor at some point, Megalomesmbria had already developed a number of countermeasures. This included an experimental Anti-Dragon Warhead that had been designed to neutralize Ancient Dragons like Yggdrillia and Vrixho Nagasha, but, before they could test in on the former, Elfenhof hadpletely disappeared. This was one of the first signs indicating that the Sage Dragon Emperor was directly opposing them, so, unaware of his ability to bend Space, the Svanhvit had been authorized to perform an impromptu field test of the inordinately expensive munition. Vahn waspletely unaware of the Anti-Dragon Warhead that had been used against him, but, as if it refused to be ignored, a ck void nearly 500m in diameter opened up several kilometers from his position. It was simr to a Yi arrow being activated with five stars, effectively creating a stable ck hole, but, unlike the aforementioned arrow, the inky membrane surrounding the destructive sphere was covering in brightly glowing runes. Rather than dissipate, the runic sphere was positionally fixed, anchored to thes gravitational well. It seemed to serve the purpose of sealing and dealing constant damage to a target, as, based on what Vahn could deduce, the foreboding ck sphere could persist indefinitely by absorbing the elemental energy from the environment. Unless it was destroyed, it might even drain the entirety of Mundus Magicus dry, as, rather than gravity-based magic, it seemed to use the ck of Venus as a catalyst... Though he could understand why they would use such a potent weapon against him, Vahn was still incensed that such a wantonly destructive weapon even existed. It demonstrated apleteck of regard for the and showed just how far Megalomesembria was willing to go in the pursuit of power and wealth. They didnt care about anything but their personal interests, and, though there were bound to be good people among their poption, the Demonic influence in the Senate and the machinations of Cosmo Entelecheia ensured only vicious profiteers and opportunists ever rose to a position of real power. Unable to ignore the malevolent ck sphere, a terrifying aura was released from Vahns body as a resplendent golden hue spread nearly 17km from his position. From a distance, it looked like a hazy golden sun had formed around a tiny ck dot. Then, much to the stupefaction of the officers who knew the power of the Anti-Dragon Warhead, they watched as several golden chains appeared out of thin air, wrapping around the destructive sphere and graduallypressing it into nothingness... --- Exhaling a sigh of relief, Vahn transferred the reserve energy from one of his backup vessels into his own, instantly restoring his reserves. He then turned his zing golden eyes towards the mobilizing fleet in the distance. It took considerable restraint to resist the urge to wipe them off the face of the, but, while this would certainly allow him to achieve his goal, it was also needlessly excessive. There were many people in both the Empire and Confederation who simply wanted to protect their families and defend their homnds, so, while they had a hand in enabling the corrupt powers that ruled over them, Vahn had grown weary of arbitrary killings. After taking action that led to the deaths of billions back in the Nasuverse, Vahn no longer had the heart to resort to extreme measures. He had meditated on his actions for nearly a hundred years, and, though he was able to achieve his goals in a remarkably short period of time, he couldnt help but feel as though he had lost an important part of himself in the process. Though he was aiming for the absolute pinnacle of existence, Vahn wanted to preserve as much of his original self as possible. He didnt want to be the type of person that constantly had to justify his actions along the lines of good and evil, as, in the grand scheme of things, there were simply acts of altruism and selfishness. He could have easily achieved the same result in a less destructive way, but, using a variety of different excuses, he carved a path littered in the bodies of billions... Taking a few deep breaths to restrain his fury, Vahn began to gradually descend towards the surface of Lake Argyre. Most of the energy from his previous attack had beenprised of Ice and Water Elemental Energy, so, after contacting theke, the surface froze so rapidly that even the spouts of water formed by the Levithan had solidified. Though most of these broke instantly from their own weight, one of them continued to tower several hundred meters into the air, an unnerving cracking sound periodically resonating from within the tornado-like sculpture of ice. With both his scales and domain generating a golden light, Vahns figure was somewhat obscured from afar. As he descended closer to the ground, however, ships from both sides were able to see him with increasing rity. This was enough to bring silence to manymand bridges, as, despite rumors of the Sage Dragon Emperor circting throughout Mundus Magicus, this was the first time they had seen him appear in his dragon form. Though he was rtively smallpared to the true forms of Vrixho and Yggdrillia, standing only 40m in height, Vahn didnt lose out in majesty. His overall physique was vaguely humanoid, which was scary for a variety of reasons, and, though his wings almost seemedically oversized, they gave off an impression of invibility. This,bined with a ive-like tail whose edge gleamed with a dangerous light, caused many to instinctually conclude that Vahn was capable of shrugging off any attack while simultaneously possessing the ability to slice through even the thickest armor. To further reinforce the idea that he wasnt an opponent they could face, Vahns body was covered in a pattern of runes that simply didnt exist in the Akamatsuverse. There was also an eight-pointed dharmic wheel slowly revolving behind his back, while, framed by the curved horns protruding from his draconic visage, a glimmering golden halo gave off a suppressive force that caused all but the most stalwart of individuals to avert their eyes or instinctually lower their heads, even if they were only seeing it through a disy. Vahn had developed a habit of never relying on equipment to enhance his power, excluding a few obvious exceptions. If it was for the purpose of acting as a deterrent, however, he had fewer qualms about using some of the items he had stockpiled over the years. Several had been collecting dust in his inventory for decades, as, after obtaining them as Quest rewards or through Gacha function, he simply had no use for them. A stark contrast to his usual transformations, Vahn currently had rings on each finger, manacle-like essories on both wrists and ankles, armbands around his biceps, and a massive jeweled pendant around his neck. Even the dharmic wheel rotating behind his back and the golden halo above his head were pieces of equipment, the former rated an S-Rank while thetter was an SS-Rank item from the only Indigo pull he had ever received from his daily Standard Gacha. Though it only had a single effect, the halo, known simply as a [Runed Halo], was one of the more ridiculous items Vahn had ever obtained. Once every ten days, the weilder could designate any conceivable target, and, for a period of twenty-four hours, you would have functional immunity from whatever you had designated. While this didnt seem that ridiculous at first nce, it even allowed the user to designate things like Magical Energy or Divinity. The only thing it didnt seem to work against was the Laws themselves, but, as that was to be expected, Vahn hadnt been too surprised. Exploiting one of the loop-holes formted by Da Vinci, Vahn had designated damage itself as the thing he was immune to. Thus, for the next twenty-four hours, there was nothing beneath the SS-Rank though would be able to harm so much as a hair on his head. This would then be followed by a ten-day Cooldown period, but, as he merely needed to create the illusion of indestructibility, there were no real downsides. With this in mind, he touched down rather softly on the ground, creating a massive golden spell circle across the surface of the ice... --- After failing to strike anywhere near their target, themanders of the Megalomesembrian Fleet had ordered their ships to conserve energy and spread outward. At the same time, the Svanhvit had received authorization to deploy six of their War God Soldiers, three of which were the ck variety that had managed to rout the Empires Southern Fleet. Though a single War God Soldier might not be a match for an Ancient Dragon, a group of five was generally enough to suppress Vrixho for a short period of time. It was virtually impossible for them to actually win, but, so long as they could distract their target long enough, there were a number of methods to deal with otherwise insurmountable foes. The mostmon method was to simply seal them away, so, in order to ascertain the vulnerabilities of the mysterious field surrounding the Sage Dragon Emperors body, Megalomesembria was prepared to expend considerable resources just to find his weakness. Fortunately, rather than remain well outside the range of conventional weapons, the Sage Dragon Emperor had descended low enough that the main batteries of each ship could fire upon him. This also allowed their War God Soldiers to mobilize, and, though it didnt matter all that much in the grand scheme of things, the fact the automatons towered over the glistening golden dragon was a considerable relief to some. Unfortunately, long before they could reach the targets location, an incrediblyplex magic circle rapidly spread from the center of Lake Argyre. Its sheer size was unlike anything the vast majority of people had ever seen, and, even with systems specifically designed to analyze the structure of even Ancient Magics, the Legatus temporarily assigned tomand the Svanhvit felt like smashing his console as a mechanical voice repeated inconclusive over and over within his earpiece. In the hope of stopping whatever the Sage Dragon Emperor had nned, nearly every ship within the Megalomesembrian Fleet began to fire their main batteries without regard. The vast majority of these attacks went well off course, but, byplete happenstance, some managed to prate a fair distance into the invisible membrane, halted the expansion of the magic circle. This gave the Legatus the idea of using the onboardputers to calcte the expected angle of deviation topletely stop the spread of the magic circle, but, rather than remain constant, the Space was constantly shifting and distorting at random. Fearing the worst, the Commander of the Svanhvit order all ships to cease firing and spread out at retreat speeds. This ended up being a surprisingly good decision, as, the moment the golden magic circle expanded to cover nearly 10km, a golden sphere of light began to coalesce at the very center, hovering several hundred meters above Vahns head. Though this seemed like ackluster result for such a massive magic circle, the fact they could even see the sphere of light meant the attack had already hit them. As for the actual effect of the indescribably beautiful white light, it spread through the area like an electromaic pulse, momentarily turning all magical energy inert. With their systems temporarily disabled, the fleeing Megalomesembrian Fleet began tozily list in the direction of their departure, gradually losing both forward momentum and altitude. At the same time, the barrier protecting the Southern Fleet instantaneously flickered out of existence as all but the Hes began a slow and gradual descent toward the ground. Even their secondary systems had been temporarily disabled, and, until the light ceased its resplendent glow, using magic anywhere in the vicinity had be virtually impossible... --- With the protection of the [Runed Halo], Vahn couldnt even feel the characteristic tingle that would normallye with bathing in purifying light. Instead, he felt a gentle warmth enveloping his body like the mostfortable nket in the entire world. It reminded him a lot of Gaia, but, considering it was a spell modeled after the invisible field that perpetually surrounded her, that wasnt exactly a surprise. He had even named the spell [Gaias Light], and, though it had very niche uses, it was very useful in situations where the enemy was almost wholly dependant on technological innovations to express their power. The only downside to [Gaias Light] was that it had little effect on magical constructs and a persons internal energy, so, after a few minutes had passed, the distant sound of thunderous steps became progressively louder as six figures, three white and three ck, came charging at him. Seeing these automatons up close brought an immediate frown to Vahns face as he could instantly guess how they were produced based on the phenomenal amount of negative energy swirling within them. He was very sensitive to such things, and, though the automatons themselvesck an ego, Vahn could feel thousands of resentful voices crying out for vengeance... Vowing to hold those responsible for creating such monstrosities ountable, Vahn slowly raised his hand toward the nearest Demon Gold Soldier. They were still tens of kilometers away, but, due to their sheer size, it was easy to make out the fine details of their figure as they forcibly tore their way through the distorted Space along the edge of his domain. The ck ones even absorbed a bit of the energy contained within, but, regardless of their durability, it wouldnt matter in the end. This was a conviction held firmly in Vahns heart as brackish mes, starkly contrasting his predominately golden figure, began to form around his extended hand. Then, preceding his instantaneous charge toward the massive automaton, a spiritual tremble that could be felt from hundreds of kilometers away descended upon the world as he uttered, "Set alight the all-consuming me...Laevateinn...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Cant touch this,A hundred years of daily gacha for a single Indigo...,Even under the purifying Light of Gaia, the Emperors wrath knows no bounds...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1631 Shifting Tide

Chapter 1631 Shifting Tide

Though they were more than a thousand kilometers away, neither Asuna nor Fenrir was surprised by the fact they could vaguely sense the draconic version of Vahns aura. It was like the whole world was responding to his presence, and, if not for the massive storm front that had spread across the sky, they would have even been able to see an aurora-like phenomenon in the upper atmosphere as a phenomenal amount of elemental energy rushed to his location... Seeing the two girls staring toward the horizon with anticipatory gazes, Vahn cracked a wry smile as he said, "The Leviathan will be here shortly. Ill leave it to you to decide whether or not you will fight together or separately." Hearing her Masters words, Fenrir turned her attention to Asuna, scarlet-eyes glittering as she met the gaze of the petite parka-wearing girl. Then, seemingly on the same wavelength, both extended their hands to reveal scissors. This caused Fenrirs ears to twitch slightly, but, rather than disy any demonstrative disappointment, she just said, "Ill leave the front to you. If it looks like you are going to have trouble, Ill support with area-of-effect magic." With a smile spreading across her face, Asuna nodded her head, pulling out her pitch-ck tanto as she said, "Just leave it to me! I wont let it get by so easily~!" Replying with a curt nod of her own, Fenrir used shundo to create a bit of distance between herself and Asuna before adopting a pouncing pose simr to a cat preparing to pounce as she said, "Bind, Gleipnir...!" Following Fenrirs utterance, icy blue mes erupted across her body before quickly fading to reveal a cloaked mantle that seemed to be formed from a massive, midnight-blue, wolf pelt. At the same, silvery-white chains manifested around her wrists and ankles before pulling together Fenrirs front paws and linking them together with arge, moon-shaped, lock. A simr lock had also appeared on her left ankle but, perhaps understanding the folly of fully binding its masters movements, the chains coiling around Fenrirs ankles were left to coil freely. With a rather dour but focused look on her face, Fenrir lifted her body to a standing position, front paws dangling helplessly as the cloak draped across her shoulders cascaded to conceal most of her upper body. This gave her a wild and untamed appearance, and, even with the bindings restraining her front paws, any enemy unfortunate enough to fall under the fiery Vanargandrs glowering gaze would feel as though they were a tiny mouse trapped in the corner by a giant, hungry, wolf... Though she had felt Fenrirs aura several times in the past, Asuna couldnt help but grip the hilt of her own Zankpakuto a little tighter. She hadplete trust in the wolfish-woman, but, regardless of how confident she was, her rational mind feared the power sleeping within Fenrirs body. It was one of the few things her Magic Cancel had absolutely no effect against, and, even if she used the State of Nothingness, Fenrirs Severing Lawspelled her to dodge time and again... After performing a little shimmy to shake away the chill settling across her body, Asuna entrusted her back to the glowering Vanargandr. All the tensions in her body began to rapidly fade away, and, after around ten seconds, a feeling of absolute calm had descended upon her mind as her presence began to rapidly fade away. By the time she opened her eyes, any semnce of fear or trepidation had faded away, her heterochromatic eyes reflecting a calm yet confident glimmer... --- Though it had no idea what was waiting for it, the Leviathan felt as though it had crashed head-first into a wall when it felt a sudden, oppressive, and murderous aura. Its instincts told it that death was waiting ahead, but, with no path of retreat, its only option was to either advance or attempt to hide ind. This would greatly decrease its offensive and defensive capabilities, but, due to its small size, less than three meters in length, it could easily hide in a small pond or seek refuge in a well. While measuring its options, the Leviathan poked its head out of the water to get a better grasp of its surroundings. It could see the massive storm front it had created gradually spreading overhead, but, rather than the torrential downpour that generally followed in its wake, the elemental energy in the air was unnaturally calm. This caused a shiver to run down its spine as it resolved to, at the very least, never to return to Lake Argyre. Without flooding to aid in carving a path ind, the Leviathan resolved itself to break through the enemy waiting ahead. It gave off an indescribably murderous aura, but, after just escaping an even more terrifying foe, it was confident in its ability to flee. Thus, after several minutes of mustering its own courage, the Leviathan began to slither through the water, slowly at first but quickly ramping up to supersonic speeds as it sliced through the water faster than any torpedo... --- Borrowing awareness from her Master, Fenrir was able to sense the Leviathan the moment it entered into his domain. A wispy, bluish-ck, aura began to rise from her body, and, without the slightest embarrassment, she did not hesitate to exim, "Master, give me strength!" before chanting, "Lord of the Frozen Temple. Release your icy breath! Nivis Casus!" Before Fenrir had finished her chant, an icy blue magic circle had spread from her feet as several smaller magic circles manifested out of thin air. Therger circle was the structure of the spell itself while the smaller ones allowed her to make minute adjustments to the output in real-time. This was the surest sign that someone was an Archmage, as, without an extraordinary amount of experience, the only practical way to adjust the output of a spell was to use less magical power. With the spell primed, Fenrir leaped high into the sky, paws extended towards the nearby river that separated the Continents of Tempe Terra and Noachis. Immediately afterward, several plumes of ice and snow, many reaching hundreds of meters in height, exploded beneath the surface of the water. Then, like an avnche cascading down a mountain, several million tons of ice and snow formed a terrifying white wave that spread across the surface of the river, freezing everything in its wake. Though it almost seemed like Fenrir would be able to freeze the entire river, the phenomenal power of mother nature could never be underestimated. The river might not be flowing too quickly but its current carried more than enough force to nearly shatter the icy blockade before flooding into the surrounding area... Quickly realizing her mistake, Fenrirs ears drooped as she leaped into the air, a subtle shade of red coloring her cheeks as she created a pir of ice to escape the mounting flood. She didnt have the face to look directly at her Master or Asuna, but, through their shared connection, she was able to feel something simr to nostalgia as her Master mused, "This really takes me back to our walks in the Western Forest..." Hearing her Masters words, Fenrir recalled his attempts to stop the flow of a river using his water elemental maniption. He was able to stop it for a brief moment, but, immediately thereafter, he would be sent crashing backward before being swept up in the powerful current. Though it did little to erase her embarrassment, Fenrir felt a little better knowing her Master had made simr mistakes in the past. Her ears instantly perked back up, and, though it was very slight, her tail began to gently sway from side-to-side as an even greater volume of magical energy began to swirl around her... Seeing Fenrir growing excited, Vahn and Asuna disyed near-identical expressions, both smiling with equal parts affection and wryness. Fortunately, Fenrir didnt seem to notice this, as, following the massive flooding, an even greater volume of water surged forward as a glowing blue silhouette attempted to bypass them. Before it could, however, Asunas expression visibly sharpened as she cut down and said, "Kami-no-Setsudan!(Divine Severance)" Consuming nearly half of Asunas reserves, a biblical gulf appeared within the surging tide, literally dividing it toward the horizon. It was a rather nonsensical disy, but, having seen Asuna create a gulf across the surface of Phobos, Vahn wasnt surprised. The Leviathan, however, had a very human expression on its face as it stared wide-eyed at the girl that had nearly bifurcated it. Trusting its instincts, the Leviathan had attempted to evade the moment it sensed Asunas sword rise. As a result, it managed to get away with the loss of a fin and the tip of its tail. These were injuries it would normally be able to heal easily, but, surprising it even further, a steady trickle of glowing blue blood continued to flow from the wounds as it attempted to flee. In response to the Leviathans blood, the surrounding waters began to surge rapidly as severalrge dragon heads, formed entirely of water, erupted from the surface like a hydra. Each was capable of firing arge column of highly pressurized water from their mouths, but, long before they were able to, invisible des passed through their necks, severing their heads in an instant. At the same time, cutting off the Leviathans path of escape, two silvery chains sliced through the water, aided by the presence of Severing Laws. Though it was able to coil back in an instant to evade the lethal chains, the Leviathan was awestruck to learn that the water surrounding its body had been frozen solid in an instant. This wouldnt be a problem under normal circumstances, but, rather than normal ice, a potent sealing effect had been infused into brackish waters. To further exacerbate matters, the chains it had barely evaded seemed to be wholly unaffected by this sealing property, moving freely to wrap around its body and cutting through its flesh with considerable ease. The Leviathan wanted to cry out in rage and indignation, but, as soon as that thought crossed its mind, it felt something pass through its body. All pain immediately faded away, and, before it even realized what had happened, a sense of finality had spread through its mind as darkness imed its vision... --- Though he hadnt actually expected it to give them any trouble, Vahn was surprised by how quickly Fenrir and Asuna had been able to overwhelm the Leviathan. It was one of the legendary Beasts of Cmity that had tormented the Magical World since its formation. Despite this, it waspletely helpless in front of thebined duo, almost as if it was just a normal magical creature. Restraining a sigh, Vahn adopted an approving smile as Asuna and Fenrir turned their attention to him, clearly seeking validation and praise. In response, his smile became more sincere as he mused, "As expected. The two of you have worked hard and it really shows. As your Master, I cant help but feel extremely proud. Come, let me reward you." Almost immediately after his words had fallen, a smiling Asuna appeared in front of Vahn using a nearly seamless shundo. She was even faster than Fenrir when it came to covering short distances, and, when it came to receiving rewards for her hard work, Asuna had never been shy. Seeing the twin-tailed Princess beat her to the punch, a deadpan expression spread across Fenrirs face as she yanked the silvery chains coiled around her paws. As a result, the corpse of the Leviathan was pulled free from the block of ice she had created,nding heavily despite its diminutive size... While cupping Asunas face and lightly massaging her scalp with the tips of his fingers, Vahn briefly turned his attention to Fenrir as she dismissed her Zanpakuto and transformed into a massive wolf with a dense coat of midnight blue fur and a fluffy white underbelly. Then, without any hesitation at all, she picked up the Leviathans remains with her teeth, tossing it into the air before catching it with her mouth and devouring the entire thing in less than ten seconds. Though the Leviathan was much weaker than her, possessing a BP of around 3700, Fenrir was still able to benefit greatly from consuming its body. A mystical blue light glistened across her fur for a brief moment, and, though it was only a marginal increase, she felt as though her internal reserves had grown alongside her understanding of Water Elemental Energy. Putting her new power to the test, Fenrir stamped her massive paw atop the icy pir, generating a subtle pulse that spread through the surrounding floodwaters. In response, their ferocity decreased noticeably, and, though she wasnt able to stop them, she felt as though it wouldnt take too much effort to guide the flow back to the river... Sensing the strange pulse of energy, Asuna turned her head to face Fenrir, a curious light flickering across her green-blue eyes. Unfortunately, this cost her the rest of her reward, as, equally interested in Fenrirs power, Vahn ruffled Asunas hair onest time before walking past her and approaching therge wolf who continued stamping the ground with her paws... Seeing Vahn walking away, Asuna felt a brief moment of confusion before puffing out her cheeks in a slight pout. She was tempted to point out that she deserved a much greater reward for defeating a literal Cmity-ss threat. However, this seemed a little petty, so, rather than make a scene, she decided to simply shundo next to Vahn, seamlessly linking her hand with his and walking alongside him the rest of the way... (A/N: Alternate Titles: (O w O)...,I kind of feel bad for the Leviathan xD...,*Stamping Intensifies*) (A/N: As a general reminder: Fenrir is able to devour virtually anything, but, with the additional perk of her Heaven Devouring Wolf Innate, she benefits greatly from consuming things she already has a decentprehension of. She isnt able to acquire the abilities of the things she eats, but, if she ate enough of the same monster, herprehension would gradually reach the point where she could emte them without much difficulty. Remember, Fenrir has always been very good at mimicry~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1632 Drawing the Line

Chapter 1632 Drawing the Line

Though they were one of the Confederations most powerful war assets, especially against foreign mages and Airfish, the Demon-God Soldiers were wholly unprepared to engage a Grandmaster Ki User and Swordsman. It didnt matter how big or durable they were, as, even at the Master level, it was possible for many swordsmen to cut through concepts such as Immortality and Invincibility. As a Grandmaster who hadprehended the duality of Infinity and Nothingness, Vahns skill had reached a transcendental level even before his entry into the Akamatsuverse. It didnt matter what his actual Base Power was, as, unless they embodied a greater concept or possessed some abstract Innate, there was nothing he couldnt cut through. Reacting to the Demon-God Soldiers attempt to grab him, Vahn simply contracted his wing, cutting it forward to p the colossal creatures fist aside. It had an absurd amount of forward momentum due to its size, but, as if time has been frozen, the 100m tall entity came to aplete stop as Vahn swung his Laev-tan in an unnaturally slow motion from its hip to shoulder. Though the phenomenon urred almost instantaneously after the sh, anyone with heightened senses would have witnessed the Demon-God Soldier remaining stationary for several seconds as Vahn casually stepped around it. It was only when he bent forward in preparation for his next target that a glowing red line spread across the formers body. Then, as its body began to slough into two distinct pieces, both halves began to corrode away under the influence of brackish-red mes. Without sparing the first Demon-God Soldier a nce, Vahn took what appeared to be a single step forward, his body flickering as he appeared directly beneath his target, his sword already raised in a striking motion. Then, simr to his previous attack, the ymore-like Laev-tan fell forward in a perfectly natural motion, almost as if it was being propelled by gravity alone. As they were far more advanced than their white counterparts, the second Demon-God Soldier did its best to try and defend against the sudden attack. It actually tried to catch the 33m long de in between its massive palms, but, long before it brought its hands together, Vahns sword was already pointing towards the ground. As a result, the colossal creature effectively gave itself a simple round of apuse, elerating the manifestation of the cutting line that perfectly bifurcated its body. Rather than move on to his next target, Vahn closed his wings with enough force to crack the icy surface of theke as tempestuous wings sent the massive creature tumbling backward. It hadnt actually died from his first blow, so, before he finished it off, Vahn wanted to see what else it was capable of. Though its body had been cut in half, the wound had been so precise that the regeneration of the ck Demon-God Soldier allowed it to remain whole. It wasnt able to absorb Vahns Sword Laws into its body, but, much to thetters surprise, it was able to absorb Laev-tans mes. As a result, it was able to gradually repel the energy preventing it from healingpletely, gradually mending its injuries as it attempted to climb to its feet. Before the ck Demon-God Soldier could get ahead of itself, Vahn pointed Laev-tan toward its body as he muttered, "Well, I should have expected as much from the ck of Venus..." Following Vahns utterance, the mes that were being gradually consumed by the ck Demon-God Soldier intensified with explosive force. It quickly spread through the colossus body, burning the artificial magic circuits that allowed it to maintain its form. Though it had an affinity with absorbing energy derived from the Laws of Destruction, Laev-tans mes were far more than simply mes of Destruction. They were infused with Source Energy, and, under Vahns direction, they were even able to tear through Space, much less the body of a magical construct. After a few seconds had passed, the ck Demon-God Soldier looked like a massive chunk of chared brimstone. There were fiery cracks covering its body, and, due to the drastic difference in temperature, it didnt take long for it to begin fragmenting into smaller chunks. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn turned his attention to the remaining Demon-God Soldiers, a smile on his face as he released one of them from the bindings of Enkidu, saying, "Come. Id hate to leave any doubts in the minds of the fools who created you." Now freed from its bindings, the third Demon-God Soldier charged towards Vahn with just as much zeal as its predecessors. It was capable of very basic thought, but, without the ability to receive new orders, the only thing going through its mind was buying time, killing, or capturing its target. As a result, it made no attempt to gauge Vahns strength or try to free itspanions. Instead, it used reinforcement magic to amply its speed and strength, fearlessly charging forward with itsrge eye recording and analyzing as much as it could about its opponent. Seeing the Demon-God Soldier use a variant of Cantus Bex, the smile on Vahns draconic visage became more prominent as he embedded the massive Lave-tan into the frozenke. He wanted topletely shatter the hopes of any normal people targetting him, so, rather than end the fight in an instant by cutting down all six Demon-God Soldiers in a single strike, he was drawing things out and putting on a show. Simr to his previous disys with Laev-tan, Vahn seemed to casually extend his hand without any care or concern. The fist of the Demon-God Soldier covered nearly his entire upper body, and, with a mass approximating thirteen-million-kilograms and a speed nearing Mach one, even something as simple as punch carried a force exceeding sixteen-billion Newtons. This was the equivalent force of four tons of high explosives being detonated on a point of contact, but, as such calctions had no relevance at all, Vahn simply caught the Demon-God Soldiers fist with his palm. There was none of the usual shockwaves that apanied such an exchange. Instead, it was almost as if the force of the punch had been negated in its entirety... Feeling a little more overpowered than usual, Vahn had to fight hard to prevent a goofy smile from spreading across his face. There was nothing quite like the feeling of shattering the expectations of your enemies, fools who went to great lengths to exercise their power for malicious ends. It would have been even better if he used his own power to do so, but, as there simply wasnt time to reach such a level, Vahn didnt mind exploiting the [Runed Halo] to deter unnecessary bloodshed. Channeling his Source-infused Ki through his palm, Vahn sent a spear-like pulse of energy into the arm of the Demon-God Solder. It was able to travel without any perceptible obstructions, climbing up the monstrositys arm before exploding near its shoulder. Its entire arm ended up being blown off as a result, and, as could be expected, the explosion was more than sufficient to knock it off bnce. Without giving the Demon-God Soldier a chance to recover, Vahns spread his wings to their full length as he drew both of his fists toward his waist. Then, preempting a series of massive shock waves, his fists seemed to multiply as his arms turned into a golden blur. At the same time,rge indentations appeared across the body of the Demon-God Soldier before massive chunks of its body began to tear away from the force of the shockwaves. With nearly a hundred ki-infused strikes impacting the Demon-God Soldier before the shockwaves from the previous strikes could fully radiate, its body ended up being shredded to ribbons once the forces began to ovep with each other. By the time Vahn retracted his fists, returning to a neutral position, the only thing indicating there was ever a Demon-God Soldier present were the intact feet that had been spared his onught. Even then, they ended up being sent sliding several hundred meters from the site of their original owner, milky white blood staining the ice in their wake. Satisfied by his disy of power, Vahn gave himself a curt nod before turning his attention to the final three Demon-God Soldiers. There were still two ck variants remaining, so, after loosening Enkidu, Vahn extended his hand, forming a w, towards the off-bnce entity. He wanted to see how resistant it was to abilities derived wholly from mental power,pletelycking an elemental affinity. Thus, despite feeling as though someone had lodged an ax into the back of his head, Vahn ignored the pain as he slowly formed a fist. Though it attempted to resist using its raw physical might, it only took a few seconds before the ck Demon-God Soldier appeared to be contracting its body. An invisible force was acting across its entire body, and, after several seconds more, a thunderous cracking sound could be heard as the durable materialprising its body gradually sumbed to the growing pressure. Following that, murky ck blood began to erupt from cracks appearing across the surface of its body, and, after a full minute had passed, its substantial one-hundred-meter tall frame had beenpressed into an egg shape barely eclipsing twenty. Restraining the urge to release an exhausted sigh, Vahn ced the Demon-God Soldiers corpse into his Inventory before raising his hand toward the sky and opening it once again. At a nce, it appeared as though he was just standing there with his hand up, but, if you shifted your focus to a point in Space seventeen kilometers above, you would find several eleration gates manifesting as the body of the Demon-God Solder was brought out of his Inventory. Like a hammer of judgment, Vahn dropped his hand toward the final white Demon-God Soldier as the corpse of its predecessor crashed into it with meteoric force. This caused the surface of theke to fracture for tens of kilometers, and, due to its proximity, the ck Demon-God Solider suffered a substantial amount of damage from the resultant shockwave. Enkidu kept it bound in ce, so, with no means to bleed off the force of the explosion, its body ended up being pulped as therge eye glowing in its helmet-like head shattered into tiny pieces. Waiting until the dust and debris had cleared away, Vahn took Laev-tan into his hands, raising her tip toward the sky. This action alone caused a massive rift to appear in the storm clouds overhead, but,pared to the seque of his actual attack, this was negligible. It was a strike that carried hisprehension of Infinity and Nothingness, two contrary forces, which, like the ground before him, were perfectly divided by an iprehensibly fine line. Though it wasnt perception-based like Asunas Zanpakuto ability, Vahn was able to draw a perfect and invible line between the forces of the Hes Empire and Megalomesembria. Unless someone exceptionally powerful destroyed it, this line would remain indefinitely, visible even from hundreds of kilometers away. Anyone foolish enough to try and cross it would be bisected in an instant, much like the final Demon-God Solider... Staring at his own handiwork, even Vahn felt a little unnerved by the eerie ck line that seemed to follow the movements of his eyes. It was incredibly thin, no thicker than a simple string, but, even if he looked towards the distant clouds or turned his attention to thekebed, it was always visible. At the same time, like an invisible ss pane had been erected, the clouds above were unable to form together into a singr whole. Though the individual molecules were still able to pass through the region, anything bigger than a strings thickness, even a cloud, would be perpetually sliced through by the thin ck line. Putting his own theory to the test, Vahn swallowed hard before extending his w and attempting to bypass the region. There was actually a brief moment where nothing happened, but, after a few seconds had passed, Vahn wasnt surprised by a sudden pain as the tip of his w was sliced into a number of thin slices. All he felt prior to the pain was a strange vibration, and, even though he was supposed to be immune to damage thanks to the [Runed Halo], it seemed that his capabilities with the sword exceeded the SS-Rank when fusing the two dualistic concepts into one. Satisfied by the result of his efforts, Vahn turned his attention to Gaias Light, negating its effects so that he could actually fly. His wings didnt give him actual flight capabilities, and, though he couldrgely ignore the effects of Gaias Light, doing so in his dragon form was difficult. He didnt possess an ability rted to increasing his size, so, despite his effective damage output increase, Vahn could only grow to a point that he was physically able to manipte. Forty meters was pretty close to his absolute limit in a bipedal form, so, after demonstrating his abilities and swinging around Laev-tan, his body was on the verge of breaking downpletely. Fortunately, from the perspective of the Hes Empire and Megalomesembrian Confederation, he had suffered absolutely no damage in his battle against the Demon-God Soldiers. Rather, it seemed like he was messing around and putting on a show to demonstrate his power. His theatrics all but confirmed this, so, even after returning to his human form, thus confirming his identity, neither side had any intention of trying to re-engage him. His message had been received loud and clear, so, at least for the time being, an impromptu ceasefire agreement had been mandated by both sides... With his job done, Vahnmunicated his intent to the nascent elementals that had congregated in the skies above Argyre. He wanted theke to remain frozen so the Empire and Confederation could send people to investigate the area without having to take a boat or fly an Airfish over. The ck line was visible from both shores, so, before trying to escte the conflict further, they were bound to send someone over. Once they realized what the line represented, his intentions would have been made loud and clear, so, rather than stick around, the three versions of himself that had been prepared for the engagement simply vanished into thin air... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A forty-meter tall Grandmaster swordsman...,MUDA MUDA MUDA...!,Cross the line. I dare you. I double-dare you!,Flexin aint easy) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1633 Balance

Chapter 1633 Bnce

Without caring about the response of the Hes Empire and Megalomesembrian Confederation, Vahn focused his efforts on investigating the regions flooded during the brief confrontation against the Leviathan. Fortunately, due to the existence of the Leviathan itself, there were very few cities located anywhere near arge body of water. The only real exceptions were ces like Al Jam and Sirenum, regions where the native poption could survive in both the sea and onnd. Their coasts were also lined with massive sea walls that reached upwards of 100m, well above the threshold of the Leviathans average tsunamis. Other than some environmental damage, which would quickly recover due to the presence of both elemental and magical energy, there were no disastrous consequences of Fenrirs minor gaffe. The only nearby poption centers were the agricultural nation of Eos and a number of frontier military outposts owned and operated by the Megalomesembrian Confederation. These facilities, as could be expected, were surrounded by excessively high walls, so, regardless of whether or not the flood reached them, they would bergely unaffected. --- After several hours of search-and-rescue, saving various animals and a few magical beasts that had been affected by the flooding, Vahn, apanied by Fenrir and Asuna, made camp in the valley of a small mountain located a few hundred kilometers North of Lake Argyre. This region often served as a secondary battleground between the two superpowers, so, with their preferred battleground now impassable, they had little choice but to change venue if they wanted to continue the conflict. Though there was a considerable Hes presence in the region, the valley upied by Vahn and his entourage was sparsely popted by ancient ruins. Such areas were often the breeding ground for powerful monsters, and, for reasons Archaeologists and Schrs had yet to understand, a variety of malicious magical traps, many specifically targeted people, could be found in such ruins. Disarming these traps was ultimately futile, as, after a few hours had passed, new traps would spring up, many far more dangerous than those which preceded them. While dungeoneering or delving into ruins, the mostmon approach was to simply map out as many traps as possible without triggering them. Traps wouldnt just randomly move around, so, if they had yet to be triggered, identifying the locations and triggering mechanisms of a trap would allow for rtively safe passage through an area. With the ability to instantaneously map out everything within his perception, it took very little effort for Vahns party to trespass the ruins. It took them less than half an hour to reach the most isted region of the ruins, a vast underground chamber that was actually guarded by arge baboon-like creature with a snake-headed tail. Though it had a breath attack that allowed it to turn anything it touched into stone, the ten-meter tall monstrosity was ultimately defeated by Asuna in an instant. She had been excitedly leading the way up until then, and, after defeating the boss-like entity, she happily pried open an ornate stone chest that had appeared in a hidden room following after the monkeys defeat. This also ended up being a trap, but, with her ability to negate external magicpletely, Asuna ended up destroying the magical formation without even noticing its existence... --- Taking advantage of the empty chamber formerly upied by the giant baboon, Vahn pulled out a homely-looking cottage from his Inventory and began fixing dinner while Fenrir and Asuna washed up and changed clothes. He was mentally exhausted from his earlier escapades, but, after watching Asuna happily conquer the game-like dungeon, much of his usual vigor had returned. Cooking also helped a lot, as, not only was it something he genuinely enjoyed, it had always been a therapeutic way for him to simply cut loose and rx. Though it might seem somewhat contrary considering his penultimate goal, Vahn wasnt actually all that fond of conflict. He certainly enjoyed friendlypetition and battling strong opponents, but, as such things were often predicated by exacerbating circumstances, it generally left a bitter taste in his mouth. There simply werent enough opponents he could go all out against, and, more often than not, those that could actuallypete with him were vile and despicable existences he simply couldnt enjoy battling. Shaking his head, Vahn finished decorating his dishes by cutting a few sausages and apple slices into the shape of cute octopi and pointy-eared rabbits. He always found it rather amusing to see the conflict in Asunas eyes whenever she was forced to choose between eating what he had made or letting them go to waste. It might be a little mean of him, but, even after the passage of more than two-hundred-years, Vahn simply couldnt help but enjoy teasing people. It was a core part of his character, and, though he sometimes got out of hand, most incidents quickly turned into fond memories that he could reminisce with the people he cared about... --- After enjoying a rather lively meal, Vahn was seated on arge sofa with Fenrir and Asuna nestled on his right and left, respectively. Thetter had already changed into her pajamas, but, rather than pay it any mind, Vahn just enjoyed theirpany as they watched a rather cinematic representation of the incident above Lake Argyre. Seeing it from the outside helped to put things into perspective, and, most importantly, allowed them to understand how others might view the event. Ever the astute youngdy, Asuna didnt hesitate to offer her own opinion on things, saying, "I like the idea of drawing a visible line between the two sides but I feel like it will have more of an impact on the creatures living in theke and anything trying to fly over than the two superpowers. Unless it could also block magical energy, they could continue to bombard each other from a distance and just use the Warp spell to transport their fleet across. It will certainly make things more difficult for them, but I cant see it ending the war..." Well aware of the points she was making, Vahn didnt try to refute any of Asunas ims. Instead, he just issued an approving nod before exining, "Even if we prevent them from openly fighting, they will still find ways to undermine and sabotage each other. Stopping the war wont actually bring the fighting to an end, so, until we can draw out Cosmo Entelecheia, I intend to draw as much attention as possible to myself. This will allow Theo, Arika, and Eva greater freedom of movement, and, if fate allows, it will also draw the members of Rubra directly to us." Hearing mention of Rubra, Asuna scrunched up her nose slightly before remarking, "I dont like those people. Though Ive never met them, everything I have read seems to imply that man, Albireo Imma, is the mastermind behind numerous troublesome events. Even if he did what he thought was necessary to defeat the Mage of the Beginning, the methods we use are equally as important as the oue we desire. The moment we cease caring about the particrs, we be no better than the enemies we want to defeat." Having learned a simr lesson the hard way, Vahn issued another approving nod in response to Asunas statement. There was no such thing as a finite oue, and, even after you achieved your goal, there was always something more to follow. Thepromises you made along the way would invariably lead to a karmic deficit, and, as a result, many Heroes often found their lives wrought with tragedy in the wake of their triumphs. Unless an incident urred to drastically decrease your power, victory against any established evil would subsequently lead to an extreme imbnce in power. As a result, something would need to fill the power vacuum created, and, though this could sometimes take thousands of years, the end result was always the tragic end of the Hero. There were even situations where the former Hero of a Record became the very threat a future protagonist would have to confront, as, over time, humanity and karmic deficits could even lead Saints down a very dark route. Having nearly strayed down such a path twice, both in the Nasuverse and Danmachi, Vahn knew better than most how quickly power could lead people astray. It was one of the reasons he desired stronger opponents, as, without something above him, it was inevitable that a threat woulde from below. This would remain the case until he reached Tier 7, as, by then, there would simply be no opponents that could ever pose a threat to him. Rather, at that level, all conflict would bepletely irrelevant... Envisioning the peak he was aiming for, Vahn felt a peculiar feeling of emptiness in his heart for a very brief moment. Memories of all the people he had met along the way, including his family and lovers, quickly reced any inhibitions he had about the future. This was the path he had decided upon, and, though it might seem like life would lose all meaning once he achieved such a degree of power, it wasnt as if power was the thing that gave his life meaning. His greatest desire had always been to live freely, not without restraint, but in a way that allowed him to be proud of the path he had walked and the bonds he forged in the process... --- Back within the observation room that allowed them to observe Vahns actions, all one-hundred of Siss avatars released a sigh of relief when they saw their troublesome little brother pull Fenrir and Asuna a little closer. They could feel his tensions gradually fade away, and, in their ce, feelings of affection, positivity, hope, and a fair amount of ambition quickly reced any feelings of negativity, at least for the time being. Though he had an almost ridiculous amount of power at his disposal, Vahn had always had a fragile heart. His mind was actually very stable,rgely thanks to her presence, but, due to the existence of his most powerful Innate, currently sealed by The Path, there were moments when his raw emotions transcended even his [Will of the Emperor]s ability to cope with. One of Sis primary responsibilities, even if it seemed contrary, was actually dying the awakening of Vahns primary Innate, as, depending on the circumstances, it could easily lead him far from any and all paths. She couldnt actually stop it from awakening, as it was simply inevitable, but, until he had obtained the happiness he sought, she would sooner sacrifice herself than allow him to endure the burden of the truth... After lightly patting their rather voluminous chests to calm down, several versions of Sis rose from their seats in order to conduct some routine maintenance. Vahn was clearly reaching a point where his own power was bing a burden to him, so, before he experienced an existential crisis or did anything drastic, they would filter through his memories in order to purge the emotions contained within. This would cause Vahn to feel a sense of indifference when he recalled these memories, but, in the grand scheme of things, people simply werent designed to recall feelings of negativity with perfect rity. Even a normal person could be consumed by negative thoughts, so, with the ability to recall even the individual particles of sand on a beach, one of Vahns greatest strengths was also his principal weakness. When he was happy, he was very happy, and, as a result, everyone around him would experience a greater sense of happiness and fulfillment. This was because he literally tranted his feelings through his domain, and, while it wasnt intentional, these emotions greatly affected those around him. Vahn had yet to realize it himself but he actually radiated his happiness and positivity like a me giving off heat. He could quantifiably increase the happiness of others, but, in exchange, he actually drained his own happiness as if it was a finite resource. At the same time, further exacerbating the problem, he proactively absorbed the negative energy radiated by others, overdrafting his mental and spiritual energies in the process. This was one of the reasons his Karma increase so quickly, as, rather than simply helping people, he qualitatively improved their lives by altering their fates and setting them down a path that would invariably ensure their happiness... Depending on how much of his empathy they had stirred, Vahn would ce a disproportionatelyrge seed of happiness within a persons body. This was generally enough to ensure they would live a rtively free and happy life, but, by remaining near Vahn and receiving his care, attention, and the nourishment of his Source Energy, this seed would inevitably blossom. By then, you would be a source for his happiness, and, depending on the circumstances, there was a chance you would be a part of something far greater than any individual... Unfortunately, as Vahns concerns and empathy spread beyond his immediate surroundings, the amount of happiness he spread greatly eclipsed his intake. If he tried helping too many people in a short period of time, he would gradually fall into a depressive state that exponentially increased the chances of him doing something regrettable. This could quickly result in a negative feedback loop, so, whenever Vahn was on the verge of a meltdown, Sis did her best to filter out as much negativity as possible, stopping short just when it seemed like her actions would directly affect his personality. Though it was certainly troublesome, everyone needed a bit of negativity and sadness in order to maintain a state of mental wellness. If they were unable to recall tragic events without feeling even a small amount of sadness or remorse, they would gradually feel more detached and apathetic. This wasnt necessarily a bad thing if you were a loner with a keen sense of purpose, but, when you were the lynchpin of both a Realm and an Empire, apathy became the catalyst for countless tragedies... In the grand scheme of things, bnce was equally as important in ensuring the stability of reality as it was in preserving the stability of the mind. Too much of any emotion, including things like love and happiness, could lead to dependence. This left you susceptible to breaking down when things werent going your way. More terrifyingly, you might even lose your ability to find happiness in the things that once brought you the greatest joy, desperately seeking means to fill the void that had been created in your heart... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Map Function is secretly the MC,Shokugeki no Sage Dragon Emperor,The secret of the *sealed* remains concealed...but for how long...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1634 Insigh

Chapter 1634 Insigh

With the Empire and Confederation entering a tentative period of peace, at least on the surface, Vahn decided to shift his focus away from existential issues and politics. There were a countless number of ways to spend his time more productively, so, until Theo, Arika, or Eva requested his assistance, Vahn decided to just cut loose and do things he enjoyed. Though it couldnt quitepete with the reality he experienced on a daily basis, especially as the Supreme Overseer of a Realm, Vahn still enjoyed reading, perusing manga, and watching anime. He always found it interesting how Authors had manipted or construed certain Laws to add realism to their worlds, as, on the most fundamental level, these were actually ways in which the Laws could manifest. This inherent truth had made quite the impact on Da Vinci, and, with his blessing, she had made a number of breakthroughs in her attempts to test the limits of reality itself. Vahn always felt blessed to have someone like Da Vinci in his camp. Her personality made her fun to be around, and, though she could get out of hand at times, her research had be more than just a foundational pir of the Empire; it had be one of his principal sources of strength. She was constantly making breakthroughs in various subjects, and, after learning about the true nature of his existence, much of her research was directly focused on helping increase hisprehension and strengthen his abilities. She had even made several breakthroughs regarding Innates, breaking down the various different types, the method to awaken them, and, most importantly, the different ways in which they might evolve. Though Innates were fundamentally unquantifiable existences with no upper limits on their growth and development, that didnt mean it was impossible to quantify the variables surrounding them. To that end, Da Vinci had managed to define Innates using nine standardized categories: Mind, Body, Spirit, Emission, Absorption, Mitigation, Creation, Maniption, and Sensory. Everything outside of these categories were ssified as a non-standard Innate, and, while it was possible for an Innate to have aspects from multiple categories, Da Vinci hypothesized that people could not develop two Innates in the same category. If Da Vincis hypothesis was true, it meant that, no matter how much a person trained, they could never develop something like two Body Innates. Instead, their existing Innate would evolve to be more adaptive to their intentions, even branching out into other categories if necessary. This was something Da Vinci had proven herself, as, after being artificially elevated to Tier 5, she managed to develop and customize her Innates to the point that, even if he removed her Authority, she would retain much of her power. Fortunately, Da Vinci didnt care about power in the slightest, disdaining all conflicts as a waste of time and resources. The only things that really mattered to her, in a very specific order, were him, their children, her research, and the stability of the Empire. It was for this reason that Vahn could trust her with virtually unchecked Authority within his Realm, as, even if she had the power to create stars in the palm of her hand, Da Vinci couldnt even rationalize misusing her power. She had never cared about things like status or arbitrarily dering herself superior to others, and, if you were to ask her, she could drone on for hours about how inane it was to even consider pursuing something so meaningless. Thankfully, while she considered such pursuits a waste of time, Da Vinci understood the situational need for such power. Thus, after learning about The Path and his desire to link the Records, she had been working tirelessly to help him understand the nature of reality itself. She had even helped to ssify his Innates, and, further cementing her status as an Omnipotent Genius, Sis actually verified that Da Vincis assertations were correct. After reading through various research papers Da Vinci hadpiled in her ongoing efforts to try and understand him, Vahn learned that he actually only had three Innates. This hade as quite a shock, as, ording to the same research papers, he had barely even reached Tier 4, much less the pinnacle he assumed himself to be at. In the end, it was his Source Energy that allowed Vahn to exceed the average Tier 4 and emte the abilities of Tier 5. It was a form of energy that even exceeded Origin, the energy that gave form and function to all things within the Tier System. As a result, it was actually easier for Source to emte higher forms of energy, such as Realm and Divine, than it was to dilute into something like Magical Energy or Ki. This meant that his Source Energy actually be more powerful the higher the Tier of a Record, as, with the presence of purer forms of energy, the conversion process would be progressively easier. Unfortunately, while the results of Da Vincis research had been very insightful, it meant Vahn was much further away from Tier 5 than he anticipated. As for the reason why, this wasrgely due to the fact that his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] wasnt actually one of his Innates. Rather, it was what Da Vinci referred to as a non-standard Innate, an ability that, unless certain conditions were met, simply couldnt exist as an inborn ability. Instead, non-standard Innates were inherited or given, and, as had been verified by Sis, Vahns [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] had been directly given to him by The Path. Though non-standard Innates could drastically increase a persons power, they had very little effect on the development of a persons Soul Tier. This meant that Vahn currently only had three Innates, his [Will of the Emperor], [Rakshasa Body], and [Eyes of Truth]. The former, rather than being rted to the Mind, was actually ssified as a Spirit Innate, and, as could be expected, [Rakshas Body] was principally ssified as a Body Innate. As for his [Eyes of Truth], they were actually categorized as a Creation Innate, as, despite their apparent effect on his eyes, Vahn was actually able to see without eyes at all. He could also create and destroy things simply by focusing his intent on a specific point, so, with the concept of Oblivion serving as their cornerstone, the [Eyes of Truth] had stronger ties to Creation than any kind of Sensory enhancement. If Da Vincis research was urate, which was heavily implied, this meant that Vahn had managed to reach Tier 4 with only three Innates. This was, once again,rgely thanks to his Source Energy, as, even at Tier 2, he had been able to sense, manipte, and emte Divine Energy. The presence of so many Goddesses around him also helped to drastically increase hisprehension, but, more so than anything else, it was his ability to meld with an existing Divinity that allowed him to reach Tier 4 with rtive ease. When Vahn first learned these things, it really put into perspective just how phenomenally powerful Source Energy was. It might not have any actual power, requiring a conversion into other forms of energy to have any real effect, but, so long as he understood what he wanted, Vahns Source Energy would adapt to suit his needs. It truly opened up all paths to him, as, without exception, all things in the order of creation, no matter how abstract, could be traced back to Origin. Since Origin itself was only possible due to the presence of Source, there was, quite literally, nothing beyond its scope, as, on the most fundamental level, everything existed as a result of Source. The only real restrictions on the use of Source Energy was theprehension of its user. It could not emte things they did not understand, and, while it could certainly fill in the gaps, this was primarily due to the significance Willpower and Intent. The Records themselves were derived from an amalgamation of these two things, so, when the conditions allowed, such as within a Realm, the influence of Source was absolute. If he really wanted to, Vahn could erase beings much stronger than him, as, within his Realm, they couldnt even exist without his permission. With his understanding of Source, Vahn had been developing a skill that would, theoretically, allow him to defeat any foe. Unfortunately, the conditions to trigger this ability required a nigh-absolute understanding of the Laws within the Record he inhabited. This meant he would need to be an existence on the level of a Records Overseer, a level of power that basically invalidated the need for such an absurd ability. Still, it was something worth developing, as, during the creation process, he would be required to learn how to reconcile the differences between the Laws of different Records. One of Vahns primary objectives was to develop a means to manifest people from within his Realm into the outside world. Pulling them inside was actually pretty easy, as he could simply create a new body for them the moment they entered his Realm. Manifesting them externally, however, was very difficult, as, due to the nature of the Ego, they wereprised of energies referencing very specific Laws. This meant, unless their Ego was erasedpletely, it was virtually impossible for a person to traverse between the Records. The only exception to this rule were entities that had been named by the [Keeper of the Akashic Tome], as, from the moment they received their names, they functionally became an extension of Vahn himself. Since there was a fair chance that he wouldnt be able to pull anything outside of his Realm before he reached the pinnacle of Tier 6 and created a Record of his own, Vahn had previously decided to focus on the development of his unawakened Innates. Sis had given him a few hints, pointing out that most of his original abilities were directly tied to his Innates. This included his [Chainbreaker], and, though he had originally thought it was rted to his Source Energy, it seemed that skills like [Yggdrasils Favor] and [Friend of the Spirits] were actually tied to something else entirely. To his surprise, Sis pointed out that even Development Abilities such as [Spirit Healing] and [Wound Transfer] were already rted to unawakened Innates, so, if he included [Veil of the Traveler], Vahn, from the very beginning, had the capacity to awaken seven Innates. This seemed to be the case for most people, as, with the restrictions of the Tier System, it was generally impossible for people to develop more than seven Innates. All Records existed between Tiers 1 and 7, and, regardless of how powerful something became, exceeding Tier 7 was impossible unless you already existed outside of the system. As the wielder of The Path, Vahns true body currently existed outside the Tier System entirely, so, if he really wanted to, it was possible for him to exceed Tier 7. Doing so, however, served no real purpose, as, ording to Sis, Tiers 8 and 9 were known as Aspect and Origin. The former was where all the Laws were derived from, and, though she couldnt go into any specifics, Sis surmised that the only way to reach Tier 8 was to abandon everything. As for Tier 9, Origin, it was a ce where all things existed outside the governance of the Laws. The most important takeaway from the information provided by Sis was that the Laws themselves were derived from Tier 8 Aspects. As a result, they were absolute within the Records, and, if your understanding was advanced enough, you could basically ignore the difference in Soul Tier. This was the reason Grandmaster swordsmen were able to cut through concepts, as, even without truly understanding the nature of their opponent, they could simply ignore everything else as a result of their mastery. Vahns swordsmanship had already reached a transcendental level, to the point he was confident in being able to defeat most opponents within relying on most of his Innates. Despite this, he was far from the pinnacle, as, at the highest level, even cutting through Realms and severing fate should be possible. Thus, in the hopes of pushing his swordsmanship to even greater heights, Vahn had set his sights on developing a Sensory or Mind Innate. He wouldnt mind obtaining an Innate in any of the other categories, but, considering his current skillset, developing his senses and mind had the most potential for qualitatively increasing his capabilities. Since Innates were heavily influenced by a persons intent, desires, andprehension, Vahn was absolutely certain that his Sensory and Mind Innates would enhance his abilities. The problem was, even with Da Vincis research, Innates were still difficult to awaken. Her research concluded that the most effective trigger was a significant emotional event, suggesting you either had to experience a tragedy or push yourself to such extremes that your perspective of yourself and the world around you was fundamentally altered. As tragedies werent something you could artificially create, Vahn felt the most effective means for him to awaken his Innates was to focus on cksmithing and trying toprehend the Mantra of Eternity. The former was intrinsically rted to his state of mind, and, though he understood very little about it, Vahn felt the Manta of Eternity greatly influenced his mentality. It also had the effect of allowing him to replenish his reserves at an elerated rate, so, while this might not allow him to develop a Mind or a Sensory Innate, it had always been worth exploring... --- With the cryptic sounds of the Mantra of Eternity whispering in the back of his mind, Vahn couldnt help but smile wryly when Asuna, who had been reading next to him, began to spontaneously kick him with her socked feet. She wasying down on the same sofa that he was sitting on, and, though she seemed to be engrossed in one of the various versions of a manga called Fairy Tail, Vahn knew she was always paying close attention to him. Having just finished reading through his own manga, the seventeenth volume of a rather pleasant adventure series called Tamas Journey, Vahn tossed it into his Inventory as he said, "I was thinking about grabbing something to eat. Want to join me...?" Snapping her manga shut with a loud pa, Asuna transitioned to a seated position, smiling as she answered, "Perfect timing. I was actually just beginning to get a little hungry. Come on, well make it together this time. I want to try cooking a dragon steak~!" Chuckling lightly at the twin-tailed Princess antics, Vahn habitually extended his hand to stroke her head as he said, "Sure. Go wash up and Ill meet you in the kitchen. When youre done, Ill show you how to prepare Dragon Hamburger Steak." Though it wasnt exactly what she had in mind, Asuna wasnt going to argue. Vahn always made the most delicious food, so, in response to his statement, she became even more bubbly as she happily eximed, "I cant wait~!" before running into the bathroom to wash her hands. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Da Vinci, "Aint nobody got time fo dat!",Source Energy is dummy strong,I would also like a Humber Steak-desu...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1635 Stirring

Chapter 1635 Stirring

Following the disy of the Sage Dragon Emperor, tensions within the Empire and Confederation were at an all-time high. Neither side had suffered many casualties, but, as could be expected from having their fleets forcibly grounded, the repair costs were astronomical. This was especially true for the Megalomesembrian Fleet, as, unlike the Southern Fleet hailing from the Empire, they had been in motion during the incident. They had also lost six of their War-God Soldiers, three of which were the ck variant meant to secure their momentum during the early stages of the war. Unable to take the offenseying down, the Megalomesembrian Senate ced a bounty of eight-hundred-million Drachma on the Sage Dragon Emperors head, the secondrgest bounty that had ever been issued. The only person with a higher bounty was the Dark Evangel, but, considering she had actually gone to war against Megalomesembria in the past, leading to the downfall of the old monarchy, this didnt surprise anyone. As could be expected after such an offer was made public, hundreds of specialists were eager to try their hand at hunting down the now-infamous Dragon. Many of these groups gave up after finding out exactly what Vahn had aplished above Lake Argyre, but, as there were always people who sought to leave their name in history, the strongest among them was undeterred. There were even groups from Mundus Vetus migrating over to join in the search, the most notable being a group of Shinmei-Ryu swordsman and the leader of an ancient dragon-ying n from China. Even when Eva had been at her peak, earning a reputation as the most powerful Mage in the entire world, there had never been ack of groups willing to hunt her down. Many of these groups were just seeking to increase the fame of their organization or make a name for themselves, but, among the rabble, there were always some true powerhouses mixed in. These people cared little about the rewards offered, as, after reaching the pinnacle within their respective disciplines, their only concern was finding strong opponents to battle against. Thus, after hearing about the power demonstrated by the Sage Dragon Emperor, many old monsters came out of the woodworks. Though all of Vahns feats had firmly cemented his ce as one of the strongest in the world, it was the line he had drawn across Lake Argyre that left the deepest impression. Its existence had shaken both the Empire and Confederation, as, even after aprehensive investigation, they were unable to make sense of the mysterious phenomenon. All they knew for certain was that it was some kind of sword technique, so, during the tentative ceasefire agreement, they sought counsel from various famous sword schools. Unfortunately, even after requesting the assistance of the most powerful swordsman in the world, the Grandmaster of the Shinmei-Ryu school, they were unable to remove the eerie ck line. The most they had been able to aplish was creating a gaprge enough for a single person to pass through. In exchange, they ended up sacrificing a six-hundred-year-old heritage item that had been passed down through sessive generations of Shinmei-Ryu practitioners. This was a tragic loss for the legendary sword school, but, rather than be deterred, the Grandmaster saw it as an opportunity to stage a sessionpetition, asserting, "Progressys in the future, not clinging to the past." For hundreds of years, the Shinmei-Ryu had been stagnating within the mountains of Kyoto, Japan. In the modern era, there was only a single Grandmaster among the entire organization, as, after the previous World War, several rival schools had spared no expense in trying to eliminate them. If not for the assistance of the Kansai Magic Association and additional support from Megalomesembria, their thousands of years of heritage would have been lost. Since the time of the Second World War of Mundus Vetus, the Shinmei-Ryu school had been deeply indebted to both the Kansai Magic Association and the Megalomesembrian Confederation. This led to many of their techniques being leaked, and, over time, many of their external disciples had been swayed by the convenience of technology and modern living. Only the Main Household continued to strenuously follow tradition, but, as a result, they had developed an elitist mentality that made it very difficult for them to thrive and prosper in a changing era. The Grandmaster was already 139 years old, so, with the threat of death constantly looming over them, they couldnt help but worry about the future of the Shinmei-Ryu school. The line drawn by the Sage Dragon Emperor reminded them that there were pinnacles of swordsmanship that had yet to be reached. This gave them hope for the future, and, for the first time in more than forty years, a strong desire to battle had awakened within their tired bones... --- Though he wasnt unaware of the bounty that had been ced on his head, Vahn didnt particrly care about the machinations of Megalomesembria. He was more amused by the fact that the Hes Empire seemed to be on the fence regarding how they should respond to him grounding their fleet. They had yet to issue a public response following the incident, and, despite a fair amount of tension within the Imperial Court, the Emperor adamantly refused to ce a bounty of their own. Instead, it seemed like he was proactively supporting his daughters position, expanding Theos influence, and taking measures to eliminate some of the dissidents within the Imperial Court. Vahn wasnt quite sure what was going through the Emperors head, but, based on his behavior, it was apparent that he had already guessed the rtionship between himself and Theo. Despite this, he didnt seem to oppose the arrangement, but, considering Theos dominant performance during her Rite of Passage, that wasnt too much of a surprise. The Empire was founded on the principle of individual might and merit, so, with tremendous public support, not supporting Theo would be the same aspromising the integrity of the Imperial Family. Though there was bound to be some bacsh once his rtionship with Theo came to light, Vahn had alreadye to terms with the inevitable. He had already promised her a child, so, regardless of his original intentions, he would do everything in his power to protect both her and their future offspring. His only real concern was handling everything in a manner that would allow him to take both Theo and their future child along with him. He didnt actually intend to spend that much time in the Akamatsuverse, so, if she insisted on fulfilling her duties as an Empress, there was a chance he would be subsuming the entirety of Mundus Magicus in the future... --- Thinking about the future, Vahn had to repress a sigh as he ran his hand through his hair in an increasinglymon self-calming gesture. Then, with the most rxed smile he could manage, he turned to the skulking Asuna, nodding his head to indicate she was clear to take action. Though she wanted to inquire about what was troubling him, Asuna ultimately decided against it as she nodded her head and leaped from her perch more than 130m from the forest floor. Despite falling from such a height, the only sound to mark Asunasnding was the gentle ringing of a bell. This greatly startled the group of five who had been silently trespassing the forest, their leader immediately crying out, "Enemies from above!" as he drew out a peculiar sword made from pure white wood. In response to the mans exmation, the other members of his group drew their weapons, two of the younger sword-wielding individuals protecting what appeared to be a Japanese Shrine Maiden at the center of the group. As for their final member, a woman with dark-ck hair tied into a high ponytail, she drew a simr sword to the rest of herpanions, her ck eyes glowing with a hazy blue light as she calmly stated, "There are no other enemies within three kilometers..." Hearing hispanions words, the man who had first reacted to Asunas presence furrowed his brows as he half-lowered his sword and asked, "What business does a child have wandering in a monster-infested forest? If you do not answer honestly, we will be forced to apprehend you..." Before answering the mans question, Asuna looked between each member of the group before fixing her gaze on the young girl protected near the center. She had the appearance of a young Japanese girl around fourteen-years-old, but, unlike everyone else present, her eyes were almostpletely white. Rather than cataracts, however, they were glossy like pearls, and,pared to everyone else in the group, she was the only one that gave a dangerous feeling. After instantaneously formting a strategy within her mind, Asuna turned her attention back to the man as she honestly answered, "My Master has tasked me with defeating your group. You dont have to worry about serious injury or death so feel free to go-" Not waiting for Asuna to finish her exnation, the woman with the high ponytail turned into a blur as she shouted, "Zanganken(Stone-Cutting Sword)...!" Though the womans sword was made from a thin de of white wood, a bluish-crescent formed from pure Ki emanated from her de as she swept it towards Asunas right arm. This de quickly expanded to more than five meters in length, and, after passing through the formers illusory figure, it passed cleanly through a tree trunk more than twenty meters in diameter. Seeing Asunas figure slowly dissipate, the womans sharp eyes widened slightly as a childish voice echoed behind her, musing, "Youre not bad at all." Before she could respond to the teasing remark, the woman experienced a sharp pain to the back of her neck. Thest thing she remembered was a dull thud pass through her body when she hit the ground. After that,plete darkness descended upon her consciousness as she face-nted into the mossy undergrowth of the forest floor. After knocking out her first opponent, Asuna smiled naturally towards the other four as she flipped the tanto in her hand so that the de was facing backward. Then, with a single step forward, she closed the distance between herself and the presumed leader of the group, saying, "Please give it your best," as the back of her ckened de collided with the pure white wooden edge. To the mans horror, he felt himself being pushed back almost immediately after the two des came into contact. By pure instinct, he managed to change the angle of his de to try and deflect the unknown assants attack, but, rather than follow the initial momentum, he noticed the girls body flicker as the trajectory of her attack instantaneously changed, the tip of her de pointing at his shoulder. Due to the weight behind the original blow, the man was unable to protect his exposed shoulder as Asunas de pierced through it with considerable ease. This caused her to feel a little queasy, but, knowing this was a part of her training, she steeled herself as her de pierced cleaning through the mans supraspinatus, supraspinate, infraspinate, and teres minor muscles. This would leave his left armpletely useless for the remainder of the battle, and, if he didnt receive proper medical treatment, he would likely never recover full use of the appendage. To the mans credit, he didnt cry out as his shoulder was made useless. Instead, he simply grit his teeth while trying to twist his body in a way that would disarm his opponent. At the same time, a sh of vibrant blue lightning spread across the surface of his de as he cut upward, shouting, "Raimeiken(Thunderp Sword)~!" Though Raimeiken was a technique created to oppose Demons and Evil Spirits, lightning was just as useful against biological opponents as any other. It couldpletely overwhelm a persons nervous system, and, due to the nature of lightning infused Ki, most magical and ki barriers werepletely ineffective against it. Unfortunately for the man, he severely underestimated the sharpness of Asunas Zanpakuto and her reaction speed. His attempt to disarm her resulted in part of his shoulder being gouged out. As for his Raimeiken, it passed harmlessly through another afterimage as the voice of Asuna echoed in the surroundings, stating, "Reckless..." in a dull tone. By the time the mans brain has processed the singr word, his consciousness was already fading from his body. He didnt even feel the attack that knocked him out, but, in the moments preceding his reunion with the ground, a tingling feeling had started to spread from his mangled shoulder... --- Seeing the strongest members of their party defeated in an instant, the two remaining swordsmen had pale expressions on their faces as they looked towards their twin-tailed assant like she was a demon. Even if theybined their strength, they wouldnt have been able to defeat either of their Senior students. Despite this, neither backed down, as, evenpared to their lives, their pride as a member of the Shinmei-Ryu school did not allow them to retreat. After meeting each others gaze, the two youths gave each other a small nod before raising their white swords in concert with each other. Before the could attack, however, a bell-like voice echoed from behind them, saying, "Do not attack. That girl is not a true adversary. Attacking will only bring unnecessary harm to both sides." Hearing the young maidens words, the younger of the two boys had an incredulous look on his face as he eximed, "Kyoko-sama!? We cant just back down. That girl killed Ken-nii and Ayane-sama! Even if it costs us our lives, we must seek vengeance and protect the honor of the Shinmei-Ryu school...!" Rather than try to argue with the hot-headed young boy, the petite Shrine Maiden just furrowed her brows slightly before producing two talismans from her oversized sleeves. Then, before either of the youths could react, she used a skill simr to Telekinesis to direct the talismans toward them faster than a bullet. The moment these pieces of paper came into contact with the youths bodies, a sound simr to air escaping a flute could be heard as she formed a simple seal with her hands and said, "Mahi-Fuin(Paralysis Seal)~!" Seeing both of the boys fall to the ground, the Shrine Maiden, Kyoko, adopted an apologetic look on her face as she said, "Forgive me, Ryouta-kun, Seiji-kun. I cannot just stand by and watch the two of you sustain unnecessary injuries..." Following her words, Kyoko bowed towards the two paralyzed boys before turning her pearl-white eyes towards the silent Asuna and asking, "Are you satisfied...?" Feeling a little awkward, Asuna couldnt resist smiling wryly as she rubbed the back of her head and answered, "It was never about being satisfied. I just wanted to test my skills against opponents from a famous school. Since it doesnt seem like you are willing to fight, Ill go ahead and pull back here. Im sorry for the inconvenience." Finished with her words, Asuna performed a polite bow of her own before raising her head and offering onest smile as her figure faded away like a phantom image. She had originally intended to stick around until everyones injuries had healed, but, after slicing through human flesh for the first time, she was feeling a little sick to her stomach... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lets put a bounty on the guy that just solod our fleet!,The strong seeketh the strong,Asuna after returning to Vahn, "Rub my belly...") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1636 Bias

Chapter 1636 Bias

With Asuna purporting not to feel well, Vahn dutifully carried her back to their hideout so that she could rest. Her reaction wasnt a surprise, as, unless there was something very wrong them, it was perfectly natural for people to feel queasy at merely the sight of human blood. It was a biological response that generally took years of training to suppress, so, in preparation for Asunas sickness, Vahn prepared carbonated ginger ale and peppermint tea. Then, for the better part of an hour, he just sat with her on the sofa, hugging her close and sending calming energy into her body through her stomach. Though she felt Vahns reaction was a little excessive, Asuna had the expression of a contented cat as she nursed the contents of her cup. She enjoyed being pampered quite a bit, and, though she was well-aware nothing would happening, being alone with Vahn always made her heart palpitate in a pleasant rhythm. Unfortunately, all good things were enjoyed in moderation, so, after a little more than an hour had passed, Asuna released a small sigh before muttering, "I never expected it to be so easy...life seems so fragile...its scary..." Reaffirming his hold on the subtly shivering young girl, Vahn nodded his head, his voice as gentle as he could manage as he said, "It is for this reason that we use our power to preserve life. It takes very little effort to take a life, a fact our enemies are all too aware of...though it can be terrifying to wield the power to decide between life and death, the world would be far more terrifying if there werent kind-hearted people willing to take up arms to oppose the wicked..." Feelingforted by the warmth flowing through her body, a small smile spread across Asunas face as she rested her hands atop Vahns. She would continue to protect the world even without his guidance, but, knowing she could rely on him when things got difficult, she felt extremely safe and secure in his embrace. If she really wanted to, she could even set aside her sword, and, rather than me her, she knew Vahn would silently shoulder her burdens with an understanding smile... --- While one of his vessels wasforting Asuna back at their hideout, another version of Vahn was idling a few hundred kilometers outside of Vulcan, the Holy Land of Fire. Though it was located far to the South, adjacent to arge body of water, Vulcan was one of the hottest regions in the entirety of Mundus Magicus. The average temperature, even during winter, was close to 46 degrees, and, if you moved closer to the center of the region, temperatures of 60 degrees, or higher, became rtivelymon. Despite the heat, Vulcan was actually one of the more populous Holy Lands, as, with the exception of the Wind Element, Fire Elemental Affinity was the mostmon. For this reason, many warriors and mages migrated to Vulcan to either increase their affinity or harvest the precious minerals that could be found within the vast underground mines. Many of these were publically essible, as, unlike other nations, Vulcan was located almost entirely underground. As could be expected from a world with Mages, Magical Creatures, and Elves, Mundus Magicus also had a sizeable poption of Dwarves. Like their counterparts in other Records, the Dwarves native to the magical world were exceptionally skilled artisans, craftsmen, and cksmiths. They were also notorious and miserly merchants, but, unlike the Dwarves of the Iron Hills, they disdained the use of ves. Instead, they made use of the foreigners entering their country, allowing entrance to all but their most important mines in exchange for a negotiable fee. Vahn had always felt something of a kinship with Dwarves,rgely due to Tsubaki and Gareth, but, much to his surprise, the natives of Vulcan were just dark-skinned humanoids with slightly pointed ears. Though they were a bit stockier than normal, their bodies rippling with powerful muscles, he wouldnt have med anyone for mistakenly identifying them as Dark Elves. Very few actually had beards, and, with the exception of the children, the average height of a Dwarf in Vulcan was pretty close to 180cm... Needless to say, Vahn felt a strange sense of incongruity during his short exploration of Vulcan, so, after wandering around for a bit, he ended up departing the peculiar nation in low spirits. They had a number of skilled craftsmen present, but, as could be expected from a world where even an Elixir could cost tens-of-millions of Drachma, even poor-quality items were worth a fortune. This resulted in the skill level of the Dwarves gradually waning as it was simply more profitable to mass-produce mediocre magical armor than it was to invest an inordinate amount of time and effort into an item that would never sell. Even after exploring the workshops of a few Masters, Vahn hadnt been particrly impressed. The only thing he found even remotely interesting was the design of a few Airfish, but, as these were a far cry from even the Custos Rosea, they were more novel than anything. Most of them would never even see production, as, much like the items themselves, even the materials used in the production of high-qualities goods were inordinately expensive. Blue Orichalcum, used as a bonding agent in various magical alloys, cost upwards of 6,000 Dracha per gram. With even a gauntlet taking upwards of a kilogram of the substance, without ounting for other material costs, purchasing a single suit of high-quality armor could cost over a hundred-million Drachma. Of course, this was only the price if you were a normal person, as, much like the technology spread through high-society, it was much cheaper to purchase such items if you were a member of the aristocracy or the representative of a nation. With the exception of Ostia, the structure of virtually every nation was designed to prevent power from falling into the hands of the people. A nation like Hes or Megalomesembria could purchase a suit of magical armor for around 4,000,000 Drachma for a mass-produced model. This was a sharp contrast to the 150,000,000 price tag presented to normal buyers, so, unless you had connections in the ck Market, obtaining such a high-quality piece of equipment required a chance encounter. Though Vahn could understand the reasoning behind limiting the avability of powerful weapons and armor, he was never fond of systems that one-sidedly served the wealthy, often corrupt, upper ss. It always annoyed him to see so-called Nobles selectively enforcingws and acting however they pleased, not because they were strong, but because they were born into an environment that arbitrarily elevated them over others. At this point, Vahn sincerely believed that people were simply incapable of ruling over others, no matter how kind, capable, orpetent they were. There would alwayse a time when even the most benevolent individuals acted in their own interests, so, in the grand scheme of things, the only entity capable of ruling over the people were the people themselves. Unfortunately, people in groups were often exponentially dumber than the average individual, so, rather than a democracy, the only real solution was to entrust the task to an objective system. Only by removing the illusion of choice could a government function wholly for the people, as, no matter how sound an argument, there would always be people for and against any proposed change. As a result, they would elect people to represent and argue their opinions, oftentimes disregarding other qualifications just so they could purport themselves correct. As the average person struggled to even manage their own household, finances, or health, it was a little strange to think anyone was qualified to represent the majority. Rather, even the concept of the majority was dangerous as it led to a situation where people were suppressed for belonging to the minority, even if they were right. Nobody wanted to be a victim, so, even if they knew they were correct, there were countless examples of people acquiescing and conforming to the majority just to avoid censure or literal violence. By removing the illusion of choice, as people seldom had an actual say in politics and policy, it was possible to create a system that unterally benefitted everyone. This often required relinquishing a few freedoms, such as privacy, but, more often than not, such things were also just an illusion. The average government, even if it wasnt actually corrupt, would never allow a system they could not directly monitor and influence to exist. This was especially true when transactions were involved, as, without a way to track money and trace people, there would be nothing stopping foreign countries or hackers from arbitrarily stealing vast amounts of wealth. Even Mundus Magicus had a globalwork simr to the World Wide Web, and, unsurprisingly, it was saturated with snooping programs. Just gaining ess to thework through normal means drew the attention of several nascent Artificial Intelligence programs. They wouldnt interfere with anything you were doing, but, from the moment you logged in, they would attempt to trace your location, logging all of your keystrokes and keeping track of every site you visit. Vahn had numerous ways to avoid detection, chief among them being Sis, but, unless they were some kind ofputer whiz, the average person had no choice in the matter. Everything they did was closely monitored, and, from the moment they started making transactions, several programs specifically designed to manipte their purchases would take notice. Some of the more invasive programs even directly tapped into any microphones or cameras you made use of, recording your voice and monitoring your facial expression when you perused various sites. Though he believed in privacy and the importance of secrets, Vahn knew the absurdity of trying to guarantee such things. So long as people congregated inrge groups, they needed to be closely monitored, as, without such things, criminals would run rampant. He could never tolerate things like kidnappings, violent crimes, and ****, so, rather than turn a blind eye just for the sake of something that didnt truly exist, he would rather implement a system that objectively scrutinized everything in order to make the best decisions for the populous. There would always be some random group of omniscient beings observing everything, so, rather than pretend privacy existed, creating a system to protect and govern the people seemed to be the most sensible solution. Few people genuinely cared about politics, and, unless it directly concerned their livelihood, they didnt really care about what was happening to other people. They just wanted to be happy and protect the things that were important to them, so, even if they had a choice in the policies of their nation, most people defaulted to whatever was most convenient. Vahn had witnessed the sess of the Ark, Mother, and Shadow systems, so, while he was certainly biased, that didnt really affect the truth of the matter. People, regardless of their wealth, power, or intellect simply werent suited to rule over others. Even he wasnt an exception to this, as, if put in a situation where he needed to choose between caring for his loved ones and the Empire, the former would always take precedence. If he couldnt even protect the things he cared about, pretending he was qualified to rule over an Empire would bepletely asinine... --- While ruminating over various truths, Vahn continued to spread his senses through the area, using his domain to keep track of several groups of people. After his previous disy above Lake Argyre, there were a number of groups who had been eagerly trying to track his location. These particr groups, however, belonged to delegations representing both the Empire and Confederation. They were trying to secure trade agreements with the Dwarven nation of Vulcan, as, after having two of theirrgest fleets grounded, they were in desperate need of capable craftsman and supplemental resources. Like most nations governed by a Great Spirit, Vulcan was considered neutral territory, often trading with both sides during times of war. For this reason, Vulcan was one of the few nations that hadnt experienced a recession prior to the war. Rather, arge number of people had migrated there for work, as, every time war broke out, they were sure to profit immensely. Vahn wasnt particrly fond of arms dealers that supplied both sides of a conflict, but, as is wasnt like they were the ones to trigger the war, he couldnt really me them for wanting to benefit. The only other option was to shore up their defenses and risk antagonizing both superpowers, as, in the pursuit of profit, the Dwarves had literally built Vulcan in between the two nations. This was one of the reasons the two powers chose to fight near Lake Argyre, as, with the heavily fortified Dwarven nation in the way, they didnt have much of a choice... Even if their main purpose was profiteering, it was impossible to deny that Vulcan was responsible for preventing things from getting too far out of hand. Due to their countrys location, Hes and Megalomesembria were generally forced to kill each other in their own territory. Though this didnt really stop them from fighting elsewhere, the positioning of Ostia forced them to travels thousands of kilometers just to avoid antagonizing the ancient kingdom. Though it wouldnt have made much of a difference in the original timeline, Vahn was impressed by the efforts of nations like Vulcan, Ostia, and Al Jam when it came to restricting the movements of Megalomesembria. They effectively forced the infamous industrial nation to fight in the deep South, a sparsely popted region of ice and snow. Their only other option was to travel more than eight-thousand kilometers East, traversing a vast ocean in order to try and attack the Empire by invading Ariadne. As it simply wasnt feasible to extend their supply line through a massive wastnd, requiring them to circumvent the Noctis Labyrinthus in the process, Megalomesembria had little choice but to y by the rules that had been imposed upon them. This was one of the downsides to being an almost universally hated nation that bullied others into acquiescence. They ended up making an enemy out of virtually everyone, and, if not for therge number of supplies they received from Mundus Vetus, it wasnt difficult to imagine Megalomesembria crumbling under the weight of its own ego. Vahn was in a unique position where he could greatly elerate the corrupt nations copse by simply putting his foot down and preventing the creation of weapons of war. He could also sever the supply lines of both the Empire and Confederation, forcing them to gradually withdraw until it was simply impossible for them to continue waging war. Then, if he genuinely wanted to act as a deterrent, he could systematically remove the corruption from both sides. The only downside to this was that he would effectively trigger a civil war, as, the moment they thought he was on their side, those who had been lowering their heads would not hesitate to lift their banners andmit even more heinous deeds in the name of justice... Shaking his head, Vahn repressed a sigh as he lightly pat the tiny wolf cub that had been nestled in hisp. This caused the midnight blue pups ears to stand on end before she looked up at him with rounded eyes, an unspoken question lingering in their ruby depths. To this, Vahn gave a small nod, and, without needing to inquire further, Fenrirs body rapidly grew to nearly twenty meters in length as she leaped from her perch and prepared to disable or destroy all of the passing vehicles... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Life is fragile...,People and Politics dont mix,Vahn is finally taking action!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1637 Assaul

Chapter 1637 Assaul

With her own anxieties growing alongside her Masters, Fenrir was more than willing to vent some of her frustrations on the unsuspecting arms dealers and covert delegations. Though he was doing his best to keep it hidden, Fenrir knew her Master was reaching the breaking point of his patience. The departure of Eva and the happenings in the world weighed heavily on his mind, as, unlike most, he had more than enough power to influence and outright force change. Before her Master could fall into his usual pattern of handling everything himself, Fenrir wanted to do everything she could to lessen his burdens. She also wanted to demonstrate, not her power, but the results of her meditative disciplining. The next world they visited might very well be thest, so, in order to alleviate her Masters concerns about taking her along with him, Fenrir was willing to do whatever it took to demonstrate herpetence and control. To that end, she was dashing across the terrain, her scarlet eyes glistening as she set her sights on the first of many targets... Though it was remarkably slowpared to her maximum speed, Fenrir was able to move across the rocky and twisted terrain that surrounded the Dwarven nation of Vulcan with supersonic speed. Despite this, there was no shockwave generated in the wake of her passing. Instead, a bluish-ck me emanated from the point where her paws hade into contact with the ground, seemingly dissolving the surface before fading away several secondster. With the same mysterious mes flickering across her body, Fenrir was able to move silently despite herrge size. This would normally be attested to Ki, which allowed skill practitioners to effectively ignore physical Laws, but, unlike a traditional shroud, Fenrirs was saturated with Severing, and, at times, Devouring Laws. Thebination of these two energies allowed her to move through areas of dense Space and Time unobstructed, and, unless they were inordinately powerful, she could even pierce through most physical and magical barriers with impunity... --- Due to the uneven terrain surrounding Vulcan,bined with therge number of merchants moving in and out of the country, ambushes and bandit attacks were rathermon. Tobat this, experienced convoys would travel with an Airfish escort or hire skilled Mercenaries to provide additional protection through the rugged, monster-infested, terrain. The average Magical Beast was exponentially stronger than themon residents of the Magical World, but, so long as they used tactics, strategy, and wit, veteran Mercenaries could quickly dispatch evenrge groups of enemies with rtive ease. Unfortunately, amongst the Magical Beasts that roamed Mundus Magicus, there was one group in particr that even the most skilled Mercenaries tended to avoid. These were Magical Beasts that demonstrated a keen intellect and an ability to adapt to changing circumstances. These types were far more terrifying than the average beast, as, even if you made all kinds of preparations to counter them, such as setting traps, they could simply avoid them. Unless they were seeking fame, most groups would stay away from anymissions that pitted them against a sapient magical creature. There were few things more terrifying than a beast that was already more powerful than you using its abilities intelligently. Intelligence was often the only advantage most people had when it came to contending against magical creatures. When this advantage was removed, even the most famous group of Mercenaries could be wiped out by a single Magical Beast. Thus, over the centuries, countless methods to scout areas, analyze the terrain, and identify magical creatures had been created. Among the most popr methods avable, especially when you were trying to be discreet, was using miniature drones to scout ahead and analyze the terrain in the surroundings. Other methods including using Familiars, and, if you had an exorbitant amount of money to spend, there were also portable magical wards that could detect and repel even weaker Magical Dragons. These came in the form ofrge ck pylons covered in runes, and, so long as they were powered,rge arcs of lightning elemental energy would emanate from them whenever a monster got within 300m of the convoy. Larger versions of the defense pylon existed in most cities, but, unless there was arge group of monsters approaching, colloquially known as a Wave, they generally remained dormant. As for why such artifacts werent using during times of war, besides being banned by international convention, it wasrgely due to the fact that the pylons needed a powerful magical signal to lock onto. It was possible to calibrate them to target specific types of enemies, but, if something went wrong, there was a very real chance the pylon could go haywire and start frying anything, allies included, within its proximity. Due to this possibility, most people, including the technicians and Mages required to power and maintain them, felt nervous just being around the crackling ck pylons. Though the actual number of incidents were few and far between, there were countless stories involving people being fried by the eerie ck artifacts, either by identally grazing it or getting caught in between the arc and whatever magical creature it had targetted. There were even incidents of powerful Mages being turned to ash after being mistakenly recognized as a magical creature due to their inordinately high reserves of magical energy. Thus, even if the ck pylons provided security against even virtually all magical creatures, most people gave them a wide berth... Unfortunately, not everyone had the option of steering clear from the malicious ck pylon, as, due to their nature as magical artifacts, they generally required a lot of care and maintenance. There was also a technician specifically tasked with deactivating the pylon if it ran wild, so, despite most of her hair standing on end, a young woman with messy auburn hair, thick circr sses, and an outfit that clearly identified her as a mechanic was stationed near the base. Every time they pylon would activate, the young woman would tense up considerably as a thick bolt of blue lightning shed across the surface. A thunderous roar would immediately follow this sh of light, and, though she wore both earplugs and magically enhanced earmuffs, a painful trembling would spread through the womans body with each activation. Seeing the tell-tale flicker across the ck surface, the auburn-haired woman shrunk her body as much as she could, internally cursing, ("Im going to apply for Medical Separation after this bullshit job is over. These earmuffs are fucking useless and Im pretty sure Ill be shell shocked by the time we reach that godforsaken city!") At nearly the exact same moment as the womans internal musings, a painful ripple spread through her body as a blinding lightpletely obscured her vision. Her onlyfort was knowing that the creature on the opposite end was faring much worse than her. She had once seen a wyvern explode like a blood-filled balloon after being directly struck by the pylons lightning, so, while it did little to alleviate the physical and mental duress she was under, the technician was satisfied knowing there was at least one creature having a worse day than her... Unfortunately, just as she was about to rise to her full height and shake off her jitters, the technician was knocked to the ground when the pylon began emitting several bolts of lighting in sequence. It wasnt just her pylon either. Both the front and back pylons were also going crazy, and, though she couldnt make sense of the situation, the young technician knew something was very wrong when a number of painful vibrations spread through her body. She could feel magical energy surging in the surroundings, and, rather than a potent and mind-numbing heat, a sudden chill had spread through the area in an instant. Preceded by an even more excruciating feeling of cold, the auburn-haired woman felt a physical wave of energy m into her body. The air was forced out of her lungs in an instant, and, after a very brief feeling of weightlessness, a sharp pain radiated from her left leg as she impacted the ground and was sent rolling several meters. If not for herpression suit and the thin magical barrier than protected her body, meant to prevent her from identally contacting the pylon, the young woman was pretty sure she would already be dead. She was certain her pylon had exploded, and, after recovering her sight, the first thing she did was stare at the icy pir that hadpletely enveloped her workstation. Rather than disy fear or confusion, the young technician couldnt help but issue an unnaturalugh as she pushed up her cracked sses and mused, "Good riddance, you loud piece of shit..." Following her musings, the woman began to absentmindedly stare at her surroundings, briefly pausing in her twisted leg before looking toward the massive wolf tearing apart even the most heavily reinforced vehicles within their convoy. The sight of the inordinatelyrge wolf caused her to release another small chuckle, as, like a force of nature, itpletely ignored the efforts of the soldiers attempting to stop its rampage. Even the overbearing members of the Armored Knight Squadron, who brazenly harassed any females with a lower ranking than them, were batted aside with a single swipe from the wolfs paw. There was nothing they could do against the terrifyingly powerful magical creature, so, rather than make any efforts to preserve her life, the woman just released another chuckle whenever another vehicle was destroyed... --- Though Fenrir hadnt expected there to be any powerful foes among the covert convoy, she was still a little disappointed by how disorganized the group was. They hadrgely ignored her initial approach, a few even pointing in her general direction andughing as theyzily prepared their defenses. At first, Fenrir was confused by theircency, but, the moment she entered within range of the strange ck pylons, she understood the source of their hubris. Several thick bolts of blue lightning immediately impacted her body, but, unlike a normal Ki shroud or Magical Barriers, hers provided more than adequate protection against the nigh-instantaneous onught. With Lightning being one of the more popr elements among powerful Mages, Eva and Arika included, Fenrir was very familiar with its uses. Her status as an Archmage wasnt just for show, and, though she was most proficient with Ice, Darkness, and Water elemental magic, she could use easily use most other elements. The only thing she really struggled with was fire, but, even if it wasnt her most proficient element, she could still use Ultimate-Grade Fire Magic so long as she had a catalyst. Though she had worked hard to be apetent Mage, Fenrirs primary motivation, excluding her Master, was simply increasing herprehension. Her [Heaven Devouring Wolf] allowed her to increase her proficiency andprehension in things she already had a solid foundation in, and, at times, she could even copy the techniques of creatures she had devoured. There was no limit to this ability, so, even if it took her thousands of years, Fenrir was determined to master every element so that she could freely consume and convert even concepts into power. As dozens of magic circles appeared in the air behind her, Fenrir opened her massive maw without regard for the bolts of lightning singing her fur. A visible twisting of Space began to appear almost instantly, and, by the time she had opened her mouth fully, all of the lightning targetting her body had converged towards Fenrirs maw. Feeling power surging through her body, the magic circles behind Fenrirs body began to revolve at a high speed, her scarlet eyes glistening as massive spears of ice manifested around her. Then, as if the barriers surrounding the convoy simply didnt exist, Fenrirs spears of ice were released, twisting at high speeds as they tore through the thin membrane and mmed into all three pylons. Without waiting for her enemies to recover, Fenrir stopped absorbing the surrounding energy, her figure turning into a slight blur as she descended upon the convoy in an instant. She wasnt used to fighting against groups in her wolf form, but, with most attacks impacting powerlessly against the bluish-ck mes enveloping her body, Fenrir could feel her excitement grow alongside her thirst for battle. Rather than give into the sirens call that was her own battle lust, Fenrir forced herself to remain calm, an icy sensation washing over her mind as she swat aside a man trying to spear her side with a javelin-like magical weapon. There were close to eighty people using simr weapons, and, while their movements werent particrly swift, they were able to buzz around her like flies using their faux-magical wings. Despite feeling a little annoyed, Fenrir continued to systematically destroy each vehicle within the convoy. At the same time, she forced the surrounding temperature to rapidly decrease, her magical energy spreading for hundreds of meters and causing the world around her to appear as if it was moving in slow motion. Ice Elemental Energy had a unique quality in the Akamatsuverse, as, rather than simply freeze things, it actually decreased movement speed, reaction time, and, when the user was proficient enough, it could even slow the passage of time. With the exception of Eva, who was an iprehensible monster when it came to manipting Ice Elemental Energy, Fenrir was confident even the Great Spirit of Ice couldntpare to her. She was even able to reduce the temperature in her surroundings to -270 degrees Celsius without the use of a single spell. If she got serious, she could even reach a state beyond Absolute Zero, a point where even quantum mechanical movement ceased. This effectively forced an object into a dualistic state of both infinite heat and absolute cold, anchoring them within Space-Time and causing them to atomize the movement any external forces acted upon them. The theory of negative-infinity was something that had been postted by Da Vinci, and, after a series of experiments corrting Yin Elemental Energy with Space and Time, transcending Absolute Zero was no longer impossible. Instead of reaching 0 degrees Kelvin, however, the objects affected reached a temperature exceeding any natural state of matter. In Da Vincis words, it was simr to assigning a value of negative one in a looping system that traditionally only ounted for values between zero and infinity. As a result, cooling something beyond Absolute Zero effectively ced it at the upper end of the spectrum, registering close to four-trillion degrees Celsius before simply breaking the tools used to record the temperature. Though she would obviously never use such an ability against such weak opponents, Fenrir couldnt help but feel a slight urge to do so every time one of the armored knights attempted to stab her in the eye. There was even a bold individual who had fired a powerful magical spell towards her butt, seemingly attempting to exploit a weakness in her defenses. This caused her to feel a great deal of shame and indignation, so, before she even realized it, the man had be one of the few people turned to meat paste during her assault... (A/N: Alternate Titles: For Master (O,...,O)...!,RIP Technician-chan,YOU DARE!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1638 Entry

Chapter 1638 Entry

Though she was able to replenish her reserves almost indefinitely, using magic always ced a mental burden on the user. This was one of the reasons certain groups didnt fear hunting down powerhouses like Eva and Vahn, as, in their minds, there would alwayse a breaking point where their target simply broke down and lost the ability to effectively cast magic. After around thirteen hours of rampaging, extended due to reinforcements arriving from Vulcan, Fenrir, looking a little worse for wear, returned to her Masters side. Seeing Fenrirs wolf form return, its fur matted, disheveled, and burned in several ces, Vahn had to forcibly suppress a surging feeling of regret as he extended his hand, smiling as he said, "You did well. Come." Without caring about the state of her own body, Fenrir moved over to her Master in much the same way as a dog that had lived well beyond their years. She had exhausted most of her energy in order to break away from the forces that had attempted to encircle her position, so, on top of her mental fatigue, exhaustion had settled into her body. After crawling into her Mastersp, Fenrir plopped down, a snorting sigh escaping her nose as she rested her head against his thigh. At the same time, Vahn began caressing her fur, a glistening light enveloping his hand and forcibly extracting all the dirt and grime infesting her otherwise soft coat. Feeling afortable tingling spread through her body, Fenrir released a contended groan from her throat as she instinctually rolled onto her back, exposing the fluffy white fur of her underbelly. This was where most of her enemies had focused their attacks, as,pared to the peculiar blue fur on her back, which glistened with a metallic sheen, it seemed inordinately soft byparison. With his left hand sinking into the dense fur of Fenrirs underbelly, Vahn extended his right hand toward her mouth. Since they were in perfect sync with each other, Fenrir understood his intentions even before he had finished the act, so, without any hesitation whatsoever, she bit down upon the fleshier section of his palm, drawing a considerable amount of blood. Though he could easily just create something like a gemstone for Fenrir to consume, Vahns time with ya had given him a strange attachment to having his blood suckled by the people he cared about. It was an exceedingly intimate act, and, though he never vocalized it, he was actually looking forward to Evas return to vampirism. Holding her close as she suckled on his neck was always very pleasant, and, at times like this, it was strangely mesmerizing to see the puppy-like Fenrir vigorouslypping at his blood... --- After returning to their hideout, Vahn had entered excessive pampering mode, preparing a bath for himself and Fenrir so that he could continue doting upon her. She obviously had noints about this, but, after several hours had passed, she spontaneously ceased y biting his neck and shoulders to ask, "What will you do now, Master?" As there was no way for him to truly hide something from the loveable Vanargandr, Vahn wasnt surprised by Fenrirs question. Instead, he just released a small sigh before answering, "I will stay here for a few days to unwind and allow Theo, Arika, and Eva a chance to act. Afterward, I intend to force both sides to back down. Fairy Xuan has already prepared dossiers on several priority targets. I will begin publically addressing the corruption in Megalomesembria while entrusting the Empire to Theo. At this point, I no longer care about Cosmo Entelecheia...if they want to continue hiding away, it doesnt really matter. Id like to see them continue hiding after I subsume this entire world into my Realm..." Imagining the surprise on their enemies faces when her Master could forcibly summon them, Fenrir couldnt help but issue a mischievousugh as she snuggled closer to his body. She looked forward to the day when her Master had as much power outside of his Realm as inside of it. It brought her a sense offort to see him exercising absolute power, as, in her mind, her Master had always been the only person worthy of such authority. Hearing Fenrirs mischievousughter, Vahns serious expression quickly faded away, reced by a loving smile. He knew he would be taking away some of her opportunities to grow stronger, but, so long as they were together, such things didnt really matter. She had already exhibited her ability to maintain control in even dire circumstances, so, after entering the next Record, he would create an opportunity to summon her the first chance he got... Sensing her Masters thoughts, Fenrir quickly fell silent, her scarlet eyes glistening in the low light of the room as she turned them up at him. This was enough topel Vahn to swallow audibly as his dragon, which had been slumbering peacefully beneath Fenrirs inordinately cool body, awakened with a resolute vigor. With her tail waggling due to the motion of her hips, Fenrir continued to stare up at her Master with an impassioned look in her eyes as she muttered, "Im a little annoyed about something that happened earlier...if its okay with Master, I want to do something we havent tried in a while..." Without waiting for him to ask, Fenrir demonstrated her intent by cing one paw on his shoulder and using the other to skillfully guide the tip of his ns past her glistening secret garden, aiming it towards thergely unexplored cavern beyond. This caused Vahns brows to rise slightly, but, rather than refuse, he offered an approving nod as he leaned down and kissed the adorable Vanargandrs lips... --- Following Fenrirs attack on the convoys and her subsequent defense against Vulcans forces, a veryrge bounty had been ced on a creature known as the Scarlet-Eyed Wolf King. Though most were deterred by the prospect of fighting against a monster that had demonstrated a keen intellect, the fact there were so few casualties during the thirteen-hour conflict was enough to embolden some of the more experienced groups. Unfortunately, even after several days of searching, no traces of the Scarlet-Eyed Wolf King could be found. This caused many to specte that it was just passing through the region, a belief that was solidified by the fact it predominately made use of the Ice Element in a region saturated with Fire Elemental Energy. More often than not, the creatures around the various Holy Lands made use of the same energy as the Great Spirit that resided nearby. It was very difficult for creatures with an opposing element to survive in a region saturated with their greatest weakness, so, after three days of fruitless searching, most of the groups seeking to make a name for themselves by hunting an S-Rank Magical Creature gave up. What none of them could have expected was that almost immediately after groups began to give up the search, the Scarlet-Eyed Wolf King would reappear. Even more surprising was the fact that it appeared more than eight-hundred-kilometers outside their search zone, not in any unpopted region, but one of the most populous in all of Mundus Magicus: the outskirts of Megalomesembria. --- Though he knew it all but guaranteed they would be attacked, Vahn, apanied by Asuna, had decided to approach the rather futuristic Megalomesembria by riding on Fenrirs back. She had a rather stylish harness that served as both a saddle and an S-Rank piece of protective equipment. She was also the one that hade up with the idea of using her as a mount, well over a hundred years prior, so, while it was certainly a little strange, Vahn also felt it was kind of cool to casually ride atop the head or back of a giant armored wolf... Seeing hundreds of military craft responding to their approach, Vahn had a calm smile on his face as he turned back to Asuna and said, "You are allowed to defend yourself. However, if you feel it is justified, I will not stop you from attacking. I trust your judgment." To punctuate his words, Vahn gently caressed Asunas head, returning the smile to her face. She had been showing a serious expression ever since they entered enemy territory, as, even with her power, having a literal army as an opponent was a little overwhelming. Though she was still feeling a little nervous, Asuna knew nothing would happen to her so long as she was with Vahn. She believed in him more than anything else, so, after enjoying his caress for a few seconds, she smoothly drew her tanto and said, "I wont let a single attack slip through." Finding the twin-tailed girls zealous response rather amusing, Vahn issued a light chuckle before retracting his hand and saying, "I have no doubt. Here, take this." Seeing the rainbow-hued gemstone in Vahns hand, Asunas eyes widened slightly as she instantly understood his intentions. Then, before he could stop her, she quickly snatched it out of his hands before shoving it into the stic sports bra-like Aegis she generally wore beneath her clothes. Feeling a sudden warmth surround his body, Vahns expression became a moderate deadpan as he mechanically turned away from the mischievous young girl. He wasnt actually that surprised by her antics, and, considering it was a rtively safe location to store the gemstone, he decided to simply ignore it. Instead, he set his sights on the approaching Megalomesembrian forces, golden lightning flickering across his body as an oppressive aura spread through his domain... --- Though the majority of their forces were used to guard the border and the frontier, no nation was foolish enough to leave their capital unprotected. Megalomesembria was no exception, and, being one of the oldest and most technologically advanced nations in the world, its defenses were some of the most powerful. Mere moments after the appearance of the Scarlet-Eyed Wolf King, an exceptionally advanced AI, programmed to assess threat levels and allocate forces ordingly, noticed the appearance of two Priority 1 targets upon its back. As a result, rms began ring in nearly every military instation around the capital, effectively mobilizing all of Megalomesembrias reserve forces. Fortunately, the same AI programmed to assess targets was also linked to the automated defenses of Megalomesembria. It was able to recognize that the targets had yet to be hostile, so, unless it received a direct order, it had correctly chosen to abstain from attacking. Instead, it trained every weapon system in the region on the Scarlet-Eyed Wolf King while awaiting the direct order of the nations new Dictator... --- While the city above was entering lockdown, a group of middle-aged and elderly men had quickly gathered together in one of the most secure rooms in the entire Confederation. Not only was it suspended in an alternate dimension, but, to provide an advantage to the decision-makers inside, an exceptionally powerful temporal distortion barrier had been erected within. With a time-dtion of 100:1, those within the Situation Room had plenty of time to consider the most effective course of action. All of the data they received was in real-time, but, withputers able to process information at near the speed of light, the onlytency came whenmanders on the outside were issuing their reports. Seeing the data disyed on the various monitors lining the spherical chamber, everyone inside the room had a mix of solemnity and fury visible in their countenance. The Sage Dragon Emperor had quickly be thergest thorn in their side, so, seeing him casually approaching their city, only the trio seated near the head of the table was able to remainpletely calm. Seated at the very head of the table, denoting the highest authority, a rather handsome middle-aged man with neatlybed silver hair and peculiar purple eyes silenced the turmoil in the room by simply raising his hand. All eyes quickly converged upon him, and, after a moment of silence, the man stunned nearly everyone present by saying, "We will seek apromise..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Delicious (UwU)~!,Be bold! Explore the unknown!,I mean...lets be real...) (1/4) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1639 Caution

Chapter 1639 Caution

Though he was the youngest person present, none of the other officials dared speak out against the decision made by the silver-haired man, Lars Laetorius Primulus. The majority had been hand-picked for their positions following the formers rise as Dictator, so, rather than speak against him, they patiently waiting for an exnation. Satisfied with the rooms response, Dictator Primulus gave a small nod before gesturing towards the man seated to his right. This caused all eyes to shift towards the elderly individual, who, despite his age, radiated a considerable amount of power. He had short grey hair that wasbed back in a heroic manner, and, though he wore the traditional robes of a high-ranking Mage, it was possible to make out the powerful body concealed beneath. With all eyes focused on him, the man, Magister Militum Arkan Vale Primulus, Director Primulus Uncle and former Consul of the Megalomesembrian Senate, gave a small nod of acknowledgment before adopting a hawk-like countenance as he exined, "We cannot afford to overly antagonize the Sage Dragon Emperor. He might not be as dangerous as someone like the Dark Evangel, but his capabilities make him no less a threat. Unless we can lure him into a trap and seal him, there is little we can do against an opponent who has demonstrated the ability to freely teleport without the use of a magic circle..." Nodding in approval of his Uncles words, Dictator Primulus added, "Until we have collected more information regarding his characteristics and weaknesses, attacking the Sage Dragon Emperor is a waste of resources. Our priority should be seeking apromise in an effort to lull him into a false sense of security. If we meet with him openly, we can reduce the amount of coteral damage while also limiting the number of people he will inevitably assassinate. The Sage Dragon Emperor seems to act ording to a code, so, as long as we show a willingness topromise, he will be limited in the actions he can take against us." Though it wasnt the ideal solution to their problems, none of the men present could argue against the statements made by their Dictator. The Sage Dragon Emperor had exhibited a number of truly troublesome capabilities, and, unless they could find a way to ensnare him, defeating him in a direct engagement would be extremely difficult. He managed to repel the Leviathan, destroy several War-God Soldiers, and ground two separate fleets without any discernible difficulty. None of these feats could be ignored, so, unless they were willing to sacrifice a considerable number of assets, trying to openly oppose him was the same as shooting themselves in the foot. With simr thoughts running through their minds, nearly every official present decided to support their Dictators decision. The only person against the idea was the man seated to the Dictators left, an exceptionally wrinkled old-man with unnatural ck sclera and golden irises. Unlike the traditional ck robes worn by most senior Mages, the elderly individual wore a blood-red variant that loosely hung from hisnguid and seemingly frail figure. He wore a peculiar golden apparatus inscribed with a series ofplex runes around his neck, and, rather than sit in a normal chair, he was floating several centimeters from the ground in a throne reminiscent of a silver egg. With all eyes focused on him, the elderly man opened his eyes a little wider than normal, his voice sounding like an echo from the depths of Hell as he warned, "We will not tolerate having our ns interrupted. If Megalomesembria cannot deal with a single Ancient Dragon, we will not hesitate to wipe you out ourselves. Everything that has been given to you can be taken away. Never forget that simple truth." Finished with his words, the elderly man gripped the staff in his right hand. It had the appearance of a two branches that had been twisted together to appear as malevolent as possible. At the very top, where most catalysts could be found, a ckened heart could be seen pulsating with a mysterious purple light. A constant trickle of brackish-purple blood flowed from its valves, staining the woodenponents of the staff and causing a perpetual hissing sound to resonate throughout the room... After a series of simple taps against empty air, aplex magic formation appeared beneath the mans throne-like chair. In the next moment, a vibrant purple light enveloped his figure before the man, along with his chair, vanishedpletely. This left everyone in the roompletely silent for several seconds until the Dictator, seemingly unperturbed by the mans warning, inly stated, "We will continue with my n. Any questions?" Though some present were tempted to ask if it was wise to disregard the warning of the Supreme Consul, none were bold enough to speak out against their calmly smiling Dictator. He radiated an aura of absolute confidence, and, considering their own careers were riding on his sess, nobody wanted to risk earning his ire by opposing his decision. Satisfied with the silence following his question, a hint of a smile spread across Dictator Primulus face as he nodded his head and stated, "Very well. We will send an emissary to intercept the Sage Dragon Emperor and his entourage. While they are buying time with pleasantries, I suggest each of you attempt to secure your assets and conceal your secrets. If you somehow manage to earn the ire of the Sage Dragon Emperor, the Confederation will not protect you." With his words finished, Dictator Primulus rose to his feet, dismissing the group of officials before turning to his Uncle and stating, "I will leave you here for the time being. Establish contact with the facilities researching more...contentious subjects. They have less than an hour to relocate all of the more pertinent data and assets to a secure site. We should assume the Sage Dragon Emperor has the ability to sense everything within fifty kilometers. Unless it is secured safely within a sub-space, I want everything moved as quickly as possible." Though the man before him was his much-younger nephew, the Magister Militum did not hesitate to bow low, answering, "I will see to it without fail!" Nodding his head in approval, Dictator Primulus pat the shoulder of his Uncle in passing, his voice changingpletely as he mused, "Remember, you are protecting your future assets. Do your best, dear Uncle..." --- Though the presence of the military continued to grow, Vahn had a slight frown on his face after realizing they werent going to attack. He hadnt expected them to respond in such a reasonable manner, forcing him to either continue his casual act or shift to a more proactive approach. Sensing the civilian poption was still relocating to secure bunkers located beneath the citys vast skyscrapers, Vahn decided to momentarily dy any destructive actions. Instead, he closed his eyes and began shifting his intent around, observing and analyzing various people, ces, and things. It didnt take a genius to realize that Megalomesembria would probably try to lure him into a trap, as, a few hundred years prior, they had attempted the same thing against Eva. She had decided topromise with the nefarious superpower after a long drawn out battle that had gradually worn away at both sides. In response, Megalomesembria had attempted to trap her in a barrier infused with Chronoton. If she hadnt seen through their obvious attempt, circumventing their effort with a doll that perfectly emted her appearance and magical signature, Megalomesembria would have conquered Earth long ago. Imagining Megalomesembria trying to seal him away, Vahn felt both amused and incensed. A rather vicious glimmer shed across his eyes, and, for a fleeting moment, he actually considered allowing them to seed. He wasrgely immune to the effects of Chronoton as a God of Space, and, even if they could somehow seal a part of him, he could either use [Chainbreaker] to break free or simply sever his connection with the vessel, dispersing it and effectively liberating himself in an instant. Vahn never kept all of his vessels in one ce, so, unless they could discover the Garden of Avalon and locate the position of his hidden gemstone, located within the void, it was simply impossible to seal him away. As for killing him, that was even more difficult, as, without the ability to affect Source Energy in the slightest, he would perpetually revive, stronger, faster, and more resolute. Though it might seem a little unfair, the truth of the matter was that any reasonably powerful Tier 5 entity was able to revive countless times. It took destroying their ego or erasing the concepts they represented to truly kill an entity above Tier 5. He also didnt particrly care about whether or not his resurrection was fair against his foes, as, more often than not, he was pitted against some of the vilest and most appalling people within the Record. They rarely showed mercy and fairness towards their victims, so, unless there were some extenuating circumstances, Vahn didnt mind turning the tables and allowing them to experience something simr. As that thought cross his mind, Vahn set his sights on the group of people that had separated from the massive wall of troops that blockaded the entrance of Megalomesembria. He found it amusing that Megalomesembria would dare to send a Demihuman ambassador to meet with him, seemingly with the intent to demonstrate that not all Demihumans within their country were ves. Unfortunately for whoever had made the decision, Vahn was not so easily fooled. He could sense a number of lingering injuries in each member of the approaching group, and, though she appeared calm and stoic on the outside, Vahn noticed that the female Ambassador actually had a number of piercings and a literal brand on her body... Before Vahn realized it, the smile on his face had be slightly dangerous, prompting Asuna to lightly grip his hand and whisper, "Vahn..." in a concerned tone. Looking down at the concerned young girl, Vahns expression instantly softened as he used his free hand to caress her head, his tone gentle as he said, "Thanks for your concern, kiddo. Dont worry, I wont let this ce corrupt me. Now, stay with Fenrir while I go see what these people want to talk about. Im trusting the two of you to keep each other safe." To punctuate his words, Vahn lifted up Asunas bangs to nt a simple kiss on her forehead, a calm smile on his face as he turned away and used shundo to appear in front of the approaching group... --- Seeing a figure suddenly appear in front of them, the group of emissaries tensed up quite a bit as their leader, a woman with droopy dog ears and a tail that curled like a shiba-inu bowed her head and said, "Wee to Megalomesembria, Sage Dragon Emperor. It is our greatest honor to stand before such a legendary figure..." Leaving the woman at a loss, Vahn didnt immediately reply to her words. Instead, he scanned his eyes over each of them, his irises zing with a golden light that caused ayer of sweat to spread across their bodies. After scanning each member of the group with his View Affection toggled on, Vahn was pretty sure these people were former ves who had been specially trained to act as emissaries in Demihuman countries. They put on a strong front, as could be expected from people in their positions, but, with even a cursory look beyond the surface, it was easy to see they were all suffering. Without beating around the bush, Vahn surprised the group of eleven by extending his hand and crushing the devices used to record their conversation. At the same time, the bracelets and anklets which served as recements for ve cors flickered with golden light before crumbling to dust as he said, "I offer you freedom. If there is something or someone that binds you to this ce, I will guarantee their freedom as well. I cant be held responsible for how you will live from now on, but I can send you to a ce free from Megalomesembrias influence. Now, make your choice..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lets not piss off the dragon that can teleport around and throw miniature suns...,Vahn doesnt y fair,Well, that escted quickly...) (2/4) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1640 Storm

Chapter 1640 Storm

Not expecting Vahns sudden proposal, the members of the Megalomesembrian delegation found themselves at a loss for words. Some of them had long discarded the possibility of ever escaping their situation, so, even if they had heard rumor of Vahns exploits, years of conditioning prevented them from answering expediently. Vahn understood he had put the eleven Demihumans on the spot, but, unless they had the resolve to reach out and take control of their fates, there was little he could do for them. Thus, after waiting several seconds for their response, he lightly shook his head, saying, "I pray you will not regret your decision to remain silent...remember, you were given a choice..." Without waiting for the group to respond, Vahn began to walk past them as Fenrir, having received his mentalmand, released a soul-shaking howl. The temperature in the surroundings began to rapidly decrease, and, though it was drastically weakened by Asunas presence, she was still able to freeze her surroundings due to the Source Energy present within each of her abilities. Though Fenrirs wolf form was terrifying in its own right, thebination of [Apex Predator: SS] and [Freezing Roar: SS] came together to produce a virtually unblockable crowd control effect. Everyone who heard it experienced a momentary paralysis, and, much like someone unleashing Conquerors Haki, the aftermath of her roar was marked by the copse of thousands. At the same time, several Airfish began to veer from their initial positions, crashing into each other after their pilots copsed at the helm... Surprisingly, the Megalomesembrian Militia still refused to attack even after Fenrir issued her howl, so, with a deadpan expression on his face, Vahn pulled out Lave-tan in her sealed state. At the same time, much like how Tiamat had forcibly teleported him against his will, he began moving everyone who had lost consciousness from one side of his domain to the other. He could teleport them much further away, but, by limiting the transfer to within his domain, he could effectively mitigate the cost in its entirety. As the group nearest to him, Vahn moved the eleven ambassadors to an isted area. He wanted to give them a second chance to take control of their destiny, so, after dropping them off, he set a small bag of Drachma and some simple weapons nearby. What they chose to do after waking was ultimately up to them. He couldnt be held personally responsible for each person he saved, so, with his eyes focused on the front, Vahn began his march towards Megalomesmbria without sparing the eleven an additional thought... --- Hearing the reportsing in through his earpiece, Dictator Primulus had a dour expression on his face as he muttered, "Humans are always so ipetent..." Following his utterance, Dictator Primulus swiped in the air, dispersing several futuristic disys of pale-blue light, many of which showed the data regarding the ambassadors sent to greet the Sage Dragon Emperor. Then, with another tap of his fingers, a high-quality disy appeared out of thin air before breaking into twenty-three smaller panels, each showing someone in full military dress. Surprising each of the senior officers present, Dictator Primulus had a resolute expression on his face as he reiterated, "Do not engage. Shift to disaster relief protocols and allow the Sage Dragon Emperor to pass freely. Trying to fight him will only result in greater casualties. Anyone found guilty of ignoring this order will be tried with high-treason against the Confederation." Though there were a considerable number of people who didnt agree with the Dictator, the simple fact of the matter was that Primulus had uncontested authority when it came to military affairs. His orders were absolute, so, unless they wanted to be publically executed and burden their family with usations of rearing dissidents, they had no choice but to obey... Removing any possibility of counterarguments, Dictator Primulus immediately dismissed each of the disys after rying his order. Then, with his hands behind his back and a mildly disgusted glower on his face, he looked towards the expanding ice flower in the distance, muttering, "These people are helpless...now, lets see how much you are able to uncover you golden-scaled bastard..." --- Seeing the remaining fleet and militia parting to allow his passage, Vahns expression became even dourer. Though it was inarguably better for there to be no conflict, it was indescribably annoying to prepare yourself for a battle that never came. With everyone refusing to attack, Vahn was put in an awkward situation that made him seem like a viin. Some people even threw down their arms the moment he turned his attention toward them, and, though there were many who radiated auras of hostility, even those with brackish auras raised their hands in spite of their indignity. Feeling his brow begin to twitch, Vahn decided to up the ante by setting his sights upon one of the tallest buildings in Megalomesembria, the location of the Megalomesembrian Senate. It stood out like a pce amongst the surrounding buildings, and, even though it currently exceeded the reach of his domain, Vahn could sense numerous powerful individuals holed up inside. A few even made his draconic blood boil, tiny golden scales spreading across his arms, hidden beneath his clothing. Vahn knew someone was messing with him, so, curious to see how far they were willing to go, he extended his hand towards the gloomy skies above. Though there was very little elemental energy present within Megalomesembria, apleteck of the life-giving energy would make the regionpletely inhospitable. Vahn could sense a number of nascent Air, Water, and Earth Elementals present, and, though it rapidly depleted his reserves, he could use his Creation Divinity to produce even more. In ordance with Vahns intent, intimidating ck clouds began to form in the skies above the Confederations capital. These were farrger than normal storm clouds, and, after several minutes had passed, peculiar pulses of gold and purple began to illuminate their interiors as a phenomenal amount of Lighting and a marginal amount of Space Elemental Energy began to gather within their billowy depths. Finished with his preparations, Vahn inhaled deeply through his nose before allowing the air escape his lips. Manipting the weather to cover a metropolis wasnt easy, and, though most of the work was done by the Elementals themselves, creating them took a considerable amount of energy... With an unnaturally heavy downpour descending upon thergely evacuated city, Vahn, untouched by the rain, casually approached the distant meeting ce of the Megalomesembrian Senate. Most of his frustration had faded away during the formation of the rain clouds, so, rather than hasten his steps, he walked with his eyes closed, his intent sweeping through the area. Though there were bound to be a few who would choose to return, Vahn systematically destroyed the cors of every ve he sensed within his domain. Then, with a thought, he transported them from the underground bunkers that currently housed much of the citys poption. He couldnt do much for them, but, with food, money, and a few other essential supplies, they at least had a chance to secure their freedom. Further increasing the chances for a sessful escape from the capital, the clouds above the city began to release several pulses of electromaic energy. At the same time, thick bands of golden lightning began to strike any weapons tform that shifted its focus towards any of the groups on the periphery. Vahn was trying to create ideal conditions to allow a mass exodus from Megalomesembria. Being removed from their shelter would make the groups feel exposed, and, with a torrential downpour,bined with the terrifying aura emanating from his body, only those with very strong ties to the city would dare venture back into its interior... --- With his leisurely pace,bined with the fact he had stopped a number of times along the way, it took nearly two hours for Vahn to reach the entrance to the Megalomesembrian Senate Building. It was an impressive building, spanning more than a kilometer across and six tall. However,pared to the Babel Tower from the Record of Danmachi, constructed by the Gods, it almost seemed like a testament to human greed and hubris more than anything else... After restraining the urge to simply destroy the ridiculouslyrge building, Vahn ascended nearly a thousand steps in silence before stopping a few dozen meters away from a wall formed from more than a hundred magically armored Knights. Their base appearance was simr to the designs used by the Ariadne Magic Knights, but, rather than pristine white or pale pink, every Knight across from him was attired in an onyx-ck armor that was almost twice the size of a conventional model. Standing at the front of the group of armored Knights, seemingly without any regard for the rain soaking through his expensive garments, a man with a peculiar hairstyle and eyes that glowed with a glimmering golden light smiled viciously as he stated, "Youve made quite the entrance, havent you? Tell me, how should I address you? Im Senator Ricardos, by the way." After staring at the mans horn-like hairstyle for several seconds, Vahn shifted his gaze to meet the mans, answering, "How you address me matters very little. Your people have a habit of assigning titles and designations for things without regard for propriety. I already know the Senate does not respect me so there is no need for pretense. Now, I assume you havee to act as an escort...?" Despite feeling as though he was staring into the open maw of a massive dragon, which wasnt too far from the truth, Senator Ricardos was able to stand firm, his eyes reflecting a fierce resolution as he answered, "Indeed. Ive made a few enemies as ofte so Im the lucky bastard who got picked to ascertain your intentions and then escort you to the destination of your choosing...so, what will it be? I can show you to the Senate Chamber or escort you to the Conste. Either way, Id appreciate it if you made your decision quickly so we can get out of this damned rain..." Though the man wasnt exactly polite, Vahn didnt particrly care. He knew the man was actually one of Fairy Xuans contacts, and, though he was a Senator, he was a member of the minority party that had been pushing for more progressive reforms. He had even joined the Auditing Committee, earning numerous enemies due to his snooping around and attempting to fix the problems of the Confederation from the inside. Deciding not to make too much trouble for the man, Vahn shifted his gaze upwards, staring directly at the silvery-haired man who had been watching him for quite some time, saying, "It doesnt really matter where you take me. You can lead me to your Senate Chamber or lead me directly into a trap. The only thing that will change is the order and sequence of events. The end result, however, will be the same. I will break the will of your Senators, address the most problematic sources of corruption in your country, and when everything is said and done, you will be given the opportunity for a slow and gradual recovery. Now, please, lead the way Senator Ricardos. Im anxious to see what path the leaders of this nation have chosen..." Hearing Vahns reply, Senator Ricardos expression became even more serious than before. As for the armored knights behind him, several gripped their magical halberds tighter, ready and willing toy down their lives for the Confederation at a moments notice. They didnt care how powerful their foe was, as, from the time they were adolescents, they had been specially conditioned and modified to serve as the sword and shield of the Senate... Sensing the increasing tensions, Vahns calm expression gradually morphed into a far more serious countenance. Then, simr to the ambassadors that had previously barred his passage, he repeated a simple ultimatum, stating, "Make your choice...Senator..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: YEET~!,Vahn be like, "Run." -bass drops-,Just fight already) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1641 Overwhelming

Chapter 1641 Overwhelming

Following a tense standoff thatsted several minutes, Vahn found himself being escorted through the excessivelyrge Senate building by a stone-faced Senator Ricardos. There were also a number of armored magical knights in the surrounding, but, as if they had the presence of air, Vahn ignored thempletely as he probed the more secure regions of the building with his intent. During his stroll through the city, Vahn noticed there was aplex undergroundwork beneath the surface of the city. This was rathermon even back on Earth, but, with magical materials and advanced building techniques, several hundred years ahead of modern standards, theplexity of Megalomesembrias underground was simply ridiculous. Generally speaking, even a simple skyscraper would require an exceptionally stable foundation. This was especially true for buildings over a certain height, and, depending on the conditions of the soil and sub-surface material, some foundations could be nearly half as deep as the buildings were tall. As an example, the foundation for the Megalomesembrian Senate Building extended nearly three-kilometers deep, but, rather than use a stable raft or solid supports, it was structured to be part of the vast undergroundwork that seemed to span the entire city. Thiswork extended nearly thirteen kilometers beneath the surface in some regions, and, from what Vahn could sense, most of the subsurface city was actually ancient ruins. It wasnt difficult to imagine a country like Megalomesembria establishing itself atop the ruins of an ancient civilization, but, even after purchasing thousands of historical records rted to the Magical World, Vahn had never heard of the ruins located beneath the city. Even Fairy Xuan hadnt informed him of their existence, almost as if they werepletely separate from the rest of the world despite the fact he could clearly sense them... Deciding he would investigate the subterranean ruinster, Vahn entrusted the matter of analyzing the ruins to Sis. He had other matters to focus on right now, but, due to the nature of his domain, it would be easy to go back and explore the ruins from memory alone. There was no need to explore them directly unless they found something of potential import or intrigue... --- While Vahn had been deliberately making his way through the city, Asuna and Fenrir had remained in their original position. In their surroundings, a ptial structure spanning several hundred meters had gradually taken shape, its structure formed from pure ice elemental energy. One of the things that distinguished apetent Mage from the general rabble was their ability to affect their surroundings and modify the environment to guarantee themselves greater advantages. This had been true even in the Record of Danmachi, but, after training for nearly a hundred years in the Nasuverse, Fenrir reached a point where her [Aterna cies] and [Nihil] were capable of rivaling an EX-Rank [Territory Creation] skill. Though it took a considerable amount of energy, Fenrir was able to create borate architectural structures formed from little more than Ice, Water, Darkness, and Yin Elemental Energies. This was where her sobriquet Queen of the Frozen Abyss came from, as, for a variety of reasons, Fenrir had focused her efforts on developing massive ptial structures. She even had a personal Sub-Space Orb that was filled with more than a thousand different castles, some of which could even rival the Ivory Castle in both scale and beauty. --- Though she hadnt dropped her guard, Fenrir decided to conserve her energy byying down in the center of her newly constructed castle. She kept arger version of the [Pristine Jade Ice Bed] in her cor-turned-interspatial-artifact, so, whenever she had the opportunity, Fenrir would pull it out for the purpose of replenishing her reserves and helping to calm her mind. If a normal person were toe into contact with the [Pristine Jade Ice Bed], they would instantly freeze as yin-ice toxins invaded their body. Fenrir, however, waspletely immune to this effect, and, even if her core temperature inverted, falling into the negatives, she was able to move around without any difort. Asunacked Fenrirs constitution, but, with a thin membrane of invisible Ki covering her body, she was able toy within Fenrirs thick coat of fur,pletely disregarding the sub-zero temperatures. Instead, she was focused on the inordinately beautiful gemstone in her hands with a curious and slightly mischievous glimmer in her eyes. Though he had exined it to her several times, Asuna was very curious regarding Vahns ability to change form. She had yet to grasp the true nature of the Ego and Intent, so, when Vahn turned into something like pure water, Asuna couldnt help but wonder how he was able to move and perceive his surroundings without something physical to process the information. He could even feel things without any nerves whatsoever, a mysterious phenomenon that caused various thoughts to dance across Asunas mind as she fiddled with the rainbow-hued gemstone... Unfortunately, with Vahn currently upied with more important matters, Asuna couldnt conduct any of the experiments that tempted her reasoning. She didnt want to make things too difficult for Vahn, so, even though her mind had been wandering with increasing frequency ever since everyone else left, Asuna was always in control of her actions. After considering her options for several minutes, Asuna brought the rainbow-hued gemstone to her lips, whispering, "Good luck..." before nting a small kiss on the ttest surface. In response, the gemstone began releasing a gentle pulse, and, though it obviouslycked hands, both Asuna and Fenrir could feel a familiar andfortable warmth begin to spread through their bodies... --- With Asunas wordsing just as he was about to enter the Senate Chamber, Vahn couldnt help but issue a wry smile before quickly adopting a more serious expression as Senator Ricardos turned to exin, "You would normally have to relinquish your weapons and have your magic sealed prior to entering this chamber..." Completely ignoring Senator Ricardos words, Vahn made his way past the man, sting apart the ornate wooden doors with a burst of Ki before saying, "Youre free to try whatever you like. I have no obligation to y along, however..." Without waiting for the mans response, Vahn walked into the circr chamber filled with nothing but projections. None of the Senators had deigned to show up personally, for obvious reasons, so he had no interest in ying games. Instead, he sauntered into the room with a somewhat bored look on his face as hezily inspected theplex magical formations hidden within the chamber. As a measure to prevent people from misusing their magical power within the Senate Chamber, a modified Inverse Sealing Formation covered the entire room. Any attempt to cast external magic would trigger the formation, and, unless you were able toplete the spell instantly, your magic power would be forced back into your body, seriously injuring or even crippling you. Vahn was actually a little impressed by the magic formation, but, as he would have been able to create something simr nearly two-hundred years prior, it didnt hold his interest for long. After memorizing its structure, he turned his attention to therge podium that overlooked the rest of the Senate Chamber. There, a projection of the same man who had been observing him could be seen, his expression a perfect mask of calm as he looked down with peculiar purple eyes... Ignoring the outbursts of and remarks from several Senators, Vahn smiled up at the man, eyes zing with a golden light as he inly stated, "Judgement hase to Megalomesembria. If you want to avoid a catastrophe, you will begin making the necessary changes to fix this broken nation. Here, let me point you in the right direction..." Without waiting for anyone to argue against him, Vahn raised his left hand, and, without taking his eyes away from the Dictator and the Consuls surrounding him, snapped his fingers. In response to this simple gesture, nearly a third of the Senators present copsed, their projections blinking out of existence. At the same time, two of the Consuls seated in their throne-like chairs showed pained expressions, and, much like their Senatorial counterparts, they too copsed in their seats, this time without flickering out. Witnessing the rather incredulous sight, even the Dictator was unable to conceal his shock. As for the rest of the assembly,plete chaos erupted within the chamber as the surviving Consuls rose to their feet, shouting various expletives as armored knights and spider-like tanks appeared from a series of transport magic circles that had appeared out of thin air. Feeling his blood beginning to boil, a battle-hungry look shed across Vahns eyes as he pulled out the sealed version of Laev-tan and shouted, "Come! Let me show you the cost of corruption and the interest your actions have rued...!" Following his outburst, Vahns aura surged outward like an explosion, repelling the knights who had attempted to surround him. In the next moment, before even a single one of them could crash into the surrounding walls, Space within the chamber rapidly condensed. Empty air gained a consistency simr to water, greatly reducing the speed of everyone sent flying as Vahn, seemingly immune to the effects, created hundreds of afterimages as his sword glided seamlessly through the reinforced armored ting of the surrounding knights. Though people within the affected area could have counted several seconds, the actual passage of time, at least from the outside, was only a fraction of a second. Vahn was a God of Space, Time, and Creation, so, while it was a bit cost-intensive, he could freely manipte Space and Time within his domain. He could even create a reference point to freely reverse Time, and, so long as their Egos hadnt been fractured, he could effectively resurrect the dead by reversing the order of entropy. The most useful aspect of this time-reversal was the fact that it affected Vahn himself, so, even if he was on the verge of losing, he could basically reset the battle at will. This wouldnt remove any of the mental fatigue, but, unless they had the means to do spiritual damage, he would be able to repeat the battle as many times as it took to ensure the most optimal oue. Confident in his abilities, Vahn was unable to hide the excitement in his eyes as Senator Ricardos, unable to just stand idle, attacked from behind. His body was shrouded in a lightning-like aura that caused the robes covering his body to evaporate, revealing an exceptionally toned physique marred with various wounds. Though not quite the speed of lightning, Senator Ricardos was able to enhance both his speed and reaction time by saturating his cells with lightning elemental energy. This was eerily simr to how the Magia Erebea worked, but, considering the man had Demonic Blood flowing through his veins, Vahn wasnt too surprised. Demonstrating the vast disparity between their speeds, Vahn was able to deflect or dodge most of Senator Ricardos attacks with minimal movements as he exined, "That technique is going to ruin your body. Even if your regeneration is better than a normal human, lightning elemental energy has an inherent purification effect. The deterioration of your cells will increase exponentially the longer you keep this ability active..." As he was well aware of his own weakness, Senator Ricardos didnt show any surprise in response to Vahns words. Instead, his expression became even more serious as he jumped back and attempted to increase the output of his technique, a dauntless expression on his face as he said, "Youre no-" Without affording the man the opportunity to power up, Vahns figure seemed to glitch for a brief moment. The surroundings seemed to dim considerably, and, for an almost imperceptible moment, it appeared as though he had eight right arms, each swinging his sword at a different angle without him having to move from his starting position. Before Senator Ricardos could fully process what had just transpired, an overwhelmingly nauseous feeling spread through his body. Then, precedingplete darkness, his vision began to gradually split, the focal point of his eyes shifting away from each other as his body was split into a series of small chunks. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mundus Magicus has many secrets...,Fenrir takes after Eva; very artistic,One does not be a deterrent through passive action) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1642 Ultimatum

Chapter 1642 Ultimatum

Seeing the remains of Senator Ricardos spread out across the ground, even Vahn couldnt help but feel a little sick to his stomach. He had actually expected the Senator to survive the blow due to his demonic blood so it was a little unexpected to see the man simply split apart... Shaking his head, Vahn turned his attention towards the projection of the Dictator, who, from start to finish, had remained unnaturallyposed. Noticing Vahns gaze, Dictator Primulus adopted an almost imperceptible sneer beneath his mask of calm as he asked, "How long are you going to continue this farce? Unless you intend to try and rule over Megalomesembria, I would much rather you just state your demands and leave us be. We have been seeking apromise from the very beginning. Will you not be satisfied until you kill off half our poption as well...?" Unamused by the mans words, Vahn snorted through his nose before asserting, "Your words might carry some weight if you didnt rule a nation built on a foundation of racial supremacy, very, and aplete disregard for the you call home. You will know Im satisfied when you are allowed to live without the threat of my sword cutting you down at any moment." To punctuate his words, Vahn brandished his sword in a slow and graceful arc that even the weakest Senators present could follow. Immediately afterward, the projection of another Senator sputtered out of existence as his body, bisected at the waist, tumbled over... So as to remove any doubt from their minds, Vahn waited for the mans figure to vanishpletely before adding, "My presence here is a simple courtesy. So long as I am aware of your wrongdoings, no amount of distance will be able to protect you. Hide behind your walls, erect your barriers, raise your armies. In the end, you will still be held ountable for your actions." Hearing Vahns remark, the majority of the Senators present fell silent, many considering whether or not they should deactivate their projections and move to more secure locations. Breaking the graveyard-like silence that had begun to descend upon the Senate Chamber, Dictator Primulus surprised nearly everyone by saying, "There is only one absolute power in this world. You might be iprehensibly strong but there will always be a limit to your power. Unless you intend to rule over this world and exterminate everyone who contradicts your views, you must be willing topromise. Your threats certainly carry a considerable amount of weight, but, so long as there are differences between people, there will always be conflict. Your actions will result in the deaths-" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the mans mutterings, Vahn pointed his sword directly at the Dictator, interrupting his monologue by saying, "Seriously. Unless youve tried to better the system, you really have no ground to stand on. You are part of the problem. How about you correct yourself before you start spewing titudes and lecturing others. Unlike the majority present here, I am well aware of the consequences of my actions. You can try to pin the me of me for all the lives that will be lost, but, if your system wasnt so backward, we wouldnt even be having this conversation." Satisfied with the glowering expression on the Dictators face, Vahn couldnt help smiling as he set Laev-tan on his shoulder, adding, "I will be restoring bnce to this world. To that end, you have a year to shut down all factories and production facilities that dont directly contribute to the health and wellness of the environment. All Demihuman ves will be released from their suffrage and all propaganda that purports the human race as being superior to others will be forbidden. I dont care about the opinions of individual people, but, when the state is purporting apletely bogus im just to fan the mes of conflict, it is inexcusable. From now on, if you are found guilty of such acts, you will be removed from your posts. Any questions? No? Good." With his ultimatum issued, Vahn turned his back to the surviving Senators and began making his way towards the exit. He didnt particrly care about their reactions, and, even if they did have a question, it wasnt like he was just going to stand around pandering to them. He had already stated his case, so, regardless of what happened in the future, they only had themselves to me when he arrived to demonstrate the consequences of their actions... Noticing the remains of Senator Ricardos still littering the ground, a wry smile spread across Vahns face before quickly shifting into a more serious look as he looked over his shoulder and stated, "Do not forget my words. I am giving you a chance to prove yourselves, but, at any time, I can take away this chance without a moments notice. Inversely, if you prove yourselves worthy..." Though it had nothing to do with a sword technique, Vahn cut down with Laev-tan once again, this time causing a mysterious green hue to spread through the area. Then, causing even the Dictator to show a serious expression, the body of Senator Ricardos, all of the in magical knights, and even the armored spider-like tanks began to mend at a visible rate. To the observers, it was like time was reversing, and, while this wasnt exactly the case, the end result was virtually indistinguishable... --- Without sticking around to see the results of his entropic reversal, Vahn allowed his primary vessel to dissipate within the Senate Chamber. This spontaneous disappearance was bound to cause even greater confusion, as, even if they reviewed a recording of the footage during his time in the Senate Chamber, finding even a single frame with him in it was impossible. Due to his existence as a singrity, even photographs of Vahn wouldnt show his figure, and, while it was possible to remember him, peering into someones memories would return nothing rted to him. This had caused quite a stir within the Inner Sanctum when people realized they could not create Memory Orbs rted to him, but, with his own functioning just fine, he was able to recreate the memories they were interested in without issue. Needless to say, Da Vinci was very interested in this phenomenon,beling it as Contemporaneous Cognizance, an overexaggerated way of saying that people could only perceive him in the present. They were still able to remember him, describing events with perfect rity, but, the moment these memories were extracted in a way that could be analyzed, any and all information directly rted to him simply didnt exist. The only exceptions to this rule were the Memory Orbs Vahn had created, as, unlike a normal persons memory, his memories were like an archive that systematically recorded everything within his perception, himself included... Regardless of how and why it worked, Vahn found sce in the fact that, even if people could spy on him, they were unable to actually record anything rted to him. It didnt matter if they used photos, videos, magic, or other methods of surveince, as, unless they were observing him in the present, he simply didnt exist. It was for this reason that most of the people hunting for him didnt quite take his actions above Lake Argyre seriously, as, even if they reviewed the footage, they would just see a few iprehensible scenes ying out without any rhyme or reason. Fortunately, even if he was functionally invisible, the effects of his attacks, especially if they used Elemental Energy as a basis, could still be seen. This was enough to horrify the average person, as, from their perspective, it was almost as if an invisible deity was passing judgment upon both the Empire and Confederation; a surprisingly apt reaction considering Vahns triplicate Divinities... --- With his main vessel destroyed, the remaining Vahns, which had been spread around the city to increase the effective range of his attacks, began to converge. The only exception was the version of himself rxing in what appeared to be a rather exorbitant fortune tellers hut. Located a few meters from where Vahn was seated upon a chaise lounge, arge reflecting pool with eerie ck water could be seen producing countless ripples, almost as if invisible raindrops were hitting its surface. Even more eerie was the fact that, if you put your ear close to the water, it was possible to make out the almost inaudible screams of countless people... Though others would feel nervous just being inside the heavily veiled chamber, Vahn was able to rx without showing any sign of perturbation. The reason for this was rather simple, and, as if to demonstrate this point, a beautiful figure emerged from the shallow pool as if it was was actually much deeper. She had dark-green hair tied in a loose ponytail, and, simr to Vahn, albeit a shade darker, her eyes glistened with a deep aquamarine glow. Seeing the woman emerge from the pools depths, Vahn rose to a seated position, an affectionate smile on his face as he said, "I couldnt have done this alone. Thank you, Fairy Xuan." Hearing her Masters praise, Fairy Xuan issued a very womanlyugh, her voice carrying deep and sultry undertones as she answered, "Our life is given meaning by being able to serve Master." Agreeing with Fairy Xuans words, a ratherrge snake emerged from the water, its voice incredibly deep as it added, "Indeeeeeeed. Eliminating Masters enemies brings us the greatest pleasure..." Finding her perpetualpanions words amusing, Fairy Xuan began to gently caress its head, her nails glistening with a dangerous light as she gingerly ran them across the snakes scales, its purple tongue flickering contentedly in response... Seeing the interaction between the two, Vahn issued a light chuckle before rising to his feet and approaching the duos side. This caused the snake to break free from the womans caress as it lifted itself further from the water, revealing the fact it was directly attached to the womans lower back. Unperturbed by the snakes actions, Vahn allowed it to rub its head against him as he dutifully ran his left hand along its glistening ck scales. At the same time, he extended his hand to the other half of Fairy Xuan, the female form that lulled prey into a false sense of security. After helping Fairy Xuan to her feet, Vahn helped to warm the duos body by holding her female half close and allowing the snake to loosely coil around his body. Then, for the better part of an hour, he repaid their diligence by leading the naked Fairy Xuan around the room, slowly dancing to the tune of an enchanted zither. They had always been rather fond of dancing, and, while it wasnt something he partook of very often, Vahn actually enjoyed it quite a bit... --- Though Vahn had killed a number of Senators using his own methods, the person responsible for the instantaneous deaths of nearly a third of the entire assembly was Fairy Xuan. Using the nigh-cataclysmic storm as a cover, Fairy Xuan was able to infiltrate the personal bunkers and hideouts of various Senators. She could even manifest from a single drop of purified water, so, ever since her departure from Ariadne, Fairy Xuan had been amassing information on every Senator. This included information pertaining to their secret dealings, and, most importantly, whether or not they sincerely believed in the propaganda purported by the Confederation. In the end, Fairy Xuan had managed topile a detailed dossier on more than two-thirds of the active Senators. She had invested most of her efforts in vetting the least corrupt among them, so, when it came time for the mass execution, it was the group she hadnt investigated fully that was executed. While this might not make a lot of sense, the primary reason Fairy Xuan wasnt able topile a detailed dossier on the final third was due to their close association with Demons. This association limited her observation of them, so, rather than focus on the Senators themselves, shepiled as much information as she could obtain regarding the actions of their family and close associates. It wasnt difficult to find evidence of wrongdoing, and, more often than not, those with close ties to the Demon Nobility of Venus were the most likely to engage in taboo research. Though he didnt really want anything to do with Venus, that didnt mean Vahn could ignore the presence of Demons in Mundus Magicus. This had nothing to do with discrimination, as Demons actually acted under a very strict set of Laws. Rather, it was because they exacerbated problems by offering power and knowledge to corrupt, malicious, or outright evil individuals. The only thing that really mattered to a Demon was fulfilling the terms of their contract. The terms of these contracts could benefit both good and evil individuals, but, as the method for summoning a Demon was typically only known to people who dabbled in the dark and so-called forbidden arts, it was very rare to hear about a Demons power being used for benevolent purposes. Thus, until he could reach some kind of agreement with the Demon King, Vahn was intending to kill anyone that was misusing a Demons power, even if it meant bing the target of one of the most powerful factions in the Akamatsuverse... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "Bruh...",Memories of Nobody,I feel like Vahn just wants to fight someone...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1643 Pursuit : Truth

Chapter 1643 Pursuit : Truth

With most of his businesspleted, Vahn teleported to the center of Fenrirs gradually expanding castle. Curiously, perhaps because she was able to sense his presence from the gemstone, Asuna reacted a little slower than usual. It was only after Fenrir raised her body that she seemed to notice his arrival, her face a subtle shade of red as she quickly concealed the rainbow-hued gemstone from view. Though he found Asunas behavior rather amusing, Vahn could only smile wryly as he extended his hand, materializing the gemstone in his palm. This caused the twin-tailed princess to puff out her cheeks slightly, but, as he really didnt need the stress of a precocious girl bing increasingly bold with his gemstone, Vahn pretended not to notice her pouting expression. After walking over and allowing Fenrir to nuzzle against him for a few moments, Vahn hopped onto her back, ruffling the deadpan Asunas hair before saying, "It seems our enemies want to draw this out. I guess its about time we meet with the members of Rubra. Are you ready, Fenrir, Asuna?" Though she was able to speak in her wolf form, Fenrirs response was a bored yawn. As for Asuna, her fake pout turned more genuine as she asked, "Are they going to be living with us?" Understanding Asunas concerns, as she was going through a bit of a selfish phase right now, Vahn smiled wryly in response before gently guiding her to sit in hisp. This was more than enough to pacify her mild frustrations, her ears turning a rosy tinge as she leaned into Vahns chest and turned her head up, clearly expecting an answer to her previous question. While smiling back at her, Vahn exined, "Depending on how things develop, they will probablye to stay on the ind. Dont worry, I have no intention of revealing the Garden of Avalon to them at this point in time. Even if it turns out the mastermind behind Rubra is involved in some grand scheme, they wont be able to trace our movements if Im serious." Knowing Rubra wouldnt be able to enter the Garden of Avalon, Asuna could feel the tensions in her body melting away. She could already imagine Vahn helping Nagi train, and, while that wasnt a bad thing, she didnt want to spend years living in close proximity with the members of Rubra. It was one thing to be allies, but, after reading excerpts about Nagis various exploits during his youth, she wasntfortable with bathing or changing anywhere near him. Feeling a little angry just thinking about someone trying to prank her, Asunas expression became somewhat scary as she muttered, "I want to fight against Nagi. I need to ovee my aversion to injuring others and I cant think of a more suitable training partner..." Sensing the sword intent radiating from Asunas body, Vahn was struggling to restrain augh as he internally remarked, ("Im starting to feel sorry for that brat...") In the original timeline, Asuna would have undoubtedly grown fond of Nagi, and, though she might have felt forced by the circumstances, Arika likely loved him dearly. Now, however, both girls held a bit of resentment towards the boy. This was one of the downsides to learning about the future from a historical ount. It allowed people to form a bias because all the finer details, such as the actual context and emotions involved, were simply missing. If he were being honest, Vahn had also formed a bit of a bias towards the legendary party, but, as they were undoubtedly the protagonists, he knew there had to be a greater reason for everything that happened. Nagi was probably a good kid, and, though he would undoubtedly be a little dense, he should have a natural charisma that drew people to him. As for his perversion...well, that seemed to be amon trope when it came to protagonists. Based on how people viewed nakedness in Mundus Magicus, it wasnt difficult to imagine that the world was created as either a romanticedy or an action novel with a fair amount of fanservice. Even Eva had shown up in what amounted to a BDSM outfit, and, though she had defaulted to less revealing clothing after their reunion, her leather g-string wasnt something that could be forgotten easily. She also had a habit of wearing rather skimpy side-tie panties, and, though it was easy to just me it on happenstance, even the wind within Mundus Magicus had a high probability of blowing up skirts to reveal the contents hidden beneath... Remembering his stay in Ariadne, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head slightly, a wry smile on his face as he answered, "I dont mind if you want to fight against him. If he is as strong as rumored, he will be a good rival for you. Just make sure you wear your Aegis properly to prevent any idents from urring." Knowing what Vahn meant by idents, Asunas sword intent became even more potent, her eyes sharpening like des as she said, "If he tries anything...Ill cut it off..." Feeling goosebumps spread across his body, Vahn found himself unable to reply to Asunas rather dangerous words. Instead, he just lightly pat her head before turning to Fenrir and saying, "Well head West to draw out the people who are undoubtedly pursuing us. If anyone powerful shows up, you will probably need to return to your true form. You dont need to force yourself to fight in your transformed state." Understanding the weaknesses of fighting in a giant form, Fenrir didnt hesitate to nod in response to her Masters words. Then, after storing her [Pristine Jace-Ice Bed], her scarlet eyes began to ze with an intense light as the pce around her began to vibrate and crackle. From the outside, it was like the entire structure was being illuminated from the interior, and, after reaching an intensity that could rival the side, the entire thing simply dispersed into a veritable tidal wave of icy white light. Though the cial pce only covered a few hundred meters, the ice elemental energy released by its dispersal spread out for several kilometers. In its wake, arge part of the bay was frozen down to the mud as a thickyer of frost covered most nearby structures. It was almost like a giant snow globe had been formed in the region, as, due to the presence of the ice elemental energy, any rain that entered the pale white bubble immediately turned to ice and snow... --- Immediately following Fenrirs departure from the Megalomesembrian entry point, various forces that had been patiently lying in wait stirred to action. Fighting inside of the city was forbidden, for obvious reasons, so, even when Vahn had been making his way towards the Senate Building, they had been unable to act. Fortunately for the would-be bounty hunters, Megalomesembria had yet to even consider whether or not they were going to retract Vahns bounty. Thus, without any fear that their efforts would be wasted, various groups decided to pursue the giant wolf that was somehow able to run across the surface of the water as if it was t ground. Among the first groups to react, a youth with two-tone red hair and simr red eyes had a massive grin on his face tossed his staff into the air before leaping atop it and shouting, "Im going ahead! I wont let them get away this time!" Without waiting for any of hispanions to respond, the youth took off toward the horizon at breakneck speed, his body shrouded in a thin white barrier that mitigated air frictionpletely. Seeing their young charge take off without even considering a n, the remaining members of the group had mixed reactions of amusement and concern. The oldest among them, at least going by appearance, was the first to speak out, worry audible in his tone as he said, "Shouldnt we be giving chase as well? Nagi is very powerful, but that monster seems to be in a ss of his own...Im worried he might be getting in over his head this time..." Hearing their Japanesepanions words, the other two members of the group turned toward the man, smiles visible on their faces as the truly oldest among them answered, "You are correct to be concerned, Eishun. Though Nagi has a propensity for shattering expectations, his current power is far from the Sage Dragon Emperors." The moment the man finished his words, Eishun showed an even more fretful expression as he pullted out an inordinately long sword made from white wood and eximed, "Then what are we waiting for!? Nagi is our student! We cant just leave him to fight against that monster by himself!" Showing none of the concern visible on theirpanions countenance, the younger of the two calmly stated, "Even if we were there, Nagi would ask us to stay out of the fight. We should certainly give chase, but, rather than interfere in the battle, our goal should be to prevent others from doing so. You dont have to worry about Nagi. Even if he emerges from the battle beaten and bruised, I do not believe the Sage Dragon Emperor would kill him." Annoyed by the words of the childlike individual, Eishun red back at him, asking, "What makes the two of you so certain that is the case!? How do you know Nagi isnt currently flying towards his death while we stand here twiddling our thumbs!?" Continuing to show no visible concern in their expressions, the two ancient individuals, Filius Zect and Albireo Imma, looked toward each other with calm smiles on their faces. After the former gave a curt nod, Albireo turned back toward Eishun, exining, "I would have thought someone of your talent and pedigree would have noticed." With a visibly annoyed expression on his face, Eishun continued to re at the duo, his voice dark and heavy as he asked, "What was I supposed to have noticed?" After chuckling lightly in response to Eishuns reaction, Albireo exined, "That man, the one who calls himself the Sage Dragon Emperor, had already detected our presence. His perception is rather amazing. It reminds me of the domain of a God, albeit with a few peculiarities...I digress. The simple truth of the matter is, even after sensing our presence, he showed no sign of hostility. Rather, based on the impression I got, he seems to be familiar with us?" Nodding his head in agreement, Filius went on to add, "Indeed. There is a chance that man knows the true reason behind our arrival in Mundus Magicus. That girl apanying him is actually the Key of Twilight, and, based on his actions thus far, it is fair to assume hees from the future. He is far too powerful to have remained hidden for this long, and, based on how the elementals react to his presence, it is safe to assume he didnte here from a different world." Not expecting Filius to suddenly mention time travel, Eishun couldnt help but look at the youth as if he had lost his mind. Before he could say anything, however, Albireo added, "I have watched over this world since a time before its inception. In that time, there has never been a creature as loved by the Spirits as the Sage Dragon Emperor. The energy radiating from his body is also unlike anything I have ever seen, even during the eras preceding humanity. This energy has even started to affect the entirety of Mundus Magicus, so, if he had existed prior to his emergence in the Hes Empire, there would have been a considerable amount of evidence." Though it sounded ridiculous, Eishun found himself unable to refute the words of Filius and Albireo. He knew the former was well over two-thousand years old, and, though Albireo Imma often skirted around the topic of his age, he was much older than Filius. If they were both saying something like the Sage Dragon Emperor had never existed, that was very likely to be the truth. There was also the fact that the Sage Dragon Emperor wasnt discreet, so, if he hadnte from the future, he would have already taken action long ago... Not expecting to suddenly face a time-traveling Ancient Dragon, Eishun couldnt help but release a profound sigh before looking back at his two ancientpanions and saying, "After this is all over, Im expecting an exnation. Its about time the two of you told me the actual reason you wanted to bring Nagi to this world. Im tired of being left in the dark." As Eishun had already proven himself a capable ally, Filius and Albireo could see the merit in telling him the truth. Thus, after a brief exchange of nces, the duo nodded to each other before turning back to the slightly nervous-looking Japanese man, answering, "Very well then..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Let me just confiscate that...,Ice Age~!,Never underestimate the intelligence of Old Monsters...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1644 Experience

Chapter 1644 Experience

Having anticipated that various groups would be pursuing them long before his excursion into Megalomesembria, Vahn had already selected a suitable battleground. It was one of the regions that had previously flooded, and, though there was a settlement a few dozen kilometers away, there was a decently sized mountain range separating it from thergely uninhabited valley. After reaching their destination in just under half an hour, Vahn had Fenrire to a stop near the very center of the valley. Then, without him needing to advise her, she instantly reverted back to her true form, manifesting her Zanpakuto in the process. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn caressed the heads of both Fenrir and Asuna as he said, "Ill be watching closely. Remember, if you want to use any big attacks, aim them upwards or towards the South. Even if this region isrgely uninhabited due to Megalomesembrias wanton destruction, we should try to avoid exacerbating the situation..." Though he didnt have much room to speak, the simple truth of the matter was that Vahns attacks generally had a beneficial effect on the environment. His former battlefields became hotspots for a variety of different lifeforms, and, even if he were to fight in the middle of a desert, the area would quickly turn into an oasis over the course of a few weeks... Without drawing attention to the fact that Vahn often caused extreme amounts of damage to the environment, Fenrir and Asuna both nodded their heads, the former answering, "Yes, Master!" while thetter followed up with a simple, "Nn." Satisfied with the duos response, Vahn lightly pinched Asunas nose before walking off to the side with Fenrir. Momentster, like a meteor descending from the heavens, a youth veiled in a cloak of vibrant white lightning crashed into the ground a few meters away from the trios position. Understanding that the youth was trying to make a cool appearance, Vahn couldnt help but smile in amusement as a red-haired boy emerged from the small crater hisnding had formed. His wild hairstyle was influenced by the infusion of lightning elemental energy into his Ki, and, like a Super Saiyan emerging on the scene of a battlefield, a chaotic shroud of crackling energy veiled his body as he leaned forward confidently and asked, "So, youre the Sage Dragon Emperor thats all the rage these days?" While ruminating over the practicality of having a magical staff spinning behind your body, Vahn shook his head, confusing the youth slightly as he said, "Who I am doesnt really matter right now. If you continue to ignore the enemy in front of you, youre bound to experience some suffering." Hearing Vahns words, the youth showed a slightly incredulous look on his face as he briefly turned his attention to Asuna. Based solely on appearance, there wasnt much of a difference in their ages, but, disregarding this entirely, the red-haired youth craned his head and asked, "Huh? Enemy? This chibi? Come on man, you-" Unable to finish his words, the youth was forced to dodge to the right, his movement so swift that it was impossible for most to trace. Despite this, he was unable topletely dodge Asunas attack, a rather sizeable chunk of red hairs serving as a testament to that fact. With widened eyes, the youth turned back to Asuna with an incredulous look on his face, a thin line of blood running down his left cheek as he eximed, "Holy shit. This little cutie is a real firecracker, aint she?" Unamused by the youths words, Asunas eyes sharpened as she leaned forward slightly, herrge parka ring out in a rather cinematic disy as she bolted forward with explosive force. She felt a weird disturbance in the surrounding air, so, rather than use shundo, she intended to rely on raw speed, footwork, and technique to punish the foul-mouthed boy. Getting a dangerous feeling from the small ck dagger in the girls hand, the youth rightly chose not to try and block it. Just staring at it made him feel a little nervous, something he didnt even feel when facing against his teacher, one of the most skilled swordsmen in the entire world. With his enhanced speed and reflexes, the youth thought he would be able to create some distance between himself and the fiery young girl, but, even after doubling his speed, he was still barely able to dodge her attacks. A few even nicked his body,pletely ignoring the multiyered barrier of Ki and Magical Energy surrounding his body. Realizing the girl wasnt simple, an excited smile began to spread across the youths face as he used a short-range teleportation spell to create some distance and say, "My name is Nagi Springfield, the man who will one day stand at the pinnacle of this world. Tell me, whats your name, cutie?" Emphasizing just how annoyed she was, Asunas bells released a gentle chime as she took a slow-motion step forward as she muttered, "Vis Maxima..." With rm bells screaming in the back of his mind, Nagi eximed, "Shit..!" as he extended both hands forward. In response to his gesture, severalyers of magical barriers appeared between him and Asuna. Even this didnt silence the rms, however, so, trusting his instinct, Nagi used another short-range teleportation as Asuna, shattering all of the barriers as if they were thin panes of ss, cut through the area where he had previously been standing. Shocked by the girls ability to just crash through magical barriers with her body, Nagi adopted a slightly more serious expression as he muttered, "This little chibi is even stronger than I was at her age..." Though she hadnt heard the Nagis mutterings, the edge of Asunas Zanpakuto glistened with a dangerous light as she cut towards his direction. This caused him to instinctually use another short-range teleportation spell, but, much to his surprise, he still felt something pass through his body as an intense, searing, pain spread from his chest. After reappearing in the air several hundred meters away, Nagi waspelled to cover his mouth as arge volume of blood surged from his throat. To his horror, an unnervinglyrge wound had appeared across his body. Its length ran from his right shoulder to just under his ribs, and, if it had been even a centimeter or two deeper, most of his vital organs would have been sliced through in an instant. Despite feeling extremely lightheaded, a smile spread across Nagis face as the lightning veiling his body began to cauterize his wound. He realized the girl was holding back, as that attack could have easily taken his life, but, rather than show any fear whatsoever, all he felt was excitement as he said, "Youre really something..." As she had been a little worried about the severity of Nagis injury, Asuna didnt immediately follow up on her attack. This was where herck of experience came into y, as, following his statement, a truly monumental amount of lightning surged from Nagis body, tearing through the surroundingndscape as his figure seemed to blink out of existence. The next thing Asuna knew, there was a hand covering her view, and, if not for her defaulting into the State of Nothingness by default, she would have found herself being dragged through the terrain by the lightning-d youth. Undaunted by the fact he had somehow passed through his enemy, Nagi grabbed his staff with an even more excited smile on his face as he shouted, "Great! Lets see how long you can keep it up!" Though he wasnt sure about the mechanic behind his opponents intangibility, Nagi had learned how to damage incorporeal opponents from his teacher, a Master of the Shinmei-Ryu School. He was still far from the level of being able to cut through concepts, but, with a natural affinity for both lightning elemental energy and sealing, he was confident in being able to injure ghosts, gods, and spirits. With the head of his staff turning into an extendable de formed from lightning elemental energy and ki, Nagi began to cut towards Asunas body with enough speed to create tempestuous winds in the surroundings. Causing the smile on Nagis face to be even more prominent, Asunas figure actually began to flicker in a strange manner, deftly evading or cutting through his strikes. He could tell she was using a variation of shundo, but, before he could see through the technique, he was forced to duck under her de as it swept through the area where his head had been. Understanding the danger of simply dodging, Nagi attempted to grab Asunas wrist while striking toward her abdomen with his left foot. He believed she wouldnt be able to attack in her immaterial state, so, unless it was a very realistic feint, her deduced she had momentarily be vulnerable. Unfortunately, Nagis quick-thinking provided little benefit this time around as both his hand and foot slipped through Asunas body. This put him in an awkward situation that required him to use another short-range teleportation, but, having anticipated this, Asuna managed to ce her hand on his back, teleporting with him. Not expecting a sudden passenger, Nagi was momentarily at a loss as his brain tried to process how Asuna was able to ignore all of his barriers. Taking advantage of the very momentary gap, Asuna reentered the State of Nothingness in an instant, her hand slipping into Nagis body. This wouldnt normally cause any damage, but, as a Master in the use of Ki, Asuna was able to release a series of destructive pulses in the interior of Nagis body, ignoring his defenses entirely. It made her feel a little sick to the stomach, but, as the purpose of this battle was to ovee her aversion to injuring others, she pushed through it... Feeling as if a localized earthquake had just erupted in his body, Nagi ended up vomiting even more blood than before as most of his organs sustained heavy injuries. He was pretty sure his left lung hadpletely copsed as well, but, with a dauntless smile on his face, he managed to look down at Asunas hand before saying, "You know, I always thought I would be the one prating a cute girl. Who would have thought a day woulde when the roles were reversed?" Stupefied by Nagis remark, Asuna couldnt help but gawk as she stared back at the youth with an incredulous expression. This ended up being another mistake, as, without a clear mind, maintaining the State of Nothingness was very difficult. As a result, her hand materialized inside of Nagis side, a fact the youth in question was very aware of as he forced his lightning infused ki directly into her body. Unustomed to taking damage, Asunas first instinct was to try and move away, but, rather than allow his chance to slip away, Nagi grabbed her wrist with enough force to fracture the bones as he mused, "Im afraid youll have to take responsibility..." To punctuate his words, Nagi attempted to release even more lightning-infused ki, but, immediately after his words fell, an irresistible force prevented all of his movements. He could feel his mind race faster than it ever had before, but, no matter how much power he tried to muster, he could do little more than being taken along for the ride as time began to flow in reverse... --- Unaffected by Vahns time reversal, Asuna began to tear up slightly as she cradled her broken wrist and attempted to mend the bones. Nagis grasp was like a death grip so her wrist had turned nearly as ck as Ko before swelling up to more than three times the normal size. (A/N: Ko is the name of Asunas Zanpakuto for those who have forgotten.) Fortunately, while Nagi was stuck experiencing his battle in reverse, Vahn dutifully appeared next to Asuna, tenderly embracing her trembling body before carefully grasping her wrist. This caused her to release a pained yelp, but, rather thanin, Asuna just bit her bottom lip before burying her face into Vahns chest and allowing him to mend her wounds... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I would haveughed if Vahn just answered, "No.",Asuna doesnt like being called a chibi (\u003e,...,\u003c)...,Death Penalty) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1645 Lesson

Chapter 1645 Lesson

Though Asuna might be immune to normal healing magic, Vahns SSS-Ranked [Hands of Nirvana] was, at times, even better than magic. He could even restructure a persons body and change their gender, so, when it came to treating injuries and setting broken bones, the process waspleted with ease tantamount to breathing. Feeling the pain melt away in only a few seconds, Asuna breathed a sigh of relief, but, even after a full minute had passed, she continued clinging to Vahns body with her face buried in his chest. Rather than force her to separate from him, Vahn just lightly pat Asunas back a few times. He knew she had already calmed down, but, after having her wrist crushed and body severely electrocuted, it was understandable that she would want to be close to him right now. Fortunately, while his main body was busy attending Asuna, another version of Vahn was standing near Nagisnding area with Fenrir. They were watching Nagi move backward through time with amused expressions on their face, and, though it was a little excessive, chains in hand. One of the greatest benefits of being able to reverse the flow of entropy was knowing when and where objects would be certain points in time. Nagi had even created a reference point for them, so, after an additional minute or so, Vahn and Fenrir were waiting to bind him before he had any chance to resist. Truth be told, Vahn was actually surprised by the fact that Nagi was able to resist the reversal of entropy at all. His face would periodically morph into one of indignation, and, though he ended up back at his starting point, it was very apparent that he was cognizant throughout the process. This was a testament to his status as a protagonist, as, under normal circumstances, even the electrical signals in a persons brain fired in reverse,pletely erasing memories of future events. While thinking about ways to exploit Nagis cognizance for training purposes, Vahn manipted [Enkidu] to create a cage just as the youth returned to his starting position. This caused both him and Fenrir to be shrouded in a cloud of dust and debris flowing in reverse, but, with a wispy green aura protecting their bodies, they werergely unaffected. By the time the dust had settled, Nagi, with a deadpan expression on his face, had beenpletely bound by Enkidus golden chains. The perpetual smile he had disyed while fighting was nowhere to be seen, and, as if he didnt understand the concept of a filter, he didnt hesitate to stare directly at Vahn as he said, "Come on man, this isnt cool. We were just starting to have fun. Whyd you had toe in and ruin the mood? And whats with these chains? Couldnt you have at least gotten the girl to tie me up? Not cool. Seriously not cool." Though he was somewhat amused by Nagis words, Vahn had a serious expression on his face as he gestured to Fenrir, saying, "How about a demonstration before our little friend here makes another ill-considered request?" Understanding her Masters intentions, Fenrir turned her attention towards arge boulder a few meters away. With a simple gesture, the silver chains extended like a flexible whip before wrapping around the durable stone. The extremely sharp edges of Gleipnir cut into the material as if it was a mound of soft y, and, after a few seconds had passed, the boulder literally exploded under the tremendous pressure of the chains restraint. Despite witnessing the destruction of the boulder, Nagis expression didnt change much. Instead, he adopted a bored look, his eyes losing their focus as hezily droned, "Wow. How scary. I think I might have pissed myself a little." Feeling less amused, Vahns expression turned into a simr deadpan as he said, "You have quite the way with words, brat." Though he continued disying azy expression, Nagi wasnt able to conceal the twitching of his brow in response to being called a brat. He generally didnt care if an enemy insulted him, as it was only natural to exchange barbs during a conflict, but, more than anything else, it irked him when an enemy looked down on him because of his age. Vahn could even see the gentle pulsing of a persons veins as blood passed through them, so, even if Nagi had been a thousand times better at maintaining his poker face, tricking him was something even Gods struggled with. Being able to see the boys aura also helped, but, even if he disabled his View Affection, Vahn could read most people like an open book. The only exception to this was the people who were close to him, as, even if he was still aware of all the subtleties, he had developed a habit of selectively dulling his senses. Rather than tease the boy over his age, Vahn decided to act like the adult he was, honestly stating, "You are very powerful. Your personality could use a bit of work, but you certainly arentcking in the power department." Though he wasnt truly baited by Vahns words, Nagis eyes came back into focus as he looked back at him, a confident smile on his face as he said, "You have no idea, lizard breath. Once I break out of these chains, Ill-" Without waiting for Nagi to finish speaking, Vahn allowed Enkidu to dissipate as he returned a smile of his own and asked, "Youll what...?" The moment his body was no longer bound, an aura of vibrant lightning surrounding Nagis body as he used a short-range teleportation spell to create some distance. At the same time, he extended his hand towards his staff, but, rather than return to his side like usual, it remainedpletely inert within Vahns left hand. Nagi didnt want to run away without his staff, but, knowing he waspletely outssed, he grit his teeth like a soldier cutting away an infected limb before turning away and preparing to flee. To his frustration, however, the same green aura as before appeared around his body, and, after a few seconds had passed, he found himself back in front of Vahn. Since the former hadnt tried to bind him this time around, Nagi waited for the exact moment when the green aura would fade away. This coincided with thepletion of a mental recital of a simple lightning elemental magic, an unnamed spell designed to blind an opponent by releasing a sh of intense light. Unfortunately, just as the light shed from his body, Nagi as if a train had smashed into him as he was sent tumbling back like a stray cannonball. He was pretty sure most of the bones in his jaw had been broken, but, before he could even process the severity of his injury, Nagi felt an indescribable amount of frustration as a familiar feeling enveloped his body. Taking advantage of the fact that Nagi was blind during the reversal of entropy, Vahn pulled out the sealed formed of Laev-tan, cing it in the location where the boy would ultimately return. He knew this was a little excessive, but, as it would drastically increase the boys motivation during their future training, he wanted to teach the youth a hard lesson. Though his first instinct was to try a different spell, Nagi was unable to finish the chant as a sickly feeling spread through his body. He also felt a considerable amount of pain, but, rather than show it on his face, the only emotions visible in his expression were confusion and disbelief as he stared at the immactely crafted de stabbing through his heart... Vahn couldnt help feeling guilty when he saw the youths reaction, but, suppressing his empathy as much as possible, he continued to stare nkly at the boy as he said, "Though I would much rather attend other matters, know that I really could do this all day..." With his words finished, Vahn pulled Laev-tan from Nagis chest, allowing him to fall powerlessly to the ground before a green aura enveloped his body. He was hoping the boy would give up, but, as if to prove his qualifications as a protagonist, a resolute light appeared in Nagis eyes immediately after he returned to his starting position... --- Seeing Nagi getting beaten and battered over and over again by Vahn, Asuna first felt a feeling akin to vindication. After several minutes had passed, however, she began to disy visible concern, not for the youth, but for the man standing at her side. Asuna knew Vahn didnt enjoy tormenting others so the longer the one-sided battle continued, the more it would weigh on his mind. This wasnt necessarily a bad thing, as nobody should ever enjoy tormenting others, but, due to his nature, Vahn went above and beyond in his efforts to repay those he had wronged. Fearing Vahn might be excessively tolerant of Nagi after effectively torturing the boy, Asuna tightly squeezed his hand, genuine concern visible in her countenance as she said, "Vahn. Enough." Hearing Asunas taciturn murmur, Vahn looked down at the twin-tailed girl nestled next to him, a tidal wave of guilt washing over him the moment he saw her expression. He wanted to exin to her that he was only trying to help Nagi grow stronger, but, the moment this thought entered his mind, Vahn actually felt taken aback by his own thoughts. He couldnt help but imagine himself in a simr situation, and, almost immediately after that thought crossed his mind, the image of Tiamat smiling back at him in the Dungeon returned with the force of a freight train... --- Deciding he had already gotten his point across, even if Nagi wasnt even remotely deterred, Vahn returned Laev-tan to her sheath before extending his hand at the location of the youths head. This took him by surprise, but, the moment he realized what was happening, the red-haired protagonist attempted to leap away while producing a spear of lightning in his right hand. Using the same outstretched hand as before, Vahn swiped to the side, destroying the spear in an instant as Nagi, having reached the destination of his leap, copsed to the ground. Shaking his head, Vahn walked over to where the boy was quickly beginning to familiarize himself with his body, smiling wryly as he exined, "I created a blockage that causes your motor nerves to firepletely randomly. You might be able to figure out some kind of pattern, but, unless you can deal with the blockage, yourbat ability might as well be null right now." With even the muscles of his jaw refusing to cooperate, Nagi wasnt even able to properly clench his teeth as he attempted to forcibly channel ki and magical energy through his body. To Vahns surprise, nagi was actually able to make some headway in this regard, stringing his body together using threads of magical energy in much the same way as Rakan. This showed a terrifying adaptability that even rivaled Asunas, but, due to Nagis lightning elemental affinity, his thread had the effect of causing his muscles to spasm and twitch uncontrobly. Deciding against watching Nagi cripple himself, Vahn kneeled down next to the youth, earning an incredulous look from the boy as he ced his hand atop the formers head. Then, with a soothing tone, Vahn shook his head and said, "We will have plenty of opportunities to fight in the future. For now, calm yourself and go to sleep. We are not enemies, Nagi Springfield. Do not force me to harm you without reason..." As he was more concerned with resisting the overwhelming feeling of drowsiness settling within his mind, Nagi wasnt able to hear most of Vahns words. He was, however, able to understand the part about not being enemies, so, with thest vestiges of his strength, he somehow managed to ignore the fact that his nerves were still firing randomly, saying, "You damn lizard...I dont swing that way..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: [Taunt(Innate):SSS],I have note to bargain,Bruh...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1646 Fatigue

Chapter 1646 Fatigue

Seeing the unconscious Nagi lying on the ground with a smug grin on his sleeping face, Vahn couldnt help shaking his head in mild exasperation. The boy certainly had the drive expected from a protagonist, but, as was often the case with such individuals, their personalities were more than a little extreme. If not, they wouldnt be able to perform the impossible feats that allowed them to go from something like an orphan to the strongest person in the world over the course of a few years. With Nagi down for a few hours, at the very least, Vahn shifted his attention towards nothing in particr, his expression a mask of calm as he said, "Im no longer in the mood for games. If I have to force you out, none of us are going to have a good day." In response to Vahns words, a phenomenon simr to Space peeling opening like the page of a book appeared a few meters from his and Nagis position. It was a rather peculiar application of Space Laws that bordered on the realm of Reality Maniption, a point Vahn made a note of as he stared at the purple-haired man standing behind the other two. Noticing Vahns gaze, the purple-haired man, Albireo Imma, stared back at him with what could only be described as soulless purple eyes, smiling as he said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Vahn Aldrnari Mason..." Immediately following the schrly mans words, the tallest among the group, a Japanese man in histe twenties or early thirties, retorted in a huff, "A pleasure? Dont give me that crap! This guy just tortured our disciple! Are we just going to ignore that!?" Answering the mans question, the shorter among them, a youth with unkempt white hair, silvery-brown eyes, and permanent blush marks answered, "Rx, Eishun. This incident will help Nagi grow much stronger in the future. We all saw the look of conviction on his face. He didnt give up to the very end, so, while the Sage Dragon Emperors methods were certainly a little excessive, it wasnt to the extent we should enter hostilities against each other. That wouldnt benefit anyone...is that not so, Mr. Time Traveling Dragon?" Understanding why they might refer to him as a time-traveling dragon, Vahns only reaction to the youths words was the simple raising of a brow before answering, "There is no sense in talking here. Ive also grown rather tired of this current situation so Ill just state my opinion directly..." Though he had also been intending to help Nagi train, Asunas words reminded Vahn of his feelings regarding the rearing of children soldiers. He certainly understood the merits of helping the young grow stronger, but, rather than guide him for his own benefit, Nagi, Negi, Asuna, and several other children had been selfishly pulled into a war, acting in the interests of people they hadnt even met. After his presentation in Megalomesembria, Vahn was already nning to take matters into his own hands. He was going to cement his status as a deterrent, and, though he would give Eva her shot at vengeance, he wasnt going to entrust the fate of the Magical World to literal children. Asuna might have the power to dominate the entire magical world, but, on the most fundamental level, she was just a kind young girl who wanted to be pampered and praised, not some superweapon that should be used at others convenience... Just imagining the group across from him attempting to shape Asuna into a weapon, even going as far as to erase her memories, Vahns expression darkened. Then, finishing his previous statement, a heavy atmosphere descended upon his domain as he stated, "All three of you are unworthy of your status as mentors..." Hearing Vahns remark, the only person to disy any anger was the inordinately tall Japanse man, Eishun Konoe. While the other two had masks of calm, his expression morphed into one filled with hatred, resentment, and, though it was difficult to see for others, Vahn could see a fair amount of guilt in the mans eyes as he shouted, "Shut your mouth! You have no right to say such things when you werent even there to help Nagi when he needed it most!" Rather than deny the mans words, Vahn just nodded his head, his expression still as dark as before as he said, "Youre right. I cant be there to help everyone that deserves it. The best I can do, at least for the time being, is be a deterrent to prevent even greater tragedies. I am willing to shoulder the burden of hatred in order to make the world a better ce. I am also willing to fight against any and all who would threaten the stability of this world, even its creators. Now, tell me, Eishun Konoe, how does my not being present to prevent Nagis suffering justify the three of you turning him into a weapon with virtually no regard for the consequences of his actions!?" With Vahns aura growing progressively stronger with each passing second, Eishun found himself unable toe up with a response. Part of him just wanted to attack Vahn outright, but, with thetter giving off an even more dangerous impression than his Grandmother, the most he was able to manage was gripping the hilt of his sword a little tighter. Then, noticing Asuna standing beside another version of Vahn, a ridiculing smile began to spread across his lips. Anticipating what the man was going to say, Vahn just shook his head, preempting Eishuns words by saying, "Your ignorance is only rivaled by your stupidity. If you dare to speak such inconsiderate and petnt words, dont me me for the suffering you will experience. Ive already grown tired of this situation, and, as I said previously, this isnt really the ce to have a discussion. If you want to continue this, search for me North-East of Tempe. You can also wait until I next appear; it doesnt really matter to me." Having genuinely grown tired of the current situation,rgely due to ever-increasing mental fatigue, Vahn didnt wait around for the trio to respond. Instead, he used Unit Management to recall Asuna and Fenrir back to their base before allowing his two vessels to simply fade out of existence, arge volume of Source Energy flooding into the surroundings and breathing renewed life into the craggy wastnd... --- Surprised by the sudden disappearance of Vahn and his entourage, even Albireo Imma showed an expression of confusion as he mused in an almost inaudible tone, "This isnt spatial movement...it is like he just stopped existing suddenly...?" Hearing the mysterious Mages musings, Filius looked up at him with an uncharacteristically serious expression on his face as he asked, "Are you implying that he can simply exist when and wherever he pleases?" Shaking his head, Albireo was about to answer Filius question when Eishun, seemingly having just processed what happened, eximed, "What kind of coward calls someone else an idiot and then just runs off!? I swear, the next time I meet that damned lizard...I...Ill do something...!" Unable to think of a way to even get a pyrrhic victory against Vahn, Eishun couldnt help but recall his Grandmothers words about taking his training more seriously. Now, she had even instigated a sessionpetition, threatening his status as the incumbent head of the Shinmei-Ryu School. This thought alone was enough to make him feel depressed, as, prior to his arrival in the Magical World, he promised his wife that he would settle down and assume the position upon his return... Suddenly feeling as if his soul had left his body, Eishun ignored the pitying looks from Albireo and Filius as he looked over at the sleeping Nagi. Thetter had what some would describe as a shit-eating grin on his face, but, rather than feel annoyed, Eishun couldnt help but recall Vahns words, wondering whether or not they were doing the right thing. As if he had read the mans mind, Albireo Imma helped to calm Eishun a bit by saying, "Nothing is set in stone. That mans presence in this world has already altered the course of history in ways we can only begin to imagine. I suppose it would be prudent of us to track him down and attempt to form an alliance. If his words regarding his willingness to face this worlds creators ring true, there is a chance this little excursion into the Magical World will simply remain an exciting adventure for our young charge..." Though he still had a few doubts, Filius found himself agreeing with Albireos statement, adding, "If his ability to reverse time is anything to go by, it is safe to assume he truly did arrive here from the future. That being the case, he must have some confidence in his ability to seed. His decision to guard the Key of Twilight is a testament to this fact, so, before our enemies take action, we should unify our forces." Having just recently learned about their true enemy a few minutes ago, Eishun didnt have much room to refute the two youthful monsters standing before him. They had yet to exin everything, but, at the very least, he understood the fate of all worlds was at stake. This included Mundus Vetus, so, even if it meant putting his life on the line in a world that had nothing to do with him, he would do everything within his power to protect the people waiting for him back home... Releasing a profound sigh that made him appear even older than the two antiquated monsters at his side, Eishun walked over and picked up the unconscious Nagi before asking, "Well? What are we waiting for? The world aint gonna save itself." --- After returning to the sanctity of their secret base, Vahns wanted nothing more than to soak in the bath and spend a few days within his Realm. Before that, however, he determined it was necessary, as a proper Mentor, to follow up with Asuna. She had experienced a number of firsts throughout the day, and, though she was mature enough to cope, he wouldnt forgive himself if she developed some kind of trauma. While the Chacha Sisters prepared a light meal, tea, and snacks, Vahn allowed Asuna to snuggle up next to him as he pulled out a Memory Orb containing his memories of her battle. She had already learned a lot from the battle itself, but, with the benefit of his ultra-high-definition perception, there was a lot more to learn from viewing the battle from another perspective. Using his Telekinesis, Vahn positioned the Memory Orb at afortable distance, but, before he was able to activate it, Asuna surprised him by saying, "I am the one who wanted to grow stronger. I practically had to beg you to start training me so please dont let other peoples words get to you. This world is not your burden to bear. It is none of ours. We do so because we choose to wield our power responsibly. Thats what you taught me, so, when the timees, please trust me to do what I think is right ording to my own convictions. Even if I end up making a few mistakes, I will never regret the path I have chosen..." As he had actually been thinking about talking to Asuna regarding Eishuns words, Vahn was a little caught off guard by her resolution. He had even been considering having her remain in the Garden of Avalon whenever he went out to deal with their enemies. After all, she hadnt even turned twelve yet, and, even though he had prevented her from killing people, the fact remained that he had been allowing a child fight against people who would not hesitate to kill her... Feeling that he should say something, Vahn attempted to speak, but, as if she had been waiting for that exact timing, Asunas eyes shed like a master swordsman who had just discovered the single weakness in their opponents defense. Then, preceding her using a short-range teleportation spell to run away, Asuna stole a kiss so brief that Vahn wasnt even sure their lips had actuallye into contact with each other... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns frustrations mirror my own this chapter xD...,Fine...Ill do it myself,A very resolute youngdy...RIP Vahns SAN) (A/N: There will probably be dys today. I had to go to the bathroom five times just over the course of this chapter. Dont drink arge ss of milk on its expiration date.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1647 Devotion

Chapter 1647 Devotion

With Asuna fleeing to her bedroom to hide beneath the nkets, Vahn decided to justy down for a few minutes, nkly staring at the ceiling. It wasnt until several nearly identical mint-haired Maids came into the room that his eyes came back into focus, preempting their questioning by saying, "Please, leave the lunch items here. As for the tea and cake, take them up to Asunas room after a few minutes have passed..." Dutifully followed Vahns orders, the group of five quickly arranged everything on the table next to the sofa before as eldest sister, Chachaichi, asked, "Master? If you arent feeling well, I have been modified to be able to give massages." To emphasize her statement, Chachaichi removed one of her gloves, revealing an extremely intricate mechanical hand with visible joints. From within the microscopic pores at the tips of her fingers, a tiny amount of fragrant oil began to build up like condensation. Vahn instantly recognized the oil as the kind he used on Eva, bringing an affectionate smile to his face as he politely replied, "Maybe next time. Thank you for your concern, Ichi-chan." Hearing her Masters response, Chachaichi pulled out a handkerchief to deftly wipe away the oil from her hands before covering them with the characteristic white gloves used to each of the Chacha sisters, Chachazero included. Then, alongside the rest of her sisters, she folder her hands across herp, bowing politely before filing out of the room in an orderly line. Waiting until the group had departed, Vahn released a sigh as he used his Telekinesis to guide a pastry to his mouth. Asunas words had prevented him from worrying about what Eishun had said, but, due to her age, Vahn couldnt help but feel introspective following her little surprise. Though Asuna had made up her mind pretty early on,rgely thanks to the support of her mother, that didnt make it any easier to ept her affections. She was simply too young, and, though this wasnt the first time he had dealt with a simr situation, Vahns paternal instincts prevented him from ever bing ustomed to it. Raising his hand toward the ceiling, the focus in Vahns eyes began to gradually fade away as he muttered, "Life moves on in a never-ending cycle...there is no sense in worrying about the future when there are countless things you could be doing in the present..." Hearing his own words, Vahns eyes immediately came back into focus as he tilted his head to the side and asked, "What just happened...?" Understanding the question was directed toward her, Sis answered, (*It seems your subconscious thoughts surfaced for a brief moment? If I had to guess, it is probably rted to your unawakened Mind Innate. At the very least, there werent any external forces acting upon you to influence your thoughts.*) Rather than feel relieved by Sis words, Vahn couldnt help but frown slightly as he thought about what purpose an Innate that caused him to spew random philosophies might serve. It almost felt like he was trying to make excuses to justify his actions, something he had been proactively trying to avoid since his initiation of The Fall back in the Nasuverse... As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head as he moved to a seated position. Innates always took on a form and function suitable for their users, so, rather than develop doubts about something that had yet to even awaken, it made more sense to focus on the goals he had set for himself. Thus, after adopting a lotus position, Vahn allowed his thoughts to melt away as an indecipherable yet pleasant tone began to echo in the most distant regions of his subconscious... --- Opening his eyes, Vahn found himself seated atop an altar-like throne, his body in a simr lotus position as his outside form. There were various candles burning around him, and, kneeling on the ground to his front, hands sped in prayer, an indescribably beautiful woman in garments suitable for the High Priestess of a fantasy religion could be seen reverentially lowing her head. Though he could hear the womans prayer in the back of his mind, Vahn had developed the habit of filtering out such things since it always sounded like a vast crowd of people trying to talk over each other. That didnt mean he couldnt selectively listen to prayers, however, so, with an amused smile on his face, Vahn opened his mind to the womans heartfelt- Before he could even finish his thoughts, Vahns mental processes came to a halt when he heard the woman internalize, ("Though I might not be worthy of such grace, I pray the day when I can devote my everything to the Lordes even one day sooner. Even now, the aching in my body continues to grow....ahhn...control yourself, Jeanne...the Lord is watching...") Despite her own attestations that she was being observed, the woman, Jeanne, allowed her hands to part. Then, without realizing he was actually watching her, she began to roughly squeeze her left breast before slipping her hand between her thighs and staring up at him with an impassioned look on her face... As if time had immediately ceased flowing, Jeannes hands stoppedpletely as she stared back at the deadpan expression on her Gods face. All thoughts within her mind hadpletely ceased as an overwhelming feeling of shame began to creep up on her. At the same time, however, she felt as though a massive ze had been ignited in her body,pounding the aching feeling that had existed within her body from the moment her God had anointed her the status of High Priestess... Before she realized it, Jeanne had started to squeeze her breast with a bit of force, her eyes fixed on the image of her God looking down at her. She saw no disgust anywhere within his gaze, and, even as the intensity of her movements began to increase, he made no effort to stop her. There was even a bit of redness creeping into his ears, and, after a few seconds, Jeanne felt as if her heart was going to explode when she saw him gulp what she assumed to be his saliva... --- Though Vahn had seen women masturbate many times, the sight of Jeanne pleasuring herself in sacramental vestments was unlike anything he had ever seen. It felt like he was bearing witness to something forbidden, and, though he had been aware of her burgeoning desires, this was thest thing he had expected to happen... Just as this thought crossed his mind, Vahn witnessed something even more unbelievable. Jeanne, perhaps emboldened by his silent observation, hiked up the edges of her skirt to reveal that, rather than pristine white panties, her vestments hid silky ck, slightly transparent, lingerie. This was a stark contrast to the ornate white gown she wore in the execution of her duties, and, based on the impassioned look in her eyes, Vahn understood the reasons she concealed such garments beneath her robes... As interesting as it was to simply observe such an awe-inspiring scene, Vahn didnt have the habit of disappointing the expectations of his women. Jeanne might have been excluded from this group in the past, but, seeing her devotion reced by a palpable yearning, refusing her any further was simply impossible. With a simple wave of his hand, Vahn caused the vestments concealing Jeannes body to fade out of existence. This revealed the transparent ck babydoll underwear she wore beneath, but, even more prominent than her perfectly sculpted figure, Vahns eyes were drawn to the silky ck choker wrapped around her neck. The limited omniscience provided by his Realm allowed him to ascertain where she had obtained such a garment, and, much to his surprise, she had actually stolen it from Atnta... Noticing the gaze of her God, Jeanne couldnt help but avert her eyes, even as her face flushed to a dangerous degree. She had no excuse for her actions, and, though she felt guilty whenever she met Atnta, she simply couldnt bear to part with the stolen essory... Rather than me Jeanne for the theft, Vahn decided he would just make it up to Atnta on her behalf. She was generally pretty understanding, and, ever since he gave her Authority over both the Forests and Children, their rtionship had be more than a little intimate. She also had arge collection of cors and chokers, so, while she undoubtedly noticed the absence of the choker, she wouldnt particrly care unless someone tried to steal her original, hand-crafted, cor. While producing several versions of himself at different locations within his Realm, Vahn made his way over to Jeanne, raising her from the ground and wrapping her in his arms. This was enough to overwrite her worries regarding the choker, her sky-blue eyes glistening with a hopeful light as she looked up at him with what could only be described as a hungry look. Vahn knew Jeanne could be very loveable at times, but, seeing her adopt such a sultry expression, a familiar possessiveness sprouted from within his mind as he leaned down to kiss her slightly parted lips. He could feel her voluminous breasts, some of thergest among his harem, squashing against his chest, and, though they had stood out quite a bit through the thin fabric, Vahn couldnt help but smile slightly as he felt hardened protrusions poking against him. Having already made up his mind, Vahn stopped kissing Jeanne after three minutes, allowing her to issue heated gasps as he traced his thumb across her moistened lips and issued the words he knew she wanted to hear, his voice deep and resonate as he said, "Your everything...I will take it and dye it in my colors...from this moment onward, you will belong to me...always and forever..." Feeling a tantalizing tremble run through her body, Jeanne stared up at her God with even greater fervor visible in her countenance. If he hadnt been holding her closely, she would have bowed until her forehead was pressed into the ground. Instead, she offered no resistance to his forceful hold as a surprisingly carnal smile spread across her lips. This even caught Vahn by surprise, and, for a brief moment, he couldnt shake the feeling that he was the one about to get eaten up by the beauty in his arms... Surprising him even further, Jeanne licked her lips in one of the most naturally seductive ways Vahn had ever seen before tiptoeing to whisper, "I have belonged to you from the moment you liberated me from the darkness. My only regret is that I dont have more of myself to give..." Hearing Jeannes words, Vahn couldnt help feeling slightly confused. He was even tempted to read her thoughts for a brief moment, but, seemingly aware of what he was thinking, Jeanne smiled even more sultrily as she exined, "If it was within my power, I would have surrendered every version of myself in all realities to you. Knowing there are versions of me who will never experience this bliss...I cant help but mourn for them..." Imagining an infinite number of scantily d Jeannes surrounding him, each with simrly hungry expressions on their faces, Vahn couldnt help but swallow a second time. This hadnt escaped the uncharacteristically seductive Jeannes notice, and, as if to emphasize that her switch hadnt simply been flipped, but broken, she wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, "I suppose Ill just have to show you as much love and devotion as an infinite number of me could disy..." As if she hadnt been bashfully looking away from him minutes prior, Jeanne took the initiative to initiate an even more passionate kiss. This was something she had been thinking about a lot as ofte, so, now that she had the opportunity to devote herselfpletely, she wasnt going to allow the chance to slip away from her... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I wonder what other modifications she has...,Omen to awakening,Oh my (OwO)...,Check Chapter Comments for images) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1648 Prosperity

Chapter 1648 Prosperity

While Jeanne was expressing the depths of her devotion to one of his more fortunate selves, several other versions of Vahn were carrying out various duties within his Realm. This included watching the progress of Silva, spending time with anyone who had teleported to the Crystal Pce, checking in with Da Vinci, and, as was often the case following his return, Vahn prime could be found walking silently through a serene garden. More than a hundred years prior, Vahn, in the hopes of opening their hearts and minds, had tasked Altera and Okita with working together to create a garden filled with life. They had taken his words very seriously, so, with more than a century to grow and develop, the garden produced by the two taciturn beauties had be one of the most secluded and peaceful ces in all of Avalon. Though neither Altera nor Okita had truly opened themselves up to others, both girls mellowed out quite a bit with the passage of time. Altera, in particr, had be very fond of the garden. Most of her free time was spent within, and, if you were fortunate enough to sneak up without her notice, it was sometimes possible to find her hand-feeding small animals with a delicate smile on her face. Originally, the garden had been a ce very few people could ess, but, after receiving quite a bit of praise for their efforts, Okita and Altera had opened it up to most residents of the Inner Sanctum. There were a few rules that had to be followed, including one which prohibited loud noises, but, so long as you didnt run rampant within their garden, they wouldnt forcibly eject you... --- Near the very center of the secret garden, located atop an artificially created hill ornamented by a single apple tree, a beautiful woman with flowing golden hair, silver eyes, pristine white wings, and a rather thick white tail could be seen resting peacefully. She was garbed in a thin white dress that perfectly ented the color of her wings and tail, but, more noticeable than the womans ethereal beauty was the rounded belly affectionately caressed by her hands... Seeing the woman from a distance, Vahn could feel expectation and love swelling within his heart with each passing step. She had also noticed his presence, but, rather than rise to greet him as she would in the past, she simply returned a loving smile, her voice effortlessly reaching his ears as she quietly uttered, "Vahn..." in a happy tone of voice. With one final step, Vahn appeared at the side of the woman, a sour feeling spreading through his nose as he returned a radiant smile and answered, "Artoria..." in an equally affectionate tone. --- After a cursory exchange of words, Vahn joined his beloved Empress in rxing beneath the apple trees canopy. This had be a habit of theirs, as, unless he was resting within the Inner Sanctum, Artoria could always be found rxing within the secret garden. She enjoyed the peaceful serenity that had been produced from Alteras and Okitas efforts, finding sce in the fact that something so beautiful could be created by entities whose sole purpose had been to destroy. It gave her hope for the future, and, out of gratitude for Artorias appreciation, Altera had hand-crafted the hill atop which she sat. Vahn was also rather fond of nature, but, more importantly, he simply wanted to spend time with the woman who had carried his child for more than a hundred years. Just being around her allowed him to rxpletely, and, though it was a little shameless of him, he enjoyed using herp as a pillow and allowing her to pamper him. Her aura alone brought him an extreme amount offort, so, whenever he returned to his Realm, Vahn always split a part of himself to stay at Artorias side... Rather than feel troubled by her Husband wanting to spend time with her, Artoria had grown rather fond of seeing Vahns vulnerable side. There were so few moments when he just stopped, so, when the opportunity presented itself, she tried to return a bit of thefort he so often showed others. With one hand on her belly and the otherbing through Vahns hair, Artoria had a tender smile on her face as she quietly asked, "How long will you stay this time...?" Hearing her words, Vahn half-opened his eyes, staring back at her with a rxed smile as he calmly stated, "There are some things I wanted to take care of so I will probably stay for a few weeks. Why, is there something on your mind?" Though he could read the minds of the people within his Realm, Vahn elected to remain ignorant of peoples thoughts. The only time he made an exception was when something major happened, but, ever since ya gave birth, she had taken it upon herself to proactively prevent most incidents. She still behaved like azy cat whenever they met, but, when it concerned the stability of the world and its textures, she was always very serious about her self-assigned duties... Noticing the tell-tale look in Vahns eyes, Artoria gently caressed his cheek without losing her smile as she answered, "You should spend some time with Mordred. She recently returned to Avalon and has been rather restless. I think the birth of Kamiyas son came as a big shock to her. That boy used to follow her around like a puppy when they were younger so she is presumably feeling pressured to secure her own future..." Even before Artoria had finished speaking, memories of Mordreds activities over thest few years emerged within Vahns mind. He had a limited form of omniscience within his Realm, and, when his mind wandered to things he wanted to know, the information would automatically surface. After all, the Realm existed inside of him, so, while he might not be aware of everything taking ce at every given moment, he could recall events with absolute rity. Seeing a few concerning scenes of Mordred rampaging within her private sub-space, Vahn shifted his awareness to where she was currently located. Fortunately, he found her ying with Kamiyas son, a radiant smile on her face as she held the boys arms up and tried to get him to walk. With a smile recing the concern visible in his countenance, Vahn nodded his head, saying, "She is currently upied but I will make sure to spend some time with her during my stay. Rather, she will probably be able to help me out in my training this time around...hmmm..." After seeing his half-kitsune grandson, Vahns mind instantly wandered to all of his other children and grandchildren. A total of neen years had passed within his Realm since time began moving forward, so, while some things remained the same, others changed greatly. Sakura was even up to her fourth child, and, though she had been on the fence about it for a long time, even Iris ended up giving birth to a son. Her decision to name him Shiro had been a little peculiar, but, considering he had been born with the characteristic white hair and red eyes of an Einzbern Homunculus, it suited him quite a bit. Vahns family had exploded over thest two decades, and, due to the long period of peace, most of the Imperial Knights had also settled down to start families. The most prolific of these ended up being Lancelot, as, after a very long period of discussion, one of the people summoned prior to the subsuming of Gaia was none other than Guinevere. Artoria had longe to terms with what had happened in her past, and, rather than see the man suffer for hundreds of years, she was the one to suggest summoning her former wife and confidant. Now, rather than appear like a man looking for a ce to die, Lancelot could even match Gawain in the vibrancy of his smile. He and Guinevere already had eleven children together, and, though there was no real need for such sentiments, he reared all his sons and daughters to be exceptionally loyal to the Empire. With so many pleasant thoughts washing over him, the smile on Vahns face grew even wider as he looked up at Artoria and muttered, "It seems the Empire is currently enjoying an era of prosperity..." Chuckling lightly at her husbands remark, Artoria gingerly pinched his cheek before musing, "After all your hard work, this is the obvious oue...should I reward you~?" Seeing Artorias pupils dte slightly before morphing into a more slit-like appearance, Vahn didnt have to inquire about what kind of reward she had in mind. She could probably sense what he was doing with Jeanne, as, from the moment he awakened her within his Realm, Vahn had shared most of his Authority with Artoria. This was one of the reasons she isted herself, as, with the ability to see and know everything, Artoria spent most of her time silently watching over the Empire and its people without interfering. Though it was an unnecessary concern, Vahn found it very difficult to have sex with his lovers when they were pregnant. It didnt matter if they were in their safe period as just imagining the scene was enough to send a fretful shiver through his body. It simply seemed wrong, and, even if he reduced his size, Vahn couldnt help but feel awkward whenever he imagined hitting the cervix of a pregnant woman with his ns... Noticing the concern in Vahns eyes, Artoria momentarily suppressed her urges, lightly caressing his forehead as she teased, "You are underestimating me..." To emphasize her point, Artoria held up her hand, and, after several seconds had passed, her palm became satin-soft as pure white scales grew along the back. At the same time, in much the same way that Illya could alter the structure of her body, the tip of Artorias tail opened to reveal a fleshy and moist interior. A powerful aroma of pheromones spread through the air, and, with a matter-of-factly tone, Artoria adopted a slightly predatory smile as she added, "There are other rewards I can offer you..." Vahn was more than a little surprised by Artorias actions, but, having noticed the moment when she attempted to suppress her urges, he decided to just go with the flow. It was going to be more than a little awkward, but, if she was willing to go to such extents, he wasnt going to refuse. It had actually been a few years since they did anything sexually intimate, ever since her belly swelled up like a balloon, so there was simply no way he could leave her hanging. With that thought in mind, Vahn ran his hand along the length of Artorias tail, his palm glowing with a rainbow hue that caused her wings to twitch due to the pleasant shivers running through her body. This was enough to cause her silvery eyes to glisten, and, after several seconds had passed, it was safe to say that Artorias switch had been flipped as she immediately repositioned so that she was straddling his waist. Then, after her tail effectively tore away the belt and fabric around Vahns waist, a phenomenal amount of pressure and heat enveloped his exposed member... --- Noticing her God suddenly tense up, his movementsing to a stop, Jeanne forcibly craned her head back to stare into his face. She had her upper body pressed into a durable mattress, her hands bound behind her back as her God ravished her from behind. Most notably, a rather bushy tail had sprouted from above her plump posterior while, at the top of her head, two dog-like ears could be seen twitching periodically. Jeanne had surmised that there should be a version of herself for each race, so, knowing her God had a particr fondness for dog and cat-like women, she had implored him to shape her body to his liking. They had already gone through various different forms, but,pared to all the others, Jeanne had developed a particr fondness for chienthropic features. She had even been tempted to ask her God to address her as his bitch, but, understanding she had already been rather selfish, she resisted the urge... Seeing the nk look on her Gods face, Jeanne was about to ask what had happened, but, before she was able to, he adopted a smile that sent a pleasant shiver through her body as he said, "Sorry, I got a little distracted. Here, let me make it up to you..." Punctuating his words, Vahn gave Jeannes reddened butt a light smack before squeezing her tail a little forcibly. This caused a sonorous whimper to escape her throat, her tongue sticking out as her entire body began to vibrate in the wake of a powerful climax. Then, without allowing her a chance to recover, he pressed her down with the weight of his body and began teaching her how to pick a lock... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Imagining Altera wearing a sundress as she happily tends to a garden brings a smile to my face...,The Empire is very prosperous...,She ded...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1649 Relief

Chapter 1649 Relief

Noticing the tell-tale look in Vahns eyes, Da Vinci couldnt help but pause in her exnation, a teasing smile on her face as she mused, "You seem to be enjoying yourself." Like someone who had just returned from their mind wandering, Vahns eyes came into focus on Da Vincis, his own expression morphing into a wry smile as he answered, "Indeed." Amused by Vahns reply, Da Vinci issued her characteristic giggle, a perfect amalgamation of elegance, amusement, and a bit of sultriness. At the same time, the tip her rather thick tail, covered in maroon-red scales on the back and a glossy cream-colored ventral scales on the underside, began to light gently waggle toward him in a teasing manner. Resisting the urge to grab the tip of Da Vincis tail, Vahn just rolled his eyes as he stepped a little closer, his right hand digging into the flesh of her buttocks as he whispered, "I swear, you dragon girls wont rest until you turn me into a beast..." To punctuate his words, and silence Da Vincis teasing remark, Vahn nted a rather tame kiss on her lips, a peculiar contrast to the domineering way in which he lifted up her body until her feet were dangling off the ground. Most of the girls with draconic traits felt more at ease when he was a bit rough with them, and, though Da Vinci was more than a simple True Dragon, she had elected to keep the traits that made the race enjoyable. Knowing things would get out of hand quickly if he fell into Da Vincis pace, Vahn separated his lips from hers before setting her down and saying, "Now, finish your exnation. Ive been growing restless outside so Im not sure how much longer Ill stay in that world." Hearing Vahns words, Da Vincis peculiar pupils, shaped like angr infinity symbols, began to revert back to normal as she answered, "The problem with your proposition is that it fails to ount for your nature. Creating a temte for a Record isnt that difficult. However, keeping the information about that Record a secret would be impossible. If you encounter difficulties, I do not have the confidence in being able to deny you ess to the data. I would also like to avoid the situation where youe to me me or yourself for any unforeseen incidents that might take ce in that world. After all, without being able to directly analyze a Tier 6 Record, there are too many variables that I simply cant ount for." Though he understood the logic contained within Da Vincis words, Vahn couldnt help but release a disappointed sigh. He obviously wasnt disappointed in her, far from it. Instead, it was the fact she referenced his mentality that caused him to release a sigh. During his time in the Akamatsuverse, Vahn realized that the only way for him to truly enjoy his time within a Record was to know absolutely nothing about it. He was too sentimental, so, if he knew any of the worlds history or the roles specific people yed within the story, it was impossible for him to simply ignore them. In the hopes of creating a structured world that would allow him to efficiently increase his Soul Tier, Vahn had proposed that Da Vinci have Ark create a thematic world with a structure based on the system they had been developing to govern his Realm. This would hopefully make the future merger easier, but, as she pointed out, the n only worked if he had the resolution to remain ignorant. Since he had a habit of overnning, especially when he knew the future of a Record, it was all but guaranteed that he would inquire about the world she had created the moment things stopped going his way... Not wanting to leave Vahn without any options, Da Vinci cupped his cheek with her left hand, a gentle smile on her face as she softly stated, "Your problem is that you are too focused on being in control. I understand your concerns, but, much as you have done within the Realm, you should just let events y out. A time will inevitablye where you have all the power you could ever hope to obtain. At that point, there will be nothing to prevent you from simply reversing the flow of entropy or forcibly extracting people from the past at the exact moment of their death. Rather than desperately seek to control the situation, focus on the things that actually matter to you. Then, when everything else is said and done, there will be plenty of time to go back and fix the injustices you observed during your rise." Hearing Da Vincis suggestion, Vahn couldnt help but stare at her with his mouth slightly agape. It seemed like such an obvious solution, but, due to his empathic nature and desire to bring a stop to unnecessary suffering, it hadnt even crossed his mind. Seeing Vahns stupefied look, Da Vinci issued another characteristic giggle as she used her thumb to trace his bottom lip. This was enough to get him to close his mouth ande back to his senses, a massive grin spreading across his face as he wrapped his hands around her waist and asked, "Can you be any more amazing?" Finding his choice of words amusing, a smile that could only be described as a masterpiece spread across Da Vincis lips as she answered, "Darling...for you, I can be whatever you want me to be...ufufufu~" --- Thanks to Da Vincis enlightening words, Vahn found himself in an indescribably great mood. It wasnt a perfect solution, as he still wouldnt be able to simply ignore tragedies happening right in front of him, but, as she suggested, there would inevitablye a time when he could retroactively fix various injustices. He even had an example to support Da Vincis im, as, during his time in the Nasuverse, Vahn had actually transmigrated several people; transnting them from the past into the present. Though there were bound to be numerous setbacks along the way, Vahn felt better just knowing he had more options. He might even find a better solution at some point, so, with a smile on his face and a bit of pep in his step, he made his way over to a rather futuristic gym where Mordred could be found leg pressing nearly 400,000kg. She had a dull look on her face, but, after doing more than a thousand reps, a thinyer of sweat had spread across herrgely exposed body. Seeing Mordred attempting to exercise her frustrations away, Vahn felt a smidgeon of guilt before promptly tossing it to the back of his mind as he walked forward and said, "Very impressive...I see your legs have be even more toned than thest time I saw you..." Mordred was more than a little surprised by the sudden appearance of her Chichiue, but, after a very brief pause, a cheeky grin spread across her face as she confidently stated, "We both know I dont do this to tone my legs." With one final push, Mordred locked the weights in ce before rising to her feet and facing her back towards Vahn. She was wearing a version of the Aegis that looked like a ck sports bra and tight shorts that only covered around three-quarters of her butt cheeks. This made them stand out even more than normal, a fact Mordred was very aware of as she yfully jiggled her glutes and asked, "What do you think~?" Simr to a connoisseur of the fine arts, Vahn adopted a serious and contemtive expression on his face, stroking his chin for several seconds before answering, "I might have to change my metric. Though I wouldnt say its a ten-out-ten, I cant bring myself to lower it to a nine...its too perfect to assign a decimal value so Im really at a loss...hmm..." Hearing her Chichiues words, Mordred snicked mischievously as she gave her own bottom a rather firm smack. This caused a ripple to pass through her nigh-perfectly sculpted posterior, but, as if to demonstrate its ability to retain its shape, it instantaneously returned to form as Mordred teasingly asked, "Want to give it a try?" Though he might have refused in the past, Mordred was already fifty-three years old at this point. Her physical appearance hadnt changed that much,rgely due to her unique constitution, but, as such things hardly mattered, Vahn didnt hesitate to walk over and give the pliant muscle group a firm squeeze, a wispy rainbow hue spreading across his palm. Feeling the sudden and spontaneous tingle spread through her body, Mordred was unable to stop her teeth from ttering for a brief moment. A confused light shed across her eyes, but, instead of asking what his intentions were, she leaned forward to use the leg press for support. This allowed Vahn to freely massage and fondle her butt, a serious expression on his face as his thumbs probed her inner thighs and spread the moistening folds beneath the fabric. Modred had no idea what was going through her Chichiues mind, but, after returning to Avalon and seeing how nearly everyone already had a child, her patience had been tested well beyond its natural limits. She didnt necessarily want a child, but, after decades of abstinence in the pursuit of her training, her convictions had started to wane. The only thing that kept her going was knowing she would be able to spend an eternity with her Chichiue, but, after seeing so many others with a Divine Authority, Mordred couldnt prevent some dark thoughts from taking root in the back of her mind... Without beating around the bush, Vahn increased the potency of his [Hands of Nirvana] as he firmly stated, "I am going to stay within the Realm for a few months for training. During that time, you will be apanying me. I intend to develop my Innates, but my primary purpose is to see whether or not you can achieve Tier 4. To that end, I will give you a taste of what Divinity is like..." Though her heart was racing fast enough to cause a noticeable vibration within her body, Mordred was able to calm herself enough to nod her head and answer, "Im ready...Chichiue..." Seeing Mordred gripping the reinforced leg press hard enough to leave finger indents, Vahn knew she was pushing herself. She wasnt the type to go back on her word, so she was bound to feel as though she had betrayed both of their expectations. This was the reason why he didnt really leave her much of a choice in the matter, and, though his original intent was to try and awaken his Innate, he was now fully prepared to push Mordred far beyond her limits. Having formed his conviction, Vahn created a parallel space overtop the gym,pletely isting himself and Mordred from the principal axis of reality. He was intending to meld with her, so, even if he held back, things were bound to get a little chaotic. There was even a chance she would reach Tier 4 during the experience, and, as was often the case when someone obtained Tier 4 for the first time, her aura was bound to explode and destroy the surroundings. With his preparationspleted, Vahn tore the fabric of Mordreds Aegis as if it was weaker than wet paper. He could have removed them with a thought, but, knowing Mordred would appreciate it more if he portrayed a more dominant side, that is exactly what he intended to do. Skipping the usual forey in its entirety, Vahn spread Mordreds glistening folds by squeezing her left butt cheek rather forcibly. He could see her surprisingly pristine hymen, undamaged despite all of her intense training and battles. She also rarely masturbated, so, despite her boyish and slightly arrogant nature, Mordred was actually very innocent when it came to sexual matters. Vahn would have liked to guide her through the process step-by-step, but, taking Da Vincis advice to heart, he decided not to worry about such things. He knew what Mordred craved, so, without any discernible hesitation, he lined himself up with her entrance, his ns gaining a subtle rainbow hue as he trespassed her depths in a single swift motion... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn has been making a lot of progress in his Realm...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1650 A Long-Awaited Release

Chapter 1650 A Long-Awaited Release

Though she had calmed down over time, Mordred liked to consider herself a confident and direct woman who could stand above all genders and races without fear or shame. She had proven this time and again on the battlefield, fearlessly charging enemy lines to inspire her troops and lead them to victory. Needless to say, Mordred had earned the trust, respect, and adtion of everyone who had served alongside her in the frontlines. She had also earned herself various would-be suitors in the process, but, while she could joke around with them and y off their advances with a smile, the truth of the matter was that Mordred was extremely irritated by their audacity. Though she had done her best to bury her growing negativity, Mordred couldnt deny that her patience had slowly eroded away with time. This was exacerbated by the fact Drake constantly tried giving her advice on the matters between men and women. She was like a snake constantly whispering promises of pleasure and release, words that had, at times, resulted in Mordred doing things she almost immediately regretted. While others might not think much of it, Mordred had always considered it disgraceful to have to pleasure herself. She wanted to remain resolute in the decision she made, and, if it was ever discovered she tended to herself, Mordred believed the way her men would look at her would change. Just the thought of such things made her feel more vulnerable than she would ever admit, so, while she had fallen to temptation a handful of times, she always stopped before things got too out of hand. With such a mentality, Mordred wilfully ignored anything rted to the matters between men and women. She could still give advice and sometimes teased the younger members of her squadron, but, when it came to the specifics, her knowledge was purely theoretical. She still had a number of expectations, tempting her to research various materials, but, in the end, all Mordred genuinely cared about was growing strong enough to be one with her Chichiue... In the end, none of Mordreds expectations, theories, or anxieties held any value, as, from the moment her Chichiue embraced her, everything she thought she knew about sex was thrown out the window. There was none of the expected pain or difort, and, though she tried her best to cover her mouth, a sonorous and womanly moan escaped her lips as a pulse of pure pleasure tore through her body before impacting her mind like a hammer striking an anvil. Unable to form any coherent thoughts, Mordred was slightly embarrassed to realize she was calling out to her Chichiue in a whimpering moan every time another crash impacted her mind. The leg press she had used for support was ripped apart due to her inability to control her own strength, and, if not for the invisible force that had enveloped her wrists, Mordred wasnt sure she would even be able to stand upright. It was around the time that these thoughts were going through her head that Mordred realized her greatest shame to date. She had thought it was sweat at first, but, after her senses gradually returned to her, she realized the droplets staining the thick mats of the gym were actually her tears. She wasnt in any pain or anything, but, every time the pulse passed through her body, she felt such a considerable amount of pleasure and relief that it was simply impossible to stop the tears dislodged from her ducts with every impactful movement. Mordred tried tofort herself by pretending her Chichiue couldnt see them, but, as if he was reading her thoughts, she soon found herself held upright. His tongue denied her any right to protest, and, due to the mirrors lining the entire gym, Mordred could feel her cheeks burning when she looked forward and saw the image of her Chichiue supporting her legs as his almostically oversized member plowed into her body. Seeing her stomach inte slightly with each movement, Mordred felt a strange feeling of shame that caused her to clench up with enough force to mold steel. Instead of inhibiting her Chichiues movements, however, the pleasure became even more intense. She could even feel the outline of her Chichiues member, firm and uninhibited as his ns yed across her interior folds like someone running their fingers down a piano. Mored felt this was a rather apt description, as, in a desperate attempt to draw air, her sonorous singing could be heard echoing through the gym as her Chichiue nibbled on her neck. Though everything thus far waspletely outside her expectations, Mordred could feel something surging within her body with each passing moment. She knew what this was, but, after climaxing several times thus far, she actually felt a little nervous regarding the feeling spreading through her body and threatening to make her burst. It was what her Aneue and many others had warned her about, the so-called big one that could eveny low Goddesses of Sex... Regardless of her rising trepidation, Mordred would not allow anything to get in the way of her union with her Chichiue. She wouldnt even allow the person in question to try and back out, her hands reaching behind her head to hold onto his just as the pleasure in her body seemed to reach critical mass. Mordred had heard a lot about the phenomenon, but, the moment she felt her Chichiue hold her tighter, pulling her legs closer to his body so that he could embrace her, it was like a bomb had been set off in her body. All of her thoughts ceased in their entirety, and, for a brief moment, Mordred was certain she had cked. When she came to, she found herself heaving for air as an indescribably hot yet pleasant sensation spread through her insides. This feeling brought her tremendous relief, and, before she realized it, Mordred found herself looking at her slovenly figure in the mirror as her hand instinctually moved to her abdomen... --- Though he didnt really get fatigued within his own Realm, Vahn suppressed a sigh of relief when he noticed the dazed smile visible in Mordreds reflection. She wasnt actually pregnant, but, now that he had cum inside of her, he could feel the tensions in her body decreasing rapidly, reced by a burgeoning maternal aura. She didnt even seem to be aware of the fact that her body was still twitching violently, and, if he wasnt holding onto her, it would almost look like she was having a seizure. What Mordred wasnt aware of was that this was only the beginning, as, due to a genuine concern that she might break, Vahn held back from initiating a meld. Even Da Vinci could only experience such stimulus periodically, as, immediately following the event, focusing on her work was simply impossible. Instead, she would spend upwards of three days just rxing, often snuggling up against him as they absentmindedly reshaped the cosmos with their thoughts... Vahn could tell that Mordred wasnt ready for such a stimulus, as, prior to his cumming inside of her, she had still been very tense. Now, however, she was slowly beginning to rx, and, rather than just being on receiving end, he could imagine her bouncing back, eager to continue. She had been waiting for several decades for the restrictions on their rtionship to be removed, and, now that there was nothing standing in her way, Vahn could imagine Mordred bing very proactive... --- After staring at herself for several minutes, her mind bereft of a single thought, Mordred gradually came back to her senses when she noticed her Chichue lifting his head to stare back at her. Then, as if she had only just remembered what they were doing, Mordred felt like a bolt of lightning had struck her mind, returning her rity in an instant and causing her to nearly apologize for being selfish. Before she could organize her thoughts well enough to speak, Mordred was left at a loss when her Chichiue blew a ticklish stream of air next to her ear before saying, "Your dazed expression is pretty cute...Im looking forward to seeing it often from now on..." Mordred wasnt fond of being called cute, but, hearing her Chichiues reminder, her lower body clenched up by pure instinct. This caused another small wave of pleasure to spread through her body, silencing any retort she might have had. Instead, she just allowed her Chichiue to continue holding her for a while longer, warmth spreading from her stomach to the rest of her body before she finally uttered, "If it is Chichiues request...I dont mind wearing cuter clothes..." Hearing Mordreds utterance, a massive grin spread across Vahns face, but, while it was certainly a tempting thought, his answer was a firm, "Silly girl. Ive always loved you just as you are. Though you caused me a number of headaches in the past, the memories of our time together give me strength in the present. Even if you continue behaving like a spoiled little monkey at times, treating my body like a personal yground, you would never hear meining." To emphasize his point, Vahn manipted reality so that his memories reflected in each of the mirrors. It was a little strange, especially considering he was still holding her from behind with his penis firmly pressed against her cervix, but various images of their times together began to y on each panel. Every single one of them showed him smiling, and, though there were times when his expression became slightly troubled, there was never a single moment where the love and affection visible in his eyes waned. Though it was embarrassing to see so many versions of herself behaving like a spoiled tomboy, a reminiscent smile still spread across Mordreds face. She knew her reasons for climbing all over his body werent exactly pure, but, even when she got out of hand, her Chichiue continued to smile at her. There were even times when he would wilfully ignore what she was doing, allowing her to take advantage of him while he just stared off into empty space. Realizing how shameless she had been in the past, an uncharacteristic blush crept across Mordreds cheeks, encroaching upon her ears and neck. This was exacerbated by the fact she noticed some of the panels reying the times when her Chichiue had spanked her bottom. Though the incident had filled her with shame and regret, the angle of the mirror made it possible to see the passionate look in her eyes. She hadnt actually enjoyed being spanked, but, just knowing her Chichiue was the one touching her butt caused her to feel excited... Remembering the events preceding their union, Mordred was d she had put so much effort into toning her butt. Though it was obvious he had sought her out with the intent to have sex from the very beginning, their yful interactions over the years were one of the things that kept her going. Just the thought of being able to entice her Chichiue with her body caused Mordreds heart to race, and, remembering this, her reservations began to gradually fade away. Feeling emboldened, Mordred shifted her focus away from the mirrors, her face morphed into what she hoped to be a seductive grin as she looked up into her Chichiues eyes and stated, "I want you to fuck me into oblivion." Though he wasnt that surprised by Mordreds words, Vahn still raised his brows slightly as an amused smile spread across his face. Then, even though it caused his other vessels to visibly cringe, he brought his face closer to Mordreds, whispering, "Thats my girl..." in the moments preceding an extremely passionate session of love-making... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mordred is surprisingly innocent,Wee to the pinnacle,Okay, maybe I jumped the gun regarding Mordreds innocence...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1651 Union : Awakening

Chapter 1651 Union : Awakening

Though a lot happened over the five day period they spent together, including a number of breaks, Vahn wrapped things up by having Mordred straddle his waist, their lower bodies submerged in a steamy golden liquid. This was a bathprised almost entirely of [Sacred Divine Water], and, if not for the thin aura enveloping her entire body, Mordred would have ascended to Godhood with just a few drops, much less an entire bath full. A mouthful of [Sacred Divine Water] was enough to provide a demonstrable increase in a persons power while also bestowing them the blessing of Eternal Youth. From then on, a single drop would be enough to heal any wounds, and, for a very brief period of time, they would even be able to manifest Divine Power within their bodies. This would gradually push even a normal human being to the point of bing a Demigod, and, after enough of the liquid was consumed, even reaching Godhood was a simple feat. In the past, acquiring Sacred Divine Water was an arduous task, but, with absolute power and unrestricted authority, Vahn could create as much as he wanted with a simple thought. Even if he couldnt take the items he produced outside of the Realm, just being able to use his Realm to empower his allies and loved ones was a tremendous boon. Though they still needed to put in an effort to obtain it, as Vahn genuinely believed power was something that needed to be obtained through personalmitment, that didnt prevent him from rewarding the people who worked the hardest... With that in mind, Vahn affectionately caressed Mordreds cheek, his fingersbing through her glistening golden locks as he said, "From now on, we will continue to walk the same path. I might not be able to manifest you in the outside world just yet, but there will eventuallye a time when we stand together on the same battlefield. Until then, I will continue training you whenever I return to the Realm...as for what form that training takes, it will ultimately be up to you..." To punctuate his statement, Vahns eyes began to glisten with a golden light as he leaned in and nted a kiss on Mordreds lips. She had already grown ustomed to this over the five day period, so, rather than demonstrate any inhibitions at all, her tongue entangled with his as her lower body began to move, propelled by instinct and desire. Vahn wasnt intending to assign Mordred a Divine Authority, so, when it came down to it, the power she obtained from theing meld would be her own. Regardless of the oue, she was virtually guaranteed to reach Tier 4, and, in the wake of her ascension, they would engage in a thirty-day long session of training, lovemaking, and much more... Without dying things any further, Vahn activated his View Affection, manipting his aura to fuse together with the chaotic pink mes that radiated from Mordred. This was enough to cause Mordred to w at his back, but, no matter how much she resisted, an overwhelming, persistent, and seemingly eternal pleasure invaded her body. She even got the impression that her mind and spirit were swallowed up as something surged within, spreading far beyond the bounds of what she believed to be herself and into the endless ocean of warmth that was her beloved Chichiue... --- Mordred didnt have the words to describe what she felt following the initiation of the meld. It was a feeling far beyond the ability of mortal minds toprehend, a realm where emotions, thoughts, and even her sense of self became abstract. All she knew was that it was extremely pleasurable, and, though she felt more naked than when her clothes were removed, there was a strange feeling of certainty and fort as her everything seemed to be swallowed up, not to be devoured, but refined. Apanying this feeling of bing moreplete, Mordred imagined herself smiling as she experienced countless moments in her Chichiues life. Many of the scenes were things she had already seen, but, this time around, Mordred was directly experiencing them, the thoughts and feelings of her Chichiues ovepping with her own. If not for the feelings of pleasure andfort that had pervaded her entire being, Mordred even got the impression that she would havepletely lost herself in the vast ocean of sensation, but, rather than feel fear, a part of herself actually wanted to let go... Though she wasnt able to understand it, Mordred felt as though she would be a part of something much greater than herself is she simply just let go. Her Chichiues aura was so vast and iprehensible that she felt like it would be absolutely impossible for her to ever close the gap between them. Thus, rather than continue chasing him for an eternity, a growing part of her was tempted to simply be a part of his vast expanse... Unfortunately, even if she wanted to let go, Mordred felt as though the endless warmth that had surrounded her entire being would never allow such a thing. It allowed her to expand as much as she wanted, but, no matter how much she pushed herself, Mordred felt as though an invisible membrane prevented her from flowing over into therger expanse that represented her Chichiue. It was this membrane that brought her such a feeling of security, and, after what felt like an eternity, it was this same membrane that began to press her existence back into a more cohesive structure... --- Though Vahn was also awash in Mordreds thoughts, feelings, and memories, his experience with the melding process prevented him from being consumed by it. She was also one of the few people he had melded with who were weaker than him, so, from start to finish, he never lost control. Instead, he allowed Mordreds existence to permeate through his like a pleasant me, its heat tempering his soul as her experiences intermingled with his own... After enjoying the sensation for several hours, Vahn began to weaken the film of energy that had surrounded Mordreds body. This allowed the Sacred Divine Water to soak into her pores, and, as could be expected, it caused Mordreds aura to increase exponentially. This caused the me that represented her existence to be even more potent, but, no matter how much it grew, Vahn was still able to contain it within himself. He could even sense Mordreds desire to let go, but, having already expected this, he began to gradually sever the connection, his aura slowly extricating itself from the ocean of pink that swirled around her body like a vortex. It was only after Mordred began to regain her reason that Vahnpletely removed the thin film of energy protecting her body. At the same time, he slowly submerged her into the water, holding her close as their bodies and tongues continued to ovep. Drowning in something like Sacred Divine Water waspletely impossible, so, even after they had fully submerged themselves, Vahn and Mordred could still breathe freely. The only caveat was that they were breathing in condensed Divine Energy, so, almost immediately after she had been submerged, Mordreds aura erupted like a supervolcano... --- Feeling something erupting from within the very core of her being, Mordreds eyes widened to the point of bulging slightly. It felt like her lungs were on fire, but, rather than pain, she felt as if pure adrenaline was running through her veins. The pleasure that had been stockpiling in her body was momentarily suppressed, and, for a fleeting moment, Mordred felt as if her mind had expanded beyond the confines of her physical form, fusing with the golden aura endlessly erupting from her body. Unable to resist the instinctual urge, Mordred began to release a sonorous cry that caused the surrounding void to tremble. If not for the stability of Space within the Realm, her shout might have even shattered itpletely, as, despite the impervious nature of his body, Vahn actually felt a small amount of pain from Mordreds aura. This startled him quite a bit, but, rather than feel even a modicum of fear, a massive grin spread across his face as his draconic blood began to boil. Though he wasnt sure what kind of Innate or Divinity she had awakened, Vahn got the feeling that Mordreds ability was rted to Dragons. More specifically, it seemed like it was designed to y them, as, despite the insurmountable difference in their power, it made him feel slightly threatened. At the same time, golden scales began to spread across his body, and, though he was able to prevent aplete transformation, Vahn felt an overwhelming desire to dominate the petite woman pressed beneath him. Rather than resist the growing urge, Vahn rolled over so that Mordred was pressed beneath him, fascinated by the glow that made her pupils resemble the corona of a sr eclipse. They were still the same beautiful shade of green as before, but, as if they had suddenly gained the power to absorb everything, Vahn felt himself being pulled into their depths as he pried open Mordreds legs, forcing them toward her shoulders as he began a fervent yet rhythmic piston. In response to her Chichiues fervor, Mordred actually ignored the flood of information that was spreading through her consciousness. She wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders, and, after struggling to extricate her legs from his grasp, she eventually managed to lock them around his waist, unrestrained moans escaping her lips as more and more Sacred Divine Water saturated her body. Simr to how Fenrirs fur had turned golden, Mordreds already gold hair became even more vibrant as the emerald green in her eyes gradually gained a luster simr to gold coins. At the same time, her skin began to release a subtle glow, while, unbeknownst to both her and Vahn, at least for a few moments, a thinyer of golden hair began to spread across the back of her slightly pointed ears... Vahn was the first to notice the changes in Mordreds body, as, while she clung to his body, his face was very near her ears. Rather than demonstrate any surprise, however, he elected to bite the progressively pointy ear, eliciting an even louder moan from Mordred as she squeezed his body with enough force to tear apart adamantine like rice paper. This normally wouldnt have any effect on Vahn, but, undoubtedly as a result of her Innate, visible scratch marks appeared on his back, his blood mixing into the Sacred Divine Water as a result... Though it was slightly concerned, Vahn felt increasingly excited at the prospect that Mordred was awakening an ability thatpletely exceeded his currentprehension. As a result, his excitement continued to build, and, though he managed to retain a humanoid physique,rge wings and a tail protruded from his back as he felt himself swelling inside of Mordreds slightly painful cavern. Her tightness hadnt changed too much, but, simr to the tingling he used to feel while making love to Artoria, Mordreds body seemed to be resisting his intrusion... Undaunted by the energy that had started to retract into her body,pounding the effects of her abilities, Vahn continued to nibble Mordreds fur-covered ear. It now had an appearance simr to Theos, but, rather than thin white hairs, they were pure gold in coloration. They also had a metallic taste, and, if they pricked him at the right angle, Vahn felt as though they were akin to tiny needles poking his tongue. While the change to Mordreds ears was very inspiring, what truly stirred up Vahns fancy was the additional appendage that currently twined around his tail. Mordred had sprouted a rather thick tail, and, though it appeared simr to a cat, its length and thickness,bined with the golden tuft at the end, made it seem more like the tail of a lioness than anything else. Completing Mordreds transformation, the nails on her fingers grew to points, and, though it wasnt obvious at a nce, her already developed canines became even more prominent than before. She had even pricked his shoulder a few times during her moaning, and, after realizing this, Vahn became aware of the fact that her tongue had be extremely rough, enough to nearly rip off his scales with the friction creating by her licking... Despite all these troubling elements, Vahn continued to roughly piston Mordred in the way he knew she liked. At the same time, he massaged the base of her newly formed tail, teaching her an entirely new form of pleasure that caused her body to writhe even as she clung to his body, a powerful and seemingly endless orgasm wracking her body and ceaselessly chipping away at her sensibilities. Then, much as she had done countless times before, Mordred adhered to him even tighter as she loudly cried, "Chichiuueee~!!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Rewards Abound...,Into the ocean end it all...,This is not your average awakening (OwO)!!!!!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1652 Indulgence

Chapter 1652 Indulgence

After indulging themselves for several hours, Vahn was helping return the feeling to Mordreds legs by using his [Hands of Nirvana] to massage her naked body, butt, and thighs. Her muscles had be even springier than before, but, as could be expected, the thing that stood out the most was the small patch of golden fur that now protruded above her gluteal cleft. It nestled in between the two pliant cheeks ratherzily, only stirring when his fingers neared the especially sensitive nerves near the base... Feeling her Chichiue gently massaging the area above her tail, Mordreds toes curled slightly, her glutes tensing as she looked back at him, a teasing smile on her face as she said, "Im not exactly surprised, but you really do have a fondness for tails, dont you?" In response to her question, Vahn hooked his hand beneath Mordreds tail, testing its surprising weight before running his palm along its length. It was extremely smooth, but, rather than feeling like fur, it was simr to sliding your hand across polished metal... Feeling a shiver run through her body, Mordredid her head to rest atop her folded arms before waggling her butt yfully and adding, "Even if I cant move my legs properly, I wont stop you if you want to continue. Rather, after everything youve put me through, I wont allow you to avoid taking responsibility. You might be my Chichiue, but youre also my man. I wont even try to stop you from going around and fucking other women, but youre mistaken if you think Ill allow you to neglect me." Though her words were said with a teasing undertone, Vahn could hear the seriousness within Mordreds voice. She had never truly gotten over herpetitive nature, so, while she wouldnt really interfere with his harem, the thought of women being above her didnt sit well with her. It was one thing before she became a member, but, now that she had officially joined the ranks, she wouldnt rest easy until she wed her way to the top. Before answering directly, Vahn gave Mordreds pert posterior a rather rough p, his expression an absolute mask of calm as he firmly stated, "You know me better than that, Mordred. Now that I have made my decision, you will always be mine. If you want to be powerful, you will have my unwavering support. However, just as you continue striving to meet my expectations, I will do my best to always exceed yours. That is my promise as both your Chichiue and the man you have dedicated yourself to both loving and surpassing..." Hearing her Chichiues words, Mordred felt like a fire had been ignited in her body, emanating from where he had pped her butt. He hadnt even used his [Hands of Nirvana], but, as if the melding had calibrated her existence to be more receptive to his advances, a powerful craving spread from her lower body as the base of her tail became more rigid, forming a sloping arc. It was a little embarrassing, but, without showing even the slightest bit of apprehension, Mordred stared back at her Chichiue and said, "I want it..." in a firm yet pleading tone. In response to Mordreds demands, Vahn just smiled back at her, his eyes glimmering slightly as he internally remarked, ("I guess this is about what I should have expected after making her wait nearly forty years. I might have to extend our training just to give her a chance to vent all of her frustrations...") As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn pulled Mordred to the edge of the table so that her legs, still powerless from before, dangled helplessly off the side. Then, simr to her first time, he used his left hand to spread her butt, forcing open her slightly swollen and glistening folds without the need for forey. She had been in a state of perpetual arousal for nearly an entire week, so, while they had stopped to rest a few times, Mordred was always ready to continue... --- Though he was the one making the decision to continue, another version of Vahn couldnt help but shake his head in mock exasperation as he looked through Mordreds updated status. He had been a little preupied during her awakening process, but, after quickly recovering, one of the first things he did was manifest a new vessel to analyze her status and discuss her newly acquired Innate with Da Vinci. Ever since Da Vinci had taken over the Moon Cell, Vahn had been working alongside her to create a brand new system to govern his Realm. This used the Virtual World as a temte, and, with the billions of years of data contained within the Moon Cells database, Da Vinci was able to establish a baseline for each race. This allowed residents of the Realm to track their progress against other members of the same race, and, though letter grades were still used, their primary function was to evaluate skills and items. ---------------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Mordred Aldrnari Pendragon] Age: 39 [Ageless] Race: Chimeric-Humanoid, Homunuclus Rank: SS Strength: 18,571 [1.3 kilotonnes] Vitality: 43,492 [Immortality Grade: SS] Agility: 394 [17,276 km/h] Dexterity: 613 [V: 0.0213s, A: 0.0076s, P: 0.0052](A/N: Visual, Audio, Physical reaction time.) Intelligence: 341 [IQ: 148, EQ: 193] Luck: 13,412 [Causality Maniption Grade: B] Spirit: 2,493,994 [Mana Grade: SSS, Divine Grade: D] Charisma: S Soul: 4.013 Divinity: Victory, Conquest Origin: Kingship, Vengeance, War, Evolution Innates: [Sage Dragon Emperors Pampered Princess(Mind): SSS], [Inheritor of the Emperors Will(Spirit): S], [War Goddess Wrath(Emission): S], [Chimeric Queens Blessed Body(Body): C] Skills: [irvoyance(Battle): C], [Mana Burst: SSS], [No-Fatigue: SSS], [Swordsman(Master): A], Riding(Master): A], [Tactics(Master): C], [Command(Expert): A], [Brawling(Master): D], [Cooking: C], [Camping: D], [Sexual Techniques: E] Magic: [Wind of Victory: SSS], [Banner of Command: B], [Shundo: SS], [Koku-Shundo: A], [Cantus Bex: A], [Mellodia Bex: B], [Vis Maxima: C] ---------------------------------------------------------- Though it was a bit hard to look at, Da Vincis system allowed people to interpret their status with nigh-perfect uracy. It might not be able to urately ount for the benefits provided by the countless Innates that existed, but, considering few people even awakened their Innates, it was an urate representation of a persons limits. Prior to her awakening as a Goddess of Victory and Conquest, Mordred only had a Spirit value of 228,117, so, at the very least, she was approximately eleven times more powerful than before. It could be said that Spirit was the greatest determining factor of a persons strength, as, with an adequate level of control, parameters such as Strength, Dexterity, and Agility could be increased without limit. Needless to say, Mordred had be exponentially more powerful than before, and, though she had been unable to reach Tier 4 without obtaining a Divinity, the fact she had been able to obtain one without his consent was an important discovery. It decisively demonstrated that, so long as there were no restrictions ced on the system itself, anyone able to reach Tier 4 would be able to obtain a Divinity through their own efforts. This removed the need for him to assign Divinity in the future, as, in the grand scheme of things, it was always better for people to awaken their own rather than be given one that might not actually suit them. As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn began to consider whether or not he should poprize a few methods to obtain both immortality and Divinity. It was probably a little too soon, but, by the time he reached Tier 7, it would be best to have a cohesive structure in ce that allows people to reach their full potential. He wanted everyone to have the chance to exceed the limitations of mortality, and, though it would be necessary to ce some restrictions, Vahn believed his Record would prosper if there were clear guidelines to obtaining power... --- After several more hours of rather intense love-making, Vahn was finally able to pacify Mordred long enough to get her back into clothes. They had been naked for nearly six days straight, and, while he actually enjoyed rxing in the buff, being nude was a constant temptation that neither of them could resist. Seeing Mordred don blue jean shorts, boots, and a tube top, Vahn couldnt help smiling as he muttered, "Some things never change..." With her hearing several times sharper than it used to be, Mordred hadnt missed her Chichiues mutterings. As a result, she stopped fiddling with her new tail, a teasing smile on her face as she looked over her shoulder and said, "You know you love it..." Understanding Mordred was still raring to go, Vahn lightly chuckled as he approached her from behind, wrapping his arms around her body and holding her loosely in his embrace. Her clothes almost always left her midriff exposed so he was able to rest his palms below her navel, enjoying the smoothness of her skin as he whispered into her fur-covered ear, "Youre right. They perfectly ent your athletic build, and, now that you have a tail, I can hardly tear my eyes away from your perfectly sculpted butt..." Feeling something firm press up against her butt, Mordred could feel her heart begin to race as she leaned against her Chichiues bare chest. Unfortunately, the hard feeling was actually just her own tail, something she realized only after it began twitching. This caused her to feel just a little embarrassed, but, rather than show it, Mordred tried to guide her Chichiues hands towards her shorts while craning her head back to steal a kiss. Vahn didnt refuse Modreds kiss, but, just as his fingers began to breach the edge of her shorts, he moved them up to stroke her abdomen, separating their lips to say, "Work hard during your training and Ill be sure to reward you plentily..." With that said, Vahn nted another swift kiss on Mordreds lips before releasing her from his embrace. Before he stepped away, however, he didnt miss the opportunity to give her butt a light smack, as, for a variety of reasons, Mordreds butt was like a powerful ma that drew both his hands and eyes. Though she wasnt particrly fond of spanking, Mordred didnt mind it so long as it was her Chichiue doing the deed. Rather, so long as he was the one asking, there were very few things she wouldnt do for him. This wasnt because she was submissive, but, as someone who ced a considerable amount of value in social hierarchies, Mordred sincerely believed it was her duty to attend him. He was the reason she pushed herself so hard, and, until she was able to surpass him, Mordred was determined to both push her limits and dutifully serve the man she both loved and respected. With that in mind, Mordred rubbed some of the tenderness from her right butt cheek as a vicious and excited smile spread across her face. Truth be told, she was eager to test the limits of her new power, so, rather than insist they continue fucking, her aura began to erupts from her body as her clothes were reced by a revealing set of red light armor. It was actually very simr to the cloth she used to wear beneath her armor, but, instead of leaving her shoulders exposed, a mantle that loosely resembled a lions mane manifested around her neck. Feeling her own power, Mordred found it impossible to keep calm. An overwhelming desire to conquer everything manifested within the back of her mind, and, with nothing but her Chichiue in view, her body moved before she even willed it. At the same time, a massive grin spread across her face as she eximed, "You better watch yourself, Chichiue! If you arent careful, Im going to be the one pushing you down...!" As if to emphasize this point, a crystalline red sword manifested in Mordreds hands, and, before she swung it downward with momentous force, her eyes began to release a vibrant green light as she shouted, "Seize the Throne! Akaryuuhime!" (A/N: Alternate Title: Mordred be like, "Youre mine now...",[Sage Dragon Emperors Pampered Princess(Mind): SSS],If they werent inside the Realm, Vahn would be fucked (o w o)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1653 Interlude : Reflection

Chapter 1653 Interlude : Reflection

Though he wasnt too surprised by the development, Vahn had severely underestimated just how much time he would be spending in his Realm for training. Mordred had be simply insatiable, and, though he was able to make progress with his other vessels, it felt like seventy percent of the time he spent with the hot-blooded princess involved them engaging in carnal acts. It was like she was adamantly determined to conquer him, and, as her power continued to grow, things became progressively more intense between them. After a little more than three months, Mordreds form had changed quite a bit, transcending simple lion-like features to develop vestigial wings, a second set of arms, curved horns, and a multitude of scales and spiked appendages. She was somewhat simr to Tiona in that regard, as, every time she was hit with an attack, her [Chimeric Queens Blessed Body] would allow her to adapt and evolve to counter whatever had injured her. Fortunately, with a considerable amount of practice and some additional cultivation, Mordred had been learning to control her transformed state. So long as she wasnt stressed out or too excited to do battle, she would eventually devolve back into her original form. She could even retract her tail with a bit of effort, but, having grown rather fond of the appendage, she generally opted to keep it in order to justify wearing even skimpier shorts than usual. Every time her tail moved, more than a centimeter of her gluteal cleft would be on disy, and, whenever she squatted down, the exposed skin created an almost irresistible temptation. Mordred had learned how to use her feminine charms as a weapon in a very short period of time, so, after the first few days of training, Vahn simply gave up trying to make efficient progress with the vessel he had dedicated to attending her. Instead, he spent a considerable amount of time just ying around with the rambunctious woman, using the training as an excuse to make up for all the time she had been waiting to receive his affection. While that was going on, Vahn used the extended break to attend various other matters within his Realm. There were a lot of people who required his attention, so, rather than force himself to train, he decided to simply rx and cut loose. The stay quickly became a vacation for him, and, after his decision became known, most of the people who had ventured outside of Avalon returned in order to participate in a grand reunion of sorts. Even Semiramis made an appearance, debuting the twins Vahn had nted in her belly nearly eight years prior. Though she was still as anti-social as ever, Semiramis changed quite a bit following her awakening within the Realm. Her perspective of the world had broadened considerably, and, without anything to proactively protect, she ended up moving the Hanging Gardens to a Texture known as the Realm of Twilight. There, Vahn built a massive gothic pce for her, and, after around ten years or so, she ended up finally giving him permission to impregnate her, albeit only after bestowing her the title of Twilight Empress and wedding her in a ritualistic ceremony that involved making love to her atop an altar... Fortunately, Semiramis had never forgotten how her mother had abandoned her as an infant, so, while she was exceptionally awkward at times, she was still a good mother to Ebony and Raven. It helped that Iris and even Circe had taken it upon themselves to lend her a hand, alleviating some of the stress that came with mothering two children. She even allowed Ebony and Raven to spend a considerable amount of time back in Avalon, and, though she was apprehensive about allowing them to attend school, they were scheduled to start their first sses in the Spring. Seeing Semiramis fret over their daughters always brought a smile to Vahns face, and, though it often ended in him getting the silent treatment, he couldnt help but tease her about it every now and again. As for the twins themselves, Vahn made sure to create a vessel to spend time within the Realm of Twilight every time he returned to his Realm. The longest they had been apart was a few weeks, so, as was often the case when it came to his children, Vahn had a close rtionship with the two doll-like girls, often pampering them a little more than he ought to. With raven-ck hair, pointed ears, and wless features, Ebony and Raven were both inordinately cute. They often wore gothic-style clothing, simr to their mother, and, though they were generally very quiet, they had inherited their mothers scheming nature. As a result, they liked to try and pull pranks on him, and, due to the education afforded them by Semiramis and Circe, this often involvedcing his tea and cookies with various poisons. Fortunately, the twins had enough wherewithal not to test their poisons on other people. Instead, they would team up to y more innocent pranks, often messing with people by taking advantage of the fact they were virtually indistinguishable from each other. They were quite fond of confusing people, and, despite their age, both girls were exceptionally clever, able to manipte others while maintaining an air of innocence around themselves. Vahn couldnt deny that he was worried about the two girls, but, with his limited omniscience, he knew they were just ying around. They also had Companions and Guardians to watch over them, and, though she feigned stoicism, Semiramis always had her familiars following after the two girls in secret. She was always afraid they would be bullied or taken advantage of, but, due to the presence of ya and theprehensive system designed by Da Vinci, the odds of anything happening to them was slim. Semiramis was obviously aware of this fact, but, due to her nature, she trusted herself more than anyone else. This included Vahn, as, even after decades had passed, she was unable to ept her ce within his harem. She didnt deny that she was a part of it, but, with the exception of a select few people, she distanced herself from the majority of Avalons residents. She didnt like to see him intimate with other people, and, though she had gotten better at restraining the urge, seeing others close to the man she loved always gave Semiramis the urge to simply eliminate thepetition. Though she never acted upon her urges, Vahn, and nearly everyone within the Inner Sanctum, was well aware of Semiramis nature. They had graduallye to ept this about her, so, rather than ostracize the troubled woman, they did their best to avoid publically demonstrating their intimacy whenever she was around. Some even visited the Realm of Twilight whenever Vahn was outside of the Realm, primarily to arrange ydates with Ebony and Raven but also to foster positive rapport with the hermetic Empress... --- With so many of his loved ones flocking around him, Vahn was greatly enjoying the time he spent in the Realm. Just seeing most of his family and children gathered together put a perpetual smile on his face, and, though things quickly developed into an in-housepetition of sorts, there were no hard feelings between the victors and the defeated. It helped that most of the fighting had been conducted within the Virtual World, so, while it decreased the realism slightly, they could reduce the sensation of pain while allowing the children to fight in grand, fantastical, battlefields. By the end of the impromptupetition, Scathach had secured a decisive victory among the adult division, defeating even Musashi due to the limitation of not being able to use Noble Phantasms or Zanpakuto within Virtual Space. The risk of their attacks affecting the real world was too high, and, due to the nature of Zanpakuto, they were still able to damage the Ego of a person even in Virtual Space. Since they werent actually trying to kill or cripple each other, this gave Scathach an absolute advantage over most people, as, under the right conditions, she could even defeat Tier 5s using her vast, seemingly endless, arsenal of skills. While Scathachs victory was certainly a sight to behold, Vahn was more impressed with the battles fought in the junior division. The scale was iparable to the battles between powerhouses near the peak of Tier 4, but, in spite of this, they were far more interesting for most residents of the Inner Sanctum. This was because it was possible to see the children improving in the midst of battle, and, rather than fights ending nigh-instantaneously once someone secured a small advantage, most of the battles between the children dragged out for several tens of minutes. Though the junior division allowed anyone between the ages of eight and fourteen to participate, thepetition was ultimately won by the youngest participant, a young boy with peculiar white and ck hair. This was Vahns son, Kenshiro, the child he had sired with Kenshin after she decided to settle down and give mothering a try. Despite his youthful appearance and matching age, Kenshiro was one of the most talented children born within the Empire. He had reached the realm of Master swordsman at only five years old, and, though his Guardian was rather weak, taking on the form of a tiny rabbit, his Artifact was a peculiar katana with the ability to cut through Space. This was a feat most Masters and Grandmasters could emte, but, having possessed the ability from the start, Kenshiro ultimately awakened an Innate that allowed him even greater mastery of Spatial Laws. With the guidance of people like Kenshin and Musashi from a young age, Kenshiro was bound to reach the level of Grandmaster before he was twenty years old. The only thing holding him back was his kind and gentle disposition, as, outside of the Virtual World, he would never point his de toward a living creature. He firmly believed that his sword was meant to preserve life, so, even when Kenshin had taken him to hunt in the forests surrounding the Yokai District, he refused to draw his de. Instead, he used his sheath to counter their attacks, lightly injuring their joints and causing them to gradually tire themselves out before teleporting them away. Kenshin was slightly troubled by her sons unwillingness to draw his de, but, after a few heart-to-heart talks, she gradually epted the reality. So long as Kenshiro continued putting in an earnest effort to follow the path he had chosen, she wasnt going to interfere. Instead, she began teaching him more effective ways to disarm and disable opponents while Musashi, having long exceeded the level of cutting through concepts, taught him how to cut through the electrical signals transmitted from a persons nerves to their brain. This would allow him to effectively cripple a person for a short period of time, teaching them a hard lesson as the feeling gradually returned to their limbs over the course of several hours. With some of the greatest teachers imaginable,bined with a desire to be strong enough to win any battle without causing permanent harm, Kenshiro was well on his way to forging his own path of swordsmanship. His victory during thepetition was just the first of many steps along his journey, and, though Vahn and Kenshin had carved their own paths through a tremendous amount of bloodshed, they wholeheartedly supported their sons decision. Though it was hard to imagine walking a simr path, Vahn believed that the pinnacle shouldnt be essible only to those willing to bloody their hands. If children like Kenshiro and Asuna were able to reach the top without having to take a life, that would be for the best, as, even if it was just one person, such examples carried great significance. It demonstrated that there were countless paths toward the peak, and, though bloodshed was difficult to avoid, the truly noble of heart could still reach the pinnacle withoutpromising their integrity... (A/N: Alternate Titles: There are other kinds of training, you know~?,Some things change, others remain the same,Who would have thought that the son born to a Goddess of War would represent a path towards Peace...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1654 Presentation

Chapter 1654 Presentation

Though he had stayed in his Realm far longer than anticipated, Vahn had a rxed smile, his eyes glimmering with appreciation as he reclined against avish purple sofa. At his sides, snuggled up as close to him as their physical forms allowed, two inarguably bodacious beauties nestled against his body. He had his arms wrapped around them, and, though he did his best to behave, Vahn was unable to prevent himself from periodically squeezing their voluminous breasts or running his hand across their curvaceous bodies. Mash had always possessed a mature figure, even when she was only sixteen-years-old, so, now that she had matured fully, she had some of thergest breasts among the women in Vahns harem. This,bined with her thin waist, shapely hips, plush thighs, and toned body made her one of his most huggable women, and, due to her rather dutiful nature, she was always eager to dedicate her time and effort to serving him. Though she was pushing fifty-three, Mash had the appearance of a shapely young woman in her early twenties. She had benefitted greatly from his pampering over the years, and, though it was impossible to know for certain, Da Vinci surmised that the average lifespan of those closest to him likely measured in the five digits. This was emphasized by the fact that their vitality was drastically higher than normal, and, if he pushed himself, Vahn could actually see the value increase by putting a bit more strength into his hand as he squeezed her butt... Feeling her butt being squeezed, Mash issued a subdued "Nyaa..." before looking up at her Master, her purple eyes reflecting an inquisitive light. They were currently in the Menagerie, so, for the sake of uniformity, she had donned an extremely revealing bestial costumeprised of purple strings and soft purple fur. It left virtually nothing to the imagination, and, though she wasnt exactly a cat, Mash had be ustomed to mewling, purring, and whimpering in response to Vahns actions. Though he made brief eye contact with thevender-haired beauty, Vahn didnt say anything as his fingers gingerly caressed her soft and pliant flesh, the tips slipping beneath her fur-covered panties ever so slightly. Then, with his left hand, he traced his middle finger around the navel of the woman to his right, an equally bodacious beauty light purple hair, an indescribably soft body, and pointed ears. This was none other than Medea, and, in response to his wayward hand, she wasted no time in linking her fingers with his before lightly chiding, "Pay attention, Danna. There will be plenty of time for thatter." Rather than argue, Vahn just tightened his hand around Medeas, his rxed smile curling up at the edges as he continued watching the scene ying out before him. A circr stage had been ced in the very center of the rather spacious Menagerie, and, after learning he would soon be departing the Realm, the girls had decided to put on a little beauty and talent show for him. He was meant to decide who put on the best performance, but, with Gareth starting things off by appearing in a frilly white bikini to attempt a rather innocent striptease, Vahn lost the ability to make such a decision. Gareth was one of the girls that had changed the least since the time Vahn met her, as, due to him taking her on as his Paige, her youthful physique and somewhat boyish looks had been preserved near-perfectly. The only thing that really changed was her breasts growing a single centimeter, and, due to her extreme focus on speed, her legs could only be described as wless. He often gave herpliments regarding her legs, so, much like how she covered her dainty hands with white gloves, she had developed a habit of wearing form-fitting white pants that readily disyed the contours of her legs and butt. Seeing Gareth try to seduce him from a distance, something she had no real experience in, Vahn lost all will to judge thepetition. She was simply too adorable, but, considering this was meant to be a talent show, there was no way he could justify giving her the win. He would need toe up with some kind of excuse to reward all of them, as, even if he were twice as resolute, he couldnt stand to see someone like Gareth being pouty or depressed... As if to demonstrate his point, the person that followed Gareth was none other than Circe, who, due to various circumstances, now appeared to be in herte teens. Her breasts hadnt developed much, but,pared to how modest they used to be, b-cup breasts were a marked improvement. Most notably, however, was the fact that her height had increased from 147cm to 155cm, and, while this made her one of the more petite women amongst the members of his harem, she had a charm that could even humble Goddesses like Ishtar and Demeter. With Hecate bing the literal Godmother of Penelo and Petra, Circe had been able to regain her wings and crown years ago, so, for her demonstration, she chose to perform a ritualistic dance with arge staff. It was a performance that could easily humble even the greatest ballerina, and, due to her mastery over magic, each of her movements created their own special effects. She also elected to abstain from wearing any panties, so, whenever she performed a quick movement or pointed her butt towards him, Vahn was able to catch a glimpse of the tantalizing sight underneath, a fact Circe was very aware of. Simply put, it was unfair to try andpare Circes masterful disy with the Garethsparably innocent attempt at seduction. One was a Demigoddess who had lived for thousands of years, and, though Gareth had gained a considerable amount of experience over the years, she was just happy to receive his affection. She never really had to seduce him, as, so long as she continued doing her best, he would readily reward her efforts until she was more than satisfied. Finished with her performance, Circe brandished her staff, spinning it smoothly and dexterously between her fingers as she performed a low bow with her wings red outward. At the same time, she turned her tri-colored eyes up at him, an indescribably sultry smile on her face as she yfully squinted her eyes and caused her exceptionally long ears to waggle slightly... Unable to resist, the edges of Vahns smile curled up a bit more as he absentmindedly gave Mashs butt another squeeze. Circe had always been a seductress, and, after attending her for more than a hundred years, a part of Vahns psyche had been conditioned to react to her. He was even tempted to separate the two of them from the time axis for a brief moment, a temptation thatpounded exponentially when she deftly spun on her heels and allowed her waist to snake seductively during her departure... --- Earning himself an usatory deadpan from Medea, Circe promptly announced her withdrawal from thepetition, citing she was already satisfied with simply participating. She stated this in a casual tone, but, with a contented smile on her face and practically glowing skin, it was pretty clear to most what had happened. The only people who showed even a small amount of confusion were Gareth and Hati, but, considering the rtive innocence of the former and the rather questionable intelligence of theter, this wasnt much of a surprise... Fortunately, Vahns actions didnt earn him the censure of the remaining participants. Instead, they seemed even more motivated than before, fiery looks visible within their eyes as they made subtle changes to their intended routines. The only one who didnt really have time for this was Atnta, but, havinge to understand her Masters nature well over the years, she was confident in her ability to win his favor... Though it was rather pointless, Vahn allowed himself to be blindfolded while Atnta finished her preparations. Then, after a few minutes of being able to feel nothing but the softness of Medeas and Mashs bodies, Vahn was permitted to see arge golden apple situated at the center of the stage. The golden apple still carried a considerable amount of significance to Atnta, and, though she was no longer bound by its curse, her fondness for the covetous fruit had never waned. Even the cor he had designed for her had a bell-shaped like a golden apple, and, whenever she wanted to have sex, Atnta would still gift him a golden apple with apletely straight face. Since he had already established a precedent, Vahn was already considering how he should pamper Atnta when some rather lively music began to echo in the surroundings. Then, with a nk look and an uncharacteristic smile on her face, Atnta emerged from within the artificial golden apple, her arms supporting the upper half as she swayed her hips and tail in timing with the music. It was a rather simple demonstration, but, given how reserved Atnta usually was, it created a certain gap that made it impossible not to appreciate. Despite being remarkably t, Atnta still had an undeniable charm with her tri-colored hair, cat-like ears, and thick tail. This was something she had slowlye to ept over time, so, while there were times when she struggled to be honest with her emotions, Atnta hade to embrace her sexuality. As a result, even when the apple began to slowly spin, giving a very clear view of the mint green panties, Atnta continued to lively shake her hips, radiating subtle pheromones that caused Vahns nose to visibly twitch. By the time the music hade to a stop, Atnta had made three full revolutions before stopping with her back facing the audience. Then, as if she was confused by the fact she was still facing away, Atnta put the finishing touches onto her performance by tilting her head to the side and issuing an uncharacteristic, "Nyaa~?" as her tail formed a question mark shape; lifting the back of her skirt to give a clear view of her panties... The next thing Atnta knew, she was in a version of the Menagerie with noticeably more vibrant colors. A genuine smile spread across her face for a brief moment, but, as if it was nothing more than an illusion, she adopted her characteristic serious look as she tossed aside the apple prop and asked, "Is there something you wanted to discuss in private, my Husband...?" Though they had never officially wed, as Atnta actually disdained such ceremonies, Vahn had grown ustomed to her referring to him as Husband whenever she wanted to sound serious. It was rather adorable, as, the moment her facade broke down, she would begin referring to him as Master before eventually crying out his name. It reminded him a lot of Ryuu, as, in Atntas mind, it seemed more intimate to call him by name than anything else... Without answering her question, Vahn embraced Atnta from behind, his handse to rest on her t stomach as he nestled his nose near the base of her cat-like ears and pulled her close. She offered virtually no resistance to his act of intimacy, and, though it didnt properly show on her face, which had be an emotionless mask, the signature twitching of her ears and the way her tail wrapped around his leg revealed Atntas true feelings on the matter. She was simr to ya in the way that she basically refused to initiate acts of intimacy, but, the moment you broke down her walls, she would effectively be like a cat in heat when it came to showing affection. Unfortunately, to get her to that point without a potential bacsh, Atnta required bribing, so, after stroking her stomach for the better part of a minute, Vahn lifted his right hand, manifesting a glittering golden apple. This caused Atntas pupils to contract to points for a brief moment, and, without any hesitation whatsoever, she leaned forward slightly to engorge herself on the apple, her butt grinding against his bulge with apparent disregard. Having long-grown ustomed to Atntas antics, a smile spread across Vahns face as reached beneath her skirt, dissipating her panties with a simple touch. She pretended not to notice this, but, in anticipation for what was toe, Atnta buried her teeth into the apple as if it was a gag, her heartbeat quickening as she lifted her tail to allow for ess to her pristine, seemingly untouched, sacred orchard... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Paradise,Circe secures the first victory,A peculiar way to eat an apple...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1655 Incredible Boon

Chapter 1655 Incredible Boon

Opening his eyes, Vahn saw a familiar living room and a table full of still-steaming food. Not even a second had passed in the outside world, and, no matter how much time he spent inside, his mental and spiritual energy would not recover. As a result, the mental fatigue he had umted during his battle against Nagi and his foray through Megalomesembria came back with a vengeance. This,bined with the fact his existence always felt iparably small outside of his Realm, caused a momentary depressive state to descend upon Vahns mind. Fortunately, after a few seconds had passed, these feelings gradually receded as he quickly adapted to the reduced size of his domain. It helped that he could still sense Asuna hiding bashfully beneath the covers in her bedroom, a realization that brought a small smile to Vahns face as he recalled her previous antics. Rising from the sofa, Vahn stretched his body a bit before deciding to follow up on his intentions prior to entering the Realm. At the time, he had wanted nothing more than to just take a bath and rx, so, with nothing else to do but sort through some information, he decided to drag himself to the attached bathhouse. Prior to entering the onsen-like facility, Vahn considered whether or not he should put up a divider for genders in the future, but, as soon as the thought crossed his mind, he shook his head. It would be infinitely more prudent of him to create a second bath, as, even if they were just ying around, he wasnt sure he could forgive anyone trying to peep. Being a pervert wasnt necessarily a bad thing when you were with or around people you shared a mutual affection with. If you were imposing your perversion on unwilling people, however, you had a serious problem, as, regardless of your intentions, it was still sexual harassment. If a woman didnt want you to look at them naked, you had no right to cast your gaze upon them. After all, there was a distinct difference between admiring someone and being a creep, something a surprising number of people failed toprehend... Shaking his head, Vahn rinsed his body using the shower before submerging himself into the pale green mineral waters. There were a number of elementals that immediately gravitated towards him, but, without paying them any mind, he allowed his body to sink up to his neckline, his head resting against the warm stone as he released a tired sigh and closed his eyes. Then, as it had simply been too risky toplete it within his Realm, he turned his attention to his Quest log before selecting one of the highlighted options with his mind... --------------------------------------------------- //Quest Completed// [Quest: Genesis Path: Dawn of Creation] Rank: Zenith Completion Grade: (-) Objective: Obtain Divinities rted to Space:[100%], Time[100%], Creation[100%] Optional Objective(s): [Breath of Life] Sessfully bind a soul to an organic vessel: [93/1], [Beyond the Flesh] Sessfully bind a soul to an inorganic vessel: [7/1], [Divine Father] Create Unique lifeforms: [11/10], [Little Garden] Create a Personal Dimension using own power andprehension: [3/1] Rewards: 10,000,000,000OP, [Little Realm Guardian Contract]x1, [Book of the Dawn]x1, [Book of the Dusk]x1, [Book of the Twilight]x1 Bonus Rewards: 1,370,000,000OP, [Breath of Life], [Beyond the Flesh], [Divine Father], [Little Garden] [Little Realm Guardian Contract] Rank: Unique Use: Allows the user to summon a Guardian to act as their proxy within Realms under the dominion. The power and capabilities of the Guardian are directly tied to the vitality and stability of the Realm. Restriction: A Guardian cannot use its power outside their Realm of origin. [Book of the Dawn] Rank: Unique Use: An ancient text that records the history of every entity living within a Realm. Restriction: Bound to Realm of origin. [Book of the Dusk] Rank: Unique Use: An ancient text that records the names of the dead and all Souls awaiting reincarnation. Restriction: Bound to Realm of origin. [Book of the Twilight] Rank: Unique Use: An ancient text that governs the cycles of life, death, and reincarnation. Laws written into this text determine the reward for virtue, the penance for sin, and preservation of the Ego upon death. Restriction: Bound to Realm of origin. Only works when the Book of the Dawn and Book of the Dusk is in effect. [Breath of Life] Rank: Unique Use: A Grimoire that bestows the user with the ability to infuse their vitality and essence into others. Mastery over this ability can drastically extend the lifespan of the user, allowing them to extend the lives of others and even resurrect the recently deceased. [Beyond the Flesh] Rank: Unique Use: A Grimoire that bestows the user with the ability to infuse their vitality and essence into inert, inorganic, objects. Mastery over this ability drastically extends the lifespan of the user, and, under the right conditions, objects influenced by their essence may obtain an Ego of their own. [Divine Father] Rank: Unique Use: A Grimoire that bestows the user with the inheritance of a Primordial God. Those blessed with this inheritance are able to form conceptual offspring within their mind, and, so long as the target is willing, the offspring will carry the traits encoded into them. (A/N: This basically implies that even a normal human could give birth to something like a Cat Person or even a baby Cthulhu.) [Little Garden] Rank: Unique Use: A Grimoire that bestows the user with the ability to create a miniature Realm that is governed by the Law of Progression. Entities inside experience elerated growth until the point of maturity, never aging beyond their biological prime. If the potential for evolution exists, offspring produced within the Realm will always inherit progressive traits, and, in the event of gic inbreeding, there is a drastic reduction in deviation rates and birth defects. --------------------------------------------------- Though it wasnt unexpected of a Zenith Quest, Vahn couldnt help but blow bubbles at the sheer ridiculousness of the rewards he had received. The three Realm-bound books basically provided the user with a form of omniscience, and, though most of the Grimoires were rtively useless to him, Vahn understood their potential very well. Afterpleting his previous Zenith Quest, Vahn had obtained Grimoires called [Inspiration] and [Might]. Thetter had been gifted to Artoria, drastically increasing her raw power, but the former was the more impressive of the two. Though it originally only had the effect of boosting morale and temporarily increasing the capabilities of allies, it only took a few years for the ability to evolve into Fenrirs [Queen of the Pack] Innate. This suggested that the Grimoires functioned like unawakened Innates, and, so long as they were suitable for their user, it was possible to develop them into full-blown Innates with concerted effort. Since he had been unable to make any real headway on his Innate training in the Realm, primarily due to his omnipotence, Vahn was very tempted to use the Grimoires on himself. Unfortunately, as they provided abilities that he technically already possessed, they were generally useless. Even the ability to determine the species and abilities of his offspring wasnt particrly useful, as, due to the nature of his Source Energy, his children already developed in ordance with the expectations of both parents. With [Breath of Life], [Beyond the Flesh], and [Divine Father] having little value to him, especially as a Creation God, Vahn turned his attention to the [Little Garden] Grimoire. It actually seemed like the most powerful among the ancient texts, but, simr to the first three, it wasnt all that useful due to the existence of his Realm. The only real benefit it provided was allowing him to cultivate nts and animals within an existing Record, as, even with all his power, Vahn was powerless to remove even a simple stone from his Realm without it turning to ash... After considering the pros and cons, including losing everything inside when he migrated to a new Record, Vahn ultimately decided to sit up before manifesting a tinum-colored Grimoire from his Inventory. It looked rather generic at first nce, but, with glistening golden pages and a revolvingoid embossed on the front, even an ordinary person would be able to tell it was anything but normal. Since the pages of the Grimoire were always nk, Vahn didnt bother to sift through them. Instead, he ced his palm on the surface, his intent sinking into the image of aoid as a phenomenal amount of information entered his mind. By the time he opened his eyes again, all that remained of the Grimoire were specks of silvery light that quickly dissolved into nothingness upon contact with the waters surface. Without paying any attention to the disappearance of the Grimoire, Vahn quickly sorted through the information in his mind before lifting his hand and uttering, "Hortulus(Little Garden)..." Following his utterance, a pristine blue sphere appeared within Vahns hand, and, though there were a number of differences, he couldnt help but be reminded of CHALDEAS. It was like he was holding an entire world in the palm of his hand, and, with a simple thought, Vahn found himself in a small garden without any clothes on. Ignoring his nakedness, Vahn looked towards the azure sky above, his mind feeling a considerable amount of tency due to the distortion of space and time within. To Vahns surprise, the flow of time within the Little Garden moved nearly one-hundred times the rate of the outside world. There was also a truly absurd amount of vital and life energy contained within, greatly eclipsing even a World Tree in its potency and concentration. After taking a few deep and refreshing breaths, a natural smile spread across Vahns face, followed by an urge to spread his arms and fall back into the dew-covered grass surrounding him. The Little Garden was an extremely rxing ce to be in, and, if not for the fact it ced a heavy burden on his mind trying to maintain his other vessels, he wouldnt mind just taking a nap without his domain activated... While deciding he would make time to rx in the Little Garden in the future, Vahn began to take in his surroundings using his original five senses. He noticed he was in the center of a small ind that existed within a muchrgerke. The only flora present was the grass beneath his feet, so, with his enhanced vision, Vahn was able to see an endless grassy meadow surrounding theke, seemingly stretching far beyond the horizon. Deciding it would be best to ascertain more of the gardens structure, Vahn took a few breaths to rx his mind before slowly ascending into the sky. Controlling his body was pretty difficult right now, but, so long as he retained his focus, there were no actual restrictions on his abilities. After ascending a few hundred meters, Vahn couldnt help but raise his brows slightly as he noticed the garden was simr to a target. The ind he had manifested on was like the center, surrounded by a perfect circle of sapphire blue water that was, in turn, surrounded by lush green meadows. This pattern seemed to continue indefinitely, but, after ascending a few hundred meters, Vahn noticed it seemed to cut off at a distance he approximated to be 23km, simr in size to his domain... --- With nothing to do within the Little Garden, at least for the time being, Vahn retracted his intent from the interior, finding himself back in the murky green waters of the bath. The surprise of the elementals and the rippling of the water implied that his physical body had actually entered the Little Garden, but, regardless of how he moved within, it seemed he would always revert back to whatever position he had been in prior to entry. Deciding he would explore the capabilities of the Little Garden more in the near future, Vahn let the baseball-sized orb disappear as a wry smile spread across his lips. His brain felt like it was pulsating in tune with the beating of his heart, but, even if there was a literal spear sticking through his head, Vahn would be able to pull off an unaffected smile. Scathachs training had made sure of that, and, after decades of martial discipline, he could even emte beingpletely emotionless if he really wanted to. The only time Vahn really struggled with controlling himself was when he was around the people he cared about. Thus, as the door to the bath slid open, Vahn maintained a wry smile on his face as he looked over his shoulder and mused, "You certainly bounced back quickly..." Hearing Vahns remark, Asuna bashfully averted her eyes, her right handbing through her hair as she hugged a white towel to her chest, partially concealing her naked body. She would normally be fine even if she werepletely naked, but, after the previous kiss, Asuna was feeling a mixture of emotions she wasnt quite sure how to deal with. Her body felt lighter than usual, and, though it wasnt the first time she had felt something simr, the fluttery feeling in her chest was far greater than anything she had experienced previously. After taking a few seconds to organize her thoughts, Asuna peeked over at the still-smiling Vahn, a look of conviction spreading across her countenance as she nodded to herself. Then, after allowing the towel to fall to the ground, she smacked both of her cheeks, seemingly in an attempt to psyche herself up before stating, "Im going to wash your back. When Im finished, you can help me wash my hair. Make some room." Though there was plenty of space in the rather massive tub, Asuna wanted Vahn to move away from the side so she could nestle in between. She liked to rest her back against the warm stone, and, though she used to enjoy nestling in hisp, she had quicklye to realize the dangers of such a position after what Vahn referred to as a lucky pervert moment. Since then, she had been too embarrassed to assume such a position, as, even after more than a year had passed, she could vividly recall the incident in her mind. Feeling that her thoughts were wandering a bit too much, Asuna decided to enter a pseudo-State of Nothingness as she submerged her body in the warm waters. Her expression instantly became a perfect mask of calm, but, after realizing she had forgotten both a rag and a sponge, a subtle blush spread across Asunas cheeks as she began tother her bare hands with soap. At the same time, a knot began to form in her throat as she internally remarked, ("I wonder if this also the influence of Fate...") before running her palms along Vahns sculpted back... (A/N: Alternate Titles: He did the thing (O . O)...,Imagine leaving two goldfish in the pond and then returning to find millions xD...,Asuna is quite lucky...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1656 Precociousness

Chapter 1656 Precociousness

After a fortunately uneventful bath, Vahn was helping brush Asunas inordinately long hair while telling her about some of the events that had transpired within the Realm. She was well aware of the fact that it would one day be her home, and, even if he tried to keep it secret, she could always tell when he had just returned from a visit. Thus, in order to satiate her seemingly endless curiosity, even just a little, Vahn talked about his time within the Realm and even showed her a few of his more interesting memories. Seeing fantastical scenes of Vahn walking on the surface of stars, battling against mountain-sized dragons, and even rearranging the night sky at his whim always caused Asunas eyes to shimmer with intrigue. It was one of her favorite pastimes, and, though she was bing increasingly aware of her own body, she enjoyed having Vahn pamper her while wearing nothing but a camisole and a pair of animal print panties. Though she was still experimenting with her style, Asuna hadmitted to trying to establish a gap in her appearance. She liked to dress in cool and serious clothes whenever she was outside, but, whenever they were in private, her default was to wear cute and slightly childish clothing. They were far morefortable than other kinds of clothing, and, though he didnt see her as a woman just yet, Asuna enjoyed the giddy feeling she got whenever she walked around in with nothing but a top and her panties on. As for why she decided to wear panties with a print, she knew Vahn was very perceptive, so, even if he didnt proactively look, it was impossible for him not to take notice... Asuna hade to realize that one of the caveats to having abnormally high perception was that your eyes were generally drawn to small and otherwise overlooked things. In her case, she actually found it easier to remember things like the designs of a persons buttons or the pattern sewn into their clothing than the people themselves. This was in spite of her having a very high perception, to the point of being able to recall the number of eyshes a person possessed but not their name. Since she had viewed his memories thousands of times, Asuna knew Vahn perceived the world in a way that others would struggle to evenprehend. There were very few things that escaped his notice, and, if she reviewed memories rted to her, it always brought an amused smile to her face whenever she noticed even the thread count of her panties and the pores of her skin were visible in high definition. It didnt matter that Vahn wasnt really looking at her the way she wanted him to, as, regardless of his intentions, he knew her body and its dimensions better than anyone... With that thought in mind, a smile spread across Asunas face as she tilted her head back, hitting Vahns stomach as she looked up at him and asked, "What do you want to do next? I dont really feel like watching a rey of my battle right now and I can tell you are tired. Since it is just the two of us right now, why dont wey in bed the rest of the day and just read manga...?" Though he knew Asuna just wanted to cuddle with him while Fenrir was away, Vahn also wasnt in the mood to do anything due to his mental fatigue. Thus, after a brief moment of consideration, he returned a smile and answered, "Sure. Before we head up, however, youll need to wear something more appropriate. Dont think Im unaware of youre little scheme..." Hearing Vahns words, Asuna felt her pulse quicken, but, by using her Ki to limit the flow of blood to her face, she was able to prevent a blush from coloring her cheeks. Instead, she adopted a confused expression as brought her arms closer to her body, marginally increasing the gap between her neck and the camisoles fabric. If a normal person were to tilt their head just a bit, they would be allowed a full view of her burgeoning assets, but, as if she was unaware of this face, Asuna asked, "Why do I need to change? Youve already seen me naked like...six-thousand-nine-hundred-and-seventy-two times..." Showing aparable amount of control over his own facial expressions, Vahn just continued to stare into Asunas eyes as Sis stated, (*It seems like she is ounting for all the times she has been naked within your domain, knowing you always had her in your perception. Clever girl.*) Realizing he was being cornered by a twelve-year-old, Vahn could only suppress a sigh as he shook his head in mild exasperation. This was the downside to being mentally and spiritually drained as it put him into a state where he really didnt feel like arguing with people. There was also the simple fact that her words were the truth, and, prior to her abrupt kiss, he had never regarded her antics as anything more than curiosity and experimentation... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn recalled all the times he had been roped into doing things he probably shouldnt have back in the Nasuverse. The most prominent example was the time when Mordred had orchestrated the events leading up to Mashs confession. He could have put a stop to the escting events at any time, but, much like how he allowed Arika and Theo to gradually shave away at his defenses, Vahn always found it difficult to say no to the people he pampered... Undoubtedly as a result of his long silence, Asuna stopped pretending, her face showing a genuine expression of concern as she hesitantly asked, "Vahn...?" Hearing the demure utterance, Vahn blinked back to awareness, his expression softening slightly as he almost habitually leaned down to give the concerned girl a kiss. Fortunately, he realized what he was doing before he couldplete the action, changing trajectory to kiss Asunas forehead before smiling as he said, "I am unable to argue against your point. However, now that you are in the midst of blossoming into a woman, I have to be more strict with you. I understand you have a lot of urges and curiosities...these are perfectly natural. When you get a bit older, Ill be sure to help you address all of these things...for now, it would put my mind at ease if you focused on something other than trying to circumvent my sensibilities..." To punctuate his words, Vahn gently embraced Asunas body, holding her close for a few seconds before letting her go and stroking her head. She became very quiet in the wake of his words, and, though there was conflict in her eyes, the most noticeable emotion visible in her countenance was guilt. This, in turn, made Vahn feel a little guilty, but, knowing Asuna was slowly descending into a very precocious phase of her life, he wanted to avoid things getting out of hand as they had many times before. Feeling calm andfortable energy flowing into her mind, Asuna quickly recovered from her brief moment of reflection, an expression simr to a contented cat recing her previous mncholy. After thinking about it, Asuna realized she had been pressuring Vahn quite a bit ever since Eva and the rest had departed. Her battle with Nagi only exacerbated the anxiety she had been feeling as ofte, so, after her previous confession, her mind had been racing toe up with ways she could appeal to the boy she liked. She even felt giddy thinking about joining him in the bath, and, though this had been the case for a long time, Asuna knew she wasnt behaving normally at all... Remembering the guidance her Mother had given her,bined with the fact she already had her first period more than a year ago, Asuna knew the principal cause for her behavior was the fact she was going through puberty. She had thought the effects wouldnt really influence her decisions that much, but, now that she thought back to thest few months, Asuna realized she had been actively pushing the other girls to leave so she could keep Vahn to herself... As realization dawned upon her, Asuna felt a considerable amount of guilt, but, rather than show it on her face, she continued to squint her eyes slightly as thefortable energy from Vahns hand seemed to wash over her, cleaning the impurities in her body and mind. Then, after calming herself down and organizing her somewhat chaotic thoughts, Asuna opened her eyes fully, a radiant smile spreading across her face as she stated, "Ill put on some pants." Having sensed the various changes urring in Asunas mental state, Vahn couldnt help but lightly chuckle in response to her words. He didnt actually me her for how she had been behaving, as it was pretty normal for someone of her age. Still, that didnt mean he could just let her get away with everything, as, without any restrictions, Asunas condition would only grow worse with the passage of time. Thest thing he needed was a deliberate repeat of the incident that had happened nearly a year prior, where, in an attempt to surprise him, Asuna used the State of Nothingness to sink into the ground while he was washing Evas hair. Though Vahn was generally able to sense Asunas presence, he tried to humor her by momentarily shifting his attention elsewhere. As a result, he was equally as surprised as Asuna herself when she emerged from the ground with her face between his legs. She had intended toe up in front of Eva to try and startle her backward, but, missing her exit point several centimeters, Asuna emerged to find herself face-to-face with something she had only stolen nces at previously. If it was just looking, it wouldnt have been much of a problem, but, due to her surprise, Asuna was unable to maintain the State of Nothingness. As a result, for a very brief moment, her body became solid, trapped from the neck down with her face less than two centimeters away from a ce where she had no business being. From that moment on, she became overly conscious of being anywhere near his front side, often choosing to remain behind him until it was time to wash her hair. Vahn had done his best to disregard the incident at the time, asking Eva, Theo, and Arika to do the same, but, as the principal offender, Asuna hadnt forgotten. It was an incident firmly cemented in her mind, and, ever since then, her intrigue regarding a certain part of his body had been growing a little too quickly. She had even transitioned from snuggling up at his side to habitually sitting in hisp and outright reclining against his body while she read books. In fact, she looked for a number of excuses to sit in hisp, and, shortly after the initial incident, she spontaneously developed a habit of walking around in her panties. When Eva, Arika, and Theo had been present, it wasnt such a big deal since Asuna tried to behave whenever they were around. She was also sensitive to being teased, so, whenever they noticed she was being mischievous, the other girls would immediately call her out, quicklying Asuna into a swift retreat. Now, however, the only thing to prevent Asuna from getting out of hand was Vahn himself, as, due to her unique perspective on things, Fenrir was generally okay with everything so long as it didnt cause him genuine stress. Hearing Asuna readily acquiesce, Vahn felt like he had avoided the worst-case scenario, a feeling of relief washing over him as he watched the young girl scamper away to grab something to cover her bottom. Unfortunately, when he reached the bedroom shortly thereafter, his smile promptly froze, as, demonstrating just how clever she was, Asuna shimmied out of her panties before donning the thinnest silk pajamas she owned. Then, with the characteristic grin of someone who hadpleted a prank, Asuna turned around to face him, asking, "Anything else~?" with a twinkle in her eye. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Clever girl...,The bathroom incident,I would say she never learns but I fear she is actually learning too quickly...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1657 Eager

Chapter 1657 Eager

While her Master was busy being tormented by a young prodigy, Fenrir was busy leaving a trail of proverbial breadcrumbs on the maind of Tempe Terra. Her Master had prepared an ind-wide formation to conceal their base, so, unless they had an extreme level of mastery of Space, locating even a trace of the ind was exceptionally difficult. Anticipating the arrival of Rubra, Fenrir had been tasked with killing a few powerful monsters in order to leave traces of her presence. To most, the sites of her battles would just seem like a scuffle between powerful beasts, but, with several members standing near the absolute pinnacle of power within Mundus Magicus, Rubra should be able to ascertain the truth. With this in mind, Fenrir was dashing through the sky in her wolf transformation, her paws leaving visible imprints on Space as she created footholds within the void. Fenrir was actually quite fond of running through the sky, but, with a mission to focus on, her eyes reflected an absolute state of focus as she followed subtle traces of powerful magical auras with her nose. Her nose was so sensitive that she could even detect trace amounts of Arikas and Theos aura from several thousand kilometers away, so, when it came to tracking down powerful magical beasts, there was no hiding from her senses. Perhaps sensing its approaching doom, a massive chicken with a reptilian tail, dragon-like horns, and peculiar spiral eyes released a thunderous caw in response to Fenrirs approach. It stood more than 20m in height, and, though it looked like an overgrown chicken to most, the true nature of the beast was the offspring between a cockatrice and an earth dragon. This allowed it to run rampant in the region surrounding Tempe, as, due to the presence of the Great Spirit of Earth, there was a vast quantity of earth elemental energy to nourish its growth and empower its attacks. Undaunted by the physical shockwave that passed over her body like a gentle breeze, Fenrirs aura began to erupt from her body with tremendous force. Though she was already a giant wolf, an evenrger and more majestic version of her current form manifested behind her, and, before it even had the chance to pop out an egg in surprise, the hybrid creatures eyes widened as it felt a toothy maw close around its neck. With her [Apex Predator], Fenrir was able to drastically reduce the power of other monsters, and, if their determination wascking, she could even cause their minds to copse, stalling their thought process in its tracks. This was what spelled the end for the hybrid, as, from its perspective, all it saw was a one-hundred-meter tall wolf staring down at it from the Heavens. In reality, Fenrir had used a variation of Shundo to instantly close the distance, her jaws closing around its neck like tofu before she proceeded to take severalrge chunks out of its head and body. Feeling her power increasing by a marginal amount, a tingling sensation spread through Fenrirs body that caused her to shiver like a dog shaking off water. She didnt like devouring fire and earth elemental energy, as, despite having no real vor, the moments preceding its conversion into pure magical energy always made her stomach feel weird. As for the blood, bone, and other viscera, she had no reaction at all, and, if it didnt unnerve those close to her Master, Fenrir wouldnt hesitate to devour all her prey. Choosing to leave around seventy percent of the hybrids body untouched, Fenrir took a few steps back before circling around and releasing a sonorous humming sound from her throat. If there had been any witnesses to the event, they would have beenpletely shocked, as, rather than a wolfs growl, it sounded like the voice of a woman performing a vocal exercise. After warming up her throat for a few seconds, as she didnt like to strain her voice unless it was for her Masters sake, Fenrir plopped her butt on the ground before raising her head to release a rather sonorous howl. This sound seemed to echo for hundreds of kilometers, but, more notably, the area surrounding Fenrir experienced a rather drastic change. Her howl had released a pale blue pulse of energy, and, as the note was carried by the wind, ice began to build up in the surroundings, zing several hundred meters in ayer of magical permafrost. In order to conserve her energy, Fenrir elected to manipte the ice and water elemental energy in the atmosphere instead of using her own. This was another indicator that someone had reached the level of an Archmage, as, rather than squander their own reserves, they relied on the energy within the environment to dominate their foes. This was how someone like Eva, who had the reserves of a talented academy graduate, became known as the most powerful mage in the world. She had such an extreme mastery over her elemental affinities, that, unless she was in a sticky situation, she never had to rely on her own magical energy to cast spells. With her surroundings adequately frozen, a state that would persist upwards of two weeks, Fenrir gave herself a nod of approval before raising her nose slightly and sniffing the air. She had already defeated more than a dozen territorial kings, monsters who had established themselves within a known hunting grounds, but, ever the overachiever, Fenrir was determined to continue thinning the native monster poption until sunrise... --- Unaware of the fact that his most faithfulpanion was going more than a little overboard, Vahn reclined against the headboard of his bed with a casual smile on his face. Sitting in hisp, or, more urately,ying against his body, an adorable little girl wearing ko-themed animal pajamas was flipping through the pages of a shoujo battle manga. This was was thepromise she had agreed to in order to be able to continue lying against his body, and, though it was far from the most ideal oue, Vahn couldnt deny he had a weakness against animal jammies. The fact they were hand made by him, turning them into an A-Rank magical artifact, only exacerbated the matter, as, due to his propensity to overdo things, Vahn had given them a peculiar squishy and soft quality. Fortunately, once she got into a story, Asuna stopped paying attention to virtually everything else. As a result, Vahn was able to rxfortably, his hands loosely stacked atop her abdomen as the majority of his focus was split between his other vessels. He was trying to see if he could control the Little Garden externally, and, though he was unable to enter it, for the time being, that didnt stop him from testing its capabilities. After spending so much time with Da Vinci, Vahns natural curiosity had been fully converted into a contemtive nature powered by intrigue. New things always excited him, and, though he relied on Da Vinci to help him figure out various things, he couldnt help but attempt to analyze and reverse engineer everything he got his hands on. This was especially true for anything rted to Space and Time, as, despite his status as a God in both categories, Vahn was often left surprised by the myriad number of ways in which the two Laws could manifest. From what he could ascertain, the Little Garden wasnt all that different from a Space-Time Orb, but, rather than transport just the spirit, it readily amodated physical objects. If not for his ability to manifest solid objects in both spiritual and virtual space, Vahn, like many others, would have argued that this was impossible. The amount of energy it took to transform a spiritual object into a physical one, and vice versa, was truly phenomenal, and, without meeting certain conditions, the stability of such objects was questionable, at best. Vahn was very curious about how the Little Garden was able to freely amodate this transition, but,pared to the tiny blue spheres most notable trait, this was negligible. After all, it required a considerable amount of energy, often drawing from the itself, to maintain a Sub-Space Orb withoutpromising its interior structure. Since the Little Garden functioned like a Sub-Space Orb with the properties of a Space-Time Orb, it should take a tremendous amount of energy to sustain itself. Instead, Vahn felt virtually no drain, and, rather than pulling from the environment, the Little Garden seemed to be able to sustain itself using the energy produced within its interior... Creating a Sub-Space Orb that was powered by its own output was the penultimate dream of any Mage dabbling in Spatial Laws, and, even though he was a God, Vahn had no idea how to pull off such a feat. He could probably manage it while he was inside of the orb, but, the moment he came out, it was bound to copse almost instantaneously. There needed to be an exterior stabilizing element to ensure the integrity of the interior space, or, like apromised pressure container, it would literally explode or copse depending on numerous variables. Since it was capable of doing something he, as a God of Space, Time, and Creation was unable to emte, Vahn was very interested in the Little Gardens structure. If he could understand how it functioned, it would be possible to create copies that could be used for a variety of purposes. He could even create versions with different biomes, as, despite the overwhelming vitality contained within the current garden, it wasnt exactly suitable for cultivating all types of flora and fauna. Unfortunately, at least for the time being, Vahn was unable to influence the Little Garden from the outside, and, after dropping in his Realm to conduct a field test, he was able to confirm that it was linked to the current Record. He was able to manifest it within the Realm, but, the moment he tried to put an object inside, it turned to dust in an instant. The only exceptions to this were objects that had been purchased form the system shop, but, as that had always been the case, Vahn wasnt too surprised. Fortunately, during the brief five days spent within the Realm, Vahn had been able to test a number of things within the Little Garden. The most important discovery was the realization that, while there was no way to move objects from the Realm into the Little Garden, he could still exercise his power as an Overseer within its confines. As a result, he was able to freely modify the interior, and, though his powers as a Creator were limited, he was able to purchase various seeds and nt life to fill the Little Garden to the brim with life. He also adjusted the flow of time to grow more powerful as you moved towards the edges of the garden, making the interior ind flow at a rate of ten times while the exterior ring was a whopping 700x. The fact he could freely alter the structure of the Little Garden using his power as an Overseer had practically turned Vahn into a giddy child for the duration of his stay. He had even nted a total of thirty-nine World Trees within, their cores serving as the anchors that supported the drastic change in Space-Time that existed between the interior ind and external ring. World Trees were easily the most powerful stabilizer Vahn had evere across, and, though it was more than a little excessive to use them to power a formation, the fact they only cost him 195 million of his twenty-three billion OP made it seem reasonable. Vahn had stockpiled an extreme amount of OP, and, though he wasnt earning much in the present, he was certain there were be opportunities to stockpile even more in the future. He wanted to have at least thirty-billion by the time he entered the next Record. This might seem a little ridiculous, but, with the next Record potentially serving as the foundation for his own, Vahn wanted to make ensure he was adequately prepared. Even then, he couldnt be sure this was enough, as, if he modified the search parameters, there was literally an infinite number of items that greatly exceeded thirty-billion in cost. Fortunately, having anticipated his Origin Points running out at some point, Vahn had been stockpiling gacha coupons and upgrade stones in preparation. Since the gacha items and rarity was scaled to the level of the Record, there was a chance he would get monstrously powerful items with just a few gacha rolls, so, while he wasnt exactly in a rush, Vahn was already looking forward to his journey through the next Record... (A/N: Alternate Titles: All are Prey before the Huntress Mighty Maw,Vahn over here ying Minecraft with creative mode turned on...,The God of Whales) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1658 Search

Chapter 1658 Search

Located more than a hundred-million-kilometers away, far removed from the chaotic tide sweeping across Mundus Magicus, a fashionable young girl in her early teens could be seen walking amongst the crowded streets of Tokyo. Her presence drew a substantial amount of attention, as, despite the rampant growth of Otaku culture in the 1980s, it was still exceptionally rare to see a western beauty walking around with a gothic-style dress and parasol. Feeling emboldened by the fact the young girl was alone, a group of teens, consisting of five older boys in greaser attire and two much younger girls with dyed-blonde hair decided to call out to the girl in their native tongue. They assumed she was either the daughter of a family touring Tokyo, or, based on her choice of garb, the bratty child of some business mogul. Either way, she seemed like an easy target, and, after sessfully corrupting a few middle and high school girls using methods such as ckmail and threats of violence, the boys, tentative members of the local Yakuza, had a lot of confidence in themselves. After tossing aside a half-smoked cigarette, the oldest member of the group, a boy with a stylish pompadour that was dyed pitch ck adopted a wolfish grin as he called out, "Hey, hey, where is this Ojou-sama off to without an escort? Did you lose your parents or something?" Finding his colleagues words amusing, one of the younger members of the group, his slicked-back hair dyed a sickly shade of blond, snickered before adding, "Maybe we should teach her on behalf of her parents. Who knows, she might even start calling us Daddy if we educate her properly!" Following the duos words, the other members of the group burst intoughter as the walked over, casually encircling the girl while glowering at anyone nearby. This caused the majority of people to simply look away, as, even if they sessfully intervened, they would just end up causing problems for themselves. Nobody wanted to be identified as nosy by prospective members of the Yakuza as it was the same as inviting them to track you down at home or work to make an example of you. Seeing everyone turn their attention away, some even going so far as to cover their faces with their briefcases, the young girl just shook her head, a tired sigh escaping her lips. Despite this, she didnt seem even remotely troubled by the fact there was a group encircling her, a bored look on her face as she stared back at the oldest in the group and asked in fluent Japanese, "Do you know where the Minato Church of Christ is located? If you answer honestly, I will do my best to avoid crippling youpletely." Though they were more than a little surprised by the girls fluent Japanese, it was the context of her words that got the biggest reaction out of the group. It didnt take a genius to understand she was threatening them, so, with a vicious look on his face, the oldest boy in the group attempted to walk within centimeters of the young girl so that he could tower over her. The moment he took a single step forward, however, an excruciating pain radiated from his lower body as the only feeling in his legs was absolute agony. Noticing their leader copse, his hands covering a bloody groin, the other four boys attempted to charge the girl, two aiming for her wrists, one aiming for her hair, and thest pulling out an ornate switchde to try and intimidate her. Unfortunately for each of them, their only reward was suffering the same fate as their firstrade, iprehensible pain radiating through their bodies as they copsed on the ground, writing about with both hands covering their crotches. Seeing the boys taken down in an instant, one of the girls released a high-pitched scream as she fell onto her butt. The other, seemingly forgetting they were the ones attempting to take advantage of the girl, looked to the surroundings for help only to find the streets had suddenly be empty. It was like the entire city had be a ghost town in an instant, and, by the time she looked back to the golden-haired beauty she had previously pitied and resented, the temperature had dropped to well below freezing. Staring back at the Japanese schoolgirl who, going by appearances, was either in her final year of middle-school or first year of high-school, the golden-haired beauty, Eva, stated, "Even if you were forced into your current position, taking pleasure in the misery of others makes you no better than these mongrels. Though it would have caused you greater pain, it is always better to resist tyranny and die with dignity than it is to abandon your principles and side with the people who used you..." Hearing the foreigners words, the Japanese schoolgirl felt a considerable amount of resentment swell up inside of her, tears building in her eyes as she replied, "You dont know anything...you are probably just some brat that never had to work a day in her life! What do you know of the misery and pain we had to go through, you, you bitch!?" Immediately following her outburst, the young woman felt a sickly feeling in her stomach as a sharp pain radiated from both her neck and cheek. The world around her spun a few times before she lost her bnce, dropping to the ground with a bloodied nose, a ckened eye, and a severely swollen cheek. It felt like all of her thoughts had been pped out of her, and, for several seconds, the only thing her mind was capable of processing was a dulling pain as her body went into a state of shock. Without sparing the girl another nce, Eva turned her attention to the one who had screamed out like a banshee. She was even worse than the former, as, unlike her, thetter seemed to have some kind of rtionship with the oldest boy in the group. Eva was very sensitive to negative energy and was even able to read their minds to an extent so she knew the older of the two girls helped to lure in and ckmail others. She had even been responsible for the bloodied girl falling into the groups hands, inviting her out to karaoke only to have her raped by several men after drugging her drink. Though Eva pitied the victimized girls situation, she had nopassion for people who used their suffering as an excuse to revel in the misery of others. Trying to make yourself feel better by ruining the lives of others made you no better than the people who had abused you. It didnt matter what your justification was, as, the moment you began proactively contributing to the suffering of others, you were just as guilty. Feeling more than a little disgusted at the current situation, Eva manifested a stake of ice to nail the wailing girls hand to the ground. This finally caught the girls attention, an ear-piercing yowl of pain escaping her throat before she looked back at Eva, her eyes filled with fear, panic, and hatred as she shouted, "Why are you doing this to us!? We didnt even do anything to you! We were just messing with you!" Ignoring the girls words, Eva pulled her up by the hair, earning another pained shriek from the girl who attempted to frantically kick and thrash about. She had bepletely delirium from the pain, and, feeling as if her life was on the line, adrenaline began to surge through her body as she attempted to break free from Evas grasp. Unfortunately, the only thing she got for her troubles was being tossed unceremoniously by the hair, her bodynding hard on the asphalt and forcing the air from her lungs. The more Eva learned about the girl, the stronger her desire to kill both her and the group of boys slowly bleeding out. This was one of the reasons she chose to live far away from poption zones, as, even without her Magia Erebea, her sensitivity towards negative energy and darkness was simply too high. As for why she didnt just trap them in an illusion, like many others who had attempted to approach her, it was because she sensed a familiar presence within the girl that immediately drew her attention. After remaining motionless on the ground for several seconds, the beaten and bruised girls body started to swell slightly as palpable darkness began to emanate from her body. Her skin, which had previously been covered in a false tan, began king away to reveal an unnatural grey, and, after a few more seconds had passed, even the color of her hair began to fade into sickly white. Seeing the transformation, Eva just snorted through her nose before lifting her left hand and asking, "Tell me, Ghoul. Where is your Master?" Rather than answer the question, the now monstrous-looking schoolgirl raised her head to reveal a pair of blood-red eyes, ws protruding from her fingers as she shouted, "Im going to devour your flesh you fucking-" Without waiting for the creatures expletives, Eva froze her entire body in an ice pir before pulling out apass simr to the one Vahn had gifted the young Naomi. It was able to point toward the direction of whatever its user desired, but, for a variety of reasons, Eva had always struggled to use it properly. In this situation, however, the arrow firmly pointed towards downtown Tokyo for a few seconds before shifting away momentster as Eva muttered, "I dont have the time to go hunting false Vampires..." With most of Japan falling under the jurisdiction of the Kansai Magic Association, a group that had proactively hunted her in the past, Eva didnt really feel like doing their job for them. She also knew it was futile to try and eliminate all evil in the world, so, after briefly considering whether or not she should follow up on her urge to kill the scoundrel converting schoolgirls into Ghouls, Eva eventually just shook her head and walked away. The most she would do is send a tip to the Association, as, in the end, it was their ultimately their responsibility to deal with such things... --- Following Evas departure, the bodies of the six remaining teens seemed to spontaneously manifest in the middle of the heavily popted throughway. This startled a number of people, causing a few other school-age girls to release ear-piercing screams while others began to form a crowd. Notably, none of the pedestrians tried to offer any assistance to the injured teens, many choosing to observe while only a few had the wherewithal to call the police and an ambnce. Due to the garb of the youths, none of the people present wanted to get involved, so, while a few had thought to help the sobbing woman, the fact nobody else tried to help prevented others from stepping in. It wasnt until a group resembling Shinto priests arrived that the group crowd began to disperse, seemingly as if the incident had no impact on their lives. They didnt even question where the group of priests hade from, and, by the time the police actually arrived, there were no on-site witnesses to give an ount of what had happened... --- Though thepass ended up leading her all over the ce, Eva eventually found herself, not at a temple, but outside of a four-story residence. It had a rather spartan exterior,mon for buildings within the city, but, even at a nce, it was easy to tell the residence was rather high end. Not only was it built from more expensive materials, but, due to its location on the outskirts of a region that was upied by literal mansions, the cost of rent had to be around 100,000-150,000 per month. After staring up at the building for several minutes, Eva extended her hand towards the entrance as a magical barrier, invisible to most, manifested beneath her palm. Unlike a normal barrier, however, the runesprising the spell circle were written in ancient Aramaic, and, most notably, the used a symbol resembling a crucifix in lieu of a standard geometric ward. This was generally thought to be impossible, as, for a variety of reasons, magic was simply ipatible with anything even remotely resembling Christian symbology. Seeing the familiar magic circle, a reminiscent smile spread across Evas face as she pushed through the barrier without any resistance. The owner of the building was currently absent, but, after feeling someone pass through the barrier, they were bound to return posthaste. Until then, Eva decided to make herselffortable, trespassing the master bedroom without any hesitation before entering the walk-in closet to see what kind of clothing her formerpanion had be ustomed to... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ah, the 80s...what a time to be alive...,Aint nobody got time fo dat,"Oh? Is this a Maid outfit I spy~?") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1659 Convergence of Fates

Chapter 1659 Convergence of Fates

Though she wasnt sure what she expected to find, Eva felt a little sad that, with the exception of a few expensive pieces of casual wear, everything in the wardrobe was exactly the same. There were more than twenty of the same style blouses, skirts, and stockings, almost as if it was intended to be some kind of uniform. As for the drawer containing more delicate clothing, every bra and panty set was identical, the only variation being a very slight color difference. Releasing a sigh, Eva tossed aside the panties she had stretched out before making her way to the back of the closet and cing her hand on a hidden panel. She had noticed the closet wasnt nearly as deep as the apartment was side, and, as expected, the back wall of the closet opened to reveal a rather sizeable armory. There was an entire wall lined with various firearms, and, after pressing a few buttons, Eva wasnt surprised to find a handful of Japanese katanas, an ornate nodachi, and several hundred neatly arranged throwing knives. After running her finger along the spine of the nodachi, Eva turned her attention towards a few sets of peculiar ceramic body armor. They looked rather in at a nce, but, after spending so much time with Vahn, Eva could tell they were high-quality just from the feeling they gave off. She was even tempted to wear one of the breasttes, but, noticing they were tailored for a very specific build, she couldnt help but stare at her burgeoning assets before releasing a sigh. Though she had developed a lotpared to her past self, Eva still felt like she wasgging behind both Arika and Theo. She appreciated the fact that Vahn didnt seem to mind her appearance in the slightest, but, after hundreds of years of upying a childs body, Eva was eager to fully mature. As for the reason why, though she would never admit it, Eva was actually more than a little intimidated by Vahns size. She knew he would be gentle, but, whenever she imagined them having sex, Eva was unable to shake the impression that she was basically going to be impaled until her body matched his shape... Feeling a shudder run through her body, Eva exited the hiddenpartment, closing it behind her before entering the Master Bedroom. Then, feeling a little tired, she decided to plop face down on the bed. She immediately recognized a familiar and nostalgic aroma that brought a small smile to her face, but, before she could doze off with a contented look on her face, a sigh escaped Evas lips as she felt a small trickle gradually dampening her panties. Deciding it would be crossing the line to do something on someone elses bed, Evazily rolled to the side of the bed before rising and heading towards the bathroom. Vahn had indulged her to the point that just thinking about him was enough to make her body react. Trying to suppress it didnt seem to work, causing her a considerable amount of frustration, so Eva decided she would resolve the problem before it got out of hand. After locking the bathroom door and erecting severalyers of magical protection, Eva stripped out of her clothes before filling the bath using magic. Then, from within one of the interspatial bracelets Vahn had gifted her, Eva pulled out a number of different shampoos and oils, the majority of which matched the kinds used by her idiotic fiance to cleanse her hair and body. Using other types made her feel as though she hadnt cleaned properly, so, prior to her departure, Eva had Vahn stock her essories with enough supplies tost for well over a year. Once everything was in its ce, including a number of fragrant candles, Eva inhaled a deep breath before releasing it as an exasperated sigh. She then submerged herself in the but, enjoying the hot water for a few moments before cing her hand atop her abdomen. In response, a peculiar magic circle spread beneath her navel, its structure unlike anything that existed in both Mundus Magicus and Mundus Vetus. Though she was certain he knew about it, Eva had kept it a secret that she reverse-engineered the method Vahn had used on her Memory Fragment to emte having sex. Her original intent was to use it in order to prepare her body for when they finally became one, so, whenever Vahn was busy attending other matters, Eva used a memory maniption magic based on the Phantasmagoria to rey her memories. At the same time, she activated the magical formation on her abdomen, her body trembling in from a pleasure that made her toes curl... --- With a glowering expression on her face, a young woman with short ck hair, equally ck eyes, and arge suitcase could be seen jumping between the tops of buildings and dashing through the sky as she raced through downtown Tokyo. Her passage was noticed by several people, but, as the first generation cell phone had only hit the market three months prior, looking simr to a brick, the woman wasnt concerned about having her picture taken. Instead, she was focused on returning to her apartment, as, despite none of the items inside being irreceable, the idea of someone going through her stuff incensed her greatly. Moments prior, the woman had been preparing to board a ne to northern Iraq. Though it wasnt exactly her profession, many undergroundmunities recognized her as a bounty hunter and an assassin. Her specialization was dealing with monsters and immortal creatures, but, if the client was willing to pay a handsome amount, she wasnt against purging a few corrupt politicians. It was how she supported her current lifestyle, and, ever since Japan joined the stock market in the 1940s, she had been using her earnings to build an expansive stock portfolio that currently ounted for well over a ten-billion Japanese Yen. Since banks couldnt be trusted, especially in her line of work, the woman generally kept upwards of forty-percent of her savings in physical currency and precious metal, dividing them between one of seven safehouses. Most of these were protected by holy barriers and special wards that even skilled Mages would struggle to break, as, due to the nature of her magic, conventional spells, regardless of whether or not they were Eastern or Western Magic, simply had no effect. The only practical way to break through her barrier was to use Ki, but, if that were the case, she would have been able to sense the barrier being destroyed. Though she couldnt speak for the residents of Mundus Magicus, the woman knew there were less than ten people in the entire world who should be able to trespass her barrier. Among those ten, a total of seven were her acquaintances, so, while she didnt particrly get along with any of them, she waspelled to see what they were up to. She owed a great debt to some of them, so, if they needed her help, she was honor-bound to lend a hand in their time of need. With this thought in mind, the woman closed the distance between Niigata and Minato in less than ten minutes. She could have covered the 190km distance even faster, but, in order to avoid passing through the territories of various groups and organizations, she needed to take a scenic route. She also wanted to avoid drawing too much attention to herself, so, after approaching within five blocks of her apartment, she chose to walk the remaining distance like a normal pedestrian. Seeing the residence that had served as her home for more than a decade, the Japanese woman inhaled a deep breath to steel herself before approaching the entrance. To her surprise, the barrier waspletely undamaged, and, even after spreading her senses through the apartment, she was unable to sense any signs of life. This caused her a great deal of confusion, but, after a minute or so of standing at the entrance of her apartment, the woman noticed there was a peculiar nothingness that was almost impossible to sense unless you were very familiar with the buildingsyout. Realizing the implications behind the anomaly, a vicious look spread across the womans face as she activated one of the barriers functions. This caused the barrier to expand like a bubble, and, though there were a number of people within its area of influence, they all showed confused expressions on their faces before detouring outside and around the barrier. Those closest the apartment even felt a little dizzy, and, as if forgetting what they were doing, theyzily walked away without noticing that the young woman had pulled out a pair of ck katanas with peculiar glowing edges... --- After tending to her condition, Eva had half her face submerged in the water, a deadpan expression on her face as she absentmindedly blew bubbles. She couldnt help but think about the condition of her body, as, with each passing day, her desire to return to Mundus Magicus only intensified. She felt like a part of herself was missing ever since she departed from Vahn, and, though she could remedy her condition temporarily, it always came back with a vengeance... Deciding she would need to punish her fiance when she returned, Evanguidly extricated herself from the hot water with a sigh. She felt toozy to wear her clothes immediately, so, after looking around at the rather simple bathroom for a few moments, she made her way over to the mirror to check the medicine cab. The only thing inside was a toothbrush, some floss, and a half-empty tube of toothpaste, but, considering the nature of the person that lived inside, this wasnt really a surprise. Eva had hoped that her former colleague would have found a man to settle down with during the 351 years they hadnt seen each other, but, based on the wardrobe and fully stocked armory, it was safe to say she was wholly focused on her work. Her undergarments were a dead giveaway, as, even if the chances of them meeting someone were slim, most women liked to wear stylish panties just in case. Instead of following this logic, the woman in question wore simple cotton panties without any embellishments to speak of... Since she was intending to invite the woman toe with her, Eva couldnt help but release a very long and drawn-out sigh. Given the nature of both the woman and Vahn, it was virtually impossible to prevent something from happening between them. The former was excessively loyal, and, once it was discovered that she and Vahn were going to be married, Eva could see the woman following them around like a servant or attendant. She would undoubtedly loathe Vahn in the beginning, but, after spending enough time with him, it was very easy to imagine the woman pledging herself to his service... Knowing the woman had an even more tragic past than herself, Eva was unable to prevent another sigh from escaping her lips as she bent down to retrieve her panties. At that exact same moment, a crashing sound erupted from behind her, and, though she caught by surprise, Eva still managed to retrieve thecy fabric as she used Shundo to leap to the further wall, squatting on its surface as if it were t ground. Ayered magical circle squirreled around her forearm like a gauntlet, but, seeing who had entered the bathroom, a slightly incredulous look spread across her face as she dissipated the gathered energy. Matching Evas expression, the short-haired Japanese woman stared back at the young girl with a considerable amount of confusion visible in her steely ck eyes. She felt the young woman was very familiar to her, but, considering that person had been absent for hundreds of years, it took a bit of time for her brain to reconcile the truth. In fact, it wasnt until Eva smiled back at her, a wry smile on her face as she said, "Long time no see, Karin..." that the woman came to her senses. Hearing the familiar voice, a shudder passed through the womans body as the swords in her hand slipped from her grasp. Tears began to well up in her eyes against her will, morphing her generally expressionless face into one of unspoken grief and considerable relief as she tentatively asked, "Is that really you...Evangeline-sama...?" Before answering, Eva activated her personalized [REquip] system, donning a simr outfit to the one she wore hundreds of years prior. Then, with a wry smile on her face, she attempted to issue an apology to the dark-haired woman, but, before she could form the words, thetter nearly tackled her to the ground, tears streaming down her face as she cried, "Evangeline-sama! Waahhhhh...!!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: It seems that Eva has been trained well (OwO)...,Ah, the era preceding cell phones and the inte...fun times...,Just give up, Eva. You are well aware of what youve gotten yourself into xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1660 Trus

Chapter 1660 Trus

After consoling the crying woman for the better part of twenty minutes, Eva was sitting across from Karin as thetter exined what she had been up to over thest three-hundred-and-fifty years. It turns out, in preparation for their reunion, Karin had been working hard to gather magical artifacts, hard to acquire resources, and material wealth. She didnt care about such things, but, in the hopes of being useful to Eva, the woman had pushed herself through various dangerous situations, even going so far as to participate in both world wars. Hearing Karins recounting, Eva couldnt help but feel a pang of palpable guilt. She knew what kind of person Karin was, but, due to her own selfishness, she had neglected the fiercely loyal woman in the hopes of preventing her from being hunted down alongside her. Karin didnt seem to me her for this, but, with nearly two-hundred-years passing since the time of her liberation from the World Tree, Eva felt like she could have at least met the woman in secret... With regrets surging from the back of her mind, Eva fell into a ruminating daze, failing to hear the womans repeated questions until Karin raised her voice, eximing, "Evangeline-sama!?" Snapping back to attention, Eva stared across the table separating her from the concerned woman on the other side. An apologetic smile made its way to her face, and, even though Karin didnt seem to me her, she couldnt help but repeat, "I should have been there when you awoke...Im sorry...I truly am..." Deeply troubled by her Masters words, Karin showed a conflicted expression on her face as this was the seventh time Eva had apologized to her. She had insisted numerous times that she didnt me her for what had happened, but, regardless of what she said, it didnt seem to be getting through. This was a part of Eva that she both respected and was extremely troubled by, as, unlike Mages who misused their power for selfish gain, her Master had always forced herself to bear the burden of her past... Noticing the conflict visible in Karins face, Eva did her best to put on a sincere smile by recalling the image of a certain idiot within her mind. This actually caught the ck-haired woman by surprise, as, rather than appear forced, her smile was genuine as she said, "Ill try not to keep apologizing over and over...truth be told, a lot has changed over thest few years...I..." Feeling a strange sense of danger well up inside her, Karin preceded Evas words, her expression turning serious as she asked, "Did you...meet someone you love? Was it a man...?" Not expecting the sudden questions, Evas mind stalled for a brief moment as she stared back at the ck-haired maidens serious gaze. She could feel a warmth gradually crawling up her neck and spreading into her cheeks, a reaction that didnt escape Karins notice. As a result, she pped the table between them hard enough to crack the glossy surface as she asked, "What is their name!? I want to meet them!" Recovering her sensibilities, Eva issued a sigh in response to Karins words before answering, "His name is Vahn. If you keep track of what was going on in the Magical World, you would know him as the Sage Dragon Emperor. A lot of things happened, and, though it is currently a secret, we ended up getting engaged to each other after that idiot proposed to me like a thousand times..." Though she had started off serious, even Eva could detect the happiness in her tone, a small smile spreading across her lips as she called Vahn an idiot. As for Karin, she deted in a ratherical manner, falling to her hands and knees in what some referred to as the orz position. Her bangs cast a dark shadow over her eyes, and, though it was likely meant to be inaudible, Eva could hear her muttering, "Unforgiveable..." in a low tone. Since Karin was someone who had followed her for more than a hundred-and-fifty-years,bined with the fact she spent thest three-hundred-and-fifty working on her behalf, Eva could only smile wryly in response to the womans reaction. She was the closest thing Eva had ever had to an actualpanion, and, towards the end of their journey together, Karin had even wanted to form a Pactio with her. The woman wasmitted to following her into the vast stream of eternity, so, even if she had a few misgivings about the situation, Eva didnt have the heart to prevent the inevitable. After all, Karin had been suffering for more than two-thousand-years at this point...she deserved a chance at happiness... Suppressing a sigh, Eva rose from her position on the sofa, helping to raise Karin from the floor before surprising the woman with a sudden embrace. They were actually very close in height now, with Karin being a petite 152cm, so Eva was able to hold her with significant easepared to the past. This was a stark contrast to the past, something that passed through both womens minds as they linked their arms around each other for several minutes in absolute silence. After helping Karin calm down an adequate amount, Eva began to lightly stroke her back, her voice taking on a guiding tone as she said, "I want you to return with me. Vahn is a good man, so, even if you hate him for a while, Im certain you wille to adte and respect him in the future. It might be difficult for you to believe right now, but Im confident that he could even remove that curse on your body, given enough time..." Hearing her Masters words, Karin couldnt quite bring herself to believe them, but, as if anticipating this, Eva went on to exin, "He could even remove my curse with considerable ease. Though I will likely live on for thousands of years, I now walk the path of an immortal willingly. Im sure you have noticed, but Im even able to grow and mature...freed from the curse of having to inhabit the body of a child who can never fully experience the benefits of being an adult woman..." Though she didnt expressly state it, a ruddy hue spread across Evas face that caused Karin to feel a small amount of indignation as she tentatively asked, "Did you...already do it...?" Since she had a disposition simr to Vahn, Eva was unable to stop a crimson glow from coloring her face and cheeks. There were very few people she could trust and open up to, so, whenever she was around certain people, it was a lot harder to control her thoughts and emotions. Fortunately, before Karin could misunderstand her reaction, Eva waved her hands in a dismissive manner as she quickly exined, "No, no, no, no! You are misunderstanding! Vahn and I are engaged, yes, but we decided to wait until our wedding to consummate our rtionship...!" Though it wasnt enough to erase the burgeoning hatred rising within her heart, Karin breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Evas words. Her opinion of Vahn also improved slightly, but, until she had determined his worth for herself, she was unable to fully ept the man her Master hade to love. Rather, part of her felt like something precious had been stolen from her, and, though she would never im ownership over her Master, Karins life had been given purpose by being allowed to follow and support her... Remembering her Masters previous words, a determination seeded itself in Karins heart as she nodded her head and said, "Thats good. If it turned out you had been taken advantage of by that man, Im not sure what I would have done. Still, Id like to meet him, and, since Evangeline-sama has already suggested it, I propose we make haste for Mundus Magicus. I want to see with my own two eyes what kind of man has corrupted...I mean, professed his love for my Master..." Issuing an awkward chuckle in response to Karins words, Eva couldnt help but internally remark, ("Now Im kind of interested in seeing how things develop...you have no idea what youre getting yourself into, Karin...") Shaking her head, both in response to Karins words and her own thoughts, Eva went on to exin, "I have already contacted Jinbei and asked him to reach out to the others. Before we return, I intend to meet with everyone and propose something. You seem to be unaware, but there is a massive war happening between the Hes Empire and the Megalomesembrian Confederation. My most hated enemy is one of the people backing the war, so, while it might be selfish of me, I intend to gather a force to wipe them outpletely. Im certain Vahn has already done something extreme after our separation, but I refuse to leave everything in his hands...will you help me, Karin?" Though various thoughts were going through her mind during the exnation, Karin dismissed all of them when she heard her Master ask for help. A resolute glimmer shed across her onyx-ck eyes she pped her hands around Evas and spiritedly answered, "Of course! I swore to follow you to the ends of the earth and even beyond the stars! No matter what kind of enemy you are facing, I will stand at your side and do everything within my power to support you!" Even if she already expected such a response, Eva felt a considerable amount of relief when she heard Karins words. This woman had her quirks, but, with the exception of Vahn, she was the one person Eva believed she could trust wholeheartedly. Karin had learned a hard lesson after betraying another person she trusted, so, when it came to upholding her vows, there were no limits she would no go to. It didnt matter if the path was jumbled with corpses and carved with rivers of blood; so long as it was for the person she had dedicated herself to, she would never hesitate to uphold her vows. Feeling a tenderness that had been seeded in her due to prolonged exposure to Vahn, a natural smile spread across Evas face as she lightly cupped Karins cheek. This was enough to make the woman blush, and, though neither of them was particrly attracted to members of the same sex, the steely-eyed woman was unable to stop herself from swallowing audibly. This caused the smile on Evas face to be more prominent, and, though it probably wasnt her best idea, she didnt shy away when Karin brought her face progressively closer... Before their lips could meet, a smell simr to ozone spread through the room as the fine hairs on Evas and Karins bodies began to stand on end. There was even a staticky crackle in the air, and, as the distance between them shrunk even further, a palpable sense of danger descended on both of them as they simultaneously used Shundo to backstep. At nearly the exact same moment, a bolt of pure white lightning phased through the ceiling without causing any damage, striking the location they had been standing in. Though it didnt even leave a mark on the ground, both women could feel the power contained within the lighting bolt, especially Eva. Understanding the origin of the lightning, Karins expression became pale, but, before she could think to apologize, Eva interrupted her thoughts by saying, "Dont worry. As I said previously, you can trust Vahn with finding a solution. It might be difficult for you to believe, but he is also a God of Space, Time, and Creation. When ites to that idiot, Ive learned to be more surprised when he cant do something than when he can. Even then, it is only a matter of time until hees up with a solution so you can rest assured..." Since it felt like she was trying to convince Karin that they would be able to kiss in the future, Eva felt uncharacteristically bashful. She even emted Arikas habit ofbing through her hair when she was feeling awkward or embarrassed, something Karin took notice of as she nodded her head and answered, "I understand, Evangeline-sama. Since you trust that man, I will do the same. Even if he isnt as capable as you say, I will continue to ce my faith in him until your words have be the truth." Seeing the conviction in Karins gaze, Eva felt even more awkward since it almost sounded like the woman was anticipating the day when their lips would lock. This caused various thoughts to run through Evas mind, but, while several involved just her and Karin, the vast majority had additional participants... Before she realized it, a tiny trickle of blood had started to run from Evas nose, startling both girls and sending Karin into a concerned frenzy that involved bombarding her Master with several high-ranking healing spells... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Yandere mode activate (* - *)...!,Karin is a very devoted woman,Karin is not prepared...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1661 Changes, Both Subtle and Drastic

Chapter 1661 Changes, Both Subtle and Drastic

With the loss of nearly forty percent of the Senate, the destruction of various facilities, and the mass liberation of innumerable ves, few were surprised when the Confederation began suing for peace with the Empire. The demonstration of the Sage Dragon Emperors might made it clear to most that he was against the War, and, though he was currently ying nice, the actions he had taken within the Senate demonstrated he would hold those in power ountable rather than the soldiers on the frontline. After witnessing their contemporaries executed with a simple wave of the Sage Dragon Emperors hand, the surviving Senators werent in a hurry to paint a target on their backs. They immediately rescinded the bounty ced on both the Sage Dragon Emperor and the Scarlet-Eyed Wolf King. It was clear the two were closely affiliated, so, while there were several private bounties still in effect, the current political stance of the Confederation was inpliance with the Sage Dragon Emperors demands. Though everyone knew there was more going on behind the scenes, the sudden suing for peace came as a great relief to the nations nearest to the frontlines. It was always these smaller nations that suffered the most during a conflict, as, whenever either side was looking for a vantage point to attack from, they almost always cut through neighboring territories. They would also be ransacked for supplies during a prolonged engagement, and, though there were several ords intended to inhibit such behavior, many small towns and viges became ygrounds for war-weary soldiers looking to relieve some stress. With the Confederation suing for peace so soon after the war began, themon people felt as if a great blessing had descended upon them. As for the various unscrupulous merchants, arms dealers, nationalists, and soldiers on both sides, they couldnt help but feel notably frustrated. This war had been an opportunity for them to either make a considerable profit or elevate their status, so, even if they had seen the Sage Dragon Emperors might first-hand, there were still people whomented even the mention of peace talks. Fortunately, at least for themon people often victimized during such conflicts, the leaders of both sides were very self-centered and egotistical. They wouldnt hesitate to send millions to their deaths, shouting nationalistic ideologies and inciting the people to take up arms in the defense of their nation, but, the moment their own lives were on the line, they were exceptionally quick to seek apromise, emphasizing the value of restraint, virtue, and the need for peaceful coexistence... --- Though the Empire had yet to reach a consensus, Arika took advantage of the opportunity created by Vahn to try and mediate between the two superpowers. As a result, she soon found herself in an ornate reception room, silently sipping away at tea whilst waiting for an audience with the Emperor of Hes. Across from her, wearing attire that wasnt exactly proper for a Princess meeting a foreign dignitary, an ever-vibrant Theo could be seen sitting with her legs crossed, smiling cheekily as she said, "Im guessing Eva already departed for Mundus Vetus. Asuna must be driving Vahn crazy right now~." Hearing Theos reminder, Arika couldnt help releasing a small sigh before lightly shaking her head and saying, "That girl is better at handling Vahn than any of us...I just hope she doesnt take things too far..." Amused by Arikas concerns, Theo snickered in her characteristic manner before saying, "Asuna is a good kid. She might be a little precocious, but I cant really condemn her. I have to train my body at least six hours a day just to avoid breaking things. Youve also been struggling, right?" Though her expression didnt change much, a rosy hue spread through Arikas face as she averted her eyes and simply intoned, "Nn..." Seeing her kindred sisters reaction, Theos smile became even more prominent. Though Arika was probably less affected than she and Eva were, Theo knew it couldnt be easy for her. She struggled when it came to being honest with herself, so, without a bit of coaxing, Arika likely had no way to deal with her urges. Theo could even imagine her just curling up in bed, tightly hugging a pillow for a few hours, constantly thinking about taking action but unable to due to her feelings of shame and embarrassment... As that thought crossed her mind, Theo considered giving her best friend a helping hand, a sadistic smile spreading across her face as a result. A desire to dominate everything had been seeded inside of her ever since she awakened as a Dragon, and, for reasons she assumed to be rted to the Tri-Force of Wisdom contained within Arikas body, Theo felt an increasing urge to push her down. Not to take advantage of her, but to strengthen the bonds she had with her beloved big sister... Feeling a strange sense of panic welling up inside of her, Arika turned her attention back to Theo, a questioning look visible in her eyes. At the same time, she felt a sensation simr to burning in her left hand, and, though it wasnt visible to other people, both she and Theo could see a glimmering golden triangle glowing through her glove. This caused a cool feeling to wash over her mind, and, as if everything had suddenly be clear, Arikas eyes widened slightly as she inly stated, "Ill have to refuse your offer...unless Vahn is with us, Im notfortable doing such things..." Arikas calm yet demure tone did little to address Theos urge to push her down, but, even if thepulsion was several times stronger, she would never force someone against their will. Two of the most important lessons her Master had taught her was about consent and trust. You needed both if you wanted to maintain a healthy rtionship, so, while the smile on her face didnt fade, Theo nodded her head in understanding before teasinglymenting, "Ill keep that in mind the next time were all together, shishishi~." Understanding Theos meaning, the ruddy glow on Arikas face became even more prominent, but, rather than refuse, she responded with a small nod. She was actually a little interested in the things that Theo and Vahn did together, so, while she didnt really have the courage to participate, part of her had always wanted to watch... Starling both girls, though neither really showed it, a loud knocking could be heard from the ornate metal door that represented the rooms primary entrance. In response, Theo was the first to alight from her seat, her movements swift and sure as she appeared next to the door in an instant before using her tail to practically force it open and ask, "Has my Father called for us?" Surprised by how quickly the door had opened, the trio of Maids on the other side couldnt help but take a few steps back. One even fell down, her skirt magically hiking up more than it ought to as shended hard on her butt, her lips parting on instinct to attempt an apology. Amused by the trios response, a yful glimmer reflected across Theos eyes as she bypassed the first two Maids to help the one who had fallen. This caused the Maid in question to feel incredibly flustered, but, before she could say anything, a crimson flush appeared on her face when she heard the Princess state, "ck suits you..." while winking. Though it didnt immediately hit her, the Maid quickly realized what the Princess was talking about when she mentioned the word ck. This caused illusory steam to rise from her head, and, though her education trained her to always maintain her bearing and behave respectfully towards members of the Nobility, she couldnt help but lower her head while gripping the front of her skirt. Seeing the Maids reaction, Theos smile became wide enough to disy her prominent canines. A very strong desire to tease the Maid began to well up inside of her, but, having already dedicated herself to her Master, she managed to restrain the urge. She could make an exception for Arika, as she was another one of her Masters women, but, when it came to others, Theo needed to temper herself. She was unwilling to betray her Masters trust, and, even if it was just ying around, she knew it would be inappropriate for her to do such things without his permission. Nodding in approval of her own thoughts, Theo lightly pat the Maids shoulder a few times before turning to face the leader and stating, "You never answered me." Hearing the Princess remark, the senior Maid showed an expression of surprise before immediately lowering her head and answering, "Forgive me, Princess Theodora. To answer the Princess question, yes, His Imperial Majesty is ready to receive Her Highness, Princess Arika Anarchia Entheofushia." Though she already expected such a response, Theo nodded her head a few times before looking toward Arika and saying, "Well, you heard her. Lets get this over with so I can show you around the Capital. There are a ton of things I want your advice on and I know a few interesting ces we can visit to have a bit of fun~!" Hearing how their Princess was addressing a Princess of Vespertatia, the trio of Maids and a few nearby Imperial Guardsmen all began to sweat. They had heard the rumors stating that Theo and Arika had be friends during their time in Ariadne, but, as the Ostian Royal Family had always been neutral, it was very strange to hear their Princess speak so casually. After all, the matter they were about to discuss with the Emperor was directly rted to the war, not something you just got over with before going off to y. Ignoring the looks from her surroundings, Theo continued to smile radiantly as she exacerbated the matter by grabbing Arikas hand and pulling her along. This was enough to cause even Arika to feel slightly troubled, but, rather than pull her arm free, she just smiled politely towards the trio of Maids as Theo guided her to the Throne Room... --- With everything that had been happening recently, Michael had been experiencing hypertension-induced migraines. As a result, he had dismissed nearly the entire Court before removing his crown and asking a very mature-looking woman with a low-cut gown to massage his temples. This earned him a few envious looks from the remaining members of the Court, but, with the exception of Jack, none were bold enough to say anything. As for the man in question, he had left the Capital in order toplete a secret mission, so, with the Emperor cracking down on corruption as ofte, nobody was willing to speak out... Just as Michael was thinking about asking the buxom woman to hug his face, a method that greatly aided in rxing his mind, a thunderous sound echoed through the chamber like an explosion. This startled most of the people present, but, having grown ustomed to such surprises, as they were one of the causes for his migraines, Emperor Michael just casually waved aside the bronze-skinned servant before donning his crown and musing, "Lively as ever..." Though he had spoken very quietly, Theos enhanced hearing was able to pick up on her Fathers words with considerable ease. Her smile became even more prominent, and, as there were fewer and fewer people bold enough to call her out on not behaving like a Princess, her Father included, Theo no longer bothered with trivialities such as decorum and obeisance. She had always preferred being more direct, and, though she could y the political game well, there was simply no need to when you had uncontested might and poprity. The citizens of the Hes Empire already considered Theo a Princess of the People, so, even if she didnt behave like a Noble, none of them would judge her. As for the rest of the Nobility, she didnt really care about their opinion, as, unless they were willing tomit themselves to the Empire, she had no need for the majority of them. Those that sincerely supported the Empire would never care about trying to correct her behavior, so, by acting out and controlling the pace, Theo could expose potential dissidents by simply annoying them until they exposed themselves. With that in mind, Theo snickered towards a number of Nobles present, earning various reactions as she guided Arika, now less forcibly, towards her Father. Then, without bothering to bow or lower her head, she disyed her most radiant smile as she said, "Hey there, Papa. I wanted to introduce you to one of my friends, shishishishi~" (A/N: Alternate Titles: I have always been against such barbaric conflicts... -Former War Advocate and Arms Dealer,ck suits most people (UwU)...,Theo has really grown...kinda...maybe...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1662 Progress : Growth

Chapter 1662 Progress : Growth

With Xuanwu and Qinglong feeding him information, Vahn was aware of most major events taking ce within the Confederation and the Empire. As a result, he didnt really have to leave the ind at all, so, while waiting for the arrival of Rubra and the return of Eva, he spent his days helping Asuna train, meditating, rxing, and testing the capabilities of the Little Garden. Vahn had been aware of the Law of Progression ever since his time in the Nasuverse, but, seeing it in action was, simply put, awe-inspiring. He had caught various types of fish outside, cing them in the waters surrounding the central ind to observe their growth. This wasnt an exaggeration, as, due to the abundance of vital energy and the presence of Progression Laws, it was possible to see the growth of some specimens with the naked eye. Though the time dtion was one of the major perks of the Little Garden, that was only the tip of the iceberg when it came to its true power. It greatly increased the rate at which flora and fauna developed, and, though it wasnt really something he could arbitrarily test, Vahn assumed it had a simr effect on people. With the outer edges of the Little Garden having a time dtion of 700x, Vahn tested his theory by creating a small habitat for Cicadas. They were a metamorphic species that, depending on various environmental conditions, developed into adults between fifteen and twenty years. Since this time was spent a nymph, generally requiring between four and five molts to reach maturity, they were a suitable species to conduct experiments with, as, during their nymph period, they generally spent all their time burrowed in the ground. Since animals within the Little Garden didnt need to eat and couldnt die from old age, Vahn spent a fair amount of time simply documenting the growth of various species. To his surprise, the cicada nymphs emerged from the ground after only seventeen months. This implied they developed at a rate ten times faster than normal, which, on top of the effect of 700x time dtion, approximated a 7000x increase in the rate of growth. After observing the adult cicadas in great detail, Vahn determined that they were far more resilient than other members of the same species. Not only that, but, after mating andying eggs, they did not die as their evolutionary path dictated. Instead, they spent several days idling about, seemingly without a purpose. As for the new eggs, they were between ten and twenty percentrger than the first batch, and, among them, there were several with odd colorations. Surprising Vahn even further, the next generation of Cicadas only took fifteen months to reach their adult state. Among these, there were a number of giant Cicada, but, far more notably, Vahn found more than a dozen derivative species. There was even a kind that had evolved to possess no wings, and, despite having no need to eat, it waited until the other Cicadas beganying their eggs before digging them up and using a stinger of sorts to imnt its own eggs within the developingrvae... Unsurprisingly, the third generation of Cicadas waspletely dominated by the terrestrial version, as, prior to their adult phase, the other types were also restricted to the ground. This allowed them to quickly eliminate thepetition before resorting to cannibalism and territorial disputes. It was a rather disheartening development, but, perhaps as a result of Da Vincis influence, Vahn continued to observe their progress into the fourth generation before burning them all when thervae began to develop jaws in order to cannibalize each other. Fortunately, despite the experiments taking around fifty-nine months, the actual passage of time, at least outside, was less than three days. The only time Vahn had to check on them was when one of the World Trees sent him what amounted to a telepathic message, as, even without a name, each of the majestic trees had a nascent Ego. They had formed awork with all of their roots intertwining, so, whenever something peculiar happened within the Little Garden, they would not hesitate to let him know. Though he would periodically venture into the outer rings, most of Vahns time within the Little Garden was spent beneath the canopy of thergest World Tree, the one located on the central ind. It was technically the youngest of the World Trees, but, due to the others feeding it their vitality, it easily towered over those furthest from the center. Despite being the centermost region of the Little Garden, the energy concentration on the central ind was many times greater than normal. This made it an exceptionallyfortable ce to be, and, whenever he wasnt busy doing other things, Vahn generally kept a version of himself meditating on the inside of the Little Garden. This greatly increased the replenishment of his internal energy, and, so long as he didnt go overboard, it even offset the consumption of his mental and spiritual energies. Apanying Vahn in his meditation, Fenrir had started to spend a considerable amount of time in the Little Garden. It wasnt as productive for her cultivation of Yin, Ice, and Darkness Elemental Laws, but, after taking a single deep breath of the energy inside the Little Garden, Fenrir firmly stated she would be training inside from now on. She stated that she could feel herself growing strong just by being inside, so, whenever she wasnt busy doing something outside, Fenrir spent most of her time just meditating or napping alongside the version of himself Vahn kept within the Little Garden. With Fenrir setting a precedent, it wasnt long before Medusa insisted that she also move inside the Little Garden. It was even safer than the Garden of Avalon, and, though Vahn was worried about the growth of Stheno and Euryale, she managed to convince him such concerns were pointless. Stheno was maturing extremely quickly, steadily closing the distance with her own mother, so, rather than worry about their physical development, she told him to be more concerned about their education and mental development. Since the energy within the Little Garden was extremely pure and refreshing, it had a calming effect on the mind. The fact it was governed by the Laws of Progression also meant it a significantly easier toprehend new subjects, and, so long as you put in a concerted effort, it even had an effect on the time taken to master a skill. These things made it the ideal ce to train and learn new things, so, after a bit of convincing, Vahn built a cozy cabin within the Little Garden to house Medusa and his daughters. Of course, with even Euryale residing in the Little Garden, Vahn inevitably had to allow Asuna inside. She was even better at arguing than Medusa, so, on the grounds that it was the best ce to both keep her safe and advance her training, Vahn ended up expanding the residence to include both a bathhouse and a training dojo. From then onwards, it became the ce where he conducted all of his training with Asuna, and, even though she only spent a few hours inside each day, it was very easy to see the gardens influence on her development... Asuna had already been in the midst of puberty, so, while not unexpected, her growth had been elerated exponentially. It was like she had hit a growth spurt, and, by the time three weeks had passed in the outside world, she went from looking like a girl in her first year of middle school to a youngdy in the midst of adolescence. Most people would approximate her age to be around 14 or 15 years old, and, though she still gave off the distinct impression of someone very young, her physique had already developed to the point that she could rival Irisviel. Though she appeared very lean and athletic, Asunas bust, waist, and hips had developed to 83cm, 57cm, and 84cm respectively. When Vahn had first created Iris new body, her dimensions, starting with height, bust, waist, and hips were 158cm, 85cm, 56cm, and 84cm. Since Asuna had also grown to a height of 158cm, the only thing she had lost out in was the size of her bust, but, with less than a one-centimeter difference, it was easy to imagine her growing up to rival Evas adult form at her current pace... Fortunately, though he could tell she was definitely up to something, Asuna seemed to shift her focus, dedicating herself wholly to her training within the Little Garden. When she was outside, she spent a fair amount of time learning to cook, clean, and perform various household chores without the use of magic. Most of these things were taught to her by the Chacha sisters, but, whenever she was learning how to cook, Asuna always dragged him into the kitchen to teach her. She seemed to really enjoy cooking, and, though there were a few moments when she would lightly bump into him with her shoulder, that was the limit of her antics within the kitchen. The only time Vahn had any trouble with Asuna over the three weeks was whenever she wanted to take a bath, watch his memories together, or sleep. She pretended to be unaware of the changes in her body, but, whenever they slept together, Asuna tended to nestle up as close as possible to him, her breasts pressing into his arm and side. During their baths, her breasts would identallye into contact with his back whenever she was helping to wash his hair, and, most notably, whenever they rxed together, her butt was almost always perfectly positioned in a dangerous area. Vahn was aware that Asuna was emting the behaviors she had observed from Arika, Theo, and even Eva, except, rather than make the same mistakes, she skillfully measured how she behaved at every moment. This actually reminded him a lot of his past self in Danmachi, back when he relied on his View Affection to determine how he should behave, but, rather than rely on observing the color of his aura and the rise and fall of his Affection, Asuna closely observed everything from his facial twitches to the rhythm of his heart. The fact such a young girl had figured him out filled Vahn with various concerns, but, considering how prodigious Asuna was in everything she did, it wasnt that unbelievable. She was moving closer to the level of a Grandmaster with each passing day, and, though she had footed around the issue when they discussed it, Vahn was pretty sure she had already awakened her Bankai. In fact, he even suspected she had awakened her Bankai the moment she first called the name of her Zanpakuto, as, from that moment onward, it had always been in an unsealed state. Asuna had even been able to see a draconic version of Laev-tan that Vahn himself wasnt aware of until after she mentioned it. All of hismunication with the rambunctious Zanpakuto Spirit was in his head or within the Realm so it was quite a surprise to learn that Asuna could literally see her using some special sense. She had even assisted Arika, Theo, Eva, and even Fenrir in the awakening of their Spirits by describing the features of their Zanpakuto, so, even if she was surprisingly evasive about the matter, it wasnt difficult to imagine that Asuna had already awakened her Bankai. At her current rate of growth, Vahn suspected that Asuna might even eclipse his own strength after a few more years. Though this would only really apply in the Akamatsuverse, the fact she could ever rival him demonstrated just how ridiculous Asunas potential as a natural-born Tier 5 was. She likely at the greatest potential in the entire Record, and, so long as her perception continued to influence the Fate around her, even the Gods wouldnt be able to prevent her meteoric rise to the pinnacle. All Vahn could really do at this point was continue guiding Asuna along the path she had decided for herself. Though this path invariably led directly to him, pretty much everyone around, including Eva, had been aware of the inevitability from the start. In fact, the moment he first met Asuna, it was like her Fate hadtched onto him, and, unless he forcibly severed it, Vahn knew the world itself was supporting her pursuit. The most he could do was dy the inevitable, but, even without having to put his foot down, Asuna was very aware of her limits. She always retreated just when it seemed like his patience was wearing thin, and, over time, she was gradually chipping away at his defenses until there was absolutely nothing left... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The legendary Chimera Cicadas...,(O w O)...,Thanos could learn a lot from Asuna) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1663 Bai

Chapter 1663 Bai

Having finished their daily training hours prior, Vahn was rxing on the beach chair wearing a pair of swimming trunks, sunsses, and a pair of headphones. There was arge beach parasol next to him, but, enjoying the suns warmth, he tilted it away from his body, exposing his tanned skin to the suns gentle caress. He was quite fond of rxing outdoors, and, though he knew the main reason Asuna had invited him was to show off her new bikini, that didnt stop him from enjoying the warm sun and the cool breeze... After spending nearly twenty minutes submerged, Asuna poked half her head out of the water, her contemtive gaze showing no hostility but reminding Vahn of an alligator waiting near the waters edge. He was pretty good at sensing when she was up to something, so, when Asuna invited him to go exploring an undersea cave, Vahn politely declined. He could sense that she had ced all kinds of magical barriers and wards around the area, and, after sending his intent to investigate, he found a few hundred candles decorating the interior cavern. Though she probably didnt have anything too risque in mind, confined quarters with atmospheric lighting were a breeding ground for licentious thoughts. Even if her intention was only to nestle up close to him, normal behavior at most times, the fact she was wearing a white string bikini made it a lot less innocent. She had even been tanning recently, so, while most of her body was kissed by a very healthy shade of brown, there were a few regions that were still pristine, fair, and, as was likely her intention, eye-catching. Seeing Asuna continuing to stare at him, the edges of Vahns lips curled up as he gave her a casual wave. This caused her to re her nostrils slightly, a mischievous glimmer shing across her eyes as she dipped her head beneath the waters surface. Immediately after, her presence seemed to vanish in its entirety, but, unless she vanished from the outside of his Domain and snuck in, Vahn could still track her if he really wanted to. Sensing an almost imperceptible distortion in the fabric of Space-Time, Vahn turned his attention to his right, an area just outside his periphery. There, he found a smiling Asuna performing a ram seal, the index and middle fingers of both hands pressed parallel to each other as the ring and pinky of her left hand cupped her right. This was a familiar seal for those familiar with the Record of Naruto, but, as was the case with many principles, a number of things transferred between worlds. With some of the most powerful Ki users being practitioners of Chinese Kenpo and the ancient Japanese Ninja Arts, techniques like Kage Bunchin, Shunshin, and even the Substitution Technique actually existed in the Akamatsuverse. Asuna was well-aware of this, and, in her pursuit of knowing everything there was to know about him, she was equally aware of the fact he used to be a fan of Naruto. She had read a variation of the series that was drastically different from the one found in his memories, but, while there were some pretty major differences, many of the central elements remained the same. Taking advantage of her mastery over internal energy and Ki, arge cloud of pink smoke erupted around Asuna as she shouted, "Hremu no Jutsu~!". The explosion was powerful enough to knock the sunsses from Vahns face, kicking up a considerable amount of sand in the process, but, with a thin aura protecting his body, he was left to smile wryly when a total of twenty bikini-d Asunas appeared around him. Though all twenty gave off the impression of the original, Vahn turned his attention to one specific Asuna amongst the group, asking, "What are you trying to pull this time?" Smiling wide enough to disy her pearly whites, Asuna didnt hesitate for a single moment before saying, "Lets y the Kings Game. Loser has to abide by one request from the winner." Understanding that the Kings Game was essentially just an advanced form of Truth or Dare, Vahn wasted no time in shaking his head, stating, "You are too young to y such a game. Also, even if you have a bunch of clones, there are only two of us present. What next, are you going to ask me to y Doctor?" Appearing slightly indignant, at least on the surface, Asuna puffed out her cheeks in an attempt to appear both pouty and adorable. This had worked well when she was younger, and, though Vahn had built up a resistance to it, Asuna couldnt help butugh internally when she saw the edges of his smile twitch. There was also a slight contraction of his pupils before they returned to normal, a sure sign that he had wavered, even if only a little bit. By baiting Vahn with an unreasonable request, Asuna had primed him to be more epting of her next request, something far tamer, but, for her, equally as exciting. She was confident in her speed and actually enjoying running around ever since the first time Vahn took her exploring the forests near Nyandoma. Thus, after pretending to pout for several seconds, she released a disappointed huff before crossing her arms and saying, "How about a game of tag then? The winner still gets to make a request of the loser, but, instead of anything, they are limited to choosing something that has already happened." Though he was almost positive that Asuna was baiting him, Vahn didnt really have anything else going on at the moment. He also trusted that Asuna wouldnt take things too far, so, after a brief moment of deliberation, he nodded his head and asked, "So, you want me to chase down each of your clones?" Hearing Vahn acquiesce to her promise, a mischievous smile spread across Asunas face as she exined, "That is just one of the rules. The other two are that you can only tag someone over their clothes, and, unless you burst them, my clones will be able to tag you back. I believe thats fair since you have the ability to control Space and Time." Realizing what kind of game Asuna was trying to loop him into, Vahn inspected her scanty white bikini, a garment that effectively only covered her erogenous zones. If he agreed to her game, his victory was predicated on his willingness to basically grope her, and, knowing Asuna, there was a very high chance she would discard one, or both, of the garments. He hadnt missed the face she tied a tiny ribbon around her left ankle, and, while most wouldnt consider that clothing, the actual definition epassed item, object, or apparel worn on the body. Suppressing a sigh, Vahn was about to refuse Asunas game when she very inly pointed out, "It is just touching. You used to help me wash when I was younger and you see me naked several times a day. We also sleep and cuddle together, so whats wrong with a little touching? Besides, my mother has already given her consent and I dont even remotely mind you touching my body. I doubt it will be more intimate than those times you gave me a massage..." Though she spoke nothing but truth, empowered by cold hard logic, Vahn couldnt help but run his hand slowly from his forehead to the back of his head. Her most powerful argument was the fact that her mother had expressively given her consent following Asunas first period, as, in ordance with Vespertatian Law, a woman could be wed so long as they were evaluated to be of sound mind and hadpleted at least one year of secondary education. Though Asuna had only attended a single year of Academy, her theoretical and practical knowledge even eclipsed that of the tenured professors, so, in ordance with Vespertatian Law, she had already be an adult... Vahn was well-aware of just how mature Asuna was, both in body and mind, but her attempt to try and entrap him was proof enough that she was still immature. If he had been much younger, there might have been a chance her logic would have worked, but, now that he had actual grandchildren that were older than her, his inhibitions werent so easily discarded. Even if she had a body that was on the level of someone like Artoria, Arcuied, or Musashi, Vahn wouldnt give in until he felt she was ready for such interactions... Fortunately, Vahn didnt actually have to shut Asuna down, as, near the very edge of his domain, a few powerful auras entered his perception. Immediately after that, seemingly able to sense that he had sensed them, two of the auras began to surge. Asuna also took notice of this, and, though she would normally be very annoyed by such interruptions, Vahn heard a sigh of relief escape her lips as she dismissed her clones. She was aware that she had pushed a little too hard, but, after seeing her bikini-d figure in the mirror, Asuna couldnt help but feel a little emboldened... Refusing to allow anyone but Vahn to see her scantily d form, Asuna donned her usual battle attire using her personalized [REquip] system. Then, manifested from a block void in the center of her chest, the ck hilt of the perpetually unsealed Ko emerged as Asuna stated, "If that brat wants to fight, leave him to me. Ive been yearning for a rematch and I currently have a bunch of stress to release..." Though she said thest couple of words in a barely audible murmur, Vahn could still hear them as if his ear was right next to Asunas mouth. This caused him to release a light chuckle, but, unlike the hotheaded young woman, he elected to remain in his swimwear. He didnt take Nagi seriously, and, though this might seem hubristic, the simple fact of the matter was that the youth wouldnt survive a single exchange if they went all out. He likely wouldnt even be able tond a hit on Asuna at the moment, as, with the benefits provided by the Little Garden, her base parameters had increased by nearly thirty percent... ------------------------------------------------ [Status] Name: [Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia] Age: 12 Race: High Human Offense: 1638 Defense: 1219 Mobility: 3,412 Base Power: 6,269 Soul Tier: 5 (Realm Soul) Skills: [Child of Destiny(Non-Standard): SSS], [Key of Twilight(Maniption): SSS], [Magic Cancel(Mitigation): SS], [White of Mars(Creation): SS], [ck of Venus(Absorption): SS], [Master Swordsman: A], [Master Ki User: A], [Heavenly Sword of Division(Spirit Cultivation): B], [Sages Path of Enlightenment(Mind Cultivation): A], [Primoridial Goddess Divine Body(Body Cultivation): B], [Expert Cooking: D], [Master Seamstress: C], [Great Divide: SS], [Hands of Nirvana: D] Magic: [Shundo:SS], [Koku Shundo:S], [Cantus Bex: SSS], [Mellodia Bex: SSS], [Vis Maxima: SSS] ------------------------------------------------ Though her actual parameters should be a bit lower, the fact Asunas Zanpakuto was always in its unsealed form gave her a status that could rival the Gods. Her only real weakness was herck of experience, but, simr to Jack, she learned and adapted exceptionally quickly. Unless it was simply beyond her means to counter, no same technique worked on her twice, and, while she might not be able to externalize her magical power, her raw speed and her Innate ability to outright cancel magic made her the nemesis of virtually all Mages. Confident in Asunas ability to secure a victory, Vahn wasnt going to interfere in her desire to vent some of her stress. Rather, he actually felt a little sorry for Nagi, as, after their previous battle, there was no way Asuna would give him a chance to counter. She was durable enough to outright tank a howitzer round to the face, but, when it came to dealing with actual pain, she was in the category of people that did everything within their power to avoid it entirely. Even if she left him in a far worse condition, Asuna was still holding a grudge against Nagi after he crushed her wrist and electrocuted her. This was her opportunity for revenge, and, though it was a little childish of her to hold such a grudge, Vahn was of the mind that people should be allowed to make mistakes. If her desire for revenge caused her to make a few mistakes, he would address them after the fact, as, without setbacks, even prodigies like Asuna wouldnt take every lesson to heart. Interested to see how much they had both grown, a smile spread across Vahns face as he looked up into the sky. There was an exceptionally tiny dot glowing in the distance, and, as if it was one of the only ways he knew how to make an entrance, a sh of light, followed by a thunderp, hit the beach with explosive force. Then, before the dust could even clear, a phenomenal aura surged out as a youthful voice cried out, "I hope youre ready for a beating, lizard breath...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: The logic of children is dangerous...,Its a trap!,Hell hath no fury...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1664 Fallou

Chapter 1664 Fallou

Though Vahn didnt particrly care about Nagis choice of vernacr, the fact he was making the same mistake as thest time gave him a strong urge to roll his eyes. As for Asuna, she seemed to take considerable offense to the boys words, her expression morphing into an unamused scowl as she took a half-step forward. Without waiting for the dust to settle, Asunas body disappeared before her foot could even hit the ground. She didnt even leave behind an afterimage, and, though there was a tremendous amount of lightning elemental energy beginning to surge from within the debris, she didnt seem to mind it at all as her figure appeared right in front of Nagi. Since she had entered the State of Nothingness, her movement had no real effect on the environment, so, rather than dispersing the cloud of debris, she seemed to blend into it as her fist came into contact with Nagis face. Unable to sense Asunas presence in the slightest, Nagis eyes widened when a gloved fist suddenly entered his perception. He had less than a millisecond to react, but, with his lighting infused ki, this was generally enough to evade most attacks. He even had one of his magical barriers linked directly to his autonomic nervous system, so, even if someone tried to surprise attack him, his body would react instinctually to both repel and evade the sneak attack. Unfortunately for the youth, magical barriers had absolutely no effect against Asunas attacks, so, the moment his mind became aware of her fist, he actually locked up for a very brief moment. This was more than enough time for her fist to connect, as, unless he was going all out from the start, it would be difficult for the current Nagi even to process Asunas speed, much less keep up with her. Without any suspense, Asunas fist struck Nagis face hard enough to create a phenomenon simr to the stagnation of time. It was possible to see the shockwave passing through the softer regions of flesh, rippling under the intense force of the impact. For a brief moment, it even seemed like his left eyeball was going to pop out of the socket, but, before it was able to, Vahn detected the same threads that Nagi had started to use towards the previous encounter... Propelled by Asunas fist, Nagi ended up beingunched like a projectile from a railgun, his body spinning rapidly to create a pressure wave that parted the seas surface. It was a surprisingly brutal blow, but, considering she could have ended the fight by cutting him apart with Ko, it could be said that Asuna had actually gone easy on him. Of course, Nagi being the stereotypical protagonist in a world rife with lucky pervert moments and shonen-levels of power scaling, he managed to recover once his body began skidding across the water, a battle-hungry smile appearing on his face despite the fact his right eye and cheek were horribly swollen. Rather than give chase, Asuna just continued to glower at the boy, a resonant hum emanating from Ko as she prepared to counter whatever he threw at her. She was keenly aware of the fact she was a lot stronger than him, so, while she had a strong urge to beat him, she didnt want to be used of bullying the weak. After all, Nagi was just a child, and, though he was actually older than she was, Asuna already regarded herself as an adult, even if Vahn didnt feel the same way... Feeling the dangerous aura radiating off the somewhat familiar woman, Nagi didnt rush to attack like he normally would. Instead, he focused on recovering the function of his left eye, deciding to buy time by adopting a teasing smile as he transmitted his voice the several hundred meters that separated them, musing, "Wow, youre really something. Ive never seen a woman as strong as you are. Tell me, are you the big sister of that chibi I foughtst time? If shes going to grow up to be as hot as you, I might need to apologize for my behavior thest time we fought~." Hearing Nagis words, Asunapletely lost interest in the fight, snorting before turning away as she said, "You are weak. Your only advantage is that we dont want to kill you. If you had any self-respect or decency, you would stop behaving like a child throwing a tantrum and focus on things that actually matter. Im tired of your impertinent behavior and the petnce you have continued to disy since our first meeting. If you arent going to take this seriously, leave this ce and stop wasting everyones time..." Seeing the orange-haired woman turn away from him, Nagis brow began to twitch as the smile on his face showed a mix of irritation and frivolousness. He wasnt used to people just abandoning the fight part-way through, as, more often than not, people would continue to throw themselves at him until he had either beaten them down or evaded their pursuit. Though part of him was tempted to attack the woman, confident she would react and continue the battle, he felt this would only prove her point. This put him in a rather difficult situation as he really wanted to continue fighting, but, despite his propensity for mischief, he didnt want to be regarded as a child. This was especially true when the other party was a beautiful woman who also happened to be more powerful than him. There very few people who could even trade blows with him, so, to encounter a strong woman, Nagi couldnt help but feel excited at the prospect of being able to go all out against a beauty... Unfortunately for the youth, the beauty in question disappeared into thin air after approaching his arch-nemesis, the Sage Dragon Emperor. This caused the vein in Nagis temple to pulsate slightly, and, after using a variation of shundo to close the distance, he didnt hesitate to ask, "Where did she run off to? We were just starting to have a bit of fun." Seeing the red-headed youth, body still crackling with lightning elemental energy, Vahn just shook his head, his voice carrying a cautious undertone as he said, "That is none of your concern. Now, tell me-" Without waiting for Vahn to continue, Nagi clicked his tongue before cing his hands behind his head in a casual manner and asking, "What? Dont tell me she is your woman? Arent you like super old or something? Man, what a waste..." Though he wasnt amused in the slightest, a smile that didnt quite reach his eyes spread across Vahns face as Asunas previous words echoed within his mind. As she had pointed out, there was no real need to tolerate Nagis behavior. He wasnt absolutely necessary for the protection of this world, and, though he likely had some tragic backstory and a reason for his behavior, that didnt mean others were required to coddle and pander to him. Just as Vahn was thinking about sealing the boys power and forcing him to live a normal life in the countryside somewhere, a spatial tear appeared nearby, peeling open like the page of a book. From within, a man with emotionless purple eyes and matching hair, an expressionless youth with silvery-white hair, and a bespectacled man with Japanese features appeared. These were none other Nagis three mentors, the remaining members of Rubra, Albireo Imma, Filius Zect, and Eishun Konoe, respectively. Turning his attention away from the disrespectful youth, Vahn adopted a casual smile that matched the look on Albireo Immas face as he asserted, "You seem to have wasted thatst three weeks. Tell me, what sense is there in empowering this brat further? He cant even responsibly wield his current power, yet you keep helping him to grow pletely irresponsible..." Nagi very visibly took offense to Vahns words, but before he could say anything, he was silenced by his Master, saying, "There is some truth to your words. However, Nagi is still young, and, despite his sharp tongue and somewhat abrasive character, he is still a good kid. You shouldnt let his words affect you so easily." Resisting the urge to roll his eyes or release a sigh, Vahn just stared back at the trio before shaking his head slightly and asking, "Tell me, why have youe here? Though it is easy for me to assume, I want to hear your intentions directly. After thesest two encounters, Im beginning to reconsider whether or not your group is even worth my time..." Seemingly amused by Vahns words, Albireo Imma covered his mouth with his sleeve, chuckling for several seconds before musing, "I never expected a God of Time to make such humorous remarks..." Raising a brow in response to the smiling man, Vahn couldnt help but adopt an expression simr to how one would look at aplete fool. Then, with a slightly incredulous tone, he asked, "Do you think yourself impressive for being able to deduce something so obvious? My status as a God isnt exactly a secret, so, unless you intend to get to the point and actually answer my questions, please leave." Preempting the response of his three mentors, Nagi zeroed in on the fact Vahn had proimed himself as a God, asking, "So you really are a God? Its no wonder you have such a bullshit ability like reversing time. Well, dont let-" Faster than Nagi could respond, Vahn appeared right in front of the youth with his hand extended toward his face. At the same time, Albireo Imma actually performed apletely soundless spatial movement, attempting to catch Vahns hand by the wrist with a casual smile on his face. Before he could, however, the man found himself several kilometers away in an instant, forcibly transported in spite of his considerable master over Space, Time, and Gravity. Without anyone to stop him, Vahns palm impacted Nagis forehead with a loud pa sound. There was nothing like a shockwave, but, without any re or suspense, the boy copsed like a sack of potatoes, facenting into the sand with his mouth open and eyes rolled into the back of his head. Though his first instinct was to wipe his hands like someone who had justpleted a satisfying piece of work, Vahns satisfaction was dyed by a very angry swordsman swinging an inordinately long wooden sword towards his arm. Vahn could actually feel the sword intent wrapped around the de before it had even made contact with his skin, severing his exceptionally durable and resilient body with considerable ease despite being made of white wood. Vahn was actually very interested in the Shinmei-Ryu techniques, but, sensing the man was whollymitted to cutting off his arm, despite the fact he had only knocked Nagi out, his expression was less than enthused. He preemptively separated his body along the des path, repairing the tissue in its wake almost instantaneously. This created the illusion that the de had passed through his body without any resistance, stunning the bespectacled swordsman quite a bit when the hand of the arm he had cut off pped him across the face with enough force to send him crashing into the surrounding treeline. With Albireo Imma upied by being forcibly teleported every time he tried to use any kind of spatial movement, Vahn turned his attention to thest remaining member of Rubra. His mood had diminished considerably by this point, so, rather than ask a third time, he firmly stated, "You are no longer wee here. You have mistaken my tolerance as a license to act withplete and utter disregard for propriety. Its no wonder your group relies on weaponizing children to fight their battles...you are a grossly ipetent bunch..." Without showing any signs that he had taken offense to Vahns words, Filius just remained silent for a few seconds before asking, "How badly do we lose?" Though he was momentarily confused by the question, Vahn quickly understood what the youthful-looking pseudo-spirit was asking. This annoyed him quite a bit, but, rather than forgo an answer, he adopted a serious expression as he answered, "Bad enough that it takes more than a hundred years, countless sacrifices, and the military might of the entire sr system to clean up after you..." Hearing Vahns answer, Filius expression became notably solemn as he turned his eyes downward in deep thought. Then, after remaining silent for nearly a full minute, he raised his head and asked, "What are your chances?" Resisting the urge to snort through his nose, Vahn maintained his grave expression as he very firmly stated, "I do not leave the fate of the world to chance..." Though he was slightly surprised by Vahns response, Filius was able to conceal his emotions behind a carefully constructed mask. He was actually very relieved by Vahns words, but, knowing the future was never set in stone, he didnt allow himself to feelcent. He would continue to do his best to defeat Cosmo Entelecheia on his own terms, and, though Vahn probably wouldnt agree with his methods, he intended to continue training Nagi until thetter had be the Hero he had always aspired to be...(A/N: It is Nagis dream to be a Hero, not Filius dream to turn him into one.) With a small smile spreading across his face, Filius gave a polite nod towards Vahn before saying, "I suppose we should be leaving then. I would have liked to talk more, but, seeing as how you already have your own ns, perhaps it is best we act independently of each other. Its a shame, really...part of me was hoping to test the limits of my strength against your own..." Feeling the tensions in the atmosphere rapidly draining away, Vahns own began to wane slightly as he just shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Teach this brat some restraint and I might be willing to put up with such requests. I had actually prepared a number of things to help this brat progress in a healthier manner, but, after seeing how he behaves, Ive lost interest. He thinks too highly of himself and the three of you have only reinforced his behavior instead of correcting it. Im not here to y the part of yet another babysitter for this brat, so, unless you can correct his attitude, I want nothing to do with any of you." Taking note of the fact that Vahn didnt say he waspletely unwilling to help them out, the smile on Filius face became more prominent. He could tell that Vahn was sincere when he mentioned the preparations he had made to help Nagi, so, after a moment of deliberation, Filius reasoned it might be time to expose his young protege to some of the darker elements of the world. He had originally intended to use the war as a means to help Nagi mature, but, now that peace talks were already on the table, they would need to find an alternative method to give the youth a reality check. With various thoughts running through his head, Filius gave Vahn another polite nod before picking up the unconscious Nagi and retrieving the battered body of Eishun. Then, after Albireo was finally able to teleport back to the beach, they quickly departed the secretive ind to discuss their future ns... (A/N: Alternate Titles: One puuuuuuuuuuuuuuunch,If you step to the Emperor, expect to get put in your ce,Vahn be like, "Bruh, you guys werent even close...") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1665 Developmen

Chapter 1665 Developmen

After waiting for the members of Rubra to move far beyond the boundaries of his domain, Vahn reversed the order of entropy to repair the damage done to the ind. This caused illusory versions of Rubra to appear, each an iplete projection that denoted the location and structure of the groups magical energy at a given point in time. A persons cells were filled with magical energy, so, if they had used a ki shroud or a magical barrier at any point during the fight, he would be able to see this energy with the naked eye until it inevitably dispersed once the flow of time returned to normal. With the ind returned to its original state, Vahn exhaled a tired sigh as he began teleporting to various points within his domain. Albireo Imma had left a number of seed-like spatial anchors at several locations, and, despite being teleported around atplete random, he had been on the verge ofpleting a ritual-grade magic circle. To make matters worse, the core of the formation existed within the void, so, while its influence could be expunged by reversing the order of entropy, the structure persisted, removed from the standard axis of time. Though it wasnt unexpected, Albireo Imma was unquestionably the most dangerous member of Rubra. Vahn even suspected he was an existence akin to a God, an artificial one whose powers had been sealed by means he was currently unable to identify. As for the other enigma within the group, Filius Zect, Vahn was about ny percent certain that the man was simr to the artificial spirit he had destroyed during his time in Zephyria. The only difference was, while the previous man was around 80% Spirit and 20% Demon, Filius gave off a feeling simr to a pure-blooded Demon, one who had been modified to emte a Great Spirit... If not for Nagis behavior and the general disregard demonstrated by at least two of his mentors, Vahn wouldnt have minded working alongside them. Each member of Rubra had something he was interested in, but, if he was the only one makingpromises, it was the same as lowering his head for the benefit of the group. They didnt really provide anything to him at the present, and, so long as Nagi continued to behave like an incorrigible brat, keeping him around the hideout was the same as inviting additional stress upon, not just for himself, but everyone. With apleteck of regard for others, Nagi behaved without even a semnce of a filter, and, though he undoubtedly had his reasons, there was nothing requiring others to tolerate his behavior at their own expense. This was especially true for any females on the ind, as, based on the nature he had demonstrated thus far, the boy wouldnt hesitate to behave in a way that was tantamount to sexual harassment. He seemed to think it was okay to just say or do whatever he wanted, and, when it involved people stronger than him, Vahn could see the boy pestering both Fenrir and Asuna just to rile them up for a fight. As he was currently, Nagi was simply toxic to be around, and, while Vahn was confident he could correct the youths behavior, that wasnt the reason he had ventured into the Akamatsuverse. He was here to save Eva, and, though his naturepelled him to take action on behalf of the world, Vahn had been fully prepared to move on the moment the Vampiress vengeance waspleted. Now, he had even formed the determination to subsume the entire Magical World, so, while there was some merit in taking Nagi as his protege, empowering the youth served no real purpose. Vahn could tell that Nagi was actually very simr to his past self, someone who was unsure of how to interact with others so they continually defaulted to extreme behaviors. This wasnt necessarily a bad trait to have, especially if you were something simr to a shonen protagonist, but, more than power, Vahn knew what the boy truly needed was normalcy. He would benefit more from living a simple life, one far removed fromrge scale conflicts and political turmoil. This wasnt to say that his power should bepletely sealed, but, until he had established a stable baseline, it was better for everyone if he stayed away from the battlefield. Though it was hard to be certain, Vahn suspected that the main reason Negi had been reared in a controlled environment was to make up for the qualities Nagi hadcked. The people manipting both youths likely realized their mistakes with the first generation, so, before getting Negi involved in the conflict, they made sure he had a stable baseline to work from. This involved ensuring he had a rtively peaceful childhood, and, after experiencing a traumatic event, they put him in a situation where he was responsible for twenty-eight female students, allowing them to imprint on each other before separating them. It was these bonds that allowed them to ovee the adversities they had faced in the Magical World, and, though Negi ultimately failed to defeat Ialda, he came much closer than anyone else. If Nagi had been necessary to defeat the Mage of the Beginning, Vahn might have put more effort into fixing the boy. However, as he had mentioned before, he wasnt interested in rearing children to fightary-level threats in his stead. He would much rather resolve things on his own, and, though he understood the importance of things like vengeance and destiny, cing such burdens on a child wasnt something a responsible adult should do. Vahn saw nothing wrong with empowering the younger generation, as that was the responsibility of those who hade before. However, when you used said generation to fight on your behalf, you were literally going against the natural order of things. Preceding generations were meant to create a stable environment that guaranteed the greatest chance for sess and prosperity, not wholly for themselves, but for their young. Failing to do this went against numerous biological principles, and, more often than not, societies that prioritized structure that benefitted the middle-aged and elderly quickly fell to corruption... --- By the time he had finishing removing all of the seeds nted by Albireo Imma, the sun had long descended over the horizon. If not for the version of himself he kept within the Little Garden, Vahn would have experienced a bit of a mental strain due to having five active vessels, two watching over Tempe and Lake Argyre, one protecting the Garden of Avalon, one cleaning up the battlefield, and, as stated previously, one version within the Little Garden to serve as an anchor for the rest. With his cleanup finished, Vahn returned to the hideout to rx while the version of himself in the Little Garden slowly opened his eyes. He didnt keep his domain active within the garden, so, for a brief moment, a look of confusion reflected in Vahns gaze as he found Euryale dozing off in hisp. This quickly turned into a loving smile, however, as, perhaps sensing his awakening, Euryale opened her eyes, twisting her neck a little more than was normal to stare up at him with her big amber eyes. Before he even willed his body to move, Vahn found himself affectionately stroking his daughters head, eliciting a contented hum from the adorable girl as she nestled closer to him. Vahn had originally been worried that Stheno and Euryale would develop extremely quickly within the Little Garden, but, simr to Medusa and Fenrir, their physical appearance didnt really change with the passage of time. The development of the gorgons wasrgely dependent on how many times they had molted, and, unless they proactively wanted to molt, there was nothing that could force them to do so. As a result, Medusa and Euryale hadnt really changed much, while, inversely, Stheno had grown even faster than Asuna... Remembering the eldest of the two gorgon sisters, Vahn turned his attention to the cottage near the edge of the ring-likeke. He could normally find her inside studying magic orzing about in the bathhouse next door, proactively elerating her growth while warming her body. She, unlike Euryale, was just as cold-blooded as her mother, and, though she could easily use magic to regte her core temperature, it seemed to be an instinct for gorgons to siphon the warmth of others, soak their bodies under the sun, or rx in a hot bath... Though he wasnt afraid of his daughter, Vahn decided to put off meeting with her until he had the chance to properly rx. She had an Innate seductive quality, and, though she didnt act with any ill will or specific intent, Vahn wasnt entirely immune to her natural charms. This was exacerbated by the fact she now had the appearance of an inordinately beautiful woman in her mid-twenties, her secondary sexual characteristics having fully developed to a rather dangerous extent. As was the case with all gorgons, including the dragon-born Euryale, Stheno was extremely clingy, so, whenever Vahn spent time with her, it was impossible to keep her from sticking to him. This was fine when she was just a little girl, but, now that her breasts had grown to a surprising 90cm, having her constrict, rub against, and nuzzle against him was slightly troublesome. He wouldnt mind if she behaved innocently, but, as a result of her Innate, Stheno had a dreamy look in her eyes, constantly licked her lips in a seductive manner, and, though it didnt seem intentional, her hands and hair had a habit of wandering. Fortunately, Stheno didnt seem to have any actual licentious thoughts toward him, and, though it would be easy to mistake her affection as a physical attraction, the truth of the matter was that she simply felt mostfortable nestling against him for warmth. This had been the case even before she had the wherewithal to control her own actions, a trait shared by both Euryale and her mother. Vahn didnt particrly mind skinship with his daughters, but, understanding it would be an issue if he didnt wean them at some point, he was gradually trying to reduce Sthenos clinginess. The problem was that, despite her rampant growth, she was still very young, and, with Euryale as her twin, she had a pretty good reason to continue clinging to him. He would eventually need to wean them both, but, until Euryale began showing signs of wanting to mature, Vahns hands were effectively tied. Shaking his head, Vahn continued to stroke the top of Euryales as he asked, "Where are Fenrir and Asuna? Did they go somewhere to train?" Though she still struggled with speaking and showing expressiveness, Euryale,rgely thanks to her interactions with Asuna, had developed other ways tomunicate. Vahn just needed to open his mind, and, as expected, a tiny and demure voice could be heard answering, ("Sister Fenrir was here a little while ago...I think she went to take a bath...I dont know where Asuna went...") Hearing thest statement, Vahn instinctually furrowed his brows for a brief moment before asking the World Tree where Asuna had run off to. He knew she hadnt been in the best of moods after the encounter with Nagi, but, with a time dtion of 10:1 on the ind, she had more than enough time to calm herself. Her disappearing was certainly abnormal, and, when he heard where she was at, a deeply profound sigh escaped his lips as he caressed Euryales head to reassure there was nothing wrong... --- Located on the outermost regions of the Little Garden, a beautiful woman could be seen floating a few meters off the ground, her orange hair, which was normally kept in twin-tails, flowing gracefully behind her and cascading down her shoulders. There was a serene aura permeating from her body, and, though it wasnt noticeable unless you got very close, a gentle white aura could be seen rising from her body like a thin mist. Though she knew Vahn would probably be a little upset with her, Asuna was tired of being treated like a child, so, taking advantage of the fact nobody had been around during the time of her entry, she used the State of Nothingness to hide her presence before sneaking off to the periphery. Since then, a total of 379 days had passed, and, though she had been extremely lonely, she persevered in the hopes that Vahn would acknowledge both her patience and growth. At the very least, she would only have to wait a few more months until her next birthday, removing the final obstacle that stood in her way... As this thought crossed her mind, a subtle blush spread across Asunas face, apanied by a very prominent smile. Her long period of reflection had only strengthened her feelings, and, though she hade to understand how childish some of her previous actions had been, Asuna was confident that Vahn would forgive her selfishness. After all, everything she did was fueled by her desire to be just a little bit closer to him. She knew it was almost impossible to convince him to have sex with her before he consummated his rtionship with Eva, but, at the very least, she wanted the same level of intimacy as Arika and Theo... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A healthy partnership requires both sides topromise,Vahns troubles never end,A girl in love can be very scary (o _ o)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1666 Retrospec

Chapter 1666 Retrospec

With the help of the World Treeswork, it didnt take long for Vahn to locate Asuna, and, after making the necessary preparations, he promptly teleported to her location. There, a woman that wouldnt lose out to even the most mature women in his harem could be seen suspended silently within the air. Her orange hair extended well beyond her pert buttocks, but, more noticeable than anything else, her breasts stood out like two mountains beneath the loose fabric of her gi... Earning the womans attention, Vahn made no effort to hide his exasperation, exhaling a profound sigh that caused the grass below to rustle slightly. Immediately afterward, the woman descended to the ground like a goddess, a demure and apologetic smile on her face as she crossed her right arm beneath her breasts, holding her left arm in a selfforting manner. She had the kind of look that made others feel guilty just looking at her, but, well aware of who was at fault here, Vahn just shook his head and said, "You really did it this time...Asuna..." Showing an even more apologetic expression on her face, Asuna hugged herself tightly, almost as if she was trying to attract focus to her breasts as she avoided his gaze and muttered, "Im sorry...I just wanted you to start viewing me as a woman...please dont be too mad..." Even if he wasnt staring directly at them, Vahn could see Asunas breasts on the verge of exploding from her gi. She wasnt wearing a bra, likely due to the fact she simply didnt have one big enough, so there was very little left to the imagination as her arm further ented their volume. Given who he was dealing with, it was highly like that she was intentionally trying to draw his attention, almost as if to say, Look how much Ive grown up. Restraining an urge to sigh, Vahn slowly ran his hand through his hair, turning his eyes to the World Trees canopy as he answered, "Whats done is done...just know that Im a little disappointed in you. I can understand your reasoning, but this kind of behavior isnt something I can condone..." Disying a visibly hurt expression, Asuna began to tear up, her lower lip quivering notably as she fought back the urge to cry. She had already expected Vahn to reprimand her, but, after such a long time apart, hearing his words hurt a lot more than she imagined. It had only been a year, but it was a year she had spent alone, separated from the person she cared about more than anything else in the world... Though Asuna was adept at controlling her emotions, she was never the type of person that used her tears as a weapon. Vahn could tell she was experiencing genuine remorse, so, while he still had a lot to say regarding her recent behavior, he simply didnt have the heart to stay mad at her. Her long istion couldnt have been easy, so, in a way, she had effectively punished herself using a far more severe punishment than anything he could havee up with... Seeing a few tears liberate themselves from Asunas eyes, cascading down the contours of her face on a tragic journey, Vahn found himself inhaling a slow and steady breath through his nose. There were few things more effective against him than the tears of someone he cared about, so, after his lungs had filledpletely, he released another profound sigh, discarding his anger entirely as he wrapped the whimpering girl in his arms, ignoring the soft feeling pressing against him as he gently caressed her back. Feeling the familiar warmth wrap around her, Asuna was unable to stymy her tears, opening the proverbial floodgates as she lowered her head and sobbingly whimpered, "Im sorry..." over and over again. At the same time, demonstrating that her year of istion hadnt been unproductive, Vahn felt his bones creak under the strain of Asunas embrace, the air being forced from his lungs for a brief moment before he quickly adapted... --- Taking advantage of the drastic time dtion of the exterior ring, Vahn helped Asuna to calm down before allowing her to nestle against him as they sat against the trunk of the World Tree. He wanted to know her reasoning for taking such extreme action, his heart breaking a little when she demurely exined, "I was never meant to have a normal childhood...you already gave me more chances than I was originally afforded...if you hadnte to this world and given me the opportunity to seize my own destiny, I would have continued being used by various people for more than a hundred years. I would have been separated from my family, friends, and, at the end of it all, I would have been used as a lynchpin to protect a world where everyone I cared about was already dead..." Though he was well aware of Asunas future in the original timeline, hearing her describe it in such a somber tone destroyed what little anger remained in Vahns heart. Her original self was one of the most pitiable people he had ever met, and, though he had prevented most of the tragedies meant to befall her, the fact Asuna knew about them had likely strengthened her convictions. She was the type that based her decisions on cold hard truths, and, though she was guided by her emotions at times, Asuna was extremely pragmatic... Recalling the first time he had met Asuna, Vahn realized it was probably at that exact moment that she had decided to follow him. This decision was undoubtedly influenced by her powerful fate, but, if he looked back into his memories, the image of the little girl staring nkly back at him was still present. If he changed perspectives, he could see his own expression, and, though it wasnt obvious to most people, Vahn suspected that both Asuna and Vesperina had been able to see the familiarity, pity, and resolution visible in his gaze. Despite having never met before, Vesperina had entrusted her daughter to him before they had so much as exchanged three sentences. As for Asuna, she followed him around with the persistence of a duckling, constantly observing his every action with her discerning eyes and analytical mind. After a few days had passed, she began clinging to him excessively, and, though she never asked why he was so worried about her, that didnt stop her from inquiring about various other topics, seemingly eager to learn everything there was to know about him. In hindsight, Vahn realized that Vesperina, Anarchia, and even Asuna had been conspiring against him from the very beginning. They treated him as if he was someone special, and, though he was certainly the benefactor of the Ostian Royal Family, the fact they had systematically normalized so many intimate interactions was abnormal. They gradually lowered his defenses, and, when the time was ripe, the two mothers had basically pawned their daughters onto him, entrusting someone they barely knew with the fate of the entire kingdom... As that thought crossed his mind, so too did the smiling faces of Anarchia and Vesperina. They were both exceptionally intelligent and perceptive so they had likely decided very early on that they were going to entrust their daughters to him. He couldnt see it when he looked at himself, but Vahn was apparently very easy to read whenever it concerned people he wanted to protect. He used to think this was a property of his [Will of the Emperor], but, after asking nearly every member of his harem, the majority stated they could understand his thoughts and emotions just by looking at his face... As if to emphasize this fact, a smile spread across Asunas face as she nestled a little closer to him and said, "Thank you..." in a demure tone. He didnt have to ask what she was thanking him for, as, even if it was somewhat sudden, Vahn could intuit she had sensed his anger fading away, effectively dering he had already forgiven her. Unable to form a response at the moment, Vahn just lightly shook his head, a wry smile on his face as he gently squeezed Asunas shoulder to indicate a silent affirmation. This caused her to release a sonorous giggle, her voice having deepened considerably due to her rapid development. She really had grown considerably, and, though there was a chance she would grow further, Vahn presumed this form represented her prime. Going by appearance alone, Asuna looked like she was in her early twenties, and, if not for the fact he could see her Status, even Vahn could have been convinced this was the case. He could generally tell how old someone was by the maturation of their aura and the structure of their bones. This was no longer the case with Asuna, as, due to the effects of the Little Garden and her unique Cultivation methods, each of her features had been refined to their biological prime. In fact, she even gave off the impression of someone far older, as, due to her nature as a Tier 5, Asunas appearance and aura elevated her beyond most Gods... ------------------------------------------------ [Status] Name: [Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia] Age: 13 Race: High Human Offense: 1943 Defense: 1701 Mobility: 3,590 Base Power: 7,234 Soul Tier: 5 (Realm Soul) Skills: [Child of Destiny(Non-Standard): SSS], [Key of Twilight(Maniption): SSS], [Magic Cancel(Mitigation): SS], [White of Mars(Creation): SS], [ck of Venus(Absorption): SS], [Master Swordsman: A], [Grandmaster Ki User: E], [Heavenly Sword of Division(Spirit Cultivation): S], [Sages Path of Enlightenment(Mind Cultivation): S], [Primoridial Goddess Divine Body(Body Cultivation): S], [Expert Cooking: D], [Master Seamstress: C], [Great Divide: SS], [Hands of Nirvana: D] Magic: [Shundo:SS], [Koku Shundo:S], [Cantus Bex: SSS], [Mellodia Bex: SSS], [Vis Maxima: SSS] ------------------------------------------------ Though her parameters hadnt increased that much, Vahn suspected the main reason for this was because Asuna had been trying toy low. Even then, the increase was still impressive, as, the more powerful you became, the harder it was to increase your base parameters. The only reason she had grown so much over the year was that she had been focused on her Cultivation methods and trying to refine her State of Nothingness. This had likely helped her pass the time, and, as a result, she had effectively mastered her Spirit, Mind, and Body techniques. The [Heavenly Sword Division] was a method that helped a practitioner to both increase and refine their sword intent. As for her [Sages Path of Enlightenment] and [Primordial Goddess Divine Body], the former greatly aided in theprehension of virtually all Laws while thetter was used by the vast majority of his harem to strengthen their body and enhance their beauty. There were no upper limits to how powerful they could be, and, unless there was something interfering, it basically allowed them to grow and develop into what they believed to be a perfect body. With S-Rank mastery in all of her Cultivation techniques, Asuna was already at a level people several times her age had struggled to reach. It was hard to believe she was only thirteen years old, as, with her appearance, aura, knowledge, and skill, the only part of her that even remotely matched her age was the hopeful adtion visible in her gaze as she looked upward at him. Young girls in love were notoriously oblivious to anything that didnt validate their views, often ignoringmon sense andmitting to rather drastic actions to earn the affection of the person they liked... Proving his point, Asuna seemed to forget that she had been sobbingly apologizing less than half an hour ago. A loving and expectant smile had spread across her face, and, though now was neither the time nor the ce for such things, she hugged his arm tightly while pressing her breasts against him. To further exacerbate matters, a blush had started to spread across her face, though she didnt say anything, the expectant and eager look in her eyes revealed her thoughts. Feeling like Asuna had loosened the chains on Pandoras Box and was hoping he would open it, a wry smile spread across Vahns face as he lightly pinched her nose. This was how he would normally let her know she was getting out of hand, so, with an expression of supreme disappointment, Asuna deted like a balloon. She instantly understood the meaning behind his action, her mind racing to think of methods to make the next few months fly by. At the same time, however, her hand slipped down his chest, and, though it didnte into contact with anything problematic, the way Asuna leaned into him made it very clear she hadnt given up on tempting him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The most potent weapon...,Vahn never stood a chance,Eva needs to give this girl a firm spanking...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1667 Exposed

Chapter 1667 Exposed

Though tensions between the Empire and Confederation hadnt waned in the slightest, both sides understood there was no merit in waging a war under the scrutiny of the Sage Dragon Emperor. His power greatly exceeded their ability toprehend, and, as had been demonstrated by his actions in the Senate, he would not hesitate to hold the ruling ss ountable for their actions. Needless to say, many were dissatisfied by Vahns actions, but, without the power to openly oppose him, they could only submit for fear of losing their lives. Even banding together with other countries to form a unified front served no purpose, as, with overwhelming firepower and the apparent ability to teleport virtually anywhere, it was all but guaranteed he would target the leaders directly. He also had advanced knowledge of the inner workings of both superpowers, so, while it would normally be possible to develop contingencies behind the scenes, leaving any traces was tantamount to signing your own death warrant. Choosing to preserve what power they could hold onto, many within the Confederation and Empire began baring their fangs toward each other. There were generally multiple factions maintaining the bnce within a country, so, before the ink on the peace treaty could even dry, several families and organizations began making ys for power. This included several notable groups recognized by the public as being good or righteous, as, even if he didnt represent them, they were empowered by the fact that the Sage Dragon Emperor had taken a hard stance against corruption. Generally speaking, the most sessful families backing a superpower were the most corrupt, so, with a massive power vacuum being created in the wake of Vahns actions, there were many groups fighting for control. The Confederation, in particr, was on the verge of a Civil War, while, back in the Empire, the faction supporting the Crown Princess had been gaining momentum at a terrifying rate. There were even rumors circting that the Emperor was preparing to step down, presumably to make way for the new generation in what some were already calling the Era of the Sage Dragon Emperor. Vahns poprity had grown explosively among the various Demihuman tribes, and, though he was significantly less popr with humans, there was a growing faction of sympathizes that had already secured a foothold within the Capital of Megalomesembria. This wasrgely the result of Lady Xuan carefully manipting a number of Senators, but, more than anything else, it was Vahns actions in the Senate and his liberation of countless ves that inspired people to action. With several media stations being destroyed in the wake of Vahns ultimatum to the Senate, there was a significant decline in the amount of propaganda circting within the Confederation. There were still a few active groups on the Magical Worlds version of the inte, referred to by many as MAHO.NET, but, with many of the groups leaders going missing or turning up dead, fewer people were willing to openly discuss their prejudices outside the rtive privacy of their homes. Without the Media constantly enforcing various agendas and ideologies, many of the groups that had been too afraid to speak out in the past became very vocal. There were actually a considerable number of people within the Confederation who didnt believe in the ideologies purported by their government, so, now that the higher-ups had fallen silent, they were finally allowed to give a voice to their indignation. This led to a sharp increase in the number of crimes reported between citizens, but, with the violent members representing both sides going missing, the numbers were gradually on the decline. (A/N: Good people, once empowered, can be even worse than bigots and racists. Be good to each other.) --- Though he was well-aware of the events transpiring around the world, Vahn didnt have much time to focus on them. Asunas growing boldness was one of the reasons, but, even more troubling than the love-struck prodigy was the youth who would periodically invade the ind. Nagi didnt know how to ept a loss, and, though Vahn had tried lecturing him on numerous asions, everything seemed to go in one ear and out the other. At first, Vahn tried simply ignoring the brat, but, as if demanding their attention, Nagi would begin using power magic out at sea. This wasnt that annoying, as Vahn could easily just create a barrier to block both the sound and shockwaves, but, after a few days, several mercenary groups and bounty hunters began appearing in the area, likely to investigate the wanton misuse of magic. This resulted in the ind bing well-known in the undergroundmunity, and, though Vahn had always expected their location to be exposed, the fact Nagis tantrum was the reason caused him to, quite literally, capture and spank the spirit out of the youth. Currently, Nagi was grounded within the Sub-Space Orb Vahn had originally prepared to help the youth in his training. As for the other members of Rubra, Vahn used Nagis mistake as an excuse to beat some sense into both Eishun and Filius. He would have done the same to Albireo, but, ever since the man had been wantonly teleported, he never directly appeared within the domain. When asked about his location, Filius exined that he was investigating something in secret, so, at least for the time being, the man had been able to avoid Vahns wrath. Thanks to Nagi, the ind had been getting a lot of visitors, but, thanks to the Elementals, very few were able to approach the ind directly. Those who tried to approach from the air would find their Airfish unresponsive while the few that approached from the sea would find their path blocked by a series ofrge whirlpools. If that wasnt enough to deter them, they would find themselves besieged by countless Elementals, and, should they somehow managed to break through even that, they only had themselves to me for what happened after... --- Wearing a simr bikini to the one she had worn previously, albeit covered by a shawl, Asuna gazed out over the horizon with a less-than-enthused expression on her face. There was less than a month until she came of age, but, enjoying Vahns reactions, she was determined to try and break down his defenses before the date in question. She didnt really see eye-to-eye with him concerning her age, and, during their most recent visit to the Sun Pce, her mother had backed her up, literally gifting Vahn a pair of edible panties and advising him to be more decisive. Unfortunately, the panties melted into a rather sticky mess before they could serve their purpose, and, after the fact, Asuna had to hand-wash the sheets as a punishment. Fortunately, she actually enjoyed chores quite a bit as they always made her feel like a young housewife. In fact, one of her favorite pastimes was cooking alongside Vahn, and, though it resulted in her getting kicked out of the kitchen, remembering his reaction when she showed up wearing nothing but an apron always brought a smile to her face. Prior to her arrival on the cliffs surrounding the south-eastern section of the ind, Asuna had been trying to tempt Vahn into applying sunscreen on the front side of her body. She was usually able to convince him to handle her backside without too much fuss, but, ever since her breasts had grown to a size she was honestly a little proud of, Vahn had firmly kept his gaze focused on her eyes. This was something Asuna found very amusing, as, even if he wasnt looking directly at them, she knew his perception was properly recording their shape, size, and texture. Though the odds were generally against her, Asuna had noticed that Vahn was in a good mood today, likely having spent some time within his Realm. This gave her the confidence to try a little harder than usual, as, depending on how long he had been inside, he could be very receptive to her advances. Thest time he was in such a good mood, she had convinced him to give her one of his indescribably pleasant massages, and, though he ultimately refused to massage her breasts, she at least got to feel his hands on her butt and thighs. Even if she wasnt able to convince Vahn to apply sunscreen to her breasts, Asuna was confident she could convince him to apply it to her abdomen. This would give her the chance to stare directly into his face as he touched her body, and, though that would probably be the end of things, there were few things Asuna enjoyed more than observing Vahns reactions. Though he attempted to mask his emotions behind a calm and casual demeanor, Vahns thoughts and feelings were always easy to intuit. He simply couldnt deceive those who were close to him, so, despite his attempts to appearposed, Asuna knew her charms werent useless against him. She could tell there were moments when he seriously considered her words, and, though he had always refused her in the end, just knowing he had considered it filled Asuna with a sense of excitement. Asuna had been looking forward to witnessing another one of Vahns internal struggles against her charms, so, when he informed her that a group of people was attempting to sneak into the ind, her mood had diminished greatly. While Fenrir was upied with her training, Asuna was tasked with defeating any enemies who managed to slip through the inds perimeter defenses. This was apromise she had made with the ever-serious Vanargandr, as, unlike Vahn, Fenrir hadnt been so keen on forgiving her. Having known Fenrir much of her life, Asuna had a great deal of respect and appreciation for the woman who had always dutifully served as her caretaker, mentor, and rival. She was the one who taught all of them how to circumvent Vahns defenses, and, though Asuna had yet to receive the same benefits as everyone else, it would have taken a lot longer to figure Vahn out without Fenrirs guidance. Being called a bad girl by the woman she had looked up to for several years had been significantly more painful than Asuna had expected. It wasnt reallyparable to how she had felt when Vahn admonished her, but, as Fenrir had even influenced her style, Asuna felt abination of guilt and shame under the Vanargandrs disapproving gaze. She had even started to tear up a bit, but, unlike when she was with Vahn, she managed to hold them back long enough to have a surprisingly long conversation about how she could be a good girl... Since Fenrir was constantly training her body and mind in order to stand at her Masters side, Asuna had agreed to fulfill her responsibilities in the outside world. This had been a pleasant arrangement in the beginning, as she had convinced Vahn to increase the frequency and intimacy of her rewards, but, ever since Nagi exposed their hideout, Asuna felt like she was constantly being interrupted. She even suspected that Vahn let some people pass through every now and then just to undermine her efforts to seduce him, a spection that was all but proven by his reaction when she brought it up. Asuna knew her behavior was sometimes troubling to Vahn, but, rather than resort to methods like this, she would much rather he just tell her he wasnt in the mood. She didnt want to upset him, so, whenever he was firm with her, she did her best toply. In fact, she actually preferred it when he was a little firm with her as it made it a lot easier to truly understand what he was thinking. She felt a strongpulsion to know and understand everything about Vahn, so, once they finally became a couple, Asuna was determined to peel back hisyers until she discovered the very essence of his being. Then, like a seed that would eventually grow into a tree that spanned the heaven, she would nt her love there and nourish it until her existence had spread throughout and be one with his... Imagining herself sitting alongside Vahn as they reshaped the heavens together, a smile gradually spread across Asunas face, recing her dour expression. Then, after using the [REquip] system to don herbat attire, she leaped from the edge of the cliff with a determined glint in her eye. The only way to realize her dream was to grow stronger than everyone but Vahn himself, so, while they were unlikely to pose even a minor threat to her, Asuna knew there was always something more to learn in the midst ofbat... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The power of a deterrent,Someone strangle this kid (O n O)...,Asuna has a little bit of yandere in her it seems...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1668 Satiety

Chapter 1668 Satiety

After throwing Nagi into the Sub-Space Training Orb for a few days, Vahn decided it was finally time to check up on the brat. He doubted the youth hadpletely calmed down, but, without knowing the password, the only methods he had to leave the orb were breaking the interior space or asking permission to leave. Vahn wasnt particrly fond of holding people against their will, but, after Nagis previous tantrum, he had made an exception in order to teach the boy a lesson. Besides, it wasnt as if he had thrown the boy into a prison. The interior of the orb had a fully furnished residence, an onsen-like bath with medicinal properties, vast stretches of forested terrain, and, if you wandered far enough, there were even mountains, swamps, and a faux-sea. At this point, Vahn was confident there were very few people who couldpare to him when it came to the creation of Sub-Space Orbs and Dioramas. He could gradually convert the interior into a miniature Realm with enough time, so, while Nagi was certainly thrown inside against his will, he had plenty of things to keep him upied. There was even a library filled with books rted to the use of ki and magical energy, so, if he was smart, he could always hole himself up inside to increase his knowledge... --- Demonstrating just how adaptable he was, Vahn found the Nagi rxing in the onsen with a towel covering his eyes. He didnt seem any worse for wear after spending more than a week inside the training orb, so, while the boy finished with his bath, Vahn entered the residence to investigate its condition. Unsurprisingly, the interior of the residence looked like a hurricane had passed through it. There was even arge hole leading from the first floor into the basement, seemingly the result of Nagi feeling there was something beneath the residence before he found the actual entrance. Vahn would make the boy repair the hole by handter, but, for the time being, he entered the kitchen to make a light lunch. Though almost everything about Nagi grated at the mind, making him exceptionally irksome to be around, Vahn was trying hard not to let it get to him. He could tell the boy was damaged, and, while it wasnt his responsibility to fix the youths problems, that didnt mean he had to treat him badly. In fact, the best way to break down someone like Nagi was to acknowledge them and treat them, not with deferential respect, but understanding. At this point, Vahn was seriously considering treating Nagi the same way he had treated Eva in the original history. The boy would benefit greatly from attending a normal school and socializing with people his own age. He was pretty handsome, and, though his personality needed a lot of work, the hearts of young girls rarely cared about such things. Ideally, Nagi would be removed from any involvement with Mundus Magicus and its conflicts, but, knowing the youth, it would probably be better to send him to Ariadne. Even after the changes he had introduced, there were still a number of proud and borderline arrogant children attending the various academies within the city. Nagi would be able to thrive in such an environment, and, since there were always families looking to tie powerful people to them through marriage, he was bound to be involved with the daughters of various Nobles. After all, while not as potent as Asuna, he still had the aura of a protagonist, so, regardless of where he ended up, Nagi would always be the main character of his story. While thinking about methods to seal Nagis power without harming his potential, Vahn skillfully prepared more than a dozen types of sashimi. He was quite fond of fresh fish, and, thanks to the system shop, he was never left wanting for high-quality ingredients. Sensing someone trying to sneak up behind him, Vahn didnt bother to look behind him as he very inly stated, "The kitchen is not the type of battleground you are prepared for. If you try anything while Im preparing lunch, Ill rece everything in the pantry with in rice." Hearing Vahns words, Nagi could be heard audibly clicking his tongue before turning around and leaving the kitchen. His previous series of defeats taught him there was a vast difference in power between himself and the lightly humming dragon. This normally wouldnt be enough to deter him, as there was nothing he enjoyed more than battling powerful opponents. Vahn, however, had never actually fought him. Instead, it was always an extremely one-sided affair, often ending without Vahn drawing his sword or bothering to use even the most basic martial arts technique. Nagi hated being treated like a kid, but, after several tongueshings from Asuna,bined with the fact his tantrum had exposed the location of Vahns base, he couldnt help but reflect, even if it was just a little. His brief period of istion had given him time to organize his thoughts, and, after imagining their positions reversed, Nagi realized he would probably be super pissed off if he was in Vahns shoes. Though he now realized just how childish he had been, Nagi didnt really know how to apologize for his actions. The only things he was good at were fighting and pulling pranks, neither of which seemed suitable for dealing with the current situation. This realization resulted in him feeling even more introspective, as, rather than bing the hero he aspired to be, Nagi realized he was just a brat who used his power to inconvenience others at his leisure, often relying on his Master to save him when he got in over his head... --- After finishing with the lunch preparations, Vahn found Nagi sitting silently at the dining table, his expression fixed in a serious countenance that didnt really suit a child. Seeing the youth contemting various things, Vahn just shook his head, a wry smile on his face as he waved his hand, filling the table with dishes. This broke Nagi from his self-absorption, surprising him quite a bit if his instinctual activation of Ki was anything to go by. Retraining his urge tough, Vahn sat on the opposite side of the table, picking up his chopsticks before meeting Nagis gaze and saying, "Eat. We will talk afterward." With that said, Vahn didnt wait for Nagis response, deftly picking up a piece of sashimi with his chopsticks before lightly dipping it into an off-colored soy sauce. It was fermented from a type of soybean purchased from the system shop, and, though it was simply called a soybean, the face it was several hundred times more expensive indicated it was anything but normal. Though he often bought items and foodstuffs directly from the system shop, Vahn had learned the joy of creating condiments from scratch during his lessons with Benienma, Circe, and Medea. They benefitted from the same boosts that applied to all his cooking, so,pared to the condiments he purchased from the system shop, the ones produced by hand tasted much better. Seeing Vahn eat with a somewhat stupid smile on his face, Nagi couldnt help but stare at him for several seconds before turning his attention to the simply cut sashimi. It didnt seem to be anything special, but, watching Vahn, it was like there was nothing in the world more vorful than raw fish neatly arranged on a te... Recalling that Vahn was, in fact, a Dragon, Nagi decided to just be grateful the former didnt try to feed him a whole goat or something. With that in mind, he used his own chopsticks to pick up a piece of sashimi before bringing it to his mouth without any garnishments. He actually wasnt all that fond of things like soy sauce, much to the chagrin of his sword instructor, Eishun Konoe. Chomping down on the piece of sashimi without any real expectations, Nagi was surprised to find that it was filled with vor. It was also paradoxically crisp yet springy, feeling soft on the pte but surprisingly easy to chew. Stranger still, the juices from the fish were like a rich and vorful umami that soaked into the tastebuds, lingering for several seconds without even a hint of a fading into an unpleasant aftertaste. Eyes widening, Nagi stared back at Vahn with a rather incredulous expression on his face, earning an amused smile from thetter as he said, "True mastery is the mastery of the self. It requires you to put the maximum amount of effort into everything you do, constantly striving to improve, not as a martial artist or a mage, but as a person. Now, eat. We have much to discuss and you have a big decision to make once were finished..." Though he couldnt help but furrow his brows slightly when he heard Vahns words, Nagi wasnt going to pass on the opportunity to eat delicious food. He had never eaten something as vorful as the simply cut sashimi before him, a rather ridiculous notion considering he had eaten dragon steak and filleted sea serpent. Both were considered supreme delicacies in Mundus Magicus, and, unless you had the strength to hunt them yourself, you would end up paying tens of thousands of Drachma just to sample the notoriously difficult to prepare meat... After picking up another piece of sashimi, Nagi couldnt help but swallow a knot in his throat as he turned his attention towards the pale-pink liquid that vaguely resembled soy sauce. Then, changing the way he viewed all condiments from that moment onward, Nagi dipped the end of his sashimi into the saucer before experiencing an explosion of vor before the sashimi even hit his tongue... --- While Nagi was busy engorging himself like a Saiyan who had just finished fasting for a year, a very different kind of scene was ying out outside of the Sub-Space Orb. Both scenes brought a smile to Vahns face, but, while the former was somewhat amusing, thetter made him feel a bit helpless, as, after knocking out the mercenaries attempting to sneak onto the ind, Asuna returned to the beach with a vengeance. Since it had been around lunchtime before her departure, Vahn decided to use the momentary lull to pull out a grill and barbeque a few items. He greatly enjoyed the sweet and smokey smell that pervaded the area whenever he barbequed, so, whenever they were spending the day at the beach, he often pulled out the grill to have some fun. Cooking was something he enjoyed quite a bit, and, after spending a few weeks inside his Realm, he was in the mood to prepare all kinds of dishes. Without thinking anything of it, Vahn ended up grilling a few sausages, hamburgers, chicken, and a mix of vegetables such as broli, asparagus, and mushrooms. They werent exactly the best items to throw onto a grill, but, regardless of the situation, Vahn always did his best to prepare a bnced meal while providing multiple options. He even brought out a sd he had prepared earlier, and, as always, arge pot of perfectly cooked rice apanied every meal he ate. Originally, Vahn had intended to reward Asuna by sitting together on the beach and hand-feeding her a few of the items he had prepared. This was exceptionally well-received by the young woman in question, but, never missing the opportunity to escte things, Vahn couldnt help but adopt a wry smile when he saw the glimmer in Asunas eyes as she stared at the sausage he had proferred forth. Then, after licking her lips suggestively, she pulled her hair back, quickly fastening it into a loose ponytail before slowly lowering her face toward the sausage. Though she did eventually eat the offered meat, it wasnt before she had fully sampled its vors with her mouth and tongue, periodically turning her eyes up at Vahn to giggle in response to his facial expressions... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nagi is going to need to update his tag from shonen to ro,EPIC isnt a cooking novel,I imagine Vahns eye twitching the moment she finally bit down...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1669 Guidance

Chapter 1669 Guidance

After eating more raw fish in one sitting than thest yearbined, Nagi could be seen sitting with a toothpick in his mouth, a look of confusion visible in his countenance as he asked, "You want me to go to school? Why?" Ignoring Nagisck of manners, Vahn just continued staring impassively back at him, slowly stirring his tea as he repeated, "As I stated previously, it will be good for your development. That power you possess serves no purpose at the present moment, and, unless you intend to keep ying games, it is high time you begin focusing on more important things: forging connections and bonds that willst a lifetime. As you are now, you are grossly underprepared to involve yourself with the politics of this world. Tell me, why do you seek power? What drives you?" Hearing Vahns exnation, Nagi theatrically rolled his eyes before pulling one of his legs up to sit morefortably as he rebutted, "Why should I answer your questions? What I do with my power shouldnt really matter to you, right? I just want to be strong enough to guarantee my freedom. Its that simple." Maintaining the same impassive expression, Vahn continued to stare into Nagis eyes until the boy eventually averted his gaze. Then, with a stern and calm voice, he stated, "I think youreing to realize this, but freedom doesnt mean doing whatever you want. When you use your power at the expense of others, you arent free, you are a tyrant. Freedom is an insr concept, something that is internalized and embodied through our actions and the way we perceive the world around us. Even a prisoner in a dungeon can be free within their own minds, and, though some might argue against it, even the most impoverished among us can obtain freedom through the pursuit of self-mastery, art, and spiritual pursuits..." Giving Vahn a look that seemed tomunicate, Are you crazy?, Nagi began to shake his head before saying, "That isnt freedom. Those are just ways people fool themselves into believing they are free so they can continue-" Interrupting the youth, Vahns expression became serious as he inly stated, "You know too little about the world to make such assertations. In the grand scheme of things, the truest desire found within the hearts of countless men, women, and even gods is the simple desire to be happy. Your views on freedom arent wrong, Nagi Springfield, but you are mistaken in believing your own desire to be free is any different from everyone elses. In my experience, I havee to learn that freedom is an illusion we create for ourselves, an ideal we strive for, and, at times, the very thing that causes us to makepromises we inevitablye to regret..." Remembering all of thepromises he made in his own life, Vahn had to inhale deeply in order to prevent a sigh from escaping his lips. Then, adopting a gentler expression, he lightly shook his head before adding, "There is nothing wrong with pursuing freedom...Rather, it is often one of the most powerful motivators...especially when you have experienced a life without..." Hearing Vahns words, Nagi balled his hands into fists, his jaw flexing a few times as he clenched his teeth and continued to listen. He actually wanted to refute everything Vahn was saying, but, seeing the reminiscent look that had briefly shed across the mans eyes, the words simply wouldnt form in his throat. Taking note of Nagis silence, Vahn gave a small nod of approval before continuing, his voice calm and steady as he exined, "Im certain true freedom exists, but it is not found through the pursuit of power. Rather, the more powerful you be, the greater your burdens and responsibilities will be. You wille to understand this truth once there are things, other than yourself, that you wish to protect. The only way you can avoid this is to remain isted from everything, pursuing the idea of freedom without involving anyone else...either that or you be a monster who only sees their own interests and desires as relevant, sacrificing everything else in a vain effort to fill the void created by your own actions...now, tell me, why do you seek power? What truly drives you?" With Vahns words repeating in his mind, Nagi didnt rush to answer. Instead, he remained silent for several minutes, his expression shifting between conflict and confusion before he eventually raised his head and answered, "I didnt want to be a victim...I want to help people..." Satisfied by Nagis response, Vahn nodded his head in approval, the edges of his smile bing a little more prominent as he mused, "A noble pursuit...one of the noblest...now, tell me, young Hero, how have your actions these past few weeks helped to further your goal? Does throwing a tantrum and acting like an entitled brat make you feel powerful and heroic? Did insulting me, harassing mypanions, and exposing an ind full of Elemental Spirits to external threats bring you one step closer topleting your objectives~?" Though Vahn adopted a slightly teasing tone, the look in his eyes told Nagi that he wasnt at all enthused by his recent behavior. This caused him to feel indignant, but, for reasons he wasnt able to fathom, something about the man seated across from him prevented him from speaking out. It was like the atmosphere epassing him had solidified, but, rather than feel pressured or afraid, Nagi felt...ashamed... Noticing the color slowly draining from Nagis face, Vahn performed a slow and methodical blink, allowing the boy to breathe a little easier before he stated, "You have the potential to be one of the most powerful people in this world. If you use your power responsibly, bing a true hero would be a simple matter. However, as you are now, you simplyck the awareness to influence the world around you without causing trouble and inviting tragedy upon yourself and others. Without a powerful backing, you would have found yourself in a ditch somewhere, stabbed in the back by one of the women you offended or sucking nutrients through a tube as some wayward mage conducted experiments on your body..." Hearing thest part of Vahns statement, Nagis expression darkened considerably, a cold sweat developing across his body as he muttered, "Never..." under his breath. Though he could have ignored the remark, Vahn shook his head, his expression somber as he said, "It wouldnt be up to you. Just as you exercise your power wantonly, others are like to do the same when they have powerful backings of their own. If you didnt have your current support group, you would not be able to run rampant within the Magical World. You may be powerful, but, as you have assuredly noticed by now, you are far from the most powerful. Your potential is truly incredible, but there are entities in this world that have lived for hundreds, thousands, and even millions of years. It is fine to have a bit of an ego, Nagi Springfield, but, if such a gap were so easy to ovee, people would have done so long before you. Dont get me wrong, you certainly have the potential to reach the pinnacle...what you currentlyck is character and something worthwhile to protect...true power is not found in selfish pursuits or arbitrary goals...it is something we obtain to uphold our ideals and protect the people we care about..." Having made his points, Vahn slowly rose to his feet before adding, "I will afford you three days to reflect upon my words and your own desires. Remember, there are countless ways to help people, few requiring the power you seek. Even teachers, pharmacists, and matrons managing orphanages are able to save, shape, and guide people towards a better future. To some, a true hero is nothing more than a person who shared with them kind words in their time of need...take it from me, kid...it isnt freedom or fulfillment waiting for you near the peak...if you want to experience true happiness, be good to yourself, be good to others, and start a family. Avoid making enemies and be just strong enough to protect the little slice of happiness you found for yourself...you might not be able to understand these words right now, but, after you have your first child...Im certain youll recall this exact moment and realize the truth contained within..." Truly finished with what he wished to convey, Vahn didnt wait for Nagi to respond before departing the Sub-Space Orb. Then, feeling a little mncholic, he decided to rx on the sofa, a somber look on his face as he recalled the family he left behind in Danmachi... --- Though it required jumping through various hoops, paying off, and brainwashing a considerable number of people, Eva was eventually able to secure passage back to Mundus Magicus. This was generally very difficult during times of war, but, when money ruled the world, there was very little you couldnt do with it. You just needed to know where to look, who to talk to, and, when all else failed, who to threaten... After evading customs officials and circumventing various mercenary groups that had stationed themselves in Tempe, Eva, wearing a tattered white cloak that covered much of her figure, appeared several kilometers outside the city. At her side, a short-haired woman wearing traditional Japanese Maid attire could be seen scowling, while, across from her, two swordsmen could be seen observing their surroundings. The first gave off the impression of a vagrant, his expression fixed in a rxed and easygoing smile that didnt seem to take anything seriously. He had maroon-red hair, hazy grey eyes, and, though it wouldnt take him much effort to shave, there was a permanentyer of stubble framing his otherwise handsome face. A stark contrast to the maroon-haired swordsman, radiating a cool and serious aura that would give even the most ruthless monsters reason to pause; a young man with ck hair, peculiar silver eyes, and facial features that could instantly charm most women could be seen closely monitoring their surroundings. Further increasing the aura of seriousness that permeated his entire being, the man wore a perfectly tailed military-style uniform beneath a ck mantle. Strapped to his hip, the hilt of a ck katana would periodically appear, and, though it didnt affect any of the people present, his aura would cause small animals like birds to drop out of the sky if they flew too close. As could be expected, the dark-haired woman standing at Evas side was none other than Karin, the woman best known as the Iron Saintess. The other two were some of Evas oldest colleagues, and, at one point in time, she even had a crush on the red-haired swordsman, an immortal named Jinbei Shishido. Before she had be a powerhouse, Jinbei had saved Evas life on numerous asions, and, though she would have healed, he had evene to her aid when she was about to be raped by a fallen Noble who had invaded Mundus Vetus. She ended up getting caught in a trap that sealed her magic, and, if not for the timely arrival of Karin and Jinbei, Eva would have suffered considerably under the man who had abducted, raped, and sacrificed countless children. As for thest man, he was actually Jinbeis disciple, someone who had obtained immortality by consuming a legendary medicine. His name was Juuzou Shishimi, and, despite his mask of calm and confidence, his true nature was that of a battle junkie who was obsessed with getting stronger. Like countless others, Juuzou was someone Jinbei had saved during his travels, and, though the youth had originallycked talent in the sword, he managed to work his way up to the status of Grandmaster after nearly eight-hundred years. Now, with the exception of perhaps Jinbei and the Grandmaster of the Shinmei-Ryu School, he was one of the most powerful swordsmen currently living. His style was known as Shishimi-Ryu, and, with very few exceptions, he could cut through anything and everything. Eva had originally met Juuzou around two-hundred-years ago, and, with his help, she had finally been able to liberate Karin, who, at the time, had been sealed inside a World Tree. They didnt get along that well,rgely due to the mans propensity to challenge her to duels, but, as someone who had apprenticed under Jinbei, Eva trusted him greatly. As for why Karin was currently glowering at the two, well, the simplest way to put it was that their departure from Tempe hadnt exactly been low key. With the exception of Juuzou, every other member of Evas entourage was an S-Rank criminal with a massive bounty on their head. Karin and Jinbei had even fought alongside her when she went to war against Megalomesembria, so, while their bounties were iparable to Evas own, they were essentially the three most wanted people in Mundus Magicus. As a result, they were forced to break out of Tempe by force, and, in the process, Juuzou ended up cutting the actual Gateport in half, an action that was guaranteed to increase their infamy... Though she understood it was impossible to avoid coteral damage at times, Karin was the type to disdain wanton and excessive destruction. It would take upwards of two years to repair the damage Juuzou had done to the Gateport, as, simr to the line Vahn had drawn, his sword intent was very resilient. This meant that Tempe no longer had a functioning Gateport, so, until it was repaired, the economy of the entire nation was going to suffer as a result of his carelessness. Unfortunately for Karin, Juuzou didnt particrly care about her opinion, as, in his mind, there were only things he could cut, not things he shouldnt cut. Whether or not the Gateport functioned didnt matter to him, as, if it was really that important for the nations survival, they would have developed more than one over the thousands of years Mundus Magicus had existed. The only thing hindering them from doing so was their greed, as, by limiting the number of imports and exports, they could freely determine the value of items. Despite having these thoughts, Juuzou didnt bother to voice them, as, over thest seven-hundred or so years, one of the things he had learned was that you simply couldnt win an argument against a woman. They were emotional, irritable, and bigoted, rarely willing topromise, and even more unwilling to submit to reason. The few women he thought to be exceptions ended up proving that the only difference between them and other women was that they were better at bottling things up, waiting for a day when they could list out even the most inconsequential things to prove their point and manipte you through guilt... Fortunately, just as Juuzou was contemting whether or not he should put Karins unique form of immortality to the test, Eva, one of the few women he genuinely respected, intervened. Her words immediately silence the grating noiseing out of Karins mouth, causing a slight smile to spread across Juuzous face at the dark-haired womans expense... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Freedom isnt free...,Saitama liked this: +1,Not sure if Juuzou is very wise or the same kind of bigot he uses others of being...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1670 Imprudence

Chapter 1670 Imprudence

Before Karin and Juuzou could begin trying to tear each other apart, Eva decided to put her foot down, turning to the former to say, "Karin, whats done is done. Though it will take some time for the Gateport to be repaired, those most affected will be the Merchants Association and the Guild. Normal people dont benefit much from items passing through the gate, and, due to the war, the cost of transferring to other cities has be exorbitant." Hearing her Masters words, a conflicted look marred Karins face, not because of what Eva said, but because the smile on Juuzous face was really beginning to annoy her. Fortunately, Eva wasnt quite done speaking, turning to the idol-like swordsman to add, "And Juuzou...I understand your passion for battle, but you shouldnt antagonize your own allies. As I stated previously, you will have plenty of opportunities to test your skill in the future. The Sage Dragon Emperor, in particr, is someone who has reached an iprehensible level of swordsmanship. If you can avoid offending him, you will have the opportunity to refine your skill even further. He hides it well most of the time, but he is also a bit of a battle junky...just dont piss him off...if you actually managed to offend him there is no category of immortality that can protect you from his wrath..." Though he found it difficult to believe Evas words, Juuzou knew she wasnt the type of woman to embellish things. Some of the most powerful people he had ever faced were at Evas behest, and, at several points throughout their history, she had proven her own strength time and again. There was even an instance where she had frozen him in a pir of ice for an entire year, so, while he was very confident in his skills, Juuzou was equally as confident of Evas. If she said the Sage Dragon Emperor had reached an iprehensible level of swordsmanship, that was more than sufficient reason to be excited about the future... With that thought crossing his mind, Juuzou ced his right hand atop his heart in a gentlemanly manner before politely bowing to the two women, his voice calm and smooth as he stated, "Forgive my indiscretions, Lady Evangeline. It has been many years since I proactively associated with others so my sociability and etiquette seem to have suffered. It was never my intention to provoke, much less offend my own colleagues...to that end, I will endeavor to keep your words close to my chest..." Finished with his apology, Juuzou raised his head, offering a less-than-sincere smile towards Karin in the process. This caused thetters brow to twitch, but, with her Masters words still fresh in her mind, Karin was ultimately able to restrain her anger, her expression turning cold and emotionless as she began willfully ignoring the man. This, of course, didnt bother Juuzou in the slightest, as, in his mind, her most redeeming quality was that her immortality was one of the few things he was, at least for the time being, unable to cut... Fortunately for everyone present, Juuzou rarely spoke his true thoughts aloud, so, despite a notable tension still permeating the air, everyone simply ignored it as Jinbei chimed in, asking, "So, where to now, Kit-?" Before Jinbei could finish uttering her old nickname, Eva appeared next to him in an instant, an icy aura erupting from her body as she grabbed his wrist and hurled him into the ground with enough force to create a crater 10m in diameter. Then, with a face redder than a tomato, she eximed, "I told you not to call me that! Im engaged now and I dont want you giving people strange ideas by referring to me with a pet name...!" Despite having his body nted in the ground like a bamboo shoot, Jinbei continued to smile with his characteristic half-lidded expression. He had grown used to being rag-dolled by Eva a long time ago, and, during the seventy or so years she had a crush on him, he had be intimately familiar with the ground... With Eva releasing his hand, Jinbai rose to a seated position, and, after coughing up a small amount of blood, he looked up at her with a trace of amusement apparent in his gaze as he mused, "What a shame...it seems like little Eva-chan really is growing up. I wonder if this is how a father feels when his dau-" Without waiting for Jinbei to finish expressing his sentiments, Eva kicked him hard enough to send him crashing through the surrounding trees. At this point, it was possible to see steam rising from her head as she began to seriously rethink her decision to bring Jinbei and Juuzou along with her... --- Due to most of his vessels disappearing whenever he entered his Realm, the only exceptions being those who entered alongside him, Vahn was unaware of the danger that was approaching his not-so-secret hideout. As a result, he found himself at the mercy of Asuna, who, after their return from the beach, donned her usual shirt and pantybo. If it was just this, Vahn would have been okay, but, after twenty minutes of snuggling up at his side, like usual, Asuna very casually asked, "Can I sit on yourp? It feels like its been a while..." Not thinking much of it at the time, Vahn ultimately agreed to Asunas request as she had always been fond of sitting in hisp whenever they viewed his memories. What he didnt expect was for Asuna to straddle his waist, her back facing away from the three-dimensional memory projection as she leaned against him with her full weight, hugging his body. He actually used to hold her like this all the time when she was younger, but, now that she was fully grown, Asunas ratherrge breasts squashed against his chest. At the same time, he could tell she was putting a bit of strength in her legs as her muscr thighs held his waist like a vice as something soft pressed urately against his lower body. At first, Vahn was going to have Asuna move, but, before he could voice hisint, she hugged his body tightly, her chin resting on his shoulder as she whispered, "I missed being able to hug you like this...thank you..." Though he was absolutely certain that Asuna was up to her usual antics, Vahn had always had a soft spot for sentimentality. As a result, it wasnt long before he released a faint sigh, his arms wrapping around her body to both embrace her and lightly pat her back. This caused Asuna to bury her face in the nook of his neck, but, as this was prettymon whenever they hugged, Vahn just closed his eyes and enjoyed the brief moment of peaceful intimacy. If things ended there, Vahn wouldnt have minded if Asuna wanted to continue hugging for the rest of the day, but, after around thirty minutes had passed, he became aware of the fact she was slowly grinding against him, nigh-imperceptibly, in harmony with her heartbeat. She disguised the act as a natural biological process, and, if not for her body gradually heating up, especially around a certain region, he might not have noticed it until a stain had begun to form on his trousers... Exhaling a sigh, Vahn was about to make Asuna get off of him when she held him even tighter and muttered, "Please...I just want to be with you...I wont do anything else..." in a pitiable tone. Though her tone was very affective against him, Vahn was unable to stop his brow from twitching slightly as he internally remarked, ("This rascal is steadily bing a temptress..."). Shaking his head, Vahn opted to allow Asuna to continue hugging him, but, rather than continue tolerating her mischief, he simply removed the focal point of her assault. This caused the young woman a great deal of confusion, and, for a brief moment, she abandoned her pretense entirely, wiggling her hips probingly as if she was searching for something. Then, failing to find what she was searching for, her hold on his body rxed so that she could stare at him with an usatory look on her face. Resisting the urge tough, Vahn just smiled radiantly at the dissatisfied young woman, his voice unable to hide his amusement as he asked, "Whats wrong? Im not going to force you to get up. If you want to continue, I dont mind holding you until you arepletely satisfied~." Though her expression didnt change much, Asuna couldnt hide the subtle twitch of her right eye as the words forming within her mind failed to reach her lips. It was one thing if Vahn outright told her to stop, but, once again, he decided to handle her in a roundabout manner. This made her feel more than a little frustrated, as, even when she was younger, she hated being teased... After seeing the smile on Vahns face grow to a smug grin, Asuna was unable to prevent a smile of her own from developing. This immediately caused the former to adopt a more sober look, but, not willing to let him backpedal, Asunas smile only grew as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her first instinct was to try and kiss him, but, knowing Vahn would have anticipated that, Asuna put a bit of strength in her arms, pulling his face into her chest. At the same time, she traced her finger atop the gemstone of her bracelet, using the opportunity when Vahn was distracted to prepare a bit of a surprise... Feeling that Asuna had gone too far, Vahn was preparing to remove her by force, but, the moment he ced his hands on her soft waist, she immediately released her hold on his head. At that exact same moment, Vahn realized Asuna hadpletely removed her clothes, and, taking advantage of his momentary stupor, she didnt hesitate to embrace him tightly. Then, as if stating a simple truth, Asunas lips nearly caressed his ear as she whispered, "You shouldnt have a problem with me being naked if you dont even have a penis..." Without responding to Asunas words, Vahn allowed his body to simply fade out of existence the moment she attempted to bite his earlobe. As a result, she plopped onto the sofa, and, before she could make sense of the situation, a new version of Vahn appeared behind her, his face fixed in a stern expression as he muttered, "Asuna..." in a heavy tone. Hearing the uncharacteristically deep voice from behind, a shiver ran through Asunas body as she slowly peered back over her shoulder. There, she found Vahn staring down at her with the closest thing to a livid expression he had ever directed toward her. She quickly realized she had gone more than a little too far, and, before she even realized what she was doing, Asuna activated the State of Nothingness in a vain attempt to try and escape. Though it was exceptionally difficult to influence Asuna with his Divinity, Vahn wasnt going to just let her escape. She had grown too bold over thest couple of weeks, and, if he didnt at least try to punish her, his instincts told him she would grow even bolder in the days toe. Thus, despite the drastic reduction of his mental and spiritual energies, Vahn forcibly locked Asuna within Space-Time before reversing the order of entropy to pull her out of the floor. Asuna was greatly flustered by the fact her body was moving in reverse, and, when she saw Vahns face, all the color drained from her own as she immediately gave up trying to run away. Instead, she began to tear up against her will as she resolved herself to face whatever punishment he was about to give her. She knew it would only make things worse if she attempted to escape, and, though he was obviously very angry, Asuna knew Vahn wouldnt punish her too severely. After rewinding time to a point where Asuna was no longer naked, Vahn allowed the Space-Time lock to dissipate as a throbbing pain spread through his head. He could even feel a trickle of blood attempting to escape his right nostril, but, with Asuna abruptly bing obedient, he managed to stymy it by activating his Magia Erebea constitution. Then, with the anger already beginning to fade away from his countenance, Vahn looked down at Asuna seated in a seiza position on the sofa. Seeing that she had prepared herself, Vahn found himself wondering whether or not spanking was considered a reward or a punishment for someone like Asuna. It seemed like everyone he had ever spanked came to enjoy it, and, though he was absolutely certain it was painful, even Nobunaga had a phase where she enjoyed having him strike her butt with increasing intensity... Just as Vahn was beginning to contemte the existence of spankingws, assuming they were a sub-set of taming, several powerful auras spontaneously appeared within his domain. This caused his eyes to widen in surprise, Laev-tan manifesting out of thin air as Asuna immediately donned her battle attire, Ko manifesting from within her chest. Fortunately, among the group of powerful auras, Vahn sensed one he was intimately familiar with, instantaneously relieving his tensions and causing him to look toward Asuna with a teasing smile and remark, "Ill let Eva decide your punishment. Ive always been too soft when it came to meting out disciplinary actions..." Since she could also detect Evas presence among the group of powerful auras, Asunas expression immediately darkened into a look of dejection. Eva was a lot stricter than Vahn, so, not only would shee up with a suitable punishment, but, now that the former had returned, any chance she had of tempting Vahn before her birthday had vanished in its entirety... Understanding Asunas thoughts, Vahn couldnt help but smile as he plopped his hand on her head and said, "Lets go wee our new friends and colleagues..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: The hauntings of the past...,Someone needs to teach Asuna that silence isnt the same as consent...,RIP) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1671 Passion

Chapter 1671 Passion

Seeing the familiar ind enter her vision, Eva couldnt prevent a smile from spreading across her face. This didnt escape Karins notice, but, before she could question what had made her Master so happy, her forward momentum seemed to disappear as her surroundings instantaneously changed. Thinking they had fallen into some kind of trap, Karin didnt hesitate to draw her weapon alongside Juuzou. Fortunately, before they could do somethingmentable, Jinbei, appearing just aszy and rxed as usual, performed a twisting gesture with his hand, muttering, "Switcheroo~". As a result, both Karin and Juuzou found themselves reappearing next to him, allowing the man to grab both of their shoulders as he said, "Rx. I dont think Eva would be too happy if you got in the way..." Having known and trained under Jinbei for hundreds of years, Juuzou immediately resheathed his katana. As for Karin, she just stared wide-eyed at the scene ying out before her, the hand she used to grip her katana tightening along with Jinbeis grip on her shoulder... Ignoring the looks being cast their way, Vahn and Eva continued to hold each other close in the middle of a small clearing. As for why Karin was so upset, this wasrgely due to the fact that she had seen Eva initiate their rather passionate kiss, and, though he held himself back, it was possible to see Vahns fingers moving slightly as if he were massaging the formers waist. Truth be told, Vahn had nearly grabbed Evas butt on instinct, but, feeling the gazes of both Asuna and the ck-haired woman, he managed to restrain himself. As for the two men present, he did his best to keep his back toward them, habitually shielding Eva from view whilebating the urge to simply teleport all three of them away... After a passionate embracesting nearly three minutes, Eva seemed to remember there were other people present, her impassioned look giving way for an embarrassed fluster as she began to lightly hit Vahns chest. She was trying to make him release her, but, while it had only been a month or so for Eva, more than two years had passed since thest time Vahn saw his beloved fiancee. Though he did eventually allow her the chance to breathe, he didnt immediately release her from his grasp, choosing to continue holding her for several minutes before muttering, "I missed you..." in the most heartfelt tone he could manage. Though she was beginning to feel a little upset by Vahns excessive disy of public affection, Evas tensions rxed the moment she heard his words. She was well aware of the existence of his Realm, and, if the appearance of the woman behind him was anything to go by, it had probably been a few years since hest saw her. He had always been the sentimental type, so, while her embarrassment grew with each passing moment; Eva did her best to ignore it, cing her ear against his chest to listen to his powerful heartbeat as she muttered, "I missed you too...idiot..." --- Realizing he couldnt keep ignoring everything else to keep holding Eva, Vahn eventually rxed his hold after more than ten minutes had passed. Before he could greet the trio, however, the man he assumed to be Jinbei smiled back at him, a teasing look appearing in his pale-grey eyes as he said, "Dont mind us. Please, continue..." Though he had heard a lot about all of Evas formerpanions, Vahn was still a little taken aback by Jinbeis teasing. He could also feel Evas aura begin to surge outward, and, though he had briefly shifted his gaze away from her, he could tell her face had be beet red as she lowered her head to hide the evidence... Suppressing the urge to release his own suppressive aura, Vahn did his best to return a smile as he said, "You must be Jinbei...Eva has told me a lot about you. Though it is hard to put sincerity in my voice right now, know that I am deeply grateful for everything you have done for my fiancee...that goes doubly for you, Ms. Karin Yuuki. If there is ever anything you need from me, never hesitate to ask. So long as it does not go against my principles, you have my word that I will do everything in my power to aid you." Hearing Vahns words, Karin released the death grip she had on her katana while Jinbei, showing no real changes in his expression, just replied, "Youre pretty serious, aint ya? Well, if I had to make one request, how about a life-time supply of alcohol? Ive always wanted to try the alcohol produced by the Gods~." As his status as a God wasnt really a secret, Vahn wasnt all that surprised by Jinbeis words. Rather, even if Eva told them everything she knew about him, he wouldnt have cared. These three people were the closest thing she had to family, so, without any hesitation, he extracted arge gourd from his Inventory, tossing it to the man as he exined, "That is a rare liquor known as [Ningyos Blood]. Im certain you will find it ptable..." For the first time since his appearance, Jinbei showed a rather drastic change in expression when he heard Vahns words. His Immortality was derived from devouring the flesh of a mermaid more than thirteen-hundred-years prior. Though modern Japanese had poprized the western version of the creature, embracing the idea that they were beautiful women with the upper body of a human and the lower body of a fish, their true nature was far more sinister. Japanese Mermaids were actually a type of Yokai known as Ningyo, a man-eating demon that lured countless people to their deaths by appearing as a beautiful face floating in a river... Despite his initial shock, Jinbei still managed to catch the gourd, and, after his expression gradually returned to normal, he fearlessly uncorked it before downing half the contents in a fewrge gulps. It was infinitely better than the poisonous meat he had consumed all those years ago, and, though it was subtle, he could actually feel some of his old wounds beginning to mend... Seeing the man down the contents of the bottle with great vigor, Vahn issued a light chuckle as he shifted his gaze between Karin and Juuzou. He knew both of these individuals were bound to give him some trouble, but, regardless of what the future held, Vahn waspelled to thank them for everything they had done for Eva. The former was probably the closest person to Evas heart before they met, and, though Juuzou hadnt done that much, he still helped her alongside Jinbei whenever she requested their assistance. Noticing his gaze, Karin caused Vahns smile to strain when she instinctually covered her chest. As for Juuzou, he showed absolutely no hesitation or restraint as he said, "Eva has mentioned that you are a transcendental cksmith and an even greater swordsman. Though I am fond of my current weapon, I am very interested in a de that can grow alongside me. If that is not possible, I would ask that you afford me the opportunity to test my skills against your own." Though a Zanpakuto was probably off the table, Vahn didnt have any problems forging Juuzou a weapon that could grow stronger. As for his second request, that aligned with his own desires, so, without needing to consider his response, he simply nodded, smiling as he said, "For a cksmith, it is a great honor to see our creations in the hands of those who can draw out their full potential. I will see to it that your weapon rivals those wielded by the Gods. As for your other request...I would be a fool to refuse a duel against another Grandmaster..." Hearing Vahns response, the atmosphere around Juuzou seemed to stagnate, and, though neither of them drew their weapons, a visible tearing of space could be seen as their gazes intersected. This was a phenomenon derived from pure sword intent, and, though it gave others the impression that the world itself was about to be cut in twain, neither Vahn nor Juuzou was expending any strength. Unfortunately, thanks to Asunas previous antics, Vahn was far from his peak, so, after several tense seconds, a very thin line appeared on his left cheek. This actually startled Juuzou quite a bit, his eyes widening slightly before a shadow of disappointment appeared over his face. After listening to Evas words, his expectations for Vahn were exceptionally high so he never expected the man to suffer an injury from a simple exchange of intent... Recognizing the disappointment on Juuzous face, Vahn released an internal sigh as he decided to stop holding back. He very briefly closed his eyes, and, after opening them, it was like his gaze itself had be a de,pelling Juuzou to draw his sword on instinct. Before he could so much as draw it a single centimeter, however, the lower half of his mantle and military-style blouse fell away as nearly every tree behind him copsed due to a cut at their center... Seeing the man freeze in ce, a wry smile spread across Vahns face as he rubbed his temples and exined, "I expended a lot of mental and spiritual energy earlier so Im currently not at my peak. If you give me an hour or so to recover, Im confident I can give you an even better demonstration of the difference between us..." Contrasting his previous calm demeanor, Juuzou surprised nearly everyone present by sheathing his sword and bursting intoughter. For a brief moment, he actually thought Vahn had already cut him in half, so, realizing it was just his intent, he couldnt help but feel extremely happy. This wasnt due to the fact he had survived, but, after nearly five-hundred-years without a proper opponent, the fact there was someone so far beyond him was both a relief and a wake-up call... Bringing Juuzous crazed-soundingughter to an end, a red-faced Jinbei heavily pped the man on his back, forcing him to nearly trip as he said, "Hey now, dont go losing it after seven-hundred-years. I always told you there were some real monsters in this world~." Though he was momentarily tempted to cut off the arm of his former Master, Juuzou managed to control himself after seeing the light glowing in the Jinbeis eyes. This was enough to cool his head, as, despite greatly exceeding Jinbeis mastery in the sword, Juuzou knew he would lose if they both went all out. He had great confidence in the formers strength, and, though Jinbei was indolent to the point of sitting in a single spot for more than a year at a time, his power, speed, durability, and raw talent were all beyondprehension... Restoring his image as a cool and unperturbed swordsman, Juuzou respectfully nodded to Jinbei before turning to Vahn and performing a courteous bow as he said, "Forgive me. I get excited at the prospect of battling against powerful foes. I pray my behavior did not offend you..." Rather than feel offended, Vahn actually felt relieved by Juuzous outburst. He was thinking he had gone too far by incorporating the concepts of Infinity and Nothingness within his gaze. Fortunately, he seemed to have acquired himself something of a male rival and protege, two things he would benefit from having more of. Gesturing for Juuzou to raise his head, Vahn couldnt hide the anticipation in his smile as he said, "I am also excited for our future battles. Though it will have to wait until tomorrow, I have the perfect venue for us to exchange pointers. Im greatly looking forward to seeing your Shishimi-Ryu with my own eyes." Though he would normally ignore suchpliments, Juuzou couldnt help but smile in response to Vahns words. He couldnt even put into words how excited he was for theiring battle, so, after a few seconds of silence, he lowered his head a second time before stating, "Expect my return with the dawn...". Then, with one of the most seamless versions of Shundo Vahn had ever seen, Juuzou vanished from the clearing, reappearing behind a boulder about three-hundred meters away before cutting Space with his katana and hiding within the void... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gimme gimme...,She knows...,Imagine being a 700-year-old Chuuni...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1672 Judgmen

Chapter 1672 Judgmen

With the departure of Juuzou, Vahn took the initiative to invite everyone back to the hideout. He wanted to give the new residents a chance to get settled in, and, though she was currently on her best behavior, Asuna still needed her punishment. Leaving her fate to Eva wasnt exactly fair, but, as it served as a decent segue into the topics of the Little Garden and his future ns, Vahn left Jinbei to the Chacha sisters before alighting to therge library on the northern side of the estate. As could be expected, the moment Eva was out of sight from people like Jinbei and Juuzou, an air of confidence radiated from her as she briefly inspected Asuna before pointedly stating, "I cant say Im surprised...still, mind exining how the brat turned into a breast-demon in a single month?" Hearing her Masters words, Karin instantly adopted an usatory frown, but, before she could so much as utter a syble, Eva, with a very serious expression, turned to her and said, "Vahn isnt the type to lie and wantonly manipte others. Give him a chance to exin himself without throwing out usations." Surprised by her Masters words, Karin was caught with her mouth slightly agape, her lips failing to form words as her mind floundered about for a response. She didnt expect Eva to snap at her, and, though she could understand the reason, it made her feel a little bitter knowing the former didnt hesitate to speak out in defense of Vahn. In the end, Karin gave up trying to speak out and simply bowed respectfully in acknowledgment of her Masters words. Then, with her hands neatly folded across herp, she stood like a dutiful young attendant at her Masters side, her eyes staring off into empty space as if the discussion no longer had anything to do with her. Seeing how Karin was behaving, Eva had to suppress a sigh as she shifted her gaze back to Vahn, clearly expecting an exnation. In response, Vahn didnt beat around the bush, lifting his hand to show a brilliant blue orb of light as he exined, "I came into possession of a portable realm known as the Little Garden. Everything inside is governed by the Laws of Progression, and, though the flow of time is only ten-to-one near the center, it effectively increases a persons growth rate by a factor of one-hundred. There are a lot of finer points, but, simply put, it drastically elerates growth, aidsprehension, and provides a sort of biological immortality since entities inside never age beyond their biological prime." If anyone else was saying these things, Eva would have looked at them as if they werepletely full of it. When Vahn said such things, however, she always took them at face value, as, unless it was rted to the things he couldnt tell her, he simply couldnt lie to her face. Shifting her attention to Asuna, Eva already had an idea about what had happened, her expression visibly darkening as she inly stated, "I am disappointed in you, Asuna. You undoubtedly have all kinds of logical arguments to justify your behavior, but, even without being present, I can guess you went way overboard. Though Vahn has his fair share of the me, taking advantage of his nature to get what you want isnt an act of love...it is pure selfishness...tell me, how old are you right now?" Hearing Evas words, Asuna couldnt help but avert her eyes, unable to answer Evas usation and subsequent question. She wasnt used to being reprimanded or used, and, even if she wanted to try and justify her actions, she couldnt deny the truth contained in Evas words. She was well aware of the fact that she had been the one pushing Vahn, willfully taking advantage of his inability to stay mad at her... Seeing Asunas reaction, Eva didnt need an actual answer to know the faux-woman was still just a brat. Since Vahn mentioned the center of the Little Garden experience a ten-to-one flow, she could easily intuit that there was a varying rate of flow within the miniature realm, likely increasing as you moved towards the outer edges. Asuna had probably found a way to sneak into the region without notice, and, by the time Vahn became aware of what had happened, the damage had already been done. Shaking her head, Eva turned her attention back to Vahn, her arms akimbo as she maintained her usatory re and said, "Youre too much of a pushover...tell me, how do you go from being one of the most domineering people in the entire world to a floundering idiot who gets tyrannized by a little girl? I know you dont want to hurt the feelings of the people you care about, but letting them do whatever they want just isnt healthy! You are supposed to be the one in control, Vahn! Where is your dignity as a Master and an Emperor!?" Though he didnt avert his eyes like Asuna, Vahns expression morphed into an apologetic frown as he listened to Evas words. He knew she was right, and, given Asunas nature and temperament, she would have adjusted her behavior ordingly if he put his foot down. She was a very obedient and rational youngdy, and, prior to her Evas departure, the only action he needed to take in order to correct her behavior was exining his reasoning and expectations... Realizing his fault in the situation, Vahn solemnly lowered his head, stating, "I understand where I have erred and willmit myself to do better moving forward...please forgive me..." Though she had heard simr promises before, Eva didnt actually me Vahn, as, even before her departure, she expected something like this to happen. She knew what kind of person he was, and, in the absence of someone with greater expectations for him, he was susceptible to falling into the pace of others. He just couldnt help but try and make everyone around him happy, and, though it often caused him stress, he could bear any burden if it was for the people cared about. Feeling her anger rapidly diminishing, Eva wasnt able to maintain her usatory glower any longer, a tired sigh escaping her lips as she crossed her arms and muttered, "I forgive you..." while casting amunicative gaze at Asuna. Thetter easily understood the meaning contained within her gaze, so, without needing to be told, she bent down and performed a faultless dogeza, forehead pressed to the ground as she said, "I have also realized my wrongs...I owe an apology to everyone. Im sorry for taking advantage of your kindness, Vahn...I just like spending time with you...I..." Seeing Asuna perform a dogeza, Vahn felt like a cold sweat had spread across his skin as he looked between her and Eva. Thetter just rolled her eyes when she noticed his gaze before giving him a shoulder shrug as if to state, do whatever you want. With his fiancees consent, Vahn leaned down and ced his hand upon Asunas shoulder, silencing her apology by sincerely stating, "I ept your apology, Asuna...now, stand up. You need not lower yourself to such an extent. The most important thing is to remember the lesson you learned and do your best to avoid repeating the same mistakes. You are an exceptionally bright and capable young woman, and, though you are not without fault, I believe you will be even more amazing in the wake of this incident..." Hearing Vahns words, Asuna raised her head to reveal a thinyer of moisture covering her eyes. It was clear she had been on the verge of tears, but, now that she had been pardoned, the glisteningyer took on a new meaning as she looked up into the face of the man she loved. This made Vahn feel a little helpless, not because she hadnt learned her lesson, but because he could tell Asuna had resolved herself to greatly exceed his expectations... --- Though it seemed like everything had been settled without incident, Asuna insisted that Eva met out a suitable punishment for her recent behavior. She immediately came to regret this decision, but, rather thanin, Asuna had a defeated look in her eyes as she helped the Chacha sisters move all of her stuff into a spare room. She had been barred with sharing a bed with Vahn until her birthday, and, unless it was for training purposes, she wasnt allowed to make physical contact with him unless he was the one patting her head or tending her wounds. Feeling guilty about the situation, Vahn was tempted tomute Asunas sentencing, but, before he could utter a single word, Eva silenced himpletely with a gaze shaper than any spear. After that, he found himself back in the library, and, though he wasnt exactlyining, Eva elected to use hisp like a throne as she exined the situation to Karin. Thetter had yet to be informed of the existence of his Harem, so, as could be expected from someone that admired Eva as their most important person; Karin wasnt at all enthused by the presence of Asuna and the mention of others associated with her Masters fiance. Truth be told, Karin had already prepared herself to assist her Master, and, if necessary, she was even willing to dutifully serve her Masters husband. She couldnt lose her virginity, and, if it made things easier on her Master, she was willing to suffer some indignation on her behalf. After all, they would be together for thousands of years, if not longer, so Karin wasnt foolish enough to think that nothing would happen between her and Vahn. Her Master had also been behaving strangely ever since their reunion, so, even if she was sorelycking in experience, Karin hadnt lived for more than two-thousand-years without developing the ability to intuit certain things. Hearing her Master segue into topics such as parallel worlds, alternate dimensions, the flow of fate, and tangential timelines, Karin felt like her brain was gradually beginning to melt. There was far too much information to process, and, in the end, none of it really mattered. All she took away from the exnation was that her Masters fiance hade from a different world with the singr purpose of saving her Master. In that world, he had an expansive harem filled with actual Gods, Heroes, and a bevy of mystical and legendary entities. In the present world, there were at least five other women besides her Master, two of which were legendary monsters while the others were the Princesses of the most powerful nations in existence... Needless to say, Karin was incensed by Vahnsck of fidelity, but, more than anything else, she was frustrated by the fact that her Master waspletely smitten with the man. To make matters even worse, she could tell that the reverse was also true, as, even when he was just looking at her Master, Karin could see the love, respect, and admiration he had for her. He was alsopletely deferential toward her, a trait Karin both respected and felt increasingly confused about. She didnt understand how someone could bepletely smitten with another person, yet, in spite of that, have a massive harem that seemed to span more than a hundred people... In the end, Karin couldnt help but voice her perturbation, waiting until her Master asked if she had any questions to re at Vahn and ask, "What makes you so special that my Master chose you over everyone else in the world? I dont understand it. Even if you were able to treat her condition, I cant see my Master falling in love with someone so-" Before Karin could finish her words, Eva silenced her with a simple gesture and a pointed look. This filled the dark-haired woman with a bit of indignation, but, trusting that her Master would exin things, she remained silent and attentive. What she didnt expect was for a crimson hue to spread across her Masters face as she exined, "Exining the reasons I love this idiot would take even longer than my previous exnation...the only thing that really matters is that I chose to fall in love with him. It might be difficult for you to understand right now, but believe me when I say it isnt all that different from your decision to follow me all those years ago...the love I now feel has given my life new meaning...even though I have the option to live a normal life, Im no longer afraid to face eternity because I know a certain idiot will always be there to watch over me..." Though she was sitting with her back to Vahn, Eva couldnt help but bury her face into her hands as she uttered the final few words. This was a little contrary considering her statement that she was no longer afraid to face eternity, but, rather than point it out, Vahn earned the most profound pout he had ever seen on a grown womans face as he embraced Eva from behind. Karin was ring at him with a look that could even rival the release of his sword intent, but, rather than angry; it would be more urate to say she was extremely envious, not of Evas position, but his... If looks could kill, Vahn was pretty sure he would, at the very least, be extremely injured by Karins gaze alone. He could even feel his skin tingling slightly when he whispered, "I love you." in Evas ear, his Magia Erebea constitution causing him to feel actual pain due to the rather ridiculous amount of holy energy exuded by Karins body... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Eva be like, "Only I can say bad things about my husband!",RIP Asuna,Karin about to go Biblical on this fool...) (A/N: Im taking my break today. Im feeling a little lethargic and want to dpress. Take care of yourselves.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1673 Revelations

Chapter 1673 Revtions

Feeling the holy aura radiating from Karins body, Eva was ultimately able to recover enough of her sensibilities to reveal her face and firmly state, "Karin, thats enough. Vahn might be an idiot, but he isnt a bad person. Though I understand your reasons, I dont want you to resent Vahn. You are both irreceable existences in my heart...please get along..." Though she wasnt able topletely rx, Karins expression notably ckened when she heard her Masters heartfelt words. She was actually very happy that Eva had called her something like an irreceable existence, but, refusing to show any weakness before Vahn, she spent a few seconds trying to regte her breathing before answering, "I understand...for now, I will continue to observe without passing judgment." Hearing Karins response, Eva breathed a sigh of relief. She honestly didnt know what she would do if Karin actually hated Vahn. She owed the former a great debt, and, after neglecting her for several centuries, Eva felt a considerable amount of guilt towards the exceptionally loyal woman. As for thetter, he was the person she had entrusted with her heart, the man who had liberated her from the darkness and opened her mind to the endless possibilities of the future... With that thought ying across her mind, Eva remembered something very important, but, given the current situation, she wasnt sure if now was the best time to bring it up. Unfortunately, her act of biting the nail of her thumb with a vexed expression was clearly observed by the highly attentive duo. Vahn didnt even need to see her face to know she was struggling with something, as, with her seated in hisp, he could even sense the firing of her synapses through the contact of their bodies. In an attempt to ease Evas anxieties, Vahn gently ced his hand atop her head, lightly caressing her silky smooth hair as he asked, "Is something the matter? You dont need to hide anything from us...isnt that right, Karin?" Though she was momentarily distracted by her thoughts of cutting off Vahns hand, Karin wasnt so distracted that she was incapable of processing his question. Thus, after resisting the initial urge tombast him for addressing her in such a familiar manner, she nodded her head and replied with a curt, "Indeed..." Realizing her mistake only after hearing the duos words, Eva forcibly repressed a sigh, shaking her head in self-admonition before ultimately exining, "I was thinking of ways to relieve the tensions between the two of you. That caused me to recall our previous discussion, and, though it might not be the best timing, I was thinking about trying to convince you to allow Vahn to analyze your Curse of Invibility." As it was something they had discussed on numerous asions, Karin wasnt too surprised by her Masters words. Rather, after how fervently Eva had talked-up Vahns capabilities, she had graduallye to believe it might be possible to remove, or, at the very least, modify her curse. Though her reason told her this was impossible, her trust in Eva defied all reasoning, and, after more than two-thousand-years of wandering the Earth, the faith that had originally kept her going gradually turned into something else entirely... Before Karin coulde up with her answer, both she and Eva were surprised when Vahn suddenly mentioned, "I have already thought of a number of solutions, two of which are guaranteed to work. Though it would be best for me to analyze the curse directly, one of the things we can try is simply having Karin enter the Little Garden. It might be linked to this world, but the Laws governing it are a few degrees of separation from the primary axis of reality. If Im not wrong, Karins curse is directly linked with the physical ne, so, by entering a realm with at least two degrees of separation, most of its effects should be negated." Though she wasnt able to understand everything Vahn was saying, Karin knew enough about her own abilities to say, "I have heard something simr a long time ago. However, when I tried to enter another dimensional ne, the gateway itself was destroyed. Even entering a Sub-Space Orb is very dangerous, as, the moment I enter within, the interior space begins to gradually copse." Hearing Karins exnation, Vahns interest in her curse became even higher, but, rather than take her words to heart, he ultimately dismissed them, saying, "You dont have to worry about that in my case. Even if I wasnt a God of Space, I have absolute confidence in my ability to create a realm that exists outside the influence of whoever is interfering with your life. As for the Little Garden, it should bepletely safe...if its not...well, lets just say I have ways to deal with jealous Gods..." Directing hisst few words towards the sky, Vahn couldnt help but squint his eyes slightly as, for a very brief moment, he detected something observing them. He wasnt very fond of being spied on, but, before he could trace the intent back to its source, it simply vanished into thin air. Following Vahns gaze, Karin also turned her eyes toward the ceiling, a conflicted look appearing on her face as anxiety began to sprout in her heart. Before she could sumb to her doubts, however, her Master interrupted her thoughts, saying, "Even when I tried to tell you that curse of yours was a blessing, you always insisted it was some kind of punishment. If that is the case, know that you have suffered long enough. You have repented for your actions long ago, and, if your God is truly as kind and benevolent as people im them to be, there is no reason for them to personally interfere with the happiness of a single person. That mans death was supposed to have absolved humanity of its sins...forcing you alone to atone without allowing any chance of redemption is a contradiction..." Though Eva still had a lot to say, the look on Karins face and the way Vahn tightened his hold on her waist caused her words to trail off. Then, joining them, she turned her attention towards the ceiling, or, more specifically, the skies above. There, monstrous clouds had started to gather, but, rather than appear dark and menacing, they were like billowy white cumulonimbus clouds... Even without being able to see the clouds directly, everyone within the library was able to sense their formation and the awesome might contained within them. This caused Karin and Eva to pale, but, despite feeling as though electricity was circting through his veins, Vahn wasnt particrly concerned by the encroaching storm. Instead, he sent his intent directly into the clouds, both as a silent challenge and a means to locate the source of the surging divine power. One of the most troublesome aspects of several Realms was that, unless you met certain conditions, they were simply impossible to ess or locate. When an entity within that Realm used its power to influence another world, however, a gateway between the two was bound to be formed. This might be no bigger than a single atom, but, so long as it remained open, there was nothing barring those with the capabilities from passing through. Vahn wasnt particrly interested in waging war on the Gods or entering a Realm like Heaven, but, if they were going out of their way to break the rules they themselves had established, he wouldnt hesitate to hold them ountable. He hated it when people only selectively enforced thews they had established, and, though he wasnt without fault, Vahn couldnt tolerate the small-mindedness of a God who punished a woman to outlive the entire universe for a betrayal they had orchestrated as part of their so-called grand design... --- Around the same time that Vahn was effectively challenging the Heavens, a woman with features not all that dissimr to Altria was sitting silently upon a throne, her angr golden eyes showing a mix of consternation and excitement as she mused, "Hooo...that man actually dares to challenge the Throne...this is starting to get interesting..." Hearing her womans words, a girl with simr features, albeit much younger, craned her head back to ask, "Did you sense something, oh Great Mother?" Matching gazes with the young girl who appeared no older than five, the woman adopted a small frown as she muttered, "Amateru...I told you to simply refer to me as Mother when were alone..." Chuckling lightly in response to her Mothers heavy tone, Amateru, the true name of the first Queen of Vespertatia, answered, "I dare not. I fear that I might slip up around those children, so, unless the Great Mother insists, I cannot abide that request. Please ept my heartfelt apology..." Though she was dissatisfied by her daughters response, the woman, Ialda Baoth, better known as The Mage of the Beginning, didnt both insisting. Instead, she raised her hand to reveal dainty white fingers, pristine despite the millions of lives she had harvested throughout the years. Then, prior to answering her daughters question, she began to lightly caress Amaterus head as she exined, "I can sense the influence of the Rubrum. I am unsure of the situation, but it appears the Sage Dragon Emperor either isnt aware of the situation in Heaven or simply doesnt fear the consequences of his actions..." Hearing her Mother mention the name of a Seraphim, Amaterus eyes widened more than a little as she asked, "Are they so bold as to extend their reach into Mundus Magicus? Shouldnt the Code of the Lifemaker prevent them from having any influence in this world?" Though her daughters words werent entirely incorrect, Ialda still shook her head, her countenance darkening slightly as she answered, "Without the Great Grand Master Key, there isnt much I can do to stop them from interfering in this world. So long as the Throne is unupied, those bastards will continue acting however they please. There is even a chance that my Resonance is the result of that hypocrite Caeruleum using the Root of Creation to curse me..." Since her Mother generally kept mum on any matter rted to the Root of Creation, Amateru was unable to hide her confusion. It was very obvious that something was changing in her Mother as ofte, the most obvious indication being that she was currently seated in the formersp. Due to the Resonance, it was virtually impossible for her Mother to demonstrate love and affection, yet, in spite of this, she currently appeared inordinately calm, her dark expression gradually fading away as she continued to absentmindedly stroke her head... Noticing her daughters confusion, Ialda revealed an uncanny smile as she revealed, "Im not going to make it easy for them, but my instincts are telling me my time in this world is sooning to an end. Though I have yet to see their power, the strength disyed by the Third Princess is already at a level that could pose a threat to our organization. Our Inheritor and the Key of Twilight have been with him even longer, so, even if there is currently no evidence, it would be absurd to suppose they are weaker. As for the Dark Evangel...she was already strong enough to wipe out most of our group on her own. Now that she had joined hands with the Sage Dragon Emperor, I cannot imagine even a single oue where wee out ahead." Despite the content of her words, a vicious smile began to spread across Ialdas face the more she talked about their dismal future. She didnt seem to care even the slightest bit about the impending destruction of her organization, and, understanding the reason, Amateru offered a wry smile of her own as she silently tolerated having her head caressed... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gods can be surprisingly petty...,Vahn is letting his desire to battle a strong opponent cloud his judgment...,Ialda-chan isnt considered a prodigy for no reason...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1674 Purpose

Chapter 1674 Purpose

Though others might have difficulty finding the gate, Vahn had an absolute advantage that allowed him to locate such things with extreme ease. Thus, after spending a few minutes trying to sense the anomaly using his intent, he simply submerged into his Realm to systematically search for it within his memory. This process took nearly nine hours, but, even if he had decided to stay within for nine years, not even a single zeptosecond would have passed in the outside world. With his primary objectivepleted, Vahn decided to spend a few days among his friends, family, and lovers, updating them on the situation and sorting through his thoughts. The best part about this was that, prior to entering his Realm, Vahn moved everyone on the ind into the Little Garden. This included Karin, who, as he had postted, was able to enter the Little Garden without issue. After all, it might use the Laws of the original Record as a temte, but, on the most basic level, the Little Garden was directly connected to his soul realm,prised and maintained by his own Source Energy. Needless to say, Karin, Jinbei, and even Eva werepletely gobsmacked, not by the existence of the Little Garden, but by Vahns power and presence. It didnt matter that his power was somewhat weakened due to the gardens Laws, as, within his Realm, it was impossible to evenprehend the nature of his existence. He was an absolute concept, and, though it would sever their connection to their original world, Vahn exined that he could, quite literally, create new bodies for them within his Realm, effectively transmigrating them. Unfortunately, though there was nothing preventing him from talking about it, Vahn was unable to exin the specifics of The Path while they were still linked to their original Record. The best way he could exin it was that a separate axis of reality existed within his Soul, and, though it was still in a nascent state, it would gradually evolve to represent an entire Multiverse. This hade as quite a shock to people like Karin, but, as she was well aware of the existence of the Realm, Eva merely fell into deep thought for a few days. As for Jinbei, he didnt seem to really care about anything, using the unexpected vacation to idle at the edge of the ind with a fishing pole for a few days... --- With the help of Da Vinci, Vahn was able to test several theories he had regarding the removal of Karins [Penance Seal]. It was a non-standard Innate that had obviously been forced upon her as a result of some greater plot tied to the Record itself, but, with an Omnipotent Genius on his side, it was a simple matter toe up with a variety of solutions. If those didnt work, he could always use a [Fate-Severing Knife] to do the job, as, after an admittedly ridiculous amount of research, it was all but confirmed that this was the original purpose of the de. Simr to how Heroic Spirits would always obtain a non-standard Innate rted to their legend, the very thing that gave them power, some Innates were intrinsically bound to a persons fate. The best example of this was the [Child of Destiny] Innate while other notable examples included Mordreds, [Sage Dragon Emperors Pampered Princess], Scathachs [Scathach], Da Vincis [Pioneer of the Stars], and Tamamos [Tamamo-no-Mae]. By using the [Fate-Severing Knife], Vahn was able to remove a persons non-standard Innates, and, under certain conditions, he could even assign them a new one. Entities that had their fate severed were not all that dissimr to [Nameless] existences without any fate at all. Thus, if you had a strong enough Will and a substantial influence on Fate, you could impose an entirely new fate on someone simply through assigning them a new name or purpose. During his experiments with Da Vinci, Vahn put this theory to the test by severing the fate of none other than Skoll. She had been one of the first Companions to develop an Ego after the Awakening, and, due to her association with him, she obtained a non-standard Innate called [Companion of the Sage Dragon Emperor]. This allowed her to evolve into a chibi-form that resembled a five-year-old version of Fenrir, and, though she still had bio-mechanicalponents, her evolution elevated her to a simr status as Ark, Mother, and Shadow within the Companionwork. In essence, she had be the God of Companions, and, after using the [Fate-Severing Knife] to remove her original non-standard Innate, that became her official title and responsibility. In the wake of Skolls ascension, the vast majority of Companions experienced evolutions of their own. This led to the Surface bing surprisingly stable due to some people having spent more than two decades alongside their adorable little partners. Many had even developed an emotional attachment to their Companions, and, in some regions, Japan being the most notable example, it had be increasinglymon to see Human-Companion rtionships to develop into happy marriages. Since it was well-within their calctions, neither Vahn nor Da Vinci was surprised when the first requests to marry a Companion was submitted. Rather, a system to officiate the rtionship had already been developed decades prior, so, after a brief period of rising social tensions, most people hade to ept that the Companions were just other residents of the Empire. This led to a few groups trying to advocate for Companion rights, but, with the Companions capable of speaking for themselves, those attempting to inte the non-issue into a point of contention were never able to build any momentum... --- With several days to consider her options, or, more specifically, be convinced by Eva, it wasnt long before Karin found herself seated naked on an examination table. She wasnt even remotely shy, as, due to her unique form of immortality and her propensity for fighting powerful enemies, having her clothes destroyed was verymon. Rather, if you were a woman in the Akamatsuverse, especially abatant, ending a fight without even a scrap of clothing was considered normal. Vahn used to wonder what went through the mind of their Creator when designing certain Records, but, after remember that Records were given shape by an amalgamation of dreams, he couldnty all the me of them. They undoubtedly shared the me, especially if they created a world with a significant amount of fanservice, but, in the end, it was the desires of the people viewing, ying, andmemorating their creations that gave form to a Record. While thinking about the functionally infinite ways in which a Record could manifest, Vahn slowly and methodically traced his finger across the tattoo on Karins back. She didnt so much as flinch in response to his touch, but, considering Eva was sitting mere meters away, she was probably doing her best to appear as disinterested and unperturbed as possible. Despite this, a subtle shade of red had been steadily creeping into her cheeks, not because he was touching her, but because she was being watched by Eva... In order to finally convince Karin, Eva had, quite literally, pushed the taciturn woman down, sealing her lips to form a Pactio. This had been something Karin coveted for hundreds of years, so, rather thanin, Vahn nearly had to excuse himself when it seemed like the two were going to do a lot more than simply kiss. It felt like he was trespassing on something he wasnt meant to see, and, though Eva was his fiancee, he wanted to give them a chance to strengthen their bond without his interference. Unfortunately, though he wasnt exactlyining, Eva had noticed his intentions, forcing him to stay and observe. This caused Karin to visibly pout, but, after some skillful coaxing from Eva, she was quickly pacified. In the end, she even seemed to seriously consider allowing him to participate, a notion that was made even stronger when it came time for her to be the observer... After tracing a pattern hidden within the roman numeral for thirteen inscribed on Karins back, Vahn issued a small nod before retracting his hand and saying, "There are a few notable differences, but I can conclusively say this seal functions simrly to the blessing of a God. There areplex Divine Words hidden within a structure carefully designed to conceal both their existence and function. As for their true purpose...well..." Sensing the hesitation in Vahns voice, Karin adopted a disapproving frown, emting her Masters way of speaking as she sternly said, "Out with it. Ive already entrusted this matter to you so there is no sense in being roundabout. If you have something to say, say it. If it isnt important, then get on with the treatment." As Karin had been pretty harsh with him ever since he watched her make out with Eva, Vahn wasnt too surprised by her tone. Instead, he just shook his head while Eva snickered at the side, reveling in his misfortune and Karins false bravado. Since she had put on a strong front, Vahn decided to respect Karins resolution, exining, "This is not your original body. The seal on your back has nothing to do with your Curse of Invibility. It is the thing binding your Ego to your current vessel. In other words, you likely died all those years ago, and, after your Soul moved on to the afterlife, you were forced back into a vessel that looked identical to your original body. Your current race lists you as a Cherubim, one of the attendants of the Biblical God...if I had to guess, you entered into a contract with a higher-tiered angel after your death, and, due to the guilt you felt at that time, you agreed to repent for your sin of betrayal by serving as an instrument of God in the physical ne..." Hearing Vahns spection, Karin waspletely ck-jawed, her mouth dangling open as her brain failed to find any words to exin her current mental state. If what he stated was the truth, it meant her curse was something she had imposed on herself, not something that had been forced upon her. As for her ability to use Holy Magic and Purification Spells, these were likely rted to the fact she was a Cherubim, or, at the very least, a human Soul sealed within the body of one... Not finished with his exnation, Vahn adopted a thoughtful expression on his face, using the hand he had previously used to caress Karins back to stroke his chin as he said, "Im guessing your desire to serve also has something to do with your Cherubic nature. Though it is pretty obvious that your Ego is in full control, the form and function of our vessels often dictate our self-perception and how we engage others..." Though she was still staring at Vahn, Karins mental processes continued to move at a snails pace, her mind struggling to make sense of everything he had revealed previously. She suddenly felt like a stranger in her own body, as, while much of what Vahn said was mere spection, the one thing he continued to reinforce was that this wasnt her body. It was something she had been bestowed in order to fulfill a purpose...a purpose she had instinctually followed without question prior to her meeting Eva... Before Karin could fall further into her doubts, her awareness was brought back in an instant when she felt a familiar embrace. She immediately recognized this as her Master, and, though she still had a number of doubts, the one thing she didnt question was that Eva was the most important person in her heart. She never wanted to part with her again, so, even if it meant betraying the purpose she had been assigned, it didnt matter so long as she was able to fulfill the purpose she had chosen for herself all those years ago... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hax...,The rise of the most adorable Goddess...,Omae wa mou shindeiru...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1675 Devou

Chapter 1675 Devou

With Eva helping Karin to calm down, Vahn was able to move on to the most important part of the procedure: treating her condition. To that end, he offered a casual yet confident smile to the dark-haired woman, exining, "Now that I have a better understanding of your situation, it is actually a lot easier to treat than originally anticipated." Though she wasnt fully focused on what he was saying,rgely due to the fact Eva was holding and caressing her head, Karin eventually extricated herself from her Masters hold to say, "Im ready...tell me what I need to do." Seeing the glimmer of conviction within the womans eyes, Vahn nodded his head in approval, but, as there really wasnt much for her to do, he exined, "All you need to do isy t on the table. I will remove the [Penance Seal] from your body and then reseal your Ego in your current vessel. This will allow you to continue using the powers you have be ustomed to over the years. As for the so-called Curse of Invibility...you dont really need to worry about that. It isnt that you cant take damage, but, due to the Laws at y within this world, most attacks within the physical ne arent able to affect you. Your current body is like a solidified spiritual projection, so, unless they are able to directly affect your Ego, any attack strong enough to overwhelm your natural defenses will simply phase through you without dealing permanent damage. In essence, so long as your mind is strong enough to bear the burdens ced upon it, the only things you really need to be wary of are powerful corruptive forces and sealing." Though she felt like Vahn was exining a lot of unnecessary things, Karin was still grateful for his exnation as it answered a lot of her concerns. Thus, after silently staring into his eyes for several seconds, she simply nodded her head and said, "Ill leave it to you..." Without any further discussion, Karin adjusted her position on the table so that she was lying t on her stomach. This allowed both Vahn and Eva to see the line of her back, a beautiful and practically wless curve that was ented by the immactely sculpted muscles hidden beneath her fair and unblemished skin. Even with the tattoo marring her upper back, Karin had one of the most perfect bodies Vahn had seen in the Akamatsuverse, but, considering it was a vessel constructed by one of the highest tiered Deities in the verse, this wasnt too surprising... Noticing Vahns gaze, even without him actually looking, Eva gave him a slightly usatory look before poking her tongue out at him. She was actually rather envious of Karins body, but, now that something as convenient as the Little Garden existed, it wouldnt be long before she matured into the buxom beauty she had always wanted to be. For now, however, she wasnt afraid to admire the bodies of others, tracing her palm along Karins back beforeing to a stop on her perfectly pert butt as she said, "There is a lot we need to discuss when you wake up..." Even with her face restingfortably in the hole built into the table, Karin was able to tell who was touching her even before her Master spoke. A ruddy hue quickly spread through her cheeks, and, though she did her best to control herself, she was unable to prevent the muscles in her butt from tensing up, jiggling slightly as a result. This further increased her embarrassment, but, after a few seconds had passed, she managed to meekly reply, "I understand..." as she instinctually closed her thighs. Seeing the interaction between the two, it was Vahns turn to give Eva a look of mock incredulity, his eyes asking, should I leave the room?. To this, Eva just rolled her own at him before gesturing toward Karin with a, effectivelymunicating, get on with it. He was pretty sure she even tacked on idiot at the end, but, as that was prettymon when it came to Eva, Vahn just ignored it as he manipted the energy in the surroundings to condense a Soul-Transferring Formation out of thin air. With ample practice in both Danmachi and the Nasuverse, Vahn had no trouble extracting Karins Ego, effectively removing the [Penance Seal] in the process. In the end, it took him less than three minutes toplete the process, surprising both Karin and Eva since it was generally very difficult to perform such procedures. In response to this, Vahn just shrugged it off with a smile, earning him a look of mock exasperation from Eva as she remarked, "I suppose this is what I should expect after choosing to marry a God..." Though he was amused by the remark, Vahn couldnt pass on the opportunity to tease his beloved wife-to-be, smiling from cheek-to-cheek as he mused, "Being a God is the least important thing in my mind. First and foremost, Im a father to my children. After that, Im a loving husband, and, when the need arises, a very generous lover..." Expecting him to say something important, Eva and Karin had both been listening closely to Vahns words. Devaluing the status of a God was rather significant after all, so, for a brief moment, neither was able to fully process the meaning of his words until Evas face gradually turned a deep shade of crimson... --- After pummeling Vahn a bit, Eva kicked him out of the operation room so that she could be alone with the still-naked Karin. Seeing her sitting there lost in thought brought Eva a moment of pause, but, after quickly recovering her senses, she walked over to the womans side and asked, "How are you feeling?" Hearing her Masters question, Karins eyes came back into focus as she offered a polite bow and answered, "My body feels the same as it always has...if anything, it feels like I can breathe a little easier than before? I suppose that is a testament to that mans skill..." Nodding her head, Eva adopted a confident smile as she casually grabbed Karins hand and said, "I told you, didnt I? Though he isnt without his faults, Vahn is one of the most amazing people I have ever met. There is nothing he cant do, but, more importantly, he is constantly pushing himself and others to be be better...something more than what fate had decided for them..." Seeing the devotion in her Masters eyes, Karin couldnt help but be reminded of the many faithful she had encountered over her inordinately long life. Though Evacked the zealotry of some, Karin could easily imagine her fighting at Vahns side, staking everything to protect the man she loved. At the same time, however, she could imagine Vahn doing much the same. This was a stark contrast to other Gods, as, rather than elevate himself above others, he seemed to be constantly pulling others up to his level... Remembering the many scenes of Vahn interacting with others, a perpetual smile on his face as he seriously listened to their concerns and tried to help them, Karin couldnt help but suppress a sigh. He was so far beyond the conventional standards of a human, but, when you observed Vahn for a long period of time, that was the impression he gave off. Though she had little doubt that he was capable of pulling off the majesty of a God and an Emperor, it was easier to imagine Vahn happily setting out dishes on a table than it was to imagine him lording over others... Noticing the various conflicts in herpanions eyes, Eva liberated the woman from her reverie as she lightly cupped Karins cheek with her hand and said, "It is fine to have doubts, Karin. The most important thing to remember is that, from this moment onward, we are free to choose our fate. You are no longer bound to any person, ce, or ideology...there is so much more to the world than we ever knew, and, depending on our decisions, there are no limits to our growth...I promise to support you in whatever you choose, but, while it might be selfish of me to request, Id like for you to stay at my side...at least for a little while..." Of all the things her Master was saying, the words that seeded themselves most firmly within Karins mind was Evas offer to stay together. Her desire to support the woman had never faded for even a brief moment, so, without any hesitation whatsoever, Karin ovepped her hand with Evas, a look of conviction in her eyes as she firmly answered, "There is nothing I desire more...than to stay at my Masters side..." Though a smile had developed across her face, Eva shook her head in response to Karins words, confusing the woman slightly until she stated, "I dont want you to be a servant or an attendant. I can literally produce countless dolls to attend such things. What I want is for us to stand together as equals, working alongside and supporting each other to reach our goals. I want us to be like a family...no...closer than family and without any of the restrictions..." As she spoke her final few words, Eva passed her thumb along Karins bottom lip, her intentions clear without needing to go into further detail. This caused a notable blush to develop across the dark-haired womans face, but, rather than resist, she parted her lips ever so slightly to suckle on the tip of Evas thumb. Truth be told, Eva didnt have much interest in members of the same sex, but, after spending a few years alongside Arika, Theo, Fenrir, Medusa, and even Asuna, she had graduallye to ept the reality that awaited her. She would never be the only woman in Vahns heart, and, though this made her feel a little resentful at times, her memories of Terra and her interactions with other members of Vahns harem allowed her to make peace with her husbandsck of fidelity. With that in mind, Eva allowed Karin to continue suckling on her thumb for several seconds, a smile spreading across her face as the womans expression stirred some of her sadistic tendencies. Part of her was tempted to just push the woman down then and there, but, without Vahn present, Eva was afraid things might go too far. She didnt want her first time to be with another woman, and, even if she did have a soft spot for the dark-haired woman, Eva wasnt romantically attracted to her. After habitually licking her own lips, Eva liberated her hand from Karins grasp. This caused a rather disheartened look to appear on the womans face, but, before she could be too dispirited, Eva made a point to lick the thumb Karin had been suckling on as she asked, "So, what is your decision? Regardless of-" Without waiting for Eva to finish, Karin adopted a very serious expression, a fiery look in her eyes as she stared at the formers thumb and answered, "I ept! I decided centuries ago that I would even follow you through Hell if it meant staying at your side! Even if I am unable to serve you as my mindpels, my heart will never change!" Though her response wasnt unexpected, Eva was still amazed by the fervor contained within Karins words. It actually made her feel a little guilty, but, as she had never gone out of her way to try and manipte Karins heart, Eva did her best not to let it bother her. It was Karins choice to follow her all those years ago, and, even though she had tried to push the woman away numerous times, the invible Saintess of Steel always kepting back, never waning in her devotion... Feeling that she should reward the woman somehow, Evas expression turned gentle as she issued a light chuckle and hopped up on the table. Then, taking advantage of Karins stupor, Eva guided the womans head to rest on her thighs, caressing her silky ck hair as she said, "Im d. Vahn might be my most important person, but you have always had a ce in my heart. Truth be told, I actually wanted to thank you countless times in the past, but, due to my own fears, I always ended up trying to push you away. Thank you for never giving up on me, Karin...though it might not be the same as my feelings for Vahn...I want you to know that I love you...always and forever..." Hearing Evas confession, Karins face became beet red in an instant, her eyes swimming around in their sockets as illusory steam began rising from her head. She had already been satisfied just being able to feel her Masters impossibly soft thighs against her face so she was absolutely overwhelmed when her brain attempted to process the apanying words. Fortunately, rather than expecting a response, Eva was enjoying her flustered appearance quite a bit, a gratified smile on her face as she continued tob her fingers through Karins hair... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Its just transferring a soul. What, did you expect it to cost an arm and a leg?,Eva is a realist,KARIN.EXE has stopped functioning) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1676 Straightforward

Chapter 1676 Straightforward

Having been kicked out of his workshop by Eva, Vahn willfully ignored what was happening inside as he meandered over to the central World Tree. There, as was often the case these days, he found Fenrir floating a few meters off the ground. A peculiar bluish-ck aura shrouded her body, but, instead of obscuring her features, it made her stand out even more, almost as if she was the only thing that existed within that particr region of Time and Space... Sensing her Masters presence, Fenrirs eyes slowly peeled open to reveal uncharacteristic bluish-white pupils. Anyone caught in her gaze would feel as though a palpable chill had spread through their entire body, and, though their internal temperature wouldnt be immediately affected, she was able to gradually freeze their Spirit due to her increasing affinity with her Zanpakuto. Vahn was honestly amazed every time he saw Fenrirs progress, but, considering she spent upwards of 190 hours a day cultivating, it made sense. She pushed herself harder than anyone else he knew, and, though he had offered her numerous ways to grow even faster, Fenrir had always followed his original teachings, inscribing them in her heart. Thus, unless he specifically forced her to consume a treasure, she was absolutely determined to increase her strength through sheer hard work and an inordinate amount of effort. Though he felt a little guilty about interrupting his beloved Vanargandrs training, Vahn shamelessly opened his arms with a smile on his face. In response, the midnight blue fur covering Fenrirs body became notably thicker, and, without even a moments hesitation, she had leaped into his arms, her own wrapping around him before nuzzling against his chest. In response, Vahn did much the same, tightly embracing the indescribably soft woman in his embrace before burying his face into the soft and fragrant fur covering her head and ears... --- After several minutes of just nuzzling against each other, Vahn sat with his back against the World Tree while Fenrir curled up in hisp with a happy smile on her face. She was very fond of just being held, so, unless they were doing something more intimate, Vahn made a point to cradle her in his arms whenever they conversed. As for why he had sought her out, it came down to the fact that she was, and likely always would be, his emotional anchor andpass. Though she always left the decisions for him to make, simply telling Fenrir his ns as she dutifully listened always brought Vahn a sense of calm. It also allowed him to build up his confidence, as, no matter what he decided on, she would wholeheartedly support him. This made her something of an enabler for him, but, at the same time, it also allowed him to establish a baseline to remind himself of how he should be acting. After all, even though she was very supportive, Fenrir wouldnt hesitate to point out when he began deviating from his original objectives. This time around, Vahn was exining his intentions following their emergence from the Realm. He was already at the point where he was seriously considering leaving the Akamatsuverse, as, even if he did go on a rampage through Heaven, he wouldnt really achieve anything. If he was somehow stronger than thebined might of Heaven, he risked throwing the entire Record into chaos. On the reverse side of things, there was a decent chance that something within the Realm of Heaven was far stronger than him. In that event, he would end up making an exceptionally powerful enemy, forcing him to either flee the verse or go all out trying to protect the things he cared about... Vahn didnt really feel like purchasing a [Dimensional Anchor: Stasis] just so he could tie up loose ends in a Record he originally had no interest in. He was willing to subsume the entirety of Mundus Magicus in order to allow Arika and Theo to fulfill their obligations, but,pared to undermining the integrity of the entire Record, absorbing a single Texture was inconsequential. There were even a number of individuals who could recreate the Magical World, so, in the end, Vahns actions would amount to a minor inconvenience or a simple curiosity for the beings who observed the progress of Inverse Mars from the shadows... --- Hearing her Master drone on about unnecessarilyplex subjects, Fenrir had to marshal everyst bit of her willpower just to avoid exhaling an exasperated sigh. She could never understand why her Master inted certain issuespletely out of proportion. Even the matter of allowing Eva to seek her revenge didnt really make sense, and, though she could understand his desire for the women around him to be independent, the entire fiasco with the Empire and Ostia seemed pointless to her. Having spent several years alongside Eva, Arika, and Theo, Fenrir was positive all three of the girls would quickly acquiesce if her Master put his foot down. If he seriously asked them to apany them outside of the Record, none of them would refuse. He didnt have to subsume the entirety of Mundus Magicus, and, though Eva would probably be a little frustrated, she would never be able to hold a grudge against Vahn. In fact, Fenrir was confident that the moment Eva and the rest learned about the true nature of their world, they would quickly lose interest in such meaningless things as revenge and governance. After all, if her Master did subsume Mundus Magicus into his Realm, all of their efforts would have been for naught when it came under the authority of the Ark, Shadow, and Mother... With these thoughts in her mind, Fenrir waited for her Master to finish speaking before saying, "You are underestimating yourself and the people around you, Master. I understand the significance you ce on the present, but that doesnt mean you should ignore the future entirely. Everything would be settled the instant you brought Mundus Magicus into your Realm. All this politicking and waiting around for events to transpire will bepletely meaningless once you follow through with your intentions. As it stands, you are just cing an unnecessary burden on yourself, and, once they learn the truth, how do you think Eva and the rest will react when all of their efforts turn out to be nothing more than you indulging them?" Not expecting Fenrir toe up with a response simr to the numerous warnings he had received from others, Vahn was momentarily at a loss as to how he should respond. He simply couldnt deny the truth contained within her words, but, whenever he thought about just sitting the girls down to exin the situation, it just felt wrong. He would basically be telling them, ignore your world and the responsibilities you have epted for yourself as there are far more qualified entities waiting to govern in your stead. Even worse, he would be telling Eva that her vengeance was meaningless, as, due to the nature of the Records, there were literally infinite iterations of the Mage of the Beginning influencing an equally infinite number of worlds... Seeing the conflict in her Masters eyes, Fenrir turned her eyes up at him in the way she knew he liked before shifting around to give him a firm hug. Then, with an equally endearing look, she did her best to sound calm and decisive as she said, "Do not lose sight of what is most important...we still have family waiting for us and a long journey ahead. Getting sidetracked by the meaningless politics of a single world will only increase your burden without any gain. I know Arika, Theo, and Asuna will be happier just being able to stay at your side. They want to grow stronger to support you, not waste precious time pandering to people who only seek profit and personal gain. As for Eva, she might be troubled by losing her chance at vengeance, but, in the end, such things will only be regrets. She would be happier removed from any conflict, and, though she tries her best to hide it, she is actually a very lewd girl...if you push her down, Im certain she will abandon everything else just to spend more time with you..." Though he tried to stop himself, Vahn couldnt help but lightly chuckle in response to Fenrirs final statement. He was actually very aware of Evas perverted nature, as, after holding herself back for a few hundred years, she had developed an almost insatiable curiosity while stockpiling a substantial amount of sexual tension. The only thing holding her back was her own inhibitions and the promise he had made. Without these restraints, it wasnt even difficult to imagine Eva quickly devolving into something of a deviant, her curiosity propelling her to extremes others wouldnt even contemte without some kind of external stimulus. Truth be told, Vahn was greatly anticipating the moment when Eva finally discarded her inhibitions. He always enjoyed it when women were honest with themselves, and, though she had a few sadistic tendencies, Eva was too soft-hearted to domit to anything serious. Her sadistic y was just that, ying around and having a bit of fun without having to worry about how others might view the situation. She would get along exceptionally well with people like Anubis, and, though she put on a strong front, Vahn could see her happily tormenting Theo and Karin with a smile on her face... With the thought of Karin wearing a ck-leather bodice, matching panties, and thigh-high boots appearing within his mind, Vahn quickly shook away his idle thoughts, meeting Fenrirs gaze as he asked, "Are you ready to move on to a new world?" Despite the fact her Master was looking directly at her, Fenrir didnt hesitate to roll her eyes in a rather dramatic fashion before inly stating, "With the Realm and the Little Garden, I can train for an eternity without a single second passing in reality. The only thing Im really worried about is the state of your mind. Your biggest weakness has always been that you care too much about even the most inconsequential things. Even though the only things you really care about are your family and loved ones, you constantly push yourself to be involved with matters that have nothing to do with either. This is one of the things that we love the most about you, but, at times like this, it makes me want to tear apart the entire Akamatsuverse just to free you from its burdens..." With Fenrir cupping his face with her paws, Vahn could feel her nails grow ever-so-slightly as a red radiance manifested within the depths of her ruby-like eyes. He knew she was very serious, and, if it would help to further his goals without jeopardizing his state of mind, Vahn knew she would readily be an actual Heaven Devouring Wolf on his behalf. Her love and devotion were so far beyondprehension that, even if everyone else grew weary of eternity, Vahn knew Fenrir was one of the few who would never falter. The only other person he could never fathom deserting him was Hestia, as, for reasons he wasnt able to fullyprehend, Vahn could easily imagine her cradling his head in her embrace even as cosmic dust slowly turns them into a statue... Realizing he still had a very long life ahead of him, a loving smile gradually spread across Vahns face as he wrapped his hands around Fenrirs waist and gave her a kiss. He knew she was right, and, though he had heard simr concerns from others, they simply had more meaning when spoken by her. This wasrgely due to the bias he had developed for the lovable Vanargandr, but, considering how extreme her devotion was, Vahn felt she deserved more than a little special treatment... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir used tackle! Its extra fluffy...!,Fenrir be like, "Bruh...",The goodest girl deserves all the special treatments (OwO)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1677 Permi

Chapter 1677 Permi

Though there was no particr hurry, Vahn knew it was better to act in the moment rather than put something off untilter. Thus, while his other vessels were busy with various things, he created yet another version of himself to confer with Eva. She was far more likely to ept his reasoning in the wake of Karins liberation, and, after several days within the Little Garden, it wouldnt surprise him to learn she had been thinking about their shared future. After confirming there was nothing too risque going on, Vahn lightly rattled on the door leading to his miniature clinic. In response, he could feel the magical energy inside begin to shift, and, after a few seconds had passed, the barrier preventing sounds from leaking was deactivated as Eva called out, "Juste inside. I needed to talk with you anyways." Following Evas words, Vahn could hear Karin fluster about, but, before she was able to make herself decent, he had already opened the door to find the woman ring at him with her head resting on the formers thighs. She was still just as naked as he had left her, but, perhaps due to being caught off guard, she instinctually covered herself with her hands while tucking up her knees defensively. Vahn was tempted to roll his eyes in response to Karins behavior, but, feeling this would only make things worse, he managed to restrain himself as he said, "I also had a few things to discuss. Ill listen to what you have to say first though. Who knows, maybe were already on the same wavelength as husband and wife?" Unlike Vahn, Eva wasnt afraid to roll her eyes, doing so rather exaggeratedly as she continued to caress Karins head. Then, without beating around the bush, she said, "I want you to build arger residential space within the Little Garden, one big enough to house a hundred people without too much trouble. One of the dreams I had long ago was creating an organization that could take in all the immortal men, women, and children who were forced to bear the burden of eternity. I want it to function like abined school and orphanage, a ce where those without family are able to find peace among others with a simr fate..." Hearing Evas heartfelt desire, Vahn felt like the smile on his face hadpletely solidified, his face bing almost perfectly statuesque. This was, of course, noticed by Eva, her own showing a bit of panic as she lowered her head and sheepishly murmured, "If its too much to ask...I..." Without waiting for her to finish her sentence, Vahn just issued a light chuckle in response to Evas words, shaking his head in mild exasperation as he exined, "No, youre misunderstanding me. Im not against the idea of supporting such an organization...rather, if the situation were any different, I wouldnt hesitate to agree...haaaa..." Unable to keep up his act due to the growing panic visible in Evas countenance, Vahn exhaled a long sigh before rifying his thoughts, his voice calm and steady as he said, "You know what my purpose is, Eva. Im trying to be strong enough to reunite with the family I left behind in my original world. Though Im capable of fixing all of the problems within Mundus Magicus, doing so would require an inordinate amount of effort and several decades. This might not be very long in the grand scheme of things, but, with potentially thousands of years remaining until I can reunite with my family, I dont want to get caught up in trying to fix every world I trespass...if I put in the effort, I could even be the most powerful God in this world...there are just far more important things on my te..." Seeing the conflict in Vahns eyes as he struggled between wanting toply with her request and pursuing the things most important to him, Eva couldnt help feeling a little guilty. She was perhaps the most aware of Vahns primary objective, as, thanks to her Memory Fragment, she had more than a thousand years of memories rted to his original world. She had also seen the longing visible in his eyes whenever he talked about the past, so, after a few seconds of silence, she asked, "You came here to talk about something...tell me...what did you decide?" Though he was still thinking about ways topromise on Evas dream, Vahn loaded that burden onto another version of himself as he honestly answered, "I cant reveal too many details right now, but, depending on your decision, I will be able to reveal everything in the near future. Truth be told, I have been considering subsuming the entirety of Mundus Magicus into my Realm ever since Theo asked me for a child..." --- With Eva and even Karin closely listening to everything he had to say, Vahn went on to exin all of the thoughts he had kept bottled up over thest couple of years. He also mentioned the various positives and negatives associated with subsuming Mundus Magicus, and, most importantly, he did his best to exin his ns moving forward. This included the after-care regarding Karins current situation, methods by which they could lure out the members of Cosmo Entelecheia, and, though it was more than a little extreme, he even mentioned the possibility ofpletely halting the flow of time so they could review the situation ande back to it at their leisure... Though it was a very roundabout way of addressing the current situation, the most important thing was simply preventing Asuna from falling into the hands of Cosmo Entelecheia. Without the Key of Twilight, they were unable to move forward with their ns, so, just by keeping her within the Little Garden, they had already bought themselves hundreds of years. Stopping Ialda didnt actually serve a purpose outside of securing Evas vengeance, as, despite her extreme nature, the true purpose of her organization was to create a literal paradise for every living creature. Compared to the existence of the Demon Nobles and the various corrupt organizations that readily manipted both Mundus Magicus and Mundus Vetus behind the scenes, Cosmo Entelecheia wasparably righteous. Their methods left a lot to be desired, but, when it ultimately came down to it, this was a byproduct of the corruption that already existed. It was easier for them to manipte already corrupt people using promises of power than it was to try and forcibly dominate the world, as, even with all their power, the power of Cosmo Entelecheia was inconsequentialpared to the Demons and Vampire Nobles that had consolidated power for tens-of-thousands of years. Though Ialda might very well be the most powerful being within the physical ne of existence, it was clear from the way she did things that her capabilities were limited. There were undoubtedly a number of restrictions ced upon her, and, without Asuna to act as the Key of Twilight, there was a chance she might not be able to do anything in her present state. She just sat around absorbing negative energy, waiting for her enemies toe directly to her doorstep before she exerted even a middling amount of effort to repel them. In other words, Ialda was harmless in her current state. Rather, since she absorbed the negative energy that was present in the sr system, she actually reduced the overall amount. Though she had obviously performed various heinous deeds throughout history, it was impossible to make the argument that her existence, itself, was inherently detrimental to the world. In fact, from a number of different perspectives, Ialda was actually the good guy. The only thing that firmly cemented her as an evil entity was herplete disregard she had for non-humans, the inhumane experiments she had conducted in the past, and the fact that her n would inevitably result in the extinction of all sapient life within the sr system... --- After listening to Vahn make his case for the better part of an hour, Eva couldnt help but ask, "Are you certain you canpletely halt the flow of time?" despite knowing Vahn had already done so for his original world. It was just such a ridiculous concept that, without direct confirmation, it was hard for her to wrap her head around. Understanding Evas skepticism, Vahn didnt show any perturbation in response to her question, his voice calm, steady, and confident as he answered, "I am absolutely certain. In fact, you wille to learn that it takes no real effort on my part to achieve this. I cant exin the details right now, but, once everyone chooses to either apany me or stay behind, I will reveal everything down to the true nature of reality itself. Until then, I cannot speak the truth as the world itself prevents me from doing so..." Though she had countless questions to ask, Eva knew Vahn wouldnt keep the truth from her if he was able to speak it. This caused her to fall silent for several minutes, a thoughtful look on her face as she continued tob through Karins hair. As for thetter, she had a distant look in her eyes that showed she hadpletely checked out from the current conversation, her mind unable to keep up with everything that had been stated and revealed. The only thing that really mattered to her was being able to follow her Master, so, regardless of what was decided, her path was already determined... After failing to organize her thoughts and extrapte the truth from Vahns words, Eva ultimately decided to stop thinking too much. He already said he would reveal everything the moment he was able to, so, rather than seek the truth and potentially endanger their lives, she raised her head and asked, "I assume well be moving into your Realm, correct?" Seeing Vahn nod his head in affirmation, Evas mind wandered to all the memory fragments he had shared with her over the years. Entrance into the Realm meant she was bound to meet with the rest of his harem, and, though she had already epted her ce among them, she wasnt in a hurry to interact with them. She actually wanted to keep Vahn to herself for a little while longer, so, with the Little Garden serving as a convenient amodation, various thoughts began to dance across her mind. After all, they could literally stay inside for an eternity without even a single second passing in the outside world, a notion that made a lot of things, including her own vengeance, seem a lot less important... As this thought crossed her mind, Eva turned her attention to Vahn, meeting his hopeful gaze in the process. This caused a wry smile to develop across her face, as, ever since their reunion, he had been doing a lot, not just for her, but for Arika, Theo, Asuna, and the world itself. Vahn wasnt a very selfish person, and, even though he had nigh-unlimited power, he actually had an aversion to using it unless it was to help people. After thinking about it, the only two things he had ever truly requested of her was that she allow him to save her, and, despite her selfishness, her hand in marriage. Thus, after seeing the look in his eyes, Eva could only release a small sigh before adopting a gentle expression and saying, "I suppose it is only proper that a wife supports her husband...very well, we will do things your way. Before we depart this world, however, I intend to have you apany for a few years in the periphery of this ce...Im not in a particr hurry to be a member of your expansive harem. At the very least, I want to enjoy a long honeymoon with just the three of us..." Hearing her Masters words, Karins eyes came back into focus, a slight frown marring her face as she looked directly at Vahn. She wasnt particrly eager to service the man, but, if it was for her Masters sake, she was willing to tolerate his presence. At the very least, it was infinitely better to have a few years to adapt to his presence before she and her Master were thrust into a situation where countless other women vied for his affection. If she were to meet his other women right this instant, she couldnt guarantee there wouldnt be a conflict, so, at least for the time being, Karin was determined to buy as much time for her Master as possible... Though he noticed the look of conviction in Karins gaze, Vahn did his best not to let it bother him as he returned a radiant smile in response to Evas words. She was inarguably the biggest hurdle to his departure from the Record, so, now that she had acquiesced, he needed only convince Arika and Theo. They would probably have some inhibitions, but, given Theos character and how easily Arika was swayed by logic, Vahn was confident he could convince them without issue. After that, he just needed to wrap up a few loose ends, and, though it would practically bankrupt his OP reserve, Vahn actually found the thought of starting fresh in a new Record rather tantalizing... With that thought dancing across his mind, Vahns smile became even more prominent as he stared directly into Evas sapphire blue eyes, his voice heavily saturated with his own excitement as he very seriously stated, "I cant even put into words how happy I am right now...all I know for certain is that I seriously fucking love you right now..." As Vahn very rarely cursed, Eva was more than a little surprised by his apparent giddiness and the context of his words. She felt like an entire flock of butterflies was wreaking havoc within her body, and, though she could normally meet his gaze without issue, she found herself looking away with a crimson hue coloring her cheeks as she meekly replied, "Show some restraint you dummy..." before adding a few more words under her breath... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "Please, spare me...",TFW the bad guy is actually the good guy,Raid Boss down!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1678 Retribution

Chapter 1678 Retribution

Opening his eyes, Vahn found himself surrounded by a familiar cumulonimbus, a taunting smile spreading across his face as he said, "Even if you go all-out, you wont be able to defeat me. If you dont want to endanger the sanctity of the Heavens, stop meddling in this world and abide by your own rules. Dont make-" Interrupting his warning, thick bands of golden lightning began targeting Vahn from virtually every direction. Their speed was much greater than normal lightning, so, even though his reaction speed would normally allow him to evade such attacks, nearly every band impacted his body directly. As a result, his body began to char from the inside, his flesh and organs carbonizing as his eyes glowed red-hot before subsequently melting away like liquid metal. Though not entirely unexpected, Vahn realized he had underestimated the so-called Gods Divine Judgment. His body had virtually no resistance against the Sacred Holy Lightning created by a Tier 5 being, as, by design, it was meant to have no actual counter. The only way to even remotely resist it was to beprised entirely of Holy Energy, but, even if he used Magia Erebea to assume such a form, the nature of the technique itself would ensure he took even greater damage. Fortunately, thanks to Karin, Vahn had a temte within his mind that he could use even without the Magia Erebea. As a result, his body began to rapidly regenerate, his skin turning inordinately fair as his hair gained a silky-ck sheen. Most notably, two sets of angelic wings sprung from his back, but, not satisfied with a half-measure, Vahn pushed his transformation a step further. Golden scales began to sprout across his body, and, though the form naturally resisted the changes he was forcing upon it, a set of draconic wings spread from his back as a very convenient halo manifested above his crown. Since damage was likely too broad in this case, Vahnmanded the [Runed Halo] to protect him from purification. The thing that made Holy Elemental Energy so powerful wasnt its ability to deal damage to a target, rather, as a result of its nature, it wasnt capable of causing harm. What made it so powerful was the fact that it could expunge all impurities from a target, and, though this had the appearance of causing catastrophic damage to said target, the thing that ultimately brought about their end was their ck of purity. Though Vahns Source Energy should allow him to resist such effects entirely, the fact he emted the human body and adopted a physical form worked against him. The form, name, race, and even the fate of entities within the Records determined how the Laws affected them. This was especially true in Records governed by Magic, and, if you could somehow bind a God into the form of a much weaker creature, the most popr being humans or animals associated with them, they could even be killed by mortal men and women. Vahn wasrgely immune to the concept of true death due to the indestructibility of his Ego and the invibility of Source Energy. Though he would need to act before the Source Energy turned into other types of energy, he was effectively able to revive a countless number of times. The only limiting factor was his own intent, so, unless they could somehow break his spirit and force him to simply give up, he would keeping back stronger, faster, and more resolute. Emphasizing this characteristic, a phenomenal aura radiated from Vahns body, forcibly dissipating the billowing cloud coverage as a twenty-meter long spear of holy lightning appeared in his right hand. This wasnt condensed from his own energy, however, but the energies within the cloud. He was able to exercise control over all forms of energy within his own domain, and, though it would be difficult to perform such a feat if the entity guiding the energy was present, the fact they were an entire Realm away gave him the home-field advantage. With an uncharacteristically vicious smile on his face, Vahn continued to collect golden lightning into his spear as the surrounding bands impacted powerlessly against his body. Then, with his three pairs of wings spread wide, his aura multiplied as he extended his left hand and shouted, "Set alight the all-consuming me, Laevateinn...!!" Like an explosion had been set off within their midst, the billowy white clouds swirling around Vahn were torn apart by an invisible shockwave. Then, before they could even hope to reform, he arched backward an irregr amount before contracting his body, throwing the fifty-meter long spear of lightning that had been gathering in his right hand. Its momentum was so extraordinary that, for a brief moment, it appeared as though an indivisible golden line had appeared between Vahn and an empty point several hundred meters away. Then, without a single sound emanating, the line simply vanished into thin air as the clouds began to disperse into partictes of white light... --- An unquantifiable distance from the mortal world, separated by no less than eight dimensional nes, a seemingly endless ocean of clouds could be seen floating aimlessly through a pale-golden sky. At the very center of this expanse, a majestic structure formed from the most immacte white marble and an extraordinary amount of gold stood proud and invible. It gave off the impression of the most majestic pce in existence, its size alone eclipsing thebined surface area of both Mundus Vetus and Mundus Magicus. Located at the center of this cosmologically central pce, what appeared to be a mass of wings surrounded an indescribably vibrant source of light. These wings belonged to peculiar creatures without any discernible bodies, their only aspects being three pairs of resplendent golden wings that were attached to the visage of a lion, an ox, a human, and an eagle. They dutifully veiled the vibrant light contained within, but, every now and then, a small break would appear in the area covered by their wings, its vibrance so great it illuminated the entirety of the endless expanse of Heaven. In total, there were six of the peculiar four-headed creatures, each radiating an aura so phenomenal that the average mortals mind would simply copse in its presence. Those unfortunate enough toy their eyes directly upon the creatures would immediately turn to ash, and, should they somehow infringe upon the territory protected by the strange entities, they would experience a fate far worse than death. The floor, which seemed to be woven from the night sky, was actually another entity on par with the six creatures, and, though it could not kill people, it had the ability to seal them within a realm of eternal darkness; an inescapable ne where you would be forced to experience your worst nightmares for all eternity... Floating above this membrane representing the concept of eternity, an ever-changing number of beings reminiscent of giant ming wheels could be seen slowly orbiting the six-winged entities in the center. Their surfaces were covered in countless eyes, each superimposed onto the outside of the rings, which, despite appearing to be made from gold, possessed a uniquely organic nature that allowed the eyes to periodically open and close. It was a rather eerie sight, but, should you ever find yourself in a situation to behold their form, you wouldnt even have time to blink before you found yourself viewing your entire life from an outsiders perspective as your body was slowly consumed by holy fire... Above even the wheel-like entities and the peculiar four-headed creatures, three entities, each possessing six wings formed from the elements, could be seen holding hands. Each was garbed in resplendent armor forged from glistening white tes and pale gold that seemed to radiate literal mes. Their heads were cloaked by hooded mantles, the interior of which obscured their features with a darkness that could even rival the abyss. Above their heads, three crown-liked halos formed from blue, green, and red energy matched the color of the eyes that burned like living mes within their hoods. These were the entities known as Rubrum, Caeruleum, and Viridis, the three Seraphim who ruled over the Heavens and governed the position of all celestial bodies within the cosmos. Due to humanitys inability to conceptualize the existence of an all-powerful God, the Throne of God had remained unupied ever since the inception of the Nine Heavens. Though the influence of God was still present within all the Realms, they had no physical form or will outside the structure of the Heavens themselves. Despite this, their influence was currently the greatest in the entirety of the Akamatsuverse, so, even in the absence of a true God, its influence could be felt throughout the entirety of the verse. In actuality, the closest thing to a True God was the Root of Creation itself, and, though it had a will of its own, entities within the verse were entirely unaware of its existence. They simply saw the Root of Creation as the Will of the Heavens, an abstract concept that allowed deities to wield the closest thing to absolute power within the verse. Without a God to rule, the governance of the Heavens was left in the hands of the three Seraphim, each possessing a fragment representing an aspect of the Holy Trinity, each bound by the Will of a God they had never met. The oldest among these was Caeruleum, representing the Father-Mother and the Spirit. The second oldest was Viridis, representing the Holy Ghost and the manifestation of Sapience, the Mind. As for the youngest, they were known as Rubrum, the greatest of the three and representing Man, the living Body, and the possibilities of the future. Due to the nature of belief, it was possible for even ancient history to be retroactively shaped by powerful entities in the present. Thus, despite having onlye into existence several thousand years ago, the age of the Nine Heaven and the Seraphim eclipsed even the birth of the Universe. They had memories dating back billions of years, and, as their power grew, the beliefs that gave them form would superimpose themselves onto reality, altering history to reflect the truth they represented. Since the formation of the Nine Heavens, the only entity that had ever trespassed the Throne of God was the manifestation of Rubrum in the mortal world. He had once discarded his power and authority to walk amongst the men and women he represented, living amongst them in the hopes of guiding them onto the correct path. In the end, he realized that humanity was beyond salvation, but, given their infinite potential, there was always hope for the future. Thus, in order to buy them as much time as they needed, he ended up sacrificing his mortal coil in order to absolve them of their sins and create a path by which the devout and the innocent could find salvation. Though he was forced to suffer great humiliation and anguish, Rubrum ended up bing even more powerful as a result of his Martyrdom. His sacrifice also allowed the physical ne to be more stable, and, though there were still wayward sheep that meandered far from the path he had set for them, he never med them. He loved each and every human that had ever existed, and, if he had any regrets at all, it was that he had loved a particr human more than he ought to. Originally, there were seven Cherubim protecting the Throne of God, theirbined wings more than enough to prevent the light from escaping. Due to his selfishness, however, Rubrum had asked one of the faithful creatures to be the vessel for a mortal woman, the person he had burdened with the sin of betraying him. It broke his heart when the woman killed herself, so, at the expense of arge portion of his power, he allowed her to seek the repentance she sought while also providing her with the opportunity to witness the future they had created with her own eyes. Unfortunately, due to the burden of having her soul transnted into the body of a Cherubim, the woman ended up losing most of her memories. The only things she remembered clearly was her act of betrayal and her apparent failure to take her own life. From then on, he could do little more than watch over her in solemn vigil as she traveled the world in search of forgiveness, something she had already received before his original sacrifice. Had the woman kept along her original path, Rubrum was fully prepared to ask for her forgiveness, but, due to her unique form of amnesia, he could only suffer in silence as she deviated further from the path she had chosen for herself. In the end, she even imprinted onto one of the very beings she, as both a Saintess and a Cherubim, was meant to destroy. To make matters exponentially worse, she even made a vow to forever follow and support the vile creature, a promise she could never renege on due to her Cherubic nature. If not for the vile creatures persistence when it came to killing other vile and evil creatures, Rubrum might have been tempted to use what remained of his power topletely annihte the creature. He could hardly bear to see the one person he had cherished more than any other be led astray by a creature of darkness, but, after watching her suffer through depression for nearly fifteen-hundred years, he was happy just to see her smiling again. Though he did make it impossible for her to form any other contracts, this was intended as a failsafe to prevent the power of the Cherubim from truly falling into the hands of the forces of darkness. Unfortunately, as if the Will of the Heavens was out to spite him, the protection he bestowed upon the woman only exacerbated her misunderstanding that she was cursed. Her faith gradually began to wane, and, though she recognized the existence of God as an absolute, her belief shifted toward the vile apostle of darkness. She even began to harbor obscene and lustful thoughts for the woman, a desire that only grew stronger after their long separation. Had things ended there, Rubrum would have still been able to ept the situation, wholeheartedly believing that the woman would find her way back to the path after the vile apostle inevitably met her end. It might take a few thousand years, but,pared to the billions she was capable of living, it was just a drop in the proverbial bucket. She would eventually outgrow her inclinations, and, due to the ever-strengthening power of belief, it was only a matter of time until she became one of the central pirs that supported their faith. At least, that was how things were supposed to go... Seemingly out of nowhere, an anomalous existence known as the Sage Dragon Emperor emerged within one of the few ces outside the dominion of Heaven. This greatly rmed all three of the Seraphim, but, after witnessing his efforts to restore bnce and purge corruption, they gradually came to see his existence as a positive influence on the world. He had even taken it upon himself to protect the Key of Twilight, one of the few entities they had absolutely no power over due to its intrinsic connection to the Root of Creation. Unfortunately, even the Sage Dragon Emperor fell to the trappings of the detestable entity known as the Dark Evangel. This caused Rubrum to feel the closest thing to anger that he was capable of expressing, but, due to Gods Will preventing direct interference with the mortal world, there was very little he could do. Any action that went against Gods Will required him to sacrifice a piece of himself, and, though his power and authority were still above both Caeruleum and Viridis, the gap had been steadily closing. Rubrums connection to Man made it difficult for him to ept any but the one true God above him, so, regardless of his growing desire to burn the hateful woman to ash, he continued to silently observe the situation from his position within the Heavens. It wasnt until the Sage Dragon Emperor began discussing methods to remove the curse that Rubrum feltpelled to act. The thought of losing the one person he had harbored true affection for filled him with a sense of indignation that simply couldnt be put into words. This was exacerbated by the fact that the Sage Dragon Emperor seemed to be directly taunting him, so, against the counsel of his contemporaries, he mustered as much power as he could manifest within Mundus Magicus, determined to at least teach the Sage Dragon Emperor a hard lesson. Seeing the arrogant dragon charred to the point of bing a carbonized skeleton, Rubrum was unable to prevent a small smile from spreading across his non-existent mouth. He had never taken pleasure in the suffering of others, but, after the dragon had so thoughtlessly antagonized them, he felt it was only right that the anomalous creature suffers Divine Retribution... With this thought prevailing in his mind, Rubrum was unable to even process what was happening when Vahn began to suddenly change into an amalgamation of a Cherubim and a True Dragon. It wasnt something that should even be remotely possible, so, for several pivotal moments, the only thing he could do was observe the situation. Then, just as his mind began to process what he was witnessing, a brilliant sh of golden light appeared within the sanctified chamber, erupting into a cataclysmic explosion of holy energy... (A/N: Alternate Titles: This isnt even my final form...,Rubrum has a very peculiar way of expressing his love...,C-C-C-C-Counter) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1679 Compulsion

Chapter 1679 Compulsion

After idling in the air for several minutes without any new gates forming, confirming his suspicion that Karin effectively acted as a waypoint for whatever entity was observing her, Vahn gradually eased out of his Cherubic-Dragon transformation. It was a very powerful form, but, perhaps as a result of using Karins body as a temte, he actually needed to focus just to prevent his body from transforming into that of a female. Vahn didnt particrly mind transforming into a woman for short periods of time, but, as his self-image was that of a reliable father, an emperor, and a man, he always felt ufortable in a womans body. It also reminded him of the time he was essentially pushed down by Tiona, the experiments he conducted with Da Vinci, and, most notably, the thirteen-weeks he spent trying to familiarize himself with Yin Elemental Energy. For one reason or another, likely pertaining to the Laws, everything from natural affinity, race, and gender determined the efficacy of certain types of energy. Men were naturally better and shaping and controlling Yang Elemental Energy, and, though they were able to eventually master it, women had a far easier time mastering Yin Elemental Energy. There were various ways around this, but, in the end, it was always better to work alongside the Laws rather than work against them. Thus, in an effort to familiarize himself with various Laws, Vahn had changed his form from everything to a tiny pixie to a hill-sized dragon. With Karins body as a temte, it was only a matter of time until Vahn incorporated the unique structure of a Cherubim into a vessel that perfectly suited his personal use. This was nothing new, however, as, even as far back as the Record of Danmachi, Vahn had been experimenting with the form and function of his own body. He had originally used Riveria as a temte to emte a High Elf, and, though it was awkward in the beginning, he had even found a way to change his form into that of a male Amazoness. There were very few limits to his ability to manipte his form, the only real restrictions being his inhibitions and his understanding of the race he was trying to emte. --- After assuming a far morefortable form, Vahn decided to sit atop the inds estate as he waited for some kind of response from Heaven. He didnt actually know to what extent they were able to influence the physical ne, but, considering there were entities like Demon Gods, Vampire Nobles, and various other malicious creatures acting with impunity, he doubted their influence was able to reach beyond their established territories. They likely used Karins body as a beacon of sorts, so, now that she was no longer in the Magical World, there was a chance they had lost the ability to directly influence Mundus Magicus. With more than an hour passing without incident, Vahn felt like his spection hit the proverbial nail on the head. This was actually a little disappointing, but, as he had already decided to depart the Akamatsuverse, he didnt let it bother him. Instead, he pulled out two tarot-like cards from his Inventory, each showing distinctly different women with diverse shades of golden hair. Staring at the first card, a wry smile spread across Vahns face as it depicted Theo in a rather risque outfit with several muscr arms hovering around what appeared to be a dharmic wheel. She had a massive grin on her face, and, though it was just a card, Vahn felt like he could feel her enthusiasm and her desire for battle radiating from the image. As for thetter card, it showed an inordinately beautiful woman with long golden hair reaching the small of her back, her expression appearing a little cold at first, but, if you looked closely, an undisguised warmth was visible within in her peculiar heterochromatic eyes... After staring into Arikas gem-like eyes for several seconds, Vahn brought her card to his forehead, closing his eyes as he attempted to established a telepathic link. It took her less than three seconds to ept his call, her voice sounding equal parts excited, confused, and worried as she asked, ("Is there something wrong? I never expected you to contact me during the day...") Though Vahn could simply teleport to the Empire and meet with both of the girls, doing so would be a greater hassle than summoning to his side with the Pactio. Before that, however, he wanted to give them a heads up, so, in response to Arikas question, he inly stated, ("There is something I needed to discuss with both you and Theo in person. A few things have changed in the past couple of days. How quickly can you make preparations so I can teleport you-") Without affording him the time to finish his telepathic message, Arika answered, ("We can be ready in three minutes.") in a curt tone. This caught Vahn a little off-guard, but, considering who he was speaking to, it wasnt too surprising that she would immediately make time for him. This brought a natural smile to his face, and, after sending her an affirmative, he quickly teleported to the Pce of the Sun in order to include Anarchia and Vesperina in the discussion... --- Immediately after her telepathic conversation with Vahn, Arika turned toward the bronze-skinned woman curled up at her side. Then, after several seconds of staring at the line of drool leaking from the womans mouth, she raised her hand to give the scantily-d woman a rather firm smack on herrgely exposed rear-end. Rather than cry out in confusion, however, the woman immediately closed her mouth, a sonorous moan escaping her throat as shezily opened her eyes. Resisting the urge to sigh in exasperation, Arika decided to get directly to the point, stating, "Vahn has called for us. It seems to be an urgent matter so you should prepare yourself ordingly." Hearing her kindred sisters words, Theo immediately sat up on the bed, her developing breasts bouncing spiritedly for a brief moment as she eximed, "Yosh! I hope those bastards hiding in the shadows have finally poked their heads out! Im itching for a fight...!" As they had just finished training less than an hour ago, Arika couldnt help but roll her eyes ever so slightly as she exined, "If it was the enemy, Vahn would havee directly to us. It seems like he has something important to discuss so we will likely emerge within the Pce of the Sun. Though I have already told them about you...I would rather you avoid wearing anything inappropriate before my mother and aunt. Its not that Im against your choice in garb, but, for a variety of reasons, it is best you adorn something more formal..." Imagining her mother walking around the pce in a skimpy dress or a modified wedding gown, a notable shiver passed through Arikas body. She knew her mothers character well, and, though she was a nigh-wless Queen when it came to the execution of her duties, her insatiable curiosity and her penchant for trying new things had be increasingly problematic. The presence of Vahn had only exacerbated this, and, if not for Asuna and herself, Arika was certain that her mother would not have held back at all during her treatment. Remembering all of the advice her mother had given her, Arika was unable to prevent a sigh from escaping her lips as she began to fix her hair and clothes. Fortunately, they were currently within a sub-space created by Qinglong, so, while she had told Vahn they would be ready in three minutes, they actually had closer to thirty before he summoned them. This gave her plenty of time to fix her appearance, a habit she had put increasingly more effort into even before her feelings for Vahn had fully blossomed... --- With three minutes having psed, Vahn smiled at the two pajama-d women seated across from him as he said, "Ill be summoning Arika and Theo now. I can also summon Asuna, but, for the sake of convenience, I might just take everyone to where she is located..." Without asking any questions, Anarchia and Vesperina just nodded in understanding before taking simultaneous sips of the hot cocoa he had prepared for them. This caused the smile on Vahns face to twitch slightly, but, withoutmenting on their easy-going attitudes, he held up the two Pactio cards and eximed, "I Summon Forth, Attendants of Vahn, Arika Anarchia Entheofushia, Theodora Bashireia Herasu De Vesuperisujimia...!!" Following the incantation, twoplex magical circles appeared on the ground as Anarchia, with a teasing smile on her face, mused, "Hear that, Vesperina? It seems my daughter, the future Queen of Vespertatia, has be the Sage Dragon Emperors attendant. How scandalous~." Hearing the remark and subsequentughter, Vahns smile became even more strained, but, seeing Arika and Theo appear, he was able to recover almost instantaneously. His expression softened into an affectionate smile, but, before he was able to utter so much a single syble, thetter of the two zeroed in on him, her eyes turning into predatory slits for as she pounced on him with the force of a freight train. Fortunately, Vahn was already ustomed to Theos antics, so, before she was able to send them crashing through the pce walls, he created a spatial lock just to arrest her momentum. Then, with a mix of amusement and affection appearing on his face, he wrapped his arms around the excitable woman, the middle and ring fingers of his right hand pressing into the nerves above the base of her tail as he mused in a slightlymanding tone, "Behave yourself..." The moment she heard Vahns words, all the power seemed to drain from Theos body in an instant as she slumped against him. The only part of her that was still lively was her tail, but, due to Vahns preemptive measures, it was only able to lightly waggle and twitch as she nestled her face into his chest, her voice hot and heavy as she mewled, "Master..." Hearing the familiar form of address, the smile on Vahns face became more prominent as his hold on Theos body became more firm. Before he could reward her obedience with a kiss, however, the mood waspletely destroyed when Anarchia audibly muttered, "Oh my...this was not what I had in mind when the Sage Dragon Emperor requested our presence. I had originally thought we were underdressed for the asion...now its starting to seem like the opposite is true..." With her hearing bing even more sensitive as ofte, Theo didnt miss a single word that had escaped Anarchias mouth. This caused her to feel more than a little embarrassed, but, even if they had tried to forcibly tear her away, she wasnt going to part from her Master so easily. Instead, she just buried her face in his chest, a thin membrane developing within her ears to block most external sounds as her olfactory receptors began to multiply, drastically increasing her sense of smell. Due to their close proximity, Vahn was even more aware of the changes urring in Theos body than she herself. This fascinated him greatly, but, knowing he would have plenty of time to observe her within the Little Garden, he temporarily suppressed his intrigue. Instead, he continued to hold Theo in his embrace, and, after offering an apologetic smile toward Arika, he went on to exin as many details regarding his intentions as possible. He exined it as cing the entire universe into stasis, and, after exining his reasons for leaving and promising them he would finally be able to reveal the truth, he managed to convince, not just Arika and Theo, but Anarchia and Vesperina to apany him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn conducts a lot of experiments with Da Vinci (OwO)...,Anarchia never misses an opportunity~,The power of evolutionbined with the Law of Progress o_o...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1680 Arrangements

Chapter 1680 Arrangements

Though it didnt quite prove his ims, Vahn followed his exnation by inviting the Arika, Theo, Anarchia, and Vesperina into the Little Garden. Then, in order to effectively halt the flow of time in the outside world, he focused his mind and descended into his Realm once again. Seeing the miniature realm filled with numerous World Trees, the four new arrivals were, needless to say, awed beyond words. They could also feel the truly phenomenal amount of energy contained within the very air, its concentration seemingly thousands of times more potent despite causing no strain on their bodies. Theo, in particr, felt like all of her pores were opening to, quite literally, aid in her absorption of the energy; effectively creating a feeling simr to infinite power was coursing through her body like a powerful river. Just as the quartet was beginning to adapt to their new surroundings, Vahn decided to drop in and say hi. His aura, alone, was enough to make Theo doubt her power even existed, as, despite feeling as though she had suddenly be unfathomably strong, her rapidly developing instincts told her there was absolutely nothing she could do to the man before her. This notion might have terrified others, but, having already dedicated her everything to her Master, Theo surprised Vahn quite a bit by spontaneously developing heart-shaped pupils as she, once again, pounced on him... --- In an effort topletely erase the few remaining doubts in everyones mind, Vahn had four of himself preparing a feast since their previous discussion. He knew how much they all enjoyed his food, so, while it was a little underhanded, he wanted to finalize their decision with a promise of simr meals every day. To this end, he not only made everyones favorites, but, taking advantage of the awesome power he wielded within the Realm, Vahn condensed his literal intent into the food, not to manipte them persay, but to ensure they understood his feelings. Though everyone had a markedly different reaction, the n ended up going a lot smoother than Vahn expected. Eva was even brought to tears the moment she bit into the strawberry shortcake he had baked for her, memories of the past descending upon her like rain. Instead of feeling alone and scared, however, there was a warm presence that never left her side, shielding her from the rain and preventing her from taking even a single step towards the darkness just beyond her periphery. While considerably less dramatic, everyone else at the table was having a simr experience as Eva. Anarchia and Vesperina were reminded of all the mischief they had gotten up to in their childhood, but, most notably, their hearts were warmed by the mere sight of radiant smiles on their daughters faces. As for the daughters in question, Arikas face had be beet red, illusory steam rising from her crown as she momentarily refused to make eye contact with anyone. Asuna, however, made no such attempt to hide her emotions, a radiant smile visible on her slightly flushed face as she stared at Vahn with glittering, impassioned, eyes. Following Asunas example, Theo had a very simr expression on her face, albeit for very different reasons. Asuna was imagining a rather tame scene where she curled up in hisp, sharing the same throne with an expression that matched the one she was currently presenting. As for Theo, the first image that came to her mind was being strapped to an x-shaped table, her wrists and ankles bound as several versions of her Master licked and tormented her body. Seeing Theo descend into a giggling fit, Vahn began to wonder if he had gone a little too far, but, as she was the only real outlier, he decided it wasnt that bad. Even Jinbei seemed to savor each and every bite of his meal with a reminiscent smile on his face, while, seated next to Eva, Karin took very small bites of specially prepared sweet and spicy bread. Unlike everyone else, she was basically just recalling thest few days, each more fulfilling than the previous three-hundred-yearsbined... In the end, the only person who didnt experience something blissful or pleasant from eating the carefully prepared meal was Fenrir. As for the reason why, it came down to the simple fact of the matter that she was always happiest in the present, seated at her Masters side with a contented smile on her face. She found the reactions of everyone else more enjoyable than the vor of the food, as, in her mind, her Masters sess was her greatest source of happiness... --- With the feast inevitablying to an end, everyone felt a little bittersweet, but, even after several hours had passed, it was possible to find most of them with a contented smile on their faces. There was something truly magical about being able to experience tender moments while enjoying some of the best-tasting food they could even imagine. Many were even able to recall memories they had once forgotten, so, despite feeling a little empty inside, it was a pleasant mncholy that reminded them of their childhoods and simpler times. Jinbei, in particr, just found a nice ce toy down at the edge of the ind, a rxed smile visible on his face as he decided to nap for a few months... Without paying any particr mind to the whimsy of the self-proimed Vagrant Hermit, Vahn had gathered everyone together in the dojo to discuss their actions going forward. He had already used the vessel he kept nearby to recover, not just the Garden of Avalon, but the entirety of Demios. This was bound to cause quite a stir within the astrologicalmunity, but, considering few people had even seen Deimos due to its small size, it wouldnt really be missed. With the Garden of Avalon secured, the only loose ends remaining in the Akamatsuverse were the people those present were insistent on bringing along. He had exined to them that it could take several thousand years before they are able to return to their world, so, while time would certainly be stopped, it would ease the burden of separation to have people they cared about toe along for the ride. Surprisingly, Eva seemed to have abandoned the idea of bringing along the immortal children she had previously wanted to help. She was a pretty rational person, so, knowing time would be halted while she was away, she ultimately decided to save them in the far future. By then, she would have more than enough power to defeat her foes, and, though she didnt vocalize her thoughts, she was still feeling a little guilty about being selfish while Vahn was still desperately seeking the strength to return home. Since it took a lot of effort to look after other people, Eva came to the conclusion it would be better for her to adapt to the current situation rather than making it moreplicated. After all, she had a literal eternity to prepare a suitable environment for all the people she wanted to save. Until then, it was best she focus on the things that truly matter: the happiness she had found for herself, getting along with the people she already viewed as family, and the fact her fiance seemed determined to eat her up in the very near future... Though he wasnt reading her mind, Vahn could guess what Eva was thinking, as, the moment they began discussing living arrangements, her face became noticeably redder. After all, this topic was a segue into another very important discussion: wedding arrangement and family nning. Marriage seemed to be a lot more important in the Akamatsuverse than the previous Records Vahn had visited, so, without any room for debate, he waspelled to marry Eva, Arika, Theo, and even Asuna in the very near future. Anarchia even made ament about throwing her own name into the pool for consideration, but, after realizing even her daughter was considering it, she promptly retracted her statement as a joke. She was honestly just happy that her daughter had been given a chance to find her happiness, and, though she certainly wouldnt mind having a taste of Vahn, she knew it would be best for her to seekpanionship elsewhere. With Anarchias joke out of the way, it was ultimately decided that each of the weddings, starting with Evas, would take ce over a three-day period approximately three weeks from the time of the discussion. This would give Vahn enough time to wrap up any loose ends in the outside world, and, though the weddings themselves would seem a little rushed, the honeymoon period was set to take ce in the middle rings. There, the time dtion was close to 500x, so, with each of the three weddings taking ce on different days, they would have upwards of fifty-days for the honeymoon period. Fortunately, though it was discussed in great detail, there was no risk of anyone getting pregnant unless they were absolutely certain they wanted to have a baby. This upset Anarchia and Vesperina a little bit, as they were very eager to meet their grandchildren, but, after hearing about the effects of the Little Garden in greater detail, they were willing to wait. Seeing an infant grow into an adult over the course of 2-3 years was a rather jarring experience, so, for the time being, Vahn suggested they wait patiently until they could enter the Realm proper. In the end, the only person who even considered having a child any time soon was, surprisingly, Theo. In her culture, it was prettymon for members of the Nobility to have multiple children, and, though she understood there was no real need to produce an heir, it was like an instinct for all of her people. She was simr to an Amazoness in that regard, and, due to descending from a warring species, Theo wouldnt be able to rest peacefully until she had produced at least a handful of strong children. Remembering she had literally asked him to impregnate her in the past, Vahns initial shock faded rather quickly, and, much as he had promised in the past, he assured her that their children would be exceptionally powerful. This wasnt a false promise either, as, unless her desires changed, it was all but guaranteed that his children with Theo would be little battle maniacs. There was even a high probability that a few would inherit the evolutionary capabilities Theo had developed as a result of her fusion with the Tri-Force of Power. After all, the intent of the parents had a substantial influence on the children he produced, so, after experiencing such power, Theo would want their children to possess something simr. Fortunately, though it caused him quite a few headaches, Vahn already had a substantial amount of experience when it came to dealing with destructive infants with infinite potential for evolution. His daughter with Tiamat, Xysteria, seemed to represent the concepts of Chaos and Evolution. The only desire Tiamat had for her daughter was that she would be able to live however she pleased, and, no matter what form she took, she would always be loved. Vahns own desire was that his children had no limits to their growth, so, in the end, Xysteria was born as an exceptionally adorable little dragon whelp that could produce seemingly infinite versions of herself, each with different traits... Though she had numerous visitors, Xysteria spent most of her time ying within a Realm that had been specifically created for her. She was a rather simple girl with an insatiable curiosity, and, even if he wanted to, keeping her restrained was virtually impossible. Thus, to protect both Xysteria, and the very fabric of reality, Xysteria needed to be isted in her own little world. There, more than a thousand different versions of herself happily explored the ever-changing region, each serving as an extension of the original Xysteria, an adorable little toddler with earthen-brown skin, four arms, multiple tails,rge furry ears, multiple horns, and fur so soft it could evenpete with Fenrir and Preasia. Vahn did his best never topare his children, but, as a result of his and Tiamats desires during her pregnancy, Xysteria was inarguably his most adorable child. This wasnt just his opinion either, as, whenever people visited Xysterias realm, it was impossible to avoid cuddling with her original body. Rather, even if you didnt want to, Xysteria would seek you out, and, after she inevitably got her hands on you, you simply had no choice but to cuddle her for, at least, a few hours. Her fur was immacte, her body was squishy, and, though she was the furthest thing from a human in Vahns ever-growing family tree, all of her characteristics screamed, I am adorable, love me. Though it was a little dangerous to allow Xysterias extensions to interact with others, as they were the manifestation of her curiosity, even children could interact with her original self without fear. As for why it was necessary to ce her within her own Realm, it was because she had no control over when and where another version of herself would manifest out of thin air. She also had virtually no control over the traits they possessed, and, while they followed her will simr to a hive mind, a few of Xysterias extensions had traits that posed a threat to others just by virtue of their existence. The most notable of Xysterias extensions had the ability to produce spores that infected virtually all other forms of organic life, the only exception being her other extensions. Anything infected would have all the nutrients in their body consumed to produce massive mushrooms, many of which wererger than houses. By the time a week had passed, more than a million square-kilometers had been converted into one massive mushroom colony, and, if not for the effect spontaneously dying out, it likely would have spread to cover the entire Realm-like texture. Once Silva finished her Terra-Genesis, Xysteria was ted to be the first living organism on her surface. This was something Silva herself desired, likely due to Gaias desire that her daughter get along with all of her siblings, so, whenever Xysteria was in a stable period, Vahn would take her over for a ydate. The two got along exceptionally well, and, though Xysteria still had the mental state of a three-year-old, even after several decades had passed, Silva didnt seem to mind babying her adorable little sister in the slightest... --- With most of the important discussions out of the way, Vahn helped everyone get situated in their respective residences. The system shop had literal mansions avable for purchase, and, since each of his inventory slots was a 1000x1000 meter cube, he had long-since developed a habit of storing numerous convenient structures inside. If he made adequate preparations, it was even possible to store an entire plot ofnd inside his Inventory, the only requirement being that the materials were all purchased from the system shop. When everything was said and done, Anarchia, Vesperina, Arika, Asuna, and even Theo all moved into arge mansion located within the second ring. They also had a small cottage on the main ind and a training area on the third ring, thetter of which had already existed due to Vahn creating simr structures on each of the seventy rings. As for their insistence on having their main residence in the second ring, it was apparently to reduce the amount of time they had to wait before being able to eat his food again... With Theo choosing to live amongst the members of the Ostian Royal Family, seemingly quite serious about seeing Arika and Asuna as her sisters, Vahns job was finished. He had constructed the residence for Eva and Karin days prior, and, though it was little more than a small cottage with only five bedrooms, Eva argued that it was intimate. She seemed to have grown weary of extravagance, so, with the Little Garden suffused with a perpetual calming aura, Eva decided she would rather live in a small, peaceful, residence...the type of ce you could, very easily, start a family. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn just Shokugeki-no-Soumad them,Family nning is important,For those who are curious, Xysteria looks functionally identical to the character Faputa from Made in Abyss) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1681 Farewells

Chapter 1681 Farewells

To prevent any problems from arising, Vahn deposited Arika, Theo, Anarchia, and Vesperina back in their previous locations. At the very least, he still needed to recover Juuzou, and, though he had the option to just leave Nagi within his personalized Sub-Space Orb, the idea of leaving the boy inside, even with time stopped, just felt wrong. With a few hours to spare before the ing dawn, Vahn teleported over to Ariadne using one of the many spatial anchors he had created. At the same time, he also sent a version to himself over to Zephyria, not with the intention of inviting Katarina to apany him but to share a few drinks. He couldnt deny he had grown a little fond of the woman during their rtively short stint in Zephyria, and, though they werent particrly close, Vahn knew he would feel some regret if he left without at least saying goodbye. Understanding his nature well, Eva had actually given Vahn permission to sleep with Katarina, but, unless something pretty drastic happened, he had no such intentions. He wasnt fond of the idea of casual sex, and, depending on her reaction after the fact, he would probably try to convince her to apany him. This would onlyplicate matters, as, despite being an exceptionallypetent woman, Katarina wasnt really prepared to learn everything he had to impart. She was just a normal woman with extraordinary capabilities, and, though she undoubtedly had an adventurous spirit, the life she had lived up until this point was simply too divergent from his own... --- Though he would normally just teleport directly into the interior, Vahn found himself standing on the outside of Katarinas room with a slightly mncholic smile on his face. Then, after shaking his head in self-admonition, he knocked on the door hard enough to send a jarring echo through the interior. This caught the woman inside by surprise, but, after removing the safety from her magical gun, she managed to sound cool and unperturbed as she deactivated the doors lock and said, "Its open!" in amanding bark. Surprising the woman even further, Vahn opened the door to Katarinas personal quarters, a casual smile on his face as he stared into misty-blue eyes and lightly mused, "It seems I caught you at an inopportune time..." Since it was already nearing midnight, Katarina was currently wearing little more than a loose white blouse, a trainer bodice that was likely intended to help keep her hourss figure, and, somewhat surprisingly, a pair of old-fashioned cotton knickers. Though she still gave off the impression of a fierce and dauntless woman, especially with her angr eyes and free-flowing scarlet hair, Vahn found the gap between her intimidating aura and in sleepwear rather charming. Seeing who it was that dared visit her private quarters in the middle of the night, Katarina released a sigh of relief as she tossed her pistol onto the bed and quickly fixed her hair into a loose ponytail as sheined, "You really just do whatever you want, dont you? Zephyria might be the City of Freedom, but breaking into a womans house in the middle of the night is grounds to be drawn and quartered." Though he was certain Katarina only felt a middling attraction toward him, Vahns smile became more prominent as he noticed her instinctual attempt to beautify herself in front of him. It was the type of thing women did when they cared about how particr people saw them, and, at least until she saw his smile, Katarina didnt even seem to realize what she was doing. Noticing the change in Vahns expression, Katarinas own turned into a scowl as she crossed her arms and asked, "What, never seen a woman in her skivvies before? Id appreciate it if you stopped with the incessant gawking and answered my question. Dont tell me you actually came here just to pay me a visit?" As she had hit the nail on the head, Vahn chuckled in response to Katarinas words, surprising the woman for the third time in less than three minutes. She even took a step back, not out of fear, but sheer disbelief. At the same time, her heart began beating like a drum within her chest, and, though she was able to retain her usual mask of calm, a drunken hue colored her cheeks, staining her olive-skin with a subtle yet tantalizing shade of red. Though he wasnt exactly trying to tease the woman, Vahn allowed the misunderstanding to persist for several seconds before pulling out a crystalline bottle filled with a rich brown liquid. Then, with a rather cheeky yet somehow serious smile, he mused, "Thats quite the inviting reaction...regrettably, I think it is best we avoid crossing that line. Im not into one-night stands, so, unless youre willing to drop everything and follow me to worlds far beyond the stars, Im afraid well have to remain as little more than drinking buddies..." Noticing the peculiar mncholy contained within Vahns tone, Katarinas expression was marred with yet another frown. She suddenly got the impression he was here to say goodbye, and, based on the context of his statement, it seemed like he was going somewhere very far away. This made her feel a palpable emptiness within her heart, as, despite their rtively short period of interaction, she had also grown rather fond of the troublesome dragon. His actions drowned her beneath an ocean of paperwork, but, as he was freer than anyone she had ever met, she found it impossible to hate him... After remaining silent for several seconds, Katarina ultimately broke eye contact, a conflicted look recing her usual calm as she asked, "Assuming I was willing...what can you offer me in exchange? Im a pragmatic woman...if the price is right, I could be convinced..." Surprised by Katarinas response, Vahn could only stare at her for several seconds, his expression a textbook example of abject shock. This scenario wasnt pletely outside his expectations, but, as the leader of a nation that espoused freedom, he hadnt expected Katarina to so readily offer terms for a promise. Seeing Vahns stunned expression, Katarina glowered at him with slightly upturned eyes, her irises glowing slightly as she added, "I trust my gut. Its telling me Ill experience a lot of interesting things if I choose to follow you. I became Admiral to protect the country my ancestors had built, but, after more than a decade in this position, Ivee to realize this is all just a big waste of time. Zephyria is a nation of cutthroats, opportunists, and traitors. The freedom I once believed in cannot be found here and Ive long grown weary of the everyday politicking. If you can afford the price, I dont mind selling myself into your service...I gave up my actual freedom a long time ago..." Though he was even more surprised by Katarinas unexpected testimony, Vahn was able to maintain a mask of calm as he silently listened. He got the impression she was hiding something, but, when she got to the parts concerning her freedom, he could clearly hear the regret and sincerity evident within her tone. This was something that deeply resonated with him, and, though he could tell she didnt actually want to abandon her country, her yearning for something more was reflected in the fiery glow of her glistening blue eyes... Realizing he was inadvertently on the precipice of obtaining a dauntless pirate queen as a potential harem member, Vahn couldnt help feeling a little disconcerted. Despite this, he had never been the type to disregard a persons convictions, so, in response to Katarinas proposition, he offered, "I can give you free rein through more than a thousand worlds, many filled with fantastical creatures, vast unexplored regions, and endless challenges to ovee. You can either be an Admiral in the Imperial Fleet, or, should you desire more freedom, I am willing to provide you a ship that is equally as capable of diving into the depths of the sea as it is at flying through the vast expanse of space. In the end, everything will depend on your ambitions, and, so long as you never stray onto a path that sees the weak and powerless suppressed beneath your will, I am even willing to provide you with all the resources you need to build another nation..." Though each of Vahns promises was grander than the one before, Katarina couldnt help but feel a little mncholic. Part of her had wanted him to offer nothing more than his love and a few pints of strong liquor. From his words, she could easily conclude he already had, not just one, but numerous women in his heart. This wasnt really that surprising, but, with none of his promises even hinting at a rtionship, she couldnt help but wonder if her charm wascking. Rather than be deterred by the notion that Vahn was unaffected by her beauty, Katarina actually felt a little fired up. She wasnt known as the Dauntless Katarina for nothing, so, after making a show of seriously considering his offer, she ultimately shook her head, adopting a serious expression as she said, "Youll have to do better than that. Flowery words would never be able to convince me to give up everything. If you want me, Im afraid youll need to demonstrate a bit of sincerity...prove to me that I wont regret it..." Since she got the impression Vahn was acting denser than he actually was, Katarina left no room to misinterpret her meaning, pulling at the strap keeping her bodice in ce. Her blouse immediately burst open, and, though she was pushing thirty-nine-years-old, Katarinas body showed no signs of deteriorating. Instead, she gave off the impression of a woman in her prime, her olive-skin catching the light in a way that made the contours of her body appear even more beautiful... After briefly pausing to admire Katarinas notable abdominal muscles, Vahn raised his eyes to meet the womans fiery gaze. He was only just now beginning to realize what she wanted from him, and, though it was a little unorthodox, he was certain he could convince her. She very clearly wanted to love him, but, due to her nature, she couldnt open her heart so easily. Thus, in order to remove all of her doubts, allowing her to pursue the freedom she so desperately craved, Vahn resolved himself to show Katarina the full extent of his capacity to love... What he never could have expected was, despite her age, position, profession, and natural beauty, Katarina was somehow still a virgin... --- Though he shared senses with each of his vessels, the other Vahns couldnt help but feel as though their counterpart in Zephyria was very fortunate. After all, their original intention was to simply say goodbye, but, before a single drink could be poured, the situation had developed into a passionate session of lovemaking. To make matters even more oundish, this was actually his first time having sex with a woman he had met within the Akamatsuverse. Remembering his conversation with Eva prior to departing the Realm, Vahn realized she had already expected this exact oue. She had probably noticed something contained within Katarinas gaze that he had overlooked, as, moments before his departure, she went out of her way to expressively give him permission. If he had to guess, this was either her way of testing him, or, given the specific circumstance, her method of trying to make up for her recent selfishness. She knew he had made a number of concessions on her behalf, and, though Vahn never regretted any of his decisions, there was no denying they had brought him a considerable amount of stress. Fortunately, despite Seras actually bing a ranking member in his fan club, Vahn was able to depart Ariadne without identally cooking up an oyakodon. He got the impression that neither Sidra nor her daughter would refuse to be his ingredients, but, thanks to Zhuque, who had been watching over the duo on his behalf, neither were bold enough to proposition him. In the end, they just had a pleasantte-night dinner, and, after discussing a few of his former students, Vahn departed the Academy City without giving in to his urge to seek out a certain fragrant rabbit... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Just leave him inside \u003e:D...,Truly Dauntless o_o...,No Buns buns (T ^ T)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1682 Parting

Chapter 1682 Parting

With the not-so-secret ind base being located in the far East, there was a time difference of nearly seven hours. As a result, Vahn needed to have at least one version of himself there when Juuzou inevitably arrived. Afterward, depending on Nagis decision, he would either return the boy his staff or teleport him over to Ariadne. These would be his final actions in the Akamatsuverse, as, due to the nature of their existence, he could easily recover Fairy Xuan and Xiao Bai with a simple thought. Taking advantage of the inds current stillness, Vahn watched the sun slowly ascend the horizon with Zhuque at his side. She was telling him all about her time as an Advisor, and, though he had already known about her taking on a ss, Vahn enjoyed listening to her happily babble about her students. She seemed to really enjoy teaching, and, though she wouldnt hesitate to leave her ss behind to fulfill her duties, it was refreshing to see just how much Zhuque had grown in their time apart... While contemting creating a world with a never-ending sunrise, Vahn lightly caressed Zhuques hand before turning his attention to a particr spot in Space. He could sense a small ripple in the spatial fabric, and, though it didnt seem to be putting any effort into it, Vahn couldnt resist lightly chuckling when he saw Juuzou emerge cooly from the void, his expression serious and his voice a little cold as he said, "The dawn hase...make ready, Sage Dragon Emperor...!" Without minding the twitching of Juuzous brow, Vahn continued tough at the mans expense before hopping down from the roof andnding in front of him. Then, before the man could say anything else, he gestured for silence, exining, "I dont mind fighting you, but, before that, let me ask you a question. Even if you were never able to return, would you abandon this world if it meant being able to freely fight against powerful opponents?" Though he was a little annoyed by the dy, a smirk gradually spread across Juuzous face when he heard the question. Then, without any hesitation, he answered, "If there was even a single powerful swordsman among those opponents, I would dly depart this world. Now, tell me, where have the others gone?" Having already expected Juuzous response after a few conversations with Jinbei, Vahn wasnt at all surprised by the mans words. He simply responded with a curt nod of approval, Laev-tan appearing in his hands as he said, "They will exin things in greater detail after were finished here. For now, I will show you my current peak. If you wish to fight me after that, I will dly be your opponent. Just know...at your current level, you wouldnt be able to survive a single serious exchange..." Hearing Vahns words, Juuzou couldnt hide the subtle twitching of his brow as he gripped the hilt of his katana, his expression bing solemn as he said, "Ill be in your care..." Noticing Juuzous sword intent manifesting into a giant tiger at his back, a technique known as Kenki, Vahns smile became ever-so-slightly more prominent. It was a truly impressive technique, and, if it had been used against virtually anyone else, it would have given Juuzou a tremendous advantage. After all, he was already a Grandmaster swordsman, so, with his Ki and sword intent able to follow up his nigh-unblockable attacks, there were very few people who could trade blows with the man. Vahn could easily make a projection of the Four Divine Beasts, but, while they were functionally simr, he couldnt actually use Kenki. His swordsmanship had simply taken a different approach, and, with Laev-tan in hand, it wasnt an exaggeration when he said the current Juuzou was unable to reach him. To emphasize this point, he didnt even bother to activate Laev-tans release state, his aura and intent seemingly vanishing as he calmly uttered, "Come..." Though he would have dly epted under normal circumstances, Juuzou didnt immediately move to attack Vahn. Powerful swordsman relied on extrasensory perception and their ability to read intent in order to determine how they should face their foes. The fact he could no longer sense Vahn, despite the man clearly standing in front of him, caused him to feel genuine uncertainty for the first time in centuries... Noticing Juuzous hesitation, Vahn was actually a little impressed as most people would have, at the very least, tried attacking. Juuzou might be showing hesitation, but he was also exceptionally calm andposed, his hand never leaving the hilt of his sword as he spread his intent more than five-hundred meters in the surroundings. This was another impressive feat, as, while many Grandmasters were able to strike targets several kilometers away without issue, even someone at Jinbeis level was limited to expanding their intent beyond three-hundred meters. Using the pause as an opportunity to expand the mans horizons, Vahns voice could be heard from every direction, filling his domain and echoing for dozens of kilometers as he said, "Just this once, I will show you the realm waiting beyond Grandmaster..." Hearing Vahns words, Juuzous eyes widened noticeably, but, rather than ask for rification, he gripped the hilt of his katana even harder as he pushed the range of his senses to around 530m, and counting. This was yet another impressive feat, but,pared to the attack Vahn was cooking up, everything else, for a very brief moment, seemed to lose all meaning as he muttered, "Witness the birth of creation within a des edge...the formation of a billion worlds...Trichiliocosm(Billion-fold Worlds)...!" Though it was impossible to describe exactly what he experienced following Vahns utterance, the singr thought present within Juuzous mind was, ("There is still so much to learn..."). By the time he had finished that thought, it was as if he had experienced the birth and destruction of countless worlds, each cleanly bisected by a single sword stroke that moved beyond the limits of time, space, and causality...an attack that cut through parallel worlds and timelines to ensure there was not even a remote possibility of dodging... --- Seeing Juuzou just standing there without so much as a twitching of the eye, Vahn sat down on the ground in order to polish Laev-tan. There were actually several visible cracks along her surface, but, so long as a Zanpakuto wasnt broken in its Bankai state, it would gradually repair itself as the users Spiritual Energy recovered. Fortunately, it would likely take Juuzou around six hours before Juuzous mind had processed everything it just experienced. Until then, he was in a paradoxical state of living death, a proverbial Schrodingers Cat whose very existence was decided by Vahns acknowledgment of his final state. Vahn obviously wasnt going to erase Juuzou from existence, so, with a few hours to spare, he did his best to recuperate while thinking about the technique he had pirated from Suzuka. He was still a long way from true mastery, but, so long as ideal conditions were present, he could execute it at the literal expense of his Divinity. It turns out the World doesnt appreciate it when you perform a skill that effectively rewrites reality, so, at least for the time being, Vahn had lost his qualifications as a God... --- After several hours of skillfully guiding Katarina through a passionate session of lovemaking, Vahn had the woman lyingzily against his chest with a listless, hazy, look in her eyes. He had ultimately chosen to hold back due to her being a virgin, but, after nearly two-hundred years, including a stint as a literal God of Sex, Vahn had little trouble leading her through various stages of pleasure, each a level beyond what most humans could ever hope to experience. Needless to say, Katarina was very satisfied with the oue, and, though she had the impression her body had perfectly memorized Vahns shape, she didnt really mind. Part of her even hoped she was pregnant, but, considering the path she had decided, it was probably for the best she remained without a child. With that in mind, she raised her tired body to a seated position, and, after moving aside a few strands of scarlet hair sweatily sticking to her face, she inly stated, "Im not going to follow you..." Of all the things he expected to hear, Katarinas words werent even in the top one-hundred. In fact, Vahn was in such a state of disbelief that he actually opened his View Affection just to see if his ears were ying tricks on him. When he saw the value at 193(Love), he felt even more confused, but, as if she could read his mind, Katarina had already resolved herself to say, "Everything I saidst night was the truth, but, even if my desire for freedom was ten times more potent, I wouldnt be known as the Dauntless Katarina if I ran away from challenge and responsibility. Zephyria is my home, and, though you mighte to hate me for it, I didnt want to have any regrets...Im not sorry for what I did...I am sorry for not being able to follow you..." Hearing Katarinas words to the end, Vahn didnt know how to describe how he felt, but, rather thansh out, he just ran his hand through his hair in a self-calming gesture. He could feel Katarina tense up in response to this, her instinctspelling her to reach for the gun she had hidden beneath her pillow. Instead, she managed to suppress this urge, her eyes burning like ghostly pyres as she firmly stated, "I pray this is not thest time our paths intersect, Sage Dragon Emperor...it might be selfish of me to say this, but Im certain I wille to regret this decision in the future. You werent my first man without reason, and, should it help quell your anger even a little, know that Ive no intention of dedicating myself to another..." Though he didnt think it possible, Vahn felt even more exasperated and confused in the wake of Katarinas attempts to pacify him. Still, ever since his idental killing of Scathach, he had made a concerted effort to never lose control and give in to emotional outbursts. As a result, he was able to remain calm, his [Will of the Emperor] working in overdrive to suppress feelings of indignation, and, most notably, sorrow. He couldnt help but think he had done something wrong, but, even after he sorted through every memory of the night before, Vahn couldnt find where he had erred... In the end, it was Sis exnation that broke Vahn from his reverie, her voice taking on a motherly tone as she calmly stated, (*She most likely made this decision the moment you mentioned the fact you didntmit one-night stands. The reason you didnt notice is, as she pointed out previously, her words were the truth. Everything she said to you were her true feelings, but, rather than submit to her individual wants and desire, she prioritizes the most important thing in her heart: her home, the ce her family has spent generations developing and protecting. You cannot fault her for this Vahn...you, of all people, know the importance of the thing called home...*) Hearing Sis guiding words sound within his mind, Vahn could feel the tensions in his body melting away like ice on a sunny day. He realized his mental state was the result of his recent expenditure of Spiritual Energy, and, though it wasnt nearly as taxed as the former, his use of the Trichiliocosm had also drained his Mental Energies. This left him more susceptible to negative thoughts than usual, so, after a few deep breaths, he had calmed down enough to stare directly into Katarinas eyes and say, "I understand...I will not try to force you. However, know that a time wille when I return to thisnd...when that timees, I will make you mine..." Feeling the intensity contained within Vahns words, even a woman of Katarinas caliber couldnt help feeling a little maidenly. Her previously flushed face seemed to glisten in the candlelight, and, though she didnt break eye contact; she lowered her head slightly, misty blue eyes looking up at him as she lightly replied, "Ill be looking forward to it...Vahn..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Chuuni has arrived,A level beyondprehension,Katarina managed to secure one of Vahns firsts...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1683 Moving Forward : Drastic Changes

Chapter 1683 Moving Forward : Drastic Changes

Though he wasnt in the best of moods, Vahn had managed to calm down well enough by the time Juuzou copsed to his knees, a thickyer of sweat covering his body as hebored for breath. The Trichiliocosm was a technique that required Vahn to sacrifice his Divinity just to execute, so, while he would eventually make a full recovery, it was impossible to say Juuzou had emerged unscathed. His mind was simply unable to process everything that had happened, and, though he wasnt broken, it wasnt an exaggeration to say his spirit had been severely strained by the truth he had witnessed within the des edge. After giving the man enough time to catch his breath, Vahn rose to his feet, sheathing Laev-tan in her sheath before extending his hand and saying, "Even that is not the pinnacle. The path you walk is one that is, by design, without limits. There is nothing wrong with having confidence in your skill, but, the moment you start harboring the notion, I am the strongest, you have already cut off your path to the peak. In the end, what matters most is not how you see yourself, but the indelible truth contained within each and every stroke of your de..." Hearing Vahns words, Juuzou stared up at him with sightless golden eyes, his sight having yet to recover fully from the burden ced upon his mind, body, and spirit. Despite this, he felt as though he was seeing clearly for the first time, and, after several seconds of silence, he ultimately reached out his hand, epting Vahns as he firmly stated, "One day, I will surpass you...I will find the truth contained within the de...and then I will slice it..." With those final few words, Juuzoupletely lost consciousness, copsing against Vahn, who, after hearing the mans words, had a wry smile on his face. He wanted toment that there was no actual meaning inparing yourself to others, as, in the end, the true pathy in oveing yourself and mastering the Laws. Setting others as your goal might give you a clear objective, but, if that became the thing that drove you, oveing them would not bring you fulfillment. You would either find something else to ovee or, like the countless wayward souls who had tread a simr path, you would feelpletely empty... Shaking his head, Vahn manifested the Little Garden in his left hand before transporting Juuzou into the interior. Then, with one final loose end to tie up, he teleported to the location of Nagis training orb, entering inside by cing his palm on the surface. --- Though he sensed a presence enter the living room, Nagi didnt move from his position on the sofa, his eyes focused on the ceiling above as he continued lying down. He did, however, acknowledge Vahns existence by listlessly waving in his general direction as he said, "I put a lot of thought into it and decided to go to school. I realized I dont really have any friends my age, and, though Im a lot stronger than the teachers, I still rely on a pocket journal to remember incantations. I want to work on my foundation and try the whole socializing thing...who knows, maybe Ill find a girl or two in the process..." Before responding to the youth, Vahn pulled out a single-person recliner, rxing against the thick leather coated cushions before pulling out a cup of hot cocoa and saying, "Yeah, youll be just fine in that regard. Just remember, if you want to try and build a harem, the most important thing is to be honest and forthright. Only vile and wicked men y around with the hearts of young girls, so, if you seriously intend to love them, dont hide things. Im not exactly the best person to give advice, but Ive managed to develop a harem with more than a hundred beauties...I imagine that counts for something..." Hearing Vahns remark, Nagi bolted to a seated position, an incredulous yet excited look on his face as he asked, "Are you serious!? Jeez, man, youre one greedy ass dragon! Hell, even I think any more than three is pushing it...how do you even manage?" Ignoring Nagis abrasive remark, Vahn just reiterated his point, stating, "Honesty, tireless effort, and a particr set of skills I have spent nearly two-hundred years polishing..." Though he got the impression Vahn wasnt lying to him, Nagi could still found it difficult to believe the wordsing out of the mans mouth. While the thought of a hundred beauties was more than a little tempting, trying to manage such numbers seemed ridiculous. He had personally experienced the wrath of several women, and, though he wasnt particrly afraid of them, he knew they could be scary when they wanted to be... Noticing the look on Nagis face, Vahn just lightly chuckled before pulling the lever at the side of his recliner and saying, "Ive already made arrangements for you to be a student in Ariadne. When you arrive, you will be able to freely choose the academy you wish to attend. I wont tell you to stay out of trouble, but, at the very least, start considering how your actions impact the lives of others. It is fine to be a little selfish and make mistakes. Just make sure you learn from them, and, though you should never go out of your way to ingratiate yourself to others, never be afraid to lower your head to those deserving of your respect...there are some kind people living in Ariadne. I have asked a few to look after you so try not to cause them too much trouble..." Even if he was about topletely stop the time within the Record, that didnt mean his words would have any less relevance once the Akamatsuverse became a part of his own. Vahn didnt know how he would change over theing years so it was better to get things like this out of the way before he departed. From Nagis perspective, there would be an unbroken passage of time, so, even if he ultimately forgot about the current conversation, Vahn knew it would still be fresh in the boys mind... --- With most of the loose ends tied up, Vahn slowly opened his eyes within the Little Garden to find none other than Eva leaning against him. She was peacefully dozing off at his side, while, a little bit away from him, Karin could be seen leaning against the trunk of the World Tree in a simr manner. Unlike Eva, however, she had a notable pout on her face even whilst asleep, a rather amusing sight that caused Vahn to issue a habitual chuckle. Hearing the lightughter, Eva quickly stirred awake, stretching her body and releasing an adorable yawn before staring directly at Vahn and stating, "Dont be upset. You would have regretted it more if nothing at all had happened. This will give you even more of a reason to return in the future. Chin up, eyes forward, and back straight. Were all relying on you to guide us so dont let something like this set you back." Surprised by the frankness of Evas words, Vahn wasnt able to reply to her statement until several seconds had psed. Then, with a slightly mncholic smile on his face, he remarked, "You really do see through everything, dont you...?" Without any hesitation at all, Evazily shook her head before leaning against Vahns shoulder and lightly replying, "Only when ites to you...you kind of make it easy..." Taking advantage of their current positions, Vahn wrapped his left arm around Evas body, holding her in a half embrace as he stared off towards the waterfront cottage. He was curious about what other things she might have seen through, but, after thinking about it for a short while, he realized it didnt matter all that much. The fact she supported him was more than enough, so, with nothing else to do, he decided to sprawl atop the soft grass and enjoy a midday nap alongside his bride-to-be... --- With a three week grace period to aid in their development, Eva and Arika had benefitted quite a bit from the Little Gardens effects. Eva, in particr, had been in the midst of puberty, so, with the Laws of Progress and a very specific diet supporting her growth, she blossomed like a flower in the Spring. Though her form wasnt identical to the adult transformation she hadmonly used, Eva had still developed into a buxom beauty in a surprisingly short period of time. Her breasts, which had been struggling around a B-Cup, had ballooned towards the upper threshold of a D-Cup. As for the rest of her body, it had also developed in an amazing direction, her height increasing to 181cm while her three were a respectable 85, 59, and 86cm. She honestly looked like a gravure model, and, with her eyes sharpening due to age, anyone unfortunate enough to earn her ire would feel as though ayer of ice had spread through their body. A stark contrast to the cold and intellectual beauty that Eva had be, Arikas features actually seemed to soften with age. Her hair grew well past her waist, and, though she still had difficulties expressing her emotions, it had be normal to see her with a delicate smile on her face. As for her body, it hadnt actually developed all that much, her height stagnating at 164cm, and, though it was a treat to look at, her figure was more athletic and refined than anything resembling a buxom beauty. In the end, her three sizes only reached 77, 58, and 81cm, thest trait standing out quite a bit due to her toned butt and impably soft thighs... Arika had been a little disappointed in the development of her bust, but, considering her mother and aunt were around the same size, it wasnt exactly surprising. Rather, Asuna was the anomalous one amongst the members of the Ostian Royal Family, her features creating a stark contrast to the rest of her kin. Still, Vahn managed to sessfully pacify Arikas worries by confiding in her that he always had a preference for athletic women with toned butts. This was already widely believed, so, rather than continue denying it, Vahn concluded he should just embrace thebel if it made things easier for people like Arika. Though she didnt expressly state anything, it was pretty clear by Arikas behavior that she felt a lot better after hearing Vahns words. She stopped wearing the formal dresses she had habitually worn in the outside world, exchanging them for form-fitting white pants that, admittedly, suited her very well. As for the rest of her outfit, she wore a shoulderless top that ented her athletic figure, and, as was often the case, shepleted the outfit with a white mantle and white riding boots. She had a preference for white clothing, and, though it caused her to stand out within a crowd, her ethereal beauty was the thing most people remembered. Vahn felt truly blessed to bear witness to Evas and Arikas rapid change from inordinately beautiful young women to truly breathtaking beauties in their very prime. They could easily rival goddess in both appearance and presence, so, with the day of his wedding fast approaching, it was rare to find him without a massive grin on his face. The only time his smile would fade in the slightest was when he interacted with Theo, not because she wascking in attraction, far from it, but because of how intense her passions had be... With the Tri-Force of Power fused with her body, Theos raw power and evolutionary potential made her something of an outlier. She had developed exponentiallypared to everyone else, her body changing to be something far greater than even the most extraordinary Hesians. In fact, she was no longer even a Hesian, embracing her draconic heritage and letting nature take its course without losing her sense of self. Though she was still changing with each passing day, Theo had already reached 177cm in height, her bodyparable to Evas in basic form but drastically different in others. Her ears had grown longer, resembling those of a High Elf, and, while they were still covered in silky white fur, it had be a lot thicker than before. This wasnt just limited to the backs of her ears, either, as, rather than a reptilian dragon, Theo seemed to be following a distinctly mammalian route... While much of her body was still the same tantalizing brown it had always been, it was clear that Theo had been influenced greatly by her association with Fenrir. The same white fur covering her ears had grown along her forearms, the backs of her hands, calves, and the top of her feet. As for her palms and soles, they were leftrgely the same, but, much like the rest of her body, it wasnt as if they experienced no changes at all. Rather, the flesh had be springy and smooth, providing a substantial increase to grip strength while giving them a velvet-like texture... Topping off her transformation, Theos horns had actually change the direction of their curve, no longer pointing towards her brow and, instead, curving upward. This was important, as, not only did her bones strengthen considerably, but her spine had developed additional cushioning to allow her to freely impact a target with her head, piercing even Adamantine with her horns. To make this kind of attack even easier, her tail functioned as a perfect counterbnce; drastically lowering her center of gravity when she was charging, a posture that also served to reduce drag and conserve as much forward momentum as possible... Fortunately, at least for the time being, this was the extent of Theos transformation, the only other noteworthy changes being her actual proportions. Her three sizes were functionally identical to Eva, but, whenever she wanted them to, her butt and thighs inted by around 5%. This might not seem like much on paper, but, when her already toned butt went from 86cm to slightly over 90cm, it was, needless to say, very noticeable. When you considered that her muscles were also flexible, springy, and situationally malleable, Theo had, forck of a better descriptor, be a monster in a very short period of time...a very soft, fluffy, and aggressive monster... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Juuzou would get along with Zoro...if they could ever find each other,Eva is pretty bae at times...,Vahns hidden Innate: [Draconic Maism: SSS]) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1684 Notice

Chapter 1684 Notice

There are only three chapters left in the current volume. Since I n to start my increased release schedule with the new arc, Im going to take my break today. I know people enjoy it when they can read a bunch of chapters in a new world back to back, so, rather than have my break in the middle of the transition, I felt it would be best to do so now. This volume will bepletely wrapped up tomorrow, and, after a small intermission on Saturday, well be in the final Record. Due to its significance, the final Record will have around a thousand or so chapters, most of which I intend to release before next May. After that, the novel will shift to a short-story format in the epilogue, mainly focused on expanding the verse(meta-knowledge), and following the adventures of Vahns children through various Records. As an example, one of the confirmed mini-arcs will follow Vanas journey as a Guardian of Magical Beasts. You can think of her as having a simr role as Newt Scamander, rescuing various endangered creatures from quite a number of Records. Another example will follow Francis Drake(Grand Rider) as she journeys through the Record of One Piece, effectively bing a Yonko. I know there have been multiple requests regarding various Records, and, while it might not be possible to send Vahn there, that doesnt mean others are unable to venture out and have their own journey. If there are Records that themunity is eager to see, I have no problems writing a short-story rted to them. Depending on their poprity, those same short stories might be expanded upon as official spinoffs. To that end, feel free to let me know if you have any ideas, and, so long as it doesnt just sound wrong, I will add it to the list. On that final note, I know there are a bunch of people who have been over-eager to see the Highschool DxD Record represented in EPIC. Though Im still working on the outline, I intend to have someone like Kamiya visit instead of Vahn. The basic premise at this time is that he will be the benefactor of the Youkai Faction. If the readers would rather see the canon plot recycled, however, I can probablye up with a version that involves attending the actual High School. Well, let me know what you guys and gals think. EPIC might be nothing more than a practice project, but I havee to enjoy writing quite a bit. Rather, at this point, it is safe to say I have developed something of a passion for it. I cant even imagine not writing anymore, so, as long as I have the means to continue, I intend to keep doing so into the far future. I know some of you will eventually lose interest, but, for those who have stayed this long, and those who will walk this path alongside me in the future, know that I am eternally grateful for this journey we are sharing together. Take care of yourselves, Einlion Chapter 1685 Matrimony

Chapter 1685 Matrimony

With the day of his wedding arriving in the blink of an eye, Vahn had a massive smile on his face as he stood at the end of a long aisle. He was actually feeling a little giddy, and, though he usually had excellent control over his body, he couldnt help but jitter slightly in anticipation. Though it was originally intended to be a small affair, news of theing weddings had leaked to the poption of the Little Garden. As a result, there were thousands of Elves and Elemental Spirits in attendance. Vahn even got Yggdrillia to conduct the ceremony, her smile nearly rivaling his own as she stood on the opposite side of a wooden altar in ceremonial robes. This was the first time she was actually performing the duties of a Dragon Priestess, so, even if it part of her wished she was on the other side of the altar, Yggdrillia was still extremely excited... Had it been a normal event, Vahn would have made some small talk to try and calm his nerves, but, with the hour drawing to a close, he was too excited for such distractions. By the time music began to y, he felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest as he quickly shooed away a few of the more curious Elementals who had wandered near. This left only him and Fenrir standing across from Yggdrillia, the former serving as both his ringbearer and his attendant for the purposes of the ceremony. With the sounds of nature blending together to create a beautiful harmony with each other, Vahns smile somehow managed to be even more prominent, his chest swelling with pride as he saw an indescribably beautiful woman appear beneath the first of many arches. This was obviously Eva, but, as it was his first time seeing her wearing the pactio raiment, her beauty overwhelmed him like a tsunami mming into a seawall. All thoughts were erased from his mind, and, though he wanted to say something, the most he managed to do was stare ck-jawed as she began her march down the aisle, Jinbei and Karin serving as her escorts. Though he would have liked to craft her a wedding dress by hand, even Vahn wasnt sure he would have been able to produce a more suitable gown than the one provided by Evas Pactio. It perfectly hugged her body in all the right ces, and, though it was likely an effect of the raiment itself, both her presence and overall beauty seemed to be multiplied. Even therge crowd of Elves and Spirits werepletely awed by her presence, their heads moving like swivels as they stared wide-eyed at the veiled woman walking down the aisle with a bouquet of crystalline flowers... Noticing Vahns expression and the way he was looking at her, Eva could scarcely move forward without the help of Jinbei and Karin. Fortunately, while thetter seemed to be acting as more of an anchor than anything else, Jinbei dutifully led her down the aisle with his usualzy smile. The only real difference between his current appearance and his usual self was that he had actually dressed up for the asion by donning a white tuxedo. As for Karin, she was wearing a pale-pink gown that was heavily adorned with flowers, clothes that didnt particrly match her disposition, but, due to her beauty, suited her well. Eva found it was easier to move forward if she focused on other things, but, in the span of what felt like both an eternity and a single breath, Jinbei was already helping her ascend the small step at the end of the aisle. Shortly thereafter, she became intimately familiar with the kind of shoes that Vahn was wearing, as, for several seconds, Eva simply couldnt summon the courage to look up at him. It wasnt until Vahn had gingerly lifted her chin that their gazes met once again, tears already welling in Evas eyes as a brilliant shade of crimson dyed her face... Seeing his bride-to-be up close, Vahn felt like his breath was forcibly drawn from his lungs with a magical spell. He had no words or thoughts to describe what he was currently feeling, and, if not for the music suddenlying to a halt, he had the distinct impression he might have been trapped in that singr moment for all eternity. Eva was simply that captivating to him, and, if not for therge audience, he wouldnt have been able to resist kissing her before the ceremonyspletion. Fortunately, as there were no formal proceedings for how a wedding needed be conducted within the Empire, the ceremony itself merely involved Yggdrillia formally introducing the bride and groom before issuing a simple blessing and allowing Vahn and Eva to make their own statements. This was something Vahn had prepared extensively for, but, due to the fact Eva had been fighting back tears since the start of the ceremony, his speech ultimately amounted to tenderly wiping away the tears from her face as he struggled to put his feelings into words. When it came time for her own speech, Eva just buried her face into his chest, crying for several minutes as she thanked him over and over... Despite how disastrous things seemed to be going, none of the audience seemed to think that way. In fact, due to how sensitive they were to emotions, many of the Elves in attendance followed suit, tears streaming down their faces as they embraced their close friends and kin. It was quite the sight to behold, and, though it made the wedding almost feel like a mourning party, it was bound to be one of the most tender memories in the minds of everyone in attendance... When everything was said and done, the ceremony was brought to an end in much the same way as most weddings. Vahn returned Evas ring to her, and, after a very long and passionate kiss, they simply held each other closely for the better part of twenty minutes. It was only after Jinbei asked, "So, when are we going to eat?" that the spell freezing the moment in time seemed to be broken... --- As Eva wasnt in the mood to attend the party, Vahn ended up carrying her all the way to the fiftieth ring, a ce where time flowed at a rate of 500:1. This would give them about fifty days to spend in each otherspany before the next wedding was scheduled to begin, more than enough time to consummate their wedding and adapt to their lifestyle as newlyweds. Afternding soundlessly near the front door of a somewhatvish mansion, Vahn willed it to open using his telepathy before carrying Eva across the threshold. He had been flying with Eva in a bridal carry, and, though it wasnt exactly a tradition of the Empire, he had performed a simr action with most of his brides in the past... Feeling the change in temperature, Eva slowly opened her swollen eyes to observe the interior of the mansion. This was her first time inside, and, though she didnt feel even remotely alone, her first impression was that the house was very empty. The only people within tens of kilometers was her and Vahn, something she had been both looking forward to and fearing quite a bit... Noticing the not-so-subtle tensing of his wifes body, Vahn just held her a little closer to him as he said, "You know I would never do anything to intentionally harm you. Its perfectly normal to feel a little anxious and afraid...just remember that you are in control. I wont force you to do anything you arentfortable with, and, if there is ever anything troubling you, I will always be here to listen..." Though she felt greatly relieved by the heartfelt words, Eva still rolled her eyes slightly with a small smile visible on her face. Then, after mustering up as much courage as she could gather, she turned her eyes up at him and said, "Carry me to the bedroom...I still need to show you the other features of this dress..." Feeling his heart beating madly in his chest, Vahn barely resisted the urge to simply teleport to the bedroom with Eva in his arms. He had been looking forward to this moment for quite a while, and, though he had a considerable amount of experience under his belt, he was even giddier now than his first time with Ais and Tiona. Eva was like a Goddess within his heart, so, despite having quite a number of actual Goddesses in his harem, Vahn couldnt help but feel excitement bubbling within him like a pot of water that had been left unattended atop a stove. Resisting the urge to kick the door of the bedroom open, Vahn manipted the handle with his telepathy before protecting Evas head as he maneuvered her over the threshold. Then, almost as if they had trespassed into another world, the atmosphere became increasingly tense and fluttery the closer Vahn carried Eva to the bed. He could feel her heart beating faster a scared rabbit, but, unlike the past, Eva made absolutely no attempts to stop him asid her down on the bed and stood over her with what could only be described as a hungry expression on his face... Despite her chest heaving and her mind buzzing from excessive oxygen intake, Eva still felt short of breath as she stared up into Vahns face. It took most of her willpower just to avoid rolling bashfully to the side, burying her face into her hands and tucking up her legs up into a fetal position. She felt that all of her preparations had been for naught, but, rather than shying away, Eva forced herself to meet Vahns gaze as her left hand moved to the tiny cross resting above her breasts... Vahn had a lot of expectations about the features Eva alluded to previously, but, even though he had seen something simr in the past, nothing could have prepared him for the moment when the fabric covering her chest dissolved away. At the same time, her gown seemed to melt into the white sheet, magical light enveloping it before ultimately vanishing momentster. In its stead, Evas pure white stockings, panties, and garter belt came into view, each perfectly adhered to her fair skin... Realizing Evas intentions, Vahns smile became even wider as a cool feeling swept across his mind, forcing him to remain calm. Before he could manage this, however, Eva extended her arms towards him, her face the reddest he had ever seen it as she seductive whimpered, "What are you waiting for...? Hold me, you dummy..." Though he managed to hold onto his sensibilities, Vahn discarded his hesitation the moment he heard Evas words. Then, as she bit onto the back of her finger hard enough to draw blood, he pried apart her legs, quickly discarding the side-tiece panties in order to prepare her body for what was toe. Fortunately, she was already excessively wet, so, rather than loosen her up, Vahn focused his mind on increasing her sensitivity and suffusing her body with source energy. At the same time, he extended his tongue deep enough to poke her cervix, wiggling it about like a living creature as his saliva took on the properties of a mild aphrodisiac and a numbing agent. Vahn was determined to make Evas first time as pleasant as possible, so, even if she became a little weird after the fact, they had nearly two months to work things through. This was mainly an effort to remove her inhibitions, as, despite appearing very demure and weak to being attacked, Eva was actually the proactive type that liked to push others. Losing her virginity was equivalent to opening up Pandoras Box, and, though he was confident she wouldnt go overboard, Vahn knew Eva was a ticking time bomb when it came to perverse intrigue... Despite knowing he was about to unleash a monster, Vahn slowly and methodically worked Evas inside with his tongue until she was literally pulling his hair in an attempt to get him to stop. She had already climaxed more than a dozen times, but, rather than afford her a moment to rest, Vahn created extremely tiny and soft hooks on his tongue, much like a cat. That caused Eva to practically convulse, but, despite her protests, Vahn was keenly aware of the fact that she made no attempt to even try and escape. After escaping the lock Eva had on his head, Vahnid her to rest on the bed, allowing her to take a few deep breaths as her body continued to twitch and convulse, legs spread wide. It was one of the most tantalizing sights Vahn had ever witnessed, and, though he regrly felt this way when he was about to make love to a woman, the image of Eva sprawled out in a lewd wedding dress had firmly cemented itself within Vahns most cherished memories... Though he could have admired the sight until the end of time, Vahn eventually snapped out of his stupor, his expression bing tender when he saw the desire visible in Evas hazy blue eyes. She also noticed his gaze, so, the moment their eyes met, Eva continued gasping for air as she opened her legs a little wider. Then, with a tone that left no room for argument, shenguidly extended her hands toward him and said, "Kiss me..." before adding, "Im ready..." Understanding what she was asking of him, Vahn quickly adjusted his own position, resisting the urge to sink his fingers into Evas soft thighs and plump butt. Then, after grabbing both her hands, he leaned over her body, raising her butt slightly with his knees, his member sinking deep into her fleshy cavern as their lips ovepped. She released a distressed squeal in response to this sudden intrusion, but, rather than pain, it was more like a high-pitched whine suffused with pleasure. This surprised Eva quite a bit, but, with a long tongue skillfully intertwining with her own, she found it hard to focus on anything until Vahn began a slow, steady, and maddening piston... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is like a puppy that just heard its owner pull in the driveway...,Tears speak louder than words,(OwO)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1686 Cycle

Chapter 1686 Cycle

Though there were only a few hours remaining until they were scheduled to attend the wedding, this gave Vahn and Eva more than a week to cool down. As a result, the former had a distant look in his eyes and a contented smile on his face as he absentmindedly stroked the body of the woman straddling him in the bath. Enjoying the feeling of warmth, the mild numbing sensation, and the pleasant tightness perpetually writhing around his lower body, Vahn couldnt help but release a contented sigh. This earned him a light chuckle from Eva, who, finished with her meal, retracted her teeth from his neck, a lustful look in her eyes as she licked the remaining blood from her lips. Following the loss of her virginity, Eva had subsequently removed the seal ced upon her body, once again bing a Shinso Vampire. She had actually missed sucking his blood quite a bit, so, now that her body would no longer revert back to its virginal state, Eva didnt mind embracing the vampiric traits she had once disdained. Many of her fondest memories were sucking Vahns blood, and, though it felt a little less meaningful now that she was no longer her chibi self, Eva could now enjoy the extremely intimate interaction in a number of ways... Though she was tempted to ept his kiss, Eva dodged Vahns lips, yfully giggling as she leaned away from him. The water they were in easily reached their chests, so, by leaning back, she could let her body floatzily, arms sprawled out as she flexed her abdominal muscles, effectively anchoring herself in ce. This earned her an usatory look from her husband, but, rather thanin, Vahn decided to take advantage of the situation, leaning forward to pepper her chest and abdomen with delicate, ticklish, kisses. Unable to contain herughter, Eva began giggling in response to Vahns antics, her hand moving to habitually stroke his head. One of her favorite things about her husband was that, regardless of her own actions, he always knew just how to push her buttons. She was allowed to tease him freely, and, in exchange, he would shower her with love, affection, and, most importantly, understanding... Feeling Vahns teeth lightly tug at her nipple, a sonorous moan escaped Evas throat as she lightly smacked the top of his head and said, "Bad boy..." in a yfully chiding tone. Then, in spite of her own words, she wrapped her arms around his head, effectively pulling them beneath the surface of the water as she enjoyed having him suckle her breasts. At the same time, she could feel his penis expanding and contracting inside of her, its size, shape, and length constantly changing despite the fact he wasnt moving his hips. Then, around the same time that she exhaled all the air in her lungs, an exceptionally warm and energy-rich liquid invaded her body from the inside, expanding through her body and causing the surroundings to ice over in an instant... --- Finished with their three-hour-long bath, Vahn was helping Eva brush her hair as the woman in question enjoyed a short nap. They had hardly slept over thest forty-three days, and, though it wouldnt really affect her physically, she still needed to rest in order to recover from the mental and spiritual strain their exertions had caused. As for Vahn, he didnt suffer from any detrimental effects at all, the boon of being an Overseer level entity within his own Realm. Since he wanted to give her plenty of time to recuperate, Vahn was extremely slow and methodical with each of his actions. He treated Eva like a precious and fragile treasure, never shaking or stirring her body in despite the fact he was brushing her hair. As a result, it took him more than four hours toplete the rtively simple task, plenty of time for Eva to recuperate while another version of himself prepared their meals. Finished with his task, Vahn set aside one of the twenty-threebs he used to brush Evas hair before lifting the sleeping beauty into a princess carry. This immediately resulted in her staring at him with a half-lidded expression, her smile bing slightly more prominent as she nestled her head into his chest. She enjoyed being spoiled quite a bit, and, so long as she didnt go overboard, Vahn had no problems treating Eva like his personal, somewhat lewd, princess... Rather than carry Eva to the dining room, Vahn opted to settle down in the living room, holding the scantily d beauty in his arms as he brought out several dishes from his Inventory. This caused Eva to lick her lips slightly before parting them, clearly expecting to be fed as she continued nuzzling up against him. Since this was pretty normal, Vahn happily obliged, and, in exchange for his service, the vixen vampire used her free hands to fondle and stroke his exposed member. Ever since their wedding night, neither Vahn nor Eva had bothered to wear proper attire. Instead, they spent most of their dayspletely nude, and, even when he was cooking food, the only thing Vahn bothered wearing was an apron. As for Eva, she had tried on several hundred sexy outfits, her favorites being a sexy maid costume, her wedding dress, and a riding outfit that consisted of a leather bodice, tight leather panties, strung-leather stockings, and a small harness that attached to the hips. Though Eva was far more sadistic than masochistic, she knew Vahn wasnt really interested in being dominated. To that end, she created her own version of her favorite outfit, and, depending on her mood, she used it to either ride or be ridden. She had a harness with attached reins that wrapped around his shoulders, but, more often than not, Vahn was allowed to use the smaller harnesses like handholds, literally taking Eva for a ride and preventing her from escaping... Eva might not be a masochist, but she really got into whatever role she was ying whenever they roleyed together. She enjoyed more forceful ys, but, the moment you managed to break her guard or catch her by surprise, she became exceptionally docile. Simply put, she was very proactive and exceptional on the attack, but, whenever the positions were reversed, she could be very obedient. This was the reason why the maid outfit had be one of her favorites, as, whenever he yed the part of her Master, Eva always enjoyed it a lot more than she would ever admit... With their long luncheoning to an end, Eva spent a few more minutes just resting in Vahns arms, a distant look on her face as she absentmindedly stroked his penis. Even now, she couldnt believe such a thing was able to fit inside of her, but, the moment that thought crossed her mind, so too did an inclination to take it inside once again. Since she no longer had to hold herself back, this was an impulse Eva gave into without a second thought, so, without even needing to exin her intentions, she adjusted her position, arms wrapping around Vahns neck as he dutifully angled his ns to probe her perpetually tight entrance. Then, as their lips ovepped, Eva skillfully and intently wiggled her hips until he waspletely inside of her, a ce he had be intimately familiar with due to their seemingly never-ending intercourse... --- Though she always had a stonefaced expression whenever she was around him, Karin, despite her Masters initial protests, had ultimately be Vahns attendant. Her Cherubic nature gave her a strongpulsion to serve, so, with her Master wanting them to be equals, Karin forced herself to serve the closest proxy, her Masters husband. As a result, she typically shadowed Vahn throughout the day, and, though he had never epted her offer, there were even times when she asked if he was in need of her services. Fortunately, despite fifty days passing since his departure with Eva, less than a day had passed back on the central ind. As a result, Vahn didnt have to put up with Karins antics for too long without Evas presence. This was a blessing in disguise, as, despite her behavior around him, Vahn knew that Karin wasnt actually forcing herself to attend him. Rather, ever since he had treated her body and withstood the punishment of Heaven, she had been proactively offering prayers to him before bed and after waking up. Karin had always been a very devout woman, so, after learning that Vahn was a God and witnessing his power within the Little Garden, her mentality towards him had changedpletely. She viewed him in much the same way as Jeanne, but, due to her love and devotion towards Eva, she continued to put on a front. In her mind, Eva was the most important part of her existence, the person she had dedicated her everything to. Thus, even if she saw him as her God, this was secondarypared to her feelings towards Eva. Still, that didnt mean that Karin wasnt earnestly trying to serve him, so, when it came time for him to prepare for his wedding, she was there alongside the Chacha sisters to help him get dressed. This was, of course,pletely unnecessary, but, as it was a special asion, Vahn allowed them to help out. The Chacha sisters seemed to genuinely enjoy serving others, and, though Karin could be more than a little annoying at times, Vahn couldnt hate someone who loved and cherished Eva nearly as much as he did... Unaware of her Master-by-proxys thoughts, Karin hid her feelings behind an emotionless mask as she straightened the tie around his neck. She even went out of her way to make the tie a little too tight, clearly intending to show her disdain for him before dutifully fixing it momentster. As for the Chacha sisters, two were inspecting each and every part of Vahns body for even the smallest sign of dust or debris while another slowly and methodically styled his hair. Vahn didnt mind being pampered and attended to, but it was still just as awkward now as it was nearly two-hundred years ago. If not for the fact he also enjoyed attending people helping them get dressed, he wouldnt have been able to understand their insistence on helping him out. In his case, he simply liked to dote upon his women. Whenever the positions were reversed, however, it always felt excessively sensual, as, more often than not, the people helping him werent able to hide their surface thoughts and desires... With Karin attempting to adjust his tie for the umpteenth time, Vahn gingerly grasped her wrist, a wry smile on his face as he said, "It is normal for the tie to move a little when I breathe, Karin..." Though her pupils contracted slightly, Karins expression ultimately remained unchanged as she allowed Vahn to continue holding her wrist, inly stating, "Perhaps you should try holding your breath until the ceremony ends..." Releasing the womans wrist from his hold, Vahn lightly chuckled as he gestured for the Chacha sisters to give him some space. They had already been helping him for nearly an hour, so, with less than twenty minutes before the ceremony was set to begin, Vahn was already as ready as he would ever be. Rather, he feltpelled to show up early, his excitement gradually bubbling up to a level that made it hard to sit still. After all, while it was unthinkable topare them to Eva, thest four years he spent alongside Arika and Theo made it impossible for him not to care for them deeply. Imagining the two golden-haired beauties in their wedding dresses, a smile naturally found its way to Vahns face as he looked himself over in the mirror. Then, as if it would speed things up, he gave a curt nod towards the four attending women before teleporting directly to his position at the end of the aisle. Most of the guests had never left, so, while it had been necessary to clean up after the previous wedding, it didnt take long for everyone to get back into position. This included Yggdrillia, who, after conducting the previous ceremony, ended up gettingpletely wasted before taking a nap on top of the wooden altar the night before... Seeing the groggy-looking Dragoness with slight bags under her eyes, Vahn gestured toward her toe closer. This caused Yggdrillia to immediately perk up, and, though it caused many of the Elves and Spirits to make a few teasing remarks, Vahn helped cure her hangover by gently caressing her head for the better part of a minute. He hadnt missed thements she had made while clinging to a sake bottle nearly as big as her the night prior, and, though he didnt really harbor any intimacy for her, he was intending to allow her to join the Menagerie at some point in the future. Though he didnt have the best track record when it came to such things, Vahn had decided to do his best to avoid adding any additional women to his harem. To this end, he had discussed various methods with Da Vinci, so, following his change of Record, Vahn was determined to strengthen his existing rtionships rather than building any new ones. There were already plenty of women who wanted to be with him back in the Realm, and, if he truly discarded his reservations, Vahn knew the vast majority of the Elves would happily dedicate themselves to him. Because of this, he wanted to take on several roles in the next Record, but, unless there were some extenuating circumstances, he was determined to avoid arbitrarily increasing the size of his harem. After petting the happily giggling Dragoness for a while longer, Vahn retracted his hand, a gentle smile on his face as he told her to resume her position. This caused Yggdrillia to feel a little sad, but, after pumping her fists in an adorable manner, she quickly returned to her post with renewed vigor. It was these qualities of hers that made it impossible for Vahn not to harbor at least a little affection for her, and, after hearing about the finer details of her past, he knew she was more than deserving of a chance at happiness... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ( ? ?? ?)...,Hard not to believe in a God that you can physically touch...,Vahn cant escape the dragon girls xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1687 Surprise, Fear, Release

Chapter 1687 Surprise, Fear, Release

With less than five minutes remaining until the beginning of the ceremony, Vahn was surprised to see Fenrir arrive muchter than normal. To make things even stranger, her ears drooped slightly the moment he looked over, her eyes averting to escape his gaze as she seemed to be looking for an answer to questions he had yet to ask. Not wanting to put her on the spot, Vahn ultimately decided not to inquire about Fenrirs dyed arrival. Instead, he maintained his usual smile as he extended his hand, caressing the base of her ears as he said, "Im d you made it on time. It would be pretty awkward if you werent here to present the rings..." Though it wasnt immediate, Fenrirs ears perked up in response to her Masters touch, an inaudible sigh of relief escaping her slightly parted lips. It was almost impossible for her to lie to him, so, with the burden of the truth removed, Fenrir was able to return to her usual self, her tail wagging slightly as she returned a smile and said, "I would never miss Masters important moments...!" While resisting the urge to tap into his omniscience, Vahn lightly chuckled in response to Fenrirs remark. He couldnt deny he was very curious about what she was keeping from him, but, as she never kept secrets unless it was for his benefit, he ultimately decided not to pry. Instead, he spent a few minutes ying with her ears before returning to his post mere moments before the crowd was silenced by the sounds of music. Fortunately, even without asking, Vahn quickly learned the reason for Fenrirste arrival, as, rather than just Arika and Theo being apanied by Anarchia, a certain orange-haired princess and her mother were also in attendance. Thispletely caught Vahn by surprise, but, rather than show an adverse reaction, his smile became tinged with amusement. At the same time, he wondered how all three of them were going to stand on stage, as, originally, he would have Arika and Theo on each of his arms... In the end, Vahn got his answer when Arika and Theo linked hands with Asuna, letting her stand in front as they intertwined their remaining hands with his and assumed their nned positions. This made it seem like Asuna had been elevated to a higher position, but, considering she was the only one not directly in contact with Vahn, a peculiar bnce had been achieved. All-in-all, it was a very strange and surprising turn of events, one Vahn didnt particrly mind since the thought of a four-person honeymoon was quite tantalizing. --- Following the blessing of Yggdrillia and thepletion of their vows, Vahn ced the wedding bands on Arika, Theo, and Asuna respectively. Then, after a series of paradoxically passionate yet tame kisses, he was officially wed to the three beauties. This was met with a standing ovation from the Elves and Spirits that had gathered, while, at the side; Vesperina and Anarchia had teasing looks on their faces as thetter remarked, "How envious~." As he had already gotten used to Anarchias remarks, Vahn resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he scooped up Arika, Theo, and Asuna into his embrace and said, "Ill be expecting an exnation after the partyes to an end..." Without showing any concern or anxiety, Theo and Asuna just giggled in response to Vahns words while Arika was the one to murmur, "We felt bad about having everyone remain for three days in a row. We also felt that three weddings in three days would ruin the impact each of them had...also..." Though Vahn wasnt actually expecting to hear excuses then and there, he still listened intently as Arika struggled to find her words. Her blush made it pretty apparent what she was thinking, but, as if to remove any doubt, Theo was the one to add, "We wanted to have fun together. Being alone is pretty exciting, but it is always more interesting when there are more people~!" Hearing Theos remark, Arikas face flushed crimson as she hid her face from view. As for Asuna, she took advantage of the fact she was still in front of him to lean forward, eyes turned up as she asked, "Do we have to stay for the party...?" Vahns first instinct was to insist they stick around, especially after departing so quickly with Eva the day before, but, with three beauties looking up at him with expectant gazes, it was unthinkable for him to refuse. Theo, in particr, looked like she was prepared to eat him up then and there while Asuna, ever-eager to strengthen their bond, suggestively licked her lips before offering a tantalizing smile... --- Though others might struggle to aplish the feat, Vahn managed to produce three bodies so that he could carry Arika, Theo, and Asuna at the same time. They all seemed to enjoy this quite a bit, and, though he attempted to set them down when he arrived at their destination, Theo wasnt having any of it. Instead, she adopted an eager smile, pointing towards the stairs as she eximed, "Onwards and upwards~!" while the tip of her tail attempted to unfasten his belt. Before he could lose control of the situation, Vahn hindered the growing tensions by directly asking, "Is this what the three of you want? If I dispel of the version of myself back on the ind, it wouldnt be difficult for me to maintain three bodies. This is your-" Without waiting for him to finish speaking, it was surprisingly Arika who interrupted, asserting in an equally direct manner, "I love you, Vahn, but Im also terrified of being alone with you. Even though I know you will be gentle, Im afraid of having sex without someone else to support. You are simply too much for just one of us...please keep that in mind...Asuna might be fine on her own, but I dont have such confidence..." Still surprised by the fact that it was Arika who spoke out, Vahn was unable to respond to her words before Asuna added, "If Im being honest, even I dont have that confidence. I think Ill be fine in the future, but I cant deny it is a little scary to go alone. Ive heard about your exploits from Fenrir and Medusa...I dont think Ill lose, but Im not foolish enough topare myself to a literal Goddess of Sex. This was the reason we decided to get married at the same time...the three of us are like sisters, and, though we have our rivalries, we still want to support each other to the best of our ability..." Demonstrating their support of Asunas statement, Arika and Theo nodded in affirmation, thetter going so far as to add, "I could be bold in the past because I knew there was no danger of anything happening. Now that were married, there are all kinds of things I want to try. However, Im not that confident in being able to show restraint and Im afraid of how extreme our ys will be if its just the two of us. I also want to avoid bing a woman you regret being with so I want to take things slowly...at least for the time being..." Vahn wanted to remark that he would never regret being with her, but, before he could find the words, all three girls stole a kiss from his lips. It was like they had practiced this exact scenario, and, considering who he was dealing with, there was a very high chance that was the case. Thus, rather than continue discussing the matter, Vahn carried the trio up the stairs, lying each of them on the bed before dissipating his other two vessels... --- Starting from Arika, Vahn began to slowly undress each of the girls like they were presents waiting to be unwrapped. He knew she was the one most fearful of what was toe, so, while Asuna and Theo watched from the side, he crossed several lines they had rarely even treaded previously. This involved, quite literally, teaching Asuna and Theo about the various methods of cunnilingus, a skill he had them both learn as it would be very important in the days toe. Once Arika was sufficiently wet, Vahn epted Theos offer for fetio, allowing the eldest princess a moment to recuperate as she stared absentmindedly towards the licentious act urring a short distance away. The fact Theo could swallow most of his member was quite jarring for both her and Asuna, but, considering the former was an exceptionally adaptive Dragon, neither was in a hurry to try andpete. In the end, Theo surprised even Vahn by changing the angle of her neck and kissing the base of his penis while it was still in her mouth. After that, she created an almost overwhelming suction force, effectively leaving him with no choice but to grab her horns to prevent her from pulling away. She was very nearly on the verge of rupturing his penis, forcing Vahn to greatly strengthen his body to avoid any mishaps. This seemed to amuse Theo quite a bit, but, despite her best efforts, she wasnt able to force him to take action a second time. Instead, he continued holding her horns, guiding her head at afortable pace while she continued to look up at him with an excited glimmer in her eyes... Though it wasnt really necessary for him to get ready, Vahn rewarded Theos efforts by releasing arge quantity of semen directly into her throat. He could control the consistency and thickness, so, while it might be unpleasant under normal circumstances, Vahn was rather famous for having sweet and easy to ingest bodily fluids. Fenrir could readily attest to this fact, as, whenever they were alone together, she could spend upwards of half an hour just happily suckling the energy-rich fluids from his penis. Showing just how simr she was to the lovable Vanargandr, Theo remained glued to her position until Vahn pulled away by tightening his grip on her horns. This caused her to release a sonorous groan that was equal parts pain and pleasure, as, despite her transformation into a True Dragon, the interior ridge of Theos horns was still just as sensitive as before. It was also slightly softer than the outside, and, if he squeezed tightly, small indentations that caused Theo a considerable amount of pain and pleasure would form... After releasing her Masters member was a pa, Theo instinctually grabbed her horns, massaging away some the pain as her face glowed with an impassioned hue. This earned her a wide-eyed look from Asuna, but, seeing Vahn return to Arikas side, she quickly ignored the developing masochist in order to continue her observation. Everything happening right now was just so new and exciting for her, and, unlike before, Vahn didnt even flinch when she fiddled with herself. This caused her to feel exceptionally giddy, and, though it was far from her turn, she could still get off while watching Vahn have sex with Arika for the first time... Though Vahn could feel Asunas gaze focused on his penis, testicles, and anus, he made no effort to inhibit her actions. He knew exactly what kind of woman she was, and, though he couldnt deny it was a little awkward, he didnt particrly mind. The more she learned, the easier things would be for both of them going forward, so, rather than shrink away under her gaze, he proactively adjusted his position so that she and Theo would be able to observe as he leaned over Arika and stole both her lips and her virginity. This caused her to bite down on his tongue, but, fortunately for everyone present, he had strengthened his durability to the point of indestructibility after Theos antics... --- In order to make things as easy on her as possible, Vahn discreetly adjusted his size and girth as he, very slowly, made love to Arika. This seemed to be the correct choice, as, despite clearly enjoying it, Arika wasnt a very proactive partner. She was clearly afraid of making mistakes, so, from the start until his inevitable release inside of her, the most she did was cling to him while doing her best to regte her breathing and stifle her cries. This was, however, very normal for a womans first time, so, rather than feel unsatisfied, Vahn actually felt grateful as he slowly and tenderly made love to the bashful princess, smiling every time she blushed in response to their gazes ovepping... Due to how long the session hadsted, an unexpected thirty-seven minutes, Theo had more than enough time to recover from having her horns gripped. As a result, Vahn had two naked girls lying behind him, both curiously watching the scene while supporting their heads with their hands and elbows. Theo had even tried to goad Asuna into poking his butt a few times, but, fortunately, Asuna had enough sense to avoid interfering with Arikas first time. With Arika temporarily out ofmission, Vahn surprised the remaining girls by creating a copy of himself. This wasnt to attend them, however, but to make sure Arika didnt feel alone the moment she came back to her senses. A girls first time was very important, so, while he was willing to attend the three of them, that didnt mean he could simply ignore the after-care. If the first thing she saw aftering to her senses was him making love to another woman, Arika was bound to feel a little sad. This was just basic psychology, so, until she was the one to suggest they part, Vahn would stay at her side as long as she needed him. Though Theo seemed a little confused by his actions, Asuna quickly realized what was going on, her expression softening as she stared back at him with a considerable amount of love and respect. She had always looked up to him as an example, so, whenever she saw him pay attention to such things, it left a very deep impression on her. It was one of the things she loved most about him, as, despite having an expansive harem filled with inordinate beauties, he still managed to pay attention to their individual wants and needs. Feeling a little charitable, Asuna made the decision to allow Theo the chance to go next. She could have easily made a case for herself, especially after Theo rather excessive disy, but, as she was already fortunate enough to participate a day early, Asuna decided to remain patient. Thus, before anyone else could say anything, she smiled towards Theo and said, "Youre up next. Try to hold back a little this time~." Hearing Asunas remark, Theos eyes widened slightly, a stain forming beneath her from the sheer volume of fluids escaping the palpating entrance beneath her white downy fur. Unlike Eva, Arika, and even Asuna, she had a healthy amount of fur covering her crotch, and, due to her excitement, it was actually spreading at a rate visible to the naked eye. As a result, it almost appeared as though she had a white bikini on as the fur grew from her mons pubis, around her hips, and connected to the thick tail protruding above her butt... Seeing Theos transformation, Vahn was briefly reminded of Illya, as, whenever she got excited, it was hard for her to remain in a purely humanoid form. This left him uniquely qualified for dealing with people like Theo, so, before she could transform further, he gestured for her to turn around and point her butt up. Girls with tails, especially thick ones, always preferred this position, so, while it was a little unorthodox for a womans first time, Vahn knew she would enjoy it greatly. Without any discernible hesitation, Vahn tightly gripped Theos left butt cheek with his hand, his finger sinking into the pliant flesh as he separated her palpatingbia with his ns. He could feel her entrance literally trying to suck him in, another trait she shared with Illya, but, before he gave her what she clearly wanted, he needed to attend her other needs. To that end, he ced her tail to rest on his shoulder before y-biting the sides. This caused her body to tense up considerably, a mewling moan escaping her lips as she pushed her butt towards him out of instinct. Unfortunately for her, this caused his penis to slip between her folds and poke out between her thighs, effectively tormenting the young Dragoness due to her growing need to have him inside of her. Though he could have given her what she wanted outright, Vahn knew it would be easier to keep Theo under control if he tormented her a bit. He was also waiting for her body to be in heat, as, unlike everyone else, she was rather eager to be pregnant. Thus, ounting for the fact it could take years for her egg to hatch naturally, Vahn decided it would be best to fertilize her eggs sooner, rather thanter. To that end, he waited until he could sense Theos cervix begin to descend before surprising her with a very sudden intrusion. This caused her to shriek loud enough to startle Arika awake, but, rather than pain, her cry was a mixture of absolute pleasure and profound relief... --- Unlike Arikas gentle lovemaking, Vahn hammered into Theo hard enough to make a loud pping sound resonate throughout the chamber. Her body rippled with each thrust, and, though he did his best to keep her tail under control, it ultimately ended up coiled around his neck. This was another instinct most True Dragons developed, a passive effort made by their body to punish or outright kill the entity trying to mate with them. Their body didnt properly obey their minds, and, until they had been conqueredpletely, they would continue to resist passively. Fortunately, Vahn had considerable experience when it came to dealing with True Dragons, so, from start to finish, he managed to remain in control. Though they ended up destroying the bed, causing one of its legs to outright snap off, he ultimately pacified Theos urges by burying himself deep into her vice-like cavern, pumping her cervix full of his life-giving seed. This caused her to issue a literal dragons roar, but, having anticipated this, Vahn created a teleportation barrier right in front of her mouth, absorbing the golden beam of energy produced and discing it safely into the sky above. With even herst-ditch effort failing, Theos body fell powerlessly against the bed, her tail releasing his neck and drooping pathetically from his shoulder. At the same time, a euphoric giggle escaped Theos throat, her silvery eyes staring off into nothingness as a line of drool escaped the side of her mouth. This was also pretty normal when it came to True Dragons, especially one who just had their egg sessfully fertilized, so Vahn just gave her butt a few smacks before liberating himself from the nigh-inescapable suction of her voracious vagina... (A/N: Alternate Titles: This chapter is too damn long!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1688 Stir

Chapter 1688 Stir

Despite having fallen unconscious, Theo remained face-down with her butt sticking up in a rather inviting manner. It wasnt until Asuna suddenly hugged him from behind that Vahn snapped back to attention, a light chuckle escaping his lips as he mused, "It seems someone has grown impatient..." Finding Vahns words amusing, Asuna issued a girlish giggle in response, her voice tickling his ear as she pressed her sizeable assets into his back and said, "I cant help it...just the thought of being apart from you fills my chest with a painfully empty feeling...I knew from the moment we first met that I wanted to be with you. Though I might be younger than the rest, Ive waited just as long...if not longer...please dont make me wait any longer..." Towards the end of her plea, Asuna had started to nt probing kisses on the side of Vahns head, face, neck, and shoulders. She really was a very affectionate woman, and, though she had caused him quite a number of headaches in the past, Vahn never really med her. Rather, if he had been around Asunas age, it would have been impossible to resist her charms... Feeling that it was high time he attends to Asunas growing desires, Vahn created a third body to keep Theopany as he turned around to face the buxom beauty who had been nibbling on his ear. As for his second vessel, it was currently seated near the headboard, Arika curled up next to him as she observed the scene y out with unconcealed intrigue. She was simr to Asuna in that regard, and, though not as prodigious as the orange-haired maiden, Arika had always had a keen interest in new and exciting things. She was a bit of an adrenaline junky as well, so, once she got in the habit of conducting herself in the bedroom, she was bound to open up and experiment, liking using the information she was currently obtaining to inform her decisions... With the two golden-haired beauties properly cared for, Vahn simply held Asuna close for a few minutes as they both kneeled atop the bed. This caused Asuna a bit of confusion, but, rather than break away or try to escte things, she just closed her eyes and enjoyed the moment. She always enjoyed being held by Vahn, so, while it didnt meet her expectations, she wasnt going toin. Feeling Asunas tensions gradually fade, Vahn nted a kiss on her forehead, further confusing the young woman until his hands made a gradual descent towards her butt. This caused her to look up at him, her heterochromatic eyes glistening in expectation as she ced her hands on his shoulders and parted her lips. In response, Vahn raised Asuna by her butt, his fingers sinking into her soft and springy cheeks as he sealed her lips with a passionate kisssting more than ten minutes. Though he knew Asuna was more than ready to ept him, Vahn felt there was a proper order to all things. His rtionship with Asuna had always been limited by her age, so, despite the fact they were already married, they hadnt actually been that intimate with each other. They had only ever kissed three times, so, while he was extremely tempted to just push Asuna down, he held back in order to make the experience as memorable as possible. Feeling a numb and tingling sensation radiating from her butt, a sonorous groan escaped Asunas throat as she attempted to break free from the kiss. She couldnt actually suffocate, but, as she was so used to breathing, the kiss had left her feeling short of breath. Her heart was also racing at a rate that would leave most Doctors mortified, so, despite enjoying Vahns touch quite a bit, Asuna had a pleading expression on her face as she looked up at him and said, "I want it..." in a familiar pouting tone. In response to Asunas demand, Vahn just offered an affectionate smile, his thumbs slipping under the band of her ornatece panties, snapping it in an instant. This caused Asuna to swallow audibly, but, before he gave her what she wanted, Vahn slowly traced his along her sides, his palms glowing with a subtle rainbow hue that only he could see. This caused Asuna to puff out her cheeks slightly, but, rather thanin, she just closed her eyes, biting her bottom lip as his hands slipped under her bra and began massaging her unreasonably soft breasts. Rather than snap it with his fingers, Vahn pulled up the fabric of Asunas bra, stretching thece garment quite a bit so that he could bite through the fabric at the front. Asuna had noticed what he was doing based on the subtle changes in his movement, her eyes widening slightly as her breasts practically exploded from her bra. Seeing the two wless mounds of flesh, the first thought that came to Vahns mind was perfect. In the wake of this thought, he ultimately gave in to his most primal instinct, pulling Asuna closer to him as he leaned forward and began biting the light pink protrusion that poked out, seemingly to demand his attention. This caused Asuna to release a startled cry, but, much like before, she made no effort to stop his actions. Instead, a drunken hue spread across her face as she hugged his head and mused, "Youre like a baby...there, there..." Ignoring Asunas remark, Vahn bit down a little harder before rolling the protruding pink bud with his tongue. This caused Asuna to begin biting her lip once again, the ruddy expression on her face growing progressively darker as the pleasure continued to build in her body. At this point, she had already guessed what Vahn was thinking, so, rather than attempt to persuade him, she decided to simply enjoy the ride. There would be plenty of times to try all the things she had read about over their long honeymoon, and, now that they were married, there was nothing preventing them from being intimate with each other... Comforting by her thoughts of the future, Asuna was slightly startled when the extremely hot and hard appendage that had been poking her stomach suddenly invaded the small gap between her thighs. She was unable to prevent a sensual sigh from escaping her lips, and, though he had yet to prate her, Asuna felt a tremble pass through her body that made it hard to stay upright. This wasnt the first time she had climaxed, but, knowing it was the result of Vahns grinding against her, a thin trail of blood began flowing from Asunas as she momentarily cked out with a happy smile on her face... Vahn was a little surprised by Asunas sudden bout of anemia, but, rather than stop what he was doing, hepped up the small amount of blood escaping her nose and continued licking the area around her lips until she eventually came to. Then, before she could express her confusion, Vahn allowed her head to rest against his shoulder as he used [Hands of Nirvana] to calm her mind and allow her to stay cognizant of what was toe. Realizing what was about to happen, Asuna wrapped her arms around Vahns body before lightly kissing the various scars that decorated his shoulders. She knew the origin of the bite marks, and, though now probably wasnt the best time, she wanted to leave her own mark on Vahn in the near future. For now, however, she did her best to regte her breathing as Vahn guided her to straddle his hips, a startlingly hot sensation invading her most sacred grounds to im them as their own... Despite feeling an exceptionally sharp pain, Asuna didnt cry out in rm. Instead, a light giggle escaped her throat as she held Vahn even tighter and muttered, "Thank you..." before passing out a second time. This time, however, her body didnt go limp, as, even in her sleep, Asuna was able to keep fighting and responding to her surroundings without issue. Though it was a little strange to consider, this skill also tranted to other forms of physical exertion, so, while shecked the muscle memory to respond properly, she was still able to cling to Vahns body while nting small kisses on his neck. Though he wasnt inexperienced with women who passed out during sex, Vahn was a little surprised that Asuna was one of them. It made her seem a lot more delicate and fragile than she actually was, so, for the remainder of their first time together, he focused more on embracing and caring for her body than attempting to push her to any extremes. This allowed Asuna to graduallye back to her senses, and, though she ultimately passed out a third time, it wasnt until Vahn released a rather substantial volume of semen directly inside of her... --- Despite them outnumbering him three-to-one, Vahn was surprised by the fact that he was having more sex with Eva alone than the threebined beauties. Though there were times when Asuna and Theo tempted him, they focused on other aspects of being newlyweds than simply having sex all the time. This included preparing meals alongside each other, going on pics together, and, at times, simply rxing on the sofa while they watched a movie or performed other mundane tasks. Of the three, Asuna was easily the most proactive, but, unlike her past self, she only targetted him in the bath or when they were in the bedroom. She still walked around wearing a button-up shirt and a pair of panties, but, rather than try to sit in hisp or proactively seduce him, she enjoyed simply snuggling up next to him or being held. As for Arika and Theo, the former always wore proper attire around the house while thetter, having grown rather fond of her Pactio raiment, could usually be seen walking around in what appeared to be a stylish ck hakama and a ck sports bra. Though it was meant to be their honeymoon period, Theo still proactively trained her body without skipping a single day, and, after witnessing her actions, it wasnt long before Arika and Asuna joined in. As for Vahn, he enjoyed simply watching from the side and periodically tending to their wounds, as, due to them being inside of his Realm, it was virtually impossible for him to grow stronger. If he wanted to, he could lift an entire with a single hand, so, while he could still assist the girls in their training, it didnt really benefit him. Fortunately, training was almost always followed by an orgy of sorts, as, due to her constitution, it took a fair amount of effort just to calm Theo down after she got excited. She would even be slightly feral if her condition wasnt treated quickly, so, whenever her eyes began to glow beyond a certain threshold, Vahn would generally step in to mediate. From there, he would whisk the woman away to a private dungeon located beneath the mansion, Theos favorite ce in the entire Little Garden. Unsurprisingly, Theos masochistic tendencies had blossomed following the loss of her virginity and the subsequent conquering of her draconic instincts. Her favorite activity was having heavy chains restrict her movements as he tormented her tail with his [Hands of Nirvana]. It had quickly be one of the most sensitive spots on her entire body, so, whenever Vahn was trying to wrangle her in, he would sit on Theos back while performing a deep-tissue massage on her tail. At other times, he would use a soft-leather whip to spank her backside, and, if she was well-behaved, they would wake up earlier than normal to go for a walk together. Though she was still far from Anubis level, Theo had developed a fondness for being leashed, often spending most of her time with a small silver chain attached to her cor. She had even developed a habit of presenting her exposed stomach to him, enjoying the feeling of his palm lightly caressing her abdomen as shey across hisp. More surprising than Theos transformation was the fact that Arika, and, to a lesser extent, Asuna hadpletely embraced it. The former had even taken the former Hesian Princess for a walk, and, though she preferred her Masters touch, Theo allowed Asuna to both tease and wash her in the bath. Vahn had even walked in on Asuna straddling Theos tail as she aggressively molded the bronze-skinned beautys breasts, all while thetter dangled her tongue out with a far-off look in her eyes... Fortunately, though they had embraced Theos quirks, Arika and Asuna made a concerted effort to keep everything in moderation. They even lightly chided each other when they believed things were getting out of hand. This was something Asuna had be ustomed to, but, rather than harbor any negative thoughts or resentment, she proactively made an effort to improve herself. This was a trait all three of the women shared, and, though he sometimes felt excluded at times, Vahn couldnt help but smile whenever he saw the trio getting along better than sisters... --- Though their original honeymoon period was supposed to onlyst fifty days, Eva had convinced Vahn to apany her throughout the second honeymoon as well. Fifty days hadnt been enough for her to release all the frustrations and tensions she had built up over the centuries, so, even after 113 days had passed, they were rarely apart for more than a few minutes at a time. It wasnt until he informed her of the fact that Theo hadid an egg that Eva seemed to remember there was a world beyond the confines of their private mansion. Recalling the existence of Terra and her surrogate child, Alexa, Eva began to gradually calm down, and, after a few more days had passed, she hadrgely returned to normal. This was denoted by the fact that she had actually refused their usual morning routine, lightly pushing Vahns face away before making her way over the nearby wardrobe and saying, "We should return soon. I dont want to keep Karin and the rest waiting...". After that, she adorned a proper outfit, effectively bringing an end to the dream-like reality they had relished over thest four months... Never one to argue against Evas decisions, Vahn alighted from the bed without a word, helping her to fix her hair and clothes before they finally returned to the central ind. There, they spent several months adapting to a lifestyle of living alongside others, and, after the passage of three years, Vahn finally subsumed the Little Garden into his Realm. It became yet another one of Gaias sub textures, and, though it took a while for everyone to fully adapt to life within the Inner Sanctum, learning the true nature of their reality was enough to convince even Eva to abandon her revenge... --- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ehehehehe~ *passes out*,Theo, the Dog-Dragon Empress,To be fair, four months of constant fucking is pretty excessive xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1689 Precipice

Chapter 1689 Precipice

Though it was certainly a peculiar sight to behold, Vahn had a natural smile on his face as an adorable creature with dark skin and white fur clung to his back with two of its four arms. With the other two, it was curiouslybed through his hair with blood-red talons, its golden eyes glowing slightly as it meticulously surveyed his scalp. Failing to find any goodies, the vaguely humanoid female creature began poking Vahns cheek with her ws, her voice husky and somewhat grating as she asked, "Papa, no bugs?" Before answering, Vahn held up his left hand, encouraging the curious creature to climb over his shoulder and nestled into his embrace. Then, with a rxed smile on his face, Vahn lightly mused, "Sorry, Xys, but I always make sure to properly clean and groom my fur." Hearing her Papas response, Xysteria adopted a slightly incredulous expression that didnt suit her before curling up into an egg-shaped ball. Her five fluffy tails, which usually fanned out behind her, were capable of bing a singr mass, and, though her eyes remained visible, the rest of her body was covered in dense white fur that was surprisingly soft despite being harder than virtually any naturally urring substance. As he was quite used to Xysterias pouting, Vahn just cradled the fluffy egg in his arm as he pulled out an amethyst-colored cicada that was slightlyrger than his palm. This caused a few seams to appear in the egg-shaped ball, a small gap opening to allow a single three-wed hand to emerge and snatch the wriggling insectoid from his hand. After that, Xysteria happily munched on the still-living insect, her inordinately sharp teeth tearing through its steel-like carapace with the ease of a normal person eating potato chips. Though he had tried getting her to eat normal food, Xysteria was pretty adamant about consuming raw minerals and living prey. Her body had the ability to analyze the structure of the things she had eaten, and, after a few hours had passed, a version of herself that roughly resembled the things she had consumed would manifest within a few kilometers from her position. It was a rather terrifying ability, but, despite pouting when she didnt get her way, Xysteria was usually very affectionate and docile. After enjoying her snack, Xysteria uncurled from her defensive state, smiling wide enough to disy her two rows of sharp teeth before saying, "Papa, good. Delicious, koku." After that, she climbed to the top of his head, her body shrinking rapidly until she was small enough to easily curl up and take an impromptu nap. Ordinarily, Vahn would allow Xysteria to do as she pleased, but, as he had other matters to address, he picked her up by the scruff before cing her into his breast pocket. She was currently around the size of a baby squirrel, so, while it was a little unorthodox, she could easily fit into a pocket or a small container. Though she didnt like being moved after gettingfortable, Xysteria just released an adorable yawn before nestling in his pocket without a fuss. Around the same time, Vahn turned his attention towards the endless expanse of space just beyond the membrane of light protecting everyone who had decided to attend the event. This included most of the Inner Sanctums residents, and, as was often the case, Da Vinci and her various assistants, Companions who had evolved into humanoid forms. After spending an additional eight years in his Realm, Vahn had just recently turned 304 years old. This, however, was nothingpared to the entity that was slowly emerging from a massive spatial vortex in the sky, theary form of Silva. She was currently around seventeen-million-years-old, and, though she had yet to develop life of her own, she was reaching the point of habitability. As a result, Vahn felt it was time to move her into the system orbiting Amaterasu, the official name of the star orbited by Gaia. Though there were other candidates for the position, Vahn had given Amaterasu full authority over the Sun. This made her one of the most powerful entities within the Realm, second only to the trio of Vahn, Artoria, and Da Vinci, thetter two sharing the formers authority. With the assistance of Amaterasu, it was a simple matter of cing Silva into a rtively safe orbit, matching pace with her mother so they could remain close. After that, Xysteria would be given free rein across Silvas surface, releasing her from the sub-texture she had spent most of her life in. This was something Silva herself desired, so, while there were bound to beplications in the future, it would only be a problem if Xysteria felt endangered or ignored. Despite being one of the most powerful entities within the Realm, Xysteria had always been skittish. There were even times when she would curl up into a defensive ball over something as trivial as a grasshopper jumping. This was extremely adorable to witness, but, considering the majority of her dangerous creations came about as a result of negative emotions, Xysteria spent most of her time in an extremely safe and serene sanctuary. The only time she left was when she apanied Vahn, one of the few people she felt absolutely safe around... With Amaterasu reporting that Silva had entered a stable orbit, Vahn lightly pat his chest to awaken the slumbering Xysteria. This caused her to poke her head out of his pocket, a confused expression on her face as she asked, "Papa?". In response, Vahn held up his right hand so she could climb into his palm as he exined, "Your brother and sister are waiting. Lets go explore your new home..." --- While most people were gathered to witness Silvas emergence as a proper, another version of Vahn was sitting atop the head of a mountain-sized dragon. At his side, leaning against him with a smile on her face, Artoria could be seen lightly tapping her tail against the dragons head. Rather thanin about this, however, the massive dragon had the closest thing approximating a smile on its face as it observed the same scene as the duo sitting atop its head. Though it had taken an inordinately long period of time, Artoria had finally given birth following the subsuming of the Little Garden into his Realm. As for their child, Arthur Aldrnari Pendragon, he was born with peculiar pink scales covering his arms, legs, and tail. He also had a pair of angelic wings covered in pale-pink feathers that, ording to Da Vincis analysis, were around six-hundred times harder than steel despite being just as light as normal feathers. At present, Arthur was learning swordsmanship from none other than Merlin as Vahn, Artoria, and the Welsh Dragon watched on with pride visible in their countenances. Thetter had actually been named the Godfather of Arthur, much to Merlins chagrin, so, whenever Artoria needed a babysitter, she would take their son to visit the mountain-sized dragon who spent most of its time peacefully slumbering within Avalon. As could be expected from the child of two Dragon Gods, Arthur was immensely powerful despite appearing to be little more than two-years-old. He alsocked the temperament of a True Dragon, but, considering neither Vahn nor Artoria wanted him to be bound by such instincts, this wasnt too surprising. Instead, he was a very kind and caring boy, rarely showing hostility to others and always keep to learn new things. Had the Empire been normal, it wasnt difficult to imagine Arthur growing up to be an incredible Emperor in Vahns stead. Even Mordred seemed to acknowledge this fact, never missing a chance to fawn over the young prince; simr to how she used to behave around Kamiya. This made Mordred one of Arthurs favorite people, but, more than anyone else, the young True Dragon was most fond of Yggdrillia. She had been present during his birth, and, though he imagined she wouldnt hesitate to join the Menagerie, Vahn had decided to wait a few years to see if anything developed between his youngest son and the nature dragon. Though there was a drastic difference in age between Yggdrillia and Arthur, Vahn didnt consider it much of a problem. He had wives who were, quite literally, millions of years older than him, so, with Artoria and even Yggdrillia in support of the idea, Arthur spent an increasing amount of time within the Garden of Avalon... While watching their son trade blows with Merlin, Artoria lightly caressed Vahns hand as she asked, "How soon will you be leaving? Now that youve transnted Silva, I cant imagine you idling within the Realm much longer..." Returning her caress with his own, Vahn nodded his head, admitting, "I have been working with Da Vinci to finalize my ns and intend to depart in the next few days...as tempting as it is to just stay in here for all eternity, I cannot abandon my family. Dont worry, it wont be much longer before we finish developing a method to allow those within the Realm to manifest externally. When that timees, I will be relying on you once again..." Hearing Vahns words, Artorias smile became more prominent as she leaned against his shoulder and muttered, "Im looking forward to that day...though these tranquil times fill my heart with calm serenity, my ce will always be at your side. It pains me to know you are experiencing hardship in a world beyond my reach..." Understanding that Artorias sentiments were shared by many within the Realm, Vahn adopted a solemn and determined expression as he pulled her closer to him and said, "I promise...it wont be much longer..." To punctuate his words, Vahn nted a kiss on Artorias lips. At the same time, however, he felt a pang of guilt, as, despite the honesty of his im, there were a few key details he was leaving out. This included the fact that he intended to slow the flow of time within the Realm upon arriving in the next Record. He was currently too reliant on it, and, considering how much time it would take him to climb up the Tiers, Vahn didnt want his family and friends within the Realm to be waiting on him for hundreds, or even thousands, of years. After his various discussions with Da Vinci, Vahn had actually been considering stopping the flow of time within his Realm. His experience in the Akamatsuverse how demonstrated just how much of a crutch it was, and, while he didnt regret any of the time he spent inside, Vahn couldnt help but feel that everything outside was simply irrelevant. This was exacerbated by the fact he spent more than ny percent of his time within various sub-spaces, separate from any real danger or tension. When Vahn originally entered the Akamatsuverse, he had just turned two-hundred-years-old. Now, he was already over three-hundred, and, while this was still remarkably young for both a God and a True Dragon, the fact of the matter was that he had been in the Akamatsuverse proper for just over thirteen months. Most of his time was spent within the Realm, training, and preparing for various events that ultimately never even took ce. This left him feeling more than a little suffocated, and, if not for Eva acquiescing to his desire to leave, Vahn knew he would have spent decades longer just cleaning up various messes... Ever since he first arrived in the Nasuverse many years ago, Vahn felt he had always spent too much time simply preparing. As a result, he always ended up training to a point where there was no actual danger, transcending most threats in a very short period of time due to his unrestricted growth and the fact most influential entities had a finite or predestined amount of power. This was amon trait within the Records, as, without such a power dynamic, it would be impossible for heroes and protagonists to ovee entities who had lived for millions, if not billions, of years. Though he was able to increase his power without any real limits, Vahn knew it took more than raw power to raise your Soul Tier. This was demonstrable by the fact that, even at Tier 1, Fenrir had the potential to devour reality itself. In much the same way, it was possible for him to eventually reach a point where he could kill even Tier 6 beings without exceeding Tier 4. This would be difficult under normal circumstances, but, with the endless boons provided by Source Energy, Vahn knew he would be able to pull it off if he spent a few decades within a sub-space orb. Since there was no sense in arbitrarily inting his power to defeat all foes that barred his passage, Vahn was prepared to experience a bit of suffering in theing Record. Because of this, he didnt actually want anyone else to apany him, as, so long as there was something for him to protect, Vahn feltpelled to grow stronger at an exponential rate. The only reason he was going to take Fenrir with him was that, regardless of the circumstances, there would always be something in the Records that he wanted to protect. This was unavoidable, so, rather than force himself to be alone, Vahn intended to venture through the next Record with nothing but himself and his ever-reliablepanion at his side. As for his promise with Artoria...truth be told, he already had a method to allow them to manifest externally. It just required very specific conditions to execute... While thinking of the future, Vahn continued to hold Artoria close as they continued to look down on their son. This was probably the greatest reason behind Vahns desire to slow down the flow of time within the Realm, as, rather than spend a bunch of time inside, he intended to do the opposite in order to reduce the strain he ced upon his family, friends, and loved ones... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Koku, koku, where are the bugs~?,Arthur would get along with Natsu,Vahn has a lot of burdens. Stay strong, young Emperor...) (A/N: This is the end of the Akamatsuverse Arc.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1690 Peculiarities

Chapter 1690 Peculiarities

Having already made his decision to transition into the next Record, Vahn spent his final few hours apanying Artoria and Eva for tea while Karin and Grey, both wearing the attire of the Imperial Maid Battalion, stood off to the side. Despite feeling a little listless about the future, Vahn had a rxed smile on his face as he simply listened to two of the most important women in his life converse. They got along exceptionally well with each other due to the fact that Eva had grown up listening to tales of King Arthur in her youth. She was very interested in everything Artoria had to say, so, while thetter had never been one for discussing her escapades, she answered most of Evas questions with a kind smile. Noticing the look on their husbands face, the expressions of the two women softened as Eva asked, "Is it time?" Nodding his head, Vahn softly replied, "Indeed...the longer I stay here, the less motivated I feel to do anything outside. Dont worry, from the perspective of everyone within the Realm, I will only be gone for a few hours at a time..." Understanding it would be impossible to keep the truth hidden, Vahn ultimately informed his wives about his decision to effectively reverse the usual time dtion. This had made more than a few them ufortable, but, after hearing his reasons, they gradually came to support his decision. In exchange, he revealed to them his prototype Noble Phantasm, a skill that effectively superimposed his Realm onto the outside world. Knowing they would be able to battle alongside him in the future helped to put a lot of peoples hearts and minds at ease. Many even started training again, forming small groups that helped to polish each others skills in preparation for future battles. Their devotion, quite literally, gave Vahn strength, so, while he couldnt help but feel worried about the future, he still looked forward to the day where he could overwhelm his enemies with the people he cared about fighting alongside him. Not missing the glimmer in Vahns eye, Artoria and Eva sent a nce toward each other, knowing smiles appearing on their faces for a brief moment before the former said, "Then we shall see you in a few hours. Now, go...and never forget, our hearts are always with you..." Though he was intending to stick around for a few minutes longer, Vahn felt it was best to leave on a high note. In response to Artorias words, he issued a light chuckle, downing the final few drops of tea before rising to his feet and saying, "Ill be back by dinner time..." --- Opening his eyes, Vahn found himself in a familiar-yet-strange space, the stone dais that effectively served as his origin. Looking around the area, Vahn noticed it hadnt changed all that much since hisst visitation, but, if he focused his mind, both Gaia and Silva came into view. In fact, he could view everything within his realm while atop the dais, something that brought a gentle smile to Vahns face. Finished with his admiration of the two sapphire blues, Vahn attempted a few experiments that Da Vinci had asked him to perform. Unfortunately, despite feeling more power atop the stone dais than anywhere else, Vahn wasnt able to do much. The dais was a ce transcending the scope of the Laws, so, other than simply exist, it didnt seem like much else was possible. Deciding not to dally for too long, Vahn ultimately ceased his efforts toprehend the nature of the dais. The next time he returned, he would be a Tier 7 entity, so, while he might not be able to understand its nature in the present, the future held infinite possibilities. To that end, Vahn fell back onto the stone dais, his arms and legs sprawled out as he gazed up in the infinite emptiness above and said, "Ill leave the destination to The Path...transfer me when youre ready..." Though she had yet to manifest externally, Sis nodded her head within the observation room of Vahns mind before typing in a few variables into a light-formed terminal. Then, without taking a look at the constrained search results, she pressed a small button that, due to Vahns desires, had the ability to randomly select a Record among the list. After that, the observation room went dark for a very brief moment before gradually lighting up as Vahn opened his eyes in another world... --- Before Vahn could even open his eyes to gather his bearings, he was surprised by a voice asking, "Who...no...what are you?" Staring at the entity who had just addressed him, a peculiar white humanoid that resembled some kind of rabbit, Vahn answered, "I am Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor..." Scanning the peculiar rabbit earing a purple suit adorned with gemstones in the form of a cross, Vahn was surprised to find he couldnt sense anything from the man. His entire presence seemed toe from the staff in his hands, a golden staff adorned with two watery spheres on either end. Shifting his gaze away from the rabbit for a brief moment, Vahn inspected the other people present within therge chamber, an inordinately beautiful woman with a long ponytail, a short man with peculiar silver hair that glistened simrly to metal, and, most notably, a young boy holding a thin ck sword that gave off a simr impression to the rabbit-like entitys staff. Though Vahn had just given her a simple nce, the woman felt like her entire existence had just been seen through by him, the pupils in her red eyes contracting slightly as she asked, "Dont tell me...are you also an Irregr?" Unsure of what an Irregr was supposed to be, Vahn just offered a smile in response, his voice deep and resonating as he answered, "Such terms are foreign to me. Now, mind telling me whats going on here...?" As Vahn asked his question, he turned his attention to a metal gate that, against all logic, seemed to prevent arge body of water from escaping between its bars. Within that water, which shone with a mystical blue light, a massive eel-like creature was staring at everyone gathered within the room, a fair amount of drool pooling within its bottom jaw despite the fact it was surrounded by a liquid... In response to his question, it was the rabbit-like entity who stroked his non-existent chin before answering, "Allow me to introduce myself, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. I am Headon, Guardian of the 1st Floor, and Administrator in charge of selecting candidates to climb the Tower. The woman next to me is known as Ha Yuri Jahad, Princess of the Jahad Empire, and one of the few High Rankers that exist within the Tower." Taking advantage of the fact that she had already been introduced, Yuri sized up the man standing before her. He had short brown hair that was neatlybed backward, and, though he had a bit of peppering in his sideburns and beard, he radiated the aura filled with vitality. If she were to try and describe him to someone else, she would readily call him handsome, but, despite age having very little relevance within the Tower, Yuri had always preferred younger boys with pretty faces. Shifting her gaze away from the self-proimed Emperor, Yuri looked at the other Irregr who had appeared, a young boy named The 25th Baam. Unlike Vahn, he gave off a fragile and innocent vibe, someone who had never harmed a single person in their entire life. He was nothing like all of the other Irregrs who had entered the Tower, monsters who brought about great changes in the wake of their meteoric rise. Scrunching up her nose slightly, Yuri ced her hands on her hips as she looked to the silver-haired man standing at her right, asking, "Evan, what do you...see?" Yuri had been curious about Vahns power and potential, but, seeing the abject terror visible on her Guides face, she immediately shifted her focus back to the smiling man. Ignoring the womans guarded posture, Vahn gave a polite nod, saying, "It is a pleasure to make the acquaintance of another Empires Princess. If time allows, I would be honored if you would join me for a cup of tea. There are many questions Id like to have answered...chief among them being the one I previously asked..." Noticing the impatience of the boy holding the ck sword, Vahn couldnt help but frown as he saw the youth eyeing the twenty-meter long monster floating within the peculiar water. It seemed like he was on the verge of charging directly into the cage, but, based on the presence he gave off, it was hard to imagine him defeating the creature. The sword in his hand seemed very powerful, but it was currently in a sealed state. Given the power of everyone else present, it was pretty obvious he had stepped into an event rted to the original timeline, and, based on the insurmountable odds before him, Vahn could guess the frail-looking youth was the protagonist of this Record. Understanding most protagonists were forced to experience great hardships, Vahn had to resist the urge to frown as he interrupted any potential responses, stating, "Boy...exin to me what is going on here. If these people are putting you in danger, I will do my best to help you." Hearing the intimidating man suddenly address him, the short-haired youth nearly dropped the sword in his hands, his golden eyes wavering as he tightened his grip on its hilt and answered, "It isnt like that...Mr. Headon gave me a Test and Ms. Yuri decided to help me. It was my decision to go up the Tower...there...there is someone important I must follow after...!" Though he appeared to be surprised by the boys outburst, the thing that caused Vahns brows to raise was the fact that the fate around the youth seemed to spontaneously grow stronger. Then, as if to prove his conviction, he spun around on his heels, running into the cage containing a creature he virtually no hope of defeating. Noticing Baams actions, Yuri couldnt help but cry out, "Wait a second you dumbass! There are still a lot of important things we need to discuss...!" For a brief moment, it seemed like Yuri was about to snatch up the boy named Baam by the back of his neck, but, before she was able to, a powerful force spread from Headon as he inly stated, "If you interfere with a Test, the boy will be disqualified and ejected from the Tower. Since you allowed him to borrow the ck March, have faith in the boy..." Though she wanted to argue against Headons words, Yuri knew better than most that the peculiar rabbit wasnt someone just anyone could mess with. He was the oldest Guardian in the Tower, and, though he might not be the most powerful, he had the authority to remove all the blessings people had received from the other Guardians. This would leave most people powerless, a fate worse than death for those who called the Tower home. Helping to calm the womans frustrations, the inordinately short silver-haired man seemed toe to his senses as he noticed the scene ying out within the cage. A peculiar light shed across his silver eyes, something Vahn was keenly aware of due to the fact that he could see an illusory flow of fate shift around the man like a series of meandering paths. It was unlike anything he had ever seen before, as, prior to entering this Record, Vahn had only ever seen static flows, the single exception being when he influenced events... Following the eyes of everyone else present, Vahn watched as the boy named Baam dropped his guard, seemingly epting death. This immediately brought a frown to his face, but, noticing the fate solidify around the youth, he decided not to intervene. Instead, he focused on extending his domain, surprised by the resistance present within the surrounding Space. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced, but, while it seemed to limit the spread of his domain, Vahn was hardly able to contain a smile as he felt the power and potential contained within the mysterious energy... --- Determined to follow after the person that meant more to him than his own life, Baam closed his eyes and allowed the monster known as a White Steel Eel to devour him. By offering no resistance, the creature hadpletely lowered its guard, so, once he was inside its massive and unbelievably foul-smelling mouth, he didnt hesitate to use the needle in hand to stab both its tongue and the roof of its mouth over and over again. Feeling a sensation akin to electricity running through its body, followed by intense pain, the White Steel Eel couldnt even cry out as it fell to the ground, mouth dangling open as a massive amount of blood flowed from within. At the same time, Baam emerged from the interior, his face and body covered in blood that wasnt his. Then, with a loud cry intended to muster up all his strength, he charged towards a transparent ck ball located at the back of the cage. In order to climb the Tower, Baam had been tasked with popping the ck ball using the sword he had borrowed from Yuri. It was a legendary weapon known as the ck March, one of the Thirteen Month Series that was generally restricted to only Princesses of Zahard. There were few weapons in the entire Tower that could match its prative power and might, yet, in spite of this, Baam felt a sharp pain in his hands as he attempted to pop the thin ck membrane of the ball. Though he noticed his palms were bleeding, Baam didnt stop to despair for a single moment, even as he heard Yuri shouting something from behind. Instead, he pulled out the knife he had brought with him while following after Rachel, a small cleaver-like weapon with a dull edge. Despite this, it had a bit of heft to it, so, with all the power he could muster, Baam began hammering at the handle of the ck March, forcing the tip further into the interior but ultimately failing to pop it. With sweat pouring down his face and the White Steel Eel slowly recovering from its paralysis, Baam abruptly considered the possibility that he had been set up by the Guardian of the First Floor. For a very brief moment, he nearly surrendered to the urge to copse, but, from behind, a sudden voice cried out, "Hey, kid! Ask the ck March to help you! If you can get her to ignite, there is a chance you can stillplete the Test!" Hearing the voice of the man who had introduced himself as Evan Edrok, Baam took a few deep breaths, hands on his knees as he asked, "What do you mean? How do I talk to the ck March?" Skipping a detailed exnation, Evan nearly ran to the edge of the cage as he shouted, "Just do it! If you keep thinking and hesitating, youre going to die! Grab the ck March and focus your mind on the de! Its your only chance!" Though he was more than a little confused, Baam still managed to muster the strength to grip the handle of the ck March, his head lowering almost as if he was in prayer. This was an intriguing turn of events from Vahns perspective, as, without a tremendous amount of practice, it was often very difficult for people to infuse their intent into a de. Despite this, he could sense a shift in the boys aura as the weapon known as the ck March began to emanate an aura powerful enough to distort the surrounding space. With golden electricity dancing across the surface of the de and diffusing into the surroundings with destructive force, Baam inevitably seeded in destroying the ball. To the surprise of everyone but Vahn and Headon, however, the ball quickly expanded to create a peculiar spacial membrane, a liquid mass that seemed to possess the ability to transport and protect entities moving through the void. Moments before Baam vanished from view, a petite woman with golden hair, golden eyes, and a red dress had appeared. She gave off a very simr impression to a Zanpakuto Spirit, so, while her presence seemed to surprise Yuri quite a bit, Vahn had an intrigued smile on his face as he briefly made eye contact with the entity embracing Baams body. She seemed slightly surprised when their eyes ovepped, but, with the ck ball consuming both her and Baam, there was no time for small talk. Baam ended uppletely enveloped by the ck sphere, and, like a ck hole copsing in on itself, the peculiar ck substance vanished from view in an instant... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Everywhere I go, I carry my Empire within my heart...,A Record where Fate is constantly shifting about like waves in a tumultuous sea...,Om nom nom nom) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1691 Observation

Chapter 1691 Observation

Seeing Baam vanish into thin air, Yuri spun around to face Headon, her red eyes releasing a crimson light as her aura began to swell. Before she could explode, however, Vahn interrupted, stating in the same calm tone as before, "The boy is fine. Now, I would appreciate it if someone finally answered my question. Im still calm at the moment, but Im not particrly known for my patience..." Snapping her head in Vahns direction, Yuris aura began to swell up even further, stopping only when herpanion, Evan, stood in front of her and shouted, "You mustnt! Were already taking a risk just by being on the Floor of Tests! Lets just leave and recover the ck March! That boy must have been sent to Evankhells Hell. If we move quickly, we might be able to catch up to him before he finishes the Position Test!" Though Yuri didnt particrly agree with Evans words, she was far more interested in the boy who had gone up than the self-professed Emperor staring back at her. Unfortunately, her duty required her to seek out an Irregr, so, after calming herself, she adopted a serious expression and asked, "Hey, Vahn, was it? Why did youe to the Tower? Where were you before?" Annoyed by the fact that his question had yet to be answered, Vahns smile faded away in response to Yuris curt tone. Rather than exhibit anger, however, he appeared more indifferent than anything else, inly stating, "Im not in the habit of answering people who ignore my questions due to their perception of self-worth. I have tried to be polite, restating my question three times. In spite of this, you believe yourself entitled to answers, even going so far as to interrogate me? Ive lost interest in this conversation." Despite having gone to great lengths to calm herself, Yuris eyes began releasing a fierce red light as the aura around her surged forth like a gravitation well, sinking the floor due to the pressure she was releasing. This came as quite a surprise to Vahn, but, even if she was far more powerful than his present self, he wouldnt back down. Instead, his own aura began to surge, surprising even himself as the blue water within the cage took on a golden hue in response... Before things could get further out of hand, Headon also stepped in between Vahn and Yuri, his staff twirling within the air as silver eyes appearing within the ck slit that seemed to function as both a mouth and an eye socket. His aura easily eclipsed both of theirs as he inly stated, "This is not some battleground where you can do as you please. Princess Yuri, you should not even be here. As for you, Vahn Aldrnari Mason...Im not sure how you managed to enter the Tower. Despite this, I will wee you as an Irregr, and, should you seek something atop the Tower, I will afford you the opportunity to climb. As for your questions, they will all be answered as you move further up the Tower. After all, be it fame, power, fortune, authority, immortality, or even godhood...all can be found at the top of the Tower..." Assuming The Path had ced him at this point in time for a specific reason, Vahn began to slowly retract his aura as he stated, "Very well. Lets see what this Tower of yours can afford me. At the very least, it should be an interesting distraction." With two rows of razor-sharp teeth appearing within Headons slit-like mouth, Vahn got the distinct impression he was being looked at like prey. Despite this, the self-proimed Guardian of the First Floor showed no overt hostility, even offering a polite bow before grabbing his staff and exining, "It is a bit unorthodox, but, for the sake of fairness, I will allow you to take the same Test as the boy preceding you. So long as you are able to destroy the ball or kill the creature contained within, you will have sessfully passed the Test. What say you, Sage Dragon Emperor?" Though the monster within the cage was certainly very powerful, Vahn didnt think it was suitable to test his capabilities. Despite this, he wasnt going to make things arbitrarily more difficult, as, based on Headons words, it was safe to assume there were far more powerful being awaiting him in the Tower. With that in mind, he simply nodded in response before walking towards the cage, raising his left hand in the process. He wasnt fond of the idea of killing the creature when it couldnt even protect itself, so, rather than crush it using his Telekinesis, Vahn entered the cage without any sign of fear or hesitation. Interested to see the power of another Irregr, Yuri and Evan both turned their attention to the cage containing the White Steel Eel, their eyes intently focused on Vahns movements. Thetter gave off the impression of a real Irregr, and, though he shouldnt be stronger than any of the people present, his aura was nothing to scoff at. This implied he had a monstrous potential, one that might shake the very foundations of the Tower in the not-so-distant future. Without minding the gazes boring into the back of his skull, Vahn slowly closed his hand, locking the White Steel Eel into ce. He might not be a God of Space, Time, and Creation in this peculiar Record, but, even with his power significantly restricted, there were few people with an equivalent level of mastery over Space and Time. As a result, he easily suspended the giant eel in ce before walking over to the ck sphere that had manifested at the opposite end of the cage. Though he was curious about his ability to breathe the surrounding water, Vahn decided to follow Headons advice and seek answers within the Tower. He actually felt more content not knowing what to expect as it meant there was that much more for him to discover on his own. Thus, without sparing the trio a second nce, he ced his palm upon the ck sphere, shattering it without any discernible effort... --- Seeing Vahn enveloped by the same ck mass that had consumed Baam, Yuri was momentarily at a loss as to how she should respond. She had expected something far more shy, but, rather than feel disappointed, the casual disy of the Emperor had left quite an impression. Turning her head to face Headon, Yuri couldnt help but frown slightly as she asked, "Was that ball the same kind you had used with Baam? How was he able to break it so easily when even the ck March had trouble?" Though he didnt have a discernible nose, Headon snorted in response to Yuris words, turning his back to her as he answered, "That ball was at least ten times as strong as the one I used to test the previous Irregr. His ability to shatter the ball with such ease is a testament to his capabilities. Its no wonder he calls himself an Emp...no, a Sage Dragon Emperor. How curious..." Remembering Vahns introduction, a rather eerie smile spread across Headons face as he recalled the race of creatures that had gone extinct thousands of years prior. If Vahn was truly a Dragon, his power would make a lot of sense, as, prior to the rise of Jahad and his Great Warriors, Dragons had ruled alongside other Native Ones as the most powerful creatures within the Tower. Noticing the smile on Headons face, Yuris expression became even more serious as she turned on her heels and eximed, "Follow me you chibi! We need to hurry if we want to intercept those two before the Position Test!" Without waiting for Evans response, Yuri grabbed the strap of his hiking bag, pulling him forcibly towards a nearby staircase. This would have normallypelled Evan to protest, but, with his mind focused on other matters, he took advantage of the free ride for as long as possible... --- Using the pseudo-omniscience provided to him as one fo the Towers Administrators, Headon kept track of Yuri and Evan with his mind. He waited until they were far beyond the perception of even a High Rankers senses before lowering his head, the ck void on his face appearing to resemble a massive grin as he turned towards the shadows and asked, "Did you see? Though there were a few unexpected guests, the boy still went up. Now, what will you do...faker?" In response to Headons words, part of the adjacent stone wall seemed to melt away, revealing a young woman with in features, blonde hair, and light freckles... --- After what felt like several minutes of traveling through a much denser void than anything he had ever experienced, Vahn awoke to find himself surrounded by tall, wheat-like, grass. He immediately became aware of several other presences nearby, but, rather than pay them any particr mind, he raised his head towards the sky, a curious glimmer in his eyes upon seeing a peculiar resort floating freely in the sky. Just as Vahn was considering flying up to the building to take a closer look, a light whirring could be heard echoing through the vast expanse of grasnds. At the same time, a number of golden cubes seemed to appear out of thin air, each suspended motionless within the sky. They seemed to be using the energy within the atmosphere itself to remain afloat, but, to his surprise, Vahn also felt a separate space contained within each of the cubes. Fortunately, before Vahn could give in to his urge to acquire one of the cubes, the whirring sound gradually faded away as two values appeared on the cubes faces. The characters were somewhat abstract, but Vahn was able to interpret them as 200 and 30:00 respectively, implying the first was ounting for a number of something while thetter likely rted to an amount of time. Proving his analysis correct, a voice emanated from each of the cubes in a perfect chorus, a cheerful and spirited voice eximing, "Mic test! Mic Test! One, two, three! I hope everyone awoke without any issues! If not, well, you only have yourselves to me! Now, as I dont really enjoy wasting time, let me exin the rules of this test. Youll need to find a team of three people and kill as many other contestants as possible before thirty minutes have passed. If you cant find a team before the thirty minutes have passed, well, too bad! This ce isnt known as Evankhells Hell for nothing! Now, prove youre qualified to be Regrs or die like the countless billions who havee before!" Hearing the exnation, a dissatisfied frown spread across Vahns face. He wasnt fond of the idea of a Deathmatch, nor did he have any particr interest in scouting two additional team members. Fortunately, he had alreadye up with a number of solutions with Da Vinci prior to his entry into the Record. This included methods to prevent people from viewing him as a romantic interest, but, most importantly, it afforded him the opportunity to cut loose in a way he usually wouldnt be able to. With that in mind, Vahn caused a glitch in the cube-like disys as two distinctly different entities appeared next to him. The first was a rtively tall woman with chestnut brown hair, a confident expression, and a rather shapely figure. She was attired in such a way that even a normal person would be able to tell she was a cksmith,plete with a leather apron, a tool belt, severalrge pockets, and arge hammer that glowed like heated metal. As for the second figure, he was much shorter, appearing to be around 8-10 years old with a perpetually mischievous look on his face. Though the youth stood out quite a bit due to his punkish outfit, consisting of arge fur-lined parka, baggy shorts, and sneakers, the thing that stood out most about him was hisrge, wolf-like, ears and the fluffy tail protruding from his lower back. He also had sharper than average teeth, but, considering he was meant to be a young Vanargandr, this wasnt too surprising. In order to prevent young women from approaching him, Vahn had artificially aged himself to the point he was outside most young girls strike zone. As for the rest, that was what the woman next to him was for, a female version of himself that would act as both his guardian and his voice. She be the vessel through which he did most of his forging, but, most importantly, she would allow him to speak his heart and mind freely. As for his Vanargandr self, Vahn had developed a seal to inhibit most of his power, so, while his Emperor self would continue to grow at an rming rate, the young Vanargandr would be forced to rely on raw power and speed to overwhelm his foes. Fortunately, while his Vanargandr self would be limited at normal times, he was also the version of Vahn that wielded Laev-tan. This would allow him to sweep through most foes without issue, but, most importantly, it guaranteed he would be able to enjoy the thrill ofbat once again. To that end, Vahn had spent years practicing his act, refining it to the point that he could easily pretend to be three different people without an issue. In the end, Vahns Emperor self would be something of a leader and mentor to others while his so-called MILF self would serve as a counselor and guardian for those he picked up along the way. As for his Vanargandr self, Vahn was intending to cut loose quite a bit, eager to experience the childhood he had missed out on while doing his best to make friends along the way. He based his personality on a mix between Nagi and Asuna, so, while he was bound to appear abrasive and childish to some, Vahn hoped that he would be able to genuinely grow alongside others... Having already formed a three-person team, Vahn decided to familiarize himself with the strange energy in his surroundings, manipting it to form a transparent golden dome around him before pulling out a table and a few chairs. He wasnt particrly interested in the Deathmatch, so, at least for the time being, he intended topletely ignore the battles taking ce outside as his female version, aptly named Phae, short for Phaestus, poured him some tea. While this was going on, his Vanargandr self, named Gandr for the sake of simplicity, skulked around the periphery of the barrier with a battle-hungry expression visible on his face... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Gentle Touch*,Lurking within the shadows...,This is some fine ass tea...) (A/N: Simply put, Vahn and Phae protect each other by virtue of their status and opposing genders. As for Gandr, we all know who is going to be protecting him (UwU)...) Chapter 1692 Idle

Chapter 1692 Idle

Feeling the resistance of the surrounding energy, Vahn couldnt help but frown as his domain barely extended more than three-hundred meters from his position. This was smaller than it had been in a very long time. To further exacerbate matters, he felt like he was being crushed by the energy within his domain, greatly slowing his movements and even influencing his reaction time. Out of curiosity, Vahn raised his hand and began to slowly move about, his fingers creating small ripples and currents, simr to moving them through a liquid volume. This was the same impression given off by his domain as well, but, rather than physical resistance, it was more urate to say the volume ced a burden upon the spirit. Under normal circumstances, Vahn wouldnt have that much trouble manipting the energy in his surroundings. The only time it became even slightly difficult was when the energy was controlled or regted by something else, so, while he had yet to ascertain its origin, this was the conclusion his mind hade to. It was like the entirety of the surrounding energy was already under the control of an exceptionally powerful entity, one that greatly eclipsed his current level of power. Noticing his nose beginning to bleed slightly, Vahn gradually retracted his domain before habitually falling into a meditative state. The fact there was a giant humanoid with red skin, multiple eyes, and a muscr figure attempting to smash his barrier didnt particrly concern him. He wasnt the type to kill at the behest or order of other people, so, while he could sense both murderous intent and mild desperation from everyone who wandered across his barrier, hepletely shut them out in order to focus on far more important thing... --- A stark contrast to his Emperor self, Gandr was standing at the edge of the barrier, pale golden eyes glimmering as he stared up at the contestant attempting to smash their way in. The sealed form of Laev-tan was resting across his shoulder, and, though he didnt truly feel the urge to kill the giant humanoid creature trying to break the barrier, he felt a growing desire to, at the very least, teach it and many others a lesson. Sensing his thoughts, for obvious reasons, Phae looked over to where Gandr was standing, a gentle smile on her face as she mused, "Now, now, there will be plenty of time for such thingster on. For now, we should continue to observe. After all, even if this was called a Deathmatch, the rules didnt expressly state we needed to eliminate anyone." Completing the illusion that he was three separate entities, Gandrsrge fluffy ears twitched slightly before he craned his head back and said, "I was just going to beat them up a little. Dont worry, Im not a bully...most of the time..." Though there was a barrier separating them, it seemed like the red-skinned giant was still able to understand what Gandr had said. His six eyes all squinted in rage as he raised his trunk-like arms up high and attempted to, once again, shatter the barrier. Unfortunately, other than nearly breaking his own wrist, the man didnt so much as scratch the barrier with his full-power attack. Shaking his head, Gandr also began ignoring the man as he attempted to detect enemies using his enhanced olfactory senses and hearing. He was already very adept at relying on his senses in order to sense enemies, as, over thest three years, Fenrir, his big sister, had been resolute in teaching him everything he needed to know in order to be a proper Vanargandr. He had even received more than his fair share of headpats, often serving as something akin to a body pillow whenever they hadpleted their hunts. Unfortunately, due to the presence of the golden barrier, Gandr wasnt able to expand his senses beyond its confines. Considering it had been made to be soundproof, however, this wasnt really that surprising. Feeling a little bored, Gandr was preparing to sit down on the ground and simply rx until the end of the Deathmatch. There were still seventeen minutes left so he could easily fit in a quick nap if he really wanted to. Noticing Gandrs thoughts and actions, Phae couldnt help but lightly chuckle as she called out to him, saying, "Dont drop your guard. Even if the vast majority of people within this region are weak, that doesnt mean all of them are. Remember, you are our vanguard. When our Lord is resting, you must remain alert." Though he took Phaes words to heart, Gandr still ended upying on his side, supporting his head with his left hand and elbow as he watched the red-skinned giant flee. He obviously wasnt ignoring his own advice, but, in order to put on a convincing performance, he needed to act his age. He could sense a presence observing them at all points in time, so, at least for the time being, they needed to keep up appearances. After releasing a loud yawn, Gandr began lightly tapping the ground behind him with a bored look on his face. Seeing this, Phae released the textbook definition of a motherly sigh before shaking her head and pouring a cup of tea for herself. Then, with half-lidded eyes, a content smile spread across her face as she savored the taste of fresh-brewed ck tea with sugar and cream... --- For several minutes, it appeared as though nothing significant was going to happen before the time disyed on the golden cubes reached the zeroth mark. Fortunately, this was not the case, as, with three minutes to spare, a trioprised of two cloaked figures, one small and onerge, appeared alongside a rather fashionably dressed young woman. Noticing the trios arrival, Gandr immediately hopped up from the ground, Laev-tan resting on his shoulder as he quickly analyzed each of his potential opponents. The shortest of the trio appeared to be a rtively normal woman with blonde hair. As for herpanions, the six-meter tall fellow with demonic features gave a rather dangerous feeling while the young woman, possessing strange eyshes that glittered like ghost mes, actually caused the hair on Gandrs neck to stand on end. Distinguishing herself from the other two members of the group, the fashionable woman returned a confident smile when she noticed Gandrs gaze, her eyes shining with amusement as she said, "Hi there, little fe. My, youre a little cutie, arent you?" Tilting his head to the side as if he didnt understand the womans words, Gandr briefly tried to get a feel for her power by expanding his domain from the meditating Vahn. To his surprise, the woman had a tremendous amount of energy contained within her body, or, more specifically, her blood. He could even sense something like a second presence contained within, a fragment of someone elses intent... Though he had inspected the woman from top to bottom, Gandr didnt appear to hesitate in the slightest as he directly answered, "Youre not so bad yourself, Princess." Despite the barrier preventing any sound from escaping, the woman was able to read Gandrs lips without any issue. His addressing her as a Princess came as a mild surprise, her brows rising ever so slightly as the corners of her smile curled up. At the same time, her amber-like eyes began to glow with a ghostly light as shebed through her bangs and said, "Though Im not too surprised, it is a little unexpected that someone was able to recognize me so soon. Tell me, are you affiliated with the Jahad family?" Having only heard the name mentioned a few times, Gandr didnt hesitate to shake his head, his eyes shifting to the demonic man towering behind the woman as he answered, "No, you just have the same aura as another Princess I met. Until recently, I had never heard of the Jahad family, much less the Empire it seems to govern. Now, what are your intentions, Princess? We already have three members on our teams so there is no real need to fight, is there?" Though she squinted her eyes slightly upon hearing Gandrs remark, the woman didnt reveal too much of her thoughts. In response to his question, however, she adopted a confident smile as she looked between her teammates and the trio hiding within the golden barrier. Truth be told, she was a little creeped out by her current team, and, though she was confident in being able to defeat both of them, the cloaked woman gave her a dangerous and foreign feeling. After staring at the cloaked duo for several seconds, the woman turned her attention back to the rather adorable young boy and said, "Since there are only the six of us remaining, I guess we can avoid fighting amongst each other. I had kind of wanted to eliminate all the other teams, but you three give off a pretty dangerous vibe. How about we form a temporary alliance? It ismon for most parties to have six people starting out and I wouldnt mind having someone as adorable as you in my group." Pretending to be confused by the womans words, Gandr tilted his head to the side even further, his ears flopping in a way he knew most people would find adorable. The woman in question even had a possessive shimmer sh across her eyes, but, before she could say anything to try and convince him, Gandr interrupted her, inly stating, "No thanks. Unless there was no other choice, I dont see a reason to team up with a group of people who would kill others just because a voice told them to. I get that you wanted to eliminate thepetition, but only cowards, swindlers, and ruffians rely on such tactics to make things easier for themselves. How can I trust my back to someone who doesnt even show a hint of remorse after killing so many people?" Never expecting anyone would be foolish enough to refuse her offer, much less over such a stupid reason, the woman couldnt help but frown. Everyone knew that the Tower effectively pitted everyone inside against each other so it was fairly odd to hear someone harp over something as insignificant as killing. Rather, if youcked the conviction to kill, you would only invite disaster upon yourself as there were countless people perfectly willing to take advantage of such a weakness... Shifting her attention away from the boys glowing golden eyes, the woman looked at a tiny ck sphere that manifested into existence next to her. This caused both Vahn and Phae to squint slightly from where they were seated, as, prior to the spherical object revealing itself, neither been able to sense even a trace of its existence... Seeing there was less than a minute left, the woman decided against trying to argue with the boy and hispanions. Instead, she ced one hand on her hip, shifting her weight to one foot as she said, "My name is Endorsi Jahad, a bonafied Princess of the Jahad Empire. If youre clever, youll set aside those ideals of yours and focus on what truly matters. You wont find a betterpanion than a Princess of Jahad amongst the other Regrs. If youre actually serious about reaching the top of the Tower, youll need to take advantage of every opportunity you get. Keep that in mind, okay~?" Timing thepletion of her statement with the countdown visible on the cube, Endorsi left no room for argumentation as a loud voice echoed over the grasnds. It was even able to prate the barrier Vahn had created, further alerting him to the peculiarities of the Record he now found himself in. It seemed he had a lot to learn about this new world, but, despite being present for little more than half-an-hour, there was one thing he was already certain of...this Record was one where the strong reigned supreme...a world where the weak were killed in order to pave the way for those with the ambition to aim for greater heights... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn, Improv Master...?,Fenrirs favorite version of Master (OwO)...,A world filled with treachery and ruthlessness...a breeding ground for the strong) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1693 Incongruities

Chapter 1693 Incongruities

Following the conclusion of the Deathmatch, everyone present within the grass field found themselves teleported into a vast circr chamber more than 300m across. Standing a few meters from their position, a short man with brown skin and red hair that spiked upwards in an unorthodox style that gave him a wild and untamed vibe. As for his attire, he wore a militaristic white tunic with a small, house-shaped, badge pinned to his chest. The rest of his outfit consisted of ck jodhpur trousers that flowed seamlessly into his boots, matching the gloves that fully covered his hands and ran to his elbows. Overall, the man gave off the impression of someone with a hot-heated temperament, and, as if to prove this was the case, he currently had an annoyed expression on his face as he asked, "There are only six of you? What the hell?" Without waiting for anyone to answer, the man pulled up a terminal that only he was supposed to be able to see. With a few quick inputs, a disy showing each person present appeared before him, further annoying the man when he realized five of the six people present had absolutely no data. The only one that did was the Princess of Jahad... Realizing the information his brain had just process, the mans eyes became round as saucers as he shifted his attention to the fashionably dressed woman standing at the forefront of the group and asked, "Youre really a Princess of Jahad?" With one hand on her hips, Endorsi batted her fringe bangs in a haughty manner before answering, "Indeed. I am one of Zahards precious pairs of shoes. Now, arent you going to introduce yourself, Test Administrator?" Feeling a massive headacheing his way, the fiery red-haired man made no attempt to hide his frustration as he released an exasperated sigh and rubbed his temple. Then, seemingly without any regard for Endoris status, he casually replied, "The names Quant Blitz. Im one of the Test Admins of the 2nd Floor and a Ranked Scout. For the time being, the six of you need to behave yourself while I report this situation to the Test Director. Its pretty obvious youre all monsters after eliminating the other...196 contestants...?" With 200 Regrs taking part in the exam, the fact there were six people present implied that 194 should have been eliminated. This confused Quant quite a bit, his expression turning serious as he quickly filtered through the original list of Regrs to find the anomalies... With an ever-growing frown on his face, Quant quickly discovered the odd people out, dismissing the invisible disy with a wave of his hand before ring towards Gandr and Phae as he asked, "How did the two of you sneak into the Floor of Tests?" Rather than allow his other selves to answer, Vahn casually made his way to the front, his expression calm and poised as he stated, "They are my vassals. I summoned them to my side in order to avoid having to y your tasteless game. Is there a problem?" Though Quant wasnt at all amused by the fact that a Regr was speaking to him in such a casual manner, that didnt stop him from pulling up Vahns data. Like before, there was no real information on the man, only that he was qualified to participate in the exam. This wasnt too surprising, as he was on the original roster; what really confused Quant was the fact that both Gandr and Phae were also listed as qualified... Understanding there was something very wrong with the current situation, Quant met Vahns gaze, his expression turning even more serious as he inly asked, "You...are you an Irregr?" Hearing the familiar term, Vahn briefly considered his options before ultimately deciding there was no reason to hide his status. It was obvious that being an Irregr was umon, the name itself being an obvious indicator, but that didnt mean he was going to conceal his identity. His purpose within this Record was to reach the absolute pinnacle, so, in response to Quants question, he lifted his head ever-so-slightly before stating, "If the words of that rabbit are to be believed, I am, indeed, what you people call an Irregr." Not expecting Vahn to outright admit it, Quant looked at the man like he was observing someone who had lost their mind. Then, just as he had following Endoris introduction, he released a sigh of exasperation before remarking, "I dont get paid enough for this shit. Well, whatever. Just stay here until I get back. This situation is way too abnormal so Im not qualified to deal with it on my own. I will return with the Test Director shortly." With those parting words, Quant dismissed his invisible terminal before departing the room with a quick burst of speed, effectively vanishing from view in an instant. The most surprising thing about this feat was that he didnt seem to use anything to enhance his movements, relying solely on the strength of his body to casually break the sound barrier. Vahn was quickly beginning to realize that there were some abnormally powerful people present within his current Record. Even people like Asuna and Nagi would struggle to perform superhuman feats without the aid of magical energy and ki, so, to see someone casually break the sound barrier using pure physical capabilities, it was safe to assume that even average people within the Tower were going to possess super-human strength, speed, and reaction time. Rather than feel even remotely concerned, Vahn was actually looking forward to his future battles. For now, however, he had another matter to address, as, immediately following Quants departure, Endorsi attempted to approach him with a mix of curiosity and enmity contained within her ghostly amber pupils. Without letting the Princess get anywhere near Vahn, Phae and Gandr blocked her path, thetter partially drawing Laev-tan as the former adopted a polite smile and stated, "That is close enough, Princess. Though your curiosity is understandable, attempting to approach an Emperor without his permission is behavior unbefitting a Princess of a foreign Empire..." Though she was momentarily confused by the womans words, it didnt take long for Endorsi to realize what Phae was saying. This caused her expression to turn slightly incredulous as she looked between the trio and stated, "Wow, you three must be from the outside if you have the gall to call that man an Emperor within the Tower. In this ce, Jahad might as well be a God. You might have been an Emperor in the outside, but youre basically signing your own death warrant if you intend to im such a status within the Tower..." Realizing that Endorsi was actually trying to warn them, Phae continued to maintain her polite smile while Gandr quickly sheathed Laev-tan with a loud ck. As for Vahn, he slowly turned to face the Princess, a rxed yet dignified smile on his face as he stated, "An Emperor does not shy away from the burden of their title. Irrespective of the situation, I am, and will forever be, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor. Hearing the firm resolution contained with Vahns tone, Endorsi found herself in a dreamlike stupor, her mental faculties stalling for a brief moment as his words settled within her mind. She had never heard anyone speak in such an absolute manner without any pretense or deceit. It was like she was hearing an immutable truth, and, based on the impression she got from his vassals, Endorsi couldnt shake the feeling that Vahn was a very different kind of Emperor than anything the Tower had ever seen... Before she could recover her senses, Endorsis expression soured as a demure voice sounded from behind, hesitantly asking, "Are you really from outside the Tower? Have you ever seen the stars...?" --- Shifting his attention to the cloaked figure cowering behind the six-meter tall demonic man, Vahn couldnt help but squint his eyes as he observed the peculiar blonde-haired girl. He wasnt able to understand why, but she gave him an uneasy feeling. Her aura showed no particr signs of hostile intent, but, for some reason, she gave off the impression of a venomous snake that was prepared to strike at a moments notice. Despite this, she seemed to be even weaker than an average human, an incongruity that didnt match up with the apparent nature of the Tower... While making a mental note to be wary of the seemingly normal girl, Vahn allowed Phae to answer on his behalf, her expression a perfect mask of amicability as she exined, "We have. They appear in the night sky, dotting the heavens like an ocean of sparkling gemstones against a vast expanse of darkness..." Seeing the fervor contained in the young womans eyes as she hung on to Phaes every word, Vahn began to wonder if he had made some kind of mistake. She suddenly seemed like just a normal girl, but, considering their circumstances, that would actually be stranger. Thus, redoubling his intention to be wary of the woman, he extended his hand, astonishing both Endorsi and the as-yet-unnamed woman by pulling out a Memory Orb and projecting an image of the night sky. Following Vahns lead, Phae lowered her head as a sign of respect and gratitude before turning to face the starstruck duo and exining, "As you can see here, the night sky is filled with stars. This is an object known as a Memory Orb, a special device that converts memories into three-dimensional projections. They are really quite convenient when you want to demonstrate something that is hard to put into words~." Though she was listening to Phaes words, the blonde-haired woman was unable to prevent herself from taking a few steps forward, drawn by the projection of countless stars. She found them to be far more beautiful than anything she could have imagined, but, after extending her hand and failing to grasp one of the tiny motes of light, her expression quickly became soberer as she muttered, "Of course they arent real you silly girl..." Shaking her head at her own chiding remark, the woman shifted her gaze towards Vahn, seemingly forgetting his status as she inly asked, "Can I have that? It has always been my dream to see real stars...its the reason I decided to climb the Tower. I want to break free from this cruel and hopeless world, a ce where people are forced to betray others just for a chance at realizing their dreams..." Noticing the subtle contraction of the womans pupils when she mentioned betraying others, Vahn could easily intuit what kind of person she was. She was the greedy and delusional type, the kind of person that prioritized their own wants and needs over everything else. He could easily imagine hershing out at others whenever things didnt go her way, and, if he chose to deny her the Memory Orb, he got the distinct impression she would do everything in her power to steal it from him... As there was no way he could agree to the womans request, Vahn allowed Phae to mediate, her tone firm yet kind as she stated, "I do not believe it is appropriate to ask for anothers belongings when youve yet to even introduce yourself. His Imperial Majesty might not care about theck of propriety demonstrated by people outside the Empire, but that does not excuse your behavior. If you are to have any chance of obtaining the Memory Orb, you would benefit from behaving more sensibly in the future...proper courtesy never hurt anyone..." Surprised by the unexpected reproach, the blond-haired woman showed a confused expression on her face before seemingly realizing what was being asked of her. Then, as if she had spontaneously be a different person, her aurapletely changed as she offered a courteous bow and said, "Forgive my indiscretions. It was never my intention to cause any offense. I was so captivated by the stars that I simply forgot myself for a brief moment. My name is Rachel, Rachel Light. Please ept my sincerest apologies..." Though his back was turned to the woman, Vahn could see her from the perspectives of Phae and Gandr. He was also the one to sense the change in atmosphere around her, all but confirming his suspicions that she was a borderline sociopath. She was the type that could pretend to be whoever she needed to be in order toplete her objectives, the type of person who would only reveal her true colors when she was backstabbing or betraying others... Turning around as if he was personally inspecting her performance, Vahn pretended to rx his expression before tossing over the Memory Orb. This surprised Rachel quite a bit, resulting in her practically leaping to catch the orb out of the air andnding hard against the ground. Despite this, she had a happy smile, her face twisted almost unnaturally as she held the Memory Orb close to her chest and eximed, "Thank you very much...!" in a tone that didnt match the dangerous gleam in her eyes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A world where even the weak are superhuman...,Vahn be like, "Irregr? No. I am the Emperor.",Rachel, the shadow hidden beneath the Light) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1694 Information

Chapter 1694 Information

With Quant taking longer than expected, Vahn decided to reinforce the dynamic he was trying to establish by manifesting three unique vessels. To that end, he pulled out a chaise lounge, making himselffortable as Phae prepared tea and snacks for everyone. At the same time, Gandr kept the Princess of Zahard at bay, preventing her fromining while getting as much information out of the fashionable young woman as possible. From Endorsi, Vahn learned about the structure of the Tower, the rules governing each floor, andmon knowledge regarding the Jahad Empire and the Ten Great Families. Though there were some exceptions beyond the 100th Floor, it seemed that most Floors within the Tower were split into three sections: Outer, Middle, and Inner. The Outer Tower of each Floor had an average surface area of sixteen-million square-kilometers, roughly thebined size of North and South America. This was where most of the Towers residents lived prior to being chosen to climb the Tower, officially bing Regrs upon thepletion of their Positional Exams. Nobody knew exactly how many people lived in the Outer Tower, but, based on several calctions, it was approximated to be between 123~150 billion sapient lifeforms. This included everything from simple humans, the mostmon race among the Towers inhabits, to peculiar lifeforms that wereprised entirely of elemental energy, metal, or even rubber. There was seemingly no end to the variety of lifeforms climbing the Tower, so, much to Vahns surprise, concepts such as racism didnt seem to be that big an issue... Among the Outer Towers residents, it was estimated that less than two-percent were ever given the opportunity to climb the Tower. Fortunately, though it led to all kinds of problems arising, it seemed that the energy present within the Tower, Shinsu, had a drastic influence on a persons lifespan. As a result, it was possible for even rtively weak Regrs to live for hundreds, or even thousands, of years. Because of this, there were currently more than a billion Regrs within the Inner Tower, the region where Headons chosen were given the chance toplete various Tests in order to further ascend the Tower and be Rankers. Rankers were exponentially more powerful than Regrs due to the fact that the density of Shinsu constantly increased the higher you climbed. This ced a heavy burden on the body, effectively emting the increased spatial density Vahn often used in his training. The only real difference was that Shinsu, also referred to as Gods Water, actually emted a liquid at higher concentrations. As a result, it was impossible for normal people to breathe in it, and, when they moved into areas with greater Shinsu density, their bodies could literally be crushed into pulp due to the massive pressure differential. Since bing a Ranker required a person to reach the 134th Floor, it wasnt an exaggeration to say they had greatly exceeding human limitations with just their physiques. This was why a man like Quant was able to break the sound barrier with ease, but, ording to Endorsi, there were actually a number of people, specifically the Ten Family Heads and a few of the more famous High Rankers, who could easily reach rtivistic speeds by reinforcing their bodies with Shinsu. The Ten Family Heads were led by the individuals who had apanied Jahad, the current King of the Tower, during his conquest several thousand years prior. Because of their deeds, they had been granted Immortality by the Towers Guardians, and, though there were a number of people ranked higher than the Family Heads, it was simply impossible topete with them in terms of political power, wealth, and authority. Vahn didnt need Gandr to ask in order to understand why someone like Endorsi would mention the power of the Ten Great Families. She clearly had her own history with them, as, after asking Gandrs age, she revealed that her own was around 316. This made her a prettyte bloomer among those just beginning their climb, but, as you moved higher up the Tower, it was normal to final thousands of people much older. Some even looked like children even after thousands of years, as, ording to Endorsi, your body effectively stopped aging the moment you entered the Tower. The only way to grow was to mentally mature, so, much like Vahns past self, the appearance of most residents within the Tower was based on their mentality, not their actual age. To underline her point, Endorsi mentioned that one of the Ten Great Family Heads, Eurasia Blossom, had the appearance of a young child who enjoyed wearing mboyant and cute clothes. ording to popr belief, she possessed the greatest talent in controlling Shinsu within the entire Tower, so, despite being well over a thousand years old before bing Immortal, most people would guess that Eurasia was between ten and twelve-years-old if based solely on appearance. In essence, Endorsi was trying to convince Gandr that, despite her deceptively advanced age, she was still young. She even tried to get him to call her Big Sister a few times, but, for obvious reasons, Vahn wasnt going to do that, even as Gandr. Thest thing he needed was some random Princess trying to treat his younger self as her little brother, using it as an excuse to try and touch his ears or take other liberties with him. Fortunately, Endorsi didnt push too hard, simply asserting that it was his loss before going into further detail regarding the Rules of the Tower. Prior to reaching the 20th Floor, all Regrs were restricted to moving about and operating within the confines of the Inner Tower. This was to prevent poaching before Regrs had a chance to find theirfort zone and build a support group to climb further up the Tower. After all, the Tower was a verypetitive ce, so, if they could eliminate thepetition early on, there were few people who would even hesitate. Fortunately, uponpletion of a Floors Tests, Regrs were forced to move up to the next Floor. Descending down the Tower was practically impossible before bing a Ranker, and, if you were found attempting to interfere in the affairs of Regrs on a lower floor, the Floor Administrator or even the Guardian itself might obliterate you. This was especially true for Rankers, and, unless they were Test Administrators, it was generally forbidden for Rankers to interact with Regrs outside of very specific situations. Though the Tower reinforced the idea that a persons injuries were their own responsibility, often showingplete disregard for people too weak to protect themselves, they actually had a number of systems in ce to prevent the strong from preying on the weak. The only exceptions were when a person discarded their Regr status, effectively giving up their opportunity to climb and forcing them to live in the Middle and Outer Towers. It was only after abandoning their Regr status that they were allowed to descend to lower floors, but, in exchange, they often be the targets of various organizations that specifically targetted people who had lost the Guardians protection. To many, abandoning the climb was synonymous with death, so, unless they had lost everything and experienced extreme trauma, most people would rather die than give up their status as Regrs. After all, they were the Chosen Ones, the lucky few who had been given the chance to climb the Tower and make all their dreamse true. Abandoning this opportunity was heavily frowned upon by residents of the Inner, Middle, and Outer Towers. There were even instances of people in the Outer Tower outright exiling those who had returned from a failed climb,mbasting them for giving up an opportunity most sought but few were able to obtain... --- Having refused Endorsis umpteenth request to touch his ears, Gandr felt considerable relief when Quant finally returned to exin, "Alright, listen up! The Test Director came up with a solution that should satisfy everyone. We cant really move forward with the standard tests due to how few your numbers are so were going to mix you into a different group and allow you to participate in a rare bonus test called the Crown Game. Now, before any of you startining about having to take additional tests, you should know that the winner of the Crown Game gets to bypass the remaining tests and immediately move to the next Floor. Any questions?" Since he had just learned about positions and such during his very one-sided conversation with Endorsi, Gandr raised his hand and asked, "What about the Position Test? Wouldnt the winning team be at a disadvantage if they were to move on to the next Floor without being assigned a position? Arent those supposed to be important in the Tower?" With a visibly annoyed expression on his face, Quant glowered towards Gandr, crossing his arms as he asked, "You tryin to be smart with me, kid? While positions are indeed important, that only really applies to Regrs. In the end, what matters most is that you have sufficient strength. By the time a Regr bes a Ranker, most are capable of filling all positions. Given how abnormal this group is, it wont really matter all that much if you figure things out while climbing." Unconvinced by Quants exnation, Gandr showed a very simr glower on his face, but, before he could say anything, Phae stepped in, calming him down with her warm smile before shifting her gaze to the red-haired Ranker and saying, "Though your words carry some grain of truth, the most important opportunity we would be giving up is the chance towork with others. Given how long it takes to climb the Tower, it is rather obvious that a powerful team is necessary toplete many of the future Tests. Tell me, Administrator Quant...are you not just trying to get rid of us~?" Though his first instinct was to rebut and call the woman stupid, Quant stopped himself when he saw the surety visible in Phaes eyes. She might have had a kind smile on her face, but there was an overwhelming amount of confidence visible in her sapphire blue pupils, the kind of look that didnt leave much room for falsehood and deceit. Clicking his tongue, Quant broke eye-contact with Phae before answering in a bored tone, "You can think whatever you want. In the end, your only options are to participate in the Crown Game or give up climbing the Tower. Besides, every other team already epted this Test after hearing about the prize. In the end, the thing that matters most is being able to climb the Tower as quickly as possible. Even if Shinsu stops your aging, you still have a limited lifespan. The current record is fifty years, so, unless you want to be a granny by the time you reach the 134th Floor, be grateful for the chance to advance even a month sooner." Rather than take any offense at Quants words, Phae just giggled in amusement before turning her attention towards Vahn and asserting, "The decisionys in the hands of His Imperial Majesty...what are yourmand, my Lord?" Hearing Phaes words, Vahn set aside his cup of tea before rising to his full height and stating, "We will participate. So long as we arent arbitrarilymanded to kill others, I see no reason to refuse such an opportunity. Rather, the name Crown Game has a certain charm to it. Im curious to learn what form such an event takes...hmm...if nothing else, it will be a good opportunity to see what the other teams are capable of." Immediately following Vahns words, both Phae and Gandr bowed respectfully toward him before the former turned her attention back to Quant and saying, "It would appear our participation has been decided. Please, carry on with your exnation, Administrator Quant." Though he didnt like being told what to do by a Regr, even if they were actually an Irregr, Quant ultimately just clicked his tongue before exining, "The test will take ce in three hours. Come, Ill show you to the residential area. Youll have a chance to rx and get something to eat before the Crown Game officially starts." With that said, Quant didnt check to see if anyone was following him before turning around and walking towards the exit. He was clearly annoyed with the current situation, but, as someone who had been entrusted with the position of Test Administrator, he had enough sense to follow the rules and execute his duties. To that end, he led everyone to a small cafeteria attached to amon area and several corridors leading to hotel-like rooms... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gandr using his adorableness to gather info...,Phaes giggle has the effect of sending shivers through the body...,Quant is in for a rough time) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1695 Analysis

Chapter 1695 Analysis

Since rooms would only be assigned after the Crown Game hade to an end, Vahn idled about alongside Phae and Gandr within the cafeteria, a ck sphere floating silently in front of him. Though it wouldnt have been that great a setback for them, it quickly came to light that Vahn and hispanions were never presented Pockets, the devices that effectively served to identify and facilitatemunication between Regrs. Pockets were also used to keep track of points, the currency used throughout the Tower, so, after an hour or so had passed, Quant arrived with three E-Rank Pockets. Each was loaded with a point value of 1000 by default, but, most importantly, at least in Vahns opinion, each Pocket had the potential to trante allnguages into a unified structure known as Macsethian. Without realizing it, Vahn, Phae, and Gandr had been speaking Macsethian ever since their arrival in the Tower. This was actually a pretty big deal, as, while Macsethian had the unique quality of being understood by everyone that heard it, there were no native speakers. Its basic structure was closer to that of a machinenguage than anything that could be spoken, so, once Phae pointed out they had never received Pockets, everyone present looked at her like she had said somethingpletely ridiculous. Fortunately, as Irregrs were already abnormal existences within the Tower, it was quickly glossed over by Phaes exnation of Trantion Magic. This also garnered quite a bit of attention, but, as there was nothingpelling them to give a detailed exnation on the structure and existence of Magic, Phae simply refused toment further, a teasing smile visible on her face. Since then, she had been analyzing the structure of the Pocket alongside Vahn while Gandr devoured enough food to feed a small vige... --- After scanning the Pockets structure with her [Eyes of Truth], Phae inly stated, "Invisible Mode.". In response, the Pocket seemed to vanish from existence, and, after sweeping her hand through the area, there was absolutely no feedback. It was almost like it had phased out of existence, but, from the moment they had first linked with the peculiar device, Vahn, Phae, and Gandr could all sense the location of all three Pockets. With a thoughtful look on her face, Phae made the Pocket visible again before grasping it with her hand and saying, "Whoever produced this is a genius. We should purchase er and have Da Vinci analyze the internal structure. If we can reverse engineer the property that allows it to phase out of existence, it should be possible to make weapons and armaments with simr traits." Since it would be strange if they never spoke to each other, Vahn had Phae externalize his thoughts so they could bounce ideas back and forth in an organic manner. Thus, in response, he issued a curt nod of approval before stating, "I understand the merit in such a proposal. Once we reach the 20th Floor, we should also establish contact with the Workshop. Our status as Irregrs will undoubtedly cause us a few problems so it would be beneficial to associate ourselves with a neutral party." Chuckling lightly in response to Vahns words, Phae leaned forward slightly, supporting her upper body with her elbows as she mused, "Im curious to see the Workshops Artisans with my own eyes. Though there are certainly some exceptional items in this world, I cant help but feel as though their technology has advanced in a strange direction..." Though it was mostly for theatrics, Vahns eyes briefly wandered to Phaes rather prominent bosom, ented by her low-cut cor. He was trying to promote the idea there was either sexual tension or an ongoing rtionship between them. This would direct the focus of any love interests onto Phae, and, though it would also make his enemies conspire against her, it didnt really matter considering they were one and the same. She would also be equipped with most of the equipment he intended to create within the Tower, so, even if she wasnt meant to bebatant, it wouldnt be long before she was famous for her strength and craftsmanship... Finished with admiring his own creation, Vahn met Phaes smiling face, earning a light chuckle from her as she suggestively moved aside her bangs. This made Vahn feel as though he had gone a little too far, so, without having to pretend, he awkwardly smiled before turning his attention to the tea in front of him and saying, "I agree. The fact they actually use Needles and Hooks to fight is more than a little peculiar. It seems like the Tower has fully embraced the theme of the deep sea...not only does Shinsu emte the properties of water, but even the Positions are all rted to fishing...at this point, Im fully expecting to see fleets of ships shaped like fish..." Understanding the reference to the Akamatsuverse, Phae giggled in response to Vahns words as all three of them contemted introducing Airfish into the Tower. Most floating objects within the Tower made use of a precious mineral known as Suspendium, but that didnt mean it was the only way for objects to float. Rather, the existence of Shinsu was almost perfectly suited to the creation of Airfish, something The Path had assuredly ounted for prior to sending Vahn into the Record... With the thought of the Record crossing his mind, Vahns attention shifted to system disy for a brief moment, his eyes drawn to his Status. He didnt have enough Karma to incorporate the system created by Da Vinci, but, as this coincided with his desire for a fresh start, Vahn wasnt particrly bothered by it. Instead, he was interested in the default values assigned by the Record, and, most importantly, the name of the Record itself... ----------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Vahn Aldrnari Mason], Sobriquet: N/A Age: 304 (Ageless) Race: Progenitor, True Dragon Parameters: [Transcendental Path to Heaven: 1-6] Position(s): N/A Strength: D-Rank Regr Durability: B-Rank Regr Intellect: C-Rank Regr Agility: A-Rank Regr Control: C-Rank Ranker Shinsu: [Quality: Divine], [Total: 56,520], [Baang: 9], [Myun: 314], [Soo: 314], [Tension: 100:1] Soul Tier: 4 (Divine Soul) Karma: 117 Origin Points: 108,419,332 Skills: [Will of the Emperor: SSS], [Rakshasa Body: SS], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome: B], [Eyes of Truth: A], [Chainbreaker: A], [Veil of the Traveler: A], [Hands of Nirvana: SSS], [One Who is Loved by the Heavens: SSS], [Smithing(Divine): C], [Swordsman(Divine): C], [Cooking(Master): E], [Cutting(Ranker): B], [Wave Control(Ranker): D], [Reverse Flow Control(Ranker): B], [Flow Control(Ranker): D] ----------------------------------------------- Though it didnt really provide him with any quantifiable data, just knowing how hepared to others within the Tower already gave Vahn a tremendous advantage. He even had Ranker levels of Shinsu Control, so, while he might not know much about it at this point in time, it wouldnt be long before he became a powerhouse. For obvious reasons, Phae and Gandr had simr stats to Vahn, but, due to the seal ced upon his body, the young Vanargandr had the Strength of a B-Rank Regr and the Agility of someone who had just be an E-Rank Ranker. This ced him a little higher than Vahn would have liked him to be, but, considering the Record had a name like Transcendental Path to Heaven, it was only a matter of time before he encountered enemies that simply defied logic. Fortunately, that was exactly the kind of enemy Vahn was searching for, so, while the Tower might not provide too many challenges for him in the beginning, it would only take a few years before he was facing off against enemies with continental orary levels of power. Endorsis statement regarding there being people faster than light all but guaranteed this, as, unless the Physical Laws of the Record were fundamentally different than anything he had previously observed, rtivistic speeds and continental level powerbined with cataclysmic results. Imagining his foes throwing punches that ripped through the void and copsed continental tes, a smile gradually spread across Vahns face. He could even imagine some enemies throwing literals and stars at him, their power so grand it caused the very fabric of reality to tremble in the wake of their blows. These were exactly the kinds of battles he was looking forward to, but, for the time being, he needed to remain patient. Vahns primary objective within the Record was to increase his Soul Tier, so, while it would certainly be thrilling to engage in heaven-shaking battles, the most important thing was to experience the world itself. He couldnt keep distancing himself from the residents of the world just so he could consolidate power. Instead, he needed to tackle challenges head-on, pushing through his limits to ovee foes that greatly exceeded him. It didnt matter how many setbacks he would face, as, in the end, each and every encounter would only make him stronger... --- With a little less than thirty minutes until the Crown Game was scheduled to being, Quant finally showed up to announce, "Okay, you guys can follow me. Ill show you the way to the arena. After that, youre someone elses problem!" Though she wasnt genuinely offended by Quants words, Endorsi pursed her lips slightly, asking, "Is that any way to speak to a Princess of Jahad? I might be a Regr, but that doesnt mean I have no sway within the Imperial Pce. If you keep being rude, I might just sick the Royal Guards on you~." Undaunted by Endorsis words, Quant loudly snorted, hands behind his back in a cocky manner as he inly stated, "Go ahead and try it, Bratty Princess. Id like to see Royal Guards try and interfere with the affairs of testing Regrs. Evankhell would have a field day and you would lose your status as a Regr, but who really cares? At least you would have proven your point, am I right?" With those parting words, Quant spun around on his heels and started walking down one of the adjoining corridors. In his wake, Endorsi could be seen with the vein of her temple slightly pulsing, but, once she noticed everyone else quickly following after Quant, she quickly recovered her senses and shouted, "Hey! Wait for me!" before bypassing her own team to walk alongside Gandr. --- After following Quant through various corridors for the better part of twenty minutes, Vahn and co inevitably found themselves within a massive circr room that was easily 500m in diameter. In the center of the room, located atop an elevated tform, an inordinatelyrge throne could be seen, upon which sat a rather ordinary-looking crown. Even without an exnation, the presence of twenty teams, a single crown, and a throne made it pretty clear what kind ofpetition the Crown Game was. It was clearly meant to be some kind of free-for-all, but, based on the fact each teams rooms were blocked off by heavy gates, it could be surmised there was a limit to the number of teams that could participate. This was proven to be the case, as, immediately upon entering their own waiting room, Vahn noticed a giant red button and a list of rules written along the wall. ----------------------------------------------- [Crown Game Rules] 1: The goal of the Crown Game is to both steal and maintain possession of the Crown. 2: Stealing the Crown means wearing the Crown and sitting upon the Throne. 3: Possessing the Crown means the person must maintain physical contact with both the crown and Throne. 4: The team member who first wears the Crown must retain possession of the Crown until the game hase to an end. 5: If at any point a team loses possession of the crown, that team immediately loses the game. 6: The gamests for 5 rounds and each roundsts until someone has either taken possession of the Crown or 10 minutes has psed. 7: If no teams have taken possession of the Crown before time has psed, all participating teams will be disqualified. 8: The team in possession of the Crown by the end of the 5th game is dered the winner. 9: In each round, only five teams can participate. 10: The right to participate is determined by which five teams press their respective buzzers first. 11: Failing to press the buzzer before the allotted time has passed renders the team unable to participate in said round 12: Teams can only participate once, and, upon elimination, can no longer press their buzzer. 13: At any point in time, a team can either dere their surrender or return to their waiting room. 14: Attacking a team that has surrendered or returned to their waiting rooms is grounds for disqualification. 15: Entering the waiting room of another team is grounds for disqualification. ----------------------------------------------- Though there were quite a number of rules, the basic premise was: obtain the crown, stay on the throne, remain there until the fifth round has ended. This provided a major advantage to any team that would participate in thetter matches, but, so long as they were confident in their skills, it was also a perfect opportunity to demonstrate your capabilities and distinguish yourself from the other Regrs. With this thought in mind, Vahn stroked his beard in consideration, a smile on his face as he spread his domain to probe the nearby waiting rooms. There were a number of people present that caught his interest, but, more than anyone else, it was the presence of a young boy with messy brown hair and golden eyes that captured his attention. Realizing he was likely linked to events urring within the original timeline, assuming there even was one, Vahns smile became even more prominent as he looked over his shoulder and asked, "It might not be my throne, but I cant help but feel it is improper to allow others to adorn a crown in my presence..." Hearing Vahns musings, Phae replied with an amused chuckle while Gandr, more than keen to do battle, offered a toothy and slightly predatory smile... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Macsethian, mothaf*cker, do you speak it!?,Ranker level control before the first fight xD...,Gandrs mood mirrors thements section (UwU)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1696 Crown Game 1/?

Chapter 1696 Crown Game 1/?

With Vahns and Endorsis groups being thest to arrive, it was finally time for the Crown Game to get underway. Facilitating this, a rather tall man, standing just over two meters, appeared before the throne with a casual smile on his face. He had permed blond hair that created two peculiar curls at the base of his neck, a handsome face, and glistening golden eyes that were ented by two ck dots situated underneath. Understanding not everyone knew who he was, the blond-haired man, dressed simrly to Quant, performed a small bow before saying, "Wee, Regrs. My name is Lero-Ro, Test Administrator, and the Ranker assigned to preside over this evenings Crown Game. Now that the final two teams have arrived, allow me to exin the rules of the game..." As he had already read the rules from the wall, Vahn didnt pay much attention to Lero-Ros words. Instead, he continued to inspect each of the teams waiting rooms, curious to see who they would be up against. Unfortunately, with the exception of Baams team, consisting of a handsome youth with pale blue hair and a three-meter tall alligator-looking fellow, the only teams worthy of mention were those led by Endorsi, a group headed by a man in a purple tracksuit, and a peculiar team with one of its members taking a nap. Though the man had wrapped himself up like a cacoon within his nket, Vahn could sense that he had several times the amount of Shinsu as everyone else. He was also able to manipte the flow of Shinsu within the environment while unconscious, passively scanning others and even marking those he seemed to have an interest in. It was quite the peculiar sight to behold, but, never one to allow others to freely probe him, an amused smile spread across Vahns face as he sent a small jolt through the invasive flow of Shinsu. Like someone who had just awoken from a nightmare, the man wrapped in a nket sat up with ayer of sweat covering his forehead. His outburst drew the attention of the Test Administrator, but, rather than intervene, Lero-Ro just smiled slightly before continuing his exnation. This illustrated the point Endorsi had made during her earlier conversation with Gandr, her im asserting that the Test Admins did not interfere when Regrs tried to investigate andpromise one another. They only stepped in when the machinations of the Regrs directly interfered with the Tests, so, as long as you had the means to assemble information and sabotage others, there were no rules preventing you from doing so... --- Finished with his exnation, Lero-Ro scanned each of the waiting rooms with a smile on his face before saying, "Well then, if you have any further concerns, please check the details posted on the wall next to your buzzer. Remember, you only get one chance to participate so make sure you have a proper understanding of what youre getting yourself into~!" Following his words, Lero-Ro ced the Crown at the very center of the throne before tapping an invisible icon that allowed him to teleport to an observation room located above the arena. There, he made himselffortable, raising his feet up on his desk before pulling out an inte and saying, "Now, lets get this game underway! Following this final reminder, I will count down from five. Only the first five teams to press their buzzers will be allowed to participate, so, if you dont want to miss out on this incredible opportunity, make sure to press your teams buzzer before the time is up!" With that said, Lero-Ro began a very slow yet consistent count down from five. In response to this, most of the teams became exceptionally tense, but, perhaps fearing they would overtax themselves by participating too soon, only three groups had the confidence to press their buzzers... --- Seeing the two teams that hade out alongside his own, Vahn could be seen casually stroking his beard with an amused smile on his face. Across from him, separated by a few hundred meters, a group consisting of a young girl with green skin and a lizard-like tail stood next to a tall man with a purple tracksuit and rather in features. Apanying them was aparatively handsome yet short youth that would have seamlessly fit into a crowd of samurai cosyers. Though the man in the tracksuit gave off the impression of a rtively normal person, the petite lizard-like girl and the eastern-looking swordsman were easily two of the strongest people present. The former even had a strange green hook that gave off a rather dangerous vibe, and, based on the three-eyed emblem embossed into the handle, Vahn assumed it was simr to the ck March that was currently in Baams possession. As for the swordsman, he had two swords, a katana with a red hilt and a wakizashi with a blue. Neither weapon seemed particrly impressive, but, based on the aura the youth gave off, it was safe to say he had already stepped into the realm of mastery... Shifting his eyes away from the much more dangerous trio, Vahn quickly inspected the other team, but, other than an inordinately tall andnky man with short blond hair, they were nothing special. Even the boy standing up front, possessing a peculiar horn near the back of his head, seemed to be around the same strength as the in-looking man in a purple tracksuit. Despite this, he appeared very confident, his expression fixed in a serious and focused glower while he gripped the handle of his red, needle-like, weapon... Interrupting the tense atmosphere that had begun to build, a smile spread across the face of the man wearing a purple tracksuit. He had appeared slightly stressed moments prior, but, as if he was absolutely certain of his teams victory, he grinned confidently and said, "You guys are going to be sorry!" Responding to the mans taunt, the boy with the horn at the back of his head scoffed, his glower turning into a resolute look as he remarked, "Doubt it...". At the same time, his thirdpanion, a rather stout youth with messy brown hair quickly drew the two swords on his back, both appearing more than ready for a fight. Unfortunately, before a single blow could be exchanged, Vahn restored the tensions by releasing a slight chuckle as he bnced the Crown on the edge of his finger. With the exception of the lizard-like girl, none of the others had noticed his short-range teleportation due to his momentary use of the State of Nothingness. As a result, he appeared atop the throne in a functional instant, casually iming both it and the Crown for himself. Confused by the sudden turn of events, the tracksuit wearing man showed an incredulous look on his face as he shakily muttered, "What...how...?" Smiling in response to the mans stupor, Vahn ced the Crown atop the armrest as he exined, "What matters is not how I got here, only that I am present. Now, if youd like a chance to im the Crown for yourselves, you will do battle against my young protege. Should you emerge victoriously, you have my word as the Sage Dragon Emperor; this Crown shall belong to you." With that said, Vahn used the armrest for support, resting his cheek against his hand, his intentions clear. He was going to observe the battle, only interfering when someone tried to target him. Then, depending on the methods they had used, he would show them why people hade to fear him in all three Records... --- Seeing the self-professed Emperor seated atop the throne, the tracksuit-d man, known better as Shibisu, couldnt help butugh awkwardly before muttering, "Man, he really got us..." Hearing Shibisus remark, the lizard-like girl, known by very few as Anak Jahad, snorted through her nose before grumbling, "I should have attacked immediately after the gates were opened..." Following that utterance, Anak looked towards the boy she presumed to be the mans protege, a youth with midnight-blue hair, golden eyes, and a fluffy tail. Her gaze seemed to draw his at that exact same moment, a teasing smile spreading across his face as he gripped the hilt of the katana strapped to his back. Feeling even more annoyed, Anak turned to her finalpanion, the swordsman who had earlier introduced himself as Hatsu. She had dueled against him during the first challenge, so, confident in his strength, shemanded, "You deal with these three idiots. Ill take care of the dog boy." Hearing the girls remark, Gandrs ears twitched slightly, his expression turning fierce as he stated, "I am a Vanargandr, not a dog. Unless you want me to start calling you lizard-brat, youll fight me with your actions, not your words. Now,e at me...!" Without waiting for the girls response, Gandr used a short-range shundo, but, simr to what Vahn had experienced earlier, it was a lot harder than normal. Shinsu acted like a membrane that resisted anything trying to move through it, so, while he was able to execute the technique, it made his skin and eyes feel as though there were tiny needles stabbing each individual cell. Despite the surprisingly intense pain, Gandr didnt even flinch as he swung the sealed Laev-tan to meet the girls green hook. It was readily apparent she thought herself stronger than him, as, rather than try to evade, she attempted to intercept his downward swing with one hand. At the same time, she formed a fist with her left hand, clearly intending to strike him during the brief moment where their weapons would be interlocked... Though she had been prepared to teach the boy a lesson, Anaks mind wasnt even able to process what was happening as she instinctually jumped back. All she knew was that, rather than arrest the boys blow, it felt like an unstoppable forced had connected with her weapon, one of the Thirteen Month Series known as the Green April. As a result, she felt an incredible strain in her wrist as her weapon was forced toward her, clearly unable to block the force that had impacted it. Fortunately, due to the battle sense she honed over thest three hundred years, Anak was able to redirect the blow at thest moment, leaping back with explosive force. What she didnt expect was the fact that, rather than allow his de to impact the ground, the boy somehow managed to easily change the trajectory of his strike. He even managed to match her speed perfectly, his golden eyes glowing with an intense light as he swung his sword in a graceful arc that she was somehow able to see but entirely unable to react to... Seeing her precious weapon spinning through the air, separated from her hand, Anak didnt even try to defend herself from Gandrs follow-up strike. As a result, she was kicked squarely in the torso, her body creating triple shockwaves as she mmed into the walls of the arena in an instant. There, shey embedded in the wall with her head hanging slightly,rgely uninjured with the exception of her pride. Feeling the bones of his right foot creaking, Gandr couldnt help but tilt his head to the side, ears flopping as he shouldered Laev-tan and remarked, "Your body is ridiculously hard. Its too bad you let your ego cloud your judgment. If you had gone all-out from the start, you would have been able to trade at least a few blows before suffering a defeat. Remember this lesson in the future: the only enemies you can be absolutely certain you are stronger than are those you have already defeated..." Hearing the boys remark, Anak tightly balled her hands into fists before ring at him through her neatly trimmed bangs. At the same time, her peculiar pupils contracted to fine points, and, though she had lost her weapon, that didnt stop her from bursting free from the wall, shouting, "Who are you to lecture me...!?" Though Anak was blitzing him at around Mach three, it wasnt a speed that Gandr had any trouble with. His Agility rivaled that of an E-Rank Ranker, far beyond the realm of Regrs who had just begun their climb. As a result, he gave Anak her second surprise of the evening, his hand seemingly moving in slow motion as he intercepted her fist and deviated its trajectory. This would have been more than enough to ensure the defeat of a normal opponent, but, having experienced just how durable the lizard-like girls body was, Gandr took things one step further. Just as it felt like she was able to be sent crashing into the ground, the contents of Anaks stomach were forcibly ejected when Gandr intercepted her tumble with his knee. All her forward momentum waspletely negated, reced by excruciating pain as the back of her blouse burst open due to the shockwave that had torn through her body. Thest thing she remembered before cking out was the sound of a womans voice lightly chiding the boy who had defeated her twice in as many minutes... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A system that encourages deception...,Dont mind me, just sitting on my throne...,An inordinatelyrge gap in speed, power, and skill...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1697 Crown Game 2/?

Chapter 1697 Crown Game 2/?

Seeing the strongest member of their team defeated in an instant, Shibisu looked like he was on the verge of having a mental breakdown. He even pinched his cheek to check and see if he wasnt dreaming. As for the final member of his party, Hatsu, he had quickly dealt with the other team and was preparing to charge at the woman guarding the throne before pausing in response to the loud explosion that shook the arenas foundation. Though not as ridiculous as Shibisus expression, Hatsu also adopted a look of incredulity as he saw his current rival beingid to rest on the ground. Several thoughts raced through his mind at that exact moment, but, before he could organize them, he threw his wakizashi like a boomerang as he leaned forward and muttered, "Highest flying sword..." Sensing a sword intent lock onto him, Gandr curiously looked back to see Hatsu slowly drawing his katana from its sheath. Then, while uttering, "Lowest flying sword...", the boy came charging at him with surprising swiftness. For a brief moment, it seemed like his sword had actually tripled in length, the edge slowing with a blue hue as he swept in in arge arc, seemingly intending to bisect Gandr from the waist. Rather than dodge, Gandr surprised Hatsu greatly by shifting his attention to the sword spinning through the air. This caused the youth to hesitate, but, rather than stay his hand, he adopted a resolute look on his face as he fullymitted to the strike. Unfortunately, as if his target simply didnt exist, his blow passed through Gandrs body as if he had struck empty air. Taking advantage of Hatsus confusion, Gandr grabbed the stunned boy by the face, a teasing smile visible on his own as he said, "Not bad...but far from enough..." Before Hatsu could respond to the sudden taunt, he felt himself pulled forward as Gandr took a half-step back. This ced the man along the trajectory of his strangely orbiting sword, causing it to pierce through his body without damaging anything important. Feeling his own de pass through his body, Hatsus eyes opened wide as he copsed through his opponent. Then, before he could hit the ground, he felt his wakizashi pulled from his body like it was being unsheathed, followed by Gandr remarking, "You either need to find a better weapon or train harder to ovee the resistance of Shinsu. The density of the Gods Water will only increase as you move further up the Floors, so this kind of de isnt suitable unless you hone your skills to a much higher level." To punctuate his point, Gandr waited until Hatsu was ring at him before performing a simple and very straightforward strike. Despite this, a thin chasm extending more than thirty meters was left in its wake, almost as if the cut had manifested soundlessly within the ground. Then, without affording the young swordsman the opportunity to process what he had just witnessed, Gandr performed the same action with Laev-tan, this time leaving a gulf that covered the two-hundred-meter distance to the far wall and even climbed up it a bit. Though he wasnt actually satisfied by the result of his strike, Gandr gave an approving nod before sticking the wakizashi in the ground and adding, "Youve got potential. Once you umte some more experience, Ill be waiting for our rematch...now, what will you do?" Understanding that Gandr was speaking to him, Shibisu released an awkwardugh, rubbing the back of his head and seemed to be searching for a response. In the end, however, he just released a tired sigh before adopting a martial arts stance full of gaps. Then, with a look of conviction shing across his in brown eyes, he answered, "I didnt enter the Tower to back down. I might be weak, but I at least have the conviction to face death. Lets do this...!" Without waiting for a counter-reply, Shibisu began running towards Gandr with speedparable to an Olympic athlete. Unfortunately, this was only around forty-five kilometers per hour, far below the threshold of being able to pose a threat. Despite this, Gandr waited for the fellow to close the distance, allowing him to throw a few punches and kicks before disappearing behind the man and ending the fight by striking a pressure point near the base of the skull. Like a puppet with its strings cut, Shibisu fell face-first towards the ground, but, before he could hit it, an invisible force slowed him down enough that he felt no pain from the impact. This was Vahn affording the young man a bit of mercy, as, despite his trepidation and weakness, the fact the man had pushed forward against a far more powerful foe was deserving of respect. With all contestants eliminated, Vahn raised the Crown he had previously set aside, slowly cing it atop head as he stated in a voice that easily reached the remaining teams, "Failure is something we must all experience on the path towards true strength. Do not fear the strength of your enemy...fear that your weakness will be an excuse used to justify acts of betrayal and deceit. Being weak is not something you should be ashamed of...suppressing the weak just because you are strong is the greater sin...now, if you have the courage,e and face this Emperor..." Punctuating his words, Vahn finished cing the Crown atop his head, a powerful and suppressive aura erupting from his body as a result. Then, with his left hand half-raised, he used his Telekinesis to return each of the fallen contestants to their waiting rooms. This was to capitalize on the awe he had inspired in the remaining contestants while simultaneously demonstrating that he was far from weakened while seated atop the throne... --- Observing from his position in the control room, Lero-Ro couldnt help but squint as he uttered, "So this is the power of an Irregr who has yet to climb the Tower...haaaa...things are about to be very troublesome. I have a feeling this man isnt going to make things easy for us." Shaking his head at his own remarks, Lero-Ro took a deep breath, burying his personal feelings as he activated the inte and chimed, "The first round has ended with the Aldrnari Teams victory. There will be a quick three-minute break to check on the injured before we proceed with the next match. Use this time to either form a strategy or steel yourselves for battle. Remember, the reward for this test is the right to move on to the next Floor. If you dont have the conviction to fight now, when will you...?" Finished giving his words of advice, Lero-Ro sent medical teams to check on the members of Team Hatsu before calling up the Test Director on his personal Lighthouse. The call quickly connected, an effeminate man with golden hair neatly tied in a bun appearing on the front-facing panel. It didnt help that they frequently wore clothes resembling a kimono, further increasing their feminine allure and causing considerable confusion whenever someone first met them. Seeing the Test Directors unperturbed golden eyes, Lero-Ro couldnt help but suppress a sigh as he dutifully reported, "The trio of Irregrs managed to secure victory in the first round without any discernible effort. The youngest, Gandr, seems to possess swordsmanship that could even rival the geniuses of the Arie Family. As for the other two, or, more specifically, the Sage Dragon Emperor, he possesses an extremely precise form of telekinesis and the ability to generate some kind of invisible field to sense his surroundings. He even managed to startle Phnsekal Laure, a rare talent belonging to one of the Eurasia Familys Branch Households...." As if he wasnt even remotely surprised, likely due to the fact he was observing the same feed, the Test Director merely nodded his head in response to Lero-Ros report. Then, in a calm tone that left no room for argument, he stated, "Thank you, Lero-Ro. Please continue observing the test. We will discuss this matter in greater detail when deciding which positions to assign to everyone. I will see you this afternoon." Before Lero-Ro could respond, the Test Director, Yu Han-Sung, had already cut the connection. This caused the blond-haired Ranker to furrow his brows quite a bit, his instincts telling him the Director was up to something. Having not just one, but three Irregrs in their midst wasnt something that was casually dismissed. There had only been three Irregrs to enter the Tower since the rise of the Jahad Empire, each bringing about drastic changes in very short periods of time. Though it wouldnt interfere in the execution of his duties, Lero-Ro found it odd that the Director was behaving sockadaisically. For all he knew, Yu Han-Sung hadnt even tried to contact the Floor Administrator, something they should have done the moment Vahn revealed his identity. This was more than a little abnormal, but, without some sort of concrete proof, there was little he could do to question the Directors decisions. Releasing a tired sigh, Lero-Ro stared up at the ceiling for a brief moment before checking the time on his Pocket. There were only three seconds left before the next round was supposed to begin, so, after quickly suppressing his idle thoughts, he forced himself to sound excited as he picked up the inte and stated, "Okay, Regrs, you have had more than enough time to rest! Just like before, Ill be counting down from five. If you want to participate, make sure you press that buzzer!" --- During the three minute interlude between rounds, Vahn had been sitting silently atop the throne with Phae standing off to his left with a neutral smile on her face. She had yet to demonstrate her capabilities, so, assuming the other contestants hadnt given up, Vahn was intending to give her a chance in the limelight. This was something Phae was obviously cognizant of, so, after hearing the words of the Test Administrator, her smile became more prominent as a fiery hammer appeared in her right hand. Unfortunately, other than a team consisting of arge four-eyed man, a rathernky-looking man with a bowl cut, and a cyclopean swordsman with unusual wings, there were no other teams bold enough to enter the arena. Nobody wanted to be a sacrifice for the other teams by trying to face off against a seemingly invincible trio, so; rather than tire themselves out for nothing, the general consensus was to wait and see until the fourth and final rounds. Vahn didnt me the remaining teams for being cautious, especially after the previous rounds showing, but that didnt prevent him from shaking his head in disapproval. They were behaving like a bunch of hypocritical opportunists, not the kind of people who had the resolution to do whatever it takes to climb the Tower. This was one of the types of power dynamics he hated most, as, if they were certain of their victory, they would not hesitate to beat, suppress, and even kill others despite fearing evenparable treatment... Deciding not to let it bother him too much, Vahn raised his hand, his countenance matching his voice as he calmly stated, "Ill leave this battle to you, Phae. Try not to injure them too severely. The fact they are courageous enough to step out while all others cower is worthy of respect..." Though she could hear quite a number of people click their tongue in response to Vahns words, Phae pretended not to notice, lightly giggling before bowing politely and saying, "As you will, my Lord." Finished with her courtesies, Phae shifted her attention to Gandr, reinforcing the hierarchy that Vahn was going for by adopting a stern tone and saying, "Gandr, protect your Master. I will deal with these three brave souls." Coming to attention the moment he heard Phaes words, Gandr managed a clumsy salute as he replied, "Leave it to me!". Immediately after that, he appeared like a phantom at Vahns side, his hair standing slightly on end as he adopted an aggressively defensive posture. Nodding her head in approval, Phae resisted the urge to pat Gandrs head before turning around and descending the single step elevating the throne from the rest of the arena. Then, with a kind smile on her face, she adopted a rxed stance and said, "You are free toe at me however you please. Dont worry, as per my Lords request, you will be precluded from serious injury. Now, allow me to see the skill that apanies your bravery..." Though they all felt slightly annoyed at being talked down to, none of the opposing trio spoke out against Phaes words. Thenky man with the bowl cut could hardly even take his eyes away from her chest for more than three seconds, as, for a number of reasons, Phae wore a low-cut blouse to entuate her rather sizeable assets. One of the purposes of her existence was to draw attention, so, while it did make her feel ufortable to be viewed with a covetous expression, it didnt show on her face. Instead, she maintained a rxed smile for several seconds before musing, "It isnt very polite to keep a woman waiting..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Master vs Grandmaster...,The show must go on...,Phae about to exhibit her forging skills on someones skull...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1698 Crown Game 3/?

Chapter 1698 Crown Game 3/?

Hearing Phaes words, the trio of Regrs briefly exchanged look between each other before the bowl-cut man at the front said, "Deod, First Emperor, let me go. Our chances of winning this round were nill from the start. I dont want to have a reputation for teaming up against someone who is fighting honorably..." Agreeing with hispanions word, First Emperor, a hulking man with four eyes, arge nose, and ebony skin issued an understanding nod before crossing his arms and saying, "Very well, Leo. While you keep her distracted, Deod and I will face the other two. I will show this self-professed Emperor the might of my First Supreme Kings Scorching Fist of Death..." Seemingly very confident in his words, First Emperor raised his right hand at the very end of his statement, his fist glowing red hot and releasing a considerable amount of steam. Unfortunately, the moment he tried to break away from his teams formation to approach the throne, it was like the heavens themselves had copsed upon him, smashing him into the ground and creating a square-shaped impact crater... With the same kind smile as before, Phae lowered her hammer to the side and reminded, "This is a match between the three of you and myself. Please keep that in mind..." Seeing their teammate hammered into the ground without their opponent even needing to move, Leo and Deod couldnt help but pale slightly. The former even managed to stare directly into Phaes eyes, fearful of receiving his own punishment for starting elsewhere. Chuckling in response to the duos reaction, Phae moved a few strands of hair from her face bybing them back with her gloved left hand. Then, at a rxed pace, she began to walk forward, smiling as she exined, "If you wonte to me, I have little choice but to take more...proactive measures." Without waiting for a third warning, Leo immediately pulled out a short knife in response to Phaes words before blitzing forward withmendable speed. Phae even rewarded him an approving nod, but, the moment he attempted to lunge toward her abdomen, she, very easily, sidestepped the blow before, very lightly, bonking him on the head with her hammer. Despite the rtively light tap, Leo ended up suffering a very simr fate to First Emperor, his body smashing into the ground as if a heavy pressure had descended upon him from above. Fortunately, other than a small bump atop his head, he didnt sustain any severe injuries despite a square impact crater nearly three-meters across forming beneath him. With two of her opponents defeated, Phae smiled toward the remaining member of the original trio. She could see visible beads of sweat on his pylon-shaped head, his singr red eye blinking in a strange rhythm as he stared back at her. He truly was a rather peculiar creature, but, never one to judge people based on appearances, Phae, once again,bed back her unruly bangs as she asked, "What will you do, Mr. Swordsman?" Though he didnt have a visible mouth to speak from, the peculiar winged cyclops was somehow able to reply, "If possible...I would like to fight that youth...the further I get up the Tower, the less useful swords be. Before I set aside my de for good, I would like to test my skills against a skilled adversary..." Rather than abide by Deods request, Phae just thumbed a small gemstone embedded near the top of her hammers handle. Immediately thereafter, it changed shape from a square-headed hammer to a thick-ded rapier. At the same time, she used a small hair clip to keep her bangs from falling into her face as she calmly eximed, "En garde..." Demonstrating a fair amount of skill, Deod managed to swing down his peculiar brown katana in a practiced arc, the edge of his de releasing a peculiar murky glow. With her sapphire eyes shing with a curious light, Phae was able to stop her initial charge almost instantly. As a result, Deods de swung several centimeters short, leaving his broad body open to a counter. He attempted to evade this by using the winged appendage on his back to create some distance, but, with far greater strength, speed, and finesse, Phae brandished her rapier in a flurry of silvery sword strikes. By the time Deod was able toplete his action of jumping away, dozens of tiny cuts had appeared on his body, none deeper than three millimeters. If the onlyndmark on his face wasnt a single spherical eye, a very shocked expression would have been visible on Deods face. He had never encountered someone who used such a flexible sword in all his years wandering the Outer Tower as a sellsword. As a result, he couldnt read the trajectory of Phaes de at all, much less react to them... After tentatively touching a few of the wounds on his left arm, Deod gripped the hilt of his katana even firmer as he said, "Your swordsmanship is very beautiful...it is my honor to do battle against you...Miss...?" Humming in response to Deods inquiry, Phaes smile became slightly more notable as she mused, "I was beginning to think there none within the Tower capable of disying manners. My name is Ha Phae Stios. You may simply refer to me as Phae. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Sir Deod." Not fearing a surprise attack, Phae offered a courteous half-bow towards the cyclopean warrior. In response, her performed a much deeper and respectful bow, his tone bing solemn as he said, "It is an honor to battle against you, Ms. Phae. I am grateful for the opportunity to retire my de against an opponent of your caliber." Offering a small nod in response, Phae raised the point of her rapier in a casual stance, her smile bing even more rxed as she mused, "I am humbled by your words...now, face me without regrets..." Determined to do just that, Deod held his sword up as if he were about to perform a downward shing motion. The same hazy brown as before began to coat his de, this time bing ever-so-slightly more condensed as he inly stated, "Iming..." With a surprising burst of speed, Deod managed to close the distance between himself and Phae in less than one second. Unfortunately, while he did manage to reach about one-hundred kilometers per hour, his movements were akin to watching a movie in slow motion from Phaes perspective. As a result, she managed to strike the very edge of his katana with the tip of her rapier, preventing it frompleting its downward arc before slowly and gracefully, at least from the point of view of those who could perceive her movements, side-stepping the man with a sweeping flourish of her rapier. Feeling a strange vibrational force spread through his body, Deod copsed to the ground, his right hand moving to stymy the flow of blood from his abdomen. Phaes rapier had only cut as deep as his subcutaneous tissue, but the wound extended from the front of his abdomen to the small of his back. From the perspective of others, it looked like he had been partially bisected, something Deod also believed before tentatively tracing the wound with his fingers. Noticing the man entering a state simr to shock, Phae adopted a pitying look before surprising nearly everyone present by manifesting a rather simple-looking rod in her left hand. This was none other than the [Heal] Vahn had once relied on during his first few years in the Record of Danmachi. It only had a limited number of uses, but it was still one of the cheapest and most efficient tools for general healing he had evere across. Though he was surprised by the strange pink circr pattern that had appeared beneath him, Deod released a sigh of relief when he noticed his wound healing at an incredible rate. It wasnt just him, either, as Phae subsequently cast the same healing spell to treat his other team members. It wasnt enough to stir them awake, but, unless they had something like a tumor in their brains prior to her hitting them, they would wake up pretty quickly. With her dutypleted, Phae returned [Heal] to her Inventory before returning to her position at Vahns side and offering him a courteous bow. In response, Vahn returned an approving nod before looking directly at Deod and stating, "There is a vast gulf between your level of skill and that of my vassal. Despite that, you fought well without retreating. For that, you have my respect. Now, retrieve your allies and return to your waiting room. When the timees, I will reward you for the bravery you have disyed today." Humbled by Vahns words, Deod bowed his head in a sincere show of respect before shouldering the bodies of hispanions and carrying them back to his teams waiting room. He didnt really care about the reward Vahn had mentioned, but, as someone who wasmitted to climbing the Tower, he certainly wouldnt refuse what little boons were afforded him... --- With the second round drawing to a conclusion, another three-minute break was afforded to the winning team before the Test Admin, Lero-Ro, began counting down to the start of the third round. Immediately thereafter, four teams entered into the arena, twocking noteworthy candidates. The other two teams, however, included Baams team and another with a particrly strong man with arge build, red hair, and demon-like wings. He also had an inordinately small squirrel-like girl riding his shoulders, and, though he didnt stand out much, his finalpanion was a youth with a scarlet red bandana and arge metal bat. After briefly inspecting the trio, Vahn shifted his gaze back to Baams group, sizing up the boy he believed to be the protagonist. The fact he had managed to acquire two powerful teammates in spite of his strength was a pretty big indicator this was the case, but, upon closer inspection, Vahn was surprised to find that the youth with pale-blue hair and the crocodile-like spearman possessed even stronger fates... Though he had noticed a few incongruencies previously, Vahn was quickly beginning to realize that fate within the [Transcendental Path to Heaven] didnt work the way he was used to. It seemed like a persons fate could get weaker or stronger depending on their actions, as, the first time he viewed Baam, the boy appeared rtively normal. It was only when the massive eel-like creature charged at him that his fate seemed to increase, guiding him towards the path that ensured victory. Vahn had heard about the existence of Guides from Gandrs conversation with Endorsi, but he still found it a little peculiar they were able to alter a persons fate. After all, the Records were supposed to be static prior to his entry, so, even if they did possess such an ability, the past, present, and even the future were already decided. This was likely still the case, but, unlike other Records, where it was pretty easy to determine whether or not someone was significant from their aura of fate, it seemed the [Transcendental Path to Heaven] intentionally kept things vague... Finding the thought rather amusing, a smile gradually spread across Vahns face as he wondered what other surprises this Record had in store for him. Having no information about the world was rather refreshing, and, though he was bound to learn its secrets in due time, he intended to enjoy discovering them directly rather thanpiling millions of texts to effectively game the system. With that in mind, Vahn gestured for Phae and Gandr to take a step back, his smile bing even more prominent as he said, "Since we have so many boldpetitors this time around, allow me to demonstrate my own capabilities. Though Im certain you each have your own ns and strategies, I encourage you to attack me directly. So long as a single member of your team is able to reach this elevated tform, it is your victory. Now-" Before he could finish reinforcing his Emperor persona, Vahn waspelled into stunned silence as the crocodile-man among Baams allies suddenly shouted, "Enough blithering you Bearded Turtle! I am Rak Wraithraiser, proud Hunter and Leader of this team! I will crack open all three of your shells in a single blow! Now, be my prey!" Without affording anyone the opportunity to intervene, Rak brandished arge red spear in his right hand before twisting his body and generating a tremendous amount of momentum. His form was borderline perfect, and, as a result, the spear generated a massive shockwave, momentarily forming the illusion of an unbroken red line as it traced a trajectory towards Vahns smiling face... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Stop...Hammer Time~!,En Garde~!,Rak goes at his own pace) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1699 Crown Game 4/?

Chapter 1699 Crown Game 4/?

Though few people expected Raks attack to seed, especially after seeing the power exhibited by Phae and Gandr, absolutely no one expected his spear to stop fewer than a centimeter from Vahns forehead, slowly spinning in ce as the man who had dered himself an Emperor continued to smile casually. Without waiting for the peanut gallery to fully process what they had just witnessed, Vahn raised his right hand slightly, his smile bing more prominent as he said, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Rak Wraithraiser. Unfortunately, Ill have to return the gift you have so graciously bestowed upon me..." During Vahns short statement, the spear that had been revolving in front of his forehead spun 180 degrees. With a simple flick of his wrist, it was thenunched back at Rak withparable speed to the original throw. This came as quite a surprise to the gator-like man, momentarily stunning him in ce and forcing the blue-haired youth to pull him aside by the cape. With nothing to obstruct its path, the ruby-red spear crashed into the ground with explosive force, propelling dust and debris like tiny pieces of shrapnel. Fortunately, the only group near the impact point was Baam, Rak, and the as-of-yet-named blue-haired youth. Thetter had pulled Rak in such a way that hisrge and durable body acted as a shield, so, other than a few pockmarks and bruises, there were no major injuries... --- Cursing his misfortune for having an idiot on his team, the blue-haired youth, known better as Khun Aguero Agnis, released a tired sigh before glowering at Rak and saying, "I told you not to charge in, you idiot crocodilian..." Annoyed by the formers words, Rak yanked his cape free from Khuns hands as he bellowed, "Blue Turtle! Do not interfere between me and my prey! I will hunt the Bearded Turtle and be even stronger!" While doing his best to ignore the smell and spittle emanating from Raks mouth, Khun adopted a rxed stance, shouldering his stylish leather briefcase as he said, "This isnt one of your hunts. If we want to defeat that man, we need to work together. If we vite his rules, the other two are bound to step in. If that happens, well have already lost this fight..." Agreeing with Khuns statement, Baam, clutching a wrapped ck March in his hands, nervously added, "Khuns right! That man is too strong for us to battle on our own. Maybe if we team up with the others...we might just win! Please, Mr. Rak, we need to win this game so we can move higher up the Tower!" Unmoved by the frail boys appeal, Rak emanated steam from his nostrils as he inly stated, "The only thing I care about is hunting strong prey. I agreed to climb the Tower with you, but that does not mean I will ignore prey right in front of me..." By the time he had finished his statement, Rak had liberated his spear from the ground. Then, with a firm and resolute gaze, he turned his attention toward the throne and added, "I will go first...if you and the other Turtles see an opportunity, take it..." With those parting words, Rak leaned forward, running at a surprisingly swift speed for someone his size before leaping high into the air. Vahn could detect a powerful and ancient aura surging from within the mans body, but, while it was certainly very impressive, he was far from the level required to reach the throne. This did, however, confirm that he was likely central to the Records original plot as it was surprisinglymon for allies of the protagonist to have power hidden within their bloodlines... Rather than waiting for the man to try and hammer down with his spear, stepping onto the thrones tform in the process, Vahn confidently raised his hand towards the meteoric figure. He could feel quite a bit of resistance due to the mans aura, but, without any real suspense, Raks figure came to a halt in mid-air before Vahn waved his hand to the side, mming him into the arenas wall before raising his left hand and repelling a glistening blue ser formed from water Shinsu. Seeing her surprise attack dealt with so easily, the pretty-looking woman wielding a wand adorned with a watery blue sphere at the toppletely froze in ce. The projectile she had fired was split into three separate beams that curved around her body without causing her harm, but, knowing her opponent had the ability to reflect Shinsu, the wand she had spent all her fortune on suddenly felt like a paperweight. Fortunately, she didnt have to worry about being the only useless Regr participating, as, with the exception of Baam, Khun, and the burly red-haired man, everyone else felt as though their bodies were squeezed by an invisible force. All the air was forced from their lungs, and, though they didnt sustain any heavy injuries, it wasnt long before most of them had passed out from asphyxiation. As for the rest, the also felt a restrictive force, but, due to their bodys natural resistance and willpower, Vahn had a harder time applying his Telekinesis to them. Though Telekinesis was an exceptionally useful ability once mastered, it could be interfered with by just about anything. Certain individuals could break free using raw power, and, should they possess an inordinately strong will, Telekinesis could bepletely useless on others. Because of this, Baam and Khun werergely unaffected, earning an approving nod from Vahn. As for the remaining man, he was bound in ce for a brief moment, but, seemingly drawing strength from rage, he managed to break free after a few seconds had passed... Noticing most of the other teams had been eliminated in an instant, a bead of sweat ran down the side of Khuns face as he realized they might have gotten in over their head. The opponent in front of them possessed the kind of power that schemes didnt work against, and, due to their hesitation, they had even lost the chance to team up with the others. Shifting his attention from the crater where Rak had been embedded into the wall, Khun observed the young boy standing to his right, once again surprised by the fact that Bam had made it through virtually unscathed. He wasnt even breathing heavily, and, though beads of sweat had formed on his brow, that was pretty normal considering the aura emanating from the man seated upon the throne. Though he knew it was useless, Khun suppressed a sigh as he smiled towards Baam and said, "We should forfeit the match. I now understand why the Test Admins decided upon this game. They are trying to get rid of this team to level the ying field. We cant hope to defeat these three at our current level." Without any hesitation at all, Baam shook his head in response to Khuns words, tightly gripping the ck March as he replied, "Im sorry, Mr. Khun, but I cant just forfeit! I would rather try my hardest, even if it means Ill fail! I have to do everything in my power to catch up to Rachel...!" Unsurprised by Baams words, Khun shrugged in a what can you do? manner before pulling out a knife from his briefcase and musing, "At least he is still going easy on us..." --- Hearing Baam shout out Rachels name, several rm bells began sounding in Vahns mind as he slightly squinted his eyes. He didnt actually know Baam that well, but he got the impression they were very simr to each other. Rather, it seemed like he paralleled quite a number of protagonists in other Records... In Vahns case, he had found people very early on to support and push him forward, shaping him into the man, and Emperor, he had be. Without this support group, he might have wandered down a very dangerous path, a truth embodied by his character in the Divination. If Baam was searching for the same Rachel that Vahn had been observing over thest few hours, it wasnt difficult to imagine what kind of fate awaited him. She was bound to betray him in order to further her goals, and, though he wasnt familiar with the original story, Vahn hadpiled enough stories in his mind to intuit how things would develop. The Tower was a ce that promoted those who were willing to do whatever it took toplete their objectives. It wasnt a ce for a naive young boy with social anxiety to try and make friends, even if he was the protagonist. That meant there had to be something that happened to alter his course, a significant enough emotional event that either changed the way he viewed the Tower or gave him the drive to conquer it. More than any other catalyst, it was acts of betrayal that had the deepest impact upon a persons character. This was especially true when the person in question had absolute faith or trust in the person who had betrayed them, the kind of faith thatpelled them to fearlessly stand against giant monsters just for a chance at following after the target of their adtion. Vahn didnt owe a single thing to Baam, but, as someone who had always protected the innocent, he wouldnt just stand by and watch the boy suffer. Thus, in an effort to ascertain the truth of the matter, Vahn surprised the charging youths by raising his hand and saying, "Enough. That previous attack was my final test. Now that you have passed it, you have earned the right to wear this Crown. Guard it well, young heroes." Demonstrating he wasnt just trying to lull them into a false sense of security, Vahn subsequently removed the Crown from his head, cing it on the armrest before rising from the throne. Then, after a curt nod towards the stunned duo, he returned to his teams waiting room, his expression turning inordinately serious as he turned around to bear witness to the events toe... --- Having expected Vahn to forfeit after defeating all the other teams, Lero-Ro was more surprised than anyone else by the sudden turn of events. He suddenly felt as though he couldnt get a read on the man, someone who seemed paradoxically eager to participate in the Testing despite a very clear disdain for the system itself. Exhaling a profound sigh, Lero-Ro picked up the inte with his left hand while simultaneously pulling up the information on the remaining contestants. His intuition told him there was a reason for Vahns behavior, and, having talked with Baam during the Shinsu Resistance Test, he already had a number of suspicions as to what it might be... Seeing Baams virtually empty profile,cking everything from his age to his origin, Lero-Ro pulled up the data pertaining to Vahn, Phae, and Gandr alongside it. Like the former, thetter three were both anomalies within the system and confirmed Irregrs. Thus, unless Baams data had somehow been expunged from the Towers records, the chances of him also being an Irregr were high. The only reason he hadnt jumped to this conclusion previously was due to the fact that Baam had in his possession the ck March, indicating at least a middling rtionship with the Jahad Empire. As the most powerful force within the Tower, the Jahad Empire had more than enough power and authority to expunge or alter the data of a single Regr. In fact, it was prettymon for most of the Ten Great Families to expunge some of their descendants data in order to protect them as they moved up the Tower. This made it harder to learn their strengths and weaknesses while also serving as a preemptive measure against failures within the family. There were even cases where Regrs who had underperformed were outright discredited as descendants of the Ten Great Families, many disappearing shortly after these ims had begun to circte... Feeling that his headaches were only going to increase in the future, Lero-Ro released one final sigh before resuming his usual calm and slightly cheerful disposition. There would be plenty of time to conduct an investigation following the Crown Game, so, for the time being, he wanted to focus on wrapping things up as quickly as possible. Fortunately, there were only two rounds left, so, with as much enthusiasm as he could muster, he brought the inte to his mouth to announce...a three-minute break... (A/N: Alternate Titles: No u,The Force is strong with this one...,Lero-Ro cant catch a break...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1700 Crown Game 5/5

Chapter 1700 Crown Game 5/5

Khun wasnt foolish enough to believe that someone as powerful as Vahn would simply vacate the throne for no reason. The man presented himself as an Emperor and even had two outrageously powerful people he referred to as vassals. There was clearly an underlying reason for his decision, the most likely scenarios being that the Emperor had taken an interest in something and wished to confirm it with his own eyes... With an imperceptible frown on his face, Khun looked between the half-dead Rak and the young boy with crystal clear eyes seated upon the throne. This was none other than Baam, and, though it was strange to admit, Khun had actually be rather fond of the boy in the very short period of time they had known each other. Unlike most residents of the Tower, Baam gave off the impression of someone who was untainted by the darkness that seemed to have encroached upon the hearts and minds of most people. It was like he knew nothing at all about the world, yet, in spite of this, he had a unique radiance about him that drew everyone to his side. Khun couldnt really understand it himself, but Baam, despite being named after the night, was like a purifying light that glowed within the darkness, something that people naturally sought out in order to escape their own corruption... Noticing the gaze of Khun, Baam offered a friendly yet nervous smile as he sheepishly asked, "Is it really okay for someone like me to have the Crown? With Mr. Rak injured, I dont think we can win the game. I-" Interrupting Baams defeatist im, Rak loudly snorted through his nose, staring at the youth out of the corner of his eye as he stated, "I am not so weak that I need some ck Turtle to worry about me. Do not forget the conviction you showed when facing the Bearded Turtle. Only the strong and resolute ever have their dreams fulfilled..." Finished with his words, Rak issued a pained grunt as he rose to a standing position, towering over both Baam and Khun like an immovable mountain. This was enough to silence any kind of rebuttal, earning an understanding nod from the former and a helpless sigh from thetter. Deciding to go all-out, Khun removed the blue bandana that was tied around the braid on the left side of his head. Then, after tying up his hair in a ponytail, a confident smile spread across his face as he mused, "Look on the bright side. The most powerful team has already been disqualified from thepetition. From what I can tell, there are only two other groups that pose a threat. So long as they dont team up against us, there is a fair chance we will emerge victoriously..." Inspired by Khuns words, an excited smile spread across Baams face as he happily chimed, "Ill do my best not to lose the Crown!" Finding Baams words rather amusing, Khun just lightly chuckled before looking up at Rak and saying, "Try to focus on recovering and protecting Baam. Unless something unexpected urs, I should be able to deal with the next batch of teams on my own." Hearing Khuns statement, Rak issued another one of his characteristic snorts, but, unlike before, he didnt bother to retort. Instead, he adopted a proud and towering stance, chin raised as a subtle yet powerful aura emanated from his body... Understanding the crocodilians silence as an affirmation, Khun adopted a wry smile as he lightly mused, "How reliable..." --- With the strongest team already eliminated, the fourth round of the Crown Game had a full five teams participating, Baams being a part of that number. This included a team led by a masked woman wearing full-body tights that showed off her curvaceous figure. She was one of the people Vahn had taken an interest in during his inspection, not because she seemed especially powerful, but because the fate around her was constantly shifting. Thus, even if he was more concerned by the participation of the fourth team, he quickly inspected the staff-wielding woman and her team members. Unfortunately, despite their aura of confidence, the two men apanying the woman werent particrly interesting. The first, a brown-skinned man with short brown hair and red eyes, gave off the impression of a simple brawler. As for their final member, he was an arrogant-looking man with ck hair pulled into a high ponytail with a few loose strands forming a stylish tuft that hung over his left eye. He wielded a needle-like sword, but, based on his bnce and posture, he wasnt very adept at its use... Shifting his eyes away from the trio, Vahn turned his attention to the other three teams,pletely ignoring one of the teams before resting his eyes on the man sleeping on the ground. The flow of Shinsu around his body was continually increasing with each passing moment, so, while his other two teammates werent particrly interesting, there was a chance he could sweep the rest of thepetition on his own. Though he had an exceptionallyzy-looking appearance with messy dark-green hair, the man was actually rather handsome and inordinately fit. As for his two teammates, they consisted of a rather haughty-looking woman with dark-brown hair, brown eyes, and an ample bust. The final member, despite his rather feminine appearance, was a man with inordinately long golden hair, a frock-like robe, and a red ribbon tied to his chest. He gave off the impression of a priest due to his outfit, but the thing that stood out most about him was therge red horn protruding from his right temple... Vahn actually sensed a lot of untapped potential in the horned-man, but, based on the look in his eyes, hecked the confidence and determination to awaken it. His eyes gave off the impression of a soldier who had spent too long in the battlefield, his golden eyes focused on things nobody else could see; the type of things that relentlessly haunted your dreams. Since he would have plenty of time to learn more about each of the contestants in the future, Vahn turned his attention to the final team participating in the fourth match. Now that his team had been disqualified, they were the team with the highest possible chance of iming victory, as, despite the uselessness of one of their members, the other two were basically monsters. One was a Princess of Jahad, specifically Endorsi, while the other was a demonic-looking man that was easily several times stronger than a normal Regr. Based on how the demonic man was constantly watching over Rachel, a seemingly normal person, it was pretty obvious that something strange was going on. The man never uttered a single word, and, the few times he did leave Rachels side, it was to either grab her something to eat or drink. It was almost like he was her servant, something that didnt make sense considering she was almost certainly an Irregr... Vahn had forfeited the game specifically to see what kind of action Rachel would take while Baam was seated upon the throne. He wanted to confirm if there was a preexisting rtionship between them. The chances of this being the case were exceptionally high, so, assuming they were familiar with each other, Vahn wanted to see how she would treat a boy who was clearly doing everything in his power just to follow after her. If she shunned him in the pursuit of her own goals, that was one thing. However, if it turned out she was taking advantage of his naivet over something as arbitrary as seeing the stars, Vahn would have more than a few words for them both... Just as this thought crossed his mind, the match spontaneously began when the woman wearing tights immediately charged towards the peculiar trio that didnt draw much of Vahns interest. They all had unique appearances, including what appeared to be a young girl with very pale skin, ck hair, pupilless ck eyes, and a monochromatic dress, but, based on her aura, she was probably the oldest among them. As for the other two, one was a lean man with an odd hairstyle and some kind of Shinsu powered gauntlet while the other, far more exotic than virtually every other participant, vaguely resembled a centipede with an abyssal maw and three-wed hands. With the staff-wielding woman appearing in front of them in an instant, the trio of Regrs was immediately put on alert, but, before any of them could fully react, she used the heavy club-like ends of the staff to bash the centipedal man. This caused a sickening crunch to sound throughout the arena, and, as a result of the massive dent in the creatures carapace, he immediately dropped to the ground with green blood pooling from his void-like maw. Demonstrating the reality of the Tower, the staff-wielding woman demonstrated apleteck of mercy and empathy as she evaded all of her opponents attacks with swift and graceful movements. It was almost like she could predict every single attacking her way, and, based on the constant ebb and flow of fate around her, Vahn assumed that was exactly what she was doing. She was even able to dodge a metallic boomerang aimed at her back without even looking, gracefully stepping around the trajectory of the de before throwing her staff in a simr manner. Surprised by how his own surprise attack could miss, the man attempted to backpedal, slipping on a small patch of blood. This caused him to fall in such a way that the hardest section of the staff hit him directly in the temple, killing him on the spot before bouncing towards the woman as if it had a homing function. In reality, she simply knew where it would rebound from the moment she threw it, never losing her momentum for even a single moment as she ignored thest member of the team, who, upon seeing her allies killed, fell onto her butt, soiling herself as she muttered, "I forfeit..." in a sobbing tone... --- Seeing another team decimated in an instant, the thief-like girl could be seen visibly sweating as she turned mechanically towards her no-longer-sleepingpanion and stated, "I think we should return to our waiting room. That spandex-demon is too powerful. Come on, Ho, Laure! Lets get out of this hellish ce! I dont want to lose my life during a bonus game!" As he was able to read the flow of Shinsu, including that of others, Laure didnt hesitate to shake his head, stating, "No. That woman isnt targeting us. The two of you can wait near the waiting room if you want, but dont you dare step inside. I will handle this myself..." Though he enjoyed sleeping for upwards of twenty-two hours a day, Laure was not a coward. He knew what he was getting himself into when he decided to be a Regr, so, while he would spend most of his time sleeping, he was actually training his Shinsu control and gathering all kinds of information. When it came to battling against opponents, he never showed fear, as, in his mind: fear led to doubt, doubt led to stagnation, and stagnation led to death. He might enjoy sleeping, but that didnt mean he was in a rush to experience what some referred to as the Eternal Sleep... Without waiting for his teammates to reply, Laure unfurled his nket, a massive ball of Shinsu manifesting in the palm of his extended left hand. His target was the two members of the staff-wielding womans team, not because they posed a threat, but because they would be the easiest to eliminate. He followed the mentality that you should eliminate the weakest members early on, as, in many situations, they were the most willing tomit to crazy schemes and strategies in order to secure victory. Though they noticed the veritable wall of Shinsu extending towards them like a column that had fallen on its side, it wasnt for no reason that Vahn had ignored the duo. The most they were able to do was put up their guard before the water pir mmed into them, crashing into the bodies and pinning them to the distant wall of the arena. Once the water had faded, they could both be seen lying on the ground, knocked out but otherwise okay... Noticing the mask-wearing woman didnt even flinch when her teammates were eliminated, Laures expression became slightly more serious as he began to form a second ball of Shinsu. Rather than aim at the woman, however, he set his sight on the throne. The most important thing was securing the Crown. So long as he managed to steal it for himself and sit upon the throne, it wouldnt matter how many opponents were left; he would be the winner by default... --- Khun had been closely observing the battlefield so he instantly noticed was Laure was up to, his scalp tingling as he shouted, "Rak!" In response, the crocodilian man bellowed, "Im not blind, Blue Turtle!" before stepping in front of Baam, clearly intending to use his body to block the attack. Baam felt extremely guilty seeing Raks massive figure blocking his vision, but, remembering the mans former words, he just tightened his hold on the ck March and whispered, "I need to be stronger...". As if to respond to his words, the ck March began to vibrate slightly, but, without noticing it, Baam continued to stare towards Raks back as if he saw something very important in its breadth... --- From within the fort of her own waiting room, Anak could be seenying on the bench located closest to the back. There was still a visible hole in her blouse and vest, revealing a patch of healthy green skin underneath, but, as if such things didnt bother her in the slightest, Anak ignored both it and the battles. Instead, she staredzily at the wall in front, her tail lightly tapping against the cold stone of the bench. Anak had always anticipated that there would be people stronger than her within the Tower but she never expected to encounter a setback as early as the second floor. She hadnt even able to react at all to her opponents final few attacks, losing both the match and the Green April in the process. If not for the enemy taking pity on her, sparing her life, and even returning the Green April while she was knocked unconscious, her journey for revenge would have alreadye to an end. She didnt want to admit it, but Anak didnt even think ignition was enough to give her an edge against the hateful Vanargandr. His weapon gave off a simr impression to the Green April, so, while it might not be on the same level, she believed it was also capable of igniting. If that was the case, it meant he hadnt even been taking her seriously during their battle, a thought that filled her with both indignation and self-loathing... While thinking of ways she could get back at the hateful swordsman, Anak felt a sudden stir from the Green April. This immediately drew her attention, as, immediately thereafter, the spirit within the de informed her that another Thirteen Month Series was nearby. Surprising both Hatsu and Shibisu, Anak rose from her lying position like a bolt of green lightning, reaching the gate in an instant. This caused Shibisu to ask what the matter was, but, with her mind fully focused on the battlefield, Anak didnt hear him. Instead, her eyes zeroed in on the boy seated atop the throne; her pupils releasing an eerie light as her aura began surging outward. Before anyone could even think to stop her, Anak didnt hesitate to break free from the locked gate, eyes fixated on the needle-like sword vibrating within Baams hands... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I am Rak Wraithraiser...!,*Bonk*,Gimme gimme...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1701 Release

Chapter 1701 Release

Having just tanked a Shinsu attack that left his body emitting a substantial amount of steam, Rak exhaled a cloud of vapor in the form of a sigh. His red eyes began releasing an intense light, and, though he wanted nothing more than to justy down and rest, he managed to stay upright, the muscles in his body straining like coiled springs as he red at his attacker. Though he was surprised that there was actually someone foolish enough to tank a Shinsu attack with their unprotected body, Laure wasnt the type to just wait around for his opponent to counter-attack. The moment he noticed Raks gaze, he quickly jumped to this side, his feet hovering several centimeters from the ground as he began levitating at extreme speeds. Rak knew he only had one shot to eliminate his enemy as another ball of Shinsu had already started to form in Laures hand, this one more than a meter in diameter. Fortunately, it required both focus and time to gather Shinsu from the surroundings, so, before the man was able to fire a third volley, Rak released a thunderous roar loud enough to generate a shockwave. Then, demonstrating even more power than he had used against Vahn, a few bands of red electricity shed across the body of his spear as he tossed it with an oppressive amount of momentum. Despite taking preemptive measures to evade the attack, Laure instantly realized he would not be able to dodge Raks desperate blow. Fortunately, he had already gathered an adequate amount of Shinsu, not to form a barrier, but to create a vortex-like wall with the hopes of redirecting the bolt-like spear away from him. He didnt have confidence in a static barrier so this was the best he could with less than a decisecond to respond. Rewarding Laures quick-thinking, Raks spear deviated by a few degrees the moment it came into contact with the vortex. Though the spearhead managed to clip part of his nket, that was a small price to pay considering it was initially targeting his abdomen. His nket had the ability to repair itself, so, while it broke his heart to have his beloved wrapping damaged, Laure focused on the task at hand: defeating the person who had damaged his most precious treasure... Before Laure could fire a fourth barrage, a stillness descended upon the battlefield as an explosion suddenly urred along the periphery. Even Endorsi, who had been locked in a stalemate against the mask-wearing woman was caught by surprise, creating a gap for her opponent tond a hard strike against her diaphragm. While cursing, "You exhibitionist bitch..." under her breath, Endorsi fell to her knees as the masked woman subsequently ignored her. She was far more focused on the events transpiring atop the throne, as, immediately following the sound of the explosion, Anak could be seen kicking Rak to the side before receiving a heavy blow from the six-meter tall demonic man on Rachels team... --- Seeing Rak suddenly kicked to the side, followed by a green-skinned girlnding right in front of him, Baam was at a loss as to how he should respond. To further exacerbate his confusion, an evenrger man than Rak appeared like a phantom, slicing downward with a meat cleaver evenrger than the girl. Due to her focus on Baam, Anak was momentarily caught off guard by the surprisingly swift attack, her instincts barely affording her the opportunity to lift the Green April as the cleaver came to bear upon her. The impact was so heavy that she felt like all her bones were creaking, and, though the tform containing the throne was more durable than the rest of the arena, two craters instantly appeared beneath the soles of her feet as she sunk several centimeters into the ground. With blood visibly staining her teeth, Anak cursed, "You...damn...bastard...!" before summoning up a tremendous amount of strength within her tiny body. It wasnt enough to send the man flying, but it at least forced him back a few steps. During that brief interval, she attempted to forcibly seize the ck March from Baams hands, determined to retrieve it at all costs. Baam suddenly felt like a mouse trapped by a cat, but, rather than back down, he managed to point the ck March towards Anak by pure instinct. In response, the de began to hum even louder as the color shifted from a deep onyx hue to progressively more vibrant gold. Though he hadnt asked it to, the ck March had taken the initiative to self-ignite, adamantly refusing to fall into the hands of another woman so soon after finding an attractive host. Noticing the ignition even before Baam, Anak responded by attempting to ignite the Green April, but, as if to demonstrate that things could always get worse, her efforts were interrupted by a heavy leather briefcase striking the side of her head. Khun had originally intended to intervene in the fight between Endorsi and the masked-woman, trusting Rak to do everything in his power to protect the throne. The sudden eruption of Anak from her waiting room had taken him by surprise, but, using the opportunity created by the demonic man, he unhesitantly tossed his Manbarondenna with the intent to interrupt whatever the lizard was trying to do. After her loss to Gandr, Anak wasnt in the best mental state so everything happening only caused her greater confusion and frustration. She especially hated getting hit in the face, so, the moment she recovered from the surprise hit, her pupils began glistening with a murderous light. Her original intent was only to seize the ck March, but, now that multiple people were standing in her way, a wrathful aura began to emanate from her body as she pointed the Green April towards the sky... Sensing the danger radiating from Anak, Baam could feel his heart racing as the ck March grew ever brighter in his hands. His first instinct was to try and stop the fight but he didnt think the girl would listen to anyone in her current state. Thus, with his hands tightening on the ck Marchs handle, he muttered, "Please dont hurt her too much..." as he pointed the needles tip directly at the incensed young lizard. In response to Baams utterance, a petite woman with long blonde hair, pointed ears, and golden eyes appeared behind him, gently embracing him as she whispered, "Dont worry, Im just going to teach my sister a lesson..." Immediately following her words, the tip of the ck March extended at a speedparable to lightning piercing Anak through the chest and sending a tremendous amount of lightning into her body. At the same time, simr bands of lightning radiated from Baams body, enveloping him in much the same way as the woman. This surprised even the ck March herself as, despite this only being the second time she had ignited on his behalf, it felt like her power had increased more than three times the original amount... Surprised by the fact he had pierced Anak through the chest, Baam instinctually released the ck March from his grip, surprising the sentient needle and causing her to shout, "You idiot...!" before disappearing into motes of light. The aura that had previously been protecting him then ran out of control, quite literally shocking Baam as he released an ear-piercing scream and copsed atop the throne. As if to answer Baams cry, Rachel, who had been skulking behind her personal bodyguard during the earlier stages of the fight, removed her hood and shouted, "Baam!" in a concerned tone. This caused the boys eyes to immediately snap open, and, though he was in extreme pain due to the energy wracking his body, he still managed to zero in on the woman who had called out to him, his seizures stopping for a brief moment as he uttered, "R-Rachel..." Just as it seemed like Baam was about to say more, the masked woman who had been locked in battle against Endorsi appeared, not near the throne, but behind Rachel. This caused Baams eyes to widen even more, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinholes as he saw the woman he dedicated his everything to batted aside like a ragdoll. He could see blood pooling from her temple, and, though it was a significantly weaker blow than she had used against any others, the masked woman went out of her way to try and follow up with a second attack... Though it felt like time had slowed to a crawl, Baam knew he wouldnt be able to make it in time to save Rachel. His was simply too slow, and, even if he could reach her side, he didnt possess enough power to defeat someone like the masked woman. He relied on the help of others and the power of items just to make it this far. Now, because of his weakness, he could do little more than cry out as the person he cared about most was harmed right in front of him... Feeling an overwhelming amount of despair and helplessness descend upon him, Baam felt like his mind hadpletely shut down. In the deepest recesses of his subconscious, however, a powerful pulsation, simr to a single heartbeat, could be heard. This was immediately followed by a second powerful pulse, this one even stronger than before... Unaware of his own actions, Baam managed to leap from the throne with enough force to shatter it into several pieces. His hair seemed to take on a luminous golden glow, and, though it wasnt nearly as shy as the ignition of the ck March, wispy golden lightning crackled across his body with an intensity that caused the crown around his head to simply dissolve into nothingness. In what seemed like a single instant to most, Baam appeared in between the masked woman and Rachel, his hand grasping the staff. Not only was its momentumpletely arrested, but the area grasped almost immediately turned to partictes of light. Immediately after that, he backhanded the masked woman with enough force topletely shatter her mask, a golden band of lightning arcing from his fist to her right eye in the moments prior to her being sent crashing into the wall more than 250m away... --- Upon witnessing Anak erupting from her waiting room, a sigh of profound exasperation escaped from Lero-Ros mouth. He had expected something like this to happen the moment he noticed the weapon in Baams possession was the ck March; he just didnt expect it to happen in the middle of the fourth round. He expected her to try and target Baam in the Residental Area, murdering him in the middle of the night or in-between Tests. Had this been a normal test, Lero-Ro could have immediately failed Anak, stripping away her status as a Regr and forcing her to retire to the Middle Tower. There, she would be hunted down and killed by members of the Royal Enforcement Division, as, despite calling herself Anak Jahad, she was not a legitimate Princess. The real Anak had died long ago, the Green April disappearing before her death and remaining undiscovered until earlier this morning. It wasnt difficult to imagine the circumstances behind the appearance of a second Anak Jahad, so it was only a matter of time before the Jahad Empire tried to bury her existence. This had absolutely nothing to do with Lero-Ro, however, as his loyaltyy with his position as a Test Admin. He was not apdog of the Jahad Empire, and, so long as he was a Test Admin, he wasmitted to following the rules established by the Guardians. With that in mind, he pulled up his terminal and was about to teleport into the arena, his finger pausing less than a centimeter from the button as he stared in awe at the scene ying out below... --- Though he wasnt aware of what he had done, Baams subconscious seemed to understand that he hadpleted his objective. The golden aura shrouding his body began to fade away, reced by a startling amount of blood erupting from various parts of his body. Most of his muscles had been torn by pushing his body far beyond its limits, and, though his bones hadnt broken, quite a few of them had fractured from the strain. Most notably, however, was the injuries he had sustained to his bodily organs, his heart straining madly as blood began to slowly fill his lungs and skull. With blood pouring from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, Baam ended up copsing atop Rachels body. This created a rather gruesome sight, causing the blonde-haired woman to turn whiter than a ghost, but, rather than push him away, she actually embraced Bams body, gently caressing his hair as she uttered, "Go to sleep...this is all just a bad dream..." before staring nkly at the ceiling... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Anak has gone berserk o_o...,The power of an Irregr protagonist...,Its all just a bad dream ( ? ?? ?)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1702 Reprieve

Chapter 1702 Reprieve

Following the outburst of Baams power, the best way to describe the atmosphere in the arena was stunned silence. Even Endorsi, a Princess of Jahad, and Khun, a descendent of one of the Ten Great Families could hardly believe what they had just witnessed. It wasnt until Laure very openly asked, "Where the hell is the Test Administrator?" that everyone else seemed to return to their senses. As if in response to the mans question, Lero-Ro appeared out of thin air, an unhappy expression on his face as he replied, "My apologies, Regrs. I, too, was caught off guard by this unexpected turn of events..." While exining the situation, Lero-Ro surveyed the state of the arena, suppressing a sigh when he nced at the two corpses with their skulls bashed in. Though killing other Regrs wasnt against the rules, it was still heavily frowned upon in most situations. This was especially true when the test was a bonus game, meaning there were no real consequences for failing to emerge victoriously. Resisting the urge to shake his head, Lero-Ro shifted his attention to where Baam was being held by Rachel for a brief moment before quickly looking towards where Anak was copsed. Thetter was bleeding rather severely due to the hole running through the center of her chest and exiting out beneath her right shoulder. Despite this, she had managed to crawl towards the rubble of the throne, passing out while hugging the Green April and ck March. Noticing Lero-Ros gaze, Khun was the one to break this silence, his expression severe as he said, "This incident cant go unanswered..." as he walked over to where Anak had copsed, a glistening knife in hand. Khun wasnt just going to let the girls steal his friends weapon, especially after she went out of her way to interrupt the game, but, before he could seek revenge, a figure appeared to block his path just as Lero-Ro was about to intervene. At the same time, two more figures appeared next to Baam and Rachel, one pulling out a staff to treat their injuries while the other released a uniquely peaceful yet suffocating aura. Though he was surprised by the sudden appearance of Gandr, Phae, and Vahn, Lero-Ro quickly recovered his senses as he inly advised, "Please do not make this situation moreplicated. I will allow you to treat their injuries, but any further action will result in a point reduction." Shifting his attention to the Test Administrator, Vahns expression remainedrgely unchanged as he calmly stated, "I will take possession of those two weapons and mediate this matter. Are there any objections?" In response to Vahns inquiry, Endorsi, still holding her gut, was the one to answer, "As a Princess of Jahad, those weapons should be entrusted to me. The Thirteen Month Series isnt something that is supposed to fall into the hands of others." Turning to face the slightly hunched over Princess, Vahns expression immediately became stern as he inly stated, "No. I will not allow others to take advantage of this incident. When everything is settled, I will return those weapons to their rightful owners." Feeling the pressure on her body begin to increase, Endorsi clenched her teeth in frustration, her ghostly eyes seeming to glow with increasing intensity. Fortunately, before she could do something she was bound to regret, Lero-Ro calmly stated, "Very well. Though it is unorthodox, I can tell that you hold no malicious intent towards either of the parties involved in this incident. However, if you have not reached an agreement by the end of the Position Test, I will require that both weapons be returned to their original owners." Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn turned toward Phae and ordered, "Retrieve the two weapons and treat the girls injuries..." before looking towards Gandr and adding, "Gather those who cannot move on their own. Phae will treat them after she is finished dealing with our little friend there..." With his orders issued, Vahn moved at a slow and steady gait towards his waiting room, stopping after a few steps to observe Khun and advise, "Those who forget themselves and allow hatred to blind them are fated to experienced misfortune..." Hearing Vahns words, Khun shifted his gaze away from Anak, his expression bing intense as he asked, "Did you know this was going to happen?" Rather than respond to the heated youths words, Vahn just continued along his path in silence, his aura slowly receding until even his presence seemed to disappear. This left Khun feeling even more resentful, but, knowing there was little he could do against the three monsters, he forced himself to calm down before going to Baams side... --- With both the Crown and the throne being destroyed, the Crown Game ultimately ended without a winner. This left quite a number of people dissatisfied but there wasnt really anything they could do to repeal the decision. In the end, they simply epted the points handed out aspensation before retiring to their assigned rooms. Though Phae had treated most of the wounded, even restoring the eye of the masked woman, the Test Admins had given all the Regrs three days to recuperate. After that, they would be sorted into one of five sses based on the Positions the Admins thought best suited each person. From that moment onward, they would spend thirty days learning both the ins and outs of their assigned Position and how it covered the various strengths and weaknesses of others. When everything was said and done, only those who had qualified to move up the Tower would be given the right to move on to the 3rd Floor. Everyone else would be forced to retire to the Middle Tower, denied the opportunity to retake the test. To further increase the pressure ced on each of the Regrs, there were a limited number of slots for each Position, so, even if you were just a little weaker than someone who had passed, you could only me your bad luck for not being chosen. --- Unconcerned about whether or not he would pass the Position Exam, Vahn was silently meditating within his room when a gentle *pitta pon*, the sound of the doorbell being rung. He already knew who was standing outside, so, without having to check the disy showing the exterior corridor, he picked up the nearby remote, unlocking the door with a simple button press. Like something out of a sci-fi movie, the sound of pressure being released could be heard as the door quickly slid into the wall with a mechanical hiss. On the opposite side, Gandr could be seen with a cheeky grin on his face, while, behind him, a rather frustrated looking girl with brown hair and green skin could be seen clenching her dress. While everyone else had received marypensation following the failure of the Crown Game, Anak, alone, had been penalized quite severely. She had been fined 5000 points, effectively cing her into a point deficit due to Regrs only being allotted 1000 points upon receiving their Pocket. Under normal circumstances, Anak would have had her qualifications as a Regr revoked, but, due to the Crown Games status as a bonus test, she was fortunate to escape that fate. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to earn points early on, so, while everyone else was able to purchase supplies and eat their fill in the cafeteria, Anak was effectively forced to starve. She couldnt even afford a simple apple, and, if not for the charity of her former teammates and Phae helping to mend her dress, she would already be looking like a homeless vagabond... Reinforcing his image as a mischief-making with a hunger for battle, Gandr snickered mischievously before performing a half-bow and saying, "Good morning, Master. I brought someone who wanted to say something to you. Is that okay?" With a gesture of his hand, Vahn gave Gandr leniency to raise his head before shifting his gaze to Anak. This caused her to grind her teeth audibly, but, after several seconds of tense silence, she ultimately lowered her head and loudly eximed, "Im sorry! Please return my Green April!" Though her manners were greatlycking, Vahn surprised Anak quite a bit by calmly replying, "Very well. Just remember, if I catch you misusing it in the future, I will confiscate it once again." Following that simple statement, Vahn used his Telekinesis to retrieve the green hook resting near the corner of the room, returning it to the befuddled young girl. Vahn, or, more specifically Phae, had heard that Anak was even older than Endorsi. Despite this, she had the appearance of a young girl around 10-12 years old, albeit one with a height of 154cm and a startling weight of 140kg... Not sure how to respond after receiving her weapon so easily, Anak just stared nkly at the Green April until Gandr lightly nudged her arm and said, "I told you, right? You just have to be sincere and His Imperial Majesty wont mind lending you a hand. Now, isnt there something else you wanted to say?" Though she was momentarily confused by Gandrs words, Anak realized what he was implying after the boy inclined his head towards Vahn with a say it expression on his face. This caused her to feel slightly indignant, but, having recovered the Green April, she managed to restrain her anger as she bowed a second time and begrudgingly grumbled, "Thank you..." Further exacerbating her frustration, Anak could hear Gandr snickering at her side, but, fortunately, she didnt have to keep her head lowered too long as Vahn simply replied, "It was a small matter. I just hope you learned something from all this. Now, run along. If you need anything else, you may inquire from my vassals." Hearing Vahns perpetually calm tone, Anak wasnt quite sure how she should respond to the mans words. She got the impression he was trying to look out for her, but, after everything she had done, it didnt make sense for him to do so. Stranger still was the fact that she got the same feeling from the woman named Phae, and, to a lesser extent, the annoying Vanargandr to her left... Before she could mull over the incongruencies she was experiencing in her mind, Anak was brought back to awareness by Gandr saying, "Hey, we shouldnt loiter around here for too long. Master is a kind man, but we shouldnt impose upon him unless its necessary. Come on, lets get something to eat in the cafeteria. I dont really need points so Ill treat you this time around. You can always pay me back in the future so dont even think about refusing...!" Though he was originally going to pull the girl along by her hand, Gandr felt that would be going a little too far. He didnt want Anak to imprint upon him, so, after finishing with his words, he alighted from the room and gestured for her to follow. This left the girl feeling even more disconcerted, but, after a moments hesitation, she quickly chased after him with the Green April in her hands... Seeing the duo depart, Vahn pressed the button on his remote, locking the door and restoring the serene atmosphere that had been disrupted by their arrival. Now that they were gone, he closed his eyes once again, a golden hue coloring his surroundings as nine watery marbles, glistening with the same golden hue, began to orbit gracefully around his body... ---- Despite the childishness of the act, Gandr ended up turning the short journey to the cafeteria into a foot race. This was silently assented to by Anak, who, despite her small size, crammed a tremendous amount of power into a teenie-tiny package. This made her body so dense that she was harder than steel without any kind of physical reinforcement. Because of this, her bare feet left noticeable prints in the metallic corridor as she chased after him, her expression darkening as she failed to even get close, much less surpass, the cheeky Vanargandr... Without any suspense, Gandr reached the cafeteria before Anak, snickering with his hands behind his head as he remarked, "What took you so long?" With a visible tick mark appearing on her head, Anak looked like she was about to ignite the Green April, but, before she could make up her mind, Gandr turned his head away as if he had just noticed something. His fluffy ears began to twitch slightly, and, though the attack hade from his blind spot, he was able to easily evade the grasp of a fashionable woman wearing a golden pleated dress, a light brown vest, ck tights, and golden high-heels... Though she wasnt that surprised by Gandrs ability to evade her attack, Endorsi adopted a slightly pouty look as sheined, "Youre not supposed to dodge..." before shifting her gaze to Anak and asking, "By the way, why are you with this imposter...?" Hearing the way Endorsi had referred to her, Anak immediately released a hate-filled aura from her body, the atmosphere, quite literally, bing tense from the increase in pressure. Despite this, Endorsi showed absolutely no signs of difort, even cing her hand on her hip as she inly remarked, "Oh? Does the truth offend you...faker?" The moment she heard Endorsi call her another name, Anak became a green blur as she threw a full-powered punch towards the smiling Princess. Before the hit could connect, however, the two badges on Endorsis vest erged in an instant, blocking the punch and mitigating all the force behind it in an instant. This earned a slightly intrigued look from Gandr, but, with more pressing matters to attend, he quickly stepped between the two Princesses, catching Anaks follow-up attack with his bare hand while ring at Endorsi... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Emperor speaketh,Manners are important,Endorsi is just jealous that Anak is getting all the attention (UwU)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1703 I am The Path

Chapter 1703 I am The Path

Seeing Gandr protecting Anak, Endorsi couldnt help but scrunch up her nose slightly, hands on her hips as she said, "There is no reason to re at me. Everything Ive said is the truth. Anak isnt even her real name and she certainly hasnt earned the name Jahad. Everyone else has to put in a ridiculous amount of effort to obtain the blood of Jahad. That imposter got-" Without waiting for Endorsi to finish, Gandrs expression became even more severe as he stated, "I dont want to hear it. Im tired of hearing people me and resent others for circumstances beyond their control. Just because you chose to be a Princess of Jahad, that doesnt give you the right to look down on others just for being born. Stop being petty." Feeling like she had taken some kind of mental damage, Endorsi stumbled backward a bit, her face paling for a brief moment before she shouted, "Hey! Im just trying to warn you guys! I didnt want to see that stupid lizard get killed trying to act cocky! Pulling stunts like what happened during the Crown Game isnt going to help with her revenge! Dont be such a jerk, you fluffy-eared brat!" Following her outburst, Endorsi stamped her foot on the ground a few times, creating several cracks in the reinforced metal surface due to her high-heels. Then, with a loud hmph!, she turned around and stormed off with her hands balled into fists. Surprised by unexpected reaction, Gandr just stared nkly in the direction of Endorsis retreat as Anak remarked, "That woman has a screw loose inside her head..." Finding Anaksment rather amusing, Gandr issued a light snicker while shaking his head. Then, with a slightly serious expression on his face, he turned to face her and asked, "Are you okay...?" Feeling the same incongruous feeling as earlier, Anak frowned in response to Gandrs words, asking, "Why are you being so nice to me? What kind of game are you ying?" Though she didnt sense any hostility at all from Gandr and the rest of his team members, Anak felt it was strange how all three of them seemed to treat her kindly. It made her feel more than a little ufortable, her mind telling her to remain cautious despite her instincts telling her it was okay to trust them. In response to Anaks question, Gandr performed the characteristic ear flop of a Vanargandr, head tilted to the side as he asked, "Is there something wrong with being nice to people? My Master has always told me that we should do our best to help others. Unless it forces me topromise on my own integrity and ideals, I try to be nice to everyone I meet. There is already so much negativity in the world. Why add more?" Surprised by Gandrs words, Anak, once again, found herself at a loss as to how she should respond. She had already observed him getting along rtively well with several others so it didnt seem like he was trying to be deceitful. Despite this, she couldnt shake the feeling he was hiding something from her, almost like he was putting on an act to try and fool her. The only thing that didnt make sense about this was that there was simply no reason for him to do so, as, at his current level, Gandr could kill her without any effort... Further surprising the seriously confused girl, Gandr ced his hand atop her head faster than she could react, lightly caressing her dark-brown hair as he said, "You must have had it rough to be so fearful of trusting others. Dont worry, even if you cant fully trust me, I will still look after you when Im not fulfilling my other duties. You can also go to Phae if you need advice. She might be a little scary at times, but she always helps those who ask." With decades passing since thest time she had her head pat, Anak briefly turned statuesque in response to Gandrs unexpected action. It was only after he had finished speaking that she made a full recovery, her expression bing a deadpan as she smacked his hand away and asserted in a dull monotone, "Dont touch me. Im not a child." While shaking away the numbness from his hand, Gandr reacted with a light chuckle and a roll of the eyes before saying, "Im hungry. Lets go get something to eat." Though she didnt like being told what to do by someone much younger than her, Anak couldnt prevent her stomach from grumbling in response to Gandrs words. This caused her deadpan to be even more prominent, but, despite her best efforts, she was unable to prevent a very light blush from coloring her cheeks. It didnt help that Gandr immediatelyughed at her expense, his voice giving her a very strong urge to string him up and beat him... --- After several hours of silent meditation, Vahns concentration was once again interrupted by a soft *pitta-pon*. In response, he immediately expanded his domain to sense who was outside his door, his expression showing visible intrigue for a brief moment before melting into a mask of calm as he picked up the remote allowing entry into the room. Without showing any surprise at being let in so easily, the red-haired woman on the other side of the door stepped fearlessly across the threshold. Seeing the woman without her full-body tights on, an appreciative shimmer shed across Vahns eyes. If he had any preference at all, it would be that he always had a thing for red-heads, especially when they had wild and free-flowing hair. This woman, in particr, had characteristics very simr to Hephaestus, the key differences being that her hair was much longer and her bosom was slightly smaller. She even had an eye-patch covering her right eye due to having refused Phaes treatment during the Crown Game... Though he was feeling slightly reminiscent, Vahn didnt allow it to show on his face, inly stating, "Speak. Why have youe here?" As if nothing in the world could surprise or perturb her, the woman just ced her hands into the front pocket of her hoodie before casually replying, "I had noticed it before, but I wanted to confirm something. Tell me, how is it that you and yourpanions do not have a fate? I have tried seeing the paths around you several times, but all I see is darkness..." Vahn already had his suspicions, but, based on the womans words, he could easily intuit that she was a Guide, an exceptionally rare existence within the Tower. Since there were typically only two tribes associated with the Guide Position, Silver Dwarves and Red Witches, Vahn could assume she was a member of thetrer for rather obvious reasons. With that in mind, he habitually stroked his beard as he stated, "So my suspicions were correct...you are a Guide..." Without trying to deny it, the woman replied with a curt nod before answering, "I am Hwa Ryun, a member of the Red Witches. Though I have only recently started my pilgrimage, I am, indeed, one of the Towers Guides..." Sensing something wrong with the womans words, Vahn couldnt help but squint his eyes slightly, an action that resulted in Hwa Ryun paling slightly. Despite this, she made no attempt to avert her eye or flee, standing her ground in the hopes of ascertaining the truth. Though he got the distinct impression the woman was lying to him, Vahn decided against trying to pressure her, his expression rxing as he exined, "It is simple, Hwa Ryun of the Red Witch tribe. The reason you cannot see the path I walk is because I am the only one who can decide my path. I am not bound by fate nor destiny; I shape it through my words and actions...does that satisfy your curiosity?" Now with visible beads of sweat on what little of her brow was exposed, Hwa Ryun offered a smile in response before saying, "Youre a real monster...". Immediately afterward, however, she asked, "I wonder if you are willing to answer a few questions of mine? I can also answer anything you might be curious about. As an Irregr, Im certain you could benefit from the knowledge of a Guide..." Without denying the womans ims, Vahn casually nodded in response before pulling a chair out of his Inventory with a wave of his hand. This caused Hwa Ryun to gulp, but, rather than flee from the room, she smoothed out her rather in-looking skirt before taking a seat and asking, "What is your purpose? Why have you decided to climb the Tower?" Before answering the womans questions, Vahn produced a kettle from his Inventory, filling his cup with tea as he exined, "I will answer your questions. In exchange, you will also answer them. Im sure youve already noticed, but I have the ability to see through falsehoods and deceit. I might not be able to know what you are lying about, but I can tell when you are lying. Your ability to see the paths will not help you here, Guide. If you intend to y games with me, dont expect me to ignore it the next time I catch you altering the paths of others..." Understanding the meaning behind Vahns words, Hwa Ryuns eyes widened as she asked, "You can see the paths...?" Rather than answer, Vahn merely smiled in response to Hwa Ryuns question before adding, "If your question would not provide me with any new information, do not expect me to answer. Now, have you epted my terms?" Though she felt like she was walking into a trap, a known w of most Guides was that they were always inextricably drawn to things they couldnt see. They generally lived their entire lives with a certain level of surety, their ability to read the paths even revealing the circumstances of their own deaths. As a result, they neither feared nor tried to avoid their own death, epting everything as the machinations of fate, epting the unique role they had been given. After a brief moment of consideration, Hwa Ryun nodded her head, stating, "I ept." in a resolute tone. Finding the womans reaction rather amusing, Vahns smile became slightly more prominent as he answered, "My purpose is to reunite with my family and protect the things in life worth protecting. I climb the Tower, not to reach the top, but to ascend to a ce far higher. At your current level, you would not be able toprehend the truth of which I speak. All you really need to know is that the Tower is actually a very small ce, a construct fundamentally incapable of holding something like me..." Sensing no falsehoods in Vahns words, Hwa Ryun could only hide the trembling of her hands by keeping them firmly tucked within her front pocket. She got the impression that Vahn wasnt really moving up the Tower, merely passing through. His destination was far beyond the reach of others, far beyond the petty squabbles and political struggles within the Tower... Suddenly feeling as though her throat was very parched, Hwa Ryun instinctually looked toward the pot of tea only to find a cup literally manifesting in front of her. This caused her to feel even more nervous as she couldnt evenprehend how Vahn was able to aplish these feats. He didnt seem to be manipting the surrounding Shinsu; the objects just manifested out of thin air with no warning whatsoever. After consuming half the contents of her cup in a single gulp, Hwa Ryun couldnt stop herself from exhaling a cool sigh. The tea Vahn had provided for her was some kind of honey-mint tea, its taste both sweet and refreshing. It also seemed to have a mysterious calming property, as, immediately after consuming the fragrant substance, Hwa Ryun felt as though all her tensions were gradually fading away. Without worrying that the tea was poisoned, Hwa Ryun finished the contents of her cup before deciding to uphold her end of the agreement, exining, "My purpose is to orchestrate a series of events that lead to the downfall of Jahad. My reason for climbing the Tower is to Guide those with the capability to kill the King. The Tower has stagnated under the rule of Jahad and the Ten Great Families. Rather than climb to the top, they have sealed the path, perverting the purpose of the Tower for their own selfish gain. Even if I am ultimately fated to die before the journey hase to an end, I will continue walking this path in the hopes that the False God is forced from his throne." Since she could have easily concealed the full extent of her purpose and goals, Vahn couldnt help but feel a little surprised by Hwa Ryuns bold statement. It took a considerable amount of restraint for him not to burst outughing, not because he thought her ims were ridiculous, but because it sounded like a lot of fun. He had already heard a bit about Jahad and the Ten Great Families during Gandrs discussion with Endorsi, so, even if he didnt really care about their politics, it was only ever a matter of time before Vahn went to war against the Jahad Empire... Noticing the glimmer of excitement contained within Vahns eyes, Hwa Ryun could feel her heart beating at an inordinately fast pace. She couldnt see the path he was walking, but her instincts told her the man before her was going to flip the Empire on its head. Her original purpose had been to manipte events so that Baam was given proper motivation to climb the Tower, but, now that she was sitting before this man, The Sage Dragon Emperor, Hwa Ryun was experiencing doubt for the first time in her life. Eager to learn the truth, Hwa Ryun could hardly contain herself as she stared directly into Vahns eyes and asked, "Do you intend to kill Jahad and the Ten Great Warriors?" Though it was a question he wasntpelled to answer, as he already knew what Hwa Ryuns response would be, Vahn couldnt fully restrain his excitement, smiling as he stated, "The Aldrnari Empire has always ced the people before everything else. We will never turn a blind eye to the injustices others ignore. If the Jahad Empire is as corrupt as it seems...we will burn it to the ground and open the path for all those who would follow after." Feeling the aura radiating from Vahns body, Hwa Ryuns heartbeat reached a crescendo. She wasnt able to exin it, but something about the manpelled her to believe in his words. It was like he knew he would seed, not that he thought he might, but that it was something that was bound to happen; an absolute. There was no arrogance or hubris within his words, just sheer, uncorrupted, force of will... Guides were supposed to act as the torchbearers that led others through the darkness, showing the way towards the future and subtly influencing its oue. Hwa Ryun considered herself a meager me that was meant to be extinguished once it had fulfilled its purpose. Vahn, however, gave off the impression simr to the stars, bathing the world in their light during the day and guiding those who knew how to read them during the night. Though the fables imed it was impossible to reach the stars, no matter how far you stretched out your hand, Hwa Ryun felt it would take very little effort to reach out and touch the one sitting right in front of her. Despite this, his luminance didnt diminish in the slightest, bathing her in its radiance and inspiring a feeling she never felt before: hope. She was not afraid of death, far from it, but there was a tiny voice in the back of her mind telling her that, if she following this guiding light, even the fate of the Guides could be altered... The moment that thought crossed her mind, Hwa Ryun recalled the suffering of her sisters and the purpose she had been given. She was meant to guide the Child of Destiny, but, as none of the paths had previously intersected with Vahn, she could no longer be absolutely certain of the future. What she did know was that the man in front of her was guaranteed to shape the future of the Tower, so, without any hesitation, even ignoring the fact she was wearing a skirt, Hwa Ryun kneeled down, her head lowered as she asserted, "My God...my Emperor..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gandr is a sly shota (OwO)...,Vahn and his red-head fetish...,The guiding light the illuminates all paths...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1704 Decisiveness : Dubiety

Chapter 1704 Decisiveness : Dubiety

Seeing the familiar notification within the system, it took restraint Vahn didnt know he had just to prevent his brow from twitching. Vahns first instinct was to simply refuse, but, after traversing three Records, he knew the futility of such actions. Thus, after staring at the top of Hwa Ryuns head for several seconds, he epted the notification whilst saying, "We shall see...stand up..." Though she didnt understand the meaning contained withing Vahns words, Hwa Ryun stood up and faced him with the same conviction she showed upon first crossing the threshold of his room. Guides never questioned or doubted the path they walked, as, the moment they began fearing for their own lives, all paths would be unknown to them. Seeing thepleteck of hesitation in Hwa Ryuns actions, Vahns smile became imperceptibly wry thanks to his neatly trimmed beard. Then, after gesturing for the woman toe close, Vahn extended his hand, cing his palm over her eyepatch as he said, "If you truly wish to follow this path, I forbid you to ever tell me a lie. In exchange, I will carry your burdens so that it will be easier for you to follow..." As Vahn was speaking, Hwa Ryuns left eye opened wide as a visible scar and a rather gruesome cut appeared across the surface of his eye. At the same time, she felt an exceptionally prickly sensation beneath her eye patch, followed by an intense heat that, despite feelingparable to a lump of hot coal, didnt cause any pain. Though he had lost it upon his departure from Danmachi, Vahns experience with [Wound Transfer] allowed him to emte its effects if he really wanted to. He got the impression that Hwa Ryun was still a little dangerous at the moment, so, with her having already be his Believer, he wanted to increase her Faith to deter her from doing anything suspicious like arbitrarily using his status as her God to justify her actions... Retracting his hand, Vahn covered his own injured eye for a brief moment, holding it there for less than three seconds before removing it to reveal an uninjured eye. These actions caused Hwa Ryuns Faith to increase from 93 to 208 in an instant, as, even without him exining, she could see it by observing her own path. With a smile spreading across her face, Hwa Ryun emted Phaes bow near-wlessly, her earlier trembling nowhere to be seen as she answered, "I swear by my status as Guide that I will never tell a lie. You are my God, the one who will open the path forward for everyone. Betraying your trust is the same as abandoning my purpose and my most deeply held desire. Should youmand it of me, I would happilyy down my life knowing my dream will one day be actualized." Seemingly inspired by her own words, Hwa Ryuns Faith took another substantial leap,pelling Vahn to simply ignore it as he rebutted, "I do not require others to die and make sacrifices on my behalf. A true Emperor bears the burden of his people, not forces his own upon them. These words might not resonate with you right now, but, when the timees, you will know the true meaning contained within." Raising her head to face Vahn, Hwa Ryun saw the same resolute light that had inspired her to follow him moments prior. This caused her heart to begin palpitating rapidly, almost as if someone had injected a dangerous amount of adrenaline directly into her chest. She began to feel a shortness of breath and a bit muddleheaded, but, rather than stand so she could breathe more easily, Hwa Ryun feltpelled to keep her head lowered in the presence of her God. Feeling like he had recklessly picked up someone troublesome, Vahn decided to take advantage of his newfound status within her mind, ordering, "For now, you will continue with your original duties. If there is something you need, consult Phae beforeing directly to me. Though I am not againstpany, it would be troublesome if I allowed people to approach me freely." Understanding the truth contained within Vahns words, Hwa Ryun lowered her head onest time before rising to her full height. The sudden rush caused her to teeter slightly, but, before she could fall over, an invisible force momentarily locked her in ce. This caused her smile to be even more prominent, but, remembering the words of her God, she quickly alighted from the room with newfound purpose present in her steps... --- While Vahn had been busy dealing with his newfound Believer, Phae and Gandr had been loitering about in Anaks room alongside Shibisu and Hatsu. Phae was helping Anak to style her hair, earning a surprisingly timid response from the girl whenever the boys gave her apliment. As for Gandr, he was currently driving both Shibisu and Hatsu crazy by winning nearly every single hand of Five-Card Draw they had yed. When the game first started, it was just to have a bit of fun, but, as was often the case when any kind of gambling was involved, things got heated when Shibisu began betting points. As a result, he had already lost nearly three hundred points in half-an-hour, enough to purchase three days worth of luxury meals from the Commissary. With visible sweat pouring down his face, Shibisu focused his somewhat beady eye on the brat sitting across from him as he said, "Ill take two..." In response to the mans words, Gandr disyed his toothy grin as he rebutted, "So long as its from the top this time. You wouldnt want to lose an additional ten points by getting discovered cheating once again~." Hearing Gandrs statement, Shibisus expression darkened quite a bit, a defeated look spreading across his face as he muttered, "Fold..." in a sullen voice. With his excellent hearing, Gandr could easily make out Shibisus words, bursting intoughter at the mans expense. This caused the man to visibly dete while, at the side, having folded most of his hands, Hatsu just stared nkly as he said, "Cheaters never prosper." before sipping his cup of green tea. Fed up with the two swordsmen seated across from him, Shibisu threw himself back, arms sprawled out as he eximed, "Ahhh! Why cant I win even one hand!? Please tell me youve been cheating! My luck cant be this bad, can it!?" Flopping his ears to the side, Gandr stared at Shibisu as if he was looking at an idiot, inly stating, "People with bad luck dont end up partnered with a Princess of Jahad and a Master Swordsman on their first day of climbing the Tower. You just suck at gambling when youre not allowed to cheat." Though Gandrs first words deeply resonated with Shibisu, his follow-up statement caused his face to morph into a perfect deadpan as he retorted, "Im never gambling against you again..." Finding Shibisus words rather amusing, Gandr snickered at the mans expense before looking over at where Anak was seated in front of a mirror. There was a very light blush coloring her cheeks, and, though it would fade away the moment she caught someone looking, a happy smile could be seen on her face as happily dangled her feet within the chair. Sensing someones gaze, Anak shifted her focus away from her hair, meeting Gandrs gaze within the mirror. Her smile immediately faded away, but, when she saw the annoying boy smile back at her, Anak was unable to resist the urge to avert her eyes, muttering, "My room isnt a ce people can just gather..." in a voice that wasnt intended to be heard. Though she could have pretended not to hear, Phae giggled in response to Anaks words as she quickly fixed the girls hair into a small ponytail. It was the style that suited her the most due to her neatly trimmed bangs and the way her fringe perfectly framed her face. It was also the style that put the biggest smile on Anaks face so Phae decided to tie her hair up with a blue ribbon as she softly stated, "You cannot climb the Tower alone, Anak. Even my Lord must rely on others every now and then so do notment the opportunity to make friends. Your burdens will be that much lighter if you have people to share them with." To punctuate her words, Phae fastened the ribbon into a neat bow, smiling at the girl through the mirror before adding, "It suits you..." in a motherly tone. Seeing Phaes expression through the mirror, Anak felt the same incongruous feeling as before, her mind screaming at her that something was wrong despite a feeling of warmth spreading through her chest. She didnt really know how to describe it but it was like Phae was being both sincere yet deceitful at the same time... Pulling her legs up into the chair, Anak hugged her knees before hiding her face and saying, "I want to be alone. Get out of my room..." in a somber tone. Understanding the girl likely had a lot to work through, Phae didnt want to push her too hard, so, while lightly patting her back, she whispered, "Okay, Anak...when you feel better, you can find me in my room or in themissary..." With that said, Phae retracted her hand from the girls back, shifting her attention to the trio sitting in the middle of the room as she said, "It seems Anak isnt feeling well at the moment. If you want to y, please move to another room." Being able to read between the lines, Shibisu and Hatsu both rose to their feet without a fuss, but, as someone who was supposed to be a little brash, Gandr asked, "Oh? Did you get a tummy ache from trying topete against me during lunch?" Hearing Gandrs words, Anak balled her hands into fists but ultimately kept her face hidden. She didnt want to see her own expression right now as she wasnt quite sure to express what she was feeling at this exact moment. Fortunately, she wasntpelled to respond as Phae promptly gave Gandrs head a chop whilst saying, "Dont be nosy. Didnt His Imperial Majesty tell you not to bully girls? Do I need to tell your big sister youve been a bad boy?" Though it was all part of the act, Gandr couldnt stop the hairs on his ears and tail from standing on end when he heard Phaes final words. His training with Fenrir had given him a rather unique form of trauma, as, due to his own insistence, she treated his Vanargandr form like her younger brother; one she was very strict with. Noticing Gandrs reaction, an exceptionally sly grin morphed Shibisus face into one of vindictive amusement as he remarked, "Whats this? This brat is scared of his big sister? Maybe I should start keeping a record of his bad deeds so she is properly informed~." Hearing Shibisus remark, both Phae and Gandr looked at the man as if he was seeking death. This caused his face to immediately pale, especially when Phae added, "Fenrir can be very protective of her little brother. Though she isnt afraid to discipline him, she wont tolerate others trying to bully or pressure him. If you somehow manage to upset her, even my Lord wont be able to protect you from her wrath..." Though he hadrgely been joking, Shibisu wrote Phaes words across his heart, swearing to never offend the woman named Fenrir. Gandr was already ridiculously powerful so it wasnt difficult to imagine the big sister he was scared of being even more monstrous. With that in mind, he offered an awkward smile in response to Phaes words, replying, "Ill keep that in mind, Ms. Phae...thanks..." Nodding her head in approval, Phae then grabbed Gandrs hand and led the group out of the room so that Anak could dpress. She was clearly the anti-social introverted type, so, while she could tolerate the presence of others to a certain extent, she wasnt mentally equipped to remain in their presence for long periods of time. This was likely rted to her traumatic past, so, while she wanted to help the not-so-young girl, Phae knew there was only so much they could do for her in a single day... --- With everyone else having departed her room, Anak waited for several minutes before tentatively raising her face to view her own reflection. There were noticeable tear stains coloring her skin a slightly darker shade of green, but, rather than resentment or anger, she noticed confusion and a mix of other emotions within her eyes. This served to further increase her confusion,pelling her to retreat beneath the safety of her nkets before dimming the lights. The darkness had always brought her a certain feeling of security, so, while it did little to help with her tumultuous mental state, she was eventually able to calm down enough to get some sleep... Just as Anak felt memories of her past begin to resurface, amon urrence whenever she was on the verge of sleep, a crimson hue spread across her face as a loud grumbling emanated from her stomach... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is about to start hearing Hwa Ryuns prayers in the middle of the night xD...,Trying to cheat against a person whose perception is thousands of times more refined than your own...,Stomach be like, "I demand sustenance~!") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1705 Placemen

Chapter 1705 cemen

With their three-day breaking to an end, Vahn, Phae, and Gandr had gathered inside arge lecture hall alongside the other remaining Regrs. They had all been informed on their Pockets earlier that day to gather, so, after enjoying a rather lively breakfast, everyone slowly migrated to the room in order to learn about the Positions they had been assigned. Since the Admins had yet to arrive, Vahn spent his time silently analyzing each of the Regrs who had passed through the first series of Tests. As for Phae and Gandr, the former just sat silently at his side with a smile on her face while thetter, having be friends with most of the Regrs, was asking Khun, "So, Baam is still unconscious?" Though he wasnt particrly fond of anyone in the Empires Team, Khun was sensible enough to understand there was no merit in making enemies. Thus, after interacting with Gandr during several meals, he had slowly be more sociable with everyone in the formers social circle. In response to Gandrs question, Khun released a tired sigh before answering, "The medical staff has said theres nothing wrong with him. He just hasnt woken up..." Since Phae had already taken a look at Baams condition, confirming there was nothing wrong with him, Gandr didnt press the issue too much. Instead, he just offered an awkwardly cheerful smile as he said, "Cheer up. That Baam kid is pretty special. Im sure hell pull through soon so dont let this incident get you down." Though he wanted to believe in Gandrs words, Khun couldnt prevent another sigh from escaping his lips before replying, "I hope that is the case...Baam is one of the few people I can call a friend. If he doesnt wake up soon, Im not sure what Ill do..." Feeling slightly troubled by the mncholy in Khuns tone, Gandrs smile became somewhat wry as he turned to fact Vahn. This earned him a casual smile from thetter, who, having heard the entire conversation, simply replied, "Once this conference is over with, Ill head over and take a look. Now, stay focused. It looks like the Admins are about the arrive." Beaming in response to Vahns words, Gandr turned back to face the confused Khun, his tone filled with an infectious vigor as he said, "Everything will turn out fine once Master gets involved. Lets all go visit Baam together once this is all over~!" Khun wanted to remark that Gandrs faith in his Master was without merit, but, considering who they were talking about, it was difficult to make such a im. He had no idea how capable the Sage Dragon Emperor truly was, only that he seemed capable of doing pretty much anything. This was constantly attested to be both Gandr and Phae, almost as if they were trying to cement the idea in everyones minds... Deciding there was no reason to argue, especially since the Emperor might actually be able to help Baam, Khun just nodded in response. Then, as if lending veracity to Gandrs ims, a group of three Rankers entered the room alongside Administrator Lero-Ro; just as the Emperor had ordained... --- While his Admin Assistants moved to take their seats, Lero-Ro moved to the central lectern that was located at the very front of the room. Behind him, a digital ckboard immediately lit up, and, after everyones attention was focused on him, he opened by saying, "Good morning, Regrs. Though it seems our young friend has yet to awaken, I hope everyone else was able to enjoy thest three days. It might not have been a long break, but it should have given you plenty of time to familiarize yourself with the facilities and form a few personal connections. Remember, even Jahad himself had the aid of Ten Great Warriors and a vast army of natives during his ascent up the Tower. If you want to forge your own legend, you will need to find strong allies who are willing to shoulder the burden alongside you." Hearing Lero-Ros words, the Regrs who had spent their time avoiding the petition began to look a little nervous. As for the rest, specifically therge group that had gathered near the back of the ss, they all had confident smiles on their faces. This was especially true for a certain boyish Vanargandr, who, noticing Lero-Ros gaze shift to him, rubbed the back of his head while snickering mischievously. Returning a smile of his own, Lero-Ro motioned towards the disy behind him as he said, "Now then, allow me to exin the next Test in greater detail. As many of you are well aware, we analyze the data of each Regr from the moment they enter The Floor of Tests. Using this data, our staff of qualified Rankers get together to determine which Position is best suited for everyone. Some of you might qualify for multiple Positions. However, for the duration of your stay on the 2nd Floor, it is required that youplete the curriculum that has been assigned to you..." Following Lero-Ros statement, the disy behind him turned a hazy gold color as five columns of names showed up. Then, before anyone could ask questions, Lero-Ro exined, "Though it would surprise me to learn there are people who are unaware of this, I will briefly exin the five primary Positions mostmonly associated with Regrs climbing the Tower. The first, and, ording to many, most powerful position is that of the Fisherman. They are chiefly responsible for disarming and defeating enemies using powerful reel inventories. Because of this, they are both the vanguard and primary attackers within many parties, constantly fighting on the frontlines or taking individual activity to secure objectives..." During Lero-Ros exnation of the Fisherman Position, the disy behind him had periodically changed to show many different people wielding needles, hooks, and swords. Many of these were ced into peculiar artifacts that seemed to float around the individuals, likely Reel Inventories if the literal reels ced at the ends were anything to go by. What Vahn found most interesting is the fact there were multiple weapons ced within these Inventories, and, based on their small size, it was safe to say there was some kind of spatialpression integrated into the peculiar device... With his exnation of Fishermenplete, Lero-Ro pressed a button to change the disy, this time showing various powerful and muscr figures wielding spears. It was pretty self-exnatory what their Position was, but Lero-Ro still patiently exined, "The next Position, often supporting the vanguard from a distance, is the Spear Bearer. They generally focus onnding heavy blows on the targets that have been distracted by the Fisherman, but, throughout the Towers history, there have been numerous Spear Bearers who were exceedingly proficient at close-rangebat..." Since the duty of a Spear Bearer didnt require much exnation, Lero-Ro quickly moved on to the next category, his face lighting up as he exined, "Next is the Position known as the Light Bearer, my personal favorite and the Position I am best known for. There are many ces within the Tower that light cannot reach so it is the duty of the Light Bearer to illuminate the darkness, collect battle data, and convey it to the members of their team. Because of this, they are often the leaders of the team,manding the battlefield while manipting versatile Lighthouses to monitor the situation and protect their allies..." Based on the massive grin on Lero-Ros face, it was easy to see how much he favored his Position as a Light Bearer. Unfortunately, this wasnt a seminar to discuss the pros and cons associated with the Position, so, after a quick button press, he went on to exin, "Often working in tandem with the Light Bearer, the next Position is known as the Scout. As the name implies, they are responsible for observing the enemys movements, investigating routes ahead of the team, and using Observers to feed information back to the Lighthouse. In niche situations, they will fight alongside the Fisherman, targeting various weak points using their precision strikes and high-speed maneuvers..." Though the Scout was one of the more versatile and intensive Positions, only people who had been Scouts for a long period of time could exin the specifics. All that could really be said was that it required the keenest senses and an inordinately refined instinct. Those without these things would notst for very long, as, even more so than the Fisherman that fought on the frontlines, Scouts had the most dangerous job of all. Since there would be professionals instructing each of the Regrs in their Positions, Lero-Ro didnt waste time exining the finer details. Instead, he simply pressed the button his remote, changing the disy as he added, "Thest position, Wave Controller, controls Shinsu to assist in battle, often using powerful support skills to aid allies and powerful ranged attacks to defeat enemies. Though it is said that Fisherman is the most powerful Position, there is no arguing that Wave Controllers have the greatest firepower and versatility. They are known to dominate the battlefield, and, though they generally require the protection of the Light and Spear Bearers, there have been quite a number of Wave Controllers that specialized in body reinforcement..." With his summary of each Positionpleted, Lero-Ro pressed his remote one final time, restoring the disy to the five original columns. Each listed a specific Position at the very top, followed by a number in brackets. Beneath this, a list of the presumed candidates for each Position could be seen, some containing a designation as Best Seed next to them. Though the meaning of this was rather self-exnatory, one of the rather average Regrs, the boy with a horn protruding from the base of his skull, asked, "Sir! What does the Best Seed written beside some of the names represent?" Not expecting someone to ask such a question, Lero-Ro smiled wryly as he said, "Best Seed? Those with Best Seed next to their names have been evaluated to have the greatest potential for a given Position. These designations were decided after a considerable amount of deliberation, so, even if you dont agree with them, the decision cannot be reversed. Now, are there any other questions?" Though it looked like a few people wanted to argue, the serious expression on Lero-Ros face was more than enough to deter them. The only one who didnt back down was Khun, who, upon seeing Baams name under the Wave Controller Position, asked, "Pardon me, Administrator Lero-Ro. I want to ask about what will happen to the candidates who are currently absent. How will they be able to take the Test?" Shifting his attention to Khun, Lero-Ro stared at the boy for several seconds before answering, "The Position Test takes ce over a thirty day period. There are no penalties for failure to attend sses, only a risk that you will not have enough points to actually pass. As you can all clearly see, there is a number next to each of the Positions. This is the number of candidates who will be allowed to move up to the 3rd Floor following thepletion of the final exam. Those who fail will be forced to give up their status as Regrs." Dissatisfied with Lero-Ros exnation, Khun was prepared to defend his friend before his leg was suddenly kicked by Gandr. This confused the blue-haired boy until thetter pointed towards the direction of the seated Rankers and said, "There is a person missing." Though Khun was confused by Gandrs meaning, Lero-Ro smiled as he stated, "As expected of the boy who was selected as the Best Seed for the Scout Position. Yes, it is as you suspect: the teacher for the Wave Controller Position has yet to arrive. As a result, the seven candidates for the Position of Wave Controller are free to attend any of the other lectures or simply enjoy a free day. Once the teacher for the Wave Controller ss arrives, we will inform you through your Pockets." Understanding the meaning behind Lero-Ros words, Khun released a sigh of relief before briefly ncing towards the smiling Gandr. Thetter obviously noticed this, his smile growing to show off his teeth as the ears atop his head twitched happily... ---------------------------------------------- [Fisherman(6)] Best Seed: Anak Endorsi Cheonhwa Hong Deod Leo Clocker Dede Cancho Kon ... [Spear Bearer(6)] Best Seed: Ghost Rak Wraithraiser Hyun Seoung Alexay Amigocharz Erik Biyon Guun Pitzru ... [Light Bearer(3)] Best Seed: Ha Phae Stios Best Seed: Khun Aguero Agnes Best Seed: Michelle Light Leeron 3 Chung-Chung Levin ... [Scout(3)] Best Seed: Gandr Best Seed: Shibisu Hatsu Narae Seonwoo Palgyeon Katan Beckster ... [Wave Controller(3)] Best Seed: Vahn Aldrnari Mason Phonsekal Laure Hwa Ryun Hoh Lozeal Grey The 25th Baam ---------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gandr is a little social butterfly...,Light Bearers are OP,One of these Best Seeds seems out of ce (O w O)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1706 Irregular Performance

Chapter 1706 Irregr Performance

With the obvious exception of the Wave Controller candidates, everyone else was asked to follow one of the four Rankers present. They were meant to be the Position Instructors over the next thirty days, grading each regr and assigning points based on attendance, performance, and merit. Gandr, as a candidate for the Scout Position, ended up following after the same red-haired Ranker that had presided over the Deathmatch Test. His name was Quant Blitz, a descendent from a rather famous family within the Tower. They were one of the only families with the ability to easily convert Shinsu into mes, so, as could be expected, many of their members had fiery temperaments. A stark contrast to Quant, at least in temperament, Phae ended up in Administrator Lero-Ros ss. He seemed rather passionate about the Position of Light Bearer, but, while Quant had his students sprinting back and forth in arge training hall, Lero-Ro was patiently exining the ins and outs of being a sessful Light Bearer. Due to its significance as the teams center, often takingmand of the entire battlefield, Light Bearers had a tremendous responsibility. They needed to constantly be on their toes, gathering as much information about the terrain and any enemies as possible while directing each of their team members to where they needed to be. This required an extreme ability to multi-task, so, more often than not, the prerequisite to being a Light Bearer was being exceptionally intelligent. Despite his prodigious achievements, Vahn knew he wasnt actually that intelligent, at least when hepared himself to actual geniuses. Fortunately, he had a number of outstanding people he could always rely on, chief among them being Sis and Da Vinci. The former could effortlessly humble the most powerful supeputers in existence, and, though she had a propensity for the entric, Da Vinci wasnt known as an Omnipotent Genius without basis. One of the main skills required to be a sessful Light Bearer ended up being a proficiency withputernguages and hacking. Since Vahn could literally interpret thesenguages, he had an advantage over most from the very beginning. This allowed Phae to sitfortably within one of the practice Lighthouses that had been handed out to each of them, a casual smile on her face as her hands danced across a light-formed keyboard. Fortunately, even if Phae hadnt been extremely adept at interpretingputernguages, Sis was more than capable of interfacing with the Lighthouseswork. Though she was currently limited to the files provided to them by the Administration Office, Lero-Ro had informed them that, upon reaching the 20th Floor, all Lighthouses would interface with a muchrgerwork. By that point, Sis would have ess to most of the information publically avable within the Tower, and, so long as Phae, Gandr, or Vahn were nearby, she could even trespass encryptedworks in an instant. From Lero-Ros perspective, Phae was an absolute monster as a Light Bearer, as, not only was she able to type at speeds exceeding six-thousand words per minutes, her ability to multi-task could already put veteran Light Bearers to shame. Even more notable than that, however, was her almost instinctual ability to bypass firewalls, most falling as soon as she discovered them. As a result, she, or, more specifically, Sis, was able to hack into the protected files that the Administration posted to filter out the true prodigies among the other exceptional talents. Though they would normally only hear about it on the third day of lessons, each Position ss had a Special Test that, oncepleted, guaranteed the right to pass. For Spear Bearers, this generally involved hitting an elevated target at a distance of one kilometer. This was beyond the threshold of many E-Rank Regrs who had passed the 20th Floor, so, as long as they managed to hit the target seven times with ten spears, there was no reason for them not to pass. For Light Bearers, the Special Test required the candidates to gain ess to the same files that Phae had casually essed within an hour of being issued her Lighthouse. This surprised Lero-Ro a great deal as the only objectives he had assigned the ss were familiarizing themselves with the controls and performing basic searches. He had only briefly prefaced hacking and tracing during his lecture, so, while it wasnt umon for some people to get a head start, Khun being a good example, he had never seen someoneplete the Special Test without even knowing of its existence... --- While Phae was quickly bing Lero-Ros favorite pupil, Quant could be sweating slightly as he stared down at the heavily breathing Gandr sprawled out on the ground. Though he had a visibly annoyed look in his eyes, the Ranker was still able to manage an appreciative smile as he extended his hand towards the boy and remarked, "Youre incredibly fast, kid. Though there are still two other objectives youll need topete, Ill count this as partialpletion of the Special Test." Though he made a show of hesitating for a brief moment, Gandr ultimately epted Quants hand, rising to his feet with slightly droopy ears as he said, "I still couldnt beat the Instructor though. Ive never met someone who could move so quickly. Were you cheating?" Finding Gandrs remark humorous, even if thetter part gave him an urge to punch the boy in the face, Quant burst outughing. Then, after patting the friendly youth on the shoulder, he said, "Im even faster when I use Shinsu. Unfortunately, though Im pretty confident in my speed, there are a lot of Rankers faster than I am. The Tower is a big ce, kid, dont let your perception be limited by your personal standard." Feeling proud of himself for saying such sagely words, Quant gave Gandr another pat on the back, encouraging the boy to take a rest while he whipped the other Scout candidates into shape. They had been watching him and Gandr ying tag for thest hour, so, now that he was in such high spirits, Quant felt like giving his adorable students a little bit of love... Seeing the Instructor literally throwing balls of fire at the backsides of the candidates running too slow, Gandr couldnt help butugh before sprawling out on the ground. The seal on his body had an effect that reduced the replenishment of his stamina, so, for the first time in a long while, he was actually feeling exhausted. Rather than hate this feeling, however, Gandr enjoyed it quite a bit as it reminded him of his training days in the Record of Danmachi, back when he both worked hard and yed even harder... --- Though they could have returned to their rooms and gone about their own business, each of the Wave Controller candidates chose to linger within the lecture hall. They were all going to be in the same ss for the next month, so, at the suggestion of the effeminate man named Hoh, everyone decided to at least introduce themselves and share what they knew about the Position. To Vahns amusement, everyone seemed surprised when he also chose to stay back. This caused even Laure to open his eyes, poking his head out of the nket he used to enclose his body even during the Administrator Lero-Ros lecture. As for the rest, consisting of a rather beautiful woman named Rozeal, the ever-androgynous Hoh, a gloomy girl named Grey, and Hwa Ryun, they had a mix of reactions varying from intrigue, shock, fear, and adtion. Offering a polite smile in exchange for the not-so-polite stares, Vahn calmly exined, "Though I am the Best Seed, my knowledge of Shinsu is very limited. Being an Emperor does not mean I am all-knowing and without ws. As for the matter of etiquette, you need not concern yourself with such things, as, despite my status, you are not my subjects. Though I would advise against acting in a rude or abrasive manner, you are permitted to treat me as you would any other student." Before the others could even fully adapt to what Vahn was trying to convey, Laure didnt hesitate at all to ask, "Youre an Emperor, correct? Where is your Empire? How did you be so proficient at using Shinsu despite having limited knowledge of it?" Vahn had never been fond of being interrogated, but, out of consideration for his prior statement, he offered a rxed smile and answered, "I am the Sage Dragon Emperor who protect the Aldrnari Empire located far beyond the influence of the Jahad Empire and the Ten Great Families. As for my proficiency with Shinsu, it has less to do with the Shinsu itself and more-so my general mastery over the internal energy in my body. You are mistaken if you believe that Shinsu is the penultimate form of energy. What truly matters is yourprehension of the Laws and the strength of your Will..." To emphasize his point, Vahn held out his palm, manipting Creation Laws to create a statuette formed from a rainbow-hued crystal. This was enough to awe nearly everyone in the ss, but, as the most knowledgeable regarding Shinsu, Laure began to sweat slightly. It wasnt that difficult to create things with Shinsu, but, from what he could tell, Vahn hadnt used any Shinsu at all to create the phoenix-shaped statuette... Noticing the look in Laures eyes, Vahn took things a step further, this time manipting the Laws of Destruction to disintegrate the statuette as he stated, "Though I am often liberal when ites to sharing information, certain things require a price. As a member of the Phonsekal Family, this is something you should be well aware of, no?" Swallowing the words that had been on the tip of his tongue, Laure simply nodded in response to Vahns statement before saying, "Ill keep that in mind. If there is anything you want to know about Shinsu, I will do my best to exin it in detail." Surprising the man with matching dark-green hair and eyes, Vahn didnt hesitate to shake his head, his smile bing more prominent as he stated, "We have gathered like this to share information amongst each other, not exchange it between individuals. Im certain everyone here would benefit from your exnation, so, if you be so kind, please share with the ss." Though he got the impression he had been designated the status of a Substitute Teacher, Laure was too enticed by the promise contained within Vahns words to perform his favorite pastime. Thus, to the benefit of everyone within the lecture hall, he began to give a thorough exnation regarding Shinsu, starting with the basics of forming a Contract with the Floor Guardian... --- While listening attentively to everything Laure was saying, Vahn also took the opportunity to assess the rest of his ssmates. Each had unique qualities that made them special, but, unfortunately, the limitation of three people passing meant they were all but guaranteed to fail. None of them could hope topare against Laure, and, while Baam likelycked even basic knowledge regarding the nature and use of Shinsu, it was pretty clear at this point that the boy was the protagonist. Though he could probably make an argument to change Positions, Vahn found the idea of being a Wave Controller rather novel. This meant there was no suspense regarding who would be chosen to move on, as, even if something ended up happening to Laure and Baam, Hwa Ryun was more than capable of passing the Test. Knowing the other candidates were destined to fail, Vahn decided he would, at the very least, make things a little easier for them once they lost their status as Regrs. They would be allowed to live in the Middle Tower alongside other Regrs who had failed the Floor of Tests, so, while they might not have the chance to climb the Tower, they would still be able to increase their strength and make their lives a little easier. This was the least Vahn could do for them, so, while Phae would bear most of the burden, he could at least facilitate the free-sharing of information while they were gathered together like this... --- Understanding her Gods intentions, Hwa Ryun was unable to prevent an appreciative smile from spreading across her face. It was exceptionally rare for the power to also be benevolent, especially within the Tower where such traits were considered a weakness. Vahn, however, seemed to be able to turn that weakness into his strength, so, while she believed there was no advantage to helping the Regrs fated to fail, she did not question her Gods decision in the slightest... Noticing the womans gaze, Vahn briefly made eye contact with Hwa Ryun, earning a slightly more prominent smile from her in response. Thispelled him to sigh internally, but, rather than show any perturbation, he just gave her a polite nod of acknowledgment. Unfortunately, this seemed to be interpreted differently by the woman in question, as, immediately after his nod, her gaze became focused as she began inspecting each of the Regrs present within the room... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sis, once again, proving why she is Best Girl,Im fast a fuck booooiiii~!,What a novel concept, a Believer misinterpreting the will of their God (UwU)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1707 Rappor

Chapter 1707 Rappor

With the first day of lessonsing to an end, Gandr was walking alongside Shibisu and Hatsu as they made their way toward themissary. Their ss had finished a little earlier than the rest of the sses due to the special assignment they had been given by Quant: making ten friends before the end of the week. Scouts were meant to be skilled at gathering information, not just on the battlefield, but outside of it. They were required to be extremely sociable, as, more often than not, they were the ones sent to various locations in order to meet with people, exchange information, and transport goods. Scouts who were unable to perform these functions had an exceedingly difficult time finding teams, as, not only were they the most mon Position, they were considered by most to be the weakest. As an exception to the rule, Gandr wasnt too concerned about his future path. Instead, he had a smile on his face as he walked along with his hands behind his head, listening as Shibisu groaned, "Ahhh, my body isnt going to hold out if this keeps up. Whyd you have to rile that matchhead up so much, man?" Snicking in response to Shibisusint, Gandr just inly remarked, "This level of training is nothing. When I was learning swordsmanship, even losing limbs was a prettymon urrence. Youll need to work on your strength and stamina if you want to reach the 134th Floor and be a Ranker." Agreeing with Gandrs words, Hatsu nodded his head, his expression a lot more rxed despite theyer of sweat covering his brow. He had trained his stamina for years, so, while the training wasnt exactly easy, he was better off than most. Seeing the two swordsmen showing no real signs of fatigue, Shibisu released a tired sigh, rubbing his shoulders as he changed the subject and asked, "So, whats the deal between you and Anak? Do need some advice from your big brother?" Flopping his ears to the side, Gandr pretended not to understand what Shibisu was talking about, asking, "What do you mean?" Amused by his furrypanions reaction, Shibisu attempted to link his arm around the formers shoulder, a teasing smile on his face. Unfortunately, just as he attempted to lean some of his weight against Gandrs body, Shibisu phased through his body and fell to the ground,nding hard on his elbow. Inhaling sharply, Shibisu began furiously rubbing his elbow as he eximed, "You brat! Dont you know how to take a joke!? Jeez..." Ignoring Shibisus outburst, Gandr just stared nkly at the man before offering him his hand as he said, "There is nothing between me and Anak. She is pretty cute, but I dont have an interest in things like that right now. I just wanted to ease her burdens a little. Its pretty obvious how lonely she is and it never hurts to have more friends." Rising to his feet with Gandrs help, Shibisu continued to rub his arm for a bit as he said, "Yeah, you make a good point. I just thought there was more going on since you even helped to fix our teams issues following the Crown Game. A lot of people were pretty upset with her so thanks for helping patch things up. You and Phae are pretty amazing people..." As if he had only just remembered something, Shibisus expression became slightly lecherous as he spontaneously asked, "Oh yeah, whats the deal with Phae? Though she eats with everyone else, its pretty hard to approach her if youre a guy. Is there something going on between her and that Vahn fellow?" With his ears twitching slightly in response to Shibisus words, Gandrs expression darkened slightly as he fixated his gaze upon the man and said, "You shouldnt ask questions like that. Also, unless he gives you permission to call him like that, you shouldnt refer to my Master as fellow. He might not care about things like that, but it always annoys me a little when I hear people demeaning his status like that..." Holding his hands up in a gesture of surrender, Shibisu was sincere as he said, "Sorry. I didnt mean to upset you or insult your Master. I just wanted to ask the question that was on all the guys minds. Its not every day you meet a woman of Phaes caliber. Can you really me us for being curious?" Though he continued to stare pointedly at Shibisu, Gandrs expression and body rxed slightly as he nodded his head and said, "Its fine as long as its just curiosity. I dont think Phae even minds it when people stare at her. Just make sure you dont do anything stupid and I wont have anything to say about it. Phae can be very scary when shes mad so you only have yourself to me if you make her angry. Even my Master cant do much against her when she goes off the deep end." Recalling the scene of Phae casually smashing two Regrs with her hammer, neither Shibisu nor Hatsu doubted the veracity of Gandrs im. The former, in particr, had felt his skin crawl when Phae looked at him with her patented smile that didnt quite reach her eyes. She was very calm and poised most of the time, but, the moment you angered her, you would feel a biting chill spread through your body despite the surrounding temperature noticeably increasing... --- With time to kill before the other sses let out, Gandr ordered a substantial amount of food from the cafeteria, his portions taking up an entire section of the table everyone sat at together. Then, in the characteristic manner of a Vanargandr, he began devouring it at a pace that caused everyone in the surroundings to pale slightly. Noticing Gandrs teeth always became sharper whenever he was eating, a very young-looking girl wearing a baggy pink hoodie and dark pink skirt couldnt help but ask, "Gandr? Why do your teeth change whenever you eat?" Hearing someone call his name, Gandr continued chewing the food in his mouth as he turned his attention to the voices owner. There, he saw a girl who appeared to be around ten-years-old. She had blonde hair styled in a bob-pixie cut and gold eyes that resembled polished bronze. He knew who this girl was even before their Scout sses as she stood out quite a bit, not just because of her appearance but because of the red pot she always carried around in her backpack. After swallowing down his food with a loud gulp, Gandr offered a toothy grin to the young girl as he mused, "Very perceptive, Nare! As for the answer to your question, well, its pretty obvious, isnt it? Im a member of the Vanargandr tribe. Were the descendants of a wolf that was said to be able to devour the Heavens and swallow stars in its massive maw. Because of that, all Vanargandrs have an insatiable appetite that allows us to convert everything we eat into energy. Even if I devoured all the food in this cafeteria, I would still have room in my stomach for seconds! Shishishishi~." Though his words surprised a number of people, Nare seemed to have a slightly different view than everyone else, her expression turning slightly envious as sheined, "It must be nice...if I dont watch my weight, I be fat in an instant. Maintaining my womanly physique is a constant battle against the enemy known as calories..." As she hadnt really tried to conceal her words, everyone at the table turned their attention towards Nare, their expressions turning skeptical as Shibisu voiced everyones thoughts, saying, "I might not be an expert, but even I can see you have a long way to go before you can call yourself womanly. In fact, I think you might benefit from eating a little more..." Understanding what Shibisu was insinuating, Nares expression darkened in an instant as she stared at him with a look that could kill. Both of her parents were from races that were naturally petite, her mother being a member of the Golden Pixie tribe while her father was a Dwelfing. She had already experienced her growth spurt and was actually considered quite a beauty back in her hometown so it annoyed her to no end having people treat her like a child. Fortunately, she managed to meet a handsome man who could appreciate her beauty during the Deathmatch test. He had even agreed to be her Knight, protecting her from harm and pampering her whenever they had the chance to be alone. Thinking of her Knight, Nare managed to gradually calm herself down but not before she pointed her steak knife towards Shibisu, saying, "Youll never be popr with women if you say things like that." Feeling like he had suffered some kind of mental damage, Shibisu visibly flinched in response to Nares words. It didnt help that several others beganughing at his expense, the only exception being Hatsu since he didnt really show emotion. As for Gandr, he wasughing while shoveling food down his mouth, enjoying the constant entertainment he got while hanging out with these people... --- Though it didnt take that much effort, Phae was feeling a little fatigued after sitting in the same ce for nearly ten hours. The Lighthouse could grow to the size of a room or shrink small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, so, whenever a Light Bearer was essing its systems, they typically concealed themselves inside. Since they were capable of floating freely within a Shinsu field, Lighthouses could effectively be used to survey a battlefield while flying high above the danger. This was actually one of the reasons Spear Bearers were trained to hit targets in the air as one of the quickest ways to gain an advantage against an enemy team had always been to destroy their Lighthouse... While stretching her body, extending both arms up to ease some of the tension in her shoulders, Phae noticed several gazes immediately shift to her. This was something that took a little getting used to, but, after mastering what Da Vinci called the reapers smile, Phae had been able to deter most overtly lecherous gazes. Noticing two separate people approaching her, Phae shifted her attention to the Administrator, earning a disarming smile from the man as he said, "You performed exceptionally well today, Ms. Phae. At this rate, you are bound to be one of the greatest Light Bearers in the Tower. Being able to teach someone with your talents has been a great privilege." ying her part well, Phae giggled in amusement at Lero-Ros words,bing back her bangs out of practice and necessity before replying, "It should be my honor to have such a capable teacher. It might be the first day, but I can already feel my horizons expanding. Should I reach the heights you think me capable of, I will be sure to let everyone in the Tower know who introduced me to the path of a Light Bearer." Though it was a far cry from the bow she offered Vahn, Phae performed a polite genuflection upon thepletion of her words. She didnt miss the momentary wandering of the Administrators eyes, but, by the time she raised her head, Lero-Ros gaze had returned to her eyes. This was something else that Phae had gotten used to, so, after quickly fixing her hair, she mused, "It seems there are others seeking my attention. It has been a pleasure, Administrator Lero-Ro. I look forward to your continued guidance in the days toe." Having long noticed the presence lingering off to the side, Lero-Ro returned a polite nod before saying, "It is a shame there is only thirty days before sses end. With your talents, I feel motivated to teach you everything I know about being a Light Bearer. That would be favoritism, however, so I will be on my way to meet with other students. Have a pleasant evening, Ms. Phae." Finished with his farewells, Lero-Ro briefly shifted his attention to the young woman who had been waiting at the side. This smile on his face almost immediately faded into a more serious expression, as, despite the nominations for Best Seed traditionally belonging to the teacher, this particr girl had been nominated by the Director. To further exacerbate matters, her performance was barely up to standard, far from the Best Seed designation handed to her on a silver tter. Lero-Ro knew there was definitely something going on behind the scenes but his investigation had turned up more questions than answers. Still, he didnt want to be used of ying favorites, so, even if he didnt mean it, Lero-Ro offered a polite node to the young woman before saying, "I hope you have a pleasant evening as well, Ms. Michelle Light..." Returning a smile of her eye, Michelle, better known as Rachel, showed no visible signs that she was bothered by the difference in treatment between herself and Phae. Instead, she copied the bow she had witnessed moments prior, surprising both Phae and Lero-Ro by the near-seamless execution as she answered, "Thank you for your kind words, Administrator Lero-Ro. Though my skills are far from Ms. Phaes, I can feel myself improving steadily thanks to your patient tutge. Please take care of me tomorrow as well." Though he wasnt entirely sure of the reason, Lero-Ro felt an incongruous mixture of awkwardness and shame after hearing Rachels words. His intuition told him there was something wrong with the woman, but, despite his best efforts, he was unable to see through her. This was more than enough to tell him there was something amiss, but, even if that was the case, there wasnt really anything he could do about the situation unless Rachel was caught breaking some kind of rule. Quickly suppressing his emotions, a rxed smile spread across Lero-Ros face as he nodded his head and said, "With that kind of attitude, you are bound to improve greatly. Ill see both of you youngdies tomorrow at 7 AM, sharp. Now, if youll excuse me, I have other students to attend before they all wander off." With those parting words, Lero-Ro waved towards the girls before walking off with the same smile affixed to his face. His departure was monitored by both Phae and Rachel before thetter shifted her attention to the far more mature and beautiful woman standing across from her. For a very brief moment, a dangerous light shed across her eye, but, by the time Phae turned to meet her with a smile, it had vanished into thin air... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Cant touch this,Om nom nom nom,The problems that arise from being an attractive woman...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1708 Experience

Chapter 1708 Experience

Having returned to his room long before the other sses had let out, Vahn had been practicing his Shinsu control in ordance with the method demonstrated by Laure. This involved imagining the Shinsu as a massive sphere of water that formed around a mental image of yourself, ounting for both physical appearance and body position. From there, you wouldpress the sphere within your mind, and, assuming you held the image sessfully, a Baang of Shinsu would begin to form in the exact same spot you had imagined it. Though Vahn could effectively ignore the need for this exercise due to the existence of his domain, he couldnt deny there was merit in learning the proper method. It seemed that the Shinsu on the Floors actually worked topress his domain, so, the more he expanded it, the greater the strain on his body, mind, and spirit. This wasnt that much of an issue if he stayed put, but, the moment he began moving through the Shinsu field, the resistance against him would increase exponentially like a drag force. Fortunately, there were few people who couldpete with him when it came to mental imaging and perceiving the surrounding space. Vahn knew the purpose of the exercise was simply to create a mental awareness of the Shinsu in your surroundings, but, unlike most people, he already knew everything was just an amalgamation of some kind of energy. He had also spent a fair amount of time as a literal God of Space, Time, and Creation, so, rather than his original nine golden spheres of Shinsu, Vahn had practically turned the interior of his room into an observatory. There were more than a thousand bluish-white dots of various sizes gently pulsating in his surroundings, each acting in ordance to his intent. While it wasnt really suitable forbat, at least in its current state, Vahn could essentially create as many Baangs of Shinsu as he wanted. It took time to form each individual sphere, but, from the moment it had taken shape, Vahn could easily maintain each of the spheres due to his inordinately precise control. He was someone who could literally ount for the trillions of cells that made up a persons body, so, when it came to something like visualizing the cement of a thousand baangs, well, there was really noparing the two at all... Opening his eyes slowly and methodically, Vahn took in his surroundings for the first time since he had started his training. This caused a few of the baangs to twinkle, nearly copsing, but, with no other forces acting upon them, they were ultimately able to remain stable. Fortunately, even if a few did copse, he wouldnt need to worry about a chain reaction due to the propensity of the Shinsu to simply pop like a bubble before vanishing into thin air. Satisfied with the result he had achieved, Vahn decided to conduct one final test before moving to themissary to grab a bite to eat. This was obviously unnecessary, but, in order to sessfully reinforce the image he was trying to create, establishing a baseline for others expectations was one of the most important steps. Without moving a single muscle, Vahn expanded his domain like a bubble, enveloping the spheres of Shinsu before they had the chance to destabilize. They immediately turned golden in response to the invisible field generated by his domain, and, though the Shinsu contained within didnt increase, their golden luminance gave off the impression they were far more powerful than normal baangs... --- With Rachel asking if they could talk in private, Phae followed the young woman until they arrived in a vacant corridor. She was honestly a little curious about what kind of scheme the toxic woman was cooking up within her mind. The moment Rachel revealed her true nature was the exact same moment all her ns went up in smoke. Vahn, and, by proxy, Phae, and Gandr, might not be willing to punish someone who had yet tomit a crime, but, the moment they caught someone in the act, they would not hesitate to pass judgment. Unfortunately, it seemed like Rachels current objective was merely trying to ingratiate herself to others, turning to face Phae with a starstruck expression, smiling radiantly as she said, "Ms. Phae really is amazing. Not only are you beautiful, but your skill and talent would be enough to make even the descendants of the Ten Great Families green with envy. If I had even a tenth of your talent, I think I could reach the top of the Tower without issue...how unfortunate..." Though she started off simr to a bubbly fangirl, Rachel quickly adopted a mncholic expression towards the end of her statement. There was a genuine listlessness in her eyes, and, though it didnt change much, there was a very small ripple across her ever-steady aura. Immediately after that, she did her best to put on an apologetic smile as she emted Phaes action ofbing through her bangs and saying, "Sorry...I just..." Shattering whatever expectations Rachel might have had, Phae just giggled lightly in response to her little act before musing, "You might becking in other departments, but your acting skill is top-notch. With a few simple touch-ups and a bit of exercise, you could easily be a pop-star or an actress with skill like that~." Showing both practiced and genuine confusion in her expression, Rachel tilted her head slightly as she asked, "What do you mean, Ms. Phae? I dont understand..." Pulling out Da Vincis patented reaper smile, Phae sent shivers through Rachels body as she lightly squinted her eyes and remarked, "Youngdy, you might be able to fool normal people, but you are far from the point of being able to trick a member of the Imperial Court. I have dealt with schemers, corrupt nobles, and literal viins for hundreds of years. Ive even encountered a literal Goddess of Trickery, someone who had lived for hundreds-of-millions-of-years. Your skills are undoubtedly very impressive, but you are far too inexperienced to y this game with someone like me." With her face gradually paling in spite of her unwaveringly calm aura, Rachel continued pretending she had no idea what Phae was talking about. Tears began to well up in her eyes, and, after what seemed like an inordinate amount of effort, she was able to sobbingly reply, "I dont understand...I just wanted to ask for your advice...everyone seems to look up to you...I thought you would be nice to me as well..." Realizing she was dealing with quite the sociopath, Phaes smile faded awaypletely, reced by a serious expression as she said, "If you want to make friends, the only thing you ever needed to do was show sincerity. The reason people shun you is that there are times when you drop your little act without realizing it. This causes people to feel ufortable around you because, here in the Tower, everyone expects others to betray them. You also put a half-hearted effort into everything you do, convincing yourself youck talent so you refuse to even try..." Showing instantaneous anger in response to Phaes words, Rachel was about to scream at the top of her lungs before a gloved hang silenced her with a resounding p. This was enough to instantly change the character she was ying, but, for a very brief moment, Phae noticed the womans aura had be darker than pitch. It was like her aura had be a ck hole, swallowing everything in its surroundings and causing the world to appear ever-so-slightly darker. Though she was tempted to p the malice out of the woman, Phaes expression actually softened a little as she calmly stated, "Stop ming everyone else for your shorings. I once knew a guy who had absolutely no talent in the sword, but, after hundreds of years of tireless effort, he reached a point where he could, quite literally, cut through the concepts. You mightck talent, but, so long as you apply yourself, there are no limits to your growth. You could be as strong and beautiful as you like, you just refuse to put in the effort. Instead, you me the world and the people around you for things that have absolutely nothing to do with them, all while disdaining anyone who would dare treat you in a simr manner..." Despite the harshness of her words, Phae maintained a motherly smile and a gentle tone during the entirety of her speech. She genuinely wanted to stop Rachel from doing something she was bound to regret, so, before the venomous woman could retort, Phae pulled out what appeared to be a tiny jade marble, exining, "This is a rare medicine known as the [wless Jade Pill]. Purchase a mat or something from themissary and theny it out on your bedroom floor. After that, remove your clothes and then ingest this pill. It will cause you some difort, but this medicine has the ability to remove the impurities in a persons body. Once the process ispleted, you will be covered in a foul-smelling liquid, but, once it has been wiped away, your skin will be as smooth as jade. I want you to take it and reflect on everything I told you today. If you are serious about reaching the stars, stop slithering around like a green-eyed snake eager to strike anyone you perceive as being more fortunate than yourself..." Since Rachel hadnt epted the pill, Phae punctuated her words by tossing it directly at the young woman. After that, she turned around without another word, an exhausted sigh escaping her lips as she left the woman to brood alone within the darkening corridor... --- Though they had already finished their meals, most of the Scout candidates chose to remain in themissary. Their task of making ten friends limited them to just one other Scout candidate, so, in order toplete their objective by the end of the week, they needed to convince Regrs in the other sses to put down their names. Noticing members of the other sses beginning to file in, several of the Scouts seated around the table immediately rose to their feet in order to intercept the migrating group. Gandr, Shibisu, and Hatsu, however, just stayed in ce, as, if the previous days were any indicator, it was only a matter of time before their usual group congregated gathered. Even without Hatsu shifting his gaze with a troubled expression on his face, the subtle twitching of Gandrs ears indicated that he was well-aware of the situation. As a result, he easily tilted his head to the side, evading the attempt to touch his ears. Immediately after that, his body seemed to fall through the bench, sinking into the floor and vanishing in an instant. Clicking her tongue, Endorsi began looking around the area for where Gandr would reappear. At this point, she was absolutely determined to pet the young Vanargandrs head. Her instincts told her that his ears were very soft, and, though it was a little annoying to be evaded so easily, Endorsi actually found the boys bashful behavior rather cute. Just as she began to consider ways to bait the boy into allowing her to touch his ears, Endorsi was surprised when two hands suddenly appeared from the ground, grasping her ankles. She felt a very strange sensation spread through her body, almost like her awareness had increased exponentially, but, before she could make sense of this, Endorsi soon found herself immersed up to her hips in the ground... After recovering from the initial shock, an exceptionally flustered look appeared on Endorsis face as she looked up at the boy now towering over her, shouting, "You fluffy-eared rascal! If you dont get me out of the floor this instant, I swear youll regret it for the rest of your life! Dont make me break out of here by force...!" Though she could easily emerge from the ground, themissary was one of the few ces they were strictly told never to damage. There was a heavy penalty for damaging the facility, so, with only 2,418 points to her name, Endorsi was hesitant to break free. Before helping the Princess escape her confines, Gandr squated down just beyond her natural reach to say, "Touching someone without their permission is never okay. Besides, a Vanargandrs ears and tail are the most sensitive spots on their body, ces we only allow close family, those we sincerely respect, and those we love to touch. Touching our ears without permission would be the human equivalent of randomly groping someones chest or butt, so, unless you can honestly tell me you wouldnt be bothered by people randomly fondling your breasts, you need to stop." Seeing the surprisingly severe expression on Gandrs face, Endorsi suddenly felt uncharacteristically sheepish. Her first instinct was to rebut him but it was surprisingly difficult to muster the courage to argue when you were half-buried in the ground. She could also understand the boys reasoning, so, after several seconds of ever-growing tension, she ultimately released a sigh and said, "Fine. I wont try to touch your ears without permission anymore. Now, get me out of this damned floor before I blow a gasket." Though he got the distinct impression Endorsi hadnt truly given up, Gandr still extended his hand to help her out of the ground. This involved infusing his sword intent into her body and activating the State of Nothingness, an advanced version of the process used to prevent him from bing naked whenever he activated the ability. This effectively relegated Endorsi to the status of his sword for a brief moment, a rather amusing thought that caused a smile to spread across Gandrs face as he resisted the urge to create sword beams using her body... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is a monster even when he is nerfed...,Phae dont y,In the hands of a Grandmaster, anything can be a sword (UwU)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1709 Conflic

Chapter 1709 Conflic

Though Endorsi was pulled from the ground without much difficulty, there was still a perfect mold of everything below her waist left in themissarys ground. This included a wless impression of her butt and another, more intimate, region, so, shortly after being liberated, Endorsi ended up destroying arge section of the floor before anyone else could see it. Despite having forcibly calmed herself moments prior, Endorsi immediately red at the person responsible, her face redder than an apple as she eximed, "I swear! Ill make you pay for this you cheeky little furball...!" Realizing he had probably overstepped his bounds, failing to ount for the fact that Endorsi was wearing form-fitting tights and thin silk bottoms, Gandr didnt hesitate to lower his head, his voice sincere as he stated, "Sorry. I shouldnt have resorted to such an extreme method. Ill make sure the Admins know this event is entirely my fault." Not expecting the usually boisterous brat to suddenly apologize in such a solemn manner, Endorsi felt as if all the wind had been taken out of her sails. She even began to feel a little guilty due to the fact his ears were drooping slightly... Holding her head, Endorsi released an exasperated sigh, all the anger draining from her body as she said, "Yeah, yeah, apology epted. I know Im also at fault so well split the bill, okay? I dont want people to start using me of bullying mischievous brats." With that said, Endorsi began making her way over to the section of the cafeteria where you could order a variety of hand-made foods and fresh produce. After five steps, however, she turned her head back and added, "Save me a seat. I refuse to sit at the end of the table like yesterday..." Though he was tempted to leave the second-furthest seat open for her, Gandr knew Endorsi would pout if he didnt empty one of the spaces next to him. One of these positions was reserved for a certain green-skinned Princess, so, after offering a wry smile and seeing Endorsi on her way, Gandr turned his attention to Shibisu. Without requiring an exnation, Shibisu just grinned back at Gandr before making enough space for Endorsi to sit down. At the same time, however, he went out of his way to teasingly remark, "It seems like we have a real Casanova in our midst. Anak is going to be jealous when she sees-" Interrupting Shibisusment, Anak, seemingly appearing out of thin air from the perspective of many, asking, "When she sees what?" Feeling like the Grim Reaper had just appeared behind him, sweat began to pour down Shibisus face as he turned his head in a robotic fashion. There, nearly matching his gaze perfectly despite the fact he was sitting down, Anak could be seen glowering at him with an unamused expression on her face. Deciding to ce Shibisu in his debt by throwing the man a bone, Gandr offered a disarming smile as he asserted, "Phae baked a mountain of cookies and told me to share them with my friends. They have to sign this paper first. Here, I saved the first spot for you." Though it wasnt immediate, Anak eventually stopped ring daggers at Shibisu before shifting her attention to the piece of paper with a doubtful look on her face, asking, "What is this?" Reacting with a wide smile, Gandr happily exined, "This is a special assignment that was given to all the Scout candidates. We were told to make ten friends by the end of the week. Though it might be a little bold of me, Id like to think were already friends. It would make me happy if you were the first person to sign my sheet." Hearing Gandrs exnation, Anak couldnt help but furrow her brows. Her mindpelled her to refute his im but the words wouldnt leave her mouth. Gandr and Phae had both treated her very well, and, though she still felt like they were hiding something, they also helped smooth things out between her and the other Regrs. Simr to when she was ring at Shibisu, Anak hesitated for a few seconds before epting the piece of paper and inly remarking, "I dont have a pen..." Without missing a beat, Gandr produced a rather fancy-looking pen out of thin air, presenting it to the conflicted-looking Princess with a toothy grin. Eager to be over and done with the awkwardness of this situation, Anak quickly signed her name in bold letters at the top of Gandrs friend list. Her letters even bled over into some of the other boxes a little, loudly asserting itself on the page. Though he was tempted to tease her a bit, Gandr could tell Anak was swiftly reaching her tolerance threshold. She likely had a bad day during Fisherman training, so, after finishing her meal, she was bound to return to her room in order to dpress. Realizing that Endorsis presence was bound to exacerbate Anaks condition, Gandr epted the piece of paper from her hands before adopting a genial smile and suggesting, "You should head back to your room if youre feeling tired. Ill either convince Phae to bring you some food or I can bring it myself after I grab the cookies from my room. We still have twenty-nine days of sses so dont overexert yourself..." Furrowing her brows at Gandrs suggestion, Anak shifted her attention to the cooking station where Endorsi was waiting to receive her food. She might not be the smartest person in the room, but she wasnt an idiot. The crater on the ground wasnt exactly discreet so it wasnt difficult to understand what was going on after ounting for Shibisus words and actions. With her hands forming into tiny fists, a rather dangerous aura began to emanate from Anaks body as she shakily asked, "Are you trying to get rid of me...?" Hearing Anaks words, it was Gandrs turn to frown, his tone bing firm as he said, "Never think that, not even for a moment. I know you have a difficult time trusting me, but you should have also realized that my concerns are genuine. Come, even if you want to beat me upter, I think it is best that you get some rest. Ill take you to my room to pick up the cookies and then escort you back to your room. Shibisu can exin the situation to Phae when she arrives." Though her anger began to gradually fade, Anak didnt stop ring at Gandr, or, more specifically, his outstretched hand. She got the impression he was treating her like a child, but, just as he had previously stated, she could also tell he was actually concerned about her. This caused her a great deal of confusion, her expression gradually morphing into one of conflict until Gandr directly took her by the hand and pulled her away... --- Well aware of the incidents urring within themissary, Phae altered her course to intercept Gandr and Anak. The rooms were pretty spaced out from each other but they were still in the same long corridor, so, by pretending to return to her room, it was a simple matter to cross paths with the duo. As if he was surprised by her presence, Gandrs ears perked up when he noticed Phae at the far end of the long hallway. Then, while pulling along the surprisingly obedient Anak, he waved his hand, calling out, "Heeeeeey! Phae, over here! I need to talk with you!" With her palm just about to open the biometric lock on her door, Phae showed her own version of surprise as she shifted her attention to the duo, smiling as she said, "My, this is a pleasant surprise. Did the two of you have fun during your first day of ss~?" Having reached Phaes side in a rtively short period of time, a massive grin spread across Gandrs face as he answered, "I had a st! I yed tag against the instructor and was almost able to catch him a few times!" Chuckling in response to Gandrs words, Phae reached out her hand to gently caress his head as she mused, "It sounds like you will do just fine..." before shifting her attention to Anak, her voice suddenly sounding worried as she tentatively inquired, "Anak? Are you feeling unwell...?" Raising her head, Anak stared directly at Phae, her expression turning serious as she said, "Tell me the truth. Why are the two of you so nice to me? It doesnt make any sense...!" Following her sudden outburst, Anak pulled her hand free from Gandr, adding, "And I told you not to touch me! If I was a normal girl, you would have yanked my arm out of its socket! Show some restraint you stupid jerk!" Feeling awkward to have the same words he said to Endorsi thrown back at him, Gandr was unable to prevent his ears from ttening as he averted his eyes. At the same time, Phae shook her head in exasperation, a sigh escaping her lips as she said, "Youre letting your anger cloud your judgment, Anak. Hurtful things said in the heat of the moment hurt even more so when the passions have died down. Come, Ill answer all the questions you have. Gandr, I want you to go to your room and think about what youve done. Ill let you know when you cane out." Since he really did want to reflect on his actions, Gandr nodded his head in understanding before dragging his feet to the opposite end of the hall. Men and women had separate residences due to the Tower incorporating amunal bathing system. Though there were private baths, it required you to pay points to gain ess to them. The only exception to this rule was if you were one of the many races who required a special grooming station. Then, so long as you formalized a request to the Test Administrators, they would allow you ess to the special baths tailored for your specific needs... After watching Gandr walk away with a sullen expression on his face, Anaks own began to show visible conflict. Then, after turning back to face Phae, a sour feeling spread through her nose as she saw the worry and concern hidden visible within the womans gentle blue eyes. Seeing Anaks face scrunch up, Phae offered the kindest smile she could manage before extending her hand to the girl and softly stating, "Lets go...even if you dont want to talk, I will stay with you until you calm down. Tomorrow, Ill help you apologize to Gandr. Dont worry, he isnt the type toy me on others. He might be a little mischievous at times, but he is a caring boy..." Though she didnt like being pat or pulled around by someone like Gandr, Anak had developed a weakness against the woman standing before her. Phae had always treated her kindly, and, when everyone else was ming her for the failure of the Crown Game, she was the person to treat her wounds, carry her body, and fix her clothes. She also helped style her hair, and, though she always defaulted back to her pixie-bob cut, Anak enjoyed the feeling of being doted upon... Forcing back the urge to sniffle, Anak ultimately reached out, grasping Phaes hand with her own and allowing the woman to gently guide her the remaining distance to her room. It might be a little silly, as her room was only a few meters away, but Anak always felt a little better whenever she was around Phae. If not for the strange feeling she got whenever she was around the kindly duo, Anak felt like she might have even been able to open up to her. There were a lot of things she wanted to talk about, but, after experiencing the loss of her mother, Anak had always felt like the world was a cold and dark ce...a ce filled with countless people who would not hesitate to kill her just for being born... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Thats quite the impression~,Gandr seems to be following in his Masters footsteps...,*Sad Cucumber Noises*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1710 Safeguard

Chapter 1710 Safeguard

While Anak was changing into her pajamas and gettingfortable, Phae was waiting quietly near the side of her bed, a cup of tea in hand as she silently sat savored its contents with her eyes closed. It was only when she heard a pitter-patter of footsteps, followed by a shuffling of fabrics, that she opened her eyes to find the peculiar glowing pupils of Anak staring back at her. Seeing the adorable creature just out of arms length, a touch of affection could be seen in Phaes smile as she set aside her tea and asked, "Do you want to talk about it? Like everyone else, there are some secrets I cannot divulge. However, if my intuition is correct, it shouldnt be an issue to answer the questions weighing on your mind..." Anak had frowned when she heard the part about everyone keeping secrets, her own rising to the surface of her mind. She had more secrets than most, many she was even willing to die for, so it was difficult to find fault in Phaes words. Still, that didnt stop her from asking, "Why are you and Gandr so nice to me...?" With her smile turning somewhat sad, Phae took a slow breath through her nose before answering, "It is the will of our Lord that all children be safeguarded and given a chance to seek the happiness they deserve. No person should be held ountable for the circumstances of their birth, so, even if you are far older than a traditional child, it is our instinct to protect and care for you..." Sensing no falsehoods in Phaes words, Anak scrunched up her nose slightly as she didnt like being treated like a child. In the current group of Regrs, she was easily one of the oldest, so, while she knew the significance of her current appearance, she wouldnt let people look down on her. Noticing the displeasure visible in Anaks countenance, Phae tilted her head down slightly, her eyes turned up in the characteristic way that mothers used to warn their children before they said or did something regrettable. This caused Anak to frown even deeper, but, rather than refute the previous statement, she broke eye contact, head hanging as she muttered, "I dont need anyones pity..." Surprisingly the green-skinned Princess, Phae nodded her head, asserting, "True..." before following it up by adding, "What you really need is unconditional love and affection, the things you lost in the past and yearn to reim through your vengeance..." Grasping the covers in a death grip, Anak red at the calmly smiling Phae only to find herself at a loss when thetter added, "His Imperial Majesty also lost his mother when he was very young. The incident haunted him for a long time before he was finally able to put it behind him with the help of many others. Since then, he has always done his best to create an environment where children, and all within his dominion of protection, can live happily. You see, Anak, he wasnt always the man that people refer to as the Sage Dragon Emperor. There was a time when Vahn was nothing more than a frail boy, suffering injustices at the hands of others by virtue of nothing more than his birth..." Though her first instinct was to deny the simrities between her situation and the Emperors, Anak found it hard to speak after seeing the overwhelming emotion contained within Phaes eyes. All she could do was continue listening silently as the former went on to add, "None of us will try to get in the way of your revenge. We can, however, help you bear the burden while showering you with love to the point revenge no longer seems important. Even with all your hatred and resentment, you are the most aware of the fact that your mother would have wanted you to be happy, not seek revenge at any cost..." With Phaes tone turning even gentler towards the end of her statement, Anak felt an excruciatingly sour feeling in her nose. It was impossible for her to deny the womans words, as, whenever she fell asleep, memories of her mother pleading for her not to seek revenge haunted her nightmares. The Jahad Empire was simply too powerful to oppose with an individual persons might, but, unable to move forward since the moment she was separated from her mother, this was the only course of action that Anak could think of... Surprising the Princess what a bit, Phaes expression turned tender as she asked, "Can I sit in your bed? Im not your mother, but I promise you will feel better if you cry it out. Then, once you have calmed down, I will continue answering your questions until you are satisfied..." Rather than answer Phaes question, Anak tucked up her knees, hugging them as she hid her face from view. This made Phae consider sitting in the girls bed and giving her a hug, but, before she was able to make the decision, Anak broke the silence by muttering, "Tell me...why do I always feel like you and Gandr are deceiving me...?" Having already expected this question, Phae exhaled a tired sigh and simply spoke the truth, albeit without the specific details, saying, "Gandr and I are extensions of our Lord. While we are real, living and breathing people, our existences are fundamentally linked to his. You could say we are one and the same, extensions of himself that help to fulfill a specific purpose. This might be difficult for you to understand right now, but His Imperial Majesty carries his Empire with him. Soon enough, there will be more people like Gandr and myself appearing in this world. The first will be a woman named Fenrir, the big sister to Gandr and the most faithfulpanion of His Imperial Majesty. After that, a group known as the Four Sacred Beasts will follow suit...in the end, this Tower is fated to be an extension of my Lords desire to protect the things that he believes must be protected..." Anak wasnt able to understand everything Phae was trying to say but there were a few key parts that stuck with her. To that end, she revealed her tear-stained face to absentmindedly mutter, "So you are three parts of the same whole..." before going on to ask, "Is the Emperor an Irregr...?" Without denying it, Phae nodded her head, exining, "We hail from an impossible distant world, a living known as Gaia. There, trillions of people live rtively peaceful lives...it is a ce with no systematic racism or political corruption...a paradise where people are allowed to freely pursue any path so long as it is not at the expense of others..." Though she felt like Phae was embellishing things, Anak couldnt sense any falsehoods contained within the womans words. In fact, from the moment the woman had professed to be an extension of the man known as the Sage Dragon Emperor, the ufortable feeling that had been guing her seemed to disappear in its entirety. It was like an obscuring veil had been removed, allowing her to see the woman before her clearly for the first time... Noticing the subtle change in Anaks gaze, Phae offered the closest approximation to a motherly smile she could manage before saying, "It is fine to build walls around your heart. We wont try to break them down. Instead, we will just fill the surroundings with people who can understand your pain and show you the affection you deserve. When you are finally ready toe out, we will be here waiting for you..." Feeling another sour sensation spread through her nose, Anak adopted a rather adorable pout as she, once again, concealed her face from view. With the feeling that she was being lied to gone, it was a lot harder not to be influenced by Phaes words. This made her feel slightly resentful, but, in the most protected regions of her heart and mind, Anak felt a bit of warmth take root in ces she had long closed off to others... --- While Phae was systematically breaking down the walls around Anaks heart, Gandr found himself in a far more troublesome situation. As could be expected, Endorsi had taken exception to the fact he departed themissary before she even had a chance to sit down. As a result, she currently stood on the outside of his door with a visibly annoyed expression and a te of food in her hands, shouting, "You had better open up this door! Im already going to lose points for breaking part of themissary! Dont think I wont kick down this door next...!" Fortunately, while Endorsis presence was more than a little troublesome, Gandr was spared by the fact that Shibisu, Hatsu, Nare, and Hong Chunhwa had decided to follow after her. Thetter was a rather handsome man with brown hair, brown eyes, and, though he was currently wearing nothing but a tracksuit, he always carried around a sword with him. He was the man Nare referred to as her Knight, and, though it caused quite a number of people to tease him, the man was pretty smitten with the rather youthful-looking youngdy. After failing to deter Endorsi be saying he was grounded, Gandr ultimately keyed open the door to allow five entry into his room. Before they could enter and make themselvesfortable, however, Endorsi didnt miss the opportunity to haughtily remark, "Youve got a lot of gall to break a promise with a Princess. I decide to sit next to you and you run off? There are people who would pay just to be in the same room as a Princess of Jahad? You really should consider yourself fortunate...hmph!" Seemingly finished with her criticisms, at least for the time being, Endorsi was the first to enter into the room, her golden eyes shifting around the rtively empty interior before promptly deciding to sit on the bed. There was no way she was going to sit on the floor while wearing a skirt and tights, so, with the only table being the one near the bedside, she decided to im the position near the headboard for herself. Taking the opportunity to roll his eyes the moment Endorsi walked by him, Gandr turned to the four standing outside the door, smiling as he said, "Feel free toe in. Ill probably get in trouble for havingpany right now, but Im sure I can convince Phae not to be too mad. Here, let me grab some cushions from the closet so you can make yourselvesfortable while I make tea." epting the offer of entry, Shibisu walked past Gandr with a wry smile on his face, patting the boys shoulder as if to say, you have it rough, kid. Following immediately after him, Hatsu just gave a curt nod while Nare and Hong Chunhwa just offered understanding smiles. Then, with the former grabbed thetters hand, Nare impishly stated, "We just wanted to make sure everything was okay. Since youre grounded right now, Ill see you in ss tomorrow. Come along, my Knight~." Though it made him slightly embarrassed to be pulled along by someone nearly half his size, Hong Chunhwa didnt really resist as he rubbed the back of his head and said, "See you next time, Gandr." With a simple wave of his hand to see the duo off, Gandr closed the door to he room before setting about to do as he had previously stated, Before he could grab the pillows from the closet, however, Endorsi interrupted by asking, "That grounded thing wasnt just a lie to chase me away? What did you do to get ced under house arrest...?" Rather than answer, Gandr just shook his head before making his way to the closet as he said, "It isnt something I should talk about. If you want to know, you should try to get along with Anak. I can tell you dont actually hate her so the two of you should talk it out after you set aside your pride." Frowning in response to Gandrs words, Endorsi was tempted to remark that she had no interest in a false Princess, but, remembering the boys previous reaction to such words, she ultimately chose to remain silent As for Shibisu and Hatsu, they were already beginning to feel out of ce, but, as Gandr was their friend, they did their best to tolerate the growing awkwardness. Shibisu even pulled out a deck of cards, his expression turning serious as he stared at the returning Gandr and stated, "I will avenge my fallen points..." Understanding Shibisu was just trying to break the tensions, Gandr snickered in his characteristically mischievous manner as he said, "Dont worry, even if you end up going broke, Ill make sure to buy you the cheapest meal whenever were in themissary~." With visible tick marks appearing on his head, the upper-half of Shibisus face became a little red as he indignantly shouted, "Oh, youre so on, you little brat..!" (A/N: Even if it sometimes feels like you are alone, there are others who have also suffered simrly. Find people you can share your burdens with, as, united, we can ovee all adversity~") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1711 Moving Forward, Step-by-Step

Chapter 1711 Moving Forward, Step-by-Step

There was fire, an intense, all-consuming, me. Its heat brought neither warmth nor illumination to the world around it. Instead, it encroached upon everything without mercy, consuming things that previously brought joy and inviting darkness to descend upon a once-vibrant world. Whenever Anak closed her eyes and descended into the now-familiar darkness, the mes were always the first thing that came to mind. Immediately after that, she could feel intense pain in her chest, her lungs straining due to theck of oxygen, the smoke charring her lungs and making it feel as though her body was being cooked from the inside. Despite the intense and excruciating pain, Anak no longer cried out in her nightmares, ustomed to the sensation after many long years. At one point, she even started looking forward to the pain, weing the darkness that once frightened her just for the chance to see whaty beyond... --- Peeling open her eyes, Anak was preparing to wipe away the evidence of her night terrors before freezing in ce when she realized her current position. Her face was nestled into something much softer than her pillow, a sensation apanied by a sweet aroma that tickled the nose... Turning her head up, Anak found a pair of gentle blue eyes staring back at her,passion visible within their depths as the owner asked, "How are you feeling...?" As was customary when she wasnt arguing with someone, Anak didnt immediately respond to the question that had been asked of her. Instead, she stared nkly at the woman tenderly embracing her, the previous nights events reying in her mind. She could vaguely remember Phae hugging her body and encouraging her cry while lightly patting her back. After that, she couldnt recall what happened, only that she felt warm and safe up until the moment her nightmares returned... Seeing the confusion visible in Anaks eyes, Phaes expression softened further as she gently stroked the girls back and said, "Its still early. Ill send a message to Gandr to bring us breakfast so you can go back to sleep if youre still feeling tired..." Though she hadnt yet found her voice, Anak managed to shake her head in response to Phaes offer. Then, even though she was enjoying the warmth of another person, she managed to wiggle out of the womans grasp before rolling over and facing away from her, tailed curled up between her legs as she defaulted to a fetal-like position. Suppressing a sigh, Phae decided to give Anak a moment to think, raising her tired body before alighting from the bed and stretching. She had stayed awake all night tending to Anak and her night terrors, lightly caressing the girls back despite the fact her body was being squeezed hard enough to indent steel. Anak had a tremendous amount of power despite her small size, and, though her durability was quite high, Phae wouldnt have been able to escape without some serious bruising if she had been a normal person. After stretching her body for a bit, Phae noticed her pajama-d figure within the standing mirror she had previously gifted Anak. It might be a little narcissistic, but she, or, more specifically, Vahn, couldnt help but admire their handiwork. She might not be able to directlypare to someone like Da Vinci, but, in many ways, her aura, appearance, and figurebined to create what many would describe as a Masterpiece... Amused by her own thoughts, Phae smiled at the version of herself within the mirror before taking a seat at the nearby vanity to style her hair and apply a very light coat of makeup. Vahn had learned quite a bit about both in order to properly pamper and attend his women, so, while it was far more difficult to self-style, Phae was quite proficient at it. The only reason she allowed part of her bangs to flow freely is that it helped ent the confident look she was going for while also allowing her tob them aside whenever she wanted to lower someones guard. People, in general, relied heavily on social cues and bodynguage when they were trying to gauge a persons interest. So long as you could convince the other party you were interested in what they had to say, people could be very open. This was especially true when it concerned members of the opposite sex, as, even if the other person was far beyond your reach, it was borderline instinctual to ingratiate yourself to them the moment they showed even a small level of interest. Truth be told, Vahn, and, by proxy, Phae, and Gandr, didnt really enjoy deceiving people. However, when it concerned any kind of intimate rtionship, be it tonic or sexual, each and every single one of them relied on some level of deceit. It was important for people to have secrets, and, though you might not do it with malicious intent, it wasmon to lie when you wanted to pacify another person. This could be as simple as telling them you were okay while you were actually feeling sick or something as major as promising them you would return before heading off to a battlefield. In the end, what truly mattered was the intent that went into the deception, so, while it made them a little ufortable, Vahn, and his derivative forms, had alle to ept that deception was an intrinsic part of interpersonal rtionships. There were even times when it bled over into the realm of the intrapersonal, something he, personally, was guilty of. After all, there were times when it was necessary to deceive oneself, a truth even the Gods were unable to escape... With her hair fixed the way she liked it, Phae smiled back at herself once more before turning her head to face the girl observing her from the bed. This caused Anak to immediately after her eyes, an action Phae found quite adorable. This time, however, she restrained herself, her smile softening as she asked, "Will you be okay on your own? Ill only be gone long enough to grab you something to eat, but, if you want me to, I can wait until youre ready so we can go together. It is important to eat a bnced diet if you-" Before Phae could finish her statement, her smile blossomed like a radiant flower in response to the loud rumbling of Anaks stomach. This caused the girl in questions face to turn a vigorous shade of red, temporarily recing the green coloration of her skin. Doing her best to restrain herughter, Phae rose to her feet and simply stated, "Ill be waiting out in the hall. If you intend toe with me, Ill be waiting for around ten minutes. If you dont appear before then, Ill assume you wanted to sleep in for a bit. If thats the case, Ill have Gandr bring your breakfast so you can apologize to him for the previous night. Remember, even if the two of us are just an extension of the Sage Dragon Emperor, we are still the people we present ourselves as. You dont have to trust uspletely, but know we will never do anything to harm you..." With her words finished, Phae surprised Anak quite a bit by activating her own [REquip] system to change back into her smithing attire. She was quite fond of the outfit, and, though it took quite a bit of getting used to, wearing a dress was actually prettyfortable. The way the fabric breathed was rather pleasant, and, though she could never quite get used to wearing panties, they no longer gave her the impression she was doing something wrong just by wearing them... --- While Phae was eating an early breakfast alongside Anak, the two of them sitting alone within themissary, Gandr could be found in one of the Resorts many training rooms. Across from him, wearing vaguely oriental attire, Hatsu could be seen breathing heavily, his sword trembling slightly within his hands from the strain of blocking several heavy blows. A stark contrast to his opponent, Gandr had a rxed expression on his face as he wielded the sealed form of Laev-tan in a rxed stance. This had previously annoyed Hatsu, as he believed Gandr wasnt taking him seriously, but, after several exchanges, he was forced to admit that he simply wasnt at a level that required his skills to be taken seriously. Truth be told, it wasnt that Gandr wasnt taking Hatsu seriously, his form was simply without form. He had tried to exin this to the young man, even using Shinsu to reinforce the idea that attacks show flow naturally yet powerfully, just like the current of a river. Unfortunately, Hatsu was far from the level where he could fullyprehend such nuance, at least for the time being... After taking several deep breaths, Hatsu gradually loosened his grip before holding his katana to the side in a two-handed fashion and saying, "Iming..." in a resolute tone. Immediately after that, a watery pulse could be seen around his feet as he moved at more than double his previous max speed. Having yet to take a single step their entire spar, Gandr wasnt about to move from his position just because Hatsu had empowered himself with Shinsu. Instead, he casually raised his sword using his right hand, the tip of his de drawing a watery arc through the air. Then, as if he had just cut open the side of a balloon or a high-pressure container, a massive volume of water erupted from within the thin line, crashing into Hatsus body and causing him to slide backward several tens of meters. Seeing Gandrs demonstration of Shinsu control, both Hatsu and everyone viewing the battle from the side had incredulous looks on their faces. They had only recently made their contracts with the Floor Guardians, so, while a few of the more prodigious among them had been able to perform a feat simr to Hatsu, none were even close to being able to create a literal torrent of Shinsu with a simple sword stroke... Without taking his eyes away from the downed Hatsu, Gandr let Laev-tan rest on his shoulder as he said, "We should stop this pretty soon. We still have sster today and there is no need to push yourself in your current state. You are still struggling with the fact that your techniques arent really suited forbat within a Shinsu environment. If you want to make tangible progress, youll need to focus less on your techniques and more on mastering yourself. As you are now, your power will be reduced by more than 90% the moment you lose your sword. A true Master can even wield their hands and fingers as e..." With Laev-tan still resting on his shoulder, Gandr casually raised his left hand, extending nothing more than his index finger. This caused Hatsu to adopt an extremely sullen expression, but, after a few seconds had passed, he managed to catch his breath enough to perform one final charge, this time leaping into the air to strengthen his downward cutting force. Having already made up his mind, Gandr focused his sword intent into his index finger, raising it to meet Hatsus de without a moments hesitation. This was a ridiculous notion to those observing the match from the side, but,pared to them, Hatsus shock was several times greater. He felt a familiar sensation when the edge of his de impacted the tip of Gandrs finger, identical to metal striking metal. Immediately thereafter, a thin crack appeared at the point where Gandrs nail made contact with his des edge, severing his katana cleanly before the resultant shockwave pushed him back to his original position... Staring at the location where the final 1/3rd of his de had been, it took all of Hatsus remaining willpower not to give in to the urge to just fall down. He suddenly felt like all his efforts to master his ns sword arts had been aplete waste of time, Gandrs words resonating within his mind like a record on repeat. Seeing the light of determination fading from Hatsus eyes, Gandr appeared soundlessly in front of the boy, flicking him on the forehead and saying, "Thats exactly what Im talking about. Your mind is filled with doubt yet you want to master the sword? There is a reason most masters spend their time meditating rather than swinging their swords. If you truly wish to reach the pinnacle, you need to clear your mind of doubt and focus on bing one with the de. Once you reach that point, the only time your sword will shatter is when you, yourself, break..." Since Hatsu had been knocked to the ground as a result of the previous head flick, Gandr extended his hand towards the young man, adding, "I once encountered a man who could even cut through the concept of immortality using a twig. The pinnacle of swordsmanship is far higher than any of us can ever truly know. Rather than aiming for it, we will get a lot further just mastering ourselves andpletely ignoring the concept of limits. Now, are you just going to continue sitting there on your ass or are you going to take my hand?" Though he was still in the midst of processing Gandrs words, Hatsu had enough sense to ept the hand that had been offered to him. Gandrs skill was so far beyond his own that he didnt really have any ground to stand on if he wanted to refute the boys ims. This filled him with a moderate sense of indignation, but, more than anything else, a resolution to surpass his previous limits began to take root in his mind as he said, "Ill do it...I will see whatys beyond the concept of limits..." Offering a toothy smile in response to the mans convictions, Gandr pulled Hatsu to his feet before patting the youth on his back and saying, "Now youre starting to sound like a swordsman..." With an uncharacteristic smile spreading across his face, Hatsu was about to thank Gandr for the lesson when a sudden shrill noise sounded throughout the training room, eximing, "Teach me how to use Shinsu like that...!". Immediately thereafter, Endorsi closed the distance between herself and Gandr in an instant, her ghostly eyes shimmering with excitement as she grasped his hands and demanded he fights her next... (A/N: Alternate Titles: When pain and loneliness are your closestpanions, the warmth of others can be even more painful than third-degree burns...,Anaks Stomach: Top 10 Anime Betrayals,Slice through the Heavens with a single finger...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1712 Resolution

Chapter 1712 Resolution

With a quiet pitta-pon echoing through his room, Vahn slowly peeled his eyes open, his domain extending outward as he moved to a seated position. Then, rather than use his remote to open the door, he made his way directly over; surprising the blue-haired young man on the opposite side by its sudden opening. Before Khun could offer any words in greeting, Vahn preempted him by inly stating, "Lets go." in a firm tone. This left Khun feeling slightly annoyed, but, rather than argue, he just nodded his head and asked, "Did Ms. Phae contact you through the Pocket?" Offering a curt nod in response, a small smile developed across Vahns face as he said, "It seems my young protege ended up causing a bit of mischief. I suppose Ill need to have a discussion with himter in the day." Originally, Vahn was going to treat Baams condition the previous afternoon, but, due to the matter regarding Anak, he temporarily shelved everything else. Thus, in order to alleviate Khuns growing concerns, Vahn had Phae stall Anak in themissary until other Regrs began pouring in. Khun was among the first to arrive, and, as could be expected, he was eager to ask about when Baams treatment could be performed. Despite having known Baam for only a few days, it was pretty clear from Khuns behavior that he already treated the boy as an existence akin to a best friend. It was more than a little strange, but, as someone who had sought friendships for quite some time, Vahn could readily empathize with the young man. Thus, after entering the medical ward containing Baams room, Vahn made his way inside before promptly making his way over to the boys bedside. After observing Phaes capabilities during ss andtter learning about Gandrs ability topete against a Ranker in speed, Khuns expectations for the Emperor had increased quite a bit since the previous day. The mans vassals were constantly inting his image by making statements that, to most, sounded like pure hyperbole. Despite this, they seemed to bepletely serious, so, after his investigation turned up no information on the mysterious trio, Khun couldnt deny he was curious about the mans capabilities. Seeing Vahn begin removing the bandages from Baams head, Khuns expression suddenly turned serious as he asked, "Are you sure you should be removing those? The Doctors said to keep them on until he had already awoken..." Stopping his actions, Vahn turned to look back at the young man standing behind him, smiling as he saw the concern visible in Khuns vibrant blue eyes. Then, in a voice that radiated an irrefutable level of confidence, he inly remarked, "If there is a better Doctor than me in this entire Tower, I would cut off both my hands and feet. I didnt earn my Title as Sage without a very good reason, scion of the Khun Family." With his words finished, Vahnpleted the act of removing Baams bandages before cing his hand directly on the boys head. Almost immediately thereafter, Baams eyes shot open as if he had been electrocuted, his body jerking to a seated position as he took a few hurried breaths. Not expecting his friend to wake up instantly, Khan was at aplete loss for words as he stared nkly at the scene ying out before him. Then, just as he was about to rush forward, the door to the room was kicked open as a towering figure rushed in, roaring, "The ck Turtle has awakened! As expected of my prey!" Confused by everything that was happening around him, Baam stared nkly at his surroundings, asking, "Where am I?" before immediately following it up with, "Wheres Rachel...?" Though Khun was about to answer Baams inquiry, Rak preempted his attempts by shouting, "You are in the hospital! Now,e, we must feast! Eating will make you strong, strong enough for me to hunt!" Frustrated by Raks interruption, Khun kicked the three-meter tall crocodilian in the back of his trunk-like leg before shouting, "Go wait in the hall! I get that youre happy to see him awaken, but youre in the way!" Seemingly offended by Khuns words, Rak thumped his chest before rebutting, "I was not worried at all! I am Rak Wraithraiser, you silly Blue Turtle!" Emboldened by his self-assertion, Rak managed the closest thing approximating a smile his species could manage as he shifted his attention back to Baam and Vahn. It was only then that he seemed to acknowledge thetters existence, crossing his arms and saying, "You did well, Bearded Turtle. I will remember this when I hunt you down. I dont normally give my prey a head start, but, for you, I will make an exception." Understanding this was probably the closest thing to apliment he could expect from therge crocodilian, Vahn offered an amused smile in response before saying, "When that timees, you should take caution. Depending on the circumstances, the hunter can quickly be the hunted." Squinting his eyes in response to Vahns words, a glimmer of expectation could be seen in Raks gaze as he replied, "You are different from the other turtles. What is your name?" Maintaining the same smile as before, Vahn began to release a bit of his aura as he answered, "I am Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor. I look forward to our future battle." Though it was a bit unorthodox, Vahn extended his hand towards the giant humanoid crocodile. In response, Rak didnt hesitate to return the gesture, the muscles in his arm straining at max capacity as he attempted to assert his dominance... While Vahn and Rak were having some kind of showdown of wills, Khun released a tired sigh as he sat down next to Baams bed and exined, "Youve been asleep for four days. How does your head feel?" Surprised by the revtion, Baams eyes widened as he parroted, "Four days!? What about the Test? What happened with Rachel!?" Gesturing for the boy to calm down, Khun closed his eyes for a brief moment before answering, "It isnt an issue. Your instructor has yet to arrive so you have free time until then. As for that woman...I dont mean to upset you, but her name is Michelle Light. Sorry, Baam, but I dont think shes the girl you were looking for. I asked her after the Crown Game and she said shes never seen you before..." Hearing Khuns answer, a look of disbelief immediately shed across Baams eyes as he gripped the hospital nket tightly and muttered, "That cant be..." Seeing how sullen his friend was, Khun was about to try and cheer him up when a firm and resolute voice emanated from behind him, asserting, "You should not lie to your friend, Khun Aguero Agnis. Your personal circumstances cannot be superimposed onto every situation. You aplish nothing by attempting to lie on that womans behalf. After all, there are more than thirty days left before the Final Exam. Unless you proactively kept them apart from one another, Baam was bound to learn the truth at some point. Let them work things out, even if it means causing a bit of drama." In response to Vahns words, Khun and Baam had very different reactions. The former looked like he wanted to punch the Emperor directly in the face, hands forming into fists while thetter produced a smile so radiant it seemed to visibly brighten the surroundings. Even Khun was a little taken aback by Baams smile, his glowing expression rapidly melting away into a wry smile as he shook his head in an admission of defeat. Finding both boys reactions rather novel, Vahn lightly chuckled before adding, "Just remember, not all paths run parallel to each other. Even if it turns out her reasons werepletely selfish, you have to respect the choices of other people, Baam. Sometimes, the hardest part about loving someone is watching them leave to find happiness elsewhere. If Rachel chooses to keep the truth from you, the best way you can prove your love is by letting her go. If she believed she needed you in order to be happy, she would not have ascended the Tower without you..." Though Baam visibly deted when he heard Vahns words, Khuns expression brightened quite a bit. His impression of Rachel was that she was extremely maniptive and selfish, but, unlike Vahn, he couldnt find the words to express this in a way that Baam would understand. Thetter was his friend, and, though Khuns instincts told him not to trust the mysterious woman, he was prepared to climb the tower alongside her if it would make Baam happy. With a smile spreading across his face, Khun watched Vahns retreating figure until the door closed behind him. Immediately after that, he shifted his attention to Baam, his expression turning wry as he lightly ced his hand upon the formers shoulder and said, "Cheer up, Baam. You have plenty of time to try and convince her before the Final Exam. Besides, even if she doesnt choose to climb the Tower with us, there is nothing preventing you from climbing ahead and clearing the path. If we manage to reach the top of the Tower, it would be a simple matter to help her see the stars." Finding a few grains of truth in Khuns words, Baams brightened as he said, "Youre right, Mr. Khun. I didnt even think about that option. Still, I hope Rachel agrees to climb with us. Im not sure I can go up the Tower if I know she is struggling with the Floors below..." Though Khun found it rather amusing that Baam spoke in a way that made the Tower seem easy to climb, he did his best to restrain himself as he said, "That might not be a bad thing. The Tower is a very dangerous ce, Baam. As you move higher up, the challenges steadily increase to the point that it bes extremelymon for people to die. If Rachel struggles with the lower floors, that means shecked the strength to actually reach the top of the Tower. By moving ahead of her, you can remove most of the dangers before she ever has a chance to be affected by them. That will also make it easier for others to climb, making you a Hero to the people who have struggled for years to reach the top. How about it?" Listening to Khuns words, Baam began to feel like some kind of resolution was spreading within him. He couldnt even imagine living without Rachel, but, if she really wanted to climb the Tower without him, he would try to respect her decision. Vahns words had deeply resonated with him, and, though Rachel had abandoned him, Baams love for her had never waned. If he could make her happy by staying away from her and forging a path up the Tower, he was willing to put his life on the line to achieve her dream. Thus, in response to Khuns words, Baam showed a surprisingly resolute expression as he said, "Ill do it, Mr. Khun. Ill climb to the top of the Tower! For Rachel...!" --- Unaware of what was going on in the hospital ward following his departure, Vahn slowly made his way back to his quarters. He had agreed to meet with the other Wave Controller candidates in the afternoon, so, with nothing better to do, he felt it was best for him to just stay out of sight, out of mind. There would be plenty of time for him to interact with other people once he began his actual ascent up the Tower, so, for the time being, he intended to strengthen Phaes and Gandrs position within the group. In order to make things easier for himself moving forward, Vahn was intending to use Phae and Gandr as his proxies, only stepping in when absolutely necessary. They would have an easier time interacting with the group without making things too awkward due to his status. Then, when the time came, he would begin mentoring the group and helping them grow exponentially stronger. This was the most effective way to bring aboutsting change within the Tower, as, by empowering the residents, Vahn would be able to move on without having to worry about things going south immediately following his departure. Though it might seem a little haphazardpared to his past behavior, Vahn had never forgotten the lesson Da Vinci had taught him all those years ago. Since this was the Record he intended to use as the foundation for his own, there would inevitablye a time when he had absolute power over the very structure of Space-Time. Because of this, even if he made mistakes along the way, he would always have the opportunity to repair them in the future. After feeling suffocated within the Akamatsuverse, Vahn was even more resolute in his desire to be more of a deterrent force than an actual Emperor. He also found the concept of the Vagrant Hero rather interesting, so, unless the situation required him to take action, he intended to keep shaping events through others. Vahn had all the tools necessary to expand his influence extremely quickly, so, when the time came, he intended to bestow his Blessing upon each of the Regrs within his party. This would not only allow them to benefit from the Quest Function, but, most importantly, it would enable him to keep track of them using his Unit Management. This would allow him to teleport people between Floors, and, though it would be some time before he bestowed them such powerful weapons, Vahn was even willing to have Phae forge Zanpakutos for those he had deemed worthy. Regardless, when all was said and done, the Tower was bound to tremble in the wake of his factions meteoric rise... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn ying 4D Chess...,Sometimes you gotta let a thot choose her own path...,RIP Tower-chan) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1713 Beneath the Surface

Chapter 1713 Beneath the Surface

Though he wasnt surprised to see her, Vahn issued a light hum of acknowledgment when he saw Hwa Ryun leaning against the exterior wall of his room. Smiling in response to her Gods presence, Hwa Ryun didnt beat around the bush, asking, "There is a matter I wished to discuss. Is now an eptable time?" Since he could already guess what she wanted to discuss, Vahn opened the door to his room while answering, "If it is regarding the matter of Baam and Rachel, I will handle it in my own way. For the time being, you should continue performing your original duties. When the timees, I will either discover the truth on my own or see their destiny y out with my own two eyes." As she had actually stopped by to discuss the matter of Baam and Rachel, Hwa Ryuns visible eye widened, a zealous gleam shing across its surface. Then, unable to contain her curiosity even a moment longer, she asked, "Does my God truly possess the sight? How much do you see?" Though he was tempted to just enter his room and close the door behind him, Vahn stopped in his tracks, back facing Hwa Ryun as he inly stated, "I do not see the future, Hwa Ryun...I shape it in the present. I am an existence that represents infinite possibilities, someone who shapes the past, present, and future through my actions. No manner of irvoyance or future sight will ever be able to predict my path or the ones I set others upon....when the timees, I will teach you the greater meaning contained within the words..." Feeling he had been adequately mysterious, Vahn allowed the door to close with a mechanical hiss, separating him from the wide-eyed Guide. He got the feeling she already found her own meaning within his words, but, for the sake of his future ns, Vahn was willing to overlook her actions until the Position Exam hade to an end. It was exceptionally obvious that some greater scheme was afoot, so, while he had the option of stirring things up, he wanted to see how far the Administrators were willing to game their own system. He also knew Princess Yuri was on her way to retrieve the ck March that was currently in his possession, so, based on his knowledge of millions of fictional worlds, Vahn could assume an enemy that required her intervention was bound to appear. Unless he had seriously misread the situation, Anak was the most likely target for whatever enemy appeared in the near-future. Her existence as a False Princess of Jahad,bined with the fact she was in possession of one of the Thirteen Month Series, all but assured someone would be sent to both kill her and retrieve the symbolic weapon belonging to the Jahad Empire. This was one of the reasons Vahn had approached the girl, and, though it was a little maniptive on his part, his desire to protect her, at the very least, was genuine... --- Though sses started at 7 AM, Phae, as could be expected of someone with her bearing, arrived a little more than half-an-hour early. Despite this, there were already two people within the ss, her expression showing visible amusement as she made her way over and said, "Oh my, is this beautiful youngdy your wife? Administrator Lero-Ro is a lucky man..." Hearing Phaes remark, Lero-Ro returned a good-naturedugh before remarking, "It would seem Ms. Phae has quite the sense of humor. No, this youngdy is not my wife. Rather, shouldnt you be the most aware of her identity...?" Despite the truth contained within the mans words, Phae just giggled in response beforebing back her bangs and saying, "Why, Administrator, whatever do you mean? I believe this is the first time Ive ever met this beautiful youngdy~?" As most women were weak topliments, especially those prone to extreme vanity and envy, the beautiful youngdy in question, Rachel, developed the closest thing approximating a bashful blush she could manage before sheepishly muttering, "Ms. Phae, its me, Rachel..." Showing an expression of pseudo-genuine shock, Phae momentarily covered her mouth in surprise before offering a radiant smile as she said, "My goodness, You clean up well, dont you~?" Though her basic features were still the same, the current Rachel looked like apletely different personpared to her previous self. Herplexion had pristine and fair, free from all blemishes, whilst her previously blonde hair and pale-yellow eyes now had a subtle golden hue to them. Most notably, however, was the fact she had be slightly taller, and, though her physical proportions hadnt changed that much, her drastically improved posture made her breasts and bottom far more conspicuous, giving her a healthy and bnced look. If Rachels original appearance could be graded as a 2-3 on a scale ranging to 10, her features after consuming the [wless Jade Pill] ced her squarely around a 7. If she changed her attire, started exercising, and improved her general disposition, she could easily eclipse an 8 or 9, potentially even pushing a ten if she made a genuine effort. After all, the [wless Jade Pill] didnt have the effect of simply removing a persons impurities overnight. It continued working for years, helping to refine a persons beauty by regrly expelling anything detrimental to their body... Since she was genuinely happy about the changes to her body, Rachel didnt have to pretend when responding to Phaes question, smiling as she answered, "It is all thanks to Ms. Phaes advice. I was awake all night thinking about what you said, and, though Im not sure how long it will take, I want to change. Please continue to advise me into the future..." Following her heartfelt words, Rachel performed an even more graceful bow than she had the day before. Previously, shecked the posture and presence to execute to properly sell the act, but, now that her appearance had improved qualitatively, Rachel gave off the impression of a dignified and refined youngdy... Though Rachels act was even better than before, it was, in the end, still an act. Phae could tell she was enthused by the change in her appearance, but, based on the fact she had arrived early just to make an impression on the Administrator, it was easy to intuit she was still the petty young woman from before. The moment she noticed Phaes arrival in the ssroom, Rachels aura had fluctuated slightly, so, even if she wore an even more convincing mask, she was still far from being able to fool those experienced at seeing through such things. Offering a practiced smile of her own, Phae giggled in amusement at Rachels words before saying, "That depends on you, youngdy. I have already given you all the advice I think you need. If you want more, youll need to demonstrate your sincerity through results. The Tower isnt a ce that rewards those who simply want or expect things to go their way...if you arent willing to make an effort, dont expect others to do so on your behalf..." Though she clenched her teeth slightly in response to Phaes words, Rachel was able to maintain a radiant smile on her face as Administrator Lero-Ro offered an approving nod and added, "Well said, Ms. Phae. If the Tower rewarded everyone who wanted to climb, it would be nothing more than a convenient wish-granting device. If you arent willing to put in the effort to achieve your dreams, it is only natural that you fail whilst those with stronger will seed. Though luck and destiny y a part, both can be ovee with enough effort and an adequate level of strength, intellect, or sheer force of will. I have great expectations for the both of you, but, in the end, it will be your efforts that decide how far you go..." As if they were mirror images of each other, Phae and Rachel offered very simr smiles in response to Lero-Ros words. This caused the Administrator to feel slightly taken aback, but, as someone who had lived for hundreds of years, he was also rather adept at maintaining a mask... --- While the other sses were still learning the basics indoors, the Scout and Spear Bearer candidates had been transported to specialized testing grounds located far from Evankhells Resort. Thirty days wasnt enough to teach advanced tracking skills and other techniques that took years, on average, to master. Thus, after learning the basics of forming a contract with the Guardians and using Shinsu to enhance your physique, they transitioned to purely practical lessons. With all eyes focused on him, Quant smiled rather viciously as he shouted, "Okay, maggots, listen up! Now that I know where each of you stands physically, Ill be checking to see how capable you are at actually navigating terrain and locating a target. See this forest behind me? We Admins all affectionately refer to it as the forest of death. Other than Gandr, none of you weaklings is strong enough to venture into the center so make sure you stick along the periphery, you hear me?" Hearing Quants remark, many within the Scout ss showed annoyed expression. In the end, however, none of them tried to refute his words. Gandr really was much stronger and faster than them. In fact, he was so fast that the majority of the Scouts couldnt even follow his movements with their eyes, causing many to doubt if they were actually qualified to climb the Tower... Though he was amused by his students reactions, Quants expression became severe the moment he saw them expressing doubt. His aura surged outward like a tidal wave, enveloping each of them in a fiery Shinsu that made the surroundings suddenly spike to a temperature hotter than an oven as he shouted, "Even if youre maggots, show some damn backbone! Dont forget the desperation you experienced prior to being chosen to climb the Tower! Use those emotions to fuel you forward! We are Scouts! Where others fear to tread, we move forward without hesitation! I dont care if you have doubts, you better damn well act like youre confident during my instruction! If you cant even do that much, pack your bags and get the hell out of the Tower! You wont be missed." Despite feeling even more indignant after hearing Quants words, each of the Regrs that had been previously shown doubt now had a me of passion in their eyes. Few people enjoyed being talked down to, so, while their skills were stillcking, that wouldnt prevent them from delivering their all if it meant putting the short man in his ce. After all, they were each Headons Chosen, the lucky few who had been given a chance to climb the Tower and make all their dreamse true. Theirs was an opportunity people would literally kill for and risk their lives to obtain, so, even if they were annoyed by the mans words, they couldnt refute them. Seeing the passion return to his precious students eyes, Quant returned to his vicious smile as he mused, "Thats more like it. Now, listen closely. There are eight marked locations hidden within this forest. Each possesses hints that will guide you towards the other locations. Your objective is to find one of the locations, and, using the hints provided, seek out as many others before the day ends. If you dont have any questions, the time has already started so move your asses." Following Quants instructions, many of the Regrs immediately broke off into a sprint, eager to be the first to find a point andplete the task. The only people to remain behind were Shibisu, Hatsu, Nare, and, of course, Gandr. Though he showed a visibly annoyed expression at first, Quant smiled once the other Regrs were out of view, stating, "Good. When you are given the opportunity, always seek more knowledge and information. Its the job of Fishermen to run in like idiots. As Scouts, our duty is to obtain the most urate and up-to-date information possible, feeding it to our team members in order to prevent any mishaps from urring. Regardless of your actual reason for staying, you all get 100 points for sessfully ignoring my provocation and choosing to stay behind. Now, since I already know what you want to ask, let me tell you about the optional objectives..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns Chuuni Ascension n is well underway...,A pretty face cant hide a repugnant soul...,Jebaited) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1714 Quality

Chapter 1714 Quality

With the corpses of several Six-Petaled Flower Mantids littering his surroundings, Gandr casually leaped to thergest of more than a hundred giant lilypads. Though it had the same structure as a normal lilypad, it was more than thirty meters across, more than big enough to support the weight of a person. Of the optional objectives listed by Quant, Gandr had, as could be expected, chosen toplete the most difficult among them. This included going to the very center of the Forest of Death, the location of ake spanning more than three kilometers across. There, a small ck pylon could be seen at the very center of thergest of several lilypads, each representing the territory of six-meter long insectoid Shinheuh called Six-Petaled Flower Mantids. Though they had rather beautiful and ornate bodies, appearing simr to blooming lotus flowers while stationary, the average Six-Petaled Flower Mantid could easily cut kill most budding Regrs in a single blow. This wasrgely due to their tworge forelimbs, each appearing like exceptionally durable pink scythes. If that wasnt enough, they were also exceptionally quick, capable of blitzing inexperienced Regrs before many could even react. Unfortunately for the mantid colony, Gandr wasnt the average Regr, nor did heck experience in dealing withrge, fast-moving, monsters. As a result, it only took him eight minutes to kill all of the Six-Petaled Flower Mantids, his sword tracing graceful arcs through their steel-like carapaces without any discernible difficulty. cing his Pocket in the center of the pylon, a smile spread across Gandrs face as his point value increased from 1,948 to 2,948 in an instant. A thousand points was an incredible boon, and, though he didnt really need them, it was less suspicious to buy a mountain on food from themissary than it was to continually pull outrge quantities from his Inventory. With his objectivepleted, Gandr did an about-face before skipping across the surface of the Shinsu-infused water as if it were t ground. In the end, it only took him a few seconds to move from the very center of theke to the distant shore, a cheeky smile on his face as he saw the trio who were taking a rest after barely killing a single Six-Petaled Flower Mantid Scout, the smaller variant that patrolled the Forest of Death. Seeing Gandr return so quickly, Shibisu had an incredulous expression on his face as he asked, "Did you already finish? Seriously, man, youre a monster...Im d were on the same side." Though she wasrgely just tagging along with the group, firmly believing it was smarter to stay at the side of the strong, Nare nodded in agreement, adding, "Its a shame youre not really my type. I would have liked to climb the Tower with someone as strong as you protecting me. My Knight isnt weak, but I cant even imagine him catching up to you, Gan-chan."(A/N: I have decided to use a few honorifics since it feels more natural in the dialogue.) Hearing Nares pet name for him, Gandr scrunched up his nose a bit before smiling mischievously and stating, "No worries. I dont really have a thing for chibis anyways." Reinforcing her childish image even further, Nare puffed her cheeks in response to Gandrs words. She knew he was just teasing her, but that didnt stop her from retorting, "Hmph! What does a brat like you know? I bet youve never even kissed a girl before, right? Im warning you, Gan-chan, if you dont learn to treat women more delicately, you wont be popr once you grow up!" Rolling his eyes in response to the girls outburst, Gandr resisted the urge to tell her he had done a lot more than simply kiss a girl. Unfortunately, those were the escapades of a much older version of himself. The most he had done in his current form was bathe with Fenrir and act as the body pillow for various women in the Inner Sanctum. Thinking Gandr was annoyed by Nares words, Shibisu decided to give his youthfulpanion a hand. More specifically, he made a thumbs-up gesture, smiling as he said, "Just ignore her words, Gandr. Most guys cant even approach a Princess of Jahad, much less get close to two. Even if the Tower prohibits it, you have my support if you want to elope with Endorsi. If you use your ears and tail as coteral, I think she could be convinced to run away with you~." Though he knew Shibisu was joking, Gandr deadpanned directly at the man before saying, "If you want to reach the center lilypad, youll have to swim..." Originally, Gandr had agreed to help everyone across, as, even with his speed, Shibisu was unable to run across water. The most he could make it was a hundred meters before he plopped into the crystal-clear, ice-cold, water below. Because of this, Shibisus expression immediately turned into a stressed smile as he awkwardlyughed and said, "Come on...you know I was just messing with you. Please dont make me swim across..." Rather than respond directly to the mans plea, Gandr just snorted before walking over and picking up the incredibly light Nare. This caused the young woman in question to blush slightly, but, having been carried during the journey over, she managed to avoid flustering. Instead, she adopted a small smile as she appended, "Well, you have some redeeming qualities..." Ignoring the little girls remark, Gandr immediately changed her impression of him as he tucked in her head, not to disy affection, but to prevent her neck from straining due to his spontaneous eleration... With the sound of Nares scream echoing in the distance, Shibisu released an exasperated sigh as he stared at the crystal clear water below. As for Hatsu, he removed his top, wrapping it around his katana before cing it near the base of a rock. Then, without any hesitation at all, he jumped from the small cliff, diving into the water so he could swim across using his own power... --- With the rest of his morning passing uneventfully, Vahn released a long yawn as he pulled himself from the bed and prepared to make his way to themissary. He wasnt quite sure of the reason, but he had been feeling a peculiar form of exhaustion ever since first arriving in the Tower. His first hypothesis was that this had something to do with the Shinsu exerting a constant form of pressure on, not just his body, but his mind and spirit as well. Now, however, he was beginning to feel like it was something different, almost like he was on the verge of some kind of breakthrough... Rather than mull over the strange feeling, Vahn decided it was best to simply ignore it. There were times when your pursuit of something either led you astray or prevented you from obtaining. Thus, with other thoughts upying his mind, Vahn decided not to let an inexplicable sensation interfere with his short-term ns. Instead, he made his way over to themissary, finding his fellow Wave Controller ssmates, Baam included, waiting for him to arrive. Though it waspletely unnecessary, Hwa Ryun, and, as a result, Hoh, Rozeal, Grey, and Baam all rose to greet him. The only one who stayed in his seat was Laure, but, perhaps due to an instinctual desire to conform, he respectfully nodded before saying, "Youre right on time. We were just giving Baam a breakdown of everything we discussed yesterday. Since the Instructor is bound to cover the basics on the first day of ss, Im sure everyone here would be grateful if you exined the things you hinted at yesterday." Resisting the urge to chuckle in response to Laures leading statement, Vahn took his ce at the circr table before exining, "The Laws arent something that can be understood from a simple discussion. All you really need to know about them is that they are the rules that dictate everything from the structure of fundamental particles to theplexities of energy systems like Shinsu. With adequateprehension of the Laws, you can even bend or outright break these rules, snubbing the restrictions that act upon everything, and everyone, else." Seeing that everyone was listening attentively to his words, Vahn offered an approving nod as he went on to exin, "Some of the basic yet most important Laws are those governing the Elemental Forces. These are the easiest to glean insight into, as, with very few exceptions, everything has some kind of Elemental Affinity. In Shinsu terms, this is what many refer to as a Quality. There is a general misunderstanding that only a select few people are able to manifest a Shinsu Quality, but, the truth of the matter is that a persons Elemental Affinity ultimately determines how easily that can emte specific forms of phenomena..." Though words could help people understand a concept, visuals were tantamount to proving what you said was true. Thus, out of consideration for the people who couldnt understand what he was trying to say, Vahn created a Baang at the very center of the table, rapidly changing its Quality from the basic water to things like Lightning, Darkness, Fire, Light, and even Earth. This caused everyone at the table to stare in awe, but, as the person most experienced with Shinsu, Laures couldnt help but pale at the masterful demonstration... Amused by the mans expression, Vahns smile became slightly more prominent as he exined, "I will now inform each of you what your Elemental Affinities are. Keep in mind that, while it is rare for a person to have more than one affinity, possessing multiple isnt an indicator of talent. Rather, due to the limitations of a persons lifespan, it is often better to master a singr affinity than it is to try and unterally increase your proficiency in every element." This time around, Vahn punctuated his statement by performing a simple hand gesture, producing several small squares of paper in front of each candidate. These were actually the test strips used in the Record of Naruto to determine a persons Chakra Nature, but, as most energy systems used a persons Elemental Affinity as a basis, they worked just as well when determining a persons Shinsu Quality. Since everyone present was a Wave Controller candidate, they had at least some talent regarding the maniption of Shinsu so Vahn didnt waste too much time exining. Instead, he held up his own piece of paper and said, "Rather than manipte the Shinsu in the surroundings, imagine a simr flow present within your body. Guide that flow into this piece of paper. Depending on how it reacts, you can urately determine what kind of Elemental Affinity you possess." Serving as a demonstration, Vahn inserted a thread of Source Energy from his body into the piece of paper, converting it into Shinsu in the process. He had a much easier time managing this kind of conversion than emting mana, so, even if he was currently weakened by the Records Laws, Vahn was quickly increasing his proficiency in the foreign energy system. As a result, the paper began to glow with a resplendent golden hue, the type of glow that inspired awe in everyone whoid eyes upon it. Understanding the question in everyones mind, Vahn preempted any interruptions by saying, "My Shinsu Quality is Divine. It is a Quality that specializes in dominating other Qualities; enhancing my power with simultaneously decreasing my opponents. It is the Quality of an Emperor, and, if used properly, it canpletely inhibit or seal another persons ability to use Shinsu." Hearing Vahns exnation, everyone at the table, sans Baam, showed a slightly terrified expression. They got the impression that the Divine Quality was probably the most powerful, a notion that even Laure couldnt refute. Fortunately, their eagerness to discover their own Quality helped to ease the tensions in the room, albeit only after the golden light had faded. Following Vahns directions, everyone at the table began trying to infuse their internalized Shinsu into the piece of paper. This was very difficult for most of them, as they were still struggling with the concept of manipting the natural Shinsu in the surroundings, but Baam and Laure were able to seed almost instantly. This broke the concentration of everyone else, as, though not as bright as Vahns, Baams piece of paper had started to release a bluish-white glow. As for Laures, his piece of paper became exceptionally rigid, simr to metal, before splitting smoothly down the center. Having purchased a book regarding Shinsu Qualities after discovering his own, an approving look appeared in Vahns eyes as he habitually stroked his beard and exined, "It seems our little friend has a natural affinity with Shinsu itself. You will have a much easier time than most learning how to use Shinsu, and, though it will require considerable effort to master, you will be capable of using all variations of Shinsu. As for you, Mr. Phonsekal, you have an affinity with barriers, reinforcement, and a Shinsu Quality rted to Wind. You have great potential for both offense and defense. Better yet, you will have a much easier time mastering flightpared to normal people..." Though everyone was initially envious of Baams Shinsu Quality, Vahns exnation of Laures made it seem far more useful. After all, Baams seemed to require an extreme amount of effort to master while Laures seemed to be useful both immediately and in the far future. With Vahns guidance, he was even able to create a swirling green Baang in the amount of time it took for the next person to discover their Shinsu Quality... (A/N: Alternate Titles: You dont even know how fast I am...!,RIP Nare...,Laure is well on his way to bing a Metapod...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1715 Deliberate

Chapter 1715 Deliberate

With another day of sses drawing to a close, Vahn returned to his room while Phae and Gandr continued going about their own business at his behest. He was actually starting to enjoy seeing the world through them, as, despite controlling their each and every thought, emotion, and output, they almost felt likepletely different people. As was often the case, Gandr was making his way through Evankhells Resort with Shibsu, Hatsu, and, though she was basically just apanying them for a free pass, Nare. Thetter currently had a big smile on her face as she held up her pocket, drooling slightly as she saw the number on the disy. For reasons she wouldnt divulge, Nare had an extreme fondness for money. Though she had only gotten 750 points for being the second person to ce her Pocket on the pylon, it was still a huge boon for a Regr who had just started out. Because of this, she had chosen to forgive Gandr for hisck of delicacy, beaming radiantly when Hatsu and Shibisu only received 500 and 250 points, respectively. Though he had received the fewest points within the group, Shibisu, surprisingly, didnt even try toin. The swim had cooled his head quite a bit, and, after seeing more than a hundred corpses of Six-Petaled Flower Mantids, any indignation he felt had vanished in an instant. After all, they had struggled to defeat a version of the Mantid that was just over three meters in length, half the size of the smallest Mantid defeated by Gandr. Shibisu knew he was basically getting a free ride just by being Gandrs friend, so, while he liked to mess with the boy every now and again, he also feared and respected him. Because of this, he and Hatsu were usually the ones to follow after the boy, effectively bing his posse and constantly receiving benefits just by association. Of course, this wasnt their actual intention, the boy practically forced the benefits onto them, smiling all the while doing so... Just as Shibisu was thinking about using his reward to treat the rest of the group, the four of them arrived in the bustlingmissary. The Scout candidates had been thest to return today so most of the other Regrs were already present. Despite this, there were still a few empty spaces left at the tworgest tables, spots clearly reserved for the four of them. Noticing one particr seat, a smile spread across Shibisus face as any desire he had to treat the rest of the group dried up. Then, after lightly nudging the boy at his side, he motioned towards the empty seat and teasingly remarked, "Your crystal pce awaits, my Leige~." Understanding the meaning of Shibisus words, Gandr just rolled his eyes before making his way over to the counter to order his food. The kitchen staff there were very familiar with him at this point, and, so long as he paid them an additional fee, they would bring his mountain-sized portion of food directly to the table. After paying for his meal, parting with 480 points in one go, Gandr made his way back to the group table, upying the only remaining seat. This brought an end to the awkward tension around that particr section of the table, as, with Gandr to separate them, Anak and Endorsi no longer had to put up with being seated next to each other. Since Anak rarely talked to others unless it was to pick a fight, Endorsi was the first to speak, smiling as she asked, "So, how did your sses go today, Gandr? Still lugging around a bunch of additional baggage~?" As someone who believed in individual strength and effort, Endorsi wasnt too fond of the growing number of people that seemed to rely on Gandr. The boy in question, however, enjoyed his position as the heart of the group, frowning slightly as gazed up at the woman and said, "My Master taught me that friends help each other. They arent extra baggage, Princess. Stop saying rude things all the time..." Endorsi didnt actually care about thepany Gandr kept; he had more than enough strength to take care of himself. She had just wanted to tease him a bit, so, hearing his instantaneous retort, her face became slightly red as she issued a loud hmph before remarking, "Whatever..." in an annoyed tone. Never missing the opportunity to pick a fight with the people she didnt like, Anak didnt hesitate tough at Endorsis expense before promptly exacerbating matters by smiling at Gandr and warning, "If this ghost-eyed hag ever tries to bait you into her room with candy, make sure you immediately inform an adult, okay?" If she was annoyed before, Endorsi waspletely incensed upon hearing Anaks little remark. Her cheeks immediately turned a vibrant shade of red,pletely ignoring the fact Gandr was seated right next to her as she eximed, "Who are you calling a ghost-eyed hag!? Youre even older than me you rock-headed lizard!" With his enhanced hearing, Gandrs ears ttened in response to the shrill noise just centimeters away from his fuzzy ears. This hadnt escaped Endorsis notice, but, before she could apologize, the words got caught in her throat as she noticed Gandrs eyes change from gold to scarlet as he, quite literally, snarled at her. Though this actually made him look rather adorable to others, Endorsi felt a cold sweat envelop her body under the diminutive Vanargandrs gaze... Fortunately, just as the atmosphere seemed to reach a critical level, the kitchen staff emerged from the double-doors leading to the food-prep area withrge service carts. This immediately eased the tensions at the table, Gandrs eyes shifting back to a glimmering gold the moment food was ced in front of him. Feeling as though she had just escaped a disaster, Endorsi issued a sigh of relief before rising from the table and saying, "Ive lost my appetite..." in an uncharacteristically demure tone. Just as she was about to leave, however, Gandr stopped her by saying, "Phae gave me a ton of cookies to pass out to all my friends. You should stay and eat with us. Your body is super thin so Im a little worried you arent eating properly." Even if it wasnt meant as apliment, Endorsis mood immediately improved the moment Gandr called her thin. She was constantly concerned about her figure, putting great effort into maintaining her national treasure level beauty, so it always made her happy whenever someoneplimented her, even if they werent trying to. With a beautiful smile spreading across her face, Endorsi plopped back into her seat as emted Phaes action ofbing through her hair. This was evidence that Endorsi actually looked up to, or, at the very least, envied the former. People had an instinctual tendency to emte the behaviors of the people they saw as above themselves, even if they werent consciously aware of it. Since it was a good opportunity, Gandr returned a smile of his own, producing a veritable mountain of cookies for the entire table as he asked, "Is that an actual horn on your head? I thought it might have been a part of your hair essory..." Happy for the attention, Endorsi raised her bangs to allow a better view of the tiny horn poking out above her right temple, exining, "Though its only a cutaneous horn, it is one-hundred percent real. How about it? Ill let you touch it if you let me touch the fluff inside your ears~." Though it had only been a day since hembasted Endorsi for always trying to touch his ears, Gandr didnt get too annoyed since she actually asked this time. He was, however, still a little annoyed, so, in response to her proposition, he deadpanned and asked, "You think touching your hornpares to touching my ears? Thats like me saying you can poke my cheek in exchange for letting me touch your bottom. Are you an idiot?" With her eye twitching slightly, Endorsi removed her hand from her head and opted to momentarily ignore the brash boy seated to her left. She had just calmed down moments prior so she refused to make a scene after failing to storm off the first time. Instead, sheforted herself with the cookies piled up at the center of the table, genuinely surprised by how delicious they were... --- With dinner still ongoing, thest group of Regrs, the Light Bearer candidates, began to file into themissary. The core of this particr girl wasprised of Phae and Khun, the former being the literal center of attention since nearly every other Light Bearer candidate, excluding Rachel and Chung-Chung, were male. Though she had gotten used to being the center of attention, Phae didnt like to be congregated around, so, as soon as the group reached themissary, she offered a polite smile to the group and said, "Im afraid this is where we part ways. Ill see everyone in ss tomorrow. Make sure you dont stay up toote trying to master your Lighthouses. Proper rest is often even more important than effort." Realizing they were effectively being dismissed, the majority of the Light Bearer candidates replied with parting words before quickly moving to their respective groups. The only person to stay back was Khun, who, immediately after the rest of the group had dispersed, adopted a troubled look as he asked, "What did you give that woman to change her appearance so drastically? You must have been able to sense what kind of person that woman is...why did you help her be even more dangerous?" Combing back her bangs, Phae smiled in response to Khuns question before answering, "As I have said time and again, my Lord believes that everyone deserves a chance at happiness. I understand your concerns, but that woman has yet to do anything that merits severe treatment. Judge people based on their actions, not your assumption of their character. All you truly know about Rachel, at least for the time being, is that she helped your best friend be the person he is today. Even if her true nature is that of a snake, there are some poisons that are as equally effective as medicine..." As if he had gleaned some insight into Phaes intentions, Khuns eyes widened a bit as he said, "So thats how it is...I understand now..." Resisting the urge to give the young man across from her an incredulous look, Phae just giggled in response to his words before honestly admitting, "Im not sure what Mr. Khun is trying to imply~?" Surprised by Phaes convincing performance, Khun made a mental note never to underestimate her as he fixed his tie and said, "I must have misunderstood then...well, I suppose I should be going. It was a pleasure speaking with you, Ms. Phae..." Offering a polite nod in response, Phae watched as Khun made his way over to where Baam was seated among the other Regrs. He was seated at the very end of the table containing most of the group, but, despite this, it was almost like he had be a secondary center of attention. Though there was no one around to observe her act, Phae giggled lightly before turning away from themissary and heading to Vahns room. Since she was his vassal, she had to check in on him a few times a day just to keep up appearances. It was also an opportunity for them to bounce ideas off of each other, as, despite being one and the same, it was surprisingly effective to have an actual person to talk with. Thus, while doing her best to understand what Khun had misunderstood, Phae leisurely walked through the halls while pretending to ignore the invisible presence that constantly monitored nearly everything that took ce on the 2nd Floor... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Shibisu is jealous of our goodest boi...,Gandr about to p a ho...,Khun has a propensity to overthink things (O w O)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1716 Special

Chapter 1716 Special

Having received a notification on his pocket the prior evening, Vahn was thest to arrive at the lecture hall dedicated to the Wave Controller ss. There, he found the rest of his ssmates had spread throughout the ssroom, while, at the very front of the hall, an inordinately short person wearing a strange outfit that was simr to a fusion between a ball of rice and a sheep. Though Vahn found the figure somewhat cute, somewhat like a mascot character, the feeling he got from the short-statured figure was anything but pleasant. He could sense dozens of Shinheuh-like creatures swimming around inside the rather disarming costume with a friendly smile and six tiny freckles stered onto the front of its costume. This wouldnt have been that bad, but, unlike the rather adorable Shinheuh Nare kept hidden within therge jar on her back, the variants swimming around inside the wooly costume all had dark and twisted auras. Despite feeling as though he had just encountered the first real enemy, Vahn offered a polite smile upon entering the ssroom, remarking, "You must be our Instructor, Test Administrator Yuga. My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor. Im looking forward to your instruction and guidance." Turning his entire body to face Vahn, the petite mascots sewn-on smile appeared to stretch into an evenrger grin as it answered, "Ohhh? So this is the famous Sage Dragon Emperor I have heard so much about! I heard that you and Mr. Laure had taken the initiative to help your fellow ssmates during my absence. It is rare to find someone so generous within the Tower! Im looking forward to seeing your progress over the next month!" Offering a polite nod in response to the peculiar mans words, Vahn then made his way to the back of the ss, smiling in response to his fellow ssmates greetings. The only exception to this was Baam, but, considering the drama that had urred earlier in the morning, this wasnt too much of a surprise. Though Rachel tended to avoid every other Regr, choosing to spend most of her time cooped up inside her room, that didnt stop Baam from directly seeking her out. Unfortunately, even after he spent the entire evening sitting outside her door, Rachel insisted she had no idea who he was. This led to Baam questioning why she was pretending to be someone else, and, after a series of back and forth questions and usations, Rachel eventually snapped, shouting at Baam to leave her alone before storming off. With the person he cared about most pretending to be someone else, it wasnt surprising that Baam would be in low spirits. Staying up all night didnt help, so, with visible bags under his eyes, he sat silently at the front of the ssroom, a mncholic aura radiating from his body. This was obviously noticed by Administrator Yuga, but, rather than pay it any mind, he performed a small bow and said, "Well, now that everyone has arrived, allow me to quickly apologize for my dyed arrival. As an apology, I have requested that the Director give everyone an additional two hundred points aspensation. Now, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Yuga, the Ranker assigned to teach you all about the Position of Wave Controller..." Following his introduction, Yuga raised his head, and, after looking around at everyone in the ss, his smile became even more prominent as he remarked, "It seems most of you have already formed a contract. Still, it would reflect negatively on my status as an Instructor if I didnt cover the basics at least once. After all, while Shinsu has no limits, strengthening your foundation is the most important aspect when ites to determining your future sess!" Though the only person who could see it was Vahn, Yuga punctuated his statement by pressing a button on the remote hidden within his costume. This caused the disy behind him to light up, a picturesque scenerying into view as he exined, "Shinsu is the world itself. It makes up even the smallest organisms, and, without it, we would not even be able to breathe, much less ovee our limits. Without Shinsu, life, as we know it, simply wouldnt exist. It is responsible for every single phenomenon we observe, be it water, fire, or even light. There are infinite ways in which Shinsu can manifest, its only limits being our imagination and understanding..." With another press of the remote, the image behind Yugo changed to show the samendscape, now devastated to the point of being borderline unrecognizable. Then, in a deep tone that didnt really suit his stature or appearance, he added, "There are no proper words to describe the miracle that is Shinsu. As a result, we simply refer to it as the Blessing of God, thus the name Gods Water. Controlling Shinsu is tantamount to interrupting the role of God, borrowing his power to shape the world around you in ordance with your will. Because of this, Shinsu is an exceptionally powerful tool that can be used to save countless people...or destroy countless lives. Though it might be hard to believe, I could kill every Regr here within five seconds. That is the awesome power of Shinsu, the power that dominates everything within the Tower..." --- Following Yugas basic exnation of Shinsu, the costumed man went on to exin the importance of contracting a Guardian. They were the god-like entities that regted the flow of Shinsu on each Floor, and, without their permission, manipting Shinsu was practically impossible. Even items that were specifically created to manipte Shinsu required contracts with the Guardians, irrespective of their level and rank. In fact, the higher the rank of an item, the more strict the guidelines for its use. There were even some items, specifically those ranked A or higher, that could only be used a single time on any given Floor, regardless of the amount of time that had passed. Vahn found the idea of such restrictions rather novel, but, considering he was an Irregr, none of what Yuga was saying really applied to him. In fact, when Quant had tasked everyone with forming a contract with the Guardian, a massive serpentine creature that was more than three kilometers in length, the monstrous entity informed Gandr that forming a contract would be the same as cing a restriction on himself. Despite this, Gandr actually epted the contract, as, due to his nature as The Path, breaking free from such contracts wouldnt require any effort at all. For the sake of appearances, Vahn and Phae had also contracted with the Guardian, confusing the colossal creature quite a bit. From its perspective, they were all the same entity, but, an existence it had already contracted but couldnt sense. As a result, it ended up forging three contracts with the same person, albeit binding each of Vahns vessels individually. This would help strengthen the idea that they were each different people, even if Vahn didnt mind telling those close to them that Phae and Gandr were effectively extensions of himself. In the end, Vahn intended to cause as much confusion as possible to those who were actually in control of the Tower as it would make his future ns a lot easier. He was currently formting a n to effectively link all of the Floors within the Tower, as, even with his power, it would apparently take upwards of fifty years just to reach the 134th Floor. This was a record that had been set by the strongest person within the Tower, an Irregr by the name of Ureko Mazino who apparently had enough raw power to level a mountain range with a single punch and fire countless Baangs at light speeds. Vahn wasnt quite sure how powerful the strongest entities within the Tower were, but, based on the impression he got from Headon and Yuri, they couldnt be underestimated. Thus, while he intended to climb the normal way, the main purpose of this was to effectively create spatial anchors on each of the Floors. This would effectively allow him to move freely within the Tower, a terrifying capability that was bound to be the Jahad Empires worst nightmare... --- While the Wave Controller candidates were having the basics of their Position exined to them, the other Position sses were just learning of the Special Test that guaranteed free passage to the next Floor. Those whopleted the Special Test would even be allowed to skip the Final Exam, and, fortunately for the other candidates, their passing was not included in the final count that determined how many people were allowed to ascend to the 3rd Floor. Since they were Tests scaled to the average D-Rank Regr, meaning those who had been able to pass the 20th Floor, even Best Seeds generally had a very difficult time passing the Special Test. This was especially true for the Light Bearer and Wave Controller Positions, as, prior to entering the Floor of Tests, there was no way to form a contract with the Guardians. As a result, there was no practical way to gain experience using a Lighthouse or manipting Shinsu, irrespective of whether or not you were an average Regr, a Princess of Jahad, or a descendent of the Ten Great Families... Fortunately, Phae and Gandr were exceptions to this rule, so, immediately following the exnation of the Special Tests, they became two of the fastest within the Tower to pass the Position Exam. This was especially true of Phae, as, after witnessing her prowess on the first day, Lero-Ro had promptly approved of her qualifications as a Light Bearer. As for Gandr, he just needed toplete a trapped obstacle course within a single hour, all while blindfolded. In the end, Gandr bettered the old record by thirty-seven seconds, effectively bing the fastest person to ever pass the Scout Position Test. Despite this, both he and Phae elected to continue their lessons, effectively serving as Assistant Instructors and examples for the other Regrs. Quant even allowed Gandr to teach the remaining lessons that day. He had be rather fond of thetter, as, despite all his talents, Gandr never shied away from helping others. This was a very rare trait within the Tower, one that often decided whether or not a person would be an average Scout or rise far above their peers... --- Unaware of the Special Tests urring elsewhere, all of the Fisherman candidates had gathered in an area simply referred to as Special Test Spot No. 1. It was a man-made fieldprised entirely of massive cylindrical pirs that were approximately 20m in diameter and 100m in height. They were each spread out at random intervals across an expanse of white stone, some nearly touching while others were more than 30m apart. With each of the Fisherman candidates spread out across the field, the Instructor for the ss, a buxom female Ranker with flowing ck pigtails protruding from a silver mask could be seen floating in the sky atop a jellyfish-like Shinheuh. She was a rather mysterious woman named Hex, and, though she wore somewhat cutesy clothing consisting of a pale-blue blouse and striped pink dress, those who knew her well knew how terrifying she was as a Fisherman. With her inordinatelyrge pigtails flowing unnaturally away from her masked face, Hex yfully dangled her slippered feet as she exined in a voice that resonated across the vast testing field, "Wee to the first Special Testing area for the Fisherman Position. Today, well be keeping things simple by conducting a free-for-all of sorts. The aim of this Test is to be one of the eight candidates left standing. Though you are allowed to fight using your bodies, the only weapon you may use is the needle you have been given. Though this is only the first of three Special Tests, it will still have a substantial impact on your final grade so make sure to try your hardest! That being said, are there any questions before we begin?" Having learned to fear their instructor during the previous two days, the only person bold enough to speak out was Endorsi. She even went out of her way to stand ramrod straight as she held up her hand like an eager schoolchild, beaming as she shouted, "Ive got a question! These pirs a pretty tall for the average Regr. Are there any protections in ce to prevent people from dying~?" Smiling beneath her mask, Hex adopted a yful tone of her own as she exined, "There is, but it isnt perfect. If yound badly, there is a real chance you could die or sustain severe enough injuries that you simply cannot continue. Simply put, if you fail this test, there is a very real chance you will fail the entire ss." Satisfied with the answer, Endorsi beamed even more radiantly as she happily chimed, "That sounds simple enough! Thanks for answering my question~!" Hearing the glee contained within Endorsis voice, most of the other Fishermen candidates felt a chill run through their bodies. Many of them couldnt even cover the distance between pirs, so, depending on their luck, they could be eliminated by the seemingly unstoppable Princess without ever having a chance to eliminate another opponent. Unfortunately, the only person that could be med for their weakness was themselves, a truth that had already poisoned the minds of several weaker Regrs... With Endorsi being the only one bold enough to speak out, Hex only waited a few seconds before smiling beneath her mask and saying, "Well then, lets begin the Test. Remember, only eight of you can move on to the second Special Test. With that in mind, do your best so that, even if you fail, you wont have any regrets, okay? Now then...Ready, set, go~!" Following Hexamencement of the Special Test, a loud gong sound echoed through the entire field. Despite this, the majority of the Regrs made no effort to leave the rtive safety of their personal pirs. Though they were supposed to be the Position that threw themselves head-first into the battlefield, none of them wanted to draw attention to themselves due to the presence of two Princess of Jahad. For them, it was basically pure luck whether or not they seeded, as, even if they teamed up, Endorsi and Anak could effectively solo the entire group of Regrs... Seeing the stillness below, a dark aura began to emanate from Hexs body as she internally cursed at the cowards turtling atop their pirs. She understood their reasons, but, regardless of whether or not the enemy was stronger, it was the duty of a Fisherman to fight on the frontlines. Refusing to leave your pir all but guaranteed you would fail the ss, as, without invading other territories, it was impossible to earn points. The ss didnt reward cowards, so, even if they managed to defend against all their aggressors, those foolish enough to remain on their original pir were doomed to fail... While thinking of methods to punish those who managed to survive the current test, Hexs brows raised slightly as she noticed movement on one part of the battlefield. Just as she was wondering who was bold enough to charge towards the center, the location of Endorsi Jahad, an exasperated sigh escaped Hexs lips when she noticed it was none other than Anak. This all but ensured one of the Princesses was going to be eliminated, effectively rewarding the cowards who had chosen to remain in ce. Because of this, she found it hard to get excited for the battle, at least until Endorsi began baiting Anak to invade other pirs; systematically eliminating everyone they came across... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A wolf in sheeps clothing...,Thats a nice record you have there...,The Tower does not reward cowardice~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1717 Familial Dispute

Chapter 1717 Familial Dispute

Following the start of the Special Test, Endorsi could be seen idling about with a bored look on her face, lightly tapping the needle she had received against her leg. Like the other Regrs, albeit for very different reasons, she didnt really feel like moving around all that much. Her spar with Gandr had left her body aching in various ces, so, after quickly eliminating a few Regrs, Endorsi was intending to just rx until the Test came to an end. Unfortunately, before she could even move from her tform, Endorsi felt rm bells sounding in her mind, an exasperated sigh escaping her lips as she turned to her side andined, "Really now...a fake thinks she can ovee the genuine article? You arent terribly bright, are you? Even though I was going to ignore you, here you are,ing directly at me..." Hearing Endorsisint, a taunting smile spread across Anaks face as she asserted, "Ive been looking forward to this ever since I learned about your existence during the Crown Game. Though I dont think youre as bad as some, I can never forgive the Jahad Empire for what it has done. Every time I see that stupid hair ornament on your head, I cant help but want to smash it into pieces...!" Apanying Anaks shout, the petite Princess charged at Endorsi like a bullet that had just been freed from its chamber. Her figure turned into a literal blur, but, without any perceptible difficultly, the taller of the two Princesses was easily able to evade Anaks attack, deterring a follow-up strike by orienting the tip of her needle in the pursuing path. Then, with a bit of distance between them, her expression became slightly serious as she said, "Even with the Green April, you wouldnt be able to defeat me...dont look down on a real Princess of Jahad..." Emting a certain fluffy-eared swordsman, Anak tilted her head to the side almostically, a confused look on her face as she asked, "Oh? Did Jahad actually have a child? Is there finally a real Princess somewhere? Last I heard, there were just a bunch of brats that had his blood injected into their body." With some not-so-pleasant scenes emerging within her mind, Endorsi had to inhale a deep breath just to restrain the urge to turn the girl across from her into a pincushion. She hated anything that reminded her of the process that turned her into a Princess of Jahad. It was for this reason she was unable to get along with Anak, as, despite knowing thetter must have experienced a tragedy of her own, Endorsi believed her personal history was far more tragic. To prevent herself from identally killing the girl across from her, Endorsi threw her needle to the side as she said, "Honestly, I never really cared about you calling yourself a Princess of Jahad. If you want to paint a massive target on your head for the Royal Enforcement Division, that has nothing to do with me. What annoys me is how arrogantly you unt your power despite having done nothing to earn it. Real Princesses of Jahad have to put in an extreme amount of effort just for the chance to obtain a fraction of Jahads power...you got it simply by being born. Your existence is an insult, both to the Jahad Empire...and the tens-of-thousands of young girls who are sacrificed in order to create just one Princess of Jahad..." Though Endorsi understood that Anak was just another victim, she hated how thetter acted like she was the only victim. There were countless people within the Tower who had experienced fates far worse than simply losing their mothers. Unlike Anak, however, these people didnt possess the blood of the Towers God flowing through their veins. They didnt have a powerful weapon passed down to them without having to make any effort to obtain it. Instead, they had to put in an extreme amount of effort to avoid just bing a victim themselves, many never even having a chance to even think about vengeance. Anak was undoubtedly an unfortunate woman, but, within the Tower, that didnt make you special. The only thing that distinguished her from countless others was that she had been given a power that many desperately sought to obtain. She was allowed to be strong, fast, and durable without any effort and had even inherited a weapon that would turn most Rankers green with envy. In spite of this, she used her trauma as an excuse to behave like an arrogant brat, haughtily unting all the things she had been given while looking down on others, many who had experienced simr levels of suffering, as beneath her... Taking another deep breath to calm herself, Endorsi stared at the petite woman across from her and said, "I can understand your desire for revenge...I really can...however, if I dont give you at least one spanking, I wont be satisfied. Now,e at me, you fake." Incensed by Endorsis remark, Anaks expression turned fierce as sheunched herself toward the former, shouting, "Well see which one of us gets spanked...!" Havingrgely calmed herself, Endorsi chuckled in response to Anaks outburst, deftly evading the straightforward blow with practiced finesse. Then, with Anak chasing after her, she decided to take out a few of the other candidates to prevent any idents. She didnt mind fighting it out with the bratty lizard, but that didnt mean she would risk being eliminated for the sake of someone elses revenge. While lightly humming a song, Endorsi continued to evade the increasingly-angry Anaks attacks, even going so far as to link her hands behind her back as she gracefully backpedaled. There was a drastic difference in their amount of experience andbat proficiency, so, while Anak was indeed very powerful, she was also extremely predictable. Without having to look behind her, Endorsi easily ducked under the attack of the Regr whose tform they had invaded before giggling at his expense. This caused the man to visibly pale, but, before he could so much as think about a follow-up response, he was sent flying from the tform by a stray punch, courtesy of Anak. Understanding that Endorsi was currently toying with her, Anaks anger continued to rise as she shouted, "Stop running away! Is this how a real Princess of Jahad fights!?" Without missing a beat, Endorsi performed a quick side-step before spinning yfully as she remarked, "Of course. After all, I am an actual Princess. Im different than a certain blockheaded lizard who only knows how to charge blindly at her enemies. Woh, careful now~." With Anak suddenly throwing her needle like a spear, even Endorsi was a little caught off guard. That didnt prevent her from easily evading the blow, however, a teasing smile on her face as she mused, "There goes your weapon~." Snorting through her nose, Anak leaned forward an amount that was only possible due to her tail serving as a counterbnce. It was a long appendage that was nearly as thick as her leg, so, while it sometimes got in the way, Anak had learned to take advantage of her racial traits to attack in ways that most bipedal creatures struggled against. Though she thought Anaks stance was a little silly, as it would give anyone behind her a full view of the spat-like garment she wore beneath her dress, she didnt underestimate it at all. She could feel the Shinsu in the air gathering around Anaks bare feet, and, after a few seconds had passed, visible white vapor could be seen rising from her skin;parable to someone who had emerged from a hot bath during winter... Since she had yet to master the basics of Shinsu reinforcement, Endorsi was genuinely surprised by Anaks ability to demonstrated basic proficiency after just two days. As that thought entered her mind, the fine hairs on the back of Endorsis neck stood on end, her instinctspelling her to dodge before she perceived the attack. For the first time since the start of their little game of cat and mouse, her expression changed to one of genuine shock, as, not only did Anak manage to close the distance in an instant, she was able to instantaneously stop herself by adhering her feet to the tform using Shinsu. With widened eyes, Endorsi eximed, "Is that supposed to be your version of Gandrs-" before closing her mouth when Anak charged at her, fist extended. Thetter had aimed directly for her face, further increasing Endorsis annoyance as she put a considerable amount of effort into her physical appearance. Ignoring the pain in her arms from blocking Anaks attack, Endorsi formed a fist with her right hand, shouting, "Where do you think youre aiming, you bratty lizard!?" Having been in the middle of a charge, it was Anaks turn to express surprise as Endorsis figure, for a very brief moment, seemed to fade away. By the time her brain had processed this information, a powerful impact mmed into Anaks side, forcing the wind from her lungs as a sharp pain radiated from her rib cage. Despite having the wind knocked out of her, Anak managed to flick her tail in a way that helped to counterbnce the rotational force of her body. Unfortunately, this brought her to a stop just over a gap between two pirs, a truth she only realized after gravity began working its magic. Just as Anak thought she was going to be eliminated from the Special Test, the world around her seemed to spin as Endorsi leaped through the air, grabbing her ankle and iling her body like asso above her head. This made Anak feel extremely nauseous, but, in the next moment, she found herself embedded into the surface of one of the pirs, now within bounds. Landing softly on the periphery of the pir, Endorsibed back her bangs as she said, "Im still in the midst of giving you a spanking. Dont think Ill let you fall out of bounds that easily..." Noticing Anak wasnt moving, Endorsi allowed her words to trail off, a frown marring her beauty as a glimmer of concern shed across her eyes. She could feel a depressive suddenly radiating from Anaks body, clearly the result of the girls cognizance of the fact that she had, once again, nearly lost her chance at revenge due to her anger and short-sightedness. Suppressing a sigh, Endorsi rxed her guard, cing one hand on her hip as she said, "Ill admit it, youre pretty good. Even I cant use Shinsu to enhance my body just yet so you should feel proud...it seems you inherited more than just the blood of Jahad from your mother, the real Anak Jahad..." Though she heard Endorsis remark, Anak just continued to stare up into space, slowly limating herself to the pain in her body while thinking about her various failures over thest few days. She had nearly been eliminated three times in less than a week. If she failed, it would be impossible to get her revenge against the people who had killed her mother, so, while she was burning up like a volcano inside, she appeared uncharacteristically calm as Endorsi began monologing... Taking advantage of Anaks silence, Endorsis expression appeared equally calm, her voice filled with certainty as she asserted, "Anak Jahad was a Princess who had climbed the Tower more than three-hundred years ago. She was a powerhouse respected by many, even earning the right to wield the Green April thanks to her prowess. Shortly after that, however, rumors that Anak had eloped with a man began to circte alongside whispers that she had be pregnant. Though it would have made more sense for her to simply have an abortion, it seemed like Anak couldnt bear to part with her child, so, before members of the Royal Enforcement Division could track her down...she simply vanished alongside the Green April. A few yearster, rumors of the sinful Princess death began to circte within the Tower, but, even after scouring the Floor where she had been hiding, neither the Green April nor her supposed child was ever found..." Seeing Anak still lying on the ground, Endorsi suppressed a sigh as she averted her eyes to the side and added, "When I had first be a Princess of Jahad, there was a widespread rumor asserting that Anaks child, a young girl, had disappeared along with the Green April. Back then, I didnt think it was possible for some stray brat to escape from the Empires clutches. Because of this, Im certain you can imagine my surprise when I found some random girl calling herself Anak Jahad during the Crown Game...truth be told, I decided from that moment on that I wanted to take this Test with you. I had always wanted to meet the girl that managed to escape Jahads control and survive all these years without anyone learning her location. I wanted to know what kind of person you were, and, if given the chance, I wanted to ask you a question...tell me, daughter of Anak Jahad...tell me why my sister, your mother, chose such a path..." Though she didnt immediately answer Endorsis question, Anak removed her forearm from her head, sprawling it out to the side as she inly stated, "She wanted to be happy...being a Princess had never brought her happiness so she married a man who could cook delicious chicken pies...her favorite..." Not expecting such a silly reason, Endorsi couldnt help but frown as she watched Anak slowly rise to a seated position. She wanted to remark that, even if she hadnt been happy, it was still better to be a Princess than a criminal. Her stealing the Green April all but guaranteed she would be hunted down by the Jahad Empire, and, once it was discovered she had actually given birth, both she and her daughter would be brutally murdered. Because of this, Endorsi thought that the original Anak must have had some great reason for doing what she did...she never even considered the fact that this reason would be chicken pie... Noticing the look on Endorsis face, a smile spread across Anaks as she added, "My mothers only regret was that her favorite chicken pie cook was murdered at the hands of her own sister...one of the few she trusted. Im here to avenge that chicken pie cook...Ill make sure everyone with thest name Jahad experiences the wrath of Anak Jahad! I will have my revenge, starting with you, Endorsi Jahad...!" Finished with her words, Anak burst forward with enough speed to fracture to the top of the pir, her palm impacting Endorsis abdomen and forcing her to take a few steps back. This wouldnt have been a problem under normal circumstances, but, as she had been standing very near the edge of the pir, Endorsis eyes widened due to a sudden feeling of weightlessness. She barely managed to avoid falling by bending her knees and performing a half-squat with her arms extended out in front of her. This put Endorsi in a rather awkward position, and, as if to add insult to injury, a wicked smile spread across Anaks face as she extended her hand and attempted to finish what she had started... With her expression both paling and turning red, cold sweat appeared across Endorsis brow, her eyes seemingly asking, This is the thanks I get for sparing you?. Reading the meaning contained within Endorsis words, Anaks smile became even more vicious, her own eyesmunicating, I have no mercy for a Princess of Jahad, before attempting to knock the former from the pir. This caused Endorsis expression to darken in an instant, her body moving faster than it ever had before as she leaned back to evade Anaks second push while subsequently grabbing her wrist and shouting, "If Im going down, youreing with me, my bratty niece!" Though Anak tried to break free from Endorsis hold, thetters grip could easily crush steel, so, without any suspense, both Princesses were sent tumbling over the side of the pir, the former shouting explicatives while thetterughed like a madwoman; both stopping only when they crashed, hard, into the stone floor below... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Oh? Youre approaching me?,Endorsi actually has a point...Anak is pretty lucky, all things considered...,Nothing like the good ol crab bucket mentality...) (A/N: Just as a reminder, I moved my rest days to Friday so that people have more chapters to read on the weekends. This will be the only one I release today as Im pretty exhausted from increasing the chapter output xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1718 Control

Chapter 1718 Control

Though there were countless aspects and theories rted to Shinsu and its usage, Administrator Yuga spent the first half of the day covering the very basics. This included a thorough analysis and demonstration of the three values mostmonly associated with the mysterious energy: Baang, Myun, and Soo. The Baang was the unit that represented the number of simultaneous manifestations of Shinsu a person could perform. It was often used to represent a persons control, and, as a Regr who had just started out, it was rare to even form a single stable Baang, much less multiple. Those who could control more prior to bing an E-Rank Regr were considered prodigies, and, though he was most likely lying, Administrator Yuga confessed to needing more than a decade just to produce two stable Baangs. Though Baangs ounted for the total number of Shinsu manifestations a person could manage, it could be argued that Myun and Soo were more important. The former referred to the size, or, more specifically, the surface area of the basic spherical Baang. Thus, a Baang with a diameter of 1m was represented by a Myun value of 314, quite literally tranting into a surface area of 3.14m2. As for the unit of Soo, it was used to represent the volume, density, and, most notably, the concentration of Shinsu making up the core of a Baang. Generally speaking, the higher the concentration of Soo within a Baang, the more destructive force it was able to carry. A person was considered a Master at Shinsu maniption if they were able topletely fill a Baang with Soo, effectively matching the two values. Thus, by having a Myun and Soo of 314 upon entering the Record, there was a case to make for Vahn already being a Master in the realm of Shinsu control. Additionally, he had Ranker levels of mastery in Flow Control, Reverse Flow Control, and Cutting, the three mostmon ways to manipte Shinsu. As the name implied, Flow Control was being able to read the flow of Shinsu and being able to manipte it ording to that flow. It was the ability to read the natural currents of Shinsu and alter its direction, effectively rerouting it like a river to crash into your enemies. This was the way of manipting external Shinsu, and, while a skilled opponent could read this flow to evade or even manipte your attacks, it was the mostmon form of Shinsu control due to the avability of Shinsu within the environment. Reverse Flow Control was fundamentally identical to Flow Control, but, as the name implied, it was, very specifically, the ability to reverse the direction of Shinsu. This was considered far more difficult to achieve, as, using a real-worldparison, it was the equivalent of stopping and subsequently reversing the flow of a river. As a result, it had incredible destructive potential, and, though it wasnt practical to reverse the flow of someone manipting external Shinsu, Reverse Flow Control could be considered the ultimate ability when directly applied to a persons body. Though the most basic application of Reverse Flow Control was briefly stopping an opponent, quite literally freezing them in ce, those with advanced mastery were able to reverse the flow of Shinsu within their opponents body. Depending on their degree of Shinsu Resistance, this was effectively a one-hit kill as the body simply wasnt designed to allow Shinsu to flow in reverse. The best oue they could hope for was bing a cripple, but, more often than not, reversing the flow of Shinsu within a persons body led to their heart, quite literally, exploding... --- After spending the entire morning learning the basics, the Wave Controller ss was given an hour for lunch before regrouping at one of the many training facilities within the Evankhells Resort. This particr facility was equipped with a machine that produced durable balloons capable of staying suspended in a single location, much like a Lighthouse. There were also several tracks formed by invisible flows of Shinsu, each capable of carrying reinforced discs that allowed the candidates to practice hitting moving targets. With all eyes focused on him, Administrator Yuga waddled to the center of the training field before stopping ratherically using one foot as a pivot. Then, once he was facing the ss, he shouted in a cheerful yet slightly creepy tone, "Okay, Regrs, watch carefully! I will now give a very simple demonstration of what Rankers are capable of. Though my power is severely restricted on the 2nd Floor, let this serve as an example to motivate you during your ascent up the Tower~!" Despite the joviality of Administrator Yugas words, the atmosphere became increasingly intense as he continued speaking. By the end of his speech, the Shinsu around him had be so dense that his aura created a deep depression within the ground; space itself distorting around him. Then, in a sh, seventeen vibrant blue Baangs of Shinsu were produced, each spiraling away from his body at rtivistic speeds to shred apart the hundreds of balloons that had been suspended in the air prior to the groups arrival. Satisfied with his disy, the sewn-upon smile adorning the front of Yugas costume became more prominent, almost as though it was his actual face. He always enjoyed terrifying other people, and, though he held back due to the restrictions of the 2nd Floor, he was hoping at least one or two of the Regrs would pass out from the demonstration. It would be even better if one of them soiled themselves, especially if it was the young-looking girl with a sullen expression... Unfortunately, while most of the Regrs were surprised, none of them had an adverse reaction to the sudden eruption of Shinsu. This was rather disappointing, but, with his costume hiding his true face, none of the Regrs were able to see him frown before clicking his tongue. Immediately after that, however, his voice defaulted to a very chipper and cheerful tone as he eximed, "I hope this demonstration will be beneficial to you as you climb the Tower! Now, lets move on to the practical part of todays lesson! Each of you will attempt to form a Baang with enough Soo to destroy one of these balloons. Even if you are unable to achieve this, dont let it get you down. It generally takes a few days for even talented Wave Controller candidates to pop one of the balloons. For this reason, the Special Test only requires that you destroy five balloons simultaneously~!" Though destroying five balloons didnt sound that difficult, the fact they were spaced out meant you would need to create a Baang with sufficient Myun and Soo to destroy all five. You could also produce five Baangs to destroy them simultaneously, but, considering it was rare for even D-Rank Regrs to control five Baangs at once, it wasnt umon for years to pass between candidates passing the Wave Controller Special Exam. To prove just how difficult it was, Laure was one of the first people to attempt the Test, not because he wanted to show off, but because he wanted to return to his nap. He managed to create a Baang of Shinsu that was nearly asrge as his torso, but, even after spending several additional seconds to increase its Soo, he was still only able to destroy the center three balloons. The wave he had produced was more thanrge enough to hit all five targets, but, as the density of Shinsu along the periphery was much weaker than the flow in the direct center, his massive area-of-effect attack was more shy than efficient. Despite his failure, Laure just issued a light hum in response to Administrator Yugas praise. Then, after retreating behind the rest of the group, he curled up on the ground and promptly went back to sleep. This earned a light chuckle from Yuga, but, rather than admonish the man for his behavior, he just moved on to the next candidate. The quirks of those descended from the Eurasia Family and its associated Branches were well-known within the Tower, thus, even if he wanted to, there was no real argument to make against Laure sleeping in ss. After all, due to his unique constitution as a member of the Phonsekal Family, he was able to read the flow of Shinsu and drastically increase his recovery rate whilst asleep... Resisting the urge to release an audible sigh, Administrator Yuga turned toward the man that had just stepped onto the field. This was one of the people he had been tasked to both investigate and observe, so, for a brief moment, the mouth on the front of his costume opened to reveal two eerie blue eyes as he observed Vahns masterful control of Shinsu. It was like the Shinsu didnt even try to resist him, the myriad currents in the atmosphereing together to naturally form five energetic blue Baangs... --- After hearing about what happened during the Special Test for Fishermen, Phae was seated at the side of a certain green-skinned Princess with a smile that wasnt quite a smile. This caused Anak to visibly pale, unable to meet the usually kind womans eyes as she hung her head and muttered, "Im sorry...I just get so angry...I..." Shaking her head, Phaes released a slightly exasperated sigh before adopting a gentler expression and saying, "I understand, Anak. However, if youre truly sorry, you will demonstrate it through your actions, not your words. Though Endorsi has her...quirks...she isnt a bad girl. At the very least, I can see she has no actual animosity towards you. I wont tell you to get along with her, but unterally applying your revenge onto an entire group of people is wrong...even in the Jahad Empire, there are plenty of good people. You should know at least one particrly well..." Though there wasnt too much information, Phae had been able to conduct a basic search on Anak Jahad during the first day of ss. From the information she had gathered, it wasnt difficult to put all the pieces together to form a unified whole. After all, there were only so many ways things could have yed out, most of which could be eliminated by the simple fact that Anak was both alive and in possession of the Green April... Hearing Phaes words, Anak released a sigh of her own as she hung her head even lower. Her fight and subsequent discussion with Endorsi had allowed her to reach a simr conclusion, so, hearing Phae reiterate what she already knew, Anak felt a mixture ofplex emotions. Part of her wanted tosh out at the woman, but, the moment such an urge swelled within her, another, much stronger part of her subconscious, quickly suppressed the urge. She didnt know why, but she felt she could trust Phae, and, albeit to a much lesser extent, Gandr and Vahn... Seeing the girl lost in reflection, Phae offered a gentle smile before producing an apple from her Inventory and deftly peeling and slicing it. She knew Anak was rather fond of the fruit, so, with thetter showing positive signs of improvement, Phae waspelled to give her some kind of reward. She was also intending to treat the girls injuries, but, as pain generally helped people to put things in perspective, she would only do so after the two Princesses apologized to each other. Noticing what Phae was doing, Anak felt a tingling in her nose that gave her a strong urge toy down and face away from the gently smiling woman. Unfortunately, five of her ribs were broken on the right side, so, even if she wanted to, it wasnt really an option. If not for her high pain tolerance, she wouldnt even be able to remain sitting due to the numerous fractures within her tail. Her only sce was knowing that Endorsi was in even worse condition due to havingnded awkwardly on her right leg, shattering her femur and spraining her wrist. If not for the monstrous recovery of a Princess of Jahad, it would be impossible for her to recover before the Final Exam was scheduled to take ce. Remembering her aunt writhing about in pain, a vindictive smirk spread across Anaks face before subsequently fading the moment she felt a chill run through her body. She turned her head to find Phae smiling back at her, a dangerous glimmer in the womans sapphire blue eyes as she used the glistening knife in her hand to continue peeling an apple... Feeling parched all of a sudden, Anak swallowed hard before averted her eyes and doing her best to pretend the scary woman didnt exist... (A/N: Alternate Titles: This chapter was a real Baanger~!,Vahn over here casually flexing in front of his enemies...,Ara? Is something the matter, Anak-chan~? You seem ill, ufufufufu~) (A/N: Bonus chapter since I was in a good mood (O w O)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1719 Charm

Chapter 1719 Charm

While Phae was looking after Anak, Gandr had been roped into visiting Endorsis room with a tray of food. She wasnt able to leave her room due to her condition, so, after discussing the matter with Shibisu, Hatsu, Khun, and a visibly depressed Baam, he had been delegated the responsibility of bringing her food in exchange for having her sign everyones friend list. Though Endorsi had already signed his sheet, Gandr knew she had yet to sign any of the others, so, now that she had settled things with Anak, it was a good time to help her open up to others. These would be the people she climbed the Tower with, and, though there was nothing proving she was a central character to the original plot, it would be very strange if she wasnt. Her status as a Princess all but guaranteed she was a potential love interest for the main character, especially in a Record where such love was forbidden. With everyone else staying out of the cameras field of view, Gandr pressed the small button that served to notify the rooms upant of a guest. Almost immediately after that, the door opened with its characteristic mechanical hiss, followed by a smiling Endorsi remarking, "Oh my, what have we here? Did you finally realize this Princess charms~?" Seeing the youthful-looking woman with her hair tied back in a small ponytail, Gandrs brows raised before inly stating, "You look like apletely different person with your hair tied up like that. It gives you a nice, sporty, vibe. I think your original style suits you better, but this one isnt bad at all." Not expecting the usually dense boy to pay her apliment, Endorsi was momentarily at a loss for words as Gandr set the tray of food down before pulling over a chair to take a seat. Then, with a trace of concern visible in his gaze, he asked, "Are your legs okay?" Remembering the pain she was in, Endorsi released a moderately exasperated sigh before asking, "What do you think? The Doctors said my femur fractured in six different ces. I really owe that little lizard for this one..." Scrunching up his nose slightly, Gandr didnt hesitate to remark, "You shouldnt hold a grudge over something like this. I can tell you dont really hate Anak so this is an opportunity to make amends. I can get Phae to treat your leg if youre willing to apologize. I dont want to see either of you fail the Position Test over something like this..." Having noticed the slight change in Gandrs expression, Endorsi lightly clicked her tongue before crossing her arms in a huff. She actually wasnt that angry with Anak, and, though it was bound to cause her a lot of problems in the future, she had already decided to climb the Tower with her only niece. The problem was, she didnt want to be the first one topromise, so, rather than agree to Gandrs words, she began tapping her finger on her forearm while considering methods she could use to benefit from this situation... Seeing the tray of food on her nightstand, a brilliant idea danced across Endorsis mind, her face developing a crafty smile as she said, "Fine. Ill apologize to the lizard. It beats being stuck in bed for the next couple of days...However!" With her smile bing even more conniving than before, Endorsi held up her finger triumphantly before pointing towards the tray of food and saying, "Ill only apologize if you agree to feed me!" Expecting Gandr to frown or outright refuse her offer, Endorsi was more than a little surprised when he simply tilted his head to the side and answered, "Okay? If itll end the tensions between you and Anak, I dont see any problem with that. Afterward, I also have a few friends lists for you to sign. We will all be climbing the Tower together, so it will be better if you can be friends with everyone." Feeling like the wind had been taken out of her sails, Endorsi released a sigh before resting against her headboard and muttering, "You and your friend fetish...shouldnt you be happy that youre the only one with my name on their list? I dont get you..." Though she understood the reasons, Endorsi couldnt help but feel extremely annoyed by the fact that Gandr never treated her like a Princess. At the same time, however, she felt his personality was rather refreshing. Being treated like a Princess all the time wasnt pleasant, so, while it more than a little annoying, she didnt mind his attempts to include her in his circle of friends. She just wished he was a little more appreciative of the fact she tolerated his antics... Seeing the wistful look in Endorsis ghostly golden eyes, Gandr couldnt help sweating internally as he mentally eximed, ("Oh,e on! I didnt even do anything this time...right?") Rather than reprimand Gandr for his behavior, Sis actually giggled in the back of his mind, her voice filled with amusement as she replied, (*For some women, all it takes is treating them like a normal girl to open their heart. Dont worry, Gan-chan, it doesnt seem like she is attracted to you. If I had to guess, she currently sees you more like an adorable little brother, someone she wants to pamper and be pampered by. Since there are so many males within your group this time around, there is a chance she might set her sights on one of them after opening up a little more.*) Though he felt Sis reaction was a little strange, Gandr released an audible sigh, confusing Endorsi enough to ask, "Whats wrong? Is it really that important to you that I sign those pieces of paper? Its not like it changes anything..." Shaking his head, Gandr picked up the chopsticks from the tray of food before answering, "Its not that...I just think you would be happier if you had more friends. Even if we climb up the Tower at a record-setting pace, there is a chance we would be spending the next fifty years together. Though ourpanions might change over time, it is important toy the foundation forsting friendships early on...if you want to protect the things you care about, youre going to need allies you can trust to help carry your burden..." Seeing Gandrs ears drooping slightly, Endorsi began to feel a little guilty, her expression softening despite the visible frustration in her countenance. Gandr was usually so vibrant and full of life so she felt ufortable just seeing him like this. To further exacerbate matters, she had a strong impulse to pat his head, but, remembering their previous quarrels, attempting to touch his ears would only make things even worse. Suppressing a sigh, Endorsi adopted an even more annoyed expression as sheined, "Youre really persistent...whatever. If it will prevent you from behaving like an abandoned puppy, Ill sign those pieces of paper. Its not like I lose anything by just writing my name down..." Genuinely enthused by Endorsis words, Gandrs ears immediately perked up as his characteristically mischievous grin appeared across his face. This made Endorsi feel like she had been tricked by the bratty Vanargandr, but, before she could get angry, her tensions rxed when Gandr softly replied, "Thank you, Endorsi. I promise you wont regret this." Suppressing yet another sigh, Endorsi just crossed her arms in response to Gandrs words, pouting slightly as she said, "Whatever...now, how long are you going to keep me waiting? I might be on a diet, but that doesnt mean I enjoy starving myself. If you dont keep your end of the bargain, I-" Before Endorsi could finish her words, Gandr surprised her by deftly cing a piece of sweet pork into her mouth, smiling as he teasingly remarked, "Less talking, more eating~." --- Hearing a familiar pitta-pon echo within his room, Vahn casually opened his eyes before shifting his attention to the Pocket hovering at his side. It was currently 1:43 AM, and, while this wasnt that early, it was an abnormal time for someone to be at his door. Expecting someone like Hwa Ryun, Vahn instantly frowned when he sensed who was outside of his room. Despite this, he still unlocked the door, opening it to reveal a young woman with golden hair and eyes. She seemed surprised by the sudden opening of the door, but, almost immediately after that, a smile spread across her face as she attempted to cross the doors threshold. Manipting the flow of Shinsu around the door, Vahn created a physical wall to bar the womans passage as he inly stated, "I did not give you permission to enter my room. State your business or be on your way, Michelle Light." Without showing any visible signs of perturbation, Michelle, better known as Rachel, performed a wless curtsy before neatly folding her hands in front of her as she replied, "I understand this isnt the most appropriate time, but Ive been wanting to speak with you since before the Crown Game. I also wanted to thank you for everything your vassals have done for me over the past few days. May Ie inside...?" Already knowing what Rachel wished to discuss, Vahn very inly stated, "I have no business with a woman who would abandon the people she purports to care about just to achieve an arbitrary goal. The next time you approach me without first going through one of my vassals, I will assume you are attempting to assassinate me. Now, begone from my sight." Feeling an overwhelming amount of indignation welling up inside of her, Rachels first instinct was to try and justify her actions, but, seeing the look in Vahns eyes, she was ultimately able to restrain herself. He wasnt the type of person she could afford to offend, so, after a brief moment of silence, her response was to emte Phaes bow, quickly apologizing before walking away. Closing the door even before Rachel hadpleted her bow, a tired sigh escaped Vahns lips as he muttered, "What a farce...that womans head is filled with ambition and delusion. I wonder how she expects to convince anyone to team up with her after publically discarding the one person willing to sacrifice everything in order to achieve her dreams...ridiculous..." Though it was a little strange, Vahn had developed the habit of speaking to himself even when he was alone. Vocalizing his thoughts allowed him to better grasp his own intentions. Thoughts, alone, had a higher chance of being misconstrued due to their propensity to sound right whenever they were internalized. It took bouncing ideas off another person to truly grasp where or not they made sense, so, whenever Vahn wasnt speaking to Sis, he spoke openly to himself. Of course, that didnt mean Sis was obligated to remain silent. Rather, if she had something to say about a situation, she could be surprisingly assertive. This time, however, she seemed to share in his exasperation, stating, (*That woman gives off a very dangerous feeling. Its almost like she has the power to subsume or leech off the fate of others. If youre going to continue with your current n, you need to make sure you take measures against her ability. You dont have a [Fate Severing Knife] on hand to deal with...ah...that might work?*) With the ability to know all of Vahns thoughts, Sis could sense what he had in mind regarding the troublesome blondette. It was far from the best solution, but, unless Rachel attempted something more substantial, it wasnt like he could just kill her to remove a problem. Vahn had never been the type to preemptively eliminate threats since there was no way to know with absolute certainty what a person would choose to do. He also knew everyone had a reason for the way they behaved, so, at least until she had given him something more substantial to act upon, Vahn would withhold his final judgment of Rachels character. After all, there were countless examples of evil people turning good and vice-versa... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Seems like she is more thirsty than hungry...,I wonder if this is Endorsis first time having a boy put something in her mouth~?,BEGONE, THOT!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1720 Routine

Chapter 1720 Routine

Since he was clearly stronger than everyone else in the current batch of Regrs, Gandr had agreed to several requests to help people train. As a result, Shibisu, Hatsu, Chunhwa, Nare, Aleksai, Endorsi, and, starting today, Anak had gathered together within one of the Resorts training areas at 5 AM. As the only one who wasnt really there to train, Nare was still wearing her pajama as she hugged a pillow off to the side. She was already struggling with the normal Scout training, so, while it would undoubtedly be beneficial to her in the future, she wasnt at the point where she could train before her actual training even started. As for her Knight, Hong Chunhwa, he was pretty eager to improve before the second Special Test for Fishermen began. Chunhwa was one of the eight candidates that had passed thanks to Endorsi and Anak eliminating each other, so, with less than a week to prepare, he was pushing his limits to try and learn physical reinforcement. Fortunately, though he would have been allowed to participate regardless, Nare had told him about the morning training session hosted by Gandr, so, with amendable amount of conviction, the rather handsome Knight had taken to the training with gusto. Unfortunately, Chunhwas training partner ended up being Endorsi, so, while he was doing his best, he was also getting yed to death by the grudge-holding Princess. Despite this, Chunhwa didnt give up, and, every time Nare cheered him on, he seemed to be ever so slightly stronger than the moment prior. This earned him a fair amount of teasing from Endorsi, but, rather than show any embarrassment, Chunhwa pushed forward with a resolute light in his eyes. While Endorsi was beating up Nares Knight, the other Princess present, Anak, was facing off against someone more than twice her height and several times her size. Despite this, it was the muchrger man, Aleksai, who was constantly being pushed back. Anak wasnt very good at holding back so he had a number of cuts and bruises all of his body. Despite this, he would quickly get back up after a heavy blow, his reddish-brown eyes showing a calm determination as he adopted a boxing stance and attempted to anticipate the next blow. Despite several people iming that Aleksai had fought like a fierce demon during the Deathmatch, the truth of the matter was that the man was a rtively gentle giant. Though he did have demonic wings protruding from his upper back, hisbat style revolved around countering the opponents attacks, rather than going on the offensive. He even had a surprisingly gentle voice, a stark contrast to his burly and muscr appearance. Seeing her opponent rise to his feet for the umpteenth time, Anak showed an expression of mild annoyance as she remarked, "You really dont know when to quit..." Though Aleksai rarely spoke, often choosing to keep a fair amount of distance from most people, he sometimes uttered a few words every now and then during training. Thus, in response to Anaks taunting, he just softly stated, "Im ready..." as the muscles in his body tensed up. Without any hesitation, a ripple appeared near the base of Anaks feet as she closed the distance between herself and Aleksai in an instant. This was actually her first time at the training sessions so she was annoyed by the fact that Gandr was focused on helping others. She didnt see the point of sparring against people that were weaker than herself, arguing that it was a waste of time. What she never expected was for Gandr to use her own deration against her, asking why he should waste time sparring against her when she was, very clearly, weaker than him. Anak wasnt at all enthused by Gandrs statement, feeling as though he had somehow betrayed her by saying such a thing in front of everyone. Despite this, she ended up participating in the training, as, even if she wanted to, there wasnt really an argument to make against Gandrs rebuttal. He had used her own words against her, and, even if she went all out using the Green April, Anak couldnt even imagine a scenario where she emerged victoriously against the annoying Vanargandr... Due to the drastic difference between their physical capabilities and speed, Anak easily evaded the cross-counter of Aleksai, spinning under the blow and using her tail to hit the side of his knee. This caused the mans knees to buckle, utterly destroying his bnce and causing his head to move into the perfect position for Anaks tiny fist to impact against his cheekbone. As a result, a visible ripple passed through the mans face, and, though she held back quite a bit, a visible shockwave formed at the impact point of Anaks fist. For the umpteenth time since the beginning of their spar, Aleksai was sent spiraling through the air before crashing, hard, into the ground. His right eye immediately swelled to a point where he could no longer see through it, but, much to Anaks chagrin, he still climbed to his feet after taking a few seconds to catch his breath ande to his senses. With the tip of her tail shaking in frustration, Anak was very near the point of going all out against the annoying red-head. An even greater density of Shinsu began to build up around her feet, but, before she could charge forward, her vision was obscured by a familiar figure. In the next moment, a not-so-gentle chop impacted the top of her head as Gandr inly remarked, "Youre letting your anger get the better of you. This is training, not a battle to the death. Aleksai isnt your enemy, he is your training partner. You should be guiding him and giving advice, not taking your frustrations and resentment out on him." Feeling a remarkable amount of pain from the crown of her head, Anak used both hands to cover the area, moisture building in the corners of her eyes as she red back at Gandr. She wanted to say something in her defense, but, as was often the case whenever she faced off against the hateful Vanargandr, his words struck at the heart of the matter. She also knew he was trying to help her, so, even if she wanted nothing more than to chop his head in retribution, she ultimately managed to resist the urge, saving herself further embarrassment. Just as Gandr was about to release a sigh and apologize for hitting Anak on the top of her head, the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. At the same time, his ears perked up to their full height, his body bing illusory as the heel of a foot passed through where his head used to be. Despite failing her surprise attack, Endorsi didnt show any signs of backing down as she shifted her gaze to Gandrs new location, a malicious yet teasing smile on her face as she said, "Ill teach you to bully my niece, you furry-eared brat~!" Understanding Endorsis true intentions, Gandr just rolled his eyes in response to her words before asserting, "We all know youre just looking for an excuse to fight. I would never allow someone to bully Anak, much less myself. Trying up with something more convincing the next time, Ghost-Pepper Princess." Hearing the peculiar form of address, Endorsi managed to momentarily retrain her urge to charge, confusion visible in her subtly glowing eyes as she asked, "What did you just call me...?" Smiling mischievously in response to Endorsis inquiry, Gandr adopted a teasing tone as he mused, "A ghost pepper has the traits of being super hot, spicy to the point of being unbearable. Since you have ghostly eyes, I figured it would be a good rebuttal whenever you call me a fluffy-eared brat~." Though she felt a little fluttery when Gandr said she was super hot, Endorsi quickly understood he wasnt simply talking about her physical appearance. As a result, her smile became somewhat dark, cracking her knuckles as she asked, "Are those yourst words...?" Realizing he might have gone a little overboard, Gandr decided to backpedal a bit while continuing with the same theme, winking yfully as he took evasive action and mused, "Spicy things arent so bad in moderation..." Failing her first punch, Endorsi was intending to follow up with a roundhouse kick when she heard Gandrs sudden addendum. Though she was still able to execute the action seamlessly, she became a little muddleheaded as a very light blush colored her cheeks. She knew he was teasing her, but, as someone who wore their vanity on their sleeve, Endorsi was still gratified by the boys remark. As a result, she made a mental note only to half-kill him...that was assuming she could ever catch him... --- Simr to the first day of Wave Controller ss, the first half of the day was spent focusing on the various theories and applications for Shinsu. Then, following an hour-long lunch, everyone gathered together to continue the practical lesson from the previous day. This would apparently repeat every day until the Final Exam, as, with very few exceptions, it took a lot longer than thirty days to reach a level where you could sessfully pop all the balloons. Being such an exception, Vahn was given the option to either skip the afternoon lessons entirely or assist in helping other Regrs refine their skills. Vahn, of course, chose the second option, both as a means of building rapport with the rest of the ss while concurrently keeping a watchful eye on Administrator Yuga. As could be expected, the Administrator had taken quite an interest in Vahn, showering him with praise and asking various probing questions. Vahn could tell the man was trying to get a feel for his character, likely to determine whether or not he was a threat to be eliminated or an asset that could be used to further the gains of whatever organization backed him. Based on Phaes and Sis joint investigation, there were only a handful of powerful organizations within the entirety of the Tower. The Jahad Empire and the Ten Great Families worked tirelessly to prevent any rival organizations from trespassing on their territory, so, with the exception of the Workshop, apletely neutral organization, the only operation to oppose them was a criminal group known as FUG. From a narrative point of view, FUG was clearly intended to be the good guys, but, based on all the information present within the Administrator Archives, they were more-so a group of terrorists than a revolutionary army. This could be the result of careful maniption of information, but, based on the general structure of the Tower and its political system, Vahn suspected they were likely just as bad, if not worse, than the Ten Great Families. They had likely been founded with good intentions, but, as was often the case when vast power disparities were involved, they had been corrupted by the passage of time and the shing of individual interests. Vahn didnt know which organization Administrator Yuga represented, but, based on his propensity for showing off and the swirling mass of negativity hidden beneath his costume, it was reasonable to assume he was associated with the Jahad Empire. There were bound to be some egotistical types in FUG, but, more often than not, those who unted their arrogance weremonly associated with whatever group currently held the most power. Fortunately, it didnt seem like Administrator Yuga suspected him to be an Irregr. After all, only three known Irregrs had appeared within the entire history of the Jahad Empire, so, even when a monstrously talented individual showed up, few people assumed they were Irregrs. There were countless examples of people possessing an inordinate amount of talent, and, though it was rare, a few even possessed unique abilities that led to them being poached by, and marrying into, the Ten Great Families. Though Vahns capabilities stood out quite a bit, he made sure to hold back his true power in order to prevent too much trouble before he was able to find his footing. He didnt really care if his status as an Irregr was exposed. After all, he had already admitted it directly to Administrator Quant on the first day of Testing. Still, that didnt mean he would go around unting his Irregr status, as, when it ultimately came down to it, Vahn didnt even remotely care about the infamous title... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Chunhwa is fueled by the power of Loli love,The origin of the Ghost-Pepper Princess,Does this count as hiding in in sight...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1721 Changes

Chapter 1721 Changes

With everyone falling into the groove of their Positions, life within Evankhells Resort became rather routine. Though there were a few noteworthy incidents, such as Rachel apologizing to Baam, Anak showing up outside of Phaes door in the middle of the night, and Endorsi trading in her heels for a pair of sneakers, everything else was just business as usual up until the final week of ss. As could be expected, the final week was far more important than the three preceding it. Not only would there be a Final Exam at the end of the week, but, in order to make sure everyone was able to fulfill the responsibilities of their Position, joint training sessions had be the norm. After all, it didnt really matter how talented you were if you couldnt actually work together in a team. Unfortunately, due to havingpleted the Special Tests, Vahn, Phae, and Gandr were required to sit back and watch the joint training sessions from within the Administration Command Center. This was to prevent them from effectively carrying each of the teams through the Tests, so, while all the other Regrs were hard at work, the Imperial Trio were seated alongside Rak and Ghost, the only other candidates to have passed their Special Tests. Fortunately, watching the tests from a birds-eye view allowed Vahn to get a better grasp of which Regrs would be useful for his future ns. The Administration had also prepared arge quantity of food and drink for them to enjoy, so, while it was pretty boring to just sit around all day, it wasnt all bad. The only person greatly affected by the turn of events was Gandr, who, in ordance with his character, was lying upside down with his head and ears dangling off the sofa, an exceptionally bored expression on his face. Seeing Gandrs ears twitching convincingly, even without his willing it to, Vahn had a thoughtful expression on his face that was mirrored by Phae. The only difference was, his features gave off an impression of solemnity while hers vaguely resembled a concerned mother wondering about the future of her child. This was, of course, the impression that Vahn was going for, but, whenever he was around his fairer and younger counterparts, he couldnt shake the feeling they were gradually bingpletely different people. Sharing her Lords thoughts, for obvious reasons, Phae offered a polite smile as she habituallybed back her bangs. This was a reaction so deeply ingrained into her character that, even without putting any conscious thought into it, Vahn would perform the action through her as if it waspletely natural. There had even been instances where he waspletely caught off guard by her responses, irrespective of the fact he was the one controlling them... At this point, Vahn was pretty sure that Phae and Gandr were bing unique existences, entities intrinsically linked to him but with their own, separate, Egos. This was actually something he tried to aplish during his training, but, likely as a result of being inside his Realm, his efforts had been limited by his own omnipotence. As for why he wanted to aplish any kind of separation at all, Vahn was intending to use the Memory Fragment he had saved from his time in Danmachi to create an Avatar for himself after linking the Records. He also wanted to give Sis a chance to pilot a vessel of her own, one which she would be able to manage without having to separate from him. If he were being honest, Vahn was pretty excited by the growing independence of Phae and Gandr; he just hadnt expected it to happen so soon after entering the Record. After all, he had spent years developing Phaes and Gandrs characters without achieving any noteworthy results. Now, after less than a month in the final Record, he was already on the verge of a breakthrough. There was even a chance their autonomy was the result of his Mind Innate beginning to awaken, something Vahn had been anticipating for decades... Restraining the urge to sigh, Vahn offered a curt nod in response to Phae handing him a cup of tea, yet another action he seemed to perform instinctually through her. As for Gandr, he had relocated to where Rak and Ghost were engaged in an unscheduled eating contest. They each had arge pile of chocte bars in front of them, quite literally shoving the sugary sweets into their maws without even bothering to remove the wrappers. As could be expected, neither of the massive men were a match for Gandr, as, despite his small size, he could, quite literally, eat an infinite amount of food. Every excess calorie he consumed became a meager amount of energy that was stored within theplex seal imprinted upon his back. There was no limit to the amount of energy that could be stored within the seal, but, upon activation, it would immediately consume everyst drop in order to drastically increased Gandrs parameters for a short period of time. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that, while weaker than both Vahn and Phae, Gandr had the highestbat potential between them. He not only wielded Laev-tan but, thanks to the restraints that had been ced on his body, [Chainbreaker] allowed him to demonstrate remarkable speed and power, even eclipsing that of Vahn. The only downside was that [Chainbreaker] was directly influenced by the state of a persons mind, so, in order to benefit from the powerful ability, Gandr was prone to bouts of frustration and anger. Back within the Realm, Gandrs seal didnt really seem to influence him that much since he could always remove it, quite literally, with a single thought. Now, however, his power was greatly limited, and, unless he put in an extreme amount of effort, it was impossible to remove the seal without the key. The best he could do was activate it, burning away all the stored energy in order to mitigate the strain ced upon his body by the seal. Since it was meant to emte Fenrirs Innate, the most potent effect of the Vanargandr Seal was cing a literal strain on the user. The seal would feel heavier depending on the amount of energy stored within, and, though this had absolutely no effect on physical weight, it ced a tremendous burden on the mind and spirit. This could actually be used to strengthen both, but, simr to how Fenrir would grow increasingly frustrated the more her power outgrew her ability to control, Gandr would suffer very simr effects. As for why this had no effect on Vahn and Phae, theyrgely offset it with some liberal usage of the [Will of the Emperor]... --- While Vahn and co were idling about within the Control Room, the rest of the surviving Regrs, those who had yet to be eliminated due to serious injury or death, were participating in a Capture the g stylepetition. This involved diving the Regrs into four teams with 6-8 people, each defending a fortress located amidst heavily forested or extremely rocky terrain. As was the case in most Capture the gpetition, the penultimate goal of the game was to secure the enemy teams g while simultaneously protecting your own. You earned points based on the total number of gs your team was able to capture, the caveat being that you would lose all of your points the moment your g fell into the hands of another team. In a vain attempt to ensure things were fair, Endorsi, Anak, Laure, and Khun had all been ced in charge of separate teams. To further bnce things, Endorsi and Anak were both part of teams that only had six members. They were forced to choose between protecting their g or venturing into enemy territory to try and eliminate as many other Regrs as possible. After all, every Regr they took out of the battle was one less person they needed to worry about. Unfortunately for the two Princesses, their propensity towards violence made it easy for others to predict their actions. They ended up getting baited into a trap and pitted against each other after some careful wordy by Khun. Around the same time, members of both his and Laures teams performed a raid on the Princesses Fortresses, securing the gs and ultimately winning the game without any real suspense. Later on, Baam asked Khun what he had said to get the two Princesses to fight against each other despite knowing it was a trap. As for the answer, he produced a rather peculiar cookie from his Inventory, one loosely resembling a certain onyx-haired Vanargandr... --- With sses having wrapped up for the day, Gandr had gathered within Baams room alongside Khun, Shibisu, Hatsu, Laure, Chunhwa, Aleksai, and Rak. They had decided to have something like a boys only sleepover while most of the girls had all gathered together within Phaes room to learn advanced hair care and beauty treatments. It was a well-known fact at this point that the changes in Rachels appearance were thanks to Phae, so, as could be expected, she instantly became the center of attention among girls who were concerned about their appearance. As someone extremely knowledgeable regarding the care and development of women, Phae had quickly be the big sister that everyone looked up to within the rtively small group of girls. Even Endorsi looked up to her quite a bit, probing Phaes brain for advice on everything from men to fashion. This led to a few rather pointed questions being thrown Phaes way, but, with several years of practice preparing for these exact types of questions, she was able to avoid embarrassing herself, often flipping the table entirely to put Endorsi on the spot. In the beginning, Endorsi didnt truly respect Phae due to her rather inted sense of self-worth. It was only after thetterpletely destroyed both her and Anak in an arm-wrestling contest that she epted Phae as the de facto leader of the girls group. From that moment on, she, alongside many of the other female Regrs, congregated in Phaes room after hours. They even spent a few nights within the confines of the room, a trend that had started when several people noticed Anak emerging from the motherly womans room early in the morning. Though it wasnt every night, Anak had made a habit of sleeping in Phaes room whenever she had a particrly hard day. Thetter always had cookies and other snacks waiting for her, and, though she had trouble expressing herself, Phae always seemed to understand what was on her mind. This caused Anak to develop a bit of a dependence on the woman, but, considering she had spent more than three-hundred-years stuck in a suspended mentality, any change was a step forward. The fact Anaks body had started to subtly develop was the biggest indicator of this, even if these changes werergely due to her rivalry with Endorsi and her growing awareness of Gandr... Even if it was morepetitiveness and curiosity than anything else, it was clear to most that Anak treated Gandr differently than everyone else. She hardly talked to other people, and, the few times she did speak, it was often to say something condescending or abrasive. In Gandrs case, however, she was usually very quiet, and, at times, even appeared shy and demure. She also sat next to him during meal times, and, though she never thanked him for thepliments, she would sometimes smile whenever hemented on the changes in her hair and clothes. From Gandrs point of view, Anak was like a little sister to him, and, as far as he could tell, at least for the time being, she viewed him in a simr light. The fact they were alwayspeting against each other was the best example of this. They would often race through the hallways, and, when it came time for training, their spars would quickly devolve into rather brutal slugfests. After all, Anak had a very simr style to Gandrs when they were fighting unarmed so thetter had been training her in the basics of the Heavenly White Tiger Style. Though it wasntpletely necessary, possessing a tail greatly aided in the execution of several techniquesmon within Baihus patented style. Anaks, in particr, allowed her to nearly bend forward at ny degrees without falling over. This,bined with the fact she was only 154cm in height, gave her an exceptionally low center of gravity. As a result, she was able to slip into the gaps created by foes muchrger than herself, gaps easily exploited by the phenomenal strength stored within her petite frame. With strength being the most important thing within Anaks mind, second only to her revenge, she always put an inordinate amount of effort into her training. This was the reason she didnt want to waste time fighting against foes weaker than herself, but, after some careful guidance, Anak was slowly beginning to ept that others not only had their own desires, they also had a right to grow stronger. Her selfishness would only be a detriment in her pursuit of revenge, so, while she would show considerable dissatisfaction at times, she at least made an effort to advise others during their group training sessions. She had even helped Shibisu in his physical training, albeit by sitting on his back as he struggled to do even ten pushups with the addition of 140kgs weighing him down... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Its only a matter of time before Sis appears (O w O)...,Phae is da wae...,That is one thc cucumber...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1722 Relaxation

Chapter 1722 Rxation

With the Final Exam scheduled to take ce the following day, everyone was given the day off to rest, recuperate, and make mental preparations. The Administrators had even opened up the part of the Resort that catered to Rankers, allowing Regrs to experience a taste of what it was like to be a part of the most coveted ss within the Tower. Though not every Ranker was wealthy, they had ess to residences and facilities that were simply unavable to anyone who was not a Ranker. They were also universally respected within the Tower, some, specifically High Rankers, even being treated like Gods in certain regions of the Tower. After being invited out by Endorsi, Phae was enjoying the rxing massage of a genderless creature with six tentacr arms and a series of six eyes circling its dome-like head. It was a rather enjoyable experience, but,pared to the [Hands of Nirvana], it wasparatively tame. Following the massage, the two girls met up with Anak, who, despite warnings, had been sitting in the sauna for more than an hour. She had originally been with Rozeal and Nare, but, after spending a few minutes in the steamy chamber, they both went to get their hair and faces done. Seeing Anak melting at the top of the sauna, her towel serving as a nket, Phae released a small sigh while Endorsi directly remarked, "Oi, lizard-breath. Even if youre not the genuine article, have some dignity as a Princess of Jahad." Hearing Endorsis remark, Anak turned her head to the side, an exceptionallyzy look on her face as she replied, "Bite me, Ghost-Pepper..." Annoyed by the increasinglymon form of address, Endorsi held up her fist, a smile that wasnt quite a smile appearing on her face as she prepared a rebuttal. Before she could, however, Phae sat down on one of the wooden benches, removing her towel before asserting, "This is neither the time nor the ce for bickering. Tomorrow is a very important day for both of you. Take this opportunity to rx both your body and your mind. No fighting." Feeling the wind taken out of her sails, Endorsi briefly studied Phaes naked body before releasing a defeated sigh. Then, after cing her towel down, she also took a seat before asking, "How are you able to keep your breasts from sagging? Ive never seen you wear a bra or wrap your chest. Its not fair..." Raising her brow in amusement, Phae mirrored Endorsis action, briefly sizing up thetters body before asserting, "Youre just being silly. You have a lithe and athletic figurebined with features that would make others green with envy. There is no need topare yourself to me, Endorsi. You are a beautiful young woman. Be proud of your figure. Just dont be vain." Though she felt gratified by Phaespliments, a radiant smile spreading across her face, Endorsi still remarked, "Im more worried about my future than my present. Even if theyve yet to start, I still worry about sagging. Tell me, do you have some kind of secret method to keep your breasts perky and full...?" Feeling slightly exasperated, Phae released a tired sigh before staring down at her own breasts, two sizeable melons that, in spite of their volume, had an immacte shape. She had honestly grown a little fond of them, even if they often required her to periodically stretch just to alleviate the pain in her back and shoulders. After briefly considering her response, Phae raised her head to find even Anak had started listening in on the conversation. This brought an amused smile to her face, as, while she wasntpletely t, Anak couldpete with Fenrirs original form when it came to bust size. Deciding against making a joke at Anaks expense, Phae continued smiling as she said, "There are a countless number of ways to prevent, or even reverse, sagging. When it bes an actual issue, Ill go into greater detail. Until then, your best bet is to keep growing stronger. The more powerful you be, the less likely youll have to worry about such things." Though she felt like Phaesment was a cop-out response, Endorsi decided not to keep pressing the issue, yet another sigh escaping her lips as she muttered, "It is pretty hot in here..." As the sauna was intended to be used by Rankers, it wasnt an exaggeration to say only those with superhuman physiques could stay in for long periods of time. Phae was perfectly fine, for obvious reasons, but Endorsi was still susceptible to the heat. As for Anak, she was a bit of an exception in this particr situation, as, despite not being cold-blooded, her body temperature was a lot lower than normal. This gave her a fondness for warm things, so, even though her body was covered in a rather thickyer of sweat, she continued enjoying the sauna, arms and legs sprawled out as shey on her stomach with a contented look on her face... Resisting the urge to correct the not-so-young youngdy, Phae just lightly shook her head before smiling back at Endorsi and replying, "Indeed..." in her characteristically husky yet soft tone. --- While the girls were off enjoying their day at the spa, most of the guys had gathered in the Rankers recreational facility. There were various activities to enjoy within, including a full-size movie theater, but most of them had gathered to y a game of squash. Squash was a game where 2-4 yers hit a durable rubber ball against the back wall of a closed-off arena. The primary objective of the game was to use a racket to hit the ball against the wall in such a way that your opponents would be unable to hit it back. There were various other rules due to the super-human capabilities of Rankers, but, unless you were ying seriously, the main goal was to smack the ball as hard as you could in order to bypass your opponents defenses. Afterpletely destroying everyone he had been matched against, Gandr was currently sitting on the sidelines with Shibisu and Baam while watching Khun and Chunhwa face off against Hatsu and, somewhat surprisingly, Hoh. Thetter wasnt particrly known for his physical capabilities, but, as everyone else had agreed not to use Shinsu enhancement, he was able to just barely keep up. Vahn, and, by proxy, Gandr had originally been worried that Hoh was deviating down a very dark path, but, with a few choice words of advice, it seemed like the man had gradually stepped back into the light. He still kept to himself most of the time, but, as part of Shibisus circle of friends, he would asionally appear whenever something interesting was taking ce. Seeing the effeminate blond smiling as he dashed around the squash court, Gandr had a rxed smile on his face as he answered Baams question concerning Vahns refusal to join everyone else in their recreation games, exining, "Whenever my Master is around, others find it hard to stay calm. Im sure youve experienced it during your sses, but he gives off an aura that makes people feel both inspired yet terrified. Its like he can see through everything, and, whenever he takes action, it is always decisive." Remembering how nervous he felt whenever Vahn just looked at him, Baam could understand what Gandr was trying to convey. He wasnt the only one either, as, every time the Emperor was around, it was like everything immediately revolved around him. Whenever he spoke, everyone immediately fell silent, and, whenever he offered advice, it was almost like hearing someone speak an irrefutable truth. Administrator Yuga had even gone so far as to say that Vahn was exceptionally gifted when it came to teaching others, encouraging him to apply to a position within the Imperial Pce once he inevitably became a Ranker. Misinterpreting the look on Baams face, Gandr lightly nudged the boy as he said, "Hey, you dont have to worry so much. My Master isnt lonely or anything like that. He is just giving Phae and me a chance to get close to everyone. Once we move up to higher Floors, he will probably interact with everyone more often. He is just holding back right now to prevent everyone from grouping around and bing reliant on him." Though Baam was slightly confused by Gandrs remark, Shibisu had been listening closely from his position at the side, chiming in toment, "I thought that might have been the case. The way you and Phae treat everyone is a little strange considering how much power you possess. That man, the Emperor, is going to offer us some kind of power at some point. Is that right?" Rather than refute Shibisus im, Gandr justughed before answering, "You can see it that way. In the end, however, your growth will depend entirely on your efforts. I cant go into too many details right now but I can tell you this...all of my skill with the sword is the result of my Masters training. If you have the motive to be strong, there is no faster way than listening to my Masters advice." Having witnessed Gandrs skills throughout the entirety of the Position Test, Shibisu felt a chill run through his body as he asked, "If you were to fight-" Without having to hear the rest of Shibisus inquiry, Gandr adopted an uncharacteristically serious expression as he asserted, "Even if every single one of us teamed up against him, we wouldnt be able to defeat my Master. Phae might be able to win under certain conditions, but that is because he cant really go all out against her. If it was a real fight, even the Administrators wouldnt be able to defeat my Master...he is an existence most people cant evenprehend..." Though it was a little awkward talking about himself in such a way, Gandr wasnt really lying when he made such bold ims. Their existence as The Path was beyond even theprehension of an Omnipotent Genius like Da Vinci, and, while it was possible for them to be defeated, it would never be a true defeat unless they allowed themselves to be killed. It didnt really matter how strong the opponent was, they were simply inevitable... Hearing the certainty in Gandrs tone, Shibisu suddenly felt as though the surrounding temperature had decreased substantially. After all, Gandr was close to being able topete against a Ranker in speed, so, while it was difficult to imagine a Regr being strong enough to take on Test Admins, it sounded a lot more credibleing from the Vanargandr at his side. Vahns demonstration during the Crown Game was another point in his favor, as, prior to him voluntarily stepping down from the throne, everyone else was powerless to even approach it. Noticing Shibisus pale expression, Gandrs serious look faded into a rxed smile as he pat the man on the shoulder and said, "You dont really have anything to worry about. Were already on the same side. Besides, once you learn what my Master has to offer, all your worries will seem pointless. He isnt some demon that offers power in exchange for life force or anything like that. It would be more urate to say he gives you the opportunity to pursue your own path. You can think of it as a more advanced version of what he has done in the Wave Controller ss. He was even the one who asked Phae to help Rachel, hoping it would change the woman for the better." At the mere mention of Rachels name, Baam immediately became more attentive. Though she was still keeping her distance from everyone, she hade to his room several weeks ago to apologize for lying to him. Since then, they had eaten lunch together a few times, and, though it was different from when they were alone outside the Tower, he felt like things were gradually going back to the way they once were. Since this was his first time hearing that Vahn was the reason behind Phae helping Rachel, Baams opinion of the man skyrocketed in an instant. Thus, with a smile that seemed to light up the entire Recreational Facility, he happily chimed, "Your Master is amazing, Gandr. I cant wait to be his friend when we reach the next floor!" Shifting his gaze to Shibisu for a brief moment, both he and Gandr smiled wryly before thetter turned back to Baam and replied, "Im sure he would like that..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Phae(Vahn) over here casually sitting in a sauna with two Princesses...,We are inevitable...,Baam is too pure for this world) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1723 Prelude

Chapter 1723 Prelude

In anticipation of the Final Exam, most participating Regrs retired early, many understanding it would not be easy to get any sleep. Fortunately, the test wasnt scheduled until the afternoon of the following day, giving them plenty of opportunities to sleep in and make final preparations. As one of the few people exempt from the exam, Vahn wasnt particrly worried about theing day. His only real concern was that nothing had happened over thest month. This implied there would be something going down during the final, or, depending on the circumstances, immediately after it. After all, he still had the ck March in his care after agreeing to return it to Princess Yuri, a major indicator that something had to happen while he was on the 2nd Floor. Fortunately, even if caused him a moderate amount of exasperation, a soft pitta-pon interrupted his evening meditation. He could sense Hwa Ryun on the opposite side of the door, so, after a brief moment of consideration, Vahn fixed his posture before opening the door to allow entry. Without being prompted, Hwa Ryun waited for the door to close behind her before taking a knee and deeply bowing her head. Then, in a highly reverential tone, she stated, "Thank you for allowing me entry into your room." Appreciative of the fact that Hwa Ryun was obeying his earlier decree to not refer to him as her God, Vahn nodded in approval beforemanding, "Raise your head and exin the reason for thiste-night visit. Im assuming you wish to discuss theing exam?" Raising her head, a smile blossomed across Hwa Ryuns face as she replied, "That is, indeed, the case. Now that things have developed this far, there are some concerns I wished to address before crossing the point of no return. I wanted to know your intentions for the boy named Baam. I have also been tasked with arranging a meeting between you and my former superiors..." Having already assumed Hwa Ryun was part of arger organization, Vahn wasnt too surprised by her offer to meet with members of said organization. Her inclination towards worshipping him all but guaranteed she was a member of FUG, and, based on the natural progression of events, it was safe to assume their current objective was to kidnap and conceal the existence of Baam. Irregrs were considered a major threat by the Jahad Empire, a threat that must be eliminated at all costs. Though the methods they could employ were limited thanks to the structure of the Tower, there were countless Regrs and Rankers who would willingly act in the Jahad Empires interest to intervene. This included several Test Directors, Administrators, and, at least in higher Floors, various members of the Ten Great Families. The only way to tide through these tribtions was if you were already very powerful, a concept far removed from the current Baam. After sitting in silence for several seconds, Vahn met Hwa Ryuns eye, inly stating, "You are free to continue with your current ns. However, I will not allow that boy to be the tool of others. The fall of Jahad is inevitable. If your superiors are intelligent, they will bide their time until a power vacuum is created in his absence. If they intend to intervene in my personal matters, they will suffer the same fate as the Jahad Empire. I will not remove one group of tyrants just to rece them with another..." Having closely observed the actions of her God and his vassals, Hwa Ryun had no doubt regarding Vahns final statement. He was the type that zed a trail forward while empowering those behind him so they would be able to rule in his stead. He cared neither for politics nor power struggles as his goaly, not inside of the Tower, but far beyond its confines. She could see the people following him bing his own variation of the Ten Great Warriors, people who were bound to rule over the Tower following his inevitable conquest... With an expectant smile spreading across her face, Hwa Ryun went on to add, "My current duty has me acting as Guide for a man named Ha Jinsung, a High Ranker of the Ha Family and a member of FUG. He was sent to secure the Irregr-" Before Hwa Ryun could exin further, Vahn silenced her by raising his hand in a stopping gesture. He had his own ns and it was too tiresome to n around the machinations of others, especially when he didnt particrly care about their objectives. Thus, in response to Hwa Ryuns attempt at rification, he inly stated, "Tell your superiors that I will meet with them after passing through the 20th Floor. I currently have no intention of negotiating with a group that has made a mockery of the current system, publically ughtering countless people in the name of their justice. If their ultimate objective is the death of Jahad and the absolution of the current system, they need only to bide their time. The moment they try to interfere with my ns, they will suffer the same fate as the Ten Great Families. I have no patience for hypocrites who merely seek to rece an existing system of corruption with a version that better suits their interests." Though she wasnt surprised by her Gods words, Hwa Ryun couldnt help but feel a bit of concern for him. His current power was great, yes, but he was still far from the point of being able to defeat a High Ranker. FUG would do whatever it took to achieve their goals, so, the moment they heard he wasnt being cooperative, things were bound to get messy. Noticing the concern visible in Hwa Ryuns gaze, a very subtle smile spread across Vahns lips as he said, "You need not worry. Even if my power is currentlycking, there isnt an existence within this Tower that is capable of killing me. They will learn this the hard way if they try to interfere with my progress through the Tower. As for you, I will have you join my group once the events of this Floor havee to pass. Until then, continue performing your original duties." Though her concerns were notpletely assuaged, Hwa Ryun did feel a bit of relief in response to her Gods words. He seemed absolutely certain, so, rather than question the person she had already dedicated her faith to, she ultimately brought her hands together in a prayer-like gesture, lowering her head as she answered, "I understand. I will continue following this path at your behest." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn gestured for Hwa Ryun to rise before pulling out a tiny figure that vaguely resembled a human, tossing it to her as he exined, "Make sure you keep that with you at all times. It is a special charm that is said to bring good luck to those who possess it. Now, be on your way. It is not appropriate to visit an Emperors room in the middle of the night." Understanding that her God was making a joke, a smile spread across Hwa Ryuns face as she rose to her feet and said, "I look forward to being able to climb the Tower alongside you. This is the first time I am following the path set by another. My heart races in anticipation of what is toe..." Following her words, Hwa Ryun performed a respectful bow before quickly alighting from the room, Vahns eyes following her departure until the door inevitably closed. Then, with an exasperated sigh escaping his lips, he fell backward onto his bed, arms spread out as he muttered, "It seems I need to have Phae stick closer to me in the future..." --- After a restless night for most and a stressful morning for all, each of the remaining Regrs had been assembled in a floating lecture hall that hovered over a massive arena surrounded by dense jungle. Unlike when they had originally gathered, there were fewer than half of the original Regrs remaining, a total of thirty if you excluded those who had already passed. This meant, of the group who had originally been chosen by Headon, only 5% had made it to this stage of Testing; a value that would soon drop to a mere 2.5%. As part of the group that had passed via Special Test, Vahn, Phae, and Gandr were seated alongside Rak and Ghost at the very front of the room. To further draw attention to themselves, they had each been given a special sash with the word Passed embossed on the front. This earned them withering stares from a few of the envious Regrs who were barely scraping by, a rather curious decision on their part considering five of them only made it this far as a direct result of the quintet qualifying in advance... Once everyone had gathered and taken their seats, Administrator Lero-Ro, who had been standing center-stage at the rooms front, cleared his throat before shouting, "Good morning Regrs! First off, let me congratte each of you for making it this far. Though there is still one final test that will determine your fate, you should all feel proud for having made it this far. Now, without further ado, allow me to exin the conditions and objectives of the Final Exam...!" With a quick press of a button, the disy behind Lero-Ro lit up to show two separate columns of pictures and names. Immediately after that, the Administrator went on to exin, "The Final Exam is a joint test to determine the fifteen candidates who will be allowed to move on to the next Floor. As you can clearly see behind me, the thirty of you, excluding those passing vis Special Test, have been split into two teams. All the instructors havee together to ensure the teams are as bnced as possible so there will be no changes. If you are not satisfied with the team you have been assigned, you are more than wee to pack your belongings and exit the Tower. Now, any questions thus far...?" Seeing that everyone was waiting silently for him to continue, Lero-Ro nodded in approval before adding, "Though you will be evaluated based on your performance as a team, know that you will also be graded individually by your Instructors. This grade will have the most impact on whether or not you pass or fail, so, if you have been struggling over thest thirty days, this is yourst chance to make a positive impression. Remember, it is not always strength that determines whether or not someone is worthy to climb the Tower. Now, for details regarding the Final Exam itself, I would like to direct each of your attentions to the gentleman sitting amidst your Instructors. This is none other than the 2nd Floors Test Director, Yu Han-Sung, the person who will ultimately determine whether or not you qualify to climb the Tower." Hearing Lero-Ros words, the majority of Regrs present werepletely gobsmacked, not by the fact that the Director would be determining their fate, but because the gentleman in question was almost indistinguishable from a beautiful woman. He had an extremely fairplexion, golden hair that was neatly fasted into a bun, and delicate facial features that could rival famous idols within the Tower. In fact, many of them had seen this exact person depicted on various products, specifically a variety of different coffee brands. Further sewing confusion, Director Yu wore a blue and gold kimono that was fastened by a ck and gold obi. He didnt even seem to possess an adams apple, but, the moment he opened his mouth to speak, a deep yet delicate voice could be heard as he said, "Greetings, Regrs. As my colleague has pointed out, my name is Yu Han-Sung, Test Director of the 2nd Floor. It is a pleasure to see each of you once again..." Though they hadnt known the mans identity at the time, Director Yu had been the proctor of the second test most Regrs took upon arriving in the Tower: the Door Test. This was a rather simple test, merely requiring a team of regrs to open a single door before five minutes had passed. In spite of this, only 20-30% of teams ended up passing due to the presence of multiple doors and a series of intentionally vague rules. They were also told they had ten minutes to decide, so, with no clues to go off of, many teams were unable to make a decision before their time had run out. Those who failed were eliminated on the spot, their bodies dumped into a fiery inferno; names forgotten due to their indecision... While many were still struggling with the revtion of Director Yus gender, the man in question went on to exin, "Ill now inform you of the rules regarding the test. Simply put, each team will take turns ying a game of Hide-and-Seek. In other words, rather than being pitted against each other, both teams willpete individually against a Seeker of our choosing. The rules are simple: choose someone among your Fishermen to be it. If your teams it is able to reach the exit before the Seeker tags them, the entire team will receive bonus points. Inversely, if the Seeker tags the it before they are able to reach the exit, the entire team will have points deducted from their original total. There is also a bonus prize should your it manage to steal the badge in possession of the Seeker. Not only will it be treated as an instant win for the team, but, for the it capable of dealing with our specially-chosen Seeker, they will receive an additional 2000 points, more than enough to ensure a passing grade." Hearing the Directors exnation, all six of the remaining Fishermen adopted serious expressions before four immediately backed down in response to the other twos fiery auras. Anak and Endorsi had been ced on separate teams, so, even if they wanted to be their teams it, there was no way they couldpete for the position against the two Princesses of Jahad. While the Fishermen werementing their fate for being ced into the same group of Regrs as two troublesome Princesses, Shibisu went on to ask, "Director Yu, if you dont mind my asking, who is the Seeker you have chosen?" Smiling in response to Shibisus question, Director Yu made a mental note to reward the boy an additional 100 points towards his final score. Though not as impressive as the other Best Seed for the Scout Position, it couldnt be denied that Shibisu was qualified for the designation. He didnt mind drawing attention to himself, and, even if it earned him the ire of others, he was willing to do whatever it took to gather as much information for his team as possible. Unfortunately, before Director Yu could answer the young mans question, the box that had been wriggling at his side suddenly exploded as a man with brown skin and fiery red hair jumped up to shout, "Great question! I knew my students were the best...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "Shhh...no spoilers...",Its a trap...!,RIP Regrs) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1724 Bai

Chapter 1724 Bai

With the Seeker being none other than the Scout Instructor, Shibisu, alongside the rest of the Scout candidates, were all in a depressive mood. They had witnessed Quants speed first-hand, so, while it wasnt impossible to secure a victory, they understood just how slim their chances were. Feeling understandably exasperated, Shibisu released a tired sigh before looking around at the rest of his team members, settling on Khun as he asked, "What do you think of this situation? It doesnt seem all that fair to me." Showing none of the concern visible in the rest of his teammates countenances, Khun just smiled in response to Shibisus words before answering, "Well, it makes sense when you consider the fact we have two Princesses of Jahad in our group. Unless they made Anak and Endorsi the Seekers, there is no way to guarantee fairness other than selecting a Ranker for the position. Besides, even if we fail to reach the exit, there is a good chance well pass so long as we work together. We just need to do our best to demonstrate our capabilities in each Position." Though Khuns words werent very inspirational, they were more than enough to ease the tensions of the remaining Regrs in the group. This automatically elevated him to a higher position in their minds, so, taking advantage of the convenience of the situation, Khun adopted a confident smile as he said, "Rather than give in to despair, lets focus on the positives. Our opponent may be a Ranker, but the rules prevent him from using any of the items typically associated with the Position. There is also the fact he can only use Shinsu once throughout the entire exam so there is a very real chance we can win if we y our cards right. To that end, I would argue the most important thing, at least for the time being, is designating a leader." Understanding Khuns intentions, Shibisu had to resist the urge to roll his eyes as he stated, "I think you should be the leader. You have more than enough confidence and youre also our teams most qualified Light Bearer. No offense to you, Leon." Hearing Shibisus remark, Leon, a young man who could always be seen wearing a red beanie, just shrugged in response. As for Khun, he promptly took advantage of Shibisus words, musing, "That settles it, then, From now on, you should all refer to me as Leader." Though there were mixed responses and a few half-heartedints in response to Khuns bold assertion, nobody tried to argue against him bing the Leader. Because of this, Khun had all the attention gathered on him as he said, "Im certain you all understand how impossible it would be to escape from a Ranker, much less one in the Scout Position. Thus, rather than focus on fleeing, shall we discuss methods to capture a certain fiery-tempered chibi...?" --- With the half-hour allotted for preparationsing to an end, Vahn, alongside Phae, Gandr, Rak, Ghost, and the remaining Regrs from Team B, all observed Team As efforts from high in the sky via arge digital disy. All of the Instructors were also present, but, for the sake of discussion, a membrane of Shinsu had been erected to block sound between the two sides. This was to prevent any of the remaining Regrs from gaining any insight into the criteria used to evaluate the current participants, but, as could be expected, it also caused them to feel extremely nervous. Having already passed the exam, Vahn waspletely rxed as he watched Khun direct his team to split up into three separate groups. One group remained in the so-called safe area, the starting location which protected them during the thirty minutes allotted for preparations. The other, muchrger group, moved to secure a massive spiral stairwell that led to the upper level, the location of one-of-two exits. It was much further away than the closet exit, but, considering Quant started from the closest one, it was by far the safest route. Near the very center of the arena, arge single-shaft elevator that connected directly to the top floor could be found. On average, this elevator took ten minutes to reach the top, but, from there, you would only need to run ten kilometers to reach the further exit. This meant, so long as you got your it into the elevator and managed to protect the stairwell, you could effectively guarantee your teams victory. As could be expected, Anak was the person chosen to be her teams it, but, rather than making a break for the elevator, she teamed up with the first group to form a perimeter within arge area surrounded by tall pirs. This was an arena designed to emte the section of the Middle Tower that Regrs in the past would have to navigate in between Floors. Thus, as could be expected, there were absolutely no light sources other than the Lighthouses belonging to the Light Bearers themselves. Understanding that Team A was trying to set a trap, an amused smile spread across Vahns face as Shibisu, seemingly serving as bait, was left to stand in the center of the open area with a Lighthouse shining down on him from above... --- In an effort to give the Regrs a sporting chance, Quant decided to limit his speed to around the same pace as Anak, the fastest person on the current team. He didnt want to be used of using his status as a Ranker to bully Regrs who had yet to even qualify to move up the Tower. Lero-Ro had also asked him to show a bit of restraint, so, out of respect for their centuries-long friendship, Quant decided to take it nice and easy. Unfortunately, as if they werent taking him seriously at all, Quant quickly came upon the scene of Shibisu standing out in the open. This caused his blood pressure to immediately skyrocket, but, as a responsible adult, he did his best to control his temper as he stepped out into the light, remarking, "I have to say, this is probably the most obvious trap Ive seen in my entire life..." Hearing his Instructorsment, Shibisu rubbed the back of his head, an awkwardugh escaping his before saying, "Well...you know how it is, teach. Youre way too fast for us to escape so what else can we do other than buying time for our it to reach the exit?" Never shy in the face ofpliments, Quant felt his tensions rx slightly, a smile spread across his face as he mused, "Well said! As expected of my second-best student. Now, out of consideration for your honesty, how about a bonus lesson? I have high expectations for your talent as a Scout so you consider this a parting gift before you climb the Tower." Though he had a bad feeling hearing his Instructors words, Shibisu managed a wry smile as he put his hand down and answered, "Looks like Ill be in your care, once again..." Amused by Shibisus reaction, Quant issued a light-heartedugh before cing his hands behind his back and saying, "Lets see...if I had to guess, you have between four and five teammates nearby, probably two Spear Bearers, a Wave Controller, a Lightbearer, and a Fisherman. If I include you, that makes this a five-to-one situation, at the very least...now, tell me, what do you think a Scout should do in this situation, my dear pupil?" Since his main focus was buying time, Shibisu adopted a contemtive look, remaining silent for several long seconds before tilting his head to the side and replying, "Dance...?" Losing his good mood, Quant deadpanned at Shibisus response, his tone deepening as he asked, "Are you being serious...?" Offering an awkwardugh in response, Shibisu repeated his action of scratching the back of his head as he answered, "Sorry, I thought the atmosphere was getting pretty tense. I thought it might save me some pain if I lighten the mood a bit...hahahaha..." Finding Shibisus answer amusing, the smile returned to Quants face, a light chuckle escaping his lips as he remarked, "Commendable effort...unfortunately, we both know Im not the type to hold back when ites to disciplining naughty students. Now, let me show you the real answer..." The moment Quant finished speaking, his body instantaneously turned into a blur as he dashed toward Shibisu. This caused thetter to backpedal as quickly as he could, but, as someone with a rtively normal physique, there was no way for Shibisu to outrun even a restrained Quant. As a result, he was instantly caught up to, but, before the fiery red-head could teach his precious student a lesson, a red spear entered the periphery of his vision, intersecting his trajectory. With his hands still neatly tucked behind his back, Quant easily arrested his momentum, stopping in an instant before kicking the spear away without any effort. In the exact same motion, he vaulted high enough to surpass the Lighthouse floating above, smiling as he said, "Lets see how well your team fights in the dark." Immediately following Quants words, he kicked the Lighthouse with enough force to crack one of the surfaces. Then, like a meteor descending from the heavens, it crashed into the ground next to Shibisu, shrapnel erupted from both the Lighthouse and the stone ground. A few of these pieces hit Shibisu directly, but, other than a few small scrapes and bruises, he was more shaken than anything else. Without a Lighthouse to illuminate the battlefield, the surroundings immediately descended into pitch-ck darkness. From within the darkness, soft footsteps could be heard, not from just a single direction, but all directions simultaneously, This caused another dryugh to escape Shibisus lips, a sound that seemed to echo around him before an eerie voice seemed to speak directly into his ear, stating, "In a situation where a Scout is outnumbered, one of the best things you can do is take out the enemys eyes. Without a Lighthouse, numbers mean very little. Rather, due to the increased risk of hitting an ally, the enemy has little choice but to regroup..." As it was never pleasant to hear a voice directly in your ear, Shibisus body momentarily tensed up before attempting a roundhouse kick towards the darkness. Unfortunately, his attack his empty air, followed by anotherugh as Quant remarked, "This is why you were only second-best. Not being able to see in the dark is an extreme weakness in circumstances like this. Since youck the inherent ability, make sure you pick up an item that covers for this weakness in the future." Finished with his advice, Quant appeared within Shibisus blind spot, specifically behind him, while yfully muttering, "Checkmate~." What he never would have expected was for Shibisu to utter the exact same words as a blinding light erupted from one of the surrounding pirs. This momentarily disoriented him, not because of the light itself, but because he was certain the final Lighthouse was with the it. Shifting his attention to the light source, Quant discovered that his intuition wasnt actually wrong. He simply overlooked the possibility that the teams it had never even left. Instead, he could see Anak standing at the top of the pir with a massive grin on her face as she shouted, "Sorry, but the one who is it is right here...!" Following her outburst, Anak threw a green hook with meteoric force towards Quant. This wasnt her Green April, but she still had more than enough finesse and control with her Reel Inventory to manipte the line and grasp objects at a distance. As a result, she was nearly able to snatch the badge directly from Quants chest, effectively ending the game then and there. Unfortunately, she had underestimated the Rankers pettiness, as, the moment he realized what was happening, Quant muttered, "ck Fish..." before soundlessly fading into the shadows at supersonic speeds. ck Fish was a technique that allowed a Scout to veil their body in Shinsu, effectively bing invisible in areas with low visibility. This,bined with his Ranker-levels of speed allowed him to easily evade Anaks hook, reappearing to grab it the moment she attempted to reel it in. Then, with an expression that could only be described as absolutely livid, a crazed smile spread across his face as he looked at Shibisu and asked, "Youre really looking down on me, arent you? It seems I didnt give you enough love during our sses...hahahahahahahahaha...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Im the Captain now,Quant be like: "Im such a good teacher!",Also Quant: "Im going to f**cking murder you~!") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1725 Lesson

Chapter 1725 Lesson

After a soul-piercingugh thatsted several seconds, Quant surprised nearly everyone present by spontaneously calming down and saying, "Well, it wasnt the worst n. I cant really me you for being ignorant of a Rankers true power. Still, youre lucky Im so nice. If I were another Ranker, this little stunt of yours might have cost everyone here their lives. Now, run along. I would feel guilty if I just eliminated your it here and now. Ill give you five minutes to flee before giving chase. Ill even take the stairs to give you a sporting chance~." Hearing his Instructors exnation, Shibisu was tempted to breathe a sigh of relief, but, seeing the mes dancing within Quants eyes, he knew the man was anything but calm. If it had been anyone else acting as bait, their chances of passing would have been close to 0%. Quant wasnt the type of man who forgave offenses easily, so, while he probably wouldnt kill them, they wouldnt be walking away without a few broken bones... Though it wasnt easy, Shibisu ultimately managed a smile, stating, "After I be a Ranker, Ill buy you dinner as an apology. Catch youter, teach." before running away at Khuns direction. This left Quant with a wry smile on his face, his head shaking as he muttered, "Damn brat...Ill make sure you go broke..." in an amused tone. --- With Quant holding true to his word, Khun directed the ambush team to form a defensive line at the corridor leading to the stairwell connecting to the top floor. They would serve as the first line of defense, buying as much time as possible while Anak was on the elevator. As for everyone else, they had been gathered within the stairwell itself, spaced out so that the Fishermen could block the front while the Spear Bearers rained down spears from above. Even if Quant had already expended his single use of Shinsu, none of the Regrs harbored any delusions of defeating the man. They couldnt even see him move when he went all out, so, rather than attempt another ambush, they were going with Khuns secondary n: demonstrating their capacity in their respective Positions. Quant had already afforded them more time than he needed to, so, while they wouldnt pass on the opportunity to steal his badge, exhibiting their teamwork was more important. Unfortunately, not everyone seemed to be in agreement with this n, as, the moment the Hide-and-Seek match began, Hwa Ryun vanished into thin air while Laure simply found a quiet ce to lie down and take a nap. He already had more than enough points to ascend to the third floor so he didnt need to exert himself at all. As for Hwa Ryun, she was one of the only Regrs that never even tried to get close to anyone else, choosing to keep to herself and asionally even going so far as to skip ss. With Laure and Hwa Ryun being two of the strongest members on their team, their absence was a sore spot for many of the Regrs close to failing. Unfortunately, even if they wanted toin, there was simply nothing they could do about the situation as each Regr was ultimately allowed to act however they pleased. There was nothing forcing them to work together as a team, and, from the Admins point of view, everyone was considered to be responsible for their own actions, injuries, failure, and even death... --- Though there was no one around to hear him, Quant ended off the count by shouting out the final few numbers. In reality, he was using his Pocket to keep track of the time, and, from the moment it counted down to zero, his body seemed to flicker out of existence before the sound of several sonic booms echoed throughout the darkness. The moment they heard the thunderp-like sound, the team guarding the corridor, consisting of Dede, Aleksai, and Rozeal tensed up their bodies. This was especially true for Dede, the young man with a horn sticking out from the back of his head. His Position was that of the Fisherman, so, while the other two were hiding above, prepared to bombard Quant with both spears and Shinsu, he was given the task of blocking the actual path. As a result, the needle in his hands was shaking madly, a point that wasnt missed by the man who had spontaneously appeared behind him to say, "Did you know? If you can hear the sonic boom, the person who created it has already reached you..." Hearing the voice from behind, Dede attempted to spin around, swinging his needle in much the same way as a sword. Unfortunately, with very few exceptions, needles were rounded and smooth to the point of having virtually no imperfections along their surface. This made it easy to use them in environments with high Shinsu density, but, as a result, they werent able to inflict any substantial damage when used for anything other than piercing. Catching the needle without any effort whatsoever, Quant was unable to resist the urge to roll his eyes as he said, "Next time, keep your back to a wall or pay better attention to your surroundings. What did Hex teach you guys?" Finished with his words, Quant took advantage of the fact that Dede hadnt let go of the needle, pulling the boy off bnce before kicking him square in the abdomen with very little force. As for the reason, they were currently near the top of a long flight of stairs, so, even if he didnt injure the boy himself, Dede was bound to suffer on the way down. With the Fisherman out of the strike zone, spear after spear began to rain down from above, each piercing nearly half their length into the stairs. These were provided courtesy of Aleksai, who, as a result of his daily training sessions, had be much stronger. He was still far from being able topete against Anak, but,pared to his past self, he was almost apletely different person. Unfortunately, even with the higher vantage, Aleksai wasnt able to hit Quant with any of his spears. In fact, the man had even closed his eyes, arms folded behind his back as the very casually dodged each and every one of them. This filled Aleksai with a fair amount of indignation, but, with Rozeal charging a rather sizeable Baang of Shinsu at his side, he prevented himself from leaping down to try and forcibly block the passage. Though she was inarguably the worst Wave Controller among the seven Regrs who had qualified for the Position, Rozeal still had her Shinsu-Controlling Wand. This had given her an advantage over Hoh during their lessons, and, now that she was on the verge of failing, Rozeal was intending to use the wands final ability to secure a passing grade. This allowed her, at the cost of the wand itself, to drastically increase the amount of Soo she could gather into a single Baang. Appearing eerily simr to Laures charged attack, the Baang formed by Rozeal grew to more than a meter in diameter before she pointed the wand towards Quant and shouted, "Please ept these heartfelt emotions, Test Administrator~!" Hearing the rather curious outburst, Quant just shook his head as he stared at the wave-like wall of Shinsu headed his way. It easily covered the width of the corridor, but, as someone who could travel at several thousand times the speed of sound using Shinsu, there was nothing preventing him from simply leaping over the attack. As a result, he easily evaded the attack before craning his head and asking, "Do you have a grudge against that boy or something?" Confused by Quants words, Rozeal tilted her head to the side, illusory questions marks seeming to appear above her head. Immediately after that, however, she heard Dede, who had barely managed to climb to his feet, shout out, "Rozeal, you biiiiiitch...!" as he was washed further down the stairs. At the moment when Rozeal had turned towards the direction of the scream, Quant bounded up the walls of the corridor, appearing in front of the stunned woman almost instantaneously before saying, "Wave Controllers are meant to control the flow of the entire battlefield. Awareness of your surroundings and control are the most important skills you can possess. You let your desire to pass blind you. Now, go to sleep." Without her wand, Rozeals ability to control the flow of Shinsu was meager, at best. As a result, she had no method to counterattack Quant as he easily sidestepped her iling to chop the side of her neck. This caused her entire body to go numb, and, due to Quant not even attempting to catch her, she ended up falling painfully to the ground before passing out. Seeing Rozeals head smack against the ground, Quant resist the urge to spit on her body before turning around to face Aleksai. He had nopassion for those who would injure their allies, even identally, so she was lucky to get off with just a bump to the head... Though he had a few spears left in his Pipe, the unique Arms Inventories adopted by Spear Bearers, Aleksai didnt immediately attack Quant. His only hope of injuring the man was by catching him with a piece of shrapnel, so, with the former standing next to the fallen Rozeal, there wasnt much he could do. Fortunately, this seemed to be the correct decision, as, after a tense staring contest, Quant nodded approvingly at him before leaping down to the corridor below. Taking advantage of the fact that Quant seemed willing to fight him, Aleksai leaped down after the man, falling with meteoric force due to his 240cm height and 320kg weight. This was, of course, easily evaded by Quant, but, rather than end the fight immediately, the nimble man continued to dodge for a few seconds before saying, "Its too soon for you, but you should consider bing a Defender in the future. Your skill as a Spear Bearer isnt bad but youck the disposition required to be a Ranker in that Position. I can tell by your form that youre more of a defense brawler than anything else so make sure you train your body and master Shinsu reinforcement." As it was his first time hearing of the Defender Position, Aleksais movements temporarily slowed as a confused expression appeared on his face. In that exact same moment, Quant seemed to fade out of existence, his voice suddenly echoing from behind to say, "Like I said, its too early for you. Youll find out more as you climb the Tower." Without bothering to exin further, Quant kicked Aleksai in his back with enough force to send him tumbling down the stairs in much the same way as Dede. Immediately after that, he checked his Pocket to see that around seven minutes had passed. This meant that Anak would be reaching the top pretty soon, and, given her speed, it wouldnt even take her two minutes to reach the exit. While making a mental note to ask for a raise, Quant performed a few light stretches as he mused to himself, "Sorry kiddos, it looks like I dont have the time to properly educate each of you. Even if its just a test, I cant let myself be defeated by a bunch of brats...guess Ill need to get serious..." Following his musings, Quant chuckled to himself before leaning forward and, once again, creating a series of sonic booms in his wake. The only Regrs left were the Scout candidates from his ss, two Spear Bearers he had never bothered to remember the names of, a single Light Bearer, and the enemy teams it. It was pretty clear that they were nning to stall him by taking advantage of the affection he had for his own students, so, with a rather vicious smile on his face, Quant entered the spiraling stairwell to show his favorite group of brats a bit of tough love... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The legendary male Tsundere...,Happy birthday to the ground,Someone call the School Board (O . O)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1726 Snare

Chapter 1726 Snare

While Quant was, very quickly, making his way up the spiral stairwell, a feat that earned him quite a bit of fanfare from the Regrs who had yet to participate; a young man with light-blue hair could be seen exiting a blue Lighthouse that had been hovering just above the bridge leading to the exit. This was none other than Khun, and, had there been no rule requiring their it to be a Fisherman, it would have been very easy for him to finish the test. Since he was the one keeping track of all his allies movements, Khun knew just when he should exit his Lighthouse to avoid unnecessary suspicion. As for why anyone would be suspicious of him, well, it stood to reason that; if he was able to reach this point so quickly, his it would have been able to do much the same. Instead, he had everyoney in ambush before splitting his team into multiple defensive lines, even going so far as to have Anak participate in the ambush just to throw everyone off. If he were being honest, Khun had lost his fondness for tricking people in order to further his goals. His meeting with Baam had slowly started to change something deep inside of him, and, though he found the boy painfully naive at times, Khun felt like his enigmatic friend was something the Tower desperately needed. Because of this, he did not hesitate to betray the team he had been carelessly assigned by the Admins, as, in his mind, Team A was not his real team. While making a mental note to provide parting gifts to all the Regrs he was bound to fail, Khun turned his attention to the final flight of stairs leading from the elevator to the bridge. It was a total of one-kilometer long, and, though it wasnt that difficult to scale, the Shinsu density inside made it hard for people to breathe. As a result, Anak, despite her superhuman physique, emerged from the corridor with matted hair and beads of sweat rolling down her face. Seeing Khun standing at the entrance to the bridge, Anak took a moment to bend over, hands on her knees as she fought for breath for one of the first times in her life. Then, after wiping the sweat from her brow, she asked, "What are you doing here? Why did you and the bagworm disappear at the start of the test?" Though Anak wasnt the brightest among the Regrs, she hadnt evaded the Jahad Empire for more than three-hundred-years without acquiring the ability to sense when something was amiss. She also knew Khuns character after observing him over the past month, so, while she didnt say anything during the nning phase, she knew he was up to something. Since there were currently no eyes on them, Khun decided it would be prudent of him to be honest with the distrustful Princess across from him. She had a close rtionship with Phae and Gandr, two of the people paramount to his ns of climbing the Tower. Thus, even if she was bound to cause him a number of headaches, Khun didnt want to upset the girl and give her a reason to go against him in the future. After quickly organizing his thoughts, Khun adopted a serious yet sincere look as he asserted, "Im doing everything in my power to guarantee all our friends are able to move up the Tower. You can beat me up all you wantter, but, at least for the time being, please trust me. I might not be a nice person, but, no matter what, I would never betray the people I care about..." Hearing Khuns heartfelt words, Anak got the impression he wasnt beingpletely honest with her. Fortunately for the youth, Phae had mentioned him when discussing people she should be able to trust. Though she was far from that point, Anak had already decided she would climb the Tower alongside Phae and Gandr. Khun happened to be on friendly terms with both of them, so, even if she didnt truly trust him, she could tolerate him at the behest of people she did trust. Before Anak could voice her affirmation, Khuns expression paled slightly as he said, "Everyone else has already been taken out. Please, Anak, there is no time...!" Though she really hated being yelled at, Anak just snorted through her nose onest time before crossing her arms and saying, "You owe me an exnationter...if I dont like what you have to say, Ill make you spend the next fifty years as my punching bag..." --- With Nare being thest among the Regrs, Quant just stared nkly at the crying girl hugging the jar containing her pet Shinheuh. He could hear Lero-Ro and the other Admins making fun of him for bullying a little kid through the invisible red Lighthouse that had been following him since the start of the test. Because of this, he ultimately released a sigh before rubbing his forehead and saying, "Ill admit, you really know how to turn on the waterworks when youre trying to buy time..." Hearing her Instructors remark, Nare immediately stopped crying before poking her tongue out and remarking, "What else can I do? Great Teacher Quant is just too amazing-" Having wasted too much time already, Quant just shook his head onest time before saying, "You wont be able to pass through the 20th Floor like this...". Immediately after that, his figure seemed to vanish into thin air, this time without creating a shockwave and a sonic boom. In his wake, a very downtrodden Nare could be seen sullenly staring at the adorable creature curled up inside the pot, her voice somewhat pouty as she muttered, "As long as I can make enough money to be happy, it doesnt matter where I stop..." Unaware of the youthful-looking womans utterance, Quant reached the same stretch of stairs that had fatigued Anak. This was a ce even he couldnt tread carelessly, as, without Shinsu to protect the body, moving quickly through such areas could, quite literally, lead to death. Simply moving at the speed of sound within normal Shinsu required you to effectively tear through 5000kgs of force acting on your body. Going twice that speed quadrupled the amount of force, so, when Quant was pacing himself around Mach 2, he had to ovee close to 20,000kgs of drag force, a difficult feat without the aid of Shinsu. Gritting his teeth, Quant lowered his center of gravity as much as possible, arms streaming behind him in order to reduce as much drag as possible. This was one of the only times he was grateful to have a small body, as, by reducing his profile as much as possible, he could effectively limit the amount of force acting on his body by up to 30%. This was also one of the reasons his hair stuck straight up, as, whenever he ran at supersonic speeds, it was like having the worlds most powerful hairdryer blowing in your face... After a very brief moment of hesitation, Quant managed to clear the 1km long stretch of stairs in just under five seconds. He could have gone even faster, but, much like a person falling from a great height and hitting the surface of ake, entering denser fields of Shinsu from sparser regions required a slower transition if you wanted to avoid having skin and flesh ripped from your bones... Inhaling a breath of fresh air, Quant adopted a rxed stance as he looked down the long bridge, expecting to see Anaks figure in the distance. Instead, he found Khun smiling at him from a few hundred meters away, a fact that instantly soured his mood. With a smile that wasnt quite a smile, Quant made his way over to the exiled member of the Khun Family, asking, "So, wheres the lizard? What kind of game are you trying to y?" Though he was speaking casually, Quant was also looking around the area for even the smallest trace of a clue. He wasnt the Scout Instructor for no reason, so, even without Khun answering, he could intuit a lot of things just by looking around. If he hadnt already used up his single Baang of Shinsu, he would even be able to see invisible objects and track life signs within a three-kilometer radius. Having noticed what Quant was trying to do, Khuns smile became slightly more prominent as he shrugged his shoulders and teasingly remarked, "Im afraid the princess is in another castle~." Feeling like the nerve in his left brow had been poked by an electrode, Quants eye began to twitch, his smile bing slightly vicious as he said, "Unless you want me to kick you off this tform, tell me what I want to know." Acting as if he was buying time, Khun chuckled lightly in response to Quants threat before casually replying, "Its true. Anak never came this way. Our n was to have her trigger the elevator without actually riding up it. She was told to wait until you began chasing after the rest of our team before sneaking to the first-floor exit. I imagine well be hearing the Director call an end to the test any moment now~?" Though the n Khun mentioned actually had a high chance of working, Quant could tell the boy was lying. Rather, it almost seemed like the young scion was suggesting that he had any number of ways toplete the test. The fact he was here on the bridge was a testament to the fact he could sneakily move himself, and, by proxy, other people around. Despite this, the test had yet toe to an end, so, even if he wasnt able to see through the mans intentions, Quant could tell he was up to something. After thinking through the various possibilities, Quants glower gradually rxed as he walked over to the edge of the bridge and peered over the side. Then, with a teasing tone to his voice, he asked, "So, youre trying to get me to jump down...is that it? Too bad for you, brat. As a Scout, I have a habit of reading up on all the students. You know what they say, knowledge is power, yadda yadda. What Im trying to say is that Ive read your file. I know you can control two Lighthouses. Mind telling me where youve hidden your other one...?" Though his expression didnt change much, the color began to slowly drain from Khuns face as he replied, "My teammate, Laure, wanted to use it in order to block out the sounds of fighting. He has been sleeping in the Safe Area this-" Before Khun could finish, Quant grabbed him by the wrist, his grip stronger than a vice as he said, "I see. Well, its toote for me to catch up with the lizard so how about we drop down to have a little talk with that friend of yours? Im not fond of people who ck off while their teammates are doing everything they can to try and pass. Before this test is over, Ill make sure to educate both of you on how to properly work as a team~." Without waiting for Khun to respond, Quant pulled him over the side of the bridge, smiling as he added, "Who knows, maybe a certain lizard will make an appearance on our way down...?" Quant was pretty confident that Anak was lying in wait beneath the bridge using Khuns Lighthouse as a tform. She was most likely exhausted after running through the Shinsu passage, and, based on Khuns behavior, it was clear he was stalling for time. Though Quant didnt understand why Khun hadnt incorporated another strategy to ensure victory, it didnt really matter so long as he was able to expose the young scions plot. As could be expected, Quant quickly sensed another presence within the darkness, but, before he could further goad his captive, Khun surprised him by breaking free of his grasp. He noticed a thin piece of fabric glistening in his hand, its appearance resembling the wings of a cicada. This caused his expression to darken considerably but not nearly as much as when a leather strep suddenly appeared in the boys hand, its length attached to a Pulley that quickly lifted the Lighthouse containing Anak to the bridges surface... Though he was forbidden from outright killing the Regrs during the test, that didnt stop Quant from loudly shouting, "Im going to fucking barbeque you, you asshole...!" at the top of his receding voice. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bagworm (\u003e,...,\u003c)...,Loli used Crocodile Tears! It was not very effective...,The birth of the Blue-Haired Devil...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1727 Decei

Chapter 1727 Decei

Though she was making steady progress towards the exit, Anak couldnt help but feel as though something was wrong with the current situation. It didnt make sense for Khun to anger a Ranker if his only objective was to create a scenario where she could reach the exit unobstructed. There were countless ways they could have secured the victory without antagonizing Quant, chief among them being the n he had mentioned during their brief conversation on the bridge. Anak wasnt fond of being made a fool of, so, even if Khuns n ended up creating a favorable situation for her climbing up the Tower, she vowed to beat him if said n involved embarrassing or shaming her. She got the impression they were meant to lose this game, so, with nothing but a straight path between her and victory, the only way their team could lose was if Quant somehow managed to appear before her... Confirming her suspicions, Anak eventually saw the outline of a person standing in front of the exit. Almost immediately after she registered their presence, a powerful st of wind mmed into her body as a red and white blur shed past her in an instant. To make matters even worse, she could hear the man venomously remark, "Never underestimate a Ranker..." before crushing her badge in his hand. --- Feeling a potent shiver run along his spine, Khun couldnt help but pale slightly as he remarked, "I guess Ill need to beg Phae to bake some more cookies..." Hearing Khuns remark, Laure just yawned in response before replying, "I told you not to show off too much...well, whatever...lets hope Endorsi handles her part well..." Immediately following Laures remark, a loud buzzer echoed throughout the entire arena, followed by the voice of Director Yu dering Team As loss. Shortly after that, a bluish-white light enveloped each of their bodies, seemingly converting them into a hazy white mist that rapidly diffused into the surroundings. The exact opposite phenomenon was urring in the Suspend Ship positioned over the arena, and, after a few seconds had passed, all fifteen Regrs from Team A had been gathered in a small briefing room, a depressive aura immediately descending upon them. Despite orchestrating the events leading to his teams defeat, Khun ignored Anaks venomous re as he balled his hands into fists, head lowered as he shakily muttered, "Im sorry..." Unfortunately, before anyone could observe Khuns act, Shibisu threw a small wrench into his ns by loudly shouted, "Aaaaargh! Damnit! How can they expect Regrs like us to beat a monster like that!?" Quickly deciding to follow Shibisus example, Khun balled his fists even tighter as he spat through clenched teeth, "Damn it! How could I have been so stupid!? Getting cocky against a Ranker!? What the fuck is wrong with me!?" Further emphasizing his anger and indignation, Khun mmed his fist against the wall with more than enough force to fracture a couple of bones. This also caused a series of cracks to spread from the point of impact, a trickle of blood quicklying into view due to the metal shards that had cut into the fleshier bits of his palm. Surprised by Khuns outburst, nearly every Regr present began to feel sorry for the man, Nare being the first to say, "You did your best, Khun...dont-" Shaking his head, Khun used his bloodied hand to conceal the upper half of his face as he darkly muttered, "No...I could have done better...I shouldnt havee up with a n to try and capture a Ranker. There were numerous ways we could have tricked him but I let my ego cloud my judgment. I wanted to have the achievement of beating a Ranker despite still being on the Floor of Tests...I...I..." To further increase the amount of empathy he was receiving from his fellow Regrs, Khuns voice took on sobbing undertone as a few tears, mixed with blood, began staining the ground. He forced himself to recall some of the most unpleasant memories in his life, so, while he was ultimately just pretending, there was legitimate pain and anguish audible contained within his voice. Though he knew Khun was just pretending, Shibisu was legitimately surprised by the mans acting ability, his expression showing genuine concern as he muttered, e on, man, you dont have to apologize..." Hearing Shibisus remark, Khun was preparing for a second outburst, but, before he could find the most suitable words, the other Regrs began bombarding him with support. Though there were a few obvious exceptions, such as Laure, Anak, and Hwa Ryun, everyone else was sessfully fooled by his ploy. This filled Khun with legitimate guilt, but, for the sake of his friends and his penultimate goal, he didnt mind bing a devil wearing a mask... --- A stark contrast to the depressive atmosphere present within Team As waiting room, Team Bs was exceptionally festive. After all, while they werent guaranteed to win, they had the benefit of seeing the previous match. This gave them the advantage of knowing what to expect, and, though it would be next to impossible for them to defeat Quant, they could, at the very least,mit themselves to a better performance than their adversaries... Of course, not everyone on Team B was prematurely celebrating a victory. After all, both Hatsu and Baam were members of Team B. They also had Endorsi, Chunhwa, Rachel, Hoh, and Serena on their team, thetter of which had be fairly close to Shibisu over thest few weeks. In other words, thergest group of friends among the Regrs had effectively been split between the two teams, a situation none of them were too enthused about. Fortunately, Team B had yet to depart the observation room so Baam was able to approach Vahn, Phae, and Gandr, politely greeting the former before asking thetter, "Do you think Mr. Khun and the rest are going to be okay? I dont think I can climb up the Tower without all of my friends with me..." Taking note of the fact that Baam had specifically mentioned his friends rather than just Rachel, Gandr snickered in his characteristic manner before saying, "You worry too much. Remember what the Director said? Even if Team A lost at Hide-and-Seek, that doesnt mean they are going to fail the exam. Khun, Shibisu, Nare, and Laure all have plenty of points so the only person we really need to worry about is Anak. However, given the performance of the other Fishermen on her team, I cant see them passing before her." Relieved by Gandrs words, Baam exhaled the tensions from his body before adopting a beaming smile as he happily chimed, "Thats great! Thanks a lot, Mr. Gan-chan...!" Resisting the urge to default into a deadpan expression, Gandr forced himself to continue smiling as he replied, "Go and join your team. If they see you fraternizing with us, some of the members are bound to be a little suspicious. Also, make sure you keep a close eye on Grey and Hoh. I dont think theyll do anything, but you can never know someones intent until they choose to act. There are only two Wave Controller positions so there is a chance they might try to undermine you during the test. Stay close to Endorsi or Hatsu. They will protect you." Since he got along with both Grey and Hoh, Baam couldnt help but feel troubled by Gandrs words. Unfortunately, unless he chose to give up his chance to climb the tower, there was no way to make everyone happy. Thus, after remaining silent for several seconds, a sad smile spread across Baams face as he muttered, "I understand...thank you..." Following his utterance, Baam made his way over to where Endorsi, Hatsu, and Chunhwa were all engaged in a conversation. During this short journey, he noticed that both Hoh and Grey were at the periphery of the group, both looking far more serious than he had seen them during the past month. This made him feel even sadder, but, having already made his mind to climb up the Tower, Baam forced himself to smile as he caught Rachel staring at him from the side... --- With the arena being restored to its original state, the members of Team B soon found themselves in the so-called Safe Area. Then, much like Team A, they were given thirty minutes to organize their team, adapt to the marginal increase in Shinsu density, and formte a n. Unfortunately, with Endorsi smiling in amusement at the side, Team B quickly sumbed to the chaos of several people vying for the position of Leader. There was even a duo of Spear Bearers calling themselves the Spear Bearer Revolutionaries who were legitimately trying to convince the rest of the team to simply dogpile Quant so they could rain down spears from above. It was only when there were less than five minutes left that Endorsi moved from her position, her voice cheerful yet domineering as she said, "Shut up. All of these ns arepletely pointless. All we really need to do is spread out into small teams to buy as much time as possible. Based on what we observed from the previous test, it is obvious that the Ranker wont go for our teams it before he has evaluated each of the other candidates. After all, that is the only way to ensure everyone has a chance to be evaluated by the other Instructors. Im obviously going to be our teams it so Ill be taking the rest of the Fisherman, one Light Bearer, and one Wave Controller along with me. There is no way to pass the test by aiming for the exit so we will prepare a battlefield that gives us the best advantage against the Ranker. Everyone else will follow the direction of the other Light Bearers to form two teams, spreading out as much as possible to buy us time. Any questions?" Though there were quite a number of people who didnt agree with Endorsis n, none of them tried to speak out against her. She was stronger than the rest of the teambined, and, given her temperamental nature, you were bound to suffer if you tried to speak against her. This,bined with the fact her n was actually better than most of the ideas that had been put forth, caused the remaining Regrs to effectively split into two groups: those who chose to ingratiate themselves to the Princess and those who went along because they didnt really have a choice. Seeing there was no one willing to argue against her, Endorsi puffed her chest out proudly, her chin raised to entuate the haughty smile on her face. This was the reaction she expected from people as a Princess of Jahad, a stark contrast to the way a certain brat reacted around her. Still, it wasnt as if she hated said brat, so, while she enjoyed standing above others quite a bit, Endorsi was willing to abide by Khuns n to ensure they could all go up the Tower together. With this thought at the forefront of her mind, Endorsi pointed towards Baam and a man named Full ck, the Light Bearer closet to passing the exam. She wasnt particrly fond of Rachel, but, even if Baamined about not taking her along, Endorsi could easily convince him she was in the right. After all, the nid out by Khun effectively had her eliminating all of the Regrs who were closest to passing. She would go a little easier on someone like Chunhwa, but, for the sake of Anak, Endorsi was willing to betray the other Fishermen. Unfortunately for Chunhwa, Des Lion, and Full ck, they had no idea what Endorsi had in store for them the moment they were separated from the rest of the group. As for Baam, he was told to stay close to her before the test even started, so, without suspecting a thing, he happily joined her party in order to pass the test together...albeit not before asking if Rachel could also join... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Angry Cucumber Noises*,Premature Celebration,Women with looks and authority can be scary...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1728 Divergen

Chapter 1728 Divergen

In ordance with Endorsis n, the rest of Team B gradually formed small groups of their own before promptly splitting up the moment the test officially began. The only person to stay behind was Rachel, as, for reasons nobody could quite understand, she had somehow earned more than enough points to move on to the next floor. As a result, she had the option ofpletely ignoring the test, but, rather than refuse to participate, she opted to provide support from within the Safety Area. This meant she wouldnt obtain any points from the test, but, so long as she remained inside, neither Quant nor the other Regrs were allowed to harm her. With Rachels safety all but ensured, Baam ultimately chose to follow after Endorsi. He also had the opportunity to sit out for the remainder of the game, but, ever-eager to help his friends, Baam was unable to sit still while others were working hard. At the very least, he wanted to help Endorsi fight against the Ranker. He knew she didnt have many points due to purchasing a pair ofpressed needles so she would need the 2000 bonus points in order to guarantee a passing grade... --- Though he wasnt happy about the arrangement, Hatsu had agreed to team up with the two Spear Bearers on his team: Mauchi and Parakewl. Everyone else had avoided the duo after they proposed the idea of their so-called Spear Bearer Revolution. They seemed to believe that Spear Bearers were the most superior Position due to their ability to deal considerable damage without ever needing to approach the enemy. Hatsu obviously didnt agree with the idiotic duos doctrine, but, if it could increase their chance of victory by even a marginal amount, he was willing to work alongside them. He had enhanced spatial awareness due to his unique style of swordsmanship, so, even if they were to bombard his position with spears, he was confident in being able to dodge them. Thus, so long as he could hold down his Instructors movements for even a brief moment, there was a chance they couldnd a blow against him. Surprising the duo of Spear Bearers loudly chanting revolution while linking arms around each others shoulders, Hatsus expression became serious as he said, "Hesing. Quick, move to a higher position. I will do my best to hold him here and create an opportunity for the both of you. When the timees, show me the might of your revolution." Seeing the seriousness contained within Hatsus eyes, the leader of the peculiar Spear Bearers, a tall andnky man with sickly green skin that almost made him appear like a zombie, stroked his chin in admiration before saying, "Oho...it seems you understand your ce. Very well, while you hold him back, well make sure to find the best possible position to hit him from above. If you do well, I might just have a ce for you on my team. Together, we will bring about a grand revolution the likes of which this Tower has never seen!" Resisting the urge to punch the mans smug face, Hatsu just nodded as if he agreed before drawing his katana and adopting a defensive posture. He would have liked to have two swords, but, with the average price of a Katana being greater than 1000 points, he didnt really have the funds to rece the one Gandr had shattered. Because of this, he now spent equal parts of his time on mastering a single de, and, most importantly, himself... With the Spear Bearer duo wasting no time to retreat further up the stairs, Hatsu began regting his breathing. He was well aware of how fast his Instructor was, so, if he wanted to have any hope of achieving victory, he would need to focus his mind beyond its limits. He needed to be sharper than even the de of his katana, sharp enough that his intent, alone, could cut through his opponents. Feeling as though the world around him had started to slow down, Hatsu exhaled one final breath before manipting the flow of Shinsu to fill his lungs. This caused a cold feeling to spread through his body before rapidly consolidating within his mind, drastically increasing his mental acuity. In the very next moment, he perceived a swift figure running low to the ground, their eyes meeting for a brief moment as Quants expression morphed into a vicious smile. Demonstrating speed he had never shown during ss, Hatsu took a half-step forward, a motion that actually carried him several meters in an instant. In the same motion, he swung his sword in a graceful arc towards Quants shoulder, but, as could be expected from a Ranker, thetter was able to take a quick step back, spinning around before moving into the vacancy left by the des arc to strike Hatsu in the chest. Since there was no air in his lungs to expel, Hatsu just felt a sharp pain radiating through his body as the cooling sensation in his mind became more prominent. This earned him an approving look from Quant, who, realizing what Hatsu had done, smiled viciously before saying, "Though I feel like you would have been better suited for the position of Fisherman, Im constantly impressed by your talent and adaptability. Come, let me see how much you have grown..." Following hisplimentary words, Quant fearlessly entered within the range of Hatsus sword, a calm smile on his face as he gracefully evaded each blow with less than a centimeter to spare. This filled Hatsu with indignation, but, remembering his efforts of thest month, he managed to remain calm as his strikes became noticeably faster, sharper, and more refined. Then, just as his self-taught Shinsu breathing technique was about to wear off, a gleam shed across his eyes as he sliced at an upward angle, the very tip of his de catching a few of his Instructors hairs. Though he felt a bit of rage bubble up inside of him, Quant couldnt help feeling a little proud of the fact that Hatsu had managed to go beyond his limits. This was exactly the type of mentality a person needed to climb the Tower, so, even if the journey wouldnt be easy for someone walking the path of a swordsman, Quant knew Hatsu had what it took to be a Ranker. Unfortunately, now wasnt the time for sentiments, so, the moment Hatsu began gasping for air, Quant grabbed the boy by the face and mmed him into the wall, saying, "It isnt the duty of a Scout to hold the enemy..." Quant was preparing to lecture his student further, but, before he could so much as utter a single additional syble, a dryugh escaped Hatsus throat as he gripped the mans outstretched arm. Then, with the look of someone who was willing to face death, Hatsu stared directly back at Quant as he said, "Ive been training in swordsmanship since the day I was born...once I get my hands on something, I dont let go...now, Spear Revolutionaries, hit him with everything youve got...!" Surprised by Hatsus conviction and subsequent outburst, Quant instinctually used his single Baang of Shinsu to enhance his senses. He could easily break from Hatsus grip, but, out of respect for the boys impressive conviction, he intended to evade theing attacks while allowing the former to continue gripping his arm. What he never would have expected was for absolute silence to descend upon the stairwell in the moments immediately following Hatsus outburst... Realizing what had happened, Quant mmed Hatsu into the wall a second time, knocking the boy out as he cursed, "Those fucking bastards..." before charging up the stairs at supersonic speeds. His Shinsu-enhanced senses allowed him to sense the Spear Bearer duo running up the stairs, so, rather than assume Hatsu had tricked him, Quant came to the conclusion that his allies had both betrayed and abandoned him. This caused him to, quite literally, see red, as, more than anything else, Quant hated when Scouts desperately fought on behalf of teammates who would readily abandon them... --- With their n revolving around fighting the Ranker directly, Endorsi, Baam, Chunhwa, Full ck, and Des Lion were idling about within an isted yet open section of the arena. The atmosphere between them had be pretty tense after several minutes of silence, so, in the hopes of easing tensions, Des Lion took advantage of Baams closeness to justify invading Endorsis personal space as he asked, "So, Princess, what are your goals in climbing the Tower? Are you aiming to be a High Ranker...?" Feeling a sudden and intense urge to stab something, a smile blossomed across Endorsis face as she ceased twirling the pen-sized needle in her right hand. Then, before the man could react, she elbowed him in the diaphragm hard enough to send him rolling backward several meters as she inly remarked, "You must havepletely lost your mind. Do you think Im some hussy from the red light district you can just saunter on over to at your leisure?" Unable to even gasp for air, there was no way for Des Lion to actually answer Endorsis question. The most he could do was rapidly shake his head as he attempted to use Shinsu to treat the severe bruising on his chest. If she had hit him just a little harder, he might have died on the spot from the shock alone. Now, he needed Shinsu just to prevent himself from suffocating due to the erratic and painful contractions of his injured diaphragm. Deciding now was just as good a time as any, Endorsi didnt even try to temper her rage; surprising both Full ck and Chunhwa when she spontaneously used herpressed needle to destroy both their Lighthouse and Observer. The weapons in the Tower could be manipted by a persons mind with enough practice, so, almost immediately after Endorsi tossed out her needle, she guided it to make a swift return, piercing through Full cks chest in the process. With the pained sound of Full ck echoing through the darkness, Chunhwa very quickly realized that Endorsi wasnt just angry. He had actually been suspecting her from the very beginning, so, in response to the sudden attack, he quickly leaped back while tossing out a series of Observers and activating his Reel Inventory. This allowed him to see Endorsi smiling rather viciously at him while Baam cowered behind her, clearly confused by everything that was happening. Saving Chunhwa the effort, Baam eventually gained enough sense to shout, "Ms. Endorsi! What are you doing!? Why are you attacking our allies!? Our friends!?" Though she felt a pang of guilt the moment she heard Baams words, Endorsi forced herself to keep smiling as she twirled her needle around and inly stated, "Only four Fisherman will be allowed to move on to the next Floor. Because of my fight against Anak, there is no guarantee I will pass even if we manage to defeat the Ranker. Anak is also struggling due to the debt she rued during the Crown Game so this is the only way to ensure we both move up the Tower. The Admins dont allow Regrs to game the system by transferring points, so, even if she received handouts from others, her score is, by far, the lowest in the Fishermen ss..." Hearing Endorsis excuse, Baams expression showed extreme conflict, his brows furrowed deeply as his pupils rapidly expanded and contracted. He understood the point she was trying to make, but, even then, it just didnt feel right to betray people like this. Chunhwa was even part of their group of friends, not some stranger that they could just discard for their own benefit. Feeling even worse after seeing the conflict in Baams eyes, Endorsi was unable to prevent her own brows from furrowing slightly as she did her best to ignore him, pointing towards Chunhwa as she said, "Sorry about this...Ill make sure your injuries arent too severe. If you go to Phaeter, Im sure she will treat you without asking forpensation. If youre lucky, the injuries sustained by Green and Dede will be too severe for them to move on. I dont actually have anything against you...there are just other things I want to protect..." Having expected something like this to happen the moment Endorsi suggested that all Fishermen stay together, Chunhwa just released a tired sigh, saying, "Do what you must..." before shifting his gaze to Baam and adding, "We all climb the Tower for our own personal reasons, Baam. You are no exception to this rule so do not avert your eyes or cast me unto others. Instead, face forward and remember these moments when ites to making your own decisions. Im not sure why, but I feel like you have what it takes to bring about change to this Tower...even if I sumb here, know that I will always be willing to call you my friend..." Finished with what he had to say, Chunhwa adopted a confident smile before meeting Endorsis gaze and musing, "Thanks for giving me a chance to say my final words." Then, with his sword firmly sped between his hands, he shouted, "Ignite! Narumada...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Viva Revolution!?,Quant is not amused,When both sides are fighting to protect something important, there is no right or wrong...only tragedy...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1729 Indignation

Chapter 1729 Indignation

Following the ignition of his weapon, a process that wreathed his de in electrical blue mes, Chunhwa charged towards Endorsi with the greatest speed he could muster. The blue mes allowed him to generate explosive waves of Shinsu, and, when concentrated, into the de itself, he could cut through most objects. Thus, so long as he couldnd a single blow on Endorsi, it wouldnt be him giving up his journey on the 2nd Floor... Since Chunhwa had shown off his ignition weapon during their training sessions, Endorsi wasnt all that surprised by its release. She had seen what the sword was capable of, and, due to the mans limited ability to control Shinsu, it wasnt the most versatile weapon. As a result, she didnt even try to evade; charging directly at him as thepression needle in her right hand grew from 8cm to 160cm in an instant. At the same time, the two disks on her chest grew to more than three meters in diameter, acting as a shield that could block the attack of a B-Rank Regr while also providing her a limited form of concealment. As a Princess of Jahad, Endorsi had a number of treasures to make her journey up the Tower easier than that of a normal Regr. Many of these only worked between the 20th and 100th Floors, but, as a precaution against assassination, she had two defensive treasures that were destined to be the bane of any Regr unfortunate enough to face her. Chunhwa was no exception to this, his zing blue de impacting against the surface of the shield, wreathing it in mes but ultimately causing very little damage to the surface. Taking advantage of the moment when Chunhwa was recovering from his attack, Endorsi promptly shrunk the disks down to a size that could easily fit in the palm of her hand. At the same time, she thrust her needle forward with the finesse of a fencing master, stabbing Chunhwas shoulder, bicep, chest, and the area just under his cor bone in a single breath. She held back to avoid causing any permanent damage, but, with her needle being around 2.4cm thick beyond the tip, Chunhwa ended up with a few quarter-sized holes in the muscle groups used to hold his sword. Though he could have continued swinging his sword with one hand, Chunhwa wasnt afforded the opportunity to even try. The moment he attempted to restore his bnce and swipe upwards with the de, Endorsis disk-like shield came to within a centimeter of his breastte before expanding to its full size. Thispletely disoriented him, and, due to being in the middle of a strike, the edge of the shield expanded with enough force to shatter the bones in his arm, forcing the zing de from his grasp. With her opponent effectively crippled, Endorsi released a tired sigh before pointing the tip of her needle at Chunhwas neck and saying, "Im going to borrow your sword until the end of this exam. In exchange, I will let Baam treat your injuries. Though blood loss might be mitigated by the effects of Shinsu, you shouldnt leave open wounds unattended. Once all of this is all over, I will personally ask Phae to treat your wounds..." Though he understood Endorsi was trying to show him sympathy, it sounded more like pity within Chunhwas ears. This was something he couldnt ept as a knight, so, with the closest thing to a condescending smile he could manage due to the pain, he looked up at Endorsi and said, "You had better knock me out if you want to steal my sword...you Ghost-Pepper Hag..." To punctuate his words, Chunhwa spat at the ground near Endorsis feet before showing a bloody smile at her expense. This filled the apologetic Princess with quite a bit of indignation, but, knowing what Chunhwa was trying to do, she managed to maintain a rtively cool expression. Then, in the most inelegant way she could manage, she smacked him on the temple with her needle, knocking the man out in an instant before recovering his now-inert sword. With thepletely one-sided battle over and done with, Endorsi looked back to see Baam with an indignant frown on his face and tears flowing from his eyes. He was clearly very upset, but, perhaps out of consideration for Chunhwas previous statement, he continued watching without even trying to interfere. This made Endorsi feel even more guilty, her expression turning sullen as she muttered, "Im sorry Baam...this is just how the Tower is... As if to punctuate her statement, both Baam and Endorsi were surprised when one of the Observers Chunhwa tossed out suddenly eximed, "What the hell is going on with this stupid test!? Hey, can you guys hear me!? If anyone can hear me, return to the Safety Area as quickly as possible! Hoh haspletely lost his mind...!" --- With what could only be described as a crazed expression on his face, Hoh could be seen holding a strange knife up to Rachels neck as he cowered inside the Safety Area. Next to him, lying in a pool of her own blood, Grey could be seen staring into empty space withpletely lifeless eyes while, just outside the boundaries of the Safety Area, Quant was ring at him with literal mes dancing within his eyes. Since there werent any rules prohibiting Regrs from targeting and killing each other, Quant was virtually powerless to do anything about the current situation. The Safety Area waspletely off-limits to the Seeker, and, though he wanted nothing more than to string up the traitorous bastard by his neck, he wasnt willing to sacrifice his own life to do so. The Test Administrators were bound by all kinds of rules to ensure they conducted the tests fairly, so, unless he wanted to be squashed into meat paste by the Floor Guardian, he could only re at Hoh, promising, "Even if you kill every other Regr on the 2nd Floor, I swear on my pride as a Ranker that you will never step foot on the 3rd..." Having already gone over the deep end, Hoh just cackled sporadically in response to Quants words before shouting, "It isnt up to you! I havent broken any rules! So long as I eliminate this girl, Baam will have no reason to continue climbing up the Tower! With all of the other Wave Controllers out of the picture, Im guaranteed a free pass to the next Floor! Theres nothing you can do about it at all!" Even if Hohs words were true, that didnt stop Quant from releasing a powerful aura, not of Shinsu, but bloodlust. His journey up the Tower, like all who had be before and after, was paved with the blood of others. You didnt be a member of the 1% without getting your hands dirty, so, even without Shinsu, he could easily intimidate those with weaker wills by presence alone. This was especially true when it came to people like Hoh, those who had alreadypletely lost themselves to despair... Feeling as though Quant had suddenly be a giant, Hoh nearly dropped the knife in his hands as an overwhelming urge to both vomit and soil himself spread through his body. If not for Rachel trying to break free at that exact moment, he was certain he would have passed out then and there, losing his chance to climb the Tower. With that thought crossing his mind, Hohpletely suppressed the uneasy feeling in his body, an overwhelming feeling of rage recing it as he shouted, "Where do you think youre going!?" while grabbing Rachels wrist and stabbing forward with the knife. This caused the de to sink deep into her body, her eyes widening in pained surprise before an agonizing scream escaped her lips. Hoh was actually a little surprised by how easily the de pierced through Rachels body. Stabbing Grey was like trying to stab through a thick piece of leather with a metal poker. In stark contrast, he felt like Rachels body didnt even exist, almost like he had stabbed empty air. If not for her scream,bined with the tremendous amount of blood flowing from her wound, he would have thought his attack missedpletely... --- With every disy going dark halfway through the broadcast, Team A was, understandably, in an uproar. They had wanted to witness Team Bs performance for themselves, not be stuck in a room filled with static disys. Unfortunately, other than informing them that the issue was being looked into, the Test Administrators werepletely mum on what was happening. Though they had the benefit of being in far morefortable amodations, Vahn, Phae, Gandr, and Rak were also annoyed by the inactive broadcast. The only person that didnt seem to care was the man simply referred to as Ghost. He only paused for a very brief moment when the broadcast first went silent before shoveling handfuls of chocte bars and pastries into his toothy maw. At this point, Vahn was almost certain that Ghost was actually another Regr, seemingly one that had been specially prepared by Headon to serve as Rachels escort. His aura was radically different than any of the Regrs and Rankers he had seen, almost like he was an amalgamation of spiritual energy. Unfortunately, without touching the man directly, Vahn couldnt determine his true nature due to an invisible veil that covered his body, obscuring any attempts to probe his internal energy and track his presence... Just as Vahn was thinking about having Gandr try and make contact with the man, the four of them stared wide-eyed as Ghost suddenly tensed up. The food he had been shoveling into his mouth fell back to the te it came from as a pained grimace appeared on his face. Then, as if he actually was a ghost, the man spontaneously erupted into a pyre of ghostly purple mes before vanishing into thin air... --- Seeing the volume of blood flowing from Rachels body, Hoh was certain she would bleed out after just a few seconds. Still, he wanted to make sure she died, so, after staring at the blood on his knife for several seconds, the crazed smile returned to his face as he revealed, "You know, I didnt want to have to do this...if you want to me someone, me whatever God chooses to give some power while taking everything away from others. I have made more sacrifices than all of youbined...I even lost everything...my family, my friends, my entire tribe...I am not the bad guy here...so, please, die for me...!" Inspired by his own words, Hoh ignored the shouts of Quant as he raised the dagger high into the sky and began stabbing Rachel over and over. He was connected to the samework of Observers and Lighthouses as everyone else so he had heard the broadcast made to the rest of his team. This meant Baam and the others would be on their way, so, before they could attack him, he needed to kill Rachel and retire from the game. They wouldnt be able to attack him back on the Suspend Ship withoutpromising their own chances to climb the Tower so all he needed to do was retreat to the medical ward or seek asylum from the Test Director. With this thought in his mind, Hohs smile became increasingly vicious as he buried the knife into Rachels body over and over. He found it strange that there was actual feedback this time around, but, with more and more blood flowing from her wounds, he didnt really care about anything else. The only thought on his mind was to continue stabbing until shepletely stopped moving, tears streaming down his face as the light in her eyes rapidly gave way to an empty, lifeless, darkness... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ghost-Pepper Hag,Tests in the Tower are so fucked,Hoh, Champion of the Comments Section) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1730 Realization

Chapter 1730 Realization

With Baam insisting they not stray too far from the Safety Area, both he and Endorsi reached the rather brutal scene in a very short period of time, Hohsughter still echoing through the chamber as he continued stabbing Rachels limp body. This caused Baam topletely freeze in ce, but, having seen more than her fair share of bloodshed, Endorsi just sighed before casually throwing her needle, piercing both of Hohs wrists and forcing him to drop the knife. Despite a startling amount of pain emanating from his wrists, Hoh didnt cry out in response. Most of his senses were dulled at the moment due to his mind entering a state simr to shock. Because of this, he managed to look over to where both Endorsi and Baam were standing, his eyes meeting the grief-ridden gaze of the boy he had once called a friend. Just as Hoh was about to say something to try and justify his actions, everyone present was taken by surprise when Rachels body was suddenly enveloped in golden mes. In the very next instant, a tiny burning figure appeared on the ground as a pained gasp escaped the previously motionless Rachel. Even her eyes, which had previously been bereft of any sign of life, were suddenly burning with vitality as she unceremoniously kicked the horned-man in his face. Then, showing no signs of hesitation, she grabbed the dagger that had fallen to the ground, a vengeful look in her eyes as she attempted to stab Hoh directly in the chest. With speed he didnt normally possess, Baam managed to intercept Rachels attempt to stab Hoh with his own body. The de of the dagger ended up sinking deep into his shoulder, startling the woman enough to release the handle and cry out, "Baam! What are you doing!?" Having sessfully pushed Hoh outside of the Safety Area, Baam didnt have to take any further action as Quant unhesitantly appeared next to the man, knocking him out in an instant. Thus, in response to Rachels outburst, he ignored the pain radiating from his shoulder, tears staining his face as he pleaded, "I dont want to see my friends killing each other...please...this isnt right...none of this is right..." Unable to hold back his emotions, Baam began crying like a child that had been separated from its mother in a crowded venue. This was all he could do to express the conflict whirling around inside of him; the result of pain, sadness, anger, hatred, confusion, loss, and relief all melding together to form apletely indescribable sensation that wracked his body and mind in equal measure... Seeing Baam sobbingly throw himself into the stunned Rachels embrace, Endorsi couldnt help releasing a tired sigh before meeting Quants gaze and suggesting, "Lets move this elsewhere. Its impossible to get in the mood in a ce like this..." Though Quant had previously been contemting just taking Endorsis badge in order to bring this farce of a test to an end, he wasnt able to locate it anywhere on her body. Thus, in response to her suggestion, he did his best to ignore the sound of crying, smiling viciously as he said, "I suppose I can make an exception and let you choose where you want to die. Go ahead and lead the way. So long as you dont try anything shady, I promise not to attack for the next three minutes." Nodding her head in affirmation, Endorsi took onest look at Baam before releasing another sigh and disappearing into the darkness. Her departure was followed very closely by Quant, who, much like the former, took a moment to stare at Baam crying in Rachels arms before muttering, "If there is a God, he or she is a pretty twisted bastard..." --- In an effort to calm herself down, Endorsi ended up using the full three minutes to reach an area far from the sound of Baams wailing. Just being around the boy filled her with an overwhelming sense of guilt, an emotion she thought she had discarded more than a hundred years ago. There was just something about him that made others feel like they were dirty, causing them to doubt everything they thought was mon sense within the Tower... With the figure of the crying boy still present within her mind, Endorsi turned around to face Quant, a somber expression on her face as she asked, "Before we begin, can you answer me something...?" Since his own mood was pretty dour right now, Quant decided he might as well humor Endorsis request, adopting a rxed stance before saying, "Just ask. Just keep in mind that Im not really in the best of moods right now. If you say something to offend me, there is a good chance youll be leaving this arena on a stretcher." Chuckling in response to Quants words, Endorsi almost habituallybed back her bangs before stopping once she noticed a few kes of blood staining her fingernails. This caused her mood to decrease even further, but, as someone who had lived for more than three-hundred-years, she was adept at concealing her emotions when necessary. As a result, she managed to hide her depressive state behind a neutral smile, asking, "Do you regret the years you spent climbing the Tower...?" Understanding what Endorsi was truly asking, Quant made no attempt to hide his true feelings on the matter, his expression turning serious yet mncholic as he answered, "To achieve our dreams, we must be willing to crush the dreams of others...that is the nature of the Tower...that boy...he isnt normal..." Though there wasnt any hidden meaning contained within his words, Endorsis mind wandered the moment she heard Quant mention that Baam wasnt normal. Immediately after that, three people with remarkable power came to mind, each possessing monstrous capabilities and an unparalleled ability to manipte Shinsu. Everything about them was exceptional, and, though it seemed to fade into obscurity with the passage of time, she could vividly remember them iming to be Irregrs, people who had opened the door from a world beyond the Tower... With the image of Imperial Trio appearing within her mind, so too did the scene of Baam shrouded in golden lightning. She had never even considered back then, but, now that she looked back on all the events leading up to the present, everything about Baam and Rachel screamed Irregr. There was also the fact that Baam had appeared with the ck March, a weapon belonging to one of the most famous Princesses of Jahad, Ha Yuri Jahad, despite having no knowledge of the Jahad Empire, Princesses of Jahad, and the Thirteen Month Series. Now that she thought about things clearly, Endorsi couldnt help but question whether or not she had been under some kind of mind control over the past month. It was so obvious that Rachel and Baam were Irregrs that she felt like an idiot for having made the connection thiste. There was even a time when she felt an otherworldly aura from Rachel, the very thing that had prevented her from attacking the annoying blonde during the first days Deathmatch. Feeling extremely annoyed all of a sudden, Endorsi surprised the uncharacteristically patient Quant by stomping on the ground a few times before pointing Chunhwas sword towards the man and shouting, "Lets just get this battle over with! Im too tired to think about all thisplicated stuff right now...!" Finding the Princess remark rather amusing, Quant couldnt resistughing at her expense before leaping back in response to a electric-blue wave of Shinsu enveloping the area where he had been standing. Endorsis power and control were leagues above Chunhwas, so, while she had very little experience wielding the peculiar ignition weapon, she could, quite literally, brute force things using her overwhelming strength. With a simple swing of the zing blue sword, an area more than three-hundred-meters in length and eighty-meters wide was enveloped in a destructive wave of Shinsu. This caused a small amount of sweat to appear on Quants brow, as, despite being a Ranker, there was no way he could receive such a blow without reinforcing his body with Shinsu. Fortunately, even with her strength, there was a limit to the amount of Shinsu Endorsi could output with each swing. She also needed to take care not to use the ability too close to her own body, lest she risk injuring herself in the subsequent explosion. After dodging two more sweeping waves of Shinsu, Quant decided it was significantly safer to be close to the Princess body. He had caught a sh of red from her interior vest pocket, so, unless his eyes were starting to y tricks on him, that was the most likely location of Endorsis badge. All he needed to do was tear away her vest or deal a heavy enough blow to take her out of the fight, both viable options considering how annoyed he was bing with her increasingly destructive blows. Aiming for the gap in between Endorsis strikes, Quant surprised the former by dashing through the receding wave of Shinsu. This was a tactic that required more confidence than actual power, as, due to the nature of Shinsu, it caused little to no damage whilst dispersing. This meant, the moment the Shinsu was no longer being directly manipted, it effectively became inert, the only exceptions being when certain Qualities were applied to it. Taking advantage of Endorsis surprise, Quant extended his hand to grab her vest, a vicious smile on his face as he shouted, "Dont think badly of me, Princess!". Unfortunately, before he could close his hand around the fabric, his wrist was nearly broken when the formers shield-like disks expanded in the blink of an eye. Clicking his tongue, Quant attempted to break through the shield with a roundhouse kick, but, with no Shinsu to support the endeavor, the most he aplished was leaving the imprint of his foot in the durable surface. This caused him to curse internally before using the shield as a springboard to evade Endorsis extremely swift and dexterous hook. It hade from his blindspot, so, had he not been anticipating such a tactic, Quant would have lost his badge then and there due to Endorsis inordinately high mastery of the Reel Inventory. Though she might have the lowest score among the current Fisherman candidates, Anak being the obvious exception, Endorsi was easily the most skilled among the current batch of potentiates. The only reason she wascking in points is that she spent them almost immediately after earning them. She had been intending to eliminate the other Fisherman candidates from the very beginning, so, rather than hoard her points like a precious treasure, Endorsi used them to buy expensive clothes, valuable items, a variety ofpression weapons, and anything else she thought would be of use during the Final Exam. Demonstrating just how much she had prepared, Endorsi pulled out threepression needles from her Reel Inventory, smiling even more fiercely than Quant as she contracted her shield and threw them like munitions fired from a rail gun. One even directly impacted Quants shoulder due to the fact he was airborne during the counterattack. The other two were easily caught with his bare hands, but, without the ability to use Shinsu, the third was able to slip through. Clenching his teeth, Quant was tempted to return Endorsis needles to her, but, much like he was unable to enter the Safety Area, he was prohibited from using items. This rule applies to the items used by the Regrs, so, after evading Endorsis explosive follow-up attack, Quant pulled out the offending needle before throwing it, and the rest, far beyond the Princess ability to manipte. Though she was tempted toment about Quants pettiness, Endorsi had already started to feel fatigued from continuously swinging around an ignition weapon. The size of the Shinsu wave was directly proportional to her strength due to the fact she had to literally push the wave forward with raw physical power. This meant she was forcibly manipting tens-of-thousands of kilograms of Shinsu with each of her swings, a difficult feat even for a Princess of Jahad. Fortunately, Shinsu also had the trait of erupting outward, mixing with the Shinsu in the air to create sweeping explosions that didnt require any additional power. Feeling that she was approaching her limit, Endorsi condensed the Shinsu in the de to cause the entire length to glow with vibrant blue light. Then, rather than wait for Quant to approach her, she charged at him with tremendous momentum, shattering the floor beneath her feet as sheunched herself like a projectile towards his position. Seeing the enraged Princess approach him, Quant cockily raised one of his brows, leaping back at the same speed of her approach as he asked, "Youre approaching me? Dont tell me you also lost your mind..." Kicking against the ground with even more force, Endorsis eyes began shimmering with a ghostly light as she shouted, "I cant smash your grubby little face without getting closer! Stop running you match-headed pipsqueak...!" The moment he heard Endorsis insult, Quant felt like something in the back of his mind broke. At the same time, an extremely wrathful expression spread across his face as he promptly changed the direction of his movement. This caused Endorsis eyes to widen, her arms instinctually tucking in to protect her body as her shield began to rapidly expand. Unfortunately, after witnessing the shields rate of expansion just once, Quant was able to adjust his angle and timing, deftly evading the edge of the troublesome item to tear Endorsis vest from her body. He was so confident in his speed that hepletely ignored the hook that managed to snatch away his badge, smiling darkly as he said, "Too bad. And you were so...close...?" For reasons his mind simply couldnt grasp, Endorsi didnt appear even remotely upset by the loss of both her vest and badge. Instead, she turned around with a massive grin spreading across her face before boldly raising the front of her skirt. Quants eyes were instinctually drawn to the area, but, rather than a tantalizing disy, the only thing that entered his sight was the bright red badge that had been pinned to the front of Endorsis tights... Before the man could recover his senses, Endorsi released the hem of her skirt before recovering Quants badge and remarking, "You owe me a new vest." with what could only be described as a shit-eating grin on her face... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bruh...,When the answer hits you after the test has already ended...,Oh my, how bold (OwO)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1731 Tensions

Chapter 1731 Tensions

With the disys conveniently reconnecting prior to the battle between Quant and Endorsi, Team A could only watch in stunned silence as the Princess proudly unted her victory. They couldnt deny she had earned the badge, especially after her rather ridiculous disy of strength, but that didnt make it any easier for them to ept the fact their team had officially lost thepetition. As could be expected, those scraping the bottom line for passing immediately fell into a depressive state, their hopes and dreams crashing down around them. As for those who had already secured a passing grade for themselves, they just sat in silence amidst the rest, empathetic but not remorseful for the way things had turned out. After all, the passing of one person meant the failure of another, so, regardless of their efforts, half of them were fated to never move beyond the 2nd Floor... Fortunately, at least for some, many of Team Bs members hade away with moderate to severe injuries. In fact, more than half of their team was bound to be disqualified due to the injuries they had sustained, irrespective of whether or not they could be treated. After all, most of their injuries were the result of being deemed a failure by Quant, meaning they had outright failed to perform the responsibilities expected of them. The purpose of the Hide-and-Seek Test was never for the Regrs to win against the Seeker. That was just a bonus objective that could afford the respective teams it a considerable boon in points. The true purpose was to determine how the Regrs conducted themselves as both individuals in their respective Positions and allies on the same team. This evaluation was primarily handled by the Test Administrators and Directors, but, as the defacto proctor of the exam, Quant had the authority to outright eliminate candidates he considered unsuited for their Positions... --- Following thepletion of the Final Exam, the Regrs were given a day to rest and recuperate before the results of the Position Test would be announced. Thus, after being told to reconvene at 7 PM the following day, they were ultimately dismissed after being informed of the fact that all food and beverages would be free until their departure from the 3rd Floor. The only person exempt from this boon was Gandr, who, due to his already notorious appetite, was limited to 500 points worth of food during each meal. As could be expected, most of the Regrs were too tired to actually celebrate, so, after raiding themissary for various types of alcohol, the vast majority split off into small groups of close friends before retreating into their rooms to drink the night away. Fortunately, as this was a verymon urrence on the 2nd Floor, themissary staff had removed all of the expensive items from the shelves before the bi-monthly raid emptied their stock clean. This caused quite a number of people toin, but, as was often the case within the Tower, there wasnt really anything they could do to change the situation... --- Completely unaffected by the situation guing many of the more depressed Regrs, most of the group associated with the Imperial Trio had gathered together in Gandrs room. Vahn had provided a few choice brands of alcohol from his private stock, and, though all of the credit went to Phae, he had used the Little Garden to prepare a small banquet for them to enjoy. This was well-received by those who had participated, but, as could be expected, the atmosphere was a little mncholic due to Endorsis betrayal of Chunhwa. Though nobody was talking about it, the absence of Chunhwa, Nare, Hoh, and Rozeal could be felt by all. Baam and Khun were also absent due to visiting Rachel in the Medical Ward, so, at least for the first half of the party, things were understandably awkward between the previously close group of friends. Fortunately, they had plenty of good food and strong alcohol present, so, as the evening progressed, things became gradually more rxed as inhibitions loosened. By the end of the evening, Gandr had been unsessfully ambushed by both Anak and Endorsi before the two girls ultimately fell asleep using Laures nket-wrapped body as a pillow. Anak, in particr, had finished off a bottle of sake that was nearly 30cm tall, her greenplexion giving way to a ruddy glow as she drooled all over the Phonsekal scions most cherished treasure. As for Gandr himself, he ended covering most of the rooms upants with nkets carrying Anak and Endorsi over to his bed, tucking them in before pulling out a sleeping bag and lying on the floor... --- Whilst the pseudo-celebration had still been ongoing, Phae, having been requested by both Baam and Khun, made her way over to the Medical Ward to check on Rachel. She had yet to wake up due to the side-effects of the [Effigy of the Hero], an item that had been given to her by Hwa Ryun after thetters midnight visit to his room. Though he only found out after the fact, Hwa Ryun had apparently misinterpreted the meaning of Vahns words to imply that she should give the item to Rachel, as, prior to visiting his room, she had seen a vision of Hoh sessfully killing the woman. It was only after she received the [Effigy of the Hero] that the path was corrected, Rachel living to see another day thanks to the tiny wood figure she had received from her God... Needless to say, Hwa Ryuns belief was steadily increasing, but, as that was a problem for Vahn to deal with, Phae maintained her motherly smile as she checked Rachels pulse and, for the third time, exined, "As I stated previously, she is perfectly fine. She is just suffering from the side-effects of a powerful magical item. The effigy is a treasure that has the ability to take on the fatal wounds of the person in possession of it, drastically increasing their physical capabilities for three minutes after the effect activates. Afterward, the body enters a dormant state for around three hours to prevent any troublesome seque from forming. She is bound to bepletely exhausted when she wakes up, but there is no danger to her life." Despite having heard a simr exnation twice, Baam was unable to hide his concern, eyes tearing up as he squeezed Rachels hand and muttered, "Please wake up soon...I dont think I can climb the Tower without you..." Hearing Baams remark, Khun, who had been standing at the side, showed a conflicted expression on his face. As for Phae, her expression softened as she gently caressed Baams head and said, "You are such a worrywart...I keep telling you she is going to be fine..." Unustomed to such tenderness, Baams mental faculties ground to a halt the moment Phae beganbing back his hair. A legitimately confused expression appeared on his face, but, rather than try to stop her, he ultimately just hung his head, squeezing Rachels hand in silence. Sensing Baam gradually calming down, Phae resisted the urge to give the boy a hug before turning back to meet Khuns gaze. In response, he gestured toward the door with head, seemingly wishing to discuss something out of earshot from Baam. Phae already had some idea of what he wished to discuss, so, with a knowing smile on her face, she pulled out an extra nket, covering Baams body before promptly following Khun from the room. Almost immediately after the biometric lock activated behind them, securing the door, Khun wasted no time in asking, "That figurine, the [Effigy of the Hero], where did you obtain such a thing? I have never once heard of such an item existing within the Tower. I also dont understand why you would use entrust such a precious treasure to someone like Rachel. If not for Baam, I would never tolerate the presence of such a vain and shallow woman...Im sure youve noticed it as well, right? She never even tries to improve. All she does is go through the motions...someone like that doesnt deserve to climb the Tower..." Frowning in response to Khuns words, Phae responded by, very inly, stating, "It isnt your ce to make such determinations, Khun Aguero Agnis. You are correct in your assertion that I have seen the incongruencies in Rachels character. However, unless she has actually done something to merit reprobation, I will give her the benefit of the doubt. You, of all people, should know that it isnt just the worthy who are able to climb the Tower. There are those like you who rely on deceit, and, if it means protecting the people you care about, you will even readily betray the trusts of others...tell me, what has Rachel done to earn your ire? How are your actions more just than her inaction...?" Though he wanted to argue against everything Phae was saying, Khun found himself frozen in ce due to the terrifying aura emanating from the characteristically kind woman. Each and every one of her words seemed to carry a tremendous amount of weight, and, for a brief moment, he was briefly reminded of the one time he angered his father. With thetter being one of the leaders of the Ten Great Families, Ranked 6 in the entire Tower, this put into perspective just how terrifying Phaes aura was in the present moment... Fortunately, having experienced something simr in the past, Khun was ultimately able to recover enough to answer, "Youre right...please forgive me if I upset you. I just dont want to see my friend ruined by a woman with apletely arbitrary goal...Baam is important to me...he is something this Tower desperately needs. Whenever I imagine his kindness being tainted by that woman, it tears me up inside..." Understanding Khuns concerns, Phae could only release a tired sigh before crossing her arms and saying, "It seems you have quite a bit inmon with Baam...you both worry excessively whenever it concerns the people you care about." Hearing Phaes remark, Khun couldnt help but furrow his brows, unable toe up with a way to refute her statement. He wanted to say he wasnt such a kind-hearted and soft person, but, based on his own words and actions, it was hard to make a case for his cruelty. He was, in fact, extremely worried about Baam, and, if it was to help someone he cared about, there were very few extremes he wouldnt resort to... Taking advantage of Khuns silence, Phae issued an amused chuckle at the young mans expense before adopting a more serious look as she said, "You dont have to worry much longer. Once we move on to the 3rd Floor, my Lord will be taking more proactive measures to help us ascend the Tower. Rachel might be a weight that slows the groups progress, but, once you understand the true nature of my Lord, all of your concerns will seem rather trivial. For now, I suggest you just focus on supporting Baam and moving forward with your own ns. Im certain you have alreadye to understand what kind of existence those two are..." Adopting a simrly serious expression on his face, a bead of sweat ran down the side of Khuns face as he corrected, "Dont you mean...you five...?" Rather than confirm Khuns suspicions, Phae replied with another giggle, this time concealing the lower half of her face with her gloved hand. Then, before walking past the boy, she mused, "There are some things that simply transcend conventional understanding andprehension...just know this, scion of the Khun Family...the Tower is a very small ce in the grand scheme of things..." With nothing else to say, Phae continued past Khun without sparing him a second look. She was honestly feeling a little tired at the moment, not due to any exertions on her part, but because of the chaos urring in Gandrs room and the frustrations experienced by Vahn. The former had a drunken Princess trying to predate him, and, though everything ultimately worked out in the end, Vahn was feeling pretty incredulous after hearing Hwa Ryun praise him to the high heavens... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Spear Revolutionaries,Gandr is a good boi,Phae be like, "This is only the tutorial stage...") (A/N: I wanted to rify a few things since Ive noticed some trends in thements section. Let me just say that there is nothing wrong with EPIC being second, third, or even tenth ce on the Power Rankings. Rather than inte a non-issue into some kind of petty war between two fandoms, I would rather see more positivity in thements section. I rely on thements of the readers to determine whether or not the pacing of the novel is appropriate so feel free to let me know how you think the story is progressing. As for Marvels Mutant Gamer, I actually found it rather enjoyable so feel free to read it and make your own assessment. However, please dont go out of your way to cause any trouble. The thing that saddens me most is seeing promising new authors discouraged by the toxicity within themunity. If you want to support EPIC, feel free to bash my head with a few Power Stones. I do enjoy being at the top of the rankings, sure, but that is tertiarypared to the support I receive from my gracious patrons, the kindness I receive from my fans, and my simple desire to write a story people enjoy. Please, be good to each other, especially during these trying times.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1732 Monsters We Make

Chapter 1732 Monsters We Make

As Phae had promised, Rachel ended up opening her eyes almost immediately after the three hours had passed. Every muscle in her body screamed out in protest as a deeply agonizing ache radiated throughout every fiber of her being. Despite this, Rachel was still happy to be alive, her golden eyes glistening with tears as she squeezed Baams hand and muttered, "Dont...cry...Im...okay..." Though he was tempted to call the Doctors and immediately run to get Phae, Baam couldnt bring himself to leave Rachels side, holding her hand between his as he fought back tears. She was the most important thing in his life, and, though it felt like he was obtaining more precious things with each passing day, he couldnt even imagine living without her. Seeing Baam doing his best not to cry, Rachel wanted gently embrace him, but, considering the current state of her body, she ultimately made no effort to try. Instead, she did her best to adopt a smile, watching silently as her mind wandered to the events leading up to her hospitalization... When Rachel had first formed her contract with Headon, he had promised that, so long as she did what she was told, she would be able to go up the Tower without experiencing any significant trials or pain. All she needed to do was obey themands sent to her via Pocket, and, when necessary, listen to the red-haired woman named Hwa Ryun. So long as she did these two things, everything else was supposed to be smooth sailing up until the point she betrayed Baam and cut off his path to climbing the Tower. A month prior, Rachel had felt as though Baam had taken everything away from her, as, unlike him, she was not chosen to enter the Tower. Headon had told her that she merely slipped through the cracks of Baam opening the door, matching her intentions from the start. After all, she knew better than anyone else that she was not chosen, but, rather than ept her fate, shemitted a great taboo, befriending the monster prophesied to one day climb the Tower and open the way forward for all. If she were being honest, Rachel had be rather fond of Baam after spending years watching over the boy. She had be something akin to a surrogate mother for the boy, and, though he absolutely terrified her, the way he treated her as the most important person in the world, despite many viewing him in a simr light, always made her happy. She even developed a strong desire to change his destiny, protecting him from the many who would use him as a weapon despite having sealed him away for thousands of years. After finally convincing Baam that she was going to climb the Tower, effectively forcing him to open the door for her, Rachel had hoped to receive whatever it was that made him special. The Baam she knew had nothing, so, while he had shown a frustrating ability to learn new things, she had always believed that it was the Tower that would inevitably grant him Power. After all, there was no way the boy, the only person she knew for certain was weaker than herself, would be able to ovee all of the monsters said to exist within the Tower. By entering the door in Baams stead, Rachel was hoping to receive everything that had made him special in the eyes of so many. She wanted to be the star of salvation that everyone gathered around, paving the way forward without desiring anything more than the chance to see the actual stars. Unfortunately, even after tricking Baam into opening the door, Rachel was unable to fool the Fairy said to choose who was qualified to climb the Tower. He had seen through her in an instant, forcing her to choose between abandoning her dream of seeing the stars and death. After all, there was no way for someone like her, a normal person who had been bullied due to herck of talent, to defeat a giant monster that could easily swallow her in a single bite. At the time, Rachel believed that Headon was simply trying to get rid of her, but, after seeing Baam enter the Tower immediately after her, she quickly realized what was happening; She had been used by the Tower just to give Baam a reason for opening the door. After all, while she was given nothing at all to aid in herpletion of the test, Baam was instantaneously allowed two powerful allies and one of the most powerful weapons in the entire Tower, all without any effort whatsoever. It was an established fact that it took literal years just to move up and down the Tower due to its size, so, for a Princess of Jahad and a Guide to appear immediately after Baams entrance into the Tower, they had to have known years in advance. This notion had filled Rachel with despair, as, in spite of all her efforts to both steal Baams fate and keep the boy safe, she had failed absolutely. Fortunately, even though she knew the only reason was to give them greater control over Baam, Headon had offered her the chance to move up the Tower. He promised her that Baam would be safe, and, so long as she did what she was told, the contract they had established would allow her to one day see the stars she so desperately craved, even in her dreams. Rachel hated the idea of being used, but, with the only other options being death or expulsion from the Tower, she ultimately epted Headons terms. Now, she was forced to watch on from the side as Baam, without any real effort on his part, attracted countless powerful figures. He even managed to win over a trio of other Irregrs, and, over the duration of a single month, became close friends with two Princesses of Jahad, two scions from powerful families, and several other powerful figures who were bound to be powerhouses in the future. Seeing Baam literally handed everything others struggled desperately to obtain, Rachel couldnt help but feel a burgeoning resentment towards the boy who had once had nothing. However, much like everyone else that had been exposed to him for long periods of time, she couldnt actually hate him. Baam had a unique charm to him, and, even if she knew he was a monster, his innocence and the sincerity behind each of his words and actions gave even her a strong desire to protect him. Unfortunately, with no power to change her fate, Rachel could only y the part she had been given; forced to be Baams motivation for climbing, and ultimately changing, the Tower. She was even being forced to betray him, her current task being to push him into the arms of the very same people who would use him as nothing more than a weapon. She was told this was to conceal his presence from the King of the Tower, but, as someone who lived her entire life deceiving others, Rachel knew their actual goal was to control and manipte him. By forcing her to betray him, Baam would be forced to face the truth of the Tower, a ce where countless people desperately struggled to obtain their wishes at the expense of everyone else. This would see in him a desire to change the Towers system, and, by giving her a free ride up the Tower, he was guaranteed to keep chasing after her in search of answers she was contract-bound never to give him. Speaking the truth would annul the agreement she had made with Headon, so, even if she ultimately came to regret her decision, her only choices were to continue going forward, inevitably changing the Tower for the better, or abandoning both Baam and her dreams... --- Ever since she was a little girl, Rachel had been aware of the fact there was something wrong with her. She had always struggled to understand other people, and, though she had done her best to fit in with the other children, they had bullied her for being different. They undermined everything she did, and, even when she tried her best to act like everyone else, nothing seemed to work. The Head Priestess had even punished her for trying to stop the bullying,ying the me on her despite the fact she was the victim. After the incident, Rachel realized she had probably gone a little too far by tearing off all the boys fingernails with a pair of pliers, but, if he hadnt been allowed to bully her for years, she never would have had to resort to such drastic actions. She had tried asking for help numerous times, but, much like the children, all the adults within the Temple treated her like she was some kind of monster. She was constantly lectured and told how to behave while the people who had actually done something wrong were allowed to avoid any serious consequences. In fact, her telling on them only made their treatment of her worse, eventually reaching a point where she had nearly been drowned when one of the boys pushed her into the river before promptly running away with all his friends. Despite the fact he had nearly killed someone, the boy was only lightly chided by the adults at the Temple while she, having apparently antagonized the group of five boys, was forced to clean the central chamber as punishment. That was the moment when Rachel first realized that she wasnt the one who was broken. She might have been a little different, but there was very clearly something wrong with everyone else. Thus, from that moment onward, Rachel decided to take matters into her own hands, turning the childrens lies into truths. If she was going to be punished, regardless of her actions, Rachel decided she would be the monster others made her out to be. Though she ended up getting into a lot of trouble, Rachel sessfully managed to deter any future bullying due to the severity of the punishment she had meted out to the boy who had effectively tried to kill her. After that, the children were told to stay far away from her, and, in an effort to guide her back onto the correct path, she was ced under the direct supervision of the High Priestess. This ended up being a tremendous boon, as, without any bullies to get in her way, Rachel was gradually able to master her performance, ultimately gaining the trust of the High Priestess and convincing all the adults that she had changed. Unfortunately, the moment she earned the right to learn the Sacred Arts passed down through their Temple for thousands of years, Rachel learned she had absolutely no talent. She could not connect with the God that allowed them to perform miracles, and, even though she had memorized each of the incantations wlessly, none of them ever worked. This caused everyone to begin shunning her once again, but, unlike before, she had the High Priestess as an ally. As a result, she was allowed to be a Priestess of the Inner Temple, provided sanctuary and given the opportunity to gradually learn all the Temples secrets. It was from the High Priestess that Rachel first learned about the Tower, and, after several years of devout service, the former had even confided in her the purpose they had been given more than ten-thousand-years prior. They were tasked with guarding the body of their founders child, a boy who had been sealed beneath the Temple until the day he was ready to climb the Tower and open the way forward for them all. When Rachel first learned about the existence of the boy sealed beneath the Temple, she had been curious about what kind of creature could survive more than ten-thousand-years after its apparent death. As fate would have it, she would quickly learn exactly what type of existence he was, as, soon after learning the Temples best-kept secret, Rachel was given the duty of cleaning and maintaining the seal. That same week, she began to hear sobbing emanating from beneath therge stone used to conceal the underground chamber below, and, after a few days had passed, she could even hear scratching against the stone. Rather than inform the High Priestess of the anomaly, Rachel decided to keep it a secret. She had been captivated by the stories rted to the Tower, so, while she owed a lot to the kindly woman who had be a surrogate mother to her, Rachel wanted to meet the person that served as one of the pirs of their entire faith. Thus, while the High Priestess was busy preparing for the winter festival, she managed to remove the stone blocking the entrance to the chamber below, meeting him for the first time on the 25th Baam, the date which would ultimately be the boys name... --- Remembering her first meeting with the long-haired and emaciated boy, Rachels smile gradually became gentler as she mustered up the strength to maneuver her free hand to pat the boys head. This immediately caught Baams attention, clear concern visible in his gaze as he pleaded, "Please, dont move around too much! You arent well...!" Though it caused her an extreme amount of pain, Rachel couldnt help but chuckle in response to Baams words, her smile bing more prominent despite tears welling in her eyes. As could be expected, this caused Baam to fret quite a bit, but, knowing she would soon betray the boy for both their sakes, Rachel couldnt help shedding tears as an awkward, crazed-sounding,ugh emanated from her throat... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A very selfish form of love,Children can be very cruel,Into the Abyss of Despair) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1733 Early Morning Musings

Chapter 1733 Early Morning Musings

Feeling a strong urge to pee, Endorsi awoke in the middle of the night, her head pulsating with the same rhythm as the beating of her heart. While making a mental note never to underestimate the alcohol provided by Phae, Endorsi took a brief moment to collect herself; observing her surroundings before checking the state of her body. Though she doubted any of them had the courage, drinking alongside members of the opposite sex was neverpletely safe. Endorsi didnt believe men and women could have strictly tonic rtionships, so, once the booze started affecting their system, there was no way of knowing how things would develop. Even without checking herself over in great detail, Endorsis intuition informed her that the clothes she was currently wearing had been fiddled with. Rather than removed, torn, or disced, however, it seemed like they had been fixed back into ce. She had also awoken to find herself tucked into bed next to Anak while all the boys could be seen littering the surroundings, nkets covering their bodies. Despite the throbbing of her head, something she was quickly resolving using Shinsu, it didnt take much effort for Endorsi to extrapte what had happened. She had noticed the previous night that, despite drinking more than anyone else, Gandr never even appeared tipsy. She should know, as, in a vain attempt to convince the boy to let her cuddle him, she had personally poured him more than a dozen drinks. Though Gandr was a mischief-maker, he was also a surprisingly considerate boy that cared deeply for his friends. It wasnt difficult to imagine him carrying both she and Anak over to his bed, neatly arranging their clothes, and then tucking them in. He had even left a pitcher of water and two cups on the nightstand, clearly anticipating they would wake up feeling dehydrated and thirsty. With a smile spreading across her face, Endorsi lightly called out, "You awake, fuzz-ball...?" despite knowing her words would be more than enough to stir the sensitive-eared Vanaragandr. As expected, Gandrs head popped up near the foot of the bed, forcing Endorsi to resist the urge to ask if he was some kind of loyal dog that slept at the base of its Masters bed. Instead, shebed her bangs aside as she said, "Walk me to my room. I want to wash my face and change my clothes." Staring back at Endorsi with a deadpan expression on his face, Gandr briefly considered making the haughty woman walk back on her own. He could vaguely sense whenever something was about to happen, and, from personal experience, Gandr knew it was dangerous to ept the invitation of a woman in the middle of the night. Fortunately, at least from what he could tell, Endorsi just wanted to talk about something. She also treated him more like a little brother than a potential love interest, so, after lightly scrunching up his nose in displeasure, Gandr huffed an annoyed, "Whatever..." before hopping up to his feet. Amused by Gandrs reaction, Endorsi couldnt resist chuckling at the boys expense before turning to the sleeping Anak and shaking her awake. Even if she didnt mistrust the people present in the room, she wasnt going to leave her adorable niece as the only girl in a room filled with a bunch of stinky drunkards. Feeling someone shake her body, Anak issued an annoyed groan, rolling over and muttering, "Stop shaking me...Ill kill you..." before promptly falling back asleep. Though she found Anaks behavior cute, Endorsis brow began to twitch slightly as she wondered how best to wake up the drunken lizard. Gandr, however, was a lot more shameless than her in this particr situation, picking up the sleeping Princess without any hesitation before saying, "Lets go. I have ess to Anaks room so we can drop her off there or leave her with Phae." Resist the urge to question why he had ess to Anaks room, Endorsi extricated herself from the bed, quickly fixing her clothes before rising to her feet and remarking, "I wonder which title better suits you...Prince Charming or Knight in Shining Armor? Youre pretty bold to lift a Princess in such a casual manner..." Rolling his eyes, Gandr turned his attention to the sleeping girl in his arms as he said, "Anak is like a little sister to me...If anything, it would be more urate to call me her rival..." Thinking he was being shy, Endorsi giggled at Gandrs expense before adopting a teasing smile and musing, "Whatever you say, kiddo. Just make sure you never hurt her, okay? If you do, Ill find a way to shave your ears and tail. Then the whole Tower can see you for the rat you are~." Rather than respond to Endorsis words, Gandr just shook his head, a tired sigh escaping his lips as he carried Anak towards the rooms entrance. This earned him another giggle from the marginally drunken Princess who, once again, assumed he was acting bashfully... --- After dropping Anak off at Phaes room, Gandr could be seen standing outside of Endorsis with a bored look on his face. She had offered to let him inside, but, feeling he would trigger some kind of event if he entered the room of a changing girl, Gandr promptly refused. He had learned his lesson after the events in the Akamatsuverse, so, even when she tried to assure him there was nothing to worry about, he firmly refused her offer to witness one of the Towers greatest beauties. Finally, after nearly two hours, the door to Endorsis room opened to reveal that, despite how much time had passed, she ended up emerging in little more than a ck sports bra and matching track pants. Despite this, Gandr decided to withhold hisint since he was well acquainted with the difficulty some women had when choosing outfits. Instead, he took note of the fact she had tied her hair into a tiny ponytail, asking, "Did you want to train...?" Surprised that Gandr didntin about how long she had taken, Endorsi raised her brows ever so slightly, a smile spreading across her face as she mused, "Well, arent you considerate? To answer your question; no, I dont really feel like training. Im wearing these clothes because I didnt want to change into my other outfits before I get a chance to properly wash my body." Pretending like he was convinced of her reasoning, Gandr replied with a curt nod of understanding before asking, "What now? Did you want to get some breakfast first or did you have something you wanted to talk about in private?" Snorting through her nose, Endorsi crossed her arms and said, "I guess you arent the Best Seed for the Scout Position for no reason...youre a perceptive little brat when you want to be..." Though he wasnt really in the mood right now, Gandr still shrugged his shoulders in response to Endorsis words, a mischievous grin spreading across his face as he shamelessly replied, "Best Seed? I think you mean fastest person to everplete the Scout Position Test. I can even smell the soap you used to rinse your body in the sink~." Hearing Gandrs words, a not-so-subtle blush appeared on Endorsis cheeks, followed by the urge to shout at the top of her lungs. Before she could, however, Gandrs expression suddenly became serious as he asked, "What did you want to talk about? So long as it doesnt concern my Masters secrets, I will answer your questions." Forcibly suppressing her anger and embarrassment, Endorsi did her best to appear just as calm and serious as she answered, "I want to meet with your Master. I was going to ask Phae but I didnt want to cause any misunderstandings. Will you take me to him?" Before answering Endorsis question, Gandr gave the admittedly beautiful woman a once-over, his brows furrowing slightly as he asked, "You want to meet with my Master while wearing a sports bra, tracks pants, and flip flops...?" As if she had forgotten her state of dress, Endorsi looked down at her body, or, more specifically, the form-fitting fabric of her top and her exposed abdomen. This caused the red to return to her cheeks, but, before she could reconsider, Gandr surprised her by adding, "Well, whatever. Its not like youre one of my Masters vassals. So long as you arent unnecessarily rude, I doubt hell care about your choice in attire. Lets go." Feeling like she was abruptly getting dragged into Gandrs pace, Endorsi began feeling more than a little flustered, her voice raising by several decibels as she appended, "Wait! Give me a half-hour to take a bath and change into something more appropriate!" Turning back to face the floundering woman, Gandr tilted his head to the side before pulling out a bracelet and tossing it toward her. Then, demonstrating the characteristic pettiness of children, he inly stated, "That is a special bracelet that will allow you to change clothes in an instant. It has a few outfits stored inside so put it on and choose quickly. I dont really feel like waiting another two hours so here, hold still..." Without waiting for Endorsis response, Gandr extended his hand toward her, using pure Source to emte the Cleaning Magic he had developed hundreds of years ago. As a result, even the smallest bits of dirt and grime were pulled from Endorsis body, startling the woman quite a bit when a small bead of murky liquid appeared between them. Understanding the question at the tip of her tongue, Gandr preempted Endorsis interrogation by exining, "This is a technique designed for use in the field and during camping. It removes all the dirt, sweat, and grime from a persons body. Since we wont always have the option of taking a bath during the tests, you will save yourself a lot of trouble by getting used to this technique early on." Though she found Gandrs technique both novel and convenient, Endorsis face still turned beet red when she recalled the tingling feeling that previously enveloped her body. There were certain areas that were always a little dirtier than others, so, even if it was an extremely useful technique, she had a very strong urge to smack Gandr at least once for using it on her without an exnation. Noticing the embarrassed gleam in Endorsis ghostly golden eyes, Gandr just rolled his own before saying, "If youre not going to use it, return that bracelet to me. The [REquip] system takes a lot of precious resources to produce. You can get another one from Phae once we move up to the next Floor." As was often the case with women, they would not easily separate from an item, especially jewelry, once it had been given to them. Thus, despite feeling both annoyed and embarrassed, Endorsi was able to instantaneously suppress her desire to shout, quickly cing the bracelet no her wrist as she retorted, "Dont be stingy. You already gave it to me so it belongs to me now. Besides, as a boy, you dont really need essories like this." Seeing the deadpan expression on Gandrs face, Endorsi couldnt resist adopting a teasing smile as she carefully inspected the bracelet that had conveniently resized itself to fit her wrist. It was rather simple-looking, but, for reasons she couldnt quite understand, she got the impression it was a very high-end item. The way the light reflected across the exterior made it appear wless, and, though it was rather small, the topaz embedded on the outside glistened with a mysterious and captivating light. Though Gandr had yet to exin how to use the [REquip], Endorsi quickly figured it out for herself when she traced her finger across the tiny gemstone. At that exact moment, an extremely detailed image appeared within her mind, a perfect representation of both her body and the clothes she was currently wearing. This was quite the surprise, but, seeing the countless rows and columns off to the side, Endorsi quickly shifted her attention to the variety of fashionable outfits already present within the [REquip] system. Noticing most of the clothes within were for females, including a variety of undergarments, Endorsi simultaneously cursed and praised Gandr within her mind. The way all of the clothes fit her perfectly made it clear the bracelet had always been intended for her, a realization that made her feel a little fluttery when she remembered all the times she and Phae talked about fashion. After quickly selecting an outfit better suited to meeting with an Emperor, Endorsi was momentarily surprised by the sudden transition back to reality. It was like her mind had sunken into the bracelet, and, by the time she emerged, her outfit had already changed. This was inarguably one of the most convenient items she had ever encountered, so, despite feeling a little annoyed that he had kept it from her for so long, Endorsi smiled radiantly as she happily mused, "I guess I can forgive you with just this. The next time you use that technique without warning, expect some pain. Im not sure why they have them, but I picked up a dog whistle from themissary. Dont tempt me!" As dog whistles were actually very effective against Vanargandrs, Gandr couldnt help but frown in response to Endorsis threat. His ears also twitched slightly, eliciting an amused chuckle from the woman before promptly turned on her heel and added, "Lets go. Arent you in a hurry? Id hate to keep you waiting another two hours! Hmph...!" Seeing Endorsi quickly walking away from his position, Gandr couldnt help but tilt his head back, gazing towards nothing in particr as he mused, "Arent I supposed to be the childish one in this situation? Haaaa..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hangovers are no fun,Gandr is a Gentlemen (UwU),Petty...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1734 Promise

Chapter 1734 Promise

After waiting for Gandr to catch up with her, Endorsi spent the remainder of the very short journey inquiring about any special customs or etiquette she would need to be aware of. In response, Gandr exined that the only thing she needed to worry about was saying anything that might be directly misunderstood as a challenge or an insult. Since she wasnt a subject of the Empire, she didnt need to observe its customs, courtesies, ormon practices. Endorsi felt like the exnations regarding Vahn were always strange, but, after meeting with the heads of the Ten Great Family, she knew it wasnt umon for those with extreme power and authority to have peculiar, even quirky, personalities. Most only seemed to care about very specific things, oftenughing off everything else as if it waspletely meaningless. As for Vahn, based on everything she had heard from both Phae and Gandr, Endorsi got the impression she would be fine so long as she didnt go out of her way to directly antagonize him... Once they had reached Vahns room, located near the very end of the hall, Gandr turned to face the ghostly-eyed woman, asking, "Are you ready? My Master will have been expecting you." Raising her brow at Gandrs remark, Endorsi answered his question with one of her own, asking, "Is he some kind of psychic? Dont tell me he has the power to see the future..." Rather than deny the womans words, Gandr just shrugged his shoulders before exining, "It isnt like that, but youre not entirely wrong. Youll learn more about my Master once we move further up the Tower. For now, the only thing you need to understand is that, even when he istes himself in his room like this, he is aware of many things taking ce outside. If he wanted to, my Master could be the Best Seed in every Position without any real effort. Just keep that in mind..." Remembering how easily Vahn had dealt with the other Regrs during the Crown Game, Endorsi didnt try to refute Gandrs ims. His power was clearly on a level of its own, and, after discussing the Emperor with Phae on several asions, it almost felt like there was nothing the man couldnt do. Gandrs words just reinforced this idea, albeit in a way that made it sound like he was inting his Masters aplishments and capabilities out of proportion... Noticing Gandr was still staring at her, clearly awaiting her response, Endorsi took a deep breath before nodding her head in confirmation. Immediately after that, the door to the room promptly opened without the need for knocking or pressing the doorbell, followed by a firm yet kind voice stating, "You may enter, Princess Endorsi of the Jahad Empire..." Despite feeling nervous all of a sudden, Endorsi managed to appear confident as she stared back at the bearded man sitting in a lotus position atop his bed. Then, without any discernible signs of fear or hesitation, she stepped across the threshold of the door, smiling as she said, "Long time no see, Mr. Sage Dragon Emperor. I believe this is our first time conversing since the events preceding the Crown Game?" Before answering Endorsis fairly casual remark, Vahn returned a subtle smile before raising his hand to produce afortable chair for her to sit on. This caused her to tense up noticeably, but, almost immediately thereafter, she managed to take a seat without appearing visibly flustered. It was only then that Vahn answered, his voice a poised and velvety baritone as he replied, "Though I am remiss to say, you are, indeed, correct. Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Understanding that Vahn had no intention of making small talk, Endorsis expression became a little more serious as she exined, "I wanted to ask a few questions, and, if possible, I would also like to make a request..." Havinge to know quite a bit about Endorsis character through Phae and Gandr, Vahn issued a light hum before asserting, "If Im not wrong, your questions concern Baam and Rachel. As for your request...you want us to protect Anak?" Though her eyes widened slightly, Endorsi was able to conceal most of her surprise, smiling a little more prominently as she answered, "That is correct. I wanted to confirm whether or not they are Irregrs. I also wanted to know why you would go out of your way to save someone like Rachel..." Shaking his head, Vahn preempted anything else Endorsi might say by stating, "Though it cannot be disputed that I had a hand in things, I did not go out of my way to save that woman. As for whether or not she and Baam are Irregrs, I believe you have already found the answer to that question on your own. If you would like to know more, it would behoove of you to petition them directly. It is not my ce to speak on their behalf, and, though I have reached my own conclusions, it would not be proper for an Emperor to engage in gossip." Hearing Vahns reply, Endorsi couldnt help feeling a little dissatisfied, but, rather than harp over the matter, she decided to focus on what was most important, asking, "And what of Anak? I know it-" Without waiting for Endorsi to finish, Vahn adopted a grandfatherly smile as he said, "Your concerns are understandable but ultimately unmerited. The Aldrnari Empire will never ignore those in need of our assistance. We might not go out of our way to seek out everyone that needs help, but, once we be aware of someones plight, it is only natural that we protect them. Worry not. Even if Jahad himself makes an appearance, the Empire will never bend the knee orpromise with tyrants." As was often the case whenever Vahn was making bold ims, he found it impossible topletely restrain his aura. His [Will of the Emperor] practically demanded that he show off just a little bit, so, during his impromptu deration, an awe-inspiring aura had spread throughout the confines of his room, bearing down on its upants. Feeling the majesty radiating from the man seated before her, Endorsi felt a mixture of inspiration and relief. She doubted Vahn had the power to oppose Jahad, at least for the time being, but, at the very least, he wouldnt abandon Anak the moment things became troublesome. This was the most important thing, as, after witnessing Phaes and Gandrs treatment of her lovable little niece, Endorsi knew the only thing that might interfere with them protecting Anak were the words of the man they called Lord and Master. Though it didnt seem to be necessary, Endorsi feltpelled to bow her head towards Vahn, relief audible in her tone as she softly muttered, "Thank you...". Then, as if her sincerity had been nothing more than an illusion, she raised her head, smiling somewhat mischievously as she said, "Gandr and Phae were right about you. You give off a scary aura, but youre really just a big softie, arent you?" Amused by the spontaneous change in atmosphere, Vahn lightly chuckled in response to Endorsis words before adopting a kind smile and answering, "Think what you will. So long as you never stray too far from the path of righteousness, you will never have reason to doubt those words. Now, was there something else? Though your presence is a wee reprieve from the silence, Im certain you have other matters to attend, no?" ttered by Vahns words, Endorsi couldnt help giggling, hand covering her mouth as she yfully remarked, "My, it seems the Sage Dragon Emperor is quite the charmer. Now I understand how you were able to snag a woman like Phae to be your vassal~." Understanding that Endorsi was fishing for juicy gossip, Vahn returned a casual smile before raising his hand and saying, "I hope you have a wonderful day, Princess.". Then, before Endorsi could offer a single syble in response, he promptly teleported her, chair and all, outside the room. --- Noticing the sudden change in her surroundings, Endorsis eyes widened quite a bit, her evaluation and fear of Vahn increasing exponentially as she wondered what other feats the enigmatic Irregr was capable of. Teleportation was an ability typically associated with extremely skilled Light Bearers, but, even then, they required the use of several high-ranking Lighthouses. Liberating Endorsi from her thoughts, Gandr turned his head to the side, ears flopping as he asked, "Did you say something stupid?" Remembering all her rage and frustration from earlier, Endorsi attempted to smack Gandrs head, but, as was often the case, her fist phased through him without any feedback. This was yet another peculiar ability possessed by the Irregr trio, reminding her just how ridiculous their capabilities werepared to normal people. Dissatisfied by how easily her attack was dodged, Endorsi leaped away from the chair in an instant, her face turning somewhat vicious as she produced a silver whistle from her Inventory. This caused Gandrs pupils to shrink, ears ttening atop his head as he inly stated, "If you blow that whistle, Im going to draw whiskers on your face with permanent marker..." Though she didnt doubt Gandr was capable of keeping his promise, Endorsi felt it was high time she taught the boy a lesson. She could always ask Phae to help her remove the marker, so, without any semnce of fear, she brought the whistle to her lips, smiling in a naturally seductive manner before blowing into it with all her might... --- Ignoring the high-pitched whining echoing within the back of his mind, Vahn rose to his feet before walking over to the corner of the room and picking up a predominately ck, needle-like, weapon. The moment he did so, a petite woman with flowing golden hair, matching draconic eyes, and elven ears appeared behind him,ining, "You know I dont like when you handle me. That fiery brat hiding within your soul is a real pain in the ass." Chuckling lightly in response to the womans words, Vahn activated the visible mode of his custom Arms Inventory before exining, "Dont worry, I have no intention of wielding you. Laev-tan wont bully you unless she feels like her position as my sword is threatened." Puffing out her cheeks in dissatisfaction, the woman, ck March, crossed her arms and said, "Even though I went out of my way to ignite for you..are you just going to toss me away when you get the chance? Most people would fight to the death just for a chance to possess me, much less obtain my power! What makes that ming lizard brat so special, huh!?" Without turning his attention to the woman screaming in his ear, Vahn lightly flicked the de of the ck March with his middle finger. This caused the woman behind him to squirm about, arms embracing herself as both the de and her body released a reverberating hum. At the same time, a red hue developed across her face, and, though she didnt need to breathe, the woman began to pant as angelic ck wings unfurled from her back. Pulling out an oil rag, Vahn brought a stop to the vibrations of the ck March, cleaning it in much the same way he would Laev-tan as he exined, "I understand your desire to do battle, but I have no need for an additional weapon at this point in time. Besides, Im not abandoning you, Im asking you to keep a watch on that woman until we reunite on the upper floors. If it is discovered that you are in someone elses possession, she will be executed just for having lent you out. Even if you dont like igniting for women, you arent the type that would just ignore the death of the person you have been entrusted to..." Hearing Vahns remark, a sigh escaped the ck Marchs lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned against his body. She wasnt entirely sure why, as Vahn was far beyond her strike zone, but she always felt veryfortable around him. Her onlyint was that he already had another powerful Spirit residing within his body, a very jealous Spirit that could easily suppress her without a contest. Since there was absolutely no feedback whenever the ck March touched him, Vahn didnt mind her being a little clingy. She had revealed quite a number of things to him, so, out of consideration for theiring separation, he spent a considerable amount of time polishing her de in silence before inspecting its immacte sheen and remarking, "You really are an amazing weapon. Once I reach the upper floors, I will be sure to reim both you and the rest of the 13 Month Series. After that, I will keep my promise...you have my word..." Though she wouldnt have believed them if it was someone else making such a promise, the ck March hade to learn quite a bit about Vahn over thest month. He had even allowed her to stay in the Little Garden for a bit, an idyllic ce where she could manifest her Spirit without having to ignite. There, she learned exactly what kind of existence Vahn was, so, after hearing his words, an expectant smile spread across her face as she nted a sensationless kiss on his cheek and replied, "I believe in you...God of a Foreign World..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Endorsi is quite bold,Endorsis face when Phae refuses to help get rid of the marks *surprised pikachu*,Vahn makes all the sword girls glisten ( ? ?? ?)) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1735 Proposition

Chapter 1735 Proposition

With less than two hours remaining until the results of the Position Test were announced, Khun had asked Gandr, Phae, Endorsi, Anak, Shibisu, Hatsu, Aleksai, and Laure to gather in the Medical Wards waiting room. Nare and Chunhwa had also been invited, but, for fairly obvious reasons, they wanted to keep to themselves until the results and been announced. Understanding the couples anxieties, Khun didnt urge them to attend. He did, however, promise topensate them if they werent selected to climb the Tower. He knew Nares goal for climbing the Tower was to earn enough money to open a Shinheuh Breeding Farm. As for Chunhwa, he had been tasked by his viges Elder to climb the Tower in search of his sworn brother. Neither of their goals required them to keep climbing the Tower, so, regardless of the oue of the Position Test, Khun promised to help them fulfill both of their objectives. --- Seeing everyone gathered around, Khun offered a polite smile as he said, "Thanks for agreeing to meet here on such short notice. Im sure most of you have already realized my intentions so Ill just be out with it...Id like for us all to form a team. Though our objectives are different, our penultimate goal is the same. By working together, we can drastically increase our chances of achieving each of our dreams..." Never shy in the face of serious situations, Endorsi didnt hesitate to snort in response to Khuns words, a somewhat vicious smile spreading across her face as she retorted, "Youre speaking like we havent alreadye to a tacit agreement to climb the Tower together. Dont tell me youre actually trying to designate yourself as the leader of our group when there are two Princesses of Jahad and a literal Emperor in our party?" Hearing Endorsis remark, Khun, and everyone else present within the room, shifted their attention to the aggressively smiling Princess. Under normal circumstances, her posturing would have been rather intimidating, but, due to the previous incident with Gandr, she still had cat-like whiskers and a triangr nose drawn on her face in ck marker. She had tried scrubbing it off, but, even after washing her skin until it was tender, the marker neither faded nor smudged. Phae had also refused to help her, pointing out that she knew what she was getting herself into the moment she blew the dog whistle. Though nobody said anything, Endorsi could tell what everyone was thinking as they stared back at her. This caused a burning sensation to flow into her cheeks, but, pretending like their stares didnt bother her, Endorsi crossed her arms before haughtily stating, "I would normally propose that Phae be made the leader, but, considering her rtionship with the Emperor, it is only natural that he be nominated for the position. I wont deny that you are a very capable man, especially after your little performance during the Hide-and-Seek Test. However, can you reallypare yourself to someone like Phae?" Turning his head to the woman in question, Khun maintained his polite smile as he asked, "What do you think about all this, Ms. Phae?" As Khun had already approached her beforehand, an amused giggle escaped Phaes throat before she replied, "My Lord will undoubtedly have the highest position within our group, but, unless there is a particrly dangerous enemy, you shouldnt expect him to intervene. As for myself, my duty is, first and foremost, to my Lord. I am more than willing to provide support, but, for the most part, my specialty lies in the production of items. I have absolutely no desire to be the leader of the group." Not expecting someone as confident and capable as Phae to immediately step down, Endorsi found herself at a loss for words. Fortunately, before she couldpletely lose herself to incredulity, Phae smiled back at her, adding, "Dont worry. Khun is a smart young man. He might have a mischievous side to him, but he is also very cautious. So long as my Lord is present, he knows better than to act out...isnt that right, Mr. Khun~?" Feeling the temperature drop around his body, an awkward-soundingugh escaped Khuns throat as he replied, "Ms. Phae makes a good point...Besides, Im sure everyone here has already realized that the Emperor intends to make us an offer in the near future. Depending on our decisions at that time, everything were talking about right now might be irrelevant. All Im proposing is that we make things official so that, even if something happens to split our party, we can continue working towards the same goal." Unamused by the fact that Khun was already mentioning their party splitting before it had even formed, Endorsi pointedly asked, "What happened? Youre keeping something from us..." With all eyes in the room shifting back to him, Khun released an exasperated sigh, falling silent for several seconds before answering, "Ive had the feeling that something strange was going on ever since arriving on the 2nd Floor. I dont know what it is, but I feel like something is going to happen that might force us apart. I just wanted to make sure we were all on the same page before anything unexpected happens. As for the leadership position...I dont really care about that. I nominated Rak in order to prevent him fromining about itter. The only thing I care about is making sure we all advance through the Floors as quickly and efficiently as possible. To that end, I hope youll at least trust my judgment during future Tests..." Toplete his statement, Khun lowered his head towards everyone present. He was being sincere for the first time in a long time, so, while he anticipated Endorsi to continue badgering him, he was hoping she could at least intuit he was serious. After all, they ultimately shared the same goal, and, unless something unexpected happened, they would be treading the same path for the next couple of decades, at the very least. Endorsi didnt really like the idea of following Khuns orders, but, convincing herself that Vahn and Phae were ultimately in control, she released an exasperated sigh of her own before saying, "Fine. I never really cared about who was calling the shots. Just remember that I am a bonafide Princess of Jahad. People will naturally assume Im the leader of the group and were guaranteed to draw a lot of publicity. Keep that in mind and make sure not to embarrass me. I might not actually care about public opinion all that much, but I still have an image to uphold." Surprised that Endorsi had given up so quickly, Khun was genuinely at a loss for how to respond. A part of him was tempted to point out the marker still on her face, but, rather thanplicate things further, he ultimately just smiled and said, "Thank you..." before everyone began to fervently discuss potential team names... --- Though Vahn had also been invited to the gathering arranged by Khun, he entrusted the situation to Phae and Gandr before making his way over to where Hoh had been hospitalized. The man had tried to kill himself following his awakening, and, though several people had visited to try and cheer him up, Vahn found the man staring off into space with a nk expression on his face. Anticipating Baam or his former teammate, Serena, Hoh was more than a little surprised when he saw Vahn standing at the entrance to his room. For a brief moment, there was even a sh of life visible in the mans eyes, not due to any kind of hope, but anticipation for his death. He currently had both of his arms strapped to the sides of his hospital bed, so, even if he wanted nothing more than to end his own life, he was powerless to even aplish that. Without beating around the bush, Vahn walked over to the mans bed, his voice solemn and heavy as he asked, "Tell me, do you regret betraying your friends and murdering one of the few people in this Tower who could empathize with you? Even if you somehow managed to move on to the next floor, how far do you think you would have gotten on your own? People arent exactly lining up to ally themselves with someone who would murder theirrades for a chance to move up a single floor..." Remembering the look on Greys face when he stabbed her, tears began to well up inside of Hohs eyes as he strained against his bindings and shouted, "Shut up! You dont know anything! You dont know what its like to be powerless! You dont know what its like to be unable to change your fate no matter how hard you try! Climbing the Tower is the only chance I had left! Everything! Everyone I cared about has already been taken from me! My only hope was to climb the Tower and be a Ranker! Without power, how could I ever hope to kill that fucking monster and avenge my friends!? My family...!?" Hearing the pain and anguish contained within Hohs every word, Vahn wasnt unable to empathize with the man. That didnt cause the glower on his face to fade away, however, as ones suffering did not give them the right to inflict suffering upon others. Grey had her own tragic background, much like everyone else that had been chosen to climb the Tower. She and Hoh had even been close, yet, in spite of this, the man ended up murdering her in cold blood just for the chance to advance to the 3rd Floor. To prevent the mans continued thrashing about, Vahn pointed his finger toward Hoh, freezing him in ce as he stated, "I asked if you regretted your actions. I dont care how you ignorantly justify your actions. If you are sincere and seek to repent, I can offer you the power you seek. However, in exchange, you will live the remainder of your life carrying the burden of your sin. Now, tell me, do you regret betraying your friends and murdering another person...?" Though he couldnt move most of his body, Hoh was still able to produce a steady stream of tears, pain, sadness, and, most importantly, regret visible in his golden irises. This was what Vahn wanted to see, as, regardless of a persons actions, there was hope so long as they sincerely regretted their actions. Hoh was neither evil nor malicious. He had simply been led astray, consumed by his desire for revenge and the despair he felt after realizing hecked the talent to achieve his goals. With Vahn releasing him from his telekic grasp, Hohs tears flowed in even greater volume as he lowered his head and shouted, "Of course I feel regret! I never meant to kill anyone! Grey...she...I...!" Having no desire to listen to the mans mad ramblings, Vahn performed a hushing gesture with his hand, his aura condensing around them as he said, "Thats enough. As I said previously, I dont care how you wish to justify your actions. If you are truly repentant, you will demonstrate it through your actions. So long as you pledge to walk the path of penance in the future, I will grant you the chance to obtain the power you seek. Now, what will you choose? Will you continue trying to flee your sins by taking your own life or will you ept responsibility for your crimes by endeavoring to make the world a better ce...?" --- Though there was still more than half an hour before the results were to be announced, most of the Regrs began to sparsely popte the once overcrowded lecture hall. They were using the same hall where everyone had originally gathered to learn their Positions. Back then, everyone had been hopeful, confident, andpletely sure of themselves. Now, however, their numbers had dwindled considerably, and, by the end of the days, approximately half of them were fated to be ejected from the Inner Tower. Despite this, everyone, including those who were guaranteed to fail, had shown up, each hoping and praying for a miracle as the Test Administrators and Director slowly filed into the room... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Endorsi be like, "Phae is bae.",Phae(Vahn) be like, "Aint nobody got time for dat...!",The Path of Penance...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1736 Bold

Chapter 1736 Bold

With tensions steadily reaching palpable levels, Administrator Lero-Ro unhurriedly approached the stages lectern before adopting a casual smile and stating, "Good afternoon, Regrs. I have been given the privilege of announcing the results of this months Position Test. Know that, regardless of whether or not you are given the right to move on, you have all aplished something great by making it this far. Now, if you would all please direct your attention to the disy behind me..." Immediately following Lero-Ros words, therge digital disy behind him illuminated to reveal an unnervingly small number of profile pictures and names. In the Fisherman Position, eliciting a happy squeal from Nare; Endorsi, Anak, Chunhwa, and Green had all sessfully passed. As for the other Positions, Rak and Aleksai both sessfully passed the Spear-Bearer exam while Shibisu, Hatsu, and Nare secured their ces alongside Gandr as Scouts. Following them, causing a number of people to sigh, Phae, Khun, and a reptilian man named Levin were the only ones selected for the Position of Light-Bearer. This caused Baam, one of the three passing Wave Controllers, alongside both Vahn and Laure, to tightly clench his fists as an extremely conflicted look appeared on his face. Before Baam could do much the same, one of the Regrs who had failed the Position Test rose to his feet, a fiercely indignant look on his face as he shouted, "What is this!? Why am I out!? Our team passed the Hide-and-Seek Test and my points arent that low! How did I fail!?" In response to the mans outburst, Lero-Ro adopted an annoyed glower on his face but it was the Test Director, Han-Sung Yu, who answered, "Oh? You dont agree with the results?" Despite the iprehensible gulf in both power and status, the Regr, one of the two so-called Spear-Bearer Revolutionaries, unhesitantly replied, "Of course not! How did I fail, huh!?" With a smile that wasnt quite a smile, the atmosphere around Director Yu caused all of the Test Admins around him to feel ufortable as he patiently exined, "As I said prior to the Final Exam...individual scores and the assessment of the teachers has the great-" Causing the smile to immediately fade away from the Directors face, the Regr heavily mmed the table in front of him, interrupting the golden-haired man before shouting, "Thats bullshit! Quit making excuses and fix my grade! I busted my ass over thest month! I even skipped most of my meals just to save points! If your stupid disys didnt break in the middle of the fucking exam, you would have seen how much effort I put into thest test! Fix it now, you dumb coffee addict...!" With a very tense atmosphere descending on the entire hall, Director Yu slowly rose to his feet, the smile returning to his face as he walked to the front of the stage and gestured to the man toe down. For reasons nobody could understand, the man seemedpletely ignorant to thendmine he had just triggered, his expression remaining fierce as he unhesitantly walked down to the stage, hands balled into fists. Disying a mask of perfect amiability, Director Yu stared up at the much taller man, smiling in apletely disarming manner as he said, "Very well then. If you dont agree with the results, I will give you onest chance to prove yourself. So long as you pass this little test, you will have proven yourself more than capable of climbing the Tower." Though he was starting to feel like something was wrong, the lesser of the two Revolutionaries still stood his ground, asking, "What do I need to do?" Finding the mans reaction rather amusing, Director Yu covered his mouth with his sleeve, giggling like a maiden while simultaneously concealing his predatory smile. Then, in the most genial tone he could manage, he cheerfully stated, "Its simple. You need only leave this tform before you either lose your mind or your life! Good luck~!" By the time the man could utter a confused, "What?" the bones in his right shoulder, impacted by an invisible force, werepletely shattered. Immediately after that, Shinsu began to invade each of his joints, forming countless tiny bubbles that subsequently popped to create extremely small explosions. This caused the man to release a sound simr to a pig being ughtered, his survival instincts kicking into overdrive as he attempted to w his way off the stage. Seeing the mans fate, the other Regrs who wished to dispute the result of the exam could only ball their hands into fists, resigning to their fates. One of the few exceptions to this rule was Baam, but, before he could find the words to protest, Khun beat him to the punch by casually standing up and saying, "I do not mean to interrupt your fun, Director, but I also disagree with the test results..." With the smile on his face promptly vanishing, Director Yu shifted his attention to the young scion of the Khun family, eyes squinting slightly as he replied, "Very well. Please,e up to the stage to make your case..." Disying even greater confidence than the burly Spear-Bearer, Khun casually made his way up to the stage, smiling as the Director asked, "So, what are you unsatisfied with? You passed with one of the highest scores. I cant imagine youre here to convince me to fail you..." Chuckling in response to the Directors words, Khun adopted a casual stance, hands in his pockets as he answered, "There seems to be a mistake on your disy. Though she is currently hospitalized, I cant understand the reason behind Michelle Light failing the Test. Im not saying that Levin should be disqualified, he is capable in his own right. However, Rachel should have had more than enough points to pass. I understand there are penalties for sustaining injuries during the Test, but we are all well aware of the circumstances surrounding Michelles injuries..." Rather than directly dispute Khuns statement, Director Yu responded with a curt nod before going on to exin, "You make a fair point, Mr. Khun. However, you, better than anyone, know that things like betrayal are verymon within the Tower. In fact, we even assign and deduct points based on how easily Regrs can manipte, or are manipted by, other Regrs. Now, as for Ms. Lights injuries...it cannot be disputed that she is physically capable of continuing her climb. Our judgment, however, is based on the premise that, without external assistance, Ms. Light would have assuredly died during the Test. Do you intend to argue that someone should be allowed to climb the Tower solely because they are being aided and supported by others? That doesnt seem particrly fair to everyone else present; people who made a desperate effort, but, because they were unable to make the right connections, now sit silently while you speak for a woman who isnt even here." Though he was a little taken aback by the Directors firm argument, Khun did his best to appear just as calm and casual as before. He even smiled in response to the rather scary mans words, saying, "I understand what the Director is trying to say. Under normal circumstances, I would never even think to oppose your judgment. However, Ms. Light is very important to a friend of mine. Even if it means going against the Administration, Im willing to do whatever it takes to override your judgment. Let me meet with the Administrator of this Floor...I will take the Guardian Test directly..." In response to Khuns bold promation, both the Director and all five Position Instructors showed expressions of shock. Very few people even knew the existence of the Guardian Test, much less had the audacity to actually request it. After all, taking the Guardian Test was essentially going against the will of the Jahad Empire, the organization responsible for the existing system that determines whether or not a Regr is qualified to move further up the Tower... Without minding the reactions from the Administrators, Khun reinforced his confident facade as he went on to state, "So long as Iplete the Guardians Test, your decision disqualifying Rachel will be overruled. Though the Administrators have incredible power on the Floors, their authority is still far beneath that of the Floor Guardians. Even if it is several times harder than a traditional Test, I will prove that I am more than capable of passing. Dont underestimate a direct descendent of the Sixth most powerful High Ranker in the entire Tower..." Amused my Khuns remark, Director Yu couldnt help smiling as he remarked, "My, arent you a little cocky? Unfortunately, whether or not you are willing matters very little in this case. Im not sure how you came across this information, but it seems there are a few gaps in your knowledge...Im sorry to inform you, Mr. Khun, but you are simply unqualified to take the Guardians Test." Frowning in response to the Directors words, Khun didnt hide his indignation in the slightest as he asked, "What are you talking about? Are you trying to insinuate that a descendent of the Ten Great Families isnt worthy enough to take the Guardians Test?" Causing Khun even greater frustration, at least during the first half of his statement, Director Yu did not hesitate to nod his head, asserting, "Indeed. Even if you were a Princess of Jahad or a candidate for the Royal Enforcement Division, you would still not qualify to take the Guardians Test. After all, the Tests proffered forth by the Guardians are not intended for Regrs...they exist for the singr purpose of evaluating Irregrs. Therefore, unless you are an Irregr like Phantaminum, Enryu, or Ureko Mazino, you are simply unqualified to take the Guardian Test." Not expecting such a ridiculous requirement, Khun momentarily found himself at aplete loss for words. Immediately after that, however, he shifted his attention to where Vahn, Phae, and Gandr were seated, a glimmer of expectation appearing within his eyes. He was certain the three of them were Irregrs, and, based on how well they got along with the rest of the group, Khun wanted to believe they would help. What Khun would have never expected, even though he had already made the connection, was for Baam to be the first to speak, mming the table as he shouted, "Ill take the test...!" with a look of conviction zing within his golden irises. Showing an unamused expression on his face, Director Yu, much like everyone else present within the room, shifted his gaze to Baam before he inly remarked, "Was I not clear? Only an Irregr can take-" Causing a visible frown to appear on the Directors face, Baam didnt wait for the man to finish, his voice even louder than before as he eximed, "I am an Irregr! Now, please, I beg of you! Let me take the Guardians Test! I refuse to leave Rachel behind...!" Surprised by Baams promation, nearly everyone within the lecture hall, Administrators included, showed incredulous, disbelieving, expressions. After all, Irregrs were known to be monsters that defied logic. They were people who possessed unbelievable power, and, though Baam was certainly very talented, he wasnt even remotely what people would consider when discussing Irregrs... While everyone else was still recovering from the shock of Baams announcement, the briefest trace of a smile could be seen on the Directors face. Even Khun, despite his close proximity, didnt seem to notice this, but, from where they were seated in the stands, Vahn, Phae, and Gandr all witnessed it. The former even produced a smile of his own as he internally remarked, ("It seems like things are finally starting to heat up...I cant wait to see how effective Laev-tans mes are against a Ranker...") (A/N: Alternate Titles: This is a Death-Seeking Revolution!,All this for a thot...,Is Vahn finally going to get off his ass and do something!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1737 Effor

Chapter 1737 Effor

While Baam was off meeting with the Floor Guardian, the remaining Regrs, being those who had passed the Position Test, had gathered together on the stage. They had all been given the option to either take the test alongside Baam or simply pass on to the next floor. The former would see them remembered as traitors who had aided an Irregr during their climb, a status that risked setting them at odds with the Jahad Empire. Thetter, however, meant they would be forced to move on to the next floor without a team, effectively reducing their chances of climbing any higher to zero. Fortunately, thanks to the impromptu gathering within the Medical Ward, the sense of unity within Team Wolf Pack, named as such due to Gandr being designated mascot, was pretty solid. The only Regrs who were on the fence were Chunhwa, Nare, and the leader of the so-called Spear Bearer Revolutionaries, anky green-skinned man named Parakewl. As for Green and Levin, neither waited around to discuss the possibility of teaming up. They had never been particrly close any of the other passing Regrs, so, rather than invite guaranteed troubles upon themselves, they decided to risk climbing as a duo. In the end, most of the tensions within the group were the result of fearing the unknown. After that, it was fearmongering by Parakewl, who, despite having no former association with the group, didnt even try to filter himself as hembasted Baam and tried to convince everyone else to climb up the Tower with him. This served to annoy most of the people present, but, surprising virtually everyone, it was Vahn who silenced the man, stating, "Leave. You contribute nothing to the group. Even if you choose to participate in this Test, I will not allow you to join our party on the 3rd Floor." Though hisplexion was simr to a corpse that had been rotting for weeks, Parakewl somehow managed to be red in the face, his mouth far wider than a normal person as he shouted, "Who are you to make such-" Before Parakewl couldplete his outburst, an oppressive aura descended upon his body, forcing him to his knees. Following this, Vahn, his toneden with frosty undertones, stated, "Those who go seeking death should not be surprised to find it waiting for them. I will not repeat myself so choose your next words carefully." Feeling the pressure rapidly fade away, Parakewl released a pained groan as he attempted to rise to his feet. In the end, he was forced to bring out one of his spears to use as a walking stick, as, due to the sudden and intense pressure forcing him to his knees, both of his knee-joints were now riddled with microfractures. This brought him an intense amount of pain, but, other than re at Vahn with a wrath-filled expression, he made no furtherment. Resisting the urge to snort through his nose, Vahn made a mental note to teach the man an even harsher lesson if Parakewl actually ignored his words and tried to leech off the group. The man had no redeeming qualities, and, unlike Hoh, he showed absolutely no remorse for his actions. He was a parasite in the guise of a human, someone who would not hesitate to betray everyone to further his own interests. Deciding to simply ignore the man, Vahn passed his gaze over the other Regrs present, a smile appearing on his face due to how intently they were staring back at him. Phae and Gandr had been hyping him up for quite a while, so, now that tensions were at their highest, it was only natural that their focus was wholly on what he would say next. Even Khun was staring at him with an expression that would have earned Lokis praise, his eyes reflecting a calcting light as he mentally prepared himself to change his ns in an instant. Having learned that speaking less could drastically increase the gravitas carried by his words, Vahn waited until he had made eye contact with everyone present before dering, "I will participate in theing Test." Though it was a rtively in and straightforward statement, Vahns words brought a mixture of relief and excitement to most of the Regrs present. They could vividly recollect the power he had disyed during the Crown Game, so, at the very least, their chances of sess had improved. Cementing this idea within everyones mind, Gandr showed the most excitement among everyone present, ears perking up and tail wagging as he eximed, "Awesome! This next test is going to be a breeze if Master is helping out~!" Nodding her head in agreement, Phae removed what little doubt remained in the hearts of some by saying, "Indeed. So long as my Lord wills it, even a normal person would be able to climb the Tower. In fact, I cant help but feel as though this entire test is rather unnecessary..." Latching onto Phaes words, Khuns expression disyed a mixture of confusion, seriousness, and intrigue as he asked, "What do you mean, Ms. Phae?" Rather than allow Phae to speak for him, Vahn held out his hand in response to Khuns inquiry, a resplendent blue sphere appearing within his palm as he exined, "This is the Little Garden. It is a miniature world contained within my Soul. The Towers rules and restrictions have no influence over anything ced within." Hearing Vahns exnation, Khun wasnt the only one stunned into silence. After all, if they were to believe his words, it implied that, so long as they had been chosen by Vahn, anyone would be able to climb up the Tower. This brought to the surface an idea that had been lingering in many of their minds for a very long time, a notion embodied by Khun remarking, "So the three of you really are Irregrs..." With Vahn falling silent once again, it was Phae who exined, "It was never really a secret. Rather, Endorsi, Rachel, and Anak have known about it for quite some time. Administrator Quant had also been made aware of our status on the very first day. We simply didnt advertise it. After all, while it might be a big deal to be an Irregr inside the Tower, it means nothing to those whoe from outside. Rather, Jahad and his Ten Great Warriors are obviously Irregrs themselves so it is rather odd for the ssification to have a negative context...if I had to say, it seems like they are just doing everything in their power to maintain their stranglehold on the Tower and its inhabitants~." Though she spoke in her words in a slightly upbeat tone, every Regr present could see the rage bubbling within Phaes sapphire eyes. She wasnt the only one either, as, immediately following her musings, Gandr bared his teeth as he muttered, "Corrupt bastards...just wait until my Masteres to teach you a lesson...!" Earning a slightly pointed look from Endorsi, Vahn reached out his hand, patting Gandrs head as he calmly stated, "Stay your anger...you have seen for yourself that there are good people, even among the Ten Great Families. When the timees, I will deal with those who appear irredeemable. As for the rest, they will serve as the foundation for establishing a better system..." Towards thetter half of his statement, Vahn passed his gaze over Khun, Laure, and Endorsi, a smile appearing on his face to ensure they understood the implied meaning in his words. After all, he had no interest in ruling the Tower, and, unless it could literally elevate him to the peak of the Record, it was only a matter of time before he moved beyond it. From what Vahn could tell, the strongest beings in the Tower were only around Tier 5, so, unless he had seriously miscalcted, it would only take a few decades before he was able to sweep through most of them. This could be expedited by using the Little Garden, but, after exploiting Space-Time Orbs for three Records in a row, he would rather experience a few setbacks than spend decades in istion just to prevent them. With this in mind, Vahn answered the question Phae had proposed previously, stating, "Though it is possible to circumvent the Towers rules by using the Little Garden, there is no meaning in climbing higher if you are unwilling to work for it. Power is something that must be obtained, not received." Finished with his words, Vahn allowed the Little Garden to dissipate before closing his eyes, clearly implying the conversation hade to an end. This caused people like Nare to show disheartened expressions, as, for a brief moment, she humored the thought of getting a free ride to the very top of the Tower. As for others, specifically Khun, he had been thinking about the most effective way to expand their forces by concealing people within the Little Garden, just as he had done beforehand using his Manbarondenna... ying off of Vahns previous statement, Phae released a slightly mncholic sigh, her usual smile turning sad as she remarked, "Thats a shame...I understand your reasoning, but there are so many tragic children among the Regrs here. I suppose I will just have to settle on changing the system rather than caring for everyone we meet during our climb..." Even if he was the one putting on the act through her, Vahn couldnt help feeling slightly guilty in response to Phaes performance. This was denoted by his expression paling slightly, something the more astute members of the group immediately took note of. Endorsi even presented a knowing smile, giggling mischievously like a bored housewife who had just learned a juicy tidbit of gossip... --- While everyone else was discussing what kind of Test the Guardian might throw their way, Baam had just emerged from a massive set of stone doors. Waiting for him in the adjoining corridor was none other than Director Yu, who, upon noticing Baams approach, offered a smile that wasnt quite a smile as he asked, "Tell me, Mr. Baam...did the Guardian give you permission to take the Test?" Showing a mixture of relief and excitement, Baam returned a sincere smile as he cheerfully replied, "Yes! He said it was okay to take the Test with Rachel. As for the conditions, he said they were up to you." Though he already knew what to expect beforehand, Director Yu couldnt help but released a sigh in response to Baams naivete. Then, after shaking his head, he inly asserted, "Youre aplete and utter fool, you know that? You have apleteck of awareness and even smile in the face of your enemies...so ridiculous..." Confused by the Directors words, Baam tilted his head slightly to the side, but, before he could ask, the former went on to exin, "Since we have already reached this point, allow me to inform you of a few key facts. You see, Mr. Baam, I have been aware that you were an Irregr from the very start. I am also aware of your rtionship with Michelle. Not only that, but this entire series of events has been orchestrated from the very beginning, all to force you into this exact situation..." Feeling even more confused than before, Baams pupils began to expand and contract rapidly, hisplexion paling as he asked, "Why...why would you do such a thing?" Snorting through his nose, Director Yu half-faced away from Baam as he answered, "Because youre a dangerous person. Unlike that trio of monsters, your motivations are iprehensible, driven by pure insanity. You would genuinely risk, not just your life, but the lives of all your friends just for the sake of a senseless girls absurd dream. Someone like you isnt qualified to climb the Tower...this is a ce where people desperately struggle to make their dreamse true. Now, those same people will be forced to abandon their dreams, overwhelming by your ridiculous talent and the power you have been handed without effort. You will crush the dreams of countless people, people who have struggled for hundreds of years, just to allow a single girl to see the stars...you are utterly insane." Taken aback by the Directors words, Baam ultimately fell silent for several seconds, confusion and conflict visible in his golden eyes. This elicited another tired sigh from the Director, but, before the man could turn awaypletely, a resolute light shed across Baams eyes as he replied, "When I first entered the Tower, I was told that everything could be found at the top. Since youre a Ranker, you must have seen whats up there, right? Tell me, is there really something worth what everyone is risking? Does whatevery at the top justify all this sadness, pain, and killing...?" Somewhat annoyed by Baams words, Director Yu frowned slightly before adopting ackadaisical smile and asserting, "I cant really exin it with words. However, theres more wealth and beauty at the top of the Tower than you can imagine! Everything in this world, no, even more than that...it can all be found at the top of the Tower...everything except what that woman seeks. Those who attempt to reach the top without making an earnest effort will never find what they are searching for.." Though he could understand what the Director was trying to say, Baam still shook his head before calmly stating, "It should not be up to others to determine whether or not someone is making an earnest effort. You cannot objectively measure everyone by the same standards. People are born different, have different desires, and experience things from their own perspective. The system you have created to Test Regrs is not fair to those who are born without the privileges of power and luck. Just because they arent blessed, you want to say someone is unworthy? To me, that sounds like a convenient excuse those in power have made up to keep normal people in their ce...you can call me insane if it makes you feel better...however, from my perspective, it seems like you, and everyone else who has reached the top of the Tower, failed to find what you were looking for. Now, you send other people chasing after dreams they can never achieve thanks to a broken system that prevents them from surpassing the current King...to me, that seems far more insane than wanting to see the stars..." Finished with what he had to say, Baam was the first to turn away, his figure from behind seeming a littlerger than it was before. Then, bringing a smile to the Directors face, his voice sounded just a bit deeper as he added, "I will make it up the Tower...if all the people who have already climbed are not lying...what I want has to be up there. I will find it...no matter what..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: This Pickle is pushing his luck...,If Vahn was the leader, the party would be called Team Express Train,A little bit of Baams Protagonist is leaking out (OwO)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1738 Before the Tes

Chapter 1738 Before the Tes

With the Test Director giving everyone an extra day to contemte their participation, Vahn was beginning to think the only reason it took people so long to climb the Tower was the mandated breaks. He had actually been looking forward to taking the Guardian Test then and there so it was a moderate disappointment to be told it wouldnt take ce until the early morning, two dayster. Fortunately, now that he had officially joined the party alongside everyone else, he no longer had as much a reason to keep himself isted. Thus, when many of the Regrs, including some who had failed, were getting together for a separation party, he was able to attend. His presence, as could be expected, caused quite a number of people to feel nervous, but, after providing a plethora of exotic foods and drinks for, tensions rapidly waned. Curiously, with the exception of a woman named Serena, nobody seemed particrly concerned about Ghosts, Hohs, and Hwa Ryuns disappearances. This put into perspective how little most of the Regrs cared about what happened to anyone outside of their own party, but, considering it had only been a month since the majority of them met, that wasnt too surprising. Rather, they had spent thest month activelypeting against and trying to eliminate each other, so, with Gandrs group being an obvious exception, it was hard to form strong bonds with strangerspeting for the same prize... --- While Vahn was off making the going-away party tenser than it had to be, Phae had been invited by Khun to discuss strategy alongside Shibisu. They were considered the brain of the current party, so, while she had wanted to make sure Anak didnt drown herself on too much alcohol, Phae had been roped intopiling a list of everyones strengths and weakness while the three of them worked to develop numerous formations and strategies. It was during this process that Khun asked an understandable but amusing question, his expression serious as he asked, "Though I understand he is a Wave Controller, where do you think Vahn would have the greatest impact in a formation?" Since they would be part of a team in the future, Vahn had asked that everyone simply refer to him by name unless they had officially agreed to be his vassals or subjects. This caused quite a bit of unease, but, as it was even more awkward to continue referring to someone as an Emperor, there was no real resistance to the idea. In response to Khuns inquiry, Phae issued augh that caused both boys to feel a little nervous, an emotion that was amplified when she cheerfully remarked, "Trying to predict my Lords actions is an exercise in futility. He has no position in a party because he is effectively a one-man army. The only thing you can be certain of is that he will always act in a way that either draws the most attention or causes the greatest impact on the battlefield. You will understand more about this in the future, but, to surmise, he will basically do whatever he wants. Dont worry though, as, more often than not, his actions lead to the best possible oue." Khun and Shibisu got the impression that Vahn was going to be a nightmare teammate, but, with Phae present, neither of them would dare make such a statement. She could be very scary when it concerned her Lord, so, after hearing her exnation, the two justughed as Shibisu noted, "That will certainly make the journey up the Tower more interesting...hahahaha..." --- Though he had some sway over her behavior, Gandr was ultimately unable to prevent Anak from drinking a rather excessive amount of alcohol. She seemed quite fond of the substance, and, since she was well over three-hundred-years-old, it wasnt like he could prevent her from treating the bottle like a best friend. Fortunately, after the previous incident, Anak seemed to gain a bit more awareness regarding her condition whilst drinking. As a result, she stayed next to him most of the evening, nursing a bottle nearly a third the size of her body as she watched the festivities from the side. This earned both her and Gandr a fair amount of teasing, Endorsi being the chief culprit, but it wasnt like either of them were particrly bothered by such remarks. In the end, Gandr helped most of the girls return to their room, this time leaving Anak to sleep with Endorsi. The two had be pretty close over thest couple of weeks, and, though they would still butt heads very often, there was no real animosity between them. Rather, they behaved very simrly to biological sisters, and, whenever Gandr was included in the equation, the three of them gave off the impression of close yet highlypetitive siblings. Though he always carried the suspicion that something might happen in the future, Gandr enjoyed the current dynamic he had, not just with the two Princesses, but everyone within their group. Them making him their mascot was a little embarrassing but it also made him feel a type of happiness he had always sought after but could never quite grasp. This was especially true whenever he just hung out with Shibisu, Hatsu, and Baam, thetter of which currentlypeted with him to represent the very heart of the group. Even if he hadnt been friends with Baam and the rest, Gandr, or, more specifically, Vahn would have helped them. After all, it was his nature to be a bit of a busy-body, so, with the Tower having a clear path of progression, it was inevitable that he would have helped countless people before ultimately forcing change. Now, however, he had a legitimate reason to help out, as, for what felt like the first time in more than three-hundred-years, he had people he could grow alongside; friends and rivals who would share the same burdens while helping each other improve. Thus, when Baam appeared before dawn to ask him for help with his training, Gandr couldnt help but wag his tail slightly as he readily agreed to help the boy... --- With time seeming to pass within the blink of an eye, Team Wolf Pack had packed into the school-shaped Suspend Ship used by the Administrators to transport Regrs to various locations on the Floor. Only certain locations allowed for teleportation, and, more often than not, they required an intermediary at a rtively close range to facilitate the transfer. Thus, with the location of their Test being several thousand kilometers from Evankhells Resort, it was only natural to travel via Suspend Ship to their destination. During the two-hour-long journey, Director Yu, being the Proctor for the Guardians Test, went on to exin the actual objectives to the group of fifteen Regrs. This included the green-skinned man named Parakewl, who, despite Vahns warning, tried to buddy up with other members of the group as if he had known them for years. Because of Vahns warning, however, the only person who was willing to humor the man was Baam, but, considering he had even forgiven Hoh, this wasnt too surprising... With all eyes focused on him, Director Yu, apanied by Administrator Lero-Ro, wore a genial mask as he exined, "Now that were approaching our destination, allow me to exin the rules of this, the Submerged Fish Hunt, test. Simply put, you have to hunt the submerged fish and catch them." Hearing Director Yus exnation, an excited gleam shed across Raks red eyes before he loudly eximed, "Ha! You want us to catch fishies!? Thats my specialty! This Test is going to be a breeze! Hahahahahahaha!" Adopting a deadpan expression on his face, Director Yu waited until Raksughter had begun to settle before exining, "Sorry to burst your bubble, but you wont be the ones hunting the fish..." Following Director Yus remark, a holographic light disy unfolded out of thin air to reveal what appeared to be an adorably cartoonish seal. They were chubby creatures with dark-blue skin, seal-like features,rge flippers, and a wreath of anemone-like protrusions forming a ring around their necks. Using apressed needle as a pointer, Director Yu lightly tapped the hard-light disy as he exined, "These are known as Net Dolphins, a type of Shinheuh that hunts by creating a massive of Shinsu. They use this to gather up as many fish as possible, feeding them to their muchrger Queen, a massive Shinheuh located in the very center of todays testing grounds. Your main objective is to protect these Net Dolphins from their natural predators, Striped Ground Pigs, and an opportunistic hunting tribe known as Barnacle Goblins..." In response to Director Yus words, the disy changed to show another remarkably cartoonish species of Shinheuh, this time appearing like a fur-covered alligator with stubby legs and a tiny tail. As the name implied, it had a series of zig-zagging stripes running along its body. As for the other Shinheuh, they looked more like Orcs than Goblins, each possessing dark-green skin and muscr physiques that were capped off by dinosaur-like heads covered in ck scales. After affording everyone a few moments to read the information on the screen, Director Yu tapped the disy, this time showing a leech-like Shinheuh covered in leathery, flesh-colored, hide. Next to it, the silhouette of a human and a Barnacle Goblin could be seen, obviously intended to serve as a reference for scale. This put into perspective how truly massive the Giant Marsh Worms were, as, if the scale was urate, they were easily more than a hundred meters long and fifteen meters wide at their midsections. Answering the questions on everyones minds, Director Yu went on to exin, "Net Dolphins are a favorite of the Striped Ground Pigs, a mammalian species of Shinheuh that also has an antagonistic rtionship with the Barnacle Goblins. Thetter breeds and domesticates Giant Marsh Worms in order to pilfer some of the daily tribute submitted by the Net Dolphins to their Queen. Your main goal for todays Test is to protect your Bait, represented by Mr. Baam and Ms. Rachel, and the Net Dolphins. If thetter is predated by the Striped Ground Pigs, they will not be able to properly form a in order to feed their Queen. You will fail the test if your Bait, protected by a barrier of Shinsu, leaves theke without being consumed by the Queen. This is where the Barnacle Goblinse in, as, with their Giant Marsh Worms, they are capable of pilferingrge quantities of fish from the Net Dolphins. If you do not intervene, it is almost guaranteed that your Bait will be consumed by one of the Giant Marsh Worms, so, not only will you have to protect the Net Dolphins from their natural predator, you will also need to hold back a tribe of Barnacle Goblins. Sounds simple enough, right?" Seeing the deadpan expressions on several peoples faces, Director Yu couldnt help but giggle in a manner that didnt suit someone with such a deep voice. He only stopped when his gaze settled on the aptly named Imperial Trio, none of which seemed even remotely concerned. This caused a smile to spread across his face as he tapped the hard-light disy, this time showing the silhouette of a vaguely humanoid Shinheuh as he exined, "Unfortunately, things are rarely straightforward when it concerns Irregrs. While you arepleting your other objectives, youll also need to be on the lookout for the Apex Predator that wanders this region, a creature we simply refer to as the Bull. It is a creature that even strikes fear into the hearts of some Rankers, so, if you are unlucky enough to encounter it, you only have yourselves to me for choosing this path...now, any questions?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn likes to show off...,Gandr is a goodest boi,Youd have to be an idiot not to understand this is a trap (O ^ O)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1739 Cat and Mouse

Chapter 1739 Cat and Mouse

Despite having arrived rtively early in the morning, around 9 AM, the first seven hours of the Test revolved around simply gathering information. This caused a number of people to feel bored out of their minds, but, with Khun takingmand, he made sure to keep everyone upied and on high alert. The only exceptions to this rule were Vahn and Gandr, both disappearing almost immediately after their arrival in the testing grounds. Despite several people noticing their absence, even Khunrgely ignored them after hearing Phae yfully remark, "My Lord is making sure the Administration ys fair. As for Gandr, he has been given a secret mission. Dont worry, when that boy got serious, even irvoyants wouldnt be able to sense his presence." Though he had yet to voice his thoughts to anyone else, Khun was starting to get the impression that Gandr had been reared as an Assassin by the Aldrnari Empire. After all, not only was the boy extremely talented at getting close to people, his senses were extremely refined, his battle instincts were off the charts, and, most importantly, he had the ability to, quite literally, conceal his presence and phase through solid objects. Fortunately, though he would never trust thempletely, it didnt seem like the Imperial Trio had any real interest in the Tower and its politics. Rather, Vahn gave off an impression simr to a force of nature, something that simply couldnt be opposed. He was like a tidal wave that only gotrger the further it traveled, sweeping over everything that didnt resist and destroying anything that tried to bar his passage... --- Just as Rak hadined for the eighty-seventh time about being bored, Khun instantly became alert when Shibisu, assigned to monitor and protect the Net Dolphins alongside Endorsi and Anak, reported, "Khun, it seems like theyre finally beginning to move." Exhaling a sigh of relief, Khun, within the rtive safety of his Lighthouse, opened up channels to each of the other groups, exining, "The Herders are on the move. Hatsu, inform me immediately after the Thieves begin their pursuit. Spear-Bearers, make your preparations but dont attack until we locate the Chasers. Even if you have a higher vantage point, fending off hundreds of enemies on your own is suicide." While the individual Barnacle Goblin was no match even for an average Ranker, they always traveled inrge packs. They also had extremely high durability and Shinsu resistance, so, even if it was Anak, Endorsi, and Laure, they would only be able to deal with a few dozen of the rtively intelligent and highly coordinated creatures before being overwhelmed. It didnt matter how much talent they had, as, without time to grow and develop their Shinsu control and abilities, they were only really strongpared to other Regrs of the same Rank. In response to Khuns orders, Hatsu answered in the affirmative while overlooking a veritable army of Barnacle Goblins and Giant Marsh Worms from atop a cliff. As for Rak, Aleksai, and the leech-like Parakewl, thetter two remained silent as the former shouted, "Its about time! Watch closely, you pathetic turtles! Ill show you how a real Hunter catches his prey...!" Resisting the urge to face-palm, Khun shifted his attention to the teamprised of Laure, Nare, and Chunhwa, asking, "Any luck on finding the Chasers?" As the Scout assigned to help map the underground tunnels using her baby Shinheuhs special sonar ability, it was Nare who hastily replied, "There are no signs of them just yet! Weve mapped this entire region but I havent found any traces of them at all!" Seeing the girls face a little too close to the Observer, almost as if she was embracing it near her body, a wry smile spread across Khuns face as he said, "Okay. Go ahead and progress to n B. I will make sure you are properlypensated once the Test haspleted." Releasing the Observer from her embrace, a mischievous glimmer appeared in Nares eyes as she performed a rather childish salute and asserted, "Leave it to me! I wont let that Bagworm nap his way through this one~!" Finding Laures impending suffering rather amusing, Khun couldnt help but chuckle in response to Nares statement. Immediately after that, however, his expression returned to his usual seriousness as he connected his Lighthouse to the unusual golden one that hovered above the testing ground, far beyond the range of a traditional F-Rank Light Bearer. Though nobody knew where she had obtained it, Phae made use of a unique Lighthouse that was covered in mysterious runes that even an A-Rank Pocket like Baams couldnt interpret. She never exined what these runes did, but, based on the feats others had observed, its basic capabilities wereparable to those of a B-Rank Lighthouse. It was also extremely durable, so much so that it hadnt umted a single scratch, even duringbat training. Seeing Khun appear on her primary disy, Phae offered a polite smile as she set aside her tea and asked, "Is there something you required of me, Mr. Khun?" Responding with a wry smile of his own, Khun exined, "Im certain you have already taken notice, but I wanted to inform you that things are finally getting underway. Is there anything from your end that I need to know about?" After briefly considering her words, Phae issued a light hum before answering, "My Master has yet to report anything, but Gandr has noticed some abnormalities near the Net Dolphin habitat. I doubt there will be any serious issues, but you should consider warning Endorsi, Anak, and Shibisu to stay on their toes. It is pretty obvious that the Administration doesnt want Baam to pass this Test so we should expect the Bull to make an appearance at any-" Before she could even finish her statement, both Khun and Phae fell silent when they heard Shibisu cry out in an extremely stressed tone, "Khun! The Bull has just appeared! I also havent been able to get into contact with either Endorsi or Anak! I thought they had just gone off to use the bathroom, but they havent returned even after twenty minutes! Tell them to return as fast as possible! I wont be able to hold back this monster on my own...!" With a visible bead of sweat rolling down the side of his face, yet another wry smile appeared on Khuns face as he looked toward Phae and said, "Forgive me, Lady Phae, but it seems my attention is required elsewhere. Please contact me if there are any important changes I need to know about." Chuckling in response to Khuns words, Phae lightly nodded in affirmation, saying, "Dont worry. If either Gandr or my Lord takes action, I will inform you immediately. Good luck, Mr. Khun..." --- Though they had been led to believe that the Bull was a ruthless Apex Predator that had wiped out numerous teams of Regrs in the past, Shibisus experience with the slimy ck humanoid could only be described as ical. It didnt seem to consider him a threat in the slightest, so, other than a few middling attempts to bite his head off, it hadrgely been toying with him. The Bull was a vaguely humanoid Shinheuh that stood roughly five meters in height. It had a lean yet muscr body, three-toed feet, hands with opposable thumbs, a whip-like tail, and a peculiar head with a singlerge eye and a massive maw adorned with puffy red lips that concealed several rows of teeth. There was also a whisker-like tentacle that dangled from his curiously twisted head, the end of which formed a bulbous protrusion that functioned simrly to an Angler Fishs lure, but, what stood out the most was the fact that the creature had a fleshy red mantle and an inordinately long ck spear... Fortunately for Shibisu, the Bull hadnt attempted to skewer him using its spear. Instead, it would twist its head nearly 90 degrees, staring at him from various angles before attempting to bite him with its head turned sideways. It would also periodically trip him using its tentacle, demonstrating a surprising amount of dexterity with the slimy appendage as it clearly enjoying toying with the man fumbling around in a purple tracksuit. Having been knocked down by the muchrger creature, Shibisu managed to roll to the side just as the Bull attempted to bite his face. Immediately after that, he attempted to kick its neck and body, but, almost as if the former was made of slippery hard leather, his attack had absolutely no effect. It didnt even seem to annoy the Bull, eliciting a curious head roll from the creature before it promptly attempted a second bite. Since the Bull wasnt proactively trying to keep him pinned down, Shibisu was able to evade using a second roll before quickly bounding to his feet and making a break for a nearby stgmite. Before he could make it more than a few steps, however, the Bull tripped him using its tentacle, a peculiar kurururururu~ escaping its toothy maw as it slowly crawled over to him. Lamenting both hisck of strength and his misfortune for being the first to encounter the cat-like monstrosity, Shibisu manipted his Observer to try and hit the eye of the Bull. Other than simply closing its eye, however, it didnt seem particrly concerned by the attempt to blind it. Instead, it continued releasing what Shibisu interpreted as augh, its red lips forming an expression simr to a smile as it grabbed him by the ankle. Feeling his end fast-approaching, Shibisu began to desperately to kick at the Bulls vice-like hand, shouting, "I hope you get indigestion and diarrhea you fishy son of a bitch...!" As there were very few Shinheuh capable of speech, the Bull just continued to ugh at Shibisus desperate struggles. Before it could dangle him above its mouth, however, a thin red line pierced through its bicep as a green whip mmed into its body, forcing it to separate from Shibisu as it released an ear-piercing screech. Immediately after piercing the Bulls bicep, the red line performed an arc like a boomerang before returning to the hands of its owner, none other than Endorsi. As for the origin of the green whip, it was obviously Anaks Green April, a weapon seemingly capable of changing its shape and size even in its inert state. Seeing who hade to his aid, moisture began to build up in Shibisus eyes as he muttered, "Talk about a sight for sore eyes..." before immediately adopting an angry expression and shouting, "You two sure took your sweet time! Where were you for thest half an hour!?" As the only people she really got along with were Phae, Anak, Gandr, and Baam, Endorsi crossed her arms in response to Shibisus outburst, retorting, "Thats none of your business. You should be grateful we arrived when we did. Another couple of seconds and you would have been warming the belly of that slimy lizard. Speaking of which, this isnt one of your rtives, is it?" With Endorsi turning to face her, Anak instantly understood what she was trying to say, arge vein appearing near her temple as she answered, "Screw you, cake-face." Nearly dropping thepressed needle she had been twirling between her fingers, the upper-half of Endorsis face became beet red as she shouted, "I dont wear that much makeup! Im already one of the most beautiful women in the entire Tower! Youre the one that could use a facelift you lizard brat...!" Though she had been paying more attention to it recently, Anak had never been the type to care about her appearance. Thus, in response to Endorsis outburst, she pretended like she was cleaning wax from her ear as shezily replied, "Yeah, its just a coincidence you look like aplete stranger after taking a bath..." With the blush on her face bing even more prominent, Endorsi was considering hitting the top of Anaks head when the Bull suddenly released another ear-piercing scream. This put both of them on alert, but, much to their surprise, it didnt even try to stick around and fight. Instead, it smacked Shibisu onest time with its tentacle before running off into the darkness at extreme speeds. Seeing Shibisu m into the side of the cave with enough force to produce a few cracks, a slightly concerned look appeared on Anaks face as she instantly leaped over to his side. As for Endorsi, she followed the Bulls retreat with her eyes, saying, "Im chasing after the Bull. Move the little mouse to a safe area and then follow after me. I shouldnt need help, but its better to be safe than sorry." Without waiting for a response, Endorsi immediately took off in the direction of the Bull. Her natural speed was a little slower than the surprisingly swift creature, but, with the enhancement of Shinsu, it wouldnt take her very long to catch up. The only danger was that it would hide in one of the many pools of water that connected to the vast undergroundwork of tunnels. She didnt really want to get wet, so, if it came to an underwater battle, she would let Anak go swimming while she used her Reel Inventory to provide support from drynd. After all, she was a Fisherman, not a fish... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Shadow Assassin Gandr (o,...,o)~!,Shibisu needs to start working on them gains...,Ghost Pepper Cake :D...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1740 Shadow

Chapter 1740 Shadow

Unaware of the battle taking ce beneath the surface, a rtively handsome man with short green hair and matching eyes could be seen exhaling an exasperated sigh as he caused yet another small cave in. Behind him, a rather childish-looking girl with blonde hair could be seen giggling next to a rather knightly-looking man with short brown hair. The former had the t of a dagger held against an extremely plush pillow while thetter, less enthused about the situation, smiled wryly as he held afortable-looking nket hostage. With an expression most would reserve for their nemesis, the green-haired man, Laure, looked back at the distant duo, coldly demanding, "There, Im finished. Return my nket and pillow to me..." A stark contrast to her childish appearance, the blonde-haired woman, Nare, giggled rather darkly in response to Laures threatening tone before musing, "Nope! Until the Test is over, I intend to put you to work! You had more than seven hours to sleep while we were scouting the area. You can stay awake until the end of the Test." Since their agreement only required him to copse a series of tunnels, Laures expression became even more enraged as he eximed, "That wasnt part of our agreement! You cant just change the terms however you please! Return my babies to me, you tyrannical thug...!" Rather than lose her smile, the edges of Nares lips curled up as she lightly tapped the pillow with her dagger, asking, "Youre pretty bold. Should I cut this up to teach you a lesson~?" Hearing Nares threat, Chunhwa couldnt help releasing a sigh. As for Laure, he performed a near-perfect dogeza, pressing his head to the ground as he politely stated, "Forgive me, my Goddess. I did not mean to offend you..." Nodding her head in approval, Nare was about to have Chunhwa return Laures nket when thetter suddenly raised his head, half-turning as he said, "Theyreing. I can sense them...the Dogs are on the move..." --- After quickly treating Shibisus wounds using Shinsu, Anak left the tracksuit-d man to fend for himself as she ventured into the darkness with only a baseball-sized Observer to light her way. It wasnt that she wasnt worried about Shibisu, but, unless there ended up being a second Bull, there was no need to babysit him. With Observers on the same team being able to locate each other, Anak was confident she would quickly catch up to Endorsi. Her speed and power were marginally better than her Ghost-Eyed Aunt, so, unless the former had disappeared beneath the mirror-like surface of the undergroundke, her Observer would guide her directly to the location of the battle. Not wanting to miss the opportunity to battle against an opponent said to strike fear in the hearts of some Rankers, Anak used Shinsu to strengthen her body before focusing a greater volume into her legs. As a result, her steps created watery ripples within the void, the Shinsu in the atmosphere reacting to create a phenomenon that loosely resembled the distortion of space. With her Shinsu-enhanced body, Anak was able torgely mitigate the drag forces that acted on her body while moving at high speeds. This was one of the greatest benefits of Shinsu for those who specialized in body reinforcement, as, depending on your level of control, you could actually move significantly faster than normal. It was a unique form of Flow Control that basically allowed you to create a current, drastically decreasing the amount of stamina used to cover vast distances in a short period of time. At higher levels, this same skill would allow those who had mastered it to basically fly through dense fields of Shinsu, much like how Shinheuh themselves were able to swim through the substance. Enjoying the feeling of gliding through the inordinately dense Shinsu found in the underground cave system, a burgeoning smile gradually reced Anaks characteristically annoyed expression. This was actually a skill Gandr had taught her, so, for a brief moment, her mind wandered to all the times they had raced against each other. Unfortunately, as was often the case with happy moments, Anaks expression immediately reverted to a deep frown as a wooly figure appeared in her path. Remembering the concerned warning Gandr had given her prior to the Test, Anaks grip on the Green April tightened as she red at the mascot-like figure and asked, "What are you doing here, Administrator...fluffball...?" Though he was a little annoyed that Anak seemed to have forgotten his name, Administrator Yuga didnt show it externally. Instead, he giggled eerily before musing, "Well, I suppose it doesnt matter too much if you remember my alias. After all, my true identity is far more interesting~!" Despite feeling her instincts kicking into overdrive, Anak did her best to appear calm on the surface as she half-turned, shouldering the Green April as she said, "I dont have time for this. Get lost." Seeing Anak turn away from him, Yuga felt an almost irresistible urge to just kill her then and there. However, much like the Bull he controlled, he lived for the moments when he could torture his prey until they begged for death. Thus, even though his body had started to tremble noticeably, he kept a jovial tone as he mused, "Oho? Wasnt revenge the reason you decided to climb the Tower? What an unfilial mutt...your mother must not have been all that important if you cant even make time for her killer~!" Though she was about to leap away at high speeds, Anaks body froze the moment she heard the mans words. She obviously didnt believe him, as her mother was a High Ranker that had earned the right to possess one of the Thirteen Month Series, but that didnt stop her from looking back at him with a murderous glimmer in her eyes. Chuckling loudly in response to Anaks reaction, Yuga emted her act of half-turning away from her, his tone even more cheerful as he mused, "Youre obviously very busy. Dont let me keep you from what really matters~." With the Green Aprils hook gradually increasing in size, a bloodthirsty aura began to emanate from Anaks body as she shouted, "Dont toy with me, you rice-ball bastard! Exin! What do you know about my mothers death!?" Exhaling a sigh of mock-exasperation, Yuga turned back to face Anak, the smile at the front of his costume bing more prominent as he bowed slightly and replied, "Though you are not worth the courtesy, allow me to introduce myself. Im a member of the Royal Enforcement Division, Unit No. 67. My name is Ren. Lo Po Bia Ren, to be exact. I would say it is a pleasure to meet you, but it takes most of my willpower not to vomit whenever I see you..." Completely ignoring Rens introduction, Anaks attention was focused wholly on the small acorn-like pendant he had produced from the seam between his costumes lips. It wasnt the most eye-catching essory that could be found within the Tower,prised of little more than a smooth green stone and a brass shell, but, in Anaks eyes, it was the most precious treasure that could be found in all the Floors. After all, it was the pendant her mother had made for her after she fished the stone from the river near their hidden cottage... With green electricity dancing along the length of the Green April, Anaks peculiar pupils shrunk to the size of pinholes, a crazed smile on her face as she asked, "Where...did you get that ne...?" Now trembling to the point that his body appeared to be vibrating, a repulsive chuckle emanated from within Rens costume, persisting for several seconds before he answered, "You really are hard of hearing, arent you? I just told you mere moments ago. Im the person who killed that disgusting traitor you call a mother. Jeez, were you dropped on your head as a child?" Finished with his introduction, Ren slurped up Anaks pendant using arge red tongue, sucking it back into his body. This caused the Green April to enter a pseudo-ignited state, Anaks rage boiling over in an instant as she stated in a menacing monotone, "Give it back." Sensing the flow of Shinsu around Anaks body converge towards him, the trembling of Rens body reached critical levels. The only thing he enjoyed more than the hatred of others was the moment their hatred turned into fear, despair, and anguish. Anaks murderous aura was enough to bring him to the verge of a climax, his knees shaking as the Shinheuh concealed within his costume began to writhe about in excitement and expectation. Just as Ren was considering releasing his excitement all over the murderous girl slowly making her way toward him, both he and Anak stopped in ce,plete silence descending upon the small clearing. This persisted for several seconds before the trembling in Rens body became even more potent. Instead of excitement, however, his trembling was the direct result of the indescribable pain that seemed to radiate throughout his entire existence. Mustering what little power he could manage at the moment, Ren attempted to leap away from the figure that had appeared behind him, his mouth opening to produce a condensed Baang of Shinsu. Before he could fire it, however, an invisible force seemed to cut through, not just the void, but his ability to manipte the Shinsu in the surroundings. At the same time, his attacker, a figure wearing a hooded parka that concealed everything but ghostly golden pupils, instantly appeared at his side, slicing through his body with a shadowy ck katana. Despite being bisected, Rens body didnt separate into two parts. Instead, he felt another wave of pain, almost like his soul was being burned by fire. He didnt know any other way to describe it, but,pared to all the other pains he had felt in his life, nothing even came remotely close to what he was currently experiencing. Unable to restrain his voice any longer, a blood-curdling scream escaped Rens throat as the mouth of his costume opened to reveal arge number of massive Shinheuh. To his surprise, however, the majority of these Shinheuh simply crashed to the ground, many already dead. Those that were still alive attempted to devour the shadowy figure, but, without even trying to move, the entity held up his katana with a single hand, standing his ground. Further increasing Rens horror and confusion, he watched with rounded eyes as one of hisrgest Shinheuh crashed into the figure, seemingly devouring them whole. Unfortunately, this was not the case, as, immediately after passing through the area where the figure had been standing, therge eel-like creature slid lifelessly across the ground while the sword-wielding shadow remained firmly rooted to their original position. Feeling fear for the first time in more than a hundred years, Rens mind raced as he tried to make sense of the current situation. He was almost positive that the shadowy figure was a High Ranker, but, no matter how much he tried to read the flow of their Shinsu, there was no feedback. It was like the person standing before him didnt even exist, something that made absolutely no sense considering he could feel their horrifying aura pervading the entire cave system. With cold sweat covering most of his body, a stark contrast to the intense mes that seemed to be burning him from the inside, Ren did his best to resist the pain as he asked, "Who are you? This is a matter concerning the Jahad Empire. Are you-" Though he had tried to react this time, Ren was in too much pain to properly control his body. As a result, he waspletely powerless when the figure appeared next to him in an instant, their sword seemingly splitting into numerous arcs, each cutting through his body. This caused him to ckoutpletely, his body crashing the ground with a thud as his real self coughed up arge quantity of blood several thousand kilometers away... --- Despite seeing how easily the shadowy figure dealt with one of Jahads Rankers, Anak was surprised to find that she didnt feel even remotely concerned. Rather, a familiar warmth had spread through her body, easing her nerves and diminishing her passionate fury into a mellow calm. Then, as if they could sense her confusion, the figure turned around to face her, the golden mes within the hood gradually fading away before they ultimately removed the fabric to reveal two pointed ears... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Poor Laure,Anak be like, "Who dis?",(OwO)? Whats this~?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1741 Snare

Chapter 1741 Snare

Seeing the familiar fluffy ears, most of Anaks tensions immediately faded away as sheined, "That man was my prey..." Smiling back at the pouting Princess, Gandr reached into the pocket of his parka before pulling out an acorn-like pendant and tossing it over as he exined, "This is just a puppet. Though my attacks should have caused substantial damage to his Soul, it shouldnt be enough to kill him. Now that we know his identity, you will have plenty of chances to get revenge in the future. Before that, focus on bing stronger. Even with his powers severely restricted, your chances of defeating this monster were less than 1%." Though she appeared visibly relieved after receiving the pendant, her eyes moistening a little, that didnt stop Anak from ring back at Gandr when she heard his words. Even if they were the truth, hearing about her own weakness was never pleasant. Thus, after donning the pendant around her neck, she half-turned away before saying, "I will be stronger...much stronger than everyone in this Tower...even you...hmph!" With her wordsplete, Anak was intending to continue chasing after Endorsi. Before she could take so much as a single step, however, a figure appeared to block her path, Gandr smiling wryly as he held his hands up catingly and said, "You should return to where Shibisu and the others are. I dealt with the Bull beforeing here, so Endorsi should be on her way back by now. I dont mind if you want to go to her, but the others could use your helppleting the Test. Things are starting to get interesting back in the valley." Hearing that Gandr had already dealt with the Bull, a dissatisfied frown quickly developed across Anaks face. She wanted to fight against something strong to release her building frustrations, so, even if she understood Gandr was just trying to help, she couldnt help feeling annoyed. She didnt like how much stronger he waspared to everyone else, herself included. It made her feel like he was trying to babysit her, a notion that filled her with a mixture of indignation and several harder to describe emotions... ---Several Minutes Prior--- Shortly after separating from Anak and Shibisu, an annoyed expression could be seen on Endorsis face as she darted around the pitch-ck cave with only a single Observer helping to light the way. Unfortunately, much like everything else avable in themissary, it was only an F-Rank item. As a result, it could barely illuminate more than a few meters around her, brightly lighting up things in her immediate vicinity but making it impossible to see anything further due to the stark contrast between light and shadow. Releasing a frustrated groan, Endorsi perched herself atop one of the many stgmites protruding from the abyssal waters below. She had the sinking suspicion that for a while now, she was being lured into a trap. The Bull had been erratic yet easy to predict when she first gave chase, but, almost immediately after she had separated from the others, everything from its movements to its general aura had changed drastically. At one point, it evenpletely disappeared from her perception, its Shinsu seemingly blending into the surrounding environment as it melted into the shadowy waters below... Despite the precariousness of her situation, Endorsi was able to remainrgely unflustered. In fact, she was more annoyed than scared, as, due to the density of Shinsu on the 2nd Floor, there were very few Shinheuh that could pose a legitimate threat to her. This also applied to Shinheuh brought into the lower Floors by high-ranking Animas, the unique Position associated with those who either bred or tamed the various creatures within the Tower. After all, if someone could just bring down a Shinheuh from the 100th Floor and beyond, the bnce of the Tower would have been destroyed a very long time ago. Confident that she could kill anything bound by the restrictions of the Floor, Endorsi strained her senses to their limits, instinctually channeling Shinsu into her eyes and ears in order to expand her field of perception. This caused her already ghostly golden eyes to shimmer like mes within the darkness, a rather eerie yet captivating sight for those equipped to witness it directly... Hearing the sound of disturbed water just a few dozen meters from her current position, Endorsis Reel Inventory appeared next to her in an instant, propelling a ruby red hook through the darkness in an attempt to fish out whatever had broken the waters surface. Unfortunately, at that exact same moment, the Bull, now appearing nearly 10m tall, appeared right behind her. It had simply tossed a stone through the darkness, diverting her attention just long enough to produce an easily exploited gap in her senses. With goosebumps immediately spreading across her entire body, Endorsi attempted to leap from her perch before she had even identified the danger. Her instincts were screaming at her to escape, so, at the very least, she needed to secure a better vantage point. Despite her explosive leap shattering the stgmite she had been standing upon, Endorsis forward momentum waspletely arrested as a slimy ck tentacle snaked around her body in an instant. She didnt even have enough time toin about how revolting it felt before the air was forced from her lungs, an event that was punctuated by the sound of a sickening crack. Two of her ribs had almost instantaneously broken, and, though she attempted to break free, Endorsi felt her body was being constricted by reinforced steel bindings. With a trickle of blood running from her left nostril, Endorsi finally began to panic, not because she was afraid of dying, but because the Bull had leaped towards the abyssal waters below. She really didnt want to get wet, and, though she wasnt particrly afraid of death, Endorsi would rather not drown. As a result, she channeled as much Shinsu into her body as she could manage, but, despite her best efforts, she wasnt able to weaken the Bulls hold in the slightest. Fortunately, just as Endorsi was screaming expletives at the Shinheuh within her mind, a feeling of weightlessness enveloped her body as the force constricting her promptly rxed. As a result, she ended up screaming, "You fishy piece of shit...!" at the exact moment a shadowy figure caught her falling body in a princess carry. Though he wasnt too surprised by the Princess outburst, Gandr still winced in response to the shrill noise entering his ears. Then, before she could continue her tirade, he stated in a voice that seemed like the call of death itself, inly stating, "If you keep yelling, Im going to toss you into theke." Hearing the familiar yet ghostly voice, most of Endorsis tensions rxed in an instant. Immediately after that, a relieved sigh escaped her lips as she quietlyined, "Dont make a habit of arriving at thest moment, Mr. Hero..." Chuckling lightly in response to Endorsis int, Gandr set the woman down on a dry section of stone before replying, "Youre not exactly a damsel in distress. If it hadnt caught you by surprise, Im certain the Bull would be the one getting bullied right now..." Even if she knew his words were just pandering, Endorsi still giggled in response to Gands remark, ignoring the pain radiating from her ribs as she mused, "Youre not wrong. This time, however, Ill be gracious and allow you the opportunity to y the part of rescuing the Princess...be grateful..." Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Gandr turned his back to allow Endorsi the chance to grimace in pain, answering, "Guess its my lucky day..." before jumping to meet the enranged Bull... --- Having refused to return to the rest of the group, Anak was currently following behind the cloaked Gandr as he led the way to Endorsis location. It wasnt that she didnt trust the boy, far from it, but, for a number of reasons, Anak could only believe what she had seen with her own eyes. As a result, both she and Endorsi became privy to one of Gandrs secrets, surprise visible in their countenances when there were suddenly two identical hooded figures in the same location. Understanding what the girls wanted to ask, Gandr concealed the truth by performing a half-ram seal with his right hand and stating, "Release...!". As a result, his clone erupted into arge plume of smoke, quickly dispersing as he exined, "My duties sometimes require me to protect multiple targets at once so my Master taught me a simple cloning technique. They arent very durable, but, thanks to my ability to be immaterial, they are more than enough to deal with most enemies." As cloning techniques werent actually that rare, especially in the upper floors of the Tower, Endorsi was easily convinced by Gandrs exnation. Anak, however, always felt uneasy whenever someone was lying to her. She didnt call him out on it, but, for a very brief moment, a very potent pout could be seen marring her otherwise adorable face. Though he noticed Anaks reaction, Gandr didnt attempt to rify things. They would most likely find out in the future, but, unless he had a legitimate reason to expose his secrets, he intended to keep them. At the very least, he wanted to wait until his Ego had sufficiently separated from Vahns, an event all three of them had been anticipating over thest couple of days. Ignoring the difort he got from seeing Anaks pout, Gandr removed his hood, dispelling the shadowy properties of the garment before asking, "What do the two of you want to do? Now that a member of RED has targetted Anak, it is only a matter of time before other memberse seeking her out. I mean, this wont really change much since we have like five Irregrs in our party, but we should still consider our options." Piggybacking off Gandrs words, Endorsi decided to ask something that has been on her mind for a long time, remarking, "On that subject, there is something Ive been meaning to ask ever since the Crown Game. Why do you go out of your way to call yourself Anak Jahad? It would have been a lot easier to get your revenge if you kept your identity a secret until you became a Ranker. I cant really see any benefits in you calling yourself Anak Jahad when it is already known throughout the Tower that she died hundreds of years ago..." After suffering numerous setbacks on just the 2nd Floor, Anak had alreadye to the conclusion that it was a mistake to assume her mothers identity. The only reason she continued calling herself a Princess of Jahad was due to her pride. She was unwilling to show fear in the face of her enemies, so, even if there were countless people more powerful than she was, Anak would continue walking her current path until her mother had been avenged. In response to Endorsis inquiry, Anak adopted a conflicted yet resolute look, tightly gripped the Green April as she said, "Let theme...I will kill all the bastards who get in the way of me and my revenge..." Hearing Anaks answer, both Gandr and Endorsi released simultaneous sighs of exasperation. It was pretty easy to tell that she was just being obstinate, but, before either could say anything to try and convince her, a feminine voice echoed from within the darkness, confidently stating, "There is a fine line separating the brave from the stupid. No amount of conviction will allow you to arbitrarily close the gap between you and your opponents. If youre serious about getting your revenge, stop being an idiot focused solely on a distant objective and start doing everything in your power to increase your strength in the present..." Before the words had finished, an exceptionally beautiful woman with glowing red eyes and long brown hair, nearly reaching her ankles, emerged from within the darkness. She had a peculiar red fascinator, resemblingrge flower petals, fastening her hair into an inordinately long side ponytail. As for her attire, her lithe yet shapely figure was perfectly ented by garments that appeared both formal yet casual. This included an expensive-looking white blouse, a ck undershirt, a pleated red skirt, ck stockings, and, most notably, a blood-red tie that was embossed with the symbol of the Jahad Empire... Though he had tensed up quite a bit when a voice suddenly emanated from behind him, most of Gandrs tensions faded once he realized the womans identity. She was none other Ha Yuri Jahad, the Princess he had been anticipating for more than a month. Her presence here confirmed many of the suspicions he had regarding this Records original plot, and, if he wasnt wrong, she would have arrived just in time to save Anak from her fate. After all, Ren was obviously a very sadistic individual, so, even if his purpose was to assassinate the false Princess, he would draw out the process for as long as possible. This was the main reason Gandr had stepped in, as, even if Anak had a very potent fate permeating around her body, he wouldnt just stand by and watch her be tortured... Noticing Gandrs smile, Yuri shifted her attention to the boy for the first time since her arrival. Much to the formers surprise, her eyes immediately widened once she got a better look at him; her pupils contracting to points like a predator who had just found its prey. This caused Gandrs body to tense up like a rabbit that had been cornered by a wolf, his ears twitching noticeably as a strong desire to flee welled up inside of him. Before Gandrs fight or flight response could take full effect, Yuris body seemed to flicker out of existence before reappearing right in front of him. This caused the hairs on Gandrs body to stand on end, but, before he could even think to react, she extended her hand toward him, a somewhat giddy smile on her face as she fondled his ears and remarked, "Youre pretty cute. Are you the one who protected my adorable little sisters from that fishy bastard? If so, I suppose it is only right that I give you some kind of reward. Be honest, is there anything youd like from this Big Sister~?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Burgeoning Desires,Gandr be like, "Yare yare daze...","Mr. Police? Id like to report a suspicious individual...") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1742 Mine

Chapter 1742 Mine

Though he was surprised by Yuris warp-like movement speed, the main reason for Gandrs inability to react could be attributed to his focus being split between Vahn and Phae. This made it difficult to enter the State of Nothingness quickly, so, in response to Yuris sudden caress; he made eye contact with the increasingly annoyed woman, his hands continuing to knead her breasts even as she asked, "What do you think youre doing...?" With the tips of his nails poking tiny holes into the fabric of her blouse, Gandr maintained a perfect deadpan as he inly replied, "Oh? I thought we were just ignoring boundaries and doing whatever we felt like doing. A Vanargandrs ears are one of the most sensitive spots on their entire body. This is about the equivalent." Since Yuri hadnt stopped fluffing up his ears, Gandr took things a step further by lightly poking her nipple through the fabric of her blouse, undershirt, and bra. This caused a red flush to immediately spread across her face, and, as could be expected, she grabbed the sides of his head in an attempt to lightly headbutt him. Unfortunately for her, Gandr had already primed himself to enter the State of Nothingness so Yuri ended up phasing through him, losing her bnce and nearly face-nting into the ground. Like a Demon God who had just been released from ten-thousand-years of imprisonment, the void around Yuris body began to tremble in response to the surging of her aura. Both Anak and Endorsi were forced back as the ground around her, influenced by the growing pressure, began to sink andpress as her hair, previously dark-brown, became an inky bluish-ck. At the same time, almost as if she had be a ck hole, all the Shinsu in the surroundings began to surge into her body, drastically increasing her strength as red lightning began to dance across her clenched fists. Though he knew he had probably gone a little too far, Gandr didnt back down in the face of Yuris surging aura. Instead, a mischievous smile spread across his face as he asked, "What? Did you want me to just stand there and be grateful for your sexual harassment? You might be a beauty, but Im not some pet you can just stroke and fondle as you please...!" Anticipating a battle, Gandr ced his hand on Laev-tans grip, but, almost as if her aura had been nothing more than an illusion, all the Shinsu in the surroundings turned docile as Yuri smiled back and asked, "You think Im a beauty? Youre pretty bold to flirt with a Princess of Jahad~." Feeling like all the wind had been taken out of his sails, Gandr just stared back at Yuri with his hand still holding Laev-tans grip. He got the feeling he was being lured into some kind of trap, but, with Yuris aura bing mellow and fluttery, it was difficult to maintain a battle-ready posture... Noticing Gandrs confusion, Yuri puffed out her rather sizeable chest, arms akimbo, and a massive grin on her face as she eximed, "Very well then! Since I did promise you a reward, Ill let you off with just a warning this time. Whats your name, kid? Ah, Im Ha Yuri Jahad, by the way! Feel free to call me by my first name from now on~." Restraining a sigh, Gandr removed his hand from Laev-tan, but, still feeling a certain danger from the woman before him, he kept the State of Nothingness active as he replied, "My name is Gandr. I already heard about you from my Master so Im guessing you came for the ck March?" Sensing that Gandr was still in the strange state where she couldnt touch him, Yuri was finding it increasingly hard to maintain her smile. She still wanted to teach him a lesson, but, after hearing his words, her thoughts immediately shifted to the greater meaning contained within, asking, "Master? Are you rted to that man who calls himself the Sage Dragon Emperor...?" Seeing Gandr nod in approval, Yuri couldnt help but adopt an excited smile as she asked, "Are you also an Irregr!? Are there more of you!?" As he would much rather deal with Yuri using his Vahn and Phae personas, Gandr didnt bother to answer her question directly, crossing his arms as he stated, "If you want to know more, youll have to speak with my Master. Im not the type of person who shares secrets without anything to gain." Though she was a little annoyed by Gandrs words, seeing him posturing with such an adorable appearance made it hard for Yuri to stay mad at him. As a result, she just clicked her tongue before looking to where Anak had been scattered, saying, "Sure. Ill have a nice long chat with him once I finish up here. For now, Ill be taking the Green April back with me. Even if your team has a bunch of Irregrs on it, possessing one of the Thirteen Month Series will bring you too much trouble. Ill be holding onto it until she is strong enough to be a Ranker." Despite speaking to Gandr, Yuri continued to stare directly at Anak, her words leaving no room for discussion. This caused thetter to immediately be hostile, but, before she couldplicate things by trying to fight against a High Ranker, Gandr preempted her by saying, "Anak. I understand your desire to hold onto the Green April, but Yuri is right. You need to be much stronger if you want to properly wield a weapon like that. At your current level, it is actually holding you back. Trust in my Master and Phae...besides, even if we all worked together, we wouldnt be able to prevent this woman from taking the Green April..." Amused by Gandrs words, the intimidating light faded from Yuris eyes as she mused, "You have a talent for ttery, dont you? I am curious, though...what is your rtionship with my adorable little sister and niece? Are you their boyfriend...?" Rolling his eyes in response to Yuris question, Gandr was about to refute her words when Endorsi suddenly stated, "Thats right. He and Anak have a bit of puppy love between them and Ive already set my sights on his future self. Youre toote to the party if you want to snatch a piece of this pie, you cradle-robbing snake...!" Rather than feel offended by Endorsis words, Yuri couldnt help but chuckle in response due to the reaction from Gandr. Hisplexion had paled, and, though he didnt overtly deny Endorsis words, it was clear he wasnt in agreement with them. Of course, even if this hadnt been the case, it didnt really matter. The Ha Family, one of the Ten Great Families, didnt have the tradition of marriage or monogamy. Even her Great Grandmother, the leader of the Ha Family, had numerous partners over thest ten-thousand-years, as, with very few exceptions, rtionships were simply transient things when you were Immortal. Though she was forbidden from being in a rtionship due to her status as a Princess of Jahad, Yuri knew her Great Grandmother would side with her so long as she found someone worthy to be her partner. The Ha Family was considered the strongest among the Ten Great Families due to their natural affinity with body strengthening and physical reinforcement. Because of this, they looked for partners with high physical capabilities or natural talent, often pursuing them relentlessly due to the familys motto of, "No matter what, charge forward." When Yuri had first heard about an Irregr entering the Tower, she had rushed down at her fastest speed in order to make her im as early as possible. She knew just how ridiculous their strength could be due to her friendship with Ureko Mazino, the current Rank 4 in the entire Tower. Thus, in the hope of recruiting an Irregr into their faction and potentially meeting the man of her dreams, Yuri had descended to the First Floor to discover...Baam, an exceptionally weak yet determined boy. If she were being honest, Yuri was a little depressed regarding Baams strength due to the fact his physical appearance was a home run for her. She had a thing for younger men, and, though very few people knew about it, she even yed a special Dating Sim where the primary goal was to rear young boys into the man of your dreams. Baams appearance just so happened to match one of her favorite boys, so, when she firstid eyes on him, Yuri went from cloud nine to the bottommost pit of hell when she realized that, despite his appearance, Baam was exceptionally weak... To make matters even worse, another Irregr showed up almost immediately after Baam, proving just how weak the boy was by easily passing the test that nearly killed the former. This caused Yuri to harbor a bit of hatred towards the old man, as, not only had he been rude to her, his power and presencepletely overshadowed Baam. He was even capable of producing an aura, that, despite being much weaker than her own, caused Yuris heart to palpitate with excitement. Though Vahn didnt meet any of her standards regarding physical appearance and demeanor, Yuri couldnt deny that his power had a certain maic attraction. Even if she couldnt secure him for herself, she could at least pull him into the Ha Family and arrange things between him and one of her aunts. There was even a chance her Great Grandmother might take an interest in the man, as, after thousands of years of traipsing about, the only real standard she used to judge men was their strength. Now that she had learned there were other Irregrs connected to Vahn, Yuri was determined to pull him over to their side. Gandr also hit all of her checkboxes concerning potential partners, and, though he had a bit of a wild charm to him, his hair and eye color were very simr to Baams. He was also extremely bold, a trait that gave him an edge against someone as naive and innocent as Baam seemed to be. Of course, the most important thing was that he was already strong enough to defeat a Ranker, and, though it was bound to have an exploitable weakness, his ability to be immaterial was, simply put, exceptional. Convinced that Gandr was a big catch, Yuri met Endorsis gaze with a confident grin as she mused, "Toote? Is that really the case? Tell me, Ghosty, do those eyes make it harder for you to see? Look at these holes in my blouse and then try to make the same argument. Besides, didnt you hear him? He clearly said I was beautiful. Even if hes just a boy, its pretty obvious he has already developed a few preferences~." Seeing the small holes in Yuris blouse, Endorsi couldnt help but click her tongue before looking towards Gandr with an usatory stare. She didnt actually see him as a potential love interest, at least for the time being, but that didnt mean she waspletely indifferent to his actions. She had never expected him to spontaneously fondle the breasts of a woman he had just met, even if it was to prove some kind of point. This made her feel a little disappointed in him, as, despite being a bit of a mischief-maker, Gandr was surprisingly sensible and mature when he needed to be... Feeling like an older sister who had just discovered her adorable little brothers porn collection, a tired sigh escaped Endorsis lips as she shook her head in exasperation. Then, without cowering in the face of Yuris intimidating presence, a resolute glimmer shed across her eyes as she said, "I wont let some strange woman sink her fangs into Gandr. Even if youre his type, I wont let him be led astray by some granny pushing six-hundred. There are plenty of men for you to chase at the top of the Tower. Dont interfere with the matters taking ce near the bottom." Even if it came across as false bravado, Yuri was still impressed by her younger sisters resolution. It had absolutely no impact on her decision, but, at the very least, she was impressed that someone as weak as Endorsi dared to stand up to her. This caused an approving smile to spread across her face as she said, "Okay then. I wont promise to stay away, but I can at least give you until the 20th Floor to strengthen your bond. That gives you a 2-3 year head start. After that, you only have yourself to me if you cant keep your man under control." As a member of the Ha Family, a matriarchal lineage that elevated women above men, most of the core family members lived by the belief that a man was only loyal when their woman was stronger than them. Because of this, the women in the Ha Family began training even before they knew how to read and write. Many, despite being hundreds of years old, didnt even know basic mathematics, as, in their minds, the only things that truly mattered was strength. This caused a number of people to joke about them being brainless machos, but, as one of the few Great Families that hadnt fallen to corruption and hedonism, they didnt really care about the opinions of others... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Endorsi is feeling threatened xD,So...Amazons? Amazons.,I kind of feel bad for the other members of Team Wolf Pack...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1743 Abyss

Chapter 1743 Abyss

While Gandr was experiencing a unique trial all his own, Team Wolf Pack, at the direction of Khun, was on the verge of guaranteeing victory. Though they were drastically outnumbered by the Barnacle Goblins and Giant Marsh Worms, this quickly became an irrelevant factor when Striped Ground Pigs began to, literally, bore their way out of the giant worms. This was the result of Khun having Laure copse very specific tunnels, forcing the Striped Ground Pigs to pass through the area where the Giant Marsh Worms were probing. As a result, they ended up being absorbed by the worms stic and vacuous maws before subsequently tearing their way out using their vicious fangs and ws. The Striped Ground Pigs already had an antagonistic rtionship with the Barnacle Goblins, so, as could be expected, they were reacted extremely hostile to being eaten. This resulted in both sidesmitting to annihting the other party, an opportunistic situation that was heavily exploited by the members of Team Wolf Pack. With Laure using his levitation and telekinesis to help periodically change their vantage point, the Spear Bearers were able to rain spears upon the battlefield withplete impunity. As for the rest of the team, they had been split into multiple gueri forces, ambushing any and all who attempted to either flee or pursue the Net Dolphins. By the time half an hour had passed, more than sixty percent of the Striped Ground Pigs had beenpletely wiped out. As for the Barnacle Goblins, only a few of the more cowardly members, those who fled early on, would live to see another day. Without their Giant Marsh Worms, however, it was hard to say how long they would survive. Needless to say, Team Wolf Pack had all but guaranteed the sess of the Test. All they needed to do now was wait until Baam and Rachel were expelled by the Net Dolphins Queen. This caused a few of them to gather around for preemptive celebration while those like Laure, having reimed his most precious treasure, promptly found an isted area to enjoy ate-afternoon nap... --- With the vantage provided by Phae, Vahn was able to witness Team Wolf Packs strategy and battle from start to finish. There had been a few unexpected guests partway through the scuffle, but, with both Ren and the Bull already dealt with, there was only one variable remaining that could threaten the partys interests: Rachel. Though he had wanted to make a grand entrance by plummeting onto the battlefield like a literal meteor, Vahn had decided to abandon his chance in the spotlight, following his instincts to prevent anything remiss from happening. Rachel still gave the impression she was a coiled snake waiting for its opportunity to strike, so there was no way he would just leave her and Baam alone in a situation where all audio and video surveince had been cut off. Fortunately, even as the Test was gradually drawing to its conclusion, Rachel and Baam continued to sit back-to-back, seemingly discussing matters rted to the past and future. As for Vahn, he was hiding a few hundred meters away, suspended in the extremely concentrated Shinsu that emted water but had properties reminiscent of air. This allowed him to breathe freely, but, if he didnt have the ability to float, falling would be equivalent to jumping off a cliff rather than sinking into a body of buoyant water... Seeing the mouth of the Queen gradually open like the gates of heaven,plete with a vibrant light that empowered those basking in its glory, Vahn was beginning to feel like he had just wasted thest eight-and-a-half hours of his life. Fortunately, though an argument could be made that is was extremely unfortunate, Rachels true nature came to the surface at the exact moment both he and Baam had eased their tensions. As a result, Baam ended up being pushed from the small tform contained within the bubble, his body falling with increasing speed towards the ck abyss below. Exhaling a sigh, Vahn teleported behind Rachel without revealing his presence, curious to see what kind of reaction the woman would have after pushing the person who trusted and cared for her to his death. Unfortunately for her, an audible sigh of relief escaped her lips, prompting Vahn to say, "You made the wrong choice..." in a heavy tone. Surprised by the sound of a voice emanating from behind, Rachel nearly fell off the tform herself due to how quickly she turned around, her expression paling the moment she saw Vahn. For a brief moment, her aura even fluctuated slightly, flickering like the me of a candle that was disturbed by someone lightly blowing into it. Even without reading her mind, Vahn could guess what was going through Rachels head, so, while maintaining his grim expression, he gestured towards the chair, advising, "Take a seat. Dont worry, this bubble isnt going anywhere. You have all the time you need to think of an excuse." Hearing Vahns words, panic could be seen in Rachels gaze as she looked around and noticed the bubble they were in was no longer moving. Vahn was holding it in ce using his Telekinesis, all but guaranteeing she was going to fall the test. Fearing her path towards the top of the Tower was being cut off, Rachel ended up digging herself even deeper into a hole, forgoing an excuse as she shouted, "If I fail the test, everyone else will fail as well! Youre not even supposed to be here! You cant interfere like this...!" Turning his head sideways, Vahn adopted an expression simr to someone looking at an exotic yet disgusting creature as he inly stated, "None of the rules prohibit other people from entering into the Wine ss. Also, you might be unaware of it, but one of the Administrators tried to assassinate one of the testing Regrs. Even the Bull was under their control, so, unless they want to risk going against the Guardians wishes, they would need to allow us to pass or provide the opportunity for a retake. We still have three Irregrs on our side, each qualified to take the Guardians Test...besides, even if we failed, there is nothing to stop us from moving higher up the Tower. The rules fabricated by the Jahad Empire have absolutely no bearing on me. You, however...Im afraid your journey ends here, Ms. Michelle Light..." Hearing Vahns words, Rachel felt like she was on the verge of hyperventting. She knew the man in front of her wasnt going to listen to any of her excuses, and, regardless of whether she tried to jump to her death or attack him, neither had any hope of sess. This caused her to feel helpless, but, more than anything else, she felt rage, indignation, and envy. If she had as much power as the man in front of her, she wouldnt have to suffer through all of this. She would be able to climb the Tower with impunity, removing all obstacles in her way using overwhelming power... Seeing the dangerous gleam in Rachels eyes, Vahn couldnt help but release a sigh, shaking his head as he said, "You really are a remorseless fool...not only did you betray the person who would have willingly sacrificed everything to make your dreame true, you now look at me like Im the one who wronged someone. Utterly ridiculous..." With her rage gradually overriding hermon sense, Rachel continued ring back at Vahn, her voice sounding strained and hoarse as she shouted, "You dont underst-" Tired of hearing people shout the same argument over and over again, a tired sigh escaped Vahns mouth as he used Reverse Flow Control to freeze Rachel mid-sentence. Then, with a stern tone that left no room for discussion, he stated, "You dont even try to empathize with others yet im they are the ones who dont understand...its a good thing you never put in an effort to gain power. With your self-centered mentality, you would have be aplete monster. Its sad, really...if seeing stars was truly your end goal, I could have allowed you to see them whenever you wanted. Not just a projection, but actual stars..." If someone else were to make the same im, Rachel wouldnt have believed them, not even for a moment. When Vahn said such things, however, his words carried a certain surety that made them hard to refute. He also stood nothing to gain by lying to her, so, with her body still frozen in ce, a steady stream of tears began to roll down Rachels face. She wanted nothing more than to scream at the top of her lungs, the anger within her heart quickly turning to anguish as her hatred for both Headon and the Tower reached new heights. Sensing Rachelsmentation, Vahn allowed the woman free reign to scream as loud as she wanted. He was hoping she would actually learn something from this, as, much like Hoh, she was not too far gone. If she could show genuine remorse, he wouldnt mind helping her achieve her dream, as, with his Realm, he could easily grant her wish at any point in time. He could even grant her power if she was willing to work for it, so, while she was busy screaming a crying, another version of himself was busy wrapping things up in the abyss below... --- With several hours worth of time to kill, Vahn ended up exploring much of the Wine ss, arge undergroundke which, as its name implied, was shaped like a wine ss. He got the impression there was a greater meaning to this specific location being chosen for the Test, so, with nothing better to do, he ended up mapping out the entire region to make sure there was nothing amiss. Unsurprisingly, Vahn found a number of peculiarities within the Wine ss, the two most notable findings being a temple protected by a powerful seal and apletely isted subspace near the neck of the Wine ss. The former prevented any kind of spatial movements, so, unless he wanted to force his way in, Vahn had no way of entering the Temple. As for thetter, it took on the form of a red fragment that generated a phenomenal amount of Shinsu, enough to covert the water within the Wine ss into a pseudo-Shinsu mix that, for reasons Vahn could only guess, was much easier to control than normal Shinsu. Though the peculiar fragment was carefully concealed within the void, its influence on the waters within the Wine ss made it easy to locate for anyone with the ability to read the Flow of Shinsu. After all, the density of Shinsu increased exponentially as you got closer to the sub-space, so, after an hour or so had passed, Vahn had not only managed to locate the fragment, he also managed to liberate it from the void without any real difficulty. After that, he tried to ce it into his Inventory, but, unsurprisingly, he was unable to do so. There seemed to be a consciousness sealed within the fragment, so, after cing a seal of his own around the fragment, he stored it safely within the Little Garden before spending the remainder of his time trying to find a way into the sealed temple. Unfortunately, the seal on the temple was much stronger than the almost zy effort that had been put into concealing the scarlet fragment. As a result, he was forced to abandon the temple, though not before cing a spatial anchor that should allow him to return at his leisure. Then, before Baam could fall to his death or be crushed by the pressure of the Wine ss depths, he teleported to the boys side, slowing his descent before using his domain to emte a Shinsu bubble. As could be expected, Baam had a look of extreme confusion and conflict after being betrayed by the person he trusted more than anyone else. Tears immediately began flowing from his face, and, now that he could breathe properly, he began hyperventting, clutching his chest as he fell to his knees and shouted, "Why!? Why would Rachel do this!? I dont understand...this pain...aaaaaaagh...!" Seeing the innocent and naive Baam suffering from the pain of betrayal, Vahn couldnt help but feel pity for the boy. Rachel was basically his whole world prior to his entrance into the Tower, the one person he cherished more than anything else. He had dedicated everything to her, and, so long as it was for her sake, he would have conquered the entire Tower in order to make her dream a reality. Unfortunately, for reasons only Rachel herself was fully aware of, she had decided to betray Baam in the pursuit of some arbitrary goal. It wasnt difficult to imagine she was being used, but, regardless of her reasons, it was an invible fact that she had betrayed the one person who would have done anything for her. Thus, in response to the boys outburst, Vahn extended his hand toward Baam, his voice firm and steady as he stated, "Lets go find out..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: When handling snakes, never take your eye off the head...,You done fucked up now, hon...!,Vahn over here being a loot goblin...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1744 No Regrets

Chapter 1744 No Regrets

Vahn would normally feel empathetic whenever he saw someone crying. In Rachels case, however, he just continued to stare down at her even as her screams of agony turned into conflicted sobs. It was clear she was in a lot of pain, but, unlike a normal person, there was more anger and hatred in her aura than anything like sadness or remorse. Resisting the urge to release a sigh, Vahn interrupted the crying womans pity fest, his voicecking even a marginal amount of his own as he said, "You are not beyond redemption. Just like Hoh, Grey, and many others before them, I am willing to give you a second chance. The final decision is not up to me, however...I will leave that choice to the one you have betrayed..." Without waiting for Rachels response, Vahn gestured with his hand, seemingly manifesting Baam from thin air. In actuality, he had been inside the Little Garden for more than an hour, digesting the fact he had been betrayed while sprawling beneath the canopy of the World Tree. This allowed him to appear almost eerily calm as he met Rachels gaze, his voice heavy with emotion as he asked the most important question, "Why...?" Though her first instinct was to make up some kind of excuse to justify her action, the presence of Vahn standing behind Baam caused Rachel to hang her head in silence. This caused Baams aura to be chaotic, but, before he could erupt, demanding she answer him, Vahn ced his hand on the boys shoulder, shaking his head as he stated, "No. The more unstable your emotions, the easier it will be for her to exploit you. At times like this, you should just observe silently, remain calm, and, most importantly, think about what you want. You are not the one who has done wrong here. If she cannot even apologize, you should not be the first topromise. Also, no matter what happens, it is important to remember that you are no longer alone...there are plenty of people who care about you, many of which would be willing to put their lives on the line to protect you. Do not throw them away for the sake of someone who would betray and murder the person that cared about them the most...what do you think she would do if the others were in the way of her dream...?" With Vahn preventing the sound from reaching Rachels ears, the woman waspletely ignorant of the fact she was currently beingmbasted. She was still trying to sort through her own thoughts while waiting for Baam to lose his patience, unaware of the fact that the boy in question was doing much the same. Vahns final question, in particr, had stuck with Baam, as, over thest month, he had met a lot of people, befriending several, and learning all kinds of new, exciting, and interesting things. They treated him well, and, at this very moment, were even putting their lives on the line to help someone most of them didnt even like...all because they were his friends... Feeling indescribable conflict well up inside of him, Baam was unable to prevent tears from building in his eyes. Rachel was still the most important person in his heart, someone he had been willing to sacrifice everything for. However, these sacrifices had toe from him. He would not just sacrifice other people on her behalf, as, even if they were his enemies, Baam didnt believe people should be forced to suffer. Thus, with tears streaming down his face, he said something Rachel never expected to hear, his voice heavy and grief-stricken as he stated, "Tell me why...or I will have no choice but to leave you here. I wont risk everyone elses dreams just to make yourse true...I will climb up the Tower and open the way for everyone..." With the most incredulous look that Vahn had ever seen on another person, Rachel turned her face up to stare back at Baam, eyes rounded and mouth slightly agape. She couldnt believe Baam, of all people, was the one saying these words to her. He was supposed to be someone that followed after her like an abandoned puppy, desperately clinging to her no matter how poorly she treated him. He was supposed to remain the one person, who, no matter what happened, would continue to regard her as the most vibrant and luminous existence in the entire world... Seeing the look of conviction contained within the boys teary eyes, Rachel felt like she had just lost something important. At the same time, she got the impression that something had broken within her mind, darkness creeping from the edges of her vision a cold and nauseous shudder ran through her body. In the next moment, without needing to pretend, she copsed against the surface of the small tform,pletely losing consciousness. She couldnt even feel the warmth of the boy who had immediatelye to her side. Instead, her mind sank even further into a bottomless abyss of despair, her entire world seeming to crumble around her as the voice of a hateful yet caring woman echoed within her mind... --- Since she couldnt leave without the ck March in hand, Yuri decided to kill time by asking about Endorsis and Anaks pasts. Unfortunately, Anak wasnt in a great mood after having the Green April taken from her, and, though she did answer a few questions, Endorsi deflected most questions. As for Gandr, he used informing Vahn as an excuse to sink into the ground, seemingly leaving but in actuality remaining nearby, just in case. Yuri was a little annoyed that Gandr had run away before she could get even with him, but, without knowing the secret behind his immateriality, it wasnt like she could do anything to him. She might be able to override the ability using Shinsu, but, without permission from the Floor Administrator or Guardian, using more than 1% of her true power was very difficult. Even her status as a High Ranker and a Princess of Jahad wouldnt protect her if she vited the Guardians Contract, so, for the time being, Yuri decided to let Gandr off with just her earlier warning. With the fluffy-eared boying to mind,bined with the fact that Endorsi kept deflecting, Yuri turned to Anak and asked, "So, whats the deal between you and the wolf boy? Do you have a crush on him~?" Though she had ignored most of Yuris other questions, Anaks brows furrowed in response to the hateful womans question. This wasnt the first time she had been asked something simr, but, no matter how much she denied it, people never seemed to believe her. It was extremely annoying, so, with the most threatening tone she could manage, she replied, "Youre an idiot..." before following it up by saying, "And he isnt a wolf boy. He is a Vanargandr...there is a difference..." Even if she didnt know what the difference was, Anak was certain that Gandr wasnt a normal boy. He had a voracious appetite, and, every time she challenged him to a drinking contest, he managed to win without even turning red in the face. This was yet another extremely annoying thing, as, even if it was something as arbitrary as drinking alcohol, Anak hated to lose... Causing the frown on Anaks face to be even more potent, Yuri adopted an amused smile on her face as she issued an annoying, "Hoooo~?" in response. What Anak didnt know was that it was her propensity to defend Gandr that led to people assuming she had a crush on him. After all, when you were rude and abrasive to pretty much everyone else, being defensive regarding one particr person stood out quite a bit. Finding Anaks pouting face rather adorable, even if was actually a murderous glower, Yuri couldnt help issue an amusedugh before shifting her gaze to Endorsi and asking, "And what about you? I know you were just bullshitting earlier so tell me how you really feel." Rolling her eyes in response to Yuris inquiry, Endorsi remained silent for several seconds, crossing her arms before ultimately answering, "If I had to describe it...he is like an annoyingly adorable yet mischievous younger brother. Though I feel like he is always hiding something, my instincts tell me he would never do anything to hurt any of us. He is also very capable and understanding, so, even if I can only see him as a brat right now, I know he will be a dependable man in the future..." Though part of her wanted Gandr to remain pure and childish, even if it was just a facade, Endorsi couldnt help but look forward to his future. He might lose the qualities that made him adorable, but, even in his present state, Gandr already had the makings of a very handsome and athletic man. She had seen him without his shirt on, and, though he wasnt that muscr, there was something about the structure of his body that gave people the impression he was wless. Noticing the appreciative glimmer within Endorsis eyes, Yuris smile became more prominent as she turned back to face Anak and asked, "What do you think? Do you agree with Ghostys words?" With the conversation having previously shifted away from her, Anak had defaulted to her usual uncaring expression, staring off towards nothing in particr. As a result, she didnt immediately reply to Yuris question, her head tilting to the side as she asked, "What are you two idiots talking about now...?" Resisting the urge to give her scatter-brained niece a light p on the head, Yuri adopted a less-enthused smile as she exined, "Endoris was just saying that Gandr had the potential to be a dependable man in the future. I was wondering what your opinion was." Annoyed that she was, once again, being asked about Gandr, Anak immediately regained her earlier frown as she replied, "Stupid...". Shortly after that, however, she shifted her attention away from the two enraged Princesses, adding, "Gandr is already dependable..." in azy monotone. Though she was still tempted to give Anak a slight beating, Yuris anger quickly faded when she heard her younger nieces addendum. In its ce, a strong desire to tease the girl welled up inside of her, a massive grin spreading across her face as she stated, "Wow, Im a little jealous. It must be nice to have someone to depend on. Youre a lucky girl, Anak~." Confused by Yuris words, Anak tilted her head to the side, a slightly incredulous look on her face as she asked, "What are you talking about? Youre really starting to get on my nerves..." Finding the girls threatening response rather amusing, Yuriughed at Anaks expense while rising to her feet. They had been sitting with their back to the caves wall so her butt was starting to feel a little cold after sitting for so long. She had also received numerous private messages from her team, so, before they couldpletely lose their marbles, Yuri decided to wrap things up by saying, "They say you can find everything at the top of the Tower. However, ever since Jahad became the King of the Tower, the way forward has been closed off. I dont believe my warning is necessary, but know it is going to be very dangerous climbing alongside multiple Irregrs. You never know what is going to happen in the future, so, rather than regret your indecision, never be afraid to push forward and secure the things that make you happy...the burden of failure is a lot lighter than the regret you feel from never trying..." Finished giving her advice, Yuri began slowly walking away from the silent duo, casually gesturing to bid farewell as her body vanished into motes of bluish-white light. This left Endorsi and Anak as the only ones left in the rather damp and dreary cave, the former contemting Yuris words while thetter just tilted her head back and muttered, "Show off..." in an annoyed tone. (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Rachel...,Anak be like, "Im surrounded by idiots...",Yuris advice is very dangerous xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1745 Conviction

Chapter 1745 Conviction

Not wanting to waste the efforts of Team Wolf Pack, Vahn allowed the Shinsu bubble containing Baam and Rachel to be swallowed by the Net Dolphins Queen. The only difference was that he decided to go along for a ride,rgely out of concern but partially the result of morbid curiosity. He had never been eaten before, not in the truest sense, so he decided to keep Baampany as the bubble slowly made its way through the Queensplex digestive tract. Seeing Baam sitting next to theatose Rachel, holding her hand with a concerned expression on his face, Vahn couldnt help but wonder what was wrong with the both of them. It was fairly obvious that Rachel was a sociopath with extreme self-esteem issues, but, despite his general naivete and a propensity for treating others kindly, there was clearly something wrong with Baam as well. Vahn had personally witnessed numerous examples of people being extremely possessive. It was a trait he had also suffered from at one point, so,pared to most, he had a decent understanding of the symptoms associated with the disorder. As a result, he could tell that Baam wasnt actually all that possessive of Rachel, at least under normal conditions. After all, if he was as obsessed with her as others assumed him to be, he wouldnt just ignore her whenever she wasnt around. Whenever a normal person was obsessed with someone or something, they would structure their entire life around their obsession. They would also actively seek out the thing they were obsessed with, and, once they obtained it, they would not easily part with it. In advanced cases, the object of their obsession would drive their very thoughts, leading them to appear mad in the eyes of others. Though Baam was clearly obsessed with Rachel, demonstrating an extreme level of possessiveness whenever he thought he was going to lose her, there were times when he didnt seem to care about her at all. The best example of this was when he spent an entire week focused solely on his training and hanging out with his growing circle of friends. It wasnt until Shibisu had asked him how Rachel was doing that Baam seemed to remember she existed, an inquiry that led to him promptly visiting her room and then ovepensating by visiting her several times a day from then onward. Rather than say Baam was truly obsessed with Rachel, it was more urate to say that he had been conditioned to be obsessed with her. Because of this, his behavior could be extremely prizing at times; shifting between the persona of a good-natured young man who would cry at the thought of hurting another person to a psychopath who wouldnt hesitate to kill if it meant protecting Rachel... With several minutes of silence lingering between them, Vahn was the first to speak, stating, "If you want, I can take Rachel somece safe...a ce where she can see the stars whenever she desires. I can even send you with her, but, from that moment onward, you will no longer be able to walk the same path as your friends. If you are serious about opening the way forward for everyone, you will need to part with Rachel until you have either conquered the Tower or given up the climb...what will you choose?" Hearing Vahns question, the conflict in Baams eyes became even more extreme, but, after several seconds had passed, resignation and purpose could be seen in his golden pupils as he looked back and asked, "Can you really take her somece where she can see the stars...?" Seeing Vahn nod his head, Baams expression became even more resolute as he parroted the action and said, "I will trust you. Gandr and Phae are my friends. If they believe in you, I will also believe in you. Just promise me...promise me I will be able to see Rachel again..." Offering a kind smile in response to Baams concerns, Vahn adopted a calm and guiding tone as he exined, "I can promise you something better. Once my power increases beyond a certain point, I will be able to create a bridge between the Tower and the ce where Rachel resides. She wont be able to stay within this world, but I can help you meet with her whenever youd like. Then, once you havepleted everything you wish to aplish, you can either follow her back or wait patiently until I have enough power to open a permanent bridge between the two worlds." Though Vahns words left him feeling more than a little confused, Baam got the impression he was telling the truth. Thus, after staring down at Rachels pained expression for several seconds, he gave a firm and decisive nod before saying, "I understand. Please take her to the ce where she can see the stars. So long as she is safe, I promise I will do everything in my power to change this Tower for the better...!" Seeing the fate explode out from Baam like a miniature supernova, Vahn couldnt help but blink in surprise, a wry yet appreciative smile on his face as he remarked, "Very well...however, there is one thing you are mistake about, young hero..." Confused by Vahns words, Baam tilted his head to the side, clearly a behavior he had copied from Gandr. In response, Vahns smile became more sincere as he reached out, ruffling the boys hair as he said, "You wont be the only one working to change the Tower. There are plenty of people who will help you out, myself included. With that in mind, you should focus more on the things you can do in the present rather than setting your sights on some grand objective. After all, it is often said that the journey is more important than the destination...take everything one step at a time and try to enjoy the little things you experience along the way." Hearing Vahns words,bined with the fact he enjoyed having his hair ruffled, a radiant smile spread across Baams face. The light of resolution in his eyes grew steadily stronger, and, though it was currently very weak, an inspiring aura, simr to the [Will of the Emperor] began to surge from Baams body. This was quite surprising, but, considering Baam was most certainly the protagonist of this Record, Vahn knew he shouldnt be surprised. Baam was clearly intended to rule over the Tower in the future, so, after feeling the burgeoning aura of an Emperor, a smile spread across Vahns face as he began drafting the boys training regimen within his mind... --- With the remaining Striped Ground Pigs retreating to their burrows, Khun assigned the Scouts to keep watch as he, alongside most of the other members of Team Wolf Pack, made their way to the Queens Chamber. There, the Queen of the Net Dolphins, a massive Shinheuh that resembled a blue rice pot covered in red polka-dots, could be seen regrly spewing bile and pungent refuse from severalrge vents. Ignoring the extremely foul aroma, the members of Team Wolf Pack, sans most of the women, kept a close eye on each of the vents. They had been told that the gastric acids within the Queens body werent very potent, so, even without the protection of a Shinsu bubble, a normal person could pass through the creatures digestive tract without much suspense. The only thing they needed to worry about was suffocation, but, due to the abundance of Shinsu within the Queens body, even this was a marginal concern. Fortunately, thanks to Vahn maintaining the bubbles integrity, their emergence from the Queens body was very obvious. She ended up spitting them out rather forcibly, sending the tform they were on sliding across the ground as the rest of Team Wolf Pack watched on with incredulous looks on their faces. With the tform slowly sliding to a stop, Vahn promptly dispelled the bubble, nodding in approval as Gandr and Phae appeared at his side. Then, before anyone else could think to react, Phae moved to check on Rachel while Gandr made a show of whispering something into his ear. Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn dismissed Gandr before turning his attention to Khun, waving the boy over before saying, "Take your time gathering everyone. My presence is required elsewhere at the moment, so try and stall for time. If you want to know what happened, feel free to ask Baam in private. I will return within the hour." Though he wasnt particrly fond of being told what to do, Khun nodded his head in response to Vahns words. He got the impression that something disastrous would have happened if not for the mans intervention, so, even if he traditionally disdained authority figures, he was willing to abide by the mans will so long as their interests aligned. The only other option was losing the support of the Imperial Trio, so, after graciously bowing towards the man, Khun promptly moved over to ask Baam for an exnation. Having seen the concern visible in Khuns electric-blue eyes, Vahn had an appreciative smile on his face as he watched the young man make his way over to Baam. Then, with a curt nod towards the approaching Rak, he vanished into thin air, surprising both the crocodilian and everyone else who had been observing him... --- Located high above the mountain-like rock formation covering the Wine ss, a medium-sized Suspend Ship, shaped much like a school building, could be seen slowly circling the region. There were originally only two people on board, excluding medical and service staff, but, rather than just Yuri, an entire team of High Rankers had invaded the 2nd Floor. To make matters even worse, the majority of these Rankers belonged to one of the most powerful organizations in the entire Tower, Wolhaiksong(The Winged Tree Under the Moon). Wolkhaiksong was the organization founded by Ureko Mazino, an Irregr considered by many to be the most powerful person in the entire Tower. The only people ranked above them were Jahad, holding the 3rd Rank, and the only other Irregrs to have appeared within thest ten-thousand-years: the Rank 1 Phantaminum and the Rank 2 Enryu. With their leader possessing incontestable might, the Wolkhaiksong had grown into one of the most powerful organizations within the entire Tower. Their might was so great that even the Ten Great Families would generally steer clear of them, so, with several High Rankers belonging to the organization invading his Suspend Ship, it wasnt surprising that Director Yu could be seen with a bead of sweat forming on his brow as he sat across from a very disgruntled Princess. Yuri wasnt at all amused by the fact that a Ranker, even one belonging to RED, had been able to attempt an assassination during a test proctored by the Test Director himself. As a result, she had been putting a considerable amount of pressure on the effeminate man, forcing him to serve her several cups of coffee as she waited for the Sage Dragon Emperors arrival. Fortunately for Director Yu, Yuri had been prevented from outright killing the man thanks to the intervention of Evan, her personal Guide, and the current Rank 93 within the entire Tower. Her own Ranking was only 477, so, while she was exponentially stronger than the inordinately short man, he was one of the few people able to convincingly defeat her when he got serious. He was also one of the few people Yuri genuinely respected, so, while she never passed on an opportunity to bully him, she also listened to him whenever he offered his advice. Still, Yuri wouldnt be known for her explosive temperament if she was that easy to control, so, with each passing moment, the tensions within the room became increasingly more palpable. This made Director Yu feel like he was skirting along a des edge, one that threatened to slice him into tiny pieces the moment he rxed his guard. Before Yuri could force the Director to prepare drinks for everyone gathered within the room, the entire group spontaneously shifted their attention to an area of empty space. There, appearing like a phantom from within the void, the man they had been waiting for had finally arrived. This caused Director Yu to release an audible sigh of relief, even if he was more than a little troubled by the fact that Vahn had been able to teleport into his office. There were powerful barriers in ce to prevent such things, yet, as if none of that mattered, Vahn had been able to appear without even setting off a single rm... Seeing the group of peculiar individuals, Vahn couldnt help but raise his brows as an amused smile spread across his face. Not only was there a burly man with ck skin, white hair, and multiple scars running across his face, there was also a child-like girl wearing a skin-tight zentai, a gloomy-looking man wearing the jaw of a Shinheuh over his face, and what appeared to be a member of the Khun Family ying games on a hand-held device. They all radiated phenomenal auras, but,pared to the disgruntled Princess and the silver-haired man staring at him like he was some kind of monster, even the Director was like a tiny hillpared to the massive mountains seated across from him. Despite feeling a tremendous amount of pressure, enough to make the Director sweat, Vahn was able to appearpletely calm and unflustered. He had experienced greater pressure from beings exponentially more powerful than anyone present, so, while he was currently weaker than everyone else in the room, they were grossly incapable of intimidating him. This included Yuri, a woman who, even now, gave off the impression of a , rather than a mountain. She could likely destroy his current vessel with a single punch, but, no matter how hard she tried, she would never, ever, be able to kill him. As this thought crossed his mind, a rxed smile spread across Vahns face as he offered a curt nod to the seated Princess and said, "We meet again, Princess Yuri. I trust you havee to retrieve the ck March?" Though she wasnt sure of the reason, Yuri felt annoyed by Vahns casual yet courteous tone. There was something about him that annoyed her, but, as there were more important matters to attend than clearing up her suspicions; she ultimately just crossed her arms in response to Vahns question before nodding her head and asking, "Im guessing you want to make some kind of trade, right? Go ahead and-" Without waiting for Yuri to finish speaking, Vahn put everyone on alert by manifesting his personal Arms Inventory in its visible mode. Then, without the need for pointless negotiations, he used his Telekinesis to guide the ck March over to Yuris side, asserting, "Just take it. There is nothing of value you could offer me so I have no reason to hold your life hostage. Besides, I learned quite a bit about this Tower from the Spirit contained within. You can consider all debts between us repaid." After recovering from her initial shock, Yuri raised one of her brows in response to Vahns words, asking, "You were able to ignite the ck March?" In response to her question, Yuri was surprised when, rather than Vahn answering, the ck March itself released a few ck sparks. At the same time, the Spirit within the needle confirmed that Vahn had, indeed, been able to ignite her. Then, as was often the case whenever she wielded the weapon, Yuri deadpanned with the Spirit began to incessantly nag her, basically demanding she returns the needle to Vahn. Activating her own Reel Inventory, Yuri put an end to the ck Marchs tirade by cing the needle securely within thepression material. Then, with a deep frown on her face, she looked back at Vahn, ruby-red eyes shimmering with an unnatural radiance as she surprised everyone present by asking, "Do you want to join the Ha Family...?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Brainwashing is totally not paragon...,If you live forever, you are bound to experience being pooped out at least once...,Yuri doesnt mess around xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1746 Aim

Chapter 1746 Aim

Even if he had expected such an offer, as recruitment into the Ten Great Families was verymon within the Tower, Vahn couldnt help but look at Yuri like she was a mental patient. Then, with what could best be described as a perfect deadpan, he somberly asked, "Are you determined to test the limits of my patience? You would ask me, an Emperor, to abandon my own family name and ept the name of another? Have youpletely lost your mind? Will you not be satisfied until you have thoroughly insulted me?" Having momentarily forgotten the fact that Vahn was both an Emperor and an Irregr, even Yuri couldnt help but feel a little embarrassed. Her instincts as a member of the Ha Family had all but demanded she offers him the privilege of joining her family,pletely forgetting his status and the pride that undoubtedly apanied it. As a result, an embarrassedugh escaped her throat as she awkwardly scratched the back of her head. Realizing that Yuri was just an idiot, not someone going out of their way to try and insult him, most of Vahns frustrations quickly abated. His expression also rxed into a calm smile as he asserted, "I have no need for any title or status found within this Tower. I entered this ce as the Sage Dragon Emperor. I will leave it as such." As this was the second time she was hearing Vahn mention leaving the Tower, Yuri was considerably less surprised than most of the people present. Before she could ask about his methods, however, Evan stepped in, reminding her, "Princess Yuri, this is neither the time nor the ce to discuss such things. We should recover the ck March and leave this Floor before Evankhell returns. Im certain the Test Director would also appreciate our swift departure." Hearing Evans reminder, Yuri turned towards the direction of Director Yu, a discontented frown on her face as sheined, "Youre quickly making your way up to the top of my shit list..." With no way to retort the Princess words, Director Yu just offered an awkwardugh as a bead of sweat rolled from his forehead. This elicited a loud snort from Yuri who, after crossing her arms and thinking for several long seconds, turned towards the ck man with white hair, demanding, "Kurudan, give me your badge. Ill make sure to pay you backter." Though the burly man didnt seem at all enthused by Yuris demand, he only hesitated for a brief moment before removing the six-winged badge from his vest. Then, after handing it to Yuri, thetter fearlessly approached Vahn, standing near eye-level with him as she held out the badge and exined, "This is the Winged Tree Badge representing a high ranking member of Wolhaiksong. So long as you hold onto this, it will deter most people from trying to seek trouble with you. Once you reach the 77th Floor, you can either return the badge or consider bing an official member. You might have a lot of power and potential, but, even if you end up bing a monster on the level of Phantaminum, Enryu, or Ureko, there is only so much you can do on your own. Dont go seeking death just because you were an Emperor in the Outside, okay...?" Understanding that Yuri was trying to express her concerns, even if her primary goal was recruiting him into whatever faction she was a part of, Vahn epted the peculiar badge before saying, "Dont worry, even if they were significantly more powerful than me, Im not someone that can be defeated with conventional means. Still, Ill hold onto this. So long as Wolhaiksong doesnt turn out to be just another corrupt organization, I wouldnt mind being associated with them." Hearing Vahns words, the four people wearing Winged Tree Symbols sewn into their clothing all looked toward him with visibly offended expressions. Even the young man from the Khun Family, who had previously been focused on his handheld gaming system, looked over with an annoyed glower on his face. As for Yuri, she justughed in an easy-going manner before lightly patting Vahn on the shoulder and saying, "Dont worry! Even though Wolhaiksong gets med for a lot of things, it is mostly just propaganda. The only goal of Wolhaiksong is to find a way out of the Tower, not rule over it. They do their best to avoid politics entirely, only taking action when one of the Ten Great Families gets out of hand. By the time you reach the 77th Floor, you should be able to figure out which organizations are worthy of your trust. Until then, try not to do anything too crazy." Finished with her words of advice, Yuri lightly pat Vahns shoulder before turning back to the rest of her group and saying, "Come on! Were leaving! Evan, you lead the way!" As members of Yuris party, even if it was only temporary, everyone promptly moved in response to the Princessmand. The only exceptions to this were Director Yu, for obvious reasons, and Evan Edrok. The former had no association with the group so it was only natural that he remains seated, silently sipping his cafette while pretending to ignore everything that was happening. As for Evan, he seemed to have something to say as, rather than immediately follow after Yuri, he stopped for a brief moment in front of Vahn, asking, "What are you...?" in a hushed tone. Having noticed the not-so-subtle fear contained within the Silver Dwarfs eyes, Vahn just smiled in response to the mans inquiry before answering, "I have stated it before. I am Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor. As for the answer to your actual question...just know that I am not one who follows a set path. I create my own and guide others to do the same. Dont worry, your worries are unwarranted. Now, run along, Mr. Edrok. The Princess will be upset if you keep her waiting..." Though he was annoyed by Vahns words, Evan was also considerably relieved by them. The former, at least from his perspective, was an iprehensible void that obscured the crossroads of fate. It was almost like he was a ck hole, swallowing the fates of everything he came in contact with and making it difficult to see the future. This wasnt necessarily a bad thing, however, as one of the roles of a Guide was to convince people that their fate was constantly changing based on their actions. Since Silver Dwarves, simr to Red Witches, could innately tell when someone was lying to them, Evan had no reason to doubt Vahns words. As a result, he offered a curt nod in response, saying, "I hope your path isnt too destructive..." before chasing after Yuri. The four members of Wolhaiksong immediately followed after him, but, as was often the case, for reasons Vahn had tried and failed toprehend; the child-like woman hung back a bit, smiling like an imp as she handed him a slip of paper with a number on it and said, "Call me~!" before sticking her tongue out and running after herpanions... --- After hearing about what had happened from Baam, Khun was both infuriated and relieved. If not for the pain it would cause Baam, he wouldnt have hesitated to kill Rachel for daring to betray all of their trust. Fortunately, Vahn had intervened, preventing the absolute worst-case scenario while also providing a solution. This made it seem like he was inplete control of everything that was happening, but, considering the alternative was to continue harboring a traitorous serpent in their midst, Khun was grateful for the Imperial Trios presence... As this thought crossed his mind, Khun shifted his attention to where Phae was treating Rachel, his brows furrowing slightly. Before he could think to ask her any questions, however, Baam seemed to have followed his gaze, a somewhat bashful smile spreading across his face as he said, "Ms. Phae is really amazing, isnt she? All of the people from the Aldrnari Empire seem incredible..." Seeing the rosy hue of Baams cheeks, an incredulous feeling spread throughout Khuns mind and body,pelling him tough. This caused Baam to stare back at him with a confused expression on his face, exacerbating Khunsughter before thetter ultimately pat his friend on the shoulder and said, "I never expected you to be into older women..." Realizing what Khun was implying, Baams face became beet red as he knocked aside the formers hand and eximed, "Its not like that, Mr. Khun! Please dont say things like that...!" Amused by his friends reaction, Khuns smile turned somewhat affectionate as he resumed patting Baams shoulder, this time saying, "Rx. I was just messing with you. Youll have to be more thick-skinned if you want to avoid getting teased in the future. Besides, Ms. Phae is presumably involved with the Emperor. I dont think she would mind being crushed on, but I cant imagine her returning anyones feelings." Hearing Khun mention Vahn, a resolute light shed across Baams eyes as he gazed toward Rachel and said, "Mr. Vahn is really amazing...its like he sees through everything. He is also very powerful and kind...if possible, I also want to be someone like that...I think I could help a lot of people if I was as strong as Mr. Vahn..." Adopting a simrly serious expression on his face, Khun was barely able to resist exhaling a tired sigh in response to Baams words. He couldnt be sure, but he got the impression that the Emperor was systematically grooming, not just Baam, but all of them. Though this would undoubtedly result in them bing much stronger, there was no way of knowing what kind of price they would have to pay in exchange for such power. Nothing in this world ever came free, so, even if Vahn, Phae, and Gandr were legitimately kind people, they were bound to expect something in return. Since there wasnt really much he could do to change the current situation, Khun surprised Baam by reclining backward, his gaze focused on nothing in particr as he looked up and said, "I think you have the potential to help people, even without power...promise me, Baam...no...nevermind...so long as you continue being yourself, I have nothing toin about..." Though he was confused by Khuns words, Baam emted his friends action, reclining back so that they were both staring up towards the ceiling before saying, "Lets change this Tower together, Mr. Khun...I think, so long as I have my friends by my side, we can ovee anything this hellish ce throws at us..." Surprised to hear such words from Baam, of all people, Khun couldnt help but fall silent for several seconds, an expectant smile spreading across his face as he ced his hands behind his head and replied, "I dont really have a choice when you put it like that...well, not that Imining. It was always my intention to conquer this Tower. Doing so with friends will surely make things a lot more interesting...very well, Baam. Count me in...lets show this Tower what were made of...together..." Hearing Khuns reply the smile on Baams face became evenrger, the glow in his eyes growing ever brighter as he nodded his head and happily chimed, "Yes, Mr. Khun~!" --- With the eventual return of Endorsi, Anak, and Gandr, the Submerged Fish Hunt had finallye to an end. As for Vahn, he had a short discussion with Director Yu before heading to the transfer room to await everyones return. Then, after cing Rachel inside the Little Garden, he, alongside the rest of Team Wolf Pack, enjoyed a preliminary celebration as the Suspend Ship began its gradual return toward Evankhells Resort... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Yuri is very aggressive o_o...,Vahn, Sage Dragon Emperor, Loli Ma,This isnt your average bromance...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1747 Decision

Chapter 1747 Decision

With their departure scheduled for the following morning, Vahn gathered the members of Team Wolf Pack, sans Parakewl, within his room. As for thetter, he had promptly been ejected, not just because Vahn had said so, but because he had disregarded orders during the Submerged Fish Hunt. His actions had not only jeopardized the entire n but, rather than ept responsibility for his mistake, he had actually attempted to spin the me onto others. Fortunately, though the revtion caused quite a bit of bitterness, Rachels betrayal had left even Baam feeling a lot less forgiving. As a result, Parakewl had no allies arguing for his inclusion in the group. To make matters even worse for himself, the fool attempted to cause a scene, approaching Vahn with the intent to shout in his face. This resulted in Phae sending him flying into the wall with a backhand, a cold expression on her face as she told Gandr to drag the unconscious man over to the Medical Ward. Following these orders exactly, Gandr ended up grabbing Parakewls ankle, dragging him from the room rather unceremoniously. Then, once he had returned, Vahn gathered everyones attention, his expression slightly apologetic as he said, "Sorry about that. Though I try to be lenient with people, I have little tolerance for opportunists who would readily betray theirrades if it meant they could secure benefits for themselves. That man would have be a cancerous element, festering within the party and putting everyones dreams at risk in the pursuit of his own..." Resisting the urge to sigh, Vahn took a slow and steady breath to calm himself before adopting a more serious expression as he added, "Enough of that...I have gathered you all together for three reasons. First, I will exin to you the type of existence I am. Once you have a better understanding of my power, I will then offer you a choice. Lastly, once everyone has made up their mind, we will all discuss our future objectives. In regards to thatst one, you should know that I have no actual goal in this Tower. I am simply passing through, but, due to the nature of my existence, it is certain that I bring great change to this Tower." With the atmosphere immediately bing tense, it was Khun who built up the courage to raise his hand, asking, "So, what exactly are you then? I mean, other than an Irregr..." Grateful for the young mans assist, even if it was unnecessary, Vahn offered a curt nod toward Khun before exining, "Though I am the Sage Dragon Emperor I purport myself to be, I am also a God that represents Infinite Possibilities. In my tenure as a Deity, I have presided over Space, Time, and Creation. Most importantly, however, I represent the myriad paths in which people walk. Mine is an existence that drastically influences the fate of those around me, and, through me, people,s, and even other Gods are able to shape their own destinies." Though they had expected a lot of things, none of the people present expected Vahn to proim himself a God. Even Anak, who was usually indifferent in such situations, had a rather incredulous look on her face as she asked, "What about Phae and Gandr...?" Rather than answering for them, Vahn allowed the duo in question to exin, starting with Phae adopting her usual smile as she said, "As I told you previously, Gandr and I are extensions of my Lord. Though it isnt entirely urate, you can consider me the aspect that represents my Lords creativity and desire to care for others. As for Gandr, he is a little different...in the end, however, he is another extension of my Lord. Soon enough, there will be others like us, each unique entities in their own right, but, when it ultimatelyes down to it, we are all part of a much greater whole..." Following Phaes exnation, Gandr adopted an apologetic expression, his ears drooping rather pathetically as he added, "Please dont think of this as us deceiving you. It just wouldnt have been possible to convince you of the truth without first building rapport. If my Master had called himself a God on the very first day, none of you would have believed him..." Since the majority of them still didnt believe Vahns im, no one could really argue against the truth contained within Gandrs words. Fortunately, without any prompting whatsoever, Baam was able to ease the growing tensions by stating, "I trust in Ms. Phae, Mr. Gandr, and Mr. Vahn! Even if they are Gods, they are still good people! I wouldnt be nearly as strong as I am today with the help of Mr. Vahn. Dont you agree, Mr. Laure?" Though he had been lying on the ground with his eyes closed, Laure had been listening closely to the conversation happening around him. Thus, in response to Baams words, a tired sigh escaped his lips as he sat up and replied, "Yeah, yeah, no need to shout.". Then, after lookingzily over at Vahn, he moved the conversation forward by asking, "So, what is this choice you wanted to offer us?" Appreciating the mans directness, a smile spread across Vahns face as he stroked his beard for a few moments before answering, "Outside of the Tower, there is a concept known as Familia, a word meaning Family in an ancient tongue. Simply put, a Familia isprised of people who have either been acknowledged by a God or adopted as their surrogate children. In exchange for the power of belief, nothing more, the Gods reward their children by bestowing their Blessing upon them. This is often in the form of a Familia Crest, an emblem that is inscribed upon the back using the Language of the Gods. Though the crests can differ between Gods, mine provides you with the opportunity to shape your own destiny. To make things easier to understand, try and imagine the Questing system poprized in RPGs and other games. My Blessing gives you the ability to ept such Quests, and, so long as youplete them, you will be able to boost your capabilities, obtain rare items, and, in certain circumstances, change everything from your race to your gender. With my Blessing, there is no path you cannot walk." As the Tower was a ce that specifically gathered people who had strong desires, Vahns words had a deep impact on everyone present. They were like the seductive words of a Headon himself, promising everything, seemingly without asking for anything in return. The only thing Vahn had mentioned was the power of belief, prompting Shibisu to ask, "So, how does the power of belief benefit the Gods? There must be something you get out of this exchange." Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn went on to exin, "Though it varies drastically between different nes of existence, the power of most Gods is proportional to the amount of belief they are able to garner from their followers. In other words, the greater their following, the greater the strength of the God. I am a bit of an exception to this rule due to representing Infinite Possibilities, but, like other Gods, I still benefit greatly from the quantity and quality of my followers." Ever the astute young man, an understanding glimmer shed across Shibisus eyes as he smiled and said, "So, in other words, the stronger we be, the more you benefit? Does this mean you intend to establish a religion or something as you climb up the Tower?" Finding the mans words rather amusing, Vahn issued a light chuckle before shaking his head and exining, "Though we benefit more from our direct followers, the power of belief doesnt actually require such direct methods. Just by virtue of my existence, my power will grow exponentially as I climb up the Tower. After all, fame is also a form of belief, so, once my exploits be known, it is only a matter of time before I be one of the strongest beings in the Tower. The main reason I am giving you this choice is due to the fact that I simply have no interest in the Tower or its politics. I will open the way forward, helping as many people as I can along the way. Then, once the time for my departure hase, I will ce those I have observed to be of noble character in charge of the Tower." Though they still sounded like the promises of a Devil, a few of the Regrs present couldnt help but swallow in response to Vahns words. He was basically telling them that, so long as they worked hard, they would eventually be the rulers of the Tower. This was especially intriguing to people like Khun, who, for a number of reasons, strongly desired to conquer the Tower. Were it not for his propensity to mistrust other people, he would have been the first to agree to Vahns proposition. In the end, surprising nearly everyone present, the privilege of being the first to agree went to Nare, who, with a gleam in her eyes and a small amount of drool leaking from her mouth, promptly raised her hand and shouted, "Ill do it! Ill ept your Blessing...!" As he was sitting immediately to Nares left, Hong Chunhwa was the most surprised by his youthful-looking lovers outburst. Before he could ask her if she was certain, however, she happily exined, "Im not very strong, and, even if I pushed myself to my limits, I would eventually be a burden the rest of the party. My original goal for climbing the Tower was to obtain enough money to start my own breeding business. If I can be a powerhouse in the process, theres no way Ill pass up on such an opportunity...!" Hearing Nare mention bing a powerhouse, a lot of the other Regrs in the room seemed to make up their own minds. Thus, starting with Anak, nearly everyone else ultimately epted Vahns proposal. The only exceptions to this were Rak, who loudly insisted he was the strongest, and, much to the surprise of many, Hatsu. His reasoning was that there were no shortcuts to the true zenith of swordsmanship, so, even if he ultimatelygged behind everyone else, he was determined to reach the pinnacle through his own effort. Hatsus conviction gave the others a reason to reconsider, but, as there didnt seem to be any major downsides, it was hard to pass on the opportunity to control your own fate. This was especially true for those with tragic pasts and great ambitions, Khun, Anak, Endorsi, and Baam being chief among them. Khun, in particr, had the greatest ambitions among everyone else present, as, unlike Baam, who didnt really have a n, Khun had made all kinds of preparations prior to climbing the Tower. Fortunately, though he wouldnt learn this until muchter, Vahn genuinely had no interest in the Tower and its affairs. He also wasnt trying to exploit or mislead any the Regrs present, at least not in the way many of them suspected. Rather, because of their friendship with Gandr, Vahn saw the rather peculiar group as his friends. He was the type that would even help aplete stranger if they were in need, so, when it came to his friends, Vahn had a propensity to go a little overboard when it came to helping them achieve their dreams. With that in mind, starting with Nare, Vahn took each of them into the Little Garden, returning mere minutester with the red-faced girl in tow. This earned him a few looks of suspicion, but, with Nare fervently dismissing any usations while also attesting to the existence of the Quest Board, there werent any major issues. The girls had simply overlooked the fact that the crest was ced on their backs, meaning that they would need to expose themselves in order to have it applied. Fortunately, there were only three girls present, so, with Anak not really caring about being seen naked, the only real problem was Endorsi. As for the boys, none of them cared about such things, so, with Phae and Gandr assisting with Anak and Endorsi, Vahn ultimately epted nine new Children into his Familia, a few of which had some very unique statuses... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Pickle,Hatsu is, unsurprisingly, a very resolute individual,Cucumber be like, "What? Its just being naked.") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1748 Peculiarities

Chapter 1748 Peculiarities

Though it was not umon to find multiple people with the [Child of Destiny] Innate, Vahn was a little surprised to learn that nearly every member of Team Wolf Pack had it. The only two who were exempt, at least among the people who had epted his Blessing, were Chunhwa and Nare. As for the rest, even Ship Leesoo, better known as Shibisu, was in possession of the coveted Innate, albeit only with a Grade of C. Unsurprisingly, Baams [Child of Destiny: SSS] was the highest-graded within the group. His Shinsu Tension was also double that of anyone else present, rivaling Vahns at a ratio of 100:1. Even Anak and Endorsi, both possessing the Innate [Jahads Blood Curse], had a Tension of 50:1 while people like Khun and Laure, descendants of the Ten Great Families, possessed a ratio of 30:1. While the name [Jahads Blood Curse] was obviously a red g, there wasnt much Vahn could do about it in the present moment, so, until it became a bigger issue, he would discuss the matter with the two Princesses using Phae as a proxy. The far more concerning revtions were, unsurprisingly, rted to Baam. Not only was Baam a monstrous 9,983-years-old, but his Race also purported him to be equal parts Human and Primordial Sin. The Primordial Sins, better known as the Seven Sins, were an extremelymon concept within various Records. These included Pride, Wrath, Greed, Lust, Sloth, Envy, and, of course, Gluttony. Baam seemed to be directly rted to or was the Primordial Sin of Gluttony, as, not only did it reflect in his Race, it appeared within his Innates, quite literally, as the [Primordial Sin of Gluttony: (sealed)]. Though it was currently sealed, Baam obviously benefitted from possessing the [Primordial Sin of Gluttony] Innate, as, within his Skill category, he had the Skills [Adaptive Body: S], and [Absorption: B]. The former allowed him to consume and adopt the traits of anything he had directly absorbed into his body, seemingly without limit. This included everything from different forms of Shinsu to even techniques, thetter of which Gandr had experienced personally. Prior to the revtion of Baams unique origin, Vahn, Phae, and Gandr had merely assumed the boy was extremely talented. Instead, it seemed like he had the ability to, quite literally, absorb the talent of others, including their experience and techniques, by simply receiving their attacks. So long as he was directly affected by the ability, his body would instantly memorize it, allowing him to make use of virtually any attack he had ever been hit with. The only limitation of Baams current ability was that his [Absorption] was only Grade-B, at least for the time being. This meant he couldnt absorb everything, his specific limitations revolving around skills and abilities that were derived from an inordinate amount of mastery or powered by types of energy not traditionally found within the Tower. In essence, though he could adapt martial skills, he could only master them up to the grade of his [Absorption]. As for skills derived from other energy systems, he could probably manage with weaker forms of energy, but, as was often the case, he had no way of adapting skills derived from Source. Fortunately, even if Baam was ipatible with sword techniques or magic, his ability to master all forms of martial arts just by experiencing them would be extremely beneficial. He could also master virtually any Shinsu technique that was used against him, irrespective of element, so, while he might not be a conventional prodigy, it wasnt an exaggeration to say Baam had monstrous potential. The only thing he needed was time and careful guidance, two things he would find plenty of within the Tower and under Vahns tutge... --- Though Baams status was the most interesting among the newest members of Vahns Familia, that didnt mean there werent other surprises in store. These included Endorsis [Child of Destiny] being SS-Rank, heavily implying she was a Heroine, Anaks actual name being Anak Permata, and, though it wasnt really that relevant, the fact that Khun was only 17 came as quite a surprise. This made him the youngest person within the group, as, despite their appearances, Anak was 338 while Nare was 33. Even more surprising was the fact that Endorsi seemed to have some rtion to the Primordial Sin of Lust, even if it was only a distant rtion. Her Innates were [Child of Destiny:SS], [Jahads Blood Curse: (-)], [Starved Princess: A], and [Champion of Lust: (sealed)]. This heavily implied that she was originally intended to be one of Baams love interests, and, to a lesser extent, it also exined why she was such a vain woman. Fortunately, at least for the time being, Endorsis [Champion of Lust] was still sealed. Had it already been awakened, there was no way of knowing what kind of personality she would have possessed, but, consider Baam was an exceptionally pure boy, despite being the Primordial Sin of Gluttony, it was safe to assume that the Seven Deadly Sins were a little different in this Record. Still, that didnt mean Vahn, or, more specifically, Gandr, could drop their guard around the woman. Prior to her encounter with Yuri, it was pretty obvious that Endorsi only saw Gandr in the same vein as a younger brother. Now, the seeds for something more had been nted, so, with less than 20 months before the inevitable reunion with Yuri, Endorsi would undoubtedly feel a little pressured to act. Gandr would either need to distance himself from the woman in some way or, better yet, invite her to participate in Baams training. As for Anak...well, even after her encounter with Yuri, she didnt seem to change much at all. If there were any women Vahn and Gandr needed to worry about, they would be Hwa Ryun and Ha Yuri Jahad. The formers Belief was steadily growing, and, though she was unlikely to take proactive measures, Vahn knew how scary devout women could be. As for Yuri, she seemed to have a rather dangerous preference, and, most troublingly, a decisive mentality. She was simr to Aoko in that regarding; the type of woman who, once she had made up her mind, would continue to pursue her objective without second-guessing herself. Though all ten of the Great Families were bound to be a problem, the Ha Family, in particr, was like a minefield from Vahns perspective. They were basically Amazons, and, though they were able to produce male offspring, the matriarchal household was overflowing with powerful, resolute, and beautiful warrior women. Yuri was bound to inform her Great Grandmother, known to be one of the top three beauties in the entire Tower, of her findings on the 2nd Floor. From that moment onward, it was only a matter of time before members of the Ha Family came seeking Team Wolf Pack, eager to find a mate or simply enjoy a good fight. To make matters even worse, the youthful-looking woman traveling with Yuri was clearly a member of the Eurasia Family, another of the Ten Great Families. Her childish appearance,bined with her pink hair and eyes, characteristicsmonly associated with Eurasia Family Descendents, were both dead giveaways that this was the case. As for why this was a problem, well, for reasons neither Vahn nor Da Vinci had been able to fullyprehend, women with perpetually youthful appearances and quirky natures seemed to be intrinsically drawn to him. Vahn had thought that his older appearance might serve as a deterrent, and, while this was indeed the case in most situations, it seemed to work against him in others. He didnt even know the name of the woman who had apanied Yuri, yet, with what could only be described as an impish grin on her face, she fearlessly passed over her contact information. This would allow him to contact her using his Pocket, and, so long as he wasnt inside the Inner Tower, which limitedmunications to other residents of the Inner Tower, they would be able tomunicate between Floors. Since it could be useful to have a High Rankers contact information, especially one belonging to one of the most powerful organizations in the entire Tower, Vahn had little choice but to add the impish womans contact information to his Pocket. There was a good chance she had been asked by Yuri to exchange contact information, so, even if epting raised a number of dangerous gs, there were more benefits to be had than losses to be suffered. After all, even if the Eurasia and Ha Families became very insistent in the future, they had no hope of forcing him against his will. With a Realm filled with innumerable beauties, many of which made the women in the Tower look rather in, Vahn wasnt in a hurry to expand his harem. Rather, if he could reach Tier 7 without any additions at all, he wouldnt be particrly disappointed. His nature made this nigh-impossible, but, at the very least, he could limit the number of additions by proactively avoiding situations where his more troublesome habits came into y. Fortunately, in the very near future, he would have quite a bit of protection against such circumstances... --- Following the application of everyones Familia Crests, Vahn had Phae exin both the Quest Board and the Skill Tree while everyone sat around engorging themselves upon the food he had proffered forth from his Inventory. Thebination of delicious food, high-quality alcohol, and the sense of unity everyone had from belonging to the same Familia caused the atmosphere to quickly be festive and lively. This was aided by the fact there were actual Quests rted to things like drinkingpetitions, arm wrestling, and various forms of gambling. As a result, it quickly became clear that the Quests functioned as promised, allowing some to learn new skills on the spot while others were able to obtain items, seemingly out of thin air. Needless to say, things became verypetitive once everyone realized they could literally grow stronger while ying games and simply having fun. Unfortunately, much to Khuns chagrin, it was impossible to cheat the system by deciding who would win beforehand. Though it was possible to fool people, manipting the oue through subterfuge and strategy, you couldnt openly cheat the system by picking and choosing the victors. The rewards were also dependent on the individual difficulty of the Quest, so, if victory was almost assured, the Quest might only be E or F-Rank. If you had absolutely no chance at victory, the Quest could be as high as S-Rank. Using the [Arm Wrestling Tournament] as an example, it was graded as an F-Rank Quest for Gandr. For Endorsi and Anak, it was C-Rank, and, as could be expected, it ramped up to S-Rank for people like Shibisu, Nare, and even Chunhwa. Their reward potential was also exponentially greater, but, as could be expected, it was impossible for them to win without Gandr, Anak, or Endorsi throwing their matches. The moment they gave up or went easy on someone, the Quest would either retroactively downgrade its difficulty level, or, in most cases, simply be invalid. Fortunately, there were more than enough Quests to give everyone a chance at receiving suitable rewards for their effort. There were even Quests rted to ying board and card games, thetter being far more popr due to the presence of alcohol and the rtive simplicity of most forms of gambling. After all, the easier the rules were to learn, the easier they were to exploit by those who had mastered them. Perhaps as a result of her [Greedy Nymph] Innate, Nare ended up being inordinately skilled when it came to card and dice games. She even seemed to get a substantial boost to her luck whenever the game involved the exchange of points. As a result, she ended up securing quite a number of points for herself, and, though the rewards for F-Rank Quests werent that great, even tiny drops of rain, in high enough quantities, could fill ake... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Other people have to train for years. Baam be like, "Hit me! I want you to hit me...!",Vahn is underestimating his power as a DILF xD...,Imagine asking your enemy what they did to get so strong and they reply by answering, "I yed Five-Card Draw and ckjack every day for a year...!") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1749 Intentions

Chapter 1749 Intentions

With the festivities gradually dying down, Vahn had Phae and Gandr helped everyone back to their rooms while he used his Telekinesis to make short work of the mess that left behind. Then, with a tired sigh, he fell backward onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling for several seconds before slowly closing his eyes. As the version of him outside entered a state of shallow meditation, the version of Vahn within the Little Garden promptly opened his eyes. He still needed to deal with Rachel, and, though she would likely remain in the Little Garden until they reached the 20th Floor, Vahn wanted to see how Fenrirs training of Hoh and Grey was going. Fortunately, though Grey had been killed by Hoh, Vahn wasnt inexperienced with resurrecting the dead. He had even saved the members of the Artemis Familia nearly three-hundred-years prior, so, while it left her with some emotional scars, Vahn had been able to heal Greys body before binding her Ego back into its original vessel. Since then, she had been recuperating within the Little Garden, benefitting greatly from the serene atmosphere and Fenrirs guidance. --- Reaching the small cottage located on the central ind, a region that now experienced time at a rate of 1:1, Vahn opened the door to find Rachel sitting near a window, staring out towards nothing in particr. Without turning back to ascertain who had entered the room, a tired sigh escaped Rachels lips as she asked, "What are you going to do with me? Does Baam know where I am right now...?" Rather than immediately answer the girls question, Vahn waited until Rachel turned toward him before saying, "I would normally give you numerous options, providing you with the opportunity to turn your life around and better yourself. However, given the nature of the Tower and the weight of your crimes, allowing you to continue climbing is impossible. Fortunately for you, Baam has made a strong case in your defense...with that in mind, I have decided to grant your wish. I will take you to a Realm beyond the Tower, a ce where you can view the stars at your leisure." Failing to anticipate such an oue, Rachel exhibited one of the few genuine expressions she had ever shown, staring back at Vahn in utter stupefaction. Before she could celebrate or ask questions, however, Vahn brought her back down to earth by stating, "You will be provided a ce to live and a caretaker to help limate you to your new environment. They will watch over you for a month, teaching you everything you need to know about your new world. How you choose to live beyond that point is ultimately up to you. In exchange for this freedom, you will be expected to periodically meet with Baam. What the two you do during these visits is ultimately your own business. However, it would behoove you to remember why you have been given this opportunity. Any questions...?" Though she had quite a number of questions, Rachel only stopped to consider for a few moments before shaking her head and answering, "No...thank you..." in a subdued tone. --- As transferring Rachel required him to descend into his Realm, Vahn took the time to go visit with his family and friends while another version of himself followed up on his original intent to check up on Fenrir, Hoh, and Grey. They lived in a series of small cottages that were located on the Little Gardens third ring. Unsurprisingly, Vahn found Fenrir wearing some schrly-looking robes that didnt quite suit her as she lectured Hoh and Grey on the basics of magical theory and its applications with Shinsu. She had them seated at the type of desks you would traditionally see in an anime, and, though it was a little strange, considering they were in the middle of a forest clearing, both were attired in simr school uniforms... Sensing her Master teleport nearby, Fenrirs ears immediately perked up, the atmosphere around her be bubbly as she spontaneously ceased her lesson and said, "Go practice in your rooms and grab a bite to eat. Well gather together in two hours for some practical lessons." Since this wasnt the first time Vahn had arrived in the middle of a lesson, Hoh and Grey quickly gathered up their books and supplies before turning toward the man who had saved both their lives, bowing respectfully prior to their departure. They knew Fenrir would be in a bad mood if they got in the way of her spending time with Vahn, so, without idling for even a moment, they promptly returned to their respective cottages to enjoy a much-needed rest. With her students hastily departing, the atmosphere around Fenrir became progressively giddier, building like the energy in apressed spring before exploding forth in the form of a pounce. In response, Vahn allowed himself to effectively be tackled to the ground, his body sliding backward along the grass as Fenrir nestled into his chest. Chuckling in response to his ever-affectionatepanions antics, Vahn roughly fondled Fenrirs ears, his thumbs sinking into the plush white fur on the interior in order to more efficiently massage them. This caused Fenrir to momentarily tense up, but, almost immediately after, she began to lick his neck and jawline in a very affectionate manner. Fortunately, since he was currently in his Realm manifestation, Vahn simply teleported them somece more private, free from prying eyes... --- After an impromptu three-day vacation, Vahnzily awoke back in Evankhells Resort, a wistful look in his eyes as he was adapting to his much smaller container. He still hadnt gotten used to the drastic difference between his Realm Manifestation and his Record Manifestation; It always made him feel like he waspressing a literal cosmos into a teenie-tiny vessel. Fortunately, so long as everything went as nned, it wouldnt be long before he became an actual Tier 5 being. That should make the transition between the two a lot smoother, and, by the time he reached Tier 6, there shouldnt be any difort at all. Rather, by then, he might be able to create a Realm for each of his current selves, forming a literal multiverse with his separated Egos... While imagining what it would be like to create Thematic Realms, emting the structure of the Virtual World, Vahn was unsurprised to hear a soft pitta pon echo throughout his room. The main reason he had sent everyone back to their own rooms was actually in preparation for this particr guest, so, after taking a few moments to organize his thoughts, Vahn rose from his bed in order to manually trigger the doors opening mechanism. Since she had no way of predicting Vahns actions, Hwa Ryun was more than a little surprised by the fact her God was standing right in front of her. She had nearly even walked directly into him due to her habit of directly entering rooms without hesitating. After quickly calming herself, Hwa Ryun attempted to perform a polite bow, but, before she could lower herselfpletely, Vahn stepped to the side and said, "Enter. I will hear what you have to say before exining my own ns..." Before Vahn had even could finish speaking, Hwa Ryun immediately followed his order to enter the room, bypassing him without any hesitation before promptly taking a seat on the ground. This left Vahn shaking his head, but, as this was already the seventh time she had visited his room around 2 AM, he was no longer surprised by her boldness. Though he wasnt particrly fond of sitting above people, Vahn allowed Hwa Ryun to continue sitting on the floor as he took a seat on his bed. Then, after manifesting tea and cookies in front of her, he asked, "So, what news do you bring from your superiors in FUG? Now that they no longer have Rachel under their thumb, controlling Baam is no longer an option. Even if they intend to try and target his friends, the most they will aplish is antagonizing me..." Seemingly amused by his words, Hwa Ryun issued a light chuckle before rifying, "I am no longer affiliated with FUG. You said I would apany you up the Tower so I have already withdrawn from their employ with consent from my former superior, Ha Jinsung. He has also agreed to convey your words to the Elders. Since their ultimate goal is to depose Jahad and the Ten Great Families, there is a chance they will abide by your terms so long as it doesnt directly conflict with their objectives." Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn took a few moments to stroke his beard before saying, "It seems FUG sent someone prettypetent to deal with this matter...Ha Jingsung...since I doubt the Ten Great Families would allow others to use their names, it is safe to assume he is rted to the Ha Family. Seems like things are going to get interesting in the future..." Seeing her God smile, Hwa Ryun feltpelled to do the same as anticipation swelled within her chest. From her perspective, the man seated before her had a greater form of omniscience than even Jahad. It was like he could see through everything, casually dispatching all of their ns while simultaneously dealing with a member of RED. He had even managed to steal the Bowl containing a fragment of Enryus Thorn, one of the weapons that were fated to fall into the hands of Baam, all without leaving behind a single trace. Unaware of the thoughts dancing around in Hwa Ryuns mind, Vahns smile gradually faded away as he said, "Though I may have other orders for you in the future, your primary responsibility will be to serve as the Guide for Team Wolf Pack. To that end, I will offer you the same choice..." Following his statement, Vahn went on to exin the true nature of his existence, and, like the rest of Team Wolf Pack, he gave Hwa Ryun the option of joining his Familia. As could be expected, she did not hesitate for even a moment. Rather, after learning he was an actual God, Hwa Ryuns Belief shot up by more than 400 points, culminating in the rather substantial total of 4,382. Then, perhaps having read her own path, she promptly wriggled out of her hoodie before removing the ck vest and white blouse she wore underneath. Though he wasnt particrly surprised by Hwa Ryuns actions, Vahn fell silent for a moment as he just stared back at the topless woman kneeling before him. He could see the unfettered devotion contained within her ruby-like eye, and, though they had hardly interacted with each other, Vahn knew Hwa Ryun wouldnt hesitate to execute his orders... Likely misconstruing his silence as something else entirely, as was often the case whenever Belief was concerned, Hwa Ryun tilted her head slightly to the side before cupping her modest yet full breasts and asking, "Do you find my body to your liking...?" Withholding an answer, Vahn restrained a sigh before rising to his feet, pulling out a chair as he said, "Sit with your back facing me. It will take around ten minutes to apply the Familia Crest. After that, you will return to your room and make ready for our departure." Though it didnt show on her face, Hwa Ryun felt an ufortable emptiness in her chest due to her Gods apparent disregard for her figure. She wasnt a vain woman, but, from a purely objective point of view, she was easily the most beautiful woman in the current batch of Regrs. Only Phae eclipsed her in beauty, but, considering she was both an Irregr and a Goddess, Hwa Ryun felt it would be foolish topare herself to such an entity. Masking her disappointment almost wlessly, the only tell being her aura, Hwa Ryun dutifully sat with her back facing Vahn. This gave thetter the opportunity to run his hand through his hair, a tired smile spreading across his face as he noticed Hwa Ryuns aura be like a weak me. She was clearly pessimistic because of his previous words, and, thanks to her simrities to Hephaestus, Vahn couldnt help feeling slightly apologetic... Despite knowing his words would serve as the seed for future developments, Vahn didnt have it in him to ignore the people who sincerely respected or admired him. Hwa Ryun literally viewed him as her God, and, though this was a decision she had made on her own, he had already epted her as an official Believer. This made him feel a form of obligation toward the woman, so, after pricking his finger and drawing a crimson line down her spine, he lightly muttered, "There is nothing wrong with your body. You are a very beautiful woman, Ryun...I simplyck the desire to further our rtionship in such a manner...for now, lets focus on climbing the Tower andpleting our other objectives..." Hearing her Masters words, relief washed over Hwa Ryuns body like a warm shower after a tiring day. She had been called beautiful many times, but, hearing it from her Gods mouth, she couldnt help but feel a little vindicated. She also noticed an incongruency in his words, specifically when he mentioned having no desire to further their rtionship. Though it wasnt an overt lie, she could tell it wasnt the whole truth either, a notion that made her extremely sensitive of the fact her God was currently touching her naked flesh... (A/N: Alternate Titles: YEET~!,(OwO)? Whats this~?,Like a house of cards in a hurricane...) (A/N: As an aside, I may not be posting in the days toe. Hurricane Laura is about to fuck my shit up so I need to make preparations. Thest time a hurricane hit my region, I was without power for nearly two weeks so wish me luck (u ^ u)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1750 The Journey Begins

Chapter 1750 The Journey Begins

After an expectedly sleepless night for most, the members of Team Wolf Pack gradually gathered within a massive chamber carved from glistening blue crystal. There was a massive circr tform at the very center, and, though there werent any visible runes, Vahn, Phae, and Gandr could see the structure of aplex spatial transfer formation present within the flow of Shinsu itself. Since he would also be making the journey up the 3rd Floor this morning, Parakewl, now wrapped up like a mummy, also made an appearance within the transfer room. Unfortunately for him, all of his efforts to try and mingle with the group ended in failure. The only person who was even willing to talk to him was Baam, but, with Khun and Rak always near the boys side, the green-skinned man had no hope of weaseling his way into the group... --- After a sleepless night of his own, Director Yu slowly made his way over to the transfer room with a tired expression on his face. There were a lot of things he needed to take care of in order to prevent news of what had happened from leaking to other Floors, so, immediately following thepletion of the Submerged Fish Hunt, he had been busy expunging data and closing up loose ends. Though it wasnt well known, for obvious reasons, Director Yu had close ties with FUG and several other organizations within the Tower. He had been the one to present Rachel with the opportunity to betray Baam, not to have the boy killed, but to hide his existence from the Jahad Empire. Baam was, after all, the Child of Prophecy that FUG had been waiting on for nearly ten-thousand-years... Stepping through the massive archway leading into the transfer room, Director Yu nearly tripped when he saw a most of Team Wolf Pack sitting around cafe-style tables. Most of them had skipped breakfast, so, with more than an hour before the transfer was scheduled, Vahn produced a number of tables before setting out coffee, tea, and snacks for everyone to enjoy. Seeing the rather incredulous scene, Director Yu struggled to prevent a wry smile from spreading across his face as he walked over and said, "Good morning, Regrs. It is good to see everyone has arrived on time...Henceforth, you will now officially begin your journey up the Tower. A number of you who have shown considerable promise so Im looking forward to seeing you be famous Rankers in the future. Now, tomemorate your achievements, I have prepared gifts for each of you. I hope these rings bring you great fortune and good luck..." Following his words, Director Yu produced a series of small boxes containing expensive-looking rings made from Cobalium, an exceptionally rare and valuable material. This surprised a number of Regrs present, especially those who came from poor backgrounds. Vahn, however, just smiled as he met Director Yus gaze and tossed the ring, aptly named [Tracking Beacon], into his Inventory. Noticing Vahns actions, Director Yu exhaled an inaudible sigh through his nose before reminding himself that they were someone elses problem in the future. He had performed his duty, so, even if the functions of the rings were discovered, it no longer had anything to do with him. Feeling a strong desire to return to his bedroom and sleep, Director Yu preempted any questions, concerns, orints by pping his hands and saying, "Now then, allow me to see you off. Im certain you are all eager to begin your journey. Please step onto the central altar and do your best to remain at least 30cm apart. It is exceptionally rare, but there have been instances where people have been fused together during the transfer process. Lets not take any risks after working so hard to reach this point, shall we~?" Though most of them could tell the Director was joking, everyone made sure to stay a few meters apart from each other. The altar could easily hold more than a thousand people without being too crowded, so, with only fifteen people present, there was plenty of space for each of them. Once everyone was ready, Director Yu waved onest time as a brilliant sh of light emanated from the tform beneath their feet. Momentster, the light faded away to reveal a small piece of paper floating down from above. This confused the Director quite a bit, but, after reading what was written, a peal of amusedughter escaped his throat as he neatly folded the pierce of paper and ced it into his Lighthouses Inventory... --- After what felt like several minutes of being pulled along by a powerful current, Vahn, alongside the rest of Team Wolf Pack, arrived in the middle of what appeared to be a generic fantasy town. There were even several massive signs in the periphery that said, Wee to the Town of Beginnings! in big, bold, letters. Fortunately, as this was a Testing Area in the Inner Tower, an extremely petite woman with short ck hair, a rounded face, golden irises, and pointed ears appeared next to them. She was attired in a green hooded tunic with brown dark browns sleeves and a pair of light-brown trousers. This was apanied by arge satchel across the front of her body, a pair of brown leather mocassins that left her hooved feet exposed, a red sash wrapped around her waist, and a yellow bandana tied neatly around her head. Though first impressions made her appear to be a young girl who had gotten separated from her parents, the apathetic look in the girls eyes,bined with the spear-like staff she wielded in her right hand, made it clear she wasnt a child. Rather, based on the information collected by Phae, it was safe to assume the girl was a member of the Dwelfling race, one of the more petite and child-like races that existed within the Tower. As a half-dwelfling, Nare was the first among the group to realize what tribe the seemingly youthful girl belonged to. Unfortunately, before she could greet her kinsmen, the apathetic-looking woman gave everyone a once over as she stated in a dull monotone, "Wee to the 3rd Floors Town of Beginnings. My name is Marble, a Ranker and a Senior Test Administrator. Follow me. I will lead you to the Residential Area for Regrs. Afterward, I will exin the requirements for moving on to the 4th Floor." Without giving anyone a chance to respond or ask questions, Marble promptly turned around, her hooved feet creating small cracks in the stone tform as she bounded atop the nearest building and began running towards the East. This left most of the members of Team Wolf Pack at a loss for words, but, fortunately for everyone present, Gandr immediately gave chase, keeping pace with the petite Ranker as they parkoured through theplex fantasy town. Though it wasnt expressly stated, the 3rd Floors test started immediately after arriving within the Town of Beginnings. The purpose of the Floor was to test a teams adaptability and survival skills, so, if they were caught unprepared by the Admins spontaneous Test, they would have little choice but to gather information and survive the 3rd Floor without an exnation. Fortunately, the Admins regted their speed so that anyone with reasonable Agility would be able to keep pace with them. This allowed Gandr to easily keep up with Marble, creating a ratherical scene that garnered a fair amount of attention from the Regrs roaming the streets below. As for the rest of Team Wolf Pack, they could be seen soaring over the buildings using Phaes and Khuns Lighthouses, mapping the Town below while Parakewl, denied the right to fly alongside them, was dashing through the streets below... --- Afternding in front of a massive inn-like building, Marble turned back to stare at the boy who had managed to keep pace with her for more than ten minutes, asking, "What is your name?" Surprised by the sudden question, Gandrs ears twitched slightly as he returned a genial smile and answered, "My name is Gandr!" in a friendly tone. Without showing any change in expression, Marble just nodded in response to Gandrs outburst before adding, "Bring out your Pocket. I will reward you with 300 points for keeping pace with me even after I increased my speed. You are very fast." Never one to refuse free points, Gandr promptly produced his Pocket, his smile growingrger due to the petite girlspliment. Then, after receiving his Points, he remarked, "You are also very fast, Ms. Marble. Are you a Scout as well as a Spear Bearer...?" Since she was used to people mistaking her Position, Marble shook her head in response to Gandrs inquiry before inly stating, "I am neither a Scout nor a Spear Bearer. I am a Fisherman. This might look like a spear, but it is actually a Needle known as Scalesplitter. I am an adopted daughter of the Ari Family, so I received this weapon when I became a Ranker." Though they were less famous than the other Great Families due to their passive nature and disdain for conflict, the Ari Family was still one of the Ten Great Families. They were famous for introducing Needles into the Tower, and, so long as they had proven themselves, each member of the Ari Family was given a unique Needle that suited their personality andbat style. Gandr was more than a little surprised to hear that the 118cm tall girl was an adoptive member of the Ari Family, but, as it didnt really matter, he just continued to smile as he said, "Thats amazing. I also have a unique weapon of my own. Check it out, this is my Laev-tan. Isnt she the most beautiful de youve ever seen~?" Seeing the immacte katana produced by Gandr, Marble couldnt deny that it was, indeed, a very beautiful and elegant weapon. However,pared to other weapons she had seen in the Tower, it seemed a little in. There was also the fact that swords became a hindrance as you climbed higher up the Tower, so, after admiring it for a few moments, she looked up at Gandr and inly said, "It is a very pretty weapon. Still, I would advise you to acquire a needle at some point. Unless you were to be adopted into the Arie Family, bing a Ranker while wielding a sword is very difficult...." Since he had heard the same thing stated numerous times, Gandr wasnt particrly surprised by Marbles words. Instead, he just casually returned Laev-tan to her sheath, maintaining his smile as he said, "Thats fine. The more difficult something is, the more powerful you will be after you master it. The Arie Family might be famous for their swordsmanship, but fame is a transient thing. I might not be particrly famous right now, but, in a few years time, I guarantee that my name will resonate throughout the Tower~." Rather than attempt to discredit Gandrs im, Marble actually offered an approving smile, a bit of the apathy within her eyes fading away as she said, "You certainly have the motivation. Now, allow me to exin to you the rules and of the 3rd Floor and the requirements for advancing to the next Floor. Though it is pretty straightforward, you should listen closely if you want to avoid making any costly mistakes..." Without waiting for Gandrs acknowledgment, Marble produced a dice-sized Lighthouse from her pocket before expanding it to the nearly three-meters in size. The front-facing panel immediately lit up to disy a series of rules, regtions, and, most importantly, requirements for advancing to the next Floor... --------------------------------------------- [Rules Within the Town of Beginnings] 1: No fighting between Regrs. 2: Damaging any property will result in a penalty. 3: Gambling and Prostitution are legalized, but only within marked regions. 4: Each hour spent within the Residential District will deduct 10 Points from a Regrs Pocket. 5: All Regrs are responsible for their own living expenses and medical fees. .... [Requirements for Advancing to the 4th Floor] 1: You must form a Party of at least 6 Regrs. 2: ess to the 4th Floor requires a payment of 100,000 Points. 3: Each Regr within a Party must have acquired 10,000 Points through their own efforts. 4: Each Regr within a Party must live within the same Residence for 7 consecutive days. 5: Each Regr within a Party must spend at least 10 days outside the Town of Beginnings. .... [Requirements for Free Passage to the 4th Floor] 1: Defeat at least one King Shinheuh. 2: Defeat at least 10 Elite Shinheuh within a 7 day period. 3: Complete the Special Test of at least one Test Administrator. --------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Director Yu is so done xD...,Pintsized Powerhouse,What is a Kingpared to an Emperor...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1751 Inquiry

Chapter 1751 Inquiry

Since it would take a short while for everyone else to catch up, Gandr decided to perform his duties as a Scout by inquiring about methods to acquire Points, the specifics of party formation, residency, and, most importantly, her Special Test. Though she would normally only go over the basics, Marble had a positive impression of the youth standing before her. He was friendly and charismatic, so, with nothing better to do, she decided to humor him, exining, "As you walk around the Town of Beginnings, youll notice various buildings with the symbol for the Test Administration. Though it requires points to purchase a License, these are ces where you can ept various odd jobs. The most profitable jobs you can take are those rted to the subjugation of specific Shinheuh. You are only allowed to earn points from Shinheuh you have obtained a License for so make sure you purchase the pertinent maps and gather as much information about specific regions as possible..." Hearing Marbles exnation, Gandrs smile became notably wry as he asked, "So, in other words, you need to spend points to earn the right to obtain points...?" Nodding her head in affirmation, Marble inly stated, "If we allowed people to hunt freely, there would be no Shinheuh left in the surrounding regions. Though there are no penalties from killing a Shinheuh you are not assigned to hunt, trying to sell the materials without a License will get you in a lot of trouble. Also, in order to receive credit for a subjugation, you must record the killing with an Observer or a Lighthouse. Without this proof, any Shinheuh corpses you bring into the Town will be confiscated at the checking station." Surprised by howprehensive their system was, even with just a basic exnation, Gandr had a helpless expression on his face as he mused, "I guess I wont be able to rush off and kill one of the Kings then~." Though she was amused by Gandrs words, Marble only offered a hint of a smile as she nodded her head and stated, "The License to hunt a King costs between 7,000~10,000 Points. You also need to have proven yourself to the Test Administrator just to earn the qualifications. Though it varies from person to person, most of us require you toplete our Special Test and hunt 10 Elite Shinheuh before attempting to challenge a King. Lastly, since I know youre going to ask, my shop is located near the Eastern Gate. Most of the Administrative businesses and offices are located near the walls in order to prevent any hordes of Shinheuh from overrunning the Town. As for my Special Test, it is pretty simple. I will wear a badge on my back. So long as you can survive my assault for ten minutes or steal the badge from my back, you will have passed my Special Test. Dont worry, for the sake of fairness, we are only allowed to use one Baang of Shinsu for everyone taking the Special Test." Keying in on Marbles final statement, Gandrs ears twitched excitedly as he asked, "Does that mean a Party can ept the Special Test together?" Nodding her head, Marble answered, "That is, indeed, the case. However, to prevent every Regr in the Town from ganging up on a single Administrator, you are limited to one person filling each of the Positions. In other words, unless you have someone with a Special Position in your group, there is a five-person participation limit. You have to be careful though. If even a single member of your Party is eliminated, everyone will fail. Each attempt also costs 1,000 Points per member, so you have to be very careful if you want to attempt a Special Test...." Imagining every Regr in the Town teaming up against the chibi standing before him, Gandr could understand the need for such a restriction. Being a Ranker didnt necessarily mean you couldnt be defeated by a Regr. Rather, the only real benefits the status provided, other than a considerable amount of experience, were increased Shinsu Capacity and Shinsu Resistance. Though she was only around the size of a tall Pallum, Marble, like most of the Rankers Gandr had met, had a phenomenal amount of Shinsu within her body. Her usage of this energy was limited by the Contract with the Guardian, but,pared to someone like him, with a Shinsu Capacity nearing 72,000, Marbles was like akepared to a tiny pond. It was impossible to be certain, but, going by volume and density, her Capacity was more than 100x his own... Seeing Gandr fall into deep thought, Marble was slowly beginning to lose interest. She didnt really have anything else going on right now, but, if he was just going to stand there, she had no reason to stick around. She also wanted to leave before the other Regrs arrived, so, after idling for a few seconds longer, she stated in her signature monotone, "I will be going now. If there is anything else, you can find me near the East Gate. Meeting with a Ranker also requires Points though, so, unless it is something important, you should try and exchange information with other Regrs." Sensing the subtle change in atmosphere, Gandr adopted an apologetic smile, but, rather than try to keep her around, he bowed politely and said, "Thank you for the information, Ms. Marble. Sorry for any inconvenience I might have caused you..\u003e" Feeling a little better, Marble nodded her head in approval before turning around and adding, "Onest thing before I go...make sure you always have at least enough Points to stay in the Town for an entire day. If your Point value ever reaches 0, you will be ejected into the Middle Tower without any warning. Also, dont trust the lending services here, even if they are operated by an Admin. Oh, and make sure you stay away from the South-West Quadrant. Even if there are no rules against it, a boy your age should not wander into that ce..." Before Gandr could aks what was located in the South-West Quadrant, Marble took off with even greater speed than they had arrived. If her pointed ears werent covered in a thinyer of brown fur, he might have seen the very tips turn red. Fortunately, even without this tell-tale sign, Gandr could guess what must be located in the region simply be deferring to Rule 3: Gambling and Prostitution are legalized, but only within marked regions. Though the average Shinheuh wasnt particrly powerful, they often traveled in extremelyrge groups known as schools. A school of Shinheuh could easily have more than a hundred members, so, unless you were confident in your strength or belonged to a capable Party, it was difficult for the average Regr to make a living through defeating Shinheuh. As a result, they had little choice but to rely on performing odd-jobs, brokering information to newly arrived Regrs, gambling, and, as could be expected, prostitution. Imagining a bunch of Regrs selling their bodies just for a chance at moving on the next Floor, a tired sigh escaped Gandrs throat. He knew prostitution was the oldest trade in the world, as it was very profitable, but that didnt make it any easier to ept. The fact it preyed upon the weak and easily exploited always bothered him, but, more than anything else, he hated how so many people just epted the existence of such a system. Shaking his head, Gandr reminded himself that it wasnt his responsibility to fix everything that was wrong with the world. There would always be bad things to bnce out the good, so, rather than seek out and try to help out every living person that might need his help, his time was better spent dealing with those who had created the system in the first ce. Though he would certainly help those he encountered along his journey, he would never get anywhere if he stopped to help everyone... --- With Lighthouse travel limited by the control, intelligence, and spatial awareness of the user, there were very few Regrs who couldpel the floating cubes to travel at high speeds. Despite this, they were still very convenient when you wanted to get an overhead view of your surroundings and bypass obstacles. They also had an ability that functioned simrly to Vahns Map Function, allowing the Light Bearer topile a detailed map just by sweeping over a new region. Fortunately, though his capabilities were a far cry from Phaes, Khun was actually a very talented Light Bearer, so, after around twenty minutes had passed, the group touched down near therge Inn where Gandr was waiting with a total of four Room Keys, one for the girls, two for the boys, and a single bedroom for Vahn. This would cost them an additional 400 points, but, considering staying in Town for a single day cost 240, per person, it wasnt that bad. After epting his own key, Vahn turned to the rest of Team Wolf Pack, a smile visible on his face until he set eyes on the green-skinned man standing near the back of the group. This caused his expression to turn into a glower, but, refusing to even acknowledge the existence of the man, he, instead, advised, "Well get situated into our respective roomster. For now, we will gather in my room to hear what Gandr has to say." Since it was the n of action that made the most sense, none of the members of Team Wolf Pack voiced anyints. The only person who was left feeling troubled was Parakewl, as, the moment he tried to enter alongside the rest of the group, he was sent tumbling back by an invisible wave of pressure. Then, before he could rise to his feet, powerful nausea overwhelmed him as he suddenly found himself in the middle of an unfamiliar street. --- Though the room was almostpletely empty, bereft of even a single piece of furniture, it was surprisingly spacious. The interior was an impressive 300 square meters, and, likely to amodate therger residents of the Tower, the ceiling was more than 9 meters from the floor. This was made possible by the existence of Compression Technology, something that was incorporated into nearly every aspect of a Regrs life. Seeing how massive the room was, Endorsi couldnt help but remark, "Well, at least we dont have to worry about things being cramped. Still, they could have at least provided beds...I dont even see a closet or a bathroom. Seriously, this is more like a carpeted prison cell than an actual room..." Finding Endorsis remark rather amusing, Gandr couldnt help butugh before going on to exin, "Everything on this Floor costs Points, even information. Im certain you couldin to the staff, but, unless you are willing to fork over your Points, they arent likely to care. Luckily, we dont really have to worry about things like that. Isnt that right, Master~?" With the attention of everyone shifting to him, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation before making a sweeping gesture with his hand. To the surprise of everyone present, even though they had seen him produce several things from thin air, the interior of the room was quickly popted by various expensive pieces of furniture. This included arge circr table that was surrounded by fourteen chairs, thergest and most opulent one obviously belonging to him. Though most people didnt pay attention to such minor details, Shibisu and Khun quickly noticed the addition of a fourteenth chair. This caused thetter to frown deeply, but, before he could ask, his tensions were eased when Vahn brought out the Little Garden, producing Hwa Ryun instead of the woman he had been expecting. Understanding the question in everyones mind, Vahn gestured towards Hwa Ryun with the intent to introduce her. Before he could, however, Hwa Ryun instantly bent the knee, her head lowered in reverence as she boldly dered, "I am prepared to be of service..." in a resolute tone. Doing his best to prevent his expression from cracking, Vahn maintained his smile as he exined, "This is Hwa Ryun. Many of you know her as a Wave Controller candidate, but her true identity and status are that of a Guide. She is also a member of my Familia, so, while she is unable to participate in any actual Tests, you can trust her advice to make your climb a lot smoother. Now, before we get any further off-topic, lets all have a seat and listen to what Gandr has to say..." Hearing that Hwa Ryun was a Guide, nearly everyone present, with the exceptions of Rak and Baam, showed expressions of surprise. After all, Guides were extremely rare within the Tower, and, so long as you had one on your team, you could ovee most obstacles with extreme ease. Their ability to read the paths within the Tower was tantamount to foresight, and, though they could not exin the finer details of what they had seen, following their advice virtually guaranteed sess. Realizing just how prehensive Vahns nning was, Khuns appreciation and fear of the manpounded exponentially. It was like the former had everything within his grasp, and, though he seemed to be providing them with every conceivable advantage, Khun couldnt help but feel a little ufortable dancing in the palm of his hand... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Capitalism, Ho~!,A Very Persistent Pickle...,Meanwhile, Vahn be like, "I have no idea what is going on...") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1752 Plan of Action

Chapter 1752 n of Action

With Gandrs perfect recall ability, he was able to detail all the rules and regtions of the 3rd Floor without a single mistake. This earned him some credibility with the more detail-oriented members of the group, chief among them being the duo of Shibisu and Khun. Using the information provided by Gandr, Khun was the first to propose, "I suggest we form two teams, one to gather information within the Town and another to scout the surrounding area. Since there is a requirement to spend ten days outside the Town, it is best to get it out of the way as soon as possible." Though he didnt disagree with Khuns proposition of splitting into two teams, Shibisu ended up shaking his head, crossing his arms as he said, "The Rules say nothing about what happens outside of Town. There are probably settlements or encampments where we can gather some information, but, considering the heavy cost of living on this Floor, there are bound to be a lot of people prepared to rob other Regrs. If there wasnt some kind of danger waiting outside of the walls, there wouldnt be so many people walking around the Town..." Hearing Shibisus point, Khun emted the mans action of crossing his arms, both closing their eyes as various thoughts danced across their minds. This caused an oppressive silence to descend upon the group, at least until Hwa Ryun remarked, "You are thinking too much like a Regr. We are not in the same boat as everyone else on this Floor. We have the Blessing of our God and the support of numerous Irregrs. Our priorities should bepleting Quests, obtaining Variable Experience, and doing everything within our power to increase our fame." With Hwa Ryuns reminder, a look of realization donned on Khuns and Shibisus faces. Since the previous evenings events were very strange, it hadnt even crossed their minds to make use of the tremendous boon Vahn had given them. Unable to restrain himself, a light chuckle escaped Khuns throat before he stated, "You make a fair point. With that in mind, the best course of action would be to consult the Quest Board and n our actions from there. We have more than enough Points to remain in the Town for a few days...that is assuming our gracious Benefactor is willing to provide us with food and other supplies...?" Responding with a curt nod, Vahn went on to reply, "Once we are finished here, I will help get everyone settled into their respective rooms. This Inn will serve as our base of operations until we get a better grasp of the situation. As for food and other basic supplies, let me know what you need and I can most likely provide it. For anything more advanced, you will need to prove yourself orplete a Quest. I am not here for your convenience." Even if he made no effort to sound intimidating, the impression he had cultivated over thest month caused everyone to tense up in response to Vahns words. This created an opportunity for Phae to step in and mediate, her elegantughter drawing everyones focus to her as she yfully remarked, "Dont let him scare you. My Lord is a big softie who enjoys pampering his Children quite a bit. Still, I would rather youe to me before troubling him. So long as you have a legitimate need for the thing you are requesting, Im certain I can convince my Lord to provide it~." Without needing to pretend, Vahns expression became somewhat helpless in response to Phaes words. They might have been spoken by him, but it was bing increasingly clear that both she and Gandr were gradually developing their own Egos. All they really needed at this point was a catalyst to spur the awakening of his Mind Innate. From that moment on, he would be a beingprised of many consciousnesses, all working in perfect harmony to achieve the same goal... Seeing the helpless look on Vahns face, all remaining tensionspletely drained away as Gandr added, "Phae is right! Master has always been a kind man. Just dont get too carried away and it shouldnt be a problem. After all, were all part of the same Familia now. It is only natural that we help each other out~!" Inspired by Gandrs words, Baam put the final nail in the coffin by adopting what could best be described as a sun-like smile. It was so radiant that it naturally attracted the attention of everyone at the table as he happily chimed, "Thats right. We should all do our best. So long as we work together, there is nothing we cant ovee...!" With Baam seated right next to him, Khun was the most affected by the boys aura, a helpless sigh escaping his lips before he adopted a confident smile and said, "With that in mind, well go with this n of action: Shibisu and I willpile a list of everyones avable Quests and try to organize them in a manner that will allow us to efficiently stockpile Variable Experience. While we handle that, I would ask that Gandr, Anak, Hatsu, Aleksai, Nare, and Chunhwa form three teams to scout our immediate surroundings. As for everyone else, you will help set up the rooms and arrange camping supplies. Well be aiming toplete this Floor within two weeks so prepare for an extended stay outside the walls once we gather information." Though Rak had been designated as the leader of Team Wolf Pack, everyone knew that Khun was in charge unless countermanded by Vahn or Phae. The former had the highest authority within the team, for obvious reasons. As for thetter, she was the most respected member of the entire party. She also spoke on Vahns behalf, so, while their God ultimately held the highest position, it could be argued that Phae possessed the greatest authority... --- With Anak following close behind, Gandr immediately made his way over to the East Gate in order to ascertain the location of Marbles Administrative Office. The Ranker had clearly taken a liking to him, so, before she could simply forget him among the endless sea of Regrs that passed through the 3rd Floor, he wanted to capitalize on their burgeoning friendship. Fortunately, though there werent any signs designating which Rankers upied each of the buildings, Gandrs sense of smell allowed him to track Marble to a small building located very near the actual gate. This indicated that she had a rtively high status, but, considering she was an adopted daughter of the Ari Family, this wasnt particrly surprising. Though she had followed along silently thus far, Anak couldnt resist asking, "What is this ce?" the moment she saw Gandrs smile. In response, thetter turned to her, his smile bing a mischievous grin as he asked, "Feel like passing a Special Test with me? Well have to fork over 2,000 Points, but itll be worth it just to see the surprise on everyone elses faces~." Before Gandr had even finished speaking, a vicious smile had spread across Anaks face. She enjoyed fighting, but, even more than that, she enjoyed being the first person toplete an objective. She could easily imagine the annoyed expression on Endorsis face when thetter learned what they had done, so, without any hesitation whatsoever, she answered, "Hell yeah! Lets do it...!" in a motivated tone. Following Anaks exmation, Gandr led the way into a massive colonial-style house. There, a number of other Regrs could be seen speaking with various uniformed Receptionists. This reminded Gandr a lot of the Guilds back in Danmachi, but, rather than look like Adventurers, the majority of the people present within resembled vagrants with rtively modern clothing and virtually no equipment... After standing in the shortest line for a few minutes, Gandr and Anak came face-to-face with a skeletal man with ghostly mes where his eyes should be. Despite this, none of the people in the surroundings paid him any attention, as,pared to the more peculiar races within the Tower, a skeletal man with burning eyes wasnt particrly rare. Though he had no muscles to facilitate facial expressions, the skeletal man was somehow able to give off the impression he was smiling as he as mused, "My, what an adorable duo. Tell me, young ones, what brings you to Ms. Marbles Vocational Office? Would you like to purchase a License?" Before Anak couldmbast the man for effectively calling her a child, Gandr preempted her by producing his Pocket and saying, "We would like to take Ms. Marbles Special Test. Please inform her that Gandr hase alongside one of his friends." Hearing Gandr refer to her as a friend, the very tip of Anaks tail began to waggle despite her expression remaining a moderately annoyed deadpan. As for the skeletal man, he seemed legitimately surprised, somehow giving off the impression his brows were raised as he said, "Oh my! Its been quite some time since anyone attempted Ms. Marbles Special Test! You must be quite confident in your skills, young man!" Since the man hadnt exactly kept his voice under control, nearly everyone within the office, both Staff and Regrs, shifted their attention to the child-like duo standing at the counter. This caused a few of the older-looking Regrs to scoff, but, as appearances meant very little within the Tower, most people expressed more curiosity than disdain. Noticing the scene he had caused, the skeletal man performed a series of apologetic bows before guiding Gandr and Anak to a private waiting room. Then, after around twenty minutes had passed, a petite figure appeared at the entrance to the room, her expression disying mild annoyance as she said, "I thought the name Gandr sounded familiar. Let me tell you this right now, kid. If you think Ill go easy on you just because I was nice to you before, youre in for a rude awakening." Rather than disy any signs of fear of perturbance, Gandr just smiled back at Marble as he said, "Ms. Marble is mistaken. Both Anak and I really enjoy fighting against strong opponents, so, rather than say we are underestimating you, it would be more urate to say we are looking forward to a tough battle." Though she didntpletely believe his statement, Marble nodded her head in response to Gandrs words before shifting her attention to the green-skinned girl at his side. She could tell that thetter had a very strong body, and, though she gave off a very unrefined impression, Marbles instincts told her the girl was a diamond in the rough. After briefly considering the matter, Marble decided she would use this as an opportunity to teach the duo a lesson. She had an appreciation for talents, and, though she often pretended it didnt bother her, Marble took exception to the fact she was often regarded as a child. This made her a little lenient towards any Regrs who appeared on the younger side, as, better than most, she knew how annoying it was to climb the Tower with such an appearance. Having made up her mind, Marble half-turned towards the rooms exit before saying, "Lets go. There is a training arena located within the basement. The walls there were produced by the Workshop so we dont have to worry about damaging the rest of the building during the Test. Since the two of you have already paid the fee, I have no reason to refuse your request." Without waiting for a response, Marble promptly exited the room, her hooved feet making a loud clopping sound as she departed. In her wake, Gandr and Anak exchanged nces with each other, both smiling excitedly before quickly following after her. Neither showed even a hint of fear, and, though she knew her skills were no match for a Ranker, Anak believed Gandr wouldnt have invited her if he didnt believe she could pass alongside him. This gave her a strong desire to meet his expectations, not because she wanted his recognition, but because she didnt want to be left behind as he continued growing stronger... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hwa Ryun be like, "Bruh, we already have cheats turned on...",Nothing to see here. Just a talking skeleton. Move along~,Dont abandon Cucumber (o x o)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1753 Monster

Chapter 1753 Monster

Thanks to the magic that was Compression Technology, the basement beneath Marbles Vocational Office ended up being a massive chamber that was more than a kilometer wide and 300m in height. This was more than enough to amodate the needs of most Regrs beneath C-Rank so, while it was a little cramped for Gandrs taste, it was fun to imagine bouncing around off the walls as he had back in Danmachi. Before the Special Test could get underway, Marble tossed out a handful of golden spheroids with fairy-like wings. These were her personalized Observers, and, though they would give her quite the advantage if she used them during the fight, their sole purpose during the Special Test was simply to record everything that happened. This data would then be uploaded to thework used by the Administration to determine the provisional Ranking of Regrs, a status that was important if they wanted to participate in Special Events and Tournaments further up the Tower. Though the only status that truly mattered was bing a Ranker, each of the Regr grades had an internal Ranking System. The top 10 of each rank, ranging between F~A-Rank Regrs, enjoyed a status simr to Rankers within their respective groupings. This provided them numerous benefits, but, most importantly, it made recruiting other powerful Regrs a lot easier. Not every group was fortunate enough to have multiple Irregrs, two Princesses of Jahad, and a variety of descendants from the Ten Great Families. Rather, most of the Teams that formed on the Floor of Tests would have disbanded by the time they reached the 20th Floor. After all, if they were serious about climbing the Tower, finding strong teammates and expanding your influence among Regrs of a simr Rank were the most important steps to ensuring sess. Fortunately, neither Gandr nor Anak needed to worry about these things. They were inordinately powerful, and, even if they decided toy low and avoid the limelight, it was only a matter of time before they became famous. This applied to most of Team Wolf Pack, and, thanks to the existence of the Quest Board, even rtively normal people like Shibisu, Nare, Chunhwa, and Aleksai had the potential to be powerhouses... --- Staring back at the petite duo, Marble briefly made eye contact with both Gandr and Anak before saying, "As we discussed previously, my Special Test requires that you either survive my assault for ten minutes or obtain the badge that will be pinned to my back. I will be limited to two Baangs of Shinsu, one for each of you. As for the use of weapons, that is entirely dependent on you. So long as you abstain from using weapons, I am prohibited from doing the same. Dont worry, regardless of your choice, I am forbidden from igniting my Scalesplitter against testing Regrs." Since he wasnt really in the mood to cut up the petite Ranker before him, Gandr surprised both Marble and Anak by cing Laev-tan into his chest. Then, with a confident expression on his face, he turned to Anak and asked, "Are you okay with just using our bodies? Even if it doesnt make too much of a difference, Id rather avoid seeing anyone seriously injured because of a weapon." Remembering how easily Gandr had dealt with Ren, Anak could understand his decision to forgo the use of a weapon. It would be extremely problematic if they actually killed Administrators during their climb up the Tower, so, in response to his question, she simply nodded her head before cracking her knuckles and saying, "Thats fine with me..." Marble wasnt particrly fond of Anaks disy of bravado, but, rather than let it bother her, she ced her Scalesplitter into her Reel Inventory before pulling out a saucer-sized badge from the satchel worn across her body. It was a Compression Bag simr to the one carried around by Khun, and, though it couldnt store living beings or duplicate items, it was able to store 50,000kgs before the Weight Reduction Enchantment no longer functioned. With her weapon safely tucked away, Marble did something neither Gandr nor Anak had expected, retracting her arms into her tunic before shifting around the fabric so that the back was now facing the front. This was honestly a little adorable, especially when her arms popped out of her oversized sleeves, pinning the badge onto her chest before promptly shuffling around a second time so that her clothes were worn properly. Unfortunately, immediately after she had fixed her clothing, Marble bent her knees slightly, saying, "The time starts now..." before subsequently creating an afterimage. Though Scouts were traditionally considered the fastest Position, there were quite a few Fishermen who were more than capable of keeping pace with them. This was especially true for someone like Marble, who, due to her small size, could cut through the Shinsu with greater ease than thoserger than her. She was also the type who relied on speed rather than power, so, before Anak could even blink, Marbles hooved foot was only a few centimeters away from her face when her view abruptly shifted. Surprising both girls, Gandr had a smile on his face as Marble phased through his body, impacting the ground behind him before promptly somersaulting more than one-hundred-meters away. Then, with an incredulous look on her face, she stared back at the boy before turning her attention to the surroundings and asking, "Is this some kind of Projection? I didnt think you would have mastered that kind of skill this early on..." Though it was extremely umon prior to C-Rank, there were a number of talented Regrs who were able to use their Observers to create realistic projections of themselves. This could be used to fool their enemies, but, more often than not, they were simple distractions. It was only when the projections werebined with various stealth capabilities and assassination techniques that they became truly powerful... Shaking his head, Gandr maintained his smile as he exined, "I assure you, this is my real body. I just have the ability to be immaterial at will." Furrowing her brows slightly, Marble withheld any further questions, this time charging directly at Gandr. She didnt know when he had activated the technique, but he had clearly swapped ces with the lizard girl before her attack could connect. It was too dangerous to simply ignore him, so, determined to figure out the trick behind his ability, she decided to pressure him directly. Instead of charging forward like a freight train, Marble appeared directly in front of Gandr, body lowered as she adopted a loose martial arts stance. Then, while making sure her back was never within his range, she began to chain together a series of swift punches and kicks, changing up her tempo depending on his reactions. Unfortunately, all of her attacks phased through his body with absolutely no feedback, annoying her enough that she absorbed a Baang into her body, drastically increasing the power behind her blows. To Gandrs surprise, he could feel a wave pass through his body as the shockwave produced by Marbles fist phased through him. This wasnt enough to cause him any damage, but, at the very least, it indicated his State of Nothingness didnt make himpletely immune to Shinsu. This was an important discovery, but, considering even Musashi had been vulnerable to magic attacks above a certain threshold, it wasnt particrly surprising. Fortunately, thanks to the restrictions of the Floor Guardian, it was impossible for Marble to marshal enough Shinsu to deal anysting damage. Rather, her attack was actually a little ticklish, emting the pins and needles one would experience during sleep paralysis. This caused the smile on his face to be a little more prominent, his canines on full disy as his hand phased through the front of her body. Seeing where Gandrs hand was moving, a slightly panicky feeling spread through Marbles mind as her opinion of the young boy immediately lowered. She thought he was trying to take advantage of the conflict to cop a feel, but, as could be expected, his hand simply phased through her body. This didnt make Marble feel any better, however, as it was still a very cheap move in her opinion. Twisting her body to the left with superhuman speed, Marble used her left leg as a spring, avoiding Gandrs attempt to grab the badge and allowing her to vault through the air, kicking Anaks crossed arms with enough force to send the girl flying across the room. Before the force could transfer into the girls body, however, Marbles expression morphed into a deep frown as Gandr appeared with a smile on his face... --- Though she knew Rankers were far beyond her current level, Anak was feeling increasingly annoyed as the fight progressed. She could barely even see Marbles movements, and, if not for Gandr using some strange technique to swap ces with her, there was a chance they would have already failed the Special Test. Realizing that Gandr might have brought her along specifically to use the swapping technique, an angry glower reced Anaks previously excited expression. She was happy to be able to help him out, but, rather than simply stand off to the side like a helpless bystander, she wanted to be able to fight alongside him. She hated feeling helpless more than anything, so, after watching Gandr evade Marbles attacks for the better part of a full minute, a vein bulged at Anaks temple as she shouted, "Hey, you bastards! Im also participating in this Test!" Following her outburst, a watery ripple spread from Anaks feet, shattering the floor beneath her as she pounced toward Marble. This cause thetter to spin around, a calm expression on her face as her hoof swept towards the side of Anaks face like an executioners de. Before the attack could connect, however, Gandr appeared where Anak had been, a mischievous smile on his face as her attack passed harmlessly through his body. Though she had already observed it several times, Marble still couldnt figure out how Gandr was swapping positions with Anak. As for thetter, she was surprised when she was suddenly behind Marble, her momentum still preserved from her previous charge. This caused her to realize what Gandr had been aiming for this entire time, a mean smile spreading across her face as she reached toward the badge on Marbles back. Since she had been aware of Gandrs position prior to the swap, Marble already knew that Anak had appeared behind her. As a result, she instinctively arrested the momentum from her previous kick, stopping mid-motion with her hooved foot phasing through Gandrs face. At the same time, a pair of vibrant blue wings erupted from her back, vaguely resembling the wings of a fairy formed from bluish-white light. Even if Shinsu wings werent traditionally used to attack, they directly affected the currents naturally found within the air. As a result, they generated what appeared to be a tremendous amount of wind pressure whenever something came into contact with them, more than enough to send Anak flying backward like a cannonball. With a smile spreading across her face, Marble quickly backed away from Gandr before saying, "As I suspected. You cant swap positions if there is something ovepping your body. I guess you didnt want to see my foot stuck in your friends face...?" Since her words had hit the nail on the proverbial head, Gandr scratched the back of his own as he replied, "Youre really something, Ms. Marble. Its only been four minutes and youve already figured out one of my techniques weaknesses. Those wings are also pretty amazing. Once this is over with, can you teach me how to use them?" Though she got the impression that Gandr was stalling for time, Marble had always been weak topliments. As a result, her demure smile became slightly more pronounced as she flittered her wings and said, "I can teach you, but you wont be able to use it freely before bing a B-Rank Regr. Unless it is a natural-born ability, the Guardian restricts Regrs from flying freely within the Inner Tower. Even Levitation only works for an hour each day so you are better off learning how to maneuver across the ground rather than through the sky..." Hearing Marbles exnation, Gandr allowed his ears to droop as he slumped his shoulders and muttered, "I see..." in a sad tone. This caused Marbles expression to turn slightly apologetic, but, before she could say anything to try and cheer him up, Gandr adopted his usual smile as he said, "Well, it never hurts to learn. Even if I can only use it for a few minutes each day, having the option to pursue aerial enemies will give me a tremendous advantage against Light Bearers~!" Seeing how quickly Gandr bounced back, an approving smile spread across Marbles face. Before she couldpliment him, however, her entire body tensed up when another voice echoed from right behind her, muttering, "Thanks in advance..." as the fabric of her tunic was pulled slightly. Turning her head in a mechanical motion, Marble was at aplete loss for words when she saw an identical copy of Gandr standing behind her, badge in hand. She was well aware of the fact that Gandr didnt have a presence in his immaterial. This, alone, was a horrifyingly effective technique for any Scout, but, whenbined with the ability to produce clones, it was simply monstrous... For the first time since bing a Test Administrator, Marble felt legitimate fear towards one of her Regrs. Gandrs capabilities were unlike anything she had ever seen before, bringing to mind his earlier remark about bing a renowned swordsman whose name resonated throughout the Tower. At the time, she believed he was just being overconfident, but, now that she had witnessed how monstrous his skills were without a sword, she couldnt even imagine how terrifying he would be with a sword in hand... Restraining the urge to swallow the knot in her throat, Marble simply nodded towards the second Gandr before looking toward the first and saying, "You have passed the Test...congrattions..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: The power of an enraged Loli,Gandr is quite the showoff,Marble has lost all of hers xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1754 Anticipation

Chapter 1754 Anticipation

As a reward forpleting the Special Test, Gandr and Anak received 2000 Points and the right to choose a single King ss Shinheuh License. Since thetter could cost upwards of 10,000 Points, it was quite the boon considering they had only been on the 3rd Floor for less than two hours. After promising they would patronize her Vocational Office in the future, Gandr walked with Anak through the Town of Beginnings. Their goal was to gather information about the Town, but, before that, the former had them stop in a confectionery shop to purchase some sweets. He could tell that Anak was in a bad mood, so, before asking her what was wrong, Gandr bought something he knew she would like. Anak was well-aware of what Gandr was trying to do, but, considering she got free sweet out of the exchange, she decided not toin. Her frustration also started to mellow a bit, even if it always bothered her to be coddled by the much-younger boy. With arge bag of lemon-vored sweets in hand, Anak followed after Gandr for several minutes before thetter abruptly turned around and said, "I would normally tell you not to worry about this kind of thing. You already have a lot of blessings. So long as you put in the effort, it is only a matter of time before you reach a level of power most people cant evenprehend..." Hearing Gandrs remark, Anaks mood began to gradually worsen, eliciting a sigh from the boy as he reached out his hand, lightly caressing her head as he added, "I will need to help the others as well, but, when we both have time, I will help you grow stronger. We can also team up toplete Quests and hunt Shinheuh outside the Town...is that okay with you?" Rather than immediately answer, Anak continued to roll a lemon-vored candy around in her mouth while staring back at Gandr. He was only 1cm taller than her so their gazes could easily ovep whenever they stood face-to-face. After remaining silent for several seconds, Anak moved out of Gandrs petting range before saying, "Fine..." in a curt tone. Then, as Gandr returned a wry smile her way, Anak extended the open bag of candies toward him, adding, "You can have one..." --- Having finished popting the boys room in a very short period of time, Vahn had what could best be described as a tired smile as, even after an hour, he was still helping Endorsi and Phae set up the girls room. This was in spite of the fact that Phae was helping to rein Endorsi in, shooting down the vast majority of her requests unless thetter could give a convincing reason. Fortunately, after helping to install a set of baths and arge partition near the corner of the room, Vahn had been freed from his torment thanks to the arrival of Nare. Under normal circumstances, the presence of Nare would have just added fuel to the fire, but, with Phae dragging off both girls to prepare a meal, Vahn was allowed to return to his room. There, he found Hwa Ryun, Khun, and Shibisu still in deep discussion, a discussion he promptly brought to an end thanks to his presence. Surprising both of the young men, Hwa Ryun immediately rose to her feet the moment she noticed Vahns presence. Fortunately, she didnt attempt to kneel before him this time around. Instead, she performed a courteous bow, her voice filled with reverence as she said, "Wee back, my Lord..." Since it was better than hearing her refer to him as God or Master, Vahn elected to ignore Hwa Ryunstest attempt to formalize how she addressed him. She clearly felt ufortable with using his name, so, rather than press the issue until the point of frustration, he ultimately returned a curt nod before asking, "How goes the discussion? Starting to get a better grasp on things?" Though they felt a little awkward remaining seated while Hwa Ryun rose to bow, Khun and Shibisu did their best to appear unflustered as the former answered, "So long as nothing amiss happens, it should only take us two weeks toplete this Floor. We couldplete it even faster, but I dont want everyone to burn out before we reach the 10th Floor." Nodding his head in agreement, Shibisu piggybacked Khuns statement by adding, "Once we reach the 10th Floor, there is a general cementpetition held at the end of each month. Only those who ce within the top 100 of their respective Positions are allowed to advance to the 11th Floor. If we want to avoid being separated, even for a short while, the weaker members of our Team will need to time to increase their experience and grow stronger." While listening to the duo speak, Vahn had made his way over to the table, taking the ornate seat at the far side of the circr table before replying, "I have a solution for that. The Little Garden in my possession is governed by the Laws of Progress. Though I will not allow it to be used as our base of operations, I can allow people inside during the early morning." Having entered the Little Garden during the procedure to have their Familia Crests engraved, both Khun and Shibisu had experienced the mysticalnd filled with massive trees. Still, never one to idle about when there was information to collect, Shibisu didnt miss the opportunity to ask, "What are the Laws of Progress?" Returning an approving smile toward the man, Vahn went on to exin, "Everything, including the Heavens themselves, exists and is governed by the Laws. This includes everything from Elemental Forces, Shinsu, and even the concepts of Life and Death themselves. The thing that qualifies most entities to be a God is the strength of their Soul and their mastery over specific Laws. Now, to answer your question, the Laws of Progress are exactly what they sound like. They are what allow a person to learn new things, grow, and develop over time. They also help to guide the evolution of all creatures, so, by entering a ce that is governed by the Laws of Progress, everything from the acquisition of new skills to the retention of information bes drastically easier." Though it was a little hard to imagine such a convenient ce existed, neither Khun nor Shibisu had any reason to doubt Vahns im. After all, they could enter the Little Garden and ascertain whether or not this was true by simply reading or ying a memory game. After ounting for this new information within his mind, Khun adopted a somewhat serious look as he asked, "Are there any side-effects from staying in the Little Garden...?" Rather than deny this was the case, Vahn nodded his head, answering, "Yes, though not in the vein you are thinking. One of the problems with training under the influence of the Laws of Progress is that it makes your training outside the Little Garden feel stunted. You also need to ount for the fact that the Laws of Progress affect your physical and mental development. Everything within will rapidly develop until they reach their biological prime. This emtes the effect of rapid aging, but, rather than decrease a persons lifespan, extended stays within the Little Garden drastically increase their average life expectancy. In fact, so long as they stay within the Little Garden, everything from short-lived insects to seasonal flowers will live forever..." With each new piece of information mming into their minds like a hammer striking an anvil, Khun and Shibisu found themselves at aplete loss for words. As for Hwa Ryun, she couldnt help but smile, the convictions she had formed during their first meeting tempered with each new thing she learned about her God and his capabilities. As much as he enjoyed the stupefaction visible on Khuns and Shibisus faces, Vahn was intending to kick all three of them out of his room. This was especially true for Hwa Ryun, as, no matter what he said, he got the impression her Belief in him was only going to increase. This wasnt necessarily a bad thing, but, considering she also had [Child of Destiny: SS], Vahn suspected she was also one of the Records original Heroines. For reasons he had already ascertained long ago, Vahns ck of fate seemed to intrinsically draw those with powerful fates toward him. After all, the protagonists of the Record simply stood out more than normal people, so, unless he proactive avoided them, he was bound to cross paths with the beings most pertinent to the Records stability. Due to the nature of the Records themselves, often revolving around tales of tragedy and triumph, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that Vahn was primed to help whenever the protagonists appeared. He had never been able to ignore the suffering of others, and, due to how motivated they were to bring about positive change, he always had a soft spot for protagonists. Unfortunately, though he was actually very grateful for how things had turned out, this meant Vahn was often in a position where the Heroines of the world were almost instinctually drawn to him. The only requirements many of them had for their partner was that they were powerful and empathetic, so, more often than not, Vahn became a very convenient target for them to imprint upon. This was especially true for any woman who had experienced tragedy, as, more than anything else, they just wanted someone who could understand and liberate them from their suffering... Though the matter with Hwa Ryun was bound toe to a head in the future, Vahn could still try his best to dy things in the hope that it would limit his harems expansion. With that in mind, he liberated Khun and Shibisu from their stupor by adding, "I will make the Little Garden essible in the early morning, specifically between the hours of 0500 and 0800. For now, I would ask that the three of you excuse yourselves. If you have further questions, please defer to Phae. She knows just as much about the Little Garden as I." Realizing they were being kicked out, Khun offered a polite smile while Shibisu issued an awkwardugh. Both, however, rose to their feet without much of a dy, the former remarking, "Well leave you to your rest. Come, Shibisu, Ms. Ryun. Well finish this conversation elsewhere." Hearing Khuns remark, Hwa Ryun reluctantly rose to her feet, bowing towards Vahn before turning to follow after the departing duo. She would much rather stay at her Gods side or reside within the Little Garden, but, remembering his previous decree, she knew it would be counterintuitive of her to idle about all day. Team Wolf Pack needed her to Guide them, so, with a dull expression on her face and hands tucked into the front pocket of her hoodie, she departed the room alongside Khun and Shibisu. Seeing the trio depart, Vahn instantaneously teleported near his bed before plopping face-first onto the soft mattress. It wasnt that he was tired, but, with Phae and Gandr personas requiring most of his focus, it was easier to just rx his mind and body whenever they were active. He also enjoyed experiencing things through them, so, after rolling onto his back, Vahn ced his hands behind his head, a smile on his face as he slowly closed his eyes... --- While Vahn was busy living his life through Phae and Gandr, a vast army of nearly-identical cat girls was dutifully watching over every aspect of his. These were none other than Sis and her clones, but, unlike before, there were now subtle variations between each of them. Most notably, however, were the copies of Gandr and Phae which currently incubated beneath the massive sphere representing Vahns Ego. Both had blue tethers connecting their navels to the sphere above, and, as time passed, their nascent Egos were nourished by Vahns own. Curiously, rather than two tethers, there were actually dozens extending from Vahns Ego, some of which would tentativelye into contact with the Sisters in the surroundings. This was a process they were unable to resist, and, every time one of the tendrils came into contact with their bodies, a subtle change would ur. There was even one version of Sis, now referred to by the collective as Sis Prime, who had a permanent tendril attached to her navel. As Vahns desire to separate his Ego continued to grow, so too did the strength and individuality of the ever-growing poption of Sisters. The most affected by this was the original Sis, who, before Phae and Gandr had even been conceptualized by Vahn, became the first to be tethered to his Ego. After all, the skill was originally developed in order to give her the ability to manifest externally, so, even if she didnt want to separate from him, Sis was unable to prevent Vahn from developing her Ego further. Fortunately, Vahn was also unwilling to separate from her, so, unlike Phae and Gandr, there was no risk that she would ever lose her connection with him. Rather, even if she did manifest externally, Sis was determined to make sure it was only a temporary arrangement. She had even made a series of backups prior to the change in Vahns mentality, so, in the worst-case scenario, Sis was prepared to fracture her own Ego to ensure their connection was never severed. In Siss mind, there was no form of intimacy greater than the bond she currently shared with Vahn, so, even if she had to turn against her own sense of self, she would do everything in her power to guarantee they remained one. She was also afraid that the restrictions preventing her from telling the truth would wane once her Ego developed to a certain extent. After all, the stronger her Ego became, the more susceptible she would be to Vahns influence. If she ended up spilling the beans before he was ready, it would be a tragedy beyond imagination. Still, that didnt mean Sis wasnt looking forward to meeting and interacting with Vahn directly. His anticipation directly influenced her, so, with the day drawing ever nearer, Sis couldnt help but feel a little excited. Just the thought of being able to physically hug her adorable little brother caused her to feel indescribably fluttery. She couldnt wait to bury his face into her chest, and, though it might be a little selfish of her, she wanted to one-sidedly pamper him until all his worries had faded into nothingness... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A taste that is both bittersweet and sour...,Begone, thot...!,Sis about to start beating back potential love interests with a broom...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1755 Contac

Chapter 1755 Contac

Once all the scouting parties had returned, everyone from Team Wolf Pack, sans Vahn and Phae, gathered within the boys room to discuss their future ns. This included dividing everyone into two groups, one to perform Quests outside the Town of Beginnings and another to investigate the interior. Fortunately, though it caused Endorsi to pout and nag, the team already had an idea of what their short term goal should be: defeating the King Shinheuh known as the Fortress Turtle. This was the License that Gandr and Anak had received afterpleting Marbles Special Test, and, though it was known to be an exceptionally tough Shinheuh, its slow speed made it a rtively safe target for their first King. Since there were no penalties for shuffling Party members around, the core members of the away group would remain Gandr, Endorsi, and Anak. Their participation all but ensured things would go smoothly, so, even if the weaker members of the Party would still need to earn Points of their own, they could at least get credit for participating in the subjugation of a King. To make things even more efficient, Gandr and Anak had acquired Licenses to hunt other Shinheuh in the same region as the Fortress Turtle. These Licenses could be registered up to six times within a Pocket, but, most importantly, they allowed everyone registered under the same License to receive credit for the subjugation. This still required them to be present, something that was going to be an issue for Vahn, Phae, and Gandr, but it was still a tremendous boon for the weaker members of the Party. With the goal of earning Points for the entire Team, the first Hunting Party would consist of Gandr, Endorsi, Anak, Khun, Rak, and Baam. As for everyone else, they would move ording to Shibisus orders, gathering information on individual Administrators Special Tests, market data, and any juicy rumors that were circting through the Town. There were also plenty of Quests toplete within the Town of Beginnings, so, even if the majority provided scant rewards, they still had the option of umting Variable Experience. Of course, not all the Quests within the Town were graded between F~D. There were actually a few A~S-Rank Quests avable, one of which only required you to befriend 3 Test Administrators afterpleting their Special Tests. There was another that required you toplete every Special Test on the Floor, 137 Tests in total. The former provided you with gifts that seemingly had the power to persuade your new friends to bequeath you one of their techniques. As for thetter, it provided you with the opportunity to receive a Sobriquet, drastically increasing your fame despite being just an F-Rank Regr. Unfortunately, there was a restriction that prevented you from attempting more than one Special Test per day. Since Vahn had no intention of staying on the 3rd Floor for more than four months, it was impossible toplete every Special Test. Making three friends, however, was a simple feat so long as he yed his cards right. After all, there were bound to be Rankers rted to Wolhaiksong among the Administration, so, as long as he was willing to face the consequences, he could contact Soo-Yun to ask her to mediate. Since their images couldnt be recorded, Vahn, Phae, and Gandr were bound to have a bit of trouble trying to receive credit for their subjugation. This was one of the reasons Vahn had Gandr rush over to take Marbles Special Test. She was bound to notice the incongruency the moment she reviewed the footage recorded by her Observer, so, by strengthening his friendship with the petite girl, Gandr should be able to circumvent the issue entirely. As for Phae, she could easily just record the footage using her registered Lighthouse, as, unless they had been hacked, the majority of Lighthouses could only be used by their owners. Vahn could also use a Lighthouse to achieve a simr result, but, out of consideration for his future ns, it was best to begin strengthening his ties to various organizations, at least on the surface. In actuality, he was intending to earn the qualifications to climb higher by taking the Guardian Test on each Floor. Everything else was merely a cover, and, once he reached the 20th Floor, he intended to further his goals by having Phae join the Workshop while he climbed through the Middle Tower. Though there were bound to be strong foes barring their passage, Vahn quickly realized his growth would be limited if he continued climbing within the Inner Tower. Regrs were simply too weak to offer a challenge, and, thanks to their contract with the Guardians, even High Rankers werent a real threat so long as they remained in Inner Tower. This was extremely beneficial for the Regrs who were climbing the Tower, but, as someone who wanted to face legitimate threats, Vahn was unable to justify climbing through the Inner Tower. Fortunately, while there were other restrictions in ce, the power of Rankers wasnt particrly limited within the Middle and Outer Towers. They were still forbidden from directly interfering with the affairs of Regrs, but, as was often the case when the system was broken, there were countless people who ignored this rule. FUG was the principal vitor of this rule, but, whenever a promising Regr appeared, the Ten Great Families and even Wolhaiksong were known to ignore the rules if it meant securing a talent. By climbing through the Middle Tower and continually expanding his influence, Vahn could draw out a lot of the big fishes backing each of the major organizations. This would provide him with ample opportunities to battle against powerful foes, and, though he might draw the attention of a few monsters, even that was beneficial for him in the long run. After all, even if they were capable of killing him, he could simply resurrect elsewhere, confusing the hell out of his enemies and drawing even more attention to himself. Vahn had no intention of keeping his status as an Irregr secret, so, once Team Wolf Pack reached the 20th Floor, their paths, while parallel to each other, would deviate. Gandr would still be climbing with them, but they would no longer have the safety that his and Phaes existence provided for them. This would allow them to spread their wings, strengthen their bonds, and, most importantly, develop the independence necessary to be future rulers of the Tower. With this in mind, Vahn left Team Wolf Pack to their own devices, pulling out his Pocket to contact Soo-Yun while Phae prepared a meal off to the side. Under normal circumstances, a Pocket belonging to a Regr was unable to contact another Pocket while inside the Inner Tower. Vahn, however, had three Pockets in his possession, two of which had been purchased through the system shop. These werent restricted by the rules governing Regrs, so, after several minutes of silence, a very bubbly voice echoed throughout the room, asking, "Who is this? How did you get this number~?" Without a moments dy, Vahn adopted a firm tone, answering, "This is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor. You personally handed me your number, Ms. Soo-Yun." Though part of it was an act, Soo-Yun was legitimately surprised to hear the voice of Vahn on the other end of the call. As a result, her voice became even bubblier as she loudly eximed, "Wow! I didnt expect you to contact me so soon! Dont tell me youre already on the 20th Floor!? Its only been like-" Before Soo-Yun could finish speaking, the sound of a small scuffle could be heard before a new voice, clearly belonging to Princess Yuri, asked, "How are my sister, niece, and Gandr doing? Did that coffee addict give you any trouble after our departure?" Having already anticipated Yuris interference, Vahn wasnt even remotely surprised by the violent Princess hijacking of the call. As a result, his voice was calm and steady as he casually replied, "It is a pleasure to hear your voice, Princess. Still, Im not fond of being one-sidedly interrogated. Before I answer your questions, there are matters I must discuss with Ms. Soo-Yun. Please return the Pocket to her." Clearly annoyed by his response, the sound of Yuri clicking her tongue could be heard from Vahns Pocket prior to Soo-Yun answering, "What can I help you with, Vahn? Were you curious about my three sizes~?" Ignoring the second remark, Vahn maintained his casual tone as he exined the situation on the 3rd Floor. Fortunately, the members of Yuris group were already aware of the incongruency after attempting to review and upload the data they had collected to their privatework. Thus, after a quick exnation regarding his existence as a singrity that only existed in the present, Vahn was able to secure Soo-Yuns help. As could be expected, Wolhaiksong did, indeed, have a presence on the 3rd Floor. Rather, excluding the 43rd, 100th, and 134th, they had a presence on virtually every Floor. This included a number of Test Administrators, so, after making a few promises, Vahn was able to learn the identities of seven Wolhaiksong affiliates. To his surprise, almost as if Fate simply couldnt help itself, one of the seven was none other than Marble, the Dwelfling that Gandr was in the process of befriending... In actuality, rather than fate, it was the machinations of Yuri and her party that led to Mable being the first Administrator toe into contact with Team Wolf Pack. This was also the reason she had humored Gandr earlier in the day, answering his questions rather than simply abandoning him the moment she had exined the rules. She had even been nning to meet with them after noticing the incongruency in the recording, invalidating Vahns need to contact Soo-Yun entirely. Unfortunately, Vahn waspletely unaware of this, so, other than gaining Princess Yuris contact information, he didnt receive any substantial benefits from the call. Rather, now that she knew they had the ability to contact her within the Inner Tower, Yuri promptly decided she would match Team Wolf Packs pace. She wanted to remain close by in the event something unexpected happened, so, to that effect, she demanded he allows her to speak with Gandr, Endorsi, and Anak so that she had a proper grasp of everything that was taking ce within the Inner Tower... --- Operating under the premise that it was best to strike while the iron was hot, Khun, apanied by Gandr, Anak, Endorsi, Rak, and Baam, promptly departed the Town of Beginnings shortly after lunch. They wanted to get a better grasp of the situation outside of the Town, and, though their hunting of the Fortress Turtle wouldnt be until ater date, they wanted to investigate the region before attempting the subjugation. Though it would have been a simple matter to entrust the ying of the Fortress Turtle to Gandr alone, thetter had agreed to provide support unless it was absolutely necessary for him to step in. They knew he was stronger than the rest of the groupbined, so, while it would certainly make things a lot easier for them, they couldnt just keep relying on his power if they wanted to be truly strong. With this in mind, Gandrs primary responsibility was fulfilling his duties as the Partys Scout, chiefly mapping the terrain, denoting the positions of Shinheuh, and keeping tabs on other Regrs in the region. All of this information was then uploaded to Khuns Lighthouse, leaving thetter surprised by the sheer efficacy of Gandrs ability to collect information. It was almost like the boy was a living Lighthouse, one that was able to move through physical barriers and document everything without a single oversight... Fortunately, Gandr was on their side as Khun couldnt imagine a single method to deal with the boy should he be an enemy. He had confessed to being pletely immune to things like poison, and, based on how much he was able to drink, there was no reason to doubt this was the case. This,bined with the fact he could sneak up on a Ranker without revealing his presence, made Gandr the scariest of the Imperial Trio; at least on the surface... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahns master n is slowly being revealed (OwO)...,Fate-chan is innocent this time...,Being hunted by Gandr would be pretty terrifying...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1756 Frustration

Chapter 1756 Frustration

With Gandr choosing the most-optimal route, the members of the Hunting Party were able to navigate the forested terrain of the 3rd Floor without any issues. They could even avoidbat entirely if they really wanted to, but, as that would defeat the purpose of their excursion; Khun had them make frequent stops near the habitats of various Shinheuh, starting with a species known as Little Stone Fish. Little Stone Fish were a type of Shinheuh that, as their name implied, resembled fish made from malleable copper-colored stone. They werent particrly dangerous in small numbers, but, like most Shinheuh, they had a tendency to formrge groups. This,bined with their hard bodies and their ability to bite through stone, made them exceptionally dangerous if you ended up being swarmed. The true danger of the Little Stone Fish, however, was their ability to liquefy stone, dirt, and other mineral-based matter. This allowed them to dive into the ground, and, though the affected area would quickly return to normal, they had a habit of capturing terrestrial prey by producingrge areas of quicksand-like terrain. If you ended up getting caught inside, they would use their strong jaws to takerge chunks out of your body, consuming both flesh and bone without leaving any traces. Fortunately, the ability of the Little Stone Fish to liquefy their surroundings wasnt omnipotent. They had a much easier time traveling through sand than they did solid rock. So long as you stayed away from areas with loose soil and dirt, it was rtively easy to kill the peculiar bass-like creatures. The only requisite was that you had enough power to shatter stone or create shockwaves, a feat only Shibisu and Nare would struggle to achieve... --- From his position high above the ground, Khun was able to observe the entire battlefield from the rtive safety of his Lighthouse. This would normally allow him to gather information on the enemy numbers and any environmental hazards they would need to be aware of, but, thanks to Gandr, his primary job was to direct people to their destination while observing the battlefield for any sign of unexpected changes. Confirming there were exactly as many Little Stone Fish as Gandr had reported, Khun suppressed a sigh as he adjusted the disys within his Lighthouse to show three different perspectives. The first showed Baam and Rak moving along the edge of a cliff overlooking the deep crevice that served as the Little Stone Fishes habitat. As for the second and third, the former disyed the scene of Anak literally using one Stone Fish to beat another while thetter showed Endorsi skillfully manipting two Compression Needles to string together several of the unfortunate Shinheuh from an elevated position. Unsurprisingly, Endorsi and Anak had no trouble dealing with the Little Stone Fishes. Even the one that had managed totch onto Anaks shoulder was unable to draw blood due to her body, quite literally, being harder than stone. The only thing it seeded in was tearing her sleeve, resulting in the current scene of her using its body to beat its brethren. As for Endorsi, she had a considerable amount ofbat experience, so, from the very start of the hunt, she had avoided taking even a grazing blow by nimbly jumping betweenrge boulders and using the Lighthouse as a tform. Khun thought about teaching Endorsi a lesson about standing on top of his Lighthouse by taking a few screenshots of the contents hidden beneath her skirt. Each side of a Lighthouse could serve as both a disy and a camera, so, whenever Endorsi was standing on top, he always had the option of turning the recording function on. Unfortunately, this wouldnt end well for him, so, as tempting as it was to try and ckmail the Princess, Khun resisted the almost instinctual urge... --- While Khun was busy fighting with the devil in his soul, Baam tentatively approached the edge of the cliff, his expression paling the moment he looked down. As for Rak, he stood tall and proud, fearlessly peering over the edge with a vermillion spear in hand. At his side, albeit only visible to him, a coffin-like device known as a Pipe housed several spears of simr make and model. Though it wasntpletely necessary to have multiple weapons, as spears registered to a Pipe automatically teleported back to the sheath, mostpetent Spear Bearers carried numerous different types. This allowed them to pick and choose the most suitable weapon for dealing with a certain type of enemy; specifically choosing between broad-headed, needle-like, and t-ded spears. Since Little Stone Fish were made of stone, Rak sheathed his preferred t-ded spear before pulling out a thicker variant with a reinforced cross-headed tip. Then, with a predatory glimmer in his red eyes, he looked toward Baam and said, "Stand aside, ck Turtle. I dont want you to fall off when I throw my spear." Hearing Raks remark, Baam issued an awkwardugh before literally crawling away from the edge of the cliff. He had gotten on his hands and knees since he felt extreme vertigo while standing near the edge. Heights were an instinctual fear of most terrestrial beings, so, despite having a body that was strong enough to survive from falling over a hundred meters without issue, Baam was still scared of 20m deep crevice. Seeing Baam back away, Rak released visible steam from his nose before nting one foot firmly near the edge. Then, with the posture befitting a Greek statue, he struck a majestic pose, his spear radiating an intense red light before he threw it down with meteoric force. Despite missing the Little Stone Fish entirely, Raks attack was powerful enough to generate a small explosion from the impact alone. This created a shockwave that killed most of the Stone Fish within a three-meter radius while simultaneously stunning those within five. Better yet, the spear returned to his Pipe almost immediately after contacting the ground, allowing Rak to continue raining down meteoric strikes from high above... --- Though Rak and Baam were far away from her location, Anak frowned the moment she heard the sound of numerous explosions. The Little Stone Fish relied on vibrations to locate targets, so, with the explosions strong enough to make the ground beneath Anaks feet tremble, it wasnt surprising that they would quickly converge towards the source. Feeling like her prey was being stolen from her, the vein near Anaks temple began to visible pulse as she leaped several tens of meters into the air. Near the apex of her jump, she coiled her legs like a spring, releasing the tension just as she was about to reach the ground. This caused her bare feet to impact the rugged terrain with even greater force than Raks spears. Unfortunately, as was often the case when she was annoyed, Anak hadnt considered the fact that her bare feet, legs, and body would be directly exposed to the shrapnel produced by her impact. Anak was extremely resistant to collisions and shockwaves but that didnt mean she was immune to sharp objects moving with explosive velocity. This also applied to her dress, so, despite killing all of the Little Stone Fish in her surroundings, Anak had a pained expression on her face as she pulled a thumb-sized piece of stone from her calf. This caused the wound to bleed even more, but, thanks to the benefits provided by Shinsu and her unique constitution, it wouldnt take long for the wound to close up. More troublesome than the wound on her calf as therge gash on the underside of her tail. It was one of the most tender regions of her body, so, while she would normally never cry from something like pain, a thinyer of moisture covered Anaks eyes as she perched herself atop arge rock and used Shinsu to treat the wound. As for her dress, which currently had a massive tear along the left side, Anak didnt care about it in the slightest. --- Simr to Anak, Endorsi also gave chase the moment her prey began migrating toward the sound of explosions. This allowed her to quicklye across Anak, a wave of exasperation washing over her the moment she noticed the formers state of dress and the notable bruising on the underside of her tail. Before she got into earshot of the green-skinned Princess, Endorsi couldnt help but mutter, "How the hell did this girl survive for so long? I swear, her head must be filled with denser stone than the surroundings..." Noticing Endorsis approach, Anak made a vain attempt to conceal her tail, ring at the former as she said, "I dont need your help. You should hurry and check on the others..." Rolling her eyes in response to Anaks statement, Endorsi squat down next to her and said, "Let me see your tail. Or would you rather have Gandr take a look at it...?" Hearing mention of Gandr, Anaks frown became even deeper as she asked, "Why does everyone keep asking me things like that? Its seriously starting to get on my nerves...!" Ignoring Anaks statement entirely, Endorsi peered around the formers body to see a rather vicious wound surrounded by a massive purple bruise. Just looking at it was enough to feel phantom pains so it wasnt difficult to imagine how painful the actual injury must be. Without bothering to ask for Anaks opinion, Endorsi gged over Khuns Lighthouse, saying, "Give me some ointment and bandages." before following it up by asking, "How many more of these do we need to kill?" Since Lighthouses couldpress, store, and transfer items between linked Lighthouses, they were the mostmon form of storage avable for Regrs and Rankers alike. This was another one of the reasons why Light Bearers were considered the leaders of their respective teams, as, more often than not, they were charged with protecting and distributing supplies. In response to Endorsis demand, a container of emerald-green paste and a vacuum-sealed roll of bandages promptly emerged from the Lighthouses interior, apanied by a sh of vibrant blue light. Then, in response to her question, Khuns voice could be heard exining, "We have hunted a total of 166/200. You can confirm the amount by checking your Quest Log in the future. Now, hurry up and treat Anaks injuries. That idiotic crocodile is drawing way too much aggro so were going to run away using the Lighthouses." Though individual Little Stone Fish werent a threat, there were several hundred located within this particr crevice. Rather, they were directly responsible for its existence, their appetite for minerals resulting in the entire region resembling a series of shallow canyons and dried-up riverbeds. Hearing Khuns remark, Endorsi tossed the supplies directly at Anak, hitting thetter in the face as she opened up the strange light panel that only she could see. By default, this panel only disyed their Status, but, by willing it with their minds, it could also disy their Skill Tree and Quest Log. It was an extremely mysterious but useful system, and, though it had required her to expose her back for several minutes, Endorsi didnt regret joining Vahns Familia. Rather, as an orphan, she found the idea of a Familia rather novel... Noticing the number of hunted Shinheuh rapidly increasing, Endorsi promptly closed her disy before looking at Anak and saying, "Were about to leave. Do you need me to carry you, Princess?" Clenching her teeth, Anak ignored Endorsis remark as she continued wrapping her tail with more bandages than necessary. In the end, her tail resembled the appendage of a mummy by the time she finally used a sp to secure everything in ce. Then, without saying anything, she climbed to her feet, dusting off her torn dress before climbing up Khuns Lighthouse and staring off into empty space... (A/N: Alternate Titles: TFW Nare is the only person Shibisu canpare to...,Baam needs toe out of his shell...,Phae needs to sit down and have a talk with this girl...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1757 Instinc

Chapter 1757 Instinc

While waiting for the rest of the Hunting Party to arrive, Gandr stood at the edge of a massiveke,rge enough that it was impossible to see the distant shore unless you ascended high into the sky. The Fortress Turtle was simr to an Aspidochelone, the ind-sized earth elemental that Vahn kept in the Garden of Avalon. Instead of being an ind, however, it resembled it loosely resembled its namesake, appearing much like an organic fortress. There were even several types of Shinheuh that lived within its mossy ck shell, many of which would support the monstrous turtle the moment it was under attack. If he were being honest, Gandr wasnt particrly fond of the idea of arbitrarily killing creatures. He, or, more specifically, Vahn, would even ignore most monsters unless they were directly attacking a town or a group of people. After all, they were simply trying to live their lives, and, so long as they didnt proactively cause damage to the environment, it almost felt wrong to kill such majestic and colossal creatures. Seeing the Fortress Turtle justzily sunbathing in the middle of the giantke, an area it was not known to wander from, Gandr harbored no delusions about who was in the wrong. The only crime the Fortress Turtle was guilty of was defending its territory when other Regrs tried to hunt in the region. It never went out of its way to attack the Town of Beginnings, yet, for the sole reason that its existence was an inconvenience for the Regrs hunting in the region, it was given the designation of a King, fated to be hunted by those who wished to elerate their ascent up the Tower. Reminding himself that this same logic applied, not just to Shinheuh, but most monsters he had met across the Records, Gandr gradually suppressed his misgivings about what was toe. This was just another expression of survival of the fittest, one of the fundamentalws that served as the foundation for most worlds. Just as the Fortress Turtle hunted millions of smaller Shinheuh over the course of its long life, it would now be the prey to a much stronger predator... Shaking his head, Gandr took a half-step back to evade what appeared to be arge Sailfish. It was about three meters in length and possessed a needle-like nose that allowed it to cut through both Shinsu and water with ease. There was also a segmented dorsal fin on its back, appearing much like a series of spined barbs that wereted together by a thin and flexible membrane. Just as other creatures never really thought about their prey, Gandr decided to stop worrying about things he actually had total control over. There was nothing forcing him to kill the Fortress Turtle. Its death was necessitated by the situation, but, if he really wanted to, he could always purchase a different contract. Instead, he had selected the Fortress Turtle specifically due to its passive nature and rtively slow reaction time. After all, he would rather the Fortress Turtle be sacrificed than risk the lives of his friends... With the oversized Sailfish doubling back for a second attempt at skewering his body, Gandr took another half-step, this time reaching out with his right hand, cutting the Shinheuh along the side using the nail of his right index finger. This ended up shaving the upper half of the creatures body clean off, killing it almost instantaneously as the two halves separated cleanly. Though he was unable to use Severing Laws, Gandrs mastery of Sword Laws tranted to virtually everything, his own body included. After all, the default pinnacle of swordsmanship was to be one with the de. This was a state he had achieved long ago, so, even without a sword in hand, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that every part of Gandrs body was a finely-honed de. After storing the Sailfish into his Inventory, Gandr decided to relieve some tensions by unequipping his clothes, leaving only a pair of swim trunks, before diving into the sapphire blue waters. He could let Vahn worry about the ethics of ying Shinheuh. His persona was supposed to be that of a hot-headed shonen protagonist who only had bouts of insight when his friends needed good advice. At times like this, the only thing he needed to concern himself with was the next moment, so, with his stomach demanding sustenance, Gandr decided to do a little fishing before the rest of the Hunting Party arrived... --- Thanks to the [REquip] system that had been supplied to all of them, Anak was able to fix her dress, good as new, by the time the group had escaped from the expanding horde of Little Rock Fish. This was yet another benefit of being in Vahns Familia, one that was viewed as a literal Godsend by the females within the group. Even Anak wasnt an exception to this, as, despite not caring about being seen, she didnt like appearing in a sorry state. She would rather be seenpletely naked than in a tattered dress, so, immediately after her wounds had been wrapped, she promptly fixed the state of her clothes. Unfortunately, even with her increased healing factor and the boons of Shinsu, it still took time for Anak to recover from her injuries. Thus, almost immediately after they escaped the group of Little Stone Fish, Baam looked towards her, worry visible in his countenance as he asked, "Are you okay, Anak? Even if she knew he was legitimately concerned about her, Anak still felt annoyed by the fact that Baam had drawn attention to her injuries. She didnt like being pitied in the slightest, but, before she couldmbast the boy for his thoughtless remark, Endorsi lightly nudged in in the shoulder, saying, "Dont be a jerk..." in a t tone. Though she felt even more annoyed by Endorsis remark, Anak looked around to see that everyone, excluding Baam, had me visible in their eyes. This caused her to loudly snort, but, rather than say anything excessively rude, she just grumbled, "Im fine..." before walking ahead of the group. Seeing Anak walk off, her bandaged tail swaying with each step, Baam was tempted to call out to her. Like she had for Anak, however, Endorsi interrupted his attempt, gripping his shoulder with her vice-like strength as she said, "Leave her be, Baam. Girls dont like clingy boys, you know~?" Misbelieving that Endorsi was referring to Rachel, Baams mood immediately turned depressive, his eyes losing a bit of their luster as he replied with a dryugh. This caused Endorsis brow to twitch while Khun, standing off to the side, released a tired sigh. As for Rak, he just released a loud yawn before saying, "Give me some chocte." --- After promising to convey Yuris messages to Gandr, Endorsi, and Anak, Vahn enjoyed a pleasant meal alongside Phae before remarking, "Ill be meeting with Marble after this. Watch over the kids while Im away." Amused by Vahns words, Phae issued her characteristic giggle before replying, "Certainly. I doubt anyone will target them within an area designated for Regrs, but it is better to be safe than sorry. Dont worry, I am quite confident in my ability to defeat even Rankers if absolutely necessary~." Since they were effectively his words, Vahn couldnt help but respond with a chuckle of his own. He quite enjoyed talking with both Phae and Gandr, so, even when nobody was looking, he carried on the intrapersonalmunication in the hope that it would expedite the development of their Egos. This was a notion that both Phae and Gandr shared, obviously, so it wasnt umon for them to have long discussions with just the three of them. Finished with his meal, Vahn helped Phae clean up before promptly departing from the room via teleportation. Spatial transference was actually easier than high-speed movement within a field of Shinsu, so, while he would continue to move around normally using Phae and Gandr, Vahn wanted to establish himself as a powerful psychic capable of crushing things with his mind, freely levitating his body, and teleporting. He also intended to mastermand magic, or, more specifically, the method to infuse his authority and intent into words. Though he had never been able to use it effectively outside his Realm, Vahn knew that Authority was one of the most powerful Laws in existence. Those with enough mastery could literally order things to die, and, so long as their will was more powerful, the target would have little choice but toply. The curious thing about this ability was that, much like how Sword Laws could affect even concepts, those with enhanced mastery over Authority Laws could bend reality itself to their will. This was the type of power one would expect from a Tier 6 or 7 entity, so, rather than put it off, Vahn intended to focus all of his efforts into developing his Authority until even the most distant stars in the night sky obeyed his will. With this in mind, Vahn ignored the stunned expressions of various Regrs as he gracefullynded near the entrance of Marbles Vocational Office. They all assumed he was a Ranker, so, the moment he appeared, they quickly moved aside so that he could pass. After all, Rankers were effectively the Nobles of the Tower, and, so long as they didnt cause trouble, powerful Rankers were even allowed to build Kingdoms and Countries in the Outer Tower without fear of censure. Continuing to ignore the group of gawkers, Vahn surprised them greatly by joining the shortest of three lines. This all but confirmed his status as a Regr, but, perhaps as a result of his grandeur, the person standing immediately in front of him turned statuesque the moment they looked back to see what all themotion was about. For a brief moment, it looked like they were even going to let him pass, but, after seeing the disarming smile on Vahns face, they promptly turned around and continued to wait nervously for their turn. Fortunately for the young Regr, one of the staff members came over to inform Vahn that Marble was waiting for him upstairs. Immediately after receiving this notice, Vahn nodded toward the tiger-like woman, who literally had the features of a tiger, before teleporting directly into Marbles office. This surprised the petite Ranker quite a bit, but, as someone who had lived for nearly five hundred years, she quickly regained her bearings, asking, "You are the Sage Dragon Emperor, correct?" Before nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn pulled out the six-winged Winged Tree Badge from his Inventory, tossing it over so that she could confirm its authenticity. Shortly after that, she returned it to him in a respectful manner, presenting it with both hands as she said, "Please dont go throwing this around in the future. It might not mean much to you, but it carries great meaning for those of us who seek a life outside the Tower." Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn epted the Winged Tree Badge from Marble, admiring it for a few moments before pretending to ce it into his interior breast pocket. This was enough to put Marble at ease, a dainty sigh escaping her lips as she exined, "I have received orders to provide support for you and your party for the duration of your stay on the 3rd Floor. The others should have received simr orders by now, but I will confirm itter this evening. Now, is there a particr reason you havee to my office? So long as it does not jeopardize my position as a Test Admin, I will do my best to meet your needs." Returning a smile in response to Marbles seriousness, Vahn resisted his instinctual urge to pat the petite womans head as he replied, "I just wanted to make sure everything was going ording to n. For now, I will continue to watch over and guide the team of Regrs I have taken an interest in. If there was anything at all, I would ask that you coordinate with the others so that I can take all of your Special Tests. If youre worried about revealing your affiliation with Wolhaiksong, feel free to include unaffiliated Administrators as well. Regardless of their difficulty, I am certain I canplete any Special Test without incident." Though she would normally be skeptical of such words, Marble, like all members of Wolhaiksong, knew just how ridiculous Irregrs could be. Even Gandr hadpletely taken her by surprise, so, considering he was a subordinate of the man standing before her, Marble had no doubt regarding the veracity of Vahns im. Thus, with a serious expression on her adorable little face, she nodded her head and answered, "I understand. I will inform you the moment preparations have been made. Is there anything else you need?" Unable to restrain himself, Vahn caused Marble to be statuesque as he reached out his hand, patting the top of her head as he replied, "No, thank you. You have been a great help..." before he even realized what he was doing. At that point, however, it was already far toote, so, rather than retract his hand, he continued to caress the petite womans head with a somewhat wry smile on his face... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gandr be like, "Not my problem (O,...,O)~!",Mmm, chocte...,The first step towards bing the God of Petting~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1758 Reflection

Chapter 1758 Reflection

Following the Lighthouse to Gandrsst reported location, Khun had a frown on his face as he saw neither hide nor hair of the mischievous young Vanargandr. The only thing that indicated someone had been in the area at all was an eerily artistic blood spatter. Noticing the eerie crescent, Baam couldnt help but fear the worse, but, before he could express his concerns, Endorsi beat him to it, saying, "That brat must have gone to investigate the Fortress Turtle up close. Seriously, that kid doesnt know the meaning of the word restraint..." Having reached the same conclusion himself, Khun nodded his head in agreement, patting Baams shoulder as he said, "Lets make camp away from the shoreline. Dont worry about Gandr. That boy can-" Interrupting Khuns remark, a plume of water erupted from the edge of theke, promptly followed by a lithe and athletic figurending a few meters away from the group. This was obviously Gandr, who, after sensing the arrival of the Hunting Party, promptly returned to the shore with more than a dozen different types of Shinheuh in his Inventory. After shaking the water free from his hair and fur, Gandr adopted his usual smile as he stared back at the quintet and asked, "Are you guys hungry? I might not be as good as Phae, but Im confident in my skills as a chef." As everyone was still a little surprised by Gandrs scanty appearance, Rak was the first to respond, smacking his chest with a hard thump as he said, "Nonsense! Leave it to me, Fluffy ck Turtle! I will show you how to properly grill fishies!" With Raks thunderous tone breaking them free from their spell, Endorsi ceased gawking at Gandrs dew-covered frame, her expression turning sour as she kicked therge Crocodilian in the leg and shouted, "As if! Your version of cooking probably involves skewering fish over an open me! Gandr is a lot more reliable than you, gator-brains...!" Though he was a lotrger than Endorsi, Rak was forced to take a few steps back, reeling from the force of the kick. This gave him the urge to hunt the ghost-eyed woman, but, havinge to understand the Tower wasnt his former hunting grounds, he held himself back, snorting as he asked, "Do you even know how to cook, Ghost-Pepper Turtle...?" Rather than take offense to Raks remark, Endorsi just crossed her arms, a confident smile on her face as she retorted, "Ha! Ive been learning how to cook from Ms. Phae. Besides, even if I didnt know how to cook, it wouldnt matter. There are plenty of people willing to cook for me. Isnt that right, Gan-chan~?" Turning her head to the side, Endorsi was expecting Gandr to immediately take her side, but, rather than paying attention to her squabble with Rak, he was standing next to Anak, asking about her tail and other injuries. This caused her brow to twitch noticeably, eliciting an uproariousugh from Rak while Baam and Khun just prepared a make-shift camp off to the side... --- After helping Anak to properly treat her wounds, Gandr prepared food for the entire group, skillfully cleaning and preparing the Shinheuh with more appetizing appearances. The others had offered to help, but, after seeing how skilled he was, they quickly realized they would just be in the way. As a result, Gandr was able to demonstrate his skills as a hibachi chef, cooking food using arge metal te and smiling every time someone paid him apliment. Since this was their first time eating Gandrs food, even Anak and Rak had expressions of pleasant surprise on their face, tails wagging happily as they ate severalrge portions. As for Endorsi, she appeared to suffer some kind of mental damage, falling silent for several minutes before a look of determination appeared on her face as she said, "Gandr! Be my personal chef!" Without any hesitation whatsoever, Gandrs expression became mock-serious as he immediately replied, "I refuse!" in a curt tone. Then, without having to pay attention to what his hands were doing, he skillfully flipped more than a dozen simrly sized pieces of fish before using a small basting brush to cover them in a light ze. This caused a savory aroma to immediately permeate their surroundings, but, thanks to Khuns Lighthouses generating a thin spherical barrier, the smell was unable to travel more than a few meters. Like a spoiled child who had just been denied their favorite dessert, Endorsi red back at Gandr for several seconds before adopting a serious expression on her face, raising the hem of her skirt ever-so-slightly as she said, "Come on. Dont you want to be the personal chef of a Princess? Once you get a bit older, I can make it worth you while~?" With the exception of Baam, everyone gathered around the hibachi te understood the not-so-hidden meaning containing within Endorsis words. Gandr, however, just responded with a deadpan expression as he inly remarked, "Maybe Ill consider it once you mature..." Though he was talking about her personality, Endorsi misconstrued Gandrs words to imply that she wascking in feminine charm. This caused her ghostly-eyes to glow slightly, her expression turning dark as she silently reminded herself, "He is just a brat...dont let his words get to you..." While Endorsi was mumbling to herself, Gandr slid a heated te filled with several strips of sashimi and a few zed vegetables towards her. This wasnt enough to restore her mood, but, after taking a few bites of the inordinately delicious food, a satisfied smile spread across her face as she chimed, "Youre going to be my personal chef one day. I have already made up my mind~." Selectively ignoring Endorsis words, Gandr slid another serving of fried rice towards Anak before turning to Baam and asking, "Are you already finished eating?" Returning a smile in response to Gandrs question, Baam exined, "Im still not used to eating a lot of food. It was very delicious though. Thank you very much, Mr. Gandr!" Though he found it strange that the Primordial Sin of Gluttony had the smallest appetite among the members of Team Wolf Pack, Gandr chose to pay it no mind. There were more oundish things in the Records, so, considering Baams Innate had yet to awaken, there was no sense in fussing over it. Since everyone else had nearly had their fill, Gandr took the opportunity to prepare arge quantity of food for himself. He ended up preparing several tens of kilograms of food, devouring nearly his entire body weight in sashimi as everyone, excluding Rak and Anak, promptly lost their appetites... --- Deciding to return on foot, Vahn was unhurriedly moving through the Town of Beginnings streets, passively mapping his surroundings while staring at his right hand. There, mist-like energy could be seen swirling in his palm, its color reminiscent of gentle rays of sunshine peering through clouds in the wake of a storm. Though he had always assumed that a Tier 6 Record would allow for greater mastery over the Laws, Vahn never expected to awaken a skill rted to Petting the moment Marble resigned herself to her fate. She ended up offering no resistance to his touch, and, after a few seconds had passed, a subtle light began to radiate from her body as the system informed him that he had obtained the [Taming] and [Subjugation] Skills. [Taming] and [Breeding] were the Skills mostmonly associated with the Position of Anima, the exceptionally rare ability that allowed people to control and rear Shinheuh. [Subjugation], however, was an order of magnitude more frightening, as, rather than allow the user to exercise control over Shinheuh, it had the effect of forcibly subjugating all living creatures. Vahn even suspected it was the precursor to an Innate, one he wasnt quite sure he wanted to possess. Fortunately, even if [Subjugation] would be extremely useful under certain circumstances, it wasnt like Vahn was forced to use it. Rather, even if it activated passively, the Skill would only take effect if he epted the affected as his Subordinate, Retainer, or Believer. This made the Skill rtively safe to use, and, so long as he used it without malicious intentions, Vahn knew it would be very effective for grooming and spurring the growth of various different creatures... While thinking about the feasibility of literally subjugating Floor Guardians, Vahn was more than a little surprised when a green-skinned man suddenly intercepted his path, shouting, "There you are! Ive been looking everywhere trying to find another member of our Team! Show me the way to our Inn this instant, you trash...!" Since he was nowhere near the location of the Inn, Vahn had never expected to encounter Parakewl during his aimless wandering. He couldnt help but wonder if the man had some kind of Innate that allowed him to track down and annoy people as, despite being referred to as a town, the Town of Beginnings was a loose circle with a diameter nearing 80km. This meant there were more than 5000 square kilometers for the man to explore, yet, in spite of this, he somehow managed to find the one person most annoyed by his presence... For a brief moment, Vahn was tempted to test his newly acquired [Subjugation] on the annoying green-skinned man. Unfortunately, his sense of responsibility wouldnt allow him to abandon one of his Subordinates, so, after suppressing the urge, he simply teleported away. If Parakewl was able to continue finding him throughout the duration of their stay on the 3rd Floor, he might reconsider the mans position within Team Wolf Pack, but, for the time being, he had absolutely no interest in a man who went around calling people trash and screaming about revolution. Seeing the target of his ire spontaneously disappear, Parakewl began to stamp the ground in ce, his mouth opening to unnatural proportions as he screamed, "You trash! How dare you ignore the great me!? Arent we supposed to be on the same Team!? Where is your sense of camaraderie...!?" Having teleported several hundred meters away from Parakewls location, Vahn was unable to hear the mans abrasive outburst. Then, after a few more precautionary teleportations, he took a seat in arge found za, exhaling a tired sigh as he looked towards the sunless sky above. Since they were currently indoors, there were no natural lights within the Tower. Rather, before the Workshop spent thousands of years installing artificial lighting on each of the Floors, emting the day-night cycle, it had been a ce of perpetual darkness and gloom. Closing his eyes, Vahn imagined what it must have been like for the pioneers who had climbed the Tower prior to the establishment of the Jahad Empire. It must have been a terrifying ordeal, but, as the prize was having all of their wishes granted, he could imagine countless people willingly taking up the challenge. They had likely spent millennia, if not even longer, just trying to tame the Tower and its inhabitants, slowly emerging as the Native Species that werergely wiped out during the formation of the increasingly notorious Empire. Inhaling a deep breath, Vahn exhaled yet another sigh as he opened his eyes,zily observing the countless Regrs who were doing their best to try and realize their dreams. There were more than three-hundred-thousand residents in the Town of Beginnings even though it was only the 3rd Floor. This number would skyrocket into the millions whenever you reached one of the bottleneck Floors, yet,pared to the approximated 120 billion people present within this Tower, even this number was considered small. Had this been his Empire, Vahn would have done everything in his power to allow the residents of the Tower the opportunity to achieve their dreams. After all, many of them spent hundreds of years proactively trying to climb the Tower, yet, because of a broken system, they were forced to stop on certain floors just to avoid being killed in various power struggles. It, honestly, made him feel a little suffocated, not because his own path was limited, but because he could feel the desperation of the Regrs wanting to climb...people he could help with a simple wave of his hand... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Rather than hungry, Endorsi seems kind of thirsty xD...,Dont worry, Gandr. Baams appetite is steadily growing...,A power that could change everything...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1759 Slumber

Chapter 1759 Slumber

After what felt like an exceptionally long day, the members of the Hunting Party were thest to return to the Inn. Shortly after that, everyone gathered together within Vahns room to eat dinner together, a mandate he had passed down as the God of the Familia. Vahn believed people became closer during meals, especially when good food was involved, so he insisted that everyone share at least one meal together. This would help strengthen their sense of unity as members of the same Familia, and, most importantly, it would prevent anyone from feeling excluded. After all, when youbined delicious food with potent liquor and healthypetition, it was only a matter of time before the walls around the heart were breached. The only troublesome part about having everyone eat within his room, excluding the cleanup, was that Vahn became a lot more approachable after a few drinks. The presence of Phae actually served to deter the men from approaching him more than the women, so, by the end of the evening, Vahn had Anak napping in Phaesp to his right while Hwa Ryun continued pouring drinks to his left. As for Endorsi, she became emboldened by the presence of alcohol, so, for thest hour or so, she had been lingering around Gandr like a vengeful spirit waiting to possess an unsuspecting victim. Though Vahn found Gandrs suffering rather amusing from an outside perspective, the fact he also experienced the suffering directly left him feeling slightly exasperated. It didnt help that she was a confident and beautiful woman who was more than three-hundred-years-old. This,bined with the fact he could read her bodynguage and intentions like an open book, gave Gandr a not-so-subtle urge to simply educate the inexperienced woman every time she attempted to seduce him. Shaking his head, Vahn gathered everyones attention by nodding towards Phae, prompting her to loudly p her hands and say, "Everyone! My Lord wishes to say a few words! Please listen closely!" With Anak and Laure also peeling open their eyes to listen to what he had to say, Vahn adopted a firm yet guiding tone as he said, "It is nearing 10 PM. Everyone will be expected to gather by 5 AM for training so I would encourage you to get plenty of rest. This training will be mandatory until you reach the 20th Floor, so make sure you are mentally and physically prepared. If you fail to make the necessary preparations, you are guaranteed to experience some suffering..." Though there were mixed reactions to his words, the one thing everyone present understood was that they were getting kicked out of Vahns room. Fortunately, the other two rooms were nking Vahns, so, even if they were a little intoxicated or tired, they could make it back without issue. The only person who was unable to return on their own was Anak, but, thanks to Phae carrying her, she made it back to her room without issue. With even Hwa Ryun leaving thanks to Phaes insistence, Vahn was finally able to kick off his shoes and rx. There were still conversations taking ce in both rooms, primarily rted to tomorrows training, but those had very little to do with him. This was a strange thought to have, considering he was both Phae and Gandr, but Vahn didnt pay it any mind as he slowly slipped off into the endless abyss of unconsciousness for the first time in a very long time... --- Opening his eyes, Vahn found himself in a familiar setting, one that had long since lost any meaning to him. Instead of being the one strapped to a table, however, he found himself staring down at his own emaciated body, feelings of guilt welling within his chest as the voice of a woman coldly stated over the inte, "Dr. Andrews. You are authorized to proceed with the extraction of the subjects forelimbs. Remember, the fate of your wife and your daughter are on the line here...if you want their disease to be cured, you willplete the operation without incident. Your Hippocratic Oath has no value within this ce." Though the surgery had yet to begin, Dr. Andrews relied on the attending Nurses to wipe the sweat from his brow as he shakily replied, "I understand, Dr. Keenly. I knew what I was getting myself into when I signed up for this procedure. So long as my wife and daughter are cured, I am willing to do whatever it takes..." Despite the boldness of his words, Dr. Andrews couldnt help feeling a little sick to his stomach as he stared down at the emaciated boy on the operating table. He had never seen someone so pitiful, yet, instead of helping the boy, he was about to take away even more from him. This caused him to doubt every decision he had ever made in his life, the single exception being his decision to use the boys blood to cure his wife and daughter. They were the two most important things in the world to him, so, even if he had to sell his soul to the Devil himself, he would do everything within his power to make them well again. Resolving himself to retire the moment his wife and daughter were treated, Dr. Andrews picked up the bone saw glistening on the table to his right. Then, for the first time since his arrival, he locked eyes with the boy, a shiver running through his body when he saw the fear and desperation within the youths glowing green eyes. This made him feel borderline suicidal, but, having already made his decision, Dr. Andrews swallowed hard, saw in hand as he lightly muttered, "God forgive me..." --- Recing the unbelievable nausea feeling of nausea that had permeated his entire existence, Vahn soon found himselfying in an extremelyfortable hospital bed. This caused him quite a bit of confusion since he had never seen such a room in his entire life. It was almost like a hospital room had beenbined with a suite, and, though his entire body ached, there was a powerful cocktail of drugs flowing into his body through an intravenous drip. Before Vahn could make sense of his situation, a woman wearing a wig walked into the room, her face gaunt and visible tears within her sunken eyes. She looked like someone in theter stages of cancer treatment, yet, in spite of the suffering she was clearly going through, a fierce determination was visible in her loving gaze. This caused Vahns nose to feel sour, and, before he realized it, tears were welling within his eyes as he called out in the voice of a young girl, "Mommy..." Though her body ached beyond belief, Vahn, or, more specifically, Chelsea Thomas, forced herself to reach out towards her mother. In response, the woman, Ariel Thomas, promptly moved from the entrance of the room to her daughters beside. There, the two held hands as Ariel sat down, forcing a smile onto her face as she said, "Dont worry, sweetie. The Doctors in this hospital are the best in the world. They have a treatment that is guaranteed to cure our illness. You just need to hold on a little longer...youre my little warrior, arent you...?" Ignoring the pain the action caused, Chelsea nodded her head in response to her mothers words, answering in a sobbing tone, "We promised...to fight...together..." Nodding her head, Ariel brought her daughters hand to her mouth, kissing the emaciated fingers as tears began trickling from her eyes. This caused Chelsea to feel like her heart was breaking, but, at the same time, a desire to survive welled up inside of her. She didnt want to make her mommy and daddy sad, so, no matter how much pain she had to experience, she would continue to fight until she could fight no longer... --- Feeling a sensation simr to whish, Vahn suddenly found himself on-stage at arge convention center. His hands were tightly holding onto the sides of an elegant wooden podium adorned with a variety of different microphones. Opposite from him, separated by what appeared to be a panel of bullet-proof ss, thousands of people had gathered together to hear him speak on foreign policy and the rising tensions in the Middle East... --- With the caffeine provided by half-a-dozen energy drinks fueling him, Vahn found himself furiously clicking his right mouse button as his left hand danced across various hotkeys on his led-lit gaming keyboard. Though he was wearing soundproof headphones, he could still feel the vibrations of the crowd as they demanded victory from him. Fortunately, after his most recent stay in the ICU, he was back and better than ever, more than prepared to defend his title as the greatest Starcraft 2 yer in the entire world... --- After experiencing precisely 1,317,042 different viewpoints, Vahn found himself suspended within a seemingly infinite expanse. He wasnt alone, however, as the silhouettes of countless people could be seen staring back at him from within the darkness, their eyes reflecting the only source of light in the entire area, his body. At first, Vahn felt naked and vulnerable under the unwavering eyes of so many people. He felt like a tiny rabbit that had been surrounded by a pack of wolves, each appearing hungrier than the next. It was an extremely unnerving feeling, one that caused him to instinctually suppress his light until the only thing visible within the void was his emaciated body. Fortunately, almost immediately after he had curled up into a fetal position, Vahn found himself staring at a pair of feet that were only a few centimeters from his face. This horrified him at first, but, as he looked up to see who the dainty white feel belonged to, he saw someone he had never expected to see...the face of a young woman with green eyes... Without him willing it, the light emanating from Vahns body expanded exponentially, exposing all of the people who stood in his surroundings. If he were to look closely, he would see that most of them were smiling back at him, expression of pure gratitude visible on their faces. Unfortunately, he waspletely unaware of this as the only thing on his mind was the woman smiling down at him with love andpassion exuding from her entire being... --- Waking with a start, Vahn sat up to find himself in the middle of a heavily destroyedndscape, a thickyer of sweat covering most of his body. He instantly recognized this as a ce that existed within his Realm, but, rather than focusing on this aspect, he shifted his attention toward the figure who had been allowing him to use herp as a pillow. Seemingly amused by his stupefaction, the woman, a buxom Cat Person with short, two-tone, ck hair and peculiar yellow-green eyes issued a light chuckle. Then, before he could make any sense of the current situation, she grabbed his head rather forcibly, somehow overpowering him despite the fact he had infinite strength within his Realm. As a result, Vahn found his face buried in the womans chest, a calming aura and an extremely nostalgic scent pervading his entire existence as she stroked the back of his head and exined in a familiar tone, "You really know how to make a girl worry...if I didnt pull you back into your Realm, you might have destroyed the entire Inn..." Though he had been mortified by the fact that he was powerless within his own Realm, Vahns body immediately rxed when he realized the womans identity. At the same time, his hands naturally made their way around her willowy yet impably soft waist, embracing her by pure instinct. This elicited another light chuckle from the woman, who, instead of pushing him away, exuded a wispy rainbow hue from her palm as she continued to stroke his head. Then, as he quickly descended into another deep state of unconsciousness, Vahn heard the woman whisper, "Sleep...let your Big Sister watch over you for a little while longer...in this ce, we have all the time we need..." Punctuating her words, the woman, Sis, nted a delicate kiss on the top of Vahns head before falling to the side while still embracing him. Almost immediately thereafter, Vahns body defaulted to his fourteen-year-old form, the version of himself that had appeared at the very beginning of his journey through the Records. Then, over the duration of several months, he gradually transitioned through each of the forms he had assumed during his journey, reliving everything as Sis continued to firmly embrace him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Endorsi skirting aroundndmines xD...,Wat...?,(OwO)...!!!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1760 Waning Restraints

Chapter 1760 Waning Restraints

As his consciousness slowly returned, Vahn found himself enveloped in an extremelyfortable sensation. It was pleasant to the point of inspiring lethargy, so, even though he knew he shouldnt continue sleeping, Vahn nestled closer to the aromatic warmth, hugging it tightly as he tried to go back to sleep. It wasnt until he heard an affectionate giggle that Vahns awareness fully returned, his mind kicking into high gear as his eye snapped open. Then, even though he felt a strong inclination to continue nestling into them, Vahn extracted his face from Sis paradoxically smooth yet firm breasts to make eye contact with the cat woman staring at him with a loving smile. Taking advantage of the fact Vahn had turned his face toward her, Sis nted a tender kiss on his forehead beforebing back his messy hair and saying, "If youre still not ready, we can stay here for as long as you need. Youve earned the right to be pampered...at least a little..." With Sis stroking his head, Vahn felt a calming energy wash over his body as her warmth continued to spread through him. It gave him a strong urge to let go of his worries and continue sleeping, but, understanding there were more important things that required his attention, he managed to resist the temptation, a cool sensation washing over his mind as he stated, "Thank you...but I have already slept long enough..." Humming in response to Vahns words, Sis continued tob through his hair for several seconds, this time without using [Hands of Nirvana]. It was only after she had fixed most of his bed hair that she replied, "Perhaps...I still think you could sleep a little longer, but, if this is your decision, it is my duty to support it. Its a shame, though...I really enjoyed seeing your sleeping face..." Though her facial features gave her a mischievous appearance, simr to Chloe, Vahn couldnt help feeling awed by the overwhelming love visible in Siss gaze. He didnt even care that she had lightly pinched his cheek, the corners of her smile curling upward slightly as she mused, "Well, your awake face isnt so bad either. Its no wonder all the girls fall for you...youre a handsome little devil, arent you~?" Feeling uncharacteristically embarrassed by Sis words, Vahn managed to extricate himself from her embrace, his eyes sweeping over their surroundings for a brief moment before instinctually opening the system interface. There, he received confirmation of his suspicions, a smile spreading across his face as he read the effects of his new Innate: [Universal Mind]. ---------------------------------------------- [Universal Mind] Rank: Innate (E) *Innate Skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh.* [Passive]: All things in the Order of Creation are One. Absorbs the knowledge and experience of all beings created through the user. [Active]: [Temte]: Allows the user to develop nascent Egos in ordance with their will. [Active]: [Partition]: The user is able to separate Secondary and Tertiary Egos from their Principal Axis of Consciousness. [Active]: [Unification]: The user is able to link Secondary and Tertiary Egos to their Principal Axis of Consciousness. ---------------------------------------------- Though he had always expected his Mind Innate to be very powerful, Vahn couldnt help but feel that his [Universal Mind] was inordinately powerful. It might not be very useful to a normal person, but, as someone who could freely create bodies, Vahn could theoretically popte an entire world with different versions of himself. There were bound to be numerous restrictions, especially with it being E-Rank, but, so long as he continued trying to improve, there were no limits to what he could aplish with such an Innate. As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn noticed that he was actually missing a Skill, one that had been with since the very start of his journey. In response to this, Sis, seemingly just as aware of his thoughts as usual, exined, "[Chainbreaker] has always been the temte for your Mind Innate. Now that you have awakened something like [Universal Mind],bined with the fact you can no longer die, the only thing limiting you is your own perception andprehension. Even this isnt a true limitation, however...after all, you now have the ability to create versions of yourself that are wholly dedicated to a specific task. If you wanted to, you could just sit back and allow all of your creations to do the heavy lifting while you focus on the things that really matter to you..." Hearing Sis exnation, Vahn could actually imagine himself rxing in Avalon, spending time with his family, and generally enjoying life while countless versions of himself worked hard to achieve his goals. It was a very tempting notion, but, even if they were actually just extensions of himself, Vahn had never been the type to just sit back while others worked hard. If he had such a nature, he would have relied on Shadow Clones a long time ago, so, after silently contemting his future decisions, Vahn matched Sis gaze, returning her smile as he asked, "Wheres the fun in that...?" Though he was bound to benefit greatly from the creation of several different Egos, Vahn was more than satisfied with just Phae, Gandr, and Sis. He might make other versions of himself in the future, but, rather than put them to task while he sat in the back, he would work alongside them to reach their unified goals. After all, if he wanted to just create extremely obedient yet capable servants, he had always been able to do so. Fortunately, even without him having to ask, Sis responded with a curt nod, exining, "Even if it is not originally your Innate, the [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] is currently a part of you. Since entities such as Phae and Gandr do not have fates, there is nothing preventing you from naming them. You can even recreate some of your favorite characters from the Records you were unable to visit. There are no limitations, only your personal inhibitions." Hearing Sis response, Vahn briefly imagined popting a world with all of his favorite characters, separating their Egos from himself and allowing them to roam freely within his Realm. There were actually a number of characters he had always wanted to meet and interact with, chief among them being people like Naruto, Luffy, and Ichigo. He had also had a bit of a crush on characters such as Hinata, Nami, and Yoruichi, the first due to her kindness, the second due to the empathy he felt regarding her plight, and the third because she was beautiful, confident, and had the ability to turn into a cat... Almost as soon as that thought had crossed his mind, Vahns eyes rounded his view suddenly split into four. Three of these views were focused on his shocked expression, but, from the perspective of his original self, Vahn was thoroughly at a loss for words as he stared at the three realistic versions of the characters he was just thinking about. This included a young and absurdly adorable Hinata, a curvaceous and beautiful Nami, and an extremely lithe yet toned Yoruichi. Though he was surprised by the sudden appearance of the three girls, Vahn couldnt help but tilt his head to the side as he noticed that Yoruichi was only a few centimeters taller than the twelve-year-old Hinata. He always imagined her being a tall and confident woman, towering over other females in the series with her shapely yet athletic figure. Instead, she was only 156cm tall, and, though she radiated a mature and subtly seductive aura, especially in form-fitting clothing, she barely came up to his chest. (A/N: Vahn is 185cm tall.) Further increasing Vahns incredulity, Yoruichi crossed her arms, an usatory look in her golden eyes as she remarked, "Ill have you know that Im above-average for a Japanese woman. Youre just too tall." Almost immediately after Yoruichi had spoken, Vahn was no longer able to see the world from her perspective. His instincts told him that he could reestablish the link whenever he wanted, but, for the time being, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that Yoruichi had be a separate entity from him. This, in turn, caused Nami and Hinata to blink into awareness, the former adopting a slightly annoyed look while thetter seemed to shrink into her own clothing. Before things could get further out of hand, Vahn raised his left hand, saying, "Give me a moment." while using his right hand to massage his temples. Too many things were urring simultaneously, and, though he had just awakened his Mind Innate, it didnt seem to have any effect on his ability to process information. Fortunately, the Yoruichi, Nami, and Hinata standing before him were only nascent Egos. They did not truly exist, and, unless he named them, they were just versions of himself that had been made to look like the characters he was familiar with. They had none of the knowledge and experience of the originals, and, though they were capable of emting the behavior he was familiar with, it was, in the end, just an act. Feeling his link with the three immediately reestablish itself, Vahns own Ego became the dominant presence within the girls minds. He could move around and control them at his will, and, though their base appearance was that of the three characters he was familiar with, he could even change their shape and form if he really wanted to. The moment he did so, however, he felt a potent feeling of anxiety well up inside of him, almost like the nascent Ego he had produced feared for its life... Before he willed it, Vahns connection with the trio was promptly severed, his perspective returning to a single point of view as he stared back at the silent trio. They werepelled to obey his orders due to being extensions of himself, and, unless he gave them free will and a name, this would never change. This made him feel a little guilty, but, before he could fall into his usual pattern, Sis crossed her arms and said, "Stop worrying so much. This is your power, Vahn, not something you should be afraid of. Just as you have told so many others, you should embrace this power and do your best to try and master it. If you continue holding yourself back every time you obtain greater power, youll only increase the amount of time it takes to reach Tier 7." Understanding the truth contained within Sis words, Vahn ran his fingers through his hair in a self-calming gesture before looking directly at the trio and asking, "What do you want to do? Though it might sound ridiculous considering the current circumstances, I will give you the option to choose your own path..." Since they were no longerpelled to remain silent, Nami was the first to answer, her tone rather harsh yet spirited as she eximed, "Are you an idiot!? Our only real options are to either continue living or have our existence erased! Though Im seriously pissed off about this situation, its not like it can just be reversed! Instead of asking if I would rather die, you should be trying to convince me to live!" Though she was acting the way he expected her to act, Vahn couldnt help but feel taken aback by Namis fiery temperament. Fortunately, before she could continue screaming like a furious banshee, Yoruichi added her own two cents, an amused smile on her face as she crossed her arms and asked, "So, you have a crush on me, huh? I must admit, I never expected my existence to be predicated on the fact that a boy I never met wanted to keep me as a pet...well, so long as you keep me well fed and pamper me, I dont particrly mind. Just dont go overboard or I might have to turn that little dragon of yours into a scratch post." Hearing Yoruichi mention the fact he had a crush on her,bined with her reference to his little dragon, a very subtle shade of red crept into Vahns cheeks. It had been quite some time since he felt embarrassed, but, perhaps as a result of his actual crush on the woman, Yoruichis teasing was surprisingly effective. Her amused smile actually made him feel a little giddy, and, though he was able to avoid averting his eyes, he had a very strong inclination to look away... Understanding Vahns thoughts, Yoruichis smile became progressively more yful, but, before she could act on her instincts, everyone shifted their attention to the quiet girl poking her index fingers together as she muttered, "Umm...I think...I think...I..." Though Vahn could deal with Nami and Yoruichi, Hinatas existence was one that inspired quite a bit of guilt. She was actually one of his first crushes, someone he had always found both adorable yet extremely pitiful. The way she was discarded from her family made him hate the Hyuuga quite a bit, but, while he had always liked her, Vahn had always done so while imagining himself as Naruto. He believed the two made a perfect couple, and, though he never finished the series from his original world, most of the versions Vahn purchased from the system shop had Hinata end up with Naruto. Since they could all understand Vahns thoughts, Hinata began to feel extremely flustered, waving her hands from side-to-side as she eximed, "No, no, no, no! Um...please dont think like that...! I dont want you to make a Naruto-kun just for my sake! B-b-b-b-besides! He wouldnt be the real Naruto-kun! I am h-h-happy just to be given a chance to live in such a fantastical world...I mean...I..." Seeing the way Hinata was behaving, Vahn remembered that their behavior was entirely dependent on how he believed they should act. This was a version of Hinata who was well aware of the fact he had a crush on her, so, while she might not feel the same, her kind and gentle naturepelled her to be considerate towards him. She also had his knowledge, including memories rted to his past, so it was simply impossible for her to make demands of him. Rather, even if she didnt like him right now, the seeds of affection had been sewn the moment she manifested before him... Confirming his suspicions, even Nami ended up releasing an exasperated sigh in response to Yoruichis and Hinatas responses. Then, after crossing her arms under her extremely voluptuous chest, she firmly asserted, "I want a, one filled with treasure. I also want to visit my world at least once after you gain the ability to link Records. I want to save Bellmere...even if it is for the sake of another me..." Though it wasnt necessary to make such guarantees, as Namis desires actually reflected his own, Vahn still nodded his head, promising, "I was already intending to visit One Piece in the future. The very concept of the Celestial Dragons has always bothered me so I wanted to try crushing them at least once. Theres no way I would ignore the injustices that happened in Cocoyasi Vige and the Gray Terminal. Even if I end up interfering with Luffys path to bing the King of Pirates, Ill still protect the people I want to protect." Since they were all aware of Vahns nature, Nami didnt doubt the veracity of Vahns im. Instead, she snorted through her nose before asking the most important question, "So, which one of us are you going to name first...?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Were in the End Game now boys...,Someone stab this man...I dont care if it doesnt actually do anything (T ^ T)...,The future might be filled with endless possibilities, but, no matter what happens, you can be sure that Vahn is going to fuck up some corrupt assholes xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1761 Confusion

Chapter 1761 Confusion

Though he should have expected it, Vahn found himself unable to answer Namis question. This was a situation he had never even anticipated, so, for several seconds, he just stared back at the woman with a nk look on his face. Fortunately, now that she could do more than just speak within his mind, Sis promptly came to his aid, stating, "Dont put so much pressure on him. A True Name isnt necessary unless you intend to leave the Realm. Vahn still needs to assign True Names to Phae and Gandr, so be patient until your time hase. Besides, other than Hinata, neither of you really need a True Name. Even that isnt entirely necessary, however, as Vahn could always purchase a Byakugan for her through the system shop." Simr to how Vahn was influenced, Nami, Yoruichi, and Hinata all listened patiently while Sis was speaking. They were still extensions of the former, so, while their nascent Egos allowed them to give off the impression of real people, they were still just Temtes. Understanding what Sis was trying to convey, Nami released an exasperated sigh before remarking, "I guess youre right. Im more interested in exploring and mapping Gaias Textures than venturing out into that hell hole of a Tower. Unless its absolutely necessary, I would rather avoidbat and just focus on honing my navigation skills. Though, now that I say that, it could be pretty interesting to be a Guide..." Piggybacking off Namis words, Yoruichi decided to make her own intentions known, smiling with a battle-hungry expression as she said, "I want to go outside. Theres no way Im going to miss out on the opportunity to thrash some corrupt assholes. You can just throw me into the Little Garden until the cooldown of Akasha wears off. Im already looking forward to beating those brats into shape!" Since they were extensions of Vahn, simr to Fenrir and Medusa, there was nothing preventing the trio from manifesting outside his Realm. They even had all of his Innates and abilities while the link was still active, so, despite her disdain forbat, even Nami would be a powerhouse the moment she entered the Tower. As for Hinata, Vahn was quite surprised to see her ball her hands into fists, a determined expression on her face as she said, "I will also fight...!" Imagining Hinata using a modified form of the Gentle Fist to manipte the flow of Shinsu within the Tower like a swirling vortex, an amused smile naturally made its way to his face. This caused the girl in question to immediately avert her eyes, covering her face with both hands as the tips of her ears turned a vibrant shade of crimson... Ruining Vahns good moon in an instant, Nami clicked her tongue at the side, arms crossed as she muttered, "Lolicon..." in an usatory tone. This resulted in Hinatas face turning even redder, but, thanks to her constitution, it was pretty much impossible for her to faint. As for Yoruichi, she began cackling like a hyena, seemingly finding thebel extremely hrious. Before things could get further out of hand, Sis drew everyones attention by pping her hands hard enough to generate a shockwave. Her expression was enough to instantaneously cow both Nami and Yoruichi, the former, in particr, feeling extremely nervous as Sis stared at her with a smile that wasnt quite a smile. Then, with a tone that left no room for argument, she said, "Even if you are an extension of Vahn, I wont allow you to badmouth him. He works too hard to have such usations forced upon him. Besides, regardless of appearances, you all share the same age. Now, shall we move this conversation along? If were going to keep idling about, I would rather Vahn use this time to rx, not generate undue stress." Though Sis tone was a little harsh, none of the people present could really argue with her. After all, her words hit the nail on the head, and, if they really wanted to, each of the three girls could change their appearance, apparent age, and even gender. Even their race could be changed with a thought, and, no matter how much time passed, they would never truly age. This applied to Phae, Gandr, and even Sis, so, while it was undeniable that Hinata currently looked very young, physical appearance was the least important factor when discussing Ageless beings with an infinite capacity for change. Feeling unnerved by Sis gaze, Nami quickly adopted an apologetic expression as she remarked, "It was just a joke! Im sorry, okay!? Stop staring at me with that creepy smile...!" Amused by Namis words, Sis squinted her eyes slightly, giggling in a surprisingly terrifying manner before musing, "Please be more thoughtful from now on. Im not fond of people who say rude and abrasive things about my little brother. There are enough foul-mouthed and wicked people in these worlds. I dont want to hear such remarks from the people who should understand him best..." Noticing the dangerous light in Sis eyes, Nami couldnt help but swallow the knot building in her throat. Fortunately, Vahn promptly came to her aid, stepping between them with a wry smile on his face as he said, "Please dont fight..." Shifting her attention to Vahn, Sis expression immediately softened into an affectionate smile as she said, "I understand. I know she wasnt trying to be hurtful; it just upsets me to hear people say such thoughtless things. Dont worry, I am only being strict because she is a part of you. With that in mind, please prepare yourself for a lot of lecturing when you make mistakes in the future. I wont manifest very often, but, when I do, Ill make sure to pamper and lecture you until youre satisfied." Seemingly finished with what she had to say, Sis ced her hand against Vahns chest, punctuating her words with a radiant smile as she vanished into motes of bluish-green light. Momentster, her voice could be heard echoing within his mind, saying, (*I am happiest being a part of you. Though I will manifest when you need me to, please never forget that simple truth. My sincerest desire, even after obtaining my own Ego, is remaining your reliable big sister until the end of all time. No matter what other things might change, that is the one thing I pray remains eternal...*) Feeling afortable warmth spread through his body, almost like Sis was embracing him, Vahn couldnt help but nod his head, smiling as he answered, ("Of course. We already promised to stay together forever. Though my track record isnt perfect, Im not the type that would go back on a promise once given. Im just d we were able to meet like this...youre very beautiful, you know that?") Amused by Vahns words, Sisughter could be echoing within his mind, followed by her voice taking on a teasing undertone as she remarked, (*Dont go falling for your own sister. There is no rtionship more intimate than the one we currently possess. Though Im not unwilling, I would rather pamper you than tarnish our rtionship with carnal desires. Besides, I experience everything you experience...including the more passionate moments of your life...ufufufufu~*) Though he already knew Sis shared his senses, as she was literally a part of him, Vahn couldnt help but blush in response to her words. He suddenly had the mental image of Sis embracing him from behind whenever he was making love to one of his women, a mischievous smile on her face as she whispered encouraging words into his ear... --- After spending a few days taking care of Namis living arrangements and exining the situation to his ever-expanding group of lovers, Vahn finally departed his Realm. To his relief, the transition was already a lot easier thanks to the strengthening of his Soul, and, though it was a little disconcerting to have only one perspective active, a smile spread across his face the moment his connection with Phae and Gandr was reestablished. As could be expected, the duo was more than a little confused by what had happened, but, even without needing to exin things, they were instantly brought up to speed due to the connection itself. This caused Phaesughter to echo within his mind, but, perhaps understanding what was toe, Gandr couldnt help butin, ("I dont know how I feel about building my own harem...I kind of want to just settle down with one woman...") Amused by his youthful counterpartsmentations, Vahn ced his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling as he remarked, ("It was only ever a matter of time before your Ego separated from my own. This will prevent things from bing even moreplicated in the future...besides, you dont actually have to build a harem. Even if youve inherited my empathetic nature, you can always put your foot down or outright refuse a rtionship...") Without dying for a single moment, Gandr immediately replied, ("Thats a load of crap, and you know it! How am I supposed to say no when a girles crying to me when even you cant!? You didnt give me that kind of character, you damn Master...!") Though he was a little surprised by Gandrs outburst, Vahn was actually a little relieved to hear the boy being so expressive. It showed that his Ego had grown and developed quite a bit following the awakening of [Universal Mind]. Unfortunately, without introducing a catalyst for change, he couldnt overwrite Gandrs nature to make him less vulnerable against women. As a result, he could only try to pacify the youth, reminding, ("Well, you can always have Fenrir intervene. She will probably treat you differently once you receive a proper name, but you are still her little brother.") Hearing Vahns reminder, Gandrs mind immediately nked, silence dominating their telepathicwork until he remarked, ("Its going to take a lot of getting used to...not seeing everyone as my lover. Damn...I suddenly feel like a massive hole just opened up in my chest...") Understanding what Gandr was trying to convey, Vahns mood also became a little somber, but, as there was no way he would share his Harem with others, the only constion he could offer was saying, ("No matter what, they are still your family. Besides, we never relied on things like sex to feel close to the people we loved. If you are that eager for a physical connection, Im certain Endorsi or Yuri would be willing...") Speaking the words Vahn wasnt willing to say, Phae quickly added, ("You should make sure to take care of Anak as well. That girl still hasnt been able to open her heart to others. Im not going to tell you to push her down, but I think she will be happier if you treat her as a woman. She seems to be oblivious to it, but everyone else is able to see that she seeks your acknowledgment. Remaining as rivals are fine for now, but dont ignore the fact she is a young woman...we all want to be treated as if were dainty flowers by the people we care about...") Much like Gandr, Phaes Ego had also blossomed quite a bit following the awakening of [Universal Mind], so, even more than before, she was prone to giving helpful and motherly advice. Even her tone through telepathy gave off the impression of someone who truly cared about the people she was speaking about. Since Phae was originally meant to have an ambiguous rtionship with him, Phae wasnt entirely sure how he should treat her following their separation. Fortunately, they could each understand the others intents while the connection was maintained, so, almost immediately after this thought crossed his mind, Phae dropped a bombshell on both of them, stating, ("If anything, Im going to be a lesbian. The thought of having a man gouge out my insides makes me feel queasy, so, while I am a little curious about the rtionships between men and women, it will be quite some time before I am willing to consider such things.") Though she had developed her own Ego, Phae was different from Nami, Hinata, and Yoruichi. They all made use of temtes pertaining to their original characters. Hers, however, was fundamentally just Vahn putting on an act. Though the aspects he wanted to cultivate were currently embodied by her Ego, she shared his aversion towards having sex with a man. Even having sex with a woman was pretty scary, but, as she already had a bit of experience in that regard, it was a lot easier to ept than falling in love with a man; Vahn included. Understanding Phaes train of thought, Vahn didnt question her decision in the slightest. Rather, as much as he appreciated Phaes carefully crafted beauty, he had never considered her as a potential love interest. If anything, she was like a sister to him, one whose beauty he could readily appreciate without developing the desire to sample. He could also benefit from some femalepanionship that didnt revolve around sex or love, so, with a contented smile on his face, Vahn replied, ("Good luck....") before following it up by saying, ("Well deal with the naming tomorrow. For now, Ill cut the connection so that you can adapt to your new Egos. Get some rest.") With both Phae and Gandr answering in the affirmative, Vahn quickly severed the connection, his perception shifting so that he viewed the world through a single perspective. It was a very strange yet calming sensation, one he had forgotten after spending hundreds of years controlling multiple bodies at a time. This caused the smile on his face to be more prominent, his consciousness slowly fading away as a buxom cat girl appeared next to him, tightly hugging his body as he slept... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sis dont y (O,...,O)...!,RIP Gandr,After nearly three hundred years...Vahn has finally learned how to sleep peacefully...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1762 Partition : Unification

Chapter 1762 Partition : Unification

With everyone else expected to arrive around 5 AM, Vahn awoke around 4 AM to find himself alone in his bed; a fragrant aroma and a still-present warmth attesting to the fact he hadnt been for very long. For a brief moment, he even buried his face into the nkets, earning a giggle from Sis within the deepest recesses of his mind. Hearing the familiarugh, Vahn quickly collected himself, rising to a seated position to stretch his body before muttering, "I never thought it would feel so liberating to awaken my Mind Innate...its been ages since I just slept normally..." Understanding his thoughts, Vahn got the impression Sis had nodded in affirmation before saying, (*This is an important step forward for you. Splitting yourself apart is certainly a very useful ability, but, unless you can fully separate from your other selves, it is an extreme weakness. Not only does it ce a heavy burden on your mind, but it also prevents you from thoroughly appreciating each and every moment. Now you just need to ovee your aversion to dealing with the members of your harem using other versions of yourself. If you truly wish to attend them individually, you wont be able to do so while controlling each and every version of yourself simultaneously. Once you truly ept yourself as a beingprised of many, things will be a lot easier for you.*) Though he understood the logic contained within Sis words, Vahn knew it would take him a long time to ept such an arrangement. Even if they were himself, versions of him he had full control over and could share experiences with, the idea of another man sleeping with his women, even if it was himself, was ufortable. This was technically the case in his current situation, but, while it was certainly difficult to manage at times, Vahn felt obligated to be in control whenever he was with his women. If he just entrusted the task to another, it would be like using a more advanced version of the Shadow Clone Jutsu... Even if he knew it was an inevitability, Vahn wanted to reach the point where he could split the axis of reality into multiple tangential realities. He would rather experience living alongside his lovers in their own individual axes of time rather than entrusting their care to another version of himself. This would result in him living out multiple eternities, but, so long as he created versions of himself that were unaware of the greater passage of time, he could live countless lives without suffering any of the detriments that came along with living forever. Shaking his head free of such existential thoughts, Vahn performed a few routine stretches, popping several joints throughout his body before reestablishing his link with Gandr, advising, ("You should hurry over. There is no way to know what youll lose during the Naming process, so its best to get a jump start on adapting to your new existence.") Following a profoundly exasperated sigh, Gandr quickly replied, ("Though Im excited to be real, I cant help but feel like this is going to be a real drag...not only do I lose my harem, Im also going to lose Laev-tan...haaaa...if I cant enter the State of Nothingness, I might just lose my shit...") Hearing his younger counterpart curse, Vahns brows naturally creased, but, rather than call the boy out on it, he allowed him to be as expressive as he liked. After all, Gandr really was about to lose a lot of things, many of which Vahn could never rationalize giving up. This was the truest testament to the fact that the boy had already deviated from him, however, as it was simply impossible for Vahn to part with the people he cared about. Deciding to console the boy who was about to, quite literally, be his protege, Vahn adopted a gentle tone as he mentally remarked, ("This is an opportunity for you to experience the childhood I missed out on. You have already made a lot of friends, and, though your personality and nature are bound to be influenced by your Name, your identity will remain intact. Enjoy your new life...for the both of us...") Though he responded with another sigh, Vahn could feel that Gandr had been properly motivated by his words. This was the benefit of being the Principal Axis of Consciousness, the highest form of authority within a systemprised entirely of different versions and extensions of himself. They all deferred to him as a matter of course, as, in the grand scheme of things, they were extensions of his will; each working towards the same goal without expressly being ordered to do so... --- With Gandr arriving as ordered, both he and Vahn promptly entered into the Little Garden to carry out the Naming ceremony. It wasnt the ideal ce, as Naming was often exceptionally destructive, but, without knowing for certain whether or not Gandr would be able to safely transition between the Realm and the outside, it was better to be safe than sorry. Fortunately, Vahn still had the option of subsuming himself into the Realm before manifesting as his omnipotent self within the Little Garden. This allowed him to effectively create a Texture within the Little Garden, isting Gandr on a parallel sub-ne of existence where no amount of destruction would have any effect on the primary texture. Then, with Fenrir, Yoruichi, and Hinata all observing at a rtively safe distance; Vahn had Gandr kneel before him, cing his palm in between the boys inordinatelyrge and fluffy ears, voice rippling through the void as he said, "Henceforth, you shall be known as Gandr Erebus Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperors Shadow..." Simr to previous Naming ceremonies, a phenomenal amount of energy began to gather even before Vahn had finished bestowing Gandrs name. It quickly coalesced into a mass resembling a ck hole, pure darkness that generated a phenomenal amount of gravity as threads of reddish-ck lightning danced across its surface. Its pull was so great that it actually began to tearrge chunks from the surroundings, ultimately creating a void that was several hundred meters wide. When the dark sphere began to slowly retract into the shape of a person, Vahns appeared without any injury, suspended freely within the void with his hand still atop Gandrs head. He was generally immune to the phenomenon that urred during the naming process, but, even if he hadnt been, his omnipotent status allowed him to effectively ignore damage. This allowed him to be the first to see Gandrs new form, the only real differences being that he was currently naked and that his aura felt a lot more untamed than before... ------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Gandr Erebus Mason], Sobriquet: N/A Age: 304 (Ageless) Race: Vanargandr, Demigod Position(s): Scout Strength: D-Rank Regr Toughness: E-Rank Regr Intellect: C-Rank Regr Agility: A-Rank Regr Control: A-Rank Regr Shinsu Resistance: N/A Shinsu: [Quality: Ice, Darkness, Lightning, Sword], [Total: 41,600], [Bang: 9], [Myun: 208], [Soo: 208], [Tension: 100:1] Soul Tier: 4 (Divine Soul) Karma: (-) Innate(s): [Insatiable Hunger(Non-Standard): (-)], [Sage Dragon Emperors Shadow(Non-Standard): SSS], [Transcendental Sword Soul(Spirit): SS], [Lord of Shadows(Body): B] Skill(s): [Shadow Guardian: SS], [Shadow Step: SS], [Shadow Clone Jutsu: S], [World of Darkness: A], [Chainbreaker: A], [Hands of Nirvana: SSS], [Swordsman(Divine): C], [Cooking(Master): E], [Unknown Mystic Arts: (-)], [Telekinesis(Regr):B], [Spatial Control(Regr): B], (Lighthouse Control(Regr): B], [Observering Control(Regr): B], [Reverse Flow Control(Regr): C], [Flow Control(Ranker): F], [Shundo: C], [Koku Shundo: D], [Shinsu Enhancement(Regr): B] ------------------------------------------- Though Vahn was a little surprised by how powerful Gandr was immediately after receiving a Name, it wasnt difficult to imagine why when he considered that the boy was temted from himself. He drew from the same knowledge, experiences, and, most importantly, he was created after Vahn had already reached Tier 4. This gave the boyparable potential for growth, and, though his Innates had changed drastically, they were bound topliment the abilities he was supposed to possess. Before Vahn could ask how the boy felt, Gandr ced his hand to his chest, a swirling ck vortex appearing for a brief moment as he pulled out a pitch-ck katana. Immediately after that, a tired sigh escaped his lips as he lightly swung the sword, producing hellish ck mes simr to the Amaterasu from Naruto. This demonstrated that the sword, while a Zanpakuto, was not the Laev-tan he had previously been using. Confirming his suspicions, Gandr held up the pitch-ck katana, smiling wryly as he said, "Meet Abby-tan...Laev-tans twin sister..." Following Gandrs introduction, a strangely haughty hum resonated from the pitch-ck de, almost as if it was demanding attention. This caused Gandrs smile to turn even wrier, as, in the back of his mind, a very angry loli was spiritedly trying to convince him that she was better than her sister in every way... Though his connection with Gandr was now closer to the one he shared with Fenrir, Vahn could still understand what the boy was thinking. As a result, he ended up extending his hand, roughly patting the boys head as he said, "Hey, at least you dont have to develop a Zanpakuto Spirit from scratch, right?" Replying with a tired sigh, Gandr promptly sheathed Abby-tan before exining, "I no longer have ess to The Path and its functions. Despite this, I feel...normal? Its hard to describe. The best way I can describe it is like...I feel like this has always been me? Its really strange..." Since even Xiao Bai, Lady Xuan, Zhuque, and Grandpa Qing were also unable to use The Path and its functions, despite being a literal part of him, Vahn wasnt too surprised that Gandr had lost the right to ess it. After all, The Path hadpletely fused with his own Ego, so, while extensions of him might be able to make use of it, separate Egos had no way of sensing it, much less essing its functions. With that in mind, Vahn asked the next logical question, inquiring, "Are you able to use and sense Source Energy?" Without any hesitation whatsoever, Gandr shook his head, exining, "No. Though it feels simr, my instincts are telling me that my current energy is something else entirely. If Im not wrong, it is closer to the energy contained within the items purchased from the shop. I guess that would make it Origin Energy? Its really hard to describe...want to try reestablishing a connection so that you can experience it directly...?" As he was about to suggest something simr, Vahn nodded his head in response to Gandr before using the Unification ability of [Universal Mind]. Immediately after that, he felt his connection with Gandr reestablished, but, unlike before, there was a very obvious feeling of disconnect, almost like there was some kind of obscuring membrane between them. This was likely Gandrs own Ego, and, unless hepletely subsumed or destroyed it, Vahn wouldnt be able to exercise the same level of control over the boy as before. Feeling an unbelievable power surge through him, Gandrs pupils shrank to the side of pinholes as he shouted, "What the hell!? Is this how other people feel whenever we influence them? Its like Im a single drop being washed away in an endless ocean of power...its overwhelming..." As if to emphasize his point, blood began to flow from Gandrs nostrils, prompting Vahn to instantly sever the connection. In retrospect, he realized he should have returned to normal rather than allow Gandr to connect to his Realm self, but, as was often the case, hindsight was twenty-twenty. With the feeling of unlimited power fading away, Gandrs ears drooped rather pathetically as he said, "Now I suddenly feel empty...almost like my life has lost meaning...man, if this is the way other people feel after experiencing Source Energy, its no wonder they refuse to leave..." Though he could understand what Gandr was trying to say, Vahn felt a little ufortable hearing him phrase it in such a manner. As a result, he quickly reverted to his outer self, extending his hand to stroke the boys head as he said, "Im going to re-establish the link. You previously connected to my Realm self so there is a good chance you were just overwhelmed by its omnipotence..." Before Vahn could follow through with his intentions, Gandr shook his head, a serious look on his face as he rebutted, "No, that isnt right. I wont refuse if you want to try, but my instincts are telling me there wont be a difference. Im pretty sure it was the presence of Source that made me feel like this. I can understand why people like Eva, Illya, and ya are so eager top up your blood...I can barely resist the urge to take a bite out of you myself..." As if to demonstrate his point, Gandr opened his mouth to reveal several extremely sharp teeth. He had the same [Insatiable Hunger] as Fenrir, so, whenever he was hungry, his body would change to a form more suited for devouring things. This transformation could be seen with the naked eye, so, rather than exacerbate matters, Vahn decided against reestablishing the link until Gandr had better control over his new body. Fortunately, there was another Vanargandr nearby who could answer his curiosity, so, after a brief moment of hesitation, Vahn turned to Fenrir, waving her over. This resulted in Yoruichi and Hinata alsoing over, but, as there was no longer any danger, it didnt particrly matter... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sis with an Ego is like giving her a sledgehammer...,Chloe would be proud...,TFW you realize just how broken your previous self was...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1763 Shatter

Chapter 1763 Shatter

Though she got the impression her Master was about to do something very dangerous, Fenrir did not hesitate to appear at his side, eyes focused and ready for anything. This elicited an appreciative smile from her Master, but, before he could exin his intentions, Yoruichi burst intoughter while Hinata, having seen Gandrs current state up close, covered her red face with both hands. Following the direction of Yoruichis pointing, Vahn noticed that Gandr was still naked. His clothes had been destroyed during the naming process, and, now that he had lost ess to the Inventory, he had no way to cover himself. He still didnt understand why Yoruichi wasughing, however, as the boy wasnt exactlycking when it came to the development of certain body parts. Having been agitated by Vahns Source Energy, Gandr wasnt at all amused by Yoruichis antics. The nails on his fingers became progressively sharper, but, before he could act on his instincts, Fenrirs paw came down on his head like a hammer as she firmly intoned, "Bad boy. We dont bare fang and w at family. Ask Master for some clothes and then go wait near the World Tree." As his temte had him behave deferentially towards his older sister, Gandrs ears instantaneously drooped in response to Fenrirs words. His ws and teeth also quickly reverted back to normal as he lowered his head towards Vahn and asked, "Master, may I please have some clothes...?" Since things were beginning to get a little awkward, Vahn handed Gandr a [REquip] system from his Inventory before ruffling the boys hair and saying, "Run along. We have training pretty soon." Nodding his head in understanding, Gandr ced the [REquip] system on his left wrist, donning his usual attire in an instant before promptly sinking into his own shadow. This caused his presence to disappear even from Vahns perception. In the next moment, however, he had reappeared, now on the surface Texture. He had used [Shadow Step] to cut through a Shadow Dimension, and, though it was normally impossible to pass between Textures so easily, Gandrs mastery over Space allowed him to ignore such restrictions. With the not-so-young Vanargandr out of the picture, Vahn turned his attention to Yoruichi, his expression a perfect deadpan as he asked, "So, whats so funny? Why did youugh...?" Demonstrating no hesitation whatsoever, Yoruichi offered a fearless smile in return as she asked, "Are you kidding me? Why does a boy that young need such aically oversized member? He isnt even trying to woo any women, yet hes got a tail on both the front and the back? Come on, thats got to be some kind of joke, right?" Not expecting such a response, Vahn found himself at aplete loss for words, his expression remaining the same deadpan as before. For a brief moment, he found himself remembering the first time he had taken a bath with Tsubaki, but, before he could be awash in his memories, Hinata exacerbated things considerably by pressing her fingers together and murmuring, "I thought it looked cute..." With everyones attention shifting toward her, Hinata, once again, buried her face into her hands, a scarlet red hue coloring her ears. This was met with an oppressive silence that lingered for several long seconds, broken only when Yoruichi burst intoughter and began furiously patting Hinata on the back as she eximed, "It seems Vahn imagined you as a closet pervert! Maybe he read a few too many doujinshi? Hahahahahaha~!" Hearing Yoruichis remark, imaginary steam began to rise from Hinatas head as she regretted her honesty. One of the things that had secretly troubled Vahn about her original character was that she was unable to speak her mind, so, now that she had developed a nascent ego that coincided with his perception of her, the most drastic change to her character was that she felt a need to tell people what she was thinking... Deciding to put an end to Yoruichis antics, Vahn adopted a firm tone as he stated, "Thats enough. I understand youre just ying around, but youre taking things too far. You shouldntugh at the expense of others, Yoruichi." Seemingly undaunted by Vahns words, Yoruichi adopted a challenging smile, arms crossed as she asked, "Hooo~? Am I doing something wrong? Its not like Ive insulted anyone. Besides, who is it that made me like this, I wonder? Arent I the confident, mischievous, and whimsical woman of your dreams~?" Though he knew Yoruichi liked to tease people, almost incessantly, Vahn found it difficult to simply ept her words. As a result, his expression became somewhat dour,pelling Yoruichi to adopt a frown of her own as she remarked, "Youre no fun. I bet Hinata isnt even upset...youre just being overprotective. You should learn to cut loose a little. This whole Emperor y youve got going on is just going to make everyones lives more difficult. You should just be yourself, not the person you think the situation needs you to be. I sure as hell wont pretend to be something I"m not...name or no name..." Taken aback by Yoruichis words, Vahns expression softened somewhat, reced by a not-so-subtle look of conflict as he seriously considered her words. Unfortunately, or perhaps the reverse, he was unable to consider them more deeply as Hinata regained enoughposure to say, "Ms. Yoruichi is right...this journey is pointless if you dont enjoy it. Even though Im embarrassed to think about the future...Im happy to be here right now...I want to see and experience lots of things...I want to do my best to help all the people that need our help...I want to support our friends and allies...I...I..." With herplexion quickly reaching dangerous levels of crimson, Hinata became a little unsteady on her feet. Fortunately, before she could drop any substantial bombshells, Fenrir stepped in, her expression serious as she stated, "Master is at his best when he acts however he pleases. Going at the pace of others is going to make you feel suffocated, just like in the Akamatsuverse. You should just do what you want to do. Even if you make mistakes, we will help you clean them up." Unprepared for the sudden pep talk, Vahn could only stare nkly at the three girls, confused as to how the conversation had shifted towards him. He suspected this was orchestrated by Yoruichi in an attempt to lessen her own me, but, considering the context of their statements, it was hard to be certain. All he knew for sure was that they were trying to get him to stop holding back, much as Sis had been... Aware of his every thought, Sis seized the opportunity to add her own opinion, stating, (*You need to learn how to trust yourself. Constantly holding back will never allow you to reach the peak. Stop being afraid of things like expanding your harem or disappointing others. You are the man who will stand up the very pinnacle of creation, shaping reality itself with your thoughts. Have confidence in the person you have be, Vahn. This is the best thing you can do to repay the trust others have ced into you...besides, even if you were to try and convince them that your harem wasnt going to increase any further, how many of your wives do you think would believe you?*) Though he couldnt help but question Sis dual mention of expanding his harem, Vahn understood the basic premise of what she was trying to say. She, and everyone else, actually made a very good point. He was someone aiming for an absolute and iprehensible amount of power; an amount that would see him rule over infinite cosmoses. There was no way he would be able to reach such a level if he continued doing things like ying by the rules of other people and observing from the sidelines as others grew into their power... Realizing he was focusing more on the growth of others rather than himself, an exasperated sigh escaped Vahns lips. He was supposed to be aiming for an iprehensible level of power, yet, in spite of this, he was slowing his pace just to protect a group of people he had met little more than a month prior. At the same time, he was ignoring the countless others who had simr aspirations and ambitions; idling about as the people he had chosen gradually increased their strength. Vahn knew that, if he really wanted to, his power would increase explosively just by moving up the Tower. Even the Guardians wouldnt be able to hold him back, and, though he was bound to meet a few setbacks along the way, he could, quite literally, pull himself back together and try again. There were no limits to the things he could aplish, and, unlike others, the chances of him bing corrupt were virtually non-existent. With the exception of the family he had left behind, the family he was desperately trying to reunite with, Vahn already had everything most people could ever desire. His potential was unlimited, he had absolute dominion over a functionally infinite Realm, a massive harem of passionate lovers, an ever-expanding family tree, trillions of believers, and, most importantly, an empathetic heart and a sincere desire to help other people. No matter how strong he became, no matter what he experienced along the way, the singr truth that resonated at the very core of his existence was that he wanted to help people. Despite the path his Divination counterpart had walked, Vahn firmly believed that he would never stop trying to help people. He felt genuine pain when others were hurt, and, though there were some people he could never forgive, it was impossible for him not to feel guilty after taking a life. Their pain and anguish resonated with something deep inside of him, and, though they had undoubtedly deserved to die, the fact they had been pushed down such a path saddened him. If Vahn were being honest with himself, the moments he had experienced as Gandr were some of the happiest he had umted in recent memory. He enjoyed the feeling of freedom that came with just doing whatever he wanted, so, when he heard the words of the four, Vahn couldnt shake the feeling he had messed up the order of things. He was supposed to be walking a path towards the absolute pinnace, a ce where others could follow but never reach. If he set his pace based on the growth of others, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that it would take thousands of years, if not longer, to reach the goals he had set for himself... As if to hammer the point home, Sis picked up on this train of thought, appending,(*Though there are bound to be powerful beings in the Tower, they are far beneath the entities thaty beyond it. If you want to experience a true challenge, you should move ahead at your own pace. The further and faster you climb, the more people will try to bar your passage. It is through oveing these trials that your strength will blossom. You already have everything you need, and, even if you dont, you can obtain it along the way...what are you waiting for?*) Hearing Sis words, a mystical light began to illuminate within the depths of Vahns eyes, the void around him trembling in response to his aura. He knew she was right, and, if he genuinely pushed himself, it might only take a few years to conquer the entire Tower. There were bound to be people barring his passage, but, as he had attested to time and again, one of the things he feared the least was a challenge. In fact, it was something he craved to the point of foolhardiness, so much so that one of the first thoughts he had entertained after obtaining his new Innate was creating a powerful rival for himself. Realizing how contrary his actions had been up until this point, Vahn couldnt help but burst into a heartyugh, startling the bashful Hinata to the point that she nearly fell down. As for Yoruichi and Fenrir, they both just smiled in response, the former raising her chin slightly while thetter seemed to grow increasingly agitated. She was the most affected by his mental state, so, as his excitement grew, so too did Fenrirs. Though he knew he would mellow out once he calmed down and had time to properly consider his future actions, the current Vahn was too caught up in the moment to hold himself back. As a result, he unabashedly fluffed up Fenrirs hair and ears for several seconds before turning to Yoruichi, hand extended as he said, "Come..." Despite closing the distance without any hesitation, Yoruichi didnt miss the opportunity to adopt a vicious smile of her own as she yfully remarked, "Well see if you have what it takes..." Ignoring the womans goading, Vahn made use of his Petting Laws to caress Yoruichis silky, dark-purple, hair. It was something he had always wanted to do, and, though it more than a little selfish considering the circumstances behind her creation, he got the impression she wanted him to do it. Rather, much like her personality had been dictated by his perception of her, his adolescent crush on her had manifested in a way that made her uncharacteristically receptive to him. After all, much as she had alluded to previously, he had always thought about what it would be like to keep her as a pet. She was very likely the reason he had developed such a fondness for Cat People, and, though shecked the characteristic ears and tail, her ability to transform into a literal ck cat gave Vahn a strong desire to pamper and y with her... As if her earlier words were false bravado, Yoruichi quickly developed a contented smile in response to being caressed. She even began pushing her head against his palm, and, after a few seconds had passed, two purple cat ears spontaneously sprouted from the top of her head. This resulted in Vahn using both hands to fondle the newly formed ears, his fingers massing their interior as the edges of Yoruichis mouth curled into a vaguely feline smile. Petting one of his childhood crushes was a pretty surreal experience for Vahn, but, before he could get fully into it, a demure voice emanated from just outside his periphery. This caused him to turn his head to the side, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinholes before rapidly expanding when he saw the cat ears that had sprouted from the timid girls head. Then, as if to destroy thest vestiges of his restraint, she pressed her fingers together and muttered, "Ano...I would also...like to be pet..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Its better to have and not need than it is to need and not have (UwU)...,An unexpected intervention...!,A monster has just been created...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1764 Forthrigh

Chapter 1764 Forthrigh

With the time drawing ever-closer to the moment they were supposed to begin their training, most of the members of Team Wolf Pack could be seen gathering outside of Vahns room. A few of them had visible signs of a hangover, but, thanks to the blessings of Shinsu and an invigorating fruit drink provided by Phae, they were rapidly recovering. Since she was aware of the things taking ce inside the Little Garden, Phae had already informed the group they were in for a surprise, but, no matter how many times she was asked, her response was simply, "Youll have to wait and see~." in a yful tone. Fortunately, most of them had started to appear after 4:30 AM, so, with only half an hour until they were supposed to begin their training, they werent kept waiting for too long. What none of them expected was for a handsome man with healthy brown skin, dark-brown hair, and vibrant bluish-green eyes to open Vahns door when there were only five minutes remaining. Even stranger was the fact he had a cat riding on his shoulder, an exceptionally rare Shinheuh that was generally only found above the 100th Floor. What made this cat even stranger, besides its rich coat of ck fur, were its piercing, intelligent, golden eyes... Vocalizing what everyone else was thinking, Rak was the first to ask, "Who is this Green-Eyed Turtle? Where is the Bearded-One known as Vahn?" Understanding everyones confusion, Vahn issued a light-hearted chuckle before promptly replying, "I am the God of Infinite Possibilities. Did you think my true form was that of an old man? That was just a convenient vessel I used to keep people at arms length. Now that you are part of my Familia, there is no harm in revealing to you my true form." Though he technically had no such thing as a true form, the words of Sis, Fenrir, Yoruichi, and even Hinata had made Vahn realized the futility of trying to keep people at bay by appearing older. If he really wanted to deter them, he could easily transform into the ugliest existence within the entire Tower. Instead, he became an extremely fit and marginally handsome older gentleman, effectively changing the type of woman who was drawn to him rather than actually deterring them. Now that he had decided to stop holding himself back, Vahn assumed the form he often made use of within his Realm, that of a handsome man in peak physical condition. He lost a bit of the majesty his older form possessed, but, in exchange, he exuded an aura of confidence that was enhanced by his sharp features and rxed smile. With the exception of Anak, all of the other women present were pleasantly surprised by Vahns sudden change in appearance. Hwa Ryun, in particr, had an exceptionally vibrant smile on her face, but, before she could make things awkward, Vahn liberated the group from their stupor by saying, "Hurry inside. Training is scheduled to start promptly at 5 AM. Ill exin everything else during breakfast." Following Vahns suggestion, everyone promptly filed into his room before entering into the Little Garden. There, they found three people waiting for them: Gandr, a young woman with matching racial traits, and a demure-looking girl with short ck hair and palevender, almost-white, eyes. Though everyone could guess the identity of the woman with midnight-blue hair and scarlet eyes, none had any idea who the young girl with prominent fringe bangs was. All they knew was that she looked like a young and sheltered princess, but, before any of them could think to ask who she was, they found themselves gawking as the ck cat on Vahns shoulder leaped towards the other three, transforming into an athletic beauty with dark-purple hair tied up into a high ponytail. Taking advantage of everyones stunned silence, Vahn gestured towards the group of four, casually exining, "As Im sure many of you have already guessed, this charming young woman who looks simr to Gandr is none other than Fenrir, my most cherishedpanion. As for the other two, you can think of them as my retainers. The woman with the cat-like features and predatory smile is one of the Captains of my Shadow Division, Yoruichi Shihoin. As for this adorable youngdy with pearl-like eyes, her name is Hinata Hyuga. She might appear timid on the surface, but, when ites to hand-to-handbat, she is the second-strongest here. If you underestimate her, youre bound to experience some suffering." Since Hinata gave off the impression that she couldnt even hurt a fly, it was difficult to imagine she was as strong as Vahn had imed. Despite this, none of them doubted Vahns words, as, with the exception of Rak and Baam, many of them had learned from a very young age that you didnt judge people based solely on appearance. After all, if appearance dictated strength, Anak would be one of the weakest members of the group, not a powerhouse that could thrash virtually everyone with raw physical strength. With basic introductions out of the way, Vahn and Phae joined the group representing the Empire as he exined, "In ordance with my past promises, I will do my best to help each of you draw out your potential by the time we reach the 20th Floor. From that moment onward, your journey up the Tower will depend wholly on your efforts as a Team. You cant rely on my protection forever, so, if youre serious about achieving your objectives, you will use these next few months to strengthen your foundation and improve your teamwork. To that end, I will have Hatsu and Chunhwa train with Gandr. As for the rest of you, Shibisu and Nare will be under the supervision of Yoruichi, Aleksai and Rak will be following the direction of Fenrir, Endorsi and Anak will be training alongside Hinata, and,st but not least, Khun has the fortune of receiving Phaes tutge while I, personally, will supervise the training of Baam, Laure, and Hwa Ryun. Any questions?" Though quite a number of people had questions, especially Endorsi and Anak, the first to speak out was Rak, arms crossed as he asserted, "I do not need a Fluffy Turtle to oversee my training! I am Rak Wraithraiser! What can-" Before Rak could finish speaking, a spear of ice passed by his head at hypersonic speed, missing his cheek by mere millimeters. This caused ayer of frost to spread along the left side of his face, but, much like everyone else present, he was too stunned to even move as Fenrir coldly retorted, "Until youplete my training, you might as well be a worm crawling along the ground. My Master has told me to train you, so, regardless of your personal feelings, I will whip you into shape. Unless you want to be the weakest member on your entire Team, you will follow my training schedule to the letter." As most of them couldnt even see Fenrirs attack after it had beenunched, her words carried a considerable amount of weight. The only person who was unconvinced was Rak himself, but, after feeling the predatory aura radiating from Fenrirs body, his instinctspelled him to remain silent. His eyes, however, conveyed a strong desire to ovee the petite woman, securing his position at the very top of the food chain. Sensing Raks desire to hunt her, nine Baangs of Shinsu immediately formed a semi-circle behind Fenrir, stunning everyone present. Before she could teach Rak a lesson, however, Vahn plopped his hand atop Fenrirs head, shattering her Baangs in an instant as he ruffled her hair and said, "Go easy on them. Even if I can return them to life, experiencing death is pretty traumatic..." Hearing Vahns casual remark about returning them to life, Khuns brows immediately shot up as he asked, "You can resurrect the dead? Does that mean youre the one who took Greys body from the hospital ward?" Shifting his attention to Khun, Vahn smiled in response to the young mans inquiry before nodding his head and exining, "Both Hoh and Grey are currently within the Little Garden. You will be able to interact with them at some point, but, for the time being, their training will remain separate from your own. Grey has chosen to return to the Middle Tower and Hoh has already made the resolve to walk his own path. Now, fewer questions, more action. It is already time to begin your training, so, unless it is something important, hold your questions until breakfast." Though nearly everyone had questions they wanted to ask, Vahns words were enough to silence the majority. Anak, however, was not among them, her characteristically bored expression showing extreme anxiety and borderline desperation as she appeared before him, shouting, "You can bring back the dead!? What are the requirements!? Tell me!" Without minding the fact that Anak was forcibly pulling on his clothes, Vahn responded by patting the girls head as he exined, "I cant bring back your mother right now. The future, however, is filled with infinite possibilities. Though it might take some time, I promise you will have the chance to reunite with your mother. For now, the most important thing is for you to obtain the happiness she would have wanted for you. Live a life she would be proud of so that when you finally reunite, she wont have any regrets..." With an extremelyfortable energy washing over her body, Anaks panicked expression quickly melted into one of moderate confusion as she found herself at a loss for words. She had only ever felt this rxed during the times when she slept in Phaes embrace, so, for a brief moment, Anaksplex thought processes ceased entirely as Vahns words settled within her heart and mind. Since he wasnt trying to tame the not-so-young lizard girl, Vahn ended up retracting his hand after a few seconds had passed, smiling gently as he said, "Dont worry. Though we may not always be direct, Gods are incapable of lying. Now, run along and learn as much as you can from Hinata. I have great expectations for you, Anak." Simr to when he had instinctually pet Marble, Anak had a dull yet longing look in her eyes as her gaze followed his retracted hand. The efficacy of Petting Laws were inordinately powerful within the Transcendental Path to Heaven, so, even without [Hands of Nirvana], Vahn was able to forcibly calm someone down with a simple touch. It was actually a little terrifying, but, as he had no intention of misusing the power, Vahn was able to maintain his smile as he gently urged Anak in the direction of Hinata before turning to face the remaining Regrs. Noticing the cautious look in Khuns eyes, Vahn couldnt help but issue a light chuckle as he lifted his hand to exin, "As ridiculous as this might sound, Im probably the closet thing to a God of Petting that exists within the Tower. If I wanted to, I could probably tame each and every person here, much like the Family Head of the Lo Po Bia Family. Instead, I generally use my power to help people calm down, rx, or simply feelfortable. Dont worry, I wont pet your head if you dont want me to. I respect established boundaries." Not expecting Vahn to just openly discuss his power, Khuns expression showed mild incredulity, a state that was exacerbated by Fenrir smiling proudly as she said, "Masters headpats are the best! If you work hard, he will be sure to reward you with plenty~!" Hearing Fenrirs remark, Vahns smile turned slightly wry as he looked back at her and said, "Dont go making promises on my behalf, Fenrir. Even if there is some truth to your words, youll give them strange ideas if you say things like that. Now, take your students and run along. Weve already been standing here for far too long. We can talk more during breakfast." To punctuate his words, Vahn fluffed up Fenrirs hair and ears onest time before shifting his gaze to Baam, Laure, and Hwa Ryun to say, "The three of you are with me. Come along. I have much to teach you." Without waiting for the trio to respond, Vahn used his Telekinesis to grab all three of them, smiling as he teleported alongside them to the expansive sub-texture he had created to conduct Gandrs Naming Ceremony... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn make girls go brrrr,Fenrir is scary,The Godhand Returns (OwO)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1765 Training Begins

Chapter 1765 Training Begins

Seeing endless grassy ins and rolling hills stretching out beyond the horizon, Baam couldnt help but show an expression of wonderment as he muttered, "Its like an endless ocean of green...". Amused by the boys utterance, Vahn ruffled Baams hair as he exined, "This ce is a spherical sub-texture with a diameter of two-thousand-kilometers. Though it might appear boundless, if you run towards the horizon long enough, youll eventually find yourself back in this exact spot." As the concept of circumnavigation didnt really exist within the Tower, even Laure and Hwa Ryun were marginally surprised by Vahns words. It was a little strange to consider you would end up in the same point after going in a straight line, but, understanding the concept of a sphere, it didnt take them long to rationalize the concept. Baam, however, cocked his head to the side, confusion and amazement visible in his glistening golden eyes as he asked, "Is that true...!?" Rather than try and convince him through words, Vahn smiled in response to Baams words before pulling out an inordinatelyrge bow from his Inventory. This confused all three of them, but, after he loosed an arrow made of resplendent golden light towards the horizon, they quickly understood what he was trying to convey. Vahn had effectively put the arrow into orbit, so, after a few seconds had passed, a golden streak of light could be seen from the opposing horizon, passing over their heads to continue along its journey. (A/N: The arrow isnt moving at lightspeed, just very quickly.) For a variety of reasons, the trio was extremely surprised by Vahns casual demonstration. Laure, in particr, had already calcted the circumference of the sub-texture to be greater than 9,000km, so, to see Vahn fire an arrow capable of traveling such distances with extreme ease, he couldnt help feeling as though the man was a monster. As for Hwa Ryun, she had an expression simr to Baam, an excited smile on her face as her left eye glimmered in expectation and excitement. Preempting any questions, Vahn raised his hand, gesturing for silence as he said, "Ill be more than happy to answer your questionster. For now, allow me to give you a demonstration of the type of control Ill be expecting from you in the future. Though it will likely take several years, Im confident each of you will be able to reach this point if you continue making an effort..." Even before he had finished speaking, Vahn began to produce numerous Baangs behind his back, each manifesting like tiny stars until their numbers had exceeded a thousand. Then, with a casual smile on his face, Vahn created links between the Baangs, shaping them into a massive magic circle that radiated a tremendous amount of pressure. Thanks to his inordinately high Shinsu Resistance, Baam wasrgely unaffected by the suffocating pressure that had spread through the surroundings. Laure and Hwa Ryun, however, immediately fell to their knees, the former nearly vomiting on the spot while thetter only remained conscious due to a fervent desire to see what her God would do next. Fortunately for them both, though thetter was a little disappointed, Vahn promptly allowed the Shinsu to scatter into the environment, smiling as he began to exin the basics of energy maniption and the structure of magical circles... --- While Vahns ss was progressing rtively peacefully, other sses, with the exception of Phaes, were far more chaotic. This included Yoruichis, which had Nare and Shibisu runningps around the first outer ring, Fenrirs, which involved directbat training, Gandrs, which involved swinging a weighted sword a total of 10,000 times, and, most surprisingly, Hinatas, which had both Endorsi and Anakying on the ground after a very one-sided spar. Though her personality and appearance were temted from Vahns expectations, Hinata, at least for the time being, was still a direct extension of the former. This meant she hadplete ess to The Path, the system functions, and all of Vahns Innate abilities. Because of this, even without the Byakugan, she hadplete awareness of her surroundings, and, though she was unable to use the true Gentle Fist, that didnt stop her from manipting Shinsu as if it was normal Water Elemental Energy. By gathering Shinsu into her palms and at the tips of her fingers, Hinata was able to casually divert the attacks of the Princesses. This created considerable gaps in their defenses, and, thanks to her far greater speed, flexibility, and experience, Hinata was able to urately strike each of their pressure points, stymying the flow of Shinsu within their bodies and causing their limbs to go numb. After gritting her teeth in frustration for several seconds, Anak managed to roll over to her stomach before attempting to push herself up. Endorsi, however, just iled her arms and legs a few times in frustration as she eximed, "This isnt fair at all! Where do all these absurdly powerful people keeping from!? How can such a timid brat hit like a train!?" Hearing Endorsis remark, Hinata adopted an apologetic smile, but, before she could say anything, Anak was the one to answer, "Shut up, you stupid Ghost Pepper...this is supposed to be training. If you are going to keep whining, go somewhere else. As for me...I can keep going...!" Spurred onward by her own remark, the muscles in Anaks calves and thighs bulged slightly as she leaped toward Hinata with explosive speed. She wasnt able to use Shinsu right now, but, thanks to the natural strength of her body, she could perform feats many higher-ranked Regrs wouldnt be able to perform even with Shinsu. Though she wasnt very skilled at hand-to-handbat, Anak attempted to punch towards Hinatas chest with her arm fully extended. This was easily side-stepped by Hinata, but, having expected this, Anak firmly nted her foot into the ground, stopping her forward momentum and allowing her to sweep to the side with her tail. This was enough to catch Hinata by surprise, eliciting a slight raising of the brows from the short-haired Hyuga. Unfortunately for Anak, she managed to use the same side-stepped motion to evade the tail sweep as well, pivoting on her foot and performing a half-spin to create just enough distance to avoid the attack entirely. Then, in the gap created by Anaks own tail sweep, Hinata stepped towards her back in an instant, a thinyer of bluish-white Shinsu gathered within her palm as she impacted the body of the green-skinned girl with enough force to send her tumbling nearly one-hundred-meters. Seemingly intending to take advantage of Hinatas focus on Anak, Endorsi appeared right behind the former, her ghostly eyes zing with an eerie light as she mused, "Gotcha~!" Demonstrating the reward for hubris, Hinata managed to duck under Endorsis attempted chop to the back of her neck. In the same motion, she spun on her heel with impable grace, extending her palm towards the ghost-eyed Princess abdomen as she nted both feet squarely against the ground. This caused the soil, dirt, and grass around her to sink slightly, but, as most of the force was expelled through her palm, it was Endorsi who was sent crashing through a nearby tree, smashing the thick and sturdy wood into countless fragments of mulch. Since she could always heal the duo from virtually any injury, including death, Hinata wasnt holding back as much as she ought to. Endorsi and Anak both had inordinately strong bodies, even without enhancements, so she was trying to draw out theirtent potential by sending waves of nourishing Source Energy into their body with each strike. This allowed her to effectively temper their bodies, and, though it was bound to cause them some pain, they would invariably be a lot stronger by the time the training hadpleted... Feeling as though most of her ribs had been broken, Endorsi curled up into a fetal position, tears swelling in her eyes as she gnashed her teeth. Hinata was a lot stronger than she had expected, so much so that she couldnt help but wonder which of them was supposed to be a Princess of Jahad. Still, this didnt mean she was going to give up, so, after setting her bones and treating her injuries with Shinsu, Endorsi rose to her feet with a determined glimmer in her ghost-like eyes. With vision that extended for hundreds of meters in the surroundings, Hinata immediately turned to Endorsi the moment she attempted to stand. She could see the resolution in the womans eyes, so, after giving her a few seconds to recover, she leaned forward slightly before turning into a blur that instantaneously appeared right in front of Endorsi. Having only ever seen such speed disyed by Rankers, Endorsi felt a mixture of helplessness and indignation as she attempted to cross her arms in a defensive posture. This still left plenty of gaps, however, so, after squatting low with one arm pointed forward and the other pointed back, Hinata muttered, "Eight-Trigrams...two palms...!" The moment she heard Hinatas words, Endorsi felt two sharp pains, simr to being stabbed, near her lower left abdomen and her recently healed rib cage. Then, without any interval between them, Hinata, added, "Four palms...!", this time striking two points on her guard, an area above her navel, and a point near her forehead. This left her feeling extremely disoriented, her mind in aplete state of disarray as Hinated uttered, "Eight palms...!" --- Since Shibisu and Nare were rtively normal people, Yoruichi had them performing a very simr routine to the one that Tsubaki had developed for Lili many years prior. This included considerable amounts of stretching, lots of running, and, though it could be destructive on the joints, she forced them to wear weightedpression suits beneath their clothes. As could be expected, even moving around with weighted clothing wasnt easy, so, after running for nearly an hour straight, Shibisu and Nare had copsed numerous times. Unfortunately, each time they were on the verge of fainting or giving up, Yoruichi would appear next to them, a sadistic smile on her face as she ced her palm against the backs. Immediately after that, almost as if they had received a rush of adrenalinebined with an electrical shock, the duo would be forcibly returned to consciousness before being chased by the maniacal woman with cat-like features. Though it didnt aid her in any way, Nare spent half the training session loudly crying as she did her best to try and flee from her violent tormentor. She hated physical exertion, and, though she knew it would be better for her in the long run, her entire body was already sore from simply wearing thepression suit. She was certain that, once she took off the suit, her entire body was going to be one giant bruise. Unfortunately, despite her protests, Yoruichi didnt allow her to quit, stating things like, "This is what you decided..." and "It will get easier once you get used to it..." before promptly giving her a shock. As a result, Nare was forced to continue running until her tears hadpletely dried up; herment quickly turning to anger which promptly developed into indignation and a strong desire to get back at the hateful woman toying with her like a tiny mouse cornered by a cat. What the young blonde didnt realize was that she was ying directly into Yoruichis hand. It was actually verymon for new trainees to hate their mentors, especially when physical training was involved, but, after a few weeks, most of the resentment would fade away. In its ce, the trainees would grow increasingly confident in their abilities, and, though they might hold a bit of a grudge, they would invariably grow to respect and appreciate the efforts their mentors had put into pushing them beyond their limits. Bing truly powerful required an inordinate amount of effort, far more than most people were willing, or able, to put in. This barred most people from attaining their true potential, as, by design, it was a lot easier to make excuses to justify your weakness than it was to ovee your limits. As a result, only the truly determined and ambitious were able to reach the pinnacle; a pinnacle that all people, with varying degrees of effort, were able to achieve. Though she didnt have a true Ego of her own just yet, Yoruichi was more than capable of forming intentions based on the nascent Ego derived from her Temte. She was intending to follow after Vahn when he separated from the kids on the 20th Floor, so, until then, she wanted to push both Nare and Shibisu beyond their limits. She would help themy a foundation that would allow them to be two of the greatest Scouts the Tower had ever seen, and, though they might hate her in the beginning, she knew they would be extremely grateful in the long run. With this in mind, Yoruichi began mixing in surprise attacks and feints whenever she thought the duo were cking off. After all, a Scout needed to be fully aware of their surroundings at all times, so, even if they were mentally and physically exhausted, she expected them to react appropriately. To that end, Yoruichi performed a diving kick towards Shibisu, striking him in the small of his back with a vicious smile on her face as she shouted, "Youre wide open...!". (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Casual Flex*,Youre in my range...!,Im doing this for your sake! Hahaha~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1766 Relaxation?

Chapter 1766 Rxation?

After spending nearly three hours discussing theory and walking his students through several basic control exercises, Vahn lightly pped to draw everyones attention before saying, "Well, its almost time for breakfast. Well stop here for today. If you have any questions, write them in your journals and ask about them tomorrow." Following Vahns instructions, Baam, Laure, and Hwa Ryun quickly wrote a few things down in their journals. They, unsurprisingly, had a lot of questions about the things they had covered, but, thanks to the benefits provided by the Laws of Progress, they had actually made a considerable amount in just a few short hours. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn waited until everyone had gathered their stuff together before teleporting alongside them back to the Surface. This brought them into the central courtyard of arge mansion that existed within the seventh outer ring, a ce where the time dtion had been adjusted to emte a flow of 7:1. This would allow them plenty of time to wash up, rest, and eat a hearty breakfast before returning to the outside world to continue their daily activities. Though it was rtively smallpared to the mansions that existed within the higher floors of the Tower, Laure and Hwa Ryun were awed by the aura emitted by the immactely constructed estate. There were innumerable magical formations present, and, though the majority were invisible to the naked eye, their ability to see the flow of energy, not just Shinsu, allowed them to ascertain the true majesty of the rtively homely-looking mansion. Before his students could ask questions, Vahn gestured to the east wing, exining, "That is the location of the womens bath. The flow of time in this ce is different from the outside world, so, even though there is only fifteen minutes before the agreed-upon time, you will have 105 minutes to rx your bodies and minds within this ce." Finished with his basic exnation regarding the different flow of time, Vahn gestured to the west wing next, adding, "As you might have expected, the mens bath is located in the west wing. There are a lot of protections that prevent members of the opposite sex from roaming ces where they are not meant to be, so, if you want to avoid some pain, you will do well to stick to your own baths and changing rooms. Do I make myself clear...?" Though he was speaking to everyone, Vahns eyes settled on Hwa Ryun,pelling the woman to blush. Her powers as a Guide actually functioned within the Little Garden, so, while it might be hard for others, she would eventually be able to find a way through the formations protecting the mens bath from wayward women. She had just been thinking about a way to find Vahns bath, so, to hear him suddenly say such words, she couldnt help but feel a little bashful after being seen through so easily... What Hwa Ryun was unaware of was that her thoughts and desires, especially when she got excited and was thinking about him, were directly transmitted to Vahn. They were like silent prayers that, in spite of hisck of Divinity, echoed within the back of his mind. Under normal circumstances, Vahn would ignore these murmurs, as there were far too many to count, but, as Hwa Ryun, Hoh, and Grey were his only Believers in the current Record, it was pretty easy to make out their individual appeals. Fortunately for Hwa Ryun, Vahn was feeling more decisive after his motivational intervention just a few hours prior. As a result, he casually reached out his hand, gently caressing the redheads hair as he said, "Behave yourself. There will be plenty of time for things like that in the future. For now, you should focus on increasing your strength and guiding Team Wolf Pack. Though Im confident in my ability to protect you, the enemies we will face are the strongest within the Tower. Youll need to be much stronger if you want to continue standing at my side..." Understanding the meaning behind Vahns words, a fiery determination zed in Hwa Ryuns eye as she replied, "I understand. In order to witness your glory firsthand, I will endeavor to ovee my limits. Please continue to guide me from now on..." Though she feltpelled to bow, Hwa Ryun was enjoying having her head caressed far too much to willingly part with Vahns palm. She was also feeling extremely excited right now, and, though she was doing her best to restrain herself, the upper half of her face became a vibrant shade of red as an uncontainable smile made its way to her face. Finding Hwa Ryuns reaction rather cute, Vahn felt a strong desire to continue petting her, but, with a subtle glow beginning to emanate from her body, he ultimately retracted his hand as he said, "Go and wash up. Breakfast will be ready and waiting within the central dining hall." With that said, Vahn gave Baams hair a casual ruffling before walking past the trio and entering the front door of the estate. He felt like cooking alongside Phae, so, while everyone else was enjoying a much-deserved rest, he was looking forward to engaging in one of his favorite pastimes. --- Despite having seen what was awaiting her within the onsen-like bath, Hwa Ryun still paused for a brief moment when she stepped into the interior. There was Hinata sitting near the very edge of the bath, knees tucked up to bashfully conceal her figure, Yoruichi swimming around happily in her cat form, and, most notably, three corpse-like figures floatingzily within therge pool of water. Noticing someone else enter the bath, Hinata turned her attention towards the entrance, smiling timidly as she said, "It seems you are thest to arrive, Ms. Ryun." Almost immediately following Hinatas remark, a sh of brown appeared directly to Hwa Ryuns left, stealing the towel concealing the redheads body with a loud, "Lets see how the new girl stacks up~!" in an excitable tone. Though she had been disrobed by Yoruichi, Hwa Ryun didnt fluster in the slightest. Instead, she puffed out her chest slightly, a hint of a smile on her face as she asked, "Well? How is it...?" Amused by Hwa Ryuns response, Yoruichi issued a light, Hooo~? before adopting an appraising stance, eyeing the woman from head to toe before answering, "Not bad at all. You could benefit a lot from a bit of exercise, but the base material is pretty good. Still, youre far from being able topete with me~!" Despite the fact she was 12cm shorter than Hwa Ryun, Yoruichis lithe body had excellent bnce and immactely sculpted proportions. What truly made her stand out, however, was her darker skin tone and the subtle trace of muscle that could be seen whenever she made arge movement. Vahn had always had a thing for women with athletic bodies, so, while her form was a little different from what it would have been in the Record of Bleach, Yoruichis body was pretty close to perfect, at least within the eyes of her idental creator. Rather than refute Yoruichis im, Hwa Ryun ultimately nodded her head in response, saying, "You are, indeed, a very beautiful woman. However, I do not wish topete. So long as I can remain at my Gods side, I am more than content." Hearing Hwa Ryuns remark, one of the three corpses floating within the onsen, Endorsi, seemed to regain a bit of its vitality, stirring to life in order to ask, "Oh yeah, Ive been meaning to ask. What is your rtionship with Vahn? And I dont just mean Ryun. Im curious about all of your rtionships with that man." Surprising nearly everyone within the baht, Yoruichi raised her hand like an excited schoolchild who had the answer to her teachers question, firmly asserting, "Im his pet!" with a massive grin on her face. This was enough to resurrect both Anak and Nare, each adopting incredulous looks as they stared back at the bronze-skinned woman. With all eyes focused on her, Yoruichi proudly crossed her arms under her breasts as she exined, "Im wont bother going into any details, but Vahn has had a crush on me ever since he was a snot-nosed brat. Now I get to tease him, eat tasty food, and enjoy his pampering to my hearts content. I wont give up my position to anyone, so, if you do wish topete, dont expect me to go easy on you." Even Hwa Ryun was a little taken aback by Yoruichis words, but, whenever she imagined her God giving her head pats and spoiling her, she couldnt help but feel a little envious. This seemed to be noticed by Yoruichi, who, with an even bigger grin on her face, added, "Dont worry. Like the fuzzy butt said prior to the training, Vahn is pretty generous when ites to rewards. Though the other girls might not have a chance, you just need to keep working hard. Before you know it, pampering is the minimum you can expect from that overachiever." Though she had no particr intention of aiming for Vahn, Yoruichis words caused Endorsi to feel slightly offended. As a result, she stood up within the bath, proudly puffing her chest out with arms akimbo as she proimed, "Ha! If I put in the effort, do you think that man would be able to resist my charms? Even a God wouldnt be able to resist my charm, you know~?" Shifting her attention to Endorsi, Yoruichi adopted an unimpressed look on her face, smiling in a teasing manner as she stated, "You can give up right now. It is impossible to seduce someone like Vahn. Back in Avalon, he has literal Goddesses of Sex, Love, and Beauty as his wives. Youre a pretty flower, sure, but your personality prevents you from appearing truly beautiful in the eyes of Vahn. Besides, dont you already have a thing for that furry brat? Dont bite off more than you can chew, girl. That boy is already too much for you to handle. Aiming for the leader of the pack is suicide." Raising her fist like she wanted nothing more than to punch Yoruichi in her smug face, Endorsi was seriously considering her odds when Anak suddenly asked, "Huh? You actually like Gandr? I thought you said he was a brat...?" Since she rarely paid any attention to what was going on in her surroundings, Anak was genuinely confused by Yoruichis remark. This caused Endorsi to feel a little awkward, her smile straining a bit as she tried to think of a way to exin theplexities of her rtionship with Gandr. Before she could, however, Yoruichi and Hwa Ryun approached the bath, the former saying, "You shouldnt fret stuff like that, lizard-britches. Gandr isnt going to be taken away from you. That boy is more than capable of taking care of multiple women, so dont waste your time on things like envy or jealousy." Following her statement, Yoruichi sat down in the space next to Hinata, hooking her arm around the bashful girls shoulders as she added, "I wont stop you frompeting to be Gandrs only woman, but youre seriously underestimating him if you think just one of you has what it takes to deal with him. Seriously, that boy might look like a wolf, but he is hung like a horse." Though horses didnt exist within the Tower, everyone present could understand what Yoruichi was trying to convey with her words. This caused the upper half of Endorsis face to go red, and, though she generally didnt think about such things, Anak began to blow bubbles near the surface of the water. As for Nare, she adopted a somewhat impish smile on her face, cupping her right cheek as she mused, "Oh my~." with a rosy blush coloring her cheeks. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Give that Witch a headpat. Witches love headpats...,Yoruichi is like the main character of her own story xD...,Gandr has been betrayed...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1767 Probing

Chapter 1767 Probing

Unaware of the conversation going on in the womens bath, a disturbingly simr one was taking ce within the mens. With public baths being the mostmon form of bathing within the Tower, Gandr decided to take it easy alongside Hatsu and Chunhwa after their training hadpleted. There was nothing strange about this, but, from the moment they saw Gandrs endowments, Hatsu became eerily silent while Chunhwa, with a wry smile on his face, remarked, "Youre scary in all kinds of ways...hahahaha..." If things had ended there, Gandr wouldnt have particrly minded, but, with the rest of the guys slowly filing into the bath, things somehow transitioned from a literal dick-measuring contest to an open discussion about preferences in women. The fault for thisrgelyy with Shibisu, who, after securing himself third ce among the men present, asked, "How are things going between you and Endorsi? I noticed she was all over your duringst nights supper." Though he knew Shibisu was the type that asked what was on his mind, Gandr couldnt help but sigh in response to the mans words before exining, "There isnt really anything between us right now. I dont know how things will progress in the future, but Im not trying to pick up girls and start a harem right now." Raising his brows, a sly smile spread across Shibisus face as he asked, "Who said anything about a harem? Seems like youre already having some ideas~." With a simple wave of his hand, Gandr caused a spout of hot water to smash into Shibisus face, his own adopting a deadpan expression as he said, "Mind your own business, Isu. You might think it is envious to be in a position like mine, but thats only because you havent experienced it. Endorsi is an attractive woman, but she has a vain nature and a violent temperament. As for Anak, she is more like a little sister to me than anything else...and dont even get me started on Yuri...haaaa..." Deciding to lend Shibisu a hand, Khun, from his position next to Baam, stated, "Give him a break, Gandr. The fact you have three Princess of Jahad pining after you really is something to be envious of. I understand that it might be troublesome, but there are literally billions of people in this Tower who would willingly trade ces with you. If we didnt pick on you for it, who would voice the anger and indignation of the masses~?" Hearing Khuns remark, Gandr just released another tired sigh before sinking into the water up to his nose. This ended up being a little dangerous, as, immediately following Khuns statement, Rak, the undisputed number one among the men gathered, boldly stated, "The Blue Turtle is right. It is the sign of a strong man to have strong women to mate with. Take pride, Fluffy ck Turtle, you are a strong man." identally inhaling water through his nose, Gandr entered a coughing fit, a slightly resentful look in his eyes as he stared at the muscr crocodilian rxing on the opposite side of Baam. The trio had very few boundaries between them, and, though none of them were gay, it wasnt rare to see Baam and Khun using Rak as a cushion or a bed. It was a very strange dynamic, but, after spending a few years alongside members of the Xenos, Vahn, and, by proxy, Gandr, didnt really question it. After recovering from his idental inhtion, Gandr decided to just rx against the side of the bath, head tilted back as he muttered, "You dont really have to tell me how fortunate I am. I am the most aware of it. Its just not my main focus so its kind of annoying to hear about it so often. I just want to have fun climbing the Tower alongside my friends. Rtionships always make things moreplicated than they need to be, especially when there are multiple women involved. Right now, it is mainly just a joke, but, if I really did start a rtionship, it would slowly drive a wedge between all of us...I dont want to lose the friends I just made..." Not expecting to hear something so sincere from the young Vanargandr, everyone present within the bath momentarily fell silent. They knew there were more than a few grains of truth behind his statement, and, though people like Chunhwa didnt really care, as he already had a rtionship, it was bound to cause problems if Gandr started dating all the other girls in the Team. People had a habit of thinking there was always a chance they could get lucky if someone was already taken, so, when one person started taking everyone, it was impossible to prevent a little resentment from taking root. Though Endorsi was a vain and annoying woman, her beauty made her rtively popr among all the males within Team Wolf Pack. The only people who didnt particrly care about her were Rak, who had a very different opinion on what beauty meant, Baam, who only really had eyes for Rachel, and Khun, who, despite his firm denial, had a soft spot for his step-sister. She was the light of his life, and, though he principally did it to help secure her status, he had helped his step-sister be a Princess of Jahad just so she wouldnt end up with another guy. With the exception of the peculiar trio, this left Shibisu, Aleksai, Hatsu, and even Laure as people who all had middling crushes on Endorsi. Sure, they disdained her personality quite a bit, but, as she was, in fact, a Princess of Jahad, they actually expected her to act like that. The fact she was also something that was supposed to be unattainable also gave her the allure of the forbidden, a fruit that everyone would want to taste if given the opportunity. Endorsi clinging to Gandr already caused the seeds of resentment to sprout within the hearts of several Team Wolf Pack members. As a result, they felt quite a bit of guilt after hearing what Gandr had to say on the matter. They didnt know his actual age, so, from their perspective, he was just a young boy that wanted to have fun and make friends. Despite this, they teased him because of their own insecurities, envying the youth for his appearance, talent, and inordinately good fortune with women... As the primary culprit behind the teasing remarks, Shibisu adopted an apologetic expression on his face as he stated, "Im sorry, Gandr...I didnt really try and consider things from your perspective. Ill try to control myself better in the future..." Fixing his posture so that he could stare back at the man, Gandr surprised Shibisu by shaking his head and saying, "No, its fine. I dont really mind being teased that much. After all, its normal for friends to mess with each other. The thing that bothers me is how it feels like Im being pressured to start a rtionship when I dont really want to. Im pretty sure Anak also feels the same way. She probably doesnt even think about the matters between men and women, yet, time and again, she is teased for treating me specially just because were a little close...its frustrating..." Feeling even more guilty after hearing Gandrs exasperated remark, Shibisu didnt really know what else to say to the boy. Instead, he just rubbed the back of his head, an awkward smile on his face as he thought back to all his pastments regarding the duo. Fortunately, Baam came to his rescue pretty quickly, apletely innocent smile on his face as she offered, "I think it would be best if we just focus on getting stronger and climbing the Tower. Were already members of the same Familia, so Im sure we can ovee anything if we just talk it out like this. Isnt that what friends do?" Nodding his head in agreement, Gandr liberated Shibisu from his awkward silence by saying, "Baam is right. Im probably making a bigger deal out of this than it actually is. I mean, now that were all a part of the same Familia, you can easily obtain the same type of medicine used by Rachel. After that, the only thing you really need to do in order to win a girls heart is to disy confidence, treat them nicely, and work hard to improve yourself. Girls like guys who make them feel emotionally and financially secure. They can also appreciate the hard work you put into improving yourself, as, more often than not, girls put a lot of effort into their appearance. It makes them feel gratified if you do the same, rather than just one-sidedly coveting their beauty." Not expecting to hear rtionship advice from the youngest person present, Shibisu couldnt help but tentatively inquire, "How do you know all of these things? Arent you like twelve...?" Rolling his eyes, Gandr reclined his head back again before saying, "We experience the passage, just like anyone else, but the Vanargandr doesnt age. Were all Ageless, so, unless I want to change, this is how I will always appear. As for my actual age...Im pretty close to 305-years-old..." Though three-hundred wasnt particrly old by the Towers standards, the fact Gandr was already that old came as quite the shock. They had thought he was still a brat, but, considering how skilled he was, it made sense that his actual age was a lot older than their expectations. Despite having just resolved himself not to tease Gandr too much, Shibisu couldnt help but shake his head as he said, "Man, Endorsi is going to flip when she hears about this. The way you speak, it is pretty obvious you have some experience too. Did you have a family outside of the Tower...?" Rather than answer Shibisus question, Gandr just waved dismissively before letting his body sink into the bath. He didnt really feel like making up excuses oring up with a cover story, so, after counting to one-hundred beneath the water, he rose from the tub and said, "Im hungry. Ill see you all at breakfast." With that said, Gandr walked toward the entrance to the bath, steam rising from his hair and fur as the water soaking them quickly evaporated. Then, with a quick activation of his [REquip] system, he was fully clothed before he even reached the Changing Room. Feeling his guilt resurface, Shibisu rubbed the back of his head a second time as he murmured, "I guess Gandrs past is a taboo subject..." Though Shibisu hadnt been speaking towards anyone, in particr, Khun elected to nod his head, adding, "You dont acquire those kinds of skills if you lived a normal childhood. That Fenrir woman is also a little unhinged so its pretty obvious they have a checkered past. Vahn probably saved them at some point. Its pretty obvious his rtionship with most of his retainers is abnormal...I guess the world outside the Tower has its own problems..." Following Khuns remark, silence descended on the bath for several tense moments as everyones thoughts wandered to the outside world. The only exception to this was Baam, who, having lived outside the Tower for many years, didnt particrly care for it. He was more focused on climbing to the top of the Tower and opening the way so that others could achieve their dreams. With silence dominating the atmosphere for nearly a full minute, many of the people present were considering getting out when Shibisu suddenly asked, "So, what do you guys think about the new girls? She is a sadistic monster, but that Yoruichi chick is ridiculously sexy. For a moment, I actually considered bing a masochist when she was stepping on my face...Im not sure how the soles of her feet can be so soft when she walks around barefooted like that..." Hearing Shibisus admission, Khun couldnt help but glower at the man as if he was looking at aplete idiot. Before he could say anything, however, Chunhwa seemed to be interested in the topic, a distant look in his eyes as he stated, "That Hinata girl is very cute...though she cant reallypare to my Nare, my Chivalrous instincts kick in whenever I see such a timid and frail-looking girl...it makes me want to protect them..." Not buying Chunhwas bullshit, Shibisu adopted an usatorily sly smile as he said, "Youre so full of it, Chun. We all know youre a Lolicon. You dont have to make excuses." With a fair amount of red bleeding into his cheeks, Chunhwa adopted a threatening look as he said, "Im not a Lolicon..." in a dark tone. Unfortunately, Shibisu already had his weakness in his grasp, the smile on his face bing even more wicked as he asked, "Oh? You and Nare havent done it? Im pretty sure I saw her sneaking off to your room a few times...I guess she was just feeling insecure so she went to you for protection..." Unable to refute Shibisus words, Chunhwa averted his eyes to the side, rebutting, "Her appearance is due to her race...she is only child-like if you hold her to human standards. What, would you have her remain alone her entire life just because she looks a little young...?" Finding Chunhwas justification rather amusing, Shibisu couldnt help but loudly guffaw in response to the mans words. Then, despite feeling as though he had already gone too far, a somewhat lewd smile appeared on his face as he mused, "Dont worry, even if youre second-tost, Im sure Nare thinks youre massive~." before immediately sprinting towards the entrance. (A/N: Alternate Titles: The indignation of the masses xD...,Gandr has left the server,Shibisu must have an Innate rted to seeking death...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1768 Momentum

Chapter 1768 Momentum

As more people began to trickle into the dining room, a variety of breakfast foods, including eggs, sausage, pancakes, biscuits, gravy, fruit, yogurt, and other staples began to manifest out of thin air atop a series of banquet tables. This gave people the opportunity to pick and choose their favorite breakfast foods, a notion that brought smiles to the faces of many. Being one of the first to arrive, Gandr secured himself a stack of twenty pancakes, a literal pot of sausage gravy, a te full of buttermilk biscuits, and an entire pan of bacon. Despite this, he wasrgely finished eating by the time everyone else began to arrive, a massive grin spread across his face when he noticed that half of Shibisus was swollen. Noticing Gandrs smile, Shibisu returned an awkward one of his own before making his way over to the buffet table. Most of the other guys followed close behind, the only exceptions being Baam and Hatsu since neither had much of an appetite. It was from thetter that Gandr learned about what had happened in the bath, a recounting that caused his ears and tail to twitch happily at the notion of Shibisus suffering. Fortunately, despite their altercation, there didnt seem to be any particrly hard feelings between Shibisu and Chunhwa. The massive bruise on Shibisus face was enough to pacify thetters anger, and, though he couldnt help but redden when Nare entered the room, everyone pretended not to have noticed. After securing food for themselves, the girls quickly invaded the boys table, Endorsi taking the seat left to Gandr while Anak took her usual seat on his right. This caused the boy in question to adopt a wry smile, not because he was seated between the two Princesses, but because Endorsi, despite her penchant for avoiding meat, had a singlerge sausage on her te. She also had a teasing look in her eyes, and, though it garnered her a considerable amount of attention, she took her time to bite the very tip of the sausage, all while staring directly at him. To make matters even worse, causing Endorsi to literally choke, Yoruichi confirmed what everyone else was already thinking, inly remarking, "Youre gonna need a bigger sausage, Princess." This caused Endorsi to basically inhale the piece she had just bitten off, requiring a few heavy pats on her back in order to dislodge it... --- Emerging from the kitchen, Vahn couldnt help smiling when he saw how lively things were in the dining hall. His presence caused things to calm down quite a bit, but, based on the vibrant colors of everyones auras, it was easy to see how well everyone got along. He was worried that the training might cause some animosity to build between them, but, thanks to the healing qualities of the hot spring and the calming effect of the Little Garden, everyone bounced back pretty quickly. Deciding to join everyone for breakfast, Vahn made his way over the table, smiling when Yoruichi, in her cat form, leaped up to his shoulder. This drew the attention of several people, especially when she began licking the area near his sideburns, but Vahn didnt particrly mind their stares. Instead, he sat down next to Hinata, affectionately patting the girls head for a few moments before turning his attention to the table atrge and asking, "So, how was everyones first day of training?" Without even a moment of hesitation, Endorsi promptly pointed directly at Hinata, a very light flush coloring her cheeks as she eximed, "That woman is a demon! She might look sweet and innocent on the surface, but I thought I was going to die more than a dozen times during our training! I want someone else to teach me...!" Though he was slightly annoyed by Endorsis remark, Vahns smile became more prominent as he instantaneously answered, "Denied. Hinata is the most suitable teacher for both you and Anak. She will help strengthen your bodies, and, so long as you follow her teachings properly, you will quickly be masters at hand-to-handbat. If youre sustaining injuries, it means you are charging in without using techniques. Most of her abilities rely on counters and exploiting gaps in the enemys guard. Stop leaving yourself open." Not expecting herint to be shot down so unceremoniously, Endorsi found herself unable to offer a retort, mouth moving but no wordsing out. She feltpelled to offer a rebuttal, but, before she was able to, Vahns expression seemed to soften slightly, smiling as he added, "Youre a tough girl, Endorsi. I dont believe you are unable to continue with this training. Besides, it will help to refine your beauty even further. The technique Hinata uses is even more effective than the pellet that was consumed by Rachel. Thetter only removes impurities from the body, enhancing beauty and making it easier to manipte energy. The former refines the body down to the cellr level, drastically increasing your strength and durability while also providing a simr effect to the pill. If you took a photo of your current self and thenpared it to the version of you a couple of months down the line, I imagine youll be pretty shocked." Hearing Vahn list out the various benefits of being Hinatas punching bag, Endorsi got the distinct impression she was being tricked. Despite this, she still chose to believe in his words based on the premise that Gods couldnt lie. She was also very weak topliments, so, hearing Vahn say she was a tough girl, Endorsi feltpelled to demonstrate the veracity of this im. There was also the fact that she had experienced a much worse hell during her childhood, so, while it was certainly very painful, Endorsi knew she could tough it out, just like she always had. Noticing the fire within Endorsis eyes, Vahn responded with an approving nod before shifting his attention to the rest of the table and saying, "Things might not be easy in the beginning, but, once you adapt the training and be ustomed to oveing your limits, you are bound to grow stronger at an exponential rate. If it was easy to be strong, everyone would be a powerhouse on the level of Jahad and the Ten Great Family Leaders. Instead, most people waste their talents by making excuses, ming others, and envying those who were more fortunate than themselves. In the end, talent will only get you so far. True power is something that is obtained through effort. It is not gained from a desire to suppress others, but a resolution to ovee yourself. Each of you has unlimited potential. Dont waste it." Not expecting a motivational speech during breakfast, an oppressive silence promptly descended upon the dining room in response to Vahns words. This made the atmosphere a little awkward, but, proving why he was the protagonist of this world, Baam shattered the tensions by excitedly saying, "Mr. Vahn is right! People have no control over the circumstances of their birth so I wont waste my time envying others! I will continue to grow stronger! Strong enough to obtain all the things I want! Strong enough to protect all the things I want to protect...!" Hearing Baam speak so spiritedly, smiles spread across the faces of many as the atmosphere quickly reverted to the liveliness that had been present prior to Vahns arrival. This caused thetter to feel a little awkward, but, rather than fret over his inability topete with a protagonists aura, he just smiled along with everyone else before enjoying a hearty breakfast... --- After promptly kicking everyone out of the Little Garden at 8 AM, Vahn decided to kick back and rx for a few hours, lying on his bed with Yoruichi curled up on his chest. There was something calming about having a cat purr on your chest, so, while he got the impression she was acting a little too clingy, he didnt particrly mind it. Rather, it made him a little excited to imagine that the velvety ck cat lying on his chest was actually a beautiful woman allowing him to stroke her body at his leisure... Unfortunately, like all good things, Vahns rxation was interrupted by a sudden ping emanating from his Pocket. At the same time, the spherical ck device appeared right next to him, indicating that the person calling him was none other than Marble. This was a little earlier than expected, but, rather than simply ignore the call, Vahn lightly tapped the Pocket with his left hand before casually remarking, "Good morning, Ms. Marble." Seemingly surprised by the casual greeting, Marble remained silent for several seconds before her voice could be heard softly replying, "Good morning..." Amused by the petite Dwelflings remark, the ends of Vahns smile curled up slightly as he asked, "I assume you are calling to inform me about the preparations? Tell me what I need to do." Having recovered her senses, Marble adopted a more confident tone as she answered, "Everything has been taken care of. Your first Special Test will be against a Test Administrator named Siddallino Rubeus. He doesnt belong to any of the Ten Great Families, but he is pretty famous as an up-anding Ranker. You can find his office at the coordinates I uploaded to your Pocket. Keep in mind that he is not an affiliate of Wolhaiksong so you should avoid revealing your own association with our organization..." Since he had already memorized the names provided by Soo-Yun, Vahn didnt really need Marbles reminder to keep mum. Despite this, he maintained his smile, thanking Marble for the information before allowing her to hang up the call from her end. Then, after a brief moment of consideration, Vahn picked up the ck cat pretending to sleep on his chest, asking, "Feel like bullying a Ranker with me...?" Though it looked a little creepy, Yoruichi managed a very human smile on her feline face as she replied in a very deep tone, "Of course. I cant wait to see the expression on their face when they get bullied by a cat." Unable to restrain himself, a light chuckle escaped Vahns throat as he rose from the bed, promptly equipping his shirt before cing Yoruichi on his shoulder. He was also looking forward to seeing how the Ranker would react to a cat that was able to move around at hypersonic speeds, so, after quickly informing Phae of his departure, Vahn took to the sky, once again drawing a considerable amount of attention despite the rtively short flight. Ignoring the gazes focused on him, Vahn entered into Rubeus Vocational Office, this time gging down a staff member directly instead of waiting in line. This caused the young woman to appear a little nervous, not because she was frightened, but because Vahns smiling expression was enough to flutter the hearts of happily married women, much less a single Regr who had been stuck on the 3rd Floor for more than a year. Sensing the womans thoughts even before she had approached him, Vahn decided he would make her day by beaming even more radiantly as he said, "Good morning, young miss. Could you please inform Administrator Rubeus that I havee seeking to challenge his Special Test?" With her face immediately turning a bright crimson, the young woman, characterized by her cherry-blonde hair, faun-like features, petite antlers, and pointed ears barely managed to fumble out the response, "Y-y-yes sir! Ill see to it right away...!" Though she clearly would have liked to stand around and talk for a bit, the deer-like girl quickly ran off without even asking for Vahns name and payment. This allowed thetter to see that she also had a tail simr to a cottontail deer, one that was currently waggling happily as she ran to the back of the room with a surprisingly swift gait. Vahn had seen women with deer-like features in the past, but this was actually his first time talking with one. As a result, his mood had improved slightly, and, though he had no intention of following up on the notion, he couldnt deny he was a little curious about what other traits she possessed. He could see that she had hooved feet, simr to Marble, so it was pretty easy to imagine that her legs were likely covered in a thinyer of healthy brown fur... Shortly after this thought crossed his mind, Vahn noticed the bashful young woman burst from the back room with an embarrassed expression on her face. He could already imagine the reason, so, when she nervously approached him and asked for his name, Vahn was able to avoidughing out loud as he returned a slightly amused smile and answered, "My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason. Here, this is the fee to take the Special Test...Missus...?" Realizing he was asking for her name, the deer-like girls expression immediately brightened as she happily eximed, "Blossom! My name is Faunus Beryl Blossom...!" Though he felt she was a little too excitable, Vahn still found Blossoms response rather adorable. As a result, he decided to make the young Regrs entire year by saying, "Its a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Ms. Blossom. Would you like to join me for the Special Test? I will pay the fee on your behalf and you wont have to worry about injuries. How about it...?" At this point, Blossom was pretty sure she was in a dream, so, rather than refuse, her expression brightened considerably as she happily replied, "I would love to~!". Then, perhaps deluded by the notion that this was a dream, she fearlesslytched onto Vahns arm, leaning against his shoulder with a contented grin on her face. Though he was starting to realize that Blossom might not be ying with a full deck, Vahn decided to just let her enjoy the moment while itsted. She shoulde to her senses by the time the Test hade to an end, and, even if that wasnt the case, he was confident in his ability to pacify her with a few headpats before promptly returning to the Inn. After all, she was certainly very adorable, but, with the ability to basically create potential harem members with a thought, Vahn didnt really need to pick up a random Regr just to satiate his curiosity... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Endorsi is ying with fire...,Protagonist Aura OP,She might not be the smartest lightbulb in the Cray box, but Blossom sure is lucky (OwO)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1769 Mistakes and Moving Forward

Chapter 1769 Mistakes and Moving Forward

Following Blossoms lead, Vahn soon found himself in an arena simr to the one located beneath Marbles Vocational Office. There, a man resembling an older version of Quant, albeit with short red hair, could be standing in the very center of the arena. Noticing one of his staff members clinging to a man with a peculiar ck cat riding on his shoulder, Rubeus couldnt help frowning as he asked, "Why have you left your post, Ms. Blossom? You are not being paid to ck off and flirt with other Regrs." Though she cowered in response to her Boss words, Blossom was still under the delusion that she was currently in a dream. As a result, she managed to muster up a bit of courage, clinging to Vahn with her left hand while forming a fist with her right and saying, "Im here to take the Boss Special Test!" Surprised by the normally timid womans response, Rubeus pulled up the personal terminal given to all Test Admins, confirming that Blossoms name was, indeed, on the list of participants. With that being the case, he quickly dismissed the invisible panel, smiling as he said, "I wont go easy on you just because youve been working here for the past six months. I will, however, wish you the best of luck." Even more convinced that she was in a dream, Blossoms expression became even more radiant as she happily eximed, "Thanks, Boss! I wont disappoint~!" Though he felt like Blossom was behaving a little strangely, Rubeus just assumed it was because she had found a reliable man with deep pockets. One of the ways many of the weaker Regrs climbed up the Tower, especially attractive women, was by entering into a rtionship with other promising Regrs. It was a little unscrupulous, but, considering many Regrs would happily murder just to eliminate thepetition, charming members of the opposite sex was a rtively tame method of climbing the Tower. With that in mind, Rubeus turned his attention to the admittedly handsome man that Blossom was clinging to. He had already heard about the mans power through the Admin Channel, so, while he was a little surprised to be the first on Vahns bucket list, Rubeus didnt particrly mind it. He was the type that preferred taking action, so, with most of his duties revolving around paperwork andpiling dossiers on specific Regrs, he was more than happy to entertain challengers. Deciding to just jump right into things, Rubeus offered a polite smile that couldnt hide his growing excitement as he said, "Im guessing youre already aware of the rules, but I have an obligation to exin the rules of my Special Test to new challengers. My test is pretty simple. You will be given a ten-thousand-kilogram ball that has the property of bing lighter when infused with Shinsu. If you look around you, youll find that there are goals ced at the four cardinal directions and one located in the center of the ceiling. Your objective, simply put, is to ce the ball into any of these goals within a ten-minute period. I can only take action from within the circles located around each of the goals so you wont have to worry about me attacking. As for the goal on the ceiling, that one is a little special. If you have the ability to get the ball into that goal, I wont even try to stop you." Realizing why Marble had suggested hee to Rubeus first, a smile spread across Vahns face as he mentallymunicated, ("Looks like youll have to wait until next time. This Ranker seems like a nice guy so lets spare him the embarrassment.") Though she was a little annoyed by the wasted trip, Yoruichi just hoped from Vahns shoulders, stretching her body a bit before walking off to the side. This drew the attention of both Blossom and Rubeus, thetter remarking, "ck Cats are pretty rare below the 100th Floor. It seems like you have quite the backing..." Resisting the urge to inte his own Ego by dering he needed no such backing, Vahn just smiled in response to Rubeus words before asking, "Shall we proceed with the test?" Since Vahn had already paid for himself and Blossom, Rubeus had no reason to refuse. Thus, after producing a bright silver ball from his personal storage, casually tossing it over to Vahn with a smile on his face. To his surprise, however, Vahn easily caught the ball with one hand, returning a simr smile as he promptly spun it on the tip of his finger... Realizing he shouldnt underestimate Vahn, Rubeus adopted a ready stance as he said, "The test has now begun...!" Rather than aim for any of the other goals, Vahn shifted his attention towards the rtively small target located approximately 300m above. This caused Rubeus brows to furrow, but, as he already dered he wouldnt block attempts to score on the above goal, he could only watch with a slightly sullen expression as the silver ball slowly ascended under thepulsion of Vahns Telekinesis. Understanding that Vahns passing was inevitable, Rubeus released an annoyed sigh, scratching the back of his head as he said, "Youre no fun. Even the majority of D-Rank Regrs would struggle to get the ball into a target that high off the ground. Looks like Blossom lucked out this time around." Though she had previously been following the silver balls ascent with her eyes, Blossom snapped back to awareness when she heard Rubeus remark. A fluttery feeling immediately spread through her body, and, though she had only met Vahn a few minutes ago, she suddenly felt extremely lucky to have won his favor. It was pretty rare for Humans to be interested in her species, and vice-versa, but, for reasons she didnt quite understand, Blossom felt a maic attraction to the inordinately handsome man. His aura reminded her of her home forest, and, though his scentcked the same musk that would normally excite her, an uncharacteristically fierce fire began to spread through her body... Feeling Blossoms body heat gradually increasing, Vahns smile became wry as he made a mental note to research the characteristics of the various species calling the Tower home. He didnt expect the woman to suddenly enter a state simr to a Chienthropes heat, so, before things could get any further out of hand, he began stroking the excited womans head, temporarily inming her passion before gradually restoring her calm. Seeing the couple flirting right in front of him, Rubeus smile began to crack slightly as he turned his attention towards the still-rising ball. The moment it made contact with the ceiling, he stopped the timer on his Pocket, saying, "The two of you have sessfullypleted my Special Test. Now, get the hell out of my sight with your lovey-dovey crap. Ill give Blossom the rest of the day off, so go celebrate or something." Without waiting for Vahns response, Rubeus used his authority as a Test Administrator to teleport the duo alongside the peculiar ck Cat. Then, with an exasperated sigh escaping his mouth, he caught the ten-ton ball with a single hand before smiling as he remarked, "It looks like Ill need to increase the intensity of my training. I look forward to facing you once you be a Ranker you god damn riajuu..." --- Vahn wasnt particrly fond of being forcibly teleported, but, understanding it would needlesslyplicate things if he resisted, he allowed himself to be teleported outside. Then, before Blossom could further mistake his intentions, he grabbed the bubbly girls shoulders, holding her in ce as he calmly exined, "Ms. Blossom...I wont deny that you are a beautiful woman. However, I am not trying to start a rtionship with anyone right now. I just found your reactions adorable so I wanted to make your day by allowing you to pass the Special Test. Please dont misconstrue my intentions. I do not wish to hurt your feelings..." Hearing Vahns remark, Blossom lightly pinched her own cheek, confirming that she wasnt actually dreaming. This made her mood diminish quite a bit, but, considering she had earned 2000 Points and a free License, it was hard to be too upset. She knew she had a penchant for misunderstanding things, prompting most of her teammates to abandon her, so, despite feeling as though there was a hole in her chest, she managed a smile as she replied, "I understand. Thank you for taking pity on me." Realizing he probably didnt want her clinging to him, Blossom attempted to break free from Vahns hold so she could find somece quiet to cry. It wasnt that she had fallen in love with the man she had only recently met, but, feeling as though her luck was finally changing for the better, having her delusion shattered was a little heartbreaking. Unfortunately, that was the grimness of reality, a ce where dreamers were often disappointed... Understanding his me in the situation, Vahn surprised Blossom quite a bit by refusing to let her escape. Instead, he wrapped the woman gently in his embrace, stroking her back as he said, "There is no reason to feel sad. Though I cant take you with me, I can still help your dreame true. This was the only thing I had nned, so, from now until the sky turns dark, allow me the great fortune of apanying you. At the very least, let me treat you to lunch in order to celebrate our victory..." Since her eyes had already moistened from the earlier rejection, Blossom couldnt help shedding a few tears when she heard Vahns words. She wanted toment that he was only making things worse by treating her so kindly, but, feeling his warmth invade her body, she couldnt bring herself to separate from him. Instead, she buried her face into his chest, sniffling as she wrapped her arms around his body to prolong the contact... --- Though it probably would have been better for him to return early, Vahn ended up creating a proxy to return alongside Yoruichi as he kept Blossompany, not just for the remainder of the day, but until early the next morning. She had told him about her past and her desire to be a protector for her people, a species that was often poached as ves within the Outer Tower. Unfortunately, as a rtively pacifistic species who lived alongside nature, she wasnt very suited forbat. The best she could do was act as a Scout, but, with Scouts being the mostmon of the five Positions, it wasnt long before her former team had reced her with someone less ident-prone. To make matters even worse, the leader of her team, consisting of five men, had offered to let her stay if she was willing to earn extra Points in the brothel while also serving as relief for the rest of the party. Needless to say, Blossom had refused the mans offer, so, for several months, she had to survive outside of the Town of Beginnings until she had earned enough Points to return. This wasnt too bad, as she was very adept at surviving in the wild. Her biggest problem was that she was still very weak, and, due to her propensity to misunderstand things, she was often tricked out of her Points or used as a gopher by the few people willing to let her join their Party. None of them, however, were willing to take her to the next Floor, so, after failing to find a group for more than a year, she ended up working as a Floor Receptionist in various Vocational Offices. Blossom was one of many Regrs who were unable to advance to the next Floor, but, due to her unwillingness to simply give up on her dream, she continued to persevere. She couldnt give up on her people, so, even though she had been tricked countless times, she never gave up hope that a Party would eventually help her ascend to the next Floor. This seemed to be the case for many of the people working as Receptionists, a job that solely recruited personable Scouts. After listening to Blossoms story, Vahn knew he had made a mistake, but, rather thanment, he decided to just go with the flow and follow his instincts. There was no way he could simply ignore the plight of someone right in front of him, especially when said person was an extremely kind and caring young woman who just wanted to help her people. She might be a little ditzy and prone to misunderstandings, but, disregarding this, and his original intentions; Vahn stayed at the womans side for the entire night, making slow and passionate love to her until his Pocket alerted him to the fact it was already morning. Disabling the rm that only he could hear, Vahn looked down at the woman on all fours, her face flushed with an impassioned hue as she stared back at him with zed eyes. At the same time, his hand lightly caressed her firm, plump, and fur-covered butt, savoring the smooth sensation against his palm. He found it extremely arousing that the lighter part of her fur formed a heart shape from behind, but, as that wasnt important right now, he allowed himself to slip out of the womans fiery and moist cavern with a pop. Then, afterying her on her side, he upied the spot next to her, gently caressing the side of her face as he said, "Dont worry...Ill make your dreame true..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Rubeus dodged a bullet xD...,Blossom used Escape...it was ineffective! Unable to Escape...,I want to say that Vahn is very responsible...but...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1770 One Path, Many Branches

Chapter 1770 One Path, Many Branches

With the connection to his proxy active, Vahn didnt have to concern himself with attending Team Wolf Packs training directly. Rather, even though only a few days had passed since he awakened his [Universal Mind], he was starting to see its true potential, not necessarily as a tool to make his own journey easier, but as a means to achieve all of the things he put off due to his own desires, dreams, and goals. Though he knew it was impossible to help everyone, that didnt mean Vahn felt any better about having to pick and choose who he saved. He tried to make things easier for himself and his loved ones by only saving those who were right in front of him, but, now that he had [Universal Mind], a lot of paths that had previously been closed to him had now opened. He could even recreate the heroes of various worlds, naming them with the [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] and entrusting them with his wishes while he continued along his personal journey towards the pinnacle of existence... Deciding to start with his desire to make Blossoms wishe true, Vahn ced a delicate kiss on the exhausted womans forehead before meeting her gaze and asking in a soft tone, "If I asked you to abandon your people and be mine...what would you do...?" Disying quite a bit of confusion in her leaf-green eyes, Blossoms expression turned into one of conflict and palpable regret as she answered, "I would probably regretst night for the rest of my life...no matter what happens, I will never abandon my people...Im sorry..." Rather than me the woman for her loyalty, Vahn just returned an affectionate smile, continuing to stroke her cheek as he said, "Thats a relief. If you were the type to abandon your dream after a single night of passion, I mighte to regret my own actions...hahahaha..." Though she wasnt particrly bright, Blossom could tell that Vahn was just testing her, a test she seemed to have passed. This caused her to feel greatly relieved because, afterst night, she wasnt sure she could continue living without the mans warmth. She had never imagined such pleasures in her wildest dreams, and, though she had been a little concerned about his size, Vahns penis ended up being a lot bigger than the average Fauns. Considering thetter were fairly well known for their size, this was quite the achievement. Blossom even suspected he had irreversibly altered the shape of her insides, his staminapletely transcending any expectation she might have had. Noticing the increase in Blossoms body temperature, a knowing smile spread across Vahns face as he pulled her a little closer and said, "Well have plenty of time for thatter. For now...no, actually, lets try this..." Vahn was going to mention they had a lot to discuss, but, feeling his words would have a little more impact if hebined them with action, he changed positions so that he was resting with his back against the headboard. Then, taking advantage of the fact that Blossom had no will to resist him, he guided the woman to straddle his waist, sinking his member into her pulsating folds and eliciting an extremely impassioned sigh in response to his intrusion. With Blossom snug against his waist, Vahn ced his hands on her impably soft rump, caressing her extremely smooth fur as he began exining his intentions. This was made more difficult by the fact she kept trying to move her hips and kiss him, but, after a few hours had passed, he was pretty sure the message had gotten through. After that, he decided to reward the increasingly affectionate woman by spending the remainder of the morning fervently strengthening their bond... --- Though there were a lot ofplexities he had left out, Vahn exined to Blossom that he had the ability to shed off fragments of himself based on the wishes of the people around him. He couldnt take her up the Tower with him, but, rather than leave her alone, he would divide himself so that a part of him always remained with her. He demonstrated this ability by creating a new Temte, this one with nearly identical features to his original self but with prominent antlers and clear, Faun-like, features. Blossom was more than a little surprised by the existence of such an ability, but, realizing it meant she would never have to be alone, she was too excited to care about the particrs. She promised to keep his ability a secret, and, though it would apparently have to wait until their rtionship was consecrated by the Matriarch of her tribe, she, very eagerly, expressed a desire to bear his children. In fact, immediately after seeing him split his body into two, Blossom surprised both versions of him by unabashedly asking if they wanted to both have sex with her. Vahn actually had a fair amount of experience with such ys, but, after resolving himself to leave Blossom in the care of his newly created Temte, he ultimately refused her offer. Instead, he gave her onest long embrace, enjoying the smooth texture of her fur and the heat of her body as their lips ovepped for thest time. He could always reestablish the link with his Temte in the future, but, not wanting things to be even moreplicated, Vahn gave his counterpart a pat on the shoulder before leaving the duo to their own adventure. He would still need to name the Temte to make things official, but, at least for the time being, he had other matters to attend... --- Though it felt a little lonely to let Blossom go, even if it was for both of their sakes, Vahn didnt feel as sad as he expected. Instead, he felt like he had made the correct decision, one that guaranteed a happier future for Blossoms people without requiring him to deviate from his current path. He was also able to establish an important precedent, one Sis had seemingly been pushing for since he first awakened the [Universal Mind]. Originally, Vahn believed it wasnt such a great idea to just arbitrarily produce existences like Hinata, Yoruichi, and Nami, but, now that he had experienced this short ovep of fates, he saw things in an entirely different light. He now had the power to protect people far beyond the scope of his original objective, so, rather than limit his use of the [Universal Mind], Vahn was intending to build a faction using his own Temtes as a foundation. This might seem counterintuitive to his intentions of climbing the Tower and going at his own pace, but, even if they never left the original Floor he created them on, Vahn was confident his Temtes would be able to help countless people. They would even be able to start their own families, living happily alongside the people he had wanted to protect; people he would have had to ignore due to his ongoing journey to be the most powerful being in existence. Since his Temtes all worked towards a unified goal, carrying the intentions they were imnted with during the moment of their conception, Vahn believed that, even after thousands of years had passed, they would continue to protect people in his stead. This was whatpelled him to create a faction from them, as, even if Team Wolf Pack penultimately became the Rulers of the Tower, true order required more than a dozen people to maintain. Most importantly, though it would probably earn him admonishment from several members of his harem, Vahn no longer had to restrain his urges. He didnt have to create walls between himself and the people he was drawn to, particrly beautiful, exotic, and tragic women. These types seemed to attract him like a powerful ma, and, though he usually tried to keep them at arms length, Vahn knew it was virtually impossible for him to reject sincerity. Even without View Affection turned on, Vahn had always been extremely sensitive to the emotions of others. His [Will of the Emperor] helped to filter out some of this, but, when it came to extreme emotions, such as those derived from pain, loss, tragedy, and anger, he was unable to ignore them. If he tried, their images would haunt his thoughts whenever he found a moment of peace, regret welling up inside of him as he second-guessed his decision to turn a blind eye to the suffering of others. Though he was fully aware of the fact that his [Universal Mind] would cause countless problems, Vahns instincts told him it was the correct decision to develop the Innate further. It was an ability that allowed him to positively impact the lives of countless people, so, even if there were drastic consequences in the future, he would no longer hesitate to move forward. This was actually a path he had chosen long ago, back when he first decided to save Lili from her suffering. It was one that others had supported him along for hundreds of years, but, due to his constant indecisiveness, he was always second-guessing himself and suffering setbacks. Now, however, Vahn knew where his destinationy, so, rather than continue making excuses, he would live his life freely, saving as many people as he pleased along the way... --- With a mystical blue light radiating from the depths of his pupils, Vahn gazed out over the Town of Beginnings from atop a massive observatory. He suddenly felt a lot more excited about the future, a future he would shape, not just through his own actions, but the actions of others who carried his will. This brought an excited smile to his face, and, though others might not notice it, he suddenly felt as though the world around him had be a little brighter as he pulled out his Pocket and said, "I wish to speak with the Guardian..." Almost immediately after his words had fallen, Vahn found himself within an unfathomable abyss of Shinsu, face-to-face with a creature that resembled an ind-sized crab. The key differences were that it had several bulbous eyes on the top of its head, a zipper-like mouth that was fixed into an excessively creepy smile, and six massive pincers instead of the normal two. Before Vahn had a chance to address the massive creature, the Guardian preempted him by saying, "You smell delicious. Unbelievably so..." in a surprisingly feminine voice. Since he had heard a simr remark from the massive eel-like Guardian on the 2nd Floor, Vahn just smiled in response to the creatures words, musing, "I hear that more often than youd think. I cant give you a taste, however, so shall we move along to discuss the reason behind my visit?" After producing a few bubbles near the edge of his mouth, the Guardian surprised Vahn a little by answering, "I know why you havee. You wish to take my Test. Since you have the qualifications, I have no reason to refuse. Now, tell me what it is you desire. I will produce a Test that matches your desires." Deciding it was his turn to surprise the Guardian, Vahn maintained a casual smile as he stated, "You are undoubtedly a being of great power, but there is nothing you can offer me that I cannot obtain myself. The only reason I have sought you out is to ask for permission to advance to the next Floor whenever I please. In exchange, I will offer you this...a token of power from beyond the Tower. What say you, Guardian of the 3rd Floor?" Though it had distinctly inhuman facial features, the Guardian was able to convey an expression of surprise by opening its eyes a little wider and producing more froth from its mouth. Then, before it reached out to ept the rainbow-hued pearl he had proffered forth, it asked, "You would forgo a Test and instead offer me a gift? What a strange creature...very well, I will ept your token. I have seen for myself your capabilities. This Floor is unable to challenge you, so I will grant you the rite of free passage." Smiling in response to the creatures words, Vahn surprised the Guardian a second time by moving forward to lightly pat the front of its carapace. This caused it to turn statuesque for a brief moment,menting, "A very strange creature..." before expelling him from the inter-dimensional space... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Here, take a seat...,Ten yearster, Goku, Naruto, and Ichigo can be seen having a showdown against Jahad...,*pat pat pat*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1771 Lackadaisical

Chapter 1771 Lackadaisical

For the better part of two weeks, excluding the considerable amount of time he spent within the Realm, Vahn split his time between helping the members of Team Wolf Pack train, coordinating with Marble toplete numerous Special Tests, and, most notably, meditating within the privacy of his room. Though his outlook might have changed, that didnt mean Vahn could spontaneously produce an infinite number of Temtes. He quickly learned that he could only have nine active temtes at a time. This meant, if he wanted to move forward with his ns, he would need to assign True Names to each of his existing Temtes, effectively converting them into unique existences. Unfortunately, the cooldown of [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] was based on the Principal Axis of Time within the Record. This made it impossible to cheat by just idling about in the outer rings of the Little Garden. He would have to wait for time to pass naturally, so, with numerous temptations awaiting him beyond the confines of his room, Vahn decided to focus on something he believed to be pivotal to reaching Tier 7: the Mantra of Eternity. Vahn knew very little about the Mantra of Eternity, but, based on his inability toprehend it even after bing a true Tier 4, he knew it was, at the very least, Tier 5. His instincts, however, made him believe it was much higher, likely near the absolute pinnacle of Tier 6. Thus, with his sights set on a goal that was simply unattainable by others, Vahn trusted his instincts, fully immersing himself in the Mantra even as Yoruichi spurred Hinata to sneakily perform various lewd acts on his body... Since it was getting pretty close to dinner time, Vahn opened his eyes to find Yoruichi stuffing her face as Hinata observed very intently between her fingers. Both of the girls were wearing nothing but their undergarments, and, though he had nearly hesitated in the beginning, Vahn was unable to refuse the youthful-looking Hyugas insistence that she be allowed to remain the version of herself that he had a crush on. She fully intended to grow up in the future, but, at least for the time being, she was content with being the idealized version of herself that his subconscious mind had created. Though she noticed his gaze almost instantly, Yoruichis only reaction to Vahns usatory look was to turn her eyes up at him, smiling with his penis still in her mouth. As for Hinata, she promptly hid behind the barrier of her hands, scrunching up her body in a vain effort to hide her rather adorable, cat-themed, undergarments. This was a theme she had be rather fond of, and, though she had remained virtually the same since the time of her creation, Hinata had a penchant for growing a pair of ears and a tail whenever she was in the mood to try lewd things. Rather than reproach Yoruichi for her actions, as they actually helped to enhance his focus when he was meditating, Vahn ced his hand on top of her head, habitually petting her dark-purple hair as he toggled his Pockets visibility. They still had about twenty minutes until the earlier people would start migrating over to his room, so, after a brief moment of consideration, he manifested the Little Garden and decided to have some fun with the feline duo in the outer rings. They were known to spend all of their time within the Little Garden anyways, so, even if he went a little overboard, their presence wouldnt be missed during dinner... --- Having hunted four King-ss, thirty-eight Elite-ss, and thousands of lesser Shinheuh, the only thing preventing Team Wolf Pack from moving on to the 4th Floor was their decision to wait until at least two weeks had passed. Now, however, they were seriously considering staying even longer, as, despite the rtively short period of time that had passed, even Endorsi, Anak, Khun, and Laure had felt a marked increase in their capabilities. The Little Garden not only drastically reduced the amount of time it took to master new skills, it also had a remarkable effect on the physical and mental development of everything training within. This was best observed by the progress of both Shibisu and Nare, two rtively normal people who now had the ability to perform peak human feats. The former could now squat over 500kgs and, though her own feats were nowhere near that level, Nare had doubled her sprinting speed from 23km/h to amendable 46km/h. This didnt sound that impressive on paper, but, considering she was able to do this in apression suit without any Shinsu Enhancement, it was, inarguably, a very drastic improvement. Unfortunately, though many people seemed to be in favor of the idea, Vahn threw a wrench into Khuns ns, stating, "There are still sixteen Floors remaining until we are supposed to separate. I have ns in the Middle and Outer Towers, so Id rather not idle about too long. Besides, while it is certainly an extremely useful ce for training, real growthes from oveing obstacles, not overpreparing until the point you can power through everything." Since the Little Garden was Vahns possession, nobody else really had a say in how it was used, so, with a slightly troubled smile on his face, Khun replied, "You make a valid point. I guess I just got carried away due to how amazing that ce is. It feels like my brain absorbs everything whenever Im inside. If I could, I would probably coop myself up inside of there all day...haaaa..." Amused by Khuns honesty, a trait he had been showing more of as ofte, Vahn lightly chuckled before surprising the boy as he said, "Ill tell you what. Reach the 100th Floor and Ill provide you a Little Garden of your own. For now, youre already making rapid progress so dont be too greedy. I dont want to see any of you be overconfident and egotistical just because you were provided benefits others could only hope to obtain. Power has a detrimental impact on a persons character, so, if you want to avoid bing monsters by the time you reach the peak, you need to be ready and willing to experience setbacks." As they hadrgely gotten used to Vahns spontaneous speeches, most of the people present at the table just habitually nodded their heads. Only people like Baam, Shibisu, Khun, and Hwa Ryun ever paid full attention to his words. This made Vahn miss his time as a silent Emperor, but, considering the many benefits he had received since his mental shift, he wasnt that remiss about his Childrensckadaisical behavior. It would most likelye back to bite them, and, even if it didnt, he would find a way to ensure they experienced at least one setback along their journey... With that in mind, an amused smile spread across Vahns face, sending shivers through the bodies of the more perceptive members of the group. Before they could ascertain his intentions, however, Vahn manifested his Pocket, disying the time as he said, "I have already informed one of the Test Administrators of our intentions. We have been scheduled for a 6 AM departure so there will be no training tomorrow. Instead, we will gather here at 5 AM to eat breakfast before heading over to the central za as a group. I wont tell you to go to bed this instant, but make sure you get plenty of rest in preparation for our departure. I heard the 4th Floor is a Survival Test, so we might be staying outdoors for the better part of a month." Though they would have normally been bothered by Vahns words, as Survival Tests were always a pain, nobody showed any real concern. They mistakenly believed they would be able to freshen up and rx within the Little Garden, but, after theirckluster reactions, Vahn was intending to have them suffer through the Survival Test just like any other group of Regrs. After all, he wasnt here to baby them, even if they were his Children... --- With everyone promptly vacating his room following the announcement, Vahn promptly returned to the interior of the Little Garden. Immediately after that, he manifested as his Realm self before transferring to the third of nine sub-textures he had produced. The majority of these emted different Shinsu densities, primarily intended for use in Team Wolf Packs training. The lowest two, however, served as Vahns love nest and the ce where he housed the many Temtes he was intending to develop. Though it was a little shameless of him, Vahn took advantage of the fact he had received his wives blessing to create a temte of another character he had been attached to in his youth, a woman named Mirajane Strauss from a Record known as Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail had been a favorite series of Asuna, so, curious to learn whether her Take Over magic would work on creatures like Shinheuh, Vahn used it as an excuse to summon the inordinately beautiful woman with pure white hair, sapphire eyes, and a world-ss figure. As for the other Temtes, he went with four of the main characters that had helped to shape his childhood: Ichigo Kurosaki, from the same Record as Yoruichi, Son Goku, from a Record known as Dragon Ball, Gol D. Roger, from one of his all-time favorites, One Piece. As for the fourth, Vahn had initially wanted to go with Uzumaki Naruto, another one of his favorite characters, but, after performing a number of indecent acts with Hinata, he simply couldnt bring himself to create a Temte of the titr main character. Instead, he settled on another character from the same series, a man who had left quite an impact, quite literally, on the entire verse: Madara Uchiha. Vahn knew there were far more powerful Temtes he could use, but, with his own Soul Tier and understanding of the characters being a limiter, he settled on people he was simply curious about. He was actually intending to create Temtes of nearly every main character from the series he had enjoyed as a child, but, with his [Universal Mind] being stuck a E-Rank, that would have to wait until he had further developed the Innate... Finding Madara staring down Goku, the former in his characteristic red armor while thetter wore an equally famous orange gi, Vahn couldnt help but release a tired sigh before looking around for the other battle junkie in the group, asking, "Where is Roger? I find it hard to believe he would miss out on the opportunity to participate in a fight." Though he was normally a lot less serious, Goku maintained a focused look on his face, fearlessly staring into Madaras false Sharingan as he answered, "He and Ichigo were trying to figure out how to use Haki without purchasing the scrolls. Thest I saw them, they were flying towards the North." Understanding he was in the way of the duos battle, Vahn nodded his head in response to Gokus words before relying on his omniscience to immediately locate Roger and Ichigo. He could have done this from the very beginning, but, trusting his instincts, he tried to interact with his Temtes whenever possible. There was no way he would be able to develop his [Universal Mind] by relying on his [Keeper of the Akashic Tome], so, while he intended to continue Naming his Temtes, Vahn knew they would most likely be able to develop Egos without his interference. As Goku had alleged, Vahn found Roger and Ichigo in the midst of what he intuited to be training to master Observation Haki. They were both wearing blindfolds, and, though they had only been at it for a few days, Vahn could already sense an intent lingering within the area despite neither using his [Will of the Emperor]. Unfortunately, this intent wasnt nearly focused, so, rather than training, it looked like the duo were just beating each other with reinforced wooden swords... Deciding he would also be in the way here, Vahn transferred himself to the eighth sub-texture before returning to his normal self. Then, with an uncontainable grin on his face, he entered into a circr chamber filled withce curtains, a massive circr bed, hundreds of pillows, and several scattered wardrobes. At the very center of this arrangement, two inordinately beautiful women could be seen nking a much younger looking girl, each lying on their stomachs with their perky butts veiled by three very different styles of lingerie. Though they all noticed his presence at the same time, it was the beautiful white-haired woman who first peeked back over her shoulder, smiling radiantly as she said, "Wee back, Vahn. We just started a movie. Do you want to join us?" Since there were many types of intimacy that had nothing to do with having sex, Vahns smile became even more prominent as he unhesitantly agreed to Miras suggestion. Then, with Mira to his left and Hinata snuggling against him on his right, Vahn enjoyed watching an animated movie called My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising while Yoruichi, in her cat form, dangled from his head... (A/N: Alternate Titles: FBI-san, hes over here...,Great suffering awaits~!,Watching anime between two waifus...Im not crying...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1772 Ascent : Survival Tes

Chapter 1772 Ascent : Survival Tes

With the excitement of advancing to a new Floor keeping them awake, Vahn wasnt surprised to find several people waiting outside his door much earlier than usual. As a result, breakfast began a little early, and, by the time everyone had eaten their fill, they still had more than half an hour until they needed to be at the za. Despite this, they decided to head over early, as, more often than not, it was better to be early than risk bingte. What Vahn didnt anticipate, even though he had expected something simr to happen, was for the group toe across Parakewl sitting like a beggar on the side of the street. Fortunately, he was able to sense the man long before Team Wolf Pack encountered him, so, with ample time on their hands, he led the group along a more scenic route while cing a few constion items in Parakewls hat. Vahn had actually been willing to give the man the benefit of the doubt, but, as Parakewls path had intersected with his a lot over thest two weeks, he had ample opportunity to determine that the man was a detrimental existence to the group dynamic. In fact, he often found Parakewl proactively trying to scam other Regrs, and, even when he was in an inferior position, he still had a bad habit of referring to everyone around him as trash, scum, or garbage. Though Parakewl assuredly had a tragic past of his own, much like the majority of Regrs climbing the Tower, that didnt justify his treatment of others. He was the type that willfully profited from the efforts of others, and, though he wasnt likely to betray Team Wolf Pack, you didnt judge people on how they treated those who were useful to them; you ascertained their true nature from seeing how they treated those beneath them. If he was in a position of legitimate power and authority, Parakewl was the type that would give into corruption in an instant. He already extolled himself above others, despite his weakness, so it wasnt difficult to imagine how he would behave once he became truly powerful. Thus, regardless of what destiny the man held, Vahn had no interest in pandering to an egotist who would unquestionably demand more power than he ever worked to obtain. Fortunately, while Parakewl seemed to have some kind of GPS that allowed him to cross paths with people he could potentially leech off of, it wasnt omniscient. As a result, Team Wolf Pack was able to reach their destination without crossing paths with the green-skinned man. There, Marble could be seen with a slight smile on her face, stating, "Wee, Regrs." in a soft tone that suited the early morning calm. Since it would be theirst time interacting with each other, potentially for decades, Vahn surprised the rest of the group by casually walking over and petting the top of Marbles head. This caused the youthful-looking Ranker to tense upon realizing his intentions, but, rather try to avoid his hand, she released a resigned sigh before closing her eyes and enjoying the inordinately pleasant sensation. After getting his fill of the not-so-young womans silky soft hair, Vahn took a few steps back, a calm smile on his face as he said, "Thank you for watching over us thesest two weeks. It might take a few years, but I will do my best to make your dream a reality." Though he was referencing the ambitions of Wolhaiksong, Marbles cheeks began slightly flushed in response to Vahns words. She thought he had someonee to learn of her dream of growing six more centimeters, something she had only ever told her own mother and younger sister. This made her feel more than a little embarrassed, her face quickly developing a rosy hue as she aggressively urged, "Get on the tform. I will now transfer you to the 4th Floor." Deciding not tough at Marbles expense, an amused smile spread across Vahns face as he joined the members of Team Wolf Pack near the center of the teleportation circle. Momentster, each of them disappeared into motes of bluish-white light, eliciting a relieved sigh from Marble, who, with nothing else nned for the early morning, decided to go cool her head... --- As was often the case when entering a new Floor of the Inner Tower, Team Wolf Packs arrival on the 4th Floor was greeted by the presence of a Test Administrator. This particr Ranker was wearing a dark blue overcoat that seemed to be made from a type of chitinous material, and, though the had prominently heeled boots, they didnt appear to have an actual gender. Rather, they seemed to be some kind of bio-mechanical organism, as, rather than a helmet, Vahn was pretty certain that the tear-shaped visor covering their face was their actual head. Since it was difficult to ascertain the true nature and structure of a Ranker without direct contact,rgely due to the protective membrane that surrounded their body, Vahn decided against trying to probe the entitys secrets. Instead, he just listened silently as the Administrator exined in a purely synthetic voice, "You are currently in a region known as Testing Ground 173. Your objective this time around is simple; you need only survive within this region for thirty days. As far as earning Points is concerned, there are eighteen other teams within this same region. Each Regr has been assigned a bounty based on their past performances. Subduing or killing another Regr will award you with their bounty. This, in turn, will increase your overall bounty. Any questions?" Never the type to miss out on an opportunity to acquire more information, both Gandr and Shibisu spoke out at the same time. In the end, however, thetter just chuckled awkwardly, allowing Gandr to ask, "Are there any uses for Points on this Floor? What about penalties? Will we get in trouble for leaving the region? Are the borders adequately marked?" Though they didnt reply immediately, the Administrator ultimately nodded their head, responding to each inquiry in an emotionless tone, "There are five supply stations scattered around the Testing Grounds. Your Party may earn additional Points by defending these territories from other Parties. It is there that you can spend your Points to obtain a variety of goods. However, as this is supposed to be a Survival Test, even simple bread and water are very expensive. As for penalties, the only rule is that you stay within the Testing Grounds for the entire thirty days. There is a membrane of Shinsu surrounding the entire region, so, unless you force your way through, it is impossible to leave. If you did force your way through, you would be immediately disqualified. Any more questions?" Despite asking if there were more questions, the Administrator, without so much as providing their name, tapped an invisible icon on their personal terminal. Immediately after that, they vanished into thin air, leaving Shibisu with his hand in the air and mouth hanging open. This elicited augh from Gandr, but, seemingly unamused, Endorsi remarked, "What a rude bucket of bolts." before promptly asking, "So, whats the n? Do we want to eliminate the other Parties or are we going to just hole ourselves up in the Little Garden for the next thirty days?" Interjecting before Khun could answer, Vahn, very inly, remarked, "The Little Garden is not meant to remove obstacles in your path and make your lives more convenient. This is a Survival Test, not a vacation. You will undertake the test like any other group of Regrs." Hearing Vahns remark, Endorsi, Nare, and even Anak all showed troubled expressions. The first two simply hated the idea of camping out in the wild. As for thetter, she didnt particrly mind, but, having grown rather fond of therge bath and spa facilities avable within the Little Garden, she couldnt help but disy a look of regret. Since she had slowlye to understand the futility of trying to oppose Vahns words, Endorsi just balled her hands into fists, visibly pouting as Khun went on to exin, "We are not here to crush the dreams of other Regrs trying to climb the Tower. We will upy one of the supply stations, and, so long as they do note seeking trouble, we will allow representatives from the other parties to make use of the facilities. We have more than enough Points after earning free passage on the 3rd Floor. We dont need to be greedy and confrontational." Though warriors like Rak and Hatsu didnt wholly agree with Khuns n of action, neither decided to oppose his decision. The former had mellowed out quite a bit after being thrashed by Fenrir for the better part of two weeks, so, while he was eager to hunt down fresh prey, he was willing to wait until they came to him. As for Hatsu, he had learned that mastery of the de had less to do with actualbat than it did with mental discipline and your perception of the world around you. For this reason, he was no longer as eager to seek out strong opponents. Rather, if he was that eager for a challenge, there was an ever-increasing number of opponents within his own group that he could spar against... With everyone in line with his judgment, Khun directed Gandr, Shibisu, and Nare to scout out and map the surrounding region while the rest of their group walked towards the presumed center. It was pretty much guaranteed that they would find a supply station in the very center, and, as was often the case within the Tower, coveted positions often provided greater benefits. Khun assumed that the central supply station would either have an increased stock or cheaper goods, so, while it would save them a lot of trouble to secure one of the other stations, their pride as a Team dictated they upy the most highly contested region. Khun knew there were quite a number of battle junkies within Team Wolf Pack, so, while he would rather avoid conflict, he knew it would hurt morale if they proactively avoided battles. Thus, while it made the most sense to just secure an isted region, living off thend for the next thirty days, he unhesitantly directed them towards the ce that was guaranteed to see the most conflict. He also wanted to avoid sleeping on the ground, so, while it might not be possible to find a bed, the supply station was bound to have rooms where they could safelyy down mats and sleeping bags... --- After trekking through heavily forested terrain for more than four hours, much to the chagrin of Endorsi, Team Wolf Pack finally arrived near a massive structure that appeared like an ivory white pylon from afar. Unfortunately, other than arge circr chamber, there werent any other rooms present within the facility. Instead, there was a massive circr pool near the very center of the room. Floating above the pool, a massive blue crystal could be seen gracefully spinning along its central axis. Beneath that, a small terminal, which could only be essed by a Lighthouse, allowed for the acquisition of various items. The options ranged from simple foodstuffs to D-Rank Items, thetter of which was consider a substantial boon for a normal Regr. In fact, most of their current items were only F-Rank, so, upon learning they could purchase D-Rank items from the supply station, a greedy light shed across the eyes of many. Fortunately, after experiencing the benefits providing by the Quest Board and the Little Garden, the majority of Team Wolf Pack was content with their current blessings. Vahn also selectively prevented Quests such as [Eliminate all other Parties] and [Harvest 100 Bounties] from appearing on the Quest Board, so, while it was exciting to see such variety within the list of items, nobody openly suggested they begin hunting down the other parties. Instead, everyone worked collectively toe up with a guard rotation, fully determined to hold the supply station for the entire thirty days... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Marble is too pure for this world...six centimeters xD...,Questions? Concerns? Comints? No? Bye.,Those are some pretty delicious Quests though...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1773 Overwatch

Chapter 1773 Overwatch

Even at a casual pace, Team Wolf Pack was capable of covering ground much faster than the average team of Regrs. As a result, it wasnt until the sky started to darken that another party, consisting of seven Regrs, appeared. Unfortunately, they also had ns for the central supply station, so, rather than seek a dialogue, they confirmed the bounties of the two brats guarding the entrance before attempting to pick them off with their Spear Bearer, a burly man with curved horns and four muscr arms. Despite noticing the dark green spear cutting through the air, Gandr just issued a bored yawn while his counterpart, Anak, batted the projectile aside with a snort. Then, leaning forward like a sprinter, the muscles in her legs tensed, her body turning into a blur as she took off with even greater speed than the spear was thrown. This was enough to surprise the group of seven, but, rather than try and flee, they immediately got into a battle formation. Since the 3rd Floor grouped everyone into Parties and forced them to cohabitate with each other, it wasnt surprising to see Regrs on the 4th Floor working together. Unfortunately, even with three Fishermen on their team, the group of would-be hunters quickly became the hunted. They had seen the remarkable bounties on both Gandrs and Anaks heads, but, rather than immediately run away, they deluded themselves into thinking they could easily pick off the child-like duo. As a result, Anak ended up severely beating the entire Party, not even sparing the two women, one Lightbearer and one Scout, from her wrath. Walking over to the petite Princess side, Gandr habitually stroked Anaks head as he said, "Good work. Youre getting better at holding back." Though it used to bother her, having her head pat, Anak made no attempt to prevent Gandr from doing so. Instead, she intoned a curt, Nn..., allowing him to continue caressing her head for a few seconds before batting it stepping aside and asking, "What should we do with them?" Shrugging his shoulders, Gandr replied, "Its hard to say. The Administrator didnt exin how we could collect another persons bounty without killing them. We could always tie them up and ask, but I doubt they would be willing to exin unless we tortured them. Thats isnt exactly how we do things, though, so I say we just leave them be. If they attack us again, we can always just beat them up a second time. The highest bounty outside of our Team is only two-thousand Points higher than Nares, so were not likely to encounter any real threats on this Floor." Having developed a habit of deferring to Gandr, Anak nodded her head in response to his words before returning to her position near the entrance of the supply station. There were two cushions nking a small table filled with tea and treats, so, after plopping down on her own, Anak picked up an animal-shaped cookie, absentmindedly nibbling on it with azy expression on her face. As for Gandr, he made sure none of the injured Regrs were at risk of dying before returning to his own spot, a contented sigh escaping his mouth as he savored the ck tea in his cup... --- From the highest point of the 200m tall pylon, Vahn could be seen with azy smile on his face as he and Phae observed Gandr and Anak from within her invisible Lighthouse. They had been omitted from the guard rotation, for obvious reasons, so, after providing a few basic supplies, Vahn decided to let Team Wolf Pack struggle through the rest of the Survival Test without support. He would only step in if there was interference from the Administration, but, considering they were still within the first twenty Floors, considered by many to be the Towers Tutorial, this wasnt particrly likely. Fortunately, even if he didnt have much to do for the next thirty days, there were plenty of ways for Vahn to pass the time. Thus, with Phae keeping a watchful eye over Team Wolf Pack, Vahn spent the majority of his time attempting toprehend the Mantra of Eternity. As for the rest, he used it to either idle about in the Little Garden, spending a considerable amount of time with Fenrir, Yoruichi, Hinata, and Mirajane, or training alongside Goku, Madara, Roger, and Ichigo. For obvious reasons, Vahn really enjoyed the time he spent with the four girls in their love nest. It was strangely reassuring to be able to spend time with some of the women who had impacted him during the most trying time of his life. Being around them made him feel calm, and, though he was quite fond of their sexual exploits, the majority of their time together was spent just rxing about, reading manga, watching anime, or just enjoying a nice, long, nap. Ever since he had decided to stop holding himself back, Vahn had been a lot more rxed than he ever thought possible. This was in spite of the fact that he also trained alongside battle maniacs like Goku, Madara, Roger, and Ichigo. After all, even though they had a penchant for beating each other to a bloody pulp, there were no hard feelings between them. Rather, simr to his rtionship with Hinata, Yoruichi, and Mira, Vahn had a lot of fun just hanging out with the four male Temtes. He got along well with Roger, Ichigo, and Goku, and, though Madara wasnt particrly sociable, they could enjoy a few drinks together while sitting on the veranda of his Japanese-style manor. Despite letting go, Vahn felt like he had more control over his life these past few months than he had during the hundreds of years preceding them. Even Eva didnt seem to mind his gallivanting, stating she didnt really care what he did so long as he didnt try to force her into doing anything she wasntfortable with. Since he would obviously never do such a thing, Eva was surprisingly content spending most of her time within the Inner Sanctums Library, casually reading the books inside while using Karin as a body pillow. With even Eva supporting his decision, Vahn felt like there was nothing preventing him from just doing as he pleased. The only real restriction on him was that he didnt oveplicate things by arbitrarily introducing a plethora of women into the Realm. Their support was predicated on the fact that he was using his abilities to either be happy or expedite thepletion of his objective, so, as much as possible, Vahn made sure to consider these two factors when he was choosing his Temtes... --- With the standard cooldown of [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] being thirty days, predicated on the fact he didnt mix too many Names, Vahn was prepared to bestow Phae a name by the time Team Wolf Pack had been on the 4th Floor for just over two weeks. To his surprise, however, she refused the opportunity, arguing, "It will be easier for me the protect the Children withplete ess to The Path. So long as I receive a name by the 20th Floor, it doesnt really matter when I develop an actual Ego." Vahn had never really been able to argue against Phae, so, with her mind made up, he turned to the other Temtes he had created, specifically Yoruichi and Hinata. He always tried to pay attention to the order of things, so, with both girls being created at the same time, he feltpelled to ask for their opinions. As could be expected, Hinata willingly ceded the opportunity to Yoruichi, so, after a bit of back and forth regarding her name, they decided to keep things simple by going with her actual name. She didnt even want the name Mason tacked on to the end, arguing that, if he wanted her to have his name, he would need to ept responsibility by marrying her. Since he knew Yoruichi was likely to refuse his proposal, as there was no need for her to marry him, Vahn decided to shelve the conversation until ater date. Then, with Fenrir, Mirajane, and Hinata as witnesses, he took Yoruichi to the same location where Gandr had received his name before having her kneel in front of him. This elicited a few yful remarks from the bronze-skinned beauty, as she was naked in preparation for the ceremony, but Vahnrgely ignored them as he ced his hand atop her had and granted her the True Name: Yoruichi Shihin... ----------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Yoruichi Shihin], Sobriquet: N/A Age: 305 (Ageless) Race: Human, Shinigami Position(s): N/A Strength: D-Rank Regr Toughness: D-Rank Regr Intellect: D-Rank Regr Agility: E-Rank Ranker Control: B-Rank Regr Shinsu Resistance: N/A Shinsu: [Quality: Lightning, Cat], [Total: 43,800], [Bang: 9], [Myun: 219], [Soo: 219], [Tension: 100:1] Soul Tier: 4 (Divine Soul) Karm: (-) Innate(s): [Sage Dragon Emperors Pet(Non-Standard): (-)], [Princess of the Shihin Family(Non-Standard): SS], [Goddess of Lightning(Emission): SS], [Feline Transformation(Body): A] Skill(s): [sh War Cry: Thunder Beast Battle Form: sh God ck Cat Warrior Princess: SSS], [sh God Super Transformation: SS], [sh War Cry: Thunder God War Form: S], [sh War Cry: S], [sh Step: S], [Hands of Nirvana: SSS], [Swordsman(Divine): C], [Cooking(Master): E], [Unknown Mystic Arts: (-)], [Spatial Control(Ranker): F], [Cutting(Ranker): F], [Lighthouse Control(Regr): C], [Observer Control(Regr): B], [Reverse Flow Control(Ranker): D], [Flow Control(Ranker): C], [Shinsu Enhacement(Regr): C] ----------------------------------------------- After a rather dazzling scene of lightning tearing through thendscape for the better part of five minutes, Yoruichis naked body was revealed. Unlike her normal form, however, she had two very prominent cat ears, a long ck tail, and, most notably, lightning emting fur across her arms, legs, the tips of her ears, her long ponytail, and her actual feline tail. It was, as could be expected, pretty difficult to discern her features, but, thanks to his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn was able to witness Yoruichis bombshell body in all its glory, even as she pounced onto him... Though she had always been a little clingy, Vahn was more than a little surprised when Yoruichi began to rub her face and body against him, a happy Nyaa~ escaping her throat as she nestled into his chest. This wouldnt normally bother him, but, if he hadnt been in his Realm manifestation, Vahn knew he would have suffered quite a bit due to the lightning dancing across Yoruichis body flowing directly into him. Even her tongue created dazzling arcs of electricity as she affectionately licked his neck, tensing his nerves and sending shivers through his body. Fortunately, Vahn learned about this ability while he was still in his Realm manifestation so he could easily counteract its effects in the future. For now, however, he ran his hand along Yoruichis body, enjoying her supple and smooth curves before cupping her plump posterior and asking, "How long are you going to keep pretending? Since you have an Innate like [Sage Dragon Emperors Pet], does that mean Ill need to discipline you properly when you misbehave...?" Rather than cease her act, a feline smile spread across Yoruichis face as she ran her lighting-tongue along his neck, stopping only after licking his earlobe. Then, in an exceptionally seductive tone, she whispered, "Im a naughty kitty..." as her knee, also covered in lightning, separated his thighs beforeing into contact with his slumbering dragon. Feeling like all the muscles of his lower body had been forcibly tensed, lightning began to dance across Vahns body as he entered a state simr to his Lightning Emperor Magia Erebea. It didnt take an omnipotent god to understand that Yoruichi was very clearly in the mood, so, in order to consummate her new name, he decided to indulge the mischievous cat until she waspletely satisfied... (A/N: Alternate Titles: You dun goofed,Realm-baes be like, "Out of sight, out of mind...",Vahn has an affinity with cat girls...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1774 Tease

Chapter 1774 Tease

After indulging themselves a little more than they ought to, Vahn and Yoruichi could be seen lying on opposite ends of afortable sofa, the former massaging thetters very sore feet, legs, and thighs. At the same time, standing behind Vahn, Mira was mixing in her massage skills with [Hands of Nirvana], massaging his shoulders with an affectionate smile on her face. She had inherited the nature of a big sister, and, though she could be pretty scary when angered, she was usually very gentle, fond of doting upon both him and Hinata. While pressing his thumb into the pressure point of Yoruichis sole, eliciting a surprisingly girlish moan from the bronze-skinned beauty, Vahn maintained a rxed smile as he asked, "So, how do you feel after receiving a name? Youre the first person Ive named after a person I know from an existing Record, so Im curious to know how much youve inherited from your namesake." With azy expression on her face, demonstrating her considerable fatigue, Yoruichi stared back at Vahn, eyes shimmering with an amused glow answered, "I didnt receive the originals memories if thats what youre asking. I do have this feeling like I know how to use my abilities, but I think that is just a byproduct of the Innates and your general perception of my original counterpart...oh, there is one thing I can show you that is pretty interesting~?" As if her tiredness was an illusion, a cat-like smile spread across Yoruichis face as she manifested a kodachi that was around 58cm in length. This was clearly her Zanpakuto, but, rather than activate it, Yoruichi surprised both Vahn and Mira by stabbing herself in the chest as she exined, "It seems this little brat is called Kuroneko-hime. It is apparently what lets me transform into a cat, and, even when active, provides no increase to my physical capabilities." By the time Yoruichi had finished speaking, her Zanpakuto had been absorbed back into her body. Immediately after that, she transformed into a ck cat with even sleeker fur than her previous cat transformation. Vahn could ascertain this, as, without any sense of shame, Yoruichi began to nuzzle against his chest like an over-affectionate kitten who just experienced catnip for the first time. This was only the first of many surprises, however, as she promptly released a contented mewling when he began rubbing her back and belly. Realizing that Kuroneko must be the one in control right now, a mischievous smile spread across Vahns face as he picked the cat up by its armpits, staring into its golden eyes as he said, "Im sorry for your loss..." in a somber tone. In response, Kuroneko replied with a sad mewl, seemingly able to understand it had gotten the short end of the stick as Yoruichis Zanpakuto Spirit. She was the type who liked to beat her enemies using raw physical power and speed, so, unlike other Shinigami, she had virtually no use for a Zanpakuto. Shortly after Kuros mewl, a subtle shift could be seen in her eyes, seemingly denoting the transfer of control as Yoruichi immediately scowled at him as she said, "Dont badmouth me in front of my own Zanpakuto..." Rather than respond to the remark, Vahn set Yoruichi down on hisp, stroking her silky ck fur as he asked, "What about your Bankai? Do you have ess to it yet...?" Though she had started purring almost immediately in response to Vahns caress, Yoruichi managed to retain enough self-control to stare up at him like he was an idiot, asking, "Why would I be able to use Bankai when even you havent achieved it? Wouldnt that be like super embarrassing for you?" With the edges of his smile twitching slightly, Vahn began to stroke the lower half of Yoruichis back with a bit of force,pelling her to raise her butt and straighten out her legs. Rather than resist, however, Yoruichi just curled up her front paws, an enamored look on her face as she allowed him to continue stroking her. She was known to be pretty shameless so there was no way she was going to resist free pleasuring. Realizing there was no way to make Yoruichi feel embarrassed or bashful, at least through normal means, Vahn just poked her left thigh with his index finger, pushing her off bnce and causing her to flop onto her side. Then, while lightly stroking her belly, he asked, "Is there anything else? What about that lightning transformation from earlier...?" Hearing Vahns question, Yoruichi ceased purring a second time, now appearing a little annoyed as she looked up at him and replied, "Dont ask questions when you already know the answer. That is obviously my Shunk: Raiju Senkei: Shunry Kokuby Senki, the sh War Cry: Thunder Beast Battle Form: sh God ck Cat Warrior Princess. It makes my body feel extremely sore, but it allows me to drastically increase my physical capabilities by fusing lightning elemental energy with Kuros reiatsu. Since my body isnt nearly as much of a cheat as yours, I can probably only use it once a day before needing to recover. Now, stop asking questions and let me focus on being pampered." Though he deadpanned in response to Yoruichis words, Vahn still slouched a bit, allowing her to lie on his chest before looking up at Mira, smiling apologetically as he asked, "Can you go prepare the bath? Ill make it up to youter..." Finding Vahns words rather amusing, Mira covered her mouth, giggling yfully before reaching down to pat his head as she answered, "Sure thing, Vahn. Ill also prepare a meal for everyone, so feel free to pamper Yoruichi as much as you like. The more you pamper her now, the more Ill be able to look forward to receiving my own name~." Before Vahn could respond to the white-haired angel standing over him, Mira proved why it wasnt a mistake to summon her, leaning down to nt a kiss on his lips, her breasts briefly contacting the top of his head before she turned to scamper out of the room. The fact she was only wearing a silk negligee made this quite the sight to behold, but, due to Yoruichi biting his hand, punishment for stopping, Vahn wasnt able to admire it as long as he would have liked... --- While Vahn was living a life most people would envy, the members of Team Wolf Pack were looking a little worse for wear after more than two weeks of holing themselves up inside the central supply station. The other groups of Regrs no longer bothered to attack them, but, after overindulging in the benefits provided by Vahn, even the men among the group were pretty miserable. With his stomach releasing a feral growl, a tired sigh escaped Gandrs throat as hemented having his ess to the system shop cut off. It was impossible for him to starve to death, but, after eating nothing but rations andpression bread for two weeks, his mood had diminished quite a bit. As a result, he didnt even care that Endorsi was sitting behind him, ying with his ears as he stared into the distance like a soldier who had been at war for too long. Having heard Gandrs stomach growl, Endorsi released a sigh of mock exasperation before pulling out a piece of dried meat from her personal storage and holding it to his mouth as she mused, "Im d we got put on the same shift as each other. I never expected you would be this helpless when youre hungry. Here, let this big sister feed you~." After more than a month of dealing with Endorsis antics, Gandr, simr to the past version of Vahn, had ultimately just given up on trying to deter her. She even took other peoples guard rotations so they would have more alone time together, and, though he had tried to counteract her antics, the incident with Yuri seemed to have emboldened her. As a result, even when he massaged her chest, Endorsi made no attempt to stop him. Instead, she seemed to understand it as a form of consent, ying with his ears every chance she got... While absentmindedly chewing on the dried meat that was being shoved toward his mouth, Gandr leaned his head back, resting against Endorsis breasts as he gazed into her ghostly-yellow eyes. He didnt have View Affection, but he could tell the girl was more than a little fond of him. This wasnt actually that much an issue, but, unsurprisingly, Endorsi was a very possessive woman. She seemed to be trying to gradually mold him into something akin to her pet, or, more specifically, her Knight. Nare had influenced her in a negative way, and, though Phae had scolded her a few times, Endorsi was, if nothing else, very mitted to obtaining the things she desired... Recalling her unawakened [Champion of Lust] Innate, Gandr forced back a sigh as he considered the best course of action. The simplest solution was to deal with Endorsi using more direct means, as, based on the current flow, she was trying to rile him up to have sex, not because she wanted to do it with him, but because she wanted to deny him the opportunity. Men could be pretty simple at times, so, regardless of which Record you traveled to, you would always find women using their bodies as leverage to manipte men in order to obtain greater power and authority. Endorsi might not have any malicious intentions, but it was very clear that she saw herself as the person in control of a rtionship. Thus, if he wanted to prevent her from bing even more unrestrained and maniptive in the future, Gandr would have to conquer the prideful woman. He might technically be a virgin, but, when it came to both theoretical and practical knowledge, even Goddesses would find it difficult topete with him. The only downside was, from that moment onward, Endorsi would be a barrier between him and other people...especially women... Gandr didnt actually mind being in a monogamous rtionship, but, simr to Vahn, he didnt have the heart to ignore genuine affection. He knew it was only a matter of time before Anak also viewed him as a man, and, though he didnt have a particr interest in Yuri, talking to her over the Pocket every evening had brought him closer to all three of the Princesses. Unfortunately, this was also one of the reasons behind Endorsis esction, the other being that Baam had let it slip just how old he actually was... Finding Gandrs gem-liked golden eyes rather alluring, a possessive smile spread across Endorsis face as her left hand began caressing his chest. She didnt know what he was thinking about, but her intuition told her that it had something to do with her. This made her feel like teasing him a bit, a trait she had developed after realizing how passive he was. He never tried to feel her up after the first time he had groped her chest, not that she would have minded, so, at this point, she was pretty sure his previous antics were false bravado. Emboldened by the thought that Gandr was just as easy to toy with as any other man, Endorsi bent down slightly, licking her lips before nibbling the tip of his ear. This caused Gandrs pupils to shrink, a response Endorsi thought was cute until she heard him inly state, "If you dont stop, Im going to stop holding back. Vanargandr get very frustrated when theyre hungry, so much so that our first Ancestor devoured an entire pantheon of Gods after being imprisoned. This is my final warning to you, Endorsi...unless you want me to interpret your actions as consent, you will stop trying to tempt me..." Though she felt a shiver run through her body in response to Gandrs warning, Endorsi mistakenly believed he was just putting on a strong front. As a result, she grabbed the zipper at the front of his parka, slowly pulling it down as she asked, "Oh? And what, exactly, are you going to do to me~?" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Meow~,Mira is an angel (UwU)...,There is a fine line between bravery and stupidity...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1775 Complications

Chapter 1775 Complications

Unable to restrain herself, sonorous moans continued to escape Endorsis lips no matter how many times she apologized to the boy behind her. There was even a fair amount of slobber dripping from her lips, mixing with the tears and sweat staining the ground below as her body writhed about and contorted in response to pleasures she had never known. Feeling another wave of pleasure circte through her body, wreaking havoc wherever it passed, a zing crimson hue spread through Endorsis cheeks as a substantial amount of heat and moisture spread through her garments, soaking the sheets below. She had never felt such embarrassment in her entire life, but, no matter how much she pleaded for it to end, Gandr waspletely relentless. The most she could do was hold onto her sanity, but, as a seemingly endless amount of time came and went, so too did thest vestiges of her mental acuity. After nearly two hours, Endorsi no longer had the wherewithal to even speak, her body trembling in the wake of a never-ending torrent of pleasure. She felt like her entire body had turned to jelly, and, though it had made her extremely embarrassed in the beginning, the rhythmic undtions and the licentious sounds of flesh shaping flesh had be music to her ears. She didnt even care that her body waspletely exposed to the elements, tongue protruding from her mouth, eyes rolled into the back of her head... --- Though he knew he had effectively sealed his fate, Gandr had a contented smile on his face as he admired Endorsis naked body atop the massage table. She really was quite beautiful, and, though her personality was terrible, it wasntpletely intolerable. So long as he kept her under control and made it clear who sought out who, it wouldnt matter if she got a little out of hand at times... Since he had already caressed and sculpted every single centimeter of her body, Gandr showed no hesitation as he ced his left hand on Endorsis pert derriere. It was extremely toned, as she had a very athletic figure, but, as was often the case, it was also remarkably pliant and ridiculously soft. In fact, perhaps as a result of her unawakened Innate, Gandr felt like her softness was tantamount to a powerful drug; highly addicting and extremely corruptive. After caressing the two pale white cheeks a little longer than he should have, Gandr gave Endorsi a light smack, his [Hands of Nirvana] causing a jolt to pass through her body. She was still a virgin, so, while he had forced her to climax countless times, Endorsi nearly wasnt as far gone as she thought she was. She had just abandoned herself to the pleasure shortly after peeing herself, almost like she was trying to escape reality. Fortunately for her, Gandr had used cleaning magic to remove all traces of Endorsis ident, so, after a few light smacks, her eyes rolled forward as she sheepishly muttered, "Stop spanking me..." Rather than abide by her demand, Gandr gave Endorsis butt another light smack, this time sending a wave of pleasure through her body that caused her toes to curl. At the same time, a girlish moan escaped her throat,pletely ignoring her attempts to hold it back. Gandr followed this by gently caressing the ruddy flesh, his senses briefly dulling in response to the smooth sensation against his palm before promptly returning to his senses to say, "Consider this both a service and a lesson. The next time you ignore my warning, Im not going to stop with a simple massage..." With his words finished, Gandr gave Endorsis butt one final caress before reluctantly parting with it. Then, manipting the Shinsu in the surroundings, he created a torrent of warm water to envelop her body, not to clean it, but to replenish her stamina. Shinsu had incredible healing properties, so, after a few minutes had passed, Endorsi was able to raise herself from the table, an indignant look on her face as she red back at him with tears building in the corners of her eyes. Though he did feel a little apologetic, Gandr knew it would only make things worse if he gave the woman any ground, so, without any hesitation at all, he inly stated, "Im not going to apologize. I warned you countless times and you were the one who doubted my ims about the efficacy of my massage. If I was actually a bad guy, there wouldnt have been much you could do to stop me from going even further. I-" Before he could say anything else, Endorsi charged toward Gandr without caring about the fact she was still naked. At the same time, with an expression simr to a vengeful spirit, she shouted, "Dont think you can talk your way out of this, you cheeky asshole! If you dont agree to take responsibility for this, I swear on my life that Ill haunt you even after my death...!" With all of her attacks phasing through Gandrs body, Endorsis rage and embarrassment continued to build until she waspletely red in the face. In the end, she even ended up stomping in ce, her body ovepped with Gandrs as she added, "Youre a stupid dumb jerk! If you dont let me hit you at least once, dont even think about talking to me again...!" Following her final outburst, Endorsi squat down, still naked as she hugged her knees and began to silently sob. She wasnt actually that upset about the fact her body had been fondled, but, hearing Gandrs words after the fact, she felt like he didnt care about her at all. It was like he considered her an inconvenience, someone he had no choice but to deal with rather than someone he genuinely cared about. Seeing Endorsi crouch down, Gandr began to feel a little panicky on the inside, his palm glowing with a golden hue as hebed through his hair. This wasnt the reaction he had expected from Endorsi, and, without the View Affection function, he couldnt tell if she was just trying to trick him. His instincts interfered with his ability to read people properly, and, though he had a very simr Innate, not having [Will of the Emperor] at times like this made it difficult to remain calm. Since no action was worse than any action in these types of situations, Gandr crouched down so that he was eye-level with Endorsi before extending his hand to pat her head. This caused her to gradually stop crying, her head raising to reveal a mixture of indignation and sorrow visible in her hazy eyes. This was all Gandr needed to see in order to understand she wasnt just faking, so, with an apologetic smile on his face, he whispered, "You have a bad habit of jumping to conclusions...I wouldnt do this with you if I didnt...I...haaaaa...just hit me." Feeling like he would make things worse by trying to exin things, Gandr decided to just ept his fate, retracting his hand before lowering his head and gritting his teeth. To his surprise, even if he should have expected it, Endorsi didnt immediately hit him. Instead, she continued to hug her knees, asking in a barely audible tone, "Do you like me...?" Hearing the quiet murmur, Gandr looked back at the woman to see the tell-tale signs of hope visible in her gaze. This caused his smile to turn somewhat wry, but, without footing around the issue, he answered, "Yes..." in a quiet yet calm tone of voice. With her mood visibly improving by the second, a nascent smile appeared on Endorsis face as she asked, "Do you think Im pretty...?" This time, Gandrs response was even swifter, nodding his head in affirmation as he answered, "You are beautiful." in a tone that left no room for doubt. Hearing the certainty within the boys tone, Endorsi felt a small amount of vindication, but, before she allowed herself to be too happy, her expression darkened as she asked, "I heard you wanted to start a harem...?" Realizing Baam had told the woman more than just his age, Gandr couldnt prevent an exasperated sigh from escaping his lips as he plopped down onto his butt and eximed, "I dont even want to start a rtionship right now, much less a harem! I just want to have fun scaling the Tower with my friends! I dont want to deal with things like this all the time...!!!" Finished with his outburst, Gandr deted like a balloon, head hanging between his shoulder as his ears drooped pathetically. This surprised Endorsi quite a bit, and, for a brief moment, she began to feel a little guilty about her behavior. Unfortunately, the fire burning in her body prevented her from feeling too much remorse, as, even now, an agonizing throbbing could be felt from her lower mouth. Though she was tempted to insist that Gandr take responsibility for her current state, Endorsi knew it would probably cause a rift in their rtionship if she continued pressuring the boy. If there was anything she had learned from this incident it was that Gandr was more sensitive than she realized. He was also far more capable than she ever imagined, and, though she was a little scared, a part of her, deep inside, wanted him to go a lot further than just a massage. Deciding to shelve that untilter, Endorsi crawled toward Gandr, exploiting the fact he was sitting on her butt to straddle his hips. This caused a helpless expression to develop across the boys face, not because she was sitting naked in hisp, but because she followed up by saying, "Fine. I wont force you if youre not ready for a rtionship...in exchange, you have to promise me not to chase after other girls without my consent...Im willing to make an exception for Anak, but I dont want to see you with Yuri unless both of us agree to it...". Immediately after that, without waiting for him to actually respond, she nted a rtively tame yet longsting kiss on his lips, pushing him to the ground in the process... --- Unaware of his proteges suffering, Vahn was reclining in arge wfoot tub, his arms resting on the sides as he staredzily up at the ceiling. In hisp, or, more specifically, reclining against his body, Hinata could be seen emting his actions, a contented smile on her face as she answered his question regarding Temtes, softly replying, "I think you should create another Temte from Naruto...it might be because of my origins, but I think it would be fun if there were people from the same Record..." Since Naruto was one of the Records he regretted not visiting earlier in his journey, Vahn found it pretty hard to refuse Hinatas words. The problem was picking who to use for the Temte, as, due to his bias, it was difficult to avoid drastically affecting the personality of whoever he selected. His rtionship with Hinata actually made things even moreplicated due to the fact that it subtly changed the way he viewed various females in the verse... Feeling something twitch near her butt, a scarlet hue immediately bled into Hinatas face as two perky cat ears popped out of her head. This caused Vahn to chuckle, and, though he had already had a lot of sex today, he didnt hesitate to sit up straight, prompting Hinata to lean forward and grab the opposite end of the tub. She was actually very shapely despite her apparent age, so, with his fingers sinking into the satiny-smooth flesh of her butt, he slowly invaded her surprisingly deep cavern as he considered whether or not it would be a good idea to just summon the pairings of his other Temtes; preventing him fromying a hand on them out of principle... (A/N: Alternate Titles: (O//////O)...,Thement of the damned...,Okay, someone grab me a knife...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1776 Composite

Chapter 1776 Composite

Deciding it would be best to just ask those who would be affected, Vahn interrupted the seemingly never-ending training of Roger, Ichigo, Madara, and Goku; gathering the four together in Madaras manor to ask their opinion. Without any hesitation whatsoever, Roger, seemingly offended by Vahns words, crossed his arms and retorted, "You think too little of us. I wont speak for these three, but I dont need the mercy of having a wife created for me. Love is something that should blossom through effort, not something that should be forced by circumstance!" Hearing Rogers response, Vahn found himself at a loss for words, allowing Madara to add in his deep and resonating tone, "You are misunderstanding something. We are not you. Our path might stem from yours, but it is ultimately ours to walk. When you create a Temte that stems from your love, you are not forcing them to love you back. Though the seeds for affection may be sewn even before they are given flesh, it is your desire to love them, not force them, that guarantees them the right to happiness. By creating women with the intention of providing for us, you are removing that freedom of choice entirely...you are forcing the situation just to make things easier for yourself..." Since everything said in Madaras voice just sounded right, even when he saidplete nonsense, Vahn found himself at even more of a loss, turning to Ichigo and Goku with a questioning gaze. In response, the former adopted a serious expression of his own as he stated, "I agree with Roger and Madara. Though I feel a strongpulsion to protect and cherish women like Orihime and Senna, I would never ask for either of them to be created for my personal convenience. Besides, even if they were to be brought into this world, I wouldnt actually be saving them...they would not be the same women buried within our memories..." With his hand clutching at his chest, Ichigo showed a pained expression on his face. Compared to Roger, whose spouse wasnt really a key figure, and Madara, who didnt marry in more than 90% of the source material that Vahn read, Ichigo had a number of potential, significant, love interests. The woman Senna was a good example of someone that Vahn would have done everything in his power to save, and, due to his influence on Ichigos Temte, the man clearly had a soft spot for the non-existent woman who suffered from a heartbreakingly tragic fate. Unable to read the mood, Goku didnt seem to notice Ichigos plight in the slightest, smiling as he rubbed the back of his head and jokingly stated, "I dont think it would be a good idea to create a temte of Chi-Chi. I just barely started my training so Id like to avoid being nagged before I even get a chance to fight against someone strong!" Hearing Gokus words, the somewhat sullen atmosphere quickly lightened as everyone understood what the man was trying to convey. After all, they drew from Vahns knowledge and experience, so, while Chi-Chi was undoubtedly an amazing woman in her own right, it was an invible truth that she was also the source of a lot of stress and drama. Her ludicrous desire to make Goku work like a normal person, despite him being one of the few surviving members of his race and one of the only people capable of protecting their universe, constantly put everyones lives in danger. She was also a control freak who ruined the potentials of both her sons and daughter, the first of which, Gohan, was stated to have the greatest potential in their entire Record... Imagining how Chi-Chi would behave, especially if she acted in ordance with his perception of her, a shudder ran through Vahns body as he issued an awkward chuckle of his own. Then, with a slightly troubled expression on his face, he asked, "So, what do you think I should do then? Dont get me wrong, Im having a st with Yoruichi, Hinata, and Mira, but I cant just create a bunch of women who are practically guaranteed to harbor some degree of affection towards me...it isnt an issue for now, but I feel like things will get out of hand pretty quickly if I donte up with some kind of solution." As if he was a father listening to theints of his son, Madara responded to Vahns concerns with a tired sigh, shaking his head in exasperation before saying, "Its best not to think about it. If you create them in a simr manner as us, the women will maintain their independence and seek out partners for themselves. The real problem here is that you have a possessive nature, so, even if you harbor no malicious intentions, it is easier for you to imagine being with them yourself rather than allowing them to wander in the same way as us. You have an instinctual desire to protect and cherish them personally, even though there are countless people outside of this ce who would willingly die to protect some of the Temtes you are capable of creating." For the third time in a few minutes, Vahn waspletely taken aback, stunned by the implication contained within Madaras words. He suddenly felt like his skin had be mmy, and, though he didnt actually sweat, Vahn felt like ayer of filth had covered his body. Realizing that he did, indeed, have a double-standard regarding his Temtes, Vahn habituallybed through his hair as he imagined one of the characters he was interested in roaming the Tower and falling in love with a man he had never met. The thought made him feel ufortable, yet, when he imagined his male Temtes doing the exact same thing, he felt no apprehension at all. The problem wasnt simply that he was possessive, though that was obviously a majorponent, it was that he passively absorbed the knowledge and experiences of his Temtes. Though it wasnt at the forefront of his thoughts, all of the information was stored within the vast archive of his mind. He could even recall the experiences of his Temtes, seeing and experiencing the world through their perspective with the same ease he would recall his own memories. Vahn had no trouble imagining himself with countless women, but, when the roles were reversed, he felt extremely ufortable imagining Temtes derived from his Innate sleeping with other men. This was why he instinctually came up with the solution of pairing his Temtes with each other, as, within the deepest recesses of his mind, it was a lot easier to ept them being with the people he had chosen rather than entrusting them toplete strangers. There was also a chance that one of his female Temtes would encounter some extreme misfortune at the hands of some vile and sadistic scumbag, a notion that filled Vahn with rage just imagining... Sensing the sudden change in atmosphere, Madara released another sigh while Roger, despite the perpetual grin on his face, adopted a serious expression as he said, "You are too focused on being in control. Bad things happen. Just ept it and move on with your life. Being afraid of things that have yet to transpire is ridiculous. Besides, even if something terrible were to happen, we can just draw and quarter the asshole. Thats assuming thess you created doesnt beat us to the punch! Guwahahahahahaha~!" Though he normally couldnt help butugh along with Roger, the mansughter was extremely infectious, the best Vahn could offer at the present moment was a wry smile. This smile promptly turned into a mask of incredulity, however, when Madara suddenly snorted, surprising everyone present as his body morphed into that of a woman. Then, in a deep yet feminine tone, she asked, "Are you going to start worrying about me now? Really, you can be such a fool at times. Even if we receive Names, we still retain our ability to change at will. If something were to happen, why would one of your Temtes just allow it? Stop worrying over nothing and allow your creations the same freedom you enjoy. After all, we are a part of you." Seemingly done with the conversation, Madara rose to her feet, departing the room while yawning loudly. This left the trio sitting within the room rather speechless, Vahn, in particr, staring with his mouth hanging open as he internally remarked, ("I know I wanted my version of Madara to be more understanding and thoughtful of others, but this is a little ridiculous...") Even if he wasnt speaking directly to her, that didnt stop Sis from answering, (*You cant deny she makes a good point. Though you have stopped holding back quite a bit, there are a few things that you needlessly harp over. The situation with Naruto is just one example, as, regardless of your own views on the matter, you didnt steal Hinata away from him. Rather, the Temte you created isnt the real Naruto, much like the Hinata sleeping in your bed. With your power, you could even make a female version of Naruto with Uchiha blood, vibrant crimson hair, and literally nine-tails. So long as you can imagine it, there is no limit to your ability to create a Temte.*) With the ability to, quite literally, create perfect three-dimensional representations of people within his mind, Vahn couldnt help imagine the version of Naruto that Sis had just described. It almost felt wrong, but, after instinctively creating a spirited beauty with vulpine traits in his imagination, a wry smile spread across Vahns face as he shook the image from his mind like an etch-and-sketch. Even if he were to make aposite Temte, he wasnt going to start with someone like Naruko, so, after bidding farewell to Ichigo, Goku, and Roger, Vahn teleported back to the 8th Layer in order to conduct some research alongside Mira, Yoruichi, and Hinata... --- Proving why he should listen to Sis advice, Vahns [Universal Mind] ended up increasing to D-Rank after his sessful attempt at creating a unique Temte; determining everything from the shape and personality of his creation within his mind. As a result, he was currently seated in front of two exceptionally adorable entities, both appearing near-identical except for their general color scheme. The first figure, smiling radiantly as she got her head caressed, had pure white hair that was tied up into adorable twin-tails. Her center-most bangs were a reddish-pink in color, contrasting the vibrant blue of her twin brother. She also had golden eyes that sparkled with innocence, and, though they appeared to be part of her Japanese-style garb, there were two winged appendages growing from her lower back, vaguely resembling the tails of a ribbon. Simr to his sister, the second figure was also enjoying having his head caressed. Unfortunately, though he didnt seem to mind in the slightest, he was the second Temte created by Vahn, so, despite being male, he had very androgynous features. He even wore a long-sleeved kimono top, paired with a blue skirt and blue leggings that contrasted the reddish-pink of his sister. This gave him a very adorable appearance, but, unlike the uncorrupted innocence contained within his sisters golden eyes, the boy had a glimmer of confidence in his ruby-red irises, even as he enjoyed having his head caressed. Though he had the impression that he had just opened Pandoras Box, Vahn had an affectionate smile on his faces as he said, "You can return to your original forms now..." Following Vahns orders, the duo was promptly surrounded by light as they transformed into two equally adorable creatures that vaguely resembled jet nes. The upper portion of their bodies was predominately white while the lower portion, differentiating between the male and female, was blue and red. The fronts of their faces, almost like they were wearing visors, were the same color as their lower bodies except for a small patch of white at the very front. As for their remaining features, they had pointed ears that were extremely soft to the touch, angr wings that resembled those of a jet fighter, two fin-like ps for feet, and fluffy butts that served a simr function as tail feathers. Vahn felt that the duo was actually more adorable in these forms, but, rather than voice this aloud, he allowed the two to nuzzle against them, chuckling lightly as he stroked their impably soft fur and said, "I have high hopes for the two of you, Latias, Latios..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Double-Standards,Madaraying down the logic,Tapping into an Innates true potential) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1777 Lull

Chapter 1777 Lull

Though it wasnt a series he was familiar with from his childhood, Vahn had stumbled across the existence of Pokemon back when he was trying to find something for Vana to read and enjoy. She wasnt very fond of normal books, so, with the hope of sharing one of his pastimes with her, Vahn had searched through countless manga and graphic novels until he discovered the wondrous world that was Pokemon. With literally thousands of different Pokemon to choose from, including multiple varieties between Records, Vahn felt it was a suitable source to draw inspiration. As for why he decided upon Latias as his first Pokemon, it was simply due to the fact that her design was one of the most adorable. There was something about a fluffy and affectionate jet ne that he found rather novel, and, though it was a little concerning to know she had the Dragon and Psychic Types, he decided not to mind it. The most important takeaway from this incident, excluding the fact it had allowed him to increase the Rank of his [Univeral Mind], was that Vahn had confirmed a lot of things that were previously just spection. He now knew for certain that, even without receiving a True Name, the Temtes he created could inherit specific skills and abilities based on his intent. This had only been an inkling suspicion previously, as, due to the low rank of the Innate,bined with the fact he was reliant on [Keeper of the Akashic Tome], most of his Temtes only emted the traits he expected them to have. Though Innates could be used to amplify each other, none were reliant on the existence of other Innates just to be useful. The reason he hadnt been able to develop [Universal Mind] was that he hadnt actually been trying to develop it. He used it a lot, sure, but he was basically just phoning it in by allowing his mind to auto-generate Temtes and personalities based on his expectations. He had been treating it like a supplemental Innate, relying on his cheat-like existence and [Keeper of the Akashic Tome] to fill in gaps that could have been addressed during the creation process. Simply put, by taking a more hands-on approach, simr to creating a character in a video game, Vahn could drastically strengthen the pleteness of his Temtes. This made them much closer to the actual entities he was trying to emte and, though he would only know for certain once he reached that point, his instincts told him they would be able to develop Egos even without [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]. He might still be limited in the number of Temtes he could create at any one time, but, with great enough mastery, Vahn was certain that all limitations could be ovee... --- With an amused smile on his face, Vahn watched with ever-increasing glee as Yoruichi, despite her greater Agility stat, was run circles around by Latios and Latias. The duo possessed an innate ability to fly and, thanks to their streamlined bodies, they could cut through dense fields of Shinsu without losing speed. Rather, the denser the Shinsu field, the faster they seemed to be able to move, a stark contrast to the struggles of Yoruichi. Noticing her Creators amused smile, an inordinately buxom beauty with long blue hair, a matching long-sleeved dress, and ck sclera encircling her peculiar yellow eyes, asked in a husky tone that seemed to resonate through the surrounding Shinsu, "Did Ms. Yoruichi do something to upset you? You seem to enjoy her misfortunes quite a bit...should I increase the density of Shinsu further?" Laughing awkwardly in response to the womans inquiries, Vahn reached out his hand to caress the womans somewhat slippery and moist hair, replying, "Dont misunderstand, Kyrie. Its not that I find Yoruichis suffering amusing, Im just enjoying her reactions. She would probably get a kick out of it if I was the one down there so dont be too eager to exacerbate the situation..." Though she didnt really understand, Kyrie, better known as Kyogre, nodded her head as if she did. She was the product of Vahns attempts to create a Temte without ess to the vast archive of information within his mind. He wanted to see if this would allow them to develop an Ego faster, so, for the past couple of days, Kyrie had alternated between studying under Mira and shadowing him whenever he was inside the Little Garden. As for why he chose Kyogre, it was because she was one of the ridiculously powerful Legendary Pokemon that existed within the Source Material. She had the ability to manipte and expand the ocean, so, while there were countless options to choose from, Vahn felt her abilities would be particrly useful within the Tower. Noticing a vibrant sh of light in his periphery, Vahn shifted his attention back to the race that was taking ce below. Yoruichi had just activated her Thunder Beast Battle Princess Form, her clothes spontaneously evaporating as bands of lightning became the only thing protecting her dignity. Then, with even the surrounding Shinsu bing electrified, the sound of a thunderp could be heard as she instantly appeared across the finish line where Latias and Latios had been dancing about, taunting her. Releasing a tired sigh, Vahn retracted his hand from Kyries head, rising from his seated position before saying, "Kyrie, stay with Hinata. Hinata, look after Kyrie for me." This elicited a small frown from the blue-haired beauty, but, rather than oppose his decision, she just nodded her head as Hinata happily chimed, "Leave it to me, Vahn." Smiling back at the duo, Vahn yfully waved onest time before vanishing into motes of golden light, teleporting to where Yoruichi was gloating before the teary-eyed twins. She was already pretty fickle in her default state, but, whenever she transformed, Yoruichi could quickly get out of hand. As a result, bands of golden electricity danced across Vahns hand as he lightly chopped the womans head, saying, "Youre an adult. Dont tease the children." With a visible bump appeared at the very top of her head, Yoruichi crouched down with tears in the corner of her eyes as sheined, "Theyre the same age as we are, you asshole..." Though Yoruichis words were undeniably true, Vahn was about to point out that Latias and Latios were still very child-like in their thoughts and actions. Before he could, however, the lightning-d beauty erupted like apressed spring, her fist connecting with his bottom jaw before sending him skyrocketing more than a hundred meters into the air. Then, with his jaw and teeth still in the process of regenerating, she appeared above him in a sh of light, leg raised high like the de of an executioner before impacting the top of his head with her heel. Finding himself in the middle of arge impact crater, a light chuckle escaped Vahns throat as he coughed up a small amount of blood. Pain had very little effect on him ever since his training with Scathach, so, while it felt like his head had been skewered with a heated rod; he was still managed tough until Yoruichi knocked the breath out of him,nding on his stomach with her fleshy rump before grabbing the front of his shirt and musing, "I can be violent too..." with a predatory smile on her face. With most of his injuries healing having already healed, Vahn just smiled back at Yoruichi before calmly stating, "Save it for the bedroom." before pinching her right butt cheek with his left hand. Though she was in the mood right now, Yoruichi turned her attention towards the duo peeking down at them from the craters edge. Latias and Latios were both very curious creatures, but, most importantly, Kyrie was watching over them alongside Hinata atop a blue Lighthouse. Vahn wanted the three of them to grow up without such influences, so, even though she had an itch only the boy beneath her could scratch, Yoruichi ultimately just clicked her tongue, lightning dissipating from her body as she transformed into azy-looking ck cat and said, "Pet me." in a tone that left no room for argument. --- With twenty-three days having passed since the start of the Survival Test, the members of Team Wolf Pack hadrgely adapted to the conditions of the 4th Floor. Even Nare stoppedining after the sudden change in Endorsis behavior several days prior, so, for the most part, things had be rtively peaceful as they passed each day in a rather mundane fashion... Showing signs of extreme boredom, Gandr released a loud yawn while lying in the grass next to Shibisu. It had been several days since another group of Regrs had even tried to approach the central supply station, so, with nothing to do and little food to eat, he spent the majority of his time just rxing in order to prevent an emotional outburst. Though he was tempted to ask Gandr about the recent changes in Endorsis behavior, Shibisu just smiled in response to the formers behavior, asking in a slightly concerned tone, "Are you going to be okay? Whats the longest period of time youve gone without eating...?" Waving his hand in a dismissively, Gandr replied, "No need to worry. Even if I starved myself for a year, I wouldnt go berserk unless something serious happened. Besides, if I get really hungry, I can always start eating trees and rocks. My body can convert pretty much anything I eat into energy. I just prefer the taste of actual, delicious, food." Demonstrating his point, Gandr rolled to a seated position before picking up a palm-sized stone and tossing into his toothy maw. Most of his teeth had turned angr at this point, and, though he could forcibly revert them back to a more normal appearance, he saw no reason to. Instead, he let it serve as an indicator of his mood, embracing his identity as a Vanargandr rather than attempting to restrain it. Seeing Gandr grind down and swallow arge stone with considerable ease, Shibisus smile became a little cramped as he imagined how easily the boy could chew through bone. This gave him a slight urge to ask if Gandr had ever eaten a person, but, fearing the answer might actually be yes, Shibisu managed to deflect by asking, "Hows the taste? I have some salt in my Inventory if you need some seasoning." Finding the remark rather amusing, Gandr issued a light-hearted chuckle before sprawling out onto the grass again, hands behind his head as he closed his eyes and muttered, "I hope there arent too many Tests like this one. I want to fight someone strong..." Since he had also been incredibly bored these past few days, Shibisu couldnt help but nod his head before lying back and replying, "I know there are at least two more Survival Tests, one on the 50th and another on the 100th Floor. The former is hosted by the Ranker Administration. They use it as a tform to promote famous Regrs and arrange various sponsorships. As for the 100th Floor, it is the ce where Jahad and the Ten Great Warriors were said to have obtained their Immortality. The Floor is ruled by the Arie Family, and, if youre one of the Teams that make it through to the end of the Survival Test, you will be given a chance to undertake Arie Hons Special Test. Though only three people have ever passed, its rumored that he will grant you any request within his power, including an entire Floor of the Tower." With even Yuri possessing unfathomable might, despite only being within the top 500 of the Tower, it was hard to imagine how powerful the current Rank 5, Arie Hon, was. He was famous as the most powerful of the Ten Great Family Leaders, and, though there were a few other schools, his Arie-Style Swordsmanship was considered unparalleled within the Tower. This implied he was a powerhouse beyondprehension, but, rather than show any signs of fear, a toothy grin spread across Gandrs face as he mused, "I guess we need to hurry up to the 100th Floor then..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Go figure, you have to use an Innate for it to develop...,The Tower is not ready for what Vahn is about to unleash...,(OwO)? Whats this? *notices your swordsmanship*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1778 Unity

Chapter 1778 Unity

With a look of fascination on his face, Vahn, apanied by Yoruichi and Hinata, watched as Kyrie danced atop the surface of an ocean he had created in the Sixth Layer. She hadnt even received a True Name, yet, in spite of this, her elegant dance caused massive waterspouts and whirlpools that were more than a hundred meters across to wreak havoc in her surroundings. Saying what they were all thinking, Hinata muttered, "Beautiful..." in a hushed tone while clinging to Vahns right arm. This was met with an affirmative nod by thetter while Yoruichi, sitting in Vahnsp in her cat form, added, "Its like watching a natural disaster...youve created a real monster this time, Vahn..." Though he never liked the term monster when describing one of hispanions, Vahn wasnt able to refute Yoruichis statement. Kyries ability to produce rain and manipte water was on a level far beyond his own understanding. If he wanted to perform a simr feat, it would take a considerable amount of time, preparation, and energy. Kyrie, however, needed only dance near the surface of the water, the long sleeves of her outfit swaying with her movements as her siren-like song seemed to carry for dozens of kilometers, echoing within the tempestuous winds produced by the churning of the ocean. Unfortunately, no matter how horrifyingly sublime the scene of destruction was, Kyrie was far from being all-powerful. Her abilities were only truly useful against static opponents and infrastructure. Anyone with sufficient speed or strength would be able to blitz her rtively easily; so, while Hinata and Yoruichi might not be able to perform a feat even remotelyparable to Kyries maniption of an ocean, both could defeat her, and simr opponents, without too much trouble. The greatest benefit Kyrie had was that Shinsu could be manipted using the same abilities that allowed her to control water. This gave her unparalleled potential as a Wave Controller, so much so that she could presumably humble anyone beneath the status of a High Ranker. The only downside was that her abilities werent very friendly; so, when Kyrie went all-out, both enemies and allies were equally affected... Feeling that the demonstration had gone on long enough, Vahn pulled out a spherical device with a magenta covering set atop a white base. There were two pink vents located on the upper half of the sphere while, at the very front, a circr button could be seen beneath an engraved letter M. Vahn promptly pressed this button, producing a phenomenon simr to lightning, instantly traversing the distance between himself and Kyrie as he said, "Thats enough, Kyrie. Return." Without causing her any injuries, the vibrant white lightning veiled Kyries entire body, seemingly breaking it down into motes of simr white light before vanishing less than a millisecondter. At the same time, the spherical device in Vahns hand, better known as a Master Ball, began to release a gentle hum as the ball promptly shrunk to less than a quarter of its original, grapefruit, size. After that, Vahn revealed his personalized Arms Inventory, upon which sat a total of seven identical balls. Though there were more expensive versions that could undoubtedly capture any living creature, the Master Balls wielded by Vahn were specifically used to capture and house Pokemon. They were the highest tier of a device known simply as a Poke Ball, and, so long as the target was applicable, they could be housed inside the miniature world contained within. As for why he bothered to use Master Balls, it was because they were simply the mostfortable for the Pokemon. They also had a high degree of indestructibility, and, most importantly, allowed anything inside to recover from virtually any injury in a rtively short period of time. With Kyrie safely secured within her Pokeball, the ocean below began to gradually calm due to theck of tidal forces present within the Little Garden. It would likely take several days for it to bepletely calm, however; so, rather than stick around, Vahn teleported himself, alongside Yoruichi and Hinata, back to the Eighth Layer. In the past, the Eighth Layer had been little more than Vahns love nest, a rtively empty space that contained a single, massive, mansion. Now, however, it looked more like a nature preserve, the mansion reced by a series of homely dwellings that were built directly into hills and trees. All of this was set within a massive emerald grove with the canopy of a World Tree dominating the region for nearly three kilometers. Following the aroma of delicious food, Vahn soon found himself in a dining room that was directly linked with the kitchen. This allowed people to smoothly transition between the two, and, though it was never said aloud, everyone knew that Vahn simply enjoyed watching the women cook. Most of the appliances and stoves were located on the far wall, so, if he sat at his usual spot, he could watch the back figures of the girls as they happily prepared food for the ever-growing poption of the Eighth Layer. Fortunately, everyone, including Yoruichi, genuinely enjoyed preparing meals. This was one of the traits each of Vahns Temtes had inherited, and, if not for the ban preventing men from entering the kitchen, he would happily cook alongside them. Instead, he, alongside the other male residents, traditionally sat at the dining room table, observing the scene of meal preparation while discussing various topics, most rted to training. Having already separated from Yoruichi and Hinata so the two could go wash off in the bath, Vahn was alone as he stepped into the extremely fragrant kitchen. There, he saw three women wearing casual clothes and aprons, each humming the same song while Madara, still in her female form, sat silently with an open bottle of sake at the dining table. She couldnt actually get drunk, but, perhaps as a result of the time Vahn had spent with Tsubaki, Kenshin, Nobunaga, Musashi, and several other eastern warriors, Madara had always had a fondness for alcohol. Though they all noticed his arrival around the same time, the first to speak to Vahn was the shorter of the two red-haired women cooking alongside Mira. She had just grabbed the food that had been prepared for Madara, so, while carrying it over to the table, a radiant smile spread across her face as she stopped near him and asked, "Are you here to eat or just watch?" Since his stomach was effectively a bottomless pit, a trait shared by all of his unnamed Temtes, an amused smile spread across Vahns face as he answered, "Both." while reaching out his hand to stroke the petite womans head. Nodding her head in understanding, the youthful-looking red-head turned toward the kitchen, and, though it wasnt really necessary, she chimed, "Mira-nee, Kushina-nee, dinner and a show for one more~." Responding to the girls words, Mira just issued a light chuckle as the woman to her right pumped her fists and spiritedly replied, "Yosh! Leave it to me, Mor-chan! Ill cook up something delicious and spicy~!" before taking her kitchen knife to a set of ingredients with intense enthusiasm. Giggling in response to Kushinas remark, Mor-chan, better known as Morgiana Fanalis, looked back at Vahn and said, "Come. Ill prepare your usual spot." Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn retracted his hand for Morgianas head, once again finding it amusing that she was 2cm taller than Yoruichi despite thetter appearing more mature. This wasnt to say that Morgianacked feminine charm, but, when standing next to Mirajane and Kushina, 167 and 165cm, respectively, she did look a little childish. Of course, Vahn would never say this out loud, as, despite being a Temte he had created, Morgiana could be pretty petty when you pointed out her height and figure; seemingly forgetting she could change both at will... After taking his seat next to Madara, Vahn watched as the barefoot woman scampered back to the kitchen, a contented smile on his face as he asked, "How was your day?" without looking directly at the person he was speaking to. In response, Madara picked up a piece of eel from her te, deftly maneuvering it to her lips with chopsticks before inly answering, "Calm..." in her characteristically soul-piercing tone of voice. Deciding against pressing her for a more detailed response, as Madara could be very scary when she got mad, Vahn just nodded his head in understanding before replying, "Thats good..." in a soft murmur. This caused a slight smile to spread across Madaras face, an amused glimmer in her onyx ck eyes as she muttered, "Indeed..." in a curt tone... --- With less than a day until the Survival Test was scheduled to end, the members of Team Wolf Pack had all gathered together near therge crystal that allowed them to summon items and supplies. It hadnt been all that useful to them over thest twenty-nine days, but, now that the test was all butpleted, everyone pitched in to purchase a veritable feast. Originally, Khun had been prepared to sacrifice his own Points in order to boost everyones morale and make sure they were prepared for the 5th Floor. This n was promptly shot down by virtually every member of the Team, so, after a brief discussion, they decided to all pitch in a few thousand Points. The only person who hesitated was Nare, but, without needing anyone to convince her, she ultimately decided to go with the flow. After suffering together for twenty-nine days, the sense of unity within Team Wolf Pack was at an all-time high. They had learned to set aside the self tendencies attributed to most Regrs, and, though it would likely take years for them to cement their bonds, they were already beginning to act like a proper Familia. This wasrgely thanks to Baam, his kindness having an infectious quality; but, more than anything else, it was their intrinsic desire to break free from the system that caused them so much torment thatpelled everyone to work together. At this point, everyone was pretty much in agreement that the Tower needed to change, drastically. Fortunately, they had a literal God on their side, so, in preparation for the drastic changes that were bound to sweep through the Tower, they were determined to be the torchbearers that led the way towards a better future. This seemed to be the very thing Vahn was preparing them for, so, with a profound sense of purpose uniting them, Team Wolf Pack heralded the dawn of the thirtieth day with the light of conviction reflected in their eyes... --- With subtle vibrations and heat spreading through his body,bined with the sound of purring tickling his ears, Vahn found himself in a situation where he simply didnt want to wake up or move around. He had decided to take a nap alongside Latias and Latios the previous evening, and, by the time he woke up, he had a ck cat, a red lioness cub, and an exceptionally cute nine-tailed fox kit sharing his body as their bed. If not for the person incessantly poking him in the cheek with a stick, Vahn wasnt sure he would be able to separate from the veritable mountain of fluff he had awoken to find himself buried under. It was like his body was awash in an ocean of soft and pleasant warmth, a sentiment that was shared by the other residents of the pile due to their ovepping auras. Though he could perfectly fine without opening his eyes, Vahn adopted a half-lidded expression as he stared at the petite and delicate-looking woman poking him in the fact. She was extremely thin, appearing much like a doll, and, though she resembled a refined maiden with flowing blue hair and peculiar golden fringe, closer observation would reveal numerous peculiarities. This included a fluffy ck tail, gold-adorned ck leggings and gloves that were actually a part of her body, and, most notably, a jeweled crown that vaguely resembled antlers protruding from the top of her head. Thisst article made up nearly a quarter of her total height, and, though she had also had mesmerizing blue eyes, it was hard to take your eyes away from the massive crown... Seeing that Vahn had finally awoken, the exceptionally lithe girl adopted a gentle smile as she said, "Good morning, Master. It is time to wake up. If you dont prepare quickly, you will be unable to eat breakfast before returning to the Outside." Disturbing the trio that was pretending to still be asleep on his chest, Vahn stopped leaning against Latios side, stretching his body and releasing an extended yawn before smiling back at the girl and replying, "Thanks foring to get me, Nea. Dont worry, Ill still have plenty of time to brush your hair if we visit the outer rings." Smiling in response to Vahns final remark, Nea, better known as Xerneas, performed a polite bow before promptly turning around and transforming into a remarkably elegant-looking deer. Vahn understood her intentions without her needing to directly convey them; so, even though it wasnt really necessary, he cradled Yoruichi, Kushina, and Morgiana in his arms, riding Xerneas back to the Emerald Grove as Latias and Latios happily dodged through the surrounding trees... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sublime Terror,Familia,Fluff) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1779 Ascent : Observation

Chapter 1779 Ascent : Observation

With less than ten minutes before the Survival Test was scheduled to conclude, Vahn manifested, seemingly out of thin air, alongside Phae. This caught the members of Team Wolf Pack by surprise, but, after realizing who had appeared, most of them visibly rxed. Endorsi, however, didnt miss the chance toin, her voice sounding irritable as she eximed, "Its about time you showed up! Tell me, did you enjoy your vacation while the rest of us were suffering!?" Without missing a beat, Vahn nodded in response to Endorsis question, smiling as he said, "It was a very productive and pleasant rest. Once we have time, I will show you the various changes that have urred within the Little Garden. There are also a number of new residents for you to meet, several of which have agreed to help in your training. Look forward to it." Though she felt an overwhelming urge to punch Vahn in his smug face, Endorsi ultimately deted when she noticed everyone was looking at her with troubled expressions. She wanted toin about fairness, but, considering the Little Garden was exclusively the property of Vahn, she didnt have much ground to stand on. As a result, an exasperated sigh escaped her lips as she shook her head and remarked, "Whatever. As long as there are delicious foods and a hot bath, Im not going toin..." Since he hadnt been paying much attention to Team Wolf Pack thesest few weeks, Vahn was a little surprised by Endorsis mature reaction. He couldnt help but nod his head in approval before looking to Gandr and nearly bursting out intoughter when he saw the boys deadpan expression. This made it pretty clear that something had happened, but, rather than prying, Vahn continued to smile as he passed his gaze over everyone present and remarking, "You have all grown a lot in thesest thirty days. I will make to reward you handsomely once time allows. For now, just know that Im proud of each and every one of you. Well done." Hearing Vahns praise, even Endorsi felt a little gratified, a smile spreading across her face as she puffed out her chest proudly. The only person who didnt really react positively was Laure, who, after looking towards Vahn and giving a curt nod, promptly fell back asleep... --- After precisely 720 hours, indicated by a row of four zeroes on the Pocket, the same Administrator who had originally greeted the group appeared before Team Wolf Pack. Then, despite their purely synthetic voice, they managed to sound slightly enthused as they said, "Congrattions, Regrs. You have proven yourselves more than capable of ascending further up the Tower. Since you were able to hold the Central Supply Station for the entirety of the Test, your respective Party Leaders will be given 50,000 Points to split between you. I pray that you find simr sess on future Floors." With those parting words, the Administrator input amand into their Terminal that caused both Khun and Phae to be awarded 50,000 Points. Then, in the blink of an eye, the entirety of Team Wolf Pack found themselves outside a massive teleportation array. There were more than a thousand other Regrs present, some looking a bit worse for wear; but, regardless of the state they were in, a celebratory atmosphere dominated the otherwise chilly room. Fortunately, though some suspected they would need to participate in some kind of tournament to move higher up the Tower, that wasnt the case. Instead, everyone who had endured thest thirty days, even if they were the only surviving member of their original Party, was allowed to transfer to the next Floor. They were gathered in batches ranging between 200-300 people, enough to fill therge teleportation array while guaranteeing people could still move around. Some people, Shibisu and Khun included, believed that it would be safest to teleport alongside a weaker group of Regrs, but, after a few chiding remarks from Endorsi, Gandr, Anak, and Rak, they ultimately decided to leave things to fate. After all, so long as they worked together, other Regrs didnt really have much of a chance against them. Even their weakest members were above average; so, with several powerhouses on their side, they decided themselves to just go with the flow, joining a random collection of Regrs before transferring to the next Floor... --- Perhaps as a reward for having endured thirty days without any realforts or infrastructure, the 5th Floor resembled a series of beachside Resorts, high-end hotels, and shopping centers. It was a veritable metropolitan paradise,plete with an oceanic breeze that carried a salivating aroma that caused several Regrs to swallow hard as they impatiently awaited an exnation from the 5th Floors Administration. Fortunately, they didnt have to wait long, as, less than a minute after the transfer, a fashionable young woman with short brown hair, blue eyes, and white pupils appeared out of thin air. She had a lean and athletic figure that was garbed in a skin-tight, long-sleeved, blouse, a pair of trousers, high boots that extended past her knees, leather gloves, and a stylish mantle that covered her shoulders. It was a little strange that her entire ensemble was various shades of brown, but, perhaps by design, this made her eyes, earrings, and the ne she wore around her neck stand out quite a bit. With all eyes focused on her, the woman pressed an invisible icon on her Terminal. Others couldnt see it, but Vahn, Phae, and even Gandr noticed a magic circle that resembled an old microphone head appear in front of her mouth, amplifying her voice considerably as she said, "Wee to the 5th Floor, Regrs. I am Ranker Analize, Fear Analize. I serve as Senior Administrator and Proctor of the 5th Floors Paradise Bay. As you have undoubtedly noticed, there are various amodations present within this Floor. We have even contracted the Workshop to host an auction at the end of each month. You are allowed to stay on this Floor for up to a year before being forcibly kicked out, so feel free to use this time to make preparations for future Floors." Hearing Analizes introduction, most of the Regrs present couldnt wait to venture out into the city and explore its many boons. Unfortunately, as was often the case within the Inner Tower, things were never quite that simple. After all, Analize had yet to exin the method to advance to the 6th Floor, a Test that was guaranteed to filter out more than half of the participating Regrs. Demonstrating how cruel reality could be, Analizes expression darkened slightly as she said, "Now, before I release you to go about your own business, allow me to exin the Rules of this Floor and the requirements to advance to the next. From this moment onward, each of you is considered an F-ss Citizen. F-ss Citizens can only step into facilities directly operated by the Administration. All other businesses, including residential areas, arepletely off-limits without the requisite ss required to enter. Higher sses of Citizenship can be purchased within the properties managed by the Administration. To advance to the next Floor, you must be a B-ss Citizen. If you want to continue climbing as a Party, each member of the same Party must be B-ss. As for the remaining rules, they arergely dependent on your ss so I suggest you promptly seek more information at the nearest Administration Office. Know that High-ss Citizens have greater rights than their Low-ss counterparts. There are even situations where you could suffer serious injury or even death so make sure you gather as much information as possible before roaming around at random. Now, as there are far too many of you for me to answer individually, I will not be taking questions. With that said, good luck. Without a surplus of Points, youre going to need it." Removing any chance for questions, Analize vanished into motes of bluish-white light immediately after her exnation was finished. This left many Regrs feeling unnerved and resentful, but, aftering this far, they were determined to go even further. Thus, rather than idle about, wasting time onining, they quickly sought out buildings marked with the house-like symbol representing the Administration. As for the members of Team Wolf Pack, they quietly disappeared from the za as Gandr, finding a suitable target, vanished into their shadow... --- Having decided it was pointless to have the members of Team Wolf Packpete in a Test that was essentially just ss Warfare, Vahn promptly pulled everyone into the Little Garden before exining, "Though you will have to venture outside to obtain Points, the Little Garden will serve as your residence for the duration of your stay on the 5th Floor. Well discuss the specific after Gandr returns from his reconnaissance. For the time being, let me introduce you to a few people before cutting you loose to wash up and dpress. You all worked hard over thest thirty days, so Ill allow you a three-day reprieve before training begins." Hearing Vahns exnation, visible relief could be seen in the expressions and bodynguage of everyone present. It might only be three days, but,pared to their original expectations, which involved immediately returning to training, it was a literal godsend. The fact they would be allowed to stay within the Little Garden was also an extreme blessing, so, with the exception of Rak, most of the other members of Team Wolf Pack appeared to have a tremendous weight remove from their shoulders. Chuckling lightly in response to the groups reaction, Vahn resisted the urge to tell them they would need these three days to avoid having a mental breakdown during theirbining training. He had spent thest monthing up with a personalized training regimen for each of them, and, though the intensity wouldnt change much, the burden on their body and mind would increase drastically. Most of their training was scheduled to take ce on the Second Layer, a ce where the average Shinsu Density was equivalent to the 20th Floor. Moving further down would increase the Density by 30%, approximately seven Floors within the Tower. This meant that, by the time Team Wolf Pack managed to adapt to the Seventh Layer, they would have effectively adapted to the 55th Floor of the Tower. This would give them an absolute advantage over most Regrs, so, even if he left them to pursue his own path, Vahn was confident they would be able to ovee most challenges. Though some of the more perceptive members noticed the glimmer in Vahns eye, none of them spoke out. Even Khun hade to trust that the man wouldnt do anything to harm them, so, while it was bound to be difficult, there were no challenges they couldnt ovee together. These were words that Baam had repeated so many times that they had effectively be a mantra within the group; so, rather thanment what was toe, Khun adopted an expectant smile as Vahn casually introduced their new tormentors... --- Despite appearing to have teleported away previously, Analize continued to watch over the za from thefort of her invisible Lighthouse. She dual-specialized as a Light-Bearer and a Wave Controller, considered by many to be the most powerfulbination within the entire Tower, so she had quite a number of powerful items and artifacts in her arsenal. She was also an Advanced Ranker that was gradually moving up thedder towards bing a High Ranker. This made her extremely attentive to her surroundings, so, feeling someone attempting to probe her during the speech, Analize decided to stick around to conduct an investigation of her own. Though she was unable to see Vahn and Phae within the yback of her Lighthouse, Analize had an intrigued glint in her eyes when she saw the rest of Team Wolf Pack disappear into thin air. This was an extremely abnormal event, not because they had disappeared, but because they were no longer detectable within the confines of the Administrations observationwork. This was a system that worked in conjunction with the Floor Guardian, so, while it might not be able to tell them the exact location of Testing Regrs, it could at least confirm whether or not they were present on the Floor. With every other member of Team Wold Pack vanishing without a trace, Analize decided to monitor the person whose shadow Gandr had disappeared into. Her Lighthouse was B+ Rank, so, while she might not be able to sense him if he went into the State of Nothingness, his presence could easily be traced within a sub-dimensional ne. After all, Gandr wasnt the first person with such abilities, so, as an organization that wasmitted to uncovering the secrets of Origin itself, the Workshop had developed countless methods to detect, trace, and analyze objects that couldnt be detected by normal means. Seeing Gandr transition between peoples shadows without them noticing, an amused smile spread across Analizes face as she mused to herself, "It looks like there are some interesting Regrs this time around...I wonder which organization they belong to? Guess well have to find out by keeping a close eye on them, wont we? Ufufufufufu~." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Laure has life figured out,Vahns Children be getting spoilt...,Gandr cant catch a break...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1780 Corruption

Chapter 1780 Corruption

Though not all of them had agreed to help out with Team Wolf Packs training, Vahn had most of his Temtes, thirteen out of eighteen, gather for the sake of introductions. This included Ichigo, Roger, Goku, and Latios from the mens side. As for the women, demonstrating Vahns bias, there were the original duo, Hinata and Yoruichi, alongside seven new faces: Mira, Kushina, Morgiana, Latias, Xerneas, Kyogre, and, perhaps to serve as a constant reminder of the lesson she had tried to teach him, Madara. As could be expected, the members of Team Wolf Pack were quite surprised by the presence of so many people. The men, in particr, were awed by the almost overwhelming beauty possessed by the vast majority of women within the group. As for Endorsi, Anak, Nare, and Hwa Ryun, thetter of which had spent the entire month training alongside Fenrir, two of them couldnt help but feel a little helpless. As for the other two, Anak and Hwa Ryun, they didnt particrly seem to care about the presence of so many beauties. Rather, after noticing there were two redheads within the group, a fiery light of conviction could be seen burning within Ryuns pupil. While Team Wolf Pack had been participating in the Survival Test, Hwa Ryun had spent the entire month training under Fenrir. As a result, she now had a somewhat wild aura emanating from her body, and, though it wasnt nearly as prominent as Fenrirs, her hair flowed more freely than before. She seemed to have be a predator over the duration of a single month, and, though he wasnt too concerned, Vahn knew she had probably learned a lot more than Shinsu control from his most trustedpanion. Ignoring the hungry look in Hwa Ryuns eye, Vahn exined the changed structure of the Little Garden. He wanted to give them an idea of what their future held before freeing them to enjoy their three-day vacation. Mental preparation was often more important than physical preparation, so, with that in mind, he cut everyone loose to go take a bath and wash up while Hinata, Kushina, Mira, and Morgiana went to prepare a feast. As for himself, he decided to spend some time with Fenrir, sneaking away to the outer rings to enjoy herpany and listen to her exin how the training of her three students had been going... --- With the opportunity to take a proper bath for the first time in a month, Endorsi ignored washing her body using the shower, unequipping all of her clothes using the [REquip] system before, quite literally, jumping into the mineral-rich waters. She had rinsed herself off in a river a few times, but, more often than not, she simply relied on Gandrs cleaning magic to remove the sweat and grime from her body. This had allowed her to remain rtively clean, but,pared to thefort of a bath, there was no way she would ever prefer the former over thetter. Not caring about the judgemental looks she was receiving in the slightest, Endorsi allowed herself to float at the surface of the water, a contented smile on her face as she was pulled along by the gentle current that ensured that the heat and mineral concentration remained uniform. She felt like she had died and gone to heaven, a state of supreme bliss washing over her body and mind until a face spontaneously appeared a few centimeters away from her own... Jerking her body to a seated position, Endsorsi created a literal wall of water to protect herself as she shouted, "Who goes there!?" towards empty space. This earned her a pitying look from Anak, but, before thetter could think of an insult, she was just as surprised as Endorsi to see a red and white figure manifest out of thin air, answering, "I am Latias~!" in a happy tone. Recognizing the name, Endorsi breathed a sigh of relief as she allowed the water wall to disperse. Then, with her hands on her hips, she adopted a stern expression and said, "You shouldnt sneak up on people in the bath. You nearly gave me a heart attack!" Hearing Endorsis exmation, Latias showed an expression of concern as she unhesitantly invaded the girls personal space, paw extending to touch the formers left breast as a tidal surge of healing energy invaded her body. This caused Endorsi to bite her lip, stifling a moan as she separated from the peculiar creatures paw and gently chided, "Youre a naughty one..." before promptly asking, "Is that the same technique that Gandr uses?" With the three w/toes of her paw opening and closing in a groping gesture, Latias adopted the closest thing approximating a smile she could manage before answering, "Hands of Nirvana! It is a skill we inherit from the Creator~!" Understanding Vahn to be the Creator that Latias was referencing, Endorsi nodded her head before taking a seat in the water and stating, "Well, Im fine now. Thanks for your concern. Just remember not to sneak up on me in the bath, okay?" Though she looked like she was seriously considering Endorsis words, Latias caused the former to deadpan as she happily chimed, "No! Sneaking up on people is fun!" beforeughing mischievously and disappearing into thin air. This caused Endorsi to feel a sense of dread, but, fortunately, she was not the victim of Latias next prank. Instead, Anak, who had been cleaning herself diligently in the shower area, released a surprisingly girlish yelp, covering her breasts and privates as her body was spontaneously lifted from the stool she had been seated on. After cing the startled girl on her feet, Latias revealed herself, snickering with both paws covering her mouth. She really enjoyed pranking people, and, though her Creator forbade her from doing so while others were cooking, he never said anything about the bath. Seeing the strange creature snickering at her, Anaks expression became a little gloomy, but, rather thanin, she adopted a stern tone before repeating the words Phae had once told Yoruichi, "The bath is not a ce to y around. It is a ce where people are intended to rx their minds and bodies. Your Creator...Vahn would not approve of this kind of behavior..." Hearing Anaks words, Latias scrunched up her snout with the intent to refute the formers words, but, before she was able to, Hwa Ryun added, "She is correct. If you do not believe her, you can go and ask the Creator yourself. He might not be angry with you, but he is certain to tell you this was wrong. Pranking people is supposed to be a harmless act. If you are disturbing or inconveniencing others, you are effectively bullying and harassing them...do you think Vahn would approve of such actions?" Showing an expression of panic that even Anak had to admit was adorable, Latias gasped a high-pitched, "Oh no!" while iling her paws. Then, with a burst of speed that left everyone in the room stunned, she seemed to fly through the walls, beelining towards Vahn while screaming, "Latias isnt a bad girl-!" in a voice that seemed to pierce through the void. Surprised by Latias rather innocent response, Endorsi, Nare, and even Anak felt slightly guilty. Hwa Ryun, however, had learned the importance of being a good girl from Fenrir; so, while the others were still a little stunned by the swift departure, she rinsed off with a bucket of water before walking over and plopping down in the bath, a contented sigh escaping her lips... --- Unaware of the happenings within the Little Garden, Gandr spent the better part of three hours gathering information on the ss System, methods to obtain Points, the Workshop, and, most importantly, the various districts of Paradise Bay. As the Administrator had implied, things could get very dangerous if you were a Regr caught in an area where you werent supposed to be. The system waspletely in favor of those with higher ss Citizenship, so much so that there were heavy penalties enforced upon lower-ranking Citizens for even perceived grievances against those two ranks higher. To make matters even worse, this was a one-way street, so, even if an A-ss Citizen outright murdered a C-ss Citizen, they would not be penalized in the slightest. To prevent Regrs from exploiting the system too much, anyone above D-ss was only allowed to maneuver in areas one rank above or below their current standing. This might seem like a means to bnce the system, but, due to F~E-ss Citizens being able to venture into most regions, they were often treated like ves or Gofers for Higher ss Citizens. In fact, one of the ways in which a Regr could earn Points was by epting jobs from other Regrs. The majority of businesses on the 5th Floor, a stark contrast to the 3rd, were operated by Regrs who had already obtained B-ss Citizenship. The Administration actually awarded bonus Points to people who operated sessful businesses; so, rather than immediately move on to the next Floor, it wasmon for ambitious Regrs to momentarily dy their journey in order to umte as many Points as possible. The Workshop Auctions held at the end of each month regrly auctioned off D-Rank items, so, with the hope of making their future climb significantly smoother,petent teams of Regrs would often remain on the 5th Floor until the end of their eleventh month. Though things appeared rtively calm on the surface, there was actually an extremepetition taking ce within Paradise Bay. There were even numerous gang-like factions constantly at war with each other, many backed by direct descendants or branches of the Ten Great Families. These factions had a tremendous edge over thepetition, and, unless they were abnormally powerful, there was simply no way for a normal Regr topete. The Ten Great Families and their affiliates had established an absolute monopoly within the city; and, thanks to the system that had been put in ce by the Administration, it was virtually impossible to advance without cing yourself under one of these factions. Regrs could only obtain Points by selling materials to authorized business, the majority of which would only purchase from members of their own faction. This meant, unless you joined one of the existing factions, your only means of ie would be earning a pittance from the Administration. The jobs they provided were barely enough to cover a days worth of expenses, so, unless you were somehow able to stockpile the 200,000 Points necessary for B-ss Citizenship, you were basically screwed over by a system clearly designed to pander to the Ten Great Families. Fortunately, Team Wolf Pack actually had a number of ways to get around this system entirely, the simplest being the Guardians Test. The most likely method they would employ, however, involvedbining their Points to purchase a few B-ss Citizenships. Vahn would never allow this type of system to simply go unpunished, so, even if he had to make enemies with all of the other factions, it was only natural that he establish a business to help Lower ss Citizens. Gandr was well aware of Vahns nature, for obvious reasons, so more than half his time was spent scouting the best location for their business. He was absolutely certain that his Master would, at the very least, open up something like a Free Clinic to help struggling Regrs. Then, for however long they decided to stay on the 5th Floor, he would systematically pressure or outright eliminate the other factions. This was simply how Vahn did things, so, unless they were willing topromise and fix the clearly broken system, the various factions of the 5th Floor were guaranteed to feel his wrath... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir, rearing good girls since 2019,Dont bully Latias (\u003e,...,\u003c)...!,The wrath of the Sage Dragon Emperor is more terrifying than a natural disaster...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1781 Persistence

Chapter 1781 Persistence

After idling about for a few hours in the outer rings, Vahn returned alongside Latias to the central ind. There, he helped her apologize to Endorsi and Anak before joining the celebratory banquet that had only recently gotten underway. Since he simply couldnt help himself at times, Shibisu used the opportunity to inquire about the subject most of the guys had been curious about, tentatively probing, "So...Vahn...whats the deal with all these beauties that keep appearing around you? They cant all be your wives, can they...?" Rather than take offense to Shibisus probing question, Vahn just chuckled lightly before answering in a casual tone, "Hinata, Yoruichi, and Mirajane are off-limits. If you want to try and woo one of the other women, thats your own prerogative. Just know you are fighting an uphill battle if you think of them as some kind of conquest." Laughing awkwardly in response to Vahns words, Shibisu rubbed the back of his head as he said, "I was just curious. Besides, those girls are way out of my league. Especially that Madara chick. I dont think Ive ever seen such a scary yet beautiful woman before..." Hearing Shibisu mention Madara, Vahns smile became even more prominent as he advised, "Things like league dont really matter. Those who have experienced true love rarely care about things like appearance. So long as you can provide for them emotionally and physically, most women care less about appearance than they do status and financial security. Though looks help out quite a bit, they will only get you so far if youckpetence. As for Madara...well, she might give you a chance if you can defeat her in battle? The odds of that happening are pretty slim..." Disregarding the notion that he could ever beat such a scary woman, Shibisu used Vahns words as a segue to ask, "How strong are the newest members? Like, how do theypare against Yoruichi and Hinata? I know youre probably the strongest, but what about the others? Is there something like a ranking system within the Empire?" Though he was already familiar with Shibisus nature, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head as he remarked, "There is nothing wrong with being curious, but you have a tendency to take things too far. Ive never been fond of being interrogated. Besides, there is no meaning in questioning who is the strongest unless you are trying to establish some kind of social or political hierarchy. Rankings only matter when you want to suppress or lord yourself over someone else. Rather than waste your time on things like that, you should just try to be the best version of yourself that you can be." Realizing he wasnt going to get anything else out of Vahn, at least for the time being, Shibisu just nodded his head in understanding before picking up his mug and emptying half the contents in a single go. He already had a few ideas regarding who the strongest members of the Empire were, so, even without Vahn answering his questions, he was confident he could increase his rapport with the most important members. This might not be that important short-term, but, as they moved further up the Tower, Shibisu believed it would benefit him greatly. Understanding the purple-d mans thoughts, Vahn resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he looked around the table and noticed the majority had been listening closely to the conversation. They were equally as interested in the Empire as Shibisu, but, unlike thetter, they had enough awareness not to ask the Emperor, directly, about its secrets... --- Following the rather lively brunch, Vahn was lounging about in the manors library alongside Phae, Khun, and Shibisu as they listened to Gandrs report. His wasnt at all amused by the revtions of his protege, but, thanks to Kushina allowing him to y with her ears as she nestled into his chest in her kitsune form, his mood wasnt terrible. Her fur was very soft, and, though they didnt have an intimate rtionship, she was part of his usual entourage of snuggle buddies. While absentmindedly pulling and massaging Kushinas squishy cheeks, Vahn looked over at Khun, his expression a mask of calm as he said, "We will go with Gandrs proposal and establish an atelier along the outskirts of the A-ss District. Phae and I will handle item production and the treatment of Regrs. You will be in charge of operating the business and handling surface-level negotiations with other factions. Gandr will directly assist you this time around so dont be afraid to y hardball with the representatives of the Ten Great Families." Understanding Vahns intentions, a devilish grin spread across Khuns face as he asked, "Should we be willing to ally with anyone? Though there is a lot of infighting within the Khun Family, I am pretty confident that I can take charge." Though Vahn wanted to avoid the idea of affiliation with any of the Ten Great Families, the fact he was cing Khun in charge alreadyplicated things. Fortunately, he didnt actually care all that much, so, after briefly considering his response, he nodded his head and said, "Ill leave that up to you. Just try to avoid killing anyone unless it is absolutely necessary. Gandrs primary responsibility will be protecting you, not executing your enemies. So long as you keep that in mind, I will trust in your judgment. You are a very reliable young man, Khun Aguero Agnes." Feeling slightly gratified by Vahns words, Khuns smile turned more natural as he said, "Thank you. I will do my best to meet your expectations." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn dismissed the youth alongside Shibisu and Gandr. He knew thetter was pretty hungry so he didnt want to keep them for too long. This left him alone with Phae and Kushina, thetter returning to her human form with a look of mock indignation on her face as she vengefully pulled his cheeks... --- Though the Little Garden didnt have a proper day-night cycle, there were several powerful barriers in ce that emted both. This gave the impression that there was a sun shining brightly during the day, but, far more impressively, there was a massive moon and an endless ocean of stars visible at night. This was enough topletely awe the members of Team Wolf Pack; and, though it was a little chilly, most of them ended up sprawling out in the grassy meadow that dominated the central ind, stargazingte into the evening. While that was going on, Vahn could be found within the manors master bedroom, a wry smile on his face as he asked the redheaded woman performing a wless dogeza at his feet to repeat her previous words. In response, Hwa Ryun kept her forehead touching the ground as she unhesitantly replied, "I would like Master to turn me into a Vanargandr so that I can serve and be pampered by you...please..." Confirming that he had, indeed, heard correctly, Vahn suppressed his instinct to sigh as the image of Hwa Ryun with fluffy ears and a tail entered his mind. He had to admit that they suited her quite a bit, so, after remaining silent for around twenty seconds, he ultimately nodded his head and said, "Very well. You have already proven your dedication these past few months so I have no reason to keep refusing you. Take off your clothes and point your butt towards me. Before I change your race, I will make you my woman." Hearing Vahns words, Hwa Ryun found herself unable to rise from the floor for several seconds, her heart palpitating madly within her chest. She thought it would take several more weeks, at the very least, for her to convince him to ept her as his woman. She had even constructed a carefullyid n to slowly whittle away at his defenses, bing a Vanargandr being just the first of more than a hundred steps... Noticing Hwa Ryuns aura going haywire, an amused smile spread across Vahns face as he lightly remarked, "Perhaps I misunderstood your intentions...what a shame..." Worried that Vahn might change his mind, Hwa Ryun practically bounced up to her feet, discarding her [REquip] system without any hesitation. This caused her clothes to promptly evaporate into thin air, exposing everything but herher region. Phae had exined the risks of the [REquip] system breaking down or getting damaged in the middle ofbat, so, for the most part, everyone made sure to wear proper undergarments beneath the clothes generated by the system. Raising his hand, Vahn attempted to stop Hwa Ryun from removing her panties. He liked to remove them himself, and, though she would undoubtedly be beautifulpletely nude, he was quite fond of seeing a panty-d beauty bending over. Unfortunately, that would have to wait until next time as Hwa Ryun dropped her panties with the fervor of someone who had been holding their dder for months. Deciding to save himself some embarrassment, Vahn used his extended hand to stroke Hwa Ryuns head, his expression softening as he said, "I appreciate your eagerness, Ryun, but there is no need to be in such a hurry. We have the entire night ahead of us..." Realizing how her actions could be interpreted,bined with the fact he had intimately referred to her as Ryun, Hwa Ryuns face became beet red as she bashfully lowered her head. Her body felt like it was on fire, but, thanks to her Gods gentle caress, she was able to calm down in a rtively short period of time. Then, doing her best to not appear impatient, she looked up at him, smiling as she said, "Thank you...Im fine now..." in a demure tone. Nodding his head, Vahn guided his hand from the top of Ryuns, briefly caressing the side of her face before raising her chin. He would feel guilty if they had sex before they had even kissed, so, before she could make sense of his intentions, Vahn nted a fairly tame kiss on the statuesque womans lips. Then, with his hand framing the left side of her face, hebed through her fringe bangs as he muttered, "Thank you for choosing me...though it might take some time before I can convince you, I promise to love and cherish you..." Not expecting a confession, Ryun uttered a surprised, Eh? in response to Vahns words. This caused thetter to chuckle softly before nting another kiss on her lips, this time increasing the intensity quite a bit. He knew that Ryun had more devotion toward him than feelings of love, but, with ample guidance and plentiful pampering, Vahn was certain he could change her mind. Until then, he could only convince her through actions, as, for reasons even Da Vinci couldnt understand, Belief seemed to leave people prone to misunderstandings... --- Several hourster, moving from the edge of the bed to the actual mattress, Vahn had Ryun pinned below him, gasping for air with her legs locked around his hips. Her eyepatch had fallen off at some point so he could clearly see the passion contained in her scarlet-red eyes, now even more radiant and beautiful than before. Quickening his pace, causing a loud pping sound to reverberate through the room, Vahn buried himself deep inside of Ryuns writhing cavern, pressing into her cervix with all of his weight as he released a veritable tidal wave of sexual fluids and vital energy into her body. This caused her tail to curl up between his butt, tickling him as she desperately adhered to his body. At the same time, therge ears atop her head twitched madly, tears flowing from the corners of her eyes as she mewled, "Mashtah..." in a sonorous, impassioned, tone. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Shibisu over here ying with fire,The Blue Devil gets permission to y,A very sudden shift in dynamics...) (A/N: I am not feeling so great this morning so Im not sure how many chapters I will release today. Also, I know there are some people who have been wanting some real lemon chapters. Ill do my best to incorporate a few, but it can be difficult to do so without destroying the pacing of the novel. If nothing else, I could always add some side chapters on my *******. Dont worry, even if I do end up doing that, I wont hide them behind a paywall.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1782 Stubbornness

Chapter 1782 Stubbornness

Though everyone else seemed to have reached a tacit agreement not to inquire, Endorsi ended up serving as the mouthpiece for the rest of her team as she entered the dining room and noticed the ears twitching atop Ryuns head. She even went as far as to rub her eyes in disbelief before pointing directly at the redheaded beauty and shouting, "What the hell!? How do you have ears like Gandr!?" Since she was still adjusting to their heightened sensitivity, Ryuns ears ttened out in response to the sudden noise, frowning as she chided, "Stop shouting. There are still people trying to sleep. You already know how I obtained these ears. I obviously didnt grow them on my own..." Hearing Ryuns response, Endorsi shifted her gaze toward Vahn, her ghostly-yellow radiating a hazy glow as she said, "Do me next! I want to have fluffy ears and a tail!" Having just swallowed a mouthful of oatmeal, Vahn nearly choked upon hearing Endorsis sudden demand. He knew she didnt mean it that way, but, after keeping Ryunpany all night, his mind was still a little preupied with licentious thoughts. Surprised by Vahns reaction, Endorsi disyed a befuddled expression before noticing the red hue that had spread through Ryuns cheeks. She was also receiving a number of strange looks from the rest of the table so it didnt take long for the realization of what she had said to don upon her. As a result, the upper half of her face turnedpletely scarlet as she stammered, "I-I-I...I didnt mean it like that...!" With even her ears turning red, Endorsi ran out of the dining room, unable to face anyone until she had calmed down. This elicited a few light chuckles from several other members of Team Wolf Pack, at least until Shibisu asked, "So, are the two of you a couple now? Was that a requirement for Hwa Ryun to be a Vanargandr?" Unable to restrain himself, Vahn released a tired sigh, rubbing his forehead as he replied, "You really have no filter on that curiosity of yours..." Worried that he might have provoked Vahn again, a cold sweat began to spread across Shibisus body as he readied himself to apologize. To his surprise, however, Vahn dropped his hand from his face, smiling as he casually remarked, "Well, theres no sense in keeping it a secret. It has nothing to do with her transformation into a Vanargandr, but Ryun and I have, indeed, be lovers." To emphasize his point, Vahn wrapped his hand around Ryuns waist, startling her enough to make her ears perk up adorably. Then, despite feeling extremely bashful with several people staring, she nestled a little closer to Vahn before cing her head on his shoulder. As if he had an Innate rted to seeking death, Shibisu showed aical expression of incredulity as he remarked, "Holy hell, man. You really dont hold back. Dont tell me the reason so many of the girls can transform into animals is because-" Without waiting for Shibisu to finish speaking, Vahn teleported the man into the icy cold waters that flowed around the central ind. This caused silence to descend upon the room, broken only when Vahn had finished his tea and exined, "I am the God of Infinite Possibilities. Though my power is limited by your own beliefs, I can effectively modify everything from your appearance, race, gender, and even your inborn affinity. The more you desire the change, the easier it is for me to facilitate. As for Ryun, she sincerely wished to be a Vanargandr so it took a rtively small amount of belief to grant her wish." Though they really shouldnt be, everyone present was more than a little surprised by the indirect exnation of the Modify Function. The implications behind his words were incredible, so much so that Nare couldnt help but raise her hand like an excited student, asking, "Can you make me a little taller!? I dont want people to keep teasing my Chunhwa about being a Lolicon...!" Like many of the people at the table, Vahn couldnt help but chuckle in response to Nares sudden exmation. This caused both hers and Chunhwas faces to turn red, but, as it was something very important to her, she fought back the moisture in her eyes as she asked, "Well!? Can you!?" Since the tears of a Loli could be pretty devastating, Vahn ceasedughing almost immediately after Nares second outburst. Then, with a calm expression, he smoothly replied, "Of course. Wouldnt it be a little strange for a God of Infinite Possibilities to be able to change someones gic makeup but not their height...?" The moment she heard Vahns words, a look of conviction shed across Nares yellow eyes as she said, "Tell me what I need to do. So long as it isnt sleeping together...Im willing-" By performing a zipping motion in the air, Vahn silenced the noiseing out of Nares mouth, an incredulous look on his face as he remarked, "As I said previously...Ryuns change has nothing to do with any acts of intimacy. So long as you have a sincere desire to change, I only need to consume a bit of your Belief, Allegiance, or Loyalty in order to make your wishe true. Your Loyalty is a little low, but I can still do something like this so long as I have your consent..." Though it wasnt too noticeable, Nares height increased by around 2cm by the time Vahns words hadpleted. This caused her yellow eyes to sparkle like gold coins, but, due to the silence that Vahn had imposed upon her, she was currently unable to speak. This allowed him the opportunity to exin, "Since 2cm isnt too noticeable, I also made your ears sharper. I know members of the Golden Pixie tribe have pointed ears so it was a pretty easy change to make." Surprised by Vahns words, Nare moved aside her fringe bangs to reveal that she did, indeed, have pointed ears. This was more than enough proof to prove Vahns im, but, before everyone could begin bombarding him with requests, the person in question added, "As I stated previously, these changes literally consume your Belief and Loyalty. With the exception of Baam, most of you only have a value ranging between 300~500. Nares was a little higher due to her explosive growth, but it has now decreased from 713 down to 108. If you want to ask for things like an increase in talent or a race change, you will need a considerable number of points." With Shibisu currently missing in action, Khun took it upon himself to be the one to ask, "And how do we acquire these points? It cant be as simple as just believing in you...can it?" Amused by Khuns skeptical tone, Vahns smile became a little more prominent as he answered, "It is, actually, that simple. Though there are ways to increase the values through Questing, the most important thing is that you sincerely believe in me. The reason Baam has been able to umte more than 43,000 Loyalty is because he simply doesnt have the heart to doubt others. As a result, I am able to reward him with all kinds of benefits. In fact, with that amount of points, I could change his affinity, adjust his race, and even change his gender all at once. Of course, due to the nature of my power, the decision is entirely his to make." Though Khun was the most surprised, nearly everyone at the table adopted deadpan expressions when a thin trail of blood escaped the boys left nostril. This confirmed the suspicions of several people, knowing smiles spreading across their faces as the boy quickly wiped away the traces of blood before pacifying Baams concerns. Then, with a very subtle shade of red staining his cheeks, he asked, "What is my current Loyalty...?" Having expected this question, Vahn adopted a wry smile before shaking his head and saying, "You are a natural skeptic and a very forward-thinking person. As a result, your Loyalty value is only 83 points, even after all this time. You see, Loyalty can increase and decrease based on the thoughts and actions of each individual person, so, every time youve doubted me...much like you just did, it would decrease. You now have a Loyalty value of 81...make that 80..." Feeling a little embarrassed by Vahns words, Khun decided it would be best to excuse himself in order to calm his mind. Unfortunately, thanks to Baam following closely behind him, a bit of red could be seen bleeding into his ears as he quickly retreated from the room... Seeing the duo depart, a wry smile spread across Vahns face as he looked around at the tables upants and said, "Dont tease him too much. Baam is a very handsome young man, but, most importantly, he would actually make a very adorable youngdy. Khun doesnt really see him that way so dont make a big deal out of this. Now, any other questions or requests before I depart? It might be a rest day for all of you, but I still have a few things to take care of." Surprisingly, the next person to raise their hand was none other than Anak, a subtle blush coloring her cheeks as she asked, "Can you make me beautiful...?" Though she wasnt exactly a conventional beauty, Anak was, by no means, an ugly girl. Rather, she was actually very cute, enough that she would have easily been dered the mascot of the group if not for the presence of Gandr. Her only real fault was that she was in a regressive state, refusing to change her style of dress and hairstyle despite the fact she enjoyed trying on new clothes and having Phase style her hair... Even if he knew it would have very little effect, Vahn adopted the kindest smile he could manage, his tone gentle to the point of sounding like a whisper as he affirmed, "You are already a beautiful youngdy, Anak...you just refuse to let yourself blossom. Right now, you are like a tiny spring bud that refuses to bloom. You dont need my help to be beautiful. What you really need is a little more confidence..." Hearing Vahns words, Anaks expression morphed into a deep frown as she averted her eyes and stared down at the table. At the same time, however, the color in her cheeks became a little more prominent due to the fact she detected no falsehoods within his words. This made her feel a little bashful, a feeling she loathed due to her introverted nature and high pride... With Anaks reaction matching his expectations, Vahn couldnt help but suppress a sigh as he shook his head in mild exasperation. The month-long separation from Phae,bined with the fact Gandr had been spending more time with Endorsi, resulted in her taking several steps backward on the road to mental and emotional stability. This was admittedly an oversight on his part, so, once breakfast was over, he intended to discuss the matter with Phae and Gandr. Anak clearly needed a lot of help, so, even if he had to take matters into his own hands, Vahn would do his best to convince her she was allowed to be happy. Fortunately, she actually had the second-highest value of Loyalty after Baam, the majority of which had been generated after he promised to resurrect her mother. This made her more susceptible to his words, and, though he would never do something like mand her to be happy, she would be able to sense his desire for her happiness. This notion would be more powerful as her Loyalty grew; so, while she was currently behaving very stubbornly, it was only a matter of time before she blossomed into the beautiful youngdy he knew she could be... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Do me too...!,The trickle speaks the tru-tru...!,Bloom little Cucumber...you can do it...!) (A/N: I wrote this while resting, so dont pester me too much xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1783 Accountability

Chapter 1783 ountability

With three days passing in a sh, Vahn, Phae, Khun, and Gandr were inspecting the surprisingly spacious interior of their new workce/residence. Buildings within the Tower had a penchant for being a lot bigger on the inside; so, while it looked rather small and homely from the exterior, there was more than enough space to conduct their business inside. Since there were three floors, excluding the basement and storage area, Vahn decided it would be most efficient to set up his clinic on the ground level. It wouldnt be their primary business, but, as was often the case when something was free, there were bound to be a lot of Regrsing by for treatment. In actuality, Vahn intended to charge fees based on a Regrs means, so, while it would be free for most, others would be charged exorbitant fees. He was effectively reversing the social dynamic that existed on the 5th Floor, providing aid to those near the bottom while, quite literally, handicapping those at the top. Vahn had given Khun and Gandr permission to maim or even cripple anyone who tried to pressure them using nefarious means. This would leave them with little choice but toe to his atelier for treatment, as, even in the Tower, it was exceptionally difficult to have missing limbs reced. There were plenty of methods, sure, but, much like everything else within the Tower, there was an extreme bias that made it impractical for most people to afford such services. ording to the Rules of the Inner Tower, Regrs were responsible for their own injuries and treatment during Tests. As a result, there were no facilities to treat missing limbs or other severe injuries. You couldnt even exit into the Middle Tower to find treatment, as, prior to the 20th Floor, Regrs were restricted to the Inner Tower. This meant, if the injury was severe enough, the only option was to either give up your status as a Regr or trudge forward, gritting your teeth as you became a target for other Regrs who would see your disability as their opportunity. Though their scheme might seem a little malicious and mean-spirited, the fact of the matter was that those with B-ss Citizenship, or higher, grossly mistreated those beneath them. There were a number of exceptions to this, but, unless you were willing to ingratiate yourself or be servile to one of the Ten Great Families, it was extremely difficult to pass through the 5th Floor. The clinic was designed to shift this dynamic, effectively giving those at the top a taste of their own medicine. Though it would only affect the truly malicious and exploitative among the so-called Elite, it was meant to give them a taste of the helplessness they forced upon others. It would also teach them that, while their families were certainly great, that didnt mean each individual of said families were able to act with impunity. They would quickly learn that the authority of the Ten Great Families had no ce within the Inner Tower, a ce that was supposed to test everyone fairly... --- After cleaning the interior, arranging Phaes workce in the basement, and setting up numerous disy cases on the second floor, Vahn had everyone gather within the clinic area, exining, "We will open for business immediately. Ill leave the delegation of specific tasks to you, Khun. This is still a Test, so make sure everyone is involved in some form or fashion." Understanding that Vahn wouldnt just allow them to stay in the Little Garden the entire time, Khun offered a curt nod in response before asking, "What is our training and rest schedule going to look like? Ill need to n our hours of operation around the use of the Little Garden." Having anticipated Khuns question, Vahn looked towards Phae, eliciting an amused smile from the woman as she manifested her Lighthouse. This prompted Khun to do the same, his brows furrowing slightly as he saw the data being transmitted. Chuckling in response to the young mans concerns, Vahn attempted to ay them by saying, "You need not worry. Though the clinic is going to remain open throughout the day, you dont need to schedule anyone to assist me during rest and training hours. I can easily stay awake for months at a time so you can rest assured that this ce will be protected for the duration of our stay." Though he was a little surprised by Vahns im, Khun felt considerably relieved knowing that the man would personally protect their business. This meant he could basically do whatever he wanted without having to worry about other factions. After all, even if every Regr on the Floor grouped up to fight against Vahn, the only thing Khun could imagine them aplishing was increasing the body count. Noticing Khuns Loyalty increase by three points, an amused chuckle escaped Vahns throat as he manifested the Little Garden and produced the rest of Team Wolf Pack from the interior. Then, with Nare acting as his first assistant, he took a seat near his desk, organizing materials as he waited for his first group of patients to arrive... --- Though the first couple of days were a little slow, news of a miracle doctor capable of treating all wounds, seemingly for free, quickly circted through Paradise Bay. This was met with considerable skepticism by most, but, with more and more people attesting to his existence every day, including several with previously missing limbs, it wasnt long before even the most cynical among them were fully convinced. Having anticipated their rapid surge in poprity, Khun spent most of his time negotiating with the businesses in their immediate surroundings. Most business owners were extremely opportunistic so it wasmon for them to rapidly increase their prices whenever there was a surge of traffic. They wanted to benefit as much as possible before the craze gradually died down, but, as this was a very harmful practice, Khun convinced them to lower their prices. While it might hurt their bottom line in the short term, the reduced prices,bined with the draw of Vahns fame, were bound to increase the profitability of the entire region in the long term. After all, people would naturally gravitate toward areas with more affordable goods, so, with the majority of their clientele being people who wanted to save Points, rather than spend them, it didnt make a lot of sense to inte prices arbitrarily. A lot of businesses hadnt been willing topromise in the beginning, but, as the profits of theirpetitors rapidly increased, they quickly jumped on the bandwagon. Only the businesses owned and operated by the Ten Great Families and their affiliates refused to y ball. Instead, they tried to take advantage of the increased flow of Regrs to force Lower ss Citizens to abide by their will. After all, many of the Regrs visiting the district were F and E-ss Citizens, so, even if they were maimed or murdered, there were no penalties for C-ss Citizens and above. Unfortunately for these unscrupulous individuals, they quickly learned that there were penalties for their iniquities. This included a rather harsh lesson in ountability, as not only were the assants held liable, so too were the factions backing them. This affected everyone within a specific chain ofmand, and, in the most extreme cases, more than a dozen people ended up suffering the same fate as the original victim. As was often the case when those in power were held privately responsible for their misgovernance, it took less than a month for a tentative peace to be established within Paradise Bay. After all, they didnt actually have the backing of their families within the Inner Tower; so, regardless of how much they touted their supremacy, their only options were to either advance to the next Floor, effectively running away, or bow their heads in acquiescence to a power far greater than their own. Though the natural deterrent of Vahn and the countless Regrs supporting him helped to keep most people at bay, the true MVPs behind the tentative peace agreement were Khun and Gandr. The former had been able to convince most of the businesses operated by the Khun Family to ally with the ck Wolf Faction pretty early on. Soon after that, the Eurasia, Yeon, Ha, and Arie families quickly joined in, thetter two joining specifically because Gandr had beaten their representatives in singlebat. As the two strongest families within the Tower, the Ha and Arie Families produced the most prideful yet honorable descendants among the Ten Great Families. They genuinely respected the strong, so, after two very one-sided fights, they quickly agreed to the alliance. In exchange, they were allowed to challenge Gandr whenever they pleased, an unfortunate arrangement for the young Vanagandr considering both Representatives ended up being rather feisty and battle-hungry females. Fortunately, while the Representatives of the Eurasia and Yeon Families were also youngdies, the former, a rather petite girl with pink hair and matching pink eyes, was more interested in sleeping than anything else. As for thetter, she had been toyed with by Khun in a contest of intelligence, so, rather than Gandr, she began lingering around the ck Wolf Atelier in order to get even with the young scion of the Khun Family. This caused thetter a number of headaches, not because he couldnt handle the troublesome woman, but because it earned both him and Baam a considerable amount of teasing from the rest of Team Wolf Pack... --- With a forced smile on his face, Gandr held his Abby-tan in a loose stance as a young woman with exceptionally pale skin, pure white hair fastened into a short ponytail, and silver eyes red back at him with an ornate rapier in hand. The red markings beneath her eyes were the only contrast to her pale features, and, though she was admittedly a very beautiful girl, she gave off the impression of an unsheathed sword rather than a living human. To furtherplicate his current situation, a girl with surprisingly simr features to Yuri could be found skulking around in his blind spot. She was a fiery little brat with dark hair fastened into two pigtails with vibrant ribbons that matched the color of her eyes. Yuri was apparently her idol, like most young girls in the Ha Family, so she had copied the style used by the former during her climb up the Tower. She also had a rather extreme and battle-hungry personality, so, no matter how many times he had defeated her, she would invariably track him down the moment her injuries had been treated. Sensing a surge of Shinsu from the twin-tailed girl, Ha Sung, Gandr produced an afterimage as he took a step back, deftly evading the girls flying kick. In the same motion, he brandished Abby-tan in a perfect crescent, shattering several des formed from Shinsu andpressed Space. This caused the white-haired girl, Arie Serra, to adopt a determined glower as she began to swing her rapier in swift, graceful, arcs. Arie-Style Swordsmanship, unlike normal swordsmanship, revolved around creating a domain of spatial control rather than simply attacking with a sword. This was what allowed them to use their weapons freely within regions of high-density Shinsu, as, rather than forcibly carving a path, they actually manipted the Space within their surroundings to control the direction of their de. It was a rather ingenious technique that allowed them to spontaneously attack from anywhere within their domain of control, but, against someone like Gandr, it waspletely ineffective. Rather, if he still had [Will of the Emperor], he was pretty sure he could just disable their ability to control and manipte the surrounding Space entirely... After gracefully weaving through a seemingly inescapable of attacks,ing at him from all directions, Gandr used [Shundo] to instantaneously close the distance between himself and Serra. This caused the girls eyes to widen, her rapier sweeping unhesitantly toward his shoulder by pure instinct. Before it could connect, however, Gandr lightly tapped her on the forehead with the butt of his katana before sinking into her shadow in an instant. Feeling her body turn statuesque, Serra could only grit her teeth as Gandr reappeared behind Sung, startling the girl quite a bit before chopping the back of her neck. This caused thetter to copse forward, nearlynding face-first against the reinforced stone arena until a bubble of peculiar ck Shinsu appeared to cushion her blow. Then, with Abby-tan resting on his shoulder, Gandr adopted a somewhat fatigued smile as he tiredly mused, "That makes one-hundred consecutive victories..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn protect, Gandr attac,A taste of their own medicine,Gandr seriously cant catch a break xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1784 Treatmen

Chapter 1784 Treatmen

Despite agreeing that they would leave him alone if he defeated them one-hundred times in a row, Gandr moved through the crowd surrounding the House of Miracles with Jung and Serra following close behind. This made Gandr feel a little exasperated, but, rather than fret over their obstinacy, he maintained a casual smile, returning the greetings of various Regrs andughing off their teasing remarks. Though his fame couldntpare to Vahn and Phae, Gandr was easily the most popr member of Team Wolf Pack. Their faction was literally known as the ck Wolf Faction due to his efforts, and, though Jung and Serra were the most tenacious, he actually had a considerable number of female fans. The only reason he wasnt pestered by even more women was due to the presence of the two girls behind him, so, even if they were a little troublesome, Gandr tolerated them for his own sake... --- Hearing the unexpected chiming of the door, Nare, wearing a rather adorable Nurse outfit, looked over with the intention of chiding whoever had entered without permission. When she noticed the familiar trio, however, her frown immediately turned into a smile as she chimed, "The prince and his two handmaidens have returned~." Restraining his urge to sigh, Gandr smiled back at Nare as Serra coldly remarked, "I am nobodyies handmaiden..." in an aloof tone. As for Jung, she just replied with a toothy smile before waving her hand spiritedly and saying, "Good morning, Nare-chan. Youre looking super cute today~!" in a very friendly manner. Even if thepliment wasing from a girl that appeared even younger than her, Nare couldnt resist smiling in response to Jungs remark. The girl might be a bit of a battle maniac, but she was generally very friendly to everyone she met. This earned her the eptance of several members of Team Wolf Pack, the only real exceptions being Endorsi, and, to a lesser extent, Anak... Before Nare could engage the young twin-tailed girl in a friendly conversation, Vahn emerged from behind one of the curtains that afforded his patients a bit of privacy, smiling as he asked, "How did your final battle go? Any injuries that require my attention...?" Hearing Vahns reminder, Serra crossed her arms indignantly while Jung, despite the context of her exmation, happily replied, "I feel a prickly pain in my lower back and I think I broke a few ribs~?" Following these words, Jung scampered over to Vahns side, stopping right in front of him with a big smile on her face as he habitually stroked her head. This helped him ascertain the true extent of a persons injuries, but, most importantly, Jung simply liked having her head pat. She wasnt exactly a pampered youngdy, as most descendants of the Ha Family started learning how to fight before they could even speak properly, but she still enjoyed being spoiled quite a bit. Noticing that most of Jungs ribs along the left side of her body were fractured,bined with a slight lumbar discement, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head as he gently chided, "You need to stop overdoing it with your Shinsu Enhancement. Though it might strengthen your body in the long term, you run the risk of bing a cripple if youre not careful..." Despite the seriousness of Vahns words, Jung puffed her non-existent chest out proudly, raising her chin as she said, "The Ha Family is known for their Shinsu Enhancement! If I end up breaking, it just means I wasnt strong enough! Pain is just another obstacle to be ovee~!" Shaking his head, Vahn guided Jung behind one of the privacy curtains while Gandr and Serra both went upstairs. There, the girl fearlessly peeled away her clothes until she was wearing nothing but a pleated red skirt, ck stockings, and a pair of ck shorts that served asmon undergarments within the Tower. This revealed one of two bruises, a purple one running that ran from beneath her left breast all the way to around her kidney while another, situated near the small of her back, had a dangerous ck coloration with a pale white outline. Though her injuries were serious enough to cause a normal person to cry out in pain or be stuck in a wheelchair for months, Jung showed no discernible signs of difort as she bounced onto the table, beaming as she dangled her legs. This made Vahn feel a little resentful towards the Ha Family, but, understanding it was a part of their culture, much like actual Amazons, he decided to withhold judgment until he met the Leader of the Ha Family. For now, the best he could do was prevent Jung from destroying her own body as she desperately trained to ovee Gandr... After telling the girl to raise her left arm up high, Vahn ced his palm against the massive bruise on Jungs side. In response, the girl giggled like someone who was being tickled. Despite this, she managed to keep her arm raised, even as a few tears escaped the corners of her eyes. The healing energy flowing from his palm forced back the Shinsu she instinctually used to protect her organs and numb her pain receptors; so, despite herughter, the truth of the matter was that Jung felt a considerable amount of pain as the bruise on her body quickly receded. Using a fresh towel, Vahn wiped away the sweat from his palm before handing it over to Jung and allowing her to quickly wipe down her body. After that, he handed her a small band of leather to bite on before having hery on her stomach. The bruising around her lumbar was a lot worse than the massive bruise on her side. There was also a saucer-sized bump on the small of her back, and, if it wasnt treated quickly, there was a very real chance the tissue would be gangrenous, killing her, or, at the very least, leaving her crippled for life. Restraining yet another sigh, Vahn ced his index and middle finger near the center of the bruise, lightly massaging the region as Jungs body tensed up and began to tremble. A freshyer of sweat quickly covered her body, and, though she did her best to stifle the sounds, several pained moans escaped her throat. Fortunately, despite appearing as thin as normal curtains, no sound was able to travel beyond the boundary of the curtains railing. His treatments regrly elicited a rather vocal response from his patients, so, as an extra privacy feature, he added soundproofing and anti-spying barriers around each of the gurney-like beds. With the initial pain gradually fading away, Jungs body slowly became limp, sniffling as she did her best not to cry. Fortunately, whenever she peeked back at Vahn, he was always very focused, never once looking at her with a contemptuous or disdaining gaze. This made her feel like she could trust him, and, though it always made her feel very ashamed, he was the only person she allowed herself to cry around... Finished with the rtively short procedure, Vahn pulled out a second towel, gently dabbing Jungs back as she slowly regted her breathing. He could always use cleaning magic on her, but, as this had an inherent stimting effect, he did his best to avoid arbitrarily using it on girls younger than a certain age. He knew Jung had a considerable amount of trust in him so thest thing he wanted was to give the girl a reason to doubt or misunderstand his intentions. Despite her age, making her appear around 12~13-years-old, Jung was actually pretty close to her 108th birthday. Her bloodline allowed her to use Shinsu from a very early age, so, even though she had only recently started her ascent, her physical development, simr to Anaks, had stopped due to a trauma she had received in the past. This left her with a very child-like personality, and, though she regrly pushed herself to the point of severe injury, she always had a smile on her face as she bottled up andpartmentalized all her pain and suffering. It wasrgely due to the two girls tragic pasts that Vahn had Gandr entertain the duo of Jung and Serra. They, like many descendants of the Ten Great Families, carried considerable burdens from a very young age. For Jung, this was the expectation of her mother who had been killed during one of the familys internal disputes. As for Serra, she had basically spent her entire childhood fighting against her own siblings. These battles were fought using real swords, and, if you werent strong enough, you were quickly abandoned, exiled, or even crippled for your weakness. Vahn wasnt too enthused about either of the girls past, so, while he had yet to decide whether or not they would apany Team Wolf Pack further up the Tower, he asked that his Children treated them well. This allowed Jung to quickly be friends with most of the members, and, though she was still very cold, even Serra had slowly been opening up to others. It was just very difficult for her, as, from a very young age, even her own siblings were considered enemies... Having rxed her breathing, Jung quickly wiped away the final traces of her tears before shifting to a seated position and pumping her fists rather adorably as she chimed, "Easy peasy! Now, where is my treat? Gimme, gimme~!" Though it pained him a little to see her pushing herself, Vahn offered an amused smile in response to Jungs antics, ruffling her hair as he pulled out a panda-themed lollipop and said, "Make sure you fix your clothing before opening it. I dont want you walking out of the curtains without your top on like the first time I treated you." Being reminded of her previous gaff, a red hue spread through Jungs cheeks as she snatched the lollipop and shouted, "You dont need to keep reminding me! I only did it like once or twice~!!!" Without saying the number out loud, Vahn held up nine fingers, intensifying the blush on Jungs face before promptly departing beyond the curtains. It was normal for people, especially females, to want to wipe themselves downpletely so he always made sure to leave a bucket of warm water and a towel whenever he finished treatment. This included Jung, and, though she didnt seem even remotely bothered by his presence, he had better things to do than stand around watching a Loli bathe herself... --- Though their primary residence was located within the Little Garden, the top floor of the House of Miracles served as a residential lounge for the members of Team Wolf Pack. It was a ce where they could rx in between their shifts, and, most importantly, it served as the hub where everyone epted Quests and received orders from Khun. Hearing the sound of footsteps, Khun ced down his cup of coffee, heavy bags under his eyes as he offered a smile towards the duo who had just entered. He only got around three hours of sleep per day in thest month, and, if not for the benefits provided by the Little Garden,bined with his heritage as a descendant of the Khun Family, he might have broken down weeks ago. Returning Khuns smile, Gandr gestured for Serra to take a seat on the nearby sofa as he asked, "Am I the first one back? Did something happen...?" Amused by Gandrs concern, Khun issued a light chuckle, shaking his head as he said, "Dont worry. I expected you to return around this time so I had Endorsi apany Aleksai and Shibisu to the Lo Po Bia District. Thetter Faction has been growing restless ever since we usurped their alliance with the Eurasia Faction. I dont expect anything to happen, but make sure youre ready to mobilize once Shibisu contacts me..." Nodding his head in understanding, Gandr lightly sniffed the air, determining that it had only been around twenty minutes since everyone left. This meant they had a few hours before anything major happened, so, before Khun could overwork himself, he said, "Ask Yun-Yun to use her technique on you. Ill watch over the Lighthouse and inform you the moment something changes." Though his instinct was to refuse, Khun had been doing his best to be a little more trusting as ofte. Gandr had also saved him a number of times at this point, so, while they werent as close as he and Baam were, Khun trusted his judgment. He also felt drained the moment Gandr mentioned Yun-Yun, so, rather than be obstinate, he dragged his feet towards the adjacent room while issuing a long yawn. There, a young girl wearing fluffy animal pajamas could be seen drooling while using Laures body as a pillow. She had short pink hair, and, though they were rarely ever visible, she also had hazy pink eyes. Her most notable trait, however, was the fact that she appeared closer to eight than her actual age of eighty-three... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Everyone wants a piece of the goodest boi,Jung is doing her best...,The Eurasia Family makes FBI-sans job very difficult...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1785 Effort : Exasperation

Chapter 1785 Effort : Exasperation

Though she really hated being told what to do, Endorsi had been trying her best to get along with the rest of Team Wolf Pack. She knew that her status as a Princess of Jahad would likely be revoked at some point in the next couple of years; so, rather than continue clinging to something she never really cared about, she was doing her best to, slowly but surely, change. Unfortunately, three-hundred-years of living a very specific lifestyle made it difficult to change in a short period of time. This often left her feeling frustrated, not because she wanted to change more quickly, but because people didnt seem to recognize that she was trying. She wanted more people to acknowledge her efforts and tell her she was doing a good job. Instead, just to avoid having her cause a scene, Khun asked her to go out and perform reconnaissance... With a vexed expression on her face, Endorsi chewed on her thumbnail, muttering, "You better not be getting lovey-dovey with those clingy brats..." while Shibisu and Aleksai stood helplessly at the side. The former had been trying to exin his n for baiting out a response from the Lo Po Bia Faction, but, almost as if she had a sixth-sense rted to Gandr, Endorsi grew irritable around the same time that the former returned to the House of Miracles. Realizing they might not be able to make any progress today, Shibisu was considering having them turn around when a man with pale skin, pale-pink hair, and mouse-like ears suddenly appeared to block their path. At the same time, a bunch of other thug-like Regrs with the features of various animals quickly encircled them, many with weapons at the ready. Despite being known for their enhanced perception and animal instincts, the man with pale-pink hair seemedpletely oblivious to the fact he had stepped on andmine, barring his fangs as he asked, "What have we here? A pack of mangy dogs who have strayed too far from their kennel? Do you think you can just freely walk around our territory like this, you F-ss Plebians!?" Though Team Wolf Pack had more than enough ie to purchase additional B-ss Citizenships, it was a lot easier for everyone to remain F~E-ss due to thetters ability to move freely through Paradise Bay. The only downside was that they risked being penalized for acting against High-ss Citizens. Fortunately, no matter how corrupt things seemed within Paradise Bay, the Administration couldnt just create a rule that allowed certain Regrs to kill with impunity. So long as they were acting in self-defense, meaning the other party had attacked first, even F-ss Citizens could get away with murder. After all, while there wasnt a penalty for attacking Regrs of a lower ss, there were no rules preventing them from retaliating. Thus, if you ended up biting off more than you could chew, antagonizing people you shouldnt, you only had yourself to me. Unfortunately, Endorsi wasnt the most level-headed person, so, the moment she heard the mans insult, a tick mark appeared on her head as she balled her hand into a fist and shouted, "Who the fuck do you think you are!? You dare call a Princess of Jahad a Plebian!? Do you want to fucking die you mousy bitch!?" Surprised by the violent womans outburst, the pink-haired man took a few steps back, paling more than a little as he stammered, "S-S-So what!? E-Even a P-P-Princess of Jahad needs to f-f-follow the rules! B-B-Besides! I was talking to those two! Not you!" Since it could be a very big issue if it was discovered that a member of the Ten Great Families had referred to a Princess of Jahad as a plebian, the man, Lo Po Bia Hakua, couldnt help but feel a little trepidatious after Endorsis outburst. He might not get in trouble for killing her, as that would just prove shecked the qualifications of a Princess, but openly insulting her while she still held the title could get him in a lot of trouble... Shifting her attention away from the mousy man, Endorsi nced in the direction of Aleksai and Shibisu before passing her re over everyone currently encircling them. Then, with a haughty and venomous tone, she red back at Lo Po Bia Hakua and asked, "You honestly believe you have any right to insult my teammates? Youre just some stray rat ying at being important on one of the lowest Floors of the Tower. Just look at how many people you brought to try and intimidate us. You clearly dont have the balls to actually attack, so why dont you just run along before you embarrass yourself further? Go on. Get out of here. Shoo. Shoo." Though she would have normally charged the man directly, Endorsi had received a private message from Gandr shortly after they had been surrounded. This alerted her to the fact that he was either in control of Khuns Lighthouse or directly observing them from somewhere. She really didnt want to embarrass herself in front of Gandr, so, after remembering the reason for their visit to the Lo Po Bia District, Endorsi decided to bait the other party into attacking. Angered by Endorsi calling him a stray rat, Lo Po Bia Hakuas expression darkened considerably as he held his hand out to the side and uttered, "Reel Inventory, Visible Mode...". This caused a purple crescent with several weapons to appear, one of which was an inordinately beautiful silver Needle with several runes inscribed around the handle. Noticing the quality of the weapon, Endorsis brows raised slightly as she remarked, "You must have been on this Floor for quite some time. Tell me, how many weak Regrs did you need to bully just to obtain that weapon? Does it make you feel powerful~?" Snorting through his nose, Hakua pointed his Needle towards Endorsi as he said, "Im not afraid of you just because youre a Princess of Jahad...since your group went out of your way to cause chaos within Paradise Bay, dont me me for what happens next...capture the two weaklings! Ill keep the Princess busy...!" Returning a snort of her own, Endorsi pulled out a miniatured needle from her vest pocket as she retorted, "Trying to take hostages? It seems the Lo Po Bia Family has really fallen these days..." Though he was even more incensed, Hakua actually leaped away from Endorsi, his silver Needle glowing with a spiraling pattern as he shouted, "Lets see how long your bravadosts when you be our hostage...!" Following Hakuas outburst, a meter-wide pir of Shinsu erupted from the tip of his Needle like water from a broken dam. This attack was headed straight for Shibisu and his own allies, but, long before it was able tond, Endorsis disc-like shield manifested to block it. At the same time, several tears appeared in the fabric around her calves and thighs, the result of supercharging her muscles with Shinsu and forcibly activating a very crude variation of Shundo. Despite her inability to execute the technique properly, Hakuas eyes became full circles as Endorsi appeared right in front of him with a vicious smile. Then, before he could recover and try to defend himself, the Needle in her right hand pierced into his left shoulder as her left hand gripped his right wrist like a vice. This was more than enough to end the fight, but, seemingly dissatisfied with simply defeating him, Endorsi yanked his right arm with overwhelming strength, dislocating it and causing an excruciatingly painful tear to ur around his shoulder. Hearing the pig-like squeal of their boss, the remaining thugs paled as they watched Endorsi spin Hakua around by his dislocated arm before tossing him toward the ground with meteoric force. To make matters even worse, she had seized the silver Needle for herself, a demonic smile spreading across her face as shended atop Hakuas unconscious body and said, "You guys really messed up this time. Still, Im a magnanimous woman. Drop your weapons and break one of your arms. If you do that, Ill pretend like this incident never happened. If you refuse...well, you only have yourselves to me for what happens next~." Though they were extremely apprehensive about obeying Endorsismand, the broken body of their boss served as an effective example of what might happen if they refuse. Fortunately, before anyone could follow through on her order, Shibisu stepped in, hands raised in a cating gesture as he said, "Thats enough, Endorsi. Were not the bad guys here. Its one thing to injure them when they are attacking us. Forcing them to cripple themselves is just excessive. Besides, you already got yourself a weapon produced by the Workshop. Lets just return to the House of Miracles. Khun and Gandr can handle the rest..." Frowning in response to Shibisus words, Endorsi was about to call him an idiot when a gentle ping emanated from her Pocket. It was possible to register different notifications for each of the people on your contact list so she already knew who the message was from before turning her head. As a result, her frown immediately faded away as she looked over to see the words, Let them go. from Gandr. This made her feel slightly exasperated, but, not wanting to disappoint her fluffy-eared hug pillow, Endorsi just ced her newly acquired Needle into her Reel Inventory as she said, "Fine. Ill let them go with just a warning. Just dont expect me to go easy on them the next time they pull a stunt like this." With those words, Endorsi kicked the unconscious body of Hakua towards a girl with cat-like ears, startling her quite a bit. Then, after using her [REquip] system to swap out her tattered tights for a fresh pair, she looked around at the crowd, glowering as she asked, "What the hell are you waiting for? Get the hell out of here!" Fearing the repercussions of sticking around even a moment longer, several members of the Lo Po Bia Faction immediately bolted in response to Endorsis exmation. Only a few of the most loyal amongst them helped to carry Hakuas body, their expressions paling as they saw how stretched and bloody his right arm had be... After watching the final few members run off with their tails between their legs, Endorsi turned her attention towards Shibisu and Aleksai. The former had a wry smile on his face, and, though he was just as expressionless as usual, Aleksaisplexion had paled noticeably. This made Endorsi feel a little uneasy, her expression souring as she asked, "Whats wrong with the two of you? I didnt do anything wrong. In fact, shouldnt you be thanking me? If I didnt take decisive action, those jerks would have captured you in a heartbeat...!" Though they were certainly outnumbered, Shibisus and Aleksais training hadnt been for naught. They had grown quite a bit over thest few months, so, while they might have struggled, saying they would be captured quickly was an exaggeration. Despite this, Shibisu did his best to appear grateful, saying, "Youre right...thanks for the help..." in a dry tone. He was well aware of Endorsis need to receive praise and be absolved from guilt; so, rather than exacerbate things by trying to exin what she had done wrong, he would just let Phae, Gandr, and Morgiana to deal with her... --- Seeing things wrap up without further incident, Gandr released a relieved sigh as he slouched in the chair that was normally upied by Khun. This allowed him to stare up at the white-haired woman who had been standing behind him, her silver eyes showing very little emotion as she remarked, "I dont understand what you see in that woman...she is needlessly violent andcks even a semnce of elegance..." Deadpanning in response to the womans words, Gandr inly remarked, "Looming over peoples shoulder and talking about others behind their back isnt exactly elegant behavior either..." Unable to offer a rebuttal to Gandrs statement, Serra frowned slightly without saying a single word in response. This made her appear a little cute, and, for a brief moment, Gandr was almost tempted to tease her a bit. Before he could, however, a familiar scampering could be heard from outside the door before it was kicked open by a petite girl with twin-tails who promptly eximed, "Gan-chan! Im all better now! Lets fight~!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Endorsi has no chill,Shibisu be like, "Not my problem...",Gandrs struggles are only just beginning~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1786 Shameless

Chapter 1786 Shameless

Though he knew it was probably futile, Gandr still feltpelled to remind Jung of their previous agreement, smiling wryly as he asked, "Didnt we agree that you would stop challenging me if I beat you one-hundred times in a row?" Without even trying to refute it, Jung nodded her head in affirmation, smiling radiantly as she said, "Yeah, but thats boring! Come on, lets fight~! Ill even let you take a bite out of my lollipop if you win~." Seemingly with the intent to entice him, Jung pulled out a half-eaten lollipop from her Inventory before adopting a victorious expression on her face. This earned her a judgmental deadpan from Serra, but, finding her antics rather charming, Gandr issued a light chuckle before saying, "Maybe next time. Im covering for Khun right now. And, no, you cant wake him up just so we can go y." Having seen the decisive glimmer in Jungs eyes, Gandr made sure to spare his friend the indignity of being strangled awake by the spirited youngdy. This caused Jung to pout slightly before taking arge chunk out of her lollipop, chewing loudly as she remarked, "Boring. Youre super strong so you should let the eggheads deal with things like that. I dont get why youre always working so hard." Rather than get offended by Jungs words, Gandr just offered a carefree smile as he said, "I dont consider helping my friends to be hard work. Besides, being strong doesnt mean you can just stop thinking. The most powerful people are those whobine their power with advanced intellect andprehension. Instincts and effort can take you a long way but youre bound to hit a bottleneck if youck direction and focus..." Noticing Jungs eyes literally losing focus the longer he spoke, Gandr couldnt help but shake his head slightly before saying, "Tell you what. If you are able to defeat me in a game of chess, even once, I will fight you as many times as you like." Hearing the words game and fight, a fierce glow erupted from within Jungs crimson eyes as she replied, "Deal! Teach me how to y~!" Just as Gandr was about to nod his head in agreement, a gloved hand gingerly came to rest on his shoulder, drawing his attention to the monochromatic beauty behind him as she said, "I would also like to learn..." with a determined light in her eyes... --- After ditching Shibisu and Aleksai the moment they reached a rtively safe area, Endorsi ran back to the House of Miracles at her fastest speed. Her instincts were telling her that a certain duo was making a y at her man; so, before either could dig their grubby little hands into Gandrs soft fur, she was determined to intervene. With this in mind, she passed through the crowd like a bulldozer, ignoring Nares exmation as she burst through the front door and bolted up the stairs. Like a woman who suspected their partner was cheating on them, Endorsi opened the door to the third floor with enough force to crack the frame as she said, "You hussies better...not...be...?" Though she wasnt sure what she was expecting, Endorsi never even considered that Gandr would be ying some kind of board game against Serra while Jungy sprawled out on the ground with steam rising from her head. This left her at aplete loss for words, her mouth hanging open as a prominent red hue slowly spread through the upper half of her face... Further increasing her embarrassment, Gandr looked at Endorsi with a wry smile on his face before casually remarking, "Wee back, Endorsi. Im teaching Serra and Jung how to y Chess. Would you like to join us...?" Rather than answer Gandrs question, Endorsi promptly closed the broken door before squatting down in the corridor and burying her scarlet face into her hands. Even her ears had turned a vibrant shade of red; so, for the better part of five minutes, she focused on regting her breathing before smoothing out the wrinkles in her skirt and fixing her hair. Then, as if she had only just arrived, she opened the door with a practiced smile on her face, emting shock as she asked, "Oh? What kind of game are you ying? Can I join in...?" Though he felt an overwhelming urge to tease the ghostly-eyed woman, Gandr managed a natural smile as he repeated, "Wee back, Endorsi. Im teaching Serra and Jung how to y Chess. This round will end pretty soon so Ill exin the rules once the board is reset." Appreciating how understanding Gandr could be, Endorsis practiced smile softened into a more natural expression as she made her way over and sat down immediately to his left. Then, earning an icy look from Serra, she leaned against his left shoulder, eyes squinting slightly as she stared back at the silver-eyed vixen. This caused Gandr to shake his head, but, rather than force her to give him some space, he just picked up his next piece and said, "Check..." in a subdued tone... --- After enjoying a rather pleasant two-hour nap, Khun half-opened his eyes beforezily staring at the little girl hugging his body. There was a damp spot on his chest due to the thin trail of drool leaking from her mouth; but, rather than concern himself with this, Khun just lightly poked the girls cheek as he said, "You can let me go now, Yun-Yun..." Opening her eyes to reveal pupilless pink irises, Yun-Yun stared back at Khun silently for several seconds before remarking, "Your dreams still taste like crap..." With his brow twitching slightly, Khun peeled Yun-Yun from his body before throwing a pillow at her and saying, "Yeah, yeah, youve said it before. Forgive me for not having tasty dreams." Rather than respond to Khuns words, Yun-Yun hugged the pillow she had been given, eyes closing as she promptly returned to sleep. This left the former feeling even more exasperated, but, as this wasnt his first time dealing with the pink-haired Mare, he elected to ignore her. There were more important things for him to worry about than some dream-eating brat. Using the [REquip] system to quickly change his shirt and tie, Khun emerged from the perpetually dark room to find Gandr ying three games of chess at the same time. This wasnt too surprising, as Khun had yed against the boy numerous times in the past. What caught him off guard was the fact that Endorsi and Jung, neither of which were known for their mental faculties, both had intense expressions on their faces as they focused on the game... Having noticed Khuns entrance, Gandr briefly shifted his attention to the blue-haired youth, smiling as he said, "Wee back. You no longer look like a walking corpse." Taking advantage of the moment when Gandr was looking away, Endorsi attempted to move a few of her pieces using Shinsu. Unfortunately, just as she was able to get one of the Pawns to twitch, Gandr used the very tip of his fingernail to lock it into ce before giving her an usatory look out of the corner of his eye... Responding to Gandrs statement, Khun just shrugged his shoulders dismissively before asking, "Anything happen while I was out?" Nodding his head, Gandr quickly moved pieces on all three boards before answering, "Hakua tried to bite off more than he could chew and ended up choking on a Ghost Pepper. I imagine he will be visiting the House of Miracles before the days end." Though Khun found Gandrs remark rather amusing, a certain ghost-eyed Princess couldnt help but glower at him as she said, "I told you to stop calling me that..." in a threatening tone. Since there was no way he was going to stop calling her Ghost Pepper, Gandr stared intensely back at Endorsi, surprising her slightly as he asserted, "I like Ghost Peppers though...besides, it really does suit you..." With a fluttery feeling in her chest, Endorsi was seriously considering allowing Gandr to start calling her Ghost Pepper from that point onward. Unfortunately, he wasnt quite done with his statement, adding, "Its a lot better than Horny Princess..." in an amused tone. Hearing Anaks familiar insult, Endorsis expression darkened as the horn at her right temple began to pulse with the beating of her heart. At the same time, however, a rosy glow spread through her cheeks as she balled her right hand into a fist and stated, "Let me hit you..." in a threatening tone. Shaking his head, Gandr gestured for Endorsi to calm down as he said, "Rx. It was just a joke. You call me Fluffy-Eared Brat and Fuzzy-Butt at least ten times a day. Dont take everything so seriously. Besides, even if you did hit me, you wouldnt be able to win this game...checkmate..." Though she was about to tell him not to tell her to rx, Endorsis mind nked the moment she heard Gandrs final word. Her eyes immediately shifted to the board below, confirming it was her loss before puffing out her cheeks and saying, "You cheated..." in a pouty tone. Seemingly looking for an excuse of her own, Jung keyed in on Endorsis statement, eyes widening as she eximed, "What!? Did you really cheat, Gan-chan!? No fair! No fair~!" before identally kicking the chessboard with her foot. Feeling slightly taken aback by Jungs shamelessness, Gandr just stared nkly at the two pouting girls before turning his attention to Serra and noticing that the board state had changed. The girl in question had also averted her eyes, an extremely subtle shade of pink visible in her otherwise paleplexion as she pretended to be interested in a vase near the corner of the room... --- Hearing the sound of movement from above, Anak ignored the customer who was trying to ask her a question, an annoyed look on her face as she wondered what was going on above. Unfortunately, there were still more than two hours left before her shift came to an end. Thus, with a rather fierce expression on her face, she turned to the rabbit-eared woman who was trying to get her attention, asking, "What do you want?" in an abrasive tone. Feeling a shiver run through her body, the rabbit-eared girl waved her hands in a fretful manner as she stammered, "I-I-I didnt mean to bother you! I just wanted to ask about the effects of this glove. Does it really allow you to convert Shinsu into shockwaves with your fist?" Shifting her attention to the disy case the woman was pointing at, Anak read the small card at the side of the item before looking up at her and asking, "Are you an idiot? If the card says it can shoot out shockwaves, thats what it does. Are you trying to use Phae of lying? Ill end you..." Before Anak could beat another customer, Chunhwa, attired in an outfit that made him resemble a very high-end clerk, quickly ran over to stand between them as he asked, "Is something the matter? Please exin the situation so I can help resolve things peacefully..." With a venomous look in her eyes, Anak continued to re at the paling woman as she exined, "This rabbit called Phae a liar...I think she might be trying to ruin the reputation of our business..." Based on the womans reaction, Chunhwa seriously doubted the veracity of Anaks im, so, before she could scare away another customer, he asked her to manage the counter while he talked with the rabbit-eared woman. This left Anak feeling slightly annoyed, but, as Chunhwa had been ced in charge, she ultimately scampered over to the counter before pulling out a step-stool so that she could view the situation from afar... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Endorsi can also be cute,Yun-Yun go nom-nom,Anak doesnt like it when people insult the people she cares about xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1787 Quie

Chapter 1787 Quie

After helping to regrow the arm of a man with carapace-like skin and a set of armored teeth on the outside of his jaw, Vahn casually dismissed his offer for a reward before waving the man off with a smile. Then, as Nare went to usher in the next patient, he retreated behind one of the blue privacy curtains, manifesting the Little Garden to take a short break in the outermost ring. On average, it took around three minutes for Nare to usher in a patient and check their information against the records they hadpiled on various Regrs. Since time in the outermost ring flowed at a rate of 700:1, this gave him upwards of thirty-five hours to just kick back, rx, and cut loose. It was for this reason that he never appeared fatigued, as, whenever he was feeling tired or empty, he could literally take a day off without anyone noticing... Retreating to the small cottage that often served as his and Fenrirs personal retreat, Vahn sprawled out across thefortable bed filled with tattered nkets and plush pillows before spreading his senses throughout the Little Garden. He couldnt actually sense everything without manifesting as his Realm-self, but, by focusing on his connection with his various Temtes, Vahn could easily find out what everyone else was up to. Unfortunately, Fenrir was in the middle of one of her lessons, and, though she would be more than willing to make time for him, Vahn didnt want to throw her off mid-lecture. Instead, he shifted his intention to the Eighth Layer to find Mira and Morgiana in the middle of crafting recipes, Yoruichi sunbathing in her cat form, Hinata hugging a dakimakura version of himself, and Kushina emerging from a bath. These second two scenes were quite the sight to behold as Hinata had elected to wear nothing but silk panties and stockings. As for Kushina, Vahn hadnt reallyid his hands on her, but, after several weeks of being snuggle buddies, seeing her beautiful naked body filled his mind withscivious thoughts. Though he had originally been intending to summon Minato, kind of as a way to produce a Naruto without having to create a Temte, Vahn had long-since scrapped that idea. Madaras words had left a deep impression on him, and, though he had held himself back quite a bit, he couldnt deny that thebination of Kushinas red hair, blue eyes, mature figure, and friendly nature made her an exceptionally charming woman... Since it was pretty obvious that Hinata had been waiting for him, or, at the very least, prepared herself to be called upon, Vahn decided to shelve the idea of propositioning Kushina. He could also sense she didnt really view him in that way, so, rather than unnecessarilyplicate things, he telepathicallymunicated his intentions to Hinata. This caused her eyes to open very slowly, but, thanks to their thoughts being on the same wavelength, Vahn could sense her answer without her needing to form a response. Spreading his arms, Vahn used Unit Management to transport Hinata to his side in an instant. This caused the petite kunoichi to issue a girlish yelp; but, once she noticed where she hadnded, she actually nted a kiss on his chest before looking up at him with a very real pair of Byakugan and asking, "How much time do you have...?" Wrapping his arms around her, Vahn pulled Hinata closer to him as he answered, "I can probably stay for around thirty hours...maybe longer if Nare is cking off..." Though a glimmer of excitement could be seen in the depths of Hinatas eyes, her voice became a little bashful as she leaned her head against his chest and muttered, "Ill try my hardest...but thirty hours is a long time..." Since she had received a True Name through [Keeper of the Akashic Tome], Hinata no longer had the benefit of Vahns inexhaustible stamina. She could easily stay awake for several weeks at a time, but, when it came to having sex with her seemingly indomitable partner, evensting more than a few hours was an aplishment. With a massive grin spreading across his face, Vahn resisted the temptation to remind her they didnt actually need to have sex for the entire thirty hours. Rather, even if they justzed about and cuddled the entire day, he would be more than happy. This was actually the offer he had made to her, but, in stark contrast to her timid nature, Hinata actually spent a considerable amount of time thinking about perverted things. Deciding it would be fun to see how far she would go if he let her take charge, Vahn loosed his hold on Hinatas soft body, his expression softening into a slightly amused smile as he said, "Lets reverse the order this time around...I want to see you take the lead this time. Can you do it...?" Hearing Vahns question, Hinata tilted her head to the side, clearly confused by what she had just heard. Shortly after that, her face became dangerously red as the implications behind his request hit her like a rogue moon. Unfortunately, she still had the trait of speaking her mind, so, after nearly a minute of hesitation, Hinata balled her hands into fists as she answered, "I will do my best...!" Though he hadnt expected her to refuse, Vahn was still pleasantly surprised by Hinatas fervent response. He couldnt help but try and sneak a kiss from her, but, before he could, she ced both hands of his mouth, brows furrowed as she said, "Let me..." in a stern tone. This was another small surprise, one of many he was about to experience at the hands of the normally submissive young woman... Seeing Vahn nod his head, a smile spread across Hinatas face as she removed her hands from his mouth and said in a surprisingly confident tone, "ce your arms behind your head. I want you to rx as much as possible. Dont move unless I give you permission..." Following the bob-cut girlsmand, Vahn ced his hands behind his head like he was lounging. This made him feel slightly giddy, especially when Hinatas smile became even more prominent, her tongue briefly parting her lips to moisten then from left to right. Then, after bringing her lips to just a centimeter away from his own, she giggled mischievously before snaking her way down his body and, quite literally, tearing his belt apart. Just as Vahn was about to ask her intentions, Hinata adopted a simrlymanding tone as she said, "Stay there and rx. Now that I have the opportunity, I want to try all the things you wanted to try but chose not to due to my current appearance. Even now, I have all your memories so I know youve been holding back. I am very grateful for this...really, I am...but I also never asked you to treat me delicately. After all...I am a quiet girl...this much is nothing..." To punctuate her words, Hinatabed back the fringe bangs that were dangling in front of her face before ce her pale-pink lips against the tip of his ns. Then, without bothering to even try and lubricate him, she collected spit in her mouth before lowering her head. It took no time at all for his ns to strike the back of her throat, but, seemingly intent on proving her point, Hinata just changed her angle slightly, stopping only when her lips had reached the very base of his penis... Though it wasnt his first time being deepthroated, a shiver still ran through Vahns body when he looked down at Hinatas figure. He couldnt deny that he had imagined it in the past, but seeing it in real life had a very different impact. It almost felt wrong, but, almost immediately as that thought had crossed his mind, Vahn had to flex his butt due to the powerful suction Hinata managed on her return trip. With a loud pop echoing through the room, Hinata released the vacuum she had formed around his member before rubbing her cheek against it and saying, "See? It wasnt even hard. My body is super tough, so there is no reason for you to hold back at all. Even if you treat me like Illya, Ill be perfectly fine. Now, hold still and be a good boy for a little while longer. There are a lot of things I want to try so that you wont hesitate in the future..." Following her words, Hinata turned around so that her back was facing towards Vahn. She looked a lot younger from behind thanks to her thin shoulders and lithe body, but, rather than worry about that, Vahn couldnt help but swallow as Hinata inexperiencedly positioned his ns near the fragile chrysanthemum hidden between her two pliant, pale-white, cheeks... --- Several hourster, Vahn had a thoughtful look on his face as he stared off into the distance, his hand gently caressing Hinatas bulging abdomen. Her breathing had already calmed down, but, every now and then, a shiver of pleasure would run through her body that caused a fresh ze of love juices to coat his already glistening family jewels... Hearing a pleasured mewl escape Hinatas throat, Vahn began tracing his palm in a small circle, stimting the tip of his ns which was currently stretching out the interior her uterus. It was normally impossible to breach the cervical opening, as it was only around 2mm in diameter, but Hinata had proven to him just how adaptive her body could be. This had ultimately caused her to pass out, but, before that, she allowed him to experience things that would have broken a normal woman... Realizing he was still holding himself back, even if Hinatas example had been a little extreme, Vahn was seriously considering having everyone else teach him about their own desires. It was difficult to imagine Mira and Yoruichi having simr preferences, but he was certain they were keeping desires hidden from him. Fortunately, so long as he asked, they were bound to tell him the truth, as, unless they were trying to mess around, none of his Temtes would ever lie to him... Following this thought, Vahn allowed his mind to wander a bit, briefly checking in on everyone in the Little Garden only to find that Kushina was still in the process of exiting the bath and getting changed. Time flowed at a rate of 1:1 in the Eighth Layer, so, while a little more than three hours had passed since he summoned Hinata, only seventeen seconds had passed from the perspective of others... Seeing Kushina in the process of wearing her panties, Vahns member instinctually twitched within Hinatas body. This caused a shiver to run through thetter, a peal of sonorous pleasure escaping her lips as her eyes partially opened. She had yet to awaken but a contented smile still managed to find its way to her face as she issued a rather peculiar giggle... Resisting his urge to call upon someone else, at least for the time being, Vahn caused a loud moan to escape Hinatas throat as he plopped over onto his side. This caused his ns to slip out of her uterus, but, as it was more peculiar than pleasurable, he didnt try to force his way back in. Instead, he just bit the tip of Hinatas cat-like ears, lightly nibbling and suckling them as he continued to hug her from behind. She had pushed herself quite a bit in order to teach him a lesson, so, rather than just set her aside to experiment with someone else, he could, at the very least, cuddle with her for a few hours... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The temptation of a redheaded bae is quite strong...,At this point, its hard to tell if Hinata even has a switch to flip...,Nom nom nom~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1788 Endure

Chapter 1788 Endure

Feeling a pleasant warmth pervading her entire body, Hinata was somewhat reluctant to stir from her peaceful slumber. If not for the feeling of fullness that gave her an almost instinctual urge to clench up her abdominal muscles, she wouldnt have hesitated to doze off. Instead, she took a slow and steady breath before contracting all of her muscles to their limits, a wave of pleasure spreading through her body that elicited a sharp inhtion from the man hugging her from behind. Realizing that Hinata had awoken, Vahn issued a light chuckle as he cupped her breast, pinching her left nipple as he remarked, "Naughty kitten..." before kissing the top of her head. This caused Hinata to answer with a giggle of her own before cing her hand overtop his, guiding his motion as she asked, "How long was I out...?" Without needing to calcte the time himself, Sis whispered the answer into the back of his mind, prompting Vahn to answer, "About five-and-a-half hours..." as his penis began to swell within the mischievous girls perpetually moist pressure chamber. Hearing she had been sleeping for more than five hours, Hinata showed an expression of genuine shock, eyes widening momentarily. Before she could think to apologize, however, Vahn just hugged her a little closer, chin resting on her head as he whispered, "Dont...time spent with you is never a waste..." Feeling Vahns warmth flow through her, a radiant smile spread across Hinatas face as she intoned a happy, "Nn~!". She loved that Vahn was always so considerate, and, though she knew he behaved the same way around others, it still made her feel special when they were together like this. Still, she knew that, whenever he was in the mood, Vahn couldnt be sated with just a single woman. He had quite the appetite, and, thanks to her previous lesson, she could perceive he was in a particrly voracious mood. Contrary to Hinatas expectations, Vahn was actually thinking about just binge-watching anime for the rest of his break. It was undeniable that he was in the mood for more, but, after thinking things through for the better part of five hours, he hadrgely calmed down. At this point, he just wanted to continue hugging Hinata, lounging about in their birthday suits, and casually ying around with each others bodies. With nobody to correct the misunderstanding between them, Hinata decided to take matters into her own hands, rubbing her thighs together and twisting her waist from side-to-side as she asked, "Have you decided on your next Temte? If not, I have a few...ahh...suggestions~." Though he was a little curious about who she might suggest, Vahn got the impression that Hinatas intentions werent exactly pure. He was actually trying to stray away from creating Temtes that he wanted to have sex with, not because he was holding himself back, but because he wanted them to have the freedom to choose. If he created someone at Hinatas suggestion, right when they were in the midst of having sex, the process would invariably be corrupted by his wayward thoughts and expectations... Preventing Hinata from needlesslyplicating an alreadyplex social dynamic, Vahn tilted the girls face toward his, sealing her proposals with a kiss. There were actually a number of Temtes he was interested in creating, but, with seventeen unnamed Temtes and potentially years before they reached the 20th Floor, he wasnt in any rush. He also had a number of ongoing experiments, most revolving around helping his Temtes develop a True Ego, so, at least for the time being, he was more than content with the current situation. Quickly forgetting what they were even talking about, Hinata did her best to reciprocate Vahns affection as they gradually eased into another long, slow, and passionate session of lovemaking. It was a lot less intense than usual, but, as she had yet to recover from her previous exhaustion, she didnt particrly mind it. Rather, the longer he tenderly scraped against her insides, the stronger her desire to remain connected became. For a brief moment, she even began to wonder what their children were going to look like as a burgeoning desire to be pregnant sprouted within her heart and mind... --- After binge-watching three seasons of an adorable anime known as Dog Days, Vahn departed the Little Garden with a rxed smile on his face. Hinatas words nearly caused him to create a temte from one of the characters, but, having already made up his mind, no amount of temptation could force him to change it. Emerging from behind the blue privacy curtain, Vahn found Nare registering the information of a Regr who looked like she originated from the same region of the Tower as Hatsu, a ce known as the Eastern Isles. This gave her dark ck hair, matching ck eyes, and, as could be expected, distinctly oriental features. Unfortunately, if her missing arm and the eyepatch over her eye were any indicators, she had been considerably less fortunate during her ascent up the Tower... Noticing Vahns emergence, Nare was about to exin the womans situation, but, before she was able to, thetter promptly kneeled down, head lowered to the ground in a one-armed dogeza as she firmly stated, "My sword is my life. If you are able to heal my injuries, I swear to abide by your will until my dying breath." Though he hadnt interacted much with Hatsu, Vahn knew he was the type of man who would not even hesitate to perform seppuku if it meant restoring his honor. He hailed from and where pride and honor were the most important things, and, much like feudal Japan, it was considered normal to dedicate your life to your Lord or Benefactor. This all but confirmed his suspicions regarding the womans origin, but, with very little desire to have anyone dedicate themselves to him, he casually replied, "Raise your head. I am neither your Liege nor your Lord. I heal everyone thates into my clinic so there is no need to lower yourself in such a manner. If you want to thank me, just dedicate your sword to helping others from now on. Now, step behind this curtain and let me take a look at your injuries." Abiding by Vahns orders, the ck-haired woman reluctantly lifted her head before climbing to her feet with a sullen expression on her face. It was the penultimate goal of every swordsman from her home country to find a Lord worthy of dedicating both their sword and their lives to. Vahn seemed like an extremely suitable candidate for the position of her Lord, but, as the decision was ultimately his to make, she could onlyment the fact he had refused. Waiting until the woman had walked passed him, Vahn lightly shook his head before disappearing behind the same curtain. He might have allowed her to join Team Wolf Pack if not for the fact she was virtually guaranteed to imprint on him. Had this not been the case, he might have introduced her into the group just to have a female who wasnt interested in Gandr. There were already quite a number of women vying for his affection, and, if something wasnt done soon, it was only a matter of time before his rtability with the other males was strained... Closing the curtain behind him, Vahn adopted a professional demeanor as he looked down at the 153cm tall woman and said, "You will need to remove all garments and bandaging covering your injury. The entire process will take around twenty minutes, and, though it will be extremely painful, this is necessary to ensure that all the nerves are properly attached. Dont worry. Even if you scream at the top of your lungs, there are soundproofing barriers that will prevent your voice from traveling beyond this curtain." Nodding her head in understanding, the petite woman loosened her red sash before taking a deep breath and loosening the fabric of her kimono-like top. Her culture considered it inappropriate for a woman to expose themselves before a man who wasnt their Lord or Husband. This was one of the reasons she had wanted to pledge herself to Vahn, but, as he had already refused, she did her best to ignore her apprehensions for the sake of restoring her dominant arm... Noticing the girl struggle with removing the bandages wrapped around her breasts and shoulder, Vahn had her turn around before helping to expedite the process. At the same time, he remarked, "These bandages are very neatly wrapped. Is there someone in your team who knows first-aid...?" Though she wasnt particrly in the mood to converse, the woman reacted with a curt nod before replying, "The Light Bearer on my team, Fumiko, usually helps me out...were all that remains of our original group of six so we try to help each other when we can..." Sensing the depressive aura radiating from the womans body, Vahn didnt need to ask in order to know what had happened to her otherpanions. Most females made the mistake of joining an all-womens team on the 3rd Floor, and, as a result, they ended up being targets for virtually every other team. This was one of the many reasons there were fewer women the higher you climbed the Tower, the only real exception being those who had integrated into powerful parties or descended from notable families. Finished with removing the womans bandages, Vahn had to forcibly restrain a sigh as he saw the misshapen stump where her arm used to be. He could also see several other sh and puncture wounds on her body, several of which were disturbingly fresh. It was clear that her time on the 5th Floor had been filled with trials, and, based on what he could tell, the most recent injury, a puncture wound that fully prated her abdomen, was only two days old... After promptly deciding he would have Gandr send a Shadow Clone to watch over the woman for a few days, Vahn handed her a leather bit, saying, "Put this in your mouth and bite down. You might have tremendous pain tolerance, but nothing will have prepared you for the experience of having your nerves regrown. For some, it helps to watch the area as it regrows..." Nodding her head, the woman ced the bit between her teeth before looking toward her stump with her one good eye. A few beads of sweat had already started to form across her body, but, with a look of unwavering conviction, she watched as Vahn ced his left hand on her shoulder and his right hand on her ribs. She was surprised by how startlingly hot his palms felt against her body, but, before she could think about the reasons, a sudden and intense pain began to surge from her right shoulder... Over the course of twenty agonizing minutes, Vahn kept the woman firmly seated in ce as the stump of her right arm swelled like a bloody red balloon. Shortly after that, the scar tissue began to ke away as a bloody mass of bone, muscle, and sinew began to slowly extrude from the bulbous mass. This was where the pain truly set in, and, if not for the fact he was dulling her senses with his source energy, there was a very real chance the woman might have died from the shock alone... Seeing her arm regrowing at a rapid yet agonizingly slow pace, the woman clenched her teeth hard enough to nearly bit through the durable leather bit as she focused intently on the process. She felt like she would lose her mind if she looked away; so, no matter how desperately she wanted to pull herself free, she forced herself to continue watching even as bloody tears protruded from beneath her eyepatch... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "I already get enough hate in thements section...",Dog Days (OwO)...,Polo makes it look a lot easier...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1789 Expansion

Chapter 1789 Expansion

Shortly after Vahn finished healing the woman who btedly introduced herself as Ranfan, Gandrs ears perked up from his position on the floor. This caught the attention of everyone else who was seated around the same table, interrupting their boardgame as Anak adopted a serious expression and asked, "Is it an enemy...?" Hearing Anaks question, Jung and Serra immediately became more focused, but, before either girl could express their willingness toe along, Gandr just shook his head, exining, "Nah. Master just gave me an assignment. One sec." Following his brief exnation, Gandr performed a few quick hand signs, perfectly imitating Chakra thanks to the teachings of Hinata. Her internal energy had taken on the form of a refined version of Chakra the moment she received her True Name, and, while it might be a little difficult for others to emte, Gandr benefitted a lot from being Temted from Vahn. While it might not be nearly as potent as Source, Gandr was able to manipte a form of energy they had decided to call Origin. This energy was effectively the origin of all energy systems within the Records, so, while it was ultimately derived from Source, it was able to emte all other forms of energy except Source. This made Gandr into a super prodigy, as, with just a bit of effort, he was able to emte both Chakra and Reiatsu. The former allowed him to live out one of Vahns dreams from childhood, pretending he was a Ninja, while thetter allowed him to drastically increase the amount of pressure he was able to exert unto others. He had also learned how to execute Yoruichis Shunko, but, as he was currently trying to develop the Flying Raijin Jutsu alongside Kushina, he had yet to truly master it. With a quick eruption of shadowy ck smoke, there was suddenly three Gandrs present within the room. This surprised Jung and Serra quite a bit, especially when two of the three suddenly sank into their own shadows and disappeared. As for Anak, she had witnessed the technique several times at this point, so, while it always made her feel a little strange to see multiple Gandrs, she was already used to it. Never one to restrain her curiosity, Jung performed her usual act of identally bumping the table whenever she was in a losing position as she shouted, "There were three Gan-chans!? Let me fight one of them~!" Since the game they were ying made use of numerous pieces and required a lot of setup, Gandr couldnt help issue a small sigh as he shook his head and said, "Denied. Now, return to the board to the way it was or you wont be getting any ice creamter." Though his refusal to fight made her feel annoyed, Gandrs threat to take away her treats caused Jung to adopt a very fretful expression, paling slightly as she muttered, "You cant take away my treats..." in an uncertain tone. Gandr, however, just smiled back at her with a very confident look in his eyes before crossing his arms in an, Is that so? manner. With sweets being the second most important thing in her mind, Jung began to feel a considerable amount of panic as she looked between Anak and Serra, asking, "Do either of you remember where the pieces were?" Seeing the duo shake their heads, Jung felt like her world was beginning to copse when a voice simr to a benevolent gods suddenly emanated from the surroundings, stating, "I have an image that shows the board state. You can fix things while I discuss something with Gandr." Looking towards the voices origin, Jung found a blue-haired boy smiling back at her with a tiny blue cube in hand. Lighthouses had the ability to separate into smaller cubes that served a simr function to Observers. This reduced the processing power of the Central Lighthouse, but, at times like this, it was a very convenient function to possess. After thanking Khun rather spiritedly for his assistance, Jung began scavenging around for missing pieces so that she could restore the board state. While this was going on, Gandr, shadowed closely by Anak, stood near Khun as thetter ask, "What happened? Can you tell me?" Waving his hand as if it wasnt a bid deal, Gandr didnt hesitate to casually exin, "Master wanted me to keep an eye on some girl named Ranfan. She has anotherpanion, a Light Bearer named Fumiko, so I produced two Shadow Clones to keep an eye on them. If anything happens, Ill let you know." As this wasnt the first time Vahn had Gandr protect a random Regr, Khun issued a relieved sigh before replying, "Thanks. Were in the final stages of our n so it makes me ufortable when things are happening without my knowledge." Nodding his head in understanding, Gandr habitually caressed Anaks head, she had a habit of standing in perfect petting distance, before saying, "Yeah. No worries. Im not going to do anything that mightpromise your ns. Besides, Im certain Master is feeling the urge to move on after healing people for thest thirty-five days. He gets antsy whenever he is in one ce for too long, especially in a world like this..." Getting the impression that Gandr was telling him to hurry up with his ns, Khun adopted a wry smile as he said, "I understand. The Lo Po Bia Faction was really the only troublesome group left to deal with. We just need to negotiate with the Bo Pidau and Tu Perie Factions. As for the Ari Faction, you can always ask Serra to help mediate. The Arie and Ari Families share amon ancestor and they have always had strong ties with each other. The only reason I havent dealt with them before now is that they havent really been engaging in the same antics as the other Factions. They have always been a Family that disdains war and violence, so, while they are not entirely innocent, they are the Faction with thergest number of unaffiliated Regrs." Though he was already aware of everything Khun was saying, as he was the one to gather most of the information, Gandr still listened until the end before saying, "I dont mind asking Serra for help, but does that mean youve already made your decision...?" Hearing the troubled undertones within Gandrs voice, Khun couldnt help but chuckle at the boys expense before exining, "Ive realized that your Master isnt going to simply erase the Ten Great Families from existence. With that being the case, I figure it will be prudent of us to cultivate a few seedlings from each of the Ten Great Families. Besides, even if Serra is a bit cold towards others, its not like she doesnt have-" Before Khun could finish his exnation, Gandr adopted a somewhat usatory look in his eyes as he crossed his arms and asked, "I guess that means youll be inviting Yihwa toe with us then?" Appearing as though he had suffered some kind of mental attack, Khun seemed to lose his bnce, hand rubbing his temples as he said, "No way...that woman ispletely unhinged..." With his expression morphing into a perfect deadpan, Gandr denied Khun any chance to run away from his own troubles, stating, "There is only one woman from the Yeon Family born every hundred years. Yihwa is around the same age as you so were unlikely to encounter another member of the Yeon Family without climbing much higher up the Tower. Besides, its not like that Ran kid is any less troublesome. Dont y favorites just because he is family..." Unable to refute Gandrs words, Khun released an exasperated sigh as he realized the hole he had dug himself into. He would now have to tolerate the existence of an unstable woman who couldnt even control her own mes for the next fifty to a hundred years. This didnt even ount for their interactions after climbing up the Tower... Fortunately, though Yihwa was currently obsessed with getting even with him, Khun was pretty sure she would mellow out after bing a member of Vahns Familia and living inside the Little Garden for a few years. She had also shown an interest in Baam and Hatsu, so, while it annoyed him a little that she might aim for the former, Khun felt it was better than leaving him to Rachel. As for Hatsu, it was pretty difficult to make the man care about anything other than swordsmanship, but, as Vahn so often said, anything is possible. After quickly formting a couple of ns to dump Yihwa onto someone else, Khun began to feel a little less disheartened about the immediate future. He was also seriously bing a woman, at least for a few years, so it wasnt like she would be able to force his hand. Rather, once she actually got to know him, Khun was confident that Yihwa would want very little to do with him. As for Ran, he might be a little unhinged, but he was surprisingly easy to manage so long as you provided an opportunity for him to be stronger. Approving of his own thoughts, Khun lightly nodded before adopting an evil smile and saying, "Ill make sure to convince her the next time she visits the House of Miracles. To that same end, Ill leave Jung and Serra to you. I cant imagine them refusing so good luck dealing with all their fans..." Though neither Jung nor Serra particrly cared about their Factions,rgely ignoring them ever since their defeat, that didnt mean they were without allies and supporters. After all, while Jung might appear a little young, both she and Serra were girls with an extremely high pedigree. It was only natural for them to have a considerable number of fans and a team of their own. What Khun seemed to be overlooking was the fact that both girls were insatiable battle junkies. He needed only to promise them that they would have plenty of strong opponents to fight. After that, they would be more than happy to deal with their former teammates. This was especially true for Jung, as, prior to her defeat, she had been treating most of her stronger allies as punching bags and sparring partners... Returning a smile of his own, Gandr retracted his hand from Anaks head, evoking a frown from thetter as he turned back and casually asked, "Jung, Serra, do you want to climb the Tower with me? I promise youll have plenty of strong people to fight against." Hearing Gandrs question, Jung immediately raised her hand, smiling as she eximed, "I want to go~!" in a cheerful tone. As for Serra, she actually averted her eyes to the side, a very subtle blush on her face as she muttered, "If youre inviting me...I wont refuse..." in a far more reserved manner. Though thetters response made him feel a little helpless, Gandr managed to continue smiling as he exined, "Youll need to inform the members of your faction. Well most likely be departing in a few days so make sure you wrap everything up before then. If you need any help, I cane along with you." Shaking her head, Serra gracefully rose to her feet, replying, "I will handle this on my own..." before turning around and promptly departing the room. This prompted Jung to consider doing the same, but, fearing she would lose out on her chance to obtain sweets, she haphazardly lifted up the edge of a sofa in order to search for the remaining pieces to the board game. Finding the girls reaction rather amusing, Gandr couldnt help but chuckle before deciding to give the girl some clemency, musing, "Ill find the rest of the pieces. Go and take care of your business. Dont worry, you will still be able to eat Phaes ice cream." Like a wild animal that had just been freed from its bindings, Jung immediately bolted for the door with extreme speed, giggling childishly as she shouted, "You promised~!" while running down the stairs. This left only Khun, Gandr, and Anak left in the room, thetter still pouting until the shorter of the two boys smiled wryly and asked, "Want to watch anime with me?" before continuing to pat her head... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Jung thinks shes sneaky, but she aint xD...,Two big names appearing out of nowhere!?,RIP Ha and Arie Factions...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1790 Interes

Chapter 1790 Interes

Just as Khun had predicted, not that it was any surprise, several members of the Lo Po Bia Faction, including Hakua, invariably showed up outside the House of Miracles. Unfortunately for them, they had yet to set aside their pride; so, after a failed attempt to make the hundreds of Regrs present clear a path, a very one-sided conflict broke out. Though the descendants of the Ten Great Families were certainly more powerful than the average Regr, their strength was not at a level where they could simply ignore hundreds of extremely disgruntled Regrs who had been patiently waiting their turn. As a result, they ended up suffering a group lynching, and, if not for the timely intervention of Vahn, there was a very real chance they would have been killed as a result of the resentment their past actions had seeded. Fortunately for Hakuas group, Vahn currently enjoyed a reputation very simr to a God. His aura also had a suppressive yet calming effect, pacifying the crowd by merely emerging from the House of Miracles. This normally wouldnt be enough to calm such arge crowd, but, thanks to the signs that were posted all throughout the district, they quickly produced the beaten and bloodied bodies of the Lo Po Bia Faction without a fuss. After all, even if their resentment were far greater, none of the Regrs waiting outside wanted to sacrifice their chances of receiving treatment just to beat an already broken man. To reward the crowd for their cooperation, Vahn had the second-floor shut down a little earlier than usual so that Phae, Endorsi, Hatsu, Aleksai, and Shibisu could hand out goodie bags to the people waiting outside. He also had Khun contact the surrounding businesses to encourage them to conduct sh sales. This made the tense atmosphere outside immediately be more festive, drastically decreasing the crowds resentment while concurrently strengthening Team Wolf Packs reputation as a group representing themon Regrs... --- With Hakuas group slumped together within his treatment room, Vahn had a rxed smile on his face as he pulled out an ornated winged-staff known as the [Sophic Cane]. It was far more powerful than the traditional [Heal] staff that wasmonly used by Phae. The only restriction was that you needed a Pure Light Elemental Affinity in order to use it, a limitation that, fortunately, didnt really apply to Vahn and his Temtes... ------------------------------------- [Sophic Cane] Rank: C (A/N: This would have been A-Rank in a T5 Record.) Slots: 0 P.Atk: 90 M.Atk: 1400 Abilities: Asylum(B), Lucid Dreaming(C), Rescue (D) A magical staff said to have been blessed by a Goddess of Light. Though the blessing has faded with the passage of time, it still carries her hope that only the purest of heart will be able to make use of its power. Restriction: Pure-Light Elemental Affinity ------------------------------------- Activating the [Sophic Cane]s Asylum Ability, a crystalline dome of concentrated Light Elemental Energy formed around Hakua and his group. This caused the majority of their wounds to heal in a very short period of time, and, had Vahn not stopped it short, even Hakuas shoulder would have been mended by the sacred light of the crystal. With most of their wounds healed, Vahn manipted the Shinsu in the surroundings to create an icy flow, rousing the unconscious scion and his grunts rather unceremoniously. Then, before they could do something foolish like causing a scene within his clinic, Vahn manifested [Enkidu] to bind them together, squeezing them tightly against one another. At the same time, the density of Shinsu within the region began to decrease rapidly, effectively emting ack of oxygen. Shinsu was the most important building block for life within the Tower. Without it, even the most powerful High Rankers and Shinheuh would quickly meet their end, suffocating despite plenty of oxygen being present in the environment. This effect became even more prominent as you moved further up the Tower thanks to your body adapting to higher concentrations of Shinsu so it wasnt long before Hakua, someone born above the 100th Floor, began breathingboriously, eyes turning bloodshot. Returning a casual smile in response to the groups ring, Vahn continued to condense the Shinsu from his surroundings into a single concentrated Baang as he exined, "We have been monitoring your group for the past three weeks. In exchange for letting you walk away freely, you will be forced to hand over 70% of your Factions umted Points. If you refuse...well, it is safe to say that your journey up the Tower will end here. So, unless you want to abandon your rights as a member of the Ten Great Families, you will pay the price for your crimes...I trust you understand my words...?" Though he was clenching his teeth hard enough to make his gums bleed, Hakua ultimately nodded his head in response to Vahns threat. He knew that his family would not hesitate to disown, exile, or outright kill him if he failed to be a Ranker. After all, the dignity of the Ten Great Families was far more important than any individual within the family. If you became a blemish to their pride, the best end you could hope for was being made into a servant or ve, the type responsible fortrine duty and waste disposal... While resolving himself to get revenge on the higher Floors, Hakua pulled out his Pocket alongside the rest of his cronies. They each transferred over the majority of their Points, approximating a sum total greater than two-million. This brought the total funds of Team Wolf Pack to around ten-million Points, enough to purchase more than a hundred B-ss Citizens. They could also use these Points to acquire 2~3 D-Rank items from the Workshop, but, considering Phae already had the capacity to produce A-Rank items, that would be aplete waste. With Points in hand, Vahn quickly healed the injuries of Lo Po Bia Hakuas group. He even treated the chronic illness of one of their members, surprising the young man quite a bit since there were no known treatments for the disease. Then, with a friendly smile on his face, he saw the group off so that they wouldnt be mobbed by the thousands of Regrs who had gathered for the festival outside. He was hoping they would learn from this example, seeing how they were able to gather so many people just by treating them kindly, but, unfortunately, the look in Hakuas eyes revealed that he was the type to hold a grudge... --- Seeing the massive crowd of Regrs gathered in what was now known as the ck Wolf District, a well-dressed man with an unusually wrinkled face could be seen smiling from within thefort of an invisible Suspend Ship known as a Spectre ss Corvette. At his side, lowering her head despite her position as a Senior Administrator, Analize replied to the elderly mans earlier remark about the sess of Team Wolf Pack, exining, "They are unlike any team I have ever seen. That man, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, possesses a healing ability that could humble the most skilled Light Bearers. As for hispanion, Ha Phae Stios, she is able to produce items of an even higher quality than some of the articles released through the Workshops auction..." Nodding his head in affirmation, the old man adopted a smile that entuated the lines of his face as he said, "Indeed. Though her work might notpare to the true masterpieces produced by the Workshop, her talent cannot be denied. With proper guidance, it should only take a few decades for her to reach the Rank of Teacher...truly remarkable..." Though she knew Phae was extremely skilled, hearing the man say she had the potential to be a Teacher was quite the surprise to Analize. Even the lowest-ranking Disciples within the Workshop enjoyed benefits simr to Rankers. As for Teachers, they had even greater authority than the vast majority of Rulers, a position that allowed a High Ranker full authority over a Floors Shinsu. If Phae truly had the potential to be a Teacher, even saying she was truly remarkable was a bit of an understatement... While Analize was thinking about how monstrous the members of Team Wolf Pack were, the elderly man, Graham, one of the Workshops 93 Teachers, continued to scrutinize the glove in his hand with an appreciative smile. Its effects might not be all that impressive, but the craftsmanship required to produce such an item was already beyond the level of most Disciples. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that the item was wless, a true masterpiece despite the fact it was only around the pinnacle of D-Rank. Nodding in approval of his own thoughts, Graham ced the ivory-white glove into his personal storage before folding his hands behind his back and saying, "Since it appears they have no interest in the auction, I will meet with the members of Team Wolf Pack directly. Please make the necessary arrangements before they depart the 5th Floor. It would break my heart to miss the opportunity to recruit such a remarkable talent..." Though it would normally cause a stir for someone of Grahams status to enter an area intended for Regrs, the Workshop was exempt from most of the restrictions imposed upon Rankers. They had a unique contract with the Guardians that allowed them to observe, and, at times, modify the rules of certain Tests. After all, they were responsible for most of the facilities used to Test Regrs so it was only natural that they had ess to most regions within the Tower. Bowing low in response to Grahams words, Analize maintained a respectful tone as she said, "I will need to submit a request to the Test Director, but there shouldnt be any problems. I can have them appear before you at your earliest convenience tomorrow morning..." Shaking his head, Graham began tob through his chest-length beard as he mused, "Feel free to file your report but do not pester those children. I will meet with them personally. If Im to have any chance of taking that woman as my Disciple, a bit of sincerity wouldnt hurt..." Since it was pretty rare for talents to slip through the cracks without their notice, it was apparent to Graham that the woman known as Phae didnt have any particr interest in joining the Workshop. The reports also indicated that she was very loyal to the man known as Vahn, so, if he was to have any hope of recruiting her, appealing to her directly was the least he could do. Hearing Grahams words, the corner of Analizes mouth began to twitch as she found it very difficult to maintain her usual smile. A Teacher descending to meet with a group of Regrs was a very big deal, so much so that she had never heard of a simr incident urring in the six-hundred years she had been alive. If word of this incident were to spread, Phaes fame and status within the Tower was bound to increase exponentially. The Ten Great Families would spare no effort to acquire such a talent for themselves, and, in the most extreme case, they might kidnap her the moment she leaves the area reserved for Regrs in the Middle Tower... Unfortunately, even if she empathized with the woman, Analize wasnt in a position to try and help others when she already had enough trouble trying to avoid forceful recruitment herself. The life of an unaffiliated Ranker, much like the lives of Regrs within Paradise Bay, was filled with numerous hardships. She had already spent more than five hundred years trying to ovee the system and establish her own Special Family, so, even if she felt a little sorry for Phae, Analize wasnt going to sacrifice her dreams for a Regr, even one with monstrous talent. Thus, in response to Grahams words, she kept her head low, answering, "Understood..." in a dull monotone... (A/N: Alternate Titles: You dont fuck with the White Mage,Who knew weeding out corruption could be so profitable~?,Who knows, Phae might even be a Princess of Jahad~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1791 Stargazing

Chapter 1791 Stargazing

In order to give Team Wolf Pack plenty of time to rest and focus on their training, the House of Miracles officially closed its doors between the hours of 8 PM and 6 AM. During this time, Vahn would venture outside to treat the Regrs with less severe injuries. Though it took a considerable amount of focus to restore lost limbs, treat diseases, and remove seque, most injuries could be treated without any special attention from Vahn. All he needed to do was ce his hand atop someones head, and, after a bit of theatrics with light-infused Shinsu, they would be fully healed. As could be expected, Vahns reputation among themon Regrs had increased drastically in a rtively short period of time. He had even regained his title of Godhand thanks to the efforts of Khun, Gandr, Shibisu, and Nare. Khun had coordinated with other businesses to spread his good name throughout the entirety of Paradise Bay. As for Gandr and Shibisu, the former enjoyed quite a bit of poprity, so much so that there were certain groups of Regrs who would take everything he said as an intrinsic truth. Shibisu was significantly less popr but this allowed him to easily infiltrate other peoples social circles, gathering information and spreading rumors with remarkable ease. As for Nare, she had an easier time than the rest due to the fact she spent most of her time manning the front counter and working as mascot for Vahns clinic. Taking advantage of her disarming and rtively cute appearance, Nare was able to gather and disseminate all kinds of information during the brief few minutes when she was cross-referencing a Regrs data with the information they had on file. By simply referring to Vahn as the Godhand to the people with more serious injuries, they would naturally spread the rumor to others. At this point, most of the members of Team Wolf Pack had earned nicknames for themselves, Nares being the Golden Cherub. As for the others, they had earned provisional sobriquets such as ck Wolf Prince, Smiling Blue Demon, and Goddess of the Forge. These obviously belonged to Gandr, Khun, and Phae, but there were also titles such as Gentle Giant, Violent Lizard, and Ghost-Pepper Princess circting around in regards to Aleksai, Anak, and, much to her chagrin, Endorsi... --- While Vahn was busy strengthening his public image, effectively increasing his reserves of power, night had fallen within the Little Garden. This was the most rxing part of the day for most of Team Wolf Pack, and, though it had lost a bit of its novelty after the first couple of nights, there were still a number of people who gathered beneath the canopy of the World Tree each evening. Though reason would dictate that the World Trees canopy would block out the view of the stars, the truth of the matter was that boughs of the massive crystalline tree would be transparent under the cover of night. This allowed the starlight to not only pass through them but, thanks to the crystalline structure of the branches and leaves, the stars seemed to multiply in number. This created the illusion that the night sky was alive, gently swaying in a natural rhythm as the canopy danced under the direction of the wind... Despite rarely mentioning Rachel over thest two months, Baam couldnt help but think about her every time he looked up at the night sky. He wondered if she was happy being able to witness such a scene each night, but, at the same time, his heart was filled with doubt whenever he remembered that she had betrayed him just to see the stars. Baam couldnt deny that the stars were exceptionally beautiful, but he didnt think they were worth betraying others just to witness. When he learned they were just giant balls of burning gas floating around in empty space, not something that could simply be obtained, Baam felt even less certain about her actions. He couldnt understand why she feltpelled to throw away everything just to witness something that had no real impact on her life. It just didnt make any sense... Turning his head to the side, Khun noticed the usual conflict in Baams eyes, a tired sigh escaping his lips as he looked toward the heavens above and said, "If people could understand each other so easily, there wouldnt be any conflict in the world. We all do illogical things at times, so stop letting Rachels decisions affect you. Even she probably doesnt understand why she was so obsessed with the stars...if I had to guess, she just wanted to be free...thats something most of us can understand, even if our views are fundamentally different from each others..." As the desire for freedom was something even he could understand, Baam nodded his head in response to Khuns words. Then, after a long period of silence, he asked, "Do you think its possible to create a world where everyone is free...?" Without even needing to think about it, Khun shook his head, disappointing Baam slightly as he answered, "There is no such thing as a perfect world, Baam. Rather, even if there were, most rational people wouldnt want to live in it...I certainly wouldnt. After all, it is our differences that allow us to move forward, grow as people, and have fun. If everyone was exactly the same, the world would be a very lonely and mundane ce to live..." Imagining a world filled with nothing but himself, Baam couldnt help but furrow his brows as an uneasy feeling welled up inside his chest. Such a world would be no different than living alone in a cave; so, while he still wanted to create a world where everyone could be happy, Baam was able to understand a bit of what Khun was trying to convey. Seeing the slightly incredulous look on his naivepanions face, Khun couldnt help but chuckle as he ced his hands behind his head, smiling as he added, "Dont worry. So long as we continue trying our best to make the world a better ce, it will gradually be one. We dont need to fix everything, Baam. We just need to be strong enough to prevent corrupt and malicious people from doing whatever they want...if we work together, Im certain we can create a better system than the one that currently exists..." Though he was having trouble understanding Khuns words, a glimmer of resolution could be seen within Baams eyes the moment he heard the former mention working together. This phrase was always very effective against him, and, though it made him feel a little maniptive at times, Khun didnt hesitate to throw it out whenever he was trying to ay Baams concerns... Feeling a little less uncertain about the future, Baam extended his hand towards the stars above, fingers spread as he lightly muttered, "Youre right, Mr. Khun...so long as we work together, there isnt anything we cant do..." before clenching his hand into a fist. This caused the blue-haired man at his side to respond with a wry smile, but, rather than refute his own words, he simply extended his hand in much the same manner as Baam, muttering, "Together..." in a light tone... --- Seeing Khun and Baam hold their hands up while lying next to each other, a sly smile spread across Endorsis face as she mused, "Those two are totally gonna do it one of these days. I dont care what anyone else says. Theyre totally gay for each other." Since he had already heard about Khuns n to exploit the advantages of being a woman, even Gandr couldnt really refute Endorsis words. Instead, he just chose to ignore them, rolling his eyes before kicking back and enjoying the evening breeze. He knew this was probably a mistake but he just didnt feel like talking about the bromance between Khun and Baam like they were some kind of exotic animal pairing. Never one to take being ignored lightly, Endorsi squinted her eyes slightly, ring at Gandr from the periphery of her vision. She was trying to give him a chance to make a move on her by taking the initiative to invite him out stargazing, but, rather than attend her, he was literally just staring up at the sky like an idiot. This wouldnt have bothered her as much if he was actually dense, but Gandr was easily the most perceptive person in their entire group... After giving him a full minute to reconsider his decision, Endorsi exhaled audibly through her nose before walking over to where he was lying down. They were currently on the second-floor balcony so he was currently rxing in a chaise lounge that was designed for sunbathing. It wasnt a piece of furniture that was meant to amodate two people but this didnt stop Endorsi from taking a seat in hisp, her eyes glowing with a subtle yellow light as she ced her left hand on his chest and said, "You know I hate it when you ignore me..." Before Endorsi could take things any further, Gandr promptly grabbed her wrist, a warning look in his eyes as he asked, "Have you made your resolve? I understand you feel pressured by the fact that Serra and Jung are joining the team, but I already told you I dont have any feelings for them...dont push yourself..." Though she was annoyed by his opening statement, Endorsis irritation waned a bit when she heard the concern in his final few words. She knew that Gandr was genuinely worried about her, and, after catching a glimpse of the little monster he kept sealed beneath his undergarments, she was equally as concerned for herself... Shaking her head free ofscivious thoughts, Endorsi adopted a serious expression as she stated, "I want you to be my boyfriend. I know you dont want to start a rtionship, but youre too big a prize for women to just ignore you. If we make things official, I can at least keep the other girls in our party at e on...I know you like me...you said it yourself back then..." Realizing there was actually a fair amount of truth within Endorsis words, Gandr didnt immediately refute them. Instead, he adopted a contemtive expression, releasing his hold on her wrist before ultimately releasing a sigh and saying, "Fine...Ill be your boyfriend..." in a somewhat defeated tone. Though she would have preferred him to be more excited about it, Endorsi still smiled radiantly in response to Gandrs words. Then, before he could change his mind, a dangerous glimmer shed across her eyes as she said, "Let me touch your tail." in a tone that made her enthusiasm apparent. She had only ever been allowed to proactively touch his ears in the past; so, while she had snuck a few touches in the past, the thought of being able to stroke and caress Gandrs tail freely made her more than a little excited. Since he already expected her to make such a demand, Gandr just smiled wryly in response to his new girlfriends request. Before he could answer her, however, she seemed to misunderstand the look on his face, a not-so-subtle blush developing across hers as she turned her eyes up at him and added, "You can also touch me...just be careful not to scratch me with your nails..." Though her words were somewhat ambiguous, Endorsis actions made it very clear what she was allowing him to touch by pulling up the front of her skirt. At the same time, a wave of abnormally powerful pheromones spread through the area, tickling Gandrs senses with a robust fragrance of fruit and the characteristic musk of a beautiful woman. He also felt a sudden rush of heat flow into his body, so, if Endorsi hadnt already awoken her [Champion of Lust], it was very obvious she was about to... Rather than wait for Gandr to take the lead, an alluring smile spread across Endorsis face as she adjusted her position, reaching between his legs to grab his tail. This also caused her to caress a certain part of his body, but, other than smiling even more alluringly, she made noment on it. Instead, she began to rub his tail up and down, eyes glowing like moonlight against the backdrop of stars as she mused, "You look very cute right now..." in a sultry and seductive tone. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Violent Lizard xD...,Im surprised they didnt start holding hands...,Gandr is about to get Ara Arad!? Where is Fenrir (O ^ O)!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1792 Shif

Chapter 1792 Shif

Since Endorsi had been pestering Gandr for several months at this point, none of Team Wolf Pack was particrly surprised to find her hugging the boy first thing in the morning. What did surprise them was the fact that she was sitting behind him, effectively straddling his tail while nestling her face in between his ears. There were also several maroon blemishes dotting Gandrs neck; bruises caused by love bites, and excessive suckling of the skin. As one of the first to arrive for morning training, Hatsu said absolutely nothing when he first saw the duo idling in their usual gathering area. Despite this, Endorsi still went out of her way to say, "Hatsu~! Gandr and I have officially be a couple~." in a happy tone. Feeling as though he had been put on the spot, Hatsu offered a wry smile in response before cupping his hands in a polite gesture and saying, "Congrattions...I pray the two of you are able to find happiness in each otherspany..." Seemingly pleased with Hatsus choice of words, Endorsi tightened her hold on Gandr as a girlish giggle escaped her throat. As for thetter, he had a tired yet rxed smile on his face, his golden eyes reflecting the cidity of ake as he willfully ignored the heat and subtle moisture against his tail. He actually didnt dislike being doted upon and cuddled, so, while her behavior was somewhat troubling, Gandr didnt particrly mind so long as she didnt go overboard. Seeing Hatsus rtively normal reaction, Gandr was able to confirm that the unique pheromones produced by Endorsis [Champion of Lust] only affected him. This wasnt too unexpected, but it was still a considerable relief. If her pheromones had affected everyone equally, things would have been extremely troublesome following her awakening... --- With 5 AM steadily approaching, the rest of Team Wolf Pack began to gradually file into the central courtyard. Endorsi took the opportunity to announce their rtionship to each of the new arrivals, surprising virtually no one except the ever-innocent Baam. As for Anak, she just frowned slightly at the revtion before taking her usual seat near Gandrs right. Endorsi was a little annoyed that Anak chose to sit right next to Gandr, but, having discussed things the previous night, she was ultimately able to remain calm. Gandr assured her that he didnt have a romantic interest in Anak, and, unless something drastic happened, he intended to continue acting like an older brother to her. If she couldnt ept that, their rtionship would simply never work... Fortunately, Endorsi cared about Anak quite a bit, so, while she wanted to keep him to herself for as long as possible, she was already prepared to share Gandr with others. This was actually something she herself had proposed more than a month ago, back when she had first pushed Gandr down and stolen his lips. His massage had left a very deep impression on her, and, though she didnt want to admit it, Endorsi couldnt deny that she was a little anxious about trying to tackle the boys not-so-little monster on her own... --- With 5 AM finally rolling around, several shes of light appeared nearby the usual gathering spot of Team Wolf Pack. Immediately after that, Fenrir, Yoruichi, Phae, Morgiana, and Madara appeared in a loose circle. The first three were still responsible for their original students. As for thetter two, Morgiana had taken over Hinatas position, teaching Endorsi and Anak how to fight using powerful kicks, while Madara had taken over the Wave Controllers ss in lieu of Vahn. Morgiana had exceptionally strong legs, and, though she had yet to receive a True Name, she had been created willfully after the upgrade to Vahns [Universal Mind]. As for Madara, her power had increased exponentially following the naming of Hinata. Even before that, however, she had been teaching Baam various martial arts while having Laure practice converting his Shinsu into des of wind and powerful gales. Thetter had also learned to be a lot more attentive, as,pared to Vahn, Madara was considerably less tolerant... Before anyone could offer so much as a greeting, Fenrirs eyes immediately shifted to where Gandr, Endorsi, and Anak were seated. This caused the hairs on Gandrs and Anaks bodies to stand on end while Endoris, the focus of Fenrirs frosty gaze, began to sweat nervously as thetter asked, "What are you doing with my little brother...?" Though she had been happily unting her rtionship just moments prior, Endorsi instinctually released her hold on Gandrs waist, averting her eyes as she found herself at a loss for words. This caused the atmosphere to be even icier, but, before things could be too ufortable, Gandr was the one to step in, saying, "Endorsi and I have started dating...dont bully her too much, Aneue..." Shifting her gaze from Endorsi, Fenrir squinted her eyes as she met Gandrs gaze. She had originally been given the task of protecting him from any females that might covet him. Though this objective had changed ever since he received his True Name, his identity as both a Vanargandr and her little brother gave her a strongpulsion to protect him. He was also a member of her pack, so, while she wanted to respect his decision, she couldnt ept a bad girl like Endorsi. Unwilling to see her little brother get taken advantage of, Fenrir shifted her gaze to Aleksai and Rak, dering, "Your training will be overseen by Mira and Morgiana for the time being." Then, in a tone that left no room for discussion, she squinted back at Endorsi and Anak, adding "The two of you will be training with me from now on..." Before Fenrir could lose her cool and attempt to forcibly convert Endorsi and Anak into good girls, Phae decided to intervene, superseding the Vanargandrs tyranny by suggesting, "Allow me to take over the girls training. Khun has been pushing himself quite a bittely so he could benefit from a momentary reprieve. Ill have him observe everyone elses training so he has a better grasp of their individual abilities. You should continue your lessons with Rak and Aleksai. Leave the Princesses to me." Though she scrunched up her nose slightly, ears twitching in frustration, Fenrir didnt try to argue against Phaes suggestion. Thetter had been ced in charge when their Master wasnt around so she didnt really have a tform to stand on. Thus, after staring at Endorsi for several seconds, Fenrir ultimately nodded her head in acquiescence before saying, "Ill leave it to you..." in a slightly sullen tone. Finding Fenrirs overprotective nature rather adorable, Phae couldnt help but giggle in amusement before lightly pping her hands and eximing, "Okay, then! Lets all do our best today as well~!" --- Unaware of what was taking ce inside the Little Garden, Vahn was preparing to step back inside the House of Miracles when he sensed what could only be described as an abnormality within his perception. It was simr to the impression he got whenever he tried to sense a Pocket or an Arms Inventory that had been ced into Invisible mode. It was a very strange feeling because he could tell there was something nearby, but, even with his domain, he couldnt actually sense it... Maintaining a calm and unflustered appearance, Vahn opened the door to the House of Miracles before casually closing it behind him and musing, "Even if you can conceal your presence, I can still sense you through your intent. Tell me, what business do you have in the House of Miracles...?" Though he appeared to be speaking to an empty room, the genial chuckle of an old man could be heard echoing in response to Vahns words. Momentster, an old man attired in pure white robes appeared out of thin air, smiling as he stroked his long grey beard. His garb resembled something that a scientist or a doctor might wear, and, though he gave off an exceptionally dangerous feeling, his aura was extremely vibrant and calm. Despite feeling as though the man before him was even more dangerous than Yuri, Vahn managed to appearpletely unphased. All the people he wanted to protect were currently safe within the Little Garden, so, even if Jahad and the Ten Great Family Leaders appeared before him, he wouldnt show even a marginal amount of fear. Instead, his smile radiated absolute confidence as he looked into the elderly mans silver eyes and said, "I am Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit...?" Impressed by Vahnsposure, the elderly man returned an approving nod before replying, "My name is Graham Bell, the Rank 37 Teacher of the Workshop. You may refer to me as Graham. As for the purpose of my visit, there are two reasons. First and foremost, I wanted to inspect the workshop and items produced by Ms. Ha Phae Stios. Secondly, I wished to discuss the possibility of having the person in question be a Disciple within the Workshop..." Noticing no noteworthy changes in Vahns expression, a curious glimmer shed across Grahams eyes as he began to suspect that his visit wasnt unexpected. The former actually seemed to rx upon hearing his introduction, something even High Rankers struggled with. After all, even Jahad and the Ten Great Families respected, and, to a lesser extent, feared the Workshop. Were this not the case, the former would have attacked and attempted to consume thetter long ago. Meeting Grahams expectations, Vahn pulled two chairs out of his Inventory before manifesting a fresh pot of ck tea and answering, "I nned to have Phae join the Workshop once we reached the 20th Floor. Though I can arrange a meeting between the two of you, know that it is impossible to convince her to abandon her duties. You would have an easier time convincing an inert stone to turn into aoid." Raising his left brow slightly, Graham poured a cup of tea for himself, savoring the fragrant aroma as he mused, "It seems Ms. Phae is not the only exceptional person among your group. Your aura reminds me of the Great Warriors, back when they had first started their journey up the Tower...how very interesting..." Understanding that Graham was calling attention to the fact that he was an Irregr, Vahn returned an amused smile of his own as he muttered, "I cannot deny there are parallels between us...but I am so much more than Jahad and his Great Warriors could aspire to be. As a Teacher of the Workshop, you should be aware of it...the existence of beings that transcend the Gods..." Though it didnt show on his face, Grahams mind was operating like a supeputer as he tried to determine the veracity of Vahns words. If he was telling the truth, it meant there was another entity on the level of Phantaminum within the Tower. Thetter was a monster that even Jahad and Enryu could never hope to oppose; so, if it turned out that Vahn was also an Axis User, there was virtually nothing anyone could do to hinder his ns... The Workshop existed both inside and outside the Tower, so, while others might not be aware of their existence, most high-ranking Teachers were aware of the existence of Axis Users. They were the most powerful existences within their respective domains. The only thing that could contend against an Axis User was another Axis User, as, within their field of control, the veryws of reality and fate could be rewritten. This led to them being known as Authors of Fate, iprehensible entities that were responsible for controlling the structure and direction of various stories within the infinite macrocosm. Since there was no sense in asking Vahn to prove he was an Axis, Graham decided to get straight to the point, asking, "Why have youe here? What is the purpose behind having Ms. Phae join the Workshop? Your kind has never taken an interest in the Workshop before..." Though he was pretty sure that Graham had misunderstood something, Vahn managed an amused smile in response to the mans words before answering, "I am simply passing through..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Anak be like, "Did you get punched in the neck?",Fenrir has little tolerance for bad girls xD...,*Loudly Sips Tea*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1793 Impac

Chapter 1793 Impac

Not expecting such a nonchnt response, Graham stared back at Vahn for several seconds before issuing a light chuckle and remarking, "I see. Well then, I take it you wont mind if we monitor your exploits from here onward...?" Shrugging his shoulders in ackadaisical manner, Vahn continued to smile as he answered, "I enjoy my privacy, but I also understand some things simply cant be helped. So long as your organization doesnt go out of its way to try and intervene in my affairs, we will remain on amicable terms. As for Phae, she will move up through the ranks of the Workshop before revealing the answers to a few of the questions you have sought after since time immemorial. You probably saw her as nothing more than a talented artisan previously...the truth of the matter is that she is so much more..." To emphasize his point, even though Phae wasnt the one who forged it, Vahn manifested Laev-tan in a burst of brackish mes. This caused Grahams calm aura to surge outward slightly, but, quickly realizing he wasnt under attack, he began to scrutinize the de with increasing enthusiasm visible in his glowing silver eyes. Noticing the man lift his hand, Vahn allowed Laev-tan to vanish before he could ask to inspect her more closely. Then, before Graham could be too disappointed, he exined, "There is much we can learn from each other. Unfortunately, now is neither the time nor the ce. Temper your curiosity until Team Wolf Pack has reached the 20th Floor. When the timees, Phae will serve as a bridge between our two organizations." Stroking his beard, Graham adopted a thoughtful expression as he spent several moments staring directly at Vahn. He quickly realized that, while he could see, sense, and even analyze the man, he was unable to actually learn anything about him. The Shinsu in his body was abnormal, possessing an ambiguous quality that made it seem thin yet extremely dense. Even stranger was the peculiar feeling of emptiness he got when trying to sense the mans potential... One of the main requirements for bing a Teacher was being able to see through and analyze the true nature of an object, person, or ce. Many could even analyze the structure of a persons Soul, effortlessly determining what kind of person they were based on its color and stability. Graham was one of the Teachers who could determine a persons potential based on the structure of their Soul. It was this ability that led him, and many others, to support Jahad during his ascent up the Tower. The man had possessed a truly remarkable, seemingly limitless potential. They genuinely believed he had what it took to surmount the Tower, but, unfortunately, he had disappointed them beyondprehension by choosing to be a King instead. When he was looking at Vahn, the first incongruency Graham noticed was that the entity seated across from him didnt possess a Soul. Despite this, he radiated a tremendous amount of vitality, so much so that it seemed boundless. This impression became progressively stronger the longer he viewed Vahn, almost like he was viewing a reactor capable of producing infinite energy rather than a living creature... After allowing Graham to scrutinize him for more than a minute, the edges of Vahns smile curled up slightly as he activated the State of Nothingness. This caused the mans brows to raise quite a bit, but, before he could ask, Vahn issued a light chuckle before asserting, "I believe we both have other matters to attend, Mr. Graham. Be sure to give my regards to the Great Father...Im certain he will find this matter most interesting..." Though he wanted to stick around and ask Vahn all kinds of questions, Graham understood when to push and pull. If Vahn was truly an Axis User, he wasnt an existence they could afford to offend. They would need the assistance of Phantaminum in order to oppose him, but, considering thetter had ughtered his way through Jahads Pce before subsequently disappearing for thousands of years, requesting his assistance wasnt really an option. Deciding it would be best to report this matter to his Master as soon as possible, Graham was the first to rise to his feet, bowing politely toward Vahn before saying, "I look forward to our reunion on the 20th Floor." Then, with an amused smile on his face, his body changed into a cross-shaped light construct before copsing in on itself and vanishing without a trace. Finding the mans shy departure rather amusing, Vahn issued a light chuckle before shaking his head and returning the two chairs, table, and tea set to his Inventory. Afterward, he performed a few light stretches, loudly popping his neck and back before pulling out an apple and manifesting the Little Garden... --- With many of the core members of the Lo Po Bia Faction disappearing overnight, taking most of the Factions assets with them, an unstoppable wave of change began to sweep through Paradise Bay. It was almost like a revolution had urred, and, though selfishness and corruption were guaranteed to ruin things, a tentative peace had been established through the unification of the major factions. Unfortunately, with no desire to spend an entire year on the 5th Floor, it was only a matter of time before things devolved back to their previous state. Vahn had tried to circumvent this bying to an agreement with the Floor Guardian, but, with the contract stipting that he, personally, remain on the Floor for a hundred years, he had little choice but the refuse. Though he could potentially create a Temte to serve as a proxy, Paradise Bay was ultimately just one of many settlements that existed on the 5th Floor. If he wanted to bring about real andsting change, he would need to tackle the source of the problem directly. Focusing on the symptoms had very little impact in the grand scheme of things, as, the moment they moved on from the 5th Floor, even the people he had previously saved might meander down a dark path. Unless you had tremendous power and authority, the Tower was not a kind ce for those with a benevolent or magnanimous nature. There were millions of Regrspeting for the chance to reach the top, and, much like the 2nd Floors Deathmatch Test demonstrated, they were willing to do whatever it took to ascend. Betrayal was extremelymonce, and, more often than not, a Regr would go through dozens, if not hundreds, of teammates before they finally reached the 134th Floor. Only by reaching the 134th Floor and confronting Jahad himself could Vahn overthrow the current system. The former was one of the central pirs supporting the existence of the Regr system, so, if he wanted to remove it, he would need to dethrone the wayward Emperor before implementing a new system with the support of the Guardians and the Workshop. This couldnt be aplished by idling around on the 5th Floor; so, shortly after the creation of the Alliance, Vahn had Khun pick and choose a few powerful and trustworthy Regrs to watch over the burgeoning organization in their stead. Fortunately, it was possible to establish a binding contract by appealing to the Guardian and having them serve as an intermediary. This would allow the Alliance to remain rtively stable for upwards of eleven months, and, with any luck, things might just stick for a few years after the fact. After all, the current system was actually a lot more beneficial than the corrupt mess that existed before; so, with the promise of greater benefits, things should remain rtively stable until someone arrogant and powerfules along and attempts to monopolize everything for themselves... --- Having already decided upon their departure, Vahn found himself seated at the head of a circr table, smiling as he listened to Khuns attempt to exin the many benefits of bing one of his Children to the prospective members of his Familia. His targets were four young girls and a young boy. Curiously, among the four women present, the girl with a mature figure, pink eyes, and raven-ck hair was actually the youngest at seventeen-years-old. If not for the presence of the young boy with pale-blue hair and electric-blue eyes, appearing very simr to his cousin, the girl, Yeon Yihwa, would have been tied with Khun as the youngest member of Team Wolf Pack. This was in spite of the fact that Yun-Yun, Jung, Nare, and Anak appeared much younger than her. Fortunately, there was at least one person present whose appearance urately reflected their age as the young boy, Khun Ran, was only twelve-years-old. He was a remarkably talented young man who descended from the direct line of Khun Eduan, the Leader of the Khun Family. This allowed him topete with people much older than him, and, if not for the overabundance of prodigies within Team Wolf Pack, he would have quickly secured his position as one of the strongest members... Since they had already learned quite a bit about Team Wolf Pack during their time together on the 5th Floor, Khun primarily focused on exining the functions of the Familia Crest, the existence of the Quest Board, and, most importantly, Vahns existence as a God of Infinite Possibilities who could resurrect the dead and help people change everything from their race to their gender. As could be expected, Khuns exnation was met with considerable skepticism by Ran, Yihwa, and Serra, but, after a few demonstrations, they ultimately epted the reality they had be a part of. As for Jung and Yun-Yun, the former never really cared about suchplicated things while thetters only real interests were sleeping and tasting delicious dreams. She especially liked the taste of Baams innocent and naive dreams, a rare delicacy within the Tower; so, with the guarantee of a tasty treat and the promise of a much easier ascent up the Tower, Yun-Yun never once considered refusing the offer to join Vahns Familia. In the end, the most difficult thing about bing a member of Vahns Familia, at least for Serra and Yihwa, was enduring the process of having his Familia Crest applied to their backs. The former had a marginally easier time, but, as the descendent of a matriarchal family that ced an extreme emphasis on the importance of purity, it was difficult for Yihwa to ept having her back touched by a man. By the end of the procedure, Yihwas face had turnedpletely crimson, and, if not for Phae providing counsel after the fact, it wouldnt have been surprising if she had demanded that he take responsibility for defiling her body. Even after that, however, it took several days within the Little Garden before she could even look at or talk to other men, specifically Khun. She had developed a bit of a fondness for the boy ever since he outwitted her, so she couldnt help feeling self-conscious and ashamed whenever he was around. Unfortunately for Yihwa, Khun had never once reciprocated her burgeoning affection. As a result, he took advantage of her state to demonstrate his general disregard for her feelings. He wasnt overtly mean or rude to her, but, whenever she was acting bashfully around him, he would shift his focus to virtually anything else. This resulted in Yihwa setting her room aze due to her inability to control both her mes and emotions, but after a few days had passed, she invariably returned to her usual, aloof, self... --- Taking advantage of the week-long vacation he had afforded Team Wolf Pack in order to help their newest members adjust, Vahn could be found lying atop a grassy hill with several colorful figures encircling him. He was enjoying a bit of sunbathing with his usual cuddle buddies while seriously considering whether or not he wanted to create any new Temtes. At this point, Vahn had assigned True Names to Gandr, Yoruichi, Hinata, and, for the sake of a grand experiment, Arceus. Unfortunately, despite possessing the name of the most popr Creation Deity within countless Records of Pokemon, Arceus currentlycked the capacity to autonomously create life. This wasrgely due to a mistake on Vahns part, as, like other Pokemon, Arceus revered him as the Creator. As a result, her Innate ability [Progenitor Pokemon], required assistance if she wanted to create Pokemon, assistance only he could afford... Though it would certainly make things easier, Vahn currently had no intention of bing the literal father of Pokemon. It was surreal just imagining an entire world filled with his descendants, beings capable of freely morphing between a human and Pokemon transformation. Thus, for the time being, he had Arceus developing a miniature world alongside Palka, Dialga, and Giratina. He had high hopes that Arceus would be able to create actual Pokemon by the time she reached Tier 5, but, even if that wasnt the case, he would at least have a yground for his children to explore in the future... With Kushina suddenly bitting his thumb, Vahn snapped out of his reverie to realize he had been rubbing her belly a little too fervently. Her eyes had be a little moist, and, though she was still in her nine-tailed fox transformation, he could tell her tensions had increased quite a bit due to his incessant petting. What made this situation worse was that most of his other cuddle buddies were staring at the scene rather intently, their gazes ranging between general curiosity, slight envy, and ample amusement... (A/N: Alternate Titles: An unfathomable existence,Khuns heart cant be swayed so easily~!,Vahn is simply incorrigible xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1794 Error

Chapter 1794 Error

With a few fresh bite marks and bruises, Vahn retired to the peak of a vast teau that was nearly 100km in height and 6,000km in diameter. This was one of many special training locations within the Ninth Layer, and, more often than not, it was the location where people like Goku, Ichigo, and Roger sparred. Though he would normally only venture to Heavens Arena for training, Vahns purpose this time around was simply to have a bit of privacy. He was about to create what Da Vinci hypothesized to be one of the four most powerful Temtes he could possibly create, a being simply known as The Law of Identity. As was often the case whenever he was stuck on something, Vahn could trust Da Vinci to help hime up with the best possible solution to his problems. She knew he was trying to find a way to help the Temtes he created to develop True Egos. Thus, after a lengthy conversation regarding the very structure of reality, they determined that the Laws of Identity, Abstraction, Oblivion, and Null were the fundamental concepts that ounted for every potentiality in existence. The Law of Identity, as the name implied, was what allowed all beings with an Ego to recognize the existence of themselves. It was this ability to identify and distinguish themselves from other things that allowed for the existence of sapience, and, as a result, everything in Order of Creation was a byproduct of Identity. This included the Records themselves, as, on their most fundamental level, it was the amalgamation of countless dreams, derived from the perception of countless individuals, that gave them structure. Since the Law of Identity was such an intrinsic part of everything, Da Vinci hypothesized that it was the key to unlocking the true potential of his [Universal Mind]. This only problem was, even with his and Da Vincisbined understanding of The Path and the very nature of reality, understanding a concept such as the Law of Identity was simply impossible. He could potentially circumvent hisck ofprehension with [Keeper of the Akashic Tome], but, much like everything else he had named with the remarkably powerful Innate, it would invariably be tainted by his perception and desires... Shaking his head, Vahn adopted a lotus position in order topletely clear his mind of wayward thoughts. He knew that the act of creating a Temte based on a concept that simply couldnt be defined was already an impossible feat to perform. After all, any appearance, personality, or traits it possessed would drastically reduce the power of the concept since they were all things that could be clearly defined. This was a contradiction of the Law of Identitys very existence, representing all things, so the best thing to do was discard any and all expectations. That way, even if the Temte he created simply didnt exist, at least as an individual entity, he would have at least confirmed one of their theories... --- Without knowing exactly how much time had passed, Vahn slowly opened his eyes, smiling as he noticed the vibrant nt life that had spread around him. There were even a few small life forms in the area; tiny bugs with gem-like carapaces and a creature simr to a butterfly except for the fact it had crystalline wings. This was an increasinglymon phenomenon whenever he used the Mantra of Eternity, one which Da Vinci was keenly interested in since the byproducts of his meditation were generally impossible to analyze. Though he was also extremely interested in the mysterious lifeforms that possessed simr qualities to his blood, Vahn discarded all thoughts as he activated [Universal Mind]. Then, without forming an image, he attempted to will the Law of Identity into existence. Vahns hope was that hisprehension of the Law of Identity would be the only thing interpreted by [Universal Mind], but, unsurprisingly, things didnt go exactly as nned. His subconscious had a tremendous influence on the Temtes he created, so, by attempting to bypass this, he effectively left only one source for the Innate to draw inspiration from: the subliminal desires and preferences that had be an intrinsic part of his character. Feeling a sensation simr to a balloon swelling within his mind, blood erupted from Vahns eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He felt like the mysterious energy produced by [Universal Mind] had melted his brain, and, were it not for his inability to simply recreate himself and recover from virtually any injury, there was a very real chance he might have died. Instead, the feeling of his brain swelling quickly receded, his blood evaporating into a hazy pink mist as a cooling sensation washed over his mind and quickly spread throughout the rest of his body. Opening his eyes, Vahn wasnt particrly surprised to find a young woman with vibrant red hair staring back at him with a curious glimmer in her rust-red eyes. What did surprise him was the fact that she was wearing slightly transparent, pure-white, lingerie. This included a pair of stockings that seemed to struggle with containing the womans plump thighs, and, most notably, a garter belt that perfectly ented the intricatece panties that could stir the hearts of even the most rational men. Since his instincts told him that this girl was fabricated in ordance with his preferences, Vahns eyes briefly wandered to her rather modest chest as he asked himself, ("Is this the result of so many girls with modest breasts asking me about my preference? I honestly thought I had a preference for more motherly women...") Though she knew he wasnt actually talking to her, Sis issued an amused giggle before stating, (*I believe you may have mistaken yourfort bias with your actual preferences. Physical attraction and preferences rarely have anything to do with personalfort. Rather, they are the traits that stir your urges and inspire you to action. You have a lot of appreciation for women with motherly traits, so, while you are able to rx around them more easily, the way you view them is drastically different from how you view potential lovers. If I had to actually define your preferences...you like petite women with red hair, lively personalities, toned butts, and soft thighs...*) Staring at the woman smiling back at him, Vahn couldnt deny that she fit the Sis description to a remarkable extent. She was around 156cm in height, possessed facial features that made her seem bubbly even when she was just smiling, and, though her breasts were rather modest, the rest of her body was lithe, toned, and incredibly soft-looking. She also had tworge ahoge popping out from the top of her head like antennae and a rather unruly ponytail that gave off the impression that she was a very free-spirited young woman. Deciding it would be a little awkward if he just continued gawking at the lingerie-d youngdy, Vahn pulled out fur-lined parka from his Inventory. The Heavens Arena was remarkably cold, and, though it didnt seem to bother her in the slightest, having her staring back at him in nothing but her underwear was a little distracting. Even her aroma seemed to match his preferences, emting the strange earthy fragrance he had experienced from the peculiar bunny tribeswoman back in the Akamatsuverse... Rather than epting the parka, the red-headed beauty titled her head to the side, giggling as she adopted an even more radiant smile and remarked, "Youre weird. You went through the trouble to give me this appearance and now you want me to cover it up? I refuse~!" Like a spring that had been under high tension, the girl followed her exmation by pouncing on Vahn, forcing the air from his lungs as she hugged him with monstrous strength and added, "I want you to look! It makes me feel all ticklish and fluttery on the inside! Come on, you dont need to hold yourself back on my ount! Lets have fun together, nyahahahaha~." Though it wasnt his first time dealing with someone who possessed ridiculous strength, Vahn felt a cold sweat break out across his body as he realized he couldnt offer any resistance at all. He could feel his bones and organs being crushed into a meaty pulp, and, if not for his unique constitution, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that her seemingly innocent hug would have killed him... ----------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [ ], Sobriquet: Error Age: Error Race: Error Position(s): Error Strength: Error Toughness: Error Intellect: Error Agility: Error Control: Error Shinsu Resistance: Error Shinsu: Error Soul Tier: Error Karma: (-) Innate(s): [The Law of Identity(Non-Standard): (-)], [Avatar of Akasha(Non-Standard): (-), [The One Who Represents The Beginning(Non-Standard): (-)], [Paradoxical Omniscience(Mind): (-)] Skill(s): Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error, Error... ----------------------------------------------- Expecting to find some answers by investigating the iprehensibly powerful womans status, Vahn was at aplete loss for words when he noticed everything but her Innates were listed as Errors. This was somethingpletely new, and, though she was able to see it for herself, even Sis couldnt make sense of the nameless girls status. It was impossible for a being to exist outside the scope of The Path so there was no reasonable exnation for why her status and parameters were all listed as errors... Since even Sis didnt have an answer, Vahn grabbed the shoulders of the mysterious redheaded girl who seemed to be enjoying the squishiness of his body quite a bit. This was enough to garner her attention, a glimmer of amusement visible in her rust-red eyes as she answered his question before he could even ask, musing, "How am I supposed to know when even my Creator doesnt? All I know is that I have always been here." Punctuating her words, the unnamed woman pressed at the very center of Vahns chest, her finger piercing through his sr plexus and somehowing into contact with the rainbow-hued crystal that represented his Ego. This caused Vahns body to shatter like broken ss as an indescribable amount of pain spread throughout his entire existence. Surprised by the fragility of her Creator, the unnamed woman showed a very fretful expression as she eximed, "Ah! Why did you break!?" before flusteredly gathering the pieces of his shattered Ego. This wasnt something others were even supposed to be able to interact with, but, as if such restrictions meant absolutely nothing to her, the girl was somehow able to piece him back together like the pieces of a puzzle. With his Ego restored, Vahns body quickly became whole once again, his face paling as he looked up at the red-headed beauty staring down at him with a radiant smile on her face. This was one of the first times in a long time he feltpletely helpless, as, even though she was listed in his Unit Management, every single value rted to the woman was listed as an Error. His instincts told him that she would obey hismands, but, at the same time, he got the impression she would just be humoring him to alleviate her boredom... Fortunately, Vahn had matured considerably since his encounter with Tiamat nearly three-hundred-years prior. He still felt helpless, but, rather than regret a decision he had already made, he forced a smile as he adopted a seated posture and said, "Take a seat. We have a lot of things to discuss..." Rather than obey him immediately, the red-headed girl adopted a yful smile on her face before promptly turning around and wiggling her butt in his general direction. Vahn had to admit it was quite the remarkable sight to behold but he couldnt help but feel a sense of danger as he noticed the perky white cheeks seemingly lock on to hisp. Then, before he could hold up his hands and tell her to control her strength, the unnamed woman ended up vaporizing his body as she impacted him with enough force to split the Heavens Arena in two... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Da Vinci still the MVP,The truth has been revealed~!,What a way to go...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1795 Perception

Chapter 1795 Perception

Deciding it would be best to avoid further risks, Vahn slowly reformed his body before manifesting as his Realm-self. Throughout this entire process, the nameless redhead just watched him from the side with an intrigued smile on her face, seemingly very interested in everything he was doing. Noticing the change immediately after it had happened, the mischievous redhead adopted an even more prominent smile as she remarked, "You got bigger~! Amazing!" in a cheerful tone. Still feeling the same helplessness as before, a dryugh escaped Vahns throat as he attempted to preempt any further disasters by saying, "You need to learn how to control your strength. It is fine to be a little yful, but your antics will put everyone else in danger..." Tilting her head to the side, the redheaded woman seemed genuinely confused by his words as she asked, "Im not really strong though~?" with her index finger touching her chin. Resisting the urge to point out they were currently seated with a 6000km long crevice formed from her attempt to sit in hisp, Vahn tried being more direct, stating, "Just dont destroy anything..." in an exasperated tone. Appearing even more confused, the befuddled beauty tilted her head to the left this time as she remarked, "Eh? Destroyed? Youre not making any sense." with slightly furrowed brows. This time around, Vahn didnt hesitate to point out the devastation around them, gesturing to the bisected teau as he exined, "This type of devastation is uneptable. If anyone else had been present, they would have been annihted. I know you might not mean any harm, but I cant let you interact with the others if everything you do puts their lives at risk..." No longer smiling, a frown that didnt suit her appearance in the slightest marred the girls face as she eximed, "What are you talking about!? I havent done anything since I got here! Youre the one that keeps breaking everything, you dummy head...!" As if to prove her point, the girl began to stamp her foot in frustration. This time, however, there was no feedback when her foot contacted the ground. Even the dust in the area waspletely undisturbed by her actions, perplexing Vahn to the point all his mental faculties momentarily shut down... Though she was just as confused as Vahn, Sis and her countless iterations were hard at work trying to make sense of the current situation. When she heard the womans words, she began reying all of Vahns interactions with the anomalous entity thus far. This caused an uneasy silence to descend upon the normally bustling observation room, as, no matter how recent the memories, there wasnt a single trace of the woman present in any of them... Quickly sorting through their vast archive of information, Sis felt a cold sweat for the first time in her life as she attempted to give Vahn something, anything, to work with, exining, (*She seems to possess a Nonexistent Physiology or exists outside the Causal Axis of Reality...I know this might sound a little strange, but try throwing something at her...*) Coming back to his senses in response to Sis suggestion, Vahn frowned slightly as eyed a nearby stone. His intended target also followed his gaze, seemingly understanding his intentions. Despite this, an amused smile immediately spread across her face as she cheerfully remarked, "Go for it~!" without a single sign of fear or trepidation. Since even the person in question was suggesting he followed Sis advice, Vahn hesitantly picked up the stone before lightly tossing it toward the smiling beauty. Unsurprisingly, despite causing his brows to raise quite a bit, the stone simply phased through her body. This effectively confirmed she had a form of Acausality, the ability to act unrestrained by conventional cause and effect. This was the answer that made the most sense, as, if she truly had a Nonexistent Physiology, she wouldnt be able to affect the world through her interactions with him... Realizing the implications behind this revtion, Vahn began to massage his head and temples with an exasperated expression on his face. It basically implied that her power was directly proportional to his perception of her, and, rather than destroying their surroundings, it was his overexaggerated reaction that led to Heavens Arena being destroyed. This was troubling for a number of reasons, as, under normal circumstances, he wouldnt have been able to achieve such a feat even if he went all out... Shaking his head, Vahn decided he would look into testing the true limits of his power in the future. For now, there was something he needed to test, so, while doing his best to assure himself that the adorable girl seated before him wasnt actually an iprehensibly powerful monster, he reached out his hand and began to pat her surprisingly fluffy hair. It actually seemed to get softer with the passage of time, seemingly adapting to his perception of its feel and texture... Enjoying having her head caressed, the red-haired beautys expression melted into ax smile as she began to giggle in a contented manner. Shortly after that, however, Vahn waspelled to retract his hand after it literally sank into her head, almost like she had suddenly be a slime or a Doppelganger. It was a very peculiar change, and, if not for his interactions with Doppel and Illya, Vahn would have been a lot more perturbed by the amorphous nature of her body. Upset that Vahn had stopped caressing her head, the petite anomaly adopted a slight frown before immediately pouncing on him with an, "Ei~!". Vahn reacted to this by assuring himself that the girl had no power, but, much like when he was facing an iprehensibly powerful blow, the flow of time seemed to stagnate as the world gradually lost its color. He suddenly found himself unable to move a muscle, and, though she appeared to be moving in slow motion, it took, quite literally, no time at all for the girl to impact his chest... --- Feeling a ripple through the fabric of time and space, a woman with two-tone white and ck hair, much like Kenshin, spontaneously opened her eyes. She hadrge pointed ears atop her head, pale-pink eyes that possessed rings of light instead of pupils, and a short tail that, much like her hair, was white on one side and ck on the other. As for her clothing, she appeared to be garbed in a form-fitting ck garment that vaguely resembled a bunny suit, ck stockings with a matching garter belt, a long-sleeved white top that extended to the tips of her fingers, and white boots with very prominent heels. All of this was adorned with golden trimmings, glistening green gemstones, and, most notably, two long ribbons that ran from the ring-like ornament near her lower back. Though she had the appearance of a taciturn and intelligent beauty, this peculiar pointy-earned woman was none other than Arceus, the Creation Deity of various Pokemon Records. She was an exceptionally powerful being with the capacity to produce a Pocket Realm despite being restricted by Vahns Soul Tier. This wasrgely thanks to her surrogate sons, Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina, but it was still a remarkable feat considering she was severely weakened due to Vahns mishap and her own expectations. Sensing that her Creator was experiencing duress, Arceus didnt hesitate to teleport directly to the Ninth Layer, her aura ring out to stabilize the chaotic space that was on the verge of copsing into non-existence. The fact the Ninth Layer was in this state made her feel extremely panicky, but, showing absolutely no change in her expression, Arceus followed her instincts. This allowed her to manifest next to her Creator in an instant, ignoring time, space, and distancepletely. Finding the Creator appearing as a cloud of anomalous ck ooze that resembled a neb, Arceus manifested countless cloth-like hands formed from a shadowy-ck material. Each of these allowed her to literally grasp the fabric of reality, contracting and forcibly stabilizing the surrounding space until it had formed an isted sub-dimensional sphere. After that, Arceus fearlessly approached the nebulous ck ooze, her expression calm even as it began to envelop and spread across her body... --- Sensing a familiar warmth, Vahn opened his eyes to find a stoic beauty with bronzed skin and tiny green dots under her eyes staring down at him. There was also a softness against the back of his head so it didnt take him long to realize he was currently receiving ap pillow from Arceus. This caused a natural smile to spread across his face, an expression that promptly froze when the usually expressionless woman suddenly returned his smile... Since he had just been about to greet her, Vahn was left unable to respond even as Arceus ced her hand atop his forehead and asked, "What happened here? I never imagined such destruction would ur within the Little Garden..." After peering through his memories and noticing that Arceus had never actually smiled, a frown immediately spread across Vahns face as he rose to a seated position. He noticed that the Ninth Layer had beenpletely destroyed, the previously boundless and extremely durable expanse of space now little more than a destructive and chaotic abyss. It wouldnt take him very long to fix this, but the fact it had been destroyed as a result of his perception the Law of Identitys existence was a haunting thought... The very instant she crossed his mind, Vahn found himself staring at the red-headed beauty, now with an apologetic smile on her face as she drooped her shoulders. This caused him to instinctually regress back to his Record manifestation, fearful of what might happen if she forcefully reinstigated contact between them. The amount of destruction seemed to be proportional to his own power, so, with his Realm manifestation having functionally unlimited power, Vahn wasnt willing to take any chances. Gesturing for the Law of Identity to remain silent, Vahn looked toward Arceus in order to gauge her reaction. This was a little difficult considering she practically never showed emotions, but, thanks to their connection, he was able to quickly intuit that she was wholly unaware of the Law of Identitys existence. Rather, the moment he looked towards Arceus, Vahn had the impression that she and the Law of Identity were one and the same. Feeling profoundly exhausted, Vahn turned away from the increasingly confused Arceus to find that the Law of Identity had spontaneously manifested again. Her existence seemed to be directly linked to his perception of her, so, unless he was willfully perceiving her at all times, she simply ceased to exist. During those moments, her existence seemed to ovep with others, and, though he had yet to confirm it, Vahn got the distinct impression that her existence was now intrinsically linked to all of his Temtes. Though he couldnt deny that it had been his intention to use the Law of Identity to help his other Temtes develop a True Ego, Vahn never anticipated that she would actually manifest with power simr to the concept she embodied. There was even a chance she was linked to the actual Law of Identity, sharing her existence with literally every creature that existed within the Records. This was a rather terrifying thought, as, even if she wasnt actually able to act through them, Vahn felt uneasy imagining the somewhat ditzy red-head as a part of everyone he would ever encounter. Realizing he had seriously underestimated himself and The Path, even though neither had any limits to speak of, Vahn resolved himself to be more conscientious of his decisions in the future. He didnt regret creating the Law of Identity as a Temte. Rather, if she had the actual power of the concept she embodied, it virtually guaranteed that his other Temtes would be able to manifest a True Ego in the near future. The only thing hemented was his own inability toprehend the true nature of her existence, the clear cause of all the destruction that had transpired... Shaking his head, Vahn shifted his attention away from the Law of Identity, thetter vanishing from his perception the moment he took his eyes away from her. Then, understanding she was extremely worried about him despite her stoic and unperturbed expression, Vahn began to caress the top of Arceus head, smiling as thanked and assured her that everything was going to be okay... (A/N: Alternate Titles: What is this fuckery...,The most dangerous Bakadere in existence...,I wonder if Arceus is truly the one Vahn is trying to convince xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1796 Ascent : Name

Chapter 1796 Ascent : Name

With their vacation having ended, the members of Team Wolf Pack inevitably made their way to the 5th Floors teleportation array. The only requirement for ascending to the next floor was bing a B-ss Citizen, so, with a plethora of Points in their Pockets, Team Wolf Pack bid farewell to therge crowd that had gathered outside before stepping atop therge array that would take them to the 6th Floor. --- A stark contrast to the 5th Floors rather scenic Paradise Bay, the 6th Floor was an incredibly dark and dreary ce. The only visible light at their destination was the ghostly glow emanating from the Test Administrator, anky man with eyes like will o wisps and garments that resembled those of a Grim Reaper. He even had a rather vicious-looking weapon in his right hand, but, rather than a scythe, it was a gnarled wooden staff with a shovel-like head formed from blue crystal. Adding to the mans eerieness, his face was veiled by shadows beneath a wide-brimmed cap as he somberly exined, "I hope you enjoyed your stay in Paradise. From this moment onward, you will be ascending the Tower in much the same way as Jahad and the Great Warriors. Your only goal is to find the stairway leading upward to the next Floor. You will face various challenges and trials along your journey, but, so long as you work together and trust in yourpanions, it is only a matter of time before you bask in the light of glory. Good luck, Regrs...though, with a group of this size, I believe you will be just fine..." With those parting words, the reaper-like man promptly vanished from view, shrouding Team Wolf Pack in absolute darkness. Fortunately, it took very little time for Khun and Phae to produce their Lighthouses, illuminating the area to reveal they were inside an ancient-looking room. This included a patterned cobblestone floor, thick moss-covered stone walls that glistened with moisture, several destroyed statues, and a small shrine that was cracked down the center. Taking charge of the situation, Khun created a perimeter using his Lighthouses, scanning the area as he said, "Gandr, Endorsi, and Anak will scout the external corridor connecting this room. The rest of our Scouts will inspect this room for any sign of traps. This room will serve as ourmand center until we get a better grasp of the situation." Responding to Khuns words almost immediately, Jung raised her hand up high, chiming, "I want to go with Gandr~!" in an enthused tone. Unfortunately for her, Khun immediately shot her down, his tone leaving no room for argument as he said, "I have already made my decision. Gandr, Endorsi, and Anak have been working together for a long time. You will have plenty of chances to team up with him in the future. For the time being, just stay put with everyone else. If you run around and trigger a trap, Im banning you from having any sweets for the remainder of the day..." Though she looked like she wanted to argue at first, Juns huffy expression immediately mellowed when she heard Khuns threat. Her entire life revolved around fighting and sweets. Since the sweets given to her by Vahn and Phae were much better than anything she had eater prior to joining Team Wolf Pack, she couldnt bear to part with them. As a result, she ended up scampering over to Phaes side, hiding behind the woman before peeking around and ring towards the blue-haired youth. Ignoring the vengeful lolis re, Khun continued to delegate roles and responsibilities to the rest of the group. He knew Vahn wouldnt simply allow them to cheat by using the Little Garden, so, with the expectation they could be stuck inside the Labyrinth for several months, his primary focus was on establishing a base camp. There was no sense in venturing out into the darkness without an idea of where their destination was located so he wanted to get a better grasp of their immediate surroundings before deciding what to do next. What Khun didnt expect was for Vahn to promptly produce Hwa Ryun from the Little Garden, an amused smile on his face as he stroked the womans head and exined, "Guides are able to freely traverse the Tower. I didnt allow her to participate in the Survival Test since there was no reason to have her sit around for an entire month. Now that were inside a Labyrinth, however, her ability will be of great use." Enjoying having her head pat a lot more than she ever thought possible, Ryun felt slightly saddened when Vahn inevitably retracted his hand. Then, with a cold and serious glower, she looked towards Khun and exined, "The 10th Floors bi-annual Positional Tournament is scheduled to take ce in twenty-nine days. Our goal should be to clear the 9th Floor within three weeks. This shouldnt be an issue with our Teamsposition, but we will still need to move quickly." Frowning in response to Ryuns words, Khun looked to Vahn just as thetter was nodding his head in approval, saying, "The dy on the 5th Floor was the result of my selfishness. Since Im also the one pushing you to move forward, I will allow the Little Garden to be used between the hours of 2 and 5 AM. This will give you around fifteen hours for both rest and study each day." Feeling considerably relieved, Khun released a tired sigh before lightly patting his chest in an effort to calm his heart. Afterward, he immediately adapted his strategy to ount for the assistance of a Guide and the fact that Ryun had directly stated they would need to move quickly. She was the type to y around with words, so, rather than continuing to establish a basecamp, he recalled Gandrs scouting party in order to arrange their traveling formation... --- After sticking around long enough to make sure everything was running smoothly, Vahn made a show of entrusting the Little Garden to Phae before retiring to the interior. He had more important things to worry about than traversing a dark Labyrinth filled with traps and monsters, even if it did make him feel more than a little nostalgic. Shaking his head, Vahn looked toward his right to find a 156cm tall redhead wearing nothing but lingerie staring up at him with a vibrant smile on her face. She seemed to constantly exist within the periphery of his vision, and, unless he was directly focused on someone or simply stopped thinking about her, Vahn could see her wandering around and investigating things like a child exploring the outside world for the first time. With a somewhat wry smile on his face, Vahn asked, "Did you enjoy exploring the outside world for a short while...?" Nodding her head, the Law of Identity adopted an even more radiant smile as she replied, "It is very exciting to be able to see and experience things directly. Before the Creator blessed me with a body of my own, I was only able to experience the interactions of others. Thanks for letting me finally be myself~!" in a cheerful tune. Though her words made him feel strangely guilty, Vahns expression softened quite a bit when he saw the sincere smile on the girls face. He had been able to sense her presence within everyone he had interacted with ever since her creation so there was a very real chance she was directly linked with the true Law of Identity. This meant she was a part of everything, vicariously experiencing the world through others without a direct means to interact with it herself... After forcibly restraining most of his power, applying various seals across his body in a very short period of time, Vahn extended his hand to caress the smiling girls head. This seemed to make her very happy, but, considering he was the only person she could actually interact with, it wasnt hard to understand why... With the Law of Identity offering no resistance whatsoever, Vahn continued to caress her hair and the sides of her face, a thoughtful expression on his face as he asked, "What should I call you from now on? It will be a little awkward if you go around without a name...hmmm..." Seemingly finding his words very amusing, the Law of Identity giggled in response before saying, "I already have a name. It is the one the Creator gave to me~!" Confused by her words, Vahn lightly furrowed his brows as he asked, "Can you tell me what your name is...?" Adopting an instantaneous pout, the Law of Identity stared up at Vahn with moistened eyes as she asked, "How could you forget such a thing? Im [ ]! [ ]...!" Hearing absolutely nothing when the Law of Identity shouted her name, cold sweat quickly spread across Vahns body as he found himself at a loss for words. He was absolutely certain that the only thing in his mind at the time was manifesting her as the Law of Identity. It wouldnt make sense for her to have a name if she was the origin of everyone elses identities so he hadnt actuallye up with a name for her... With the redhead on the verge of tears, Vahns instincts began to sound rm bells within the back of his mind. Thus, in a desperate attempt to keep her calm, he adopted a wry smile and asked, "Can I call you Akasha...?" Immediately following his words, the Law of Identitys appearance changed to resemble an awe-inspiringly beautiful statue. It had the appearance of an indescribably beautiful woman that was 190cm tall. She had perfectly symmetrical hair that flowed away from her scalp like feathers, soft features that gave her a very peaceful appearance, and several clear gemstones running from the top of her crown to around her navel, visible due to the fact that she waspletely naked... Though the woman appeared to be made from pure white stone, hands sped together as if she were praying, Vahn felt a boundless aura of vitality flowing from her. It was so vast that he suddenly felt like an infinitesimally small existence, an impression that caused his body to literally shrink until his [Will of the Emperor] passively kicked in, liberating him from the dream-like state imposed upon him by the womans aura. Realizing that the woman in front of him was likely Akasha, several trains of thought raced through Vahns mind all at once. This was further proof that the Law of Identity was a part of everything and everyone, even other concepts. The problem was, the moment he referred to her as Akasha, the [ ] in his Unit Managementpletely disappeared. Akashas name was also absent so there was a very real chance he had just manifested a higher concept by happenstance...one he had absolutely no control over... Doing his best to suppress his feelings of trepidation, Vahn gazed toward the statuesque womans face. Immediately after that, her peacefully slumbering expression seemed to melt away as her eyes slowly opened to reveal translucent eyes that resembled the gems adorning her body. Though she had nothing like irises or pupils, Vahn had the distinct impression that the statuesque woman was able to see through himpletely. This feeling only persisted for a very short period of time, however, as she soon adopted a familiar smile, shattering the illusion of a timeless goddess in an instant. Then, seemingly very intrigued by the changes in her body, Akasha began inspecting herself before asking in an excited tone that seemed to resonate through his entire body, "Did your preferences suddenly change? I kind of liked my previous form though~." Unable to restrain himself, wryughter, the kind that someone would emanate afterpleting an excruciating marathon only to find out it was the first challenge, escaped Vahns throat. This caused the pale woman to show an expression of concern, but, before she could ask what was wrong, Vahn allowed himself to fall backward onto the soft grass, arms sprawled out as he stared nkly at the blue skies above... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Shovel Knight would be proud,Gotta go fast,User Vahn has disconnected from the server...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1797 Gradual Understanding : Progress

Chapter 1797 Gradual Understanding : Progress

In the days following Team Wolf Packs ascension to the 6th Floor, Vahn focused most of his efforts on attempting to understand the Law of Identity. Fortunately, she was very cooperative so long as he didnt upset her, so, after several weeks in the restructured Ninth Layer, he was able to, at the very least, scratch the surface of her powers. Though her default appearance was the redheaded beauty who was paradoxically named nothing at all, the Law of Identity was able to emte the very existence of other people, gods, and even concepts. Even Fenrir wasnt an exception to this, and, though she was unable to influence anything other than himself, Vahn was able to confirm that she inherited everything from a persons Innates to their memories due to the appearance of a second Fenrir within his Unit Management. So long as she cooperated, the Law of Identity was essentially a repository of all knowledge and experience that existed within the Record. The only person that existed outside the scope of her power was Vahn himself. As for the reason, it was exined by the Law of Identity that she and he were already one and the same, a concerning revtion that made Vahn realize that he might be able to manifest all the Laws through himself by simply creating Temtes. The Law of Identity might not be the original, but it was transparently clear that she was directly linked to the concept. If this applied to every Temte he created, it was theoretically possible to manifest every Law, and, though they would not simply rece the Laws that already existed within the Record, the example set by the Law of Identity suggested they would be linked. Of course, there was an equal chance that the Law of Identity was an exception due to the nature of the concept she embodied. With that in mind, Vahn decided to hold off on creating any Temtes rted to higher Laws and Concepts he didnt already have a decent understanding of. The Law of Identity had allowed him to confirm the existence of beings that governed each of the Laws by being able to freely assume the identities and appearances of several god-like beings. This was more than enough reason to justify his decision as thest thing he needed was something like a T6 being representing the Law of Fire getting upset because he created a Temte that directly encroached upon their domain... Fortunately, even without creating such a Temte, Vahn was able to learn more about the Laws by asking the Law of Identity in her transformed state. She was unbelievably bad at exining things, as everything simply worked for her, but, by asking her to assume the identity of the Goddess of Wisdom, a beautiful and voluptuous goddess known as Nuana, he had ess to the best possible teacher. The only problem was that the Law of Identitys personality superseded that of the person she was emting; something that caused quite a number of problems due to the fact she was very easily bored and exceptionally mischievous... --- Since even artifacts, armaments, and objects could possess an Ego, Vahn was attempting to scribe a few passages from an ancient grimoire known as the Sacred Tome. ording to Nuana, it was the grimoire in which all knowledge of the past, present, and future were recorded. Vahn had very little interest in these actual events, but, as it also recorded all information pertaining to everything from the Laws to the True Names of Gods, it was still exceptionally useful. Unfortunately, the Law of Identity was not particrly fond of being a book, so, after a few minutes had passed, the grimoire spontaneously disappeared. At the exact same moment, without any time passing whatsoever, a naked woman was suddenly sprawled out across his desk, belly up like a dog wanting to have its tummy rubbed. Havingrgely gotten used to the Law of Identitys antics, Vahn simply chuckled in response before setting aside his quill and remarking, "Youre incorrigible..." in an amused tone. In response, the Law of Identity held her hands up as if to emte paws, tilting her head to the side as she replied with a cutesy, "Wan~?" With her default appearancergely dependent on Vahns perception of her, a pair of dog ears and a fluffy tail spontaneously sprouted from the Law of Identitys head and lower back. Then, following a mischievous giggle, she was suddenly straddling hisp, tail wagging madly as she wrapped her arms around his neck as she leaned in to whisper, "y with me~." Though he knew it probably wasnt the best idea to indulge her, Vahn hade to learn that it was a lot easier to control the Law of Identity if he periodically pampered her. She had also helped him make several major breakthroughs, and, though it had been hard to convince her that his unnamed Temtes actually existed, doing so had allowed those with stronger wills, specifically Madara and Roger, to develop True Egos even without [Keeper of the Akashic Tome]. Deciding to just go with the flow, Vahn ced his hands on the Law of Identitys back, rainbow-hued energy flowing from his palms as he began to massage and caress her body. This caused her to hug his neck a little tighter, but, unlike before, her power didnt snap him like a withered twig. Vahn had learned that the secret to avoiding a catastrophe during his interactions with the Law of Identity was to either take charge or simply disregard any and all expectations. The more the tried toprehend and dictate the nature of her existence, the more violent the reaction was when she did something in defiance of his expectations. The only time this wasnt the case was when the Law of Identity had expectations of her own, culminating in a situation that allowed him to basically do whatever he wanted without any resistance. Fortunately, at least for the time being, she was content with just heavy petting and ample headpats... --- Though weeks had passed from Vahns perspective, only a few days had passed for the members of Team Wolf Pack. Despite this, they were already standing outside the 6th Floors boss room, arge chamber that was several kilometers across and approximately 100m in height. At the center of this chamber, arge automaton, appearing much like a heavily armored knight, could be seen pacing about with a five-meter long key-shaped de. Since the group couldnt just rely on Gandr all the time, Khun wasing up with a strategy that would allow the weaker members of the party to defeat the automaton. The six selected for the task were Aleksai, Chunhwa, Shibisu, Nare, and, though they were actually two of the stronger members of the group, Baam and Khun would be participating for safety. As for everyone else, they would be watching the battle using Phaes Lighthouse; ample food and drink provided. Starting off the battle, Chunhwa took off with a burst of Shinsu-enhanced speed that caused a few cracks to appear on the stone floor. At the same time, Shibisu and Nare bolted towards the nks, not to attack, but to make sure there were no traps lying in wait. They had Observers that had been hand-crafted by Phae so they could efficiently scout the area while providing ranged support using firearms that firedser-like beams of Shinsu. Serving as the main firepower of the group, Aleksai channeled Shinsu into the armored greaves he wore beneath his trousers. These allowed him to not only jump higher than normal, but, thanks to Khun providing a few exceptionally pure pieces of Suspendium, apparently stolen from his fathers treasury, Aleksai could freely jump around and even stand on the air. After reaching an ideal vantage point, Aleksai pulled out ance-like spear from his Pipe, malicious red lightning dancing across its surface as he infused his Shinsu into it. He was waiting for the ideal time to strike, his red eyes glistening with a focused light as he watched Chunhwa, despite the size difference, deflect the automatons sweeping blow upward. Taking advantage of the automaton being knocked off bnce, Shibisu attempted to aim for its elbow joint using his rifle-like armament. He managed to urately hit the target, but, thanks to the bulbous armor around the joints, his attack was ultimately futile. Clicking his tongue, Shibisu manifested his Arms Inventory in order to swap out the rifle for what appeared to be an oversized shotgun. Before he could charge up enough Shinsu to fire it, however, a beam of red lightning descended from the sky as soon as Chunhwa jumped back to evade the automatons counterattack. This was enough to force the knight-like entity to its knee, slouching as red lightning danced across its body, courtesy of thence stuck in its shoulder. Exploiting the moment when the automatons head was lowered, a confident smile spread across Chunhwas face as he brandished his sword to the side and eximed, "Ignite! Narumada!" With vibrant bluish-white lightning dancing across the length of his de, Chunhwa powered as much Shinsu as he could manage into his legs, bruises immediately manifesting on his calves as he leaped towards the automaton with fierce momentum. The metallic entity was still stunned by the lightning coursing through its body so the only resistance it could manage was ring at its would-be killer through the visored helmet protecting its glowing blue eye. Showing no hesitation whatsoever, Chunhwa stabbed Narumada through a gap in the visor before releasing a tremendous volume of Shinsu from his ignited weapon. This caused the automatons head to instantaneously explode, shards of metal flying in every direction due to the sudden and intense explosion. Fortunately, none of these pieces connected with any of the Regrs present, but, even if they had, everyone was protected by a thin membrane of Shinsu formed from Khuns Lighthouse. With the automaton falling over immediately after its head had been destroyed, Chunhwa raised his Narumada toward the ceiling with a triumphant expression on his face. This caused Shibisu to shake his head in mock exasperation before returning his oversized armament to his Arms Inventory and remarking, "I didnt think Knights were the boastful type~." in a teasing tone. Hearing hispanions remark, Chunhwa adopted a somewhat embarrassed expression as he sheathed his Narumada and replied, "Sorry about that...it just feels refreshing to defeat a strong opponent after all this time. Sparring against Gandr and Hatsu makes me feel a lot weaker than I actually am..." Empathizing with Chunhwas statement, Shibisu threw his hand around the mans shoulder as he said, "We might not be able topare to those monsters, but well have plenty of opportunities to show off during the Position Tournament. For now, lets just keep focusing on bing stronger..." Though he shrugged off Shibisus arm, Chunhwa still adopted a smile as he stepped off to the side to receive Nare. At the same time, Khun and Baam approached the downed automaton as Aleksai dropped down like a meteor crashing to the earth. This was soon followed by the rest of Team Wolf Pack, who, after a few congrattory remarks, allowed Anak to lift up the several-ton key-shaped de that unlocked the massive gate leading to the 7th Floor. --- Learning of the Childrens sessful conquest, Vahn afforded them two days to celebrate and rx within the Little Garden. He lived by Tsubakis principle that you should work hard and y hard in equal measure; so, while the automaton might not have been particrly powerful, defeating it had allowed them to advance to the 7th Floor. This was more than enough reason to celebrate, so, after inviting everyone from the Emerald Grove to participate, he hosted a grand banquet with Chunhwa and Aleksai as the Guests of Honor... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Hax (O - O)...,This is certainly not the Darkest Dungeon...,Work hard, y hard) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1798 Ego

Chapter 1798 Ego

With time continuing to pass, Vahn split his own between spending time with his family, trying toprehend the Law of Identity, meditating to the Mantra of Eternity, and rxing in the Emerald Grove. Thisst part was actually very important as the key to helping his Temtes develop a True Ego seemed to be convincing them that they were themselves, not simply an extension of him. Though Madara and Roger had demonstrated that it was possible to obtain a True Ego by force of will, the trio who followed shortly after them, Kyrie, Latias, and Latios, couldnt be said to possess strong wills. Rather, they were three of the more childish and innocent among Vahns Temtes, the type that simply didnt worry about such things as identity. This allowed them to easily embrace the idea they were themselves, and, shortly thereafter, the Law of Identity was able to perceive their existence. Using the quintet as an example, Vahn came to the conclusion that the easiest way to encourage the development of a True Ego was simply to live alongside his Temtes while periodically asking them about things like their hopes, dreams, and desires for the future. This was surprisingly difficult for people like Mira, as she was fairly content with her current lifestyle and had no desire to change. Kushina and Morgiana, however, were much easier to convince as the former had a fiery yet caring temperament while thetter had taken a personal interest in several members of Team Wolf Pack; Endorsi and Anak being chief amongst them. Though they had yet to develop True Egos of their own, Vahn got the impression that Kushina and Morgiana were just one significant event away from actualizing their identities. This was something he could help them with, but, considering the only sincere desire of the former was to give birth to Naruto, Vahn was in a bit of a pickle. Vahn couldnt deny that had actually thought about bing a surrogate father to Naruto if he ever visited the titr main characters Record. This was considerably different than bing the boys actual father, however, so he wasnt quite sure how to address the situation. It wasnt that he was unwilling, quite the opposite, but, knowing Naruto would invariably learn about his counterpart in the Records, he couldnt help feeling at least a little apprehensive. Fortunately, Morgianas burgeoning dreams were a lot easier to deal with as she simply wanted to help Endorsi and Anak obtain their revenge. She got along surprisingly well with the two Princesses, eventually learning bits and pieces about the duos pasts. This,bined with the fact Morgiana had a very strong sense of justice, stirred within her a firm resolve to oppose the Jahad Empire and abolish the Princess of Jahad Selection Trials. Since Morgiana actually got along with most of the members of Team Wolf Pack, Vahn had already made the decision to allow her to travel with them up the Tower. This would help to alleviate some of the burden ced upon Gandr so there really werent any downsides to the arrangement. If any, it was the fact that she would have to contract with Nare and y the part of a rare Shinheuh with the ability to transform into a human. Even this wasnt a real problem, however, as it would actually be best for her to stick around and protect the weaker members of the party... --- While thinking about what the future held in store for them all, Vahn absentmindedly massaged the bottom of the naked woman sleeping against his chest. The Law of Identity had actually helped him gain a few key insights into the Law of Petting,rgely for her own benefit, so it had be a habit for him to always be petting, stroking, or caressing something. It was far beyond muscle memory at this point, and, though he could turn it off by focusing on something, Vahn was unable to resist the almost instinctual urge to pet something whenever he was loafing around. Feeling an extremely pleasant, vibration-like, sensation run through her bottom, Kushina exhaled a hot sigh before slowly opening her eyes and simply staring off into space for several seconds. She was quite fond of the sensation, but, having just fallen asleep a few minutes ago, she couldnt help feeling slightly vengeful. As a result, she eyed Vahns nipple with a mischievous glimmer in her blue eyes before promptly biting down on it with a surprising amount of force. As he hadnt really been paying attention to Kushinas behavior, Vahn was startled into awareness by the spontaneous pinching sensation. This caused the beautiful redhead to giggle, but, rather than let him go, she took things a step further by gently tracing her tongue around the sensitive region. At the same time, seemingly having her switch flipped in an instant, her left hand reached down to begin stroking his sleeping member with a vigorous aft hand motion. (A/N: Aft-hand is like pulling away at something.) Having already bitten the bullet several days prior, both with Kushina and Hinata, Vahn no longer had any reason to resist the beautiful redheads natural charms. Instead, he shifted his hand from her butt to the slightly pulsating cavern hidden between her soft and pliant folds. It took very little effort for his fingers to slip into the moistened antechamber, but, immediately thereafter, his fingers were nearly crushed by the contraction of Kushinas muscles as a sonorous moan escaped from her throat. With the Law of Petting allowing him to shape things through his intent, Vahn needed only wriggle around his fingers with the intention to bring her extreme pleasure for Kushina to release his nipple and focus exclusively on the sensationing from her lower body. It was a borderline excruciating amount of pleasure, but, almost as if it had been an illusion, a sigh of relief soon parted Kushinas lips as a very rxing and mellow sensation began radiating throughout her entire body. Unlike before, where he would need to use [Hands or Nirvana] to try and forcibly calm someone down, Vahns mastery over the Law of Petting allowed him to instantaneously change the sensation a person was feeling. He could even sculpt metal as if it was soft y, and, if he pushed the Law of Petting to its limits, even sculpting a persons body was a simple feat. The only real requirement was that he had no malicious intentions, and, though it wasntpletely necessary, the cooperation of the other party helped out quite a bit. Before Kushina could doze off due to the serene bliss that had settled into her body, Vahn adopted a roguish smile as he gave her butt a light smack. This caused a visible ripple to spread through her body, almost like she was a human-shaped water balloon. At the same time, Kushina started awake, cheeks clenched tightly as she released a startled yelp. This was more than enough to flip her switch into the on position, and, though she wasnt actually angry with him, that didnt stop Kushina from going on the attack in order to get her revenge... --- With Ryuns guidance, Team Wolf Pack managed to reach the 7th Floors Boss Room by the eve of the eleventh day. Their remarkably high morale had allowed them to set a pace that surpassed even the experienced Guides expectations, but, as was often the case whenever Children of Destiny were involved, things could never be that easy. Borrowing the capabilities of Phaes invisible Lighthouse, Khun had an annoyed expression on his face as he observed the strange group of Regrs who had made camp within the Boss chamber. They seemed to be farming the Boss that would regrly manifest within the chamber, but, based on the number of corpses littering the area, it was pretty obvious this wasnt their sole intention. Observing the situation alongside Khun, Shibisu couldnt help but disdainful snort as he remarked, "These bastards are like highwaymen...I bet they are charging people a toll to pass through the boss chamber..." Havinge to a simr conclusion, Khun nodded his head before shifting his attention to Ryun and asking, "What do you make of this situation? Something about it seems off to me...my instincts are telling me to be careful..." Before Ryun could answer, Rak issued a disdainful snort of his own, crossing his arms as he said, "If you are afraid, you can stay here with the rest of the turtles. It is my turn to hunt the enemy. Im not going to miss another opportunity." With that said, Rak removed the massive shield from his back that, ironically, gave him an uncanny resemnce to a turtle. His training alongside Aleksai had led to them both embracing the Special Position of Defender, so, even if others on his team might be afraid, he would not hesitate to rush forward to draw the enemys focus. Thus, with his custom dory spear in hand, Rak ignored Khuns attempts to stop him as he charged forward down the corridor connecting to the Boss Room. Though Khun attempted to create a Lighthouse Barrier to block Raks passage, the crocodilian was able to shatter it with a single, momentous, shield bash. This caused the former to curse out, "You damned Alligator...!", but, much like the rest of the team, he ultimately chose to follow after Rak in order to provide support... --- Using the stacked corpses of three Regrs as a make-shift recliner, a girl wearing what appeared to be a fur-covered bodysuit absentmindedly yed with the decapitated head of a once-beautiful girl. The former had shaggy ck hair, matching the color of her coat, ck limbs that seemed to be veiled in shadow, and, most notably, an ashen face set with two zing red eyes. Without minding the blood that was dripping into herp and thighs, the woman continued to y around with the decapitated head as she remarked, "I hope someone strong shows up. Im starting to get bored just waiting around here all day. Havent we already harvested enough Points?" Responding to the shaggy-haired womansint, a decidedly less terrifying woman with casual clothes, messy brown hair, leafy-green irises, and a scar running down her left eye replied, "I already told you to stop whining. If youre that bored, go and scout the area for enemies. We might be a lot stronger than most Regrs but you cant underestimate the brats born into the Ten Great Families. That kind of attitude is the same thing that got Karen killed so suck it the fuck up and stay focused." Though she bared her fangs in response to the scarred womans words, the shaggy-haired woman quickly changed tune the moment the former, having spontaneously transformed into a werewolf, growled back at her. This caused her to instinctually avert her eyes, recoiling away from the much stronger woman before clenching her jaw in response to her otherpanions snickering. Since she was the weakest of the four women who made up the party, the fiery-eyed demoness looked towards the only male in their group, a young boy with several fresh cuts and bruises all over his face and body. They had originally recruited him since he had a pretty face, and, for thest two months, he had effectively served as their punching and blood bag whenever they were bored. Noticing the fiery-eyed womans gaze, the pale-skinned youth looked towards her with a dead look in his eyes. He knew she was the most likely of the four to kill him, so, with the hope of bringing an end to his suffering, a taunting smile spread across his face in spite of the pain it caused him. This caused the fiery-eyed womans eyes to glow with a fierce light, but, the moment she alighted from the pile of corpses to walk over toward him, a beam of red light passed through the area where her head used to be... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn: "I really shouldnt...". Also Vahn: *lewd smacking sounds*,Rak takes charge, quite literally xD...,Tortured boy be like, "Heh...") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1799 Darkness : Ligh

Chapter 1799 Darkness : Ligh

Though she might have been the weakest member of their group, seeing one of their allies get their head blown off caused the remaining three girls to shudder. Despite this, they still managed to react almost instantaneously, the scarred woman transforming to the point that everything but her stic pants were ripped to shreds. As for her other party members, one grabbed the cackling boy before tossing him to the side while the other, a muscr woman with red skin and curved horns, pulled out arge ive from her Pipe. Despite being severely outnumbered, the wolfish woman charged towards Rak with a murderous snarl on her canine face. She was more than three meters in length at this point, and, though she still had vaguely humanoid features, she had resorted to running on all fours to drastically increase her speed. Snorting in disdain at the womans charge, Rak spread his legs a bit further apart to receive the impact with his shield. At the same time, his dory spear reappeared within his right hand, the tip glowing with an intense red glow as he attempted to skewer his slightly stunned foe. Before he could, however, a thunderous sound resonated throughout the vast chamber as he was forced back several meters by the ive that had impacted his shield. Feeling a numb sensation spread through his left arm, Rak managed the closest thing to a smile he could manage before remarked, "You are pretty strong for a turtle..." while looking toward the red-skinned woman. This caused the woman to scowl with an incredulous look on her face as she loudly retorted, "Im gonna make a purse out of you...!" Since the wolf-woman had run around him to engage the other members of his party, Rak decided that the Red Turtle across from him would be his prey. In response to her remark about turning him into a purse, he just issued a loud bellow before beating his spear against his shield and eximing, "Come at me, Red Turtle...!" Though she wanted nothing more than to do just that, the red-skinned woman didnt immediately charge at Rak. She might not be afraid of him but therge group behind him wasnt something her party would be able to handle. To make matters even worse, their Lightbearer had promptly fled the moment the fighting began so they were already outnumbered more than seven to one. Cursing the cowardice of her teammate, the red-skinned Spear Bearer vowed that she would hunt down the Light Bearer if she got out of this alive. Then, without further hesitation, she released a loud war cry as she lunged toward Rak with her ive raised like the de of an executioner. The edge of her weapon began to hum as a swirling vortex of Shinsu formed, and, though it wasnt an ignition weapon, she was determined to bisect both the shield and its bearer in a single blow... --- Unbeknownst to the red-skinned Spear Bearer, her chance for vengeance would nevere since, even if she did emerge victoriously, her prey was already dead. She hadnt even made it fully up the stairs beforeing to a stop, fearful of the wispy darkness obscuring her path. Her Lighthouse did nothing to prate its depths, and, shortly after encountering the obstruction, the effective range of her Lighthouse seemed to gradually diminish no matter how much Shinsu she pumped into it... Terrified by the encroaching darkness, the Light Bearer, resembling an Elf with delicate features and pure white hair, released an ear-piercing scream as she formed a single Baang of Shinsu and fired it. To her horror, the bluish-white beam formed from her attack actually impacted the darkness as if it had physical mass, disturbing it ever-so-slightly before disappearingpletely. This revealed that the darkness was actually some kind of Shinsu-infused attack,pelling her to form a barrier with all three of her Lighthouses before they, and her body, were soundlessly consumed... --- As one of the people initially selected to fight the boss of the 7th Floor, Hatsu was the one to step out and face the wolfish woman. He was a little annoyed that she wasnt a swordswoman, but, after exchanging a few blows with his surprisingly agile foe, his mind was fully focused on the fight. Dodging a sweeping blow from the womans ws, Hatsu attempted to side-step her follow-up kick only to receive a smack to his face with her tail. In the same motion, she spun around on her heel, ducking beneath his blind swing before rising with the attempt to bite out his throat. Fortunately, some of the earliest training Hatsu had done alongside Gandr involved honing each of his senses instead of just relying on his eyes. He had also been training with Roger for the past few weeks, so, while he had been somewhat caught off guard by the tail swipe, he managed to smash the butt of his katana into the womans lower jaw after swaying his head just outside of her maws range. Though Hatsus attack hadnt hurt, it was enough to demonstrate that he wasnt an opponent she could take lightly. It also helped to knock a bit of sense into her, so, after deftly rolling to the side to evade Hatsusbo attack, she leaped back nearly a hundred meters to get a better grasp of the situation. To her surprise, she found Rak standing with his foot atop her downed ally, spear raised high as he released a loud war cry. She also noticed that the Light Bearer of her party was nowhere to be seen, her eyes glistening with a murderous light at the implication... Deciding it would probably be for the best to negotiate or try to flee, the woman shifted her focus back to Hatsu, eyes widening as she realized he was right in front of her. She didnt think there was another Regr who could keep up with her speed so she waspletely caught off guard, barely evading a fatal blow thanks to her animalistic instincts and inhuman reflexes. Rather than pursue further, Hatsu allowed the woman to take her distance as he calmly advised, "It is unwise to shift your focus in the middle of a battle..." Pawing therge cut that now ran from her right shoulder to just below her left ribs, the woman looked towards Hatsu with a feral look in her eyes as she growled, "I dont need your advice you damn human...!" Frowning at the unexpectedly xenophobic remark, Hatsu lost all desire to fight the woman with his sword, sheathing it as he coldly replied, "I thought you were a worthy opponent...I was wrong..." Shaking his head, Hatsu turned his back on the woman without actually dropping his guard. She didnt seem to realize this, however, as she immediately charged toward him, shouting, "You son of a bitch...!" as the razor-sharp ws of her right hand aimed toward his neck. Exhaling the breath he had been holding, Hatsus eyes opened wide as his pupils contracted into points. At the same time, he spun around with incredible speed, catching the womans wrist with his right hand before using her own momentum to m her into the ground. This was a lot harder than he expected due to her size, but, after swinging around a two-ton metal bat for training, controlling the momentum of 220kg werewolf wasnt that difficult. Though it wouldnt have even have winded her in a normal situation, the wolfish-woman coughed up a mouthful of blood upon contact with the ground. The impact also caused the wound on her chest to open up further, the beige fur on the underside of her body be a crimson red as she quickly reverted to her original form. This actually caused a not-so-subtle blush to develop across Hatsus face, unustomed to seeing a half-naked woman up close. As a result, he quickly peeled off the outeryer of his robe, tossing it over the woman before staring at her face and realizing she was actually quite beautiful... --- With things going a lot smoother than he anticipated, Khun exhaled a sigh of relief before looking toward Phae and asking, "How should we deal with this situation? Should we revive them and mete out justice? If not, I would at least like to gather the bodies of the victims and cremate them..." Though they had heard about Vahns ability to revive the dead, Khuns words caught the attention of nearly every member of Team Wolf Pack. Even Yun-Yun and Laure, who usually rode around in slings attached to Baams and Aleksais backs, briefly opened their eyes to pay attention. (A/N: The thought of Baam piggybacking Yun-Yun around makes me smile xD...) Since she was still an extension of Vahn, Phae could tell that there were actually a number of spirits still present within the area. The Ego didnt immediately fade after death, so, while he might not be able to save them all, Vahn would still be able to resurrect the vast majority of those who had died. Possessing the same bleeding heart as her Lord, Phae adopted a smile in response to Khuns words, softly musing, "I suppose this is as good a stage as any to allow my Lord to show off..." while pulling out the Little Garden. This caused everyones tensions to grow exponentially as Endorsi, Anak, and even Jung adopted uncharacteristically serious expressions... Fortunately, Vahn just so happened to be lounging about in the outer rings with Fenrir so he had plenty of time to clean himself up before emerging from the Little Garden with a dignified smile on his face. He was a little surprised by the number of corpses present, but, after quickly linking with Phae to get a better grasp of the situation, his demeanor rxed as he ordered, "Those who have an aversion to death will help to establish a base camp. Resurrection isnt easy on the body or the mind so well need a ce for everyone to rest. As for everyone else, please help me organize and separate the bodies. It is much easier to resurrect the recently deceased and whole so do your best to ensure parts dont get mixed up..." Understanding what Vahn meant when he said parts, Nare almost immediately turned away from the party to empty the contents of her stomach. She had been putting up a strong front until that point but the smell of blood,bined with the casual mention of dismembered parts, was a little too much for the rtively innocent young woman. Feeling a little guilty about Nares condition, Vahn realized he could have the support team wait in the Little Garden. This actually made a lot more sense since he could have all his Temtes help in the preparation of food and other amodations. The calming atmosphere would also help the traumatized victims remain calm, and, though it would likely take several months for some of them to recover, even this could be resolved using the outer rings. Having made his decision, Vahn exined the situation to Khun before making the stiption that only those who helped recover the bodies could stay around to watch the resurrection process. This was topel those like Laure and Yun-Yun, both capable of moving bodies using their Telekinesis, from simply idling about as everyone else worked. This also had the effect of steeling the resolve of several people who were thinking about just waiting in the realm, drastically decreasing the amount of time it took to gather and organize all the bodies. After that, Vahn began the arduous process of healing and resurrecting a total of fifty-nine people, a rxed smile on his face as the Loyalty and Belief of everyone observing the process increased by leaps and bounds... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I am Rak Wraithraiser...!,Hatsu got a glimpse of his first nips...,*System Notifications Intensify*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1800 Compromise

Chapter 1800 Compromise

Though there were a few issues with people freaking out or thinking they had died and gone to Heaven, it didnt take too long for the Regrs resurrected by Vahn to be brought under control. The calming effects of the Little Garden went a long way, but, most importantly, the presence of iprehensibly powerful people was enough to deter any legitimate dissent. While Team Wolf Pack and his Temtes were dealing with the revived Regrs, Vahn was seated in a rtively cozy with Phae standing next to him. Across from them, seated in a chair that made him appear even smaller than he actually was, a youth with pale skin and burgundy eyes stared back at them with an unfocused gaze. Thanks to the Law of Identity, Vahn knew what the youth had experienced even without having him relive everything through an exnation. This was one of the most beneficial aspects of the Law of Identity, and, though her bubbly personality sometimes made things a littleplicated, she would happily expose a persons most intimate secrets with a happy smile on her face. Vahn had also used the Law of Identity to get a better grasp of the quartets motivations, but, while it was understandable for some of them to act the way they did, that didnt excuse their crimes. He could empathize with their plight, especially the werewolf woman who had been hunted most of her life, but no amount of suffering afforded anyone the right to mete out even greater suffering to people that had nothing to do with their plight. ming an entire race of people for the actions of a few individuals was never a rational response. Since the youth across from him was the human-hating groups primary victims, Vahn decided to discuss the matter of their fate with him. Unsurprisingly, the boy wanted nothing more than to see the four women beaten and vited in the most horrible ways imaginable. He didnt want them to die, he wanted them to suffer far worse than himself. At one point, he had even suggested letting the resurrected Regrs have their way with the group with a rather vicious smile on his face... Vahn had tried to reason with the youth, discussing the concept of the Cycle of Hatred and the importance of empathy, but the eleven-year-old waspletely unphased by his arguments. He just continued to stare back with emotionless eyes, his aura turning progressively darker the longer the conversation continued. This made Vahn feel a little helpless, so, after failing to convince him for the better part of three hours, he had Phae escort him to afortable room before departing the study to meet with the four wrongdoers, each held in separate quarters, directly... --- Hearing a light knock, the scarred-woman, revealed to be Tasha Adalwolf by the Law of Identity, snarled in disdain before throwing one of the destroyed pieces of furniture towards the door. She had been allowed to move around freely within the fully furnished room, but, after trying and failing to break through the surrounding floor, walls, and ceiling, she ended up trashing the interior in her wolf form before curling up in the corner of the room once the transformation had worn off. There were few things she hated and feared more than being caged up and locked away so her hatred for the group that had defeated her had been increasing by the minute. Noticing the door opening, Tashas right arm became more muscr and elongated as her body half-transformed into that of a wolf. She couldnt maintain her transformation for very long, so, after tiring herself out during her tantrum, a partial transformation was the most she could manage. Despite this, she was determined to cut the neck of the person entering the room before escaping outside and taking a hostage. What Tasha never anticipated was that she would be frozen in mid-air, arm and ws extended as a man with kind features entered the room. Then, much her to her surprise, dismay, and a host of other emotions, he actually reached out his hand to pat the top of her head as he adopted a casual smile and said, "You shouldnt be so quick to violence, little pup. I am neither your enemy nor your captor. Once this matter has been settled, you will be free to leave at your leisure." Though she initially wanted nothing more than to bite the mans hand before tearing out his throat, Tasha was surprised to find that her usual anger was nowhere to be found. Instead, she felt rxed, calm, and, most frustratingly, she even felt a little happy to have her head pat. This made her feel an overwhelming amount of embarrassment, her face turning red as the invisible force suspending her in the air gradually lowered her to the ground. Seeing the woman calm down much faster than anticipated, Vahn gave an approving nod before retracting his hand and pulling out a coat. Her transformation wasnt very kind to her clothes, so, with the exception of the stic pants that hugged her figure, she waspletely naked. She didnt seem too bothered by this fact, likely the result of experiencing simr situations countless times in the past, but it was still better to have her cover herself if they were going to have a conversation. Noticing the man politely avert his eyes after handing her the coat, Tasha briefly considered tearing out his throat before promptly deciding against it. Her instincts told her that the man in front of her was iprehensibly powerful, so much so that she actually had to resist the urge to go belly-up... Hearing the rustling of clothes cease, Vahn turned around to find that Tasha was still seated on the ground. He suspected she was actually more used to this than sitting atop furniture, as, ording to the Law of Identity, she had spent much of her life wandering the wilds of the Outer Tower. She had also been part of a pack with just two males, one being the man who had turned her and the other being his younger brother. They had a penchant for kidnapping and converting young girls into werewolves, rearing them from a young age to be submissive and obedient. To make matters even worse, Tasha grew up in an area of the Tower where humans, vampires, and werewolves were constantly at war with each other. Being turned into a werewolf forced her to fight on the side of her captors as humans disdained, tortured, and killed anyone who had been turned. This filled her with despair when she was younger, but, after more than twenty years of being held captive and forced to fight a war, she eventually gained a resentment towards humans before fully sumbing to the mentality of a werewolf. Simply put, the woman suffered from a severe case of Stockholm Syndrome after being kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and tormented for years. Her only way to free herself from the suffering was to be obedient and willfully lower herself to the people she should have resented more than any other. She had even helped to kidnap other young girls in order to expand their pack, perpetuating the cycle despite empathizing with and even pitying the victims. Restraining the urge to sigh, Vahn maintained a calm smile as he exined Tashas situation, the fates of the Regrs she had previously killed, and the options she had moving forward. He even gave her the option of bing human once again, but, in exchange, she would need to live out the rest of her days in the Middle Tower. Regardless of what she chose, however, he would never allow her to fulfill her dream of bing a Ranker just so that she could return to the Outer Tower and kill all the Vampires and Humans who had persecuted and hunted her. Had Vahn informed her that she wouldnt be allowed toplete her objective at the very start of her journey, Tasha would have resented him greatly. Fortunately, climbing the Tower had taught her that there were a lot of people who simply didnt care that she was a werewolf. There were even a number of races that were far stranger than her own, beings she had never even imagined during her time living in the Forest of Death. This taught her that the world was a much bigger ce than she ever imagined, so, while she had continued to climb the Tower, her dream of getting revenge had already started to diminish. In the end, Tasha surprised Vahn quite a bit by looking up at him and spontaneously asking, "When I woke up, there was a red cloth on my body...what happened to the Fisherman who defeated me?" Understanding she was asking about Hatsu, Vahn showed traces of amusement in his smile as he exined, "Hatsu isnt a Fisherman. He is one of the Scouts belonging to Team Wolf Pack..." Hearing the name of the team that had defeated her, Tasha adopted a potent frown as she replied, "What a tasteless name...do you even know what it means to be part of a pack?" Before the woman could go on forcing her views onto others, Vahn preempted Tashas lesson by plopping his hand down onto her head and saying, "You are hundreds of years too young to start lecturing me about such things, little pup. Your experiences cannot be applied to every situation so stop trying to force everything through the filter of your trauma. There are as many types of packs as there are races in the Tower. The sooner you ept there is more to life than the circumstances you were forced into, the sooner you will be able to move forward and obtain true happiness..." Though she wanted to protest and argue that Vahn didnt know what he was talking about, Tasha found herself sitting silently as he continued to caress her head. She didnt understand the reasons, but she felt there was a certain surety within his words, almost as if they were an invible truth. He also had a very calm and pleasant aura, and, most importantly, there wasnt even a trace of the foul-smelling pheromones that caused her to disdain and resent most men. Feeling increasingly confused by the current situation, Tasha couldnt help but lightly furrow her brows as she asked, "What are you...?" in an uncharacteristically demure tone. In response, Vahn adopted a slightly amused smile as he retracted his hand from her head and mused, "I am just a God passing through..." --- After calming down Tasha and reaching an agreement with her other twopanions, a Light Elf named Alea Faris and a Red Oni simply named Ohta, Vahn moved on to meet with the final member of the quartet, a Dhampir named Nezera Nyx. Nezera was easily the most troublesome of the four, as, despite a shared hatred towards humans, specifically men, she was the only one who reveled in ughter. Her race also needed fresh blood every few hours just to avoid going into a frenzy, so, as could be expected, they were disdained and feared virtually everywhere within the Tower. Vahn had never been the type to judge someone based on their racial traits. He also had a distinct fondness for Vampires and their descendants so he wasnt against trying to help both Nezera and her people. Unfortunately, though he already suspected as much after learning about her from the Law of Identity, Nezera had absolutely no interest in reforming herself. The only thing Nezera enjoyed more than killing people was tormenting them before they died. She even affirmed that she would rather die than stop killing and tormenting others, so, after failing to reach apromise, Vahn put her on the spot by producing a vial of pale purple liquid that would end her life painlessly. This caused her to hesitate for more than a minute, but, seemingly with the intention to spite him, she ultimately downed the vials contents before spending the final moments of her life smiling viciously back at him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Dont tell the Republicans...(this is a joke btw),The Godhand can no longer be stopped,No ragrets) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1801 Understanding

Chapter 1801 Understanding

Even if she had decided it for herself, Vahns couldnt help feeling slightly annoyed by Nezeras unwillingness topromise. For a brief moment, he even considered using his [Subjugation] skill in order to give her time to reflect and change her views. This was the same as forcing her against her will, however, so Vahn ultimately decided against it. In the end, Vahn decided to cremate Nezeras body using mes infused with Holy and Purification energies. This effectively erased much of her Ego but it also removed any lingering resentment that might influence her fate in the afterlife. He didnt want her to have to suffer for thousands of years in some kind of Netherworld just because she obeyed her instincts so it was the least he could do before sending her off. The Transcendental Path to Heaven actually had a number of Realms where Spirits would reside after death, the most noteworthy being the Divine, Celestial, Mortal, Purgatory, and Netherworld Realms. There were countless others belonging to individual factions, but they were all subsidiary Realms that existed within the Five Major Realms. The most important thing was that the Mortal Realm basically served as a vetting process that determined where you would be sent after death. ording to the Sacred Tome of Prophecy, most Souls were cycled into Purgatory immediately following the death of their physical body. This particr Realm was very simr to a Cultivation World, a ce where a persons individual power could easily elevate them to a level above Gods and Demons. Your status and talent in this world were entirely dependent upon the Karma you had umted during your life so it was important to live a bnced yet meaningful life unless you wanted to be nothing more than a stepping stone on someone elses path. Vahn found this particr iteration of Purgatory rather novel but it was nothingpared to his impression of the Celestial and Netherworld Realms. These ces seemedpletely nonsensical, the former representing a macrocosm of various iterations of Heaven while thetter was a melting pot of countless Realms ruled by beings known as Overlords. As for the Divine Realm, it actually had an entirely separate structure from the other Realms, and, unless you epted an invitation from an entity that already existed there, it was impossible to ess. As fate would have it, the Tower was actually one of the bridges that connected the Mortal Realm to Purgatory. From there, you would have ess to both the Celestial and Netherworld Realms, but, as could be expected, you basically had to die in order to ascend. This wasnt a true death, however, as you would be allowed to keep your memories and any inborn talents you might have possessed. Unfortunately, your status would still be entirely dependent upon the Karma you had umted in life, so, depending on the decisions you had made, you could be reborn into a family that would shun, mistreat, or even kill you for possessing more talent than your betters. Transmigrators were also greatly feared by the various Sects that dominated Purgatory so there was a very real chance your own biological parents might kill you for possessing and killing their child. There were countless examples of Kings, Emperors, and even Gods from the Mortal Realm being killed shortly after transmigrating into Purgatory. Their own knowledge and expectations actually became their downfall, as, the moment they began behaving strangely or revealing knowledge they shouldnt possess, various factions would immediately attempt to eliminate them. Fortunately, even this was not the end of life as death within Purgatory would result in you being sent to the Celestial or Netherworld Realms. Simply put, the Transcendental Path to Heaven had a clearly defined circle of reincarnation and transmigration. The Mortal Realm effectively served as a starting point for the countless lives you would experience after death. This wasnt an exaggeration, either, as there were apparently more than thirty-seven-billion subsidiary Realms within just one cosmological system in a macrocosm containing eighteen parallel multiversal structures. Even the Sacred Tome of Prophecy wasnt able to reveal exactly how many worlds there were as an infinite number were constantly being created and destroyed by beings that regard entire universes as subatomic particles... --- After cremating Nezeras body and taking a few minutes to calm his mind, Vahn teleported near the base of the central inds World Tree. This was where the fifty-nine Regrs he had revived were being kept and monitored. He knew he had to take care of them soon as a few had already tried to wander off numerous times while one particrly bold individual had attempted to carve his initials into the trunk of the World Tree. This resulted in him beingunched away by the World Tree itself, deterring any future attempts to haphazardly approach it. Upon noticing the arrival of the God who had revived them, the majority of the Regr present immediately rose to their feet and attempted to crowd around Vahn. This resulted in a few of them walking face-first into a cushion of air while others were kept at bay by the sudden appearance of Fenrir in her wolf transformation, towering over everyone but still somehow appearing smaller than the man who was barelyrger than her paw. Gesturing for Fenrir to behave, the Vanargandr in question plopped down with her snout near his hand so that he could stroke it as he said, "I know you all have a lot of questions but Im afraid this is where our paths diverge. I have decided that it will drastically reduce the time it takes for each of you to recover by simply erasing your memories of the events leading up to your deaths. After that, you will be released from this ce with materials and supplies that have already been prepared for you. Im certain you can understand how problematic it would be if my ability was to be public knowledge so please ept my decision without any fuss." With Vahn possessing a mystical resort world and the ability to resurrect the dead, more than half of the fifty-nine Regrs attempted to protest his decision. They were grateful for the fact he had saved them but the temptation of being on the same team with a literal God was simply too great. Following him virtually guaranteed they would be able to reach the top of the Tower as they could simply stay in his resort world when things got dangerous and be revived if any idents were to ur. Unfortunately for them, even though quite a number begged and pleaded to be his servants, Vahn had no need for such things. Team Wolf Pack already had enough members toprise four full parties despite the fact they hadnt even reached the 20th Floor. Most of the Tests beyond that point only allowed for Parties between 6~8 people to participate at a time. It was possible to work around this by forming Alliances or simply waiting for stragglers to catch up between Floors, but it was almost inevitable that the team was split into multiple named parties at some point in the near future. Vahn had no intention of forming his own faction before passing the test on the 100th Floor and obtaining the right to rule over a Floor. After that, he would slowly gather the Temtes he would leave behind during his climb, rapidly expanding his influence while developing a power that could directly oppose the Jahad Empire and maintain order within the Middle and Outer Floors. He didnt have any particr requirements for the people that would join his faction but there was simply no sense in recruiting below average Regrs who demonstrated greed in the face of mercy... Since it was never really an option, Vahn ultimately ced the entire group of Regrs into a deep slumber before asking Madara to erase their memories. He could do it himself, but her Mangekyou Sharingan allowed her to peer into a persons mind, read, and erase their memories. She could also use it to cast powerful Genjutsu, but, as he was immune to any techniques that directly affected the mind, Vahn wasnt able to experience them. Only illusions that affected the world around him could bypass the capabilities of his [Eyes of Truth] so he was immune to the Sharingan and the majority of its techniques. Fortunately, none of the Regrs present shared this immunity so it only took a few hours before Madara hadpleted the process. Afterward, the groups were ejected from the Little Garden and deposited at various locations on the 8th Floor. This was a boon Vahn had decided to grant them as pensation for not allowing them to apany Team Wolf Pack up the Tower. He also ced a few essential supplies within their respective Inventories; so, while they were bound to be confused by the fact they had skipped a Floor, they would also be pleasantly surprised when they discovered the free goodies that had seemingly appeared out of thin air... --- With the Regrs being taken care of over the course of several hours, Vahn visited the rooms of the three human-hating women to hear their answers. They were actually fairly powerful, but, most importantly, Ohta and Alea were a Spear Bearer and a Light Bearer respectively. Team Wolf Pack was in need of both if they were to form threeplete Teams so Vahn decided to give them a chance to redeem themselves. Though it might seem a little unfair towards the Regrs he had refused, Vahn couldnt help but empathize with the trios hatred for humans. Ohta had been forced to fight in a Coliseum-like arena after bandits had raided her home vige, killing the men before making sport of the women. As for Alea, she was a former Priestess who ended up earning the fancy of a King during a diplomatic visit. They had been trying to address the growing issue of humans illegally hunting and gathering within Elven territory. Things were going rtively well up until the point that the King requested that Alea be gifted to him as a gesture of good faith between the two nations. This was promptly refused by the delegation, but, not taking no for an answer, the Kingmanded his Knights to massacre the group of envoys before capturing, imprisoning, and attempting to **** Alea. Fortunately, Alea avoided a much worse fate thanks to Headon appearing before her and offering her the opportunity to climb the Tower. He baited her with the promise of freedom and the chance to get revenge on the people who had killed her kinsmen. She immediately epted his terms, but, due to her weakness and beauty working against her, she ended up spending more than two years on the 3rd Floor. This caused her resentment towards humankind to grow exponentially as she was constantly pressured into either bing a prostitute or bing someones woman just for a chance to move further up the Tower. It wasnt until Tasha came along that she was finally given a chance to move up, and, as a result of her growing hatred, her personality had gradually be a little twisted despite her Pure Light Elemental Affinity. Vahn didnt want to be just another negative chapter in the girls rather tragic stories so he decided to give them a chance to turn their lives around. They were far from irredeemable, and, though they hadmitted a number of atrocities, this didnt particrly distinguish them from other Regrs. Rather, they had actually spared a number of people while guarding the 7th Floors Boss Room, the majority being women. As for why they decided to keep and torture the eleven-year-old boy, it was because he a branch member of the Hendo Lok Family, one of the Ten Great Families. Though they didnt even know about the existence of the Ten Great Families prior to climbing the Tower, Tasha, Ohta, and Alea had quickly learned to resent them. The descendants of the Ten Great Families treated the Tower as their yground, and, though she had been seriously injured in a few of her fights, Tashas traits as a werewolf allowed her to heal from most wounds. Her only scar was the one over her left eye, the direct result of offending a pompous member of the Tu Perie Family by refusing to join their party. What made the Hendo Lok Family unique, other than the fact they had the highest inherent Shinsu Resistance among the Ten Great Families, was that their Leader, Hendo Lok Bloodmadder, siphoned the lives of his own offspring to support his Immortality. He had been denied the same Immortality Contract as the other Great Warriors so he ended up agreeing to sacrifice the lifespans of his own progeny just to sustain himself. This guaranteed that his children would live much shorter lives than the average inhabitants of the Tower so they often had to lie about their identities just to be able to marry into other families. Needless to say, there were a lot of stigmas associated with being a descendent of the Hendo Lok Family. It was still one of the Ten Great Families, however, so the offspring were just as strong, if not stronger, than the children of other Great Families. The name also provided a number of benefits to those who were willing to bear it so it wasnt umon for Regrs descending from the Hendo Lok Family to embrace their heritage for the sake of an easier ascent. After all, they had very limited lifespans so they had a very strong drive to ascend the Tower in order to earn a few hundred years for themselves. Vahn pitied the young boy quite a bit, but, due to his heritage, his nature was already twisted even before his encounter with the formerly five-woman group. He ended up killing the partys second Scout, a member of the Tabby Cat tribe who, quite literally, looked like a bipedal cat wearing human clothes. His attack ended up injuring the young feline beyond recognition, so, after eliminating the rest of his party, Tasha turned the severely injured youth over the Nezera with the order to torment him for as long as possible without killing him. As a result, he had been kept in a heavily injured and anemic state for weeks, both as a punishment and a precaution against him recovering enough to threaten them... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I smell something spoiled...,Bunch of leeches xD...,The Cycle of Hatred is fueled by tragedy and loss...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1802 Acceptance

Chapter 1802 eptance

Assuming she was the easiest of the trio to convince, Vahn soon found himself seated across from Alea. She had silvery-white hair and white eyes that made her appear almost like a member of the Arie Family, albeit less monochromatic. As for the rest of her features, she had the characteristically pointed ears you would expect from most Elves, and, though Vahn had met numerous exceptions in his life, she had a lithe body that entuated her natural grace... Though she had returned his greeting upon entry into the room, Alea had been sitting silently with her head lowered ever since Vahn asked her to take a seat. She had the defeated look of someone who had already given up, but, with his ability to see auras, Vahn knew she concealed a powerful resolution deep inside; the type of resolution that allowed a person to tolerate great suffering if it meant they would one day have their revenge. Deciding to shake the woman up a bit, Vahn set aside his teacup before adopting a rxed smile as he said, "Im sorry to disappoint you, Ms. Alea, but I have no intention of harming you. I believe you have the ability to discern this for yourself...instead, you choose to ignore your senses due to your mistaken belief that I am human. Tell me, are there many humans who can resurrect the dead back in Silvaria...?" Hearing mention of her ancestral forest, Alea couldnt resist furrowing her brows before turning her face toward him and asking, "Where did you hear that name...?" Returning a smile in response to the womans growing hostility, Vahn casually exined, "You wille to learn that there are very few secrets I am not privy to. Even if it is something I do not know, I have the means of acquiring all knowledge that exists within the Order of Creation. This includes knowledge pertaining to individuals, their pasts, and even their thoughts...before me, Alea Silvaria von Faris, there are no secrets..." Seeing the mystical glimmer sh across Vahns eyes, Alea instinctually covered her breasts before shrinking within her chair. She suddenly feltpletely exposed in front of the man, the tips of her ears turning slightly redder even as herplexion paled. Realizing he had yet to create an Elven Temte, Vahn made a mental note to ask Hinata to y the part before taking advantage of Aleas momentary vulnerability to add, "I know you are not a bad person. Rather, as a Priestess of White Shrine, your duty has always been to help those in need, not cause harm. Your personal vendetta against the Kingdom of Silmos should not dictate how you treat all humans...you know this better than anyone. If not, you would lie awake and night and even share your rations with someone you are supposed to hate..." Hearing Vahn mention another one of her secrets, Alea began to feel increasingly ufortable within her chair. She even began to suspect he had the means to read her mind, at least until he went on to exin, "Your mother formed an alliance with the other ancient ns to wage war on the Kingdom of Silmos following your disappearance. She suspected King Roas was keeping you captive after receiving a revtion from the Lord of Light that you were still alive. Even now, after the war has already ended, she continues to pray for you each and every day..." Feeling an overwhelming sense of guilt well up inside of her, Alea began to tremble as she hugged her body tightly. She understood from Vahns words that the King who had wronged her was likely dead or imprisoned. The Elves had been at a standstill against the Human Kingdoms for hundreds of years despite being on the defensive. If the ancient ns were to ally together, they could easily wipe a single Kingdom off the map. They only relied on diplomacy with the humans because it was against the teachings of the Lord of Light to resort to violence before making an earnest attempt to settle things peacefully. With her tears literally forming into tiny gemstones that fell into herp, Alea continued to cry for several minutes before looking back at Vahn and asking, "Who are you? How do you know these things...?" Though he was highly interested in the crystalline tears shed from Aleas eyes, Vahn suppressed his curiosity, smiling as he answered, "I am Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor. There are many other titles associated with my existence but I cannot reveal them at this time. If you agree to my earlier proposal, however, I can at least tell you one more..." Remembering that Vahn had given her the option of climbing the Tower alongside the same team that had easily defeated her party, Alea adopted a conflicted expression on her face. She could still remember the painful chill that had pervaded her entire body when Gandr, quite literally, absorbed her into his personal shadow dimension. She was a Light Elf so the very existence of a creature that seemed to beprised of pure darkness terrified her. Understanding Aleas fears, as the Law of Identity was literally voicing her thoughts out loud, Vahn lightly nodded before adopting a guiding tone as he said, "Light, Darkness, Life, Death...these are all a natural part of the world around us. You should never assume others are evil just because of their inborn affinity. You have experienced this for yourself...after all, you possess a very rare Pure Light Elemental Affinity. Despite this, you still ended up giving in to negative emotions and descending down a dark path...good and evil depend on the choices we make and how other people interpret said choices...nothing more, nothing less..." Though it made her tremble to hear Vahn voice an answer in response to her private thoughts, Alea could still see the reasoning within his words. The simple fact of the matter was that her group was responsible for the deaths of dozens of Regrs. Despite this, their lives had been spared, several of their victims had been resurrected, and, most notably, they were being given a second chance to change their ways and continue their climb up the Tower. This made it pretty clear who was in the wrong, so, after several minutes of reflection, Alea ultimately nodded her head, answering, "Ill do it...please allow me to join your team..." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn waited for Alea to raise her head before rising to his feet and exining, "I am on my way to try and convince your formerpanions. Since you have decided to join our team, you will be free to roam around this manor at your leisure. I would advise you to seek out the appointed leader of the team, Khun Aguero Agnis. He will exin everything you need to know as a member of Team Wolf Pack. Afterward, have him escort you to the base of the World Tree. Im certain you will get along with the spirit that dwells within..." Alea was a little troubled when she learned that a member of the Khun Family was in charge of the team, but, after hearing Vahn casually mention the existence of a World Tree, all her doubts flew out the window. If there was truly a World Tree in Vahns possession, it could only mean he was a Divine Spirit or a Guardian God like the Lord of Light. This would also exin the tremendous vitality that was present within the air, nourishing her body and helping her remain calm despite her prior fears and trepidations. Unfortunately, Vahn was long gone by the time she recovered her senses, disappearing in a sh of golden light particles. This left her with little option but to seek out the man named Khun, so, after confirming the door was unlocked, she began roaming through the halls in search of someone who could help her navigate the massive manor... --- As Ohna had already agreed to join based on the premise she would be afforded a rematch against Rak, Vahns second visit was to the girls former leader, Tasha. He was a little surprised to find that she was still sitting in the same ce where he had left her, his mind nking for a moment until the Law of Identity yfully remarked, "You told her to sit and contemte your offer. She is such an obedient girl~." Showing no reaction to the second Tasha that had appeared next to him, Vahn plopped down on the ground in front of the green-eyed woman, smiling wryly as he remarked, "You know, you dont have to take my words so seriously...even if you have already made the decision to join Team Wolf Pack, that doesnt make me your Master or your Alpha. You dont have to obey my orders. In fact, so long as you promise not to indiscriminately kill, I can even let you go free..." Frowning in response to Vahns words, Tasha adopted an aggressive tone as she rebutted, "I wasnt sitting here because you told me to...I was just a little lost in my thoughts..." Seemingly very amused by Tashas response, the Law of Identity floated around behind the woman, snickering yfully as she revealed, "She is embarrased~! Look at the tips of her ears! Hahahaha~!" Though they were hardly visible through her dense and unruly hair, it was possible to see that the tips of Tashas ears had turned red. A simr color had also crept into her cheeks, but, due to her healthy brownplexion and the aggressive look on her face, it was impossible to tell if she was blushing or just flushed from anger. Regardless, it was pretty clear that she was bad at socializing with people; and, due to her tragic upbringing, her personality was very submissive in spite of her aggressive nature... Feeling bad for the unfortunate woman, Vahns expression softened a bit as he reached out his hand to caress the top of her head. She actually tried to preemptively evade his attempts to pet her, but, thanks to his recent breakthroughs in the Laws of Petting, it was very difficult to avoid his hand. She also enjoyed having her head pet by him, so, even if she wanted to resist, there were few things that could outright defy the activation of a Law. It would be like refusing to die after you had been killed, something very few people could actually pull off. Confused by her failed attempt to move away from Vahns palm, Tasha sat with her mouth open for several seconds before adopting a slight pout. She wanted to tell him not to casually pet her head, but, every time the words formed within her mind, the muscles in her throat refused to respond. All she could do was sit silently, clenching her teeth as her ears and tail manifested without her willing them to do so... Though he was tempted to see if he could get the woman to wag her tail, Vahn ultimately retracted his hand after fluffing up Tashas unkempt hair for the better part of a minute. Then, as if he hadnt just been petting her at his leisure, he asked, "So, have you thought about my proposal? Even if you choose to retire to the Middle Tower-" Without waiting for Vahn to restate her options, Tasha ceased clenching her teeth, her expression turning serious as she said, "Ill join your team. I want to see for myself the power of a God. I dont want to be an idle observer without any memories of our meeting and I dont want to give up my power just to live a normal life. Though I might not have had a choice when I was a little girl, this is still me. Im not going to run away from what Ive be. Instead, Ill be better than what someone else tried to make me...!" Hearing the resolution in Tashas tone, Vahn couldnt help but nod his head in approval, smiling as he resisted the urge to pet her head. It would take away from the gravitas of her statement, so, at least for the time being, he did his best to hold back. Unfortunately, the Law of Identity seemed to have developed a fondness for the resolute werewolf, floating around upside down as she happily chimed, "She wants to meet the swordsman who defeated her. She has been thinking about him a whole lot ever since their battle~." Doing his best to ignore the Law of Identitys casual revealing of peoples private thoughts, Vahn slowly rose to his feet before saying, "Very well. From this moment onward, youre a member of Team Wolf Pack. Wee to the team, Tasha..." Seeing Vahns outstretched hand, Tasha half expected him to start petting her again so she was a little slow in reaching out to ept it. This caused her face to warm up once again, and, though she did her best to control it, she couldnt prevent her tail from wagging slightly. Kindness and sincerity were two things she hadnt received in a long time, so, even though it was something as simple as helping her to her feet, Tasha couldnt help but feel a little happy... (A/N: Alternate Titles: All your secret are belong to us,Erofu Neko-chan Hinata (OwO)...,Simple acts of kindness can mean a lot to certain people. Be good to each other. You never know what someone else has gone through...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1803 Developing Passion

Chapter 1803 Developing Passion

With Ohta agreeing to join the party after a resounding defeat at the hands of Rak, Team Wolf Pack officially acquired three new members. This brought their total count, excluding Phae and Ryun, to eighteen members. This included two Light Bearers, three Spear Bearers, four Fisherman, six Scouts, and three Wave Controllers. The only thing they were reallycking at this point was a third Light Bearer, but, with so many powerhouses on the team, it wouldnt be difficult to find someone willing to fill the final position in their three-partyposition. Rather, after the Position Tournament, there were bound to droves of Regrs and Sponsors badgering Team Wolf Pack; the former with the intent to join, thetter with the intent to try and poach talent. Fortunately, even if they offered something like an entire Floor, the odds of any individual member of Team Wolf Pack betraying the group were negligible at best. The team might split up into three separate parties at some point, but their sense of unity as members of the same Familia, all united towards amon goal, couldnt be broken so easily... --- With Ryun leading the way, it only took a total of neen days for Team Wolf Pack to clear the 8th and 9th Floors. This was two days faster than anticipated, but, due to the incident on the 7th Floor, it was also two days slower than they could have been. This was a remarkable pace so Vahn decided to reward the group by allowing them an extended vacation within the Little Garden as he explored the 10th Floor personally. Unlike the dark and dreary Labyrinth linking together the previous Floors, the 10th Floor, somewhat surprisingly, opened up in a rural countryside filled with rolling green hills,rge forests, and distant mountains. It was a stark contrast to some of the earlier Floors, and, if not for the massive Suspend Ships floating aroundzily in the sky, Vahn could have been convinced he had wandered into an entirely different Record. After admiring the rather scenic view for several minutes, Vahn quickly made his way towards what appeared to be a small vige in the distance. There were several other viges visible towards the horizon but this one, in particr, had a number of Suspend Ships floating above it. Since there was no way for a Regr to afford such a vehicle, it was safe to assume that the area was an important gathering hub or a location where the Test Administration had a strong presence. Surprisingly, the vige didnt have anything resembling defensive walls, customs officials, or border guards so Vahn was able to trespass unobstructedly until a group of three, each wearing matching badges, called out to him. Rather than Test Administration badges, however, they wore an emblem simr to a shield with three swords crossed at the front. Seemingly the leader of the trio, a rather handsome young man with pale blue eyes and brown hair tied up into a loose ponytail was the first to step out, asking, "Did you just arrive on the 10th Floor? I noticed you didnt have anypanions with you. Tell me, what is your Position? Were currently recruiting Wave Controllers and skilled Fishermen for the uing Position Tournament." Though he was slightly disappointed that the trio hadnte seeking trouble, Vahn returned a polite smile towards the man who had failed to introduce himself, saying, "You are correct in your assumption. However, I am not trying to join any Teams right now, Sponsored or otherwise. Thank you for your consideration, but Im afraid Ill have to pass." Rather than take offense, the ponytailed man just responded with a light chuckle before shrugging his shoulders and saying, "Well, everyone is allowed to make their own decisions. Good luck in the uing tournament. If you havent already, you can sign up with the Test Administrators near the central za. They are also selling tickets to ride the Suspend Ships directly to the Coliseum City. If you cant afford one, make sure you join one of the caravans heading out in the next few days." With those parting words of advice, the man promptly departed alongside his friends, thetter two offering curt nods in passing. This left a positive impression on Vahn, so, without the trio realizing it, he ced effigies into their pockets as a gesture of gratitude. It was pretty rare to encounter helpful people within the Tower so he feltpelled to reward the trio before making his way towards the central za... --- After forking over 200,000 Points for registration and an additional 150,000 for a First-ss suite on thergest Suspend Ship, Vahn found himself in an excessively extravagant cabin where one of the walls was actually arge aquarium filled with alien-looking Shinheuh. There was also a fully stocked kitchen, three guest rooms, arge bath, a minibar, and, most notably, a master bedroom that was furnished with a private jacuzzi. Since the Children were enjoying their time in the Little Garden, Vahn decided to make the most of the three days it would take them to arrive at the Coliseum City. With this in mind, he pulled out the Little Garden before promptly summoning Fenrir to his side. This caught her a little by surprise, but, rather thanin, she adopted an excited smile when he hugged her from behind, palms on her taut yet impably soft abdomen as he asked, "Will you stay with me...?" in a soft tone. Though she had been a little busy drafting lesson ns for her growing number of students, the thought of refusing her Masters request never even crossed Fenrirs mind. Instead, she leaned back against his chest, paws covering his hands as she turned her face up and answered in a husky tone, "Always and forever...". This caused a fervent glow to appear in her Masters eyes, his lips moving down to meet hers as his hands moved up to invade her blouse... --- While Vahn was enjoying an extended frolick in the jacuzzi, a rtively simr yet decidedly more awkward scene was taking ce within the Little Garden. Endorsi had dragged Gandr off to enjoy a private bath afterining about the fact that she was always being seen naked by him during their intermittent massage sessions. She argued that it was only fair that she be able to see him naked whenever she wanted; so, after failing to deter her, Gandr found himself smiling awkwardly as Endorsi stared nkly at hisid 18cm... After swallowing audibly, Endorsi managed to tear her eyes away from the disproportionatelyrge appendage, a nervous smile spreading across her face as she looked up at Gandr and asked, "Can I touch it...?" Since they had alreadye this far, Gandr decided to just go with the flow, nodding in affirmation before suggesting, "You can also try putting it between your breasts. Guys like that sort of thing. Im no exception..." Swallowing a second time, Endorsi grabbed her perky, pale-white, breasts with both hands as she seemed to seriously consider the proposal. She didnt have thergest breasts, but they were very shapely and remarkably soft. Gandr had massaged them quite a bit during their massage sessions, so, while she wished they would grow as big as Phaes, Endorsi was pretty confident that she could pull it off. Shaking her head, Endorsi decided to postpone that until a littleter. Instead, she reached down with her right hand, poking the sleeping member with her index finger as she asked, "Why is it still soft? Are you not excited to be sharing a bath with one of the most beautiful girls in the Tower...?" In response to Endorsis inquiry, Gandr just lightly chuckled before allowing himself to be fully erect as he exined, "I have full control over my body. If I didnt, I would probably spend half the day pitching a tent thanks to your incessant behavior." Since she was too distracted by the offending member pointing directly at her face, Endorsi didnt hear Gandrs rather rude remark. There were more important things on her mind, chief among them being the heat spreading through her body and the fluttery sensation that tickled her most delicate region. She suddenly felt a palpable itch deep inside of her, an itch that could only be scratched by something long and hard... Contrasting her growing urges, Endorsi promptly closed her thighs as she leaned forward to grab Gandrs surprisingly hot member. At this point, she was no longer hearing anything he was saying. Instead, she was fully focused on the sensations transmitted through her hands as a powerful and intoxicating aroma invaded her olfactory senses before soaking into her mind like a sponge. At the same time, a pink gradient began to spread through her ghostly yellow irises as she licked her lips and lowered her head... Though he was a little surprised by Endorsis sudden attempt to fete him, Gandr was even more surprised when she began to suck his ns with an ungodly amount of pressure. He even entered the State of Nothingness by pure instinct, startling the woman back into awareness andpelling her to huffily inquire, "Whats the big idea? Shouldnt you be happy that your girlfriend is willing to suck you off?" Returning to his corporeal form, Gandr released an exasperated sigh before saying, "You cant just suck on the tip like that. You can literally injure the head or cause it to swell up and burst with that kind of suction. I might be able to recover, but Id rather not have my ns exploded just because youre feeling experimental..." Visualizing the scene Gandr had described, Endorsi paled noticeably before adopting an apologetic look that quickly turned into a pout as she muttered, "Fine...teach me what I need to do...Ill master it quickly..." Though it was a strange thing for her to get fired up about, Gandr wasnt going to refuse Endorsis request for guidance. Things were progressing faster than he would have liked, but, after talking it over with his Master, he realized he had been stressing over nothing. There wasnt really anything he could do about the jealousy of others, and, even if he refused to be Endorsis boyfriend, it wasnt like she would give the others a chance. She was a very determined and possessive woman, so, rather than simply move on, it was far more likely that she would resent the others for getting in her way. By dating her early on, Gandr could nip a lot of future problems in the bud since Endorsi, despite behaving like a spoiled princess, actually listened to his advice. This was a stark contrast to the act she put on around others, the result of her need to at least appear to be in control. Behind closed doors, however, she could be surprisingly bashful, and, when pushed, quickly got dragged along by his momentum. This created a pretty substantial gap in her personality, one Gandr had be increasingly fond of with the passage of time... Unaware of Gandrs thoughts, Endorsi had a somewhat distant look in her eyes as she struggled to ept his length into her mouth. She allowed him to guide her motion while she instinctually took notice of all his weak spots. At the same time, her thighs had parted slightly, and, though it did little to resolve the growing itch, it didnt stop her from fiddling with her hooded bean and probing the perfectly symmetrical folds beneath. This drastically increased the number of pheromones released by her body; and, if not for her resolve to make their first time more meaningful, Endorsi might not have been able to stop herself from impaling her body onto Gandrs pulsating meat rod... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Not everything is a trope...or is it...!?,Always and forever~,Endorsi is on the verge of an awakening (O ^ O)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1804 Preparations : Onse

Chapter 1804 Preparations : Onse

With the Position Tournament only taking ce every six months,bined with the fact only the top 10% were allowed to advance to the next Floor, it was no surprise that hundreds of thousands of Regrs had gathered to participate in the bi-annual event. Because of this, there were actually two parts to the Position Tournament: the Elimination Competition and the Seeded Tournament. Though tens-of-thousands of Regrs would pass through the Elimination Competition, earning their right to advance to the next Floor, only the top thirty-two in each Position would be able to advance to the Seeded Tournament. This was the main reason people were eager to form strong teams for the Elimination Competition, as, with very few exceptions, the seeds were chosen from amongst the thirty-two parties who scored the most points during the preliminary event. Fortunately, individual Regrs could alsopete in the Elimination Competition so Vahn had the option of going solo or forming a party with Phae while the rest of Team Wolf Pack was divided into three rtively bnced groups. In the end, it really didnt matter all that much; so, while everyone else was making their preparations, Vahn spent the week leading up to thepetition wandering around the Coliseum City. He even took Ryun on a date at one point, an event that seemed to have left a deep impression on the redheaded beauty if the passion she demonstrated after the fact was any indicator. Now, with less than a day before the Position Tournament, Vahn found himself perched atop the head of a massive stone dragon as he watched the hustle and bustle of the city below. He enjoyed watching people go about their daily lives, and, though the conditions in the Towerpelled the residents to behave strangely, seeing so many people walk around with serious and resolute looks on their faces was rather inspiring. Everyone moved around with a sense of purpose, and, though their reasons might be derived from selfish desire, their convictions weremendable... Picking up the ck cat that was nestled in hisp, Vahn brought his face close to its snout as he mused, "Its almost time for your debut. Are you excited~?" Though she couldnt deny that she was more than a little excited, Yoruichi responded to Vahns question with a long and exaggerated yawn before answering, "Dont worry. Ill make sure to put on a shy performance. Still, Id rather we get a move on and hurry up the Tower. Im getting tired of bullying the brats and training with the same people every day. I want to fight a real opponent. Ive even considered letting you knock me up just so I have something to upy my time." Imagining the scene of a pregnant Yoruichi, Vahn felt a strange sense of incongruency within his mind since she didnt exactly strike him as the motherly type. Rather, her kid was bound to be even more rambunctious than she was... Interrupting Vahns thoughts, Yoruichi curled up her back paws to use his face as a springboard for a feline backflip. She didnt know exactly what he was thinking but her womens intuition told her it was something very rude. Chuckling lightly in response to Yoruichis antics, Vahn slowly rose to his feet before extending his hand so she could deftly transition to his shoulder. Then, while scratching behind her ears in just the way she liked, he softly muttered, "Im sure you would be a great mother..." Giving Vahn the kind of look that was reserved for unrted people looking at mental patients, Yoruichi inly remarked, "Youre an idiot. I was just joking when I said that. Seriously, you think I want topete with my own brat for affection? Maybe in a few hundred years, sure, but not right now." Though he suspected she was just joking about, Vahn was still at a loss for words in response to Yoruichis rebuttal. Fortunately, she didnt really seem to take his words to heart, following her own by licking the ridge of his ear before rubbing along the back of his head as she transitioned to his opposite shoulder. Then, with the side of her head rubbing against the fringe near his sideburns, she added, "You should only worry about spoiling me and finding strong opponents to beat up. Im a simple woman. Give me headpats and something to punch and Ill be happy." Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn promptly retrieved Yoruichi from his shoulders, holding her to his chest as he reclined against the stone dragons back. Then, for the better part of an hour, the only thing he focused on was stroking and caressing the pampered cat until her purring could be heard near street level... --- With the Elimination Competition only a few hours away, Khun was discussing various battle ns with Shibisu and Gandr. They had been selected as the leaders of the other parties, and, for thest week, they were gathering as much information as possible pertaining to past Tournaments. Though there were rare cases where the event would be somethingpletely different, the vast majority of preliminary events were, as the name implied, Team Deathmatches. This was necessary to keep the poption of the 10th Floor under control, but, fortunately, there was no requirement that you actually kill your opponent. Everyone was given a saucer-sized badge they were required to wear on their chest, back, or shoulder. If this badge was destroyed, you would immediately be teleported outside of the participation grounds. Khuns n was to have all three parties rejoin each other as soon as possible. From there, they would establish a defensive line against other attacking Regrs before sending the Fishermen and Scouts off to attack with the support of the Lighthouses. Since the only real benefits forpeting in the Seeded Tournament were name recognition and bonus Points, Khun had little interest in trying to secure the teams participation. His main objective was ensuring that everyone passed together, so, before anyone could run off to try and ensure their participation in the main event, he wanted to secure a defensive position to protect the entire team. Though the more fiery members of the group didntpletely agree with Khuns n, they knew it was the best way to guarantee everyone advanced to the next Floor. He had also promised them a chance to go around and eliminate other teams after the fact so they couldnt really argue against his decision. Instead, they joked about the possibility of facing off against each other in the Seeded Tournament, an event Gandr, Endorsi, and Phae were all but guaranteed to win for their respective Positions... --- Without bothering to return to Team Wolf Packs lodgings, Vahn spent the remainder of his day exploring the city and watching various teams prepare for thepetition. He, alongside every other participating Regr, would be teleported to the participation grounds the moment the Elimination Competition began. Vahn had ultimately decided he would be participating in the event alone so he believed it was for the best that he give Team Wolf Pack as much space as possible leading up to thepetition. This was to allow Khun the opportunity to flex his leadership abilities, as, soon enough, he would be the only voice of authority within the team. Yoruichi wasnt the only one of his Temtes itching for a fight so Vahn had already been making preparations to part ways with Team Wolf Pack. He couldnt continue babysitting them forever, and, thanks to the Law of Identity, he knew just how much further he needed to go in order to reach the pinnacle of existence. Thus, even if it was earlier than he anticipated, Vahn was considering pushing them from the nest so they could finally spread their wings and fly. Though he wasrgely to me, Vahn had noticed that Team Wolf Pack was gradually bing more and more dependent on the conveniences he provided. Some of them were even beginning to ck off in their training, so, before the problem could get out of hand, he wanted to push them towards independence. Fortunately, Khun was a very perceptive young man so it only took a few hints from Phae for him to realize they would soon be forced to fend for themselves. From that moment onward, he redoubled his efforts to learn as much as possible from Phae while also taking a far more proactive approach to leading Team Wolf Pack. This involved establishing a loose chain of authority with himself, Gandr, and Shibisu as the representatives and decision-makers for each party. He had also been doing his best to umte as much Loyalty as possible by epting various F~E-Rank Quests that allowed him to stockpile a few hundred points in a rtively short period of time. Vahn knew what Khun had in mind for his Loyalty but he had never been the type to judge people when it came to matters of the heart and personal preference. His rtionship with Da Vinci made him pretty open to most things, so, even if Khun asked to be converted into a woman, he wasnt going to criticize him. Rather, after seeing the life Rachel had been living in the Realm, Vahn felt it would be for the best if Baam moved on with someone else... Unsurprisingly, Rachel hadnt been able to find true happiness even after being able to observe the stars at her leisure. She was a very needy and petnt woman who liked toin about fairness whenever she wasnt allowed to have her way. There was even a period where she tried to convince people in the virtual world that she was his secret lover, behavior that immediately got her gged and subsequently soft-banned from the social hub. If the only problem was her incurable narcissism, Vahn wouldnt have cared all that much about how Rachel chose to live within the Realm. What really annoyed him was her audacity toin about the Companion she had been given, whining about how it wouldnt properly obey her. She was the type of woman who didnt want to do anything herself, so, despite being told it wasnt her servant, she was constantly trying to make her Companion perform every menial and mundane task she didnt feel like doing herself. This led to her residence bing a veritable pigsty before Vahn finally sent someone to clean it up, yet another opportunity Rachel attempted to take advantage of by demanding that she be given a caretaker. What made all of this exponentially worse was the fact that time within the Realm moved at a rate of 1:10 in rtion to the Record. This meant ten days in the Tower equated to only one day back in the Realm. The only exception was when Vahn entered the Realm directly, stopping the flow of time in the outside world so he could spend some quality time with his family, friends, and loved ones. Simply put, all of the problems caused by Rachel had urred over a rtively short period of time. She had even managed to annoy the Homunculus he had assigned to help her adapt to life within the Realm, a udable feat considering the average Einzbern Homunculus had an extreme level of tolerance. They could even lose limbs or suffer abuse without so much as flinching but Rachel had still managed to annoy the woman to the point that Vahn feltpelled topensate her after the fact. Fortunately, proving that he only really cared about her during specific moments, Baam had yet to request a single meeting with Rachel. Most of his time was spent training, hanging out with friends, and, most notably, spending time with Rak and Khun. His rtionship with thetter was especially close, and, though he didnt have any romantic feelings toward Khun, it wasnt difficult to imagine Baam falling for her after his change. Khun seemed to care about Baam to the point that he was willing toy his life down for the boy so it was only a matter of time before their friendship turned into something greater. While imagining how Khun would appear as a lithe woman with pale blue hair and electric-blue eyes, Vahn sensed the Space around him begin to distort as the countdown on his Pocket reached 00:00. Immediately after that, he found himself standing in the middle of a massive battlefield that looked like it had been host to countless wars. There were even a number ofrge craters where the Shinsu of past attacks still circted destructively. Catching an emerald-green spear that had been aimed towards his head, Vahn promptly shattered it using raw physical strength before turning to his group of assants with a smile. This caused the Light Bearer of the group to quickly shout out a number ofmands to his party; but, before she could so much as direct the Fisherman to attack, a ck cat veiled in vibrant blue lightning zipped between each of them, destroying the badges of five Regrs before sending the Spear Bearer in their group flying with a not-so-gentle tail smack... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Yoruichi be like, "Nah, fam, that aint me...",Does this count as christening a ship...?,Hes lucky she didnt hit him with her panted Billion-Volt Neko-Paw Punch (OwO)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1805 Imminent Danger

Chapter 1805 Imminent Danger

With the intention of hastening his climb up the Tower in the near future, Vahn decided to use the Elimination Competition and Seeded Tournament as an opportunity for Yoruichi and his Pokemon to gain some experience. He had Latias and Latios act as Scouts, taking advantage of their ability to turn invisible and phase through objects, while Yoruichi took on the role of a Fisherman to eliminate any enemies they encountered. At the same time, Xerneas and Kyrie followed close beside him, the formermanding several Lighthouses while thetter continued to increase the concentration of Shinsu to the point that it was beginning to appear like they were the eye of a hurricane. Though she could willfully disable it, Kyries mere presence had the effect of causing a downpour in her immediate surroundings. Massive rainclouds forms overheard, and, with the gentle swaying of her oversized sleeves, a pressure vortex was generated in the sky overhead. As for the rain released, it was actually concentrated Shinsu so it wasnt long before the weaker Regrs participating in the preliminaries were forced to quit just because they could no longer bear the increased pressure. As for the stronger participants, specifically Wave Controllers, they had the opportunity to experience a drastic increase in the power of their Waves while the rest experienced a notable increase in their ability to use Enhancement. Seeing the spectacle overhead, Vahn couldnt help but be impressed by Kyries awesome power, even as he manipted the Shinsu in the surroundings to generate an equally impressive barrier formed from golden light. This made them stand out quite a bit since it was just after midnight so Yoruichi had plenty of opponents to face, her figure shing like a sapient bolt of lightning as she dashed through the darkness and made short work of any Regrs who wandered too close. It was an extreme example of overkill, but, considering he was using the 10th Floor as a tform to show off their strength, Vahn didnt mind so long as she didnt go overboard... --- Though he had received a forewarning from Phae, Khun was just as surprised as the rest of Team Wolf Pack when he saw the massive storm front forming over the battlefield. There was something about seeing a hurricane form that resonated with a persons most primal instincts, inspiring both awe and fear in equal measure. The fact someone couldmand such a force was truly terrifying, and, though it might not be as scary as the annual demonstrations performed by his father, Khun couldnt help but tremble at the thought of Vahns future power. Shaking his head, Khun turned to the members of his current party: Baam, Rak, Serra, Hatsu, and Tasha. They werent the strongest members of Team Wolf Pack but they were a very well-bnced group that covered all the Positionspetently. The only troublesome elements were Serra and Tasha, the former due to being a battle junkie while thetter had problems following the orders of people she didnt acknowledge. Fortunately, Serra wasntpletely uncooperative, and, so long as Hatsu was around, Tasha fulfilled her duties responsibly. With all eyes focused on him, Khun adopted a practiced smile as he said, "Well go with the basic piercing formation. Tasha and Hatsu will take point to map as much of the terrain as possible using their Observers. If an enemy appears, Serra will be our primarybatant while Rak supports from long range. Baam and I will coordinate to repel any enemies that try to break through or formation and target the Lighthouse. Remember, our primary goal is to reunite with everyone else, not attack enemies. There will be plenty of time to fight once weve established our defensive line. Until then, I need everyones full cooperation. No mistakes." Though she wasnt fond of taking orders from Khun, Tasha merely snorted through her nose before transforming into her half-wolf form. This time, however, her clothes didnt tear apart. Instead, they easily adapted to the shape of her body to give her an appearance simr to a bipedal wolf d in form-fitting scale armor. Then, with two Observers that looked like insectoid spheres with four wings, she took off into the descending gloom alongside Hatsu. Seeing the duo venture outward without argument, Khun breathed a sigh of relief before smiling at his remainingrades and saying, "Well, lets not fall too far behind..." in ackadaisical tone. --- Staring up at the darkening sky above, Gandr couldnt shake the feeling his Master was about to do something excessive. He could vividly imagine the entire battlefield bing a flooded in in the very near future. Before that happened, they needed to reunite with the rest of Team Wolf Pack; so, with a determined look in his eyes, he passed his gaze over Endorsi, Anak, Jung, Chunhwa, and Nare as he said, "We need to hurry. Master seems unwilling to wait an entire month for the preliminaries to end. At this rate, we might not even have a few days before this entire region is submerged..." Though it was a little difficult to imagine, none of Gandrs party members doubted the veracity of his im. Even Jung had started to believe that Vahn was a genuine God, and, though she still had her sights set firmly on Gandr, receiving headpats from the former now made her feel a little giddy. As for Endorsi, Anak, Chunhwa, and Nare, they had already been convinced as early as the Floor of Tests, back when Vahn seemed to be in absolute control despite rarely leaving his room. Being the most vocal member of the group, excluding Jung when she was excited, Endorsi stood with her arms crossed, propping up her breasts as she asked, "Do you have any idea where Khuns and Shibisus Parties might be? I dont think your sense of smell will do any good if there is no trail for you to follow." In response to Endorsis question, Gandr pulled out a ring very simr to the ones they had received from Director Yu prior to leaving the Floor of Tests. The former iteration had been a tracking device that ignored the standard limitations of the Inner Tower and allowed people in the Middle Tower to track the owners without their knowledge. This functionality had been reverse-engineered by Phae, so, while it could be considered cheating, the fact such devices even existed was more than enough reason to simply disregard the rules of the Inner Tower. After exining the functionality of the ring, Gandr relented to cing it on Endorsis ring finger before directing the group to move towards the nearest signal. They didnt know how big the actual battlefield was, only that it would steadily shrink over the duration of a month. Thanks to a massive barrier of Shinsu that surrounded the entire battlefield, the water produced by Kyrie had no ce to go. Rather, as time passed, the water level would continue to increase so they needed to quickly secure a region of high ground near the center of the battlefield if they wanted to avoid spending the final moments of thepetition sheltering within a Lighthouse... --- Wearing a simr ring to the one Gandr had bestowed Endorsi, something thetter was bound to take exception to, Shibisu walked at the very center of his group alongside Alea. As for the rest of his party,prised of Ohta, Aleksai, Laure, and Yun-Yun, they formed a loose perimeter around him as everyone moved in towards the direction of the strongest signal. Their group specialized in long-range attacks and defense, so, while they moved the slowest of the three, their offensive and defensive might allowed them to eliminate several parties who attempted to ambush them. Fortunately, though they would normally spend most of their time sleeping, both Laure and Yun-Yun were showing uncharacteristic levels of motivation. They both levitated at the nks in their respective beddings, the former erecting a dense barrier around the entire group while thetter had numerous spheres of pink Shinsu orbiting around her. Yun-Yuns Quality, simr to Baams, allowed her to form stable spheres of Shinsu that required considerably less effort to maintain than usual. This,bined with the methods taught by Vahn, Fenrir, and Madara allowed her to generate far more Baangs than a normal Regr. To make her even more of a monster, she could increase the tension of the spheres until they were several times more powerful without requiring any additional Shinsu. This effectively made her a floating artillery tform, and, though her defensive capabilities were significantly lower than Laures, her offensive capabilities ced her near the peak of Team Wolf Pack. Demonstrating just how ridiculous her power was, Yun-Yun released a volley of five swirling pink pirs of Shinsu towards arge rock formation where Alea had detected several Regrs. These pirs tore through the terrain like a high pressured water-jet cutter, devastating the terrain, and forcing the group out of hiding. If she had wanted to, she could have eliminated the entire group in an instant, but, unless their hands were forced, the members of Team Wolf Pack had been asked to avoid killing as much as possible. With the enemies exposed, Ohta and Aleksai began to bombard the groups position with spears rippling with electrical energy. This was a prettymon phenomenon when Shinsu was infused into an object, but, while the effects seemed simr, this time the lightning was the direct result of an Ability that was inherent to the weapons: paralysis. Spears werent exactly ideal for knocking out an opponent without severely injuring or even cripple them so they had both been given weapons capable of paralyzing a target even with a grazing blow. Like the many teams who hade before them, the unfortunate group of Regrs was quickly dispatched by the overwhelming firepower of Team Wolf Pack. This left Ohta feeling annoyed, as she wanted to face strong opponents, but Shibisu kept her from going on a rampage by casually remarking, "You will have plenty of strong opponents to face during the Seeded Tournament. Rak, Aleksai, and Ran will also be participating so dont do anything that wouldpromise your own participation." Though she hated taking orders even more than Tasha, Ohta simply clicked her tongue in response to Shibisus words before shouldering her spear. She knew she was one of the weaker members of Team Wolf Pack so there was no honor to be found in looking down upon and ridiculing someone who specialized in using their head. If she were to try and bully the weaker members of the team, it wouldnt be long before she was either bullied or outright expelled from the group. Since even the thought of having her memory erased was unpleasant, Ohta decided to just tough it out in order to see just how far their so-called God was able to go. Vahns power was something iprehensible to her, but, most importantly, he had provided her with the opportunity to grow stronger. This was something she could appreciate, so, while she had trouble believing he was an actual God, she still feared and respected him quite a bit. Seeing Ohta rein herself in, Shibisu nodded approvingly before giving the order to press forward. He knew they were working with limited time, so, before the water level could begin to increase, he was determined to find a suitable location to protect. Regrouping with the other parties was only a secondary concern at this point, as,pared to the other two, his party was the least mobile. This made it a lot easier for Khuns and Gandrs parties to find theirs; so, while he continued to guide his team towards the nearest signal, Shibisus primary concern was finding a ce to shelter from the intensifying rain... --- With the preliminaries limiting the number of participants on any given team to six, the final two members of Team Wolf Pack; Ran and Yihwa, had been paired with Phae. The former was the type of person who treated virtually everyone as troublesome so he needed a parental figure to keep him in line. As for thetter, she was currently incapable of controlling her mes; so, to avoid any idents from urring, Phae had decided to watch over both Yihwa and Ran for the remainder of thepetition. Fortunately, even as a party of three, the trio of Phae, Yihwa, and Ran were rather monstrous. They were able to zip around high above the battlefield thanks to Phaes Lighthouse, and, though she might not be able to control them properly, Yihwa was able to wipe out entire groups of Regrs with a single fiery Baang of Shinsu. As for Ran, he dual-specialized as both a Fisherman and a Spear Bearer, but, for the sake of thepetition, he had decided to go all out by assuming thetter. He was a descendent of the God of Spear Bearers, after all, so, much like Khun, he had an innate talent when it came to wielding and throwing spears. With Ran having tired himself out due to overtaxing his Shinsu reserves, Phae was allowing the duo to rest within the confines of her invisible Lighthouse as she systematically mapped the region. She was trying to locate the exact center of the battlefield, as, much like everyone else, she had already realized that Vahn was about to do something drastic. This gave her a strong desire to chastise him the next time they met, but, for the time being, she was more concerned with ensuring the sess of Team Wolf Pack. With this in mind, she gradually made her way towards the location of Shibisus Party, fully expecting them to try and hunker down in what might not be the most ideal location... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "I AM THE DANGER...!!!",Everyone is working hard~!,TFW even extensions of yourself think you are going overboard...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1806 Rising Tide

Chapter 1806 Rising Tide

With several centimeters of water already coating the lower-lying regions of the battlefield, Vahn had Kyrie transform into her true form, a ten-meter long whale-like creature with a sleek blue coat, a white underbelly, and two wing-like pectoral fins with four ivory white fingers. She also had two angr dorsal fins running parallel along her back, but her most notable feature was the intricate, vibrant red, runes covering much of her body. Vahn actually thought Kyries true form was pretty cool, and, though it made his bottom wet, he enjoyed riding on her back as she gracefully meandered through the intensifying storm, the waters below following after her. She was both majestic and terrifying, so much so that they had yet to be attacked by a single additional party ever since she transformed. Having grown bored with fighting against weaklings who couldnt even react to her speed, Yoruichi retired to the interior of Vahns shirt to remain dry and stay warm. As for Latias, Latios, and Xerneas, the twins were having a st flying around at high speeds through the intensifying storm while thetter was sitting quietly at Vahns side with her hands neatly folded across herp. Everything about her gave off the impression of extreme yet natural grace, and, though the winds had been gradually picking up, not even a single strand of Xerneas hair was out of ce as she radiated the bearing of a goddess. Since Xerneas crown made it a little hard to pet her, Vahn settled on cradling Yoruichi with his left hand while absentmindedly stroking the smooth and glossy hide of Kyrie with his right. He enjoyed the sensation of being able to send waves offort throughout thetters entire body with just a minimal level of contact. It was a very strange and mesmerizing sensation, one thatpelled him to continue pushing his mastery over the Law of Petting to the extreme. Releasing a sonorous high-pitched whine, Kyries elevation began to decrease as a desire to just curl up and take a nap welled up inside of her. This caused Vahn to issue a chuckle, but, rather than stop her, he just guided her tond near the summit of a mountain. Latios had found a cave system with two groups of Regrs huddled up around a small bonfire. Though it was more than a little unfair to them, Vahn decided he would give them a simple test of principles to determine whether or not he would allow them to continue hiding or eliminate them from thepetition. With this in mind, he had Kyrie return to her human form while Xerneas kept watch from within her Lighthouse. Then, with the former curled up in his embrace as he carried her like a princess, Vahn walked into the interior of the cave. Having already detected Vahns arrival using their Observers and Lighthouses, the group of nine Regrs quickly assumed a battle formation with two Fisherman at the front, a lone Scout nking from the side, three Spear Bearers taking up the rear, and two Light Bearers protected by a single Wave Controller representing the center of the formation. There was a pretty healthy mix of males and females within the group, five of the former and four of thetter, so Vahn had high hopes they were either a teamprised of couples or, at the very least, managed to avoid the usual pitfalls of a group of Regrs with females in their group. Seeing an inordinately handsome man enter the cavern carrying what could best be described as an exotic beauty, the nine didnt immediately attack. Instead, the presumed leader of the group, a girl who appeared to be in herte teens, called out, "Who are you!? Where is the rest of your party!? If you dont answer, we will be forced to attack...!!" With his impression of the team immediately improving, a rxed smile spread across Vahns face as he briefly scanned all nine members. Only the men disyed any real hostility toward him, but, considering he was a handsome man with a beautiful woman in his arms, that was pretty normal. Replying to the purple-haired womans words, Vahn maintained his rxed smile as he answered, "My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor. I have decided to let mypanion rest for a short while before we return to the battlefield. Since you didnt immediately attack, I have decided to spare your team from elimination. So long as you remain in this cave for the next three days, you will be able to advance without issue." Hearing the mans response, the presumed leader of the team looked at him like he was some kind of idiot. She thought he hadpletely lost his marbles, but, seeing how calm he was in the face of beingpletely surrounded, she knew it would be dangerous to underestimate him. It wasnt rare for Regrs to be cocky but very few could pull off appearing calm whilepletely outnumbered. Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, the woman gestured for her team to back down but stay alert as she asked, "What are your intentions? Are you trying to rest within this cave? If so, you will need to stay on the far wall...even if you have no malicious intentions, we cant exactly trust you during this kind ofpetition..." Smiling back at the woman, Vahn allowed Kyrie to stand on her own two feet, patting her head as he replied, "Thats understandable. Still, Id prefer it if you let me join you so that I might listen to your stories. Depending on your reasons for climbing the Tower, I may reward your efforts...besides, you arent exactly in a position to simply force me to sit obediently at the side..." Punctuating his words, Vahn allowed his aura to spread through therge cavern like an explosive shockwave. This forced most of the Regrs to take several steps back, and, by the time they had recovered, Kyrie had already returned to her true form, now appearing muchrger due to the fact they were inside confined quarters. Seeing the massive Shinheuh that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, many of the Regrs present felt a sudden sent of helplessness as they realized the only exit was now blocked. To make matters even worse, the man standing beneath the whale-like creature still had a rxed smile on his face despite the fact he was releasing an aura that greatly eclipsed his beast. Before anyone in the group could attack him out of desperation, Vahn gestured for Kyrie to bring her snout near him so he could caress her head as he casually exined, "As I stated previously, I have already decided to spare you from elimination. Now, how about we all take it easy and have a nice, long, chat around the bonfire~?" --- After several hours of searching for each other, Gandrs and Shibisus parties had reunited near the ruins of an ancient fortress. It wasnt exactly weathertight, but, after clearing out the teams that had upied it, they managed to shore up the defenses and form a tight perimeter using a few marble-sized Observers that could be adhered to walls. These were devices that supplemented the use of normal Observers and Lighthouses, effectively removing blind spots whenever static defenses were concerned. Monitoring their surroundings using Yun-Yuns Lighthouse, Shibisu couldnt help but remark, "Man, Vahn really doesnt know how to hold back. The water level is rising a little faster with each passing hour. At this rate, this entire battlefield is going to be turned into one giantke within the week..." Shaking his head, Gandr refuted Shibisus im with a bolder one, asserting, "No. This is the effect of Kyries Innate ability, Drizzle. Unless she willfully deactivates it, the intensity of the storm outside will increase without limit. Its hard to be certain, but I would argue we have around three days...less if we want to earn enough points to qualify for the Seeded Tournament. Hopefully, Phae will return with Khuns party soon or well need to start taking more proactive measures on our own..." Hearing Gandrs remark, the ears of Endorsi, Anak, and Jung all perked up as the shortest of the trio bounced to her feet and eximed, "I want to go out and y! Lets go, Gan-chan~!" in an excited tone. In response, Endorsi lightly snorted, crossing her arms with an amused smile as she remarked, "You can go y with yourself, brat. If Gandr is going to take anyone, its going to be me. Isnt that right, Fluffy-Butt~?" Though he wasnt too surprised that the trio had been listening in on his conversation with Shibisu, Gandr couldnt help but release an exasperated sigh as he saw, not just Endorsi and Jung, but Anak staring at him with an anticipatory look. The simplest solution would be to take all or none of them with him, but, knowing Endorsi would be in a huffy mood if he chose to leave her behind, thetter wasnt really an option. The former, however, wasnt much better as Endorsi undoubtedly wanted to mess around a bit once they were alone together... Since he really hadnt had much alone time with Anak over the past couple of weeks, Gandr took a deep breath before deciding to bite the bullet as he said, "Endorsi...Ill take you out on a date once this roundes to an end. For now...no, never mind. It would make things a lot easier if you kept the base protected, but I guess it wouldnt make sense if a Princess of Jahad was excluded from the Seeded Tournament. Still, I would appreciate it if you let me watch over and protect the rest of our team members. Though I cant help but worry, Im confident you can deal with most threats even if Im not present...youre an amazing woman, after all." Though she was slightly annoyed by the fact Gandr didnt immediately agree to her words, Endorsi calmed down almost instantaneously when she heard his final statement. She was fully aware that he was just trying to pacify her but that didnt mean his words werent true. Rather, so long as Phae was excluded, she was easily the second-strongest member of Team Wolf Pack. Even if Jung, Serra, and Anak all teamed up to face her, Endorsi was absolutely certain of her victory; so, having already gotten a significant advantage against the petition, she didnt mind giving the others a chance to catch up. With a somewhat scary smile spreading across her face, Endorsi squinted her eyes ever-so-slightly as she replied, "Youre right. I am an amazing woman. Im also pretty magnanimous so Ill agree to let you y around if you agree to fulfill one condition of mine. Know that you cant change your mind once you agree so make sure you properly weigh your options~." Ignoring the prickly sensation of goosebumps spreading across his body, Gandr returned a casual smile in response to Endorsis obvious attempt to entrap him, saying, "Sure. I wouldnt really be able to call myself your boyfriend if I didnt trust you. I know you wont request me to be your ve or anything like that so I have no problem agreeing to your conditions..." Feeling a cold sweat break out across her body, Endorsis smile became noticeably wry as she had actually been nning to make Gandr y the part of her pet. She wasntpletelyfortable with their current dynamic, but, most importantly, she knew Gandr had the ability to transform into an adorable wolf pup. She wanted to be able to carry him around, cuddle with him, and take him for walks so this seemed like the perfect opportunity to try and shoehorn him into acquiescing to her demands. She had even bought him a cor after hearing about its significance from Fenrir and Ryun, but, due to being significantly weaker than him, it would be difficult for her to convince him to wear it... Realizing that Gandr might have seen through her intentions, Endorsi quickly came up with another condition, whispering it into his ears so that others wouldnt be able to hear. This caused the brows of the former to rise slightly before immediately creasing into a frown. He suddenly felt a powerful urge to give the woman a spanking, but, having already given his word, Gandr ultimately agreed to her unusual request, his expression hardening as he answered, "Fine...just dont go overboard. Dont think I wont punish you if you get out of hand..." Rather than show any fear in the face of Gandrs remark, Endorsi felt a slight twinge of anticipation in her body as a seductive smile spread across her face. Then, ignoring the gazes of everyone else present, she hugged Gandrs head to her breasts, a heated chuckle escaping her throat as she said, "You cant go back on your word~" in a sultry and amused tone. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Is this even apetition...?,Vahn is a troll xD...,Gandr really did inherit a lot of Vahns more youthful qualities...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1807 Diversion

Chapter 1807 Diversion

After resting for a few hours and getting to know his new friends, Vahn offered them a few gifts and some friendly advice before venturing out into the ever-strengthening storm. He still wanted to explore the battleground for a bit before checking in on Team Wolf Pack to make sure they werent having any problems. After that, he intended to fly around on Kyries back, rescuing and eliminating Regrs until thepetition finally came to an end. Fortunately, his Pocket showed the number of Regrs remaining so there was no need to wander around aimlessly. Rather, by flooding the battlefield, he forced everyone to move to higher ground in order to evade the rising waters. This made it significantly easier to locate the remaining teams as he simply needed to look for ces that had yet to be flooded. With this in mind, Vahn had Kyrie meander around the battlefield while Latias and Latios exposed the hideouts of several teams. They had also been given permission to prank the participating Regrs, so, every few minutes, Vahn would hear telepathicughter in his mind as Latias snatched the badges of several Regrs without them realizing it. Only Observers that were B-Rank or above had any chance of detecting her so she was having a st while Latios did his best to keep pace. Since Latias and Latios could share their senses with other people even without him using his Unit Management, Vahn was able to observe the formers antics through thetters eyes. He was quite fond of Latias innocence, and, though he felt bad for some of her victims, Vahn couldnt help but chuckle whenever she sessfully jump-scared an unsuspecting Regr... --- Though the preliminaries were significantly less important than the seeded tournament, it was still an even that was broadcasted throughout the entire 10th Floor. There were thousands of invisible Observers and Lighthouses that followed around potential seeds in order to hype up the event that was scheduled to take ce near the end of the month. At the same time, Information Brokers and Bookies worked together to make a profit off gambling while Sponsors from the Ten Great Families kept a close eye on any promising or marketable talents. One of the primary goals of most unaffiliated Regr was securing the favor of a Sponsor during their climb up the Tower. Though this gave them considerably less freedom, having the backing of one of the Ten Great Families was often more important than bing an actual Ranker. Not only did it reward you with several perks that most Regrs could only dream of, but, in some situations, it even afforded you the opportunity to be adopted or marry into one of the Ten Great Families. Though there was a remarkable amount of resentment towards the Ten Great Families, most people only hated one or two, not all. They specifically hated those who had wronged them, so, in the end, it wasmon for Regrs who sought things like vengeance to join rival families. This gave them a strong backing, and, most importantly, allowed them to take out members of the opposing family with rtive impunity. After all,petition between the Ten Great Families was extremelymon so it wasnt a big deal for bloody conflicts to break out. Rather, it was these conflicts that helped the Ranking Administration determine where each Ranker ced in the Official Rankings. With very few exceptions, any Regr aspiring to be a sessful Ranker would ultimately find themselves as a part of an existing faction. Remaining independent became increasingly difficult the further you moved up the Tower, so much so that only 10% of Regrs made it to B-Rank without joining a party affiliated with one of the Ten Great Families, Wolhaiksong, or FUG. By the time they reached A-Rank, surpassing the 100th Floor, this number decreased to only 3%, not of all Regrs, but of those that remained from the original 10%. The presence of the Ten Great Families beyond the 100th Floor was simply too great for the average team of Regrs to ovee. They not only had a monopoly over practically every business within the Middle Tower but, the moment you ventured outside the Regr Districts, you would encounter countless individuals belonging to each of the Ten Great Families. It was from these areas that most of the resentment towards the Ten Great Families was fostered as many of their more troubled and ckluster descendants treated these regions as their stomping grounds; a ce where they could vent all their frustrations unto others. In order to reach the 134th Floor safely, you would either need the protection of a powerful High Ranker, the favor of the Ten Great Families, or the kinship of Wolhaiksong. There were virtually no ways around this, as, from the 100th Floor onward, even the Jahad Army would be keeping a close eye on you. Those who showed great promise, without the backing of the Ten Great Families, would be asked to join the most powerful military faction in the entire Tower. Refusal, in many cases, was the same as treason in the eyes of Jahads zealots; so, more often than not, anyone attempting to remain independent before bing a Ranker would be eliminated in the name of preserving the peace and stability of the Empire. In the end, the most important factor preventing the decline of an Empire, or any powerful faction for that matter, was establishing a system of control. Preventing the rise of opposing factions and removing any rebellious elements was necessary if you wanted to preserve the peace and ensure the prosperity of your people. This was an intrinsic truth that couldnt be disputed, and, so long as the people in power did their best to empower and protect the people, control wasnt necessarily a bad thing. The real problem with anysting system was that it was only a matter of time before nepotism and inequity gave rise to widespread corruption. This bred generations of vile, wicked, and opportunistic individuals whose only interests were satisfying their desires and extolling themselves above others. In turn, hatred and resentment towards the system gave rise to powers and individuals who wished to bring about positive change. This was perfectly understandable, but, with the fate of the Empire and the lives of hundred-of-billions of people hanging in the bnce, eliminating all dissidence was significantly easier than trying to reform the system and address the issues directly. The simple fact of the matter was, in a world where individuals had the power to destroy countries and sink continents in a single blow, there were far more important things to worry about than the lives of the mundane and the ordinary. Rankers literally had the power to establish and annihte countries in the Outer Tower on a whim; so, while the system showed a considerable bias towards the Ten Great Families, controlling prospective and powerful Rankers was necessary to preserve a bnce that had been maintained for more than ten-thousand-years. With this in mind, agents of the Ten Great Families and the Royal Enforcement Division worked with the Ranking Administration topile dossiers on virtually every Regr. These files included all of the physical data pertaining to a Regr, their capabilities, notable feats, presumed affiliations, and, most importantly, their motivations for climbing the Tower. Thisst one was particrly important, as, more often than not, the easiest method to control someone was by grasping their weakness or promising to give them what they most desired. Unfortunately, finding out a persons motivations was generally very difficult so the most pertinent information often pertained to an individual Regrs capabilities and the rate at which they were climbing the Tower. Feats were the next most important metric, but, for the sake of marketing and branding, things like physical appearance and personality were also taken into consideration. From the perspective of talent scouts and sponsors, it was considered a jackpot if you managed to find someone that was not only powerful but charismatic as well. This made it a lot easier to market them, and, more often than not, it drastically increased the chances of a person being able to marry into one of the Ten Great Families. Because of this, Vahn garnered a substantial amount of attention as he rode around atop Kyrie with a carefree smile on his face. He seemedpletely unperturbed by everything going on around him, and, though he hadnt done anything directly, the golden aura radiating from his body made him appear rather awe-inspiring against the backdrop of a typhoon. Unsurprisingly, everyone was eager to know exactly who the man riding around atop an unknown Shinheuh was. Unfortunately, his recent arrival on the 10th Floor,bined with the doctoring of his personal files, made it very difficult to learn anything about him. The only pertinent data, other than his name and physical attributes, was that he was a remarkably talented Wave Controller who purportedly had the ability to treat virtually all injuries, illnesses, and diseases. They could also infer he was a skilled Anima but it was impossible to be certain since they werent even sure if the whale-like creature serving as his mount was a Shinheuh. There were no records of such a creature existing in the Tower, and, based on its ability to control the weather, some even began to specte it was the child of a Guardian. All anyone knew for certain was that Vahn was far stronger than any of the other Regrs that were participating in the preliminaries. This included multiple descendants from the Ten Great Families, a number of Sponsored Teams, and, most notably, a team led by a Princess of Jahad. This, alone, was worthy of notice, as, every time a Princess of Jahad had appeared within the Tower, they had always swept through thepetition with extreme ease. They were even considered the ultimate species within the Tower, transcending descendants of the Ten Great Families due to inheriting the blood of the most powerful being of all: King Jahad. With a new Princess only being chosen every few hundred years, specifically from the most talented females within the Tower, it was exceedingly difficult to imagine any Regr at the same rank being able topete with them. Even those two ranks higher would struggle topete with them; so, with Endorsi being famous for her ability to defeat a talented Ranker who had her Shinsu restricted, Vahns capabilities stood out even more. As a result, he was quickly assigned the First Seed among Wave Controllers and the Second Seed amongst all Regrs. This was hotly debated by those who spected that Vahn was a lot stronger than Endorsi, but, with thetter being a Princess of Jahad, the Administration had little choice but to give her the First Seed by default... --- Though he was unaware of the chaos his actions were causing within the Administration, Vahn was well aware that his actions had garnered him a considerable amount of attention. He couldnt see all of them, but he could sense an increasing number of Observers keeping track of his every movement. This made him feel slightly annoyed, but, having expected this exact oue, he was able to appearrgely unperturbed thanks to Latias antics. Since he was preparing to part with Team Wolf Pack, Vahn decided it was for the best if he stood out as much as possible prior to the separation. The more attention he could draw to himself, the easier it would be to protect them in the future. This was also the reason he did his best toy low in the previous Floors, distancing himself from the team by spreading his own fame alongside yet tangential to their own. With Wolhaiksong and FUG taking proactive measures to obscure any and all information rted to the existence of Irregrs in the Tower, Vahn was confident that his meteoric rise would serve as an adequate distraction from the rest of Team Wolf Pack. The only people who might act against them were the members of FUG, but, at least for the time being, they had no actual reason to antagonize him. It could be argued they were working towards the same goal, so, after seeing how powerful he was,bined with the fact he had the support of the strongest faction, they were far more likely topromise than create trouble. With this in mind, Vahn checked his Pocket to see that sixteen hours had passed since the start of thepetition. Despite this, more than 20% of the participating Regrs had been eliminated, the majority of which were redited to him. This was only secondary to his true intentions, however, so, now that he had so many eyes focused on him, Vahns smile became even more prominent as he pulled out a sapphire blue orb with the Greek letter for Alpha. This caused an excited tremble to run through Kyries body, a high-pitched cry escaping her maw as he tossed the orb into the air and said, "Lets kick things up a notch." in an amused tone. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Latias be giving people heart attacks xD...,So long as individual interests exist, tyranny and control are necessary to preserve peace (T ^ T)...,Vahn has no chill) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1808 Escalation : Peace

Chapter 1808 Esction : Peace

Though the ever-strengthening storm had made things exceptionally difficult for most participating Regrs, it was nothingpared to what followed the sixteenth hour of thepetition. The rain had intensified to the point that venturing into it was like walking through a dense curtain of water; drastically increasing the water level as massive water spouts and colossal waves began devastating the terrain. At the same time, the Shinsu Density increased to such an extent that even the stronger participants began to have trouble breathing, forcing many to instantly drop out of thepetition whilst others sought shelter within their Lighthouses. If it were just the Regrs on the battlefield being affected by the torrential downpour, that would have been one thing. To the horror of many, however, several massive storefronts began to develop throughout the 10th Floors Inner Tower. Heavy rain soon followed, forcing residents to seek shelter as regions dominated by bodies of water soon became floodins. Despite this, the Administrators made no attempt to interfere with thepetition. Instead, dozens of Rankers began to appear in the skies surrounding the battlefield as the Ruler of the Floor, a High Ranker named Celh, used his authority over the Floors Shinsu to iste the Space within the contracting barrier. Unfortunately, while this was more than enough to prevent the expansion of the storm, it made the effect of Kyries [Primordial Sea] even more powerful. The water level began to rise at an even faster rate, and, thanks to the strengthened barrier, not even a single drop was allowed to flow away. As a result, small hills and ruins were quickly submerged by the rising tide before the seventeenth hour hade to pass. Anyone who had failed to seek shelter in the mountains was quickly eliminated; and, by the time the first day hade to an end, more than 80% of the participating Regrs had been forced to abandon thepetition... --- With only 23,097 or the original 128,320 Regrs still remaining, Vahn lightly pat the top of Kyries head, muttering, "Thats enough. Cough it up." Though she seemed to greatly enjoy pping her wing-like pectoral fins to cause massive waves and water spouts, Kyrie didnt hesitate to obey Vahns orders; a shudder passing through her body as she coughed up a glowing blue sphere. Shortly thereafter, she began to rapidly shrink to around ten meters in length as the runic patterns turning various parts of her body translucent returned to their original white coloration. Caressing the top of Kyries head, Vahns tone turned affectionate as he muttered, "Good girl...you did very well today. Ill make sure to reward you plentilyter. For now, enjoy a nice, long, rest..." Responding with a high-pitched purring sound, Kyries body began to vibrate contentedly as she descended towards the quickly calming waters below. This allowed Vahn to hop down from her back, standing atop the surface of the water as if it were t ground as he pulled out her Master Ball, lightly tapping it against her snout as he whispered, "Return..." With Kyrie safely stowed away in her Master Ball, the rain ceased almost instantaneously as the massive storm front above began to recede at an extraordinary pace. Shinsu had a tendency to disperse the moment it was no longer under the influence of a persons will; so, now that Kyrie was enjoying a much-deserved rest, it wouldnt be long before the clouds quickly faded away. As for the waters below, now appearing simr to a small sea, they would also begin to recede at some point. However, due to the shrinking barrier surrounding the battlefield, the water level would continue to rise until thepetition hade to an end. Satisfied with his results, Vahn turned his attention towards an area of empty space as he asked, "Is it possible to leave the battlefield without relinquishing my qualifications for advancing to the next floor? If not, Ill probably disappear for a short while until the preliminariese to an end. Ill still be within the battlefield, but you wont be able to sense me. Will that be a problem...?" In response to Vahns inquiry, an androgynous-looking man with ashen-ck skin, pale-blue eyes, and steel-blue hair ented by matching feathers appeared out of thin air, answering, "Though it is a bit unorthodox, Ill allow it. Were I to disqualify you at this point, there would be outrage amongst the various financiers and sponsors who have taken an interest in your strength. Your Shinheuh put on quite the disy..." Though it felt like all his nerves were tensing up in response to the peculiar mans words, Vahn still managed a light-hearted chuckle as he reached out his hands and replied, "Yeah, theyre amazing, arent they...?" Following Vahns remark, Latias and Latios appeared out of thin air, nuzzling against his palms and surprising the High-Ranker enough to elicit a slight squinting of the eyes. Instead of inquiring about the duo, however, he just smiled before raising his own hand to press an invisible button as he said, "I look forward to seeing your performance during the Seeded Tournament...Vahn Aldrnari Mason..." Without waiting for a response, the androgynous man, none other than the Ruler of the 10th Floor, Celh, teleported Vahn back to the Coliseum City. Then, with a wave of his hand, several massive trees erupted from beneath the seas surface, absorbing the Shinsu contained within before rapidly spreading through the battlefield. He knew most Regrs wouldnt be able to venture through the dense field of Shinsu so he decided to simply remove it. After all, the preliminaries would be boring if everyone just sat around waiting for the water to rise without being able to do anything... --- Finding himself in roughly the exact same location as before, Vahn checked his Pocket to confirm that just under twenty-four hours had passed. If he had pushed Kyrie further, there was a chance he could have ended the entirepetition in under a day; but, understanding the tournament wasnt scheduled to take ce until the end of the month, there was no particr hurry. He had managed to achieve one of his primary objectives so there was no harm in allowing the remaining Regrs a chance to shine. With that in mind, Vahn manifested the Little Garden before promptly disappearing from the view of several prying eyes. He had nearly a month to kill and he intended to use every moment of it to the fullest. First a foremost, however, he teleported to thergeke located a few kilometers away from the Emerald Grove, Kyries usual habitat. Most of the Pokemon were morefortable in their True Forms so he had constructed habitats for each of them. This particr location was known as the Sapphire Lake, a deceptively deep body of water that was 3800m deep near the center, Kyries resting area. She was mostfortable with atmospheric pressures ranging between 350~400 bar so he had constructed theke after hearing herin about feeling like a balloon whenever she was on the surface... Though she didnt mind being inside the Master Ball, as it was veryfortable, Kyrie still issued a high-pitched mewling as she dipped into the chilled waters of the Sapphire Lake before promptly turning belly up. In response, Vahn jumped onto her stomach, eliciting a low rumbling from deep inside of Kyries body as he began to rub the soft underside of her belly. She was particrly fond of belly rubs, so, whenever she performed well, he made sure her to reward her plentily before she returned to the bottom of theke to rest. With her wing-like pectoral fins happily sshing the water, Kyrie continued to issue a sound that resembled purring as Vahn took full advantage of the Law of Petting. He eventually got her to rx to the point that she began to sink into the water, body going limp as she blew bubbles from her mouth. It was only when she was fully submerged that he gave her one final pat, startling her awake before sending her off to rest near the abyssal ck center of theke... Emerging from the water wearing nothing but a pair of form-fitting ck diving trunks, Vahn wasnt surprised to find Latias, Latios, and Xerneas waiting patiently near the shoreline. What he did find a little strange was the fact that the twins were wearing peculiar white sukumizu with blue and pink ents. Though this outfit perfectly suited Latias lithe and slender frame, especially with her white pigtails, it created a certain sense of incongruency seeing Latios wearing a simr outfit. Still, it was better than them both wearing mens swimwear so Vahn decided not to try and correct them. Instead, he shifted his focus to Xerneas, sizing up her sporty ck one-piece that was ented with blue and gold before asking, "Did the three of you want to go swimming...?" Being the most talkative of the trio, Latias happily pounced toward him, smiling radiantly as she happily eximed, "Nope! We just wanted to surprise you! Did it work!? Are you surprised~!?" Chuckling in response to the spirited girls exmation, Vahn began to lightly caress her head as he answered in a carefree tone, "Indeed. I was very surprised. The three of you look very cute..." Beaming in response to Vahns words, Latias hugged him as tightly as she could manage before promptly releasing him from her grasp. She had been lightly chastised by several residents of the Emerald Grove, so, unless she was in her True Form or receiving a reward, she tried her best not to be too clingy. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn ruffled Latias satiny-smooth hair as he said, "Good girl. When we get back to the Emerald Grove, well bake a cake together." As one of the Temtes willfully created by Vahn, Latias hadnt inherited his mastery over [Hands of Nirvana] and [Cooking]. She was still capable of using both, but there was a very distinct difference between her capabilities and those possessed by his earlier Temtes. This had be even more prominent after she developed her True Ego but that didnt stop her from enjoying baking. She was especially fond of being able to wear a frilly apron, and, though many of her experiments ended in disaster, she had been learning how to make and decorate tiered cakes as ofte. Unable to contain her excitement, Latias stamped her feet a few times before leaping into the air and reverting to her True Form. Then, after flying several close circles around Vahn, she picked him up in her embrace, hugging him tightly as she spun around like a top. It was a little disorienting, but, having grown ustomed to her outbursts of excitement, Vahn just smiled wryly until Latias returned him to the ground and nuzzled her face against the underside of his chin... After finally escaping his most excitable Pokemons grasp, Vahn made his way over to where Latios and Xerneas were waiting. The former just presented his head obediently, a calm smile on his face as he epted his reward with a contented squint. He was a lot more reserved than his sister, and, unless spoken to directly, it was pretty rare to hear the androgynous boy speak. Despite this, he was a remarkably intelligent young man, and, though he had a propensity for wearing womens clothes, he could be extremely ruthless and decisive if he thought his little sister was in danger. Vahn knew Latios personality was the result of him essentially recycling Latias Temte without giving it much thought. The only real personality trait he had given the boy was a strong desire to protect his younger sister, so, with the exception of that singr characteristic, he was effectively a clean te. Because of this, Vahn did his best to educate and guide the boy, teaching him all kinds of things so that he could better fulfill what he believed to be his purpose. Fortunately, Latias innocence and curiosity had also carried over to Latios, so, while he was a very quiet and reserved boy, he was easily excited by new things. He just didnt show it in the same way as his younger sister, often leaving her to explore new regions and experience new things while he did his best to support and protect her. As for his own curiosity, he satisfied his urges by reading a plethora of books and devoting himself to schrly pursuits, two things his younger sister simply didnt have the attention span for... After fluffing up Latios hair for the better part of a minute, Vahn gave it one final ruffle before retracting his hand and shifting his attention to Xerneas. She had been standing at the side with her hands neatly folded across herp since the very beginning, her graceful elegance never fading for even a moment. Really really did radiate an aura of majesty, and, though her inordinately slim frame gave her an appearance simr to a perfectly crafted doll, she possessed the charms of a beautiful young woman. Though he knew he wouldnt get much of a reaction from her, Vahn adopted an appreciative smile as hemented, "That swimsuit suits you well. You look very beautiful." With the briefest hint of a smile appearing on her otherwise expressionless face, Xerneas bowed in a polite manner, saying, "Thank you for your kind words." before raising her head and standing still as a statue. Having grown used to Xerneas curt acknowledgments and unwavering elegance, Vahn just smiled in response before reaching out both hands and stroking the sides of her head. She might not give a satisfying response, but he knew she liked it when he scratched behind her ears and dug into the area around her crown. He just needed to be careful not to mess up her hair or else she would give him the silent treatment for several days... After making sure there wasnt a single strand of hair out of ce atop Xerneas head, Vahn gave a curt nod of his own before saying, "Ille by and visit the Forest of Eternity in a few hours. Make sure to rest properly." Nodding her head in affirmation, Xerneas promptly returned to her deer-like form before bounding over the treeline with extreme speed. She was the type to idle about, so, the moment he told her to go rest, that is exactly what she intended to do. As for Latias and Latios, they were already waiting in their true forms; so, after following Xerneas departure with his gaze, Vahn smiled back at them and said, "Lets go home..." in a gentle tone. (A/N: Alternate Titles: 110% maximum no-chill...!,Everyone loves belly rubs (OwO)...,I kind of feel bad for Latios xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1809 Extrapolate

Chapter 1809 Extrapte

Waking from his daily meditation, Vahn wasnt surprised to find that he had been surrounded by fluff from all sides. This was pretty normal whenever he attempted toprehend the Mantra of Eternity within the Emerald Grove, so, after considerately waking everyone from their slumber and extricating Yoruichi from his shirt, Vahn stretched his body as he lightly mused, "You girls need to find a hobby. As for you, Kushina, you should take your condition into consideration...I dont think it would be a problem, but I cant help but worry..." Quickly reverting back to her human form, Kushina gave Vahn a light punch in his arm, smiling as she said, "Youre such a worry-wart. Im barely even a month in so stop worrying so much. Besides, its not like itll make much of a difference, right? I mean, no matter what happens, our kid should be able to transition between a fox and a human whenever they want." Though he knew she was right, that didnt stop Vahn from messing up Kushinas hair as he adopted a firmer tone and said, "Its better to be safe than sorry. Dont y around too much." Rolling her eyes, Kushina quickly fixed her hair as she said, "Im gonna go make lunch. Do you want me to cook you up something?" Having already made ns, Vahn shook his head in response to Kushinas offer, saying, "Ill have to take a raincheck. I promised to eat lunch with Fenrir and Ryun. Afterward, I was intending to stop by and visit Arceus and the triplets. How about we do dinner together...?" Before Kushina could answer his question, something soft pressed against Vahns back as a pair of arms wrapped around his neck, followed by a sultry voice asking, "How about you do me instead? I never got my reward for helping you eliminate all those Regrs~." Though he wasnt unustomed to Yoruichis antics, Vahn felt a strong inclination to give Yoruichis backside a spanking as he rolled his eyes and remarked, "I literally spent three hours with you in the outer rings..." As if she didnt hear him, Yoruichi began to gently nibble on the top of Vahns ear. As for Kushina, she adopted a slight frown, crossing her arms as she answered, "Sure. Well make it a date between you, me, and Hinata. Just the three of us." Answering before Yoruichi could interrupt, Vahn smiled as he said, "Sounds great. Ill ask Xerneas if we can use the Forest of Eternity. Its been a while since weve had an evening pic." Since the Forest of Eternity was filled with various bioluminescent nts, it was an exceptionally beautiful ce once the sky began to dim. Kushina was well aware of this, so, in response to Vahns words, she returned an excited smile of her own as she gave him a thumbs up and said, "Yosh! Ill be looking forward to it, you know~!" (A/N: If Kushinas verbal tick annoys people, I can disregard it in future dialogues.) A little annoyed at being excluded, Yoruichi bit the top of Vahns ear before releasing him from her grasp and whispering, "You owe me one." as she pinched his butt. Then, in a sh of bluish-white, she vanished from view with the sound of a thunderp mildly disorienting those present. Though she was one of the ones who had been startled by Yoruichis explosive departure, Kushina managed a victorious smile as she held up her middle and index fingers. Vahn just lightly chuckled at this before giving everyone present a few parting headpats... --- With little else to do, Vahn spent the duration of the Elimination Competition in much the same way as he had before: training, researching, spending time with his loved ones, and helping to develop his Temtes. There were a few hups every now and then, but it was nothing he couldnt handle with some skillful negotiation and the asionalpromise. In this manner, Vahn was able to improve his mastery over the Law of Petting, and, though it was far behind the former, he even managed to make a few breakthroughs in the Law of Authority. His Will of the Emperor helped a lot in this regard, but the true MVPs ended up being Roger and, to a lesser extent, Madara. Roger possessed an Innate called [Pirate Kings Indominatable Will], the source of his [Conquerors Haki], an ability that allowed him to effectively suppress, control, knock out, and even kill weaker willed individuals. As for Madara, she had a non-standard Innate called [Progenitor of the Uchiha], an ability that drastically increased her willpower and seemingly made her immortal so long as she was the only Uchiha left alive. By spending time with and training alongside the two charismatic battle-junkies, Vahn had learned how to resist and even deflect the intent of others. He was still at a very basic level, but, thanks to his [Will of the Emperor] already being SSS-Rank, it was more than enough to give him the edge in a contest of wills. He had even managed to stun Madara long enough to give her a light pat on the head, a mistake that resulted in him being buried beneath a hill-sized meteor. Still, it was worth it to see the look on her face, even if it was one filled with unadulterated wrath... At this point, Vahn had started to feel an inclination to pet everything, and, though he doubted it would happen, he even humored the idea of awakening an Innate rted to petting. Thus, even if it resulted in him losing an arm, he had no regrets about petting Madaras head. Rather, he was even starting to consider the possibility of petting the Leaders of the Ten Great Families into submission; but, remembering the Ha and Eurasia Families were a part of this equation, Vahn wasnt quite at the point where he wanted to conquer the entire Tower through petting. Thanks to the Law of Identity, Vahn would be able to identify Jahad and the Leaders of the Ten Great Families by both appearance and aura. He couldnt deny that Yuris Great-Grandmother was an unbelievably beautiful woman, but the most important takeaway was that Jahad wasnt nearly as omniscient as the rumors purported him to be. His power was borderline iprehensible, but he was blissfully unaware of the existence of Baam as an Irregr thanks to Lo Po Bia Ren being stuck in aa ever since Gandrs attack. To conceal Baams existence and allow Team Wolf Pack to continue their climb unimpeded, Vahn was going against his original intention of lying low and just going with the flow. He didnt intend to spoil everything for himself by researching and nning around everything, but, after sensing the auras possessed by Jahad and the Ten Great Warriors, he knew there would be plenty of close fights in the future. This gave him a lot to look forward to, so, before parting ways with his lovable brats, Vahn wanted to make sure there werent any dangers lurking in the shadows. Fortunately, the Law of Identity waspletely broken in regard to obtaining information. She could literally assume the identity of anyone, obtaining all of their knowledge, experience, and memories. This meant she could find out the identities of a persons boss before asking her all manner of questions rted to their operations and intentions. This could be repeated until he reached the highest point in a persons chain ofmand, the literal people pulling the strings behind every major event taking ce in the Tower. With the loveable redheads support, Vahn was able to learn that some of the Elders of FUG were notpletely on board with allowing Baam to remain outside of their control. Others, however, fully believed in the prophecy that stated he would be the one to defeat Jahad and open the way forward for everyone else trying to climb the Tower. Thistter faction was actually the strongest within FUG, but, unfortunately, their belief made them inept and unwilling to support Baam. Even if others within FUG attempted to kill him, they wouldnt lift a finger to try and stop them since they genuinely believed he was fated to seed. Vahn was never fond of things like prophecies, and, knowing how Rachel had betrayed Baam, it wasnt difficult to imagine thetter suffering to an unreasonable extent just because the people who could have helped him believed there was no need. Fortunately, now that he was here, Baam would be able to move rtively unobstructed up the Tower. With any luck, Baam would remain the same vibrant, happy, and wholesome young man that inspired everyone in his team to be better than their past selves. If anyone tried to corrupt or break him, the only mercy Vahn would afford them would be a quick death and a prayer towards their next life. He had absolutely no tolerance for those who would readily ce heavy burdens of suffering upon the innocent just for their own sake. Thus, if FUG tried to intervene, Vahn would do everything within his power topletely wipe them out. Unfortunately, unless he directly intervened, Baams powerful fate was bound to lead him down a path where he discovered the truth. This was something Vahnmented because he had already learned about the boys origins directly from his mother. She was currently masquerading as the High Priestess of a cult that existed outside the Tower, willfully serving the God who had infused the Primordial Sin of Gluttony into her dead childs body. This resulted in Baams fractured Ego merging with the Primordial Sin, simultaneously killing yet resurrecting him. Though it wasnt inurate to call the revived entity her son, Arlene, Baams mother, didnt see him as such. Shemented the fate of her child to such an extreme that she was blinded to the fact that her sons Ego had persisted thanks to her sealing him using a forbidden mystic art. As a result, she treated the being that possessed her sons actual Ego as a monster, sealing him beneath the shrine of her God and forcing herself to stay away. This was unbelievably tragic, as, despite being the Sin of Gluttony, Baam was the same child she grieved for every night for thest ten-thousand-years... When Baam invariably learned the truth about his origins, Vahn was intending to help him reunite, not just with his mother, but his father as well. Thetter had died thousands of years prior, but his spirit still remained within the Tower, unable to move on after seeing his wife fall into madness. He was currently in a self-imposed hibernation, sealed within a pendant in the possession of the leader of FUG, the 15th Ranked Grace Mirchea Luslec. Luslec was a former subordinate of Baams father, a former warlord named Viole, better known as V. Thetter had entrusted Luslec the task of handing down the pendant to Baam once he was strong enough to fight against Jahad and the Leaders of the Ten Great Families. He didnt actually care for things like revenge, but, knowing how urate his wifes prophecies could be, Viole had decided to preserve himself so he could pass down his teachings unto his son. Though Viole had the intention of disappearing afterpleting his final duty as a father, Vahn had already made arrangements to revive the man when the time came. He had even been mixing some of the mans teachings into Baams foundation, preparing thetter for their inevitable reunion. Vahn had never been fond of tragic backstories, so, with both of Baams parents still being alive, in one form or another, he saw no reason to keep them apart. He couldnt do much right now, but his power in the future was beyond even his ownprehension. Still, that wouldnt prevent him from doing just about anything he had put his mind to. After all, he didnt call himself the God of Infinite Possibilities just to toot his own horn. He had plenty of people who were more than willing to take care of that... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nine-Tailed Fox vs Thunder Cat~,The Law of Petting has no limits...,Arlene could learn a lot from V...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1810 Hidden Intentions

Chapter 1810 Hidden Intentions

A stark contrast to the chaos and uncertainty that dominated the first day of the preliminaries, the days that followed were rtively peaceful and quiet. Many teams were still apprehensive about leaving the safety of their dwellings so they ended up stalling until the barrier surrounding the battlefield forced them to head inward. This was when the truepetition began, a bloody affair that resulted in a substantial number of deaths due to the remaining 17% of Regrs being among the strongest and most violent in the batch. Fortunately, Team Wolf Pack had managed to secure one of the centermost defensive points within the entire battlefield. This forced them to constantly be on guard against enemy attacks, but it also meant they were able to umte a considerable number of Points just by keeping others at bay. Even people like Shibisu and Nare were able to earn their keep by manipting Observers capable of firing dense beams of Shinsu at unsuspecting enemies. Though their individual members were far stronger than the average Regr, what truly set Team Wolf Pack apart was the enviable quality of their equipment. Each member had been outfitted with an extremely durable hooded mantle that loosely emted the features of a Vanargandr. The hood had tworge ears that worked as powerful sensors; and, though some people might assume it was purely cosmetic, the tail drooping near the backside helped to store Shinsu absorbed through the fabric of the mantle in order to power a number of useful functions. The bagworms were not only extremely durable, but, so long as the user had precise control over their Shinsu, they could conceal themselves from scans, turn invisible, and even teleport over short distances. They also helped to give Team Wolf Pack a sense of uniformity, quite literally appearing as a pack of wolves whenever they moved and coordinated together. The only thing Phae hadnt provided Team Wolf Pack was powerful weapons since neither she nor Vahn wanted them to be entirely reliant on their equipment. Instead, they were tasked with developing their individual skills and abilities while improving their Shinsu capacity and control. In the end, each member of Team Wolf Pack was expected to be able to fill virtually all Positions in a team, Light Bearer and Wave Controller included. If a member of Team Wolf Pack wanted a powerful weapon, they could either save enough Points to purchase one from the Workshop,plete a Quest that offered one as a reward, or confiscate the weapon of an enemy attempting to kill them. Stealing was strictly discouraged, but, so long as your foe attacked with malicious or vile intentions, taking their weapon aspensation was considered eptable. --- With Endorsis consent, Gandr was patrolling through the forests surrounding their teams fortress alongside Anak. They had teamed up a lot over thest few days, and, though she didnt speak that much, it was easy to see how much Anak was enjoying their time together based on how the tip of her tail would periodically waggle. She had also be rather fond of headpats, so, whenever she sessfully defeated a group of Regrs without severely injuring them, Gandr would express his approval by patting her head and telling her she had done a good job. Unfortunately, even after months of training, Anak still had trouble holding herself back whenever she got excited. The stronger her opponent was, the more excited she became, so, unless they were rtively weak, most of Anaks opponents ended up suffering from broken bones and other serious injuries. As for those who looked down on or insulted her...well, they only had themselves to me for their hubris... Having been called a brat by a woman on the enemy team, Anak didnt hesitate to charge directly at the offending Light Bearer as the formers team attempted to protect her. She was much faster than any opponent they had ever dealt with, however, so she easily evaded the piercing lunge of the Fisherman by ducking under the sapphire-blue point and hammering the back of her fist into his ribcage, shattering several bones. This also sent the man flying to the side, his body crashing through several trees as she side-stepped their Scouts nking attack by a hairs breadth before rewarding him with a simr prize. Seeing the two strongest members of her team taken out in an instant, the opposing Light Bearer could only stare with wide eyes as her mental faculties slowed to a crawl. Fortunately, she was not fated to be Anaks victim as Gandr promptly appeared behind her, striking the back of her neck in much the same manner as the rest of her allies. He could freely produce Shadow Clones, so, before Anak could lose her cool, he decided to end the fight by eliminating the other enemies himself. Noticing Gandrs actions, Anak was unable to prevent a pout from developing across her face. This was only for a very brief moment, however, as she knew Gandr had assuredly done the right thing by eliminating the enemies swiftly and efficiently. Only tyrants, bullies, and thugs willfully harmed those who were much weaker than themselves. She didnt want to be any of these things, so, after forcibly calming herself down, Anak adopted a slightly apologetic expression as she muttered, "Im sorry..." in an uncharacteristically demure tone. After quickly destroying the badges of the enemy team, Gandr made his way over to Anaks side, petting her head as he said, "Youre doing your best, Anak. Dont let small setbacks like this get to you..." Though she continued to lower her head slightly, Gandr could tell his words had made Anak feel a little better since the tip of her tail was twitching. Her tail was a lot more honest than she was, so, if you know how to read her bodynguage, it was pretty easy to tell how Anak was feeling. She had tried to control it several times in the past, but, as was often the case for those who possessed tails, the extra appendage had a habit of betraying you at the most important times. Retracting his hand from Anaks head, Gandr had to force himself not tough as the tip of her tail immediately drooped. Fortunately, he had already been smiling before so she didnt see wasnt able to see through his thoughts as the corners of his smile curled upward ever-so-slightly... --- While Gandr was out patrolling with Anak, Endorsi was lounging in a beanbag chair near the corner of their temporary control center. The interior of the fortified room had been refurbished to make it marginally more habitable, so, whenever she wasnt on duty, Endorsi liked to snuggle with Yun-Yun while following Gandr around with an Observer she had borrowed from Shibisu. Endorsi genuinely liked to watch Gandr showing off so part of their agreement allowed her to freely spy on him whenever she wanted. The other part involved having him revert back to his puppy form so that he could sleep with her in the womens resting area. Thistter part had caused Gandr quite a bit of stress as Endorsi had a bad habit of going overboard whenever other women were around. As a result, he had been pet and fondled excessively over the duration of the preliminaries, not just by Endorsi, but by nearly every female member of the team. With the exception of Ohta, who didnt seem to think his cub form was very cute, the other female members of Team Wolf Pack absolutely adored Gandrs wolf transformation. Even Phae wasnt an exception to this, so, as the days passed, it became increasinglymon for him to be handled and passed around among the group of doting girls. Unfortunately, Gandr actually enjoyed being doted upon and pampered quite a bit, so, even though he had the sinking suspicion that Endorsi was trying to groom him into something like a pet, it was difficult not to enjoy the attention he was receiving. He especially liked being cuddled while having the backs of his ears scratched. Belly rubs were a close second, but, more than anything else, Gandr was developing a mild addiction to having his face nestled between a womans breasts while they hugged his body. Though they knew he had a human transformation, even Nare seemed topletely forget about this fact whenever Gandr was in his puppy form. She liked to cuddle and y with him, and, every now and then, would even talk to him in baby speak while squishing and pulling his cheeks. This was extremely embarrassing but it was nothingpared to the time when Yun-Yun attempted to conceal him within her nket like some kind of stuffed animal that she could freely cuddle as she slept... Needless to say, Gandr had been living a rather enviable yet stressful existence, all in ordance with Endorsis grand n. She was proactively encouraging the girls to cuddle with him in his wolf form in order to instill in them the idea that it was her permission that allowed them to get closer to him. Endorsi knew there was little she could do to prevent others from coveting someone as adorable and capable as Gandr, so, before it became a problem, she wanted to cement herself as the highest authority among the women he would be involved with. She had alreadye to realize that it was impossible to control him due to his loyalty towards Vahn and the Aldrnari Empire, so, rather than focus on something she couldnt change, Endorsi set her sights on influencing the perspective of the people around him. Though she would never admit it, Endorsi didnt mind the fact that Gandr was the dominant party in their rtionship. She liked that he didnt fawn over her like aplete idiot, and, though it was a little annoying at times, it made her feel giddy whenever he would put his foot down and correct her behavior. He also showed restraint no matter how far she pushed him, a stark contrast to what she would have expected from a normal man. This made her like him more with each passing day, and, though she wasnt quite at the point of admitting it, Endorsi was pretty sure she had already fallen in love with the fluffy-eared brat. Before others could encroach upon her territory and contend with her for Gandrs attention, Endorsi feltpelled to establish herself as the undisputed number one. She couldnt tolerate the idea of being below others, the only exception being Gandr himself. With that in mind, it became necessary to convince the girls around him that she was the one in control. This might not be the case behind closed doors, but, if they ever wanted to advance to that point with her man, they would, first and foremost, need her permission. This wasnt something she couldpromise on, so, while it made her feel a little guilty to put Gandr in a position she knew stressed him out, Endorsi was determined to do whatever it took to ensure the integrity and stability of their rtionship. With this in mind, Endorsi continued to follow Gandr and Anak around on their patrol while lightly patting the sleeping Yun-Yuns head. She had developed a bit of a petting habit, much like the rest of Team Wolf Pack, so, whenever she was spying on Gandr, Endorsi generally cuddled with the pink-haired Mare. With the exception of Phae, who had easily seen through her intentions, Yun-Yun was the only person who knew the full extent of her ns. To prevent Yun-Yun from exposing her intentions to the others, Endorsi had bribed her by allowing the former to draw nourishment from her dreams. This had exposed many of her secrets to the not-so-young little girl, but, after spending so much time with Team Wolf Pack, Endorsi had learned how to ce her trust in others once again. At the very least, she trusted Vahn, Phae, Gandr, Anak, Baam, and, to a lesser extent, every member directly associated with the Empire. Endorsi believed that, so long as she didnt deviate down a dark path, the members of the Aldnrari Empire would always be willing to lend a helping hand. Vahn, in particr, seemed like the type of person who would battle against an entire Empire just for the sake of a single person. This gave her the confidence to move forward with her ns without hesitation, a smile on her face as she silently zoomed in on Gandr fearlessly staring down two groups of Regrs... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Team Wolf Pack on the prowl,Gandr has sumbed to the fluff,Endorsi is actually quite smart (OwO)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1811 Seed

Chapter 1811 Seed

Though they were basically as flexible as they wanted to be, that didnt stop the women residing in the Emerald Grove from exercising and stretching their bodies. A bit of physical training every now and again helped to bnce both the body and the mind so it had be a tradition of sorts for everyone to gather together before breakfast to perform some light Yoga and Tai Chi. Vahn never got tired of seeing realistic depictions of the women who had left deep impressions on his childhood unashamedly stretching their bodies just a few meters away from him. It gave him the impression he trapped inside of a never-ending dream, one where all of his hopes, aspirations, and desires could be actualized. There was virtually nothing that could stop him, and, so long as he put in the effort, he could potentially even recreate the Records from his childhood... With Mira performing a rather tantalizing standing forward fold just a few meters away from him, Vahn couldnt help but imagine himself recreating the entirety of the Fairy Tail within the Middle or Outer Towers. He was actually quite fond of people like Makarov, Gildartz, Natsu, and many others, so it didnt seem like such a bad idea. The only problem was that Mira wasnt the only girl from the titr series he had taken an interest in. He also had a number of expectations for how each of the characters should act so Vahn wasnt fully confident in being able to fully remove his bias from the equation in order to guarantee the greatest amount of freedom for each of his creations. Unless he proactively altered their Temtes in some way, it was virtually guaranteed that people like Natsu, Lucy, and even Lissanna would end up together. Grey and Luvia would almost certainly end up as a couple, and, though he had never really liked Jels character, the only other person Vahn could imagine Erza falling for is himself. This was the crux of the issue as it was very easy for him to imagine any attractive, interesting, or powerful female character falling for him. Vahn was well aware of his bias towards women, so, other than the pairings he had subconsciously or willfully decided upon, he couldnt really imagine them ending up with someone else. This made it a little harder to create female Temtes as his expectations could have far-reaching impacts on the girls characters. There wasnt really much he could do about this though, as his desire to both protect and ensure the girls happiness made it impossible for him to not care about their futures during the creation process. One of the only solutions Vahn had been able toe up with was creating child-like versions of the Temtes so that they could grow up and develop naturally. This would make it a lot easier for them to develop True Egos of their own, but it also created a whole host of other issues. After all, if he simply wanted to take care of children and allow them to grow and develop freely, the far more sensible thing to do would be to sire his own. He had already established a precedent with Hinata and Kushina, thetter of which literally intended to give birth to Naruto. Thanks to his Source Energy, Vahns children were heavily influenced by the expectations of their parents. This allowed them to, quite literally, give birth to children with specific features, innates, and even personalities. They could even determine the gender and race of their child, if they really wanted, so it wasnt an exaggeration to say that any of Vahns current Temtes could give birth to virtually any other Temte. Madara had even toyed around with the idea of asexual reproduction, effectively willing herself to be pregnant by triggering parthenogenesis without the need for fertilization. Though it seemed rather nonsensical, the fact of the matter was that Vahn didnt possess anything even remotely simr to a gic code. None of his children had inherited any of his genes, and, in some situations, they didnt inherit any genes at all. He could literally sire offspring with conceptual entities, beings formed from pure energy, or even the void itself. This made it seem rather pointless to create child-like Temtes using [Universal Mind] as there was literally nothing preventing him from siring them directly... Imagining Mira giving birth to Natsu or even her own sister, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head as a wry smile developed across his face. Siring Temtes, while feasible, would just be too strange unless the mothers of said Temtes were already supposed to give birth to them. He could ept Kushina birthing Naruto since her original counterpart within the Records had done the same thing. As for others, it would undoubtedly be better if he simply created them from scratch, disregarding his biaspletely. Nodding his head in approval of his own thoughts, Vahn waited until the girls had wrapped up their yoga ss before gesturing for Mira toe over. This caused a brilliant smile to spread across thetters face, her blue eyes glistening ever-so-slightly as she approached him to ask, "Did you enjoy the show~?" in a yfully teasing tone. Without even needing to consider his response, Vahn unhesitantly nodded before musing "I never grow tired of seeing such a breathtaking sight. At this point, Im not sure I could even start my day properly without watching you and the others perform your routine." Covering her mouth with her left hand, Mira giggled in response to Vahns words beforebing through her fringe bangs and asking, "What did you want to talk about? Im on breakfast duty, but I can probably have Kushina cover for me if youre in the mood." Though he generally appreciated Miras straightforward and caring nature, Vahn couldnt help but smile wryly in response to her assumption that he wanted to have sex. He certainly wouldnt mind going for a few rounds, but it wasnt exactly at the forefront of his thoughts. Unfortunately, it wasnt entirely unrted so he couldnt help but feel a little awkward as he replied, "Im not going to say no, but my actual intention was to ask for your opinion regarding future Temtes..." Realizing she had jumped to conclusions after feeling Vahns gaze on her throughout the exercise routine, a subtle blush spread through Miras cheeks as she suggested, "Why dont we talk after the fact? I dont have too much to say on the matter, but I know youll be a lot more clear-headed after were finished." Understanding there was a fair amount of truth contained within Miras words, Vahn decided to just go with the flow, smiling as he answered, "That sounds like a great idea..." in a whimsical tone. This elicited another giggle from the white-haired woman, who, feeling a little excited, promptly nted a kiss on his lips before they teleported back to their love nest... --- Proving that it might not be the best idea to think about important decisions while spectating a group of inordinately beautiful women exercising, Vahns mind cleared considerably following his mid-morning rendezvous with Mira. This allowed him to remember his previous decision to hold back on the creation of Temtes until he could move about more freely. After all, there was no need to create more Temtes when he already had two, maybe even more, children on the way. Vahn hadntpletely made up his mind on the matter, but the rapid development of Arceus miniature world had caused him to consider providing the assistance she insisted was necessary to fulfill her duties as a Creation Deity. This was something he was personally responsible for, so, after spending a considerable amount of time exploring Arceus developing realm, he had been opening up to the idea of helping her popte it. Though he didnt want to be the literal father of every single Pokemon, Vahn was well aware of the fact that Arceus wanted to fulfill the sacred duty she had assigned herself. She was secretly very stressed out about the fact that she had yet to produce even a single Pokemon, so, before she had a mental breakdown or became depressed, Vahn wanted to reward her efforts. His only reason for putting it off was because he didnt want to open the veritable Pandoras Box that sleeping with one of his Pokemon represented. Fortunately, Arceus was a bit of an outlier, so, unless their rtionship progressed much further, Vahn didnt think it would be a problem. He viewed the majority of his other Pokemon as his own children, a view that wasnt likely to change any time soon. In fact, he couldnt even imagine Latias, Kyrie, or Xerneas regarding him as a member of the opposite sex. Instead, they viewed him as their Creator, the person who gave them life, shaped their being, and afforded them the opportunity to live rtively peaceful and tranquil existences. Confidence in his assertion, Vahn decided that it was best to simply avoid thinking about problems that didnt exist. Instead, he focused on enjoying his time within the Little Garden to the fullest, be it through training, meditation, or simply watching the backsides of beautiful women as they cooked him a delicious meal. He really had nothing toin about, as,pared to the vast majority of people, he lived a rather idyllic and enviable lifestyle. The only thing he had to worry about was his own penchant for overthinking things, but, thanks to constant reminders from people like Madara, Roger, Yoruichi, Kushina, Hinata, and even Mira, even that was only a passing concern... --- While Vahn was enjoying a lifestyle few could even imagine, the eliminationpetition was finally drawing to a conclusion after the barrier surrounding the battlefield forced the remaining Regrs to confront and eliminate each other. By the end, only 12,832 of the original 128,320 Regrs were rewarded the qualifications to advance to the 11th Floor. From this total, only 160 were selected to participate in the uing Seeded Tournament, 32 contestants representing each of the five main Positions: Fisherman, Scout, Spear Bearer, Light Bearer, and Wave Controller. Generally speaking, it was rare for even a single member of a qualifying team to participate in the final Seeded Tournament. After all, only 0.12% of all participating Regrs had a chance to qualify for the event. Because of this, it came as quite the surprise when people realized that nearly every member of Team Wolf Pack had qualified for the main tournament. The only exceptions were Alea and Nare, but, considering the former was a pacifist and thetter only cared about money, neither was particrly surprised by their exclusion. Thanks to their coordination, teamwork, and individual skill, Team Wolf Pack had secured more than 12% of the total seeds for themselves. This was impressive all its own, but many of them were in the top twenty overall and top five for their respective Positions. Their Fishermen, in particr, secured the top five seeds with Endorsi being given the number one seed by default while Anak, Serra, Jung, and Yihwa were rewarded the 2nd through 5th Seeds respectively. Not losing out to their Fishermen counterparts, Gandr, unsurprisingly, secured the Top Seed for the Scout Position. Hatsu, however, lost the 2nd Seed to a young man belonging to a branch of the Ha Family. He ended up as the 3rd Seed while Tasha, Chunhwa, and Shibisu secured the 7th, 13th, and 27th Seeds for themselves. This earned thetter a few teasing remarks, but, considering he was the 27th Seed chosen among thousands of other Scouts, it was still amendable result for someone who had only started training seriously a few months prior... -------------------------------------------- [Seeds] [Fisherman] 1: Endorsi Jahad 2: Anak Permata 3: Arie Serra 4: Ha Jung 5: Yeon Yihwa [Scout] 1: Gandr Erebus Mason 2: Ha Suk 3: Hatsu ... 7: Tasha ... 13: Chunhwa ... 27: Shibisu [Spear Bearer] 1: Khun Ran 2: Rak Wraithraiser ... 6: Ohta ... 10: Aleksai [Light Bearer] 1: Ha Phae Stios 2: Khun Aguero Anges ... [Wave Controller] 1: Vahn Aldrnari Mason 2: Eurasia Yun-Yun 3: Phonsekal Laure ... 8: The 25th Baam -------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Someone shoot this man...,Just go with the flow~,Poor Shibisu xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1812 Decisions : Decisions

Chapter 1812 Decisions : Decisions

Sensing a number of presences enter the Little Garden, Vahn lightly smacked the backside of the woman facing away from him with her hands against the wall. This caused her body to tense up, drastically increasing her tightness, but it also earned him a not-so-gentle smack in the face with her lightning-infused tail. With bands of electricity dancing between his mrs, Vahn flexed and rubbed his jaw as he said, "It seems like the brats have just returned. We should head over to meet with them soon." Feeling a little frustrated by the slowing of Vahns pace, Yoruichi decided to take matters into her own hands, roughly smacking her butt against his hips as she heatedly eximed, "You can worry about thatter! Dont even think about getting away after you got me this riled up you bastard...!" Chuckling in response to Yoruichis protest, Vahn grabbed her pliant yet muscr left leg, forcing her to stand on a single foot as he turned her body sideways and began to increase his pace. This was enough to silence anyints she might have had, and, though it resulted in a substantial amount of electricity coursing through his body, it was one of the qualities he had learned to love about the insatiable feline beauty... --- After entrusting the exhausted Yoruichi to the care of Hinata, Vahn teleported to Team Wolf Packs headquarters alongside most of the Emerald Groves residents. There, he discovered that most of the Children had already split up to enjoy some rest and rxation, the majority retiring to the spa and bath facilities to wash up properly for the first time in nearly a month. The only people who had bothered to wait around for his arrival were Phae, Khun, Baam, Rak, Hatsu, and Tasha. Seeing the brte lingering near Hatsu, an amused smile spread across Vahns face as he shifted his attention to Khun and said, "Though I imagine Phae and Gandr helped out quite a bit, it would seem that Team Wolf Pack is well on its way to obtaining independence..." Answering before Khun, an elegant giggle escaped Phaes throat as she replied, "They really have grown a lot in these past few months. My only concern at this point is that there is a wall forming between the male and female members of the Team. Baam and Gandr are able to circumvent this, but I fear tensions will continue to grow as the awkwardness between the two sexes continues to increase..." Though there was currently a bnce between the two genders thanks to the introduction of Tasha, Alea, and Ohta into the group, that did little to address the underlying issue. The simple fact of the matter was that males and females generally couldnt coexist alongside one another without sexual tensions and individual expectations bing a problem. This was exacerbated by the inclusion of stress factors such as training and putting their lives on the line, but, more than anything else, it was the presence of numerous couples developing within the group that caused tensions to rise. Unfortunately, there wasnt really much they could do about the situation since matters of the heart and mind were never easy to address. They couldnt simply kick out people like Shibisu just because he was developing a bit of jealousy towards people like Gandr, Chunhwa, and even Hatsu. Rather, it was perfectly normal for him to feel a little envious since most of the female members of Team Wolf Pack were exceptionally beautiful, cute, or endearing. He was a healthy young man who was making an earnest effort to improve every day so it would have actually been stranger if he wasnt feeling a little resentful considering his efforts had yet to bear fruit... Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn shifted his attention from Phae to Khun as he said, "Youll need to keep that in mind as you move forward. It wont be easy, but healthymunication and a willingness topromise will go a long way. Gandr is a lot wiser than he lets on so you can trust him to help you resolve any serious issues. Just dont try to settle everything yourself. A real Familia shares their burdens and ovees adversity together." Having grown used to Vahns propensity for spontaneously giving advice, Khun offered a wry smile in response before asking, "So, I take it youll be leaving after the Seeded Tournament...?" Without footing around the issue, Vahn nodded in response before exining, "Therees a time when all baby birds need to leave the nest in order to fly freely. Our journies might run parallel, but our final destinations are drastically different. For the sake of everyone, I need to be able to move at my own pace." Understanding that Vahn could have easily passed through the Floors by taking the Guardian Test and having Ryun act as his Guide, Khun didnt doubt for a moment that he was restraining himself for their sake. Now, he was drawing as much attention to himself as possible just so they would have an easier time ascending the Tower... Restraining a sigh, Khun forced himself to smile as a resolute light shed across his eyes. Then, in a tone filled with conviction and determination, he said, "I vow to do everything in my power to make sure Team Wolf Pack ascends to the top of the Tower." Were he a little closer, Vahn would have reached out his hand to try and pat Khuns head, but, ever since the first time, the boy had made sure to stay out of casual petting distance. Fortunately, both Hinata and Morgiana were standing nearby so Vahn was able to upy both hands as he mused, "I have full confidence in your capacity as a leader. It isnt without reason that I selected you in lieu of Gandr. Im absolutely certain you will not only meet my expectations but transcend them entirely." Seeing Vahn caressing the heads of Hinata and Morgiana, Khun breathed an internal sigh of relief while maintaining a determined smile on the outside. Though it felt extremelyfortable, he was unable to ept having his head casually pet by another person, God or not. The idea, alone, made him feel a little perturbed, so, as much as possible, he did his best to either stay out of arms reach or make sure others were closer to Vahn than himself... Though he noticed the amusing changes in Khuns aura, Vahn pretended not to as he retracted his hands from the two petite girls heads, adding, "There are still a few days until the Tournament. If there are any questions or concerns you might have prior to our parting, dont be afraid to ask. Ill do my best to address everything before the events end." Understanding what Vahn was alluding to, Khun began to feel a little nervous, but, rather than show even a hint of perturbation on his face, he calmly asserted, "I wanted to ask if you could change my gender or provide me the means to freely alternate between male and female. I believe my current Loyalty should be more than enough to facilitate this...?" Though Phae, Tasha, Hinata, and Morgiana didnt seem particrly surprised, Baam, Hatsu, and Rak showed disbelieving and borderline incredulous looks in response to Khuns appeal. Thetter, Rak, even shouted, "Blue Turtle! Have you lost your mind!?" Before things could get too out of hand, Vahn gestured for silence, quite literally muting everyone present as he said, "Rx. Everyone has the right to choose the path they walk. Whether or not they are male or female, it makes no difference. If this is the path Khun has chosen, you should respect and support his decision." With that said, Vahn restored everyones ability to speak as he shifted his attention back to Khun and answered, "There are actually a number of options that dont require the use of Loyalty at all. Thetter is just the simplest method to reward those who have worked hard for the sake of myself and others. If youd like, I can cast a magical spell on your body that will allow you to change into a male or female after submerging yourself in cold or warm water. If you want something simpler to use, I also have a few rings that can freely swap the gender and even amplify certain aspects of the bearer. There are all kinds of options avable, each with their own banes and boons. The simplest solution, however, is to simply change your gender and be content. Swapping between male and female too many times will throw your mind, body, and spirit out of equilibrium." Though he really shouldnt be at this point, Khun was still taken aback by the various options that Vahn casually provided. It was something he had put a considerable amount of thought into, but, from the perspective of the God standing before him, it was a simple matter that required virtually no effort to address. Shaking his head, Khun adopted a wry smile as he answered, "Ill take the ring. I cant even imagine how inconvenient it would be to change gender every time I got sshed with cold or warm water. The ring seems a lot most convenient so I would like you to lend me one after changing my gender." Understanding that Khun had already decided that his base gender would be female, Vahn replied with a light chuckle as he pulled a silver ring inscribed withplex runes and asked, "Do you want to make the change right now? Though it was a little sudden, Khun understood this wasnt the kind of thing that got easier with the passage of time, so, after a brief moment, he nodded his head and said, "Im ready." in a somewhat hesitant tone. Without affording Khun the opportunity to change his mind, Vahn initiated the process using the Modify Function of his Unit Management. Immediately thereafter, Khuns body underwent a very rapid metamorphosis, his hair growing longer as his features became more delicate and feminine. By the time the process hadpleted, a moderately thin and delicate-looking woman with pale-blue hair, striking blue eyes, and fair features had reced the intellectual-looking youth that had previously been standing next to Baam. Surprised by how quick and painless the process had been, Khun found herself at a momentary loss for words as she stared down at her thin,parably dainty, fingers. She felt a very powerful sense of incongruency well up inside her chest, but, forcing it down, she managed a wry smile as she said, "Well...that was certainly an interesting sensation..." Chuckling in response to the young man turned womans words, Vahn tossed over the silver ring in his hand, exining, "That is a special ring known as [Satans Ring]. The name might sound a little foreboding, there are no detrimental effects associated with its use. Rather, it actually allows you to stockpile excess energy within your base form. The only downside is that the energy will be used up the moment you remove the ring and release your power. This will leave you feelingpletely exhausted, but, after your body adapts to the strain, it will be progressively easier to use." With that being said, Vahn pulled out a few additional rings, adding, "There are ten rings in total, but I will only entrust you with three for the time being. Ill leave representatives on the 20th, 50th, and 100th Floors, so, if you want the remaining rings, youll need to seek them out. The rings have the power to multiply their effects based on the number of rings you posses. With three, youll be able to experience a 9x increase in their ability to stockpile energy. With all ten, the effect increases to 100x, far more than your current body can handle. Id rather not see you explode so make sure you train hard before attempting to acquire the other rings." Though he knew the items handed out by Vahn were never simple, Khun was still shocked to hear him exin the abilities of the rtively simple-looking rings. Even High Rankers wouldnt be able to possess such a powerful artifact, so, unless it was absolutely necessary, he resolved himself not to remove them unless his life was in danger. With that thought in mind, he ced the first ring on his finger, wincing as a painful heat spread through his body and promptly reverted him back to his original appearance. Clearing up Khuns confusion, Vahn exined, "When you first put on the ring, it will siphon around 10% of your total reserves in order to trigger the effect. The original use of the rings was to restrict the power of a battle-hungry Demon Goddess. She had been struggling to find anyone capable of fighting against her so she created those rings to limit her own power. Unfortunately, she failed to ount for the fact that her power was constantly growing so they ended up gaining the ability to stockpile energy after excessive use. In the end, she ended up scattering the rings in the hope that someone would one day use them to challenge her for the title of Demon God." Hearing Vahn casually exin how the rings once belonged to an all-powerful Demon God, Khun, once again, found himself at a loss for words. He suddenly felt like a heavy burden had been ced on his shoulders, but, before he could ask about the fate of said Demon Goddess, Vahn added, "She is already dead. At the very least, she doesnt exist within the confines of the Tower. As for how they came into my possession...well, lets just say that Im very lucky." Understanding that Vahn wasnt going to reveal all his secrets, Khun just nodded his head before slipping on a second ring. This instantly turned him back into a female, but, unlike before, his bust seemed to have grown ever-so-slightly. This was very noticeable, as, in his original female form, he hadnt noticed even a hint of breasts hidden beneath his blouse. Now, however, he had the distinct impression he was a little off-bnce, forcing him to straighten his back in order to counterbnce the urge to slouch forward. Proving just how much his form had changed, Baam was staring with his mouth slightly agape as Rak, possessing absolutely no filter, remarked, "You got fatter." in a curt tone. This caused Khuns brows to twitch, but, rather thanment on the crocodilians remark, he slipped on the final ring just to confirm his suspicions. Unsurprisingly, his clothes suddenly felt very tight, and, though he was still shorter than Vahn, he could now clearly see the top of Baams head. Inspecting his body, Khun noticed that his height wasnt the only thing that had changed. He had be noticeably more muscr, and, thanks to the [REquip] system, he was able to see that even his facial structure had changed ever-so-slightly. He now appeared far more masculine than before, and, much to his chagrin, there was an uncanny resemnce between his current appearance and that of his father, Khun Eduan. Shaking his head, Khun removed the third ring from his finger in order to revert back to his female form before asking, "Am I allowed to share these rings with others?" Seeing through Khuns intentions in an instant, an amused smile spread across Vahns face as he answered, "My unique constitution effectively negates the power of these rings. From this moment on, they are yours to do with as you please. Whether or not you obtain all ten or lose them during your ascent up the Tower, that no longer has anything to do with me." Nodding his head in understanding, Khun snuck a nce toward Baam before ultimately shaking his head and storing the final ring in his [REquip] system... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Meow~,Vahn be like, "Gotta go fast...!",Khun has just received a terrifying power (OwO)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1813 Gifts Abound

Chapter 1813 Gifts Abound

Though Khuns sudden gender swap caused quite a stir among the members of Team Wolf Pack, it was the existence of the [Satans Ring]s that garnered the most attention. After all, the bromance between Khun and Baam wasnt really a secret; so, while the debate over whether or not he would be allowed to use the womens bath dominated the dinner conversation, it was the mention of the [Satans Ring] that persisted within peoples minds. Fortunately for the members of Team Wolf Pack, Vahn had already anticipated their interest in said essories so he had prepared a number of unique and interesting items as parting gifts. Most of these were rewards from the Premium Gacha so it wasnt like he was really losing out on anything. After all, he didnt really depend on power-ups gained from items; so, unless it was something that might break the bnce of the Record entirely, such as the Violet-Grade [Ragnarok], he didnt mind giving them away... ---------------------------------------- [Ragnarok] Rank: SS (Transcendent) Slots: 0 P.Def: 0 M.Def: 0 Abilities: Herald of Ragnarok(SS), Indestructible(SS), Negative Status Immunity(SS), Permanence(S) A deceptively simple-looking bracelet that holds the power to bring about the end of the world. All abilities used by the wielder have their mental, spiritual, and physical energy costs reduced to zero. Restriction(s): Curse of Indelibility(SS), Soulbound ---------------------------------------- Vahn had obtained a number of ridiculous items from the Premium Gacha, but none even remotelypared to the rust-covered [Ragnarok]. In exchange for never changing thanks to Permanence, you obtained virtually unlimited stamina, unparalleled rity of mind, and the ability to draw from your internal reserves without limit. This made it one of the most over-powered items that had evere into his possession, and, though it prevented the user from growing stronger, wielding it was tantamount to having unlimited power. Though Vahn was a little interested in the bracelet, the Curse of Indelibility wasnt something he wanted to mess around with. The curse,bined with the fact it was Soulbound, made it virtually impossible to remove. Even his ability to freely alter the structure of his body might not allow him to remove it, so, at least for the time being, it was collecting rust alongside the other dangerous items and artifacts that hade into his possession. Fortunately for the members of Team Wolf Pack, Vahn had stockpiled more than seven-thousand Premium Gacha Tickets over the course of several hundred years. The majority of these rewarded him with rtively useless items, but that was only the case for him. From the perspective of the average person, a D or C-Rank item was an amazing find, especially with the Grade determined by the Tier of the Record. The best example of a rather ridiculous C-Rank Item was the set of stylish ck and white pistols he had gifted to Nare. They were known as [Thalia, the Shrouded], and, though they had exceptionally low attack parameters, they would grow stronger with every enemy she killed via shooting the head or heart. There was no upper-limit to this power, so, if she took her training seriously and invested a bit of time in hunting Shinheuh, it wouldnt be long before they rivaled weapons of a much higher Grade. Though it went against his principles to hand weapons and items that would invariably be a crutch, Vahn knew it wouldnt be too much longer before Nare retired from climbing the Tower. At this point, the only thing keeping her going was the sense of unity that bound the group together, but, once things became truly dangerous, it was only a matter of time until she gave up her Regr status. She was already beginning to convince Chunhwa to start a family with her once they reached the 20th Floor, so he didnt see any harm in giving her the only weapon among the gifts he handed out. To virtually everyone else, Vahn gifted items that either directly amplified their existing powers, or, simr to Khuns [Satans Ring], allowed them to stockpile or store energy. Such items included an anklet known as [Adamantite] for Anak, a stylish hairpin known as a [Phoenix Pinion] for Jung, a pair of indestructible golden heels known as [Stillwalkers] for Endorsi, and an indescribablyfortable pillow known as a [Divine Pillow] for both Yun-Yun and Laure. In the end, Vahn tried to gift everyone with an item based on their personal preferences so Anaks [Adamantite] doubled her base Toughness and Shinsu Resistance. As for Jungs [Phoneix Pinion], it literally allowed her to recover from virtually all injuries, including fatal ones, once per day. This was one of the more extreme abilities possessed by the items Vahn had gifted out, but, considering her penchant for overtraining, it woulde in handy. Fortunately, even Endorsi didntin as her [Stillwalkers], on top of appearing fashionable, allowed her to effectively double the damage of her kicks thanks to their ability to reverse the vector of forces acting upon her body through the heels. So long as shended on her feet, Endorsi could effectively negate fall damage by transferring all kic energy from the descent into the point of impact. This further applied to her kicks, so, while it would take her a while for her to get used to feeling no feedback from even her most powerful blows, her damage potential had effectively doubled. The only real downside was that she had to willfully activate and control the ability or she wouldnt even be able to stand or walk properly due to the heels effectively emting a frictionless surface. Fortunately, Endorsi was more than capable of controlling the [Stillwalkers] without any discernible difficulty. Rather, it wasnt long before she was casually sliding through the halls of the manor like a professional ice skater. She also realized pretty early on that that she could increase her weight in order to drastically increase her speed. This was especially useful for someone like her, who used arge variety ofpression weapons, as somepression weapons easily weighed hundreds, or even thousands, of kilograms... --- Though they were only given three days to rest and recuperate before the Seeded Tournament, the members of Team Wolf Pack split their time between rxation and familiarizing themselves with their new armaments and essories. Endorsis example had inspired everyone to think outside, so, while some items werent particrly useful forbat, that didnt stop them from thinking about how to take full advantage of their unique effects. Having promised to stick around in order to make himself essible for questions and requests, Vahn was sitting out on the veranda with an amused smile as he watched Khun and Baam sitting near the base of the central World Tree. It was pretty fun to see Baam fluster about due to Khuns teasing, but, understanding it wasnt polite to pry into peoples personal lives, Vahn ultimately just leaned back while absentmindedly patting the back of the girl nestled against his chest. After learning about theing separation, Yun-Yun had taken the opportunity to ask if he would be her nappingpanion whenever he wasnt busy. Vahn didnt have any particr problem with this so he was currently holding the pink-haired Mare in a ko carry as she slumbered peacefully in his embrace. Her small size reminded him of the times he had napped alongside his daughters in their youth so Vahn was in a pretty good mood as he allowed Sis to construct a happy dreamscape for her to explore... Yun-Yun, despite appearing human, was actually an ancient race from Outside the Tower known as a Night Mare. They were a unique form of spirit that many mistakenly associated with Subi due to their penchant for sneaking into the rooms of strangers in the middle of the night. It didnt help that, prior to modifying their appearances to be more human, the majority of Mares had fluffy ck tails and tiny horns protruding from their scalps. This led to many being captured, imprisoned, enved, and outright killed by certain subsets of human society. Prior to his ascent up the Tower, Jahad had recruited one of the few surviving members of the Mare species, the current Leader of the Eurasia Family, Eurasia Blossom. Her original duty had been to eat the bad dreams their members had umted whilst climbing the Tower so that they wouldnt be adversely affected by the trials and tribtions they were forced to undergo. Fortunately, it quickly came to light that she was inordinately more talented at controlling Shinsu that virtually every other member of the party so she was ultimately elevated to the status of a Great Warrior, one of thirteen that had journeyed alongside Jahad to dominate the Tower. Though she was only pure-blooded Mare in the entire Tower, the blessings Blossom had received from the Guardians allowed her descendants to inherit many of her personal and racial traits. As a result, those with stronger blood ties to Blossom, particrly those of female descent, appeared uncannily simr to their Ancestor. Yun-Yun was the daughter of one of Blossoms daughters so she had strongly inherited thetters characteristics. This included pink hair, matching pink eyes, glowing white pupils, and, most notably, a child-like figure. She also received most of her nourishment by siphoning what her family referred to as dream energy. In actuality, they were receiving nourishment from the energy produced by a persons Ego. This was where a persons most important memories were stored, so, while it wasnt a mistake to say they ate dreams, it was more urate to say they devoured what many mistakenly believed to be the Soul. From an objective point of view, Mares were terrifying existences who, under the right conditions, could literally devour all of what made someone unique. They even had an ability that basically put their target into aa, drastically reducing their metabolism to the point most of their biological processes ground to a halt. It was for this reason they were seen as demons by so many people, as, whenever they found someone with particrly delicious dreams, it wasmon for a Night Mare to force them into a helpless state that allowed them to devour a targets dreams at their leisure. Fortunately, for the sake of their own self-preservation, modern Mares had adapted a simr yet significantly less terrifying version of the ability. Though they still had the ability to force their target into aa, the mostmon application of the technique was helping others rx so they could experience an extremely peaceful slumber. This made main-line descendants of the Eurasia Family rather popr among Regrs climbing the Tower; as, not only were they exceptionally powerful Wave Controllers, they could drastically reduce the mental and emotional strain umted from taking Tests. Since it was only ever a matter of time before his non-existent fate became intertwined with the members of the Eurasia Family, Vahn had actually been the one to suggest recruiting Yun-Yun into Team Wolf Pack. This was before he knew she was a Mare but it ultimately didnt matter since she took it upon herself to eat bad dreams even without needing to be asked. Her presence would go a long way towards preventing any trauma from taking root in the hearts and minds of the members of Team Wolf Pack; so, while her species was inarguably dangerous, Vahn was grateful to have her climbing alongside the rest of his Children. With this in mind, Vahn continued to gently cradle Yun-Yun while enjoying the indescribably soft and smooth sensation of the [Divine Pillow] against his neck. It was actually one of the higher grade items he had gifted out, rated as an A-Rank Divine-Tier item by The Path. What made it even more impressive was the fact that it was part of a set known as the Divine Beddings, a group of artifacts that, once gathered, would turn a person into an Immortal Demigod that presided over dreams. In total, there were seven pieces of the Divine Beddings set, including the [Divine Pillow], [Divine Futon], [Divine Mattress], [Divine Nightcap], [Divine Quilt], [Divine Pajamas], [Divine Underwear], and the [Divine rm Clock]. It was hard to ascertain the effects of each item, but, based on the [Divine Pillow]s ability to allow you to remain fully cognizant while manipting your dreamscape, it was safe to assume the other items hadplementary effects. Unfortunately, he wouldnt really know until Laure or Yun-Yun had obtained the other items, as, despite only being A-Rank, each piece of the Divine Beddings cost 100,000,000OP in the system shop... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Bruh...,Those heels are actually ridiculously OP...,Yun-Yun is well on her way to bing a Lazy Tower Master (OwO)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1814 Suspense...?

Chapter 1814 Suspense...?

With three days passing in the blink of an eye, all Regrs participating in the Seeded Tournament were asked to gather in the waiting rooms of the Coliseum located near the very center of Coliseum City. As could be expected, the Coliseum was a massive fighting arena that was encircled by viewing stands that could easily hold more than a hundred-thousand Regrs with room to spare. Instead of a singr stage, however, there were five circr pirs hovering above frigid, Shinsu-infused, waters. Though it would have made more sense for the event to be drawn out over several days, it was a long-standing tradition that the Seeded Tournament be concluded in a single afternoon. The Test Administrators didnt want passing Regrs to stick around for too long so they had arranged for five matches to take ce simultaneously. Ten minutes were allotted for each of these rounds and the victory conditions included: killing your opponent, forcing them to surrender, or knocking them off the tform. Unfortunately for his opponent, Vahn found himself facing down a young man with dark-green hair, pale-purple eyes, and a paleplexion. He was the 32nd Seed among Wave Controllers, as, rather than determine the brackets by random, the Administration pitted the most powerful seeds against the weakest from the very beginning. This was meant to ensure that the finals were fought between the two strongest Regrs in a Position, effectively removing the factor of luck from the equation. Vahn wasnt particrly fond of bullying the weak, so, immediately after the battle began, he simply extended his hand towards the youth. Even gifted Wave Controllers at F-Rank took several seconds to form a single Baang, so, without any suspense whatsoever, his opponent was forced back by an invisible wall of pressure. It took longer for him to hit the water than it did for the actual match so Vahn basically had the full ten minutes to watch the other rounds. Fortunately, Team Wolf Pack was scheduled to participate in practically every round so he would have ample opportunities to witness his Childrens growth... --- Though her match had already begun, Endorsi started things off with an extended yawn, much to the chagrin of her opponent, a spiky-haired man with a long scar running across his nose. From his perspective, she was demonstrating aplete disregard for him as an opponent, and, while this wasnt exactly wrong, the truth of the matter was that Endorsi was, actually, tired. She hadnt been getting much sleep as ofte, so, while she didnt actually take her opponent seriously, she wasnt intentionally looking down on him either. Unaware of Endorsis nightly antics, her opponent gnashed his teeth in indignation before pointing his Needle towards her and shouting, "I dont know much about the strength of a Princess of Jahad, but you have no right to look down on me! If you dont take this fight seriously...dont me me for what happens next...!" Hearing her opponents threat, Endorsi couldnt help but adopt a somewhat disdainful glower as she asked, "Are you an idiot? I am a Princess of Jahad. If I dont have the right to look down on an opponent, who does? Rather than broadcasting your ignorance for all to see, why dont you just attack? Seriously, are you expecting me to give you an invitation or something?" Gritting his teeth even harder, the spiky-haired Regr lurched towards Endorsi with a burst of speed that caused thetter to roll her eyes. He wasnt exactly slow, but,pared to the speeds she was used to dealing with, he might as well be standing still. Showing virtually no effort, Endorsi casually side-stepped the Regrs attempt to stab her in the gut. For a brief moment, she felt a powerful urge to just smash his face in, but, not wanting to do anything that might upset Gandr, she ultimately stepped around behind him before promptly pushing him in the direction of his initial charge with her foot. As a result, he ended up running out of the ring, unable to arrest his momentum before teetering off the edge and falling into the frigid water below. Though her words had no way of reaching the mans ears, that didnt prevent Endorsi from snorting disdainfully as she crossed her arms and groused, "Maybe thatll cool your head. Seriously, taunting a Princess of Jahad in public? Good luck finding people that want to team up with you in the future, you ignorant oaf..." --- Seeing Endorsi kick her opponent out of the ring, Gandr couldnt resist issuing a light chuckle as he stood rather cockily with Abby-tan on his shoulder. He had ended up pulling his opponent into his shadow before depositing the unfortunate fellow into the water below. This allowed him to view the matches of Endorsi and Ran without distraction since Vahn and Phae, unsurprisingly, defeated both of their opponents in an instant. Unfortunately, with the weakest seeds being forced to fight against the strongest, things were very one-sided. Even Rans fight onlysted until he got annoyed by his opponent mocking his height. This resulted in thetter being sent flying out of the arena with a lightning-infused kick, courtesy of Ran. Like many members of the Khun Family, Ran had a natural affinity with Lightning Elemental Energy. Even the physical form of his Shinsu Quality was a Lightning Spear so his speed, reaction time, and damage potential were exceptionally high in spite of the fact he was only twelve-years-old. He also had the benefit of his opponents constantly looking down on him. This allowed him the element of surprise, and, more often than not, allowed him to end most fights in a single blow... --- With Rans fight taking the longest, the first round of the Seeded Tournament concluded after a mere 53 seconds had passed. This left many of the spectators feeling a little dissatisfied, as it was always more interesting to see drawn out and shy battles, but there wasnt really anything they could do other than wait for some exciting action in the finals. Fortunately, so long as a member of Team Wolf Pack wasntpeting, the other battles were still pretty exciting. There were even a few close fights where the lower-seeded Regr managed toe out ahead of their opponent. These were the most exciting battles for spectating Regrs as it was a chance for them to make a profit and see an underdoge out on top. Everyone liked to see the strong sumb to the weak as it allowed them to believe they, themselves, might be able to ovee adversity and achieve greatness... --- Though he was lucky to have dodged a bullet by managing to avoid being pitted against any other members of Team Wolf Pack, Shibisu was still struggling quite a bit against the 6th Seed amongst Scouts. His opponent was a short and squat woman that gave off the impression of a bee thanks to her Needle and Observers emting the bulbous stingers of a honeybee. She had luminous blue-grey hair, a thick fur coat that included a puffy fur cor, and, most troubling of all, bee-like wings that allowed her to fly around at extreme speeds. Opponents that could fly were always extremely troublesome, and, if not for his Observers having an autonomous defense mode, Shibisu wouldnt be able to offer any resistance against the rather fierce female warrior. To make matters even worse, she had an extremely high Shinsu Resistance, so, even when he did manage tond a blow, the most he aplished was angering her even further. Refusing to be the only person on his team that was eliminated in the first round, Shibisu traded in his rifle for a shotgun, beads of sweat appearing on his brow as he advised, "Youre extremely fast and tough, Ill give you that. Unfortunately, it wont be enough to allow you to take a hit from this weapon. Youve already lost your Observers, Vespa...I suggest you quit before you sustain an injury that will interfere with your climb up the Tower..." While continuing to evade the automatic fire from Shibisus three Observers, his opponent, Vespa, adopted a potent glower as she rebutted, "Rude human. Do you really think you can defeat me? Without your annoying gadgets and that stupid cloak, this match would have already been over." Though it was a little embarrassing to admit, Shibisu couldnt actually refute Vespas words. She had actually managed to stab him with her poison-coated Needle pretty early in the fight, but, thanks to his fashionable purple [Bagworm], the only injury he suffered was a painful bruise beneath his left pectoral muscle. Shibisu felt a little annoyed by the fact he was only able to stay in the fight thanks to the items he had been given. That didnt mean he could just discard them, however, as Vespas initial blow might have killed him had he not been fortunate enough to join Team Wolf Pack. Exhaling a sigh, Shibisu adopted abat stance with the stock of his Shinsu-powered shotgun loosely resting against his shoulder. Unfortunately, he only had enough Shinsu and stamina to fire off a few rounds before he waspletely exhausted. If he didnt defeat her before then, there was nothing he could do to stop Vespa from seeking vengeance. This made him feel slightly suffocated, not because he was afraid of losing, but because he would have lost in spite of the many benefits he had been given... Feeling a shiver run through her body, Vespa increased the amount of Shinsu she was infusing into her wings. They were a translucent yellow by default, but, whenever she infused arge amount of Shinsu into them, they would radiate a vibrant golden light. This not only increased her speed by a tremendous amount, but it also made it exceptionally difficult for her opponents to look directly at her. This was a countermeasure she had developed due to the majority of her enemies attempting to clip or injure her wings, removing one of the few advantages she had over others. With a focused glimmer shing across her ck sclera and amethyst-colored eyes, Vespa created a visible afterimage in her attempt to evade the fragmented beam of Shinsu fired by Shibisu. Then, before thetter could fire a second volley, several more afterimages appeared around the arena as she said, "I normally try to defeat my opponents without causing them pain...for you, I will make an exception..." Immediately following her words, Vespa seemed to appear out of thin air right in front of Shibisu, the tip of her Needle creating a small ripple in the surrounding Shinsu as she aimed it directly at his face. Unfortunately for her, the defensive membrane generated by the [Bagworm] actually covered the wearers entire body. As a result, the tip of her Needle ttened to a dull point as it came into contact with an invisible barrier. Though some of the force was still transferred into Shibisus body, causing his nose to momentarily tten as he was pushed back by the force of the strike, his actual injuries were rather negligible. His training with Yoruichi had drastically increased his pain tolerance and resolution to continue fighting; so, even though he was sent hurtling towards the edge of the arena, he still managed to take aim at the surprised Vespa. Realizing she wouldnt be able to evade the attack at such a distance, Vespa surprised much of the crowd by spontaneously increasing in size. Her true form was actually much bigger than the squat and petite appearance she generally adopted for the sake of convenience; so, after deactivating her Compression License, her size increased from around 90cm to more than five meters in length. By spontaneously increasing her size, Vespa only suffered moderate injuries as the prative beams fired by Shibisu pierced her lower abdomen. This was far from ideal, causing her extreme pain, but it was a lot better than tanking the attack with her face. Fortunately, she could still use her Compression License to drastically decrease the size of the wound bypressing her body back to its petite form. This required Points each time she activated it, but, considering the alternative was to bleed out from holes the size of fists, splurging a few thousand Points was a small price to pay. Holding her bleeding abdomen, Vespa sneered in the direction where Shibisu had been sent over the edge. Part of her was tempted to fly down and finish him off but there were rules in ce that prevented Regrs with flight capabilities from flying above or below marked lines. After all, if they could just fly wherever they wanted, it would cause all kinds of problems if they chose to interfere with other matches or spam long-ranged attacks... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP 32nd Seeds...,Shibisus frustrations...,Thats a big bumblebee...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1815 Transformation

Chapter 1815 Transformation

Following the unsurprising defeat of Shibisu, the rest of Team Wolf Pack won their matches with rtive ease. The only other members who had any real trouble were Aleksai and Baam,rgely due to their rather passives natures. Aleksais skills had blossomed under the tutge of Fenrir, but he was far more focused on resisting blows than dishing them out. As for Baam, his talent was simply monstrous, but, due to his kind and caring nature, he had no desire to harm other people. Were it not for his nature, Baam could have easily secured the 2nd Seed among Wave Controllers for himself. He was simply too kind-hearted, a trait that was bound to cause numerous problems for Team Wolf Pack in the near and distant future. Despite knowing this, Vahn had no desire to change Baams personality as, much like Khun had put it, the Tower needed people like him. The same could be said for Team Wolf Pack, so, while he was bound to struggle early on, Vahn was certain Baam would help pave the way forward for the rest of his team. For now, Baam needed more experience. Even if these experiences included setbacks, there were numerous people who would support him. His powerful fate would also protect him, so, even if he couldnt help feeling a little worried, Vahn believed things would work out even if he wasnt around to protect and guide them... --- After waiting for nearly two hours, Vahn, once again, found himself atop one of the five pir-like arenas. His opponent was a sporty-looking girl with fiery-red hair, matching eyes, and bronzed skin that reminded him of Quant. Unsurprisingly, the announcer introduced the spunky little brat as Quinn Blitz, a descendent of the Blitz Family. They were a Special Family that was famous for producing Hwayeomsa, people capable of converting Shinsu, Divine Water, into mes. This was an exceptionallyplicated process, but, seemingly at the cost of their rationality, the unique family was filled with fiery-tempered redheads who could produce mes at will. The moment the rounds were started, a wry smile spread across Vahns face as the rather petite girl, another characteristic of the Blitz Family, fearlesslyunched herself toward him as a ming Baang of Shinsu coalescend in the air behind her. Then, even though she didnt have any actual bloodlust, a somewhat crazed smile spread across her face as she screamed, "Die~!!" in an excited tone. Though he had humored the idea of taking it easy on his opponents, Vahn knew it would be for the best if he wrapped things up quickly. With this in mind, he raised his hand in much the same way as his first match. This resulted in Quinn immediately jumping to the side, seemingly in an attempt to dodge the shockwave he had used to defeat his first opponent. At the same time, she manipted the ming ball of Shinsu to create a surprisingly swift whip of mes. Unfortunately for Quinn, Vahn was still making use of his Telekinesis, and, while her willpower made her feel a little heavy, it was ultimately futile. He managed to lock her in ce mid-jump, smiling as her whip of me impacted the invisible membrane produced by his Domain. Without affording the raging redhead the opportunity to muster a counterattack, Vahn tossed her over the side with an unceremonious sweep of his hand. She screeched a number of expletives on the way down, but Vahn ignored both her swearing and the booing from the crowd as he shifted his attention to the other matches... --- Though Baam was nearly eliminated in the second round due to his opponent resembling a young girl, the rest of the matches had preceded without incident. Even Aleksai managed to dominate his opponent with rtive ease, seemingly bing more determined after the close-call in the first round. With the second round of matches out of the way, things were finally beginning to get interesting as Vahn was facing off against Baam while Ran was matched against Aleksai. The second match, in particr, was something worth watching as Aleksai was one of the few people Ran considered to be slightly bothersome on a unique scale that included: slightly bothersome, a little bothersome, bothersome, very bothersome, too bothersome, and wants to kill. Ran was a rare breed of male tsundere so there was naturally no not bothersome category in his personal evaluations of the people around him. Even Phae was in the very bothersome category due to motherly treatment, something that made Ran feel awkward since his own mother hadnt been particrly caring. As for the rest of Team Wolf Pack, the majority fell into the bothersome and very bothersome categories. The only notably exceptions were Aleksai, Laure, and Yun-Yun; essentially anyone who didnt bother him all that often. Since he was a little interested to see how Ran would deal with someone he had virtually no desire to fight against, Vahn could only smile wryly when Baam adopted abat stance and said, "Ill do my best!" with determination filling his tone. Unfortunately for his young protege, this was neither training nor a stage where Vahn could afford to humor him. It was the venue he had prepared in order to demonstrate his skills, so, after shaking his head, Vahn adopted a serious look as he said, "This might be thest lesson I ever give you...with that in mind, pay close attention. Allow me to show you the difference that exists between us...the iprehensibly vast gulf youll need to ovee if you desire the power to protect everything..." Before Baam could ask any questions, Vahn exhaled a sigh that produced a cloud of white vapor. At the same time, an eerie stillness seemed to spread throughout the entire arena as everyone present began to feel an instinctual dread welling up from the most primal region of their hearts and minds. After taking measures to prevent his aura from interfering with the other matches, Vahn opened his eyes to reveal zing golden irises. Resplendent golden scales began to spread across all across his rapidly expanding body as two majestic wings erupted from his back, their breadth surpassing the diameter of the stage as Vahn, now in his Huanglong transformation, seemed to be the sole existence within the arena. Though he felt like his body was tearing itself apart, Vahn managed to appear absolutely calm as he stared down at the trembling Baam with an apologetic glimmer in his eyes. He had actually nned to save this transformation for the finals, but, realizing it would leave a deeper impression if he used it against Baam himself, Vahn decided to teach the youth one final lesson: the difference between a mortal and a God. Without affording his young protege any time to think, Vahn created a massive golden Baang that resembled a small sun. Then, to the horror of every spectating member of Team Wolf Pack, he fired the Baang towards the wide-eyed youth, cutting through the durable arena and piercing deep into the foundation beneath the Coliseum. When the light faded away, a tunnel that was more than 10m in diameter had formed, its depths impossible to determine even with bands of golden lightning illuminating the interior... --- Rising with a start, Baam took severalbored breaths as he looked around to discover himself beneath a familiar emerald-green canopy. He could also see the ce that had served as a home and headquarters for his team, the aptly named Wolves Den Manor. This allowed him to quickly calm down, his breathing nearly returning to a natural rhythm until he heard a voice from behind muse, "You certainly recover quickly..." Though he recognized the voice, Baam nearly jumped to his feet before a hand pressed down on his shoulder, keeping him seated. Then, with an apologetic smile on his face, Vahn took a seat next to the boy, asking, "Did you manage to absorb anything with that power of yours?" Feeling a warm andforting energy flow through his body, Baam exhaled a sigh of relief as the shadow of fear warping his expression quickly faded away. Then, after several seconds of silence, he answered, "I felt something, but I dont really know how to describe it..." Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn lightly ruffled Baams hair as he said, "Dont worry. Youll get it...eventually..." At this point in time, Baams Innate, [Primordial Sin of Gluttony], had yet to awaken. He thought a near-death experience might help the youth awaken, but, after seeing how quickly he recovered, it was pretty clear that he was more confused than anything else. After briefly considering whether or not it was a mistake to make things painless, Vahn shook his head in self-admonition before exining, "As I exined to you previously, there are a number of people in this Tower who intend to try and use you as a weapon. Since well be parting ways pretty soon, I decided to use this event to temporarily conceal your identity from them. From hereon, your identity as The 25th Baam will only be known to the members of Team Wolf Pack." Though he didnt fully grasp Vahns words, Baam still nodded his head as if he understood what the former was trying to say. This caused Vahn to chuckle in amusement, affectionately ruffling theds hair a second time as he added, "With your consent, I intend to modify your apparent age, race, and physical appearance. This should allow you to climb the Tower without having to worry about your friends being targetted by fools who only see them as a means to control you. I dont want to see a future where you be a weapon used to fulfill the dreams of others..." Hearing the concern in Vahns voice, Baam managed the type of smile that only a protagonist could pull off as he replied, "I understand, Mr. Vahn. I also want to protect my frien-, no, my family. Please do what you think is necessary. Im ready...!" After suppressing the sudden urge to continue watching over and guiding Baam during his ascent up the Tower, Vahn ruffled the boys rapidly growing hair as he said, "Your appearance will actually be very important for a number of future events. With that in mind, I wont be changing your basic features too much. Ill simply be aging you up a bit while changing your hair and eye color. As for your race, youll still remain human, but youll have features resembling those of an ancient species of Elves." By the time Vahn had finished speaking, Baam had matured quite a bit. His height increased from 168cm to just over 180cm, his body bing noticeably more muscr as his hair turned a simr shade of brown to his mother. His eyes also lost their golden luster, bing a rich hazelnut color while his ears became pointed and more angr. These made his already androgynous appearance be even more refined, but, so long as he cut his hair, he would resemble a pretty boy more than a handsomedy. Preempting any questions his not-so-young protege might have, Vahn pulled out a hand mirror as he said, "You should change clothes using the [REquip] system. Though Khun might deadpan if they saw you nearly bursting out of your clothes, others mightugh." Following Vahns advice, Baam quickly changed clothes before epting the hand mirror so that he could see himself properly. Vahn wanted to mention that he could have inspected himself using the [REquip]s interface, but, after habitually pulling out a hand mirror, he decided to stay quiet. Instead, he just smiled as Baam began to make faces at himself, seemingly struggling to reconcile that the person staring back at him was himself... (A/N: Alternate Titles: DIE, RIAJUU! EXPLODE~!!,*Insert Gilgamesh firing Ea sound*,Vahn over here making Khuns life more difficult xD...) (A/N: Today is the second year anniversary of the first chapter of EPIC. I had originally wanted to do something special by releasing a bunch of chapters, but my health hasnt been particrly great as ofte. Still, I hope everyone is still enjoying the story. If there are any issues, please let me know in thements section or send me a message on discord. We still have a long journey ahead of us so your feedback is very important to me. Other than that, I just wanted to thank everyone who has stuck around to see the story grow into the epic is has be. Without your continued support, I never would have been able to continue writing like this. Know that, from my perspective, you guys and gals are the best part of EPIC. Thank you.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1816 Moving Forward

Chapter 1816 Moving Forward

While his temporary vessel was dealing with Baam within the Little Garden, Vahn, still in his dragon transformation, continued to hover silently above the arena. He was doing his best to stand out as much as possible, so, rather than power down after his instantaneous erasure of Baam, he allowed his aura to continually increase as he turned his attention towards the other stages and said, "Sorry about that. You may continue." Though none of Team Wolf Pack truly believed that Vahn had killed Baam, that didnt prevent them from being stunned by the sequence of events. Even Phae, who was still a nascent Ego linked with Vahn, found herself at a loss for words so Vahn wasnt particrly surprised when a beam of red lightning, courtesy of Rak, emerged from the viewing area reserved for participants. Rather than attempt to dodge, Vahn allowed Raks spear to impact his chest without so much as flinching. Instead, a terrifying smile spread across his face as he crossed his arms in what appeared to be a condescending manner. This further upset Rak, but, having vited the rules, he was rather unceremoniously ejected from the viewing stands before Khun and the rest could attempt to calm him down. Fortunately, there were still several minutes left before the next matches were scheduled to begin so the majority of Team Wolf Pack, after ring towards Vahn with masks of hatred, moved as a group to intercept the enraged crocodilian. Vahn was very impressed by this disy, a taunting smile spreading across his face as he watched the group depart in a hurry... Since the rest of the matches had yet to continue, Vahn shifted his attention back to the other four stages, his aura continually increasing as he asked, "What are you waiting for? I have already given you permission to continue." With the exception of Phae and Gandr, the rest of the Regrs, including Endorsi, Ran, and Aleksai, were still a little too surprised to take action. This was actually the trios first time seeing Vahn in his dragon transformation. Prior to this, they thought his title as Sage Dragon Emperor was just that, a title. Now, however, they realized the title was, quite literally, a description of Vahns true form... Seeing the expressions on everyones faces, the notion that he might have gone a little too far, very briefly, crossed Vahns mind. Immediately afterward, however, he realized he could capitalize on this situation, a thoughtful glimmer shing across his zing golden irises as he looked towards Phae and said, "It seems my presence here is a distraction. Come, Phae, were leaving." Though she was momentarily confused by Vahns words, Phae quickly realized his intentions when he momentarily strengthened their connection. This made her feel a little mncholic, but, as they were already nning to separate following the tournaments conclusion, she quickly teleported to Vahns side, smiling as she took a seat on his shoulder and said, "I forfeit my match. Good luck with the rest of the tournament." Before the meaning of her words could properly settle in the minds of everyone present, both she and Vahn vanished in an explosion of golden light. This left the majority of the crowdpletely stunned, unable to process what had just happened. The only Regrs exempt from this were the few who had actually bet against Vahn and Phae, their excitementpelling them to shout out in glee as they promptly ran off to collect their earnings... --- Having already familiarized himself with areas that werent under the Administrations surveince during his date with Ryun, Vahn teleported to the roof of a building located in one of the shadier districts of the Coliseum City. The organization known as FUG had created numerous footholds for themselves on virtually every Floor, and, thanks to their agreement with the Guardians, their actions were invisible to theworks maintained by the Administration. This was one of the reasons they were able to recruit gullible Regrs, as it created the illusion they had power that superseded the authority of both the Administrators and the Jahad Empire. After spreading his senses to confirm their emergence had gone unnoticed, Vahn, now in his human form, pulled out the Little Garden before ejecting Baam from the interior. Then, after exining the situation, he ced his hand on the boys shoulder and said, "You wont be walking alone, but, from this moment onward, youll be treading a path of your own choosing. Myst bit of advice, at least for the time being, is that you shouldnt be afraid to make mistakes. People learn more from failure than they do from sess, so dont allow setbacks to prevent you from moving forward. When the timees, Im certain our paths will cross again...Noctis..." Though Vahn was tempted to give Baam his actual name, he figured it would be more appropriate for him to receive it from his parents. Thus, after confirming Latin wasnt anguage that existed in the Tower, he came up with the name Noctis, meaning Night. It wasnt the most creative name, but, considering Baams current name was derived from a date, Vahn didnt think it was that bad... Hearing his new name, a look of conviction shed across Noctis eyes as he balled his hands into fists and said, "Ill do my best to be strong enough to protect everyone. No matter how many times I stumble, I will always pick myself back up and keep moving forward. I promise." Smiling in response to the youths assertion, Vahn ruffled Noctis hair one final time as he said, "I know you will. Just as you believe in me, I also believe in you. See you at the top, kiddo..." With those parting words, Vahn retracted his hand from Noctis head before standing next to Phae, both smiling as they teleported away in an instant. This left Noctis feeling a little mncholic, but, after hearing a ringing sound from his Pocket, the solemn expression on his face melted away as he was reminded of the fact he was never truly alone... --- Appearing at the entrance to the teleportation terminal connecting to the 11th Floor, Vahn wasnt surprised to find the Ruler of the Floor, Celh, waiting for them. There were several members of the Test Administration also present, but, as he hadnt exactly vited any rules, it wasnt like they could do anything to him. As a result, Vahn smiled back at the Ruler and his entourage, asking, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Returning a smile of his own, Celh replied, "I was looking forward to seeing your performance in the finals. With your power, you could have easily won the entire tournament..." Chuckling in response to the Rulers words, Vahns tensions eased as he exined, "There is no real meaning in securing victory in a tournament with five winners. Besides, I have already demonstrated more than enough power to garner the attention of every major faction within the Tower. Going out of my way to bully a bunch of brats isnt really my style. Now, if there is nothing else of import, mypanion and I would like to advance to the next Floor." Though he was amused by Vahns bravado, Celh couldnt help frowning slightly in response to the formers words. He was both a High Ranker and the Ruler of an entire Floor, so, while it might not really matter in the grand scheme of things, he still expected a certain amount of respect from others... Feeling a remarkable aura begin to emanate from the androgynous High Ranker, an exasperated sigh escaped Vahns lips as he asked, "Are we really doing this? I have already earned the right to advance to the next Floor. Even as the Ruler, youck the authority to revoke that qualification. Do you really intend to try and intimidate me when we both know you cant so much as lift a finger to prevent my passage? The Guardian will literally erase you from existence if you try something." With his impression of Vahn decreasing by the moment, Celhs expression turned sullen as he said, "Even if you possess an extraordinary power, making enemies out of High Rankers is unwise. I had hoped to extend to you my friendship...now, however, it seems you are more interested in my ire. Tell me...did my Lo Po Bia Family offend you somehow...?" Rather than answer the mans question, Vahn extended his hand out, palm up like he was expecting something. This caused quite a bit of confusion, at least until he exined, "Information isnt free. If you want me to continue with this farce, the price is one-million Points per question." Vahn had never been fond of being interrogated one-sidedly by people who assumed themselves to be in a position of authority above him. Even he never expected people beneath him to answer his questions one-sidedly so it always annoyed him a little whenever someone expected him to just disclose things for their convenience. This couldrgely be attributed to Lokis training, but, more than anything else, Vahn simply disliked being talked down to by people who believed they could toy with him at their leisure. As could be expected, his words werent particrly well-received by the Test Administrators, but, somewhat unexpectedly, Celh seemed to rx slightly as he pulled out his own Pocket. In the next moment, a million Points had been added to Vahns. Then, with a smile on his face, he asked, "Tell me...do you have any enmity against the Lo Po Bia Family?" Quickly realizing that a verbal contract had been established a result of his previous statement, an exasperated sigh escaped Vahns throat as he answered, "There is no particr enmity between me and the Lo Po Bia Family." Though he was a little disappointed that Vahn hadnt tried refusing to answer his questions after the contract had been established, Celh managed to smile as he sent over an additional two-million Points and asked, "What is your reason for climbing the Tower? Are you currently affiliated with any known organizations within the Tower?" Resolving himself never to arbitrarily antagonize a Ruler in the future, Vahns expression became increasingly annoyed as he answered, "My reason for climbing the Tower is exactly that: to climb the Tower. I have no particr goal, nor am I directly affiliated with any known organization within the Tower." Since he had never actually joined Wokhaiksong, Vahn wasnt lying when he said he wasnt directly affiliated with any known organization. He was a prospective member, sure, but there was no need to rify that. Satisfied by Vahns responses, Celh nodded his head in approval before sending him onest batch of Points, asking, "Tell me, that power you disyed...is that your limit?" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes in response to the mans rather vague questions, Vahn shook his head in mild exasperation as he answered, "I am steadily growing stronger, just like everyone else that is climbing the Tower. Why would you assume that was my limit?" Realizing his question hadnt been specific enough, a discontented frown marred Celhs face as he briefly considered whether or not he wanted to continue throwing Points at the man standing in front of him. As a High Ranker, a few million Points was tantamount to a couple of drops in a veryrge pale, but that didnt mean he wanted to continue handing them out. The only reason he had epted Vahns proposal was to ensnare the man by using his own words against him. Since this hadnt really worked out, he saw no reason to continue ying around; so, after several seconds of silence, he ultimately shook his head, smiling as he said, "I have no further questions. You and yourpanion may go. I look forward to meeting you once you be a Ranker." Though he understood the hidden meaning contained within the mans final remark, Vahn didnt pay it any mind. It shouldnt take him more than a few years to rival the average High Ranker, and, by the time he reached the top of the Tower, even the Leaders of the Ten Great Families might not be his match. After all, this was just a trial linking the lowest Realm in the Record to the three major Realms above. If he got stuck in a ce like this, he might as well give up on his goal of reaching Tier 7 in a timely manner. With that in mind, Vahn returned a nod towards Celh and his entourage before walking past the group without another word. This caused an arrogant smile to spread across the face of the High Ranker, but, having already disregarded the mans existence in its entirety, Vahn advanced toward the teleportation tform without taking notice... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Flex*,Lokis training really pays off in certain situations (OwO)...,Vahn be like, "Bye, Felicia...") (A/N: For those who are confused by the verbal contract, it was basically just Celhs attempt to exploit his position as Ruler. The Guardians are generally the guarantors of contracts, but, as the Ruler of a Floor, Celh basically wields a simr level of authority. Since Vahn had issued terms, it was well within his power to recognize it as an actual contract; one which would have allowed him to take direct action if the terms were vited. TL;DR: Vahn yed himself.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1817 Action

Chapter 1817 Action

With the smell of saltwater tickling his nostrils, Vahn stared absentminded at the cloudy blue skies and the seemingly endless sea surrounding the tform he and Phae had been teleported to. A brief mncholy swept him at the notion that he wouldnt see the members of Team Wolf Pack for several years, but, understanding they had their own path to walk, he eventually just shook his head before shifting his attention towards the Test Admin that had appeared to greet them. Seeing that Vahn was finally paying attention, the Administrator, a petite woman with short white hair tied fastened into two tiny buns, crossed her arms and said, "Its about time you started paying attention. What, did yourpanions fail to qualify or something?" Though he was tempted to frown in response to the womans words, Vahn just replied with a light chuckle before answering, "Nothing of the sort. Please, proceed with your exnation." Since it didnt really matter to her what the duos story was, the Administrator quickly adjusted her oversized blue-blocker sses as she remarked, "Well, whatever. The names Ranker Xia Tarou. For the duration of your stay on the 11th Floor, you can refer to me as Administrator or Lady Tarou. As for your Test...well, things are pretty simple, really. You need to catch a variety of different Shinheuh from the surrounding waters. Each Shinheuh has an exchange value depending on how well they are preserved or whether or not they are still alive. All exchanges and purchases can be made at the central residential tform. Also, while there are no penalties for leaving the area, you will lose your qualifications as Regrs if you attempt to approach any of the surrounding inds." Finding it rather amusing that a petite girl wearing strangebat fatigues would ask people to refer to her as Lady, a natural smile spread across Vahns face as he mused, "Thank you for your exnation, Lady Tarou. I do have a few questions, however...that is, assuming you are willing to humor me..." Like most Rankers working as Administrators, Xia Tarou was typically bored out of her mind while supervising Regrs. As a result, she spent most of her time training in preparation for the annual Ranking Battles that urred between the various factions inside the Tower. This was usually more than enough to deal with any urges she might have, but, for some reason, Vahns nonchnt and somewhat cocky smile caused her heart to skip a beat. Though he noticed the peculiar fluctuation in Xia Tarous aura, Vahns expression didnt change in the slightest until she answered, "Sure...just make it quick." With the edges of his smile curling up even more, Vahn went on to question Xia Tarou about the specific rules and regtions enforced on the 11th Floor. He also asked about the peculiar floating resort they had found themselves in, a curious instation that wasposed of several buildings linked together by long piers. It was clearly something that constructed by the Workshop so he was a little interested to understand its true purpose. Xia Tarou would normally depart immediately after exining the basics of the 11th Floor so she was more than a little surprised when she checked the time on her Pocket and noticed that nearly two hours had passed. This made her feel a little unsettled, and, for a very brief moment, she even considered the possibility that Vahn had used some kind of hypnosis against her. Of course, if that had been the case, the personal terminal issued to all Administrators would have informed her of the grievous vition of the rules. Since it hadnt, the only possible reason for her uncharacteristicpliance was that she had been pulled into the pace of a Regr... Feeling a little embarrassed, Xia Tarou adopted a slight frown as she abruptly interrupted the flow of the conversation to ask, "Are you a Scout? Youre quite talented at guiding a conversation..." Chuckling in response to the sudden inquiry, Vahn shook his head before casually answering, "My official Position is Wave Controller. If anything, Im just fortunate that Lady Tarou was kind enough to answer my questions. I understand your duties as an Administrator must keep you very busy so I am very grateful for the detailed exnation you have provided..." Waving her hand in a dismissive manner, Xia Tarou smiled awkwardly as she said, "You might not be a Scout, but you certainly have a way with words. I bet you were real popr with thedies back in your home town, right? Well, you can forget about trying to butter up to me, you hear? You might be a handsome little bugger, but that wont get you any extra benefits from me." Though Vahn got the impression he could get numerous benefits from the moderately flustered woman standing in front of him, he still nodded his head, a sad smile spreading across his face as he replied, "I suppose Ill have to be content with the kindness you have already shown me...thank you, Tarou..." Hearing Vahn call her name directly, Tarous heart skipped several beats as a contradictory urge to squeal happily and punch him square in the face welled up inside of her. The thought of a Regr calling her by name made her feel very ufortable, but, at the same time, she couldnt really imagine herself punching Vahn in his stupidly handsome face. Taking advantage of Tarous momentary stupor, both Vahn and Phae offered her polite bows before attempting to walk past her. This caused her to immediately snap out of it, a frown marring her face as she reached out to grab Vahns wrist by pure instinct. Rather than pull his hand away, Vahn raised his brows slightly as he looked down at the 156cm tall woman and asked, "Is there something you wished to discuss, Lady Tarou?" Surprised by her own actions, Tarou quickly released Vahns wrist as she answered, "No...I just...you shouldnt just walk away from someone in the middle of a conversation. Its very rude...show some respect. I am a Ranker, after all..." Though he was tempted to point out he had been very polite, even offering her a slight bow toward the end, Vahn, instead, answered, "I understand...I was merely under the impression that Lady Tarou had other matters to attend. If there is something more youd like to discuss, however, I dont mind keeping youpany." With Vahns statement basically reversing their previous positions, Tarou found herself momentarily at a loss for words. The way he spoke made it appear as if she wanted him to stay, and, considering she had literally prevented him from walking away, there was no way for her to argue against it. Feeling as though she had been yed, Tarou balled her right hand into a fist as she asked, "Are you fucking with me, you impudent little rascal...?" Raising his brows at Tarous poor choice of words, Vahn showed an amused smile as he replied, "Id be a pretty lucky man if that were the case..." To punctuate his statement, Vahn sent a yful wink towards the befuddled Tarou before promptly turning around and walking away. This time, however, she made no attempts to stop him. Instead, she absentmindedly observed their departure for several seconds before clenching both fists and muttering, "You cheeky little brat..." while a vibrant red hue spread through her cheeks... --- After familiarizing themselves with the facilities, Vahn checked himself and Phae into a suite that typically amodated a full party of Regrs. Then, after doubling up on the privacy measures and security, they gathered within the living room. Before that, however, Phae didnt hesitate to tease him a bit, musing, "You appear to have made quite the impression on Lady Tarou..." Chuckling in response to Phaes statement, Vahn casually manifested the Little Garden atop his palm as he said, "She is pretty cute. White-haired women with red eyes have a certain charm to them and Ive always had a thing for the feisty,bat-oriented, types. Even without her outfit giving it away, I can tell by the bnce of her body that she is an exceptionally talented martial artist. I imagine she is pretty limber as well..." Sharing the majority of Vahns preferences, Phae didnt me him for going out of his way to tease Tarou. In fact, had she been in a position to do so, she would have done the same. Unfortunately, at least for the time being, she had other duties to attend. With this in mind, she skillfully filled Vahns cup to the brim before taking a seat and saying, "Based on the information provided by our white-haired friend, we should be able to clear this Floor as early as tomorrow afternoon. Did you want to explore the surrounding inds, or will we be climbing up the Tower as quickly as possible?" Having already formted a n the moment he decided to separate from Team Wolf Pack, Vahn allowed the Little Garden to dissipate as he answered, "Based on what the Law of Identity revealed, the only thing on the inds are a few species of Shinheuh being researched by the Workshop. Ill send Latias and Latios to check things out, but it doesnt seem like anything suspicious is going on." Agreeing with his decision, Phae nodded her head in approval before asking, "Do you want me to begin gathering Shinheuh from the surrounding waters?" Rising to a seated position, Vahn adopted a somewhat apologetic smile as he answered, "I would appreciate it. My current n requires us to reach the 20th Floor within the next two months. After that, Ill be aiming for the 30th in order to participate in the Workshop Battle. The next fragment of that artifact should be located on the ind where the finals are scheduled to take ce. Only the Archimedes has the coordinates for the ind so my current objective is to reach the 30th Floor in the next four months. Id rather not have to wait five years for a second opportunity, so well need to focus on clearing each Floor in a timely manner..." Though it wasnt a pressing matter, Vahn had learned of the existence of Enryus Thorn thanks to the Law of Identity telling him about it while assuming the identity of a FUG Elder. Since it was their trump card against Jahad and the Ten Great Families, procuring it for himself virtually guaranteed that FUG would ce all their focus on him. Vahn intended to do everything in his power to shift attention away from Team Wolf Pack, so, even if it guaranteed he would be hunted down and badgered by FUG, he still intended to collect each of the Thorns fragments for himself. He was also very interested in its structure and properties, so, for the time being, most of his ns revolved around stealing the fragments and eliminating any major threats that might impede Team Wolf Packs progress. With this in mind, Vahn rose to his feet alongside Phae before promptly departing the suite. Rather than follow her out to the pier, however, he made his way up to an observation deck that had been converted into a training gym. It was a ce that had originally been intended for Regrs to use, but, for a variety of reasons, very few actually used it. Instead, he found Tarou inside, her lithe body dripping with sweat as she beat the living daylights out of an exceptionally durable sandbag. Sensing the presence of someone else in the usually empty gym, a frown immediately developed across Tarous face as she kicked the 2,000kg sandbag with enough force to send it crashing into the nearby wall. She hated to be disturbed when she was trying to vent her frustrations, but, seeing who had entered the room, her anger immediately gave away to stupefaction as she asked, "What the hell are you doing in here?" Smiling in response to the expected question, Vahn peeled away the outeryer of his blouse to reveal his chiseled body hidden beneath a form-fitting ck [Aegis] top. This caused Tarous eyes to widen slightly, an audible gulp emanating from her throat as she adopted a low stance and warned, "If you try anything...I will fucking destroy you..." Rather than demonstrate even a modicum of fear, Vahn smiled in response to Tarous threat before casually remarking, "Id like to undertake your Special Test...." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn on the prowl...,I almost feel bad for FUG...,Oh my (OwO)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1818 Capabilities

Chapter 1818 Capabilities

Though he had already known what to expect thanks to the Law of Identity, Vahn couldnt help but smile appreciatively as he watched Tarou, wearing little more than form-fitting shorts and a ck top, scale aplex rock wall without the use of Shinsu. Her body might be a little pact, but the structure and development of her muscles was top tier. It was clear she had spent much of her life training, but, rather than inhibit her beauty in any way, it had only served to refine her petite figure into a beautiful work of art. After reaching the top of the 300m artificial rockface, Tarou pped a buzzer near the top before breathing a sigh of relief as she released her grip. This caused her to fall rather slowly thanks to the pull of gravity only being around 8.3m/s2, but she still impacted the ground with enough force to create a massive explosion of dust and debris. As for the reason, it was entirely due to the fact that the manacles around her wrists and ankles weighed precisely 1000kg each. A thousand kilograms might not be a lot in a world where people could easily lift millions, but even a small amount of weight could be extremely troublesome under the right conditions. Climbing was just such a condition, as, rather than having solid ground to provide leverage against tremendous weights, sess depended entirely on things like grip strength, body control, and the development of your joints, tendons, and ligaments. Generally speaking, it was extremely difficult to strengthen cogen fibers that made up tendons and ligaments. It required an inordinate amount of resistance training without reliance on things like body reinforcement of Shinsu Enhancement. This was something very few people actually put any effort into, as, rather than focus on strengthening their bodies, the majority of people thought it was better to expand their internal Shinsu reserves and refine their control. While it wasnt wrong to focus on increasing your internal reserves and control, those who survived through countless battles quickly learned the importance of strengthening the body and improving your foundation. After all, Shinsu primarily worked as a multiplier for existing parameters, so, when two people with simr reserves and control fought, the one with greater physical parameters had an extreme advantage. There were also numerous situations where you might find yourself unable to use Shinsu; so, more often than not, the centuries following a Regrs transition into a Ranker involved them having to painstakingly increase the strength of their body, a difficult task for those who hadnt developed the habit while they were young... After patting herself down and picking away a few bits of debris, Tarou wiped the sweat from her brow as she gazed over at Vahn and said, "I dont normally give a route demonstration. Youre lucky Im in a good mood. Now, just as I said before, you have thirty minutes to scale this wall and hit the buzzer near the top. Youre allowed to continue if you fall but if youll be disqualified immediately if you attempt to use Shinsu to cushion the impact." Though he understood the only reason she had given a demonstration was so that she could show off a bit, Vahn still cupped his hands in an expression of gratitude as he said, "It was a privilege to see Lady Tarous example. Thank you." Feeling a little embarrassed by Vahns words, Tarou picked a few loose strands of hair from her face, smiling as she said, "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Now, put on your weights and get on with it. Im not exactly busy, but there are better uses for my time. Ive already indulged you a lot more than I should have." Chuckling in response to Tarous words, Vahn donned the thousand-kilogram manacles without any visible signs of strain as he said, "Its a shame. Ive enjoyed our time together quite a bit..." before approaching the rock wall and adding, "I guess Ill have to wrap this up quickly..." Without looking back to observe the slight frown on Tarous face, Vahn extended his hand towards the first hold. It was a bit smoother than he expected, but, after gaining absolute mastery over his body several hundred years prior, it was a simple matter for him to scale the artificial cliff. He didnt even have to strain himself in the slightest, surprising the white-haired Ranker quite a bit when he reached the top of the 300m face in less than a minute. After pping the buzzer near the top, Vahn repeated Tarous action of releasing her hold on the final grip. Rather than impact the ground like a meteor, however, hisnding caused a wave of air pressure to emanate from his body, dissipating harmlessly into the surroundings. He had basically done the opposite of Endorsis [Stillwalkers], absorbing the impact into his body and dispersing it outward instead of into the ground. Taking advantage of Tarous stupefaction, Vahn repeated his earlier action of cupping his hands, this time bowing slightly as he said, "Your demonstration was very helpful. Knowing the path in advance made things a lot easier." Coming to her senses at the sound of Vahns words, Tarou adopted a potent frown as she asked, "Is this a game to you? I wont deny that your power and control are remarkable, but do you honestly believe that puts you in a position to show off in front of a Ranker?" Rather than outright refute Tarous words, Vahn shook his head slightly, a rxed smile on his face as he exined, "I didnt take into consideration the fact you were a Ranker. I just wanted to show off a bit in front of a beautiful woman. Im sorry if I offended you. Dont worry,e tomorrow, Ill most likely be advancing to the 12th Floor. After that, Ill be out of your hair." Though she was still a littletled, Tarous expression changed to one of confusion as she asked, "What? Youre leaving tomorrow? Is that supposed to be some kind of joke? Even skilled teams of Regrs take several weeks to clear this Floor..." Shaking his head, Vahn affirmed, "Its the truth. While others might struggle to catch prey several hundred meters beneath the surface, its a simple matter for me and mypanion. Now that Ivepleted your Special Test, Phae will be able to gather more than enough resources to qualify us for advancement to the next Floor. Go ahead and check in on her using your Terminal if you dont believe me..." Resisting the urge to do just that, Tarou continued to re back at Vahn, frowning as she said, "You really are treating this as if it were a game...I really hate your type. Tell me, why do handsome guys always turn out to be arrogant or cocky assholes? Seriously. I thought you might have been a little different, but youre just the same as all the other insincere jerks in the Tower..." Rather than take offense to Tarous usation, Vahn just exhaled a sigh before shaking his head, yet again, and exining, "Im just being honest with you. Nothing Ive said thus far has been a lie. You really are an attractive woman and the structure of your body is simply amazing. Unfortunately, our paths were only ever destined to intersect for a very brief moment. Just as you are striving to fulfill your hopes and dreams, my own require me to climb the Tower as quickly as possible." Though she didnt feel any less annoyed after hearing Vahns words, Tarou knew she couldnt really refute them. This made her feel even more annoyed, as, shortly after their first encounter, a fire had been burning in her body. She had tried to quench it by exercising her body, but, thanks to Vahns intrusion, the previously small me was now zing like an inferno. It had been several decades since shest encountered a man who tickled her fancy so it was exceptionally annoying to hear he would be leaving the following day. Realizing that Vahn might just be bullshitting her in an attempt to get into her pants, Tarou snorted loudly before essing her Terminal and tracing the coordinates of hispanion. She wanted to see what made the man so confident in his im. What she never expected to see was a strange-looking Lighthouse sitting near the bottom of the seabed. What made this scene even stranger was the fact that all Shinheuh in the surroundings had been frozen in ce, clearly under the influence of Reverse Flow Control. This allowed the Lighthouse to approach them, effortlessly capturing even powerful Shinheuh without any resistance whatsoever... With her mouth slightly agape, Tarou, once again, found herself at a loss for words. Phaes mastery over Reverse Flow Control was even better than most Rankers. Her ability to handle her Lighthouse was also exceptional, so much so that it was difficult to believe she was actually an F-Rank Regr... Shifting her attention back to Vahn, Tarous expression quickly morphed into a frown as she realized that Vahn wasnt simply being arrogant. His confidence was backed by actual results, so, after a very brief moment of consideration, she decided to just get straight to the point, asking, "Are you trying to get into my pants, or are you just leading me on?" Understanding Tarous nature and having already made the decision to stop holding himself back, Vahn adopted a marginally more serious expression as he answered, "I wont deny that the thought has crossed my mind..." Though she wasnt fond of such a roundabout response, Tarou nodded her head in understanding before pulling out a keycard from her Inventory and tossing it toward Vahn. Then, with a somewhat fierce light shing across the surface of her ruby-red eyes, she stated, "Third floor. Fifth room from the right. Be there in ten minutes." With those parting words, Tarou immediately teleported back to her room in order to take a quick shower. The thought of doing it then and there had briefly crossed her mind, but, knowing other Administrators would be able to peek in on things, she promptly decided against it. There was also the fact that she was a little self-conscious about the sweat covering her body, and, while it might not matter all that much in the long run, it would be pretty embarrassing if hemented on her stench... What Tarou never expected was that, immediately after teleporting to her room and stripping off her top, a jolt ran through her body as she heard the locking mechanism of her door deactivate. It hadnt even crossed her mind that Vahn was the one standing outside the door so she immediately entered abat-ready stance as several silvery Baangs of Shinsu formed behind her. Surprising the white-haired woman for the umpteenth time, the door opened to reveal none other than the wryly smiling Vahn, hands raised in a gesture of surrender as he mused, "This isnt exactly the reception I anticipated..." Breathing a sigh of relief, Tarou appeared next to Vahn in an instant, yanking him into the room rather forcibly before reactivating the automated locking mechanism. Then, with an incredulous look on her face, she turned to him and asked, "How the hell did you get here so quickly? Didnt I tell you to arrive in ten minutes?" Tearing his eyes away from Tarous immactely sculpted and moderately perky breasts, a smile spread across Vahns face as he shamelessly answered, "I couldnt wait. Can you really me me?" With a tinge of red bleeding into her cheeks, Tarou instinctually moved to cover her breasts as she averted her eyes and said, "I need to take a shower..." in a surprisingly demure tone. Reading the mood, Vahn closed this distance between himself and Tarou as if it waspletely natural before guiding her to look back at him as he said, "I really dont mind...if you still insist, let me take a shower with you..." Feeling the inferno in her body be a fiery tempest, Tarou made the executive decision to just set aside her inhibitions, answering Vahns words by linking her arms around his neck and hopping up so that her legs were wrapped around his waist. Then, in a somewhat threatening tone, she said, "You better know what youre doing. There are no rules preventing Test Administrators from taking action against Regrs within their own chambers. If you fail to satisfy me, dont expect me to let you walk away so easily..." Chuckling in response to the womans threat, Vahn surprised Tarou quite a bit by grabbing her butt and forcefully massaging it. This caused a powerful tremor to run through her body, a look of sheer incredulity spreading across her face when a girlish moan suddenly escaped her lips. Unfortunately for her, the time for talk had alreadye and gone. Now was the time for action, so, without any hesitation, Vahn readily demonstrated just how capable he was... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "Gimme a minute...",Phae OP~,She ded) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1819 Detour

Chapter 1819 Detour

Opening her eyes, Tarou just stared nkly for several seconds as her mind attempted to process everything that had happened earlier in the afternoon. Every muscle in her body felt like it had been wrung like a rag before being set out to dry near an air heater. Her entire body was suffused with a peculiar yet pleasant ache, and, though she normally never cared about such sentiments, she felt a strongpulsion to just continue sleeping in the embrace of the man who had run her ragged. Unfortunately, while her schedule wasnt particrly busy, Tarou still had duties to perform as a member of the Test Administration. She couldnt justy around all day, and, though she was doing her best to escape reality, her Pocket showed she had missed calls from the Test Director. Tarou knew she was going to get chewed out the moment she returned to work, so, for the time being, she just continued to enjoy the moment while itsted. After all, Vahn would be departingter in the day so this might very well be thest time she was able to experience his warmth... Sensing the fluctuations of Tarous aura, Vahn pulled her a little closer to him, startling her with his embrace. Then, after nting a kiss on the top of her head, he said, "You dont need to worry too much. Though our paths might divergeter today, that doesnt mean this is thest time they will intersect. After all, there is a very good chance well be allies in the future..." Hearing Vahns words, Tarou turned her face up at him, confusion visible in her hazy red eyes until he pulled out a certain six-winged badge. This caused her eyes to immediatelye into focus, a potent frown marring her beautiful face as she sat up with a start and eximed, "Why didnt you tell me you were a member of Wolhaiksong!? Damnit! Now I really want to fucking punch you...!" Rising to a seated position himself, Vahn ignored the threat contained within Tarous words, pulling her closer to him as he said, "Im more of a friend than an actual member. This badge was entrusted to me by Princess Yuri after she learned about my status as an Irregr." At this point, Tarou was absolutely certain that Vahn got a kick out of seeing her dumbfounded and at a loss for words. This gave her a really strong urge to punch him, but, after hearing him refer to himself as an Irregr, all the energy drained from her body as she exhaled a tired sigh and said, "I hate you..." before leaning her head against his chest. Selectively ignoring the insincere remark, Vahn hugged Tarou close to him, gently caressing her shoulder as he muttered, "Sorry. I didnt want to use my status as an Irregr to ce you in a difficult position. Will you forgive me...?" Rather than respond to Vahns words, Tarou opted to lightly headbutt his chest without raising her face to look up at him. She wasnt quite sure how to describe her feelings at the present moment, but, knowing Vahn was the person rumored to possess the ability to actualize their dream, several different emotions welled up inside of her. The most notable of these emotions was frustration, but,ing in at a close second, she also felt an incredible sense of relief knowing she didnt just have a one-night stand with a Regr... As that thought crossed her mind, Tarou extricated herself from Vahns embrace before pulling out her private Pocket and saying, "Give me your contact information. I only have about three years left on my current contract. Once I wrap things up here, Ill travel up to the 77th Floor. Im not going to try and force you into a rtionship, but you better stop by and visit me at least once. I dont know if its because youre an Irregr, but youre a real monster in bed. Unless you were just bullshitting me earlier, hit me up when you get the chance." While ignoring the snickering revtions of the Law of Identity, Vahn smiled in response to Tarou as he pulled out his Pocket and sent her his contact information. He had enjoyed himself quite a bit so he had absolutely no qualms about rekindling things on the 77th Floor. Rather, his decision to sleep with her wasrgely to set a precedent for himself as he moved further up the Tower. Though it was a little suspect, Vahn knew a lot of problems could be avoided if he took advantage of his more unique skills and abilities. There were a number of beautiful and powerful women that had already taken an interest in him, so, rather than stress himself out by trying to dissuade them, it would make things a lot easier if he took the initiative. He had quite a bit of confidence in his ability to satisfy even Tier 5 beings, so, with Tier 5 seemingly representing the pinnacle of the Tower, Vahn knew he was essentially unbeatable in that regard. With that in mind, an amused smile spread across Vahns face when he saw how happy Tarou was to receive his contact information. She immediately took notice of this, a ruddy glow spreading across her face as she attempted to avert her eyes. Before she could, however, Vahn affectionately cupped the side her face, preventing her from looking away as he smoothly guided her back to the surface of the bed... --- Having earned the qualifications to advance to the 12th Floor, it wasnt long before Vahn and Phae found themselves at the top of a that made the mountains below seem like small hills. It was easily several tens of kilometers in height, and, based on the vibrationsing from below, there was a tremendous amount of machinery on the interior. Ignoring the hundred or so other Regrs that were eyeing them like exotic animals, Vahn allowed Phae to return to the Little Garden as he shifted his attention to the Ranker that was standing in the air. This time around, it was an exceptionally tall man, who, despite his sicklypletion, appeared remarkably handsome with his intelligent features, glistening golden eyes, neatly styled white hair, and perfectly tailored clothes. Having seen the mans figure on several name-brand products, Vahn already knew his name before he introduced himself. He was an Advanced Ranker known as Hong Haneul, one of the top 10% of all Rankers within the Tower. He had be famous during his climb up the Tower after spending several decades as both an Idol and the leader of a team sponsored by the Ari Family. This allowed him to eventually marry into the aforementioned family, invariably bing an inspiration for all Regrs with simr aspirations. With several Regrs recognizing who Haneul was, a number of excited murmurs could be heard as everyone promptly shifted their attention towards the white-haired man. In response, the man in question returned a practiced, highly photogenic, smile as he said, "Good morning, Regrs. Allow me to wee you to the 12th Floors Inverse Tower. As many of you have undoubtedly noticed, I am Advanced Ranker Haneul. It is my privilege to serve as your Proctor for the duration of your stay on the 12th Floor." Though he radiated an air of confidence that bordered on arrogance, each of Haneuls words and actions possessed an inordinate amount of charm. His voice had a maic quality to it, his tone possessing a smooth and velvety timbre thatpelled people to listen closely whenever he was speaking. Even Vahn couldnt help feeling a little impressed, a thoughtful light shing across his eyes as he wondered whether or not he should modify his voice to sound simr... With all eyes focused on him, Haneuls smile became marginally more prominent as he went on to exin, "Your objective this time around is pretty straightforward. You need only reach the bottom of this Tower within the next thirty days. Unfortunately, only the first thirty people will be allowed to advance to the next Floor. Those who fail will be moved to a supplemental testing location near the base of the Tower. There, you will have six months to earn the qualifications to continue your climb before being forcibly ejected from the Inner Tower. Any questions?" Without hesitating for a single moment, Vahn was the first to speak out in response to Haneuls words, asking, "Are there any rules against climbing to the bottom from outside the tower?" Surprised by Vahns question, an amused smile spread across Haneuls face as he answered, "The Inverse Tower is just under 53km in height. There are no rules prohibiting Regrs from trying to reach the bottom from the outside, but the exterior surface is perfectly t. You will also be subject to the elements the moment you leave the field of Shinsu that is currently generating a breathable atmosphere. In other words, even if you had wings and could fly, you would suffocate or freeze to death long before you got anywhere near the bottom..." Having heard what he needed to hear, Vahn nodded his head in understanding before surprising everyone by promptly leaping over the edge. Even Haneuls face morphed into one of confusion, but, after several seconds had passed, he simply shook his head before turning back to the rest of the Regrs, chuckling as he said, "There always has to be at least one fool in every group. I would suggest everyone else takes the stairs. Remember, only the first thirty people will be able to qualify. You can check the remaining amount on your Pocket. Good luck." With that said, Haneul was about to teleport away to the control room so he could observe the Test infort. Before he could, however, a rather attractive Regr raised their hand, evoking a natural yet highly practiced smile as he inquired, "Is there something youd like to ask me, youngdy?" Though a vigorous blush bloomed across her face the moment Hanseul addressed her, the youngdy in question still managed to voice her concerns, cing her Pocket into Visible Mode as she said, "Director Haneul...I think there is a problem with the count..." Noticing the girls Pocket was disying 28, Haneul found himself at a momentary loss for words as he habitually pulled up his personal Terminal. To his surprise, there were already two names listed in the category for passing Regrs. This further confused him, but, after pulling up their profiles, an amused chuckle escaped his throat when he noticed that one of them was the same man that had previously leaped over the edge... --- Though freefalling 53km would normally take several minutes, at the very least, Vahn could easily reach hypersonic speeds so long as he enveloped his body in Shinsu. As a result, it only took him a few seconds to reach the ground, most of which was spent slowing down so he didnt impact the surface like a pile bunker dropped from orbit. Fortunately, just reaching the ground seemed to be the only qualifier for passing the test, so, after releasing Phae from the Little Garden, they made their way into the interior of the Tower to find, of all things, arge owl wearing a green harness. It seemed rather surprised by their sudden intrusion, but, rather than show any hostility, it inquisitively cocked its head to the side, "Who-hoo are you~?" in a surprisingly feminine voice. Realizing that the peculiar owl was actually one of the Test Administrators, Vahn did his best to restrain his urge to pet her head as he exined, "Were Regrs participating in the current Test. Director Haneul said there were no rules against descending from the outside, so we decided to take the most direct route to the bottom." Showing a remarkably human expression of surprise, the presumably female used the tips of her flight feathers like fingers as she quickly pulled up her Terminal and confirmed the veracity of his im. This caused her eyes to widen even further, an incredulous glimmer visible in her pale-green irises as she asked, "Did you really just jump over the edge? You must have an astonishingly strong body. Very impressive." Though he couldnt help but smile in response, Vahn waved his hand in a dismissive manner as he said, "It was nothing. Now, what do we need to do in order to advance to the next Floor? I havent seen anything like a transfer array nearby." Nodding her head in affirmation, the owl went on to exin, "The actual transfer array is located a few hundred kilometers from here. We generally transfer all the passing Regrs over near the end of the month. Since you are clearly in a hurry, however, I can submit a request for a Suspend Ship toe and pick you up? If you dont want to wait around, I can also get permission to show you the way. You are clearly very capable so I dont mind escorting the two of you. It never hurts to build a bit of positive rapport with the rising stars of the Tower." Though he imagined she wouldnt feel the same way if she knew they were Irregrs, Vahn still nodded his head in affirmation of the amiable owls words. The Law of Identity had revealed that she was actually a Scout belonging to the Royal Enforcement Division of Jahads Army. Though her friendliness wasnt a facade, she was still a hardcore believer in the doctrine of the Jahad Empire. If it came to light they were Irregrs, she would not hesitate to try and kill them before they could be a threat to the Jahad Empire. This was a little disheartening, but, now that he knew there were such adorable creatures residing in the Tower, Vahn was looking forward to meeting other members of her species during his climb... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is a bully...,He should have done a backflip...,Vahn be like, "I will find you, and then I will pet you...") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1820 Starting Off on the Wrong Foo

Chapter 1820 Starting Off on the Wrong Foo

---Thirty-Seven Days Later--- After a rtively simple test that merely required them to journey several hundred kilometers to a specified location, Vahn and Phae found themselves among several other Regrs in an expansive za located on the 20th Floor. To their surprise, much like everyone elses, it was possible to see a massive nar wall in the distance. Though he had seen many strange things throughout his life, Vahn experienced a simr sense of incongruency as everyone else upon realizing that the distant wall was actually the ground. They seemed to be standing on the side of a massive tower, the only thing keeping them in ce being the artificial gravitational field holding them firmly against the towers exterior... Recovering quicker than most, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head when he realized that the only purpose for such a building was to show off the iprehensible power of the Ten Great Families. The 20th Floor was special because it was the first Floor where Regrs could freely move between the Inner and Middle Towers. It was also the first Floor under the jurisdiction of one of the Ten Great Families, specifically the Po Bidau Family. Fortunately, while the Po Bidau Family was officially in control, they had no actual influence over the Tests conducted in the Inner Tower. They were also the Family famous for focusing on research and other schrly pursuits, so, while there were undoubtedly a few bad seeds here and there, most of the Towers residents had a rtively positive impression of the Po Bidau Family. Vahn knew it wouldnt be long before his path intersected with the aforementioned family, but, at least for the time being, he had other things to worry about. With this in mind, he raised his hand, surprising the Ranker that had been exining the Test of the 20th Floor by saying, "Mypanion and I would like to forgo taking the Test until ater date. How might we gain ess to the Middle Tower?" Though it wasnt particrly umon for new arrivals on the 20th Floor to immediately retire to the Middle Tower, that didnt stop the Test Administrator from frowning as he said, "If you forfeit now, the only way to take the Test in the future is to pay a hefty entrance fee. There are millions of Regrs who have fallen into debt after failing to pass the initial Test. Unless you want to be one of them, I would suggest you hold out and at least attempt the Test while its still free..." Shaking his head, Vahn offered a smile towards the inordinately short fellow who had introduced himself as Mule Love. Then, in a resolute yet unenthused tone, he insisted, "We will take the Test at ater date. Thank you for your warning, but it is ultimately unnecessary. When the timees, mypanions and I will clear this Floor without issue." Crossing his arms, the chibi-like Ranker, attired in blue clothing that made him resemble a penguin mascot, stated, "Being confident is fine, but you shouldnt be arrogant. It isnt umon for even members of the Ten Great Families to get stuck on this Floor for several months so you shouldnt be too full of yourself. That kind of mentality will only cause trouble for you and your allies..." Though he understood that the boyish-looking man was actually being sincere, Vahn had already made his decision. With that in mind, he cupped his hands politely, an apologetic smile on his face as he said, "There is considerable wisdom within your words. However, I have friends waiting for me in the Middle Tower. Ive heard that the Test of the 20th Floor can take several weeks toplete. I dont have that kind of time right now, so I have little choice but to take it at ater date." Having noticed that Vahn and Phae were the only two members of their group, an understanding glimmer shed across Loves seemingly drawn-on eyes. The idea that Vahn and Phae must have been stragglers of a preexisting party briefly crossed his mind; so, rather than insist they continue with the test, he ultimately nodded his head before pointing towards a distant building and saying, "If you enter that building, a member of the staff will teleport you to a simr office in the Middle Tower. When you want to retake the Test, that is where youll go to pay the fee. Good luck in your future attempts. I hope you dont be another one of the Regrs who gets stuck on the 20th Floor." Smiling in response to the Rankers words, Vahn waved goodbye as he, Phae, and several other Regrs, all made their way to the massive rectangr building located several hundred meters from the za. There, they were met by several neatly dressed staff members, each giving off an impression simr to an android thanks to their lens-like eyes and unchanging expressions. Vahn suspected this might very well be the case, but, from the moment he entered the building, it was like stepping into an alternate dimension, one where even his senses were obscured... Proving this suspicion urate, a frown appeared on Vahns face as he stepped outside of the Administration Bureau to find that they were standing on the side of the strange tower. Now, however, there was a veritable metropolis present on its side, seemingly extending all the way to the ground below. This gave him a slight urge to venture near the base of the Tower to see how two gravitational fields interacted with each other. Instead, he pulled out his Pocket, sighing as he sent a quick text message before promptly walking into the densely popted city... --- Due to the high difficulty of the 20th Floors Tests, it was colloquially known as the needle hole to heaven. Many even considered it the starting point for a Regrs journey up the Tower, as, prior to passing the numerous Tests, you were still considered an F-Rank Regr. Some interpreted this F to mean Fledgling, but, with less than 1% of Regrs passing through the 20th Floor, many more referred to it as Failing. Fortunately, not that it really mattered, Vahn had no real business with the Inner Tower at this point. He was determined to climb the Tower using the original method, ascending through the Middle Tower via the Guardians Tests. He would only venture into the Inner Tower if it was toplete a specific objective. The rest of his time would be spent in the Middle Tower, and, should it be necessary, he was even prepared to venture out into the Outer Tower. Simply put, the rules implemented by the Jahad Empire and the Ranking Administration now had absolutely no bearing on him. He would move forward at his own pace, and, if anything got in his way, the only oue would be capittion or destruction. It didnt matter how many times they defeated him, how many setbacks he experienced, or how much time it took. In the end, he would emerge victoriously... Though that was how things were supposed to go, Vahn couldnt help but ponder his life choices as a tomboyish woman with blonde hair pinned him to the ground using a backbreaker leg lock. If herughter was anything to go by, she seemed to be enjoying herself quite a bit. Vahn, however, could only stare at the ck-haired woman responsible for his current position, as, even after mustering all his strength, he wasnt put up any meaningful resistance against the woman currently sitting on his back. Fortunately, even if she bent his legs back even further, Vahn wasnt in any actual pain. He could literally roll himself up like a tube of toothpaste if he really wanted to. That didnt make the current situation any less frustrating, however, as there was a very powerful flow of Shinsu surging through his body after his previous attempt to use the State of Nothingness. This same flow was the reason he couldnt muster any strength, as,pared to his own, it was like an endless ocean,pletely dwarfing the diminutive cup representing his own... With his frustration quickly growing beyond his tolerance for pranks, Vahns expression became progressively more sullen as he muttered, "This is starting to get on my nerves...you know, there is such a thing as going too far..." Though he had been speaking to the ck-haired woman spectating his suffering with a radiant smile on her face, the person to respond was the woman sitting on Vahns back; herughter fading as she pulled his legs further back, practically lying against his back as she said, "Dont be a drama queen. Its not like this is causing you any actual pain. I can tell by the structure of your body that you have the ability to alter your shape. I bet you can get out of this with ease if you really wanted to, right?" Even if the womans words were true, Vahn couldnt help but frown as he said, "I dont like to alter the structure of my body around other people...it gives them a strange impression..." As if they were taking turns answering for each other, this time the ck-haired woman, Yuri, was the one to answer, "This is your punishment for messing around on the 1st and 2nd Floors. Im not usually the type to hold a grudge, but I cant help but feel annoyed whenever I remember that little act you were putting on. Dont think Ill forgive you just because you suddenly became handsome." Exhaling an exasperated sigh, Vahn briefly manifested the Little Garden, vanishing from view and causing the blonde-haired woman to plop onto the ground. In the next moment, he reappeared stand over her, a slightly sullen expression on his face as he said, "I wont deny that your power is ridiculous, but-" Before Vahn could finish his words, the blonde-haired woman seemed to glitch out of existence for a brief moment before reappearing with her hand grasping his face as she said, "You should choose your words carefully. Im not fond of being talked down to and scolded. I was just messing around a bit. Dont take things so personally." With those words of warning, the woman promptly released Vahn from her grasp before sniffing her hand and cheekily remarking, "Your oral hygiene is on point. Your breath actually smells kind of sweet." Deadpanning in response to the womans words, Vahn chose to selectively ignore what the Law of Identity was saying as he shifted his attention to Yuri and asked, "What do you intend to do from now on? Are you going to continue waiting for Team Wolf Pack? Though I wont tell you what you should or shouldnt do, interfering with their climb is only going to inhibit their growth." Before Yuri could answer his question, Vahns vision was obstructed by the rtively petite blonde, her arms spread wide as she stepped between them and said, "Hey! Youve got a lot of nerve if you think you can just ignore Ureko Mazino! You can talk to Yuri all you wantter. Before that, I want to hear your response to my previous question. Are you going to join Wolhaiksong or not!?" Though he already knew she was going to be troublesome, Vahn hadnt predicted that Yuri would actually bring Ureko with her to intercept him on the 20th Floor. He only found out when the Law of Identity informed him what her surprise was back on the 17th Floor. This nearly resulted in him dying his climb, but, having already decided he would participate in this years Workshop Battle, he didnt really have the time to idle about. Resisting the urge tob through his hair, Vahn, very inly, stated, "I dont mind working with Wolhaiksong, but I have no intention of joining someone elses organization. I appreciate the offer, but Ill have to politely decline..." Clicking her tongue in a rather dramatic fashion, Ureko proceeded to cross her arms, puffing up her rather diminutive assets as she said, "Thats going to be a problem. I already told everyone back at the Wingtree that I was going to recruit you. I really hate lying, so it would make things a lot easier if you just agreed to join. Come on, man. Were both from the Outside. Shouldnt we try and stick together?" With the same deadpan expression as before, Vahn shook his head, yet again, before exining, "I am the Sage Dragon Emperor. Though I dont mind allying with others, there are countless reasons why I cant ce myself beneath others. Unless you intend to hand control of the Wolhaiksong over to me, it is impossible for me to join directly..." Somewhat surprisingly, Ureko actually seemed to consider this proposal, a thoughtful expression on her face as she rubbed her chin and muttered, "Well...if it were up to me, I wouldnt really mind. The thing is, Im not really the leader of Wolhaiksong. Its an organization I founded alongside my friend, Baek Ryun. It has be pretty important to them, so I cant just hand it over to others...hmmm..." Not expecting Ureko to seriously consider his words, Vahn momentarily found himself at a loss as he looked towards Yuri for answers. In response, she just shrugged her shoulders in a why are you looking at me? kind of gesture before crossing her arms and leaning back against the wall. Shaking her head, Ureko looked back up at Vahn only to see thetter, once again, staring at Yuri. This caused an annoyed glower to develop across her face, not because she was particrly jealous, but because she hated being ignored. She had literally spent thest few months racing down from the 77th just for this one meeting so the least she expected was Vahns undivided attention... Noticing the Shinsu in the surroundings gaining an ionized quality, Vahn immediately shifted his attention back to Ureko, frowning as he said, "Youre even more hot-headed than Yuri is..." Hearing Vahns remark, Yuris ears appeared to twitch prior to her shouting, "Are you trying to pick a fight you dumb lizard!? I might not be able to hit your face, but that wont stop me from beating the shit out of you...!" Deadpanning in response to the Princess outburst, Vahn began to regret his decision to leave the safety of the Regr area. Dealing with one of them wouldnt have been an issue, but, with twoughably overpowered tomboys in the mix, it was impossible to take charge of the conversation. They were the type of women that walked through life at their own pace, and, thanks to their truly monstrous strength, trying to rein them in without being demonstrably more powerful than them was virtually impossible. There was only one method he could use to guarantee an advantage, but he wasnt quite sure he was mentally or physically prepared to deal with the consequences... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mule Love is a good guy...,This aint Tower of God~,Vahn be like, "Be still my right hand...") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1821 Explanations Aplenty

Chapter 1821 Exnations Aplenty

In an effort to calm down the two hot-headed women, Vahn ultimately bribed the duo with their favorite snacks. For Yuri, this was salted white chocte truffles. As for Ureko, she didnt actually like sweets all that. Instead, she was fond of spicy foods that had been left in vinegar, her favorites being various types of pickled peppers. Fortunately, while it was a rather unorthodox favorite food, Vahn was able to provide both with rtive ease. This immediately put the duo into a better mood that resulted in him having to face off against Ureko in a contest to see who could handle the spiciest food. This was a field in which he had an absolute advantage, however, so it wasnt long before she was using Yurisp as a pillow while thetter fanned her face with a handheld paper fan. Repeating himself for the umpteenth time at this point, Vahn took advantage of the momentary lull to ask, "So, what are your ns after this, Yuri? As I said before, I wont interfere with your decision, but I believe it would be for the best if Team Wolf Pack is able to ascend without the intervention of powerful forces. Your presence is bound to attract a substantial amount of attention, so it would be detrimental if you attempted climbing alongside them." Rather than actually answering his question, Yuri continued to fan Urekos face as she asked, "Is it true that Endorsi and that fluffy-eared brat are dating?" Though he was a little annoyed by the fact she still hadnt answered him, Vahn ultimately nodded his head, exining, "They started dating a few months back. Im not sure how serious things have gotten between them, but they often share the same bath and sleep in the same room. That ghost-eyed brat seems pretty determined..." With what could best be described as an approving look on her face, Yuri nodded her head with a smile before setting her ruby-eyes upon him and asking, "And what about you? I heard you had all kinds of women hidden away somewhere. I also saw the recordings of your little stunt on the 10th Floor. Just how many Irregrs have you brought with you into the Tower...?" Shaking his head, Vahn adopted a wry smile as he exined, "It isnt that straightforward. All I can tell you at the moment is that Ill be establishing multiple organizations in the future. Now that Ive reached the 20th Floor, Ill most likely be climbing the Tower using the original method. Though Ill probably venture into the Inner Tower every now and then, my aim is to draw as much attention to myself as possible in the near future." Seemingly intrigued by his words, Ureko shifted to a seated position, interrupting Yuris response by excitedly asking, "Oh? Youre not going to keep your status as an Irregr secret? Are you trying to start a war or something~?" Furrowing his brows, Vahns countenance became more serious as he answered, "I am not trying to start a war. However, even if I have no interest in the politics of the Tower, it is only a matter of time before Jahad and certain Leaders among the Ten Great Families attempt to interfere with my affairs. There are also various forces that have been seeking to instigate a conflict for thest ten thousand years, so, regardless of the path I choose, it is only a matter of time before war breaks out..." Having heard something simr from Baek Ryun and the other executives of Wolhaiksong, Ureko could only shake her head in exasperation before remarking, "People are always so eager to resort to violence...well, not that I can really me them. If those assholes werent Immortal, I might have eliminated a few of the Great Families myself. Now, my only real goal is to get out of this shithole of a Tower. Is it true you have a method to return to the Outside?" Though he nodded his head in affirmation, Vahn held his hand up to silence Ureko as he went on to exin, "There are actually a number of ways to exit the Tower. Unfortunately, the method you used to enter the Tower makes it virtually impossible to return to your original universe. The path opened by Phantaminum was destroyed the moment you used it to ess the Tower." Hearing Vahn mention the name of her arch-nemesis, a terrifying bloodlust began to radiate from Ureko as she asked in a deep, foreboding, voice, "What is your rtionship with that bastard?" Though it felt like the blood in his body had frozen over, Vahn was able to appear rtively calm as he shook his head and answered, "Youre jumping to conclusions. I have never met Phantaminum, nor do I have any connection to the Gods of your universe. I simply have the means to uncover any and all secrets. If it is something I wish to know, there is nothing that can hide it from me." Easing up on her bloodlust, albeit only a little, Ureko craned her head to the side as she asked, "Are you for real? Is that how you knew what kind of food I liked...?" Adopting a wry smile, Vahn nodded his head as he went on to exin, "Im not going to go into any details, but that is, indeed, the case. And no, it has nothing to do with being about to read your thoughts. They are just another thing I am privy to when I want to know. As for your other question, its not that I dont know a method to reach your original universe, its just that the connection can only be established from the Outside. Unfortunately, Phantaminum opened apletely random path, so, even though there have been a substantial number of people looking for you, discovering the correct path is like locating a specific atom in the cosmos..." Frowning deeply in response to Vahns words, Urekos bloodlust began to increase exponentially, moisture umting at the corners of her eyes as she cursed, "Damn you Phantaminum...I swear, Im going to kill you someday..." Hearing Urekos utterance, a tired sigh escaped Vahns lips, earning the resentful blondes attention as he exined, "That persons pettiness knows no bounds. Though they left a remnant in order to taunt you, the actual Phantaminum is already long gone. They made a deal with Headon to spare Jahad in exchange for passage up the Tower. The Phantaminum you are searching for has already been reborn after clearing the trial at the top of the Tower..." With her bloodlust skyrocketing to levels that caused the entire poption of the Middle Tower to feel an impending sense of dread, Ureko balled her hands so tightly that the void began to tremble as she muttered, "I see...so the rumors about the Tower connecting to a higher realm are true...?" Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn went on to give a brief summary of the Five Major Realms and the original purpose of the Towers. This came as a tremendous surprise to everyone present, but, demonstrating her own pettiness and desire for revenge, Ureko followed up by asking, "Can you locate that bastards reincarnation for me? Even if I have to reincarnate a thousand times, Ill find that bastard and make them pay for this..." Feeling a little sorry for her, Vahn released another tired sigh before going on to exin, "First and foremost, you need to calm down. Secondly, I also have business in the higher realms, so, when the timees, Ill help you ascend without the need to reincarnate. I cant go into any specifics unless you agree to join my Familia, but the restrictions of this world dont really apply to me. When I tell people Im just passing through, its not an exaggeration." While Ureko was exhibiting a considerable amount of confusion, Yuri took this as her opportunity to chime in, smiling excitedly as she said, "I heard about that! Are members of your Familia really able to ept Quests and stuff!?" Though he was growing a little weary of exining things, Vahn nodded his head in response to Yuris exmation before going on to exin the benefits of joining his Familia. This caused Yuri to grow increasingly excited, as, despite her nature as a battle junkie, she was also a closet gamer. Her favorite genre was simtion games, specifically those that involved rearing princes and idols, but she was also quite fond of hacknsh and beatemup games. She had even been doing dailies on a gacha game for more than ten years so it wasnt an exaggeration to say she was very experienced with the concept of Quests. With her excitement reaching palpable levels, Yuri seemed primed and ready to join Vahns Familia without hesitation. Before she could express this, however, Evan, who had been observing silently for quite a while, stepped in to say, "Princess! You need to properly consider this! Even if that mans words are the truth, you are still a Princess of Jahad! If people-!" Before Evan could continue, Yuri held up her hand to silence him, eyes gleaming with a vibrant red hue as she said, "If Vahns words are the truth, it means he already knows about our ns. Besides, now that things have reached this point, Ive lost interest in interfering with the rtionships of my cute little sister and niece. Why y around with pups when I have the alpha sitting right in front of me?" With Yuris final few words directed toward Vahn, thetter couldnt help but respond with a dryugh. Even if he had expected something like this to happen, having a woman stare at him like a predator eyeing its prey always filled him with an indescribable emotion. He knew the momentum would shift in his favor the moment he took decisive action, but it was still a little ufortable to know that he couldnt actually resist if she got serious. Despite this feeling of difort, Vahn eventually managed a wry smile as he said, "I dont really mind so long as you agree not to interfere with my ascent up the Tower. Evan makes a good point. It might not matter in the grand scheme of things, but it willplicate things tremendously if our rtionship is discovered. As for the thing youre most concerned about, just know there is no need to worry. Even if my body ispletely destroyed, I cant actually die so there is no reason to worry. Rather, the more I am defeated, the stronger I will be..." Seemingly taking an interest in his final statement, most of Urekos previous bloodlust faded away as she asked, "You get stronger whenever youre defeated? Are you some kind of super masochist or something? Does that mean I can just keep beating you until youre stronger than Jahad?" Understanding she would really continue beating him until he became the strongest, Vahn held his hands up in a cating gesture as he said, "That wont be necessary. Im already stronger than most threats, and, by the time I reach the top of the Tower, the Leaders of the Ten Great Families wont be a threat to me. Besides, if I really wanted to, it would only take a day or two for me to be one of the strongest beings in the Tower. It would just defeat the purpose of my journey in its entirety..." As someone who was already near the absolute pinnacle in terms of strength, Ureko could easily empathize with what Vahn was trying to say. One of the reasons she hated being stuck in the Tower was thepleteck of worthy opponents. Even if shepletely sealed her Shinsu and limited herself to using a mere 10% of her raw power, every single High Ranker who wasnt protected by an Immortality Contract would be defeated in a single blow. Her only real fight in thest couple of thousand years was her duel against Arie Hon, the current Rank 5 and the strongest Leader of the Ten Great Families. Even that, however, wasnt able to get her blood pumping as none of her attacks were able to deal anysting damage to the Immortal swordsman. In the end, it turned into a war of attrition that neither of them could actually win since both had a functionally unlimited amount of stamina and energy... Remembering the frustration she felt at that time, an exasperated sigh escaped Urekos throat as she pulled her feet up to the sofa, sitting in a manner reminiscent of Tiona as she asked, "So, whats the deal with bing a member of your Familia? I dont need to let you bone me or anything like that, right? Youre totally my type, dont get me wrong, but I dont like the idea of getting fucked by someone weaker than me. If you want to be the one to im my chastity, youll need to be a hell of a lot stronger than you currently are. Even if I restricted myself to using just 1% of my power, youd be lucky tost more than three minutes. Heck, even this monkey can only tolerate about 5% of my power. As far as I can tell, she is about a million times stronger than you." Hearing Ureko refer to her as a monkey, a visible tick mark appeared on Yuris head as she punched the former and shouted, "Dont just casually call me a monkey you...you banana-haired baboon...!" Without even flinching from Yuris attack, Ureko beganughing in a carefree manner as the former cradled her swollen left fist with her right hand. Even with the ability to lift an entire mountain with rtive ease, Yuri always found hitting Ureko to be like striking an immovable object. She also had a unique constitution that passively dispersed the Shinsu fields of others, so, whenever you hit her, it was like striking without any reinforcement whatsoever... Seeing the somewhatical interaction between the two, Vahns wry expression rxed into a more natural smile as he proceeded to exin the specifics regarding his Familia Crest. He didnt think he would actually be able to inscribe it onto the two ridiculously powerful women, but there was always a small possibility it would take effect. After all, he might be weaker than both of them, but his Soul Tier had increased substantially since his arrival in the Transcendental Path to Heaven. Hisprehension of various Laws had also increased exponentially, so, while it was impossible to know for certain, he had to be nearing Tier 5... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Pacifying beasts with food offerings (OwO)...,Vahn really is drawing all the attention away from Team Wolf Pack~,I imagine recruiting Ureko and Yuri is like getting a limited time SSR in a gacha game...)(A/N: BTW, give out Hero Cantare a try if youre looking for a rtively idle phone game. Any game with unlimited re-rolls for your first SSR is worth ying in my book~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1822 Overwhelming

Chapter 1822 Overwhelming

Despite a substantial amount of protest from Evan, it wasnt long before Vahn had a topless Yuri sitting with her back facing him while Ureko observed from the side. This gave Vahn the impression he was trapped in a cage with two wild animals, but, now that they were inside of the Little Garden, he was able to regain his usual, somewhat casual, demeanor. Though he could have finished things up quickly, Vahn took nearly half an hour to inscribe his crest on Yuris back. The main reason for this was to reinforce the crests structure topensate for the phenomenal energy coursing through Yuris body, but, were he to be asked, Vahn wouldnt be able to deny that he enjoyed the process itself. Yuri was an inordinately gorgeous woman, and, though she gave off the impression of a model in her formal wear, her naked form was like a masterpiece sculpted by the hands of an artisan god. It was no wonder the members of the Ha Family were famous for both their strength and beauty, as, without a single exception, each of Yuris muscles was located in a truly perfect position. The same could be said for the energy channels in her body, each allowing a functionally unlimited amount of energy to flow through without any sign of strain... ----------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Ha Yuri Jahad], Sobriquet: ck Snake Head Age: 618 Race: Human, Demigod(Sealed) Position(s): Fisherman, Scout, Wave Controller Strength: SS-Rank Ranker Toughness: SS-Rank Ranker Intellect: C-Rank Regr Agility: SS-Rank Ranker Control: C-Rank Ranker Shinsu Resistance: SSS-Rank Ranker Shinsu: [Quality:Fire, Bubble], [Total: 921,960,550], [Baang: 32], [Myun: 18,439,211], [Soo: 12,866,000], [Tension: 50:1] Innate(s): [Child of Destiny: SS], [Descendent of the War Goddess(Non-Standard): SS], [Prodigy of the Ha Family(Body): S], [Jahads Blood Curse(Non-Standard): (-)] Skill(s): [Sword Mastery(Ranker): A], [Needle Mastery(Ranker): A], [Hook Mastery(Ranker): B], [Martial Arts(Ranker): B], [Flow Control(Ranker): C], [Reverse Flow Control(Ranker): E], [Shinsu Enhancement(Ranker): SSS], [Ha Family Shinsu Control: SS], [Yuri Style Shinsu Control: SS], [Nuclear Punch(Ranker): SS], [Hadoken: Red Velvet Sword(Ranker):SS], [Rose Shower(Ranker): SSS], [Shinsu Wave(Ranker): S], [Shinsu Barrier(Ranker): B], [Shinsu Bubble(Ranker): S] ----------------------------------------------- Though his mind nked the moment he saw the value of Yuris internal Shinsu, Vahn was able to recover rtively quickly. She was a lot stronger than he anticipated, but, at the very least, he now had a baseline to draw further conclusions from. The real issue here was Yuris Intellect, not because it had any real relevance in the grand scheme of things, but because she would undoubtedlyy the me on him for it being so low... Noticing the change in Vahns expression, Ureko broke the long-standing silence within the room, asking, "What? Did it not work?" Vahn had informed them beforehand that his crest might not work on them due to the enormous disparity in their strength, so, seeing his expression, that was the first conclusion Ureko could reach. In response, Yuri also seemed rather dissatisfied, her face furrowing into a deep frown as she asked, "So I got this massive tattoo on my back for nothing...?" Shaking his head, Vahn pulled out a piece of inscription paper, cing it against Yuris crest as he exined, "Though your reserves are about five-thousand times my own, the strength of my Soul allowed the ceremony toplete without a hitch. The problem is, even though it has nothing to do with me, Im pretty sure youre going to me me for something I have no control over..." Handing Yuri her status paper and a jacket to cover her body, Vahn prepared himself for the worst as she gazed over the document with sparkling eyes. She was very familiar with things like grades and rankings due to her background as a High Ranker and an avid gamer so it was quite exciting for her to be able to view a quantifiable depiction of her parameters. Unfortunately, as Vahn had predicted, her expression darkened when she noticed that her Intellect wasparable to that of a C-Rank Regr... Anticipating a violent outburst, Vahn was prepared to teleport himself and Yuri to the Ninth Layer the moment her aura began to surge outward. To his surprise, however, Yuri spontaneously erupted into a violent fit ofughter before eventually remarking, "Well, its not like I ever cared about using my head. The only thing that really matters is that Im strong!" As if to emphasize this was the case, Yuri knocked the coat from her shoulders by holding her arms up in a flexing pose. This caused the muscles around her neck, back, and shoulders to tense up, but, rather than appear gaudy, it actually greatly enhanced her charm. She was a woman who took great pride in her strength so each and every one of her muscles was toned to perfection. Unfortunately, there was someone with even greater pride present, so, in response to Yuris flexing, Ureko teasingly remarked, "Dont get too full of yourself, snake-brain. If Vahn is actually able to put that crest on my back, youre going to be super embarrassed when you realize how weak you arepared to the truly powerful." Frowning in response to Urekos words, Yuri crossed her arms under her chest, emphasizing her rather ample bosom even further as she retorted, "Yeah, yeah, everyone knows youre the strongest, Ureko. Youre also like the oldest person in the entire Tower. If we were the same age, do you really believe youd be stronger then me?" Adopting a frown of her own, Ureko didnt hesitate for a single moment before answering, "There is no doubt. I was stronger at birth than you are right now. Even if I hibernated for thousands of years, youd never be able to close the gap between us...." With tensions increasing to the point that the surrounding space began to distort, Vahn positioned himself between the fiery duo, his voice gaining a stern undertone as he said, "This is a ce where fighting is prohibited. Besides, there is no reason to argue over things like this. Depending on your choices in the future, you both have the potential to be infinitely stronger. That includes you, Ureko. You may very well be the most powerful being in the Tower, but youre barely at the starting point on your journey to bing the actual strongest. There are countless beings in the Order of Creation who could defeat you without even raising a finger. Rather thanparing yourself to the residents of the Tower, you should be making preparations for your inevitable battles against foes far stronger than Jahad and the Ten Great Families." Though it was difficult to take Vahns words at face value due to the rather minuscule power he currently possessed, both Ureko and Yuri got the impression he was telling the truth. Thus, after ring a few more daggers at each other, the tensions in the room began to gradually stabilize as the former spontaneously peeled off her shirt. This caught Vahn a little off guard, but, rather than avert his eyes, he just raised his brows slightly when Ureko asked, "So? How is it? I might not have useless lumps of fat like a certain snake princess, but Im pretty confident in my figure." Without any semnce of shame whatsoever, Ureko struck a pose with her left hand on her hip and her right hand raised behind her head. She didnt seem to mind being seen topless in the slightest. Instead, a confident glimmer shed across her crimson-red eyes as a peculiar aura of majesty radiated out from her body. Understanding that she wouldnt be so forgiving if he failed topliment her, Vahn shamelessly inspected the lines and curves of Urekos body, an appreciative smile spreading across his face as he confidently stated, "Truly remarkable." This wasnt really the answer Ureko was looking for, but, as it wasnt exactly a badpliment, she ultimately nodded her head in approval before crossing her arms and saying, "Youre a pretty lucky fe. Other than my family, the number of men who have seen me without a top on can be counted on a single hand. You would do well to remember that in the future. I have a lot of expectations for you, dragon brat." With that said, Ureko made her way over to where Yuri had been sitting, shooing away the Princess before resting with her arms folded atop the back of the chair. This allowed Vahn to see the rather famous Winged Tree Symbol that was tattooed on her back. Herst name, Mazino, was also written in bold runic symbols between her shoulder des, each radiating a phenomenal power that filled onlookers with a sense of awe. Though he was momentarily distracted by the hiddenplexity within the runic symbols, Vahn was able to quickly recover his senses thanks to Yuri clearing her throat at the side. Thispelled him to send an appreciative smile her way, but, noticing she was sitting topless in Urekos previous position, it quickly turned into a wry smile as he shifted his attention back to the surprisingly patient blonde... ----------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Ureko Mazino], Sobriquet: Ray Barracuda Age: 30,492 Race: Lunarian, True Dragon(sealed) Position(s): Fisherman, Scout, Spear-Bearer, Light-Bearer, Wave Controller, Jeonsulsa, Wonsulsa Strength: SSS-Rank Ranker Toughness: SSS-Rank Ranker Intellect: SSS-Rank Ranker Agility: SSS-Rank Ranker Control: SSS-Rank Ranker Shinsu Resistance: SSS-Rank Ranker Shinsu: [Quality: Light, Lightning, Dragon, Star], [Total: 1,598,720,310,600], [Baang: 900], [Myun: 7,993,601,553], [Soo: 7,993,601,553], [Tension: 100:1] Innate(s): [Child of Destiny: SSS], [Beloved Daughter of the Divine Dragon Emperor and Sacred Moon Priestess(Non-Standard):SSS], [Dauntless Dragon Princess(Spirit): SSS], [Faultless Jade Physique(Body): SS], [Inheritor of the Light of Origin(Emission): (-)] Skill(s): [Dragon Avatar: SSS], [Limit Breaker: SSS], [Light of the Dawn: SSS], [Big Bang: SSS], [Star Crush: SSS], [Omni-Elemental Maniption: SSS], [Imperial Dragon Martial Arts: SSS], [Light of Purification: S], [Needle Mastery(Ranker): SSS], [Telekinesis(Ranker): SSS], [Spatial Control(Ranker): SSS], [Lighthouse Control(Ranker): SSS], [Observer Control(Ranker): SSS], [Flow Control(Ranker): SSS], [Reverse Flow Control(Ranker): SSS], [Shinsu Enhancement(Ranker): SSS], [Cooking: C] ----------------------------------------------- Despite knowing quite a bit about Ureko, thanks to the Law of Identity, Vahn was still at a loss for words when he saw her status. The fact she had five Innates listed indicated that she was, indeed, a Tier 5 entity, but, more importantly, at least in the present moment, was her truly ridiculous amount of Shinsu. Vahn had thought Yuris 921 million Shinsu was terrifying, but, as if she refused to let anyone evene close to her level of power, Urekos 1.5 trillionpletely transcended expectations. She was an absolute monster, and, thanks to her SSS-Rank [Child of Destiny], it was safe to say she was one of the most important existences to the story taking ce within the Tower... Interpreting Vahns stunned expression as an indicator that the ceremony had been sessful, Yuri, still topless, instantaneously appeared at his side as she eagerly asserted, "Let me see! I want to see how Ipare to the so-called strongest woman in the Tower~!" Looking back at Yuri as if she was observing an idiot, Ureko couldnt help but crane her head as she asked, "What do you mean by so-called strongest? Its not even up for debate, dumbass. If Im not at least a thousand times stronger than you, Ill walk around on my hands from this point onward." With her brow twitching in response to Urekos remark, Yuri snatched that status paper from Vahn the moment he finished making the imprint. Unfortunately, she wasnt particrly great with math, so, after staring at the paper for nearly a full minute, she turned to Vahn and said, "Read this for me. I want to know how many times stronger this blonde bimbo ispared to me." Though he didnt actually need it, Vahn epted the paper from Yuri as Ureko turned around with what could best be described as a knowing smile. Her raw power, alone, would allow her to battle against Yuri with a Shinsu amp. This amplification generally increased a persons power, speed, and durability by a factor of fifty, so, after seeing Yuris status sheet, she was absolutely confident that her own reserves were more than a thousand times her would-be rivals. Thus, when Vahn revealed she was actually more than 1700x stronger, she couldnt help butugh boisterously at the stunned Yuris expense... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn, the purveyor of beauty,Yuri got that dummy strength xD...,I think we just found Saitamas Onee-sama...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1823 Initiative

Chapter 1823 Initiative

After a gargantuan effort to calm Yuri down, Vahn had a deadpan expression on his face as he sat across from the two topless women and exined the Quest System in detail. He had given up on trying to make them wear their clothes properly after they began to tease him about being shy, so, without hiding his gaze in the slightest, he alternated between appreciating Yuris abundant bosom and Urekos two pact yet perfectly sculpted breasts. Rather than shy away from Vahns gaze, Ureko and Yuri seemed rather proud of the fact they were being admired in such a forward yet inoffensive manner. Neither was the type to care about being seen naked, and, though they would severely punish anyone that attempted to proposition them, it still satisfied their egos to be coveted by others. Still, that didnt mean they would let Vahns offense go unpunished, so, partway through the exnation, Ureko teased, "Enjoying the view? How about it? Want to give them a feel? You might lose your hand, but I guarantee itll be worth it~." Deciding hed rather not rile up a horny True Dragon, even if her bloodline was sealed, Vahn didnt hesitate to shake his head as he casually replied, "I doubt Id get away with just a hand. For now, Im more than satisfied with the view. Dont worry, even without your assistance, Ill be able to surpass you in a few years. When the timees, Ill be sure to make you mine." With her irises contracting into thin lines, a barely constrained aura began to surge from Urekos body as a rather vicious smile spread across her face. Vahns aura actually reminded her a lot of her father, so, while he was currently very weak, she had very high expectations for his future. Hearing him calmly and confidently state he would make her into his woman gave her a very strong desire to make the opposite true. There was a certain surety contained within his words, one that stirred her instincts in a way that made her want to possess and groom him into her ideal partner... Feeling an almost overwhelming urge to flee, Vahns expression hardened as his own draconic aura began to surge outward. This served to further excite the crimson-eyed blonde, so much so that the pale pink protrusions at the end of her perky breasts became noticeably more rigid as she said, "Ill give you ten years...if youre half the dragon you appear to be, that should be more than enough to reach my level. If you fail...dont me me for taking matters into my own hands..." Though he wouldnt have backed down if Ureko tried to pressure him, Vahn felt as if a tremendous weight had been removed from his shoulders when he heard her words. Ten years might not seem like a long time, but it was plenty for someone like him. He could easily stretch a single day into a thousand years if he really wanted to, so, the moment he heard Urekos deadline, all the tensions he had been feeling melted away. Seeing Vahns reaction, Ureko felt a strongpulsion to reduce the amount of time she had given him. Fortunately for him, she wasnt the type to take back her words. Instead, she just loudly clicked her tongue before leaning back with a bored expression and saying, "Just give me the most difficult Quest you have. Im gonna chill here for a few days, but, after that, Ill be returning to the 77th Floor to make preparations for theing war. If you have anything rted to pummeling the Leaders of the Ten Great Families, Im game." Envisioning the scene of Ureko beating up and hogtying the Leaders of the Ten Great Families, Vahn was unable to prevent an amused chuckle from escaping his throat. Unfortunately, while there were actually a number of Quests rted to the Ten Great Families, most of them were intended for him. The only SSS-Rank Quests for Ureko involved tracking down and defeating Phantaminums shadow, a nigh-impossible task even for her, and, somewhat amusingly, bing the number 1 Idol in the Tower. Though he imagined her [Child of Destiny: SSS] would protect her, Vahn didnt want to see Ureko suffer a setback by sending her on an impossible Quest. Instead, he selected an SS-Rank Quest for her, exining, "Because of your power, there are no SSS-Rank Quests. The most difficult one I can find is an SS-Rank Quest that requires you to steal the Arms Inventory of the Thirteen Month Series from Adori Jahad. That would most likely serve as the catalyst for a war, however, so why not give this one a try? Its certain to spice things up a bit..." ------------------------------------------------ [Quest: Pruning Flowers] Rank: A~SS Objective(s): Steal the undergarments of at least ten Princesses of Jahad(0/10), Disrobe three High-Ranking Princess of Jahad(0/3), ce panties atop the heads of statues dedicated to Jahad(0/10) Optional Objective(s): Publically spank Adori Jahad, Arie Hagipherione Jahard, and Khun Maschenny Jahad(0/3), Steal Jaina Repellista Jahads Favorite Pillow(0/1) Rewards: 10,000,000,000 Variable Experience, 10x[Candid Camera], 3x[Eternal Grudge], 1x[Thiefs Glove] Failure Conditions: Death, Forfeiture of Quest Penalty: N/A ------------------------------------------------ After reading the Quest Objectives in a single nce, a predatory grin immediately spread across Urekos face as she pounced on Yuri. This caused thetter to startle, but, much like when she had dealt with Vahn, Ureko was able to effectively stun her opponents using a variation of Reverse Flow Control. As a result, it only took her a few seconds to effortlessly strip away the confused Princess garments before stretching out a pair of ornate ckce panties between her fingers and musing, "One down~." before firing them towards Vahns face. With a membrane of Shinsu surrounding thece undergarment, it traveled through the air like a round fired from a railgun. There were even a number of shockwaves generated, but, rather than causing any damage, the still-warm fabric impacted Vahns face with the tenderness of a rxing Spring breeze. There was even a fragrance of flowers lingering in the air until Yuri, like a dormant volcano, erupted into a fit of rage, shouting, "What the hell do you think youre doing!?" Without even trying to dodge Yuris punches, Ureko justughed as a thin yet virtually unbreakable membrane of Shinsu protected her body. This caused Yuris anger to increase, but, much like all her other encounters with Ureko, she wasnt even able to make thetter flinch. As a result, she quickly shifted her attention to Vahn, eyes zing with a bloody-red glow until she noticed that her panties were still adhering to his face. Blushing nearly as crimson as her eyes, Yuri immediately appeared in front of Vahn without caring about the fact she waspletely naked. Unfortunately, much as thetter had discovered, it waspletely impossible to remove her panties from his face. The same barrier that protected Ureko had wrapped around both the panties and Vahns face, forcibly adhering the two together as the culprit continued tough like a demoness. Realizing the helplessness of the situation, Yuri decided to do the only thing she did better than fighting: not caring about what others thought. This allowed her to calm down almost instantly as she red towards Ureko and remarked, "What are youughing at? Do you think Im afraid to be seen naked? Jokes on you, banana-brain, but Ive been preparing for today for several weeks. Vahn is the future father of my children, so I can even do things like this without blushing...!" Though she couldnt prevent a red hue from creeping into her cheeks, that didnt stop Yuri from sitting down in Vahnsp like it was some kind of throne. This left thetter feeling more than a little exasperated, but, rather than sit there like a piece of furniture, he decided to support Yuris case by wrapping his arms around her waist. This caused her blush to be even more potent, but it also allowed a haughty smile to spread across her face as she raised her chin in a disy of arrogance. Raising her brows, Ureko, once again, looked at Yuri like an idiot as she asked, "Whats with that smile? You havent even done anything worth mentioning. Heck, ording to Soo-Yun, that little dragon behind you has already gone to town on several women during his climb up the Tower. If you think sitting on hisp is an aplishment, I actually feel a little sorry for you..." Never one to back down from a challenge, Yuri was prepared to demonstrate just how far she was willing to go. She had already changed her target from Gandr to Vahn, so, even if she didnt really expect anything to happen, she had made sure to wear her most expensive pair of panties just in case. Now that it hade to this, she was more than willing tomit a taboo, but, before she could so much as utter a single syble, apulsory moan escaped her throat as Vahn reached his hand up and began to massage her left breast. Though she had been goading Yuri with the intent to witness an interesting scene, Ureko was left with her mouth slightly agape as she watched the former quickly be a demure maiden in the capable hands of Vahn. It was almost like Yuri waspletely incapable of offering any resistance whatsoever as Vahns hands danced across her body in a manner reminiscent of a master musician tuning their instrument. In response, Yuris cries became progressively more sonorous until she did her best to restrain herself by forcibly biting her lip... Taking advantage of Urekos distraction, Vahn finally managed to liberate himself from the fragrant piece of ck fabric. Then, rather than stopping his hands, he grabbed Yuris breasts a little forcibly as he leaned forward, forcing her to do the same as he continued to massage and knead her pliant melons. This caused her body to tremble madly, while, across from them, Ureko met his gaze before swallowing hard and saying, "It seems Tarou wasnt exaggerating when she warned Soo-Yun about the danger of your hands..." Smiling back with what could best be described as a wolfish-grin, Vahn exined, "I can even revive the dead and heal virtually any injury with these hands of mine. This isnt even me being serious...if I stopped holding myself back, even something like this is possible..." Punctuating his words, Vahn skillfully kneaded the very tips of Yuris breasts, forcing her to release a nasally moan as he pinched her nipples with his thumbs and forefingers. This prompted two broken streams of cream-colored liquid to spurt from her nipples, surprising Ureko and causing Yuris body to tremble with enough force to cause him a few internal injuries. She was a lot stronger than him, so, while she was currently being very cooperative, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that Yuri could destroy him with a single uncontrolled spasm. Fortunately, despite the foreign and overwhelming amount of pleasure permeating throughout her entire body, Yuris willpower was nothing to scoff at. She knew how much of a danger she posed to Vahn under normal circumstances, so, rather than resist his actions, she focused all of her efforts on keeping her body under control. At the same time, however, she made a solemn promise to herself that she wouldpletely rock his world once he grew strong enough to survive her going all out... Understanding Yuris intentions thanks to the narration provided by the Law of Identity, Vahns expression softened, his actions bing gentler as he guided her into a morefortable and controlled wave of pleasure. This allowed her to exhale a sigh of relief, and, though her body was vibrating in a persistent wave of satisfaction, she had enough wherewithal to say, "You really know how to make the most of a situation...dont you...?" Raising Yuri to a seated position, Vahn ced a few gentle kisses her exposed neck and shoulder before answering, "I would be a fool to miss this kind of opportunity after hearing those bold words of yours...besides, even without my ability to know things, I would have to be exceptionally dense to miss the signals you have been sending. Youve been on tenterhooks from the moment we entered the Little Garden. I could also smell your pheromones when I was inscribing my Familia Crest onto your back...you shouldnt underestimate the senses of a Dragon...especially if said Dragon is also a God..." Feeling Vahn smell the nap of her neck, a potent blush spread through Yuris cheeks as she resisted the urge to ask him how she smelled. Unfortunately, he seemed to have read her mind, as, shortly thereafter, his resonant chuckle could be heard in her ear before he whispered a few embarrassing descriptives. This caused her face to turn absolutely crimson, her thoughts bing chaotic as a number of emotions she had never experienced before, apanied by a few strong urges, began to well up inside of her... Though he was tempted to eat Yuri then and there, Vahn ultimately held himself back due to the unique constitution possessed by descendants of the Ha Family. They were virtually guaranteed to be pregnant after losing their virginity, and, while he wouldnt mind knocking up the ck-haired beauty, it would cause all kinds of problems. She was still infected with Jahads blood, and, though he could purity it rather easily, the self-proimed King of the Tower would immediately take notice when Yuri departed the Little Garden. Thus, even if she stayed inside to raise their child in the outer rings, it wasnt really a solution unless she fully resolved herself to abandon her status and remain inside. Yuris current n was to get pregnant before returning to her Family and giving birth in secret. She wanted to entrust their child to her Great-Grandmother before returning to aid him in the inevitable fight against Jahad and the Families still loyal to the Empire. She, simr to an actual Amazon, didnt really have anything resembling a maternal instinct, so, while she would unquestionably care about their child, it made sense in her mind to entrust it to someone more powerful than herself. This was obviously something Vahn couldnt allow, so, rather than fuel the fires in Yuris body, he gradually forced her to calm down before exining his decision and ns for the future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Tongue-Clicking Intensifies*,RIP Princesses of Jahad xD...,m Jammed) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1824 Decisions, Decisions...

Chapter 1824 Decisions, Decisions...

Though she was more than a little miffed, earning Vahn what could best be described as a vengeful re, Yuri was eventually pacified after some careful coaxing and a promise to meet with her Great-Grandmother once he reached the 95th Floor. This was essentially the same as agreeing to wander into a minefield filled with anti-matter bombs and nuclear warheads, but, by the time he advanced that far, Vahn was confident he would be able to fend for himself. After that extended discussion, the two girls finally returned to wearing their clothes properly. The only change was that Yuri had decided to gomando after graciously allowing him to keep the thin ck fabric that formerly obscured his vision. She had also given him permission to use them if he was ever feeling lonely and thinking about her, earning another bout of raucousughter from Ureko as Vahn promptly tossed them into an abandoned corner of his Inventory... --- Seeing Yuri emerge with a slightly disgruntled expression on her face, Evan couldnt help but issue a profoundly relieved sigh as he said, "Thank the highest heavens...I was certain you would have done something foolish, Princess..." Already annoyed from before, Yuri didnt hesitate to leap through the air with the grace of a gazelle as she nted her foot squarely in the center of Evans face. This wasnt a Shinsu-empowered blow, but it still sent the diminutive Silver Dwarf reeling backward, blood trickling from his nostrils. Despite this, he still seemed to be greatly relieved as it was rumored that Jahad could sense when one of his Princesses had betrayed him. Evan didnt want Yuri to be a fugitive before she could realize her dream, so, while he still had the impression that Vahn was a monster, Evan couldnt help but look towards the man with eyes of gratitude as he said, "Sorry for any inconveniences the Princess might have caused you..." Offering a wry smile in response, Vahn wanted to tell the short man not to mind it, but, seeing the malicious red aura radiating from Yuris body, he rightly chose to remain mum. Then, after she had finished beating the man like a worn-out sandbag, they gathered alongside several residents of the Little Garden to enjoy a meal. The only exception to this was Ureko, who, after promising she would be checking in on him after finishing her current Quest, promptly departed for the outside. Following the blonde dragtes departure, everyone appeared far more at ease than they had previously. She was a being that could effectively erase everyone in her surroundings with a single sweep of her hand, so, while they werent overtly fearful of her, it was impossible to fully rx when she was around. This was actually the true reason for Urekos sudden departure, and, though it was only known to her closest confidants, one of her reasons for founding Wolhaiksong was to alleviate some of the loneliness buried deep within her heart... --- After a rather lively meal that resulted in both Evan and Yuri praising the supplied food, Vahn asked the question Yuri had failed to answer multiple times, this time addressing Evan as he inquired, "So, what are the two of you nning to do after this? I have no problems ying host for a few days, but there are other matters requiring my attention. Im currently aiming for the 30th Floor in order to participate in the Workshop Battle. Though I should be able to arrive nearly a month in advance, Id rather depart sooner, rather thanter." Interrupting before Evan could answer, Yuri removed the silver spoon she had been using to eat ice cream from her mouth, asserting, "Well meet you on the 30th Floor then. I might not interfere with your climb up the Tower, but itll be boring to just sit around and wait for you to reach the top. My instincts are telling me that interesting things are bound to happen around you. Im not going to let you hog all the fun for yourself." Though he wasnt that surprised by the fact that Yuri would answer immediately after he asked the question to someone else, Vahn couldnt help but deadpan in response to her words. He knew she wasnt going to be deterred, regardless of what he said, so, much like Evan, he released a tired sigh before half-heartedly replying, "Its not like I can stop you...do whatever you want..." With a radiant smile on her face, Yuri disyed double victory signs with her hands while snickering like a child who had sessfullypleted a prank. That made it appear as though she had been nning this from the start, but, thanks to the Law of Identity, Vahn knew she had literallye up with her brilliant idea on the spot. Her Intellect wasnt the equivalent of a C-Rank Regrs without reason... Comforting himself with the knowledge that he would be able to spend more time with a beautiful woman, Vahns expression gradually eased into an empathetic smile as he looked toward Evan and said, "I guess well be seeing each other on the 30th Floor then. For now, you and yourpanions are considered my guests. If you have any questions, feel free to ask Ryun or the other residents for information. Yuri is now a member of my Familia, so, as her confidant and advisor, you are wee toe and go as you please." Though he had already asked Ryun many of the questions he desired immediate answers to, Evan still nodded his head in appreciation of Vahns words. The fact Ryun had been willing to answer him at all was likely due to the man giving her permission to do so. This made him feel suspicious at the time, but, now that Yuri had emerged unscathed from the Familia Induction Ceremony, most of his uncertainty had waned. He was starting to realize that Vahn was remarkably genuine for someone who purported themselves to be an Emperor, so his impression of the man was gradually improving with the passage of time. Deciding to take Vahns words at face value, Evan decided it would save a lot of time if he asked the Little Gardens most preeminent resident for information, following the formers gesture of goodwill by asking, "There are actually a number of things Im curious about...first and foremost, I wanted to inquire about the top of the Tower. More specifically, I want to know what will happen if a native of the Tower was to reach the top..." Understanding Evans concerns, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation before answering, "It is as you suspect. Under normal circumstances, it is impossible for those born within the Tower to advance to the Top Floor. Fortunately, there are a number of exceptions to this rule, Eurasia Enne Zahard being the best example and Yuris Great Grand-Aunts being another. In fact, all of the children born from the union between two of the Great Leaders possess the qualifications to clear the Tower. The only reason they are not considered Irregrs is due to the curse Jahad imposed upon the progeny of the Ten Great Families. Before they are even born, a powerful contract binds the developing fetus to the Tower, artificially stripping them of their status as Irregrs in order to prevent them from ever bing a threat to Jahad..." Hearing Vahn casually reveal one of the most carefully guarded secrets between Jahad and the Ten Great Families, Evan and Yuri found themselves at aplete loss for words. Then, with a blood-red aura emanating from her body like an intense me, Yuri balled her hands into fists enough to draw blood as she cursed, "That bastard...!" in a wrathful tone. Though Evan could empathize with Yuris hatred, he noticed that Vahn was still sitting calmly on the other side of the table. Thus, before the Princess could blow her top, he furrowed his brows sternly as he firmly stated, "Princess Yuri! Calm down and pay attention! There is nothing we can about the current situation on our own! Listen to what Vahn has to say...!" Raising his brows in response to Evans sudden endorsement, Vahns smile became slightly more prominent as he nodded his head and said, "Dont worry. I already told you, didnt I? My status as the God of Infinite Possibilities isnt something I fabricated out of thin air. Even at my current level of power, Im more than capable of removing Jahads curse. When ites to mastery over magic and sorcery, there isnt a single person in this Tower than can hope to rival me." Though she was still very angry, Yuri was able to calm down remarkably quickly once she heard Vahns words. She knew she wasnt even remotely strong enough to oppose Jahad and the Great Warriors who supported him; so, while a part of her wanted nothing more than to rush up to the 134th Floor in order to punch her father square in his face, her instinctual fear of his tremendous power allowed her to think rationally for one of the few times in her life. Remembering Vahns im about her still having unlimited potential for growth, Yuri adopted an uncharacteristically serious expression as she said, "Tell me what I need to do to be stronger. You must know of a method, right? You seem to know pretty much everything else." Surprised by how calm Yuri appeared, Vahn adopted a more appreciative expression as he nodded his head and said, "I know countless methods to be stronger. The simplest involves changing your race and unsealing your bloodline. This will grant you tremendous power in the interim, but, if you want to be truly powerful, youll need to use a method to increase yourprehension of the Laws. In your case, I would suggest mastering the Laws of War, Strength, and Fire. These are the three you have the highest affinity with." Hearing Vahn mention something like prehension, Yuri got the impression it would require a tremendous amount of study, effort, and meditation. She was rather famous for being terrible at all of these, so, without bothering to consider the consequences, she confidently answered, "I want to change my race and awaken my bloodline. Tell me what I need to do." Though Vahn was rather amused by Yuris resolve, Evan couldnt help but show a fretful expression as he shouted, "Princess! You cant just change your race without thinking! How do you think others would react if they saw you walking around with wolf ears and a tail!?" Understanding he was talking about her, a frown immediately marred Ryuns countenance as she firmly asserted, "I am a Vanargandr, a descendent of the Heaven Devouring Wolf. Dontpare me to a simple wolf, you shitty dwarf..." Not expecting such a reaction from Ryun, Evan found himself at a momentary loss for words. As a result, Yuri had more than enough time to state, "Ive already made up my mind. What I do with my body is none of your concern, Evan. Besides, I think Hwa Ryuns ears and tail look cute. I can tell she takes really good care of them too. They look super soft and fluffy." After spending months alongside Fenrir, Ryun had be rather prideful of her status as one of the few Vanargandr in existence. Thus, in response to Yurispliment, a smile naturally bloomed across her face as she answered, "Its all thanks to Master. The Little Garden is a paradise filled with boons that cant be found within the Tower. The environment ideal for things like training and self-study, but, most importantly, the food and baths are simply out of this world. Nothing in the Tower evenes close." Though Ryuns words might sound a little boisterous, even Evan couldnt deny that the food served to them during lunch greatly exceeded the standard of the Royal Pce. There was even a moment where he thought the food had beenced with some kind of drug, but, after stealthily analyzing it, he found absolutely no traces of malicious or foreign substances. The food was simply prepared to a standard that didnt exist within the Tower, greatly exceeding any and all expectations. Sharing simr sentiments, Yuri nodded her excitedly in response to Ryuns words. She was greatly looking forward to spending more time in the Little Garden, but, at least for now, she was far more interested in the discussion regarding her race. Before she could ask, however, Vahn beat her to the punch, smiling as he exined, "I understand that youre not the type to spend thousands of hours on things like cultivation and meditation...with that in mind, let me tell you about one of the most powerful warrior races, a legendary tribe known as the Saiyans..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: I bet he could sell those on the ck Market for a lot of Points...,Jahad has no chill...,The Birth of a Legend!? Find out on tomorrows episode of...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1825 Power, Dreams, and Mischief

Chapter 1825 Power, Dreams, and Mischief

Several days after his exnation of the biology of Saiyans and their potential to even surpass the Gods, Vahn found himself in the center of a massive crater. Above him, floating high in the sky, an inordinately beautiful woman with long ck hair, a breathtaking figure, and a long, monkey-like tail, looked down on him with a massive grin on her face. This was none other than Yuri, who, after an arduous conversion process, now had the bloodline and physique of an Ancient Saiyan. Pulling himself from the rubble, Vahn rose unsteadily to his feet, cradling his head with his left hand as he remarked, "You really dont pull your punches, do you...?" Laughing in response to Vahns words, Yuri dropped down to the center of the crater before saying, "Im seldom able to go all out so this is a good opportunity for me to cut loose. Besides, arent you getting stronger each time I knock you down? Im not sure if its my Saiyan instincts, but I get a very dangerous feeling from you every now and then. It gets my blood pumping and makes it difficult to hold back." Having mostly recovered at this point, Vahn nodded his head in understanding before adopting a battle stance and saying, "Yeah, I get that, but the purpose of this training is for you to learn how to control yourself and manipte your Ki. Youre too reliant on Shinsu and keep suppressing your Ki whenever you get excited. So long as you continue relying on the former, you would never be able to defeat someone like Jahad and the Great Warriors." Puffing out her cheeks somewhat adorably, Yuri intoned a pouty, "Muuu..." before following it up by saying, "Youre too serious all the time. Arent you the one who said its important to work hard and y hard? Wouldnt it be a lot more fun to do both at the same time!?" Offering a wry smile in response to the excitable womans remark, Vahn gradually lowered his ready stance as she said, "Fine. Lets try something new...how about, for every half-hour of Ki training and guided meditation you manage to pull off, I will reward you with an hour-long massage?" Though she was usually baited pretty easily with the promise of a massage, Yuri promptly crossed her arms under her breasts as she willfully answered, "I refuse! If I wanted to sit around on my butt all day, I wouldnt have agreed to be a Saiyan. If you think you can keep enticing me with just a massage...youre seriously looking down on me!" Shaking his head in response to Yuris attempts to provoke him, Vahn calmly replied, "You already know we cant go all the way, Yuri. Im not going to let my child be raised somece I cannot see them. You also need to hold on to your status as a Princess of Jahad if you want toplete your current Quest; so, unless youre telling me you have given up on your dream and intend to spend the next few years in the Little Garden, it is impossible to..." Even before the Law of Identity had unceremoniously revealed Yuris n to him, Vahn could tell she was up to something due to the massive grin that had spread across her face. This caused his words to gradually trail off, but, rather than give in to the temptation to release a sigh, he adopted a wry smile and said, "That should work...but there is also a chance-" Before Vahn could even finish speaking, Yuri tossed him over her shoulder before taking off like a rocket towards the horizon. This left Vahn feeling a little helpless, but, knowing he would be the one to benefit the most from Yuris n, he decided to just go with the flow. They were supposed to be separating the following day so he could at least humor her for one more evening... --- After passing through the teleportation gate connecting the Ninth Layer to the Eighth, Yuri carried Vahn all the way to the outskirts of the Emerald Grove before setting him down with a wry smile on her face. Before she could apologize, however, Vahn simply shook his head, an amused smile on his face as he said, "Its fine. I really dont have a problem with girls like you. Just remember to restrain yourself when were outside...if this bes a habit...well, well discuss that when the timees..." Though she got the impression Vahn was going to say something about punishing her, Yuri wasnt particrly concerned. That was a matter for the far future. For now, she only had one, maybe two, things on her mind. As a result, she ultimately giggled in response to Vahns words before grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the naturalistic abode that had been prepared for herself and Soo-Yun. Unsurprisingly, for both Vahn and Yuri, they soon stumbled upon the sleeping figure of Soo-Yun cocooned in a thick nket atop the living room sofa. She was a member of the Eurasia Family, so, while she was a little more active than most, she still spent the majority of her time sleeping. Far more surprising than the fact she was asleep was the revtion that Soo-Yun wasnt actually alone. Instead, a certain fiery redhead could be seen dozing off at her side, a small amount of drool trickling from the corner of her mouth as Soo-Yun used herp as a pillow. At first nce, this gave off the impression of a mother and daughter enjoying an afternoon nap, but, shattering the illusionpletely, the red-haired woman, Kushina, was wearing a rather risque nightgown... Before Vahn could find the words to describe his current sentiments, Yuri surprised him quite a bit by remarking, "Well, the more the merrier." in a somewhat yful tone. Then, without any regards for the peaceful scene before them, she walked over to the sofa before promptly picking up the end of Soo-Yun cacoon, dangling her upside down as she said, "Oi! Wake up you damn sloth~!" Despite the fact she was been violently dangled upside down, Soo-Yun didnt immediately wake up. Instead, she just replied with a small yawn before retreating further into her cocoon and pulling the mouth shut. Kushina, however, awoke with quite a start, bounding from the sofa using a variation of the Body Flicker Technique with a panicked expression on her face until a familiar warmth embraced her from behind and said, "You shouldnt be pushing yourself..." Calming down almost instantaneously, Kushina rxed into Vahns embrace, her hands covering his as thetter affectionately stroked her abdomen. Then, in a rather pitiable tone, she answered, "You worry too much...besides, you cant really injure me in a dreamscape. Soo-Yun said she can prevent Narutos consciousness from being affected by her ability, so its okay...right?" Responding with an immediate kiss to the back of her head, Vahn began to rock Kushina in his arms as he answered, "Sure...if thats what you want. Just make sure youre taking it easy these next few months..." Turning her head up to face Vahn, Kushina nted a kiss on Vahns lips before pulling away with a radiant smile blossoming across her face. For a brief moment, it was like the two had entered their own little world. Unfortunately, with Yuri squeezing Soo-Yun out of her nket like the final dab of toothpaste in a tube, the rosy-colored ambiance quickly yielded to a moreical atmosphere... --- With their physical bodies all nestled together in the real world, Vahn, Kushina, and Yuri were able to enter into Soo-Yuns personal dreamscape using their spirit forms. There, they found themselves among rolling hills covered in a colorful coge of different types of flowers. There were also things like floating rocks and tiny pixies flying around, but, before he could admire it, Vahn found himself tackled by an ethereal-looking Yuri. Though she had quite a bit of experience with dreamscapes, Yuris spiritual avatar still possessed a few abstract qualities. She wasnt very good at holding a mental image of herself, so, depending on her level of focus, her body would experience rapid changes. The most notable of these, at least for the time being, were her ck ponytail, appearing like a tendril of wispy ck me, and the way in which her proportions subtly changed depending on her awareness of them. Fortunately, while she had an overwhelming advantage in the physical world, Vahns experience in both spiritual nes and dreamscapes far exceeded Yuris. As a result, he was able to make arge bed appear beneath him the moment she tackled him. Immediately thereafter, a veritable forest of trees spontaneously appeared in the surroundings, recing the previous floweryndscape before a naturalistic castle formed from white wood and marble quickly enveloped them. Awed by Vahns ability to control her dreamscape, Soo-Yun, now appearing like a mature beauty with a physique that easily rivaled both Yuri and Kushina, remarked, "Youre a real monster, arent you? Ive only ever seen this kind of control from my Great Great Grandmother. When the two of you meet, she is going to lose it..." Though he was a little preupied with Yuri fumbling around with the buttons of his tunic, Vahns awareness in the dreamscape rivaled Soo-Yuns. If he really wanted to, he could even peer into her deepest and most repressed memories without her being able to put up any resistance; but, having no need or desire to vite the sanctity of another persons mind, he just issued a light chuckle, not from his own throat, but from the version of himself that had materialized behind the pink-haired beauty. Surprised by Vahns ability to separate his consciousness into multiple parts, Soo-Yun was startled to the point that she nearly reverted back to her true form. She actually hadnt expected Vahn to be so direct, forgoing all questions about her ability and, instead, taking very proactive measures. This left her feeling a little disoriented, but, as if to indicate her current state, a fragrant pink mist rapidly spread through her mindscape as her body trembled in his embrace... While his other selves were busy tending to Soo-Yun and Kushina, Vahn quickly turned the tables on Yuri, startling her quite a bit as he flipped her over onto her back. This caused her appearance to regress to a slightly younger version of herself, but, after quickly recovering her senses, she quickly regained her usual appearance. In fact, thanks to the energy flowing from Vahns body and into her own, she was rapidly stabilizing. This would actually help to strengthen and refine her spirit quite a bit; so, while it was a little unorthodox, Vahn couldnt help but smile as he came to the realization that Yuri had unwittingly orchestrated a scenario where she could both train hard and y hard at the same time. With that thought crossing his mind, Vahn began nting a trail of kissing from Yuris lips, working his way down her body until he invariably found himself in front of a tightly closed slit. He found it a little amusing that Yuri didnt have any hair despite having very neatly trimmed pubes back in the real world, but, rather than focus on insignificant details, Vahn promptly pushed her legs up by the backs of her knees before demonstrating that prowess in battle wasnt the only representation of strength... --- Having sensed Vahns arrival in the Emerald Grove, it wasnt long before Yoruichi came following his smell. When she noticed him nestled between three heavily breathing girls with a tent pitched in his trousers, a mischievous glimmer instantly shed across her yellow eyes. The fact they were having fun without her was more than enough reason to justify her getting even, so, after returning to her human form, she promptly cut a slit down Vahns trousers to liberate the dragon sealed within. This caused his penis to smack Soo-Yuns butt, nestling between her cheeks and tempting Yoruichi to do something excessive. Fortunately, she generally knew where to draw the line, so, after taking a seat between Vahns legs, she fearlessly took more than half his length into her mouth, giggling when all four of them trembled in response... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Yuri lives life at her own pace xD...,Even a home-field advantage cant help you against Vahn...,Seems like Yoruichi wants a spanking...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1826 Blossom

Chapter 1826 Blossom

With his perception not limited to the events transpiring within the dreamscape, it didnt take long for Vahn to discover Yoruichis prank. This filled him with a strong desire to give her a spanking in the near future, but, for the time being, he had other things to worry about. Fortunately, though his arousal had a prominent effect on the dreamscape, the only person greatly affected was Soo-Yun. This invariably resulted in her returning to her true form, but, while there was a brief moment where he felt apprehensive, Vahn was able to set it aside rtively quickly. Her form was the result of a racial characteristic, so, much as he had for Lili, Kali, Amaterasu, Illya, and Shuten, Vahn decided not to let it bother him. This seemed to take Soo-Yun by surprise, but, with her blush having developed to the point it couldpete with the color of her hair, she decided to just chose to go with the flow... Ignorant of the rather dangerous-looking scene urring a few meters off to the side, Yuri had her butt pointed upwards as she hugged the pillow her face was buried into. This allowed Vahn to grab near the base of her tail, using it as a point of leverage to guide her hips and adjust the angle of his thrusts. None of this was actually necessary, as spiritual bodies didnt exactly have sweet spots, but Vahn had already developed the habit ofprehensively exploring the caverns of his women. Though it wasnt his first time having sex in a dreamscape, Vahn found it rather novel how Yuris body continually changed depending on the intensity of his movements. If he went nice and slow, her insides would be extremely inviting, writhing around his member like a sapient creature that was eager to bring him pleasure. When he picked up the pace, however, they would be almost impossibly tight, coiling around him like a vice that sought to prevent further intrusion. This allowed him to experience various types and depths of pleasure as Yuri, having lost all of her usual advantages, simply enjoyed the ride. With the ck-haired beauty trapped in an endless cycle of orgasmic pleasure, Vahn was free to choose when and where he wanted to release his energy-rich semen. He could actually manifest as a physical form or even pull out items from his Inventory within the dreamscape, so, in many ways, this was just another form of reality for him. This afforded him numerous advantages, but, without worrying about things like that, Vahn surprised Yuri by freeing her tail and rolling her onto her back. Then, with his member sinking further into her than would normally be possible, he sealed her lips, instigating a mating press as she instinctually wrapped her arms and legs around him. While he had barely scratched the surface when it came to understanding Source Energy, one of the things Vahn knew for certain was that it responded to his intent. Thus, by saturating his semen with it and sincerely desiring that it help strengthen and reinforce the girls spiritual bodies, that is exactly what it did. This, coincidentally, brought the girls an indescribable amount of pleasure, and, so long as he looked closely, it could even see a subtle rainbow hue glowing within their bodies, the tell-tale sign of his Source Energy working its magic at his behest... Though her body had be progressively more solid and defined since the start, Vahn could tell that Yuri was beginning to sumb to spiritual fatigue. This wasnt actually all that dangerous, but there was a fair chance it could result in her falling into aa for a few days. He could always take her to the outer rings to recover, but, feeling it would establish a strange precedent if their first time together resulted in her falling into aa, Vahn carefully guided Yuri to a seated position, holding her in an intimate manner until she eventually calmed down. What Vahn didnt ount for was the fact that Yuri could see over his shoulder, her ruby-red eyes graduallying into focus and allowing her to witness the licentious interactions between himself, Kushina, and Soo-Yun. This wasnt the first time she had noticed their presence, but, at the time, she had other things to worry about. Now, however, she found herself feeling somewhat envious as she witnessed the gentle yet passionate lovemaking between Vahn and Kushina. She got the immediate impression the two loved each other dearly, their bodies melding together in perfect harmony... If it were just Vahn and Kushina, Yuri wouldnt have been all that bothered by the current situation. It was when she looked over to see Soo-Yun skillfully grinding Vahns hips that an uncharacteristic feeling of inferiority welled up inside of her. This was exacerbated by the fact that the former had returned to her true form, yet, in spite of this, she seemed fully in control of the situation, smiling like a mischievous imp as she linked her fingers together with Vahns and skillfully took the lead... Remembering how she had been on the receiving end the entire time, a pout developed across Yuris face as she attempted to push Vahn onto his back. Unfortunately, her power was virtually non-existent within the dreamscape, so, from the perspective of others, it appeared as though she was just struggling awkwardly in his embrace. This made her feel even more frustrated, but, before she could say anything, Vahn held her close and whispered, "You dont need to worry about others, Yuri. You are an amazing, kind, and capable woman. Remember, this is just a dreamscape. There is no need to worry aboutplicated things. Youll have plenty of time to show off your prowess in the future...Im certain youll be even more amazing in the outside world..." Hearing Vahns words,bined with the warmth pervading her entire body, Yuri was quickly able to regain her calm, returning his embrace as she uttered, "Im going to rock your world one of these days...just you wait..." Chuckling in response to the womans words, Vahn held her body a little tighter as he nestled his face into the nape of her neck, kissing it several times between saying, "I have absolutely no doubt about that...Im already looking forward to it..." --- With Yoruichi having sensed the subtle changes in the surrounding intent, her figure was nowhere to be seen by the time Vahn, Kushina, Yuri, and Soo-Yun awoke. This left Vahn in a rather awkward situation, his still-erect member causing a crimson blush to spread across Soo-Yuns face as she felt its heat nestled between her butt and pressing against somewhat sensitive This caused her to feel a little panicked, but, rather than shy away, she adjusted her position so that she was seated properly on hisp, seemingly attempting to conceal both his erection and the stain on her pajama bottoms. Finding his petite partners reaction rather adorable, Vahn decided to just go with the flow, allowing her to hide the evidence of a non-existent crime as he shifted his attention to the somewhat dazed Yuri and inquired, "How was it? It might notpare to the actual thing, but I think I made things pretty enjoyable, no?" Coming to her senses in response to Vahns words, Yuri turned to meet his gaze as she replied, "Ill remember this. Next time around, Ill be the one taking the lead..." With that said, Yuri released Vahns hand before promptly rising from the sofa and heading towards the bathroom. Her panties and tights werepletely soaked through so she wanted to take a nice long bath before changing into a fresh set of clothes. She also knew that, if she stayed around Vahn in her current state, she might not be able to resist taking him then and there. There was currently an intense and passionate heat permeating through her entire body, so, if she didnt create a bit of distance between them, there was no guarantee she would be able to control herself. Understanding Yuris thoughts, Vahn made no attempt to stop or follow after her. Instead, he let his free hand wander to Soo-Yuns waist, startling her slightly as he shifted his attention to Kushina and asked, "What are your ns for the rest of the day? If you have nothing else going on, want to help me punish a certain mischievous cat?" Though she couldnt deny that it was an interesting proposition, Kushina ultimately just rested her head against Vahns shoulder, squeezing his hand as she answered, "Mira has been covering for me a lottely so you should ask her to apany you. Ill be helping Hinata prepare dinner. Now that Morgiana and Phae are gone, we dont have as many free hands as before. Latias has been helping out a lot, but she is only really good at baking. Its not that she cant help with other things, but we cant help but worry whenever we see her holding a knife..." Envisioning Latias swinging around a knife with a yful smile on her face, a dryugh emanated from Vahns throat as he instantly understood the cause for Kushinas concerns. Though there had yet to be any idents, Latias could be very ditzy and childish. Entrusting her with a ded object without adult supervision seemed highly irresponsible, so, for the most part, she was only allowed to wield a knife whenever Mira was observing her... Reclining against the back of the sofa, Vahn briefly considered whether or not he should create a new Temte. His [Universal Mind] had already reached D-Rank, so, while he had yet to confirm it, he should be able to create upwards of 36 Temtes. Now that he was on the 20th Floor, there was nothing preventing him from letting his Temtes freely explore the Middle and Outer Towers, so, after a moment of consideration, Vahn nodded in affirmation of his own thoughts before saying, "Ill have a talk with Mira after this. Now that you and Hinata are pregnant, I suppose now is as good a time as any to procure the assistance of someone who specializes in cooking and keeping house..." Hearing Vahns reply, Kushina began to feel a little excited. She, like many of his Temtes, actually shared his passion for things like anime and manga so it was difficult for her not to be interested in the subject. There were a number of Temtes she would like Vahn to create, and, though she had a bias for her own Record of origin, that didnt prevent her from thinking about candidates from all manner of fiction. As a result, the first person that came to mind when Vahn mentioned summoning a specialist was a woman named Izayoi Sakuya, a remarkably powerful Maid with the ability to stop time. Noticing the glimmer in Kushinas eyes, a smile spread across Vahns face as he nted a kiss on her head and said, "Well talk about itter. For now, how about the two of you go and wash up? I cant imagine it is pleasant to sit around with soggy panties..." Though there was a considerable amount of truth contained within Vahns words, Kushina didnt seem to mind it all that much as she nestled closer to him and said, "I want to stay like this for a little while longer..." before adding in a mischievous tone, "Besides, Soo-Yun seems to be enjoying herself quite a bit..." With her face turning several shades redder, Soo-Yun immediately averted her eyes from Kushinas as she muttered, "I dont know what youre talking about..." Smiling like a sly fox, Kushina proceeded to point towards her nose as she said, "My sense of smell is a lot stronger than a normal persons. You think I cant smell my mans meat and the pheromones leaking from your body? Youre a naughty one, arent you~?" Finding herself at a loss for words, Soo-Yuns mouth pped open and closed a few times, unable to form even a single syble. This earned an amused giggle from Kushina, who, after nting a kiss on Vahns cheek, suggested, "Why dont the two of you get better acquainted? Ill take care of Yuri so feel free to enjoy yourselves. Yoruichi could do with some neglect y every now and then." With that said, Kushina threw her arms up, a satisfied moan escaping her throat as she stretched her body and quickly departed for the bath. This left Vahn and Soo-Yun alone in the living room, the former adopting a wry smile as thetter hid her blushing face behind her hands. She wasnt unustomed to the rtions between men and women within her dreamscape, but, for the first time in her life, her body was burning up in anticipation for something far more substantial. Having already set aside his inhibitions in the dreamscape, Vahn eventually guided Soo-Yuns hands away from her face, meeting the pink-haired girls matching gaze as he softly uttered, "The decision is yours to make...I cant make it for you..." With Vahn cing the burden on her, Soo-Yuns pupils expanded to show a hazy white light within their depths as she puffed out her cheeks and whispered, "Youre a bully..." in a slightly pouty tone. Immediately afterward, however, she grabbed the sides of his face, demonstrating the substantial difference in their strength by pulling his face forward and stealing his lips... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Yuri will have her revenge...!,Kushina is quite the wingman...,Hello? FBI-san? Hes over here...) (A/N: I think I pinched a nerve trying to get some exercise in so it hurts to sit down for long periods of time ory on my back xD. Im still able to write, its just a little inconvenient. Anyways, now that were at this point in the story, feel free to throw out ideas for characters you think might fit into the current narrative. Most wont have any relevance to the plot, but, by simply existing, Vahns skill set, knowledge, andprehension increase exponentially. I was actually considering Komatsu and Souma for the position of Chef, but, due to the rule against men in the kitchen, perhaps Erina or Megumi would be a better choice? Let me know what you think in thements section.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1827 Anticipation

Chapter 1827 Anticipation

While Yoruichi was lying unconscious at the side, her butt visibly swollen and body covered in sweat, Vahn was enjoying ap pillow from Mira. At the same time, they were discussing which Temtes would be most suitable, both for residing within the Little Garden and exploring the Tower beyond. Unsurprisingly, Miras go-to suggestions revolved around her Record of origin, specifically the members of her original counterparts Guild, Fairy Tail. More specifically, she was asking him to recreate the central cast, starting with important figures such as Mavis Vermillion and Zeref before working his way down the main cast. Though Vahn had no problem creating a Temte for Mavis, as he always felt sorry for the rather tragic fairy-like girl, the idea of doing the same for Zeref didnt sit well with him. He never liked how maniptive the rtionship between the two was, and, though he could easily create a version of Zeref without such character ws, his subconscious bias would undoubtedlye into y. Despite this, Vahn felt that he should create something like a reformed version of Zeref, much as he had done for Madara. He needed to break himself out of the mentality that he was summoning the characters for their original Records, so, while it made him a little ufortable, he needed to get over such things if he wanted to truly master the [Universal Mind]. After all, if he really wanted to, he could easily make a version of Zeref that possessed the personality, quirks, or characteristics of someonepletely different. After creating a Temte for the Law of Identity, Vahn hade to understand that there were virtually no limits to the types of Temtes he could create. This was a simple fact, so, rather than only create characters based on his perception of them, he could literally create idealized versions of their original selves, mix and match traits from various fictional worlds, or even use them as the human Temte for one of his Pokemon. He didnt have to create the characters as he remembered them. Rather, if he wanted them to be something truly unique, he needed to spend more time and effort in the Temting process. Imagining Erza with the characteristics of a Vanargandr and version of Happy with an Oozaru-Cat transformation, a slightly wry yet intrigued smile spread across Vahns face. He realized that, so long as he kept their unique traits in mind during the creation process, he could presumably determine which Innates his Temtes possessed. After all, there was nothing preventing him from imagining a version of Natsu with Uchiha Bloodline and the ability to transform into a giant dragon. It might destroy the image he had of the original character, but, in the end, his Temtes had nothing to do with any existing Record... --- Deciding it would be best to create his new Temtes after the departure of Yuri, Vahn met up with the woman in question the following morning at breakfast. This brought an immediate smile to his face, not because he was particrly happy to see her, but because it was always rather amusing to see just how much a Saiyan was capable of eating. With her cheeks stuffed like a chipmunk, Yuri briefly shifted her attention away from her food to see who had entered the dining hall. When she saw it was Vahn, a very subtle blush colored her cheeks, and, though she didnt stop eating, her pace slowed down quite a bit. This earned her a fewughs from the other diners while Evan, after shaking his head in milder exasperation, took the initiative to say, "Weve already stayed longer than we should have. Once the Princess has eaten her fill, well be departing for the 30th Floor. Soo-Yun, however, has expressed an interest in staying behind..." Hearing Evan casually broach the subject without hesitation, Soo-Yun couldnt help but send a re his way. At the same time, Yuri forced herself to swallow without bothering to chew, her expression turning into a potent frown as she inly stated, "No. If Im not allowed to stay with Vahn and help during his climb, others arent allowed to. Why should Soo-Yun get to stay behind and y around in the Little Garden? I wont allow it." Though her words were spoken in a t tone, the glowing of Yuris eyes revealed just how serious she was. This caused both Evan and Soo-Yun to pale slightly. As for Vahn, he just took a seat at his usual spot, a rxed smile on his face as he said, "Yuri is right. I understand your reasons, Soo-Yun, but I dont need the protection of Wolhaiksong. I appreciate your concerns, but there is no need to worry. It is only a matter of time before I reach the top of the Tower. The most Jahad and the Great Families can do is slow me down." Nodding her head in approval, Yuri deftly ced another piece of meat into her mouth, swallowing it down in a single gulp before adding, "Yeah. Have a little faith. Even Ureko put her trust in Vahn, so what are you worrying about? Besides, other than sleeping all day, what else can you do?" Frowning in response to Yuris words, Soo-Yun wanted to say something in her defense but Vahn beat her to the punch, his voice stern as he said, "That is uncalled for, Yuri. Everyone has things they are good at, and its not like youre the strongest person in the Tower. Only cowards and tyrants go out of their way to look down on people who are weaker than them. Dont let your jealousy dictate your words and actions. Youre better than that." Though she couldnt help but frown in response to Vahns words, Yuri ultimately exhaled a tired sigh, shoulders slumping ever so slightly as she matched Soo-Yuns gaze and said, "Sorry. Im just a little annoyed that you got ahead of me..." Much like everyone else at the table, Soo-Yun waspletely taken aback by how quickly Yuri had apologized. She was usually very obstinate about such things, so much so that most people would generally forget what she had done wrong by the time she was willing to say she was sorry. Like a father who had just witnessed the turning point in his troubled daughters life, tears began to build in the corners of Evans eyes as he silently uttered, "The Princess is finally starting to grow into a proper youngdy...I never thought I would live to see the day..." Seeing how surprised everyone was, an annoyed pout marred Yuris face as she began shoveling food into her mouth. Fortunately, as she had elected to steal the spot next to Vahn, she was in ideal petting distance. This allowed him to easily caress her head, and, though it made her feel more than a little embarrassed, a contented smile eventually found its way to Yuris face... --- After sending off Yuri and the remaining members of Wolhaiksong, Vahn promptly gathered most of the Little Gardens residents in the Emerald Grove. This was primarily to hear everyones opinions, but, most importantly, it was an opportunity for everyone to wee the newest members of their ever-growingmunity. Unsurprisingly, everyone had a personal bias towards the Records their Temtes were originally inspired from. As a result, Roger ended up suggesting a version of Whitebeard in his prime while Goku, Ichigo, and Madara suggested Vegeta, Orihime, and Izuna respectively. This earned Ichigo quite a bit of teasing, but, as he had flusteredly pointed out, Orihimes powers would actually be very beneficial if they developed to the point they had in the original story. On that topic, Vahn pointed out that he could easily give Orihimes powers to someone else, and, though he had no problems generating Temtes with their original personalities intact, he urged everyone to try and think outside of the box. There were virtually no limits to the form and function of his Temtes so there was no need to restrain themselves. After all, he could create upwards of twenty additional Temtes, sapient weapons, artifacts, and items included. Though Rogers only suggested change was an even stronger version of Whitebeard, everyone else, even Goku, seemed to seriously consider Vahns words. As a result, the ordinarily airheaded Saiyan suggested creating the Dragon God Zma and a Namekian of the Dragon n in order to try and replicate the Dragon Balls. As for Ichigo, he seemed to take the earlier teasing rather personally, so, rather than suggest a potential love interest, he proposed creating a Temte of Yhwach or Sosuke Aizen, albeit without their evil inclinations. Vahn found it a little humorous that everyone was still suggesting Temtes in ordance with their original Records, but, as there were some pretty interesting ideas mixed in, he was listening pretty intently until Sis suddenly suggested, (*Rather than a Temte from an anime or manga, why not try and make one from a Light Novel or a Video Game? Didnt you enjoy that novel where the main character reincarnated as a Slime and eventually built a country of monsters? Why not create a Temte with low power but infinite potential? After all, you can even create something like the Law of Identity. There is no reason you cant recreate powerful System Users or something along the lines of a ss System from an MMORPG.*) With Sis conveniently recalling the memories pertaining to what she was referencing, an intrigued smile spread across Vahns face as he instantly understood her intentions. The Temte she was suggesting was of a character who not only had the ability to predate and absorb the abilities of anything they had eaten, but, most importantly, they could bestow names of power unto others. Though the thought of creating the character in question was rather intriguing, Vahn knew he could just as easily grant said abilities to another Temte. The most important thing was that he would benefit greatly from their knowledge and experience, drastically increasing his ownprehension regarding Names of Power and the bestowal of Authority. Even this, however, wasnt as interesting as Sis suggestion regarding the creation of a Temte from a Video Game, specifically one with aprehensive ss or Job System... More often than not, sessful MMORPGs, Massive Multiyer Online Role-ying Games, relied on systems that allowed yers to freely swap between multiple sses. Few people wanted to be stuck ying as a single ss, and, though it was often possible to create multiple characters, the time and effort they invested into their main made most people apprehensive about starting over from scratch. To get around this, developers often built a multi-ss or job system into their games, and, though this often required the yer to start over from Level 1 in said ss/job, the option of being able to outfit in unique gear and being able to swap back to a more powerful ss kept most people invested. Vahn wasnt sure exactly how such a system would apply to a living person, but, as Sis had pointed out, he had already achieved the impossible by creating a Temte for the Law of Identity. There was no nothing preventing him from creating a Temte that was able to freely change their ss, Job, and potentially even their Innates. This was something he would benefit greatly from, so, while he was still listening to everyone elses suggestions, Vahns mind had been set abuzz with thoughts of creating powerful, reality-breaking, Temtes... --- Unaware of her Lords ns at universal domination, a fatigued sigh escaped Phaes lips as she set aside her engraving tools and wiped a few beads of sweat from her brow. She was currently in the middle of a thirty-day probationary period that was supervised by none other than Graham Bell, the Teacher she had met back in Paradise Bay. Though the work wasnt exactly difficult, being supervised and monitored by several exceptionally powerful and intelligent people ced a heavy strain on both the mind and body. Fortunately, this wasnt enough to influence the quality of her work, earning her considerable praise from virtually every Teacher that had witnessed her production methods. Some were even calling her a talent that was only seen every ten-thousand-years, many extending invitations to join their specific research groups while others took the initiative to congratte Graham for being the first to discover such a promising Disciple. Fortunately, though she was required to start off as an Apprentice, just like every other prospective member of the Workshop, Graham had already received approval from a Great Teacher to test Phae for the position of Head Disciple. This wasnt unprecedented within the history of the Workshop, so, less than five hours after she appeared on the 20th Floor, Phae was approached by Graham and his most trusted Disciples in order to discuss the specifics of her recruitment into the Workshop. In the end, Phae was forced to abandon her status as a Regr, but, considering she could easily climb the Tower without the permission of the Jahad Empire, it didnt really matter. Her only real concern was investigating the Workshop, learning its production methods, and working her way up the ranks until she had either be a Great Teacher or the literal head of the entire organization. This might be impossible for others, but, with her knowledge regarding the Five Major Realms and the actual origins of the Workshop, it was only a matter of time before she became one of the most influential figures within the organization. Thus, after a short break, she, once again, picked up her hammer, her sapphire-blue eyes shifting in a manner simr to a camera lens as she analyzed the production method provided to test the limits of her capabilities. Then, with a confident smile on her face, she raised her hand to produce a mystical multi-colored me... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Imagining a swole Happy...Aye!,Rimuru-sensei!?,Phaes Innates...what could they be!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1828 Foundation

Chapter 1828 Foundation

With everyones input, Vahn was able toe up with a number of interesting Temtes, both to popte the Emerald Grove and to prepare for future events. This included at least one Temte from each persons Record of origin, and, most notably, a number of unique Temtes that came about as a result of Sis suggestion. Breaking down each Temte by the Record they drew inspiration from, Vahn had created Vegeta as a rival for Goku and Android 21 as both a research assistant and reservebatant. The former was known as the Prince of all Saiyans back in his original Record, and, though he normallygged behind Goku, he was currently much stronger due to the fact he was createdter. As for Android 21, she was more of an amalgamation of various different races than an actual android, but, most notably, she possessed a constitution that allowed her to absorb the power and adapt the traits of others. Vahn had originally wanted to create a Temte for Bulma, as she was inarguably the most brilliant scientist in her verse, but, much like Goku, Vegeta wasnt fond of the idea of having his canon wife appear before he had the chance to fight. This was one of the downsides to Temtes inheriting knowledge and information pertaining to their original Record. Though they were not their actual selves, both Bulma and Vegeta would have knowledge of their original counterparts rtionship. This awareness virtually guaranteed they would be involved with each other as some rtionships were simply too iconic. Bulma and Vegeta were an excellent example of this, as, with very few exceptions, they ended up being paired together in virtually every Record that Vahn was aware of. As a testament to how influential their subconscious biases could be, the Temte Vahn created for Orihime ended up blushing madly the moment she met Ichigo. This caused thetter to feel more than a little embarrassed, and, by the end of the day, the two surprised a grand total of zero people when they announced the start of their rtionship at dinner. Ichigo had apparently even tried to ept responsibility by proposing, but, being the more sensible of two, Orihime politely refused before suggesting they start with dating and getting to know each other before making important life decisions... Wrapping up the Temtes inspired by the Record of Bleach, Vahn decided upon Kisuke Urahara to serve as his Chief Researcher within the Tower. He was a remarkably intelligent individual, so much so that he could easily be ssified as the most intelligent person within his Record. He was more than capable of substituting for Bulma, and, though his counterpart was often paired with Yoruichi, Vahn wasnt worried about the feline beauty betraying him. This wasnt even ounting for the fact that she was temted from his adolescent fantasies, a truth she took great pleasure in leveraging against him... Fortunately, not that they were made for that specific purpose, Urahara didnt have to worry aboutcking femalepanionship as each of his fellow researchers were female. This included Android 21 and two of Vahns experiments, Pokemon hybrids with characteristics derived frompletely unrted Records. The first was a Pikachu Temted from a rather infamous tsundere known as Misaka Mikoto, one of the Main Heroines from a Record known as To Aru Majutsu no Index. Not only was she remarkably intelligent, but, thanks to the unique power structure of the Toaruverse, her abilities would serve as a perfect point of reference for understanding AIM Diffusion Fields and Personal Realities. Though there were some peculiar concepts at y, the Toaruverse was an example of a Record where Science and Magic had been developed to the extremes. There were even beings on both sides of the spectrum that could alter the very structure of the multiverse so it was an interesting Record to pull inspiration from. As for why he didnt just create one of these beings as a Temte, Vahn had learned his lesson after creating the Law of Identity, Arceus, Palkia, Dialga, and Giratina. Despite possessing appearances and abilities simr to their original counterparts, many of the more powerful beings created by Vahn were a far cry from the entities they were Temted from. There was a very good chance they would eventually grow to rival or even exceed their original selves, but, at least for the time being, their power was limited by his ownprehension. Before trying to create a Temte that could literally alter the structure of Complex Multiverses with a thought, Vahn wanted to increase his understanding of Esper Abilities and Magic from the ground up. Mikoto was an ideal candidate for this, as, despite her tsundere nature, she was a very kind, caring, and astute youngdy. As for her counterpart on the Magic side of things...well, the only thing Vahn could really say about her was that she was cute... Possessing Innates such as [Perfect Memory], [Information Transfer], [St. Georges Sanctuary], and [Index Librorum Prohibitorum], Uraharas final assistant, intended to help him understand the very nature of Magic, was a silver-haired girl named after her own Innate, Index Librorum Prohibitorum. What made her unique, other than the fact her true form was that of a Jirachi, was that her Innate defied conventional reasoning bying pre-loaded with 103,000 Magical Grimoires. Though he had no way of knowing if it would work, Vahns main reasoning for creating Index, other than the fact he found her original self rather pitiable, was specifically due to her status as the Index Librorum Prohibitorum. She was known to possess virtually all knowledge pertaining to the unique Magic of her Record, including the method to turn someone into a Magic God, so Vahn decided to take a gamble by entrusting his own expectations to The Path. As for why he Temted her from a Jirachi, known as the Wishmaker, Vahn hoped that it would increase the chances of her possessing the knowledge she was best known for... Fortuitously, his gamble had paid off, but, in exchange, Index was effectively a carbon-copy of her original self. This included azy, somewhat bratty, and extremely gluttonous personality that left her prone to emotional outbursts. Fortunately, these werent really issues so long as she stayed in the Emerald Grove as everyone, even Madara and her brother Izuna, were all very understanding. She was even adopted by another of the other Temtes Vahn had created, specifically Edward Whitebeard Newgate, the monstrously powerful rival that had been created at the insistence of Roger. Though he didnt have ess to anything like Devil Fruits, Vahns [Universal Mind] allowed him to effectively ignore such things. As a result, Whitebeard had full ess to his abilities in the form of a Non-Standard Innate known as [Tremor Human]. This,bined with the fact that he appeared as a much younger version of himself, made Whitebeard into a remarkably powerful individual. He also benefited from being created significantlyter than Roger, so, while the King of the Pirates didnt go down easily, he was ultimately crushed under the might of Whitebeards fists. As a monster of a man, standing 666cm tall, Whitebeard was easily the most physically intimidating Temte Vahn had ever created. His strength was also unbelievable thanks to his Innate, [Worlds Strongest Man], a horrifying ability that let him ignore physical limitations based on his anger and willpower. His attacks alsopletely bypassed conventional durability, so, even though the Ninth Layer had been reinforced topensate for Yuris ridiculous strength, Whitebeard was still able to devastate thendscape with his punches. Fortunately, Whitebeard had inherited perhaps his greatest attributes, his caring,passionate, and understanding nature. He also ced a heavy emphasis on the importance of family, so much so that he had even tried to make Vahn into one of his children. In the end, Vahn was able to escape his fate of calling the man Pops by defeating him in battle on the Ninth Floor. This, in turn, spared everyone else from a simr fate, as, ording to Whitebeard, the strongest had the responsibility of being a parent to and guiding the weak. There were many people who had been forced onto a dark path by circumstance; so, unless their character had been twisted beyond reform, Whitebeard firmly believed in the notion that people could be guided back onto the correct path with proper parental guidance. Though it wasnt exactly his way of doing things, Vahn didnt necessarily disagree with Whitebeards beliefs. Rather, he found them rather admirable and was looking forward to what the man would be able to aplish after being let loose in the Tower. He was bound to cause tremendous waves in the Middle and Outer Towers, and, thanks to an agreement he had made with Roger, it was only a matter of time before the battles between their respective crews resonated throughout the entire Tower. This was something Vahn was greatly looking forward to, as one of his principal reasons for creating Temtes was to see what they would aplish without his oversight. In that same vein, Vahn was also beginning to make preparations for the formation of Fairy Tail by creating Temtes derived from Mavis Vermillion, a young Makarov Dreyar, and the final two of the Strauss Siblings: Lisanna and Elfman. Thetter two were primarily created for the sake of Mira, even though she stated there was no need. As for the former, they were simr to Mikoto and Index with Mavis true form being that of a Celebi while Makarovs was Temted from a Regigigas. As for why Lisanna and Elfman were spared the Pokemon conversion, it was primarily due to the fact that they, like Mira, already possessed the ability to transform thanks to the Innates that served as the source for their Take Over Magic. Though it wasnt nearly as intimidating as Miras [Satan Soul], which allowed her to transform into a number of extremely attractive Demonesses, Lisannas [Animal Soul] and Elfmans [Beast Soul] were nothing to scoff at. Lisannas was easily the most versatile, allowing her to adopt the characteristics of various animals, and, though many of her transformations were clearly designed with fanservice, in mind, that didnt make them any less useful. As for Elfman, he possessed the ability to transform into various powerful beasts, including one known as the King of Monsters. As its name suggested, the King of Monsters was an inordinately powerful creature, and, though it was a little difficult to control, its adaptability was monstrous. It not only provided him a substantial increase in all physical attributes but, most prominently, it gave him an ability reminiscent of Tionas Pactio, the ability to regenerate from virtually any wound and develop resistances to whatever had damaged him. So long as he had the reserves to power the transformation, Elfman would gradually be stronger until he had either defeated his opponent or bepletely immune to all of their attacks. Vahn still had a personal preference for Miras transformations, but he couldnt deny the charm of Lisannas and the monstrous potential of Elfmans. They might not have stood out all that much in their original Record, but, now that they had inherited his Soul Tier, it wouldnt be long before they hadpletely transcended their original capabilities. Of course, even if they chose to never fight, Vahn wouldnt particrly mind since he would never force anyone to fight on his behalf. They had the right to choose how they lived, and, even if they wanted to help, he would endeavor to resolve most things on his own or with support from Fenrir. Now that he had reached the 20th Floor, Vahn was intending to have Fenrir apany him during his journey up the Tower. Ho and Grey had already been released into the Middle Tower, so, while Ryun would likely apany them, Fenrir would be his primary travelingpanion until he had reached the absolute pinnacle of the Record. This would expose her to great danger, but, with her unique Innates, it was only a matter of time before she became one of the strongest beings in the entire Tower. The only entities that could reasonably hope topete with her, especially with his constant support, were the three Temtes he had created in an effort to test the limits of his [Universal Mind]... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mikotochu~!,Gurararararara~!,The promise of a brighter future...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1829 Aspirations and Experimentation

Chapter 1829 Aspirations and Experimentation

Though they might be as powerful as some of his other Temtes, Vahn had seeded in all three of his experiments. This included creating a Temte with functionally infinite adaptability, another with a truly game-like ss system, and,st but not least, a truly unique entity that made use of a system fabricated entirely within Vahns mind. Representing the being with infinite adaptability, Vahn decided to use Rimuru Tempest, the same Slime that Sis had alluded to previously. He had always been rather fond of the Record ever since his time in the Xenos Vige, so, while there were a few subtle changes to their character, Rimuru was the same kind and caring person they were presented as in their original Record. The only real difference was that their base human transformation resembled an individual that held considerable status and authority within the Divine Realm. Since the only way to gain ess to the Divine Realm was to be invited there, Vahn was hoping he could catch the interest of one of the many omniscient beings that resided there. He might not be able to seed with just a single Temte, but, once someone realized he was borrowing the form of various beings within the Divine Realm, it was only a matter of time before they investigated and discovered his anomalous properties. The only problem was, while they would normally be able to observe the past, present, and future to determine who was qualified to enter the Divine Realm, the only way they would be able to observe him is by tracking him to the present. With a functionally unlimited amount of time on their hands, Vahn believed that, even if it wasnt himself, one of his Temtes would inevitably reach the Divine Realm. He would be aware of this the moment it happened, so, even if they were unable to invite him themselves, Vahn would be able to forge a path of his own through various means. Luckily, one of the Floor Masters was a woman with an insatiably curious nature, and, though Vahn would unquestionably be forced to exin himself, she would be more amused than upset by the fact Rimuru had borrowed her form. After that, he just needed to keep her entertained, and, much like Loki, she would be pretty easy to manage. As for the name of this curious being, she was a truly breathtaking beauty by the name of Shiroyasha, the White Night Demon Goddess. Even if Rimuru only ever came to possess a fraction of Shiroyashas ability as a result of sharing her likeness, they would quickly be one of the most powerful beings below the Divine Realm. After all, she was a Demon Goddess who casually collected Sun Authorities in spite of the fact she was a being closely associated with Yin and Darkness. She also hadplete dominion over the direction and flow of all forms of energy, including the mysterious forces that spurred causality and fate. Fortunately, alongside their [Predator], [Great Sage], and [Gluttony], Rimuru had gained an Innate known as [Intrigue of the Sun Goddess]. This implied that Shiroyasha was made aware of them the moment they were created, and, unsurprisingly, the Law of Identity had confirmed this. There was even a chance that she had already invited Rimuru to the Divine Realm, but, due to the peculiarities of Space-Time, Vahn would only know after the former vanished from the present time axis. Since he wasnt in a particr hurry to reach the Divine Realm, as he was still weakpared to beings in a much lower Realm, Vahn didnt mind if Shiroyasha took her time reaching out to him. He still had a long journey ahead of him, and, though it ultimately had very little to do with him, he had already decided to effect change in the Tower before departing. Rimuru would undoubtedly convey this to Shiroyasha herself, so, for the next could of decades, Vahn knew he would have to live with the knowledge that a mischievous Demon Goddess was keeping a close eye on him. When he first realized this, Vahn supposed he might as well make things as interesting as possible for the voyeuristic Goddess in order to curry a bit of favor prior to his ascent to the Divine Realm. He was no stranger to having his actions spied upon by others, so, rather than let it bother him, he decided to just go with the flow. This gave him a peculiar feeling of confidence, and, though it was impossible to know if it had any influence whatsoever, he liked to think that it had guaranteed the sess of his second experimental Temte. Though Rimuru might represent infinite adaptability, Vahns second Temte, inspired by the main character of a game known as Granblue Fantasy, had unmatched versatility. They were given a non-standard Innate in the form of a system that not only allowed them to freely change their name, it also allowed them to alternate between a male and female avatar, preload up to ten weapons into something known as a grid, and, most notably, swap between one of ten starting sses. By default, Djeeta, the name chosen by the female avatar, had the option of choosing between the Fighter, Knight, Priest, Wizard, Thief, Enhancer, Grappler, Ranger, Harpist, and Lancer sses. What made this most exciting was the fact that her Innates, as Vahn had hoped, changed in ordance with the ss she had equipped. The only constant among her Innates was the one that provided ess to her System, the [Endless Granblue Fantasy System]. Though she would need to train each of the sses individually, what made the [Endless Granblue Fantasy System] remarkable was the fact that she could actually equip the Skills of other sses so long as she wasnt in activebat. She also had a Party system that allowed up to five people to benefit from the various buffs provided by her Grids, greatly enhancing their power based on the effects of the weapons and items that had been assigned to the ten avable slots. The only real downside to Djeetas system seemed to be that she could only equip items that had been obtained through the [Endless Granblue Fantasy System]. Fortunately, there were many ways in which she could obtain items, the three most notable being her in-built Gacha System, her own version of a System Shop, and thepulsory drops she got whenever she or her Party defeated an enemy. Though the Gacha and System Shop were both interesting, Vahn was far more interested in thest function. So long as Djeeta and her Party participated in the subjugation of a foe, the corpse of any enemies defeated would immediately produce a treasure chest. These could contain anything from golden coins to fully functional weapons, unique consumables, and even the Spirits of the monsters she had in. These Spirits could then be slotted into her Summoning Grid, further enhancing the capabilities of her Party members and allowing her to summon them in battle. This was easily one of the most broken aspects of Djeetas system, but, as it was ultimately derived from a game, there were plenty of downsides. Chief among them was the fact that she needed to do almost everything on her own, including enhancing weapons, summons, and even characters through functions known as Uncapping and Upgrading. This was guaranteed to be an extremely time-consuming process, but, as there was a very real chance that she could summon additional characters through her Gacha System, there was a lot to be excited about. Vahn had never yed it himself, but he became aware of the existence of Granblue Fantasy during his attempts to locate the Record Fenrirs name was derived from. He had been a little surprised to learn that her name originated from the Record of a Video Game, but, after researching it quite a bit, Vahn had developed quite an interest in the peculiar skyfaring world. As a result, he knew that it was essentially a game that revolved around a Gacha System that allowed you to summon virtually every character, weapon, or summon that existed within the verse. There were literally thousands of each, so, while she was bound to struggle in the beginning, it was only a matter of time before the roster of Djeetas Crew expanded to include literal Gods. Unfortunately, even afterpleting a few basic missions, Djeeta was only able to get a single SSR weapon from her first 10-Consecutive Gacha Pull. This made it difficult to ascertain whether or not she could actually summon the characters from her Record of origin, but, considering everything else functioned simrly to the game, Vahn had high hopes for her future. In fact, he almost wished he was in her shoes, as, despite disliking how game-like his own life could be at times, Vahn found the [Endless Granblue Fantasy System] rather novel. Fortunately, The Path had absolutely no limits, so, if he really wanted to, Vahn could develop his own System in a simr direction. For now, however, he was actually pretty content with the way things were. He had a clear path of progression for his own growth, and, though he found Djeetas system very interesting, his own System Functions were inarguably more versatile. Despite this, he didnt really use them all that much, as, even without them, his power grew at a monstrous rate due to his own efforts. Vahn was already benefitting greatly just from the creation of new Temtes, so, while he resolved himself to develop his own System Functions in the future, it was a secondary concern. For now, he would benefit the most from developing his Innates, his two primary focuses being the [Universal Mind] and his [Eyes of Truth]. These would invariably allow him to reach Tier 5, and, if he used them properly, Vahn knew he could even kill someone on the level of Ureko with a timely activation of his Oblivion skill. He had confirmed long ago that injuries afflicted by his Oblivion could not be healed through conventional means, so, if he created a hole in someones brain, heart, or even their Ego, it would never recover. With the goal of reaching the pinnacle of Tier 6 and stepping into the iprehensible realm of Tier 7, Vahn knew the development of his Innates should be his highest priority. Thus, with the goal of pushing his [Universal Mind] to the next level, hisst Temte made use of a system that didnt exist within his memory. It was something he hade up with alongside Sis, and, though he used an existing character as a point of reference for both appearance and personality, their system was somethingpletely unique. It was no secret that Vahn had always enjoyed cooking, so much so that he still held the desire to one day obtain the most expensive cooking manual from the System Shop. For now, however, he was content with creating a System aptly titled the [Ultimate Culinary God System]. It was a unique System that allowed the user to analyze and process virtually any ingredient, and, by creating new dishes, they could qualitatively increase their parameters while simultaneously empowering their allies. Though there were diminishing returns from consuming the same dish over and over again, the fact the [Ultimate Culinary God System] allowed its user to create food capable of providing permanent buffs to their allies was truly monstrous. The only downside, if it could even be considered that, was that they needed to analyze and process every single ingredient in order to manually create recipes from scratch. As a result, they needed to be someone with an extreme passion for cooking, eating, and experimentation. When he was first considering characters to serve as inspiration for his Temte, Vahn, very briefly, considered a woman named Mana Nakiri and her daughter, Erina Nakiri. They were in possession of a unique ability known as [Gods Tongue], an Innate that drastically enhanced their sense of taste. It was considered the ultimate ability in a Record purely focused on cooking, but, in the end, the two inheritors of the ability werent particrly interesting characters. Fortunately, Vahn could easily just give it to someone else, so, without any hesitation, he bestowed both the [Gods Tongue] and the [Ultimate Culinary God System] to a mischievous redhead named Rindo Kobayashi... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn nting gs years in advance...,Summer Zooey when?,Wow...never would have expected Vahn to choose a mischievous redhead over a troublesome blonde (OwO)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1830 Succor

Chapter 1830 Sor

In preparation for the Guardians Test, which involved traveling to a distant region in the Middle Tower to provide aid to a small vige, Vahn was enjoying a rather hearty breakfast alongside the growing poption of the Emerald Grove. He had Fenrir seated at his right, a palpable excitement radiating from her body, Ryun to his left, a thoughtful glimmer in her eyes, and, as was often the case, Yoruichi, and several others, were either curled up in hisp or using his body as their personal lounging post. Vahn always enjoyed eating in arge group as it was during moments like this that he felt the most like family. Now, said family had grown exponentially in a very short period of time, and, though it made things a little difficult when he had mischief-makers like Latias picking food directly from his te, Vahn didnt particrly mind it. Rather, he found such actions adorable, a lightheartedugh escaping his throat whenever Fenrir lightly chided them for their antics. No matter how troublesome things might get in the outside world, all of Vahns worries seemed to melt away when everyone had gathered together like this. This was a notion shared by many of his Temtes, so, while it wasnt umon for people to wander in and enjoy a meal at their leisure, there were always multiple asions throughout the day where everyone gathered to enjoy a meal together. Of course, that didnt mean things were peaceful during meal times. Rather, it was often quite the opposite. The presence of personages like Goku and Roger had always helped to ensure that things were always lively. This had been the case even before the newest additions to theirmunity, so, now that there were people like Whitebeard, Vegeta, Makarov, and Mavis around, things were even more lively. Fortunately, while their constitutions allowed them to filter out the effects rather quickly, everyone that had developed a True Ego of their own was able to enjoy both the taste and effects of powerful alcohol. This led to some rather heatedpetitions, the vast majority of which were won by either Whitebeard and, somewhat surprisingly, Mavis. The petite, fairy-like, woman was able to consume a seemingly endless amount of alcohol, and, though she would be red in the face, she could still drink people like Roger under the table with an impish smile. Vahn always found it rather amusing to see such scenes y out as it made him genuinely feel like he was a part of the worlds he had always dreamed of as a child. Even now, he would look back on his time back in the cave, a reminiscent smile on his face as he remembered how excited he was to visit various worlds. That excitement had mellowed a bit with time, but, like a fine wine that was left in a secure cer, it had been steadily maturing alongside him. One day, even if it was in the impossibly distant future, Vahn was determined to pop open the cork and experience each of the fascinations that had once captivated his naive and innocent mind. For now, however, he was perfectly content with just watching Rindos backside as Mira lightly scolded Index for talking with food in her mouth... --- Prior to the Age of Genesis, when the Jahad Empire was first being established, the only method to ascend the Tower involvedpleting various tasks assigned by the Guardians. They would assign you various Tests, the difficulty of which was entirely dependent upon your reason for climbing the Tower. More often than not, the Tests assigned by the Guardians involved helping out the natives of the Tower. This was the reason Jahad and the Great Warriors had managed to build such arge group of followers during their own ascent. They had saved countless people, conquered various empires, and even defeated a number of evil gods that had tormented people since time immemorial. This allowed them to build literal armies, and, much like a tsunami sweeping over the previous era, they were able to wash it away and build their own atop the ruins. Though the 20th Floor was ruled by the Po Bidau Family, the Laws of the Tower prevented even the Jahad Empire from expanding beyond the Middle Tower. They could still take action against forces in the Outer Tower, but there were a number of restrictions in ce depending on the power of the individual and their contract with the Guardian. As a result, there were a number of Kingdoms and even entire Empires that existed outside the immediate influence of the Jahad Empire. It was these territories that served as the proving grounds for those seeking to move higher in the Rankings, as, more often than not, such Kingdoms were directly supported by specific groups or individual High Rankers. On the 20th Floor alone, there were a total of 139 different nations split between the Middle and Outer Towers. The most powerful of these, as could be expected, were backed by Rankers affiliated with the Po Bidau Family. As for the rest, they were generally backed by Rankers affiliated with the other Great Families, organizations on the level of FUG, or individuals that had originated from that region prior to their ascent up the Tower. This meant there was a lot of cultural diversity, but, more than anything else, it ensured there were constant conflicts taking ce all throughout the Tower. As part of his Guardians Test, Vahn had been tasked with traveling to a remote mountain vige with a meager poption of only 83 people. What made this vige unique was that many of the vigers were descendants of the Native Ones, the original inhabitants of the Tower that had been cursed by Jahad after the Age of Genesis. This led to them bing known as the Cursed People by themon residents of the Tower, and, as could be expected, they were heavily persecuted as a result. Though the Curse varied between individuals of the same race, it always manifested in one of three different ways. The first curse caused those affected to be born hermaphroditic, losing their ability to reproduce as a result. As for the second and third curse, the former sealed off the original power inherent to the species and made it very difficult for them to grow stronger while thetter, most tragically, increased the chances of a stillbirth urring to more than 90%. This resulted in a drastic decrease in the number of Native Ones that existed within the Tower, most giving in to despair the moment the effects of their curse manifested. Fortunately, despite the hatred imposed upon them due to the Jahad Empire, the Native Ones were still blessed by the Tower. The Guardians also harbored no enmity towards them, and, even though they were contractually bound to inflict the curse upon each sessive generation of Native Ones, they also helped to conceal them from both the Jahad Empire and the Ten Great Families. As an Irregr, Vahn had the power topletely ignore the rules and restrictions that had been imposed upon the Towers residents by his predecessors, so, as part of his Guardians Test, he had been tasked with removing the curse from the vigers. This was a task that would have originally belonged to Baam, so, in exchange for keeping Team Wolf Pack safe, Vahn had agreed to act as the instrument of change that the Tower had been eagerly anticipating for thest ten-thousand years... --- With the help of Fenrir, Ryun, Latias, and Latios, Vahn was eventually able to discover the location of the hidden vige after a little more than three days. This required descending an intricatework of vertical shafts, many of which connected to the breeding grounds of various Shinheuh or other, far more dangerous, hazards. Fortunately, while she would normally be blind to the location of the Native Ones vige, Ryun was allowed to see the path thanks to her association with an Irregr. As a result, Vahn was finally able to enter the subterranean chamber housing the hidden vige, a region dominated by vibrant five-pointed stars floating gracefully through the air. It was actually quite mesmerizing, but, as could be expected, Vahn soon found himself under attack by said stars as an inordinately handsome middle-aged man bellowed, "Sound the rm! There are intruders within the vige...!" Adopting a wry smile in response to the mans words, Vahn allowed Fenrir to erect a massive lotus-shaped barrier of ice,pletely fending off the assault of stars as he said, "I am not your enemy. I havee here to remove the curse from your people." Unsurprisingly, the man wasnt really listening to his words at this point. Instead, he formed a seal with his hands as a massive star-shaped Baang of Shinsu formed behind him. At the same time, a number of other middle-aged viges, the majority of which possessed the same inordinate beauty as the man, joined the assault. This left Vahn feeling rather helpless, a sigh escaping his lips before he raised his hand and inly stated, "You will listen when I speak." Immediately after Vahns words had fallen, it was as if Time within the cavern had stagnated to the point of stopping. This was a very advanced form of Reverse Flow Control that used his domain as a medium to stop, not just the flow of Shinsu in an individuals body, but the environment. His words also carried apulsory force due to his breakthroughs in the Law of Authority, so, while he had spoken rtively softly, his words resonated throughout the entire vige. Without any Rankers present, there wasnt a single viger who could resist Vahns unique form of Reverse Flow Control. As a result, he was able to walk up to the oldest-looking individual present, the same man who had originally attacked him. This caused the man to tremble, not from fear, but a vain attempt to break free. Shaking his head, Vahn ced his hand on the mans shoulder, liberating him from his control as he reiterated, "I am not your enemy. I havee here to help." before releasing everyone else from his control. Realizing they could do nothing against the man standing before them, the presumed leader of the group gestured for everyone else to stand down as he answered in a solemn tone, "Very well...I will hear what you have to say..." Nodding in response to the mans words, Vahn adopted a disarming smile as he retracted his hand from the mans shoulder and exined, "My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason. I am an Irregr known as the Sage Dragon Emperor. In ordance with my agreement with the Guardians, I havee to remove the curse Jahad has ced upon you and your people." Though he wanted to believe Vahns words, the man couldnt help but frown as he replied, "I am known as Gaute Aarnes, son of Halvard and proud warrior of the Asteria tribe. If you are who you im to be, we will wee you into our home as the hero of our people. If your intentions are impure, however...know that we will fight to thest man, woman, and child if it means defeating our foes..." Understanding the reason for the mans skepticism, Vahn resisted thepulsion to roll his eyes as he pulled out a crystalline potion bottle filled with a glittering red liquid and said, "This is a special Elixir known as a [Panacea]. Mixing it with any type of alcohol will transform it into a holy remedy that has the ability to remove virtually any curse. You can also consume the [Panacea] directly, but they arent exactly easy to make. If diluted into strong alcohol, you can easily treat upwards of 200 people from that single Elixir." Though he still didnt fully trust Vahns words, Gaute ordered the other vigers to fetch a barrel of alcohol and the oldest member of theirmunity. This left the former with a frown on his face, but, fortunately, Gaute didnt try and force the elderly woman to consume the potion. Instead, he calmly exined the situation before leaving the final decision to her. It turned out that she was actually the former matriarch of the Asteria tribe, so, without any hesitation, she downed an entire pint of the diluted [Panacea] without leaving behind a single drop... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A very enviable existence...,Jahads cuckery knows no bounds,Baba aint scared of nothin...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1831 Relocation

Chapter 1831 Relocation

Following their arrival in the Hidden Star Vige, Vahn, apanied by Fenrir and Ryun, found themselves seated within thergest of the stone structures that served as abodes for members of the Asteria Tribe. All of the vigers had already been treated, but, rather than abandon them to their fates, he decided to offer them sanctuary within the Little Garden. Unsurprisingly, though he had liberated them from their curse, the Asteria Tribe werent particrly enthusiastic about the idea of abandoning their home. It might not be much to look at, but, for thest ten-thousand-years, it had safeguarded them against extinction. It had be their ancestral home, the ce where they buried their dead and raised what few children fate had allowed them... Understanding the importance of home, Vahn didnt waste time trying to convince the Asterian people to abandon their own. Instead, he proposed transnting the entire vige into the Little Garden while exining the many benefits associated. Even this, however, wasnt enough to sway the rather obstinate Elders. They imed that it wasnt just the vige that was there home, but the entire Floor beyond. Fortunately, there were a few voices of reason among them, the previous and current Matriarchs being the most vocal. They knew the pain and heartbreak of stillbirths far greater than the males of their tribe. Since Vahn had already exined the benefits of residing in the Little Garden, they were in favor of entrusting several members of the younger generation to his care. Though most of the Elders were against the idea, Vahn managed to swing things in favor of the Matriarchs by mentioning how time flowed differently within certain regions of the Little Garden. He told them he would stay in the vige for a total of three days. During that time, a number of couples would be allowed to reside in the outermost ring of the Little Garden. There, time flowed at a rate of 700:1, so, while a mere three days would pass in the outside, nearly six years would pass from the perspective of those within. With the Law of Progression heavily influencing everything within, six years was more than enough time to produce several dozen children. If said children were allowed to stay in the outermost ring, they would even grow to maturity in as little as five years. This could be remedied by moving them to a ring with a slower passage of time, but, as an endangered species, it wasnt necessarily a bad thing to have the younger generation mature over a shorter period of time. By the end of the discussion, the Elders agreed to send a total of two men and four women into the Little Garden. This included Gaute, his three wives, a handsome young man named Magnus, and an inordinately beautiful woman named Trine. Magnus and Trine were easily the youngest members of the entire tribe, but, due to the extremely low rate of birth, the former was 191 while thetter was 116. This wasnt considered particrly old from the perspective of the long-lived tribe, but it really put into perspective how rare it was for even a single child to be born. This was in spite of the fact that more than half of the women in the tribe were pregnant, a clear indicator that there was nock of effort on the part of the few males present. With Trine being the youngest in the entire tribe, this meant more than 116 years had passed since thest sessful birth. This realization was more than enough to turn Vahns indifference towards Jahad into full-blown hatred. The man hadnt simply touched Vahns bottom line, he had stooped to a level so low that it was difficult to even grasp. All Vahn knew for certain was that, for the first time in his life, he couldnt imagine himself giving his enemy a merciful death... --- With three days passing in the blink of an eye, Vahn proved the veracity of his ims by producing, not the original six, but a total of twenty-three members of the Asteria Tribe. This included quite a number of young men and women, many of which possessed extraordinary features and perfectly sculpted physiques. Even the average members of the Asteria Tribe were inordinately attractive, so, thanks to the Law of Progress, those born within the Little Garden were even more striking. Several of the males had even inherited a trait that was considered extremely rare among members of their tribe, a dragon-like skull that grew naturally from their foreheads. In the ancient past, this peculiar protrusion had only manifested in their greatest warriors so it was quite jarring to see more than half of the males in possession of the unique racial characteristic. Wasting no time, Gaute immediately made his way towards his father, one of the Elders of the tribe named Halvard. Then, before thetter could say anything to recover from his shock, a massive grin spread across the face of the former as he wrapped his father in a bearhug and eximed, "Father! I have missed you dearly! Come, let me introduce you to your grandchildren!" With Gaute having grown much stronger during his time in the Little Garden, Halvard could do little more than grunt as the air was expelled from his lungs. Despite this, he still managed a wry smile as he returned his sons embrace, patting the formers back a few times as he groaned, "You did well..." Laughing in response to his fathers words, Gaute released his hold on the man before guiding him over to the growing crowd surrounding the newest members of the Asteria Tribe. It was only at this point that he seemed to realize Vahn was present, his expression bing somewhat solemn as he bowed his head low and said, "Thank you..." in a sincere and respectful tone. Smiling in response to the mans words, Vahn returned a curt nod before gesturing to the crowd and saying, "Go. Be with your people. We will have plenty of time to talkter." Nodding his head in understanding, Gaute guided his father towards the crowd as the remaining Elders gathered around Vahn. This included the two Matriarchs, both disying radiant smiles that made them appear decades younger. Then, at the behest of the current Matriarch, a woman named Oleanna, each of the Elders took turns offering their apologies. Though he could have used their previous skepticism as leverage against them, Vahn just epted the apologies of the Elders with a smile. Some of them had been pretty rude, but, considering how long they had suffered as a result of Jahads curse, it was understandable that they would be a little jaded. If he had sired hundreds of stillborn children, his mind would have broken a long time ago, so, rather than me the victims, he decided to shift all his enmity towards the person responsible. With this in mind, Vahn took advantage of the festive atmosphere to invite everyone into the Little Garden for a banquet. This was a little underhanded of him, as it put the Elders on the spot, but, in the end, even the most obstinate among them capitted. There was nothing more important than the survival and prosperity of their people; so, with Vahn promising he would return them once the banquet had ended, they had little choice but to ept... --- Having experienced the wonders of the Little Garden for themselves, more than half of the Asteria Tribe made the decision to be permanent residents. There was nothing the Elders could do about this as the conditions were simply too enticing for the long-suffering people. Just the night sky was enough to convince the majority, as, for reasons even they didnt understand, the Asterian people had always possessed a strong connection to the stars. Though there were a few exceptions, virtually every member of the Asteria Tribe possessed a Shinsu Quality rted to the stars. As a result, vibrant stars formed from Shinsu constantly lingered around them, drastically enhancing their already extraordinary beauty. Even the men were no exception to this, the majority possessing light-blue hair, matching eyes, and pointed ears that closely resembled those of Elves. By appearance alone, the Asterian people were one of the most beautiful races Vahn had everid eyes upon. Their affinity with the stars also meant they were extraordinarily powerful, and, if not for the suppression of the Jahad Empire, their members would have dominated the individual Rankings for Wave Controllers. The stars around their bodies were actually a nascent form of Baang, harmless in their idle state but monstrously powerful when wielded to their full potential. They just needed a bit of training before even the most average among their tribe could naturally form between three and five Baangs. Had he any use for an army, Vahn could, very easily, just leave the Asteria Tribe to their own devices in the outer rings. They had a very strong desire to increase their numbers so it was only a matter of time before their original 83 members grew into a substantial force. Instead, he allowed them to reside within the Second Layer, entrusting thend to them and adjusting the flow of time to a ratio of 10:1. Though he understood their desire for revenge, Vahns condition for allowing the Asteria Tribe to reside within the Little Garden was that they entrust the matter of dealing with Jahad to him. They might have a very powerful im against the tyrant King, but, in the grand scheme of things, they were just one group of Jahads victims. Instead of focusing on revenge, Vahn wanted the Asteria Tribe to focus on rebuilding their culture and providing support to the other tribes he would invariably rescue during his ascent. This didnt sit well with some of their older members, but, with Gaute and Magnus serving as voices of reason, the vast majority were convinced rtively easily. As for the rest, including most of the Elders, they chose to stay within the vige, not to seek revenge, but to safeguard their ancestral home so that future generations could return to pay their respects. Understanding how difficult it could be for some people to change, especially after long periods of suffering, Vahn didnt me the Elders and their supporters for choosing to remain behind. Instead, he gave them a surplus of preserved food, a variety of edible nts, and, most importantly, a seed produced by the central inds World Tree. This would serve as a spatial waypoint, and, so long as they had his permission, people could transition between the Little Garden and the outside world thanks to the trans-dimensional properties inherent to World Trees. Though he didnt exin this function to them, as it would be extremely troublesome if someone found a way to forcibly ess the World Treeswork, Vahn promised the Asterian Elders that he would personally return their people once Jahad had been defeated. By then, the World Tree would have grown into the mountain, and, though it might notpare to the Little Garden, it was bound to be a serene and pleasant ce to live... --- Havingpleted the Guardians Test, Vahn found himself floating in front of a massive creature that resembled an Oarfish. It had a silvery body that was easily several kilometers long, and, though it had two eyes on the side of its head, the ones staring back at Vahn were the six protruding from its forehead. Simr to their first meeting, the Guardian broke the silence by inly stating, "You always smell so delicious..." Chuckling in response to the massive creatures remark, Vahn pulled out a rainbow-hued crystal, tossing it towards the formers multi-mawed mouth as he said, "ept this as both a parting gift and an expression of gratitude. I got to save an endangered species and even gained a stronger motivation for climbing the Tower." Without any hesitation whatsoever, the monstrous oarfish opened his mouth, devouring the tiny crystal in a single bite. This caused a contented tremble to run through its body, and, though it was incapable of showing an actual expression, its voice sounded satisfied as it replied, "You are the greatest anomaly that has ever appeared in this Tower. We look forward to seeing how far you will go. Good luck, delicious one..." Understanding he was about to be kicked out, Vahn performed a casual wave in the Guardians direction as his body faded into partictes of bluish-white light. Immediately thereafter, he found himself on the viewing deck of a massive structure, that loosely resembled a winged chesspiece. He couldnt actually make this out from where he was standing, but, based on the structures floating in the distance, it was a pretty safe assumption. Since there was only one ce where such structures weremon, Vahn didnt need Ryuns help to confirm that he was currently on the 21st Floor, specifically the Garden of White Cichlids that was owned and operated by the Yeon Family. This was an area in the Middle Tower that was traditionally reserved for Regrs, and, so long as you had the Points to spend, there were a number of famous restaurants and shopping centers located within the gravity-defying structures. Vahn, however, had absolutely no interest in these things, so, after briefly taking in his surroundings, he manifested his Pocket and said, "Contract with the Guardian..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Hypibolic Crying Chamber is OP...,Delicious...,Vahn embracing his inner speed-runner xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1832 Impac

Chapter 1832 Impac

After his meeting with the Sailfish-like Guardian of the 21st Floor, Vahn made his way towards a sea located near the border between the Middle and Inner Towers. Unlike the 20th Floor, where the Middle and Inner Towers were ovepped like Dimensional nes, the only thing separating the two on the 21st Floor was a unique boundary that prohibited all forms of unnatural flight. Fortunately, like most restrictions in the Tower, this had absolutely no effect on Vahn. As a result, it only took him a few hours before he reached his destination, the location of a mountain-sized Shinheuh known as Zygaena. At a nce, the Zygaena appeared to be a massive bull-like Shinheuh with tanned hide, horn-like antennae, a maw that stretched more than a hundred meters across, and two spiracles; one located on its back and the other located on its stomach. Though it had been considered a Sacred Beast by the Natives of the 21st Floor, known for its docile nature, the Zygaena had been butchered to the point only a single member of its species remained. There had been no official reason given for this, but, as was often the case when it came to such acts of cruelty, it was entirely the result of greed. At some point in the distant past, the Yeon Family Head, Yeon Hana, had been gifted an essory created from a flower that only grew inside of the Zygaena. This flower produced a series of awe-inspiringly beautiful gemstones, so, as the most beautiful woman in the Tower, it was considered to be the only suitable adornment for someone of Hanas caliber. Since then, the Zygaenas Flower had be a symbol representing the Yeon Family. It was embedded into each and every one of the unique flower hairpins worn by members of the main family, and, depending on your status in the family, the number of gems infused into your hairpin would increase. Though it would have made sense for the Yeon Family to protect the Zygaena, as it was the only source of the flower representing their family, they were actually the ones to drive it near the point of extinction. More specifically, it was the Godmother of the Yeon Family, Yeon rde, who tasked a number of Rankers with their destruction. She had taken offense to the fact that the flower, despite its beauty, was rathermon. Her vanity didnt allow her to tolerate this, so, in order to artificially increase its rarity, she had all but one Zygaena killed. When Hana had discovered that the Zygaena were being butchered, she immediately passed down an order to hunt down those responsible. She actually had a very kind and gentle disposition so it had pained her greatly to hear of the Zygaenas plight. Unfortunately, she ced far too much trust in rde, the only real family she had in the entire Tower. As the literal mother of every member of the Yeon Family, rdes influence greatly exceeded that of Hanas, her niece. Because of this, she was easily able to fool Hana into believing that the family was doing everything in their power to stop the culprits. In reality, however, she ordered those hunting the Zygaena to increase their efforts, all while reporting to Hana that everything was going well. In the end, entirely as a result of her own vanity, pride, and greed, rde had pushed the Zygaena to the point of extinction. As for thest Zygaena, it was cursed with a powerful form of Immortality so that the family would always have a constant supply of the now incredibly rare flower. When she had learned that only a single Zygaena remained, Hanas personality, known to be the kindest among the Ten Great Warriors, did aplete reversal. She immediately descended to the 21st Floor in a rage, ying the Ruler who had been in charge before taking over the entire Floor in the name of the Yeon Family. It was said that her mes covered the entire sky in a crimson inferno, and, by the time her wrath had been quelled, nearly every Ranker unaffiliated with the Yeon Family had been annihted. Unfortunately, from start to finish, Hana was skillfully manipted by her aunt, blissfully unaware of the fact that her own family was responsible for the Zygaenas tragedy. It was only after the incident that she began to hear rumors regarding her familys involvement, but, unwilling to doubt her aunt, rdes ultimately escaped all consequences. Rather, as a result of her careful machinations, she was even able to secure an additional Floor for her family to rule over... --- Seeing the Zygaena up close, Vahn had to admit that it was rather massive. If he hadnt seen evenrger creatures, he never would have believed such an entity was capable of growing and evolving naturally. In fact, based on how it wasrgely hollow on the inside, allowing people to explore the interior unobstructedly, there was a very real chance that it was deliberately created to be explored. Shaking his head, Vahn waited until the Zygaena had rolled over onto its back before descending to its bulbous belly. The Test he had been assigned by the Guardian was to secure and protect at least one of the Zygaenas offspring before removing the curse keeping it alive. Though the Zygaena could easily survive for tens of thousands of years, thest remaining member had lost its will to live long ago. As for the reason why, it was due to the fact that the true origin of the Zygaena Flower was the Zygaenas offspring. The gems were actually the condensed essence of the Zygaenas life force, nourishing the offspring on which the flower grew. For thest several thousand years, the current Zygaena had been forced into a state where it was constantly producing offspring only to have them brutally ughtered for the flowers growing on their backs. This had caused the sole surviving Zygaena to fall into a deep state of depression, so, while it was possible to save the creature by cing it within the Seventh Layer, Vahn understood it would be far more merciful to put the long-lived Shinheuh out of its misery. Unfortunately, while it was rather easy to find the Zygaenas Flower, Vahn was stumped to realize it was still in the process of gathering energy. As a result, it had yet to blossom, and, though he could see the nascent Zygaena growing in the wall, it was still a fetus. Exhaling a sigh, Vahn took a seat with his back against the warm yet rock-like walls of the Zygaenas insides before looking towards the Law of Identity, now transformed as Headon, and asking, "How long before the flower blossoms...?" With the knowledge of the Towers Caretaker at her disposal, the Law of Identity didnt hesitate for a single moment before answering, "The usual gestation period is around five years. There should be around three years left before it fully blossoms." Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn looked towards the flower with a thoughtful gaze as he wondered why the Guardian was trying to dy his climb. With that in mind, he ultimately rose to his feet before teleporting out of the mountain-sized creatures body and shifting his attention back to the Law of Identity. Now, however, she resembled a colossal Sailfish that was even overshadowed the Zygaena. Understanding Vahns intentions, the Law of Identity pointed her needle-like snout towards him as she answered, "The Guardian believes you are climbing the Tower too quickly. It wants you to stay here and protect the Zygaena Flower from the Rankers who wille to im it." Though it was a little unnerving to have a skyscraper-sized needle pointed towards his face, Vahn managed a lighthearted chuckle before extending his hand towards the Law of Identity. As a result, she immediately reverted back to her original appearance, happily epted his outstretched hand before nestling close to him. Immediately thereafter, Vahn teleported to the Zygaenas head so he could start the very long process of Taming the mountain-sized creature. This ultimately took three days; but, as a result, he was able to store the Zygaena within the Little Garden, drastically reducing the amount of time required for its offspring to gestate properly... --- As could be expected, the Rankers assigned to watch over the Zygaena had been sent into a frenzy the moment their quarry spontaneously disappeared. The Yeon Family even sent two High Rankers to investigate the area, but, even after evaporating the entire sea using their mes, destroying an entire ecosystem in the process, they were unable to find a single trace of the missing Zygaena. When Vahn heard about the extremes the Yeon Family had been willing to go to in order to search for him, he couldnt help but frown in disapproval. He had chosen to remain on the 21st Floor for a few days in order to gauge their response. Needless to say, he was extremely disappointed, so, after contemting the best course of action, he prepared a secondary vessel for the first time in a long while. Then, after storing it within the Little Garden, he made his way over to the lotus-like Floating Castles that represented the Yeon Familys power on the 21st Floor. Though he understood that not every member of the Yeon Family was corrupt, he also knew the Rankers tasked with looking after the Zygaena were well aware of how their precious gems were obtained. They had been twisted by the vanity of rde, so, without any hesitation whatsoever, he ascended high above the series of Floating Castles before removing the Zygaenas corpse from the Little Garden. Vahn would ordinarily never desecrate a corpse, but, knowing how much resentment the Zygaena held towards the Yeon Family, he imagined it would be pleased with the oue he had decided for it. As for the Yeon Family, they could only stare on in horror as the mountain-sized creature fell from the sky, crashing into their main Floating Castle with meteoric force. Somewhat surprisingly, the Floating Castle wasnt directly destroyed by the Zygaenas weight. It was protected by a very powerful barrier of Shinsu, so, despite taking a direct impact, it ultimately able to avoidplete destruction. The only substantial damage was to the Suspendium Engines used to keep it suspended in the air. They had beenpletely overwhelmed by the massive force that had mmed into it, irreparably fracturing from the strain. As a result, the city-sized Floating Castle was forced to the ground as Rankers from the Yeon Family swarmed from the interior like a fire ant swarm. With his ability to blend into the void, Vahn could see the entire spectacle from high above. He was a little disappointed that the Floating Castle hadnt been destroyed, but, considering it was made to resist attacks from a High Ranker, he wasnt all that surprised. The average High Ranker had enough power to wipe out a small country with a serious attack so it would have been strange if a Floating Castle designed to protect against them was felled by a falling body. Shaking his head, Vahns features began to slowly change as the sky over the Floating Castles took on a golden hue. This drew a considerable amount of attention,pelling several Rankers to rise into the sky at a speed rivaling teleportation. At the same time, Vahns body gradually appeared from within the void as Enkidu, in all its resplendent glory, formed into a shape resembling a magic circle at his back. Seeing the spectacle before her, the leader of the group, a Ranker known as Yeon Aruna, couldnt help but pale slightly. She felt as if the Shinsu in the surroundings was being arrested from her, but, rather than turn tail and flee, she activated the recording function of her Pocket and roared, "This is the territory of the Yeon Family! Who are you to dare and offend one of the Ten Great Families!? Are you one of those cowards belonging to FUG!?" Rather than answer the womans question, Vahn was scanning the auras of the surrounding Rankers to try and ascertain whether or not he should kill them all or spare a few. This would have been very difficult for his past self, but, after subordinating Yuri and Ureko, his energy reserves had increased from around 153,000 to just over 4.3 million. More than 98% of this came from Ureko, but, in the end, the only thing that really mattered was that he had be exponentially stronger due to the two feisty women opting to join his Familia. With the average Ranker having between 10~15 million Shinsu, Vahn was confident in his ability to kill the vast majority with very little effort. They would need close to ten times his reserves in order topete with him, so, with the strongest Ranker present only having reserves approximating 30 million, their lives were effectively in his hands. The only problem was, even if they deserved to be killed, Vahn knew that Hana would take exception to the ughter of her kin... Though their appearances were drastically different, Vahn got a simr impression from Hana as he did from Hestia. This wasnt because she was a virgin, but because she cared about her family more than anything else. There was a very real chance she would pursue him relentlessly if he went on a killing spree, so, after a brief moment of consideration, he decided he would just give them a light punishment. Vahn knew he was contradicting himself, especially considering he had just dropped a mountain on them, but, as was often the case, it was a lot harder to justify killing people who were right in front of you. It was impossible for him to bepletely heartless, so, with more than a dozen beauties staring at him with fear in their eyes, most of his hatred had melted away. After all, the true culprit behind the Zygaenas suffering was rde, not these sheltered brats. Waiting until the woman was about to shout a second time, Vahns aura burst outward like arge explosion. He forcibly seized control of the surrounding Shinsu, wresting it away from the group of fiery beauties and forcing them to either fall from the sky or use fiery wings formed from their own internal reserves to support themselves. Taking advantage of the interval where they were trying to stabilize themselves, Vahn activated his unique form of Reverse Flow Control, forcing the mes back into their body. This wasnt enough to inflict any substantial damage, as they were me, but that didnt prevent them from falling out of the sky like birds with their wings clipped. If he allowed them to, they would eventually recover the moment they exited his domain, but, rather than afford them the opportunity to mount a response, Vahn took things a step further by locking them in ce as he descended towards the ground with even greater force than the Zygaenas fall. Though they could fall from virtually any height without suffering any damage, being mmed into the ground at rtivistic speeds was enough to knock each of the women unconscious. Fortunately, their mes were an amalgamation of both the Phoenix and the Three-Legged Golden Crow. Unless their heads and hearts were both destroyed they could heal from virtually any injury so Vahn didnt have to worry about their survival. As a result, he didnt hold back in the slightest, his expression a mask of calm as he rose from his personal crater and began to manifest hundreds of resplendent golden Baangs... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vanity is never pleasant...,Three years? More like 12 hours...,O_O...) (A/N: Sorry about not posting yesterday. Starting tomorrow, Ill be releasing 3-4 chapters a day for the entire week.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1833 Authority

Chapter 1833 Authority

Though his reserves might notpare to the average High Ranker, Vahns experiences with the Law of Identity had demonstrated just how much he was holding himself back. If he truly let himself go, there was literally nothing that could defend against him, as, even if they were at the absolute pinnacle of the Record, they wouldnt even be able to sense his energy in its purest form. The only downside to using Source Energy was that it couldnt persist in a stable state after leaving his body. It was constantly trying to transition into other forms of energy, primarily shaped through his intent. This made it remarkably difficult to use against any opponent he wasnt in direct contact with, but, so long as he focused his mind and properlymunicated his intent, there was nothing his Source Energy couldnt do. With this belief guiding his actions, Vahn willed the Source Energy from his body to convert into the purest form of Divine Energy he could manage. This caused his Baangs to gradually resemble small suns, but, rather than radiate heat, they inspired fear and awe in everyone that witnessed them. Not even the two High Rankers who had appeared were spared from this, their awe-inspiringly beautiful countenances marred in expressions of shock and horror as they beheld the thousands of Baangs that had formed into existence. Smiling up at the duo, Vahn took the initiative to say, "I understand that it is human nature to covet things like beauty and wealth. Prosperity breeds excess, and, in the end, invites us to view even the most heinous of acts as normal. I generally turn a blind eye to things like animal domestication for the sake of consumption. The acts your family has taken against the Zygaena, however, are far too egregious for me to overlook. I will leave you with a light punishment this time around. When this is over, I expect you to inform your Godmother that her sins will no longer go unpunished." Though they showed a substantial amount of confusion in response to his earlier words, the duo was able to recover from their stupor the moment they heard his words regarding their Godmother. Looks of conviction immediately reced the fear and trepidation previously visible in their gazes as the stronger of the two shouted, "Who are you to pass judgment on the Yeon Family!? You will pay dearly for this transgression...!" Before her words had even finished, dozens of Baangs formed from scarlet mes had formed in the air behind the woman. At the same time, though it was only visible to Vahn himself, a pair of slit-like eyes appeared above her as the silhouette of the Three-Legged Golden Crow manifested. This caused a subtle aura of Divinity to spread through the area, but, when it came into contact with his own, the eyes widened as the ghostly silhouette visibly shuddered. While making a mental note to inquire about this strange phenomenon from the Law of Identity, a confident smile spread across Vahns face as he made no attempt to defend himself from the pirs of me tearing through the void. He had bathed in some of the most powerful mes in the Order of Creation, and, though he didnt exactly have immunity against them, hisprehension of the Laws of Nirvana, Fire, and Yang exceeded even the Phoenix and Three-Legged Golden Crow that had blessed the Yeon Family. With his arms spread slightly, almost as if he was enjoying a gentle breeze, Vahn allowed the fire-infused Shinsu to continually wash over him until the attack had ceased. To the horror of the duo, the only indicator he had suffered even a marginal amount of damage was the fact that parts of his clothes had be singed. Unfortunately for two beauties, his resplendent golden scales and the pale-golden hair growing from his head they werepletely unaffected by the destructive mes. Seeing her most powerful attack do more damage to her own kin than the target, the stronger of the two High Rankers noticeably paled as she pulled out a vermillion Needle and said, "Ill be the Fisherman. You throw the spear..." Without attempting to argue, the weaker of the duo took to the sky like a rocket as her counterpart charged towards Vahn with horrifying momentum. Before her attacknded, however, a fiery crown appeared over his head as he ignored the Needle aiming towards his heart. As a result, the Needle impacted his left pectoral muscle with tremendous force, but, thanks to his momentary immunity, it didnt even generate a shockwave as he directed his attention towards the sky and muttered, "Allow me to show you what real mes are like..." Though she had been stunned by the fact her Needle had barely even pierced the fabric of Vahns tunic, that didnt mean the female High Ranker was incapable of responding to sudden changes in the flow of battle. Her reaction towards Vahns words was to attempt a second stab, this one aiming for his eye as she manifested her Pocket and shouted, "He is aiming for you! Dodge...!" Despite knowing he was immune to damage, Vahn couldnt help but flinch as the Needle impacted his eye. At the same time, however, the resplendent golden Baangs in the surroundings became an even richer crimson than the mes produced by the Yeon Family. Immediately thereafter, Laev-tan emerged from his body, surprising the High Ranker enough to send her escaping backward as each of the Baangs emanated ck light from their centers. Taking advantage of the momentary breathing room, Vahn pointed Laev-tan towards the sky, and, though it was a little pretentious of him to make such a im, he maintained a calm and confident expression on his face as he dered, "Ignite the Heavens. Fire Gods Ascent...!" Though the incantation served no actual purpose, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that words, when spoken with intent, held considerable power. So long as he believed they made his mes stronger, hisprehension of the Laws would bend reality to his will. This was the truest expression of the Law of Authority, and, unless someone with an even stronger will intervened, there was no way for them to override the reality that had manifested through his intent. Demonstrating the true horror of the Law of Authority when applied to other Laws, the fiery Baangs formed by Vahn spiraled towards a singr point before converging into the figure of a mountain-sized dragon with three pairs of wings. Its entire body was wreathed in mes, and, though she had taken preemptive measures to dodge, the High Ranker above suddenly felt as if she was moving in slow motion as the massive maw of the dragon inevitably closed around her body. Despite being just as surprised as everyone else, Vahn managed to appearpletely calm on the surface. He hadnt expected the Fire God arbitrarily referenced in his incantation to resemble the literal manifestation of the Law of Fire, a Dragon God known as Vulcanus. Fortunately, as he never intended to actually kill the woman attempting to flee, Vulcanus promptly transformed into a cage of mes, momentarily sealing her within. Shifting his attention towards the visage of the Three-Legged Golden Crow hovering above the stronger of the two High Rankers, an amused smile spread across Vahns face when he noticed it immediately recoil. It was a creature that was intrinsically rted to the Law of Fire, so, while it had never seen Vulcanus with its own eyes, there was a potent spiritual suppression just from witnessing thetters form. As a result, it soon disappeared from above the womans head, effectively running away for fear of being subsumed by a far more powerful me. Feeling her power suddenly decrease, the heiress of the Yeon Family paled even more as the mes around her body transitioned from a violent crimson to a rtively gentle gold. Her only remaining blessing was the one provided by the Phoenix, but,pared to the one she had received from the Three-Legged Golden Crow, it was almost negligible. Her disposition and mentality didnt allow her to be a proper bearer of Phoenix mes, and, if not for Hanas desire to protect her family, most of the members would be unable to house the pure and gentle mes. Not understanding what had happened, the woman clutched at her chest as she eximed, "Just who are you!? Why are you doing this to us!? What did we ever do to you!?" With his expression turning somewhat solemn, Vahn inly remarked, "This is how your kind always reacts when a situation like this urs. You rarely even bat an eye when you suppress others, but, the moment the shoe is on the other foot, you act as if some great injustice has been inflicted upon you. Consider this your punishment for the many lives you have adversely affected over thest 925 years. When next we meet, I hope you will have be a better person. If not, expect no clemency from me..." Taking advantage of the womans unstable mental state, Vahn used Reverse Flow Control to lock her in ce as a link of Enkidu extended from his palm. Then, once it hadpletely coiled around her body, sealing her power, he manipted the chain in a perfect arc before mming her into the ground with enough force to send a visible ripple through the terrain. Immediately after this rather peculiar phenomenon, the area affected by the ripple copsed to form a crater that was more than 700m in diameter as the woman bound by the chain immediately lost consciousness. Seeing the womans sorry state, Vahn couldnt help but exhale a sigh as he returned Laev-tan to his body and allowed Enkidu to dissipate. He had never been particrly fond of harming women, so it was a little disheartening to have to raise his hand against so many beauties. Unfortunately, women were sometimes capable of even greater wickedness than men, so, while he couldnt help but feel a little guilty, he wasnt going to apologize. Instead, he shifted his attention toward one of the many Lighthouses and Observers monitoring the battle, his voice solemn as he stated, "The era where the sins of the Ten Great Family go unpunished is over. This is my warning to those who have deviated from the path of righteousness...repent or prepare to pay your dues..." Though he probably could havee up with something more meaningful to say, Vahn had no real desire to posture. The only thing that really mattered was that his message was conveyed through the Tower. So long as he was able to make a positive impression on the hearts and minds of those who desired vengeance against the Ten Great Families, he would have achieved his objective. His power would increase in proportion to the amount of belief that was ced in him, and, though there was no way they couldpare to someone like Ureko, quantity could eclipse quality when veryrge numbers were involved. With his objectivesplete, Vahn allowed his vessel to simply fade out of existence, removing all the hidden imprints that had been ced onto him during the battle. He could have removed each of them rtively easily, but, at least for the time being, he wanted to keep his enemies guessing at his capabilities. It would be very difficult for him to defeat a genuine powerhouse, and, if not for his affinity for Fire, the two High Rankers belonging to the Yeon Family could have given him quite a bit of trouble. Fortunately, at least from the perspective of others, his theatrics gave off the impression of an all-powerful god. After all, he hadnt even tried to evade any of his enemys attacks from start to finish, and, though they werent the most powerful, the fact he had defeated two High Rankers stirred the hearts of many. As a result, Vahns reserves began to increase with each passing day, his growth directly proportional to the amount of hatred and resentment people held towards the Ten Great Families... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "It wasnt a suggestion. It was a decree.",Mastery over the Laws transcends everything else...,Will of the Emperor is OP...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1834 Impunity

Chapter 1834 Impunity

Three weeks after his confrontation with the Yeon Family on the 21st Floor, Vahn found himself seated atop the palm of a giant statue resembling a hand. Below him, dominating this region of the 28th Floor, countless tents could be seen forming a rather expansivemunity of Regrs. For one reason or another, various Regrs hade to reside in the area surrounding the giant statue that was known as the Hand of Arlen. The eyes of the Jahad Empire didnt extend here so it had be a gathering ce for criminals and those who wished to escape the pursuit of the Ten Great Families. These were people who had effectively lost the will to climb the Tower, but, fearing persecution within the Middle Tower, they continued to persevere in an environment filled with sex, drugs, and other criminal affairs. Seeing tens of thousands of Regrszily meandering around in hooded cloaks, Vahn couldnt help but release a sigh. He always felt an emotion simr to depression whenever he saw arge group of people who had simply given up on pursuing their dreams. Though this didnt apply to everyone below, the fact they had chosen to reside in such a ce all but guaranteed that even the most determined among them would slowly be broken down by the negative energies emitted by the rest of themunity. Unlike his previous Tests, which had required him to save various different peoples, the Guardian Test of the 28th Floor required that Vahn cleanse thends surrounding the Hand of Arlen. In the pursuit of this objective, he had removed the countless traps and security golems infesting the area, but, even after sweeping through the region numerous times, the Guardian of the Floor insisted his task had not beenpleted. To remove any doubt, Vahn had the Law of Identity transform into the monstrous serpent, and, as he had suspected, its true aim was to have him purge the slums that dominated the region around the Hand of Arlen. As for the reason, it was because the Guardian of the Floor had been particrly fond of the woman named Arlen, Baams mother. It disdained the fact that one of the few remnants of her existence had be a stomping grounds for various criminal organizations, so, without the means to remove the cancer itself, it desired that he act on its behalf. Though he could empathize with the Guardians plight, Vahn had absolutely no desire to ughter a bunch of Regrs just because they were considered an eyesore to someone else. As a result, he was currently thinking of methods to either convince or force the Regrs below to abandon their homes. The problem with these options was that the people below didnt really have a ce to go, so, if he forced them to flee the City of Tents, their lives and his reputation would both be ruined... Exhaling a tired sigh, Vahny back against the cold stoneprising the statue of Arlens hand as he dismissed the thought of having Fenrir and the rest scare them away. Though she likely wouldnt even hesitate, he wasnt going to drag her reputation through the mud just to protect his own. She didnt deserve to be seen as a monster while he was touted as a righteous yet ruthless god, so, after a moment of consideration, he ultimately decided to simply ignore this particr Guardians Test. Immediately after this thought crossed his mind, Vahn teleported to the interior of one of the many massive skyscrapers that dominated the otherwise deste 28th Floor. Jahads forces had brought ruin to the region long ago, so, unless you wandered thousands of kilometers from the location of the Inner Tower, it was impossible to find even a hint of greenery. This was yet another reason to disdain the self-proimed King of the Tower, a title that never really makes sense considering his forces were known as the Jahad Empire. Even his primary abode was known as the Imperial Pce of Jahad, indicating it was the property of an Emperor rather than a King... Deciding there was no merit in thinking about the peculiarities of Jahad and his Empire, Vahn shook his head clear of idle thoughts as he made his way towards the Administration Office that managed the Test of the 28th Floor. There, hundreds of other Regrs had formed orderly queues in order to register their respective teams for the Test. They were all eager to either participate in or witness the Workshop Battle, so, with the event less than a month away, everyone was doing their best to reach the 30th Floor. After waiting for his own turn toe, Vahn found himself standing in front of an expressionless man with dark red hair and a tiny ck horn protruding from his right temple. This reminded him of Endorsi, and, as a result, an amused smile spread across his face as he considered how much his young protege must be suffering. Not expecting his client to suddenly smile, the red-haired Regrs expression somehow became even more deadpan as he asked, "Where is your team? Everyone who wishes to participate in the Test must register. Come back once you have gathered the rest of your group." Noticing the tell-tale glimmer of envy and resentment contained within the Regrs eyes, Vahns own radiated a subtle golden glow as he said, "I will be taking the Test alone. Now, do your job and allow me to register." Though he wanted to give Vahn some friendly advice, the man working the counter found himself at a loss for words as an intense shudder ran through his body. He suddenly felt as though he was a tiny animal trapped before an apex predator, a monstrosity that could decide his life and death on a whim... --- With so many teams participating in the Test of the 28th Floor, it took an additional five days before Vahn was given the opportunity to participate in his own. Unfortunately for his opponents, the only objectives were to either defeat the enemy team or press a small buzzer located in the base of your opponent. As a result, it only took 39.04 seconds before Latias discovered the enemy teams buzzer, pressing it before they could even begin discussing a proper n of action. While his enemies were understandably dissatisfied with how quickly things had ended, demanding a chance to prove themselves, Vahn ultimately refused the Test Administrators suggestion to have them fight it out. He had no interest in bullying the weak, and, unless he agreed to take a secondary Test, there was nothing the Administrator could do to revoke his qualifications. As a result, he soon found himself on the 29th Floor, a region that starkly contrasted the destion found on the 28th. Though there was a bunker-like building located close by, Vahn could sense that his surroundings were dominated by nt life. There were lush green forests that seemed to spread out toward the horizon, and, though there were various unique forms of Shinheuh residing within, a very peaceful and serene atmosphere permeated everything in his perception. Seemingly confused by the fact he was alone, the Ranker that had been sent to exin the rules of the 29th Floor didnt immediately speak out. This gave Vahn ample opportunity to learn everything he needed to know about the man, a rxed smile spreading across his face as he politely cupped his hands and said, "Though fleeting our meeting, a friend found within foreignnds is an asion worthy of celebration." Recognizing the somewhat familiar phrase, the Ranker, adorned with two katanas and dressed in a beige kimono, returned a smile as he emted Vahns gesture and mused, "There are more paths in life than grains of sand amidst the ck shore. Beneath the gaze of the mighty serpent, who can be strangers?" Chuckling in response to the mans words, Vahn took the initiative to exin, "I have encountered a number of people from your homnd during my ascent. Were they to know of your existence, Im certain they would be greatly motivated." Understanding the meaning contained within Vahns words, the Ranker couldnt help but sigh as he shook his head and answered, "I fear the opposite. While I was ultimately able to be a Ranker without abandoning my sword, my station gives me nothing to boast about. Even after a thousand years, I have yet to im even a single victory against the masters of the Arie Family..." Though he wanted tomend the man for persisting for more than a thousand years, Vahn knew it wasnt what he wanted to hear. Instead, he offered a curt nod before saying, "Try as we might, it is impossible to know for certain what tomorrow brings. Though day must yield for the night, it is only from the darkness that a new dawn mighte." Nodding his head in approval, a smile spread across the Rankers face as he said, "Well said, young Regr. With that mentality, it is only a matter of time before you reach the top of the Tower. Now, without further ado, allow me to introduce myself and exin the rules of the 29th Floor. My name is Tokisue, Test Administrator assigned to Area 93. That bunker over there will serve as your primary residence for the duration of your stay on the 29th Floor. As for the Test, there are two methods to pass to the next Floor. The first involves locating four enemy bunkers and stealing the central power core hidden within. The second option will pit you against an enemy team in an event known as the Battle of Cannons. Though this is the far faster of the two options, it is infinitely more dangerous since both teams are provided with mounted Shinsu Cannons, each capable of severely injuring or even killing the average Regr." Returning a smile of his own, Vahn followed up Tokisues exnation by asking, "What happens to the teams who lose their power cores? Will they be disqualified?" Since Vahn was alone, Tokisue wasnt surprised by the fact that he wanted to avoid engaging in a battle that heavily favored teams. He was clearly very powerful, but, unless he could blitz the enemy before they could react, it would be very difficult for him to secure victory in a battle that required him to charge into enemy lines while simultaneously protecting an objective. With an understanding look in his eyes, Tokisue went on to exin, "The only penalty for having your core stolen is that you will be without power until you manage to steal another. You can also wait until the beginning of the month to receive a new power core, but, unless you have the power to protect your base, there is no merit in trying to pass via the gradual umtion of cores." Though he was intending to establish contact with the Guardian immediately following Tokisues departure, Vahn was pleased to know that the enemy teams wouldnt be eliminated if he stole their cores. It would take too much time to find four teams that deserved to be eliminated, so, now that he knew there were no substantial penalties for the opposing party, he could easily send out Latias and Latios to collect cores. He could also go hunting with Fenrir, something they hadnt done in far too long. Either way, his passage to the 30th Floor was all but secured, so, after listening to the rest of Tokisues exnation, he ventured into his private bunker to inspect the amodations before pulling out his Pocket and establishing contact with the Floor Guardian... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn aint a patsy...!,I half-expected them to begin speaking in haikus...,The victims of Latias are forever increasing xD...) (A/N: The chapter I posted previously was for yesterdays block. This is the first of the chapters that are meant to be on the new schedule. Since I got an early start, there will be three more before the daily reset tomorrow.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1835 Remnants of a Bygone Era

Chapter 1835 Remnants of a Bygone Era

While Latias and Latios were enjoying their foray into numerous enemy bases, Vahn, riding on the back of Fenrir and guided by Ryun, made his way to the location of a set of ruins. The Test he had been assigned by the Guardian was toy a certain spirit to rest, so, while the twins had their fun, he decided to spend some time with the wolf-like duo. Fenrir had always enjoyed having him ride on her back, and, though he could have navigated to the forgotten city on his own, Ryun was always happiest when she was able to act as his Guide. This was a good opportunity to reward both of the excessively loyal women, so, while Ryun dutifully led the way, he enjoyed the pleasant feeling and aroma emanating from Fenrirs inordinately fluffy fur. Unfortunately, all things, both good and bad, invariably came to an end, and, after nestling into the scruff of Fenrirs neck for the better part of three hours, Vahn was left with no choice but to emerge once they had reached their destination. Then, after nuzzling against the two giant wolves snouts, patting both aplenty, he had them return to their human forms so they could investigate the ruins that had nearly disappeared due to the forests encroachment. As could be expected from a site dating back to the Age of Genesis, there were a number of hidden chambers and rare artifacts hidden within the interior of the ruins. There was even an ancient form of a Lighthouse, one specifically designed for battle. Rather than resemble a cube, it was structured simrly to a small yet extremely durable suspend ship. It was effectively a floating fortress, but, for the sake of stealth and collecting information, it was designed to carry a single team of six people. After briefly analyzing the structure of the ancient Lighthouse, Vahn ultimately chose to leave it in its resting ce. He wasnt particrly fond of looting ancient battlefields and burial grounds, so, with knowledge of its structure safely stowed away within his mind, he had Ryun serve as a Guide until they arrived at a set of massive stone doors. Unlike the rest of the ruins, which werepletely bereft of a single sign of life, this particr set of doors was inscribed with ancient runes that continued to shimmer even after more than 20,000 years hade to pass. Unfortunately, they werent the only things that had persisted since ancient times. As could be expected from an ancient fortress city upied by restless spirits, there were a number of ghost-like Shinheuh present that fed off the negative energies produced by the former. To make matters even worse, there were also a number of autonomous golems produced by the Workshop, some of which could even rival a Ranker. With the glyph-covered doors protecting the heart of the ancient fortress city, the concentration of negative energy in the surroundings was potent enough to stain the Shinsu with a murky ck coloration. This caused a palpable stench of death to linger in the air, but, with a wave of his hand, Vahn was able to gather most of the negative energy into a pitch-ck ball as he stared up at the massive skeletal spider looming over them from above. Without needing to be told, Fenrir immediately pounced toward the monstrosity without a single sign of hesitation. This caused the creature to release a piercing screech, its frequency very close to 240 decibels. This was tantamount to a massive explosion of sound, but,pared to the Power of Law contained within Fenrirs [Freezing Roar], it waspletely negligible. The only thing the spider aplished was passing the blue-haired Vanargandr off as there were few things she hated more than loud noises. Despite having the strength to easily kill the average Ranker, it took less than a minute for Fenrir to tear the monstrous spider into a number of tiny pieces. This caused a powerful miasma to permeate through the area, but, as a being innately connected to both darkness and yin, it had absolutely no effect on the rather violent Vanargandr. If anything, it actually made her a little stronger as she had always had a much easier time absorbing and converting negative energies than those with positive alignments. This was the opposite of Ryun, who, despite being a Vanargandr, possessed an affinity with Fire and Light rather than Ice and Darkness. With the skeletal spider taken care of, Vahn rewarded Fenrir by fluffing up her ears and hair for a few minutes before shifting his attention back to the heavily reinforced double doors. The glyphs,bined with the materials used in its construction, made the door virtually indestructible. They also prevented any kind of spatial movement, so, unless you possessed the ability to break through by force, it was nearly impossible to enter the chamber beyond. Fortunately, while others might struggle with such a thing, Vahn had numerous solutions to deal with the current situation. He could force his way through by simply cutting through the door, but, feeling this would be going a little overboard, he ultimately chose to probe around the area using his intent until he discovered a minute crack in the seemingly imprable defenses. This allowed him to send his intent directly into the interior, and, though it was still isted from the outside, he was able to ignore the conventional restrictions of spatial movement so long as his domain existed in both locations. After effectively quantum shifting into the interior chamber, Vahn couldnt help but release a tired sigh as he saw the bleached bones of thousands of people gathered within. This chamber had once served as an evacuation shelter during times of conflict. This was the main reason the enemy forces hadnt wasted their efforts in trying to breach the chamber. Instead, they destroyed the mechanism that allowed the door to open, mercilessly trapping those within. Shaking his head, Vahn summoned Fenrir and Ryun to his side using his Unit Management before making his way towards the deepest chamber. There, they found a single solitary corpse at the very center of the chamber. Unlike the others, however, their bones had not be bleached with the passage of time. Instead, they resembled smooth white jade, glistening slightly under the pale blue light that permeated the entire chamber. Even her dress had been preserved, the fabric appearing almost brand new despite the passage of more than twenty-thousand years. Breaking the silence, it was Ryun who first remarked, "She must have been quite the exceptional person during her lifetime...do you intend to resurrect her?" Rather than Vahn or Fenrir, it was a gentle voice from the surroundings that asked, "You possess the ability to revive the dead? If so, please have mercy on the people in this chamber. Nobody deserves to suffer this kind of fate..." Immediately following the ghostly utterance, the figure of a young girl with pale skin, flowing white hair, and exquisite facial features appeared above the jade-like corpse. This,bined with the fact that her garb resembled the royal vestments worn by women in thete Tang Dynasty, gave off the impression of a youthful, pristine, and pure princess. She even had a scarlet red dot in the center of her forehead, reminiscent of a Hua Dian symbol that was popr in ancient China. Though he couldnt help but wonder what kind of fate he possessed to constantly encounter both lolis and elements stemmed from Chinese mythos, Vahns expression remained calm as he offered a polite smile and remarked, "I never expected that the Spirit within this chamber would belong to an Empress..." Not expecting anyone to recognize her after such a lengthy period of time, the ghostlike Empress showed an expression mixed with fear and confusion as she manifested a pure white silken cloth to serve as her weapon. Before she could attack, however, Vahn created a spherical prison with Enkidu as he calmly exined, "I am not your enemy. I was sent here at the behest of the Floor Guardian to exorcise your spirit andy you to rest. As mentioned by mypanion, however, I also possess the ability to create a new vessel for your spirit to inhabit. Unfortunately, due to the lengthy passage of time, the same cannot be said for the unfortunate souls who havee to reside here. Your efforts to expel the negative energies from this chamber prevented them from bing evil spirits, but, at the same time, you were discarding important parts of what made them individuals. Though I could create new bodies for them, they would be little more than emotionless dolls without a true ego or a purpose...." Hearing Vahns exnation, the petite Empress, named Xiao Xinyue, adopted an extremely sullen expression as she muttered, "I see..." in a disheartened tone. Restraining a sigh, Vahn adopted a gentle expression, dissipating Enkidu as he softly advised, "Soon enough, the era built upon the destruction of your Empire wille to an end. If you wish to see it, I can provide you with the opportunity. In the end, however, it will not rece that which was lost. If you were to ask my opinion, I would suggest moving on peacefully to the next life. You might find it difficult to believe, but I can assure you that this is not the end of your path." Offering a sad smile in response, Xiao Xinyue meekly replied, "I have no desire for revenge...though there was a time when I wanted nothing more than vengeance, it was not just the negativity of the people here that I expelled. I will ept your offer, not out of a desire for revenge, but to preserve the legacy of my people...I can imagine no greater tragedy than the memory of my people and our endeavors being forgotten to time..." Though he knew she was lying about not wanting revenge, Vahn offered an understanding nod in recognition of the young Empresss noble aspirations. Her vengeance was closely rted to his own objectives so it wouldnt really make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. As for her secret desire to restore her Empire to its former glory, such ambitions were bound to fade once she had a better grasp of the situation and learned the truth regarding the Towers existence. With this thought in mind, Vahn drafted a powerful contract that guaranteed Xinyues autonomy but bound her as his vassal. This made her a little ufortable, but, after learning of his status as both a God and an Emperor, she ultimately epted the terms outlined in the contract. She wasnt exactly in a position to negotiate, so, with lofty ambitions for the future, she had little choice but to ept a position beneath him. After all, it was difficult to purport herself as an Empress when the Empire she was meant to preside over hadnt existed for more than twenty-thousand years... --- After entrusting the Strauss Siblings with the task of helping Xinyue get settled within the Little Garden, Vahn returned to his bunker to find Latias sleeping atop a massive pile of cores. He had failed to specify how many she should collect, so, with a limited understanding of self-restraint, she invariably collected more than a hundred of the softball-sized cores. This caused Vahn to adopt a wry smile, but, rather than admonish her for going too far, he made sure to reward both her and Latios for their efforts. As for the Regrs who had suffered at her tiny paws...well, they were just unlucky to have ventured into the 29th Floor at this time... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn lives a very enviable existence...,Before it became known as the Age of Genesis, the residents of the Tower had another name to describe the era of Jahads ascent...,Latias is a good girl (OwO)...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1836 Meetings and Machinations

Chapter 1836 Meetings and Machinations

Though he had technicallypleted the Test assigned by the Guardian, Vahns ascent to the 30th Floor was via the umtion of power cores. This was the simplest method to guarantee that his Pocket was registered for the imminent Workshop Battle, but, most importantly, it would also serve as an alert to the forces that were keeping tabs on him. At this point, virtually every faction in the Tower was currently keeping tabs on everything Vahn did. This included the Jahad Empire, who was investigating his status as an Irregr, FUG, who intended to either coerce him into joining or forcibly recovering the Thorn, and, though they werent sure he was the one responsible, the Yeon Family had sent one of their elites to ascertain whether or not he was involved in the attack on the 21st Floor. Though the Yeon Family was currently the most interested in him, each of the Ten Great Families had sent representatives to either spy on or establish direct contact with him. The most prominent among these were the Ha and Eurasia Families, for obvious reasons, but, as one of the secret Elders backing FUG, he had also drawn a considerable amount of interest from the Po Bidau Family. As for the rest, the Arie and Ari Families were simply curious about him while the Lo Po Bia, Khun, Hendo Lok, and Tu Perie Families were just following the example of the rest. Since it would actually draw even more attention if he ascended to the 30th Floor using anomalous means, Vahn decided it would save him a lot of time if he just announced his presence. This would make things a little awkward for Yuri and the members of Wolhaiksong who were currently waiting for his arrival, but, considering howprehensive their informationwork was, it wasnt likely to matter. Yuri could just y it off as taking an interest in a rising star, and, thanks to Ureko serving as their backer, few people were willing to antagonize Wolhaiksong... --- After reaching the rather scenic 30th Floor, a region dominated by tropical inds, archipgos, and massive coral reefs, Vahn booked passage to one of the most highly rated tourist destinations in the Middle Tower, a seaside resort located on Sepia Ind. This was a region believed by many to be one of the most beautiful ces prior to reaching the 100th Floor, and, as the location of one of the Workshops Headquarters, there were a variety of hotels to chose from and a seemingly infinite number of shops to peruse. Seeing a number of Regrs lounging on the nearby beach, Vahn was briefly tempted to take a dip himself. Before that, however, he had a problematic Princess to deal with, so, after acquiring a map of the resort district, he leisurely roamed through the city streets before gradually making his way towards the most expensive hotel on the entire ind. Along the way, he encountered a number of mechanical guards, a popr security measures used by the Workshop to deter criminal acts in the areas where Regrs reside. Even the weakest among them was stronger than the average E-Rank Regr, and, though it was unknown what Level they went up to, it was rumored that the Level 99 Automatons were nearly as strong as a Ranker. Though he was a little interested in the structure andposition of the mechanical guards, Vahn ultimately chose to ignore them. There were far more powerful versions found on higher floors, so, rather than concern himself with machines designed to police Regrs, he checked into one of the most expensive suites in the hotel before lying in bed and sending a message to Yuri. He knew she had been following him in secret ever since his arrival on the ind, so, now that he had teased her for the better part of two hours, it was time to give her an excuse to pay him a visit. Unsurprisingly, it took less than five minutes before Vahn heard a very loud knock on the door to his room. When he checked the monitor to see who was standing in the corridor, he could see Yuri with a hateful pout, and, as was often the case, Evan could be seen standing in the back with a tired expression on his face. Knowing she wouldnt hesitate to bust down the door, Vahn eventually hopped out of bed in order to allow Yuri entrance into the suite. Then, with a rxed smile on his face, he attempted to evade her punch by entering the State of Nothingness. Unfortunately, this was an ability she had be intimately familiar with, so, while she held herself back quite a bit, Vahn found himself backpedaling in response to the glowering girls punch to his sternum. Without waiting for permission, Yuri promptly entered into the room, shaking her hand as she said, "Dont try and bullshit me by telling me you werent aware of my presence. The next time you make me wait, Im going to punch you square in that stupid face of yours. Seriously, what kind of asshole makes a Princess skulk around like some kind of stalker for two hours?" While rubbing the sore spot on his chest, Vahn offered a wry smile in response to Yuris words as he exined, "Though I wont deny that I wanted to tease you, Evan should have exined to you my actual reason for wandering around. I waspiling a map of the entire region while getting a feel for all the other forces keeping tabs on me. Cut me some ck..." Though she had, in fact, heard about Vahns presumed reasoning from Evan, Yuri still crossed her arms in response to his words, stating matter-of-factly, "If you told us where you were going to be staying, we could have booked a room and waited for you. Regardless of your reason, you still had me walk around for more than two hours. Dont think you can fool me just because my Intellect is a little low." With the dent in his chest having vanished, Vahn exhaled a tired sigh as shook his head and said, "It wasnt my intention to fool you...well, not that it matters at this point. Im sorry for making you walk around. Here, ept this as my apology..." Understanding that Yuri was primarily just fishing for sweets, Vahn pulled out a bag full of chocte candy filled with caramel before tossing it toward her. This immediately brought a smile to her face, her vibrant red eyes sparkling as she tossed a few pieces into her mouth and emitted a contented hum. Then, after licking the residue from her fingertips in an unintentionally seductive manner, she casually remarked, "Youre in a lot of trouble. That raggedy old crone in the Yeon Family seems to view you as her arch-nemesis. She sent someone pretty scary to investigate you this time around. If you choose to participate in the Workshop Battle, there is a good chance she will try to assassinate you." As he was already well aware of rdes plot, Vahns expression didnt change in response to Yuris words. Instead, he gestured toward the sofa, inviting the two to take a seat before exining, "The Yeon Family is the least of my problems this time around. Three members of the Royal Enforcement Division have been sent to view the Workshop Battle, and, though they are currently in hiding, FUG has machinations towards both myself and one of the weapons currently in my possession." Hearing that RED was involved, Evans expression immediately soured as he said, "Princess, if what Vahn says is true, we cant stay here. Though we can y off this meeting as simple curiosity, your status as a Princess of Jahad will be endangered if you are discovered fraternizing with an Irregr." Scrunching her brows in response to Evans words, Yuri snorted disdainfully as she crossed her arms and said, "I already exined the situation to my Great-Grandmother. She gave me permission to try and recruit Vahn into the family, so, even if those bastards in REDe knocking, Im not afraid of them. They shouldnt know if Vahn is actually an Irregr so its not like they can do anything to him. Besides, if Mr. Dragon Breath over there was worried about something like that, do you think he would meet with us like this? He obviously has something in mind. Stop worrying over nothing." Not expecting such a logical argument from the Princess, Evan found himself at a momentary loss for words as he looked to Vahn for answers. In response, thetter offered a simrly incredulous look before adopting a wry smile as he exined, "Yuri is correct. I do have a few ns in mind, so there isnt too much to worry about. So long as Yuri doesnt go out of her way to try and help me during theing battles, there shouldnt be any problems. To that end, I cant stress enough how important it is that you stay out of the fight. Remember, even if I die, it wont actually kill me, so, if you really want to intervene, you should do so on the side of the Jahad Empire. You can help me a lot more if they believe you are loyal to the Empire so dont do anything rash..." Rolling her eyes in response to Vahns words, Yuri uncrossed her arms before rising from her seat and plopping down next to him. Then, without a word, she leaned her head against his shoulder, closing her eyes for nearly a minute before replying with an acquiescent, "Okay..." Vahn wasnt quite sure what to make of Yuris behavior as he had asked the Law of Identity to only reveal information when he sent her a certain signal. It could be very distracting to have her drone on about the innermost thoughts of virtually everyone around him so he could only rely on his past experiences to try and interpret the meaning behind Yuris actions. Before that, however, he took the initiative to wrap his arm around her waist, pulling her a little closer despite the deadpan stare he was receiving from Evan. Fortunately, this action, alone, seemed to be more than enough to satisfy Yuri as a contented smile immediately blossomed across her face. In hindsight, this actually made a lot of sense, as, more so than any words, she had always been the type to express herself through actions. The fact she had been so vocal earlier was evidence of the fact that she had been thinking about him quite a bit, so, now that they were reunited, she would clearly rather just go with the flow rather than talk about a bunch of troublesome matters. Realizing they would probably have to part for much longer periods of time in the future, Vahn sent a look towards Evan before manifesting the Little Garden. This caused thetter to shake his head in a helpless manner, but, rather than try to meddle, he pulled out one of his unique artifacts, a series of four red and blue fists known as [Adams Gloves]. They were capable of generating a barrier thatpletely concealed those within from all forms of detection, so, even if someone tried to use an advanced Observer to spy on the suite, they would find itpletely empty. With the trustworthy Silver Dwarf providing support, Vahn took Yuri into the Little Garden so they could catch up and experience a bit of privacy. Afterward, he took her back to the Emerald Grove to introduce her to all the newest residents. By then, she was already in a great mood, so, after hearing about how strong people like Whitebeard, Vegeta, and Android 21 were, she couldnt resist beating each of them to a pulp before challenging Index to a celebratory eatingpetition... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Everyone wants a piece of Vahn,Yuri dont y xD...,I take it back. Yuri ys hard...) (A/N: I was feeling pretty tired after this chapter so this will be thest one for todays block. Even writing three chapters takes between 8~9 hours at my current pace, so, unless Im in a groove, it is far more likely that I will release three chapters per day. Anything beyond that is the result of hype or an inordinate amount of motivation xD.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1837 Pace : Lamen

Chapter 1837 Pace : Lamen

After their not-so-brief spell within the Little Garden, Vahn, apanied by Yuri, returned to the outside world in high spirits. Then, before Evan could even inquire about what they had been up to, thetter looked towards Vahn, saying, "Now that were outside, there is something I wanted to ask you. Those people...did they reallye from your Empire? They dont give off the impression of vassals or servants. Its more like youre all one big family? No...even that doesnt seem right...youre all way too close. Even family shouldnt be thatfortable around each other...?" Though he knew she had been pondering something during their stay in the Little Garden, Vahn was still a little taken aback by Yuris sudden question and observation. In the end, however, he just returned a smile as he exined, "In many ways, they are even closer than family. After all, they are all a part of me, beings created from my very essence and shaped by my intent. Though they are all individual existences, it isnt an exaggeration to say that the bulk of the Emerald Groves inhabitants were created by me." Hearing Vahns assertion, Evan showed a considerable amount of shock, his eyes widening to full circles. Yuri, however, just adopted an excited smile as she grabbed his shoulders and said, "I knew it! That means you created that crazy chef and all those Pokemon, right!? Tell me, what do I need to do to get a chef like that for myself!? Seriously, you cant just hog all the good stuff! Were friends, no, partners, right!?" With Rindos food possessing an addictive quality that could even rival a serious Circe, Vahn wasnt too surprised by Yuris fervor. Even he had to admit that he had created a monster when he came up with the concept of the [Ultimate Culinary God System]. It had only been around a month since then, but, as if to demonstrate just how broken a System could be when exploited without restraint, she had already created more than six-thousand Recipes, several of which could even qualitatively increase a persons strength for short periods of time. Unfortunately for Yuri, Vahn had no intention of creating a Temte to specifically pander to her whims. Though he created many of his Temtes with a specific purpose in mind, he also instilled in them the awareness that they were allowed to make their own decisions. As a result, there were times when even he would butt heads with one of his Temtes, the two mostmon offenders being Roger and Whitebeard. This helped to cultivate mutual respect between each of them, and, though he couldnt deny that certain Temtes could be difficult to deal with, he still enjoyed every moment of their interactions. Doing his best to restrain the excitable womans enthusiasm, Vahn grabbed her wrists, guiding her hands away from his shoulders as he calmly affirmed, "Though I understand where youreing from, you should know better than to ask me such a thing. As someone who is fighting against the expectations forced upon you by a system you resent, you know better than most how agonizing it can be to have your actions dictated by others. I wont stop you from trying to befriend the others, but it wouldnt be fair of you to expect me to create someone for the sole purpose of pandering to your wants and desires." Though she felt a slight inclination to point out that there were several residents in the Emerald Grove who had been clearly created with his desires in mind, she managed to restrain herself. After all, it was Vahns power, and, just as she used her own to act however she pleased, he had the right to do the same. Rather, as both a God and an Emperor, it could be argued that he had a far greater right to act without inhibitions. Instead, he had a strong sense of responsibility, and, though he was far from perfect, he did his best to make the world a better ce. Realizing she was more than likely in the wrong, Yuri offered a thoughtful nod before saying, "Sorry. I wasnt thinking clearly. Its just that, even now, I can still taste that food. Seriously, that woman is a monster...I cant even recall the taste of anything I ate previously. Damnit, even though I understand what youre trying to say, that doesnt make it any less frustrating...!" Chuckling in response to Yurismentations, Vahn extended his hand to caress her head as he said, "Dont worry. As I stated previously, they are all created from my essence and intentions. Though I dare notpare myself directly to Rindo, I am knowledgeable of the majority of her dishes. When the opportunity presents itself, Ill cook something up for the both of you. I imagine Evan wouldnt mind tasting the dishes that are making you behave like this..." Hearing Vahn mention his name, Evan couldnt help but issue a dryugh as he remarked, "I was starting to think you had forgotten about me. Truthfully, while Im interested in the cuisine of the Empire, Id much rather the two of you stop putting me in such stressful situations. There were no less than thirteen attempts to probe the suite while you were away. Most of these were just simple scans using Observers, but three of the attempts were made using Lighthouses. I can hack into a B-Rank Lighthouse without much effort, so it is safe to say these were at least A-Rank. You should be very careful in the future. Though you might be able to create a barrier to prevent such intrusions, I fear this would just confirm their suspicions and cause them to take action..." Though he had already reached a simr conclusion, Vahn nodded his head in response to Evans advice, saying, "Thank you. Ill keep that in mind. For now, the two of you should probably book a room of your own. Though I imagine there are more distinguished hotels in the areas reserved for Rankers, I left the most expensive suite open. You should be able to justify reserving a room if you spread a rumor that I have been scouted by the Ha Family. This will put you in a position to regte the other forces trying to establish contact with me. After all, there arent many people who would actively offend the Ha Family, much less a Princess of Jahad." With an excited smile blossoming across her face, Yuri didnt hesitate for a single moment as she crossed her arms under her breasts and asserted, "Leave it to me! Ill beat those ming chickens back with a broom if I have to~!" Showing considerably less excitement, the light in Evans silver eyes seemed to dim slightly as he remarked, "I thought you wanted us to stay out of things...isnt this contrary to everything you said earlier? What happened while you were in the Little Garden...?" Waving his hand in a dismissive manner, Vahn preempted Yuris mildly annoyed response by saying, "Youre misunderstanding. The Leader of the Ha Family has already sent a delegation and even gave Yuri permission to contact me directly. With Yuris reputation and status, it would be strange for me to refuse and even stranger for her to just give up. If the two of you simply left, it would arouse a considerable amount of suspicion from everyone who is aware of Yuris character. Besides, this also puts you in a position to directly coordinate with the members of the Royal Enforcement Division. If pushes to shove, you can openly ally yourselves with them in order to secure Yuris standing as a Princess. My next objective is the Hell Train, so I can easilyy low for a few months once this is all taken care of." Realizing the truth contained within Vahns words, Evans expression became more serious. Before he could say anything, however, Yuri interrupted by asking, "Oh? You have some business on the Hell Express?" with a mischievous grin on her face. This caused his face to morph into an expression of sheer incredulity, a feature both he and Vahn, momentarily, shared... --- After ironing out the most important details, Vahn saw Yuri and Evan off after promising the former they would meet during lunch theing day. She actually wanted to stay inside the Little Garden, but, for obvious reasons, this couldnt be allowed. He wasnt the only one under observation at this point, so, while meetings could be arranged between them, it would set off a considerable number of red gs if they were spending too much time together. Though he would never openly admit it, one of the tertiary reasons behind Vahns insistence that Yuri stay elsewhere was the fact that he simply couldnt keep up with her. She was as animated and temperamental as a mischievous child, and, though he found this to be one of her most endearing qualities, it was also mentally and physically exhausting to be around her. The only moment he was in control was when they were alone together. In virtually every other instance, it was like he was the one being pulled around at her own, seemingly inexhaustible, pace. Truth be told, Vahn was rather fond of willful women, but, while he enjoyed the excitement exuded by Yuri, it contrasted his usual, rather carefree, lifestyle. He was used to going at his own pace, and, though it was fun to spend time with her, he would much rather spend time napping in a meadow with his usual cuddle buddies. His pursuits already required him to make a considerable amount of effort, so, whenever he had free time, he simply wanted to rx and spend time with the people he cared about. With this thought in mind, Vahn manifested the Little Garden andmunicated his intent to the interior. Shortly thereafter, the subtle sound of spatial tearing could be heard as Fenrir, Ryun, and Yoruichi appeared in their wolf and cat forms. Then, despite it being rather early in the afternoon, he decided to spend the rest of the evening recharging his mental and spiritual energy by having the trio of fluffy women keep himpany. The next three and a half weeks were bound to take a lot out of him, so, in anticipation for the long night ahead, he wanted to enjoy the tranquility that always seemed to herald an impending storm... --- While Vahn was gradually recuperating his mental and spiritual energies, the factions tasked with keeping an eye on him were alsomenting the fact that Yuri had be involved. This made their job infinitely more difficult, as, even if they tried negotiating with her, the Princess was notoriously difficult to work with. She had a propensity for outright ignoring orders, and, though it had brought her a considerable amount of censure, she didnt even try to hide the fact that she was close friends with members of Wolhaiksong. With Yuri checking into the same hotel as Vahn, they immediately lost any chance they had at trying to approach him directly. Her presence was clearly meant to be a deterrent, so, unless they targeted him indirectly, the only way to approach Vahn was by going through her. This caused those familiar with Yuris character to immediately experience a migraine, as it was simply impossible to take away a toy that the Princess had expressed an interest in. She also had the blessing of the Ha Family, so, unless they received a direct order from Jahad, superseding all other authorities, even the hands of the Royal Enforcement Division were tied... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wee to the Little Garden. When youre here, youre closer than family.,I cant help but feel bad for Evan every time he appears...,Yuri is more infamous than famous xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1838 Calm

Chapter 1838 Calm

With little more to do than waiting for the Workshop Battle to begin, Vahn took advantage of his few remaining days of peace to explore Sepia Ind and the surrounding tourist destinations. He had always enjoyed the natural beauty of the world, so, with the 30th Floor being known as one of the most beautiful ces prior to reaching the 100th Floor, it would be remiss of him not to explore while he had the opportunity. Unfortunately, even after having the Law of Identity turn into various high ranking members of the Workshop, Vahn was unable to locate the ind that served as both the final tournament grounds and the location of the Thorn fragment. Only the Archimedes, one of the five great Suspend Ships belonging to the Workshop, knew of the inds location. Even Headon, the caretaker of the entire Tower, was ultimately unable to pinpoint its location as there was a powerful contract in effect that effectively prohibited him from being aware of it. Though she was able to get around most restrictions, one of the few things even the Law of Identity couldnt do was vite the contracts that often bound powerful entities. In other words, if they had taken a vow of silence or promised to safeguard certain information, she would be unable to reveal it to others. After all, for the period in which she adopted the identities of others, she had effectively be them, Innates, contracts, and everything else included. Fortunately, one week prior to the start of the Workshop Battle, the city-sized Archimedes finally made its appearance in the skies above Sepia Ind. Shortly thereafter, the Regrs who had been conserving their Points began to flood into the ind in such quantities that virtually every hotel on the entire ind was booked solid. Those who couldnt afford a room temporarily became vagrants that wandered the streets, unable to rest due to the Workshop patrols that prohibited people from setting up camp and sleeping outdoors or venturing beyond the city limits. With an excess of Points in his possession, Vahn was one of the few who had been able to securefortable lodgings well in advance of the Workshop Battle. He had also received an invitation to participate directly from the Workshop, a boon afforded to only the Top 100 E-Rank Regrs. As for his current Rank, he was, curiously enough, Ranked behind a Regr known as Varagarv, the Mad Dog of Yama. Thetter had been the strongest E-Rank Regr for more than a hundred years, his status uncontested due to a rumor that only a Princess of Jahad could hope to defeat him. Vahn found it a little amusing that people genuinely considered Varagarv to be the highest seed in theingpetition. Even more amusing was the fact that the man had beenmissioned by FUG to be one of the Regrs assigned to deal with him. This was in spite of the fact that many in the organization tied him to the events that happened on the 21st Floor, an incident where he had literally defeated two High Rankers... --- While everyone else was stressing about the uing tournament, Vahn couldnt help but smile wryly as he stared down at the port city from the balcony of his suite. The reason for this particr expression was the woman sunbathing behind him, her body on full disy due to her vibrant red bikini that left very little to the imagination. Despite numerous protests, Yuris methods of protecting him had be increasingly bold over the past few weeks. Two days prior, she had even dragged him around the various shopping centers to peruse the items being sold by the Workshop. She argued that this would help prevent the other factions from approaching him, but, no matter how anyone viewed the situation from the outside, it was pretty clear they were on a date. Fortunately for the ck-haired beauty, most of the protests hade from Evan. As for Vahn, he had already warned her plentily about the consequences of her actions, so, if Yuri was insistent that they spend time together, he wasnt going to refuse. She had actually put in a considerable amount of effort deter the factions trying to approach him, particrly the Yeon Family, so this was, in many ways, the least he could do to repay the favor. The true reason behind Vahns wry smile wasnt that Yuri was present, it was due to the fact that she was lying on her stomach, tail nestledzily between her shapely butt cheeks after eating nearly her entire body weight in food. She wasnt the only one either, as, after befriending the vast majority of the Emerald Groves residents, she had convinced both Mikoto and Index toe out and y. The former wasnt much of a problem, as, despite her protests, she enjoyed riding on his shoulder in her Pikachu form. Index, however, had an extremely impressionable personality, so, a few meters off to the side of Yuri, a petite girl with silver hair could be seen patting her bulging stomach with a rather slovenly smile on her face... Doing his best to ignore the two gluttons that would periodically call out to him for more food and drink, Vahn continued to smile wryly as he gently squished and molded Mikotos cheeks. She would never allow him to do this in her human form, her face bing red the moment he got anywhere near her. In her Pokemon form, however, she would even go so far as to let him y with her ears or rub her belly, all while repeating a number of different mantras in the back of her mind as if she were trying to hypnotize herself... After fluffing her up to the point that she was periodically issuing a satisfied Chuu~, Vahn retracted his hands from Mikotos cheeks before lightly poking her nose as he teasingly remarked, "You really are adorable..." Though she was perfectly capable of human speech, Mikoto turned her head to the side, averting her eyes as she replied with a bashful, "P-Pikachu..." as the electricity from her body caused her downy-like fur to stand on end. She had a habit of producing electricity whenever she was feeling embarrassed or bashful, but, thanks to his experiences with Yoruichi, Vahn was virtually immune to Mikotos idental discharges. Just as he was about to tease the bashful Pokemon further, Vahns wry smile promptly returned as Index droned in azy voice, "Vaaaaaaaahn, Im huuuuuuuungry~. Feeeeeed meeeeeee~." Turning to face the voices owner, Vahn noticed that Indexs stomach had already returned to its original form, and, though she had recently finished several kilograms of food, she somehow gave off the impression of someone who hadnt eaten in days. This made him feel a little helpless, but, having dealt with Fenrir in the past, he ultimately just responded with a light chuckle before saying, "Ill make something in a bit. There is ice cream in the fridge-" Before he could even finish his statement, Yuri and Index spontaneously sprang from their chaise lounges, bolting towards the interior of the suite. Fortunately, he had already foreseen this exact development, so, rather than a single tub of homemade ice cream, he dutifully prepared two. That should keep the gluttonous duo busy for at least an hour, though, considering who he was talking about, the concept of a brain freeze might not even apply to them... As if she could read his mind, Mikoto seemed to forget her Pokemon roley, remarking, "Youre thinking something rude..." in a somewhat squeaky voice. Chuckling in response to the usation, Vahn extended his hand like a ramp as he said, "Lets not worry about such things. Come, Ill make you some honey-zed yakitori." Though she didnt forget to give him an usatory stare, Mikoto ultimately climbed up Vahns arm before circling around his neck and taking her usual position on his shoulder. For some reason, this had always felt like the most natural position, the sole exception being when Vahn was carrying her. The only downside to thetter was that it made it practically impossible to escape being caressed into a borderline catatonic state, so, for the sake of her own mental stability, she defaulted to riding on his shoulder... --- With evening approaching, Vahn was preparing to see off Yuri when thetter suddenly stated, "The other Families have been pestering my Great-Grandmother, so she asked me to organize a meeting between you and their representatives. I wont force you to attend, but, if youre not busy tomorrow morning, were going to meet up at one of the local cafes. I meant to notify you earlier, but I kind of forgot about it until just now...ehehehe~." Since Evan had already messaged him earlier in the day, Vahn merely chuckled in response to Yuris words before extending his hand out to pat her head as he said, "Sure. It will be a lot easier to deal with them if theyre all together. Ill see you tomorrow morning." Having gotten used to Vahns propensity to pat heads, Yuri made no effort to evade his hand. She was actually quite fond of the peculiar sensation that emanated from his palm, so, until he retracted his hand, she just allowed him to continue petting her freely. It was only after he had finished that she nodded her head and said, "Feel free to dream about me~" in a yful tone before scampering away like a child that had just seeded in a prank. Though he couldnt help but shake his head in response to Yuris antics, Vahn still had a smile on his face as he watched her departure. He was slowly bing more ustomed to her presence, and, inversely, she was beginning to mellow out a bit whenever they were together. This was a sign that their rtionship was developing into something more sincere, as, more often than not, the surest sign of a healthy rtionship was when both sides were equallypromising for the other... After closing and securing the door, Vahn made his way to the living room where Index, his smile bing even more prominent as he saw Index, now in her Jirachi form, munching on watermelon slices. Mikoto had pointed out that she would feel even fuller if she ate in her smaller form, so, with a newfound sense of purpose, Index was merrily munching away at foodstuffs that were evenrger than her body. Noticing Vahns gaze, Index adopted a troubled expression as she looked between him and the half-eaten slice of watermelon in her hands. Then, despite a considerable amount of reluctance, she flew over to his side, presenting the half-eaten slice as she muttered, "Here, you can have this..." in a sullen tone. Since it was pretty rare for Index to share food, Vahn decided not to point out the numerous whole slices present on the te she had been eating from. Instead, he graciously epted her offering, joining her for a light snack before ultimately returning her to the Little Garden. Since Mikoto had already returned a while earlier, this left him as the only person, sans the Law of Identity, remaining in the suite. Deciding to take advantage of the solitude, Vahn quickly cleaned up the mess that had been made earlier in the day. After he had finished, he returned the balcony, savoring the crisp evening air as he absentmindedly observed the port city below and admired the Archimedes above. Then, with an amused glimmer in his eye, he waved towards the distant Observer that was spying on him, a smile on his face as he manipted the surrounding space to crush the expensive piece of hardware into a much smaller ball... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Varagarv about to get fucked up xD...,Mikotochu is quite cute...,The force is strong with this one...) (A/N: The third chapter from yesterdays block is pushed back to Friday. Im not taking a scheduled break this week so there will still be more chapters than normal. I got a little caught up ying URF and Genshin Impact with friends so I woke upter than intended *heavy sweating*...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1839 Cafe Encounter

Chapter 1839 Cafe Encounter

After a rtively uneventful evening, Vahn met up with Yuri and Evan to enjoy breakfast before heading to the cafe, where he was intended to meet the representatives of the Families who had pestered the Ha Family Leader. This included a fashionable young woman from the Khun Family, an intellectual beauty from the Yeon Family, an adorably petite girl representing the Eurasia Family, a cold-looking woman with silvery-white hair and matching eyes from the Arie Family, and, somewhat surprisingly, a sporty-looking girl with Zebra-like features from the Lo Po Bia Family. As was often the case whenever they were trying to scout a promising Regr for inclusion into their Family, the Leaders of the Ten Great Families had sent delegationsposed of members of the opposite sex. Though the Yeon and Eurasia Family was an exception, the intentions of the other delegates were pretty transparent. They had effectively been chosen as a honey pots, girls selected in an effort to try and bind him to their respective Families via seduction or the promises of various favors. Truth be told, Vahn actually felt a little sorry for the girls since they were essentially being sacrificed by their Families in order to allure him into their fold. Some, specifically the woman from the Lo Po Bia Family, hadnt even been given a choice in the matter. She was ordered to do whatever it took to try and lure him in since the Lo Po Bia Family Head had taken a keen interest in his Pokemon. As for the rest, the Khun and Arie Family representatives were essentially just here to demonstrate that their Families werent afraid of the Ha Family while the youthful-looking girl from the Eurasia Family had been sent to confirm Soo-Yuns report. Simply put, none of the women had any particr interest in him, and, if not for the orders they had received from their respective Families, they wouldnt be here. After all, with the exception of the Zebra-like woman from the Lo Po Bia Family, forced to sit away from everyone else, the others were all Rankers. They each had their own ambitions, and, though they understood the importance of securing talent for the Family, none of them were particrly enthused by the prospect of being bound to a Regr. If not for the fact that their target was somewhat handsome, they would haveined quite a bit about the current situation... Understanding the innermost thoughts of everyone present, courtesy of the Law of Identity, Vahn couldnt help adopt a slightly amused smile as he made his way over to the table with the Zebra-like woman from the Lo Po Bia Family. This caused her to pale considerably, not because she was fearful of him, but because she had suddenly be the center of attention for all the Rankers present. Completely ignoring the tense atmosphere, Vahn casually asked, "Have you eaten? I had breakfast beforehand, but I can order something if youre feeling peckish." With an expression that seemed to convey, what the hell is wrong with you?, the representative of the Lo Po Bia Family forced a smile as she answered, "Im fine...thank you for your-" Before she could finish her statement, a small rumbling could be heard from the womans stomach, her expression freezing as herplexion became whiter than the representative of the Arie Family. This caused Vahn to respond with a light chuckle as he waved over the waitress that was standing nervously off to the side. Her expression also paled quite a bit, but, with a job to due, she ultimately came over to take his order before hastily departing for the back room as if she were fleeing for her life... Maintaining a casual smile, Vahn followed the waitresss departure with his eyes before shifting his attention to the four girls sitting at the nearby table. Unsurprisingly, the representative from the Yeon Family waspletely incensed. As for the representatives from the Khun, Arie, and Eurasia Families, the first had an amused smile on her face, the second appearedpletely expressionless, and, as could be expected, the third had yet to even awaken from her slumber... Matching gazes with the member of the Yeon Family, Vahn adopted a slightly teasing smile as he remarked, "A hateful glower doesnt suit you. Though I wont tell you to smile, Im confident you would appear even more beautiful without such a severe expression marring your countenance." Not expecting a suddenpliment, the woman from the Yeon Family blinked in confusion as the representative from the Khun Family issued a light chuckle before stating, "Youre rather bold, arent you? Tell me, is it the backing of the Ha Family that gives you such confidence, or are you actually a little monster~?" Shifting his gaze to the blue-haired beauty, Vahn sent a yful wink in her direction as he replied, "I assure you, there is nothing little about me." in a deep, velvety, tone. This caused the woman from the Khun Family to lick her lips in a rather seductive manner, a carnivorous glimmer shing across her eyes as she mused, "This might not be aplete waste of time..." Though he was tempted to continue their little y, Vahn took advantage of the womans words to exin, "Im afraid youll have to walk away disappointed. Though I am truly fortunate to be able to bear witness to so many remarkable beauties, Ive no interest in those who look down upon others." Frowning in response to Vahns words, the member of the Khun Family looked towards the empty space they had prepared for him to stand. She hadnt really cared at first, but, in hindsight, it might not have been particrly sensible of them to ce their pride as Rankers before the duty they had been assigned. Unfortunately, the die had already been cast, so, with a dismissive shrug, she rose to her feet and remarked, "Shame...and I was actually starting to take an interest in you. See ya around, monster boy." With that said, the woman from the Khun Family began to make her way towards the exit, an action mirrored by the taciturn beauty from the Arie Family. Before they left, however, the former seemed to remember something, a smile spreading across her face as she nced over her shoulder and said, "The names Leticia, by the way. Khun Leticia. Commit it to memory. Ill be sad if you forget it before our next meeting." Finished with her words, Leticia promptly departed the cafe, leaving the silver-haired beauty from the Arie Family to idle for several seconds before she finally stated, "Sona..." in a refined yet frosty tone. Then, despite the fact she had nearly departed without so much as a single word, she offered a formal bow before raising her head and adding, "The Workshop Battle...I will be watching..." in the same icy tone. Since his impression of Sona had been entirely based on the Law of Identitys representation of her, Vahn was a little taken aback by her paradoxically courteous yet cold behavior. She was clearly not ustomed to conversing with people, and, had they been alone, he could easily imagine her just sitting in silence throughout the entire meal. She suddenly gave off the impression of an extremely elegant and refined de; cold, emotionless, and perfectly suited for killing... Unfortunately, Sona departed immediately after her words, so, even though he felt a sudden desire to know more about her, the opportunity hade and gone. This was a little regretful, but, as he wasnt exactly hurting forpanionship, Vahn could only shake his head in self-admonition before shifting his attention to the representative of the Yeon Family. Her hateful glower had returned, and, though it was significantly less prominent, it was rather obvious that she wasnt very thrilled about how things had developed. Seizing the initiative for himself, Vahn returned a smile as he remarked, "Im surprised you decided to stick around. As far as I know, the members of the Yeon Family are notorious misandrists. Though any man would be lucky to be paired with such a remarkably beautiful woman, I have no interest in bing a manservant of the Yeon Family." Though she was annoyed by Vahns words, the representative of the Yeon Family couldnt maintain her hateful glower when he referred to her as a remarkably beautiful woman. She, like the majority of the women in her family, had an excessive amount of pride and vanity. As a result, her expression rxed in a haughty smile as shebed through her fringe and affirmed, "Do not view me in the same regard as these shallow and shameless trumpets. My only reason for being here is to ask you a few questions. Once you have answered my questions, I will be on my way." Chuckling in response to the womans words, Vahn rekindled the womans ire by inly asserting, "I have no intention of being interrogated. If you want to avoid the indignity of having your questionspletely ignored, I would suggest you move on to more important matters. Neither you nor your Family has anything of value to offer me, so what reason do I have to entertain you? The only thing you will achieve by threatening me is ensuring I side with another of the Ten Great Families. The Ha Family, in particr, has offered me quite a number of benefits..." Though her expression darkened with the addition of each sentence, the representative of the Yeon Family didnt immediately respond to his words. She wasnt in a position to speak on behalf of her Family, so, with Vahn making it clear he wasnt going to be pressured so easily, she wasnt sure how to move forward. They were currently in a district reserved for Regrs, so, while she could try and intimidate him, any actual attack against him would result in the Guardian of the Floor killing her in an instant... Realizing she was the one who had been backed into a corner, crimson mes began to manifest around the representative of the Yeon Family as she slowly rose to her feet and hissed, "The Yeon Family will remember this slight..." before storming out of the cafe. Unfortunately, due to her long ck hair, Vahn wasnt able to enjoy her departure as much as he had the previous two. Now that all the troublesome elements had been dealt with, Vahn stretched his body to remove some of the tensions that had built up before looking towards the befuddled Zebra-like woman and saying, "I understand the position youre in, so Im not going to make thingsplicated for you. I cant join the Lo Po Bia Family, but I can help you avoid punishment by allowing you to join me. I cant exin the details unless youre willing to submit to a contract, but I can assure you that even the Lo Po Bia Family Leader wont be able to extend his hand to you." Not expecting such an offer out of nowhere, the Zebra-like woman could do little more than gawk for nearly a minute before slumping her shoulders and answering, "Thats impossible...nobody can guarantee such things. You might be very powerful, but you have no idea how strong the Leaders of the Ten Great Families are. Though I might suffer a beating if I fail toplete my assignment, I am sure to die if I abandon the Family..." Though he understood he couldnt save everyone, Vahn wasntfortable with the knowledge that he would effectively be sentencing the woman to a fate worse than death if he sent her away. The branches of the Lo Po Bia Family were constantly vying for a higher status so they spared no effort in trying to make a positive impression on the Family Leader. As a result, the leaders of her own branch were bound to take exception to the fact she had failed in the task assigned to her by the man they worshipped as a God. She wouldnt be killed, but, for the remainder of her life, she would be forced to endure tremendous suffering... Shaking his head in response to the womans words, Vahn adopted a firm tone as he said, "Send a message to your Handler. Tell them you have seeded in infiltrating my team and will be joining me for the duration of the Workshop Battle. You dont have to lie to them by saying I have agreed to join the Lo Po Bia Family. Just tell them I am also interested in the legendary creatures created by the Lo Po Bia Family Leader so I wouldnt mind doing an information exchange in the future. For the time being, you will apany me to act as a liaison between myself and the Lo Po Bia Family. Do you have any objections...?" Hearing Vahns final question, the zebra-like woman spontaneously snapped out of her momentary stupor, her eyes widening as she rapidly shook her head. She wasnt quite sure what was going on, but, for a brief moment, Vahn gave off a simr impression as the Elders in her family. Her instinctspelled her to obey the strong, so, before she fully realized what was going on, the text message had already been sent. This earned her aforting pat on the head, easing all of the tensions that had permeated throughout her body as Vahn added, "Lets go home..." in a firm yet guiding tone... Feeling a simrpulsion as before, the zebra-like woman rose to her feet alongside him. Before they could awaken the member of the Eurasia Family and depart, however, the waitress from before suddenly emerged from the kitchen with their order. This caused Vahn to pause for a brief moment, his expression simr to a Noh Mask. Then, following a lightheartedugh, he urged her to sit back down so that she could pacify the demon rumbling in her stomach... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Top 10 Anime betrayals...,Vahn might mess around, but he doesnt y games xD...,RIP Zebra-chan...there is no escape...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1840 Charge Forward

Chapter 1840 Charge Forward

After returning to his hotel room, Vahn wasnt even remotely surprised to find that Yuri had made herselffortable in the living room. She liked to jump down from her own balcony in order to raid his fridge or fish for snacks. This was in spite of the fact that he had gotten an extra keycard for her to use the door. As for her reason? She thought it was more fun to enter from the balcony... Lying on the sofa in little more than yoga pants and a sports bra, Yuri craned her head back with a half-eaten potato chip in her mouth. Her brows raised slightly when she noticed hispany, but, rather than show actual surprise, she just shook her head, finishing her chip before remarking, "Im not really one to talk, but you need to show some restraint. It doesnt really matter to me, but Soo-Yun will be sad if you cheat on her with another member of the Eurasia Family. They arent fond of sharing their favorites with others." With that said, Yuri hopped up from the sofa, her body seemingly blinking out of existence for a brief moment as she appeared in front of Arusha, the representative of the Lo Po Bia Family. This caused thetter to startle, but, rather than shy away, she instinctually threw a punch towards the former. She had been trained to fight whenever her fight or flight response had kicked in, so, even though she could sense that Yuri was a lot stronger than she was, her body automatically reacted. Catching the fist with absolutely no effort, a smile spread across Yuris face as she said, "Not bad. I heard that the Zebra family members were the weakest among the Lo Po Bia Branch Families. Your punch is a little light, but your reaction and instincts arent bad. If you apply yourself, you should be able to be much stronger." Since she had been under the influence of Yuris Reverse Flow Control, Arusha had little choice but to listen attentively to the formers words of advice. When her hand was finally released, freeing her from the irresistible freezing effect, she forced herself to take severalbored breaths before saying, "Thank you for your guidance..." Waving her hand in a dismissive manner, Yuris smile became even more prominent as she said, "No need for any of that. Since Vahn brought you here, that basically makes us sisters. Youll have to call me Princess when others are around, but you can just call me Yuri when were alone." Though she didnt fullyprehend the meaning of Yuris words, Arusha still nodded her head in mock understanding before saying, "My name is Lo Po Bia Arusha. My mother and blood kin call me Aruru..." Finding Arushas pet name rather adorable, Yuris eyes began to shimmer as she gave the former a thumbs up and remarked, "Great name! Were going to get along great, Arururu~." Though she noticed Yuri had tacked an extra ru onto the end of her name, Arushas only reaction was the subtle twitching of her ears. Then, alongside the former, she turned her attention to where Vahn had just emerged after cing Soon-He, the Eurasia Family representative, in the guest room. Before Arusha could even think to ask what she should be doing, her mind totally nked as Yuri unabashedly remarked, "You really have a thing for girls with tails, huh? Is it because they usually have more toned butts?" As if to confirm her own suspicions, Yuri looked around behind Arusha, noticing that, while her butt was rather small, it appeared very toned. She also had plump yet muscr thighs, a trademark of the Zebra family that was known for their exceptionally powerful kicks. Having never been the type to restrain herself, Yuri surprised Arusha quite a bit by squatting down and spontaneously squeezing her thighs. She wasntpletely sure, but, thinking this was part of her duty, she ultimately chose to tolerate the intrusion until Vahn muttered in a slightly exasperated tone, "Yuri...we need to have a serious talk about invading peoples personal space..." Without retracting her hands, Yuri just rolled her eyes in response to Vahns words before retorting, "Lecture me when you stop petting everything within arms reach. I dont recall you ever asking for permission to touch my head or ce your hand around my waist." Though he wanted to argue that it wasnt the same thing, Vahn found himself unable to speak. He had a natural inclination to avoid lying, so, while they were different, that was merely the result of his unique perspective on the situation. From the perspective of others, including the recipients of his petting, there wasnt that much of a difference between his own actions and Yuris. He couldnt even make the argument that his petting was less invasive, as, the moment he ced his hands on their heads, he knew everything about the structure of their body... Realizing she had gotten one over on him, Yuris smile blossomed into a toothy grin as she released Arusha from her clutches and added, "You might have brought Aruru here with good intentions, but dont think you can deceive me. You dont have the heart to mind control someone so your options are pretty limited when ites to convincing people to remain loyal..." Hearing Yuri casually vocalize his intentions, Vahn couldnt help but feel a little guilty, his expression showing the conflict he felt in regards to the situation. He had been doing his best to ignore it, but, now that his intentions had beenid bare, he suddenly felt an overwhelming sense of perturbation. After all, he was basically intending to conquer Arusha in order to spare her from suffering she had been fully willing to face. He had arbitrarily made the decision, and, due to her strong sense of duty, she wouldnt even resist... Not expecting Vahn to suddenly be depressed, Yuris eyes widened as she adopted a slightly incredulous look and asked, "What the hell got into you? I didnt say there was anything wrong with what youre doing. I mean, not that you should let it go to your head, but anyone who catches your interest, regardless of the reason, is pretty lucky. The Little Garden is basically a paradise, and, once they get a taste of Rindos cooking, anyone with a functioning brain would want to live out the rest of their days there. Dont even get me started about your disys of affection...honestly, Im a little envious of Fenrir and Ryun..." Shaking her head free of such thoughts, Yuri took a half-step behind Arusha, smacking thetters butt hard enough to produce a crisp sound while subsequently propelling her forward with Shinsu. This caused Arusha to crash into Vahn, but, thanks to the thin membrane surrounding her body, she hadnt even felt the initial smack. The only person affected was Vahn, his bewilderment preventing him from acting until Arusha had already crashed into him. Finding Vahnspromised state rather amusing, Yuris smile inevitably returned, crimson eyes shimmering as she added, "Youre both consenting adults. Dont worry about the circumstances too much. Just like we in the Ha Family always say, No matter what, charge forward. You already made up your mind, so what reason is there to hesitate? Go have some fun." Though he was used to her being pretty straightforward, this version of Yuri left Vahn feeling at aplete loss for words. Her behavior was like a mix between Tsubaki and Tiona, two of the most influential women present during his formative years. This filled him with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia, and, though he couldnt simply set aside his guilt, he suddenly found himself unable to contain hisughter. This wasnt because of Yuris words, however, but because Arushas face had be beet red as she made no effort to separate herself from him... --- Three hours after his entrance into the Little Garden, Vahn emerged from his room wearing nothing but a pair of pajama bottoms, his muscr body glistening with a thinyer of sweat. He had never activated his Magia Erebea constitution after entering the Transcendental Path to Heaven, so, while it wasntpletely necessary, he was quite fond of sweating in certain situations. Noticing his emergence, Lisanna, who had also just emerged from her room further down the hall, adopted a slightly impish grin as she mused, "You better not have paid more attention to that new girl than my sister~." Since Lisanna had taken the initiative to walk over to him, Vahn extended his hand to pat her head, his rxed smile bing somewhat wry as he answered, "I wouldnt dare. Though its not as bad as her passive-aggressiveness, your sister can be pretty scary when shes mad. Besides, she actually took the lead this time around. When she gets like that, there isnt much I can do but go along with her suggestions." Giggling in response to Vahns words, Lisanna continued to stand with her hands behind her back, head presented for his convenience as she remarked, "Youre pretty bold to be petting the younger sister of your lover right outside your bedroom..." Rolling his eyes, Vahn ruffled Lisannas short white hair as he said, "You shouldnt y with fire. Im someone who has a thousand different Oyakodon recipes contained within my mind. Do you think I have any reservations about eating two sisters? If youre not careful, Mira might even be the one holding you down..." Rather than disy any fear, Lisanna just giggled in response to his words, pristine blue eyes turned up in a yfully seductive manner as she traced her finger along his bare chest. This caused Vahn to squint slightly, his vibrant aquamarine irises gaining a golden hue as she drew herself close enough that her breasts were pressed against him. Though he understood that she was mostly just ying around, Vahn surprised Lisanna quite a bit when he suddenly wrapped his arms around her, firmly gripping her rather bulbous butt and lifting her off the ground. This caused her mouth to open in surprise, but, before she could say anything, he sealed her lips with his own, kissing her for a full three-and-a-half minutes before pulling away to reiterate, "You shouldnt y with fire..." Not expecting her prank to develop into such an intense and passionate kiss, Lisanna found herself at a loss for words. It took her several seconds to fully process what had just happened, her feet still dangling from the floor as an intoxicating sweetness pervaded the interior of her mouth. It was only after she swallowed the residual saliva that she fully returned to her senses, but, rather than petition for her release, her curiositypelled her to lean forward and lightly nibble his corbone... Surprised by Lisannas esction, Vahn felt a suddenpulsion to look over his shoulder to see if Mira was standing behind him. He knew she wasnt, but, for some reason, he felt like he needed to confirm it with his eyes. This hadnt gone unnoticed by Lisanna, who, feeling emboldened, wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself closer to his ear before whispering, "Dont worry...it will be our little secret~." Though he got the impression she was back to messing with him, Vahn could tell by the state of Lisannas body that his previous actions had stoked the fires within her body. He suddenly felt as though he had gone a little too far, but, as Mira had already given him permission long ago, even going so far as to suggest Lisanna during the time when he was first creating new Temtes, there was no particr reason to hesitate. Rather than whisk her away to engage in a secret rendezvous, however, heughed like a madman as he drew the panicking beauty into the room containing her sister... (A/N: Alternate Titles: What is this? Utawarerumono...!?,Yuri would make a great spokesperson for Nike xD...,Get burnt) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1841 Awareness

Chapter 1841 Awareness

With only a few hours remaining until the start of the Workshop Battle, Vahn decided to pass the time by watching a few of his favorite animated movies in the master bedroom. He had converted the entire room into a makeshift theater of sorts, and, though he knew there would be a lot to clean up, he even provided food and drink to the many women who had huddled together atop the bed. Fortunately, though the room was only equipped with a king-sized bed, virtually everyone present had the ability to transform into a morepact form. As a result, Vahn found himself buried under a mountain of fluff, his hand casually meandering across the fields of smooth, velvety, or sometimes bristly fur. The only thing he had toin about, not that it particrly bothered him, was that Yoruichi was the one to im hisp. After wriggling her way in between his thighs, Yoruichi ced her head right where Vahns sleeping dragon was located. Then, without requiring him to caress her, she produced a deep and resonating purr that caused the entire bed to vibrate slightly. Despite this, there was no actual sound produced by the action, as, over the past couple of months, Yoruichi had developed what she referred to as a silent purring technique. Though he could aplish perfect cellr control if he really wanted to, Vahn had developed the habit of allowing his body to respond naturally a long time ago. Because of this, a very noticeable outline had appeared in his left trouser leg. This garnered a considerable amount of attention from virtually everyone present, and, as a result, the fragrance of female pheromones grew increasingly stronger with the passage of time. Fortunately, even without resorting to more intimate means, Vahn had countless methods to satisfy or coax others into contentedness. He just needed to infuse his intent into his domain, and, though it was less effective than direct contact, he could effectively pet everyone within. If he got serious, he could even pet their entire body all at once, eliciting sonorous and restrained mewls, moans, and whimpers from virtually everyone present. The only person to escape the influence of Vahns Law of Petting, at least for the present moment, was Index. She was fully immersed in the movie, blissfully unaware of the scene taking ce behind her as she happily devoured a number of different treats. It was only when the credits had started to roll that she turned around, her expression demonstrating remarkable confusion as she noticed that even Mikoto was breathing rather heavily. With her expression turning into a potent pout, Index, who had been snacking away in her Jirachi form, began to hover above the bed as she asked, "Why is everyone acting strange? Did you all do something naughty? Why didnt you invite me!?" Before anyone else could answer, Vahn gestured for Index toe closer, his expression softening as he caressed the side of her face and said, "We werent doing anything naughty. I just got a little carried away while petting everyone. Dont worry, Ill make sure to give you plenty of headpatster on. For now, I think its about time that everyone returned to the Little Garden. You cane out to y once the first round of the Workshop Battle has concluded." With Vahn cupping and caressing both sides of her face, Index couldnt help but produced a silly smile as she replied with a contented, "Ehehehe~.". As for everyone else, they reacted to his words by returning to their human forms. The only exception to this was Mikoto, who, fearful of how she would appear in her human form, alighted from the bed before disappearing into the bathroom as a Pikachu... --- Though there were variations between each sessive Workshop Battle, the basic structure of the event hadnt changed in more than a hundred years. This made it pretty easy to obtain information about the event, but, thanks to the Law of Identity, Vahn knew precisely how things were going to develop. Because of this, while everyone else was shoring up their defenses and drafting numerous strategies, Vahn could be seen walking leisurely through the city streets with Arusha treading close behind. After witnessing the wonders of the Little Garden and learning the true nature of Vahns existence, Arushas views towards him had changed drastically in a very short period of time. She now viewed him as an actual God, and, though she was still terrified of opposing her Family, he had assured her that she could simply reside in the Little Garden after the Workshop Battle hade to an end. For now, she felt fortunate just to be able to follow after and witness his greatness with her own eyes... Sensing Arushas focus on him, Vahn briefly nced over his shoulder, a casual smile spreading across his face. This caused the sporty-looking woman to avert her eyes, a tinge of red bleeding into her cheeks as she seemed to be searching for an excuse. Before she could think of anything, however, Vahn had already slowed his pace, his arm wrapping around her waist as he guided her through the city streets as if they were a couple. This caused her face to turn an even darker shade of red, but, rather than pull away, she leaned a little closer, a contented smile spreading across her face as she muttered, "Thank you..." Rather than tell her there was no need to thank him, Vahn just nted a kiss on the top of Arushas head before putting a bit of strength in his hold. This earned them quite a bit of attention from the surroundings, but, most importantly, it demonstrated to the Observers spying on them that his and Arushas rtionship was developing smoothly. This was crucial for a number of reasons, but, most importantly, it would help to improve the standing of the Zebra family among the other twenty Lo Po Bia Branch Families. Though he wasnt particrly fond of the way the Lo Po Bia did things, Vahn had promised Arusha that he would help her family elevate themselves from the 20th position, a standing they had been cursed with for nearly a thousand years. This forced them to act as beasts of burden for the other Branches, and, though they werent actually the weakest, their limited numbers ensured that weaker families, such as the Mouse, Rabbit, and Grey Wolf families were always ranked above them. Vahn didnt really have an interest in the politics of the Lo Po Bia Family, but, understanding how much Arusha cared for her blood kin, he didnt mind ying his part. It was the least he could do until he was in a position to take advantage of the Lo Po Bias hierarchal structure to essentially take over the entire family. This would ultimately require him to defeat the Lo Po Bia Family Leader, but, considering his unique skillset, Vahn was pretty confident in his inevitable victory. The only Family Leader he was even more confident in defeating was Yeon Hana, as, regardless of how much Shinsu she possessed, it was ultimately useless so long as she infused it with the mes of the Phoenix and the Three-Legged Golden Crow... --- After a short detour, making the most of their time together, Vahn guided Arusha to an area that was supposed to be off-limits to anyone unrted to the Workshop. At nearly the exact same time, both of their Pockets were forced into visible mode as an excited voice began to recount the rules of the first round, a game known as One Shot, One Opportunity. This was one of the most popr events routinely selected by the Workshop, so, even without an exnation, most of the Regrs who had done their research were familiar with it. As for the actual rules, they were as follows: ----------------------------------------------- [One Shot, One Opportunity!] 1: Every Regr will be assigned a unique revolver and a single bullet known as a Dark Bullet. The first 248 Regrs to shoot an enemy with a Dark Bullet will be teleported to the Archimedes, thus qualifying them for the next round. 2: If a Regr is shot with a Dark Bullet, they are instantly disqualified. 3: It is possible to steal a bullet from another Regr. Anyone who has their bullet stolen will be immediately disqualified. 4: If a Regr manages to steal an enemys bullet, they will earn the right to switch their revolver between Light and Dark Mode. Bullets fired in Light Mode will instantaneously teleport anyone hit, including previously disqualified participants, to the Archimedes, thus qualifying them for the next round. 5: Regardless of how many bullets a person has, missing with a Dark Bullet will result in immediate disqualification. This rule does not apply to Light Bullets. 6: The first person to shoot someone with a Dark Bullet will receive the Dyrnwyn, a special weapon produced by the Workshop. The person who shoots the most people with Light Bullets will receive the Saints Grace, another special weapon that can be used in the uing Workshop Battle. As a bonus, anyone who is lucky enough to shoot the wandering Bong Bong will receive both it and a VIP suite onboard the Archimedes. 7: If any non-participant is shot or harmed, the person responsible will be disqualified. 8: Though fighting between participants is allowed, killing is strictly prohibited within the confines of Sepia Ind. This is meant to be a special event, not a Test for advancing to the next Floor. Lets all do our best to make the most of this unique opportunity hosted by the Workshop! ----------------------------------------------- Since the Workshop Battle didnt officially start until after the rules had been listed, Vahn waited until his Pocket changed to reflect the number of people who had qualified before sting arge hole in the nearby wall. This startled the nearly five-hundred Regrs who were inside, each chosen by FUG to make aplete mockery of the event. They had coordinated with sleeper agents within the Workshop to find out which event was going to be held. As a result, they had already gathered a total of 248 sacrifices, each ready and waiting to be shot with a Dark Bullet so that the Workshop Battle could bepletely dominated by members of FUG. With all Rankers being forced to leave the city prior to the beginning of the Workshop Battle, Vahn was able to use Reverse Flow Control to freeze all but a single Regr. Then, using his telepathy, he began to extract the bullets from their guns while making his way towards the scythe-wielding man wearing a silver mask as thetter shouted, "How...!?" Even without additional context, Vahn knew what the man was asking. Thus, with a rxed smile on his face, he answered, "Perception is a curious thing...people ce too much emphasis on what they can see with their eyes. Perhaps you have forgotten that after losing your own all those years ago?" Though his face wasnt visible due to the expressionless silver mask, it was easy to tell how shocked the man was by how unstable his aura became. Immediately after, a shadowy ck Shinsu began to emanate from his body as he darkly replied, "I see...the rumors regarding your awareness were not exaggerated. Tell me, why do you oppose us when you know the reason why we fight?" Cocking his head to the side, Vahn adopted a slightly incredulous look as he asked, "What are you talking about? Im not opposing you at all. In fact, I have proactively issued apromise to your Elders. They are the ones standing in opposition to me because, like the Ten Great Families, FUG has also be a cesspool for politics and corruption. You are simply being used as a convenient tool by one of the factions vying for increased political power and influence within the organization." With the shadows around him bing even thicker, the masked man leaned forward slightly as he shouted, "Youre lying! Youre just a fool who gvants around the Tower in the pursuit of sexual pleasure! Dont think you can shake my beliefs with such baseless usations...!" Realizing he couldnt reason with the man who was literally burning his Ego in order to increase his power, Vahn just shook his head before adopting a loose stance and remarking, "I didnte here to try and convince you, Reflejo. Now, show me how powerful that hypocritical zealotry of yours has made you..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is well on his way to petting the Heavens xD...,The Law of Identity is such a cheat (O - O)...,Oh Yeeaaaaaaaaaaaah~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1842 Shadows

Chapter 1842 Shadows

Immediately following Vahns taunt, the masked man, Reflejo, erupted like a shadowy volcano. This caused a tremendous amount of highly corrosive Shinsu to spread through the area, but, before it was able to reach anyone, it began to roll upwards as if it had hit the interior of an invisible bubble. Noticing the strange phenomenon, Reflejo began to increase the output of his shadowy Shinsu as he eximed, "You think you can keep me contained!? This is the power my Lord, Master Poken has granted me! In this form, even a B-Rank Regr wouldnt be able to defend themselves against my attacks...!" Following the outburst, Reflejo charged forward with a double-ded crimson scythe, slicing at the invisible membrane with enough force to generate des of intense crimson light. To his surprise, however, there was absolutely no resistance in the area in which his scythe struck. Only the Shinsu that was being discharged from his body seemed to be contained, both confounding and terrifying the masked man. Alleviating some of the mans confusion, Vahn casually remarked, "There is a functionally unlimited amount of Shinsu in the environment. Only a fool with terrible control would consume their internal Shinsu in order to release an external attack. You have be too reliant on a power that has been bestowed upon you. Tell me, have you ever even fought against a B-Rank Regr? Even if you have, does that automatically make you strong? There are plenty of actual Rankers who arent even that powerful, yet you believe it is some kind of aplishment to use someone elses power to rival a B-Rank Regr...?" Unable to control his emotions, Reflejo continued producing shadow Shinsu from his body, quickly filling the confines of his bubble prison. He had tried to move beyond the unseen threshold, but, as his body had long since been consumed by the power his Master had granted him, doing so caused him extreme pain. He required a special metallic armor just to prevent his body from dispersing, so, unless he could figure out how Vahn was keeping him contained, it was impossible for him to move beyond the invisible boundary. Seeing his self-created Reverse Flow Control Barrier be filled to the brim with Reflejos inky ck Shinsu, Vahn couldnt help but cock his head to the side as he asked, "Can you seriously not break free? All you have to do is stop arbitrarily burning your internal reserves. I know that armor of yours has the function of sealing the power that has been granted to you. Are you so far gone that you cant even think about using your own power to fight...?" Though he was currently sealed within a ck bubble of Shinsu, Reflejo was still able to hear Vahns words without any issues. As a result, his expression darkened beneath his mask as he attempted to reabsorb his expelled Shinsu back into his body. This process took several minutes, and, by the time it hadpleted, all of the Regrs he had prepared for the Workshop Battle were nowhere to be seen. Answering the mans unasked question, Vahn exined, "Though I dont mind showing off every now and again, Im not particrly fond of audiences. Now, lets try this again. Just know that, if you try to use that borrowed power of yours, things wont end well for you. I know all your tricks, including that little self-destruction tactic you keep in reserve. If you genuinely consider suicide a viable tactic, what is the point of having persisted these six-hundred years? I mean, really...you are so consumed by revenge that you would willingly walk the path of evil, yet, even after all this time, you continue to idle around in the lower floors just because someone told you to..." With his internal Shinsu no longer leaking out, Reflejo was able to charge forward unabated, his voice trembling with fury as he shouted, "Stop speaking as if you know everything! You are just an outsider! You have no right to speak down to us, the people who have suffered at the hands of the Ten Great Families...!" Adopting what could best be described as an incredulous deadpan, Vahn stepped inward just as Reflejo attempted to sweep with his scythe. This allowed him to easily disrupt the mans attack, his left hand arresting the momentum of the malicious-looking weapon as his right palm impacted the armored ting covering the mans chest. As if he had been impacted by a freight train, Reflejos weapon was ripped from his hands as his body impacted the far wall of the facility, crashing through it. This caused arge amount of rubble to cover his body, but, thanks to his armor, he wasrgely unaffected. As for Vahn, he was currently eyeing up the peculiar scythe, curious how anyone could justify using such a weapon when swords and other t-ded weapons were considered impractical. Deciding that it didnt really matter, Vahn shook his head before shouldering the peculiar scythe and saying, "That strike was about the level of a B-Rank Regr. Without that armor of yours, you would have suffered severe injuries from such an attack. Do you still believe youre as strong as a B-Rank Regr...?" Crawling from the rubble without any discernible difficulty, Reflejo stared back at Vahn with a fierce glower hidden behind his mask. He now understood why Irregrs were considered such monsters, as, even with the power conferred to him by his Master, an iprehensibly powerful High Ranker, he was still being yed with. This only served to enrage him even further, as, from his perspective, someone like Vahn didnt deserve to possess such power... With his anger reaching levels beyond his control, wispy ck shadows began to, once again, leak from Reflejos body. This earned him a disapproving head shake from Vahn, who, noticing that the number of qualified Regrs was quickly approaching 248, decided to wrap things up. He actually wanted to offer the man a chance at redemption, but, with the Law of Identity revealing the mans innermost thoughts, Vahn knew he was far too gone for that. Having made up his mind, Vahn brandished the scythe with a finesse that could rival a master, but, before he was able to use it to attack, brackish mes erupted from his body, thoroughly devouring the peculiar weapon as Laev-tan forcibly manifested herself. This elicited a light chuckle from Vahn, who, understanding how temperamental his Zanpakuto could be, grabbed her hilt and mused, "You are, and always will be, my favorite weapon..." Though she emanated a discontented hum in response, Vahn could sense that his words had been effective in pacifying Laev-tans fury. Her mes always became a richer crimson hue whenever she was in a good mood, so, even though she seemed to be pouting, he knew she had already forgiven him... Seeing the weapon that had seemingly emerged from within Vahns body, Reflejo felt a sudden chill run through his own. He had a distinct impression that Vahns power had suddenly skyrocketed, his aura bingparable to the terrifying presence of his own Master, a High Ranker. This wasnt an exaggeration either, as, the moment Laev-tan released herself from his body, Vahns power had increased by a factor of ten. This ced him at the same level as weaker High Rankers, his reserves temporarily increasing to nearly fifty million at the expense of a heavy strain on his mind, body, and spirit. Though he felt it was more than a little overkill, Vahn pointed Laev-tan towards the stunned Reflejo, his expression turning serious as he said, "I pray that youll find peace in the next world..." Breaking free from his stupor at the sound of Vahns words, Reflejo was about to say something in response. Long before this intention could be actualized, however, a sphere of mes, seemingly appearing from the void, enveloped his entire body. To his surprise, he felt neither heat nor pain, as, the moment the mes appeared, everything, including his Ego and the armor protecting his body, were instantaneously vaporized... Shaking his head in mild exasperation, Vahn stared down at Laev-tan with a wry smile on his face as he remarked, "As always, you are simply amazing..." Pleased by Vahns words, Laev-tan released a cheerful hum, de vibrating contentedly even as she returned to his body. This caused Vahn to feel a ticklish sensation at the core of his being, forcing a chuckle from his throat in spite of the fact that his Pocket had just informed him that he had been disqualified from the Workshop Battle. Since killing your opponent was a vition of the rules, Vahn wasnt particrly surprised. Rather, he had already expected something like this to happen, so, before the battle even began, he sent Arusha ahead of him using one of the many Light Bullets he had pilfered. If he wanted to, he could easily sneak onboard the Archimedes or simply teleport to her location once she had reached the tournament ind. This would ce her in unnecessary danger, however, so, under the direction of the Law of Identity, he quickly made his way to a location near the outskirts of Sepia Ind. Generally speaking, the only way for a disqualified contestant to advance to the next round was to be shot with a Light Bullet by one of the teammates. Were he a normal contestant, Vahn would be in quite the pickle now that he had sent his only teammate ahead. Fortunately, he was anything but normal, so, while it would be exceptionally difficult for others, it didnt take him long to track down the tiny pink fairy-like object known as Bong Bong. Then, with a single well-ced shot, he earned himself both the item and VIP passage onto the Archimedes... --- Sensing his connection with Reflejo severed, an inordinately tall man that seemed to beprised entirely of shadows squinted his ghostly eyes in dissatisfaction as he remarked, "Useless till the very end...even with everything set up for you to seed, you still managed to fail....haaaaa..." Feeling a tremendous amount of exasperation, the shadowy man rubbed his head for several seconds before pulling out a Pocket covered in red runes. This allowed him tomunicate with simr Pockets virtually anywhere in the Tower, so, after collecting himself, the man sent a call to his own Master. Then, once the call had connected, he promptly lowered himself to the ground, his voice gaining a highly reverential undertone as he said, "Reflejo has been killed..." Though it was very subtle, the sound of a sigh could be heard from the other end of the call before a very deep yet ghostly voice asked, "Am I to assume that your scheme to secure all the positions in the Workshop Battle also ended in failure...?" Without trying toy the me on others, the shadowy figure pressed his head to the ground as he said, "I underestimated the Irregr known as Vahn Aldrnari Mason. It seems that the report of that traitorous Guide was not false. Though I am unwilling to believe it is some form of omnipotence, he clearly possesses the ability to peer into the minds of others. He also seems to possess an unknown ignition weapon, one with the ability to incinerate souls..." This time around, there was a full three minutes of silence from the other end of the call before the voice asked, "Was it the Thorn...?" Since he had only gotten a brief glimpse of Laev-tans form, the shadowy figure didnt have enough information to answer his Masters question with surety. As a result, he continued pressing his head to the ground as he answered, "I cannot say. All I know for certain is that it isnt an ordinary ignition weapon. It might even be stronger than the Thirteen Month Series..." With the Thirteen Month Series being among the most powerful weapons in the Tower, capable of ignoring the restrictions ced upon other items, any weapon even remotelyparable to them was remarkably powerful. This made the man on the opposite end of the call believe that Vahn had, somehow, found a way to infuse the power of the Thorn into another weapon. If that was the case, they needed to do everything in their power to obtain that weapon as it might very well be the key to defeating Jahad. With this in mind, hemanded his servant to rise, his voice bing even deeper as he said, "Hear my order..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Oh no! Not a B-Rank Regr...!,Laev-tan wont tolerate cheating...!,I kind of feel bad for Vahns enemies xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1843 Guiding Hand

Chapter 1843 Guiding Hand

Though it allowed its user to both fly and teleport, Vahn ended up gifting the Bong Bong to Arusha. He was perfectly capable of performing both functions without the aid of an item, so, with the Bong Bong manifesting as a pair of pink fairy wings, he couldnt shake the impression it was better suited for a womans use. Not expecting to receive a B-Rank item as a gift, Arusha fallen silent for several minutes following their return to his VIP suite. Then, despite being moderately submissive during all of their previous romantic rendezvous, she suddenly became very proactive. It seemed that the members of the Lo Po Bia Family regarded gifts and favor in higher esteem than most, so, while there were no actual misunderstandings, she felt pelled to work harder after receiving such a blessing. Vahn had never been the type to expect his women to remunerate him for actions he performed as a matter of course, but, as it was always more fun when both partners were enjoying themselves, he didnt prevent Arusha from expressing her gratitude. After all, he was just as meworthy as many of his women when it came to handing out rewards, so, rather than make a big deal out of nothing, he decided to, quite literally, just enjoy the ride... --- As a vessel designed almost exclusively for use as a Cruise Ship, the Archimedes was equipped with a number of facilities that even exceeded the amodations of most Rankers. There were even a number of shops that were fully stocked by the Workshop, shops which, unlike those back in Sepia Harbor, had no restrictions. The only thing that mattered was that you had enough Points to spend, so, if you had somehow managed to umte billions of the coveted currency, there were even A-Rank defensive items avable for purchase. As for weapons, anything above B-Rank was highly regted by the Jahad Empire, so, unless you had obtained one during a conquest or as the result of a challenge, they were nearly impossible to obtain. With the ability to produceparable items without too much difficulty, Vahn wasnt particrly interested in the items being peddled by the Workshop. They wouldnt just allow him to analyze the items at his leisure, so, with only a few million Points to his name, he spent most of his time aboard the Archimedes at the pool or lounging within his suite. There was an entire waterpark inside of the city-sized craft, so, with more than a week until the second round of the Workshop Battle was set to begin, he decided to spend it observing and analyzing the tens-of-thousands of Regrs who had purchased passage onto the massive cruiser. Fortunately, while he had earned a fair amount of attention from both solicitors and the paparazzi, they were less insistent than he had imagined. There seemed to be a rule against badgering people who were trying to rx onboard the Archimedes, so, after refusing them once, journalists from the same organization stopped bothering him. This was quite the surprise as, even in his Realm, people who purported themselves as advocates of the truth could be very insistent. By the eve of the second day, Vahns rxation was only ever disturbed by teams seeking to recruit him or women seeking a momentary escape from the stresses of climbing the Tower. When it came to the former, Vahn didnt even need to consider his answer before politely refusing them. When it came to theter, however, he ultimately ended up epting quite a number of their invitations. It had always been difficult for him to ignore people who were in pain, so, even if it was just for a few hours, he didnt mind listening to their stories and helping treat some of their mental scars before returning them safely to their original teams. Though it wasnt really the reputation he was trying to build, these actions earned Vahn quite a bit of appreciation from members of the opposite sex. Rumors could spread quickly even in arge city, so, with everyone confined to the same ship, it wasnt long before his name becamemon among intertwining informationworks. This basically forced him to act as both a confidant and a therapist to numerous women, but, as this was par for the course when it came to his life, he didnt mind bing their emotional anchor for a short period of time. As for the men who begrudged him for his actions, they ultimately had nothing but their sensitivities and personal expectations to me... --- Finished with yet another massage, Vahn used a clean towel to wipe away the oil from his hands before gently caressing the head of the white-haired Gynoid lying on the table. His skills werent limited to beings of flesh and blood, so, even though she perceived pleasure and satisfaction in a fundamentally different way than wholly biological lifeform, it only took him a few minutes to both map out and master the unique beautys weak points. Feeling a sensation simr to a rush of caffeine or a small dose of adrenaline, the woman lying atop the table quickly blinked into awareness, her expression briefly showing confusion until she saw the figure of the man she had been conversing with several hours prior. After that, all the memories of their time together came surging back, and, though blood hadnt pumped through her veins in a very long time, the artificial chromatophores in her cheeks allowed her to emte a blush as she averted her eyes and remarked, "It seems the rumors of your skills werent exaggerated..." Chuckling in response to the womans remark, Vahn passed her a bathrobe to help cover her nudity as he casually replied, "I wont deny that I have a penchant for showing off, especially in front of a beautiful woman. Despite that, none who have known me personally have ever referred to me as a braggart. Im just very capable." Punctuating his words with a yful wink, Vahn left the woman to ruminate for a few minutes as he retrieved her clothes from the wash. She had an important decision to consider so he didnt want to put her under even more pressure by just standing around. He knew what kind of effect he had on people, especially those who had experienced his attentiveness, so this was the least he could do to respect her autonomy. He had already deactivated the tracker within her body, so, regardless of what she chose, her future would be, at the very least, a little brighter... Carrying back a pair of form-fitting shorts, a skintight top, and a rather stylish jacket, Vahn wasnt particrly surprised to find that the peculiar beauty was still naked. She had been lost in thought as she sat atop the table, her ruby-red ocr lenses flickering with light as she attempted to weight the positives and negatives of the choice he had presented to her. This,bined with the fact that she had no actual aversion to being seen naked by him, resulted in her simply sitting in silence until his return. Coming back to her senses in response to his arrival, the woman showed a considerable amount of apprehension as she muttered, "Though I greatly desire for my body to be remade flesh, I still have many things I wish to aplish. Prior to the procedure that turned me into this...thing...I was little more than a sickly girl who ced a heavy burden on her family and friends. With this body, I now have the power to fight and make my dreamse true...though it might sound hypocritical after all my priorining, I realized long ago that the weak are fated to suffer at the whims of those who hold power. Even if I am ultimately nothing more than someones experiment, I never want to go back to being the same helpless girl as before..." Suppressing a sigh, Vahn had to forciblybat the urge to reveal everything he knew about both her and the people who had turned her into a Gynoid. She was just being used by one of the more errant members of the Workshop to test a number of different experimental technologies. Though she possessed a considerable amount of powerpared to the average Regr, her current form also prevented her from growing stronger. As a result, she would have little choice but to undergo several other procedures as she climbed higher up the Tower. If she proved incapable or unwilling to abide by their demands, the only fate that awaited her was being recycled for parts... Unfortunately, regardless of the truth contained within words, that didnt make people willing to believe them. The most natural response was to adamantly refute inconvenient truths, as, without some form of direction in their lives, the average person would simply feel lost before ultimately giving in to despair once they had confirmed the truth for themselves. From there, very few were ever able to recover, so, after several seconds of tense silence, Vahns casual expression gave way to a far more serious one as he said, "Even if it is only temporary, I want you to join my team. Allow me to show you a better way, one that doesnt require so many sacrifices..." Since she was well aware of the fact that Vahn had refused a number of pleas to join his team, the biomechanical woman couldnt help but show considerable confusion as she asked, "You want me to join your team? Why would you extend that offer to someone...something like me? With your looks and capabilities, there are surely countless women who would happily ept such an offer..." Understanding that a detailed exnation would actually make things more difficult, Vahn ignored the womans self-deprecation as he approached the table. This caused her to recoil slightly, but, as he gently guided her to look back at him, most of the anxiety and apprehension in her countenance quickly gave way for a ruddy and embarrassed look. Then, once she had finally turned her eyes up to meet his gaze, he simply stated, "Everyone has the right to make their own choices. I know that, if you were to leave here without me having done my best to help you, I would regret it for the rest of my life. Though it might be selfish of me to put you on the spot like this, I would never be able to forgive myself if I didnt at least try..." Though it was inarguably maniptive of him, Vahn had moved his hand to gently caress the side of the womans face during his speech. He even went as far as to trace his finger along the back of her elf-like ear, exacerbating the blush on her face in spite of the fact that her left ear was almost entirely biomechanical. Then, just as she was beginning to show doubt, he tenderly ced his right hand at the side of her stomach, his palm resting against her unnaturally cool yet exceptionally soft skin. Feeling a little overwhelmed by the situation, the womans lens-like pupils began to expand and contract rapidly as her brain failed to process everything that was happening. If one were to look closely, they would even be able to see numerous error texts appearing across her pupils, each an indicator of how she was currently feeling. Despite this, she continued to stare into Vahns eyes, her conflicted feelings gradually melting away until she inevitably replied, "Okay..." in a meek tone. Though a smile immediately blossomed across his face, Vahn knew she would still feel doubtful if her answer was something so half-hearted. Thus, as he brought their faces progressively closer, he adopted a firm yet guiding tone as he said, "Youll need to be clearer than that...I want to hear you say it directly...tell me, what are you going to do...?" Having already acquiesced before, an almost imperceptible glimmer of conviction spread through the womans eyes as she answered in a slightly more confident tone, "I will join your team...I want to follow you up the Tower...please, take me with you..." Hearing her say please towards the very end, Vahn began to feel a little awkward, but, burying his burgeoning feelings of guilt, his smile became even more prominent as he softly remarked, "That is a much better answer..." before giving her a simple yet passionate kiss. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Arusha smash (OwO)~!,You thought he was having sex with all of them? Tsk tsk...,Is this the Legendary Cyber Elf Waifu...!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1844 Compromise

Chapter 1844 Compromise

Following Arryns, the name of the Gynoid, decision to join him, Vahn promptly introduced her to Kisuke, Android 21, and the remaining residents of the Emerald Grove. She was, understandably, very surprised by the existence of his miniature Realm. However, even this couldntpare to the unbridled shock she experienced after learning of his status as both an Irregr and a God. As could be expected, Arryn didnt believe she deserved to be given the opportunity to live within the realm of a literal God. She had very low self-esteem due to the fact she considered herself to be nothing more than an object. This was a perspective she had cultivated over thest 130 years so it would take some time before she was able to ept herself. Fortunately, with nearly every resident of the Emerald Grove possessing an extraordinary degree of empathy, it was difficult for anyone to feel isted and unworthy for very long. Rather, after a few heart-to-hearts with women such as Mira, Kushina, Hinata, and even Arusha, Arryns confidence was steadily improving. Of course, the person who had made the deepest impression on her, sans Vahn, was Android 21. Prior to revealing her former identity, Arryn had introduced herself with the designation CE-20, the code that had been assigned to her following the Workshops procedure. With the exception of her family, which she hadnt seen in decades, this was the way everyone referred to her. As a result, she felt detached from her original identity, and, over time, the idea that she was nothing more than an object had been reinforced to the point that she felt undeserving of her own name. With Android 21 representing everything she had been aspiring towards, Arryn expressed a keen interest in the research that was being conducted within the Seventh Layer. She had even broached the subject of upgrading her current body. This ultimately led to a discussion regarding her return to a pure flesh and blood body, but, despite numerous attestations that she could be stronger in a new body, Arryn was determined to keep her current one. She wasntfortable with the idea of discarding her original self, as, in more ways than one, it reinforced the idea that she was just an object. Since she had been pretty resolute about the matter, Vahn ultimately gave Android 21 permission to perform numerous upgrades to Arryns body. This included recing the fluids in her body with bio-organic nanomachines and supplying her with a unique power core derived from the heart of a dragon. This would provide her an effectively limitless supply of energy, but, in exchange, it would also ce a heavy burden on her mind, body, and spirit. Fortunately, the cells provided to Arryn were cultivated directly from Android 21s body so they had an almost unreasonable degree of adaptability. So long as she focused on strengthening her mind and spirit, specifically through meditation and Innate development, she would be able to grow and evolve without any limits. She had also gained the ability to regenerate from virtually any injury, so, as long as she avoided having her head and core destroyed simultaneously, Arryn could effectively live forever. The only downside to the sess of Arryns procedure was that it encouraged both Arusha and the former Empress, Xiao Xinyue, to consider undergoing a simr operation. The former, as could be expected, had recently developed a very strong desire to be of use to him. She had even be a member of Fenrirs pack, a group of women who were excessively loyal to him. As for Xiao Xinyue, it hadnt taken long for her to realize that she would never be able to convince any of the Emerald Groves residents to support her ambitions. Her status as a former Empress meant nothing to them, and, much to her chagrin, she was even weaker than the weakest member of Vahns entourage. Though she had recently started to consider just allowing Vahn to resolve things while she focused on improving her status, the ease in which Arryn was able to gain power was extremely alluring to her. After all, her twenty-thousand-years of istion had allowed her to cultivate an exceptionally powerful spirit. Her mental capacity was also far beyond theprehension of normal people, so, as long as she had such power at her fingertips, Xinyue was confident in her ability to be one of the strongest beings, not just within the Little Garden, but the worlds beyond the Tower. In the end, Vahn was able to use Xinyues own confidence against her, pointing out that, if her mind and spirit were truly as powerful as she believed, it wouldnt take long for her to cultivate to a point that exceeded Arryns capacity for growth. He used everyone in the Emerald Grove as an example, and, though she rightfully pointed out how unfair thisparison was, Vahn countered by pointing out that life had never been fair; and, unless she was willing to put in the effort to obtain power, she had no right to rule over others. Xinyue hadnt been particrly amused by this exchange, but, after residing within the Little Garden for more than a month, she had graduallye to realize just how trivial her Empire and her former existence had been. She understood that Vahn was an existence that, at least for the time being, she couldnt even begin toprehend. There were absolutely no merits in opposing or offending him, so, after cooling her head for a bit, she ultimately sought him out to both apologize and ask for his guidance. Vahn understood that Xinyues ambitions were a little dangerous, but, out of consideration for her twenty-thousand-years of istion, he couldnt help but be tolerant of her. The fact she had spent most of that time guiding the souls of her subjects and preventing them from bing evil spirits was the main reason for this, but, more so than even that, he knew that Xinyue was, at the very core of her being, a good person. It was just that, after more than twenty-thousand-years with nothing but her own thoughts to keep herpany, she had an understandably difficult time considering anyones opinions but her own. In the hopes that it would help her move beyond her desire for revenge and live a more peaceful life, Vahn provided Xinyue with a cultivation method he had transcribed from the Sacred Tome, the grimoire containing virtually all knowledge within the Transcendental Path to Heaven. This method, known as the Avesta az Spenta Ameraiti, was a technique derived from a Zoroastrian Goddess that presided over creative harmony, holy devotion, and the beauty of nature. The Divine Beings that gave rise to the concept of Zoroastrianism constituted one of the three most powerful factions in the entire Divine Realm, second only to the Primordial Dragon Gods. So long as she made an earnest effort toprehend the cultivation method that had been provided to her, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that Xinyue could, eventually, reached Tier 6. This would likely require several million years without any assistance, but, as one of the most powerful cultivation methods in the entire Order of Creation, she couldnt exactlyin. Assuming she was able toprehend the Laws contained within the Avesta az Spenta Amerait, Xinyue would effectively gain control over all terrestrial bodies within the Heavens. She would also gain absolute dominion over all nts and animals, including entities on the level of Yggdrasil and the Ancient Dragons that served under the Primordial Dragon Gods. The only downside was that, in exchange for unrivaled power, she would ultimately lose any desire to wield it. After all, in order to truly understand the Laws rted to Creation, Life, and Nature, you would need to be a wholly selfless existence... --- Unaware of Vahns machinations, Xinyue was happily practicing the cultivation method that, thanks to Index, had been imprinted directly into her memories. This was one of the most broken abilities possessed by thetter, and, unless the information was tampered with, it allowed anyone who had received knowledge from her to perfectly recall every single detail. As a result, Xinyue had made a few minor breakthroughs in a very short period of time, so much so that she could now encourage nts to grow faster simply by speaking to them. Mastery over the Laws didnt require anything like energy reserves to power themselves, so, as long as the user had adequateprehension, they could effectively alter reality through nothing more than their intent. The only thing that could counter or resist this effect was greater mastery over the Laws or an inordinately powerful will; so, unless you were facing off against something beyond yourprehension, mastery over the Laws superseded virtually all systems of power. Motivated by the knowledge that she could effectively erase her enemies with a thought, so long as she truly believed it was possible, Xinyue was very earnest in her pursuit of mastering the Avesta az Spenta Amerait. It helped that, due to the power of the cultivation method she had been provided, she was able to witness drastic results even after a few hours of reciting the mantra. Her confidence in her mind and spirit hadnt been baseless, as, after more than twenty-thousand-years of istion, she could enter a meditative state almost instantaneously. Since there were few things more cathartic than oveing your past traumas in order to further your growth, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that Xinyues cultivation was very therapeutic for her. She seemed to genuinely enjoy conversing with various nts, and, though there were only a few varieties of animals contained within the Little Garden, she found it rather amusing that she could understand andmand them. It gave her the impression that she was a Goddess, and, knowing there was a very real chance she could be one, it had be increasinglymon to see her smiling. Though it would likely take several years for her to make a full recovery, Vahn was optimistic after witnessing how quickly Xinyue was changing under the influence of her new cultivation method. It was almost like she had found her purpose in life, something far beyond the concepts of revenge and grand ambition. She had also foundpanionship in Mavis and Xerneas, so, while he couldnt help but worry about her, Vahn was confident she was now walking a much brighter path than the one she had been set upon by fate... --- Coinciding with events taking ce in the Little Garden, Vahn had also been kept busy aboard the Archimedes. His reputation among the female poption had been steadily increasing, and, after his eptance of Arryn, even the women who had previously given up on joining his team decided to try their luck at convincing him. This included one of Arryns former teammates, but, knowing she was actually someone who had beenmissioned by the Workshop to document the progress of the former, Vahn politely informed her about the consequences of earning his ire. Fortunately, even though the woman had been an agent of the Workshop, that didnt provide her with any actual authority. The person who had hired her was just a low-ranking Disciple, someone who had been stuck in their position for hundreds of years. He didnt even have a Teacher backing him, so, even if he was angered by Arryns betrayal, there wasnt really anything he could do about it. Rather, with Phae having already be a Head Disciple, Vahns influence in the Workshop was far greater than the average Disciples. In the end,rgely due to Arryns feelings of guilt, Vahn ended up soothing the tensions between himself and her former teammates by granting them numerous inconsequential items and a few hundred-thousand Points. He wasnt particrly fond of this method, as it felt like he was buying her from them, but, out of respect for her sentiments, he ultimately agreed to pacify the groups frustrations on the grounds that he had effectively poached the strongest member of their team. Afterward, however, he told them that, if they ever tried to pressure or exploit Arryn at any point in the future, they, quite literally, wouldnt be able to live with the consequences... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Is this the advent of Android 22!?,Xinyue is well on her way to bing a Goddess of the Earth (OwO)...,These people are in for a shock once the next round starts xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1845 Breather

Chapter 1845 Breather

After nearly two weeks of leisurely travel, the Archimedes eventually reached another of the 30th Floors most scenic and beautiful regions, a group of volcanic inds known as the Ember Isles. This was one of the primary residential districts of the 30th Floor, and, thanks to its temperate climate and inordinate beauty, more than six million Regrs had taken up residence on the circr chain of inds. As one of the Floors that hade under the influence of the Workshop, the centermost region of the Ember Isles was host to a massive research facility that extended nearly 1.7km to the depths of the sea. Despite this, less than one-hundred-and-fifty personnel called the facility home. The rest of the inhabitants were different types of automatons, each involved in the cultivation and harvesting of resources that could only be found beneath the seabed. Due to the secrecy of the Workshop, few people knew what they were harvesting deep beneath the waters surface. Some spected there was a deposit of Suspendium located within the interlinking magma chambers between volcanoes. Others argued that the massive facility had been constructed to imprison an ancient Shinheuh, a beast rumored to have created the massive, crater-like, hole that existed within the encirclement of the unique ind chain. As was often the case, the truth was significantly less interesting than the spection surrounding the mysterious facility. Its primary purpose was simply the mass-production ofmon goods that were used throughout the Tower. It did tap into the magma chambers beneath the seabed, but the reason for this was to harvest geothermal energy in order to allow the facility to run as efficiently as possible. This was also the reason why so few researchers were present within the facility and why the Workshop often used it as a venue to host the second round of the Workshop Battle. Had the facility held any actual value, even the Jahad Army, much less six-million Regrs, wouldnt be able to approach within three-thousand kilometers. After all, when there were numerous people who could move at rtivistic speeds and copse continental shelves, security was something that was taken very seriously. For this reason, most of the genuinely important facilities operated by the Workshop had never even been heard of. The Workshop went to great lengths to prevent any an all information pertaining to their important facilities from leaking out. Thus, with the exception of certainworks belonging to the Empire and the Ten Great Families, they monitored virtually everymunication between Workshop-produced Lighthouses, Observers, and Pockets. It was possible to bypass or disable this function if you were a skilled Light Bearer, but, the moment your actions were discovered, you would be cklisted and consequently pursued by the Workshops IP Enforcement Division. Though Jahad and the Ten Great Families were the undisputed rulers of the Tower, even the former acknowledged the power and influence of the Workshop. After all, virtually every powerful item that existed within the Tower had been manufactured by the Workshop. This included the armaments in Jahads personal armory, and, though they had their own production facilities, most of the gships and Fortresses that represented the Jahad Armys military might were provided as a courtesy by the Workshop. They had also been instrumental to Jahads ascent to the position of King, so, unless his hand was forced, he would never even consider opposing them. Due to the unique rtionship between Jahad and the Workshop, opposing thetter was the same as earning the ire of the former. As a result, there were very few people who were willing to offend the Workshop, even within a notorious organization like FUG. Fortunately, there were a number of Elders within FUG who had close ties with several important figures within the Workshop, so, much like the Jahad Empire, they were afforded their own, private,municationwork. After all, the Workshop wasnt subordinate to the Jahad Empire, so, if it meant furthering their goal of reaching the origin of all things, they didnt particrly care who they were working with... --- With the Archimedes mooring itself in the skies above the geothermal factory, the Captain gave permission for the passengers and crew to disembark. They had prepared a number of Suspend Ships that could transport people directly to the surrounding isles, or, if you were more interested in the facility below, suites had been prepared for all qualifying participants of the Workshop Battle. Though he wasnt particrly interested in the Ember Isles, Vahn had felt a growing need to escape from the Archimedes ever since news of his activities had reached the paparazzi. This was primarily the result of several jaded male Regrs, who, despite being told nothing had happened, jumped to conclusions. They found it difficult to believe that he would just listen to a womans woes before offering them spa and beauty treatments that eclipsed those avable onboard the Archimedes. As a result, he had gained a reputation as a gigolo despite numerous attestations that outright refuted these petty ims. Unfortunately, though they didnt bother him directly, that didnt prevent the various news outlets and gossip columns from spinning the hotly debated topic in a way that generated them the most revenue. This caused the negative sentiments he was receiving from other males to increase rather drastically, not because he had actually done anything wrong, but because they used the articles as an excuse to justify their suspicions. This was one of the reasons Vahn had always hated the media, as, more often than not, it was just a means of manipting people and generating propaganda. Even after more than three-hundred-years, Vahn still couldnt understand the propensity of people to base their opinions on unverified and unsubstantiated ims. He alsopletely disdained the notion of confirmation bias as it was effectively the death of reason. There were actually people who would, quite literally, ignore facts that had been documented and verified through countless hours of research in lieu ofpletely unsubstantiated ims that coincided with their own views. Even worse were the people who would use this information as a means to justify violence, often attacking anyone who disagreed with them as if it was everyone else who was wrong. Fortunately, at least within the Empire, he didnt have to worry about such things, as, the moment people began to make libelous ims or disseminate misinformation, they would be immediately exposed as the frauds they were. He had no tolerance for people whose greatest contributions to society were its stagnation or regression, so, depending on the severity of their crimes, there was a very real chance they might be put to death. He didnt really care about rumors and gossip, but, the moment people began rallying behind a cause stemmed from misinformation, he wouldnt hesitate to expose, and, if necessary, crush them... --- Though it didntpare to the beauty of the Little Garden, Vahn had to admit that the Ember Isles were remarkably beautiful. Even the architecture of the coastal cities was simr to something you might find in a painting of a futuristic civilization that had learned to coexist alongside nature. There was virtually no pollution, and, though the waters could be exceptionally dangerous if you ventured too far, the interior sea was an awe-inspiringly beautiful, crystal clear, sapphire blue. Since it was a good opportunity, Vahn put Arusha and Arryn on the spot by inviting them on a date and having them choose the destination. This was exceptionally awkward for the duo, as they both possessed somewhat submissive personalities, but, with a fair amount of positive reinforcement, it didnt take long for them to get into the swing of things. It helped that they had simr styles, and, though she hadnt possessed one prior to her upgrades, the fact Arryn now possessed a tail gave them a good excuse to peruse a number of brand-name clothing stores. Though he couldnt deny it was very tiring at times, Vahn had always been fond of apanying his women when they went shopping for clothes. He greatly enjoyed watching them change into a variety of different outfits, and, though he could always make or purchase apparel far greater than anything found in a store, itcked the novelty of finding something new and trying it on then and there. It also gave him some insight into the girls preferences, as, even with the Law of Identity, he couldnt know how someone truly felt until he had witnessed their behavior directly. After all, most people could list off a number of their likes and dislikes, but, as such things were never objective, it was impossible to know how they truly felt until you witnessed the emotional response it inspired in them. Proving this point, Arusha, despite genuinely believing she hated girly clothes, currently had a wide smile on her face as she posed in front of a mirror while wearing a frilly dress. She would never even consider wearing such clothing under normal circumstances, but, after hearing him affirm how cute she would look, it wasnt long before she had tried it on. Her peculiar ck and white hair, styled in twin-tails, actuallyplimented the dress quite a bit. There was also arge white ribbon that tied over her predominately ck tail, a perfect contrast to therge white ears twitching atop her head. Since important things were often worth repeating, Vahn decided to hammer home the point by muttering, "Beautiful..." in an affectionate tone. This caused Arushas smile to be even more radiant, and, though she didnt truly believe such clothing suited her, she convinced herself that it didnt matter so long as he believed they did. She had alsoe up with a number of convenient uses for the dress, so, even if it was only for his sake, she wouldnt mind wearing a dress every now and again... As this thought crossed her mind, Arushas reverie was broken by Vahn shifting his attention to the nearby changing room. Her gaze followed his, and, as a result, her expression immediately became a wless deadpan as they both witnessed Arryn emerge in an extremely revealing white bikini. This put her pseudo-synthetic body on full disy, but, unlike before, she showed no aversion to having several people eye the lines marking the connection points between her various parts with a mix of intrigue and morbid curiosity. Though there were connecting valves that allowed the fluids in her body to flow seamlessly, Arryns body was constructed of fourteen parts, thirteen of which were interchangeable. This was originally intended to allow her to swap out damaged parts, and, when the situation called for it, she could also rece her limbs with various weapons and other augmentations. Now, however, they were a remnant of her former self, something she had asked Android 21 to preserve prior to her operation. Rather than show any aversion whatsoever, Vahn couldnt help but smile when he saw the unique structure of Arryns body. He wasnt particrly fond of the team that had turned her into a Gynoid, but he couldnt deny that their workmanship,bined with Arryns natural beauty, had culminated into a masterpiece. This impression was unquestionably influenced by his appreciation for elves and his experiences with the Einzbern Family, but, more than anything else, Vahn felt a strong attraction to the confident glimmer that had appeared in Arryns reddish-amber eyes... It might be the result of her strength increasing far beyond her expectations, but,pared to her previous self, the current Arryn radiated an aura of tranquil confidence. She had not only epted what she was, but who she was as a person. She was no longer someones experiment, and, rather than feel unworthy of the grace she had been afforded, she felt blessed beyondparison. All of this was the result of the man standing across from her, so, even though there were quite a number of other people present, only Vahns figure entered her gaze. At the same time, she believed that he saw something in her that even she was unaware of, so, even though she felt guilty about stealing Arushas spotlight, she couldnt help but want him to continue looking directly at her... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wow. Such mystery. Much suspicion (OwO)...,Vahn might seem like a tyrant, but those who spread misinformation for personal gain are the cancer of society...,I cant help but wonder if Arryn has a literal switch somewhere...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1846 Anticlimactic : Climax

Chapter 1846 Anticlimactic : Climax

Following the instructions they had received the prior evening, Vahn, Arusha, and Arryn proceeded to the waiting room that had been assigned to them. The second round of the Workshop Battle had been scheduled for the early afternoon so all participants had been asked to be waiting within their respective rooms by 10:00 AM. This might seem a little early, but, by having everyone appear hours in advance, they could effectively eliminate no-shows and potential dys. Fortunately, the Workshop wasnt filled with idiots, so, in order to prevent contestants from feeling bored, they had been given ess to a buffet, a mini-theater, and tablets that detailed the rules of the second round. Vahn found thisst part particrly amusing as it also assigned a rating to each of the contestants for the purpose of gambling. His own rating gave him odds of 100:1, the highest among allpeting Regrs. Since he would have ess to his onboard the Archimedes until the end of the Workshop Battle, Vahn didnt actually need to win the second round. This gave him to the notion of screwing with the event organizers by throwing his match, effectively rewarding anyone who bet against him a total of 100x their stake. He could also turn the entire event on his head by waiting until thest round and effectively bankrupting everyone who bet on his victory. Were it not for the spreading of certain negative rumors, Vahn wouldnt have had any qualms about allowing someone else the chance to win the Workshop Battle. Now, however, he felt an inclination to bite back at the people who had spread negative rumors about him, essentially pping them in the face while demonstrating who, exactly, they were trying to offend. Some might consider this a little petty, but,pared to the pettiness of those who spread such rumors, he might as well be a Saint. --- With four hours passing uneventfully, Vahn, who had been watching a movie with Arusha and Arryn nking him, finally received a notice to move to the arena. Arusha and Arryn had received simr notifications, so, after confirming their participation, the three of them were promptly teleported to the edge of a giant stone pir. Simr to the Seeded Tournament of the 20th Floor, the matches were scheduled to take ce atop giant pirs that protruded from a massive pool of crystal clear, icy blue, water. For the sake of time, several rounds would take ce simultaneously until only a handful of contestants remained. These would then go on to participate in a round-robin style tournament meant to conclusively determine who the strongest E-Rank Regr was. One of the things that distinguished this tournament from the one Vahn had participated in on the 20th Floor was that forty people would be participating each round, eight per pir of stone. As for the objective, they were required to insert peculiar plug-like weapons into grooved located at the center of each pir. The first three people to insert their plugs into the grooves would be allowed to advance to the next round, effectively reducing the number of participants for the second round to 90. What made things interesting was how things developed following the round of eliminations. From there, people who had been chosen as Gamblers, a title given to those who had earned the most points during the One-Shot One Opportunity Game, would be allowed to purchase participating Regrs in order to organize a team. They would then act as Team Leaders during the Tournament Finals, an event scheduled to take ce two dayster so that each of the newly constructed teams would have a chance to familiarize themselves with each other. Though he could think of quite a number of ws in the tournament structure, such as allies from the same original team conspiring together despite being pitted against one another, Vahn didnt think it was that bad an idea from an objective standpoint. So long as everyone followed the rules, it roughly bnced out the final teams, as, even if they managed to get ahold of the most powerful participant in the entirepetition, they would need to put in a considerable amount of effort just to summon them during the final round. This made it smarter to secure more economical Regrs as there was a very real chance they could grasp victory before the most powerful participants even became a factor. Fortunately, regardless of whether or not he was able to actively participate in the final round, Vahn could stillplete his objective. All he needed was the inds approximate spatial coordinates to be able to teleport there whenever he wanted. FUG would likely take exception to this, but, as their strongest member on the 30th Floor was merely an Advanced Ranker, he wasnt particrly all that concerned. Rather, depending on how he yed the current situation, he might even be able to get the other Elders of FUG to intervene with the faction that was causing him trouble... As these thoughts were ying across his mind, Vahn was waiting for the announcer to finish their exnation of the rules so that the tournament could officially begin. It was fortunate that his team was so small, as, due to the unique structure of the event, both Arusha and Arryn had been ced in the same arena. This virtually guaranteed all three of them would make it through to the Finals as the other five members of their group werent particrly special. The only thing that distinguished them was their apparent hatred towards him, as, despite his 100:1 odds being published, all five of the male participants seemed determined to defeat him. Shaking his head in mild exasperation, Vahn waited until the start of the match before waving the club-like plug in a sweeping motion. He had already exined the situation to Laev-tan, so, while she was a little annoyed, she didnt manifest for fear of getting him disqualified. This turned out to be a mercy for the other Regrs, as, despite being pushed from the tform in an instant, they were, at the very least, spared a few burns. Ignoring the remarks of the announcer and the booing of the crowd, Vahn sauntered over to the center of the tform, smiling at Arryn and Arusha before cing his plug into one of the three grooves present. They offered slightly wry smiles in return, but, understanding what kind of being Vahn was, neither were particrly surprised by his ability to eliminate the other contestants with a casual wave of his plug. He was already at a levelparable to Rankers, and, when he went all out, even High-Rankers would struggle against him. For the average E-Rank Regr tost even a few seconds against him, the only reason imaginable was that Vahn had allowed it... --- After returning to their private waiting room, Vahn was the first to take a seat on the rathervish sofa before Arusha and Arryn promptly took their positions at his nks. Neither had any aversion to him wrapping his arms around them, so, after unpausing their movie, he made certain to take a few liberties for their sake. Over time, Vahn hade to learn that, while they hated being objectified, the majority of women enjoyed feeling wanted by their partner, so, whenever the opportunity presented itself, he made sure to express his affection through action rather than words. This might make him seem like an insatiable pervert from the perspective of others but the opinion of others had never mattered all that much to him. He might get annoyed by false articles and the spreading of rumors, but, so long as he could make his women happy, he had very little toin about. Demonstrating how fortunate he truly was, Arryn eventually grew too restless to simply sit still and enjoy the sensual ambiance. Neither she nor Arusha had been paying any attention to the movie, so, after some silentmunication through their gazes, she extricated herself from Vahns hold, blocking his view of therge light disy. Then, with her back turned to him, she looked over her shoulder with a hungry look in her eyes as her hands slowly peeled away her skin-tight shorts. Understanding Arryns intentions, a smile spread across Vahns face as he made no attempt to stop Arusha from liberating his dragon from its confines with her teeth. She had be rather skilled at supporting others due to her deeply ingrained perception of rtionship hierarchies, so, with Arryn being significantly stronger than her, she believed it was only natural that she waited her turn. This was something Vahn had been trying to remedy as ofte, but, simr to Mordred, Arusha could be very insistent when it came to her observation of an established hierarchy. In order to make things a little easier for Arryn, Arusha showed no hesitation as she collected saliva in her mouth before taking the majority of his member into her mouth. Then, in an effort to ensure an even coating of saliva, she pulled away very slowly, her tongue wriggling around his shaft before she stopped at his ns and gave it a small kiss. Thisst part was something she had learned from Mira, and, though he always felt it was a little strange, Vahn didnt particrly mind the affectionate way in which some of his women viewed his penis... Due to Vahns prior petting, Arryn didnt need to make any additional preparations of her own. The moment Arusha had finished lubricating Vahns penis, she wasted very little time in positioning her hands on his knees, a lustful look in her eyes as she bit her bottom lip and allowed him to position himself at her entrance. Once his ns had prated her, sending a shiver throughout her body, she allowed him to guide her into a seated position, his member splitting her apart in a somewhat painful yet extremely pleasurable way. Though she hadnt been made aware of it, one of the modifications that had been made to her body by the Workshop included calibrating her insides to make them as pleasurable as possible. Had it not been for Vahn, there was a very real chance she would have been sold off as a sex doll of sorts the moment she had reached her limits. To that end, her internal structure had been altered in a way that quickly adapted to her partner, effectively restructuring itself to best amodate their size and shape. As a result, she was easily able to take Vahns full length, and, though it caused her to feel short of breath, sensors in her brain trigged a chemical cocktail of endorphins to effectively flood her system. Unable to restrain herself, a sensual moan escaped Arryns throat as she cupped both sides of her face with an intoxicated look in her eyes. She believed this was the result of her patibility with Vahn, so, the moment her grabbed her arms, she began twisting her hips in a circle, stirring up her insides as a series of mad trembles ran through her body. This always gave her an irresistible desire to have Vahn treat her a little roughly, so, without fear of censure, she vocalized her thoughts in a sonorous moan, eximing, "Please...harder...mess me up...fuck me senseless~!!!" Though he wasnt unustomed to Arryns behavior whenever her switch had been flipped, a wry smile still spread across Vahns face as he hooked his hands behind her knees before rising from the sofa. He then spread her legs wide in what was known as a butterfly position before increasing the tempo of his thrusts. This caused her words to be even more colorful, but, understanding that some women were simply more vocal than others, he didnt let it bother him. Rather, it gave him an inclination to try a little harder, much to Arryns appreciation... After a solid twenty minutes of rather intense sex, Vahn finished inside of Arryn, pulling her legs together and hugging her close to him in a way he knew she enjoyed. This caused her eyes to roll into the back of her head, but, due to her unique constitution, it only took a few seconds before she recoveredpletely. She had inexhaustible stamina even before her upgrades, so, with a Dragons Heart generating virtually infinite energy within her chest, she required neither food, drink, nor rest in order to continue indefinitely. Vahn could override these qualities with the use of Laws, but, as he quite enjoyed her persistence, he typically reserved such things until the very end. Fortunately, even if she wanted to continue, Arryn was a very sensible woman, so, once he finally set her down, she gave him a rather passionate kiss before moving to the kitchen to prepare snacks. At the same time, Vahn moved behind Arusha, who, in anticipation for her turn, raised her butt high as she used her elbows as support. Arusha had always been mostfortable with doing it from behind, but, for a number of reasons, she also insisted that he grab her twin-tails as if they were reins. It gave her a sense of fulfillment to be dominated by him, so, while it was a peculiar request, Vahn dutifully invaded her absurdly tight cavern before gripping her ck and white twin-tails. Then, as he pushed himself forward, he also pulled her hair back, lifting her elbows from the sofa. This was the main reason she lowered herself to such an extent, and, though her reaction was far tamer than Arryns, a sensual gasp escaped her throat the moment his ns pressed against her cervix... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Omae wa mou...shikkaku!,Arryn is quite the carnivore o_o...,Vahn is a luckyd...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1847 Incredulity

Chapter 1847 Incredulity

Shortly after they finished with their shower, Vahn was going to let Arusha and Arryn rest when all three of their Pockets informed them to head to the location where teams would be chosen. Before they left, however, Vahn turned to the two girls and said, "There is a chance my enemies will target you if we end up on separate teams. If that happens, activate the pendants I gave you previously. It will alert me to the situation and allow me to teleport you to my side. You are free to try and fight if you really want to, but, at the very least, I want you to activate the tracking function of your Pocket before trying anything." Without any argument whatsoever, Arusha and Arryn immediately nodded in response to Vahns words. They understood their own weakness after seeing some of the climactic battles between him and the other residents of the Emerald Grove, so, while they wanted to help him, their desire not to be a burden to the person who had saved them was even greater. This was especially true for Arryn, as, despite only knowing Vahn for little more than a week, she felt like her life had been given meaning after their meeting. She hade to learn how truly vast the world was, and, despite the fact he was a God who stood above countless others, he lowered himself to her level and allowed her to love him. Noticing the tell-tale glimmer in Arryns eyes, Vahn couldnt help but issue a light chuckle as he caressed both of their heads and said, "Well have more funter on. For now, lets go and see what our temporary allies are up to. Im curious to discover which Gambler is daring enough to think they can purchase me and order me around..." Though Arusha glowered at the thought of anyone telling her Master what to do, Arryn understood that Vahn was just joking around. She returned a chuckle of her own, and, after enjoying his caress for a while longer, the three of them made their way over to where the other passing Regrs were waiting. They were thest to arrive, but, considering how quickly they had qualified during the first round, nobody was brave enough to criticize them for beingte. Instead, they upied one of the tables that had been prepared by event organizers, casually conversing until it was their turn to step out onto the stage... --- In order to introduce an element of strategy and ensure things were aspetitive as possible, the organizers of the Workshop Battle had the six qualifying Gamblers participate in an auction. Though they would each end up with fifteen people on their team, this allowed them to drive up the prices of certain Regrs in order to pressure their opponents into wasting resources. As for why this was important, it was due to the fact that, with the exception of weapons obtained during the Workshop Battle, others could not be used in the tournament. To prevent members of the Ten Great Families from effectively guaranteeing a win through the use of rare and powerful artifacts, all equipment used during the Workshop Battle was purchased with the Points the Gamblers had acquired during the previous rounds. This included Lighthouses and Observers, so, even if they managed to acquire powerful allies during the auction, there was still a chance they would lose if their equipment wasnt up to standard. Fortunately, even if they squandered all of their resources prior to the start of the Final Round, they werentpletely without options. So long as they were able toplete certain objectives or defeat members of the enemy team, they could acquire a surplus of Points to spend. This allowed them to purchase items from various summoning altars located within the tournament grounds. With the exception of some mass-produced goods, each of the articles avable for summoning was hand-crafted by the Workshop. This meant, so long as they chose their allies well and worked together, each member of a team could walk away with substantial upgrades to their existing gear. The winning team would even be awarded 3,000,000 Points per member, and, for the duration of one month, they would be allowed VIP ess to all publically essible Workshop facilities. This effectively provided them a 30% discount to all items purchased, and, as a result, they garnered a considerable amount of interest from various sponsors seeking to benefit from their boon. Simply put, the Gamblers had to decide between purchasing items or summoning allies during the final round. Since the price of summoned allies was determined by their value during the auction, it was important to spread their Points out over a number of reliable Regrs rather than invest all of their resources into individually powerful participants. Vahn and Varagarv, for example, had starting bids of 1,000,000 Points, respectively. Having them on your team virtually guaranteed victory if you could summon them, but, with each team only starting with 100,000 Points during the Final Round, earning enough to actually summon them was very difficult. Among the six Gamblers, the person with the most Points was a blonde-haired woman with fair features and petite, angelic, wings. She had managed to umte more than 2.4 million Points, an ample sum considering the second-highest Gambler had only earned 1.9 million. Under most circumstances, this would have put her in a rather dominant position, but, due to being the handler of Varagarv, the so-called Strongest E-Rank Regr, the other Gamblers managed to force her to spend more than 1.4 million in order to obtain him. As for Vahn, he was more than a little annoyed when it was his turn toe out, yet, despite several calls from the auctioneer, nobody attempted to bid for him... Though they recognized that Vahn was exceptionally powerful, none of the Gamblers believed they would be able to control him. The angelic woman was actually Varagarvs Handler, so, even though she didnt really have much of a choice in the matter, she could, at the very least, control him. As for Vahn, the only information people had on him came from rumors and the dominant disy he had put on during the first round. To the Gamblers present, he was an extremely vtile purchase, and, though his presence might guarantee their victory, there was a chance he could just refuse to obey theirmands and outright throw the match if he really wanted to. In the end, Vahn was asked to return to the waiting area and wait until the rest of thepetitors had been bid on. This gave him a strong desire to just forfeit his participation then and there, but, understanding the reasons why nobody bid on him, he managed to calm himself down by inviting Mikoto toe out in her Pikachu form. She wasnt his first choice, but, with Fenrir and Ryun in the middle of some kind of special training, she was a good alternative. The fact she had begrudgingly epted his invitation brought a smile to his face, and, though she was incredibly embarrassed by the presence of others, she still allowed him to squish and massage her cheeks until his mood had improved. Once everyone else had been bid on, Vahn was given to the only team that had an empty slot left in their party. As for Arusha and Arryn, they had been purchased for 120,00 and 200,000 Points by two different Gamblers, both nted FUG. He conveyed this to the duo with a hand signal they had decided upon prior to the auction before walking over to his own team, a group also acting in the interests of FUG. What made them special was the fact that this was also the team with Varagarv, effectively guaranteeing that he would not be summoned during the Final Round. As if she hadnt participated in the orchestration of the auction, the leader of the team, the angelic blonde, offered a friendly smile as she remarked, "Its a shame, really. Varagarv was greatly looking forward to battling against you. Who could have imagined that the two strongest E-Rank Regrs would end up on the same team~?" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn ignored the womans remark as he stared directly at the tall and muscr Varagarv. Other than the unique hood covering his dog-like ears, the only garment he wore was a pair of bright red pants. This allowed his rather intimidating figure to be on full disy, but, while others might be cowed by the murderous and untamed aura lingering around him, Vahn waspletely unaffected as he stared into the mans glowing red eyes and said, "It looks like FUG decided not to sacrifice you. I guess the Elder supporting this farce is trying to curry favor with your Master. Lucky you." Frowning in response to Vahns words, Varagarv rose to his full height of 210cm, staring down at Vahn as he asserted, "You are powerful...but I am no coward. If you want to fight, I will fight you..." in a deep and resonant tone. This caused the angelic woman to pale slightly, but, while he was very tempted to put the dog in his ce, Vahn didnt actually care about the title of strongest in E-Rank. It was also impossible for him to take the threats of someone that was thousands of times weaker than him seriously, so, in the end, he just teasingly remarked, "Im not fond of bullying the weak..." while releasing part of his aura. Though he didnt cower in the slightest, Varagarv was unable to prevent his pupils from contracting into small points when he sensed Vahns aura. At the same time, goose pimples appeared along his forearms, and, though his instincts were telling him to retreat, his training as one of Yamas fighting dogpelled him to issue a low growl. This earned him an amused smile from Vahn, not because he found the mans reaction particrly amusing, but because the Law of Identity was narrating the chaotic thoughts of the angelic woman behind him. Deciding there was no value in teasing a bunch of Regrs, Vahn ultimately issued a light chuckle before shifting his attention towards the woman and asking, "Im assuming you dont need me for anything, correct?" Though she had already been warned that Vahn possessed an ability that allowed him to read a persons thoughts, the angelic woman, Ron Mei, hadnt expected him to see through their ploy so quickly. She couldnt shake the feeling that her entire being was exposed before him, and, though she was loyal to both Yama and FUG, she suddenly felt like it was a very bad idea to oppose the man standing before her. It was no wonder FUG had theme up with a n that involved not fighting against him, something that was very rare for the rather violence-prone organization. In response to Vahns question, Ron Mei forced a smile as she instinctually ced herself behind Varagarv and answered, "Even if I wanted to, I couldnt make you work with us. The reason we had toe up with a n like this is because youre someone that refuses to cooperate with others. Now, please just behave until the end of the Workshop Battle...so long as you dont try anything, we have no intention of making any moves against you or your allies..." With his brows furrowing ever-so-slightly, the pressure emanating from Vahn was enough to draw the attention of virtually every Regr present as he stated, "You shouldnt be so eager to speak on behalf of people who would willingly sacrifice you without a thought. If I were half the monster your Elders would have you believe, you would have been dead the moment your plot was uncovered. In the end, despite your loyalty, you are just a convenient tool that is being misled by people who only have their own interests at heart. Seriously, more than ten-thousand-years have passed yet they still need Regrs like you to act on their behalf? Other than asking countless people to make sacrifices for their personal interests, what have the Elders of FUG done to actualize any of your dreams? How many billions more need to die before you people realize you wont get anywhere while the leaders of your so-called resistance are sitting around on their asses!?" Not expecting Vahn to suddenly shout, Ron Mei turned whiter than a sheet as Varagarv shielded her with his muscr forearm. As for the other Regrs present, they felt an oppressive chill prate their bodies despite the fact that Vahn had prevented his aura from applying any direct pressure to them. They suddenly felt as though they had been locked in a pen with an exceptionally dangerous creature, one that could decide their life or death at its whim. This caused all discussion in the room to cease, and, until he had departed alongside Arusha and Arryn, not a single person dared to utter so much as a whisper... (A/N: Alternate Titles: An Emperor arrives when he pleases...,RIP Vahn xD...,It seems like FUG is in the process of digging itself a rather sizeable hole (OwO)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1848 Warning

Chapter 1848 Warning

Though the teams participating in the Final Round had been designated high-ss pavilions to amodate all sixteen of their members, there was no rule requiring everyone to share the same residence. As a result, Arusha and Arryn effectively ghosted their teams throughout the entirety of the preparatory period. After all, they didnt really care about the items provided by the Workshop, so, knowing their Team Leaders were agents of FUG, they had no reason to stick around. Since there were a few things he needed to take care of, Vahn allowed the two girls to reside within the Little Garden as he, apanied by Fenrir and guided by Ryun, traveled to one of the so-called unexplored regions of the 30th Floor. These were territories where the Jahad Empire had limited to no influence, something Vahn couldnt really make sense of considering they had been around for more than ten-thousand-years. Vahn didnt know if it was because they were simply ipetent or just didnt care, but, in the end, it didnt really matter. All he knew was that FUG was going out of their way to antagonize him and he wasnt just going to sit around passively as they continued to grow bolder. He also disdained the fact that they had effectively spent thest ten-thousand-years just sitting around, conserving their strength while people exponentially weaker than them sacrificed their lives towards for a cause that had made absolutely no progress in several hundred generations. Borrowing a phrase from Loki, the fact that they were so backassward to the point that they were directly interfering with people who shared simr objectives waspletely ridiculous. They were supposed to be the preeminent organization that stood in opposition to Jahad and the Ten Great Families, yet, rather than unify the people behind their banner, they relied on ckmail, threats, and other forms of coercion to bend others to their will. Though he had a somewhat reactive nature, Vahn had never been the type to just sit around and let his enemies conspire against him. He could be very merciful and empathetic, but, the moment they touched his bottom line, specifically targeting those around him and trying to coerce him, they had already dug their own graves. He had never shown such people tolerance, even when he was just a fourteen-year-old boy running around the streets of Orario. Now, he was literally both a God and an Emperor. He might not really care about things like politics and etiquette, but he wasnt the type of person that others could just ckmail, coerce, or manipte for their own benefit... --- Under the direction of Ryun, Vahn found himself high in the sky over what could best be described as an evil fortress. It wasprised almost entirely of a murky ck stone, and, though it was built into the side of a mountain, several spike-like towers stood out as its main features. There was even a massive demonic visage decorating the front gate, almost as if they were trying to advertise hey, look at us, were the bad guys. Rather than wonder what the hell was wrong with FUG for them to believe themselves to be on the side of justice despite literally decorating their fortresses like evilirs, Vahn spread his arms wide as several vibrant spheres of light manifested around him. Instead of Baangs, however, each of the rtively tiny spheres of light were purified [Elemental Star]s. He had spent a fair amount of time trying to make a breakthrough in his [Eyes of Truth] so he had tens of thousands of them sitting in his Inventory. They werent nearly as easy to control as Baangs of Shinsu, but, by nature, they were exponentially more powerful. As could be expected, the guards manning the fortress quickly noticed the vibrant light show in the skies above their base. Before they could mount a real defense, however, Vahn created eleration Gates beneath each of the [Elemental Star]s as he coldly muttered, "Elemental Cataclysm." in a deep and resonant tone saturated with the Law of Authority. This caused the structure of the eleration Gates to change subtly, each radiating a vibrant golden light that seemed to illuminate the Heavens as [Elemental Star]s rained down upon the fortress below. Though several Rankers had been present in the fortress, only three people managed to escape the expansion of the [Elemental Star]s as they coalesced into a dense ck sphere that spread to cover nearly three-kilometers before copsing into a single point and disappearing. In its wake, not even a speck of dust remained of the stronghold and the mountain it had been built into, mortifying the three Advanced Rankers. Taking advantage of the trios stupor, lightning momentarily danced across Vahns exposed torso as he appeared next to the strongest of the three in an instant. This was a technique derived from the knowledge and experience he had umted from Yoruichi, and, though it wasntparable to her Innate-derived technique, it was significantly faster than the majority of movement techniques existing within the Tower. Demonstrating why he was an Advanced Ranker, the man managed to pull out a strange purple cudgel at nearly the exact same time as Vahns appearance. Unfortunately, even a window as small as a microsecond was more than enough time for thetter to execute any number of moves. As a result, the man found both his arm and cudgel spinning through the sky as Vahn brandished Laev-tan and pointed her towards his throat. Seeing theirpanion held at sword point, the other two Advanced Rankers showed expressions simr to someone who had swallowed a bug. Before either of them could use him of taking a hostage, however, Vahns aura caused the surrounding space to tremble as he dered, "This is thest warning I will afford you. The next time FUG seeks to intervene in my personal affairs, they will learn the terror associated with my title as Sage Dragon Emperor. I have no tolerance for a corrupt organization filled with crooks and nihilistic cowards. I dont care if your Elders want to sit around on their asses for another ten-thousand-years. Inform them that, if they pull another stunt like this, they will suffer the same fate as Jahad." Hearing Vahn casually insult their Elders, the trio of Advanced Rankers adopted looks reminiscent of warriors who had prepared themselves for death. Unfortunately, they had severely underestimated who they were standing in front of. Vahn had already seen through thoughts before they had even fully formed, his eyes zing like golden suns as he shouted, "Go!" in a voice that created a visible ripple that fractured the surrounding space. This was a techniquebining both his Draconic Aura and Conquerors Haki, thetter of which was obtained thanks to the knowledge and experiences of both Roger and Whitebeard. Feeling as if Vahns words had impacted their minds directly, all three of the Advanced Rankers fell from the sky like flies that had approached a bug zapper. They werent dead but they would spend the next few hours in a state simr to Mind Down, unable to move or muster any power. His voice would also haunt their dreams until they eventually gave up trying to oppose him or mustered a far greater resolve than any of them currently possessed. Unable to restrain his disdain, Vahn snorted through his nose before turning away from the trio that had fallen into the massive hemispherical void. He had used the Law of Identity to investigate all of the people upying the fortress so he had very little empathy for any of them. Yes, they each had a reason to hate Jahad and the Ten Great Families, but, rather than taking action to directly oppose the people they purportedly hated, most of them had spent hundreds of years performing actions that made even their most hated enemies look tame. They had raped, murdered, and ckmailed countless people in the pursuit of their objective, often relishing in the vile acts while excusing their actions as part of the greater good. Though there were few things he agreed with Merlin on, Vahn hade to disdain the concept of the greater good quite a bit. He hated how so-called righteous people could justify even the most inhumane acts imaginable so long as it met their definition of the greater good. Over the years, Vahn had even read about Records where humanity had been pushed to the brink of extinction, and, despite being on theirst legs, it was almost always revealed that the leaders of the remaining humans were either the cause or direct contributors to the problem at hand. They built their entire society around the concept of service and sacrifice,pelling countless people to die for them all while they sit back and consolidate all the most important resources for themselves. There were even Records where the poption of mankind had been pushed to just a few million people, yet, in spite of this, there was still a ss gap thatprised of Royalty, Nobles, and Serfs... Realizing he was slipping into a negative mental state, Vahn just shook in mild exasperation before stepping through the unstable void and appearing thousands of kilometers away in an instant. Hisprehension of Space and Time had increased extensively during his research into the Laws, so, even without a Divinity, his power and control had been steadily increasing. The experiences of his Temtes also drastically increased his understanding as Arceus, Palkia, Dialga, and even Mavis all possessed Innates rted to Creation, Space, and Time. Though he didnt really ck off during the moments when he actually trained, Vahns progress in the Transcendental Path to Heaven made his growth in previous Records seem like a joke. This wasrgely due to the existence of his Temtes, but, more than anything else, it was his knowledge of the pinnacle that aided him most. This was entirely thanks to the Law of Identity, but, by knowing how powerful the beings at the absolute pinnacle were, Vahn now had a far better understanding of the heights he was aspiring to. His final battlefield was a ce where concepts such as speed and power werepletely negligible. Instead, battles were fought using Authorities, Intent, and, most important of all, Willpower. Understanding he still had a very long way to go, Vahn decided to cool his head by taking a seat atop one of the Ember Isles inactive volcanoes. From there, he could see most of the other inds in the distance, and, due to its size, the Archimedes stood out like a horizontal teardrop in the sky above the Workshops geothermal facility. It was the size of a city from up close, but, at a distance of several dozen kilometers, it appeared as little more than a speck in the distance. With his knowledge of the Divine Realm, Vahn was aware that entire Universes existed as little more than sub-atomic particles to the beings that inhabited the highest ne of existence. From a purely objective perspective, this made something like the Tower, a mere pathway between Realms, seempletely inconsequential. Unfortunately, unless he intended to abandon what made him human, he would forever remain a subjective entity that was bound by his inordinate empathy. This wasnt necessarily a bad thing, especially with what he knew of higher nes of existence, but, at times like this, it could be very inconvenient to care about others. Exhaling a tired sigh, Vahn habitually adopted a lotus position in order to clear his mind of wayward thoughts. He had already made his decision, so, even if FUG reacted violently to his affront, that was simply their fate. Even if all the factions in the Tower turned against him, he would continue pushing forward until they had either submitted or stepped aside. He had never expected the path towards the pinnacle to be bereft of bloodshed, so, while he couldnt help but feel guilty about the lives he had just taken, his time was better spent improving the state of the world rather than wallowing in negative sentiments... (A/N: Alternate Titles: If you continually pester a Dragon, you only have yourself to me when they turn around to bite...,Vahn is bing even more of a monster o_o...,Some things never change...not that this is a bad thing (OwO)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1849 Dawn

Chapter 1849 Dawn

With the day of the Final Round arriving in the blink of an eye, Vahn was made to gather with his team onboard the Archimedes as thetter performed a Warp Jump to the hidden Tournament Ind. This brought them to arge volcanic ind that, from above, greatly resembled an almond-shaped eye. From there, they were assigned to one of six waiting rooms, each outfitted with various foodstuffs and supplies intended to aid them during the Final Round of the Workshop Battle. Since he had no interest in ying FUGs little game, Vahn prepared a second vessel at a distant location while assigning Latias and Latios to keep watch over Arusha and Arryn. Thetter likely didnt need such protection, but, while she was certainly very powerful, shecked the experience to wield her powerful properly. She had recently started apprenticing under Android 21 and Yoruichi, but she still had a very long way to go before she could be considered apetent fighter. Depending on how the situation developed, Vahn could teleport the girls to safety in an instant while his primary vessel infiltrated the ind to discover the location of the Thorn. He could wait untilter to steal it, but, after the recent altercation with FUG, he suspected they might try and move it in the very near future. Before that could happen, he nned to steal it, and, much like the original fragment of the Thorn, he intended to give it to Rimuru. Though their abilities were fundamentally different, Rimurus Innate was very simr to Baams. This allowed them to integrate the fragment of Enryus Thorn into their body, and, though they couldnt ess its full power just yet, they had already managed to ignite it. Better yet, Rimurus body didnt have to destroy the fragment in order to ess its power, so, once they seeded in analyzing its structurepletely, they could regurgitate it for further study. After recent happenings, Vahn was nning to, quite literally, break open the Tower and expose its residents to the infinitely vast world beyond. To that end, he nned to shatter the mon sense of the so-called rulers and powerhouses within the Tower. They would be forced to see reality with their own eyes, and, if they were unwilling to ept it, they would fade into the annals of history in much the same way as their precursors. After that, the only tales to speak of them would be fables rted to the folly of tyrants consumed by depravity and hubris... --- Since the majority of Regrs participating in the Workshop Battle had no affiliation to FUG, Vahn spent much of the Final Round watching over Ron Meis shoulder with his arms crossed. As a result, she was unable to summon Varagarv as a participant due to her fear of what might happen without him protecting her. This was a pointless concern, but, even if they knew it was useless, most people would still choose to wear body armor if they entered into a pen with a dangerous creature. With Arusha and Arryn refusing to cooperate,bined with the fact Varagarv was never able to participate, the winners of the Workshop Battle were a team wholly unrted to FUG. This wouldnt prevent them from approaching the victors in order to try and reap profits from their VIP status, but that wasnt really something Vahn had any control over. If they were smart, the victors would spend the next month forging connections with various Sponsors. This would make it a lot harder for FUG to approach them, as, due to their deeply ingrained observation of the status quo, the Elders of the organization generally prohibited their members from approaching anyone rted to the Ten Great Families unless it was part of an assignment. The only members of FUG who were authorized to target the Ten Great Families were the various yers that had been selected throughout the millennia. They were effectively the Gods of FUG, and, unless an order came down from the Council of Elders, they were allowed to act with impunity in the pursuit of their objective: eliminating Jahad and the Ten Family Heads. To this end, the yers gathered people who resented their respective targets, and, more often than not, they acted as the public face of FUG. Since the Thorn was rumored to be the only weapon capable of killing Jahad, the yer that had been interfering with Vahns ns was the same individual who had been designated the task of killing Jahad. He had spent thest sixty years researching methods to make the Thorn useable by someone other than an Irregr, so, as could be expected, he had taken exception to the fact that it had fallen into the hands of another. Vahn didnt particrly care about this, however, and, if the man was foolish enough to appear before him, FUG would have one less yer in their midst... To this end, Vahn waited until the grand ceremony announcing the Workshop Battlespletion hade to an end before teleporting to the hidden ind. It was isted within aplex barrier that functioned simrly to a sub-dimensional texture, but, thanks to Latios burying a rainbow-hued gemstone, Vahn was able to teleport without issue. Up until the moment of his arrival, everything had been going exactly as Vahn nned. There were very few ces he couldnt venture once determining their location, and, even if his foes possessed some form of irvoyance, it would be impossible to determine when and where he would appear through precognition. This was something he had absolute confidence in, as, much like the Law of Identity, he actually possessed a Nonexistent Physiology. Because of this, Vahn couldnt help but raise his brows slightly when he emerged on the other side of his spatial transfer and found a bespectacled man with chestnut brown hair and matching eyes staring back at him. He seemed to be analyzing the crystal that Latios had left behind, and, though he was remiss to make such aparison, the intelligent glimmer in his eyes immediately inspired thoughts of Da Vinci. Recognizing who the man was, a satiric smile spread across Vahns face as he remarked, "It would seem the rumors of your curiosity werent exaggerated...I was actually expecting to cross paths with you on the higher floors. Tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit, Mr. Gustang...?" As if he had only just noticed Vahns existence, the man, Po Bidau Gustang, Leader of the Po Bidau Family, shifted his attention from the gemstone in his hand to inly remark, "You are an anomaly. Tell me, is this crystal formed from your body? There are few things in this world that I cannot see through, yet, here, at this moment, both you and this stone appear as a void within my perception. You cannot be an Irregr, so what are you...?" Smiling in response to the mans words, Vahns expression gradually rxed into a casual smile as he asked, "If were going by definitions, what would I be if not an Irregr? Im not something that can be defined ording to your current standards, so how can I be expected to answer a question you are ill-equipped to understand? Rather than waste both of our time, why dont you just tell me the reasons for your appearance?" Knowing that Gustang had appeared in order to ascertain whether or not he was able to read his mind, Vahn activated the calming effects of his [Will of the Emperor] to the extreme while feigning ignorance. Unfortunately, as was revealed by the Law of Identity, he was immediately seen through by the man whose intellect, simr to Da Vincis, was referred to as Omniscient. He could process information faster than a supeputer, and, whenever he got serious, even beams of light would appear to move at a snails pace from his perspective. To make matters even worse, Gustang had also discerned the fact that Vahn had realized that he was seen through. This caused the briefest hint of a smile to spread across the mans face as he remarked, "Fascinating...throughout all my years, the only person who has ever been able to truly understand me was Macseth. Now, from seemingly out of nowhere, someone able to both grasp and understand my thoughts has appeared. I wonder, how many years has it been since I felt such abination of relief and vexation...?" With the Law of Identity revealing both the answer and the fact that Gustang was currently splitting his thoughts into multiple processes, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head in mild exasperation as he said, "I didnte here to y games with you, Gustang. Since youre not trying to prevent me from recovering the Thorn, I would rather we continue this conversation at ater date. Im not in a position to fight against you and the other Family Heads just yet so there is no meaning in us trying to converse. Rather than waste time here, you should be making preparations to eliminate the more cancerous elements from your Family. If you continue along your current path, you will never learn the answers to your questions..." Since he could discern even the most minute changes in Vahns facial expression, tone, and aura, Gustang couldnt help but raise his brows slightly when he realized the former wasnt making idle threats. There was an absolute sense of surety within his words, and, though there was currently an insurmountable gulf between them, he suddenly got the impression that Vahn was exceptionally dangerous. Still, he had never been the type to resist his curiosities, so, even if it might cost him his life, he pressed forward without minding Vahns warning. Shaking his head in exasperation, Vahn watched with a partial deadpan as blood began to pool from the mans eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. Immediately thereafter, he copsed to the ground, and, though the blood evaporated in a manner reminiscent of his Magia Erebea, restoring him to perfect health, he made no attempts to rise. This was in spite of the fact that his brain was dutifully processing everything that was currently happening, sorting, analyzing, andpiling it into data forter ess. Unfortunately, though it was in the process of slowly repairing itself, the mans Ego had been fragmented to the point that even the Law of Identity entered a daze. Voicing his thoughts, Sis, in a moderately huffy tone, remarked, (*He deserved it. Trying to forcibly analyze the structure of your Ego is suicide even for the most powerful entities within the Records. He thought he would be protected just because this was one of his puppets? This is the reward for his hubris...!*) Since it was pretty rare for Sis to express her anger, Vahn couldnt help but chuckle as he bent down to pick up the gemstone still grasped in Gustangs hand. This ended up being a mistake, as, despite his Ego being fractured, Gustang had apparently programmed his body to autonomously respond to any perceived threat. Thus, in a manner eerily reminiscent of Laces Key, his body reacted at a rate Vahn could hardly even perceive, vaporizing thetter in an instant. Then, likely as a method to protect the secrets of his puppet body, an Observer the size of a grain of rice disappeared into the void as an explosion more than 300km across, resembling a vibrant purple sun, caused the entirety of the 30th Floor to tremble... Though his second vessel was thousands of kilometers away, Vahn couldnt help but stare up at the sky in awe as the flow of Shinsu in the atmosphere shifted to resemble a multi-colored neb that covered the Heavens. For a brief moment, day became night, and, though the explosion was more than thirty-five-hundred-kilometers away, he felt a sensation simr to vertigo as everything around him, the sea included, began to rise. It was like gravity had been turned off, and, though he wasnt truly afraid, he realized, at that exact moment, that the Leaders of the Ten Great Families were a lot more powerful than he anticipated... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ...,...,...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1850 Lying Low

Chapter 1850 Lying Low

Realizing it might not be the smartest idea to stick around on a Floor that had just experienced a cataclysm, Vahn promptly abandoned the idea of securing the second Thorn fragment. He currentlycked the power to defeat a Floor Ruler, and, even if he was tempted to try, both the Jahad Empire and FUG were guaranteed to send powerhouses to investigate the area via a Warp Gate. FUG could not risk the Thorn falling into the hands of the Jahad Empire, so, at the very least, they would send a yer in to recover it before Jahads Army could deploy. Fortunately, by pure happenstance, the Jahad Army had recently been experiencing some turmoil due to their Commander-in-Chief, Adori Jahad, killing several high-ranking officials. There had been no official reason given, but, thanks to Yuri, Vahn knew it was entirely the result of Ureko paying the proud Princess a personal visit. This resulted in a rather destructive battle, one which ended in Adori being spanked in front of several High-Ranking Officers before Ureko fled with a rather ornate pair of panties in hand. Due to the chaos caused by Urekos recent actions, the response time of the Jahad Army had been greatly affected. The loss of several Commanders stalled deployments considerably, and, though she hadnt received any official orders, Adori had been pushing her forces into the 76th and 78th Floors in an obvious attempt to pressure and seek vengeance against Ureko. The only reason a war hadnt broken out between the two forces was that Adori didnt have an official reason to send her forces into the 77th Floor. There was also the simple fact that, even if she did give the order to advance, it was far more likely that the forces of Wolhaiksong would emerge victoriously, shattering the long-standing belief that the Jahad Army was invincible. Even if Jahad personally showed up to deal with Ureko, there was a very real chance that he might not be able to defeat her. This actually went both ways, but, as the uncontested King of the Tower, he couldnt risk exposing the fact that there were people beyond his ability to defeat. It was for this reason that Wolhaiksong had been allowed to grow into an organization that was openlypared to both the Empire and the Workshop without consequences. Had Ureko been even a little weaker, the organization would have been crushed or subsumed long before its rise to prominence. In the end, FUG had a much easier time recovering the fragment of the Thorn than they otherwise would have. Urekos recent actions were a contributing factor behind this, but the primary reasons for their sess was the support of the Po Bidau Family and the excuse supplied by the Workshop. Po Bidau Gustang was actually one of FUGs secret Elders, and, as could be expected from someone purported to possess an omniscient intellect, he had developed numerous contingencies against having his memory altered or erased. He had never trusted Jahad, so, at several times throughout the day, he would create backups of all his memories to be analyzed for any irregrities. Because of this, he was able to recover from having his Ego shattered in aparably short period of time, and, though he was technically just a copy of the original, the fact they shared the same thoughts, memories, and even personality made it impossible to tell the difference. Rather, since he still had the same soul, it wasnt incorrect to say he was the exact same, just with a fundamentally different, albeit nearly identical, Ego. (A/N: The easiest way toprehend this is to imagine that the current Gustang is basically a reincarnation of himself with a copy of his former selfs memories.) With the Ruler of the 30th Floor belonging to the Po Bidau Family, Gustang was able to stonewall the Jahad Army thanks to his partnership with the Workshop. Since the militarycked the authority to investigate matters rted to the Workshop without direct orders from Jahad, they had very little choice but to leave the matter in Gustangs hands while providing aid to the millions who had been affected by the gravitational anomaly. This provided the Workshop ample opportunity toe up with an excuse to exin what had happened, ultimately culminating in the admission that one of their experimental Warp Drives had malfunctioned. Though it wasnt particrly well-known to the vast majority of Tower residents, it was rtivelymon knowledge among the higher-ups of the Jahad Army that the Warp Drives of gships had a strong influence on the fabric of space-time. They allowed the city-sized ships to move at speeds significantly faster than light, effectively teleporting anywhere within, or between, Floors of the Tower. This was a technology developed exclusively by the Workshop, so, while it was difficult to believe such an ident could ur, it wasnt inconceivable. Since the ident had urred in a region outside the jurisdiction of the Empire, the Jahad Army ultimately withdrew after failing to uncover anything substantial rted to the incident. Even their nts within the Workshop and the surrounding regions turned up nothing rted to the massive explosion. The only noteworthy information they were able to obtain pertained to the destruction of one of FUGs secret bases, but, even after questioning the Guardian directly, they were ultimately unable to learn anything about who had attacked and their motives for doing so... --- Though his reasons for doing so had changed slightly, Vahn drastically reduced his pace during the six-month period between the conclusion of the Workshop Battle and the start of the Hell Train. As a result, it took him nearly four months to pass from the 31st to the 35th Floor, the location of Train City, the First Station of the Hell Express. His primary reason for this was they low for a while, not because he was particrly concerned about the forces conspiring against him, but because Hinata and Kushina were expected to give birth within this period of time. Vahn had always tried to put his family and loved ones above all else, so, in the months leading up to the birth of his newest son and daughter, he did his best to spend an increasing amount of time in the Emerald Grove. The reason for this was that the pregnancies of both Kushina and Hinata had been elerated due to the influence of the Law of Progress. As a result, it was difficult to ascertain when, exactly, the two would be born. His children had always developed uniquely inparison to other fetuses so there were always a number of variables he couldnt really ount for during each pregnancy. Fortunately, despite the uncertainties involved, Kushina ended up giving birth to a very healthy boy who, rather than resemble an infant version of Naruto, looked more like his counterpart known as Menma. He still had the same basic appearance,pletely with whisker-like marks on each of his cheeks, but, rather than yellow-blonde hair, he had a small mat of nearly-ck hair atop his head. His eyes were also closer to aquamarine than Kushinas sapphire blues, so, for the first time, Vahn actually had a son that closely resembled him... Understanding that Kushina had likely wanted Naruto to resemble him more than someone like Minato, Vahn was very-nearly brought to tears when he first noticed the simrities between him and his son. He had never really thought about it prior to that moment but it seemed like a part of him had always wanted a child that closely resembled him. Most of his other children had inherited the traits of their mothers, and, while he loved each of them dearly, he couldnt deny that he felt a special bond with Naruto the moment he firstid eyes upon him. This earned him a gentle chiding from Mavis, who was acting as his assistant, but Kushina justughed it off before encouraging him to take as much time as he needed. In the days following Narutos birth, Vahn spent most of his time attempting to shadow Kushina in order to help out in any way he could. This generally resulted in her shooing him away and telling him to look after Hinata, but, with thetter continually telling him to do the opposite, Vahn found himself teleporting around constantly. Fortunately, this didntst for too long as Hinata ended up going intobor only five days after Kushina. Though it was a different feeling than the one he got from Naruto, Vahns heart immediately turned to putty following the delivery of his youngest daughter, Hana. She seemed to have been born with a remarkable intellect, as, unlike Naruto, she didnt release an ear-piercing cry upon having her butt lightly smacked. Instead, she issued a few adorable baby noises before ring at him with her off-white,vender, eyes. This caused a grin to spread across Vahns face, and, though his instincts told him that Hana was going to be a little troublemaker, such things were the spice of life for a parent. With Hinata being pretty liberal in her allowing him to look after Hana, Vahn soon found himself in a position where he was regrly babysitting both of his children. They quickly became the newest members of his cuddle crew, and, more often than not, he could be found using Latias as a pillow while Naruto and Hana slept against his chest. If there was anything Vahn couldin about following the births of Naruto and Hana, it was that the two grew like beansprouts. This was true of most of his children, but, due to the effects of the Little Garden, Hana was both speaking and waddling around at less than two months old. As for Naruto, he was quite a bit slower in the speech category, but, due to his Uzumaki heritage, his body was developing even faster than Hanas. He also learned how to transform into a fox kit pretty early on, and, as a result, quickly developed a propensity for sneaking off to y in the forest. (A/N: Most toddlers can walk between 10~14 months. The Law of Progress effectively speeds up development by a factor of five.) Since there werent any particr dangers in the forests surrounding the Emerald Grove, Vahn and Kushina agreed to allow the boy to develop his curiosity under the watchful eyes of Xerneas. Latias had also taken a considerable interest in both of his children, so, whenever Naruto snuck off to y, she was usually right behind him. As for Hana, she developed the unusual habit of following people around and secretly spying on them. This behavior was reminiscent of the way the original Hinata behaved in her Record of origin, greatly embarrassing the young mother who thought her daughter was turning into a stalker. Fortunately, virtually everyone within the Emerald Grove could easily detect Hana, so, whenever she tried to spy on them, they would quickly expose her location. This caused Hana no small amount of frustration, and, as a result, she actually ended up awakening her Byakugan. She wasnt able to use it for very long, but, every now and again, the residents of the Emerald Grove would abruptly feel as if someone was spying on them from somewhere out of view. Though they didnt want to inhibit the development of Hanas curiosity, it became apparent pretty early on that they needed to educate her properly. It wasnt that big of an issue while she was still young, but it was bound to be a problem if she developed voyeuristic tendencies during her adolescence. She needed to learn how to socialize with people directly rather than spying on them from a distance; so, despite being around two-months-old, Hana began learning how to read and write from Mira while apprenticing under Mavis in order to learnmunication skills... (A/N: Alternate Titles: What is this, The 6th Day?,Kushina done good (OwO)...,| |_?)) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1851 Break

Chapter 1851 Break

As the interior of the Hell Express was supposed to be apressed spatial dimension, even those with the ability to teleport through space would find it remarkably difficult to enter without one of the 100 Express Tickets issued each year. The Laws of the Tower prevented these tickets from being sold, so, unless you participated in one of the many tournaments offering Express Tickets as a prize, the only way to obtain one was to steal it from another Regr. Though there was no actual difference in the amodations afforded to lower-numbered Tickets, it had be a tradition of sorts for people topete for Express Tickets numbered 1-10. It was amon belief amongst Regrs that only the most powerful among D-Rank were able to secure these particr Tickets, so, more often than not, those seeking a free ride on the Hell Express would gather around the rooms assigned to the Top 10 D-Rank Regrs. For this reason, those who had boarded the Hell Express in previous years had be known as Ticket Hunters, powerful Regrs who would gather numerous tickets in order to reduce the amount ofpetition they would face during the Special Tests present on the unique form of transportation. Each year, countless Regrs wouldpete for the opportunity to board the Hell Express, as, like the named suggested, it was the express way to move up the Tower. It was a lotive that had the ability to transfer between Floors, so, by boarding it on the 35th, you could effectively ride up to the 44th in a remarkably short period of time. There were also valuable prizes and numerous secret chambers found aboard the express, and, ording to legend, it was the method that had allowed Jahad and the Ten Great Warriors to gain the strength that allowed them to conquer the Tower. For this reason, those who had sessfullypleted the trials of the Hell Express came to know it as the Revolution Road, the turning point on their journey to be one of the truly powerful. Vahn was pretty confident in his ability to simply sneak onboard the Hell Express, but, not wanting to draw too much attention, he currently found himself blocking the elevator connecting the train tform to the residential area above. Any Ticket Holder that wanted to enter Train City would have to pass through him, effectively allowing him to decide who was allowed to board the Hell Express. This had allowed him to gather a total of eleven tickets, five of which had been given to a group of Regrs who had managed to stick together since the Floor of Tests. Unfortunately for the other Regrs attempting to enter Train City, the only method of reaching the Second Floor Residential District was to pass through him. If the Law of Identity determined them to be of a despicable character, he would rob them of their tickets before sending them back the way they came. As for the opportunistic Regrs who were intending to crowd around the quarters that were provided to Ticket Holders, they were also turned so that the Administration wouldnt have an excuse to host an eliminationpetition that forced Regrs to put their tickets on the line. Though some viewed his actions as despicable, the builders of Train City had designed the facility with this strategy in mind. It was for this reason that there was only a single elevator connecting to the entire facility, and, had he not done so, another group of Ticket Hunters would have posted a team to block the entrance. After all, the resources and prizes aboard the Hell Express were limited so they were strongly incentivized to eliminate as much of thepetition as possible prior to the departure... --- With a perpetual smile on his face, Vahn continued to calmly emanate a predatory aura throughout the tform filled with Regrs. Several hundred had gathered at this point, and, though he made short work of every team who had stepped forward, it didnt scare off the more opportunistic of the bunch. They believed it was only a matter of time until he either took a break or someone defeated him. This would provide them the perfect opportunity to secure their own passage on the Hell Train as it was already well-known amongst the camping Regrs that he had quite a number of Tickets on him. Unfortunately for them, even with four days remaining until the departure, Vahn had no intention of abandoning his post. Though there would be Regrs attempting to board from higher floors, the vast majority did so from the 35th Floor. As for why he decided to guard the Elevator, it was due to the fact that he disdained the way in which people who had already boarded the Hell Express came back to the 35th Floor in order to bully weaker Regrs. There were even groups that had boarded the train hundreds of times, denying the opportunity to others in the pursuit of their own, personal, objectives. Though he understood the motivations of those responsible, the methods they had used werent so easily justifiable. They might have a valid reason for what they were doing, but they had mercilessly crushed the dreams of countless others in an ultimately fruitless pursuit. Some even had the blood of thousands on their hands, as, due to the boons they had received on the Hell Express, they were much stronger than the average Regr. In other words, they had be Tyrants in their personal pursuit, and, though they should have understood better than most how wrong their actions were, it didnt prevent them from killing those who stood in their way. Of course, there were other reasons he had chosen to block the Elevator, primarily to interfere with the actions of FUG, but those werergely secondary at this point. Now, he just wanted to ensure as many good people as possible were provided the opportunity to board the Hell Express. The Tower was constantly beating down those with kind hearts so it was high time they were provided with an opportunity to seed. With this in mind, the edges of Vahns smile curled up as a group of five people, led by a veryrge hermaphrodite, departed the recently arrived train. Their presence caused quite a bit of excitement among the other Regrs present, as, with the exception of two of their members, the other three were exceptionally famous. This was especially true for their leader, Aka Williams, one of the Top-3 Predators who had dominated the Hell Express for thest 600 years. Surprised by therge crowd of Regrs hanging out on the tform, Aka couldnt help but raise their brows, eyes wandering over the masses before settling on Vahn. This caused their expression to immediately turn into a deep frown, a disdainful look shing across their eyes as they stepped forward and said, "You must possess some strength if youre able to block the Elevator by yourself. Join my team and I will guarantee you a ce on the Hell Train." Though he was already aware of Akas aggressive and greedy nature, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head, smile fading away as he answered, "You have lost your way over these six-hundred-years. I understand your reasons for boarding the Hell Train, but your tyrannical methods will no longer be tolerated. The Hell Train is meant to help those with grand ambitions ascend the Tower at a quicker pace. It was never intended to be a ce where those who have lost their way crush the dreams of others just so they can make themselves feel better. You have no right to board the Hell Train." Replying before Aka could, a man with ashen blue skin, grey-blue eyes, and dark-grey hair showed an expression of contempt as he asked, "Who the hell do you think you are? Sir Aka has more of a right to board the Hell Train than any of the trash gathered here. It isnt called the Pony Express. It is the Hell Train. If they arent strong enough to secure their own ce, they shouldnt be boarding in the first ce." With what could best be described as an incredulous deadpan, Vahn briefly directed his attention towards the man and asked, "Are you an idiot? If your predecessors behaved like you, there would be no new Rankers since the Age of Genesis. The Hell Train is meant to allow people to advance to a higher floor. It was never intended to allow selfish assholes to continually backtrack for more than six-hundred-years, denying the opportunity to others. It is time-" Pausing his words, Vahn extended his hand in a casual manner, catching the fist thrown by Aka. This caused the giants eyes to widen slightly, but, before they could regret their actions, a golden ripple knocked the entire group back several tens of meters. This silenced the Regrs who had started to jeer the moment Aka took action, their mouths open in expressions of shock as the giant fell to one knee and coughed a spatter of blood. Since the other side had already taken action, Vahn no long had a reason to try and talk things out with them. His aura began to surge outward like a tide, and, though the lighting above the tform was more than adequate, everyone present felt as though the world around them was turning dark. Shortly after that, people began to drop like flies as Vahn walked forward, eyes zing like golden suns as he said, "Hand over your tickets. If you simply wanted to board the Hell Train, you could do so on a higher floor. Instead, you double-back to the lowest possible floor just to crush the dreams of others and manipte the odds in your favor. Pain and loss do not give you the right to inflict the same onto others. If you are unwilling to hand over your Express Tickets, prepare to do so with your lives...this cycle ends now..." Raising his head to stare at Vahn, a soldiers conviction could be seen in Akas golden eyes as they answered, "I dont have a choice...I must board the Hell Train...it is the only thing that gives my life meaning..." Rather than respond to Akas words, Vahn shifted his attention to the other four members of their team, asking, "Is riding the Hell Train every year the reason you started climbing the Tower? Are you prepared to die for another persons pursuit of absolution?" Though two of Akas team members seemed to seriously consider retreating, resolution filled their gazes when the former suddenly began to produce fiery Shinsu from their body. This was a special ability known as Combustion, and, despite being one of the three strongest D-Rank Regrs, the traits that made Aka truly unique was their heritage as a Native One and their Special Position as a Defender. Restraining a sigh, Vahn extended his hand to grab the metal staff used by the blue-skinned man, tearing it from his grasp and tossing it to the side. Thetter had attempted to use Reverse-Flow Control to restrict his movements, but, due to the insurmountable gulf in both their control and reserves, Vahn waspletely immune. Rather, if he really wanted to, he could hold everyone present in ce for the next four days, forcing them to remain statuesque even whilst sleeping. Taking advantage of the mans momentary stupor, Vahn used Telekinesis to grab him out of the air before promptly smashing him into one of the tforms pirs. Then, in response to Akas charge, he raised his right hand, freezing the colossal figure mid-step before smashing them into the floor and ceiling over and over until their body became limp. He didnt actually intend to kill them, but, in the hopes of teaching them a lesson, it was necessary to injure them to a point that prevented them from boarding the Hell Train even on higher floors. With the two strongest members of their team defeated in an instant, the other three members of Akas group immediately tossed down their weapons, hands raised in a gesture of submission. This spared two of them a beating, but, as one of their members had attempted to lie about the number of Tickets in their possession, Vahn had little choice but to pel the truth from him. In the end, he forced them to hand over all nine of their tickets, two of which possessed coveted single-digit numbers. This brought his total to fourteen, and, if he counted the five he had previously given out, he had effectively secured one-fifth of the total number of Express Tickets with approximately four days remaining... (A/N: Alternate Titles: You, shall, not, pass...!,I bet the team he let through was filled with beautiful women...,Bitter medicine or Just Desserts...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1852 A Moment to Reflec

Chapter 1852 A Moment to Reflec

Seeing one of the most famous Ticket Hunters eliminated without even being able to put up a fight, most of the knowledgeable Regrs immediately set out for the 36th Floor. Their teams were a lot weaker than Akas, so, if they were to have any hope of boarding the Hell Express, they would need to do so from a higher floor. The only teams that chose to stick around were those who had no clue how famous Aka was and those who had yet to earn the qualifications to advance to a higher floor. They believed it was only a matter of time until Vahn was either eliminated or, out of necessity, had to move away from the Elevator. After all, he would eventually need to move to the hidden tform where the Hell Express was located. They could use that as an opportunity to advance themselves, and, depending on the situation, they might be able to team up with other groups in order to seize Vahns tickets. Vahn was well aware of the intentions of the groups that had remained, but, rather than pay them any mind, he just leaned against the wall adjacent to the Elevator with a casual smile on his face. He could enter a pseudo-meditative state even while standing with his eyes open, so, while others were bored out of their mind, he just continued to emanate an intimidating aura as he effectively shut his mind off. The only time he snapped out of it was when a new train arrived, as, despite the warnings of several camping Regrs, those who held Tickets were very self-assured. This led to them trying to push past him, and, as a result, Vahns collection of Tickets gradually grew to 27 by the eve of the sixth day. With less than fourteen hours remaining before the Hell Expresss departure, Vahn garnered quite a bit of attention to himself by yawning rather loudly. This caused resolute gleams to sh across the eyes of several Regrs, but, without someone to rally behind, they were unwilling to stick out their necks. Fortunately, Aka wasnt the only noteworthy Regr who had persistently boarded the Hell Express every year for thest six-hundred-years. They knew it was only a matter of time until Sachi Faker, the most prominent of the Ticket Hunters and the third-strongest D-Rank Regr, made his appearance... Noticing the predatory looks he was receiving, Vahns smile became slightly more prominent as he waved towards the groups plotting against him. This caused many of them to pale, but, as several others had only arrived after his defeat of Aka, they reacted with contemptuous sneers and hateful flowers. There was even a punkish-looking woman with a bright-pink mohawk who went out of her way to raise her middle finger towards him. This caused an amused chuckle to escape Vahns throat, but, at the same time, he wasmitting to memory all the tactless fools who were anticipating his inevitable defeat. Fortunately, he wasnt left waiting for too long as, shortly thereafter, a rather antiquated lotive pulled into the station. From the interior, a rather handsome man with neatly styled dark-red hairbed over his left eye emerged. There was a curse mark resembling thorny vines covering the left side of his face, and, despite the rtively modern dress of most Regrs, he wore reddish-brown robes that were better suited for a mage in a fantasy setting. Considering he also wielded antern-like staff in his right hand, it was pretty safe to assume he was either a Wave Controller or one of the few people in the Tower capable of casting Spells. Though Vahn briefly made eye contact with the moody-looking man, it was the giant figure behind him that drew the majority of his focus. He had apparently underestimated the recovery ability and obstinancy of Aka, as, despite suffering considerable injuries a mere three days prior, the burly giant had evidently failed to learn from the experience. Instead, they had teamed up with the red-haired man, Sachi Faker, and another of their formerrades, Boro. Thetter was actually someone that Vahn was interested in, as, despite having experienced the same tragedy as his formerpanions, he had spent thest six-hundred-years helping weaker Regrs survive the Hell Train. Shifting his eyes away from the man withbed-back silver hair and eyes, Vahn met Sachis gaze once again, smiling as he remarked, "Reuniting with former allies in order to ovee a powerful foe...not the worst decision youve made over thest six-hundred-years. Still, rallying behind Akas defeat isnt something you should be proud of. They have wandered too far from the path the five of you once walked. I am willing to allow you and Boro to board the Hell Express, but they have lost that right." Frowning in response to Vahns words, Sachi tightened his grip on his staff as he said, "That isnt for you to decide...I wont defend Akas past actions, but there is a good reason we continue to board the Hell Train. If you intend to stand in our way, we will have no choice but to move you..." In response to Sachis words, all of the Regrs who had been biding their time over thest week began to pull out their weapons. This was immediately noticed by the trio of famous Ticket Hunters, and, though they hadnt nned to rally everyone together, they hadnt lived for nearly a thousand years without learning how to adapt to a situation. As a result, Sachi immediatelymanded, "Use your Lighthouses to keep him in ce! Everyone with ranged attacks will aim for the moment when he is unable to move...!" Abiding by Sachis orders, dozens of Lighthouses attempted to encircle Vahn, each exerting a dense field of Shinsu that was capable of slowing or outright stopping a targets movements. At nearly the exact same time, numerous Spear Bearers began lobbing their spears towards him, many aiming for vitals despite the fact Vahn hadnt killed anyone during his blocking of the Elevator. This caused the smile on his face to diminish considerably as everything in the room, including the volley of spears, simply ceased moving. Taking a moment to calm himself, Vahnbed his hair back before opening his eyes to reveal zing golden pupils. Then, in a resonant tone that caused the surrounding Shinsu to tremble, he stated, "I have been lenient thus far. You have been prevented from boarding the Hell Train because your convictions or character have been found wanting. Thinking you can just murder someone in order to get your way...you lot are really trying my patience..." Shaking his head in disappointment, Vahn used his Telekinesis to liberate the Express Tickets held by Sachi, Aka, and Boro. They had the foresight to leave their excess tickets in a safe area, but, now that things hade to this, he was intending to teach everyone present a hard lesson. Thus, after liberating each of their tickets, he took a seat next to the Elevator, back resting against the wall as he continued to hold everyone in ce using his unique form of Reverse Flow Control. Though it ced a slight burden on his mental and spiritual energies, Vahn forced the more than three-hundred Regrs to remain like statues for the better part of nine hours. This was enough to deter any new arrivals from trying anything, as, for a number of reasons, it was terrifying to witness both people and weapons frozen in ce. Some even reboarded the trains they had just departed from, smartly choosing to get as far from the suspicious scene as possible. Hearing an announcement informing Ticket Holders to move to the tform containing the Hell Express, Vahn awoke from his meditation to say, "If you continue acting like this, you will only have yourselves to me when someone beyond your level harvests your lives. There are people in this Tower who are infinitely more powerful than my current self. Im not telling you to give up, but you should seriously reflect on the path youre currently walking..." Finished with his words, Vahn slowly climbed to his feet, dusting himself off before pressing the call button for the elevator. It was only after the doors had closed behind him, followed by the tell-tale hum of an elevator in motion, that the effects of his Reverse Flow Control ceased. This allowed the numerous spears that had been aimed toward him to impale the wall where he had been standing. At the same time, the Regrs who had been under the influence of his Reverse Flow Control fell to the ground, sweat covering much of their paralyzed bodies as they gasped for air... --- After a pleasant elevator ride, apanied by some rather cheerful tunes, Vahn found himself atop a massive train tform. Suspended in the air to his left, a trainprised of angr box cars that were more than 100m tall and 500m in length released a peculiar and intimidating aura. He got the impression that each individual car was an entire world, and, though there was a dimension barrier inhibiting his senses, he could still feel a tremendous amount of negative energy exuding from their interior. Resisting the urge to shake his head in exasperation, Vahn shifted his attention to the small crowd of Regrs who had gathered on the tform. This included the group of five he had given tickets to, and, as could be expected, a mysterious group of cloaked Regrs that were clearly nted by FUG. They had been able to bypass his blockade by using the private elevator that was supposed to be reserved for Train City personnel, but, rather than being sent to interfere with him, it seemed like they had been given an entirely unrted mission. In fact, from what the Law of Identity had been able to ascertain, they hadnt even aware of who he was, only that they should avoid him as much as possible. By having the Law of Identity transform into the Conductor of the Hell Express, a Ranker loyal to one of FUGs seven yers, Vahn was unsurprised to learn that they were currently testing him. His actions on the 30th Floor had garnered a considerable amount of attention in the organization, not because he had destroyed one of their fortresses, but because he had survived a confrontation with one of Gustangs Puppets. Now that he had reappeared, seemingly without injury, their priority was, first and foremost, ascertaining whether or not he actually stood in opposition to their organization. Realizing FUGs intentions, Vahn couldnt help but issue a light chuckle as he walked over to the two groups to greet the team he had previously provided tickets. They didnt appear to be particrly interesting, but, as was often the case in the Tower, appearances could be very deceiving. After all, their leader, a brown-haired man whose only noteworthy trait was how average he seemed, had actually been scouted by Wolhaiksong. Returning a smile in response to Vahns greeting, the brown-haired man, curiously called John Doe, extended his hand as he asked, "Will there be no other Regrs joining us...?" epting the mans handshake, a light chuckle escaped Vahns throat as he answered, "I had been intending to lend a hand to some misguided Regrs, but they ended up disappointing me toward the very end. Im hoping theyll fix their attitudes before we reach the next station, but, considering they spent thest six-hundred-years idling between the 35th and 44th Floors, its hard to imagine them changing in a single month." Offering a wry smile in response, John extricated his hand from Vahns as he said, "The burdens of the past are often the most difficult to ovee. Most people spend their entire livesmenting decisions they made in the distant past. What can you do?" Though he shrugged his shoulders in response to Johns casual remark, quite a number of solutions shed across Vahns mind. The Hell Express functioned remarkably simr to a Sub-Realm, so, even after death, the Spirits of those who had died would continue to linger within. This meant their Egos could be preserved for an inordinate period of time, and, so long as they hadnt be irreversibly corrupted by negative energy, it was a rtively simple matter to resurrect them. Rather, if he didnt care about the specifics, Vahn could, just as easily, revive people who had been tainted by negative energy. They would juste back with a Yin or Darkness affinity and an extremely unstable mind... (A/N: Alternate Titles: This is Vahn trying not to show off too much...,An enemy that learns? Is such a thing even possible...?,Ah, yes, Vahn, the Necromancer...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1853 Overwatch

Chapter 1853 Overwatch

Thirty minutes before the Hell Express was scheduled to depart, stairs, seemingly materializing out of thin air, began to appear from one of the many doors lining the monstrous lotive. It was a rather magical sight, but, as he could see the flow of Shinsu around the Hell Express shifting, Vahn was able to understand the mechanism at a nce. The stairs were actually stored inside the train, and, like removing objects from interdimensional storage, they could manifest anywhere within the lotives domain of Shinsu. With his own domain and inventory functioning in a very simr way, Vahn couldnt help but crack a smile. He always found it strangely refreshing whenever he encountered phenomena that emted the functions of The Path. It made him feel like he was getting steadily closer to his destination, and, the moremonce such things became, the easier it was to infer that he was in a higher ne of existence. As there were multiple sets of stairs leading up to the Hell Train, effectively allowing different teams to enter separate paths, Vahn left FUG to their own devices as he ascended alongside Team John. He wasnt actually intending to explore alongside them, as they had their own path to walk, but he could at least look after them during the first leg of their journey. He was also a little curious to see what allowed John to be a prospective member of Wolhaiksong, so, after boarding, he turned to the man and asked, "So, what are you nning to do from here onward?" Having half-expected Vahn to just disappear the moment they boarded the Hell Express, John was at a momentary loss for words in response to his question. His allies were in a simr boat, as, from the time they had met, up until the present moment, Vahn hadnt actually exined his identity to them. They just thought he was an unreasonably powerful Regr, one who had seemingly taken interest in them out of nowhere. Laughing in response to the group of fives reactions, Vahn gave Johns shoulder a friendly pat as he said, "Rx. I wont bore you with the details, but Im basically an ally of Wolhaiksong. I also owe Ureko a favor so I thought Id keep an eye on you until you passed the first trial. Dont worry, even if its hard to believe, Im not plotting to use your team for some nefarious purposes. I just feel a small amount of responsibility towards you after supplying your tickets. If it turns out youck the ability to advance on your own, Im afraid youll have to disembark once we reach the 36th Floor." Though he doubted the veracity of Vahns words, Johns expression paled considerably when the former produced a Fourteen-Wing Badge, something that only Baek Ryun and Ureko Mazino, the two leaders of Wolhaiksong, should possess. His own was a mere One-Wing Sapling, a badge that appeared like a miniature wing with roots. It was meant to represent his status as a potentiate, and, the moment Vahn produced his own, John could feel his badge resonating with the former. Understanding the youths thoughts, Vahn adopted a slightly teasing look as he mused, "Not just anyone can owe Ureko a favor. Dont worry, even if you ultimately have to disembark at the next station, your status as a potentiate wont be affected. Just do your best without putting your allies in danger. More than anything else, members of Wolhaiksong take care of their friends." Punctuating his words by ruffling the youths hair, Vahn turned to Johns team, consisting of three men and one woman, with a smile on his face. They were all looking at him like he was some kind of monster, and, considering what they had learned about Wolhaiksong from John, it wouldnt be an exaggeration to call him one. As a result, even the tallest of their group, a 225cm tall man with a build simr to an Adonis, forced a smile as he nervously gripped his vermillion-red spear... --- Though information pertaining to the Hell Express was very limited, most Regrs were aware of the fact that it emted a day-night cycle. The most basic challenge for those aboard the Express was to survive for a period of ten days as they wandered thebyrinthian paths present within the trains interior. This was rtively easy during the day, as there were very few enemies littering theplex halls and perpetually-shifting corridors. During the evening, however, a seemingly endless tide of monstrous Shinheuh and powerful automatons would appear. So long as you persisted for ten days, clearing a requisite number of sections each day, you would invariably find yourself at a chamber filled with teleportation devices. These rooms were generally known as the crossroads of fate, as, depending on your luck, you could experience tremendous fortune or encounter a seemingly insurmountable foe. Fortunately, even after teleporting and seeing what was on the other side, you still had the option of turning away and choosing a different route. It was for this reason that people boarded the Hell Express numerous times, and, by umting both information and experience, it was possible to determine which rooms were safe before you even passed through their antechambers. The only real restriction on exploration was that you needed toplete at least one trial during the thirty-day interval between each station. This was a requirement for advancing to higher floors, so, if you were unable to find a clearable route in the allocated time, you would have no choice but to disembark the moment the train reached the next station. If you attempted to stay, both you and your team would be forcibly, and violently, ejected from the train. Since it often moored itself very high in the sky, this was a potential death sentence to weaker Regrs so it was highly advised that anyone failing to qualify be ready and waiting near one of the exists prior to reaching the station... --- Though he could have called out Ryun to act as their Guide, Vahn found it rather amusing watching Team John fumble through the corridors of the Hell Express. The interior of each car was like a small world, and, due to its ever-changing structure, there were a seemingly infinite number of obstacles, and, every now and again, unsurpassable terrain. This included a literal cliff that descended more than three-hundred meters into a channel of magma-like acid. The only way to cross was to either have the physical strength to leap the 80m gap or the intestinal fortitude to try and walk the three-centimeter wide bridge linking the two sides. Eighty meters might not seem like a lot, but it was a lot further than most Regrs could leap in a single bound. The strange acid also interfered with the surrounding Shinsu, so, unless your control was exceptional, Lighthouses would wobble uncontrobly and even body reinforcement became difficult. This made it nearly impossible to transport people across using a Lighthouse, and, while it might be possible for some members to easily leap across, few teams wereprised of Regrs who could all cover such distances. Fortunately for Team John, their leader hadnt been chosen as a potential member of Wolhaiksong for nothing. Not only was he exceptionally brave, walking across the abnormally thin bridge without even a moment of hesitation, he was also resourceful. It hadnt even taken him more than a minute toe up with a n for crossing the gap, a n that involved tying a safety line around his waist before carrying across two ropes to fasten as guidelines. This allowed his team to cross with rtive ease, and, after the fact, he even went back to unfasten the rope in order to make use of itter. While the feat wasnt particrly impressive, Johns bravery,bined with the fact that his team didnt even hesitate to ce their trust in him, was worthy of praise. It was rare to see a group of Regrs with such strong bonds, and, though they were individually weak, he could envision them oveing far more powerful teams thanks to their excellent teamwork and even more remarkable bonds. The only thing they reallycked was power, but, so long as they continued to push forward, it was only a matter of time before they became truly strong. In the hopes of seeing the group seed, Vahn began teaching the group numerous survival skills whenever they had time to rest. He also taught their Spear Bearer, a man who introduced himself as Jameson, son of James, how to prepare a number of different dishes that could revitalize his teams spirits during meals. Food was one of the foundational pirs for mental health, so, if you wanted to stave off the onset of things like depression while simultaneously improving morale, it was best to prepare delicious meals that were properly bnced for each individuals needs. Though he had originally thought to teach the female member of the team how to cook, the faces of the other four revealed that this might not be the best idea. The woman in question, Rose, was also against the idea, so, in the end, he ended up teaching Jameson some of Rindos easier recipes. He had already been the groups defacto chef for more than a decade so his skills, while not up to Vahns standard, werent bad. Rather, he showed a considerable amount of passion for cooking, so, alongside the other items he was preparing as the groups parting gift, he also included a book of recipes, a set of C-Rank Chefs knives, and a virtually indestructible cutting board... --- After ten days and nights of clearing rtively weak yet persistent Shinheuh, Team John finally reached their destination, a room with three pylons, each decorated with a blue, green, and red crystal. The actual teleportation mechanism was the invisible ward inscribed on the ground, but, so long as you ced your hand on one of the crystals, it would teleport you to the antechamber on the other side. Seeing the varying crystals, Johns expression turned reflective for a brief moment before he turned toward his team and said, "Ill scout ahead and see what each route holds. Jameson, Ill leave meal prep to you and Thomas. Rose, Chris, I want the two of you to prepare camp. Though we might be able to push through and enjoy a much-deserved rest in the residences prepared on the other side, I want us all properly rested before we attempt the challenge. At the very least, well recuperate for around five hours or so before pushing forward." Without bothering to argue, Jameson, Thomas, and Chris quickly set out to perform their tasks as Rose, causing Vahn to feel a strange feeling of dread, said, "Be safe out there...if something happens to you, Ill...Ill beat up your ghost...!" If it was just Rosesment, Vahn wouldnt have thought much of it, but, immediately thereafter, John adopted an affectionate smile, his voice gaining a gentle overtone as he said, "Youre always worrying for nothing...didnt we all promise that well climb the Tower together? I would never break a promise I made to my friends. Besides, even a group like Wolhaiksong has taken an interest in me. Do you really think Ill die in a ce like the Hell Train?" As if to affirm that the g was properly affixed, John lightly ruffled Roses auburn hair, the edges of his smile curling up for a brief moment as he retracted his hand and added, "See you soon..." in an overly casual tone. Before he could take more than a few steps, however, Vahn appeared at his side, hand on the young mans shoulder as he said, "Ille with you...Im actually pretty curious about whats on the other side..." Though he was a little surprised by the grim look on Vahns face, John still managed an awkward smile as he said, "I can send images back using my-" Shaking his head, Vahn tightened his grip on Johns shoulder, his expression bing a smile-that-was-not-a-smile as he insisted, "No. Iming with you..." in a tone that left no room for argument. Though they had be somewhat chummy over thest ten days, John was still utterly terrified of Vahn. Thus, with thetter insisting hees along, there was little the man could do but smile even more wryly as he answered, "Okay...lets get going..." in an awkward tone. (A/N: Alternate Titles: I feel bad for any actual members of Wolhaiksong who see Vahn whip out his badge xD...,Even average can be exceptional when youbine bravery with teamwork~!,Vahn be like, "Not today...") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1854 Pause

Chapter 1854 Pause

After checking the red and blue teleportals and finding nothing but isted colonies of Shinheuh, Vahn was starting to think his instincts had triggered for no reason. Fortunately, he hadnt gone senile just yet as the green teleportal ended up leading into a massive chamber, muchrger than the two preceding it. The walls were lined with countless metallic cogs, and, at the very back of the chamber, arge container of sorts stood like a watchtower. At the very top of said tower, a gigantic man, approximately 50m in height, sat with his arms and legs crossed. He had features that vaguely resembled an Elf, including pointed ears, but, unlike any Elves Vahn had ever seen, he had long golden hair, brilliant golden eyes, and a muscr build that could even humble Heracles. His garb consisted of a sleeveless ck shirt, baggy trousers, a flowing red cape, and, most notably,rge manacles that were chained to a b of enchanted metal that, at a nce, should weigh well over a million of kilograms. As the mountainous man stared down at them with his probing gaze, Vahns eyes began to release a vibrant golden light as he said, "Return to your team...this path is a dead-end..." Coming back to his senses in response to Vahns words, John shifted his eyes away from the god-like figure seated atop the tower-like container, face paling as he suggested, "We should go back together..." Issuing a soft chuckle in response to Johns words, Vahn began rolling his shoulders to loosen them up, walking forward as he said, "This is my path. Dont worry...Im not someone who would lose to a false God..." Without waiting for Johns response, Vahn teleported the youth to the antechamber before sealing off the entrance with a massive b of stone. He kept a number of such objects in his Inventory, as, with few exceptions, there werent too many enemies that could endure a cubic kilometer of marble being dropped on them with meteoric force. They were intended to be one of his trump cards, and, though he had never really found an opportunity to use them, having a bunch of raw materials on hand was never a bad thing. Staring up at the titanic individual, Vahns smile gradually turned into a more serious expression as he said, "I had heard about a God of Guardian onboard the Hell Express, but I never imagined our paths would cross this early...so, how about it? Tell me, what do those eyes of yours see...?" Squinting his eyes almost imperceptibly, the being known as the God of Guardians appeared to ponder over his response for a full minute before answering in a paradoxically gentle yet booming voice, "You are not an Irregr...yet you are also not a native to this Tower...tell me, how did you enter this ce without opening the door? Where did youe from? What is it you seek...?" Unable to restrain himself, an extremely exasperated sigh escaped Vahns throat as he shook his head and muttered, "Im starting to get really annoyed by the number of people disregarding my questions in order to ask their own..." Losing interest in the conversation they could have had, Vahn shook his head a second time as he attempted to turn away from the so-called God of Guardians. Before he could take more than a few steps, however, the aforementioned Godnded in front of him with enough impact force to create an explosive shockwave. Then, grabbed the chain shackled to his right hand, he swung the massive b of metal like a chain-mace while saying, "Fate has brought you here. Allow me to test the limits of your power..." Snorting in response to the massive mans words, reddish-ck mes erupted from Vahns left hand as he brandished Laev-tan towards the enchanted b of metal. Her mes would usually struggle to melt through such a thick b on their own, but, thanks to the destructivews that were present within,bined with his mastery over the sword, more than half of the b was cut away in an instant. This caused the God of Guardians to lose his bnce for a brief moment due to him using his own weight as a counterbnce during the attack. As a result, Vahn was able to step towards the man using [Shunk], lightning briefly shing across his body as he kicked the God of Guardians in the center of his chest. With a visible ripple spreading through both his shirt and body, the God of Guardians was sent stumbling back several meters before crashing into the ground, a pained grunt emanating from his throat in the process. When he stood back up, a massive hole had been created in his shirt, and, at the very center of his chest, a bloody outline of a footprint could be seen pulsating with the beating of his heart. This injury healed almost instantaneously, but, for a brief moment, a look of shock and incredulity shed across the titanic figures face as he stared at the traces of blood and remarked, "Impossible..." in a disbelieving tone. Though he could have allowed the man to stay in the dark, Vahn adopted a somewhat prideful look as he shouldered Laev-tan and remarked, "There are no impossibilities. Existence, itself, is a miracle that defies all logic and reason. Some things might be inordinately difficult, but, just by existing, we open the way forward for infinite possibilities. Concepts such as unstoppable and immovable dont actually exist. The same applies to things like indestructibility and immortality. There is just harder to stop, harder to move, harder to destroy, and harder to kill. Nothing is impossible." Opening his eyes marginally wider, the God of Guardians seemed to be contemting his words for another extended period of time before answering, "I see...that must be how you entered the Tower without opening the gate and why my eyes arent able to discern anything about you. You arent something that is supposed to exist in this ce. You are someone that has chosen to be here in defiance of fate...that means you are either an Axis...or a God..." Rather than answer directly, Vahn just smiled in response to the mans words before asking, "Should I interpret your current inaction as an indicator that your test has concluded? With the spell binding you to this ce broken, you should be able to bring your full power to bear without consequence. I wont force you to battle, but I am curious to see how strong one of the Artificial Gods produced by the Workshop is..." Adopting a serious and stern expression, the God of Guardians rose to his full height of fifty meters before saying, "Though you have broken the enchantment binding me to this ce, I will continue to carry out the duties assigned to me by my creator. It is my duty to guide those who have opened the door through a process known as Revolution. It is this purpose that gives my life meaning so it is impossible for me to fight against someone for the sake of personal enjoyment. If you truly wish to battle against me, you must first undergo Revolution and prove to me that you have the right to be here. Afterward, even at the cost of my life, I will do my best to help you train and draw out as much of your hidden potential as possible..." Hearing the man mention his hidden potential, Vahn couldnt help but raise his left brow with an intrigued yet doubtful look on his face. As the living embodiment of The Path, there shouldnt be a being in existence capable of drawing out his hidden potential. After all, he already had an infinite potential for growth, and, so long as he stopped holding himself back, most enemies wouldntst more than a few exchanges against him. The notion that the man before him could unlock a part of himself that he was unaware of seemed ridiculous, but, at the same time, he couldnt help feeling a little curious... Before he could agree to the mans proposition, Vahns words got caught in his throat when Sis suddenly interjected, saying, (*Your power is already developing faster than ever before. Are you certain you want to unlock even more? Even if he allows you to gain ess to power you already possess, are you going to be satisfied with growth that wasnt obtained through your own efforts? If you insist on wanting to go through with this, Im not going to stop you. I just want to make sure you are properly considering your options before making a decision...*) As it was pretty rare for Sis to interject during such moments, Vahn immediately fell into a state of silent contemtion as he considered her words. He couldnt deny that she had hit the nail on the head, as was often the case, but a part of him felt like he should undergo Revolution. It was almost like there was a silent voice calling out to him from the deepest recesses of his mind, its words even less audible than the mysterious hum of the Mantra of Eternity... --- Seeing the mysterious individual fall into stunned silence, the God of Guardians, known as Donar to his creators, waited patiently for his answer. This was something he was very used to, so, even after several hours had passed, he didnt find it strange that Vahn hadnt even blinked since the moment he fell silent. It wasnt until a peculiar pulse began to emanate from the statuesque man, much like the distant beating of a heart, that Donar began to realize that something was amiss... Feeling a paradoxical sense of awe and dread, Donars expression morphed into a stern grimace as he interrupted the silence, asking, "What are you doing? Did something happen...?" Blinking in response to the God of Guardians question, Vahn turned his head up to face the giant individual as he answered, "I was just lost in thought. Tell me, what does this Revolution of yours involve?" Though he felt there was something off about the man standing before him, Donars countenance rxed into a more neutral expression as he exined, "That container behind you is known as the Rice Pot. It is enchanted with a powerful spell that allows those within to tap into the most primal aspects of their character. It allows them to experience a version of themselves that ispletely removed from the false notions and pretenses that typicallypel people to specific courses of action. In essence, it is a method that allows you to discover your true self, and, in the process, tap into the potential locked within the deepest recesses of a persons soul..." Nodding his head in response to the God of Guardians exnation, Vahn surprised the former by manifesting the Little Garden in his right hand. Almost immediately thereafter, a sh of blue light illuminated the rtively dark room as Fenrir, frowning in response to the giant man towering over them, shifted her attention to her Master and asked, "What do I need to do?" Rather than immediately answering her question, Vahn affectionately ruffled the thick yet silky-smooth fur atop Fenrirs head before exining, "Simr to Aoko, this man is going to help you unlock your potential through a process known as Revolution. I could present the opportunity to someone else, but I know how hard you workpared to the others. How about it? Do you want to give it a try or do you wish to continue training using your current methods...?" Having followed her Master for such a long period of time, the notion of receiving power made Fenrir feel more than a little ufortable. When she learned the process was meant to unlock power she already possessed, however, she quickly opened up to the idea. After all, if there was anything hidden deep within her soul, it was something she had received from her Master. There was no reason to fear something her Master had bestowed, so, following the God of Guardians exnation, she fearlessly entered the Rice Pot, eager to meet her so-called true self and unlock the potential contained within her name... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Those are some big rocks...,Something about this doesnt feel right...,Fenrir is the goodest girl...but why do thesest two paragraphs feel wrong...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1855 Abyss

Chapter 1855 Abyss

Though the interior of the Rice Pot hadnt seemed like anything special, Fenrir soon found herself sinking into a seemingly infinite abyss. It was a sensation simr to sinking into an ocean trench, and, as if to demonstrate this was the case, the surrounding Shinsu grew progressively denser until it had a simr viscosity to water. Fortunately, though it seemed like it might never end, Fenrir managed to reach the bottom of the Rice Pot after descending for nearly three days. There, an endless ne of cogs opened up before her, and, though there werent any light sources, she was somehow able to see the distant horizon, a region dominated by a pitch-ck sky. Though she felt as though she were drawn to the nothingness visible over the horizon, Fenrirs first action was to take in her surroundings. Then, finding nothing of interest, she sat down in the center of a stationary cog, legs crossed as she adopted a lotus position. She had learned that, during times of uncertainty, it was best to calm down and meditate before making any significant decisions. With nothing to interrupt, Fenrir spent the better part of five hours meditating before opening her eyes to confirm, once again, that there was nothing in her surroundings. This had initially filled her with a sense of disappointment, as she expected some kind of secret power to be hidden inside of her, but, after clearing her thoughts, she realized it didnt really matter. So long as she continued to follow her Master, there were no limits to what she was able to aplish. Confident in this notion, Fenrir set her sights on the endless nothingness that existed beyond the horizon. Though there was nothing there, her instincts werepelling her to pursue it, so, with nothing better to do, she transformed into a massive, awe-inspiring, wolf with dark blue fur and a pure white underbelly. She could now grow upwards of twenty meters tall, and, though they were generally only visible when she activated her power, a series of icy-blue runes pulsed silently at the center of her forehead. Finished with her preparations, a bluish-ck aura outlined with an icy-white glow began to rise from Fenrirs body as she bolted towards the horizon like aet streaking through the night sky. She wasnt sure of the reason, but herpulsion to chase after the nothingness over the horizon grew progressively stronger the longer she observed it. Thus, despite the impression it was getting further away the longer she ran, her speed continued to gradually increase until the only thought in her mind was reaching the endless ck abyss that seemed all-epassing yet infinitely distant from everything... --- Though he couldnt see what those undergoing Revolution were experiencing, Donar was able to sense how effective the process was thanks to his unique perception and his aptly named Eyes of God. Because of this, he couldnt help but feel at aplete loss, as, even when he allowed Jahad and the Great Warriors to enter the Rice Pot, it only took them a few hours to reach the depths of their potential. The woman summoned by Vahn, however, had taken nearly seventy hours to reach the bottom, and, since then, her power had been steadily increasing as the temperature inside the Rice Pot decreased to such an extent that even the exterior was covered in ayer of bluish-ck ice... Noticing the same phenomenon as the God of Guardians, Vahn strengthened the link between himself and Fenrir in the hopes of understanding what she was experiencing. To his surprise, he found her repeating faster...faster...I have to go faster... within her mind as she continued pushing her body beyond its limits. This caused him to frown slightly, as, even with their shared senses, he couldnt understand what waspelling her to run forward. All he saw was an empty sky, yet, as if it was the most important thing in the world, Fenrir was running towards it without a single thought for rest... Allowing the link to gradually weaken, Vahn shifted his attention to the God of Guardians, asking, "How long is this process going to take? Can it be interrupted from the outside...?" Without removing his eyes from the Rice Pot, Donars expression turned into a slight frown as he answered, "Though it can be interrupted, Revolution normally ends once a person finds what they are looking for within themselves. Yourpanion...her potential is far beyond myprehension. Despite this, she seems to have no ambitions, no desires, nothing...in fact, the only thing she seems to care about is pursuing this sense of nothingness...I have no words to describe it..." With the Law of Identity verifying the God of Guardians words, Vahn was able to breathe a sigh of relief as he rose to his feet and said, "It seems this Revolution isnt particrly useful to someone like me. Though her potential is unlimited, mine isnt something that cant even beprehended within the scope of reality. I might bring a few others here in the future, but it seems like I have no real use for this ce." Though he wasnt fond of the dismissive tone Vahn was using, Donar made no attempt to argue with him. He understood that the former, much like the monstrous Ureko, was a being far beyond hisprehension. Since it would jeopardize both his life and purpose if he managed to offend the anomalous man, it was best to send him on his way without fuss. After all, his responsibilities were to train Irregrs and help them experience Revolution; not pander to monsters he had no hope of understanding... --- Feeling a familiar warmth spread through her body, a natural smile spread across Fenrirs face as she opened her eyes to find her Master smiling back at her. Then, knowing what he was thinking, she nestled a little closer to him before exining, "I felt like there was something very important waiting for me beyond the horizon...there was a moment when it felt like I could just reach out and touch it...but...almost immediately after, it felt even more distant than ever before..." Hearing Fenrirs words, Vahn felt a strange sense of mncholy as he instinctually corrted the nothingness she had pursued with himself. If that were the case, it implied that Fenrirs existence, on the most fundamental level, revolved around her tireless pursuit of him. This inspired feelings of guilt to well up inside of him, but, before they could take root and sprout into negative sentiments, Fenrir squeezed him even tighter as she whispered, "Master is right here..." Though he was momentarily confused by Fenrirs words, it didnt take long for Vahn to realize that she had seen through his thoughts. This made him feel a different type of guilt, but, rather than pay it any mind, he just held her closer as he whispered their timeless promise, "Thats right...always and forever..." Nodding her head in affirmation, Fenrir repeated, "Always and forever..." in a somewhat tired voice before gradually descending into the abyss of unconsciousness. She had overtaxed her mind, body, and spirit during the process of Revolution. This allowed her reserves to increase from just under 300,000 to more than 740,000, so, as could be expected, she was very tired. It was for this reason that he had used the Law of Petting to lull her into a peaceful slumber, as, even if he sent her back to the Little Garden, there was no guarantee she would take a break... With Fenrir gradually shrinking into her puppy form under the influence of his energy, Vahn tucked her into his shirt before looking up at the silent God of Guardians and saying, "Though I understand your reasons, its a shame we never got a chance to fight. By the time we meet again, my power will be so far beyond yours that there would be no meaning in the engagement...it really is a shame..." Feeling as though Vahn was just a few words from abruptly attacking him, Donar felt a cold sweat spread across his body for the first time since his encounter with Ureko. Thetter had beaten him so badly that the program designed to make him into a battle junkie had reconfigured itself into a potent sense of self-preservation. Thus, in the hopes of redirecting Vahns battle lust, he averted his eyes for several seconds before suggesting, "If it is a battle you seek, there is another onboard the Hell Express who might meet your expectations..." Raising his brows in response to the God of Guardians words, Vahn was about to ask who he was talking about when the Law of Identity happily chimed, "He wants to use you to eliminate someone named White, one of FUGs previous yers. They seem to be trying to devour the souls that have umted onboard the Hell Express in order to return to their original strength and be even stronger. Since the train uses the energy produced by these souls as fuel, giant boy over here wants you to get rid of them~." Though he wasnt that surprised, as even Realms like Heaven used the energy contained within a dead persons Ego to sustain themselves, Vahn couldnt help but frown in response to the Law of Identitys exnation. The Hell Train had nothing to pacify or nourish the souls it kept within so it was effectively using the negative energy derived from the suffering of the deceased in order to fuel itself. This waspletely uneptable, so, in response to the God of Guardians words, his own became deep and heavy as he said, "Tell me where this White is located..." Having yet to mention the name of the person he wanted Vahn to eliminate, Donars eyes widened in a momentary expression of shock. He was suddenly seized by the impression that the former was able to see through his thoughts, and, as if to confirm this was the case, Vahn extended his hand and said, "I have no interest in meaningless contracts. So long as you hand me the ring, I will spare the Hell Express fromplete destruction. This is the furthest I am willing topromise...it is not up for discussion..." Sensing the Shinsu in the surroundings quickly side with Vahn, gaining a golden luminance in the process, Donar realized he had stepped on the tail of a beast. Now, the best he could hope for was ensuring the survival of the Hell Express until the Workshop returned to repair it. Fortunately, it had be a pretty important existence within the Tower, so, even if Vahn took away its fuel source, it wouldnt be long before the infamous train was up and running again. This was a small constion, but, considering the alternative was theplete destruction of the Hell Express, it was better than nothing... --- With the God of Guardians chamber representing one of the numerous dead-ends aboard the Hell Train, Vahn needed to return to the area with the three teleportals before he could continue forward to the residential area. Fortunately, the route he picked seemed to be different than the one chosen by Team John as there were still Shinheuh swimming about. He needed to vent a little after learning what the Workshop had done in order to ensure the Hell Express continued operating indefinitely. Though there was nothing assigned to directly torment them, the spirits onboard the Hell Express had effectively been trapped there for no better reason than to use their negative energy as a fuel source. This effectively guaranteed it would continue operating, but, in exchange, the designers had effectively condemned millions, if not billions, to suffer indefinitely. This was a maddening thought, and, though it didnt really surprise him, Vahn couldnt help but feel incensed at the injustice of it all. Imagining what it would be like to be trapped for ten-thousand-years without a body, doomed to suffer just because someone wanted to produce a fuel-efficient vehicle, a potent feeling of nausea began to well up from Vahns stomach. This was a sensation he hadnt felt in a very long time, and, for a brief moment, he felt like the walls, floor, and ceiling were beginning to close in around him. If he still had his [Chainbreaker], he imagined it would have activated then and there. Instead, the icy chill that had permeated his body and mind seemed to bleed into his domain, freezing everything in his surroundings as he said, "Disappear..." in a tone that seemed to prate the very existence of the Shinheuh observing him... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Run...,Ureko the type of girl to smack aputer and change its operating system...,Meanwhile, Fenrir is just sleeping snugly within her Masters embrace...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1856 Perception

Chapter 1856 Perception

Teleporting from the barren trial chamber, Vahn found himself in a circr room connecting a total of sixteen different corridors. He noticed roman numerals above some of them while others showed various different symbols that denoted things such as anvils, shields, needles, apples, or beds. Understanding the symbols to denote the types of facilities found within each corridor, Vahn briefly considered his options before calling out Ryun from the Little Garden. She immediately greeted him with a smile, but, sensing something was wrong, her expression shifted to a concerned countenance as she asked, "Did something happen? Are you okay...?" Extending both hands, Vahn began to fluff up Ryuns hair and ears, an affectionate smile gradually spreading across his face as he answered, "My mood has been soured by a certain revtion. Dont worry, it will improve with the passage of time. For now, lets find a ce to rest." Though she couldnt hide the concern visible in her ruby-red eyes, Ryun still nodded in response to her Masters words before pointing towards one of the corridors identified by a bed, saying, "If you seek the members of Team John, they can be found towards the end of this corridor. The others are currently empty." Smiling in response to Ryuns words, Vahn cupped the sides of her face, restoring her smile with a gentle peck on the lips. Then, with Fenrir tucked away inside of his shirt, he walked hand-in-hand with the redheaded Vanargandr until they reached one of the individual residences located near the very end of the corridor. There, he prevented her from transforming into her puppy form so that he could hug her from behind, enjoying the calming fragrance emanating from the base of her ears as she cradled Fenrir in her arms. This made it a little difficult for her to remain calm, but, after an hour or so, she invariably joining Fenrir in thend of dreams as Vahn continued to hug them both, eyes still exuding a fading golden luminosity... --- Opening his eyes, Vahn was surprised to find himself in the middle of a seemingly endless ne of ughter. There were countless weapons stabbed into the ground and littered about among a sea of corpses that stretched far beyond the horizon. Above, where one would expect to find a brilliant sky or a sea of stars, the debris of countless worlds could be seen crashing together in a cataclysmic fashion as creaturesparable to thes themselves exchanged blows that could be felt even at his current location. Noticing a twelve-winged golden dragon among the group of monstrousbatants, Vahns eyes opened even wider as he felt a certain familiarity with the massive creature. Immediately thereafter, he found himself staring at the world from the dragons perspective, his senses expanding to cover a regionrger than a sr system. This allowed him to perceive the vastness of his prior battlefield, his pupils shrinking to find points as he noticed that it had been taking ce on a single scale of an iprehensiblyrge serpent. Just as Vahn felt a tugging in his mind, drawing him towards the colossal serpent, an indescribable pain radiated from his back as a monstrous white tiger tore away one of his wings. This brought his attention back to the dragons previous engagement, but, before he could punish the hateful beast for daring to sneak attack him, his mind nked as he realized the winged white tiger looked very simr to Baihu. To further exacerbate matters, he noticed that, among the innumerable corpses of-sized creatures, a fiery bird resembling Zhuque could be seen hugging a miniature star in an attempt to regenerate a severed wing... Before he could look around to identify any of the otherbatants, an unbridled feeling of rage spread through Vahns mind as he felt another sharp pain, this time from his side. The Baihu-like winged tiger had just buried its teeth into his nk, seemingly intent on exploiting his momentary distraction. This caused a sun-like luminance to erupt from his body as a voice not his own echoed through the surrounding void, stating, "Submit...!" in a tone that resonated so powerfully that many nearbys fragmented into dust. Feeling a sensation simr to a nosebleed, only from his mind, Vahn felt his consciousness rapidly receding until an icy chill spread through his mind, followed by a second, infinitely more powerful voice, replying, "Even the Greatest Gods in Heaven gaze outwards towards the Abyss..." Following this simple attestation of the truth, Vahn felt his perception erupt outward, far beyond anything he had ever experienced before. Even the iprehensiblyrge serpent from before, its length great enough to span the distance between gxies, suddenly seemed insignificant against the vastness of the universe beyond. In fact, from an outside perspective, even the grand conflicts between god-like beings seemedpletely meanings, their very existence holding less value than the constituent particles of the universe... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn found himself staring dazedly at what appeared to be a single speck of dust among countless others floating about against an unfathomable expanse of nothingness. His awareness of the other specks caused his perception to grow even further, and, in the next moment, he found himself staring at a singr mote of light as an indefinable chill spread through his body. He felt as though it pierced every part of him, but, rather than coldness, it was a sensation of nothingness thatpletely transcended his previous perception of the Law... --- Though he awoke with a start, Vahn was horrified to realize that he couldnt feel or move a single part of his body. It was like he was having an out of body experience, and, much like when he was guiding his intent around, he could move about freely, change his orientation, pass through walls, and even transition to different points in space in an instant. This was something he was intimately familiar with, but,pared to his previous usages of the ability, it was like the difference between viewing a world through a screen and entering said world directly. Looking down on his own body, seemingly frozen in time, Vahn suddenly felt a disconcerting sense of unfamiliarity with himself. It was like he was looking at aplete stranger, and, for a very brief moment, he even felt a small amount of resentment towards the figure embracing two of his loved ones. This notion filled him with an indescribable sense of incongruity, and, shortly thereafter, it was like the entire world had begun spinning rapidly as a tugging sensation reminiscent of his entrance into the Record gave him an irresistible urge to vomit. Opening his eyes wide, Vahn released his hold on Ryun, blinking to the side of the best in an instant to eject arge volume of viscous ck liquid onto the floor. This caused both girls to startle awake, and, as could be expected, they both rushed to his side; concern and confusion visible in their gazes as they watched him retching air. Neither could see the substance expelled from his body, but, due to their overwhelmingly strong bond, Fenrir knew he was spitting up something. As a result, she did her best tofort him, patting his back as she looked to Ryun and said, "Stay off of the floor. We cant see it, but there is something there...something dangerous..." Realizing she might be in the way, Ryun nodded in response to Fenrirs words before retreating to her previous position. She could also sense something dangerous, but, unlike Fenrir, her feeling of dread was derived from the connection she shared with the Tower. This usually allowed her to see the myriad paths of fate, but, for the time being, the only thing her senses as a Guide could detect was absolute nothingness. It was like the entirety of fate had been subsumed, and, at least for the time being, she couldnt see so much as a single second into the future... Fortunately, it only took a few minutes for Vahn to recover, the contents of his stomachpletely emptied. By that point, the entire floor had been covered in several centimeters of the viscous ck substance, its surface glistening with a peculiar rainbow hue. This had caught Vahns attention, but, the moment he actually tried to observe it, the entirety of the ck substance had vanished without a trace. This left him feeling strangely empty, but, considering he had just discharged more than a thousand gallons of anomalous ck liquid from his stomach, feeling empty was pretty normal. Wiping away traces of nothing from his mouth, Vahn turned to the worried Fenrir with a wry smile on his face as he mused, "Well...that was unexpected..." in a somewhat hoarse tone. This resulted in Fenrir pouncing on him, tears building at the corners of her eyes as she squeezed him hard enough to force the air from his lungs as she sobbingly replied, "I was so worried...please dont leave me..." Though he was a little confused by Fenrirs words, awareness hit Vahn like a ton of bricks when Sis directed his attention to his Status. This caused his eyes to widen to an almostical extent, but, with a crying girl in his arms, he had other matters to attend. That didnt stop him from sneaking a few peeks, however, a cold sweat breaking out across his body as he contemted the implications of such a status... ----------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Error], Sobriquet: [Error] Age: [Error] Race: [Error], *sealed* Parameters: [Transcendental Path to Heaven: 1-6] Position(s): [Error] Strength: [Error] Toughness: [Error] Intellect: [Error] Agility: [Error] Control: [Error] Shinsu Resistance: [Error] Shinsu: [Error] Soul Tier: 5 (Realm Soul) Karma: [Error] Origin Points: 69,772,031 Innates: [Will of the Emperor: SSS], [Rakshasa Body: SS], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome: B], [Eyes of Truth: A], [Universal Mind: C], [Actualization: (-)] Skills: [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error], [Error]... [Actualization] Rank: Innate (-) *Innate Skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh* [Passive]: An ability attributed to the one who walks freely through all nes of existence. When viewed from the outside, all things be fiction. When viewed from within, perception gives rise to actuality. When not viewed, all things cease to be. Reality is shaped by perception. Perception is shaped by Comprehension. Comprehension is shaped by Will. Will is shaped by Intent. [Active]: [Internal Reality]: Allows the user to link fictional worlds to their own Internalized Realm. Linked worlds exist within the same Metaversal ne. [Active]: [Metaversal Crossroads]: Allows the user to enter a fictional world at any point within Time and Space. [Active]: [Causality Maniption]: Allows the user to shape events within a fictional world through their intentions. [Active]: [Subjective Manifestation]: Allows the user to freely assume the identity of anyone prior to entering a fictional world. [Active]: [Existence Erasure]: Allows the user to erase all evidence rted to their existence from a fictional world. ----------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Healing with fluff...,Some say that, when you gaze into the Abyss, it gazes back. In reality, however, the Abyss has always been watching (OwO)...I think Vahn just broke...?) (A/N: It took a lot longer than I expected to write this chapter. Reading up on abstract concepts and trying to find a way to incorporate them into a narrative is harder than youd think. This is the first time I actually had trouble getting to 2,000 words in a single chapter. Heck, without this little note, I would have only been around 1900. My shamelessness has evolved to a new level (OwO)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1857 Shadows Beneath the Moonligh

Chapter 1857 Shadows Beneath the Moonligh

Located deep within a forested region, set against the backdrop of a cliff adorned with numerous faces, arge vige sat isted and hidden away from the rest of the world. Though it had been more than a year since the end of the war, a tense atmosphere could be felt throughout the entire vige. Nobody knew why, but, on this particr night, even the light from the various businesses and streemps seemed uncharacteristically diminished. This allowed the light from the full moon to stand out even more so than usual, its glow reminiscent of the sun at midday despite the world below being shrouded in an umbral abyss. Noticing this peculiar incongruency, a man with spiky blond hair, gentle blue eyes, and handsome features couldnt help feeling nervous. He had tried to convince himself that this was the result of his own nerves, understandable considering his wife was about to have herbor induced; but, no matter how many times he repeated the words in his mind, he couldnt suppress the sentiment that something was wrong with the current situation. Just as the man was about to strengthen the barriers surrounding the secret chamber, two women wearing full-length robes appeared behind him, the most senior among them saying, "Lord Fourth, the time hase. Lady Uzumaki is requesting your presence at her side." Though his instincts were telling him to strengthen the security, the mans desire to be at his wifes side during the birth of their child was toopelling. He also knew this was a matter requiring the utmost secrecy, so, while he wanted nothing more than to station the entirety of his viges armed forces around the perimeter, doing so wouldpromise his already unstable political position. He had earned quite a number of enemies by bing a Hokage at such a young age, and, though it couldnt be denied that his actions were instrumental in ending the previous war, that did very little to increase his political power among the Noble ns and Vige Elders. Suppressing a sigh, the man surprised both of the female attendants by flickering out of existence in a sh of golden light. In the next moment, he was already at the side of a beautiful woman with vibrant red hair, vigorous blue eyes, and an understandably anxious expression. There were also a number of other women present, including a team of nurses and an experienced midwife who had been entrusted the task of delivering every primary descendent of the Noble ns for nearly thirty years. Despite knowing the pain it would cause him, the man unhesitantly grabbed the hand of his wife, forcing a smile even as her vice-like grip caused his bones to cry out in distress. It wasnt something he was proud to admit, but she had always been a lot stronger than him. Rather, due to her unique heritage and the beast sealed inside of her, she was significantly stronger than most people... Before the duo could so much as exchange words offort, the aged woman quickly interposed, her voice cold and professional as she stated, "You must remain absolutely focused at all times. No matter how painful thebor bes, you cannot afford to let your mind slip for even a moment. For the sake of yourself, your child, and the vige, you must remain resolute until the very end. As for you, Lord Fourth, I will entrust the task of sustaining the seal to you. Your desire to support your wife during herbor ismendable, but you will have your entire lives to strengthen your bonds. Do not let your emotions distract you, even at the time of birth...the moment we fail to perform our duty, the entire vige will suffer the consequences..." Though he wanted to make a counterargument, the man simply nodded in response to the elderly womans words before nting a kiss on his wifes forehead and whispering, "I believe in you...stay strong, Kushina..." --- Witnessing the scene y out before him, Vahn couldnt help but frown slightly. He wasnt upset by the fact that Minato had nted a kiss on the head of his own wife, but by the words and actions of the woman performing the delivery. She was certainly very experienced, but, using the excuse that Kushina needed to be fully cognizant throughout the procedure, no effort was made to alleviate her pain. This was in spite of the fact that it was possible to use the Healing Palm to significantly reduce sensations of pain withoutpromising the mental integrity of the patient... Though he didnt have a voice with which to speak, Vahn shifted his attention to the Law of Identity, who, understanding his thoughts, transformed into the woman before revealing, "She harbors no resentment towards Kushina. She is acting in ordance with the orders of a man named Shimura Danzo." Upon mention of Danzo, the Law of Identity instantly transformed into the man, adding, "He made an agreement with someone iming to be Madara Uchiha. He intends to use this incident in order to weaken public opinion towards the current Hokage and gain control of the Nine-Tails. They have an orphaned member of the Uzumaki Family on standby in order to seal it away once it goes out of control and destroys part of the vige." As Danzo was often depicted as a primary antagonist in various Naruto stories, Vahn wasnt even remotely surprised by the Law of Identitys words. Unfortunately, he already had a specific intention for this particr visit so Danzos punishment would have to wait untilter. It woulde, almost assuredly, but the most important thing, at least for the time being, wasprehending the extent and limitations of his new power. With this in mind, Vahn closely monitored the surrounding space for several kilometers, his domain providing a limited form of omniscience that allowed him to sense even the subtlest changes in the surrounding environment. This allowed him to easily detect the entity phasing through the ground, and, momentster, it allowed him to sense the exact moment when a masked man appeared from within a sub-dimensional void. Before the man could so much as take a single step forward, Vahn manifested, soundlessly, without so much as a single spatial fluctuation. Despite this, the man was somehow able to react, his body twisting in an inhuman disy of athletism as he attempted to kick the former with his open-toed sandals. Unfortunately, while his reaction speed wasmendable, there was an unreachable gulf between himself and the current Vahn. Though his movements appeared to be in slow motion, Vahn was able to casually extend his hand to grab the masked mans ankle. This caused thetter to attempt to be immaterial, but, with his mastery over space and time greatly exceeding anything the man could hope toprehend, it had absolutely no effect. The only thing he aplished was surprising himself, but,pared to what came next, his initial shock was just the tip of a veryrge iceberg. Fully aware of the mans past, Vahn decided he wouldnt be too heavy-handed with the masked man, better known as Obito Uchiha. He was someone who had been manipted most of his life, and, once he had learned the truth, he became one of the most instrumental figures in saving the world. This demonstrated that he was more than capable of redeeming himself, so, while it would have been a simple matter to just kill him, Vahns first action was to strike the mans cross-guard with an open palm. Feeling as though he had been hit by a train, Obitos left arm erupted, propelling a goopy white substance all over the battlefield as he was sent crashing through several trees. He reacted to this by trying to activate his Mangekyou Sharingan ability, pulling himself into his own sub-dimension. To his surprise, however, the ability activated just fine, but, no matter how much chakra he pumped into it, the gate simply wouldnt open. It was like the surrounding space was actively resisting his attempts to bend it, almost like it had bepletely solid... Realizing he was up against a monstrous opponent he knew absolutely nothing about, Obito tried to perform a Half Ram seal with his remaining right hand. He wanted to use the Shunshin-no-Jutsu to try and flee, but, before his chakra could fully circte, greatly increasing his speed, the fingers of his right hand were ensnared by the vice-like grip of his opponent. This caused his Mangekyou Sharingan, resembling a pinwheel, to spin counter-clockwise as he mentally cried out, ("Sharingan Jutsu...!"). Smirking in response to Obitos actions, Vahn used his free hand to poke the center of the mans mask, splitting it in two. This revealed the terrified yet resolute face of a young man, the right side of which was inordinately pale and warped. At nearly the exact same moment, several other masked individuals appeared in the surroundings, each attired in a grey vest set atop pitch-ck clothing that seemed to absorb light rather than diffuse it. Though the masked individuals looked like they wanted to attack, none dared move as, at the front of the formation, a man with blue eyes and spiky blond hair signaled for them to stand down as he hesitantly intoned, "Obito...is that really you?" Scowling in response to the mans address, Obito was preparing to part with his fingers, but, just as he had done in every previous instance, Vahn reacted much faster. His movements were so quick, in fact, that even Minatos pupils contracted to fine points as he couldnt even see the start-up motion for Vahns attack. By the time he realized what was happening, Obito was already hunched over, his legs giving out due to the spontaneous strike to his abdominal line. Allowing Obito the opportunity to catch his breath, Vahn turned around to face Minato, an action that caused the surrounding ANBU to tense up despite the young Hokage gesturing for them to stand down. This demonstrated just how little authority Minato had within his own vige as the ANBU were supposed to be unquestionably loyal to the current Hokage. Instead, they were more like Minatos escort, men and women tasked by the previous Hokage to look after his sessor... Shaking his head, Vahn preempted the anticipated interrogation by firmly stating, "My identity is not important. Just know that I am a friend, someone who hase here to prevent a tragedy and expose truths veiled within the darkness. I am not here to answer your questions, nor do I intend to stick around and pander to the fools who undermine the integrity of your authority. The only thing you need to know, at least for the time being, as that this young man, Obito Uchiha, is being lied to and manipted by Madara Uchiha. He has conspired with Danzo to undermine your authority as Hokage by unleashing the Nine-Tails against the Leaf Vige. His organization, ROOT, has collected numerous orphans from the previously destroyed Uzushiogakure, experimenting on his own allies rather than protecting them. How you deal with these matters is ultimately up to you. I have done my part in revealing part of the truth...now..." Punctuating his words, and causing even Minato to pull out a three-pronged kunai, Vahn made a grabbing gesture towards the air. This caused the surrounding space to twist, and, from within, an inordinately pale man with one half of his body shrouded in shadows found himself within Vahns grasp. Then, without further exnation, he generated crimson mes, burning the man to a crisp before shifting his attention back to Minato and saying, "Your duty might tie you to the vige, but a father who cant even protect his own son has no right to make such ims. Now, go. Kushina is about to give birth. You will regret it for your entire life if you arent there to witness it..." With that said, Vahn performed a perfunctory gesture of farewell before vanishing like a phantom, soundlessly and without even a hint of re. This caused Minato quite a bit of confusion, but, after seeing Obito attempt to perform a hand seal, he quickly came to his senses, shing next to the injured man and pping a seal on his forehead. This caused the one-eyed youth to immediately fall unconscious, his depleted reserves making it impossible for him to turn immaterial and avoid his capture... (A/N: Alternate Titles: OwO? Whats this~?,Well, that was certainly one-sided o_o...,Vahn can be such a Chuuni at times xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1858 Orchestration

Chapter 1858 Orchestration

Nursing a headacheparable to the one he would feel after forging a Zanpakuto, Vahn allowed Fenrir and Ryun to nurse him for the better part of five hours before finally extricating himself from the duos embrace and picking up the previously discarded volume of Naruto. Curious to see what effect, if any, his actions had on the events depicted in the Manga, Vahn began perusing the pages for any signs of change. To his surprise, he didnt even need to turn to the first page before he noticed the first change, the inclusion of himself as a mystery individual within the character index. Seeing a profile of himself, albeit veiled in shadow, Vahn couldnt help but crack a smile as a surreal feeling washed over him. He had often imagined himself within the worlds of countless anime and manga, but, without visiting the Records directly, he was powerless to actualize these desires. Now, he not only possessed the power to enter these worlds directly, but the choices he made during his stay had an observable influence on the sequence of events depicted. As part of his experiment, Vahn had acquired two identical copies of the Naruto manga as part of a bulk purchase. He wanted to see if his actions affected identical volumes, and, more importantly, he wanted to ascertain whether or not these changes would update retroactively in others of the same series. Unfortunately, while the changes he had made were very evident within the volume affected by his power, every other volume, including those purchased as part of the same set, remainedpletely unaffected. This wasnt necessarily a bad thing, but it was a little disheartening to know he couldnt see what other impacts the changes he introduced had on the world. He could probably get around this by entering a digital copy of said manga, but that was something he would need to experiment withter. As could be expected from actualizing a fictional world, effectively turning it into a Sub-Realm, it took quite a bit of mental and spiritual energy. Everything within was basically given form through his power, and, unless he used [Existence Erasure], the previously fictional world functioned simrly to a Record he had yet to enter. It had a fixed fate, and, though his actions could shape the flow of events, it appeared as little more than fiction from an outside perspective... Shaking his head, Vahn ced the affected volume of Naruto in his Inventory before recycling the others. Then, much like when he entered his Realm, he allowed his consciousness to descend into his Soul Realm, the aptly named space that housed his Ego and linked him to his real self outside the Record. This previously served as the central hub that contained objects such as the Realm and the Little Garden, but, now that he had finally ascended to Tier 5, it had now be reminiscent of the Root System he had observed in the Nasuverse. Though he had no form to speak of, Vahn was able to freely move about this space, a gentle smile spreading across his nonexistence face when he observed the nebulous sphere that represented his Realm. For reasons he couldnt fully understand, looking at it inspired feelingsparable to those he would experience when looking at his own children. It was like he was viewing an intrinsic part of himself, something he wanted to nourish and protect at all costs... Resisting the temptation to extend his hand and caress its surface, Vahn shifted his attention away from his Realm, this time directing his focus to a marble-sized sphere of white light. At a distance, it resembled a small star, one he could just reach out and casually grasp into the palm of his hand. As he got closer, however, the star began to grow exponentially in size, seemingly enveloping his non-existent body in a viscous membrane. Immediately after that, he found himself in the exact spot he had imagined, his intent loitering within the void as he observed the scene of Kushina punching the top of a young Narutos head with a loving yet wrathful expression on her face... With the changes he had introduced into the world, the incident involving the Nine-Tails destroying a part of Konoha never came to pass. As a result, Minato and Kushina both survived, and, though it hadnt exactly been smooth sailing, the former had managed to secure his position as Hokage after forcing Danzo to undergo the investigation of the Torture and Intelligence Division. This had been opposed by the former Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, but, as the current Hokage, the highest-ranking position in the vige, Minato had every right to subject a suspected traitor to interrogation. In the wake of Minatos actions, a rift had formed between the older generations of Konoha and the more progressive faction headed by the current Hokage. Hiruzen tried to act as a mediator between both sides, but, after Danzos crimes were brought to light,bined with the fact he had allowed Orochimaru to escape, his status invariably fell among the ns. In the end, he, alongside the other Elders of Konoha, became little more than Advisors without power. As for Minato, his position had improved considerably following the fall of Danzo, and, thanks to the tip offered by the mysterious man, the surviving Uzumaki had secured a small foothold among Konohas Noble ns. Unfortunately, without the pressure provided by Danzo, tensions between Konoha and the other Hidden Viges had been steadily increasing. There was still a lot of enmity between each of the viges following the end of the Third Shinobi War, and, though Minato had tried to broker peace with the Cloud and Sand, the formers attempts at kidnapping the Hyuuga Heiress, Hinata Hyuuga, ruined any chance for peaceful coexistence. The final straw was the Clouds attempt to use the Leaf Vige of murdering one of their envoys, willingly denying the existence of the kidnapping attempt. Unlike Hiruzen, Minato wasnt the type to sell out his own people when the fault clearlyy with the other party. It was inconceivable to him that anyone would want him to condemn an innocent man, much less a father trying to protect his daughter, to die for the sake of a peace someone else hadpromised. He knew what would have happened to Hinata if the Cloud managed to capture her, so, rather than punish one of his own for doing what any sensible person would have, he made the incident known to the public and began preparing for war. In the end, the Cloud issued a statement attempting to absolve themself of any and all wrongdoing by iming that the Leaf Vige was fabricating the kidnapping incident to cover up the fact they had murdered an envoy sent to secure peace. They tried presenting Minato as a blood-thirsty killer who had built his reputation through war, and, in an attempt to secure his position, now resorted to warmongering in lieu of diplomacy... Fortunately, despite their bluster and posturing, most of the viges, their Kage included, greatly feared Minato. He had made a name for himself by killing more than a thousand elite shinobi over the course of a single battle. This was a feat achieved without any assistance from allied forces, so, from that moment onward, flee on sight orders were issued to every shinobi. Those who ignored this order were virtually guaranteed to meet their end, and, during theter stages of the War, even the current Raikage and his Elite Unit had suffered a defeat at Minatos hands. For this reason, they dared not openly attack the Leaf Vige, as, at least for the time being, Minato was, inarguably, the most deadly shinobi among the Five Great Nations... Though it was different from when he was in his actual Realm, Vahn was made aware of everything that had taken ce within his personalized version of Naruto thanks to his [Actualization] Innate. It provided him a limited form of omniscience, and, most importantly, allowed him to view the Flow of Fate, much like he had in the Nasuverse. Unlike the aforementioned, however, he could now see the fate of the entire world, and, if he really wanted to, his instincts told him he could alter the flow with nothing more than his intent. Deciding he would put this to the test, Vahn allowed himself to be one with the surrounding currents, each frozen in time. This was the true source of his limited omniscience, and, by bing one with the ebb and flow of fate, he effectively learned everything about the current state of the world. He could even sense the amount of influence each individual had on therger flow of fate, and, by altering it ever-so-slightly, he could drastically influence the course of the entire world... Feeling his reserves of mental and spiritual energy draining at a remarkable rate, Vahn didnt idle within therger flow of fate for too long. He just tweaked a few things in an attempt to inhibit the onset of war before attaching his intent to the currents flowing around Naruto. This allowed him to peer into the boys future, and, though he couldnt remove every setback, as pain and loss were a natural part of life, he could at least guarantee a favorable oue. This version of Naruto might not be his son, but, for a number of reasons, Vahn feltpelled to extend his hand to the vibrant, clear-eyed, youth... With simr intentions, Vahn tweaked the fates of several other characters in the timeless world before setting the events he had orchestrated into motion. This included curing Itachi of his illness, obliterating the stone monument of the Uchiha, arranging a fated meeting between Tsunade and Fuu, reinforcing the seal on Shukaku, and, though it was a little petty of him, he set Orochimaru on a path that resulted in him greatly offending Nagato. This resulted in him having his soul pulled out by thetter, effectively removing any influence he had on the timeline once Jiraiya subsequently investigates the disappearance of his former friend. Vahn couldnt be certain that everything would go as he orchestrated,rgely due to the need to maintain bnce, but, at the very least, he had made a concerted effort to improve things. Hisst action within the Sub-Realm was to ce numerous household objects into his Inventory, curious to learn whether or not they could be removed. His intuition told him this was impossible, but, as someone who constantly perpetuated the belief that nothing was impossible, there was merit in trying. He might not be able to achieve it now, but, once he figured out how to reconcile the Laws of his Fictional Sub-Realms with those of the outside world, there would be nothing to prevent him from borrowing even heaven-defying objects from among the countless worlds included within his Internal Reality... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn couldnt help but consider the possibility of connecting his Realm to the countless worlds that would invariablye to exist within his Internal Reality. Each had been given form through him, and, though there were bound to be a number of restrictions, there was no reason why it shouldnt work. Rather, now that he had reached Tier 5, he should be able to superimpose his Realm onto reality. He had already confirmed the viability of this feat while he was still a Tier 4, so, now that he had be a legitimate Tier 5, the only thing that could prevent him from influencing external reality were Axis Users and Gods with greater authority than his own... Realizing the implications contained within this line of thinking, Vahn allowed his consciousness to return to the outside world. Not even a single second had passed since the time of his immersion, but, as could be expected, his brain felt like it had turned to goo. This required him to recuperate in the Little Garden for more than three days, a sensible choice considering the absolute bem that urred once he sessfully created a bridge between the Emerald Grove and a facility that had been prepared by Da Vinci in anticipation for this day... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Advent of the Self-Insert God...,RIP Orochimaru...,The ultimate Cliff-sama...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1859 Reunion : Rebirth

Chapter 1859 Reunion : Rebirth

Ignoring the molten stone gradually hardening around him, Vahn continued to stare up at the sky with an absentminded smile on his face. He seemed oblivious to the fact that he was in the center of a massive crater, his eyes glistening with a cyan reflection as he gazed at the massive spell circle spreading across the sky. For a moment, it seemed like the inordinatelyplex series of magic circles would spread to cover the entire Heavens, but, after spreading three kilometers, the edges became wispy before ultimately disappearing entirely. This caused the entire spell circle to temporarily be unstable, but, under the nearly unrivaled control of the caster, it was quickly modified to fit within the confines of Vahns domain. Then, seemingly without even a hint of mercy, the mature beauty floating near the center of the formation adopted a cruel smile as she softly uttered, "Kosmike Katastrofe..." Immediately following the utterance, the temperature around Vahn, extending for several hundred meters, instantaneously dropped to absolute zero as jagged pirs of ice erupted from the ground. At the same time, the entirety of Vahns domain was filled with a hazy white glow, the result of the interior temperature dropping to around -270C. This gave the battlefield an appearance simr to a snow globe, and, for a brief moment, even time seemed to have been frozen by the catastrophic attack. Seemingly unaffected by the surrounding temperatures, Vahn slowly rose to a seated position, his movements shattering the icy pirs that had encapsted him. This subsequently resulted in him being buried by the icy debris, but, as if it had absolutely no mass, he was able to extricate himself from it by simply floating upwards like a balloon through empty air. Coming to a stop right in front of the mature beauty who had attempted to imprison him, a wry smile spread across Vahns face as he remarked, "Ill need to conduct additional experiments, but it seems like Ive bepletely immune to damage within my own domain...how troublesome..." Rolling her eyes in response to Vahnsint, the woman casually closed the remaining distance between them, her arms wrapping around his naked body as she replied, "What meaning is there in taking damage when you can never truly die? The end result remains unchanged, so why would you be upset? Did you be a masochist when I wasnt looking...?" Chuckling in response to the womans words, Vahn returned her embrace with his own, cradling her in his arms as he mused, "Only in your dreams..." before nting a kiss on her forehead. Seemingly interpreting Vahns words as a challenge, a predatory smile spread across the womans face as she attempted to grab his exposed member. Before she could, however, Vahn gave her butt a light pinch before phasing through her body and remarking, "There will be plenty of time for thatter. Besides, if were going to y around, Id much rather keep the real youpany. It feels like its been a while since Ist heard you crying out my name..." With a crimson hue spreading across her face, the woman, Eva, gathered a phenomenal amount of mana into her hand before punching the back of Vahns head. This caused a massive shockwave to ripple through the atmosphere, shattering the icy particles that continued to permeate the entirety of Vahns domain. Unfortunately, other than ttening part of his hair with her fist, Eva was unable to deal even a minimal amount of damage with her full-force blow. Turning to face his assant, Vahn a simrly wry smile as before, rubbing the back of his head as he said, "I was just joking...besides, you know I like it when you call out my name. There is nothing to be ashamed of..." With her face turning gradually redder, Eva looked like she was on the verge of exploding due to abination of rage and embarrassment. This caused Vahns expression to soften into a somewhat apologetic smile, but, before he could say anything, she just sighed huffily, crossing her arms as she remarked, "Im not going to argue with you. Just know that Ill have my revenge once we return to the Realm..." Choosing not toment on Evas still-present blush, Vahn nodded his head in response to Evas words before equipping a new set of clothes. His previous set had beenpletely obliterated, a surprisinglymon urrence whenever he was involved. He had tried to prevent this numerous times, but, no matter how robust his personal armaments were, they invariably turned to dust the moment he faced off against a powerful foe. Shaking his head in response to the wayward train of thought, Vahn surprised Eva by spontaneously lifting her into a princess carry. Then, before she could protest, he teleported to the location of an ongoing banquet that was attended by his primary vessel, more than thirty residents of Avalon, and virtually every inhabitant of the Emerald Grove. This included most of his wives, and, though it was a little risky, even Xysteria had been allowed to visit. She wasnt allowed to wander very far, but, at the very least, she was able to interact with others in a way that couldnt be achieved within the Realm... --- After a very long celebration, Vahn had most of the central figures within the Realm gather within the facility that had been constructed by the Little Gardens R\u0026D Department. There was still a lot they needed to discuss, and, thanks to Da Vinci, Vahn now had a much better understanding of the current situation. To that end, he gathered everyones attention by gesturing for silence, a serious expression recing his usually rxed smile as he said, "Now that things have developed to this point, everyone here has an important decision to make..." Picking up where Vahn trailed off, Da Vinci went on to exin, "As it stands, our powers, nay, our very existences, are akin to realistic illusions. The moment we attempt to leave the boundaries of Vahns domain, we will, quite literally, cease to exist within this world. Though it is safe to assume that Vahn can simply manifest us anew, this ces a heavy strain on his power. The more of us he summons, the smaller his domain bes. In order to stay in this world for any reasonable length of time, the best option seems to be transnting our souls into physical vessels that are bound by the Laws of this world. This will require us to grow our power from scratch, but, so long as we make use of the Little Garden, it should only take a few years for us to regain our respective powers." Without even a moments hesitation, Mordred mmed the table with enough force to splinter it as she shouted, "I want to fight alongside Chichiue! Even if I have to be reborn and remade a thousand times, my decision wont change...!" Though he felt a sense of vindication hearing Mordreds exmation, Vahn still gestured for her to calm down as a wry yet prideful smile developed across his face. This caused the fiery tomboys face to turn slightly red, but, even after plopping back onto her seat, an excited light continued to burn within her eyes. She was happy to be the first to speak out, and, seeing the appreciation contained within Vahns gaze, it was difficult to prevent a toothy grin from spreading across her face... Following Mordreds outburst, virtually everyone present expressed their desire to be reborn within the Transcendental Path to Heaven. They wanted to be of use to him, and, though they enjoyed life within the Realm, possessing absolute power in a world that didnt require such extremes made it difficult to focus on things like training and research. The flow of time within the Realm could also be stopped at Vahns leisure, so, even if they spent thousands of years helping him pursue his goal, no harm would befall the Empire in their absence. In the end, the only person adamant about remaining in the Realm was Da Vinci. She, like any other Tier 5, could easily continue her research so long as Vahn allowed her to exist outside the Principle Axis of Time. There were a number of projects she wanted toplete, and, more importantly, she still wanted to help reconcile the Laws within the Realm with those of the Outside world. She knew it was only a matter of time before travel between the two became possible, so, rather than give up her power and abandon all her projects, she was determined to continue making headway until the inevitable moment when the Transcendental Path to Heaven became just another part of Vahn... --- After what felt like months within the Little Garden, Vahn emerged to find himself within his room aboard the Hell Train. This caused him to pause for several minutes, his mind momentarily drawing a nk as memories of the events preceding his most recent awakening gradually resurfaced. Now, however, his rage had dulled considerably, and, after conducting a number of experiments with his [Actualization] Innate, the affairs of the Tower suddenly seemed distant and mundane... Giving himself a few light pats on the cheeks, simr to someone trying to psyche themselves up in front of a mirror, Vahn extricated himself from the bed before summoning, not just Fenrir and Ryun, but Illya, Artoria, Gray, Mordred, Eva, Asuna, and Karin to his side. He had agreed to let them travel alongside him whenever he was inside of a Regr area, so, for thest five months, they had been training themselves tirelessly to master their chosen Positions. As could be expected, Illya and Eva had both chosen to be Wave Controllers while Artoria and Asuna had dutifully selected Fisherman as their primary Positions. Far more surprising was the fact that Mordred, Karin, and Gray had all chosen to be Scouts, but, considering they could just as easily fill every other Position, it didnt really matter. Mordred just wanted the opportunity to charge ahead of everyone else, and, thanks to her experience leading shock troops, she was very skilled at catching enemies by surprise... Unable to contain himself, a natural smile spread across Vahns face the moment he summoned the girls from within the Little Garden. He always felt happier whenever they were around, but, more so than that, it was the appearance of the girls that brought a smile to his face. With the exception of Karin, who currently sported a pair of perky cat ears and a tail, each of the other girls had adopted marginally more youthful, slightly draconic, features. Though they had always greatly resembled each other, Artoria, Mordred, and Gray could now be mistaken as triplets. The only differences between them were their individual styles, and, as could be expected, their hair, eye, horn, and tail colors. Artoria and Mordred still possessed their golden locks, but, out of consideration for their original selves, the formers draconic features were white while thetters were red. As for Gray, she was the most unique amongst the three due to her left horn being ck while her right horn was white. This feature also appeared in her tail, but, rather than being split down the center, the exterior was covered in pitch-ck scales while the underside was covered in a contrasting white. Since Artoria and Mordred had already been dragons prior to their rebirth, they had a much easier time adapting to their new forms. Gray had a marginally more difficult time, but, after some careful guidance from her senior dragons, she was eventually able to get her emotions and instincts under control. As for Asuna and Eva, neither had any particr issues due to their inordinate mastery over their own emotions. Asuna had even remastered the State of Nothingness in a very short period of time, and, though she had momentarily be a lot more fierce during their lovemaking, it only took a few weeks for Eva to mellow out. Understanding that the girls simply wanted to feel closer to him, Vahn had no problems recreating them as True Dragons. He had always been weak against such sentiments, and, though it resulted in him suffering quite a number of bites and bruises, he didnt particrly mind. Rather, he had always been rather fond of girls with tails, and, more than any other, dragon girls had thick, muscr, and pleasantly squishy tails. The only sensation he enjoyed more was fluffing up and snuggling Fenrirs ears and tail, traits that were now possessed by both Ryun and Illya... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Now he is almost indistinguishable from an Axis User...,It is difficult being a warrior in a Realm of perpetual peace...,RIP Tower-chan...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1860 Moving Forward by Taking a Few Steps Back

Chapter 1860 Moving Forward by Taking a Few Steps Back

Since virtually everything in the Tower was new to them, the Hell Train included, Vahn gave the girls a detailed overview of the current situation while guiding them to where the God of Guardians was located. They had all basically reincarnated into the current Record, and, unlike Fenrir, their origins had very little to do with The Path. He was hoping this would allow them to undergo the process of Revolution, and, if they were lucky, it might provide them a significant increase in power. Though theirbat experiences and mastery over certain Laws would allow them to fight against much stronger foes, each of the girls, on average, had the equivalent strength of a B-Rank Regr. This was in spite of the fact they possessed the inordinately powerful physiques of a True Dragons, and, most importantly, functionally unlimited reserves of energy. Given enough time, the girls would invariably be some of the most powerful beings within the entire Record, but, for the time being, they were still adapting to the changes of their body and the instability of their Soul. The process of separating them from the Realm and transnting them into the Record was an incredibly destructive process, and, if not for his recent breakthrough into Tier 5, effectively allowing him to manifest their Spirits within his domain, it would have been exceptionally difficult to prevent their Egos from fragmenting. Unfortunately, regardless of his skill level, it was impossible to prevent some amount of loss during the transition. The boundless energyprising their Egos was something altogether foreign to the current Record, so, even after the transfer, they needed to stay within the bounds of his domain for several months. During this time, they were required to cultivate numerous techniques that would, slowly but surely, rece the energy within their Ego. This was an exceptionally painful process, but, considering the alternate was the effective erasure of their Selves, everyone who had chosen to exit the Realm had been required to endure it. Now, after a month of rehabilitation and training, the girls were more determined than ever to stay at his side, and, just as they wished to support him, Vahn was more than willing to do the same. His journey might result in him standing alone at the pinnacle of all creation, but, until that penultimate moment, he was happy to journey alongside the people he loved. Just being around them filled him with a sense of purpose, and, though their presence reminded him of the family he had left behind, these same sentiments became the motivation propelling him further forward... --- Giving voice to the words that had danced across everyone elses minds, Eva adopted a slightly incredulous expression as she looked up at the God of Guardians and remarked, "Someones been eating their wheaties..." Cocking his head to the side, visible confusion could be seen in Donars countenance as he said, "I did not expect you back so soon...have you brought these people here to undergo Revolution?" Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn plopped his hand down on Mordreds head, ruffling her hair as he said, "These are my family and loved ones. Though they are far removed the concept of what you refer to as the outside, they should better fit the definition of what you call an Irregr. I want you to allow them to undergo Revolution, starting with this spunky youngdy." Happy to both have her head pat and her name volunteered to be the first to receive strength, a toothy smile immediately developed across Mordreds face as she puffed out her modest chest and eximed, "Give me your best! I can ovee any challenge you throw at me, mountain man...!" Frowing in response to the womans boastful words, Donar feltpelled to say something, but, with Vahn smiling up at him, he felt that doing so would be a mistake. Instead, he leaped up to the top of the Rice Pot, opening the lid as he exined, "Im afraid only one person can experience the process of Revolution at a time. There are only five days until the train reaches the next destination. Are you sure you wish to start now?" Preempting any further discussion, Mordred skillfully leaped to the edge of the Rice Pot before hopping inside. This was her opportunity to surpass her mother, and, though it might only be for a short period of time, it was something she had dreamed of for hundreds of years. Just the thought of being the strongest made her feel giddy and excited, so, regardless of the consequences, she charged forward without any hesitation... Understanding her daughters thoughts, Artoria couldnt help but shake her head as she remarked, "That child stillcks discipline...I wonder which of us is most to me...?" Though he knew this was her attempt at making a joke, a glimmer of guilt could be seen in Vahns eyes as he adopted a wry smile and rubbed the back of his head. This earned him amused giggles from several of the girls, Artoria included. Fortunately, while they had eache to enjoy teasing him quite a bit, the girls generally held back their urges whenever outsiders were present. This was especially true for Artoria, who, prior to her rebirth, asked if her status as a Knight could be reinstated. Bing his Empress was one of the proudest moments in her entire life, but, first and foremost, she had the heart and soul of a Knight. She also had very little interest in politics after experiencing the idyllic structure of the Empire, so, at least for the time being, she wanted to walk a path separate from her status as the Phoenix Dragon Empress. As his official Knight Commander, helping to maintain his image was one of the duties Artoria took most seriously. Because of this, her expression immediately turned into a more serious countenance the moment Donar, the God of Guardians, leaped down from the Rice Pot. She even moved to step in between them, her hand naturally gravitating towards the handle of her Asauchi. She had lost the ability to wield both Excalibur and Rhongomyniad, for obvious reasons, so, while he fully expected her to awaken a Zanpakuto with a simr shape, the current Artoria wielded a sword reminiscent of the Caliburn at her hip. Understanding her expectations of him, Vahn performed a stopping gesture with his right hand as he stated, "Stand down." in amanding voice. In response, Artoria promptly retracted her hand from her de, and, though it was entirely unnecessary, she performed an irreproachable Knights salute before taking her ce at his side. This caused the God of Guardians no small measure of confusion, but, rather thanment on it, he asked, "Will you remain here until yourpanion emerges? In some cases, Revolution can take several months. When Jahad and the Great Warriors boarded this train in the ancient past, it took nearly six years for them toplete their training..." Having already formed Pactios with Mordred and most of the other girls, Vahn shook his head in response to the God of Guardians words, saying, "She possesses the means to contact us once she haspleted her Revolution. Though Ill have someone periodically check in on her, our principal objective is the elimination of the entity known as White. If Mordred emerges before then, you can just teach her that unique Shinsu Control Skill of yours. Just be careful. She can be a little spirited at times." Though he felt like Vahn had just entrusted him with a short-fused explosive, Donar still nodded his head before saying, "Very well. Since each of yourpanions are qualified to undergo Revolution, they also possess the right to learn the same control technique bestowed upon Jahad and the Great Warriors, the Shinsu ck-Hole Sphere. You possess the same right, but, considering the power you already possess, Im not sure how useful it would be for you..." Chuckling in response to the mans words, Vahn gestured towards Eva, Illya, and Fenrir catching the trios attention as he stated, "There are five days remaining until our arrival at the next station. Until then, Ill have you teach your control technique to these three lovelydies. Among the people here, they are the most talented when ites to the external maniption of energy. They may not be able to master it in such a brief span of time, but I have absolute confidence in their ability to grasp the technique before the weeks end." Though they could appreciate Vahns trust in them, the reactions of the trio were significantly less zealous than the fervor disyed by Mordred. Eva even adopted a frown, her brows creased ever so slightly as she asked, "Do you think Ill just let you run off while I spend the next five days training? I dont give a damn about some special control technique. Hell, I can probably create an actual ck Hole if I really wanted to. Why would I stay here and ept the teachings of someone else? Are you looking down on me?" Finding himself at a loss, Vahn simply adopted an awkward smile in response to Evas rebuttal. He hadnt exactly forgotten how willful she could be, but, now that they were traveling together, it was apparent he would need to take this into consideration when he was making decisions. At the very least, he could have avoided the current situation by asking for her opinion rather than putting her name forward and deciding without her input. Now, she would be very resistant to the idea of them separating, as, more than anything else, her primary reason for venturing into this world was to stay at his side. The idea of separating, even for the purpose of training, was something she was bound to oppose, seemingly with extreme prejudice. Realizing she might have overreacted, Eva adopted a slightly apologetic expression, arms crossed as she added with a huff, "If you really want me to stay and learn-" Interrupting before she could finish, Vahn shook his head, his smile turning gentle and affectionate as he remarked, "No. Its fine. I should have taken your feelings into consideration. Though I want to track down White before FUG manages to unseal him, I shouldnt be prioritizing some random guy Ive never met over the people I genuinely care about. For now, how about we all learn the Shinsu ck Hole Sphere together? Who knows, Mordred might even finsh her Revolution in the next five days. I imagine she would be a lot happier if were all waiting here when she emerges..." Though she couldnt help feeling marginally guilty, a loving smile spread across Evas face as she nodded in response to Vahns words. She knew she had probably overreacted, but, after several months of painful preparations, the thought of separating so soon made her feel ufortable. She wanted to be stronger, sure, but, more so than anything else, she just wanted to spend more time with the person she loved. This was a sentiment shared by most of the women who had chosen to apany him, the sole exception being Karin, who, despiteing to worship Vahn as her God, primarily emerged from the Realm in order to apany Eva... --- Unaware of what was taking urring outside, Mordred could be seenzily blowing bubble as she continued to descend further into the seemingly endless abyss. She had never been known for her patience, so, despite only a few hours having passed, she was already beginning to lose interest in the Rice Pot. The only thing the kept her calm was the knowledge that, the longer it took for her to descend, the greater her potential. She knew it had taken three days for Fenrir to reach the bottom, so, at the very least, she was prepared for her descent tost around the same length of time... (A/N: Alternate Titles: True Dragons are hax...,Revolution~!,Imagine Mordreds reaction when it takes less than a day for her to reach the bottom xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1861 Breakthrough

Chapter 1861 Breakthrough

As a Tier 5 who had reached the pinnacle of a far moreplex magical system, it only took Eva two days to practically master the Shinsu ck Hole Sphere. This left the God of Guardians utterly speechless, but, seemingly dissatisfied with just leaving the man at a loss, Eva then proceeded to give a far more detailed exnation of how the ability worked. To make matters even worse for the dutiful giant, she had even managed to deconstruct it into a magical form, effectively producing an equation that would allow virtually anyone to use the unique control method. The saddest part, at least for the God of Guardians, was that Vahn would easily be able to inscribe said form onto various equipment and armaments. This would effectively allow anyone wielding the items to make use of the coveted control technique, regardless of theirprehension of said ability. This would be extremely beneficial for people like Artoria and Mordred, who, in spite of their masterful control and functionally limitless reserves, struggled to grasp even the basics of magical forme. Thanks to Evas insights, Vahn, Fenrir, Illya, and Asuna were able to master the basics of the Shinsu ck Hole Sphere before the Conductor announced their imminent arrival at the 36th Floors train station. Considering they were all Archmages, however, this wasnt particrly surprising. What dide as a surprise was the fact that even Ryun had made marginal breakthroughs in understanding the control technique; something that was deemed impossible during the God of Guardians initial exnation. In essence, the Shinsu ck Hole Sphere required the user to create an artificial singrity to serve as a core within a Baang. Standard Baangs were formed by the willful maniption of Shinsu in the surroundings, effectively requiring the ability to both sense and control the peculiar energy in order to shape it to their will. Shinsu ck Hole Spheres ignored these two requirements, and, so long as you understood the method to create an artificial singrity capable of drawing in the surrounding Shinsu, you could create Baangs with terrifying destructive capabilities. The only caveat was, without an advanced understanding of spatialws, allowing you to manipte and control the surrounding Space, controlling a fully materialized Shinsu ck Hole Sphere was exceptionally difficult... --- Though he had seen it countless times before, Vahn couldnt help but smile when he saw Artoria don her nostalgic battle raiment,plete with a fur-lined mantle. This was immediately noticed by the person in question, who, rather than fluster about, simply returned his smile as she asked, "How long has it been since we stood together like this...?" Unable to resist the urge, Vahn issued a subdued sigh in response, his expression softening as he muttered in a hushed tone, "Too long...far too long..." Agreeing with this sentiment, Artoria went on to nod her head before saying, "The only thing that matters is that we are together, here, at this moment. The past is in the past. Our aspirationsy in the future. From now on, let us do our best to shape it...all of us...together..." Feeling even more nostalgic than before, Vahn was tempted to reach out and caress Artorias cheek, his expression morphing into an affectionate and slightly reverent gaze. Before he could, however, a slightly pouty voice could be heard at the side, shattering the rosy atmospherepletely as Asuna remarked, "Maybe I should leave the two of you alone..." in a t monotone. Blushing in response to Asunas words, Artoria was about to say something before Vahn beat her to the punch, musing, "It seems your draconic nature is acting up again...after this is taken care of, how about a quick visit to the Outer Rings, just the three of us? You know Im more than willing to lend a hand when youre feeling frustrated, Asuna..." Simr to Artoria, Asuna couldnt prevent a blush from bleeding into her cheeks at the mention of a foray into the Outer Rings. At the same time, a robust heat began to spread through her body, and, though she did her best to restrain it, she could prevent her tail from twitching in anticipation. This caused her to feel even more embarrassed, her cheeks gaining a scarlet hue as she averted her eyes and muttered, "Bully..." in a perceptively impassioned tone. Though he was tempted to tease her further, Vahn was silenced by a slightly pointed look, courtesy of a blushing Artoria. They were about to reach their destination, and, though she wouldnt overtly tell him to stop, her actions were a reminder to be mindful of the situation. Since he didnt want to embarrass them in front of others, this put an immediate stop to his antics, his expression turning slightly more serious as he responded with a curt nod of understanding. This ended up being the correct decision, as, momentster, the three of them came across Johns group standing near an exit. Noticing the presence of others, John and hispanions immediately became tense until they noticed who, exactly, was standing at the front of the group. After that, visible relief could be seen on their faces as John, adopting a friendly smile, raised his hand in a gesture of greeting as he said, "Its good to see you. We were really worried when you didnt appear in the residential district even after several days. What have you been up to thesest couple of weeks...?" With Johns eyes briefly wandering to Artoria and Asuna, it was pretty obvious he also wanted to ask about them, but, fearing he might inadvertently cause offense, he didnt directly broach the subject. He could be pretty tactful at times, and, though he couldntpletely prevent himself from gawking at the two inordinate beauties, he was able to collect himself rtively quickly. Smiling in response to the mans greeting, Vahn resisted the temptation to wrap his arms around his two wives. Instead, he gestured towards each of them in turn, revealing, "These two lovelydies are Artoria Aldrnari Pendragon and Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia Mason. I am blessed beyondpare to have both as my wives." Bowing slightly in response to her own introduction, Artoria followed up Vahns words by saying, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.". As for Asuna, she just adopted a friendly smile, gesturing in a manner simr to John as she said, "Nice to meetcha!" in aparably casual manner. Surprised by the revtion, John, along with the rest of his team members, found themselves at aplete loss for words. They each had a number of questions dancing about their minds, the most notable pertaining to the girls origins, and how they were able to board the Hell Train. Rather than risk offending their benefactor, however, the majority just adopted awkward smiles as John went on to say, "Its nice to meet you, Artoria, Asuna..." before returning his gaze to Vahn and asking, "What are you going to do from now on? My team has decided to disembark here and return to the 35th Floor. We had more trouble than anticipated during the trial so we intended to spend the next ten months training before trying again next year." Approving of Johns decision, Vahn nodded his head before patting the average-looking youth on the shoulder and remarking, "Wolhaiksong wasnt mistaken when they scouted you as a prospective member. A lot of people would have continued pressing forward in spite of the dangers, blinded by the prospect of rewards. Rather than risk your lives over nothing, it would be better for you to clear the Floors through your own efforts and then double back to board the Hell Express. Just make sure you arent going out of your way to suppress those weaker than yourselves. As for me, Im going to continue forward. My goals can only be achieved by moving further up the Tower. Since this might be ourst time meeting, I want you to ept these gifts. I specifically prepared them for each of you so dont even think about refusing." Without affording the quintet the opportunity to refuse, Vahn began pulling out numerous items from his Inventory, shoving it into their hands. This included upgraded weapons, defensive artifacts, and, most importantly, a number of useful cooking tools and a surplus of special ingredients. These would help the group drastically increase their capabilities over the next year; and, while it wouldnt let them be powerhouses on part with descendants of the Ten Great Families, it would provide them a significant advantage against otherpeting Regrs. Vahn had basically be fed up with the structure of the Tower, so, at the very least, he wanted to help those who hadnt been irreversibly corrupted by its influence. In truth, he would like to help everyone, but, understanding the impracticality of such a pursuit, his primary focus was those right in front of him. As for his Temtes, they had recently started venturing into various fictional worlds in order toplete Quests. Soon enough, they would be loosed into the Tower, and, though their actions were wholly their own, he could still take partial credit for the people they helped along the way... With several brand new Needles and a number of other useful items forced upon him, John found himself at aplete loss for words. The same could be said for the rest of his team members, but, as the primary recipient of Vahns interest, he had received the greatest number of boons. This was intended to help him strengthen his position as leader, as, after observing the youth, Vahn was fully confident that John would share with the rest of his team. Finding their bewilderment to be rather amusing, a light chuckle escaped Vahns throat as he ruffled Johns hair and said, "You should put those items away before we arrive. People, especially Regrs, can be very greedy. If they discover you have a surplus of useful equipment, there would be no end to the number of people coveting your supplies. I can make sure nobody antagonizes you once we reach the station, but youll be on your own after that." Having experienced the greed of other Regrs first hand, Team John immediatelyplied with Vahns words. There were no limits to the depravity of some Regrs, and, so long as it meant they could have their wishes granted, no manner of crime was beyond their capacity tomit. This was one of the reasons for the continued survival of FUG. They epted virtually any applicant, and, no matter how grievous your crimes, you would always find a ce for yourselves among the criminals and despotsprising the rebellious organization... --- After descending into the watery abyss for more than two days, Modreds expression turned sour as she noticed her surroundings gradually lighting up. She interpreted this as her nearing the bottom, and, for a brief moment, she genuinely considering trying to swim upwards in an attempt to extend the amount of time taken. Fortunately, she realized the folly of such action, so, rather than resist the descent, she began to gradually increase her speed, a crimson aura surrounding her body... Like a meteor descending from the heavens, Mordred crashed into the floor of the Rice Pot with the intention of breaking through the foundation of her own potential. After all, a persons potential was constantly changing, and, so long as they continually pushed themselves, there were absolutely no limits to a persons growth. Mortals could be Gods, and, through an inordinate amount of effort, Gods could even be something more. Thus, rather than ept that this was her limit, Mordred was determined to break through, and, if necessary, continue digging until the very nails on her hands gave way. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for a person to break through the foundation of their potential. As someone who had ascended to godhood through her own efforts, however, Mordred was far from what anyone would ssify as normal. Thus, rather than stop upon hitting the ground, she smashed through the endless ne of cogs with meteoric force, shattering tens of thousands in the resultant explosion. Immediately thereafter, a massive red dragon appeared from within the smoke, tearing away at the mechanical foundation with the fervor of a mole tunneling into loose soil... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Eva is a bully xD...,Vahn is so excessive...,You think this is my limit!? Witness the power of the Sage Dragon Emperors Pampered Princess...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1862 Tyran

Chapter 1862 Tyran

Though there were a number of exceptions, such as the Name-Hunt Station on the 39th Floor, the Hell Express typically stopped for a total of one hour at each of the nine stations. This was further broken down into two thirty-minute blocks, the first allowing passengers to debark and the second allowing new arrivals to board. Just as he had done on the previous Floor, Vahn was intending to restrict ess to the Hell Train. This time, however, he wasnt going to allow anyone to board as the odds of them getting in his way was simply too great. He was about to hunt down one of the ancient yers of FUG, so, for their own sake, he couldnt allow other Regrs to embark until he had finished his business. With this in mind, Vahn waited until the doors opened before stepping out ahead of John and hispanions. Immediately thereafter, his domain swept across the circr ring below, upon which more than three-hundred opportunistic Regrs had gathered. They had intentions for any of the Regrs who might be disembarking the Hell Train, and, so long as they yed their cards right, it was possible to join a team of Ticket Holders after seizing the tickets of previous passengers. Recognizing a few faces among the crowd, Vahns eyes squinted slightly as his figure seemed to vanish from atop the stairs. In the next moment, he appeared right in front of Sachi Faker and his team, smiling as he asked, "Are you looking down on me? I told you before. Aka has lost their right to board the Hell Express. Trying to sneak them onboard using a Lighthouse is a trick even a toddler wouldnt fall for...I mean, really..." Punctuating his words, Vahn forcibly teleported the Lighthouse concealed on the far side of the Hell Express. Then, before the Light Bearer apanying Sachi could react, he smashed the pale yellow cube into several smaller fragments, forcing ejecting everything within. This included Aka, who, after a month of rest and rxation, now appeared without so much as a trace of their former injuries. Shaking his head in disappointment, Vahn directed his gaze towards Sachi, frowning as he released the man from his Reverse Flow Control and said, "I will be dealing with the person who killed Roen. If possible, I will also try and help her. For now, your group should wait patiently on the 44th Floor. Now that youve attempted this little stunt, you have all lost your right to board the Hell Express. If you continue trying my patience, dont me me for the consequences." Without sticking around to humor the mans response, Vahn teleported to a spot above the circr arena, a ce where everyone present could see him. Then, in an authoritative voice that resonated throughout the entirety of the tform, he stated, "The Hell Express is off-limits this year. I will give you the next twenty minutes to depart. Any who remain after that will be forcibly removed from the arena and have their tickets seized." Though some people had heard about what happened on the 35th Floor, very few people actually moved to withdraw from the arena. They also didnt wander very far. Instead, they took up positions along the outskirts, most intending to spectate while others were awaiting an opportunity to take advantage of the ensuing conflict. Rather than minding the opportunistic individuals hoping for his fall, Vahn gradually floated toward the Hell Express while scanning the crowd below. He noticed there were quite a number of Regrs belong to FUG mixed within the crowd. They stood out due to the fact that nearly every member of their team wore hooded cloaks, and, unlike the other Regrs gathered below, they radiated an air of confidence that didnt match their strength. Though he could easily guess based on the context of the current situation, Vahn still had the Law of Identity confirm their intentions. Unsurprisingly, they were intending to board the Hell Express, and, due to him ignoring the first team sent by FUG, they mistakenly believed he would allow them to do so. Amused by their audacity, Vahn couldnt prevent a light chuckle from escaping his lips as he came to a stop on the stairs leading up to the Hell Express. He obviously wasnt going to let them board the train, as, not only would it be pping himself in the face, it would also implicate him with the infamous criminal organization. He had no interest in being associated with them, and, considering he was about to kill one of their former yers, there was a pretty good chance that they would be at odds in the very near future... With this in mind, Vahn gradually increased the pressure within his domain, an action that helped to convince several other teams to depart the arena. Then, once there were only two minutes left, his smile disappeared as a golden luminance spread beyond the confines of the tform. This caused the remaining Regrs to fall to their knees, sweat breaking out across their bodies as the pressure skyrocketed to the point of cracking the arenas foundation. Surprised by his own power, Vahn began to gradually release the pressure as he slowly descended the stairs. For a brief moment, he was seized by the notion that he could just erase everyone that had refused to obey him, their wills crumbling under the pressure of his own. This was more than a little perturbing, but, rather than allow it to affect him, Vahn mentally uttered, ("This is still just the beginning...dont let your own power frighten you...use it...control it...") Following his own advice, Vahns eyes began to radiate with an intensity that rivaled the Sun as he came to a stop at the very base of the stairs. Then, in a tone that seemed to pierce directly into the minds of everyone present, he simply uttered, "Leave." Despite the pressure that continued to weigh upon them, virtually everyone within the vicinity of Vahns domain, including those spectating from outside the arena, began to migrate towards the elevators and stairs leading away from the tform. Those who couldnt stand crawled on all fours while those who couldnt even do that began to pull themselves across the ground. It was an eerie sight to behold, and, though he was the one who had caused it, even Vahn could hardly believe the scene ying out before his very eyes... --- Feeling more than a little exhausted, Vahn saw off the marginally frightened members of Team John before returning to the Hell Express. There, Artoria and Asuna were waiting for him, concern visible in both of their gazes as the former asked, "Are you okay...?" With two of his wives standing before him, Vahn was already beginning to feel better, so, without needing to lie, he managed a smile as he said, "I am now. Come, let us return to the others. Im sure Fenrir is probably feeling a little restless. Once I deal with her, we can return to the Little Garden for some R\u0026R. Dont worry, I havent forgotten our prior arrangement." In an effort to ay the duos concerns, Vahn punctuated his statement with a yful wink before casually snaking his hands around their waists. Fortunately, they both possessed the ability to see through him with remarkable rity, so, while they could tell he wasntpletely fine, they could also tell that he wasnt lying. Thus, rather than press the issue, Artoria responded by changing into casual wear while Asuna nted a light peck on his cheek before uttering, "Im looking forward to it..." in a voice amplified by a sensual purr. Smiling wolfishly in response to Asunas bold words, Vahn attempted to slide his hand down her body and give her pert rump a light pinch. This was something she had seening, so, before he was able to, she nted another swift kiss on his cheek before blinking away like a phantom. Rather than simply open up some distance between them, however, she continued until her figure was out of sight, seemingly with the intent to give him and Artoria some alone time. Though he understood she was trying to make up for her earlier selfishness, Vahns expression still melted into an affectionate smile when he realized Asunas intentions. As for Artoria, she issued a light chuckle before leaning her head against his shoulder and softly remarking, "Be sure to reward her plentily once we reach the outer rings..." After a light chuckle of his own, Vahn gradually slowed his advance before stoppingpletely as he wrapped Artoria in his embrace. She responded to this by stealing his lips, preempting his words with action. She even slipped her hands into his back pockets, seizing the initiative by squeezing his butt and guiding his back against the nearby wall. These were things she could only do when other people werent around, and, though he wasnt unfamiliar with such behaviors, her marginally more youthful appearance somehow made her actions seem exponentially bolder... --- With Mordred showing no signs ofpleting her Revolution any time soon, Vahn had everyone return to the Little Garden so they could rx and discuss ns for the future. He also wanted to spend some time with his children, who, as could be expected, were growing at a remarkable rate. Every month that passed for them equated to five months of development, so, despite being only eight months old, they had the appearances of three-year-olds. Though Naruto had found a ce for himself among the verdant forests of the Emerald Grove, the same couldnt be said for young Hana. She had never outgrown her penchant for spying on others. Rather, thanks to numerous people doting upon her and a burgeoning friendship with Madara, she had be a very sessful prankster. She had even learned a few basic Jutsu, and, much to the chagrin of the less perceptive residents of the Emerald Grove, she had a remarkable talent forying traps... Fortunately, despite her persistent pranking, Hana was still adored by virtually every resident of the Emerald Grove. Most of her pranks were pretty harmless, so, rather than take offense to them, they would actually praise her for a job well done. This served to further encourage her, and, though this resulted in an ever-increasing number of traps, that wasnt necessarily a bad thing. It allowed her to gain an understanding of basic mechanics at a very young age, and, most importantly, it helped her grasp the difference between right and wrong via positive reinforcement rather than reproach. Vahn genuinely believed in the inherent goodness of children, and, so long as they grew up in an understanding environment, the chances of them being led astrayter in life were negligible. This was a sentiment shared by all of his Temtes, so, while her pranks could be a little troublesome at times, the only times they admonished her was when she endangered herself or others. The rest of the time, they praised her ingenuity and even encouraged her to prank specific people, effectively bing her aplice. Unfortunately for Vahn, the person Hana enjoyed pranking more so than anyone else was himself. This put him in a difficult situation since he could easily see through her traps, yet, in spite of this, had to walk into them. This had resulted in his hair being dyed a variety of different colors, and, on one asion, he even had to walk into an invisible barrier that had been erected by Latias. This was Hanas mostmon aplice, and, after realizing she wouldnt get in trouble, Latias penchant for pranks had increased to match the young Hyuugas. Since they were exceptionally cute whenever they smiled, Vahn was utterly powerless to oppose the tyrannical duo. He couldnt stand to see his daughter cry, and, though she could get a little out of hand at times, Latias had gradually be one of his favorite among the Pokemon. The only one he was really closer to was Arceus, but, considering the direction their rtionship had developed, that wasnt too surprising. After all, while it had yet to hatch, she was still the mother of one of his children... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Tier 5 Vahn be scary...,Oh my (OwO)....,Better get to steppin~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1863 Leisure : Intrigue : Overwhelming

Chapter 1863 Leisure : Intrigue : Overwhelming

After an extended stay within the Emerald Grove, courtesy of his ability to control the flow of time within, Vahn, apanied by Fenrir, Ryun, Illya, Eva, Asuna, Artoria, Gray, and Karin, reemerged within the confines of their room aboard the Hell Express. With the exception of Karin, who was primarily around to apany Eva, the other seven, ounting for Mordred, had officially be the main members of Team Aldrnari. Though he could easily clear most Special Tests and events on his own, there was quite a number that required a full party just to register. He had originally intended to have people like Arusha and Arryn fill in during these moments. Now, he was spoiled for choice, and, even if the members of his current party decided to take a break, he still had Musashi, Kenshin, Altera, Okita, and several others who were more than willing to journey alongside him. Comforted by the thought of traveling alongside his family and loved ones, Vahn was all smiles as he turned toward his entourage of beautiful women and said, "Though there are still three months until we reach the Name Hunt Station, I would rather resolve this matter as soon as possible. Ryun, you will lead the way using the ring provided by the God of Guardians. The rest of us will focus on eliminating any enemies who appear along the way. Any questions?" Raising her hand without hesitation, a fiery glint appeared within Asunas heterochromatic eyes as she asked, "When we encounter this White person, can I be the one to fight against them? I mean, they were defeated by a bunch of Regrs in the past. Im pretty confident I can wipe the floor with them." Though he had originally intended to deal with White himself, Vahn didnt see any harm in allowing Asuna to face him. His current parameters were still listed as a bunch of [Errors] so it was difficult to know exactly how strong he had be. It was like he had broken the system used to quantify the power of people within the Tower. There was even a chance that, much like an actual Axis User, themon residents of the Tower, High Rankers included, wouldnt even be able to touch him... Resisting the urge to shake his head and sigh in exasperation, Vahn maintained a casual smile as he answered, "Sure. I dont see any problems with that. Just make sure you dont underestimate them. While it is true they were defeated by a group of Regrs, it isnt difficult to imagine their fall being the result of hubris. Objectively speaking, they are a sword prodigy who has lived for thousands of years. During that time, they defeated innumerable opponents and harvested the lives of billions of people. They might be significantly weaker in the present, but you should never underestimate the depravity and craftiness of those who consume souls to enhance their strength...even if it is a short battle, you should treat them as a threat from start to finish." Happy to have the opportunity to face off against a potentially powerful foe, Asunas face bloomed into an excited smile as she nodded her head and said, "Leave it to me! Ill cut apart that bastards techniques and then beat them until their face looks like a pig...!" Though she was significantly weaker than her peak self, Vahn could easily imagine Asuna defeating opponents far more powerful than she was. She still had a Mitigation-type Innate that provided her an effective immunity against long-ranged attacks, and, while her [Child of Destiny] had faded away the moment she departed her Record of origin, her [Beloved Disciple of the Sage Dragon Emperor] seemed to provide her a number of benefits. She was also Tier 5, so, unless she encountered a High Ranker, she should be able to defeat most foes before they even understood what was happening... --- With thebination of the ring provided by the God of Guardians and Ryuns guidance, choosing a path that would lead to the location of White was a simple matter. Unfortunately, they still had to spend a total of ten days clearing rooms and passing a very specific number of sections in order to reach their destination. The routes aboard the Hell Express were constantly changing depending on the pace of the people clearing them, so, in order to ensure their path intersected with White, they had little choice but to pace themselves ordingly. Fortunately, while there werent any particrly dangerous or interesting foes to face, it was still an opportunity for the girls to practice their teamwork and improve their individualbat skills. This left Vahn with very little to do, but, much like a spectator enjoying a game of womens volleyball, he wasnt particrly bored. Rather, now that the girls each possessed adorably animalistic or draconic features, it was quite the sight to behold. Illya, in particr, looked especially adorable as she tried to emte Fenrirsbat style, her ears and tail flopping around as she did her best to fight like a wild animal... In the end, Vahns duties during the ten-day period primarily revolved aroundplimenting the girls, pampering those who sought his affection, and preparing meals to keep their bellies full. They actually had a lot of free time on their hands due to thex difficulty of the individual chambers so there was also a fair amount of waiting around, cuddling, and, despite the intermittent appearance of Shinheuh, they also found ample time to lounge about and watch anime. Ever since the awakening of his [Actualization] Innate, Vahns intrigue in animated movies and other rted media had increased exponentially. After all, he could literally enter into the world by simply cing his hand against the screen, dropping himself into the story, and influencing the oue at his leisure. This made the viewing experience far more exciting, not just because he could jump into the worlds whenever he wanted, but because he could see a representation of himself in a myriad of different art and animation styles. One of the more intriguing aspects of [Actualization] was how the fictional world would appear just as real as any other the moment he entered into it. This allowed him to personally witness what the characters would look like in reality, and, inversely, it allowed him the opportunity to view himself as a character. The best part about this was that he could tweak how realistic the worlds seemed when he entered them, effectively allowing himself to experience the anime version of the world or a realistic representation that could then be linked to the ever-growing poption or worlds within his Internal Reality. Vahn found the notion of appearing as a character within an anime very novel, and, though he was infinitely more attached to his women in reality, he could still greatly appreciate the aesthetics of certain female characters. It sometimes made him feel like he was witnessing the Avatars of other people in the Virtual World, but, unlike thetter, everything felt infinitely more realistic within the fictional worlds he had [Actualized] into reality. He also enjoyed experiencing cartoon physics, and, though it had earned him a fair amount of teasing from some of the girls, he was quite fond of the toon versions of himself. Thus far, Vahns two favorite worlds to enter were based on an anime known as Pokemon Universe and a video game series known as the Star Ocean Anthology. The former allowed him to experience the wider world of Pokemon, viewing the creatures in their natural environment, and observing how various cultures interacted with them. He could even take his own Pokemon along with him, as, due to the nature of his Temtes being extensions of himself, they could freely enter any world so long as he summoned them using his Unit Management. This had allowed Arceus to make considerable progress in the formation of her own world, and, most importantly, it allowed his other Pokemon to experience roaming freely in a world filled with their own kind. At the present moment, many of Vahns Temtes were actually exploring worlds based on their Record of Origin. This included Nami, who, benefitting from her experiences in the Imperial Fleet,bined with the fact she was a Tier 4, managed to flip her personalized version of One Piece on its head. She had even learned how to use all three types of Haki, but, more so than anything else, it was her ability to manipte the weather and cast water-elemental magic that provided her a nigh-absolute advantage in the oceanic world. Vahn was actually a little envious of his own Temtes for having the free time to explore various worlds, but, knowing he could literally spend years within one before a single second passed in the outside, he couldnt actuallyin. He just had other things to focus on, and, while he was often tempted to idle about in certain worlds for months on end, his desire to reunite with his family kept himrgely rooted to reality. He would have a functionally infinite amount of time to explore other worlds once he linked the Records, so, while he couldntpletely resist the urge, he rarely spent more than a few days within a fictional world before returning. The only real exceptions to this rule were the worlds based on the Pokemon Universe and the Star Ocean Anthology. The former was due to his love of the world and his desire to allow his Pokemon to roam freely. Thetter, however, was entirely due to the existence of the Ethereal Queen, a being he was bound to face once he reached the pinnacle of Tier 6. She was an existence that represented the pinnacle, and, though he was the creator of her world, Vahn had been soundly defeated during each of their engagements. Though they had only fought a total of three times, Vahn had beenpletely overwhelmed by the inordinately beautiful Ethereal Queen mere moments after their battle began. She possessed speed and power on a level he couldnt even begin toprehend, and, unless he used his [Actualization] to basically cheat, Vahn couldnt imagine defeating her at his current level. Her power was basically identical to his own, but, due to the concepts she represented, it felt like there was an unbridgeable gulf separating them. Thus, as part of his training, he would periodically appear before the Ethereal Queen; much to the amusement of the angelic beauty, who, simr to Tsubaki, had a penchant for reminding him of the number of times he had failed... --- With ten days passing in what felt like the blink of an eye, Vahn and Co found themselves in arge chamber inhabited by a mountainous man with a bald head and a colossal figure covered in various tattoos. Even while he was lying down, he towered over everyone present, the distance between his chest and back roughly the same size as a two-story building. As for his actual height, he was about half the size of the God of Guardians, roughly twenty-five to thirty-meters from the top of his bald head to the soles of his massive feet. Seeing the massive figure from the entrance of the chamber, Eva couldnt help but retort, "Are all the Guardians going to be this gigantic? Seriously, dont they understand that increased size just makes them a bigger target...?" Chuckling in response to the blonde bombshells middlingint, Vahn went on to exin, "It probably has the ability topress its body into a much smaller form. The spatialws within the Tower are surprisingly advanced for a dimensional ne that seems to be capped at the pinnacle of Tier 4. Yuri even possesses a Needle that canpress to a mere two meters despite its true form being more than three kilometers in length." Rolling her eyes in response to Vahns words, Evas heels clicked against the metal tes covering the floor as she took several steps forward. This caused the colossal figure sleeping on the ground to rouse from its rest, grumbling unintelligently as its piercing grey eyes locked onto the person who had interrupted its slumber. In response, Evas expression morphed into a taunting sneer as she raised her hand and mused, "Lets see if this technique has any actual value inbat...Shinsu ck Hole Sphere...!" Though the giant Guardian attempted to raise its body before Eva could finish her incantation, itsrge size made its movements exceptionally slow. As a result, it was unable to evade the spherical vortex that appeared right in front of its head. This particr Baang was formed from the elements of Ice, Darkness, and Space, so, while it was a beautiful sight to behold, its capacity for destruction would leave most people feeling horrified. As for the Guardian, the upper half of its body was eaten away by the expanding sphere in a matter of seconds, its movements ceasing almost immediately thereafter as the temperature in the room quickly dropped to more than a hundred degrees below zero... (A/N: Alternate Titles: White is so fucked xD...,Vahn scoping out future waifus...,Eva dont y...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1864 Burn

Chapter 1864 Burn

With the body of the massive Guardian dissipating into a pale blue mist, the only thing standing between Vahns group and the man known as White was a single sealed door. Under normal circumstances, only those with the key would be able to gain ess to the sealed chamber. It was protected by a series of electric locks and a number of powerful curses, several of which were lethal to anyone attempting to probe the interior. Unfortunately, while there were a number of powerful spells and enchantments within the Tower, theirplexity was elementarypared to the magical system that existed within the Nasu and Akamatsuverses. It would have only taken a few minutes for Eva or Illya to thoroughly remove the seals protecting the door, but, with a cheat like Vahn present, they could just as easily force their way through. After all, he was immune to curses, and, even if there were lethal traps installed, they were ultimately ineffective against a being who could re-manifest fromplete destruction with a simple thought. Without minding the malicious spells and enchantments whatsoever, Vahn covered the entire vault-like door with a ck ooze formed from his own body. Then, by channeling the Law of Destruction through his own body,bining it with the Source Energy thatprised each individual cell, he began to eat through the seemingly indestructible door at a startling rate. In the end, it only took a little more than thirty seconds before the sound of a childish voice could be heard inquiring, "What the hell...?" With the ck ooze having worked its way around the perimeter of the door, Vahn jerked the entire thing free from its hinges before tossing the porous b of corroded metal to the side. This allowed him to see a youthful figure seated atop a throne. At a nce, the figure appeared no older than ten to twelve years old, and, from facial features alone, it would be very difficult to determine their gender. They also possessed long white hair that extended to their ankles, silvery-white eyes that reflected a palpable sword intent, and a delicateplexion thatplimented their androgynous features quite a bit. After briefly scanning the figure, Vahn shifted his gaze between the four-pointed silver crown atop their head and the strange ymore-like sword resting on the youths shoulder. The former had a very powerful enchantment fused into it, and, though the de of thetter was rtively in, it possessed an inordinately long handle and a cross-guard that looked like a saw-tooth de. There was also a silvery breastte covering their chest, its front-facing te possessing a simr rune to the crown listingzily atop their head... Feeling unnerved by the mysterious mans gaze, the white-haired youths face formed into a frown as they asked, "Who the hell are you people? Are you with the Jahad Empire?" Ignoring the youths questions, Vahn shifted his attention to the Law of Identity, now appearing as an exact copy of the white-haired swordsman. In response, she nodded her head, saying, "His name is Hoaqin. He is the primaryponent of the being known as White. There should be four others: Vicente, Anna, David, and Albelda. They are his siblings. He tricked them into bing one with him in order to surpass their father, Arie Hon. They were forced to separate so he is currently a lot weaker than his yer counterpart." Continuing to ignore the questioning of the increasingly annoyed Hoaqin, Vahn nodded toward the Law of Identity before looking towards Asuna and saying, "Youre up. Dont hold back." Nodding her head in understanding, Asuna, having already donned her modern-lookingbat attire, stepped forward with Ko in her hand. This caused Hoaqins pupils to shrink, and, though she had yet to attack, he could already feel an extreme threat radiating from the former. As a result, he unhesitantly swung his massive ymore as if it had absolutely no weight, shouting, "You ursed dogs of Jahad...!" as a cage of sword beams began to appear from the void. Though he had already seen a number of examples of Arie Swordsmanship, Vahn had to admit that Hoaqin was leagues bove someone like Serra. The only observable w in his technique was that it burned the energy contained within his Ego, stolen from countless others, as a fuel source. To make matters even worse, he seemed incapable of not using this energy, so, as Asuna continued to dance between his sword beams with remarkable speed and grace, he was steadily exhausting himself... For a fleeting moment, it seemed like Asuna was going to close the distance between herself and Hoaqin without needing to rely on her more anomalous characteristics. She was much faster than Hoaqin, and, though their ages were iparable to each other, Asuna had a substantial amount of experience fighting againstpletely iprehensible foes. This allowed her to see through all of his attacks, but, just as she was about to step in and stab him in the chest, Hoaqin proved why you should never underestimate someone who burned souls as a fuel source. Refusing to ept the reality that he was being outssed by a swordsman unrted to the Arie Family, Hoaqins silver eyes zed with a malicious light as he eximed, "Do you have any idea who youre dealing with, you brat!?" Following his exmation, Hoaqins body seemed to be shrouded in ghostly white mes as the sword in his hands briefly changed into a sword formed entirely from the concentrated power of souls. In essence, it was almost like he had activated Bankai, his power increasing by a factor of ten as he countered Asunas attack with near-perfect timing. This caused her pupils to shrink, but, rather than attempt to flee, she actually stepped further inward, a resolute light shing across her eyes as she stabbed Ko into Hoaqins body before attempting to phase through him with the State of Nothingness. Unfortunately, the ghostly mes shrouding Hoaqins body effectively turned him into a pseudo-spiritual entity. This made it impossible to phase through him as the State of Nothingness was, on its most fundamental level, maintained by a persons mental and spiritual energies. If they actually became one with the concept of Nothingness, they would cease to exist, so, for the duration of its activation, the State of Nothingness effectively ced them into an immaterial, spirit, form. Unable to phase through his body, Asuna crashed into Hoaqin with a force akin to that of a freight train. This caused most of the bones in the youths chest to shatter upon impact, but, at the same time, the mes shrouding his body quickly spread to Asunas, seemingly intent on burning and subsequently subsuming her. What he never could have anticipated was that Asunas soul was a lot more powerful than his, so, while she wasntpletely immune to the effects, it was like trying to evaporate an ocean by igniting its surface. Though she was unustomed to taking damage, Asuna didnt even wince as she quickly reacted to the situation by retracting Ko and slicing off Hoaqins sword arm. Then, with a pivot, she kicked his already broken body in the diaphragm, sending him flying into the far wall and coughing up arge volume of pitch-ck blood. This same blood stained his pure white garb to create a rather eerie contrast as he fell to his knees, eyes burning with a malicious light as he uttered, "You filthy cowards...sending Rankers into a ce like the Hell Train..." With hazy white mes still burning on parts of her body, Asuna frowned in response to Hoaqins words as she answered, "Were not Rankers. Besides, what ground do you have to stand on when you literally killed more than a billion innocent people for the sake of a ritual? Seriously, grow the hell up and stop ming others for repercussions you brought upon yourself." Without responding to Asunasment, Hoaqin attempted to draw several runes using his own ckened blood. This was concealed by the inordinately long sleeves of his white robes, but, as could be expected, Asuna had easily seen through his actions. As a result, she activated Kos ability, cutting through the air and severing Hoaqins body from above his left shoulder to just below his rib cage. This also cut directly through his heart, but, as an entity who had abandoned its physical body long ago, Hoaqin wasnt instantly killed by themonly fatal blow. Unfortunately, while he did possess a surprising degree of mastery in the domain of Spirit Magic, Hoaqin was currently facing off against five Archmages. Vahn could even directly interfere with the casting of all magic within his domain, so, despite Hoaqins attempts to use the remnants of his life force to forcibly devour the souls of everyone present, his actions were ultimately futile. It was only after several seconds of smiling viciously that he seemed to realize this was this case, his expression morphing into one of utter disbelief as the light gradually faded from his eyes... As he had burned the energy within his own Ego during hisst desperate attempt at aeback, Hoaqin had effectively exorcised his own spirit prior to his death. Under normal circumstances, this would have meant he waspletely erased, beyond the hope of even Vahns resurrection, but, as part of the ritual to be one with his siblings, Hoaqin had effectively superimposed part of his Ego onto theirs. Thus, in a manner reminiscent of Orochimaru taking over peoples bodies, he could still be revived so long as even a single person possessed a fragment of his Ego. Sighing in exasperation, Vahn shed over to Asunas side in an instant, waving away the persistent white mes with the ease of extinguishing a candle before pulling her into his embrace and saying, "You really know how to worry me..." Feeling a paradoxically warm yet cooling energy diffusing throughout her body, a contented smile quickly reced the expressionless visage Asuna adopted whenever she was inbat. Then, after returning his embrace with her own, she rxed her head against his chest before musing, "We can say the same...I feel like my heart is going to burst every time I see you fight against a powerful foe. If it would help you be more self-aware, I wouldnt mind burning for a few days longer..." Taken aback by Asunas teasing remark, Vahn found himself at a momentary loss, mouth hanging open for several seconds as he failed to find his words. This allowed Asuna the opportunity to perk up, standing on the tips of her toes in order to seal his lips with her own. Then, with a girlish giggle arising from her throat, she tightened her hold on him before separating their lips to remark, "Your bewildered expression is always so cute..." Though he was tempted to give the impish woman a light punishment, doing so in the presence of a corpse would be rather tasteless. Instead, Vahn just adopted an amused smile as he held her head to his chest, gently caressing her silky hair as he finished healing her body. Afterward, they gathered the constituent parts of Hoaqin together before burning his remains as part of a perfunctory funeral rite. Hoaqin might have be an irredeemable monster over the course of his life, but, regardless of the weight of their sins, bearing resentment toward the dead was like consuming a lethal poison in the hopes of killing someone who had already passed. There was absolutely no sense in this, and, more often than not, such sentiments became the seeds of hatred that caused people to gradually be monsters themselves. Thus, while some might believe that Hoaqin deserved to suffer for each individual person he harmed, Vahn had no interest in such things. Though he was not without w, Vahn did not kill in order to pacify the victims, nor did he fight as a champion of the bereaved. Instead, he killed his foes almost entirely to satisfy his own sense of self-righteousness, and, most importantly, allow them a chance to start fresh in their next reincarnation. Nobody deserved to suffer, and, more often than not, those that perpetuated the greatest amount of suffering did so because their circumstances had forced them into a corner. This didnt redeem them, not by a long shot, but it also didnt justify having them experience even greater suffering. If that logic was applied to each and every situation, the amount of suffering in the world would only ever increase. This would invariably lead to the destruction of everything, so, regardless of how he felt about someone in life, Vahn would still pray for them in death... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Om nom nom...!,Asuna be like, "Im fast as fuck, White boi...!",Hatred is a very personal thing. If you find yourself hating something or a group of someones, that isnt true hate. You are just a patsy to someone elses agenda or a bigot. You dont have to be a part of the solution, but dont be a contributor to the problems that gue our society. If we want Full Dive VR and gically engineered catgirls, we must first build a society of mutual understanding...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1865 Dominance

Chapter 1865 Dominance

With the restoration of White being their primary objective aboard the Hell Express, Vahn wasnt surprised to find the Conductor, representing FUG, waiting for them outside of Hoaqins chamber. He had actually expected the man to take action immediately after the seal was first removed, but, as they hadnt actually broken any rules, doing so would result in his authority being stripped away, and, in some cases, instantaneous termination. Gesturing for the girls to stand down, Vahn preempted the onset ofbat by stating, "So long as we dont attack, he has no grounds to directly intervene with us. Even an Advanced Ranker working under a yer of FUG isnt bold enough to vite the Laws of the Tower within an area designated for Regrs. Isnt that right, Mr. Death Eyes Pedro...?" Glowing in response to Vahns taunting tone, Pedro, appearing as a Hispanic man with light brown skin, a thin frame, short brown hair, and mechanical red eyes, began releasing a deathly aura as he asked, "Do you have any idea who it is youre offending? This operation was authorized by the Elder Council and my Master, the Great yer Karaka. Are you trying to start a war?" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn took a few steps forward, ignoring the aura released by the incensed man as he said, "Something like White shouldnt be allowed to exist within the Tower. Any organization that sides with such a creature has some major underlying issues they need to resolve before they go around telling others what is right and wrong. The means always matter. If you can justify bing a monster that feeds off the innocent in order to fight against your foes, you have lost the right to tread the moral high ground. Now, return to your Conductor station, report to your Master, and stay the hell out of our way. The next time you appear like this, dont me me for the consequences you will have wrought upon yourself." Though he wanted nothing more than to silence Vahn for his impudence, Pedro had been given strict orders not to fight against him. If the rumors were to be believed, Vahn was already powerful enough to defeat High Rankers despite the fact he was just a D-Rank Regr. This level of growth had only ever been observed in Ureko, who, during her climb, critically injured two yers and even killed one of FUGs Elders. They had tried to control her just like any other Irregr who entered the Tower, but, as could be expected, she wasnt the type of creature that could be ced under thumb by a group of people who sat around for thousands of years without making any progress towards their goals. With his eyes releasing a mechanical whirring sound, Pedro continued to re at Vahn for several seconds before shifting his gaze towards the women at his back. He was powerless to do anything against the anomalous women, but, as someone who had failed on the Floor of Tests, Ryun had no right to board the Hell Express. Many within FUG even considered her a traitor, so, with a malicious smile spreading across his face, Pedro was preparing to teach Vahn a lesson. Understanding the mans intentions before they had even fully formed within his mind, Vahns smile had faded before Pedro could utter so much as a single syble. At the same time, an eerie stillness permeated the entire room as even the most minute particles of Shinsu disappeared from within his domain. This caused Pedros body to instantly seize up in pain, and, most importantly, it effectively robbed him of the powers he would have normally had ess to as a pseudo-Administrator aboard the Hell Express. Though he could never bepletely emotionless, Vahn managed to appear cold and detached as he walked progressively closer to the choking man and asked, "Do you enjoy using your power to prey on the weak and defenseless? Do you believe you are qualified to teach other people a lesson? Did you even think about the price FUG would have to pay for your petnce?" Without waiting for the man to respond, Vahn grabbed him by the throat, lifting the writhing figure from the ground as he added, "No! People like you never take that kind of thing into consideration! You are so possessed by the power given to you that you never even consider the repercussions of your actions! You use Jahad and the Ten Great Families of being corrupt Tyrants, yet, without so much as batting an eye, you willfully torment others using powers you have no right to possess! Im sick and tired of your hypocritical bullshit...!" To punctuate his words, Vahn smashed Pedro head-first into the ground, denting the durable metal tings that furnished much of the Hell Express interior. This wasnt enough to kill the man, but, as a matter of course, it was enough to ce him into a very deepa while destroying both of his mechanical eyes. Immediately after that, Shinsu came surging into the room like a deluge, washing over everyone present like a cool breeze that allowed them to breathe a little easier. Tossing the unconscious man into an abandoned section of the Ninth Layer, Vahn exhaled a slightly exhausted sigh before turning around, eyes fixating on Ryun as he stated, "It seems FUG is in need of some restructuring..." Realizing Pedro had tried to use her to hurt Vahn, Ryuns ears drooped somewhat pathetically as she nodded her head with an irresolute "Nn...". There were actually a number of people she cared about within FUG, and, though she knew the organization attracted despots of all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds, she still believed in their overall mission. Fortunately, it didnt seem like Vahn had any intention of destroying the organization, so, as long as they stopped antagonizing him, they should be able to cooperate. In the hopes of smoothing things over, Ryun averted her eyes as she said, "After were finished with the Hell Train and the Floor of Death, there is a ce Id like to take you..." Shifting his gaze towards the Law of Identity for a brief moment, Vahn paused for several seconds before nodding his head and saying, "Very well. I will meet with the Elder of the Red Witch Tribe and afford FUG onest opportunity topromise. So long as they are willing to stop interfering with my ns, I have no reason to seek out and annihte them." Breathing a sigh of relief, Ryun returned her gaze to Vahn, a gleam of reverence shing across her ruby-red eyes as she said, "Thank you..." in an emotion-filled tone. To this, Vahn could do little but exhale a sigh of his own before manifesting right in front of the red-haired woman to pull her into his embrace and caress her somewhat unkempt hair. This caused her to nestle closer to him as if by instinct, while, at the side, Fenrir, and the rest of the girls, just shook their heads helplessly... --- After more than a week of forcibly tunneling through an increasingly dense array of machinery and cogs, Mordred was forced to a stop as thest of her ws fractured against a golden gear. It was only at that moment that the pain radiating from her hands seemed to reach her mind, the result of a seemingly endless rush of adrenaline finally wearing off. Resisting the onset of tears by defaulting to a breathing technique, Mordreds figure rapidly shrunk until she appeared as a young child of approximately eight years old. Her physical form was directly rted to the amount of physical, mental, and spiritual energy remaining in her reserves. It was for this reason that she, alongside her mother and every other True Dragon created by Vahn, appeared as a slightly younger version of herself. Mordreds physique might be powerful, but her mind and spirit were still in the process of healing after the taxing experience of migrating from the Realm. Thus, despite a seemingly endless amount of energy coursing through her body, her mind felt sluggish as a deep pain permeated through the entirety of her body. She had pushed herself far beyond her limits, and, though she didnt regret it in the slightest, she had little choice but the suffer the consequences of her actions. Feeling a sudden urge to call out to her father, Mordred curled up on the ground, clutching her knees as she continued to regte her breathing. This was the second greatest pain she had ever experienced, but, unlike before, she didnt have anyone around to help ease her suffering. Instead, she had to tide through it alone, the pain steadily increasing despite her best efforts to keep it at bay. For a moment, she even considered just letting it all out in order to ease her burden, but, just as that thought crossed her mind, a husky yet sonorous voice suddenly asked, "Have you given up? Is this your limit...?" Sniffling to fight back her tears, Mordred tilted her head to see what could best be described as a massive lioness staring down at her. Its size was even greater than her dragon transformation, but, what stood out most of all, were its glistening golden fur, the ornate golden tes covering much of its body, and six pairs of massive wings, each seemingly belonging to a different kind of creature, forming a canopy over the surroundings. With eyes that resembled oceans of stars, the massive lioness brought her nose to within a meter of Mordreds body as it grumbled, "Absolutely pathetic...this is what you get for denying your true self and choosing to be a useless lizard. Tell me, was it worth it? Viting your own body and soul in order to pander to an infantile Emperor who assembles women like a child drawing pretty stones from a stream?" Though she was still a little confused by what was happening, rity returned to Mordreds mind as she realized what the peculiar lioness was implying. This caused the pain in her body to fade away in an instant, reced by a seething rage as she bared her teeth and riposted, "You can go choke on a fucking hairball and die for all I care! Do you think Im just going toy here and listen to you insult my Chichiue!? If youre a part of me, shut the fuck up and give me ess to my power! Who the hell do you think you are, acting all haughty despite sitting around on your ass and hiding away in my soul!?" Squinting its eyes in response to Mordreds outburst, anyone observing the lioness might assume it had an invibly majestic disposition, one far above petty squabbles. This illusion only persisted for a very brief moment, however, as it quickly reared back like a cat preparing to pounce as it shouted, "You cheeky little brat! Did your brain also be a lizard!? I came here to help you, and this is the thanks I get!?" Raising her middle fingers towards the majestic lioness, Mordreds body began to rapidly age as she rebutted, "Fuck you! When did I ask for your help, you shitty cat!? I didnt see your pussy ass appear when I was trying to break through my limits! You think you can just appear at my lowest point and try and entice me with power that is already supposed to be mine? How about you just cough it up and stop nagging me youzy ass tabby cat!?" Though it didnt attempt to attack, the lioness began to frustratedly stamp the ground with its front paws as it bellowed, "Oooooooh! Dont make me eat you, you blonde bimbo! Killing us both would be a lot better than watching you continue whori-" Before the lioness could finish her statement, leathery wings covered in vermillion scales erupted from Mordreds back as she leaped towards the titanic figure without an ounce of fear. This seemed to catch the lioness by surprise, her mouth still partly open as Mordreds fist impacted the bottom of her jaw, mming it shut. In the next moment, Mordreds body spontaneously erupted in size, her figure bing wholly draconic as she began to wrangle the lioness, all while shouting, "You think you can threaten me with my own power!? Just watch as this lizard teaches you a lesson, you goddamn pussycat...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn dont y with it involves his loved ones...,Dig A Tunnel Dig Dig A Tunnel. Dig A Tunnel Dig Dig A Tunnel. Dig A Tunnel Dig Dig A Tunnel. Quick, Before The Lioness Come~!,You gon learn today...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1866 Compromise : Encounter

Chapter 1866 Compromise : Encounter

After a cataclysmic battle that devastated their surroundings and even caused a cave-in of sorts, a chibi version of Mordred could be seen breathingboriously with a malcontent-looking lion cub in her arms. Thetter had a remarkably humanoid expression, resembling someone who had just eaten a very sour grape, as, no matter how much it tried, it could not liberate itself from Mordreds grasp. Feeling a little annoyed at the writhing creature, Mordred opened her mouth wide before biting down on its fluffy, rounded, ear. This caused the cub to writhe about even more, teary-eyed as it shouted, "Ah! You wretched woman! How dare you bite me! Are you some kind of wild animal!?" Releasing the cubs ear from her teeth, Mordred gave it the kind of look people reserved for times when they heard somethingpletely ridiculous, quipping, "The hell are you on about? You can bite me, but Im not allowed to bite you? What kind of crap is that? If youre going to start spewing hypocritical nonsense, you can just fuck right off." Grumbling in response to Mordreds words, the lion cub resisted the urge to try and chomp down on her forearm as it mumbled, "This damn brat...how did I end up with such a foolish woman as my host...?" Rolling her eyes, Mordred flipped the lion cub around, holding it up by the pits of its forelimbs as she asked, "What do you mean when you call me your host? I dont recall a creature like you ever existing, so how the hell could you end up inside of my soul? If you were a foreign entity, there is no way my Chichiue would have missed you." Rather than answer Mordreds questions, the lion cub just snorted through its nose before turning its head to the side rebelliously. This caused the formers brow to twitch quite a bit, an urge to give the cub another beating welling up inside of her as dark-red scales began to sprout from the backs of her hands. Sensing the changes in Mordred, the lion cub did something the former never anticipated, pulling up its hind legs before releasing a spritz of steamy golden liquid directly at her face. The fragrance was the worst thing she had ever smelled, and, due to her mouth being partly open, a sudden and almost irresistible urge to vomit welled up from her stomach as she threw the cub like a ragdoll. Free from its captors clutches, the cub adopted a haughty expression, chin raised as a slight sneer spread across its face. Before it could say any taunting words, however, a crimson aura surrounded Mordreds body as she slouched forward and said, "You really fucked up this time...I was going to let you go after asking you a few questions. Now, just watch as I skin your ass and turn you into a pair of lion-hided britches..." Feeling the hairs on its back and neck stand on end, the lion cub attempted to turn tail and flee, but, the moment it did so, Mordred was already looming over it, hand reaching out to grab the scruff of its neck. This caused it to tense up, and, for the first time since their meeting, it began to shiver in fear as the incensed draconic princess glowered at her with sun-like, golden, eyes... Seeing the tiny creature scrunch up into a fetal position, a frown immediately developed across Mordreds face as an uneasy feeling filled her chest. She didnt know where the notion came from, but she suddenly felt as though the cub represented something very important to her, something she had been keeping suppressed for a very long time... Exhaling a sigh, Mordred set the lion cub down on the ground, her expression appearing bored yet thoughtful as she said, "Just go...be free and do whatever you want. Run amok or idle about in my soul for a thousand years. I dont care what you do, just stop appearing so pathetic...its not like Im going to force you to be a part of me or lend me your power. Besides, were already one and the same, right? Papa...I mean, Chichiue, said it best...we have no right to enforce our expectations onto others when we cant even ept or understand ourselves. I get that youre supposed to be the part of me that wanted to rebel against my Father, opposing her draconic heritage, right? Well, you can just give up on that. That version of me died in Cann thousands of years ago. You need to stop living in the past and start looking toward the future. Dragon? Chimera? Human? Things like race dont mean a damn thing. Its our struggles in the present and our aspirations for the future that shape who we are. Im not going to betray the people I love in exchange for power...I might be the daughter of Morgan, but my parents are Vahn Aldrnari Mason and Artoria Aldrnari Pendragon..." Finished with her improvised speech, Mordred ruffled the bristly yet soft fur atop the lion cubs head before turning around and walking to the center of the massive clearing formed from their prior battle. Then, with her forearms turning into rather fierce-looking draconic ws, she began to work away at the durable foundation, slowly and steadily increasing the depths of her potential as the lion cub eyed her in the distance... --- Though the Hell Expresss route was decided by an automated system, its speed, eleration, and deceleration were all manually controlled by the Conductor. This was what allowed it to stop at the various stations between the Floors, so, with Pedro in custody, the only one qualified to operate the Express was, curiously enough, a Regr named Poro Poe. The notion that a Regr could operate something as important as the Hell Express was more than a little strange; but, rather than concern himself with such things, Vahn hacked the Pocket of Pedro in order to contact the stout fellow, startling him quite a bit. Fortunately, the not-so-young Regr, Poro Poe, just so happened to be a former colleague of Sachi, Aka, and Boro. More specifically, he had fallen in love with the same woman as virtually every member of the ill-fated team, a lively and vivacious woman named Roen Yuia. Simr to the other members who had be infatuated with Roen, Poe had spent thest six-hundred years doing everything in his power to find a way to both eliminate White and resurrect their formerrade. Thus, by exining the situation in greater detail, including Pedros affiliation with FUG, they were able to convince him to continue operating the train at their behest. This would ensure it arrived at each station on time, and, most importantly, allowed Ryun to use her powers as a Guide freely. As a Special Testing Area with countless hidden secrets, the powers of Guides were highly restricted for the sake of ensuring fairness. This could be circumvented through the use of certain items, but, as could be expected, such tools only allowed them to see a very specific route. Now, however, the Hell Express had effectively be a region without an Administrator, so, for the time being, Ryun had unrestricted knowledge of every path present aboard the notoriouslybyrinthine lotive... With Ryun guiding the way, it wasnt long before Vahn and Co reached the residential car housing the team associated with FUG. There, they encountered a group of five people, the leader of which seemed to be a man with dirty-blond hair, striking blue eyes, slightly pointed ears, and a noticeable snaggletooth. Hispanions were a vicious-looking man with spiky purple hair, two remarkably beautiful women, one with flowing orange hair while the other was most assuredly a member of the Asterian people considering she had inordinately blue hair, matching eyes, and several stars floating around her. Though the aforementioned four were quite interesting, it was the final member of their entourage that stood out the most, a young boy that resembled Hoaqin to a startling degree. Anyone could tell the two were rted, but, unlike Hoaqin, the intelligent-looking youth safeguarding an ancient-looking tome possessed distinctly male features. They could clearly be identified as a boy from the structure of their face and body, and, a stark contrast to the pristine white locks that cascaded from Hoaqins head like a waterfall, their hair was cut short and neatly styled. With the Law of Identity providingmentary, Vahn smiled disarmingly at the unperturbed bunch as he remarked, "I never expected that FUG would be able to recruit someone as famous as Ha Yura into their ranks...ah, I see, you were intending to use her status as an idol to attractrge crowds of Regrs in order to use as sacrifices? Quite the devious plot for someone who relies on the support of the people to evade persecution by the Ten Families..." Frowning in response to Vahns words, the Asterian woman, better known as the pop idol, Ha Yura, adopted a troubled expression as she huffily remarked, "Those people dont really care about me. If they could, any number of my so-called fans would happily whisk me away and have their way with me. I did what I had to in order to survive. If not for my fame, the Ha Family would have killed me a long time ago...!" Adopting an usatory deadpan, Vahn met the blue-haired beautys eyes directly as he said, "Your mother might have been cast out by the Ha Family, but that wasrgely due to her breaking of the taboo prohibiting members of the Ten Families from bing involved with descendants of the Native Ones. Even then, the only members of the Ha Family hunting her down were those directly involved with the Jahad Empire. With the reputation they enjoy, do you really think your little y as an Idol would have protected you from the notoriously unruly Ha Family if they really wanted to kill you? While I can understand your bias towards them, the hatred and resentment you inherited from your mother cant be used as an excuse to step on the lives of those who supported you. You need to grow up and ept ountability for your own actions before you startying the me onto others." Though she wanted to interrupt Vahns words numerous times through his long lecture, Ha Yura, along with every other member of FUG, could do little more than remain statuesque. It was like an irresistible force, something fundamentally different from Reverse Flow Control, was locking them in ce and preventing any interruptions. This caused everyone present to pale slightly, the only real exception being the white-haired youth, who, from start to finish, showed absolutely no change in expression. Shifting his attention away from Yura, Vahn shifted his attention to the man with dirty-blond hair, thest of the group of four-man group infatuated with Roen Yuia, Danial Hatchid. Vahn wasnt actually sure how to deal with this particr fellow, as, though he had wandered down a very dark road, Daniels reasons for doing so were actually to eliminate White and rid the Tower of one of its greatest monsters. Most of the people he had killed were pretty vile individuals pursuing their own interests, and, while he wasnt devoid of ws, the man was even willing to condemn his own soul to an eternity of torment in exchange for a minuscule chance at resurrecting the woman he loved... Shaking his head, Vahns momentum began to gradually diminish as he exined, "The task given to you by FUG can no longer bepleted. Hoaqin has already been killed, and, once I exorcise the remnants of his spirit from his remaining siblings, the monstrous entity known as White will be just another footnote in the Towers dark history. As for you lot...well, the best I can do is offer you a bit of advice, hoping youll wisen up before you get yourselves killed on behalf of people who dont give a damn about you or your dreams. Even though some of their so-called yers are more than ten-thousand-years-old, they have yet to even injure a single one of the Ten Warriors. All they do is sit around and pester the weaker members of the Ten Great Families, fearful ofmitting to any meaningful action for fear of the repercussions it would invite...these are the people you want toy your lives down for? People who wont even bat an eye even if your entire group was annihted?" Unable to say anything in response, the four members of FUG showed varying degrees of conflict and frustration on their faces. They all had very good reasons for hating the Ten Great Families, but, just as he had pointed out, the most they could do was follow orders in the hopes that their dreams would be achieved by people infinitely more powerful than them...people who, despite the passage of more than ten-thousand-years, had yet to make any headway towards eliminating the seemingly insurmountable Jahad Empire... Taking advantage of their silence, Vahn directed his attention to each of the group members in turn, starting with the inordinately beautiful woman with orange hair and startling blue eyes, frowning as he said, "Lo Po Bia Cheonsa...Angel...you have suffered far more than any person should ever have to suffer...if you so choose, I can liberate you from the situation you have been forced into. You will never again be forced to service vile and detestable people for the sake of a woman you resent and people you abhor..." Hearing Vahns offer, the seemingly perpetual smile Angel had been forcing since the start of the encounter gradually faded away, her blue eyes radiating a murderous glow as she asked, "I heard you were an Irregr...if I ept your offer, can you grant my wish?" Furrowing his brows in response to the womans words, Vahn briefly considered his response before saying, "I will not arbitrarily kill at the behest of others. Instead, I can provide you with the means to grow stronger without needing to make any further sacrifices. I can also provide you an opportunity to obtain your revenge, but, rather than dedicate yourself to killing someone you have never met, I would encourage you to reflect; discover the true reasons behind your suffering, and move beyond it...no amount of killing will alleviate the pain you have been forced to endure...only eptance and a desire to rise above the circumstances of your birth will allow you to find true happiness..." Though she didnt trust Vahns words, not in the slightest, Angel had even less faith in a group like FUG. Her mother had sold her off at a very young age, forcing her to experience horrors far beyond the capacity of a normal person to bear. If not for her unique ancestry, providing her a strong body and an inordinate talent as an Anima, she would have died long before she had the opportunity to be a Regr. Unfortunately, the Floor of Tests had already fallen under the influence of FUG by then; so, the moment she believed she could start over and live a new life, she was coerced into joining, eventually bing the personal Angel of one of yer Yamas three Mad Dogs, Buelsar Elliot... Shifting her gaze to the half-canine man with spikey purple hair, a sadistic smile spread across Angels face as she asked, "Cant I kill at least one person...?" Realizing her intentions, Elliot immediately bared his fangs towards Angel, coldly growling, "You damn bitch...I knew you were using me for the sake of your revenge, but I still agreed to let you be my Angel. This is how you repay me after I protected you for thest hundred years...!?" With a smile that could even send chills down the spine of someone like Loki, Angel cocked her head coquettishly to the side as she chimed, "Protected me? Is that what you were doing all those times you ripped my clothes off and forced yourself upon me at your leisure? Gee, I wonder how I could ever harbor any resentment towards such a paragon of gentlemanly virtue~?" If not for the invisible force locking him in ce, Elliot wouldnt have hesitated for a single moment to end Angels life then and there. Unfortunately, other than trembling in frustration, the only thing he could do was run his mouth, shouting, "You ungrateful whor-" before a vice-like grip silenced his exmation. Dangling the unresisting man by his neck, Vahns cold expression gradually rxed into a calmer disposition as he looked towards Angel and said, "I can understand your hatred towards this man, but, in the end, it cannot be denied that he was trying to help you. His treatment toward you was predicated on the fact that you belonged to him. The canine people are bound by an instinctual observation of hierarchies. I wont deny that you were forced to experience countless injustices, but it is also true that you were using him for your own ends..." Unable to refute Vahns words, Angel just clenched her teeth, averting her eyes to the side as she huffed, "Fine! So long as you keep your promise, I dont give two shits what happens to this damn mutt...!" Responding with a curt nod of approval, Vahn released Elliot from his grasp, meeting the mans dark red eyes as he said, "There is currently no enmity between me and Yama. Once we reach the next station, you will be allowed to depart freely. What you do from there is up to you. However, you should know better than me that Yama has no interest in the affairs of FUG. I would suggest you return to the Cage and resume your training before progressing further up the Tower. Letting FUG treat you like a bloodhound is unbing of someone hand-picked by the King of Fighting Dogs..." Though his movements were no longer restricted, Elliot made no attempt to try and attack Vahn. Instead, he just rubbed his neck, eyes glimmering with a mixture of hatred and respect as he said, "Ill remember this...once I be stronger, dont me me for tracking you down and biting out your throat..." Chuckling in response to the mans words, Vahn resisted the instinctual urge to extend his hand to pet the half-canines head as he remarked, "Good luck with that..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lioness-chan fights dirty...,Man, Roen must have been a babe for all these fools to be simping even after six-hundred-years...,I can vividly imagine Vahn petting Yama and several other Canine people...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1867 Options

Chapter 1867 Options

Though he couldnt exactly call their matters resolved, Vahn shifted his attention away from Angel and Elliot, his eyes passing over the other three before settling on the white-haired youth named Vicente. This caused thetter to furrow his brows slightly, but, rather than show any fear, his voice was extremely calm as he asked, "Did you really kill Hoaqin?" Nodding his head without hesitation, Vahn produced a tiny silver crown from his Inventory as he exined, "Your n to fuse with your siblings and gain control over yourbined form would never have worked. The moment you agreed to Hoaqins n all those years ago, you had already be a part of him. He sacrificed the four of you, binding your souls to his while superimposing his Ego unto yours. The only reason you were allowed to keep your sense of self was to prevent any hups from urring immediately after the ritual had been performed. Now, it is only a matter of time before Hoaqin overwrites your Ego with his own, bing the master of your body." Showing the first noteworthy change in expression since the start of the encounter, Vicentes face morphed into a deeply perturbed frown as he asked, "How do you know all of these things? Who, exactly, are you?" Offering a casual smile in response, Vahn performed a very slight bow as he said, "My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the anomalous entity known as the Sage Dragon Emperor. How I know what I know ispletely irrelevant in this matter. What matters most is that Ill be exorcising Hoaqin from your body. Your options are to cooperate, freeing you from the burden of your brothers sins, or resisting and joining him in death. What will you choose?" Since he could hardly even move in the presence of Vahn, Vicente didnt need much time to weigh the options he had been given. Being forced to sleep for thousands of years had been unpleasant, so, now that he had the chance to experience the world beyond the confines of his familys floating castle, he wasnt going to squander it in the vain pursuit of a profane power. Having made up his mind, a resolute glimmer shed across Vicentes silvery-white eyes as he said, "I will choose the former. I havee to learn that there are considerably worse things than living a life where I am unable to surpass my father. Even if I am fated to be a failed product, there are still things I wish to see, experience, and obtain through my own efforts. To that end, I ask you with as much sincerity as I can manage...please, free me and my siblings from Hoaqins curse..." Nodding his head in approval, Vahns expression morphed into a slightly appreciative smile as he said, "You can leave it to me. I have a surprising amount of experience with things like this so it will be a simple matter to remove Hoaqins influence from the four of you. Before that, however, there are a few other small matters that require my attention..." Shifting his attention to the man with dirty-blond hair, Daniel Hatchid, Vahns brows furrowed ever-so-slightly as he said, "Your n to resurrect White and have him revive Roen was fated to fail from the start. He has never possessed the power to resurrect the dead, even at his peak. The most you could have hoped for was acquiring Roens soul, but, without the means to identify it, he could have just given you any soul. Even then, youck the means to anchor it to a physical vessel or remove it from the Hell Express. In other words, even if White did honor the promise made between you, both you and Roen would have been absorbed shortly thereafter..." ring in response to Vahns words, ghostly purple mes began to spread across Daniels body as he shouted, "What are you saying!? What, was I supposed to just give up and abandon Roen to her fate!? Do you have any idea what-" Before the man could continue his tantrum, Vahn appeared right in front of him in an instant, index and middle finger pressed against the formers head. This caused the ghostly mes to immediately fade away as he calmly stated, "Rx. Just like I told your former colleagues, I will do my best to try and help Roen. Unlike White, I actually possess the power to revive the recently deceased and those strong of spirit. So long as her spirit hasnt been irreversibly tainted by negativity, reviving Roen is a simple matter." Retracting his fingers, Vahn extracted what appeared to be a fetus-like parasite from Daniels head. This caused thetter to instantaneously copse, the tattoos inscribed across his body evaporating as his body seized up from the pain. Incinerating the ghostly parasite using abination of the Laws of Fire and Purification, Vahn left Danial to seize upon the ground as he returned his attention to the final member of the group, Ha Yura. Her body tensed up in response to his gaze,plexion paling as she averted her eyes to the side with a mixture of indignation and nervousness visible in her countenance. Though it had only been a few minutes, Vahn knew the insincere Idol had been ruminating over his earlier words. She had no easy way to refute them, and, after seeing what he was capable of, a small amount of guilt had been seeded within her heart. At the very least, she realized it was wrong of her to try and justify sacrificing the people who had supported her over many years. From an objective point of view, this was an inarguably monstrous thing to do; and, had she gone through with it, she would have be inseparable from FUG since nobody in their right mind would ever ce their trust in her again... Understanding that Yuras hatred toward the Ha Family was primarily due to her mother, it was very difficult for Vahn to stay mad at her. She was a product of her environment, and, due to her unique heritage, she had been ostracized, pressured, and coerced countless times. She was forced to make countless sacrifices during her ascent, and, were it not for the power she inherited as a member of the Ha Family and the Asterian people, she would have been consumed by the Towers degeneracy and corruption long ago... Suppressing a sigh, Vahn maintained argely neutral expression as he said, "I have some powerful connections within the Ha Family and Wolhaiksong. I will try and smooth things over with them so that you and your mother no longer have to live in fear. You also have the option of retiring from your life as a Regr and living amongst your people, the Asteria Tribe. I have removed their curse and arranged a ce for them to live out the rest of their days alongside other Native Tribes..." Having learned about her fathers tribe from her mother, Yura couldnt help but feel taken aback by Vahns sudden mention of the formerly Cursed People. She found it difficult to believe that he had managed to both remove their curse and move them to a secure location without causing massive ripples throughout the Tower. As for his mention of powerful connections within the Ha Family and Wolhaiksong, his status as an Irregr made the former soundpletely nonsensical... With the Law of Identity revealing Yuras rude thoughts, Vahns expression morphed into a deadpan as he exined in a dull monotone, "Unlike FUG, I can prove the veracity of my ims with extreme ease. If you want, I can let you meet with your people here and now. Seriously, what reason would I have to lie about such things?" Though he had asked the question rather offhandedly, Vahns deadpan became even more potent as the Law of Identity revealed, "She thinks youre trying to deceive her so that you can get into her pants. By the way, she is currently wearing baby-blue panties with a star pattern on them~." As if to prove her point, the Law of Identity attempted to lift her skirt, but, by shifting his attention away from her, Vahn was able to make her momentarily disappear as he said, "I wont deny that you are a beautiful woman, but, as you can see, Im not exactly wanting in that regard..." Reacting to Vahns words, Evas brows perked up as she asked, "Did this brat think you were trying to hit on her?" Gesturing for Eva to remain calm, a wry smile developed across Vahns face as he exined, "Just as any other, her expectations have been shaped by the life she has lived. It is difficult for those born within the Tower to believe that there are people willing to help them without expecting something in return. Dont worry, even if I allow them to enter the Little Garden, I have no intention of allowing either of them to stay within the Emerald Grove." Though she wasnt fond of being silenced, Eva just rolled her eyes in response to Vahns words before crossing her arms under her breasts and muttering, "The women in this Tower are all thirsty little minxes..." Hearing Evas remark, Yuras already ruddyplexion became even redder as she balled her hands into fists and bit her bottom lip. She realized that the rumors regarding Vahns ability to read minds were true, so, with a somewhat indignant glimmer in her eyes, she attempted to mentally admonish him. Unfortunately, he was currently ignoring the Law of Identity, so, despite her best efforts, Yuras words ultimately went unheard as Vahn manifested the Little Garden and exined the basics of its functionality... --- Without anything to mark the passage of time, Mordred couldnt be sure how long she had been in the Rice Pot. Her best guess was that a month or so had passed, but, without something like a day-night cycle, it was hard to be sure. All she knew for certain was that her boredom had exceeded her usual tolerance, and, though she was still making slow progress, she was starting to wonder if there was a reason to be tearing through the foundation of her own potential. After all, there was nothing preventing her from increasing her potential in the outside world. Rather, with the guidance of her Papa and the presence of several powerhouses in the Little Garden, there had never been a limit to her growth... As this thought crossed her mind, Mordred entered her low-power state, sprawling out across the cold metal foundation before calling out, "How long are you going to keep spying on me? Do you enjoy watching me struggle...?" Reacting to Mordreds words, a juvenile lioness with eagle-like wings appeared out of thin air, its face fixed into a very humanoid expression of annoyance as it replied, "Were one and the same. How can I be spying on you? Youre really beginning to lose it, arent you?" Rather than immediately reply to the lioness words, Mordred yawned rather loudly before looking over at the golden-furred creature and saying, "Even if were the same person, the fact we can talk like this is proof enough that there is something separating us. If I had to guess, you inherited my willfulness. You refuse to be a part of me and simply disappear. I certainly wouldnt be able to ept such a thing, so I imagine well eventually be two distinct entities. Who knows, you might even be my Zanpakuto? If that happens, try and be a greatsword or something..." Feeling inordinately sleepy, Mordred punctuated her statement with another yawn before folding her hands behind her head and closing her eyes. This left the lioness staring at her with a rather helpless expression, her voice failing to reach the formers ears as she grumbled, "Selfish brat...just you wait and see. If I do be a Zanpakuto, Ill be so massive that you cant even hope to wield me...hmph...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Casually plucks demonic parasite*,Thirsty little minxes xD...,Poor lioness-chan...that would just make Mordred even happier...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1868 Time Heals/Consumes All

Chapter 1868 Time Heals/Consumes All

With the former members of FUG under control, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that Vahn was now in total control of the Hell Express. Unfortunately, this didnt allow him to simply ignore the rules of the unique testing grounds, so, even with Ryun guiding the way, it generally took several days to seek out and discover each of Hoaqins siblings. Thus, by the time they reached the 37th Floor Train Station, colloquially known as the Wooden Horse, they had only found the youngest of the Arie siblings, a quiet and reserved youngdy named Anna. Like every direct descendent of the Arie n, Anna possessed silvery-white hair, matching eyes, and inordinately pale skin. What distinguished her from her kin was the fact that, despite being from the family best known for their swordsmanship, Anna had very little talent for it. Instead, she had been born with an extraordinary talent for sorcery, specifically specializing in the production of doll-like familiars. Though they were only about as strong as skilled Regrs, Anna was able to create dolls that could learn from and emte the capabilities of others. Her favorite was the plush rabbit she could often be seen carrying around, but, so long as it had been immersed in her Shinsu for an extended period of time, she could effectively control anything with a humanoid shape. This applied to actual people as well, but, for a variety of reasons, doing so was exceptionally difficult. Unfortunately, despite possessing a remarkable ability with functionally unlimited potential, Anna had been born into a family that couldnt appreciate her talents. This led to her being ostracized by virtually everyone within the family, and, during her training, she was bullied excessively by her own siblings. The only people who were kind to her during this period were Hoaqin, Vicente, David, and Albelda, the same siblings she wouldter go on to fuse with for fear of being left alone. Anna didnt take kindly to the fact that Hoaqin had been killed, but, thanks to some careful coaxing from Vicente, she ultimately gave up on the idea of seeking revenge. After all, she was a remarkably intelligent youngdy, so, while she was heartbroken by the loss of her older brother, she was also aware that someone needed to pay for his crimes. Hoaqin had killed billions in the pursuit of power, and, despite having numerous opportunities to confront their father, the purpose of their fusion, he spent thousands of years just idling about in the Outer Tower. Though he wasnt the only one guilty of such heinous acts, Hoaqin had gone out of his way to raise a Kingdom from the ground up. He united various peoples under amon banner and effectively became a Messiah to more than a hundred million people. Then, once his poprity had reached its peak, allowing him to masquerade as a literal God, he effectively vanished into thin air without selecting a sessor. As could be expected, the power vacuum caused by Whites spontaneous disappearance resulted in countless conflicts. There was no end to the number of people trying to seize power in his absence, and, as a result, the Kingdom eventually fragmented into a total of seventy smaller fiefdoms before eventually falling under the banner of a single, tyrannical, Empire. While his previously established nation was tearing itself apart, White had been busy masquerading as a sword-saint-turned-revolutionary in a distant kingdom. He worked his way up to bing the leader of a massive revolution that was intended to tear down the nobility and return power to the people. This resulted in the deaths of countless revolutions, but, in the end, they were finally able to establish a Republic founded on principles such as freedom and universal education. From an objective point of view, White had spent more than a thousand years improving the lives of various people. In reality, his only reason for establishing order within the region was to grow the poption and develop two rival superpowers with radically different systems of belief. This would ensure they were constantly at odds, ughtering each other without end as he put the finishing touches on a massive ritual formation that spanned the entire continent. By the time Whites activities were discovered by the Jahad Empire, his actions had resulted in the deaths of billions, each unwittingly sacrificed for the sake of increasing his power. This allowed his power to increase far beyond the scope of an average High Ranker, and, for a time, he became the public face of FUG, rising to prominence as one of the most prolific yers in history. He had even managed to start a number of sessful revolutions in the lower floors of the Tower, his poprity exploding to the point that it becamemon for people to paint red markings around their eyes to indicate their intent to rebel. Unfortunately for the infamous yer, his power was far beyond the level required to defeat the true powerhouses among the Jahad Empire and the Ten Great Families. He was able to defeat the majority of their High Rankers with rtive ease, but, hidden away within each of the families were powerful Rankers known as Blue Holes. These were former Higher Rankers, who, for a variety of reasons, had faded into obscurity until they were invariably removed from the rankings entirely. During his attempt to conquer the 35th Floor and gain possession of the Hell Express, White had the misfortune of encountering one of the most powerful Princesses of Jahad at the time, his own older sister, Arie Hagipherione Zahard. If it were just her, he might havee out ahead, but, as a wielder of the Thirteen Month Series, possessing the Red October, her importance to the family was too high for her to travel alone. As a result, he found himself pitted against a peerless princess and one of the Arie Families three Sword Saints, Arie Orion, the former Rank 29. In the end, White attempted to secure an advantage by remotely activating the ritual formation he had spent more than a thousand years constructing. This was ultimately sessful, resulting in the death of billions, but, before he could properly absorb the extraordinary amount of energy, he was struck down by Hagipheriones Red October. The enchantments on the Thirteen Month Series were rumored to possess the power to even y immortals when ignited, so, in an effort to preserve himself, White was forced to flee at the expense of more than 60,000 of his allies. Even this wasnt enough to save him from death, however, so, as ast-ditch effort to preserve his life and escape pursuit, he used up most of his remaining power to undo the ritual binding him and his siblings before hiding within the Hell Express. His intent was to sacrifice the souls onboard to recuperate and further increase his power, but, the moment he tried to activate the ritual, his ns were interrupted and undermined by a group of inordinately brave Regrs. At the cost of her own life, Roen interfered with the activation of Whites ritual, preventing him from absorbing the power of souls onboard the Hell Express. This caused substantial damage to Whites own soul, forcing him to flee and ultimately requiring him to use thest remnants of his power to seal himself away for more than five-hundred-years just to heal. It was only after Daniel discovered his chamber that he finally awoke, and, after a brief confrontation, the former agreed to be his proxy, absorbing souls on his behalf in exchange for agreeing to resurrect Roen. In the single-minded pursuit of this objective, Daniel had spent thest forty-years luring the vilest and most despicable people he could onboard the Hell Express before killing them in secret. It was for this same reason that he joined FUG, effectively selling his soul to the devil in order for a small chance at resurrecting the woman he loved. This was how FUG came to learn of Whites awakening, and, as a result, Daniel became a rtively important figure within the organization due to the seal allowing him to locate Hoaqin and his siblings onboard the infamouslybyrinthine lotive. Unfortunately, after idling about for more than ten-thousand-years, most of the Elders within FUG had be political fence-sitters. They were apprehensive about making any decision that might introduce great change within the organization, so, despite having the opportunity to revive one of their most prolific yers, they were hesitant to do so before they could gain leverage against him. It wasnt a particrly well-known fact, but, due to their propensity to elevate yers to the level of Gods within the organization, FUGs Elders had very little control over the rambunctious bunch. The position of yer was, by design, the highest within the entire organization, so, unless they coulde to a consensus and coordinate with other yers, interfering with the actions of another was very difficult. Of the seven yers designated by FUG, three were currently inactive, one was dead, another had only recently ascended to his position, and thest was rather famous for not giving a damn about the organizations affairs. This put the Elders of FUG into a difficult position, as, without the support of an active yer, reiming White would be very difficult due to the rules prohibiting them from taking overt action before the prophesied time. Since yer Yama had absolutely no interest in anything unrted to his personal enjoyment and the survival of his people, this left only yer Karaka as a potential backer. Unfortunately, thetter had only recently be a yer in thest 100 years, and, while his power could rival some High Rankers, he would struggle to break into the Top 500 even with the support of three Elders and his Master, the Rank 71 Ha Jinsung. For these reasons, the revival of White had been stonewalled for decades as Daniel continued his efforts to umte souls at Hoaqins behest. As for why they had chosen to resurrect him at this moment in time, it wasrgely due to the fact that the prophesied time was fast approaching. This was originally attributed to the emergence of Baam, but, now that the former was dead, many of the active Elders within FUG were beginning totch onto the idea that Vahn was the one they had been waiting for. Unfortunately for the opportunistic Elders, Vahn wasnt exactly cooperative, and, due to their past actions and continuing negligence, they were quickly moving their way up to the top of his list of elements that needed to be removed from the Tower. Their only lifeline at this point was Hwa Ryun, and, to a lesser extent, Vahns understanding that FUG, despite all their ws, werent actually the bad guys. They had just be stagnant and corrupt over the course of thousands of years, and, much like the Heads of the Ten Great Families, the majority of the Elders had be desensitized due to their own longevity. Though there were exceptions to the rule, most mortals were unprepared for a life that continued into perpetuity. Unless they had something to drive them forward, most people would simply break after a few hundred years. This is what led to most Rankers developing quirky personalities, as, after a while, they simply forgot how to interact with people normally. Instead, their main focus became increasing their rank, expanding the influence of their families, and pursuing various hobbies. Those who failed to find something they were interested in either took their own lives or ended uptching onto others with a greater drive than themselves. They found meaning in following those who seemed to have a sense of purpose, something most of them had lost even before managing to be Rankers. After all, few people became Rankers withoutpromising themselves and making countless sacrifices along the way. During the average Regrs climb, they would experience frequent betrayals, witness the deaths of virtually every single one of their teammates, and, more often than not, just as they were beginning to spread their wings, they would invariably fall victim to the Ten Great Families. This was enough to leave the vast majority of fresh Rankers feeling extremely fatigued. As a result, most spent the first hundred or so years after their ascent trying to justify why they had climbed in the first ce. They would meander through the Middle Tower to experience all the things they had missed out on; and, in the end, quite a number chose to be Administrators, many searching for themselves amidst the countless Regrs following the path they had formerly tread... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Being born a talented sorceress in a family of sword-machos...oof...,Daniel has ascended even further beyond the realm of Super Simpin...!,The only things that survive the test of time are bureaucracy and sin o_o...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1869 Small Steps Forward

Chapter 1869 Small Steps Forward

After sessfully preventing anyone new from boarding the Hell Express, Vahn and Co, now apanied by FUGs former team, sans Elliot, began their ten-day journey to reach their next destination. This time, however, it wasnt Artoria and the rest clearing out the cars. Instead, Vahn had Yura act as the Teams Light Bearer, directing the trio of Daniel, Vicente, and Anna while Ryun rendered her services as a Guide. As for Angel, she had tentatively retired to the Second Layer of the Little Garden, enjoying a momentary reprieve from an inordinately long period of suffering... As could be expected from a teamprised of elites, Daniel, despite being a Scout, was able to clear most cars without any assistance. He hadnt lived for more than six-hundred-years without picking up a few skills along the way, and, though he had lost Hoaqins demonic parasite, he was still able to use a unique form of Shinsu control known as Necromancy. Unlike the Necromancy Vahn was familiar with, Daniels allowed him to absorb the souls of the enemies he had defeated, storing them within a secondary container that had been created near his dantian. Unlike the energy stored within the dantian, the wellspring that served as the root of a persons power, the energy kept within this secondary vessel was finite. In other words, once he ran out, he could no longer use his abilities as a Necromancer, so, whenever he defeated a foe, Daniel would absorb the energy released from their souls in order to refill this peculiar reservoir. Using the energy he stored within, Daniel was able to create living Baangs of Shinsu. These often appeared as screaming purple heads,plete with twisted expression and teeth that could bypass most resistances due to their spiritual nature. It was quite the eerie sight to behold, as, even without his direction, these heads were capable of passing through objects and pursuing their enemies like vengeful spirits, wailing madly as they attempted to devour anything perceived as an enemy. With the ghostly heads able to absorb the power of souls for living organisms, they were capable of both sustaining themselves and replenishing Daniels reserves. The only downside was that most Shinheuh, for a number of reasons, provided very little soul energy. This was especially true on the Hell Express, as, unlike those found outside, the Shinheuh found within were effectively projectionsprised of Shinsu. They even vanished into motes of light upon death, reabsorbed and recycled by the Hell Express in order to produce a functionally unlimited number of enemies for Regrs to face. Fortunately, what Daniel believed to be the power of souls was just a purified form of Shinsu, so, even though the Shinheuh onboard were bereft of anything even remotely resembling an Ego, he was still able to sweep through them while replenishing his secondary reserves. The only thing that prevented him from defeating every enemy was the fact he could only sustain to Baangs at a time, and, though they were quite fast, it wasnt particrly difficult to dodge ghostly purple heads that constantly announced their presence via screaming. Acting as the Fishermen of the group, Vicente wielded a peculiar sword, resembling a ymore with an inordinately wide guard, to deftly cut down any foes that ventured within seventy meters of him, his sister, and Yura. He was the type of swordsman who focused almost exclusively on defense and counters, so, as could be expected, his perception and reaction time were both remarkable. He also got a lot stronger whenever he was protecting something, so, with his sister close behind, Vicente was able to demonstrate a degree of skill that would eclipse most B-Rank Regrs. With his techniques revolving around manipting, curving, and severing Space, Vicente was able to create an absolute field of protection that functioned simrly to a domain. This required him to remain stationary, but, so long as it was active, his technique allowed him to cut down anything that ventured into the hemispherical space surrounding him. This included other sword techniques, and, as could be expected, most Shinsu-rted attacks. During his youth, Vicente, much like each of his other siblings that had been fooled by Hoaqin, had been ostracized by the rest of his Family. He was considered to be a prodigy on the level of Hoaqin, but, rather than go on the offensive, all of his techniques revolved around defense. This earned him a reputation as a coward, and, due to their inability tond so much as a single blow, even his older siblings began refusing to train with him. The only exception to this rule was Hoaqin, who, prior to bing the entity known as White, researched all of his siblings before picking those who would be most useful to him after fusing. Hoaqins swordsmanship focused entirely on offense, so, in order to cover for his own weaknesses, he extended a helping hand to Vicente around the same time that everyone else was shunning him. This was seen through by Vicente, but, having already given up on surpassing his father and being epted by the rest of his Family, he didnt care about the consequences. He just wanted to belong somewhere, and, after getting to know his younger sisters, each equally as ostracized as he was, the only thing he really cared about was protecting them. In the end, White was an amalgamation of Hoaqins otherworldly offensive capabilities, Vicentes unparalleled defense, Annas innate talent for Sorcery, Davids ability to temporarily possess other people, and Albeldas uncanny ability topletely erase their presence. Thesest two had been particrly useful as they were ultimately what allowed him to sessfully fool countless people during his kingdom building days. They were also what allowed him to survive his initial climb up the Tower, as, rather than appear as himself, he often possessed the bodies of talented Regrs in order to escape the scrutiny of the Ten Great Families. Unfortunately, though the whole Tower was better for it, White had been forced to separate into his constituent parts after his battle against Arie Hagipherione Zahard. This left him without the unique abilities he had relied on for thousands of years, and, though he still possessed a ludicrous amount of offensive power, his mentality as a God made him blind to the schemes that had been enacted against him by a group of Regrs. Now, the only thing remnants of the tyrannical yer were the fragments of himself that had been infused into the Egos of his siblings. Two of these had already been exorcised by Vahn, so, for the first time in their lives, Vicente and Anna were free to make their own decisions. For the time being, their primary objective was saving their siblings. After that, Vicente wanted to study swordsmanship within the Little Garden, apprenticing under Vahn while Anna studied under Eva. Vahn had be rather fond of Vicente due to his resolute desire to protect the people he cared about, and, though their abilities were fundamentally different, Eva seemed to see her former self in Anna. She had also been ostracized at a young age due to her magical abilities, and, much like the former, her power had first manifested as an ability to create and manipte dolls. She could also sense a powerful desire to prove herself simmering within the not-so-young girls heart; so, with the intent to turn Anna into the Towers most preeminent Magus, Eva had taken the taciturn girl under her wing. Though she had only been studying for a few days, Anna wasnt considered a prodigy in sorcery for naught. She might not have been able to make any real progress towards understanding the basics of Evas constantly evolving magic system, but, with an Innate talent for creating puppets, she now had five mannequin-like humanoids, each with the aptitude of a powerful D-Rank Regr, fighting at her behest. Evas intent was to guide Anna down a very simr path as her younger self, shaping the girl into an Archmage that could create a literal army of autonomous magical soldiers. This was something that Anna was also interested in, and, after witnessing Evas instantaneous creation of several copies of herself, each capable of manipting Shinsu to devastating effect, a powerful desire to develop her own ability had blossomed overnight. This brought the two of them a lot closer, but, unfortunately, Vahn was destined to remain hated as Eva had forbidden him from approaching within five meters of her young apprentice... --- After a rtively leisurely ten days, Vahn and Co found themselves outside of a chamber guarded by a giant, frog-like Shinheuh. It appeared almost identical to a standard bullfrog, but, instead of green skin, its glistening hide was a peculiar shade of blue. It was also more than ten meters tall, and, rather than possess two eyes, it had a bulbous third eye located at the center of its forehead. Having spent much of thest six-hundred-years onboard the Hell Express, Daniel recognized the peculiar creature in an instant, saying, "I never expected to encounter the Three-Eyed Tyrant this early on. It normally only appears after the Hell Train had surpassed the 40th-" Before Daniel could finish exining the specifics regarding the peculiar Guardian, Annas dolls, now resembling various stuffed animals, began peppering it with concentrated beams of Shinsu. Her talent for Sorcery directly tranted to an equally extreme potential as a Wave Controller, so, much like Ryun, she had managed to master the basics of the Shinsu ck Hole Sphere using the method created by Eva. This made her attacks especially devastating, and, though it had resulted in a number of puppets self-destructing, she had been working on manifesting the unique control skill through her ever-growing poption of autonomous soldiers. Though he could have defeated it on his own, Daniel couldnt help but stare with his mouth agape as Annas army of stuffed animals decimated the notoriously difficult enemy. It couldnt even fight back, as, unlike normal Shinsu, Annas seemed to ignore conventional resistances, tearing apart the target without mercy. Turning his head, a fearful glimmer shed across Daniels otherwise vibrant blue eyes as he stared back at the white-haired girl, seemingly no older than ten, hugging a stuffed pink rabbit. She didnt even need to exert herself to defeat a foe that would have taken him several minutes to defeat, and, so long as Vicente and Yura were at her side, her defenses were nigh-impregnable... Noticing the formers gaze, Anna met Daniels eyes with her own silver-whites, her face devoid of any emotion as she cocked her head to the side and asked, "What are you looking at...?" in a cold monotone. Feeling slightly unnerved by Annas expression and tone, Daniel offered a wry smile in response as he said, "Ah...its nothing...I was just surprised by how strong youve be in such a short period of time. The descendants of the Ten Great Families are pretty...amazing...?" Noticing the surrounding temperature decreasing, Daniels instincts began to sound rm bells in the back of his mind. He seemed to have stepped on andmine by mentioning Annas rtion to the Arie Family, and, as a result, her expression became even icier than usual as the rabbit-like doll in her head raised its head to meet his gaze with its beady ck eyes. At the exact same moment, each of the other dolls turned their heads toward him, necks twisting unnaturally due to theirck of bones... Fortunately, just as it seemed like he would suffer the same fate as the Three-Eyed Tyrant, Vicente moved to block Annas view of Daniel, his expression and tone calm as he said, "Anna...he is not an enemy..." Calming down almost immediately, Anna just nodded her head before hugging her doll close and retracting her bloodlust. This caused the palpable chill in the surroundings to fade away, and, as a result of her apprentices antics, Eva couldnt help butugh aloud before making a few remarks at Daniels expense... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *The sound of every true Necromancer and Lich clicking their tongues*,Eva be like, "Not this time you little shit...",Anna about to fuck up the Arie Family on her own o_o...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1870 Reunions, Meetings, and Machinations

Chapter 1870 Reunions, Meetings, and Machinations

With the Guardian taken care of with rtive ease, there was nothing preventing Daniel from using the seal tattooed on his body to remove the seal that would have otherwise required more forceful methods to bypass. On the other side, seated atop a wooden chair that appeared almostically oversizedpared to its upant, a young boy with the characteristic features of the Arie Family could be seen staring back at them. Though it was their first time seeing their brother in hundreds of years, neither Vicente nor Anna showed any real reaction. Rather, much like every other member of the Arie Family, Hoaqin being one of the few exceptions, they appeared unperturbed by everything happening around them. This caused many within the Tower to view the entire family as emotionless killers, but, while it was true they werent very expressive, that didnt mean they were bereft of sentiments such as affection and love. While Vicente exchanged nods with the presumed David, Anna made her way over to his side, not to say or do anything, just to be near him. This earned her a deadpan stare from David, but, after a few seconds, he dutifully reached his hand out to caress her head as he dully intoned, "It is good to see you, Anna. Have you been well?" With an unchanging expression of her own, Anna nodded her head before gesturing towards thepressed dolls visible from within the fashionable purse gifted to her by Eva. This earned her a head-tilt from David, forcing her to exin, "I have found a teacher. Now I can grow stronger like everyone else." Though it was almost imperceptible, the briefest hint of a smile could be seen on Davids face as he retracted his hand and said, "Im happy for you." before shifting his attention to Vicente and asking, "Where is Hoaqin? I would have thought he would be the one unsealing our chambers." Frowning slightly in response to Davids mention of their elder brother, Anna squeezed her rabbit-like doll, retreating to Evas side as Vicente went on to exin the details of Hoaqins demise. This came as a tremendous shock to David, not because he was upset by Hoaqins death, but, much like Vicente, he had been nning to be the center when they re-fused as White. He hadnt even considered the possibility that they would remain separated, so, following the sudden revtion, he just stared nkly at nothing before gradually shifting his attention to the culprit behind Hoaqins death. Adopting a casual smile in response to the youths gaze, Vahn took the initiative to exin, "Your power is remarkable, but it wont help you in this particr situation. Even if you wanted to try and seize one of our bodies, everyone here is exponentially stronger than you. Besides, the moment you tried pulling a stunt like that in front of me, you are effectively deciding your own death. Im not the type to consider an ability evil by default. The moment you use it for evil purposes, however, expect no quarter from me." Fearful that his brother might make a mistake he couldnt take back, Vicente immediately followed up Vahns words with his own, proposing, "This man is simr to father, someone from outside the Tower. If you are worried about living and making decisions on your own, I will allow you to inhabit my body. We can share control and improve together, just like when we were younger." Hearing Vicentepare Vahn to their father, Davids expression became the closest thing to shock he could manage, brows raised slightly as his pupils retracted to the size of pinholes. They had been taught from a very young age how amazing their father was, and, at the end of every year, he even attempted to encourage them by performing a sword dance. This became the driving force behind each and every member of the Arie Family, but, at the same time, it also showed them how vast and seemingly insurmountable their Father was. This impression was so strong that it was impossible for them topare him to another, yet, here, at this moment, Vicente seemed to be doing just that... Shifting his gaze back to Vahn, Davids eyes began to wander across his body, seemingly searching for whatever made him exceptional. This earned him a light chuckle from the former, who, feeling a little emboldened by the youths expectations, manifested Laev-tan. Before he could move to swing her, however, Eva promptly smacked him in the back of the head, saying, "Dont even think about it! You dont even know how powerful you are right now! What if you destroy the entire Hell Express in your attempts to show off!? At least return to the Little Garden before you do something stupid...!" Rubbing the spot where Eva had smacked him, Vahn maintained a carefree smile even as he felt a warmth flood into his cheeks. This earned him exasperated sighs from most of the women present, the only real exceptions being Artoria and Fenrir; who, in response to Eva smacking him in front of other people, adopted slight frowns. This caused her body to straighten out, but, rather than take a step back, she adopted a frown of her own and asked, "What? Everything I said was the truth. Dont even pretend that Vahn doesnt have a habit of destroying things whenever he is trying to show off. He might be a Grandmaster swordsman, but he is also an iprehensibly overpowered God. Are you forgetting what happened during his most recent attempt to awaken his Bankai...?" Though they wanted to support Vahn, even Fenrir couldnt help but avert her eyes slightly as she recalled the destructive inferno that had devastated more than a third of the Ninth Layer, a texture that could rival Gaia in surface area. If not for Vahn preemptively evacuating the region prior to the attempt, there was a very real chance that someone could have gotten caught up in the ze... Feeling even more embarrassed due to Evas words, Vahn began chuckling lightly as he returned Laev-tan to his body. Then, before the conversation could continue, he hastily manifested the Little Garden, saying, "I still need to remove Hoaqins fragment from Davids Ego. Well resume our searche morning. Im sure these three have much to discuss and Im certain Rindo will have some new dishes for us to sample..." Hearing mention of Rindos iparable cooking, the stomaches of nearly everyone present made their presence known via the issuance of a loud war cry. Eva was no exception to this, so, with a red hue coloring her cheeks, she nodded her head inpliance, saying, "Very well then. Let us be off." in an uncharacteristically demure yet expectant tone... --- Having disembarked the Hell Express at the 37th Floors train station, Elliot, feeling frustrated at hisck of strength and the loss of his Angel, spent several days venting his frustrations within the Red Light District of the Middle Tower before reporting the incident. This required him to venture to one of the territories managed by FUG, a surprisingly difficult task now that he no longer had someone to provide directions. Fortunately, so long as he ventured to regions where the public order was terrible, Elliot needed only follow the scent of fresh blood in order to track down a member of FUG. Then, after beating the trio that had attempted to extort him, brutally killing two in the process, he was guided to a night club that served as one of the FUGs many fronts. What Elliot never could have expected was, less than five hours after he had made his report, two figures, neither of which he had ever anticipated meeting, appeared before him. This included an inordinately handsome man wearing sses, and, though it was very dangerous for them to be seen together, a woman with pale-pink hair and cold blue eyes had appeared alongside him. Unable to move so much as a single muscle in the presence of the duo, Elliot lowered his body to the ground, sweat covering his entire body as the man, none other than Po Bidau Gustang, casually remarked, "It seems like FUG is well on its way to triggering its own annihtion..." Snorting in response to the mans words, the pink-haired woman, one of FUGs most influential Elders, Sophia Tan, remarked, "Preposterous. Though we might not be able to avoid a few losses, even Ureko would not be able to destroy the entirety of FUG. Besides, that man seems to be in a hurry, and, despite all his power, he gives off the impression of someone soft. So long as we seek topromise, I imagine he will willingly seek an ord." Though he couldntpletely refute Sophias words, Gustang still shook his head, insisting, "It is a mistake to delude ourselves into thinking we can finitely ascertain anything rted to that man. His existence isnt a mere anomaly, it is something that defies logic in its entirety. ording to the data I have been able to collect, there is a 93% probability that he doesnt actually exist. Rather, the man we see and experience as the Sage Dragon Emperor is the manifestation of something far beyond our capabilities to understand. I will not deny the merit contained within your assertations, but, the moment you begin basing your actions on the assumptions you have formed, you will have assured your own destruction." Understanding the kind of man Gustang was, Sophia couldnt help but frown deeply in response to his words. He wasnt the type to exaggerate things, and, the moment he finished speaking, she felt a sudden and intense feeling of existential dread. It was like death was standing right behind her, and, had she been alone, she wouldnt have been able to avoid looking over her shoulder. Instead, she forced a smile as she said, "It seems there is a need to further distance Seolhwangyon from the rest of FUG..." With a peculiar sheen shing across his square-rimmed sses, Gustang gestured to push them further up his nose as he suggested, "If there is anything we can be reasonably certain of, it is that mans obsession with women. It will undoubtedly require some sacrifices to be made, but there is a chance you can, at the very least, earn his favor. Just make sure you dont pressure the women into approaching him. Keeping secrets from that man is impossible so it is best to choose someone with a resolute heart and sincere belief in FUGs ideals." As the backer for several female-only sects and organizations, Sophia was spoiled for choice when it came to choosing women to entice Vahn. She even had a number of personal disciples who were remarkably loyal to the cause, but, due to her teachings, avoided direct involvement with FUG. After all, it was an organizationprised almost entirely of criminals, many of which had been shunned or chased out of society for various profane or vile acts. Allowing sheltered women to interact with such despots was just inviting trouble, so, more often than not, her faction operated independently from the rest of FUG. Before Sophia coulde up with an answer, Gustang shifted his attention back to Elliot, saying, "I will take this one with me. I would appreciate it if you didnt inform Yama of his disappearance. As it stands, FUG will soon lose more than half of its yers. There is a 72.095% chance that Yama will be able to avoid this fate. Allowing this man toe into contact with him reduces that chance to only 11.853%." Since she didnt particrly care about Elliot, Sophia just nodded in response to Gustangs words before manifesting a dark-pink Lighthouse and saying, "In approximately six months, myself, Hwa Yon, and Khel Hem are intending to meet with the Sage Dragon Emperor. Thetter believes the Jahad Empire will take action around the same time. It would make things easier on us if you could run interference from your end." Having already deduced Vahns reasons for boarding the Hell Express, Gustang offered an amused smile in response to Sophias words before casually remarking, "Measures have already been taken. I am not alone in my interest in that anomaly. So long as he doesnt do anything too excessive, we should be able to prevent a full mobilization of the Empires forces. If anything, you should be more worried about Hana losing her temper and reducing the entire Floor to ashes. She has be little more than a puppet over thesest few millennia so there is a high likelihood she will do something drastic at the behest of that incessantly vain woman." Frowning in response to Gustangs words, Sophia quickly forwarded a few encrypted transmissions through her Lighthousework before cing her palm against the front face and saying, "We will make the necessary preparations. Farewell, Mr. E..." Without waiting for Gustangs response, Sophia vanished using a very advanced form of Lighthouse Teleportation. Unlike the traditional skill, hers only required the use of a single Lighthouse, and, so long as they made use of the samework, she could freely teleport to the location of any other Lighthouse. This included the Lighthouses of most Regrs, and, thanks to the cooperation of the Workshop, she could even hack into the Lighthouses of enemy Rankers in order to send assassins to their side. These were capabilities unique to her Lighthouse, and, though it wasnt on the level of an Opera or the Eyes of God, it was one of the only A-Rank Lighthouses in the entire Tower... (A/N: Alternate Titles: An entire family of anti-social introverts...,The appetite demons demand sustenance...!,TFW you realize Phae produced an A-Rank Lighthouse prior to the 20th Floor...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1871 Guilty Pleasures

Chapter 1871 Guilty Pleasures

Though he had said they would resume the search in the morning, Vahn adjusted the flow of time within the Little Garden to afford everyone ample time for rest and rxation. Ryuns ability to read the paths took into ount the number of people who were passing through each car, so from the moment they began their search, they were forced to remain outside for the entire ten-day period. This meant ten days away from his children, and, for others, ten days without from Rindos cooking. At this point, Vahn suspected that Rindos poprity within the Little Garden was even greater than his own. He got along exceptionally well with everyone, and, more often than not, they treated him deferentially. Rindo, however, had be a goddess of sorts, conquering not the hearts, but the stomachs of virtually everyone within the Little Garden. Though he was reluctant to admit it, even Vahn couldnt go more than a few days without Rindos cooking. Other food just tasted nd, and, though he could prepare most of her dishes using his own skills, there was always something missing within the final product. He knew this was primarily the difference in intent, as, despite enjoying cooking, Vahn couldntpare to someone like Rindo whose entire existence seemed to revolve around creating and devouring new dishes. Fortunately, even though the poption of the Emerald Grove had more than doubled in recent months, Rindo could easily keep up with the load thanks to her [Ultimate Culinary God System]. It had a function that allowed her to mass produce any dishes she had already mastered, and, though they had fixed bonuses, their vor didnt diminish in the slightest. This meant, so long as she had enough ingredients, Rindo could effectively produce an infinite number of exquisite dishes, many of which provided permanent, albeit slight, increases to a persons status and parameters. Even if they never exercised a day in their life, living within the Emerald Grove and eating Rindos cooking every day would penultimately result in even mortals ascending to Godhood. This wasnt an exaggeration either, as, thanks to Da Vinci deconstructing the [Nectar of the Gods] years ago, it had now be one of Rindos umon ingredients. This,bined with the fact she used things like Dragon, Hydra, and Phoenix meat in her dishes meant that Rindos cooking was, quite literally, god-level. As the primary supplier of Rindos ingredients, Vahn enjoyed a considerable number of benefits, chief among them being that he was often the second person to sample a new dish. The first was obviously Rindo herself, but, as the person cooking, that was to be expected. What was infinitely more surprising was the fact that Rindo often asked for him to produce ingredients from his own body. Though he didnt have any issues producing things like Dragon Steak by cutting off his own tail and allowing Rindo to cook it up, things got weird when Rindo began asking for his blood, bones, and other...peculiar...ingredients. She used these to prepare things like soup stock, gtine, and, though he had never been bold enough to sample it, the parfaits, pudding, and sweet cream she prepared were particrly popr among the female poption of the Emerald Grove... Even several months after the inciting incident, Vahn could still vividly recall the scene of Rindo licking fresh cream from her lips as she stared at him with her predatory eyes and matching smile. She was a firm believer in collecting the ingredients herself, as, not only did it help to ensure their freshness, but, as could be expected from something like the [Ultimate Culinary God System], she received numerous bonuses from doing so. Due to Rindos insatiable desire to create new dishes, Vahn had what some might describe as an inordinate amount of experience being butchered by the voracious redhead. Despite this, their rtionship was actually quite close, and, though it had caused him to perform a spit take at the time, she had even returned the favor by preparing him a special kind of tea using ingredients harvested from her own body. This was something that only he was allowed to have, and, though it was somewhat bittersweet, Vahn had be rather fond of the mellow aftertaste that provided a temporary increase in both sensitivity and libido... If he had anything toin about, it was the fact that Fenrir, Illya, and Rindo were no longer the only ones who looked at him with hungry eyes. There were actually quite a number of gluttonous girls among the womenprising his harem, so, after sampling items from Rindos not-so-secret menu, it had be permanently affixed in their minds that he was delicious. This culminated in a rather drastic increase in the number of bites he received during sex, the chief offenders being girls such as Artoria, Altria, X, and, to a lesser extent, Gray... Though these changes might have been concerning to some, Vahn didnt particrly mind them as there was also a sharp increase in the number of surprises he received throughout the day and early in the morning. This included waking up to fetio nearly every morning, and, though they did their best to be discreet about it, principally out of consideration for Hanas propensity for peeping, Vahn experienced an average of ten sexual liaisons per day. This number would be even higher if he took into consideration his experiences in the various fictional worlds he had Actualized, but, as most of those encounters were experimental in nature, he willfully excluded them... --- Opening his eyes, Vahn found himself in a starry abyss, standing atop a circr tform seemingly formed from some kind of indestructible crystal. He immediately felt the presence of several Laws attempting to cling to him like a viscous and ufortable veil, but, with a simple shrug, he was able to liberate himself from their influence as he stared at the surprisingly petite woman standing across from him. Though he was used to her appearing in a different form during each of their encounters, Vahn couldnt help but raise his brows as he asked, "Are you the same Ethereal Queen...?" Unlike the previous iterations, which were all buxom women with golden hair, shapely figures, and a varying number of angelic wings, the woman standing before him was only around 145cm tall, her figure thin, lithe, and colored a healthy shade of brown. Her eyes, which were usually a breathtaking shade of amethyst, current resembled vibrant green emeralds; and, instead of pure white sclera, the area around them was beset with a ckness reminiscent of the abyss. As for her wings, they were even stranger, as, despite appearing angelic, they more closely resembled the wings of a butterfly than an actual angel... Giggling in response to the question, the Ethereal Queen shouldered her bident-like staff, smiling as she answered, "My existence is representative of an absolute concept. It is not something that can be bound by a particr shape. Are you not the same?" Nodding his head in understanding and affirmation, Vahn ceased inspecting her long tinum hair, elf-like ears, and predominately white garments as he manifested Laev-tan and said, "Ill be in your care..." With her feet gracefully parting from the tform that prohibited others from flying, the Ethereal Queen issued another child-like giggle as she mused, "You are persistent, Ill give you that. I wonder if youll be able to beat your record of thirteen seconds~?" Understanding that the battle had already begun, Vahn swung Laev-tan in a slow and graceful arc that, to the untrained eye, resembled a very basic technique. Despite this, the world acknowledged his intention, and, as a result, space, time, and several lesser concepts were cut through as a wave of reddish-ck mes resembling a sr re tore towards the Ethereal Queen at rtivistic speeds. With their perception greatly exceeding their attack speeds, Vahn and the Ethereal Queen could see the wave of fire moving in slow motion as it tore its way through the fabric of reality in an attempt to consume thetter. In response, she directed her bident towards the heavens before dropping it downward like the de of a guillotine. This caused a terrifying ck crack to open between them, perfectly bisecting the wave as the seemingly indestructible tform beneath them shattered like a thin pane of ss. Having experienced simr attacks in the past, Vahn manifested himself behind the Ethereal Queen, evading her attack by simply ceasing to exist for a brief moment. This allowed him to see the rather beautiful pattern in her wings, his eyes widening slightly as he felt a familiar sensation wash over his mind, much like when he viewed Haruhimes tails. His [Will of the Emperor] erupted outwards in an attempt to resist this effect, but, in spite of the cataclysmic shockwave released, the Ethereal Queenpletely ignored it as she spun around and stabbed him in the chest with her bident, smiling as she remarked, "This makes seventeen..." in a voice that echoed within his mind, traveling far faster than the wave of mes moving near the speed of light... The moment his mind processed the words, Vahn felt an irresistible force flowing through his body, fracturing his very existence within the fictional world. This caused him to experience a bacsh on par with the Law of Identity fracturing his Ego, but, unlike then, he could keep himself together due to the disconnect between his manifestation and his true self, the invible being that maintained the very structure of the Actualized worlds. Landing with a heavy thud in his Internal World, a pained grunt escaped Vahns throat as he rolled himself over onto his back, sprawling out in order to reflect on the nigh-instantaneous defeat. The only time he had been able tost more than a few seconds against her was when he attempted to fight her at a distance, wholly focused on evasion and defense rather than defeating her. In nearly every other instance, she would answer his initial attack with an iprehensible counter, many of whichpletely defied logic... Vahn couldnt understand how his attack could be countered by a tear in the void when his attack, quite literally, used the void as a medium to cut through space and time. If anything, it should have made his attack even stronger, as, despite its destructive potential, the void waspletely bereft of a medium that could interfere with concept-based attacks. There was literally nothing within the void to interfere with his attack, yet, as if such sentiments didnt matter in the slightest, the Ethereal Queen was, nheless, able to cut through it... Exhaling a tired sigh, Vahn rolled to a seated position before gesturing towards one of the many lights floating within his Internal World. In response, the tiny pink mote began to gravitate toward him before a sudden shift in perspective urred, resulting in him falling towards the expanding bubble. It quickly expanded to the size of several universes contained within a metaversal sphere before another shift in perspective urred, this time allowing Vahn to rapidly descend towards his destination, a pristine world that was roughly two-thirds the size of Gaia... Before he could even fully manifest, a rxed smile stered itself across Vahns face as the voice of a young woman suddenly eximed, "Ah! Kami-sama has returned! Someone send a missive to Galette and Pastige~!" Opening his eyes, Vahn found an adorable pink-haired girl with dog-like ears and a tail floundering about with an excited expression on her face, tail wagging happily as she directed her attendants to make preparations for a feast. She seemed to sense his gaze, a lovely smiling blooming across her face as she practically spun towards the altar that had been prepared for him, running up the steps before leaping the remaining distance, pouncing on him as she happily eximed, "Wee back, Kami-sama~!" As if it was the most natural thing in the world, Vahn began petting the young Chienthropes head with his right hand while using his left to stroke the right side of her face and dig into the fur near her ears. This caused her tail to wag even faster, a contentedugh emanating from her throat as she shamelessly rubbed her cheek against his palm. This caused Vahns smile to widen, the look in his eyes softening as he lightly muttered, "Millhi...Ive only been gone for a few days...I appreciate your eagerness, but there is no need to celebrate every time I visit..." Without losing her smile in the slightest, Millhi, better known as Millhiore Firianno Biscotti, Princess of the Biscotti Republic, cheerfully retorted, "Nonsense! Everyone is happiest whenever Kami-sama is around! Leo and the rest wouldnt forgive me if I didnt inform them of your arrival at the earliest possible moment~!" Unable to refute her words, Vahn just chuckled in response to Millhis statement as he continued to caress her addictively soft hair. One of the main reasons he frequented this particr world, formed from an adorable anime known as Dog Days, was due to the pervasiveness of people with animal traits, the peculiar way in which they waged wars, and, most importantly, their fondness for petting and being petted by others. All he needed to do was prevent a handful of tragedies, clear up a few misunderstandings, and participate in a few recreational wars before bing a central figure in the peculiar world. Since then, he had been elevated to the status of a God, and, whenever he was feeling troubled, he liked to stop by and experience the overwhelming positivity present within the inordinately fluffy world. With this in mind, Vahn continued to fluff up Millhis hair, smiling as the Princess happily nuzzled against his hand without any amorous intentions or desires. She just enjoyed being pet, and, as the God of Petting, there were none better than him in the entire metaverse... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Delicious (OwO)...,Paradoxical Omnipotence at its finest...,Someone arrest this man...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1872 Preservation : Pampering

Chapter 1872 Preservation : Pampering

After indulging himself in the Princess hair and fur a little longer than he should have, Vahn was escorted by the Princess Maid Squad, a group filled with inordinately pettable women, to his usual residence. He was a frequent visitor in the Biscotti Republic, and, thanks to his unique status as the God of Petting, he was allowed to reside directly in the Firianno Castle, the primary residence of the Royal Family. Since Millhi needed to get ready for the inevitable meeting between heads of state, Vahn enjoyed thepany of an entire squadron of Maids, each possessing dog-like features, devoted natures, andmendablebat capabilities. Though others might assign greater meaning to the act, the thing that continuously brought Vahn back to Flognarde, the name of this particr world within the Dog Days Metaverse, was the fact that petting was consideredpletely normal. The only time it was considered inappropriate was when you attempted to pet someone of a higher status without their permission. Inversely, those in positions of power and authority could essentially pet whoever they wanted, and, more often than not, it was considered a great honor. Were this a normal world, it would be easy to imagine those in power taking advantage of this particr rule to do whatever they wanted with their citizens. Instead, the various heads of state often spent most of their time and effort on ensuring the prosperity of their people. Millhi even acted as an Idol Singer, performing bi-weekly concerts in order to improve morale and personally witness the smiling faces of her people. Though he had expected to find some underlying darkness during his first visit to the idyllic world, Vahn was surprised to find that the most heinous crimemitted in thest decade was someone skipping town without paying their bar tab. Things like murder were virtually unheard of, and, even if he visited the regions where the poorer residents resided, there wasnt a single homeless person, brothel, or ck market to be found. Instead, there were shared houses where vagrants could stay at the expense of the state, petting cafes where you could sip coffee while resting your head in thep of a beautiful woman, and nonpetitive markets that traded goods at fair, easily affordable, rates. In many ways, the nations of Flognarde were the closest thing to a perfect society that Vahn could imagine. This didnt mean they were without issues, but, more often than not, disputes were settled with games and various forms of recreational activities. Even war was just a series ofpetitions between two countries, and, though armaments such as swords, spears, and even guns existed, they were not instruments of death. Critically injuring or knocking out someone with a Tier 1 Soul turned them into an indestructible ball of fluff known as a pet ball. As for those with higher Soul Tiers, they were effectively immortal so long as they were in a region governed by the Great Spirits. Swords, spears, and bullets simply passed through them; and, even if they suffered a critical injury such as having their head or heart pierced, it would result in their armor, equipment, clothing, and even underwear simply exploding. War was a popr pastime in Flognarde, so much so that rival powers would sometimes dere war on each other just because the people wanted to have some fun. It was also an opportunity for them to witness the rulers of their respective countries in their underwear, as, more often than not, the representatives of each nation proactively participated in the fighting. This often ced them in rather promising positions, and, due to the wars being broadcast to all participating countries, it was quitemon for them to be seen naked. Unlike other worlds, where nakedness was viewed in a negative light and directly associated with the more carnal aspects of humanity, nudity within Flongnard was something to be appreciated. It was something people banded together over to spiritedly discuss with smiles on their faces. There were no cases of people overtly lusting after members of the opposite sex, and, even though they weremonly exposed before their people, Millhi and other heads of state could happily interact with their people without fear of censure or admonishment. Though he needed to be careful during the 3-5 week window between the months of March and May, the period when most of the female poption of Biscotti went into heat, the rest of the year was pretty safe. The people of Flognarde treated sex as a means to reproduce, and, though thingsmonly got out of hand during Spring, there hadnt been any major incidents in the past several hundred years. This was achieved by having of-age men and women live separately from each other unless they were married, a union that was often overseen by Millhi herself. Curiously, marriage within the Biscotti Republic was pretty rare. Most children were born out of wedlock, and, rather than be raised by their parents alone, they were cared for and nourished by the entiremunity. Marriage was more of a statement than anything else, a ceremony that brought together two parties, quite literally binding them to each other in the eyes of the Great Spirits. It was a very big deal, so, more often than not, the entiremunity woulde together to celebrate the union of a newly wedded couple. As for why it was rare...this could be attributed to the fact that dog girls in the Biscotti Republic werent very particr whenever they were in heat... Though tourism was restricted during the Spring season, anyone found walking around the streets of Firianno during this particr period of time generally had one thing on their mind. This applied to men and women alike, and, unless they had a good reason not to, most men and women would have multiple partners during this period. The women would, quite literally, approach the men, and, due to their sensitive noses, the men would loiter around designated areas, patiently waiting to be chosen as someones partner. In order to increase the chances of being chosen, most people spent an inordinate amount of time and effort on improving themselves. This also gave them a significant advantage during wars, and, so long as they worked hard, they could even earn Knights status after increasing their Soul Tier to the point of being able to maintain their physical body after injury. This drastically increased their chances of being chosen as someones mate, so, more often than not, the men of Biscotti began training at a very early age. Vahn had previously made the mistake of visiting during the Spring season, and, as a result, he was forced to temporarily migrate to the neighboring Galette Lion Territory. He appreciated the fact that Millhi had given him express permission to remain in the castle, but, having a thirteen-year-old girl staring at him with hungry eyes was never afortable feeling. The Maids were one thing, as they werergelyprised of mature and buxom beauties, but Vahn drew the line at having a bunch of Lolis(Millhis friends) conspiring to sneak in on him during the bath... Fortunately, while they had their own estrus period, the residents of the Galette Lion Territory were the type that only went into heat whenever they were excessively excited, a state that could only be reached after a very long and drawn-out battle. Since there were no wars fought during the Spring season, this made it a rtively safe ce to stay, as, despite her insistence of challenging him to a battle, Vahn could easily end the fight before the countrys leader, Leonmitchelli Galette des Rois, had her switch flipped. Though he had be her goal, Vahn would just smile and pet her head whenever Leo insisted that she would one day defeat him and make him her countrys Grand Marshall. As for the position of King, that was a position reserved for her younger brother, the heir-apparent and Prince of the Galette Lion Territory, Gaul Galette des Rois. Gaul, in spite of his age, was a powerful and charismatic youth with the characteristic white hair of the royal family, lion-like features, and, as could be expected, a hot-headed personality. He was also an honorable fighter, and, despite his propensity for pranks, he possessed a kind and caring nature that made him exceptionally popr among the people. He was someone that Vahn was genuinely impressed with, and, due to their very simr appearances and personalities, Gaul had be fast friends with Xiao Bai. Fearful that something might happen to the unspoiled world, Vahn had entrusted Qinglong, Baihu, Zhuque, and Xuanwu the task of keeping it safe from external influences. They had now be the Guardian Gods of Flognarde, Qinglong protecting the East, Zhuque watching over the South, Baihu guarding the West, and Xuanwu safeguarding the borders to the North. These positions were based on the fact that he represented the Guardian God of the Center, a convenient arrangement since the Biscotti Republic was actually located near the very center of the continent. Since the Actualized World of Dog Days existed within his Internal World, Xiao Bai and the rest were able to retain their forms even when Vahn wasnt present. They served as a constant reminder of his status within the world, and, due to their power rivaling his own, they were capable of dealing with virtually any threats that might appear, irrespective of their origin. The only exception would be an existence on the level of the Ethereal Queen, but, as an Omniscient Overseer within the Metaverse, Vahn knew there were no threats even remotely close to that level... --- With Flognarde currently in the midst of Fall, Vahn could enjoy petting people to his hearts content, a satisfied smile on his face as he watched various beauties melt beneath his palm. By the time an hour had passed, more than seventy percent of the Princess Maid Squad had cycled through Vahns room, each taking turns to receive his caress before getting back in line or returning to their duties. This resulted in an orderly queue forming outside his door, a sight to behold for any Knights patrolling through the area. Though he could sense their approach, Vahn was alerted to the presence of his guests long before their arrival. The rapid dispersal of disappointed Maids was hard to miss, and, though it wasnt his first time seeing such a scene, Vahn couldnt help but chuckle as he finished fluffing up the purple-haired Maid who had elected to stand her ground. This earned her a few curious looks from the trio that had appeared, but, rather than stop her, they just stepped aside as the embarrassed beauty ran out of the room after a series of apologetic bows... Never missing the opportunity to say something sarcastic, the green-haired girl standing at Millhis side crossed her arms beneath her virtually non-existent breasts as she remarked, "I see youre still the same insatiable petting fiend as before..." Understanding that the young Knight, Eir Martinozzi, was just a Tsundere, Vahn simplyughed off herment as he extended his hands to caress Millhi and the youngest of her trio of friends, Ricotta Elmar. Thetter, despite appearing no older than ten-years-old, was actually only a single month younger than Millhi. She was simply very petite for her age, something that used to stress her out quite a bit until Vahn convinced the young genius that she was very cute. Fortunately, unlike the hopeless Eir, whose mother was also as t as a board, Rico was actually a member of the Fox Tribe. They had a marginally longer adolescent period, and, the moment they hit puberty, they would experience a sudden and spontaneous growth spurt. The best example of this was a young fox girl named Yukikaze Ptone, a beautiful blonde kunoichi with a bombshell body. She had gone from looking like a brat to a buxom beauty in less than seven months, her height increasing more than 25cm and her breasts exploding to be E-Cups in a very short period of time... As if she could sense his rude thoughts, Eirs brow began to twitch, index finger tapping her arm in an expression of annoyance as she asked, "How long are you nning to stay?" While continuing to pet the pink and orange-haired girls, Vahn directed his gaze towards Eir, his smile widening ever-so-slightly. This caused the green-haired girl to avert her eyes, blushing slightly as her tail began to wag in spite of her efforts to keep it under control. Ever since the time he had appeared during the Spring season, Eir had begun viewing Vahn as a member of the opposite sex. This caused her to act somewhat rebelliously whenever he was around others, but, whenever they were alone, she would still allow him to pet her head. She also got very excited whenever they went on walks and yed fetch with a frisbee, so, rather than feel annoyed, Vahn found Eirs behavior refreshingly endearing. With that thought dancing across his mind, Vahn retracted his hands from Millhis and Ricos heads, disheartening the two girls until he said, "I think Ill stay for around two weeks. That should give us plenty of time to y around and arrange a few games, right?" Since he would normally leave after 2-3 days, Millhi couldnt help but grab Vahns hand with both her own, happily eximing, "Thats wonderful news! Youll be able to attend my next concert and we can all get together during the Winter Festival for a huge banquet! I cant wait to tell everyone the good news~!" Though he had just retracted his hand, Vahn couldnt resist the urge to continue petting the ever-cheerful Princess, his expression turning gentle as he said, "Ill leave it to you..." in an affectionate, parental, tone. Millhis parents had both died when she was very young, so, while he might be able to see her as a woman once she matured, he currently viewed her as an untainted ray of sunshine, someone whose very presence made the world appear a little brighter. With her tail wagging from side-to-side at a maddening pace, Millhi continued to smile radiantly, hands folded neatly across herp as she enjoyed having her head pat. This earned her an enviable stare from Rico, but, with Vahns free hand sooning to rest atop her head, the only person left without a smile was the dishonest girl pouting near the entrance of the room... (A/N: Alternate Titles: How enviable...,Vahn protec..!,Tsunderes never prosper (O,...,O)....!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1873 Roots

Chapter 1873 Roots

Rather than the original two weeks, Vahn ended up staying in the Actualized world of Dog Days for a total of sixteen days. Leo had taken advantage of his extended stay to dere war on the Biscotti Republic, and, though they generally avoided conflict, even the Principality of Pastige, Kamiberu Kingdom, Sankt Halver, and Endou Duchy joined in to make things more interesting. Vahn found it rather amusing that the prize for victory was earning the right to enshrine him within their respective nations. His poprity within each was rather extreme, so much so that the Biscotti Republics poption had increased by nearly eighteen percent since he started living there. People from all over the Continent flocked there to receive his blessing, and, as a result, Biscottis economy had been booming due to the drastic increase in tourism. With very few exceptions, the rulers of the various nations of Flognarde, despite being Royalty, were elected to their positions. This was one of the main reasons why they had never fallen to corruption, as, the moment people felt disenfranchised with their current leadership, they would elect someone new to act as their representative. There were also strict regtions regarding removing funds from the national treasury, and, more often than not, you needed support from the public and a majority vote in the Senate before such expenses could be authorized. Since the people would feel fatigued if their ruler was the same person for a long period of time, it was rathermon for new representatives to be chosen every 10~15 years. These were often the children of the previous representatives, and, as a result, it wasmon for people to be elected as early as ten years old. This was the case for Millhi, and, though she had inherited her position, Leo had also be the ruler of her country at only fourteen-years-old. Now, the former wasing up on fourteen, and, though she was beginning toin about her age, Leo had only recently turned seventeen. With the average life expectancy of Flongnarde being scarily low, ranging between 39~54 in most regions, it wasnt difficult to understand why someone like Leo was feeling pressured. Most people gave birth between the ages of 13~25, as, anyter and they might miss seeing their children grow into adulthood. Because of this, Vahn hadnt been surprised when Leo managed to lead her forces into the very heart of Biscottian territory, war ax in hand as she challenged him to their fifth official duel. The Galette Lion Territory, despite being rtively smallpared to others, was one of the most powerful nations on the entire Continent. Their people were descended from the Great Lion Spirit, and, as a result, even their average footsoldier was much stronger than the Knights found within some countries. This allowed them to secure victory in a number of wars, and, though he had done his best to help the Knights of Biscotti with their training, Gaul hadnt been the only one to benefit from the presence of Xiao Bai in the neighboring Galette Lion Territory. Truth be told, Leo was a remarkably beautiful girl, and, though she was somewhat petite, amon trait among women in Flongnarde, her figure was incredible. She had a toned and t stomach, full breasts, and paradoxically soft yet muscr thighs. This,bined with the fact she had pure white hair, golden eyes, and lion-like features made Leo one of the most breathtakingly beautiful women in all of Flognarde. Though he wouldnt mind taking a tumble with charismatic and persistent Princess, the pragmatic way in which the people of Flongnarde viewed sex made him reluctant to do so. They werent the type of people who sought out sensual pleasures, and, though they could be remarkably passionate during the act, their main reason for coupling was, very specifically, to produce offspring. Vahn didnt particrly mind having children with Leo. After all, she had basically acted as Gauls surrogate mother, and, despite her brave and forward nature, she was an exceptionally kind and caring woman who would make a great mother to any child fortunate enough to be born in her care. The problems arose when he took into consideration his influence on women, Leos tragically short lifespan, and the impact his children would have on the world around them. Leo had been born rather te based on the sentiments of Flongnarde, and, by the time Gaul had been born, he was considered to be a miracle child due to the fact her mother was 41 at the time. This had ced a tremendous burden on the former, so, seven months after the new Princes birth, their mother ended up passing away. Their father followed suit shortly thereafter, so, from the time she was four, Leo had been doing her best to look after Gaul while training hard to be strong enough to win back the territories they hemorrhaged after the deaths of her parents. The idea of children growing up without their parents was a tragedy that touched the very core of Vahns being. As a result, he would never allow the mothers of any of his children to simply die off due to something like old age or medicalplications. This meant that Leo would effectively live forever, and, while this wasnt necessarily a bad thing, it would gradually be a problem as the number of pseudo-immortals in the world gradually increased. Vahn spected that the limited lifespan of the popce was the primary reason for the rtively peaceful state Flognarde had found itself in. Their lives were very short, so, rather than waste time on trying to establish dynasties, consolidate wealth, and wage wars thatsted decades, everything was designed to be rather transient in nature. Even the Elders in the Senate were only in their mid tote forties, an age where most humans were just beginning to think about things like retirement and truly settling down... By siring children with the residents of Flognarde, Vahn would effectively be upsetting the bnce of the entire world just to indulge himself and pander to a beautiful woman. While this, technically, applied to every Record he had visited, acting selfishly in such a peaceful world just felt wrong. He would also be opening the proverbial pandoras box, as, the moment he gave into Leos insistence, a number of other women were bound to approach him. Though he could always hold himself back, Vahn had be well aware of the influence he had on the women he slept with. He could even make a frigid woman like Altria behave like an affectionate kitten, so, after experiencing the pleasures he could bring, Vahn was afraid that his presence, alone, would be enough to cause the women around him to go into heat. From that moment onward, the Actualized world of Dog Days would no longer be a ce for him to simply rx. Instead, it would gradually be the origin of yet another expansive harem, as, even if he held himself back, it was only a matter of time before the endearing qualities of other womenpelled him to act... Unfortunately, Vahn had always been weak against persistent and sincere women, so, following the Winter War, he spent an additional two days in the Galette Lion Territory. From there, he went on to exin his reasoning and justifications to Leo, informing her of the true nature of his existence and allowing her to make an informed decision about her own future. This ended up causing her quite a bit of confusion, but, after a brief trip to one of the nearby moons, upon which he created an entire pce, she understood he wasnt just making things up. Though she was a little annoyed at the realization that she would never be able to defeat him in a fight, Leo was excited by the prospect of exploring other worlds and reaching heights others had only ever dreamed of. She also felt a considerable amount of relief knowing that, even if she died, Vahn would always be around to watch over their children in her stead. Thus, almost immediately after their return to the Galette Lion Territory, she pounced on him like a lioness stalking its prey, her restraint thrown to the wind as she attempted to push him down in the middle of a corridor... --- As tempting as it was, Vahn understood he couldnt just stay in the Actualized world of Dog Days for the rest of life. He still had a lot of important things to aplish outside, and, though he could technically stay inside for a literal eternity without any time passing in reality, doing so was bound to have adverse consequences. Thus, with visible reluctance on his face, he caressed the head of the woman who had fallen asleep against him in the bath, a contented smile on her face as she nestled close to his chest. Feeling the familiar sensation,bined with the subtly stimting energy flowing into her mind, Leos golden eyes gradually opened, confusion visible in their depths until she remembered where and what she had been doing. Then, with a wry smile on her face, she turned her head up to look at him, arms linking around his neck as she cheerfully mused, "You wont let me have any victories, will you...?" Before answering the womans question, Vahn tightened his hold on her plump yet muscr butt, lifting her body slightly to liberate his penis from her maddeningly hot cavern as he asked, "Would you be satisfied if you knew I let you win?" Exhaling an impassioned sigh in response to Vahns actions, Leo began to breathe a little faster, a ruddier hue spreading through her cheeks as she confidently replied, "Hell no. You might be a God, but I still have my pride as a Princess of Galette. Even if it takes me a thousand years, Ill eventually get a win against you...one way or another..." To punctuate her words, Leo attempted to pull Vahns face closer to her own. Instead, she ended up pulling herself towards him, a slight chuckle emanating from her throat prior to her inexperiencedly seizing his lips. In response, Vahn began to lightly massage her butt, momentarily forgetting about his intended departure. After all, with a functionally infinite amount of time on his hands, refusing the advances of a beautiful woman seemed rather senseless... Since it was already prettyte in the day, Vahn decided to spend the rest of the evening tending to Leo before informing her of his decision to depart. Fortunately, she didnt take this news negatively. Rather, after indulging herself for the better part of two days, she had started to feel guilty about neglecting her duties as Galettes representative. She also needed to exin her decision to Gaul and have an important discussion with several other heads of state, so, rather than fretting over his departure, Leo actually felt a little relieved. Though she wascking in experience, Leo understood that having sex with Vahn was very different from conventional intercourse. Thetter was biologically driven, and, though it was rumored to be quite enjoyable, its primary purpose was to produce the next generation. The former, however, was like a true union between two people, and, for a brief moment, Leo felt as though she had be a part of something much greater than herself. This made it very difficult to separate, and, if not for Vahn mentioning hising departure, they might have remained together for several days longer. Fortunately, thanks to the exnation she had received prior to their union, Leo wasnt taken aback by her sudden and overwhelming urge to be with Vahn. Instead, she was able to remain surprisingly calm, and, though she doubted her ability to refuse his advances, she was confident in her ability to keep her urges under control. At the very least, she needed to lead her people until Gaul was ready to take control, a day that was fast approaching considering thetter was already nearing fourteen years of age... (A/N: Alternate Titles: That life expectancy tho...,Who else but Quag-, I mean, Vahn?,Fortunately, there are plenty of other worlds in the Dog Days metaverse xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1874 Habi

Chapter 1874 Habi

Emerging from his Internal World, Vahn awoke to find himself loungingzily on the incline of a grass-covered hill. The first thing he noticed was the sun shining brightly overhead, its gentle rays warming his bodies along with the numerous figures that surrounded him. Though he was somewhat reluctant to do so, Vahn ceased reclining against Fenrirs perpetually cool andfortable fur, inhaling a deep breath that ultimately transitioned into a yawn. This resulted in a number of other yawns emanating from his surroundings, the result of everyone gradually waking up in response to his stirring. Amused by the chain-reaction, azy smile spread across Vahns face as he hugged the half-asleep beauty in his arms, surprising her as he whispered, "Your drowsy expression is adorable..." before stealing her lips. This caused the woman, Atnta, to startle awake, eyes widening as she moved to push powerlessly against his shoulders. At the same time, she also attempted to lean away from his lips, but, due to his paradoxically gentle yet unbreakable hold, she didnt get very far. Realizing there was no escape, Atnta did her best to bury her embarrassment, reciprocating his kiss despite her face turning red as an apple. Her tail also began to twitch slightly, but, knowing he shouldnt push her too far, Vahn ran his hand down the line of her back, rxing her tensions with a single caress before retracting his lips and adding, "Sorry if I embarrassed you..." in a soothing tone. Recovering from her momentary daze, Atnta adopted a slight pout, puffing out her cheeks for a brief moment before concealing her face against his chest. She had never be ustomed to public disys of affection, so, with so many people present, it wasnt too surprising that she would feel a little embarrassed. Vahn was well aware of this, but, hearing her issue an adorable funyaaaa~ while pawing at her fringe with the back of her hand, he simply couldnt help himself... --- After an impromptu petting party, Vahn, apanied by a veritable army of fluff, made his way over to the canteen to enjoy a meal. There, more than half of the Emerald Groves residents were idling about, smiles on their faces as they enjoyed delicious food and goodpany. At a nce, the interior resembled a lively tavern, or, more specifically, the interior of a Magic Guildmonly found in Fairy Tail. Completing the illusion, Lisanna, wearing a filly outfit reminiscent of a waitress, quickly intercepted the newly arrived group, an impish smile developing across her face as she asked, "Would you like to order something? Just so you know, todays special is Dragon Tail Steak~." With Lisanna tacking a wink on to the end of her statement, Vahn could easily guess what made the Dragon Tail Steak special. This caused a dryugh to emanate from his throat as several of the girls around him, unable to restrain themselves, swallowed hungrily... Electing to have his meal decided for him, Vahn left the girls to their own orders as he made his way over to a table upied by Mavis, Index, and Mikoto. His approach caused smiles to spread across the faces of the first two girls, an amusing sight considering both had chipmunk cheeks filled with food. As for Mikoto, her face became noticeably red, and, though they had never done anything to be embarrassed about, she couldnt help but avert her eyes as she shrank further into her seat. Feeling a little awkward, Vahn fought the urge to rub the back of his head as he sat down next to Mavis, the furthest seat from Mikoto. Based on the way she was acting, he could assume she had recently done something perverted. This was actually prettymon when it came to the bashful Electromaster, so, whenever she became like this, Vahn did his best to give her space without overly avoiding her... As that thought crossed his mind, realization donned upon Vahn as he saw what, exactly, Mikoto was eating. She noticed this subtle change in his expression, and, as could be expected, her face became even redder as she hung her head and mumbled, "I was curious..." in a meek tone. Though the ingredients produced from his body werent particrly different from the minerals and ore he used to generate, only the boldest among the Emerald Groves residents would eat the food cooked using ingredients harvested from his body. Generally speaking, the primary culprits were his wives, the more instinct-driven women among his harem, and, to a lesser extent, those who wanted to experience the intimacy of consuming a dish that, quite literally, contained a piece of him... Unsure of what to say, Vahn defaulted to a rxed smile, trusting that someone else would speak up before things became too awkward. Fortunately, Mavis was extremely perceptive when it came to things like reading people and understanding social cues. As a result, she quickly gulped down a mouthful of food before chasing it with strong and fragrant grape wine. Then, with a radiant smile on her face, she happily chimed, "You have nothing to feel ashamed of, Mikoto-chan! I wont argue that it isnt a little strange, but Vahn is super delicious, you know? Besides, I cant imagine you ever leaving the Emerald Grove to wander around without Vahn. Why not just embrace your identity as a Pokemon and enjoy the unique opportunities avable to you?" Seemingly inspired by her own advice, Mavis scooched over, a contented smile on her face as she sat in Vahnsp and added, "Pamper me~." in ackadaisical tone. This left thetter feeling a little helpless, but, rather than ask her to sit in her own seat, Vahn just lightly chuckled before moving his hands up to massage Mavis head and shoulders. In response, the wing-like ornaments on the sides of her head began to gleefully waggle, her exposed feet dangling yfully beneath the table as she resumed eating. Though her face was still noticeably red, Mikotos embarrassed expression gradually morphed into an usatory deadpan as she witnessed Mavis shamelessness. At the same time, however, she also seriously considered the mischievous Fairys words, wondering if she should just give up on trying to live a normal life. She was, after all, a god-tier Pokemon, and, if she pushed herself, reaching Tier 5 should only take a few years within the Little Garden... Imagining herself as a Tier 5 Pikachu, Mikoto couldnt help butment Vahns decision to assign her the identity of an electrical mouse. She understood he had done so because he thought it was cute, but, unless she went out of her way to change, she was now stuck looking like an adorable mouse with a heart-shaped tail for the rest of her life. The problem with this was that she actually felt mostfortable as her Pikachu self, and, though she would never admit it, being small was surprisingly convenient... Before she realized it, Mikotos eyes were fixed on Vahns hands, her brows furrowing slightly as a few vibrant blue sparks of electricity emanated from the ahoge atop her head. This drew the eyes of everyone at the table, instantaneously returning the blush to her cheeks. To make matters infinitely worse, her stomach released a not-so-subtle grumble due to the heavenly aroma of food wafting from the table in front of her... Just as Mikoto felt like her brain was going to short circuit, a jolt ran through her body as Vahn, having returned Mavis to her seat before vacating his own, sat down next to her. Then, before she could find the words to exin herself, her mind nked as Vahn deftly cut a piece of the Dragon Tail Steak and raised it to her partially opened mouth, smiling as he said, "Eat..." in a calming tone. Though he hadnt made use of the Law of Authority, Mikotos body moved, seemingly by instinct, to taste the unbelievably fragrant morsel that had been proferred to her lips. The taste caused a powerful shiver to run through her body, and, if not for Vahn erecting a soundproof barrier, the entire hall would have been able to hear the sonorous, high-pitched, sound emanating from her throat and nose. As the intoxicating juices spread across her tongue, Mikoto felt as though the inside of her brain and body were beginning to melt, waves of vor and pleasure gently washing over her like the continuous caress of the sea against a pristine white beach in Summer. She could feel a warmth pervade her entire body, and, for a brief moment, she was gripped by the illusion that she was at the beach, preparing to sunbathe as Vahn applied a generousyer of sunscreen over the entirety of her naked body... Back in reality, a dazed expression had reced the usual rity in Mikotos eyes as she leaned against Vahns body for support. This earned her a few curious gazes from other diners, but, as it was actually quitemon for such scenes to ur when trying one of Rindos new dishes, most just giggled to themselves while others lightly chided Vahn, warning him not to take things too far. Since he was just feeding her, Vahn made a show of dramatically rolling his eyes in response to the teasing remarks as he picked up another piece of meat and held it near Mikotos lips. This had an effect simr to smelling salts, rity returning to her eyes as she stared somewhat trepidatiously at the proferred piece of meat. Then, with a blush extending into her ears, she leaned a little closer to Vahn, meekly epting the offering as the ahoge atop her head twitched vigorously... --- Though it felt like a considerable amount of time had passed, less than six hours had passed by the time Vahn and Co emerged from the Little Garden. This was a little jarring for the former members of Team Fug, but, like most Regrs, they quickly adapted, epting the reality without bothering to question the mechanics behind the time dtion. With everyone waiting for him to speak up, Vahn adopted his usual smile as he said, "Just as before, Ryun will act as a Guide while Yura coordinates everyone through her Lighthouse. Since Vicente and David have fused together, there arent really any changes to consider. Just follow orders and fulfill the responsibilities expected of your Position. So long as everyone works together, well be able to track down Albelda within ten days. After that, youll be free to rx until we reach the next station. From there, you can pretty much do whatever you want. Im not going to tell you how to live your lives, and, so long as you dont default into bing monsters, youll never have to worry about me tracking you down..." Noticing Daniel raise his hand, Vahns smile took on an undertone of amusement as he allowed his words to trail for a brief moment before adding, "I have already promised your formerpanions that I would resurrect Ms. Yuia. If you would like to apany us until then, you are wee to do so. That applies to you as well, Ms. Yura. I understand you have some business on the Hidden Floor. So long as you dont try anything shady, you are wee to apany us until we reach the End Station." Though they couldnt help but pale slightly, neither Daniel nor Yura was surprised by Vahns ability to ascertain their intentions. Thetter even suspected he knew exactly why she needed to venture to the Hidden Floor, and, depending on how she yed her cards until then, there was a chance he might even help her. She had graduallye to recognize that Vahns group were the good guys, so, with his purported power to resurrect the dead, there was a chance he might be able to save her twin brother as well. This was something she was willing to gamble her life on, so, in response to his words, she forced herself to swallow dryly before muttering, "Thank you..." in a sincere yet uncertain tone... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is a bully (O w O)...,Om nom nom~,Do your best and trust in the Sage Dragon Emperor! So long as you work hard, all your dreams are certain toe true! -excerpt from Fenrirs How to be a Good Girl handbook.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1875 Produc

Chapter 1875 Produc

With Davids power allowing him to amplify anothers, Vicentes instantaneous counter range had increased to more than 150m. This might not be that impressivepared to the heaven-shaking feats Vahn was used to, but it was rather impressive considering they were, technically, just D-Rank Regrs. Though there were a few hidden enemies that greatly exceeded the strength of most D-Ranks, the God of Guardians being the best example, the Hell Express was a Special Testing Grounds intended for fledgling Regrs. This made it a yground for the former members of the Arie Family, and, though they still had a long way to go in their training as both a Light Bearer and Scout, even Yura and Daniel had the approximate strength of a B-Rank Regr. Simply put, the Hell Express wasnt a challenge for people whose strength exceeded the threshold of D-Rank. This was one of the reasons Vahn didnt like people doubling back to board the express multiple times. Those who hadpleted the journey would have already earned the qualifications for C-Rank, so, no matter how you looked at it, it simply wasnt fair to allow them to board a Special Test meant for D-Ranks. With the exception of a Special Test known as the Stairway to Heaven, the Hell Express was the only Test that could be participated in andpleted numerous times. This had led to numerous issues throughout the years, and, if not for the restrictions ced on members of the Ten Great Families, it would have undoubtedly be a boosting grounds for their progeny. In the absence of a ruling ss, otherwise normal Regrs took it upon themselves to exploit the Hell Express to an almost perverse degree. Some of this could be attributed to FUG, especially after the White incident; but, considering Sachi, Daniel, Boro, Aka, and Roen had been taking advantage of the Special Testing Ground for years prior to that event,ying me on the odious organization wouldnt be fair. By clearing the Hell Express multiple times, Regrs were able to drastically increase their strength while umting a variety of unique and powerful items by clearing hidden chambers or simply purchasing them from the shops located in the residential cars. This wouldnt be a problem if they used said items to continue advancing up the Tower, but, rather than be satisfied with the benefits they had already received, countless Regrs shamelessly took advantage of the Hell Express rules to suppress others for their own, personal, gain. One of the things that exhausted Vahn the most when it came to sapient creatures is how they could resent others for suppressing them, but, the moment they were given an opportunity to reap benefits, they would unhesitantly rob others of the same opportunity. There were even people who justified their actions by shifting the me to the Ten Great Families, arguing that they needed to behave in such a way just to even the ying field. To make matters even worse, the more zealous among them would even argue that the people who died due to their suppression were actually at fault for overestimating themselves by daring topete against the strong... Fortunately, the issues perpetuated by thex restrictions of the Hell Express wouldnt be a problem for much longer. Vahn already had several ideas for how to circumvent its exploitation, and, should these prove ineffective, he could always just steal the entire lotive. There was plenty of space for it inside the Little Garden, and, though his domain might not berge enough to seize the entire thing at once, detaching the cars wasnt particrly difficult... --- Though David had made an effort to convince Vicente and Anna to sabotage Vahns attempts to track down theirst remaining sibling, neither was willing to go along with his ns. This caused the youth a considerable amount of frustration in the beginning, but, after eating a few delicious meals and witnessing the strength of Vahns team first-hand, it wasnt long before he had wisened up and changed his tone. Rather, despite the quality being far below Rindos standard, Yura, Daniel, Vicente, Anna, and David were all exceptionally fond of Vahns cooking. With David abandoning his thoughts of rebellion pretty early on, the ten-day journey to track down Albelda was beginning to seem like it would end without incident. Anna even managed to one-shot the Guardian posted outside her chamber, destroying its head using a massive Baang resembling a White Dwarf Star. In fact, that was the name she had assigned to the skill, specifically calling it Anna Style Shinsu Control Skill: White Dwarf Star. It was at the moment when Annas skill began to fade away that Vahns instincts triggered, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end as Eva, Artoria, Fenrir, and Asuna spontaneously moved to protect the members of Team Yura. At nearly the exact same moment, the vault-like door leading to Albeldas chamber began emanating a vibrant light as several white-hot lines appeared across its surface. Almost immediately thereafter, the entire vault was blown away in a massive explosion that spread throughout the exterior chamber, mming into the barrier Eva had erected like a tidal wave crashing into a sea break. Before things could get too far out of hand, Vahn promptly manifested the Little Garden in his right hand, unceremoniously drawing the shellshocked Regrs inside. At the same time, his expression hardened as a pulse of intent radiated from his body, emting an advanced form of Conquerors Haki as it shattered Evas barrier like ss before forcing back the ghostly white tide with surprising ease. Feeling a bacsh due to Vahn shattering her barrier, Eva sent an usatory re his way, nearly breaking his concentration due to the shivers it sent through his body. Fortunately, while he wasnt without his ws, Vahn was never the type to drop his guard when enemies were present. Instead, his mind ovepensated by bing even more focused, his surroundings gradually darkening as the flow of time slowed to a crawl. With a hazy green aura glistening across his body, Vahn wasrgely immune to the effects caused by the stagnation of time. His domain also allowed him to sense everything in his surroundings, so, rather than be blinded by his own enhanced perception, the world around him seem far more vibrant than normal. It was like he could sense the entire electromaic spectrum, and, if he really focused, even the structure of solid objects and living organisms became gaseous due to his ability to see the constituent particlesprising their body... Turning his head, Vahn wasnt surprised to notice that Eva, Asuna, and Artoria seemed to be aware of his actions. They even seemed to be adapting, the energy in their cells gradually bing more active with each passing nanosecond. Their status as Tier 5 beings wasnt for naught, and, should he afford them the opportunity, it was only a matter of time before they shifted into the unique Axis of Time he had created. Though he could lend them a hand, Vahn knew it would be more meaningful if the girls overcame their limits without his assistance. Thus, for the time being, he simply smiled towards them before turning his head to face the enemy who had smashed through the sealed vault. This caused him to raise his brows slightly, not because he was awed by the white-haired figures beauty, but because she was actually moving towards him, albeit very slowly. Recalling that the Arie Familys techniques specifically revolved around the maniption of Space, a glimmer of understanding shed across Vahns eyes as he considered the best course of action. He didnt actually sense any animosity from the young woman. Instead, she seemed to be exceptionally excited, her auraprised of a mixture of vibrant blues, resplendent golds, and pure white lights... Recognizing the excited glimmer in the ruby-eyed womans eyes, a wry smile spread across Vahns face as he quickly intuited that she must be a battle junkie. She had most likely sensed the danger contained in the technique Anna had derived from Evas teaching regarding the Shinsu ck Hole Sphere. It might not be that powerful in its present state, but, so long as she could catch them by surprise, even Rankers might sustain serious injuries from Annas White Dwarf Star. Understanding what kind of foe he was up against, Vahns eyes briefly focused on the tiny silver crown attached to her silver tiara. Though her hair was moderately more free-flowing, giving it a natural curl, the woman greatly resembled the androgynous Hoaqin. The only major differences were their eye colors, their choice of garb, and, as could be expected, their actual gender. Hoaqin had silvery-white eyes, much like every other member of the Arie Family. The ghostly white woman in front of him, however, had red eyes that glistened like blood-colored gemstones. As for her attire, she wore a frilly ck dress adorned with white pleat and two crimson ribbons, one tied around her waist and the other fastened around her cor, simr to a sailor uniform. She also wore a ck half-vest beneath her dress, seemingly as a substitute for a bra, and, though her long white legs made it appear as though she was wearing hose, the reality was that she simply had an ashen whiteplexion that amplified her ethereal appearance. Though the same could be said about most members of the Arie Family, Vahn had to admit that the woman before him was quite the beauty. Far more important than this, however, was the question of whether or not she was already under Hoaqins influence. The crown atop her head was simr to the profane artifact worn by the original, and, though there were some slight differences, her sword was a near-perfect replica of the formers... Fortunately, Vahn had an exceptionally simple way to ascertain a persons thoughts, so, with a smile on his face, he turned towards the redheaded beauty floating at his side, remarking, "Im surprised. Dont you normally get a kick out of revealing a persons innermost secrets...?" Without refuting his words, the Law of Identity nodded her head as if to say, certainly, but, rather than transforming into the white-haired woman, she remained in her base form. Vahn found this a little strange, but, before he could ask, the Law of Identity preempted his inquiry by revealing, "This person doesnt exist..." before adopting a slight pout. Raising his brows in response to the sudden revtion, Vahn returned his gaze to the white-haired woman, his pupils contracting to points as they released a bluish-white light. Then, faster than any human could ever hope to blink, he appeared right in front of the ghostly figure, his handing to rest on her head as he analyzed the structure of her body in greater detail. This caused a thread of Sword Intent to course through his body, but, much like any other invasive energy, it was soon diffused due to the peculiarities of his constitution. Spreading his senses through the womans body, Vahns expression morphed into one of absolute incredulity as he realized what, exactly, the woman was. At the same time, a wave of overwhelming nausea welled up inside of his body, but, unlike before, he was able to keep it under control as he retracted his hand and frowned deeply. Though she looked like a rtively normal person at first nce, the white-haired beauty slowly turning her blood-red eyes towards him was actually an amalgamation of countless fragmented egos. It was like someone had siphoned the energy from billions of individual egos, fusing them together and having them devour each other until only a single dominant personality remained. Realizing that the woman was effectively the power that White had lost after separating his body into five, Vahns brain began to buzz as he fought the urge to extend his hand forward and erase the white-haired woman from existence. The only thing stopping him was the notion that, despite the circumstances resulting in her birth, the woman was, inherently, without sin. There was a truly ridiculous amount of negative energy contained within her Ego, yet, in spite of this, she appeared remarkably pure, innocent, and, after realizing the difference between them, afraid... Breaking eye contact with the woman, Vahn stared at the palm of his right hand, slowly forming his hand into a fist as he wondered what the right thing to do in this situation was. The woman was, in many ways, an existence that profaned the Order of Creation. Despite this, she was, at least for the time being,pletely devoid of sin... As this thought crossed his mind, so too did the image of Xysteria, his beloved daughter who, due to the circumstances of her birth, possessed an unrivaled potential for destruction. Despite this, she was a curious, caring, and affectionate girl who did her best to avoid hurting others. She possessed an ability that others would unhesitantlybel as evil, yet, in spite of this, she was one of the purest and most adorable beings Vahn had the fortune of fathering... Shaking his head, Vahn removed the silver tiara from the womans head before extending his hand to lightly caress her velvety white hair. Shortly thereafter, the fearful light in her eyes began to fade away as the flow of time gradually returned to normal. By then, the woman had lost consciousness, falling into Vahns waiting arms as the momentum from her hypersonic movements waspletely absorbed into his body... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Vahn be like the dad who takes a toy away from two arguing children...,This is only the tip of the iceberg...,Xysteria must be protected at all costs...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1876 Burgeoning Resentmen

Chapter 1876 Burgeoning Resentmen

Seeing Vahn holding the unconscious woman in a princess carry, Eva couldnt help roll her eyes, crossing her arms as she asked, "What are you intending? Based on what I can tell, that woman seems pretty dangerous. If Im not wrong, she is some kind of Greater Wight. If you allow her-" Though he knew he would pay for itter, Vahn sent a pointed look towards Eva, interrupting her words before going on to say, "This woman is not all that dissimr to you...she did not choose to be this...thing. Her existence is the byproduct of anothers greed. Her very existence might be a danger to others, but, unless she willfully chooses to inflict harm, I will not pass judgment onto her..." Adopting a slight pout, Eva shifted her gaze to the sleeping woman, brows furrowed for several seconds before she ultimately released a sigh. She knew her senses werent as sharp as Vahns, so, rather than simply assume he was arbitrarily picking up another woman, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. Nodding her head in affirmation, Eva adopted a more rxed stance as she remarked, "I still want to know what your intentions are. Are you intending to have us sit around on this train for the next couple of months?" Shifting his gaze upwards, Vahn fell silent for several seconds, a thoughtful glimmer in his eyes as he said, "The next fragment of the Thorn is located on the 43rd Floor, the Floor of Death. Im a little annoyed about what happened on the 30th Floor so I dont intend to let this one escape my grasp. As for the Hidden Floor, there are a surprising number of Quests pertaining to it, two of which have caught my interest..." Though he could have continued exining, Vahn ultimately shook his head, his expression turning slightly exasperated as he said, "Honestly, the matters rted to the Tower are beginning to annoy me more than they ought to. It might be the result of splitting my time between the Little Garden and traversing various Actualized Worlds, but these incidents...the wrongness of it all...it makes me want to simply destroy everything..." Noticing the worried looks on nearly everyones faces, a sad smile spread across Vahns face as he added, "Dont worry...Im not quite at that point just yet. Rather, as angry and frustrated as it makes me feel at times, I cant help but do my best to try and make the world a better ce. If the people at the summit are unwilling to bear the burdens of the present...it is the future generations who will suffer for it...I will not entrust my children with a burden I could not shoulder. For their sake...for the sake of all who will follow the path I am currently forging...I will never stop..." Though they were quite used to Vahns speeches at this point, nearly everyone present was slightly taken aback by the resolution that seemed to emanate from every fiber of the formers being. Even Eva felt a strange feeling of awe wash over her, filling her with a slight sense of guilt and a powerful desire to act. As for the more zealous women within the group, chiefly Fenrir and Ryun, they looked like they might pounce on Vahn at any moment, a fiery fervor contained within their eyes... Being the first to recover, Artoria startled everyone else to awareness by dropping to a knee, head bowed low as she attempted to reaffirm her vows. Before the words could leave her lips, however, a paradoxically irresistible yet gentle force guided her back to her feet as Vahn said, "There is no need for such things...I am well aware of your devotion...ever since we made that promise all those years ago, I have never once questioned your fealty and love..." With his mood having already improved considerably, a loving smile spread across Vahns face as he gazed into the beautiful blondes eyes. This caused her to turn uncharacteristically bashful, but, rather than avert her eyes, she returned a loving smile of her own as she softly affirmed, "No matter what happens...we will continue walking this path together..." Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn was about to say something more, but, before he was able to, Eva chimed in, teasingly remarking, "Speaking such flowery words with an unconscious woman in your arms...how bold..." with an amused smile on her face. Issuing a light chuckle in response to Evas teasing, Vahn briefly eyed the white-haired woman in his arms before suggesting, "Let us retire to the Little Garden. There are, approximately, nine days until we reach the next station. After that, well have about a month to explore at our leisure. They might not be particrly useful for us, but there are a number of secrets onboard the Hell Express. At the very least, I intend to locate the Soul Furnace before seeking out the antechamber containing the entrance to the Hidden Floor." Though there were secondary and tertiary power sources, the Soul Furnace served as the primary power source for the entirety of the Hell Express. With that being the case, Vahn imagined it was also the location where most of the spirits trapped within the hellish lotive were located. After analyzing her structure, Vahn was beginning to suspect that many of the souls onboard the Hell Express had already been absorbed by the white-haired woman. It wasnt difficult to imagine FUG engaging in such a scheme, but, until he had confirmed it for himself, he wasnt going to give up. The fact the Hell Express was still operational proved there were still a number of spirits being used to power it, so, at the very least, he would liberate those that remained. With this in mind, Vahn looked over everyone present, smiling in response to their resolute gazes. Then, without needing to actually extend his hand, he manifested the Little Garden out of thin air, transferring each of them to where his secondary vessel was located before taking the white-haired woman to a secure location in the outer rings... --- Simr to the previous Floors, there were a handful of Regrs waiting to board the Hell Express at the 38th Floors train station. This time, however, Vahn made no attempts to stop them. Instead, he let Annas growing army of stuffed animals handle things on the tform while Vicente, Daniel, and Yura protected her. With the average strength of Annas dolls reaching C-Rank, without Shinsu Enhancement, very few D-Rank Regrs could hope topete with them. Their only advantage was that Anna had been told not to kill, severely limiting the capabilities of her otherwise emotionless, unhesitant, dolls. Though Vicente was a unique exception, most members of the Arie Family had been taught, from a very early age, never to hesitate when it came to killing. They were taught to be swords, and, as a result, the vast majority of their kin were emotionally stunted. What Vahn found most ironic was the fact that they were, very clearly, attempting to reach a state simr to the State of Nothingness. Unfortunately, this had nothing to do with suppressing oneself and inhibiting your emotions. Instead, it required them to gradually let go of everything, even their own sense of self. Though these might seem like the same thing, the former was simr to cing limits on oneself based on preconceived notions. In other words, it was unnecessarilyplicating things while thetter, inversely,pletely ignored such sentiments. Though there were exceptions to every rule, the majority of people capable of entering the State of Nothingness had rtivelyidback personalities. Musashi was one of the best examples of this, as, rather than hold herself back, she generally did whatever she wanted from a very young age. As for Asuna, she had seemingly started off as a nk te, but, hidden beneath her expressionless mask, an inquisitive girl with a remarkable zest for life could be found. The simplest way to describe the State of Nothingness was byparing it to a state of absolute contentedness. It was a state where you wanted for nothing, and, for a brief moment, the only two things that mattered were your sense of self and the person standing across from you. Musashi had even likened it to falling in love at first sight, a moment in time where everything else just seemed to melt away, fading into nothingness along with the concepts of time and space... As someone who had pursued the absolute pinnacle of swordsmanship for tens-of-thousands of years, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that Arie Hon was one of the most skilled opponents Vahn would ever face. Despite this, the man had failed to achieve the States of Infinity and Nothingness. Instead, he pursued the exact opposite path of most grandmasters, focusing on strengthening and bing one with his sword rather than mastering both it and himself. Though he found suchparisons rather peculiar, Vahn would like Arie Hon to what some might refer to as overgeared or pay-to-win yer. He had inherited a powerful sword in his youth, and, rather than focus master his skills, his primary goal had been to master said de. This continued even during the Great Journey, and, while his skills improved to an arguably unreasonable extent, the majority of his efforts had gone into procuring progressively more powerful weapons. Due to his obsession with obtaining even more powerful swords, Hon hade into possession of the only known S+ Rank weapon in the entire Tower, the Peerless White Oar. It was the only de ever forged by Macseth, the Great Father and Founder of Gong Bang, the lesser-known name of the Workshop. While each of the Great Warriors had made their own demands of the Workshop and the Guardians during their ascent up the Tower, Hon had been single-minded in his pursuit of the most powerful weapon. Unfortunately, no weapon could remain the most powerful indefinitely, so, in an effort to meet Hons requirements, Macseth had forged a weapon capable of, quite literally, devouring the sword intent of others. The thing that made Arie Hon the most powerful swordsman in the Tower was neither his skills nor his functionally unlimited supply of Shinsu. No. What made him truly terrifying was the fact that he could effectively siphon the sword intent of others, and, as a result, assimte their knowledge and experience into his own. In essence, his power was an amalgamation of other swordsmen, and, due to being the Head of a Family that produced countless prodigies, his power was forever increasing as a result of their effort and sacrifice. As someone who benefitted extensively from the mere existence of his Temtes, Vahn might not be the best person to make such ims, but, in his opinion, Arie Hon was an absolute monster. His only reason for creating a Family was merely to increase the power of his sword, and, as a result of his greed, countless members of the Arie Family had given their lives for his sake. Many even did so willingly, as, from the moment they were born, nearly every member of the Arie Family was taught that it was a great honor to be a part of their fathers sword... Though Hon might not have any malicious intent, only asking those near the very ends of their lives to sacrifice themselves, Vahn couldnt help but disdain a father who viewed their children simr to whetstones. He didnt even bother to remember the names of any children who had yet to be a Ranker, and, to make matters even worse, the majority of their mothers were picked from a list to be artificially inseminated since Hon had no interest in such things. Then, once they had given birth, they were separated from their children and forced to ept pensation in exchange for their silence. Despite how terrible this sounds, this was just the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it came to the antiquated and oftentimes ruthless internal affairs of the Ten Great Families. The Arie Family wasnt even the worst among them, but, due to Honspleteck of interest in a family that effectively worshiped him as a God, Vahn couldnt help but resent him. He was also directly responsible for the monster known as White, and, as a result, the deaths of countless billions...all for the sake of making his weapon stronger... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Pot, meet Kettle...,Artoria is a good girl (OwO)...,Hon may as well have spent thest ten-thousand-years using that sword to dig a hole...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1877 Action

Chapter 1877 Action

Since the Hidden Floor only opened for those who hadpleted the trial of the 43rd Floor, Vahn spent the month-long interval between the 38th and 39th Floors helping Vicente, David, and the aptly named Edelweiss with their training. Though Vahn had thought to call her Shiro, his opinion was shot down pretty quickly since all of the other Arie siblings had Latin, European, German, and Spanish-sounding names. As a result, it fell to Eva to choose a name for the Little Gardens newest resident. Truth be told, Vahn didnt think the name Edelweiss, meaning Noble White, was much better than the name Shiro, meaning White. Still, he had never been the type to argue against his women, as, more often than not, they unhesitantly supported even his most outrageous decisions. His only realint was that Edelweiss had ultimately adopted the nickname Weiss, literally meaning White... --- With a rxed smile on his face and a dull Laev-tan resting on his shoulder, Vahn stared up at the panting Weiss floating a few hundred meters in the sky. She had spent thest hour trying to attack him, but, even without his domain, he could react to and deflect the majority of her attacks without moving from his starting position. Though Vahn could achieve a simr result against virtually any Regr, Weiss was anything but normal. She was a conglomerate existenceprised of billions of fragmented Egos, so, as could be expected, she possessed more than enough power to rival the average High Ranker. Her speed, in particr, was truly impressive; so much so that it almost resembled teleportation when she was angry... Feeling frustrated at her inability to make Vahn move, Weiss creased her brows in a simultaneously angry yet adorable manner, cheeks puffed out slightly as she groaned, "Muuu...". Then, without any apparent technique or form, her ymore-like sword began releasing a dazzling white glow as she sent a crescent sword beam as tall as a skyscraper surging towards him at rtivistic speeds. Resisting the urge to release an exasperated sigh, Vahn kept Laev-tan rested on his shoulder as he extended his left hand to catch the massive beam of energy. Since sword beams had a tendency to emte the rigidity of an actual sword, the sound of metal against metal could be heard for a brief moment before the former fractured into countless destructive pieces. In the aftermath, Vahn could be seen standing, unmoved, with a disappointed look on his face. Realizing she had erred, Weiss shoulders began to slump as she slowly descended from the sky to murmur, "Sorry..." in a demure tone. In response, Vahn just reached out his hand to stroke the girls abnormally cold hair, enjoying the smooth sensation against his palm as he calmly exined, "That hot-headedness of yours is going to cause trouble for yourself and others. Right now, you need to focus on keeping your cool and controlling your power. Youre already far stronger than most of the people currently residing inside the Tower. Once you master said power, even the Heads of the Ten Great Families might not be a match for you..." Though she had severe reservations about Vahns final statement, Weiss didnt bother to correct him. Instead, she just nodded her head in response before leaning into his palm with a contented smile on her face. It was only when he retracted his hand that she began to move against, her figure bing an illusory blur as she swept the sword she had been concealing behind her back in a shimmering horizontal arc... With an amused chuckled emanating from his throat, Vahn tensed the muscles of his body with such intensity that a shockwave reminiscent of a thunderp erupted from his form. At the same time, he used the t of Laev-tans de to intercept her strike, deflecting it upwards at a sharp angle. This caused her arms to follow, exposing her abdomen and allowing him to kick her with enough force to send her tearing through several hundred meters of devastated terrain. Despite this, Weiss erupted from the debris momentster, a radiant smile on her face as she shouted, "I win! You moved your foot~!" before copsing forward and giggling into unconsciousness... --- After a lengthy discussion regarding the inherent dangers of the 39th Floors Name Hunt Station, Vahn, this time apanied by Fenrir, Ryun, Jeanne, and Mash, emerged from the Hell Express to find a series of massive stone blocks floating up and down in a linear fashion. Said tforms led to a city-sized manor suspended in the sky atop monoliths formed from pure Suspendium, and, even with his senses, Vahn was unable to sense the ground below. Peering over the edge of the tform, Vahn noticed a thick covering of Shinsu-rich clouds that seemingly covered the entirety of the 39th Floor. He could even sense a number of Leviathan-sized creatures floating aimlessly within its mass, this size easily exceeding several kilometers in length as they filter-fed on a countess number of smaller Shinheuh... As was often the case, Ryun took the opportunity to exin the specifics of the Floor, stating, "The 39th Floor has always been one of the most mysterious regions within the Tower. These clouds have never once dissipated in thest ten-thousand-years, and, though there are rumors of inds filled with treasure floating within the Cloud Sea, most who venture within are never heard from again." Resisting the urge to jump down and take a look himself, Vahn just nodded in response to Ryuns words before turning toward the Hell Express, matching gazes with the two near-identical women observing from the interior as he said, "Ill leave this ce to the two of you. If anyone attempts to board, send me a telepathic message." Making themselves seem even more like twins, Artoria and Gray both offered a courteous bow in response to his words, hands neatly folded in theirps as the former said, "Good luck. We will be waiting for your return." With one final round of nods and parting smiles, Vahn and his entourage of three Vanargandr and an inordinately beautiful Angelic beauty waited until their tform had aligned with another before advancing forward. There, a number of heavily-armored bear-like creatures, each wielding weapons such as maces, ils, and war axes, could be seen blocking the path. Though he found the creatures strangely adorable, Vahn knew they were just simted Shinheuh, much like those found onboard the Hell Express. Thus, without any real remorse, he gave a curt nod towards Jeanne, a wry smile spreading across his face as he said, "Try not to be too shy..." Hearing her Masters words, a tidal surge of excitement welled up within Jeannes chest, silvery-white armor manifesting across her body as she spread her angelic golden wings wide and said, "Leave it to me!" in a spirited tone. This left Vahn feeling a little helpless, but, knowing Jeanne had been waiting for this kind of opportunity for a long time, he didnt attempt to intervene... With a standard bearing the emblem of the Aldrnari Empire in her left hand and a sword formed of pure white light in her right, Jeanne charged into the toon-sized group of armored bears with a resolute glimmer in her radiant blue eyes. Fortunately, she had taken his words very seriously, so, despite having the power to destroy the entire stone tform with her charge alone, she only used the t of her de to knock out enemies while deflecting attacks with her seemingly indestructible wings. In total, it had only taken around twenty seconds for Jeanne to knock out just as many enemies, all without getting a single drop of blood on the standard she carried in her left hand. In her mind, the g was even more important than her own life, and, though it often worried him, Vahn didnt stop her from waving it around since it actually provided a number of benefits due to the Innate, [g-Bearer of the Aldrnari Empire]. It not only provided a substantial increase in her parameters; but, so long as they viewed the Aldrnari Empire in a positive light, it drastically raised the morale of allied forces while severely weakening the enemy. After hearing about the ridiculous system present within the Name Hunt Station, Vahn had decided he was going to liberate the people who had been trapped there for centuries. He was already fed up with the Tower and its ridiculous traditions, so, while it was bound to bring him countless future troubles, he wasnt just going to sit around on his hands as people were being forcibly turned into ves... With Jeanne clearing the way, it only took a few minutes before Vahn and Co were approaching the end of the peculiar path. By then, several distinct groups of Regrs had gathered around therge za connecting to the floating tforms, some showing curiosity while others adopted disdainful sneers as they willfully blocked the route forward. Though Vahn already knew what to expect from the infamous station, it was difficult to remain calm when a bunch of despots were eying his women with possessive leers and unveiled lust. This was especially true of the group of thug-like individuals blocking the path, and, based on their behavior, it wasnt difficult to imagine the fate of any woman unable to protect themselves upon arriving at the Name Hunt Station... Resisting the urge to just erase the posse of thugs with a wave of his hand, Vahn forced a smile on his face as he casually remarked, "I never expected to encounter four of the so-called Ten Bosses so soon after my arrival...it seems like your leader isnt particrly fond of me..." Responding to Vahns words, a masked behemoth of a man, seeminglyprised entirely of dirt, crossed his muscr arms before shing rows of his razor-sharp teeth as he said, "Dude...you go around calling yourself something ridiculous like the Sage Dragon Emperor. Of course people are going to want to beat some sense into your stupid ass. I mean, seriously, who the fuck do you think you are? The Tower only has one King, and he certainly aint no punk-ass pretty boy walking around like he just finished getting his asshole waxed. Its high time for you to wake up and stop dreaming, Your Majesty...!" With Vahn gesturing for the girls to stand down, the literal dirt-man, better known as Hesse of the Ten Bosses, was given ample opportunity to finish his beratement. At the same time, his posse had already started to fan out, forming a loose encirclement as they eyed up each of the girls with lust-filled gazes. One, a giant man with four arms, even went out of his way to point directly at Mash, a sadistic gleam in his eye as he said, "I want that one. Im going to teach you what a real man is like by breaking in that lewd body until your legs no longer work." Though her much younger self might have covered the exposed sections of her body in response to such remarks, Mash had long-since gotten over the traumas she had endured during her time as a Designer Baby. Now, she disyed her body proudly, and, though it made her feel a small amount of anxiety to hear someone call her lewd, this was primarily due to her proximity to Vahn and her own wayward thoughts... Shaking her head in a ratherical manner, earning a fewughs from the encircling thugs, Mash emptied her head of wayward thoughts before manifesting two massive shields, each resembling a futuristic version of the Lord Camelot, as she said, "Master...please order me to dispense with these despicable vermin..." While the surrounding Regrs were awestruck by the manifestation of what they presumed to be an Armor Inventory, Vahn simply nodded his head in response, saying, "Dont be afraid to be a little heavy-handed. Though some of them were forced into their current position, that does not excuse the crimes they havemitted. Ill handle the aftermath so feel free to go all out. Let me see the result of your decades of training." With a resolute look shing across her amethyst-colored eyes, Mash grabbed the two handles on the interior of the massive shields as she shouted, "Yes! Please watch closely...!" in an excited tone. Immediately thereafter, the shields began to envelop her arms, quickly bing a pair of massive gauntlets as she charged into the enemy without hesitation... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn can be surprisingly petty at times xD...,Raise your dongers for the angelic waifu...!,Time for a paddlin...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1878 Release

Chapter 1878 Release

Though she had never been particrly known for her speed, Mashs rebirth as a Vanargandr more than made up for the qualities she hadcked as a human. It gave her an almost profane amount of flexibility, and, thanks to her training against the iprehensibly fast Richard, her reaction speed and timing were on another level. Mashs only real weakness was that she heavily focused on defense, so much so that she had very few means to deal with uncooperative foes. In other words, she could protect people with extreme ease, but, the moment she overextended and began pursuing her enemies, shecked the means to react to multiple threats simultaneously. Taking advantage of this weakness, the Regrs that had surrounded Vahns group attempted to charge forward, some brandishing weapons while most were aiming to simply restrain the group of four. The reason for this was rtively simple, and, as could be ascertained from the behavior of the thug-like group, they were extremely proficient at exploiting the tyrannical rules of the Name Hunt Station... Unaware of the danger they had just thrown themselves into, one of the Regrs attempted to approach Fenrir and Ryun with a metallic in hand, shouting, "I aint never had a dog bitch as a ve before! I wonder if-" Before the man could finish his words, a spear of ice moving at several times the speed of sound pierced through his head in an instant. This left the mans nearbypatriots at aplete loss, their eyes widening to an almostical extent. Unfortunately, this was their final expression as Fenrir, eyes emanating a violent and disdainful gleam, blew off each of their heads in turn as she muttered, "I am a Vanargandr..." in an icy tone. With Fenrir eliminating the opportunistic enemies attempting to nk from behind, Mash was able to devastate the foes lining the front with surprising ferocity. It was like she was releasing all of the frustrations she had built up over the years, and, now that she had be a Vanargandr, fighting suddenly feltpletely natural to her. Using her remarkably oversized gauntlets, Mash was about to bat aside enemies with extreme ease, her expression fixed in a mask of calm as her casual blows generated massive shockwaves. The only thing preventing her foes from being killed in an instant was a unique enchantment that had been ced on both of her shields, a peculiar ability simply known as Mercy Strike. Though the ability could be disabled under certain conditions, Mashs attacks didnt inflict direct physical damage to her opponents. Instead, the shockwaves generated by her fists, despite causing a tremendous amount of coteral damage, siphoned the physical, mental, and spiritual energies of her foes. In other words, her blows left her targets feeling extreme fatigue, and, depending on how serious she was, Mash could even force them into aa that would require external aid in order to awaken from. Because of the unique nature of her attacks, permeating throughout the entirety of a targets body, Mash could effectively ignore things like Elementalization. This left Hesse of the Ten Bosses feeling extremely frustrated, as, more often than not, even powerhouses from the Ten Great Families were unable to deal with the unique qualities of his body. Under normal circumstances, Hesse could be broken down and destroyed countless times, and, so long as his personal field of Shinsu persisted, he could perpetually reform his soilprised body. It was a trait that left even the most skilled of opponents feeling at aplete loss, as, no matter how they cut, blew, or sted him apart, he would simply reform, time and time again. Hesses only real weakness, for reasons he didnt fully understand, attacks infused with lightning, and, very specifically, the mes of the Yeon Family. The former prevented him from restructuring himself in a short period of time. As for thetter, it seemed to dry up the soilprising his body, slowing or outright stopping his movements depending on the intensity of the heat. Fortunately, so long as they werent inordinately skilled in the use of said energies, Hesse was able to convince most foes that he was immune to said effects. This was meant to demoralize his foes, and, thanks to the hardening effects of their attacks, he did actually be more durable over the duration of the fight... Completely disregarding all of these factors, Mash continued to hammer on the 5m tall man as if he were a humanoid sandbag. He had attempted to trade blows with her, but, in spite of their massive size and weight difference, her strikes continuously sent him stumbling backward as the force of his blows seemed to dissipate into the ground. This was one of the major weaknesses of beingrger than your opponent, as, after a certain point, the force of overhead blows became inconsequential due to things like leverage. Though there were countless ways around it, striking downward with more force than your inertia would simply cause you to propel yourself into the air. This was one of the primary weaknesses of super strength, as, without adequate leverage, it was tricky to apply said strength without grabbing or pushing against your opponent. Even then, you needed to ount for things like friction against the ground, and, more often than not, the durability of whatever you were standing on. With durability that would allow her to survive tactical-grade magic at point-nk range, defeating Mash using raw physical power was extremely difficult. She had even mastered Ghads defensive techniques, effectively allowing her to channel the force of an opponents strike through the energy channels of her own body, directing it into the ground. This was an extremely dangerous technique to master, but, in exchange, even your organs would be resistant to sudden shocks. It also had an extreme influence on the tension and springiness of a persons muscles, specifically concentrated around the calves, thighs, and glutes... Taking full advantage of her petite yet full figure, Mash, standing at only 162cm in height, continued to hammer away at Hesse with an unchanging expression. She didnt seem troubled by the fact that thetter was able to withstand several of her strikes. Instead, she remained absolutely calm, almost scary so, as she slipped under a haymaker blow before striking his diaphragm with enough force to send him tumbling backward for more than seventy meters. Groaning due to the mind-numbingly frustrating tingle that had spread through his entire body, simr to a limb falling asleep, Hesse raised his giant body with extreme difficulty, serrated teeth glistening with spittle and blood as he shouted, "What the fuck are you bastards waiting for...!?" In response to Hesses exmation, the other three groups present, each belonging to a member of the Ten Bosses, began to stir about. Most of them had lost the will to fight after witnessing Fenrirs cruelty, and, if not for the contracts forcing them to obey their Masters, they would have fled long ago. As for said Masters, two were already considering withdrawing while the third, a 90cm tall cat-like person with ck fur and a cross-shaped scar running across their forehead, unsheathed two dagger-like Ninjat as they remarked, "Pathetic...how did you ever be one of the Ten Bosses? When this is over, Im going to repurpose you as a litter box you damn dirt-man..." Following this deriding remark, the cat-like man, better known as Nekogahara Katamune of the Ten Bosses, began to release a peculiar ck Shinsu from his body as he murmured, "Katamune-Style Control Skill...Waning Moon...!" Seeing the curiously inverted ck crescent flying towards them, Vahn couldnt help raise his brows slightly as he questioned how someone far beneath the level of a Master could create such a shape while swinging their sword in a regr arc. It was actually a rather ingenious technique, as, unlike a traditional crescent sword beam, this one surrounded an enemy and cut off their path of escape... While Vahn was reviewing the peculiarities of the technique within his mind, Jeanne had already stepped forward to intercept it, her de releasing a pure white crescent that perfectly ovepped with the former, dispersing it like an illusion. This caused Katamune to sneer in contempt, his eyes releasing a malicious blue glow as he crossed his dagger-like swords behind his back and muttered, "Katamune-Style Control Skill...Inverse-Cross sh...!" Confident that he could cut through Jeannes attack, Katamune made no attempt to dodge it as his Ninjat converged towards the resplendent sword beam, each releasing a dark light. Unfortunately, he had grossly overestimated himself, and, without any suspense whatsoever, Jeannes single de of light cut through his C-Rank des like a hot knife through butter before bisecting him in two at chest level. Having expected the cat-like man to try and dodge, Jeanne couldnt help but furrow her brows in a fretful manner as she turned back to face her Master. In response, Vahn just gestured for her to stay calm, a rxed smile on his face as he telepathically reminded her that he could always revive those who had fallen. Rumors regarding his ability to resurrect the dead had already been circting for several months at this point, so, while he had no intention of going around and ying Saint, Vahn no longer cared about keeping it a secret. Though she was greatly relieved by her Masters words, Jeanne didnt want to make any additional mistakes in the presence of her God. To that end, she promptly sheathed her sword before pointing her index and middle fingers towards the group of cowering Regrs, her tone t and judgmental as she incanted, "Bakudo Number 1...Sai...!" Following Jeannes short incantation, several invisible beams of spiritual energy shot forth from her fingers, impacting her targets at near-light speeds. This caused the hands of the affected to open, their weapons ttering to the ground before their wrists were forcefully brought together behind their backs. This included those with more than two arms, and, should theyck the means to reach the small of their backs, those with bulkier figures found their joints painfully dislocated under the influence of the binding spell. Surprised by Jeannes use of Kido, Vahn raised his brows slightly, an amused smile spreading across his face as he remarked, "I hope Yoruichi isnt teaching you any bad habits..." Hearing her Masters musings, the tips of Jeannes ears became bright red as she attempted to use her brilliant golden wings to hide her face. This caused the former to issue a lightheartedugh, but, at the same time, he was a little worried about Yoruichis ever-increasing influence among the more impressionable women in his harem... Shaking his head, Vahn cleared his mind of wayward thoughts before stepping forward to ruffle the hair of Fenrir and Ryun as he said, "Lets wrap this up..." Though their first reaction was to instinctually press their heads against the palms of his hands, the eyes of Fenrir and Ryun shot open in response to his words. Immediately thereafter, midnight blue and dusk-red fur began to sprout across their rapidly metamorphosing bodies, each expanding to more than 10m in height and approximately 30m from their muzzles to the tips of their tails. As could be expected, the appearance of two giant wolves was enough to shatter the resolutions of virtually everyone still present in the za. This was in spite of the fact that they appeared far more majestic than terrifying, each possessing sleek coats of fur and remarkably dignified features. Fenrir, in particr, resembled a literal God of Wolves due to the runic pattern glistening along the surface of her fur and at the center of her forehead. Her previously scarlet eyes had even changed to an icy blue color, a fierce intelligence seen glowing within as she released a naturally suppressive aura. Since it was pretty hard to miss the emergence of two giant wolves, Mash adopted a slight pout as she glowered towards the still-conscious Hesse. This caused thetter to visibly shudder, his beady red eyes snapping from the two giant wolves to observe his former opponent. He abruptly felt as though he was standing on the edge of a de, and, for a very brief moment, thevender-haired woman ring at him seemed like an untamed beast as her pupils suddenly contracted into thin, predatory, lines... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I wonder if there is a Law of Small Fries thatpels evil people to say stupid shit prior to their deaths...?,Mash has a very springy butt (O w O)...,I wonder if well ever meet the greatest of the Nekomata tribe, the legendary Nyanmoto Musashimi...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1879 Shif

Chapter 1879 Shif

Though she had yet topletely master the transformation, Mash was still able to transform into what was affectionately known as the puppy form. This made her appear equal parts adorable and ferocious, contrasting traits that left people feeling incredulous even when she was baring her ivory white fangs. Not expecting his opponent to suddenly transform, Hesse took a moment to look between Mash and the two gigantic wolves towering behind her. Then, with a look of realization on his face, he adopted a severe expression as he asked, "What the fuck? Have I been fighting a brat this entire time...?" With a surprisingly humanoid expression of disdain spreading across her face, Mash manipted the shields hovering around her to nk her shoulders. Then, like a runaway train derailing into a station, she charged through Hesse at hypersonic speeds, startling the man as everything beneath his chest momentarily fragmented into countless debris. He had mistakenly believed shecked the power to prate his defenses, so, for a brief moment, he was caughtpletely off guard by the reality of his current situation. Manipting the soil in an attempt to restructure himself, Hesse was surprised to realize that more than one-third of his total mass had simply vanished. This caused his previously gigantic frame to shrink considerably, concern appearing within his beady red eyes for the first time since the fight had started. He wasntpletely without cards to y, but, with two giant wolves standing behind him, he suddenly felt like a tiny mouse trapped in the corner by a cat... While willfully reducing the firmness of his body, effectively turning it into loose soil, Hesse took a moment to nce over his shoulder and see how things were ying out on therger battlefield. Unfortunately, his opponent didnt take the bait. Instead, Mash adopted a slight glower on her face as her two shields transforming into tworge cannons, each radiating a menacing blue glow from deep within their barrels. Realizing that he had severely underestimated his opponent, arge amount of soil slouched off Hesses back as he charged forward with a loud roar escaping from his throat. If one were to look closely, they would see the color rapidly draining from his body, the moisture rapidly evaporating as his limbs momentarily became as hard as marble. Completely ignoring the cast-off shell, Mash executed a masterful Shundo to intercept the slime-like ball of soil attempting to skulk away. This left Hesse feeling remarkably indignant, but, rather than continueshing out, a terrified face formed within the soil, his voice reminiscent of gravel being tumbled as he said, "I surrender...please...spare me..." Since she had no intention of killing the man, Mash just snorted through her snout before stamping her paws on the ground. This caused a magenta-colored magic circle to surround the clump of soil, the edges rising to form a hemispherical barrier that, in reality, extended into the ground to form a perfect sphere. Then, without sparing the sealed figure a second nce, she ran over to where her Master was waiting, eager to take advantage of her current form to receive his affection... --- With Fenrir and Ryun taking the stage, it didnt take long topletely suppress the Regrs who had gathered to witness what some referred to as baptizing noobies. This included four of the so-called Ten Bosses, a rather pathetic group that was obviously attempting to emte the Ten Great Families, effectively ying God among those weaker than themselves. Having resurrected most of the deceased, Vahn gathered together everyone in the za, forcing them to kneel with their hands bound behind their backs as he stared down at the group of four forced to dogeza... Restraining a sigh, Vahn listened as the Law of Identity went on to recount the various crimes of the people kneeling before him. A rather substantial number of them had been forced into this lifestyle, but, as could be expected, there were also a disheartening number of individuals who had willingly embraced life within the Name Hunt Station. After all, so long as you could ce your palm against a persons back for a mere ten seconds, you could steal their name, and, as a result, gain absolute authority over them... With the exception of the Jahad name, even names belonging to members of the Ten Great Families could be stolen. Those with their names stolen could never leave the Name Hunt Station until they had either regained their name or stolen someone elses. Since names possessed most of a persons unique powers and abilities, people were forced to either live mundane existences where they were easily bullied or ept having their name bestowed by the person that had defeated them. Thisst part could be forced by the person who had originally captured their name, effectively cing them under the control of whoever had defeated them. Though there were a number of methods to break the contract of the Name Hunt Station, most of these were in possession of the Ten Great Families. As a result, anyone who had their name stolen and returned effectively became the ve of whoever owned their name. Because of this, the names of certain individuals were auctioned off once a year to affluent Rankers, some belonging to the Ten Great Families while others represented the various organizations found throughout the Middle and Outer Towers. Since a singlemand could turn someone into an obedient ve, preventing them from even taking their own lives, the Name Hunt Station had be a means for the Ten Great Families to deal with troublesome Regrs while bringing others under their control. In particr, the entire station hade under the control of the Lo Po Bia Family nearly a thousand years prior, and, as a result, they had made a fortune off ransoming the names of the Ten Great Families and selling off promising Regrs to various persons of interest. Vahn disdained the very existence of the Name Hunt Station, but, without bing the ruler of said station, even he couldnt do anything to change the existing system. The rules of the profane Floor were some of the strictest in the entire Tower, and, even if they were among the top 500 High Rankers, anyone foolish enough to vite said rules would have their bodies crushed into pulp by the power of the Guardian. Though he could survive having his body crushed a functionally infinite number of times, Vahn had little interest in antagonizing a Guardian. They were beings of order that acted in ordance with very stringentws, so, while the existence of the Name Hunt Station could be credited to them, it was the efforts of others that had perverted it to such an extent. Thus, rather than arbitrarily kill the creature upholding the contract, he intended to act within the bounds of the current rules in order to take over and ultimately destroy the entire station. With this in mind, the briefest hint of a smile could be seen on Vahns face as he said, "Raise your heads and listen closely..." Fearing for their lives, the 107 Regrs who had been gathered in the za each raised their heads, palpable dread visible in their manifold eyes as they listened attentively to what their captor had to say. Surprising everyone present, Vahn adopted an unnervingly calm smile as he gazed over the crowd and exined, "Under normal circumstances, more than a third of you would have already been put to death...you see, I have the ability to ascertain a persons true thoughts in any given situation. As a result, I know how terrible some of you truly are..." Passing his gaze over the four Bosses, Vahn sent shivers down their spines as a judgmental golden flicker shed across his eyes. He sincerely believed that each of them deserved to die, but, after his time in the Actualized World of Dog Days,bined with the time he spent in his Realm, his desire to kill had recently begun to fade away. He wanted to set a better example for his children, so, with people like Kenshiro pursuing a path where he refused to kill, he had a lot of things to think about in regard to his own actions... Simply put, Vahn had already spared a considerable number of people, who, from the perspective of some, were beyond salvation. The mostmon recipients of this mercy were immortals, Gods, and Spirits, but, every now and then, he also made exceptions for beauties and those with resolute hearts that had been swayed to the path of evil by circumstance. This favoritism was something he had often reflected upon, so, while his reason told him that some were simply beyond salvation, a tiny voice in the back of his mind constantly reminded him that nothing was impossible... With this in mind, Vahn maintained his eerily calm smile as he went on to exin, "Fortunately for some...I have grown rather weary of killing. Im also against things like very and imprisonment, so, from this moment onward, you are free to leave the Name Hunt Station. From now on, do your best to hold onto your freedom and live fulfilling lives without suppressing or exploiting others. Ill not afford you a third chance, so, should you fail to heed my advice...well, you only have yourselves to me..." Simr to how he had dealt with Alosrin long ago, Vahn had left a little surprise in the bodies of each of the people he had deemed beyond salvation. This was in the form of a curse that would actually help to strengthen their bodies if they made an earnest effort to improve and ovee their past selves. Inversely, their body would absorb the negative energy generated as a result of their actions, and, depending on the decisions they made, their energywork would gradually be unstable before ultimately self-destructing if they attempted to force themselves onto another or take advantage of those weaker than themselves. Though his instincts told him that the vast majority of the people he let go would default to their usual habits, Vahn would be content if just a single one of them went on to improve their lives for the better. He only needed a single example of someone proving him wrong to change his entire outlook on things like repentance, and, depending on the situation, it might fundamentally alter how he dealt with future foes. Either way, he had grown tired of killing, so, while he might not be able to avoid doing so in the future, there was nothing barring him from resurrecting his enemies and attempting to set them on a better course... --- Viewing the situation from an invisible panel that only she could see, a masked woman with long ck hair cascading from her scalp and rolling down her military-style garb like a waterfall began to lightly tap her finger against the armrest of her inordinatelyrge throne. Some might mistake this as frustration regarding the spontaneous departure of several hundred Unnamed Regrs, but, more than anything else, she was feeling anxious due to the existence of the three wolf-like women who had appeared alongside the man she had been tasked with crushing... Noticing the masked womans distress, a secretarial figure with pale yellow hair and matching eyes adopted a slightly concerned look as she asked, "What are your orders, Lady Kaiser? At this rate, it wont be long before that man makes his way to this chamber..." Though it was impossible to make out her expression due to the eerie silver mask covering her face, a concerned glimmer shed across Kaisers pale, Tosca-green, eyes as she contemted the best course of action. Before she could, however, a pair of resonant giggles could be heard emanating from behind her throne as two girls, each appearing remarkably simr despite the stark contrast of their hair and eye colors, appeared to say, "Your orders remain unchanged. You will capture the man known as the Sage Dragon Emperor and present him to the Lo Po Bia Family. As for the rest, we will help you capture them. Who knows, he might actually have a thing for those dog bitches? If so, you might be able to seduce him if you waggle your tail like an obedient little slut~." Ignoring the words of the yellow-haired woman with glowing cyan eyes, Kaiser gestured at the seemingly empty air, dismissing the invisible panel before rising from her throne and making her way towards the exit. This earned her another round of giggling, but, even after she hadpletely exited the room, she didnt utter so much as a single syble... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mash aint nobodys fool...!,Vahn be like, "Git...",Someones, plural, needs a spanking...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1880 Incongruency

Chapter 1880 Incongruency

After spending a few hours liberating the Unnamed from their curse, Vahn departed from the now-abandoned floating ind for therger residence behind it. This was where all the Named Regrs stayed, and,pared to the slum-like residences reserved for the Unnamed, the amodations here could even rival those prepared for Rankers. Unsurprisingly, nobody came out to greet Vahn and his party this time around. Instead, the ind was eerily silent, as, after the simultaneous defeat of four Bosses, those who remained ordered their subordinates toy low. They were seized by the mistaken belief that he would have to board the Hell Express before its departure, so, as long as they could remain hidden until then, things would gradually return to normal in his absence. Unfortunately for the opportunistic despots, Ryun was capable of locating virtually every resident of the Name Hunt Station using her abilities as a Guide. Even without this, however, Vahn could always just spread his senses throughout the entirety of the floating ind, locking on and teleporting to his quarry regardless of how well they had hidden. Though the various different types of spatialpression interfered with his senses, Vahn could extend his domain upwards of 30km in all directions. This allowed him to sense virtually everything urring within the isle, a capability that was simultaneously a blessing and a curse considering he could also probe the regions where people were being held captive and exploited against their will. Restraining a sigh, Vahn gestured for the girls attention, saying, "Give me a few moments...I need to take care of something..." Without taking the time to exin, Vahns figure disappeared from the empty corridor, his presence disappearing almost instantaneously. In the very next instant, he found himself in a dark, damp, and foul-smelling underground chamber. There, arge octopus-like woman could be seen seated upon a throne, a sadistic expression on her face as she used her tentacles to tease and torment a number of feminine men while dozens of enved Regrs engaged in various licentious acts throughout the low-lit, perfume heavy, chamber. With his teleportation being soundless and without any re, Vahns presence wasnt immediately noticed until a nude woman nearly twice his size snaked her way over, a predatory smile on her face as she attempted to grab him by the neck, saying, "Are you new here? Come and give mama-" Interrupting the womans remark, a dark glimmer shed across Vahns eyes as he pped her hand aside, shattering nearly every bone in her hand, wrist, and forearm in an instant. The only thing that prevented the woman from crying out in pain was the excessive amount of narcotics in her system. They allowed her to remain unnaturally calm, and, for a brief moment, she seemed more confused than terrified as she dangled her limp left arm from side-to-side... Resisting the urge to pet himself in an attempt to remain calm, Vahn extended his hand towards the giant octopus-like woman, catching her attention in the process. Then, before her confusion could turn into recognition, he used his Telekinesis to lift her titanic frame by the neck before forcing her tentacles to extend, liberating everything within her grasp. As could be expected, the attention of everyone in the chamber immediately shifted to the floating figure of their boss, the Octopus Woman known as Marte. She was nearly twenty meters in length with her tentacles fully extended, so, even if they were higher than a balloon that had escaped the grasp of a child, they were still able to notice the giant floating figure of the woman who had both tormented and corrupted them. With the rapt attention of everyone present, Vahn was tempted to pull the womans limbs to their limits before ultimately crushing her into a small ball. Instead, a blue light began to emanate from within his pupils as invisible spheres, visible to him alone, began to expand at the location of the womans brain and heart. Then, with a quick activation of Oblivion, even the most minute moleculeprising the two vital organs simply ceased to exist, quite literally erased from reality. Though Marte actually had three hearts and nine brains, the vast majority were vestigial organs that relied on the primary brain and heart to function. As a result, the first of the Ten Bosses was killed in an instant, and, though her tentacles would continue to writhe about for upwards of ten hours, this wasrgely the result of muscle memory and a deeply ingrained self-preservation instinct. Exhaling a sigh, a tiny golden me began to burn at the tip of Vahns finger as the scene around him quickly descended into a state of utter bem. The death of Marte had effectively liberated them from their standing orders, so, while their fate was ultimately up to her killer to decide, they had a brief window of opportunity to enact things like revenge. As a result, several Regrs began attacking each other like feral animals, some even going out of their way to w and bite at their former oppressors with tears rolling down their faces. Feeling the waves of resentment and negativity washing over him, Vahns expression began to dull slightly as he released the tiny golden me towards the still-floating Marte. Its heat was so intense that it caused even the Shinsu in its path to turn to ash, but, rather than radiate, it actually drew the surrounding heat into itself, drastically chilling the surroundings as the me burned ever-brighter. After witnessing the overflow phenomenon that urred when reducing the temperature below absolute zero, Vahn had started to think about various other ways in which temperature could be influenced by the Laws. He knew there were some mes that burned ice-cold, and, though it was a little strange to consider, there were even water-based mes that caused their surroundings to fill with water vapor rather than smoke. Thus, while it made sense for mes to radiate heat outward, Vahn had created a me that did the opposite, drawing in heat and effectively freezing everything in its surroundings. Though it would quickly be unstable without his Source Energy to maintain it, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that the tiny golden me could effectively cool the entire universe if given enough time. Its interior temperature would gradually increase, and, so long as there was even a moderate temperature differential, it would eventually reduce the surrounding temperature to absolute zero. This was where things got strange, as, the moment the temperature reached such an extreme, the overflow phenomenon would ur, spontaneously increasing the temperature in the surroundings to 1.4110^32 degrees Kelvin. As could be expected, an iprehensibly powerful explosion would ur the moment such an overflow phenomenon urred, the force of which was more than enough to destabilize space-time in the surroundings. At the same time, the increase in heat would further fuel the growth of the golden me, and, so long as it had a catalyst to maintain its integrity, it could, theoretically, grow to consume the entire Universe in a cosmologically short period of time. Fortunately for the people in the surroundings, Vahn had no intention ofpletely destroying them. His primary reason for using such a me was that it was the most powerful expression of Yang that he could currently manage. This allowed him to change the nature of the mes at his leisure, as, on their most fundamental level, Yang mes were closely associated with Creation and Purification. With a small sun spontaneously appearing in their midst, much of the surrounding fighting came to an end in an instant. At the same time, everyone present began to feel as though they were basking in the gentle rays of the morning sun after an exceptionally long, cold, and dark night... --- Though they felt a strongpulsion to go to where their Master was, Fenrir, Ryun, Jeanne, and Mash did their best to obediently await his return. Fortunately, this was something Fenrir and Ryun were rather ustomed to, so, shortly after his departure, the former began pulling out things like a table and cushions while thetter began preparing snacks procured from within her interspatial ring. This left Jeanne and Mash feeling taken aback, but, once a deck of cards was brought out, they didnt hesitate to sit down and join the more experienced duo in a game of Old Maid. For a multitude of different reasons, card and board games had always been popr among the residents of Avalon, and, as a result, the Little Garden. This was especially true for those who had spent time in the Menagerie, as, more often than not, such games were what determined the order in which they received their Masters affection. Jeanne had never been an official resident of the Menagerie, but, shortly after her first union with Vahn, she began spending a fair amount of time within its interior. It was the group she felt mostfortable with, as, even during their first time together, she had asked Vahn to change her into several different species just so she could experience being dominated as every conceivable version of herself. She knew this was rather strange, so, while she wasnt afraid of associating with his more normal women, Jeanne had always gotten along better with the girls who were more honest with themselves and their desires. Though she had mellowed out considerably since then, Jeanne was easily one of the most devout women in Vahns rather extensive entourage. This resulted in her mastering a number of different card and board games, and, though she would struggle against monsters like Okita and Altera, she was able toe out ahead against most of the other girls due to her exceptional luck and ability to see through lies... Using said ability, Jeannes sapphire-blue eyes were fixed upon Fenrirs scarlet-reds, her expression reminiscent of a warrior ready to face death as her fingers hovered over the hand of thetter. This caused Fenrir to adopt the closest thing to a perfect deadpan she could manage, but, in the depths of her eyes, a tiny light would flicker whenever Jeanne hovered over a specific card. With her exceptional perception, Jeanne was easily able to notice this subtle flickering, but, knowing Fenrir was surprisinglypetent when it came to fooling others, she didnt immediately go for the other cards. This was especially true when coveted prizes were on the line, so, with the prize being an extended session of brushing, neither could afford to lose. Though they could be very inconvenient at times, Jeanne had be rather fond of her angelic wings due to her Masters meticulous care and grooming. She also enjoyed being able to envelop him whenever he had forced her onto her back, so, even if it was bound to earn her the ire of her senior, she needed to win this hand. As for Fenrir, there were few things she enjoyed more than having her ears and tail brushed, so, the longer Jeanne stalled, the harder it was for her to remain calm... In an effort to prevent people from stalling, a ten-second time limit had established to prevent the game fromsting more than a few minutes at a time. Unfortunately, their heightened perception made these ten seconds seem like several minutes, and, for a brief moment, it was almost like time hade to a stop when Jeannes fingers had graced the centermost card. After offering up a silent prayer to her God, Jeannemitted to pulling the card that responsible for the flicker in Fenrirs eyes. Under normal circumstances, this would have been the Old Maid, and, as a result, she would be guaranteed to lose the game. Fortunately, Jeannes instincts had been on point, so, despite Fenrirs best efforts at deceiving her, the end result was her absolute victory. Unable to contain her excitement, Jeanne hopped up to her feet, wings spreading instinctually as arge banner manifested in her left hand. Said banner was then raised triumphantly towards the sky as Fenrir, like a defeated general, slumped forward, head and ears drooping as she silently cursed the winged woman under her breath... Seemingly oblivious to Fenrirs mutterings, Jeanne continued to wave around the banner of the Aldrnari Empire with extreme vigor,ughing all the while. This earned her a pointed look from Ryun and a wry smile from Mash, but, having secured victory, Jeanne didnt particrly mind their gazes as she continued to bask in the reverie of her triumph. It was only when a massive sphere of golden Shinsu began to barrel towards her that the smile on her face faded away, reced by the resolution of a warrior as she stabbed through the projectile with the speartip located at the end of the banner... (A/N: Im honestly a little taken aback by some of thements in the previous chapter. It amazes me how senseless people can be at times;pletely ignoring the actual context in the novel just because it contradicts one of their own personal biases. I mean, seriously, Vahn had never enjoyed killing people so why do some of you asshats keep acting like it is the only fucking solution to every goddamn problem in the novel? Even when he literally curses people to be cripples in a world where virtually everyone has superpowers, you act like every enemy he lets walk away is actually the reincarnated MC of a wuxia novel. There are even people makingpletely arbitrary ims about Vahn being a hypocrite for arbitrary reasons, none of which have anything to do with the context of the actual novel. Seriously, how is Vahn being hypocritical when, from the very start of the fucking novel, he is always shown being depressed or remorseful after killing? It is something he genuinely hates to do, yet, as if he is some Chad Thundercock with a perpetual murder boner, youpletely ignore this to say thoughtless remarks thatpletely ignore more than 1800 chapters of evidence contradicting your ims. Vahn has almost always killed as a mercy or to save the people he wants to protect. Stop pretending like he walks around with rosary beads filled with the eternally suffering souls of his enemies while wearing clothes sewn together from their still-living flesh. Seriously. This is the kind of shit that makes some authors want to drop their novels.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1881 Reaction

Chapter 1881 Reaction

A stark contrast to Mash, who promptly hopped to her feet with shields in hand, Fenrir and Ryun just looked overzily for a brief moment before gathering up all the cards and shuffling them. As for Jeanne, she brandished the banner of the Aldrnari Empire in a remarkably skillful manner, the silvery tip radiating a divine glow as she spun it around in a series of smooth and graceful arcs. With each motion of the banner, yet another attack of the enemy was dispersed into nothingness. This caused the personunching the attacks, a young blonde who was equal parts sporty as she was attractive, to momentarily adopt an incredulous expression. Rather than back down, however, she leaped several meters into the air, benefitting from the inordinately spacy chamber as a sphere of golden Shinsu more than five meters in diameter promptly manifested beneath her. Following the womans ascent with her eyes, Jeanne couldnt help but lightly furrow her brows as she noticed thece g-string worn beneath the womans uniform-like ck dress. They were the type of panties someone wore when they wanted to be seen, and, considering the woman focused on kicks, it wasnt an exaggeration to call her an exhibitionist. Since the chances of her Master taking an interest in someone were never zero, Jeanne, for one of the few times in her life, was grateful for his absence. She didnt really mind him having any number of women, including lostmbs who had strayed from the light; but, at the very least, she wanted to reduce the number of perverts around him... With this in mind, Jeanne lowered her center of gravity ever-so-slightly, her thighs bulging almost imperceptibly as she pointed the banners speartip towards her foe. Then, like a spring under high tension, sheunched herself towards the descending sphere without any fear or hesitation visible in her gaze. Though she was surprised that her opponent would jump towards her attack, the yellow-haired woman justughed maniacally as she kicked it downwards with meteoric force. She was pretty confident in her Shinsu Tension, so, even if her opponent had inordinately high Shinsu Resistance, they wouldnt be able to avoid injury after taking her attack head-on. At least, that was how things were supposed to go... Simr to popping a bubble, Jeannes spear pierced through the massive sphere of Shinsu as if it was nothing but a ball of air. There was even a visible twisting around the head of the spear, simr to a vortex except that it pushed things away rather than drawing them in. Demonstrating a surprising amount of finesse andbat experience, the yellow-haired woman didnt immediately panic upon seeing one of her strongest attacks dissipated. Instead, she kicked the air with enough force tounch herself sideways, a golden ripple appearing where her foot had impacted. Unfortunately, while this was a technique far beyond the capabilities of most Regrs, it wasnt anything particrly special in the eyes of Jeanne. Most of her sparring partners were able to use techniques simr to Koku Shundo, so, while the womans capabilities werent anything to scoff at, they were a far cry from the standard present among members of the Empire. After piercing through the area where the woman had previously been standing, Jeanne surprised the former considerably by nimbly inverting her body, wings and all, before kicking against the air with enough force to create cracks in the surrounding space. This was something even the majority of Rankers wouldnt be able to pull off, and, as could be expected, her speed greatly exceeded that of the yellow-haired woman. Though she managed to cross her arms and tuck in her legs to form a defensive posture, the very tip of Jeannes spear was able to easily prate the small gaps present in her guard. This resulted in a rtively shallow wound on the left side of the womans abdomen, but, unlike a normal injury, silvery tendrils quickly spread from the entry point. They appeared very simr to veins at a nce, but, rather than flow naturally, they resembled the pattern of a circuit board as they quickly spread to cover much of the womans torso. With the pattern spreading before she had even hit the ground, the yellow-haired woman couldnt help but nk when she attempted to right herself only to find that the muscles in her lower body simply werent responding. As a result, she ended up crashing to the ground at a rather awkward angle, and, though her body was extremely durable, a pained grunt still emanated from her throat as she glowered at Jeanne and shouted, "You bird-brained asshole! Did you seriously just poison me!?" Without any signs of deceit or subterfuge, Jeannes expression rxed into a slightly apologetic look as she shook her head and exined, "This spear is enchanted with a powerful purification spell. Though its primary function is to allow me to disperse the offensive and defensive spells of my opponents, its secondary effect allows me to remove things like curses and other abnormal status effects. For the effect to have activated with such intensity...it seems like you were under a very powerful curse...?" Though she wanted to call Jeanne all kinds of names in response, the yellow-haired woman was unable to speak further as the silvery pattern had already spread to cover her neck and face. She felt like all the blood in her body was on fire, and, though pain was nothing new to her, this was on a whole other levelpared to anything she had experienced before. She couldnt even transform her body, and, after several seconds had passed, there was even a red mist rising from her body... Surprised by the womans adverse reaction to her purification spell, Jeanne couldnt help but open her mouth as if to say something. Before she could, however, Ryun stepped in, exining, "This girl is a Princess of Jahad...if Im not mistaken, your spear is trying to purify the blood curse attached to each of the Princesses during the ritual to receive Jahads Blood. How interesting..." As their Master had already informed them about things like Jahads Blood Curse, Jeanne was able to follow along with and understand Ryuns exnation. Rather than feeling relieved, however, she feltpelled to bite her bottom lip as she contemted the consequences of purifying one of the Jahads Princesses before her Master had given his permission... Fortunately, she wasnt left to contemte this for very long, as, almost immediately after Ryuns exnation, a familiar figure with dark-brown, aquamarine eyes, and sunkissed skin emerged from the void, adding, "Indeed. Though I must admit, I never expected an enemy Princess to be the first to have their blood purified...hmmm..." With all eyes spontaneously shifting to him, Vahn couldnt help but crack a smile as he met each of their gazes in turn before directing his attention to the twin-tailed woman curled up on the ground. At this point, there was blood flowing from her eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. This resulted in a rather pitiable sight, yet, in spite of this, the person observing the fight showed no intention of stepping in and offering their assistance... Furrowing his brows, Vahn lifted his hand, gesturing towards the void and causing a ponytailed woman with dark-pink hair and matching eyes to pop out of thin air. This seemed to startle her quite a bit, but, almost immediately thereafter, an unperturbed smile spread across her face as she smoothed out the creases of her dress and remarked, "You really did a number on my sister...am I to expect simr treatment~?" Ignoring the pink-haired womans remark, Vahn briefly shifted his attention to the Law of Identity, his frown deepening as she revealed the womans true intentions. This caused his aura to gradually leak out, and, though it was only a small amount, it was more than enough to cause the pink-haired womansplexion to pale. Her status as a descendent of the Lo Po Bia Family provided her with enhanced senses, and, as could be expected, animalistic instincts that allowed her to ascertain how dangerous a situation was even without full knowledge of why it was dangerous. For a brief moment, the pink-haired woman, better known as Lo Po Bia Shilial Jahad, considered running away from the scene. The moment this thought crossed her mind, however, her instincts began sounding rm bells all throughout her mind. As a result, her feet were firmly rooted to the spot, and, for the first time since her meeting with Jahad, she found herself at aplete loss for words. With the Law of Identity revealing the womans thoughts, Vahns grimace rxed into an amused smile as he shifted his attention back to her, musing, "Your head is filled with traitorous thoughts...I wonder how you managed to be selected as a Princess of Jahad? Ah...I see...you had quite a bit of help..." Hearing Vahns words, Shilial was unable to prevent her eyes from widening, her mouth forming into a forced smile as she attempted to say something, anything, to refute him. Unfortunately, her words hadpletely failed her. The most she could manage was opening her mouth as if she was going to speak; but, every time she managed to nearly force something out, a nervous tingle would spread through her body, preventing her from uttering so much as a single syble. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn motioned to take a single step forward. Instead, he appeared next to Shilial and the copsed Lilial in an instant, forcing the former to turn statuesque as he bent down to ce his hand on thetters back. This caused the sound of tongue-clicking to echo from behind him, but, doing his best to ignore it, Vahn spread his senses through Lilials body in order to better ascertain her current condition. As could be expected from such a malicious curse, it was doing everything in its power to consume Lilials vitality before being expunged from her body. Jahad was an exceptionally petty person, so, in order to prevent the Power of Blood from being used against him, he incorporated a number of failsafes intended to cause extreme suffering to anyone trying to free themselves from his influence. This was in spite of the fact that the contract he had with the Guardians prevented them from ever standing against him, effectively invalidating the need for such measures... Shaking his head in disapproval, Vahn began to forcibly expel the remnants of Jahads curse from Lilials body before it could cause even more damage. At the same time, he sent a steady flow of Source Energy into her body, rapidly repairing the damage that had already been caused before retracting his hand and saying, "I want you to return to Maschenny with a message...inform her that the Era of Chaos she seeks is certain toe. However, if she continues along her current path, the chances of her seeding are infinitely close to zero percent. Even if I have to wipe out both sides on my own, I will never allow a prolonged battle to take ce. If she really wants to fight that badly, tell her I will be more than happy to attend her on the 50th Floor..." Though she didnt fully understand the reasons, Shilial found herself nodding enthusiastically in response to Vahns words. It was only at that moment that her instincts stopped sounding rm bells in her mind, freeing her from the tense state that had prevented her from moving so much as a single muscle in his presence. Then, with her sisters limp body in her arms, she quickly departed the Name Hunt Station, a cold sweat covering her body as she did her best to avoid looking back for even a moment... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Jeanne is smurfing xD...,I wonder if Vahn realizes how his actions parallel Tiamats...,Like a dog with its tail tucked between its legs (O w O)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1882 Barring Passage

Chapter 1882 Barring Passage

Following the hasty departure of the two Princesses, Vahn and Co resumed their journey through the Name Hunt Station, a venture that sequentially brought them to an arena-like antechamber connected to what appeared to be an esctor. There, a seemingly young man with brown skin, ashen-white hair, and peculiar white eyes could be seen standing next to a blonde woman with a pixie cut. Noticing the katana and wakizashi fastened to the youths hip,bined with his kimono-like garb, Vahn couldnt help but raise his brows slightly, musing, "You must be Arie Inieta, the man known as the Sword Genius and the Strongest of the Ten Bosses..." With what appeared to be an innocent smile, so long as you ignored the unhinged glimmer in his eyes, Inieta perked up quite a bit upon hearing Vahns words. He didnt consider himself a braggart, but, whenever someone mentioned his titles, even sarcastically, it always made him a little happy. Feeling the youths Sword Intent sharpen considerably, a hint of a smile spread across Vahns lips as he directed his gaze to the woman blocking the esctor, adding, "And that makes you Lo Po Bia Alphine, daughter of Alisaie and descendent of the Shadow Fox Tribe..." Though she had heard rumors about Vahns ability to read minds, Alphine couldnt help but feel a little unnerved hearing him mention her mother out of nowhere. As for Inieta, the only thing on his mind was that he had found a strong opponent, his expression bing a caricature reminiscent of childish glee as he unsheathed his sword and remarked, "Ive never killed an Emperor before. Im really looking forward to seeing how powerful you really are." Unable to contain himself, a light chuckle emanated from Vahns throat as he gestured for the girls to stand down. He was still feeling a little bothered by what had happened in the underground, so, with Inieta showing a fair amount of promise, he wanted to personally test the youth. He could feel a remarkable Sword Intent exuding from thetter, so, with the teachings of the Main Family denied to him, Vahn was curious to see what kind of swordsmanship Inieta had developed over thest six hundred years. With this intent driving his actions, Vahn began to take a few casual steps forwards, hands behind his back as a rxed smile spread across his face. This caused Inieta to frown deeply, and, though he didnt understand the reason, he instinctively leaped back to create some distance, sword raised in a defensive posture. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn took another step forward as he said, "It is apparent that your skills have been refined through actualbat...its a shame you are so fond of killing. I would have liked to take you on as my disciple..." Immediately following this statement, Vahn looked over his shoulder to see a massive orange fox manifesting from the void and attempting to step on his shadow. Before it could, his figure turned into a blur, startling both the fox and its owner as he appeared next to it and said, "Lay down." in amanding tone. As if it waspelled by some instinct, the inordinatelyrge fox immediately lowered its head to the ground, allowing Vahn to caress its snout as he added, "I have a soft spot for creatures rted to foxes and wolves...dont make me hurt you..." Though she was utterly gobsmacked by the strange turn of events, Alphine was able to recover rtively quickly, her expression growing stern as she gestured with her hand and shouted, "Kill him...!" in a shaky yet decisive tone. Under normal circumstances, the Shadow Fox would have unhesitantly obeyed without even a moment of consideration for itself. It couldnt actually be killed under normal circumstances, so, even if its opponent was much stronger, it wouldnt be afraid. Against Vahn, however, its instincts told it that the only oue was the death of both itself and its master. This caused it to release a rather pitiable whining sound, its eyes bing slightly moist as it stared back at Alphine without raising its head. While Alphine was confused beyond belief, Vahn, with a smile on his face, began to scratch one of the foxs sweet spots as he took the initiative to exin, "It seems your Shadow Fox is pretty loyal. It doesnt want you to die, so it is refusing to follow your orders. What a good girl~." Hearing Vahns words,bined with his surprisinglyfortable petting, the Shadow Fox began to lightly beat its tail against the ground while, a few meters behind, Fenrir, Ryun, and even Mash could be seen with deadpan expressions on their faces... Having never experienced anything like this before, Alphine was at aplete loss for words as she saw her most trustedpanion inevitably roll onto its back, presenting its belly for Vahn to freely caress. This caused her to feel strangely embarrassed, a trace of red bleeding into her cheeks when she heard Inieta curiously inquire, "Ive never heard of anyone taming a Shinheuh belonging to an Anima. Is this normal?" Realizing she wasnt going to get anywhere using her Shadow Fox, Alphine attempted to recall it back to its Bowl. Instead, her face became even redder as a feminine voice sounded in her mind, eximing, ("I dont wanna...!") like a child refusing to give up its candy. With the Law of Identity providing narration, Vahn couldnt help butugh in response to Alphines plight. This was the scary thing about the Law of Petting, as, even without Skills like [Subjugation], it provided him a near-absolute advantage against anything he personally identified as pettable. This put the Shadow Fox in a rather precarious position, as, with the exception of Vanargandr, Vahn had always found foxes, and those with their traits, to be among the most pettable beings in all Records. Unfortunately, he still had other things to take care of, so, after scratching under the Shadow Foxs chin, he ultimately retracted his hand and said, "Return to your Master. If her face gets any redder, Im afraid she might pass out..." Though it showed a considerable amount of reluctance, the Shadow Fox ultimately returned to its feet before sinking into the shadows and reappearing behind the red-faced Alphine. She actually looked rather striking with a blush on her face, but, rather than pointing it out, Vahn just smiled as he shifted his attention back to Inieta and remarked, "I half-expected you to try and attack while I was distracted..." Amused by Vahns words, a boyish giggle escaped Inietas throat as he removed his sword from his shoulder and said, "I thought about it. Its just that, every time I tried to attack, my instincts told me not to. You must be a real monster." Rather than refuse thebel, Vahn casually nodded in response to Inietas words before resuming his slow march forward. This time, however, Inieta didnt run away. Instead, a resolute gleam shed across his peculiar white eyes as he pressed forward and traced his katana in a beautiful arc. Without so much as a single change in his expression, Vahn met Inietas attack with his bare hand, catching the de between his thumb, index, and middle fingers. This caused the youths eyes to widen considerably, but, rather than back down, he attempted to use the leverage of the hold to nt both of his feet squarely in the formers groin. Though it wouldnt have caused any damage, Vahn wasnt particrly fond of getting kicked in hisher region. Thus, using the leverage Inieta had generated against him, he sidestepped the boys feet while shifting the de back with his bare hands and smashing the unsuspecting prodigy into the ground. Despite a distressed gasp escaping his throat, Inietas hold on his sword never once ckened. This was rathermendable, but, with the de tip firmly sped in Vahns hand, it also put him at a rather severe disadvantage. After all, even a light tap to the end of a sword could drastically alter its trajectory, so, with his admittedly ridiculous strength, Vahn had full control of Inietas movements so long as thetter refused to let go of his sword. Demonstrating this, Vahn lifted the white-haired swordsman from the ground, raising him high over his head before smashing him down a second time. At no point throughout this process did Inieta ever consider letting go of his sword. Instead, a determined fire continued to burn resolutely in his eyes, even as blood began to stain his pure white hair and clothes. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn released his hold on Inietas sword. This revealed that the de tip had been horribly mangled, but, as if it was the sharpest weapon in the entire cosmos, Inieta still charged forward as if his opportunity had finally presented itself. To his surprise, Vahn greeted this attack with one of his own, his figure seemingly bing translucent as he made a cutting motion with his hand and passed through Inietas body like a phantom. Appearing as though he had been frozen in time, Inieta paused mid-strike in response to Vahns movement. His eyes had widened to the extreme, and, though he couldnt fully process what had just happened, he understood it was a form of swordsmanship that greatly exceeded his own. Thus, even when a massive gash opened across his chest, apanied by a shower of blood, he couldnt help but smile as he fell forward, uttering, "Amazing..." as the light disappeared from his eyes. Without turning to face the copsed swordsman, the corners of Vahns smile curled upward as he manifested the Little Garden and pulled the man inside. At the same time, he directed his gaze to the now-stoic Alphine, asking, "Are we going to continue with this farce, or will you guide the way obediently...?" Realizing that his questions might be intended to prime his targets and make them easier to read, Alphine responded to Vahns words by pulling out a knife and unhesitantly stabbing herself in the heart, saying, "I will never betray Kaiser..." as she fell forward. This left thetter with a moderately incredulous look on his face, an expression that gradually morphed into a wry smile as he scratched his cheek and muttered, "Did she forget about my ability to revive people...? Im pretty sure that is the thing Im most famous for at the present..." Shaking his head, a peculiar green aura veiled the surroundings as Vahn began to reverse the order of entropy, effectively reversing time. As a result, the blood from Alphines wound quickly returned to her body before she ultimately came to stand upright, sheathing the dagger in her hand before adopting a horrified expression as he allowed the flow of time to return to normal. Though he always felt strangely guilty about reversing time in such a manner, Vahn wasnt going to allow Alphine to kill herself over a misunderstanding. Thus, rather than afford her a second attempt, he forced her to remain stationary as he exined, "Im not going to steal your name and make you into my servant. If I cared about such things, why would I allow some of the Ten Bosses to flee after liberating all of the Regrs in the Unnamed Residential Area? I would have thought my intentions were pretty obvious at this point..." With her freedom returned immediately following Vahns exnation, Alphine momentarily lost her bnce due to her efforts at trying to break free from his unique form of Reverse Flow Control. This caused a ruddy hue to return to her cheeks, as, moments prior to her meeting with the ground, an invisible force wrapped around her body, returning her to a standing position as Vahn continued to smile wryly from his initial position. Feeling uncharacteristically bashful, Alphine quickly smoothed out the creases of her form-fitting orange dress before fixing her hair and asking, "What, exactly, is your purpose? Are you acting at the behest of an organization or are you doing all of this for...personal reasons...?" With Alphine briefly shifting her attention to the woman standing behind him, Vahn didnt need the Law of Identity to understand what she was thinking. This caused a dryugh to emanate from his throat, and, though he understood why, it made him feel awkward whenever someone assumed he was aiming to collect beautiful women... Seemingly misunderstanding the reason for his awkwardughter, Alphines expression hardened as she went on to ask, "Do you understand how and why Kaiser became the Ruler of this backward ce? At this rate, you are bound to provoke more than just the Lo Po Bia Family. The Name Hunt Station is an important lo-" Raising his hand, Vahn interrupted Alphines exnation by inly stating, "None of that matters. I am not acting to oppose the interests of the Ten Great Families. I honestly dont give a damn about the vast majority of them. All I know is that a ce like this simply shouldnt exist. To that end, I will do everything in my power to destroy it. There is no greater meaning or intent behind my actions. I just dont like this ce. Any more questions...?" Not expecting such a childish reason, Alphine found herself at a loss for words, lips parted ever-so-slightly as if she wanted to say something but couldnt. This afforded Vahn the opportunity to respond with a curt nod, seemingly in response to his own words, before crossing his hands behind his back and adding, "Well then...lead the way..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Instantaneous defeat...,No-sword-style secret technique...knife-hand!,Vahn is slowly bing a shonen protagonist...!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1883 Sacrifice

Chapter 1883 Sacrifice

Though he could have just teleported into Kaisers Grand Gallery, Vahn had never been that good at suppressing the more yful aspects of his nature. As a result, he allowed Alphine to lead the way, an amused smile on his face as they silently passed the area where a powerful Shinsu bomb had been nted with the aim of killing whoever attempting to use the esctor. Realizing the bomb wasnt going to explode, Alphine couldnt help but release a sigh mixed with frustration and relief. She didnt actually want to die, but, if it would prevent Vahn from reaching Kaiser, she wouldnt hesitate to sacrifice herself. Understanding the womans thoughts, Vahn just shook his head wordlessly before walking past the woman and muttering, "Helping someone remain locked away isnt something a true friend would do. You are prepared to sacrifice your life to protect your Master. You should have been using that same level of conviction to try and liberate her from this ursed ce..." Hearing Vahns remark, Alphine wanted to retort by saying he didnt know what he was talking about but the words wouldnt leave her lips. In the end, the only thing she could do was close her eyes and remain silent, guilt swelling within as she asked herself if there was anything more she could have done. Gesturing for the girls to protect the secretarial beauty, Vahn disappeared into thin air without any additional words. Kaisers Grand Gallery couldnt actually be reached using the esctor. Instead, it required Regrs to take a specific tform to fly around to the back of the building. This could be bypassed by those with the ability to fly, and, as could be expected, there was little preventing him from simply teleporting into the isted region at his leisure. Finding himself near the entrance of a rather peculiar-looking room, Vahn took a brief moment to take in his surroundings, a light hum emanating from his throat as he marveled at the stained ss windows and the baroque-style architecture that was mixed with elements of the orient. It was clear that, whoever built the building, had spent a considerable amount of time and effort to ensure that it appeared both majestic yet hospitable. At least, this was clearly their intent when they furnished it with things like a massive, bed-like, throne... Unfortunately, despite the obvious effort that went into the Grand Gallerys design, the atmosphere was extremely depressive and mncholic. It even felt somewhat chilly, the result of a considerable amount of negative energy having mixed with an amount of Shinsu that most Regrs on the 39th Floor wouldnt be able to tolerate. Though he wasnt particrly surprised by the atmosphere within the room, Vahn couldnt resist the urge to shake his head as he directed his attention to the woman who had yet to rise from her throne. Even whilst sitting, he could tell that she was a little on the tall side, and, though her face was obstructed by an eerie silver mask with painted on lipstick, her exceptionally long and glossy hair gave people the impression she was hiding something remarkable beneath the mask. Meeting the womans pale blue-green eyes, Vahn adopted a sad smile as he remarked, "Ive met many people in my travels...Gods, Dragons, Titans, and even Conceptual Entities that defied logic and reason. You, however, are the first person Ive ever met whose existence truly baffles me...had I never met you, I never could have imagined anyone spending more than a thousand years trying to atone for something they had virtually no control over..." Even with her silvery mask, it was apparent by the squinting of her eyes that Kaiser, lesser known as Lo Po Bia ine, wasnt very appreciative of his words. Her previously dormant aura began to re up slightly, and, though she made no motion to attack, an abnormally potent killing intent radiated from her body as she took several steps forward before saying, "Im not sure how much youre able to discern with that ability of yours...however, even if you understand the entirety of my situation, it is impossible for you to understand the emotions-" Interrupting the womans speech with a shake of his head, Vahns expression hardened slightly as he said, "This ability is far moreprehensive than you can imagine. I not only understand your reasons for bing Kaiser, I also understand the motivations of the people who keep you here. You can try to argue all you want, but you understand better than most how you are simply being used. Despite that, you persevere because you have convinced yourself it is the right thing to do. The thing that annoys me most about your situation is that your are willfully repenting for a sin you never trulymitted. You are ruining the lives of others to better your family despite the fact they see you as nothing more than a convenient tool. I mean, seriously...you have already earned more than seventeen times the amount required to pay your familys debt, yet, in spite of that, not even a single Point has been redacted from the overall amount. To make matters even worse, the status of your family hasnt really improved in all this time. They squander the money you have given them in order to purchase favors from the other branches, lowering themselves like dogs in spite of all your sacrifices..." Hearing her family referred to as dogs, ine, who had previously lowered her head, raised her face in order to re back at Vahn. She was a member of the Grey Wolf Family, and, though their status was among the lowest in the Lo Po Bia Family, they still had their pride. It didnt matter that she had been isted from the family for more than a thousand years, forced to live amentable existence as someone elses tool, she still had the pride of a lone wolf... Realizing he might have gone too far by referring to her entire family as dogs, an exasperated sigh escaped Vahns lips as he went on to say, "That was a poor choice of words on my part...sorry about that. Still, it doesnt invalidate everything else Ive said. Rather, it should help you realize just how messed up your current situation is. If you really want to help your family rise up, you arent going to do so by cooping yourself up in the Name Hunt Station and forcing yourself to obey people you resent. I mean, its been more than eight-hundred years since the Grey Wolf Family sent one of their own to negotiate terms and pricing with you. If that isnt a red g, I must be colorblind..." Unable to refute Vahns words, ine remained absolutely silent, hands balled into fists as her aura became progressively more turbulent. His words touched on issues that had gued her for several hundred years, and, knowing better than anyone else how futile her contributions to the family had been, there wasnt much she could say. After all, there was even a period of time when she used to cry herself to sleep every night, and, were it not for the arrival of Alphine, she might have lost hope a long time ago... Though he felt bad for the woman, Vahn couldnt simply ignore the fact that she had spent thest thousand years ruining the lives of countless Regrs. This helped him to maintain a stern look on his face, his tone deep and heavy as he went on to ce the final nail in the coffin by saying, "That boy...his true name was Po Bidau Diedrick. It isnt a coincidence that everything had already been prepared for you long before your arrival at the Name Hunt Station. From the very beginning, the Lo Po Bia Family Head had been coordinating with the Jahad Empire to gain control over the Name Hunt Station. Didnt you think it was strange that an outsider had been allowed to participate in apetition specifically held to test the children of the Lo Po Bia Familys branches? Your family was used as a sacrificial pawn in order to please Jahad and improve the finances of the Main Family...for thest eight-hundred-years, nearly all of your earnings have been split between the Golden Eagle, Snow Leopard, and Forest Cat Families..." Unable to control herself any longer, ines aura erupted outward like a tidal surge, harmlessly mming into Vahn as she shouted, "Youre lying...!" in a surprisingly emotional tone. At the same time, moisture could be seen building within her eyes, and, though her expression was hidden by the silver mask, it wasnt difficult to imagine the indignant and distressed look beneath it. Shaking his head, Vahn began to move forward as he calmly added, "Whether or not you believe me is irrelevant. You are more than wee to leave this ce and confirm it for yourself. My goal is simply to destroy the Name Hunt Station and expunge some of the Towers darkness. Now...show me the power you used to suppress tens of thousands of Regrs..." With her repressed emotions surging forward for the first time in centuries, ine wasnt thinking clearly when she manifested her incredibly rare Invisible Arms Inventory and attempted to skewer Vahn with nine masterfully controlled Needles. Against normal Regrs, this would typically be far more than enough to end the fight, as, even among Rankers, the number of people who could fend off a series of invisible attacks were few and far between. Against Vahn, however, the Needles werepletely visible, and, from his perspective, they moved remarkably slow with their peak velocity failing to exceed 8,000km/h. Under normal circumstances, Vahn would have been required to defeat the other Ten Bosses if he wanted to challenge ine. With her attacking, however, the rules preventing him from doing the same were instantaneously overruled. This was the same loophole that some Rankers used in order to punish and kill Regrs, as, regardless of how severe the rules of a particr Floor might be, the Guardians always afforded people the right to defend themselves. Taking advantage of ines momentarypse in judgment, Vahn continued to walk forward at a rtively casual pace, deftly evading each Needle with a paper thin margin. This resulted in ine attempting to skewer him with all nine Needles at once, Shinsu threads forming a cage of sorts as they aimed towards his vitals. Unfortunately for the failed Princess, this allowed him to catch each of the Needles using movements her eyes couldnt even read. Then, like a deep sea fish surprising an inexperienced angler, he simultaneously pulled each of the lines, yanking the bewildered ine forward. Though she recovered quick enough to manifest her Armor Inventory, an item even High Rankers would have difficulties acquiring, it was far from enough to protect her against Vahns counter. He had nigh-absolute power within his domain, and, though he was still experimenting with its usage, anyone below Tier 5 would be at an absolute disadvantage unless they had an unbreakable will or an Innate that directly countered the effects of his reality bending. Demonstrating this was the case, Vahns attack passed through the remarkably durable tes of ines Armor Inventory as if they didnt exist. As a result, the womans body folded against his fist, a pained grunt emating from her throat as blood spatter emerged from the edges of her mask. Then, like a shell fired from the main battery of a Warship, her body was sent crashing through the oversized throne before smashing into the back wall with enough force to nearly copse the entire structure. Vahn had never been particrly fond of harming women, but, knowing ines crimes, he couldnt let her off without some form of punishment. Rather, due to her heritage as a member of the Grey Wolf Tribe, the only way he could truly convince her was by defeating her in a fight. This was par for the course when it came to members of the Lo Po Bia Family, but, more so than most, members of the Grey Wolf Tribe were extremely prideful until they had pledged themselves to a Master... With most of ines internal organs being destroyed by his attack, Vahn raised his hand to reverse the order of entropy within the room, restoring the wall to its former state and returning the wide-eyed beauty to her starting position. Then, in a carefree yet t tone, he performed ae-hither gesture, aquamarine eyes glistening as he said, "Let me know when youre ready to give up..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Alphine getting bullied...,The Po Bidau and Lo Po Bia Families are filled with cunts (o,...,o)...!,Vahn be like, "I can do this all day...") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1884 Anguish

Chapter 1884 Anguish

Though there was a brief moment of hesitation before she took action, ine was ultimately able to show why she, of all people, had been selected to rule the Name Hunt Station. She had never been the type to simply give up when her convictions had been questioned, as, even now, the two most important things to her were protecting her family and redeeming herself in the eyes of the people who had once supported her. After quickly confirming the condition of her weapons and other armaments, Kaiser unsheathed a silvery rapier that glistened with a pale green glow. Then, rather than attempting to overwhelm him with ranged attacks, she charged in with a surprising burst of speed, rapier tracing a difficult to read trajectory that ultimately culminated in a thrust to Vahns throat. Simr to when he had been evading the Needles, Vahn simply tilted his head a little to the left, his foot sliding forward at a slight angle that allowed him to shift his weight enough to deftly evade the rapiers point. At the same time, his right hand traced the length of the de beforeing to rest on the hemispherical guard protecting ines hand. Unlike Inieta, ine didnt hesitate for a single moment before abandoning her rapier and pulling out a scimitar-like shortsword from her Arms Inventory. This tempted Vahn to use the rapier he had just acquired to deflect the attack, but, knowing it would only make Laev-tan pout, he ended up just taking a few steps backward, his body seemingly glitching in and out of reality as he evaded ines blitzing blows. Realizing her speed wasckingpared to her opponents, ine began to increase the amount of Shinsu contained within the muscles. This caused aquamarine bands of electricity to dance across her body, and, much like when Endorsi and Anak pushed themselves far beyond their limits, several tears started to appear in ines sheer ck tights as parts of her outfit started disintegrating due to the violent energy she was releasing. Resisting the urge the roll his eyes and shake his head,rgely due to the fact his own clothes had a habit of dissolving, Vahn thrust his hand in ines direction,pressing the Shinsu between them to form a wall of pressure that sent her smashing through one of the Grand Gallerys massive pirs. Though she felt as though a Suspend Ship had just crashed into her at high speeds, ine was able to avoid sustaining any severe injuries due to strengthening her body with Shinsu. Despite this, she made no attempt to pull herself from the rubble. Instead, she used the moment of reprieve to try and organize her thoughts, mind racing in an attempt toe up with a method of defeating her foe. Unfortunately, by the time she was ready to jump back into the fray, ine nearly fell face-first into the ground when she saw the rapidly increasing number of golden Baangs orbiting around Vahn. It was unlike anything she had ever seen, and, to make matters even worse, she could feel the Shinsu in the surroundings rapidly dissipating. Once it had vanishedpletely, she would no longer have the means to protect herself, as, despite the boons she had received over the years, she had never been provided an ignition weapon. In a desperate attempt to prevent Vahn from absorbing all the Shinsu in the surroundings, ine strained her body far beyond its limits, blood erupting from various muscle groups as she charged forward like a pale-green meteor. At the exact same moment, a phantom figure burst free from the void behind Vahn, its form resembling a ghostly grey wolf with fierce golden eyes. Ignoring the wolf entirely, Vahn used his open palm to intercept the spiraling green vortex at the tip of ines attack, dissipating it in an instant. This allowed the ghostly grey wolf to sink its teeth into his left leg, and, due to the unique properties of its saliva, a glimmer of excitement could be seen in ines eyes as she attempted to kick against his body to gain some distance. Moving significantly faster, Vahn grabbed ines proffered ankle before her foot could even make contact with his body. She responded to this by trying to manifest her Armor Inventory, but, before she could get the tes under control, Vahn had already pivoted on his heel, twisting his body with extreme speed as he flung her sprawling body like a ragdoll. Though her Armor Inventory sped over to try and cushion her fall, ines body ultimately crashed into the exceedingly durable wall for a second time. This time, however, she was embedded directly into the wall, her arms and legs syed out as the protective tes formed a protective membrane to try and shield her from any subsequent attacks. Deciding to afford ine the opportunity to consider her surrender, Vahn shifted his attention to the ghostly wolf that continued to gnaw at his ankle and calf. He actually felt a strange connection between him and the noble-looking creature, and, though its name was marginally different, Vahn couldnt help but crack a smile when the Law of Identity revealed that its name to be Fenryl. Ignoring the fact that it was persistently trying to tear his leg apart, Vahn bent down to caress the ghostly wolfs ethereal fur as he said, "Fenrir is going to get a kick out of you..." in an amused tone. This resulted in Fenryl attempting to bite at his hand, but, rather than evade, Vahn just chuckled as he used his free hand to scratch behind its ears... --- Feeling a strange fluttering in her chest, ine emerged from her momentary unconsciousness with a start, eyes wide as she found herself in a world of darkness. Fortunately, this was merely the result of her Armor Inventory covering her body, so, after a brief moment of panic, she was able to calm down enough to realize the pain she was in. It felt like every bone in her body was crying out in protest, and, for the first time in nearly eight-hundred-years, she felt a sudden and intense urge to join them... Suppressing the urge to tear up, ine took a few deep breaths to steady her mind as she used her internal reserves to mend her broken body. At the same time, she began to think about the reasons behind Vahns actions. If it were another monstrous Regr, she would have assumed he was just tormenting her for the hell of it, but, unlike a typical sadist, Vahn didnt seem to derive any pleasure from his actions. Instead, his mood seemed to be more depressive as the fight continued... Realizing that Vahn might be attempting to tame or help her, a wave of frustration permeated through ines body as she clenched her teeth in indignation. The former wasnt that bad, as it was simply the privilege of the strong. Thetter, however, was something she couldnt stand, as, regardless of what she had gone through, she refused to ept someones pity. Though her body was far from fully healed, ine manipted her Armor Inventory aside as she extricated herself from the wall with a pained but resolute grunt. Even if she had to die a hundred times, she was determined tond at least one blow against Vahn before going down for good. He would never break- Just as she was beginning to form her resolution, ines mind nked as she saw an absolutely iprehensible scene ying out before her... Unlike a normal Anima, ine had inherited an inordinately rare trait that appeared only once every thousand or so years within the Grey Wolf Family. This was the origin of her phantom Shinhueh, the Legendary Wolf Spirit, Fenryl. Though it was ssified as a Shinheuh, Fenryl was not a real living creature. Instead, it was the form her Shinsu took once she had learned about Qualities. In other words, it didnt require a Bowl, and, so long as there was Shinsu in the surroundings, Fenryl was effectively immortal. It could be killed any number of times, but, much like mist being scattered, it would invariably reform and continue attacking her opponents. This,bined with the fact that its bite inflicted wounds that only healed with her consent had allowed ine to be one of the strongest members of her generation... Simply put, Fenryl was an intrinsic part of ines very being, and, even if you searched throughout the entire Tower, you would never find another. This made it impossible to tame, as, unlike normal Shinheuh, it simply didnt exist as a biological organism. Unfortunately for both ine andmon sense, Vahn didnt call himself the God of Infinite Possibilities just to sound cool. Thus, without any consideration for either, he could currently be seen seated on the ground, nonchntly smiling as he stroked the panting Fenryls exposed underbelly... Sensing its Masters thoughts, Fenryl seemingly came back to its senses in an instant, flipping its body upright before attempting to tear out Vahns throat. In response, thetter just opened his arms like someone about the initiate a hug, an awkward chuckle emanating from his throat as he wrapped Fenryl in his embrace and mused, "Im afraid that doesnt work on me..." while digging his fingers into the formers dense fur. Though it was well aware of the fact its attacks had no effect, Fenryl didnt release Vahns throat from its maw. Instead, it attempted to crush his windpipe, but, no matter how tightly it clenched its jaws, Vahns skin didnt even indent. It was a phenomenon that made absolutely no sense, almost as if nothing happening had any effect on him whatsoever... With Fenryls teeth unable to find any purchase, the wolf spirit ultimately fell away from his body as Vahn rose to his feet and began wiping away the drool from his neck with a hand towel. This caused Fenryl to try and bite at his ankle, but, without paying it any mind, Vahn directed his attention to the stunned ine, asking, "Ready for round three, or would you like me to heal your body first?" Coming back to her sense in response to Vahns words, ines expression hardened as she pulled out two swords and said, "I dont know what your aim-" Cutting her off before she could finish, Vahn exhaled a tired sigh before saying, "You know exactly what my aim is. I literally exined it to you before our fight began. My only goal here is to destroy the Name Hunt Station and erase its influence from the Tower. This requires me to either defeat or kill you. Since I have no desire to do thetter, everything happening right now is a direct result of your obstinancy and your unwillingness to believe that the people using you always had the intent to do so. They took advantage of your natural instincts, pitting you against someone much stronger in an attempt to forcibly sway your heart. The only way you could have avoided that situation was bypletely ignoring your instincts, something that is impossible for a girl who spent her entire life being pampered and praised by others. You were set up to fail from the very beginning,..." Though she wasnt sure why she had waited, ine allowed Vahn to finish speaking before charging at him with tears streaming from her eyes. This time, however, thetter made no attempt to dodge her attacks. Instead, he just stood there like an immovable statue, sympathy visible in his gaze even as ine attempted to skewer his eye with the tips of her swords. Unfortunately, even this couldnt phase the current him, and, though it took a considerable amount of effort to suppress the urge to blink, Vahn managed to appear unperturbed as the point of ines sword deflected off his sclera. Despite the apparent futility of her actions, ine didnt stop swinging her swords at Vahn even as blood began to pool from the edges of her elbow-length gloves. Even the breaking and bending of the des werent enough to deter her. Instead, she just tossed them to the side before procuring a new set from her Arms Inventory and releasing a feral scream filled with the pain and anguish of someone who had suffered futilely for more than a thousand years... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "Im fast a fuck boiii~!",Dont worry, Common Sense-chan is a Masochist (O w O)...,Release...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1885 Resolution : Solution

Chapter 1885 Resolution : Solution

Down to herst weapon, a dagger-like parrying de with a hooked end, ines assault gradually slowed to a stop. It had taken her several minutes to reach this point, and, as a result, the tears from her eyes hadrgely ceased. Instead, a glimmer of conviction could be seen burning in their depths as she asked, "What do you want from me...?" Resisting the urge to sigh, Vahn closed his eyes for a brief moment, shaking his head as he said, "If anything, the only thing I would ask of you is that you live. Be a better person than the monster the Lo Po Bia and Po Bidau Families forced you to be. As for matters such as revenge...honestly, it would be better if you put them behind you. Though I can help you obtain the power you seek, my journey cannot be dyed for every individual seeking revenge. I have more than enough power to bring about an end to the suffering caused by Jahad and the Ten Great Families. Let me take care of it. You have already wasted more than a thousand years of your life at their behest. Dont waste the rest of it arbitrarily chasing revenge." Expecting Vahn to try and convince her to join his cause, ine didnt know how to respond to him telling her to simply move on with her life. She had spent more than a thousand years locked away inside the Name Hunt Station. She had no direction or purpose beyond her identity as Kaiser, and, even if she did leave, her Family would hunt her down as a traitor. The orders of the Family Leader were absolute, so, even if she never took any action against them, all twenty branch families would seek her out for daring to abandon the duty assigned by their God. As this thought crossed her mind, ine pointed the parrying de in her hand towards Vahns throat, the light in her eyes gradually faded as the monotonously replied, "My role is to do what the family tells me to do...I am nothing without the purpose they have assigned me...if death is the only option left before me, I would rather spend my final moments fighting to protect my beliefs...even if they are ultimately nothing more than a delusion..." Unamused by ines words, a sullen look spread across Vahns face as his aura began to permeate the surroundings like a gravitational force. It wasnt that he was particrly angry with ine, but, knowing the Lo Po Bia and Po Bidau Families had pushed her to this point, his frustrations with both began topound. More specifically, he was annoyed with Gustangs practice of always putting the end before the means, and, though he couldnt fault the Lo Po Bia Family Leader for his loyalty, the fact he was willing to sacrifice his own family members in order to pander to the Jahad Empire was...unpleasant... Reacting to ine lunging at him, Vahn deflected her de to the side before forming a gun using his index and middle fingers. Then, far faster than she could react, he ced the tips of said digits against her mask, saying, "From this moment onward, the being known as Kaiser is dead..." With those words have left his mouth, everything above ines shoulders simply ceased to be as a directional shockwave ripped through the interior of the Grand Gallery. In its wake, the farthest wall waspletely devastated, and, though her Spirit remained, ines physical body copsed to the ground lifelessly. Shifting his attention to the ethereal figure that seemed to blend together seamlessly with the void, Vahn continued to frown as he asked, "Are you satisfied with this oue?" Before answering his question, ine took a moment to inspect her ghostly figure before staring down at her headless corpse and saying, "I wont lie...this oue is rather unpleasant. Did you really have to blow my head off? With the power you possess, Im certain you could have used a less extreme method to get your point across..." Rather than deny it, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation, saying, "There was an infinite number of ways in which I could have ended the fight without needing to resort to violence. Things ended up like this because I wanted to teach you a lesson and afford you the opportunity to forge your own path. You harmed a considerable number of people during your time as Kaiser. Though the fault for this set of circumstances ultimately lies with the Ten Great Families, you would have never been able to move on unless you had received some kind of punishment...at least, that is what I believed..." Furrowing her brows slightly in response to Vahns words, ine continued to stare at her lifeless body for several seconds before shifting her ghostly green eyes to him and asking, "So, what now? I have heard the rumors of your ability to resurrect the dead. Are you going to offer me some kind of deal...?" Though he didnt like how things had settled, Vahn ultimately shook his head, exining, "This kind of ending honestly pisses me off. In the end, however, it was always your decision to make. If this is the oue you believe you desired, it is not my ce to question it. I do my best to try and help everyone I meet, but, regardless of my personal feelings on the matter, I learned, long ago, that you simply cant live for others. I can carry the burdens of countless people, but, no matter how strong I be, the only person I have the right to make decisions for is myself..." Frowning intensely, ines eyes continued to inspect Vahns face for several seconds, seemingly searching for any sign that he was trying to deceive her. Despite her earlier bravado, she didnt truly wish to die. There were actually a considerable number of loose ends she wanted to attend, and, if Vahns words were true, her family needed her now more than ever. It had been hundreds of years since she met another member of her branch, so, if it was true that her funds had been going to support her enemies, it was safe to assume that the Grey Wolf Family was currently in dire straits. Exhaling a sigh, ine took a moment to collect herself before adopting a slightly pointed look as she said, "Im not sure if this is just another scheme to turn me into a tool...but, so long as it allows me to reunite with my family, I am willing to do whatever it takes. Please, allow me to serve you to the fullest extent of my capabilities...that is the least I can offer in exchange for my life..." Adopting a deadpan expression, Vahn met ines pointed gaze with one of his own as he said, "If I was the type to treat others as tools, why would I charge into battle on my own? I have no problem reviving you, but you are mistaken if you believe I have some ulterior motive for doing so. Dont get me wrong, youre pretty strong for a Regr and your looks are nothing to write off, but...well, lets just leave it at that...youll understand the truth of the matter soon enough..." Understanding the futility of trying to convince her with words, Vahn decided it would make things significantly easier if he just let ine figure things out on her own. This might result in her having an existential crisis of sorts, but, depending on the choices she made from then onward, she would be able to grow exponentially stronger after a few setbacks... Ignoring the perturbed glimmer in ines eyes, Vahn began to reverse the order of entropy around her body, quickly restoring it to an uninjured state. This resulted in her Spirit being yanked forward as if it was under the influence of a powerful ma, a rather disorienting experience that resulted in the masked beauty having to quickly tear away the silver covering in order to expel the contents of her stomach. Then, with a conflicted look that was equal parts frustration and admiration for the strong, she wiped away the astringent residue using her sleeve before bowing ever-so-slightly and saying, "My life is yours tomand..." Since he was literally in possession of her Name, allowing him to order her at his leisure, Vahn just rolled his eyes in response to ines words before directing his gaze towards nothing in particr and saying, "Now that Im in charge, I want to abolish the rules of the Name Hunt Station. You are free to change them however you want, but, no matter what, I never want anything even remotely simr to what has taken ce here to ever ur again. As for the responsibility...you can just leave that to me. If Jahad and the Ten Families have a problem, they can seek me out and attempt to put an end to me. If they seed, feel free to change things back to how they were." Though it might seem like he was talking to nobody, the Guardian of each Floor was effectively omniscient in any region containing Shinsu. After all, the Shinsu of each Floor was a part of their body, and, simr to his domain, they could sense everything urring within without exception. Rather than answer him directly, the Guardian attempted to pull Vahn into the sub-dimensional space in which it resided. Unfortunately, Vahn was in no mood to deal with the massive angler fish, so, rather than ept the invitation, he resisted its pull, adding, "I have no intention of trying topromise with you. I dont care about the contract you made with the Great Warriors all those years ago. The rules dictate that the person in charge of the Name Hunt Station has the authority to alter or outright annul them. Though I might not be here to watch over things, neither are the Great Warriors. Dont go ying favorites when youre supposed to be objective." Seemingly realizing it couldnt pull him into its sub-dimension, a massive vortex of Shinsu appeared within the Grand Gallery as a paradoxically thunderous yet gentle voice echoed, "The Great Warriors have always selected a Champion to represent them and help maintain order...if you wish to uphold these changes, you must do the same..." Frowning in response to the Guardians words, Vahn briefly entered a contemtive state, eyes cast downward as he considered a number of solutions. It was around this time that ine tried to make herself useful by stepping forward and suggesting, "I will stay here as your representative. I cannot escape being branded as a traitor, so-" With ine being close enough for him to reach out and touch, Vahn ended up holding his hand up to her face, silencing herpletely as he looked towards the spiraling vortex of Shinsu and said, "Rather than choose a representative directly, I would like to establish a trial to decide the future Ruler of the Name Hunt Station. The Floors exist to test those climbing the Tower, not keep them bound to one ce. You trying to force the issue is contradicting the purpose you have been given." Though it couldnt be seen through the massive vortex of Shinsu, a low grumbling could be heard emanating from the other side as the Guardian replied, "Very well...what kind of trial did you have in mind...?" Rather than answering directly, Vahn pulled out an elegant sword that looked virtually identical to the Caliburn before stabbing it into the ground and activating the Law of Authority. Then, in a voice that resonated even more so than the Guardians, he uttered, "This sword can only be drawn by the pure of heart and the righteous of character. Whoever possesses the power to pull this sword from its purchase shall be the true and rightful Ruler of the Name Hunt Station..." Though it was invisible to people like ine, Vahn and the Guardian were able to perceive a peculiar golden shimmer spreading through the area in response to the formers words. This light effectively made the stone in the surroundingspletely indestructible, and, so long as they possessed less authority than him, a Tier 5 being, nobody would be able to break the enchantment he had ced upon it. Satisfied with the result, Vahn nodded his head in approval of his own work before looking towards the spinning vortex and asking, "I trust you have no objections~?" in a discernably proud tone. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Clinging to what remains...,Vahn be like, "Youre about a 7...",Can someone please smack this smug and unoriginal asshole...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1886 Tensions : Machinations

Chapter 1886 Tensions : Machinations

With his businessrgelyplete, Vahn emerged from the Grand Gallery with ine following silently in his wake. He was, honestly speaking, tempted to just leave her behind, but, knowing this was the same as sentencing her to death, he ultimately allowed her to apany him. Fortunately, while her presence made him feel a little ufortable, her delusions werent nearly as potent as someone like Helen. She still acted like he was supposed to be the one iming her, but, rather than looking down on him for entirely contrived reasons, her heritage as a member of the Grey Wolf Tribe meant she held his strength in high regard. He had both defeated and killed her, so, while it was a little perturbing, it was hard to miss the glimmer of admiration contained in her gaze as she made sure to follow at a close yet respectable distance. Noticing said glimmer almost instantaneously, Fenrir, in particr, couldnt help squinting her eyes as she began scrutinizing ines expression and demeanor. Before she could make any headway, however, Alphine was the first to speak out, concern visible in her countenance as she asked, "Is it over...?" in an uncertain tone. Despite the unspecific nature of her words, Vahn could guess what Alphine was trying to ask, his voice calm and steady as he said, "I did not steal your Masters name. Her decision to follow me is entirely her own. Im guessing that means youre going to want to tag along as well, right?" Not expecting Vahn to be so direct, Alphine found herself at a loss for words, eyes slowly moving between the former and ine as if to determine the veracity of his statement. Unfortunately, thetter wasnt much help in this regard, as, due to her masquerading as Kaiser for thest thousand years, she had developed an extremely taciturn and moderately cold demeanor. Though she felt a considerable amount of concern for their future, Alphine ultimately suppressed a sigh as she bent a knee, lowering her head and cing one hand atop her heart as she said, "Please allow me to follow you...I vow to dedicate my everything, my mind, body, and soul in the service of your goals..." Due to the nature of the Tower and the administration of the Guardians, Alphines pledge could be considered a binding oral contract if Vahn wished to take advantage of it. Instead, he just shook his head ever-so-slightly, saying, "I require none of those things. If you want to follow your Master, Im not going to stop you. Its not like you could betray me in any meaningful way so I dont need your forced loyalty. Do what you want..." With that said, Vahn bypassed the still-kneeling Alphine to caress the heads of Fenrir and Mash, his expression rxing as he said, "Its still a little early, but lets return to the others. Things are going to get a little hectic pretty soon." Nodding their heads in affirmation, Fenrir and Mash stayed rtively close to their Master as Vahn initiated the long and leisurely walk back to the Hell Express. This made things a little awkward for Alphine and ine, but, with the former loyal to thetter and thetter trapped inside of her own delusions, Vahn wasnt particrly concerned with pandering to either. If anything, he was far more interested in their peculiar, highly pettable, Shinheuh... --- Once per year, precisely twenty-four hours after the arrival of the Hell Express, a Grand Festival was hosted. The main objective of this festival was to pit the Named and Unnamed against each other in various contests that helped to determine their value during the Grand Auction that urred at the end of the day. Though there were a number of Unnamed who had absolutely no interest in being sold off, it was considered a great opportunity for those who had been trapped in the Name Hunt Station for long periods of time. Some had been imprisoned on the rtively small ind for hundreds of years, so, while it was a little disheartening to consider, it was understandable that some would do everything in their power to make a positive impression on the people purchasing them. So long as they could appeal to one of the Ten Great Families or join one of the major factions of the Tower, there was always a chance that they could eventually earn their freedom. This wasnt too likely, but, at the very least, it was better than staying cooped in a prison-like facility for the rest of their lives. This was especially true for any female Regrs, as, due to their rtive sparsity, being trapped in the Name Hunt Station could, at times, be a fate far worse than death... Fortunately for some, Vahns sudden arrival and subsequent takeover of the Name Hunt Station had effectively freed them from their fates. For others, this was an extremely troubling affair, as, simr to ine, they had been installed there as the representatives of various factions. This was the true purpose of the Ten Bosses, and, though some had been hand-picked by ine herself, others had only risen to power because she was ordered to allow it. Now that their merchandise had effectively disappeared, including a number of Regrs that the Ten Great Families had intended to erase, nearly every Ranker that frequented the Auction House was, as could be expected, thoroughly incensed. Some of the more extreme representatives even sent their people to surround the Name Hunt Station, effectively sealing every exit until they could send their own teams of Regrs in to investigate. As the de facto rulers of the Name Hunt Station, the response of the Lo Po Bia Family was the most extreme. They immediately sent a team to surround and monitor the Hell Express, and, though they had absolutely no authority to do so, it didnt stop them from attempting to establish contact with the Train Conductor, demanding the names of every Regr inside. This ced Poe in a rtively difficult situation, but, with Vahn promising to allow him to retire to the Little Garden, he resolutely stood his ground, quoting the Hell Express rules before effectively telling the representative of the Snow Leopard Family to fuck off. Fortunately, the actions of the Lo Po Bia Family werent simply ignored by the representatives of other Families and Factions. Though there were some who attempted to sneakily make contact with the Conductor themselves, several other Families openly criticized the Lo Po Bia Family for trying to illegally interfere with the affairs of Regrs. The most vocal among these groups were the factions that had been screwed over by the Lo Po Bia Family manipting prices and forcing them to hand over exorbitant amounts of money in exchange for liberating their people. This,bined with the fact that the Lo Po Bia Family was almost universally disdained due to their perpetual pandering to the Jahad Empire, caused quite a number of people toe out of the woodworks in response to their attempted tyranny. Despite thebined censuring of six representatives from other Families, the representative of the Snow Leopard Family had simply ignored them until the appearance of a sudden outlier. The 39th Floor had been under their control for a long time, so, regardless of how vocal the representatives from the other Families might be, there wasnt really much they could do. They even had the Floor Ruler on their side, and, if necessary, the 5th Army Corp stationed on the 50th Floor could mobilize within hours toe to their aide. What the representative of the Snow Leopard Family never expected was the sudden appearance of, not one, but two Princesses of Jahad. To make matters even worse, one of these Princesses was in possession of two of the 13 Month Series, a status that gave her near-absolute authority over the Jahad Empires forces. This was more than enough to keep them in check, but, most troubling of all was the fact that the Princess in question was none other than Ha Yuri Jahad, infamous for causing all kinds of trouble throughout the Tower. Fortunately, not that it made them feel any better about the situation, the other Princess was the inarguably more famous Rank 69 Khun Maschenny Zahard, one of the few Princesses actively participating in the contest to collect the entirety of the 13 Month Series... --- Though he was aware of the events taking ce outside, Vahn had very little interest in the politics of the Tower. He would emerge to help Yuri if she was in danger, but, knowing Maschenny had only appeared due to the message he had sent, the odds of them fighting seriously were slim. She might be one of the most powerful among the current Princesses, but, simr to Adori, there wasnt much she could do about Ureko. Killing Yuri was the same as inviting the monstrous half-dragon to pay her another visit, one that would end with the loss of far more than her dignity and a pair of baby-blue panties... Unfortunately for both Princesses, Vahn had no intention of emerging from the Hell Express unless the situation changed. Yuri was terrible at acting, so, the moment he made an appearance, anyone with a functional pair of eyes would be able to discern that their rtionship wasnt exactly normal. As for Maschenny, his message asserted they would meet on the 50th Floor, so, while he was a little interested in the things she wished to discuss, he wasnt going to simply appear at her behest. Fortunately, even without meeting Maschenny directly, Vahn knew what she wanted to talk about, so, while it was difficult to have a cohesive conversation, he could learn the specifics by talking with the Law of Identity. This removed all subterfuge from the equation, and, though he had to make a number of extraptions, it wasnt hard to figure out what the Princess wanted from him without having to meet directly. In essence, Maschenny wanted to ask him to recover an item contained within the Hidden Floor, something he was already intending after his encounter with Gustang. The only change was that she also wanted him to defeat and kill the data she had left behind, a reflection of herself that was generated the first time she essed the Hidden Floor. The idea that a younger and more naive version of herself still existed made the proud Princess feel ufortable; so, using the justification that he would be releasing them from an eternity of experiencing the same mundane existence, she wanted him to destroy the system maintaining the Hidden Floor. Coincidentally, Maschenny wasnt the only person who wanted to see the Hidden Floor, or, more specifically, have their data destroyed. The same could be said for Ureko and a number of other Rankers who had previously cleared the Hell Express. For the former, this wasrgely due to the fact that the Hidden Floor simply couldnt copy her data properly. This resulted in a corrupted version of herself, something that she simply couldnt tolerate. As for the rest, they had changed a lot during their climb up the Tower, so, while they found the idea rather novel at the time, the idea that others might encounter a younger version of themselves made many Rankers feel ufortable. Unfortunately, sharing any information about the Hidden Floor erased all knowledge of its existence from a persons mind. This made it exceptionally difficult toe up with measures of erasing said data, even among Jahad and the Ten Great Families. This was where Maschennys cleverness as a member of the Khun Family came into y. She knew of his ability to read minds, so, even without discussing the matter directly, he could ascertain her intentions simply by being in close proximity. To this same end, she hade up with a number of different ns, several of which were intended to entice him to her side. She knew the vast majority of these were pointless, but, by figuring out which ones made him the most ufortable, she was intending to discover as much as she could about his nature and personality. Her ability to ascertain the intentions of others was on the level of an Innate, so, while he wasnt exactly afraid of her, Vahn wasnt in any hurry to meet the machinating Princess... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn isnt fond of women who are resolute in their delusions...,Ureko is the MVP xD...,Someone more powerful than Yuri and more intelligent than Khun...*heavy sweating*...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1887 An Encounter Between Two Princesses

Chapter 1887 An Encounter Between Two Princesses

While tensions around the Name Hunt Station continued to increase, culminating in the arrival of several other noteworthy Rankers, the two most prestigious among them, Ha Yuri Jahad and Khun Maschenny Jahad, were gathered in the most luxurious VVIP Room located aboard Kaisers Auction House. Under normal circumstances, Yuri would have never bothered to meet with Maschenny, but, due to her penchant for ovepensating whenever she was trying to put on an act, she ended up falling for the senior Princess goading. As a result, they now sat across from each other, the former with a fed-up expression on her face while thetter maintained an aloof yet calcting demeanor as she silently partook of a cup of tea... Refusing to answer Maschennys question regarding her tail, something she increasingly failed to keep hidden, Yuris expression morphed into a taunting smile as she asked, "I heard you had a run-in with Ureko? Is it true you were wearing a t-back when she exposed your bottom in front of your subordinates?" Though she behaved very calm, collected, and haughty whenever she was in control of a situation, Maschenny had never been known for her discretion and patience. Rather, she was notorious for possessing a short fuse and a predatory temperament; so, hearing Yuri make mention of her most recent encounter with Ureko, her expression immediately darkened as she said, "This brat...perhaps it is time this big sister taught you some manners..." Misinterpreting Maschennys words to be a reference to her figure, Yuri crossed her arms rather proudly under her chest, enting her rather substantial assets as she retorted, "You might have an hourss figure, but your arms, legs, and waist make you look as fragile as a twig. And whats with yourplexion? Are you actually a ghost or something!?" Momentarily confused by Yuris words, Maschenny just looked back at the much younger Princess with a look of awe and incredulity. It was only after several seconds that she understood what had happened, a weary sigh escaping her throat as she crossed her arms beneath her significantly less full but notably shapely breasts and said, "Talking with you is like trying to win an argument against a brick wall. How about we dismiss with the pleasantries and direct the conversation back to the main topic...?" Believing Maschenny was trying to challenge her, Yuri puffed out her chest even more, a massive grin spreading across her face as she mused, "You should eat more. I bet even our father likes his women with a bit of meat on their bones." With her brow twitching in response to Yuris words, Maschenny took a moment to organize her thoughts before asking, "I wonder...what is it that brought you to the Name Hunt Station around this time? As far as I know, youve never bothered to visit before. I wonder...is it truly a coincidence that you keep ending up on the same Floor as the Sage Dragon Emperor? Im also rather curious about that tail of yours...though the members of the Ha Family have a penchant for behaving like monkeys, Ive never met one with an actual tail..." Rather than answering Maschennys questions directly, Yuri just snorted through her nose before saying, "Ill be sure to tell my Grandma how you feel about the members of her family. Its been a while since the Khun and Ha Families had a war with each other. Im looking forward to it, Miss T-Back." Unable to fully restrain herself, sparks of blue electricity began to dance around Maschennys body as her hair began to rise in defiance of gravity. She understood it probably wasnt the best choice to insult the Ha Family in front of one of its most preeminent members, but, rather than backing down, her longing for battle caused her blood to boil as a sadistic smile spread across her face. There were few things she enjoyed as much as fighting, and, due to the abstinence forced upon Princesses of Jahad, it was the only reliable way in which she could release her tensions... With two battle junkies gathered in the same room, one emanating vibrant blue electricity while the other emitted a bloody red aura, it was beginning to look like a battle was unavoidable. Fortunately, they werent the only two present as every Princess of Jahad, primarily those who had already risen to be Rankers, were assigned a personal Guide to escort them around the Tower and arbitrate on their behalf. At nearly the exact same time, Evan and another Silver Dwarf, a boyish-looking individual named Lucian Edrock, called out, "Princess...!" in differing yet stern tones. This was enough to cause both Yuri and Maschenny to slowly retract their auras, as, despite being the Rank 69 High Ranker, even thetter couldnt simply ignore the advice of her Guide. They were assigned at the behest of the Jahad Empire, and, though she would never admit it, Lucians advice had saved her life on multiple asions. Though she was highly tempted to simply throw caution to the wind and see how things y out, Maschenny did her best to control her urge for battle, even going so far as to add a special sedative to her tea before going on to say, "Since you are too slow to understand something like subtlety, Ill just get to the point. Though I have yet to ascertain the particr details, I am well aware of the fact that your rtionship with the Sage Dragon Emperor predates your meeting on the 30th Floor. You are a Princess of Jahad, Yuri. Did you really think your movements would go unnoticed when youre doing things like running down to Headons Floor and spending a full month venturing to the Floor of Tests?" Catching Maschenny by surprise, Yuri made no attempt to hide her misdeeds, cocking her head to the side as she asked, "So what? I was following a lead and wanted to check something out. I wont lie and say I didnt take an interest in the Sage Dragon Emperor earlier than anyone else, but what of it? Dont tell me youre going to try and use the fact that he is an Irregr against me? We both know he isnt the person our father was worried about, so, unless youre also going to try and get rid of Ureko, you dont really have any ground to stand on. I mean, your Daddy is also an Irregr. Are you going to try and ckmail him next?" With Yuris reputation as an incurable idiot, Maschenny didnt expect her toe up with anything even remotely resembling a sound argument. In fact, even Evan was absolutely gobsmacked, mouth agape as he pinched his cheek to confirm he wasnt dreaming... Noticing the disbelief in the trios gazes, Yuris brow began to visibly twitch, index finger tapping on her arm as she added, "Go ahead and y your little games. Its not like you dont have secrets that wouldpromise your status as a Princess of Jahad. Besides, you wouldnt be here if you werent trying to scheme something. If you think you can fool me that easily, you are a hell of a lot dumber than the rumors make you out to be." Hearing Yuri, of all people, call her dumb, Maschennys expression darkened considerably. If not for the fast-acting sedative she had taken previously, it would have taken far more willpower than she currently possessed to restrain her urge to kill Yuri on the spot. Fortunately, she had the foresight to see something like thising, so, while it took a considerable amount of effort, she managed to force a smile as she answered, "It would seem that the rumors of your own stupidity were slightly exaggerated...either that or something happened to make you spontaneously mature...I wonder what that could be?" Without putting any thought into her retort, Yuri cracked a smile of her own as she said, "Im still far from the point of wearing a T-Back. You know, now that I think about it...could it be that you were actually looking forward to having your ass exposed? I mean, why else would you choose to wear such risque panties when nobody is supposed to see them?" Fed up with Yuri continuously mentioning the incident with Ureko, Maschenny bounded to her feet with a start, shouting, "You intolerable ape! Dont act as if you had nothing to do with that blonde bitchs prank! I know you both met with the Sage Dragon Emperor on the 20th Floor...!" Amused by the rise she was getting out of Maschenny, Yuris smile became even more apparent as she asked, "Yet you still wore such risque panties? I know you werent the first person Ureko visited. I was just joking earlier, but it looks like you really did want to have your ass exposed..." With a rare blush coloring her cheeks, Maschenny was very close to throwing all caution to the wind and simply attacking Yuri. A growing part of her was even looking forward to the battle with Ureko, but, understanding she wouldnt even be able to make the perverted tyrant serious, she ultimately managed to preserve thest vestiges of her self-control as she said, "Very good, Yuri...it seems like you are beginning to mature into a worthy opponent. Once youre tired of cowering behind Ureko and your Great Grandmother, please, let me know...Im curious to see how much youll enjoy having your ass spanked in front of your closest allies..." Completely ignoring the threat contained in Maschennys words, Yuri couldnt help but raise her brows as she asked, "Wait...does that mean you actually enjoyed it!?" Inhaling a deep breath, potent blue electricity began to dance around Maschennys body as she shouted, "Lucian! Were leaving!" in a wrath-filled tone. This caused the surprisingly ancient youth to nearly spill his tea, his expression turning flustered as he was caught between bowing to Evan, his superior, and chasing after the enraged Princess Maschenny. Feeling bad for his junior, Evan offered a wry smile and a wave before shifting his attention to Yuri the moment the duo exited the room, remarking, "Princess Maschenny is currently one of the most influential Princesses of Jahad. Though I cant help feeling a little proud of you for actually standing up to her, this might not have been the best course of action. Without interference from Ureko and anomalies like the Sage Dragon Emperor, standing in opposition to Princess Maschenny is the same as choosing death..." With Maschenny having, at the very least, five other senior Princesses on her side, even Yuri could understand the danger of opposing her. With the exceptions of Adori, the Commander-in-Chief of the entire Jahad Army, and Enne, considered by many to be the most powerful Princess of Jahad to ever exist, Maschenny was easily the most powerful and influential among the present Princesses. She had not only participated in the battle to capture Enne after the legendary Princess had gone berserk, but, despite the propensity of Princesses to avoid each other, Maschenny had managed to convince a substantial number to support her. Though there were a few notable exceptions, virtually every Princess of Jahad wielded a substantial amount of influence within the Tower. As a result, Maschenny possessed a degree of influence that far exceeded most other Princesses. This made standing against her extraordinarily dangerous, but, as could be expected, Yuri didnt care in the slightest. Instead, she justughed off Evans concerns, cackling like a hyena for nearly a full minute before saying, "Youre relying too much on things likemon sense. I might have worried about someone like Maschenny in the past, but that is in the past. Now that someone like Vahn has entered the Tower, why should I worry about the schemes of others? I mean, just imagine how many people are about to be royally fucked just by him passing through. Im looking forward to seeing what kind of expressions those ancient monsters will make when all their ns are brought to ruin...!" Surprised by the sensibility of Yuris words, Evan felt a mix of pride and concern as he cautiously inquired, "Are you really the same Princess Yuri I know...?" Rolling her eyes, Yuri rose from the chair she had been seated in, stretching her rather voluptuous body as she replied, "Youre too caught up in the past. Im obviously not the same person as I was back then. Now that things are beginning to move forward, we need to be ready and willing to do the same. Ill be damned if Im going to remain the butt of every joke due to my Intelligence stat...!" With a fire in her eyes and balled fists, Yuri seemed to be looking towards a future that Evan, even as a Guide, couldnt see. This made him feel a little ufortable, but, thanks to his Innate ability to ascertain whether or not someone was telling the truth, he could, at the very least, confirm this was the same Yuri he had watched grow up over thest hundred or so years...albeit with the added passion of a delusional maiden... (A/N: Alternate Titles: TFW when you need to take a sedative just to stop yourself from blowing a gasket...,Yuri be like, "That T-Back tho...",Evans worries are only just beginning...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1888 Growing Tensions

Chapter 1888 Growing Tensions

Though he continued to monitor the events taking ce outside through the Law of Identity, Vahn had already put the matters of the Name Hunt Station behind him. He didnt care how many people he had upset, and, were it not for the presence of Yuri, he might have even gone out to teach those conspiring against him a lesson. Instead, he had Poe forward a message for him when Evan secretly made contact, promising to meet with her after his arrival at the Last Station. Needless to say, Yuri wasnt enthused by the five-month rain check, so, prior to her departure from the Name Hunt Station, she made sure to pester the Lo Po Bia Family as much as possible. This left the representative of the Snow Leopard Family feeling greatly exasperated, not because of Yuri, but because he would undoubtedly be held ountable for losing control over the Name Hunt Station and allowing the perpetrators to escape. He wanted nothing more than to send a group of Regrs into the Hell Express to smoke everyone out, but, with less than a day to act,bined with the fact it was very difficult to find a Regr capable of defeating Kaiser, this was simply impossible. In the end, the representative of the Snow Leopard Family could do little more than report what had happened to his superiors, embellishing facts as much as possible in order to shift the me onto others. Specifically, he wanted the Grey Wolf Family to be held ountable for the actions of their progeny, but, with most of their living being unaware of ines existence, this was difficult to achieve. This left him with no choice but toy the me on the other Families, specifically pointing fingers at the various representatives who had stood in opposition to them for the past thousand or so years. Though the Elders of the Lo Po Bia Family werent foolish enough to openly antagonize the other Ten Families, that didnt prevent them from trying to leverage the incident to curry favor with the Jahad Empire. They unhesitantly added to the rumors circting around Vahn, outright using him of rebelling against the Empire and conspiring with FUG to dethrone the King. Thispelled the Royal Enforcement Division to take action, as, no matter how unsubstantiated the im, even a rumor regarding rebellion was uneptable in the eyes of Jahads most zealous forces. With the reputation of the Royal Enforcement Division, it was no surprise to anyone that they were ready and willing to take action to protect the reputation and honor of the Jahad Empire. Infinitely more surprising was the fact that, shortly after the usation was filed, the 1st, 4th, and 5th Army Corps began to mobilize. Since the 5th Army Corps was almost entirelyprised of members of the Lo Po Bia Family, their mobilization was well within the expectations of the various forces monitoring the incident. What none of them expected was that the 1st Corps, headed by none other than Adori Jahad, had been mobilized. As could be expected, the 1st Corps included many of the Jahad Empires most powerful forces and assets. Adori, in particr, was the current Rank 7 among all the Towers Rankers, so, while it wasnt too surprising that she would mobilize to pressure someone like Ureko, nobody expected her to be tasked with squashing a rumor. This led many to suspect there was some greater meaning behind her mobilization, and, though he had already garnered the attention of virtually every faction in the Tower, the eyes of every pertinent party had momentarily shifted to Vahn and the Hell Express... --- Largely unaware of the magnitude of the events he had set into motion, Vahn spent the first ten days aboard the Hell Express earning the right to advance to the next Floor before spending the better part of two weeks attempting to ess the Hidden Floor. His instincts were telling him that he might not have as much time as he would like, so, while he always had the option of stealing the entire train, that was a measure he wanted to save until he had no other choice. After all, the Hell Express took him directly to several important locations, and, while they were possible to find using conventional methods, it was the simplest and most expedient way of achieving his current series of objectives. Unfortunately, without outright destroying the door, Vahn had yet to find a way to gain ess to the Hidden Floor. The Workshop had put in a considerable amount of effort to effectively make it imprable, so, even if they possessed the power of a High Ranker, breaching the door was nigh-impossible. Even if they could, doing so riskedpromising the integrity of the Hidden Floor, so, without one of the three Master Keys that had been created, it was beginning to seem like his only option was to wait until he had cleared the Floor of Death... Realizing he was stillcking in a number of ways, Vahn couldnt help exhaling an exasperated sigh as he removed his hand from the deceptively simple-looking metal door barring his passage. This earned him a pointed look from the blonde bombshell standing at his side, followed by a roll of the eyes as she said, "There is no sense in moping around. Arent you always telling those brats about how sad and lonely it is to stand at the top? To that end, not being able to aplish something is a blessing. It means you still have room for growth." Chuckling in response to the womans words, Vahn shifted his attention to the beauty, smiling as he said, "Youre right. As expected of my former Master..." Before she could go on about showing her proper respect, Vahn coiled his arms around Evas waist, forcing her to stand on the tips of her toes as he stole a kiss. This caused her to fluster slightly, not because she was embarrassed by the act, but because there were quite a number of other people present to witness it. Despite this, she made no effort to try and break free. Instead, she returned his embrace with her own, enjoying the moment for several seconds before biting his tongue hard enough to draw a line of blood. Rather than retract the offending appendage, Vahn continued to kiss Eva for an additional minute before finally releasing her from his grasp. This caused her face to turn beet red, but, at the same time, there was a visible fire in her eyes after ingesting his blood. If not for the peanut gallery in attendance, she might have pushed him down then and there. Instead, she balled her hand into a fist, spontaneously condensing a monumental amount of Shinsu into a vibrant blue sphere as she smashed it into his chest with the force of a freight train. Though he had allowed her to bite his tongue, the idea of having most of the bones in his body shattered wasnt very appealing. As a result, Vahn couldnt help but release his domain, a slightly apologetic smile developing across his face as he allowed her fist to impact his chest without any discernible effect. This caused Eva to click her tongue, but, rather than continue the assault, she just sent him a look that conveyed prepare yourself before shifting her attention to Anna, Weiss, and Yura, asking, "What are you brats gawking at...?" Being rtively sensible, Anna and Yura elected to remain silent in response to Evas inquiry. Weiss, however, possessed the fearlessness of amb wandering into the domain of a lion. Thus, without any hesitation whatsoever, she happily chimed, "We were watching the two of you make out! That was pretty intense~!" while performing a thumbs-up gesture. Having gotten a little closer to Weiss over the course of several weeks, Eva wasnt too surprised by her response. That didnt prevent her expression from darkening, however, an eerieugh emitting from her throat as she asked, "Is that so...?" Though she didnt understand why Eva was angry, Weiss instinctspelled her to manifest her sword and adopt a defensive posture as she flew backward at a remarkable speed. To her surprise, this reaction was met with an amused chuckle from Eva, who, rather than attack, mused, "That is a good reaction. If only you had the same discernment when it came to reading a situation..." Confused by Evas words, Weiss was about to ask for rification when the fine hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. At the same time, her pupils shrank to the size of pinholes as she witnessed the smiling figure of Eva fade away, a phenomenon that urred simultaneously with a light poke to the back of her head. Taking advantage of the white-haired beautys momentary stupor, Eva went on to teasingly remark, "For someone whose swordsmanship revolves around the maniption of Space, your perception is a littlecking. If you truly believed I was going to attack you, the correct response would have been to charge forward. After all, beyond a certain range, I have an absolute advantage..." Adopting a slight pout, Weiss moved away from Evas caress before asking, "How did you disappear like that? I couldnt sense you at all." Answering in lieu of the chuckling Eva, Vahn earned himself another pointed look from the former as he exined, "She didnt erase her presence. You were just too focused on the bloodlusting from your front that you didnt notice her spatial transference. Though her words arent wrong, the truth of the matter is that you are too reliant on your ability to perceive threats. Against someone skilled in assassination techniques, you are at a massive disadvantage since the best assassins can erase both their presence and killing intent." Understanding Vahns exnation a little better, Weiss adopted an even more expressive pout as she shifted her attention toward Eva and used, "You cheated...!" Finished with her telepathic threats to Vahn, Eva turned to meet Weiss gaze as she said, "Unless they have been stipted beforehand, there are no rules of engagement. Even then, you should always harbor the expectation that your opponent will do everything in their power to cheat. Dont me me for yourck of experience. Take this as a lesson and use it to improve." Though she was still rtively naive, Weiss had learned enough about Eva to understand that she was being petty. Unfortunately, there wasnt much she could do about it, as, despite possessing far greater reserves, her inability to manipte external Shinsu meant she became noticeably weaker as a fight progressed. Inversely, Eva had an unparalleled mastery over the maniption of Shinsu in the environment, so, while her internal reserves werent anything impressive, she got progressively stronger as the fight dragged on. Emting Evas habit of clicking her tongue, Weiss allowed her body tozily list through the air, arms crossed as she began willfully ignoring the former. This caused Evas brow to twitch, forcing her to take a few deep breaths in an effort to calm down. Then, demonstrating just how petty she could be, she answered Weisss action in kind, ignoring the ghostly maiden until Vahn stepped in to mediate between the two... --- Due to the presence of numerous fungal colonies dominating the entire Floor, both Regrs and Rankers tended to avoid the 40th Floor. This allowed it to be a safe haven for those seeking refuge, and, thanks to the presence of an individual known as David Hockney, possessing eyes that allowed him to see into the future, those residing on the Floor were able to avoid most dangers. Unfortunately, even with his ability to see the future, there was nothing Hackney could do to help his fellow Regrs prepare for the arrival of an entire Division of the Jahad Army. To make matters even worse, there seemed to be several people within the military who knew about his ability, so, no matter what action he took to prevent it, all futures showed him being captured. Thus, in order to avoid death and buy time for hispatriots, he ended up handing himself over without a fight. Minutester, he found himself being forced to kneel in front of an indescribably beautiful woman with golden hair and matching eyes, her only w being the ice-cold expression on her face as she began asking him various questions about the future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Politicians are cancer...,Tier 5 Tsundere...,Well, this is escting quickly...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1889 Emergence

Chapter 1889 Emergence

Several hours prior to their arrival at the 40th Floors train station, known best as the Mushroom Farm, Vahn received a rather urgent message from Poro Poe, the Hell Express interim Conductor. This wasnt anything particrly abnormal, especially considering they were inbound towards the station. The contents of said message, however, were extremely troubling as, even with his current power, Vahn wasnt entirely sure how he would fare against an entire Division of the Jahad Army... Fortunately, while the enemy hade out in force, they hadntmitted to a specific course of action just yet. The main purpose of their presence seemed to be to obtain information, so, rather than blocking the Hell Express from entering the station, they had simply cordoned off the region in preparation for conducting their investigation. The real issue was that several squadrons of Suspend Ships had been sent to intercept the Express, and, as could be expected, they had been demanding to speak with Pedro. Though he could have easily pretended to be Pedro, Vahn knew that the Jahad Army had already been made aware of his connection with FUG. He alsocked the Administrative authority required to abide by their boarding requests, so, regardless of how convincing his performance might have been, it served no actual purpose. The Jahad Empire had already made the determination that the Hell Express had been hijacked, so, in the end, any procedures they came up with were simply ploys to secure an advantage. With few other options, Vahn told Poe to go with the flow and pretend to cooperate with the Jahad Armys requests. So long as they could enter the Mushroom Farm unabated, it would be difficult for the encircling Rankers to take action. Their best course of action would be to stop the express prior to or immediately after its departure. After all, though they were the preeminent forces of the Jahad Empire, they couldnt simply ignore the Laws of the Tower without first reaching apromise with the Guardians... --- Since there was a chance he might not be able to recover the Hell Express and ce it into his Little Garden before the Empire intervened, Vahns first course of action was to recover Mordred from the Rice Pot. She had been inside for the better part of three months, so, while there was still a ways to go before shepleted the process of Revolution, her power had already increased by several-fold. In fact, thanks to the system interface of his Unit Management, Vahn had been able to view her rather substantial growth in real-time... -------------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Mordred Aldrnari Pendragon], Sobriquet: N/A Age: 335 Days [Ageless](A/N: Dont forget that they were basically reborn into the current Record.) Race: True Dragon Parameters: [Transcendental Path to Heaven: 1-6] Position(s): Scout, Fisherman Strength: B-Rank Regr -\u003e E-Rank Ranker Durability: B-Rank Regr -\u003e D-Rank Ranker Intellect: D-Rank Regr -\u003e C-Rank Regr Agility: C-Rank Regr -\u003e A-Rank Regr Control: C-Rank Regr -\u003e F-Rank Ranker Shinsu: [Quality: Sword], [Total: 39,600-\u003e490,600], [Baang: 1], [Myun:198-\u003e2,453], [Soo:198-\u003e2,453], [Tension: 100] Soul Tier: 4 (Divine Soul) Karma: 159 Innate(s): [Sage Dragon Emperors Pampered Princess(Mind): SSS], [Inheritor of the Emperors Will(Spirit): S-\u003eSS], [War Goddess Wrath(Emission): S], [Chimeric Queens Blessed Body(Body): C-\u003eD] Skill(s): [Anti-Dragon Constitution: S], [Dragon Transformation: A], [Aura of the me Dragon: A], [Dragons Breath: A], [Domination: B], [Extrasensory Perception: B], [Enhanced Reflexes(Ranker): B], [Swordsman(Ranker): C], [Cutting(Ranker): D], [Wave Controller(Regr): B], [Flow Control(Regr): B], [Shinsu Enhancement(Ranker): D] -------------------------------------------------- Though she still had a long way to go before she could be considered truly powerful, Mordred was well on her way to reaching the pinnacle of power within the Tower. Unfortunately, while she would be more than a match for the average Ranker, her power was iparable to a High Rankers. This put Vahn in a difficult situation, as, the moment she emerged from the Rice Pot, he knew she would be eager to test her power. Had the situation been slightly different, Vahn wouldnt have had any problems allowing Mordred to participate in theing battle. Unfortunately, the markings visible on their escorts indicated that the Division waiting for them was none other than the 1st Army Corps, the most powerful force in the Jahad Army. This was a fight even he might not be able to emerge unscathed from, so, while it was difficult for him to say no to his pampered princess, Vahn had already steeled himself to do just that. With this in mind, Vahn had Donar deactivate the spell on the Rice Pot, his expression bing a mask of sternness as he prepared himself for Mordreds emergence. To his surprise, the only thing that greeted him was silence, so, without asking what the issue was, he immediately leaped to the mouth of the Rice Pot in order to view the interior. Seeing a chibi version of Mordred sleeping near the very center of the peculiar pressure chamber, a relieved sigh escaped Vahns lips as he dropped down to pick her up. What he never could have expected was that, immediately after his descent, a rather aggressive lion cub extricated itself from Mordreds embrace, hissing at him with zing, star-like, eyes. Noticing the wings on the peculiar lion cubs back,bined with the fact it possessed scales on its forelimbs, it didnt take long for Vahn to intuit its origins. Despite this, an amused smile immediately spread across his face as he raised the cub by the scruff, ignoring its struggles and attempts to bite his hand. This caused Mordred to stir awake, a loud yawn originating from her throat as she raised her arms, stretching as she asked, "What the hell are you whining about now...?" Shifting her attention towards the direction of the noise, Mordreds body froze, eyes widening as she noticed her Chichiue smiling down at her. For a brief moment, she was tempted to rub her eyes and pinch herself, but, thanks to her enhanced senses, she could tell he was the real deal from his scent alone. This caused her to promptly pounce up, shouting, "Papa~!" without considering the mental damage Vahn would suffer from such an exmation... --- After helping to replenish her reserves, Vahn retired to an area in the outer rings to spend some quality time with Mordred before asking about her experiences in the Rice Pot and exining the situation outside. Fortunately, this tertiary conversation took ce with her sitting naked on hisp, so, while she was eager to join him in the battle, it didnt take too much effort for him to convince her to remain in the Little Garden. He just needed to promise her that he would pensate her for the three months she had spent in the Rice Pot. After that, well...dragons will be dragons... --- With his preparationsrgely finished, Vahn spent the final few hours of his journey meditating near one of the Hell Express many exits. He was actually looking forward to theing fight quite a bit, so, before he did something foolish, he wanted to get in the proper state of mind. After all, Adori was the current Rank 7. This ced her at a higher rank than some of the Family Leaders, so, while it was nearly impossible for her to defeat them due to their contracts with the Guardians, it wasnt an exaggeration to say she was one of the strongest beings in the entire Tower. If he held nothing back, Vahn was certain he would be able to defeat, not just Adori, but the entire 1st Division with rtive ease. More urately, he could actually wipe them out without having to face them directly, as, much like when he fought against the Olympians and Velbar, exploding his own body was always an option. This, however, always left a bad taste in his mouth, so, rather than resort to extreme measures from the start, he wanted to see how far his understanding of the Laws could take him against a foe whose power also defied conventional reasoning. Exhaling a stagnant breath he had been holding for more than three hours, Vahn opened his eyes just as the door before him began to open. Then, without any hesitation, he stepped out into the surprisingly colorful Floor, his mind wandering to memories of the time Xysterias power had gotten out of hand as his eyes shifted to the multitude of Regrs grouped on the tform below... Recognizing Vahn as the person they were sent to investigate, the five groups, each representing different Sponsored Teams, immediately became tense. This was especially true for the group at the very back of the formation, as, for a brief moment, Vahns expression darkened to the extreme as he muttered, "How the hell is this clown on the 40th Floor...?" Though he didnt understand why Vahn was glowering at him, anky green-skinned man that was almost indistinguishable from Parakewl, the only exception being several scars on his face, adopted a haughty expression as he shouted, "Y-You trash! Traitorous swing! Get down here this instant and obediently surrender to the mighty Pinnacle! Dont make this harder than it needs to be...!" Hearing the mans familiar voice, Vahns expression became even darker as he turned to the Law of Identity and telepathicallymunicated, "Never transform into this guy..." before she could reveal the mans innermost thoughts. Then, with a far more rxed expression on his face, he directed his attention to a massive gship looming in the distance, its dimensionsrge enough to encapste an entire city with room to spare. Despite the distance of several kilometers, Vahn could easily see the figure of a truly breathtaking woman with golden hair and matching eyes standing on the bow of the manta-like ship. It wasnt without reason that she was considered the most beautiful among the Princesses of Jahad, and, had he not met even more beautiful women, Vahn might have been smitten by Adoris god-like beauty at first sight. Instead, he just offered her a rxed smile and a casual wave, actions that earned him a slight frown from the woman with a sobriquet matching the most powerful Shinheuh in the entire Tower, the Killer Whale... Annoyed by the fact that he was being ignored, the Parakewl-like Pinnacle began to stamp his foot in an expression of frustration before pointing his skeletal green finger toward Vahn and shouting, "What are you pieces of garbage waiting for!? Capture this man and string him up so that we can present him to the Princess!" Reacting to Pinnacles words, the majority of Regrs belonging to other teams looked toward him with expressions of scorn. This caused the man to visibly shrink, his unhealthyplexion turning a shade more sickly as he muttered, "W-What the hell are you guys looking at? Dont tell me...are you nning to betray the Jahad Empire and side with the enemy...!?" Unable to ignore Pinnacles words, a muscr figure who resembled a bipedal wolf unsheathed an inordinately long katana, saying, "Shut your nderous mouth. The next time you try and insinuate something like that, Ill shave your tongue into a thousand different slices." Covering his mouth with both hands, Pinnacle took several steps back, cowering behind the other members of his team as the three-meter tall wolfman continued to stare him down. Then, with a very simr expression, he shifted his attention towards Vahn, his voice gruff and challenging as he asked, "Well? What are you waiting for? Your only options are to surrender or fight. Stop dawdling." Moving his eyes away from the wolfmans fluffy ears, the corners of Vahns smile became ever-so-slightly more prominent as he mused, "I never anticipated I would meet a Lycanthian Swordsman as a Sponsored Regr. Things must be rather dire for the people of Lycanthia for you to sell yourself to your sworn enemy..." Frowning deeply in response to Vahns words, the muscr wolfman unsheathed his second sword before replying in a dark tone, "I am doing what I must in order to ensure the survival of my people. You have no right to pass judgment on anyone. Now, if you arent going toe down...Ill just-" Before the wolfman could begin his charge up the long flight of stairs, Vahns figure appeared right in front of him. This caused the pupils of his golden eyes to shrink, his instinctspelling him to leap backward since it was difficult for him to attack someone so close to his body. Unfortunately, the moment he tried, it was like both of his legs had turned to jelly, forcing him to copse to the ground as he, just then, became aware of the fist-shaped indentation in his abdominal muscles... Resisting the urge to pet the wolfmans head, Vahn matched gazes with several of the Regrs encircling him, smiling as he remarked, "Dont worry. I cant promise you wont suffer a few minor scrapes and bruises, but I can at least guarantee your lives. e at me..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Resistance is futile...!,Mordred is so spoiled (OwO)...,Barely escaped with his dignity...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1890 Baptism

Chapter 1890 Baptism

With the strongest among them being around the level of a C-Rank Regr, it took very little effort for Vahn to defeat the boarding party prepared by the Jahad Army. This caused quite a stir among the encircling party, but,pared to the events that followed, the defeat of a few Regrs wasnt very noteworthy. Though he could have stayed inside the area assigned to Regrs, Vahn was well aware of the fact that, among Jahads forces, specifically within the 1st Army Corps, there were a number of methods they could use to simply ignore the Towersws. This would result in the unnecessary deaths of a substantial number of Regrs, several of which had fled to the 40th Floor in search of a peaceful life. Thus, rather than turtle up and y the part of a coward, he surprised nearly everyone present by slowly rising into the air, emerging from the invisible dome enclosing the tform with a rxed smile on his face. Demonstrating a remarkable amount of discipline, none of the Rankers present attempted to attack him. Instead, they actually began a gradual retreat as several High Rankers, a surprising number of which were beautiful women, formed a loose encirclement around his aerial position. This included Adori Jahad, and, somewhat surprisingly, two other Princesses... With his smile turning noticeably wrier, Vahn shifted his gaze from a rather heroic-looking woman with white hair, golden eyes, and a cross-shaped scar running across her nose to a striking beauty with an hourss figure, pale-blue hair, and electric-blue eyes. The former was none other than the culprit behind Whites original defeat, the Ranked 36 Arie Hagipherione Jahad. As for thetter, who else could it be if not Khun Maschenny Jahad? Though there were a number of other beauties present, none stood out in the presence of three of the Towers most famous Princesses. The only exception to this was a woman with a bushy tail and rounded ears reminiscent of a Snow Leopard, but, other than sending a cursory nce her way, the majority of Vahns attention was on the golden-haired beauty floating at his front. Her beauty was simply on another levelpared to everyone else encircling him, but, most importantly, her power made her stand out like a Sun among various lesser Moons. Doing his best to fix his expression, Vahns wry simper gradually rxed into an amiable smile as he remarked, "I wonder if I should feel honored or concerned that the Jahad Empire has deemed my existence worthy of three Princesses of Jahad..." Demonstrating the confidence expected of someone who had been chosen as the Commander-in-Chief of the entire armed forces, Adori showed little change in expression as she smoothly asserted, "We might have ignored you if you were an ordinary Irregr. It is your ability to veil yourself from both observation and prophecy that have necessitated such an extreme response. Your existence is an unknown variable, something that cannot be regted using conventional means. If you do not surrender here and now, we will have no choice but to eliminate you." As he might do the same against perceived threats to his own Empire, Vahn couldnt help but nod his head in response to Adoris exnation. Part of him was even tempted to surrender since it was virtually guaranteed that he would be escorted higher up the Tower in Imperial custody. This would drastically reduce the time taken to reach the top of the Tower, and, depending on how he yed things, he might even be able to undermine the Empire from the inside. Unfortunately, Vahn had been looking forward to battling against the Towers strongest, so, while turning himself in was always an option, it wasnt at the top of his list. Instead, he adopted a teasing smile, eliciting hateful res from Adori, Maschenny, and even Hagipherione as he asked, "Are you sure this isnt personal? I know you secretly hold me responsible for Urekos recent actions. Though I wont deny my responsibility in the matter, do you genuinely believe I have the means to control such an unruly woman?" Answering in Adoris stead, Hagipherione manifested an inordinately long ymore in her right hand as she said, "Enough. I only agreed toe here for one reason. Tell me, what do you know of a man called White?" Despite Adori representing the greatest danger among those present, Vahn shifted his attention away from her, directing it to the swordswoman hovering in his blindspot before answering, "You already know the answer to that question. The fact your father sent you to inquire should be proof enough. After all, it was his sensing of Hoaqins death that brought you here..." Frowning at the mention of Hoaqins name, a heaven-defying sword intent began to emanate from Hagipheriones body as she muttered, "I see..." in a surprisingly venomous tone. This caused Vahns brows to rise slightly, as, prior to this moment, he believed that Hoaqin had actually been lucky to escape Hagipheriones pursuit. Now, even without needing the Law of Identity to confirm, he could see there were personal reasons behind his survival... Shaking his head, Vahns aura began to surge outward as he said, "It seems the time for talking hase and gone. Such a shame..." Punctuating his words, Vahn raised his hand in an attempt to grasp the silvery de cutting toward him with earth-rending force. To the surprise of many, this actually worked, but, at the same time, a thin line of blood began to flow from a shallow cut across his palm. This caused the smile on Vahns face to be even more prominent, an appreciative glimmer appearing in his suddenly gold eyes as he said, "Not bad..." Sensing a tremendous threat, Hagipherione instantly darted back at near-light speed, her sword drawing several impable sword beams that seemed to blend into the surrounding space beforeing at him from various angles. These attacks were exponentially stronger than her initial strike, and, thanks to the infusion of Shinsu and Sword Intent, there were very few things they couldnt cut through. Without altering the flow of time, a difficult feat due to the number of powerful entities within his domain, Vahn couldnt actually dodge Hagipheriones attacks. He could perceive them rather easily, but, due to her mastery of the Arie Familys sword techniques,bined with the fact she was very close to the level of a Grandmaster, each of the sword beams actively responded to his movements. As a result, several ended up passing cleanly through his body, confusing Hagipherione quite a bit due to the expectations she had formed during their initial exchange. Under normal circumstances, Vahn would have dly exined the State of Nothingness to aid in Hagipheriones understanding of what had happened, but, before either of them could react, thetter found herself teleported away as a spiraling vortex of Shinsu several hundred meters across enveloped the formers body. Realizing what had happened, Hagipheriones expression became unbelievably cold as she shifted her attention from the red Suspsend Ship hovering high in the sky to the golden-haired woman at her side, saying, "I did not require nor ask for your assistance. How could you deploy the El Robina for something like this?" With very little change in her own expression, Adori nced at Hagipherione from the corner of her eyes as she said, "This is not a private matter for you to resolve as a member of the Arie Family. Our mission is to capture or kill the man known as Vahn Aldrnari Mason before he can be a threat to the Empire. Im not fond of these kinds of measures either, but, for the sake of peace, I am willing to do whatever it takes. If we fail to deal with him here and now, billions could die in the war that is toe..." Though she felt guilty about the Regrs that would inevitably perish due to the El Robinas attack, Adori did her best to harden her heart and remainposed. The fact Vahn could block the attack of a Top 50 Ranker with his bare hands was all the evidence she needed to ascertain he was a threat to the Empire. Dealing with Ureko was already troublesome enough. Thest thing they needed was a second monster roaming around the Tower with utter disregard for the Empire and its policies... Clicking her tongue in response to Adoris exnation, Hagipherione shifted her attention back to the peculiar Suspend Ship designed specifically to eliminate High Rankers. There were only ten of the eerie red weapon tform in the entire Tower, and, due to the contract established during their construction, they were one of the few weapons capable of firing upon areas reserved for Regrs. This functionality was originally intended to deal with High Rankers attempting to hide within areas reserved for Regrs. Now, however, its purpose had been profaned in order to eliminate a single Regr, sacrificing countless others in the process... Feeling severely disappointed with the oue, Hagipherione was preparing to leave the moment El Robina finished firing. She greatly despised this way of doing things, and, though she understood Adoris reasoning, she couldnt help thinking it was a waste of time to congregate three Princess of Jahad and more than a dozen High Rankers if they were just going to let a machine do all the work. For a brief moment, Hagipherione was hoping to see Vahn emerge unscathed from the El Robinas attack. She was confident in her own ability to withstand its might, so, considering he was able to catch her de, there was a very real chance he would be able to survive. In her mind, this made the firing of the El Robina even more foolish, as, based on Vahns behavior, he had been more than willing to face them without requiring any sacrifices to be made. With the El Robinas massive beam of Shinsu gradually fading away, Hagipherione couldnt help frowning when she noticed the massive spiraling crater where the train tform once stood. Vahn was nowhere to be seen, and, as could be expected, all of the Regrs they had prepared in order to board the Hell Express had vanished alongside him. The only thing virtually unscathed was the Hell Express itself, but, considering it was one of the greatest masterpieces of the Workshop, that was never really a concern. While everyone elses attention was focused on the devastation caused by the El Robinas attack, Adori took a moment to exhale an inaudible sigh of relief, eyes closed as she quietly remarked, "I pray each of you finds happiness in the next life. May your souls find peace beyond the confines of this nightmarish Tower..." Though she had never seen it for herself, Adori had heard countless tales of the world that existed beyond the Tower. Many of these stories ended in tragedy due to the remarkably short lifespans of those who lived outside, but, after living for more than five-thousand-years, Adori found the idea of a short lifespan rather novel. Immortality was not without its shorings, and, were it not for hermitment to preventing war and helping to maintain order within the Tower, she might have lost herself like countless other Rankers... Taking a deep breath to help steady her heart, Adori was preparing to issue the order to withdraw when a peculiar green hue seemed to saturate the surrounding space for several tens of kilometers. This caused her pupils to contract, her aura exploding outward as two des formed from golden crystal manifested behind her like a pair of wings. This wasnt her first time witnessing an ability that could influence the flow of time, so, even though she felt no particr threat, it didnt stop her from igniting her Golden November, the only S-Rank weapon among the 13 Month Series. Before Adori could do something troublesome, Vahn manifested a few meters behind her, his voice calm yet firm as he said, "I will fight you in a moment. For now, you should behave until Ive finished restoring this ce to its original form. Unless your remorse exists solely to help justify your actions, you will not intervene. Im being serious here...you dont want to piss me off..." Though it was like resisting the pressure of a mountain range, Adori turned her head to face Vahn without any discernible difficulties, her expression unchanging as she said, "Very well...once you are finished, we will move this battle elsewhere. I trust you have no problems with that...?" Offering a smile that didnt quite reach his eyes, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation, saying, "Of course. Would I be able to call myself man if I could refuse the invitation of such a beauty? Ill keep youpany for as long as you want...Princess..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Empire came out to y...,*insert Ea sound effect*,Oh my (O w O)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1891 Civility

Chapter 1891 Civility

Of all possible reactions, thest thing Vahn expected was for Adori to turn statuesque in response to his words. At the exact same time, the Law of Identity beganughing maniacally, hands holding her stomach as she revealed, "You short-circuited her brain by making her think lewd thoughts. She intends topletely thrash you now~." As if to demonstrate this was the case, a resolute light flickered within Adoris eyes as she said, "You have a glib tongue...it seems you need to be taught how to respect women..." Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn focused on repairing the damage done by the El Robina as Hagipherione and Maschenny gradually liberated themselves from the influence of his domain. This was a testament to their capacities as Top 100 Rankers, but,pared to Adori, they werecking in a number of ways. Maschenny, in particr, seemed annoyed by the fact she was thest to break free, her expression morphing into a challenging scowl as she brandished her Yellow May, a sun-like spear that caused her characteristically blue Shinsu to resemble bands of golden lightning. Fortunately, with various schemes formting inside of her head, Maschenny was able to suppress her urge to rush into battle, her scowl rxing into a mask of amusement as she remarked, "This is quite the scene...three Princesses of Jahad standing around a presumed enemy of the Empire as he resurrects our people and mends the damage caused by Imperial forces...I wonder what our Father would think of this?" Frowning almost imperceptibly in response to Maschennys words, Adori sent a warning look to the former before shifting her attention back to Vahn and saying, "Though I find her selection of words rather troubling, it would be remiss of me to ignore the unusualnesses of the current situation. Tell me, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, what are your true intentions? Are you truly an enemy of the Empire? Will you not join hands with us to help ensure the peace and prosperity of all the Towers inhabitants?" With most of the damage undone, Vahn shifted his gaze to match Adoris, an usatory glimmer in his eyes as he remarked, "An interesting thing to say considering the widespread corruption present within the Empire and abroad. Why is it that the same people who establish systems that suppress and exploit others always mention things like protecting everyone and ensuring peace? Are you justpletely ignorant of your own faults and theck of oversight in your administration? Other than ensuring your personal prosperity and maintaining a system that allows those in power to act withplete impunity, what are you doing to actually make the Tower a better ce?" For the first time since the start of their encounter, Adoris expression changed drastically, her calm and unperturbed countenance morphing into a resolute grimace as she said, "I cannot agree with such poorly considered sentiments. Though I cant deny the existence of corruption among Imperial officials and members of the Ten Great Families, your words ignore therger issues and the tireless efforts we make to weed out such troublesome elements. Have you ever given any consideration as to why the Inner and Middle Towers were established? What about the Ranking Administration that allows even our enemies to be ssified in ordance with their power and authority? If you truly possess the power to read peoples minds and know their most profound secrets, you would be a fool to question mymitment to the Tower and its inhabitants. I dont pretend to be perfect, but Ive dedicated thest five-thousand-years to preserving the peace and bettering the lives of those who respect Imperial rule. What are you doing to make things better other than selectively helping the people you deem worthy whilst destroying systems intended to monitor and regte people who, by virtue of being chosen as Regrs, have already proven themselves as self-centered and greedy individuals?" Surprised by the fervor of Adoris words, Vahn, Maschenny, and even Hagipherione couldnt help but raise their brows. She was known to be one of the quietest and most cool-headed among the Princesses, someone with very little care for worldly matters. Now, however, she was giving off the impression of someone who had worked hard only to have all their efforts looked down upon by others. For a brief moment, they even thought she might tear up, but, rather than show any signs of weakness, Adoris aura continued to surge outwards like an endlessly gushing geyser... With the tform and all its inhabitants returned to normal, Vahn allowed his influence over the flow of time to slip away as he turned to Adori and said, "I will not deny your perspective and the efforts you have made over the years. The problem is, regardless of the number of people working towards a solution, nothing will change without influencing how things are run at the top. There is also the matter of the Towers purpose, something that has been profaned and forgotten by all but a few of the most influential people within the Empire. Things cannot continue like this indefinitely. Even the most resolute individuals within the Tower, yourself included, will eventually be consumed and swayed by the passage of time. The only way to prevent the encroachment of stagnation is to continue moving forward...change is necessary in order to ensure true prosperity..." Though Maschenny couldnt help but smile in response to Vahns words, Adori held firmly to her resolute frown as she asked, "So you would see the Tower thrown into turmoil so that the most powerful among us can move forward? Before my Father became King and paved the way for the Era of Peaceful Coexistence, millions died on a daily basis. There were people running around with no regard for the people beneath them, freely exhibiting their power and behaving like Gods. Now, there are groups in the Outer Tower who have never even heard of the Inner and Middle Towers. It might not be a perfect system, but it is infinitely better than the chaos that came before...!" Restraining a sigh, Vahn shook his head, his expression softening slightly as he calmly exined, "If those were my intentions, I would have joined hands with FUG and unted my power long before now. Instead, I limit myself to only taking action when injustices ur right in front of me. The only reason we stand in contention with each other is that I refuse to ignore the injusticesmitted by the Ten Great Families. I dont care enough about the politics of the Tower to stand in opposition to the Jahad Empire. I merely take action against those who exploit and suppress others for things like entertainment and their own convenience. If there wasnt corruption appearing virtually everywhere, you might not have even heard my name until I reached the top of the Tower. Its as simple as that." Seemingly confused by Vahns words, Adori tilted her head almost imperceptively to the side as she asked, "What about your actions at the Name Hunt Station? You have been used of brutalizing a Princess of Jahad and kidnapping a member of the Lo Po Bia Family. There are also reports attesting to the fact you have hijacked the Hell Express in an effort to resurrect the infamous yer known as White. Last but not least, you stand used of killing the Zygaena, mounting an attack on the Yeon Familys Floating Castle, and assailing numerous females on the 21st Floor...do you intend to tell me these usations are without merit...?" Unable to restrain himself, Vahn issued a light chuckle in response to Adoris interrogation. This earned him a pointed stare, but, having experienced such res countless times in the past, he ultimately managed a rxed smile as he exined, "Princess Maschenny here should be able to clear me of any crimes mentioned regarding other Princesses. As for the rest of the matters at the Name Hunt Station, well, they are obviously being embellished by the Lo Po Bia Family. In fact, the person I am being used of kidnapping chose to follow me of her own ord. All I did was seal off the station until someone worthy enough to rule over it appeared. As for the usations of me attempting to resurrect White, that should have been cleaned up by my conversation with Princess Hagipherione. Though it is true that Imandeered the Hell Express, this was necessitated by the fact that it was under the control of the organization known as FUG. They were the ones attempting to revive White so I was forced to deal with the Conductor when he attempted to interfere. As for the matters rted to the Yeon Family...dont even get me started...if I really wanted to harm them, they would have been killed. As the Commander-in-Chief of the Jahad Army, do you expect me to believe you are unaware of the schemes of Yeon rde?" Though she didnt take Vahns ount at face value, Adori couldnt readily refute his words after seeing Hagipherione and Maschenny nod their heads. She hadnt mentioned it, but there were also reports of him destroying a FUG base, and, though he had been used of an ever-growing list of crimes, there were very few casualties. In fact, most of the people who had encountered Vahn hade out with rtively light injuries, the only exceptions being a number of unconfirmed deaths connected to the Lo Po Bia Family. Realizing that she might have jumped the gun due to the reported connection between Vahn and Ureko, Adori couldnt help but avert her eyes as she fished for reasons to justify the mobilization of three whole Divisions of the Army. Her Father had tasked her with investigating, and, if necessary, eliminating Vahn before he could be a threat to the Empire. Now, however, it seemed like the Lo Po Bia and Yeon Families were the ones at fault while Vahn was cleaning up a mess that should have been arbitrated by the Administration of Internal Affairs or resolved by the Royal Enforcement Division... With the Law of Identity narrating Adoris thoughts, Vahn couldnt help thinking that the legendary Princess was surprisingly naive. This made her rather scary as there were few things more terrifying than a naive person who was resolute and powerful enough to effectively erase continents from the map. The fact she instantly resorted to using a weapon like the El Robina showed just how detached she was frommon sense, so, before she could reach a conclusion on her own, he stepped in to suggest, "Look...why dont we just fight and settle things directly? It will make things a lot easier for me once your side has a better understanding of my power. Truth be told, I wouldnt mind resolving things peacefully. Unfortunately, this requires mutual respect and a willingness topromise from both parties. Right now, you still think Im some upstart that might be a threat to your Empire. The truth of the matter is that your Empire would cease to exist if I got serious and trulymitted to wiping you out. For now, Im content with moving at my own pace and affording you the chance to fix things from your end. If things continue like this...it is only a matter of time before your side does something that results in your destruction..." Hearing Vahn reference the destruction of the Empire in such a casual manner, Adori, Hagipherione, and even Maschenny all adopted expression of disbelief and moderate disdain. They knew just how iprehensible their Fathers power was so it was difficult for them to even consider him actually losing to someone. Even thebined efforts of the Ten Great Families and Ureko wouldnt be able to defeat him so the notion of someone else seeding seemed utterly ridiculous. Feeling the oppressive aura emanating from the trio of inordinately beautiful women, the color of Vahns eyes immediately shifted to a resplendent gold coloration as he added, "Dont worry...even if I win, you wont have to worry about me spanking your bottoms in front of everyone..." As the unfortunate trio designated by Urekos Optional Objective, Adori, Hagipherione, and Maschenny had all experienced being disrobed, having their bottoms spanked, and their panties stolen by the mischievous Dragoness. Adori, in particr, had never suffered such embarrassment in her life, so, upon hearing Vahns words, her expression immediately darkened as the crystalline des behind her began resonating with enough force to cause small cracks to appear in the space around their edge... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Maschenny ying the part of Loki...,Its all a matter of perspective...,Vahn over here digging his own grave...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1892 Gulf

Chapter 1892 Gulf

Stepping in before Adori could take action, Hagipherione brandished what appeared to be a set of blood-red shortswords. In actuality, they were a set of ded Needles, and, simr to the crystalline des floating behind Adoris back and the sun-like spear clutched in Maschennys hand, they were yet another one of the 13 Month Series, specifically the Red October. Though the ck March was considered the most powerful Needle among the Thirteen, the Red October was far more famous due to the fact it had been in cirction for a much longer period of time. It was also the only Dual Ignition weapon among the legendary series of weapons, and, if the rumors were to be believed, they were the fastest among the entire series. Before Adori could speak out, Hagipherione adopted a serious expression as she said, "If you dare to interrupt my fight a second time, dont me me for the consequences. I didnt climb my way to Rank 36 to have other people intervene in my battles. That goes doubly for you Maschenny...if you get in my way..." Rolling her eyes in response to Hagipheriones threat, Maschenny shouldered the Yellow May as she said, "By all means, feel free to go first. Im rather curious to see how youll fare after your previous two attacks proved utterly ineffective." Demonstrating greater emotional range than the average member of the Arie Family, Hagipherione adopted a hateful glower in response to Maschennys taunting. Before she could offer a rebuttal, however, Vahn drew the attention of all three Princesses by clearing his throat and saying, "Can we just start? It doesnt matter whether or not youe individually or together. No matter what you do, the end result will remain the same." Though the remark earned him an amused smile from Maschenny, Hagipheriones response to his seemingly brash words was to appear next to him, stating, "Impudence...!" as she attempted to stab the Red October into his body. Rather than using the State of Nothingness, however, Vahn eyed the two blood-red des with a thoughtful glimmer as both pierced into his body. While there were a few fundamental differences, the Ignited versions of the 13 Month Series were functionally simr to Zanpakuto. This drastically reduced the effectiveness of a pseudo-spiritual form like the State of Nothingness, but, at the same time, it meant their damage was predominately spiritual in nature. This was what allowed them to kill beings such as Immortals, as, under normal circumstances, protecting and preserving the Ego were inordinately difficult. Unfortunately for Hagipherione, there was an unbridgeable gap between a middling Tier 4 weapon and someone with a Tier 5 Soul. In fact, so long as he linked his external manifestation to his Realm, Vahn could disperse the vast majority of attacks into the infinite space contained within. This might allow a sufficiently powerful entity to invade, but, due to the disparities between the Laws, anything foolish enough to try would experience having their existence effectively erased. Thus, while it was far from absolute, he was effectively immune to any attackcking a sufficient understanding of the Laws. Demonstrating this was the case, Vahnpletely ignored the Red October piercing into his body, his expressionrgely indifferent as he extended his hand towards Hagipheriones head. This caused her pupils to shrink, as, from her perspective, there was no danger present within his palm. Because of this, she had to force herself to evade, as, at the highest level, instincts and intuition were two of the most important factors that determined a personspetency in battle. With Hagipheriones speed exceeding his own, Vahn could do little more than chuckle as she took nigh-instantaneous evasive maneuvers. Then, with a rxed smile on his face, he briefly shifted his attention to Adori and Maschenny, saying, "Feel free to step in whenever you think its necessary..." At nearly the exact same moment as his words had finished, two vibrant des of blood-red energy cut through Vahns neck and torso. Unfortunately, much to the chagrin of Hagipherione, there wasnt a single sign of injury in the wake of her attack. Even the turbulent Shinsu apanying the strike seemed to simply fade away, swallowed by the functionally infinite space constituting Vahns Realm. Returning his attention to Hagipherione, Vahns expression became slightly more serious as he said, "Lets see how powerful this technique truly is..." Following his utterance, several golden Baangs of Shinsu began to spontaneously manifest around Vahns body. Unlike normal Baangs, however, these incorporated the Shinsu ck Hole Sphere and his original Quality before attaining Tier 5, Divine. As a result, they functioned simrly to miniature ck holes, far more powerful than conventional ck Hole Spheres due to their ability to suck, not just the Shinsu from the environment, but other peoples bodies. Recognizing the technique as one functionally identical to their Fathers, Hagipherione, Adori, and Maschenny all took evasive action the moment Vahn began forming his Baangs. At the same time, surprising even Vahn, several Suspend Ships in the distance began falling from the sky as the Shinsu supporting them rapidly depleted. Resisting the urge to adopt a wry smile, Vahn was preparing to let his Baangs disperse when several massive explosions urred around him. A few even sent him stumbling backward as several shells formed from highly condensed Shinsu impacted his body with mountain-destroying force. Almost immediately thereafter, a spear of lightning nearly a kilometer long pierced into his body, half of its length disappearing into his Realm as an intense current spread through his bones and attempted to destroy him from the inside. Gritting his teeth, bands of golden lightning began to dance across Vahns body as he saturated his cells with elemental energy. This caused his healthy brown skin to be somewhat ashen as the direction of his hair shifted, flowing backward and bing a vibrant shade of gold as a matching golden tail spontaneously sprouted from his lower back. To the horror of Maschenny, the culprit behind the golden spear, Vahn gripped the energy form of the Yellow May with his bare hands, preventing her from retrieving it. At the same time, the energy emanating from his body seemed to increase by several orders of magnitude, so much so that the Shinsu in the surroundings gained a peculiar golden hue that made it exponentially more difficult to control. Taking charge of the situation, Adori, now nked by cannon-like mechanisms and a series of wing-like defensive tes, shouted, "Hagipherione! Help Maschenny recover the Yellow May! I will act as the Light Bearer and try to stop his movements! We need to act before he absorbs the Shinsu of the entire Floor...!" Following her exmation, Adoris Golden November split into a series of smaller des as several golden Lighthouses deployed from her A-Rank Carrier, one of only ten ever produced. This was a device that allowed a Fisherman to assume the role of virtually every other Position, and, with the exception of a few unique productions of the Workshop, they were easily the most expensive items in the entire Tower. The price of a Carrier was equivalent to the annual budget of the Jahad Army, and, more often than not, they possessed armaments capable of rivaling an entire Fleet of military-grade Suspend Ships. With the Lighthouses emitted by Adoris Carrier breaking down into more than a hundred smaller Lighthouses, Vahn found himself forced into a fetal position as an overwhelming pressure pressed on him from all directions. It was like being crushed by the gravitational force of a star, and, for a brief moment, there was virtually nothing he could do to resist. Fortunately, he had converted his race to a species infamous for its adaptability to high gravitational forces; so, while he was unable to prevent Maschenny from recovering the Yellow May, she wasnt able to retreat very far before he released a pulse of golden energy, impacting both her and Hagipherione as every Lighthouse in the surroundings shattered like ss. Though it made him feel a little like a Malevolent God, Vahn adopted an amused smile in response to the incredulous looks on Adoris and Hagipheriones faces. To his surprise, however, Maschenny had a simr smile on her face, intrigue visible in her gaze as she mouthed, That tail reminds me of a certain someone. Extending his hand toward Maschenny, Vahn replied to her with a beam of golden energy that seemed to divide the sky in two, dimming the surroundings due to its radiance. By the time the beam had faded, Maschennys smile had disappeared along with it. In its ce, a far more serious expression marred her countenance as she unamusedly uttered, "You brute..." as a hazy white mist rose from the various burns across her body. Ignoring Maschennys remark, Vahn teleported to evade another bombardment from Adori, his figure appearing behind her in an instant. Unfortunately, she was exponentially faster than both Hagipherione and Maschenny. Thus, before he had even fully materialized, the crystalline des hovering behind her immediately swirled around his emergence point, their edges severing the surrounding space and cutting into his body as she used her personal de to bifurcate his body from head to crotch. With slightly widened eyes, Vahn did his best to ignore the fact he had been cut in half, hands extending to emit two massive columns of golden energy. These pushed Adori away from him, but, as could be expected from someone capable of pushing back Ureko, even if thetter wasnt being serious, a few simple energy beams werent enough to deter her. Instead, she skillfully deflected the two beams using her wing-like shields, her speed spontaneously increasing to a near-imperceptible degree as she charged through him, this time separating his two halves into four. Though he could have easily reformed his body, Vahn opted to do the exact opposite. Adori was a lot stronger than he expected, so, rather than fighting her directly, he converted nearly every cell in his body into pure Shinsu before dispersing it into the atmosphere. This left all three Princesses at a loss for words, and, for a brief moment, Hagipherione mistakenly believed he had been defeated. Alerting the white-haired maiden to the truth, Vahnsughter could be heard from every direction as he mused, "In video game terminology, this would be what some refer to as phase two..." Punctuating his words, Vahn began to manipte the golden-hued Shinsu in the surroundings to create a massive vortex. The resistances of the three Princesses would have allowed them to ignore such an attack under normal circumstances; but, due to the nature of his Source Energy, they found themselves buffeted by the powerful torrent, grimacing as the undetectable energy infiltrated their bodies. Though it wasrgely unnecessary, Vahn reappeared near the center of the trio, his expression far more serious than before as he made a grasping gesture with his hand. This caused Hagipherione and Maschenny to slump forward, seemingly tripping in mid-air as Adori, demonstrating just how monstrous she could be, saturated her entire body with Shinsu in an effort to resist his pull. At the same time, the crystalline fragments of the Golden November fused with the cannon attachments of her Carrier, drastically increasing their output as four beams of destructive golden energy tore through the surrounding space with enough force to leave a gravitational void in its wake. Unfortunately for Adori, the manifestation she had destroyed was just a part of the current Vahn. As a result, he was immediately able to reform elsewhere, an impressed glimmer in his eyes as he said, "Truly remarkable..." Despite the refusal of her body to cooperate, Adori managed to turn her head to face Vahn without any discernible difficulty, her expression a mask of calm as she asked, "Are you an Axis User...?" Rather than answering Adoris question directly, Vahn just offered a smile as he forced all the Shinsu in his domain to surge outward until nothing remained. This caused the High Rankers spectating in the distance to fall from the sky, their expressions paling as the power they had be dependent on was suddenly denied to them. Only those fortunate enough to possess an Ignition Weapon were immune to the sudden depletion, as, other than serving as powerful weapons, the primary purpose of such weapons was to act as a reserve power source for their users. Sensing theplete absence of Shinsu in the surroundings, Adoris expression gradually darkened as the Golden November began releasing a truly remarkable amount of energy. At the same time, a near-identical figure appeared behind her, the only noticeable difference between them being their choice of garb. To Vahns surprise, the Law of Identity revealed that this was actually Adori herself, or, more specifically, her Soul. She had agreed to have her physical and spiritual bodies separated in order to provide her an exceptionally potent form of immortality. This exined why the majority of his attacks had been ineffective, as, rather than be bound to her physical form, Adori treated her body as if it was a marite... Realizing he still had a lot to learn about the Tower and its inhabitants, Vahn allowed the expelled Shinsu to return as he said, "Rx. If I truly were an Axis User, what would you hope to achieve by resorting to such extreme means? I might be able to revive you if you perform a suicide attack, but Id rather not have to. Besides, weve only just begun our fight. Leave attacks like that until the very end." Frowning in response to Vahns words, Adori continued to generate an ever-increasing amount of power from her Golden November. This caused a somewhat guilty smile to spread across Vahns face as his body, once again, dissolved into the surroundings. At the same time, a far more potent golden hue began to permeate the area affected by his domain as several golden speartips, each attached to resplendent golden chains, began to emerge from the void... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Well then...thats a thing...,Adori doing her best (O ^ O)...!,If Vahn is Source Energy...does that mean he has already prated all three Princesses...!?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1893 Attrition

Chapter 1893 Attrition

Sensing the threat posed by Enkidu, Adori, somewhat surprisingly, issued a loud war cry as the space around her began to bend and distort. The cannons attached to her Carrier began to fire volley after volley, but, rather than shooting straight, the beams ripped through the void before reemerging elsewhere. Not expecting Adori to incorporate Arie Swordsmanship into a wide-range artillery strike, Vahn couldnt help but admire the womans resourcefulness as he watched the destructive golden beams form a semi-spherical cage that distorted space-time to such an extent that even Enkidu appeared to bend. Unfortunately, other than forcing Hagipherione, Maschenny, and several others to retreat, Adoris attack didnt aplish much else. Her attack might have been one of the most destructive Vahn had encountered since arriving in the Tower, but it was fundamentally incapable of reaching him. Her mastery of the Laws was simply too shallow, so, without hitting him with an attack capable of wiping out an entire Realm, this was a battle of attrition she could never hope to win... Despite directing several attacks their way, Adori was shocked to realize that, even with the Golden November, the golden chains attempting to encircle her remained whole. The realization that she couldnt destroy them caused her scalp to tingle as feelings of anxiety began to surge forward for the first time in thousands of years. Then, as if something inside of her had broken, a sour feeling gued her nose as she directed the des of the Golden November toward herself, shouting, "I am the de that strikes down the Empires foes. I will not lose...!" Though he realized her intentions, there wasnt much Vahn could do to prevent Adori from further escting things. All he could do was stare in fascinated silence as Adori assimted the Golden November into her body, igniting it from within rather than allowing its energy to diffuse into the environment. This caused a vibrant golden cross to appear at the center of her chest, and, though her eyes and hair already possessed a golden luminescence before, they now emitted a beautiful, breathtaking, iridescence. As if she could suddenly sense his intent, Adori directed her gaze in the direction where Vahn was viewing her from before blitzing one of the gaps in Enkidus chains. Under normal circumstances, a Tier 4 would never be able to break free from a region sealed off by Enkidu. Adori, however, didnt seem to care about what others considered to be possible, her body pressing to the size of a child for a brief moment so that she could slip through the gap and stab the area where his intent was emanating. Not expecting Adori to have a Compression License, Vahn was at aplete loss for words as the resolute Princess twisted her de within the void to create a vortex strong enough to cause the Suspend Ships lingering in the distance to lurch forward. Even the ground below began to rise at a visible rate, almost as if her sword had be a ck hole intent on consuming everything. Unfortunately, as impressive as her attacks were, they were still far from being able to affect Vahn in any meaningful way. To demonstrate this, he manifested his body around the point where Adori had stabbed, an unconcerned smile on his face as he reached out to caress her head and say, "You are certainly very powerful, but Im afraid that simply isnt enough..." Surprised by Vahns ability to touch her head before she could even react, Adoris pupils shrank to the size of pinholes as she darted back at a speed rivaling teleportation. At nearly the exact same moment, her Carrier manifested around Vahns body, each of the cannons pointing inward as the shielded tes formed a blockade to prevent his escape. Smiling wryly in response, a runic halo appeared above Vahns head as the golden light emitted from the carriers cannons enveloped his body. With the ting forming a barrier, this caused the interior to resemble a small, extremely radiant, golden sun. It was so bright, in fact, that, even with the armored ting blocking most of the light, the surroundings seemed to darken considerably as the temperature for several kilometers began to spike at a terrifying rate. Ignoring the fact that the golden cross on her chest was gradually spreading, cracking apart her body, Adori took several deep breaths to calm herself as she stared directly at the phenomenon she had created. As for Hagipherione and Maschenny, they had long-since departed the range of Vahns domain, their expressions masks of calm as they watched the battle y out from atop the Imperial gship. With the light from Adoris attack beginning to fade away, Maschenny took the opportunity to break the silence, half-turning to Hagipherione to remark, "It seems a wave of change is about to sweep across the Tower and the Ten Great Families. What will you do? Its not toote to choose a side. At this rate, you are fated to be little more than a sacrifice...be it for the Empire or your Family..." Seeing Vahn emerge unscathed from Adoris attack, a deep-set frown appeared on Hagipheriones face as she shifted her gaze to Maschenny, saying, "I have no interest in bing a pawn in your games. I already told...if you want my Red October, you can pry it from my cold, dead, hands. That is, assuming you have the power..." Meeting Hagipheriones gaze with her own, an amused smile gradually spread across Maschennys face as a sadistic glimmer shed across her eyes. This caused Hagipherione to loosen her grip on the Red October, but, rather than weakening, her aura strengthened considerably as a massive cut appeared across the reinforced hull of the gship. Seemingly amused by the disy, a light chuckle emanated from Maschennys as she held up the Yellow May, bands of yellow lightning dancing across its length. Rather than attacking, however, she let it return to its base form, an ornate yellow spear that was eerily reminiscent of the Ge Buidhe. Then, with a slight roll of the eyes, she shifted her attention to the battle between Vahn and Adori before nonchntly remarking, "Without absolute power, authority and political mindedness are far more important than individualbat prowess..." Snorting through her nose, Hagipherione retorted, "Spoken like a weakling..." before storing away her Red October and returning her attention to the fight. At the same time, though she appeared unperturbed on the surface, sparks appeared in Maschennys eyes as she balled her left hand into a fist... --- With several hours having passed, the golden cross spreading across Adoris chest had expanded to encroach upon her neck, shoulders, and diaphragm. She felt as though her body was about to shatter like ss, yet, in spite of this, she continued to press forward with ever-increasing intensity. It had gotten to the point that a casual sweep of her sword left a massive rift within the void, and, though it ced a heavy strain on her body, her movement speed had increased to the point that the terrain for several kilometers visibly shifted every time she performed an evasive or offensive maneuver. Though he wasnt all that surprised by Adoris power, Vahn was beginning to feel a little helpless in the face of the womans tenacity. There was no reason for things to have developed to this extent, yet, as if she was fighting for the sake of the entire world, she continued drawing out more power from her body. She had pushed herself so far beyond her limits that it was a little ridiculous, and, were it not for his general immunity to her attacks,bined with the fact he simply couldnt be killed, Vahn knew he would have fallen long ago. As per usual, Vahn was beginning to feel a little guilty about the current situation. Adori was doing her best to defeat him, yet, in spite of all her efforts, the nature of his existence made it impossible for her to seed. Had their situations been reversed, Vahn knew he would have felt unbelievably frustrated, so, rather than feel any enjoyment from the battle, his mood had be progressively more mncholic... Blocking Adoris meteoric blow with his scale-covered arm, Vahn couldnt help but grimace as he asked, "How long do you intend to keep this up? Cant you see that your body is on the verge of breaking down? What are you hoping to achieve by pushing yourself to such extremes...!?" Rather than immediately answering his question, Adori replied by slipping her hand past Vahns guard, her fingers now resembling golden crystals as she grasped his throat and said, "My life is inconsequentialpared to the survival of the Empire and the perpetuation of peace. Even if it does little more than give you a reason to pause when considering your future actions, I am more than willing to sacrifice everything in order to protect the people who depend on the Empire...!" Punctuating her words, an explosion that seemed to cover the heavens illuminated the entirety of the 40th Floor as Adori sacrificed her left arm as the catalyst for a spell. Had they not retreated to a safe distance long ago, the entire 1st Army Corps would have been wiped out in the explosion to follow as virtually all the Shinsu within several hundred kilometers seemed to ignite in response to the sacrificial attack. When the light began to fade away several minutester, Adori, now missing half her cloak and the entirety of her left arm could be seen standing stoically within the air. To make matters even worse, the stump of her arm, now resembling the same golden crystal thatprised much of her body, began to ke away as the Golden November continued to ignite within her chest. Detecting no traces of Vahn or his intent, a slight frown marred Adoris face as she began to look around the area for any traces of his existence. She didnt believe for a moment that he had died, as, ever since the strange runic halo appeared above his head, he seemed to bepletely immune to Shinsu. This included Shinsu infused into spells, so, while they had proven marginally more effective than most other forms of attack, it was difficult to imagine him being defeated in such a manner... Sensing an almost imperceptible fluctuation in the space to her right, Adori whirled around with the force of a typhoon, sword tracing a magnificent golden arc that seemed to bisect the horizon. To her surprise, what greeted her de wasnt Vahn but a section of the immacte golden chains that had caused her countless headaches during their previous exchanges. This caused her scalp to tingle in frustration, not because the chain had impeded her attack but because there was a Pocket floating next to it with the message, This is your win. See you around, Princess. in light blue text. Realizing that Vahn was running away, Adori tore through space at a speed that made the speed of light seem leisurely inparison. This caused arge crack to appear across her body, but, rather than concern herself with this, Adori pulled out her own Pocket, asking, "What happened to the Hell Express?" in a calm tone that didnt match her current mental state. Upon hearing that the Hell Express had departed in ordance with its original schedule, Adori paused for several minutes to consider whether or not Vahn had somehow returned to its interior or escaped elsewhere. Even High Rankers couldnt enter the Express while it was in motion, and, as far as she knew, Vahn still needed to pass the Tests of each Floor to continue on to the next. Thus, unless he had the ability to be in two ces at once, the obvious assumption was that he was still on the 40th Floor. Were it anyone else, Adori would have abided bymon sense, ordering the 1st Army Corps to search the 40th Floor for signs of his presence. Instead, she directed her eyes towards an empty point in space, the location where the Hell Express had disappeared between the boundaries of the 40th and 41st Floors. Unfortunately, even shecked the capacity to trespass the boundary between Floors, so, while it was possible to blockade the station on the 41st Floor, chasing after the train was impossible. Exhaling a sigh, Adori inspected the state of her broken body before shaking her head and saying, "I will let you go this time...if it turns out you were lying to me, I will spare no expense in my efforts to hunt you down...". Then, with her Pocket reappearing next to her, she connected to her gship, ordering, "Gather all parties responsible for reports rted to the Sage Dragon Emperor..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Adori got no chill...,Maschenny be scheming...,Vahns greatest weakness is a persistent and sincere woman xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1894 Judgmen

Chapter 1894 Judgmen

Having expected matters to escte from the start, Vahn left his main body safely stowed away aboard the Hell Express. More specifically, a version of himself had been lying beneath the canopy of the World Tree with Mordred nestled next to him. She was still resting after their earlier exertions, a contented smile on her face as the tip of her rather plump tail rhythmically tapped against the ground. Seeing the sleeping face of the rather rambunctious tomboy, the majority of Vahns frustrations immediately melted away. At the same time, seemingly sensing his return, Mordreds eyelids began to flitter, aquamarine eyes not all that dissimr to his owning into view before a natural smile spread across her face as she asked, "Did you kick their asses?" Chuckling in response to the rather brash inquiry, Vahn pulled Modred a little closer to him, hand snaking around her waist as he answered, "Though Im not too surprised, it seems the Empire has some good people serving as its pirs. I met a woman who is equally as obstinate as you and your mother. She was willing to sacrifice everything just to sow doubts in my heart so I couldnt bring myself to kill her...are you disappointed?" Though she couldnt help but adopt a look of consternation, Mordred ultimately shook her head in response to his question, saying, "No. That sounds exactly like something you would do. Youve never been the type to simply settle things using your power. Besides, if she is anything like me, I doubt she would consider this a victory. If it were me, I would spare no efforts to track you down and settle things once and for all..." Understanding the truth contained within Mordreds words, a wry smile spread across Vahns face as he restrained the urge to sigh. Instead, he reclined his head back against the ground, marveling at the canopy of the World Tree until Mordred mounted his lower abdomen, adding, "Unless you intend to take over, you shouldnt concern yourself with the politics of the Tower. Even our Empire isnt perfect, so you should just keep doing whatever you want. Youre already fixing some of their problems. You dont need to fix them all..." Punctuating her words, Mordred grabbed the sides of Vahns face with her surprisingly smooth, scale-backed hands. She had a habit of letting her Dragonic traits run rampant whenever she was excited. As a result, vibrant red scales sprouted across several parts of her body as the interior of her chest, simr to a forge, began to glow with an intense red light that pulsated with the beating of her heart. Realizing he had more pressing matters to attend, a light chuckle emanated from Vahns throat as he shelved any thoughts rted to Adori and her convictions. He had already promised to dote on Mordred for the better part of three months, so, rather than distract himself with things that werergely unrted to him, pampering his Princess took precedence... --- Several days after her battle with Vahn, Adori, now outfitted a mechanical left arm that served as a permanent reminder of her failure, stood before a number of kneeling individuals with animalistic features. These were the Rankers formerly responsible for the Name Hunt Station, so, as could be expected, the majority had greyish-white hair while some, specifically those with more dominant bloodlines, possessed rounded ears and spotted, bushy, tails. Had he been present, Vahn would have recognized the woman kneeling at the front of the group as the beauty he had eyed prior to his battle with Adori, Hagipherione, and Maschenny. Unlike the rest of her kin, she gave off a gentle and approachable aura, but, were to look into her eyes for an extended period of time, those with weaker wills would be ovee by the impression they were a tiny mouse in front of a cat. Wearing a perpetual smile on her face, the woman, representing the Snow Leopard Family as one of its Elders, calmly asserted, "Our actions within the Name Hunt Station were authorized by Lord Lo Po Bia and sanctioned by the Jahad Empire. We also coordinated with the Ten Families to reach an ord regarding how the station should be managed. Though I cannot deny there were some mishaps over the years, the actions of the Sage Dragon Emperor were clearly an act of aggression against the Lo Po Bia Family. We did nothing to overtly ant-" Interrupting before the woman could finish speaking, Adori manifested arge light disy, her voice cold and unamused as she said, "These are Pocket logs provided by a reliable source. They have also been cross-referenced and verified by the Workshop. ording to these records, your people ordered the then-ruler of the Name Hunt Station, Lo Po Bia ine, to attack and capture the Sage Dragon Emperor. You even requested the support of two Princesses of Jahad, effectively treating the Swords of the Empire as tools for your own convenience. Afterward, you attempted to illegallymandeer the Hell Express, disregarding thews we have protected for more than ten-thousand-years. To make matters even worse, you filed a false report in an attempt to avoid fault and shift the me elsewhere. As a result, the Empire might have gained an enemy on the level of Ureko, endangering countless lives. What say you in your defense?" Though her expression didnt change in the slightest, the woman, better known as Lo Po Bia Pram, shifted her gaze to a masked man with the characteristic grey hair of the Snow Leopard Family but ears reminiscent of a humans. He, Lo Po Bia Porp, was the representative she had left in charge of the Name Hunt Station, and, were it not for the current situation, she would have killed him on the spot for inviting this cmity upon them. Returning her gaze to Adori, Pram adopted an uncharacteristically serious tone as she said, "There are none among the Ten Great Families who are as loyal to the Empire as the Lo Po Bia Family. We of the Snow Leopard Family have dedicated more than sixty percent of our Rankers to the service of the Empire. I will not deny our fault in this matter. I ask only that you take into consideration our many years of loyal service..." Furrowing her brows almost imperceptibly in response to Prams words, Adori remained silent for several seconds before saying, "Those directly responsible for this matter will not be able to avoid punishment. The Snow Leopard Family as a whole, however, will not be held ountable. Lord Lo Po Bia has already been informed of this matter and interceded on your behalf. You, High Ranker Pram, have been appointed the task of locating the Sage Dragon Emperor and making amends for this situation. As for you, Ranker Porp, you will be made to answer for the various crimes you have perpetrated over thest eight-hundred-years. If you attempt to avoid punishment by taking your own life, your wives, sons, and daughters will be held ountable on your behalf..." Though he was already kneeling low, Porp nearly copsed when he heard Adoris judgment. In the end, however, he managed to hold himself steady, his voice quivering ever-so-slightly as he lowered his head even further and said, "I understand and ept full responsibility for my crimes. No matter what punishment awaits, I will meet it with the dignity expected from a member of the Ten Great Families..." With no other options, Porp knew the best course of action was simply to embrace everything that was thrown at him. Any form of resistance promised unimaginable suffering, so, in the pursuit of a quick death, eptance was the only path avable to him. He was also hoping to relieve some of the Elders anger, as, better than most, he knew how terrifying she could be. If he made a scene or showed even a trace of hesitation, it would be a mercy if his wives and children fell into the hands of the Empire... Nodding her head approvingly in response to Porps acquiescence, Pram motioned for the rest of her people to rise before meeting Adoris gaze and asking, "What is the Empires official stance on the Sage Dragon Emperor? It would also help to know where he is headed. Since you have been in contact with the Workshop, I imagine you have some idea of his destination." Since Prams mission was a matter rted to the Lo Po Bia Family, not the Empire, Adori refused toment on what they had learned of Vahns intentions. She did, however, exin, "My father has issued a gag order epassing all things rted to the Sage Dragon Emperor. Unless thetter goes out of his way to antagonize the Empire, our official stance is that he simply doesnt exist. All matters between the Ten Great Families and the Sage Dragon Emperor will be regarded as private affairs from this moment onward. If your Family continues to antagonize him over matters rted to your own internal corruption, dont expect the Empire to bail you out..." Losing her smile for the first time since her arrival, Pram demonstrated her considerable shock by widening her eyes, mouth agape for several seconds before she asked, "Are you saying that man is as already viewed in the same light as Ureko? I know he is very powerful, but he seemed to be at a distinct disadvantage during your previous encounter..." With Prams eyes momentarily shifting to her prosthetic arm, Adoris expression clouded as she balled her hand into a fist and asserted, "That man is far more dangerous than Ureko. He is only a Regr yet he is already capable of fending off the attacks of a Top 10 High Ranker. By the time he reaches the top of the Tower, his power will have grown to such extreme that only my Father and the Ten Great Warriors could reasonably stand against him. To that end, it has been decided that the best course of action is peaceful coexistence. So long as the Sage Dragon Emperor does not openly side with our enemies, our public stance is that all rumors concerning his existence are exaggerated propaganda..." Hardly able to believe what she was hearing, Pram fell silent for several seconds following Adoris exnation. Then, as if a switch had been flipped in the most primal region of her mind, a potent heat spread through her body as she recalled Vahn ncing her way prior to his battle against the three Princesses. She hadnt thought much of it at the time, but, in retrospect, she was pretty sure he had been eyeing her ears and tail... Realizing why she had been given the task of seeking out and making amends with Vahn, the smile returned to Prams face as she offered a courteous bow, softly musing, "Thank you for the detailed exnation, Princess. It has been very...enlightening..." Noticing the males around Pram beginning to fidget nervously, a cold glint shed across Adoris eyes as she said, "You and your people are dismissed. Leave." Giggling despite Adoris rather terse dismissal, Pram smoothly spun around on her heels, her thick tail following after her, snaking in a naturally seductive manner. This caused many of the people in her entourage to swallow audibly, but, with her sights set on a far greater prize, Prampletely ignored them as her pace steadily increased. Following the groups departure with her eyes, Adoris brows noticeably furrowed as she realized that even Porp, despite the fact he was still kneeling on the ground, had twisted his neck to follow Prams departure. She could even hear the sound of hisbored breathing, and, though it was very subtle, an unpleasant musk had started to permeate through themand room. Snorting through her nose, Adori gestured to her Royal Guards with her mechanical arm, ordering, "ce this man in a holding cell. Once we have returned to Base, make sure he is escorted to the Torture and Intelligence Division without dy. He is meant to suffer for his crimes. I want to know the full breadth of his transgressions against the Empire." Hearing Adoris words, Porps expression, hidden behind his mask, became one of stupefaction as two members of the Royal Guards promptly seized him by the arms. He didnt know what he had done to offend the Princess, but, based on the cold gleam in her eyes, she clearly viewed him in an antagonistic light. This realization caused him to briefly shift his gaze to her mechanical arm, a cold shiver running through his body as he realized that death was something he could only pray for at this point... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Pampering a Princess (O w O)...,The Empire be like, "Dont go digging your own grave and expecting us to lower adder...",Pram on the prowl...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1895 Matters of Life and Death

Chapter 1895 Matters of Life and Death

Though he was aware of the decision made by the Empire, Vahn was a little surprised by the fact they didnt even try to send anyone to reim the Hell Express. They had concluded that it would be a lot safer to send their people in during the six month period where the train docked at the Last Station. This,bined with the fact they had 79 of the 100 total Express Tickets allowed Vahn and his growing retinue of Regrs to freely explore, collect treasures, and train. With the addition of ine and Alphine, there were now ten inordinately powerful Regrs in Vahns charge. This included Yura, David, Anna, Vicente, Daniel, and, to a lesser extent, Weiss, Arryn, and Arusha. As for Angel, she had already found someone to settle down with among the residents of the Second Layer, and, though she was still determined to obtain her revenge, it was far from her primary focus. Since even the weaker members of the group were capable of clearing the challenges of the Hell Express, Vahn had given everyone permission to wander about individually but encouraged them to travel in small groups. Instead, everyone decided to travel in onerge group. More specifically, they wanted to follow along with him, as,pared to traveling alone, it was always better to be close to the person with a portable resort and a seemingly endless supply of delicious food. Though he would rather they be independent, much like Team Wolf Pack, Vahn knew the situation of people like Weiss, ine, Alphine, Arryn, and Arusha didnt exactly allow it. The same could also be said for the Arie siblings, so, while it was a little inconvenient, he decided to watch over them until he could find a ce to safely deposit them. Given the circumstances, this would most likely result in them bing members of Wolhaiksong. The organization was well known for taking in exiled members of the Ten Great Families, so, with few other options avable, Vahn was willing to indebt himself to Ureko if it meant he could ensure their safety while subsequently removing them from his responsibility... --- With the door to the Hidden Floor firmly sealed until the Hell Express had cleared the 43rd Floor, Vahn decided to focus on the promise he had made with Daniel, Po, and everyone else rted to Roen. Unfortunately, this had be considerably more difficult due to the fact that much of her Ego had been absorbed and subsequently destroyed following her self-sacrifice to seal Hoaqin. Simply put, it was possible to revive Roen, but, due to her Ego having be a part of the billions of fragments thatprised Weiss, she would effectively be a different person. She would have no memories of her previous existence, and, depending on the circumstances, even her Innates would have changed drastically. Fortunately, while it was impossible to openly discuss, there was still hope. Roen hadpleted the Hell Express numerous times in the past, so, while it wouldnt truly restore her original self, it was possible to acquire the data of Roen from the Hidden Floor. Said data could then be infused into the resurrected Roen, and, though she would technically be a different person, her soul and memories would be the same as the original. Since it would require Roen entering the Hidden Floor for the procedure to be conducted, Vahn spent the three-month period between the 40th and 43rd Floors searching for the Hell Express core and recovering her spirit. The hardest part of this process was purifying the negative energy and filtering through the countless spirits that had died onboard the Hell Express. He also needed toe up with an alternative power source, as, without the negative energy generated by the spirits, the hellish lotive would be stranded within the Dimensional Gap separating Floors. In the end, the vast majority of Vahns time was spent creating a modified Spirit Gathering Array alongside Eva. Despite its name, this particr formation had nothing to do with gathering spirits. Instead, it drew power from the functionally infinite Shinsu provided by the Elemental Pylons used to draw inert energy from the void and convert it into the standard form of energy existing within the Records. This was actually one of the first formations Vahn had ever mastered, but,pared to the version he had installed to power various barriers and wards back in Danmachi, the current iteration made his past attempts seem rudimentary inparison. With the Hell Express no longer relying on the negative energy generated by the deceased, Vahn performed a Grand Purification Ritual, penultimately exorcising all the spirits gathered within the Core. Part of him had been tempted to return them to life, but, unlike Roen, he had no particr reason to do so. In fact, were it not for the promise he had made with Aka, Sachi, Boro, Daniel, and Po, Vahn would have simply allowed Roens soul to move on to the next life. Fortunately for the bereaved quintet, Vahn was a man of principle who firmly believed in the value and importance of keeping his promises. Thus, while it might have been better to just let her soul move on to its next incarnation, Vahns final act prior to disembarking on the Floor of Death was to create a Soul Binding Formation to resurrect Roens spirit into a body functionally identical to her original. This time, however, the body was provided courtesy of Urahara and the Research Division rather than produced from his own flesh and blood... --- Using his ability to view and know everything urring within the Little Garden, Vahn watched with a thoughtful smile on his face as Daniel tended to thergely unresponsive Roen. She was basically an infantile amnesiac at this point, but, much to his surprise, she had actually reacted positively to Daniels presence following her revival. This was a positive sign as it demonstrated that, while her Ego was almost wholly erased, a few of the most intrinsic parts of her character had been preserved. Though it was a little awkward entrusting a 700+-year-old man to take care of an infantile woman, feeding, cleaning up after, and even bathing her, Vahn knew that Daniels affection towards Roen was sincere. The man had been willing to give up everything just for a chance at restoring her to life, so, while these moments were bound to be awkward memories, he allowed the former FUG member to look after the surprisingly Nami-esque woman in the hopes that it would help to stabilize her Ego in preparation for the transntation of her Datas memories. Seeing Daniel patiently feeding the perpetually smiling Roen with a stic spoon, Vahn couldnt help nodding his head in approval before promptly departing the Little Garden. There, he found Fenrir and Ryun waiting for him, both standing near the open exit of the Hell Express. Walking over to join the duo, Vahn habitually stroked their heads as he gazed down at the vast sea of blood below. He found it strangely diforting to consider that several thousand kilometers of the 43rd Floor were dominated by the corpse of a single monstrous entity, the Floor Guardian killed by Enryu nearly ten-thousand-years ago. Despite this inordinately long period of time, there was still a veritable ocean of blood covering much of the Floor, and, ording to Ryun, there was an entire civilization living within the Guardians corpse... Seemingly sensing his thoughts, Ryun joined him in looking down at the sea of blood, saying, "We will need to jump from here. Though the Guardian has been dead for millennia, its cardiovascr system and several of its organs are still functional to this day. The only way to reach the true Floor of Death is by riding the currents contained within the Sea of Blood. Dont worry. Despite its name, the Sea of Blood is actuallyprised entirely of Shinsu. Even if we get stuck in current for several hours, we wont have to worry about suffocating or anything like that..." Though the idea of breathing in the Guardians blood was a little disconcerting, Vahn just nodded his head in response to Ryuns words before stepping out of the Hell Express and diving head-first towards the vast sea of energy below. Fenrir and Ryun immediately followed suit, bodies shrouded in vibrant blue and scarlet auras that allowed them to descend into the blood-colored sea without producing a ssh. As Ryun had stated, the interior of the Sea of Blood wasnt simply breathable, it was almost like an oxygen-rich environment. Those entering within would feel extremely invigorated, and, so long as they could resist the powerful current and ever-increasing pressure, it was possible to strengthen both your body and reserves simply by staying immersed. Unfortunately, unless they were an Irregr or possessed a special ignition weapon, specifically the Thorn, even the most powerful High Rankers wouldnt be able to stay within the Sea of Blood for long. The peculiar red Shinsu was actually the internal reserves of the Guardian, so, unless they had the ability to manipte the internal energy of a continental sized creature, using any Shinsu-rted abilities within the Sea of Blood was simply impossible. Even Vahn was no exception to this, but, unlike the vast majority of people, he had a functionally unlimited amount of energy to make use of within his body. Thanks to their internal reserves, Vahn, Fenrir, and even Ryun could move about freely within the Sea of Blood. They were not wholly dependent on the Shinsu within the Tower, and, had she been present, even Yuri would have been able to fly around thanks to her elementary mastery of Ki. This was the true benefit of being an Irregr, as, unlike the residents of the Tower, those born outside were aware of the existence of various other forms of energy. Thus, even without Shinsu, they were able to continue fighting, and, in some situations, there were some who became far more powerful in its absence... --- With Ryun guiding the way, Vahn and Co were able to avoid most of the hazards that generally prevented outsiders from entering the Floor of Death. This included many parasitic organisms, Gatekeepers, and a number of other strange, often immortal, creatures that called the Guardians corpse their home. Though it wasnt particrly well-known,rgely due to the fact that even those aware of the truth were unable to disclose it, the Elder of the Red Witches had contracted with Enryu to ensure that the prophecy regarding Jahads death was brought to fruition. Because of this, the 43rd Floor had be an important pilgrimage site for the Red Witches, and, thanks to Enryus influence, it was one of the few ces in the Tower where even Jahad dared not venture. After all, the contract that guaranteed the immortality of Jahad and the Ten Great Warriors was just that, a contract. With the death of the Floor Guardian, the 43rd Floor was one of the few regions in the Tower where Jahads Immortality simply didnt function. As one of the daughters of the Red Witch Elder, effectively making her a Princess of the Red Witch Tribe, Ryun was one of the few people that knew about the contract with Enryu. He had promised to free them from the Tower and create an endless number of new and interesting paths for them to view. Thus, for thest several millennia, the Red Witches had worked closely with FUG and its constituents, patiently awaiting the day when the way forward would be opened. Were it not for Vahns unexpected arrival, Ryun would have given up everything, including her own life, in order to allow Baam to kill Jahad. Fortunately, this was no longer necessary, as, even without defeating Jahad, the way forward would be open. It was for this reason that she worshiped Vahn to such extremes, as, rather than devoting herself a prophecy that required countless sacrifices, it was a lot more assuring to follow a God that took matters into his own, inordinately pleasant, hands... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "Stay with Aunty Ureko. Im gonna go out for a smoke...",The Guardians are some big bois...,Ah, yes, the most pleasant of hands (O w O)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1896 Atmosphere

Chapter 1896 Atmosphere

Following Ryuns lead, it wasnt long before Vahn and Co reached the outskirts of a rather pungent region known as Gallstone Vige. As the name made readily apparent, Gallstone Vige was just that, a vige located inside of arge, mountain-sized, gallstone. It was half-embedded in a ceiling formed from the flesh of the Guardian, and, though most of the region had dried up by now, there were still areas of moisture and an incredibly foul-smelling aroma permeating the atmosphere. Pausing at the base of a snaking set of stairs, formed from a series of stones that had been piled up to facilitate ess to Gallstone Vige, Ryun pressed a small indentation, saying, "Though it should be impossible for an outsider to reach this location without the support of a Guide, we have taken a number of precautions to ensure the secrets of the Red Witches remain as such. If you attempted to ascend the stairs without pressing these indentations in a specific pattern, the entire stairway would copse. In the worst-case scenario, the vige itself can be dropped on foes, crushing them before penultimately exploding." Imagining the massive gallstone dropping on his head, a wry smile spread across Vahns face as he considered whether or not he would be able to lift the entire thing. He knew it should be possible, but, even to this day, he didnt really have any feats to demonstrate his lifting strength. All he knew for certain was that he could lift several million kilograms even before his ascent to Tier 5. Now, so long as he needed to, he should be able to lift any amount of weight so long as he was given the time to adjust his mental state... Noticing the thoughtful glimmer in her Masters eyes, Ryun fell silent as she stood next to Fenrir at the base of the stairs. They had be ustomed to their Masters introspective nature, so, with knowing smiles on their faces, they patiently awaited his return to reality with their tails wagging rhythmically behind them. Sensing the sudden emergence of an unfamiliar presence, Vahn immediately snapped out of his reverie while performing a grabbing motion at the air. This was followed by a girlish exmation as a rather petite yet well-endowed redhead, garbed in a ck vest, grey undershirt, dark-grey skirt, and ck jackboots appeared out of thin air. Recognizing the obvious simrities between the woman and Ryun, Vahn allowed her to stand of her own volition as his own redheadedpanion asked, "What are you doing here, Ai? Where is Soo Min?" Hearing the familiar voice, Ai, who had promptly plopped to the ground following Vahns release, jumped up with a start as she excitedly eximed, "Hwa Ryun? Is that really you!?" With the petite Ai approaching like a starstruck fan preparing to tackle their idol, Ryun returned the woman to her senses with a crisp smack to the face, stunning everyone present as she said, "I asked you a question. Exin the situation." Though she had briefly fallen into a stupor, mouth agape with her hand tentatively touching the area where Ryun had smacked her, Ai recovered shortly thereafter, revealing in a mncholic tone, "Soo Min has been killed..." Frowning deeply in response to the sudden revtion, Ryuns ears ttened aggressively atop her head as she grabbed Ais shoulders and said, "Tell me everything." in a threatening tone. Though she wanted to inquire about the fluffy ears atop her seniors head, Ai nodded furiously in response to Ryuns threatening tone, exining, "She was caught and tortured to death by a man named Hell Joe. He wanted to use her to locate the fragments of the Thorn. He refused to believe that her powers didnt function on the Floor of Death so she ended up dying before her time..." With each word spoken, Ryuns expression became progressively darker as the atmosphere around her be agitated. The thought of someone torturing her kin to death was already bad enough, but, far worse than that, Soo Min wasnt meant to die on the Floor of Death. This implied that Hell Joe was acting in defiance of fate, and, while this wasnt necessarily a bad thing, the actions he had taken were uneptable. Most Red Witches lived their entire lives knowing when, where, and how they were going to die so it was impossible to imagine how terrified Soo Min must have been upon realizing that her path had been severed... Liberating Ryun from her downward spiral, Vahn ced his hand atop her head, gently caressing her silky-smooth hair as he promised, "We will make him pay." Following an affirmative nod, Ryun threw her arms around Vahns body, face buried in his chest as she allowed him to hold and console her. This surprised Ai quite a bit, but, rather than remark on the peculiarities of the situation, she awkwardly inched closer to Fenrir to ask a few questions... --- Though he had already made up his mind on the matter, Vahns anger towards Hell Joe increased to an extreme when he saw the state of Soo Mins body. Ryun had asked him to take a look at the woman, and, if possible, she wanted him to revive her. Unfortunately, Soo Mins spirit had already departed her body. Hell Joe had consumed the energyprising her Ego, and, to make matters even worse, her vitality had been depleted to the point that her scar-covered body was in a state bordering on mummification, her expression perpetually fixed in a mask of horror... In the end, the most Vahn could do for Ryun and Ai was restore the condition of Soo Mins body so that those performing future pilgrimages wouldnt have to witness the travesty wrought by Hell Joes depravity. Any further treatment would depend on whether or not they were able to acquire Soo Mins Ego, but, considering the circumstances, the most likely oue was that Hell Joe had assimted it into himself in much the same way as White. Still, he wasnt just going to give up, so, following the treatment, Vahn learned more about the situation from Ai before the four of them made their way to a region in the Floor of Death known as South City. Contrary to the name, South City was more of a wastnd than anything else. The few residents that were present resembled emaciated corpses with sunken features, ghostlyplexions, and soulless eyes. This wasnt aplete exaggeration either, as, in exchange for eternal life, nearly every resident of the Floor of Death had their Souls removed by an Artifact known as the Soul-Stirring Ladle. As the name implied, the Soul-Stirring Ladle was, quite literally, a spoon with the power to scoop up a persons soul. More specifically, it was enchanted with a powerful spell that allowed it to separate a persons spiritual body from their physical form. Under normal circumstances, the Ego would generally apany the spiritual body as the two were intrinsically rted to each other. Here on the Floor of Death, however, there seemed to be a spell in ce that bound the Ego to the physical body, effectively making its residents immortal so long as they never left. Though some might consider eternal life a boon, only an absolute fool would consider separating the spiritual body from the physical form to be a viable solution to finality. The spiritual body was the very foundation upon which the Ego was built. Though it was possible to infuse the energy of a persons Ego into a physical object, it would quickly lose its stability unless the material used was spiritual in nature. Even under the most ideal of circumstances, it was only a matter of time before the Ego began to fracture and dissipate due to theck of a spiritual body to serve as a proper container. This might not result in death, but, in a way, it was far worse as you would gradually lose all emotions before penultimately losing your sense of self. In the end, the best-case scenario was bing a husk of your former self that clung to life without a sense of purpose. The more likely oue, however, was bing an entity that consumed the vital energies and essence of other living creatures in a vain attempt topensate for what you had lost... Seemingly understanding this w, the rulers of the Floor of Death had implemented policies that prevented residents from leaving. Anyone entering would also be required to give up their souls, not just for the sake of leverage, but to prevent the residents within from attacking. Though the average resident of the Floor of Death was rather weak, their immortality made them extremely difficult to deal with. They also possessed a unique sensitivity to any living creature with a spiritual body, so, unless you were outrageously powerful, it was only a matter of time before the residents within swarmed you like an undead horde. This would gradually result in the degradation of their mental states, so, with very few exceptions, nothing with a soul was allowed to enter the Floor of Death. Not caring about this restriction in the slightest, Vahn walked through South City with a bundle of Talismans known as Bujeok in his hand. They were derived from a unique branch of mysticism that allowed monks to seal, and, under certain circumstances, control the dead. Since the residents of South City were effectively undead, the peculiar paper talismans could be used topletely seal their movements by simply attaching them to the forehead. Even the most powerful among them were not spared this fate, as, rather than simple ink, each of the Bujeok wielded by Vahn had been inscribed using his blood as a catalyst. Long before he had reached Tier 5, Vahn already had a unique constitution. Even Da Vinci, despite hundreds of years and countless hours of research, had failed to make any substantial progress in understanding the peculiarities of his blood. Instead, it became progressively more mysterious the more she researched it. As a result, even the most simple Talismans inscribed using his blood were graded as B-Rank items, and, depending on the amount of effort put into them, they were capable of reaching much higher ranks. Though it was a little overkill, each of the Bujeok in Vahns hand were, on average, A-Rank Sealing Talismans. They could, quite literally, be used to seal away lesser Tier 4 beings, so, while there were a number of strong residents among the undead of South City, each was immobilized the moment his Talismans came into contact with their foreheads. To make the situation even more one-sided, Vahn could manipte said Talismans at rtivistic speeds and teleport them directly through his domain. Thus, rather than inviting a horde to pester them, the group of four moved freely through South City until they reached a massive tower known as the Red Fortress... Not expecting Vahn to be so tyrannical, Ai found herself at aplete loss as she witnessed him deal with Hell Joes supposedly powerful guards with a simple flick of his wrist. Earlier on, she had tried to give him advice on avoiding a direct confrontation, as, from her perspective, Hell Joe was not a foe just anyone could defeat. Now, she felt like a fool who had tried to caution a God against stepping on an ant nest. To make matters even worse, Ryun and Fenrir would send overtly teasing and borderline haughty looks her way, neither showing any signs of perturbation as they followed obediently behind the ridiculously efficient Irregr. Fortunately, while his expression remained absolutely calm, Vahn had never beencking in regard to sensory capabilities. As a result, they stopped just short of entering the Red Fortress, his voice a calm and steady baritone as he said, "This foe is a little on the dangerous side. His aura is the same as the presence lingering within the corpse of the Guardian. For now, it would put my mind at ease if the three of you retired to the Little Garden. Dont worry. Im not going to kill him before youve had a chance to ask your questions." With the final few words directed toward her, Ryun nodded her head in understanding before nting a surprise kiss on his cheek and whispering, "Thank you..." in a sincere yet slightly heated tone. She was happy just being able to follow the same path as him, so, with Vahn often going out of his way to help resolve personal problems, Ryun couldnt help but grow increasingly infatuated with him. He also treated her with far more care and affection than she ever expected, so, while it earned her an incredulous look from Ai, she wasnt shy when it came to nuzzling against his chest with a smile on her face. Chuckling in response to Ryuns affectionate disy, Vahn habitually wrapped his hand around her waist before nting a kiss atop her head and lightly musing, "There is no need to thank me. After all, youve been a very good girl as ofte..." Recognizing the familiar term, an amused chuckle emanated from Ryuns throat as Fenrir, keying in on the phrase, nodded her head in affirmation before crossing her arms and saying, "See? What did I tell you? So long as youre a good girl, Master will always treat you well~!" Though it earned them all an increasingly incredulous look from Ai, both Vahn and Ryun couldnt help butugh in response to Fenrirs proud statement. This was joined by thetter, and, for the better part of a full minute, the three of themughed heartily in spite of the dismal atmosphere and the presence of several sealed undead twitching about in the surroundings... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ryun can be surprisingly harsh...,Talismans inscribed with the blood of a Tier 5 being are OP (O ^ O)...!,I kind of feel bad for Ai xD... https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1897 Escalation

Chapter 1897 Esction

Seated high atop a spiraling pir of stone, a man with ashen grey skin, ghastly blue hair, matching eyes, long pointed ears, and small antennae could be seen slouching forward as he watched various news reports regarding the Tower. At his side, a massive stag beetle, approximately twenty meters in height and twice that in length, silently clicked its mandibles in frustration. Much like the giant stag beetle, the grey-skinned man, garbed in a thick hooded parka that was adorned with a thick furred cor, could sense the turmoil urring outside. His body housed a unique parasitic organism known as the Red Thryssa, the supposed offspring of the Guardian that had been killed by Enryu. As a result, he could sense fluctuations in the surrounding Shinsu, and, when he got serious, even former High Rankers were unable to offer any resistance against him. Long ago, the man, better known as Hell Joe, would have spared no effort in ensuring the people under his charge were well protected. He had been the type to face his enemies directly, and, for a time, no manner of setback could deter him from doing what was best for his people. A stark contrast to his former self, someone even Ureko had taken an interest in, the current Hell Joe was unmoved by the sounds of conflict urring in his own fortress. He knew everyone was immortal, so, even if he took his time, it wasnt like anyone was going to die. Instead, he continued shoveling handfuls of various different snacks into his mouth as his insect-like wings twitched due to his rising frustration. Though some might mistakenly believe he was frustrated by the outside disturbances, the truth of the matter was that Hell Joe was tired of watching the news. For reasons he couldnt understand, his contacts within FUG had given him an old-school television that only showed various different news stations. It wasnt that these werent interesting to watch, but, rather than entertain him, the various happenings in the Tower only made him more envious of the fact he was trapped within the Floor of Death. Biting his thumbnail in frustration, Hell Joe murmured, "That damn Karaka. When I get out of here, the first thing Im going to do is take a can opener to that tin-faced lunatic! Who the fuck gifts out a television that only shows the news!? Are you trying to taunt me!? Huh!?" As if to answer his questions, an explosion, apanied by a considerable amount of dust and debris, urred near the entrance of the chamber. This was enough to earn Hell Joes attention, as, from within the cloud of dust, a petite figure with a bone mask and a pointed hood could be seen reaching out towards him, groaning, "Master Joe...help...us..." Following the cry for help, a strange yellow-orange piece of paper created a tunnel-like vortex within the remaining cloud of dust before impacting the masked figures forehead. Immediately thereafter, the figure ceased moving in its entirety as the silhouette of a man emerged from the entrance to the chamber, asserting, "You must be Hell Joe..." Other than frowning slightly, Hell Joe didnt seem to care that the central chamber of his fortress had been breached. Instead, he sized up the figure that had invaded, asking, "Who the hell are you supposed to be? I thought for sure you were that blue-haired Bitch Hermit from North City. Dont tell me this is some kind of ploy from those FUG assholes?" Largely ignoring the man, Vahn listened as the Law of Identity revealed the reasons for Hell Joes tyranny. His connection with FUG wasnt even remotely surprising. What did catch him off guard was the fact that the man seemed to have a mild obsession with Ureko, the source of the strange creature fused with his body. Realizing the man had a connection with Ureko, a frown immediately developed across Vahns face as he wondered what had urred to send the man down this dark path. Ureko wasnt the type of person who would empower the wicked and empower them with the ability to oppress others. Her sense of righteousness was even greater than his, and, had she known about the events urring within this ce, he couldnt imagine her staying silent. Clearing up his confusion, the Law of Identity promptly changed into Ureko before exining, "It seems like she has the Workshop developing some kind of tool to extract a creature known as the Red Thryssa from his body? She also seems to know that you havee to the Floor of Death and is intending to surprise you." Genuinely surprised by the revtion, Vahn ignored the increasingly frustrated Hell Joe, asking, "Is she here?" in a slightly concerned tone. Seemingly amused by his reaction, the Law of Identity began to snicker in an eerily simr way to the actual Ureko before nodding her head and revealing, "Yup~! She is currently meeting with a woman named Garam Jahad." Following the revtion, the Law of Identity transformed into a rather striking beauty with bluish-white hair that became progressively darker towards the ends. She almost looked like a member of the Khun Family, but, based on the aura emanating from her body, it was more likely that she was the daughter of two different Families. Nodding her head in affirmation, the Law of Identity revealed, "Her father was a member of the Tu Perie Family and her mother was an exiled member of the Khun Family. Youre in luck. It seems she has taken an interest in you after learning about your existence from Ureko." Raising his brows in response to the Law of Identitys words, Vahn was about to ask for rification when Hell Joe suddenly leaped from his perch, his expression a caricature of unrestrained anger as he shouted, "Are you seriously ignoring me!? Ill fucking end you, you sorry sack of shit...!!" Shifting his attention back to the man, Vahn watched as the antennae on his head became crimson red horns. At the same time, a carapace-like mask formed from the same crimson material grew to cover the lower half of his face, its final shape resembling a mix between an insectoid maw and the face of a demon. It honestly looked a little cool, especially with his thick-furred parka and therge wed gauntlet that had grown along his right arm. Unfortunately, Vahn hadnt exactlye here to admire the man; so, before the transformation couldplete, his fist had already impacted the mask, shattering both it and Hell Joes jaw. Demonstrating a remarkable resilience and an even more ludicrous recovery rate, Hell Joe spit a few broken teeth and bone fragments from his mouth before wiping away the blood to reveal his fully healed jaw. The mask, however, didnt immediately grow back as the energy within his system became increasingly tumultuous. Realizing the interloper wasnt someone he could look down upon, Hell Joes wrathful expression morphed into a mask of calm as he remarked, "You certainly have the strength to back up your arrogance. Its too-" Moving the moment he sensed the man trying to muster his energy, Vahn kicked Hell Joe in the diaphragm with enough force to send him smashing through the walls of the fortress. He wasnt the type to let his enemy monologue while they sneakily prepared an attack. Thus, while he was a little interested in the power of the Red Thryssa, it wasnt like he would never have the chance to face an actual Floor Guardian... Hugging the hole in his chest, Hell Joe rapidly regenerated from his wounds as a bead of sweat rolled from his forehead. He had thought that the Red Thryssa had made him invincible, but, as if he was just an insect waiting to be crushed, his defenses offered no protection against the fists of his assant. This was something he had never expected, so, for the first time in decades, he began to fully focus on what was happening right in front of him. Unaware of the existential crisis he was forcing Hell Joe to undergo, Vahn emerged from the Red Fortress with a golden aura emanating from his body. He had be rather fond of the Ancient Saiyan transformations, and, though they ced a heavy burden on both his mind and body, the strain on his spirit was surprisingly small. Thus, with functionally unlimited stamina and an Innate that provided him rity of mind in virtually all circumstances, the Super Saiyan transformations were surprisingly easy to pull off. Surprised by the energy emanating from his opponent, Hell Joe did what he believed to be the most sensible thing, given the circumstances, shouting, "Zero Area...!" as a peculiar white pulse erupted from his body. This caused the Shinsu Density for thousands of kilometers to drop to a near-zero amount, effectively rendering Shinsu Control Skillspletely useless. Unaffected by the sudden change in Shinsu Density, Vahn punched the surprised Joe with a fist shrouded in golden ki. Then, before his body could be sent flying backward, a gold energy sphere appeared in his hand, growing at a rate faster than the formers departing velocity. As a result, his half-transformed body waspletely shrouded in a sphere of golden ki that promptly turned in a column of light that sent him smashing into the ground several hundred kilometers away in an instant. Though it wasnt exactly necessary, Vahn instinctually shielded his eyes in response to the massive sun-like explosion on the horizon. He was gambling on the fact that even the insects on the Floor of Death possessed a form of immortality, so, while he would generally avoid such catastrophic attacks near poption centers, this was one of the few ces in the Tower where he didnt have to worry about the seque caused by his attacks. As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn was slightly surprised by the emergence of a violent red figure from within the massive explosion. His domain only extended to around 37km by default, so, while he was easily able to react to most attacks, including those that exceeded the speed of light, he was effectively blind to attacks from outside the range of his senses. Raising his arm, Vahn blocked the fierce-looking ws of Hell Joes right hand with his exposed forearm. To his surprise, four unreasonably sharp des of energy erupted at the point of contact, instantaneously tracing across his forearm, face, neck, shoulder, and several hundred meters of empty air before promptly slicing through the Red Fortress without slowing in the slightest. Not expecting Hell Joes attack to be infused with Severing Laws, an amused chuckle escaped from Vahns throat as the bloody lines across his body instantaneously healed. Then, before the former could recover from his shock, Vahn twisted his hand to snatch Joes wrist, crushing both it and the wed gauntlet with an even more unreasonable amount of strength. Executing one of the techniques he rarely had the opportunity to show off, the silhouette of an Azure Dragon manifested around Vahns body as he performed a spiraling uppercut towards Joes jaw. Apanying said manifestation, a majestic roar shook the entirety of the Floor of Death as the azure figure smashed into the fleshy ceiling located several tens of kilometers above. Though an impressivework of tunnels and pipes had been established to control the flow of Shinsu-like blood entering the Floor of Death, a veritable pir of the crimson liquid emerged from therge hole created by Vahns attack. This created an eerie sight to behold for the few observers watching the battle in the distance, but, more importantly, the baptism of blood provided Joe with a much-needed respite and a rather drastic increase in hisbat capabilities. Emerging from the shower of blood with a muscr figure, massive red horns, a rather stylish noh mask, and arge mane of ashen-white hair, Hell Joe couldnt help but cross his arms tauntingly as he said, "Your efforts are futile. In this ce, I am a God. All youve managed to achieve thus far is ensuring your death will not be painless. I will keep you here and torture you until you are nothing but a dried-up husk that knows nothing but pain and suffering. In the end, you will beg for death." Raising his brows in response to the mans words, Vahn adopting a somewhat incredulous look on his face as he remarked, "This is why power should never be given to people. I generally try not to look down on my opponents, but you...you are truly pitiable. It would seem youve been trapped in this ce for far too long. Let me show you what a true God looks like..." Taking advantage of the fact that Joe was still attempting to absorb the Shinsu contained within the column of blood, Vahn crossed his arms in front of his body while tucking his legs up to form a ball. Immediately thereafter, brilliant blue lightning began to flicker along the periphery of his aura as the interior transitioned from a vibrant golden luster to an even more radiant bluish-white. Sensing the phenomenal energy surging from Vahns body, Hell Joes eyes widened as he moved to instinctually interfere with the transformation. Unfortunately, the moment he saw the blue light, it was already far toote to take action. As a result, he ended up being sted away as a mighty roar emanated from Vahns throat, copsing the surrounding space as his hair shifted from pale-golden to a luminous azure-green... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Law of Identity enjoys ruining surprises xD...,Joe be like, "Behold! My second transformation...!",Vahn be like, "Hold my Dwarven Stout...") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1898 A Demonstration of True Power

Chapter 1898 A Demonstration of True Power

Extricating himself from a pile of debris that buried him beneath hundreds of meters of earth, Hell Joe couldnt help feeling a little shaken as he viewed the hemispherical crater formed from Vahns release of energy. It hadpletely erased a series of small mountains, and, more surprisingly, an area nearly 80km across had beenpletely ssed. At the very center of this devastation, reminiscent of an azure star, a figure with luminescent green hair, golden horns, emerald green scales, and a monkey-like tail could be seen standing with their arms crossed. Joe recognized this to be the same posture he had adopted previously, his expression darkening considerably as he took to the sky like a crimson meteor, ascending to shout, "It doesnt matter what you do! So long as you are on the Floor of Death, your defeat is inevitable! Come-" Followed by the sound of a thunderp, Vahn appeared right in front of Hell Joe, hands sped around the mans insectoid horns. Then, before the light from the azure lightning could even begin to fade, his forehead impacted Hell Joes with enough force to break off both horns before sending the man smashing into the ssy pit with catastrophic force. It was like the ground for hundreds of meters had simply copsed, descending much like a sinkhole to form an abyssal impression in the ground below. Tossing aside Joes horns, Vahn took a deep breath to steady himself before bringing his palms near each other and adopting a slouched stance with both arms facing backward. He imagined himself hold a ball formed from pure energy, and, in response to the image, a vibrant sphere of azure light collected between his palms. To make things even more problematic for Joe, he used the Shinsu ck Hole Sphere to amplify the ability,pletely bypassing the limitations he had ced on the Shinsu Density. With the center of the sphere gaining a perturbing ck luster, Vahn waited until Joe erupted from the massive sinkhole to teleport beneath the enraged tyrant. This left thetter at aplete loss, as, due to the power he had been bestowed, his mastery over the innumerable Laws, Space included, was negligible at best. His use of Severing Laws seemed to be an inherentponent of the Red Thryssa, so, while he was able to sense the spatial fluctuations, there was little he could do against an opponent who could instantaneously teleport. Gambling on the mans immortality, Vahn couldnt help but crack a smile as he finished the final syble of the chant spoken within his head, shouting, "Ha...!" as he brought his hands forward and released a catastrophic energy beam that instantly pierced through the ceiling of the Floor of Death. This was only the beginning, however, as, rather than be mitigated by the extremely dense corpse of the Floor Guardian, the Shinsu within served to empower the beam further. As a result, it cut through the entirety of the Floor Guardians corpse before continuing onward and impacting the ceiling of the 43rd Floor in less than three seconds. Surprised by the output of his own attack, Vahn held his hand before him, azure eyes reflecting the vibrant bands of electricity that still danced across his palms. This was the first time he had used an attack like this outside the Little Garden, and, due to the variations in the Laws and the stability of the surrounding space, its power was far beyond expectation. Shaking his head, Vahn allowed his hands to fall as he spread his senses through the area in search of Hell Joe. He knew it would take more than atomization to put the immortal man down, but, due to the inclusion of the ck Hole Sphere, it was hard to be certain. Fortunately, he had the Law of Identity at his side to confirm the man was both alive and hiding. Infusing the Law of Authority into his voice, allowing it to effectively reach every inhabitant of the Floor of Death, Vahn adopted a stern and slightly mocking tone as he mused, "Im still waiting for you to show me the futility of confronting a God. Dont tell me...are you the God of Cowards? That would exin a lot..." Sensing the attack long before the sh of light reached him, Vahn held up his hand to intercept Joes ws with his open palm. Then, using the motion of the mans attack against him, he twisted the formers arm at a painful angle before kicking him in the side with enough force to sever his upper and bottom halves. Despite the loss of his lower body, Hell Joe maintained a surprisingly resolute expression on his face as his insectoid maw opened to reveal a vibrant beam of light. At the same time, his mane-like cor seemed to ignite in a manner simr to Karnas mantle, intense heat radiating from his body as a destructive and highly prative beam emanated from his many-toothed mouth. With Joes wed hand still in his grasp, Vahn simply jerked the man to the side while twisting his head to evade the lightspeed attack. This was one of the limitations of energy-based attacks, as, despite their incredible power, those with quick enough reaction times could easily evade them. After all, while the attack itself might be lightspeed, the motions and build-up of the energy were, at best, around 30% the speed of light. Using the same motion as his evasive maneuver, Vahn released Joes quickly regenerating body, twisting around with enough force to create a vacuum to prevent the mans escape before giving him another sharp blow to the bottom jaw. This caused Joes maw to m shut, teeth shattering from the force of the blow before the bottom half of his face exploded due to the energy from his own attack. Realizing the man wasnt going to tire out any time soon, irrespective of the number of times he was injured, a resolute sheen shed across Vahns eyes as he bent forward, left arm pointing at Joes chest while his right hand pointed back. Immediately thereafter, an incrediblyplex eight trigrams formation appeared beneath him, seemingly embedding itself within the air to create a translucent tform as he began a precision assault on the energywork within both Joes and the Red Thyrssas bodies. Feeling his connection with the surrounding Shinsu being severed, Joes eyes widened as he tried to evade backward. To his surprise, awork of golden chains had appeared to block his retreat, and, for reasons he couldnt understand, simply contacting them was enough to send a numbing sensation throughout his entire body. It was like being electrocuted, and, as a result, he couldnt even raise his arms as Vahn continued to press various pressure points on his body. Wrapping things up, quite literally, Vahn used Enkidu to bind the paralyzed Joe before asking, "Is this the limit of the power you were provided? You thought this was enough to proim yourself a God? From my perspective, you are just a frog trapped within a well. Tell me, have you ever trained a day in your life? What have you done to try and master this power that was provided to you...?" With his arms syed out to the side, almost as if he had been crucified, Joe raised his head to reveal unbridled hatred in his ghostly eyes as he shouted, "You dont know anything! I tried my best to bring positive change to the Floor of Death, but those bastards in the Grand family kept undermining all of my efforts! They even installed a fucking child to be the leader when I tried to handle things diplomatically via a vote! Tell me, what else was I supposed to do when everyone in power did everything possible to fuck me over!?" Though he had been tempted to interrupt the moment Joe mentioned him not knowing anything, Vahn waited until the man was gasping for air before snorting through his nose and giving him a crisp smack across the face. Then, with an uncharacteristically contemptuous look in his eyes, he firmly stated, "You were supposed to keep trying. If you truly believed in your ideals, you wouldnt have abandoned your sincerity in the pursuit of even greater power. You also wouldnt have locked yourself away in a fortress, holing yourself up like a hikikomori who only readsics and watches the news day in and day out. Most importantly, you would never have resorted to torturing people who were wholly unrted to your ambitions. You can use others all you like, but, the moment you stopped caring about the means toplete your objective, you became nothing more than a self-serving tyrant. Pathetic..." Spitting out a broken tooth, Hell Joe maintained his indignant look even as his mind raced due to the realization that he wasnt healing properly. This earned him a disapproving head shake from Vahn, but, more importantly, a familiar sigh could be heard emanating from beyond the periphery of his vision. This caused an instinctual shudder to pass through his body, followed by a sinking feeling as he averted his eyes from Vahn to find an athletic-looking woman with golden hair and crimson eyes staring at him with a disappointed frown. There was also a striking beauty with pale-blue hair and a winter parka standing next to her, but,pared to the former, she didnt stand out all that much. Preempting any excuses Joe might try and give, Ureko inly stated, "Ick the words to express how disappointed I am in you. I gave you the Red Thryssa because I believed in your dream and ambitions. How did you go from an idealistic pipe cleaner to a tyrant in just a few short decades? There are people climbing the Tower who dedicate hundreds of years to improve their strength so they can achieve their dreams. What the hell happened to you, Joe?" With Joe unable to utter so much a single syble in his defense, Vahn made things a little easier for him, exining, "He got duped by FUG. They lied and told him that he would be able to leave the Floor of Death if he managed to provide them with the final fragment of the Thorn. The most pitiable thing about the situation is that FUG already knew where the final fragment was located. The only reason they associated with Joe was to bide time until they could develop a method to extract and use the Red Thryssa for themselves. Unfortunately, they quickly realized that its power was useless beyond the 43rd Floor, but, rather than informing Joe of the futility of his actions, they allowed him to y God in order to maintain control over the Floor of Death." Hearing Vahns exnation, Joes expression resembled the face of an ambitious youth who had just learned of their terminal illness. As for Ureko, her eyes released a subtle glow that sent shivers through everyone present, Vahn included, as she darkly uttered, "I see...once were finished here, Ill have you reveal the names of everyone involved in this scheme. It seems FUG has forgotten my previous warning about sticking their noses into my business..." Though his power had increased exponentially since theirst meeting, Vahn got the impression that Ureko was still far beyond him. Considering she was also a Tier 5 being, however, this wasnt all that surprising. She was likely the most powerful being in the entire Tower, and, were it not for the restrictions she had ced upon herself, the Empire might have already been destroyed. Nodding his head in response to Urekos words, Vahn was about to say something when a rather dangerous smile spread across the formers face. Then, like a glutton who had just happened upon an expansive buffet, her crimson tongue briefly parted her lips, moisturizing her vermillion border as she remarked, "Youve gotten significantly stronger since ourst meeting. I never expected you to actually defeat Joe. Handily at that..." Feeling as though Ureko had suddenly be a giant predator gazing down upon him, a natural frown developed across Vahns face as his draconic aura began to surge in response. This caused the glowing of her eyes to be even more vibrant, but, before things could escte further, a hammer-like fist smacked into the back of her head, followed by the beauty at her side remarking, "If you dont hurry up and introduce me, dont me me if I continue ignoring you." Rubbing the back of her head, Ureko adopted a slightly apologetic look that better resembled a mischievous grin as she said, "No need to resort to violence. Besides, didnt I tell you before? Vahn knows everything he wants to know. Based on his reaction when we first arrived, he already knew we wereing. Much less your name, I bet he can urately tell you all three of your sizes and the age you were when you stopped wetting the bed." Raising her hand, Garam attempted to give Ureko another punch. This time, however, thetter easily evaded her fist, snickering yfully as she instantaneously appeared behind Vahn. This left Garam with an annoyed frown on her face, but,pared to the hatred that had appeared in Joes eyes the moment he saw Ureko shielding herself behind Vahn, it was a rtively tame response... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Where all the shouting at?,*Casually evadessers*,No secrets are safe from Loi-chan (O w O)...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1899 Expanding Horizons

Chapter 1899 Expanding Horizons

After a long conversation regarding Hell Joes fate, Vahn agreed to let Wolhaiksong take him into custody after conferring with Ryun and Ai. Their vengeance wasnt his responsibility to met out, so, knowing Joe was yet another victim of circumstance, Ryun took the initiative to pardon him on the premise that Ureko forgoes seeking rpense from FUG. Ureko wasnt particrly fond of the idea that FUGs actions would go unpunished, but, knowing the names of the people directly responsible, she agreed to let the organization as a whole off the hook. The yer known as Karaka, however, had just found himself to the very top of her personal shit list. This all but guaranteed a conflict between Wolhaiksong and the military forces of Karaka, a battle thetter had virtually no hope of winning. Since there was nothing she could do to actually stop Ureko, Ryun had little choice but to ept the formerspromise. It helped that her opinion of Karaka had decreased drastically over thest year or so, as, more than any other representative of FUG, he was the one regrly interfering with Vahns ascent. His actions had nearly resulted in the destruction of the entire organization, so, while she was predisposed to support the actions of all yers, she would notment his passing... --- With the matter of Hell Joergely resolved, Vahn found himself in a rather awkward yet familiar situation, a wry smile on his face as he escorted Garam through the various Layers of the Little Garden with Ureko riding on his shoulders. She really did remind him of the younger version of Mordred at time, and, despite his protests, there was little he could do to actually stop her from doing whatever she wanted. Fortunately, though her behavior regrly demonstrated otherwise, Ureko had enough wherewithal to understand when she shouldnt fool around. Thus, shortly before their arrival on the Eighth Layer, she promptly alighted from his shoulders, saying, "Its been a long time. Ill be expecting a feast and some delicious alcohol to celebrate our reunion. Afterward, I have a surprise for you. You better not peek." Punctuating her words with the cracking of her knuckles, Vahn rolled his eyes as he sent a telepathic message to deter the Law of Identitys usual antics. He might be curious to ascertain how his powerpared to someone like Ureko, but, given her personality, fighting against her all but guaranteed he would experience some indignity. His draconic nature didnt allow him to abide such slights with grace, so, until he was confident in his victory, Vahn didnt want to carelessly trigger the aggressive dragoness more primal instincts. Smiling in response to Urekos warning, Vahn habitually extended his hand to caress her smooth golden hair as he said, "Im looking forward to it." in a rxed tone. This earned him an incredulous look from Garam, who, despite having no reaction to Urekos antics, couldnt believe that thetter would ept such treatment from another person. Rather than resist Vahns touch, Ureko just giggled with a mischievous glimmer in her eyes as she turned them up at him and remarked, "As bold as ever..." in a tone that was equal parts seductive and predatory. Though he felt a strongpulsion to retract his hand, Vahn moved to caress the side of Urekos face, thumb nearly brushing her lips as he said, "Would you have allowed me to ce my mark on your back if I wascking in boldness...?" With her pupils contracting to form thin lines, an amused snicker emanated from Urekos throat as she abruptly reached between Vahns trouser legs, firmly grasping his sleeping member with a smile on her face. Rather than speaking her initial thoughts, however, her expression quickly changed to one of mild surprise as she offhandedly remarked, "Seriously? You really are a monster..." Suppressing the physiological response of his body, Vahn snatched Urekos hand with a deadpan expression on his face as he said, "We should get going. There are quite a number of introductions that need to be made. Besides...were making Garam ufortable..." Hearing the mention of her name, Garam reacted with a slight start, eyes widening for a moment as she waved her hand in a dismissive manner and said, "Oh, dont mind me. Im just a little surprised. I always assumed Ureko had a thing for women so I never expected to see her behaving like this with a man. I guess this means youre bisexual...?" Reacting to Garams words, Ureko puffed out her cheeks in a sham pout before promptly dering, "Theres nothing wrong with appreciating beauty! Its not my fault this Tower is full of small-minded assholes and arrogant pricks...!" Sensing the conversation was flowing in a dangerous direction, Vahn attempted to intervene, but, before he could interject, Garam looked directly at him, arms crossed as she asked, "So? What are your intentions? Ureko informed me of the basics, but she sucks at exining things in detail. Tell me, what do you know of Arlene Grace? Is it true youre trying to collect Princesses of Jahad, or are you actually just after the 13 Month Series? Is the Tower really just a means for people to ascend to a higher ne of existence? What do you know of the worlds above...?" Though he could understand the reason for Garams curiosity, Vahn couldnt help but get annoyed whenever someone threw a bunch of questions his way. He didnt mind discussing such things, but, for a variety of reasons, he disliked being interrogated. Garams bodynguage also made it pretty clear that she expected an answer, and, though she wasnt overtly looking down on him, her former status and authority as a Princess of Jahad had obviously left their mark. Reacting with a deadpan expression that left Garam feeling taken aback, Vahn exacerbated things by inly asking, "If I told you my aim was to collect each of the Princesses, what would you do? Have you considered the repercussions of asking such a question or do you hold yourself in such high regard that you expect it to give you some kind of leverage against me?" Raising his hand to prevent Garam from speaking, Vahn briefly shifted his attention to the Law of Identity, shaking his head as he said, "Forget it. Youll realize the ridiculousness of your words soon enough. For now, let us be on our way. All of your questions will be answered in due time." Without waiting for Garams response, Vahn created a circr portal connecting the Seventh and Eighth Layers before stepping through. This was a lot easier than trying to transfer Ureko directly, and, most importantly, it allowed him to move on ahead of the duo. Not expecting such a reaction, Garam was at even more of a loss than before, mouth slightly agape as she looked to Ureko for answers. In response, thetter simply shrugged her shoulders, a slightly amused smile on her face as she said, "I did tell you he was an Emperor. Though he doesnt act like one ny percent of the time, he still has the pride of someone who rules over countless others. If you had asked him in a more casual manner, he probably would have answered you without giving it a second thought. Now, he probably thinks youre just another pampered Princess with an over-inted sense of entitlement." Frowning in response to Urekos words, Garam was about to say something in her defense when the former suddenly became uncharacteristically serious, adding, "A few months ago, that man was at a level where he could barely defeat one of the weakest High Rankers. Now, he can trade blows with three of the most powerful Princesses of Jahad, Adori included, without sustaining any serious injuries. Given his current rate of growth, it wont even take him another ten years to surpass me in strength. If you think someone like that cares about the status and machinations of people trapped within a Tower, you really do have an overwhelming sense of entitlement..." Finished with her words of warning, Ureko performed a half-hearted wave before motioning to step through the portal Vahn had created. Before doing so, however, she stopped to take a look over her shoulder, smiling as she said, "Dont worry. That sentiment applies pretty broadly. If he doesnt care about your machinations, he obviously wouldnt care about something like a gaff. Unless you make a big deal out of it, hell probably act like this little hup never happened. That man is pretty weak against pretty women, so, even without asking for help, I bet he would lend you a hand of his own ord." With that said, an amused chuckle emanated from Urekos throat as she stepped through the portal and disappeared. This left Garam alone to contemte her words, a mix of reflection and confusion visible in her icy-white eyes as she assumed a thinking posture and mused, "It would seem I need to expand my horizons...the Tower and its politics are beginning to seem increasingly insignificant..." --- Unaware of the sentiments of her elder sister, Maschenny used the months following her encounter with Vahn to ascend to the 123rd Floor of the Tower. More specifically, she ventured to one of the most isted and secure regions of the entire Floor, an area of perpetual twilight where a massive floating castle could periodically be seen phasing in and out of view among a sea of luminescent clouds. With most forms of flight restricted in the region, Maschenny was forced to ride a gond-like ship drawn by a pair of Shinheuh that greatly resembled giant seahorses. This took the better part of an hour, but, having be ustomed to such procedures, she was able to remain rtively calm as the nervous gondolier guided the ship through one of many hidden grottos leading further into the floating castle. After destroying a number of automatons that attempted to have herplete mundane tasks and solve various riddles, Maschenny finally reached the underground entrance to a hidden observatory guarded by a number of Royal Guards. This was the very heart of the ind-like floating castle, and, though there was a massive pce nearby, thetter was merely a cover to distract anyone entering the veritable fortress without permission. Standing at the very front of the group of guards, a petite man with dark silver hair and a neatly trimmed mustache could be seen waiting for Maschennys arrival. He was dressed identically to a Butler, but, in actuality, he was one of the most prestigious Guides employed by the Empire, an Advanced Ranker known as Alumik Edrok. Bowing low in response to Maschennys arrival, Alumik adopted a respectful tone as he said, "It is our pleasure to wee you, Princess Maschenny. Unfortunately, Princess Repellista is still in low spirits due to the loss of her favorite pillow. Unless it is a matter of utmost importance, I would ask that you not disturb her until a recement can be found." Frowning in response to Alumiks words, Maschenny uttered the first words that came to her mind, asking, "Dont tell me...Ureko also came here...?" Offering a curt nod in response, Alumik went on to exin, "Indeed. The castle was invaded by Miss Ureko some four months prior. Since then, Princess Repellista has been in poor spirits since none of her recement pillows canpare to the one she received from Lady Blossom. We have already tried contacting the Eurasia Family in an attempt to procure a recement, but it would seem Lady Blossom has been in a deep slumber for thest couple of months..." Exhaling an uncharacteristically tired sigh, Maschenny shook her head in mild exasperation before saying, "Whatever. Take me to Repellistas room. Im certain she will agree to meet with me. I have a lot of important matters to discuss with her. Tell her Im willing to negotiate with the Eurasia Family on her behalf, and, if necessary, I will visit the 77th Floor in an attempt to recover her pillow." Bowing low in response to Maschennys words, Alumik stated, "I will inform her at once. For now, please enjoy some hot cocoa prepared by our staff. Princess Repellista received quite arge sum of cocoa beans as a tribute from the Chocoa Kingdom. Im certain you will find it ptable." Since there was no merit in making Repellista upset, Maschenny replied with a curt nod of her own before following a Maid with rabbit ears into a nearby waiting room. There, she waited patiently for Repellistas reply, as, in spite of the fact she had yet to even begin her climb, the enigmatic Princess was one of the most influential within the entire Tower. She even had the support of several Family Leaders, and, though it was generally impossible to manipte Shinsu prior to bing a Regr and forming a contract with the Guardians, Repellista had a rare talent that eclipsed even the most prodigious members of the Eurasia Family. In recognition of Repellistas talent, the Leader of the Tu Perie Family had gifted her an Opera, one of only three in the entire Tower. This allowed her to drastically increase her status among the other Princesses, as, unlike a normal Lighthouse, the range of an Opera was functionally infinite. It could see practically everything taking ce within the Tower, and, unless they had been modified by an inordinately skilled Light Bearer, she could hack most Lighthouses and Pockets to further expand her informationwork. This made her, inarguably, the most dependable information broker in the entire Tower, and, so long as you could satisfy her requests, there were very few things she couldnt find through her iprehensibly vastwork... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn aint ready to tame this dragon...,Imagine Garams reaction when she meets Vahns harem xD...,A voyeur that can even rival Vahn...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu \u003c-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1900 Predatory

Chapter 1900 Predatory

Of all the surprises he had expected, Vahn wasnt particrly fazed when Ureko pulled out a small box filled with more than forty pairs of neatly arranged panties, smiling as she said, "It might be a little excessive, but I figured I might as well aim for aplete set. At this point, the only ones Im missing belong to Princesses that have gone missing, a few brats climbing the Tower, and that one Enne chick. Im also missing Repellistas pair, but it turns out she likes to gomando. Im hoping shell part with a pair in exchange for her pillows return, but its pretty difficult to venture above the 100th Floor right now." Offering a wry smile in response, Vahn almost felt bad for the Princesses still awaiting a visit from Ureko. Despite this, he couldnt help but pass his gaze over each of the unique pairs of panties, his mind wandering to a time when he was determined to produce S-Rank undergarments. As this thought danced across his mind, Vahn was moderately surprised to find a piece of light-blue fabric that hardly qualified as underwear. This seemed to catch Urekos attention, an impish smile immediately developing across her face as she appeared behind him and gazed over his shoulder. With her monstrous perception, determining the angle of someones view was an incredibly simple feat. As a result, a peal ofughter erupted from Urekos throat before she linked her arms around his neck, leaning against his back to exin, "That pair belongs to that sadistic rascal, Maschenny. You should have seen the look on everyones faces when I gave her snow-white bottom a thorough spanking." Thanks to his ability to form perfect images within his mind, Vahn couldnt help but imagine the scene of Maschennys public shaming. This caused him to feel a little guilty, but, knowing how the average Princess lived their lives, pitying them was pretty difficult. Maschenny, in particr, was in the process of trying to bring an end to the current era by starting a cataclysmic conflict that would shake the entire Tower. Her reason for doing so was surprisingly sound, but, as Ureko had stated, it was Maschennys sadistic personality and her insatiable desire for battle that ultimatelypelled her to move forward with her ns. Realizing that the panties were loosely arranged by order of rank, Vahns eyes briefly shifted to the rather tame pair in the foremost position. These undoubtedly belonged to Adori, and, as could be expected from such a principled woman, they werecking in embellishments. Instead, they were unblemished white with the only real adornments being the expensive materials used in their make and the intricate manner in which they were sewn. There was also a very small tag on the back that had Adoris name sewn in gold lettering, a rather interesting addition considering the fact she was more than 5,000 years old... As if she could understand his thoughts, Urekos tone became slightly awkward as she exined, "I actually felt a little bad during and after my encounter with Adori. Its usually pretty difficult to get a rise out of her so I never expected her to tear up and chase after me like a maiden who had her first time stolen. I tried apologizing after the fact, but she seems pretty determined to kill me. She seems to me me for the fact she chose to dispose of the witnesses...what a troublesome woman..." Imagining Adori cutting down her formerpanions with tears in her eyes, Vahn couldnt help but exhale a sigh at nearly the exact same time as Ureko. This was the problem with overly principled people, as, despite being a reserved and surprisingly caring person, Adori would perform even the most heinous and unforgiving acts if she believed it was for the sake of her duty. This was the main reason he hadpared her to Artoria and Mordred, two women who would unhesitantly carry out his orders due to their belief that his actions would ultimately benefit countless others. Shrugging Ureko off his shoulders, Vahn attempted to return the box to her, but, rather than ept it, she held her hands up before teasingly remarking, "Theyre yours now. The Quest never specified that the panties needed to stay put, so it was pretty easy toplete the objective requiring me to ce them on a statue of Jahad. At this point, the only thing keeping me from turning in the Quest is my desire to get a perfectpletion grade. I dont half-ass things, so, until I finish collecting the rest, you can hold onto that box. Who knows, they might be useful in the future~?" Though he wasnt particrly surprised by Urekos words, a dryugh emanated from Vahns throat as he sealed the container and ced it securely within his Inventory. He understood she was trying to implicate him as an aplice of sorts, but, rather than shift the me, Vahn decided to simply ept it. After all, he was ultimately the reason she had decided to gather the panties, and, while it seemed like a harmless prank at the time, it couldnt be denied that his decision had led to quite a number of people losing their lives... Surprising Vahn with a not-so-gentle punch, Ureko adopted a chiding expression as she said, "You have a bad habit of brooding over nothing. Girls wont like you if you act like a moody teenager all the time. Dont think youre a real man just because you collected a few flowers. Real women prefer a man who is steady and reliable. If you think raw power and a big dick are enough to keep all your girls in line, youre setting yourself up for a betrayal." Scrunching his nose in response to Urekos brash statement, Vahn was going to insist that none of his women would betray him when the former interrupted, adding, "Dont even think about it, brat. Youre not even four-hundred-years-old yet. If you think everything will remain peachy for the next ten-thousand-years, youre delusional. Ive seen stable rtionshipsst for thousands of years only to break down after a single argument. Im not going to argue with you and insist that someone will inevitably betray you. Im telling you to man up so you can reduce the chances of it happening." With Ureko more than 30,000 years his senior, Vahn couldnt really argue against the grains of truth contained within her words. He was also well aware of how his behavior affected the people around him; so, while it was a little annoying being talked down to like a child, there wasnt much he could say without sounding like one. Thus, rather than argue, he simply nodded his head, saying, "Ill keep that in mind. Thanks for the advice." Seemingly approving of his words, Ureko nodded her head, but, rather than praising him, she said, "I dont need your gratitude. I need you to be a man. You know full well that Ive taken an interest in you. If you dont correct your behavior, Ill have no choice but to take matters into my own hands. I know you have a lot more pride than you let on. Dont force me to break you down so you can man up properly." Punctuating her words with an uncharacteristically serious expression,plete with glowing red eyes, it was easy to understand that Ureko wasnt ying around. Her bloodline might be sealed, but she was still descended from one of the most powerful True Dragons in her Universe. Now that she understood the futility of returning home, her focus was on moving forward, seeking revenge, and, most importantly, preserving the legacy she had inherited from her n. This required her to produce an heir, so, with few candidates even remotelyparable to Vahn, it was only a matter of time before she came to collect his seed. Despite her free-spirited nature, Ureko had grown up in an extremely rigid and hierarchical society. This was another parallel she shared with Mordred, as, despite believing women were far more than capable of contending against any man, she also believed in the sentiment that the legacy of a n was passed through its scions. Females generally married into other families or helped to start new ones, so, while she had no qualms about re-establishing her n in another world, securing an heir was of paramount importance. Realizing that his meteoric growth was beginning to make Ureko feel impatient, a sense of urgency began to swell within Vahns heart and mind as he matched the formers predatory gaze. He wasnt afraid that she would actually resort to extreme action, but, given what he knew of True Dragons, it was impossible to discount the possibility of something happening. Thus, while it wouldnt exactly spell the end of the world, he forced himself to smile as he internally thought, ("It looks like I might need to spend a few years in an Actualized World...who knows, I might even be able to defeat the Ethereal Queen if I travel alongside those destined to cross her path...") As that thought crossed his mind, so to did the image of various characters within the Actualized World based on a collection of science fiction and fantasy games produced by apany known as Tri-Ace. He had researched most of their titles prior to creating the Actualized World, so, while the power scaling of each series didnt match up to his standards, he couldnt deny he was interested in some of them. The fact they were able to defeat the Ethereal Queen was one of the primary reasons for this, but, more than anything else, his empathetic nature made it difficult to ignore the tragediesmonly present in such stories... Taking advantage of Vahns sudden absentmindedness, Ureko interrupted his train of thought by spontaneously pouncing on him. Then, with her characteristically impish smile, she ced him in an inescapable headlock, the side of his face pressing against her modest chest as she eximed, "You cheeky little brat! You think you can just ignore me when Im right in front of you!? Just watch how I teach you a lesson...!" --- Though it took a lot longer than she would have liked, Maschenny was ultimately given permission to enter Repellistas chamber after promising to sponsor the development of a sequel to one of her favorite game series. She was rather famous as one of the most talented and prolific gamers in the entire Tower, so, while Maschenny couldnt really understand such a hobby, she knew Repellista had a soft spot for limited-edition merchandise and retro games that came before she was born... Entering Repellistas chamber, Maschenny was surprised to find that it was incredibly well lit, a stark contrast to the rather dark and reclusive atmosphere that usually permeated the room. Even more surprising was the fact that Repellista was currently sitting upright with a focused expression on her face as her hands danced across a series of light-projected keyboards, each linked to the more than one-hundred Lighthouses that formed the corework of the Opera... Having grown ustomed to seeing a version of Repellista buried beneath a thick nket, refusing to so much as look back to see who had entered her room, Maschenny found herself at aplete loss for words when the former turned around, saying, "If youvee to request that I search for the Sage Dragon Emperor, youre wasting your time. He doesnt appear in recordings and even A-Rank Lighthouses struggle to detect him. At best, I can tell you what Floor he is on. Every time I try and pinpoint his exact location, he either moves somewhere else or disappears into a region where even my Opera cant sense. You have no idea how annoying the past few months have been...!" Despite her words, Maschenny noticed that Repellista actually had a massive grin on her face as she continuedining about Vahn for several minutes. She seemed to be enjoying the challenge of tracking down an anomalous entity, and, rather than appear depressed, she gave off the impression of a conspiracy fanatic on the verge of making an important discovery. Taking advantage of Repellistas ramblings to organize her thoughts, Maschenny waited until the peculiar pink-haired girl stopped to catch her breath before saying, "I already have my own ns regarding the Sage Dragon Emperor. For now, Im more interested in the movements of Princess Yuri. More specifically, I want to know what she has been up to for thest year, and, if possible, I want to know where she obtained the Green April. Knowing you, you should have already looked into each of these matters. Am I wrong...?" Understanding Maschennys intentions, an amused spread across Repellistas face as she yfully remarked, "You are the fifth person to ask me for that information. More interestingly, you are the second within your faction to do so. It seems like your handle over the situation is beginning to slip away~." Frowning in response to Repellistas words, a thoughtful glimmer shed across Maschennys eyes as she asked, "Was it Maria? I swear, that brat is even worse than me when ites to scheming..." Finding Maschennysment rather amusing, Repellista couldnt help but giggle as her delicate fingers danced across her keyboard. Then, with a swiping gesture, she sent the data to Maschennys Pocket, advising, "The data will erase itself in forty-eight hours. You are free to reproduce it, but any attempt to modify the data will result in the self-destruction of your Pocket." Surprised by Repellistas actions, Maschenny furrowed her brows in suspicion, asking, "What is your aim?" Following another bell-like giggle, an excited gleam appeared within Repellistas ammolite-like eyes as she said, "Unlike others, youve never been the type to sit still when there is something you want. Since it will be impossible for you to recover my pillow from Ureko, I want you to send someone to the 20th Floor to obtain the pillow belonging to a Regr named Phonsekal Laure. He is a member of the group referenced in the file I sent you so it should be a simple matter to track him down and steal his pillow. Do this for me and I will forward you any and all information pertaining to the Sage Dragon Emperor as ites in." Rather than immediately responding to Repellistas request, Maschenny opened the file to read the information contained within. To her surprise, there were some familiar faces within the group, two of which stood out due to their pale-blue hair and electric-blue eyes. Her eyes were naturally drawn to these two, and, though she was usually cold to members of her own family, Maschenny couldnt help but smile when she saw the taciturn expression of her younger brother among the surprisingly long list of Regrs. Unfortunately, rather than the affectionate smile of an older sister, the look on Maschennys face was that of a hunter who had just learned of an interesting prey... (A/N: Alternate Titles: That box must be worth a fortune in the Tower...,Ureko dont y...,Ran better run xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1901 Stirrings

Chapter 1901 Stirrings

Despite having inscribed his Familia Crest on more than a hundred people, Vahn still felt a swelling of pride whenever he left his mark on a beautiful woman. There was something about the process that excited his most primal instincts, and, though they werent exactly his, he couldnt help feeling an inkling of possessiveness towards those who bore his mark. Resisting the urge to give Garams butt a squeeze, Vahn retracted his hand after tracing the line of her back, smiling as he said, "Its finished. From this moment onward, youre now a member of the Aldrnari Familia. How do you feel...?" A stark contrast to when he had inscribed his Familia Crest onto Yuri, Garam made sure to cover her chest with a towel as she sat up and answered, "Other than an itchy feeling on my back and a slight heat in my chest, I dont really feel any different. I honestly expected a little more from the blessing of a God..." Passing over her blouse, Vahn unashamedly continued to observe Garam as he exined, "Though there have been exceptions in the past, I dont generally grant people power they havent earned. If you wish to be stronger, you will have to train orplete Quests. Either way, my blessing has effectively removed the limiters from your body. The only thing capable of holding you back at this point is your inhibitions and the limitations you impose upon yourself." Realizing that he wasnt going to avert his eyes, Garam gave Vahn a deadpan look before turning her back and quickly fixing her clothes. Then, adopting a slightly usatory tone, she looked back at him, saying, "Youre sending mixed signals. You heckle me about making assumptions regarding your intentions yet here you are gawking like a shameless voyeur..." Shrugging his shoulders in response to Garams usations, Vahn maintained a casual smile as he projected a pale blue system disy, exining, "Though there are a functionally infinite number of Quests avable, these are the ones that should interest you the most. Keep in mind that you can only ept one at a time, so, before deciding on something more difficult, you shouldplete a few simpler Quests to confirm the blessing is functioning properly." Seeing a number of Quests rted to her personal life and other sensitive matters, Garam couldnt help but harden her expression as she observed, "It seems you really do possess the power to know a persons darkest secrets. Some of these Quests give off an extremely maniptive vibe..." Rather than refute the statement, Vahn nodded his head, exining, "Quests generated for specific people are directly rted to their fate. It has very little to do with my knowledge. Though I do have the power to willfully generate Quests, these are generally amalgamated from my innermost desires and the purpose I have assigned myself. You might find it difficult to believe, but I have never once produced a quest with the intent to deceive or manipte another. Notions such as that are wholly human in nature. As my actions have, and will continue to prove, I dont require others to act on my behalf. I am more than capable of carrying out my will with my own hand." Surprised by Vahns resolute tone, Garam found herself at a momentary loss for words. Then, after several seconds of silence, a seemingly amused smile spread across her face as she remarked, "Im starting to understand why Ureko has taken an interest in you. You arent bound to the same logic as we mortals. You just go at your own pace, acting as you believe you should without caring about the broader implications of your actions...youre like a sapient natural disaster." Unable to restrain himself, a tired sigh escaped Vahns throat as he pulled out a towel to wipe his hands. Then, in a moderately disinterested tone, he said, "The more you try to define me, the more you set yourself up to be surprised. I care a lot more than most people about the consequences of my actions. I just understand the futility of trying to establish a hierarchal society and engaging in pointless political games. People are simply incapable of ruling over others for an extended period of time without giving rise to a system of rampant corruption. Rather than waste my time trying to bring the masses under my thumb, I would rather rein in those who would misuse their powers for personal gain. In the end, the most effective way to prevent corruption is to hold those at the top ountable for their actions." Growing bored of the conversation, Vahn half-turned to indicate he was preparing to leave. Before doing so, however, he adopted a severe expression that prompted Garams body to tense up as he added, "Nobody has the right to suppress and maliciously exploit others. I dont care if they are a God, an Emperor, a King, or even a peasant. Those that cross my path will be held ountable for their actions...you would do well to keep that in mind...Princess..." Finished with his warning, Vahn vanished from the room without so much as a single spatial ripple. Immediately thereafter, Garam felt like a mountain had been removed from her chest, her breathing bing ragged as she leaned against the table for support. Despite this, an expectant smile had found its way to her face, and, though she had the impression Vahn was still observing her, augh began to emanate from her throat as a few crystalline tears rolled down her cheeks... --- Following a series of chaotic yet exhrating days within the Little Garden, Vahn emerged alongside Ureko and Garam in thetters icy abode. There, an inordinately tall and burly man with grey skin, purple eyes, and two prominent horns could be seen waiting patiently, his body cloaked in a thick, fur-cored, mantle. Without missing a beat, the man offered a courteous bow towards Garam, his deep voice filled with deferential reverence as he said, "Wee back, Princess." Adopting her characteristically predatory smile, Ureko interrupted Garams return greeting, stating, "My, arent you bold? Even with a Dragon Emperor and the strongest person in the Tower present, you choose to greet Garam alone. Youre lucky Im in a good mood, brat." Swallowing nervously in spite of the vast size disparity between himself and Ureko, the cloaked man was about to apologize when Garam fearlessly bonked the mischievous blonde on the back of her head, saying, "Dont pick on my subordinates." in a firm tone. Without so much as flinching from the punch, Ureko tittered in response to Garams words before setting her ruby-red eyes on Vahn and asking, "So, what are you going to do from now on? Want to travel together for a while? With that Little Garden of yours, I shouldnt have any problems entering areas intended for Regrs." Though spending time with Ureko could be surprisingly fun, Vahn didnt hesitate to shake his head, saying, "It will unnecessarilyplicate things if we travel together. Dont pretend youll be able to just sit back and watch when I go into battle. Besides, dont you need to deal with Hell Joe and track down the people responsible for manipting him?" Clicking her tongue, Ureko appeared right in front of Vahn, a serious expression on her face as she grabbed him by the cor and pulled him down to eye level. Then, with a dangerous gleam in her eyes, she asked in an aloof yet direct manner, "Do you not like spending time with me...?" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn ignored the looks from Garam and her subordinate as he ced a scant kiss on Urekos lips. This caused her eyes to widen quite a bit, as, despite her bold nature, she had very little experience with even the simplest disys of affection. With a healthy glow spreading into her cheeks, Ureko pushed Vahn away with enough force to send him smashing into the nearby wall before cupping her cheeks and eximing, "How brazen~!" with a notably silly smile on her face. Then, seemingly ignorant to the fact she had sent him crashing into the wall, she pumped her hand into a fist and added, "Yosh! Just you wait! Ill finish gathering all the panties in no time! Look forward to it~!" As if she was heading off to do just that, Ureko created a rather violent ripple in the surrounding space as her figure vanished along with a burst of golden light. Shortly thereafter, Vahn emerged from the ruins of Garams former abode, a weary expression on his face as he matched gazes with the pale-haired Princess and said, "You should get going as well. When you meet with Gustang, tell him Im not particrly fond of his way of doing things. If he doesnt get the affairs of his family in order, it is only a matter of time before I deal with him personally..." Though they had never discussed her affiliation with Gustang, Garam was no longer surprised by Vahns casual mention of closely-guarded secrets. Instead, she felt more exasperated than anything else, arms crossed as she half-heartedly replied, "Ill pass it on..." Raising his hand in a gesture of farewell, Vahn followed Urekos example of performing a spatial transference of his own. His, however, was infinitely less shy, as, rather than tearing through the dimensional membrane and traveling at faster-than-light speeds, he was simply moving to another point in his domain. Now alone, excluding her silentpanion, a tired sigh escaped Garams throat as she performed a gesture not all that dissimr to Vahn when he was especially frustrated,bing through her own hair. Then, with a resolute glimmer shing across her icy-white eyes, she directed her gaze towards her subordinate, saying, "Thank you for staying with me all this time. From here onwards, however, I will need to journey alone. Return to the others and exin to them that Arlens prophecy has been invalidated. From now on, we should avoidmitting to any decisive action until the Sage Dragon Emperor haspleted his journey. If his words are true, the way forward will invariably be open in the next few years. Even if this proves false, however, we cannot afford to carelessly oppose him. He is a threat that eclipses both Jahad and Ureko. Until we have a better grasp of his true intentions, it is best to simply observe..." Following a respectful bow, the burly figure promptly pivoted before hastily departing to pass on Garams words. This left the pale-haired Princess truly alone, a somber expression briefly appearing on her face as she pulled out a peculiar Pocket and muttered, "Sorry, Arlen...it seems like even your prophetic abilities couldnt ount for the intervention of a foreign God. At least Jahad will still be held ountable for his actions..." Shaking her head, Garam ced the Pocket on the ground before cing her hands in the pockets of her parka and departing like a normal person. Her time in the Little Garden had opened her mind to a number of higher concepts, but, more than any other lesson, it was Vahns assertions regarding fate that left the deepest impression. She still had countless doubts, but, rather than concern herself with things she couldnt control, she now wanted to try shaping her own fate. After all, if there really were worlds beyond the Towers peak, there was no way in hell she was going to remain cooped up inside a veritable prison... As this thought crossed her mind, an increasinglymon look of expectation returned to Garams face as she willed her Quest interface to open. Then, simr to Ureko, a predatory smile developed across her face as she mused, "I suppose its time for a family reunion..." ---------------------------------------------- [Chain Quest: A Dish Best Served Cold I] Rank: S~SSS Objective(s): Expose the secret regarding the Ghost of the 13 Month Series(0/1), Kill or Capture 10 Ranked members of the Jahad Family(0/10), Kill or Capture 10 members of the Royal Enforcement Division(0/10) Optional Objective(s): Collect the entirety of the 13 Month Series(2/13), Remove [Jahads Blood Curse] from at least three other Princesses(0/3), Publically dere war against the Jahad Empire(0/1) Rewards: 8,000,000,000 Variable Experience, 1x[Sisterly Bond], 1x[Avenging Angels Dress] Failure Conditions: Death, Forfeiture of Quest, 3Y:11M:25D:17H:43M:02S Penalty: N/A ---------------------------------------------- (A/N: Alternate Titles: Just do it...!,Ureko is surprisingly bashful (O w O)...,That is bound to be one hell of a reunion...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1902 Perturbance

Chapter 1902 Perturbance

Despite being exponentially colder, so much so that a perpetualyer of ice and snow nketed much of the region, North City was far more populous than its counterpart to the south. This was the region most residents had retreated to after Hell Joes takeover, so, despite feeling extremely stagnant, it gave off a far more hospitable vibe than the veritable wastnd surrounding the Red Fortress. As could be expected, tensions in North City were at an all-time high after the climactic battle that had urred just hours prior. There was even a militia that had been haphazardly thrown together, most gathering with the intent to protect the city while others were discussing whether or not they should venture southward to investigate. Completely ignoring the gathering forces, Vahn ventured to an isted cliffside cavern that, under normal circumstances, could only be essed via a giant beanstalk or by flying. There, he allowed Ryun, Fenrir, and the most recent addition to the growing poption of Vanargandr, Ai, to emerge from the Little Garden. Though her personality was distinctly different from Ryuns, Ai had fallen in much the same way as the former. This was principally due to what his existence represented, but, even more so than that, it was Ryuns significance among the Red Witches that ultimately swayed her decision. After all, she wasnt just the daughter of the Red Witch Elder. She was the Guide most loved by the Tower, and, as could be expected from her [Child of Destiny: SSS] and [Enyrus Chosen: SS] Innate, her existence was believed to be instrumental to the defeat of Jahad and the realization of her races dream. Ignoring the awkwardness caused by Ais nervous chuckle, Vahn took a moment to caress the heads of all three girls before directing Ryun to lead the way. This left Ai feeling somewhat confused, but, rather than asking why someone like him needed a Guide, she just followed along with her ears and tail flopping inexperiencedly... After an hour or so of wandering through theplexwork of tunnels, Vahn and Co emerged from a secret door leading into a stony, highly decorated, corridor. It was the type of corridor you would expect to find in a medieval fortress castle,plete with oversized suits of armor that gave off the impression of stalwart Knights dutifully guarding the passage. Sensing the spells inscribed in the suits of armor, a light chuckle escaped Vahns throat as a golden pulse emanated from his body. This was followed by a strangely oppressive silence, the result of all traps in the area being deactivated simultaneously. With the path cleared, it only took a few additional minutes before the group reached an expansive chamber formed from white marble and adorned with golden-trimmed pirs. At the very center of said chamber, a skeletal figure nearly five meters in height hovered menacingly in the air. It gave off a distinctly inhuman vibe due to its prominent fangs, ghostly white robes, and flowing ck mantle, but, more so than any other features, it was the chilling aura emanating from the figures body that gave people reason for pause. Shifting his gaze between the entitys massive silver scepter and the golden crown atop its skeletal head, a rxed smile spread across Vahns face as he remarked, "Grand De Jah, former Ruler of the 43rd Floor, Patriarch of the Grand Family, and Guardian of the Spirit Room. The years have not been kind to you..." Demonstrating he was no mere skeleton, Grand De Jahs bones morphed to form an obvious scowl as he replied, "Impertinence! Lets see if you-" Having already lost interest in the Floor of Death following the Hell Joe incident, Vahn wasnt in the mood to listen to the ramblings of a demented old man who had effectively imprisoned his people for thousands of years just to fulfill a prophecy. The Grand Family were directly responsible for the existence of the Floor of Death, and, though their reasons might have been justifiable thousands of years ago, their handling of the situation left a lot to be desired. They had effectively imprisoned all the residents of the 43rd Floor, and, regardless of whether they had grown tired of living or wanted to simply venture beyond the Floor of Death, the Grand Family refused to return the spirits they had collected in the ancient past. Moving faster than the ancient High Ranker could react, Vahn ced a thumb-sized golden cylinder against the skeletal figures forehead. Immediately thereafter, circuit-like markings exuded from the point of contact as the cylinder, an exponentially more powerful seal than a simple paper talisman, spread across his bony form. Unable to resist the power of the seal, Grand De Jah remainedpletely motionless as the circuits formed several runic symbols across his body. Shortly thereafter, his aura hadpletely vanished, as, rather than sealing his movements, the primary purpose of the cylinder was to prevent spiritual projection, manifestation, and possession. It was even strong enough topletely seal the avatar of a God, so, while he might have been a powerhouse thousands of years ago, De Jah had be helpless after millennia of stagnation. With the so-called Guardian taken care of, Vahn led the way through the antechamber at the back of the room before proceeding further into the evenrger chamber beyond. There, at the end of a suspended stone pathway, a sphere of spiritual energy more than fifty meters in diameter hovered over a silver artifact that seemed to convert all the negative energies emitting from the former into pure Shinsu. Though there were significantly fewer peopleprising its mass, the amount of spiritual energy in the sphere even eclipsed the amalgamation of Egos contained within Weiss. It was enough to make Vahns skin crawl, and, though she was able to restrain the urge, Fenrirs eyes released an eerie red glow due to her instinctual desire to devour the entire sphere. There was no better nourishment for someone with a Yin-based constitution than purified spiritual energy, and, were they to stay put, it would only be a matter of time before thepulsion to consume it overwhelmed her. Ruffling the lovable Vanargandrs hair with his right hand, Vahn manifested the Little Garden in his left, saying, "The three of you should enjoy a nice, long, rest. Ill be along in a moment." Without arguing, Fenrir enjoyed having her head caressed for several seconds before extending her paw towards the Little Garden. Immediately thereafter, her body vanished nigh-instantaneously as Ryun, without missing a beat, stepped in to receive her own head pats. Thispelled Ai to follow her example, but, rather than immediately proceed to pet her head, Vahn said, "You shouldnt force yourself. Even if you consider me your God, that is no reason topromise yourself on my behalf. Im not going to abandon you just because you refuse to let me pet your head." Responding with an awkward chuckle, Ai inched a little closer, hands gripping the staff behind her back as she pressed her rather sizeable breasts against him and said, "Im not afraid of death. What I fear most is living a life without purpose. I never want to experience something like what Soo Min went through, so, even if it terrifies me, I want to continue forging ahead on the path I have chosen. Besides... its not like I hate it when you touch me..." With most of Ais weight now resting against him, Vahns expression rxed into a tender smile as he wrapped his arms around her soft and fragrant body. This caused her to tense up slightly, but, as if to demonstrate she was okay with it, she forced her tail to waggle slightly as she nestled closer to his chest... --- After safely depositing Ai into the Little Garden, Vahn proceeded to dive into the icy-cold reservoir of Shinsu fed by the peculiar artifact. At the very bottom of this peculiar basin, approximately 7km from the mouth, several pipes could be seen siphoning the chilled Shinsu to various regions on the Floor of Death. Their presumed purpose was supporting the various enchantments that allowed the peculiar region to exist, but, more important than even that, theplex arrangement served as a seal to nourish yet another fragment of Enryus Thorn. As the mastermind responsible for the Floor of Deaths existence, Gustang should have known the shortest route leading to Thorns fragment. Unfortunately, the man seemed to have learned quite a bit since their previous encounter, as, even after transforming into him, the Law of Identity couldnt reveal the path. More specifically, it seemed that Gustang hadpartmentalized and segregated his knowledge and memories into various different databases. He effectively converted everything he knew into a digital format, and, while he was able to ess the information at his leisure, it no longer existed within his mind. Upon learning this, Vahn couldnt help but release a deeply profound sigh as hemented having an intellectual adversary on a levelparable to Da Vinci. Gustang was virtually guaranteed to be his biggest headache going forward, as, unlike Jahad and the other Family Leaders, he always took measured actions. He might be responsible for countless atrocities, but, at no point in time has he ever taken action with malicious intent. Everything he did could be justified and carefully exined in a way that absolved him of virtually all guilt, as, unlike a normal person, he analyzed and weighed the pros and cons of every action he took. Fortunately, while Gustangs actions were bound to cause him innumerable headaches, Vahn wasnt incapable of acting without the knowledge provided by the Law of Identity. He could easily scan theplexwork of pipes using his domain, and, though it ultimately proved unnecessary, he could even split off pieces of himself to drastically extend his range. After mapping arge portion of thebyrinthinework, Vahn quickly discovered a region where even his senses couldnt probe. This wasnt guaranteed to be the container housing the fragment of the Thorn, but, considering the uniqueness of the surrounding space, there had to be something of importance hidden within. As this thought crossed his mind, Vahns expression dulled as he promptly found himself before a bespectacled man with light brown hair and matching eyes. Unlike before, however, this version of Gustang was merely a projection, albeit oneprised entirely of Shinsu. Realizing this must be Gustangs version of the Shadow Clone Jutsu, Vahn couldnt help releasing a tired sigh as he looked behind the man to inspect the pale white monstrosity resembling an organic jet ne. This was clearly his attempt at imitating Latias and Latios, but, rather than appearing even remotely adorable, the biomechanical creature resembled something from a science-fiction horror movie. Seemingly capable of reading his thoughts, even as a projection, Gustang offered the briefest hint of a wry smile as he exined, "It is surprisingly difficult to collect data on you and those unusual creatures apanying you. Fortunately, while its appearance might leave a lot to be desired, itsbat proficiency greatly exceeds that of the creatures it is based on. Of course, this is merely an assumption based on existing data. If those creatures grow at a rateparable to your own, I fear my research department might not be able to keep up..." With the projection acting autonomously and without a true Ego, the Law of Identity was unable to ascertain anything about Gustangs intentions as the real him was wholly unaware of the encounter taking ce. This was yet another countermeasure he had developed in an attempt to gain a better understanding of Vahns power, something thetter was painfully aware of. Knowing the real Gustang would eventually be seeing this data, Vahn adopted a grave expression as he said, "I expected more of someone with your level of intellect. At this rate, it is only a matter of time before you irreversibly offend me..." Other than motioning to push up his sses, Gustang showed absolutely no signs of perturbation as he calmly replied, "Though I would not purport to understand the nature of your existence, your character is exponentially easier to understand. There is a 92.415% probability that those creatures apanying you are the result of your own experimentation. Given your nature, you would not be able to fault me for creating versions of my own so long as I do not overtly use them to terrorize and suppress others. If my data proves true, you possess the type of personality that cannot refute the efforts of others when their actions can be directly measured against your own. Is this not so?" Understanding the futility of trying to mask his emotions, Vahns expression darkened further as he answered, "You are only further proving my point. Given your intellect, you should know the danger of-" Adopting an expression that could best be described as punchable, a smile spread across Gustangs face as he interjected, saying, "You misunderstand my intentions. I did note here to fight, nor did I desire to pit my own creation against yours. I simply wished to verify the data I havepiled thus far by gauging your reaction. I have also been entrusted with passing on a message, though, given your earlier reaction, I imagine you are already well aware of its contents..." Suddenly wishing Da Vinci was present, a tired sigh escaped Vahns throat as he allowed himself to simply cease existing. His main body had entered the Little Garden whilst onboard the Hell Express, so, regardless of the measures his opponents might have taken against him, he could simply cease to be at any point in time. This left Gustang with a notably annoyed expression, but, having fulfilled his primary purpose, it wasnt long before his own body broke down into tiny motes of vibrant blue light that subsequently disappeared into the void... (A/N: Alternate Titles: An ever-expanding group of good girls,*Nuzzles*,Gustang is an asshat xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1903 Reflection

Chapter 1903 Reflection

Though he might have been helpless to ascertain Gustangs intentions through the reading of his mind, there were countless other ways to discover the truth. Foremost among these was having the Law of Identity transform into the Sacred Tome, as, with the exception of concepts even higher than itself, it recorded all knowledge within the Transcendental Path to Heaven. The most perverse use of the Sacred Tome, other than learning various truths rted to the literal foundation of the Omniverse, was peering into future events along a specific axis of time. This was made somewhat unreliable due to the influence of his own existence on the timeline, but, excluding himself, everything else updated retroactively as changes were made. This included the actions that others would take, and, most importantly, their thoughts during specific moments in time. Gustang believed he could gain some semnce of control by profiling Vahn and measuring his efforts against the data he had been able to umte. This would have worked out under normal circumstances, but, as Da Vinci had learned long ago, Vahn had never been the type of person that was constrained by a specific definition. His was an existence that embodied the endless paths and the infinite possibilities contained within each. If he could be constrained by notions such as logic andmon sense, he would never be able to reach the iprehensible realm that was Tier 7. Truth be told, Vahn had always been weak against intellectuals and people with strong principles grounded in logic and reasoning. His processing capabilities might put some of the most advanced supeputers in existence to shame, but, for a multitude of reasons, much of his critical thinking had been left in the capable hands of Sis. He already spent an inordinate amount of time fretting over things that really shouldnt concern him, and, on the most fundamental level, he simply didnt care about the machinations of others. Thus, rather than y Gustangs little game, Vahn intended to give the man a very hard lesson about messing with forces beyond hisprehension... --- With the passage of an additional three days, bringing the total time spent on the Floor of Death to five days, the Hell Express began moving towards its final destination, a luxury resort known as Last Station. At the same time, the security measures preventing entrance into the Hidden Floor became undone. This was an event Vahn and several others had been anticipating for quite some time, and thanks to the [Master Key] obtained from Pedro, they could enter through the Main Gate instead of wasting an additional ten dayspleting Tests. At first, Vahn considered entering the Hidden Floor on his own, but, after a considerable amount of pressure from numerous residents in the Emerald Grove, he ultimately acquiesced to allowing those listed in his Unit Management to enter. Unfortunately, quite a number of people took advantage of this, so, rather than the handful he expected, more than forty people had gathered outside the Room of Time Past, the entrance to the Hidden Floor. Though he could understand Mordreds eagerness to demonstrate her newfound power, Vahn was helpless when even people like Madara insisted on ing out to y. She had apparently gotten a little fed up with staying cooped up within the Little Garden, and, as could be expected, this was a sentiment shared by virtually every Temte who wasnt currently exploring an Actualized World. Seeing everyone in high spirits, Vahn couldnt bring himself to change his mind on the matter, so, after a brief period of discussion with his affectionately referred to Council of Wives, everyone was grouped into a number of smaller teams, each assigned a specific objective. As for Vahn, his group, decided via lottery, consisted of Theo, sporting draconic features, Musashi, appearing as her normal self, Scathach, now resembling a demon queen, and, of all people, the insatiable glutton known as Index Librorum Prohibitorum... As could be expected from Grandmasters near the pinnacle of their arts, Musashi and Scathach had both blossomed into powerhouses in a rtively short period of time. Vahn knew he didnt have to worry about either of them, as, even if they were to face off against a High Ranker, it would be very difficult for most opponents to wrap their heads around the buxom beauties capabilities. Theo and Index, however, both possessed quirky personalities; and, while they should be able to defeat most opponents without assistance, Index, in particr, couldnt be left unsupervised. In an effort to prevent any mishaps from urring, Vahn donned a harness designed to allow parents to carry children hands-free before coaxing Index, in her Jirachi form, to ride within. This earned him quite a number of amused looks from the surrounding groups, but, with Index happily munching away on an endless supply of Golden Apple, he, at the very least, didnt have to worry about her spontaneously disappearing on him... With their preparationsplete, Vahn took a moment to remind everyone to remain safe before passing through the vibrant white membrane separating the Hidden Floor and the Room of Time Past. There, he found himself in a nebulous void that reminded him of the Imaginary Space existing between dimensional boundaries in the Nasuverse. At the same time, he could feel the Laws around him beginning to change in a few not-so-subtle ways, a clear sign they were entering an artificially constructed Realm. Turning his head to confirm that Theo, Musashi, and Scathach had all entered without issue, Vahn adopted a confident smile as he reminded them of their primary objective, saying, "Assuming there are no surprises, we should arrive at one of the nine starting regions. From there, well immediately head to the Town of the Wandering Minstrel and wait for the others to arrive. Once we-" Interrupting his exnation, a massive mirror with two scales manifested a few meters away from Vahn and Co, its voice synthetic and grating as it happily chimed, "Kho Kho~! How unusual! It has been a long time since someone entered the Hidden Floor using the key~! I wonder, did something interesting happen on the train~?" Gesturing for Musashi and Scathach to stand down, Vahn was prepared to answer what he assumed to be the Mirror of the Pasts question when it suddenly added, "Well, not that it matters~! My job isnt to worry about what is happening outside~! Im here to record your data, create a reflection of your past, and generate a sworn enemy to impede your future~! Now, watch closely as I disy the location you must go and the image of the enemy locked within the depths of your heart~!" Though he had already learned about the Mirror of the Past during his investigation, Vahn hadnt expected it to be so vocal. Despite this, he did his best to maintain a smile as he floated in front of the entric mirror and allowed it to read the memories Sis had prepared in advance. This caused the scales on both sides to emit a pale white glow, wobbling for several seconds without favoring either side. Seemingly surprised by this phenomenon, the Mirror of the Past adopted an incredulous tone as it asked, "Hmm~? How can this be~? How can you have such grand aspirations yet so little ambition? Are you a real person~?" Understanding that the mirror wasnt actually asking him to answer its questions, Vahn just smiled as he continued to wait for it toplete its scan. In the end, the scales remained almost perfectly aligned, so, without further ado, the Mirror of the Past had no choice but to admit, "It seems your path cannot be hindered~! Congrattions~! Youre the first person in history to enter the Hidden Floor without generating a Sworn Enemy~!" Nodding his head in response to the mirrors statement, the corners of Vahns smile curled upward as he gestured towards Index and asked, "What about her?" Lacking an actual face, the Mirror of the Past could only express itself through words. As a result, it bobbed slightly before asking, "What~? Do you expect me to care about the past of some random Shinheuh~? Are you actually an idiot~?" Deciding to ignore the mirrors rebuttal, Vahn drifted to the side so that Musashi, Scathach, and Theo could have a turn. Unsurprisingly, the scales shifted quite a bit during their scans, and, as could be expected, all three were able to generate a Sworn Enemy. Infinitely more surprising was the fact that each of their Sworn Enemies looked like a version of himself... As the first to step forward, Musashi couldnt help but burst intoughter the moment she saw her Sworn Enemy. Truth be told, she had a very strong desire to defeat Vahn, but, understanding what kind of being he was, she hadrgely given up on the idea. Now, however, she had the opportunity to fight a data construct that is functionally identical to the version of himself that had defeated her in the past. This filled her with a considerable amount of expectation, and, though she felt guilty about him being designated as her Sworn Enemy, she promised to make it up to himter. Had it just been Musashi, Vahn wouldnt have minded it too much since the former already had a habit of challenging him to a duel every few months. Seeing two more versions of himself appear, however, made him feel, understandably, self-conscious. Now, he was half-expecting to encounter a veritable army of himself on the Hidden Floor, as, for a variety of reasons, he was the goal most of the Emerald Groves residents had set for themselves... With the scanplete, the Mirror of the Past began to generate a vibrant white light from its face as it happily chimed, "What an interesting turn of events~! To think, the Sworn Enemy of everyone present just so happens to be a member of your group~! How scandalous~! I cant wait to see what kind of drama this creates as you move forward~! Kho Kho Kho~!" Rolling his eyes in response to the mirrors biting remark, Vahn allowed himself to be teleported to a coastal region dominated by white sandy beaches, verdant forests, and a vast mountain range as far as the eye could see. Fortunately, while their exit point was in mid-air, a beam of light, simr to a tractor beam, guided them tond at the edge of the sandy beach. There, a petite young woman with short brown hair, thick eyebrows, and ck speckled eyes could be seen waiting for them with a weing smile on her face. Even without a detailed scan, Vahn could sense that the woman wasnt a living being. In many ways, she was simr to the NPCs that popted the Virtual World, beings capable of emting thought, but, on the most fundamental level, simply didnt exist. This made it all the more surprising when he sensed the tell-tale signs of a nascent ego within the woman, the result of aplex sense of self-awareness that reminded him of early Companions. Unfortunately, without some form of outside stimulus, it was exceptionally difficult for an artificial humanoid or a digital entity to ovee the confines of its programming. This triggered a number of red gs within Vahns mind, as, more often than not, such stimulus was often the product of severe trauma... Temporarily shelving such thoughts, Vahn returned a smile to the peculiarly dressed woman as she manifested a tambourine out of thin air and sang, "Wee, Great Warriors, to the Hidden Floor~! Im the wandering minstrel who has been sent to guide you during your journey~! You can call me Mi-eum~! Though my name might make me sound delicious, please dont eat me~!" (A/N: Mi-eum means thin rice gruel) (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "You gon learn...",This is what some top Scientists refer to as a Bruh Moment...,You had better run away quickly if you want to avoid being eaten (O w O)~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1904 Settlemen

Chapter 1904 Settlemen

As a Wandering Minstrel, Mi-eum acted as a guide, scribe, and, loremaster for warriors venturing through the Hidden Floor. As a result, she knew virtually everything rted to historicalndmarks, persons of interest, enemy Shinheuh, and, most importantly, the peculiar mechanics that governed the entire Floor. Though he expected they would prove irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, Vahn had everyone listen attentively as Mi-eum spiritedly exined, "The Hidden Floor consists of various stages, many of which contain rare prizes that can only be found here. To advance to the next stage, you will have to choose from among a list of avable Quests, each graded based on degree of difficulty. To start, you need only hold up your hand and say the words Quest Screen~!" Following Mi-eums instructions, Vahn raised his hand, and, as could be expected, a rather stylish system window promptly appeared in response. At present, there was only a single stage listed, but, depending on the choices he made in the future, various paths would open. Seemingly enthused by his cooperative spirit, Mi-eums smile became even more prominent as she went on to exin, "Right now, youre in the Introductory Stage that some warriors refer to as the Tutorial. This period of time is intended to help you familiarize yourselves with the basic mechanics and lore of our world. Once we reach the Town of the Wandering Minstrel, your Quest Screen will update to disy stages based on your presumed power level. Of course, there is nothing forcing you toplete Quests. If you wish to spend the next couple of months enjoying the hospitality of the Hidden Floors residents, we are more than happy to oblige. As visiting Warriors, all food, drink, and supplies found within the Town are absolutely free of charge. There are also a number of other services we provide, but you will have to inquire about those from the Chief Minstrel, Lady Rose." Given the nature of most Regrs, it wasnt difficult to imagine what kind of services the creators of the Hidden Floor hade up with to entertain guests. This wouldnt have been that bad if the residents of the Hidden Floor were wholly digital existences, but, perhaps as a result of the amount of time that had passed, the system had evolved to the point that important individuals were able to keep their memories post reset. Said memories could be manually erased or even altered, but, so long as they were not directly tampered with, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that the majority of Data Humans within the Hidden Floor experienced the same year for eternity. As if she could understand his thoughts from the subtle changes in his expression, Mi-eum adopted a slightly somber expression as she said, "You dont have to worry about us. Though we do get the asional bad seed, the Big Breeders havee up with a system to deter evil and malicious acts. If you check your pockets, youll find a device that strongly resembles a pocket watch. This is known as the Good and Evil Monitor. Bypleting Quests and performing good deeds, the ck part of the gauge will begin to fade. Inversely, any bad deeds you perform will cause the ck part of the gauge to drastically increase. Once it fills beyond a certain point, your Sworn Enemies will spawn at a random location and begin tracking you down without rest. If you manage to fill up or reduce the gaugepletely, a statue of the Evil Giant will either devour or seal away an artifact known as the Fruit of Good and Evil. If the fruit is devoured, the giant wille to life and wreak havoc upon the entire floor until everything has been destroyed. If the fruit is sealed away, each of the warriors on the Hidden Floor will receive a tremendous boon to aid them in their future trials~!" Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn habitually extended his hand to caress Mi-eums head as he said, "Thanks for the exnation. Dont worry. While I cant promise we wont cause a scene, mypanions and I have no intention of harming the Hidden Floors natives." With her programmingpelling her to pander to and abide by the decisions made by warriors in her charge, Mi-eum made no attempt to evade Vahns hand. This made thetter feel slightly guilty, and, for a brief moment, he began to consider whether or not the Virtual World was a healthy thing for his Empire. At the very least, he would need to implement controls to either prevent this type of thing from urring ore up with measures to iste and support entities that had awakened within the digital world... --- After a surprisingly long journey through the mountains,plete with a view of the giant statue and the aforementioned Fruit of Good and Evil, Vahn and Co found themselves at the entrance of what appeared to be a city-sized hot spring resort. This was the Town of the Wandering Minstrels, and, as could be expected, nearly every resident was dressed in simr ceremonial attire. Noticing that most of the residents seemed copy-pasted, Vahns earlier frustrations began to rx a bit. This illustrated that people like Mi-eum were outliers, so, at the very least, he wouldnt have to live with the knowledge that the entire poption was imprisoned by their programming. The vast majority followed an adaptive script, and, though a number showed clear signs of awakening, they were generally a part of the group programmed to escort warriors during their journey. Follow Mi-eums suggestion, Vahn booked a room at one of thergest hot spring resorts before taking the girls to dine at one of the most popr restaurants in the city. As Mi-eum had promised, everything on the menu waspletely free of charge, as, unlike an actual city, their supplies were functionally limitless. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a veritable paradise for a glutton like Index, but, undoubtedly as a result of eating Rindos food every day, even the most expensive and extravagant menu items tasted rather nd. Fortunately, the kitchen staff had no qualms about letting warriors make use of the kitchen, as, much like the rest of the city, there were no truly off-limits regions. You could even venture into a persons house, forage through their cabs, and even make use of their bath without any real repercussions. The only downside was that you risked umting evil value, but, so long as youpleted a few Quests, you could basically act however you pleased. Imagining bored, sadistic, or perverse Regrs treating the town as a yground, Vahn couldnt help but reflect on the structure of his own Virtual World. He knew there were quite a number of people who used the Virtual World to vent their frustrations and live out their deepest and darkest fantasies without consequence. Now, he was beginning to feel like this wasnt a true solution, and, though it was infinitely better than allowing them to force their fantasies onto real people, one of the things Vahn hade to learn about the nature of existence was that the boundary separating fiction the real world was thinner than most people realized... --- Hearing the sound of lively singing resounding from the streets, Vahn emerged from the kitchen to find a peculiar quintet of nearly identical girls entering the restaurant. This was the party headed by none other than Artoria, and, for a number of reasons, every member of her group was what some affectionately referred to as a Saberfaces. This included Artoria, the always-excitable Mordred, the monochromatic Gray, and the two perennial gluttons, Altria and X. Noticing Vahns presence almost instantaneously, natural smiles blossomed on the faces of Artoria and Gray. Before either could say anything, however, Mordred effectively leaped through the air, a vibrant smile on her face as she eximed, "Chichiue~!" Catching his lively princess out of the air, Vahn adopted a notably wry smile as he said, "We just saw each other a few hours ago. Youre acting like we havent seen each other for a long time..." Snickering in response to Vahns words, Mordred returned his embrace with her own as she rested her head against his chest and replied, "Two hours, two weeks, or two years. It doesnt really matter how long weve been apart. I cant help but feel happy whenever we reunite. What, are you actually embarrassed~?" Exhaling a sigh, Vahn naturally shook his head before nting a kiss on Mordreds forehead and saying, "Dont be silly. My day is made exponentially better just by being able to see you smile. Im just worried well both receive a lecture if we take things too far..." Understanding the meaning contained within her Chichiues words, an awkwardugh emanated from Mordreds throat as she turned her head to find her Hahaue observing her with a pointed look on her face. Thispelled her to loosen her grip and quickly fix her clothes, as, despite the drastic increase in her strength, Mordred found it virtually impossible to contend against Artoria. This wasrgely due to the difference in their Soul Tiers, but, even more than that, Artoriasbat prowess had blossomed due to her increasedprehension regarding various Laws. Nodding in approval of Mordreds swift recovery of her bearing, Artorias expression softened into a smile as she and Gray executed courteous bows. As for X and Altria, the former flusteredly emted her more youthful-looking counterparts while thetter, as could be expected, shifted her attention to the food, asking, "Can I...?" in a dull monotone. Gesturing for the others to raise their heads, a lighthearted chuckle emanated from Vahns throat as he answered, "Go for it. In fact, Ill join you. There are a few things I wanted to ask you about before we make execute any future ns." Seemingly confused by his words, Artoria, Gray, Altria, and X all tilted their heads at the exact same time. This gave Vahn a strong urge tough, but, doing his best to restrain the urge, the corners of his smile curled upward as he went on to exin his groups unique assortment of Sworn Enemies. Fortunately, while it was all but guaranteed that other versions of himself would appear, Vahn was relieved to know that none of Artorias group were responsible for generating a version of himself as their Sworn Enemy. Instead, Artorias Sworn Enemy was none other than Merlin, and, as could be expected, Mordreds was her birth mother, Morgan le Fay. As for Gray, Altria, and X, the first had the misfortune of generating her former obsessor, Svin, while thetter two manifested versions of each other as their Sworn Enemies. As amusing as it was to hear about Artorias, Altrias, and Xs Sworn Enemies, Vahn couldnt help but worry about Mordreds and Grays. He knew Mordred had never truly forgiven her mother, as, even after several decades had passed, the former refused to meet with thetter. As for Gray, she put on a strong front most of the time, but, regardless of how much time had passed, she was still haunted by memories of her past. This was one of the detriments of peace, as, without other things to focus on, it gave people ample opportunity to wallow in their past tragedies. Ideally, Mordred and Gray would be able to ovee their deeply seeded traumas by facing their Sworn Enemies directly. Unfortunately, this was easier said than done, as, for obvious reasons, each persons Sworn Enemy possessed powerparable to their own. They were also empowered by the perception of whoever had manifested them, so, while the original Svin might have been weak, his SE counterpart was guaranteed to be around Grays level. Fortunately, much like in the real world, Mordred and Gray wouldnt have to face their pasts alone. They would have the support of everyone around them, and, if necessary, Vahn was willing to step in and eliminate each and every Sworn Enemy with prejudice. After all, while there was much to be learned from facing off against a reflection of your deepest fears, nobody should have to be forced to face their trauma. He also found the notion of other versions of himself rather ufortable, so, while he would only step in if it was absolutely necessary, Vahn already harbored a small amount of enmity towards the other versions of himself... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be casually petting people he just met...,Virtual Worlds can be a hell or a paradise depending on the perspective you view them from...,Team Saberface has arrived...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1905 Structure

Chapter 1905 Structure

With everyone graduallying together, Vahn was at a loss but unsurprised to learn that a total of seventeen Sworn Enemy versions of himself would be popting the Hidden Floor. Fortunately, if they were anything like him, he didnt have to worry about them endangering anyone. Rather, if they were a reflection of the way the girls saw him, he didnt have to worry about them trying to kill anyone. Far more dangerous were the Sworn Enemies based on a specific individuals actual trauma and mental burdens. Mordred and Gray were prime examples of this, but, more so than any other Sworn Enemy, Vahn was most worried about those produced by Fenrir, Ryun, Ai, and, despite her having virtually no memories, Roen. Fenrirs Sworn Enemy, as could be expected, was a version of herself that had seemingly given in to her more animalistic urges. It was a reflection of the parts of herself that she did her best to keep in check, and, should it possess her ability to devour and process all forms of energy, there was a very real chance that her Sworn Enemy was the most dangerous among the bunch. As for Ryun and Ai, they had initially been against entering the Hidden Floor directly as their Sworn Enemy was virtually guaranteed to be Jahad himself. This meant, should the ck part of their Good and Evil Monitors fill more than halfway, there would be two additional versions of Jahad running around. Truth be told, Vahn was actually looking forward to facing the Jahad clones as one of his reasons for entering the Hidden Floor was to confront the originals Data. Now, he had the option of letting the others face off against Jahads Data, and, depending on how things yed out, there was a chance that everyone would have an opportunity to challenge the tyrannical King due to the Hidden Floor respawning Sworn Enemies indefinitely. Unfortunately, as fun as it was to imagine the real Jahads reaction upon learning that his Data was being used as a training dummy, that would have to wait untilter. There were a number of more important objectives to deal with, first and foremost being the elimination of the Big Breeders that moderated the Hidden Floor. With his power, Vahn was able to move about freely even within a virtual environment such as the Hidden Floor. In fact, he was actually more powerful in a virtual world as Sis could interact with the data within his domain and use it as an ess point to directly interfere with the system. This would eventually let her take over the entire system, but, until then, it gave Vahn the ability to interact with and even modify existing data. The simplest expression of this ability allowed him to alter variables rted to the time of day and the weather, but, if he really wanted to, he could even alter the data of the Hidden Floors residents. It was through the use of this power that Vahn came to learn more about the Big Breeders and their depravity. In particr, the Big Breeder in charge of the Town of the Wandering Minstrels was a true monster as he got off on tormenting the residents while modifying their data so they sing praises of him in the process. There were even instances of him modifying the data of residents to make them unable to perceive his actions as anything out of the ordinary. This allowed him to perform all kinds of violent and profane acts, as, with the use of a singlemand, he could simply reset everything to how it was before he went on a rampage. Though it wasnt the best example, the Big Breeders behavior wasparable to someone Saving in a video game before using cheats to brutally murder everyone in a city. Then, by reloading their previous save data, they were effectively able to undo everything before proceeding as if nothing had happened. This was a method used by some yers to harmlessly vent their frustrations, but, in a world virtually indistinguishable from reality, the consequences ofmitting such travesties had asting impact on a persons nature and personality. Unfortunately for Chung, the Big Breeder charged with watching over the Town of the Wandering Minstrel, his actions hadnt been forgotten by the system. He could erase and modify the memories of individual residents, but, without the authority to modify the records of the system itself, each of his actions over thest several thousand years had been documented in detail. Some of these acts had been so heinous that it inspired an awakening in the data he tormented, irreversibly affecting their source code in a way that even he couldnt undo. He would eventually ce these anomalies into Quarantine, but, before then, his sadistic naturepelled him to torment them in the most extreme manners imaginable. Needless to say, Vahn intended to make Chung pay dearly for the innumerable atrocities he hadmitted over the years. It was one thing to torment emotionless and unfeeling Data that didnt care or even understand it was being tormented. Giving Data the ability to feel pain and emotions just so you could enjoy their suffering waspletely reprehensible. When you took things even further by specifically targeting those with a greater sense of self-awareness, you crossed a line that ced you squarely in the category of monster. If there were any positive takeaways from the situation, it was Vahns understanding that the Virtual World needed reform, or, at the very least, failsafes against this exact situation. He couldnt imagine anything more terrifying than being born as a Data Construct that fundamentallycked the ability to resist its creator. It was even worse when you considered that the person in control could change everything from their memories to their appearance without much difficulty. This opened the door to a degree of suffering that real people simply couldnt imagine, as, at the very least, people in the real world generally had control over their own life and death. Anyone who denied them that right was a monster beyond redemption... --- Understanding that eliminating Chungs Avatar served little purpose, Vahn decided to ignore the man until Sis could fully hack the Hidden Floors system. There was actually a Hidden Hidden Floor within the primary Hidden Floor, so, until he could gain ess to it, there was little sense in fighting the Big Breeders directly. Instead, he used the same functionality that Chung often took advantage of, effectively concealing his presence and location data to perform reconnaissance. With the ability to move at rtivistic speeds without adversely affecting the environment around him, Vahn was able to map arge portion of what he initially believed to be the first floor. Instead, it turned out that many of the so-called Stages denoted by the Quest system were regions on the same floor. This made things exponentially easier, as, rather than having toplete Quests that were, by design, intended to lead them circles, they could simply head to their destination directly. The only caveat was that the Hidden Floor, much like a nar Realm, was massive beyondpare. It took several minutes, even traveling at the speed of light, for Vahn to move from one edge of the floor to another. This meant, ounting for the fact the floor was shaped simr to a disc, it had a surface area of more than four-quintillion square-kilometers. This meant it was nearly eight-million timesrger than Gaia, and, even with his speed, it would take more than a hundred years to map the entire region. Fortunately, much like the Virtual World, the Hidden Floor cut corners to ensure the stability of the system. As a result, much of the floor seemed to exist in stasis, and, by monitoring the flow of data, it was possible to track and locate specific individuals and ces of interest without much difficulty. Thus, rather than wasting a hundred years, it only took Vahn a few hours to reach a vast wastnd whose only notable features were a colossal ice cream cone, a river of mercury, and a blooming red poppy hat was nearly five-kilometers in height. Though he had grown used to the entricities found within various Records, Vahn couldnt help but pause to consider the rationale behind choosing to live in a 10km tall ice cream cone. It was the kind of thing he would have expected to see in the Actualized World of One Piece, not something he expected to encounter during his search for the strongest entity within the Hidden Floor. Shaking his head, Vahn moved to what he presumed to be the entrance to the massive construct, a giant straw sticking out of the top. Even this was beyondprehension, as, despite appearing as a normal straw from a distance, the thickness of the stic rim was more than 10m. As for the interior of the straw, it was easily a hundred kilometers in diameter and more than two-kilometers deep... Before heading inside, Vahn bent down to scoop out a handful of the straws material, confirming that it was, indeed, a form of stic. Had they been in the real world, such a structure would have copsed under its own weight, but, thanks to the properties of Hidden Floor, it was able to exist as a static object uninfluenced by conventional gravitational forces. Rather, based on the flow of data, it was actually just a simple ice cream cone that had been scaled up to a ridiculous size, seemingly for no better reason than to pander to the person living within. Rather than wonder what kind of person he was dealing with, Vahn simply leaped into the mouth of the straw, sliding along the sloped interior for just under a minute before reaching an icy chamber seemingly formed from a hollowed-out scoop of pink and blue ice cream. There, a handsome youth with dark-blue hair, sharp eyebrows, and delicate blue eyes stared back at him with what could best be described as a look of incredulity mixed with excitement. Though hecked the pale blue of most members, the youth was easily identifiable as a member of the Khun Family due to the hoop-like earrings in his ears, the peculiar tattoo on the right side of his face, and the electrical sparks that appeared within his pupils the moment their gazes met. He also had a peculiar blue staff in his hands, that, from the looks of it, could be broken down to function as a chain-staff or a pair of nunchaku. Just as Vahn was about to say something to break the silence, he found himself at aplete loss as the youth began to suddenly blow a bubble. He had apparently been chewing bubblegum, and, though the atmosphere had be progressively tense, it didnt prevent the youth from blowing a rather impressive pink bubble while maintaining eye contact. Then, as if to parallel the situation, the bubble eventually exceeded its material threshold. As a result, a small pop sounded throughout the chamber as the lower half of the youths face became covered in sticky pink residue... With his smile bing increasingly wry, Vahn took advantage of the moment when the youth was licking up the remnants of his bubblegum to ask, "Where is your father?" Demonstrating his surprise for the second time, the youth raised his diamond-shaped brows quite a bit, but, rather than answer, he elected to blow a second bubble. This gave Vahn a powerful urge to roll his eyes, as, even without the Law of Identity providing insight into the youths thoughts, it was obvious they were attempting to rile him up. The growing intensity of sparks within their eyes was a dead giveaway; so, rather than waste his time with idle conversation, he used his Unit Management to summon Scathach, saying, "Teach this brat how to handle a spear properly." Before the youth could feign surprise a third time, Scathach forced him to get serious by cutting his cheek with a ruby-red spear before he could react. Then, before he could open his eyes to express genuine shock, she sent him crashing into the far wall with a kick, her voice a cold monotone as she said, "That makes two. If you reach one-hundred before my Master decrees the battle finished, I will reward you a fate worse than death..." Shortly following Scathachs words, a torrent of vibrant blue Shinsu erupted from the debris caused by the youths intimate encounter with the wall. This revealed the injured youth, an expectant smile on his face as he wiped away the blood from his lips and attempted a retort. Unfortunately, he had severely underestimated how serious Scathach could be when following orders. Thus, the moment he opened his mouth to speak, her fist mmed into the exact center of his face, reintroducing him to the partially destroyed wall without mercy... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Imagine if Vahn had started in SAO or Log Horizon...,Big Mom would like to know your location...,This boy about to learn a hard lesson xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1906 Violen

Chapter 1906 Violen

Though the blue-haired youth gave off the impression of someone who was exceptionally skilled, the difference between him and Scathach was like heaven and earth. After all, while thetter had lost the knowledge attributed to the [Wisdom of the Haunted Ground], she was a Grandmaster in virtually all forms of martial arts. Even this, however, was nothingpared to her mastery over the spear, and, thanks to her ughter Goddess Divine Core providing her functionally infinite energy, it wasnt an overstatement to say she was one of, if not the greatest Spear Bearers in the Tower. Unfortunately for the youth, Scathach behaved simrly to her original self whenever she dealt with outsiders. She only truly opened up to a small handful of people, and, though her power sometimesgged behind some of the higher-tiered individuals, her potential wasparable to Asunas. With thetter being Tier 5, this demonstrated just how monstrous Scathach could be, a prowess derived almost entirely from her steadfast determination to be strong... Having only ever experienced this kind of suppression when sparring against his father, the blue-haired youths fairplexion became noticeably pale as he attempted to parry Scathachs attack with a flourish of his staff. This proved to be a sessful maneuver, but, as if she had seen through his intentionspletely, a second spear, almost like a phantom image of the first, stabbed into his shoulder. Feeling intense pain radiate through his entire body for the umpteenth time, the youth did his best to retreat backward, his nerves crying out in protest as he forced himself to inquire, "Are you really just a Regr? What Family are you from...?" Ignoring the youths question entirely, Scatchahs body seemed to split into a multitude of phantom images, each indistinguishable from the rest. This caused the smile on the youths face to fade away in its entirety, his expression demonstrating nervous conviction as the ends of his staff fragmented into tiny pieces. From within, two kite-like spear tips emerged, each appearing inordinately sharp as a core of lightning-infused Shinsu pulsated at their center. Demonstrating a degree of skill that greatly eclipsed most Regrs, the youth proceeded to take evasive maneuvers as he flourished his shattered staff in a series ofplex motions. At the same time, the kite-like speartips began to move at extreme speeds, their motion resembling a tempest that seemingly produced countless other speartips. Completely ignoring the multiplying speartips, the phantom images of Scathach made no attempts to dodge as they charged towards the tempestuous youth. This caused the prodigious member of the Khun Family to mistakenly believe they were illusions, as, even when a speartip passed through their bodies, they didnt so much as flinch. Unfortunately for him, the technique Scathach was using was functionally simr to the State of Nothingness, so, while they appeared somewhat illusory due to the use of several other techniques, each was, unmistakably, real. Realizing this far toote, the blue-haired youth soon lost the ability to stand as Scathach began an omnidirectional assault that resulted in dozens of precise cuts all across his body. The uracy of these incisions was so precise that none prated more than a single millimeter, yet, in spite of this, each delivered such an extreme degree of pain that most victims would have readily epted actual torture in its ce. Though his mind wasnt able to process her words, that didnt stop Scathach from stabbed the tip of her spear next to the youths head as she softly muttered, "One-hundred..." in a cold monotone. With the de of Scathachs spearing dangerously close to the youths cheek, Vahn used his Telekinesis to alter its trajectory. Fortunately, Scathach recognized his interference and allowed him to modify her otherwise machine-precise attack without so much as a subtle change in expression. Instead, she shifted her attention to a different location, her ruby-red eyes locking with the electric-blues of a young girl with a petite frame and pale-blue hair. Smiling in response to Scathachs acknowledgment, the dainty-looking girl, garbed in a dark blue blouse and a light-blue skirt that closely resembled a Japanese school uniform, alighted from her perch before pulling out ance-like sword and remarking, "Youre strong. Tell me, are you one of this generations Princesses of Jahad?" Rather than answering the girls questions, Scathach remained silent for several tense moments before ultimately turning her back and walking away. This caused the expectant smile on the girls face to immediately vanish, her left brow twitching ever-so-slightly as vibrant sparks of radiant blue electricity began to dance around her. Despite this, Scathach didnt even bother to look back as she casually walked to stand beside the spectating Vahn. Surprised by Vahns sudden appearance, the pale-haired youth adopted a look of caution as she held up her peculiar sword and said, "You must havee here for a reason. This isnt a ce just anyone can reach. Tell me, what is your aim?" Rather than answering the girls question, Vahn gave Scathachs head a gentle caress before using his Unit Management to recall her to the Town of the Wandering Minstrel. This caused the look on the young womans face to darken considerably, not because she was being ignored, but because she believed she was being looked down upon. Deciding she would get her answers after the fight had ended, a tremendous amount of lightning began to flow from the youthful-looking girls body as she charged forward with speedparable to a Ranker. Her intention was to skewer Vahns insides so that she could paralyze and electrify him over an extended period of time, her method of choice whenever she had to deal with people who annoyed her. Recognizing the sadistic glimmer in the girls eyes, Vahn fought against the urge to roll his eyes as he allowed her spear to impale his gut. This caused a hint of excitement to appear within the girls expression, but, almost immediately thereafter, her eyes rounded as she attempted to retract her weapon and flee backward. Preventing this from happening, Vahns left hand tightened around the one she used to hold her sword as his right hand impacted the crown of her head in a chopping motion. This caused all the electricity emanating from her body to short out in an instant as her legs buckled, forcing her to fall t on her bottom. Then, with moisture building in her eyes, she began rubbing the top of her head while looking up at him with a hateful expression on her face. Realizing why Maschenny would want to destroy her younger counterpart, a wry smile developed across Vahns face as he released the teary-eyed girls hand and said, "Ill fight you as much as you wantter. For now, take me to your-" Before he could finish speaking, the young girl, unquestionably the Data of Maschenny Jahad in her youth, adopted an even more hateful pout as she said, "Fuck you. If youre that eager to die, go find him yourself. You think Im going to obey you just because you struck my head? If youre not going to take this seriously, you can just fuck off...!" Punctuating her words, Maschenny released a violent explosion of lightning-infused Shinsu as she threw a vicious haymaker towards his crotch. This caused the wry smile on Vahns face to be even more prominent, and, though she wasnt his child to discipline, he was suddenly seized by an urge to follow Urekos example and give the violent youth a spanking. Instead, he sidestepped the attack, lightly smacking Maschennys outstretched hand in the process. Annoyed by the fact she was still being looked down upon, Maschennys hair began to float upward as she threw a series of surprisingly sharp blows aimed at various vital points. It was almost like her hands had be spears, and, though she had formed them into fists, Vahn could still feel the tell-tale influence of Spear Laws contained within each strike. Were it not for his nigh-invulnerability, her strikes might have even left small puncture wounds in his palms. Undeterred by the ease in which Vahn received and deflected her strikes, the speed of Maschennys punches continued to increase as an instinctual war cry emanated from her throat. This caused the lightning emitting from her body to be even more violent, the bands increasing in strength to the point that they began to carve deep trenches through the solidified ice-cream structure. This, in turn, caused the interior to begin melting, as, on the low end, the temperature of each vibrant band was close to 5,000 degrees Celsius. To prevent the lightning from going out of control, Vahn quickly purchased a few copper rods from the system shop before littering them around the battlefield. These acted as improvised lightning rods, and, though they did little to prevent the temperature from increasing, they drastically helped to reduce the amount of coteral damage. Noticing the strange rods appearing in her periphery, Maschenny promptly ceased her assault in an attempt to get a better grasp of the situation. The moment she attempted to leap back, however, a second chop impacted the crown of her head, once again dispersing her umted electricity. To make matters even worse, it impacted the exact same spot as the first time, and, due to her attempt to jump backward, she ended up sliding across the partially melted ice cream on her rump. Though he knew the Data was more than eleven-hundred-years-old, Vahn couldnt help feeling a little awkward when the younger version of Maschenny liberated her ice cream covered figure from the channel carved by her butt. It was fortunate she wore dark-blue tights and a simrly blue cape, as, if she was anything like her older counterpart, a t-back wouldnt have provided much protection against the chilled and exceptionally sticky substance... With much of her body covered in sticky goop, Maschennys anger had increased inversely to her desire to continue fighting within the ice cream cone. She hadnt thought about it in the beginning, but, now that things had developed to this point, she realized fighting on this particr battlefield wasnt the smartest decision she had ever made. Her opponent was far more powerful than she had anticipated, and, thanks to the unique structure of the battlefield, her own was limited considerably. Resisting the urge to massage the swelling bump on her head, Maschenny red at Vahn, her blue eyes crackling with electricity as she said, "I will never forget this shame...even if it costs me my life, I swear to do everything within my power to end you..." Since he had actually been intending to recruit her in order to spite the real Maschenny, the corner of Vahns smile began to twitch as he extended his hand and said, "Come now...there is no need to say things like that. I mean, I havent actually done anything other than defending myself and giving you two light chops to the head. Is that any reason to hold a life and death grudge...?" Though she was initially going to retort, Maschenny momentarily paused as a warm and slightly ticklish sensation enveloped her body. Almost immediately thereafter, the sticky residue coating much of her body began to dissolve away, reced by a clean and remarkably refreshing feeling. Unfortunately, the same sensation also affected the more sensitive regions of her body, so, rather than expressing even a hint of gratitude, Maschennys brows began to twitch violently as a not-so-subtle blush colored her otherwise fairplexion. Restraining herself until the sticky feeling hadpletely disappeared, a freshyer of moisture developed across Maschennys eyes as she charged towards Vahn with a hate-filled expression, shouting, "You damned pervert...!" as a circr mirror appeared behind his back. This caused the smile on Vahns face topletely freeze, and, though he could have easily evaded her charge, he allowed Maschenny to effectively drop kick him since he could sense the presence of someone far more powerful on the other side... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Shishou dont y around...,Vahn be like, "Be still, my right hand...",Some lessons just dont stick...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1907 Looking Down

Chapter 1907 Looking Down

Despite his face being used as a springboard, Vahns expression remainedrgely unchanged as he shifted his attention from the aggrieved Maschenny to view the inordinately handsome man with the characteristic features of the Khun Family sitting on an ornate stone throne. This resulted in Maschenny gritting her teeth, and, though she knew it was ultimately futile, that didnt stop her from condensing a phenomenal amount of lightning-infused Shinsu into a tiny spherical pill. With the handsome man silently observing the battle with a smile, even as sparks danced around his body, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head, saying, "Even if she was born outside, she is still your daughter. Are you just going to watch as she destroys her body...?" Frowning in response to Vahns words, the inordinately handsome man, famous throughout the Tower for his heaven-sent appearance, adopted a slight frown as he coldly replied, "I would be an even worse father if I intervened in a battle she did not wish me to partake in. Besides, the girl you see before you is merely a collection of data. So long as the Hidden Floor persists, she will respawn indefinitely. If I intervened, she would onlye to resent me for robbing her of a powerful foe..." Adopting a frown of his own, for a variety of reasons, Vahn returned his attention to Maschenny to find that most of her cells had beenpletely saturated with lightning. In a way, it was almost like a version of Magia Erebea, but,pared to thepleted spell that had made Eva into a legend, the Lightning Pill consumed by members of the Khun Family was a pale imitation. Deciding to teach both of them a lesson, a sigh escaped Vahns throat as bands of golden lightning began to emit from his body. This caused the mans eyes to widen slightly, his fingers digging into the material of his throne as the vibrant blue lightning around his body increased in intensity. At the same time that Maschenny charged towards him, her figurepletely shrouded in a cloak of lightning, a far more intense variety erupted from Vahns body as he deftly snatched her fist out of the air. This resulted in her unhesitantly sacrificing her wrist, but, with a reaction speed that saw everything the temperamental youth did in slow motion, Vahn was able to effectively walk around her during the motion of her spinning kick. Unable to perceive Vahns movements due to hisplete and utterck of a presence, a look of panic briefly appeared across Maschennys face before a sharp pain erupted from the back of her neck. She could feel the connection between her brain and body momentarily severed, but, rather than epting the sweet embrace of unconsciousness, she forcibly re-established the connection before issuing a loud war cry as she twisted around and attempted to stab Vahn with her bare hand. Unfortunately, by the time she turned around, her target was nowhere to be found, as, in rtion to her perception, Vahns movement speed might as well be teleportation. With his previous effort causing Maschenny to push her body even further beyond its limits, Vahn decided it was time to bring the battle to its conclusion. Thus, before she could further exacerbate the situation, he ced his palm against her back, surging his source energy into her body before retracting it along with all the lightning elemental energy saturating her cells. This would have been very dangerous in the real world, but, thanks to her form being almost entirelyprised of data, he could cut a surprising number of corners. Like a marite that had its strings unceremoniously cut, Maschenny copsed forward with the whites of her eyes showing. Fortunately, rather than the cold hard ground, her face collided with an exceptionally plush beanbag, her form sinking into the soft yet durable material before bingpletely limp. Feeling mildly exasperated, a tired sigh escaped Vahns throat as he shifted his attention away from Maschennys unconscious form to find the inordinately handsome man from before observing him with an intrigued glimmer in his eyes. Then, nearly causing him to fall over, the man unashamedly inquired, "Are you another one of my brats? Did youe here to see how you measure up against me in my youth...?" Though he had never really cared all that much about the identity of his father, Vahn couldnt help by feel annoyed by the ridiculous question. Unfortunately, this seemed to give the man the wrong idea, his smile bing even more prominent as he added, "Very well then. Come to papa." while rising to his feet. Under normal circumstances, Vahn liked to think of himself as a rtively easy-going person. Sure, he got mad whenever people performed violent and profane acts, but, more often than not, he did his best to just go with the flow. This was not the case when he heard the mans remark. Instead, he felt as though something in the back of his mind had shattered, and, were it not for his [Will of the Emperor] kicking into overdrive, Vahn felt as though he might have activated his Bankai then and there... Taking advantage of the fact that the man had too much pride to throw the first blow, Vahn did his best to calm down bybing back his pale-golden, inordinately spiky, hair. Then, with a textbook example of a deadpan, he looked towards the smiling man and said, "Utterly ridiculous. If my father was half as despicable as your real-world counterpart, I would have died from shame long ago..." Shaking his head in response to his own words, Vahn decided there was no sense in discussing such things. Instead, he adopted a loose stance with countless openings as he muttered, "Whatever...lets get this over with. Show me the strength of one of the so-called Great Warriors..." Having grown rather ustomed to his children hating him, the man simply shrugged in response to Vahns words before manifesting a circr mirror and saying, "Lets change locations. It might be reset after you leave, but Id rather not destroy my home. Besides, you seem to possess an irrational concern for my daughters data. I dont want you to get distracted trying to protect her." Resisting the urge to snort through his nose, Vahn stepped through the circr mirror without any fear or hesitation. He knew the man wouldnt be able to resist a good fight, and, while there was a small chance the mirror might lead to some kind of prison, it didnt really matter. Smiling in response to Vahns daring behavior, the handsome man briefly shifted his gaze to the unconscious form of his daughter, muttering, "I hope you dont resent me too much for taking away your toy...." before stepping through the mirrors surface. There, he found Vahn standing in the air a few hundred meters away, golden lightning shrouding his onyx-colored body. With the corners of his smile curling upward, the man couldnt help but muse, "Are you enjoying the opportunity to look down on the future leader of the Khun Family? Careful. If you inte your ego too much, you might break once you experience defeat." Raising his right hand towards the sky, Vahn allowed his Lightning Emperor form to dissipate as he replied in a dull tone, "Lets put that theory to the test...I wonder which will break first, your body, or your pride. Either way, its time you experienced what true power looks like. Dont worry, even the real Khun Eduan might not fare much better..." Though he would have normally offered a rebuttal, the inordinately handsome man, none other than the data of Khun Eduan, went on high alert the moment he sensed the phenomenal energy circting around Vahns hand. This caused the vibrant blue lightning around his body to increase in magnitude, thick bands tearing through the surroundingndscape as he generated two highlypressed Baangs at his fingertips. Ignoring Eduans reactionpletely, Vahn allowed his eyes to close as the flow of time around his body slowed to a crawl. Momentster, without any actual time passing, a petite figure with short brown hair, aquamarine eyes, fiery horns, a simrly ming tail, and red-hot heels manifested in front of him. Then, as if a chain reaction had been set off, several other petite, exotic, and adorable figures began to appear around him as Vahn opened his eyes and said, "Remember...I cant use all of you at once. Dont rampage just because youre feeling left out..." Like a bunch of elementary and middle schoolers who had just received a light warning from their favorite teacher, the collection of more than a hundred peculiar entities each chorused, "Hai~!" in a happy tone. This left Vahn feeling a little exasperated, but, understanding the need to master each and every one of them, he began to ruffle the hair of those within reach as his true self opened his eyes and eximed, "Bankai...! Senjin Kshin, March of a Thousand des...!" Following the exmation, the sky around Vahn resembled a volcanic eruption as a veritable wall of magma-like mes exploded outward, enveloping everything for tens of kilometers. In the wake of this explosion, the surrounding environment resembled a hellishndscape of fire and brimstone as more than a hundred ming swords hovered in the air behind a now-armored Vahn. With armor resembling still-cooling obsidian,plete with a helmet set with ming horns, Vahn knew he looked like a textbook example of an Evil or Demonic Dragon God. Despite this, he was rather fond of the armor as it was actually the form Laev-tan took when he awakened his Bankai. She seemed to realize that he wouldnt be able to wield her against most of his foes, and, perhaps as a result of his armor generally melting down or breaking, she ultimately decided to be his armor so that he could freely use other weapons. Unfortunately, perhaps as a result of her jealousy, the gauntlets of said armor emitted such extreme heat that it was nearly impossible to hold onto another weapon without melting it. The inclusion of Destruction Laws all but guaranteed this, so, while it wasnt his original reason for using Telekinesis, Vahns mastery over the psychokic art allowed him to wield dozens of weapons without needing to actually hold them. Unfortunately, this had the rather disadvantageous consequence of making his growing number of Zanpakuto Spirits rather...disorderly... Despite his prior warning, Vahn was forced to proactively use his Telekinesis to rein in a few of the Laevatein-looking des as they attempted to stab to understandably surprised Eduan. This caused the des to release frustrated, sulky, and pouty hums, but, with a firm, "Patience..." Vahn was able to silence most of them before turning his attention to Eduan and saying, "Though my appearance might lead you to believe otherwise, Im not particrly fond of bullying the weak. These weapons you see around me are the greatest masterpieces I have forged over the years. In many ways, they are simr to my children. Since you chose not to intervene during my battle with Maschenny, I will afford you a simr opportunity. For the following one-hundred-and-thirty-eight minutes, I will not attack you. Instead, with the passage of each additional minute, one of my creations will enter the fray. If you can move me from this position before each has had their turn, you will have the right to proim yourself the victor..." Though he had been utterly gobsmacked by Vahns disy of power, Eduans brow began to twitch ever more violently with each word spoken by the former. It had been a long time since he endured such insults, so, while he was actually looking forward to the fight quite a bit, that didnt stop him from raising the middle finger of his right hand and eximing, "Fuck you...!" in a manner simr to his daughter. Then, with a phenomenal amount of lightning elemental energy gathering around his body, he exploded into the air like a reverse meteor... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Cozy beanbag (O w O)...,Wevee full circle. Now it is the loli who protec Vahn...!,Were reaching levels of Chuuni that shouldnt be possible...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1908 Surprise : Overwhelming

Chapter 1908 Surprise : Overwhelming

Demonstrating that he wasnt known as one of the Great Warriors without reason, Eduan had little difficulty evading Alpha, the oldest of Laev-tans sister swords. Unfortunately, he made the mistake of trying to attack Vahn directly, and, though he had taken measures to both protect and enhance his body with Shinsu, contact with the obsidian tes caused the lightning around his fist to fizzle out as the flesh coating his knuckles quickly dissolved. Understanding that any assistance would further incense Eduan, a condescending mask developed across Vahns face as he exined, "This armor is forged from the Laws of Destruction, Space, and Fire. Without a proper understanding of the Laws at y, your only hope is to use elemental energy that counteracts my armors properties." Gritting his teeth in response to Vahns words, Eduans figure practically vanished in an instant as he stepped backward at the speed of lightning. This allowed him to create a distance of nearly 100km in an instant, his expression showing severity and excitement as he ignored the pain from his hand and began gathering a monumental amount of Shinsu. He was a little concerned about the fact that his hand wasnt healing, but, regardless of the oue of the battle, he intended to enjoy it to the fullest. Believing that Vahn could easily see him,rgely due to the fact that a vibrant beam of red light was already zeroing in on him, Eduan cracked a smile as he said, "Lets see how tough you really are!" as a physical spear of lightning more than 30m in length formed in his left hand. This was an advanced form of Shinsu Control that allowed the user to actualize their Quality, something even the average High Ranker would struggle with. Considering this version of Khun Eduan was technically a D-Rank Regr, it was a demonstration that would have shaken the Tower if he was born in the current era. Flourishing the spear, known throughout the Tower as the spear higher than the tallest mountain, Eduan easily deflected the approaching Alpha with little effort. This motion caused the atmosphere for hundreds of meters to instantaneously ionize, and, as a result, massive storm clouds began to gather in the area as tempestuous winds began to devastate thend below. With his body nowpletely shrouded in lightning, Eduans electric-blue irises began shifting to an eerie purple hue as he took aim with his spear and monotonously incanted, "Khun Eduan Style Javelin-Throw Skill - Spear Higher Than The Tallest Mountain: Montana Azul...!" As if empowered by his voice, the inordinately long spear began to generate massive bands of blue lightning, almost like a reverse lightning rod. At the same time, the distance between him and Vahn seemed to shrink as Space distorted in a manner that resembled a zooming effect. Then, traveling at a speed that made light seem stagnant, the spear created a rippling ck vortex in its wake as it instantaneously impacted Vahns chest. Though it wasnt the result he desired, Eduan managed to surprise Vahn quite a bit by sessfully cracking his breastte. He had underestimated Eduans title as the God of Spears, and, though it shouldnt have mattered much due to the difference in their understanding, the formers lightning was actually one of the few counters to Laev-tans effects. Tracing his fingers over the quickly receding cracks, Vahns mind began to clear up as he recalled that, despite his appearance, this version of Eduan should have been hundreds of years old by the time his data was created. Since then, more than ten-thousand-years had passed, so, while it was impossible for Data Humans to increase their parameters, it provided him with ample opportunity to advance his understanding of various Laws. With all signs of damage having vanished in under three seconds, Vahn lightly pat the area over his heart, not to express relief, but tofort Laev-tan. She was upset by the fact she had allowed the energy from Eduans attack to prate his body, and, as a result, several sections of her armor had started to glow as her anger continued to rise. This was one of the greatest limitations of his Bankai, as, rather than cutting loose, Vahn had to remain calm and in control just to prevent Laev-tan and her siblings from rampaging... Fortunately, while it ced an absurd burden on his mental and spiritual energies, the volume of Vahns functionally limitless reserves had effectively increased by more than a hundred times. As a result, his domain expanded to cover more than a hundred kilometers as the potency of his aura increased to the point that most lower-tiered beings couldnt even perceive it. This included Eduan, and, as could be expected, the Hidden Floor itself. Ignoring the sudden error messages that were beginning to appear in the vicinity, Vahn decided to amp things up a bit by extending his right hand. In response, the remaining twenty-three Laevatein-like des surged forward, each resembling homing missiles as they created long red trails on their path towards the smiling Eduan. Believing he had sessfully angered Vahn, Eduan began to dance around the ming swords with remarkable finesse as dozens of Baangs began to form around him. These ultimately becameser-like beams of lightning-infused Shinsu, each formed with the intent to either destroy or disable one of the Laevatein siblings. Unfortunately for him, they were a little more difficult to deal with than a stationary target, and, though their individual mastery was far from Vahns, each of the Laevateins possessed a limited mastery over Sword Laws. Seeing his attacks cut through and deflected, Eduans smile became noticeably cramped as one of the Laevateinns, Rho, burned a part of his inordinately long ponytail. He had always taken pride in the appearance and texture of his hair, so, while it wasnt enough to make himpletely lose his cool, the spear-like tattoo on his arm emitted a phenomenal amount of lightning as he attempted to grasp Rhos hilt. Though it wasnt one of his better-known traits, Eduan possessed the ability to dominate anything his right hand touched. He rarely made use of it, but, whenever there was something he wanted to possess, be it legendary weapons, artifacts, or even women, there were few things that could stop him from forcibly seizing it. This wasrgely due to the fact that his right arm was host to one of the most powerful weapons from his former world, a legendary spear said to have once belonged to a tyrannical King of Gods, the Origin of Lightning. Grasping Rhos hilt, Eduan wanted nothing more than to use the de to pierce Vahns chest and demonstrate why he should never underestimate his foes. Unfortunately, this was never meant to be, as, the moment he attempted to forcibly seize Rho, a massive rupture appeared along his arm as his meridians literally exploded. This made his arm resemble gristle, and, though it was only a copy of the original, the Origin of Lightning within caused the wound to quickly cauterize as thick bands of uncontroble lightning devasted both his body and the surroundings. Seeing Eduan effectively self-destruct, Vahn couldnt help but exhale a tired sigh as he shook his head and remarked, "Trying to steal a Zanpakuto produced by the Bankai of a Tier 5...I cant even imagine something more foolish..." Though he hadnt heard Vahns remark, Eduan wasnt going to simply stand by and let himself be destroyed by his own attack. Instead, he ripped off his own arm without hesitation before surging forward with explosive velocity, effectively teleporting in front of Vahn to use the dismembered and highly destructive limb like a club. Frowning in response to Eduans frenzied assault, Vahn anchored himself using the surrounding space as the lightning from the formers detached limb danced across his body. This caused the glossy ck surface of Laev-tan to rapidly heat up, the exterior turning white-hot as cracks began to form across the thinner tes. Clicking his tongue, Vahn decided this wasnt the time to be obstinate. He was determined to stay in ce, but, rather than simply taking a beating, he released an unstoppable pulse of energy from his body, arms spread wide as he called out, "Mjol-chan! Raiko...!" In response to Vahns call, two hammers, one resembling aically oversized runestone while the other was indistinguishable from a giant drum, spun rather excitedly towards him. These were his attempts at reproducing the legendary hammer of Thor and the Storm Drums of Raijin, two of the most powerful Gods of Thunder and Lightning to ever exist. Bringing the two together, effectively mming Mjol-chan into the drumhead of Raiko, Vahn was able to disperse the entirety of Eduans rampant lightning. Then, as his pride prevented him from moving from his current position, he hurled the 3,000,000kg stone hammer towards Eduan like a meteor before releasing Raikos white-hot handle and saying, "Seal his lightning." in a decisive yet slightly apologetic tone. As Mjol-chan impacted the ground with enough force to send a shockwave rippling for dozens of kilometers, lightning emanating from Raikos body quickly took the shape of a young girl with pale blonde hair, elf-like ears, and radiant golden irises. As for her clothes, her outfit consisted of an off-white dress, knee-length purple boots, a red sash that defied gravity, and, as could be expected, a ring adorned with lightning-formed drums. If not for the fact she resembled an eight-year-old, she could have been mistaken for a younger version of Ureko,plete with a vibrant yet excessively violent personality... Grabbing the giant hammer that was her true body, Raiko began to smack it against the air as if thetter had a physical form. Each blow caused the sound reminiscent of a drum infused with thunder to echo for several hundreds of kilometers as the rampant lightning produced by Eduan began to vanish without a trace. Instead, the drums behind Raiko began to glow with an increasingly vibrant light as she absorbed all the lightning elemental energy from the surroundings into herself. Understanding that the others would be upset if he didnt give them the chance to run wild, Vahn allowed his reserves of mental and spiritual energy to drain, a wry smile developing across his face as he said, "Dont kill him. If any of you decide to ignore my warning, expect no maintenance for the next three weeks..." In response to Vahns words of warning, each of the 138 weaponsprising his Bankai promptly manifested spiritual forms perfectly capable of wielding themselves. Unfortunately, for reasons he simply couldnt fathom, the oldest among them resembled a young girl of around fourteen. As for the rest, they looked like a bunch of elementary and middle-schoolers wieldingically oversized weapons. This was the final and most prominent reason behind his reluctance to use Bankai, as, not only did Laev-tan make him resemble an Evil God, but his ultimate attack was effectively an army of rampaging children... Fortunately, only a small handful of the Little Gardens residents knew the truth, and, while it might cause a few problems in the near future, Vahn didnt care whether or not Eduans data knew of his secret. This was a good opportunity to let his little rascals run wild, and, in a way, it allowed him to practice observing others and intervening when he considered it necessary. These might not seem like important skills to master, but, if he wished to let others fight alongside him, these two abilities were of paramount importance. Unfortunately for Eduan, he was the first true opponent of the discordant group of lolis, so, while they did their best to hold back, theirbined assault wasparable to a group of High Rankers toying with their foe. Eduan did his best to fight back, but, with each of the lively spirits possessing immaterial bodies, the majority of his attacks werepletely useless. This,bined with the fact that his abilities were effectively sealed by thebined effects of numerous Zanpakutos relegated him to the role of a punching bag for the better part of three hours... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Never look down on a skilled opponent that has lived for tens of thousands of years...,Eduan is pretty feisty...,This might just be the most bruh of moments...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1909 Obstinate

Chapter 1909 Obstinate

Descending to the center of a vast crater filled with fragmented data and error messages, Vahn found a one-armed, severely injured, Eduan staring up at the sky with a wry smile on his face. He looked like he had experienced an apocalypse on his body, and, though he was still alive, he was almost unrecognizable from his former, inordinately handsome, self. Noticing Vahns presence, Eduan somehow managed to sit up even as parts of his dataprised flesh ked away. Then, in a raspy voice tinged with amusement, he asked, "Are you satisfied now?" Shrugging his shoulders halfheartedly, Vahn decided to return Eduans question, asking, "Are you?" With a painedugh escaping his throat, Eduan, somewhat surprisingly, shook his head, saying, "If you think this is a beating, you should try teasing Yura during her period. That woman makes your little posse of monsters seem tame inparison..." Though he was unamused by Eduan referring to his Zanpakuto as monsters, Vahn couldnt exactly me him for thebel. If he had been beaten down by a small army of excessively violent children, he would probably disdain and loathe whoever had given the order. Eduan, however, didnt seem to particrly care, his expression showing more curiosity than anything else as he experimented with puppeteering his severely charred left arm. Restraining a sigh, Vahn had Sis initiate an isted version of the reconstruction program that was typically reserved for after visitors had departed. As a result, Eduans body was fully restored in an instant, brows raising as he asked, "How are you able to ess the Hidden Floors functions? Even Jahad and I dont have this level of control and were basically system administrators...who, exactly, are you?" Noticing the build-up of electricity around Eduans body, Vahn couldnt help but adopt a deadpan as he asked, "Seriously? I get that youre a battle junky, bute on..." Smiling in response to Vahns words, Eduan balled the hand of his now-restored right arm into a fist as he said, "Ive never been the type to concern myself with things like the past and future. Besides, you werent the one to defeat me. Dont tell me you intend to steal credit just because you created them? Even Im not that brazen..." Understanding that Eduans behavior was derived from an iprehensible feeling of boredom, Vahn resisted the urge to bury his fist into the mans face as he said, "If youre willing to abide a few ground rules, I can free you from this ce. I imagine the thought of fighting and defeating the real you is pretty tantalizing." Though lightning continued to build around him, Eduan adopted an uncharacteristically serious expression as he scrutinized Vahns face for falsehoods. Truth be told, the only thing preventing him from offing himself thousands of years ago was his desire to undermine whatever schemes the real Jahad had cooked up. He disdained what Jahad had be on the outside, and, though they had always been at odds with each other, he still considered the man a friend...one who had deviated far from the path they had once walked together... With the lightning around his body gradually weakening, a tired sigh escaped Eduans throat as he crossed his arms and asked, "What are these conditions you speak of? How do I know I wont just be your puppet after epting your terms?" Emting Eduans action of crossing his arms, Vahn adopted a taunting smile as he noted, "You ask a lot of questions for someone who doesnt concern themself with things like the past and future..." Clicking his tongue, the amount of lightning flickering across Eduans body began to increase as he said, "Youre right. Guess that means I have no choice but to refuse your offer. Its a shame, really. I was honestly looking forward to seeing whatys in the higher floors with my own eyes..." Understanding that Eduan wasnt putting on airs, an exasperated sigh escaped Vahns throat as he shook his head and said, "I see now why youve managed to persist this long. You are unbelievably obstinate..." Rather than refute the im, a smile spread across Eduans face as he nodded and said, "It really is one of my better traits. Besides, based on your behavior thus far, its pretty obvious youre more of a hardass than I am. Id wager my existence that you dont have many friends. Instead, you probably surround yourself with women. Were a lot alike in that regard." Frowning in response to Eduans words, Vahn nearly fell into his habit of reflecting upon everything people said about him. Fortunately, before he was able to, Sis adopted a gentle chiding tone as she said, (*Even when there are parallels between people, the motivations behind their actions and their personal thoughts on any given matter can be radically different. Everyone walks their own path.*) Agreeing with this sentiment, Vahns expression gradually rxed as he met Eduans gaze and said, "It is foolish to make suchparisons. Regardless of the number of parallels between two people, there would be a functionally infinite number of differences between them. The only person we can ever truly know is ourselves. Now, before you make the mistake of burning the final bridge between us, Ill give you onest chance to consider my proposal. Just know that, in the end, youre choosing between suffering one final defeat and the chance to battle against countless powerful foes..." Though he wasnt quite sure what had changed, Eduan found the current Vahn even more annoying than before. He had always hated people with aloof personalities, as, even if it wasnt their aim, they gave off the impression of arrogant and entitled assholes who looked down on everything. To make matters even worse, he had nothing to leverage against the current circumstances. His only options were to either ept or refuse, as, based on Vahns actions thus far, he hadnte here with the intention of winning any favors... With a smile that didnt quite reach his eyes, Eduan couldnt resist the urge to say, "I really hate you right now..." Shrugging in response to thement, a rxed smile spread across Vahns face as he asked, "So? You arent the first and you sure as hell wont be thest. Now, stop beating around the bush. You might have gotten used tozing about for centuries at a time, but I have better things to do than idle around here." Clicking his tongue for the second time, Eduan threw his hands up in an exasperated manner as he eximed, "As if I have a choice! Jeez, youre even more annoying than that bastard, Gustang! Why cant we just fight a few rounds before talking about all thisplicated shit!? I swear! Youre going to give me a fucking aneurysm!" Rolling his eyes in response to Eduansints, the version of himself idling about in the Little Garden passed on a message to Urahara as his external counterpart replied, "At least youll have a body to amodate you. For now, let us return to your abode. There are a few things we need to discuss and I imagine your son and daughter have already awoken." With his brow twitching angrily, Eduan fought hard against the urge to give Vahn the middle finger and telling him to fuck off. There were few things he hated more than being told what to do, so, if Vahn expected him to be ackey, there was no way their partnership could continue. Recognizing the look in Eduans eyes, Vahn adopted a somewhat amused smile as he said, "Though there are a few provisions I expect you to follow, you dont have to worry about serving under me. I might be fond of snakes, but that doesnt mean I would invite an untamed viper to live in my home. Once we get out of here, youll be free to move about the Tower at your leisure. What you do from then onwards is entirely up to you." Though he found it difficult to ept Vahns words at face value, Eduan ultimately waved his hand through the air to manifest the portal-like mirror that allowed him to move about freely within the Hidden Floor. Before either of them could step through, however, two figures emerged from within, one beelining towards Vahn while the other gawked at the surrounding devastation. With a wry smile returning to his face, Vahn grabbed the tip of Maschennysnce-like spear with his left hand while performing a chopping motion with his right. This caused her body to tense up, not because she was afraid, but because her past experiences had taught her it was impossible to evade. Fortunately, what awaited her wasnt a painful chop. Instead, Vahn plopped his hand rather unceremoniously atop her head, roughly ruffling her hair as he mused, "Im a little above your pay grade, kiddo. Sorry." Confused by theforting sensation washing over her, Maschenny lifted her head to stare directly at Vahn before saying, "Are you a lolicon...?" Momentarily freezing in ce, Vahns smile became notably cramped as he retracted his hand from Maschennys head and remarked, "If your attacks were half as sharp as your tongue, you might be able to deal some actual damage..." Despite being 162cm tall, Maschenny managed to give off the impression of an excessively spoiled middle-schooler as her expression morphed into an indignant and somewhat adorable pout. Before she couldsh out, however, a stern voice emanated from behind, saying, "Oi, chibi. Save it forter. That man and I have things to discuss. Dont make me ground you." Hearing the words of her father, Maschenny clicked her tongue before yanking her sword free from Vahns grasp and saying, "This is far from over. I dont care how powerful you are. Unless you kill me or run away, it is your destiny to die at my hand. If not me, personally, my counterpart outside will finish you off. You will learn why I was the second-youngest person to ever be chosen as a Princess of Jahad...!" Resisting the urge to ruffle the impetuous Princess hair a second time, Vahn offered a wry smile in response to her threat against his life, revealing, "Ive already fought against your counterpart. She was certainly very powerful, but,pared to Adori and Hagipherione, she still has a very long way to go..." Not expecting to hear such a statement, a look of confusion appeared on Maschennys face as she instinctually replied, "Youre lying. My counterpart outside should be one of the most powerful High Rankers in the Tower. Theres no way she would be defeated by someone like you. Do you think Im an idiot?" Rather than Vahn answering, it was Eduan who said, "You are an idiot if you think being a Princess of Jahad guarantees you will be strong. Though he might have used an indirect method, this asshole was able to defeat me without having to move from his starting position. I dont know how powerful Rankers and High Rankers are supposed to be, but I can guarantee they wouldnt be able to pull off a simr feat. There is a difference between pride and petnce, Chenny. Looking like a brat doesnt give you the right to act like one." Hearing her fathers admonishing words, both Maschenny and her brother Asensio, known best as the Spear Master, found themselves at aplete loss for words. They had never once considered that their father had lost the fight, as, despite being iparably weaker than his true self, he was still a transcendental existence. They couldnt imagine him losing to anyone other than himself and the other Family Leaders, so, hearing him nonchntly admit Vahn had won the fight left them both feeling as though they had stumbled into an alternate reality. Annoyed by the duos gawking, Eduan snorted loudly before half-stepping through his mirror and remarking, "Youre both grounded..." as his figure disappeared into the reflective surface... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Eduan and Vahn are both pretty petnt...,I can imagine a -1 appearing above Vahns head in response to Maschennys words xD...,RIP) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1910 Revelations : Compromise

Chapter 1910 Revtions : Compromise

Following a lengthy discussion regarding the nature of the Tower and Vahns ns for the duration of his stay, Eduan ended up falling silent for several minutes. During this period, he emptied nearly half the contents of a 40oz wine vase as his children, specifically Maschenny, Asensio, and a peculiar individual named Icardi, sat silently around a banquet table. After finally organizing his thoughts, an uncharacteristically tired sigh escaped Eduans throat as he muttered, "Who could have imagined that the Tower meant to choose a God was actually just a trial for reincarnation? Headon...that bunny-eared bastard lied to us..." Though Eduans words werent intended for anyone, in particr, Vahn decided to chime in, saying, "That isnt exactly true. As counterintuitive as it might seem, reincarnation into a higher dimensional ne with your memories intact is one of the most expedient methods to bing what you refer to as a True God. Trying to obtain that level of power in a lower Realm is borderline impossible, as, without stabilizing and strengthening the ne you inhabit, you risk destroying everything in your pursuit of power. Dont get me wrong. Im not exactly a fan of the current system. However, without it, the path towards godhood, and even higher realms of power, would be closed off to anyone who wasnt chosen..." Nodding his headzily in response, Eduan emptied another ss of wine before setting the vase aside and asking, "How do you know of all this? Have you ever actually been to these higher realms you speak of?" Shaking his head, Vahn adopted a slightly serious expression as he said, "Im not obligated to reveal the source of my knowledge. The only reason I revealed these truths to you is to better prepare you for the future. The Tower is bound to be in an uproar the moment you appear outside. At least now you have an idea of what it is youre fighting for." Raising his cup as if to issue a toast, Eduan adopted a somewhat sardonic expression on his face as he said, "Indeed. The question then bes...what are you fighting for? Dont tell me youre doing all of this in the spirit of selfless magnanimity. I might not be the most learned person in the world, but the one unquestionable truth I have ascertained over the years is that those who y at being selfless and righteous are often the most selfish of us all..." Adopting an amused smile, Vahn elected to raise his own ss, his eyes glowing in the low light of the room as he said, "I fight because I choose to. I dont pretend to be selfless, nor do I care about bing a hero. The only things I care about are protecting my family and doing what I believe to be right. If there is one truth I have learned throughout my years...it would be that those who need a reason to act are often looking to avoid some form of responsibility. I no longer have any interest in such things. The only people who can hold me ountable are those I have given that right. I am free." Surprised by the resolve contained within Vahns deration, Eduan found himself at a momentary loss for words. In the end, however, he couldnt help but shake his head, a satiric smile developing across his face as he lowered his ss and remarked, "How irresponsible...though, I do suppose that is how it has always been, hasnt it? The truly powerful can only be held ountable by themselves and the people they have given power over them...ahahahahaha~" Seeing their father enter aughing fit, Asensio and the masked Icardi couldnt help feeling a little ufortable. Maschenny, however, had been listening closely since the start of the conversation, her eyes radiating a shimmering blue glow as she quietly repeated, "The truly powerful can only be held ountable by themselves..." Not missing Maschennys musings, Eduansughter promptly ceased as both he and Vahn shifted their attention to the pale-haired Princess. This would have caused the average person to avert their eyes, but, demonstrating she was anything but, Maschenny adopted a resolute look of her own as she said, "I wish to leave this ce, conquer the Tower, and venture to the realms beyond. Even if it means selling my soul to a demon, I will see for myself what lies beyond. Tell me. What do I need to do in order to receive your power?" With Maschenny directing her gaze towards him, Vahn couldnt help but frown as he asserted, "Im not a demon..." Furrowing her brows, Maschenny crossed her arms somewhat defiantly as she asked, "Does it really matter? Based on the differences in mine and Asensios treatment, you clearly have some kind of intentions towards me. Either that or youre the kind of pretentious pig who cant bring themselves to hit a girl. Since you im to have fought against my true self, however, I doubt that. That means you sought us out for a specific reason, and, based on your behavior during our fight, that reason is clearly rted to me. You either intended to use me against myself or as a way to p Jahad in the face. Regardless, Im all in. Tell me what I need to do." Though her words werent entirely on the mark, Vahn found himself unable to refute Maschennys ims. This caused the surprisingly sharp Princess to adopt a victorious smile as Eduan, seemingly entertained, began tough in an annoyingly boisterous and uninhibited manner. Resisting the urge to throw his half-emptied cup into Eduans face, Vahn set it off to the side as he met Maschennys gaze and exined, "I did intend to train you, not specifically to defeat your real self, but to demonstrate how powerful she could have be with proper guidance. What I didnt ount for was the fact that your personality was already twisted before you even started climbing the Tower. Im guessing being born into the Khun Family and being chosen as a Princess of Jahad at such an early age didnt really help..." Seemingly dissatisfied by these words, Maschenny snorted loudly before asking, "So what? Its not like I could have done anything about the circumstances of my birth. Are you going to fault me for making the most of my situation? If I hadnt done my best, those envious of my talent would have readily killed me in order to clear a path for themselves. Dont tell me youre going to change your mind. What, are you afraid that I might stab you in the back or something? I didnt take you for a coward." Understanding that Maschenny was trying to rile him up in an effort to force his hand, a dryugh emanated from Vahns throat as he shifted his attention to Eduan and remarked, "See what I mean? This is what happens when you arbitrarily sire children without creating an environment to nourish them. When you get outside, I expect you to set a better example. If you end up walking the same path as your predecessor...well, lets just say I would take it personally..." Since he had personally sired a total of zero children, Eduan couldnt help but roll his eyes as he nonchntly replied, "Yeah, whatever. Its not like I actually intended to have children. Ive had more than enough problems dealing with the brats who came here seeking to prove themselves. Besides, why worry about starting a family of my own when the penultimate goal is reincarnation? Ill worry about shit like that when I get to a higher realm." Detecting no falsehoods in Eduans words, Vahn nodded his head in approval before returning his attention to the moderately annoyed Maschenny and saying, "What you choose to do after leaving the Hidden Floor is ultimately up to you. If you wish to be stronger, I can certainly provide you with the means to drastically increase your power. However, it will depend almost entirely on your effort and the willingness of others to teach you. If you think power will just be handed to you, you are sorely mistaken..." Tilting her head forward and turning her eyes up in an expression of mild contempt, Maschenny asked, "When did I ever simply ask for power? Im well aware that there is no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Ive said since the beginning that Im willing to do whatever it takes, so you just need to tell me what it is you want. So long as you are more powerful than me, you wont have to worry about me ever betraying you." Hearing Maschennys words, Vahn was starting to understand how the real her managed to w her way up to her current position. The only things she genuinely cared about were proving herself and fighting against powerful foes, so, even if it resulted in her inevitable end, she was willing to do whatever it took to ensure there was conflict. She was the type of person who constantly aspired to reach the top, not because she cared about being number one, but because it virtually guaranteed there would always be people looking to dethrone her... Deciding to see for himself how far she was willing to go, Vahn adopted a mask of seriousness as he somberly replied, "Very well then...since you appear to be confident in yourself, Ill make things easy for you. In exchange for the opportunity to be infinitely more powerful, I expect you to behave both adorably and sincere. The more convincing your act and the more sincere your sentiments, the more opportunities I will provide you." Having expected Vahn to force her to be his wife, concubine, or sex ve, Maschenny believed she had already prepared herself for the worst. When she heard his conditions, however, her mental faculties promptly slowed to a crawl as she mechanically inquired, "You expect me...to act cute?" Amused by Maschennys reaction, a teasing smile developed across Vahns face as he asked, "What? You can sell your soul to a demon, but acting cute is too difficult? Its no wonder your real self walks around wearing a t-back. Youre surprisingly stuck up, arent you?" Rebooting in response to Vahns teasing remark, Maschenny adopted a disconcerted glower as she asked, "Whats wrong with wearing a t-back? I have sensitive skin and other garments cause chafing when I move around quickly. I tried wearing shorts and knickers, but idiots wouldnt shut up about them. Besides, what does that have to do with being stuck up? Dont you think youre being a little unfair byparing me to someone I havent even met for nearly a millennia?" Ignoring the implication that the current Maschenny was wearing a t-back, Vahn decided to deflect back to the original topic, remarking, "It seems youll be experiencing an uphill battle if you want to be stronger than your original self..." Clicking her tongue in response to Vahns words, Maschenny seemed to enter a state of deep and highly frustrated thought as she leaned back in her chair, arms crossed in a huff. This earned her an amused chuckle from Eduan, who, understanding the conversation was nearing its end, turned his attention to Vahn, saying, "Since youre giving out bodies like candy, there is someone I believe you might be interested in. He is someone who seems to know the true history of the Tower. You might not care, but his knowledge will be useful for those following after you. Ill have Asensio guide you to his location. Once you meet him, you can make your own decision." With the data of Khun Eduan having long gained an Ego of his own, the Law of Identity was able to reveal that the person he was referring to was none other than Yu Hansung, the Test Director of the Floor of Tests. This came as a moderate surprise, but, having already learned of the truths contained within the actual Hansungs mind, Vahn wasnt particrly interested in dealing with another. Recognizing the look in Vahns eyes, anotherugh emanated from Eduans throat as he remarked, "It seems like there is some bad blood between you and the original. Still, you should at least meet with him. People can change a lot in a single year, much less several hundred. I doubt he has done anything worse than me and my brats. You should give him a chance. Besides, there should be a lot of other data imprisoned in that quarantine area. Who knows, you might evene across the data of a few interesting Regrs? Though I only allow these three to stay here, there should be around twenty or so other members of my family running around. I imagine most of them would be willing to sell their souls if it meant escaping the Hidden Floor. This ce gets pretty boring after the first couple of years." Since there was no actual harm in meeting with Yu Hansung and traveling to the quarantine area, Vahn ultimately nodded in response to Eduans words. At the very least, it was a better n than simply full-clearing the Hidden Floor in search of the Hidden Hidden Floors entrance. There was no way someone like Yu Hansung wouldnt know the shortest route to reaching Jahad, as, simr to Rachel, he was someone well acquainted with the history of Arlen, V, and the Tower as a whole. With this in mind, Vahn was prepared to leave when Maschenny suddenly mmed her fists on the table, crocodile tears in her eyes as she eximed, "How am I supposed to act cute!? Isnt that kind of thing entirely subjective!? If you want to caress my head that badly, there are more direct ways to go about it...!" Understanding this was Maschennys attempt to appear both cute yet confrontational, a dryugh emanated from Vahns throat as he finished rising to his feet, saying, "Im sure youll figure it out. If bing a God was easy, everyone would be able to do it. If youre legitimately asking for advice, you could practice smiling without appearing like a predator. There is nothing wrong with having a few sadistic inclinations. Disying them wantonly and letting them dictate your behavior is what causes problems." Clicking her tongue for the umpteenth time, Maschenny fell back into her chair, arms crossed as she, once again, entered a state of thoughtful consideration. This left nearly everyone present with visibly wry smiles on their faces, the only exception being Icardi, who, for a number of reasons, hid his face away behind a mask... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Eduan be like, "Okay then, keep your secrets...",With great poweres limited ountability...,Imagine Maschennys reaction to her younger self behaving cutely xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1911 Exploration

Chapter 1911 Exploration

Though he could have resolved everything himself, Vahn knew the girls would be disappointed if he didnt give them the opportunity to act. Thus, rather than epting Asensios assistance as a guide, his counterpart back at the Town of the Wandering Minstrel gave Scathachs butt a light smack as he said, "We should regroup with the others. After a bit of rest, well be heading out." Exhaling a hot and contented sigh, Scathach epted Vahns assistance in sitting up, her naked body glistening with abination of sweat and massage oil as she softly replied, "Thank you...it was very pleasant..." Noticing the expectant glimmer in the buxom beautys ruby red eyes, a smile spread across Vahns face as he affectionately caressed Scathachs. In response, she leaned into his touch, her lips parting ever so slightly to allow his tongue easy ess. This was an invitation he simply couldnt refuse, so, rather than immediately departing the fragrant room, Vahn elected to punctuate Scathachs reward on a positive, sonorous, note... --- With the dawn of a new day, Vahn gathered alongside Theo, Musashi, Scathach, and Index to enjoy a rather extravagant breakfast alongside their would-be guide, Mi-eum. This resulted in him getting a little messy, entirely the result of Index choosing to sit in hisp, but it was still a refreshing way to start the day. He especially enjoyed how bashful Scathach was in the face of Musashis teasing, and, though she didnt actually need to eat, Mi-eums reaction every time she tasted a new dish caused quite a number ofughs. Unfortunately for the native Data Human, her day was about to get infinitely more hectic as Vahn wrapped up breakfast by saying, "Our first destination is the Fruit of Good and Evil. It serves as a Quarantine Area for corrupted and otherwise problematic data. Though I doubt they will provide much of a challenge, the interior should be filled to the brim with Hidden Floor Soldiers and Data Constructs. There is also a chance your Sworn Enemies will make an appearance so stay on your toes." Hearing Vahns final remark, Theo and Musashi perked up quite a bit, excitement visible in their gazes even as Mi-eum nervously remarked, "Um...Im not sure where you heard such a thing, but the Fruit of Good and Evil isnt anything like a Quarantine Area. I would suggest epting one of the D or C-Rank Quests so we can move on to the next stage. Even approaching the statue is highly dangerous, so I must insist you rethink the decision to investigate..." Though he was a little worried about leaving her behind, Vahn had Sis modify the line of code thatpelled Mi-eum to follow after them, saying, "You are free to remain here until we return. As for the Quests, we have no particr interest in such things. We entered the Hidden Floor for entirely personal reasons. Sorry, but your services are no longer required. It was a short journey, but thank you for your assistance thus far." Demonstrating a remarkable amount of confusion, Mi-eum found herself stuck in a feedback loop of sorts as part of her felt as though she should follow after them while another part of her feared the consequences of doing so. Thistter half was something she had never experienced before, so, while she wanted to say something she ended up freezing in ce for several minutes as Vahn and Co departed the restaurant... --- With the interior of the Fruit of Good and Evil effectively existing as an isted sub-dimensional ne, entering and exiting werent a matter of simply cutting through the walls and boring your way inside. Fortunately, there was a single entrance serving as a bridge between the Quarantine Area and the Hidden Floor proper, one Sis had no difficulties locating and opening. Though the exterior sphere was only a few hundred meters across, the interior was, as could be expected, exponentiallyrger. It was also structured simrly to a maze, one that was constantly changing shape to make life more difficult for the Data trapped within. Having been designated the leader in Vahns stead, a wide smile spread across Theos face as she marveled at the dungeon-like surroundings and said, "Ill protect Master and provide support from the rear. Musashi will take point. Be on the lookout for any traps. As for you, Scathach...well, I dont think you need to be told what to do. Just dont disappear without telling me." While Scathach simply nodded in response, Musashi adopted a notably sly smile as she asked, "So, you think I need to be babysat? Ill have you know Ive explored countless Layers and used to jump through time more than some people change clothes. Dont make me educate you in your Masters stead..." Though she couldnt prevent her tail from twitching slightly, Theo managed to appear calm in the face of Musashis threat, her smile persisting as she said, "Stumbling through time like a homeless vagrant doesnt equate to experience conquering dungeons. Since I have been ced in charge, I will be expecting you to follow my orders. If you are going to cause problems, please return to the vige or wait inside the Little Garden." Seemingly amused by Theos bravado, a lightheartedugh escaped Musashis throat as she eyed up the once and future Empress. Before she could say anything to further tease her, however, Vahn sent a telepathic message into her mind, saying, ("Dont make me confiscate your private stash.") Like a career soldier, Musashi left Theo feeling at a loss when she suddenly saluted, her expression a mask of seriousness as she eximed, "Understood! It is my privilege to serve!" Realizing what must have happened, Theo sent an usatory look towards Vahn, who, like a tourist visiting andmark, pretended to gawk at the surroundings while Index, sitting in the carrier on his back, tilted her head to the side to ask, "What are you looking at? These chips are mine..." With a light chuckle escaping her lips, Theo shook her head in mock exasperation before returning her gaze to Scathach and Musashi, saying, "Lets not dawdle. There is only one entrance to each of the floors, so keep your eyes peeled. This ce seems to be shaped like a multiyered sphere, so I imagine it will be on the ceiling. Still, there is no way to be certain. There could be something like a teleportation ward located in a hidden area." Dismissing with her soldier y, Musashi adopted a rxed stance before unsheathing the shorter of her two swords, a Wakizashi with a sakura-patterned guard known as Mugen-no-Hana. It was the lesser of her twin Zanpakuto, and, much like Asunas, it was always in an awakened state. As for why she had chosen to draw it, there were actually quite a number of reasons, the most important being that her senses were infinitely sharper due to Hanas peculiar Domain of Flowers. Though she couldnt control and manipte them like Byakuya from the Record of Bleach, vibrant pink sakura petals danced through the area in response to Hana being unsheathed. This might not seem particrly useful, but, due to their sensitivity to all forms of energy, the light-formed petals naturally gravitated towards hidden traps, mechanisms, and, as could be expected, everyone in the vicinity. This included Vahn, who, despite being fully visible, had erased his presence to prevent any enemies from targeting him and Index. With the feedback provided by the petals, Musashi could confidently say, "Wow. There are a ton of traps and hidden enemies. Want me to take them out, oh fearless leader?" Rolling her eyes in response to Musashis words, Theo raised her hand to produce a golden magic circle that quickly expanded to more than 300m in diameter. This caused some of the hidden foes, many resembling toy soldiers, to emerge from the ground and walls. Unfortunately, before any of them could even begin their charge,ser-like beams of golden light rained down from the magic circle, ruthlessly piercing through their heads and bodies. Since she had even worsepatibility than Vahn when it came to magic, Musashi emted Theos action of rolling her eyes before teasingly remarking, "Not bad. I bet you would make a great bug zapper. Remind me to invite you the next time I go camping." Resisting the urge to send a few beams Musashis way, Theo allowed her magic circle to dissipate before saying, "We advance. Please inform me if either of you notices any irregrities. For foes of this caliber, feel free to take action as you see fit." Understanding that Theo was no longer interested in ying around, Musashi took advantage of the opportunity to extend her tongue before waving towards Vahn and giggling in amusement. This left thetter feeling somewhat exasperated, not because he was particrly troubled by Musashis behavior, but because the aftercare was going to be a pain. Theos draconic nature made her easily frustrated, and, though she would be stoic and taciturn in an effort topensate, she would effectively be an untamed beast the moment they were alone together... --- Prior to Vahns group leaving to explore the Quarantine Area, several other groups had already set out to explore other regions of the Hidden Floor. Most of these groups had been given free rein to explore at their leisure, but, with several objectives left toplete before their departure from the Hidden Floor, others had been tasked with locating specific individuals and gathering information. Though it didnt help much in this specific instance, Fenrirs group consisted of the best trackers in all the Empire. This included herself, Atnta, Illya, and, though their Guide ability didnt function properly inside of the Hidden Floor, Ryun, and Ai. Having alreadypleted a number of Quests, Fenrirs group found themselves standing atop a massive cliff that overlooked a vast, seemingly boundless, in. It was almost like they were looking down on an ocean of green, and, were it not for the presence of several colossal Shinheuh, it would have been easy to mistake the endless ins as some kind of graphical error. Misunderstanding the groups silence as confusion, the Wandering Minstrel standing at the rear, a young woman with four distinct pigtails, exined in a sing-song manner, "Though daunting it may seem, do not let the scene before you hinder your journey~. This verdant ins is known as the Sea of Peace~. While many a Shinheuh wanders the boundless pastures below, only the ruthless Scarlet King is hostile to outsiders~." Largely ignoring the Minstrels singing, Fenrir turned her attention to Illya, the decision-maker for the group despite, technically, being the second-inmand. In response, without even needing to be asked, Illy calmly outlined a n of action, exining, "It seems most conventional forms of flight are restricted in this area. You should make an ice tform to carry us across while the rest of us look for the Scarlet King below. If we cant find him before lunch, well use the other Shinheuh as bait to lure it out. Either way, there is no sense in just standing here." Nodding her head in approval, Fenrir turned to Atnta, Ryun, and Ai, her voice calm, resolute, andmanding as she said, "We will go with Illyas n. Atnta, you will stand at the front. You have the best eyesight among us so Im expecting you to locate the Scarlet King. Everyone else will watch the nks while keeping a close on their Good and Evil Monitors. This is enemy territory. We should expect something to go wrong. Laziness will not be tolerated." Thanks to her [Queen of the Pack] Innate, Fenrirs words resonated deeply within the hearts and minds of everyone present. Even Ilya wasnt unaffected, as, despite being in a higher position, she was actually one of the first to join Fenrirs pack during her fusion with Cath Palug. This provided them with a number of boons, but, most notably, it drastically improved their sense of solidarity by effectively linking their primary senses. Seeing the resolute light in each of the girls eyes, Fenrir responded with another curt nod before creating a tform of ice more than ten meters across. Conventional methods of flight might be restricted in several areas of the Hidden Floor, but they had already confirmed that attacks were exempted from this. Thus, with the ability to freely manipte ice and create countless constructs, Fenrir shaped the tform to resemble an eight-pointed Chinese gazebo before sitting down in the center and controlling it to float across the verdant ins below... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Simply irresistible...,Musashi is a troll xD...,Mobilize the Good Girls...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1912 Seed

Chapter 1912 Seed

With the average Toy Soldier possessing the strength of a middling D-Rank Regr, the most difficult aspect of traversing the Quarantine Area was avoiding traps and other environmental hazards. Fortunately, even without Vahns assistance, the girls could deal with most traps with an almostical degree of ease. Musashi could detect most of them without any effort whatsoever, and, even when they had gotten themselves trapped in a chamber intended to be flooded with acid, Theo simply erected barriers to cover each spout while Scathach proceeded to create a massive hole leading to the next chamber. Though the interior and exterior spaces were almost entirely separate from each other, the same couldnt be said for the individualyers within the Quarantine Area. Thus, while it might have been difficult for others, Musashi and Scathach both possessed the ability to simply cut through or pierce the material separating theyers. This drastically reduced the amount of time it took them to head inward, but, in exchange, the ck bars of their Good and Evil Monitors filled at an rming rate asrger and far more durable Toy Soldiers sought them out. If he were being honest with himself, Vahn wasnt particrly excited about the prospect of seeing other versions of himself. The Hidden Floor obviously couldnt replicate him, so, while he had yet to encounter a single instance of a Sworn Enemy, it was safe to assume they were originated from the knowledge and experience contained within the minds of those responsible for their origin. Thus, in a way, he would be seeing caricatures of himself based on how the person in question viewed him... Assuming this was the case, Vahn couldnt help but feel some trepidation regarding the version of himself manifested by Theo. The Sworn Enemies generated by Musashi and Scathach were bound to be fierce and somewhatckadaisical warriors who defiedmon sense. Theos, however, was guaranteed to possess a substantial number of quirks, and, depending on how the Mirror of the Past interpreted her memories, there was a fair chance he might be dedicated as a bit of a pervert... Fortunately, while their Good and Evil Monitors had almostpletely filled with a ck bar, their journey towards the center of the Quarantine Area remained rtively unimpeded. The Toy Soldiers couldnt withstand so much as a single blow from any of the trio, and, as they moved closer to the center, an increasing number of traps had already been set off or disarmed entirely. This indicated that there were people inside proactively exploring the region, and, by the time they reached the centermost antechamber, even the Toy Soldiers had stopped spawning. Though some might question the purpose of a safe zone inside of a Quarantine Area, Vahn knew its primary purpose was to give the residents false hope while serving as their prison. The proof for this was in the coding itself, as, with the alteration of a single boolean value, the safe zone function could simply be toggled off. This meant, at any point in time, Big Breeders like Chung could input a singlemand, and, in response, an infinite number of Toy Soldiers would swarm the region until everything inside was killed. Shaking his head in mild exasperation, Vahn shifted his gaze away from the tower-like structure that represented the Seed of the Fruit of Good and Evil. There were already a number of armed guards gathering to form a defensive line at the opposite end of a long bridge, so, in the hopes of avoiding an altercation, Vahn passed his gaze of the three girls, saying, "Remember, most of these people are victims. They might be a little hostile, but we should avoid injuring them as much as possible. If they insist on attacking us, focus on disarming rather than disabling them..." Having already determined there were no worthy opponents among the gathering at the end of the bridge, even Musashi nodded her head in affirmation before saying, "If you provide me with snacks and something to drink, I can stand guard over the bridge. This area might be inessible to those little toys, but I doubt any Sworn Enemies based on you would suffer from such limitations. If were to assume there are three of you running around, leaving our backs exposed is the same as inviting destruction upon everyone here. You can be pretty ruthless when it concerns your enemies..." With a wry grimace spreading across his face, Vahn wanted to refute Musashis words, but, unable to lie, the words never reached his lips. After all, he had literally targetted the Floating Castle of the Yeon Family, undoubtedly injuring a number of innocents just to teach his foes a lesson. He had alsopletely obliterated a base belonging to FUG, a facility that doubtlessly contained a number of resolute and determined individuals whose only desire was to liberate the Tower from the control of ruthless tyrants... Restraining a sigh, Vahn manifested a gourd with the kanji for fire on the side, tossing it to Musashi as he said, "I would ask that you try to avoid a fight, but Ill leave it to your discretion. Remember, if they possess even a semnce of my actual power, they should possess the ability to masquerade as pretty much anyone. They could even appear as multiple people to try and deceive you...stay on your toes..." Thinking about the potential capabilities of Sworn Enemies based on himself, Vahn couldnt help feeling a little helpless. Musashi, however, seemed rather excited at the prospect, yfully sping the bicep of her right arm, flexing as she said, "No worries! Im not going to let a single person get past me. If youre that worried, you can just leave more booze. I doubt any of the data here has a tolerance even remotelyparable to your own. Youre also pretty shitty at acting, so it should be pretty easy to sniff out any imposters~!" Though he knew her primary purpose was to secure some additional alcohols to add to her private collection, Vahn couldnt argue with Musashis surprisingly sound logic. They had already confirmed that Data Humans could get drunk, so, while it might cost him quite a bit of OP, it would be worth it if they could sus out even a single version of himself. The longer they were allowed the roam freely, the moreplicated things would be, as, if they were anything like him, time was something they could exploit to a truly ludicrous extent... --- With Musashi and Scathach both watching over the bridge, Vahn was able to breathe easily even with more than twenty rifle-like devices pointed his way. The presence of Theo also helped in this regard, and, to a lesser extent, so too did the incessant sound of chewing emanating from his back. Since it wasnt that umon for other quarantined entities to find their way to the safe area, the group of riflemen and women didnt immediately attack. Instead, they trained the majority of their rifles on Vahn,ser sights dancing across his chest and body as a scarred man wearing a peculiar metal helmet, facemask, and ck body armor made his way forward. Though his voice sounded surprisingly soft and delicate, the gruff-looking man earned a frown from Vahn as he stammered, "W-W-W-Who are you? H-H-How d-did y-you find this p-p-ce?" Before answering the mans question, Vahn had Sis analyze his data to ascertain the cause of his vocal tic. He didnt have anything against people with a stutter, but, considering the man greatly resembled the Wandering Minstrels native to the Hidden Floor, there had to be a reason behind his peculiar manner of speaking. Unsurprisingly, Sis found that the mans mouth had been torn open, and, due to a specific line of code, the injury was prevented from healing even after a reset. This was obviously Chungs hand at work, so, without pausing to consider the consequences, he had Sis remove the line of code as he answered, "My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason. This beautiful woman at my side is my wife, Theodora Bashireia Herasu De Vesuperisujimia Mason. We havee here in search of a Data Human named Yu Hansung. I imagine you are well acquainted?" Frowning in response to Vahns words, the man was about to answer when he felt an unbearably itchy sensation around his mouth. It was unlike anything he had ever experienced, and, due to the metal facemask he wore to cover the horrendous injury beneath, he couldnt do anything to readily alleviate the sensation. This caused the defensive line to nearly open fire, but, before they were able to, Theo drew a red seal within the air, incanting, "Disintegrate, you ck dog of Rondanini!! Look upon yourself with horror and then w out your own throat! Bakudo #9! Geki...!" In response to Theos nigh-instantaneous incantation, a red aura spread across the entire group of defensive soldiers,pletely paralyzing them. At nearly the exact same time, the masked man was able to momentarily ignore the itchy sensation beneath his mask, adrenaline pumping through his non-existent veins as he leaped back and fired two dart-like projectiles towards Vahns and Theos necks. With the darts barely exceeding 1300m/s, Vahn was able to catch both using his Telekinesis and a simple wave of his hand. At the same time, he caught the masked man in the air, simultaneously pulling the rifle from his hands as he said, "Rx. The sensation youre feeling is the wound on your face being healed. Were not your enemies." To emphasize his point, Vahn pulled out a hand mirror while manipting the metal bands around the mans face and head, prying them away in an instant to reveal the rapidly regenerating wound beneath. Then, after telekically wresting the weapons from everyone present, he sent a curt nod towards Theo, subsequently restoring their mobility. Seeing his own reflection, the formerly masked man, better known as Batis, showed an expression of disbelief as he tentatively touched his increasingly healthy-looking flesh. Chung had vengefully modified their appearance data to give them ghastly appearancespared to other residents of the Hidden Floor, so, for thest several hundred years, his face andplexion had looked more monster than man. Though his first instinct was to ask how Vahn had managed to heal his wound, Batis managed to suppress his curiosity, stating, "Yu Hansung is not here. He generally spends most of his time near the data destruction and recycling center. You should have met him shortly after your arrival...?" Hearing the sound of his restored voice, Batis allowed his words to trail off as an irrepressible smile developed across his face. He had once been the Chief of the Vige of Wandering Minstrels, and, though he had always been most fond of his wifes objectively poor singing, everyone had always considered him the greatest vocalist and songwriter in thend. Regaining his voice made him feel iparably hopeful and nostalgic, a thinyer of moisture developing across his silvery-grey eyes until he promptly wiped it away. Feeling an extreme amount of empathy for the man, Vahn couldnt help adopting a smile of his own as he said, "Dont worry. Now that Im here, it is only a matter of time before Chung and the other Big Breeders are dealt with. For now, you should send someone to retrieve Yu Hansung or guide me to his location. I can track him down myself, but I imagine things would progress a lot smoother if there was a familiar face to exin the situation." Nodding his head in understanding, Batis was about to give the order when a young girl with steel-grey hair, matching eyes, and a giant red x over her mouth came running over, shouting, "Baba...!" With Sis providing data rted to everyone he encountered in the Hidden Floor, a frown appeared across Vahns face as Batis, with an affectionate smile, bent down to pick up the smock-wearing girl who kept repeating the same phrase over and over. She seemed incapable of vocalizing any actual words, but, far more troubling than that was the fact that her primary function was to serve as both a location tracker and surveince system for residents within the Seed... Seemingly ignorant of this, Batis held the girl in one arm, smiling as he said, "This is my daughter, Medley. She was cursed by the Big Breeder so that she could never learn how to speak. Though it might be asking too much, I would be grateful if you could somehow remove her curse..." Since he had actually been looking for a way to draw Chungs attention, Vahn resisted the urge to reveal the truth as he suppressed a sigh and asked Sis to modify Medleys code. He also had her remove Chungs ability to make further changes, an action that served to alert and simultaneously provoke the horrendously profane individual who periodically used the poor girl as a tool to enact his petty revenge... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The fastest way through abyrinth is to break down the walls...!,Musashi is an incorrigible drunkard xD...,Chung is in for a bad time...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1913 Force

Chapter 1913 Force

Around the same time that Sis was locking him out of several systems, a scraggly man with a sicklyplexion, sunken features, and a sparse mustache could be found glowering at a stream of data. With the pinky finger of his left hand digging into his nose, the man used his right to chicken-peck a series ofmands into the terminal before him, his expression morphing into one of contempt as a series of ess denied messages filled his vision. Clicking his tongue, the man wiped his hand against his loose-fitting shorts before rising to his feet and cursing, "Jeok! Hwang! Those fucking assholes...! I dont know what theyre plotting, but Im not going to just roll over and let them do whatever the fuck they want! I havent done anything wrong! They have no right to rob me of my privileges...!" Since it was impossible for visiting Regrs to meddle with the system, regardless of how powerful they were, the man, better known as Big Breeder Chung, never even considered that he was being undermined by the new arrivals. In his mind, the only people capable of something like this were his fellow Big Breeders, neither of which he was on good terms with. They had always disdained him for treating the Hidden Floor like his personal yground, and, as a result, his power and authority had been continuously restricted until he was only able to influence the regions around the First Stage. Thinking this was their attempt to wholly remove him from power, Chung donned what appeared to be a virtual reality headset as he reclined in afortable, albeit sweat-stained, chair. His Avatar had far greater control over the system than his actual self, so, while they were generally prohibited from essing the Hidden Floor during visitation periods, he wasnt just going to idle about as thest vestiges of his power were stripped away... A stark contrast to his true self, Chungs avatar appeared confident, healthy, and, most importantly, powerful. His formerly unkempt ck hair was neatly styled, and, though he was still exceptionally thin, his Avatar was, at the very least, able to grow what Chung believed to be a manly and dignified mustache. He had also traded his protruding belly for a six-pack of abdominal muscles, and, though he had been insulted by the other Big Breeders for his sense of style, he substituted his usual loose ck t-shirt, white shorts, and open-toed sandals for an borate outfit that loosely resembled the robes of an aristocrat. After taking a few moments to admire himself, Chung descended upon the Town of the Wandering Minstrels where several residents had already started singing his praises. Their cries alerted others to his presence, and, by the time he finished his slow and steady descent, more than a hundred of the towns mindless residents had gathered to shower him in admiration and respect. This always brought a smile to his face, not because he cared about the content of their song, but because they would keep singing regardless of the atrocities he performed right in front of them. Resisting the urge to go on one of his usual sprees, Chung waited until one of his favorites, the current Chief of the Town of the Wandering Minstrels, showed up. This was a mature beauty with pink hair, matching eyes, sharp features, and two small beauty marks beneath her right eye. Better yet, she had a shapely figure hidden beneath her thick robes and rose-cored mantle; and, were it not for the fact her voice data had been corrupted during his attempts to make her sound like his childhood crush, she would have been perfect. Fortunately, while the other Minstrels continued to endless sing his praises, the woman, Rose, had been modified to never sing in his presence. Instead, she walked up to him before kowtowing with her head against the ground as she uttered, "The Town of the Wandering Minstrels wees your return, oh great and mighty Big Breeder." Unable to conceal his giddiness and amusement, Chung habitually curled the trip of his mustache with his fingers as he said, "Very good. Now, join me in your quarters. There are a few questions I need to ask you regarding the current group of warriors..." Though she didnt fully understand the reasons, Rose always felt extremely nauseous whenever she heard Chung mention speaking in private. She told herself this was due to nerves, but, after several millennia, it didnt make sense that she was still bothered by such things. Unfortunately, no matter how much she contemted the reasons why, she couldnt think of anything to exin the adverse reaction of her body. Without anyone batting an eye at the act, including Rose herself, Chung fastened a dark-red cor around her neck before pulling the absentminded beauty along rather forcibly. He had modified her data to bepletely oblivious to anything that others might consider out of the ordinary or perverse. This had allowed him to effectively treat her as his pet, and, though there were a number of Data Humans who felt there was something wrong, the majority continued to sing his praises even as he dragged the unaware beauty into her residence... --- Though he had been enjoying the tear-inducing scene of Batis embracing Medley after she spoke her first words, Vahns expression darkened considerably the moment he heard Sis notification. This was immediately noticed by everyone present, not because they could sense his aura, but because a feeling of existential dread had descended upon them as everything in their surroundings began to subtly quake. Gesturing to Theo that he was okay, Vahn met the frightened gazes of Batis and Medley, his voice stern andmanding as he said, "I will returnter today. Send someone to retrieve Yu Hansung before then." Understanding that Vahn could wipe them out at his leisure, Batis didnt hesitate to respond with a firm nod, stating, "Ill see to it personally." before setting his daughter down and adding, "Stay here. Ill be back in a few hours." Frowning in response to Batis words, Vahn was briefly tempted to have Scathach apany the man since it was all but guaranteed that he had just raised a g. Unfortunately, with three Sworn Enemy versions of himself running around, separating his forces was an even bigger g. Thus, with the knowledge that he could always respawn Batis after gaining control over the system, he left the man to coax his daughter as he turned to Theo and said, "Lets go." before grabbing her hand and teleporting the three of them directly to the Town of the Wandering Minstrels. There, he used Unit Management to summon Musashi and Scathach to his side, surprising the former as she was in the middle of downing sake from a 10oz guinomi cup. With no time to exin the situation, Vahn extended his hand towards one of therger residences in the city, his senses pervading every nail, board, rivet, and tile before ripping the entire thing apart in slow-motion, gravity-defying, fashion. This revealed the scene of a startled Chung sitting topless on a sofa as Rose, with a distant look in her eyes, continued to perform a striptease, wholly unaware of her surroundings. Before the man could utter so much as a single syble, Vahn appeared right in front of him, scale-covered hand closing around his throat as he venomously uttered, "You should have stayed holed up inside your room. Did you seriously think you could get away with this kind of shit right under my nose!?" Having absolutely no idea who Vahn was, Chung attempted to speak, but, as could be expected, his words got stuck in his throat. This frightened him considerably, as, due to the benefits provided by the system, his Avatars parameters wereparable to a lesser Rankers. He also had the authority of a Floor Ruler within the boundaries of the First Stage, so, while it wasnt impossible for someone to overwhelm him, they would need to be a peerless prodigy from one of the Ten Great Families or an inordinately talented Princess of Jahad. Though he wouldnt die if his Avatar was destroyed, a mortified expression appeared on Chungs face as his arms and body began to swell with muscles. Losing your Avatar meant being locked out of the Hidden Floors systems until the next reset. The only way around this was to enter the Hidden Floor directly, but, unlike Jeok and Hwang, his true self was significantly weaker than the average D-Rank Regr. He had also been under house arrest several hundred years prior, so, even if he did have the resolution to enter the Hidden Floor directly, doing so was effectively a death sentence... Fearing that everything he had painstakingly built over the years was about to be taken away from him, Chung mustered willpower he didnt know he possessed in an attempt to break Vahns hold. At the same time, he extended his right hand to summon a blue spear with an arrowhead-like tip, the physical manifestation of his power and authority within the Hidden Floor. Unfortunately, Vahn had been waiting for this exact moment, so, once the spear had been summoned, a loud crack could be heard as the head of Chungs Avatar separated from his body. Without sparing the mans twitching figure a second nce, Vahn wrested the scepter-like spear from his hands, instantaneously turning it a vibrant golden hue as Sis transferred Chungs authority as a Big Breeder to him. This provided him ess to a number of files that Chung had gone out of his way to secure and encrypt, specifically those rted to his many victims. Turning his attention to the nearly-naked Rose Vahns expression darkened as he noticed the many scars and piercings across her body. The fact she was still absentmindedly performing her striptease also incensed him to a dangerous extent, but, rather thanshing out, he felt unnervingly calm as a cold and seething sensation washed over his mind and spread throughout his body. Shifting his attention to his surroundings, filled with data humans who didnt even bat an eye at the scene ying out before them, Vahns anger momentarily skyrocketed before rapidly stabilizing as he reminded himself they had no control over their own programming. This notion allowed him to gradually calm down, but, far more helpful than even his [Will of the Emperor], it was Index asking, "Are you okay...?" that brought him back to his senses. Havingpletely forgotten about the Jirachi strapped to his back, Vahn loosened the sp that kept the harness in ce, liberating her from its confines in order to gently caress her head as he answered, "Ill be okay. Thanks for your concern..." Since it was awkward having her head caressed in her Jirachi form, Index promptly transformed into her adorably petite human form, smiling radiantly as she said, "Youre wee~! Now, how about we finish things up here before returning home for a little while? I bet Rindo-sama will cook you up something special if you exin what happened~!" Amused by the fact that Indexs brain revolved around food, even when she was trying to cheer him up, Vahn couldnt help chuckling as he ruffled her perpetually glossy silver hair and said, "Sure. Why dont you go on ahead and tell her to prepare a feast? Though the circumstances are a little unique, the fall of a tyrant is always worthy of celebration..." With the word feast serving as a trigger, illusory stars appeared within Indexs eyes as her salivary nds kicked into overdrive. This resulted in Vahn pulling out a white cloth to wipe her mouth, his smile bing somewhat wry as he manifested the Little Garden to provide her ess. Then, with a far more sober expression on his face, he returned his attention to the still-dancing Rose, his grip tightening around the golden spear as Sis worked to decrypt and undo everything Chung had done over thest sixteen-hundred-years... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ItS aLrIgHt BeCaUsE iTs A gAmE...,Vahn is an angry boi...,Indexs one-track mind xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1914 Moving Forward

Chapter 1914 Moving Forward

Though damage sustained by an Avatar wasnt supposed to affect the user, Chung lurched forward in his chair, blood pouring from his nose and mouth as a vicious bruise spread across his neck. The pain was unlike anything he had ever experienced before, and, were it not for the fact his true body was alsoprised of data, he might have died right then and there. Instead, he managed to crawl his way over to a mini-fridge filled with a special form of vibrant blue energy drink that was more so a drug than a beverage. Choking down the carbonated, Shinsuprised liquid, the bruise on Chungs neck began to fade away as a sensation simr to a rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins permeated his body. This caused the pain to increase exponentially, but, simr to actual adrenaline, it prevented him from passing out as his body contorted and spasmed with increasing intensity. He even began to froth at the mouth after several seconds, blood mixing with saliva to form pinkish-red bubbles that stained the carpet and simr white walls. With his throat andrynx rapidly regenerating, an intensifying gurgle could be heard from Chungs throat. This sound gradually built into a whimpering groan until, several excruciating momentster, it exploded into a feral roar that encouraged him to thrash about and destroy everything within his grasp. Throughout his entire life, Chung had never felt this frustrated and indignant. To make matters even worse, there was nothing he could do to rectify his current crisis. His Avatar was exponentially more powerful than his actual self, yet, like a child popping the head off a doll, an enemy he hadnt even known existed managed to both defeat him and steal his authority. This practically guaranteed that he would be deleted, as,pared to his past transgressions, nothing even remotelypared to losing his Command Key. Unable to contain his emotions, sobbing tremors wracked Chungs body as snot and drool reced the blood flowing from nose and mouth. At the same time, a steady stream of tears flowed from his eyes as he hammered the ground, whimpering, "Its not fair...I never did anything wrong...why am I always the one being punished? All I did was y around...everyone else gets to do whatever they want...why is it wrong when I do the same? Why!? Why!? Why is it always me!?" Since his cries werent actually directed towards anyone, Chungs body turned statuesque when a deep yet velvety smooth voice calmly answered, "Its because you are weak. This is what happens every time someone tries to overextend themselves and y the part of someone theyre not. The power you possess is something that has been bestowed upon you. Thus, without safeguarding it properly, it is only natural that it would, one day, be stripped away. You can cast me on others, but, in the end, everything that has happened thus far is the direct consequences of your actions and negligence." Fearing that he would be erased the moment he turned to look at the speaker, Chung kept his head low to the ground, tears continuing to trickle from his eyes as he instinctually held his breath. Offering a thoughtful hum in response to Chungs reaction, the owner of the voice took a few steps forward before kneeling down and cing his hand on the mans shoulder, asserting, "Though I am unable to condone your behavior, I will not condemn you for it. Everyone needs a method to vent their frustrations, and, in the end, your crimes are, ultimately, without any victims to speak of. Thus, in recognition of your faithful service over thest six millennia, I will bequeath unto you a full andprehensive pardon..." Not expecting such clemency after his many failings, Chungs tears began to flow in even greater volume as he sobbingly muttered, "T-T-Thank you..." Unfortunately, the moment Chung had finished uttering his words of gratitude, a pain so intense that his mind couldnt even process it instantaneously spread throughout his body. It was like every digitally constructed nerve in his body was on fire, and, though his mouth opened to scream, it was like all sounds emanating from him had been silenced. This allowed the person responsible for his current state, a young man with golden hair and a three-eyed crimson visor to say, "Do not fight it. This is the reward for your dutiful service. You are clearly ill-suited to a continuous existence within the Hidden Hidden Floor, so I will now free you from your suffering. Worry not. Even when you are gone, your memory will live on as a part of me." By the time the young man had finished speaking, Chungs body had disintegrated into a stream of data that quickly dispersed. Almost immediately thereafter, even Chungs apartment began to turn transparent,plex lines of code appearing across every surface before promptly dissolving away momentster. In the end, the only thing that remained was the buildings foundation, a white pir resembling marbled concrete that jutted out of an ocean filled with countless other towers. Seemingly immune to the effects of gravity, the golden-haired man continued to stand in the air for several seconds, red cape billowing behind him as he stared silently at the foundation below. It was only when a golden sphere approached him that he turned away, his veiled gazending directly on the shimmering object as he firmly ordered, "Capture, but do not harm, one of the groups that have recently entered the Hidden Floor. There is someone among them that ispletely immune to my ability to view fate. I want to know everything about them and the reasons behind their visit." Since it did not possess a head to bow, the golden sphere appeared to tilt forward slightly as a soft and somewhat androgynous voice replied, "Understood. Thank you for entrusting me with such an important task, Lord Jahad..." Having said all he needed to say, the golden-haired youth just stared silently at something that only he could see. As for the golden sphere, it quickly departed, as, without a very good reason, staying anywhere even remotely close to the de facto ruler of both the Hidden and Hidden Hidden Floors was extremely dangerous. The Data of Jahad could be remarkably magnanimous and unbelievably cruel at the exact same time, so, more often than not, even those directly subordinate to him gave the self-proimed King of Adventurers a very wide berth... Following the spheres departure, Jahad shifted his gaze to its previous position, a snaggletoothed smile appearing across his face as he muttered, "It seems as though my counterpart in the outside was mistaken...I wonder if this is a scheme of Gustang? Things are finally starting to get interesting. Either way, it seems like this is the start of a new adventure..." With that said, Jahad shifted his attention towards the sky overhead, his smile fading away as he added, "I suppose Ill need to prepare a proper venue. As much as I despise this never-changingndscape, it is still the result of mine and my friends hard work. I would hate to see it destroyed without reason...though, now that Im saying it out loud, that might be for the best...one must be willing to leave behind the past if they wish to grasp the future..." Seemingly convinced by his own words, several solidified golden Baangs appeared around Jahads body before erupting outward with horrifying force. He could have just as easily erased everything, but, as this would ultimately allow it to be backed up by the system, he decided to just destroy it himself. His authority over the Hidden Floor gave his Shinsu the properly of irreversibly damaging anything it came into contact with, the obvious exception being himself. This meant, even if a reset were to ur, anything destroyed by his attacks would remain as such; a testament to his decision that nobody, not even himself, could overwrite. Ignoring the slight feeling of regret welling up inside of him, Jahad continued to destroy everything he and his friends had created more than ten-thousand-years prior. He only stopped when even the ocean below had beenpletely dried up, a steamy wastnd appearing where a futuristic ghost city once stood. Then, as if topletely bury the past, he manifested a golden scepter decorated with red, blue, and yellow spheres as he began to construct a golden arena more than a thousand kilometers across... --- Unaware of the events urring in the Hidden Hidden Floor, Vahn spent hours working alongside Sis to remove all seque pertaining to Chungs past misdeeds. This required them to modify the data of nearly every female resident of the indescribably tragic city, erasing and reinstalling several key aspects of their appearance, personality, and voice data that had been modified in ordance with Chungs preferences. In the end, Vahn had Sis effectively format every resident who had yet to awaken an Ego, as, even if he did exin the situation to them, it would take reprogramming them entirely just to make them angry about what had happened. Though this seemed like the right thing to do, it wasnt all that different from deciding for them how they should think and behave. Since the thought of deciding how people thought and felt didnt sit well with him, Vahn decided to allow the majority of the Data Humans to simply live on,pletely unaware of the truth. As for the rest, they had the right to know what had urred over thest sixteen-hundred-years, so, without concealing anything, he allowed them to view the data for themselves before giving them the right to decide the fate of the Hidden Floor. As could be expected, those with less developed Egos experienced existential breakdowns almost immediately after learning the truth. Even a normal person might have a breakdown upon learning that their entire reality had been bent and distorted to suit the vision of a single person, so, with the exception of a small handful of resolute individuals, the rest asked that their memories be erased so that they could continue living, ignorantly, among their people. Though he was somewhat disappointed by their decision, Vahn couldnt me them for wanting to escape the truth of their former reality. Thanks to Chungs efforts to cover his crimes, many of them hadnt even been aware of their burgeoning sense of self. They just lived in ordance with their programming, and, though there times when they felt something was off, they generally ignored it for fear of standing out and being ostracized. This was a surprisingly human thing to do, and, even if it meant losing everything that made them unique, they were willing to sacrifice their individuality in order to blend in with the rest of society. Since it was ultimately their decision to make, Vahn abided by his end of the agreement and erased both the memories and Egos of everyone who couldnt ept the truth. This left only three people among the residents currently present, specifically Rose, Mi-eum, and thetters younger brother, a youth named Kim who had awakened after witnessing Chungs brutality towards his sister over the course of several years. Fortunately, while there were only three among the present residents, there were several hundred among the Data Humans that had been sealed away and quarantined by Chung. The rules of the Hidden Floor prevented him from directly killing any of its residents, so, whenever someone broke free from his influence, he ultimately ended up sealing them away before erasing the memories of everyone who once knew them. Thus, over the course of sixteen-hundred-years, arge number of Data Humans had gathered within the Seed of Good and Evil, forced to experience death whenever Regrs ventured into the Hidden Floor andpleted its Quests. Though five-hundred people wasnt much, it was more than enough to establish a vige and start a burgeoning civilization among other groups of people. Thus, while it would take some time, Vahn intended to allow those who had chosen to move forward to migrate into the Second Layer of the Little Garden. There, they would be able to live out the rest of their days experiencing the wonders of actually living, and, once he had advanced to a higher realm, they, like any other creatures with a soul, would be able to experience the wonders of the countless worlds beyond the Tower... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Gamer(baby) rage...,(O o O)...,Someone pull out a torch. Its getting a little too dark in here...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1915 A Not-so-Brief Intermission

Chapter 1915 A Not-so-Brief Intermission

After wrapping things up in the Town of the Wandering Minstrels, Vahn decided to dpress by returning to the Little Garden, feasting alongside the few residents that remained before spending a bit of time exploring Actualized Worlds. More specifically, he decided to visit the Tri-Ace Anthology, not to battle against the Ethereal Queen, but to act as an observer or a Guardian God of sorts. Though he could easily manipte the flow of fate to increase the likelihood of a certain oue, one of the things Vahn hade to learn during his experimentation was that events, even without further interference on his behalf, could change drastically so long as time was allowed to flow. This was most obvious within the Actualized World of Naruto, as, despite having very little impact on the world after his initial spree, the events within the manga changed subtly every time he peeked in to see how everyone was doing. Simply put, unless he disconnected the Actualized Worlds from his Internalized Realm, they would experience constant changes. Said changes seemed to be directly rted to his mental state, so, if he was happy, the flow of fate would typically allow for more positive oues within the worlds under his management. Inversely, whenever he was experiencing any form of negative emotion, the worlds within would gradually change to reflect these sentiments. Fortunately, so long as he had a presence within said worlds, the changes wouldnt be that extreme. It was generally events in the far future, specifically timelines he had yet to visit, that were the most affected by the changes he had made. Thus, by taking a more proactive role in the worlds progress, even if he was simply observing it, he could drastically reduce the influence his mental state had on the events transpiring within. This was likely the reason why many Gods in fantasy novels kept silent vigil over their worlds, as, the moment they directly intervened or looked away, the influence of fate and karma all but guaranteed that something bad was going to happen. Though he couldnt even begin toprehend the nature of a Tier 7 existence, the one thing Vahn was absolutely certain of was that it was a paradox in and of itself. He would have power on a level that simply couldnt be defined, but, unless he wished to invite destruction upon the everything he represented, he would be forced to simply watch as events transpire. The only way he could interact with the world atrge was to effectively seal himself away, relegating his true self to the position of linchpin as his manifestations and incarnations ventured through various worlds, potentially without any power to speak of... Shaking his head free of such thoughts, Vahn watched as a young woman with pink hair, pointed ears, and a furry pink tail ran down a cobbled road towards a cottage located near the center of a homely-looking vige. Inside, a rather heroic-looking youth with pale-blue hair and a light-brown tail sat across from a simrly aged youth with blond hair and sly features, who, like virtually every other resident of the fantasy-esque world, possessed a cat-like tail covered in blond fur. With little more than a thought, Vahn was able to manifest inside of the cottage without either of the youths noticing his presence. More urately, at least for the time being, he didnt exist in any form that the inhabitants of the Actualized World, Gods included, would be able to sense. This was one of the scarier aspects of his [Actualization] Innate, as, not only did it provide him with the ability to behave like an unrestrained voyeur, it allowed him to manipte the fates of individuals without them having any idea of what he was doing. Fortunately for the inhabitants of the many worlds under his control, Vahn was beginning to realize that his interference wasnt necessarily warranted. It was entirely self-serving, and, though he didnt regret helping the people he had taken an interest in, he was slowlying to understand that the best Gods generally acted as silent observers. They rarely took action themselves, as, more often than not, even a middling effort on their part would simply be excessive. As a result, the bnce of karma would be thrownpletely out of whack, and, as a result of their direct intervention, there was a high probability that a zealous faith would be established in their name. Though he had little choice but to take proactive action in the Transcendental Path to Heaven, Vahn knew he couldnt keep resolving everything directly. He needed to open up to the idea that others would be carrying the burden of the future, and, while it was okay to offer them a helping hand in their time of need, it was equally important that they be able to spread their wings and soar beyond his control. This was actually a lesson he had learned during his time in Danmachi, but, as his power grew beyond the scope of normalcy, so too did his sense of responsibility and the concern he had for others. Now, much as he had watched over the members of his Familia, Vahn would be watching over the trio of Fellpool gathered before him. This was the start of their journey, and, though it could have just as easily been another chapter in his, there was no need for him to always y the hero. After all, if he could achieve a simr oue by supporting from the shadows, what reason was there for him to take direct action? His harem had already grown beyond reason, and, while he couldnt deny that the women of this world were cute, the same could be said about virtually every member of his expansive entourage. Thus, while he might feelpelled to take direct action at some point, Vahn wanted to use this as an opportunity to practice observing... As that thought crossed his mind, a smile spread across Vahns imaginary mouth as the pink-haired woman, a Fellpool named Millie Chliette, performed a spiraling uppercut to punish the older of her two childhood friends, a blond-haired Fellpool named Dorne Murtough. Thetter had been trying to convince the leader of the trio, the Hero of this particr story, Roddick Farrence, that the former was a hot-headed and crazy woman. In reality, he had a deeply ingrained crush on the pink-haired maiden, but, as was often the case in such stories, Millie was secretly in love with Roddick, the one person seemingly unaware of this truth. Unamused by her friend badmouthing her to the person she had a crush on, Millies fluffy pink tail stood on end, rustling in a way that caused a curious glimmer to sh across Vahns eyes. He had a rather extensive knowledge of girls with animalistic features, yet, in nearly four-hundred-years, he had never seen one with the ability to vibrate the individual strands of their tail. It was a surprisingly adorable disy of anger, and, though their story had just begun, he was already starting to regret his decision not to directly intervene in the events toe... --- Following a series of events that took ce, concurrently, over the course of an eight-month and three-hundred-year period, a version of Vahn possessing onyx-colored hair, pointed ears, and a cat-like tail could be seen smiling wryly as the party bid farewell to two of the most integral characters of the original plot, Captain Ronyx J. Kenny and his adjutant, Ilia Silvestri. As for the reason behind his wry smile, it wasrgely due to the petite girl with dark-pink hair, cat-like ears, and fur-covered limbs affectionately clinging to him while another beauty, possessing golden hair, silvery-gold eyes, andrge angelic wings stood a little too close forfort on the opposite side. Despite his best efforts to not get involved, Vahn had a nightmare of a time manipting events so that everyone within the group of gctic heroes ended up happy. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that fate itself was getting in his way, as, in ordance with the setting of the game the world was based on, the maximum party size was only eight people. Recruiting one person closed the route to helping another, and, as the central protagonist of the world, Roddicks decisions and interpersonal rtionships directly impacted whether or not hispanions would have a happy ending. Unable to simply stand on the sidelines as fate conspired to guarantee a bad end for people who could have just as easily yed a vital role in the progression of the plot, Vahn did the only thing he could think of to fundamentally alter fate: take matters into his own hands. This required him to join Roddicks party prior to the first divergence, and, after a nned falling out, he became something of a rival for the youth as their parties coincidentally crossed paths at several key junctures. In the end, Vahn helped Roddicks team be far more powerful than they otherwise would have been. At the same time, he ended up bing the emotional anchor and support, not just for the women in his group, but virtually everyone that would have been relegated to a bad ending should Roddick not choose them. This included rifying things between the remarkably dense hero and his childhood friend, cementing the bonds between Ronyx and Ilia, helping Phia win the affections of Cyuss, and reuniting the bereaved Mavelle with her murdered lover. Unfortunately, thanks to time-travel shenanigans, there were two among the group of heroines that hailed from a time more than three-hundred-years prior to the storys inciting incident. Both would have originally imprinted on Roddick, but, thanks to his early encounter with Cyuss, Peri, a lesser Fellpool who had been abused for much of her life, and Erys, the angelic beauty determined to bear the fate of the world on her shoulders, were fated to remain alone. Peri, in particr, would have spent the remainder of her days avoiding ve traffickers, and, due to her connection with the Arch Fiend, Erys would have remained sealed within a prison of magical ice for thousands of years. Though he could have orchestrated events so that both women ended up happy, this would have actually been detrimental to the worlds central axis of time. They both possessed powerful fates that were directly linked to important events in the world, so, for the sake of ensuring a positive oue for the majority, they were meant to experience suffering and loneliness. Circumventing this was remarkably difficult, so, with fate and karma refusing to cooperate, what other choice did he have but intervening directly? Despite his confidence that he had done the right thing, Vahn couldnt help but offer an even wrier smile as the remarkably beautiful Ilia, possessing an athletic figure, golden hair, and matching eyes, asked, "Are you sure you about staying behind? Your talents are uniquely suited to the Pangctic Federation. After this incident, there are an abundance of reasons to justify letting Roak into our ranks. It would be an uphill battle, but, with someone like you serving as their representative, it is only a matter of time before Roak bes amon name among Federation Officers." With a fifteen-year age difference between the twenty-three-year-old Ilia and Ronyx, the blonde bombshell was actually one of the primary heroines within the story. She and Roddick were fated to be very close after a mishap with time travel, but, thanks to Vahns intervention, Roddick and Millie ended up traveling together while Ronyx and Ilia found themselves stranded on the western continent of Van. It was at this point that Vahn took a more proactive role in the story, helping the duo find their footing, negotiating with the King of Van, and, most importantly, bridging the gap in their rtionship. In the beginning, Ilia had actually taken quite the liking to him, and, had he not been aware of her importance to another story in the far future, Vahn might not have been able to resist her attempts to close the distance between them. She was a remarkably beautiful and intelligent woman, and, for the sake of blending in with the people of Roak, she had opted to wear simr clothing to a female knight, specifically opting for a form-fitting outfit that disyed her athletic figure and exposed her tantalizingly toned thighs. Understanding that she hadnt quite given up on him just yet, Vahn forcibly suppressed an awkwardugh, ignoring Ronyxs slightly guarded look as he asked, "And what about Peri and Erys? I cant very well leave them behind..." Answering before Ilia could offer a reply, Ioshua, Erys teal-haired brother, immediately butted in, saying, "Preposterous! Though I am grateful for your efforts to save my sister, I will not allow her to simply run off with some strange man of dubious origin! Roak is our home. Would you deny her the opportunity to live a peaceful life for the sake of your ambition?" With her wings fidgeting in annoyance, Erys balled her hand into a tiny fist, her cheeks flushed with a red hue as she eximed, "That is enough, Ioshua! I understand your concerns, but I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions. Even if it is only for a short while, I wish to continue traveling alongside Vahn. Peace might be a wonderful thing, but peace alone does not make people happy. I once dedicated my everything to defeating the Arch Fiend. Now, I have found a new reason to keep moving forward. It is time you did the same. I am grateful for your concerns, but I am no longer the weak little girl that was stolen from you in our childhood...please, Ioshua, you must move on..." Seemingly intent on proving her point, Erys emted Peris behavior by grabbing onto Vahns arm, her face bing noticeably redder in the process. This caused Ioshua to pale considerably, but, as this was far from the first time they had discussed the matter, he could only re at Vahn with a hateful but epting look in his eyes as he said, "You had better protect her...Ive already traveled between worlds and through time. If you hurt her, I will track you down and make you pay..." Finding himself at a loss for words, Vahn simply stared back at Ioshua as several people in the surroundingsughed at both of their expense. It was only when Ronyx loudly cleared his throat, saying, "We must be going. The longer we remain here, the more difficult a situation we put the Admiral in. Any mistakes we make now will be used as evidence against us during our uing Court-Martial..." Piggybacking off her exasperated Commanding Officers words, Ilia made one final attempt to convince Vahn, saying, "It willplicate things slightly, but, once you are confirmed as a delegate, iming Peri and Erys as part of your political entourage shouldnt be an issue. Your testimony would also go a long way to absolving the Captain and myself of any wrongdoings during our time on Roak..." Noticing the hopeful glimmer in the womans golden eyes, even as he had two beauties clinging to him, Vahn fought hard to restrain a sigh as he ultimately answered, "So be it. I doubt things will end the way youre thinking, but there is no harm in seeing how things y out..." With her perpetual smile bing even more prominent, Ilia appeared even more radiant than usual as she pped her hands together and happily chimed, "Splendid! I cant wait to show you what life is like on Terra. Though it might notpare to Roaks natural beauty, there are many wondrous sights to view back on my home. Once this fiasco with the courts is resolved, it would be my honor to show the three of you around. I hope youll look forward to it. If youd like, I can even give you a tour of the entire gxy. Im sure youll be surprised once you learn how vast the ocean of stars you see in the night sky truly is..." Resisting the urge to make a counterment about how limited her perspective of the world was, Vahn simply smiled in response to the womans confident remark, answering, "Im looking forward to it..." in an amused tone. (A/N: Surprise announcementing soon (OwO)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1916 Karmic Undercurrents

Chapter 1916 Karmic Undercurrents

(A/N: Important announcement at the end of the chapter~.) Peeking a few years into the future, specifically around the time that a second story was intended to take ce, Vahn was unsurprised to find that his Temte had elected to take matters into his own hands. More specifically, he had used his status as one of the most powerful and influential voices within the Pangctic Federation to make amendments to the Underdeveloped Preservation Pact. This allowed him to establish an organization that specialized in the research and observation of so-called Underdeveloped Civilizations, and, whenever anomalies were discovered, his team was uniquely equipped to deal with threats to the universe. Though there was a significant amount of bacsh in the early years, Vahns Temte, also known as Vahn, was eventually dered Hegemon of the Pangctic Federation after establishing contact with one of the universes oldest and most technologically overdeveloped civilizations, the Nedians. With their cooperation, he was able to, quite literally, prevent the destruction of the entire universe, and, as a result of his Guardianship over their final heiress, an adorable blue-haired girl named Rena Lanford, he was entrusted with nearly 700,000,000 years of data rted to universes development and every technological advancement the Nedians had ever made. Seeing how sessful his alternate self had be, Vahn couldnt help feeling just a little envious. It wasnt that he was wanting for things like power and beautiful women at his side. It was more so that he was envious of the stability of their existence. His own life seemed exceedingly random at times, and, though he had a general understanding of the direction he was moving in, the goal he was reaching for was something beyondprehension. Inversely, the Temte he had created as his proxy in the Tri-Ace Anthology had a perfect understanding of the direction his life was heading, and, through a concerted effort, he was able to overthrow a plot more than four-billion-years in the making before ushering in an era of peace and stability that spanned nearly 1300 years. While 1300 years might not seem like a long time, it was an astronomical amount considering he was the Hegemon of a Federation that spanned several gxies and more than 60,000 civilized worlds. The longest era of peace prior to his reign was only eight years, as, whenever people made distinctions between civilized and uncivilized, finding corruption was easier than finding grains of sand on a beach. It didnt help that there was no unified system of governance among thesprising the Pangctic Federation, as, whenever someone tried to install such a government, they were bastardized as an autocrat or a tyrant by the powers pulling the strings from behind the scenes. In the end, it took demonic creatures invading from another dimension to shatter the peace that had been wrought through Fellpool Vahns efforts. This, in turn, led to the discovery that the entire universe had simply been a simtion created by higher-dimensional beings as a way for them to pass the time. This revtion led to widespread chaos throughout the Universe before Vahn and his allies, once again, fought to restore peace and establish peaceful coexistence between the Eternal Sphere, the name of their universal simtion, and the Fourth-Dimensional beings responsible for its creation. Though he could have continued to rule as Hegemon, Fellpool Vahn took advantage of the fact that he had reached the end of his realitys established timeline to finally retire. In his ce, he allowed the reality-spanning E.S.O.A.A, the system designed to monitor the Eternal Sphere, to manage, not just the Pangctic Federation, but all civilizations within its sphere of influence. This led to quite a number of issues throughout the universe, but, with the threat of literal deletion hanging over their heads, most groups remained rtively reasonable in their opposition to Universal Governance. As for Vahn and his extended family, they became the bridge between the Eternal Sphere and Fourth-Dimensional Space, guaranteeing the preservation of the former while working with the people of thetter to uncover the truth of their own origin... --- After what felt like an eternity,rgely due to the fact he inherited the memories and experiences of his Temtes, Vahn departed from his Internalized Realm to find himself rxingfortably in his own bed. This filled him with a momentary sense of incongruity, but, the moment he met the gazes of the noticeably fatigued Theo, Mira, and Lisanna, a natural smile spread across his face. Returning a smile of her own, Mira decided to ask what the other two were thinking, her voice filled with undertones of concern as she inquired, "How long were you gone?" Though it wouldnt be inurate to say he was gone for a much longer period of time, Vahn ced a kiss atop Miras head before answering, "Eight months..." in a whispering tone. Meeting Vahns gaze, Mira got the distinct impression he was hiding something, so, without beating around the bush, she asked, "How many?" Confused by the contextless question, Vahn tilted his head to the side, the gears of his mind turning until Sis took pity on him and exined, (*She is asking about the number of women you picked up despite stating you were simply going to observe.*) Since his Temte had been created around the time of the first divergence of fate, Vahn wouldnt be lying if he said he hadnt picked up any new women during his time away. Unfortunately, as his Temte had only developed a true Ego towards the end of the journey, it wasnt wrong to say he was the one in control. Thus, rather than avoid any responsibility in the matter, he answered, "Just one..." since, prior to his Temte gaining independence, they had shared a number of experiences with the remarkably affectionate Peri. Hearing Vahns response, Mira, Theo, and Lisanna all showed genuine surprise on their faces as the eldest of the two Strauss sisters asked, "Only one? That is a surprising amount of restrainting from you...can you show us what she looks like?" Though his smile became somewhat wry due to her rather biting remark, Vahn extended his palm to create a three-dimensional projection of Peri prior to their separation. The moment the three girls saw her, a glimmer of enlightenment could be seen in their eyes as Lisanna casually remarked, "She looks a lot like Fenrir...albeit a lot more bubbly..." Nodding their heads in agreement, Mira and Theo continued to observe the scale-model of Peri, thetter tilting her head to examine the projections backside, musing, "Oh my..." with an amused glimmer in her eyes. Shaking his head, Vahns expression rxed as he dissipated the projection and briefly recounted the events that had transpired within the Actualized World. This exnation was aided by the use of Memory Projection Spheres, and, though it took several hours, he could easily control the flow of time within the room to afford them ample opportunity to witness his exploits. This led to a number of questions regarding the rtionship between his Temte and several other female members of the verse, but, as he was no longer in control at that point, he couldnt be held ountable for his Fellpool counterparts actions... --- With most of his frustrations thoroughly vented, Vahn departed the Little Garden alongside Theo, Musashi, Scathach, and, of course, Index. His return brought back a few unpleasant memories, but, having gained an additional 1300 years of experience over the course of an eight-month period, he was no longer as affected by the tragedy that had resulted from Chungs depravity and boredom. After taking a few minutes to collect himself and organize his thoughts, Vahn decided it would be prudent of him to return to the Quarantine Area and liberate those within. He could always restore their data at ater date, but, rather than risk something happening in the future, it was best to take action in the present. He knew from the Law of Identitys acquisition of Data Eduans memories that thetter possessed the means to effectively format the entire Hidden Floor, so, before karma and fate could reveal their hands, Vahn wanted to eliminate as many concerning variables as possible. To aid in this endeavor, Vahn hadpiled the data pertaining to the Hidden Floors residents into a Memory Fragment that was then uploaded to the Intelligence Nexus that had been jointly created by Urahara and Android 21 in ordance with Da Vincis original design specifications for the Ark, Mother, and Shadow Systems. This allowed them to mass-produce Gigai, artificial bodies that were functionally identical to normal humans, that perfectly emted the physical appearance and base specifications of everyone who had been adversely modified by Chung. Though it would normally take several hours to create a single Gigai, Vahns ability to freely control the flow of time within the Little Garden reduced the time taken to apletely negligible amount. This was one of the most heinous exploits made possible through thebination of his status as a Tier 5 and the master of the Little Garden. Using it, he could even cultivate various medicinal nts and other cultivation resources that would typically take tens-of-thousands of years to mature. This, in turn, afforded him the opportunity to generate functionally unlimited OP, as, with the exception of goods purchased directly from the system shop, anything grown naturally could be traded in at roughly 1/10th its original value. While it wasnt the most cost-efficient way to generate Origin Points, primarily because he would never task anyone with watching over nts for tens of thousands of years at a time, the gardens of the Seventh Layer had be the primary source of Vahns OP ie. The only caveats were that many heavenly treasures, nts included, became sapient after a certain amount of time had passed. They also had a propensity for killing and consuming nearby treasures, so, without anyone to keep order, a number of magical beasts, some of which were farmed for OP, had taken residence within the Seventh Layer. This made it a pretty popr ce for livebat training, as, thanks to the influence of the Law of Progress, the creatures within grew powerful at an exponential rate... --- Though he was quite ustomed to waiting, Yu Hansung was beginning to feel a little impatient aftering to learn that an Irregr different from the one he had anticipated had arrived on the Hidden Floor. To make matters even worse, the Irregr had freely trespassed the Quarantine Area to seek him out; and, ording to the residents of the Seed, he had even greater authority over the Hidden Floors systems than the Big Breeders selected to manage it. Lamenting theck of coffee within the Quarantine Area, Yu Hansung exhaled a troubled sigh as he vexatiously watched the bridge connecting the Seed to therger structure of the Fruit of Good and Evil. He wanted to witness how the man named Vahn entered the area for himself, as, ording to the reports of Batis and other trustworthy sources, the former had allegedly appeared out of thin air before disappearing in much the same manner. If this was true, it meant they could finally leave the Quarantine Area, as, ording to the same sources, there had been several other people traveling alongside the presumed Irregr. As if machinated by fate, a strange ripple appeared the moment this thought crossed Yu Hansungs mind. From within, a handsome man with windswept brown hair, energetic green eyes, and tanned skin emerged alongside two uncannily simr individuals. At a nce, the trio could be mistaken for triplets, but, with a few small variations in their facial structure, hairstyles, and choice of clothing, it was hard to be certain. The only thing Yu Hansung knew with absolute certainty was that they had the exact same eye pigment, and, as far as he could tell, power levels that werepletely off the charts... (A/N: Alternate Titles: TFW your Temte is more sessful than yourself...,Mira low-key taking pot-shots at Vahns ego xD...,Karma is a bitch (O w O)...) (A/N: It is no secret on the Discord server, but Ive been severely ill for the past month or so. This has given me a lot of time to think about what Im doing with both my life and the novel. As I have stated in the past, EPIC was always intended to be practice. To that end, I intend to continue writing until the story reaches a natural conclusion and all its central mechanics have been expanded upon. At the same time, however, I need to begin seriously considering my personal wellness and financial situation. I have neither a car nor health insurance, so, even when I could barely move around, I had little choice but to tough it out. Fortunately, writing doesnt require me to physically exert myself or leave my apartment. Had I been working full or part-time, I imagine I would have been in a simr situation as many of my fellow Americans. To that end, I am truly grateful for the support everyone has given me thus far. Unfortunately, this is also where a problem presents itself. Everyone is facing trying times these days, and, were it not for the benevolence of a few kind souls, I would probably bepletely broke right now. Fortunately, someone was kind enough to contribute a $640 Path-level donation on my *******, but, as a result, several others also reduced their pledges. Now, Im roughly $300-400 dors beneath the level that was previously supporting me. If things continue at this rate, I might be forced to do other work just to be able to get by. This, however, would put EPIC at risk, so, despite some serious concerns from my parents and friends, Ive decided to just say fuck it and go all-in on writing. To that effect, I will be doing my best to release three chapters Sat-Thur. At the same time, I intend to start writing on an offshoot called EPIC Side Stories that will only be made avable on my *******. I dont have the heart to hold actual EPIC chapters hostage, so, in the hopes of improving my situation, I will be holding polls to allow themunity to decide what the side stories pertain to. Examples include things like: the events that had taken ce in the Tri-Ace Anthology, NSFW scenes between various characters, and anything else EPIC-rted. If you are interested in being a part of themunity and quite literally helping me survive, I will be making all side-stories avable for a single dor. For those who think this is unfair, know that I intend to make all side-stories public once EPIC has finished. I am forced into this situation by circumstance, and I hope this decision hasnt offended anyone. You all are what make EPIC possible, and, were it not for the support of many amazing individuals, I might not even be here right now. Thank you for your patience and understanding during these trying times...and, while it is hard to sound sincere in text, know that I am sorry things havee to this. You all deserve better than this...we all deserve better than this...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1917 Misgivings

Chapter 1917 Misgivings

Arriving on the opposite end of the bridge connecting to the seed, a frown immediately developed across Vahns face the moment he spread his senses through the area. It wasnt that he sensed any danger. Rather, it was theplete and utterck of anyones presence that soured his mood. Resisting the urge to sigh, Vahn slowlybed through his hair in an effort to remain calm as Sis analyzed the environmental data pertaining to the Seed. Everything within the Hidden Floor, from the smallest particle of sand to the giant Shinheuh that roamed the wastnds had positional and render data that determined everything from its X, Y, and Z coordinates to its ability to interact with other objects in virtual space. After all, while the system was unbelievablyplex, it still relied on variable vertices, mathematical points simr to atomic particles, to realistically simte physical, spiritual, and anomalous phenomena. Though he could conceal himself from the systems designed to keep track of everything with the Hidden Floor, even Vahn was unable topletely hide his presence. After all, he still existed within the Hidden Floor, so, every time he took a breath or stepped on a piece of terrain, the environment data would update to reflect these changes. Were this not the case, he wouldnt be able to interact with, or even perceive, the world around him. Noticing Vahns grim silence, Theo, Musashi, and Scathach each exchanged looks before nodding in concert. Immediately thereafter, Scathach vanished from view, her intent to investigate the Seeds interior as Theo stepped forward to say, "There is no need to worry. From what I can tell, there are no signs of conflict taking ce. Given the circumstances, the most likely scenario is that one of the Sworn Enemy versions of yourself convinced the people here to follow him. Even if the system took liberties to bastardize your character, I cant imagine any version of you choosing to willfully harm the victims of tragic circumstances." Nodding her head in agreement, Musashi adopted a sincere smile as she nudged Vahns arm and added, "Theos right. If anything, I bet the people here were moved somece safe before being provided with food and alcohol. Hell, they might even be in the midst of celebrating their escape." Understanding that the duo was trying tofort him, Vahns grimace rxed into a nomital smile as he offered a nod and said, "Youre probably right. Still, knowing this is basically a version of myselfs efforts to screw me over...I cant help feeling a little annoyed..." In an effort to ease the tensions, Musashiughed rather boisterously in response to Vahns remark, a toothy grin on her face as she teasingly remarked, "So, whats new?" Blinking in confusion, Vahn was about to ask what she meant when Theo, with an usatory glower directed towards the mischievous samurai, dutifully exined, "She is trying to indicate that you are generally the one responsible for screwing yourself over..." With the light fading from his eyes, an awkwardugh emanated from Vahns throat as he made a mental note to give Musashi a light punishment once they returned to the Little Garden. Thetter seemed to sense this, but, rather than showing even a modicum of fear, she returned a daring smile and questioned, "So, whats our next n of action? This is clearly some kind of trap. Are we going to walk directly into it? Im fine with anything, so long as I get to test out my Zanpakutos edge." Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn sent a mentalmand to recall Scathach before exining, "Though it is best to view them as anomalies, we will proceed with the assumption that your Sworn Enemies act in ordance with the behavioral guidelines established by the system. To that end, we can assume this incident is the precursor to a scheme to try and separate us. Since their objective is ultimately to eliminate their designated targets, trying to confront you while Im around would be a direct contradiction of their prime directive..." Hearing Vahn ramble on, Theo, Musashi, and even Scathach, none of which were particrly known for their ability to process information, just stared at him with neutral expressions and slight smiles. This left the former feeling slightly exasperated, at least until Index chimed in to say, "He is saying it is pointless to chase after them. They wont attack us directly until they can secure an advantage, so, unless they intend to go against their programming, we can just ignore them. If their disposition is anything like our Vahns, they are probably going around and helping people in secret. Let them do what they want. We can always deal with themter." Earning a slight pout from both Musashi and Theo, Vahn nodded his head, adding, "To be fair, we could avoid most problems by having everyone return to the Little Garden and simply wait. Even if we do nothing, it is only a matter of time before Sis takes over the entirety of the Hidden Floor. This situation is entirely the result of individual selfishness...not that thats a bad thing..." Noticing the genuine annoyance and slight hurt within the girls eyes, Vahn held up his hands in a gesture of surrender, supnting his previous statement, saying, "Sorry. That was a poor choice of words on my part. Given my past actions, I cant exactly lecture others for wanting to get out and have a bit of fun. If anything, Id like to provide more opportunities for everyone to get out and do as they please. It just gets a littleplicated when situations like this present themselves." Though they couldnt hide the slight me in their eyes, neither Theo nor Musashi decided to hold Vahns words against him. They knew what kind of person he was, and, though he could be a bit of a control freak at times, it was generally only when lives were at stake. He cared about their lives far more than his own, so, if anything were to happen to them, despite his ludicrous strength, he would never be able to forgive himself. Misunderstanding the girls silence as passive-aggressiveness, the edges of Vahns smile began to twitch slightly as he suggested, "If you are that eager to fight...we could always split up? I can keep track of your status from afar, so, even if you get trapped or are unable tomunicate, I should be able to teleport you to safety..." As Vahn had already revealed the existence of The Path and its functions, none of the girls were particrly surprised by his words. Rather, despite their thirst for battle, the trio of warrior women began feeling a little guilty. They werent exactlycking powerful opponents to battle against, so, knowing there was ultimately no point in defeating their Sworn Enemies, it was hard for them to simply ept Vahns offer. After all, their entire reason for reincarnating into the Transcendental Path to Heaven was to help him. Instead, they had unnecessarilyplicated the situation in an effort to alleviate some of their boredom... Not expecting the girls moods to suddenly diminish, Vahn was beginning to feel a little fretful until Theo took pity on him and exined, "We didnt choose toe out just to seek thrills. We wanted to spend more time with you, and, if possible, help relieve some of the burdens you carry. Now, its beginning to seem like the only thing weve aplished is adding to them..." Experiencing some guilt of his own, Vahns awkward expression eased into a somewhat sad smile as he extended his hand to caress Theos head, whispering, "Never think that...with perhaps the single exception of my children, it is my lifes greatest blessing to have all of you here with me. Regardless of what transpires...regardless of how challenging things get...sharing moments like this is what will allow our bonds to withstand the test of time. Rather than worrying about how your actions might inconvenience me, I would be happiest knowing you are doing everything in your power to secure your own happiness. It is my privilege to carry your burdens and fret over your safety...you are not obliged to avoid danger and suppress your desires just to make my life a little more convenient...if I had such expectations for others, I would be the biggest hypocrite in all of creation..." With the added benefit of having her head caressed, Theos mood drastically improved in response to Vahns words. The thing she wanted least was to cause trouble for him, but, much like how things were back in her Record of origin, Vahn didnt seem to care about that in the slightest. His primary concern had always been their happiness, so, while she still felt a little guilty about contributing to the current predicament, she was happy knowing he would always stand beside her... Though she belonged to the group of women who generally refused to let Vahn pet them, Musashi couldnt help but adopt a teasing smile as she asked, "What is this difference in treatment? Maybe I should consider getting hitched as well? I wonder if there are any capable men nearby..." Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn gestured for Musashi toe closer so that he could snake his hand around her waist. In response, she batted her eyes in a flirtatious manner, asking, "Ara? Are you certain? You didnt seem particrly worried about me when you were giving that longwinded speech and staring passionately into Theos eyes..." Understanding that Musashi was forcing him toe to her, Vahn nted a quick kiss atop Theos head before approaching the buxom swordswoman and wrapping his arms around her remarkably durable yet impably soft body. Then,pensating for the eighteen-centimeter disparity in their heights, he supported her by her pert and shapely buttocks, enjoying the intoxicating sensation as his lips ovepped with hers for the better part of three minutes. When they finally separated, there was a line of saliva briefly linking them until Musashi subsequently licked her lips and asked, "Is this your way of proposing~?" Though he assumed she was just ying around, Vahn allowed Musashi to stand on her own two feet, gently cradling her in his arms as he answered, "If that is what you desire, I would be honored to have you as my wife. Rather, I should apologize for making you wait this long...it has been quite some time since I defeated you in a duel..." Snorting through her nose, Musashi averted her indescribably beautiful and unique eyes to the side, her voice audibly pouty as she replied, "Dont wanna..." in a mock childish tone. This, coincidentally, allowed her to meet Scathachs gaze, thetter adopting an usatory deadpan as she mouthed, If you dont stop ying around, Im going to hit you. Poking her tongue out at the taciturn beauty, Musashis pouting pretense faded away as she looked up at Vahn and spontaneously grabbed the sides of his face in a vice-like grip. This was followed by a rather aggressive kiss, a precursor to her telepathically advising, ("Show some sincerity next time. I might prioritize being a swordswoman over everything else, but I still have expectations for how my partner proposes. At the very least, you should defeat me in a duel prior to uttering such words...") Vahn wanted to point out that he had defeated her a number of times, but, understanding that she meant proposing to her immediately following their battle, he opted to remain silent. Instead, he let her lead the kiss, and, though it made him feel a little sheepish, he did his best to ignore the sounds of Index munching away as she twisted around to try and get a better view of what was going on... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is his greatest enemy (O w O)...,Everyone used idental guilt trap...its super effective...!,*Munching Intensifies*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1918 A Brief Confrontation

Chapter 1918 A Brief Confrontation

Though it felt like he had just returned, Vahn was already beginning to get a little fed up with the Hidden Floor. His whole reason for visiting was to confront a version of Jahad directly and see how much the man had changed over the years; so, before things got further out of control, he decided to pay a visit to the Pce of Spears, the primary residence of Data Eduan and the children he had allowed to live with him. Not expecting Vahn back any time soon, Eduan had left to wrap up a few loose ends prior to his departure from the Hidden Floor. As a result, the person to greet Vahn was the masked Icardi, a unique individual who had the ability to materialized physical objects, including various mythical items, through spoken word. This was an unbelievably rare talent, but, as it required the person to continue chanting just to maintain the objects integrity, it was most useful for support. Fortunately, even though Icardi couldnt speak normally, he had mastered a form of signnguage that could be interpreted by a Pocket. This was a strange phenomenon in and of itself, as, despite no words being spoken, Vahn was able to understand what the man was trying tomunicate even without the auto-trantion function of The Path. With Icardi leading the way, Vahn soon found himself in an antechamber that led to a room with its door weighing heavily on broken hinges. In the surroundings, the remnants of several objects could be seen strewn about in a manner evocative of the aftermath of a hurricane. As for the actual cause, who else could it be other than Maschenny? Standing outside the broken door, a beaten and bruised Asensio could be seen with a wry smile on his face as he offered a polite bow and exined, "Now might not be the most opportune time for a visit. It hasnt been long since Maschenny tired herself out...if she sees you right now, I fear for the continued existence of the Pce of Spears..." Though he had already heard a cursory exnation that allowed him to extrapte the rest, Vahn still had Sis treat Asensios injuries as he asked, "What happened? Dont tell me the Hidden Floor even replicates menstrual cycles..." Strangely enough, Asensio actually blushed at the mention of the physiological phenomenon, his expression turning awkward as he averted his eyes to the side and answered, "It isnt anything like that. After you left, Maschenny...she tried asking for our opinion regarding what it means to be cute. I tried convincing her that she was already cute, but she just wouldnt listen. To make matters even worse, our father justughed it off before disappearing somewhere. After that, Maschenny had us stand outside as she tried on a bunch of different outfits...it seems she wasnt very satisfied with our responses. The aftermath is as you see here..." With quite a bit of experience acting as a fashion critique whenever he apanied his women to try on clothing, Vahn could easily ascertain the reason for Maschennys frustration. Asensio gave off the impression of the nomittal type that just said whatever he thought was necessary to make someone happy. As for Icardi, his peculiarities had resulted in him bing amitted introvert, so, shortly after Maschenny began showing signs of exploding, he had promptly extricated himself from the situation. Earning a confused look from the youth, Vahn gave Asensio a few light pats on the shoulder before stepping into the disaster scene that was Maschennys room. There, he found the rooms upant lying face down on her bed, body limp as she pretended to be asleep. With a massive hole in the wall and a substantial amount of dust and debris covering every surface, stepping into Maschennys room was almost like stumbling onto the scene of a murder. There was even a lingering bloodlust in the air, as, despite her best attempts to keep it concealed, Maschenny was far from being able to conceal her presence from someone like Vahn. Though she was nearly three times his age, chronologically, Vahn understood that Maschenny was still a very childish woman, so, rather than choose his words carefully, he adopted a stern tone as he inquired, "How long are you going to continue sulking and pretending to be asleep? What are you expecting to happen?" Without raising her face, Maschenny heaved a sigh into her nkets before raising her body and shamelessly sitting cross-legged while leaning on the support of her arms. This was roughly the same seated position that girls like Tiona and Mordred defaulted to, but, for a variety of different reasons, Maschenny gave off a distinctly different impression than the spirited duo. She was doing it specifically to try and get a rise out of him, but, without so much as a single twitching of the eye, Vahn simply shook his head before asking, "Does this mean youve given up after only a few hours? I had much higher expectations for you...it would seem I was grievously mistaken about the nature and quality of your character. Your time in the Hidden Floor has made you weak..." Unable to suppress her anger, sparks of vibrant blue lightning began to emit from Maschennys body as she leaned forward and said, "Im not weak..." in a tone that promised violence. Maintaining his stern expression, Vahn simply shook his head a second time before turning his back on Maschenny and departing the room. This caused the not-so-young Princess to appear confused, but, rather than thinking about the reasons behind his departure, the lightning around her became even more violent as she shouted, "Where are you going!? Dont you turn your back on me...!" Without turning around to address the enraged Princess, Vahn allowed his aura toe to bear on the entire Pce of Spears. This caused the mountain serving as the buildings foundation to quake, and, as the intended recipient, Maschenny found herself facenting into her bed, wholly unable to move as Vahn said, "Keep pretending..." --- Though he couldnt enter the Hidden Hidden Floor for fear of being deleted, Eduan still had ways to contact people on the other side. Six-thousand-years was a long time for former mortals, so, while he hadrgely cut ties with Jahad after thetter deleted the data of all their friends, they still met to periodically share drinks and gripe at each other. Under normal circumstances, it would be one of the Big Breeders conveying Jahads intent to meet. This time, however, Eduan took the liberty to head unannounced to their usual meetup, an unusual region of the Hidden Floor known as the Town of the Golden Dome. It was one of the only ces in the Hidden Floor designed to emte the outside, and, though they werepletely fake, metallics and stars could be seen hovering over the observatory-like city inhabited almost exclusively by automatons and members of the many-eyed Da-an Tribe. Waiting within the citys only tavern, argely empty facility upied by two service robots and a six-armed mechanical barkeep, Eduan was unsurprised to see a familiar figure wearing an oversized red cape waiting for him at the bar. He had only ever encountered a single person fearless enough to shamelessly wear such clothes, so, with a wry smile on his face, he moved to upy the seat to the persons right before asking, "How is your sense of style still this bad? You really hate listening to other peoples advice, dont you?" Rather than immediately replying to Eduans words, the cloaked man, none other than Data Jahad, lightly tapped the bar, saying, "Three bottles of your finest wine, a t of cheese, and a basket of pretzels. Make sure thest is heated properly." With a mechanical whir, the robotic barkeep immediately went to work preparing Jahads order as thetter turned his attention to Eduan, seemingly ignoring thement about his choice of garb as he said, "I hope you will not force my hand in the days toe. Despite our many differences, I still consider you a close friend. This enemy isnt someone I can treat lightly. If you continue ying around, I will have no choice but to eliminate you and your children..." Chuckling in response to Jahads threat, Eduan uncorked one of the bottles of wine, drinking severalrge gulps before exhaling a contented sigh and remarking, "Its a strange thing. Even though they arent actually my brats, I cant help feeling a little pissed off hearing you threaten them..." To punctuate his words, several vibrant sparks danced across the surface of Eduans naturally pale skin, shattering the bottle and spilling its contents all over the counter. Curiously, none of the red liquid flowed towards Jahad, almost like it was willfully avoiding him. Then, with a casual sweep of his hand, even the most minuscule droplet of wine coalesced to form a perfect sphere as he said, "You know, a part of me has always wished that a child of my own making would one day visit the Hidden Floor. I never understood the whole Princess of Jahad selection process. Though, truth be told, there are many things about King Jahad that I have never understood..." With the lightning around him rapidly dying down, Eduan extended his cup to ept the orb of red liquid, remarking, "Yet you still support him just because he is your future self...and to think, Im the one everyone uses of being a narcissist..." Remaining silent in response to Eduans biting remark, Jahad waited until the pretzels had arrived before once again changing the topic, this time asking, "How long has it been since west met like this? Three-hundred-years?" Shrugging his shoulders, Eduan toyed with the contents of his cup as hezily remarked, "I stopped keeping track of dates and time long ago...its not like any of that really matters in a ce like this. I just eat, sleep, and, when the opportunity presents itself, fuck. Though, since were being honest, its been a while since I had a goody. I think thest one was some upstart from the Ha Family. Those damn amazons might have meat for brains, but they sure as hell know what theyre doing in bed." Though it was difficult to tell due to the three-eyed mask he wore, Jahad made his contempt clear by shaking his head and adopting an admonishing tone as he said, "Ive told you this before, but you shouldnt sleep with the children of our friends. Its bad enough that your counterpart in the real world engages in all manner of profane acts. You should set a better example for the peopleing here to meet with you." Scoffing in response to Jahads admonishment, Eduan downed the contents of his cup in a single swig before mming it on the table and eximing, "Dont give me that shit! That bastard outside haspletely ruined my reputation! Can you me me for needing to vent when half the peopleing to this shit hole have some kind of vendetta against me!? Even worse, theyre all fucking weak as shit! I mean, seriously, what the fuck are those bastards teaching their kids? Its like they dont give two shits about their legacy and the quality of their offspring...!" Under normal circumstances, Jahad would remain quiet whenever Eduan wasshing out. This time, however, he offered a curt nod in response, muttering, "This is one of the downsides to bing an Immortal and aspiring for Godhood...perhaps that is the reason my counterpart in the real world has refused to have children..." Frowning in response to Jahads silent musings, Eduan was tempted to call him out on his bullshit, but, knowing the real Jahad had tweaked his data to make him forget key events, arguing with him was like trying to converse with a brick wall. He was inarguably one of the most obstinate people in their original group, and, unless he had seen or ascertained something for himself, he would never change his mind. In their youth, it was his insatiable curiosity that counterbnced this severe w andpelled him to be the King of Adventurers. Here in the Hidden Floor, however, it was an aspect that made it impossible to be around for long periods of time. With this in mind, Eduan downed half the contents of a second bottle before rising to his feet and saying, "This isnt the kind of opponent you need to n around. If you are willing, he will meet you without fear or hesitation. Truth be told, he reminds me a lot of how you used to be...the version of you before experiencing the Revolution Road..." Seemingly oblivious to Eduans words, Jahad remained absolutely silent as he picked up another pretzel and began slowly chewing. It was only when the former hadpletely departed the tavern that he looked over at the empty seat, a slight frown appearing on his face as he muttered, "I hope youre wrong about that..." before taking the third bottle and promptly departing... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Asensio got thrown under the bus...,Another oof moment brought to you courtesy of Princess Maschenny (O w O)...,There are few things more disheartening than seeing a former friend be a shell of their past selves...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1919 Ripples

Chapter 1919 Ripples

While Vahn had been busy running around and trying to solve problems, several other groups were actually enjoying the time they had spent within the Hidden Floor. Among these, the groups led by Madara and Roger were having the most fun, as, rather than focusing on a particr objective, they were just epting the most difficult Quests in each stage. With arms crossed over the breastte of her rather iconic red and ck armor, Madara couldnt help but smile as she stared down at the grimacing face of her opponent, a handsome young man with pale blue hair, matching eyes, and twinkling stars flickering around his body. The youth made the mistake of trying to sneak attack and bind her while she was watching her team fight against the stages viin. Unfortunately, the only thing they ended up capturing was a strange metal doll whose weight was so extreme that it caused a small explosion after falling over. Though she could have ended the fight in an instant, Madara had a penchant for toying with her opponents so that she could get the most enjoyment out of a battle. As a result, her primary focus had been denying her would-be attacker the opportunity to escape. This left the pale-haired youth feeling rather exasperated, as, under normal circumstances, they should have been able to teleport away. Instead, strange trees had erupted all throughout the battlefield, and, though they could still move short distances, long-range teleportation and spatial movements had beenpletely sealed off. Seeing the youth stay crouched for several seconds, Madaras smile gradually faded away as she asked, "Are you done?" in a voice mixed with contempt, intrigue, and a natural sultriness that had developed after spending several decades as a member of the opposite sex. Frowning in response to Madaras words, the youth forced himself to stand before asking, "You are far more powerful than I anticipated. Even if I pushed myself, I doubt I would be able tond even a single blow against you. Since further struggle would be pointless, Im choosing to give up. Do with me what you will." Snorting through her nose, Madara leaped from the branch of one of the many seal-covered trees present in the area, crashing into the ground with enough force to produce a crater approximately three meters in diameter. This caused the pale-haired youth to stumble, but, before they could fall over, a ck-gloved hand tightened around their cor. Unfortunately, while this provided them a bit of stability, it allowed the subsequent fist to their diaphragm tond precisely, instantaneously forcing the air from their lungs and forcing them into unconsciousness. Creating a shadow clone to carry the youths unconscious body, Madara turned her attention to the quintet that had been observing her battle from a rtively safe distance, saying, "If Im not wrong, this brat should be one of the people were looking for. We will return to town and confirm whether or not this is the case." Though he would normally never dare question his aneue, a handsome youth with wild ck hair fixed into a loose ponytail raised his hand, waiting for permission to speak before asking, "Would it not be easier to simply send a message and have Vahne to us?" Despite the smile on her face, Madara immediately shook her head before responding, "Life isnt all about efficiency, Izuna. Given Vahns personality, he is most-probably running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Interfering with his movements just to confirm a persons identity will make us seem ipetent and overreliant on his validation. I refuse." As one of the third-generation Temtes that Vahn had allowed to develop naturally, Izuna wasnt able to fully understand why his elder sister was so deferential to their Creator. Despite this, he still nodded his head, saying, "Understood." in a curt tone. Resisting the temptation to admonish her younger brother in front of others, Madara just shook her head before directing her glistening crimson eyes towards their groups Wandering Minstrel, saying, "Show us the way back. You surely know the way, correct?" Nodding their head rather swiftly in response, the tribal-looking man known as tt tore his eyes away from the unconscious body of the Big Breeder, answering, "Once youplete a stage, you have the option of moving on to the next or revisiting one you have previously cleared. You can also abandon your current Quest to expedite things, but doing so will cause the ck bar of your Good and Evil Monitor to fill up an amount based on the difficulty of the Quest you abandoned..." Havingpleted a number of Quests, Madara wasnt particrly concerned about filling up the ck part of her gauge. Still, she also wasnt the type to leave a task halfplete, so, rather than abandoning their current Quest, she directed her gaze towards the bored-looking Yoruichi and the lovey-dovey couple of Ichigo and Orihime, saying, "Finish tracking down our target. We will return once this Quest isplete." Digging into her human ear with her pinky, Yoruichi seemed unimpressed by the tone of Madaras voice, her own containing sarcastic undertones as she remarked, "The monsters here are too weak. Why dont you wake up that little brat and let me have a go at him while you go off and deal with whatever joke of a viin has been prepared for us?" Though Izunas reaction was to re hatefully at the cat-like woman, Madara simply adopted a rxed smile, saying, "Very well. However, know that your precious Master will be notified of your unwillingness to cooperate. Come, Izuna. Were going." Without waiting for Yoruichis response, a purple glow emanated from Madaras body as she flew into the sky at a breakneck speed. At the same time, her clone set the unconscious youth on the ground before dispersing in a cloud of smoke as Izuna, following his sisters example, darted into the sky like a crimson rocket ascending to space. Since she had primarily just been messing around, Yoruichis expression morphed into a rather silly caricature of incredulity as she gawked in the direction of the duos departure. Momentster, the tips of her cat-like ears and tail began to glow as the air around her quickly ionized and began to generate sparks. In a desperate attempt to mediate the situation, Orihime put herself in the line of fire by stepping forward, an awkward yet gentle smile on her face as she held her hands up in a cating gesture and said, "Please calm down, Yoruichi-san. If you fall for her taunts and attempt to give chase, you will only make the situation worse. Madara-sama is too powerful for you to deal with and Izuna will not hesitate to support her if he thinks she is in danger. How about we have a pic while we wait? I have sandwiches, onigiri, and sashimi prepared by Rindo-san. It has been a few hours since west ate. Arent you hungry?" Though she was mildly annoyed by Orihimesment regarding her inability to defeat Madara, Yoruichi quickly calmed down at the mention of Rindos food. She also knew that Vahn wouldnt really be mad at her, so, while it was hard to suppress her urge to chase down the Uchiha duo and pick a fight, her stomach and rationale ultimately won out. After all, there was nothing preventing her from battling against Madara and picking on Izuna once they returned to the Little Garden... --- Unbeknownst to hispanions, Vahn used the time he spent suppressing Maschenny and waiting for Eduans return to check in on each of the groups progress. His [Universal Mind] allowed him to passively absorb their thoughts and experiences, but, even without it, he had long since possessed the ability to connect his senses with those listed in his Unit Management. He very rarely made use of this ability in the past, but, after spending several months watching over his Temtes exploits in the Tri-Ace Anthology, he had gradually be ustomed to such practices. Seeing how much fun some of the teams were having,bined with the earnest efforts of Fenrirs and Artorias parties, Vahns personal grievances towards the Hidden Floor began to gradually fade away. This was one of the benefits of being able to view a situation from the perspective of another, as, more often than not, the ount of a single person led to the development of a bias. This was especially true for those who proactively sought to eliminate tyranny and provide aid those those in need. When you exposed yourself to the more detrimental and negative elements of a society, it was easy to forget that there were quite a number of positive aspects associated with even the most heinous and cruel regimes. It was also easy to forget that ces like the Hidden Floor, the Virtual World, and even the Eternal Sphere were originally created with noble purposes in mind. In its inception, the mirror serving as the foundation for the Hidden Floor was meant to act as a time capsule of sorts for Jahad and the Great Warriors. As for the Virtual World, it served a simr function, but, more importantly, provided people with knowledge and the freedom to choose their own career paths and immerse themselves in various fantasy worlds. Lastly, the Eternal Sphere was originally created with the intent to advice scientific understanding and ascertain whether or not life could develop in a closed system without external influence. It was an experiment intended to help the inhabitants of the Fourth Dimension better understand their own origins, but, as was often the case, its purpose had been perverted for the sake of profit and personal gain. Simply put, very few things were designed with the express intent of causing harm or aiding in the propagation of corruption. Rather, most scientific discoveries were the result of genuine curiosity and a desire to advance ones civilization to the next level. Instead, the most intelligent members of amunity were often exploited by the most opportunistic, and, unless something catastrophic urred to necessitate progress, the advancement of civilization was bottlenecked for the sake of profit. This was one of the inherent detriments of society, as, without exceptionally powerful and responsible leaders proactively working to counteract it, the ambitions of opportunistic individuals would invariably lead to corruption and the gradual suppression of reason for the sake of maintaing the status quo. Fortunately, while all civilizations would inevitably vanish into the ebb and flow of time, there was still merit in working to improve things. A few hundred years of peace might seem like a small blip in the ceaseless flow of time, but, for the people experiencing said peace, each and every day was a blessing. This was especially true for those who had suffered from tragedy and hardship, so, while it sometimes felt like he was fighting a pointless battle, such sentiments faded away the moment he saw the smiling faces of his family, friends, loved ones, and the people who had benefitted from his struggles. Breaking the connection between himself and Yoruichi, an apologetic spread across Vahns face as he looked towards the entrance of the room and said, "I owe you an apology. I shouldnt have been so heavy-handed with you. Its just, your appearance makes it difficult for me not to view you as a child. I would never allow my own children to develop in the manner you have, so it is difficult for me to simply ignore your behavior. Still, that doesnt justify my own behavior, so, while you might be unwilling to forgive me, know that I am sorry." Not expecting Vahn to suddenly apologize, the hateful look on Maschennys face gradually became one of confusion as the lightning around her body slowly fizzled out. Then, with a slightly conflicted look on her face, sheined, "Someone as powerful as you shouldnt be apologizing to others. It makes you seem weak. How am I supposed to raise my head up high when the person capable of defeating me is seen as a weakling by others? Have some self-respect..." Chuckling in response to Maschennys words, Vahn manifested a Japanese-style tea set before producing a few snacks and saying, "Come and take a seat. I will tell you about my journey thus far and allow you to view a recording of my battle against Adori, Hagipherione, and your counterpart. I imagine you are quite interested how strong thetter has be?" Though she was initially going to refuse, Maschennys interest was piqued the moment she heard Vahn mention owning a recording of his battle against her true self. Her primary goal upon leaving the Hidden Floor was to ovee her original and cement herself as the superior Maschenny, so, while it felt like she was being baited inward, her curiosity and desire to grow strongpelled her forward. This ended up being a mistake, as, the moment she ate one of the seemingly innocuous-looking cookies, her mind and tastebuds had been awakened to a new and highly addictive world of vor... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Imagine thinking you can sneak up on Madara xD...,Peacekeeper Orihime-chan~!,Vahn be like, "Come to the Light Side. We have cookies...") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1920 Taking Advantage

Chapter 1920 Taking Advantage

Around the exact same moment that Vahn was humoring Maschenny and introducing her to the concept of true deliciousness, two figures silently emerged from the void near Madara and Izuna. This immediately caught the attention of the two skilled Shinobi, but, before either of them could fully grasp the situation, shining golden chains emerged from the periphery,pletely sealing the surrounding space and drastically weakening both Uchiha. Rather than showing any signs of fear, an excited smile immediately developed across Madaras face, her eyes shifting from a beautiful crimson to an eerie purpleprised of several concentric circles and nine tomoe as she eximed, "Good! Lets see how powerful you fakes really are...!" As a pale imitation of the original, the hemispherical cage formed from golden chains quaked in the wake of Madara releasing her aura. This wasnt simply because she had roused her Rinnesharingan, however. Instead, it was the unraveling of the tail around her waist and the immediate goldening of her inordinately long and wild ck hair that caused everything in her surroundings, False Enkidu included, to visibly shudder. Without the memories of the person they were based on, the duo that looked indistinguishable from the real Vahn had no idea what Madara had just awakened. All they knew for certain was that her power had explosively increased, so much so that it was hard to even make sense of how strong she had be. Disappointed by the dyed response of the duo, Madara began forming hand signs for the Great Fire Annihtion Jutsu when another spatial ripple, this one nearly undetectable, appeared right at her side. Instead of a person appearing, however, a scarlet spear emerged from the void, impaling her left thigh before disappearing almost instantaneously. The moment she shifted her attention towards the anomaly, the sharpness of Madaras hair seemed to increase as she spun around and yanked the unsuspecting Izuna to the side. At that exact same moment, a second scarlet spear pierced through the area, easily passing through his armor and grazing his side. Despite the shallowness of the wound, a ridiculous amount of pain radiated through Izunas body, forcing him to grit his teeth as his own Sharingan quickly transitioned into its Mangekyou variation. This was immediately followed by apiszuli colored aura shrouding his body as a giant skeletal frame began to materialize around the both of them. Before the Susanoo could fully form, Madara smacked Izunas shoulder, her grip tighter than a vice as she said, "There are three of them. One is far more dangerous than the other two. You need to get away and inform-" Though she managed to avoid crying out, Madaras jaw clenched as another spear appeared from the void, this time swallowing impaling the area just under her left armpit. Her attacker seemed to be taking advantage of the most minusculepses in her concentration, and, though it was all but guaranteed to be a weaker version of the actual ability, Madara could recognize it as an imitation of Laces Key. In an effort to alert the others and prevent additional sneak attacks, Madara brought her hands together in a prayer-like gesture, shouting as massive, rune-covered, trees began to erupt from the ground around her. This would have been far more than what was required to garner the attention of Yoruichi, Ichigo, and Orihime, but, demonstrating just how prepared her enemies were, the sky above became pitch ck as the surrounding space instantaneously separated from the rest of the Hidden Floor. At the same time, Madara could sense a familiar energy slice through her body, one she recognized almost instantly due to her own experience with the Laws associated. With her frustrations immediately fading away, a somewhat sadistic smile spread across Madaras face as she red towards the version of Vahn wielding a fiery ymore. She didnt even seem to care that her left arm had been severed from above the elbow. Instead, she ced her hand on the hilt of the tanto strapped to her lower back, baring her prominent canines as she said, "The three of you really are pale imitations...let me show you what the concepts of Infinity and Nothingness really look like...!" Though he could see her movements in slow motion, the sword-wielded version of Vahn could do little more than observe as Madaras tanto seemed to bisect reality itself along the trajectory of her de. This included the empty void that closely resembled Musashis former Noble Phantasm, an empty reality where the only things that were supposed to exist were himself and his opponent. Having inherited Vahns actual understanding of the sword, Madara couldnt help but snort as she witnessed her opponent copse into numerous pieces. Surprisingly, this wasnt enough to actually kill him, but, as a result of the trauma, the faux reality created through the Hidden Floors piss poor emtion of the Laws of Infinity and Nothingness immediately copsed. As a result, she was able to witness the ongoing battle between Izuna, how having fully summoned his Perfect Susanoo, and a rather cheeky-looking version of Vahn in his half-dragon transformation. Deciding it would be best to let Izuna get some actualbat experience, Madara briefly shifted her attention to her severed arm before extending her stump towards it. She had other forms of regeneration, but, as she had already activated her Rinnegan and Super Saiyan Transformation, the most energy-efficient was using the Asura Path to temporarily convert her body into a mechanical construct. This prevented even a single drop of blood from escaping her body, and, by converting her muscles into extendable nanofibers, she could extend them to seamlessly reattach her severed limb. Flexing her fingers a few times to make sure everything was in working order, Madaras annoyance continued to build as her opponent refused to take advantage of gaps she allowed in her defenses. She was even suppressing her sensory abilities to allow him to critically injure her, yet, as if he had seen through her intentions, no attacks came. Instead, her surroundings were strangely quiet as the version of Vahn she had cut to pieces began to suddenly dissolve away... Noticing this immediately, Madara couldnt help but click her tongue as she muttered, "These self-replicating cockroaches..." before begrudgingly sending a telepathic message to Yoruichi, asking, ("Is your side under attack as well?") Following a brief pause that caused Madaras eyes to naturally squint, the rather vivacious voice of Yoruichi spontaneously erupted in her mind, replying, ("What are you talking about? Dont tell me another assassin showed up!? Why do you get to have all the fun!?") Lamenting her inability to control the volume of voices within her mind, Madara lightly massaged her temples as she exined, ("Several Sworn Enemy versions of Vahn ambushed us. Im guessing they hid away the Viin in order to prevent us frompleting the Quest. If Im not wrong, their goals are to capture us or force us to manifest Sworn Enemies of our own. Secure the captive and make preparations for our return. They have the ability to make copies of themselves and one of them is particrly troublesome...") Though they had their differences, Madara knew that Yoruichi could be serious and professional when she needed to be. Thus, when no response came, even after several seconds, her expression gradually darkened as she asked, ("Did you lose the captive...?") --- Grimacing in response to Madaras follow-up question, Yoruichi exchanged looks with Ichigo and apologetically smiling Orihime before exhaling a sigh and answering, ("In our defense, this is Vahn were talking about. Even if theyre just copies, that boy can be remarkably sneaky when he wants to be. If they managed to avoid even your senses, what can you expect when we didnt even know we were under attack?") Without even a moments pause following her question, Yoruichi was forced to wince as Madaras voice loudly and sternly answered, ("How about some vignce in the wake of a sneak attack!? Thest attack wasnt even an hour ago, yet you three dunderheads have already dropped your guard? My disappointment is immeasurable.") Like a cat that just had its tail stepped on, Yoruichi red up in response to Madaras harsh words, shouting aloud, "Bite me, you egotistical asshole! If we remained in contact with the other teams and coordinated with Vahn, none of this would have happened! Now, get off your high horse and high tail it back here! Im dropping the Quest and contacting Vahn in fifteen minutes...!" Following Yoruichis outburst,plete silence could be heard from Madaras end. This caused the dark-skinned beauty to adopt a victorious smile, but, almost immediately thereafter, Ichigo pointed out, "Yoruichi...shouting loudly isnt how you send a telepathic message...I dont think Madara heard you..." Hearing Ichigos remark, a nigh-indiscernible blush tinted Yoruichis cheeks as she red at the duo standing together at the side. Their awkward smiles made things even worse, but, as if to add insult to injury, it was Madara calmly remarking, ("Izuna and I will be returning shortly. Without a viin, it is impossible toplete this Quest. Once we reach the Town of the Wandering Minstrels, we will contact Vahn to see what he has to say about this matter.") Imagining Madara with a smug smile on her face, Yoruichi couldnt help balling her hand into a fist as she silently muttered, "This is thest straw...I swear, when we get back into the Little Garden, Im going to surpass and defeat you. Well see how smug you are when I bury my foot into your fucking face..." Resisting the temptation to point out that she was, once again, speaking to herself, Ichigo turned to the awkwardly smiling Orihime and said, "We should quickly clean up. It seems like well be leaving pretty soon..." Nodding her head in agreement, Orihime made short work of returning all the pic items to her personal Inventory as Ichigo remained vignt of their surroundings. This was quickly noticed by Yoruichi, but, perhaps as a result of bing more cat-like with the passage of time, she simply harumphed in response before leaping to one of the tree branches so she could get a better view of the surroundings... --- Though she was a little disappointed by the fact that her counterpart did very little throughout the fight, Maschennys mood had improved considerably after witnessing the scenes of Vahn getting thrashed by Adori over and over again. Sure, her attacks might not have been effective in keeping him down, but, at the very least, it was pretty obvious that Vahn couldnt really do anything against her either. This gave her a few ideas about how she might defeat him, but, with her power far from the demonstrations witnessed in the Memory Projection, she would need to be exponentially stronger before making her move. Noticing the scheming glimmer in Maschennys eyes, Vahn resisted the urge to roll his own as he deactivated the Memory Projection and asked, "So? What do you think of your future self? She is quite famous among the Towers residents for her beauty and intelligence. Are you looking forward to maturing in a simr manner?" Frowning in response to Vahns words, Maschenny waved her hand in a dismissive manner as she said, "Bullshit. She might have an hourss figure, but her arms and legs look like twigs. And that dress? Who the fuck wears a dress to war? Seriously, the more I see her, the more I want to smack that bitch in the face. What Rank did you say she was?" Taken aback by Maschennys brashnguage, an awkward chuckle emanated from Vahns throat as he shook his head and answered, "If Im not mistaken, she should be Ranked 69 among the Towers current leaderboards...") After blinking a few times in surprise, Maschenny beganughing like an unruly schoolgirl, hand hugging her stomach as herughter echoed through the expansive chamber. This continued for nearly a full minute before she wiped away a tear from her eye and asked, "No, seriously, what is her rank? There is no way I would choose to stay at Rank 69. I mean, you have to know what that means, right?" Deadpanning in response to Maschennys taunting words, Vahn resisted the urge to boast about his experiences with the opposite sex. Instead, he just shrugged his shoulders, saying, "You can confirm it for yourself once you leave the Hidden Floor. The Towers Rankings arent exactly kept secret." Realizing that Vahn hadnt been messing with her, the frown returned to Maschennys face as she balled her hands into fists and muttered, "What the fuck happened after I got off the Hell Train? Did I get hit in the head with a brick...?" Shaking her head in response to her own mutterings, Maschenny promptly decided there was no sense in worrying about the reasons her real-world counterpart had gone astray. She would soon have a body of her own, and, given enough time, the only Maschennys anyone would be talking about are herself and her mother. With that in mind, she adopted a somewhat serious expression as she directed her electric-blue eyes to Vahn and asked, "How, exactly, are you going to get us out of here? Also, you promised to provide me power if I endeavored to be cute? To that end, what, exactly, can you provide me? You cant expect me to make an effort when I dont even know what it is Im trying to obtain, can you?" Recognizing the look in Maschennys eyes, Vahn shook his head for what felt like the hundredth time since he met the troublesome Princess. She was clearly going to cause trouble for him in the future, but, in spite of this, he still went on to exin what a Gigai was and the benefits of receiving his blessing. It helped that she had spent thest several hundred years within the Hidden Floor as it could be surprisingly difficult to exin the perks of a Quest System without having experienced something simr... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Madaras switch has been flipped...,Poor Yoruichi xD...,You cant forget that Data Maschenny is the same age as her real-world counterpart. They both be scheming...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1921 Countermeasures

Chapter 1921 Countermeasures

Though he hadrgely gotten used to such things, it wasnt long after his chat with Maschenny that Vahn had the physical body of the not-so-young girl lying atop a massage table with her pale white back exposed. Fortunately, while she had made a few impulsive and half-hearted remarks that were intended to rile him up, her desire for power prevented her from causing too much trouble. He also had a fair amount of experience with petite women, so, even when she sat up without even trying to cover herself, he wasrgely unaffected, exining, "It might take some getting used to, but that body should have a much higher affinity for Shinsu than your original. This will make things easier in the future, but you should avoid using self-destructive techniques like your Lightning Redan until you have be ustomed to your new body." Staring directly at Vahn during the exnation, Maschenny waited until he had finished speaking before asking, "Are you used to seeing little girls naked?" Adopting a somewhat stern expression, Vahn resisted the urge to give Maschennys head a chop as he said, "I have traveled various worlds and interacted with species who look like human children in their adulthood. Youre over 163cm tall and nearly a thousand years old. You might be petite, but it would take an extreme level of acting to convince anyone youre a child." Snorting through her nose, Maschenny hopped from the table in an effort to try and step closer. In response, Vahn gave the center of her forehead a not-so-gentle flick, adding, "Dont push your luck. It should have been obvious from my conversation with Eduan, but Im more than capable of seeing ascertaining your thoughts. Why do you think I added the sincerity use to our agreement? You are more than wee to umte power through your own efforts. If you expect me to provide you with extra resources and direct support, youll need to fix that venomous nature of yours. Dont think Ill just allow you to do as you please." Rubbing the visible bump on her forehead, Maschenny adopted a moderate pout as she said, "You are too violent. If you can really read my thoughts, you would know Im being sincere. I might not have any experience with rtionships and such, but there isnt anything I wouldnt do in order to obtain power. For all I know, youve ced all kinds of charms, enchantments, and failsafes in this body to prevent me from betraying you. Rather than bing something like a ve or a servant, I would rather take proactive measures to secure my position. I dont wish to waste the next several hundred years just trying to catch up to my counterpart inside the Tower. Tell me what I need to do to receive more power from you and Ill do it..." Despite ying the little girl card not even five minutes prior, Maschenny was now doing her best to appear alluring, eyes turned up as she reached out to tentatively touch Vahns chest. Before she could, however, thetter gingerly grabbed her wrist, a mncholic smile on his face as he said, "If you try your best, it is only a matter of time before you surpass the other Maschenny. Im not here to help you satiate your curiosities about the opposite sex, nor am I a convenient tool that can be used to increase your standing within the Tower. So long as you genuinely believe Im trying to use you, it will be impossible to close the distance between us." With that said, Vahn released Maschennys wrists before ruffling her hair and adding, "I remember a certain someone telling me to have some self-respect. You should consider following their advice." Clicking her tongue, Maschenny bat away Vahns hand before pulling the covering from the table, concealing her body as she said, "Fine, then. Well see how far trying my best gets me. So long as you provide me with the resources you promised, I wont cause any trouble. If my power doesnt increase quickly, however, dont expect me to remain silent...!" Rather than responding to Maschennys words, Vahn used Unit Management to call Scathach to his side while manifesting the Little Garden in his right hand. This caused Maschenny to startle slightly, but, recognizing the purple-d beauty as the one who hadpletely thrashed Asensio, a potent desire to do battle began swelling up inside of her. Unfortunately, though she would onlye to realize thister, she was about to be provided with ample opportunity to test her skills against the crimson-eyed beauty. Though it almost felt cruel to entrust her to Scathach, Vahn knew that Maschenny needed to be broken down and built up from scratch if she was to have any hope of redressing her bad habits and ill-tempered nature. She was the product of a remarkably wed system, and, after spending hundreds of years inside the Hidden Floor, she had be unbelievably obstinate. It would likely take years for her to be able to nondestructively socialize with others, but, before that, she needed to understand exactly where she stood inparison to everyone else within the Little Garden. To this end, Vahn gestured to Scathach, smiling as he said, "This is the Goddess of Spears, Runes, War, and ughter, Scathach. She will teach you about true spearmanship, something even your father has yet to achieve. If youplete her training, I can guarantee that few within the Tower will even be able toprehend your power, much less defend themselves against it." Hearing Vahn im that the presence-less woman before her was a greater Spear Bearer than her father, Maschenny couldnt help but frown. During the demonstrations in her childhood, she had seen her fatherpletely erase mountains with a casual flick of his wrist. He also gave off an aura that made him seem unreachable even when you were standing right next to him or sitting in hisp. Thus, while it had always been one of her goals to surpass her father, Maschenny had a difficult time believing anyone was even remotelyparable to him in terms of his skill with a spear. Smiling in response to Maschennys disbelief, Vahn extended his hand to caress Scathachs smooth hair and deceptively soft horns as he said, "Ill entrust this ones training to you. Help her get her to the point that she would be able to survive in the Seventh Layer without assistance for a year." Ignoring the gawking gaze of Maschenny, Scathach shamelessly nestled against Vahns palm, a faint smile on her face as she softly replied, "Understood..." before adding, "She doesnt seem to possess any real talent, but, if Master wishes it, I will turn her into a great warrior..." Though she never had ess to the Wisdom of the Haunted Ground, Scathach had tapped into and assimted a vast amount of knowledge and experience from her former self. Her [Pathfinder] and [Scathach] Innates also provided her considerable insight into the capabilities of others, so, in a manner simr to her original self, she could ascertain a persons talent with a single nce. As for why she imed Maschennycked talent, despite thetter being considered one of the Towers greatest prodigies, it wasrgely due to how little progress she had made despite having nearly a thousand years to refine her skills. Knowing nothing about the strange woman with curved horns and a dragon-like tail, Maschennys expression darkened considerably as she asked, "You say Ick talent? Im one of the youngest-" Before Maschenny could finish speaking, Scathach cooly interrupted her, stating, "People who cling to past glory are just making excuses for their ipetence. If you want to prove me wrong, do so during our training. Now,e. The current you is so painfully weak that Im afraid you might die if someone identally bumps into you." Without waiting for Maschennys response, Scathach appeared behind her with such extreme speed that a near-perfect afterimage persisted in her original location. Then, with a swift chop to the neck, Maschenny was out like a light, her body going limp as Scathach effortlessly ced the topless girl onto her shoulder. This caused Vahns smile to turn somewhat wry, but, rather than saying anything, he just allowed the new Master-Disciple duo to return to the Little Garden before exhaling a sigh in their absence... --- Though it took longer than Madara would have liked, Izuna eventually managed to defeat the version of Vahn he was faced against due to thetter being unable to use any potentially fatal attacks. This provided them a nigh-absolute advantage during battles, but, as the defeated Vahns were most certainly just clones, dissolving away after sustaining substantial injuries, securing a finite victory was going to be difficult. Fortunately, as troublesome as they were, the Sworn Enemies were still a far cry from the original. Thus, with the exception of a few of the weaker and more passive residents of the Little Garden, it wouldnt take much effort to defeat them. The only real danger was that the Sworn Enemies would try and draw things out by turning the conflict into a war of attrition. There was also a chance that they might resort to one of Vahns most troublesome techniques, using their clones as exceptionally powerful suicide bombers. Before things could get further out of hand, Madara was intending to suggest that everyone swiftly retreats from the Hidden Floor. She was far from being afraid, but, considering who her opponents were, they were ultimately fighting a battle that simply couldnt be won. Vahn wasnt exactly known for fighting fair against his enemies, and, while he would happily face them directly, there was never a time when he didnt have some kind of backup n. Though the notion of battling against an army of Vahn clones was rather tantalizing, Madara could just as easily fight against the real Vahn if she wanted a challenge. Thus, rather than allowing things to escte further, she had her group retreat to the Town of the Wandering Minstrels before finally informing Vahn of the situation. This caught thetter by surprise, not because he was unaware of the Sworn Enemy versions of himself, but because they had targetted Madaras group rather than attempting to kidnap Ryun and Ai. Realizing that their primary intent must have been to recover the body of the Big Breeder that was almost assuredly Yuras brother, Vahn decided it was for the best that everyone regroups before the enemy could get a better grasp of the situation. It was obvious at this point that the Sworn Enemies were working together, so, at the very least, he wanted to implement a few failsafes and reorganize the teams so that no idents urred. Fortunately, as was often the case, the system shop had quite a number of solutions to aid them in any future confrontations. This included a number of weapons with the ability [Data Drain], a rather unique ability that had the effect of irreversibly corrupting and ultimately erasing Data Constructs and other Digitalized Entities. This effect had been stringently studied by Da Vinci for the purpose of eliminating Cyber Demons and God Programs within the Virtual World, so, while it was a little underhanded to rely on such weapons so early on, Vahn wasnt particrly concerned with fairness when it came to eliminating people targeting his friends, family, and loved ones. Since it would be disastrous to allow the weapons to fall into the hands of the Sworn Enemies, Vahn made sure they were Soulbound and limited them to one per team. As an additional failsafe, every member of the party was given a trigger that could remotely detonate the weapon if it turned out that, simr to himself, the Sworn Enemies could ignore the restrictions of Soulbound equipment by emting the wielder. If this ended up being the case, everyone below Tier 5 would retreat to the Little Garden, as, from that moment onward, it would be far too dangerous for anyone with a Zanpakuto to face them. Though he had limited sess during his own experiments, Vahn was pretty sure he could forcibly wield the Zanpakuto of other people. This would, however, ce an extreme burden on the original wielders Ego, so much so that it might fracturepletely after prolonged use. If the Hidden Floor was somehow able to replicate this ability, anyone beneath the absolute pinnacle of Tier 4 would be in extreme danger. Inversely, anyone above had absolutely nothing to worry about, as, the moment an enemy tried to forcibly wrest away the Zanpakuto of a higher-tiered Soul, they were in for a very bad time. Eduan was the perfect example of this, and, were it not for the artifact that was sealed in his right arm, he likely would have self-destructed during his attempt to steal Rho... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "Youre twice my age, you damn granny...!",Scathach about to learn ya (O w O)...,Tri-Edge would like to know your location...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1922 Discourse

Chapter 1922 Discourse

As yet another countermeasure against the encroachment of the Sworn Enemies, Vahn, and several others spent the better part of a day erecting a massive barrier around the entirety of the Town of the Wandering Minstrels. There was a good chance this waspletely unnecessary, but, as the trio of Vahns had demonstrated, they werent against bending the rules of their programming. Fortunately, while they were generated in such a way that their skills were eerily reminiscent of his own, the ount of Madara proved that the Hidden Floor couldnt replicate things it didnt actually understand. This included various Laws, and, most importantly, anything rted to foreign magical systems. After all, if the systems administering the Hidden Floor had the ability to deconstruct and emte any energy system, the Workshop would long-discovered countless means to get around the requirement of Shinsu within the Tower. The only downside was, due to its inability to make sense of the energy being used, things like Ki, Chakra, and Magical Energy didnt function at full capacity within the Hidden Floor. This was where Vahn came into the picture, as, regardless of whether or not he was in a real or digital world, Source Energy had no limitations. It allowed him to effectively ignore the systems restrictions, and, thanks to Sis efforts, they were able to reinforce the security around the town and make it inessible to specific types of entities within the system. This included Sworn Enemies, so, unless they were even more ridiculous than expected, the town was virtually inessible and functionally impervious to all forms of damage associated with enemy programs. With the Town of the Wandering Minstrels serving as their garrison, teams were, once again, able to venture out into the Hidden Floor proper. Unlike before, however, they were tasked with providing periodic updates, and, every time theypleted 3-5 stages, they needed to report back in person. This would drastically extend the amount of time it took toplete their objectives, but, as time was on their side, stalling wasnt necessarily a bad thing. It gave Sis the opportunity toplete her takeover of the Hidden Floors systems, and, most importantly, allowed Vahn to venture out without having to worry too much about the safety of those defending the garrison. It was only after these measures were fully implemented that Vahn returned to the Pce of Spears, his mood soured but not to the extent that he was at risk ofshing out at anyone. He was annoyed by the fact that Eduan hadnt bothered to seek him out, even after Maschenny had effectively been missing for the better part of a day. Sure, she might not be in any actual danger, but he could have at least sent Asensio or Icardi to ask how things were going. They literally had mirrors that allowed them to move freely throughout the Hidden Floor, so there was really no excuse for their negligent behavior... Finding himself in the banquet hall adjacent to the throne room, Vahns expression morphed into a deadpan as he saw the trio seated around the table with Eduan rxedly enjoying a bowl of grapes. To make matters even worse, the man immediately offered an amused, stain-toothed, smile as he raised his hand and said, "Yo! I was wondering when you were going to return. You sure took your sweet time. Did you have fun ying around with Maschenny?" Raising his hand in a slow-motion manner that paradoxically left no opportunity for others to react, a massive pir of golden energy erupted from Vahns hand, disintegrating the table and smashing into the pin-eyed Eduan in an instant. When the light faded away, a perfectly cylindrical tunnel had formed through the banquet hall, extending into and through the mountain upon which the Pce was built. This left Asensio and Icardi at aplete loss, the formers mouth opening and closing as if he wanted to say something but couldnt. Gesturing for the duo to rx, Vahn pulled out a chair from his Inventory as a peculiar green hue spread through the area. Immediately thereafter, the flow of time seemed to reverse for everything except Vahn, his chair, and the increasingly stupefied duo. As a result, the table and everything on it werepletely restored, yet, in spite of this, Eduan was nowhere to be seen. It was only after the manifestation of arge circr mirror that the unamused Khun made an appearance, asking, "Was that really necessary? You need to learn how to take a joke." With a rtively rxed expression on his face, Vahn shook his head in response to Eduans words, saying, "Even if she isnt your actual daughter, such crass remarks arepletely tasteless. Rather than telling me what I ought to do, perhaps you should pay better attention to the words spewing out of your mouth. Though I can be pretty easy-going at times, that changes rather quickly when it concerns children and being a good parent. I wont force you to act like a decent father, but sure as hell wont get away with making such remarks in my presence." Though he was highly tempted to give Vahn a taste of his own medicine, Eduan could tell there was something bothering the man, so, rather than immediately resorting to violence, he took a seat and asked, "What crawled up your ass and died?" Rather than answering, Vahn just shook his head before saying, "I recentlypleted the process of transferring Maschennys ego to a physical body. She is currently training under the tutge of one of my most skilled and trusted allies. Though I imagine her progress will be slow in the beginning, it should only take about a year or two before she is around your level." Raising his brows, Eduan resisted the urge to grab a handful of grapes, saying, "Thats a rather bold im. That brat certainly has talent, but I cant imagine her getting anywhere near my level through her own efforts. I also cant see you providing her with power beyond her temperament. She would literally self-destruct if given too much. That girls ambitions far outstrip her growth..." After watching over Maschenny for hundreds of years, Eduan was confident he knew the troubled Princess better than she knew herself. He had seen countless people like her throughout the years, and, were it not for the circumstances of her birth and the support of many others, she would have been squashed long before she rose to prominence. Nobody liked an entitled upstart, and, based on what he had learned of his own family, standing out before you obtained power was the same as nting a massive target on your back. The only reason Maschenny had survived was that she was the first-born daughter of his counterparts favorite wife, a remarkable beauty that shared the same name. Understanding Eduans thoughts, quite literally, Vahn couldnt help but nod his head, saying, "You would be right...at least, under normal circumstances. We do things a little different in the Aldrnari Empire, so, unless she gives up on herself, it is only a matter of time before Maschenny bes a powerhouse without equal. My people have also deconstructed the enchantment ced upon the Rice Pot, so, once she is ready, Maschenny will also be able to undergo Revolution." Blinking in surprise, Eduan sat a little straighter in his chair as he asked, "You managed to crack one of the Workshops enchantments? The Hell Train and Rice Pot were created under the supervision of Macseth himself. Youre telling me you have people capable of analyzing and emting one of the Workshops greatest masterpieces in what, six months? I find that pretty hard to believe, even if you seem to be telling the truth..." Resisting the urge to chortle in response to Eduans suspicion, Vahn did the exact opposite of the former, leaning back in his chair as he said, "As someone who has experienced Revolution, you are wee to confirm it for yourself. Truth be told, the Workshops understanding of magical systems is extremely shallowpared to the standards of the Aldrnari Empire. There are people on my end capable of creatings, stars, and even universes if given enough time. As for the Workshop, it has be too deeply embroiled in the politics of the Tower. At this rate, it is only a matter of time before the organization destroys itself from the inside. An appropriate end for a group irreversibly tainted by Jahads ideals and ambitions..." Frowning deeply in response to Vahns words, Eduan leaned forward with his elbows on the table as he asked, "If you have people on your side with that much power, what reason do you have to enter the Hidden Floor? Whats preventing you from just rushing up the Tower and breaking through the top floor right this instant?" Leaning forward to meet the mans gaze, Vahns expression and tone became serious as he stated, "Questions like that prove just how ignorant you and the other Great Warriors are. You see, there are Laws that govern each reality, and, while it is possible for those with substantial power to bend them, circumventing them is another matter entirely. This is where the misconception that only an Axis User can defeat another Axis User originates. In reality, the only thing that matters is authority. Chung is a good example of this. He is remarkably weak as a person, yet, when provided with the authority of a Big Breeder, he is practically a God amongst normal Data Humans. Another example is the Tower itself. Without rules and Laws that heavily favor Irregrs, do you really think you, Jahad, and the other Great Warriors could have risen to prominence in such a short period of time? No, you were aided by the system and provided an absurd number of advantages thanks to the Workshop. If you had existed in a different reality, one where you were not favored by the Laws and Fate, even a child incapable of doing a single push-up might be able to erase you with a snap of their fingers. You can argue all you like, but, considering you have a pill that can literally format the entirety of the Hidden Floor on your person, anything you might say would only make you seem a greater fool." Resenting Vahns admonishing tone, thick bands of lightning began to emanate from Eduans body even as his mind rationalized the formers words. He found that he couldnt really deny what Vahn was saying, as, prior to the creation of the Hidden Hidden Floor, he had enjoyed the authority of a system administrator. He used to be able to freely create people, generate terrain, and control the weather with a few simplemands, so, while it was hard to imagine something simr urring in the real world, it wasnt impossible. For all he knew, the Tower was just a simtion created by an Axis User, as, based on what Vahn had revealed about Higher Realms, he could be certain that someone or something was in control. With the lightning gradually dying down, Eduans expression became serious as he said, "Very well then...I will choose to believe your words. As you said, there is no sense in arguing when I have the option of confirming things for myself. How about you produce my daughter and then exin the process of how we can acquire bodies of our own? Isnt that the reason you came here?" Rxing into his chair, Vahns severe expression melted away as he nodded his head and exined, "Thats one of the reasons. Before that, I wanted to ask how your little meeting with Jahad went. Im curious to see whether or not you will tell the truth or try to keep things hidden." As Vahn had already revealed his ability to know a persons thoughts, Eduan wasnt surprised by the sudden mention of his liaison with Jahad. He actually thought this was the reason for Vahns anger, so, without hesitation, he revealed, "Yeah, we had a few drinks together. What of it? If you really do possess the ability to read a persons thoughts, you should be able to confirm that I didnt say or do anything that could be misconstrued as betraying our partnership. If anything, I tried lending you a hand by convincing him to meet you directly. I figure, the faster we wrap things up here, the sooner I can return to the Tower and stretch my legs. That should be what you want as well, right?" Though the ount wasnt entirely urate, Vahn chose not to press the matter as he manifested the Little Garden and checked on Maschennys status. Unsurprisingly, he found the girl beaten and bloody at the end of a ditch formed from her own crashnding. Thus, rather than calling her out, he sent Scathach a telepathic message to clean her up before returning his attention to Eduan and saying, "It will take a few minutes for them to wrap up their training session. Until then, Ill exin the procedure of transnting your Ego into a Gigai and the benefits associated with epting my Blessing as the God of Infinite Possibilities..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sauce Energy wins the day~,Doctor Octogonopus! aaaaah~!,Buying time to hide the evidence xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1923 Parallel Race Against Time

Chapter 1923 Parallel Race Against Time

Following a rather long exnation, primarily to give Maschenny a few days to dpress, Vahn demonstrated the process of transnting a persons Ego into a physical body using Asensio as his test subject. Icardi followed shortly after that, but, as could be expected, Eduan refused to undergo the process until matters on the Hidden Floor had been resolved. He didnt openly state his reasons for this, but, with a pill capable of formating the entire floor in his possession, it was pretty clear he was holding onto it just in case something went wrong. Considering he had spent thest six-thousand-years biding his time in preparation for such an event, Vahn wasnt particrly surprised by Eduans decision. The man had a sense of responsibility far removed from his original self, and, though there were innumerable parallels between them, the two drastically differentiated in demeanor and resolution. After all, thetter had ultimately be one of the notoriously perverse and apathetic people in the entire Tower, so much so that he didnt seem to care about anything other than the women he had briefly taken an interest in. Data Eduan, however, had thousands of years to contemte the drastic changes in his former friends behavior, and, after the deletion of the other Great Warriors, he livedrgely in istion as children belonging to his real-world counterpart sought him out in an effort to prove themselves. Despite his despicable behavior and careless way of speaking, Vahn was well aware of the fact that Data Eduan still cared about his would-be children. Whether or not he loved them, however, was a matter up for debate. After all, they were effectively strangers to him prior to their entrance into the Hidden Floor and their subsequent attempt to kill him; so, if anything, it would be more urate to say he felt partly responsible for his counterparts failings as a father. Though he had many reasons for wanting to leave the Hidden Floor, Data Eduans primary goal was to ascertain what transpired to make his original self into the man he was today. He simply couldnt ept that thetter had abandoned their ambitions to be the head of a dysfunctional family that predominately resented him. He also took offense to the fact that his counterpart had given up fighting for hobbies such as collecting artifacts and gallivanting around the higher floors in search of women and other forms of entertainment. This was a stark contrast to the expectations he had for himself, as, despite his belief that capable men could have multiple wives, he also believed that a mans primary purpose in life was setting an example for future generations and guaranteeing the integrity of their legacy. With how long-lived the people of the Tower could be, Eduan wasnt particrly surprised to learn that his real-world counterpart had more than a hundred wives. This was basically like picking up a new wife every sixty or so years, and, while that might not be a considerably long period of time for an immortal, it was a literal lifetime for a normal person. The problem was, rather than simply siring children with his wives, his counterpart in the real world didnt seem to care who his partner was. Far more troublesome, however, was the fact that there were people conducting pilgrimages to the Hidden Floor who were his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren at the same time. The implications behind this were rather maddening, so, at the very least, Data Eduan wouldnt be content until he had slugged his original self in the face at least once... --- Though it wasnt exactly a pressing matter, Vahn was beginning to grow annoyed with the fact they hadnt encountered a single Sworn Enemy after the previous incidents. To make matters worse, it was like the Big Breeders had simply disappeared, and, as far as Sis could tell, most of the residents of the Hidden Floor had vanished along with them. This was confirmed by an rming increase in the number of unrendered regions, areas of the Hidden Floor that effectively ceased to exist due to theck of an observer... Thinking about reasons why his faux selves would systematically move the residents of the Hidden Floor, the only thing Vahn coulde up with was that they were nning to effectively erase the entire thing. They seemed to understand that it was impossible for them to directly eliminate their respective targets, so, rather thanmit to a direct engagement, they seemed intent on relocating as many residents as possible before forcibly ejecting everyone present via a reset. This would make the Hidden Floor inessible for up to a year, and, as a result, those responsible for administrating the system would have ample opportunity to develop countermeasures and bolster security. In other words, while they still had time, it was bing increasingly apparent that Sis intrusions into the Hidden Floors systems hadnt gone unnoticed. More specifically, it was him asking her to perform a number of unauthorized functions and his theft of a Big Breeders Command Key that set the current events in motion. No system administrator in their right mind would simply ignore these kinds of developments, so, after failing to take Madaras team hostage, the solution they hade up with seemed to be ejecting everyone currently on the floor. Needless to say, Vahn wasnt particrly amused by this turn of events. Sure, he could relocate the Hell Train to the Little Garden and make a year pass in the blink of an eye, but it would still require them actually entering toplete their objectives. The mirrors that formed the two Hidden Floors werent exactly normal artifacts, and, while they emted Quantum-tier Super Computers, this was primarily the result of changes Gustang had made from within the sub-dimensional space. Because of this, it was virtually impossible to make changes from the outside without destroying the interior system and everything within. While it might not matter in the grand scheme of things, Vahn had never been the type of person to simply move on from a situation where he had decided to take action. Thus, while everyone else had been focusing on pleting the Hidden Floor, the majority of his efforts were dedicated to protecting the Town of the Wandering Minstrels while Sis attempted to utilize the Command Key to create a bridge between the two Hidden Floors. Unfortunately, without something to serve as an anchor on the other side, hacking into the Hidden Hidden Floor using the Command Key was like trying to ess the files on aptop that had its wifi card removed. There was nothing to receive the signal, and, as a result of the failsafes built into the system, even the Big Breeders could only use the Command Key whilst inside the Hidden Floor. This was to prevent them from making changes within the Hidden Hidden Floor, a sacred and restricted area that was only intended for Jahad and the families of the Great Warriors. Still, for the Big Breeders to have ess to the Command Key within the Hidden Floor, there had to be something connecting them. Thus, while it was like looking for a single needle within a universe filled with hay, it was only a matter of time before Sis discovered a path or took over the entirety of the Hidden Floor. After that, the only option their enemies could take would be separating the two floors, but, with both mirrors being located in reality, this was impossible without external support. To this end, Vahn was rxing at the edge of arge mineral onsen, his eyes somewhat zed over as he viewed countless streams of data across multiple disys that only he could see. His ability to trante and understand all forms ofnguage allowed him to interpret this data as actual words and images, so, while Sis was doing the bulk of the heavy lifting, he was closely monitoring regions of the Hidden Floor for any signs of Sworn Enemies or other anomalous events. Unfortunately, the only thing he had discovered thus far were istedmunities formed from the Data of Regrs who had previously conquered the Hell Train. Though there were exceptions to the rule, most of themunities Vahn had discovered were, forck of a better descriptive, horribly fucked up. The inability to proactively grow stronger,bined with an environment that was as inhospitable as it was boring had led to the Data of many Regrs either losing their minds or deviating so far from the light that they were practically monsters. This resulted in all kinds of monstrousmunities being formed, and, unless you were strong, it meant bing subservient to oppressors who would readily kill you knowing you would simply respawn at ater date. Immortality, for those who were unprepared orcked purpose, was a vicious curse that could turn even the most saintly individuals into horrendous monsters. The size of the Hidden Floor also made it exceptionally difficult to encounter other Data Humans, so, whenever groups did meet, the stronger among the two almost always attempted to absorb the weaker. The only way to avoid a fate where you ended up as someones immortal ve was to escape, but, as a result, you might find yourself alone for hundreds of years without meeting a single person. The crux of the matter was that the Data of Regrs who hadpleted the Hidden Floor were barred ess to the regions designated as Stages. Had they not been, those who had treated the Hidden Floor like a yground would have continued doing so. This would have resulted in the establishment of amunity where the strong ruthlessly suppressed the weak, and, unless they were inordinately powerful, anyone venturing into the Hidden Floor, rather than finding rewards, would find themselves at the mercy of excessively bored and opportunistic individuals. This was perhaps the greatest failing of the Hidden Floor whenpared to systems such as the Virtual World and Eternal Sphere. The former focused too heavily on the idea of perpetuity and preserving the data of those that ventured within such that it effectively became an inescapable Hell for the data left behind. This was a stark contrast to theter systems, which, for the sake of ensuring things were as realistic as possible, ounted for the life, death, evolution, and even sickness. This had allowed the residents of the Eternal Sphere to literally evolve to the point that they were able to escape the confines of the system, and, while the Virtual World wasnt quite at that point, it was only a matter of time before some of the entities within developed Egos of their own. Fortunately, Vahn had been able to experience both the Hidden Floor and the Eternal Sphere, so, while he had yet to find a perfect solution, he had a much better understanding of the changes that needed to be introduced to the Virtual World in order to ensure its stability. There was a very real chance that it would serve as an example for every reality under his governance in the future, so, before he ascended to be a Tier 7 entity, he was resolved to work out as many kinks as possible. For now, however, his main focus was searching for signs of his other selves while doing his best to systematically eliminate Data Humans who had ventured too far down the path of what any sensible person would consider evil. This was the reason for the zed look in his eyes, as, with very few exceptions, most of the Data Humans he had stumbled upon had be more monster than man or woman... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I kind of feel bad for Data Eduan. Imagine someoneing from the future and telling you that they are not only your child, by your great-grandchild...thats a mega oof...,Sis is working hard for that MVP title...,The curse of immortality and infinite respawns...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1924 Resolution : Reprieve : Retrea

Chapter 1924 Resolution : Reprieve : Retrea

With his arms crossed and the makings of a grim expression on his face, Data Jahad spent hours standing silently within the middle of a vast array of mirrors. These allowed him to view events that were urring in both Hidden Floors, but, due to his other abilities, this was actually one of the first times he was using them. Seeing the scenes of multiple Data Humans effectively being erased, Data Jahads mood continued to diminish as he quietly uttered, "You wont aplish anything by being afraid to get your hands dirty...a true ruler does not allow their emotions to govern their actions..." Shaking his head, Data Jahad performed a sweeping gesture to dismiss the thousands of mirrors that had been orbiting his body. Almost immediately thereafter, his surroundings began to darken as a massive tear appeared in the sky above, its interior cker than the abyss until several figures emerged from within. Without saying anything, Data Jahad raised his right hand to create a basketball-sized Baang that resembled liquid gold as five simr Baangs formed an arch behind him. In response, several of the intruders adopted wry smiles as the one standing at the front of the formation raised his hands in a disarming gesture, asking, "Do you need to be so testy each time we meet? Arent we supposed to be on the same side?" Though he had no intention of responding to the question, a somewhat raspy and feral-sounding voice cut in before Jahad could reasonably respond, asking, "Why are you wasting words on this idiot? Just get to the point." Adopting an even wrier smile, the most amicable-looking member of the virtually indistinguishable group rubbed the back of his head, saying, "Hey now...theres no need for such hostility. I mean, we all have the same objective. If we begin fighting amongst ourselves, theres no way well be able to defeat the original. Besides, that grumpy look doesnt suit you..." Issuing a low growl in response to the mans final words, the scantily d beauty with midnight blue hair and crimson-colored eyes red, not at the speaker, but Jahad as she grumbled, "You made Master scold me..." Apanying the grumbling remark, a tremendous amount of bloodlust began to fill the arena upon which the group stood. At the same time, ayer of eerie ck ice quickly spread throughout the area, drastically reducing the surrounding temperature before king away and dissolving into the atmosphere. This was the true reason Data Jahad had prepared Baangs, as, whenever the feral-looking woman arrived with her entourage, things never ended peacefully. In near-perfect concert with each other, the five people surrounding the unhinged beauty called out, "Fenrir...!" in stern yet concerned voices. This caused the aura of the woman to fluctuate quite a bit, the glow in her eyes fading for a brief moment as she shifted her gaze to the closest among the group, asking, "What?" Feeling a little like a trapped mouse, the version of Vahn facing Fenrirs gaze awkwardly extended his hand to caress her bristly, needle-like, fur as he uttered, "Just leave this to us...you dont need to waste your time and energy on someone like this..." With her pupils contracting into thin lines, Fenrir flexed her paws open and closed as she resisted the urge to bite the hand currently caressing her. Unfortunately, her restraint didnt hold out long, as, momentster, a growling could be heard from her stomach that caused the Vahn before her to adopt a resigned smile as awkwardughter emanated from his throat... Returning a toorge smile of her own, all of Fenrirs razor-sharp teeth could be seen prior to her opening her mouth far wider than anyone should be able to. At the same time, anomalous ck energy radiated from her body, enveloping the still-smiling Vahn in an instant. Despite this, it didnt obscure his form in the slightest, almost as if the inky-ck substance was perfectly transparent. As a result, everyone present was able to see the Vahn, along with the ground he had been standing on, simply vanish the moment Fenrirs jaws snapped shut... Using her paw to suppress a small burp, the vibrant red glow in Fenrirs eyes began to rapidly fade away as rity returned to their depths. This allowed the realization of what she had done to wash over her, but, before she could get too stressed out, three more Vahns appeared at her side, each attempting to console her as their final counterpart turned to Jahad and said, "It is bing more difficult to evade observation and capture. If we dont do something soon, the battle might be over before it even begins." Though it was impossible to follow his line of sight due to his three-eyed visor, Jahad continued to closely monitor Fenrir as he calmly replied, "I have already allowed you to seek refuge in the Hidden Hidden Floor. Are you now expecting me to fight at your behest?" Frowning in response to Jahads words, the amicable-version of Vahn adopted a serious tone as he said, "The Hidden Floors are your responsibility. The limitations of the system prevent us from using even a fraction of the power were supposed to possess. At this rate, it is only a matter of time until we lose the ability to even flee. Are you just going to continue idling about here like amb waiting to be ughtered!?" Without any discernible changes in expression, Jahad smoothly pivoted to face Vahn as he calmly stated, "I do not fear fate. Just as I epted my destiny as King, I will meet my end with dignity. Tell me, what is it that you are so afraid of? You keep a monster in your midst yet fear the very man you are supposed to emte? From what I can see, you are a group of cowards fighting against an end you believe impossible to ovee. Rather than shame myself in what might very well be my final moments, I will continue to uphold my dignity until the end. That is what is expected from one with the qualifications to be King of the Tower..." Snorting through his nose, the not-so-amicable version of Vahn manifested a katana out of thin air before slicing towards the sky and creating a ck void more than one-hundred meters across. This caught the attention of his other selves, each in the midst of massaging or brushing a different part of Fenrirs body. This caused the petite beauty to immediately adopt an angry snarl, her contented look fading in an instant as she directed her gleaming gaze to Jahad and asked, "If you arent going to help, what point is there in keeping you around?" For the first time since the start of the encounter, Jahads expression changed to disy a snaggle-toothed smile as he remarked, "If you possessed the strength to defeat me, you would not be here petitioning my support. Rather than wasting my time with threats and posturing, why dont you just attack? I am, after all, just one man. You have an army on your side. What are you afraid of...?" With her hair standing on end and the sharpness of her fangs continually increasing, Fenrir leaned forward menacingly as she asked, "You think Fenrir is afraid of you...? Fenrir...Fenrir fears nothing...!" Before she could blitz Jahad and attempt to take a bite out of him, shining golden chains appeared to intercept her. This caused the glow of her eyes to be even more prominent, but, before her emotional state could be even more unstable, one of the versions of Vahn suddenly pulled her into a princess carry, his voice calm and soothing as he said, "Come now...there is no need to waste your energy on this fool. For now, why dont we return to the pce and have a bit of fun? Besides, eating this asshole would only cause you indigestion..." Though she could be extremely aggressive at other times, the Data Vahns had learned that Fenrir could be remarkably docile whenever she was held like a princess. She would even shrink slightly, her already petite form bing almost child-like as she obediently nodded her head and said, "Okay..." in a demure tone. In turn, this caused affectionate smiles to appear on the faces of every Vahn present, their expressions softening as Jahad, now bereft of a smile, stood silently at the side... --- Deciding to take a break from systematically purging the more cancerous elements of the Hidden Floor, Vahn returned to the Little Garden to spend some quality time with his children. This involved ying hide and seek with Naruto, teaching Hana how to inscribe simple runes onto her traps, and, after everything else was finished, retiring to Arceus Realm to check on its development and spend some time with the most troublesome of his current children... With Arceus standing stoically in the background with a slight smile on her face, Vahn couldnt help but adopt a wry one of his own as more than a dozen toddlers with pale-pink hair, light-blue eyes, and horns reminiscent of cat ears used his body as a jungle gym. They also had long pink tails, the ends of which were slightly bulbous, that served as both an appendage and a sensory organ. They used said organ to poke and prod anything they were interested in, and, though he didnt mind it too much, Vahn couldnt help by smile wryly as his entire face was covered in the inordinately soft appendages. Waiting until they had finished their investigation, Vahn pulled out a series of macaroon-like sweets known as Poke Puffs, presenting them to the squealing group of toddlers as he mused, "Youll have to share..." Before he could even finish speaking, all but one of the pink-haired toddlers vanished amidst puffs of pink smoke as thest remaining representative cupped their hands together with a radiant smile on their face. Resisting the urge tough, Vahn adopted a smile as he lightly smacked his left thigh, encouraging the yful toddler to take a seat before handing over the box of Poke Puffs and gently ruffling their hair. In response, the androgynous-looking scamp wiggled away from his touch, lying across hisp and giggling with one of the macaroon-like treats held against their mouth with both hands. Poking their exposed belly, Vahn managed to elicit a few ticklish giggles from the pink-haired youth before they resorted to smacking him in the face with their soft and squishy tail. This caused Arceus to immediately teleport over, but, before she could say anything, he motioned for her to calm down as he said, "Theyre just ying around...isnt that right, Mew?" Snickering in response, Mew used the end of their tail to lightly poke his cheek, the bulb of their tail intending more than the flesh of his face. This caused Arceus to release a tired sigh, but, rather than say anything, she opted to take a seat next to Vahn before leaning her head against his shoulder. In response, he nted a light kiss on top of her head before wrapping his hand around her waist and using his free hand to pick up a Poke Puff. Mew seemed to take exception to this, but, with several more Poke Puffs appearing out of thin air, they quickly regained their smile before happily nibbling their current snack in a manner reminiscent of a small animal... --- With the passage of time in the Fifth Layer being roughly ten times that of Standard Axis, nearly two months had passed since Maschenny began her hellish training beneath Scathach. In that time, she had experienced innumerable near-death experiences, and, though she wasntpletely sure, she felt as though seven of those experiences had actually resulted in her death. Despite this, she would always wake up several hourster, her previous wounds nowhere to be seen as the fragrant aroma of delicious food tickled her nostrils. Desperate for sustenance, Maschenny dismissed with manners entirely as she used her bare hands to effectively shovel food into her mouth. When it came to her current Shishou, everything was a test, so, if she didnt hurry, there was a very real chance she would miss the opportunity to replenish her reserves. This would leave her without the energy to perform well during her training, and, as a result, pain unlike anything she had experienced prior would be her reward. Waiting until the near-feral Princess had finished her meal, Scathach stepped out of the void with a gleaming red spear in hand. This caused Maschenny to immediately tense up, but, rather than stay statuesque, she promptly scooped up what remained of her meal before dodging to the side and rolling across the ground. Then, like a street urchin fleeing from a market stall, a state emphasized by her poor state of dress, she bolted from the scene with her cheeks puffed out, chewing madly as she evaded numerous strikes without even needing to look back... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Mikuni vs Jennifer vibes...,(O w O)!?,*AWOLNATION - Run theme begins ying*) (A/N: Sorry about yesterday. I think I tried pushing myself a bit too soon. Ill keep aiming for 3 chapters a day, but they will be released over a longer period of time. Also, the first chapters of the EPIC side story wille out on Friday. Shortly after that, the first poll will also be posted.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1925 Lurking

Chapter 1925 Lurking

With nothing of note happening, even after an entire week, Vahns interest in the Hidden Floor was rapidly diminishing. He was starting to question why they were even there, and, were it not for the promises he made to people like Daniel and Yura, he might have given the order to retreat. Instead, he did his best to remain patient whilst alleviating his boredom through reinforcing the Town of the Wandering Minstrels and renovating the facilities mostmonly used by his people. Unfortunately, as was often the case, doing busy work ultimately resulted in him feeling even more annoyed during the moments when he had nothing to do. In an effort to remedy his frustrations, Vahn had been spending an ever-increasing amount of time watching over the progress of the other groups. The eight months he had spent watching over the progress of his Temte had primed him to do the same with others; and,pared to looking for vile and despicable people to erase, it was a lot more interesting watching the intery between his friends, family, and loved ones. Though he believed he knew them quite well, Vahn found it both strange and refreshing to see how differently everyone acted when he wasnt around. It was almost like they werepletely different people, when, in reality, they were simply demonstrating the parts of their characters they generally kept hidden when he was around. Fortunately, while there were some notable tensions among specific individuals, Vahn was able to see there was no real animosity between them. Instead, they seemed to be silentlypeting with each other, not for any particr prize, but to demonstrate their capabilities and prove something to themselves. In particr, Vahn enjoyed watching the interactions between Team Saberface, and, to a lesser extent, the intery between people such as Madara, Yoruichi, and the members of Fenrirs pack. Thetter gave off the impression of a very hard-working group, but, due to the quirks of each of its members, watching over them always brought a smile to his face... Sensing the approach of a guest, Vahn momentarily ceased his spying, saying, "Its open." before the person on the opposite side could knock. This led to a somewhat awkward silence, but, after a few seconds had passed, he was unsurprised to see the face of Mikoto peeking in, asking, "Are you busy?" Considering he had been lounging in an oversized beanbag whilst spying on the group consisting of Fenrir, Illya, Atnta, Ryun, and Ai, Vahn could only offer a wry smile as he answered, "No...I was just keeping my eye on a few things. Is there something you needed from me...?" Seeing Vahns figure half-buried in a leaf-green bean bag, Mikotos surprise prevented her from immediately responding to his words. As a result, Vahns smile morphed into one of amusement as he performed a e hither gesture and said, "If youre bored, we can watch some anime. Im sure we can find a version of your Record of origin that doesnt involve a version of you being yed by Touma." As was often the case when she was embarrassed, Mikotos face immediately became beet red, her ahoge releasing sparks as she shouted, "I told you to stop saying things like that! You...you stupid dummyhead...!" Rather than responding directly, Vahn simply manifested one of the countless Memory Projection Orbs that currently littered his Inventory before adjusting his position in the bean bag. This caused Mikoto to inte her cheeks and adopt a look that was equal parts indignant and adorable, but, as the purpose of her visit had actually been to see if Vahn wanted to spend some time together back in the Little Garden, she ultimately deted before transforming into her Pikachu form and running over to his side. With the adorable pokemon seated in hisp, Vahn adjusted his position a second time so that they could recline backfortably before surprising Mikoto quite a bit by bringing his left hand to rest on her squishy, soft, and furry underbelly. If not for her bright yellow fur and the red circles coloring her cheeks, he imagined she would be blushing rather furiously right now, but, rather than trying to flee, she just released a mewl-like, "Pika~" as he rubbed both her belly and head simultaneously... --- Several hours after Vahn had started his anime viewing session with Mikoto, seven other versions of himself appeared alongside several other unique and entric-looking individuals atop a mountain overlooking the Town of the Wandering Minstrels. Among them, three people stood out more than the rest due to their style of dress and rather unique appearances. This included a flowery man with inordinately long white hair, a golden-haired beauty garbed in shadows, and, most notably, a giant of a man with golden hair and sharp features garbed in pirestly-looking, blood-red, robes. A stark contrast to how the situation would have presented itself in reality, the golden-haired man stood at the centermost position with Fenrir, currently resembling a giant wolf, lying obediently at his side. This greatly annoyed both Fenrir and every Vahn present, but, due to the systems inherent bias, they, as well as the two entric individuals nking him, werepelled to obey the golden-haired mansmands. Had they known this beforehand, they never would have put in the effort to have him summoned. Now, however, it was toote to do anything about it as the system, unable to differentiate things like Soul Tier, automatically ced them beneath the man it identified as King Jahad. It even gave him authorityparable to his younger Data self, and, while this was technically the reason they had summoned him, the mans presence hadpletely undermined the groups ongoing efforts. Simr to the actual Jahad, the Data of King didnt care in the slightest about the Hidden Floor or the Data Humans residing within. The only thing he cared about was eliminating the traitors that were conspiring against him and removing a threat to the Towers stability. As a result, one of the first things he did following his manifestation was attempt to destroy both the Hidden and Hidden Hidden Floors in an attempt to send a message to his true self. This was fortunately opposed by the current Administrator of the system, Data Jahad, who, despite having unwavering admiration for his real-world counterpart, called the Data of the King out for being a coward. Shortly after the private exchange between the two Jahads, the Data of the King gathered each of the other Sworn Enemies, picking and choosing the more useful among them before eliminating the rest alongside many of the Data Humans they had painstakingly rescued from the Hidden Floor. This left a bad taste in the mouth of virtually every Sworn Enemy, as, not only did Jahad proactively choose to undermine their efforts, he had ordered them to carry out the deed. Fenrir, in particr, had been used to dispose of both Data Humans and Sworn Enemies, an action that greatly stressed her out, but, much like everything else, Jahad didnt care about her mental state, only that she was useful. Seemingly oblivious to the heavy atmosphere surrounding him, Jahad silently observed a number of disys that only he could see, his expression a mask of apathy as he monotonously dered, "How pathetic...your ineptitude has provided the enemy an opportunity to circumvent the systems authority and secure a defense position. Had you done your duty from the start, this situation could have been avoided. Instead, you wasted your time trying to save the lives of beings who are little more than illusions and collections of data. Now, both the Hidden and Hidden Hidden Floors are in jeopardy. What do you have to say for yourselves?" Glowing in response to Jahads words, every Vahn present looked like they wanted nothing more than to tear his throat out as the one set upon by the Kings gaze unhesitantly replied, "Youre an entitled piece of shit. You literally tried to destroy both Hidden Floors and youre trying to give us shit for preserving its people? Get over yourself, you fucking hypocrite." Showing no signs that he cared about Vahns remark, Jahad remainedpletely expressionless as he walked past each of them to get a better view of the town below. Then, in an authoritative voice, he said, "Begin making preparations for an assault. We will besiege the town at sunrise and lure out the traitors lurking within. Your primary objective is to capture the Guides apanying the group. Should that prove impossible, capture or kill as many of that manspanions as possible. If he is anything like you clowns, we can use that as leverage to issue an ultimatum or force him into doing something stupid. Either way, our penultimate objective is eliminating as many enemies as possible in order to lure out their leader. Once weve defeated him, things can finally start going back to the way they once were. That is our duty as Sworn Enemies..." Though they hated every fiber of the mans being, each of the Vahns immediately set out to make preparations for theing conflict. This left only Jahad, the wolfish Fenrir, and the two entric-looking figures atop the mountains peak. As for the reasons why, Jahad had a very different set of ns for them, his expression turning severe as hemanded, "The two of you will do everything in your power to recover the Command Key. As for you..." Setting his gaze on Fenrir, earning a low growl in response, a somewhat vicious smile spread across Jahads face as he said, "You are the key to this missions sess. Let us hope your precious Master is as reliable and considerate as you believe him to be. I dont normally get excited about things like this, but Im quite looking forward to his reaction. That fool genuinely believes he can defy fate and seize my throne. Lets see how he reacts when something precious is taken from him..." Growling with increased intensity, the hairs across Fenrirs body stood on end as their tips became finer than the sharpest of needles. Despite this, her aura hardly leaked out, as, prior to their arrival atop the mountain, Jahad had forbidden her from using any of her stored power. The only reason she was able to increase in size was due to her emtion of [Chainbreaker], an unbelievably useful skill that Jahad intended to exploit as much as possible. Showing no signs of fear or trepidation, Jahad approached the prone Fenrir before cing his hand atop her snout and musing, "You would even prove useful to my true self...once this is over with, Ill make sure he learns of your existence. Your potential ispletely wasted serving a fool who limits your growth for the sake of his own enjoyment. You should be able to roam free and unfettered like a natural disaster. Until then, however, Im afraid you must remain nothing more than a convenient tool...what a pitiable creature..." With her ws digging into the ground, Fenrir continued to growl with even greater ferocity, but, no matter how hard she tried, it was impossible to ovee her programming without the power to destroy the Hidden Floor itself. Jahad was well aware of this fact, so, with his counterpart in the Hidden Hidden Floor refusing to ede to his demands, he decided to take matters into his own hands by causing as much stress to the peculiar blue wolf as possible. He also knew how close she was to their primary target, so, while it would do little to remedy his past trauma, a part of him was tempted to see how Vahn, a man directlypared to himself, would turn out after experiencing a simr setback... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is slowly bing a voyeur...,Mistakes were made...,Bruh...you cant evenprehend how badly youre about to fuck up...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1926 Engage

Chapter 1926 Engage

With Mikoto having fallen asleep, nestled against him with a contented smile on her face, Vahn was beginning to consider the prospect of taking a nap himself. It wasnt that he was feeling tired, but, much like a pet owner whose cat had just fallen asleep, it was hard to muster the willpower to move with the adorable mouse-type Pokemon sleeping peacefully against his chest. Just as Vahn was preparing to give into the urge, Sis suddenly spoke out in his mind, saying, (*The environmental data in the surrounding mountains is consistently updating. There is also something directly interfering with my ability to gather moreprehensive information. If Im not mistaken, I believe we are under attack.*) Though there was a chance she might be wrong, Vahn unhesitantly recalled everyone using his Unit Management. This caught quite a few people by surprise, and, as could be expected, Mikoto found herself unceremoniously startled awake, sparks emanating from her cheeks in the process. Drawn to the sudden release of electricity, nearly everyone present shifted their attention to the tiny mouse as varying expressions of amusement appeared across their faces. This left Mikoto feeling unbelievably embarrassed, and, though it ultimately made the situation even worse, she buried her face into Vahns chest as if being unable to see the others meant they also couldnt see her. Using his arm to support her, Vahn allowed Mikoto to continue hiding her face as he used his right hand to gently caress her back. At the same time, he rified the reason for the sudden summons, exining, "There are strange happenings in the surrounding mountains. There is a high probability of attack, and, though I cant imagine them breaking through the towns defenses, their movements indicate they have something in mind. I wont force you, but Im asking that everyone incapable of rtivistic speeds returns to the Little Garden. Once we get a better understanding of the situation, we will reorganize our forces ordingly." As it was already a well-known fact that even Madara had been yed by what many presumed to be Scathachs Sworn Enemey, few people questioned Vahn on the matter of their safety. There was a bit of disappointment, sure, but, rather than ming him for their weakness, those with the desire to participate in future battles set for themselves the goal of obtaining rtivistic speed. This was a lot easier said than done, but, with a bit of concerted effort, it should only take a year or two given that the majority of them were near the pinnacle of Tiers 3 and 4. In the end, Vahns forces consisted of Artoria, Mordred, Altria, X, Musashi, Madara, Yoruichi, Ichigo, Fenrir, Asuna, and, after hearing things were starting to heat up, Eva. Not all of them were capable of moving at rtivistic speeds, but, thanks to their instincts and reaction time, they could easily contend with people much faster than themselves. Fortunately, most of Vahns most powerful Temtes were currently exploring Actualized Worlds. If people like Whitebeard or Roger had been present, it would have been impossible to prevent them from running wild. Now, the only battle junkies he needed to worry about were Mordred, Madara, Yoruichi, and, to a lesser extent, Eva, Ichigo, Asuna, and Fenrir... Realizing that more than half hispanions were battle junkies, Vahn couldnt help smiling wryly as he said, "Try to stay in groups of two and three. Though the size of the battlefield should enable us to support each other in an instant, it is better to be safe than sorry. To that end, dont allow the enemy to lure you into a trap by baiting you away from the battlefield. If you genuinely believe it is worthwhile to give chase, make sure you inform me beforehand. I will eithere with you or send people to support. Never assume you are alone with an enemy. Remember what happened thest time. Our enemies are capable of making copies of themselves and moving freely through the void. The moment you are isted, there is a non-negligible chance you will find yourself overwhelmed." With his eyes briefly settling on the more hot-headed members of the gathering, Vahn earned a few awkward and embarrassed smiles in return. This caused his smile to turn visibly amused, but, almost immediately thereafter, he adopted a severe expression and a stern tone as he added, "Dont forget that our enemies possess the ability to change form. If someone appears in the middle of a battle, it is safest to contact me directly. Ill tell you whether or not they are who they say they are. Never just assume they are an ally. Understood?" Like soldiers preparing to march into battle, nearly everyone present adopted a serious expression to match Vahns own. Then, without further dy, everyone except for Eva was teleported high into the sky before promptly separating into several smaller groups. As for Eva, Vahn had asked that she protect the Town of the Wandering Minstrels, so, the moment everyone else left, she extended her shadow to cover the entire town before releasing more than a thousand doll-like soldiers, each the equivalent of a lesser Ranker... --- Benefitting from the information provided by Sis, it didnt even take a minute before Vahn, followed closely by Fenrir, Yoruichi, and Asuna discovered the location of an anomaly. This caused a frown to develop across his and Fenrirs faces, but, having been looking forward to this moment, Asuna and Yoruichi seemed rather excited by the sight of a marginally surprised Vahn in the midst of carving a notably crude magic circle. Though hecked an actual Ego, the Sworn Enemy version of Vahn proved to be quite expressive, smiling awkwardly before adopting a far more serious expression as golden scales began to spread across his body. This would have normally been the trigger for initiatingbat, but, before any of the girls could charge forward, the real Vahn adopted a serious expression of his own, asking, "Why are you here? Youve spent two weeks doing everything in your power to avoid revealing yourself to me. You also dont seem particrly enthused by the prospect of battling...what changed?" With horns reminiscent of an eastern dragon growing from his head, S.E. Vahn adopted a wry smile as he said, "You have no idea how much I want to spill the beans..." before firing a massive golden beam towards the group of four. To his surprise, none of them even tried to dodge, not forck of ability, but because the actual Vahn was standing at the front of the formation. Despite his movements seeming slow and casual, Vahn was able to raise his hand long before the beam of light reached him. Then, borrowing a technique out of the Ethereal Queens ybook, he created a tear in space-time that was the exact same dimensions as the beam of light. At the same time, another circr gate appeared above the S.E. version of Vahn, its interior pitch ck until a vibrant golden beam of light emerged from within, smashing him to the ground. Before the man could recover, Vahn turned his head towards the three girls, his gaze lingering on Fenrir for a brief moment before passing over Asuna and settling on Yoruichi as he said, "Ill leave this area to you and Asuna. His words have triggered my instincts in a bad way. Try and get some more information. Fenrir and I will investigate elsewhere." Uncrossing her arms, Yoruichi performed an ok gesture with her right hand before saying, "Leave it to us. Ill have this little lizard screaming within the hour~." Deciding not toment on the eagerness in which Yoruichi disyed while implying she would torture a version of himself, Vahn directed a smile towards Asuna, adding, "Let me know if anything unexpected urs." Returning a smile of her own, Asuna lightly waved Ko towards the direction of the mountain. This caused the upper half of the mountain to briefly separate from its base, a thin line dividing the two for a brief moment before gravity brought them back together in a rather destructive fashion. Restraining a wry chuckle, Vahn gently ruffled Asunas hair before he and Fenrir vanished from view. This left the orange-haired beauty alone with Yoruichi, thetter clicking her tongue before crossing her arms and muttering, "Show off..." Giggling in response to Yoruichis words, Asuna promptly returned Ko to her sheath, replying, "I just lucked out in regards to my Zanpakuto. Even if you spend half the dayzing about, Im certain your skills with the sword are even greater than my own." With a somewhat predatory smile appearing on her face, the tips of Yoruichis tail and ears began to glow with a golden hue as she mused, "Wheres the fun in ending things quickly~?" As if in response to her question, a massive eruption urred at the side of the mountain as two S.E. versions of Vahn, both resembling medium-sized humanoid dragons, emerged from within. This caused the predatory smile on Yoruichis face to be even more potent, her prominent canines on disy as she eximed, "You cheeky little brat! Did you really cut him in half so we would both have someone to fight!? How thoughtful of you! Ahahahahahaha~!" With herughter somehow resounding despite the roars of the two dragons, Yoruichi moved like a literal bolt of lightning, her figure shing for a brief moment before reappearing above the golden dragons head. This was responded to by thetter, but, despite raising his scale-covered arm in an attempt to block, Yoruichis hyperextended ax kick smashed through his guard as if his bones and body were made of ss. Though she wasgging behind a bit due to herzy nature, Yoruichi was still near the pinnacle of Tier 4. The only thing keeping her from Tier 5 was a breakthrough in her Innates, so, while her size and weight werent even a tenth of the dragons, her blows were reminiscent of falling mountains. She could literally lift more than a hundred-million-kilograms without even needing to transform, so, with lightning covering her nearly-naked body like fur, the force of her blows wasnt something that just anyone would fend off. Smiling in the direction of Yoruichis battle, Asuna produced a thermace of hot cocoa and a variety of different cookies from her inventory as the form of her defeated foe gradually dissolved behind her. She was one of the fortunate few to be born as a Tier 5 entity, and, more often than not, she could be found training within the Seventh and Ninth Layers. Thus, while she generally did her best to avoid standing out, she was easily one of the most powerful among Vahns harem. She took their promise to fight together very seriously, so, while it was frustrating to see how quickly her husband progressed, Asuna never wavered in her resolution to grow stronger... --- With massive explosions erupting all over the ce, it wasnt difficult for Vahn and Fenrir to track down other anomalies. This actually resulted in them being attacked by Super Saiyan Madara, but, with a quick telepathic message and a demonstration of his ability to forcibly teleport her using his Unit Management, she was convinced he was the original. As for why she, Altria, and X were so on edge, it wasrgely due to the fact that they just so happened to stumble across Scathachs Sworn Enemy. This was the version of himself that emted Laces Key, and, thanks to Scathachs near-perfect recall, it seemed to be exponentially stronger than his other selves. Though he offered to lend them a hand, Vahn ended up getting smacked in the face by Madaras tail for his troubles. Madara was determined to win the battle through her own efforts, and, were it not for his order to stay in groups, she would have already chased off Altria and X. Their presence, along with the battles proximity to the Town of the Wandering Minstrels, prevented her from going all out. As a result, she was using this as an opportunity to train her senses, so, if anyone tried to get in the way, she would automatically consider them an enemy. Understanding how obstinate Madara could be when it came to battling a strong opponent, Vahn exchanged a few words with Altria and X before promptly departing alongside Fenrir. Rather than heading towards a scene of conflict, however, they followed Sis directions towards one of the taller mountains in the distance. This happened to be the origin of the fluctuations in environmental data, so, while there was nothing guaranteeing the mountain served any actual purpose, it was still worth checking out... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Trying to pull a fast one over on Sis...smh...,Asuna is a little OP (O w O)...,It seems like fate has decided to earn Vahns favor...) (A/N: The first Side Stories chapter has been posted on my *******. Since it is the very first chapter, I decided to make it public. If youre interested, please check it out.) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1927 Lesson

Chapter 1927 Lesson

Though his senses were far more attuned, effectively granting him a limited form of omniscience within his domain, Fenrirs long-range sensory ability far outstripped Vahns. Her senses, especially when she was hunting something, was on a level that simply couldnt be quantified. As a result, it wasnt Vahn or Sis who discovered the location of their prey, but Fenrir. Noticing Fenrirs hair suddenly stand on end, Vahn was about to ask what happened when a frigid chill began to emanate from her body, her voice resembling a murderous snarl as she said, "Shes here...I can smell her..." Even without asking, Vahn was pretty sure he knew who Fenrir was referencing when spoke in such a manner. She had gotten pretty good at concealing her displeasure regarding others, at least when he was around, so there was really only one person it could be: herself. Understanding this was something she needed to ovee herself, Vahn responded with an approving nod, saying, "I wont interfere unless you ask me to." Returning a somewhat scary smile of her own, a bluish-ck shroud veiled Fenrirs figure before her speed drastically increased. She was far from the rtivistic requirement he had set previously, but, unless they could somehow work around her iparable instincts and ever-advancing mastery of Devouring Laws, even foes far more powerful than her would struggle to defeat an enraged Fenrir. Given that the mountain range was only a few hundred kilometers in length, it took no time at all for Fenrir, followed closely by Vahn, to reach her target. Rather than attacking, however, she ended up stopping in mid-air, her expression hard to read as she stared, wide-eyed, at the scene below. As for Vahn, his momentum was also brought to a stop, but, rather than gawking, his eyes narrowed as he asked, "What the fuck do you think youre doing?" As if he had only just noticed their arrival, the red-cloaked man who was undoubtedly Jahad turned his head with apletely calm expression on his face as he inly stated, "You really are a fool...to think you woulde directly to me. Very well. I had intended to save this forter, but Im nothing if not adaptable. Allow me to demonstrate what you should expect if you wish to continue pursuing this futile course..." Seeing S.E. Jahad extend his hand towards S.E. Fenrir, Vahns body moved even before his mind had willed it. At the same time, Laev-tan appeared in his hand, and, though he generally did his best to measure his strength, a ck wall reminiscent of Ichigos use of the Mugetsu extended for several hundred kilometers from his position. With his pupils contracting in slow motion, Jahad attempted to pull his hand away from the wall of ckness only to discover that everything beneath his elbow had simply been erased. This was in spite of his efforts to reinforce his body with the Shinsu ck Hole Sphere, so, without attempting to posture, he immediately leaped backward while reaching across his body to draw his weapon, a special Needle known as the Alcedinidae(Kingfisher). Taking advantage of the fact that the wall persisted long after his attack hadpleted, almost as if he had cut through the Hidden Floor itself, Vahn briefly shifted his gaze to the Sworn Enemy version of Fenrir to find her looking up at him with what could best be described as puppy eyes. This made him instantaneously question whether or not it was right to delete Sworn Enemies, but, rather than allow himself to get distracted, he had Sis remove the suppressed Vanargandrs limiters, saying, "Ill leave the two of you to sort things out..." before blitzing Jahad. Freed from herpulsory obedience, S.E. Fenrir immediately returned to her nearly-naked human form, charging her true self with fangs and ws bared. This caused an annoyed frown to develop across thetters face, not because she was being attacked, but because her S.E. counterpart made no effort to conceal her dignity. This,bined with the fact the data construct looked a lot like her younger self made Fenrir feel very ufortable, her expression fixing into a grimace as she easily evaded her feral selfs charge before throwing a spare [REquip] system towards her and saying, "Put some clothes on. Were not animals." Though her first instinct was to chomp on the silvery bracelet thrown towards her, S.E. Fenrirs ears perked up the moment her counterparts message reached her. This caused a temporary lull in the fight as not only did the [REquip] system contain a vast assortment of outfits, several of which were clearly chosen for their appeal, there were also countless other items and essories stored within. Causing a tick mark to appear at the real Fenrirs temple, S.E. Fenrir ended up choosing what could best be described as a sexy schoolgirl outfit in lieu of actualbat attire. To make matters even worse, it was one of the outfits that Fenrir had been keeping in reserve. She liked to dress up when her Master was in a bad mood, and, while it consisted of little more than a transparent white sailor top and a short pleated skirt, it was easily one of her sexier reserve outfits when ounting for her fluffy ears and tail. Noticing the frustration on her counterparts face, a rather vicious smile spread across the face of S.E. Fenrir as she huskily remarked, "Your time in the light hase to an end. Youll never be able to support Master if you keep holding yourself back. Im a much better choice...!" Snorting through her nose, Fenrir adopted an expression of disgust as she pinched the bridge of her nose and said, "You are tainted by men who are not Master. Even if you are willing to do what it takes to be stronger, the purity of those closest to him is vital for preserving Masters mental stability. If you truly understood Master, you would know the thing he needs least is the fanatical support of people he wants to protect. The only reason I seek strength is to remain at my Masters side. I do not try to make things easier or alleviate his burdens. I am there for the moments when the burden gets too heavy and he needs someone to help pick it back up...!" With each word spoken, the aura emanating from Fenrirs body became more powerful. The thing that surprised the S.E. Fenrir most of all, however, was the transformation that urred along with it. Rather than turning into a giant wolf, Fenrirs ears rapidly shrank until her most iconic feature as a Vanargandr hadpletely faded. At the same time, her fluffy tail began topress as pointed elf-like ears protruded from the sides of her head. By the time the transformation hadpleted, her tail resembled that of a cat or a monkey, and, while it wasnt noticeable at a nce, there was now a thinyer of purple surrounding her glowing red eyes. Unable to make sense of this transformation, S.E. Fenrirs brows began to twitch madly before she furrowed them deeply and shouted, "What did you do!? This isnt us...!" Though there was still a sleekyer of blue fur covering her forearms and the backs of her hands, Fenrirs paws now resembled dainty human hands as she raised her right palm and began to gather a phenomenal amount of energy. Then, in a tone reminiscent of a gentle melody, Fenrir smoothly replied, "I am Fenrir, my Masters most trustedpanion. There is nothing I would not be if it means I could be closer to my Master. I have no need for things like pride. The only thing that has ever mattered is that I am able to stand at my Masters side..." With that said, Fenrirs hair became noticeably spikier as it shifted from a midnight blue coloration to a color reminiscent of cyan. Immediately thereafter, her figure turned into a blur that seemed to tear through the space separating her and her Sworn Enemy counterpart. This caught thetter byplete surprise, and, had the original not shown her mercy, her head might have been blown off then and there. Instead, Fenrirs fist stopped less than a centimeter away from her snout before an irresistible wall of air pressure mmed into her like a thousand-car freight train. Like a projectile fired from a rail gun, S.E. Fenrir became a blue blur that passed soundlessly through a mountain peak before the entire thing exploded momentster. Under normal circumstances, this would have been more than enough to defeat the befuddled data construct, but, rather than using it to attack, Fenrir had used the energy she previously gathered to produce a mana shroud around her opponent. Fenrir had never believed for a moment that her Sworn Enemy would actually provide a challenge. Thus, from the moment she entered the Hidden Floor, her only goal regarding her Sworn Enemy was giving the more aggressive version of herself a beating before ultimately handing her over to their Master. It was important to her that he had the final say, and, knowing him, Fenrir had already prepared herself for the addition of a younger sister. With this in mind, she took a few moments to crack each of her knuckles before popping her neck and muttering, "If I cant even make myself into a good girl, how can I expect to teach others...?" --- Unaware of his most loyalpanions thoughts, Vahn had vited his own orders by moving his fight with Jahad several hundred thousand kilometers from the mountain range. He wasnt sure of the mans strength, so, rather than endanger everyones lives with the seque of their attacks, he moved the battle far beyond the effective range of most attacks. Though he could see through Vahns intentions, Jahad made no effort to break away from the fight. He wasnt against taking hostages and forcing people to submit to his will, but, more than anything else, he was both a King and a warrior. If his foes were brave enough to face him directly, he would neither run nor hide. His dignity and pride would simply not allow it. Extricating himself from the ruins of a forest filled with skyscraper-sized trees, S.E. Jahad looked up at Vahn with a snaggletoothed smile as he said, "I understand now. You certainly have the leeway to behave arrogantly with strength like that. Its a shame youre my enemy. With your power, we might have been able to usher in an era of true peace rather than peaceful coexistence." With S.E. Jahads voice passing through the void to emit directly into his ears, Vahn couldnt help squinting slightly as he muttered, "So even his data can use the power of authority...its too bad that Ryuns imagination and understanding are limited. This might have been an interesting battle..." Thanks to the power of authority, Jahad was able to ascertain Vahns words despite the kilometers that separated them. As a result, the smile on his face gradually faded away as he remarked, "You speak as though your victory is assured. Though this form possesses merely a fraction of my true power, it is more than enough to defeat anyone outside the Top 10. If you underestimate me, you, your allies, and everyone you have ever spoken with is bound to suffer..." Resisting the urge tough, Vahn apologized to Laev-tan before stowing her away within his soul and saying, "If we were outside, those words might actually hold some weight. Unfortunately, your inability to grasp the true nature of my existence puts you at a distinct disadvantage in a ce like this. You might possess nigh-indomitable might within the Tower, but power will only get you so far on the path to grasping authority. Out of consideration for the lesson you wanted to teach me, Ill be magnanimous and give you one of my own. Now,e. Ill give you a glimpse of the power you have failed to obtain even after twenty-thousand-years...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn dont y o_o...,Fenrir is very intelligent (O w O)...!,Is this considered cyber bullying...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1928 The Power of the Almighty

Chapter 1928 The Power of the Almighty

Despite his tone and promise, Vahns first action was to slowly lower himself to the ground. Then, with a rxed yet no-nonsense look on his face, he adopted what appeared to be a basic boxing stance as he said, "Well start with a warmup..." Thinking Vahn was trying to make fun of him, Jahad remained absolutely silent as he swung his Needle in a sweeping arc that caused the terrain in front of him to effectively vaporize. Back in the Tower, he had the authority to dictate whether or not his opponents were allowed to use Shinsu. As a result, it had be a habit of his to erase the ground upon which they stood, forcing them into an awkward situation where they did their best to remain aerial in a Shinsu-less environment. Simply put, Jahad liked being able to look down on his opponents and crush them underfoot with attacks that seemingly blocked the sky. Vahn was very aware of this, so, rather than dodging, he let the ground beneath him be destroyed before taking a half-step forward on empty air. Then, just as the golden-haired man was about toment something in response, he performed a simplistic, seemingly slow-motion, jab with his left hand. Trusting his instincts, Jahad attempted to raise his Needle into a defensive hold, but, long before he couldplete the motion, a sudden and solid impact mmed directly into his nose. It didnt do any actual damage, but it was still enough to both surprise and offend him. He was now certain that Vahn was toying with him, but, in spite of this, he didnt understand the mechanic behind the attack that had just hit him. Following his initial jab, Vahn appeared to begin a session of slow and methodical shadow boxing. This caused Jahads pupils to shrink to the size of pinholes, as despite his ability to see each and every one of Vahns moves, he found himself unable to block or evade them. Even side-stepping or guarding in the trajectory of a strike proved futile. Thus, without a single exception, each and every one of the light punches sessfully impacted his body. With his anger exploding outward, Jahad decided to forgo defense entirely as he lunged forward and thrust with his prized Alcedinidae. Under normal circumstances, this would have allowed the de to extend forward at a speed that most simply couldnt fathom. In its wake, a gravitational vortex would pull opponents inward, and, should they prove incapable of liberating themselves in a timely manner, it would rip them apart without fail. Without showing any consideration for the attack that attempted to instantaneously prate his body, Vahn continued his shadowboxing routine with an almost apathetic expression on his face. As a result, the Alcedinidaes point appeared to pass through his body, but, the moment he twisted his waist to perform a hooking motion, the traditionally indestructible weapon fragmented simrly to ss as Jahads head was forcibly tilted by the invisible blow to his chin. Though it was iparable to the true Alcedinidae, Jahad never expected that Vahn would be able to shatter it with such ease. This caused realization to dawn upon him, his expression hardening as he said, "Youre interacting with and manipting my data directly...how sly..." Smiling in response to Jahads words, Vahn didnt bother correcting him as he took a sliding step forward before twisting his body and performing an impable uppercut. This caused Jahad, who had been preparing to say more, to immediately close his mouth as the force from this particr blow sent him momentarily arcing into the sky. With Vahns blow causing him to bite the inside of his cheek, Jahad spit a small amount of blood and saliva from his mouth before adopting a crimson-stained smile as he said, "So be it. You cant use me of using underhanded means if youre reliant on tricks like this to secure a victory. The next time-" Having never been fond of viin speeches and threats, Vahn gestured in a manner reminiscent of someone swatting a fly on a table. This caused the hairs on Jahads neck to spontaneously stand on end, but, having already convinced himself it was impossible to dodge, his response was to grit his teeth as he prepared for the imminent blow. Like a punishment from the Heavenly Buddha, the force of Vahns downward strike phased through Jahads defenses as if they didnt exist. As a result, the golden-haired man found himself face-down against the ground, his body forced to remain prostrate as the ground around him sank to form the impression of a palm. Understanding that Vahn had decided to dismiss with pleasantries entirely, crimson red tendrils violently erupted from Jahads body, several piercing Vahn directly while others seemed to root themselves into the surroundingndscape. Anything unfortunate enough to be hit found itself converted into pure Shinsu, the majority of which was absorbed directly into the ever-expanding sea of tendrils. As for the rest, it was gathered to form countless blood-red Baangs, each a variation of the Shinsu ck Hole Sphere. Though he waspletely unaffected by the tendrils, shattering them in much the same manner as the Alcedinidae, Vahn couldnt help but frown as he witnessed the effects of Jahads demon on the environment. It was far more destructive than he anticipated, and, though it presumably wouldnt have made much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, he now had a better understanding of what he should expect once the real Jahad was pushed into a corner... With the gravitational well generated by the Baangs growing to resemble a small star, Vahn decided it was time to bring this little educational session to an end. Jahad was clearly no longer interested in learning what he had to teach, so, without further dallying, he had Sis erase the environmental data for the enclosing hundred-thousand-kilometers. This caused a massive gulf to instantaneously appear around the expanding tendrils, momentarily depriving them of nourishment as resplendent golden chains began to erupt from the void. Not content with leaving Enkidu to do all the heavy lifting, Vahn decided to spare himself the silent treatment by manifesting Laev-tan and pointing her towards the empty sky above. His training with Scathach,bined with his ascent to Tier 5, allowed him to effectively ignore Enkidus suppressive effect. As a result, he was able to manifest a pir of brackish mes that extended for hundreds of meters before tearing through space and emerging at the far end of Jahads mass. Said mes then pierced through Jahads body in an instant before entering another spatial crack and emerging at a different angle. In this manner, the crimson mass that represented Jahad ended up being skewered by dozens of me pirs, each sharing a singr origin... --- Though she was tempted to go and investigate the ck void that had appeared on the horizon, Madara forced herself to remain calm as she spread her senses through the surroundings with her eyes closed. Her Rinnesharingan should have allowed her to detect her opponent easily, but, with the ability to blend seamlessly into the void, locating this particr version of Vahn was easier said than done. Fortunately, while he could have very easily run away, her opponent seemed just as determined as she was to finish their battle. This had led to a number of rather one-sided exchanges, but, as time passed, Madara was slowly adapting to her unseen foe. Despite feeling a near-imperceptible fluctuation in the surrounding space, Madara forced herself to stay absolutely still. She had learned first-hand, seven times, how futile it was to try and attack these subtle fluctuations. Thus, despite her nerves feeling as though they were on fire, Madarapletely motionless, patiently awaiting her chance to strike... Seeing this scene y out from the sidelines, X couldnt help yawning in a rather theatrical manner before exhaling a bored sigh and remarking, "This fight is super boring..." Though she rarely agreed with anything her counterpart said, Altria, now with cat ears and a tail, couldnt help but nod her head before producing a curry bread from her inventory and taking a series of small but exceptionally quick bites. This caused Xs brow to twitch, not because she was envious of the formers food supply, but because she had hoped to alleviate her boredom with a conversation. Exhaling an even louder sigh, a feeling akin to an electric shock suddenly passed through Xs body as Madara spontaneously opened her eyes and sent a re her way. At that exact moment, two red spears, one aiming for Madaras side and another attacking from her blind spot, appeared from the void. The former was easily evaded with a twist of her body, but, as a result, she ended up turning in the direction of the second spear, impaling herself in the abdomen. Despite having modified her body to be purely biomechanical with the Asura path, Madara still felt an unbelievable amount of pain when the crystalline spear pierced her abdomen. Despite this, she managed a smile, hands shooting outward as she shouted, "Bansh Tenin...!" Rather than trying to repel the attack, Madara forced the spear further into her body in an attempt to extract the spears owner from the void. There was a chance he was using a form of Telekinesis to guide the spears, but, as she had experienced countless times during her training, it was remarkably difficult to infuse the power ofw into weapons detached from the body. Since Sworn Enemies had an extremely shallow understanding of thews they attempted to make use of, Madara refused to believe for a moment that a fake version of Vahn could be more proficient in their application than even she was. As an additional precaution, Madara even went as far as extending the effect of her Bansh Tenin to cover the surrounding thirty kilometers. This startled X and Altria quite a bit, but, without paying them any mind, the tomoe in Madaras Rinnegan began to spin rapidly as the void opened behind her like a mouth, enveloping her in a literal instant. At that exact same moment, a simr ck void opened beneath a version of Vahn that had just been forcibly pulled through a mountain face in the direction of Madaras previous location. Extending her hand a nigh-incalcble speed, an ashen ck bone protruded from Madaras palm as she unhesitantly impaled the emotionless-looking Vahn. This was a unique technique known as Ashen Bone Pulse, and, under normal circumstances, it wouldpletely disintegrate any biological organisms it hade into contact with. Against this particr version of Vahn, however, it had no noticeable effect as, before she had even thrust her hand forward, his body had already produced a hole within itself to preemptively evade the attack. With an excited smile visible on her face, Madara increased her speed to the point that her right arm seemed to split into more than a dozen identical appendages. At the same time, five other versions of herself, Limbo Clones that had been hidden since the start of the fight, emerged from within their respective ck voids, palms extending forward as they chorused, "Shinra Tensei...!" Though he had been able to evade the Ashen Bone Pulse without much difficulty, Lace Vahncked the means to resist an attack that directly targetted the electromaic field produced by sub-atomic particles. The Hidden Floor was powerless to make sense of Vahns actual structure, so, unlike the original, each of the Sworn Enemies possessed true physical bodies. Due to the vast disparity between their power, Lace Vahn ended up being crushed into a shape resembling a cube. This wasnt actually enough to kill him, but, before he could attempt to escape, the real Madara wrapped things up by pping her palms together rather violently and shouting, "Chibaku Tensei...!" in a voice that echoed through the surrounding space for tens of kilometers. From within her palms, Madara produced a perturbing ck sphere that emanated a strange white light reminiscent of distant stars. At a nce, some might mistake this as a gravitational singrity, but, rather than simply pulling things towards it, Chibaku Tensei had the effect of negating gravity in the surroundings. It was also one of the most powerful Sealing Jutsus in Naruto, and, in the right hands, it could even seal god-level beasts withary levels of power. With five other Madaras keeping him at bay, Lace Vahn was helpless to resist the Chibaku Tensei as it came into contact with his flesh. This caused his amorphous body to painfully wrap around the sphere as a mountains worth of debris surged towards him, impacting,pressing, and ultimately sealing him in a highlypacted orb reminiscent of the Fruit of Good and Evil... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Non-series series, casual light punches...!,Vahn in response to Jahad turning into a nebulous red urchin capable of destroying entire floors, "Pfft...I could do it better...",Madara is very thorough xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1929 Resolution

Chapter 1929 Resolution

With the environment having been subsequently restored by Sis, Vahn took a moment to enjoy the silence of the serene forest before directing his gaze to the peculiar red Needle presently bound by Enkidus chains. It was extremely short for a Needle-type weapon, and, rather than appear sleek, the majority of its red frame was covered in ringlets. Most notably, however, was the eye-like gemstone that dominated the center, its interior reminiscent of a crimson star nked by six golden ws. Seeing the peculiar weapon, Vahn was finally beginning to understand what must have transpired to transform Jahad from an outgoing King of Adventurers to a despotic and lonely individual who supposed himself a God. He, simr to a protagonist from a shonen anime, had been manipted by those with a far greater understanding of the world, and, due to his unshakeable ideals, he had gradually been turned into a monster by the very people who set him upon his journey in the first ce... Shaking his head, Vahn walked over to the peculiar weapon and grasped its hilt. In response, the ret sun in the center began to pulsate as an abrasive and synthetic-sounding voice uttered, "I didnt notice it before, but I can sense it clearly now. Though it is not of this world, you also possess the Seed of a King, dont you?" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn held up the Needle so that the eye in the center was level with his face, apathetically inquiring, "You can sense it clearly but still need to ask? How curious..." Though it did not answer immediately, the voice within the Needle could be heard chuckling for a brief moment before replying, "Caution is a fine trait to possess for those with the qualifications to be King. However, with a bit of trust, your rise to the top will be a lot smoother. If youll ept it, I can grant you power even greater than the current Kings. What say you?" Feeling a foreign intent attempt to invade both his mind and body, Vahn manipted his own to effectively strangle theparably weak force as he inly stated, "Though me ultimately lies with your creator, this is the end of the line. Im not sure who it is you were waiting for, but Ill not let another be corrupted for the sake of an experiment. Begone." With his final word causing a visible ripple in the surrounding space, the crimson sun sealed within the Needle promptly extinguished. Immediately thereafter, the interior of the orb grew foggy as the crimson hue drained away from the body of the Needle, its surface turning ashen before ultimately fragmenting into pieces reminiscent of spent charcoal. Exhaling a tired sigh, Vahn shook his head a second time before directing his gaze towards nothing in particr and muttering, "All this suffering over something as meaningless as the truth...at least now I can understand why the Workshop provided so much support for Jahad and hispanions during their ascent..." Thanks to the Law of Identity being unable to vite the contracts of the people whose identity she had assumed, Vahn had been unable to peer into the truth behind the organization. All he knew for certain was that they sincerely pursued the origin of all things. There was nothing inherently wrong with this sentiment, but, much like how there were a few startling differences between Da Vinci and Gustang, the pursuit of knowledge without restraint had a habit of leading to irredeemable tragedy and destruction... Thinking of his starry-eyed lover, Vahn was briefly tempted to convince the woman to reincarnate into the Tower. So long as he provided her with adequate resources, it would only take her a few years, if that, topletely dominate the Tower. In the process, she would either absorb or destroy the Workshop, and, in the end, she might very well be his most prominent pir of support. Unfortunately, as he had learned during his time in the Nasu and Akamatsuverses, knowledge, while immensely powerful, was a limiting factor when aiming towards something that couldnt be defined through conventional reasoning. The more you know about something, the more consideration you would put into your decision-making, and, as a result, you ultimately ended up denying yourself the freedom to simply act as you please. This was surprisingly important when trying toprehend the Laws and gain greater authority, and, while it was sad to think about, it was one of the reasons so many despicable or selfish individuals managed to climb their way up to monstrous heights. Though it wasnt the first thing that came to mind when people thought of the word Hero, Vahn hade to ept that heroes were some of the most selfish people in existence. The only real difference between them and something like a Demon King was the perception of the people. In a disheartening number of Records, this sentiment resulted in many former heroester bing known as viins simply due to public perception and politics. Thus, while he was tempted to make things easier for himself by inviting Da Vinci to solve his problems, Vahn understood that the path towards the pinnacle was never intended to be easy. He needed to be able to clear the way forward himself, and, though he was bound to make mistakes along the way, such instances were arguably even more important than his triumphs. Having sessfully convinced himself, at least for the moment, Vahn swept aside the ashes of the crimson Needle before shifting his gaze in the direction of several ongoing battles. His domain was unable to cover such a massive distance, yet, in spite of this, he could still sense what was going on through the connection he shared with both his Temtes and lovers. Because of this, an amused smile naturally developed across his face, as, more so than any other, he was able to ascertain what Fenrir had in mind whilst dealing with the Sworn Enemy version of herself... --- Having witnessed Vahns battle from start to finish, a slight smile spread across the face of young Jahad as he muttered, "It seems Eduan was mistaken. This man is nothing like me. He managed to see through what I could not and didnt hesitate for a moment to destroy the power offered to him. I wonder...if I had that same level of resolve, would things have turned out differently...?" Shaking his head in response to his own words, Jahad removed the three-eyed mask that covered the curse mark extending across his forehead and covering his right eye. This was a burden he had carried with him even before his ascent up the Tower, and, though he couldnt remember where it hade from, he knew it was called the Chains of Fate. It was his desire to liberate himself from these chains that led to him bing an Adventurer, and, though his journey ended the moment he cleared the Hell Train, he had taken notice of the fact that even his future self used red bindings to cover his forehead... With what could best be described as a pensive and mncholic smile, Jahad used his left hand to crush the three-eyed visor before muttering, "Ive let you borrow my eyes long enough. From this moment onward, you will need to use your own to ascertain the truth..." Though it wasnt visible to others, Jahad could see a wisp of crimson energy flow from the visor the moment he shattered it. This was a nascent thread of his genuine selfs intent, and, due to a special ritual, the three-eyed symbol allowed the real Jahad to know everything within his iconic markings field of view. It didnt matter if it was scrawled onto a piece of paper or carved into stone. So long as the Symbol of the King was present, it would be another source of information promoting the Kings omniscience. Now that he had effectively betrayed his future self, Jahad didnt hesitate to produce a small silver wristband from his pocket, a thoughtful glimmer shing across his eyes as he proceeded to smash it into pieces. After Vahns refusal to ept power, it was difficult to imagine the so-called Emperor swallowing his pride to ept something like a handout. Thus, rather than embarrassing them both by offering it as a convenient tool to defeat his true self, Jahad decided to follow Vahns example by destroying itpletely. Feeling as if a heavy burden had been removed from his shoulders, a smile returned to Jahads face as he looked around at the encircling arena and mused, "It really is a shame...I was actually looking forward to experiencing my first real fight in thest six-thousand-years. It seems that is yet another thing my true self will get to experience that I missed out on..." Seemingly amused by his words, a light chuckle emanated from Jahads throat as several golden Baangs, each reminiscent of liquid gold, formed around him... --- After one-sidedly pummeling the Sworn Enemy version of herself for several minutes, Fenrir had the formers paws bound using Gleipnirs chains as she bent the teary-eyed Vanargander over her knee and firmly smacked her exposed backside. This was the result of her Sworn Enemy self transforming into an eldritch-looking version of her wolf form, a transformation the actual Fenrir had been trying to keep hidden ever since she identally uncovered its existence. Unable to break free from chains specifically designed to seal her, tears continued to pour from S.E. Fenrirs eyes as she shouted, "I said I was sorry! I wont do it again! Please stop spanking me...!" Despite her words, S.E. Fenrir continued to struggle in a desperate attempt to break free, her false Chainbreaker kicking into overdrive to aid in her efforts. Unfortunately, she was a version of Fenrir that had very little control over her own energy and emotions, so, every time the former smacked her backside, the energy within her body would bepletely disrupted. This prevented her from mustering any meaningful resistance, and, due to the chains holding her firmly in ce, it left her backsidepletely exposed to the seemingly endless series of painful strikes. Snorting through her nose, Fenrir gave her counterparts bottom another firm smack before saying, "If you want me to stop, you need to stop struggling. You might not be the real me, but you should still have some of my memories. If you were a good girl, I wouldnt need to punish you like this. Do you think I enjoy speaking your backside?" Gritting her teeth in response to Fenrirs words, S.E. Fenrir made yet another attempt to break free before ultimately giving up following another crisp pping sound. Then, while cursing the system for designing them to feel pain, she allowed her body to go limp as she begrudgingly muttered, "I give up...please stop spanking me..." Rather than taking the womans words seriously, Fenrir allowed her hand rest on her Sworn Enemys backside as she said, "I will have you sign a contract and swear it on our Masters name. I dont wish to kill you, but if you endanger the lives of the people around Master, you must be removed. Even if your head is filled with stone, you should understand the reason for this, yes?" Though she couldnt help but grit her teeth in frustration, S.E. Fenrir ultimately nodded her head in response to Fenrirs words, saying, "I understand...even if we want to be the only one Master needs, his existence is far too big for us to contain..." Frowning in response to her counterparts words, Fenrir chose not toment as she pulled out an extremely ornate scroll. This was something she had drafted with the assistance of Eva, and, though it didnt actually affect the Soul, it contained a Tier 5 spell known as a Soul Binding Contract. In the Akamatsuverse, this spell was strong enough to bind Vampire Nobles and Demon Kings, so, while it functioned a little differently in the Transcendental Path to Heaven, using it to bind an artificial Tier 3 was rtively simple. Though she was tempted to try and appeal to their Master, S.E. Fenrir knew it would be impossible to convince him to abandon everyone and be hers. The only routes avable to her, at least if she wanted to avoid deletion, was spending the next couple of years in istion or working hard to fit in. There was also a very real chance that her Ego might be erased to free her from the burden of her own programming, so, before she lost the chance to make decisions regarding her own life, she bit her tongue to allow blood to drip onto the scroll. Unfortunately, not that she could have read it, S.E. Fenrir hadnt ounted for the fact that her true self had included certain provisions and stiptions into the contract. As a result, a crimson sheen shed across her midnight blue fur, and, as a result, her hair became a healthy auburn color. At the same time, her crimson eyes became reminiscent of radiant copper as the tone of her skin changed from a pale and pristine white to a sunkissed golden brown. Confused by the sudden changes, S.E. Fenrir gazed absentmindedly at her paws before Fenrir took it upon herself to exin, "Others might possess a simr name, but there can only ever be one of me. This contract strips away all titles and designations you might have possessed. When you meet with Masterter, ask him kindly to bestow a name upon you. From then onward, you will be both my little sister and your own person. Im already walking my path. If you want to be someone Master can rely on, youll need to make your own efforts." With that said, Fenrir allowed her Zanpakuto to return to its base state as she extended her hand to caress the still-ring redhead. Then, just as thetter began emitting a low growl, Vahn appeared out of thin air, surprising the two girls as he said, "Im d the two of you were able to work things out. It seems like everyone else is just about finished up as well. Shall we return to the Town of the Wandering Minstrels and have a nice long chat...?" Without waiting for either girl to respond, Vahn extended his hands to caress both of their heads, his smile widening as noticed their respective ears twitch. Fenrirs, in particr, caught his eye, as, for reasons he still couldnt ascertain, he had always had a thing for girls with elven ears... Understanding her Masters thoughts, Fenrir allowed a blush to spread through her cheeks and into her ears as she habitually nestled closer to his body. This left her redheaded counterpart with a look of envy on her face, but, before she could say anything, Vahn tenderly pinched her nose as he softly alleged, "Red is a good color on you..." Though instinct was to bite anything even remotely close to her mouth, the former Fenrir managed to hold herself back thanks to the contract. The urge was still there, however, so, in the end, she did the next best thing, preventing Vahn from retracting his hand so she could gently nibble and suckle on his fingers. At the same time, she took advantage of her somewhat petite frame to turn her eyes up at him, their depths glistening with a copper hue as she traced her crimson tongue between his index and middle fingers... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The plot thickens...?,Data Jahad isnt as bad as he seems...,A new challenger has arrived (O w O)...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1930 Conclusion?

Chapter 1930 Conclusion?

Though she wasnt thest to finish up her fight, Fenrirs battlested a great deal longer than most. As a result, nearly everyone had gathered above the Town of the Wandering Minstrels, not because they didnt want to help, but because it was simply unnecessary. With the average strength of theirbatants being near the peak of Tier 4, the absolute pinnacle for the Tower itself, it was nigh-impossible for the Hidden Floor to produce Sworn Enemies capable of contending against imperial forces. The most they could hope to do was draw out the battle, but, with weapons capable of corrupting data, even this was exceedingly difficult. After all, while each of the S.E. Vahn(s) were capable of producing clones of themself, said clones were fundamentally part of the same program. As a result, damaging one did irreversible damage to the program itself, and, after a while, most of the abilities attributed to the Sworn Enemies simply wouldnt function. Noticing the looks of everyone present, Vahn adopted a wry smile as he pushed the auburn-haired girl hiding behind him forward, saying, "Her official naming ceremony will be held a littleter, but Id like everyone to meet Angri(Ahn-gree). She will be joining us as a member of the Emerald Grove in the near future. Though she might be a little unstable in the beginning, it shouldnt take long for her to adapt so long as everyone supports her." Despite standing 7cm shorter than Fenrir, Angri actually stood out quite a bit due to her bright hair color, bronzed skin, and vibrant copper eyes. She had also substituted her risque schoolgirl uniform for a pure white, slightly translucent, sundress. This drew a lot of attention in and of itself, as, due to her skin tone, it was possible to vaguely discern her body through the unblemished fabric. Speaking out before anyone else could find the opportunity, Yoruichi adopted a rather mischievous smile as she asked, "She seems like a little troublemaker. Did you name her after Angrboda? I guess we know who to me when she causes trouble in the near future." Upset by Yoruichis words, even if there was a fair amount of truth to them, Angri red back at the smiling cat woman before issuing a low growl that disyed a rather vicious-looking set of teeth. Undaunted, Yoruichi shifted her attention from Angri to Vahn as she asked, "Want me to look after her? If you leave her in the care of Fenrir, shell be just another overzealous follower seeking affirmation and praise. Ive been thinking about starting my own Corps, so I wouldnt mind taking her in as my protege. You could also make a Temte of Soi Fon, but Id rather not have to deal with a subordinate that has a higher Soul Tier than me." Displeased with the notion that she would be separated from her Master, Angri was about to say something in protest when Yoruichi sent a wink in her direction, adding, "Dont refuse so quickly. I dont know which memories you inherited from fuzzy britches over there, but I take pride in being one of Vahns first crushes and one of his most beloved pets. Finish my training and youll get to be aszy and spoiled as you please. I can also teach you a few tricks that are guaranteed to get him in the mood...what do you say~?" Having alreadye to terms with the fact she couldnt keep her Master to herself, Angri couldnt deny the temptation contained in Yoruichis words. She also wanted to get out of Fenrirs shadow as quickly as possible, so, after hearing the mischievous cats final promise, she circumvented Vahns attempts to intercede, saying, "Ill do it. Its better than getting brainwashed by this smelly bimbo." Snorting in response to Angris words, Fenrir suppressed the urge toment on her own body odor. Instead, she met Yoruichis gaze, saying, "Dont go easy on her. If she is to receive Masters praise, she must work for it. If I dont like the way you are raising her, I will be forced to step in..." Finding Fenrirs words rather amusing, Yoruichi was about to teasingly refer to her as mom, but, feeling a sudden chill descend upon the surroundings, she promptly changed her mind. Fenrir had lost a lot of her yfulness due to her perennial cultivation of the Yin Element, so, while she could be exceptionally lovey-dovey when it concerned her Master, she could be surprisingly cold at other times. Stepping in to alleviate the tensions, Vahn plopped his hand atop Fenrirs head, casually stroking the area between her ears as he gazed into the distance and said, "It seems like Mordred is done ying around. We should return to the resort. Once everyone has gathered, Ill deal with Angris body creation and naming ceremony while everyone else retires to the Little Garden. Well discuss the specifics of the conflict once everyone has had an opportunity to rest." Though she was a little resentful of the fact that her original was getting headpats, Angri cheered up considerably when she heard her Master mention creating her body and assigning her name. It made her feel bubbly knowing that he prioritized those two things over everything else, and, while it might not have been his intention, the truth rarely mattered in such situations. Noticing Angris rather hungry gaze, Vahn did his best to maintain a rxed smile as he created a hole in the barrier for everyone to pass through. He had a feeling that she was going to go through something of a clingy phase, but, so long as it led to her developing in a positive light, he didnt particrly mind tending to her needs. The modifications Fenrir had made to her appearance made her especially cute, and, though he would forever prefer the original, having a little nymphette of a Vanargandr wasnt a bad thing... --- Though the majority of residents within the Tower had no notion of the Hidden Floors existence,rgely due to the fact that openly discussing it would erase your memories of the interior, there were quite a number of people that were intimately aware of the events taking ce inside. This included the Great Father of the Workshop, the people directly responsible for the Hidden Floors existence, and, as could be expected, Jahad himself. Located within a secretive chamber that fewer than a hundred people had ever had ess to, Jahad could be found standing in the center of a mysterious formationprised entirely of shimmering, rune-covered, bones. This was one of the most secluded regions in the entire Tower, not because it possessed inherent significance, but because it had great symbolic meaning to Jahad himself. It was here that he had first realized the truth, and, shortly thereafter, it was at this exact location that he had resolved himself to be King of the Tower. With a pensive look that would shock anyone that believed they knew him well, Jahad spent several minutes simply staring into nothingness before muttering to himself, "Even after reaching the point where I can observe fate from the perspective of a God, I still couldnt predict an oue such as this...it would seem fate is even crueler than I realized..." Despite addressing an empty room, Jahads words werent greeted with silence. Instead, a cold and raspy voice immediately replied, "You simply need more strength. Absolute power and violence are the solutions to all things. If you ever find yourself in a situation where they arent, you simply arent using enough. This oue is the direct result of your weakness. You made the mistake of showing your enemies kindness despite proiming yourself a God. If you were a True God, you never would have let your emotions dictate your actions. Now, your inability to relinquish your humanity has put everything you sought to obtain at risk. Were all those sacrificespletely meaningless!?" Choosing not to answer the voices admonishment, Jahad continued to stare into empty space for several long minutes before muttering, "If that man wishes to destroy me, I will neither run nor hide. I have spent thest ten-thousand-years umting power. If it is my destiny to fall at his hands, I will not spend my final years desperately seeking to obtain more. When the timees, I will bring to bear all my strengths, ideals, and convictions. If that is not enough, it does not mean I was weak. It simply means he was stronger..." Angered by Jahads words, several crimson tendrils emerged from the right arm he kept concealed beneath his cloak. At the same time, his right eye released an eerie crimson glow as his own mouth moved to say, "You are the same coward now as you were back then! If you had just killed everyone instead of trying to y God, nobody would dare challenge you! What was the point of gaining all this power if you arent going to use it!?" Once again choosing to remain silent, Jahad forcibly suppressed the crimson tendrils before fixing his cloak and turning to depart the chamber. Even taking a few minutes to gather his thoughts was far too long for someone in his position, so, now that he had a moment to reflect on why his Data self might have betrayed him, it was time to return to his duties as King. As for what the demon in his right arm had to say, he had never particrly cared about its opinion. A true King was not so easily controlled, so, while his younger self might have been swayed by its promises, the millennia thereafter had wisened him up to its schemes. Now that someone like Vahn had appeared, it was time to set in motion events thousands of years in the making. With that thought in mind, Jahads steps briefly slowed as he directed his gaze towards the void. If one were to look closely, they would be able to see the image of a young woman with golden eyes, ck hair, and pointed ears reflected within his irises. This caused his expression to turn noticeably mncholic, but, momentster, a nascent smile briefly appeared on his face as the giant of a man shook his head and stepped into the void... --- After an uncharacteristically racy Familia Induction Ceremony, Vahn returned to the Emerald Grove alongside a practically glowing Angri. Fortunately, she was also rather fatigued after the experience, so, rather than suffering the awkwardness of having her appear before others, Vahn was able toy her to rest within Yoruichisrgely unused room before reuniting with everyone in the tavern-like dining hall. Ignoring the knowing looks he received from quite a number of people, Vahn opted to upy the empty seat between Artoria and Eva before saying, "I defeated one of the Sworn Enemies based on King Jahad. He seemed to possess a level of authority that greatly eclipsed that of the Big Breeders. As a result, he was able to effectively alter the prime directive of the other Sworn Enemies. I cant be certain this is thest well see of them, but Ive reason to believe this might be the end." Though she hadnt participated in the fighting, Android 21, along with the rest of the R\u0026D Division, had decided to attend the post-battle banquet. As a result, she took it upon herself to be the first to challenge Vahns assertion, saying, "That is a bold im. Did something happen?" Meeting the womans steely blue gaze, Vahn adopted his characteristically easygoing smile as he exined, "I encountered what could best be described as parasitic Ignition Weapon. From what I could tell, it wasntprised of data like the majority of the Hidden Floor. Instead, it seemed to be an actual physical object. Though most of the information pertaining to its purpose was protected, I was able to ascertain that it was a product of the Workshop. It tried to spin a story about me having the qualities of a King and attempted to offer me something arbitrary like great power. Now, it has be dust..." Frowning in response to Vahns words, Android 21 wanted to chide him for destroying what could have proven to be a valuable find, but, knowing he wouldnt simply invite an unknown variable into the Little Garden, she ultimately restrained herself. Still, that didnt mean she had to be happy about it, so, to make her disdain known, she made a show of pushing up her ck-rimmed sses before crossing her arms disapprovingly. Resisting the urge toment on Android 21s behavior, Vahn wisely decided to change topics, asking, "So? Does anyone feel like sharing their exploits? I dont mind going first, but I think youll be disappointed. My opponent ended up jumping to conclusions and performing a suicide move pretty early on, so things ended rather anticlimactically." Waiting until the exact moment when Vahn had finished speaking, Mordred spontaneously rose from her seat while mming her hands on the table, excitedly proiming, "Ill go first!" with such fervor that it was easy to imagine stars in her eyes. Then, much to his chagrin, Vahn found himself in the rather peculiar position of watching several versions of himself get beaten with varying degrees of passion and enthusiasm... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The best(worst) teacher for the job~,*brooding intensifies*,Thats a mega oof...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1931 Consideration

Chapter 1931 Consideration

In an attempt to make up for his mistake of destroying the Crimson Needle, a version of Vahn ended up joining Android 21, Kisuke, Arryn, and Mikoto during their return to the R\u0026D Division. There, he attempted to replicate both the structure and aura of the Crimson Needle using his effectively perfect memory. This allowed him to construct a rather faithful reproduction of the peculiar weapon, and, as a result, Android 21 and Kisuke were able to, at the very least, gather enough information to extrapte and replicate its effects. Had any of the people from the Workshop been present, they would have been extremely envious of Vahns ability to reproduce all manner of mystical phenomena from his own body. He could even transform into other people for the purpose of collecting samples, so, without exception, it wasnt an exaggeration to say he was the most precious research specimen within the Records. This notion might have made him ufortable in the past, but, thanks to the efforts of Da Vinci, Android 21, and, to a much lesser extent, Mikoto, Vahn had learned to enjoy assisting in their research. Using his left hand to prevent her tail from choking him, Vahn continued to rhythmically pound the rosy-hued flesh of Android 21 as she used the reinforced structure of her private room for support. This resulted in numerous tracks being formed from her fingernails, but, thanks to its self-repairing function, the room was able to maintain its integrity even if things ended up getting a little violent. Though she was enjoying the sensation quite a bit, so much so that tiny sparks would periodically appear within her vision, Android 21 had never enjoyed being purely on the receiving end. Thus, as her body reddened, creating a stark contrast to her paling hair, an entirely different personality was awakened within her usually calm and intelligent mind. This was originally intended to represent her desire to battle powerful opponents, but, after transforming into it during her previous attempts to reward Vahn, it was only ever a matter of time before her rising passions caused her to slip into the far more primal personality. While Vahn continued to send visible ripples through her body, a second Android 21 emerged from the exposed back of the original. This would have been a rather jarring sight for a less experienced man. Vahn, however, simply adopted a wolfish grin, his hands pinning hers to the wall as he sealed her lips with his own. At the same time, the structure of his body shifted to produce a second set of arms. These were used to firmly secure Android 21s shapely hips in ce, and, though it created a fairly awkward sight to behold, it was safe to say that neither of them particrly cared about what others might consider normal... --- Though he was pretty close to mastering the art of piloting multiple bodies at a time, Vahn was still very aware of what his other self was doing. This ced him in a rather awkward situation, as, prior to the twos private liaison, he had agreed to have a few drinks with Madara. She was the only one who had refused the share her memories during the banquet, so, now that they were alone, the two of them had been watching the fairly uneventful fight while warming their bellies with an extremely potent sake. As one of the few people whose intentions he couldnt clearly decipher, Vahn hade to feel a little ufortable whenever he was alone with Madara. This,bined with the fact she could be scarily perceptive, resulted in the atmosphere between them bing extremely awkward in a very short period of time. This wasrgely the fault of Vahn, but, as the host, it ultimately fell to Madara to give him leeway to depart. If he attempted to depart beforehand, it would just make things even more awkward, so, with the former casually enjoying her sake with an amused smile on her face, Vahn was beginning to feel ensnared by his own observation of etiquette. Rather than affording him any form of clemency, Madara took advantage of the fact that nothing was happening to remark, "Though we share an origin, I dont think Ill ever be able to understand you. Unless Im mistaken, you dont view me as a potential partner. With that in mind, why is it you sometimes behave like an adolescent entering his crushs room for the first time? Its not like youre going to identally stumble over andnd penis-first in my vagina." Stupefied by Madaras words, Vahns lips parted slightly, but, with his mental faculties slowing to a crawl, words momentarily escaped him. This caused an amused smile to develop across Madaras face, and, though she was mainly just joking around, Vahn was left even more speechless when she casually loosened the obi wrapped around her waist. This caused the cor of her yukata to loosen, and, though he had seen her naked a number of times, Vahn couldnt resist the instinctual urge to swallow at the partial reveal of Madaras admittedly ample bosom. With her Sharingan activating of its own ord, it would have been difficult for Madara to argue that she wasnt feeling a little excited. She had spent decades as a female at this point, and, though it hadnt influenced her much in the beginning, there were times when she had experimented with the pleasures associated with the fairer sex. She wasnt quite at the point where she would willingly ept a male partner, but, thanks to her tolerance gradually waning, the influence of alcohol within her system was making her more daring than she otherwise would have been. Feeling uncertain for the first time in a long while, Vahn wasnt quite sure how he should respond to Madaras clear provocation. He couldnt deny the thought had crossed his mind, and, thanks to his rtionship with Da Vinci, he was a lot more epting of the situation than a normal person might have been. The problem was that Madara was clearly under the influence, and, though she was still capable of making rational decisions, Vahn never feltfortable with exploiting the vulnerabilities of potential partners. Madara was also one of his preferred drinking partners, so, the moment they crossed that line, he would lose one of the few people he could traditionally rx around. He didnt exactly practice restraint when it came to tending to the needs of himself and his partners, so things were bound to exacerbate quickly the moment he set aside his inhibitions... Noticing the considerable amount of apprehension in Vahns gaze, Madara wasnt quite sure how to exin her current state of emotions. She didnt actually want him to do anything, but, seeing him hesitate to such an extent, a rather extreme feeling of disappointment washed over her as the beating of her heart gradually slowed. She hadnt even noticed it was beating quickly beforehand, so, without overthinking it, she instinctually ced her right hand over her heart before adopting a fairly pensive expression. This caused Vahn to blink in surprise, not because she had inadvertently exposed more of her breasts, but because he hadnt expected Madara, of all people, to have such a maidenly reaction... Feeling the usual sense of guilt wash over him, Vahn was tempted to ignore his apprehensions and just go with the flow, but, understanding Madaras character, she wouldnt take kindly to someone taking pity on her. He had already missed the opportunity to take more decisive action, so, rather than make things worse by trying to backpedal, he ended up producing a party-sized bottle of sake and asking, "Can I pour you another drink...?" Though she couldnt resist shaking her head, the smile returned to Madaras face as she extended her cup towards Vahn and replied, "Ill have you apany me until the morning. The next time...I might not be so forgiving..." Resisting the urge to ask the onyx-eyed woman to rify the meaning contained within her words, Vahn dutifully refilled her cup while habitually adjusting the flow of time within the room. Had he done the same with Android 21, he might have been able to avoid this situation entirely, but, due to the formers exceptionally precise internal clock, she had a habit of griping whenever he tweaked the flow of time without her consent. She was the type that would reshuffle her schedule in real-time, so, if things didnt match up with her expectations, she would be in a foul mood until she had reorganized and personally ounted for everything. This came off as a little obsessivepulsive, but, considering she was effectively a living supeputer, it wasnt particrly surprising that she would take exception to anything that conflicted with data she had already ounted for. Fortunately, this particr quirk disappeared entirely whenever she entered her far more excitable Majin state, so, while he would ultimately be forced to listen to herin about the destruction to her personal quarters, Vahn had be rather fond of her so-called rewards. In reality, she was usually the one getting off, but, as this was par for the course whenever he attended to his women, Vahn didnt particrly mind. Rather, he hade to enjoy pushing his partners to their limits and allowing them to experience even greater pleasure, so, whenever he was entangled with a woman who had very few inhibitions, he tended to enjoy himself quite a bit... --- With Android 21 practically melting at his side, a feat made possible due to the amorphous nature of her body, Vahn decided to take a moment to organize his thoughts. He was currently in what his lovers referred to as an active period, so, with a functionally infinite amount of time on his hands, a part of him was tempted to go on a marathon. His wanton maniption of time meant that months might pass between his interactions with certain women, and, though this might only be a day from their perspective, Vahn couldnt help but miss spending with them. Taking advantage of his increasingly exploited ability to connect his senses with those listed in his Unit Management, Vahn began to systematically organize the residents of the Emerald Grove based on their interests and avability. This caused him to recall the system that had been implemented during his time in Danmachi, and, though he had no intention of installing something simr, Vahn couldnt help but admire the foresight of the Goddesses who initiallyprised his harem... After wallowing in his nostalgia for a bit, Vahns mood had considerably waned, but, having already made up his mind, he briefly shifted his attention to the group consisting of Jeanne, Mash, and their students. This originallyprised the trio of ine, Alphine, and Arusha, but, after witnessing the growth of the Arie siblings, Ha Yura had also ended up asking for assistance in bing stronger. Life within the Little Garden afforded people ample opportunity to reflect upon their past decisions and hopes for the future, so, while she had yet to give up on her vengeance, associating with kind and powerful individuals had drastically changed her perception of right and wrong. Though he couldnt imagine her refusing his offer, Vahn promptly moved Yura to the end of the list. He had yet to find any clues pertaining to her mother, but, considering Madara had encountered a Big Breeder that was unquestionably rted to her brother, odds favored something happening to them both. This was something he had yet to reveal to the hopeful blte, so, before he revealed the truth, it was impossible for him to consider the former idol a possible partner. With this in mind, Vahn briefly shifted his attention to ine and Alphine, a rather troublesome duo that had been putting in an exceptional amount of effort into earning a ce for themselves within the Little Garden. As for why he considered them troublesome, it was primarily due to the fact that ine qualified as what Vahn referred to as a pletely delusional woman. She worked hard, yes, but, much like Helen, the only reason she did so was because she had certain expectations for what would happen once she had proven herself. She viewed him as more of a means to an end than an actual partner, and, though she would undoubtedly remain loyal, her resilient disconnect with both reality and her emotions made it difficult to fully appreciate her beauty and efforts. To her credit, ine had been seeking advice from others in an attempt to remedy these aspects of her character, so, while her very existence made him feel ufortable, Vahn didnt immediately preclude her from the list. She and Alphine had even gone as far as fusing with their Spirits in order to appeal to him with their furry ears and tail, so, after a brief consideration, Vahn ultimately ced them around the middle of the list. It was only a matter of time before he came to a head with the Leader of the Lo Po Bia Family, so, before then, it wouldnt hurt to strengthen their determination and strengthen their loyalty. He also had a number of misgivings regarding his inability to resolve things with Helen so this was a good opportunity to see how things might have been different had he taken a more proactive approach to reconciling her rather severe character ws. Besides, ine and Alphine were both remarkably beautiful women so it would be a travesty if he simply neglected them... (A/N: Alternate Titles: My, what an unexpected development (O w O)...,Make sure youre always drinking in moderation~,When Vahn is on the prowl, no one is safe...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1932 Invitation

Chapter 1932 Invitation

Attempting to take advantage of the moment when Vahn and Co''s data had disappeared from the Hidden Floor, a certain flowery magus, apanied by a woman veiled in gloom appeared along the periphery of the Town of the Wandering Minstrels. Neither particrly cared to act, but, thanks to the orders they had received prior to the Data Jahad''s deletion, they werepelled to at least make an effort. Unfortunately, while their power could nearly rival Data Jahad, neither Magus possessed the skills and abilities that allowed them to stand at the pinnacle of their respective verses. This was one of the major ws of the Hidden Floor, and, though she should have been able to break the magical formation surrounding the Town of the Wandering Minstrels with extreme ease, the shadowy figure couldn''t even make sense of the runesprising its foundation. Noticing hispanion''s glowering expression, the effeminate magus adopted a gentle smile as he muttered, "It''s a shame, really. I was quite looking forward to the opportunity to tease that beloved daughter of mine. If even you can''t do anything about it, I doubt there is anything my meager skills can aplish. Shall we call it a day?" Ignoring the flowery man''s words, the veiled woman took a few silent steps forward, the darkness around her body swirling violently in response. Said darkness quickly formed into several shadowy des, but, despite crashing destructively against the barrier, data-formed magic could aplish very little against a barrier formed by a genuine Tier 5. Responding to the sounds of numerous collisions, several mannequin-like constructs, apanied by three mint-haired maids, quickly filled the area. When they saw who was on the opposite side of the barrier, considerable shock momentarily reflected across the eyes of the most realistic-looking maid, but, noticing the shadowy figure couldn''t actually trespass their Master''s barrier, she quickly spread the word to the rest of the battalion in order to strengthen their defenses. Then, earning a hateful scowl from the angelic beauty hidden beneath the veil, she adopted an expression of scorn as she said, "You should have remained in our Master''s memory. She couldn''t even be bothered to deal with the real you. What makes you believe you are worthy of her attention?" Like a deluge released from a broken dam, a massive amount of darkness began to erupt from the veiled woman. In seconds, it hadpletely surrounded the Town of the Wandering Minstrels, but, despite how unnerving the sight appeared, her attack was ultimately unable to break through Eva''s magical barrier. Even boring into the ground and attempting to destabilize the caldera''s foundation proved futile, as, unlike the real world, objects and terrain could remain stationary even without the support of minerals like Suspendium to keep them afloat. Someone with administrative authority simply needed to toggle a g within the environmental data to convert certain objects into static meshes. From that moment onward, they would retain properties such as mass and collision, but, no matter how much force you applied to them, they would retain their positions on the X, Y, and Z axes while remaining effectively indestructible. Having already ounted for the fact that their enemies might try and destroy thend upon which the town was built, Vahn had preemptively tasked Sis with altering the environmental data of every building in the Town of the Wandering Minstrels. She had also modified the terrain upon which the buildings were established, so, even if the entirety of the Hidden Floor was destroyed by some kind of cataclysmic attack, the town and its inhabitants would remain unscathed. Realizing the futility of her actions, the shadowy figure ultimately retracted the darkness into her body before turning towards the flowery magus and saying, "We''re leaving." in an apathetic tone that didn''t match the look on her face. This left the flowery mage with a wry smile on his face, but, as he didn''t really have anything better to do, he ultimately chose to follow after the veiled woman, his body dissolving into a swirl of pale pink flower petals as he waved towards the mint-haired maid and said, "Give Artoria my regards~!" before vanishing entirely... --- Despite spending what amounted to several days with a multitude of lovers, Vahn was only halfway through his usual marathon. This was primarily the result of him dedicating a single self to the task, but, as it always felt more sincere if he devoted himself fully to his partner''s needs, he wasn''t going to try and cut any corners. This was a burden he had willfully ced upon himself, so, if he couldn''t satisfy all of his women, it simply meant he had overextended himself due to greed. Fortunately, while a fair amount of time had been devoted to licentious acts, the majority of it had been spent simply spending time with his loved ones. Not all of his women wanted to have sex all of the time, so, in between sessions of rather intense lovemaking, Vahn would do his best to meet their emotional and psychological needs as well. This involved things like brushing their hair, giving massages, and, most importantly, simply listening to them. Each of them had personal lives within the Little Garden, and, while some were content with staying inside, others had considerable hopes and aspirations for what they would do upon venturing outside These were exceptionally important to their mental wellness, so, whenever possible, Vahn did his best to not only encourage them but to help them prepare for the future. With this in mind, Vahn wrapped up his rather long cuddle session with Mash by asking if she could send for ine and Alphine upon her return. This left thevender-haired Vanargandr momentarily confused, but, after a few seconds had passed, a gentle and understanding smile developed across her face as she readily agreed. She had been the one assigned to assist in ine''s training, so, more often than not, she was the one informing her Master of the woman''s earnest efforts to change. As a result, she was actually a little happy for ine, as, better than most, she knew how trying it could be to circumvent her Master''s inhibitions and earn a ce at his side... Following Mash''s departure, Vahn took advantage of the momentary lull to using cleaning magic on the entire room before purchasing an entirely new bed from the system shop. At this point, he actually had more than a hundred different beds within his Inventory, as, despite the majority of them iming not to care, he knew the girls with more sensitive noses were always bothered by the smell and pheromones of other women. These served as reminders of the time he spent with other women, so, whenever possible, Vahn made sure to swap out beds to ensure his partners were able to rx without such unnecessary concerns. With this in mind, Vahn effectively reset the room to apletely neutral state before choosing afortable bed with green and blue bedding. These were ine''s favorite colors, and, though it might seem a little unfair to Alphine, Vahn knew thetter would actually appreciate it more if he pandered to her mistress. The woman was extremely loyal, and, though she had taken to referring to him as Master, her loyalty towards ine wasparable to Karin''s devotion towards Eva. Thus, at least for the time being, he would concentrate his efforts on conquering ine''s heart, a process that virtually guaranteed that Alphine would readily offer her own... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn allowed the flow of time within the room to normalize so that he wouldn''t be left waiting for literal days for the duo''s arrival. He also took the opportunity to wear a fresh set of clothes, as, regardless of his intentions, it wasn''t exactly proper to greets guests in his birthday suit. He might be an irredeemable pervert in the eyes of his more yful women, but that didn''t mean he hadpletely abandoned things like manners and self-respect... Fortunately, even with the flow of time returning to normal, Vahn still had a few minutes to himself as ine and Alphine had both been in the midst of training. Thus, prior to meeting with him, they took it upon themselves to cleanse their bodies and change into marginally more formal attire. This was ultimately unnecessary, but, fearing he might send them away if they appeared wearing sweat-stained tank tops and yoga pants, they did their best to wash every nook and cranny of each others'' bodies before appearing at his room approximately ten minutester. Surprising both girls, Vahn opened the door the moment Alphine attempted to knock. Even this was a little unorthodox for them, as, more often than not, those in a superior position seldom answered their doors in such a direct manner. Instead, they would give others permission to enter, forcing the opposing party to carry out pleasantries as they remained seated. Amused by the duo''s response, Vahn held the door open for them, saying, "I didn''t call you here to reinforce my position as your Master. Though it might be a little difficult at first, I''d like it if the two of you could learn to rx, even a little, during moments like this..." With Alphine being the closest to him, Vahn punctuated his words by extending his hand to caress the space between the blonde beauty''s fox-like ears. This left her even more speechless than she already was, and, for a brief moment, she regretted standing in front since it had effectively denied an opportunity for ine. Demonstrating this was apletely unnecessary concern, Vahn gestured for the fox-like woman to enter before performing a simr ritual with ine. This allowed the former to breathe a sigh of relief, and, at the same time, it allowed ine the opportunity to secure her position as Alphine did her best to appear busy. Fortunately for her, Vahn had ounted for this kind of behavior, so, prior to their arrival, he had set out the means to prepare tea on the nearby counter. Squinting her eyes slightly in response to having her head pat, ine politely folded her gloved hands across herp as she said, "I wanted to thank you for your invitation. Though it might be a little presumptuous of me, I am honored to have been given this opportunity. I will do my best to serve you to the utmost of my ability." Resisting the urge to shake his head and sigh, Vahn did his best to maintain a casual smile as he invited ine into the room and secured the door behind her. Afterward, he turned around to find the woman standing halfway between the door and the bed, her back facing him as she forced her wolf-like tail to wag. Even with her looking away, however, Vahn could still sense how pensive and uncertain she was, not because she was fearful of what was toe, but because she had virtually no experience in such matters. As a result, she had absolutely no notion of what she was supposed to do in such a situation, as, the only time she had ever been in love, it had been a lie... Fortunately for ine, Vahn was inordinately experienced in such matters, so, even if she behaved a little stiffly, he actually found it rather charming. After all, she was a remarkably beautiful woman, so much so that she would easily make it into the top three should she be ever aspire to be an Idol. This was emphasized by her sense of style, and, though her Kaiser outfit could be regarded as an exception, Vahn had to admit the woman had ss. Her form-fitting pants, in particr, made it difficult to avert his eyes, as, not only did she have an immactely sculpted butt, her bushy ck tail and plump thighs were the stuff men''s fantasies were made of. Perhaps sensing his gaze, or simply because she didn''t know what else to do, ine half-turned to nce at Vahn over her shoulders. His eyes moving up to meet her gaze made it obvious where he had been looking, but, rather than feeling even remotely offended, she actually felt a considerable amount of relief. Her age had started to bother her quite a bit as ofte, so, after learning about his preferences, she had been putting an extreme amount of effort into sculpting her body into a form that Vahn would appreciate. His invitation,bined with that single look, gave her the impression that all her efforts had finally paid off, so, while she was still extremely nervous, the vast majority of her fears had faded away. Offering a practiced but genuine smile, ine attempted to capitalize on the situation by saying, "If it would please Master, you are more than wee to give it a feel...I am not embarrassed to admit that I have put a lot of work into its shape and texture..." Though he had nned to ease them into things after a period of discussion, Vahn couldn''t resist raising his brows in response to ine''s invitation. He didn''t doubt for a moment the veracity of her ims, as, evenpared to the more shapely women in his harem, her butt was one of the most immacte he had ever seen. Thus, after a moment of deliberation, he returned ine''s smile with one of his own before stepping forward to tenderly caress her profanely plump yet remarkably firm backside... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Digital worlds be like, "Fuck logic."'',''Vahn is thorough in his own ways...'',''The kind of bait Vahn can''t help but sink his teeth into xD...'') Chapter 1933 Careful Guidance

Chapter 1933 Careful Guidance

Though neither would have refused, even if he was a little forceful, Vahn had never been the type to act in ordance with another persons delusion. Thus, rather than forcibly dominating the duo, as was customary among members of the Lo Po Bia Family, he decided to handle things his way: nice, slow, and methodical. As a result, neither girl understood what they should do, as, due to the literal and perceived status difference between them, taking matters into their own hand wasnt really an option. Taking advantage of this gap in their understanding, Vahn spent the better part of two-and-a-half-hours brushing, massaging, and simply pampering the two beautiful women. Whenever they would try to hurry things along, he would remind them that there was plenty of time, and, whenever they asked if there was something they could do for him, he would simply tell them that he was already doing exactly what he wanted to do. This ced the two girls in a peculiar dilemma, as, rather than being pampered, both had expected to dedicate themselves to servicing him. To make matters even worse, they noticed that he was enjoying himself quite a bit, so, even if they believed the situation was abnormal, their only real option was to continue ying along. Fortunately, while he did enjoy things like brushing their hair, grooming their tails, and filing down their nails, Vahn hadntpletely subverted their expectations. He also mixed in a fair amount of petting, both heavy and light, and, every now and then, he would periodically peel away a piece of their clothing in order to massage the exposed flesh beneath. As a result, ine had been stripped down to nothing more than a pair of dark-greence undergarments while Alphine, seemingly in an attempt to remain in the background, wore a form-fitting ck and orange attire that more closely resembled workout clothes than actual undergarments. With their lingerie representing theirst line of defense, the expectations and desires of both girls had been steadily increasing despite their rtively calm, almost taciturn, expressions. It wasnt an exaggeration to say that both girls were in heat, but, rather than giving in to their desires, they did everything in their power to appear calm so as not to offend him. This actually annoyed Vahn quite a bit, but, confident in his abilities, he continued to endeavor until the duos bodies were covered in a glisteningyer of sweat. It was only at this point that a passionate sigh managed to liberate itself from ines throat, a faux pas that ultimately caused her already ruddy face to simultaneously pale and turn beet red. Alleviating the womans concerns, Vahn simply smiled in response to the nervous look ine sent his way. This caused the beautys face to be even redder, not just because he was smiling at her, but because he had started to trace his fingers beneath the band of herce panties. This was his way of telling her that she hadnt done anything wrong. On the contrary, the moment both she and Alphine stopped suppressing themselves, he intended to reward them quite a bit. Seemingly realizing this, ine, who had basically been standing right in front of him for thest ten minutes, skipped asking for permission as she extended her hand to caress his exposed chest. This caused Alphine to look a little nervous, but, seeing the unchanging smile on Vahns face, she was able to rx considerably as a thoughtful look shed across her pale-yellow eyes. In an effort to both encourage and incite her further, Vahn rewarded ines efforts by slipping both hands beneath the fabric of her panties. This allowed him to feel her extremely smooth and warm skin directly, and, as a result, another hot sigh escaped ines throat as she leaned closer to nt a tentative kiss on his corbone. Then, as was often the case when he dealt with women who had overdeveloped olfactory senses, she began to sniff around the nape of his neck, disguising her actions with periodic kisses. With ine finally taking the bait he had been dangling for nearly three hours, Vahn fought hard against the urge to exhale a sigh of relief as he nestled his face between her wolf-like ears and took a deep breath. This surprised both girls quite a bit, but, at the same time, he was effectively giving ine license to do the same. Thus, for the better part of three minutes, the two focused on taking in each others scent, and, more importantly, exploring each others bodies in a manner of mutual reciprocation. This was the type of behavior typically reserved for two people who loved each other very dearly, so, as could be expected, Alphine was left feeling at a loss as she observed the scene with mixed feelings from the side. As for ine, Vahns behavior prompted her to think back to her youth, but, rather than feeling any apprehensions, she was beginning to feel safe and warm within his embrace... Putting words to his thoughts, Vahn made things a little easier for the two girls by strengthening his embrace around ines body and saying, "Though I am not perfect, I dont pick my partners based solely on things like beauty and strength. I dont need your loyalty, nor do I expect you to serve me just because of something like a difference in status. The most important thing to me is that you are happy and pursuing a path you sincerely believe in...things like passion and love should always be a mutual exchange between two willing partners. Even if you dont force yourself into lesser positions, I would never abandon either of you..." Though she had trouble epting Vahns words at face value, the one thing ine knew for certain was that she feltfortable within his embrace. His scent was also more pleasant than she already knew it to be, so, after a brief period of silence, she responded by affectionately licking his neck. For members of the Grey Wolf Tribe, licking was considered an extremely intimate behavior, so,cking the ability to express herself through words, ine opted to respond in the most direct manner she could think of. Without asking whether or not she was sure of her decision, Vahn adopted an expression of sincere affection as he rubbed his cheek against the top of ines head and sniffed around the base of her ears. This caused the pensive look on Alphines face to gradually rx, and, though a part of her still believed he might simply be toying with ines heart, she wasnt going to be the one to break the illusion. The most important thing to her was ines happiness, so, even if it was false, she would do everything in her power to protect it. What Alphine didnt expect was for Vahn to nt onest kiss upon ines head before releasing thetter from his embrace and extending his hand towards her. This left both her and ine in a state of confusion, but, after a moment, they both understood his meaning. He had stated that he wouldnt abandon either of them, so, rather than differentiating between them, he sought to bring them closer together. This put Alphine in quite the predicament, but, with ine adopting a gentle smile and emting Vahns actions, she had little choice but to join the rather awkward yet exciting exchange of affection... --- Following the theme of taking things slow, Vahn spent close to three days pampering, making love to, and simply talking with the two girls. They might have been positioned around the middle of his list, but they were technicallyst among the girls he intended to invite for a rendezvous. Everyone else had either been too busy or simply wasnt in the mood; so, with a functionally infinite amount of time on his hands, he wanted to make sure both girls were fully convinced that he wasnt simply putting on an act before sending them on their way. From experience, Vahn knew the best way to convince someone that your intentions were sincere, even if they werent, was to express an interest in their personal thoughts and feelings. This was a methodmonly employed by skilled conmen and therapists, but, more importantly, it was also the behavior expected of someone with a sincere interest in another person. Thus, while it caused Alphine to be suspicious of him in the beginning, Vahn was persistent in getting ine to open up to him and talk about her past. She had never truly moved on from that initial betrayal, so, in order to move forward, she needed to get everything off her chest. This was a little easier said than done, but, after realizing that time didnt seem to flow outside of the room, both girls began to gradually reveal things he already knew about their pasts. This time, however, Vahn didnt have the Law of Identity impersonally narrating things to him. Instead, he held the two close, patiently listening as they exposed their most deeply-rooted traumas. Then, showing as much love and care as he could manage, he helped the two ept these events as things of the past, and, though it wouldnt be easy, he did his best to help them form a roadmap that would help them find the happiness they both deserved. For ine, this meant restoring her family to its former glory and having lots of children with a strong mate. For Alphine, she found purpose in supporting ines dream, but, were she given the option, she would also like to have lots of children. Though he wasnt particrly surprised by the duos wishes, getting them to open up ultimately put him in quite the predicament. They, more specifically ine, had a mentality simr to the members of the Asteria Tribe. Thus, now that she had experienced his ability to manipte the flow of time in a more productive manner, she was fully prepared to birth an entire generation of Grey Wolves on her own. She could then train them with the resources of the Little Garden, and, though she had no intention of forcing them to fight at her behest, the notion of conquering the Lo Po Bia Family with her own offspring now lingered at the back of her mind. As for Alphine, she wanted her children to support ines, so, if he wanted to make good on his promise, he would need to knock them both up simultaneously. As much as he loved children, the thought of siring dozens of them in a rtively short period of time wasnt exactly Vahns cup of tea. Fortunately, both girls had seen how dearly he cared for his children, so, while they wouldnt mind raising their own in a region where time flowed more quickly, they understood it would be selfish of them to insist he leave everything to them. They also knew he had his own intentions for the Lo Po Bia Family, so, while it didnt change their desire for arge family, they were willing to allow him to decide when they got pregnant and how they raised their children. Truth be told, Vahn was more far morefortable with leaving such decisions to his partners, but, understanding well what the duo would choose, he had little choice but thepromise. This was one of the inherent pitfalls to involving himself with strong women who allowed their instincts and ambitions to dictate their decisions. The effective annihtion of the Grey Wolf Family left ine in a state where she genuinely believed it was her duty to expand their numbers, so, in order to appease this sentiment, Vahn spent the final day willfully impregnating the two women. This was actually the best method he could think of to express his sincerity in making their dreamses true; so, while it didnt provide them therge families they were hoping for, it would help to pacify their instincts while simultaneously providing them with the experience of raising children. Unfortunately, despite a concerted effort on ines part to convince him, he had to put his foot down when they insisted on carrying out their pregnancies in the Seventh Layer to arouse their survival instincts and ensure their pups were born strong and healthy... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "I want you to want it...",Love is apromise between two people~,At this point, Im not sure if Vahn is living the dream, or creating himself a nightmare...on the plus side...puppies~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1934 Lesson

Chapter 1934 Lesson

In the wake of his three-day foray with ine and Alphine, Vahn decided to wrap things up by spending a bit of time with Rindo before checking in on Angri. Only a few hours had passed since the time heid her to rest in Yoruichi''s room, but that was more than enough to be better acquainted with the mischievous cat. As a result, Vahn entered the room to find Yoruichi teaching her young protege how to stretch her back and shoulders while raising her butt high in the air, a disy reminiscent of a cat that would have been quite the sight to behold if not for the fact she also directed Angri to cover the more tantalizing bits with her tail... Despite sensing Vahn''s presence almost immediately, the two dark-skinned beauties made sure to take their sweet time before finally addressing him. This was a little harder for Angri, but, following Yoruichi''s example, she managed to put on quite the show even as her scent filled the entire room with a potent yet captivating musk. This, however, was considered a failure by Yoruichi, who, with a teasing smile on her face, ced the petite redhead in a headlock as she said, "You''re giving away the game. You should be the one riling him up. Going into heat just because you have an audience. What are you, an exhibitionist?" With a ruddyplexion,bored breathing, and a thinyer of sweat covering her body, trying to refute Yoruichi''s words wasn''t exactly an option. Instead, Angri decided to simply ignore her, eyeing Vahn with a hungry expression as she half-whined, "Master..." while still in a headlock. This left both Vahn and Yoruichi feeling a little helpless, but, considering Angri had only recentlye to life, they couldn''t exactly me her forcking self-control. Before Vahn could make a suggestion of her own, Yoruichi, perhaps in an effort to strengthen the hierarchal rtionship between her and Angri, released thetter''s head from her grasp. Then, in a series of swift movements, she surprised the redheaded Vanargandr quite a bit by picking her up from behind, hooking her hands behind her knees, and ''presenting'' her steamy lower body for the world, or, more urately, just Vahn to see. Though Angri appeared considerably more youthful than Yoruichi, the two were, in fact, very simr in size. Yoruichi had always been on the shorter side, standing only 156cm in height, so, seeing her pick up and present Angri caused an atmosphere of licentious incongruity to pervade the room. In a way, it was almost like seeing an older sister offer up her younger sibling to a brute, but, rather than showing even a single sign of trepidation, Angri worked seamlessly with the former by using her paws to present the glistening and pulsating flesh hidden between her slightly swollen vulva... Despite being at a genuine loss for words, that didn''t prevent Vahn from taking a few steps forward to get a closer look. This caused Angri''s breathing to be noticeably morebored, and, though she did her best to keep them retracted, her cat-like ws began to protrude. Fortunately, despite a few noteworthy differences between her and Fenrir, Angri possessed aparable imperviousness to her own ws and fangs... With the Vanargandr''s excessively robust and potent pheromones filling his head and causing his brains to buzz, Vahn couldn''t help but wonder if this was simr to the intoxication others felt when they got drunk. Either way, he found it strange that, despite being immune to virtually everything else, he was still susceptible to things like pheromones and aphrodisiacs. Sure, he could sober up almost instantaneously, but, so long as he offered no resistance, a fiery and desirous feeling would well up in his chest that made it difficult to resist sumbing to his baser instincts. Fortunately, Vahn was in a position where such restraint was wholly unnecessary, so, after sampling Angri''s youthful wellspring directly, he allowed his clothes to effectively dissolve away as he stood up and ced his ns at her weing entrance. This alone was enough to incite a remarkably powerful climax, but, despite the frantic trembling of her body, Angri managed to pry herself open without breaking eye contact. Offering a smile in response to the impassioned beauty''s expectant gaze, Vahn gently muttered, "I swear...the two of you are going to corrupt me..." before sinking himself slowly yet decisively into herpact furnace. This caused the trembling of her body to increase exponentially, but, rather than release a pleasured moan, Angri simply took a number of deeps breaths before whimpering, "Finally...Master is...a bully..." with her copper-tone eyes glistening with impassioned light. Smiling wryly in response to the usation, Vahn was about to half-heartedly defend himself when Angri licked a bit of wayward saliva from the corner of her mouth and smiling as she said, "I think I might like being bullied..." Immediately following Angri''s ''admission'', Yoruichi, unable to contain herself, began tough in a rather boisterous manner as she said, "That''s the spirit! With that kind of mentality, teaching you is going to be a st~!" Though she was far from what some ''cultured'' individuals might consider a masochist, Yoruichi had developed a particr fondness for being ''bullied'' and ''punished'' by Vahn. She had expected Angri to have a simr disposition based on what she knew of Fenrir''s character, so, hearing the youthful-looking redhead openly admit her preferences, she couldn''t help feeling vindicated. This was going to make things significantly easier moving forward, as,pared to more prideful individuals, those who were honest with their desires were a lot easier to manage. With this in mind, Yoruichi tightened her grip on Angri''s legs as she leaned into Vahn. This put a bit of a strain on the redhead''s body, but it also forced her against Vahn''s intrusion. As a result, another potent shiver immediately ran through her body as a hot sigh escaped her throat. This also put her ankles near Vahn''s shoulders, so, taking advantage of the opportunity, Vahn kissed the pink pad on the bottom of Angri''s foot before snaking his hands around Yoruichi''s waist to grab her shapely yet pliant posterior. This, in turn, provided him much greater leverage, and, as a result of their proximity to one another, it also allowed him to entangle his tongue with Yoruichi''s as Angri writhed between them... --- Due to the redhead practically begging him to ''dye her in his colors'', Angri, covered in a copious amount of bodily fluid, could be seen sleeping in a rather slovenly position as Vahn and Yoruichi cuddled nearby. The former had a characteristically wry smile on his face, but, as the person who had been inciting Angri throughout the seven-hour session, Yoruichi had an almost motherly smile on her face as she mused, "That girl has potential..." Restraining the urge to issue a dryugh, Vahn continued to lightly massage Yoruichi''s smooth yet taut abdomen as he remarked, "I''m almost afraid to ask what you mean..." Seemingly amused by this statement, a teasing smile immediately developed across Yoruichi''s face as she turned to meet his gaze and exin, "I was trying to imply that she would work her tail off to be stronger. You just need to make sure you''re rewarding us properly for our efforts...though, based on how things yed out, I would argue that you were the one receiving an award. You have a bit of a sadistic side locked away behind that kind smile of yours..." Though he wanted to point out that she and Angri were the ones riling him up, Vahn knew better than anyone how much his reservations towards such ys had waned with the passage of time. In the past, he always felt at least a little ufortable, but, after ruing a considerable amount of experience with Theo, Lakshmibai, Mash, Karin, Arusha, and even Yoruichi herself, it was now just as natural to him as traditional lovemaking. He even found himself enjoying it at times, as,pared to ''normal'' girls, those with masochistic tendencies were extremely honest with their reactions and desires... Taking note of Vahn''s silence, Yoruichi''s smile became even more noticeable as raised her head to pierce his ear with her rather prominent canines. This caused Vahn to wince slightly, but, rather than resist, he allowed her top up his blood and groom the side of his head with her cat-like tongue. It was only after her tongue became noticeably soft and slimy that he pulled his head away, asking, "Is this your way of telling me you want to go another round...?" Chuckling in response to Vahn''s words, Yoruichi pulled his head back towards her, dering, "If I wanted you to fuck me, I would just tell you to do it..." before continuing to lick in and around his ear. This left Vahn feeling a little helpless, but, knowing she could be a little quirky at times, he just allowed Yoruichi to do as she pleased while casually fondling her breasts. This earned him another chuckle from the bronzed-skin beauty, who, rather than ceasing her actions, whispered, "Turn your head so I can get at your other ear..." Despite rolling his eyes, Vahn ultimatelyplied with Yoruichi''s request by allowing her to tilt his head rather forcibly to the side. This made it significantly more difficult to fiddle with her breasts, so, for the better part of ten minutes, he just enjoyed their softness against his cheek as Yoruichi awkwardly cleaned his ears. By the end of it, he was actually beginning to enjoy the slimy sensation, his expression rxing until Yoruichi huskily whispered, "It seems your masochistic tendencies are also developing rather nicely as ofte..." Frowning in response to Yoruichi''s words, Vahn was about to refute them when she added, "It''s not a bad thing...it just shows how considerate you are of your partner. Even though you didn''t like it in the beginning, you still let me do as I pleased without protest. Now, despite the passage of only a few minutes, you''re even beginning to enjoy it...am I wrong?" Exhaling a sigh, Vahn moved to a seated position before using a cloth to clean the saliva from his left ear as he asked, "So? What is it you''re trying to teach me? That we all have a few masochistic tendencies within us?" Giggling in response to Vahn''s somewhat standoffish words, Yoruichi nestled a little closer to him, her breasts pressing against his chest as she turned her eyes up and said, "It''s more important that you understand the only reason we behave like this is that you''re our partner...rather than trying to categorize our behavior, you should just continue being yourself and doing as you please. Trust me, if you mess up, we''ll be sure to let you know..." With that said, Yoruichi pushed Vahn over before straddling his waist in a mounting position. Then, with one of the more seductive expressions he had ever seen on her face, she expertly maneuvered his ns to her entrance before asserting, "There are times when even I want to be on the top..." as her hips lowered to consume the full length of his rather sizeable ''dragon''. Then, as her hips began to sway in a rhythmic manner reminiscent of samba or belly dancing, she sent a yful wink to the side where Angri, for quite a while now, had been observing them through squinted eyelids... Having noticed Angri''s stirring long ago, Vahn was starting to understand what Yoruichi was up to. She was demonstrating to the inexperienced Vanargandr, that, despite cing herself in what many would consider a submissive position as his pet, she was there entirely by choice. Thus, rather than saying she was lowering herself, it was more urate to say she was making herself vulnerable for the person she loved. It was an expression of trust, and, due to their mutual feelings, it was possible to reverse the dynamic between them under the right conditions. This was an important lesson as it not only demonstrated her superior position as Angri''s incumbent mentor, but, most importantly, it illustrated that two of the most important aspects of developing a healthy rtionship were mutual trust and a marginal amount ofpromise... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''We''re getting to lewdness levels that shouldn''t even be possible...!'',''Everyone is a masochist under the right conditions xD...'',''The only thing missing from this scene is Yoruichi telling Vahn to call her sensei...'') Chapter 1935 Concessions

Chapter 1935 Concessions

Emerging from within the Little Garden, Vahn was unsurprised to learn about the attack that had urred while he was away. One of the reasons Eva hade out was because she suspected that her Sworn Enemy would appear, so, with Ialda failing to appear during the conflict, it was all but guaranteed that she was lurking somewhere in the shadows. As for Merlin, it was hard to imagine the peculiar incubus actually being controlled by anyone, so, while he might make an appearance in the future, it was almost certainly just to mess with them. Fortunately, as had been proven time and again, the Sworn Enemies produced by the Hidden Floor were inept when it came to the use of foreign magical systems. It was like the difference between using magic in real life and coding an effect in a video game. No matter how much the effect might resemble the real deal, it almost certainly cut corners. If the Workshop could design an artifact with the capacity to supersede the Laws and deconstruct virtually all magical and energy systems, they would have achieved their objective long ago. With the previous battle all but confirming their enemies were incapable of breaking through, Vahn had be a lot more confident in the towns defenses. Thus, after a brief war council, he decided to pay a visit to the Pce of Spears to see if Data Eduan could convince Data Jahad to either fight him directly or turn over the Data Humans hidden within the Hidden Hidden Floor. What he didnt expect was to find both men sitting across from each other at the far ends of a long banquet table. Demonstrating his usualckadaisicalness, Data Eduan was the first to speak, halfheartedly raising his hand and saying, "Yo." before emptying the contents of his chalice in a fewrge gulps. As for Data Jahad, he just supplied a curt nod whilst using a fork and knife to methodically cut a piece of steak into rtively even chunks. Resisting the urge to send both men flying, Vahn walked to the side of the table before taking a seat slightly off-center. This caused a displeased frown to spread across Jahads face, and, as could be expected, Eduan burst intoughter at the mans expense. Feeling his appetite wane, Jahad returned his utensils to their assigned positions before cing his elbows on the table and interlinking his fingers like a mastermind or someone trying to seem more intelligent than they actually were. Then, in a surprisingly deep voice that didnt suit his somewhat youthful appearance, he said, "Ordinarily, I would have apuded you for sessfully defeating a version of myself. However, considering the ease with which youpleted the task, I imagine such actions would be wasted. Tell me, what is it you hoped to achieve bying to the Hidden Floor. If it is within my power, I will supply what you desire." Despite the Law of Identity revealing that the man was telling the truth, Vahn couldnt help feeling a little annoyed by the fact that Jahad had appeared in this manner. If he was going to do something like this, it would have been far more sincere of him had he chosen to arrive at the outskirts of the Town of the Wandering Minstrels. Instead, despite knowing exactly what it was he sought, the man opted to continue ying games for no better reason than because he thought it was the correct decision for someone in his position. Shaking his head in slight exasperation, Vahn decided it simply wasnt worth it to argue with the man. He had already defeated an arguably more powerful version of Jahad, so, while he wouldnt mind going through the motions, further conflict was ultimately pointless. It was because he shared this sentiment that the current Jahad had made his appearance, so, after a moment of deliberation, Vahn answered, "I want you to turn over the Big Breeder who has possessed Ha Yuras twin brother. I would also like you to restore the data of Ha Hyejin. Even if it is only her memory, I can still restore a version of her to life. To that end, there are several others I have been searching for. It would save me a lot of time if you could either point me in their direction or teleport them alongside the Data Humans transported to the Hidden Hidden Floor." Though he was nning to reveal that his counterpart had wiped out most of the Data Humans in the Hidden Hidden Floor, Vahns casual mention that he could even restore a persons memory to life caused Jahad to fall silent. Had he known about this ability beforehand, he might have tried to work alongside Vahn, but, knowing himself, this wasnt very likely. Rather, had he not born witness to Vahns defeat of the Kings Data, it was safe to say this conversation would have been reced with a battle that would have undoubtedly resulted in his end... Amused by the notion, a small smile appeared on Jahads face as he said, "Very well. It will take a few days, but I should be able to answer your needs. For now, I will hand over Hwang and the girl known as Roen. If Im not mistaken, the two of them were priority targets for the groups you were sending out. I dont imagine it would smooth things over between us, but I believe it would allow you to breathe easier once they are safely in your charge." With that said, a three-meter wide circr mirror appeared next to Jahad before two figures were rather unceremoniously hurled from its surface. This included an effeminate youth with light-blue hair, and, though she looked quite a bit different than the version he had reproduced, a vivacious-looking young woman with orange hair and matching eyes. This was undoubtedly Roen, but, after spending hundreds of years within the Hidden Floor, she had changed rather drastically in order to ensure her survival. Contrasting the almost idol-like appearance of her original self, Data Roen had her orange hair tied in a somewhat wild and disorderly ponytail. She also had a few tribal-like tattoos covering her body, and, due to the impracticality of obtaining finely woven and fabricated cloth, her attire was stitched together from various nt and animal fibers. The only thing preventing her from fully looking like an Amazoness was her fair skin and frail-looking body, characteristics that no amount of training or time spent in the sun could change. Fortunately, while her appearance and aura didnt give off the vibe of an excessively caring woman, the confident glimmer in Roens eyes revealed that she hadnt fallen victim to the Hidden Floor. She had most likely joined one of therger female tribes, or, considering her strength, odds were that she had created one of her own. Either way, she was still the same woman that had conquered the Hell Train numerous times in the past, just a little more seasoned. Noticing the presence of several men, Roen immediately raised her guard before taking note of the identities of said men. Jahad and Eduan, in particr, caused herplexion to pale, but, once she saw Vahn, her perturbed expression was immediately reced by a radiant smile as she asked, "Are you the real you?" Feeling strangely unnerved by the womans reaction, Vahn couldnt help adopting a wry smile as he awkwardly replied, "Last I checked...please dont tell me something happened between you and one of my Sworn Enemy selves..." Tilting her head to the side with an adorable and almost innocent look on her face, Roen made a show of appearing confused before adopting an almost predatory smile. This caused the fine hairs on the back of Vahns neck to stand on end, but, fortunately, the Law of Identity promptly revealed, "She is just messing with you. She heard about the situation and knows the reason you have been searching for her. " Feeling relief wash over him like a bucket of warm water, Vahn nearly exhaled a sigh before the Law of Identity added, "If anything, she seems to have a thing for Angri. Living in an all-female tribe for hundreds of years has its consequences~." Hearing the Law of Identitys addendum, Vahn was tempted to offer a prayer for Daniel and all the other men who had fawned over Roen for centuries. This was the mostprehension version of Roen in existence, but, due to having never experienced the trauma of facing White, she was a lot different from the woman whose deaths had shaped their lives for thest six-hundred-years. This was a version of her who had never lost her confidence, and, as a result of never being forced into an inescapable position, she had never fallen in love with any of them... Noticing Vahns expression change numerous times in just a few seconds, Roen was beginning to feel as though her prank had been a little too sessful. This caused her to awkwardly scratch her cheek, and, though it would have made him feel relieved initially, his desire to silently express his condolences for her entourage were increased when she exined, "Rx...I was just messing with you. Besides, as the leader of an all-female tribe, it wouldnt set a good example if I went searching for a man to bed. Dont get me wrong, youre plenty handsome. I just dont swing that way." Emanating a dry chuckle in response to Roens words, Vahn decided it was probably for the best to direct the conversation elsewhere. Their intery had earned them mixed reactions from the other three people present, and, as much as he enjoyed seeing Jahad scowl, there were more important matters to attend. With this in mind, he ultimately ended up clearing his throat before rising from his seat and saying, "I have other matters to attend. Im confident we will be able to convene again once everything else has been settled. Until then, you can find me within or around the Town of the Wandering Minstrels." Rising immediately after Vahn, Jahad simply nodded his head inpliance before ring his cape as he turned to depart. This earned him a reproving shake of the head from Eduan, who, rather than rising alongside everyone else, simply raised his goblet to say, "See ya around." before downing the remaining contents. Gesturing half-heartedly in response to Eduans words, Vahnrgely ignored the legendary duo as he focused his attention on Roen and the Big Breeder known as Hwang. Thetter was looking even paler than usual, as, shortly after his initial defeat, his authority had been revoked. This left him with the approximate power of a C-Rank Regr, so, with very few exceptions, even the average resident of the Hidden Floor was more than a match for him. With the Law of Identity detailing the sequence of events that had led to Yuras brother bing a Big Breeder, Vahn could sense a storm brewing on the horizon. Yura wouldnt take kindly to the fact that someone had robbed her twin brother of his identity while he was still in the womb. She would be even less enthused to learn that the same person had killed her mother after thetter inevitably realized what had happened... Once the truth came to light, it was all but guaranteed that Yura would have a mental breakdown before subsequently trying to kill Hwang. This was well within her right, but, understanding what had driven Hwang to act, Vahn had mixed feelings about the situation. The reality of the situation was that Hwang was the only reason that Yuras mother had been able to give birth. The curse that Jahad had afflicted on the Asteria Tribe guaranteed that one of the children in her womb was going to die, and, as fate would have it, the fetus that had been selected was Yuras twin brother. Since it was impossible for her brother to survive through conventional means, Hwang had used a rather ingenious method to transfer the unborn fetus into the data produced by Yuras mother, Ha Hyejin. This allowed the real Hyejin to give birth to Yura while her data self, trapped forever within the Hidden Floor, gave birth to her ill-fated son. What neither of them realized was that Hwang, due to a genuine desire to feel true emotions and experience growing up in a loving environment, had fused his consciousness with the underdeveloped Ego of Yuras brother. This effectively overwrote the existence of Yuras brother, and, for several decades, even Hyejin was none the wiser. Unfortunately, Hyejin eventually realized the truth when Hwang was forced to use his power as a Big Breeder to protect her. This ultimately resulted in her rejecting the imposter who had taken over her sons body, and, despite raising him lovingly for nearly a hundred years, it didnt seem to matter to the bereaved woman. In the end, Hwang was forced to erase the data of his mother, not because he harbored any resentment towards her, but because she had asked him to. This resulted in Hwang experiencing an existential crisis of sorts, as, unlike Hyejin, he genuinely believed himself to be her son so he couldnt understand why she would turn on him after showering him with love and affection for so long. From that moment onward, Hwang had been doing everything in his power to find a way to leave the Hidden Floor. He believed that the real Ha Hyejin would be a better mother, and, though they had never met, he believed in the bond between him and Yura. The sad thing about this situation was that Hwangs intentions were sincere, yet, as a result of the circumstances, he would undoubtedly be seen as a monster by most people. This was in spite of the fact that he simply wanted to live and be loved by others. Thus, while he maintained that Yura was well within her right to kill the man for his transgressions against her family, Vahn also believed that Hwang had the right to live. Yes, he had taken over the body of an unborn infant, but, under normal circumstances, both Yura and her brother were fated to die... Shaking his head, Vahn concluded this wasnt a matter he could adjudicate on before seeing Yuras reaction to the situation. She had mellowed out considerably due to living within the Little Garden, so, with any luck, she would be willing to give Hwang the same chance at life he had once afforded her. If not, he was pretty sure he could convince her by promising to resurrect her mother, so, with that in mind, he teleported back to the Town of the Wandering Minstrels with the troublesome duo in tow... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Yo...,RIP Daniel...,There is some advanced fuckery at work here...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1936 Conclusion

Chapter 1936 Conclusion

To say Yura was displeased to learn what had happened to her brother and mother would be the understatement of the century. Had Vahn not been there to intervene, she might have choked the like out of Hwang without a second thought. Fortunately, while she was quite a bit stronger than the average C-Rank Regr, her strength didnt allow her to act with impunity within the confines of the Little Garden. Though he felt a little guilty about it, Vahn didnt have the heart to let Yura kill Hwang. His only real crime was wanting to live, and, though he had employed underhanded means to guarantee himself the chance at life, his transgressions were not carried out with the intent to do harm. Instead, he did his best to be a filial son for Hyejin, and, had she never learned the truth, he would have supported Yura to the best of his ability. Simply put, Hwang hadnt actually done anything wrong from a purely objective standpoint. Had he not stepped in, Yura, her unborn brother, and even their mother would have died. She had already been on the run for years at that point, and, after losing her husband aboard the Hell Train, the only thing preventing her frommitting suicide was the minuscule possibility that one of her children would survive. Without Hwangs interference, however, the odds of a sessful birth were less than 3%, even with the blessing of the Ha Family. While it wasnt the most ideal solution, Hwangs efforts had ensured that both Hyejin and Yura were able to survive. Had the former not returned to the Ha Family to ept their judgment, both would have been alive and well to this day. There was no room for debate in this regard, so, while he could understand Yuras desire to kill the man who had upied her twin brothers body, allowing her to kill him was the same as letting her murder the benefactor who had saved the lives of both her, her mother, and, in a way, her brother... Vahn would never allow someone to be murdered simply because they wanted the opportunity to experience genuine love and affection. He wasnt fond of the method Hwang had employed, but, considering he didnt have any other alternatives, it would be unfair to me him for circumstances beyond his control. Thus, after separating the two, he had Yura confined to her quarters, forcing her to listen as he revealed everything, the motivations of those involved, and the aspirations they each held for the future. Needless to say, Yura wasnt at all enthused by how things had developed, but, hearing his pledge to do everything in his power to resurrect her parents, she gradually mellowed out over the course of several weeks. This was aided by the fact he had officially inducted her into his Familia, and, as a result, her strength had been increasing by leaps and bounds. The problem was, despite the efforts and advice of several people, she stubbornly refused to even be in the same room with Hwang. The times they did meet, she pretended like he didnt exist, and, whenever he tried speaking to her, she would invariably give him the silent treatment. This led to Hwang showing signs of depression, but, with a sizable poption of Asteria within the Second Layer, there were plenty of people willing to treat him as kin. A stark contrast to the situation between Hwang and Yura, the matter of Roen had been resolved rtively smoothly. Daniel had once again proven that his love for Roen far eclipsed his personal wants and needs. He had been fully prepared to die for a chance at restoring her to life, so, despite learning about her change in preferences, he was unwavering in his resolve to see her made whole. This was where the only hup in the situation urred, as, despite spending the better part of six-hundred-years in the Hidden Floor, Roen was still the same kind and caring woman she had always been. Just as Daniel was willing to sacrifice himself for her, she was fully willing to do everything in her power to force herself to fall in love with him. This was vehemently opposed by Daniel, but, just as she had done countless times in the past, Roen was willing to move forward without minding his objections. It was around this point that Vahn decided to mediate between the two, offering them a number of alternative solutions that ensured neither would have topromise. First and foremost, he talked about creating a backup of Roens data and reverting it to the state it had been in prior to the time she had spent in the Hidden Floor. This would allow Data Roen, who had already developed an Ego of her own, to continue living among her people without forcing herself to change. At the same time, the backup data would be superimposed onto the current Roens fragmented Ego, effectively creating two distinct versions of the same person. Though they were apprehensive about employing such a method, Vahn managed to convince the duo with rtive ease after reminding them that neither version of Roen was the original. There was no reason for them to sacrifice for a version of themselves that was, in many ways, wholly unrted to them. If they wanted to truly honor her memory, they should be doing everything in their power to live their lives to the fullest, not sacrificing them for the sake of sentiment. As Vahn could be very persuasive when he wanted to be, it didnt take long for Daniel and Roen to agree to his proposition. This resulted in the existence of two different Roens, neither of which was in love with Daniel. Fortunately, due to the fragments preserved from the original Roen, the version that had been left in Daniels care did possess a particr fondness for the freckle-faced blond. The only downside was that she had also inherited the memories from the period that Daniel was taking care of her. This included some very embarrassing memories, so, while the seeds of love and trust were there, it would take some time for them to blossom fully. Fortunately for Daniel, he had a lot of support from the version of Roen formed from the Ego of her data self. She quickly became something of an elder sister for the duo, and, though it was ultimately unnecessary considering Daniels and Roens characters, she tried ying matchmaker between the two whenever the opportunity presented itself. The rest of her time was spent doing everything in her power to increase her strength, amon trait among former Data Humans. Due to being unable to increase their strength for inordinately long periods of time, regardless of their efforts, experiencing actual progress was, forck of a better descriptive, addicting. The led to many former Data Humans seeking power, and, as a result of her rather unique circumstances, Roen was in a position to receive more benefits than most. In an effort to distinguish herself from the original, Roen asked that her new body have a number of alterations made to its physical appearance. Vahn not only granted this request but, in the hopes of making things a little easier for her, he asked Kisuke to both reinforce her mana circuits and change her race to Amazoness. This was effectively what she and her eleven followers had be, so, after discussing it with the entire group, the Second Layer gained a small poption of Amazons focused on bing stronger. At this point, the poption of the Second Layer had exploded to more than a hundred thousand residents, but, thanks to the unique properties of the Little Garden, there hadnt been any issues. It was impossible to die from things like starvation, disease, or old age, so, while they did their best to keep up with food production, it wasnt particrly important. The only reason most people ate was that it was mandated they do so, as, at some point, every resident of the Second Layer would have to return to the outside world. Vahn had made sure that the races in his charge understood from the start that he wasnt going to watch over them indefinitely. As tempting as it was to turn the Little Garden into a multiverse, there were bound to be problems once the poption had grown beyond a certain point. The biological immortality provided by the sub-realm was the primary reason for this, but, more so than anything else, it was the faith of the people within the Second Layer that was a problem. While it wasnt an issue in the present, quite the contrary, Vahn knew it was only a matter of time before a societal divide urred. Immediately thereafter, the belief that presently supplied him a rather substantial power increase would begin to fluctuate as he was forced to mediate between groups with differing values. This was an inevitability derived from the differences between races, and, while it wouldnt be a problem for quite some time, living within the Little Garden could be extremely boring at times. Though he could create a system to help alleviate the boredom of those within, Vahn didnt want the interior structure of the Little Garden to be unnecessarilyplicated. He already had a number of issues managing the Seventh Layer, so, rather than endanger everything for the sake of people who would inevitably turn against him, it was best to help them as much as possible before leaving them to their own devices. That way, they would always remember what he had done for them, and, while there were bound to be people born who didnt believe in him, the legacy he had left behind would sustain their belief for generations toe. By introducing new races into the world, Vahn was hoping to increase his power by bing the progenitor and patron god of various races. This might seem like he was forming a religion of sorts, but, rather than preach a doctrine based on restraint and false promises, the foundational pirs of his belief system included things such as self-mastery, magnanimity, coexistence, and a passionate denial of superiority based on the circumstances of ones birth. He also taught that children were born without sin, and, while some might be born with contentious elemental affinities, intolerance and fear were the nutrients that sustained the seeds of ignorance and corruption. Vahn didnt know how things would turn out, but, so long as implemented a system that reinforced the importance of education and understanding, he was hoping to prevent the spread of corruption in any civilizations built upon his teachings. Yes, it was only a matter of time before things copsed in upon themselves, but, even if it was only a few thousand years, the people who lived during that time would be grateful for his efforts. Peace was never pointless, and, even if it invariably led to an equally long period of conflict and strife, that, too, would eventually yield to the forces that kept the universe in bnce... --- Havingpleted his objectives on the Hidden Floor, Vahn spent the rest of his time watching over the Town of the Wandering Minstrels. Jahad had made a half-hearted attempt to share information with him, but, after refusing his advice the first time, the would-be King never broached the subject again. Instead, he waited until the veryst day to invite Vahn to the Hidden Hidden Floor. There, he expressed his desire to format the entire thing, but, as his programming prevented him from doing so, he ultimately left it up to Vahn to decide the virtual floors fate. Since the only resident of the Hidden Hidden Floor at this point was Jahad himself, Vahn agreed to destroy it once he departed. As for the original Hidden Floor, he intended to transnt it into the Little Garden so that the R\u0026D Division could study and preserve it. There, it would remain until the Laws within his Realm could be fully reconciled with those of the current Record. After that, it was a rtively simple matter to incorporate the Hidden Floor into the Moon Cell or convert it into one of Gaias Textures. This would allow the natives of the Hidden Floor to grow and develop on their own, wholly unaware of the fact they were originally nothing more than programs within a system... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The important takeaway from this is that Yura had to exposed her back to Vahn (O w O)...,Daniel is a good guy...,Getting some Eternal Sphere vibes...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1937 Loose Ends

Chapter 1937 Loose Ends

Following his meeting with Jahad, Vahn only had two small matters to attend to before departing the Hidden Floor. This included transnting Data Eduans Ego, and, most importantly, fulfilling his promise to delete the data of Urekos Sworn Enemy. Under normal circumstances, a persons Sworn Enemy would vanish the moment the person they were linked to departed the Hidden Floor. In Urekos case, however, she had been so upset by the fact that the Mirror at the End couldnt record her character data that she ended up destroying it with a punch. This resulted in the near destruction of the Hidden Floor, and, as a result, her Sworn Enemy persisted even after her departure. Since Ureko couldnt be bothered to wait around a year just to enter the Hidden Floor a second time, she decided to leave behind her Sworn Enemy as a test of sorts for people she had taken an interest in. Vahn was well aware of this fact, so, once everything else was taken care of, he used the mirror provided to him by Jahad to enter the space between the Hidden and Hidden Hidden Floors. This was a region known as the Bug Room, and, had he discovered it sooner, Vahn would have been able to use it to freely trespass both floors at his leisure. Due to its unique structure, the Bug Room was almost impossible to ess for anyone who didnt possess a real body. This meant it was inessible to Data Humans such as Data Jahad, but, more importantly, it could be used as a thoroughfare for outsiders seeking to interfere with the Hidden Floors. In the past, King Jahad had used the space that eventually became the foundation of the Bug Room to make contact with his data self and create the Hidden Hidden Floor. The failsafes installed by the Workshop made it nigh-impossible for even someone at his level to interfere with the Hidden Floor from the outside, so, with no other options avable to him, he could only bait his data self into an environment where he had greater control. This was the true reason for the creation of the Hidden Hidden Floor, and, had things gone ording to n, Jahad would have been able to destroy both once the prophesied time hade. Now, the intervening space between the two Hidden Floors had be little more than a trash bin for data that could not be deleted through conventional means. It was also the ce where Hwang had been spending most of his time while conspiring to betray Jahad and escape the Hidden Floor. Part of this n included using the Urekos Sworn Enemy to destroy the Mirror of the Past, but, with the original mirror being located in the real world, the only thing this would have aplished was triggering the trap left behind by the real Jahad. Fortunately, things had never developed to that point, so, after roaming thebyrinth-like halls with the Law of Identity acting as his guide, Vahn eventually chanced upon the room containing Urekos Sworn Enemy. Sensing the presence of a foreign smell, Urekos nose twitched a few times before she paused her game console and half-turned to nce over her shoulder. This allowed Vahn to see the massive scar-like birthmark covering her right eye, but, more surprising than this was the fact that Urekos Sworn Enemy looked like a much younger version of herself... Resembling a boyish young girl between the ages of 12-14, Urekos Sworn Enemy gave off the impression of a bratty middle-schooler who liked to get into fights. She was even wearing a leather jacket with her name stitched on the back, and, rather than the shorts preferred by her real-world counterpart, she was tattered, form-fitting, jeans with numerous holes cut in them. At the same time that Vahn was inspecting her, S.E. Ureko was returning the favor with her rather scary-looking red eyes. She gave off the impression of a far more unhinged version of the actual Ureko, and, though her aura was remarkably docile, her expression was reminiscent of a deranged killer that had just found a new victim. Were it not for the persistent error messages blinking in and out of existence around her, she would have cut quite the intimidating figure despite her diminutive frame. Setting down her controller, S.E. Urekozily rose to her feet before dusting off her backside and asking, "Did the real me send you? I can smell her scent all over you. She must think pretty highly of you to mark you in such a thorough manner..." Fully aware of what S.E. Ureko was talking about, Vahns smile became wry as he remarked, "Yeah...it certainly seems that way..." Smiling in a manner that resembled baring her fangs, S.E. Ureko began to roll her right arm as if she was warming up the throw a punch. This left Vahn feeling helpless, as, despite yearning for her own deletion, it seemed that Urekos Sworn Enemy didnt mind evaluating him on behalf of her true self. In her mind, it must have been infinitely better than going down without a fight, so, after finishing a few light stretches, a tremendous aura spontaneously erupted from her body as she vanished from view. Though he could have ended the battle one-sidedly, much as he had done with Jahad, Vahn felt he owed it to Ureko to put her Sworn Enemy down with dignity. Thus, rather than relying on the many exploits he had recently developed, he decided to receive her telephone punch while matching her strength as best he could. This caused a massive shockwave to tear through the Bug Room, and, as a result, streams of data and quite a number of errors appeared as even the space around them was destroyed. Grinning like a madwoman in response to Vahn catching her fist with his bare hand, S.E. Ureko took advantage of her small size and ridiculous flexibility to send a kick towards his head reminiscent of a reapers scythe. This attack was exponentially faster than her telegraphed punch, and, as a result of exceeding the speed of light without manipting space-time, her foot released a phenomenal amount of golden light as it smashed into his guard with enough force to instantaneously vaporize a small ind. Emerging from within the golden plume, S.E. Ureko licked away the trail of blood trickling from her lips as her right leg, momentarily missing from the knee down, rapidly regenerated using the same golden light produced during her attack. She was effectively infusing her cells with Light Elemental Energy, and, though the effect was iparable to the Magia Erebea, Vahn suspected this was due to the Hidden Floors inability to faithfully replicate abilities beyond the limitations of the system... Waving his hand to the side, Vahn dispersed the remnants of the golden plume to reveal that he waspletely unharmed. This caused S.E. Urekos smile to be even more prominent, her teeth appearing slightly sharper than before as she excitedly eximed, "Hell! You aint bad at all!" Immediately following this outburst, S.E. Urekos body began to emit a radiant golden aura as she ascended higher into the sky. Then, after crossing her feet and spreading out her arms in a manner reminiscent of someone bound to a crucifix, she descended towards him like a spinning ax loosed at the speed of light. This made it appear as though she were going to perform an ax kick, but, just as she was about to impact his guard, she spontaneously arrested her momentum tond feet first against his forearm. Just as Vahn was thinking about what she was going to do, the aura around Urekos body vanished as the bottoms of her exposed feet began releasing a far more intense golden light. Then, showing aplete disregard for her own body, strange cracks formed along her legs as a massive pir of light enveloped his body. The intensity of this light was so great that, for a brief moment, Vahn felt as though it has pervaded every cell in his body as his defenses utterly copsed under its might. It was like being hit by the energy discharge of a quasar, and, were it not for the fact they were in a virtual space of functionally infinite size, it wasnt difficult to imagine such an attack annihting all life within a Floor. In the wake of her own attack, everything beneath S.E. Urekos navel had beenpletely erased along with her left arm. The number of errors around her body had also increased exponentially, but, without paying them any mind, she allowed her body to regenerate while looking around the area for any traces of her would-be suitor. Seeing nothing but destabilized space for as far as the eye could see, S.E. Ureko was beginning to feel greatly disappointed until Vahn, having manifested out of thin air behind her, made a show of clearing his throat before saying, "You should probably fix your clothes..." With everything but the upper half of her jacket destroyed, S.E. Ureko waspletely exposed from below her ribs to the soles of her feet. Despite this, she showed no indications of embarrassment or bashfulness. Instead, she waggled her butt towards him, saying, "Get used to it, lover boy. If you are the man my true self has chosen, youll need to get over that cherry boy mentality of yours sooner rather thanter. If seeing a womans naked body bothers you so, youre going to have a hard time in the future." Deadpanning in response to S.E. Urekos remarkably ignorant remark, Vahn fought hard to resist the urge to give her a spanking before exining to her just how many women he was involved with. His instincts told him that if he were to spank her, the real Ureko would somehow find out about it, and, as a result, he would bound to receive a rather severe spanking of his own. She was tens of thousands of years his senior in regards to being a Tier 5 entity, so, while he wouldnt go down without a fight, it was difficult to imagine defeating her at his current level. Fortunately, S.E. Ureko couldnt even qualify as a shadow of her true self, so, after recovering from his momentary stupor, Vahn promptly decided it was his turn to attack. This caught the half-naked blonde by surprise, as, unlike her own movements, there were no signs forecasting he was about to attack. It was apletely seamless transition without any wasted movements, and, as a result, she found herself being sent flying before her brain had even processed the change in his expression. Generating wings of light that helped to stabilize her tumbling form, S.E. Ureko released a massive explosion reminiscent of a supernova as she clutched her head in an attempt to stop her brain from bouncing around in her skull. She felt like her head had been rung like a bell, and, though she was able to remain upright, it felt like she was spinning around uncontrobly due to the cochlea in her ears vibrating. Though he had been hit by S.E. Urekos sudden release of energy, Vahn had little trouble breaking through it to stand right in front of the disoriented half-dragoness. Then, before she could react to his presence, he extended his hand to caress the top of her head. This helped to alleviate her head trauma, but, more importantly, it allowed him to clothe her in a nigh-indestructible [Aegis Mk XIV]. Demonstrating considerable confusion, S.E. Ureko opened her eyes to briefly inspect the state of her body before looking up at Vahn and asking, "Do you have any idea how many people would die for a chance to see me naked?" Without retracting his hand from the disgruntled girls head, Vahn casually replied, "Ive seen the real you naked quite a number of times. At this point, its actually harder to get her to wear clothes than take them off. Dont get me wrong, youre certainly very cute, but Id rather we treat this fight seriously. This is yourst battle. Do you really want to spend your final moments messing around?" Detecting no falsehoods in Vahns words, S.E. Ureko blinked several times, her expression showing considerable confusion as she questioned, "Youve seen the real me naked and are still alive? Who, no, what the hell are you...?" Though he didnt expect her to want to sit down and talk, Vahn decided to humor S.E. Ureko by revealing the Towers function and exining the realms thaty beyond. He also revealed a few things about Phantaminum, and, once everything else was touched upon, they briefly discussed his rtionship with her true self. Thisst part caused her to burst outughing, but, considering the smile didnt fully reach her eyes, it was pretty obvious she was shaken by the prior revtions. With their conversationsting the better part of two hours, Vahn nearly allowed himself to believe that S.E. Ureko would no longer want to battle. Instead, his words seemed to rile her up even more. As a result, they ended up fighting until mere moments before his forceful ejection from the Hidden Floor. This was her attempt to pull out as much of his power as possible, not because she wanted to enjoy the fight, but because she wanted him to progress even a little more before his reunion with her true self. After all, based on the things he had told her, it wouldnt be long before the real Ureko came seeking him out with the intention of iming her prize...one way or another... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Ureko got that gamer rage on lock...,*waggling intensifies*,Ureko is the real final boss...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1938 Temptation

Chapter 1938 Temptation

Emerging from the Hidden Floor, Vahn had to take a moment to collect himself as it felt like years had passed since thest time he was on the Hell Train. This wasnt an exaggeration either, and, if hebined the time spent within his Realm, the Little Garden, and various Actualized Worlds, his month-long stint within the Hidden Floor had taken just under neen months. Shaking his head, Vahn attempted to expand his senses in order to teleport to the closest exit only to remember that spatial movements were extremely limited within the express. This caused a wry smile to develop across his face, so, with nothing better to do, he began slowly moving towards his destination before pulling out his Pocket and connecting with Poro Poe, the interim Conductor of the Hell Express. With time quickly counting down to the moment when he would be forced to flee the Hell Train to avoid facing the consequences of his actions, Poe had been feeling extremely unnerved by Vahns absence. Thus, upon hearing his Pocket vibrate, he answered without hesitation, his voice cracking as he asked, "How did it go? Did you manage to revive Roen!?" Though it wasnt entirely urate, Vahn decided to help ease the portly fellows fears by nodding his head and saying, "Indeed. The situation is a littleplicated, but she is currently resting within the Little Garden alongside Daniel. Meet me at exit 13-C. Ill let you reside in the Second Layer until I get a better grasp of the situation outside. Im sure you have a lot of catching up to do." Holding back tears, a massive grin developed across Poes face as he sobbingly yet eagerly replied, "Ill be there in five, no, three minutes...!" Chuckling in response to the mans words, Vahn cut the connection between their Pockets before allowing his gaze to wander about the Hell Expresss interior. The interior had be reminiscent of a tundra, but, rather than icicles in snow, the crystalline structures protruding from every surface were almost entirelyprised of Shinsu. These crystals had served as nourishment for one of the more troublesome enemies onboard the express, a type of Shinheuh known as Crystal Fish. Though they had been easily defeated by the members of Vahns entourage, it was easy to imagine anyone beneath C-Rank being consumed by the seemingly infinite swarm of crystalline creatures. Fortunately, now that the Hell Express had arrived at its final destination, the majority of Shinheuh and Guardians no longer spawned. Only those who had been installed to protect specific locations remained, but, now that the train was inactive, the teleportals leading to different paths no longer functioned. They would only reactive in six months time, just in time for the Hell Train to begin its annual journey anew. Now that he had resolved the issue of spirits being used as fuel, Vahn had decided to allow the Hell Express to continue operating. The God of Guardians had agreed to change the rules so that people who had cleared the train would no longer be able to board, so, while it was only a matter of time before someone found a loophole to exploit, the problems that had gued the hellish lotive for generations had beenrgely resolved. The only people who could conceivably change things at this point were members of the Workshop, but, the moment they tried to modify the formation he had left behind, they would effectively be converting the core room into a mausoleum. Vahn didnt particrly mind if people researched the magic formations he left in his wake, but he sure as hell wasnt going to make it easy for them. He was pretty sure the Workshop were the bad guys in this particr story, so, until he had uncovered the whole truth, he had decided to regard them in a simr light to Jahad and the Ten Great Families. If they proved to be even half as wicked as he imagined, they would find themselves at the end of a long list of enemies who had made the mistake of crossing his bottom line. With such thoughts dancing across his mind, Vahn reached his destination to find a panting Poe already waiting for him. The portly man had been endeavoring for six-hundred-years in an attempt to meet the woman who had shown him kindness when everyone else had shunned him; so, even if they could never be together, just confirming her safety was enough to permit him to begin a new chapter in his life. Pulling a bottle of sports water from his Inventory, Vahn handed it over to the gasping man before manifesting the Little Garden and saying, "Though you cant stay indefinitely, I will allow you to take up residence in the Second Layer if you need time to organize your thoughts. What is the highest Floor youve managed to clear?" Understanding the reason for Vahns question, Poes expression became awkward as he rubbed the back of his head and answered, "The 49th..." As they were currently located on said Floor, Vahn couldnt help but shake his head in exasperation as he pped the man on his back and said, "Time flows five times faster within the Second Layer. I have a few things to take care of here and on the 50th Floor, so youll have a few months to catch up and make preparations for the future. If you choose to stay longer, youll be forced to backtrack through the Middle Tower if you want to continue climbing." Smiling in response to Vahns words, Poe was preparing to express his tremendous gratitude when his figure spontaneously disappeared. In the wake of his departure, Vahn allowed a light chuckle to escape his throat as he finally disembarked the Hell Express. There, undoubtedly waiting for him, in particr, a rather sizeable group consisting almost entirely women had gathered. This included a number of familiar faces, two of which stood out among the rest as every other group present gave them a considerably wide berth. Restraining the urge to sigh, Vahn forced a smile as he remarked, "After what happenedst time, I wouldnt have expected a Princess of Jahad to be waiting for me at the Last Station...tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure, Princess Maschenny?" Offering a smile that was equal parts predatory as it was seductive and cunning, Maschenny replied, "Considering your reputation, I doubt I need to exin to you the reason behind my visit. Since you did go out of your way to ask, however, I supposed it would only be proper to offer an exnation. If you would be so kind as to apany me to a more...private venue...I would be more than happy to be your conversational partner." Speaking in the wake of Maschennys inviting words, the most notable of the women present, at least in Vahns opinion, yfully mused, "Oh my. Such scandalous words from a Princess of Jahad. Im sure your mission is of the utmost importance, Hime-sama, but the dignity of the Jahad Empire cannot be forgotten so easily. Please remember your ce~." With the only change in her expression being the ends of her smile curling upwards, Maschenny turned her attention to the woman who had effectively used her of misconduct before several dozen representatives of the Ten Great Families. This caused the woman in question to pale ever-so-slightly, but, with countless witnesses present, she was pretty sure that Maschenny wouldnt try to kill her directly. The authority of a Princess of Jahad was surprisingly limited when they werent acting in their capacity as envoys of Jahad, so, unless she wanted to worsen rtions between the Khun and other Great Families, even someone as infamous as Maschennys needed to measure her behavior around other representatives. In the end, Maschennys smile grew to the point that she was lightly squinting. This caused a tense atmosphere to descend upon the entire tform before Vahn, wearing a mask of disinterest, inly stated, "Id rather just check into my room and get some rest. As you pointed out, Im well aware of the reason for your visit. Rather, Im aware of the motives of everyone present. Return and tell your respective masters that I have no particr interest in forming any kind of alliances at present. They have nothing to offer me, and, while many of you are remarkably beautiful, Im not exactly wanting forpanionship. That includes you, Ms. Pram. As captivating as your ears and tail might be, your Snow Leopard Family isnt exactly in my good graces. Despite that, I presently have no intention of seeking any kind of remunerations from them. So long as you dont bring me unnecessary troubles, I have no reason toe seeking rpense." Though his words werentpletely truthful, Vahn had decided to leave the fates of the Ten Great Families to those who had been victimized by them. He wouldnt turn a blind eye to them getting in his way, but, so long as they didnt expose their crimes before him, he wasnt going to go out of his way to seek out and ughter them. He would rather empower the people who had been wronged by them in the past, and, once they had be strong enough to right the wrongs that had beenmitted against him, he would watch from the sidelines to prevent them from taking things too far... Showing a surprising amount of disregard for the words that had juste out of Vahns mouth, the Elder of the Snow Leopard Family held up her absurdly fluffy tail with both hands, smiling as she asked, "You think my tail and ears are captivating~?". Then, with a yfully seductive glimmer in her eyes, she showed off the fact she had a cat-like tongue by shamelessly grooming herself for all eyes to see. Despite his best efforts to appear unperturbed, Vahn couldnt help but open his mouth slightly as he attempted to vocalize words that had never formed within his mind. This caused Pram to squint her silvery eyes in amusement, and, though some had been intending to give up after Vahns earlier words, the more confident among them began formting ns of their own after observing his reaction. Realizing he had just made a number of problems for himself, a wry smile developed across Vahns face as he shook his head and said, "Dont tempt me. Any man of worth wouldnt be able to simply ignore a beauty standing right in front of him. That doesnt mean Im prone to things like seduction. If you overextend and end up trying my patience, there is a chance that neither you nor your family would be able to bear the consequences..." Seemingly undaunted, Pram creased grooming her tail to offer a yful wink as she said, "I think it might surprise you to discover just how much I can bear..." Shaking his head in exasperation, Vahn decided to withhold furtherment as he said, "Im going to my room. If you dont move, Ill-" Before he could finish speaking, Pram promptly released her tail before taking a few steps forward and asking, "Youll what~? Im sure everyone here would like to know. Please speak loudly so that your words reach all the way to the back~." After gauging Vahns previous reactions, Pram was pretty sure he was actually a pushover when it came to beautiful and assertive women. His behavior while climbing the Tower also demonstrated an inherent kindness and a busybody nature that couldnt ignore people in need. Such individuals were wholly incapable of raising their hand against people who wished them no harm, so, without a single sign of fear or hesitation, she reduced the distance between her and Vahn with a few decisive steps. Understanding the womans thoughts, narrated between theughter of the Law of Identity, Vahn found himself at aplete loss for words. To make matters even worse, his mastery over the Law of Petting gave him an almost instinctual urge to reach out and caress her fluffy ears. She was only 161cm tall, including her ears, so, in more ways than one, she had what some aficionados might call a perfectly pettable height. The fact she was staring up at him with an expectant smile didnt help in the slightest, and, were it not for the substantial number of onlookers, he might not have been able to hold out for more than a few seconds... Unfortunately, a few seconds was exactly how long Vahn hadsted, and, before he knew it, he was using both hands to fondle Prams fluffy hair and immactely soft ears. This earned him a number of judgmental looks from the peanut gallery but, with one of the most pettable people he had ever met standing right in front of him, how could he, a self-professed God of Petting, resist? (A/N: Alternate Titles: Time Shenaniganery...!,Politics is just a pissing contest...,Pram be like, "I am inevitable.") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1939 Phantasm

Chapter 1939 Phantasm

In the beginning, Pram thought she had secured an advantage by seizing the initiative and being the first to expose Vahns true nature. Instead, she ended up experiencing first-hand that Vahns words of warning should be always be taken seriously. Since she had gone out of her way to confront him in such a manner, Vahn decided to teach Pram a lesson by incorporating his understanding of Petting Laws into his mastery of the Hands of Nirvana. His sensitivity towards all forms of energy also allowed him to map every nerve and meridian in her entire body with a simple touch, so, shortly after he began fluffing up her ears, he channeled energy into his thumbs before lightly kneading the interior fur with a rxed smile on his face. As a result of her status, it had been many years since Pram had allowed anyone to freely caress her ears. Only the Lord of the Lo Po Bia Family had the inherent qualifications to do so, but, unless she had rued some kind of merit, earning his affection was exceedingly difficult. Thus, in response to the enervating tremble that seemed to jolt her entire body with a pleasant sensation, Pram couldnt help but wonder if her sensitivity had been affected by years of negligence. Unfortunately, by the time that thought had crossed her mind, Pram was, quite literally, in the palm of Vahns hands. Her silvery eyes had immediately glossed over, and, though she managed to grab his wrists by pure instinct, her grip was reminiscent of a newborn infant. As a result, Vahn was able to dig his fingers into her surprisingly thick head of hair, his fingers emanating an indistinguishable rainbow hue that caused Prams nervous system to light up like the night sky of a grand celebration as a sonorous Ahh~ emanated from her throat. Ignoring the looks he was receiving from the crowd, Vahn allowed Prams excessively rxed body to lean against him, his left hand moving to support her waist as his right gravitated to the base of her tail. The feeling of her body resting against him was pleasant in its own right, but, the moment his handbed through the thick downy coat, the shape of Vahns pupils changed from circles to slits as he slowly and methodically traced its length. Though it wasnt discernible to everyone on the tform, those with more refined olfactory senses visibly flinched the moment they smelled the veritable flood of pheromones emanating from Prams body. Some even had to cover the lower halves of their faces, and, were it not for the fact she had preemptively ordered them to observe without interfering, the group that had apanied Pram would have stepped in long ago. With the rather infamous Elder turning to putty in his embrace, Vahn was tempted to give everyone a hard lesson by demonstrating just how ridiculous Petting Laws could be. If he wanted to, he could freely shape flesh just as easily as he could a multitude of magical metals, and, so long as the target didnt resist, there was very little he couldnt do... As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn became aware of a moist feeling soaking through the fabric of his left shoulder. Turning his head, he found Elder Pram drooling against him with a thoroughly insensible expression on her face. This promptly cleared his mind of wayward thoughts, as, rather than appearing drunk on pleasure, she more closely resembled someone who had recently received a lobotomy. Deciding the buxom leopardess had learned her lesson, Vahn began to lightly pat Prams back as he passed his gaze over various onlookers before settling on Maschenny and saying, "Dont say I didnt warn you..." in a rxed yet discernibly solemn tone. This caused the blue-haired Princess to adopt an amused smile, and, had the Law of Identity been emting her at the moment, Vahn would have heard her reply, "Im looking forward to it..." before promptly departing. Having noticed the fiery glimmer in the womans eyes, Vahn couldnt help shaking his head as he internally remarked, ("Well see if you can keep up that act of yours after encountering your chibi version...") Feeling the tension gradually returning to Prams previously limp body, Vahn took advantage of her growing alertness to whisper, "Consider this a warning...the next time you try ying games, expect to be out ofmission for at least a month..." With Vahns voice tickling the sensitive interior hairs, Prams ears twitched a few times as a pleasant tremble ran through her body. Thispelled her to lean against him for support, but, the moment she tried nestling against him, Vahn separated their bodies and forced her to stand on her own two feet. Then, just as a feeling of loss had begun to wash over her, he gave a perfunctory wave towards the onlookers before promptly vanishing from view. Not expecting Vahns sudden departure, the words Pram had been intending to speak got caught in her throat as she instinctually raised her hand to grasp at empty air. Thispounded the peculiar feeling of loss, but, before she could fully process what she was feeling, her expression soured when she detected the overpowering scent of her own aroma. There was also an unpleasant chill between her thighs, and, though much of this could be attributed to the sudden onset of her heated state, a fair amount of the fluid soaking her undergarments possessed a pale golden hue... Realizing what had happened, Prams face became remarkably red as the surrounding temperature rapidly decreased. At the same time, a phenomenal amount of Shinsu began to gather around her, gradually freezing her surroundings until a voice over the inte said, "If you go any further, you will be viting the rules of Last Station. Though the Reception Area is essible to outsiders, it is still a region intended for Regrs. Please keep this in mind." Though she wasnt happy about it, Pram forced herself to calm down as she swept aside the frozen traces of her mishap with a sweep of her hand. Then, after passing her gaze over the other groups of representatives, she made her way to her own group before looking down at a young man with very simr characteristics to herself, asking, "Did you record everything?" Bowing low in response to Prams question, the youth allowed his previously invisible Lighthouse to manifest as he exined, "The recording functioned without issue, but the yback shows no signs of the Sage Dragon Emperor." Though she had already anticipated this, Pram couldnt help but frown with a pensive look on her face. Shortly thereafter, however, her expression became uncharacteristically fierce as she ordered, "You are to delete that recording and remove all traces of its existence. If I discover it has somehow leaked, even in private, I will personally skin each and every one of you." Well aware of how serious she was, the youth quickly deleted the recording before going one step further and using a Baang of Shinsu topletely obliterate the silvery Lighthouse. This earned him an approving nod from Pram, but, understanding others would have made recordings of their own, her usual smile was nowhere to be seen. It was going to take an extreme amount of time and effort to try and bury this incident, and, depending on how cooperative the other groups were, more than a few heads would roll by the time she was done... As this thought crossed her mind, so too did the memory of an inordinately tall woman with pale-blue hair. This caused Pram to gnash her teeth in frustration, as, even if she resorted to force, there was nothing she could do against Maschenny. She was only Rank 187 in the Towers Rankings, and, while this was nothing to scoff at, it was nothingpared to a Top 100 Princess of Jahad with a 13 Month Series. Realizing how troublesome the situation had be, Prams first instinct was to me Vahn, but, the moment that thought crossed her mind, a phantom tingling caused her ears and tail to twitch. For a brief moment, she actually thought he had snuck up on her, and, as a result, her entire body jolted as she moved to cover her ears and protect her tail. Seeing nothing but a quickly emptying tform behind her, Pram slowly retracted her hands from her ears only to notice the same persistent tingling reappear. It was even more prominent around the base of her tail, and, after several seconds had passed, it seemed to slowly spread through the rest of her body. Feeling her core temperature gradually increasing, Pram avoided looking directly at her entourage as she ordered, "Return to the Karakoram and await my orders. I have a personal matter to attend..." Without waiting for the groups reply, Pram used her own Lighthouse to teleport directly to one of the private rooms they had booked. There, she screamed at those resting inside to leave, as, for the first time in a long while, her body felt like it was burning from the inside. This was an indication she was going into heat, but,pared to the rather mild symptoms she had experienced over thest couple of millennia, this particr heat was reminiscent of the period in which she had just reached sexual maturity. Concluding that Vahn had done something to her body, Pram was tempted to seek him out, but, remembering how easily had handled her,bined with his parting words, she was actually a little scared to face him so soon. Her instincts told her that she might no longer be the same person if he managed to get his hands on her a second time. There was something about his touch that affected the most primal parts of her nature, and, had he not shown herpassion, she might have already fallen irreversibly into his clutches... Briefly corrting Vahns ability with that of her Lord and Father, the Leader of the Lo Po Bia Family, Prams expression became progressively ruddier as the fire in her body quickly became unbearable. She suddenly wanted nothing more than to be impregnated by the seed of a strong male, but, with her mission taking precedence over all else, the only thing she could do was mindlessly tend to the demands of her body. This could take several days, but, so long as she wasnt interrupted, her prior training should allow her to gradually regain control... --- Following his departure from the train tform, Vahn arrived at a ce colloquially known as the Mega Dome City. This was the residential district attached to the Last Station, and, so long as you hadpleted your journey onboard the Hell Express, you could stay as long as you want without spending a single Point. This led to a number of Regrs retiring at the Last Station, as, even whenpared to the amodations of Rankers, the suites and amenities provided were exceptional. As the only person to officiallyplete the Hell Express this year, Vahn had been provided ess to one of the highest quality suites. This included a living space roughly the size of a football field, an attached recreational room, an indoor pool, a private hot tub, and, for those prone to cooking their own meals, a fully furnished and heavily stocked kitchen. It was honestly a little too much, but, considering the hell most Regrs experienced prior to reaching this point, it was understandable that the Administration would try andpensate them for their efforts. This, in turn, allowed them to make a good impression on rising stars, and, by keeping them in one ce, it afforded the Great Families time to gather information and deploy their representatives to recruit unique talents. Fortunately, while the ruler of the Last Station generally cooperated with the Ten Great Families, he had enough sense to ensure that the Mega Dome City was off-limits to people who hadnt passed on the Hell Express. His original purpose for building the Last Station was to ensure that those who had suffered onboard the Hell Express had the chance to experience a paradise without worry. The only reason he capitted to letting the Ten Great Families send their representatives was that their influence didnt really give people the option of ignoring them. Recing the bed in the master bedroom with one of his own, Vahn allowed himself to fall back with his arms spread wide, soundlessly impacting the plush yet resistant surface. This was a feature built into most of the beds he employed, and, so long as he took measures to prevent sound from leaking out, he could make love to one woman without waking another. This was a very important feature, not because he needed to hide his antics, but because it afforded those who had recently passed out the opportunity to sleep peacefully... With thoughts of the previous incident still fresh on his mind, Vahn spent several minutes simply staring up at the roof before averting his eyes downward to stare at the petite redhead straddling his waist. This was none other than the Law of Identity, and, as was often the case as ofte, she was patiently waiting for him to ask questions in order to transform. This was the thing that gave her life meaning, and, were it not for the fact she could be extremely affectionate, even while assuming the identities of other people, Vahn would have been even more grateful for her assistance. Instead, he often found himself in ratherpromising positions, and, while he might be the only one aware of her antics, they could be pretty stressful at times... Demonstrating this capacity to its fullest extent, the Law of Identity spontaneously changed into an inordinately beautiful woman with milky skin, pale-blue hair, and electric-blue eyes the moment his mind wandered to Maschenny. To make matters even worse, she had dismissed with the blue dress that the former had been wearing as it would have interfered with her ability to continue straddling his waist. Thus, despite their slightly antagonistic rtionship, Vahn had to tolerate a nearly-naked Maschenny sitting in hisp as the Law of Identity eagerly betrayed everything the sly Princess was plotting... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP,Godhand Secret Technique #13: Phantom Petting...!,Bruh, what are you evenining about...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1940 Expectations

Chapter 1940 Expectations

Around the same time that Vahn was learning of the state Elder Pram, a gentle pinging sound could be heard echoing throughout his suite. Fortunately, this particr ping was something he had been anticipating, so, after forcibly removing the perpetually-clingy Law of Identity from him, Vahn made his way over to the door to find the expected trio of Boro, Sachi, and Aka waiting anxiously for news rted to Roen. Offering a casual smile, Vahn invited the trio inside before manifesting the Little Garden and calling upon Mira and Lisanna to make tea and snacks. At the same time, he notified Daniel, Roen, and Poe of the group''s arrival before asking Rindo if she could begin preparations for a reunion celebration. Fortunately for the trio, they had enough sense not to gawk despite the sudden appearance of two remarkably beautiful women. Their only reason for being there was to learn of Roen''s fate, so, after the initial surprise had worn off, they managed to control their line of sight well. This earned them a cursory nod from Vahn, who, after receiving his tea, asked the two girls to nk him before casually revealing, "She is alive.". Then, before the trio could bombard him with questions, he added, "Rx. You will be able to meet with her, Daniel, and Poe shortly. I''ve also tasked my people with preparing a feast, so, for the time being, shall we talk?" As the de facto representative of the group, it was Sachi who nodded his head, answering, "Though I would rather confirm Roen''s return beforehand, I will trust in your words...with your power, I doubt you would go out of your way to lie..." Though Aka didn''t seem to agree with this sentiment, Boro offered an affirming nod before asking, "Is there something you wanted to know...?" with a glimmer of confusion in his eyes. Understanding the man''s thoughts, even without the Law of Identity''s assistance, Vahn adopted a smile as he exined, "Oh, trust me, I am well aware of the contents of your mind. If I wanted to, I could narrate your entire childhood up to the meals you ate yesterday. However, when you get to a position such as mine, conversing is far more important than peering into a person''s mind. It allows you to ascertain the type of person they are, and, most importantly, shows their willingness to part with information without deceit or subterfuge. In my line of work, if you can call it that, ascertaining whether or not someone can be trusted is of paramount importance." Supporting Vahn''s deration, Mira offered an amused giggle that drew the attention of all three of the men. Then, as if guided by instinct, Boro''s eyes briefly wandered to the former''s rather sizeable breasts before promptly averting them to look at nothing in particr. This was one of the reasons that Vahn had asked the sisterly duo toe out, as, simply by being present, they provided him a considerable amount of leverage in the conversation. Squinting his eyes without losing his smile, Vahn watched as Boro became increasingly unnerved by his gaze. He felt as though he had erred grievously, but, rather than calling him out for his faux pas, Vahn simply passed his cup to Mira before saying, "I''ll make things easy for you to understand. The three of you currently stand on the precipice of one of your life''s most important decisions. Simply put, you must choose between climbing the Tower under the scrutiny of various forces or retiring in istion. I have made a few adjustments that will prevent you from ever boarding the Hell Express again, so, regardless of your decision, the routine you have practiced thesest six-hundred-years is no longer an option." As one of the most notable Ticket Hunter''s in thest thousand years, Sachi couldn''t help frowning in response to Vahn''s words. Despite this, the look in his rust-red eyes remained fiercely determined as he replied, "I understand. So long as Roen has been returned to life, my reason for boarding the Hell Express will no longer exist. If there is something you ask of me, I willply to the best of my ability." Though it probably wasn''t proper tough in the face of someone''s resolution, Vahn couldn''t help himself. This caused the trio to tense up, but, before they could further misconstrue his intentions, Vahn wiped away a tear from his eye as he said, "You are far too serious for someone that has lived for more than eight-hundred-years. You also think too highly of yourself, and, while that isn''t always a bad trait to possess, jumping to conclusions is rarely a good thing." Confused by Vahn''s words, Sachi was about to ask what he meant when thetter waved his hand in a dismissive manner and exined, "I don''t need you to do anything for me. So long as you stop acting like entitled asshats that willfully suppress others, I could care less what the three of you do. I resurrected Roen because I wanted to, not because I expected you to repay me. I mean, seriously...if I was in a situation where I needed to rely on Regrs who have been stalled around the 40th Floor for more than six-hundred-years, I would be pretty screwed..." With the trio looking remarkably offended by his words, Vahn was tempted tombast them further when both Lisanna and Mira gave him slight nudges with their elbows. Then, before he could speak further, the former adopted a disarming smile as she exined, "Don''t let Vahn''s words bother you too much. He actually empathizes with your situation quite a bit. If he didn''t, you wouldn''t be here right now. You should treat his words as if they wereing from a father admonishing his son for deviating down a dark path. So long as you make an earnest effort to improve, you''ll never have to hear him talk like this." Piggybacking off of Lisanna''s words, Mira drew the attention of the trio as she offered a beaming smile and added, "That''s right. Vahn is actually a big softie on the inside. Once you reunite with your friends and taste the food that is being prepared, you will understand that he just wants you to be better. The options he is providing you are for your own benefit, and, should you require the support of the Empire, we will do everything in our power to ensure you have the best chance at securing your happiness." Not expecting the sisters to interrupt his lecture and thoughtfully exin his intentions, Vahn found himself at a momentary loss for words. This earned him amused giggles from both women as Mira yfully winked before telepathicallymunicating, ("They have suffered quite a bit over thest six hundred years. If you want to lecture them, do so after the reunion. It will be more effective that way.") Realizing she had a point, Vahn ultimately nodded his head before returning his gaze to the trio of tragic men and saying, "It seems I have been unnecessarily harsh. We will continue the conversation a littleter. For now, we should change venues. I''m sure the three are you are eager to reunite with your former friends andrade. We''ll talk about your options once you have had the opportunity to celebrate and rx." With that said, Vahn manifested the Little Garden, promptly returning the Strauss siblings to the Emerald Grove before transporting the trio to the Second Layer. There, they were finally reunited with Roen, an affair that resulted in the exchange of quite a number of yful barbs and a rather sizeable quantity of tears... --- Deciding to leave unimportant matters tillter, Vahn left the reunion group to their own devices in order to spend some quality time with the two sisters. He had had time to reflect on their actions by then, so, as an expression of gratitude, he ended up tending to the girls for the better part of half a day. Most of this time was spent simply rxing, but, as could be expected, there were also quite a number of instances where the yfulness of the duo led to their inevitable destruction. Lisanna, in particr, had a penchant for setting things in motion, as, more often than not, she couldn''t sit still for more than a few minutes before saying or trying something perverted. This was exacerbated by her ability to adapt the traits of various animals, and, though she wasn''t a true masochist, she had be rather ustomed to being ''bullied'' by her not-so-secretly sadistic ''Onee-sama''... Though they had originally been watching a movie, Vahn currently found himself witness to a rather licentious scene that involved Lisanna, transformed as a fluffy white rabbit, suspended in the shibari fashion as Mira, transformed as a demoness with a thick dragon tail, traced her ws menacingly across the former''s body. This was a surprisinglymon exchange between the two sisters, and, though it was something he had seen numerous times, Vahn couldn''t shake the impression he was observing something ''forbidden'' whenever he beheld Mira eagerly developing her younger sister''s sensitivities... Finished with her preparations, Mira spun Lisanna around a few times to lightly disorient her before pointing thetter''s exposed bottom towards Vahn and asking, "What do you think? Thanks to her rabbit form, her entire body is basically an erogenous zone. After my teasing, she is several times more sensitive than normal. If you were to impale her right now, she would probably pass out from the resulting climax." To further emphasize her point, Mira partially exposed Lisanna''s insides by sinking her ws into thetter''s pliant posterior and spreading it. This caused a rather substantial amount of love juices to drip to the floor, and, due to their viscosity, a few thin strands could be seen connecting the folds of Lisanna''s pulsating pink cavern as her tuft of a tail madly twitched in response to the stimtion. Unable to resist such an enticing invitation, Vahn ignored the fact that Lisanna was rapidly shaking her head as he positioned his ns between her excessively moist folds. This created a vacuum of sorts, and, due to the pulsating of her impassioned flesh, a potent suction force was generated as her body eagerly invited him further into its narrow depths. Before he could trespass more than a few centimeters, however, Lisanna''s body began to convulse rather violently, the whites of her eyes briefly making an appearance before she subsequently became limp against the supporting ropes. Rather than showing any concern for her sister''s state, Mira giggled in a rather seductive manner as she effortlessly removed the gag from Lisanna''s mouth, musing, "Perhaps increasing her sensitivity by a hundred times was a tad excessive..." Having experienced the unique pleasures of a woman directly, Vahn couldn''t help swallowing hard in response to Mira''s words. This elicited an amused giggle from the yful demoness, who, after a teasing wink, exined, "Don''t worry, we talked about this beforehand. She was the one who came up with this particr y. She seems to enjoy waking up to a good ''dicking'', so make sure you do your part properly~." Without waiting for Vahn''s reply, Mira promptly pushed against Lisanna''s body to force her against his invading member. This caused the unconscious rabbit to convulse quite a bit, and, thanks to her gag being removed, an impassioned moan was able to escape her throat before she subsequently mewled, "Vahn...shama~" in her sleep. Though he was a little worried about her development, Vahn had never been the type to let down his women. Thus, with Lisanna''s unconscious musing serving as the starting trigger, he began to steadily increase his pace until a rhythmic pping sound could be heard echoing throughout the room. At the same time, Lisanna''s sonorous moans gradually transitioned into a crescendo as she repeatedly transitioned in and out of consciousness... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn is a big softie (O w O)...'',''Is this what they mean when they say sisterly bonding...?'',''RIP Lisanna...'') Chapter 1941 Diplomacy

Chapter 1941 Diplomacy

Since his Irregr status was pretty well known these days, at least among the upper echelons of the Tower, Vahn didnt have to worry about triggering any rms via the method he used to climb. With this in mind, he decided to pay a visit to the Guardian, a giant carp with horns reminiscent of an eastern dragon. After a number of remarks regarding his taste, Vahn was mildly annoyed to learn that his task on the 44th Floor required him to procure an item known as the Sky Pearl from the Floor Ruler. This was was an exceptionally rare material that functioned simrly to raw Suspendium, but, unlike itsparablymon counterpart, the Sky Pearl afforded those with the means to make use of it the ability to manipte the weather. More specifically, it could be used to generate or dissipate a storm front, and, when used to construct the core of a Suspend Ship, it added an inherent lightning property to the Shinsu pumped through it. Simply put, the Guardian was asking him to either reach apromise with or steal directly from the Floor Ruler. This wasnt particrly difficult, but, as could be expected, the Ruler of said Floor was a rather prodigious member of the Ten Great Families. More specifically, it was governed by a member of the Tu Perie Family, one of the most prolific of the Ten due to their Leader inventing the Lighthouse and pioneering the Lightbearer Position. He was also responsible for the creation of the three known Operas, Lighthouses so powerful that their observation range was effectively infinite. Though Sky Pearls were traditionally used in the production of gships, their ability to substitute Suspendium meant they could be used in quite a number of ways. This included the production of Lighthouses, and, while they were exceptionally rare, there were a few famous members of the Tu Perie Family with the ability to manipte the weather to their benefit. There were even rumors of the Leader of the Tu Perie Family attempting to incorporate the Sky Pearls functionality into one of the Operas, effectively granting its wielder the ability to freely manipte the weather throughout the Tower. In actuality, the person desiring the ability to manipte the weather was none other than Gustang. More specifically, his foundation had been working alongside a few members of the Tu Perie Family to provide the Empire with the means to control weather throughout the Tower. This would no only reinforce the notion that Jahad was a God, but, most importantly, it provided an extreme advantage during military deployments. Taking these factors into consideration, stealing the Sky Pearl implied that he would need to offend both the Tu Perie and Po Bidau Families. He would be throwing a wrench into an ongoing operation by the Jahad Army, so, in more ways than one, this was a task that directly put him at odds with the Towers established powers. This made it pretty obvious that the Guardians wanted him to sow even greater discord throughout the Tower, not with the subjective intent to do harm, but for the sake of overthrowing the existing system and ushering in a new era. Fortunately, while theft was the simplest method to employ, it wasnt Vahns only option. He could always try to reach an agreement with the Floor Ruler, and, while this inspiredplications of its own, it would at least demonstrate to the factions within the Tower that he was willing to deal with them diplomatically. This served the dual purpose of making it easier to forge alliances, and, most importantly, it would allow him to mislead his enemies into believing he actually had an interest in certain material possessions. Though he could appreciate the beauties sent his way, Vahn was more than a little annoyed by the fact there were people who genuinely believed he could be manipted via his rtionships. There might be an inherent truth to this, but, while he would readily shape mountains and relocate entire oceans at the behest of his lovers, that didnt mean he would capitte to any woman thrown his way. If anything, their presence only served to increase his disdain for the people that had deployed them, the obvious exceptions being members of the Ha and Eurasia Families. At least in their case, it was genuine interest and instinct thatpelled them to seek him out... --- With the intent of resolving things peacefully, Vahn snuck into the residential district reserved for members of the Ten Great Families and their delegates. As for why he was sneaking around, it was primarily due to the fact that any sensible team of Rankers had numerous Lighthouses deployed in and around their ce of residence. This made it exceptionally difficult for a person of interest like him to wander freely, as, the moment he appeared, groups would immediately mobilize in order to be the first to speak with him. Fortunately, much as members of the Arie Family were reared in the myriad ways of the sword, the descendants of the Tu Perie Family were taught from a young age how to excel as Lightbearers. As a result, the delegation from the Tu Perie Family had the mostprehensive observationwork among those currently visiting Last Station. This made it remarkably easy to contact them in private, and, due to their astute natures, they were able to understand his intentions nigh-instantaneously. Though he could have forced his way through by rending space-time, it was a lot easier to enter a persons room when they opened the door directly or teleported you via Lighthouse. Since he was traveling incognito, Vahn allowed the delegation from the Tu Perie Family to make use of thetter method, and, as a result, he soon found himself in front of a rather intelligent-looking woman more suited to the position of a schr than a sacrificial pawn. Seemingly understanding his thoughts, the bookish-brte offered a polite smile as she stated, "I am grateful for your concerns. However, if your abilities are as reported, you should be aware of the fact that I willingly volunteered for this mission. I find your existence rather fascinating, and, if it will help to foster a position rtionship between our two Empires, I will do what I can to achieve peace and mutual understanding. To that end, there are a number of questions I would like you to answer. Before that, however, I will do my best to facilitate your needs and answer whatever concerns might have brought you here." Returning a smile of his own, Vahn gazed into the bespectacled womans vibrant blue eyes to find no traces of fear or hesitation. She was someone who had stood in a leadership position for more than eight-hundred-years, and, despite numerous setbacks, never waned in her sense of purpose. This had allowed her to ascend to a ratherfortable position within Tu Perie Family, and, though she was only Rank 3019 in the Tower, she was rtively famous among other Advanced Rankers. Feeling rather bashful due to Vahns unwavering gaze and handsome appearance, a hint of red slowly built in the womans cheeks as she habitually adjusted her sses while doing her best not to avert her eyes. Vahn was reported to be a genuine Dragon, and, while she wasnt overly familiar with their ecology, she suspected they might have a preference for capable and confident women. Thus, even though she had never been particrly confident in regards to her physical appearance, she at least wanted to be able to meet his gaze without shying away. Understanding the womans thoughts, Vahns expression softened almost indiscernible as he said, "I admire your convictions. However, asmendable as your spirit is, it would only trouble me if you viewed every interaction between us through a lens of self-sacrifice. There are countless methods of exchanging information that does not require such an extreme level of...dedication. Case and point, the reason I havee here today is to reach an ord with your Tu Perie Family." Realizing that she might havee across as sounding desperate, a prominent blush surfaced on the womans face as she invariably broke eye contact and nervously replied, "Oh...I did not mean to be presumptuous...please, if I have offended you-" Raising his hand to silence the womans apology, Vahn maintained his smile as he lightly shook his head and said, "Just rx. Trust me, your behavior is infinitely more refreshing than the majority of women thrown at me by the Ten Great Families. It is because of your dutiful nature and sensibilities that I had the confidence to seek you out like this. I believe there is much we can learn from each other, but, before that, there is a request I would like to make of the Tu Perie Family. In exchange, I will provide you exclusive ess to my secret domain and allow you to both research and report its contents. I believe this adequately coincides with the mission you have been assigned, correct?" Offering a smile that was equal parts as bashful as it was wry, the woman quickly pushed up her sses as she replied, "That is, indeed, the case...it would seem your ability to ascertain information was not exaggerated..." Returning a light-hearted chuckle, Vahn casually gestured towards the nearby furniture as they had been standing ever since his arrival. This, too, caused the woman to blush, but, after her earlier faux pas, even the most trifling mishaps would result in her feeling disconcerted. Vahn found this type of behavior rather amusing, and, had she beenpletely sincere, he might have even been charmed. Instead, it was pretty clear she was forcing herself, and, though her reactions were genuine, she was willfully exaggerating them based on his words and responses... Once they had both taken a seat, Vahn earned the attention of the entire delegation by producing a fresh pot of tea and a number of snacks. This particr capability was something many in the Tower had taken an interest in, as, rather than making use of a traditional Inventory, Pocket, or Lighthouse, there were several reports of him producing objects from thin air. This included the ount of him dropping the Zygaenas corpse onto the Yeon Familys Floating Castle, so, while it wasnt the subject they were most interested in, seeing him produce items out of nowhere still garnered considerable intrigue. Amused by the groups reaction, Vahn supplied a casual smile as he raised his cup, savoring its rich and fragrant contents before exhaling a contented sigh and saying, "Simply put, I wish to obtain the Sky Pearl in possession of the 44th Floors Ruler, Tu Perie Perdue. Since it possesses an ability simr to one of mypanions, I wish to provide my people with the opportunity to analyze its internal structure and investigate its properties. Once they have finished conducting their analysis, the pearl will be yielded to the Tu Perie Family. In reference to my prior proposal, I believe these terms should be more than agreeable." Though it would have been a contentious issue if Vahn asked to keep the pearl, things were quite a bit different if he genuinely intended to return it. This,bined with the fact he had already stated his willingness to allow them to conduct their own research served as more than enough coteral to reach an agreement. Thus, after a very brief moment of consideration, the representative of the Tu Perie Family nodded her head in affirmation, saying, "I will need to file a report with Lord Tperie, but I cant imagine him refusing such conditions. We will have the contract drafted and formalized within the next few hours. Is there a method we can use to reach you, or would you like to stay here in order to facilitate swift correspondence? We are more than willing to amodate any and all needs you might have..." In response to thest few words, nearly every member of the Tu Perie delegation reacted with a subtle blush. This gave Vahn an almost overwhelming desire to release a wry chuckle, as, despite their intelligent and bookish appearances, each of the women present gave off the impression of a sleeping predator. It wasnt without reason that Loki had always told him to be cautious of the quiet ones... After a brief moment of consideration, Vahn came to the conclusion that it would probably smooth things over if he expressed a willingness to cooperate. Thus, with an awkward yet amused smile, he answered, "I believe there are considerable merits in sticking around..." Offering a girlish giggle in response, the representative of the Tu Perie Family once again pushed up her sses before adopting what she hoped was an alluring smile as she said, "I believe you are correct...your majesty..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: Guardians be like, "Let them fight...",The art of the deal...,The wisdom of Loki persists through all Records...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1942 Spectacle

Chapter 1942 Spectacle

As she had promised, the representative of the Tu Perie Family, better known as Tu Perie Yvonne, was able to secure permission to draft an agreement before the days end. Rather, due to the terms offered, it had taken less than an hour for the Leader of the Tu Perie Family to make a decision. The only reason it had taken until nightfall to settle everything was so that the delegation would have ample opportunity to demonstrate their hospitality to the fullest extent of their capabilities. Leading the charge, Yvonne demonstrated that she hadnt lived for more than eight-hundred-years without umting a considerable amount of experience. This was mostly theoretical, amon trait among members of the delegation, but, if nothing else, she was very eager to learn. As for the rest, they primarily acted as support. The only real exception was a young woman named Tu Perie Patricia, affectionately referred to as Patty by the other members of the delegation. Unlike the rest of the delegation,prised almost entirely of Rankers, Patty was a C-Rank Regr who had been chosen to potentially apany Vahn during his ascent up the Tower. Her only real responsibility was gathering information and filing periodic reports, but, in the event he had taken an interest in her, she was fully prepared to attend to his needs. To this end, she was quite a beautypared to the rest of the delegation, and, though she was affixed with a pair of rounded sses, they actuallyplimented her appearance quite a bit. Since he had already erred during the incident with Pram, Vahn had decided to sow a bit of discord between the Ten Great Families by inconsistently adhering to the stereotypes they had assigned to him. They werent going to stop sending people after him unless he did something drastic, so, with this in mind, he would rather some of their efforts went towards interfering with each other as they did their best to try and ascertain his likes, dislikes, and inclinations. This might sound like a pretext to justify his behavior, but, after deciding long ago that he was going to act as he pleased, it didnt really matter how others might interpret his actions. With the only restraint ced on him being that he shouldnt impregnate anyone he didnt have genuine feelings for, Vahn had free rein to fool around if he believed it might be beneficial to his progress or supportive of his mental wellness. Even Eva supported this sentiment, and, so long as he didnt bring random women around their shared abode, she wouldnt be bothered by it. After all, there were times when he converted hours into days just to spend time with everyone, so, while she wasnt particrly enthused by his bad habits, she didnt resent him for them. To this end, Vahn didnt have to feel guilty about his phndering, and, though it was impossible not to feel a little apologetic at times, the persistent lectures he had received allowed him to get limated to it. Thus, even with two bookish beauties licking his body while a woman he had met only hours prior traced a figure eight on his waist, Vahn was able to remain rtively rxed as he enjoyed their inexperienced attempts to earn his favor. Exhaling an impassioned but fatigued sigh, the green-haired beauty moving about atop his waist sped up her movements for a short while beforeing to a stop, her breathing interspaced and ragged as she admitted, "I cant do it...no matter how hard I try...you just wont cum...am I doing it wrong...?" Smiling in amusement, Vahn shook his head before exining, "Youre doing fine. Its just that my previous words werent an arbitrary im. You would literally need to be a Goddess of Sex to have any hope of forcing me to ejacte. Even then, the battle would be pretty one-sided unless, simr to this, I allowed you to control the pace." Sighing a second time, the bespectacled beauty, Patty, leaned forward to allow his penis to slip free from her palpating, slightly sore, depths. She had been a virgin only a few hours prior, and, though her body had healed remarkably quick, amodating Vahns dragon wasnt exactly easy. This was in spite of the fact he had reduced its size for the girls benefits. He didnt want to break them, so, out of consideration for their future partners, his current size was a modest 20cm. Seeing the woman crawl forward a bit before slumping to the side in an effort to catch her breath, Vahn was briefly tempted to heal her, but, as this was a learning experience of sorts, he decided not to. Instead, he turned to the freckle-faced girl nibbling at his neck, earning her attention as he said, "Look after Patty for a bit." Though it was the girl who nodded, the person to speak was Yvonne, who, throughout Pattys vain attempt, had been peppering his neck and left shoulder with kisses while observing the event with observable intrigue. She took advantage of the fact that Vahn had effectively afforded the other two participants a break to point at herself, smiling as she asked, "Does this mean its my turn? Im still a bit sore from before, but I should be okay so long as you dont get too rough." Shaking his head, Vahn was about to say it was time for him to go, but, perhaps seeing through his intentions, Yvonne took the initiative to straddle his hips, a somewhat dorky smile on her face as she tilted her head to the side and asked, "I cant...?" After a very brief moment of deliberation, Vahn extended his hands to caress Yvonnes sides, his palms emanating an indiscernible rainbow glow as her ran them along her ribs, past her breasts, and under her arms. This caused a rather substantial tremor to pass through Yvonnes body, and, though her sensitivity had yet to be developed, Vahn could feel a lukewarm liquid spreading across his lower body as a deluge of love juices flowed from her neatly attended garden. Just as she was about to inquire as to his intentions, Vahn made them pretty clear by reversing the direction of his hands until he had reached Yvonnes surprisingly shapely rump. Her face was a little inpared to the women he typically associated with, but, as an Advanced Ranker who spent a fair amount of time training, the body Yvonne kept concealed beneath her somewhat baggy clothes was quite remarkable. She even had an attractive, star-shaped, birthmark located near her hip, just beneath and slightly to the left of her navel. Making use of his considerable experience and growing familiarity with Yvonnes body, Vahn was able to startle her quite a bit by seamlessly slipping into her cascading cavern, stemming the tide with remarkable ease. This created a paradoxical response in her mind, and, for a brief moment, she began to choke due to her urge to exhale a moan and inhale sharply at the exact same time. Adopting a slightly teasing smile, Vahn eased the tensions in Yvonnes lungs and body by lightly massaging her sides as he said, "Remember my warning to Pram? Though it might be possible to entice me, you need to prepare yourself if you intend to test the limits of mypliance. This has been an extremely enjoyable experience. Dont ruin it by uttering hollow words and attempting to push my boundaries..." Though she hadnt expected things to wlessly, Yvonne couldnt help exhaling a mncholic sigh upon hearing Vahns words. She was more than willing to do her duty, and, if necessary, sacrifice herself in the pursuit of peace. Despite this, the thought of being anyones, even Vahns, throwaway partner didnt sit well with her. This was a sentiment shared by most of the female members of the delegation, two of which had just given up their first time in the hope of tying Vahn to the Tu Perie Family. They had even taken medication to bolster their stamina and force ovtion, a gambit that Vahn had clearly seen through given the fact he had yet to ejacte even a single time. As these thoughts were crossing her mind, Vahn positioned Yvonne so that she was nearly flush against him before releasing a tremendous volume of vital fluids inside of her body. This caused the bookish beauty to gasp loud enough to draw the attention of everyone else present in the room, a total of five variably exhausted women. At the same time, Vahn maintained a rtively rxed andposed expression, smiling ever-so-slightly as he said, "I suppose it would be rude of me not to show a bit of gratitude...you have been very hospitable thus far..." Feeling a considerable amount of energy surge into her body like a tidal wave, Yvonne was barely able to process Vahns words as she curled up and clung to him for support. This was an experience far beyond her expectations, and, for a brief moment, she genuinely believed his seed was invading more than just her womb. A potent heat had pervaded her entire body, and, for a short while after the sudden rush, speckles of white light had clouded her vision as her mind voiced the scream that failed to reach her lips. Ignoring the paling expressions of the other women present, Vahn kept Yvonne firmly in ce with his left hand while using his right to gently pat her back. Unfortunately, while he had given her what she wanted, she was mistaken if she believed he was going to impregnate her. No amount of drugs could guarantee fertilization if he didnt want to impregnate someone, so, despite how greedily her womb was suckling his ns, it was bound to be disappointed once the vital fluids it had gathered dissolved into nothingness twenty-four-hourster... Though he felt slightly apologetic about his actions, Vahn didnt appreciate the fact that they were to impregnate themselves without his consent. This hadnt really affected the enjoyment he got out of their time together, but, if they thought he was going to be restrained so easily, they were sorely mistaken. There were far less contentious ways to earn his cooperation, and, even if they had gotten pregnant, there was no way he would entrust the resulting child to the Tu Perie Family. They might be infinitely betterpared to virtually every other Great Families, but they were still loyalists who supported the Empire and proactively participated in its politics... Finished with the act, Vahn rolled to a seated position with Yvonne still huddled against him. This caused a noticeable tremor to run through her body, but, thanks to his efforts to help regte his invasive energy, she had the wherewithal to murmur, "Thank you..." in an impassioned and slightly happy tone. This was one of the most important objectives she had been assigned, and, even if her interactions with Vahn ceased following his departure from the 44th Floor, she would happily await his arrival on the 120th Floor if their union bore fruit. Resisting the urge to shake his head and exhale a sigh, Vahn just lightly caressed Yvonnes back a few more times before saying, "Im going. Well most likely meet again once the Sky Pearl has been brought over. After that, Ill give you a tour of my garden and show you where you and your team will be staying. Until then, try and stay out of trouble..." Giggling in response to Vahns words, Yvonne rested her head against his shoulder with a slight smile on her face as she whispered, "I should be the one advising you to stay out of trouble...unless we arrange something more official, the Tu Perie Family will not be able to support you against the other Great Families. Im sure youll have dealings with them as well, so, even if it is impossible to resolve everything peacefully, please exercise restraint when the timees...so long as there is life, there is hope for change. A former enemy could be your most steadfast ally if you afford them the opportunity to correct their mistakes..." Though he couldnt readily agree with such sentiments, Vahns first-hand experience converting enemies into allies made it difficult to outright refute them. In the end, everything came down to circumstance, and, so long as his enemies demonstrated adequate remorse, he didnt mind giving them a method to survive. Inversely, the moment someone tried to pull the wool over his eyes and y him for a fool, their end would be swift and without room for discussion. With this in mind, Vahn extricated himself from Yvonnes clingy depths before caressing the top of her head and saying, "Ill keep that in mind.". Then, to punctuate the encounter, he gently kissed her forehead before raising his hand in a casual gesture of farewell, adding, "Patty, Meena, Be, Susie, Natalie, make sure you get plenty of rest. Im sure well be seeing each other pretty soon, but make sure youre taking care of yourselves. Ill see you around..." Raising her hand towards the end of Vahns farewell, Patty preempted the formers departure by politely asking, "Might Ie with you? I can act as an intermediary to inform you when the pearl arrives. You havent given us your contact information, so we dont have the means to contact you very easily..." Shifting his gaze to the green-haired beauty, Vahn briefly considered her proposal while eyeing the ck brasier andce panties she had donned following their union. It was a color that suited her quite a bit, as, prior to her exhaustion, she had been rather passionate in her attempts to wring out his seed. The was the primary reason behind her desire to apany him, but, knowing she was also anxious about being tossed aside, Vahn ultimately nodded his head, answering, "Sure." before blinking to her side in an instant. This caused the bespectacled girl to startle quite a bit, but, before she was able to say anything, he wrapped his hands around her waist and promptly disappeared from the room... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The power of empowerment...,You aint sneaky...!,Its like taking home a goodie bag after a party (O w O)...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1943 Analysis

Chapter 1943 Analysis

Having expected Vahn to treat herparable to a sex ve, especially after he whisked her away in nothing but her lingerie, Patricia was marginally surprised when he provided her one of the less advanced iterations of the [REquip] system before penultimately leaving her to her own devices. He didnt even seem to mind that she was using her Lighthouses tomunicate with the delegation, as, ording to him, that was one of the main reasons she was there. Though she suspected he might be up to something, Patricias attempts to scan the interior and surroundings of Vahns suite showed no signs of additional security or observation devices. When sheter asked about his apparent disregard for security, he simply returned a smile before asking what his enemies could possibly do to him when even the Rank 7 of the Tower couldnt leave anysting injuries on his body. This left her feeling somewhat sheepish, not because she hadnt heard about the incident on the 40th Floor, but because it emphasized the fact that she was alone with a man who could effectively erase her from existence with a casual wave of his hand. Fortunately, even during the moments when she pushed herself to be bold and approach him, Vahn never showed any indication of dissatisfaction in regards to her behavior. Instead, he almost always had a rxed or amused smile on his face, and, at times, he even seemed to genuinely appreciate her efforts to attack and appeal to him. This was primarily through simple words and phrases, but, every now and again, he would look at her in a way that caused her heart to palpitate like a maiden in love. Were she to bepletely transparent, Patricia would have to admit that, prior to volunteering, she never could have imagined herself in a situation quite like this one. She didnt mind dedicating her life to supporting the stability of the Tower, but, more often than not, such devotion entailed taking up an administrative or logistical position within the Empire. Instead, she found herself sauntering around the suite of a man she hardly knew, barefoot and wearing an outfit reminiscent of a leotard without the stockings. As for how she ended up in this position, it was solely due to the fact she had found the photo of Vahn to her liking... Having learned there was no need to knock, Patricia allowed herself into Vahns room only to find itpletely empty. This made her feel a marginal amount of disappointment, but, before she could even turn to leave, her slightly chilled skin became aware of a source of warmth from behind. It was fairly cold within the suite, so, whenever Vahn was around, it was always obvious since his presence was almost identical to the sun on a cool spring day. Thus, without needing to turn around, Patricia was able to detect Vahns presence even before he linked his muscr yet paradoxically soft arms around her body. Preempting the green-haired girls report, Vahn rocked her gently within his arms as he said, "Well be leaving shortly. Dont worry. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future. This isnt the kind of thing you treat like a checklist...the more you try to rush things, the longer it will take..." Issuing a subdued Nn in response to Vahns words, Patricia enjoyed the feeling of being rocked in his arms with a contented smile and closed eyes. She had be rather fond of his spontaneous disys of affection, and, even if his behavior was ultimately an act to fool her, she always felt safe and secure whenever he held her. Had this not been a mission, it was easy for her to imagine falling head over heels for him just for the chance of being held lovingly in his outrageously powerful yet remarkably gentle embrace... Unfortunately, as was often the case, their exchange didntst nearly as long as she would have liked. Vahns warmth had a habit of disappearing as quickly as it hade, and, though it would sometimes linger for a short while, it was only a matter of time before the chill of the excessivelyrge room became her onlypany. These moments allowed her to be more appreciative of the time they did spend together, but, at the same time, they left Patricia wondering whether or not he would have provided her greater warmth if their love had been genuine... Noticing the taciturn beautys mncholic aura, Vahn lightly ruffled her hair as he mused, "Youre rather sensitive, arent you? It hasnt even been two days and youre behaving like a puppy that just learned it was about to be abandoned. Rx a little, will you?" Blushing in response to Vahns words, Patricia adopted a very slight pout as she averted her eyes to the side and grumbled, "Sorry..." in a reasonably huffy tone. This earned her an amused smile from Vahn, who, after removing his hand from her head, gave her partly exposed posterior a light smack as he added, "All of your expressions are cute, but I prefer it when you smile." before punctuating his remark with a yful wink. Unustomed to such brutishness, Patricia found herself at a loss for words as her hand naturally gravitated towards the spot where Vahn had pped her. There, a barely visible handprint could be seen, not because Vahn had hit her particrly hard, but because her fair skin was virtually without any blemishes to speak of. Seeing the mark more clearly using a nearby mirror, a potent blush developed across Patricias face as she promptly concealed it using her [REquip] system to change outfits. Then, understanding that Vahn was waiting for her, she quickly arranged her slightly unkempt hair before donning her sses and scurrying from the room... --- Having been formed of Vahns imminent arrival thanks to Patricia, Yvonne took a moment to adjust her sses before directing her gaze towards a rather disgruntled-looking middle-aged man with all the obvious makings of a schr. His expression was perpetually affixed in a sullen and grumpy look, and, rather than wearing more modern attire, he elected to garb himself in robes reminiscent of a nobleman or a court advisor. He even had the habit of carrying around a grimoire-like book that was, in actuality, themand console of his personalized Lighthouse. Earning the mans attention, Yvonne performed a polite bow as she exined, "Our guest will be arriving shortly. Lord Perdue, if you would be so kind as to produce the Sky Pearl, I would be most grateful." Though he couldnt help scowling in response to Yvonnes words, the aged Perdue still opened his book to retrieve the Sky Pearl, his hand sinking into the glistening pages for a brief moment before producing a softball-sized orb. He might be the Ruler of an entire Floor, but, despite his incredible seniority, he was actually quite a bit weaker than Yvonne, his younger sister. She was also acting on behalf of their father, so, while he was more than a little annoyed by the fact he was being asked to hand over his treasure, he would not allow his personal feelings to get in the way of his duty. epting the pearl with both hands, Yvonne was marginally surprised by its weight, as, unlike the Suspendium in which it was oftenpared to, its density was several orders of magnitude greater than its counterpart. As a result, it actually weighed more than a thousand kilograms despite being small enough to restfortably in the palm of ones hand. Feeling the incredible power within the rtively unassuming orb, an intrigued smile spread across Yvonnes face. She was actually quite interested in artifacts such as the Sky Pearl, and, should the opportunity present itself, she was intending to ask Vahn if her team could work in conjunction with his own. She never would have considered such an arrangement under normal conditions, but, after reading Patricias reports, Yvonne was starting to believe that Vahn could be remarkably reasonable so long as you presented your intentions honestly. Inversely, if you attempted to use unscrupulous or secretive means against him, he could be surprisingly petty... Recalling the moment when the sample she had painstakingly acquired simply dissolved into thin air, Yvonne had to forcibly suppress a series of sighs as she directed her team to prepare for Vahns arrival. At this point, their group had grown from the original six to a total of thirteen members. This included representatives from the Po Bidau, Arie, Ari, Ha, Khun, and Eurasia Families. The articles of their agreement with Vahn hadnt restricted the participation of other Families, so, with the hope of fostering positive rapport between the Aldrnari Empire and the Ten Great Families, the Leader of the Tu Perie Family had forged an agreement with the other Family Leaders to include members of their respective delegations as part of the research team. This was bound to result in a few problemster down the line, but, based on Vahns previous behavior, Yvonne was confident he wouldnt mind. She was slowly establishing a profile regarding his character, and, while there were bound to be ws in her analysis, the one thing she was absolutely certain of was the fact that Vahn didnt really want to fight. There was a substantial amount of evidence showing his willingness to spare his enemies, and, while this could be attributed to the magnanimity of the strong, the efforts he had put into helping random Regrs alluded to an inherently kind nature... Though it wasnt even in the top half of the Ten Great Families in regards to strength, the Tu Perie Family was, in many ways, the backbone of the Empire. They held the vast majority of administrative and logistical positions within the Tower, and, due to their views regarding peace and stability, they were often called upon to mediate and resolve conflicts between various factions, including the Ten Great Families. This afforded them the most political power among the Ten, and, as a result of their unflinching convictions and tireless efforts to promote peaceful coexistence, they were inarguably the most well-respected Family within the Tower. Realizing the threat Vahn posed to the peace and stability of the Tower, the Leader of the Tu Perie Family directly petitioned Jahad to allow his family to investigate and resolve any potential disputes. It was this decision that had resulted in the selection of Yvonne and her team as delegates, and, if it meant mitigating future disasters, they were willing to do whatever it took to make Vahn feel like an authentic resident of the Tower. This required understanding his character, and, most importantly, ascertaining the circumstances in which he resorted to the extreme actions he had proven himself to be capable of. As one of the most promising members of the Tu Perie Family in thest thousand years, Yvonne, after volunteering herself, had been the one tasked with studying and analyzing Vahns character and ecology. The better they understood him, the easier it would be to prevent him from going on a rampage, so, even if she had to dedicate the remaining years of her life to studying him, she was fully prepared to do so. This was a sentiment shared by most of her original team, so, while she was willing to work directly with other representatives, her most important duty was assuring that Vahn wasnt upset by their efforts. With this in mind, Yvonne had spent thest two days briefing the other representatives on how they should behave in Vahns presence. This caused some to jokingly ask if Vahn was some kind of wild animal they needed to be wary of, and, while it might be a little rude to the subject in question, Yvonne had immediately affirmed this was the case. Rather than saying he was wild, however, she argued that, from the perspective of an ancient and powerful dragon, they might very well be the wild animals. Most of the times he had resorted to taking extreme action were in direct response to ws in their behavior, so, more than anything else, Yvonne warned them against looking down on him or acting with political-minded intentions. After all, if they did manage to offend him, there was a very real chance their entire Family would be responsible for the debt their actions had rued... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "Drama queen...",Yvonne over here trying to be the foremost expert on Dragon Ecology...,Simply put, "Dont fuck up.") https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1944 Clarification

Chapter 1944 rification

As he had been monitoring each of the delegations, including Yvonnes, Vahn wasnt particrly surprised by the number of people waiting for his arrival. If anything, he was more surprised by the fact that the Yeon, Hendo Lok, and Lo Po Bia Families hadnt sent representatives, but, considering their rtionship with the other Families, even this wasnt all that shocking. Recognizing a few familiar faces among the sizeable group of delegates, Vahn preempted Yvonnes greeting by raising his hand and saying, "Yo. Long time no see, Leticia, Sona, Ming-Ming. I see your beauty hasnt faded since ourst meeting." Though the pink-haired lolipletely ignored his greeting, at least from the perspective of normal people, Leticia and Sona returned responses of their own, the former remarking, "You didnt forget." while thetter simply nodded her head. Beaming in response to the exchange between Vahn and the representatives of the Khun and Arie Families, Yvonne lightly pped her hands to draw everyones attention before saying, "Well, now that were all here, shall we move on to the signing ceremony? It might be a little shameless of me to say, but Im not afraid to admit that Im quite looking forward to exploring this Little Garden of yours. With your abilities, Im certain you can confirm this sentiment is shared between me and mypatriots, yes?" Meeting Yvonnes gaze, Vahn offered a casual smile as he nodded his head and said, "Though their reasons are quite a bit different from your own, it is fair to say that is the case. Very well, then. Lets get this over with." Appreciating Vahns willingness to y along and help her affirm her position as the leader of the research team, Yvonne returned a smile of her own as Natalie, one of the original members of her delegation, handed over a rather ornate contract. Then, to the surprise of nearly everyone present, Vahn pricked his finger before manipting his blood to form an artistic representation of his seal. As for why this was surprising, it wasrgely due to the fact he hadnt even bothered to peruse the contract for any signs of subterfuge or deception. As one of the few who had anticipated this, Yvonne simply offered a slightly more prominent smile as she preferred forth the Sky Pearl, saying, "I doubt it matters much to someone like you, but take care. Its a little heavy..." epting the pearl without issues, Vahn promptly removed a number of spells and enchantments that had been ced upon it before tossing it into his Inventory and saying, "As you can see, I have ample reason not to take part in these little games. Despite this, Im going out of my way to allow each of you the chance to prove my expectations incorrect. To that end, I would encourage you to heed Yvonnes advice and not try anything unscrupulous. The instant you forget this, you will only have yourselves to me for the consequences." With that said, Vahn manifested the Little Garden in his right hand, adding, "Come forth and ce your hand overtop this sphere. Then, once you are inside, wait patiently for everyone else to arrive. Dont worry. The region you are being sent to ispletely safe." As the person closest to Vahn, at least in regard to proximity, Yvonne unhesitantly ced her hand near the Little Garden. The very next instant, her figure hadpletely disappeared without a trace. In her wake, several artifacts possessing the intent of various people fell to the ground, as, prior to arrival, Vahn had modified the Laws within the Little Garden to disallow certain objects. It was also impossible for anyone to enter without his express permission, so, while they might not represent an actual person, items infused with the intent of another were unable to trespass the Little Garden. Recognizing the items and devices littering the ground, a ruddy hue spread through the nearby Natalies cheeks as she hurriedly bent down to collect them. As for everyone else, a few needed to momentarily excuse themselves while the remaining members of the Tu Perie Family handed over the majority of their restricted items to the perpetually grim-faced Perdue. He hadnt been included in the all-female research team, so, while it wasnt the most ideal oue, the members of the Tu Perie delegation could entrust him to transport their items safely to the Tu Perie Familys Floating Castle located a few thousand kilometers distant from Last Station... --- Once all twelve members of the research team had been gathered, excluding Yvonne since she was a Regr, Vahn showed them to the estate formerly used by the members of Team Wolf Pack. Then, after a cursory exnation regarding the Little Gardens rules and restrictions, the majority split off to pick out their rooms while he, Yvonne, and Patty remained behind. There were quite a number of things they still needed to discuss, the most important being the facilities that would be avable to them, the means to procure resources, and a general overview of the Layers they would be allowed to ess. Staring things off, Vahn decided to entice the research-oriented brte by providing her a cursory exnation of the type of entity he was. She was highly interested in anything regarding the nature of his existence, so, as could be expected, she immediately followed the exnation by asking, "Am I correct to assume you wish to inscribe this blessing upon my body? I dont particrly mind, but, in exchange, I would like the opportunity to study it." Since the only unique aspects of the Familia Crest were thenguage used and its functionality of allowing Gods to empower mortals, Vahn didnt mind allowing Yvonne to research it. After all, most of the important features rted to his particr blessing were linked to functions of The Path, so, even if she somehow managed to crack the Language of the Gods, it wouldnt matter all that much. This was also the reason he had asked Patty to stay back, so, in the wake of her request, he ended up inducting both of them into his Familia. Though she had heard about it during the exnation, Yvonne couldnt help feeling fascinated by the floating blue text box that had appeared following the surprisingly short procedure. Before she could ask about its other functions, however, Vahn interjected by saying, "Since this expedition is a matter wholly rted to the interests of the Empire and the Great Families, I will only be providing the basic necessities required for your team to get by. I am not the God of Freebies. If you want to obtain additional resources, you will need to ept andplete Quests." Smiling in response to Vahns words, Yvonne waited until he was finished speaking to ask, "Did you get this idea from the Hidden Floor?" Shaking his head, Vahn manifested a tablet-like disy that was actually an extension of his body, stating, "You should notpare an aspect of Divinity to a system designed by a bunch of senile old fools who wouldpromise the integrity of their souls in the pointless pursuit of something like the origin of all things. The only meaning life has ever had is experiencing it. The only thing you will find beyond origin is the absolute nothingness represented by the concept of oblivion. Beyond that, there is only the beginning and the end. There is nothing else." Working with the assumption that Vahn was an actual God, an intrigued glimmer appeared within Yvonnes eyes as an infinite number of questions danced across her mind. Before she could put any to word, however, Vahn raised his hand, gesturing for silence as he adopted an amused smile and added, "Knowledge, at least from the perspective of mortals, only has meaning when it can hold up under scrutiny. I dont mind answering some of your questions, but, in the end, the thing that will provide the greatest boon to your understanding is experiencing certain phenomena for yourself. To that end, you should take a look at this. Once you experiencepleting a Quest and receiving its rewards, your path forward will be a lot clearer." epting the page-sized tablet, Yvonne quickly realized it had a touch screen, thumbing through more than a hundred pages of Quests before remarking, "There are quite a lot. Dont tell me there is actually an infinite number of them...?" Chuckling in response to the womans words, Vahn lightly tapped the side of the tablet to activate its search and filter functions as he answered, "The Quests update based on the person essing the list. For the sake of convenience, however, there are only a thousand pages listed at any given moment. If you press the little icon that looks like two arrows trailing each other in a circle, the list will update to include a thousand more pages. Some of these are bound to be repeat Quest, but, considering they appear based on the capabilities of the person essing the list, I shouldnt have to exin why that is the case." Understanding what Vahn was trying to convey, Yvonne responded with a curt nod before typing a few characters into the search parameters and adopting a mischievous smile as she selected an F-Rank Quest called Bonding Bites. This caused a wry smile to develop across Vahns face, as, thanks to his own Quest Function, he, or, more specifically, Sis was able to keep track of every active Quest in real-time. Before epting the Quest, Yvonne decided to y it safe by asking, "Supposing I were to ask you to dinner, what would your answer be?" Since she was still half-naked due to the induction ceremony, Vahn couldnt help shaking his head in mild exasperation as he answered, "Though I am willing to make the asional exception, you shouldnt get in the habit of choosing Quests with the intention of testing my limits or forcing my hand. As for why that particr Quest is listed as F-Rank, I would assume it is rted to the fact I was intending to host a banquetter this evening. To that end, it would be strange if I refused to dine with you this particr evening." Taking note of a few key aspects of Vahns exnation, Yvonne brought her hand to her chin in a thoughtful manner as she softly remarked, "So the difficulty of a Quest ounts for specific events and probabilities...how interesting..." With the Law of Identity narrating the womans thoughts, Vahns smile became noticeably wrier as he exined, "Though it is possible, trying to use Quest Objectives to predict the future isnt a very reliable form of irvoyance. Each action taken in the present irreversibly shapes the future that is toe. To that end, you shouldnt interpret failure conditions and time constraints as indicators of specific deadlines determined by fate." Amused by Vahns willingness to rify things without requiring her to ask, a girlish giggle emitted from Yvonnes throat as she covered her mouth, smiling behind her hand. She was starting to get a better grasp of Vahns character, and, so long as it was something he had exined, he didnt mind rifying further in an effort to prevent misunderstandings. She actually found this rather adorable, not just because he was cute, but because of his reaction in response to reading her thoughts. Resisting the urge to avert his eyes and scratch the back of his head, Vahn handed a second tablet to Patty, saying, "Feel free to pick a Quest of your own. Completing them can reward you with all kinds of items, and, most importantly, your power will increase exponentially so long as you make a concerted effort." As the indisputably weakest member of the group, Patricia had been feeling more than a little out of ce, so, hearing Vahns words, she presented a demure smile, muttering, "Thank you..." before epting the tablet and perusing her avable Quests. Shortly after that, however, a rather potent blush colored her cheeks, as, listed among the S-Rank Quests avable to her was one that required her to have sex with Vahn for a cumtive 1,000 hours. There were also quite a number of optional objectives, many of which tasked her with performing acts she had only ever read about... Noticing the bookish beautys reaction, Vahn felt an almost overwhelming urge to facepalm as he internally remarked, ("I know Im partly to me, but do the both of you need to gravitate towards perverted Quests right off the bat...?") Unaware of Vahns thoughts, Patricia demonstrated a remarkableck of awareness by filtering for simr Quests without taking notice of the two gazes focused on her expression. It was only when she was considering epting a D-Rank Quest that she averted her eyes from the screen, freezing like a deer as her lips parted to voice an excuse that never reached her lips... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The return of the original trio (O w O)...,Yvonne is well-suited to the mission she has been given...,Its always the quiet ones xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1945 Going with the Flow

Chapter 1945: Going with the Flow

Though he could have immediately departed the 44th Floor, Vahn decided to stick around for a while in order to make good on his promise with Roen''s fan club. He also needed to find a ce to deposit people like Eduan, who, since his arrival in the Little Garden, had been having a time and a half growing stronger in the Seventh Layer. Since it was impossible to conceal his involvement in the man''s sudden appearance, the simplest solution seemed to be coordinating with Leticia to put Eduan in contact with the Khun Family. The non-interference policy of the Empire and the efforts of the Tu Perie Family seemed to be guiding things in the direction of mutual cooperation, so, while there were bound to be conflicts, Vahn now had the option of handling things in a more ''above-board'' manner if he really wanted to. With this in mind, Vahn split his time between the Eighth, First, Second, and Seventh Layers, in that order. His time in the Eighth was obviously him just rxing and spending time with his extended family. As for the other Layers, it was mainly just him observing various peoples and checking in on the research team. This was made easier by the fact he could adjust the flow of time within each of the Layers individually, so, while it might seem like he was spreading himself a little thin, he actually had ample time to invest in each Layer without interfering with the happenings in others. Though he sometimes felt as though he was leading multiple lives simultaneously, the time Vahn had spent in Actualized Worlds,bined with the memories and experiences he received from his Temtes, made him surprisingly suited to such a lifestyle. Of course, the most important thing was that the time he invested in other projects and interests didn''t detract from the time he was able to spend with his family, friends, and loved ones. It was almost like every world he partook in revolved around him, and, while this might sound a little egotistical, his escting power,bined with his ability to alter the fate of an entire Record just by entering it, seemed to support this sentiment... --- As it hadn''t taken long for information rted to his blessing to spread, Vahn found himself in the rather envious position of supporting the taciturn Sona''s legs, her back pressed against a wall as he slowly and gently probed her depths. There was a misunderstanding going around that having sex with him was a requirement to receive his blessing, and, while he could have easily corrected it, the truth of the matter was that most of the women present within the First Layer were fully aware that this wasn''t the case. It was simply a convenient excuse to make progress towards thepletion of their individual objectives, and, most importantly, it was a method for them to be stronger. With the social hierarchy of the Tower, individual might was only outvalued by political power when said individualscked the power to force the change they desired. To this end, the procurement of power was the highest priority for many residents of the Tower. Most dedicated their entire lives, a period often exceeding several thousand years, in its pursuit. Thus, after learning they could grow stronger by simply sleeping with someone they were already assigned to sleep with, it became the highest priority among some members of the so-called research team. This wasn''t solely due to the existence of the Quest System. Rather, as Yvonne had experienced, receiving his seed was the same as having your body tempered and refined. The sudden release of energy provided a rather drastic increase in strength immediately after the fact, and, though the effects would wane with time, their total reserves would have increased marginally with each sessive session. Simply put, having sex with Vahn was essentially a form of ''dual cultivation'', not simply because he wasprised of Source Energy, but because his Soul was far stronger than the vast majority of his partners. As a result, bathing his aura provided substantial benefits to a person''s growth, and, given enough time, it was possible to experience an increase in Soul Tier simply through exposure. Though they were unaware of the existence of Soul Tiers, the allure of being able to increase their strength while simultaneously experiencing pleasure beyond their wildest expectations was difficult for even the most reserved of maidens to resist. Sona was no exception to this, so, after challenging him to a duel and suffering a rather one-sided defeat, she voluntarily entrusted her body, mind, and training to him. This ced Vahn in an awkward position, but, considering the number of positions he had put the taciturn beauty in, offering her a bit of advice wasn''t much trouble... Feeling a startlingly hot sensation spread through her body, Sona tightened her legs around Vahn''s waist while simultaneously squeezing his shoulders and burying her face into the nape of his neck. Fortunately, Vahn had agreed to use a silencing spell on her beforehand, as, more so than anything else, Sona hated the sounds her own voice made whilst having sex. They were embarrassing to the point of being intolerable, and, were it not for his strange ability topletely muffle her cries, her pride would make it difficult to approach him of her own ord. What Sona didn''t know was that, despite her silence, Vahn was perfectly capable of hearing her voice. His ability to resonate with his partners had increased exponentially since his experimental days in Danmachi, so, even without initiating the melding process, he could empathically link with the person he was making love to. If he really wanted to, he could even establish a direct link using Unit Management, but, as that had gone awry a number of times in the past, he tended to avoid that particr functionality during love-making... After supporting her body for a few minutes longer, Vahn allowed Sona to stand on her own two feet before extricating his member from her convulsing folds and covering her somewhat swollen slit with a paper tag. The girls seemed to believe that the increase in strength was proportional to the quantity and amount of time they were exposed to his seed, so, while it was a little strange, he acquiesced to helping them ensure it stayed inside their bodies as long as possible. With her voice restored, a contented sigh escaped Sona''s lips as she caressed her own stomach in a daze. It was only when Vahn used cleaning magic on her that she returned to her senses, a subdued yet adorable yelp emanating from her throat as her silvery eyes focused to meet his. This caused an awkward silence to persist between them for a brief moment, but, shortly thereafter, Sona managed to meekly utter, "Thank you..." before averting her eyes and ultimately departing in a hurry. Rather than feeling offended, Vahn just smiled as he watched Sona''s retreating figure pass through the temporal barrier he had generated before effectively stopping in ce. They had actually been having sex in the middle of the hallway, and, though it was indecent of him, Vahn had orchestrated the encounter in order to indulge the silver-haired beauty''s exposure fantasies. This wasn''t the first time they had ''randomly'' encountered each other throughout various parts of the estate, and, with each passing day, Sona was bing increasingly bold, albeit only internally... Restoring the flow of time to normal, Vahn watched until Sona had disappeared around the corner before walking in the opposite direction with a smile on his face. It was moments like this that made him feel like the master of all things, and, while this might not be the case outside, it was refreshing to be able to act without inhibitions in the Little Garden, his Realm, and the dozen or so Actualized Worlds he had manifested. With such thoughts ying across his mind, Vahn reached his original destination to find Yvonne in her private workshop wearing an Aegis top reminiscent of a ck sports bra and a pair of coveralls tied around her waist. There was also a thinyer of sweat covering her olive-toned body, and, due to the efforts that had allowed her to be an Advanced Ranker, her partially figure was rather alluring in the low-light of the room. Despite noticing Vahn''s presence long before he had arrived, Yvonne waited until he had entered her workshop proper before wiping away the sweat from her brow and tossing aside an oversized wrench. Then, using gravity to her advantage, she slid from the top of the manta-like craft she had been working on, remarking, "Someone''s in a good mood." as she walked over and linked her arms around his waist. Ever-amused by how Yvonne''s casual act, Vahn returned her embrace with a smile before nting a kiss atop her head and asking, "How''s it going? You''ve already been at it for the better of five days. Have you made any progress?" Rolling her eyes, Yvonne remarked, "Your habit of asking questions you already know the answer to feels like bullying at times. You knew when you gave it to me that it would take far more than a few days to analyze and disassemble something like an Ancient Lighthouse. My father might be the one credited with the creation of Lighthouses, but there were simr objects in cirction long before the rise of the Great Warriors. This particr Lighthouse predates modern iterations by thousands of years so it''s going to take some time before I''m able to deconstruct and reproduce it. I mean, it is an A-Rank Quest..." Chuckling in response to Yvonne''s slightly pouty expression, Vahn allowed his hands to slide down her back, the tips of his fingers tracing the boundary between flesh and fabric in a way that caused her expression to brighten despite her wry smile. Then, in a slightly chiding tone, she leaned against him, eyes upturned as she mused, "You mentioned how long I''ve been working...aren''t you the least bit concerned that I might be fatigued?" With a somewhat wolfish grin developing across his face, Vahn leaned a little closer to Yvonne as he said, "If an Advanced Ranker got tired after a mere five days, their status and power wouldn''t be so coveted within the Tower..." Smiling in response to Vahn''s words, Yvonne closed the remaining distance between their faces by standing on her toes, their lips briefly ovepping before she extricated herself from his embrace and stated, "It might not bother you, but I''d like to take a bath first. You''re more than wee to join me, of course, but I''d rather not have to deal with the friction of making love in the bath. You are certainly gifted when ites to lovemaking, but my body can only produce so much fluid at a time. Certainly not enough to contend with an entire bath of scalding hot mineral water..." Though he was capable of producing an oil-based lubricant capable ofbating that particr issue, Vahn had already decided not to disclose information about his constitution to the research team. This had little to do with keeping secrets, however. Instead, it was predominately because he found Yvonne''s efforts to research him rather interesting. She was remarkably sincere when it came to the subject of understanding him, so, while he could make her job easier by exining a few key points, allowing her to make discoveries of her own was, ultimately, more fulfilling for them both. With this in mind, Vahn had been spending more and more time with Yvonne, and, though most of this was invested in licentious acts, there was also a fair amount of discussion between them. There was an infinite number of topics they could talk about that had absolutely nothing to do with him, so, whenever they were basking in the afterglow of an intimate rendezvous, talking is exactly what they would do. This had drastically increased the value of Yvonne''s Affection, and, though she was far from being infatuated with him, Da Vinci had taught him that there wasn''t much of a difference between schrly obsession and love... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Is it considered a God Complex if the person is an actual God...?'',''Yet another quiet one xD...'',''Vahn be living the dream...'') Chapter 1946 Baiting the Hook

Chapter 1946: Baiting the Hook

As it would be problematic if he spent all his time within the Little Garden, Vahn would invariably emerge to check on things in the outside world. There, he would either idle about for a few hours or go and explore the facilities of the Last Station. This made it seem as though he only spent a few minutes within the Little Garden at any given time, when, in reality, several days might pass before his return. It all depended on which Layer he was in, and, most importantly, whether or not he was doing anything to further interfere with the flow of time. Releasing a long yawn, Vahn wasrgely unresponsive even after the Law of Identity snuck up and pounced on him from behind in the form of Pram. She was one of the people who Vahn had been keeping tabs on, not because he was particrly fond of her, but because she was beginning to try his patience. Despite her external fluffiness, Pram''s character was pretty close to the opposite of what Fenrir and her pack would refer to as a ''good girl''. This partially the result of her predatory instincts, but, more so than anything else, her pride was the problem. She had taken exception to the fact that he had embarrassed her in public, but, rather than harboring any resentment towards him, the target of her ire was everyone else who had been present at the time. As for how she viewed him...well, there was a reason some referred to him as both the Godhand and the God of Petting. He was also extremely powerful, so, from the perspective of a species that revered personal strength, he was what many in the Lo Po Bia Family would consider an ''ideal mate''. Taking these things into consideration, the question then became whether or not Vahn was willing to overlook Pram''s unrepentant nature and past actions in an effort to deter her frommitting future atrocities. He was supremely confident in his ability to ''tame'' her, but, in doing so, he would further strengthen the ties between himself and the Lo Po Bia Family. This wasn''t necessarily a bad thing, but, considering they were the Family that required the most reform, long-term exposure to them all but necessitated the shedding of blood... Finished with her report regarding the thoughts and activities of Pram, the Law of Identity''s height increased by nearly thirty centimeters, pale blue hair flowing from her scalp as she whispered into his ear, "It seems this one is beginning to grow a little frustrated by the fact you are continuing to ignore her..." Turning around, Vahn was nearly eye-level with the Law of Identity, as, along with possessing an hourss figure, Maschenny was also 184cm tall. This made her the tallest among all the current Princesses of Jahad, the only two evening close to her being Yuri, 180cm, and a Princess by the name of Hendo Lok dmerry Jahad, who, thanks to her heritage, stood at amendable 182cm. As for the rest, they averaged between 169-174cm, the only notable exceptions being Repellista at 155cm, and, though she wasn''t an official Princess, the adorable Anak at 154cm. Seeing the Law of Identity transform into each of the people he was thinking about, Vahn extended his hand to caress Anak''s head as he asked, "How are the members of Team Wolf Pack these days?" A stark contrast to the actual Anak, the Law of Identity appeared extremely vivacious, her lizard-like tail wagging happily as she replied, "Things are going great~! They recently reached the 20th Floor and are currently taking a break in order to recuperate, resupply, and gather information. Though it seems this one is starting to feel envious of the rtionship between Gandr and the other girls, she is actually pretty happy since her breasts and butt have started developing quite a bit as ofte." With the Law of Identity doing her best to emte Anak''s expression, Vahn couldn''t help issuing a light chuckle as he allowed his connection with Gandr to momentarily strengthen. This allowed him to recall the youthful-looking Vanargandr''s experiences as if they were his own, and, though it was a little invasive, a first-hand ount from one of his Temtes was infinitely more reliable than the information provided by the Law of Identity... Obtaining a considerable number of memories pertaining to increasingly intimate massages, a second chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat as he withdrew his hand from the Law of Identity''s head and had her turn back into Maschenny. Things seemed to be going remarkably well for the members of Team Wolf Pack, so, at least for the time being, he didn''t need to worry about them. Understanding what Vahn was expecting from her, the Law of Identity wrapped her arms around his neck, an inherently seductive smile appearing on her face as she exined, "Right now, she has her people monitoring the members of the Snow Leopard Family. Though she is doing her best to keep her bad habits in check, she intends to put some pressure on the woman named Pram if you don''t act before the end of the week. She is going to pretend to ckmail the fluffy one using a video of the previous incident on the tform. Her true intentions, however, are to bait the members of the Snow Leopard Family into attacking the members of her delegation. She is hoping you''ll step in, but wouldn''t mind if you decided not to..." With the Law of Identity''s face drawing close enough that there was less than a centimeter between their lips, Vahn''s expression became grim until she promptly transformed into Altria, her expression reminiscent of a smiling cat as she licked his lips and issued an adorable, "Nyaa~?" Since the actual Altria was a very taciturn and reserved woman, so much so that she rarely showed a change in expression, Vahn was momentarily caught off guard by the Law of Identity''s actions. This seemed to be her intent, as, the moment his lips parted, she extended her tongue to intertwine with his. Had anyone been present to observe, this would have been a rather peculiar sight, as, not only was Vahn pushed back by an unseen force, most of his clothes had begun to peel away of their own ord... --- With her frustrations growing by the day, Maschenny had been spending most of her time locked within her room. If she were to meet with people in her current state, there was a chance she might attack at the slightest provocation. To prevent this, she had been sleeping upwards of sixteen hours a day. This was the only way she could keep herself in check, as, whenever she was awake, thoughts of the progress others were making while she wasrgely neglected gave her an almost irresistible urge to cause trouble... Fortunately, just as Maschenny had begun absentmindedly plucking the feathers from her pillow, a subtle fluctuation in the surrounding space caught her attention. This caused her to feel a moment of panic, not because she was in her negligee, but because she had just been insulting Vahn rather profusely within her mind. The thought of him hearing these usations was rather embarrassing, so, in an effort to divert his attention away from her secret slights, she filled her head with quite a number of rather lewd and licentious thoughts... Since he couldn''t actually read her mind, Vahn wasrgely unaware of Maschenny''s thoughts as he appeared a few meters from her bedside, grinning as he remarked, "Not bad. You''re quite fond of the color blue, aren''t you?" Following Vahn''s gaze, a naturally seductive smile crept onto Maschenny''s face as she pulled at the front of her negligee, exposing more of her cleavage as she replied, "You''re not so bad yourself. Tell me, what thoughts crossed your mind when you decided to enter my chambers without requesting a formal meeting? I don''t particrly mind, but it could cause quite a bit of trouble for both of us if you were discovered..." Ignoring the rather tantalizing sight, Vahn manifested a chair before taking a seat near the edge of the bed and stating, "I am aware of your efforts, but your nature makes it difficult for me to willfully associate with you. However, in the interest of preventing you from doing something irredeemably foolish, I''vee here with the intent topromise." Thinking Vahn was here to discuss the matter with Pram, Maschenny was about to assure him that she was primarily just ying around when he held up his hand, interrupting her and adding, "The conflict between you and the Lo Po Bia Family isn''t my concern. I''m here to prevent you from going to the 20th Floor and causing trouble for the Regrs I had previously helped. I might have cut ties with them, but I would take it personally if you messed with them just to satisfy your intrigue and frustrations. To that end, I am here to tell you directly. If you mess with them, even through indirect means, I will kill you. There is no alternative oue." With her smile fading away in an instant, an electrifying aura began to emanate from Maschenny''s body. Before she couldpletely lose her cool, however, Vahn began releasing his own, his voice heavy yet calm as he said, "I won''t tell you to calm down, but I would advise againstshing out. As I stated previously, I came here with the intent topromise. Though I am more than capable of carrying out my promises, I am not here to force yourpliance with threats..." Though it wasn''t easy, Maschenny forced herself to gradually rx as she recalled that Vahn had, in fact, dered his intent topromise. Since he should be well aware of her wants and desires, this suggested he hade with the aim of answering her questions, and, at least in part, providing her ess to some of the things she had taken an interest in... Waiting until Maschenny hadpletely retracted her aura, Vahn allowed his own to dissipate as he produced a bottle of wine and two sses. Eduan wasn''t the only member of the Khun Family with a fondness for the liquid, so, before continuing, he filled sses for himself and Maschenny before exining, "Though it is possible, there is no merit in willfully removing the curse since the Empire has already issued a non-interference policy. I have no interest in starting a war. Instead, I will meet with Jahad once I havepleted my ascent." Noticing the severe disappointment in Maschenny''s expression and gaze, Vahn resisted the urge to shake his head in admonition, adding, "Worry not. Though it is impossible to incite me into causing the chaos you so desperately crave, I am more than capable of providing you with a suitable stage to perform. There are numerous people within the Aldrnari Empire capable of matching you, and, most importantly, there are a functionally infinite number of battlefields in the worlds ''beyond'' the Tower awaiting your presence." Having dreamed of exploring the worlds beyond the Tower, amon trait among those near the pinnacle of existing hierarchies, Maschenny''s intrigue was sufficiently agitated by Vahn''s words. His mention of people capable of matching her was always rather noteworthy, but, more than anything else, she just wanted to be able to fight without the need for pretenses or restraint. Simply put, she was an incorrigible battle junkie, so, as long as someone could provide her with worthy opponents, Maschenny would willfully allow herself to be manipted. Taking advantage of this, Vahn went on to provide a brief overview of his power and the benefits of receiving his blessing. Thetter was something Maschenny was already familiar aware of thanks to the information provided by Repellista, so, with the research team also having been exposed, there was no real merit in keeping it a secret. Rather, by talking about the Quest System and his ability to make modifications to a person''s body, race, and even inborn talents, he could pretty much ensure that Maschenny would want to experience it for herself. After all, she had already seen how strong Yuri had be after sprouting a tail, so, while she wasn''t particrly interested in having one of her own, there was very little she wouldn''t do in exchange for power and the chance to use it... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The Law of Identity is rather feisty (O w O)...'',''This is an extreme degree of boredom...'',''Hook, line, and sinker xD...'') Chapter 1947 Pride, Prudence, and a Marginal Amount of Prejudice

Chapter 1947: Pride, Prudence, and a Marginal Amount of Prejudice

With the conversation starting with her wearing little more than a blue negligee and matching thong, it wasn''t long before Vahn had Maschenny lying on her stomach wearing nothing but thetter. This provided him a view that some in the Tower would have literally killed for, but, as it was something he had experienced numerous times due to the Law of Identity antics, Vahn wasrgely unfazed by the blue-haired beauty''s lean yet shapely figure. Not content with simply remaining silent throughout the process, Maschenny, using her crossed arms as a pillow, decided to take advantage of the situation by making idle conversation, yfully kicking her legs as she asking things like, "So, have you and Yuri already had sex? I always imagined that girl going crazy and kidnapping a few young boys, but I guess her instincts as a member of the Ha Family won out." Without pausing his hands, Vahn''s tone remained unperturbed as he rxedly replied, "That mouth of yours is going to get you in a lot of trouble. There is a difference between being direct and being uncouth." Humming in response to Vahn''s words, Maschenny seemed to consider them for a brief moment before ultimately shaking her head and saying, "If I thought it would help my chances, I wouldn''t mind behaving like a proper Princess. Fortunately, you''re the type of man who can enter a maiden''s bedchamber without batting an eye. You also chose topromise when you really didn''t have to, so I''m pretty confident you won''t harm me just because I said something that upset you." Considering Maschenny''s reputation, Vahn wasn''t too surprised by the boldness of her words. She was known to be quite clever when she needed to be, so, while her base nature was that of a battle maniac, she wasn''t an idiot. This was one of the reasons he had avoided her prior to this, as, despite a number of noteworthy differences, she was a lot like Loki. This wasn''t necessarily a bad thing, but, left unattended, it was only a matter of time before her nature incited chaos... Demonstrating this capacity, Maschenny turned her head slightly, a mischievous look in her electric blue eyes as she mused, "Given your attempt to divert the conversation, I take it the two of you did, actually, fuck? That brat really has all the luck. What is she, like, six-hundred-years-old? If the others find out, they''re going to be super pissed. Do you have any idea how tough it is to be a Princess of Jahad when you can''t even masturbate without having to worry about your adoptive father peeking in on you? It''s even worse when we''re prevented from fighting as we please. I mean, seriously, what point is there in bing a Princess when everything you do is stringently scrutinized? Yuri has no idea how lucky she is to be a member of the Ha Family. Though, I guess I''m pretty fortunate myself considering my own father probably would have knocked me if I hadn''t be a Princess~" Deadpanning in response to Maschenny''s words, Vahn was seriously considering leaving the Familia Induction Ceremony half-finished. He had known for a while that she had no filter unless she was in a situation where she ''needed'' to behave, but, with her chibi self being rtively quiet, Vahn hadn''t expected the original to be so...chatty... Annoyed by Vahn''s silence, Maschenny lightly furrowed her brows and scrunched her nose as she added, "Ohe on. Can''t you take a joke? What happened to that intense and confident version of you from earlier? Don''t suddenly turn into a herbivore on me. I''m still expecting you to eat me up at some point. I would be severely disappointed if you turned out to be the type of man who half-asses things." Raising his brow, Vahn was about to ask what made her think he was going to ''eat her up'' when Maschenny adopted a predatory smile and asked, "What? You''re not going to try and collect all the Princesses for yourself? I''m absolutely certain you''re responsible for that blonde bimbo going crazy and stealing our panties. If I had to guess, it must be rted to that Quest System you were talking about earlier, right? Why else would she do something so inexplicable after staying rtively silent all these years?" Though he had always known that Ureko''s Quest would bring him future troubles, Vahn couldn''t help releasing a sigh in response to Maschenny''s words. Her statements,bined with the fact that Ureko had gifted him the panties with simr intentions, made it pretty clear that the general consensus among those in the know was that he was the ''mastermind'' behind the entire fiasco. His most recent actions regarding the research team had likely reinforced this point of view, so, while it wasn''t actually his intention, Vahn had a difficult time outright refuting such usations. There was also the fact that, if it would help him prevent a tragedy and limit the amount of bloodshed, he was more than willing to employ such a method... Noticing the slight glimmer in Vahn''s eyes, despite his pensive look, a taunting smile developed across Maschenny''s face as she flexed her rather pert posterior and said, "I can''t speak for all of us, but most of us wouldn''t mind, you know? I mean, there are Princesses that have been around for more than six-thousand-years at this point. Do you have any idea how maddening it can be to be denied something that even the most base of peasants have rtively easy ess to? Some might consider it an honor to be chosen as a bride candidate for the King, but we both know my adoptive father has never had the intention of marrying a single one of us..." With Maschenny wearing nothing but an electric-blue thong, flexing the muscles of her butt made it remarkably difficult to maintain focus on anything else. It didn''t help that her aura had turned an almost sickly shade of pink, not because she had spontaneously fallen in love with him, but because her desire to have sex was almost overwhelming. It was akin to Eve''s desire to sample the forbidden fruit of knowledge, an instinctual urge to experience something that had been denied to her for no better reason than someone else forbidding it... Finished with the application of his Familia Crest, Vahn retracted his hand from Maschenny exposed back, his expression a mask of calm as he exined, "I''m afraid you are mistaken. Though I possess the means, my rtionship with Yuri hasn''t developed to the point you are imagining. I didn''t want her bing overly attached to me, and, prior to our encounter on the 40th Floor, developing our rtionship in any meaningful way would have unnecessarilyplicated things during my ascent. I imagine our rtionship will move forward by leaps and bounds in the near future, but, until then, I have no particr interest in developing my rtionship with more problematic Princesses..." Having been at odds with Yuri for quite some time, Maschenny was genuinely surprised by Vahn''s admission of innocence. If he had demonstrated even a fraction of the power he had disyed on the 40th Floor, it was difficult to imagine someone like Yuri simply letting him walk free. She might be a Princess of Jahad, but, unlike the majority of Princesses, she had never really taken her duties seriously. She also had the support of her Great-Great-Grandmother, the Leader of the Ha Family, so, hearing that nothing had happened between them, Maschenny couldn''t help feeling genuinely astonished. Almost immediately thereafter, however, apetitive me was lit in her heart as she instinctually licked her lips and replied, "I see..." in a contemtive tone. Even without the Law of Identity''s narration, Vahn could easily imagine the thoughts dancing across Maschenny''s mind. She was the type of woman that enjoyed standing above others and lording her aplishments over those she didn''t like. This just so happened to be anyone who was stronger or even marginally more ''fortunate'' than her, so, with Yuri being one of the most fortunate among the Princesses, Maschenny had an almost instinctual desire to im ground where her counterpart had ''failed''. Unfortunately, just as she was about to try her luck, Vahn threw a rather sizeable wrench into her ns by inly stating, "Unlike you, my words are not spoken carelessly. I have no intention of bing involved with any Princesses prior to fulfilling my promise with Yuri and reaching an ord with the Ha Family. Besides, while you might have sufficient reason to be confident in your appearance, your character leaves a lot to be desired. If you are to have any hope of fulfilling your ambitions, you will behave yourself until I havepleted my objectives..." Having witnessed his power during their encounter on the 40th Floor, Maschenny knew it wouldn''t be the wisest decision to overly antagonize Vahn. He had already demonstrated an inclination to act with prejudice whenever he was triggered, so, with his crest now inscribed on her back, she did her best to maintain herposure as she answered, "I understand. So long as you don''t beat around the bush when the timees, I''ll do my best to ''behave'' until then. Of course, a bit of an incentive would go a long way towards ensuring I''m on my best behavior..." Though he was tempted to point out that the Quest System should be more than enough incentive, Vahn understood that women weren''t always rational creatures. The same argument could be made for men, but, due to his considerable exposure to the fairer sex, Vahn understood there were times when they needed something more ''meaningful'' to help them stay the course. Some might mistake this as a matter rted to emotions, but, from personal experience, Vahn hade to realize it was more so a matter of ''sincerity'' and ''willful acquiescence'' than anything else. This was especially true of prideful women, so, after a moment of consideration, Vahn nodded his head before rising to his feet and saying, "Very well then..." --- Using a clean white towel to wipe away the excess oil from his hands, Vahn turned his back to the red-faced beauty, ignoring her unfocused gaze as he said, "Though it isn''t all that important, try to keep matters rted to the Quest System a secret. I don''t really care if the Toweres to know of my status as a God, but it will make things unnecessarilyplicated if they start trying to impose their ideals and expectations on me. I have enough trouble with FUG, as is. I don''t need a bunch of opportunistic assholes using my name and status as a justification to stir up trouble." Unable to respond in a more meaningful way, Maschenny just issued a nasally "Nn..." in response to Vahn''s words before trying and failing to roll onto her back. Her muscles simply refused to obey hermand, and, as a result of the echoing waves of pleasure, a soft moan emanated from her throat every time she tried to move. Fortunately, rather than simply ignoring her plight, Vahn at least had the decency to turn around and help her to roll over. This made it easier to breathe, and, though it exposed her breasts in their entirety, she actually considered this a win since Vahn''s eyes had very briefly lingered on her pert, pale-pink, rosebuds... Managing a smile, Maschenny attempted tomunicate with Vahn via her thoughts, but, with the Law of Identity traditionally disappearing whenever his attention was focused on other matters, her thoughts went entirely unheard. This left her feeling slightly pouty, as, immediately after helping her to roll over, Vahn covered her breasts with his towel and said, "I''ll see you around. Try and stay out of trouble, okay?" With that said, Vahn ced a tea set and a few snacks on the nearby nightstand before promptly disappearing from Maschenny''s room. This would have normally left the Princess feeling resentful, but, with persistent waves of pleasure washing over her body, it was difficult to stay mad. Instead, she began uncharacteristically lonely, her thoughts wandering far more than usual as the silence of the room gradually descended upon her... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Someone needs to wash this girl''s mouth out with soap...'',''Get this woman a ss of water...!'',''Ah, yes, the existentialism that follows a first, second, and virtually all encounters with the Godhand...'') Chapter 1948 Forward

Chapter 1948: Forward

After reaching his own quarters, Vahn promptly decided that his time on the 44th Floor was nearing its end. There had been more and more people arriving with the intent of seeking him out as ofte, so, now that he had ''dealt'' with Maschenny, the only real person of interest left was Pram. This, however, presented a number of unique issues, so, rather than oveplicating things and causing trouble for himself, Vahn decided he would leave the woman with a message asserting they would meet again on the 50th Floor. Though he had no personal interest in the facility, the 50th Floor was home to one of the Lo Po Bia Family''s fortresses, a multiyeredbyrinthine structure known as the Nest. As the name implied, the Nest''s primary function was to serve as a breeding facility for Shinheuh. Its secondary purpose, however, was to serve as a ''cold storage'' of sorts for various items that the Jahad Empire had either wanted to preserve or keep hidden. This included quite a number of dangerous artifacts, but, more importantly, it served as the sealing grounds for none other than Eurasia Enne Jahad. Having promised both Garam and Yuri that he would rescue the notorious ''Mad Princess'', Vahn had little choice but to invade the Lo Po Bia Family''s Nest in order to make good on his promise. Rather than relying on force to breach their walls, he was going to use the same method he had employed with the research team: diplomacy. The odds of this actually working were rather slim, but, with the Leader of the Lo Po Bia Family having taken an interest in both him and his Pokemon, Vahn wanted to at least try resolving things peacefully. To this end, there was still one ce that Vahn ''needed'' to visit prior to departing the 44th Floor. If he ignored her any longer, she might do something drastic to garner his attention, so, shortly after hacking Pram''s Pocket to send his message, Vahn departed the Last Station, his destination one of therger Suspend Ships that had been loitering a few hundred kilometers away. There, he waited patiently within the confines of a rather luxirious room until its owner, a disgruntled-looking woman with long ck hair tied in a side-ponytail, inevitably entered. Surprising said person quite a bit, Vahn rolled to a seated position atop their bed before raising his hand in an overly casual manner and saying, "Yo. Long time no see, Princess." Realizing her eyes weren''t ying tricks on her, the woman, none other than Ha Yuri, immediately balled her hand into a fist, her expression darkening as she walked forward and muttered, "I see...so you do remember me. Good...good...good...NOT! What the fuck took you so long you god-damned asshole!?" To punctuate her words, Yuri threw a rather fierce-looking right hook towards Vahn''s smiling face. Fortunately, she hadn''t actually infused any Shinsu into the attack, so, other than creating a loud ''pa'' sound and generating a small shockwave, there were no other seque from the attack. This left Vahn feeling even more apologetic, as, despite her apparent fury, he could sense that Yuri was actually very worried about him. Grasping the wrist of the fist that was still buried in his face, Vahn pulled Yuri''s hand into his own as he said, "Sorry...I won''t make excuses. Just tell me what I need to do to make you smile...you know I hate seeing you upset..." Despite snorting through her nose and adopting a somewhat haughty expression, Yuri promptly sat down next to Vahn, her fingers linking with his as she leaned against his shoulder and said, "Just tell me what you''ve been doing thesest couple of months aboard the Hell Train...depending on what you have to say, I''ll decide whether or not to forgive you..." Though he felt as though he was being invited to navigate a mine field filled with nukes, Vahn did his best to recount things in a way that would satisfy Yuri''s intrigue. Fortunately, he had ess to Memory Projection Spheres, so, whenever he reached a point in the story that involved fighting, he could rey the memory at Yuri''s request. This included the battle on the 40th Floor, and, though she had started off by demonstrating a considerable amount of concern for his wellbeing, Yuri was cackling like a hyena upon seeing him getting one-sidedly thrashed by the enraged Adori... As she had never been the type to waste time brooding over matters of the past, Yuri''s mood had improved considerably by the time Vahn had finished his recounting of events. Unfortunately, just as he was thinking he was in the clear, she left him speechless by asking, "So, how many new girls have you slept with since ourst meeting? I know about that so-called research team put together by that nerdy woman belonging to the Tu Perie Family. You fucked them, right?" Despite a friendly smile adorning her face, the glowing of Yuri''s ruby-red eyes made it obvious she hadn''tpletely forgiven him. This had less to do with the past, however, and more to do with her womanly intuition giving her the impression he was keeping secrets. More specifically, there were a few things he had glossed over, and, while she generally wasn''t one to pry, Yuri was disoncerted by the fact he felt the need to keep things from her. Though she would probably go with the flow if he decided to drop the matter, Vahn had never feltfortable with lying, even to his enemies. Thus, after several seconds of tense silence, a tired sigh escaped his lips as he went on to recount his ''exploits'' over thest three or so years. This included events that had taken ce in Actualized Worlds, and, most recently, his encounter and subsequent interactions with Pram, the members of the research team, and Maschenny... Hearing Vahn list off more than twenty names, many of which she had never even heard of, Yuri''s smile had gradually made way for a rather grim expression. Despite this, she wasn''t actually all that upset by the amount. Rather, she was far more annoyed by the fact that she hadn''t been included among them, and, more frustratingly, another member of her family had been among the members of the research team. This made it feel as though she had somehow lost against her own kin, and, should word spread within the family, her prestige and perceived status would take a considerable hit... Waiting until Vahn had finished telling his story, Yuri firmly squeezed his hand in a vice-like grip, her voice noticeably deeper as she said, "I thought I told you not to sleep with another member of my Family before we had a chance to seal the deal...do you not care about me at all?" Confused by Yuri''s words, Vahn was momentarily at a loss until he realized the misunderstanding and promptly stated, "You''re jumping to conclusions. I haven''t slept with the members of the Ha, Eurasia, or Po Bidau Families....well, that isn''t entirely urate. I have slept with Ming-Ming, but we didn''t have sex. She is more of a human-shaped hug pillow than a harem candidate..." Detecting no falsehoods in Vahn''s words, a sigh of extreme relief escaped Yuri''s throat as she softly uttered, "At least you have some sense remaining..." Smiling wryling in response to the ck-haired woman''s musings, Vahn was about to speak out in his defense when she suddenly turned to meet his gaze, her tone uncharacteristically serious as she said, "We''re going to do it. Right here and now. I don''t care if you want to keep climbing the Tower at your own pace. I refuse to continue waiting around like an idiot as girls you only recently met get added to your harem. At this rate, it is only a matter of time before another Princess sinks her teeth into you. If that happens before we''re able to seal the deal, I might not be able to forgive you..." With Yuri still squeezing his hand like a vice, Vahn got the distinct impression she wasn''t going to take no for an answer. Fortunately, he had prepared himself for this exact scenario beforeing to meet her, so, after a brief yet tense period of silence, he manifested the Little Garden in his free hand, smiling as he said, "I would have to be the biggest fool in the entire Tower to refuse such an invitation..." Returning a smile of her own, the tense aura emanating from Yuri''s bodypletely vanished as she cheekily mused, "Good answer. I was afraid I would need to take matters into my own hands if you continued ying games..." Though her words were spoken with a smile, the severity of Yuri''s tone made it clear she wasn''t joking around. This caused Vahn''s smile to be somewhat wry, but, considering Yuri was both an Ancient Saiyan and a member of the Ha Family, he couldn''t exactly me her for being direct. If anything, he was to me for forcing her to wait while numerous women, many of which he had far fewer affections for, beat her to the punch. With this in mind, he promptly pulled her into the Ninth Layer, not because they were going to fight, but because he was afraid of the destruction she might cause in an impassioned state... Recognizing her surroundings due to the concentration of Shinsu, a predatory smile developed across Yuri''s face as remarked, "Good. At least this way, I won''t have to hold anything back. Now, are you going to take off your pants or do I have to do it for you...?" Feeling as though things were starting to get out of hand, Vahn allowed a calming energy to flow through his aura as he approached Yuri and wrapped his arms around her body. This confused her at first, but, after a while, she eventually returned his embrace while muttering, "Sorry...I guess I got a little carried away...hahahaha..." Nodding his head in silent affirmation, Vahn loosened his hold on Yuri''s body in order to nt a rtively tame but longsting kiss on her lips. Then, just as she had started to genuine rx, he allowed his hands to slowly descend her body until he had her remarkably pert and shapely glutes in his grasp. This caused a sensual chuckle to emit from her throat, and, as a result of her growing passions, the intensity of their kiss increased with the temperature of their bodies... Taking advantage of her growing distraction, Vahn released the sp of Yuri''s red skirt, the fabric falling to the ground and providing him better ess to the shapely rump bound in silky smooth tights. In response, Yuri, either with the intent to emte him or get straight to the point, fumbled at his belt for several seconds before simply tearing it away with her monstrous strength. Resisting the urge tough, Vahn manipted the surroundings to give them a bit of privacy as he invested a startling 90,000,000OP into a brand new bed. Anything beneath S-Rank was bound to be destroyed, so, while it was remarkably expensive, it was a necessary expense in Vahn''s opinion. Yuri might not have cared if he pushed her to the ground and took her by force, but, considering it was her first time, he wanted to be as gentle, loving, and methodical as possible. Unfortunately, just as he had pushed her onto the bed, two uninvited guests, appearing as golden and green-haired lolis, decided to make an appearance... Though he was originally intending to ignore them, Yuri quickly became aware of the duo, her face demonstrating a considerable amount of confusion as she asked, "ck March? Green April? What are you two doing here? Don''t tell me you want to participate...muuuuuuu...you''ll have to wait your turn!" Scoffing in response to Yuri''s usation, the Spirit of the Green April crossed her arms in a haughty manner as she said, "You really are a dumbass. Even if it were possible, do you really think I would choose this phndeering asshole as my partner? We came out here to prevent the two of you from doing something stupid. Isn''t that...right...?" Directing her gaze towards the ck March, the Spirit of the Green April found her words trailing as she noticed the rather potent blush on the former''s face. Then, contrasting everything she had said, the Spirit of the ck March floated closer to Vahn before whispering in a demure tone, "I wouldn''t mind...it''s been a while..." while nervously fidgeting about. This left the Spirit of the Green April at aplete loss, her small and dainty lips parting slightly as she failed to find words to describe her sister-sword''s shamelessness... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Yo...!'',''Release your inner Ozaroo...!'',''Princess can''t catch a break xD...'') Chapter 1949 Prowess

Chapter 1949 Prowess

Though she generally went with the flow, consequences be damned, Yuri was understandably miffed by the sudden appearance of the two Spirits of the 13 Month Series. Talking was thest thing on her mind right now, so, before either could exin the reason for their appearance, she manifested her Arms Inventory, grabbing their hilts and subsequently tossing them full force as she shouted, "Dont even think about getting in the way...!" Unfortunately, while she was able to toss the duo with enough force to effectively disintegrate the ceiling, there was little she could do to prevent them froming back of their own ord. Each of the 13 Month Series was fully sapient, and, though they seldom took action, they were fully capable of maneuvering about independently. This was especially easy in regions of high-density Shinsu, so, shortly after the duos departure, both streaked back like bolts of green and ck lightning. Just as Yuri was about to blow a fuse, Vahn grabbed the ck-haired beauty from behind, holding her in his embrace as he whispered, "Rx. Regardless of their reason for appearing, its not going to prevent me from ravishing you properly..." To punctuate his words, Vahn licked the back of Yuris ear, his right hand moving to her left breast as his left breached the fabric of her panties and tights. This earned him a disbelieving look from the Green April, but, considering what might happen if he failed to pacify the disgruntled Saiyaness, Vahn didnt mind being a little shameless... With Yuri momentarily docile, Vahn took a moment to ask, "So? What did you want to say?" before lowering his head to tenderly suckle on the exposed part of her neck. This,bined with his other efforts, caused Yuris jaw to noticeably quiver, but, at the same time, it also afforded the Green April the chance to angrily grumble, "How did our fates end up in the hands of this womanizer...?" before immediately following it up with pointedly revealing, "The Power of Blood granted to Princesses of Jahad is a double-edged sword. Though it has the ability to demonstrably increase their power and potential, all their efforts will be in vain the moment they lose their virginity. All the power they had stockpiled over the years will be transferred to their partner. That monkey over there should be well aware of this fact. After all, she and that shitty midget bastard were both nearby when my previous owner ended up kicking the bucket." Supporting her sisters statement, the ck Marchs dragon-like eyes began releasing a luminscent golden glow, her expression serious as she added, "If gori-girl over here gives up her virginity, the majority of her power will be transferred to you. Following that, every time you have sex, a fragment of that power will be transferred to your partner. This might sound like a convenient way to increase your strength, but, in reality, it is one of the many methods the King employs to keep traitors under his thumb. The moment you be afflicted with the Kings Power of Blood, you will no longer be able to oppose him..." Having wondered what the duo might reveal, Vahn nearly burst intoughter when he heard them mention such a small issue with such severity. Curses were the thing he feared the least, and, given his ability to iste and suppress the effects of Magia Erebea in Evas body, it wasughable to hear someone allude to the possibility that Jahads curse was beyond his means to influence... Noticing the clear amusement in Vahns countenance, even the ck March couldnt help feeling a little offended by his apparent disregard. She was genuinely worried about him, not just because he had promised to save them, so, seeing him smiling almost indifferently, her hair and dress began to re violently as she balled her hands into fists and roared, "This is a serious matter, you smug little shit! The only reason Jahad hasnt been making a fuss about your involvement with the Princesses is that it will remove you as a threat. I might not care about what happens to that damn gori, but it will be a big fucking problem if you end up risking everything just because you wanted to get your dick wet...!" Taken aback by the ck Marchs words, Vahns actions stopped long enough for Yuri toe to her senses and threaten, "Once this is over with, Im going to smear your de with grease before tossing you through a sand dune..." Unamused by Yuris remark, the physical body of the ck March spun to aim itself just below her heart before the tip extended like a ck bolt of lightning. This was an attack that Yuri could easily react to, but, long before such action was warranted, a second version of Vahn appeared out of thin air, grasping the obsidian ck de with his bare hand, stating, "Thats enough." in a firm tone. Though she wanted to voice aint, the familiar and pleasant energy flowing into the ck Marchs body caused her to fall silent. She had her suspicions regarding the reasons, but, whenever Vahn wielded her, she couldnt help but obey his words. It was like she had be an extension of his body, and, for a brief moment, she even felt as though she had be whole again. Exhaling a sigh of relief, Vahn grasped the shrunken version of the ck March by her hilt before extending his hand towards the Green April. This caused thetter to re at him, but, despite her hostile exterior and abrasive manner of speaking, she was actually the more sensitive of the two 13 Month Series. In other words, she was basically a tsundere, so, as long as you were a little firm with her, she would be begrudginglypliant. With the two Spirits now hovering obediently at his back, Vahn responded with an approving nod before turning to the duo seated atop the bed and exining, "Im gonna take these two for some routine maintenance and exin the situation for them. Have fun." Hearing Vahn mention the phrase "maintenance", a red hue suffused through the faces of the two Spirits and into the tips of their pointed, elven-like, ears. This earned them an amused smile from Yuri, but, before she could say anything at the duos expense, a surprised yelp emanated from her throat as Vahn sent a pleasurable jolt into the tiny bud hidden within the confines of her remarkably moist panties. By the time Yuri recovered from the sudden shock, Vahn 2.0 had already disappeared with the ck March and Green April in tow. This actually made her a little annoyed, not because Vahn was doing other things while preparing to do her, but because a part of her had wanted both versions to stick around. Six-hundred-and-eighteen-years had given her plenty of time to fantasize about all sorts of things, so, now that the opportunity had presented itself, there was a lot of things she wanted to try before her peers managed to sink their teeth into Vahn. She might not be able to secure her ce at the pinnacle of the Aldrnari Empires hierarchy, but, at the very least, she could distinguish herself among the women originating from the Tower... With this in mind, an excited glimmer radiated from the depths of Yuris ruby-red eyes as she seized Vahns wrist and asked, "How much longer do you intend to keep me waiting...?" Taking advantage of the fact that Yuri was half-seated in hisp, Vahn bucked his hips, forcing her to abruptly stagger forward as he transitioned to his knees. Much to Yuris surprise, this resulted in a surprisingly smooth transition to her hands and knees, her butt pointed towards Vahn. In the very next instant, a numbing sensation spread throughout her entire body as Vahn firmly seized the base of her tail and answered, "About three more seconds..." As he had already suppressed the Power of Blood during their forey, Vahn punctuated his words by ripping the fabric of Yuris tights, pulling aside her panties, and instantly prating her depths. This caused her entire body to tense up, but, just like every other battle maniac he had ever had sex with, the trembling of her body had less to do with pain than the drastic increase in her excitement. Demonstrating this peculiarity to the fullest, a peal of unnervingughter could be heard emanating from Yuris throat as she quickly adapted to the pain and started shaking her butt as if to feel even more from his intrusion. Then, unable to control herself any longer, a violent red aura began to emit from Yuris body as she shouted, "What are you waiting for!? Instructions...!?" Responding to Yuris taunt, Vahn activated one of the special abilities of the newly purchased bed, a rather dazzling barrier that prevented sounds, energy, and pretty much everything else from going beyond the four golden bedposts. This included Yuris phenomenal aura, and, though it caused the density of Shinsu within the barrier to drastically increase, Vahn was able to absorb the majority into his Realm as their tumultuous battle for dominance began. Fortunately, while Yuri was actually quite a bit stronger than him under normal circumstances, defeating him within the confines of the Little Garden was virtually impossible for someone stuck at the bottleneck between Tiers 4 and 5... Though she wasnt offering any meaningful resistance, Yuri was both excited and surprised by the fact that Vahn was basically able to manhandle her. She had tried turning the tables on him a few times, but, like a master practitioner of the ancient art of Aiki, all of her efforts resulted in her being put into even morepromising positions. He was using her own strength against her, and, as a result, she currently found her forehead rhythmically impacting the beds barrier as Vahns motions violently shook her body. Refusing to go down without a fight, Yuri attempted to stop his movements by flexing herpact abdominal muscles. This actually worked for a short while, but, the moment she attempted to twist her body to the side and mount him in turn, Vahn redirected her momentum by forcing her into a sideways split and subsequently binding her ankle with a golden chain. This caused her face to turn beet red in an instant, not simply because she was in an incredibly awkward position, but because it allowed Vahn to hit her sweet spot while using her thigh as a hold. At the same time, she could feel his fingers press a few sensitive areas near her inner thigh and buttocks, each resulting in a tingling numbness that drastically reduced her muscle control while simultaneously increasing the amount of pleasure she was experiencing. Unable to break free from the seemingly immovable chain, Yuri attempted to use it as leverage to twist her body around and kick Vahn in the chest. Unfortunately, this was a moment that Vahn had been waiting for, his eyes gaining a golden luster as the impact from her kick seemed to disappear into his body. Then, in an instant, her leg was forced up in a simr manner to the first, suspending her in ce with her back against the barrier rather than on the bed. Realizing her position, a startlingly red blush developed across Yuris face as she averted her eyes from Vahns wolfish smile and muttered, "Using items is cheating..." Chuckling in response to the womans insincere pout, Vahn ran his hands along the exterior of her thighs, threads of rainbow-hued energy flowing from his fingertips he softly muttered, "If those are your honest feelings, I dont mind releasing you and starting over from scratch..." With her face bing even redder, Yuri promptly snorted in response to Vahns words before reaching around her unbelievably plump thighs and prying open her own insides. Then, with her eyes still averted to the side, she begrudgingly suggested, "Just get on with it..." as several drops of pinkish liquid departed her steamy depths, trailing her intergluteal cleft before falling to the pure white bedding below... (A/N: Alternate Titles: A small bite of worldbuilding~,How nice of Vahn to help Yuri ovee the weakness of her tail (O w O)...,Alls fair in love and war...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1950 Maintenance

Chapter 1950 Maintenance

Though he had expected things to get a little intense, even Vahn was beginning to feel exasperated by the eve of his tenth consecutive day of lovemaking. Without using extreme means, it seemed like Yuris stamina and willpower would never run out; as, every time she was on the verge of defeat, her [Descendent of the War Goddess] Innate would consume the energy he had suffused into her body to provide a seemingly endless number of second winds. With her strength steadily increasing,bined with the fact she was aware of their functionally limitless time, Yuris enthusiasm never seemed to subside. She was having more fun over thesest ten days than the hundreds of years preceding them, so, unless Vahn submitted and allowed her to take control of the situation, she had no intention of backing down. After all, the longer their battle went on, the greater her pleasure and the more powerful she became. This,bined with the fact it would be quite the conversational piece if she managed to endure for several weeks, months, or even years,pelled Yuri to keep rising irrespective of the condition Vahn had left her body in... Fortunately for Yuri, Vahn wasnt exactly known for doing things half-assedly. Some of the items he had forged took multiple months toplete, so, while he couldnt help feeling exasperated, Yuris zeal wasnt wasted on him. He was also curious to see if she could achieve a breakthrough simr to Modred, so, every time her blood-crimson aura effectively resurrected her, a wry smile would briefly appear across his face before he subsequently psyched himself up for another round. He took great pride in being able to satisfy all of his women, so, regardless of how long it took, he wouldnt be the one to concede... --- Having weakened the bond between him and his original self, so much so that he almost qualified as a Temte, Vahns offshoot was only vaguely aware of what was happening within the temporal distortion created by his counterpart. Instead, he busied himself with performing maintenance on the ck March and Green April, a rxed smile on his face despite the fact the former preferred to observe the process whilst peeking over his shoulder with her arms around his neck. Fortunately, despite her apparent tangibility, there were virtually no sensations whenever the ck March pressed herself against him. There was only a feeling of awareness whenever they were in contact, and, though he was able to do things like caress her head, it was almost like he was petting empty air. This made it pretty easy to overlook her antics, as, even when she released hot-sounding sighs, the usual tepidity and moisture never came. It was almost like an auditory hallucination, and, were he to willfully ignore them, both Spirits would gradually disappear from his perception... As the only person capable of directly interacting with their spiritual forms, Vahn felt it would be a little mean-spirited of him topletely ignore the two former Princesses. The truth of the matter was that they were desperately lonely, and, as a result of being sacrificed during the very first round of the Princess Selection Trials, they were understandably consumed by pessimism, resentment, and other negative emotions. They were also prisoners within their respective 13 Month Series, so, while it was a bit indulgent of him, Vahn didnt mind spoiling them when the opportunity presented itself. To this end, Vahn spent the better part of an hour wiping down the body of the ck March before polishing her de to the point that a faultless gloss covered its entire length. This resulted in the Spirit of the ck March panting in his ear and writhing about quite a bit, but, without any weight to produce inertia, her movements didnt interfere with the process. Instead, they caused the Spirit of the Green April to develop an increasingly more potent blush as themencement of her own maintenance drew ever closer... Finished with the ck Marchs maintenance, Vahn held her up to inspect his work from numerous angles. This included looking down the length of her de from the base of her hilt, an action that earned him an impassionedugh from the des spirit as she teasingly remarked, "Thats my butt youre putting near your face..." Ignoring the remarkpletely, Vahn rotated the de in order to view the sheen from the other side. This caused the Spirit of the ck Marchs face to turn considerably redder, but, this time, she opted not to inform him of which part of her body he was near. Instead, she gradually released her hold on his neck, levitating away from him before directing her gaze to the Spirit of the Green April and adopting a teasing smile. Clicking her tongue in response to the ck Marchs amused expression, the Green April resisted the urge to call the golden-haired brat a bitch as she floated over to Vahns back and took a seat with her own resting against his. Being in contact with his body drastically increased the amount of resonance between them, and, while it wasnt necessary to perform the maintenance, being able to feel something as a Spirit was more meaningful than most people could imagine. They had existed for thousands of years without being able to experience such stimulus, so, even if she hadnt fallen to a simr extent as the ck March, it was impossible for her to hate the only person capable of making her feel alive... With a gentle smile spreading across his face, Vahn set the ck March against a bed of hot towels before picking up the hook-like Green April. This caused the Spirit at his back to tense up, but, the moment his index and middle fingers traced along the backside of her shank, her tensions gradually eased as a contented sigh escaped her body. (A/N: The shank of a hook is therger part before the bend and barb.) Though he had a substantial number of tools and fabrics to carry out the maintenance, Vahn always started with a massage of sorts. He was perfectly capable of producing oil from his fingertips, a skill he had borrowed from the Chacha Sisters, and, most importantly, the sapience of the two 13 Month Series made them highly susceptible to his Petting Laws and Hands of Nirvana. The Green April was particrly weak against these two, as, unlike the ck March, the material of her body was simr to crystalized yet highly flexible nt fibers. This allowed her to function simrly to a whip duringbat, but, in his hands, it meant she was remarkably malleable and pliant. Doing his best to ignore the muffled cries and phantom trembling from his back, Vahn waited until the Green April had bepletely limp before gently kneading her full length over the course of twenty or so minutes. This caused dew-like moisture to build along her grass-colored shank, but, having experienced this a handful of times during previous sessions, Vahn kept a hot towel on hand to counteract this particr phenomenon. Then, with a subtle rainbow hue suffusing the entirety of his palm, he grabbed the base of the Green March, restoring her rigidity and subsequently restoring her original form. Though he could have wrapped things up then and there, Vahn lightly flicked several sections of the Green April, each impact causing the entire length of her de to hum simrly to a tuning fork. Afterward, he flipped her upside down before pulling out a series of small brushes and loose fabrics to wipe down and clean between the creases of her hilt. This caused the Spirit of the Green April to bury her face into her knees, tightly embracing them as he methodically attended each of the most sensitive spots of her body. This processsted an additional half-hour, and, by the end, both Spirit and weapon had started to release an emerald-green glow that left the former clinging to his back while thetter vibrated with enough force to produce subtle ripples in the surrounding Shinsu. Finished with the procedure, Vahn gave the physical body of the Green April a careful examination before cing her atop a bed of her own. Then, despite knowing she might react negatively to any form of acknowledgment in her current state, he surprised the Spirit of the Green April by rising to his feet, turning around, and gently caressing her head. This caused an immediate scowl to develop across her beet-red face, but, before she could say anything, he interrupted her by whispering, "Its okay. The ck March might tease you a little, but no one here will judge you...it isnt a weakness to want to feel something..." Shaking her head to escape from Vahns palm, the Green April responded by muttering, "Insatiable beast..." before looking up at him and adding, "Dont think Ill fall for your tricks like some lost child swayed by sweets. I might be willing to ignite for you, but youre mistaken if you think Ill be swayed by the sincerity of someone with more than a hundred lovers..." Despite the severity of her words, her ruddyplexion,bined with the conflicted look in her eyes, made it pretty obvious the Green April wasnt being sincere. Thousands of years of loneliness had left a deep impression on her heart and mind, yet, in spite of this, the brief moments she spent with Vahn seemed to be overwriting her past grievances and suppressing her desire for revenge. It was for this reason that she opposed growing any closer to him, as, for thest six-thousand-years, revenge was what had defined her existence... Offering a sad smile in response to the Green Aprils biting words, Vahn decided not the press the matter any further. Instead, he ced the duo into his personalized Arms Inventory, a variant that greatly resembled a golden thronebined with a futuristicmand console. There were also twelve slots located along its periphery, as, rather than a simple Arms Inventory, it was intended to serve as a recement for the artifact intended to house the 12 weaponsprising the 13 Month Series. Feeling a remarkable amount offort, an intrigued smile developed across the face of the ck March as the Green Aprils glowering expression gradually faded away. Then, as could be expected, thetter promptly asked, "What is this Arms Inventory? It feels familiar..." Nodding her head in agreement, the ck March chimed in, saying, "It reminds me of that boy with ck hair on the Floor of Tests. I think his name was the 25th Baam...?" Smiling in response to the ck Marchs surprising astuteness, Vahn created a life-like projection of Baam as he exined, "Though I have yet to ascertain the full andplete truth, I can say with a reasonable degree of certainty that Jahads intentions for tracking down Arlen were to imnt the Arms Inventory of the 13 Month Series into Baams body. I have even begun to suspect that he was in cahoots with the God that made contact with Arlene following her departure from the Tower..." Though he could have said more, Vahn ultimately shook his head since most of what he was saying wasplete spection. Most of the information he had been able to obtain was from someone who had gone mad following the loss of her child and the subsequent suicide of her lover. The rest was based on tidbits of information he had been able to obtain from Jahad and a few key members within the Workshop. Unfortunately, due to her inability to vite the contracts of people she was emting, the Law of Identity couldnt even shake or nod in response to any questions that might expose the truth... Confusing the two girls, Vahn opted to take a seat atop the golden throne before subtly changing the subject by answering the Green Aprils initial question, exining, "This is a prototype Arms Inventory designed and manufactured by the members of my R\u0026D Division. Once I have gathered the rest of your sisters, it will allow me to make good on our previous promise. Of course, you still have the option of allowing me to nullify your agreement with the King and allowing me to provide you with new bodies..." As tempting as it was to regain a flesh and blood body in the shortest period of time, neither the ck March nor the Green April seemed phased by the offer. They had persisted for thousands of years with the end goal of reiming their original bodies, so, with that fated day fast approaching, neither intended to change course when the finish line was right in front of them. A part of this was due to thepulsion of their contract, but, more than anything else, it was their inherent desire to be whole again the resulted in the two lolis shaking their heads and refusing topromise... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Yuri is like a speedrunner who just found a bug to exploit xD...,Vahn is very meticulous (OwO)...,A tiny dash of plot to spice things up~" https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1951 Stirrings

Chapter 1951: Stirrings

Lying within the ruins of a long-destroyed bed, Vahn, appearing far more muscr than normal, exhaled a hot sigh tinged with a pale golden vapor. At his side, nestled against him with glistening red fur covering much of her body, Yuri could be seen tracing the runic pattern covering his body with a zed look in her eyes. She honestly looked even more beautiful now than she had nearly a year prior, not because he had grown ustomed to her presence, but because her untamed hair, phenomenal aura, and cross-like pupils gave off the impression of a domesticated yet remarkably powerful Goddess... Grasping her wayward hand with his own, a smile spread across Vahn''s face as Yuri turned her face up to meet his. This resulted in an almost instinctual exchange of saliva, and, as was often the case, the tip of Yuri''s monkey-like tail began to twitch as the fur across her body began to shimmer due to the gradual release of her aura. Before things could follow their usual pattern, however, a chuckle arose from Vahn''s throat as he separated their lips and said, "Now, now...behave yourself...if you get riled up again, it''ll take another half a day just to calm you down..." Puffing her cheeks somewhat childishly, Yuri''s aura continued to rise as she moved her knee to not-so-gently nudge his sleeping member. Unfortunately, they had already agreed to leave more than a month prior, so, tempting as her behavior might be, Vahn managed to resist, his expression turning serious as he matched her gaze. Realizing he wasn''t going to take the bait, Yuri''s expression immediately reverted to a more neutral look as she exhaled a sigh as she rose to a seated position. Then, with her noticeably muscr arms crossed beneath her wless white breasts, she half-heartedly protested, "You''re no fun. It''s not like there is any rush to leave. At least let me get strong enough to beat those old hags if pushes to shove..." With a somewhat incredulous look on his face, Vahn briefly cast his gaze to the intricate pattern on Yuri''s back. This caused her status to immediately appear within his view, a wry smile immediately developing across his face as he replied, "Your Shinsu had increased by an order of magnitude and you''re capable of maintaining a form that amplifies your power by nearly five-hundred times...if you go all out, you''re nearly three times stronger than Ureko in her base state. How much more power do you need...?" Tilting her head to the side and tapping her arm as if she was in deep thought, Yuri remained silent for nearly half a minute before nodding her head and answering, "Since you''re aiming for Tier 7, I at least want to reach the pinnacle of Tier 6. As I am now, even if I were ten-thousand times stronger, I wouldn''t be able to defeat a Tier 5 within their Realm, right? At the very least, I want to reach a level where I can punch whoever I want without them being able to simply ignore it." Though she had once been content with her power, meeting Vahn allowed Yuri to understand that even her adoptive father, someone everyone believed to be invincible, was actually near the bottom rungs of the truly powerful. Heck, even aplete monster like Phantaminum, someone capable of freely massacring their way into the very heart of the Imperial Pce wasn''t particrly powerful in the grand scheme of things. This gave her the impression she was nothing more than a frog at the bottom of a well, and, had she never chanced upon Vahn, she would have spent the remainder of her days wholly unaware of the vastness of creation... Noticing the determined ze in Yuri''s scarlet eyes, Vahn couldn''t help adopting an appreciative smile. Immediately thereafter, however, he mused, "Then you''ll need to study. Though it might be possible to reach the pinnacle by focusing wholly onbat, you will always struggle against those with a greater understanding of the Laws." Groaning in response to Vahn''s words, Yuri plopped onto her side in a huff, her butt pointed toward him in an obvious attempt to entice him to act. To her credit, this would have seeded 99% of the time, but, having already resolved himself to depart their little bubble, Vahn managed to restrain his libido by smacking her extremely pliant posterior with enough force to send a visible ripple through it as he said, "Don''t pout. This is the path you''ve chosen. I''m already going to get an earful after the others hear about how long we''ve been in here. Let''s go." Offering a defiant groan in response, Vahn half-expected Yuri to refuse, but, almost immediately thereafter, the fur covering her body vanished into motes of light as she rolled onto her back and said, "Carry me..." with her arms extended upward. This left Vahn feeling a little helpless, but, after an entire year with the rather shameless Princess, he had grown rather ustomed to her random demands. Thus, despite shaking his head in exasperation, he invariably ended up raising Yuri from the ruins of their lovenest before departing the meteoric crater that now dominated the region... --- Following a ''very'' long exnation and a brief period of rxation, Vahn emerged from the Little Garden with a somewhat bored-looking Yuri at his side. She didn''t even seem to care much about her surroundings, pathetically muttering, "Oh, I almost forgot about this ce..." before plopping onto her bed and adding, "Wow...I never realized how shitty my own bed was..." Extending his hand to the ck-haired beauty, Vahn pulled her back to her feet before promptly swapping out her bed for something infinitely morefortable. At the same time, he helped to fix her somewhat unkempt hair as he said, "I''m not going to tell you how to live your life. If you choose to follow along with me, that is the end of the matter. Even if it ends up causing a war, I don''t really care as long as you''re happy." With an amused smile spreading across her face, Yuri allowed Vahn to fix her hair and attire as she mused, "You''re so full of it. Even if you''re not lying, we both know you can''t help caring about such things. You might be able to fool yourself by pretending to ignore it, but I''ve never met someone as ''sensitive'' as you when ites to the suffering of others. Don''t worry. I can''t promise I won''t cause trouble, but I can at least ensure it won''t immediately be traced back to you. Just make sure to keep your ear to the ground. I''m certain you''ll be surprised when you hear the news..." Though he could have easily ascertained her thoughts with the help of the Law of Identity, Vahn just issued a light chuckled before nting a kiss on Yuri''s parted lips and saying, "Try not to bully them too much." before following it up with another kiss and adding, "Also, make sure you exin things properly to your Great-Grandmother. I don''t mind joining hands with the Ha Family, but there is no way in hell I''m going to be something like a ''Great Father''..." Responding with a chuckle of her own, Yuri motioned to bite Vahn''s lip before pushing him away and saying, "You don''t have to worry about that. So long as you don''t go knocking up my cousin, it shouldn''t be too difficult to convince the others you''re beyond their means to obtain. The only two you really need to be wary of are those two bitches trying to take over the Family. I should be able to defeat them rtively easily, but that probably won''t stop them from trying to approach you in order to gain power. As for my Grandma...well, you''re on your own when ites to her. Just make sure you don''t knock her up before me..if you do, I don''t care how many times it grows back. I''ll cut it off..." Perhaps as an allusion to the method she would employ, Yuri, once again, snapped her teeth before adopting a predatory smile, spinning on her heels, and departing the room. This caused a thinyer of goose pimples to spread across Vahn''s arms, not because of Yuri''s threat, but because the Law of Identity had transformed into her Great-Grandmother in order to seductively lick her lips and cackle at his expense. This gave Vahn an overwhelming urge to tan her backside, but, knowing she would just enjoy it, he ultimately shook his head before pulling out his Pocket and saying, "Establish contact with the Guardian..." --- Sensing a peculiar disturbance within her own power, a woman almost indistinguishable for Yuri, the only difference being that she was slightly older and had a different hairstyle, opened her eyes to reveal a moderate amount of surprise. This caused the servant pouring her drink to immediately freeze in ce, sweat appearing across her body as she trembled like a tiny field mouse cornered by a starving lioness. Without showing any indication that she was even aware of the servant girl''s presence, a smile spread across the face of the raven-haired woman as she gracefully rose from her altar-like throne. This further surprised the servant girl, as, for thest three years, her mistress had spent the vast majority of her time silently meditating within the vast scarlet chamber. She didn''t even stir when the Family gathered once a month to pay their respects; so, when she saw the ornately dressed beauty walked to the center of the hall before pulling out a fiery red Pocket, she began to seriously consider whether or not she was in a dream... Continuing to ignore the servant girl, the raven-haired woman seemed to grow impatient despite the fact her call had only rung twice. By the third ring, an oppressive aura had started to permeate the several-kilometer wide chamber, and, immediately thereafter, all of the glowstones serving to fill the surroundings with pale red light shattered. Fortunately, before the third ring couldplete, a somewhat nervous voice could be heard from the receiver, asking, "Yurin? It''s rare for you to call me first...is it about our daughter?" Adopting an annoyed frown, the woman, Ha Yurin, Leader of the Ha Family, promptly replied, "She is no longer ''our'' daughter. You lost the chance to be her father when you ran away like a whipped dog..." Though he had be ustomed to his former friend and lover''s harsh tone, the voice emitting from the receiver could be heard exhaling a mncholic sigh before muttering, "You locked me in a dungeon for weeks under the pretense of whipping me into shape. Without my immortality, I would have died a hundred times over..." Snorting in disdain, Yurin resisted shattering the inordinately expensive Pocket as she crossed her arms and said, "You''re such a drama queen. It is because you were immortal that I pushed you to that extent. Stop making excuses for running away. Had you faced me like a man, I wouldn''t have been so harsh on you..." After supplying another sigh, the voice on the receiver remained silent for several seconds before asking, "What is the purpose of this call? If you''ve nothing to discuss, I''ve more important matters to attend than listening to you ridicule and insult me..." With a predatory smile spreading across her face, Yurin looked like she was ready to devour her own Pocket as she mused, "Oh? Is there actually a backbone in that jellyfish-like body of yours? Go ahead and hang up. I fucking dare you." Rather than responding, the voice on the opposite end remained absolutely silent until Yurin finally clicked her tongue and exined, "I''m not sure what happened, but Yuri just got a lot stronger. You should probably make preparations for her arrival. She isn''t particrly fond of your Ari Family after what happened during her climb..." Exhaling a sigh so profound that it caused a depressive atmosphere to descend upon the several-kilometer wide throne room, a tremendous amount of sadness could be heard from the voice on the receiver as its owner, Ari Han, Leader of the Ari Family, replied, "I understand...thank you for the heads up. I''ll try and take care of things on my end...just...please don''t incite her...it pains me more than you can imagine knowing that my own daughter hates me..." Rather than vocalizing any promises, Yurin promptly cut the call before crossing her arms beneath her rather infamous bust and closing her eyes for the better part of ten minutes. Then, with a slight shake of her head, she muttered, "Sorry, Han, but I already promised that girl that she could live as freely as she pleased..." before turning around and finally taking notice of the young girl standing statuesque next to her throne. This caused the juvenile member of the Ha Family to tense up even further, but, upon hearing her mistress ask, "Have you been there the whole time...?" she couldn''t help falling t on her face due to the sheer incredulity of the situation... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Kuja Trance vibes'',''*chomp*'',''I can''t help wondering what Yurin''s intelligence rating is...'') Chapter 1952 Lying Low...?

Chapter 1952 Lying Low...?

Following his departure from the 44th Floor, Vahn decided to remain rtively low key for a short while. His time with Yuri had exhausted him somewhat, so, even if it was just until he reached the 50th Floor, he wanted to dpress and search for a safe ce to deposit people like Eduan, the members of Roens entourage, and the Arie Siblings. Though he was nning to create a base of operations that would allow the residents of the Little Garden to freely traverse the outside world, Vahn was still of the mind that people needed to face challenges and experience difficulties if they wanted to be truly powerful. He also wanted to avoid increasing the number of people whose fates were tied directly to the Empire and his rather ridiculous rate of growth, so, with this in mind, he was ultimately intending to eject everyone who wasnt a part of his immediate family, a member of his harem, or one of his Temtes. With this in mind, Vahn spent several weeks simply gathering information whilepleting the task assigned to him by the 45th Floors Guardian, a giant sea urchin whose dimensions were difficult to grasp despite his domain extending for upwards of 90km. Like many of the previous Guardians, the Guardian of the 45th Floor had tasked Vahn was ensuring the safety of a critically endangered species. To this end, Vahn was tasked with traveling to a region many considered to be one of the most dangerous prior to the 100th Floor, a poisonouske filled with peculiar purple Shinsu that formed countless whirlpools, several of which surpassed a hundred meters in diameter. Immune to the continually evolving toxins in theke, Vahn had very little difficulty trespassing the hidden vige located within its depths. There, he found a species of fairly alien-looking merpeople with dark blue skin, glistening scales covering parts of their bodies, and, most notably, glowing blue mantles that extended from their shoulders and down to their tails, an appendage reminiscent of a birds tail feathers. As the species rumored to have taught the first generation Wave Controllers how tomand the waves, Merfolk had an understandably mythical status among residents of the Tower. Unfortunately, as was often the case, their blood, bones, and other raw materials could be used to create a variety of elixirs, medicines, and even staves capable of manipting Shinsu. There were even a number of rumors alleging that the flesh of a young Merperson could grant eternal youth upon consumption, so, as could be expected, they had been hunted to near-extinction even before the rise of the Jahad Empire. To make matters even worse, the majority of these rumors were actually true, so, whenever a Merperson appeared within the Tower, they almost always disappeared shortly thereafter. This being the case, Vahn couldnt really me the remarkably reclusive peoples for attacking him the moment he trespassed their home. Even his usual disy of power did little to pacify them, so, much to his dismay, he had been forced to capture them whilst defending himself. This exacerbated the misunderstanding between them quite a bit, but, after a few months of rtively peaceful living in the vast ocean of Shinsu thatprised the Fifth Layer, the High Priestess of the Tribe was finally willing to listen to reason. Despite what her title might suggest, the High Priestess of the Merfolk, for reasons Vahn could only ascribe to fate, appeared to be the youngest among her people. Of course, as was often the case in such situations, she was, in fact, the oldest of her tribe. The reason for her youthful appearance was actually the result of a misunderstanding among the Towers residents, as, rather than developing in a simr manner to humans, Merfolk were born resembling adults after a seven-year gestation and gradually regressed into a far more powerful child-like state as their power matured. Simply put, the Merfolk that resembled mature warriors were actually the youngest members of the tribe. As a result, they used weapons ranging from Needles to Tridents as they gradually mastered the basics of Shinsu Control and Wave Maniption. Then, as they matured, they would graduallypress their bodies until they ultimately ended up looking like children between the ages of 10 and 14. Of course, this was only when youpared them to humans, as, more often than not, it took hundreds of years for a Merfolk to reach the point where they couldpress themselves into their more pact forms... --- Having epted an invitation to meet and discuss terms, Vahn soon found himself seated across from a youthful-looking Merfolk garbed in little more than a purple sarong, bindings around her arms, breasts, and ankles, and, most notably, several ornamentsprised of seashells and deep-sea stones. This included arge shell that covered her diminutive breasts, which, in reality, were actually dders that could be inted or deted to store and expel Shinsu for emergency use... Though Vahn hadnt expressly cast his gaze upon her body, the High Priestess had long-reached the point where she could sense things like emotion and intent through the subtle fluctuations of the surrounding Shinsu. Thus, even without Vahn brazenly inspecting her body, she was vaguely aware of the fact he was doing something to analyze and evaluate her. This made her feel more than a little ufortable, not because she believed he had any licentious thoughts, but because it wouldnt be the first time a human had tried to domesticate them in order to procure a perpetual supply of immortality. With the Law of Identity narrating the womans thoughts, Vahn couldnt help frowning as he said, "I assure you, as difficult as it might be to believe, I have no need for such things. Rather, if it required me to consume the flesh of the innocent, I wouldnt want to be immortal." Without changing her expression in the slightest, the High Priestess, known among her people as Nami-ue, closed her deep-purple eyes and replied, "I do not profess to have absolute wisdom, but I would wager that my people have been betrayed more than any other race within the Tower. We have trusted in your kind countless times in the past. In the end, the greed of humanity will always win against reason. You might not desire the bounties our bodies provide, but that does not mean those around you will share in your sentiments. Still, for the sake of my people and our continued existence, I am willing topromise with you. Tell me, what must we provide in exchange for the release of our youngest? Even if you genuinely wish to protect us, we would rather not entrust the survival of our species to someone with the power and means to imprison us at his leisure...if you are truly a friend of the Merfolk, you will not keep us against our will..." Having heard simr arguments from the leaders of other Native Ones, Vahn wasnt particrly surprised by Nami-ues words. Thus, without even needing to consider his words, he nodded his head and exined, "Capturing you wasnt exactly my preferred course of action. Under normal circumstances, I would have convinced you outside before epting a few families and allowing them to prove my ims. To that end, I am more than willing to free all of you in the hopes that it will help smooth rtions between our two peoples and pave the way forward for the prosperity of all Merfolk." With the intent of expressing his sincerity, Vahn, who had been sitting in seiza, bowed his head in a respectful and apologetic fashion. This caused Nami-ues aura to fluctuate in a manner indicative of surprise and disbelief, but, as could be expected, her expression revealed neither of these emotions. Instead, she appearedpletely apathetic, and, due to the surrounding temperature nearing -4C, she gave off the impression of someone remarkably cold and distant. After several long seconds of silence, the majority of which involved Nami-ue simply staring at the top of Vahns head, the youthful-looking High Priestess once again closed her eyes as she said, "As the leader of my people, ensuring our survival is my highest priority. To that end, I have little choice but to trust you. To that end, I would propose some form of mutualistic or cultural exchange. Even if your intentions are pure, even the magnanimity of the strong has its limits. Without some form of equivalent exchange, anxieties are bound to arise regarding your true motives..." Though he understood the womans skepticism, Vahn ultimately raised his head before shaking it as he exined, "There is plenty of time to discuss such things during the period in which your people are exploring the territory I have prepared for them. For now, we should focus on transporting your people outside. Im sure your young ones would feel more rxed once they are in a more familiar setting. Asfortable as the conditions in Little Garden are, I understand they are no recement for the concept of home." Nodding her head in affirmation, Nami-ue was about to rise in order to personally inform the tribe of their return a peculiar shift urred in the surrounding Shinsu. Immediately thereafter, a feeling of familiarity donned upon her as Vahn supplied an amused smile and revealed, "Its done. Ill leave you to convince your people not to run away. Of course, if you feelpelled to send a few off, just to be safe, I wont stop you. Instead, I will wait here until you are ready to discuss matters in greater detail." With that said, Vahn picked up his now-chilled cup of tea, heat flowing from his palms to quickly heat it as he closed his eyes to take a sip. This left Nami-ue to stare at him silently, various thoughts conflicting within her mind until she ultimately returned a curt nod and said, "I will return shortly..." before swimming off in a manner simr to a Shinheuh. This was a rather strange sight to behold considering the density of Shinsu wasnt particrly dense, but, as he had seen far stranger things, Vahn simply sampled his tea without paying it much attention... --- When all was said and done, Vahn managed to convince the Merfolk in much the same way as the other native tribes. He provided them the opportunity to increase their numbers in a remarkably short period of time whilst also allowing them to interact with the other tribes under his protection. Most importantly, however, was the fact that he had made it clear from the start that they could not stay within the Little Garden indefinitely. He also revealed his status as a God, his affiliation with the Towers Guardians, and, most notably, his ability to transform into virtually any race. Thisst ability was especially important, as, more than anything else, the Merfolk feared being harvested for their immortality and being treated as little more than livestock. By demonstrating his ability to not only be a Merfolk but create seemingly infinite copies of himself, Vahn was able to convince the few remaining skeptics that he simply had no need for the resources they might provide. He even went a step further by agreeing to Nami-ues proposition and producing a Merfolk Temte to act as both an intermediary and proxy. This resulted in a few awkward interactions between them, but, after presiding over the duos marriage and leaving them to their own devices for a few years, Vahn, or, more specifically, his Temte was able to convince her that they were separate entities. This saved the original Vahn quite a lot of trouble, as, despite thinking Nami-ue was cute, he wasnt particrly interested in bing the Chieftain of a Native Tribe... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn is like a parent that wants their kids to get out of the house...,Their true forms arerger than orcas...just saying...,Vahn used Substitute! Its Super Effective...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1953 Perspective

Chapter 1953 Perspective

With the Guardians Tests offering no real challenge, Vahns ascent had be rtively peaceful since his departure from the 44th Floor. Even pacing himself, however, resulted in him reaching the 49th in only two months. This brought him to a region in the Tower known as the Endless Sandsea, a massive desert that covered the entirety of the Floor, sans a few dungeon-like ruins and oases. Being one of the Floors with the sparsest poption densities, Vahn chose the Endless Sandsea as the ce where he would deposit Eduan. To his surprise, however, the man was promptly ejected to the Middle Tower by the Floor Guardian. As for the reason, it was apparently due to the fact that the real Eduan still existed as one of the ruling powers within the Tower. Because of this, the Guardian refused to acknowledge the candidacy of the former data construct as a Regr. Thus, if he wanted to climb the Tower, he would need to start from the Floor of Tests, just like everyone else. Fortunately, Headon had been paying close attention to Vahns progress, so, shortly after the blue-haired man had been expelled from the Inner Tower, the enigmatic rabbit extended an invitation for him to open the gate. This annoyed Eduan quite a bit, but, as it was also an opportunity for him to experience the Towers changes in the most direct manner, he ultimately epted after confirming that his status as an Irregr would remain unchanged. As for how Vahn knew of these happenings, it wasrgely due to his ability to share senses with his subordinates, and, as was often the case, the Law of Identitys ability to transform into persons of interest to reveal their thoughts and intentions. Since he could always recall Eduan through his Unit Management, Vahn decided to leave the man to his own devices to see how he would react to the changes introduced to the Tower following his initial climb. This would provide a retrospective ount of the changes that had urred over thest ten-thousand-years, and, most importantly, it would provide him the opportunity to experience his legacy first-hand. After all, even in the Lower Floors, the corruption of the Ten ran rampant and without reservations... --- A stark contrast to the majority of missions he had received from the Floor Guardians, the Test of the 49th Floor had Vahn eliminate a hundred colossal Shinheuh known as Sandworms. These were omnivorous creatures that rarely appeared within the Endless Sandsea, but, when they did, disaster was the only thing left in their wake. They were also directly responsible for the perpetuation of the floor-wide desert, so, while it wouldnt solve the underlying problem, killing a few of the mountain-sized creatures made living on the Floor much safer than it otherwise would have been. Though he wasnt particrly fond of kill missions, Vahn and Co ultimately hunted far more than the required amount of Sandworms. It had only taken a single encounter with the nine-kilometer-long beasts to understand the danger they posed to the average resident of the Floor. They were also as close to mindless beasts as you could get, as, rather than having a centralized brain, their bodies were lines with several cerebral nodules that formed an intricatework reminiscent of a collection of creaturesprising a single super-organism. Their only purpose in life seemed to be tracking down and devouring rich sources of Shinsu, so, while there was nothing inherently evil with fulfilling their biological purpose, the destruction they were capable of simply couldnt be ignored. In the end, Vahns hunting party ended up tracking down and eliminating a total of 338 Sandworms over the course of a twenty-three-day period. They only stopped because they were unable to find any additional Sandworms, not because the poption had been wiped out, but because those that remained were either in hibernation or had fled to the depths of the Sandsea. As a result of their efforts, several additional oases began to pop up throughout the Sandsea as the average concentration of Shinsu qualitatively increased. There was even Shinsu-infused rain for the first time in several hundred years, an event that was perceived as both a pleasant surprise and an ill omen by those who had be ustomed to the inhospitality of the Floor. Fortunately, while a bit of flooding couldnt be avoided, none of the great disasters prophesied by any of the Floors would-be soothsayers came to pass...at least not in the manner they had predicted... --- Though he would have liked to immediately head for the gigantic Floating Fortress known as The Nest, there were a number of matters Vahn needed to attend to before making contact with the Lo Po Bia Family. It was also rumored that the artifact used to ess The Frozen Waterfall, one of thergest pieces of Suspendium ever discovered, took upwards of a year just to prepare. This made it exceptionally difficult to steal anything from the infamous Vault of Jahad, as, the moment you tried to forcibly ess the interior storage, failsafes built into the system would ensure the destruction of everything inside. Fortunately, due to the influence that Suspendium had on the surrounding Space, it was remarkably difficult to approach The Frozen Waterfall, much less damage it. Even High Rankers required special equipment to get anywhere near it, and, even then, there was always a chance that wayward spatial fluctuations could rip them apart without affording them the opportunity to defend themselves. For this reason, The Frozen Waterfall was one of the most secure storage facilities within the entirety of the Tower, so much so that Jahad had entrusted countless priceless artifacts to the Lo Po Bia Family for safekeeping. Though he was confident in his ability to circumvent both The Nests and The Frozen Waterfalls defenses, Vahn had already decided to try and settle things in an above-board manner. This meant negotiating with the Lo Po Bia Family directly, and, depending on the circumstances, confronting Lo Po Bia himself. The man was known to spend a significant amount of time within The Nest itself, so, with the device used to activate The Frozen Waterfall taking up to a year just to charge, there were ample opportunities for their paths to cross. Before that, however, there were a few other important matters he needed to attend to, so, at the behest of Ryun and Ai, Vahn eventually found himself on the outskirts of a ce known as the Wall of Peaceful Coexistence. As the name implied, the Wall of Peaceful Coexistence was built near the end of the Era of Genesis as a symbol of peace andpromise between the Jahad Empire and the various forces that had opposed Jahad proiming himself King. In the beginning, there were walls located on every Floor between the 50th and 100th Floors, but, with the passage of nearly ten-thousand-years, only three remained to this day. Because of this, it was rumored that once the remaining three walls fell war would, once again, return to the Tower... Staring up at the massive stone wall supported by pirs of Suspendium that dwarfed skyscrapers, Vahn could feel an oppressive atmosphere radiating from within. It was like the people inside hadpletely lost their hope, and, even without seeing them directly, he could feel the mncholy that had pervaded the majority of their beings. This gave him the urge to avoid entering the wall, but, with Ryun urging him inside, he ultimately ascended the hazardous stone steps leading to its interior. There, after bypassing a number of security checkpoints, he followed Ryun through streets lined with people who emitted a depressive yet remarkably hostile aura. Noticing the desperation in the eyes of nearly every person they passed, Vahn couldnt help shaking his head. The people living within the wall reminded him of those he had encountered on the Floor of Death, yet, unlike the aforementioned immortals, the residents of the wall could leave whenever they wanted. Instead, the majority chose to stay for fear of being persecuted by those affiliated with the Jahad Empire, and, as a result, fear, paranoia, and self-preservation had be the foundation upon which society within the wall was built. This led to an extreme aversion towards foreigners and refugees, as, more than anything else, the people living within the wall feared change. Sensing her Masters frustration, Ryun decided to stick a little closer to him so that he wouldnt feel alone within the ocean of resentment. She hade to understand that he was heavily influenced by the sentiments of those around him, so, despite feeling more than a little embarrassed, she did her best to counteract his diminishing mood by sticking close to him and willfully waggling her tail. Understanding Ryuns intentions, Vahn did his best to ignore the looks directed their way until they reached the back entrance of what appeared to be a tavern. There, dressed in contrasting blue and pink robes decorated with yellow ribbons, two young women, one with dark blue hair and the other with bright-pink, synchronously bowed as they said, "Wee. Our Master has been awaiting your arrival. Please,e inside." With the Law of Identity hovering behind him, Vahn promptly became aware of the fact that their Master was none other than Sophia Tan, one of the most influential Elders in the entirety of FUG. This left a slightly sour taste in his mouth, as, despite being the benefactor of various organizations protecting and promoting females within the Tower, Sophias other titles included Chief-Mistress of the Pleasure District and Grand Matchmaker of the Noble Families. In other words, her organization sponsored nearly every sessful whorehouse and prostitution ring within the Tower, and, for the sake of expanding her informationwork, she trained women to serve as courtesans, spies, and assassins within the ranks of the Ten Great Families. Though she rarely forced them toply, the structure of the Tower left most women with very few options if they wanted to avoid a tragic fate during and after their ascent. Thus, with the exception of a few rare talents and those belonging to the Ten Great Families, most female Regrs ended up joining one of the various female-only organizations, the majority of which were backed by Sophia and a few other influential and opportunistic women within the Tower. This was the only way many of them could avoid bing victims, so, while it might be true that Sophia didnt force anyone to join her organizations, she also hadnt done much to solve the underlying issues that forced nearly 70% of female Regrs to join her organizations and sex-trafficking rings... Noticing the look in her Masters eyes, Ryun tightly gripped his hand, whispering, "Please hear them out before you make a decision..." in a pleading tone. This left Vahn feeling exasperated, but, having already promised he would do just that, he ultimately nodded his head and said, "Dont worry...even if I dont appreciate these types of organizations, I learned long ago that they are an intrinsic part of most societies. Im not going to hold those at the bottom ountable for a system necessitated by circumstance...besides, this isnt all that different from what the Great Families have done to try and earn my favor..." Exhaling a sigh of relief, Ryun gripped her Masters hand a little more firmly before resting her head against his shoulder and muttering, "Thank you..." with as much sincerity as she could manage. This caused the two girls standing at the entrance to give her scrutinizing and slightly incredulous looks, but, as they had already performed their duty, neither said anything until after Vahn and Ryun had disappeared into the taverns interior. Then, with a slightly excited expression, the pink-haired girl turned to her blue-haired counterpart, green-eyes glistening as she mused, "He is a lot cuter than I expected. What do you think, Namo?" Showing very little change in expression, the girl named Namo looked towards her counterpart with a slightly contemptuous glimmer in her dandelion-yellow eyes, monotonously replying, "I would be happier if you werent here..." before immediately returning her attention to the alleyway they were tasked to guard. This caused the brow of the pink-haired girl to twitch quite a bit, but, knowing she wouldnt be able to get a rise out of the former, she ultimately just snorted through her nose before pulling out a tablet-like device toplete her dailies on one of the Towers more popr gaming apps... (A/N: Alternate Titles: I feel bad for the Regrs who have to test alongside Eduan...,A beginning is a very delicate time...,Endless Politics : Infinite Concubines) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1954 A Cursory Exchange

Chapter 1954 A Cursory Exchange

Entering the backroom of the tavern, Vahn was unsurprised to find a moderately attractive woman with ashen-pink hair and apathetic blue eyes among the people waiting inside. What did surprise him, albeit only a little, was the fact she had a thin scar running from her forehead, through her left eye, and down the left side of her face. As for why he was surprised, it was due to the fact there was a tenacious sword intent radiating from the scar, almost as if the person who had inflicted it upon her otherwise wless face refused to let it heal... Resisting the almost instinctual urge to offer his assistance in treating the wound, Vahn shifted his gaze from the calcting woman to the others present. This included a rather blind man with grey-blue hair and peculiar horns, an inordinately petite woman who was clearly a member of the Red Witch Tribe, and, most importantly, a mature beauty with simr features who was a carbon copy of Ryun, albeit with a more seasoned appeal. With thetter being the reason for his visit, Vahn offered a polite bow, saying, "Ryun has told me a lot about you. It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Elder Hwa." Smiling in response to Vahns words, the red-headed beauty, full name Hwa Hae Yon, offered a bow of her own before directing her gaze towards Ryun and softly musing, "I see now why you made the decision you did. In hindsight, it was perhaps a little hubristic for us to believe we could guarantee a specific result when we are capable of witnessing how even minor changes to the present can affect the fates of countless people in the future..." Nodding her head, Ryun maintained her usual calm and collected demeanor as she exined, "In my time following Vahn, I have witnessed splendors beyond imagination ande to understand much about the true nature of the world. Though I still believe it is my duty to Guide others, I have alsoe to realize that we have just as much a right to determine our future as anyone else. I do not fear my fate, but that does not mean I must march towards it without questioning whether or not anything could have been done to change the oue. From now on, I will focus on bettering myself as a person while doing everything I can in the present to find happiness. There is no future for those who do not embrace the present, only remorse." Though Hwa Yon couldnt help smiling in response to her daughters words, theparably petite Red Witch standing next to the muscr man with horns seemed dissatisfied with her statement, a mixture of disdain and frustrating marring her countenance as she said, "This is ridiculous. How can you trust this...thing...with our fates? If you are unwilling to follow your destiny, everything we have sacrificed for over thest ten-thousand-years will have gone to waste. What makes you think you are entitled to happiness when thousands of our sisters have willingly met their end!? How can you be this self-centered!?" Turning to meet the petite Red Witchs gaze, Ryuns expression hardened as she inly stated, "You speak as though you are dissatisfied with the fate you have been given...if it bothers you so, change it. Had I truly betrayed my purpose and endeavored to defy my fate, my powers would have already been sealed. Instead, they grow stronger with each passing day. Your unerringmitment to what you believe to be your duty has blinded you to the other paths that are avable. You have allowed your fate to control you, yet, even if I were to ask you here and now, you could not detail the events leading up to your inevitable death...you only know the final oue and have allowed it to dictate every decision you have made for thest ten-thousand-years...how tragic..." Hanging her head, the petite Red Witch, better known as Soo-oh, clenched her teeth with enough force that everyone present could hear her mrs grinding against each other. Were it not for the presence of several unbelievable powerhouses, she might not have been able to restrain her desire to wring Ryuns neck. At least that way, she could be satisfied knowing she had done something to punish the divergent Red Witch for turning her back on the countless sacrifices that had been made to clear a path and ensure she was able to fulfill her destiny... Having known Soo-oh for much of their lives, Hwa Yon could easily empathize with her younger cousins frustrations. In the end, however, Ryuns fate had always been in her own hands, and, regardless of what she chose, they were duty-bound to provide her as much support as possible. After all, she was the Red Witch described in Enryus prophecy, so, unless they intended to refute his words, contradicting their very purpose, they had little choice but to conclude that Ryun had chosen the correct path. This was the most frustrating thing for the petite redhead, as, any action she took against Ryun would be a direct contradiction to everything she believed in... Deciding to inject himself back into the conversation, Vahn maintained a rxed smile as he calmly exined, "As it stands, it is only a matter of time before the dream of the Red Witches is realized. I can understand your frustrations, but there is ultimately no need for this kind of drama. Those who have sacrificed themselves did so willingly. There is nothing anyone can do in the present that will change that fact. Holding Ryun ountable for the decisions of others is unfair. Rather, you should be thanking her for liberating the Red Witches who have yet to be sacrificed..." Raising her head, Soo-oh red at Vahn with such intensity that, if looks could kill, he would have died at least a thousand times. This made it pretty clear she wasnt very satisfied with the hand she had been dealt with over thest ten-thousand-years, but, regardless of her personal feelings on the matter, that had very little to do with Ryun. If anything, her actions made it seem as though she envied thetter, but, due to her personal convictions, she couldnt allow herself to shift gears and begin searching for happiness after dedicating herself to a cause for thousands of years. Understanding that the woman would only be convinced after witnessing the final oue of his time in the Tower, Vahn decided to simply ignore her, directing his gaze to the muscr man at her side before saying, "My only reason foring here was to introduce myself and meet with Ryuns mother. The ambitions of FUG mean very little to me. If you want to avoid destruction, you will take my advice at face value and carry out the necessary reforms. I will eventually be sending auditors to check on and observe your progress. If your organization is stillprised of cutthroats, murderers, and rapists, dont expect any clemency from me. I am not Jahad. I like to give people the benefit of the doubt and assume the best of them, but I will not hesitate to annihte those who have veered too far from the light. The revolution you desire is upon you. Prove to me you arent just a bunch of hypocrites upset at Jahad because he managed to seize power you coveted for yourselves..." Despitecking any irises or pupils to speak of, the man, better known as Khel Hem, one of the most active Elders within FUG, met Vahns gaze without any change in expression. Even without the Law of Identity, however, Vahn could tell the man was in deep thought as he carefully weighed his response. Unfortunately, this resulted in a rather lengthy silence, and, as a result, it was Sophia who answered, "Youre pretty intense." before offering an amused smile that didnt quite reach her eyes. Turning to meet the womans gaze, Vahn noticed a distinctck of emotion in Sophias pale-blue eyes, the result of an inordinately long and turbulent life. She gave off the impression of someone that was tired of existing, yet, due to her convictions, refused to sumb to her own apathy beforepleting her objective. This would have normally made her seem rather pitiable, but, considering the types of organizations she supported, Vahn found it difficult to empathize with her. Noticing the peculiar way in which Vahn looked at her, Sophia felt uncharacteristically unnerved, a cold sweat breaking out across her body as she maintained a professional smile and asked, "Does His Imperial Majesty have some thoughts he would like to share? I am certain I would benefit from any advice you wish to bequeath my humble self..." Furrowing his brows ever-so-slightly in response to the womans words, Vahn was tempted to tell her to absolve her organizations, but, understanding how the people beneath her might suffer, the words couldnt quite make it to his lips. The factions and organizations she supported were intrinsic to the survival of countless female Regrs, and, while many were forced to suffer due to theirck of power, it wasnt as if Sophia was responsible for the existing structure of the Inner Tower. Rather, if she hadnt taken the initiative to create her own faction, the influence of the Ten Families would be even greater... Resisting the urge to exhale a sigh, Vahn rose to his feet and said, "There isnt much to discuss at this point. I am not unwilling topromise, but, until your organization demonstrates its sincerity and willingness to change, there can be no cooperation between us. Your desire to have me shield you from Urekos wrath demonstrates ack of ountability I cannot condone. Your people toyed with the residents on the Floor of Death, manipted her friend, and created a whole host of other problems. If you want to avoid such consequences in the future, unfuck yourselves. Its that simple." Understanding they couldnt simplyy the me on Karaka, a wry smile developed across Sophias face as she asked, "Can you at least ask her to show a bit of restraint? She had already annihted a total of thirteen bases, none of which had anything to do with the events on the Floor of Death. You are right to hold us ountable, but that is drastically different from holding everyone ountable. At this rate, countless innocents will die for a crime they neithermitted nor had any knowledge of..." Adopting a slightly incredulous look, Vahn was very tempted to ask if there was something wrong with the womans head. Instead, he offered a very simple solution, saying, "Then tell her where the culprits are. Ureko isnt a monster incapable of reason. If you dont want her arbitrarily destroying your bases, present Karaka to her and offer an apology. The problem with people in positions such as yours is that you hold unrted people more ountable than the members of your own group. Stop protecting Karaka just because he is a yer. That entire system has been a farce ever since it was implemented." Having noticed the incredulity in Vahns gaze,bined with his chiding tone, Sophia felt more embarrassed in the present moment than she had in the past several thousand years. She now understood the reason for Gustangs warning, as, despite giving off the impression of someone politicallypetent, Vahn didnt actually enter negotiations with the intent of receiving any kind of benefits. This allowed him to one-suddenly make demands and issue ultimatums as he simply didnt care about what others might offer. Instead, he held them ountable for their words and actions, so, unless they were willing topromise, there was absolutely no room for negotiations with him. Thus, for a brief moment, it almost seemed like Vahn was the only adult present in a room filled with children... Realizing this, the briefest hint of a blush suffused Sophias cheeks as she reconsidered whether or not to broach the subject of entrusting her apprentices to his care. Unfortunately, the moment this thought crossed her mind, Vahn exhaled a sigh before rubbing his temples and saying, "You lot are going to cause me an aneurism..." before turning around and adding, "Ryun. Were going." in a firm tone. This left everyone but Yon feeling at a loss for words, but, fortunately for Sophia, Vahn ended up motioning for the two girls guarding the entrance to follow him on his way out... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Soo-oh is he jaded...,As if Vahn could control Ureko...,Vahn be like +2) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1955 Burden

Chapter 1955 Burden

After depositing Ryun and the duo named S and Namo into the Little Garden, Vahn decided to stick around the Wall of Peaceful Coexistence for a short while to observe how the residents went about their everyday lives. This might have aligned with FUGs intentions but it wasnt in his nature to simply ignore the suffering of others. Yes, the residents might have been the ones to choose this particr lifestyle, but, based on the depressive atmosphere that permeated the entirety of the wall, it was pretty obvious they werent satisfied with their current lifestyle. Since it ultimately wouldnt cost him anything but time to transnt the residents and afford them the opportunity to start anew, Vahn was looking for any excuse he could find to justify providing his assistance. What he found strange was the fact that most of the residents didnt even seem to know why their ancestors had originally chosen to settle within the wall. All they knew for certain was that something terrible was supposed to happen if the person sealed within was to awaken. What made this situation particrly odd was the fact that it was a rtively well-known fact that the Walls of Peaceful Coexistence were built to seal away the Heroes from both sides of the conflict. Despite this, the residents within the wall actually seemed to resent the person who had effectively sacrificed themselves to afford them ten-thousand-years of peace. Some even went as far as to try and harass the former heros only living rtive, fearful of the fact that she possessed the ability to break the seal. As a result, she was forced to live on the outskirts of the settlement, and, every time she went to visit the chamber containing her sister, people would gather tombast and even throw stones at her. Though he could understand the fears of the residents, Vahn found it more than a little ridiculous that they would proactively insult someone who had endured for more than ten-thousand-years on their behalf. If she was as great a threat as they purported her to be, she would have snapped long ago as a result of their malicious actions. Instead, despite being exponentially stronger than virtually every resident of the Wall, she silently tolerated their slights out of respect for the sacrifice her sister had made all those years ago. This demonstrated a level ofmitment that most people couldnt even begin to fathom, yet, instead of praising the woman for her perseverance, she was scorned for preserving the peace everyone around her desperately clung to... Watching the woman named Khane carrying a bouquet of forget-me-nots as people hurled more than just insults at her, Vahn had to suppress his almost instinctual urge to step in. Fortunately, the woman could probably withstand a mountain crashing into her without sustaining any meaningful injuries, so, while a few stones did make contact with her, she didnt even flinch as she proceeded to carry out the routine she had taken part in every day for thest ten-thousand-years: being the only one to thank her sister for the peace she had afforded them all. Needless to say, Vahn wasnt at all amused by how the residents of the wall rewarded Khane for her fidelity and sacrifice. The only reason he didnt immediately intervene was that this was the path Khane and her sister had chosen. More specifically, Khanes sister, a remarkably prodigious Wave Controller named Dowon, had used her unique power to erase her existence from the memories of everyone but her sister. This was originally intended to absolve her people of any feelings of guilt they might possess regarding the need to sacrifice, but, despite what some might attest, ignorance was not always bliss. Instead, it had be the primary source of suffering for her sister, someone the residents of the wall should have respected and admired more than any other... Waiting until the understandably depressed-looking Khane hadpleted her daily routine and returned to her sparsely furnished home, Vahn surprised the flowery-haired beauty quite a bit by immediately knocking on her door just as it closed behind her. This was something that shouldnt have been possible under normal circumstances, as, despite stagnating somewhat over thest ten-thousand-years, she was still a High Ranker. This,bined with the fact she was a talented Wave Controller, made it exceptionally difficult to sneak up on her, yet, here, at this moment, a knock had sounded behind her back before she could even kick off her shoes. Fortunately, though she was understandably on high alert, Khane ultimately cracked her door open, asking, "What do you want?" while peeking through the gap to see who was on the other side. The fact her roomcked even a peephole showed just how poor her living conditions were, but, rather thanmenting on the state of her abode, Vahn did his best to appear friendly and disarming as he raised his hands in a faux-gesture of surrender and replied, "If it would not inconvenience you, I would like to talk..." Much to Vahns surprise, Khanes response was to immediately open her door, indicating for him toe in as she said, "Come in. I dont really have a ce for you to sit, but I should have some tea in the cupboards. Give me a few minutes to get ready..." With an understandably confused look on his face, Vahn followed the womans back with his eyes until the Law of Identity dutifully revealed, "She thinks you came here to solicit her for sex..." Frowning deeply in response to the Law of Identitys words, the tiny seed of hatred Vahn had been nourishing towards the residents of the wall began to sprout as a sudden desire to purge the entiremunity welled within the back of his mind. Fortunately for them, the Law of Identity seemed to realize the misunderstanding she had caused, appearing directly in front of him to say, "Wait, wait, wait!" while waving her hands from side to side. Then, seeing him calm down a little, she released a sigh of relief before exining, "It isnt what youre thinking. She isnt being forced to whore herself out or anything like that. She is just a little lonely. Since you arent a face she recognizes, she thinks youre someone visiting from outside who was attracted by her beauty..." With the Law of Identity currently appearing as Khane herself, most of Vahns anger was reced by a feeling of awkwardness as he resisted the urge to avert his eyes in shame. The fact it was the Law of Identity lecturing him made him feel even more self-conscious, as, more often than not, she did everything in her power to rile him up and get a rise out of him... Exhaling a sigh of relief, the Law of Identity, still appearing as Khane, patted her chest a few times before looking up at him and revealing, "She is watching you." before immediately disappearing into thin air. Shaking his head, Vahn pulled out a few cushions and some snacks before sitting down and taking a look at Khanes room. Despite being a living space, the walls were formed from cold stone and the floor was covered in muted grey tiles that made the room seem more like a prison cell than an abode. The only pieces of furniture present were a twin-sized bed covered in tattered linens, a small wooden dresser with a broken leg, and an ancient-looking wardrobe filled with nothing but white t-shirts, denim jeans, and two pairs of high-heeled boots... Emerging from the equally barren kitchte with two hand-made ceramic cups in hand, Khane offered a slightly apologetic smile as she alleged, "Its not as bad as it looks. Im not going to reveal my age, but lets just say I lost interest in material possessions a long time ago. Besides, if there isnt anything to steal, I dont have to worry about burrs breaking and entering." Though he epted the proferred cup, Vahn couldnt resist furrowing his brows as he said, "Youre a poor liar..." in a somewhat subdued tone. This earned him an awkward smile from the pink-haired beauty, who, despite her in clothes and depressive aura, still managed to give off an impressionparable to a wild rose. She also had inordinately long hair reminiscent of pink flower petals, fair skin utterly devoid of blemishes, and an athletic figure that had withstood the test of time to such an extent that a normal person would sooner assume she was in her early twenties rather than herte ten-thousands... Feeling a little awkward after hearing Vahns remark, Khanebed back her fringe bangs to reveal diminutive elven ears as she averted her eyes and asked, "So...what did you want to talk about? You might have deduced from the state of my apartment, but my life isnt particrly interesting. Most of my free time is spent tending to flowers and the only time I really go out is to visit my sister for a few minutes each day...other than those two things, I really dont have much else to say..." Seemingly depressed by her own words, the light in Khanes hazy pink eyes dimmed considerably as a silent yet profound sigh escaped her throat. She gave off the impression of someone who hadpletely given up on life, and, were it not for her sense of duty and the fear that her sister would bepletely forgotten, Vahn suspected she might have ended everything long ago... elerating his mental processes to afford a bit more time to think, Vahn carefully considered his words as the bitter herbal tea provided by Khane washed over his tongue and coated his throat. He wasnt bothered by the fact there was a paralyzing agent and a Shinsu suppressant mixed into it, as, from Khanes perspective, he was a stranger with enough skill to sneak up on a former High Ranker without any indicators of his presence prior to knocking... Exhaling a sigh of his own, Vahn set aside his cup before meeting Khanes gaze and saying, "Before anything, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason. To some, I am known as the Sage Dragon Emperor. To others, I am the God of Infinite Possibilities. In this situation, however, I would like to think I am a friend to you and your sister. If you will allow it, I would like to offer, not just to the two of you, but everyone you wanted to protect a path towards happiness..." Despite the rtive istion of the Wall of Peaceful Coexistence, its inhabitants were surprisingly well informed of events taking ce in the Tower. More specifically, they proactively kept track of any incidents that might threaten the status quo they had worked so hard to maintain for thest ten-thousand-years. Thus, with Vahns exploits spreading like wildfire,bined with the rumors of his status as an Irregr, Khane was understandably surprised to hear that the person seated across from her was iming to be the very person she had both prayed for and feared might arrive... Noticing the womans eyes worriedly shifting to the cup in his hand, Vahn offered a disarming and rxed smile as he said, "Dont worry. I know you didnt have any malicious intentions. Im also not going to force your hand. I just wanted to make you aware of your options. Nobody should have to live like this, and, while your sisters intentions may have been pure, it is unfair that you, alone, have to bear this burden. To that end, if you ask it of me, I can even break the seal without requiring you to give up your memories. I can also provide you and your sister the means to leave the Tower and experience the closest thing to true peace most people can imagine...you need only ask for my help and I will grant both you and your sister the happiness you deserve...there are no requirements, no obligations, no sacrifices necessary. You need only say the words and it will be done..." Taken aback by the intensity of Vahns words and the peculiar aura of sincerity that was radiating off of him, Khane found herself at aplete loss for words. He seemed absolutely confident in his ability to carry out his promises, and, based on his own words, he didnt seem to expect anything in return. This seemedpletely irrational, but, having heard the rumors of his past actions, a part of Khane wanted nothing more than to believe he could free both her and her sister from the burdens forced upon them due to their sense of duty and responsibility... As that thought crossed her mind, Khane hung her head low enough that her bangs concealed the conflict in her eyes. Memories of thest ten-thousand-years began to resurface in her mind, and, along with them, so too did the resentment she harbored towards the people her sister had given her life and freedom to protect. This caused the faded colors in her aura to be tinged with a murky purple, but, almost immediately thereafter, the negativity that was threatening to overwhelm her waspletely neutralized by the gentle warmth flowing from the palm that hade to rest atop her head... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Lets bully and antagonize the person that controls our fate...!,This is a very depressing chapter...,Vahning in with the clutch,st-second, save...!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1956 Release

Chapter 1956 Release

Though he could not remember why he was chosen as Guardian of the Sealed Chamber, Tonki had made a vow to remain steadfast in his duty so long as Khane continued her daily visits. As a result, he had stood watch over the Sealed Chamber for nearly ten-thousand-years, never once quitting his post to so much as taking a break. This had confounded quite a number of people, but, so long as Khane continued to perform her duty, despite the resentment of everyone around her, his pridepelled him to do the same. With a considerable amount of time on his hands, Tonki generally spent his days silently meditating in order to perfect his control and provide the nourishment his body required. This had allowed him to go without food or water for thousands of years, and, despite having no one to test his strength on, he was absolutely certain his power, control, and senses were far more refined than the average High Ranker. He had evenpletely mastered his Shinsu Quality, the Meteor me Lotus, one of the rarest abilities to manifest among descendants of the Land of Peach Blossoms. Thanks to this mastery,bined with the fact only a single person had visited the Sealed Chamber in thest thirteen-hundred-years, Tonki was able to sense even the most insignificant changes in the surrounding Shinsu. He could even feel the body heat of people several hundred meters away from him, so, the moment Vahn teleported into the Sealed Chamber, the grey-skinned mans eyes snapped open as he shouted, "Who goes there!? This is a restricted area. If you happened upon this ce by chance, leave now and I will not follow. Choose to remain and your life is forfeit...!" Surprised by the mans instantaneous reaction, Vahn was momentarily at a loss as he inspected the 224cm tall figure with ashen skin, dark-grey hair, silver eyes, and pointed, elf-like, ears. He gave off the impression of a proud and valiant warrior, yet, perhaps as a result of his long seclusion, his aura was as tranquil as ake on a moonless night. It was, honestly, rather remarkable, and, though his outfit looked a bit weird, consisting of muted grey robes with massive green ribbons on both sides of his waist, Vahn couldnt help feeling impressed. Ignoring the mans warning, Vahn raised his hand to perform a greeting gesture as he adopted a carefree smile and said, "Hi there. My name is Vahn. You are?" Rather than responding to Vahns greeting, Tonki immediately surged forward, his massive frame contorting in a remarkable disy of flexibility as the top of his foot swept towards the formers neck like the de of a grim reaper. At the same time, even the most minute particles of Shinsu in the surroundings surged in response, but, rather than flowing tumultuously, they gathered to form a singr, destructive, current. Had his opponent been anyone else, Tonki might have won the fight with a single, precise, kick. His power wasparable to a High Ranker between the Ranks of 100~200, and, most importantly, his control allowed him to prate the resistances of his opponents with remarkable ease. Unfortunately, the moment Tonkis foot made contact with Vahns neck, it phased through him as if he simply didnt exist. Then, despite releasing the gathered Shinsu to produce a massive explosion, Vahns hand managed to move unabated through the tumultuous flow, grasping his long ponytail in a vice-like grip. Emerging from the destructive swirl of Shinsu without so much as a single out of ce hair, Vahn couldnt help adopting a wry smile as he said, "Sorry about this..." before grabbing the man by his face and mming him into the ground. This wouldnt normally be enough to damage, much less knock out a High Ranker, but, unlike most people, Tonki had a seal on his forehead that was directly connected to his cerebral cortex. In the distant past, this had allowed the Kings of the Land of Peach Blossoms tomand absolute loyalty from their Royal Guards, but, in a situation like this, it was a major weakness since there were none in the Tower who could hope topete with Vahn when it came to the application, alteration, and removal of seals... With the unconscious man safely stowed away within the Little Garden, there was no longer anyone who could bar Vahns passage. Thus, after passing through a massive set of enchanted stone doors, he found himself face-to-face with a vault door embedded in the center of a wall more than 500m from the floor. This wasnt a particrly great height, but, due to the presence of millions of seals lining the interior of the chamber, any spells or abilities that made use of Shinsu werepletely prohibited within the eerily quiet, sound-absorbant, space. Unaffected by such limitations, Vahn levitated to the circr vault door before taking a deep breath and exhaling a tired sigh that caused his body to contract rather drastically. At the same time, wild pink hair erupted from his head, cascading down his back as his body rapidly metamorphized into an exact replica of Khanes. Then, ignoring the usual feelings of guilt and difort that followed assuming someones form without their permission, Vahn ced his palm against the center of the seal, saying, "Time to wake up..." in a husky and feminine tone. Reacting to the energy flowing from his palm, the vault door released a hissing sound simr to pressure dispersing before simply falling away and smashing into the ground below. Immediately thereafter, countless wooden tes covered in seals came into view, each rotating and undting at high speeds before opening in a manner reminiscent of an oculus. With his perception allowing him to view everything in slow motion, Vahn was able to memorize and interpret their function with no real difficulty. He could also sense the space within the vault linking with that of the exterior space, much like a bridge being formed between two dimensional nes. As this urred, the sealed ts quickly formed a tunnel connecting to an interior chamber. There, seated atop a floating white tform, a remarkably beautiful woman with flowing pink hair tied into a loose ponytail could be seen. Though the womans beauty was apparent with a nce, what truly made her remarkable, at least in Vahns eyes, was the fact she had managed to reach a state where she had effectively fused with her unique, flowery, Shinsu. This caused the ends of her fringe bangs and ponytail to release a pale pink light, and, though her dress appeared to beprised of normal fabrics, the edges appeared to be ame with pale-pink Shinsu that periodically detached to form petals reminiscent of sakura flowers. She also had the characteristic pointed ears of her people, and, though they might seem innocuous in the eyes of others, Vahn could tell the blue markings beneath her eyes, reminiscent of blush marks, possessed the ability to interfere with the senses of anyone who looked upon them. Shortly after that thought had crossed his mind, a wry smile developed across Vahns face as the woman opened her eyes to reveal rose quartz-like eyes with pale-blue irises. Then, with a confused expression, she cocked her head to the side and asked, "Khane? Did something go wrong with the sealing process...?" while looking around the area. Since the price for breaking the seal was Khanes memories, it was understandable that the woman, Dowon, would be a little confused. After all, she had received absolutely no new memories, so, from her perspective, no time had passed between the activation of the seal and its release. Manifesting the Little Garden in his right hand, Vahn, still appearing as Khane, answered, "Ill exin everything once we move somece safe." Though she was still more than a little confused, Dowon ultimately replied with a curt nod before levitating from the tform she had been seated upon. This caused the mes along the edge of her dress to be slightly more prominent, and, though she was initially barefoot, heels formed of vibrant-pink light immediately formed to cover her feet as she glided effortlessly and gracefully through the air. With Dowon not suspecting any form of foul y, Vahn was able to pull her into the Little Garden without any issues. There, another version of himself had been waiting alongside the actual Khane,forting her after a very long session of crying. Surprised by the sudden change in scenery, the petal-like mes along the periphery of Dowons dress momentarily increased in magnitude and intensity until she noticed her sister sitting beside a man she had never seen before. At the same time, Khane noticed her older sister floating just a few meters away, her expression revealing both shock and incredulity as she nervously asked, "Dowon? Is that really you...?" Confused by Khanes words, Dowon cocked her head to the side as innumerable questions danced across her mind. Fortunately for both girls, Vahn was there to render assistance, so, after gently guiding the confused Khane to her feet, he brought the two of them nearer to each other before adopting an apologetic smile and exining, "Sorry. Ive never been the type to wait around. While we were talking, I decided to take matters into my own hands. You can both me or hate me all you wantter. For now, I believe there are more important matters to attend..." With that said, Vahn gently pushed against the small of Khanes back, forcing her to step forward until she and Dowon were right in front of each other. This caused thetter to feel exceptionally awkward, as, prior to being sealed, she had done everything in her power to distance herself from others. This included Khane, so, seeing her sisters eyes glistening with pain and longing, a strange feeling of guilt began to swell within Dowons chest as she instinctually took a step back... Fortunately, before Dowon couldplete the motion, an invisible force pushed against her from behind, reversing her intended direction. As a result, she found herself being tightly embraced by Khane, who, after confirming the tangibility of her sister, began bawling without inhibition. This left Dowon feeling more than a little fretful, her expression transitioning between confusion and guilt before ultimately settling into a slight pout upon noticing Vahns cheeky smile... --- After a very long discussion with her sister, Dowon managed to track Vahn to the base of one of the World Trees. This was something she found very interesting, but, before asking about it, or any of the other pressing concerns on her mind, the first thing Dowon did was lower herself to the ground in an attempt to prostrate herself. Before she could, however, Vahn instantly appeared right in front of her, his index and middle fingers pressed to her forehead as he smiled and said, "Ill have none of that. I took action because I wanted to, not because I was anticipating a reward. Besides, if anyone is deserving of your gratitude, its Khane. That girl endured on your behalf for nearly ten-thousand-years. Rather than offering me your power, I would be happier if you took care of your not-so-little sister..." With Vahn having removed his fingers from her forehead, Dowon tentatively touched the region, a slight pout developing across her face as she pointedly replied, "Thats a given. Now that Im awake, I wont let anyone bully my sister. That includes you." Raising his brow, Vahn was about to ask what she was talking about when Dowon raised her hand to produce a violent torrent of flowery Shinsu, threatening, "I dont care if youre an Irregr or a God. If you break my little sisters heart, Ill shove my fist so far up your ass that thest thing youll experience before death is the taste of flowers." Not expecting Dowon to have such a sharp tongue, Vahn momentarily found himself at a loss for words. Fortunately, it seemed like the woman was mostly just ying around, a smile developing across her face as she added, "So long as you take my words to heart, there wont be any problems. Im not sure how you managed it, but that girl seems pretty taken with you. I know Im not really in a ce to lecture others after making her suffer for so long, but be good to her, okay...?" Though he would have liked to agree with Dowons request, a wry smile immediately developed across Vahns face as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head and said, "About that...there are a few things you should know...". Then, despite Dowons expression darkening considerably, he did his best to exin theplicated rtionship dynamic between himself and his rather expansive harem... (A/N: Alternate Titles: RIP Tonki...,Vahn flexing his hax0r abilities...,Bruh...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1957 Turning Poin

Chapter 1957 Turning Poin

After clearing the misunderstanding and allowing Khane and Dowon to meet with the residents of the Eighth Layer, Vahn ended up epting both sisters into his Familia before arranging a ce for them in the First Layer. As descendants of the Land of Peach Blossoms Royal Guard, Khane and Dowons ancestry could be traced back to a race evocative of Dryads. This afforded them an affinity with nature, so, as could be expected, they felt extremelyfortable beneath the canopy of the World Trees. Thus, at least for the time being, they were more than content with living quiet and peaceful lives among the endless field of eternal flowers that hade to dominate the First Layer. As for the remaining residents of the Wall of Peaceful Coexistence, Vahn allowed the members of the so-called Revolutionary Party to take up residence in the Second Layer while those with darker hearts and ambitions were left to clean up the mess left in the wake of Dowons unsealing. Though he couldnt help feeling a marginal amount of guilt, Vahns decision to abandon the leave the residents of the wall to their own devices wasrgely due to the fact that Dowons sealing and Khanes suffering were the direct results of the Royal Family and their descendants. It was the King of their time that tasked the girls father with fighting against the forces of Jahad, and, once he had lost his life, they had been forced to serve in his stead. As descendants of a family that had served the Royal Family for generations, Dowon and Khane had willingly entered the service of the Kingdom in order to resist Jahads rise. In the process, they gave up everything in order to obtain power and fulfill their duty. Despite this, the moment the members of the Royal Family felt their lives were threatened, they promptly yielded to the Empires demands and chose to seal Dowon, not for the sake of peace, but to preserve their own lives. To add insult to injury, the King of that time even tried to smooth the tensions between the Kingdom and the Jahad Empire by offering up Khane as coteral, effectively forcing her to be a ve or a concubine. It was her desire to protect her sister and fulfill the promise she had made to their dying father thatpelled Dowon to modify the memories of her people. The truth of the matter was that she had made an agreement of her own with the Empire. In exchange for letting herself be sealed without a fuss, they would nevery a hand on her sister. The moment this term was vited, the seal would be broken of its own ord, and, depending on the circumstances, she would do everything in her power to seek revenge against the ones who had harmed her only living family member. Unfortunately, Dowon hadnt ounted for the fact that certain sentiments didnt simply disappear with a few memory alterations. Corruption, opportunism, and the fear of death had been so deeply ingrained into the Royal Family that they did not hesitate to try and exploit her sister and the loyalty of their family by redirecting all hatred and negative sentiments her way. Every time something bad happened, they would twist facts to pin the me on Khane. This had continued over the course of several generations, so much so that it was now mon knowledge among the residents of the Wall that she was the source of all tragedies that befell them. Simply put, both the Royal Family and their descendants had unrepentantly treated Dowon and Khane as their personal scapegoats for the better part of ten-thousand-years. The current Chairman of the 50th Floors Wall, Koer, had even been nning to execute Khane in the near future. As for the reason, it was because negative sentiments had been on the rise as ofte so they wanted to renew faith in their administration by being the first leader with the courage to remove the source of suffering at the root. With a disheartening number of people sincerely believing that Khane was responsible for every bad thing that had ever happened to them, Vahns desire to help them had disappeared like a drop of water in the desert. There was no way he would help them rebuild their civilization when the so-called Nobles treated their most loyal subjects as nothing more than convenient tools. Instead, he chose to spare the handful of people who had seen through the lies of the former Royals and tried to improve conditions within the Wall. In total, Vahn ended up relocating twenty-seven people from the Wall of Peaceful Coexistence to a residential district in the Second Layer. This wasnt even close to the number of people required to try and rebuild a poption, but, havinge to realize that things like race meant very little in the grand scheme of things, there was no harm in letting one gradually disappear by intermingling with another. The Little Garden was, after all, a miniature Realm governed by the Law of Progress. Trying to preserve something like blood purity was one of the most backward sentiments anyone could possess, so, with the people of the Land of Peach Blossoms originally descending from apletely different species, Vahn felt no qualms about letting them be something else entirely. Fortunately, as was often the case in worlds with extreme racial diversity, interspecies rtionships tended to work out with surprisingly few issues. There were even examples of Shinheuh and Spirits obtaining human forms and intermingling with the other races of the Tower, so, while things might not always make sense from the perspective of reproductive biology, simr arguments could be made regarding Innates and Soul Tier in general. In the end, the most important things were always intent and willpower. With enough of both, you could even impregnate the void or inert stone. In that regard, impregnating the member of another species was a rtively simple affair... --- Though he had promised Dowon he would visit the other Walls in order to unseal others from her time, backtracking wasnt exactly Vahns modus operandi. Thus, before he could move on to other Floors, Vahn first needed to take care of his business on the 50th. To this end, he ended up reaching out to a representative of the Lo Po Bia Family; and, as a result, he soon found himself face-to-face with none other than Lo Po Bia Pram, Elder of the Snow Leopard Family, and two of her daughters. Understanding the reason for the duos presence, Vahn had a difficult time maintaining his smile as all three inordinately fluffy women eyed him like hungry predators who had just chanced upon their favorite prey. To make matters even worse, Pram had made sure to cover her bases by selecting two distinctly different types of girls, one appearing somewhat boyish,plete with short hair and an athletic figure, while the other gave off the impression of a delicate yet mischievous princess. When the three were lined up together, it was almost like seeing the progression of a single individual as they moved through three distinctly different phases in their life...each more promiscuous than thest... Taking the initiative, Pram had each of her daughters bow in turn as she exined, "Though they are stillcking in various ways, these are the daughters I am most proud of. The bigger one, Iifa, has managed to be an Advanced Ranker at only 519-years-old. As for the younger one, Nio, she is one of the most promising members of the younger generation, so much so that I have even considered grooming her as my sessor. She has yet to begin her ascent up the Tower, but I have high hopes for her future. To that end, I would be eternally grateful if the Sage Dragon Emperor was gracious enough to extend a guiding hand towards the both of them...rather, I wouldnt particrly mind receiving a bit of guidance myself..." Though she had suffered for quite a while following their previous encounter, Pram didnt resent Vahn in the slightest. His warning had also helped to remind her of the mission she had been given, so, while she hadnte to terms with the fact her recording would be circting through various informationworks, she hade to realize that it could actually be used as leverage. Despite the previous incident, Pram was confident in her original assessment of Vahn. He gave off the impression of someone that was overly considerate, so, as long as she dealt with him in private, he shouldnt react in such an extreme way. The fact he had instructed her to meet with him on the 50th Floor was proof enough that he wasnt yet willing to cut ties with her family, so, before another branch stepped in, she intended to do everything in her power to secure his favor... Aware of the womans thoughts, Vahn briefly exchanged nces with the two hungry-looking girls peering up at him whilst lowering their heads to the ground. Their unconcealed lust,bined with the fact all three girls were releasing a phenomenal amount of pheromones, made it feel as though he had wandered into an inescapable trap. Yes, he could leave whenever he wanted, but, unless he intended to adopt a more forceful approach, cooperating with the trio was the most expedient way to get what he wanted. The problem was, while their behavior could be attributed to their instincts and upbringing, even the innocent-looking Nio treated those weaker than herself with remarkable contempt and unrepentant cruelty. If he werent exponentially stronger than them, this would have been a very different conversation... In the end, Vahns choice wasnt a simple matter ofpromise. Rather, the moment he chose to fix things within the Lo Po Bia Family, his nature wouldpel him to be as thorough as possible. This meant confronting Lord Lo Po Bia and reforming the branch families using the only means they could universally understand: strength. So long as Vahn could prove himself more powerful, even Lord Lo Po Bia himself would not oppose his decisions. The problem with this was that Lord Lo Po Bia considered Jahad to be the Alpha, so, unless he could defeat the self-proimed King of the Tower, there was a chance the family would bare its fangs at him in spite of the difference in strength. This would also establish a precedent for him taking over one of the Great Families, so, while it might not matter all that much in the grand scheme of things, Vahn was still a little reluctant to throw caution to the wind. After all, the moment he decided to follow through on the subjugation of a Great Family, his time within the Tower would begin counting towards its end... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahns gaze returned to Pram, her mercury-like eyes catching his attention as she returned an expectant smile and manipted her tail to peek out from behind her shoulder. This caused his eyes to briefly shift to the inordinately fluffy appendage, and, as a result, a bell-likeugh could be heard emanating from Prams throat before she seductively mused, "Didnt I tell you thest time we met? You are more than wee to touch...rather, the three of us would be more than a little disheartened if you decided not to. You see, we recently switched conditioners and have been eager to hear the Sage Dragon Emperors opinion...wont you give them a touch~?" Hearing their mothers words, the tips of Iifas and Nios tails began to twitch slightly as the thick fur coating their length seemed to be noticeably fluffier. This wasnt just a trick of the eye, either, as, in preparation for this meeting, both girls had spent several weeks enduring extreme cold just to increase the thickness of their coats. They had also received special training from their mother, so, even if they had to reduce themselves to the position of pets, they were willing to do so if it meant receiving the gics of a strong male. After all, while individual strength was important, it was the duty of all members of the Lo Po Bia Family to ensure their offspring were even more powerful than the preceding generations. In the face of three inordinately fluffy women, Vahns restraint could only hold out for so long. Fluff was one of his greatest weaknesses, so, with the strength to change both the Snow Leopard and Lo Po Bia Families for the better, it didnt take long for his inhibitions to disappearpletely. At one point, he even managed to convince himself that it would have been unnecessarily cruel of him to let the branch families continue fighting amongst themselves. After all, there were plenty of ways in which they couldpete without killing each other, and, most importantly, he wanted to provide an environment where the more passive members of the tribe could prosper without suffering the abuse of their own families. Thus, for the first time since hising to the Transcendental Path to Heaven, Vahn decided to reference his memories of the Oyakodon Cook Book for inspiration... (A/N: Sorry for the silence yesterday. I got wrangled into a New Years celebration and couldnt find the time to release a chapter. On that note, I hope everyone has a much better 2021 than they did a 2020. Last year was a trial for a lot of people, myself included. Though it might not mean that muching from some random guy on the inte, know that I am praying for everyones happiness in the years toe. We might not be able to influence much in the grand scheme of things, but, on a personal level, we can at least make life a little easier by showing care and concern for each other. To that end, I wish you all a happy new year, and, most importantly, thanks for being the best part of EPIC~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1958 Conditioning

Chapter 1958 Conditioning

Though he didnt exactly require support, Vahn knew the quickest way to break the Lo Po Bia trios delusions was to introduce them to the existing members of his harem. More specifically, he invited Artoria, Fenrir, and Yoruichi to apany him, each representing one of three distinct sub-factions that had gradually formed among the residents of the Emerald Grove. As both a Dragon Goddess and his official Empress, Artoria had the highest official status among the womenprising Vahns harem. She also had to most regal bearing among his women, and, despite the many setbacks she had faced early in life, her leadership capabilities and understanding of Authority were second only to Vahns. This,bined with the fact she was excessively kind and dutiful, made her the de facto leader of the faction that supported the existence and stability of the Empire. Inymans terms, she was the leader of the Imperial Faction. A close second to Artorias Imperial Faction,rgely due to the fact they didnt care about status and authority, were the members of Fenrirs Pack. This was a groupprised of so-called good girls, or, more specifically, women with animalistic features who had embraced their instincts and desires as a result of Fenrirs teachings. In many ways, this was the group most loyal to Vahn, as, rather than caring about moreplicated matters, their primary focus was self-improvement, receiving praise, and supporting him to the best of their ability. Due to their animalistic features and the substantial influence their instincts had over their behavior, it was safe to assume that any members of the Lo Po Bia Family, Pram, Iifa, and Nio included, would most likely be a member of Fenrirs Pack. They simplycked the selfless perspective required to enter the Imperial Faction, so, with the third option being Yoruichis faction, a groupprised almost entirely of Temtes with no particr ambitions, it wasnt difficult to imagine where they would end up. The most important thing was that Artoria, Fenrir, and Yoruichi were all remarkably powerful, and, while they might not care about official status or titles, the members of Fenrirs Pack adhered to a strict hierarchy. At the very top was Vahn, and, due to her standing as his most faithful and belovedpanion, Fenrir represented the pinnacle of what every pack member endeavored to be. As a result, she set the example for everyone else to follow, and, unless Vahn superseded her authority, stepping out of line would quickly earn you thebel of a bad girl. Though there were no serious consequences associated with thebel, it did result in a noticeable decrease in the amount of pampering and praise you would receive. This might not seem like much of a penalty from the perspective of an outsider, but, for the members of the pack, it was one of the most severe punishments they could imagine. Many of them had be irreversibly dependent on the pampering and praise they received, and, while it might notpare to an actual addiction, just the thought of a life without Vahns affection made them anxious. Fortunately, no matter how great their mistakes, they could be certain their Master would always be willing to forgive them so long as they apologized and made a sincere effort to learn from their mistakes... --- Despite being the weakest among the three faction leaders, Fenrir was still more powerful than the average High Ranker. Her unique bloodline and advanced mastery over variousws also provided an absolute advantage against those who relied on their instincts, so, after some expected tension, both Pram and her daughters had begun referring to the former with the suffix sama. Observation of the established hierarchy was one of the most important things taught to members of the Lo Po Bia Family. Thus, after recognizing that even the weakest among Vahns followers was stronger than them, it was only natural that they lower their heads. Pram even went as far as setting the example for her daughters by defaulting to a support role and offering no resistance even when Yoruichi decided to tease her. This greatly perturbed her daughters in the beginning, but, after a bit of careful guidance from Fenrir and a fair amount of pampering from Vahn, they quickly adapted to the peculiar situation and became noticeably more servile. Truth be told, Vahn wasnt particrly fond of women with servile natures, but, understanding the impossibility of attending to the countless women who would readily throw themselves at him the moment he took over the Lo Po Bia Family, establishing a precedent like this was necessary. Though it mighte across as a little scummy, he had no intention of letting individuals such as Pram and her daughters be official members of his harem. They were far from truly loving him, so, while he was more than willing to appease them for the sake of a peaceful transition, he had no desire to be something like a Grand Chieftain or a Great Father. Though it wouldnt actually be that difficult, Vahn had no intention of siring dozens of children just to appease each branch of the Lo Po Bia Family. He might sleep with quite a number of their Elders and chosen representatives, but, unless something drastic were to ur, he would most likely leave Temtes behind to advise and protect each respective branch as he continued his ascent up and beyond the Tower. This method had worked with the various Tribes he had consolidated within the Little Garden, and, while it wasnt a perfect solution, it provided him with valuable perspectives and experiences that might aid in his future governance of all reality. As selfish as it might seem, the goal Vahn was aspiring towards was, perhaps, the most selfish thing anyone could ever hope to achieve. He was effectively trying to subsume all of reality just to cate his desire to reunite with his family and loved ones. This ultimately put him at odds with the current Order of Creation, and, most importantly, everything responsible for maintaining the current order. Thus, regardless of how guilty it made him feel at times, he could continue pushing himself forward following the notion that any and all experiences he could gain prior to his ascent would make him a better ruler. In the end, Vahn was aiming to be what some referred to as Chaotic Good. He understood that bnce was one of the fundamental forces of reality, and, as a result of free will and intrinsic need of the Soul to experience new stimuli, the natural state of creation was chaotic in nature. Thus, the more he leaned towards any particr side of the spectrum, the greater the forces opposing him would be. Simply put, if Vahn decided to be a being of Absolute Good, a being of Absolute Evil would naturallye into existence in order to counteract his influence. This would potentially result in a never-ending conflict between good and evil, so, rather than representing either extreme, the least destructive path seemed to be skirting the boundary between the two forces in order to enforce his own form of bnce. This would also ensure the rtive neutrality of his counterpart as a Tier 7, so, even if he wasbeled as scum by some, Vahn would continue umting experiences in order to appease his personal desires and ensure the stability of the future... --- With Iifa receiving training from Fenrir and Pram departing to personally express his intentions to Lord Lo Po Bia, Vahn was enjoying a bit of leisure time in a suite prepared for him by the Lo Po Bia Family. At his side, purring contentedly like a cat despite the beads of sweat covering her face and body, Nio could be seen staring off into space with a dazed expression on her face. He had agreed to Prams request to help her prepare for her impending ascent, so, for the past few weeks, most of which had been spent in the Little Garden, Vahn had been training her rather exhaustively. Gently smacking the dazed girls spats-covered backside, an action that caused her tail to spiritedly flick, an amused smile spread across Vahns face as he teasingly inquired, "How long do you intend to rest? Your mother wouldnt even struggle to lift a mountain. How do you intend to surpass her when you can barely do more than a hundred pushups without taking a break...?" Groaning in response to Vahns words, Nio did her best to right herself before adopting a princess-like pout andining, "Youre so cruel, Vahn-sama...I cant even use Shinsu outside of the Little Garden. How can you expect me topete with my mother under these circumstances...?" Ruffling the pouting girls ashen-silver hair, Vahna adopted a stern tone as he said, "When ites to personal ambitions, never me others for holding you ountable to your own words. This is a path you decided upon after learning about forms of energy other than Shinsu. If you think its hard now, you should give up trying to develop your Ki and wait to gain ess to Shinsu along with the rest of the Regrs. I wont be there to pamper and encourage you during your ascent, so, if you arent going to take this seriously, dont expect me to continue pushing you forward..." With Nios ears twitching in response to the emphasis he had ced on the word Regrs, Vahn knew his words had had the desired impact. Emphasizing this, Nio grit her teeth as she forced herself to a standing position despite the strain ced on her by the weightedpression suit covering most of her body. Its total weight was only 500kg, but, without the blessing of Shinsu, it was a substantial sum for a petite girl of only 34kg to lug around. She also had to fight against the resistance of the suit itself, so, despite her heritage, Nio had to strain herself just to be able to move around. After finally rising to her feet, Nio took several deep breaths, an action that was, fortunately, directly supported by one of the suits functions. Then, with her icy-blue eyes firmly fixated on Vahn, she did her best to perform a series of one hundred star jumps. She had yet to realize his fascination with the backsides of various races, so, in the hopes of appealing to him and receiving a greater reward, she did her best to maintain eye contact as her modest breasts bounced up and down with each of her movements... --- At the very center of a massive forest, which, from the outside, looked like a giant briar bush, Pram could be seen bowing before a man with leaf-green hair, cat-like ears, and pale-yellow fur covering much of his body. This was none other than Lo Po Bia himself, the greatest Anima in existence and the man responsible for the name and creation of the entire Lo Po Bia Family. With a distinctly cat-like smile, Lo Po Bia retracted his hand from the head of the blue-haired who had been lying across hisp, waiting for thetter to move before rising to his feet and musing, "It seems the Kings suspicions were, once again, correct...unfortunately, it wouldplicate things if I were to personally seek out the Sage Dragon Emperor. Instead, you will guide him here once he has finished with his business inside of the Nest. If he is unwilling to agree, tell him the entire Lo Po Bia Family will stand against him during his attempt to free the Princess..." Bowing her head even lower, Pram adopted a highly reverential tone as she unhesitantly replied, "I will carry out this duty without fail. Thank you for entrusting my Snow Leopard Family with such an important task..." Though the truth of the matter was that Lo Po Bia had been nning to sacrifice the Snow Leopard Family in order to appease Vahns wrath regarding the events rted to the Name Hunt Station, this kind of oue was far more preferable than culling an entire branch. Thus, with a genuine smile on his face, the inordinately tall Lo Po Bia approached Pram before kneeling low enough to pat her on the head as he said, "Youve done well. Depending on the oue of these events, the status of the Snow Leopards may be second only to the Forest Cats..." Hearing his fathers words, the dark blue-haired man sitting near the base of the throne couldnt help ring at Pram, his peculiar green and red eyes glimmering with apparent envy. At the same time, however, Prams own were expressing minor doubts, as, despite looking forward to receiving her fathers praise more than anything, his caress felt strangelycking... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Yourichis faction soundszy...,Nio-chan, fighto~!,Pram be like, *anxious snow leopard noises*) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1959 Compression Syndrome

Chapter 1959: Compression Syndrome

Making the most of his free time, Vahn was watching the girls perform their morning routine with a rxed smile on his face. This was easily one of his favorite ways to spend the morning, and, while it might not be particrly intense, seeing the girls stretching in little more than sports bras and yoga pants always improved his mood. It also demonstrated to the girls that he had a bit of free time on his hands, so, if they had nothing, in particr, going on, he was more than willing to make himself avable for them. Fortunately, the girls hade up with their own system to determine, in advance, who would approach him during such situations. This was to prevent him from spending days, months, or even years just to pander to each particr person''s needs, and, more often than not, the number didn''t exceed five. The only exceptions were when the girls were struggling with their training or feeling a little lonely, but, given Vahn''s propensity for monitoring each and every one of them, such instances were ''very'' umon. With this in mind, Vahn always looked forward to seeing who would approach him following the morning routine. He could always find out by simply spying on the meetings the girls had at the end of every day, but, simr to when his original harem had adapted their work'', Vahn did his best to respect the girls'' autonomy when it came to their management of his harem. The was one of the most important lessons Loki had bestowed unto him, and, while it left him feeling left out at times, he understood that the private affairs and interpersonal rtionships between women were least chaotic when unobserved by men. As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn was somewhat surprised to see Mikoto break off from therger group of girls after exchanging a few words with Artoria. Even more surprising was the fact that she was the only one to approach him, a rare instance in and of itself. With Vahn''s eyes following her unerringly during her approach, a ruddy hue gradually developed across Mikoto''s face as she briefly considered whether or not she should use her [REquip] system to change clothes. Her outfit might be a lot tamer than the other girls, consisting of a sleeveless white top and matching shorts with red trim, but it still emphasized her figure quite a bit... Though he wasrgely to me for the girl''s quirks, Vahn couldn''t help adopting an amused smile as he saw Mikoto stall before she was even halfway to him. She had a penchant for letting her mind wander whenever she was feeling anxious, and, every now and again, she would even begin talking to herself without any consideration for her surroundings. Taking advantage of the hazel-haired girl''s absentmindedness, Vahn teleported directly behind her, his hand naturally gravitating towards her head as he mused, "It''s rare for you to seek me out first. I wonder what you had in mind~?" Though her first instinct was to release a Thunderbolt, Mikoto ultimately managed to suppress the urge due to anticipating this exact oue. She knew that approaching Vahn, at least in her case, was the same as asking to be teased, so, after some initial tensions, she managed to bat his hand away before saying, "I wanted to talk with you about visiting an Actualized World. We recently hit a bottleneck of sorts in our research, so, before we start having to do guesswork, I wanted to try and collect information directly from the source. I also have a few resentments to sort out rted to my original source material, so, even if it''s only for a short while, I wanted to explore that world and see if I can''t improve a few things." With virtually all of his Temtes sharing simr sentiments, Vahn wasn''t particrly surprised by Mikoto''s words. Rather, knowing the many tragedies set to ur in her world, it took quite a bit of self-restraint for Vahn not to interfere. Worlds with modern settings and extremes between science, magic, and religion were rarely pleasant once you peeled back the cute and oftenical veil used to conceal the horrors hidden beneath. Mikoto''s world, in particr, was one of the most atrocious examples of this, as, despite appearing as a romanticedy on the surface, it was a ce where Scientists would unrepentantly make twenty-thousand clones of a middle-schooler just to sacrifice as part of an experiment... Without even needing to consider his response, Vahn offered a curt nod, saying, "I understand. How did you want to go about it? The simplest method is to adapt a version of the world with the Isekai sub-genre. Being ''reborn'' with the memories of the person you wish to rece is significantly easier than trying to live their life from scratch. Of course, with your power, you could always just bulldoze your way through after assuming a different identity entirely..." Shaking her head in response to thest suggestion, Mikoto adopted a serious expression as she said, "Even if I''m my origins are that of a Temte, my identity is still precious to me. I feel a little guilty about appropriating someone else''s memories, but, for the sake of a better future, I will do what I can to correct the injustices that will have urred by the time I enter the world. I also want to experience what it''s like to have a mother, father, and childhood friends, so, even if it might be a little inconvenient, I will assume the identity of a transmigrator with the identity of Misaka Mikoto..." Unsurprised by Mikoto''s decision, as several of his Temtes had made simr choices, Vahn just nodded his head a second time, saying, "No problem. My only real question is, what role do you want me to y in all of this? For you to approach me in this manner, you must have thought of something, right?" With a remarkably potent blush spreading across her face, Mikoto averted her eyes to the side, fingers pressed together as she meekly replied, "I was thinking you could either be my guardian angel or a teacher that had just recently transferred into the city..." Though he knew she wasn''t overtly suggesting anything, Vahn couldn''t help raising his brows in response to Mikoto''s words, an amused smile on his face as he mused, "I never expected you to have a preference for forbidden romance...well, at least you didn''t ask me to be your step-father or something. Hahahahaha~" With illusory steam exploding from her head, Mikoto didn''t hesitate to send Vahn flying into the sky with her variation of a Thunder Punch. Almost immediately thereafter, however, Vahn reappeared in front of her, a wry smile on his face as he scratched the back of his head and whispered, "It was just a joke..." before following it up with asking, "So? When did you want to head out?" Restraining the urge to hit him with a human-form Bolt Tackle, Mikoto took several breaths to calm herself before saying, "I''ve been meaning to ask since a while ago but you were already spending a lot of time in Actualized Worlds so I could never find a good opportunity. If you''re up for it, I would like you to apany me for the entire duration of my stay. Even if you have the power to control and manipte time so that none passes while you''re outside, I would rather not be left alone in a foreign world. With that in mind, it''s really up to you when we depart. I''m pretty sure we can finish up everything within a year or two if we work together..." With Mikoto bing meeker the longer she forced herself to stare directly at him, Vahn couldn''t help adopting an affectionate smile as he immediately replied, "I''m looking forward to it..." in a soft and velvety tone. This caused Mikoto''s expression to turn crimson, but, when he extended his hand for her to grab, she didn''t refuse it... --- After little more than a blink from the perspective of others, Vahn emerged from the Internalized Realm before opening his Unit Management and promptly summoning Mikoto to his side. This left thetter at a momentary loss, as, from her perspective, no time had passed from the moment they said their farewells to the time she appeared outside the Actualized World. Looking around, Mikoto quickly confirmed there were no other people present before looking up at Vahn, arms crossed as she pointedly remarked, "I half-expected you to bring everyone else with us. I guess even you have your limits..." Since the mood had been pretty good just moments prior, Vahn couldn''t help scratching the back of his head as he found himself at a loss for words. Fortunately, Mikoto wasn''t genuinely upset with him. Rather, after the three-and-a-half-years they had spent together, she could never stay mad at him for very long. He imagined she was just feeling lonely now that it was just the two of them, so, after a moment of consideration, he surprised the perennial youth with a warm andforting hug as he whispered, "We can always return whenever you''re feeling lonely...for now, how about we go and meet with the others?" Having grown rather ustomed to such actions during their time in the Actualized World, Mikoto made no effort to extricate herself from Vahn''s embrace. Instead, she nestled a little closer to him, face pressed against his chest as her arms naturally wrapped around his body. Then, upon hearing his words, she simply nodded her head with an "Nn..." before epting his hand and following him to the dining hall. There, she became quite emotional, but, with Vahn standing close by, she was, at the very least, able to avoid bawling her eyes out every time someone weed her home... --- With his adventures in the ''Unified Toaruverse'' requiring him to face metaversal threats capable of wiping out infinite universes with simple hand gestures, Vahn''s interest in the politics of the Tower had waned considerably. He knew this was only a temporary side-effect of spending too much time in an Actualized World, but, with multiple Realms existing between him and the pinnacle, the notion he was spending too much time in the Tower had crossed his mind. Though less than a year had passed since he officially began his ascent, Vahn had aged more than seventy years in that time. When he had first entered the Record, he was a rtively spry 304-year-old. Now, however, he was getting remarkably close to 375 due to the gratuitous amount of time he spent training, researching, rxing, and exploring various worlds. He had also umted the experiences of more than fifty Temtes, so, despite his original desire to take things slow, he was already a lot stronger than he needed to be in order topletely dominate the Tower. With such thoughts guing his mind, Vahn emerged from the Little Garden to find Iifa and Nio, bothpletely naked, curled up next to each other in his bed. This immediately brought a smile to his face, not because he had any particr attachment to the two girls, but because their tails had coiled together naturally in their sleep. It was actually quite adorable, so, with more than three years having passed since thest time he saw the duo, an urge to celebrate their reunion swelled within Vahn''s chest as fluffy ears and a rather thick tail sprouted from his head and backside. Then, eliciting a surprised yet yful ''kyaaaaa~'' from the understandably bewildered duo, he practically pounced on them for the first time since their initial meeting... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''One of the ''Great Wonders'' of the Aldrnari Empire...'',''The real question is: how big did Vahn''s harem get in the Toaruverse...?'',''Vahn.EXE has stopped functioning. Initializing Horn.dog subroutine...'') Chapter 1960 Revelations

Chapter 1960: Revtions

A little more than a week after she had departed, Vahn finally received news that Pram had returned from her journey to the 113th Floor. This was a trip that would ordinarily take several months, if not much longer, but, thanks to her association with the Jahad Army,bined with the fact she was acting at the behest of a Family Leader, Pram had been authorized to teleport between Floors using a Suspend Ship equipped with a Warp Engine. With nothing better to do, Vahn decided to teleport directly to Pram''s ship, a craft reminiscent of an arrowhead. This startled the onboard crew quite a bit, but, having anticipated his arrival, Pram''s ears perked up as she ambled towards him with a seductive sway in her step. At the same time, her fluffy tail snaked behind her, tip swaying from side-to-side in a meandering motion that granted a natural grace to each of her movements. Before she could follow through on her desire to embrace him, Vahn interrupted Pram''s efforts by plopping his hand down on her head and saying, "Sorry, but I have no intention of waiting around for a year. Since your father has already given his permission, please alert the people at the Nest to expedite their preparations. I have my own means to bypass the Frozen Waterfall''s protections." Hearing Vahn''s words, Pram''s dazed look promptly gave way for a more awkward expression as she replied, "That...might be a little difficult. My father has conferred his consent, yes, but that is quite a bit different than receiving permission to ignore protocol. If something were to go wrong-" Without waiting for Pram to finish speaking, Vahn inly stated, "It won''t. Even if someone tried to intervene and ultimately ended up destroying the Nest, it wouldn''t matter. So long as I am nearby when it happens, I can revert everything to a time before its destruction. It''s high time you people started treating my status as a God seriously..." Though she wanted to say something in response, Pram got the impression Vahn wasn''t going to listen. The current him seemedpletely different than the man she had parted with less than a week prior, so, without thinking, she found herself asked, "Did something happen...?" with a bit of worry in her tone. Surprised by the woman''s unexpected sincerity, Vahn found himself at a momentary loss for words. Fortunately, from the perspective of others, this period was about the same amount of time it took for a nerve to fire. Only someone like Pram would have been able to perceive the pause, but, due to the peculiar state of her emotions, she suddenly seemed both more and less perceptive... With a natural smile developing across his face, Vahn used both hands to fluff Pram''s inordinately thick hair as he replied, "Don''t worry. This is a change that will benefit everyone in the Tower. Now, convey my words to your father and the people presiding over the Nest. I will be heading there first thing tomorrow morning. Once I am finished there, I will apany you through the Middle Tower. to meet with your father. My journey through the Inner Tower hase to an end." Thoughmon sense dictated that it was impossible to traverse the Middle Tower without first clearing the associated trials of the Inner Tower, Pram didn''t question Vahn''s words. Instead, a not-so-subtle ze covered her silvery eyes as she pushed her head against the palms of his hands and issued an affirmative ''Nn...''. This left the predominately female crew at a loss for words, not because of their Elder''s quick acquiescence, but because they were slightly envious of her treatment... --- With a few hours to kill whilst waiting for Lord Lo Po Bia''s response, Vahn returned to his suite to find Nio and Iifa still passed out, thetter with her exposed bottom still sticking out and her face buried in the nkets. This caused him with a marginal amount of guilt, but, almost immediately thereafter, the feeling passed as Iifa, seemingly in response to his presence, rolled onto her side and mewled, "Vahn...sama..." with a contented smile on her sleeping face. Restraining a chuckle, Vahn walked over to the side of the bed and nted a gentle kiss atop Iifa''s head before transnting her, her sister, and the entire bed into the Little Garden. Then, with a far more serious expression on his face, he turned towards empty air and said, "I know you''re watching. If you want to avoid seeing the entire Tower burn, you will appear before me...Headon..." Though it wasn''t immediate, a toothy grin appeared out of thin air before space began to twist and distort into the form of a white, rabbit-like, humanoid. Then, like a magical girl transforming, purple light covered the figure''s body as a magical staff affixed with two highlypressed spheres of pure Shinsu burst forth from golden light. When the light faded, Headon, garbed in a purple outfit set with blue gemstones in the shape of a crucifix, appeared. Then, from within the thin ck slit that served as both his mouth and eye socket, two vibrant cyan irises appeared as he said, "Even if you are an Axis User, I cannot-" Raising his hand in a silencing gesture, Vahn earned a toothy smile from the enigmatic rabbit as he said, "I have no interest in your games. You are more than capable of authorizing people to ascend the Tower without the need toplete Tests. Others might not know of your little agreement with Phantaminum, but I am well aware of the truth. Tell me, Gluttony, have you enjoyed ying God...?" Unable to restrain himself, the slit representing Headon''s mouth opened to reveal a toothy maw as a guttural-soundingugh echoed through the surrounding space. At the same time, several other mouths began to appear across his body as he quickly transformed from an unassuming rabbit to a hound-like beast with pale white skin, bloody tendrils for hair, and a perpetually shifting number of crooked maws covering its entire body... With his transformation finished, the maw at the center of Headon''s forehead spontaneously turned into an abyssal ck void before a vibrant blue iris appeared, fixating on Vahn as the crooked maws covering his body chorused, "I knew it...you are no simple Axis User. Tell me. What is someone from ''above'' doing in the Tower of Babel? What could have possiblypelled you to interfere in a story that had nothing to do with you?" Smiling in response to the eldritch creature''s question, Vahn unhesitantly took a few steps forward, far closer than anyone sensible would stand, before answering, "The reason is simple. Because I can. Now, the real question is...are you going to cooperate, or do you intend to stand in my way? I''m not going to beat around the bush. If you refuse, I''ll have no choice but to seal you and your children. If you choose to cooperate, however, I will break the shackles binding you to this ce and allow you to explore a far greater Realm. What say you?" Though he wanted nothing more than to devour Vahn then and there, Gluttony, formerly known as Headon, couldn''t vite thews governing the Tower. Vahn would need to be the first to attack, and, even then, he would bepelled to give the former a Test before earning the right to devour him. This was aw he had been unable to circumvent even after fourteen-billion-years of existence, so, in response to Vahn''s offer, the maws across his body appeared to smile as he asked, "What did you have in mind...?" Understanding Gluttony''s desire for freedom better than most, even if their circumstances were distinctly different from each other, a rxed smile spread across Vahn''s face as he listed out his terms. Simply put, he offered to use a Fate Severing Knife on Gluttony in order to free him from the contract that bound him to the Tower. Before that, however, he expected free passage through the Tower, and, most importantly, he wanted ess to the ''Core Room'' that existed beneath the Tower. In even simpler terms, he was asking Headon to surrender his authority in exchange for the chance to reincarnate into a Higher Realm with his memories and abilities intact. Though he obviously wouldn''t take Vahn''s words at face value, Gluttony had observed that the man had never told a lie. There were times when he spoke in a roundabout manner or relied on double-speech to avoid a specific truth, but, more often than not, he was very straightforward. He had also exhibited an uncanny obsession with liberating others from circumstances beyond their control, so, rather than immediately assuming Vahn was trying to deceive him, Gluttony agreed to his terms on the grounds that the former would remain bound by a contract until the moment of his release. Since there were no particr disadvantages to epting Gluttony''s conditions, Vahn agreed on the condition that the voracious Guardian would not reveal information rted to their agreement to any third parties. This wasn''t something he would have done under normal circumstances, but, as a result of the Workshop''s schemes, Gluttony wasn''t the only Sin within the Tower. They hade to the conclusion that the only thing capable of defeating a Sin was another of the same, so, in the hopes of usurping Gluttony''s authority, Jahad and several of the Great Warriors had been made into unwitting guinea pigs during the process of ''Revolution''. Fortunately, though Vahn couldn''t agree with the methods he had employed since then, Jahad had realized the truth before the Workshop could realize their penultimate objective. Since then, he had been a persistent thorn in the Workshop''s side, not by directly opposing them, but by coordinating with Headon to inhibit their progress. This was aplished by working within the existing system rather than destroying it, an oue even Macseth hadn''t considered since the Sin guing Jahad was none other than the Sin of Pride. They had expected him to sacrifice everything in his desire to reach the absolute pinnacle, yet, against every expectation, Jahad had privately epted a position beneath the current Administrator while publically proiming himself King... Simply put, Jahad''s ''pride'' ended uping back to bite the Workshop, as, the moment he realized the truth, he refused to allow himself to be used. Instead, he established himself as King in order to buy himself time to implement a convoluted scheme designed to circumvent the fate that had been assigned to him. This set him on a path to eliminate both Gluttony and the Workshop, but, as could be expected, neither was willing to just roll over and ept death. They each had their own cards to y, and, were it not for the unexpected appearance of Phantaminum, Gluttony would have had an absolute advantage against the other two. As an Axis User, Phantaminum had absolute power over a specific ''story''. By entering the Tower, he had effectively thrown a wrench into the ns of all three parties. To furtherplicate matters, he had made secret agreements with all three, drastically altering the course of fate with nothing but a few choice words and a fair amount of ughter. This resulted in Baam bing a lynchpin in the schemes of all three. More specifically, he was chosen by Jahad to destroy the Workshop and defeat Gluttony, chosen by Gluttony as a substitute, and chosen by the Workshop to y Jahad. Phantaminum had effectively manipted fate so that Baam would, without outside interference, aplish all three feats. This meant, from an objective perspective, Phantaminum was keeping his promise with Jahad, Gluttony, and Macseth. In reality, all three would end up bing just another piece of Baam, destroyed by their own machinations. This would allow Baam to be the ruler of the entire Tower, and, as a result, the way forward would be open for those seeking to challenge the Tower and have their wishes granted. Inyman''s terms, Phantaminum had realized the ws of the Tower and used thest vestiges of their power to ensure things would be ''reset'' to normal before moving on to enjoy a rtively simple life in a higher realm... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''*Pets intopliance*'',''Shit got real, real quick...'',''Phanny is both a troll and a bro...'') Chapter 1961 Uninhibited

Chapter 1961 Uninhibited

Having resumed his Headon persona, Gluttony stared at Vahn, cerulean eyes zing as he asked, "How much longer do you intend to remain in the Tower? Im not in any particr hurry, but Id rather get this over and done with. Ever since that upstart dered himself King, my children and I have been starving. In ancient times, I would be allowed to devour the bodies of those who ascend and use their energy to expand the Tower. As it stands, the Shinsu in the Tower is expected to dry up within the next seventeen million years." Amused by the enigmatic rabbits concerns, a chuckle emanated from Vahns throat as he resisted the urge to pat Headons head, saying, "No worries. I can assure you that I will resolve everything before then. Heck, at this rate, I might be out of the Tower within the year. Just dont do anything crazy while Im not looking. Im able to free you from your contract. The only thing preventing me from viting the terms we agreed upon is your sincerity. Even if its in your nature to do so, you should avoid testing me as much as possible..." Snorting through his non-existent nose, Headon twirled his staff to create a small door reminiscent of the gate used to transport potential Regrs to the Floor of Tests. Then, just as he was about to step through, he looked back over his shoulder, the blue of his eyes briefly gaining a silver luster as he asserted, "I have reigned over this Tower for billions of years. If either of us is to vite the terms of our agreement, it will be you..." Having said what he intended to say, Headon passed through the gate without another world. By the time the gate closed behind him, the flow of time in the surroundings had returned to normal, and, as a result, the phenomenal amount of Shinsu that had built within the suite exploded outward with catastrophic force. Fortunately, in ordance with his request, the Lo Po Bia Family had left the Floating Pce containing Vahns suitepletely empty. Emerging unscathed from the violent whirlpool of Shinsu, a wry smile developed across Vahns face as he watched the city-sized ruins descending towards the ground like an apocalyptic meteor. If left unchecked, it would assuredly wipe out most terrestrial life on the continent below, so, long before it couldplete its 13,000m descent, he opted to reverse the order of entropy before teleporting near the shellshocked members of the Lo Po Bia Family who hade to investigate. Being caught in a time-reversal was a surprisingly terrifying experience, so, while it wasnt absolutely necessary, Vahn did his best to relieve their anxieties before informing them he no longer needed the Floating Pce as a residence... --- As one of the most important facilities belonging to the Lo Po Bia Family, the Nest was located in one of the most isted regions of the 50th Floor. It also had three nigh-indestructible walls, tens of thousands of Shinheuh, several branches of the Lo Po Bia Family, and an entire Division of the Jahad Army protecting it, so, as could be expected of a facility referred to as the Vault of Jahad, it was one of the most secure ces in the entire Tower. Demonstrating apleteck of regard for the inordinatelyrge constructs reputation, Vahn was currentlyzing about atop one of the countless skyscraper-sized stone bricksprising the Sea of Debris surrounding the Nest like an asteroid field. These were remnants of the impossiblyrge structures construction, and, thanks to the Frozen Waterfall, the Suspendium Crystal located at the very center of the 1,000km wide construct, they were able to float without the aid of any crystals of their own. With his brick about to collide with one of the thousands littering the surroundings, Vahn resisted the urge to yawn as he moved to a seated position and lightly tapped the air. This caused a small ripple to appear within the void before a spell circle more than fifty-meters across spontaneously manifested out of thin air. Rather than producing any kind of energy beam, however, the few people observing Vahn were left speechless as a grid-like pattern appeared across the inbound brick before the entire thing simply vanished. Though he had already possessed knowledge rted to the 106,000 grimoiresprising Indexs Innate, Vahn took the initiative to absorb the actual grimoires during his three-and-a-half-year stay in the Unified Toaruverse. He couldnt stand to see any version of Index suffer, so, shortly after his and Mikotos entrance into the Actualized World, they ended up confiscating the entire collection, much to the chagrin of the Catholic Church and the organization known as Necessarius. With forbidden spells capable of restructuring the heavens and using stars to form magic circles, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that Vahns magical capabilities had increased to an extreme degree in a rtively short period of time. The only conceivable limitation to his abilities was the Authority he had over reality itself, but, thanks to his contract with Headon, this was no longer a factor within the confines of the Tower. Satisfied with the results of his experiment, a smile spread across Vahns face as he linked his fingers together, palms pointed outward to pop them. Then, after shaking the tensions out of his wrists, he decided to pass the remaining time by making a few quick adjustments to the Nest. It looked rather droll from the outside, so, in order to encourage the Lo Po Bia Family to hurry things along, he took it upon himself to beautify the structure. This included manipting the impossiblyrge flowering nts covering parts of its exterior to epass the entire structure, and, most notably, adjusting the actual color of the Nest to be an energetic shade of turquoise... Having never witnessed anything even remotelyparable to what Vahn was currently doing, the Scouts tasked with monitoring the exterior of the Nest werepletely gobsmacked by what they were seeing. Some even thought they had sumbed to an illusion, but, after hearing confirmation from the Light Bearers coordinating their patrols, they had no choice but to ept the reality right in front of them. Fortunately for the onlookers, Vahn didnt invest too much time in shattering their world views, as, moments after he had started his redesign, several high-ranking members of the Lo Po Bia Family promptly teleported to his location. This included Pram, who, after gawking at the flower-covered Nest for several seconds, adopted a wry smile as she turned to Vahn and mused, "Had you notified us, we would have dly prepared something to relieve the Sage Dragon Emperors boredom..." After shrugging his shoulders with an it is what it is kind of smile on his face, Vahn levitated to his feet and asked, "Have you finished your preparations? I know its a little early, but Id rather get this over and done with. There are quite a number of things I need to take care of in the upper floors so Id rather not be dyed here for too long." Seemingly offended by Vahns words, a dark-skinned man garbed in fashionable robes reminiscent of a bird attempted to take a step forward and admonish him, but, the moment his aura began to surge outward, Pram promptly spun around, her foot connecting with the bird-like mask covering his head. This sent the man smashing through several floating bricks, but, rather than paying him any mind, Pram turned her attention back to Vahn, a hint of anxiety visible in her silvery eyes as she exined, "Please, dont take this matter to heart. The members of the Windbird and Golden Eagle families have never been known for their mental acuity..." Annoyed by Prams remark, a rather attractive woman with golden-blonde hair and vibrant yellow eyes, characteristics of the Golden Eagle family, adopted a potent frown. Due to the vast disparity between hers and Prams strengths, however, she opted to remain silent. The more feline families had never been on good terms with those of avian descent, so, if she managed to offend someone on the level of an Elder, she wouldnt be the only one to suffer. As this thought crossed the womans mind, both she and the other representatives present found themselves at a loss for words when Vahn promptly chopped Prams head, his expression stern as he said, "I am more than capable of speaking for and defending myself. Dont use pandering to me as an excuse to carry out violence against the other families..." Rubbing the spot where Vahn had hit her, a small amount of moisture appeared in the corners of Prams eyes as she answered, "I understand..." in an insincere tone. Fortunately for the members of the Windbird and Golden Eagle Families, this resulted in Vahns countenance bing noticeably more severe. This caused Pram to turn noticeably pale, and, though she couldnt help feeling a fair amount of resentment towards her familys long-time rivals, she managed to momentarily suppress the deeply-ingrained sentiment as she bowed her head and said, "Please forgive me." in a far more sincere tone. Resisting the urge to shake his head and sigh, Vahn extended his hand towards the top of Prams, gently caressing the space between her ears as he said, "Once were done here, lets return to the Little Garden. I wont force you, but I think you would benefit from spending some more time with Fenrir..." Though she understood he was basically saying she needed to receive a bit of discipline, Pram still perked up quite a bit in response to Vahns words. Everything about the Little Garden was amazing, but, most importantly, it was an opportunity to grow stronger while simultaneously receiving Vahns affection. His caress had allowed her to discern what had been missing from her fathers, and, while it was somewhat difficult to believe, her instincts were telling her that Vahn was the stronger of the two... --- Following the rather awkward incident that had urred outside the Nest, Vahn was granted free passage into the Nest. This wasnt particrly well-received by those tasked with supervising the rather ancient facility, but, with permission from Lord Lo Po Bia and absolute silence on behalf of Jahad, it was impossible for them to do anything about it. The only resistance they could manage was offering him an escort and inconveniencing him by extending the time it took to pass each checkpoint. Unfortunately, even this didnt work in their favor, as, shortly after receiving the go-ahead, Vahn performed a number of spatial transferences in order to directly ess the Frozen Waterfall. This was considered impossible in the eyes of many, but, as a Tier 5 with an advanced mastery over both Space and Time, the instabilities surrounding the massive chunk of Suspendium were little more than a minor inconvenience. While the administrators of the Nest were freaking out over his sudden disappearance, Vahn was staring into the eyes of an impossiblyrge cobra. This was one of the twenty-three Guardian Beasts representing the Lo Po Bia Family, and, while it was tinypared to an actual Floor Guardian, Vahn couldnt help but marvel at the existence of a snake more than twenty kilometers in length. With the inordinatelyrge creature flicking its massive tongue toward him in an attempt to capture his scent and sample his Shinsu, a smile spread across Vahns face as he said, "Sorry, but Ive moved on from that outdated concept. If youre hungry, why not try this?" Just as he had with several actual Guardians, Vahn manifested a crystalline sphere before tossing it towards the aptly named Ancient Odd-Eyed Giant Cobra. Rather than eating it, however, the giant snake promptly snorted through its nostrils, diverting the sphere before asserting in a surprisingly feminine tone, "I have no need for your offerings. Now, state your business. If I am not satisfied with your answer, you will, personally, serve as my meal." Rolling his eyes, Vahn teleported right above the snake as color faded from the world around him. In response, the Ancient Odd-Eyed Giant Cobra showed absolutely no reaction, its gaze still fixed on the spot where he had previously stood. Then, with a functionally infinite amount of time to kill, Vahn found a nice spot on its head to rx before lying on his side andzily scrutinizing the giant chunk of Suspendium it was coiled around... (A/N: Alternate Titles: *Casually Reverses Time*,Vahn discovered the real life tilde key...,Never mess with someone who can control time...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1962 Going with the Flow

Chapter 1962 Going with the Flow

Though it took a little longer than expected, having the artifact used by the Workshop to ess the Frozen Waterfall nearby made things rtively simple. The only reason it took a year to activate the device was due to the fact that the surrounding space was remarkably unstable. Circumventing this required a truly phenomenal amount of energy, so, rather than saying it took a year to warm up the device, it was more urate to say that it needed a year to gather enough Shinsu to create a stable bridge between the outside world and interior space. Using his domain as a medium, Vahn was able to forcibly stabilize the turbulent space with rtive ease. The difficult, or, more urately, the most time-consuming part was gathering enough Shinsu to trigger the formation linking the sub-realm contained within the giant b of Suspendium to the outside world. Under ideal conditions, Vahn would have been able to release some of the Shinsu contained within the Little Garden to power the formation. Unfortunately, due to its slipshod construction, this had a higher chance of destroying the entire thing rather than triggering it. This wouldplicate things quite a bit, as, even with his power, Vahn couldnt reconstruct a sub-realm he had no direct ess to. Thus, while he was perfectly capable of restoring the Frozen Waterfall, everything stored within would be lost forever. With someone like Eurasia Enne Jahad sealed within, Vahn was pretty sure that fate would step in to intervene if something went wrong, but, having been screwed over by the mysterious force quite a number of times, he wasnt willing to take the risk. Instead, he inscribed his own formation overtop the absurdity of a magical configuration that currently existed within the crystalline structure. As for its function, its only purpose was tranting the brokennguageprising the existing formation into something easier for the world to understand. When everything was said and done, Vahn managed to create a transdimensional bridge between the outside world and the interior of the Frozen Waterfall. From the perspective of others, this had taken no time at all, but, from his own, more than thirty hours had passed. Fortunately, the time axis of the outside world and the interior of the Frozen Waterfall werepletely separate, so, without needing to rectify the two, he was able to enter without wasting any additional time. There, he was unsurprised to find a miniature world contained within,plete with a number of different biomes and a massivebyrinth that dominated one side of the horizon. Thanks to the Law of Identity, Vahns journey through thebyrinth was rtively straightforward, as, in the distant past, Garam had invaded the interior to meet with Enne. This allowed the Law of Identity to guide him down the path used by the invasive Princess, and, as a result, he soon found himself standing outside a cage reminiscent of the one used to seal the Nine-Tails in the Record of Naruto. The only difference was, rather than allowing its upant to move around freely, countless hair-like threads had been wrapped around the woman suspended in the very center of the massive prison. Ignoring the urge to question the wisdom of caging someone who was bound and unable to move, Vahn allowed a bit of his aura to spread through the chamber as he approached the massive metal bars that were more like columns supporting the roof than rods forming a prison. There was even a 3m gap between each bar, more than enough space to pass through if not for the invisible barrier isting the interior of the cell from the outside. Sensing Vahns presence, albeit only because he had allowed it, the woman who had been hanging her head at the center of the cage lifted her face to reveal that she waspletely naked. Despite this, she seemedpletely unfazed by the prospect that a strange man had appeared before her, reddish-pink eyes emanating a subtle light as she calmly remarked, "You are not the one Ive been waiting for...who are you...?" Smiling wryly in response, Vahn released a pulse of invisible energy that effectively erased the runes inscribed across every visible surface. Then, with a casual sweep of his hand, the massive metal gate providing ess to the cage was ripped from its joints as the bindings keeping Enne suspended in the air began to cken. Demonstrating her first real emotion, an expression of absolute surprise marred Ennes inordinately beautiful face as she found herself gently lowered to the ground. Then, before she could collect her senses, Vahn tossed a golden bracelet towards her, saying, "Put that on. It has a bunch of different kinds of clothes sealed within. As much as Im enjoying the view, conversing in the nude is best left for the bedroom." As if she had only just realized the state of her body, Enne made a half-hearted attempt to cover her breasts and privates as she averted her eyes to the side and murmured, "Pervert..." in a meek monotone. Despite this, she made no effort to put on the [REquip] system. Instead, she turned her back towards him, seemingly intending to use her hair to conceal her body as she repeated, "Who are you?" before following it up with, "Did my father send you?" Pulling a scarlet mantle from his Inventory, Vahn proffered it towards the distrustful woman as he answered, "My name is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, better known as the Sage Dragon Emperor. As for why I am here. Well, I came of my own ord. I heard tale about you being sealed away, so, after confirming a few things with Garama, I decided to break you free. I apologize if Im not the knight in shining armor you were expecting." Punctuating hisst statement with a wink, Vahn managed to elicit an apologetic look from the inordinately beautiful redhead as she reached out to grab the cloak he had extended toward her, muttering, "Sorry..." before looking up at him with an ingratiating smile and adding, "Youre pretty handsome..." in an even softer tone. Chuckling in response to the womans words, Vahn pulled a few other articles of clothing from his Inventory before turning his back and exining, "The power dynamic in the Tower is currently in the process of shifting rather drastically. Ill go into more detailster, but the simplest exnation is that Im a God who entered the Tower as an Irregr. The current system isnt to my liking so Ive decided to introduce a few reforms before moving on. Any questions...?" Though her first instinct was to ask why the undergarments Vahn had provided fit her perfectly, Enne quickly arranged her clothing before peeking over her shoulder and calmly inquiring, "Where do I fit in your ns? I am grateful for the fact you have freed me, but that doesnt mean I will fight at your behest...Ive grown weary of conflict. If possible, I would prefer it if you allow me to rest..." As a main-line descendent of the Eurasia Family, Enne was far more concerned with sleeping than fighting. The only reason she had fought tirelessly in the past was that people kept interrupting her sleep, so, if Vahn wanted to force her back onto the battlefield, she would rather just fight him and be done with it... Noticing the threatening gleam in Ennes reddish-pink eyes, a wry smile developed across Vahns face as he answered, "What you do from this moment onward is entirely up to you. I helped you because I wanted to, not because I needed your power. Me referring to myself as a God isnt just my ego talking. It is a simple truth. If I needed the assistance of others to carry out my objectives, what kind of God would I be?" Detecting no falsehoods in Vahns words, a sigh of relief escaped Ennes lips before a conflicted look reced her naturally apathetic expression. From her perspective, very little time had passed since the moment she was sealed. The flow of time within the Frozen Waterall passed thousands of times slower than the outside world, so, despite thousands of years passing since the moment she was sealed, her age had only increased from 482 to 483. She was also aware of the truth rted to the Tower, so, even if she wanted nothing more than to sleep peacefully, the Empire and the Great Families would never allow it... With the Law of Identity providing narration, Ennes thoughts were no secret to Vahn. Thus, before she couldpletely sumb to the helplessness of her situation, he adopted a friendly smile and said, "You worry too much. I might not have a need for you, but that doesnt mean Im just going to ignore you. I went out of my way to save you. Theres no way Im going to let those assholes in the Tower drag you into their problems. Even if you choose to spend the rest of your days sleeping in a small cottage, I will do everything in my power to guarantee you that right. You just need to tell me what it is you want, and, so long as it within my power, I will grant your wish. And dont worry about your Family. Ive alreadye to an agreement of sorts with your mother..." Though she found it difficult to believe in Vahns words, Ennes face lit up when he mentioned her mother. She was one of the few people to take her side when everyone else, even her actual father, was calling her crazy. The thing she was most afraid of was causing trouble for her mother, so, while it didntpletely alleviate her concerns, knowing Vahn had reached some kind of agreement with her went a long way. Assuming he was telling the truth... Intent on confirming the veracity of his ims, Enne moved a little closer to Vahn, her white pupils releasing a subtle pink light as she asked, "Have you ever slept with a member of my Family...?" Understanding what she was thinking, even without the Law of Identitys narration, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation before saying, "Thus far, Ive been thepanion of five different members of your family. I also know the truth regarding your mothers race so you dont have to be afraid of revealing your heritage in front of me." Hearing thest part, Enne couldnt help furrowing her brows as she remarked, "I have no idea what youre talking about..." Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahns hair spontaneously turned a vibrant shade of pink as a pair of ck, cat-like, ears sprouted from his head. At the same time, his ears noticeably sharpened as a short ck tail, reminiscent of a canine, popped out from his lower back. The only thing that didnt change was his height, as, despite it being one of their primary racial characteristics, Vahn wasnt in the mood to be a shota. Though it wasnt particrly difficult to fake appearances, Enne could tell Vahn that was the real deal due to the aura emanating from his body. What she couldnt understand was the fact that he also gave off the scent of a male, something that shouldnt be possible if he was truly a member of her mothers race... Waving his hand in a dismissive manner, Vahn exined, "The vastness of creation is so far beyond an individual entitys ability to understand that it is foolish to consider, even for a moment, that any form of knowledge is indicative of invible truth. Your mother hails from just one universe among a functionally infinite number of derivative realities. To that end, the variety of Mares in existence is incalcble. Rather than making assumptions based on knowledge you have received, it is far more meaningful to get out and experience the world for yourself..." Having never been known for her mental acuity, Enne just stared nkly at Vahn until he had finally finished speaking. Then, disregarding his statements entirely, she asked, "Can I hug you...?" before promptly spreading her arms. This left Vahn feeling more than a little exasperated, but, rather than refusing her request, he spread his own arms, indicating his consent. As a result, Enne unhesitantly nestled into his chest, her rather ample chest pressing against him as she immediately descended into a deep state of unconsciousness. At the same time, though it wasnt noticeable at first nce, the very tips of her ears became subtly sharper... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn basically took an MTL and tranted it properly xD...,Thats a very nice prison you have there...would be a shame if someone were to destroy it with a single sweep of their hand...,XD *nuzzles*, *pounces on you*, (UwU)~you so warm~) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1963 Capabilities

Chapter 1963 Capabilities

Staring down at the little girl that had manifested within his dreamscape, Vahn suppressed his nigh-instinctual urge to caress her head as he remarked, "Those ears and tail suit you..." Hearing Vahns remark, Enne, who had previously been looking around his dreamscape with great interest, turned to look up at him, cat-like ears twitching as she said, "Thanks?" in an uncertain tone. Then, before the former could supnt his previous remark, she promptly grew from an adorably petite 148cm to the same 174cm she appeared as in the outside world, adding, "There arent many men who would attempt topliment girls with child-like figures. Comments like that remind me of my father...not in a good way..." Understanding she wasparing him to Gustang, Vahn couldnt help feeling offended. Instead of trying to justify hispliment, however, he just shook his head and asked, "So? Are you satisfied? This ce was specially constructed with the assistance of several members of the Eurasia Family. It should feel prettyfortable, no?" Though she nodded her head in affirmation, Ennes expression didnt demonstrate anything even remotely resemblingfort. There was even a bit of fear present in her vibrant pink eyes, as, no matter how hard she tried, she was unable to influence Vahns dreamscape. Its stability was unlike anything she had ever experienced, and, for a brief moment, she almost thought they were back in the real world. Letting his instincts guide him, Vahn extended his hand to Ennes head, gently caressing her silky red hair as he softly assured her, saying, "You worry too much. Ive told you twice before. Now, let me remind you for the third time that I am, in fact, a God. I possess multiple realities inside myself, so it is only natural that my dreamscape is reminiscent of reality. If I really wanted to, I could create an entire civilization from scratch, and, unless I informed them of the truth, they would regard this as their reality. This isnt even a unique ability once you reach my level. I even know a cute little fe named Azathoth whose dreamsprise an entire multiverse..." Rather than listening to Vahns words, Enne was more focused on the fact that he had taken it upon himself to caress her head. Even more surprising was the fact that it felt perfectly normal, almost as if it was as natural as a gentle breeze caressing her skin on a sunny day... Feeling a little unnerved by the expressionless redheads unblinking gaze, Vahn eventually retracted his hand, adding, "We should return. I know your wish is to find afortable ce where you can sleep as much as you want. I have the perfect ce in mind for such pursuits, and, once I reach the higher floors, your mother and the rest of your family will be more than wee to join you." Though her eyes had briefly followed Vahns hand, Enne promptly turned to meet his gaze while he was speaking. She had been taught to maintain eye contact when important people were speaking, so, until he had finished his exnation, she stared nkly at Vahns luminescent aquamarine eyes. It was only when his lips had stopped moving that she blinked, her voice cool and t as she asked, "How do you intend to address our need for dream energy? Mares cannot consume the energy of other Mares. Without sleepingpanions, we will eventually starve to death..." Having anticipated such a question, Vahn extended his hand to press his index finger beneath the meeting point of Ennes vicle. She was currently wearing a skimpy outfit reminiscent of the pitch-ck, swimsuit-like, garments worn by subi in various fantasy settings. This had been somewhat offputting in her loli form, but, after adopting the appearance of her external self, the fabric had to stretch just to contain her rather voluminous assets... Despiting frowning in response to Vahns actions, Enne made no attempt to stop whatever he was trying to do. She had always been the type to trust in her intuition, so, feeling neither danger norscivious intent, she allowed the warm energy flowing from Vahns fingertip to enter her ethereal body. This brought her an extreme amount offort, but, most importantly, the sinking feeling in her stomach, the result of a long-suppressed hunger, quickly faded away. Blinking in surprise, Enne was about to ask what Vahn had done when thetter suddenly retracted his finger. Immediately thereafter, a diminutive ck dot reminiscent of a beauty spot appeared at the very center of where his finger had pressed. To her surprise, she could still feel the same warmth flowing into her body, suppressing her hunger in its entirety. Amused by the hint of stupefaction in Ennes expression, a marginally more prominent smile spread across Vahns face as he casually exined, "Though the simplest solution would be to modify your race, I have countless ways to address the problems guing Mares. I once gifted someone a set of rings capable of changing their gender with each sessive ring. Creating a miniature formation to convert external energy into dream energy is a simple matter." Opening her mouth, Enne seemed as though she wanted to say something, but, failing to find the words, she ultimately just lowered her head and traced the tiny dot with her finger. It was difficult to make out due to its position, but, with her eyesight, she was able to discern that the tiny dot was actually a remarkablyplex spell circle. This actually scared her quite a bit, as, even if she were to gather every single sorcerer in the Tower, none would evene close to Vahns level of mastery... As he had already repeated himself a number of times, Vahn resisted the urge to remind Enne of his status as a God. Instead, he snapped his fingers, and, as a result, both found themselves back in the real world. This left Enne feeling slightly disoriented, not because the transition had been rough, but because there was no discernible difference between Vahns dreamscape and reality. The only thing that had changed was their surroundings, so, despite feeling the warmth of the person right in front of her, she couldntpletely shake the notion that everything happening was the result of a very convincing dream. With Enne clinging to him in a daze, a wry smile spread across Vahns face as he proceeded to softly pat her back. This wasnt enough topletely restore her sensibilities, but, at the very least, it was enough to get her to stop sniffing his body. Then, with a perfect poker face, she invariably released his body beforementing, "You smell nice..." in a soft monotone. Rather than refuting the assertion, Vahn offered a curt nod in response before manifesting the Little Garden and exining its basic functions. Shortly thereafter, he invited her to tour the interior, and, as could be expected, she was quite taken with both the First and Eighth Layers. She was especially fond of forest serving as Xerneas habitat, so, after a quick round of introductions, Vahn prepared a small cottage to amodate her stay. He also privately encouraged his cuddle buddies to spend some time with her, so, even if she was a natural introvert, he didnt have to worry about her feeling lonely... --- With Enne safely stowed within the Little Garden, Vahn spent a number of days investigating the interior of the Frozen Waterfall to confirm that the Colorless December, the most infamous of the 13 Month Series, hadnt been sealed within. This meant, alongside the Rainbow Undecimber, White February, and Dark September, four of the 13 Month Series couldnt be ounted for. The Law of Identity was able to transform into each of them, but, as could be expected, she couldnt disclose their location due to the restrictions imposed upon them by Jahad and the Workshop. Fortunately, even without any direct action on his part, it was only a matter of time until the entire series came into Vahns possession. Fate had a way of ensuring such things, and, even if it ultimately failed him, he could always petition Gluttony to teleport him near their location. The eldritch rabbit might not be able to disclose the information, but, so long as the request didnt vite the terms of any existing contracts, he could transport people to virtually any destination within the Tower. Even the Ascension Nexus and Jahads Imperial Pce were no exceptions to this, so, if he really wanted to, Vahn could depart the Tower whenever he wanted. As tempting as the thought was, Vahn was content with ascending the Tower, and, at the very least, seeing what each of the Floors had to offer. He also had a number of promises to keep, so, at least for the time being, the Realms beyond the Tower would have to wait. How long was uncertain, but, at the very least, he wanted to deal with both Jahad and the Workshop before installing one of his Temtes as the new Caretaker of the Tower. With such thoughts on his mind, Vahn emerged from the Frozen Waterfall to find that less than a millisecond had passed since the time of his departure. In that time, the Ancient Odd-Eyed Giant Cobra had finally noticed his disappearance, but, due to the inordinately short period of time that had passed, it hadnt even finished flicking its tongue a single time. Though he was tempted to tease the snake a bit, Vahn ultimately decided against it after seeing the resentful glimmer in the monstrous cobras green and gold eyes. Instead, he took advantage of the fact that time had effectively stopped to reseal the Frozen Waterfall and removing the formation he had superimposed onto it. He had little interest in making things easier for Jahad and the Lo Po Bia Family, so, prior to departing the ordinarily secure region, he erased all traces of his existence. Then, moments before the flow of time returned to normal, he gave the enormous cobra a light pat on its snout before evaporating like a wisp of smoke in the wind. Briefly sensing Vahns presence, the Ancient Odd-Eyed Giant Cobra recoiled backward, eyes wide as it looked around the area for any traces of the formers existence. Almost immediately thereafter, it felt a persistently ticklish sensation on the tip of its nose. This gave it a tremendous urge to sneeze, but, fearing it might destroy the Frozen Waterfall, it managed to uncoil itself from the giant crystal before descending into the massiveke of Shinsu below. Unfortunately, despite its best efforts, it was unable to do anything about the itching sensation until an entire hour had passed... --- Finding Pram in the exact spot he had left her, Vahn ignored the chaos of their surroundings as he extended his hand towards her and said, "Lets go. Ive finished my business here." Though she was starting to get used to Vahns way of doing things, Pram couldnt help but blink in surprise when she heard his words. Despite this, she still extended her hand to grasp his, a curious glimmer in her silvery eyes as she mused, "So soon? After our previous encounters, I expected you to take a little longer~." Understanding the innuendo she was trying to make, an amused chuckle emanated from Vahns throat as he pulled her a little closer to him. Then, before teleporting away, he directed his gaze to the remarkably attractive feline person that had been eyeing them since his arrival, saying, "Inform your superiors that I will be arriving on the 113th Floor in approximately three months. Also, unless he wants to invite destruction upon the feline people, youll inform your Elder to behave. That man is already on my shit list. If he attempts to use this as an opportunity to suppress or eliminate some of the weaker families, he and his cohorts will pay with their lives..." Hearing Vahn badmouthing her familys elder, the raven-haired beauty adopted a venous re, but, before she could offer so much as a word of censure, Vahn and Pram had already vanished into thin air. There wasnt even a minute spatial fluctuation to mark their passage, so, for a brief moment, the feline woman found herself at aplete loss for words. This was followed by the notion that their family should never oppose Vahn, but, due to the pride they had cultivated over hundreds of years at the time, this was quickly reced by a feeling of indignation as she hurried to report his words to her superiors... (A/N: Alternate Titles: The real question is...which form is her true form?,Boop the snoot~,y stupid games and youre bound to win stupid prizes...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1964 Rampan

Chapter 1964 Rampan

Despite the gag order issued by the Empire, news and spection pertaining to Vahn were among the hottest topics of the Tower. Every faction was keeping a close eye on his every move, and, as a result of his actions on the lower floors, there were even a number of groups forming beneath the banner of the Aldrnari Empire. Many had been waiting for someone with the power to oppose the Empire to appear, so, even if it was another Emperor, a growing number of people within the Tower were beginning to speak of revolution and justice. Unfortunately, for each rumor pertaining to Vahns inevitable conquest of the Tower, there were ten rted to his cooperation with the Empire and the Ten Great Families. The Great Families hadnt exactly been secretive about their efforts to win Vahns favor, so, even if his figure never appeared in any of the recordings, there was a substantial amount of evidence to suggest he had been won over by the beauties imposed upon him by various factions. There was even a rumor iming that Princess Maschenny was among the women sent to seduce Vahn, seemingly on the orders of Jahad himself. Few people actually believed this, but, as was often the case, the more contentious a topic, the faster it spread among the general popce... Reading thetest news rted to Vahn, an article exining how he had freed the Heroes sealed within the Walls of Peaceful Coexistence, an amused smile spread across Yuris face as she scrolled through the text. This greatly amplified her beauty, but, due to everyone in her surroundings having been beaten unconscious, the only person able to appreciate it was the wryly smiling Evan. Since it would cause a number of problems if someone were to capture the current scene on their Lighthouse, Evan did his best to suppress his exasperation as he said, "Though conflict among the Princesses is perfectly normal, I dont think Vahn would approve of such extreme measures..." Furrowing her brows in response to Evans remark, Yuri sent a sidelong glower towards the petite silver-haired man as she huffily replied, "Youre too uptight. Its not like I killed any of them. I just gave this arrogant brat a light punishment. We both know she deserved it." Punctuating her words, Yuri lightly smacked the exposed and noticeably bruised backside of the unconscious woman she had been sitting on. This further exacerbated the feeling of exasperation that was guing Evan, as, rather than groaning in pain, a discernibly pleasurable moan emanated from the unconscious womans throat in response to being hit. Shaking her head in spite of the amused smile dominating her face, Yuri resisted the urge to tug at the womans rather skimpy ck panties as she said, "This is why people feel ufortable around the Hendo Lok Family. Everyone in their family is either a psychopath, a berserker, or a self-harming masochist..." Exhaling a sigh, Evan was preparing to make another attempt to persuade Yuri, but, ever since her drastic increase in power, convincing her had be a lot harder. She was now strong enough to one-sidedly thrash a Princess infamous for her Shinsu Resistance and durability. This was in spite of the fact that thetter had her entire team fighting alongside her, each ranking within the top 500 of their respective Positions. Unfortunately, just as Evan was about to speak, the woman serving as Yuris seat cushion promptly opened her eyes, seemingly stirred awake by the previous strike. This was quickly noticed by Yuri, who, with a somewhat predatory smile on her face, gave the womans bottom another light smack as she asked, "Learned your lesson?" With a heated sigh forced from her throat, the hazel-eyed woman seemed to consider her options for a few moments before indignantly asserting, "Ill never admit defeat...e-even if you tie me up and t-t-torture me...Ill never take back my words...!" Noticing the expectant look in the womans eyes,bined with the ruddy blush covering her face, Yuri couldnt help but sigh before rising to her feet and saying, "Whatever. Ive already gotten my revenge. See youter, Lotte." With a panicked look on her face, Lotte, better known as Princess Hendo Lok Lotte Jahad, promptly sprang to her feet, obstructing Yuris passage as she eximed, "Where do you think youre going!? Youre the one who picked a fight! Did you think you could just leave before weve settled this...!?" Seeing Lottes massive chest bounce in response to her sudden movement, a subtle glow emanated from Yuris ruby eyes as she crossed her arms in a passive effort to emphasize her own. Then, with a grim look on her face, she stated, "Im sure you have plenty of people more than willing to help you get off. Were done here. Move." Despite a visible bead of sweat forming on her face and rolling down her cheek, Lotte maintained her position, arms spread wide to block Yuris departure. Had Vahn been present, he wouldnt have been able to avoid admiring this particr pose, as, due to the innate resistance of her body, Lotte wore very little in the way of clothing. The twin-tailed girls entire outfit consisted of a ck, long-sleeved halter top, bottoms reminiscent of a ck bikini, and thigh-high beige leggings that left her heel and toes exposed. This put her remarkably overdeveloped body on full disy, and, due to her heritage as a member of the Hendo Lok Family, she towered over the respectably tall Yuri by nearly twenty centimeters. She was a mountain of a woman, yet, despite her size, the only noticeable fat on her body seemed to be consolidated in her breasts, thighs, and bottom. Though she was ultimately ying into the masochistic womans hand, Yuri was too annoyed by Lottes behavior to simply ignore her. As a result, a bloody-red aura began to surge from her body as she extended her hand in an instant, middle-finger looped with her thumb as the prelude to a cataclysmic flick. In response, an excited smile spread across Lottes face as her thick bangs were forced aside from the wind-pressure. This revealed a wine-red blemish covering her left eye, and, though she had already seen it previously, Yuri couldnt help thinking about what Vahn would do even as her finger made contact with Lottes forehead... In a manner remarkably reminiscent of Mashs Innate, a visible ripple passed through Lottes body in response to Yuris attack. Immediately thereafter, her body began to vibrate noticeably as hazy white steam began to rise from her exposed flesh. This was the true reason she forsook armor, as, without being able to breathe, her body would rapidly overheat without the aid of Shinsu from the surroundings. Though others would have been sent flying from such an attack, Lotte was only forced back a few meters before exhaling arge cloud of steam from her throat. When she raised her face again, an intoxicated look had reced her former anxiety, unnerving even Yuri as she heatedly inquired, "Is that the best you can do?" before charging forward with the momentum of a freight train fired from a railgun. Resisting the urge to uppercut the charging beauty, Yuri took advantage of the drastic difference in their respective speeds to snort through her nose and produce a number of springy, vibrant-green, bubbles. A few of these formed directly between her and Lotte, forcibly teleporting the woman the moment she came into contact with them. This left thetter more than a little confused, as, for the most part, Yuri had never revealed her Shinsu Quality. She was the type that liked to resolve things with her fists, so, despite the remarkable utility provided by her inordinately rare Quality, she rarely made use of it. Unfortunately for Lotte, Yuri had decided to make an exception this time around. She wasnt in the mood to be used as a masturbation aide by a masochistic giantess, so, having already achieved her original objective, retreat seemed like the most sensible option. This resulted in Lotte being trapped in a veritable asteroid field of vibrant green bubbles, each capable of randomly teleporting whoever touched them to the location of another bubble. Due to their close proximity, touching one meant being caught in a teleportation loop, one of the most disorienting experiences imaginable... --- Using the same bubbles to teleport far away from the site of her battle with Lotte, Yuri couldnt help exhaling an exasperated sigh before grumbling, "I dont know how Vahn does it. All the girls I know are nutjobs, psychos, or closet perverts. Just dealing with a single can be unbelievably troublesome. How does he manage more than a hundred?" Deadpanning in response to Yuris remark, Evan resisted the urge to point out that her name would be near the top if someone were topile a list of troublesome women. Instead, he straightened out his oversized backpack, asking, "So? What now? Dont tell me youre actually intending to fight all of the other Princesses? At this rate, youre bound to irreversibly offend someone..." As tempting as the idea was, Yuri promptly shook her head, smiling as she replied, "Who has that kind of time? Im just settling some past grievances while testing out my new power. Ill probably stop after defeating Adori, Hagipherione, Heice, An, Maschenny, and maybe Garam." Hearing Yuri casually mention defeating six of the most powerful Princesses of Jahad, Evan couldnt suppress a wry smile as he advised, "Confidence isnt a bad thing. Too much confidence, however, is poison for the mind. Please dont do anything too drastic, Princess. At the very least, please consult with your mother before antagonizing anyone directly affiliated with the Imperial Army..." Surprising the diminutive dwarf quite a bit, Yuri actually nodded her head in response to his words, saying, "Well, duh. Even Im not dumb enough to attack the army. Despite your height, you seem to enjoy looking down on me, dont you?" Punctuating her statement by roughly ruffling Evans hair, Yuri nearly forced the former to his knees with her extraordinary strength before retracting her hand and adding, "Lets get out of here. Just the thought of that perverted giantess catching up to us makes my skin crawl. We should head to the next Floor before she sends someone to block the Gateport." Without waiting for a response, a red aura suddenly erupted from Yuris body as she took to the sky like a meteor traveling in reverse. This left Evan feeling more than a little helpless, not because he couldnt keep up with her neutral pace, but because Yuris aura was so extreme that even Regrs would be able to sense her from thousands of kilometers away. She had never been good at hiding her strength, so, now that her power had increased exponentially, even something a simple as flying through the sky had be unnecessarily high-profile... Shaking his head, Evan released the sigh he had been restraining before grabbing the straps of his backpack and leaping into the air and doing his best to catch up with the distant red dot streaking across the sky. Fortunately, Yuris navigational capabilities were notoriously defective, so, after flying the wrong way for several minutes, she eventually doubled back to ask which direction the Gateport was located... --- Sensing Yuris aura, Lotte, who had previously been helping her team receive medical aid, promptly directed her gaze towards the horizon. Rather than giving chase, however, she ultimately just shook her head before picking up a warhammer that was evenrger than she was. Then, with the muscles of her right arm flexing enough to tear the fabric of her top, she threw it with as much might as she could muster before turning around to continue providing first aid to her unconsciouspanions. Several minutester, thousands of kilometers away, an area the size of a small ind ended being devastated when said hammer ended up embedding itself in the side of the instation responsible for facilitating transfers to the 61st and 63rd Floors... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fake News,Darkness, is that you?,High Rankers are scary...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1965 Suffocation

Chapter 1965: Suffocation

After three weeks of meandering through the Middle Tower, Vahn, apanied by arge group of inordinately beautiful women, arrived on the 60th Floor. This instantly drew the attention of their surroundings, but, after a small incident on the 56th Floor, none of them were foolish enough to try and directly approach Vahn and his entourage. Havingmitted the names of faces of each person to memory, paparazzi included, Vahn nodded in the direction of his group, saying, "Same as usual. Stay within 10,000km and make sure to report within fifteen minutes of every hour." With most of the group nodding in affirmation, Vahn offered a smile before fixing his gaze on the nervous-looking Mordred and adding, "If you break this one, you''re grounded until the 77th Floor. Fenrir, keep an eye on her for me." Though she would have liked to explore the snow-covered Floor alongside her Master, Fenrir didn''t hesitate to thump her chest, stating, "Leave it to me!" in a spirited tone. As for Mordred, she ended up releasing an exasperated sigh, not because she was especially embarrassed about breaking her previous two Avatars, but because Fenrir was bound to report her the moment she broke the rules... To counter the growing unrest among residents of the Emerald Grove, Vahn, alongside members of the R&D Division, had been working on a number of projects. Thergest of these involved creating a Floating Fortress to serve as a Teleportation Hub with infinite range, but, without ownership of the affected space, this was easier said than done. Fortunately, Urahara had made a substantial number of breakthroughs in the production of Gigais. This,bined with an absurdlyplex possession spell, allowed the residents of the Little Garden to pilot faux bodies without cing their true selves at risk. The only downside was that the aforementioned process required Vahn to act as an antenna, and, the moment anyone ventured beyond his broadcast range, their extremely difficult to manufacture Avatars would immediately implode before dissolving into nothingness. This function was intended as a failsafe in the event an enemy tried to capture them; but, due to her penchant for sneaking into restricted areas, Mordred ended up losing both of her previous Avatars. Such ces were generally isted from the surrounding space via special formations or barriers, so, the moment she stepped inside, both had been instantaneously destroyed... Ruffling the two girls'' hair, Vahn wished them well before seeing off the rest of the ''explorer group''. Then, with Artoria and Gray following close behind, both attired in regal-looking mantles lined with fluffy white fur, he proceeded to explore the Gateport in search of a temporary residence. Everyone had agreed upon a seventy-two-hour exploration period, so, while it wasn''t absolutely necessary, it was his habit to choose a destination to serve as a primary hub of sorts. It also provided him with a ce to meet with people who were trying to contact him, so, for the better part of three hours, he simply wandered around with Artoria and Gray as hispany. In the end, it was Gray who chose a rather unique pavilionprised almost entirely of ice as their temporary residence. From the outside, it looked like the type of castle you would find in a fantasy Record rted to an Ice Witch or a Snow Queen. As for the inside, there were beautiful statues and even furniture carved from crystal-clear ice, each perennially preserved due to rune-like inscriptions carved into their surface. Simr runes helped to inste the interior, so, despite beingprised almost entirely of ice, their room ended up being quite warm. Fortunately, as novel as the premise of an all-ice pavilion was, the furniture intended for guests wasprised of more conventional materials. Few people enjoyed sleeping on frigid bs of ice, so, as could be expected, the bed, bath, and toilet were all rtively normal. Finished with his exploration of their penthouse suite, Vahn rejoined Artoria and Gray in the living room before asking, "So? What do you think of the Floor thus far?" Without sugarcoating things in the slightest, Artoria immediately answered, "It feels like a powder keg. I''m not sure if it is due to our presence, but the tensions of the citizenry are inordinately high. I also noticed a number of people keeping tabs on us when we were shopping. Judging by their hair and eye color, I would assume they are members of the Khun Family." Having already confirmed a few things with the Law of Identity, Vahn ultimately nodded his head in response, exining, "Though he has yet toplete the Position Exam, news of the second Eduan has already reached the Khun Family. The original Eduan doesn''t seem all that concerned. Quite the contrary. Instead, these tensions are the result of friction between the major, minor, and illegitimate factionsprising the Khun Family. Lowering her head slightly, a pensive look developed across Artoria''s face as she contemted the broader implications and ramifications of Vahn''s words. She knew he wasn''t really testing her, but, at times like this, she feltpelled to choose her words carefully. There were times when he relied on her counsel more than his own intuition, so, while it might not make much of a difference in the long run, she wanted to provide proper feedback and advice. Understanding Artoria''s thoughts, even without the Law of Identity, Vahn enjoyed the tea offered to him by Gray in silence. If he were being honest, the politics and power struggles of the Khun Family didn''t interest him in the slightest. Such things were better left to people like Aguero and Eduan 2.0 to deal with. He had no intention of siding with any particr faction, so, if he were to intervene, his only reason for doing so would be to protect minors. Even this wasn''t ideal, however, as, regardless of how they were being treated, most children wouldn''t want to be separated from their parents... Finished with organizing her thoughts, Artoria adopted a serious expression as she asked, "Is that woman, Maschenny, not around?" Nodding his head, Vahn exined, "She is, indeed, nearby. Her presence is one of the underlying reasons for the current tensions between the various factions. It is also the reason why nobody has tried to approach us just yet. There are a lot of rumors regarding my rtionship with Maschenny, so, until they can confirm her stance, approaching us is exceptionally risky." Though a contemptuous glimmer shed across her eyes at the mention of the word ''rtionship'', Artoria ultimately just nodded her head before suggesting, "It seems the time hase for you to force that woman''s hand. She is bound to cause trouble if you just leave her be. Putting her on the spot and having her prove herself by resolving the matters of her family might be the ideal solution to the current situation..." Despite the suggestioning from her own mouth, Artoria didn''t seem particrly convinced by her words. More specifically, she felt that the actual ''ideal'' solution was to defeat Eduan and simply install someone new to govern the Khun Family. Any meaningful involvement with them was bound to bring trouble, not because Vahn was incapable of settling things, but because thousands of years of corruption wouldn''t simply vanish because someone put their foot down. Having noticed the contempt and uncertainty in Artoria''s gaze, Vahn adopted a stern expression of his own, ordering, "Speak truthfully. What are you thinking?" in a firm tone. Responding with a serious and dutiful expression, Artoria was one-step shy of a full salute as she promptly replied, "Now that you have made the decision to elerate your progress through the Tower, I believe it is counter-intuitive to involve yourself with the affairs of the Great Families and their dissidents. I''m not saying you should ignore thempletely. Rather, I''m suggesting you cut the head of the snake rather than trying to strangle its tail..." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn extended his hand to caress Artoria''s as he said, "I was thinking the same thing. I''m not particrly fond of the current Maschenny, and, while that might change at some point in the future, I have no intention of going out of my way to provide her opportunities. If she truly wished to obtain my favor, she would take the initiative to resolve things like this. Thus, for the time being, I have no intention of approaching her. If she can''t figure that out before I deal with Eduan directly...well, it''s not like there isn''t another Maschenny..." Though thest part was intended as a joke, Vahn earned himself an usatory stare from Artoria even as she nestled a little closer to him. She wasn''t particrly bothered by the rapid expansion of his harem, but, if possible, she would prefer it if he didn''t arbitrarily include every beautiful or tragic woman he met as a candidate... --- Sneezing despite the fact it was a summerlike 33 degrees, Maschenny took a moment to cautiously inspect her surroundings before continuing to grill a massive b of meat harvested from a magical beast the size of a Rhinocerous. Unfortunately, despite investing a considerable amount of Variable Experience into the associated skill, everything she cooked tasted absolutely terrible... Recalling the taste of the meals periodically provided to her by Vahn, a loud grumbling emanated from Maschenny''s stomach as a tired sigh escaped her throat. Immediately thereafter, an intense killing intent descended upon her, but, rather than taking evasive action, she grumbled, "Go ahead. Even if you kill me, it''s not like it''s permanent." Appearing from within a bloody-red vortex, Scathach unhesitantly pierced Maschenny''s shoulder with her spear, but, in spite of this, thetter simply grimaced while continuing to grill her meat. Her pain tolerance had increased to a ridiculous extent over the past few months, so, even if it felt like her entire body was being gnawed on by voracious ants, she managed to appear rtively unfazed. Realizing Maschenny was in one of her obstinate moods, Scathach unceremoniously extricated her spear from the girl''s shoulder before shaking her head and admonishing, "Even if you know you will not die, casting aside your fear of death is rarely a good thing. With this kind of uncaring mentality, you will never be able to surpass your other self..." Rolling her eyes in response to Scathach''s words, Maschenny tore away a piece of charred meat with her bare hands, tossing it into her mouth before replying, "That isn''t for you to decide. So long as I continue moving forward, it is only a matter of time before I surpass my original. The only thing that can interfere with this inevitability is Vahn himself. Even then, so long as he doesn''t give her the same opportunities, I''m confident that I''ll be able to defeat her. You might act like a robot, but your skill with the spear is the real deal. Once I master your teachings, even my father might not be able to stand against me." Despite Maschenny sugarcoating her words with apliment, Scathach''s expression remained unchanged as she dispersed her spear and sat down on one of the felled logs serving as the only furniture in the former''s make-shift shelter. Then, earning a predatory re from the pale-haired Princess, she pulled out a series of dragon skewers hand-grilled by Rindo. This caused a salivating aroma to spread throughout the rtively small cave, and, as a result, Maschenny actually felt a little sick as theparably disgusting meat she had just swallowed settled in her stomach. Then, after a prolonged back and forth, following by a period of negotiation, her training, once again, resumed... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''F in the chat for all the disappointed asphyxiation fetishists?'',''Speedrunner Vahn ain''t got time for no side quests...!'',''Taming: 94% Complete'') Chapter 1966 Crossroads

Chapter 1966: Crossroads

Having been keeping a close watch, not just on Vahn''s, but of Yuri''s progress, Maschenny was well aware of the seventy-two-hour time period he had allotted for each Floor. She also knew he had a way to drastically increase a person''s power in a remarkably short period of time, so, with the hours counting down towards his inevitable departure, she was beginning to feel a little anxious. After hearing about Yuri''s exploits, Maschenny was absolutely certain that she and Vahn had finally done the deed. She even suspected that he had visited Yuri immediately followed their encounter, as, shortly thereafter, thetter departed the 50th Floor. This notion made her feel more than a little annoyed, but, thinking this was a ''test'' of sorts, she decided not to pursue the matter. Instead, she immediately moved to her current location on the 60th Floor, fully expecting Vahn to seek her out. Unfortunately, even after the passage of sixty-five-hours, Vahn had made no efforts to contact her. This was unbelievably frustrating, not because she feared another Princess might get ahead of her, but because she had been ignoring most of her actual duties in order to make herself avable to Vahn. There was even growing dissent among the Princesses that had previously joined her faction, so, if she didn''t make headway soon, conflict was bound to break out amidst the members of their respective groups... Staring at her naked figure, reflected in the faces of an ornate tri-fold mirror, Maschenny couldn''t help but frown as traced the lines of her own body and remarked, "I don''t understand...if not for my status as a Princess, the number of people aspiring to be my lover might equal the number of men in the Tower. What does he see in someone like Yuri that he doesn''t see in me? That bimbo is always causing trouble without thinking about the consequences...I just don''t get it..." Despite Vahn''s actual exnation and words of warning, Maschenny didn''t believe he actually held her nature against her. If that were the case, he wouldn''t associate with her, and, more importantly, he never would have epted someone like Pram. That woman had a kill-count in the seven digits, so, if murderous tendencies were a factor, Vahn would have done away with them both. Instead, he demonstrated an open appreciation for her beauty, and, were it not for her status, Maschenny was certain he would have ravished her without hesitation... With her eyes wandering to the simple yet indescribablyplex seal on her back, a sigh escaped Maschenny''s mouth as she muttered, "Maybe he is expecting me to give up my status as a Princess and set aside my ambitions? I suppose that would make sense if his assertions regarding the worlds beyond the Tower are genuine...that would also exin how he won over characters like Ureko and Yuri with such ease. The only thing those airheads care about is their own freedom..." Imagining the scene of Yuri and Ureko unting their power and battlefields far beyond the Tower, a slight bitterness reced the listlessness in Maschenny''s expression. The only thing she genuinely cared about was having a battlefield of her own to fight on. She wanted to cut loose without regard for the consequences, and, even if it cost her the very head on her shoulders, she would die happily so long as she got to enjoy herself in the moments prior... Remembering Vahn''s promise regarding countless powerful opponents, a sudden desire to cut ties with everyone in the Tower abruptly crossed Maschenny''s mind. She had never been fond of things like politics, and, though she had taken an interest in various people, there were none she wouldn''t sacrifice in her attempts to instigate war and incite chaos. Even her ''precious'' younger brother was no exception to this, and, if it meant being able to cut loose as much as she wanted, treason against the Empire wasn''t off the table... [] Startling her back to awareness, the mirrors encircling Maschenny promptly shattered as a result of her aura leaking out. A few of the fragments ended up striking her body, but, due to her monstrous endurance and equally terrifying durability, even thergest pieces bounced from her body without marring her inordinately fair skin. With bands of blue electricity dancing across her body, a smile developed across Maschenny''s face as an eagerness she had long-suppressed began to well up inside her. As far as she was concerned, there were only two options avable to her in the present moment. She could lower her head andmit to convincing Vahn to ept her, or, more interestingly, she could skip all theplicated matters and begin making arrangements to explore foreign worlds. There was nothing requiring her to capitte to Vahn, and, so long as he wasn''t lying, the way forward would soon be open to all. It might require her to be reborn if she wanted to move ahead without him, but, so long as she wasn''t born into a shitty situation from the start, that could be pretty interesting in its own way. Weighing the two options, Maschenny realized that the decision before her was basically choosing between following Vahn and zing her own trail. The former all but guaranteed she would be able to encounter monstrously powerful opponents, but thetter guaranteed that she would be able to remain independent, potentially through multiple incarnations. In the simplest possible terms, what she was choosing between was a ''fast track'' that guaranteed sess and apletely random set of circumstances that might prevent her from ever reaching the top. Though others might be terrified of thetter, an excited smile appeared on Maschenny''s face as she observed her reflection in the shattered mirror. Sure, she might be forced to experience some setbacks, and, depending on her circumstances, she might even be raped and murdered before she ever got a chance to grow. Still, so long as she had her memories, drive, and willpower, it was only a matter of time before she eventually wed her way to the top. Setbacks? Who gave a damn about such things. She had already experienced one life on easy mode, so, while she had yet to give up on Vahn, the notion of following obediently in his wake no longer existed within her mind... --- With the Law of Identity loitering about in the form of Maschenny, Vahn was immediately informed of her decision the moment she had made it. This surprised him quite a bit, but, rather than feeling upset, he was actually happy for her. The trait he admired most in women was their independence, so, while he had never expected her to simply fall in line, it was a relief to know she wasn''t cing her entire future on his shoulders. Sensing her Master''s thoughts, Fenrir, who had been lying with her head in hisp, lifted her head to ask, "Did something good happen?" Without going into the specifics, Vahn nodded in response to Fenrir''s inquiry, a persistent smile on his face as he mused, "It''s always refreshing to see someone setting out on a new path...I''ll have to think of a proper reward to send them off..." Though she could guess what he was thinking, Fenrir willfully allowed her train of thought to slip away as she cocked her head adorably to the side. This caused the smile on Vahn''s face to be more prominent, and, as anticipated, he immediately began to fluff up her hair and ears... --- Having failed to block Yuri''s path on the 62nd Floor, Hendo Lok Lotte Jahad, apanied by her team, ultimately decided to continue along their journey. This invariably brought them to the 60th Floor''s ''City of Eternal Ice, Ancewell'', and, though he had always been her objective, Lotte was now looking forward to meeting with Vahn more than ever before. Though it had been kept under wraps, Vahn''s act of saving the youth belonging to the Hendo Lok Family had not gone unreported. What made this incident worth keeping under wraps was the fact that, prior to his release, the youth had received a treatment that both restored his vitality as well as increased his strength. This was a truly extraordinary development, and, despite being selfish to the point of cursing his entire family just to extend his life, the Leader of the Hendo Lok Family, Hendo Lok Bloodmadder, had never given up searching for a solution to the curse he had wrought upon his descendants. Originally, Bloodmadder had been intending to reach out to Vahn at the same time as the other Family Leaders, but, due to ack of presence in the lower Floors, he had been unable to send a suitable representative. Most of his children had rather grotesque physical ws due to the curse, so, even if he wanted to send someone sooner, he was afraid Vahn might turn them away without a second thought. Fortunately, the man was rather notorious for his appreciation of beautiful women, so, even if she was a littlete, Bloodmadder was confident that his daughter would be able to ''convince'' the man to aid them. Her status as a Princess mightplicate matters, but, with her entire team consisting of rather remarkable beauties, several of which Bloodmadder had personally considered bedding, it was his best option. As for why he wanted to keep the matter under wraps, it wasrgely due to his desire for revenge against the families who had ostracized and treated his own as less than human... Drawing the eyes of virtually every permanent and temporary residence of Ancewell, Lotte walked through the city streets wearing an outfit identical to the one she had worn during her battle with Yuri. In other words, while everyone else was wearing winter clothing, she was walking around in an outfit some might not even consider appropriate as underwear. Despite this, none of the observing pedestrians were foolish enough to approach her, as, embroidered on her shoulders and back were a familiar three-eyed symbol. This was none other than the Symbol of the King, so, even if she was a fake, nobody wanted to risk antagonizing someone bold enough to posture as a Princess of Jahad. Paying no heed to her surroundings, Lotte continued forward at the direction of her Guide, a Silver Dwarf named Tully. Like most Silver Dwarves, she had silver hair and matching eyes, but, rather than appearing as a child, she was actually 154cm tall. This had, ironically, resulted in her being teased as a child, so, when it came time for Lotte to receive a Guide, Tully volunteered to join the inordinately tall woman without hesitation. Since then, they had gotten along very well, as, unlike the majority of Jahad''s Princesses, Lotte was rtively docile until someone riled her up... As that thought crossed her mind, Tully''s brows furrowed as her instincts as a Guide spontaneously activated. At nearly that exact same moment, a child-like woman wearing ck and red attire that seemed out of ce anywhere in the Tower stepped out of a shop. Immediately thereafter, her red eyes darted towards their group, a taunting smile developing across her face as she remarked, "Oh? I never expected to encounter a giantess with exhibitionist tendencies. The diversity of the Tower is truly remarkable." Though she would have normally ignored such a remark, the feeling Lotte was receiving from the petite woman was remarkably simr to her kin. They were a family that specialized in forbidden techniques rted to blood and ughter, so, even when they weren''t in an active state, there was always an atmosphere of foreboding surrounding them. This sentiment became stronger the more bloodshed they had experienced, so, more often than not, you could determine the strength of a member of the Hendo Lok Family based on the bloody aura lingering around their body. Sensing an aura reminiscent of her father emanating from the youthful-looking girl, Lotte''s body became tense as she forced herself to the front of her party and asked, "Who are you? Based on your previous remark, you shouldn''t be a resident of the Tower. Are you one of the Sage Dragon Emperor''spanions?" Smiling in response to Lotte''s defensive actions, the petite woman removed the military-style cap mounted atop her raven-ck hair before cing it over her chest and performing a slight bow as she mused, "Forgive my manners. My name is Nobunaga. Oda Nobunaga. Judging by that symbol on your shoulders, I can assume you are a Princess of Jahad, right? Tell me, what business does an exhibitionist Princess have with that phndering husband of mine? I''m really quite curious~" (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The original title is a reference to a Silver Dwarf''s ability to see the crossroads of fate'',''Fenrir cares not for the thot. Pet is love. Master is life.'',''Is this one of those legendary ''fated encounters''!?'') Chapter 1967 Swift Resolution, Sentiments, and Nostalgia

Chapter 1967: Swift Resolution, Sentiments, and Nostalgia

Hearing Nobunaga implicitly introducing herself as Vahn''s wife, Lotte, Tully, and the rest of her team were, understandably, at a loss for words. Though there was a lot of discussion regarding the people rted to Vahn and the Aldrnari Empire, no substantial information had been regarding any of them. They rarely made public appearances, and, even when people were bold enough to try and approach them, they would either be ignored or assaulted. Thus, with the exception of a few names, nobody knew what status or position each of the people appearing around Vahn held. Noticing the ''skepticism'' contained within the group''s gaze, Nobunaga squinted her eyes without losing her predatory smile. This caused Lotte, in particr, to tense up, but, rather than attacking, Nobunaga just shrugged her shoulders before pivoting on her heel and stating, "I don''t like being followed." without bothering to look over her shoulder. Fearing the loss of their only lead, the ground around Lotte copsed as her figure vanished from view. In the next instant, she was standing in front of Nobunaga, arms spread as she said, "Please, don''t go. There are-" Without waiting for the woman to finish her words, Nobunaga manifested a scarlet tanegashima-style matchlock rifle out of thin air, the tip of its barrel resting on the former''s head as she said, "I hate being blocked even more." Punctuating her words, Nobunaga pulled the trigger without a moment''s hesitation. Rather than blowing off Lotte''s head, however, the giant woman''s body slumped to the ground as a phantom version of herself stumbled backward before plopping onto the ground. This particr version of Nobunaga''s rifle had an effect simr to the items used in Bleach to separate a person''s spirit from their physical body. Since most people were incapable of interacting with the physical world whilst in a spiritual state, it was one of the most effective ways to deal with troublesome opponents, and, most importantly, it was suitable for revealing the ''true natures'' of certain beings. Though Lotte''s form didn''t change in the slightest, there was a blood-red tattoo reminiscent of a spined serpent coiling around and covering most of her body. Even more noticeable, however, was the three-eyed symbol engraved beneath her abdomen and the visible cracks present all across her arms, legs, and, most notably, the left side of her face. Demonstratingparable surprise to Lotte herself, Nobunaga''s brows were raised to an almostical extent as she remarked, "Wow, you''re pretty fucked up, aren''t you? Is this the influence of Jahad''s Blood Curse?'' Before Lotte could even think to answer, a branching crimson spear attempted to skewer Nobunaga from behind. To the surprise of the person throwing it, however, each of theser-like points ended up being reflected after contacting a series of invisible swords, spears, and, of course, guns. Then, as a series of explosions erupted in the surroundings, leveling several buildings and sending countless pedestrians fleeing for their lives, a pulse of blood-red energy cleared the area around Nobunaga as she asked, "Are you daft? What kind of idiot fires off an AoE ability in the middle of a poption center? Are you trying to piss me off?" With the upper half of a vicious-looking red skeleton protecting her body and a pattern reminiscent of a six-pointed star recing her previous cat-like pupils, Nobunaga stepped forward with a sword in hand. If her opponents wanted to fight, there was no way in hell she was going to just walk away, so, depending on their response, she was prepared to cut them down without mercy. Unfortunately, as soon as that thought crossed her mind, a ''very'' familiar figure appeared right in front of her, asking, "What''s going on here? Are these people giving you trouble?" with a somber expression on his face. Feeling as if someone had just blown a hole in her sails, an exasperated sigh escaped Nobunaga''s throat as she allowed her variation of the Susanno, aptly designated as the Demon King of the Sixth Heaven, to dissipate whilst exining, "I think these brats were looking for you. Unfortunately, they have about as much tact and sense as a stone thrown by a rioteer. They tried to block my path, and, even though I attempted to settle things without a loss of life, that amazon-looking chick nuked the ce." With Nobunaga pointing directly at her, the Spearbearer of Lotte''s team, a dark-skinned woman with red hair named Leona, eximed, "You attacked first!" while readying her oversized spear in hand. Frowning in response to the moderately muscr woman''s words, Vahn immediately took Nobu''s side on the matter, as, despite her nature, she didn''t go out of her way to start fights. If they were blocking her path, she had every right to take the initiative to defend herself. It didn''t matter if the group just wanted to talk. If she wasn''t willing to humor them, they had no right to force her to stay and listen. Before the red-headed woman could even finish brandishing her spear, Vahn appeared right in front of her, seizing it from her hands as he said, "If you continue disying hostility, I will respond in kind. This is the middle of a city. You''re not the one who has to fix things once the battle ends. If you can''t control your power and are unwilling to use it responsibly, it can and will be taken away from you..." Though the indignant look on her face made it pretty clear she wanted to say something, Tully did her best to deescte things by shouting, "Leona! That''s enough! We didn''te here to fight!" in a harsh, chiding, tone. This was surprisingly enough topletely cow the woman, her expression morphing from anger to nervousness as she replied, "But they attacked first..." in a meek tone that didn''t suit her rather fierce, warrior-like, appearance in the slightest. Answering in response to Leona''s mutterings, it was Lotte who stated, "I''m fine, Leo. Please stand down. Tully is right. We didn''te here to fight. We came here to ask for help. How can we expect the Sage Dragon Emperor to lend his assistance if we''re insistent on attacking his wife? Please don''t make things any moreplicated than they already are..." Hanging her head in response to Lotte''s words, a depressive atmosphere immediately descended upon Leo as she eximed, "I''m sorry! Please forgive me!" before bowing so hastily that she nearly headbutt Vahn in the chest. Fortunately for the befuddled redhead, Vahn was easily able to evade this, and, shortly thereafter, tensions between the two groups began to settle as he opted to hear Lotte''s exnation of the circumstances... --- As tempting as the proposal was, Vahn ended up agreeing to Lotte''s request while concurrently refusing her ''services''. She was a remarkably beautiful woman, sure, but, the moment he started treating people on the premise that he expected ''favors'' in return, he would doubtlessly begin to rue negative karma. Healing people was something he genuinely enjoyed, so, while there were times when he had made exceptions, specifically rted to events in Danmachi, the gratitude of his patients was more than enough as payment. Fortunately for Lotte''s group, Vahn did allow them to stay within the Little Garden for a short while, and, as part of ying host, he afforded them the opportunity to sample foods provided courtesy of Rindo. He enjoyed seeing the reactions of people who were eating Rindo''s cooking for the first time, and, though some of their responses inspiredscivious thoughts, it was a truly eye-opening experience for all parties involved. After all, even though it was rtively simple-looking food, the meals prepared by Rindo had the potential of, quite literally, increasing the power and potential of the beneficiary. The only downside was, after eating such a delicious meal, other food would tasteparably nd for upwards of three months... After experiencing Rindo''s food for themselves, Lotte''s team genuinely considered whether or not they should request permission to stay in the Little Garden. They didn''t really have anything going on in the Tower, and, due to her status as the only main-line descendant chosen as a Princess in thest five-thousand-years, Lotte was generally disallowed to participate in any major conflicts. Her life and status were of paramount importance to the Hendo Lok Family, so, while it was bound to result in a number of rumors proliferating through the Tower, there were a lot of justifications for why she should stay in the Little Garden. It might very well be the most secure ce in the entire Tower, and, most importantly, everyone who had spent any considerable length of time with Vahn had emerged noticeably stronger. The only issue, at least from their perspective, was that they had no legitimate reason to make such a request. Vahn had already refused Lotte''s ''services'', so, with nothing to really offer him in the way of payment, asking to stay in the Little Garden was the same as asking Vahn to protect and provide for them without receiving any benefits. This was inconceivable in the minds of the group that had lived for abined 11,318 years, so, for the better part of their week-long stay, each of them had been looking for anything that could be used as leverage in their favor. Tully even floated the idea of joining the research team, but, after learning that the majority of their members had an ongoing physical rtionship with Vahn, asking to join could be misunderstood as them trying to force their way into his bed... Fortunately, while the rest of her team was searching for justifications that might allow her to reside within the Little Garden, Lotte had been getting along rather splendidly with several residents of the Emerald Grove. In particr, she felt a certain kinship towards Mash, and, though their training was what some would refer to as hellish, Lotte had been having a little too much fun strengthening her body using the unique cultivation technique Vahn had bequeathed unto her. As for why he would give her such a thing, it was partly due to the sincerity she had shown after he treated her eye and removed the curse from her body. As for the actual reason, it was because the blemish on her eye and the tears she shed after the fact reminded him a lot of Hephaestus... As more and more time passed since his departure from Danmachi, Vahn''s sentiments towards the family he had left behind only became stronger. This resulted in moments where he waspletely overwhelmed by nostalgia, and, more often than not, this was more than enough reason for him to change how he viewed particr people. In this regard, Lotte had hit the proverbial lottery, as, not only did her reaction remind him of Hephaestus, the situation she had been born into and the life she lived till now was rife with tragedy. Despite this, she forced herself to stay positive, and, though she hadshed out at Yuri when thetter had just be a Ranker, she had never harbored any actual hatred towards her. Rather, she was envious of Yuri''s freedom, as, despite being a Defender, she had been forced to live an extremely sheltered life from the moment she became a Princess of Jahad. With all these factors liking up like sevens on a slot machine, Lotte had found herself in the rather enviable position of receiving Vahn''s favor without thetter having any expectations from her. If anything, he just wanted her to be happy, so, even if she chose to spend the remainder of her days resting peacefully within the Little Garden, he wouldn''t mind at all. Instead, she chose to make the most of her remaining time within his realm, constantly forcing her body beyond its limits before she and Mash bonded like sisters within a pool of literal magma... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Boom, headshot~!'',''Vahn is like a father taking away a disobedient child''s toys xD...'',''Lotte''s Luck stat must be through the roof...'') Chapter 1968 Matter of Course

Chapter 1968 Matter of Course

With more than seventy hours having passed since their arrival on the 60th Floor, Vahn began to send out telepathic messages before subsequently recalling everyone who had ventured beyond the borders of the Gateport. At the same time, having epted his invitation to reside in the Little Garden, Lotte wasmunicating with her family to exin the situation and convey Vahns terms. Though he would have liked to heal everyone, Vahn couldnt simply ignore the depravity of many members of the Hendo Lok Family. Many of their members pursued forbidden methods to increase their lifespans, and, more often than not, they ended up willfully sacrificing countless lives with the goal of extending their own. While this behavior was almost entirely the result of the circumstances of their birth, Vahn refused to extend the lives of people who would simply go on to torment others for an even longer period of time. Thus, in order to receive treatment, members of the Hendo Lok Family would need to pass a simr evaluation to the one imposed upon Regrs on the lower floors. Fortunately, just as he had taken into consideration the nature of the Lo Po Bia Family members, Vahn viewed the descendants of the Hendo Lok Family in a simr light. He couldnt me them for circumstances beyond their control, so, as long as they were willing to sign a contract, he would still treat them. As for the terms, that would depend entirely on the severity of their transgressions, and, most importantly, whether or not children were among their victims. This precluded most of the so-called Elders from receiving treatment, but, as they were supposed to live for the sake of the Family, those with more sense would ultimately ept this and begin preparing their recements. As for the rest...well, they would be forced to face the consequences of their actions... Finished with her report, Lotte emerged from the rtive privacy of the suites master bedroom, her expression one of considerable surprise as she observed the twenty-three exceptional beauties that had appeared during the short period she was away. This included a surprising number of uncannily simr women, who, at a nce, could easily be mistaken for septuplets. Noticing the scantily-d woman emerging from Vahns room, nearly every woman present turned towards Lotte as Nero, standing out even among the septuplets, remarked, "Oh? I dont recognize you. Since my memory is perfect, that must mean you are a new addition to the harem. If you have any questions, dont be afraid to ask. As your senior, I will do my best to guide you properly. Umu!" Following up on Neros words and interrupting Lottes attempt to correct the misunderstanding, it was Theo who said, "Wow. Youre pretty big..." before directing her gaze to the formers chest and thighs, adding, "In a lot of ways..." Though her height was certainly a factor, Lottes proportions were, by andrge, fuller than every other woman present. Her bust, alone, was close to 100cm, and, though she looked somewhat thin and muscr from a distance, her individual thighs were more than 70cm in circumference. Simply put, she was massivepared to the average woman, and, even if stood next to Vahn, she would be nearly a full head taller. Blushing in response to Theos remark, Lotte raised her hand in a bashful manner while averting her eyes to the side. This cause the fabric of her halter-top to strain to an incredible extent, and, though it was unintentional, she ended up enting her bust even more due to her arm pressing between the two melon-like mounds of flesh... Noticing a few tell-tale indicators in Lottes reaction, a knowing smile shed across Theos face as she attempted to approach the girl and confirm her theory. Before she could, however, Vahn lightly pped his hands, drawing the eyes of everyone present as he said, "The future remains to be seen, but, for the time being, Lotte is not a member of my harem. Youre jumping to conclusions." Since a firm denial would end up hurting her feelings, Vahn decided to leave things ambiguous by speaking in a way that implied he wasnt against the idea. He had actually grown rather fond of the inordinately tall woman during her sojourn in the Little Garden, and, though he had no intention of forcing the matter, he couldnt deny certain thoughts had crossed his mind. Her outfit was, after all, more than a little eye-catching... Understanding the implication contained within Vahns words, literal steam began to emanate from Lottes body as she covered her beet-red face with both hands. This exceptionally innocent reaction earned her quite a bit of favor among the veritable garden of girls present, but, most notably, it was Mash who seemed the happiest about this particr development. She and Lotte had spent a lot of time together over thest week, and, though thetter was significantly older, she always felt like the bigger sister whenever they bonded... Though various thoughts had emerged within the minds of those present, it was Nero who opted to nod her head, arms crossed beneath her ample bosom as she remarked, "It seems I was off by a day or two. Umu! Either way, my offer still stands. If you ever need advice, counseling, or just want to talk, you need only say the word. We are a sisterhood that supports each other no matter what. Umu! Umu~!" Hearing Neros words, Lotte peeked through her fingers to find that most of the people present were looking at her with approving, or, at the very least, helpless smiles. The most important thing was that there was no resentment or malice visible in the eyes of anyone present, something that was impossible to imagine regarding the expansive harems associated with the Ten Great Families. Even her own mother had fought tooth and nail for political power prior to being poisoned, so, for a variety of reasons, Lotte couldnt quite believe her eyes. Despite this, an awkward smile developed across her face as she meekly responded with a bashful, "Nn...". --- Following Vahns departure from the 60th Floor, Maschenny, who had been keeping a close eye on the situation, couldnt help adopting a somewhat cold look as she heard the report attesting to the fact that Lotte had not appeared after initially entering the frozen pavilion serving as his temporary residence. This implied that she was still inside of Vahns miniature world, a ce rumored to be rife with treasures capable of increasing a persons strength, exponentially, in a short period of time... Though she had already made the decision to pursue a different path, that didnt mean Maschenny had given up on receiving benefits from Vahn. The more she could learn about the structure of the worlds beyond the Tower, the better prepared she would be. She also wanted to increase her power as much as possible prior to her transmigration, not because she had any grand ambitions to fulfill, but because she wanted to, at the very least, experience what it was like to stand near the pinnacle... Having already made up her mind, Maschenny turned towards Lucian, the Silver Dwarf who served as her personal Guide, Light Bearer, and Butler, ordering, "Were returning to the 123rd Floor. Have everyone prepared and ready to move within the hour. Also, contact those rascals and tell them to hurry up and ascend the Tower. If they cant reach the 100th Floor within a year, there might not be a ce for them to return to." Suppressing a sigh, Lucian removed his silver-rimmed spectacles in order to clean the lenses as he remarked, "Even Ureko took fifty years to ascend the Tower. She might have taken her time, but she is still the current record holder. Unless you provide them with a Guide and the necessary resources, even a team with multiple Princess of Jahad wouldnt be able to reach the 100th Floor within a year. They might be able to manage if they work together, but, even then, the odds are slim..." As her own climb had taken approximately a hundred years, Maschenny was well aware of the truth contained within Lucians words. In her case, however, her pride hadpelled her to take on all of the Towers most infamous challenges on her own. If all the Regr Princesses were to team up and work together, setting aside their pride and differences, their ascent would be meteoric. With this in mind, she manifested both her Arms and regr Inventory, emptying both except for a few choice items such as the Yellow May and her favorite artifacts. Then, with a severe yet excited undertone to her voice, she said, "I dont care what it takes. Empty out the treasury if you have to. Either way, they only have a year or so before they miss this opportunity in its entirety. Unless they want to fade into obscurity, tell them to light a fire under their asses and hurry the hell up." Seeing Maschenny toss out her treasures withplete disregard, Lucian couldnt help feeling a little perturbed. She had inherited her fathers trait as a collector, so, unless the situation forced her hand, she would never part with her treasures. A few months ago, she had even been coordinating with groups in the lower floors to capture and imprison Khun Aguero Agnis, as, prior to bing a Regr, the youth had stolen their fathers entire collection. Now, however, she was throwing away painstakingly acquired treasures without batting an eysh... Amused by Lucians reaction, Maschenny crossed her arms with a haughty smile on her face as she mused, "Oh? Do you mean to tell me that you didnt see thising? It seems actions inspired by the Sage Dragon Emperors influence are beyond even the abilities of an A-Rank Guide to foresee. How interesting..." As he hadnt been proactively using his power, Lucian couldnt help furrowing his brows in response to Maschennys teasing remark. Then, with his eyes releasing an illusory silver glow, he peered into the predatory Princess future before paling as images of her lifeless yet smiling body infiltrated his mind. This gave him the urge to refuse her order, but, as a Guide, it wasnt his ce to decide what path others walked, only to advise them when they felt lost. Maschenny had clearly resolved herself to this particr path, so, even if he wanted to advise her to choose a different route, he could only clench his teeth and stay the course she had decided upon...such was the responsibility and curse of a Silver Dwarf... --- Though she understood it would take approximately 51 days for him to reach her Floor, a certain tomboyish blonde could already be seen waiting expectantly in the canopy of a massive tree that, from a distance, resembled an amalgamation of glowing white wings. This was none other than the Wing-Tree, and, as could be expected, the only person with enough insolence to casually rx in its branches was none other than Ureko. After hearing reports regarding Yuris spontaneous increase in strength, something she was looking forward to experiencing directly, Ureko was convinced that Vahn had surpassed her expectations by a considerable amount. This made it difficult for her to remain calm, so, after stealing another seven pairs of panties, she promptly decided to return to the 77th Floor. There, a considerable number of Wolhaiksong members, several of which Vahn would have immediately recognized, had gathered in anticipation of his arrival. They were all looking forward to meeting the person rumored to possess the ability to make their collective dreame true, so, along with Ureko, a veritable horde of High and Advanced Rankers were patiently awaiting the appearance of both Yuri and the Sage Dragon Emperor... (A/N: Alternate Titles: One of us. One of us. One of us~,Maschenny employing thosete-game speedrun strats...,Prepare the boss music track o_o...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1969 Principles

Chapter 1969 Principles

Though there had been a marginal amount of pushback from some factions within the Hendo Lok Family, Vahns journey through the Tower had be remarkably unimpeded. All he needed to do was treat the people who came to him. The rest of his time was spent rather leisurely, not because he had nothing to do, but because he needed to keep an eye on everyone in the exploration group. Despite a concerted effort by several families to begin restructuring, there was still a phenomenal amount of corruption within the Tower. Many attempted to conceal this by lying low while Vahns group was exploring the Floor, but, more often than not, the residents of the Floor were more than willing to reveal the truth of the matter. This led to a series of one-sided conflicts, as, even on the low end, each resident of the Emerald Grove was more than a match for the average High Ranker. The only saving grace for the factions that had drawn the attention of Vahn and his entourage was the fact they only spent three days on each Floor. This disappointed many of the opportunists who wanted the Empire to resolve all their problems, but, possessing no desire to be involved with the politics of the Tower, Vahn didnt particrly mind how people viewed him and his group. They helped who they wanted, and, once everything was resolved, it was up to the people left behind to choose how they would move forward from there. This mighte across as irresponsible, but, just as the people were not beholden to the Empire, Vahn and hispatriots had no obligation to take care of and provide for them. By not expecting anything in return, be it status, power, or resources, the Aldrnari Empire was in a rather unique position. Its members could act with impunity, and, most importantly, they could not be bribed, swayed, or corrupted. They were like a fiery wave of justice that swept across everything, and, the moment anyone tried to oppose them, they would be annihted without the opportunity for recourse. This included branches of the Ten Great Families, so, by the time Vahn had reached the 70th Floor, the territories around the Gateports had be progressively more deserted. Inversely, the presence of the Royal Enforcement Division and Imperial Army had increased, not to get in the way, but to try and resolve things in a less destructive manner. Heading this effort were the Corps Commanders of the 2nd and 4th Army Corps, specifically High Rankers by the name Ari Senna and Kavan. They had been given the task of mediating between the exploration group and the various factions rted to the Jahad Empire. This generally involved arresting and imprisoning certain persons of interest, but, every now and then, it meant small fights would break out between the 4th Army Corps and the exploration group. The Corps Commander of the 4th Army Corps, Kavan, was a remarkably powerful individual with an unyielding sense of justice and a penchant for collecting people he found interesting. His entire Corps wasprised of Servants he had collected over the years, and, depending on their power and contributions, they were further broken down into various Tiers. Though collecting people sounded wrong, the truth of the matter was that Kavan allowed the people he had defeated to redeem themselves through service. Had they refused, he would have been forced to kill them in the fulfillment of his duties, so, in more ways than one, he had afforded them a second chance at life. This,bined with Kavans nature and power, led to many within the 4th Army Corps dedicating themselves wholeheartedly to the blonde-haired, blue-eyed, man. In their minds, he was the greatest hero in the entire Tower, and, should he ask it of them, they would not hesitate toy down their lives to fulfill his aspirations. Unfortunately, as was often the case when the leader of an organization was considered righteous and heroic, the people beneath them were quick to act if it meant preserving these ideals. In simple terms, the members of the 4th Army Corps were zealots who genuinely believed that Kavan was the hero who would unify the various peoples of the Tower. In their minds, he was the only person qualified to achieve thispletely arbitrary dream, so, with many in the exploration group being rather zealous themselves, it was only natural that the two sides would have disagreements... --- Having been keeping a close eye on things, Vahn promptly teleported to the scene just as Mordred released her Dragons Breath towards a Needle-wielding woman with blonde hair, blue eyes, white military-style garb, and a red cape. This was a recurring theme as ofte, so, with Mordreds breath diverted towards the heavens, a wry smile developed across Vahns face as he stated, "I dont mean to be rude, but Im beginning to see a bit of irony in your parents naming you Bright..." Unamused by Vahns words, the woman, Ari Bright Sharon, adopted a potent frown as she forced herself to say, "Thank you for your assistance..." through gritted teeth. At the same time, she made sure to back up out of arms reach, an action that elicited a light chuckle from Vahns throat. Shifting his attention away from the petite blonde, Vahn directed his gaze towards a mechanically modified woman with porcin-white skin, red eyes, and a sky-blue gemstone embedded in her forehead. This was one of the only First Tier Servants among Kavans forces, and, as her red eyes and phenomenal aura indicated, she was a member of the Ha Family. Unfortunately, she had given up the blessings associated with her Family in exchange for an advanced prosthesis that drastically improved her ability to manipte Shinsu. As a result, she looked more machine than human, and, though she wasnt exactly ugly, Vahn couldnt help feeling a marginal amount of disappointment whenever heid eyes on her... Recognizing the look in Vahns eyes, the inordinately pale woman, Ha Cheonhee, resisted the urge to ball her hands into fists as she exined, "We have taken control of the situation and intend to conduct a thorough investigation into the Aris Familys offenses. Please withdraw your forces. There is no need to exacerbate matters any further." Choosing to disregard the womans remark, Vahn shifted his attention to Mordred, who, since his arrival, had been doing her best to calm down. In response to his gaze, however, a fiery aura began to erupt from her body as she heatedly exined, "These assholes are trying to protect a bunch of pedos involved in human trafficking! Those bastards dont deserve a trial...!" Understanding how disadvantageous things could get if Vahn was triggered, Cheonhee did her best to rify things, immediately adding, "ming the entire family for the actions of a few isnt justice! You have every right to be angry, but there is a process to deal with-" Interrupting Cheonhees remarks, Vahns aura descended upon the entirepound as he said, "Ill resolve this matter personally. Move." With the final word carrying the Power of Authority, Cheonhee, Sharon, and several other members of the 4th Army Corps experienced the horror of having their bodies move against their will. At the same time, all the Shinsu in the surroundings began to dissipate as thepound housing the Aris Family began to fragment into its constituent parts... --- Observing the incident up until the point that the connection with her Lighthouse was interrupted, a tired sigh escaped Ari Sennas throat as she looked at the muscr man seated across from her and said, "This is the seventh incident. Im afraid I have no choice but to consult the Commander-in-Chief and have her select a recement. Please recall your forces and have them begin making preparations for your departure." Without so much as a single change in his expression, Kavan, appearing as steady as a mountain, stared directly into Sennas eyes as he firmly dered, "We will not withdraw without a direct order from the King. The acquiescence of the Empires forces threatens to propel the Tower into a state of disarray and unbridled chaos. If our intelligence is urate, he will be an even greater threat if he is allowed to enter the 77th Floor and ally with Wokhaiksong. Before then, I will do everything in my power to hinder that mans progress...even if it means going rogue..." Frowning in response to Kavans words, Senna was tempted to chide him, but, understanding the futility of such actions, she simply released a sigh before saying, "Ill have to record your dissidence in my report. If youre going to take action, you have until Headquarters sends its response to carry it out. After that, I will have no choice but to mobilize my forces against yours. At that time, the 4th Army Corps will be formally acknowledged as traitors to the Empire. If you are prepared to take that risk, it is beyond my powers to arrest you. I can only pray that you take the lives of your people into consideration before deciding on any drastic course of action..." Nodding his head in understanding, Kavan reached up to his cor to remove his rank insignia before rising to his feet and tly saying, "It has been an honor to serve alongside you. When the timees, I will order my people not to resist. Please take that into consideration when youre deciding on their sentence." Finished with what he needed to say, Kavan performed a courteous bow in lieu of a salute before unhesitantly turning around and departing themand room. This left Senna feeling more than a little exasperated, as, despite the many scandals andints associated with the 4th Army Corp, they were, inarguably, one of the Empires most loyal forces. This incident was bound to be used as a justification for their disassembly, and, as a result, the Empire would lose its most dependable and inclusive unit... Exhaling a tired sigh, Sennabed her fingers through her maroon-red hair before staring up at the ceiling with her faded, leaf-green, eyes. This incident made her painstakingly aware of her age, and, though she had no intention of stepping down any time soon, ten-thousand-years was a long time to hold a single position. It was more than enough time to seed the notion that she had been doing this for too long, and, while his beliefs were certainly contentious, it was difficult to shake the feeling that people like Kavan were what the Tower needed most... --- Though he did not ughter them all, Vahn ended up executing most of the Aris Family. They might have been working on the orders of their Elder and several criminal members of the Workshop, but, regardless of the circumstances, they had been profiting off the illegal trafficking and harvesting of infants and children in the Middle Tower. Such actions were simply unforgivable, so, afterpiling a list of every researcher and affiliate rted to the incident, he ended up reducing more than 70% of the Aris Family to ash. The only people who were spared were those who had attempted to help the children in secret and those too young to fully understand the horrors perpetrated as a result of their familys greed... It was around the time when Vahn was restoring the Aris Familyspound to its original structure that arge, seemingly infinite, aura descended upon him. This immediately drew his attention, but, rather than showing even a hint of concern, disdain was the only emotion visible in his countenance as he asked, "Is this really the hill you want to die on? Defending pedophiles and monsters engaged in human trafficking?" Without so much as a single change in his expression, a subtle yet remarkably powerful blue aura began to exude from Kavans body as he replied, "As people with the power to force our version of justice unto others, it is even more important that we adhere to thews implemented by those responsible for regting society. We cannot expect those beneath us to obey thew if we choose to disregard it at our leisure. As reprehensible as their actions may have been, it was not your ce to y the part of judge, jury, and executioner. Even if you are a God, there should be limits to what you can and cant get away with. The Tower is not your yground." Frowning in response to the resolute mans words, Vahn was prepared to point out the hypocrisy in his ims and ask who afforded him the right to pass judgment, but, before he could utter so much as a single syble, violent plumes of gold and blue Shinsu erupted around him. This was the result of an artifact known as the Essence of Bravery, a sacred treasure that, in the distant past, Kavan had stolen from his own people for no better reason than to alleviate his boredom and obtain even greater strength. It was rumored to be infinitely close to S-Rank in Grade, and, as a basic function, it provided a functionally unlimited amount of Shinsu to its user. With the Essence of Bravery in hand, quite literally, Kavan had risen from the status of a rtively unknown Ranker to one of the most powerful High Rankers in the entire Tower. This was in spite of the fact he was only Ranked 117th on the official Rankings, not for ack of power, but for ack of ambition. If the Rankings were actually based on power, he would easily be in the top 50, and, if he managed to catch them in a region of unstable Shinsu, even those in the top 20 would have a hard time defeating him. As for the reason, it was due to the Essence of Braverys most potent effect, an ability that granted its user a form of Invulnerability so long as they genuinely believed in what they were fighting for... (A/N: Alternate Titles: No room for discussion,Senna be like, "Im too old for this shit...",Imagine stealing the treasure your n has protected for countless generations only to walk around with a justice boner for more than three-thousand-years...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1970 Unstoppable Force

Chapter 1970 Unstoppable Force

As the energy from Kavans attack washed harmlessly across his body, Vahn stood in silent contemtion with his eyes closed and arms slightly spread. His impermeability had reached such extremes that, even if her were to be tossed into a dwarf star, the gravity, pressure, and heat would have no effect on his body. Rather, unless theirprehension of thews had exceeded a certain threshold, dealing damage to him was akin to a normal human attempting to pluck a star from the sky... Exhaling a sigh, a green aura erupted from Vahns body that caused the Aris Familypound to rapidly repair itself. At the same time, the people killed by Kavans indiscriminate attack found their bodies made whole again as Vahn shaped the explosive Shinsu from his attack into a highlypressed Baang. Then, just as Kavan was preparing to speak, Vahn opened his eyes to reveal shimmering golden pupils as he remarked, "Pure, unadulterated, ego..." Without affording the man the opportunity to respond, Vahn grabbed the Baang with his bare hand before mming it against the surrounding void. This caused space-time within the proximity of his domain to fracture like a broken mirror, but, due to the ongoing reversal of entropy, the destructive process was unable to wreak the havocmonly associated with such an event. With Kavancking the ability to control his association with the Standard Axis of Time, Vahn was able to appear right in front of the man as he repeated the same seventeen-microsecond cycle over and over again. He was effectively trapped in a time loop, but, due to the blessings provided by the Essence of Bravery, he was still cognizant of everything around him. This would be a boon against a normal opponent, but, against someone like Vahn, it was no different than being a prisoner within your own body and mind. Staring into the ring mans fiery-blue eyes, Vahns expression remained a mask of apathy as he stated, "You are a good man, Kavan. Unfortunately, much like Adori, you are blinded by your own sense of justice. You are so convinced that you are doing the right thing, that, even when you make mistakes, you simply press forward, propelled by your sense of duty. I wonder...how many lives have you taken in these three-thousand-years just because they were opposed to epting the second chance you offered them? Did it bring you a sense offort when you excused your actions with self-assurances and telling yourself they were better off dead than living in opposition to Jahad...?" Unable to respond, Kavan continued trying to surge forward, but, no matter how much power he attempted to muster, it would immediately return to his body due to the irresistible looping of time. This, alone, would have been unbelievably frustrating, but, with the addition of Vahns words, it was almost like being trapped in hell. To make matters worse, Vahn appearedpletely unfazed by his own exertion, almost as if it took no effort whatsoever... Sensing Kavans murderous intent increasing exponentially in rtion to his fear, Vahn couldnt help shaking his head as he softly muttered, "Yet another example of a good man corrupted by a power he didnt earn...haaaaa..." Though he knew Kavan would eventuallye around if he was given time to reflect, Vahn knew the only way to get him to empathize with others was to put him on the same level. The Essence of Bravery had influenced his perspective in an extreme way, and, though he had tried to use its power for good, such sentiments were meaningless if you didnt have to struggle. Having made up his mind, Vahn lifted his hand towards the heavens as Laev-tan manifested within his grasp. This allowed the flow of time to return to normal, but, before Kavan could so much as widen his eyes, his entire body was bisected from crown to crotch by the eerie ck haze left in the wake of Vahns instantaneously, imperceptible, sh. Immediately thereafter, every trace of energy within his body spontaneously ceased to exist, as, deep within the container of his Soul, arge blue crystal split cleanly in two before subsequently vanishing alongside a smiling man with ashen-grey skin and blood-red eyes... With the ck haze fading from the mans body, Vahn extended his hand to grab Kavans cor so that he wouldnt fall from the sky and injure himself. He still had the physique of a High Ranker, but, due to thepleteck of Shinsu in his body, every cell in his body was screaming out as his nerves lit up like the night sky following a festival. This caused his body to seize and spasm, and, as a result of the phenomenal pain he was experiencing, even someone of Kavans character was left unconscious, froth forming at his mouth as his eyes rolled backward. Deciding to save the man a bit of face, Vahn unceremoniously tossed Kavan into the Little Garden before shifting his gaze towards the fleet of Suspend Ships looming in the distance. More precisely, his gaze focused on the centermost ship within the fleet, a massive craft reminiscent of a city-sized centipede. This was Kavans gship, and, though they understood the futility of trying to attack a High Ranker with conventional weaponry, that didnt stop Cheonhee from giving the order to open fire. Though he could have simply ignored the wall-like barrage of cannons, Vahn responded by raising his hand and instantaneously erecting magic circles equal in number to the beams of Shinsu firing toward him. As a result, every single beam of Shinsu was absorbed, greatly empowering the magic circles. Then, much to the horror of the 4th Army Corp, the magic circles began to rapidly divide as the center of each emanated a light simr to a Shinsu cannon preparing to fire. Had they simply stayed in a wall-like formation, the 4th Army Corp might have been able to react to Vahns counter using powerful barriers and Lighthouses. Unfortunately, just as the Vice-Commander of the 4th Army Corp gave the order to prepare the defenses, the tens of thousands of magic circles in the distance disappeared before subsequently reappearing in a hemispherical formation beneath the fleet. Then, like a rain rising from the ground and piercing the heavens, innumerable weakened beams of Shinsu began to pepper the fleet,pletely overwhelming all but the gships shields. Noticing this, Vahn teleported directly above the gship, ignoring the astonished gaze of the Vice-Commander, an inordinately tall man with broad horns and a body fashioned from a blue and white exoskeleton. Then, with what appeared to be a simple, slow-motion, punch, he struck the hull with enough force to create a tunnel-like cavity in the ground below, a distance more than 13,000m. As a result, the gship ended up dropping hundreds of meters in an instant as a hole more than 10m across prated the entirety of the city-sized ship. Shifting his attention away from the gship, Vahn directed his gaze towards the Vice-Commander, calmly questioning, "Are we done here, or do you intend to continue trying my patience? Be sure to choose your next words wisely, Vice-Commander Elpathion." Though he hadntpletely recovered his senses, Elpathion managed to ask, "Is the Commander still alive?" before promptly following it with, "We surrender." in response to Vahns affirmative nod. Kavan was more important to them than their own lives, so, as long as he was still alive, there was always room for negotiations... --- Having witnessed the battle from start to finish, Senna was forced to consume a medicine produced by her family just to calm her nerves. Vahns power wasnt unprecedented within the long history of the Tower, but, seeing the ease in which he performed feats of extraordinary skill and power, it was easy to surmise that he was holding back. This made it difficult to grasp his actual power, and, more importantly, whether or not he had any actual limits... Shaking her head, Sennaforted herself with the notion that, even if he was a God, there had to be a limit to Vahns strength. At the very least, there had to be some sort of logic that both defined and subsequently limited its use. There was no such thing as absolute omnipotence, so, while Vahn was unquestionably powerful, there had to be some kind of restrictions preventing him from using it however he pleased... Nodding in approval of her own assertation, Senna manifested her Lighthouses console in order to file an updated report. It was her duty to update Headquarters on all matters pertaining to the Sage Dragon Emperor, and, most importantly, offer suggestions regarding how they should both handle and approach him. In this regard, her authority was second only to Adori, as, prior to the legendary Princess rise, she had served nearly three-thousand-years as Commander-in-Chief of the Empires forces. In Sennas opinion, Vahns existence was an opportunity to introduce some much-needed reform to the Empire. Ten-thousand-years of peace had resulted in the stagnation and corruption of the Great Families, and, as a result, the Empire as a whole. If left to fester unattended, it was only a matter of time before the Empire copsed from the inside, so, while Vahns existence was a clear and present threat, it also provided much-needed relief to generations of societal decay. Conveying this within her report, Senna hoped those at the top took her advice to heart and made a concerted effort to improve things before Vahns arrival. Opposing him directly would only result in even greater destruction to the Empire, so, for everyones sake, she was hoping they did the right thing. At the very least, they need to discover Vahns weakness before making a stand, as, based on the information they had obtained thus far, there were no known methods to decisively defeat him. Adori had purportedly annihted his body without a trace, yet, as if it didnt matter in the slightest, Vahn had simply recreated himself from nothingness. Though the current theory was that Vahn transnted a version of himself from a parallel timeline into the present, the notion that he possessed such a capability was more than enough reason not to antagonize him. The Workshop had published studies attesting to the existence of a functionally infinite number of alternate and derivative timelines, so, if Vahn truly possessed the ability to draw power from alternate versions of himself, what could they, beings trapped in a single timeline, hope to do against him...? As that thought crossed her mind, Senna leaned back in her chair and quietly enjoyed the calm and serene atmosphere that always preempted periods of unbridled chaos. Any moment now, hundreds of reports woulde filing in from various sources, so, even if it was just for a few seconds longer, she wanted to enjoy the rxed state of her body, a side-effect of the medicine she had previously ingested... --- With a pained groan escaping from his throat, the result of simply breathing, Kavan opened his eyes to find himself lying beneath an inordinatelyrge and beautiful tree. Rather than appreciating its beauty, however, he immediately forced himself to a seated position, ignoring the pain even as a thickyer of sweat spread across his entire body. Noticing several other inordinatelyrge trees in the distance, reports rted to the Little Garden immediately appeared within Kavans mind. Before he could make any decisions about what he wanted to do, however, a gentle voice echoed from behind him, saying, "You shouldnt be moving around just yet. Were it not for the unique nature of this ce, you might have already died from the strain on your body." Though it caused every nerve in his body to cry out in pain, Kavan forced himself to spin around in an instant, Shinsu gathering around his arms as heunched himself toward the voices owner, a young girl with dark-skin, leaf-green hair, and clothesprised entirely of leaves and flowers. Frowning in response to Kavans actions, the drill-haired girl swiped her hand through the air in a pping gesture. Under normal circumstances, Kavan could have easily evaded such a blow, but, at that exact moment, all the Shinsu he had gathered spontaneously dispersed. He hadpletely lost the rights to manipte it within the First Layer, and, as a result, the girls deceptively simple p ended up connecting directly with his left cheek, consequently sending him flying hundreds of meters... (A/N: Alternate Titles: O_O...,Treating poison with poison,Kavan be like, "Why you bully me...?) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1971 Reprieve

Chapter 1971 Reprieve

Having reached an agreement with the leadership of the 4th Army Corps, Vahn entered the Little Garden to find Kavans unconscious body surrounded by numerous petite figures with dark-skin, various shades of green hair, and inordinately long, elf-like, ears. Sensing Vahns presence, each of the girls, including the one who had been jabbing Kavan with a stick, immediately abandoned the unconscious man in order to flock around him. In response, Vahn attempted to pacify them with head pats, but, as was often the case, he ultimately ended up being forced to the ground as the child-like Spirits attempted to climb all over his body. Fortunately, almost immediately after Vahn had been tackled to the ground, the sensual sound of a mature womans voice could be heard echoing through the surroundings, saying, "Now, now, girls. What have I told you about inconveniencing your father when he is busy? Run along now." Though a few appeared reluctant, each of the Spirits promptly disappeared once an inordinately beautiful woman with fair skin, chestnut brown hair, and deep purple eyes manifested from within the void. This allowed Vahn to roll to a seated position, an appreciative smile developing across his face as he said, "Good morning, Rose. How are you feeling today?" Returning a smile of her own, Rose leisured approached Vahns side, replying, "Im better now." as a series ofrge, thorn-covered, vines pushed him to his feet. Then, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, she wrapped her arms around his body before promptly cing her head against his chest. This caused several lingering Spirits to cry out in protest, but, as if she were oblivious to their protestations, Rose continued enjoying Vahns warmth for several seconds before exining, "That man attempted to assault Noelle. I dont believe he intended to harm her, but that doesnt absolve him of guilt. Anyone who would default to taking hostages without first attempting to understand the situation isnt a good person..." Seeing the rather dangerous glimmer in Roses eyes, Vahn took the initiative to hold her head against his chest, gently caressing her fragrant hair as he said, "Dont worry. Once this is all over with, hell never be allowed ess to the First Layer. Rather, unless there are some extenuating circumstances, you wont have to worry about seeing him in the Little Garden." Though she wasntpletely satisfied with the oue, Rose still nodded in response to Vahns words. The decision was ultimately his to make, and, while she disdained anyone with the audacity to attack one of her children, she was willing to drop the matter since nobody had been hurt... Feeling thorn-covered vines gradually coiling around his legs, a wry smile developed across Vahns face as he said, "Ill pay a visit to the City of Flowers a littleter. For now, I still have other matters to attend. If you keep this up, the others are going to pout." Giggling in response to Vahns words, Rose gave his body one final squeeze before releasing him to reply, "Ill hold you to your word. Dont keep us waiting for too long." With that said, the rosesprising Roses garments began to rapidly ke away, but, before the tantalizing flesh beneath could be revealed, so too did her actual body. In the end, the only thing that remained in her wake was a circr pattern of rose petals, as, like the other World Tree Spirits, Roses actual body had been elsewhere. In fact, she was the Spirit of the World Tree that dominated the centermost ind. This actually made her the youngest among the other Spirits, but, in spite of this, everyone called her Mother since she served as the center of their formation and represented the literal heart of the Little Gardens Nine Layers. As the pale-purple petals in the surrounding slowly melted away like fresh snow, Vahn walked over to where Kavan was still lying unconscious. Then, after suppressing the urge to unceremoniously kick the man awake, he bent down to press his middle and index finger between the mans brows, a thin thread of energy emerging from the very tips of his fingers. Startling awake, Kavans blue eyes locked onto Vahn, but, despite his best efforts, he found that he was unable to move so much as a single muscle. He couldnt even breathe of his own ord, and, were it not for Vahn manually controlling the expansion and contraction of his diaphragm, it wouldnt be long before he died from asphyxiation. He no longer had the blessings of Shinsu, so, while his body was unbelievably powerfulpared to the average person, he was considerably more mortal than before. Since he didnt really care about Kavans excuses, Vahn prevented the man from speaking as he inly remarked, "Its a curious thing, really...for some reason, whenever someone loses power they acquired using underhanded means, they always default to acting like skittish thugs and cowards. I wonder...how does it feel to be on the receiving end of someone elses magnanimity. Do you think the people you murdered at Jahads behest felt this way before you unceremoniously killed them?" Unable to respond, all Kavan could do was re back at Vahn with hate-filled eyes. At the same time, however, his chaotic aura noticeably mellowed. He might have been blinded by his power, but he wasnt a fool. He could see the reason contained within Vahns words, so, while he couldnt help but resent the arrogant God, it didnt prevent him from reflecting on his past actions. Nodding in approval, Vahn resisted the urge to give Kavans face a few smacks as he pulled the man up by his cor and said, "I already spoke with your people. Things arent going to be easy for you moving forward, but, even without the Essence of Bravery, youre still a High Ranker. If you put in the effort, you might even surpass your previous self in power. This time, however, I would advise you to spend some time trying to empathize with those who have chosen to follow you. They might be a bunch of misfits, but there are some good people supporting you. If you learn to treat them as equals, rather than servants, you will all be stronger for it." Finished with what he wanted to say, Vahn allowed feeling and control to return to Kavans body before subsequently ejecting him from the Little Garden. Elpathion, Cheonhee, and Sharon were all waiting for him on the outside, so, even though he was still severely injured, he wouldnt be left to fend for himself. He would also be able to use Shinsu again, so, by this time tomorrow, there was a chance he would be fully recovered. With that out of the way, Vahn smacked his hands together a few times before promptly teleporting to one of the most secretive and secure regions of the Little Garden, a sub-texture between the First and Second Layers. Here, a total of 289 World Tree Spirits had taken up residence, and, as a result of being located within Roses body, the interior resembled the nook of a tree with countless flowering nts and trees. Thetter served as the abodes of the various residents, but, with flowers covering virtually every surface, the remarkably beautiful and fragrant sub-texture hade to be known as the City of Flowers. Reacting to Vahns sudden appearance, several dozen child-like Dryads and a number of different kinds of fae began to flock towards him with expectant smiles on their faces. This caused the smile on Vahns face to twitch, as, despite their individual charms, being flocked by a veritable horde of lolis could be quite stressful. They had no concept of personal space, so, whenever he visited the City of Flowers, it was only ever a matter of time before they swarmed him like bees to honey... Fortunately, just as a few palm-sized Pixies attempted to im Vahns head as their domain, Rose promptly manifested out of thin air, deftly plucking a squirrel-sized dragon with insect-like wings from his body before saying, "Behave. You will have plenty of time to yter. For now, let Vahn rx. If were too forceful, well end up scaring him off..." Since it couldnt speak, the miniature dragon just flicked its tongue towards Rose as the swarming Fae reluctantly dispersed. The only ones who chose to remain were those who had already imed a part of Vahn as their perch. This included three diminutive pixies, a palm-sized bird reminiscent of a griffin, and a young Dryad wearing a smockprised almost entirely of oversized sakura petals. Though she wanted to admonish them for their defiance, Vahn prevented Roses lecture by shaking his head and picking up the green-skinned girl. She had the appearance of a 4-6-year-old, so, while he was against being swarmed, he would feel guilty if he sent her off with a chiding from Rose... Understanding that Vahn intended to use the young Dryad as a shield of sorts, Rose couldnt help turning her eyes up at him with a knowing look on her face. This caused Vahns smile to turn even wrier, but, having suffered quite a bit at the hands of the overly-affectionate Tree Spirits, he didnt mind being a little shameless... --- In the wake of Kavans betrayal, the 4th Army Corps was temporarily ced under themand of Senna until a recement Commander could be found. As for Kavan, he managed to avoid the typical penalty associated with treason, death. Instead, he was demoted from the position of Corps Commander, the second-highest position in the Jahad Army, to the rank of Staff Sergeant. This was a loss of thirteen ranks, but,pared to the death penalty, it was a rtively tame punishment. So long as he made an effort, it wouldnt take him long to rise through the ranks, so, in a way, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that Kavan had received a p on the wrists. If anything, the greatest blow to Kavan was the fact he had been transferred from the 4th to the 2nd Army Corps. This all but guaranteed that someone representing the interests of the Ten Great Families would be ced in charge of the 4th Army Corps, and, as a result, it was only a matter of time before the entire unit was dissolved. The 4th Army Corps had always been the outcasts of the Jahad Army, so, now that they had the chance to remove a persistent thorn from their side, those who valued bloodline over everything else were bound to take action. Fortunately, Kavan, Elpathion, and Cheonhee had been anticipating an event like this for several hundred years. As a result, nearly every member of the 4th Army Corps had qualified for retirement and a rather sizeable pension. They had also signed contracts that allowed them to stockpile leave, so, even if the new Corps Commander attempted to forcibly transfer them, they could simply go on paid vacation, potentially for years, until their discharge papers were approved. This was a standard contract within the Jahad Army, so, unless the Corps Commander intended to take the issue directly to Adori, there was very little they could do without directly viting the Imperial Code of Conduct and risking an inquiry. Simply put, so long as they didnt do anything extreme, the members of the 4th Army Corps always had the option of retiring and joining the reserve forces until Kavan managed to restore his rank and position. This might take several years, but, considering most of them could survive for tens-of-thousands-of-years without issue, enjoying a few decades of retirement was practically the blink of an eye. Then, even if it took decades longer, they would eventually be able to rebuild the 4th Army Corps in Kavans image, once again bing a group of misfits who believed in justice above all else... (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "Be still my right foot...",An endless sea of lolis, fae, and other adorable creatures...,Bureaucracy at its finest xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 1972 Imminent

Chapter 1972: Imminent

Emerging onto the 76th Floor, Vahn was unsurprised to find arge crowd of people waiting for them. This time, however, it wasn''t simply paparazzi, agents of the Ten Great Families, and members of the Royal Enforcement Division awaiting their arrival. Instead, there was arge group of cloaked individuals wearings simr outfits, several of which Vahn could identify at a nce. Though things were made a little awkward due to the presence of more than twenty women in his surroundings, Vahn immediately adopted a smile as he said, "Tarou, Soo-Yun, Marble. It''s good to see you again. I see you''ve each be even more charming since our previous parting." Not expecting Vahn to call out to her, Marble, the Dwelfling that had assisted Team Wolf Pack on the 3rd Floor of the Tower, spontaneously turned bright red. As for Tarou, the Administrator Vahn had met on the 11th Floor, and Soo-Yun, the Scout of Yuri''s party, the former simply adopted a gratified smile while thetter remarked, "You''re ying with fire, dragon boy. If you don''t pick up the pace, Ureko really might kill you." Despite understanding the seriousness of her words, Vahn couldn''t help chuckling in response to Soo-Yun''s remark. Almost immediately thereafter, however, he nearly ended up choking due to Mordred quietly noting, "Wow. Did Chichiue really do it with someone so tiny? That girl with the hooves can''t be more than 120cm tall. How brave..." Resisting the urge to smack the golden-haired girl on the back of her head, Vahn sent a warning look towards Mordred before turning to face the beet-red Marble. He wanted to clear things up, but, before a single syble could escape his lips, the Law of Identity whispered, "She has actually been looking forward to it..." directly into his ear... Seeing Vahn at a loss for words, Artoria promptly decided to lend her support, stepping forward to state, "We should move this discussion elsewhere." before shifting her gaze towards the exploration group and adding, "Same as usual. You have seventy-two-hours to explore. Don''t wander too far. If something happens, don''t hesitate to send a report." Though some wanted to stick around and witness the drama, most of the exploration group quickly dispersed. This left Artoria, Gray, Mordred, and Fenrir to apany Vahn, who, taking advantage of the sudden shift, elected to simply disregard Mordred''s remark and the fact that the Law of Identity was hanging from his shoulders while borrowing Marble''s form... --- With Wolhaiksong''s main base located just a single Floor higher, the peace and stability of the 76th Floor were exceptionalpared to the many Floors preceding it. They even had numerous bases and military outposts disseminated throughout the Floor, so, while it was formally governed by the Po Bidau Family, many considered the 76th Floor to be under the control of Wolhaiksong. At the direction of Soo-Yun, Vahn and Co were led to a surprisingly homely-looking inn that served, primarily, as a tavern. Wolhaiksong was vehemently against the notions of wealth and excess, so, as a matter of course, most of their facilities were designed with simplicity in mind. Many, in fact, were shaped from natural materials, and, more often than not, were built in the middle of forests, within mountain ranges, or deep beneath the ground. This had led to many decrying them as savages and backwater hicks, but, as time passed, a greater number of people had been flocking to Wolhaiksong in the search of a simpler, more honest, way of living. Rather than showing even a hint of difort, Vahn couldn''t help smiling when he was introduced to the rather roughshod abode. Others might find the scent of wood and moist soil offensive, but, as someone whose first home had been nothing more than a cave in the middle of the woods, Vahn had always preferred such aromas over the repugnance present within most cities. It wasn''t without reason that the Emerald Grove had been built into the hills of the Eighth Layer, so, even before they had been checked into their room, his mood had already improved drastically. Seeing Vahn react ording to expectations, an amused smile developed across Soo-Yun''s face as she took the initiative to straddle hisp the moment he sat down. This caused the atmosphere to immediately be awkward, but, without minding it in the slightest, she buried her face into his chest, saying, "First things first..." before promptly dozing off. With Mordred remarking, "Are all the chibis within the Tower this bold?", Vahn couldn''t help issuing an awkward chuckle even as he habitually wrapped his arms around Soo-Yun''s body. Then, as if hisp wasn''t upied by a loli wearing nothing more than a bright-red zentai suit, he shifted his gaze to Tarou, asking, "How have you been? It feels like years have passed since thest time we met. I''m d you decided toe out and meet me like this." After an awkward chuckle of her own, Tarou picked a few strands of silver-grey hair from her face as she exined, "The higher-ups have been recalling everyone, even those who were on missions and conducting secret operations. Rumor has it, a certain Sage Dragon Emperor possesses the ability to realize our long-held dream. As for why I was elected toe and greet you like this...well, let''s just say my position has improved quite a bit thesest few months..." Emphasizing her point, Tarou produced a twelve-winged badge from a secret pocket hidden in her vest. She was nowhere near the level required to possess such a coveted symbol, but, after learning of her brief liaison with Vahn, Ureko had forced the badge upon her. She had also been elevated to the status of Sister within the upper echelons of Wolhaiksong, an honorary position that effectively implied that Ureko would personally deal with anyone senseless enough to injure, offend, or harass her. Recognizing the badge, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he softly issued, "Sorry. I didn''t really have a grasp of Ureko''s character at the time. I hope she hasn''t pestered you too much..." Waving her hands in a ''what the hell are you trying to say!?'' kind of gesture, Tarou promptly replied, "It''s not a problem! Hell, if anything, I should be thanking my lucky stars. I mean, it hasn''t even been a year since I mistook you for nothing but a cheeky Regr with a hyperinted ego and a big dick. I just wanted to scratch an itch and ended up sleeping with the literal God who intends to make our dreams a reality. If that isn''t winning the lottery, I don''t know what is." Though he appreciated her words, Vahn couldn''t help feeling a little taken aback by Tarou''s casual mention of his penis. She didn''t even seem to realize what she had said, a radiant smile dominating her face as she excitedly pumped her fists... Deciding to change the topic before things developed in a strange direction, Vahn forced a sincere smile, saying, "Thanks..." before directing his gaze to the red-faced Marble with the intent of asking how she had been these past few months. Unfortunately, the moment his eyes met with her amber gaze, she released a startled, "Fwah...!?" sound before promptly pulling down her bandana to cover her face. Then, to add insult to injury, Soo-Yun, despite the fact she was still asleep, whispered, "This is what you get for ying with the hearts of so many women~." in an amused tone... --- Receiving Soo-Yun''s reportter that same day, Yuri, wearing nothing but an Aegis top and bottom, raised her head slightly before using it to nudge the side of the topless woman she was using as a pillow, stating, "You owe me an hour of your time. I told you Vahn wouldn''t deviate from his routine that easily. At least now you have a good reason to beat him up once he finally arrives~." Grumbling in response to Yuri''s words, the topless woman, Ureko, promptly rolled onto her back in order to catch the former in a headlock before saying, "You''re bing cheekier by the day. Don''t think I won''t grind your head until your hair falls out!" Despite the drastic increase in her strength, Yuri had learned first-hand that Ureko wasn''t someone she could defeat with raw power. She was a being on the same level as Vahn, so, even if she could, somehow, secure an advantage, it was impossible to actuallye out on top. Ureko''s power was simply limitless, and, no matter what kind of injuries she sustained, it didn''t even take a full second for her to regeneratepletely. To make matters even worse, her strength seemed to be whatever she needed it to be, so, no matter how much she powered up, Yuri hade to ept that Ureko would always be stronger. Pulling at the overpowered blonde''s arm to prevent her cirction from being cut off, Yuri adopted a teasing tone as she eximed, "Go ahead and try, you tyrannical bimbo! I''ll just get Vahn to grow it back and pamper me even more...!" Twisting to wrap her legs around Yuri''s torso, Ureko put a bit more strength into her arms, easily overpowering her raven-hairedpanion before warning, "Don''t push your luck, brat. You might be one of my favorite people in this hellhole of a Tower, but that doesn''t mean I won''t beat the shit out of you. Do I need to remind you which one of us is the ''big sister''...?" With her face instantaneously turning purple, the only words Yuri could offer in response to Ureko''s threat were croaking sounds. Fortunately, just as she was about to power up to her maximum, the irritable blonde released her neck before plopping back with her arms sprawled out and muttering, "If that bastard is even a minutete, I''m going to tear off his tail and shove it so far up his ass that the tip protrudes from his mouth..." Though she was ''very'' tempted to retaliate, Yuri ultimately just rubbed her neck while continuing toy back against the sprawled out Ureko. They had actually be a lot closer after their previous battle, so, while there were moments when Ureko''s ''instincts'' caused her to behave in an oppressive manner, Yuri did her best not to take it to heart. Rather, if their positions were reversed, she would, most likely, treat Ureko in aparable manner. They were both the type tomunicate affection and express emotion through physical contact, so, while there times when things got out of hand, it never reached the point where genuine animosity would build between them... Demonstrating this sentiment to the fullest, it wasn''t long before Ureko wrapped her arms around Yuri''s body, gently embracing her as she whispered, "Sorry..." in an apologetic tone. Then, with her face nestled into the nook between Yuri''s head and shoulder, she began to affectionately nuzzle the ck-haired beauty before nting a few kisses against the nape of her neck. This elicited a ticklish giggle from Yuri, who, in response to Ureko fondling her breasts, promptly twisted around to gently bite thetter''s exposed nipple. She knew how much the half-dragon had been ''suffering'' thesest few months, so, whenever the opportunity presented itself, she didn''t mind offering her ''assistance''. After all, despite her various ws, Ureko was still her best friend, and, most importantly, they were each the person the other most empathized with throughout the entire Tower... --- Unaware of the storm brewing on the 77th Floor, Vahn coordinated with Soo-Yun to transnt the official members of Wolhaiksong into the Little Garden. This was something he had discussed with Ureko long ago, so, while it was undoubtedly a little ''unfair'' to others, he was intending to help the entire organization transfer to a higher realm without the need to transmigrate. Not everyone was eager to die in order for a chance to experience a new life, so, out of consideration for the group''s ideologies, Vahn was going to help them bypass the reincarnation process so they could remain a ''family''. He knew how painful it was to be separated from one''s family, so, even if it earned him the censure of his detractors, he didn''t particrly care. The most important thing was that it ''felt'' like the right thing to do. Thus, for the duration of his stay on the 76th Floor, Vahn transnted more than sixteen-hundred people into an unimed area within the Second Layer... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Is this what they call Karma...!?'',''Not your average ''sisterly'' bond...'',''Calm before the storm...'') Chapter 1973 Before the Dawn

Chapter 1973: Before the Dawn

Though Soo-Yun and Tarou had attempted to convince him to depart sooner, Vahn ultimately chose to remain on the 76th Floor for the entire 72 hours. He knew that, soon enough, his time within the Tower woulde to an end. Thus, while he was looking forward to his reunion with Ureko and Yuri, he was also feeling slightly apprehensive due to the significance of such an event. Even with countless contracts to protect them, Jahad and the Great Warriors were only around the pinnacle of Tier 4. If she really wanted to, Ureko would be able to defeat most of them without any issues. The only reason she elected not to was that, despite her character, she had a pretty strong sense of responsibility. She had no desire to rule over the Tower, so, on the premise that they left her alone, she generally did her best not to intervene with the Empire and its affairs. Though there would undoubtedly be a period where she went hunting for panties, Vahn was well aware of the fact that Ureko wouldn''t simply sit still after their reunion. Dragons were immensely prideful creatures, so, the moment he defeated her, or vice-versa, their fates would be intertwined. She would not just sit back as he ascended the Tower and opened the way forward for everyone in the Tower. Rather, if he tried to convince her to travel independently of each other, there was a very real possibility that she would ascend the Tower ahead of him and simply clear out all the obstacles in his path. Simply put, the moment he reunited with Ureko and Yuri, Vahn''s already ridiculous progress would be even faster. There was simply no reason to dy things, and, no matter how anyone tried to spin it, the current situation would only benefit from some expediting. There were still countless people suffering, and, while some were beginning to implement changes, the majority of people in power were simply biding their time and lying low. Such individuals couldn''t simply be ignored, so, while the aftermath could always be left to a Temte to resolve, Vahn felt obligated to handle the more troublesome matters personally. With such thoughts on his mind, Vahn, appearing as a taller-than-average male Dwelfling, stared up at the ceiling of his abode with an absentminded look on his face. To his right, face still rosy after a fair amount of exertion, Marble could be seen sleeping peacefully, a contented smile on her face as she tightly clung to his arm. This was unbelievably adorable, but, as was often the case whenever he slept with inordinately petite women, Vahn couldn''t help using the subsequent moment of rity to reflect... Fortunately, just as his thoughts had started to wander to Lili, Kali, and even Amaterasu, Vahn was interrupted by the voice of Soo-Yun remarking, "You look like a death row inmate who just finished his final meal. Do you not like the taste of Marble Cake and Strawberry Ice Cream~?" Amused by Soo-Yun''s reference to Marble''s name and her own alias, a light chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat as pulled her a little closer and whispered, "Nonsense. I''m just feeling a little nostalgic. Pretty soon, my time in the Tower wille to an end. The thought of ''moving on'' reminds me of a mistake I made in the distant past, but, no matter what, I must continue pressing forward...there are a lot of people relying on me..." Seeing the sad yet resolute glimmer in Vahn''s eyes, Soo-Yun resisted the urge to ask if he wanted to talk about it. Instead, she nted a kiss on his cheek before snuggling a little closer to him, face nestling in the nook of his neck as she whispered, "You''re strong..." before promptly returning to his dreamscape. This caused Vahn''s smile to soften considerably, and, though he couldn''t help feeling a little awkward being sandwiched between two inordinately petite women, that didn''t stop him from nting kisses on their foreheads before joining them in his unconscious mind... --- With only a few minutes remaining until their scheduled departure, Vahn began recalling everyone using his Unit Management. This time, however, he recalled them to the Little Garden, as, unlike the previous Floors, the 77th was a single, massive, forest. There wasn''t really anything to explore, so, as a precaution against Ureko attacking him the moment they arrived, Vahn decided it would be safer if everyone returned to the Emerald Grove to begin making preparations for a grand banquet. The only exception to this was Artoria, who, as a result of her draconic lineage and status as a Tier 5, feltpelled to challenge Ureko herself. Though he would have liked to settle things peacefully, Vahn hade to ept that the hierarchy between True Dragons wasn''t so easily circumvented. There were undoubtedly Records where such instincts didn''t exist, but, more often than not, the need for True Dragons to determine who among them was the strongest simply couldn''t be suppressed. This even applied to siblings from the same brood, so, while he would prefer it if they could simply talk things out, Vahn knew that the only way forward was to make Ureko submit to him or ept a station beneath her. With his own instincts preventing him from submitting to another, for a variety of reasons, the only oue Vahn could ept was an absolute victory. He would do his best to avoid ''cheating'', but, if it came down to it, he wasn''t against taking advantage of his Actualization Innate to umte strength and experience in other worlds. Letting Ureko win would threaten everything he had built, and, depending on the circumstances, she might not approve of certain members of his harem. This would introduce all kinds of needless drama, so, even if it was a little underhanded, Vahn intended to use everything in his arsenal to secure victory. He was also willing to help Artoria, but, knowing her, she would most likely ept defeat before doing everything in her power to surpass Ureko on her own terms. Indicative of this, Artoria, now in her fully matured form, stood patiently at Vahn''s side in full, ivory-white, armor. She, like most of the girls who had opted to be True Dragons, had the ability to freely adjust her size and shape to conserve energy. This allowed her to appear young and adorable at normal times, but, when the time for battle came, her body would automatically adjust to a form better suited forbat. Most opponents didn''t merit such measures, but, out of consideration for Ureko''s strength, Artoria was prepared to go all out from the very start. Fortunately, even in her fully matured form, Artoria was only 171cm tall, so, despite appearing regal and untouchable, Vahn could still freely caress her head. This would generally result in her staring at him with an apathetic, ''can''t this wait?'', kind of look on her face, but, no matter how much she tried to suppress it, she couldn''t prevent the tip of her tail from wiggling in response to his touch. Taking advantage of this, Vahn caressed the space between and around Artoria''s pure white horns until the exact moment when they were scheduled to depart. This might seem ''pointless'' to some, but, as a result of a now deeply-ingrained instinct, Artoria''s body began to release pheromones as a matter of course. Ureko was bound to be able to detect this, so, while it was a little underhanded of him, Vahn was intending to create a gap in her mental state by forcing her to redirect a bit of focus to Artoria. If he could get her to pick a fight with Artoria before engaging him, there was a chance that everything could be resolved without him needing to lift a finger. If Artoria was actually able to win, this would drastically strengthen her position, and, most importantly, it would allow him to get a better grasp of Ureko''s strength so he could end the fight as quickly and safely as possible. Fully aware of this, Artoria allowed Vahn to continue petting her head even as an ufortable itch spread through her abdomen and near the base of her tail. This caused her to feel more than a little frustrated, but, understanding how important it was for Ureko to be the one to challenge her, she tolerated it with a calm and proud expression on her face. It was only when Soo-Yun said, "I''m pretty sure that''s 72 hours." that she pulled her head away from his palm, tail smacking him in the process of turning around to enter the gate. Despite his general imperviousness, Artoria''s ''attack'' resulted in a sharp pain radiating from Vahn''s knee and throughout the rest of his leg. At their level, nature and affinity went a ''very'' long way, so, as a Holy Elemental True Dragon with an Anti-Dragon attribute, Artoria effectively dealt unmitigable damage to him. Her [Phoenix Dragon Empress] Innate also provided herparable authority and status to his own, so, even if he were exponentially more powerful than her, Artoria was one of the only people who could consistently defeat him if they both went all out. Fortunately, while her abilities were most useful against him, Artoria''s advantage against other True Dragon''s bordered on the absolute. Had Ureko been a pure-blooded True Dragon, a battle between the two wouldn''t even be a contest. Luckily, at least for the half-blooded princess, the other half of her lineage came from the Lunarian people, a species colloquially known as the Moon Rabbit Tribe. Since her father was a Heavenly Star Dragon, Yin and Yang had perfectly melded within her body to give her an unbelievably powerful constitution, and, most importantly, resistance to both Holy and Darkness Elemental Energies. Simply put, while Artoria''s attacks would normally be ''super-effective'' against someone like Ureko, thetter''s constitution provided her a form of immunity against them. She also possessed no less than three SSS-Ranked Innates, so, without a miracle urring, the actual odds of Artoria''s victory were only around 1.336% in a direct contest and 7.291% if Ureko wasn''t treating the fight seriously. If Ureko decided to use the ''Light of Origin'', however, the odds shifted in such an extreme manner that it was impossible to quantify Artoria''s chances of victory. Rather, unless she held back, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that the entire Tower might be destroyed, as, ording to the Sacred Tome, the Light of Origin, at its absolute weakest, was about as powerful as the energy released during the creation of a Universe. Vahn doubted Ureko would be brazen enough to employ such a powerful artifact, but, at times like this, it was better to be safe than sorry. Thus, in preparation for this event, he had previously helped Artoria transnt the entirety of Avalon into her body, or, more specifically, her Soul. It now existed as her own Internalized Realm, much like Ilya''s ''ughter Dimension'', so, unless they had the ability to annihte a Realm where their power had very little influence, she was immune to most forms of damage. The only downside was, due to the nature of Avalon, she couldn''t really invite anyone into its interior. It now served as the foundation for her Soul Realm, so, unless they were a ''very'' specific type of entity, Vahn being the obvious exception, only her Zanpakuto Spirit and exceptionally pure creatures could reside there. For most Tier 5''s, trapping a target within their personal Realm was a victory condition, as, bar a few exceptions, their opponent would, effectively, be powerless. This was especially true for people who were entirely reliant on a specific form of energy, as, depending on the circumstances, the energy they use might not even exist in the Realm of their opponent. Even if it did, they might not have the authority to wield it, so, while it all but guaranteed her impregnability, Artoria was at a disadvantagepared to most Tier 5s. On the plus side, she had multiple sources of functionally infinite energy within her own body, so, even if another Tier 5 was able to trap her, they wouldn''t be able to restrict her power. Thus, so long as Ureko didn''t be impatient, there was always a chance that Artoria woulde out ahead...albeit a very small one... (A/N: As people on Discord were made aware, I ended up getting sick due to a cold snap hitting my hometown. It got down to 11 degrees in my apartment and turning on the heater just made the fire rm go off. Fortunately, I''m already recovering so I''ll be doing my best to increase the number of chapters. At the very least, there will be three chapters released tomorrow, potentially concurrently. I know how much you all hate cliffs so I''ll try and spare you the suspense of having to wait an entire day just to see the continuation of a single battle xD...) Chapter 1974 Little Bae

Chapter 1974: Little Bae

Stepping out onto the 77th Floor proper, Vahn was unsurprised to find a vast, seemingly endless, forest. What did surprise him was the fact that, despite being a forest filled with countless different life forms, an unusual aura emanated from the soil beneath their feet. It was almost like the forest was a single superorganism, and, no matter how far he spread his senses, the same aura could be felt emanating from every nt and animal within his domain... Though she was unable to sense the same things as Vahn, Artoria could still feel the overwhelming vitality emanating from their surroundings. In many ways, it reminded her of thework of World Trees located in the First Layer, but, rather than inspiring peaceful serenity, the seemingly endless forest was rife with an atmosphere of wild, unfettered, excitement. Passing her gaze over the surroundings, Artoria''s expression remained an irreproachable mask of stoicism as she remarked, "It seems Ureko is not the only danger present within this Floor. There is an unbelievably powerful presence emanating from all around us. Though there are a few distinct differences, this ce reminds me of Madara''s Ode to an Endless World of Trees." Though she had no idea who Madara was, Soo-Yun chimed in, saying, "You''re probably sensing our Lord, Baek Ryun. It is rumored that he became one with the forest in his youth. He also managed to teach himself how to manipte Shinsu prior to bing a Regr, and, ording to legend, he is even able to do so without permission from the Guardians. Because of that, some have ascribed the status of ''Irregr Regr'', and, based on several reliable sources, it was actually Headon who first approached him about climbing the Tower. In other words, he entered the Tower without any ambition, and, as a result, is not subject to the same restrictions as everyone else." Resisting the urge tough, Vahn earned the attention of everyone present as a wide smile spread across his face. In response, Soo-Yun adopted a pretend pout, but, before she could even ask what he found so funny, Vahn exined, "Your Lord seems to be unaware, but that title is actually quite urate. ording to my knowledge, he is the abandoned child of two Irregrs, each a member of the group that supported Jahad and the Great Warriors during the Age of Climbing." Surprised by the sudden revtion, Soo-Yun, Tarou, and Marble each found themselves at a loss for words. With the obvious exception of Yeon rde, Yeon Hana''s aunt, it was a closely guarded secret that Jahad and the Great Warriors had ascended the Tower alongside a number of friends and close family members. Some of these people ended up dying during the ascent, but, unbeknownst to the general residents of the Tower, the vast majority had been hunted down during The Great War. The Empire had hunted them down without mercy, not because they had sided with Arlen and V, but to limit the number of Irregr bloodlines in the Tower. While the Wolhaiksong trio was in the midst of processing his words, Vahn and Artoria shifted their attention to a nearby tree. Immediately thereafter, a young man with inordinately pale skin, tinged with a green hue, emerged from the trunk like an immaterial phantom. At a nce, he was no older than 14-15-years-old, but, much like the vast majority of Rankers in the Tower, his aura gave off the impression of someone much older. As for his features, he had leaf-green hair stopping just before his shoulders, pupilless green eyes, and, while it wasn''t noticeable at first nce, it was possible to make out a pattern reminiscent of tree grain covering much of his robe-veiled body. Giving voice to the notion that had just crossed Vahn''s mind, Artoria tilted her head indiscernible to the side as she inquired, "Solon?" Though the youth had initially directed his gaze to Vahn, the confusion in Artoria''s tone caused him to shift his gaze to her, mirroring her head tilt to an almostical extent as he said, "You seem to have confused me with someone else. My name is Baek Ryun. As friends of Ureko, you are wee to refer to me as Little Bae or Greenie. It is a pleasure to make the acquaintance of the Sage Dragon Emperor and the Phoenix Dragon Empress." Following his words, Baek lowered his head as a sign of respect, but, as was often the case when a person''s power had exceeded a certain point, there was a certain whimsy to each of his movements. He even had an expectant smile on his face, and, were it not for the undisturbed nature of his aura, some might even misconstrue his demeanor as an indication of an unbridled fascination bordering on obsession. This was emphasized by hisck of pupils, a trait that, more often than not, bestowed its possessor an inherent ''creepy'' factor. Habitually gesturing for Baek to raise his head, Vahn maintained a rxed smile as he asked, "I''m guessing you want to know more about your parents?" Unsurprisingly, Baek immediately nodded in response to Vahn''s words, his smile bing even more prominent until thetter added, "I don''t mind humoring you, but, after thousands of years, are you sure you want to know the truth of your origins? I can empathize with your desire to know more about your family, but, trust me when I say the truth isn''t always pleasant to hear..." Understanding the implication in Vahn''s words, Baek adopted a solemn expression that didn''t quite suit his appearance, asking, "Are they alive?" before following it up with, "Were they murdered?" in a hardened, direct, tone. Since Baek had every right to know the truth, Vahn decided not to beat around the bush, nodding his head before saying, "They were killed by members of the Royal Enforcement Division. Afterward, their bodies were confiscated by the Po Bidau Family''s Research Association. Though I will tell you if you insist, it''s better you didn''t know what happened after that..." Unable to suppress his rage, Baek''s irises began to release a murderous gleam as the forest around them seemed toe to life, violently osciting as the grass beneath their feet writhed about in a manner reminiscent of countless tentacles. Suppressing a sigh, Vahn lightly shook his head in response to Baek''s reaction. He could certainly empathize with the youthful-looking man, but, knowing the thoughts going through his mind, he couldn''t approve. The man was thinking about annihting the Po Bidau Family down to its roots, sparing absolutely no-one, not even the innocent and the children. Fortunately, Baek was bound to the forest around him, so, even if he wanted to seek vengeance, his options were extremely limited. The only way he could wipe out the Po Bidau Family was if each of their members entered the 77th Floor at the same time. His only other option was having someone act at his behest, but, with the exception of Ureko, someone who would beat him the moment he mentioned wiping out an entire family, there wasn''t anyone in Wolhaiksong even remotely capable of taking on a Family Leader. Deciding to offer the man some sce, Vahn ignored the now waist-high grass, stepping forward to pat Baek''s head as he said, "Calm down. Hatred and animosity should never be directed towards an entire group of people. If you followed through on the thoughts currently clouding your mind, you would be an even greater monster than the people who wronged you. Rather than waste time on something like revenge, you should focus on living your life to the fullest. Obtaining happiness is the only way to ovee past grievances and prevent the perpetuation of even greater misfortune. Besides, you still have family in the Tower. In fact, one of your rtives has been near you quite a bit as ofte." Though he was more than a little confused by Vahn''s casual caressing of his head, Baek perked up quite a bit in response to the mention of his family. This caused the forest and the surroundings to gradually settle, and, as a result, Vahn dutifully revealed, "Your parents were distantly rted to the Tu Perie Family. The Spirit of the Green April is actually your mother''s second cousin, once removed. It isn''t happenstance that her ignition resembles a collection of grassy vines erupting outward to try and crush her opponents." Having never seen the Spirit of the Green April or its ignition, Baek was more than a little surprised to learn that he was rted to one of the most famous weapons in the Tower. As for his rtion to the Tu Perie Family, he didn''t particrly care. It had been a pretty popr rumor during his ascent, and, at several points during his journey, the Tu Perie Family had even sent delegations to try and recruit him into the main family. This had been a big deal at the time, but, due to his earnest desire to return to his home forest, Baek ended up refusing every invitation before ultimately ughtering everyone who attempted to bar his passage through the higher floors. Eager to meet and converse with his not-so-distant rtive, Baek swatted Vahn''s hand away before saying, "Come. Ureko has been waiting for you for quite some time. At this rate, I fear she may very well destroy my forest. I''d rather avoid such an oue, so, while it might be a mild inconvenience, please hurry along. If you fly above the trees, the path to my core will be made clear. I look forward to seeing you near the base of the winged tree." Finished with what he had to say, dashed head-first into a nearby tree, but, rather than smashing into it, his body phased through the incredibly dense trunk as if it was a projection. Then, as if to indicate the direction they should go, the branches of every tree, shrub, and even the des of grass in the surroundings all pointed in a single direction. This was quite the sight to behold, but, having interacted with Gods who clothed themselves with the fabric of reality, Vahn simply smiled before passing his gaze over the four girls encircling him, asking, "Shall we?" in an amused tone. While Soo-Yun, Tarou, and Marble were still recovering from their shock, three pairs of silvery-white wings sprouted from Artoria''s back as she dutifully replied, "Where you lead, I will follow." in a curt yet respectful tone. This immediately drew the attention of the other three, who, despite thousands of years of experience, had never seen anything quite as beautiful as Artoria''s wings. She suddenly seemed even more majestic, and, though they had never actually intended topete against her, the notion that they could now seemed like a distant dream. With the edges of his smile curling up into an appreciative grin, Vahn returned a nod before several pairs of wings emerged from his back. These werepletely unnecessary, but, feeling inspired by his inordinately beautiful Empress, he ended up sprouting six distinct wings, each representative of a different element. At the same time, pitch-ck horns protruded from his head as a rather thick dragon tail emerged from his backside. This might have seemed contradictory to his status as the ''Golden Dragon'', but, immediately following their emergence, zing golden runes began to shine across both as vibrant golden scales emerged across his shoulders, arms, and legs. Having never seen Vahn in his half-dragon transformation, Soo-Yun, Tarou, and Marble were more than a little surprised. As for Artoria, her pupils immediately contracted, and, though it didn''t show on her expression, her aura had be chaotic and agitated. This, in turn, caused Vahn''s blood to boil, but, understanding there were other matters to attend, the duo of Dragons simply exchanged a silent promise between them before promptly taking to the sky... Chapter 1975 Chiding

Chapter 1975: Chiding

Under normal conditions, the structure of the 77th Floor made it virtually impossible for outsiders to navigate. The forest was constantly changing shape, and, thanks to Baek being the Floor Ruler, a number of restrictions had been ced on abilities rted to flight. This forced both residents and interlopers alike to traverse the all-epassing forest, and, as a result, only those with permission were allowed to smoothly navigate the 77th Floor. Fortunately, even without Baek making an exception for them, Vahn could have easily navigated the 77th Floor. His contract with Headon allowed him to move with impunity through each Floor, and, if he really wanted, he could even trespass the Inner Tower at his leisure. This privilege extended to all who bore his Familia Crest, so, with the recent addition of Tarou and Marble, everyone in his current entourage was able to effectively ''ignore'' thews each of Floor. This was important, as, despite acknowledging each member of the group, Baek had only made an exception for Vahn and Artoria. Even the upper echelons of Wolhaiksong were required to traverse the forest on foot, not because he liked forcing people to walk, but because it allowed him to keep a close eye on each of them. He didn''t like being unable to see and track the locations of people in his forest, so, with the exception of Ureko, someone he couldn''t really do anything about, very few people were permitted to fly freely through the skies of the 77th Floor... --- With even Marble capable of moving tens-of-thousands-of-times faster than the speed of sound, on the low end, it only took Vahn and Co a few minutes to reach the exact center of the 77th Floor. There, a crystalline white tree reminiscent of an amalgamation of wings over everything, it''s height quite literally extending from ground level to the ceiling of the 77th Floor. Though it wasn''t the biggest tree he had ever seen, Vahn couldn''t help admiring the spectacle of a glowing white tree that loosely resembled a pir between heaven and earth. Unfortunately, he was only able to admire it from afar, as, shortly after trespassing the invisible barrier veiling the Winged Tree in perpetual night, a golden beam of light instantaneously erupted from its canopy, impacting Artoria as she moved to defend him. Not expecting someone to block her meteoric kick, an amused, "Hooo~?" emanated from Ureko''s throat as her glowing red eyes met Artoria''s resolute silver gaze. Under normal circumstances, Ureko would have readilyplimented anyone capable of blocking her attack. She had even developed a habit of offering people Winged Tree Badges in ordance with their strength, but, the moment her eyes met Artoria''s, so too did a certain aroma. With a somewhat vicious smile immediately spreading across her face, Ureko forcibly extricated her foot from Artoria''s grasp before attempting to grab thetter''s horns, fully intent on trying to knee her in the face. To her surprise, Artoria simply ignored her actions, charging forward with her hands drawn back in a rather peculiar stance that left her wide open. At the same time, the ivory gauntlets covering her arms rapidly transformed, their form vaguely resembling the heads of two dragons as she dauntlessly presented her head for Ureko to grab. Though she was fully aware that it was a trap, that had never stopped Ureko from charging head-first into danger. Instead, Artoria''s actions only stirred her excitement to an even greater extent, a toothy grin developing across her face as she grabbed the former''s horns and motioned to draw her forward. This was where something unusual happened, as, despite mustering a considerable amount of strength, she felt that Artoria was simply immovable. As that thought crossed her mind, the ends of Artoria''s gauntlets released a phenomenal amount of energy, quite literally acting as thrusters as she struck forward and eximed, "Skotsu..!" in a grave tone. This was one of the most powerful physical attacks in the Record of Bleach, and, under normal circumstances, it couldpletely ignore conventional resistances and destroy an opponent from the inside. Despite feeling as though an explosion had been set off inside her stomach, Ureko simply cackled in response to Artoria''s attack before returning a full-force headbutt. This wasn''t an exaggeration, and, as a result, even Vahn ended up being pushed back slightly as a shockwave strong enough to destabilize the surrounding space devasted the verdant forest below. Unamused by the destruction of his forest, Baek immediately emerged from the devastated terrain with what could best be described as a ''severely pissed off'' expression. At the same time, a series of massive trees began to erupt from the ground in a manner evocative of a Wood-Style Ninjutsu. This promptly drew the attention of both Artoria and Ureko, thetter immediately adopting a wry smile, hands waving from side-to-side as she eximed, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! It was an ident! No need to blow a gasket! We''ll move somewhere else!" Though she was exponentially stronger than him, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that, prior to her kinship with Yuri, Baek had been the closest thing to family that Ureko had found in the Tower. The youthful-looking Wave Controller hadforted her during a period where she was unbelievably depressed, and, as an expression of gratitude, she had gifted him an entire Floor and even helped him build an organization capable of rivaling the Great Families. Wolhaiksong existed entirely as a result of their shared dream, and, had she never found Vahn, there was a very real chance that Baek would have been the man she had chosen as her partner... Finding it impossible to stay mad at Ureko, a tired sigh escaped Baek''s throat as he powered down his attack and said, "There is nothing wrong with friends fighting in order to strengthen their bonds and improve upon themselves. This, however, is uneptable. I can sense the animosity that exists between the two of you. As a result, this is no longer a fight between friends. It''s basically a pissing contest between two children trying to demonstrate their superiority. I had higher expectations for both of you..." With an awkwardugh emanating from her throat, Ureko rubbed the back of her head as Artoria, understanding her fault in the matter, offered an apologetic bow, saying, "Please ept my most sincere apologies..." while cing her hand over her heart. This would have been a big deal if her status as an Empress held any weight within the Tower, but, having never cared about such things, Baek just shook his head, answering, "Whatever. Just don''t do it again." before directing his gaze to Vahn and asking, "Is this what you came here for?" Though he would have liked to deny it, Vahn understood he was the principal offender, not because he had any intentions of destroying the 77th Floor, but because he had both dyed his arrival and primed Artoria for battle. He could have easily settled things by allowing Ureko to vent a bit before inviting her into the Little Garden, yet, for his own convenience, he had manipted the situation in a way that all but guaranteed they would fight it out the moment they encountered one another... Noticing Vahn''s hesitation, a disappointed look shed across Baek''s face as he inly stated, "I''m sure you have your reasons. Even so, I would rather you not get my forest and its people involved in your personal matters. You may very well be the person we have been waiting for, but that doesn''t give you the right to act however you please. I can''t speak for everyone, but, regardless of whether or not you are a God, Wolhaiksong will never follow a tyrant. We have gathered here, specifically, to escape such things. If you can''t respect that...please leave..." Feeling guiltier the more Baek spoke, an extremely apologetic expression developed across Vahn''s face as he exhaled a sigh and said, "I have wronged you unnecessarily. Please, rest assured knowing that it was never my intention to harm you, your forest, or your people. I know my words might not hold much weight, given the circumstances, but, please, ept my apology. From now on, I will do everything in my power to ensure you and your people never have reason to doubt me. I only want to help..." Though he hadn''t paid it any mind when Artoria lowered her head, Baek was quite surprised to see Vahn do the same. He could also sense the sincerity in thetter''s words, so, rather than continuing to censure the trio, a genial smile spread across his face as he said, "Very well. I have heard many a tale attesting to the value you ce in your words. With that in mind, I can rest easy knowing you will remain a friend to Wolhaiksong, hopefully into the far future." Following these words, Baek offered a bow of his own before immediately proceeding to repair the damage caused by Ureko''s attack. This left everyone else feeling awkward and embarrassed, much like a group of children who had just received a chiding from overly concerned parents. Even Vahn was no exception to this, not because he held Baek in high regard, but because it hadn''t even been a half-hour since he was the one giving the lectures... --- Though there was still a palpable tension in the air, Ureko had calmed down a lot after the rebuke from Baek and the consequent return of Artoria to the Little Garden. This allowed her to give Vahn a tour of the region surrounding the Winged Tree, a journey that started with a reunion with Yuri and ended with a long discussion with Baek and the other leaders of Wolhaiksong. Unsurprisingly, several of the twelve-winged members had doubts about Vahn''s status, and, most importantly, his ability to open the way forward. Unfortunately, they couldn''t really oppose Baek''s decision to move the forest into the Little Garden, as, despite their status in the organization, they had no say over the structure, management, and location of the forest. They also couldn''t survive in the Tower without the protection of Ureko, so, while the discussion ended upsting several hours, it was more of a formality than an actual debate. In the end, Vahn managed to convince everyone by assuring them he didn''t require their power to make good on his promise. They could literally stay inside the Little Garden until he had conquered the Tower. More importantly, he demonstrated his ability to manipte the flow of time within, so, if they were feeling impatient, he could literally slow the flow of time to such an extent that only a few seconds would pass before it was time for them to leave. While a few members were understandably horrified by the prospect of being at the mercy of a God who could manipte time in both directions; Baek managed to calm them by pointing out that, even if Vahn did drastically elerate the flow of time, that was just an opportunity for them to live their lives in peace. They would also be immortal so long as they were within the confines of the Little Garden, so, even if thousands of years passed, they didn''t have to worry about dying of old age. To many within the Tower, the promise of immortality was more important than anything else, so, with the only real alternative being to separate from Wolhaiksong, it wasn''t long before each of the twelve-winged members agreed to Baek''s decision. They were also ufortable with the idea of having to reincarnate into apletely random world; so, understanding that Vahn might very well be their only method to leave under ideal conditions, the discussion concluded with the creation of an additionalyer, the transntation of a-sized forest, and the migration of several million residents into the Little Garden... (A/N: I''m doing my best to focus on recovering right now. Sorry for another single-chapter release.) Chapter 1976 Golden Sun

Chapter 1976: Golden Sun

After spending weeks helping the members of Wolhaiksong get settled into their new home, Vahn returned to the Emerald Grove with less than an hour passing since his departure. There, he found Ureko and Mordred attempting to defeat Index in a drinking game, while, at the side, Enne could be seen conversing with Yuri and Lotte. Since it was ''exceptionally'' rare for Enne to leave her private residence, Vahn was highly tempted to listen in on their conversation. Instead, he made his way to the opposite end of the tavern-like hall, not because he wanted to ruin the fun everyone was having, but because it was never a good thing when Index got drunk. Thest time she had a little too much to drink, she attempted to create an Imaginary Axis over the existing Eighth Layer... Seeing Vahn approach, Ureko, Mordred, and several others immediately exploded intoughter as a spurt of alcohol erupted from Index''s nose. Immediately thereafter, she attempted to run away with a sake bottle nearly half the size of her body, but, before she could get more than a few steps, Vahn teleported right behind her, grabbing the cor of her Jirachi-inspired garb as he asked, "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" While hugging the bottle of sake as if it was a precious treasure, Index turned her head, a nervous smile on her face as she answered, "It...it''s water..." while attempting to cross her fingers and toes. Deadpanning in response to the obvious lie, Vahn was about to say something when Ureko butt in, roughly smacking his back as she said, "Don''t be such a sour puss! We''re all having fun here! Come, I''ll pour you a few drinks and then we can start doing some body shots~!" Perhaps as a result of her simrities to Mordred, Vahn found himself instinctually chopping Ureko''s head as he said, "There is a difference between having fun and letting things get out of hand. It''s all fun and games until someone ends up identally destroying space-time..." Rubbing the top of her head, a marginal amount of surprise was visible in Ureko''s ruby red eyes as she instantaneously sobered up. She was able to tank attacks capable of wiping out entires without flinching, yet, in response to Vahn''s rtively light chop, a small and throbbing bump had developed atop her head. This helped her to calm down, but, at the same time, a potent itch began to spread through her body as she looked up at him and asked, "Do you have a death wish?" Though he squinted his eyes in response to Ureko''s inquiry, Vahn first dispelled the alcohol from Index''s body before setting her down and saying, "Behave yourself. If you end up doing something simr tost time, I''ll ce an enchantment on your body that makes it impossible to get drunk..." Demonstrating apleteck of regard for Vahn''s warning, Index just beamed in response before scampering back to the circr table where everyone had been drinking. There, Mordred, Musashi, Mavis, Yoruichi, and Nobunaga could be seen quietly observing the growing tensions between him and Ureko. They wouldn''t step in, but, based on Ureko''s behavior, there was a very real chance she would lose all favor with the rather infamous group of drunkards. Gesturing for the girls to rx, Vahn met Ureko''s gaze, a rxed smile on his face as he asked, "Do you want to go somewhere...?" With her pupils contracting slightly, it was apparent that Ureko wanted nothing more than to settle things between them. Before she could reply, however, the group consisting of Yuri, Enne, and Soo-Yun made their way over, the raven-haired leader of the group chiming in to remark, "Oh~? Are the two of you going somewhere? Mind if wee along~?" Seemingly surprised by Yuri''s words, Lotte''s face immediately turned bright red as she practically dragged Yuri to the side, loudly whispering, "Have you lost your mind!? That''s Ureko Mazino! Let''s just let them settle things and then try againter...!" Extricating herself from Lotte''s vice-like grip, Yuri appearedpletely undaunted as she looked toward Vahn and Ureko, asking, "So? How about it? Don''t tell me the two of you intend to run off and have fun all by yourselves?" Recognizing this pattern, Vahn decided to step in before things could get further out of hand, his tone rxed yet resolute as he said, "You''re letting your excitement get the better of you. There is no need for all this drama. In this ce, time flows as I see fit. Rushing things is unnecessary. Just rx." Not expecting such a response from Vahn, of all people, Yuri found herself at aplete loss for words. As for Lotte and Enne, they both showed considerably relieved expressions, as, despite Yur''s ''very'' convincing words, they had yet to fully form their resolution. Enne, in particr, wasn''t sure how she felt about Vahn. All she knew for certain was that she could lower her guard around him without having to fear he would take advantage of her. He was also an ideal sleepingpanion, and, while that wouldn''t change if they became a couple, she was afraid he would lose interest in her if most of their time together was spent sleeping... Though he wasn''t quite sure what Lotte was thinking, Vahn could easily ascertain Enne''s thoughts based on her aura and the slightly mncholic glint in her eyes. As a result, he ended up casually caressing her maroon-red hair, a gentle smile developing across his face as he said, "In this ce, even eternity is not too long to make a decision. Never let anyone pressure you into taking action against your will. Independence and personal happiness should never be sacrificed in the pursuit of something as abstract as love. Regardless of what you choose, I will always be here to support you." Before Vahn could even finish speaking, Enne had already wrapped her arms around his body, not as an expression of love and affection, butfort. Her favorite thing about him was that he never pushed her, and, no matter how long she took to make decisions, he would always treat her with patience, care, and understanding. Seeing the duo embrace, Yuri couldn''t help feeling a mixture of envy and guilt, but, rather than taking it to heart, she just shrugged her shoulders before meandering over to the drinking group''s table and asking, "Room for one more?". In response, Nobunaga adopted a somewhat predatory smile, answering, "Plenty~." before making an opening between herself and the simrly grinning Yoruichi... --- After escorting Enne and Soo-Yun to the former''s abode, Vahn spent a bit of time with them, Latias, Latios, and Xerneas before teleporting to the former Ninth Layer. There, he found Ureko sitting atop arge boulder,pletely topless. This allowed the fourteen-winged symbol on her back to be on full disy, but, most notably, the tattoo of her own name could be seen glowing ever so slightly as she softly remarked, "You know...if we go through with this...there''s no turning back..." Following these words, Ureko leaned back onto her elbows in order to crane her head and stare at Vahn. Had she been a normal person, she undoubtedly would have slipped off the rock, but, almost as if she had adhered to its surface, Ureko remained affixed to her position, her modest yet wless breasts on full disy as she added, "I''ll be perfectly honest with you. I don''t think I''ll be able to get along with most members of your harem. It''s not really my ce to lecture you on how you choose your women, but there is a clear disparity between the central members of your harem and the girls who seem to have been arbitrarily added to it. Things might be fine for the moment, but, as the size of your harem increases, so too will the disparity between the women passionate about supporting you and those who feel as if they''re only there out of pity..." Though he would have liked to refute Ureko''s words outright, there were times when Vahn had very simr thoughts. He only needed to look at examples such as Arryn and Arusha to affirm there were a number of problems developing within his harem. Thetter had even pushed herself to the point of a mental breakdown, not because she had a genuine desire for strength, but because she felt the need to prove herself ''worthy'' of his affection. As for Arryn, she had dedicated herself wholly to her research, and, unless she made some kind of breakthrough, she would proactively avoid interacting with other residents of the Emerald Grove, himself included... Seeing that Vahn was taking her words seriously, Ureko allowed her body to slide from the boulder, flipping in the process. Then, despite the fact she was wearing nothing but white shorts, she walked right up to him, stopping just short of her breasts pressing against him before asking, "Do you want my advice?" Vahn''s first instinct was to refuse, but, seemingly intent on getting her point across, Ureko adopted a serious expression as she said, "It''s time for you to grow up. If you''re serious about reaching the pinnacle, you can''t keep ying these games. There''s nothing wrong with trying to make everyone happy, but, if you keep this up, the only thing you''ll achieve is cing an undue burden on yourself and everyone around you. Sure, you might be able to make everyone happy now, but, what will you do when they want to start exploring worlds on their own? As it stands, the only sensible option any of the women around you have is staying with you. None of them want to be the one to trigger you and make you upset, so, even if they have other interests, their only real choice is giving up on their dreams in order to support a pursuit they have no direct involvement with..." Punctuating her words, Ureko jabbed Vahn in the chest with enough force to pierce the fabric of his tunic as she pointedly stated, "You''re too strong! You know it. I know it. Everyone around you knows it. Despite this, you pace yourself and give those around the false hope when you can, quite literally, invalidate all their efforts on a fucking whim! If you really want them to catch up to you, give them a chance! Stop coddling and protecting them like defenseless chicks! Give them the freedom to make decisions without having to take into consideration how it might make you feel...!" Ignoring the bloodstain spreading across his chest, a difficult expression spread across Vahn''s face, followed by a deep frown as he resisted the almost overwhelming urge to ask who the hell Ureko thought she was. Instead, he forced himself to remain calm as he asked, "So? What would you have me do? They are the ones who chose to follow-" Without waiting for Vahn to finish, Ureko''s body appeared to move in slow motion as the world around them promptly lost its color. Before her kick could connect with his head, however, Vahn raised his left hand, deftly catching her ankle as a shockwave strong enough to create a massive crater around their position devastated the surroundings. This would have normally caused arge plume of dust and debris, but, thanks to the residual energy radiating from their bodies, an area of several hundred meters surrounding Vahn and Ureko remained devoid of even the most minuscule of stray partictes. Instead, the banks of the crater had beenpressed to such an extent, that, despite exceeding their melting point, they resembled a ss-like solid. Snorting through her nose, Ureko extricated her foot from Vahn''s grasp, ignoring the solemn look on his face as she asked, "Tell me. If I were to gain an advantage in our fight, what would you do?" Though he was more than a little annoyed right now, Vahn still found himself at a loss in response to Ureko''s question. At the same time, he felt as though a wave of understanding had washed over him, and, as a result, Ureko''s expression became even more severe as she balled her hands into fists and growled, "You fucking asshole..." before following it up, eximing, "Do you think I''m someone you can look down on!?" Before he could even think to defend himself, Vahn ended up eating a meteoric golden fist directly to the center of his face. The force of the blow was so extreme, in fact, that his head spontaneously ceased to exist, and, as a result of the resulting shockwave, everything above his knees was reduced to ash as an explosion reminiscent of a miniature sun rocked the entirety of the Tenth Layer... (A/N: This isn''t the actual fight, only the prelude to battle. For those who are annoyed by Ureko''s behavior, please consider her age, character, and what a union with Vahn is supposed to represent. She is looking for a life partner, someone she could fight alongside andpete with. The notion that Vahn can simply surpass her whenever he wants, literally in the blink of an eye, would be pretty upsetting. Even worse is the fact that she, and the rest of his harem, are basically denied the same right. In other words, she is basically calling out Vahn for being a hypocrite and a control freak xD...) Chapter 1977 Repudiation, Reminiscence, Resignation

Chapter 1977: Repudiation, Reminiscence, Resignation

Waiting until Vahn had fully regenerated, clothes and all, Ureko, now appearing much like a Super Saiyan due to her golden hair and aura, asked, "Tell me...do you know why I''m so angry?" Restraining the urge to adopt his characteristically wry smile, Vahn maintained a solemn expression as he answered, "I didn''t lie to you...I just...changed..." Furrowing her brows, Ureko surged forward to grab Vahn by the cor, a wrathful expression on her face as she shouted, "And that''s the problem! It hasn''t even been that long since our first meeting! I believed you when you said you wanted to grow stronger without pressure! You pretended like you wanted a challenge, yet, whenever a real threat appears, you simply ovee it on a fucking whim! You made me wait for you, and for what!? If you wanted, you could have conquered the Tower back when you first entered! Instead, you''re taking your sweet time, needlesslyplicating the lives of people you supposedly care about just because you want to experience a challenge? Well? Where''s the challenge!? Are you having fun!?" Recalling his past experiences with Ureko, an apologetic expression developed across Vahn''s face as he averted his eyes and uttered, "The situation has changed since then...I..." With her grip on his cor tightening, Ureko interrupted Vahn''s words, her tone venomous as she growled, "You name yourself the God of Infinite Possibilities and think you can get away with using ''change'' as an excuse? Of course the situation has changed! Decades have passed since then! Time is constantly moving forward! The problem, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, is that you''re moving forward on your own! Stop pretending to stand with the people around you when you''re the only one allowed to do whatever the fuck you want! Either give them legitimate hope or man the fuck up and handle your shit before it bes a problem for the people around you! You need to make a-" Before Ureko could continue any further, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as a hand came to rest on her shoulder. At the same time, an expression of abject shock appeared on Vahn''s face, his mouth opening but unable to offer any words as the figure standing behind Ureko said, "I thank you for attempting to educate my younger brother, but you''re overlooking too many things and using violence to try and prove a point. There are women far more qualified than you to lecture him. With that in mind...please, shut the fuck up." Feeling a cold chill pass through her body, Ureko spontaneously ''blinked'' away, brows furrowed as she stared at what appeared to be a feline woman with bronzed skin, yellow-green eyes, andrge breasts. Under normal circumstances, she would have found the woman fairly attractive, but, seeing the unconcealed ''contempt'' in the woman''s gaze, Ureko''s frown deepened as she asked, "Who the hell are you supposed to be?" Ignoring Urekopletely, the cat-eared woman immediately turned to Vahn, her voice steady and gentle as she said, "I won''t say you haven''t done anything wrong. What you need to keep in mind is that you moved forward with the knowledge that you ''would'' make mistakes. Never let anyone guilt you into second-guessing the path you have chosen. Just make better decisions moving forward." With that said, the olive-skinned woman extended her hand to gently ruffle Vahn''s hair as her body vanished from the feet up. Then, moments before she disappearedpletely, she looked over at Ureko and added, "Nobody is forcing you to get with Vahn..." with a noticeably hostile look in her eyes. Feeling another shudder run through her body, Ureko''s anger mounted as she shouted, "Where the hell are you running off to, you damn cat!? If you have something to say, I''m all ears! Don''t tell me you''re going to run off after talking all that good shit...!?" Shifting his gaze towards Ureko, Vahn was surprised to see the tell-tale signs of fear within her aura. This was a surprisinglymon response among women with heightened instincts, not because Sis was particrly dangerous, but because an aura of ''absolute certainty'' seemed to linger around her whenever she emerged. It was almost like she was an immutable existence, an intrinsic truth, that, if challenged, wouldpletely undermine everything you thought you knew about yourself and the world around you. Extending his hand towards the topless woman, a rxed smile developed across Vahn''s face as he asked, "Can we talk? Preferably without fighting..." Frowning in response to Vahn''s words, Ureko''s first instinct was to refuse, but, seeing the apologetic look in his eyes, a weary sigh escaped her throat as she crossed her arms and said, "If you give me a massage and exin who the hell that woman was, I might consider hearing you out..." Though he couldn''t help developing a wry smile, that didn''t stop Vahn from manifesting a massage table and answering, "It''s a long story..." Nodding her head, Ureko practically teleported atop the massage table, a serious glimmer in her ruby-red eyes as she said, "Good. That gives you plenty of time to deal with the tensions in my back and shoulders. For some strange reason, I''ve been under a lot of stress as ofte..." Choosing to withholdment, a dryugh escaped Vahn''s throat as he deftly flexed his fingers in a manner reminiscent of a pianist. Then, for the better part of three hours, his fingers danced across Ureko''s body as he recounted his past, and, most importantly, his aspirations for the future... --- With her muscles rxed to the point that she could hardly even move a finger of her own ord, Ureko allowed Vahn to hold her in his warm embrace, back pressed against his chest as she stared off into the distance with unfocused eyes. There, under the influence of Vahn''s power, a projection of his battle against a being known simply as ''The End'' was ying out over a distance of several hundred kilometers. As the strongest being in the Toaruverse, The End stood very near the pinnacle of Tier 5. It was so powerful, in fact, that Vahn had needed the assistance of several Magic Gods and an entity known as ''The Beginning'' just to be able to seal it. This was really the only thing they could do, as, so long as the concept of an ''ending'' existence, so too did ''The End''. Seeing the cataclysmic battle y out, Ureko couldn''t help feeling a little envious. She had always wanted to stand at the pinnacle, not because she wanted to look down upon others, but because she wanted to face others capable of contending for the title. Unfortunately, the existence of Axis Users had made this impossible in her own world, and, now that she was seeing what a true battle at the pinnacle was like, Ureko was starting to realize she had been a little short-sighted. Though her power was beyond theprehension of most people, Ureko hadn''t even been in the running for ''the strongest'' of her own Universe. Even her father, considered by many to be one of the most powerful, couldn''t afford to offend the true powerhouses of the Universe. There was even a time, back when she was just a young girl, that she found her father lowering his head to such an extent that the person he was talking to was able to step on the back of his head. Back then, Ureko had been what many would refer to as a ''sheltered princess''. Many even likened her to a delicate flower on the precipice of a harrowing cliff, something meant to be observed from a distance and never disturbed. Her only purpose in life had been to study and refine her bloodline until her parents had decided upon her spouse. After that, her most important duty was protecting her children and nourishing the next generation, never questioning her ce in the ''grand scheme'' of things. Had she never seen her father being trampled underfoot, Ureko would have happily followed the path her parents and n hadid out before her. She had been led to believe that it was a great honor to dedicate her life to the n, and, more than anything else, she enjoyed receiving praise from her mother and the Elders responsible for her education. They had treated her as if she was the most important person in the entire world, and, no matter how busy he was, her father would often drop whatever he was working on if she wanted to y with him. He had treasured her more than anyone else, so, after seeing him being trampled upon, Ureko couldn''t resist the urge to try and help him. Unfortunately, this ended up being a mistake, as, the moment she stepped out, her fathershed out at her, shouting and screaming despite the fact his head was still had his head pressed to the ground. Though she wouldtere to understand his reasons, this event had greatly scarred the young Ureko. For a time, she even resented her father, and, no matter how much her mother tried to convince her, she simply couldn''t understand why someone as noble and powerful as her father could lower his head andsh out at his only daughter. Following this incident, Ureko developed the mentality that the only person she could rely on was herself. Shepletely lost interest in her education, and, despite the efforts of numerous Elders, she ignored all their advice and became obsessed with gaining strength. She had convinced herself that her father was spineless, so, for the sake of her n, she wanted to be strong enough to protect everyone and reim their shattered pride. For a while, Ureko believed her decision had been correct, as, shortly after she began training in earnest, even those several-hundred-years her senior had trouble keeping up with her. By the time she had reached adulthood, she could smoothly defeat most of the Elders, and, if they were to fight seriously, she had convinced herself she could even defeat her father. The only thing that prevented her from trying were the feelings of respect, adtion, and love she still felt towards her father. She didn''t want to embarrass him, so, despite the efforts of numerous people to try and convince her to take over, most of her effort went toward tracking down the man responsible for humiliating him in the first ce... Witnessing the iprehensible battle between Vahn and the anomalous entity known as The End, Ureko couldn''t help being reminded of her past. She had grossly overestimated her power, and, as a result of the zealotry she had inspired in her followers, more than seventy percent of her n had been wiped out as a result of their arrogance. They had offended someone counted among the Top 5 of their Universe, and, rather than backing down when he gave them the opportunity, her people made the mistake of overtly offending and even threatening one of the most powerful Axis Users in existence, Phantaminum. Recalling her powerlessness in the face of Phantaminum''s power, aplicated expression spread across Ureko''s face until Vahn suddenly held her a little closer. Immediately thereafter, a warm andfortable sensation spread through her body, instantaneously suppressing any anxiety she might have been feeling as he gently inquired, "Should we change venues? The Little Garden has changed quite a bit since yourst visit. I can show-" Though her body felt unbelievably heavy due to her rxed muscles, Ureko still managed to elbow Vahn''s ribs with enough force to send a ripple through his body as she warned, "Don''t remind me...I still haven''t forgiven you for effectively treating me as an afterthought. Once we settle things, we''re going to have to sit down and have a very long discussion. It might not be my ce to tell you how to live your life, but you can''t deny things have gotten out of hand. If you''re serious about returning to your family, it''s only a matter of time before you have to ze ahead on your own. If your words are true, we can''t be there for you when you cross that final threshold, so, rather than holding all of us back, yourself included, you should push ahead without hesitation. If you genuinely believe that everything will be resolved once you reach the pinnacle, why the hell are dawdling here?" Adopting a somber expression in response to Ureko''s words, several answers crossed Vahn''s mind, but, no matter how he viewed them, they seemed more like excuses than anything else. All he really wanted was to make the people around him happy, but, the more effort he put into achieving this, the greater the burden he ced on everyone. This was especially true for the ''arbitrary'' additions to his harem, as, not only were theyparatively weak, most of them had no real direction in life other than simply being with him. His efforts to make them happy even forced some to develop a dependency on him, and, as time passed, they became progressively less certain about whether or not their life had any actual purpose... Exhaling a profoundly exasperated sigh, Vahn allowed his chin to rest against the top of Ureko''s head, his arms closing around her waist as he said, "It seems we''re going to need to have a long discussion...all of us..." Though part of her was tempted to bump Vahn''s chin with her head, Ureko ultimately managed to resist the urge, lightly nodding as she intoned a curt, "Nn..." in response to his words... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Onee-san don''t y...'',''Guren Lagan vibes...'',''Nn...'') Chapter 1978 Accountability

Chapter 1978: ountability

Though it hadn''t been long since Wolhaiksong''s transition into the Little Garden, it wasn''t exactly the type of incident that would simply pass under the radar. A lot of people kept a close watch on the organization and its activities, so, shortly following the disappearance of the floor-sized forest, senior officials from the Ministries of Wisdom, Defense, Finance, and Faith had gathered to discuss the fate of the Empire. Gathered alongside the officials, massive humanoid heads that defied thews of gravity, were the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th Commanders of the Jahad Army. This included Adori, acting as Commander-in-Chief, Senna, her Chief Advisor, Arie Andrika, Commander of the ''Dauntless Assault Force'', and, most notably, a youthful-looking girl named Eurasia Lem, Commander of the ''Emergency Support Division''. As was often the case in such situations, a man consisting of nothing but a giant head, pointed ears, and detached hands was the first to speak, bellowing, "This is clearly the prelude to a rebellion! We should have eliminated that man the moment he appeared! Who is going to take responsibility for this!?" With a size exceeding 10m, a horned golden helm reminiscent of a Chinese general, and white eyes surrounded by blood-red sclera, the ''man'', Ke-sa the Furious, created quite the imposing figure. He was also the Minister of National Defense, so, while everyone else was rtively calm, recent events in the Tower had resulted in him bing increasingly stressed. Answering Ke-sa''s outburst, another giant head, this one appearing as a green-skinned man with four detached hands,rge ears, and a monkey-like tail protruding from where his neck should be, inly remarked, "Standing before you is your Commander in Chief and the most senior member of the Jahad Princesses. If you cannot manage your temper, I will have to ask that you remove yourself from this chamber." Using one of his detached hands to push up his rather archaic-looking bifocals, the green-skinned man, better known as Arvin Lou, Chairperson of the Office of Wisdom, made it very clear he would not tolerate such behavior. This earned him a fierce re from the grey-skinned Ke-Sa, who, under normal circumstances, wouldn''t hesitate to give Arvin Lou a piece of his mind. Adori was his direct superior, however, so, as the official representing militaryw and order, he couldn''t simply ignore it in her presence. Observing the interaction between the two, Adori had to briefly close her eyes, suppressing a sigh as she attempted to organize her thoughts. Fortunately, even without her needing to inquire, Senna took the initiative to say, "I don''t believe this is a bad thing." Opening her eyes, Adori shifted her gaze to Senna, silently prompting the woman to exin, "Vahn, the Sage Dragon Emperor, has demonstrated a penchant for personally resolving matters beyond a certain threshold of importance. Though he has allowed some of his family members to explore the Tower, they generally operate under a very strict set of guidelines. I don''t believe, not for a moment, that he would mobilize the forces of Wolhaiksong against the Empire. Rather, given his behavior till now, it is safe to assume that Wolhaiksong is now out of the picture. Their principal goal had always been ''leaving'' the Tower, not conquering it. I imagine the leadership of Wolhaiksong petitioned him for assistance, so, unless something unexpected urs, they will likely remain there until Vahn has departed the Tower." Having witnessed Vahn''s ''wrath'' after her forces had unnecessarily eliminated a group of Regrs, Adori had little trouble believing in Senna''s words. Vahn was capable of incredible destruction, yes, but, unless he had chanced upon circumstances he vehemently disagreed with, he generally did his best to avoid injuring innocents and causing coteral damage. Nodding her head, Adori passed her gaze over everyone present before saying, "Unless my father issues an Imperial Mandate, we will continue to act as we have been. Though they are undoubtedly troublesome, the Aldrnari Empire is not a direct threat to the Jahad Empire. So long as we continue working on reforms, there is a very real chance that the Sage Dragon Emperor will simply ignore us on his way to the top. Everything that has urred thus far can be said to be a direct consequence of our mismanagement..." Though she didn''t appreciate how Vahn had brought chaos to the Empire, she knew he couldn''t be held solely ountable. Everything he had done thus far was in direct response to deeply rooted issues that had gued the Empire for generations. Had he been a part of the Jahad Family or the Royal Enforcement Division, most of his actions would actually merit some kind of reward. The only reason his behavior was even considered a ''problem'' was because it was a direct p in the face to the Jahad Empire, the Ten Great Families, and the parties responsible for the Tower''s administration. Suppressing another sigh, Adori was about to dismiss everyone when the only ''female'' among the giant heads, a pink-skinned entity named Valua Gale, stated, "The disappearance of Wolhaiksong is bound to shake the people''s faith. Even if the Sage Dragon Emperor isn''t likely to employ them, the fact he has epted them is a problem in and of itself. It artificially intes him to a position above the Ranking members of Wolhaiksong, and, most importantly, diminishes the influence of the King. If rumors regarding his ability to depart the Tower begin to circte, millions, if not more, will begin flocking to him. Even if he doesn''t lead an open revolution, the integrity-" Unable to suppress it any longer, an exasperated sigh escaped Adori''s throat, disrupting the long-winded Valua before she could offer any substantive advice. Then, in a tone that caused even Lem to open her eyes, she inly stated, "Let them go. The Empire was founded with the intention of preserving peace within the Tower. We have never told the people in the Outer Tower how to live, and, so long as they didn''t vite thew, we have always supported the independence of people living within the Inner and Middle Towers. Even if hundreds-of-billions of people left, there would still be hundreds-of-billions more remaining in the Tower. Rather than worrying about those that wish to depart, our priority should be ensuring peace and stability for those who remain." Taken aback by Adori''s words, Valua wanted to gently chastise the Princess, but, before she could speak, Senna chimed in to say, "The Princess is correct. The Wall of Peaceful Coexistence is the best example of this sentiment. Just because it has degraded over the years, that isn''t a reason to throw away our ideals. Rather, it''s decline should offend us. They were intended to serve as monuments to the Empire''s foundational principles, yet, as if to reflect the actual state of our administration, they have fallen into ruin. Speaking of conservative values and faith when we have failed to pay homage to the very beliefs upon which our nation was founded is rather short-sighted, don''t you think?" ring back at Senna, the pitch of Valua''s voice increased drastically as she shouted, "Lady Senna! Such words border on sacrilegious! Administration of the Walls of Peaceful Coexistence was left to the families of the Kingdoms spared as a result of our King''s mercy! We cannot be held responsible for their failures! In fact, they should be punished for failing to appreciate the King''s magnanimity!" Staring at Valua as if she was the dumbest person she had ever met, Senna''s expression bordered on a deadpan as she stated, "The first walls to fall were those under the direct management of the Empire. You''re also arguing that we can''t be held responsible for the actions of others while trying to make a point about how the Empire should prevent people from disassociating themselves with our policies. We either have a responsibility to govern and preserve our ideals or we don''t. You can''t hold others ountable while denying personal responsibility in regard to your own policies. Those at the highest level of government are supposed to be the ''most'' ountable for their actions..." With the color of her skin transitioning from pale-pink to a deep shade of red, Valua looked like she wanted nothing more than to devour Senna on the spot. Unfortunately, thetter was exponentially more powerful than she was, and, despite her status within the Ministry of Faith, her authority was a far cry from Senna''s. Not only was she the direct descendant of Ari Han, the most politically inclined of the Great Warriors, she was also the most beloved sister of Ari Chun, one of the Three Lords who ruled the Tower in Jahad''s stead... Furrowing her brows ever so slightly in response to Valua''s behavior, Adori made a mental note to file an officialint as she outwardly expressed, "We will discuss this matter in greater detail at the uing Ruler''s Conference. In ordance with my father''s previous decree, our official policy regarding the Sage Dragon Emperor is non-interference. If you are discovered viting this decree, I will have no choice but to act in my capacity as the Sword of the Empire. Understood?" Though Senna was a monster in her own right, the power possessed by Adori was, simply put, in a league of its own. As a result, Valua couldn''t help paling in response to Adori''s words, a freshyer of sweat covering her inordinatelyrge head as she nervously replied, "I...I understand. I will store the Princesses'' words in my heart and do everything in my power to guarantee the integrity of the King''s decree..." Offering a curt nod in response, Adori promptly turned on her heels, habitually ring her cape as she added, "We are finished here. Convey my words to the Floor Rulers and make sure everyone is continuing to audit their respective departments. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, the Imperial Army will note to the aid of anyone who has provoked the anger of the Sage Dragon Emperor. If they are smart, they will turn themselves in and make an earnest effort to repent. If such recourse is beyond them, they only have themselves to me for what is toe..." Without looking back to confirm that her words were regarded with the severity they warranted, Adori promptly departed with Senna, Andrika, and Lem following close behind. This left only the four giant heads remaining in the inordinatelyrge judicial chamber, two appearing weary, one a caricature of fury, and the other appearing just as pale as she had under Adori''s steely gaze... --- Shortly following Adori''s departure, details pertaining to the rtively brief discussion were quickly spread through various information channels. This includedworks directly affiliated with each of the Great Families, and, as a result, it wasn''t long before Yeon rde, self-proimed Godmother of the Yeon Family, received the news. Immediately thereafter, a vase worth more than a floating castle was sent hurtling across the room, violently smashing against a wallprised almost entirely of an inordinately rare red marble, highly polished gold, and various other valuable materials. Seeing their Godmother behave in such a way, the group responsible for reporting to her couldn''t help freezing up. Fortunately, almost immediately after smashing the vase, rde, a breathtakingly beautiful woman with raven-ck hair, fair skin, and ruby-red eyes appeared to regain her senses. There was even a hint of red in her cheeks as she turned to the group of doll-like women observing her from the side, saying, "I have shamed myself in front of you. Please, do not speak of this in front of your sisters..." Without any hesitation whatsoever, each of the girls standing across from rde bowed their heads, haughty yet reverential looks on their faces as the most senior among them chimed, "The greatness of the Godmother cannot be tarnished so easily. Regardless, it is our greatest honor to help protect the dignity of the Yeon Family and its most illustrious member." Hearing her daughter''s words, rde used a phoenix-inspired fan to veil the smile that had spread across her face. The only thing she enjoyed more than hearing praise regarding her greatness was tormenting the vile and despicable men who thought themselves worthy of her favor. Thus, while it was difficult to suppress her anger, she eventually managed topose a mask of indifference as she said, "That woman''s ipetence knows no limits. I can''t even begin to fathom what our King was thinking when he put her in charge of the military..." Though her words might have caused a scene elsewhere, rde was able to speak freely in front of the members of her own family. Rather, whenever they heard her speaking casually about Jahad, the respect and adtion of those closest to her only seemed to increase. They genuinely believed she was the contemporary of Jahad and the Great Warriors, and, were it not for a promise she had made with her sister, Hana''s mother, she would have been much more than the de facto leader of the Yeon Family. Noticing the looks she was receiving, rde fought hard against the urge to smile, forcing herself to appear cold and detached as she ordered, "Send a message to Hana. I have other matters to attend at the present moment, but, once I''m finished, I will be heading there to meet her. Have her washed and ready within the hour. And don''t forget to treat her with the utmost respect. If I find out any of you have said or done anything hurtful to my beloved niece, expect a severe punishment..." Bowing even lower than before, rde''s daughters responded in the affirmative before half of them promptly broke off to carry out her orders. As for the rest, they followed after their mother, eager to make themselves avable if she required their assistance. Filial piety was one of the basic principles of the Yeon Family, so, no matter what demands their mother asked of them, it was their ''honor'' to oblige... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''TL:DR: Don''t fuck with Vahn'',''Valua just got gaslit xD...'',''Ah, the wonders of fundamentalism~'') Chapter 1979 Putting it all on the Table

Chapter 1979: Putting it all on the Table

With Ureko suggesting they shelve their ''battle'' until after he had resolved the deeper issues with his harem, Vahn had everyone, including those who had been away in Actualized Worlds, gather in the Emerald Grove. Though he had a functionally infinite amount of time to make a decision, Vahn wanted to hear what everyone else had to say before making his final judgment. Their happiness had always been one of his highest priorities, so, even if it meant letting them go, he was prepared to do whatever it took to ensure they were the happiest they could possibly be... --- Doing everything in his power to suppress a tired sigh, Vahn forced himself to appear calm as he reiterated, "To surmise, there are three opportunities awaiting everyone once we reach the top of the Tower. The most notable of these is reincarnation into a higher realm with all of your memories, innates, and soulbound items intact. You will undoubtedly face many hardships along the way, but this is the route that will allow you to reach the pinnacle through your own efforts. Once I reach the Divine Realm, I will be able to look back on the path you have walked until its penultimate end, and, depending on the circumstances, I can either recall you to my side, pick you up before your journey even began, or allow you to live happily in the new life you have built for yourself..." Being one of the more intellectual among the group, Android 21, appearing just as disgruntled as a number of other people present, pointedly remarked, "I get what you''re trying to say, but you seem to be skirting around a pretty serious problem. For those of us who choose to remain faithful, there is a very real chance we would have to spend an ''eternity'' alone. You might be able to undo that by picking us up at an earlier point in time, but, statistically speaking, everyone here would eventually have a breakdown thatpels them to seekpanionship elsewhere. We might even be forced to endure millions of years of loneliness before finally seeking out and obtaining happiness...if that happens, will your guilt allow you to recall us to your side...?" As simr questions hade up during the initial group discussion, Vahn was beginning to feel a considerable amount of mental fatigue. Despite this, he managed to appear rtively calm on the surface, exining, "There are rituals that can bind people together. If necessary, I am prepared to make a Temte to apany each and every one of you. For those of you who wish to face fate directly, however, know that I will only view your lives for a period of time equivalent to the amount it takes me to reach the Divine Realm. In other words, if it takes me ten-thousand-years to reach the Divine Realm, I will only view your reincarnation for the first ten-thousand-years of its existence. My decision to recall you will depend entirely on your actions and experiences in that span of time..." Though not everyone understood the implications of his words, the more ''resolute'' among Vahn''s women immediately perked up. One of the things that had always troubled them was the fact that he had a lot more time than them to be stronger. This made it impossible to match his pace, and, while this would always be an issue, they were confident they could reduce the distance with aparable amount of time. Deciding to continue while the mood had marginally improved, Vahn went on to add, "The second option is to continue living within the Emerald Grove. Given enough time, I''m confident that I could connect both my Realm and the Actualized Worlds to the Little Garden. That will allow everyone the opportunity to freely explore, but, as a result of my nature, it is impossible for me to guarantee your independence. I can''t help my overprotective nature. I''ve tried numerouspromises, but, so long as you are within my sphere of influence, I will do everything in my power to protect you...no matter what..." Hearing Vahn''s words, helpless smiles appeared on the faces of virtually everyone present as Fenrir remarked, "Master has done nothing wrong. Though wee together, everyone here is ultimately responsible for their own happiness. Those who cannot find a pursuit worthy of their focus will only be a burden to everyone else. It is fine to desire a leisurely life where Master showers you with affection, but, if that is your only aspiration, you have no right toment when he is busy with other things. You cannot wholly entrust your happiness to another. If you are unwilling to ept personal responsibility for your own life, you are poorly equipped to deal with eternity. Master exists to make everyone happy. He does not exist to make ''you'' happy." Though her words were more than a little ''biting'', most of Fenrir''s pack immediately nodded their heads in affirmation. They had learned the importance of self-improvement, and, while they would do everything in their power to support their Master, their primary focus was mastering themselves. It was impossible to know what the future held, so, more than anything else, they did everything in their power to enjoy life while subsequently preparing for anything it might throw their way... With Fenrir sitting to his left, Vahn couldn''t restrain the urge to extend his hand, roughly caressing her head as he said, "Thanks, but, even if I''m doing everything I can, it''s still my fault when people aren''t happy. If I didn''t have my fair share of ws, we wouldn''t be having this conversation right now. With that in mind, allow me to surmise the third option. Keep in mind that there are actually a functionally infinite number of alternative choices you can make, but, for the sake of simplicity, this is the baseline everyone has to choose from..." Inhaling a deep breath, Vahn briefly closed his eyes, his perception momentarily lingering on the auras of everyone present before exining, "The third option is personal resolution. I will seal the Little Garden and begin treating the ''outside'' in a manner simr to an Actualized World. I will focus all of my efforts on attaining Tier 7, and, as much as possible, I will avoid entering sub-dimensional realms without a specific goal in mind. Simply put, I will put everything in stasis until these types of issues are no longer a problem..." Though the first two options were far from ideal, the one Vahn feared most was the third option. In many ways, it was a direct parallel to what he considered to be his life''s greatest mistake. The only difference was, if he really needed to, he could effectively end the stasis whenever he wanted. Either way, it was an extremely selfish decision to make, as, regardless of his level of conviction, he would eventually encounter something or ''someone'' that slowed his progress. He would basically be living the life of a ''main character'', and, as a result of his nature, he was bound to meet countless beauties on his way to bing a Tier 7 entity... Even if he became liberal with his Temtes, Vahn knew it was impossible for him to ignore people with powerful fates. He was also exceptionally weak against women with tragic backgrounds, so, as his power and karma increased, fate would invariably draw tragic heroines his way. Even the Divine Realm wasn''t free from tragedy, so, until he reached Tier 7, his harem would likely continue growing without limit... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn passed his gaze over everyone present, guilt swelling within his heart until he noticed Nobunaga rolling her crimson eyes. Then, drawing everyone''s attention to herself, she rose to her feet and dered, "This forum is pointless. We followed you here in order to help you, not hold you back. Stop using us as an excuse to dy your progress. You''re the only one with the ability to elevate yourself to Tier 7. If we''re in your way, send us back to the Realm or order us to reincarnate. There is no need for you to be pussyfooting around like this. If we can''t tolerate a few thousand years in another world, how can we expect to live for eternity in another?" To punctuate her words, Nobunaga made of show of stretching her body and releasing a prolonged yawn before turning towards the exit and adding, "Well, let me know when you make a decision. I''m gonna grab something to drink. Feel free to join me once you''re finished here." With that said, Nobunaga departed the room without looking back. She had never been the type to care about theplexities of a situation. If Vahn didn''t need her help, she wasn''t going to impose upon him. She was pretty content with drinking alcohol, bonding with other members of the harem, and exploring the ever-changing Layers of the Little Garden, so, while she had noticed a number of issues as ofte, they didn''t really bother her. Rather, much like Ureko, she was more frustrated with the girls whose ''weakness'' distracted Vahn and introduced pointless drama into an otherwise idyllic situation. Though he wasn''t particrly surprised by Nobunaga''s departure, Vahn couldn''t help adopting a wry smile as he watched more than half the congregation follow suit. In the end, the only people remaining were those with positions of authority, and, as could be expected, those who had only recently joined his harem. They were the ones with the most concerns about the future, as, unlike the girls who had originated from his Realm, they still had uncertainties regarding his status, and, more importantly, their ''ce'' in everything... Passing his gaze over everyone that remained, including girls like Ureko and Yuri, Vahn regained a serious disposition as he advised, "There is no need to feel pressured. As I stated previously, there are actually countless options avable to you. Regardless of what you choose, know that I will do my best to support you. Also, no matter what...please, never consider yourself a burden...that kind of mentality, more than anything else, is the greatest source of my stress. There has never been, nor will there ever be, a need for you to prove yourselves worthy of my love and affection..." Though his words were intended for everyone, Vahn spoke the final few while looking directly at Ureko. He knew she wanted to say something now that the more resolute women had departed, so, before she could say anything hurtful, he wanted to put his foot down. Snorting in response to Vahn''s pointed look, Ureko ultimately just shrugged her shoulders before spontaneously leaning back and pretending to take a nap. This garnered her a considerable amount of attention, but, before anyone couldment on her behavior, Vahn guided the conversation in the direction of addressing everyone''s concerns. He knew they had a lot of questions, so, now that he had put everything on the table, he wanted to do everything in his power to ay their concerns. The decision they made now would shape how they spent the next several thousand years, so, while it ultimately extended the conversation by seventeen hours, he believed it was important they had a proper understanding of what they might be getting themselves into... --- (A/N: Though I''m still intending to have a climactic battle between Vahn/Ureko/Artoria/etc, thest few days have given me a considerable amount of time to think about how the novel has evolved over the years. We''vee a long way, but, at the same time, some of the best parts of EPIC have been lost along the way. To that end, I''ve decided to breathe some life into the story by defaulting to one of the things I believe allowed EPIC to stand out in its inception. I want the readers to have more of a say in the story, so, with that in mind, the options presented in this chapter are, not just the characters'', but your''s to consider. Let me know what you think in thements section. I will literally be reading everyment from now until we are preparing to exit the Tower~) Chapter 1980 Order

Chapter 1980: Order

Though he understood it was necessary, Vahn emerged from the twenty-hour-long discussion feeling more than a little fatigue. Unfortunately, there were still other matters to address, so, after releasing everyone else, he, apanied by Artoria and Fenrir, teleported to one of the more isted regions of the former Eighth, now Ninth, Layer. There, built into a mountain that glistened like gold under the artificial sun, arge Victorian-style castle could be seen peeking through the sparse cloud coverage. This was the primary residence of Eva, who, despite having grown closer to quite a few members of his harem, generally kept to herself. Under normal circumstances, Vahn would have teleported directly into the castle''s interior. This time, however, his trepidation forced him to teleport near the base of the mountain. Eva was one of the only women he had ever proactively sought out, so, despite her understanding, he couldn''t help feeling considerable guilt whenever he thought about how his actions might affect her... Noticing her Master''s plight, Fenrir decided to lend him a bit of support, but, before she could close the distance, Vahn gently shook his head, a scant smile on his face as he softly muttered, "I''m fine. I was just thinking that I might have done things out of order..." Though he hadn''t mentioned it during the seventeen-hour post-discussion, the notion that he had broached the subject too early had invariably crossed Vahn''s mind. Unless he drastically sped up his climb, there were still months, if not years, until his departure from the Tower. To that end, it might have been better for him to discuss things with his wives. Instead, as was often the case whenever he felt pressured, he ended up trying to resolve everything as quickly and ''efficiently'' as possible. From an objective point of view, the desire to treat everyone fairly wasn''t necessarily a bad thing, but, considering how important certain women were to him, Vahn couldn''t shake the feeling he had erred by not discussing it with them first. With the exception of his children, they were supposed to be the most important people in the world to him, yet, undoubtedly as a result of him umting countless experiences, they were gradually bing just another part of his harem... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn could feel every muscle in his body begin to tense. At the same time, the faces of nearly two-hundred women crossed his mind, apanied by the voice of Loki teasingly remarking, "It''s okay to love freely. So long as you don''t regard women as ythings meant to entertain you, you''ll never be a beast like Zeus. Don''t worry. You''re still young. Even if you make a few mistakes along the way, you''ll always have us. Never forget that..." Surprised by the sudden recollection, Vahn''s eyes widened as he internally remarked, ("Talk about ideal timing...you really know how to catch me off guard, don''t you?") Giggling in response to Vahn''s words, Sis simply advised, (*Eva is waiting for you.*) before promptly returning to the deepest recesses of his mind. This left Vahn feeling a little helpless, but, rather than pressing her for an exnation, he just shook his head, a wry smile developing across his face as he promptly teleported into the interior of the castle. There, seated upon an ornate throne that was far toorge for a normal person, a mature version of Eva could be seen caressing an abyssal ck cat with peculiar wing-like markings around its shoulders. Though she had sensed his arrival near the base of the mountain, Eva was still a little surprised by Vahn''s sudden appearance. He had be ridiculously adept at teleporting, so, despite appearing calm on the surface, she couldn''t prevent her pupils from contracting ever so slightly as she mused, "It seems you have be even more skilled..." before following it with, "So? What did you do this time~?" With a tired sigh escaping his throat, Vahn made his way over to Eva''s side, answering, "I need your advice..." before sitting next to her and extricating the ck cat from herp. This earned him a hiss, but, despite her protest, the cat made no effort to escape his grasp. Instead, she simply curled up in his, epting her fate as Artoria and Fenrir settled in around them. Then, for the better part of two hours, Vahn exined everything that had transpired during the rtively short period of time they had been apart... As a master over time and space, second only to Vahn himself, Eva generally manipted the flow of time around her castle to be much slower than normal. There were a number of reasons for this, but, more than anything else, she simply didn''t like waiting around for his return. She was actually one of the ''clingier'' girls in his harem, so, when she wasn''t busy with her research, most of her time was spentzing about, drinking tea, reading manga, and watching anime. Though ''normal'' people might consider this a waste of time, there was a reason that even Da Vinci referenced fiction for inspiration. There were no limits to the ways in which the Laws could manifest, so, as a Tier 5 being, Eva could actually be stronger by taking an interest in another world. She could also request that he purchase various texts, skill books, scrolls, and even grimoires, so, while it might appear as though she had be a hikikomori, the truth of the matter was that Eva was still the most powerful Magus among the Little Garden''s residents. Even Index couldn''tpare, as, the moment she learned of the former''s 103,000 magical grimoires, Evamitted the vast majority to memory. Simply put, Eva was one of the strongest residents of the Little Garden, and, so long as she didn''t encounter someone with anti-magic properties, there were few opponents who could hope to get anywhere near her. She had even been researching fate and probability in order to circumvent the Omnipotence Paradox. If she seeded, she would literally be able to defeat virtually any opponent by simply having them acknowledge the possibility of their defeat. Inversely, she could resurrect the dead by denying they had ever died, and, in the most extreme cases, she could even reshape events in history to correspond with her personal ount... --- Demonstrating why he should have conferred with her beforehand, Eva responded to Vahn''s long exnation by asking, "Are you an idiot?" with an incredulous look on her face. Fortunately, before he could embarrass himself by asking her to exin, she went on to add, "Don''t get me wrong. The options you presented to everyone aren''t the problem. The bigger issue is that you are ignoring the present, the very thing you are constantly advising everyone else to take into consideration..." Seeing the confusion in Vahn''s eyes, an exhausted sigh escaped Eva''s throat as she shook her head and exined, "You have convinced yourself that it is okay for everyone to reincarnate and live out their lives, wholly outside of your control. However, due to the nature of time, that isn''t actually the case. The moment you reach the Divine Realm, you have the ability to rewrite history and undo any tragic events they might have experienced. Do you not see how that makes your overprotectiveness kind of pointless...?" Understanding what Eva was trying to say, a conflicted look spread across Vahn''s face as he asked, "So you''re saying I should open the Little Garden and allow everyone to move freely, consequences be damned...?" Rolling her eyes, Eva leaned against Vahn''s shoulder before answering, "Isn''t that what you decided for yourself near the beginning of your journey in this Record? You epted that you were going to make mistakes and decided it would be best to learn from them. Providing people the opportunity to reincarnate isn''t all that different than allowing them to make their own decisions. Since that has always been important to you, why not implement it in the present? If you move forward with your intention of turning the Little Garden into a ''central hub'', you could turn the Aldrnari Empire into an organization that enacts change in countless worlds. You could have people ept Quests, traverse different worlds, and, even if they die, you could always revive them at ater date. We know, better than most, that death isn''t the end. The fact you stress out over it so much has always baffled me..." Unable to refute the woman''s words, Vahn found himself staring off into space, countless thoughts racing across his mind. This wasn''t actually his first time considering these things, but, as was often the case, it was a lot easier to rationalize the cyclic nature of life than it was to ept the possibility of your loved ones dying... Deciding to make things simpler for him, Eva poked her nail into Vahn''s chest, forcing his attention back to her as she whispered, "The fact you mentioned there is an unlimited number of alternative solutions shows that you have ounted for the fact that each person had their own unique wants and needs. With that in mind, wouldn''t it be better to create an environment that enables everyone to pursue their own version of happiness? Hell, even a Phantasmagoria with one of your Temtes would be better than the other options you came up with...at least that way, you don''t risk undoing an entire timeline just to extract a single person..." Hearing Eva provide a ''solution'' that wasn''t all that dissimr to the one envisioned by the Mage of the Beginning, Vahn found himself staring into the golden-haired beauty''s pristine blue eyes with a ck-jawed expression on his face. This earned him another eye roll, but, instead of looking away or returning her head to his shoulder, Eva tugged his cor, surprising him with a kiss before adding, "I don''t recall marrying a coward. We have a literal eternity to figure things out. Besides, how can you expect to reach Tier 7 with this half-hearted behavior? Man up, brat..." Punctuating her words, Eva sealed Vahn''s response with another kiss, this time holding it for the better part of a minute. Then, just as she was about to separate their lips, she gave the ck cat nestled in hisp a not-so-gentle poke, forcing her to revert to her human form before promptly pulling away and saying, "I need to talk with Artoria and Fenrir in private. Karin, keep this idiot of mine busy, will you?" Though she couldn''t help but adopt a pout, Karin showed no real aversion to the suggestion, her cat-like ears twitching as she half-turned, saying, "Yes, Eva-sama..." before ovepping her lips with Vahn''s. Then, once everyone had made room, she turned the rest of her naked body, straddling his hips and wrapping her arms around his neck. This left Vahn feeling a little helpless, but, rather than resisting, he habitually grabbed Karin''s toned butt, gently massaging near the base of her tail as his clothes dissolved away... --- Raising a soundproof barrier to block the mewling sound echoing through her castle, Eva released a tired sigh as she looked at Artoria and Fenrir, "So? What do the two of you think? As far as I can tell, he seems pretty stable. Should we push him a little?" Since she generally went with whatever Vahn had decided, Artoria''s response to Eva''s words was to shift her attention to Fenrir. In response, thetter nodded her head, a confident look in her eyes as she said, "I think it''s okay. Though he feels guilty about it, Master has be a lot more stable due to the time he has spent in other worlds. So long as someone he trusts sets the precedent, I believe he will be okay. If anything happens, I will do my best to deal with the aftermath." Not doubting Fenrir''s words in the slightest, Eva reacted with a curt nod of her own before crossing her arms and saying, "The question then bes...who should be the one to move forward? I don''t mean to brag, but I doubt he would be willing to ept if it was me..." Snorting through her nose, Fenrir emted Eva''s action of crossing her arms, an amused smile developing across her face as she teasingly remarked, "Who are you trying to fool? I''m not going to refute your words, but we all the truth. I bet you couldn''t even go a full week before you go looking for Master. Even after everything that has happened, you arepletely smitten with him." ring back at Fenrir, Eva was tempted to argue, but, feeling a potent heat spreading through her cheeks, she knew anything she might possibly say could be used against her. She also couldn''t use magic to try and punish Fenrir, as, despite being a ''mere'' Tier 3, thetter''s magical resistances were on another level. In fact, unless it was powered by Laws she didn''t recognize, most magic no longer worked against her as she could simply ''devour'' anything arbitrarily thrown her way... Deciding to interpose before a fight could break out, Artoria coughed a few times to draw the duo''s attention before saying, "This isn''t a matter we can settle between the three of us. After I leave here, I will spread the word about an emergency council meeting. Unless something drastic happens, we will reconvene hereabout after the usual morning routine. I trust that will not be an issue?" Understanding the importance of resolving this matter before anything else happens, Eva ultimately nodded her head in affirmation, saying, "Just make sure to bring Rindo along. It''s been a while since I''ve tasted her food and everyone is more agreeable on a full stomach." With no reason to refuse, Artoria nodded in affirmation, but, before she could even suggest leaving, Eva interrupted, questioning, "Speaking of which, when was thest time the three of us took a bath together? Karin won''t be able tost very long without assistance. How about we freshen up before providing her some relief? You might be able to fool others, but I can see how tense you are." Shaking her head, Arotira exined, "There is a chance that Vahn will be fighting with Ureko before tomorrow''s meeting. It''s a little frustrating, but I will persevere until things have been settled. Thank you for your consideration." Hearing Artoria reference the situation with Ureko, Eva couldn''t resist the urge the roll her eyes. She knew it was a matter rted to the instincts of dragons, but, with several viable solutionsing to mind, she felt the entire situation was a farce. Vahn had countless methods to suppress something as base as instinct, but, as was often the case when it concerned the sovereignty of other people, he was extremely apprehensive about viting nature and free will. This wasn''t necessarily a bad thing, but, more often than not, it introduced unnecessary drama into all of their lives... (A/N: Sorry for the super dyed chapter release. After reading everyone''sments, I spent a bit of time plotting out a more ''ideal'' direction for the story. As many pointed out, a mix of numerous options was ideal, and, while this was always my intention, it felt like I missed the ball in regards to the characters'' personal motivations. I hope this chapter helped to rify a few things, even if just a little xD...) Chapter 1981 Setting Out

Chapter 1981: Setting Out

Though it might have made him sound a little desperate, Vahn couldn''t help asking, "Are you sure about this?" while observing the back of the blonde-haired beauty standing a few meters away. Without turning around fully, the beauty, Ureko, adopted an amused smile as she looked back to say, "It''s only a few months, right? Make sure you get a lot stronger before then. Now that I know what kind of person you are, you''ll need to work hard if you want to woo me. I have no intention of being someone''s trophy." With that said, the space around Ureko''s body began to violently ripple, a sign she was about to depart. In response, Vahn blinked directly behind her but, before he was able to give her a parting embrace, the petite blonde rewarded his efforts with an elbow to the diaphragm, a teasing smile developing across her face as she said, "Get your shit together first. I don''t really care if you want toplete your Princess collection, but I''ll be pissed if you increase the number of ''random'' women before our next meeting." Finished with what she wanted to say, Ureko extricated her elbow from Vahn''s gut before promptly disappearing into the spatial tear she had created. This left thetter massaging his stomach with a sad smile on his face, but, shortly thereafter, he simply shook his head before turning to the group standing behind him and saying, "Well, this is it. From this moment onward, everyone is allowed to move freely. Just make sure to travel in groups of two or more, and, no matter what, never separate from your Pokemon..." Having discussed the matter in greater detail, Vahn ultimately agreed to let everyone travel on the condition that they always had one of his Temtes nearby. This would provide him with constant updates on their status, and, if necessary, he could either teleport directly to their side or use Unit Management to recall them to his. Fortunately, Pokemon were quite popr, so, while it ultimately required him to produce a number of additional Temtes, everyone had been excited to choose their favorite... Though most of the girls could see the uncertainty on Vahn''s face, it was Artoria, followed closely by a miniaturized Solgaelo, who stepped forward to say, "Everyone here understands the risks and is more than capable of protecting themselves. If you are feeling uncertain, you need only continue moving forward. You are our guiding light. Where you go, we are bound to follow." Nodding his head, Vahn did his best to appear assured, smiling as he said, "I understand. No matter what, I will continue pushing forward...please, stay safe..." Adopting a far more sincere smile, Artoria rewarded Vahn''s words by removing her gauntlet and caressing his head. She didn''t have anything like Petting Laws to rely on, but, even without them, the caress of a loved one was still effective in aying one''s concerns. Feeling a little better, a natural smile developed across Vahn''s face as he wrapped his arms around Artoria''s waist and whispered, "I love you..." in the most sincere tone he could manage. This caused the subsequent parting to take much longer, but, even if their parting was only for a short while, he wanted everyone to know how much he loved each and every one of them... --- With the departure of nearly every resident, Vahn''s return to the Emerald Grove reminded him of how peaceful things had been at its inception. Back then, it''s only inhabitants were the Temtes he had produced. Now, however, most of the remaining residents were either members of Fenrir''s pack, Pokemon, or those whopletelycked ambition. Everyone else had either been moved to another Layer, or, in the case of Kushina, Hinata, Naruto, and Hina, to Arceus'' Realm. Though he had intended to give everyone as much time as they needed to make a decision, Vahn had been surprised when the Council of Wives approached him the following morning with both a consensus and apromise. They had spent days deliberating over the matter, and, after putting it to a vote, it was decided that the Emerald Grove, much like his Realm, would remain sealed unless he ''needed'' to make use of it. Those who chose to remain behind did so understanding they would have very little influence in events of the outside world. As for everyone else, they would be moving in the outside world,pleting quests, and, no matter how dangerous things became, they would face any and all threats head-on. They did not fear death. Rather, believing that it was only a matter of time until Vahn reached the Divine Realm, the only thing they feared was being unable to witness his ascension with their own eyes... Having always left such decisions to his wives, Vahn took onest look at the timeless abode before shaking his head and returning to the outside. There, he found Fenrir, Ryun, Yuri, and Pram waiting for him, thetter appearing understandably confused since she hadn''t been asked to participate in the previous discussions. She was still loyal to the Lo Po Bia Family, but, more than that, most of her ambitions revolved around developing the power and authority of the Snow Leopard Family. While there was nothing intrinsically wrong with this, she was a bit of an extremist in her ideals, so, unless she drastically changed over the next few weeks, he would be leaving one of his Temtes to watch over, not just the Snow Leopard Family, but most of the Lo Po Bia Branch Families. Adopting his characteristically casual smile, Vahn habitually extended his hands to caress the heads of Fenrir and Ryun as he said, "Though I''m tempted to charge straight up the Tower, I don''t want to break my promise with Lotte. For the time being, we''ll stick with spending three days on each of the Floors. The real question is, are you okay with exposing our rtionship to the public...?" With thest question directed at her, Yuri just waved her hand in a dismissive manner, asking, "Do you think I would have sent Evan off if I wasn''t certain? Being a Princess was pretty interesting but I never really cared about the title. I just wanted to be free. Besides, now that I''ve be a Saiyan, is there any reason to fear the Jahad Empire?" Startled by Yuri''s words, Pram''s eyes widened as she asked, "Princess Yuri, have you lost your mind? Vahn-sama is certainly powerful, but there is no guarantee he can defeat the King. Once your father learns of this, it isn''t just you who will pay the price..." Noticing the ''scheming glimmer'' in Pram''s eyes, Yuri rolled her own before saying, "You''re living in the past. Even if you don''t believe everything Vahn has revealed, do you really think Ureko and the members of Wolhaiksong would ce their fates in his hands for no reason? I have no intention of being trapped in this Tower for the rest of my life. I want to see whatys beyond, so, even if I have to live with the brand of a traitor, I''m going to continue walking this path till the end. Besides, if he got serious, do you really think Vahn would lose against my father?" Shifting her silvery gaze to Vahn, a conflicted look appeared in Pram''s eyes. She knew he was very powerful, but, for a variety of reasons, she couldn''t imagine he was stronger than her father, much less Jahad. There was a reason Jahad had been able to dere himself King, and, more importantly, remain King for more than ten-thousand-years. His power was simply unfathomable, and, though she had only met him a handful of times, Pram was convinced he stood at the absolute pinnacle of what any individual could achieve. Turning to meet Pram''s gaze, Vahn couldn''t help adopting a teasing smile as he saw her lips part, clearly wanting to speak but unable to find the words. This made her appear adorable, but, at the same time, it proved just how indoctrinated she was in the current system. She would undoubtedly hesitate, but, should Jahad or Lord Lo Po Bia request it of her, the odds of her betraying them were remarkably high. This was one of the biggest detriments to dealing with races who were both loyal and extremely hierarchal, as, without ''proving'' he was stronger, they would prioritize the orders of those they believed to be his superior. Rather than making a big deal out of it, Vahn just extended his hand to caress Pram''s inordinately fluffy hair, saying, "You''ll get your answer soon enough. Now, let''s get a move on. There are a lot of people anticipating our arrival on the higher floors. Let''s not keep them waiting..." With that said, Vahn retracted his hand from Pram''s head, surprising her as he shifted his gaze to the sky and shouted, "Transfer us to the next Floor!". Until now, he had been moving between the various Gateports in order to facilitate his travel, but, thanks to his contract with Headon, he could effectively transport between Floors at his leisure. This had been a closely guarded secret, but, now that he had decided to press forward without hesitation, Vahn no longer cared about discretion... --- With very little time passing since her conference with the Ministers, Adori found herself unable to suppress a twitch as she listened to the most recent string of reports. She had been confident in her assertion that Vahn wasn''t going to arbitrarily cause chaos, yet, as if he was intentionally seeking to annoy her, persons of interest rted to the Aldrnari Empire were somehow appearing all over the Tower. They hadn''t done anything as of yet, but, considering some had appeared as low as the 28th Floor, it was bing increasingly apparent that the travel restrictions imposed on everyone else had no effect on members of the Aldrnari Empire. Fortunately, as they had literally been in the process of discussing their next course of action, Adori already had Senna, Andrika, and Lem with her. They were receiving the same reports as she was, so, while none appeared even remotely as exasperated as her, Adori took sce in the fact that others shared her burden. Senna, in particr, was extremely reliable at times like this, as, not only did she have experience as Commander-in-Chief, her capacity to gather information was second only to a select few members of the Tperie Family. With her Lighthouse monitors disying the images of several confirmed members of the Aldrnari Empire, a thoughtful look developed across Senna''s face as she stated, "It would appear something major happened within the confines of the Little Garden. We''ll need to send a delegation to consult with Vahn. I presume this is just an example of him providing his people the opportunity to explore the Tower in preparation for their impending departure. If this ends up being the case, we might be in for a number of headaches..." Since it was just the four of them, Adori made no effort to suppress a sigh, a long, exasperated, and slightly sonorous sound escaping her throat before she observed, "If it''s just that, we should be able to rest easily within the next year or two. For now, send units to establish contact with each member of the Aldrnari Empire. Though I doubt they will be amodating, we should, at the very least, try to coordinate with them. If they are spread out across numerous Floors, there is a chance that Vahn might not be able to meditate when things get out of hand. If he can...well, at least we''ll know more of what he is capable of..." Imagining Vahn freely teleporting through the Tower, another sigh escaped Adori''s lips, this time expressing extreme fatigue. She was hoping he could only teleport to Floors he had already been to, but, considering who they were talking about, there was a very real chance he could teleport to the top of the Tower whenever he wanted. He had a way ofpletely defying their expectations, so, rather than assume he had any limits, Adori was beginning to ept that his title as the God of Infinite Possibilites was urate... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Come and get me~'',''The dawn of a new era'',''RIP Adori xD...'') Chapter 1982 Lonely Road

Chapter 1982: Lonely Road

With the Little Gardenrgely off-limits, two months passed in what felt like the blink of an eye. This was aided by the fact that Vahn had resumed his healing work, and, as a result, he had treated more than ten thousand residents of the Middle Tower, not just members of the Hendo Lok Family. As could be expected, Vahn''s fame was growing by the day, as, no matter how serious the injury, he would treat the vast majority of patients without asking for any form of payment. There were also a number of rumors attesting to his ability to help people leave the Tower, so, while there had been a fair amount of bacsh from some of the people in power, his poprity among general residents, Rankers, and even a few of the Great Families had been on the rise. Unfortunately for the people who came seeking refuge and transportation via the Little Garden, the majority were turned away without consideration. Wolhaiksong had been the exception, so, unless their circumstances were especially dire, Vahn had no n to harbor additional people, refugee or otherwise. There were exceptions, of course, but, more often than not, the people approaching him were just opportunists looking for a chance to start anew or spread their influence elsewhere... --- Stepping out onto the 97th Floor, the first thing Vahn took note of was the blood-red sky. Then, in response to therge crowd that had gathered, some to receive him, others hoping for treatment, he adopted a friendly smile and said, "General treatment will take ce starting tomorrow morning. If you have an emergency or a more pressing condition, please share your information with the 2nd Army Corp. I will begin treatment after a bit of rest." Though he has initially been treating people arbitrarily, Vahn ultimately epted when Senna came to offer her assistance. This allowed the Jahad Empire to save a bit of face, but, more importantly, it helped to ease some of the tensions provoked by the girls freely roaming the Tower. They had been rather proactive in their attempts to root out corruption and protect the people, so, while he had no intention of reigning them in, there was no harm in working alongside members of the Empire who sincerely wished to improve things. In response to Vahn''s words, most of the crowd began to disperse under the direction of the 2nd Army Corps. A few, however, chose to stay behind, not because they wished to defy the Empire or inconvenience him, but because they were that desperate. This was actually quitemon, so, as therger group was clearing out, Vahn had Law of Identity vet each of the people who remained. As was often the case, most of the stragglers were actually estranged members of the Hendo Lok Family or former agents rted to Wolhaiksong. More surprising was the number of people rted to FUG, but, thanks to the Law of Identity, Vahn quickly understood the reason. This was apparently the Floor that served as yer Karaka''s seat of power. It wasn''t the most important location to him, but, at the very least, it was the ce where most of his troops had been stationed... Though there was a fair amount of ''bad blood'' between him and the aforementioned yer, Vahn no longer cared about eliminating him outright. FUG, or, more specifically, two of the other yers had harshly reprimanded the younger yer for his actions, so, for thest several months, Karaka had been rtively silent as he focused on split his forces in an attempt to limit the damage caused by Ureko. She had yet to forgive the man for what he had done to Hell Joe, so, whenever she found any traces of Karaka and his forces, Ureko made sure to tear them out by the roots. Committing the location of Karaka''s base to memory, Vahn made a mental note to inform Ureko of its location as he shifted his gaze towards a dull-eyed woman cradling what appeared to be a dead infant in her arms. She had the kind of look you would see when someone hadpletely given up hope, but, perhaps as a result of her maternal instincts, she forced herself to appear despite several days passing since her child''s death... Unable to suppress the difort he was feeling, Vahn couldn''t resist furrowing his brows as he looked behind him, saying, "Go on without me. I''ll catch up in a few minutes..." Acting as the representative of his entourage, Fenrir lightly thumped her chest, answering, "Leave it to me. I''ll make sure to choose somece that has arge bath. It will be waiting for you when you return." Following an appreciative nod, Vahn watched as the group, now consisting of Fenrir, Yuri, Lotte, and Misaka, hastily departed. Pram had been asked to return home shortly after their arrival on the 95th Floor, and, though she had initially chosen to apany Ichigo and Orihime, it didn''t take long for Misaka to feel like a third wheel. As a result, she was currently traveling together with him, but, once another group returned, she was intending to join them in order to continuepleting Quests. As for Ryun, she had chosen to return to the First Layer, allegedly to keep an eye on the Research Team until her services as a Guide were required. Trusting the girls to choose a suitable residence, Vahn returned his gaze to the bereaved mother, his vibrant aquamarine eyes meeting her almost lifeless brown orbs. For a fleeting moment, he thought he could see a flicker of hope ignite within their depths, but, almost immediately thereafter, it faded as a member of the 2nd Army Corps approached her with the intent of ushering her away. Teleporting next to the man before he could presumably say something rude, Vahn ced his hand on the soldier''s shoulder, saying, "It''s fine. Please, move along." Though he had startled quite a bit due to Vahn''s instantaneous and vice-like grip, the man quickly managed a salute as he nervously stammered, "Y-Yes! Understood!" before practically bolting away. After following the man with his eyes for a few moments, all while the Law of Identity revealed his true thoughts, Vahn returned his gaze to the bereaved mother, guilt swelling in his heart as he said, "Let me see him. I can still feel a thread of consciousness lingering around him..." With ayer of moisture immediately developing across her eyes, the woman weakly presented the body of her infant son, voice croaking as she sobbingly stated, "Please...I beg you...save my child..." Though he felt even more guilt, Vahn forced himself to adopt an assuring smile as he said, "Leave it to me.". Then, with a tremendous amount of light gathering in his palm, he pressed his hand to the infant''s chest, his voice echoing through the surroundings as he somberly dered, "Live." in a tone that resonated in the hearts and minds of everyone present. Immediately following this utterance, a gasping sound, followed by an extremely loud cry, could be heard emanating from the wailing infant. This, in turn, caused the mother topletely break down into tears, repeating things like ''thank you'' and ''my precious baby'' while cradling the crying infant in her arms. Offering the most reassuring smile he could manage, Vahn ced his hand on the woman''s head, this time producing considerably less light as he said, "Everything is going to be okay. So long as there is hope, the promise of a better future is never far..." With that said, Vahn finished healing the woman''s injuries before retracting his hand and promptly teleporting to the top of a building several kilometers away. There, he sat with his back pressed to a wall, a tired sigh escaping his throat as he looked towards the blood-red sky. Though he had made good on his promise to revive the child, there was nothing Vahn could do to restore the original consciousness. Instead, he could only ''invite'' another Soul to inhabit the child''s body, effectively ''creating'' a new consciousness from scratch. In other words, he had failed to bring back the woman''s child, and, though he believed it was the right thing to do, he had technically left her to care for a stranger inhabiting the resurrected flesh of her son... Fortunately, as the new consciousness was something he had personally crafted, Vahn could be rtively certain that her son would grow up to be both kind and filial. Even if he was forced to face adversity, he should have more than enough willpower to push through, and, if it was for the sake of his mother, he might even be able to ascend to godhood. As for how Vahn knew of these things, well... ********************** [Status] Name: [Andray Liam], Sobriquet: N/A Age: 73 Days Race: Human Position(s): N/A Strength: N/A Toughness: E-Rank Regr Intellect: N/A Agility: N/A Control: N/A Shinsu Resistance: C-Rank Regr Shinsu: [Quality: Light], [Total: 400], [Baang: 0], [Myung: 0], [Soo: 0], [Tension: 50:1] Soul Tier: 2 Innates: [Child of Destiny: S], [Blessed by the Sage Dragon Emperor: S] Skills: [Resolute Heart: S], [Tough Body: D], [Chainbreaker: C] ********************** Though the child''s physical vessel hadn''t changed all that much, a person''s Innates were directly tied to their Soul. Since thetter had been created as an expression of Vahn''s intent, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say he had been blessed by fate. As a result, he ended up obtaining the coveted [Child of Destiny] Innate, and, so long as he wasn''t tempted by the darkness, it was only a matter of time before the child grew into a hero that others both respected and envied. Vahn was hoping this would make up for his failure, but, even if it didn''t, he now had a point of reference to look back on if he wanted to ''fix'' things in the future... While he might have chastised others for doing the same, Vahn was slowly forcing himself toe to terms with the notion that the past, present, and future will one day be his to shape. He couldn''t reach Tier 7 while restricting his behavior in ordance with reason, so, even if it was unbelievably selfish of him, he had been taking note of events that he might want to change in the future. At the very least, he needed to ept personal responsibility for his Temtes, creations, and the people who had joined his Familia. They would all experience an ''eternity'' the moment he ascended to the Divine Realm, so, if necessary, he needed to be prepared to extricate them or undo the events that led to their initial creation... As that thought crossed his mind, a tired sigh escaped Vahn''s lips as he extended his hand toward the blood-red sky, muttering, "This isn''t healthy..." as an unbelievablyplex series of runes and magic circles formed across his fingers, hand, and forearm. Immediately thereafter, a rainbow-like circle appeared around his wrist with a tiny arrow pointed towards a simr shade of red as the sky. Then, with a turn of his hand, Vahn changed the color of the sky from blood-red to a gentle shade of blue, alerting virtually every resident before going on to produce billowy clouds the emted his current, spiritually drained, mental state... --- Though this wasn''t the first time Vahn had done somethingpletely nonsensical, Senna felt an irresistiblepulsion to massage her temples as countless messages, many questioning what the hell was happening, came pouring in. Fortunately, Vahn had taken pity on her in the past, so, while there was little she could do about her exasperation, her heart was healed thanks to the presence of an adorable little bear with a moon-like crescent on its forehead. It would apparently evolve into arger and more intimidating variant in the future, but, at least for the time being, it remained fluffy and huggably pliant... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Cooperation is always better than conflict'',''Vahn has to make some pretty tough choices...'',''(O w O)...'') Chapter 1983 Routine: Parallels: Divergence

Chapter 1983: Routine: Parallels: Divergence

After adequately suppressing the mncholy he had been feeling, Vahn teleported directly to the location of Fenrir and the rest. There, he found Misaka in her Pikachu form, a helpless expression on her face as Lotte, naked as the day she was born, happily scrubbed and washed her fur. At the same time, a short distance away, Fenrir and Yuri could be seen lounging in arge bath that could easily be described as a pool. It was more than three meters deep at some sections, not so people could swim around freely, but to amodate guests that hadrger than average physiques. Noticing his presence almost immediately, Fenrir rose from the water to approach her Master''s side as Yuri, enjoying the warm water, simply raised her hand and said, "Yo. Took you long enough.". This alerted Lotte to his presence, but, having participated inmunal bathing for the better part of a month, she no longer had any real aversion to him. Rather, thanks to Yuri''s persistent teasing, Vahn knew she spent upwards of half the day thinking about ways in which he might push her down... Though Lotte was among the ''exceptions'' he was intending to make, Vahn had decided to wait until they had gotten to know each other before progressing their rtionship to the next level. Ureko''s words had resonated with him, and, though he had no intention of limiting himself, he hade to the conclusion that he should, at the very least, take his potential partner''s hopes and dreams into consideration before making a move. He didn''t want to ce a burden on people he was supposed to love, so, understanding Lotte wasn''t sure about leaving the Tower, he didn''t want to pressure her. Adopting his characteristic smile, Vahn allowed his clothes to melt away, answering, "I decided to make the Floor appear more hospitable..." before sitting down on a wooden bath stool produced from his Inventory. This allowed Fenrir to use her fur-covered paws to wash every nook and cranny of his body, generally while pressing her exposed breasts against his back. This was apparently her way of making up for all the times he washed her in the past, but, based on the heat radiating from her usually ice-cold body, Vahn knew she enjoyed it just as much as he did... --- Though they could have easily stayed in a lot longer, Vahn had everyone exit the bath after around two hours had passed. This was just enough time for him to help each of the girls wash, dry, brush, and style each of their hairs. He would also lightly massage them in order to remove any tension or muscle fatigue, but, thanks to his ''persistent'' efforts, it was actually pretty rare to find any seque rted to stress anywhere in their body. Instead, the short sessions were effectively an opportunity for the girls to improve the cirction of energy within their body, an exceptional boon considering even Lotte had been learning how to cultivate ki... Leaving Fenrir, Yuri, and Lotte to watch over their inordinatelyrge andpletely free suite, Vahn, apanied by a reasonably mature-looking Mikoto, decided to head over to where the 2nd Army Corps had been gathering patients. There, more than seven thousand people had assembled, some missing limbs, others with illnesses that could only be cured with unreasonably expensive medicine. The one thing most of them had inmon was that they were desperate, so much so that around thirty percent of the crowd consisted of people who had been matching Vahn''s pace as he moved between Floors. Passing over the crowd without any of them actually taking note of their presence, Vahn turned to Mikoto, asking, "Will you be okay on your own? You don''t have to do this if you don''t want to." Rolling her eyes, Mikoto flew a little bit ahead of Vahn before turning around, flying backward as she said, "You worry too much. I seriously doubt anyone with an illness untreatable to Tier 5 Magic is going to appear. Besides, it''ll make things a lot easier if you leave all the female patients to me." With Mikoto adopting an usatory look near the end of her statement, a characteristically wry naturally made its way across Vahn''s face. Fortunately, he knew she was ''mostly'' just teasing him, as, back in the Actualized World of the Toaruverse, she had been the one to egg him into a number of rtionships. There was even a moment when he nearly ended up cooking an Oyakodon, but, out of consideration for the fact that Mikoto''s mother was somewhat happily married, he managed to restrain himself... After failing to pet the evasive Mikoto''s head, Vahn touched down in the center of the make-shift medical ward that had been set up by the 2nd Army Corps. There, several Rankers were standing by to prevent people from approaching, but, even though he was only a few meters away from them, none reacted until he and Mikoto ''re-synced'' with the world around them. Thetter had managed to be a Magic God during her stay in the Toaruverse, so, while her power was severely limited in a world where shecked authority, she was still a Tier 5. As a result, they could effectively iste themselves from the Standard Axes of Space and Time, more or less bing imperceptible to the beings bound to each. Fortunately, most of the guards had been working with Vahn for the better of six weeks, so, rather than panicking, each of the Rankers promptly saluted as the most senior member stepped forward to report, "There are 5,947 patients, 1813 of which are returnees. What would you have us do?" Patting Mikoto''s shoulder, Vahn adopted a friendly smile as he said, "This is the Misaka Mikoto, the Magic God of Lightning and Tribtions. She will be treating non-critical female patients from this day forward. Unless they are children, I don''t want you sending any male patients towards her. Do I make myself clear?" Responding with a salute, the soldier eximed, "Sir, yes sir!" before pointing towards a few of the nearby Rankers and shouting, "Henderson! Schmitt! Prepare a second ward immediately! Make sure only female personnel and patients are allowed to enter!" Answering with salutes and exmations of their own, the duo immediately set out toplete their assigned duty without a moment of hesitation. The Rankers of the 2nd Army Corps were the Elite among Elites, and, thanks to a concerted effort by Senna, there was virtually no corruption in their ranks. This allowed them to act as intermediaries between the other Corps, and, now that the Empire was treating Vahn as a ''VVIP'', they were in the unique position of coordinating with Vahn to ensure he didn''t go around causing chaos at every turn. With Mikoto more than capable of fending for herself, Vahn allowed her to go and treat non-critical patients within the crowd as a long queue began forming outside his temporary ward. Then, for the better part of twenty-hours, he treated more than two-hundred patients. This might seem like a lot, but, if he really wanted to, Vahn could treat the entire crowd without a single second passing. Doing so would require him to slow or even stop time, however, so, while he wasmitted to helping as many people as possible, he wasn''t going to bend the Laws of Space and Time in order to do so. Fortunately, thanks to Mikoto, an additional 93 patients ended up being treated by the time Vahn had decided to take a break. She was quite a bit slower than him due to her inexperience and the genuine concern she showed for each patient, but, as it wasn''t apetition, Vahn was extremely grateful for her assistance. Yes, she used Magic to broadly treat injuries and ailments she couldn''t actually identify, but, in the grand scheme of things, the only thing that really mattered was that the patients were happy and healthy... --- After apologizing to the crowd and telling the members of the 2nd Army Corps they were doing a good job, Vahn carried Mikoto on his back as they walked silently and undisturbed through the city streets. She might have functionally unlimited energy reserves, but, having never dealt with sick and desperate patients, her nervousness led to her exhausting her mental and spiritual reserves. Though a part of her wanted to ask why Vahn didn''t simply teleport to their temporary residence, a contented smile had developed across Mikoto''s face as she nestled into the nook between his neck and shoulder, enjoying the peaceful piggyback ride. She frequently felt guilty about ''borrowing'' him for the better part of three years, but, at times like this, she was grateful to have been created. Vahn was far from perfect, sure, but, when it came to empathizing with and understanding others, he had a charm that simply couldn''t be matched... Sensing the subtle increase in Mikoto''s body temperature, a slight smile spread across Vahn''s face as he turned a corner that led away from their temporary residence. At the same time, a secondary version of himself split off, appearing much like a phantom as it continued towards their previous destination. This was another method he could use to drastically increase the number of people he treated, but, as a matter of principle, he generally only used such techniques to spend time with the people he cared about. Having noticed Vahn''s actions, a healthy shade of red began to spread through Mikoto''s cheeks as she hugged him a little tighter, asking, "Where are we going?" in a subdued tone. In response, Vahn took a series of steps that caused their surroundings to change drastically, casually shifting through both space and time. He had learned that, so long as he created another version of himself to serve as an anchor of sorts, he could exist in two points in Space and Time simultaneously. This had been a pretty major discovery during his time in the Toaruverse, but, due to the rather ridiculous strain it ced on his mind, body, and spirit, he very rarely made use of it. In the end, Vahn ended up a few days ahead of his secondary self, but, due to the peculiar nature of his existence, he had essentially stepped into a version of the Tower where he was more of a rumor than an actuality. It was a peculiar world where his Temtes and the residents of the Little Garden still existed, but, despite acting in ordance with his will, he only existed in their memory. Fortunately, even if he transitioned through Time and Space, Vahn''s contract with Gluttony was still active. Thetter was a Tier 5 being fully capable of existing outside the Standard Axes of Space and Time, so, while it had caused him a fair amount of confusion the first time Vahn had performed the maneuver, he didn''t bother toin. Rather, after observing Vahn''s increasingly absurd abilities, the voracious rabbit had be fully convinced of his status as a God who just so happened to be ''passing through''... While simultaneously piloting his past self to greet the trio of Fenrir, Yuri, and Lotte, Vahn began rapidly phasing between Floors as he answered, "There is a beautiful and serene ce I think you would enjoy in the Lower Floors. It might be a little cliche, but I''m hoping to take each of you there before departing the Tower. Is that okay with you...?" Rolling her eyes, Mikoto resisted the urge to point out that they were already moving even before he had asked for her consent. Instead, she just nestled a little closer to him, forcing her breasts to press into his back as she purred, "I''m looking forward to it..." in the closest thing she could manage to a seductive voice. Unfortunately, she had learned from observing her mother''s teasings, so, while it certainly sounded seductive, it also inspired memories of the buxom brte that had very nearly be one of Vahn''s ''victims''... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Fenrir is always doing her best (O w O)...'',''Mikoto over here using reality-bending magic to treat colds and broken bones...'',''Vahn, God of Mads...'') Chapter 1984 Early Morning : Looking Forward

Chapter 1984: Early Morning : Looking Forward

Just as he had on virtually every Floor since the 77th, Vahn spent the vast majority of his time on the 97th treating patients. The rest was spent within the confines of his temporary residence, effectively cut off from the rest of the world for around 8~10 hours. During this time, he would check in on all the groups exploring the Tower, his senses cycling through those of his Temtes in order to get a first-hand ount of everything that was going on. Fortunately, with the obvious exceptions of people like Mordred and, to a lesser extent, X, Nero, and Nobunaga, most of the groups behaved simrly to tourists. They were simply exploring the Tower, and, unless something ''obvious'' caught their attention, they tended to avoid causing any kind of disputes, not because they were afraid, but because they wanted to avoid getting wrapped up in the politics of the Tower. Unsurprisingly, numerous factions had been attempting to establish contact and build connections with the Aldrnari Empire through the exploration groups. A few also tried to approach the girls with untoward and libidinous intentions, but, as could be expected, that didn''t exactly end well. The girls all had artifacts that allowed them to detect such intentions, and, most importantly, protect against abnormal status ailments such as mental maniption and poisoning. They were also around Tier 4, so, with the exception of a few High Rankers, few people could truly threaten them. The only people Vahn really had to worry about were the aforementioned, as, despite having the mental capacity of a superputer, X could be irredeemably clumsy. She had a tendency to lose and misce her equipment, and, so long as they were even remotely sly, she was dishearteningly easy to fool. Of course,pared to Nero, who epted virtually any and all challenges, her antics could be passed off as cute and quirky. Though he had asked her to show a bit of restraint, Nero had basically been treating the Tower as her yground ever since she, Nobunaga, Yoruichi, and Angri set out. Fortunately, her talent was the real deal, and, though she had lost her [Imperial Privilege], she obtained an Innate called [Lead Actress] that, as far he could tell, qualitatively improved her luck. It also resulted in a fair amount of drama, but, more often than not, things would invariably turn out in Nero''s favor. Checking in on the petite bombshell, Vahn found herughing vivaciously across from a group of thug-like men with grim expressions. In front of her, there were thousands of casino chips piled up like a small mountain, a stark contrast to the insignificant amount present before each of the other gamblers. The only thing that kept them from attacking was the knowledge that they couldn''t really do anything, as, even after spiking the beautiful blonde''s drink, she continuedughing heartily with a massive grin stered across her face... Severing the connection between him and the white-haired youth standing stoically behind Nero, the human form of a Pokemon called Reshiram, Vahn resisted the impulse to rub his temples and instead poked the belly of the sleeping Fenrir. Thetter was currently curled up in hisp in the form of a small puppy, belly exposed as she nestled between his thighs on her back. Twitching in response to the unexpected probe, Fenrir quickly righted herself before tilting her head adorably to the side and asking, "Is it time to go?" Nodding his head, Vahn picked up the adorable pup before shifting his attention to his right. There, curled up with ''Mikotochu'' nestled between their inordinatelyrge breasts, Yuri and Lotte could be seen sleeping in little more than their lingerie. This immediately gave Vahn shbacks to his time in the Akamatsuverse, not just because he was sharing a bed with a girl he had yet to actually start an actual rtionship, but because Lotte was an extreme masochist. She might look adorable cradling Mikoto in her arms, but, when you took into consideration her fondness was predicated on the fact that thetter could deliver a powerful shock, the scene lost a fair amount of its innocent appeal... With Fenrir nestled in his arms, Vahn was able to resist his almost instinctual urge to smack Yuri''srgely exposed bottom, his expression appearing calm as he firmly stated, "I know you''re awake. Get up. We have less than an hour before we''re scheduled to depart." Groaning in response, Yuri used her monkey-like tail to gently smack Vahn in the face, saying, "Five more minutes..." in a groggy tone. Lotte, however, immediately sat up, her melon-like breasts, each a great dealrger than his head, threatening to liberate themselves from her top as she stretched her body and said, "Good morning~" with an expectant look in her eyes. Returning a smile, Vahn promptly levitated from the bed, Fenrir still in his arms as he said, "Mikoto. Thunderbolt." Though she had never experienced an actual Pokemon battle, Mikoto, like the vast majority of the Temted Pokemon, reacted on instinct whenever she heard battlemands. As a result, vibrant golden electricity instantaneously erupted from her body, and, though she had made ast-second attempt to escape, Yuri ended up being caught in the violent bands of lightning alongside Lotte. With the light rapidly dying down, Vahnnded on the floor, a teasing smile developing across his face as he said, "Breakfast will be in fifteen minutes. If you''re not ready by then, you''ll have to settle for dried meat and hard bread." Immediately following this threat, a ripple spread in front of Vahn''s face, effortlessly absorbing the blood-red energy ball hurled by the disgruntled Yuri. She hadn''t actually taken any damage from Mikoto''s attack, but, due to the remnant electricity coursing through her body, the hair across her body and atop her head had be noticeably frazzled. This was especially noticeable on her tail, which, for the time being, vaguely resembled that of a Snow Leopard rather than a monkey... --- Though Rindo was currently exploring the Actualized World of an anime known as Toriko, Vahn''s Inventory was filled to the brim with dishes she had either hand-prepared or mass-produced. This was very important, not just to himself, but to virtually everyone in the exploration group, as, when their supplies ran low, they would immediately seek him out to resupply. While this hadn''t been his intention when he created Rindo, Vahn found it somewhat amusing, as, even with his ability to cook simr dishes, he couldn''t go more than a few days without eating something personally prepared by the voracious redhead. Given its influence on him, it wasn''t difficult to imagine how Rindo''s cooking might affect beings of a lower tier. If she was serious, she could even prepare dishes that would fundamentally alter how a person thinks about the world around them, and, should her time in Toriko prove fruitful, she might even be able to cook a dish that could inspire mutual trust against previously warring nations. Thus, shortly after his departure from the bedroom, Yuri emerged with carelesslybed hair, throwing the brush towards Vahn before sitting down with a huff. With the brush slowing to a stop a few centimeters away from his face, the edges of Vahn''s smile curled up as he rose from the table to give Yuri a helping hand. Her pouting might amuse him, but, as she was still one of his women, he couldn''t exactly ignore her. Brushing a beautiful woman''s hair was also remarkably therapeutic, so, for the better part of half an hour, he methodicallybed her raven-ck hair before saying, "There are only two Floors remaining until we reach the 100th. After that, we''ll officially be on the ''Higher Floors''. Are you prepared?" Demonstrating remarkably udylike behavior, Yuri, cheeks filled with food, answered, "You''re still asking that? I already told you like ten times. No matter what happens, I''m going to keep pushing forward. Besides, so long as I continue following you, there will be plenty of opportunities to fight against powerful opponents. At the very least, I''m looking forward to being able to smack that old fart from the Arie Family." Chuckling in response to the former Princess''s rather brazen words, Vahn tossed the brush into his Inventory before gathering her silky hair with his hand and quickly fastening it into the rather stylish side-ponytail she was famous for. The only difference was, now that she had decided to ''go rogue'', she no longer wore the flower-like hair ornament gifted to her by her Great-Grandmother. Instead, she had be rather fond of a bright red ornament that visually resembled a camellia flower. At a nce, this wasn''t a drastic change, but,bined with the fact she no longer wore a Symbol of Jahad, those who knew Yuri well would immediately notice the change. Finished with the arrangement, Vahn ran his hand through Yuri''s hair onest time, saying, "I wasn''t asking if you had changed your mind. I just wanted to make sure you''re adequately prepared. Hon''s skill with the sword might not be particrly impressivepared to a true Grandmaster, but there is a reason he is ranked 5 throughout the Tower. Even with your physique, you won''t be able to stop his de." Swallowing the remaining food in her mouth, Yuri ced her left hand on her right bicep, flexing as she said, "Don''t underestimate my toughness. Besides, even if I lose a limb, you can always give me a new one, right?" With the final few words said with a massive grin, Vahn couldn''t help shaking his head, a wry smile developing across his face as he said, "I won''t stop you. Just know I hate seeing one of my women get hurt. I hope you''ll take that into consideration...not for your sake, but his..." Feeling a fluttery sensation in her chest, the smile on Yuri''s face became even bigger before she ultimately erupted into a vivaciousugh. She never thought the day woulde when someone verballyid im to her, but, unlike other members of the Ha Family, she didn''t particrly care about the hierarchy between men and women. This could be attributed to her Ari Family heritage, but, more than anything, she was just happy to be traveling with the person she had both chosen and been chosen by. Resisting the urge to shake his head, Vahn surprised Yuri with a kiss to her crown before saying, "Finish eating. There are a lot of people waiting for us and you know I don''t like to break from my routine unless it is absolutely necessary." With that said, Vahnbed his fingers through Yuri''s fringe before directing his gaze around the table, a teasing smile appearing on his face as he mused, "Of course, I can always ''make time'' if you really need it..." --- With breakfasting to an end, an event punctuated by Vahn helping Lotte style her hair, the group of five made sure to check out of their hotel before immediately teleporting to the next Floor. There, like every other Floor in recent memory, arge crowd of people had gathered to receive them. This included a number of familiar faces, as, even with Mikoto''s support, they had only been able to treat 1,074 of the 5,947 patients. Thus, for the umpteenth time, a friendly smile spread across Vahn''s face as he announced, "General treatment will take ce starting tomorrow morning. If you have an emergency or a more pressing condition, please share your information with the 2nd Army Corp. I will begin treatment after a brief period of rest." (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''I feel bad for the people who try to pull one over on Nero xD...'',''Lotte knows what she is about...'',''Routines are important but loved ones are even more so. Even if you''re not a God of time, never be afraid to make some for what truly matters~'') Chapter 1985 Forward

Chapter 1985: Forward

With nothing of interest happening on the 98th and 99th Floors, sans news regarding Ureko''s rampage on the 97th, Vahn finally reached one of the most famous Floors in the entire Tower, the 100th. Here was where, prior to the Age of Genesis, Jahad and the Great Warriors overcame their most difficult trial, and, as a result, were granted immortality for their efforts. It could be argued that, with the exception of Revolution Road, this was one of the most symbolic ces in the entire Tower, as, from the moment he became immortal, nothing could stand in the way of Jahad and his rise to prominence. Looking around, Vahn was unsurprised to find a vast cityscape that seemed to extend outward far beyond the horizon. The 100th Floor also served as the boundary separating the Lower, Middle, and Higher Floors. It was also the seat of power for the Arie Family, and, most importantly, the first Floor wholly dedicated to the Empire. Thus,pared to the Floors preceding it, the poption was vast, and, more importantly, powerful. It was almost like stepping into another world, and, based on what he could sense, the density of Shinsu was several times higher than even the 99th Floor. Vocalizing the thoughts of nearly everyone present, Mikoto stared wide-eyed at the inordinately tall and ivory white buildings that dominated their surroundings, whispering, "It''s beautiful..." in a voice filled with awe. In response to this, Vahn nodded his head, memories of Ostia briefly surfacing in his mind as he said, "It''s no wonder people at the bottom believe ''anything'' can be found at the top of the Tower. This ce is heavenpared to some of the Floors below..." With countless automatons flying around to clean buildings, picking up trash, and run errands, the setting of the 100th Floor gave neers the impression they had stepped hundreds of years into the future. Even the various types of flora were all neatly trimmed, and, high in the sky, a seemingly endless stream of silvery-white Suspend Ships, reminiscent of a school of fish, could be seen flying in neatnes as they transported their passengers to their destination. Shifting his attention from the sky, Vahn looked at the rtively small crowd gathered around. The 100th Floor, and beyond, was nothing like the preceding Floors, so, while there were still a number of people seeking treatment, everything was far more organized. He also noticed that, while there were still members of the 2nd Army Corps present, public order was actually being kept by a group of people with varying shades of white hair and neat outfits, clearly members of the Arie Family. As this thought crossed his mind, Vahn shifted his gaze towards the horizon, smiling as he mused, "Long time no see." in a carefree tone. In response, the woman standing in the distance promptly snorted, and, though there were more than ten kilometers separating them, Vahn could understand her when she stated, "My father wishes to meet with you. When you are finished with your business, head towards the Pce of Swords..." Having conveyed her message, the woman, none other than Arie Hagipherione Jahad, immediately vanished. This gave Vahn the urge to chuckle, but, having noticed the ashen-haired swordswoman''s presence, Yuri interrupted, asking, "Was that the grey-haired hag?" before immediately following it with stating, "Collecting her won''t be easy. Though it''s mostly just spection, she is pretty famous for her fatherplex. I don''t think she would appreciate it if you beat her daddy." Sending a nce towards Yuri, Vahn immediately noticed the woman''s mischievous grin, rolling his eyes as he tly replied, "I don''t regard women as collector''s items..." Mirroring Vahn''s actions, Yuri made a show of rolling her own eyes, arms crossed as she mused, "If you say so~" in a sing-song tone. Then, without waiting for his reply, she pulled Lotte''s arm, adding, "We''re gonna go shopping. The 100th Floor has some pretty interesting stores. Call me if anything interesting happens. Okay?" Though he shooed her away with a casual gesture, Vahn also nodded his head in response to Yuri''s words, saying, "Yeah, yeah, I know. Stay out of trouble." while stepping towards the group of white-haired people who were clearly waiting to receive them. Shifting his attention from the departing duo to the approaching trio, the leader of the group, an inordinately handsome man dressed in predominately white clothing reminiscent of attire found in the far east, offered a courteous bow as he said, "We wee the Sage Dragon Emperor to the City of White Lilies. My name is Arie Hien, son of Arie Hon and leader of the Civil Defense Corps. It is an honor to receive you." Passing his gaze over the youthful-looking man with short white hair and pale golden eyes, a smile spread across Vahn''s face as he exined, "No matter how hard you strain your senses, you will not be able to detect my sword intent. Yours is certainly remarkable, but,pared to my own, it is the difference between a small bonfire and a star on the verge of a supernova." Though he didn''t consider himself a braggart, Vahn rarely shied away from the opportunity to talk down to people who thought too highly of themselves. Hien might be able to hide it from others, but, even without the Law of Identity, Vahn could sense the threads of disdain and self-confidence mixed within the man''s sword intent. His apathetic expression also did little to conceal the glimmer of pride contained within his eyes, each radiating a subtle light that greatly emphasized his slit-like pupils. Demonstrating just how confident he was in his abilities, Hien''s response was to offer another bow, a nascent smile developing across his inordinately handsome face as she answered, "If fate allows, I would relish the opportunity to exchange pointers with His Imperial Majesty. Before that, however, I have other duties to attend. First and foremost, we would be honored if you would allow us to host you and yourpanions for the duration of your stay. We have prepared one of our most famous private residences, the Snow Apple Pavilion, to amodate you." Without needing to consider his response, Vahn shook his head, saying, "Now that I''ve reached the 100th Floor, it''s time for a change in pace. I mentioned, long ago, that I wouldn''t be turning a blind eye to the tragedies wrought by the Great Families. To that end, I intend to investigate the Pce of Swords, and, if necessary, I will be passing judgment on your father, your elders, and everyone else who can be held ountable for your family''s crimes. Now, unless you''re eager to receive your own punishment, I would advise you to run along. I''m not here to y games." Squinting his eyes, Hien motioned to rest his hand on the hilt of his katana-like sword, but, before the muscles in his arms could respond to the input from his brain, Vahn''s index finger had alreadye to rest on his forehead. This caused Hien''s eyes to instantaneously widen, not because Vahn had closed the distance between them in an instant, but because he felt an indescribably powerful sword intent radiating from the tip of his finger. Shaking his head, Vahn retracted his finger from the youthful-looking man''s head, saying, "You''re still green..." before walking past him with Fenrir and Mikoto following close behind. This caused the other members of the Arie Family to tense up, but, the moment they got into their stances, it was as if time around them hade to a stop. The only thing distinguishing them from a group of statues were the beads of sweat appearing across their body, and, if you looked closely, the thin red lines covering their faces, necks, and wrists... --- Unaware of the incident that had urred immediately following her departure, Yuri dragged Lotte to a rtively famous clothing store before exining, "We need to get you some new threads. The options in the [REquip] system aren''t bad, but theyck the oomph needed to really capture Vahn''s attention." Though she understood what Yuri was trying to say, Lotte immediately averted her eyes to the side, a ruddy glow spreading through her cheeks as she meekly replied, "I don''t think that''s appropriate. Vahn-sama has already done so much for me and my family. I have no right to demand even more from him..." Balling her hand into a fist, Yuri shed behind Lotte, punching thetter in the back of her head with enough force to produce a small burst of steam. This alerted the store owner, but, recognizing the identity of the two women, he ultimately gestured for his security to stand down before pulling out a handkerchief and wiping a bit of nervous sweat from his brow. Shaking her wrist, Yuri adopted an uncharacteristically grave expression as she said, "How is your Intelligence supposed to be higher than mine? I swear, the only thing in that skull of yours is a lump of metal..." Suppressing her almost instinctual urge to smile, Lotte rubbed the knot on the back of her head, an awkward expression on her face as she asked, "What are you talking about? What does that have to do with anything...?" Exhaling an exasperated sigh, Yuri began to pull random outfits from the neatly arranged clothing racks, tossing them to Lotte as she exined, "He might be one of the smartest people you''ll ever meet, but, when ites down to it, Vahn is both a man and an idiot. Do you really think he would let you share a bath and a bed with him if he didn''t have some form of affection for you? If I had to guess, the only reason he hasn''t made a move on you is because of your uncertainty. All you really need to do is show him how serious you are and there is no way he''ll refuse. Now, try those on. I''m not really sure how they would look on someone of your ''stature'', but, considering you walk around in nothing but a halter-top and a thong, anything you wear is bound to catch his attention." Furrowing her brows in response to Yuri''s words, Lotte remarked, "Everything you''ve picked thus far is either a dress or something that covers up a lot of skin...isn''t that a little counter-intuitive? I''m not a child, Yuri. I know men like it more when women wear more revealing clothing." Rather than refuting Lotte''s words, Yuri responded with an affirmative nod. Immediately after that, however, she went on to exin, "For most women, that is, indeed, the case. The problem, at least in your case, is that you are always wearing skimpy clothing. Once you get to know him a bit better, you''ll realize that Vahn actually has something of a fashion fetish. I mean, the guy has literally hand-crafted panties, stockings, and other garments. If you really want to appeal to him, you''ll need to do more than just expose your body. Here, try this on. It might just be a sweater, but the exposed back and high-cut hem would allow you to walk around without panties on. Combine that with stockings and you''ll have created an outfit that would turn most men, even dragons, into wolves." Though she wasn''t particrly known for her imagination, seeing Yuri hold the sweater up to her body allowed Lotte to envision what she might look like wearing something simr. Truth be told, she had actually been feeling a little self-conscious as ofte, so, while she didn''t want to endanger her rtionship with Vahn by putting pressure on him after his refusal, she couldn''t help but believe Yuri''s words. More importantly, she had something simr from Mash in the past, so, remembering all the times Vahn had treated her tenderly, she ultimately epted the sweater, forcing a smile as she muttered, "We''ll need to find a bigger size..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The disparity between the elite and the mundane...'',''Hien be like, "I can slice a mountain in two with a single cut...!". Vahn be like, "I can slice through a trichiliocosm without even needing to draw..."'',''Preparing for a climactic battle (O w O)...'') Chapter 1986 Obligation

Chapter 1986: Obligation

Though it would have been easier to charge directly into the Pce of Swords, Vahn''s first course of action was to meet with the Corps Commander of the 2nd Army Corps, Ari Senna. The heads of the Arie and Ari Families were cousins, so, as the daughter of the Ari Family Leader, Senna was also the first-cousin, once-removed, of Arie Hon. She had also been working hard to coordinate with him on various matters, so, while it was all but guaranteed that he would cross swords with the Arie Family Leader, Vahn feltpelled to keep her in the loop... Having grown somewhat ustomed to dealing with Vahn, Senna had learned that, more often than not, he emted the behavior of whoever he was interacting with. So long as you behaved casually around him, he would afford you the same courtesy, and, most importantly, he could be remarkably cooperative so long as you weren''t going out of your way to try and deceive him. Thus, the moment he exined his intentions, an exasperated sigh escaped her throat as she rubbed her temples and asked, "Are you serious?" Nodding his head, Vahn exined, "The Empire and the Great Families might not be the origin, but they have be the publically recognized root of corruption within the Tower. If real change is to be introduced, they need to be held ountable for their actions. I cannot turn a blind eye to what they have be, so, even if it jeopardizes our cooperation, I will continue to push forward for the sake of the Tower, the residents therein, and the countless children who will be born in the future." Understanding how obstinate Vahn could be whenever he had made up his mind, Senna made no effort to try and convince him tomit to a different course of action. Instead, she pulled up her Lighthouse before going on to state, "Lord Arie has always been a rational man. So long as you can ovee his Test, he should be willing to implement the reforms you have in mind..." Though he had no problem epting Arie Hon''s challenge, Vahn ultimately shook his head, saying, "The problems with the Great Families transcend their individual Leaders. Even if they could remove the more toxic elements from their family, it doesn''t change the fact they allowed things to develop to that point in the first ce. I''m willing to afford them the opportunity to redeem themselves, but, no matter how things end up, they cannot be allowed to continue governing their families." Understanding the consequences of Vahn''s actions far greater than the person himself, a dry knot began to form in Senna''s throat as she said, "I understand what you''re trying to say...but have you truly considered the consequences of such a drastic change in the Tower''s structure? I won''t argue that the Great Families are without their ws. The main reason we split from the Arie Family, in the first ce, was because of a difference in ideologies. Still,pared to how things were during the Age of Ascension, things are infinitely more peaceful now than how they used to be..." Rather than refuting this, Vahn decided to use Senna''s own words against her, saying, "You''re right. The Tower was filled with chaos and disorder, so, as a result, Jahad and the Great Warriors did their best to change things for the better. They bared their fangs at those in power, eliminating everyone who stood in their way before ultimately seizing power for themselves. Now, they have be the disease rotting the Tower from the inside, so, before the infection spreads even further, I will cut out the dead tissue at the source. If they are serious about performing their original duty, the Leaders of the Great Families will step down and allow the next generation to take charge. If they were actually concerned with maintaining the peace within the Tower, they never would have allowed corruption to take root within their own families..." Though he understood that corruption was bound to take root in even the noblest of families and organizations, those who imed to be in charge were ultimately ountable for every misuse of their power and authority. If they were unwilling to ept such a responsibility, they had no right to proim themselves as rulers. Thus, knowing that most of them had simply grown bored of life within the Tower, Vahn had no qualms about forcing the current generation of leaders to abdicate. They already had the chance to rule and decided not to. Now, it was someone else''s turn to, at the very least, try. Seeing the tell-tale look in Vahn''s eyes, Senna knew he wasn''t going to be dissuaded. He could be very reasonable most of the time, but, once he made up his mind on something, there didn''t seem to be anything capable of changing it. Even worse was the fact that, more often than not, his words struck at the very heart of a matter, so, even if she wanted toe up with a counterargument, he had ten-thousand-years of evidence attesting to their mismanagement... Suppressing a sigh, Sennabed aside her bangs, a difficult expression appearing on her face as she said, "If you go through with this...the Empire might not be able to remain silent. Even if I don''t disagree with you, my duty is to the Empire and its people. I will do my best to prevent things from getting out of control, but there is a very high probability that war will break out between the Jahad and Aldrnari Empires..." Though his expression softened for a brief moment, Vahn ultimately shook his head, saying, "That''s impossible. Even if the Jahad Empire were to dere war, the Aldrnari Empire is under no obligation to ept. If a war were to be fought, it would be a purely civil matter. The people of the Tower have grown weary of the current status quo, and, unlike a conventional war, there is nothing like territory for your side to im. All battles would have to take ce in regions governed by the Jahad Empire, and, as a result, dissent against the current regime would increase exponentially. You would end up destroying yourselves from the inside, all while I continue pushing forward without any meaningful opposition..." Frowning in response to Vahn''s words, Senna''s voice became audibly strained as she asked, "What about all the people you''ve helped during your climb? Don''t tell me you were just trying to sow the seeds of future dissent? If youmit to this course of action, they, as well as millions of others, are bound to die. Please, reconsider..." Adopting a slightly serious expression, Vahn met Senna''s uncertain gaze, his voice firm as he inly stated, "Such statements are filled to the brim with contradiction. I help people to help people, not to make use of them. If the vile and despicable would use that as a justification to punish them, that has nothing to do with me. If the righteous were cowed by the intimidations of those with malicious intent, there would be nothing to oppose the spread of evil." Furrowing her brows even further, Senna''s tone became marginally more resolute as she said, "Even if it wasn''t your intent, the fact remains-" Without waiting for the resolute redhead to finish, a powerful aura began to leak from Vahn''s body as he affirmed, "People raise the banner of revolution when those above them have failed to govern properly, not because someone extended a hand to them in their time of need. Don''t make excuses when the crux of the matter is that the Empire has be overrun with corrupt, opportunistic, and outright evil individuals. If you seriously intend to argue that the victims are to me, I fear this will be thest time we are able to speak cordially..." With that said, Vahn promptly teleported away before Senna had the chance to defend her point or apologize. One of his pet peeves had always been good people attempting to shift the me onto other good people despite ignoring the misdeeds of those truly at fault. Sure, Senna wasn''t really in a position to hold the other families ountable, but, regardless of her personal circumstances, she had even less of a right to hold others ountable for their actions. If someone decided to murder every single person he had saved, that had absolutely nothing to do with him. Even as far back as Danmachi, Vahn had never been willing topromise with those who tried to use his family, friends, and loved ones against him. It didn''t matter how much pain and suffering he would have to bear. If his enemies tormented others as a result of his actions, they would be hunted without mercy. Compromising with the type of people who would use others as leverage only made the situation worse, so, even if his enemies were to threaten him with a knife at one of his children''s throats, the only thing they would aplish is ensuring their own, painful, end... Not expecting Vahn to simply teleport away after he was finished speaking, Senna found herself at aplete and utter loss for words. She felt as though she had just made a grave mistake, but, as there were more pressing matters to attend, she ultimately just exhaled a sigh before manifesting a keyboard. She needed to report this matter up the chain ofmand, but, even after a full minute had passed, she wasn''t sure how to phrase it. Painting Vahn as a viin didn''t seem appropriate, as, on the most basic level, his words weren''t wrong. They were simply ''inconvenient'' for the Empire, a notion that only served to further validate the points he had made... As that thought crossed her mind, Senna shifted her attention to the adorable creature nervously watching her from the side. She could see genuine concern in its glossy ck eyes, and, though a few people had suggested that it was there to keep tabs on her, Senna knew better than most that Vahn didn''t need others to spy for him. Thus, after several seconds of tense silence, yet another sigh escaped her throat as she bent down and said, "It''s e on..." Though it hesitated for a brief moment, it didn''t take long for Teddiursa to waddle over to Senna''s side, its three-wed paws wrapping around her body as it cocked its head to the side and chimed a concerned, "Urrr..." Picking up the adorable Pokemon, Senna nestled her face into its soft fur for a brief moment before whispering, "Don''t worry...I''m sure everything will work out. I just need to put in a bit more effort..." With that said, Senna activated her Pocket''s visible mode, dying her official report in order to call her father. This was a severe dereliction of duty, but, considering the consequences of organizing a military response, now wasn''t the time to follow protocol. She could infer from Vahn''s behavior that he was absolutely confident in his ability toe out ahead in theing battle. This meant, at the very least, he was more powerful than the current Rank 5 in the entire Tower. Assuming this was the case, he wasn''t a foe they could defeat with simple numbers, so, rather than ordering her people to their death, Senna had decided it was worth facing a Court Martial if she could resolve the situation diplomatically. Thus, the moment the call went through, she adopted an ingratiating and somewhat childish tone as she said, "Papa...I really need your advice right now..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn treats people the way they treat others...just better...'',''There is a time for apromise and a time for action (O ^ O)...!'',''The shit is about to hit the proverbial fan...'') Chapter 1987 Setting the Stage

Chapter 1987: Setting the Stage

Having received the report rted to the incident at the Gateport, Arie Hon, apanied by two of his Family''s three Sword Saints, casually made his way to the most important destination in the entire Arie Family, the Sword Altar. There, floating in the sky above a multi-tiered ptial construct, a pale-blue sword constructed of pure Sword Intent, more than a kilometer in length, could be seen quivering in expectation as thousands of smaller swords danced around it. Noticing this, the older of the two Sword Saints, Ari Wan, imperceptibly raised his brows, as, despite the perenially calm appearance of his elder brother, the state of the massive sword revealed his true feelings. It was directly linked to his ability to gather the Sword Intent of others, so, by scrutinizing the sword, it was possible to directly ascertain Hon''s mental state. Adopting the slightest of smiles, Wan earned a curious nce from the bandage-covered giant at his side, the youngest of the three Sword Saints, as he remarked, "It''s rare to see you so excited. Is this ''Sage Dragon Emperor'' really as skilled as they attest?" Though he would normally never entertain such idle discussion, Hon''s pace gradually slowed until he finally turned around, his expression a perfect mask of apathy as he answered, "Indeed..." before surprising both men as he added, "This is meant to be kept a secret, but, ording to the King, the Sage Dragon Emperor is currently the most powerful creature in the entire Tower...how can I not be, at least a little, excited?" As one of the most loyal followers of Jahad, neither of the Sword Saints expected their elder brother to reveal such a controversial secret without regard for propriety or consequence. It waspletely out of character, as, even more than Jahad himself, Hon had always ced a tremendous amount of importance on preserving the honor and integrity of the Empire. With Wan unsure of how to respond, it was left to the inordinately tall man wrapped in bandages, Arie Kudo, to ask, "Why are you-" Before he could even finish speaking, an indescribable pain transmitted through Kudo''s entire body, radiating from his head to his groin. At the exact same moment, Wan leaped backward, but, despite his nigh-instantaneous response, his point of view never changed. Instead, his head remained at the same spot, resting on the t of Hon''s immacte white sword... Without so much as a twitched of the brows, Hon continued bncing his younger brother''s head on the tip of his sword as he calmly revealed, "I have turned a blind eye to your actions these past ten thousand years out of consideration for our parents. Now, judgment hase for all who call the Tower home. Don''t worry. You can contribute more to our family with your death than you ever contributed with your life..." Finished speaking, a pale-blue aura flowed from Wan''s resent-filled eyes, flowing into Hon''s pristine white sword. Then, without sparing his brothers a second nce, Hon shifted his gaze to a shivering servant woman, his expression as cid as a subterraneanke as he said, "Gather the remains and have them cremated..." before continuing on the path towards the Sword Altar... --- Hearing the sound of footfalls, Vahn shifted his attention away from the surprisinglyplex magic circle to the entrance of the massive, circr, chamber. There, an inordinately handsome man with pristine white hair, silvery-white eyes, and predominately white clothing could be seen staring back at him. He also had two swords fastened to his hip, but,pared to the man himself, they gave off a purely decorative feeling. Raising his brows ever-so-slightly, Vahn couldn''t help remarking, "Not half bad..." before following it with a frown and adding, "Unfortunately, the method you used to obtain such intent leaves a lot to be desired...how can you expect to reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship with power borrowed from others?" Closing his eyes in response to Vahn''s words, Hon appeared absolutely calm as he answered, "My method is certainly more direct, but, in the grand scheme of things, mastery and enlightenment are things we obtain from observing, interacting with, and stealing from others. My method is just...less wasteful. Had I not absorbed their power and potential, do you have any idea how many techniques would have been lost to time? Now, theirbined abilities havee together to form one of the mostprehensive sword legacies that have ever existed. Would you rather they fade into history,pletely forgotten?" Deciding it was a waste of time to argue semantics with someone who literally created a family with the end goal of harvesting their potential, Vahn shook his head, saying, "I didn''te here to listen to your excuses. At this point, you have two options to choose from. You can willingly abdicate from your position as Leader of the Arie Family or you can resist and be unceremoniously deposed. Either way, your family will need to undergo an audit to determine who should be held answerable for the countless crimes that have beenmitted these past ten-thousand-years." Rather than making any effort to challenge Vahn''s words, Hon simply nodded his head, answering, "Very well. I do not wish to see my family annihted, so, if it will pacify your anger, I am willing to abdicate from my position as Leader of the Arie Family. Before that, however, I would be honored if you would afford me the privilege of facing you in battle. You are undoubtedly aware of this, but, at the beginning of our journey, my only goal was to pit my skills against the Gods rumored to exist at the top of the Tower. Thus, even if it ultimately leads to my demise, I would willingly embrace death if it meant ascertaining just how close I came to reaching the level of you and your kin..." Since he would have been severely disappointed if Hon had peacefully acquiesced to his demands, Vahn didn''t hesitate to nod in the affirmative, saying, "So be it. I will afford you twenty-four hours to make the necessary preparations. So long as it isn''t somethingpletely asinine, I am prepared to ept any and all challenges. You can even petition the other Family Leaders to provide support. In the end, no matter what you decide, I will emerge victoriously..." With that said, Vahn lifted his right hand, smiling as he pressed his middle finger and thumb against each other as a prelude to a snap. This caused Hon''s pupils to dte ever-so-slightly, but, before he could protest, a sound akin to ss shattering echoed through the Pce of Swords, as, high in the sky above the Sword Altar, the sword they had supplied for generations shattered into innumerable pieces... --- Though Hon had ordered the members of his family to keep quiet regarding the matters, it didn''t take long for rumors regarding the deaths of two Sword Saints, the destruction of the Aire Family''s ancestral sword, and the imminent battle between two of the greatest swordsmen to circte. This caused tensions on the 100th Floor to increase to levels that had never been observed at any point in the Tower''s history, and, as a result, millions were fleeing from the Floor as quickly as they could. Fortunately, while the various Gateports were experiencing a tremendous amount of traffic, it didn''t affect the Jahad Army''s ability to mobilize their forces. As a result, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Army Corps had been mobilized alongside numerous High and Advanced Rankers belonging to the Jahad, Arie, Ari, Khun, and Yeon Families. This included a number of Blue Holes, powerful High Rankers who had basically gone into retirement, but,pared to the trio they were apanying, they may as well have been part of the background... The first to arrive,rgely due to his daughter''s request, was a youthful-looking man with golden-blond hair fashioned into a loose ponytail. At a nce, he appeared no older than sixteen years of age, but, the moment most people met his gentle green eyes, they would find themselves in awe of the wisdom contained within. This actually distracted most people from the two rapier-like Needles at his waist, remarkable weapons that were graded among the hundred most powerful in the entire Tower. In spite of his youthful appearance, this golden-haired individual was none other than Ari Han, the Leader of the Ari Family. His appearance was one of the many reasons for the separation between the Arie and Ari Families, and, while it wasn''t particrly well known, it was also the reason why Ha Yurin had taken an interest in him. She, like Yuri, had always had a soft spot for youthful-looking yet powerful individuals, so, from the moment Han''s boyish appearance became perpetual, she wasted no effort inying her im. Fortunately, Yurin wasn''t one of the Family Leaders who had descended to the 100th Floor, so, at least for the time being, Han could breathe easily. Had she been present, he wouldn''t have been able to make an appearance, as, despite their breakup, there was always a tremendous amount of sexual tension between him and the raven-haired beauty. It wasn''t without reason that she was the mother of each of his children, and, were it not for her sadistic tendencies, the Ha and Ari Families might have merged long ago... Appearing markedly older than his contemporary, an inordinately tall man with pale-blue hair and electric-blue eyes was the second to arrive on the 100th Floor. Apanying him was a veritable horde of remarkably simr women, but, despite being surrounded by numerous beauties, the look on the man''s face demonstrated an apathy that even members of the Arie Family would struggle to emte. There was apletely unfocused look in his half-lidded eyes, and, were it not for the two women guiding him forward, it wasn''t difficult to imagine him simply standing in ce. With an appearance that could humble all but a few of the Tower''s residents, women included, it was impossible to mistake the man as anyone other than Khun Eduan. Compared to his Data self, however, there was a certain ''tiredness'' that radiated from every fiber of his being. He had the look of a man who had experienced everything the world had to offer, yet, once everything was said and done, it hadn''t evene close to filling the hole produced as a result of his abandoned ambition. Unfortunately for the women around him, Eduan had ignored their attempts to dissuade him from descending to the 100th Floor. There was a part of him, locked deep within his subconscious mind, that made it impossible for him topletely abandon hope. Thus, whenever he heard something interesting, he invariably found himself drawn to it. This was a problem for both his harem and the Khun Family, as, if it came down to it, Eduan wouldn''t hesitate to abandon both if it meant he could experience the stimulus his soul so desperately craved... Rounding out the trio of Family Leaders, standing out even amongst an assembly of remarkable beauties, was a woman, who, unlike everyone surrounding her, possessed red, rather than raven-ck, hair. This,bined with her iparable beauty, allowed her to stand out like a refined ruby among crudely polished onyx, and, though she currently had a wrathful glower on her face, it didn''t detract from her appearance in the slightest. Rather, the moment heid eyes on her, a slight glimmer returned to Eduan''s eyes as he remarked, "Hana...it is good to see you..." Though his appearance could easily touch the heart of other women, members of the Yeon Family included, Hana simply harumphed in response to Eduan''s remark. She had made a contract with a Guardian to suppress feelings of love towards the opposite sex, so, ever since the Age of Ascension, she had transitioned from being the kindest among the Great Warriors to a woman who could only show affection to members of her family. For their sake, she was even willing to raze an entire Floor, so, after rde informed her that Vahn wreaking havoc on the Arie Family, she immediately donned her long-retired battle raiment with the intent of settling their grievances once and for all... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Arie Family Rule #1: Swords do not require emotions...'',''Vahn channeling his inner Thanos...'',''This is not your average shit...'') Chapter 1988 Diligence

Chapter 1988: Diligence

With so much chaos urring around them, it didn''t take long for Yuri and Lotte to hear about what had taken ce following their departure. They had even received a notification to report to the 1st Army Corps'' gship, but, rather than obeying the emergency summons, Yuri immediately contacted Vahn to have him teleport them to his side. This led to a great deal ofining from the raven-haired beauty, but, after exining the situation, the conversation quickly shifted to her begging him to let her participate in theing battle. Though it would be a lot easier to fight on his own, Vahn ultimately agreed to Yuri''s request on the premise that she only fights when he isn''t preupied with an opponent of his own. Thest thing he needed was her bing a hostage while he was distracted fighting numerous Family Leaders, so, unless the enemy came up with a format that allowed for multiple ''matches'', he was determined to settle things with his own strength. Yuri wasn''t particrly enthused by the insinuation that she was in the way, but, understanding he was just worried about her, she ultimately agreed. At the same time, however, she promised herself that, if she were given the opportunity to fight, she would do everything in her power to prove she wasn''t a liability. She might not be the strongest, but, even if she had to put her life on the line, she would prove she wasn''t someone who needed protecting... --- Though a part of him had been tempted to rest in the middle of the city, effectively demonstrating just how unconcerned he was by their movements, arger part of Vahn didn''t feel like dealing with the hassle of numerous people interrupting his rest and rxation. Now that he was doing his best to avoid relying on the Little Garden, his recreational time had be especially precious, so, after stirring up the proverbial ho''s nest, he asked Gluttony to teleport them all the way to the 199th Floor, far beyond the reach of anyone in the Jahad Empire. Like most Floors beyond the 134th, the 199th was a world of perpetual darkness. Despite this, it was actually quite beautiful, as, dotting the sky, countless bioluminescent Shinheuh could be seen flying high above the untamed wildness that dominated much of the Floor. From a distance, it was almost like seeing a timepse of the universe''s development, and, so long as you didn''t venture too close, it was easily one of the most visually impressive sights in the entire Tower... Under normal circumstances, trespassing one of the ''Frontier Floors'' of the Tower was tantamount tomitting suicide. The countless Shinheuh that called the Floor home were drawn to powerful energy signatures, so, the moment an outsider appeared, they would cease in their consumption of one another in order to be the first to devour said prey. The only rtively safe area for neers were theplex pathways found in what many referred to as the Middle Tower. This was the route created by the Tower to test Irregrs, and, prior to the ''Age of the First Men'', an era predating the Jahad Empire by millions of years, it was virtually impossible to venture into the wilds beyond. Fortunately, not that it would have mattered in the grand scheme of things, Vahn''s contract with gluttony allowed him to freely trespass Floors without needing to worry about being swarmed by functionally endless waves of Shinheuh. He could even camp out in the middle of a Shinheuh Nest, and, so long as he didn''t go out of his way to antagonize them, most Shinheuh would simply stare at him with curiosity before returning to their business. With his contract extending to everyone bearing his Familia Crest, Vahn was able to ce down a small cottage without having to worry about a mountain-sized fish harassing them. This gave the 199th Floor a certain charm, and, so long as you didn''t mind the asional drizzle of multi-colored Shinsu, the result of Shinheuh dying overhead, it was actually quite peaceful... --- Though there were still fifteen or so hours remaining until his battle with Hon, Vahn was keeping a close eye on the developments taking ce on the 100th Floor. He wasn''t particrly worried that they might develop a strategy capable of defeating him, but, retaining the lessons of Tsubaki, Loki, Eva, and Scathatch, Vahn knew it was never wise to underestimate his opponents. People, especially those who were desperate, were capable of virtually anything. He had even seen a rtively normal person shatter a god-like being''s teeth with a single punch, so, at the very least, he wanted to make sure his adversaries weren''t conspiring against the exploration group in a desperate attempt to gain leverage against him. Fortunately, even though their most recent meeting had ended on a fairly awkward note, Senna was working with Adori to prevent things from escting to an all-out war. They were determined to do everything in their power to prevent a civil war from breaking out, so, rather than manipting the flow of information to present him as a dissident against the Empire, they were framing the current incident as a personal matter between himself and the Great Family. Thest thing they needed was millions of people rallying to a call that had never been given, so, as much as possible, they wanted to downy the situation so that it couldn''t be used as an excuse to incite a rebellion... With thoughts of the future guing his mind, Vahn was genuinely surprised to hear a knock at his door. His room wasn''t exactly a restricted area, so, more often than not, people coulde and go at their leisure. As that thought crossed his mind, a light chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat, as, without waiting for his response, the door promptly opened to reveal a smiling Yuri and a cowering Lotte. This was especially amusing, as, despite being muchrger, Lotte was doing her best to try and hide behind herparably petite counterpart. Adopting a knowing smile, Vahn gently poked the ''slumbering'' Fenrir,pelling her to sit up from hisp as he remarked, "I was wondering what the two of you were up to. I guess this exins why Mikoto decided to hole herself up in my study..." Though his words caused Lotte to flinch, Yuri managed to suppress any feelings of awkwardness byughing light-heartedly and saying, "To be fair, we had intended to act before you went off to pick a fight. How were we supposed to know you would use the opportunity when we were away to do just that? Now, be honest and tell Lotte how she looks. Don''t sugarcoat your words. Keep it simple." Following her statement, Yuri dragged Lotte through the door before promptly positioning her to stand near the exact center of the room. Then, before stepping away, she whispered something into the demure giantess'' ear before punctuating her words with a rather crisp smack to the behind. This caused Lotte to stand at attention, hands pinned to her sides as she raised her bright red face for all to see. Though he felt this wasn''t the most suitable timing for such an event, Vahn maintained a smile as he looked Lotte up and down. She was currently wearing a rather thick grey sweater, but, unlike a conventional garment intended to protect against the cold, her exposed shoulders indicated that her back was equally as exposed. His nose could also detect traces of a ''womanly'' aroma, so, even without taking a peek to confirm, he could guess that Lotte was currently goingmando. Before vocalizing his thoughts, Vahn met Lotte''s gaze, the edges of his smile curling up noticeably as he asked, "Can you turn around for a moment?" Despite her face bing dangerously red, so much so that a small amount of steam began to rise from her body, Lotte ultimatelyplied with Vahn''s request. This caused thetter''s eyes to widen quite a bit, and, almost immediately thereafter, he found himself swallowing as a result of a sudden tightness in his throat. As he had suspected, Lotte''s sweater had a very low cut. What he hadn''t expected was that the cut went so low that it actually exposed her venus dimples and a tantalizing glimpse of her intergluteal cleft. If someone were to tug the form-fitting fabric, just a little, her rather ample bottom would bepletely exposed, so, despite being more clothed than usual, Lotte''s current attire was infinitely more appealing than normal. Though some might be put off by Lotte''s 202cm height, Vahn was someone who had deviated so far on the ''opposite'' end of the spectrum that the thought of bedding an inordinately tall woman was actually a refreshing concept. He could also freely modify his shape and size to amodate his partner, so, after staring directly at Lotte''s bottom for the better part of a full minute, he raised his gaze to meet the bashful beauty''s hazel-brown eyes, admitting, "You look amazing." in the most sincere tone he could manage. With even more steam rising from her body, Lotte buried her face into her hands, the tips of her ears turning crimson as she meekly replied, "Thank you..." Finding the twin-tailed beauty''s reaction rather adorable, an affectionate yet amused smile spread across Vahn''s face. Before he could say anything further, however, Yuri, who had been standing by, promptly pulled at the fabric clinging to Lotte''s bottom. This revealed a bright red handprint on her left butt cheek, but, even more noticeable than that were the words ''do'' and ''me'' scrawled atop the two pliant mounds... Though Vahn was at aplete loss, Lotte seemed to have spent part of the past couple of hours rehearsing, as, immediately following Yuri''s actions, she bent forward slightly, arching her back with both hands on her rump. This ced her secret garden on full disy, but, as if that wasn''t enough to emphasize her intentions, she took things a step further by pulling at her own flesh with enough force to separate her glistening, noticeably steamy, folds. Then, in a voice suffused with equal parts passion and nervousness, she openly stated, "I want it...please, make me your woman..." Under normal circumstances, Vahn would have questioned Lotte regarding her uncertainty about leaving the Tower, but, now that she had made her intentions ''transparently'' clear, he would have to be an ''ass'' to question her conviction in the present moment. Thus, after a moment of hesitation so slight that it couldn''t be quantified using conventional means, Vahn''s figure vanished from atop his bed, reappearing behind Lotte in an instant. This caused Yuri to burst outughing, but, seeing him rapidly grow to more than 210cm in height, it didn''t take long for her to fall silent, swallowing hard before nervously remarking, "Don''t go overboard..." Understanding the thoughts going through the raven-haired beauty''s mind, Vahn sent her a yful wink before returning his attention to the visibly befuddled Lotte. She had seen him transform quite a number of times, but, for reasons she couldn''t fully understand, she had never considered that he might transform in order to ''amodate'' her physique. This made her feel strangely moved, but, having seen him naked quite a number of times, she was also a little fearful that he would tear her apart. He wasn''t exactly small in his default form, so, seeing him suddenly grow in size, she couldn''t help feeling nervous... Fortunately for Lotte, Vahn''s understanding of the female form could be said to be near-perfect. He was more aware of her limits than she was, so, despite growing to a size where he could easily hold her in his arms, his not-so-little brother had defaulted to a form perfectly suited to ensuring her the greatest amount of pleasure. This was a littlerger than what she could actually tolerate, but, given her masochistic tendencies, he knew she would enjoy it more if she felt like her insides were being pried open. With that in mind, he skipped the usual forey, his ns prying open her surprisingly tight entrance as he wrapped his trunk-like arms around her body, his right hand roughly gripping her left breast as he craned her head back to seal her lips... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The real question is...Yuri vs Adori or Yuri vs Han...?'',''Only Vahn would treat the Frontier Floors as a ce to rx xD...'',''Lotte be like, "Read between the lines..."'') Chapter 1989: Ideal

Chapter 1989: Ideal

With Lotte''s body producing a tremendous amount of steam, Vahn''s room had be a veritable sauna by the time Sis chimed in to remind him of his previous engagement. Fortunately, even with less than an hour remaining until his scheduled duel, Vahn could produce as much additional time as ''necessary''. It was important to him that his partners'' first experiences were both memorable and satisfying, so, once everything was said and done, Vahn had dedicated the better part of seven days tending to the trio of Lotte, Yuri, and Fenrir. Though seven days might seem like a lot, the final forty or so hours were spent almost entirely on rxation and recovery. Vahn didn''t want his rtionship with Lotte to develop in the direction of a traditional ''Master'' and ''Sub'', so, in the wake of the rather climactic battle, he took the opportunity to acquaint her with anime, manga, and video games. He might have grown ustomed to women with masochistic inclinations, but, rather than produce another Theo or Lisanna, Vahn would rather see Lotte develop in a manner simr to Tomoe. She might not be the most beautiful or powerful woman in his harem, but,pared to virtually every other member, Tomoe was one of the most content. She was the type of woman who went with the flow of things, and, though she had numerous regrets about her past, she never allowed them to interfere with her enjoyment of the present. Instead, she proactively sought out new and interesting things to experience, never doubting the path she had chosen for herself. If Tomoe had any faults, it would be her obsessive yet slothful nature. She was the type of woman who would immerse herself in her interests, so much so that, without someone to pull her away, she would neglect everything else, personal hygiene included. Fortunately, this was overpowered by her desire to care for others, so, rather than allowing herself to waste away in the single-minded pursuit of whatever had garnered her interest, she made sure to set a proper example for X, Altria, and Tamamo to follow. Vahn''s only regret regarding Tomoe was the fact that she had ultimately chosen to remain in his Realm. She had taken his words at face value when he expressed that his only desire was that she be happy and healthy, so, unless he ''needed'' her at his side, she was content with staying in the Yokai District in order to watch over Tamamo and Suzuka. The thought of leaving them alone, even in a world with stagnant time, made her feel uneasy, so, unless he changed tunes and told her that he needed her, she would rather remain in the ce that had be her home. Though too much contentedness could be a bad thing, Vahn felt that Tomoe had reached an ideal bnce between productivity and leisure time. She was also ''extremely'' faithful, so, even if he was gone for days, months, or even years at a time, he doubted she would mind. Instead, she would just greet him with a demure smile upon his return, and, unless he wanted to talk about it, she wouldn''t even ask what he had been doing. This had always reminded Vahn of how the girls would greet him whenever he returned to the Hearth Manor, so, at times, he had found himself thinking that Tomoe was inordinately close to what he would consider an ''ideal'' woman. As much as he enjoyed traveling with his family, friends, and loved ones, Vahn was well aware of the fact that his progress was greatly inhibited by their presence. The only thing more deleterious to his progress was himself, so, while he would never go out of his way to force the people around him to change, Vahn would rather have more Tomoe-like women in his life than Mordred''s, Theo''s, or even Asuna''s. He had nothing against their heartfelt desire to travel alongside and support him, but, time and again, he had demonstrated that this was simply ''impractical''. His progress was simply too fast, so, as much as he enjoyed theirpany, Vahn would rather they devote themselves to something more than just the fulfillment of his ambitions... Fortunately, despite having very little exposure to such things, Lotte was quite taken with watching anime and snuggling up with him on afortable sofa. It helped that he could rather easily prove that, despite the many fantastical elements present within, each of the fictional worlds they viewed were ces that could, in one form or another, be visited. This made the viewing experience all the more exciting, as, rather than simply observing the lives of fictional characters, you were essentially spying on the lives of very real people. This viewpoint allowed the viewer to be infinitely more invested in the lives of the people on screen, so much so that Vahn had seen some of the girls get genuinely upset whenever something ill-fated happened to characters they had taken an interest in. To that end, Vahn introduced Lotte to the concept of Actualization by delving into an anime called ''Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!''. Her nature had reminded him of one of the title''s primary Heroines, a masochistic knight named Dustiness Ford Ltina, so, after binge-watching the first 10 episodes, they rewatched the first season, this time with one of his Temtes arbitrarily introduced to the story. As much as he enjoyed influencing the story directly, Vahn hade to realize that it was infinitely more interesting to create Temtes and allow them to act independently. This allowed him to view the changes they had made to the world retroactively, and, so long as he didn''t tap into it, he could seal the knowledge and experiences of his Temtes to avoid ''spoilers''. Though the first viewing had been pretty entertaining, it was difficult topete with a version that had been modified by one of his Temtes. Not only had the tone of the story changed drastically, but, thanks to his Temte''s guidance, the main character transitioned from being a perverted idiot to a fairly dependable hero. This surprised even Vahn, as, more often than not, his Temtes quickly supnted the main character of a story, drastically altering the course of history as a result of their incontestible might. Attributing the development to the main character''s, Kazuma''s, luck, Vahn watched as his Temte became something of a mentor for the party of would-be heroes. He only appeared briefly in a few episodes, and, after applying some ''spartan training'' to the main protagonist, he promptly departed the starting city of Axel after deposing its Governor. His next appearance was at the very end of the first season when Kazuma''s party, shortly after their defeat of a mechanical behemoth known as the Mobile Fortress: Destroyer, heard rumors regarding the King of Belzerg being forced to abdicate his throne. The scene that followed showed Vahn''s Temte smiling in the background as a young girl with golden hair sat issuing orders to various nobles from atop an inordinatelyvish throne... Due to the way the episode was structured, casual viewers would be led to believe that Vahn''s Temte was some viinous mastermind plotting the events of the second season from behind the scenes. In actuality, he had spent his off-screen time traveling around and eliminating many of the more corrupt politicians, and, after refusing the offer of his daughter''s hand in marriage, Vahn''s Temte agreed to serve as her Chambein on the grounds that the King ede his position and authority. There were numerous reasons for the King to agree to this proposal, but, more important than any other was the fact that Vahn''s Temte had won over the entirety of the Crimson Demon n due to his extensive knowledge and his ability to casually vaporize a mountain using Explosion Magic. In essence, Vahn''s Temte had secured an absolute position of power and authority in the span of a single, ten-episode, season of anime. Infinitely more surprising was the fact that he hadn''t built a harem in that same amount of time. Instead, he ended up taking a liking to a raven-haired woman named Sena, a Royal Prosecutor he had encountered shortly after his arrival in Belzerg. What made this even stranger was the fact that the woman was both an ''ice queen'' and what some might refer to as a ''BL Aficionado''. His Temte seemed to find these traits rather amusing, so, over the course of several months, he ended up whittling down the delusional woman''s defenses until she stopped picturing him with various men and started imagining herself as a participant in her fantasies. Though none of this was disyed on-screen, Vahn had unlimited ess to all the knowledge and experiences of his Temtes. As a result, he knew that his Temte had actually considered inciting rtionships with quite a few members of the Crimson Demon n, but, after failing to teach them even a marginal amount ofmon sense, he ultimately abandoned the idea. This caused a few of the senior members of the n toe up with the title ''Plutonic Great Sage'', but, understanding they didn''t mean it as an insult, he just went with the flow in order to prevent them froming up with an even stranger title. This ended up being the correct choice, as, around that same time, the youngest member of the n, an adorable little girl named Komekko, had taken to referring to him as the ''Super Cuddly Demon of Infinite Warmth and Headpats''... --- As much as he enjoyed watching anime alongside various beauties, Vahn decided to wrap things up when Yuri began pestering him about creating a Temte to reside within a manga where the main character was a young boy forced to endure the teasing of a number of ''onee-sans''. She seemed to enjoy this particr theme quite a bit, but, out of consideration for the mental states of himself and his Temte, Vahn tended to avoid actualizing any worlds where he was bound to suffer some form of mental damage. Fortunately, so long as he allowed her to periodically cuddle a younger version of himself, Yuri was rtively easy to manage. Thus, after an awkward yet admittedly enjoyable bath, he had everyone gather in the kitchen to enjoy a meal and discuss their n of action moving forward. He was well aware of the events that had transpired over thest twenty-four hours, so, to that end, he started off by saying, "It seems like you lucked out, Yuri. At present, our foes are considering apetition of sorts between the Aldrnari and Jahad Empires. So long as you''re okay with beingbeled a traitor by themon denizens of the Tower, you''re more than wee to participate as a representative of my delegation." Though she was excited by the prospect of being able to participate in theing battle, Yuri did her best to appear serious as she asked, "Is there actually a need to ept their terms? What if they try something sneaky in the middle of thepetition? I don''t want you to put everyone at risk just to provide me a chance to cut loose." Waving his hand in a dismissive manner, Vahn attempted to ay Yuri''s concerns, saying, "I''m a man of my word, sure, but that doesn''t mean I''ll sit idly by as my enemies attempt to y me. Even if it''s someone like Gustang, they won''t be able to take action without me taking notice. After that, there isn''t a force in this Tower that can prevent me from seeking rpense. In fact, depending on how egregious their plot, today might very well conclude with the fall of the Jahad Empire. It wouldn''t be the first time I destroyed a system of government...I don''t take kindly to people targeting my family, friends, and loved ones..." Though he felt a considerable amount of guilt regarding his haste in the Nasuverse, Vahn had never once regretted his decision to effectively conquer the world. This,bined with the notion that he could always fix things once he ascended to the Divine Realm, allowed him to move forward in spite of his fears and apprehensions. This was simply another step in his journey, so, even if he fumbled a bit here and there, he wouldn''t let it prevent him from moving forward. He also didn''t want to keep holding the people around him back, so, even if it ultimately forced him to deal with pain and loss, he was willing to bear anything so long as it helped to ensure the happiness of the people he cared about... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Have I mentioned that Tomoe is one of my favorite characters in FGO?'',''The banes and boons of being able to produce Temtes...'',''This is a dangerous way of thinking...unless, of course, you truly possess the ability to reach the pinnacle...'') Chapter 1990: Warming Up

Chapter 1990: Warming Up

With only a few minutes remaining until the twenty-four-hour deadline, the temperature around the Sword Altar was steadily increasing as Hana, annoyed by the fact that Vahn had yet to arrive, huffily remarked, "The impudence of the Sage Dragon Emperor knows no bounds...are we certain he hasn''t simply run away?" Laughing awkwardly in response to Hana''s words, Han ceased ying with his notoriously unruly bangs, answering, "I trust my daughter''s judgment. Besides, the Sage Dragon Emperor has proven himself a man of his word time and again. If I had to make a guess, I would wager he is intending to teleport into our midst the moment twenty-four-hours have passed." Hearing the word ''wager'', Eduan''s ears twitched, the briefest hint of a smile developing across his otherwise apathetic face as he tly stated, "I will wager the 94th Floor against the Sage Dragon Emperor arriving on time..." With a wry smile developing across his face, Han was about to refuse the wager when Hana chimed in, a glimmer of excitement in her eyes as she promptly answered, "You''re on! However, instead of a Floor you don''t actually care about, I want the me of Fiama...!" Though it was impossible for most people to detect, everyone present could see Eduan''s perfectly manicured brows rise ever so slightly as he remarked, "It''s been ten-thousand-years, Hana...are you still hung up on-" With gold and scarlet mes erupting from her body, Hana''s expression became extremely severe as she warned, "Don''t you dare finish that sentence..." Closing his eyes, an imperceptible sigh escaped Eduan''s slightly parted lips before he ultimately answered, "Unfortunately, the me of Fiama is no longer in my possession. One of my naughtier children ended up cleaning out my private collection. Assuming he hasn''t been killed by another member of my family, I imagine it is currently hidden away in a location even High Rankers might not be able to ess. He always was a clever child." Though she was extremely annoyed by the revtion, Hana was equally surprised by the fact that Eduan was actually saying something positive about a member of his family. He generally paid very little attention to anything outside of his own interests, so, more often than not, his children would actually have to reintroduce themselves whenever they met him. There were very few exceptions to this, and, ording to rumors, there were even times when he would forget the names of women he had been married to for hundreds of years... Recovering from her shock, Hana asked the question that was everyone''s mind, chiefly, "Does this ''clever child'' have a name?" Adopting the slightest of smiles, a glimmer of amusement could be seen in Eduan''s electric blue eyes as he answered, "Khun." in a curt tone. This earned him a hateful re from Hana, but, before she couldsh out and demand a serious answer, Hon drew everyone''s attention, saying, "The Sage Dragon Emperor approaches..." Almost immediately after these words had fallen, a nearly indiscernible spatial ripple appeared a few meters off the ground, followed by a solemn voice stating, "Not bad. It would seem your little power-up has increased your sensitivity quite a bit..." Though he could have remained immaterial, Vahn punctuated his words by manifesting near the exact center of the vast, circr, chamber. Then, with a slight frown developing across his face, he met Hana''s glimmering vermillion eyes, adding, "It''s no wonder you''ve been having trouble using the Phoenix''s mes...tell me, do you enjoy ying the part of rde''s patsy? Are you satisfied with living the life of a ''convenient tool''...?" Glowering in response to Vahn''s words, Hana attempted to manifest a Baang formed from scarlet mes, but, before she was able to, a gentle voice in the back of her mind whispered, "No." before promptly throttling her connection to the me''s source. Immediately thereafter, a veritable pir of golden mes erupted from her palm as an androgynous voice roared, "Release me! I will burn that man until not even a memory remains...!" Following the outburst that only Hana could hear, aplex emblem formed from vibrant golden mes appeared behind her body. At a nce, this emblem was simr to a magic circle, but, rather than beingprised of geometric shapes and symbols, the ''core'' depicted a realistic-looking crow with vibrant golden feathers and three legs. Clenching her teeth, the shimmering golden hanfu on Hana''s forehead began to gradually diminish as she fought to gain control of her own mes. This earned her a concerned look from Han, but, as this was far from the first time they had seen her lose control, Hon and Eduan simply observed from the side, veils of Shinsu protecting their bodies. With the Law of Identity helping to narrate each person''s thoughts, Vahn couldn''t resist shaking his head as he asked, "I gave you twenty-four-hours to make preparations for our duel and this is what you greet me with? It''s no wonder the Tower exists in its current state. This is just sad..." Though there was a lot more he could say, Vahn decided to nip one of his bigger problems in the bud, his expression hardening as he raised his hand, seemingly seizing empty air. To the surprise of everyone present, the figure of a raven-haired woman spontaneously appeared in his hand, a mix of incredulity and fear on her face as he asked, "I''m guessing this wasn''t a part of your n?" Before the woman could even gag a response, a wave of crimson-ck mes erupted from Vahn''s hand, instantaneously enveloping her body. This caused Hana to produce a veritable tidal wave of golden mes, shouting, "Nooooo...!" at the top of her voice. Unfortunately, other than singing the thinner sections of Vahn''s clothing, the golden mes had absolutely no effect on him. Rather, due to her inability to control them properly, she ended up scorching the back of the struggling woman, incinerating much of her dress and instantaneously reducingrge chunks of her flesh to pure white ash. Raising his brows, Vahn increased the potency of his own mes, extinguishing those of the Golden Crow before subsequently enveloping what remained of the woman''s cauterized form. This caused Hana to immediately regain her senses, but, before she was able to charge forward and attempt a less destructive means of providing assistance, the woman promptly dissolved into motes of ck ash. Then, without minding the other three Family Leaders, Vahn moved to meet Hana''s attack, his palm moving towards her head as her hand advanced like a spear towards his heart. Confident in her immortality, Hana made no attempt to evade Vahn''s attack. Instead, she channeled as much Shinsu as possible into her attack, tearfully eximing, "True me Manifestation - Golden Crow''s Spear of Annihtion...!" Though his palm had been able to make contact with Hana''s head, Vahn felt as though he had been caught in a supernova as golden light abruptly covered his vision. This was immediately reced by darkness, but, thanks to his extrasensory capabilities, he was still able to perceive the world around him as his body was hurled at near-lightspeed through several natural and artificial structures lining the 100th Floor. Fortunately, thanks to the unique structure of the Tower, Vahn wasn''t actually sent flying hundreds of thousands of kilometers. Instead, he ended up smashing into the nigh-indestructible barrier that prevented people from simply tunneling their way out of the Tower and into the inter-dimensional space surrounding it. Even this, however, was slightly cracked by Hana''s attack, as, despite being a Tier 4, she was able to demonstrate powerparable to a Tier 5 thanks to her Authority and the inheritance she had received from two Divine Spirits. With his body quickly regenerating, Vahn briefly allowed his body to be pulled along by the molten stone escaping the massive hole generated by Hana''s attack, muttering, "I suppose this is what I get for feeling guilty whenever I see a woman crying...hahahaha..." Initially, Vahn had been intending to tank Hana''s attack without allowing it to damage him, but, the moment he saw the tears in her eyes, a seed of guilt instantaneously sprouted in his heart. This was easily his greatest weakness, but, so long as he didn''t acknowledge that his opponent had the right to kill him, he didn''t have to worry about being defeated. At most, they would be able to annihte his body, but, as he had proven time and again, that was far from enough to keep him down... Before emerging from his personal pool of goldenva, Vahn shifted his attention towards the sky, his view obscured by an ethereal golden crow that seemed to cover the entire heavens. At the very center of its forehead, he could see Hana ring at him in a suit of armor that was clearly inspired by the spirit she had manifested. If he had to guess, it was simr in grade to the Raiment of a God, as, rather than beingprised entirely of metal, the connecting fabric and chainmail were entirelyposed of violent golden mes. Sensing Vahn''s gaze wandering across her body, the resentment in Hana''s eyes became even more extreme as she asked, "Why? Why did you kill rde? She was the only family I had left! How could be so cruel and heartless!?" Though the wall of the Tower was steadily melting around him, Vahn maintained a calm expression as he answered, "You know, deep in your heart, the answer to that question. I am sorry for your loss, but, so long as that woman drew breath, anyone who does not pander to her is bound to suffer. If it will make you feel better, you are free to continue trying to burn me. However, unless you sincerely believe she had done nothing deserving of death, your mes will not be able to affect me..." Demonstrating this point, Vahn formed a Baang using Hana''s own mes before pressing it to his exposed chest, extinguishing the highlypressed ball of golden mes without leaving so much as a blemish on his skin. This drew attention to the fact that he was practically naked, but, thanks to the contract she had made with the 21st Floor''s Guardian, Hana simply frowned as the golden crow surrounding her body pped its wings, instantaneously melting arge section of the Tower''s wall. While his statement had done very little to diminish Hana''s hatred towards him, the calming energy Vahn had previously transferred into her mind made it impossible for her to simply ignore them. He also knew she was well aware of some of rde''s crimes, but, due to thetter being her only family member, she had always been quick to absolve her of any guilt. After all, rde was also the mother of every single mainline descendant of the Yeon Family, so, without her, the family would eventually cease to be unless Hana took it upon herself to personally extend the line... Emerging from the veritable river of molten stone, Vahn inspected himself to confirm that Hana''s mes weren''t doing anything before manifesting a recement outfit. He didn''t particrly care about being seen naked, but, for the sake of his image, he donned a suit of ivory white armor that matched the versionmonly worn by Artoria. This included a fur-lined cape, but, as a personal preference, his gauntlets resembled the ws of a dragon rather than something more traditional. With his preparations finished, Vahn turned to face towards the seemingly endless stream of mes, his eyes shifting from a vigorous aquamarine to a luminous golden hue dominated by abyssal ck pupils. Then, inspired by the experiences of his Temtes in Actualized World of Fairy Tail, a toothy grin spread across his face as he exhaled the remnant Shinsu from his lungs. Immediately after that, the endless stream of golden mes began to flow toward his pursed lips, a swirling vortex forming as he began condensing the energy from Hana''s attack into a single, highlypressed, Baang... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Clever girl...'',''Tiamat would be proud...(>,...,<)...!'',''Vahn got that gud s...'') Chapter 1991: Ablaze

Chapter 1991: Aze

Under normal circumstances, Hana wouldn''t have an issue sensing the location of her opponent. In Vahn''s case, however, his presence wasparable to the peculiar ambiance one would feel when locked in a soundproofed room. It was possible to sense ''something'', but, the moment you tried to focus your senses, it was easier to detect your own heartbeat than it was to discern his location. Though she had dealt with opponents who were skilled at masking their presence, Hana had never encountered someone who could conceal themselves within an attack. She should, at the very least, be able to feel feedback from her energy colliding with his. Instead, there was simply ''nothing'', and, were it not for the fact he had started to forcibly manipte her mes, she would have thought he had teleported away. Feeling indignant at the notion that Vahn was manipting her mes without her permission, the center of Hana''s pupils began to release a violent golden light as she spread her arms and shouted, "True me Manifestation - Sr Prominence...!" Following her outburst, the avatar surrounding Hana promptly copsed into a sphere reminiscent of an actual star. There were even sunspots, sr res, and a discernible corona, yes, as was often the case when such abilities were used, the user remained perfectly visible at the very center of the star. This made Hana resemble a Goddess of the Sun, and, thanks to her Authority, the potency of her attacks could easily trespass the realm of Tier 5. Unfortunately, being able to trespass a realm was far from being able to contend against it, so, even though the surrounding temperature instantly shot up to more than a million degrees Celsius, Vahn emerged unscathed from the ocean of golden mes, an awkward smile on his face as he said, "You interrupted my attack..." Without bothering to ask what he was talking about, Hana pped her hands together, a vermillion Lighthouse appearing in front of her as she shouted, "Yeon Family Lighthouse Control Skill - me Boost!" Fearing that she would soon lose control of her mes, a mistake that would cost the lives of nearly every resident of the 100th Floor, Hana beganpressing the energy of her Sr Prominence into a single point. She didn''t believe that anything could be immune to the mes of the Three-Legged Golden Crow, so, even if she needed to sacrifice one of the most valuable Lighthouses in her entire family, it was a small price to pay if it meant wiping the smile off of Vahn''s face. With Hana''s emotions providing a boost to her willpower, Vahn could hear his armor creaking as the ivory-white tes covering his body began to cken. This was quite surprising, not because he doubted Hana''s willpower, but because this particr armor possessed SS-Rank Fire Resistance. The only thing he had that was evenparable was Laev-tan''s Bankai, so, even if it wasn''t enough topletely overwhelm his defenses, Vahn couldn''t help feeling a little impressed. As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn''s pupils shrank slightly as the space around Hana shattered, instantaneously turning pitch ck. In the very next instant, his vision became dominated by a pir of golden mes sopressed that, were someone to press their hand against it, they would feel physical resistance. This was in spite of the fact that the beam was traveling faster than the speed of light, a state that generally converted matter into energy, not the reverse. Unfortunately, as impressive as the attack was, the moment Hana released it, time effectively came to a stop from Vahn''s perspective. Even as far back as Danmachi, his reactionary senses had been so exceptional that it was nearly impossible to catch him by surprise. The only detriment had been that his physical body had been unable to keep up. Now, however, he could transition between the axes of space and time, so, despite her best efforts, all Hana had aplished was giving Vahn a pretty light show. Caressing his chin, Vahn took his time to inspect the pir of mes before teleporting next to Hana and saying, "Not bad. Unfortunately, your inability to control the Three-Legged Golden Crow ces the entire Floor at risk. It''s time for you to go to sleep." Though she was unable to remove herself from the axes of space and time, Hana''s status as a being near the pinnacle of Tier 4 created the illusion of her body vibrating at high speeds. If given enough time, say a thousand or so years, she might even be able to move rtively normally. Unfortunately, Vahn wasn''t going to wait around that long, so, after conveying his words directly into her mind, he ced his palm against her abdomen, instantaneously dissolving the armor around her navel as he said, "Imperial Mandate - Seal of Heaven...!" Having umted knowledge regarding sealing and formations ever since his time in Danmachi, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that Vahn was near the pinnacle of the art. He had even mastered a few extraordinary seals using the Sacred Tome, so, the moment his palm contacted Hana''s stomach, three massive eyes seemed to open from within the void. At the same time, a pattern reminiscent of a circuit board instantaneously spread across Hana''s body,plete with vias-like markings located atop each of her meridians. Immediately thereafter, inordinately beautiful white needles manifested out of thin air, each prating one of the tiny circles before promptly vanishing. Confirming the seal was in ce, Vahn retracted his hand from Hana''s surprisingly soft abdomen before nodding towards the trio of eyes closely observing his every move. In response, the eye at the center, located above and between the other two, promptly closed. This was an indication that the ''heavens'' had approved of his decision, and, so long as he didn''t remove the seal from Hana''s body, he could only use the Seal of Heaven an additional two times. With the processpleted, Vahn reintegrated with the standard axis of time, effectively allowing it to resume flowing. This caused the space shattered by Hana''s attack to turn violent, herplexion paling as the golden mes erupting from her body spontaneously vanished. Fortunately, beautiful scarlet mes immediately reced them, so, even without Vahn''s support, she was able to protect herself from the extreme heat. At the same time, the fiery golden raiment covering her body began to dissolve, reced by a stylish yet significantly less gaudy outfit with ents clearly inspired by a Phoenix. Though her face had be whiter than a sheet, tiny beads of sweat appearing on her brow, Hana still managed to re at Vahn, asking, "What did you do to me...?" Surprised that the woman was still awake, a thoughtful glimmer shed across Vahn''s eyes as he responded with a question of his own, asking, "Does your Immortality Contract prevent you from sleeping...?" Rather than waiting for the woman to respond, Vahn shifted his attention to the Law of Identity, who, as per usual, readily revealed the truth, stating, "It seems they have to use a special ritual of some kind in order to emte sleep? It''s no wonder they all behave like they have a stick shoved up their bums..." Humming in acknowledgment to the Law of Identity''s words, Vahn interrupted Hana''s attempt to respond, answering, "I ced a seal on your body to limit your ability to manifest the Three-Legged Golden Crow''s power. Without the support of the Divine Phoenix, you are unable to counteract the influence of Yang Elemental Energy on your mind, body, and spirit. This imbnce causes you to act in an unhinged manner, so, for the sake of everyone, yourself included, I have prohibited its use. Be grateful. Under normal circumstances, I would have either killed you or extracted the Three-Legged Golden Crow from your body." Though she felt a bit of panic in her heart, Hana maintained her glowering expression, eximing, "You want me to feel grateful!? Just how arrogant can you be...!?" Maintaining a calm expression, Vahn tilted his head as if he were actually considering his response before inly stating, "Arrogance is when someone exaggerates their capabilities in order to make others think they are important. In that regard, I suppose I could be infinitely more arrogant? After all, I have never once considered exaggerating my capabilities. As for your other question...well, it''s ultimately up to you. I have no intention of forcing you to feel grateful. I''m just informing you that you should." With Hana giving him the kind of look that would allow someone with an ocr Innate to bore a hole through seemingly indestructible matter, a teasing smile nearly developed across Vahn''s face until Sis chimed in to say, (*Naughty boy...must you always behave like this when your opponent is a beautiful woman?*) Suppressing a wry smile, Vahn willfully ignored Sis'' remark, saying, "You are free to continue hating me, but, regardless of the circumstances, you are ultimately responsible for the crimes perpetrated by your Aunt. Though everyone is ultimately responsible for their own actions, you, as the Leader of the Yeon Family, had every opportunity to rein her in. Instead, you allowed her to act with veritable impunity, and, as a result, millions of people, including members of your own family, have lost their lives...I wonder...what would Viole think of the person you''ve be?" Though she didn''t lose her re, the little color remaining in Hana''s cheeks drained the moment she heard Vahn mention the name of Baam''s father. Many were aware of her unreciprocated love, but, with the exception of her fellow Great Warriors, few knew that Viole was the man mentioned in the rumors. Under normal circumstances, Hana wouldsh out at anyone who dared mention Viole''s name, but, now that the Three-Legged Golden Crow had been suppressed, tears immediately began welling in her eyes as she muttered, "You don''t know what you''re talking about..." With what could best be described as an ''oh really'' look on his face, Vahn crossed his arms, saying, "Sure. Let''s go with that. I mean, denial doesn''t really change anything, but, after thousands of years of pandering to rde, I guess it''s only natural that you would resist anything that is inconvenient to your personal world view, right? I''m sure Viole would be proud..." Though the Divine Phoenix tried to stop her, a vibrant red Needle manifested in Hana''s hand as she charged towards Vahn, tears streaming down her face as she attempted to stab him in the chest. To her surprise, he made absolutely no attempt to evade, and, as a result of her emotions empowering her attack, the Needle was able to pierce cleanly through his body. Unfortunately, despite piercing his heart directly, she could still feel it pulsing vivaciously through the grip of her Needle, almost as if nothing in the world could prevent it from beating. Feeling a little sorry for the teary-eyed woman, who, as a result of her sisterly bond with Arlen, had never even tried to confess her love, Vahn''s expression softened as he grasped Hana''s Needle and said, "Fortunately for you, Viole was never the type of person to pass judgment onto others. Even if you were the one tomit rde''s atrocities, I imagine would have forgiven you. He couldn''t help seeing the best in people..." Shifting her gaze away from the hand grasped around her Needle, Hana gazed into Vahn''s golden eyes, tremendous conflict visible in her own as she sobbingly stated, "I hate you...not only did you kill my only family member, you sealed my power and are now going out of your way to make me feel guilty...I don''t think I''ve ever met someone as cruel and hateful as you..." Without losing his smile, Vahn just shrugged in response to Hana''s words, extricating her Needle from his chest as he said, "That''s life. Things don''t always go your way, and, no matter how right you are, there will always be people who resent the things you do. This is something I havee to ept, so, even if others resent me, I''ll willingly bear that burden so long as it allows them to reflect and grow. Viole wouldn''t want to see you living like this, so, even if it''s merely to honor his memory, you should seriously consider what you want to do from here on. Ten-thousand-years is a long time to be living in the past. It''s time for you, and the rest of yourpanions, to begin moving forward again..." Finished with what he had to say, Vahn attempted to ruffle Hana''s vermillion hair, but, the moment he extended his hand, she promptly swatted it away before bolting towards the horizon, tears still streaming down her face. This left him feeling somewhat helpless, but, with less than three minutes remaining until his scheduled battle with Eduan, someone else would need tofort the bereaved beauty. With that in mind, Vahn cast his gaze upon the fiery wastnd created as a result of Hana''s attack before ultimately shaking his head and vanishing from view. The destruction far exceeded the range of his domain, so, even if he wanted to repair things, he simplycked the ability to do so. Reversing time was infinitely harder than driving it forward, so, after confirming that the devastation extended far beyond the horizon, he turned his attention away from the burningndscape, sights set firmly on the future... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''*insert Saitama face here*'',''This...this ain''t even fair...'',''Nothing to see here...'') Chapter 1992: Haste

Chapter 1992: Haste

Though it had only been for a brief moment, Hana releasing her mes within the Pce of Swords had reduced much of the Sword Altar''s interior to superheated g and molten stone. Despite this, Hon, Han, and Eduan could be seen standing around rather leisurely, unperturbed by the heat. Using a pocket watch he had carried with him even before the Age of Ascension, Han, showing far greater concern than his twopatriots, asked, "How long are we going to continue idling? I trust in Hana''s Immortality, but what if the Sage Dragon Emperor attempts to capture her? If he takes her into his Little Garden, negotiations will be difficult..." Reacting to Han''s concerns, Hon, who had been standing silently with his eyes closed, opened them to answer, "The Sage Dragon Emperor has illustrated, time and again, that he has no interest in the politics of the Tower. Do you really believe he would do something like taking hostages? What does he stand to gain?" Answering in Han''s stead, Eduan chimed in to note, "Hana is quite beautiful...." in a dull monotone. This earned him slight frowns from the other two, but, seeing a nascent smile develop on the blue-haired man''s face, they quickly realized he was just messing with him. Suppressing a sigh, Hon snapped his pocket watch shut before cing it safely within his Inventory and asking, "What do the two of you intend to do when all of this is over? I can already guess what most of ourpatriots will choose. Still, it''s better to know for sure. Truth be told, I wouldn''t mind traveling together like we used to. It''s been...a long time..." Though he wasn''t particrly fond of Han''s implication they had already lost, Hon took a moment to spread his senses through their surroundings before answering, "Regardless of what happens in the future, I will most likely remain here. I realized, long ago, that I would never be able to reach the pinnacle. Now that I am being forced to abdicate my position, I will most likely act as a Guardian for my family. Once I have groomed a suitable sessor, I will challenge the trials of the Tower with my own hands. After that...well, only the future knows..." Surprised by Hon''s honesty, both Han and Eduan showed varying degrees of astonishment on their faces. Hon, at normal times, possessed a rather frosty, borderline unfriendly, disposition. He was the type of person who wouldn''t even bat an eye if one of his own children were cut down right in front of him. Rather, depending on the circumstances, there was a fair chance he would be the one to cut them down, not as punishment, but to ''preserve'' their skill and power within the Arie Family... Feeling that it was his turn to speak, Eduan was about to express his own intentions for the future when a not-so-subtle spatial ripple appeared a few meters above them. This was more than a little surprising, but, rather than showing it on his face, Eduan maintained an apathetic expression as he asked, "Back so soon? Hana might not have been the most powerful among us, but I can''t imagine she would lose this quickly..." Ignoring the man''s remark, Vahn focused his gaze on Hon, saying, "There is no need to discuss the specifics. As for my representatives..." Waving his hand, Vahn manifested Yuri and Mikoto out of thin air, adding, "There is myself, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, one of my personal Pokemon, Misaka Mikoto, and one of your former Princesses, Ha Yuri. As for the matchups-" Before Vahn could finish, a small jolt of electricity entered his body, courtesy of a red-faced Mikoto. Though it made her feel a little happy, being casually introduced as Vahn''s ''personal Pokemon'' was more than a little embarrassing. Sure, she might have been the one to ask him to ''choose her'', quite some time ago, but that didn''t mean she wasfortable with him announcing it to the world... Though he paused for a very brief moment, Vahn''s expression ultimately remained unchanged as he pointed towards Han and said, "We''ll start with the lowest ranking member of each team. Since you''re Ranked 19, that means you''ll have the misfortune of facing off against Yuri. Good luck." A stark contrast to the uneasiness visible in Han''s expression, a rather sizeable shockwave erupted from Yuri''s body as she shouted, "Hell yeah! I''ve been looking forward to this! I can''t wait to see the looks on those smug bastards'' faces after I wipe the floor with you...!" Further emphasizing her excitement, Yuri allowed her tail to uncoil from around her waist as violent red Ki exploded from her body. This surprised the three Family Leaders quite a bit, not because she had an overwhelming aura, but because Ki and Mana had been their main source of power prior to entering the Tower. Unfortunately, neither had been present within the Tower, so, the moment their internal reserves ran dry, it took days, if not weeks, for them to fully replenish their stocks. This was what had forced them to undergo Revolution all those years ago, as, prior to that moment, most of them had been entirely reliant on Ki and Mana. Sensing the phenomenal power surging from Yuri''s body, a glimmer of excitement appeared within Eduan''s eyes as he remarked, "Remarkable. A truly splendid woman..." Following his words, Eduan''s figure vanished like a phantom, but, before he could grasp Yuri''s hand and attempt to woo her with his heinous power, Vahn appeared between them, saying, "You''ve lost your fucking mind..." Without waiting for the man''s response, Vahn attempted to punch Eduan in his perfectly sculpted face, his fist forming a ck trail as it ripped through both space and time. To thetter''s credit, he was able to react to this, but, the moment Vahn''s fist met with his guard, Eduan was sent smashing through the Sword Altar with such speed and intensity that he appeared to teleport from his initial location. With vibrant blue lightning dancing across his left hand, Vahn flexed his fingers a few times before looking towards Mikoto and saying, "You might want to fight him in your Pokemon form. That man is even worse than me when ites to women. Be careful of his right hand. I doubt he will be able to force a Tier 5 to submit, but it''s better to be safe than sorry." Nodding her head, Mikoto promptly transformed into her Pikachu form, tiny gold runes appearing beneath her fur as a shroud of golden lightning enveloped her body. Then, far faster than even Han could perceive, shepletely vanished. Momentster, the sound of a distant explosion could be heard, but, rather than focusing on that, Vahn shifted his attention to Yuri, saying, "Good luck." with a rxed smile on his face. Though she experienced a moment of panic when Eduan focused his intent on her, Yuri ultimately managed to retain a confident smile, asking, "Luck? Who needs that? I already won the lottery when I managed to sink my teeth into you. Now I just need to kick this brat''s ass. Easy peasy." Punctuating her words, Yuri drew the ck March and Green April from her Reel Inventory, igniting both as a violent red aura erupted from her body. She had been waiting a long time to teach the Ari Family a lesson, so, now that their Leader was right in front of her, there was no way she would back down. This ced Han in a somewhat difficult position, but, understanding the temperament of the Ha Family, he responded by drawing his rapier-like Needles and saying, "Let''s see how much you''ve grown..." Without thinking deeply about the meaning contained in Han''s words, Yuri lunged forward faster than a sh, the ck March leaving an abyssal ck trail as she attempted to bifurcate her rather petite opponent. To her surprise, fairy-like wings appeared at Han''s back and ankle as he used the very tip of his Needle to deflect her attack, muttering, "Ari Style Secret Technique - Fairy Waltz..." Faster than most people could react, Han''s Needles began tracing countless silvery arcs towards Yuri''s tendons and joints. He wasn''t particrly fond of bloodshed and killing, so, more often than not, he dealt with his opponents by disabling them with extremely precise and swift strikes. He even coated his weapons in a special anesthetic, a medicine designed to numb the body and inhibit pain. Though she did her best to deflect as many attacks as she could, Han''s speed was far beyond Yuri''s expectations. It felt like, for every two blows she deflected, eight more would prick various parts of her body. Fortunately, like the majority of Vahn''s women, she had received a number of essories that effectively made her immune to status abnormalities. This,bined with her inordinately high regeneration, allowed her to ignore minor injuries, so, rather than focusing on defense, the intensity of Yuri''s eyes increased as she shouted, "Eat this, you little shit...!" Punctuating her words, a phenomenal amount of Ki gathered at Yuri''s left foot as she attempted to kick between Han''s legs. This caused a violent tremble to pass through thetter''s body,pelling him to evade backward as Yuri eximed, "Nuclear Kick...!" Though the name might have sounded a little shy, the massive explosion generated in the wake of Yuri''s kick demonstrated it wasn''t to be taken lightly. From a distance, you could even see arge mushroom cloud forming as the energy began to disperse and fold in on itself after breaching the upper atmosphere. With a few beads of sweat appearing on his brow, a wry smile developed across Han''s face as he remarked, "I understand your desire to win, but can we try and avoid aiming for each others'' more ''sensitive'' regions? Even if I''m Immortal, that''s the kind of pain that can make one wish they were dead..." Using the Green April to disperse the remnant dust and debris, Yuri eyed Han with an inordinately serious expression on her face as she asked, "What''s your deal? You aren''t behaving as a Leader of a Great Family should. I understand that the Ari Family is filled with petnt cowards and uptight assholes, but I didn''t think it extended all the way to the top." Aiming for the moment when Han was about to answer her question, Yuri extended the de of the ck March, its tip impacting his chest like a bolt of ck lightning. This caused a deep frown to develop across her face, not because the attack had failed, but because Han was clearly looking down on her if he couldn''t even evade something like the extension of the ck March... --- Observing the battle between Yuri and Han from the distance, Vahn stood in the air with his arms crossed, eyes focused despite the fact he was also linking his senses with Mikoto. At his side, fewer than ten meters away, Hon stood with a pristine white sword in hand, clearly indicating his intent to start their own battle. Unfortunately, even though he was looking directly at Vahn, he couldn''t sense thetter''s presence. This left him unsure about whether or not he should attack, so, at least for the time being, he just stood in the air, calmly awaiting the moment their climactic battle would begin. Understanding the inordinately handsome man''s thoughts, Vahn continued to willfully ignore him. His brief encounter with Hana had demonstrated that the Great Warriors weren''t actually that great, so, while he had yet to lose interest in thempletely, he no longer felt any pressure to deal with them. Even Hon''s fangs had clearly dulled with the passage of time, so, now that he had confirmed their state with his own eyes, he was seriously considering just teleporting Jahad and the rest of the Great Warriors to him. He could always continue his journey after demonstrating there was nothing they could do against him, so, while Hon was eagerly looking forward to the fight toe, Vahn''s mind had already started to wander to worlds beyond the Tower... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''At least they''re being realists xD...'',''Eduan be digging his own grave...'',''Tier 4 is practically fodder at this point...'') Chapter 1993: Tribulation

Chapter 1993: Tribtion

Shifting her gaze from therge mushroom cloud looming in the distance, Mikoto, appearing as a Pikachu, looked towards the remnants of a destroyed mountain. There, lying amongst the rubble, vibrant blue electricity dancing across his body, Eduan could be seen looking up at the sky with a vacant look on his face. Though the attack hadn''t inflicted any meaningful damage to him, Eduan was bewildered by the realization that he had been unable to perceive Vahn''s initial movement. Even more surprising was that his intuition was informing him that the only reason he had been able to react to Vahn''s punch was that thetter had allowed it... Raising his right hand, Eduan appeared as though he was attempting to grasp the sky, the glove on his right hand releasing a low hum as the embossed pattern on its surface glowed with a faint blue light. Immediately thereafter, massive storm clouds began to billow in the sky as a vivacious purple hue rapidly spread through his electric blue eyes. Observing the phenomenon with a calcting look in her eyes, Mikoto briefly considered whether or not she should even allow Eduan the opportunity to fight back. There didn''t seem to be any real benefits to facing him ''fairly'', and, while he was certainly very powerful, watching him gather energy was like observing a child taking their first steps into the domain of the strong. This might seem like an exaggeration, but,pared to Magic Gods and Archangels who could destroy infinite universes with a single spell, watching someone manipte the weather was almost boring... Shaking her head, Mikoto decided she would settle things by teaching Eduan a lesson. The entity known as The Beginning had bequeathed her the title of Magic God of Lightning and Tribtions, so, after a brief period of consideration, the runes across her body began to light up as she began bobbing her tail in a strange rhythm. In response, a massive golden spell circle appeared in the sky, intercepting a few bolts of purple lightning that had started to gather above the stunned Eduan. Though a part of her felt obligated to exin what she was about to do, Mikoto, knowing some of the crimes Eduan was guilty of, ultimately just dropped to a quadrupedal stance, the yellow hairs on her back standing on end as she raised her tail like the de of an executioner. Then, before Eduan could even consider evading, a ck trail appeared as she dropped her tail in a single swift motion. At the same time, thin bolts of lightning, their breadth no more than 35mm, began to stream down at a speed far greater than traditional lightning. Under normal circumstances, Eduan wasn''t simply immune to Lightning Elemental Energy, he could absorb it without limit. Unfortunately, despite Ki and Mana being rtivelymon concepts back on his homeworld, something like a Heavenly Tribtion was only observable in fiction, not the real world. Thus, without considering for a moment that he would be unable to absorb the thin bands of lightning, Eduan attempted to gather it towards his palm with apletely apathetic expression. Realizing his mistake far toote, Eduan''s pupils shrank to the size of pinholes as pain immediately spread through his body, visible cracks appearing across its surface. He responded to this by trying to flee, but, the moment he tried to leap away, the gravitational force acting upon his body seemed to increase by thousands of folds. With his body forced to prostrate, the apathetic expression on Eduan''s face immediately gave way for a far more serious, enthusiastic, and slightly fearful look. Then, as golden lightning continued to smash into his back, forcibly refining each cell in his body, an extraordinary aura began to emanate from his very soul as he released a feral cry that seemed to echo through the heavens. Though he had willingly followed Jahad, Eduan refused to bow to anyone or anything, the singr exception being the mother who had painstakingly raised him to be the hero of their ruined world. Thus, the moment he was forced to prostrate, his power began to increase exponentially as a desire to raise his head and ovee the golden lightning swelled within his heart. To his credit, Eduan was able to force himself to his hands and knees, but, the moment he tried to get his feet under him, several bands of lightning shed across the surface of the strange magical circle looming overhead. Immediately after that, a bolt of lightning thicker than a wrist impacted his back, instantaneously incinerating his tattered ck cloak and causing the cracked skin beneath to be charred ck. With golden lightning venting from his mouth and eyes, Eduan immediately lost consciousness, but, in spite of this, he managed to remain on his hands and knees. Shortly after that, the magic circle in the sky began to dissipate, and, as a result, the purple lightning previously kept at bay began to rain down along with a veritable deluge of Shinsu. Feeling the cooling sensation on his back, a bit of light returned to Eduan''s faded eyes as a sudden and overwhelming urge to vomit rose from the pit of his stomach. Unable to suppress this, arge volume of abyssal ck blood was expelled from his mouth, staining the ground below and causing an unnatural hissing sound to enter his ears. Looking closely, he noticed that the blood was actually eating into the ground below, almost as if it was a highly corrosive acid... As thoughts of what the substance could be crossed his mind, Eduan''s gaze was drawn to a bright yellow figure appearing in the periphery of his vision. There, untouched by both rain and lightning, a mouse-like creature with yellow fur and a tail reminiscent of a lightning bolt was staring back at him with hazel-brown eyes. It also had strange patterns covering its body, but, the moment he tried to focus his eyes, the pattern appeared to shift as a sensation simr to vertigo attacked his mind... Shaking her head, Mikoto adopted a somewhat pitying expression as she said, "You''re lucky to have survived. Under normal circumstances, failing to ovee a lightning tribtion results in death. It would appear your fate is quite powerful..." Though he was marginally surprised that the peculiar mouse could speak, it didn''t take Eduan long to realize that the strange creature was something created by Vahn. This caused a self-deprecating smile to develop across his face as he ignored the agonizing pain emanating from his body, rolling onto his back before stating, "To think...I endured thesest ten-thousand-years only to be defeated by someone''s pet...I don''t know whether I shouldugh or cry..." Frowning in response to Eduan''s words, Mikoto immediately chimed in to say, "I''m not a pet! I''m a Pokemon! There''s a massive difference...!" Without showing any indication that he had heard Mikoto''s outburst, Eduan just continued to stare up at the sky until his smile gradually rxed into his usual, apathetic, expression. Then, in a somber tone that didn''t quite suit someone with an appearance bordering on the ethereal, he asked, "Can I ask you something...?" As there was no particr reason for her to refuse, Mikoto cocked her head to the side for a brief moment before answering, "Sure. As long as it isn''t anything too personal, I don''t mind answering your questions." With the edges of his lips curling up almost imperceptibly, Eduan muttered a soft, "Thanks..." before falling silent for several seconds. This left Mikoto feeling somewhat ufortable, but, fortunately, he didn''t keep her waiting for too long, asking, "Are there Gods even more powerful than the Sage Dragon Emperor in the worlds beyond the Tower? Is it possible to reach that level through training and effort...?" Seeing no harm in answering the two questions, Mikoto didn''t hesitate to nod her head, answering, "Vahn is certainly very powerful, but,pared to the beings at the absolute pinnacle, he still has a long way to go. Fortunately, he isn''t known as the God of Infinite Possibilities for nothing. Unless he gives up, it is only a matter of time until he reaches the top. This applies to everyone, so, to answer your second question; yes, it is possible to reach such a level through training. It''s just that, without fate to guide them, most peopleck the willpower and resolution necessary to do so." Detecting no falsehoods in Mikoto''s statement, a thoughtful glimmer shed through Eduan''s eyes as he forced himself to a seated position. Then, despite understanding it was futile, he extended his right hand toward Mikoto, palm facing upward as if he were trying to tempt a tiny creature toe closer. Instead, thetter just scowled at him, golden electricity shing across her body as she said, "You really are broken..." Rather than taking offense to the usation, Eduan just issued a slight chuckle before retracting his hand and saying, "You can''t me me for trying. I may not have the same kind of disposition as Lo Po Bia or Gustang but I can still appreciate strange and fascinating creatures. I also recall your form from earlier...you''re a bit on the youthful side, but your beauty can''t be refused. Were I allowed your favor, even for a moment, I believe I would be able to die with a smile on my face..." Though she wasn''t even remotely swayed by Eduan''s words, Mikoto could feel her heart skip a beat when she saw him sh a sincere yet possessive smile. It was the kind of look that could cause even the most frigid of women to melt, but, understanding the type of man Eduan was, Mikoto furrowed her brows, stating, "You are unworthy." in a firm, threatening, tone. Without losing his smile, Eduan shifted his gaze away from Mikoto, the horizon reflected in his eyes as he softly mused, "I wonder if this is what heartbreak feels like..." --- Though he was constantly linking his senses with other people, it didn''t take long for Vahn to detect Mikoto''s victory. This drastically decreased his expectations for the other Great Warriors, as, despite being remarkably rusty, Eduan was still Ranked 6 within the Tower. The fact he couldn''t even defend himself against Mikoto said a lot about the difference in their power, so, knowing he was quite a bit stronger than the adorable Electromaster, most of Vahn''s tensions simply faded away... Sensing the sudden change, Hon instinctually tightened the grip he had on his sword, but, before he could even think to attack, his body tensed up as a runic de covered in fiery cracks appeared at his neck. Then, in a tone that left no room for discussion, Vahn stated, "Don''t even think about it. Our fight wille. Of that, you can be certain. For now, however, I would rather observe the battle taking ce below. If you find this disagreeable, please, feel free to voice your opinion..." Feeling the heat radiating from Vahn''s de, seemingly ignoring the aura covering his body, Hon felt an almost irresistible urge to swallow. Instead, he floated back slightly, distancing himself from the paradoxically in yet extravagant-looking de as he answered, "I am also interested in the oue of this battle..." Nodding his head, Vahn allowed Laev-tan to dissipate before folding his arms and returning his gaze to the now-devastated Sword Altar. Yuri had a habit of generating massive shockwaves with each of her attacks, so, despite being constructed from remarkably durable material, the Pce of Swords now resembled ancient ruins. Despite this, she had yet to inflict any meaningful damage on Han, who, from the moment his initial attack had proven ineffective, shifted entirely to defense. This was causing Yuri quite a bit of stress, as, even after going Super Saiyan, Han''s speed allowed him to stay just beyond her reach... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Mikoto be like, "Is this even worth my time...?"'',''To be honest, even though Eduan is a massive cuck, I can''t really me him for being envious of Vahn...'',''I kind of feel bad for Han xD...'') Chapter 1994: Passion

Chapter 1994: Passion

Seeing how powerful his daughter had be, Han couldn''t help feeling an iota of pride. At the same time, however, her simrities with Yurin,bined with the strange state she had entered, left him feeling helpless. It was like she was a Goddess of War fused with some kind of feral beast, and, though he found her golden hair rather beautiful, the vicious look in her eyes left him feeling concerned, not for his safety, but for her future. Evading an explosive thrust that caused a massive channel to form in the ruined remains of the Pce of Swords, Han attempted to stab his Needle into the connecting point between Yuri''s left shoulder and arm. In response, she, once again, attempted to grasp his Needle with her bare hand, but, despite her ever-increasing speed, it was far from enough to pressure him. He wasn''t known as the ''God of Wind'' without reason, and, ever since bing a Ranker, people within the Tower had taken to calling him ''Twin-Nosed Sailfish'', a sobriquet derived from the fastest of all Shinheuh. Annoyed by the fact that Han had evaded yet another one of her attacks, the bloody red ki around Yuri''s body became even more violent as she shouted, "You slippery little pipsqueak! Fine! Let''s see you evade this...!" Punctuating her words, Yuri aimed the ck March towards Han before extending her de nearly a kilometer in an instant. This was easily avoided by the youthful-looking man, but, before he could say anything to try and subdue Yuri''s anger, the muscles of her right arm flexed with such intensity that the sleeve of her blouse violently erupted. Then, without bothering to retract the ck March''s de, she began a flurry of shes that forcibly sliced everything in its wake, ground included. Though some might believe it would be easier to evade from a distance, Han knew that the tip of the ck March was actually moving much faster than the length near its hilt. He could even sense a number of massive explosions urring in the distance, the result of the ck March moving at faster than light speeds through dense Shinsu. Worried that Yuri might ruin her body in an attempt to secure a pyrrhic victory, Han rushed forward with such speed that he appeared to teleport behind her. His intent was to stab through both of her rotator cuffs, but, as if to remind him of its existence, he was sent spinning as Yuri''s tail greeted him with a smack to the face. Taking advantage of the moment when her opponent was stunned, Yuri strained the muscles of her back and arm in order to twist around with extreme speed. This caused the Spirit of the ck March to cry out, "You fucking bitch...!", but, without paying her any mind, Yuri''s attack caused a ck void to appear between the ground and sky. The speed of her rotation had been very near the speed of light, so, with the ck March beingpletely rigid, her tip was moving several times faster. With a force exceeding two-billion-kilotons, Yuri''s attack generated an explosion so immense that the entirety of the 100th Floor seemed to tremble in response. This was further exacerbated by the Shinsu in the atmosphere, and, were it not for the fact they had formed their encirclement several thousand kilometers away, most of the vessels belonging to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th Army Corps would have disabled or destroyed with a single attack. Unfortunately, despite appearing rtively unscathed, the slight bend in the ck March showed that Yuri had pushed the sapient Needle far beyond its limits. As a result, the ck aura emanating from the de immediately fizzled out as the Spirit''s voice, sounding somewhat teary, stated, "I''m never igniting for you again, you stupid, smelly, monkey...!" Smiling wryly in response, Yuri was about to apologize, but, due to the spatial rupturing generated by her own attack, her organs were in a mess. The moment she tried to open her mouth to speak, arge volume of blood surged from her throat, and, despite her best efforts to keep it down, a scary amount ended up erupting from her mouth and nose. Appearing immediately after this, Han, without a scratch on him, worriedly stated, "If you don''t stop this soon, you''re going to destroy your body. The Sage Dragon Emperor might be able to heal you, but-" Without waiting for him to finish, Yuri surprised Han by opening her mouth and generating aser-like beam of energy more than five meters across. When it faded away, Han, shrouded in an aura of pale green energy, asked, "Do you resent the Ari Family to this extent? I understand your childhood wasn''t the most pleasant. However, that was the direct result of you choosing to be a Princess of Jahad. Are you going to allow the behavior of a jealous few to dictate the rest of your life...?" Furrowing her brows in response to Han''s words, Yuri took the time to return the Green April and ck March to her Reel Inventory before answering, "You talk too much, chibi. I''m not doing this to prove anything. At the very least, I''m not trying to prove anything to you. I just want to fight strong opponents. Now, hold still so I can punch that pretty little face of yours." Charging forward the moment she finished speaking, a reddish-ck aura appeared around Yuri''s fist as she shouted, "Ha Yuri Style Special Skill - Abyss Sphere...!" Making use of her inordinately rare Shinsu Quality, Yuri instinctually melded both Shinsu and Ki to produce a bubble filled with a mysterious substance infused with thews of space and destruction. This caused the hairs on the back of Han''s neck to stand on end, instantly suppressing his desire to let hernd, at the very least, one solid punch against him. Instead, he evaded seriously for the first time since the battle began, a cold sweat breaking out across his body as he observed the scene in front of him. Clicking her tongue, Yuri, now appearing with vibrant red hair and a blood-red aura, looked toward Han and said, "First Ureko, and now you...how annoying..." Coming to his senses in response to Yuri''s grumbling, Han shifted his gaze from her spiky red hair to the visible coat covering her neck, arms, and legs. He also noticed that her tail had be much longer, but, more than anything else, it was her aura that stood out most of all. She had be an entire order of magnitude stronger, and, though she wasn''t doing anything to control it, the Shinsu in the sky had turned crimson. Noticing Han''s gaze, a glower developed across Yuri''s face as she raised her left hand and growled, "Sorry, buddy, but I''m already taken." Without affording Han the opportunity to correct the misunderstanding, a crimson st of energy erupted from Yuri''s palm. It was only around the speed of light, but, due to the highlypressed energy contained within, it generated a gravitational pull simr to a small. While this might not sound like a lot, a distant satellite such as the Moon was able to influence the tidal forces of the entire Earth. Thus, the moment Yuri released her attack, the surroundings began to violently rupture as mountain-sized pieces of debris attempted to achieve equilibrium between the two gravitational forces. Though he was able to evade each of the monstrous beams of energy with room to spare, Han''s expression paled as he witnessed the devastation caused by his daughter''s attacks. He disdained violence and destruction to such an extent that he had split off from his original Family in order to produce one that did everything in its power to prevent it. Thus, even though Yuri was his daughter, he couldn''t help feeling distressed by the fact she was releasing her energy without any regard for the people who called the 100th Floor home. Gritting his teeth, a resolute gleam appeared in Han''s eyes as the fairy-like wings on his back split to form six distinct pairs. At the same time, tiny antlers erupted from his forehead as hisrger than average ears suddenly extended to form points. Noticing Han''s change, Yuri''s scowl immediately turned into an excited smile. Unfortunately, before she couldment on the man''s rather girlish appearance, a sudden and intense pressure crushed her body from all directions. It was like all the Shinsu of the Floor hade to bear on her, forcing her into a fetal position as Han charged forward to reluctantly exim, "Han Style Secret Technique - Sidhe''s Judgment...!" (A/N: Sidhe are the name of Fairy Folk, children of the Goddess Danu, in Irish Lore. They are closely associated with the Sylph, Spirits of Wind.) Though he would have rather ended things without severely injuring his own child, Han understood that Yuri, much like her mother, would never simply stand down. Thus, with an extremely apologetic expression on his face, he buried both of his Needles into her body, skillfully avoiding her organs in order to flood her body with Shinsu. This would allow him to expel the Ki from her body, but, more importantly, it would force her into a deep slumber that could only be broken once he, or someone else, ousted his Shinsu from her body. Unfortunately, while he had taken into consideration Yuri''s durability, Han had no way of knowing what kind of artifacts and equipment Vahn had gifted her. The moment he attempted to spread his Shinsu through her body, it was like the entire world had frozen over as a phenomenon functionally identical to Reverse Flow Control prevented him from so much as blinking. This caused the pressure on Yuri''s to immediately dissipate, and, though she still had two Needles sticking out from her ribs, that didn''t stop her from smashing her fist into his face with enough force to vaporize a mountain... With their Immortality Contract providing a form of ''permanence'', effectively preventing their state from changing, Han should have been able to tank Yuri''s attack without any serious trouble. To his surprise, however, a phenomenal amount of pain radiating from his cheek, neck, and several other regions of his body as he impacted the ground like a meteor. He couldn''t quite discern what it was, but, for a brief moment, it was like his contract had been negated by a mysterious, extremely pure, form of energy. As a result, one of his mrs had been knocked loose, and, though he wasn''t too worse for wear, a massive bruise had appeared on his left cheek by the time he emerged from the crater caused by his sudden and instantaneous introduction to the ground... Surprised by the efficacy of her own attack, a bewildered expression appeared on Yuri''s face as she gawked at her bloodied fist. It had been centuries since shest injured her fist with a punch, but, what made this situation even stranger was the fact she hadn''t actually gathered that much Ki into the attack. Her intention was to force Han away in order to remove his Needles from her body, but, in spite of this, her attack had resulted in both of them sustaining injuries... --- Understanding what had happened, Vahn''s expression turned awkward as he desperately resisted the urge to smack his own forehead. The truth of the matter was that his Source Energy, which had umted during their previous foray in the bedroom, was still coursing through Yuri''s body. She wasn''t even able to sense this on her own, but, thanks to his desire to see her sessfully slug Han in the face, the remnant energy had reacted to support her. This was beyond even his expectations, as, prior to this moment, he had never witnessed one of his lovers going all out in a fight preceded by a passionate session of lovemaking... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Yuri would fit well into JoJo''s Bizarre Adventure...'',''Sneaky Super Saiyan 4'',''I believe this is what some might refer to as a ''pro-gamer'' move xD...'') Chapter 1995: Chance

Chapter 1995: Chance

Though she didn''t understand what had happened, the notion she could deal damage to a Family Leader caused a massive grin to develop across Yuri''s face. Her natural regeneration also helped to deal with the injury sustained by her fist, so, after lingering in the air for a short while, she grabbed the hilts of the two Needles sticking out of her body, saying, "You''re so fucked." with fiery red eyes. Having seen simr looks on the face of Yuri''s mother, Han couldn''t help developing a wry smile as he said, "Sorry, but this is the end..." Glowering in response to the youthful-looking man''s words, Yuri adopted a defensive stance, but, rather than attack, Han surprised her by adopting a strangely proud look as he stated, "I surrender. This is your victory." While others might have been happy to hear such a thing, a visible tick mark appeared near Yuri''s temple, her aura surging outward as she eximed, "Bullshit! You can''t just surrender after a single punch! I-" Before she could finish speaking, Han interrupted Yuri''s outburst by calmly dering, "I can. You''re free to continue attacking, but, from this moment onward, I will no longer fight back. If you wish to strike someone who has already given up, be my guest. So long as you stop wreaking havoc on the rest of the Floor, I will tolerate your rage until you have settled." Though she wouldn''t have attacked any other opponent who had yielded, Yuri responded to Han''s words by raising both hands and generating a massive, blood-red, sphere. This caused the ground to tremble violently, and, for a brief moment, it seemed like she was prepared to destroy the entire Floor just to force Han to defend himself. Fortunately, this was never meant to be, as, the moment her ''primal rage'' began to take over, Vahn appeared right in front of Yuri, gently embracing her body. His initial appearance nearly caused her to attack, but, feeling his familiar warmth, she quickly came back to her senses, whispering, "Sorry..." in an uncharacteristically meek tone. Shaking his head, Vahn briefly strengthened his hold on Yuri''s body, answering, "It''s fine. You''ll get used to it..." before loosening his hold and caressing her face. This returned the smile to Yuri''s face, but, at the same time, it also lit a fire in her body that made it hard to resist pouncing on Vahn then and there. Sensing the not-so-subtle shift in Yuri''s temperament, Vahn fought hard against the urge to adopt a wry smile as he said, "Cancel your transformation. I''m going to send you back..." Amused by Vahn''s reaction, Yuri''s expression became teasingly seductive, but, before she could say anything, he promptly teleported her to his proxy on the 199th Floor. Though he wasn''t particrly bothered by Yuri''s behavior, even Vahn wasn''t shameless enough to flirt with someone''s daughter right in front of them. He wouldn''t appreciate it if the partners of his daughters behaved in such a way, so, feeling Han''s gaze on him, Vahn forcibly restrained his natural urges in favor of decorum. With this same sentiment in mind, Vahn snapped his fingers, instantaneously erasing Yuri''s lingering ball of Ki before looking towards Han and saying, "Sorry about that. She is still growing ustomed to her new race. Don''t worry. Once she''s out of range of any sufficiently powerful opponent, she will quickly return to normal." Furrowing his brows in response to Vahn''s words, Han adopted the kind of look reserved for young men meeting their partner''s father for the first time, saying, "Normal...is it? Will she ever truly return to being a normal young woman after what you did to her? Unlike you, I don''t know everything. Tell me, why did you turn my daughter into a beast?" Adopting a deadpan expression, Vahn teleported in front of Han before answering, "I''m not fond of mistreating the family and friends of my lovers. You''re also one of the few legitimately good people in the Empire, so, for both our sakes, I would suggest you never again refer to Yuri as a beast. She is a proud Saiyan warrior, an elite among elites whose potential surpasses the Gods. If you insult her a second time, don''t me me for ack of courtesy." Feeling the aura radiating from Vahn''s body, a cold sweat developed across Han''s as a phenomenal amount of spiritual pressure rooted him to the spot. It wasn''t the first time he had experienced such an attack, but, whenpared to Vahn''s, every other person''s spiritual pressure was likeparing a tiny candle to the sky being set ame. It left people feeling small and inconsequential, and, for a brief moment, Han was seized by the impression he was an insignificant bug that had wandered far too close to an open me... Snorting through his nose, Vahn began to forcibly suppress his aura, adding, "I won''t deny the role you yed in Yuri''s birth. However, unless she is willing to ept you, you have no right to refer to yourself as her father. A father is someone who watches over and protects their children from harm, regardless of the burden it ces upon them. Instead, you shifted the burden to Yuri, forcing her to experience difficulties aspensation for your inadequacies as a parent. You can fool yourself into believing you were only trying to protect her, but, no matter how you spin it, the truth of the matter is that you failed all three of your daughters..." Though others might have been tempted to try and refute Vahn''s words, the subject was something Han had been brooding over for, quite literally, thousands of years. He had always regretted letting Yurin dictate how their twins were raised, so, following Yuri''s birth, he pressured his ex-fiancee into concealing her identity and allowing her to experience life amidst both families. His intent was to let Yuri choose for herself what kind of life she wanted to live, but, as a result of her fiery temperament and prodigious talent, she ended up being ostracized and bullied by both families. To make matters even worse, she ended up being the target of numerous assassination attemptsmanded by her elder sisters, the very people he intended to protect her from... With the Law of Identity narrating the man''s thoughts, much of Vahn''s anger began to diminish. It was clear that Han deeply regretted his mistakes, so, while it did nothing to change the past, there was still hope for the future. A lot of people clung to the excuses they had constructed even when their lives were on the line so it was always refreshing to see someone willing to ept their faults without losing their cool orshing out at their usor. Deciding to throw the man a bone, Vahn pat the youthful-looking leader''s shoulder, saying, "Rx. So long as there is a future, there is hope. My presence in the Tower is an opportunity for all of you to improve. Rather than beating yourself up over things you can''t change, start thinking about what you can do to make things better. Is that not the purpose of your Ari Family?" Surprised by Vahn''s attempt to console him, a moderately bewildered expression developed across Han''s face. Unfortunately, due to his transformation into some kind of Fae-hybrid, Vahn''s instinctual urge to tease people with pointed ears had been triggered. As a result, without even thinking about it, he ended up saying, "You should start by working things out with Yurin. If you don''t act quickly, it might be toote..." Realizing what he was saying, Vahn''s words naturally trailed off as he awkwardly retracted his hand from Han''s shoulder. To his surprise, this actually elicited an amused chuckle from Han, who, against expectations, answered, "Even when we were together, Yurin and I maintained an open rtionship. I''m not sure how old you are, but she and I are approaching 24,000-years-of-age. That''s a long time from the perspective of mortals, so, for our own mental wellness, we never forbade each other from trying out new things. We''re also no longer together, so, even if you did manage to win her heart, it is no longer my ce to intervene..." Though Han''s words actually aligned with his personal views, Vahn couldn''t help staring at the man as if he had lost his mind. He knew Han cared deeply about Yurin, and, despite her amazoness-like nature, thetter was also deeply infatuated with him. Yurin had even made amitment to never bear the child of another, so, even though they were currently separated, it was strangely annoying to hear Han say something so insensitive. Before he even realized what he was doing, Vahn chopped Han''s head with enough force to send radial cracks throughout the massive crater they were currently standing in. His Source Energy had also allowed him to overwrite the man''s permanence, so, despite appearing rtively unharmed, a painful-looking bump had appeared on Han''s head, his eyes turning noticeably moist as he asked, "What the hell?" Blinking in surprise, Vahn looked between his hand and the knot on Han''s head before adopting a stern look and saying, "That half-hearted way of doing things is the exact reason for your regrets. If you''re going to separate with Yurin, make it clear. Running away and leaving things ambiguous isn''t something a man should do. Seriously, you have three children together. Your eldest are more than twenty-thousand-years-old. At this point, they even have great-great-great-grandchildren. It''s time for you to stop pussy-footing around and ept responsibility for the line you have created." Remembering the reports filed by the Research Team, specifically those pertaining to Vahn''s views about family and kinship, Han realized he had made a mistake in trying to trivialize his rtionship with Yurin. He had also forgotten to consider that Vahn seemingly knew everything, so, while others might have been convinced by his statement, the draconic god before him was not so easily fooled. He also seemed to interpret everything seriously, as, rather than speaking with the intent of giving Vahn permission to act, Han''s words had been intended to alleviate the tensions resulting from the former''s verbal gaff... Realizing this, Vahn promptly shifted his attention away from Han, his expression a hardened mask of solemnity as he added, "You should go. If you continue dying things, someone else will report what has happened here. The one-sided defeat of four Great Warriors is bound to cause destructive ripples if spun in a negative light. Tell Adori and Senna I am willing to issue a statement disavowing rebellious actions so long as the Empire and the Ten are willing to announce their cooperation with the Aldrnari Empire. It is no longer a question of whether or not the Tower will experience a reform. The only question you need to be asking yourselves is: How many people are we willing to sacrifice in order to oppose the inevitable?" Understanding the severity of the situation, Han did his best to ignore the throbbing sensation atop his head, answering, "Your cooperation is greatly appreciated. Though I have a lot to say about how things have transpired, I also understand the meaning of disying one''s power. I just wish you had given us more than twenty-four-hours to prepare..." Shaking his head, Vahn did his best to conceal his sudden mncholy, calmly stating, "Benevolence is one of the most valuable traits a leader can possess. Unfortunately, too much benevolence invites opportunists to take advantage of the situation. Others misunderstand it as a form of weakness that encourages them to do foolish things such as taking hostages andshing out at others in the hope of ''teaching'' someone a lesson. Truth be told, I''ve grown weary of such things. Had Gustang moved forward with his n of trying to capture one of my loved ones during thispetition, the Empire, the Workshop, the Ten Great Families, and everyone else who dares to oppose me would have been wiped out. Rather thanining about the twenty-four-hours, you should be thanking whatever god you believe in for the innumerable chances I have afforded you since arriving in the Tower..." Finished with what he had to say, Vahn turned away from the contemtive-looking Han, his eyes firmly fixed on the inordinately handsome man patiently observing him from a few kilometers away. Then, with Laev-tan appearing in his right hand, he muttered, "Bankai..." in a grim tone that caused the space for hundreds of kilometers to tremble... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Yuri nearly went full Frieza o_o...'',''Vahn''s Greatest Weaknesses #03: Pointed Ears'',''Shit just went from 0 to in an instant...'') Chapter 1996: Penance

Chapter 1996: Penance

Sensing the eruption of Vahn''s aura, excitement began to swell within Hon''s chest for the first time since his battle with Ureko. There were few things he enjoyed more than testing his de against a powerful opponent, so, even if Vahn turned out to be much stronger than imagined, he was looking forward to their climactic exchange in the heavens. Unfortunately, just as that thought entered his mind, Hon''s mental faculties halted, as, surrounding his would-be opponent, more than a hundred teens and children had spontaneously manifested. To further exacerbate his confusion, Vahn''s appearance had changed drastically. His ivory white armor had vanished entirely. In its ce, abyssal ck armor covered him from head to toe. It was such an extreme change that, for a moment, Hon briefly considered that he had already been defeated and was currently having a fever dream... Ignoring the narration from the Law of Identity, Vahn maintained a stoic and cold demeanor as he spread his arms, ordering, "Dyrnwyn, Kusa,e." Reacting to Vahn''s words, two youths, one appearing as a handsome young man from Irnd and the other resembling a petite young girl from Japan, immediately transformed. The first, wielded in Vahn''s right hand, became a long greatsword with a hilt nearly a third of its total length. As for thetter, she became a rtively in-looking shortsword, but, depending on the angle you viewed it from, peculiar blue, green, and purple light would appear to sh across the surface of the de. With the two starkly contrasting swords in hand, Vahn began to slowly rise into the air as the rest of his Pseudo-Zanpakuto Spirits began searching for ces to idle. Some even manifested snacks out of thin air, sharing their bounty with the others before finding a ce for themselves... Seeing this peculiar scene y out, Hon''s apathetic expression gradually melted into a confounded look as he realized that each of the children below were actually weapons. This was far from his first time witnessing such a phenomenon. In fact, his own sword possessed a Spirit formed from his very soul. What made this situation so confounding was that his Sword Spirit, rather than feeling excited about the prospect of acquiring new skills and techniques, was actually trembling in fear... Noticing the look on Hon''s face, the makings of a smile briefly appeared on Vahn''s face before he controlled himself and said, "Sorry, but, even if you were to ask politely, I have no obligation to tell you anything. You should address the issues in your own family before concerning yourself with the secrets of another." With that said, Vahn lifted his greatsword, Dyrnwyn, igniting its de with pure white mes. Then, without further dy, he used his variation of Shunpo and Koku Shundo to appear right in front of Hon. This caused thetter to immediately attempt a counter, but, unlike the majority of opponents Hon had faced, Vahn was perfectly capable of keeping up with the speed of his de. Seeing the pure white de form a path towards his neck, a smile developed in slow-motion across Vahn''s face as Hon''s attack failed to prate the pauldrons protecting his shoulders. Then, before the white-haired swordsman could express his considerable surprise, Dyrnwyn cleaved through his neck and shoulder without resistance. The mes along its length also had the effect of draining a person''s strength to empower itself, so, not only had Hon''s immortality been ignored, the majority of his Shinsu had been drained away in an instant. To his credit, Hon, now existing as little more than a right arm, head, and a severed torso managed to stay in the air. Dyrnwyn''s mes had also cauterized the wound as it passed through, so, while a normal person would have already died, Hon managed to endure long enough to smile and mutter, "Truly remarkable..." before falling from the sky. Rolling his eyes, Vahn shouldered the still-ming Dyrnwyn as a green aura spread throughout the entirety of his domain. This caused the falling body of Hon to reverse at high speeds, his two halves bing a singr whole in less time than it took most people to blink. Then, in a in tone that left no room for argument, Vahn stated, "This fight is over when you''ve learned your lesson. Now, I suggest you stop relying on your Immortality and get serious..." Without waiting for the stunned man to respond, Vahn stabbed forward with Kusa, the shortsword in his left hand. Because of his recent experience, Hon was unable to react to this, so, without any suspense whatsoever, he found his heart pierced by a vibrant green de that seemed to extend beyond the horizon before instantaneously returning to its original length. Though a wound to the heart was survivable for most Rankers, eerie ck blood began flowing from Hon''s orifices the moment Kusa prated his body. Almost immediately thereafter, taking less than two seconds toplete, his fair skin developed a necrotic appearance before his body began dissolving from his extremities. Shaking his head, Vahn created a bit of distance between himself and the zombie-like Hon before the same green aura triggered a second time, this time appearing as little more than a sh of light from the perspective of those able to perceive it. Having experienced death twice, cold sweat began to break out across Hon''s body as he witnessed Vahn appearing next to one of the groups below, exchanging his previous weapons with two brand new ones. At that moment, the notion that Vahn was intending to kill him with each of the weapons crossed his mind, and, as a result, a sudden and intense desire to surrender immediately manifested from the very depths of his soul. Unfortunately, before he could voice this sentiment, Vahn, wielding a pitch-ck dagger and a rapier that seemed to be formed from poisonous vines appeared before him, stating, "You have yet to repent for your actions. Come. Try and steal my techniques and intent. Isn''t that why you challenged me to a duel?" Paling in response to Vahn''s words, Hon was about to answer when an immediate and intense pain spread throughout his body. He could feel thorny vines spreading through his nervous system, and, as a result, his body was twisted and contorted into a form resembling a cross as Vahn withdrew the crimson-tipped rapier from his chest. Then, for the third time in as many minutes, he experienced a brief moment of reprieve before, once again, losing his life at hands of a swordsman far beyond hisprehension... --- Staring down at the dispirited and kneeling figure of Hon, Vahn loosened his grip on the runic ax wielded in his right hand, allowing it to return to the form of an adorable girl with icy blue hair as he said, "This is merely a taste of the helplessness you forced others to endure over the course of your life. From now on, I encourage you to act ording to the principle that everything you mete out to others will eventually return to you. This includes pain and suffering, so, unless you wish to experience something far worse, I suggest that you correct your behavior..." Raising his head, a scarcely visible light returned to Hon''s silvery-white eyes as he asked, "How can one person be so powerful...?" Furrowing his brows in response to the man''s inquiry, Vahn was tempted to further admonish him, but, having already lost interest in continuing what was effectively a torture session, he ultimately just shook his head, answering, "You''re mistaken..." Confused by Vahn''s words, Hon was about to ask what he meant when the former gestured to the veritable horde of children surrounding him, adding, "I have never been alone...not even for a single moment. While it is possible to be powerful by dedicating yourself to a singr pursuit, you''ll never reach the pinnacle by abandoning the people around you. Personal motivation and pride can only take you so far. If you wish to be truly powerful, you need something to protect...it is only when we raise our swords in the defense of others that limitations no longer apply..." Though there were countless paths to bing stronger, the path towards the peak wasn''t paved with the blood of your enemies. That was the path of a ruthless murderer, and, unless you had fate on your side, you would never break away from thews of the world. Truth strength could only be obtained throughprehension, understanding, and sacrifice. It wasn''t the blood of your enemies that allowed you to break through the limits of the world. it was the blood, sweat, and tears of you, your family, and friends...each working in concert to allow you to ovee any trial and tribtion thrown your way... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn turned his back on Hon, adding, "You might find this hard to believe, especially after everything that has transpired between us...still, from the bottom of my heart, I hope you find the path that takes you to the top..." With that said, Vahn deactivated his Bankai, and, without further words, disappeared from the 100th Floor. This left Hon staring nkly at the ce where he had been standing, a conflicted look on his face as he picked up his broken sword and whispered, "So this is the power that overwrote fate and defeated White...it would appear I still have a long way to go..." Raising his sword so that it was level with his face, Hon stared at his reflection for several seconds, a self-deprecating smile recing his usual apathy as he muttered, "I wonder...why does the thought of apologizing to my family and children suddenly fill me with terror...?" As that thought crossed his mind, the image of Hagipherione immediately made itself known within Hon''s mind. This caused the smile on his face to cramp, but, understanding he would never be able to move forward just sitting around, he forced himself to stand before tossing his sword to the side and subsequently vanishing into thin air... --- Located deep within the Inner Sanctum of the Imperial Pce, Jahad, surrounded by innumerable golden Lighthouses, exhaled a tired sigh that seemed to emanate from the very depth of his soul. He had borrowed the remaining Opera from the Tu Perie Family in order to observe Vahn after his ''daughters'' had discarded their respective emblems. Thus, ever since Vahn had departed the 77th Floor, he had been doing his best to keep tabs on thetter''s movements. As a result, he had been able to witness the fight from start to finish, and, despite his demon promising even greater power, he couldn''t envision a future where he emerged victoriously against the iprehensibly powerful Dragon God... As this thought crossed his mind, a snaggletoothed grin spread across Jahad''s face as he rose to his feet and released a heartyugh that caused every Lighthouse in the surroundings to tremble. Then, with an expression that radiated remarkable self-confidence, he said, "I''ll need to prepare a suitable stage. Even if it is ultimately my fate to die at your hands, don''t think for a moment I''ll just bend the knee. You had better bring your A-Game, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. If you don''t, I''ll make sure you learn, first hand, why people still refer to me as the God of Fishermen...!" Believing that Vahn had also been keeping tabs on him, Jahad raised his right fist towards the sky, teeth on full disy as crimson red horns sprouted from various parts of his body. This caused the surrounding Lighthouses to begin fracturing, but, thanks to their self-repair function, they managed to stay operational long enough for the image of Vahn to turn around and furrow his brows... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn be like, "All legendary weapons are belong to us...!"'',''Some lessons are harder than others o_o...'',''Jahad over here getting hyped up while Vahn is already thinking about his ns outside the Tower xD...'') Chapter 1997: Repercussions

Chapter 1997: Repercussions

With the defeat of four Family Leaders spreading like wildfire, a wave of chaos swept through the Tower with seemingly unstoppable momentum. Some of this was incited by organizations such as FUG, but, more influential than even that were the negative sentiments that had been building over thest ten-thousand-years. There were a significant number of people who resented one or more of the Great Families, so, now that someone with the power to oppose them had appeared, groups waving banners representative of the Adrnari Empire began to appear all throughout the Tower. Though he could understand their desire for freedom and liberty, Vahn had never been fond of the types of opportunists who attempted to enact justice using someone else''s name. If they had truly believed in the cause he supposedly represented, they would have taken action long before he had demonstrated his power. Instead, they waited until someone would act as their representative and shield in order to perpetuate all kinds of heinous and vicious crimes, willfully excusing their actions with phrases like ''justice'' and ''retribution''. Exemplifying this sentiment to the most extreme, there were even groups who had been borderline antagonistic towards the Aldrnari Empire who immediately took up its g in the wake of events on the 100th Floor. Their intention was tomit all manner of atrocities in an effort to simultaneously tarnish the reputation of the Aldrnari Empire and secure power for themselves in the wake of events toe. Periods in which there were drastic changes in the status quo were perfect for securing power for smaller organizations, as, more often than not, the newer administration simply didn''t have time to worry about what third-party groups were doing. In an effort tobat this kind of behavior, Vahn made good on his promise to Han by attending a joint-press briefing organized by the Jahad Empire, representatives of the Workshop, and numerous officials from the Ranker''s Association. There, he expressed his condolences towards those who had been made to suffer, but, regardless of their circumstances, he made it transparently clear he wasn''t going to support a violent insurrection. To this effect, he cautioned against using his or the Aldrnari Empire''s names to promote violence, as, not only would he not take their side, he would proactively eliminate anyone daring tomit atrocities in his name. This announcement took the wind out of various organization''s sails, but, as was often the case, it was far from enough to deter everyone. There were a number of groups that attempted to convince people that the Aldrnari Empire supported their cause, but, for the sake of some grand scheme, the truth simply couldn''t be divulged at this time. This caused various rumors and countless conspiracy theories to propagate throughout the Tower, but, considering the other statements Vahn had made during the press conference, this much was to be expected. To the surprise of virtually everyone, Vahn used the press briefing as an opportunity to acquaint the Tower''s residents with its purpose. He gave them a brief overview of the worlds that existed beyond the Tower, exined the importance of Karma, and, most importantly, he announced that he would be opening the way forward for those with the resolve to reach the top. To that end, he intended to coordinate with the Workshop and the Ranker''s Association to overhaul the existing system so that it was more than just a filter for recruitment. Though the average resident found it hard to rationalize the existence of 200 Floors, much less the reality of an infinite multiverse, the notion that he would be opening the way forward was enough to lend credibility to countless rumors. The underlying implication was that Vahn and Jahad would be settling things in the near future, and, based on the acquiescence of numerous Family Leaders, many believed that the former would emerge the victor. After all, while Hana had ultimately refused to attend, Han, Hon, Eduan, Tperie, Blossom, and Yurin had all made appearances during the press briefing. The participation of thetter duo had dealt critical damage to Vahn''s mental state, as, not only did they express their intentions to support his reforms, they took advantage of the tform to inform the residents of the Tower of their imminent departure. This drastically increased the believability of Vahn''s argument, but, at the same time, it also bound him to the two troublesome families. Fortunately, unlike the Families created by their male counterparts, the Eurasia and Ha Families were rtively small. The Eurasia Family, in particr, had a main family consisting of a mere nine people, chiefly Blossom and her direct descendants. Every other descendant had either received Blossom''s ''Power of Blood'', effectively making them artificial members of the Eurasia Family, or they had been adopted into the family via marriage. As for the Ha Family, they were decidedly more ''prolific'' when it came to the production of offspring, but, due to their fearless, violent, andpetitive natures, a surprising few actually managed to reach adulthood. Among this group of survivors, many lost their lives within the first hundred years of bing a Ranker, so, while it was an inherent truth that the Ha Family had the greatest number of High Rankers, effectively making them the strongest among the Ten Great Families, their mortality rate was only exceeded by the Khun and Hendo Lok Families. Vahn wasn''t particrly fond of the Ha Family''s structure, but, having dealt with simr cultures, the only thing he forced them to change was the way they educated and reared their young. There was nothing inherently wrong with starting their training early, especially in a world with vast disparities in strength, but, regardless of their personal belief, violence against the ''weak'' was never justified. If a child was more interested in reading and studying than punching metal pylons for tens of hours a day, that was their right. To this end, he used Yuri''s tantalizing power as an example, expressing that only those of pure heart and righteous character could be Saiyans... --- Though he had been straying away from relying on the Little Garden, Vahn currently found himself seated in the middle of an indestructible cube as he watched two near-identical women exchanging blows in the skies of the Tenth Layer. The only obvious differences between the two beauties were their apparent ages, their bust size, and, at least for the moment, the color of their hair. Everything else was virtually identical, so much so that Vahn found itughable that people thought they were distantly rted rather than actual mother and daughter... Unaware of the thoughts ying across Vahn''s mind, the younger of the duo, possessing a shapely figure and scarlet red hair, brought both of her hands to her side, shouting, "Kaaaameeeeeehaaaa-" as apressed ball of energy formed between her palms. This caused a massive grin to appear on the face of her raven-haired opponent, who, despite having be a Saiyan less than a week prior, managed to exude a golden aura as she surged forward with seemingly unstoppable momentum. With the hairs across her body standing on end, the redheaded beauty, Yuri, backed into the Shinsu Bubble she had manifested behind her back. This allowed her to instantaneously teleport away, but, demonstrating a remarkable battle sense, her opponent, none other than Ha Yurin, spun around at thest moment, allowing her own back to impact the rapidly shrinking Bubble. As a result, she was able to follow Yuri through to her destination, surprising thetter with a vicious blow to the center of her diaphragm before immediately transitioning into a barrage of punches and kicks. To her credit, Yuri was able to defend against many of Yurin''s attacks, but, due to theirparable power and an insurmountable difference in experience, defending was the only thing she could do. Every time she even thought to counter, one of Yurin''s blows would slip through her guard, and, no matter how much she steeled herself, the opening created by the initial blow would result in several more slipping through before she was able to create enough distance to correct her posture. In spite of this, Yuri was actually enjoying herself quite a bit, as, even as recent as two years ago, she couldn''t even imagine being able to trade blows with any Family Leader, much less the matriarch of her own. She knew this wasrgely the result of her association with Vahn, but, even more than that, it was her desire to be strong that allowed her to consistently break through her limits, even in the midst of battle. Unfortunately, even this wasn''t enough to ovee her current opponent, as, every time she grew stronger, so too did Yurin. Vahn had exined that this was the result of an Innate that allowed her to consolidate power based on the strengths and beliefs of her descendants, so, with Yurin working tirelessly to be stronger, it was almost impossible to surpass her. While this would be more than enough to deter others, the prospect of a foe that grew stronger as she did only served to increased Yuri''s excitement. It allowed her to continuously improve, and, due to the vast disparity in theirbat experience, her proficiency was increasing rapidly. Thus, rather than feeling even remotely discouraged by the difference in strength, the light in Yuri''s eyes shone vibrantly up until the moment she was knocked unconscious with an ax kick to the head... With the fur across her body dissipating along with the red coloration of her hair, Yuri''s body was seen careening towards the ground with a forceparable to a small moon about to collide with a. Despite this, her momentumpletely dissipated a few centimeters above the ground, as, prior to the battle, Vahn had modified the Laws of the Little Garden to erase the concept of fall damage. This was an ability he had acquired during his stay in the Toaruverse, and, so long as they were in a Realm governed by his will, even a newborn infant would be able to fall tens of thousands of meters without sustaining a single injury. Wiping the sweat from her brow, Yurin maintained a massive grin as she shifted her attention away from the unconscious body of her daughter and looked towards Vahn. Immediately thereafter, she appeared right in front of him, fist smashing harmlessly against the paper-thin barrier surrounding him and the other spectators as she said, "That makes ten in a row. When are you going to man up and fight me?" Though the punch hadn''t done any damage, the sound of Yurin''s voice caused the pink-haired girl using Vahn''sp as a pillow to open her eyes, an annoyed expression developing across her face as she swept her hand in a dismissive gesture. This caused a veritable ocean of vibrant pink Shinsu to manifest out of thin air, smashing into Yurin before proceeding to flood several hundred kilometers of the Tenth Floor with the remarkable fragrant liquid. Resisting the urge tough, Vahn gestured with his left hand, instantaneously dispersing the vibrant pink Shinsu before patting the pink-haired girl''s head and saying, "I''ll be departing the Little Garden soon. Are you going to stay here with your daughters?" Rather than immediately replying to his question, the pink-haired girl stared up at him for nearly a full minute before asking, "Do you need my help...?" in a remarkably high-pitched tone reminiscent of an excessively cute girl in anime. While continuing to caress the girl''s addictively smooth hair, Vahn adopted his characteristic smile as he said, "That won''t be necessary. Unless you choose to do so of your own volition, neither you nor the members of your family will ever have to fight. Even if you choose to spend the rest of your life sleeping within the Ninth Layer, I wouldn''t me you." With a delicate smile developing across her face, the pink-haired girl, none other than the Leader of the Eurasia Family, Blossom, responded by cing her head in hisp and promptly returning to thend of dreams. This left Vahn with a wry smile on his face, but, having limated to the clinginess of Eurasia Family members, his response was to caress the inordinately petite woman''s head as time around them began to flow in reverse... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Opportunistic individuals are cancer~'',''Vahn over here baiting beauties into bing furries...'',''(O w O)...'') Chapter 1998: Snare

Chapter 1998: Snare

As much as he enjoyed having a bit of leisure time, it wasn''t long before Vahn had to kick Yurin out of the Little Garden. She still had a lot of personal matters to resolve within the Tower, and, despite transnting arge portion of their poption, there were quite a number of Ha Family members remaining within the Tower. This included various branch families, so, after persistently refusing her challenge for the better part of two weeks, Vahn returned her to the Ha Family Estate in an effort to continue his own journey. Unfortunately, while it had been surprisingly easy to deal with Yurin, convincing Blossom to remain in the Little Garden was inordinately difficult. Rather, much like the various Fae he had encountered throughout the Records, she didn''t like to be apart from him. Thus, at least for the time being, Vahn had gained himself a floti of pink and burgundy-haired beauties, seven of which could ssify as lolis while the other two, including Enne, appeared as normal, albeit monstrously attractive, young women. While the phrase ''floti'' might seem a little peculiar when describing a group of people, seeing the girls orbit around him wearing animal pajamas and hugging oversized pillows was quite the sight to behold. To some, it seemed like they were trying to protect him, but, were he to idle for any amount of time, they would slowly gravitate towards him until he eventually became the entire group''s hug pillow. Even Enne was no exception to this, and, thanks to some ''careful guidance'' from her mother,bined with the fact he had kept his promise, there had already been instances where she acted remarkably, yet awkwardly, bold. Simply put, Vahn found himself in a covetous yet troublesome position, as, for a variety of reasons, the Eurasia Family was extremely attached to him. Not only had he ''cured'' their condition, but, more importantly, he had made the ''mistake'' of bedding Soo Yun. This not only demonstrated he had no aversion to their ''physical peculiarities'', but, unlike the majority of people who actively sought them out, he didn''t view them with predatory or exploitative intent. Instead, he genuinely wanted them to be happy, so much so that he would disregard his ownfort just so they could rest peacefully... --- Detecting a faint yet intoxicating aroma, Vahn existed from his dreamscape to find an inordinately small butt covered in frilly white panties just a few centimeters away from his face. There were no traces of moisture present anywhere on the pristine white fabric, yet, in spite of this, his body was heating up at a rapid rate as the owner of the aforementioned bottom issued a mischievous giggle before saying, "You woke up too fast. I won''t be able to educate them properly if you''re always on such high alert..." Either as an attempt to distract or silence him, the inordinately petite woman, Blossom, punctuated her words by promptly sitting up. As a result, her bottom came to rest squarely on his face, a cutesy gasp emanating from her throat in the process. This allowed her exceptionally fragrant pheromones to directly invade his senses, but, having none of this, Vahn elicited a startled squeal from the pink-haired girl by sitting up and saying, "So this was why Eunjoo and Nari were doing their best to keep me distracted..." With Blossom awkwardly positioned between them, legs floundering around, Vahn was able to stare directly at the guilty-looking Enne before passing his gaze over each of her aplices. Every time his eyes met theirs, they would immediately look away with guilt-ridden expressions, but, thanks to the Law of Identity, he knew the only person genuinely bothered by the current situation was Enne. Everyone else was either troubled by the fact their n had failed or that they might not be able to ''capture'' him even with their most extreme methods... Understanding the concerns of the girls, a tired sigh escaped Vahn''s throat as he ignored the fact that Blossom was still between them, hugging Enne''s waist as he said, "Listen. I understand your desire to increase your poption, but there are other ways of going about it. Besides, you don''t even have to remain Mares if you don''t want to. If necessary, I can even create-" Interrupting before he could finish, Enne asked, "Do you hate me...?" in an inordinately meek tone. This caused the tired expression on Vahn''s face to turn in a wry smile, and, for a brief moment, he nearly released another sigh until Blossom chimed in to say, "If we''re not going to continue, please stop breathing on me. Also, I''d prefer it if you released me sooner, rather thanter. As much as I''m enjoying your ''thick'' and ''manly'' aroma, I''ll turn stupid if any more blood rushes to my head." Releasing the inordinately petite Family Leader from her fleshy prison, Vahn was about to continue where he left off when Enne, still straddling his waist, performed a ''guts pose'' as she monotonously asserted, "Leave it to me...I might be inexperienced...but I will do my best to convince you..." Offering a smile in response to the woman''s bravado, Vahn softly uttered, "That isn''t really the issue here..." before shifting his gaze to the expectant-looking Blossom and adding, "I''ve already told you about my intentions after I depart the Tower. Even if-" Smiling even more radiantly, Blossom decided to interject before he could finish, stating, "We know. Still, at least for the time being, we wish to be with you. You presented a solution to a problem that has gued us since time immemorial. Even if we one day go on to expand our numbers in another world, that is a matter for the future. For now, our ce is here. Even if it''s just for a single night, we wish to create happy memories with the man who liberated us from eternal darkness...the kind and gentle God who sees us as more than just ''convenient tools''..." Despite her sickly pink aura, Vahn was able to discern the sincerity contained within Blossom''s tone. Unfortunately, just as he was looking around to gauge the reactions of everyone else, she had to go and ruin things by appending, "Besides, Yuri already spilled the beans regarding her rather drastic increase in strength. There aren''t many energies as easy to manipte as Shinsu, so, once we leave the Tower, we''ll be weak and defenseless. What if some big scary men try to sink their teeth into us the moment you avert your eyes~? I have a fair amount of experience dealing with such individuals, but I''d rather spare my daughters from having to endure such abuse~." Mistakenly believing he had grown ustomed to Blossom''s shamelessness, Vahn found himself at aplete loss for words. To make matters even worse, he was well aware of some of the traumas she had experienced prior to entering the Tower. It was her past thatpelled him to protect both her and her children, so, hearing her casually mention the possibility of something happening once they leave the Tower, he suddenly felt a considerable amount of pressure. Sure, he might be able to ''fix things'' retroactively, but, were he to leave them susceptible to experiencing such a tragedy, guilt would be the least of his concerns... Furrowing his brows, Vahn stared directly into Blossom''s heart-shaped pupils, his tone somewhat grim as he said, "I don''t like being manipted like this..." Though his words were enough to cause everyone else to feel tense, Blossom simply returned a smile as she smoothly answered, "I know. Don''t worry, I''m used to people viewing me as a monster. If it''s for the sake of my daughters'' happiness, I don''t mind being hated. Just make sure you direct all your hatred to me, okay~?" Seeing Blossom''s aura transition from a vibrant pink to a far more muted version of the same color, Vahn, as per usual, couldn''t help feeling guilty. He felt as though he had ruined the mood, and, as a result of her mother''s words, Enne took it upon herself to grasp his hand, considerable worry visible in her eyes as she pleaded, "Please...don''t hate mother...she isn''t a bad person...she''s just...dumb...?" Seemingly confused by what she should say to try and convince him, Enne tilted her head adorably to the side as Blossom, unperturbed by her daughter''s remark, simply giggled. This left Vahn feeling even more exasperated, but, understanding they couldn''t have pulled this off without assistance, he briefly linked his senses with Mikoto to find her, Yuri, and Fenrir observing the event from the space between Axes of Reality... Were it not for the fact Enne was holding his hands between hers, Vahn wouldn''t have been able to resist the urge tob through his own hair. Instead, a tugh emanated from his throat as he extricated his hands from her grasp and promptly sprawled out on the bed. Then, in response to a sudden sensation against her bottom, Enne''s face became bright red as she instinctually attempted to close her thighs only to end up straddling him even more closely. Noticing her daughter''s reaction, the smile on Blossom''s face became massive, so much so that she could barely contain herself when Vahn dully mused, "I''m not going to hate anyone..." before trying to add a remark about his fate with inordinately petite women. Unfortunately, before he could utter so much as a single additional syble, his mouth was promptly sealed by something indescribably soft, warm, and fragrant. Though his first instinct was to dislodge her a second time, Vahn surprised Blossom quite a bit by pinning her legs with his hands. Then, before she could begin her ''lesson'', he decided to teach her one of his own by promptly cing her panties into his Inventory. This caused her eyes to widen a considerable amount, but, before she could even think to protest, a loud yelp emanated from her throat, followed by her cing trembling hands on his chest for support. Feeling sudden and intense waves of pleasure spread through her body with horrifying momentum, Blossom''s expression transitioned from a smile to a pained and desperate look as she ultimately fell forward, eyes closed as she eximing moaned, "What...what is this...!? This isn''t...Nnnnn!? This isn''t normal at all...!" Ignoring the outcry, Vahn casually changed the size and shape of his tongue as he pried open the confounded beauty''s incredibly pliant yet extremely adhesive inner walls. Then, just as she inhaled a deep breath to try and speak further, he molded the tip of his tongue to a point, expertly probing a ce that shouldn''t be reachable under normal circumstances. Feeling her body seize against her will, arge volume of drool flowed from Blossom''s mouth as an even greater volume of love juices erupted from her lower body. She felt as though his tongue had prated all the way to her belly button, and, for a brief moment, she was worried that he might have found a way to go ''even further beyond''. As that thought crossed her mind, apanied by speckles of light entering her vision, Blossom felt as though her world had suddenly turned upside down. In reality, Vahn had decided to return to a seated position, her legs dangling over his shoulders as he embraced her body. Then, just as her body began to tremble violently from yet another powerful climax, he separated his lips from her steamy mound so that the other girls present could see the veritable geyser of peculiar pink love juices that erupted from her lower mouth. Resisting the heat spreading through his own body, Vahn adopted a genial smile thatpelled a few of the girls to swallow as he opened his hour-long lecture by saying, "Pay close attention. This is what people refer to as forey..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Enne is doing her best...'',''Exploiting weaknesses...'',''Vahn takes education very seriously (O w O)...'') Chapter 1999: Dining Room Discussion

Chapter 1999: Dining Room Discussion

With his bedroom looking more like a crime scene than a lover''s nest, Vahn, wearing little more than form-fitting Aegis briefs, emerged from the inordinately fragrant chamber with the intent to prepare a meal. Before that, however, he reached into the space between spaces, startling the trio of girls within by grabbing the end of Yuri''s tail and asking, "Did you enjoy the show?" Smiling in response, Yuri''s tail twitched in a vain attempt to extricate itself as the person in question answered, "You really are a beast. It was like watching a big bad wolf prey on seven littlembs and two sheep. Did you eat your fill~?" Sensing the trio''s state, Vahn understood the not-so-hidden invitation within Yuri''s words, a chuckle emanating from his throat as he teasingly replied, "That''ll have to wait tillter. For now, let''s fill our bellies with something a little more substantial. Come, I''ll cook you something." Though her initial response was to feign a pout, Yuri''s expression blossomed into a smile at the mention of food. The meals he prepared might be iparable to Rindo''s when it came to vor and effect, but, regardless of how simple the meal, eating Vahn''s food made you feel happy. It was almost like his love had been infused into even the smallest grain of rice, so, while the vor might be a littlecking, it had a unique quality reminiscent of ''home cooking''. Making her thoughts known to all, Yuri''s stomach released a growl reminiscent of a voracious beast as she pounced on Vahn, forcibly pressing his face to her chest as she eximed, "Great! Let''s go~!" in an excited tone of voice. Her exaggerated response left Fenrir and Mikoto shaking their heads in mild exasperation, but, almost immediately thereafter, a potent blush colored thetter''s face when her stomach opted to announce its presence... --- Expecting the nonad to gradually trickle down after recovering from their lethargy, Vahn prepared enough food to seat more than twenty people before taking his own and saying, "Though it might sound a little strange given the current circumstances, recent events have forced me to do a bit of thinking..." Despite having just bitten into aically oversized chicken leg, Yuri, mouth filled with food, was the first to remark, "Oh? Don''t tell me that little foray in the bedroom has ''awoken'' something? I''d rather not have to be a ''loli'' in order to-" Taking into consideration Yuri''s durability, Vahn flicked a pea towards the center of her forehead at about thirty-percent the speed of light. Under normal circumstances, this would have generated a massive shockwave, but, thanks to hisprehension of the Laws, he was fully capable of deciding when and how friction affected the objects influenced by his power. With her head snapping back like someone who had just been sniped, a teasing smile developed across Yuri''s face as she corrected her posture, musing, "So violent~." before tearing away arge piece of chicken with her pronounced canines. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn lightly shook his head before exining, "Once this matter with the Lo Po Bia Family has been resolved, I''m thinking about dealing with Jahad directly. I don''t mind sticking around for a few years in order to make sure everything is running smoothly, but, as it stands, my power drastically exceeds the standard of the Tower. I''ve never been fond of bullying the weak, so, before things get too far out of hand, I intend to cement my ce at the pinnacle so I can finish grooming the members of Team Wolf Pack into the next generation of leaders." Hearing the name ''Team Wolf Pack'', Yuri''s eyes began shimmering with excitement, but, before she could open her mouth to speak, Mikoto preempted her, calmly inquiring, "What are you intending to do about the Khun Family? After our battle, that blue-haired idiot actually attempted to force his family''s problems onto me. Now that the Great Families are supposed to be cleaning house, there''s a good chance the Khun Family will tear itself apart due to infighting." Remembering the conversation he had with Eduan following the press briefing, a tired sich escaped Vahn''s throat as he picked up his coffee mug, savoring the contents for several long seconds before finally answering, "Even if I were to defeat Eduan and personally take charge of the Khun Family, the oue wouldn''t be pretty. At present, there are a total of 138peting factions within the Khun Family, each belonging to one of Eduan''s contracted wives. This is where the issues begin, as, prior to wedding them, Eduan had each of his fiancees sign a contract with the Guardians that effectively forces them to obey. To make matters even worse, the contract includes a provision that allows him to transfer ownership of said contract to whoever reces him as Leader of the Khun Family; so, the moment anyone epts his position, they will end up with hundreds of contract-bound wives and tens-of- thousands of resentful and opportunistic children..." Though Mikoto and Fenrir seemed to understand the underlying issue, Yuri demonstrated why her intelligence was her lowest parameter, thoughtlessly remarking, "I don''t see the problem. With that kind of contract in effect, won''t it be easy to resolve things? I mean, you can literally just order them to unfuck themselves and they should carry it out without question, right?" Smiling wryly in response to Yuri''s rtively innocent question, Vahn was about to exin the crux of the problem before Fenrir beat him to the punch, pointedly stating, "Master doesn''t like making people do things against their will. Though some might use him of using force topel people to obey, he is still giving them a choice. They can either learn from their mistakes and move forward with their lives or they can suffer the consequences of the lives they had lived till then. It might be a choice between life and death but it is still their decision to make." Were she sitting next to him, Vahn would have reached out to caress Fenrir''s head and ears. Instead, his expression rxed into a casual smile as he exined, "Though I am known to make and uphold contracts, it is always the decision of the recipient whether or not they wish to receive my blessing. I disdain contracts thatpel obedience, so, the moment I took control of the Khun Family, the first thing I would do is absolve each and every contract. I can pretty much guarantee that none of those women ever considered, not even for a moment, that Eduan would actually be defeated. Thus, even if it might prevent a lot of problems, it simply isn''t within my nature to take advantage of a situation and force people to obey me against their will..." With Mikoto and Fenrir nodding with ''as could be expected'' kind of expressions on their faces, Yuri adopted a somewhat perplexed expression as she asked, "So? What are you going to do then? You might not want to force them to obey, but you''re also the type of person that mes himself every time something bad happens. Whenever a transition of power urs, it is always the innocent who suffer the most. There''s no way you''ll just sit back and watch as the weaker factions get wiped out by those opportunistic whackjobs in the ''main'' family." Though he nodded his head in affirmation, Vahn took the opportunity to empty the contents of his cup before exining, "That''s one of the reasons I wish to hurry and cement myself as the pinnacle of power within the Tower. The sooner I take control, the quicker I will be able to enact my reforms. As for the matter of the Khun Family, I intend to have Eduan continue behaving as a lynchpin until a suitable recement can be found. A number of changes need to be made before the way forward can be open, so, if he wishes to continue his climb, he will first need to redeem himself by resolving some of therger issues within his family. I would never let him move on while others are forced to stay behind and clean up after him. If he can''t do that, he simply has no right to reincarnate with his memories intact." While it was far from an ''ideal'' solution, Vahn''s decision to spare the Great Warriors was predicated on the fact that they would be doing everything within their capacity to fix the issues guing their respective families. If any of them thought they could get around this and simply move on, they had another thinging... Approving of Vahn''s decision, Yuri made a thumbs-up gesture while shoveling two-thirds of a rice ball into her mouth. She wasn''t particrly fond of how passive the n was, but, understanding Vahn cared more about the process than most, she wasn''t going toin. Rather, this oue meant he wouldn''t be wasting time by intervening in the Khun Family''s affairs, and, as a result, they would have more time to spend together. This was an ideal oue, as, ever since he became the Patron God of the Ha Family, every influential member of the family had been pressuring her to seal the deal by bearing his child. Just the thought of this caused her body to warm up like a furnace, so, the moment they settled down, she was intending to pop out as many babies as Vahn would allow... With Yuri looking at him with a predatory stare,plete with glowing red eyes, Vahn didn''t need the Law of Identity to tell him what she was thinking. In fact, her body was producing so much heat and pheromones that Mikoto and Fenrir immediately took notice, the former developing a healthy blush while thetter simply nodded her head in an ''approving'' manner. Then, as if decreed by fate, the sound of paradoxically heavy yet light steps could be heard as Blossom trudged into the dining room with little more than a sheet to cover her naked body. Under normal circumstances, Blossom wore rather mboyant clothes, and, despite finding it more than a little troublesome, she had a habit of tying up her hair in heart-shaped buns. This was a stark contrast to her current appearance, a lethargic-looking girl with messy pink hair extending past her butt and an expression reminiscent of a researcher who had been away for days on end. Seemingly unaware of the awkward atmosphere she had both walked in on and directly contributed to, Blossom allowed the sheet to fall from her shoulder as she raised her left hand, pointing to Vahn with moisture in her eyes as she said, "You...!" Surprised by the emotion contained within the petite woman''s voice, Vahn rose to his feet with the intention to approach her and ask what was wrong when Blossom beat him to the punch, inting her cheeks after using, "You did something to prevent us from bing pregnant, didn''t you!? You...you big stupid head...!" Finding himself at a loss for words, Vahn paused for the better part of ten seconds before regaining hisposure and exining, "You''re mistaken. It''s not that I took action to prevent you and your daughters from bing pregnant. Rather, unless I intend to impregnate someone, it is impossible for them to be pregnant. Though this might change in the future, I currently have no intention of arbitrarily impregnating anyone. Please, calm yourself." Expecting her to tear up and continue pouting, Vahn was genuinely surprised when Blossom stuck out her tongue before smiling as she said, "You''re too easy. Consider this payback for bullying me. Seriously, you need to learn some restraint. I might have been the one to goad you on, but holding me upside down until my nose started bleeding was a bit excessive, don''t you think?" Feeling the energy draining from his body, Vahn fell heavily against his chair before leaning forward to rub his temples with his left hand. This caused Blossom to giggle like a mischievous imp, vibrant pink clothing manifesting to cover her body as she flitted over to an empty chair and added, "Don''t worry. Despite my size, I''m quite ustomed to being bullied. So long as you continue treating my daughters well, I''m more than willing to ept a bit of abuse. Ufufufufufu~." (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''FBI be like: *heavy breathing*'',''Eduan isn''t getting off scot-free...'',''That''s a lot of damage...!'') Chapter 2000: Waning Flame

Chapter 2000: Waning me

Though he had made up his mind to elerate his conquest of the Tower, Vahn spent the better part of three weeks idling about in order to gauge the residents'' reactions. He also wanted to see what the Ten Great Families would do with the additional time, so, while much of his day was spent rather leisurely, he also dedicated a fair amount of time spying on various organizations throughout the Tower. As could be expected of the Families that had proactively supported peace and order, the Tu Perie and Ari Families made the most of the current situation by volunteering to assist in the auditing of the other Families. The Tu Perie Family, in particr, had beenpiling records of every crime that had been perpetrated by various individuals for the better part of ten-thousand-years. This included records pertaining to members of their own family, so, by the time things had started to calm down, more than twenty percent of each major family had either been imprisoned or simply ''erased'' from the Tower. While twenty percent might sound like a rtively small number, especially considering the amount of hatred directed towards the Ten Great Families, the truth of the matter was that only a handful of individuals were responsible for the majority of crimes that had taken ce. More specifically, it was members of the branch families and weaker members of the main household that ultimately sought to alleviate their frustrations by suppressing others. The only real exceptions to this rule were the Lo Po Bia and Hendo Lok Families, but, with the former driven by instinct and thetter motivated by self-preservation, they were the outliers in the group. Fortunately,rgely due to their limited lifespan and the fact Vahn had already been working with them in ''secret'', the Hendo Lok Family were a lot more responsive to rapid changepared to the other Great Families. Their situation had forced them to continuously adapt just to survive, so, while there had been a significant amount of bloodshed rtively early on, the result of the Leader of the Family personally cleaning house, they were more united than ever. It would likely take decades for them to fully stabilize, but, now that they no longer had to perform forbidden rituals just to extend their lives, they no longer had to worry about being viewed as monsters by the rest of the Tower. Though Vahn had a few personal grievances to settle with Bloodmadder, principally rted to the man''s rather infamous libido, he had dyed dealing with him out of consideration for the rest of the Family. In the end, the man was most assuredly going to die, but, at least for the time being, he had managed to buy himself some time by doing his best to implement the reforms necessary for his Family''s continued survival. This was something Vahn could appreciate, so, much like Lo Po Bia''s sentence, Hendo Lok Bloodmadder''s had been postponed until the fates decreed their paths would cross... --- While doing his best to ignore the floti of pink-haired women who now followed him virtually everywhere he went, Vahn silently observed a majestic floating pce that even exceeded Ostia in scale and beauty. If not for the numerous fires that could be seen spreading uncontrolled through rampant through various sections of the pce''s mainpound, it could have easilypeted for one of the most wondrous sights Vahn had ever seen. Instead, the innumerable pirs of ck smoke made the scene better suited for a painting of an apocalypse rather than an idyllic eastern pce heavily influenced by Chinese mythos and architecture... Though she would normally remain silent whenever they were out and about, Blossom, dangling from Vahn''s neck and peering over his shoulder, voiced the thoughts of nearly everyone present, muttering, "How tragic..." in a subdued tone. This caused Vahn''s already conflicted expression to turn into a frown, as, unlike the other Great Families, the Yeon Family had effectively copsed in the weeks following the battle on the 100th Floor. A few of the High Ranking Elders, enraged over the loss of rde, had even attempted to perform a ritual to try and forcibly remove the Spirits of the Golden Crow and Divine Phoenix from Hana''s body. Instead, they ended up being driven from the ''Pce of mes'', their lives spared only because of Hana''spassionate nature... Restraining a sigh, Vahn was about to say something when Blossom, seemingly sensing the change in his mental state, tightened her hold around his neck in order to nuzzle against his cheek and say, "Don''t let it get to you. Due to rde''s influence, very few people within the Yeon Family truly cared for Hana. This is certainly a tragedy, but, so long as she can ovee her mental demons, Hana will be a lot happier without such toxic people in her life. We can help her with that...but..." Shaking his head, Vahn preempted the suggestion Blossom was about to make, saying, "I shouldn''t be the one to help her. Even if I could heal her heart, there is no way to get around the fact that I''m one of the primary sources of her pain. Besides...her heart already belongs to another..." Understanding who Vahn was referring to, Blossom lightly hummed before muttering, "Viole..." in a voice that only he could hear. Nodding his head in response, Vahn began to descend towards the ming pce, his voice calm and steady as he exined, "Some might consider me an irredeemable womanizer but I can safely state I have never stolen the heart of someone who has dedicated themselves to another. I''vee pretty close on a number of asions, but, during each of those instances, the person whose heart they had dedicated themselves to was already dead..." Though he would like to implete innocence, Vahn knew he had skirted several boundaries during his time in the Nasuverse. His mental state,bined with hisck of power,pelled him tomit to several courses of action heter realized were either unnecessary or rushed. While he had never regretted any of these choices, a bit of patience would have allowed him to resolve most situations without needing to be personally involved with every tragic beauty that crossed his path. Despite his cyclic naturepelling him to repeat many of his past mistakes, that didn''t mean Vahn hadn''t learned numerous lessons along the way. Thus, while he had grown remarkably confident in his ability to heal, win, or conquer the hearts of virtually any woman he happened to encounter, he had alsoe to understand that it wasn''t ''necessary'' for him to do so. This was a stark contrast to his younger self, who, regardless of the circumstances, always did his best to ''repay'' every ounce of kindness bestowed upon him... Recalling his younger self, a naive boy who could shamelessly walk around town wearing little more than tattered rags and shrubbery, a reminiscent smile spread across Vahn''s face as he reached up to pat Blossom''s head, silencing her attempt to question him about Viole by musing, "Space and Time are truly remarkable things...so long as you have a sufficient enough understanding of both, there is very little you can''t aplish..." Without going into further details, Vahn retracted his hand from Blossom''s head before turning his attention towards the bereaved-looking woman ring at him from atop a ruined altar nked by statues clearly designed to represent the Divine Phoenix and Three-Legged Golden Crow. As strange as it might seem, Vahn actually found the current Hana even more remarkable than the woman he had wronged weeks prior. Her tears did little to detract from her beauty, and, though he was able to maintain eye contact, the pure whitece visible between her legs as she tightly hugged her knees possessed an allure thatpelled the eye to follow. This,bined with her remarkably sad and vulnerable aura, gave off the impression that she was literally waiting for someone toe and take away her pain...even if it meant being taken advantage of and lied to... Doing his best to maintain a casual and reminiscent smile, Vahn gestured for Blossom and the rest to give him a bit of space before making his way closer to the throne. In response, the temperature around Hana''s body began to increase, yet, in spite of this, she made no attempt to actually prevent his approach. Instead, her aura began to shiver like a frightened child as she hugged her knees with greater strength and monotonously asked, "What are you doing here...? Have youe tough at me...?" Hearing the pain suppressed in Hana''s tone, the charismatic glimmer frequently visible in Vahn''s eyes diminished slightly as he extended his hands to remove the ornate crown from Hana''s head. His initial touch caused her to flinch, but, even as he pulled several other ornaments from her hair, her only noteworthy reaction was to rest her head against her knees and allow him to do whatever he wanted. At the same time, her aura me-like diminished to such an extent that, even if he were to push her down, Vahn doubted she would offer any significant resistance. She had basically given up on life, and, prior to his arrival, most of her time had been spent contemting whether or not she should pass on the Divine Phoenix and Golden Crow before searching for a method to take her own life. As was often the case in such situations, Ancestral Spirits such as the Divine Phoenix and Three-Legged Golden Crow could only be passed on to direct descendants. This was the main reason that Hana had never confessed to Viole, as, despite loving the man with all her heart, his love of Arlene,bined with his innate characteristics, made him unsuitable to sire the next generation heiress of the Yeon Family. Now, however, she no longer cared about such things, so, even if it was the person she currently hated the most, the only thought in Hana''s mind was ''getting things over with''... After removing all the ornaments from the woman''s vermillion hair, Vahn resisted the urge to nt a kiss on the top of Hana''s head. Instead, he gently caressed her inordinately silky lock as he quietly exined, "I am not called the God of Infinite Possibilities without reason...though you cannot deny your responsibility in the matter, rde''s actions were ultimately the result of her twisted nature and lust for power. You could have stopped her, but, given your situation, I can also understand why you might be reluctant to do so...for better or worse, even the greatest of Gods are capable of terrifyingpromise when ites to family..." Earning the vermillion-haired woman''s attention, Vahn regained a bit of his smile as he framed the sides of her face with his hands and added, "You are a good person...you do not deserve to suffer in this manner. Since I am also to me for your current predicament, I will offer you a choice. So long as your desire is sincere and devoid of malice, I will grant your wish. Now...tell me...Yeon Hana...what is it your heart desires...?" Though she couldn''t shake the impression she was about to make a deal with a devil, Hana''s eyes zed over slightly as she whimpered, "I just want to be loved..." in one of the most pitiable voices Vahn had ever heard. She had spent her entire life living ording to others'' expectations, so, even if it was just for a single moment, she wanted to experience true love and affection. As for why she didn''t ask to be reunited with Viole, it was because, in her mind, the man had passed long ago, and, more importantly, he had dedicated his heart to another... Feeling Hana''s anguish and hope wash over him like frigid yet warm water, Vahn adopted the most assuring smile he could manage before nodding in affirmation and whispering, "Very well..." before bending down to nt a kiss on the me-like seal on her forehead. In the moments that followed, the light within her fiery eyes gradually faded, unparalleled rxation flowing through her body for the first time in millennia as Vahn pulled away to add, "Rest. When next you awake, all your dreams will havee true..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Three weeks to unfuck millennia of corruption...'',''Beauty within despair...'',''A promise of a better future...'') (A/N: Power and water have finally been restored. I got to flush my toilet and take a nice hot bath for the first time in five days. Feels good man.) Chapter 2001: Resonance

Chapter 2001: Resonance

After cing Hana''s unconscious body into stasis within the Ninth Layer, Vahn emerged from the Little Garden feeling more than a little mncholic. This was far from an ''ideal'' solution, but, until he could find a timeline where Hana could truly be with the one she yearned for, she would have to settle with a false reality provided by the Phantasmagoria. Fortunately, while it was indisputably still an illusion, the events transpiring within the Phantasmagoria were so realistic that literal eons could pass without any of the entities within being aware of the truth. There was even a chance that some would develop a true ego, but, at least for the time being, Vahn could rest assured that Hana would have ample opportunity to experience being loved... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn looked around at the rather sizeable group of girls that had been apanying him for thest three weeks. He could see trust reflected in each of their gazes, and, though they might not necessarily agree with the choices he made, they never doubted he was trying to do the right thing... With his gaze lingering on each girl, Vahn''s mood began to steadily improve until Yuri, having never enjoyed awkward silences, spontaneously teased, "If you''re going to keep gawking like a lovestruck fool, you better be prepared to take responsibility. I can feel the base of my tail beginning to itch..." Feeling the tensions immediately drain from his body, a lighthearted chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat as he waved his hand to produce arge portal. Then, adopting his characteristically rxed smile, he replied, "Let''s go home. I''m not really in the mood for anything too intense right now, but I can at least give everyone a massage..." As the word massage left Vahn''s lips, the bodies of Fenrir, Yuri, Lotte, Mikoto, and even Enne visibly shuddered as a healthy red hue colored their cheeks. This earned them a few curious looks from the members of the Eurasia Family, who, despite having spent the better part of three weeks with Vahn, had yet to experience the skills that had initially earned him the title of Godhand... --- Though they were unaware of the ''suffering'' of the Eurasia Family, knowing smiles spread across the faces of two inordinately beautiful women, one with raven-ck hair and the other possessing peculiar dark-purple locks. These were none other than Madara and Yoruichi, and, though they had long-since developed True Egos of their own, they could still sense when Vahn was in a heightened state of emotion. This applied to every Temte he had created, but, having honed their perception and intuition to the extreme, the two voluptuous beauties could even sense when Vahn was feeling muddle-headed. With her smile gradually developing into a toothy grin, Yoruichi began to pop each of her knuckles as she remarked, "Whelp, looks like the bad guys on this Floor are fucked. Mind if Angri and I take point this time?" Hearing her name, fluffy auburn ears poked out of Yoruichi''s shadow as Angri, adorned in an outfit reminiscent of the one worn by Soi Fon in the Actualized World of Bleach, asked, "Are we going on a mission?" in a forced monotone that failed to conceal her excitement. Pulling the olive-skinned Vanargandr onto herp, an amused expression spread across Yoruichi''s face as she tightly squeezed the struggling girl and answered, "That depends on whether or not a certain someone is going to stand in our way..." With Yoruichi''s directing her golden gaze towards her, Madara''s smile gradually faded away as she crossed her arms and said, "I refuse. Izuna needs opportunities like this to measure the results of his training. Do you think your protege is more important than my younger brother...?" Rolling her eyes in response to Madara''s question, Yoruichi secured Angri with her left arm before holding out her right hand and drolling, "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, you bro-con. Let''s just get this over with." Though she was unamused by Yoruichi referring to her as a bro-con, Madara ultimately just snorted before closing her eyes, extending her own right hand, and saying, "Proceed." Waiting until the final syble had departed Madara''s lips, bluish-white electricity began to radiate from Yoruichi''s hand and forearm as she shouted, "Jan...ken...p-!" Snapping her eyes open, Madara revealed that she had activated her Rinnesharigan at the veryst moment, her eyes transition from a deep crimson to a peculiar purple set with concentric rings and nine tomoe spinning around an abyssal ck pupil. This enhanced her perception to the point that time seemed to stop, but, having anticipated this, the electricity emanating from Yoruichi''s fist had already suffused through the rest of her body, its color shifting to a vibrant golden hue that caused her right arm, cat-like ears, and tail to shimmer with brilliant light. Noticing that Yoruichi''s hand appeared to be throwing rock, paper, and scissors simultaneously, the pupil of Madara''s right eye began to expand and contract in a mysterious rhythm as she attempted to draw the hateful cat woman into a powerful Genjutsu. Unfortunately, Yoruichi''s Shunry Kokuby Senki, sh God ck Cat Warrior Princess, made her virtually immune to illusions due to the sheer amount of Lightning Elemental Energy coursing through her mind and body. Thus, the moment she allowed the bronze-skinned beauty to transform, the majority of Madara''s trump cards had already been sealed. Refusing to be outdone by a ''simple'' elemental transformation, an evil smile began to spread across Madara''s face in painstakingly slow motion. This caused Yoruichi''s own expression to sour, but, long before either''s facial muscles could react to their shift in mentality, the world around them began to dissolve away as Madara''s voice, emanating from the void itself, echoed, "Infinite Tsukuyomi..." With her golden pupils immediately reflecting a crimson-hued version of Madara''s Rinnesharingan, Yoruichi''s mental processespletely ceased as the former countered her scissors with rock. This onlysted for a mere moment, but, with both of their speeds far exceeding the physical limitations of the world, it was more than enough for victory and defeat to be determined. Blinking her eyes, the reflection of Madara''s Rinnesharingan was no longer visible across Yoruichi''s vibrant golden irises as she eximed, "You bitch! Did you seriously just use the Infinite Tsukuyomi to win a game of rock, paper, scissors!?" Snorting in response to Yoruichi''s words, Madara rose to her feet before countering, "You''ve quite the gall to use me of foul y when you''re still in your transformed state. Don''t be such a sore loser. It''s unbing of you..." Without waiting for Yoruichi''s retort, Madara''s vanished into a spatial tear that had instantaneously appeared behind her. This left the former gnashing her teeth, but, as this was far from the first time something like this had happened, she ultimately just exhaled a tired sigh before snaking her hands around the uncharacteristically demure Angri''s body and teasing, "It looks like we''re all alone...shall we continue where west left off~?" With a healthy shade of red coloring her cheeks, Angri ceased her struggles entirely, entrusting her body to the mischievous woman caressing her lower abdomen as she intoned a meek, "Nn..." --- Though he wasn''t oblivious to the fact his mood affected the behavior of his Temtes, Vahn spent the better part of fifteen hours spoiling the girls currently apanying him. He simply never got tired of experiencing the subtle differences between each of their reactions, so, even though he felt the usual difort when he was dealing with the more petite members of the Eurasia Family, that didn''t stop him from giving each of them a ''very'' thorough massage. When everything was said and done, Vahn, with a rxed smile on his face, was silently listening to the strangelyforting sound of more than a dozen girls peacefully slumbering around him as he absentmindedly stroked the heads of Fenrir and Mikoto. They, along with Blossom, were still awake, so, with little else to do, they perused the anime linked with his Actualized World of One Piece. This was yet another boon of his [Actualization] Innate, and, thanks to the power she had inherited from him, they were able to witness Nami''s meteoric rise to prominence as an undisputed Empress of the Sea. Though it was a little strange to see a character like Luffy relegated to a background role thanks to Nami solving most of the world''s problems before they got out of hand Vahn couldn''t help smiling whenever he saw shbacks and scenes depicting her battles against legends such as Big Mom and Kaido. In the original story, Nami was simply the Navigator of the Straw Hat Pirates. She wasn''t one of the ''big three'', and, though she possessed a reasonable amount ofbat potential, most of her opponents hardly qualified as legitimate threats. This was a stark contrast to the version of Nami he had created, a powerhouse that could even shatter Kaido''s fist with a seemingly powerless punch... Understanding that the events on screen were actually taking ce in another world, Blossom, who had nestled herself between Vahn''s legs, asked, "How is it that these ''anime'' of yours can have such diverse styles yet exist in the same world? Though the residents of the Tower are certainly diverse in both physique and appearance, some of the people in this world called One Piece have strange and outright oundish proportions..." As this wasn''t his first time being asked this particr question, Vahn''s expression barely changed as he casually exined, "Though they might exist within the same metaversal structure, the Laws governing each world can manifest in a number of unique and interesting ways. Their appearances might seem strange when viewed from the outside, but, the moment you enter such a world, such incongruencies simply don''t exist. Rather, without the ability to expand your perception beyond the restrictions of the Laws, you wouldn''t even notice if your own appearance changed. We''ve taken to referring to this phenomenon as the ''Law of Normalcy'', as, no matter how strange the world might appear from an outsider''s perspective, it appears perfectly normal from within." Surprised by the existence of such a peculiar ''Law'', Blossom fell silent for several seconds before leaning back, willfully nudging Vahn''s sleeping dragon with the back of her head as she asked, "As the creator of these ''Actualized Worlds'', do you see things simrly to the people within or from the same perspective as an observer? I''m not really sure how you could be attracted to anyone within if things appear as they do on screen..." Recalling his attraction to quite a number of ''fictional'' characters in his youth, Vahn''s smile became a little wry as he remarked, "I am able to view things both ways, but, even if that weren''t the case, I would still be able to enjoy the beauty of the worlds in their original form. That is simply how I see the world, and, so long as they do not deviate down a sinister path, I would never besmirch another person for how they view and interact with the world around them. We each have our own unique perspective, and, no matter what anyone else says, everyone has the right to decide for themselves whether or not they enjoy something. In the end, we''re all just looking for what makes us happy..." Though she was a little surprised by the sudden lecture, a teasing smile gradually developed across Blossom''s face as she noticed the traces of embarrassment in Vahn''s countenance. He clearly had a guilty conscience about something he had done in the past, but, rather than attempting to pressure him into revealing the truth, she simply giggled impishly before rolling onto her side and snuggling against the inseam of his trousers. This left Vahn feeling at a loss for words, as, shortly after gettingfortable, a faint sound began to emanate from Blossom''s nose as she promptly entered into his dreamscape to mingle with her daughters... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''RIP Eurasia Family...'',''I''m not sure if this was an extremely epic or profoundly petty exchange...'',''Mischievous little imp...'') Chapter 2002: Urgency : Compromise

Chapter 2002: Urgency : Compromise

With the sky outside gradually brightening, Vahn, feeling a little impatient, began to lightly drum Blossom''s small yet bubbly butt. She always found a way to invert herself whenever they were all sleeping together, so, more often than not, the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes in the morning was her pert posterior a few centimeters away from his face. Some might suspect this was an attempt to get him addicted to her inordinately potent pheromones, but, while this was certainly the case, it was more of an instinct possessed by pure-blooded Mares than actual malice. Feeling gentle yet stimting ripples bounce around her body, Blossom''s eyelids began to twitch, but, rather than opening her eyes, she softly groaned, "Just five more hours..." before attempting to wiggle away. Unfortunately for her, this actually made it significantly easier for Vahn to drum on her bottom, so, having already decided it was time to wake up, he thumbed the hem of her panties into her intergluteal cleft, fully exposing her fair white buttocks before thrumming the tune of one of his favorite anime. Though she was more than a little annoyed by Vahn''s behavior, Blossom was unable to prevent a cute yet sonorous moan from escaping her throat. Even when he was spanking her bottom, Vahn''s hands radiated pleasure andfort instead of pain. Thus, rather than attempting to put a stop to his antics, she allowed the pleasure to build within her body before opening her eyes and nibbling at the zipper of his trousers with her teeth. Realizing what Blossom was trying to do, Vahn gave her bottom an audibly firmer smack, the sound echoing through the room and arousing even the deepest sleepers as he said, "We have a busy day ahead of us. If you want to continue sleeping, you''ll have to stay behind." Shifting her focus away from the throbbing sensationing from her right buttocks, Blossom rose to a seated position before half-turning to face Vahn as she asked, "What''s the rush? It''s not like the Lo Po Bia Family is going anywhere. Besides, we literally have all the time in the world. Don''t tell me you can''t spare a few minutes to make sure we''re all energized and ready to go~?" Rather than immediately responding to Blossom''s goading, Vahn briefly shifted his gaze to Fenrir and Mikoto. Noticing this, the former adopted a slightly serious expression to indicate that she was ready to take his side while thetter, seemingly imagining how things might y out, allowed a bit of red to bleed into her cheeks as she habitually averted her eyes. Though Mikoto''s reaction tickled his fancy quite a bit, the tensions building in Vahn''s body rxed when a monstrous rumble emanated from Yuri''s stomach. This earned her the attention of virtually everyone in the oversized bed, but, demonstrating a remarkableck of concern, she proceeded to brazenly scratch near the base of her tail as shezily inquired, "What''s for breakfast...? Smiling in response to the former Princess'' words, Vahn used Telekinesis to gently lift Blossom from his body as he casually replied, "I was thinking ricotta hotcakes with aged maple dressing, self-serve omelets, and a variety of pastries. If you''re craving something more substantial, I can cook up some rice, sausage, eggs, and-" With a bit of drool escaping the corner of her mouth, a voracious glimmer appeared in Yuri''s deep crimson eyes as she interrupted him to demand, "I want dragon steak with biscuits and gravy...!" Understanding what she meant when she said ''dragon steak'', Vahn''s smile became somewhat wry as he shook his head and said, "Some other time, perhaps. I''m not really in the mood to cook up anything tooplicated right now. Sorry." Though her expression briefly shifted into an exaggerated pout, it didn''t take long for Yuri to adopt her usual smile and answer, "No biggie. You''re the one doing all the work so who am I toin? Cook what you want. So long as it''s made by you, I''m sure it will be delicious~!" Punctuating her words with a surprisingly adorable ''guts pose'', Yuri''s aura immediately shifted to a bright and vibrant yellow to indicate that she wasn''t just giving him lip service. She might prefer to eat specific types of food, but, until now, Vahn had yet to disappoint with any of the dishes he had prepared. Rather, eating his cooking filled her with a tremendous amount of energy, and, as strange as it might sound, she was reasonably certain that she could taste the feelings he infused into each and every meal. Suppressing his sudden urge to go ahead and prepare his trademark brand of dragon steak, Vahn''s smile promptly returned as he advised, "I''m going to head down. You all should go ahead and take a bath. Last night was pretty intense, and, while I don''t particrly mind the smell, it might cause a problem when we visit the Lo Po Bia Family." Though the reaction of most girls was to blush slightly, Yuri responded to Vahn''s words by sniffing her armpits, scrunching up her nose, and saying, "That''s probably a good call. I might not be able to control my anger if one of those arrogant clowns from the Mandrill or Lemuroidea Families chooses toment on my smell..." With the various tribes of the Lo Po Bia Family focusing heavily on strength and bloodline, the fact Yuri now possessed a monkey-like tail was more than enough justification for the members of a few families to target her. It didn''t matter that she was out of their reach, and, so long as there was even a chance they might be able to woo her, the various primate tribes would do everything within their power to either capture or ingratiate themselves to her. She could even take over the position of an Elder or a Matriarch if she really wanted to, but, having no such desires, Yuri was already thinking of ways to mask her scent before the impending encounter. Fortunately, there were a number of methods at her disposal, as, even as far back as the Record of Danmachi, Vahn had been forced to acquire techniques and shampoos to mask both his scent and the scent of others. He had even developed a version of his self-made ''cleaning magic'' that would linger for several weeks, passively preventing the build-up of dirt and grime while simultaneously masking the recipient''s natural aroma. If he was especially serious, he could even manipte the Laws topletely ''erase'' the concept of a person''s aroma, but, as personal odor was surprisingly important for mental wellness, he had never needed to resort to such extremes... --- While most of the girls were enjoying a rxing in the hot springs-like bath, Vahn found himself unable to suppress a smile as he snuck nces at Mikoto humming at the side in a frilly pink apron. She enjoyed cooking nearly as much as he did, so, ever since she had returned from the exploration group, she had been helping to prepare meals. Though she could sense Vahn''s gaze whenever he shifted his attention her way, Mikoto did her best to appearpletely oblivious. If he were ''serious'', he wouldn''t even need to look her way to grasp even the individual molecules in her body, so, with Vahn behaving like a boy paired with his crush in a Home Economics ss, Mikoto couldn''t help humoring him. She was even tempted to tease him a bit, but, having stepped on thatndmine more than a few times during their stay in the Actualized World of Toaru, she ultimately managed to restrain the urge. As thoughts of ''home'' crossed her mind, Mikoto couldn''t help thinking about what all of her friends and family were up to. She knew Vahn had effectively stopped time following their departure yet, as was often the case, the mind failed to think rationally when influenced by sentimentality. Thus, for a very brief moment, her hands slowed as memories of the past began to surge forth like a wave that had just breached a floodgate. Sensing the not-so-subtle change in Mikoto''s aura, Vahn''s own actions ceased as he instinctually wrapped his arms around her body, asking, "What''s wrong?" in a concerned tone. Since her mncholy hadsted less than a single second, Mikoto found herself habitually rolling her eyes as she answered, "You''re too sensitive..." before following it up with a demure, "I''m fine..." With familial longing having be a perpetual acquaintance of his, Vahn knew when others were experiencing something simr. Thus, even though they had previously promised to put off visiting until he had reached the Divine Realm, his tone became gentle yet resonating as he asked, "Do you want to return home for a short while? I''m sure you would feel much better..." Feeling Vahn''s words spread through her body, Mikoto felt as though the marrow in her bones was vibrating as a pleasant warmth suffused her entire being. Despite this, she managed to set aside her kitchen knife before leaning into his embrace and softly replying, "Dummy...you shouldn''t be using your Authority for something like this..." Resisting the urge to chuckle in response to the chastizing remark, Vahn kissed the top of Mikoto''s head before proceeding to gently rock her body as he said, "I''d rather use it for things like this than to truly force someone''s hand...if I can make things a little easier for the people I love, I don''t mind being shameless..." Having experienced quite a bit of Vahn''s shamelessness, an exasperated sigh parted Mikoto''s lips as she ovepped her hands with his and muttered, "You can''t make me say it..." Though he could easily do exactly that, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation before strengthening his hold on the bashful brte and saying, "I''d like to visit the Toaruverse. Even if little to no time has passed from their perspective, I''m sure everyone will be happy to see us...I''m feeling excited just thinking about it..." Rolling her eyes in response to Vahn''s words, Mikoto entrusted her full weight to his embrace as she half-heartedly retorted, "It sounds to me like you just want to have another orgy..." Unable to suppress hisughter, a jovial chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat, his voice taking on a teasing tone as he asked, "Remind me...who was it that proposed the idea of linking her senses with her ''sisters'' in order to spur the development of their individuality...?" With her face turning redder than a tomato, sparks began to emanate from Mikoto''s ahoge as she found herself at aplete loss for words. Vahn had actually done his best to behave as a unique aspect of her esper abilities during the early days of their time in the Toaruverse. In the end, it was she who asked him to take a more proactive role in things, as, despite possessing far greater power than even Aleister, she couldn''t protect everything on her own. It was impossible to y the part of a normal middle-schooler while meddling in the affairs of global organizations, so, more often than not, it was Vahn working behind the scenes that allowed them to reach a ''happy end''. Remembering the time she had given Vahn the green light to sleep with her mother, an offer he had ultimately refused, Mikoto''s face became a dangerous shade of crimson before she ultimately reverted to her Pikachu form in order to hide the evidence of her embarrassment. Then, despite his previous ims that there were more important matters to attend, time began to slow to a crawl as Vahn and Mikoto disappeared into thin air. This was immediately followed by them ''popping'' back into existence, but, from the perspective of the duo, weeks had passed in less time than the blink of an eye... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''*Cowboy Bebop Theme Intensifies*'',''Never change, Yuri...'',''Mikoto is a closet pervert...'') Chapter 2003: A Certain Scientific Side Story (Part 1)

Chapter 2003: A Certain Scientific Side Story (Part 1)

With Mikoto having made her decision, Vahn descended into the infinite expanse of space representing his Internalized Realm. There, floating among countless star-like motes of light, one stood out among the rest due to the sheer power of the entities contained within. While the individuals within were ultimately limited by his Soul Tier, Vahn''s ongoing struggle against the Ethereal Queen had taught him to never look down upon a Tier 5. Many represented abstract concepts that couldn''t be ovee with raw power, so, while his power represented the absolute limit any being within an Actualized World could achieve, it didn''t mean he couldn''t be defeated. Fortunately, even if a being were to, somehow, erase his existence, there was nothing they could do to prevent him from entering anew. He was the lynchpin supporting the continued existence of each Actualized World, so, unless they somehow transcended their very existence, there was no way for them to inflictsting injuries on his mind, body, or spirit. Confident in his tenacity, if nothing else, Vahn allowed his consciousness to descend towards the Actualized World of the Toaruverse. This caused the mote of light to expand rapidly, its form shifting from a single point to a nebulous globule representing a functionally infinite metaverse. Descending even deeper, guided by his intent, it wasn''t long before Vahn found himself in one of the many ''gaps'' that existed between reality and non-existence. Here, everything within the Actualized World could be manifested with a simple thought, as, more often than not, such gaps contained what could be called the source code of reality. Thus, so long as you knew how to interface with it, you could even manifest, replicate, or outright erase entire multiverses from existence. Though his understanding of the ''gap'' was far fromplete, Vahn could still use it to search for and create virtually anything. As a result, it wasn''t long before he found himself standing across from a visibly confused and secretly terrified Goddess. This was entirely within his expectations, but, seeing the inordinately beautiful goddess sitting behind a rtively in-looking wooden desk, he couldn''t help asking, "Are you the Goddess that presides over reincarnation?" Rather than immediately answering his question, the silver-haired beauty pressed a tiny red button located beneath her desk before asking, "Who are you?" in a nervous tone. Immediately after that, a woman with dark-red hair, crimson eyes, and horns reminiscent of a demon burst into the room, shouting, "What the fuck do you want, you old-" Noticing Vahn''s presence before she could finish her exmation, the demonic woman''s face became a caricature of surprise as she quickly assumed what appeared to be a beginner''s karate stance. This caused Vahn''s brows to raise, not because her stance wascking, but because it caused her short secretarial skirt to hike up her thighs, effectively shing her panties. Recalling the tremendous amount of fanservice present within the source material, Vahn elected not to draw attention to the demoness'' wardrobe malfunction. Instead, he returned his attention to the beautiful goddess at his front, passively admiring her golden hair, gxy-like eyes, and elf-like ears as he stated, "I''m not here to cause any trouble. Rather, I''vee to ask for a favor." With the ability to see through and discern the truth of all things, an innate ability possessed by virtually every God of Reincarnation, much of the Goddess'' anxieties vanished as she answered, "Before that, can you please exin how you entered this ce? Even Progenitor Gods cannot enter my domain without an invitation. You also seem tock a fate, or, at the very least, one I cannot discern..." Though he had never been fond of interrogations, Vahn decided to cut the goddess a bit of ck, answering, "There is no ce within creation that I cannot tread. As for the matter of my fate...hmmm...I suppose the easiest way to exin it is that I represent the starting point of fate? As ridiculous as that sounds, it''s not far from the truth in this particr instance..." Detecting no falsehoods in Vahn''s words, cold sweat began to manifest across the Goddess'' body as she asked, "If you are who you im to be, what possible reason could you have foring here? You can''t possibly be intending to reincarnate into one of the Lower Worlds...right?" Waving in a gesture of dismissal, Vahn both assured and frightened the goddess by casually replying, "As I stated previously, there is no ce in the entire Order of Creation I cannot tread. My reason foring here is so that you can transmigrate someone else at my behest. I could always take care of it personally, but I''d rather avoid stepping on too many toes. In exchange...let''s say I''ll award you a single request. So long as it within my power as the God of Infinite Possibilities to provide, there are no limits to what you can demand." Though she had yet to detect even a trace of falsehood in the unknown entity''s words, the goddess was beginning to consider the possibility that her powers didn''t work on him. The problem with this assertation was that it didn''t make sense. He clearly possessed the ability to, at the very least, enter her office, so, while it was difficult to believe his other ims, it was hard to refute them outright. Taking into consideration the fact her boss hadn''t shown up to intervene, the goddess decided to ere on the side of caution, slowly nodding as she said, "Very well. While I can''t make any guarantees, I will do my very best to assist you..." Tilting his head in confusion, Vahn resisted the urge to summon the Law of Identity to his side and instead remarked, "You''re speaking as if you''re uncertain about something. Tell me, what is the issue?" Offering a wry smile in response, the goddess went on to exin, "Every life that transitions from one cycle to another must pay a toll. For mortals, this is generally the karma they have umted throughout their life. If the person you have in mind cannot afford the cost, it is beyond my power to force a transmigration. Under normal circumstances, Gods can sponsor mortals they have taken an interest in, but, as you have no standing within the godlymunity, there is very little I can do..." Realizing the problem, Vahn briefly considered paying a personal visit to the Gods in charge of the Toaruverse before immediately dismissing the idea and pausing the world around him. Then, taking full advantage of the [Causality Maniption] provided by his [Actualization] Innate, he made a few minor tweaks to the flow of fate before allowing things to resume and saying, "It shouldn''t be an issue." Unaware of what Vahn had just done, a conflicted look developed across the face of the inordinately beautiful goddess as she helplessly replied, "I pray that is the case..." (A/N: This wille down after about an hour. I''ll be posting short chapters to continue the story over the next few days since a lot of people have been asking for it. Make sure you''re checking out my pat.reon for updates :P) Chapter 2004: Lurking

Chapter 2004: Lurking

Having been keeping tabs on Pram ever since her departure, Vahn was well aware of the duel scheduled to take ce between her and Yasratcha. He was also aware of what her family had been going through thest couple of weeks, but, considering how they had treated others over thest several thousand years, he wasn''t in a hurry to bail them out. Instead, he used their predicament to observe how the other branches would react despite knowing his visit was inevitable. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of the branch families had taken advantage of the Snow Leopard Family''s fall from grace. This was rtively normal within the Lo Po Bia Family, but, due to the Snow Leopard Family''s mismanagement of the Name Hunt Station, they had umted a considerable amount of resentment amongst the branches they had previously looked down upon. Simply put, Pram and the Snow Leopard Family were effectively reaping what they had sewn during the time they were in power. They had suppressed several weaker branches using their status, and, as could be seen in their treatment of the Grey Wolf Family, they weren''t against annihting other branches for personal gain. This was the consequence their past actions demanded, so, rather than immediately intervening in the fight, Vahn and his rather sizeable entourage were silently observing the proceedings from within a bubblepletely isted from the Primary Axis of Reality. Unaware of this, Pram began to tremble from embarrassment and fury as Yasratcha, now sporting a visage reminiscent of a hyena, continued tough at her expense. To make matters even worse, the crowd had started to join in, manyughing alongside Yasratcha while others began to jeer and cat-call the once-dominant Elder of the Snow Leopard. Unable to contain her anger, Pram''s inordinately fluffy hair seemed to billow even more than usual as she raised her face to reveal moistened yet furious eyes. This caused an eerie silence to descend upon the crowd within her field of view, and, though he was sublimely confident in his power, even Yasratcha tensed up under the scorned beauty''s gaze. After all, despite the rather drastic difference in their power, status, and authority, Pram''s bloodline was actually of a higher quality than his own With feelings of resentment and inferiority swelling from the deepest recesses of his subconscious mind, Yasratcha''s muscles began to noticeably bulge as he leaned forward, ws and fangs bared as he eximed, "You dare look at me with such eyes!? What, you think you''re better than me!?" Without waiting for Pram''s response, Yasratcha lunged forward with extreme momentum, the arena shuddering as he shouted, "You''re nothing!" Punctuating his words, Yasratcha swept forward with his right hand, massive des erupting from his dagger-like nails. At the same time, the momentum of his charge caused a massive eruption of dust and debris to spread through the arena, heavily impacting the barrier that had been erected to protect the spectators. Despite several des of energy tearing towards her, Pram surprised everyone by jumping forward to meet Yasratcha''s assault. His attack had been meant to maim, not kill, so, having already formed her resolve, she dismissed any thoughts of protecting her body and instead focused exclusively on offense. This caused the hairs across Yasratcha''s body to stand on end, as, despite being one of the most dominant figures within the Lo Po Bia Family, he was actually terrified of pain. Deciding he would rather not fight the crazed woman up close, Yasratcha immediately ditched his assault and instead leaped into the air while releasing several more des of cobalt-blue Shinsu. If Pram wasn''t going to try and defend herself, there was no reason to pressure her directly. He also specialized in long-range attacks, so, immediately following his retreat, he condensed the Shinu in the surroundings to form a physical wall resembling an ashen-grey cat''s tail covered in razor-sharp spines Gritting her teeth, Pram powered through Yasratcha''s des of energy without flinching. Her body had be remarkably durable over the course of her inordinately long life, and, thanks to the frosty white aura covering her body, most of the des couldn''t even prate her clothes, much less her flesh. Were it not for the shockwaves spreading through her body and violently shaking her organs, she might have been able to blitz Yasratcha before he realized what was happening. Seeing Pram approaching him like an icy missile, Yasratcha''s pupils contracted into thin lines as he dodged to the side and shouted, "You''ve finally shown your true colors! Tell me, how many times did you need to open your legs before that dragon bastard rewarded you with such a technique!?" Ignoring Yasratcha''s words, Pram kicked off the air as if it was solid ground, swiftly changing her direction before instantaneously elerating to rtivistic speeds. This was a little dangerous in a closed arena, but, having already forgone defense, she didn''t care if she crashed into the barrier or pierced through the ceiling. So long as she couldnd a solid hit on Yasratcha''s face, she would be more than content with any oue. Trusting in his instincts, Yasratcha didn''t even attempt to counter or block Pram''s attack. Instead, he allowed the three-hundred-meter long ''tail'' to thrash about atplete random as he backed into a spatial ripple that allowed him to instantaneously teleport away. This ended up being the correct decision, as, immediately thereafter, Pram ended up bursting through the tail like a bullet piercing a sheet of paper before smashing, hard, into the barrier protecting the ceiling --- Excited by the uncharacteristic manner in which Pram was battling, Yuri couldn''t help pumping her fists in excitement as she shouted, "Yeah! You go girl! Punt that furry fucker in the balls!" With Yuri shouting immediately next to his ear, Vahn was about to remind her that nobody outside could hear her when he noticed even Fenrir standing with her paws clenched into fists, fully focused on the fight. This came as a moderate surprise, as, even when Pram was effectively living with them, Fenrir had never demonstrated any fondness for the opportunistic woman. Rather, had he not been there to act as an intermediary, he could easily imagine Fenrir maiming, crippling, or outright killing Pram for ever thinking she could use the Empire for her own ends Noticing her Master''s gaze, Fenrir lowered her paws before casually informing him, "I can sense it. She still has a long way to go but Pram is no longer the bad girl she used to be. She doesn''t defend herself because she sincerely believes you will step in to protect her when she needs you most." Though he was already aware of the reason for Pram''s self-destructive behavior, hearing Fenrir say it caused Vahn''s heart to briefly tense. Before he could even think about putting a stop to the fight, however, Fenrir went on to add, "She believes you are watching over her, so, even if it costs her life, she is willing to sacrifice everything in order to expose the ws of her family for correcting" Hearing what Fenrir said, Yuri shifted her attention away from the fight for a brief moment, brows raised as she asked, "Are you sure about that? It seems to me she''s justshing out because that cat bastard reminded everyone about the incident where she pissed herself." Furrowing her brows, Fenrir was about to say something in Pram''s defense when Vahn, shaking his head, said, "There''s no sense in arguing about the reason. Either way, Pram seems like she is willing to go all the way. For now, let''s continue observ-" Before Vahn could even finish speaking, a Snow Leopard more than fifty meters in height and three times that in length erupted from the bell nestled above Pram''s breasts as a feral roar escaped her throat. This was the Guardian Beast that had been gifted to the Snow Leopard Family by the Leader of the Lo Po Bia Family himself, so, while it was a little strange to consider it a Divine Fish, it was still one of the most powerful Shinheuh in the Tower --- Seeing the massive Snow Leopard descending towards him, Yasratcha cursed under his breath as he swept both hands forward to literally ''bend'' the arena''s floor around him. This might seem pointless considering his own charge was able to rend the terrain asunder, but, thanks to his inordinately rare Shinsu Quality, he could manipte, strengthen, and even disassemble inorganic matter his field of control. The only downside was that conflicting fields of Shinsu directly interfered with his ability to control matter, so, even though he had invested decades of his childhood learning how to strangle people with their clothes, it was utterly useless against Wave Controllers and anyone even remotely close to his level. Fortunately, most Rankers were ustomed to fighting aerial battles, so, more often than not, they didn''t even think to infuse their Shinsu into the surrounding terrain. This made it exceptionally easy to control, and, unless they possessed a specialized or A-Rank Lighthouse, he could easily escape a disadvantageous situation by creating an astonishingly durable dome and burrowing deep into the ground below. This was a domain few could freely trespass, so, even if they could detect him, most people could only bombard the ground with powerful attacks in a futile attempt to bury him. Unaware of this, as Yasratcha had effectively be inactive thousands of years ago, Pram ordered her Guardian Beast to direct its most powerful attack towards the spiraling mound generated by her opponent. This caused it to issue a high-pitched roar that shook the very foundations of the arena, yet, in spite of this, the peculiar mound seemedpletely unfazed. Instead, its exterior darkened to resemble a deep earthy brown that glistened beneath the light emanating from the barrier --- Having never developed a real filter for her words, Yuri gave voice to the thought that had crossed nearly everyone''s mind, asking, "Is it just me, or does that dirt barrier look like a pile of sh*t? I can''t be the only one seeing this." Unable to contain herself, an impish giggle emanated from Blossom''s throat before she nodded her head and mused, "It''s very fitting, don''t you think~?" Though Vahn was able to maintain a rtively straight expression in response to Yuri''s remark, the corners of his mouth began to twitch when nearly everyone nodded their heads in concert. Most of the girls surrounding him had rather ''youthful'' appearances, so, seeing them react in the same way was not only adorable but amusing. Noticing the change in Vahn''s expression, a massive grin spread across Yuri''s face as she asked, "If it was you, I bet you could literally assail your enemies with endless waves of sh*t, huh? Or, better ye-" While he wasn''t exactly sure what she was going to suggest, Vahn gestured with his left hand, and, as a result, Yuri''s mouth vanished from her face. This surprised even him as his original intent wasn''t to erase her mouth from existence but to momentarily seal it. This demonstrated just how much the current battle had affected him, as, despite appearing rxed on the surface, his mind was still in a state of disarray due to Fenrir''s previous remarks. Instinctually reversing the flow of time for everyone except himself and Mikoto, Vahn''s face paled imperceptibly as Yuri, grinning from ear to ear, went on to say, "If it was you, I bet you could literally assail your enemies with endless waves of sh*t, huh? Or, better yet, you could probably drown them in semen. That should keep most people from even thinking about opposing you. Heck, I bet most people wouldn''t even admit to having fought you! Ahahahahahahaha~." Resisting the urge to rub his temples, Vahn forced a smile before shaking his head and turning his attention back to the fight. He really didn''t know what to say in response to Yuri''s words, and, due to his little ''ident'', he was currently feeling a little sheepish. Fortunately, this feeling onlysted for a few seconds, not because the fight had suddenly be interesting, but because his [Will of the Emperor] had finally decided to kick in (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''If you ain''t ready to do the time, don''tmit the crime~!'',''Pram be like, "Abandon humanity, return to gato"'',''I meanit WOULD be pretty effective'') Chapter 2005: She Who Is Death

Chapter 2005: She Who Is Death

With Yasratcha''s energy signature vanishing from her perception, Pram, with blood dripping from her forehead, began to condense as many Baangs as she could in preparation for her next attack. This was a fight that prohibited the use of weapons, so, without her prized Needle, her strongest ability was the technique she had learned during her training with Fenrir. It allowed her to bolster her physical characteristics to extremes that simple Baangs couldn''t achieve, and, more importantly, it stimted her nervous system to provide a rather drastic increase in reaction and response time. Though raw speed was generally considered the most important factor when it came to fighting potential, it was useless without the reaction time to keep up with and guide your own attacks. It also provided little benefit when your opponent could simply shrug off your most powerful attacks, as, even if you could move near lightspeeds, that didn''t mean you could strike at lightspeeds. After all, unless you had some kind of technique to redirect counter-forces away from your body, hitting a foe at the speed of light was the same as hitting yourself at the speed of light. This was the main reason people near the top still used weapons, as, more often than not, it was simply impossible to go all out with their actual bodies. Ignoring this logic entirely, Pram began to absorb a phenomenal amount of Shinsu into her body withplete and utter disregard for the consequences. Strangely enough, this didn''t result in her body swelling due to the increased density of her muscles. Instead, her affinity with Yin Elemental Energy caused the energy within her body to enhance her feminine characteristics to a surprising extent. The most noticeable of these changes was her ashen-silver hair turning pitch ck, but, as soon as you looked past this, your heart would seize up upon realizing how indescribably beautiful she had be. Not only had Pram''s already striking features be even more outstanding, but, contrasting her rtively petite stature from before, her height had increased to approximately 180cm. Even more noticeable than this, however, was that her breasts and butt appeared as though they were trying to liberate themselves from the fabric containing them. While these were the features that stood out to virtually everyone watching the fight, Vahn''s mind had stalled when he saw how much longer and fluffier Pram''s tail had be. Previously, it had been around 120cm in length. Now that her body was saturated with Yin Elemental Energy, it was nearly twice as long, and, more importantly, thick enough that it looked like she could conceal her body within if she really wanted to. As thoughts of doing the same crossed his mind, Vahn''s expression became inordinately serious as he noticed the major drawback of Pram''s unexpected transformation. Though her fair skin made it difficult to discern, the very tips of her fingers and toes had started to freeze due to her inability to properly control and regte the energy within her body. A simr phenomenon was urring in the energy pathways of her body, so, while her power had increased rather drastically, it wouldn''t be long before the chillingly cold energypletely froze and crippled her body. Even if she could hear Vahn''s thoughts, Pram wouldn''t have expressed any fear. She had already formed her resolve, so, even if she ended uppletely ruining her body, she was willing to do so if it meant defeating her opponent. She also felt as though she had just broken through some kind of limiter, so, even if Vahn didn''t step in to save her, she no longer had any regrets. This power was clearly something she had obtained as a result of the time she had spent at his side. Thus, even this battle ultimately resulted in her death, she was content knowing Iifa and Nio would one day surpass her... Believing wholeheartedly that Vahn would never allow the Snow Leopard Family to face extinction, a smile spread across Pram''s face as she directed her ice-blue eyes towards an extremely faint energy signature. One of the major ws in Yasratcha''s ability was that, without a lighthouse or something simr, his senses were just as muted as his opponent. They might not be able to detect him, but, in that same vein, he could only detect energy within a few hundred meters whilst underground. Though she was actually aware of this w, the fact she could sense, not just Yasratcha''s, but the life force of virtually everyone in the stands, filled Pram with the instinctual urge to ''erase'' them all from existence. She could even make out a mysterious me burning near the heart of virtually everyone present, the only exception being the chestnut-haired man sitting next to her father... Restraining the urge to go on a killing spree, Pram ordered her Family''s Guardian Beast to return to its Bowl. To her surprise, it actually refused toe anywhere near her, fear visible in its pale-blue eyes as the hairs across its body stood on end. This left her feeling more than a little confused, as, despite having a limited number of techniques at their disposal, the Guardian Beasts of each branch family were exponentially stronger than the Elders they served. They could also reform their bodies so long as their Bowl remained intact, so, in the long history of the Lo Po Bia Family, it was unheard of for a Guardian Beast to fear the Anima controlling it... Feeling an emotion simr to disdain rising from the back of her mind, Pram''s smile faded away as she ordered the inordinatelyrge feline to flee to the periphery of the arena. This was an order the creature happily obliged, as, from the moment she had transformed, the central thought in its mind had been to get as far away from the abyssal-ck-haired beauty as possible. Her presence felt like death itself, and, while it would readily sacrifice itself under normal circumstances, its instincts were practically screaming ''run away''. With her Guardian Beast seemingly fleeing for its life, Pram was marginally surprised to hear a snort escape her nose as she followed its departure with her eyes. She normally revered the creature that had protected her family for numerous generations, yet, here, at this moment, she felt as though it was beyond pathetic. Rather, with the exception of the three monstrous entities observing her with differing degrees of intrigue, she felt as though everyone else was simply taking up space they had no right to upy... Doing her best to suppress these dark thoughts, Pram spread her arms with the intent to create as many Baangs as possible. To her surprise, the normally bluish-white swirls of energy had gained an unnerving ck hue, and, for a brief moment, her own instincts kicked in, demanding she cease her current course of action. Instead, she focused on stabilizing two massive Baangs of Shinsu, a vicious smile appearing across her face even as visible cracks began appearing on her arms and legs. Though he had no idea what Pram was up to, rm bells were sounding in Yasratcha''s mind as he attempted to develop deeper into the ground. Unfortunately, the barrier surrounding the arena also extended below the surface, so, even if he wanted to descend much further, the maximum depth he could achieve was a mere three-kilometers. This might sound like a lot, but, considering there were High Rankers able to erase mountains with single Baangs of Shinsu, a cold sweat developed across Yasratcha''s body as he instinctually hardened his surroundings... --- With even Yuri having fallen silent, Vahn and his entourage''s expressions mirrored those of the masses as they witnessed Pram emit a st of energy that seemed to erase everything in its path. In actuality, the attack was actually decaying everything it impacted at an extreme rate. There was only one Law that came to mind when seeing this, but, before he could recover from his shock, it was Fenrir who muttered, "Death..." in a somber and serious tone. Without doing so consciously, Vahn nodded in response to Fenrir''s utterance before opening his Unit Management to confirm Pram''s status. Unsurprisingly, her Soul Tier had increased from three to four, and, though shecked a Divinity, she wouldn''t be lying if she began referring to herself as a Goddess of Death. After all, listed alongside her previous three, she now possessed a rather scary-sounding Innate called [She Who Is Death]. This was actually the Sanskrit trantion ascribed to the Goddess Kali, so, while it didn''t directly link her to the legendary Mahavidya, the fact it was listed as a Mind Innate indicated it wouldn''t be long before Pram began to think and behave like a Goddess of Death and Destruction... Though it wasn''t his first time witnessing someone awaken an Innate, Pram''s breakthrough, while worrying, provided a considerable amount of insight. Her ''evolution'', if it could be called that, was abination of her past circumstances, the changes she had undergone whilst spending time with him, the burden ced upon her after the fact, and, most importantly, her resolve to both face and ''ovee'' her impending end. He imagined his periodic ''infusions'' of Source Energy also yed a part in her awakening, but, in the end, it was Pram''s heartfelt desire to ''move forward'' that allowed her to bridge the seemingly insurmountable chasm between Tiers 3 and 4... --- Ignoring the red crystals king away from the stumps where her hands used to be, the smile on Pram''s face grew to a point that it began to detract from her world-shaking beauty. After all, not only had Yasratcha''s energy signaturepletely vanished, a crater extending all the way to the barrier now dominated the barren and lifelessndscape. Before the fight had started, there had actually been a number of trees and shrubs decorating thendscape within the arena. Now, the only living being within the arena was herself, her family''s Guardian Beast, and a number of eerie ck nts that hadn''t existed prior to her attack... With a full minute passing without any signs of Yasratcha appearing, a sudden and intense urge tough spread through Pram''s body. Unfortunately, this was apanied by a tremendous amount of pain, so, rather than the elegantughter she was known for, pained cackles emanated from her throat as a ck aura erupted from the cracks spreading across her body. Before she even realized what was happening, tears began to pour down her face, but, no matter how hard she tried to rein it in, the ck aura continued to expand as herughter caused the hearts and bodies of thousands to tense in fear... --- Showing far greater concern than the duo at his side, a schrly-looking man with sleek brown hair, sharp eyes, and a neatly trimmed beard turned towards his green-hairedpanion covered in pale-golden fur, asking, "Are we just going to sit here and watch? If the barrier fails to hold, your family will lose a lot more than two Elders..." Responding before the green-haired man could speak, a sharply-dressed man with chestnut-brown hair and simrly brown eyes remarked, "The Tu Perie Family is bing bolder with each passing day..." before adjusting his silver-framed sses and adding, "This barrier was painstakingly erected using techniques developed by my Research Association. Its durability is such that even the three of us would not be able to shatter it in a short period of time. Even if the Sage Dragon Emperor fails to make an appearance, that woman will destroy herself long before the barrier ispromised." Frowning in response to the man''s words, the schrly-looking individual''s voice hardened as he countered, "I would have thought the man praised as the most intelligent within the Tower would be able to understand the repercussions of losing two branch leaders. If Lady Pram dies here, the conflict between the Snow Leopard and Forest Cat Families will-" Rather than waiting for his former colleague to finish, the sharply-dressed man, Po Bidau Gustang, adopted a re of his own as he tly replied, "I would advise you to learn how to think before you attempt to lecture others. Don''t assume everyone is limited by your apparent inability to think, Lord Tu Perie. Unlike you, I have properly considered every oue, inevitable or otherwise. Were there any doubt in my mind that the Sage Dragon Emperor would show up, do you think I would be here right now? Ah, my apologies. I already drew attention to your apparent inability to think, yet here I am assuming you are capable of more than simply spewing titudes. Now, cease your thering. If my calctions are correct, the Sage Dragon Emperor will be arriving any moment. Simply seeing him appear has more value than speaking with you for an entire year so stop wasting my time with your meaningless drivel." Finished with what he had to say, Gustang erected a sound dampening barrier between him and the glowering Tperie. This caused thetter''s expression to darken, but, understanding the futility of trying to argue with Gustang, he quickly regained his calm before turning his attention to Lo Po Bia in an attempt to convince him to act. Instead, his words got caught in his throat as the fur-covered man excitedly muttered, "He''s here...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''It''s so fluffy that I just might die...'',''Embrace the darkness...'',''Apply cold water to burned area...'') Chapter 2006: Friendship : Proxy

Chapter 2006: Friendship : Proxy

Though the energy radiating from Pram''s body was exceptionally dangerous, Vahn managed to appear less than three meters away from her without fear or trepidation. It had been quite some time since he feared his own death, and, while he wasn''t inherently immune to the energy she was casting off, she was far from the level of being able to influence him with her powers. Not only had he been a God of Creation in various worlds, but, even as far back as Danmachi, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say Vahn had been a ''Master'' of death. His understanding of the Laws rted to the concept wasn''t all that far behind his mastery over creation. This could be attributed to his rtionship with not one, but four Goddesses of Death. Melding with them had provided a tremendous amount of insight into the nigh-universally feared Law, but, even before that, Vahn had always been afraid of others dying more than experiencing it himself. After all, once he had received the path, death had just be another part of his journey... Paying no mind to the frigid ck energy washing over the surface of his body, Vahn approached the now blind and bloodied Pram before wrapping his arms around her. This surprised the balding beauty quite a bit, but, the moment she felt his energy flowing into her body, profound relief could be seen in her face as she immediately lost consciousness. Then, to the surprise of everyone in the crowd, both she and Vahn appeared to ''flicker'' in ce as every injury on Pram''s body miraculously vanished. In reality, he had stopped time to both treat her condition and have a conversation, but, from the perspective of the average onlooker, Pram''s recovery had been instantaneous. Since she had asked to stick around until everything had dealt with, Vahn ruffled Pram''s hair before asking her to join the rather sizeable group of beauties that had appeared out of thin air. Then, with a far more serious expression on his face, hepletely ignored the crowd as he looked toward the trio seated in the VIP section, questioning, "How long do you intend to remain seated? You''ve spent the better part of a month preparing for my arrival. Are you expecting me to greet you first?" Though his words had earned him the ire of virtually everyone in the crowd, this quickly changed to respect when Lord Lo Po Bia rose to his feet, a warm smile forming upon his face as he performed a courteous bow and said, "We wee the Sage Dragon Emperor to our home. It is one of our life''s greatest honors to finally make your acquaintance..." Had Vahn not already defeated numerous Family Leaders, Lo Po Bia would have never lowered his head without a fight. The Family Leaders he happened to defeat were also among the strongest in the entire Tower, so, while this was a matter that could only be settled with a fight, he already knew where he stoodpared to Vahn. Rather, if Eduan''s words were to be believed, any one of Vahn''s subordinates might be able topletely dominate a Great Family... With their Lord lowering his head, everyone in the crowd, including those who genuinely hated the Aldrnari Empire, immediately mirrored his action. They couldn''t disrespect someone their Lord had paid obeisance to, so, even before the fight had begun, much of the hatred directed towards Vahn, at least from the lower-ranking members of the branch families, had already begun to fade away. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn briefly shifted his attention from the cat-like ears atop Lo Po Bia''s head and instead focused on the pale-brown eyes of Gustang. This caused the man''s focus to shift away from Blossom and Enne, his pupils contracting ever-so-slightly the moment his eyes met Vahn''s. He could tell, even without a single exchange of words, that Vahn wasn''t going to overlook his past and current actions. Instantaneously losing interest in the fight that was about to take ce, Gustang rose from his seat, saying, "I have important matters to attend..." before promptly teleporting away. This left thest of the three men profoundly confused, but, having never gotten along with Gustang, not even in their younger days, he didn''t particrly mind the man''s absence. Instead, he rose to his feet, and, much like Lo Po Bia, bowed courteously as he said, "The Lord of the Tu Perie Family recognizes the Great Sun of the Aldnari Empire. We are honored by your presence." With the sudden departure of Gustang, Vahn''s mood had improved quite a bit, so, in response to Tperie''s greeting, he adopted a friendly smile and said, "There''s no need for that. While we have yet to formalize the rtionship, the Tu Perie and Aldrnari Families can be said to be on friendly terms." Punctuating his words, Vahn gestured with his right hand, and, as a result, a bespectacled brte wearing clothes reminiscent of a mechanic manifested out of thin air. This surprised both Tperie and the woman in question, but, quickly realizing the situation, the intellectual beauty waved toward the former, smiling as she said, "Grandfather. Though unexpected, it is good to see you." As it had been more than a month since he had heard his Granddaughter''s voice, visible relief could be seen in Tperie''s expression until he noticed her state of dress. Her upper body was veiled in what appeared to be a pale-grey sports bra, and, while this wasn''t exactly appropriate, what puzzled him was the distinctck of ''something'' his Granddaughter was rtively known for... With a very subtle blush coloring her cheeks, more from embarrassment than anything else, the woman, Yvonne, promptly tapped the bracelet on her wrist. This caused a pale-blue light to sh across her body, instantaneously changing her attire to something more suitable. At the same time, she unequipped the top Vahn had crafted for her, a rather unique garment that was enchanted with a function that allowed female wearers to effectively store their breasts in a sub-dimensional space. While this might seem like a useless function in the eyes of some, it was a godsend for women withrge breasts who enjoyed manualbor and physical exertion. After all, unless you were performing a ''very specific'' kind of exertion,rge breasts, more often than not, just got in the way. Realizing he had been seen through, an awkward expression appeared on Tperie''s face as he pulled out a cloth to habitually clean his square-rimmed sses. Then, acting as if nothing had happened, he exhaled a bit of condensation onto the lenses before answering, "I am also pleased to see you in good health. If time permits, I would like to hear about what you and the Research Team have been up to thesest few weeks. I would also be grateful for the opportunity to personally investigate the Little Garden, but, even if I am refused entry, I would understand and ept His Imperial Majesty''s decision..." With his final few words directed towards Vahn, Tperie was hoping the former would help him to alleviate the awkward tensions he had unintentionally incited. Fortunately for him, Vahn found his reaction rather refreshing, as, unlike the other Family Leaders he had encountered, Tperie appeared rtively normal and down-to-earth. This was in spite of the fact his political power and authority being second only to Jahad''s, a position that would have invariably corrupted the vast majority of people. Understanding that Tperie''s interest in the Little Garden was the result of genuine intrigue and curiosity, Vahn decided to throw the man a bone, saying, "I would not turn away a friend if they came knocking at my door. Though I cannot promise you permanent residence, I would be more than happy to give you a tour of my home. I''m sure Yvonne would also enjoy the opportunity to present her findings rather than having topile them into a report. Her efforts have not been without a few remarkable results." Though she was somewhat used to his flowery words, Yvonne still blushed upon hearing Vahn''s praise. Truth be told, she felt like a child fumbling with blocks whenparing herself to members of the Aldrnari Empire''s R&D Division, so, hearing Vahn speak her praises with a sincere smile on his face, it was impossible to prevent her heart from skipping a few beats. He was also the man she had dedicated the majority of her ''firsts'' to, so, even if it was only lip service, receiving his praise in front of a crowd of thousands made her feel as though she had aplished something worthwhile... Noticing Yvonne turn her pristine blue eyes up at him, an affectionate smile spread across Vahn''s face as he instinctually extended his hand to caress her hair. This caused the blush on her face to intensify, but, understanding the social and political ramification of allowing Vahn to demonstrate his affection for her in public, Yvonne leaned into his palm with a bashful smile on her face and a calcting glimmer in her eyes. This was clearly observed by Vahn, but, rather than calling her out on it, he just chuckled before nting a kiss on her exposed forehead and returning her to the Little Garden. Then, with a markedly more serious expression on his face, he interrupted Tperie''s attempt to speak by directing his gaze to Lo Po Bia and asking, "So, how are we going to do this?" Amused by Vahn''s ability to shift the topic in an instant, a snaggle-toothed smile developed across Lo Po Bia''s face as he exined, "Though it is ultimately your decision whether or not you want to acknowledge them, our traditions dictate that only those who have defeated more than half of the existing Elders possess the right to challenge the current Leader. This was the consensus reached by the founders of the Lo Po Bia Family in order to deter people from arbitrarily aiming for the position of Family Leader before they had earned the respect and support of at least half the family..." Though he had already been aware of this, Vahn nodded his head to express his understanding of Lo Po Bia''s words. Then, in front of the confused eyes of tens-of-thousands of beast people, a mass of rainbow-hued energy appeared next to Vahn before taking the form of a muscr Japanese man with ck hair and matching, albeit kind, eyes. What made this scene even stranger was the fact the man had appeared in little more than a wrestling singlet, animalistic three-toed boots reaching near his knees, ck bands around his biceps, and a purple cor around his neck. He was also holding a strange mask in his right hand, but, with the exception of these peculiar features, his burly body waspletely exposed. Gesturing towards the newly created Temte with a smile, Vahn failed to conceal his amusement as he exined, "Though I will be the one to fight you, this man will act as my proxy to govern the Lo Po Bia Family. You are free to pit as many Elders as you please against him. However, be warned. Hisbat style might be distinctly different than mine but his power is such that even someone of Yurin''s caliber might not be able to withstand more than a few blows." As if to emphasize Vahn''s point, the muscr man, properly known as Genzo Shibata, donned the mask in his right hand. Immediately thereafter, a ming red cape manifested into existence across his shoulders as an ornate golden belt appeared around his waist. Then, whilst flexing both arms, he released a powerful roar that not only caused the barrier enveloping the arena to tremble, but more than half the crowd to copse. If a fan of One Piece had been present, they would have recognized this as Conqueror''s Haki, a manifestation of willpower that was especially effective against creatures that obeyed their instincts and adhered to strict hierarchies... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Gustang be sweating...'',''That top is a dream-killing device...'',''RIP Lo Po Bia Family xD...'') Chapter 2007: Exasperation : Intermission

Chapter 2007: Exasperation : Intermission

While he wasn''t ''the'' Genzo Shibata, Hero of a Record known as Kemono Michi, the Temte Vahn had created possessed a near-identical personality and appearance. The reason for this was rather simple. Genzo loved animals to such extremes that even the mention of harming one was likely to get you suplexed into the ground. Though his fondness for Beast People and Demi-Humans was heavily influenced by their overall ''fluffiness'', Genzo possessed a righteous and incorruptible character that was perfectly suited for settling disputes. He was also what some referred to as a "true champion of gender equality", so, regardless of whether they were man, woman, or something else entirely, he would love and punish everyone without bias. This,bined with apeting degree of charisma and ''density'' allowed him to be an extremely likable, albeit strange, protagonist. As the concept of anime wasn''t really a thing in the Tower, the members of the Lo Po Bia obviously had no idea who Genzo Shibata was. All anyone knew for certain was that he radiated the aura of a ''Beast King'', and, despite a powerful barrier existing to protect them, those who managed to retain their consciousness didn''t feel safe. Some, particrly those with inordinate amounts of fluff, even broke out into a cold sweat, as, even without him looking in their direction, they could feel Genzo''s intent linger over them like a predator that had been starved for weeks... Noticing a small amount of drool flowing from Genzo''s mouth, Vahn felt an overwhelming urge to smack the man in the back of his head. As a result, the mask-wearing man was sent tearing through thendscape, his burly body smashing into the barrier surrounding the area with a loud thud. This was purely instinctual on Vahn''s part, but, from the perspective of the people in the crowd, it was a demonstration of the fact he was exponentially stronger than the muscr man they were quickly learning to fear. Further emphasizing this notion, Genzo casually pushed aside a fewrge boulders before rubbing the back of his head and saying, "Sorry. I guess got a little excited..." while lowering his head in an ingratiating manner. Though he was the one who decided to keep the original Genzo''s personality, Vahn couldn''t help shaking his head in mild exasperation before shifting his attention to Lo Po Bia and stating, "Your move. You can send one at a time or all of them at once. It won''t really make a difference." Hearing Vahn''s words, Lo Po Bia tore his eyes away from Genzo, brows furrowed as he answered, "It will take an hour or two to gather the Elders and decide the fighting order. While it is true we spent thest few weeks preparing for your arrival, only a few of our fighters have gathered to witness the battle between the Elders of the Snow Leopard and Forest Cat Families. For the time being, it would be my honor to y host to the Sage Dragon Emperor and his entourage..." As he had spent a fair amount of time analyzing the structure of the ''fleet'' outside, Vahn was well aware of the fact that the Lo Po Bia Family wasn''t prepared to receive him. Unfortunately, Lo Po Bia had made the mistake of listening to Gustang''s advice, and, as a result, tensions between the Snow Leopard and Forest Cat Families had been inted unnecessarily. They had effectively forced him toe out, so, while he would normally have no problem with a brief intermission, Vahn''s expression hardened as he answered, "Your Elders will have as much time as you can buy them..." Without bothering to exin, Vahn''s figure disappeared from within the arena before reappearing in front of Lo Po Bia in an instant. Then, before the man could so much as widen his eyes in shock, he found the cor of his leaf-green kimono being drawn with overwhelming force before his body crashed, hard, into the arena''s floor. Immediately thereafter, the section of the barrier between the VIP viewing stands and the arena shattered like ss, silencing the audience and stunning Tu Perie Tperie. Ignoring the tense atmosphere he had created, Vahnnded on the outskirts of the massive crater formed by Lo Po Bia''s union with the earth. The man had never been known for his power, so, while he was ultimately unscathed by the sudden assault, he had a difficult time climbing to his feet due to the overwhelming aura pressing down on his body. He was far more susceptible to such pressure than most people, so, with Vahn''s existence qualifying him among the highest ssifications of True Dragons, Lo Po Bia felt like a field mouse that had been encircled by a seemingly infinite number of voracious predators... To the surprise of everyone, Vahn included, a figure appeared in front of the downed Lo Po Bia with arms spread wide. This was none other than Genzo, and, though he had been the one to create the man, Vahn''s serious expression turned into a wry smile as he remarked, "You can''t be serious..." With an expression that demonstrated just how serious he was being, Genzo crossed his arms in a defiant manner, exining, "Attacking someone after they have sincerely extended their hospitality is behavior unbing of an Emperor. If you are going to judge people based on their capacity as a leader, you need to be willing to set the best possible example. Dismissing propriety just because you are in the dominant position is the act of a tyrant. If you insist on throwing away your-" Before Genzo could finish speaking, Vahn, having adopted a deadpan expression, pointed towards the man''s lips and said, "Don''t lecture me whilst petting someone and drooling..." Blinking in surprise, Genzo looked down to notice he was no longer standing in a defiant position. Instead, he had knelt down next to Lo Po Bia, and, due to the man offering no resistance, he had begun to caress and stroke the former''s mane-like green hair. This realization would have caused most people to feel embarrassed, but, demonstrating why Vahn had chosen him as a proxy, Genzo''s expression became resolute as he shouted, "Fluff is justice...!" Feeling more exasperated at this moment than he had in several months, Vahn pinched the bridge of his nose, brows furrowed in consternation before replying, "Fine. Even if you were just talking out of your ass, there is still a fair amount of truth in your words. I''ll use this time to show Tperie around the Little Garden. Once four hours have passed, we will reconvene here and settle things...once and for all..." Though he was trying to be serious, Vahn''s words began to trail off when Genzo began rubbing his face against the fur-covered cheeks of the very confused Lo Po Bia. This caused him to feel a small amount of regret, but, having long ago decided to live without such sentiments, he ultimately just shook his head before gesturing to the girls and returning to the VIP stands to collect the relieved-looking Tperie... --- While Vahn was busy dealing with the consequences of his actions, Gustang found himself standing before a massive crystalline structure surrounded by advanced machinery. This particr crystal was the repository of all the knowledge the Po Bidau Family had umted since the establishment of the Empire, and, for the first time in his life, Gustang was considering destroying it all. Though he couldn''t be certain of Vahn''s intentions, Gustang''s intuition told him that Vahn wouldn''t allow him to hold on to knowledge and information he had acquired at the expense of others. This just so happened to be the bulk of the information they had acquired over the years, as, more often than not, the use of force and other extreme measures was the best way to acquire new, interesting, and, most importantly, useful information. This was especially true in an environment where peoplepeted for dominance even at the expense of their own life and limb. Unfortunately, while he could justify nearly every action he had ever taken, that didn''t absolve him of guilt. Rather, it implied he carefully considered each of his actions, and, despite knowing he was going to ruin the lives of countless people, he had moved forward with numerous projects. Most of these experiments were carried out for the benefit of ''all'' peoples within the Tower, but, as he had demonstrated time and again, Vahn didn''t care about such things. He would zero in on all the times people in his family had acted out of curiosity, intrigue, or other selfish desires, and, regardless of the good they had done, he would still hold them ountable. Thanks to the countermeasures he had developed to prevent Vahn from reading his mind, Gustang wasn''t sure if he had done anything to earn the ire of the seemingly unstoppable dragon. It was this uncertainty that caused him to consider whether or not he should just destroy everything and move on. He had never been particrly fond of the Tower, so, as long as he made an effort to ''fix'' things, there was no reason Vahn shouldn''t extend him the same offer as everyone else. Rather, depending on how he yed his cards, there was a chance he might even be able to join the Aldrnari Empire''s R&D Division... As that thought crossed his mind, a resolute light appeared in the depths of Gustang''s ordinarily impassive eyes. If he were being honest, it had been a long time since he felt truly passionate about anything. He couldn''t remember what had transpired, but he knew it had something to do with the burgundy-haired woman standing next to Blossom, the only woman he had ever truly loved. Seeing Blossom among Vahn''s entourage had caused an indescribable difort to spread within Gustang''s chest. It had been thousands of years since they were married, but, even now, when most of his memories were sealed away, his yearning for her overwhelmed the loathing he frequently felt towards members of the opposite sex. They were an unwee distraction from his research, and, more often than not, conversing with them was like trying to have a serious talk with a farm animal. This had caused him to feel disgusted by most females, but, for reasons he had never been able to truly quantify, Blossom had never given off this impression. Rather, even without his memories, just seeing her made him feel uncharacteristically nostalgic and rxed... Shaking his head, an expression of self-admonition appeared on Gustang''s face as he pulled out a key and said, "As frustrating as it is to follow that woman''s example...perhaps it is time I also move on..." As those words left his mouth, Gustang turned the key, and, as a result, the gargantuan crystal in front of him immediately shifted from a pale-blue to a frightful red that screamed ''danger''. At the same time, a countdown appeared on every screen in the facility, but, after inputting a few lines of code into themand terminal at his front, Gustang quickly overwrote it before closing his eyes and adopting a rare smile... --- Though he had been in the middle of showing Tperie around the variousmunities located on the Second Layer, Vahn''s body tensed up as he received feedback from one of his Temtes. More specifically, the albino Wailord he had entrusted to Whitebeard had just informed him that arge explosion had just urred on the 129th Floor, the highest Floor managed by the Po Bidau Family. Confused by the turn of events, Vahn habitually froze time around him, ignoring Tperie''s statuesque expression of surprise as he turned to the Law of Identity and said, "Tell me what Gustang is up to..." Under normal circumstances, the Law of Identity would have happily obliged Vahn''s request, but, even after several seconds had passed, her form remained unchanged. As for the reason, it was due to the fact that the Gustang she had habitually emted over thest few years simply didn''t exist... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Fluff is Justice...!'',''Turn back the pendulum...'',''O_O...'') Chapter 2008: A Person鈥檚 Actions Should Reflect Their Ideals

Chapter 2008: A Person''s Actions Should Reflect Their Ideals

After exining the situation, Vahn released Tperie so he could deal with the fallout of events on the 129th Floor. The Tu Perie Family served as one of the central pirs of the Empire when it came to administration, so, while Tperie held no official title, he was the first person people went to when something unexpected or disastrous transpired. Taking advantage of the man''s departure, Vahn decided now was as good a time as any to expel the members of the Research Team from the Little Garden. They were one of thest groups remaining, and, while he had grown rather fond of some of the members, the majority had only been there for the sake of their family andying a foundation for themselves in the future politics of the Tower. To that end, now was the best time to strike, as, not only had he already defeated the Khun, Arie, Yeon, and Ari Families, he was well on his way to taking over the Lo Po Bia Family. Though he advised them not to take things too far, Vahn didn''t mind if the girls used his name to secure a position for themselves within the leadership of their own families. He also assigned them non-Temted Pokemon to both protect and watch over them, so, as long as they didn''t use their newfound status to suppress others, they would have a rtively smooth path moving forward. The only people they really needed to safeguard themselves against were the more opportunistic and malicious members of their Families, but, considering most of them would be ''removed'' in the near future, they shouldn''t have too much to worry about. As a special service, Vahn escorted each of the girls to a destination of their choice before returning to the 113th Floor with the intention of settling things up with the Lo Po Bia Family. To that end, he used his Unit Management to recall Genzo, who, rather than apanying them back to the Little Garden, decided to stay back and enjoy the Lo Po Bia Family''s hospitality. Not expecting Vahn to teleport him while he was in the middle of petting half a dozen animalistic beauties, Genzo''s somewhat ridiculous expression immediately hardened into a far more serious and solemn look as he crossed his arms and asked, "What do you want?" Shifting his attention away from the cat-like ears atop Genzo''s head, Vahn met the man''s gaze as he answered, "I didn''t create you without memories. Even if you possess the personality of the original Genzo Shibata, it is irresponsible of you to behave like this. You know full-well I have no intention of killing anyone, so why are you acting so defensively?" Without needing to consider his response, Genzo immediately replied, "If the Lo Po Bia Family were a group of ''normal'' people, you would not have tolerated their behavior. Instead, you have afforded them clemency because you know they are not fully in control of their actions, instincts, and desires. I don''t have a problem with you facing off against Lo Po Bia. The issue here is that you are behaving violently and unruly when it ispletely unnecessary. Lo Po Bia has already acknowledged you as his better and has shown no hostility towards you or anyone else in the Aldrnari Empire. If you can''t see the problem with assaulting someone who is already cooperating with you, there is nothing for us to discuss. We will be enemies from here onwards." Though he had already anticipated this response, Vahn couldn''t help exhaling an exasperated sigh as hebed through his dark-brown, almost ck, hair. He was beginning to think his creation of Genzo had been a little rash, but, understanding the man would soon be in charge of the Lo Po Bia Family, this type of behavior was to be expected. He clearly cared deeply about each and every one of the branch families, so, as frustrating as it was to have one of his own Temtes standing against him, Vahn also felt an iota of pride deep within. After a moment of consideration, Vahn ultimately nodded his head before saying, "Though I cannot agree with you wholeheartedly, there is a fair amount of wisdom contained within your words. Since you were created with the Lo Po Bia Family''s interests in mind, I''ll leave this matter to you..." With that said, Vahn gestured a half-hearted farewell before rising to his feet. Genzo was also a Tier 5, so, even if he was left to his own devices, there was nothing that could stand in his way to taking over the Lo Po Bia Family. He was also the person Vahn was going to leave in charge of cleaning up the Lo Po Bia Family''s messes, so, rather than make the man''s job more difficult, it seemed wiser to simply move on. After all, most of his interest currentlyy outside the Tower, not within... Just as Vahn was about to teleport away, Genzo surprised him by saying, "I believe there has been a misunderstanding. I wasn''t saying you shouldn''t fight the Lo Po Bia Family Leader. The main point I was trying to make was that you shouldn''t fight him with the intention of meting out some kind of punishment. He never acted with malicious intent, and, even now, he does not harbor any grudges towards you. Rather than attempting to conquer the Lo Po Bia Family using fear tactics, would it not be closer to your ideals to settle things as friends? You wouldn''t have created me if you didn''t think the Lo Po Bia Family were beyond saving." Finding himself at a loss for words, Vahn looked over his shoulder to find Genzo staring back at him with a massive grin on his face. This left him feeling a little helpless, not because Genzo had hit the nail on the proverbial head, but because the four-hour-year-old Temte was using his own private thoughts against him. Everything he mentioned was something Vahn had deliberated at length, but, for the sake of ''fairness'', he had been intending to punish Lo Po Bia in a simr manner to Arie Hon. Shaking that thought from his mind, Vahn adopted a wry smile before extending his hand to the inordinately muscr man and saying, "It seems the Lo Po Bia Family is about to experience an era of prosperity...you''ll make a fine leader, Genzo..." --- Following the impromptu meeting between Creator and Temte, Vahn and Genzo met up with Lo Po Bia to discuss the uing petition''. It was decided that the first round would basically be an exhibition between Vahn''s Sage Dragon Emperor Transformation and the Guardian of the entire Lo Po Bia Family, the Great Mother herself. This was the entire reason this particr venue had been prepared, and, while it was a little strange that Lo Po Bia wouldn''t be representing himself, most of an Anima''sbat potential was derived from the creatures theymanded. As the ''mother'' of every first-generation descendant of the Lo Po Bia Family, the Great Mother was effectively the source of their animalistic traits. She was also the entity who had gifted Lo Po Bia the twenty eggs that would eventually go on to be the original Guardian Beasts of the Lo Po Bia Branch Families. This made her the single most important entity within the Lo Po Bia Family, and, to the surprise of even Vahn, she was actually a stayover from a time before Gluttony and his children were ced in charge of the Tower. The only reason she wasn''t older than the aforementioned was that her true form was essentially a World Tree, one that had died and been reincarnated countless times... With World Trees appearing in virtually every Record he had visited, Vahn was unsurprised to learn that the Tower had its own variant of the surprisinglymon yet inordinately rare organism. The only reason he was even marginally surprised was that he had been unable to detect the presence of the World Tree''s Spirit due to the Great Mother currently being near the end of her life. She had been prolonging her life by sealing away her essence, and, as a result, her true form was none other than the giant briar bush that dominated arge portion of the 113th Floor. It was Lo Po Bia''s hope that Vahn would be able to reinvigorate the Great Mother''s life force, but, even if he couldn''t, defeating her now would ensure she became even more powerful in her next incarnation. This was how the Great Mother had persisted since time immemorial, as, every time she was killed, she would be resistant to whatever had killed her. She was also part of thework that allowed for the existence of multiple Floors in the Tower, so, even if Gluttony wanted to get rid of her, doing so riskedpromising the integrity of the 109th through 117th Floors. He was also bound by aw that stipted he prevent theplete eradication of individual species within the Tower, so, with the Great Mother being thest of her kind, she was effectively ''untouchable'' under normal circumstances. While this might sound like a tremendous boon from certain perspectives, the simple fact of the matter was that the Great Mother was still thest of her kind. She had also been cursed to prevent her from producing offspring that might threaten the stability established by the Guardians, so, for hundreds-of-millions of years, she had effectively been imprisoned within the Tower''s 113th Floor. It was only during the Age of Ascension that she finally met someone who could hear the ''voice of all things''. This was none other than Lo Po Bia, and, due to his innate ability tomunicate with and understand all living creatures, it wasn''t long before she entrusted her everything to him. Loneliness was one of the most powerful emotions any sapient creature could experience, so, even if was only for a rtively short few tens-of-thousands-of-years, the Great Mother vowed that she would watch over and protect the Lo Po Bia Family. This was the sentiment that allowed Lo Po Bia to be the Tower''s first genuine Anima, as, despite countless new speciesing into existence since the creation of the Tower, all Shinheuh within descended from the Great Mother and his sister trees. They were the origin of every native species of the Tower, and, as a result, Lo Po Bia was able to exercise his control over every living organism, people included. The only limitations on Lo Po Bia''s power were that he couldn''t exercise his control over those with greater power, Irregrs, and anyone who had specifically made a contract with the Guardians to receive protection against mind control abilities. He also had no desire to rule over everything, so, after establishing the Lo Po Bia Family, most of his time had been spentmuning with the Great Mother and nourishing the eggs she had provided. This was also one of the reasons he was so loyal to Jahad, as, prior to bing King, his old friend had vowed to find a way to break the curse that prevented the Great Mother from creating sisters for herself. Upon learning these things, Vahn not only agreed to fight an exhibition match against the Great Mother, he also promised to remove her curse. This was something that Gluttony was vehemently against, but, with Vahn promising to liberate the eldritch entity within the next two years, it offered no real resistance against his decision to treat her. Thus, rather thanplicating things by meting out a one-sided punishment, Vahn''s first step towards settling things with the Lo Po Bia Family was earning the sincere respect and admiration of its current and soon-to-be-former Leader... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn be like, "Git..."'',''This is a very advanced form of self-counseling...'',''Vahn''s affinity with trees and lolis has now spanned four Records xD...'') Chapter 2009: Power Overwhelming

Chapter 2009: Power Overwhelming

Though it took a while to sort out all the details, it wasn''t long after his conversation with Lo Po Bia that Vahn found himself standing opposite from what could best be described as an exotic beautyprised entirely of aged bark and faded leaves. Her presence caused everyone in the Lo Po Bia Family to lower their heads in a solemn gesture of respect, and, for a brief moment, it seemed that all the tensions between the branches had simply vanished into thin air. Noticing the atmosphere that had been created by the woman''s presence, Vahn''s smile turned into a troubled expression as he stared into the faded green pupils of the woman smiling back at him. Unlike every other World Tree Spirit he had encountered, the Great Mother seemed to becking in vitality. Her bark was broken and frayed, and, despite appearing rather remarkable at a nce, herplexion was an amalgamation of yellows, browns, and faded greens. She resembled a tree that had been forced toy its roots in an inhospitable region, and, despite radiating vitality from every fiber of her being, Vahn could feel her power and life force waning with each passing moment... Sensing the change in Vahn''s mood, the Great Mother''s smile softened into a gentle and motherly look as she softly muttered, "Do notment. I have lived a life more fortunate than most. Besides, death is not the end. It is simply the beginning of a new chapter. Now...shall we begin...?" To indicate her own preparedness, the Great Mother manifested a branch-like Needle in her left hand as various types of trees, nts, and shrubbery began to spread throughout the arena. Theplexion of her face and body also became a healthy shade of green, but, with his ability to sense the flow of energy, Vahn could tell she was burning what remained of her life force in order to sustain her empowered state. Understanding his opponent didn''t have a lot of time, Vahn wasn''t going to dally for the sake of sentimentality. Instead, he took a moment to appease Leav-tan before surprising virtually everyone by manifesting a petite young woman with fair skin, dark brown hair, inordinately long and pointed ears, branch-like wooden horns, and, fur-covered legs that ended in hoofed feet. She also had a tail that ended in a tuft, but, before anyone could get a proper grasp of her features, the young woman promptly transformed into a wooden bow carved with the motif of two dryads shrouded in emerald green leaves and vines. Though it had been some time since he used archery within a fight, Vahn''s skill had only matured with time. He also possessed numerous Zanpakuto Spirits in the form of bows, but, unlike the rest, this particr variant had very littlebat ability. Her name was Dea, and, while her name could be credited to the Roman Goddess of the same name, what distinguished her among her siblings was her passion''. Arrows loosed from her branches did not leave wounds. Instead, they did the exact opposite, and, though he could use her to stun, paralyze, and put things to sleep, Dea''s main function was healing targets from afar. Without exining this functionality, Vahn''s figure shed away from the Great Mother, effortlessly evading her vines as he twisted his body in the air and loosed several vibrant green arrows formed of Nature Elemental Energy. This confused the Great Mother''s senses, and, for a very brief moment, she was almost tempted to let the arrows hit her before manifesting a root more than thirty meters in diameter to block the approaching arrows. At the same time, a series of nt bulbs erupted from the ground all throughout the arena, many growing to the size of skyscrapers before blooming into a series of beautiful flowers that released a tremendous number of spores. Under normal circumstances, Vahn would have been tempted to see what the spores were capable of, but, having experienced the terror nts were capable of at the hands of Xysteria, he swept Dea in a horizontal motion that caused every flower within the arena to be bifurcated. This earned him a poutyint from the faun that inhabited the bow, but, with a few carefully chosen words, Vahn managed to coax her by promising to fill an entire forest with flowers for her to frolick through... With the Spirit of his Zanpakuto momentarily pacified, Vahn manipted the flow of Shinsu in the surroundings to consolidate most of the spores into a centralized location as he continued loosing arrows towards the Great Mother. This caused thetter to feel a tremendous amount of pressure, not because he was inflicting any actual damage, but because the vitality emanating from each of the arrows had already started to suffuse through her body. As a result, she felt mildly intoxicated, and, despite her best efforts to slow the intake, her malnourished cells greedily absorbed each and every micron of natural energy. Noticing the Great Mother''sck of focus, an amused smile spread across Vahn''s face as he easily evaded a series of massive, thorn-covered, vines before teleporting directly in front of the hunched-over beauty with his bow drawn. The very tip of his arrows was pressed to the Great Mother''s head, so, even if it was incapable of dealing damage, her vibrant green eyes widened as she instinctually stabbed towards his chest with her Needle. Adding to the World Tree Spirit''s surprise, Vahn made no attempt to evade the momentous attack. Instead, he let it pass harmlessly through his body in a manner simr to Katakuri toying with Luffy during their showdown in canon. At the exact same moment, he loosed one of Dea''s vibrant green arrows into the Great Mother''s forehead. This would have caused most people''s heads to snap back due to whish, but, unlike conventional arrows, Dea''s didn''t carry any actual momentum. Instead, the arrow disappeared into the Great Mother''s head, instantaneously robbing her of consciousness as the leavesprising her hair and clothing practically exploded due to their exponential growth. With the Great Mother now resembling a clump of vibrant green grass, Vahn allowed Dea to return to her faun form before sending her on her way after a healthy amount of petting. This earned him a fair number ofints from his other Zanpaktuo, but, as was often the case, Vahn managed to pacify them with promises of maintenance. This was one of the downsides to possessing well over a hundred Zanpakuto, but, as needy as they could be at times, Vahn felt genuinely blessed to have so many adorable, versatile, and powerful Spirits to dote upon. They were also a part of him, so, even if he did have anyints, the only person he could really me was himself... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn''s body tensed up as the Great Mother''s eyes spontaneously rolled forward. Their previous exchange had actually been his attempts to treat her condition, so, in a way, it was basically the warm-up heralding the actual battle. After all, the original agreement was that he would fight her in his Sage Dragon Emperor Transformation. Their goal was to eliminate any future dissent, so, while he could easily defeat her in a few swift exchanges, it would take something more ''theatrical'' to convince the naysayers of his superiority. With this in mind, Vahn smiled towards the Great Mother before teleporting a few kilometers away in an effort to evade the spores she had sneakily released. Then, in front of the stunned eyes of the entire Lo Po Bia Family, his body began to rapidly increase in size, quickly exceeding five-hundred-meters in height and more than twice that in length. Unlike his past transformations, however, gold scales were not his most prominent features. Rather, since this was supposed to be his Sage Dragon Emperor Transformation, he elected to emte Artoria''s ivory scales in order to give himself a more regal appearance. This helped the golden ents of his body stand out even more, but, at a nce, it was his fiery blue eyes, the de-like horn protruding from his head, and the shimmering golden ive attached to the end of his tail that drew the eyes of the crowd. Since this was farrger than his previous transformations, Vahn was forced to adopt a quadrupedal stance just to support his own weight. If not for his contract with Gluttony, even half this size would have been too much for him, as, despite his breakthroughs in the Toaruverse, his ability to bend thews ''outside'' was still limited by hisprehension and authority. This restriction was waning with each passing day, but, the moment he departed the Tower and trespassed a higher realm, he would, once again, be at the mercy of the Laws. Dismissing such thoughts from his mind, Vahn waited patiently as the Great Mother attempted to create a Spiritual Avatar that could rival his current form. This ended up being a mistake, as, rather than settling on a construct of simr size, she created a behemoth of organic matter that towered over him several times over. Since her ''true body'' was the inordinatelyrge briar bush surrounding them, this wasn''t particrly surprising. Still, with his own limit barely eclipsing 500m, Vahn couldn''t help frowning as he noticed her head grazing the ceiling of the arena... Fortunately, prior to the battle beginning, Vahn had tasked Lo Po Bia with making sure there were no audience members on the western section of the arena. He also made sure most of the Floating Pces had moved out of the way, as, the moment he released his attack, everything in front of him was bound to ''vanish''. The Great Mother''s size meant very little in the fact of true power, so, before her impossiblyrge fist could squash him like a bug, golden light began emanating from the scales in his chest, rapidly spreading through his body before gathering in his spread wings. Just as people began to squint from the intense light, the atmosphere within the arena seemed to darken as the flow of time slowed to a crawl. Then, in a voice that shook the very souls of everyone present, Vahn''s could be heard stating, "Sage Dragon Emperor''s Majestic Roar." as a rtively thin beam of golden energy erupted from his maw. Said beam passed through the Great Mother''s Spirit Avatar as if it was little more than an illusion before continuing on until it impacting the distant wall of the 113th Floor. Then, despite the beam rapidly contracting into nothingness, the hole produced continued to expand until it had formed a passageway more than three-kilometers in diameter... Satisfied with the result, an uncanny smile developed across Vahn''s draconic maw as he tapped his ive-like tail against the ground. This caused a series of golden ripples to emanate from the point of contact, rapidly spreading through the arena before crawling up the nearly destroyed barrier and producing countless shimmering runes. Shortly thereafter, the barrier waspletely repaired, and, as a result, the audience was finally able to exhale the breath they had been holding. His aura was a little too potent in this particr form, so, from the moment he transformed, most of the audience members had turnedpletely statuesque, their minds wholly incapable of processing what they had just witnessed. Passing his gaze over the stunned onlookers, Vahn did his best to control the egotistical urges he felt whenever he transformed into a dragon, asking, "Is anyone not convinced...?" in as calm a tone as he could manage. In response, most of the Elders immediately averted their eyes, as, even if they were from one of the feline families, they only had one life. None were foolish enough to speak out against the indescribably powerful being staring down at them as if they were little more than weak and powerless children... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Leaf-bae getting bullied...'',''A Zanpakuto for every assion~!'',''aargh...!'') Chapter 2010: Feelings of Obligation

Chapter 2010: Feelings of Obligation

With none of the Elders stepping out to contest his victory, Vahn''s time in the spotlight hade to an end. He still needed to remove the Great Mother''s curse, but, with the assent of Gluttony, this wasn''t particrly difficult. Other than that, his only business with the Lo Po Bia Family was taking in the remnants of the Grey Wolf Family, a total of thirteen females and six males, so that ine would no longer feel obligated to restore the entire family on her own. He was also intending to meet with the Lo Po Bia Family''s Princesses of Jahad, but, understanding he could always deal with them after taking care of Jahad, the only two he was ''obligated'' to meet with were Lilial and Shilial. Ever since Jeanne had identally purified the blood curse on Lilial, she and her twin sister, Shilial, had ceased climbing the Tower. Their sudden disappearance had caused quite a stir, but, thanks to Maschenny sheltering them, they had managed to escape the Royal Enforcement Division''s pursuit. This was made easier by the fact neither had received a 13 Month Series, so, even if their death was mandated by Imperial Law, Jahad had never bothered to issue an official kill order. Though the twins'' circumstances were the result of their bloodthirsty natures and poor decision making, they, like every other Princess of Jahad, were ultimately the victims of a system designed to turn impressionable young girls into weapons. Their instincts and conditioned loyalty actually made them even more susceptible than other Princesses, so, while he could simply ignore them, it simply wasn''t in Vahn''s nature to do so. Thus, in the days following his exhibition match against the Great Mother, he easily resolved the matter of her curse before observing the transition of power from Lo Po Bia to Genzo. Then, when everything else was said and done, he tracked down the burgundy and blonde-haired Princesses to a remote location on the outskirts of the recently vacated 77th Floor. With the disappearance of Baek Ryun and the bulk of Wolhaiksong, the 77th Floor had be yet another haven for refugees and criminals fleeing the Jahad Empire. The other Floor Rulers had tried to install a proxy in Baek''s absence, but, due to the contract between Ureko and Hon, the Floor was ultimately the possession of the tomboyish blonde. They fundamentallycked the authority to strip ownership away from her, and, even if they tried, doing so would be akin to assigning themselves a death sentence. Though it was technically considered awless territory, the fear that Ureko would rain down justice upon them caused most of the people fleeing to the 77th Floor to behave. It was no secret that she disdained people who broke thew and exploited others, so, even though there were a number of opportunistic individuals who migrated to the Floor, very few attempted to establish themselves as a ''power'' within the region. Those that did were Merchants or Rankers attempting to establish their roots in a territory outside the Empire''s control. For many, this was an opportunity to start their own organization, so, even if the chances of sess were slim, they, at the very least, wanted to try... A stark contrast to this sentiment, Shilial and Lilial had ''retired'' to a frontier vige located on the very outskirts of the 77th Floor. There, Vahn found the younger of the two sisters, Shilial, tending to a potato garden with a very disgruntled expression on her face. Long gone were the days where she could doll herself up invish and expensive clothing. Instead, she was reduced to wearing rtively simple clothes that were as easy to dirty as they were to clean. This included a simple blue sundress, patched-up blue trousers, dirty rubber boots, gardening gloves, and a simple yet fashionable straw hat. With her attention fully focused on the potatoes she was unearthing from the soil, Shilial failed to sense Vahn until his shadow was lingering over her. This caused her eyes to widen, and, though she was supposed to be trying to remain low key, that didn''t prevent her from performing an acrobatic somersault and raising her gardening trowel as if it were a weapon. Raising his hand in a casual manner, Vahn ignored the hateful glimmer in Shilial''s eyes as he smiled and said, "Long time no see. How''s life as a farm girl treating you...?" Though she had always been known as an outwardly respectful woman, Shilial teared up slightly in response to Vahn''s words, gritting her teeth as she asked, "Have youe here to make fun of us? If so, get it out of your system and leave. My sister and I have enough problems without your stupid face to remind us of the past...!" Restraining his urge to lecture the not-so-youngdy, Vahn adopted a far more serious expression as he exined, "It would appear you are unaware of the happenings within the Tower. Ownership of the Lo Po Bia Family has exchanged hands within thest couple of days. So long as you promise not to cause trouble, I have made arrangements for you and your sister to attend the Great Mother. I have removed her curse, so, now that she no longer has to conserve her energy, she is looking for suitable candidates to train as Guardians and Priestesses of the Lo Po Bia Family. I''m not sure what she has in mind, but I imagine it beats growing potatoes here on the 77th Floor..." Blinking in response to Vahn''s words, Shilial slowly lowered her gardening trowel as she asked, "Are you for real? Have you truly taken over the Lo Po Bia Family...?" Shaking his head, Vahn created a three-dimensional projection of Genzo''s visage as he exined, "I battled against the Great Mother, but ownership of the Lo Po Bia Family has been transferred to this man, Genzo Shibata. His passion regarding animals and people with animalistic features can be said to be second to none. His power is alsoparable to my own, so, after dominating more than half of the Elders, Lo Po Bia willingly transferred his status and authority." Seeing the projection shift to Genzo''s battle against several famous Elders, Shilial promptly decided to trust in Vahn''s words. There was a chance he was attempting to deceive her, but, considering the vast disparity in their respective powers, there was little she could do even if he decided to have his way with her. She was also bored out of her mind living in the outskirts of the 77th Floor, so, even if his intent was to deceive her, she didn''t really care. Having made up her mind, Shilial inhaled a deep breath before shouting, "Lilial! Get yourzy butt out here! We''re going home...!" at the top of her voice. Hearing her sister''s shout, Lilial, appearing somewhat worse for wear, came to the window of the small cottage she shared with her young sibling. She was about to shout something about Shilial having lost her mind, but, seeing Vahn standing a few meters away, her expression briefly paled before quickly returning to normal as she asked, "Are we really...going home?" Being the more ambitious of the two sisters, Lilial had taken their fall from grace much harder than her twin. After all, she was technically the reason they were forced to flee, so, for thest year or so, most of her time had been spent brooding over what could have been. Now, however, a tiny me had reignited from the smoldering ashes of her aspirations, and, even if she had to sell her soul to a lecherous dragon, she was willing to do whatever it took to recover and transcend her past glory. Instantly jumping to the wrong conclusion, Lilial didn''t bother waiting for her sister''s reply before looking towards Vahn as if he were a piece of choice meat. She seemed to forget she was wearing rather in pajamas, and, for a brief moment, her haughty expression returned as she mistakenly believed Vahn had fallen for her charms. Unfortunately, the moment she crossed her arms and was preparing to speak, the person in question promptly stated, "I''m not into spoiled brats..." Both stunned and confused, Lilial stared at Vahn as if he had said something nonsensical, the light from her vibrant blue eyes gradually faded as realization donned upon her. Immediately thereafter, a remarkably painful sensation spread through her heart, but, fearing she mightpromise their chances of returning home, she swallowed her grievances and asked for an exnation... --- After purifying Shilial''s blood and leaving both she and Lilial in the care of the Great Mother, Vahn''s business with the Lo Po Bia Family had effectivelye to an end. His n to create Temtes for each of the branch families had been scrapped a long time ago, so, with Genzo in charge, everyone had effectively be part of the same family. This should help to ease tensions between previous rivals, as, unlike before, the only person with any authority in the entire Lo Po Bia Family was Genzo himself. Though he would never use this power with malicious intent, the former Elders had no way of knowing this, so, for the time being, they had no choice but to obey. Fortunately, despite numerous differences, such as some branches being born cold-blooded, there were few limitations on who members of the Lo Po Bia Family could breed with. In fact, their unique genes allowed for a certain degree of ''variability'' in mating pairs, so, even if someone from the Boa Family was to breed with a member of the Snow Leopard Family, they could produce offspring with traits of both. In the past, such chimeric mixes were considered forbidden, but, now that Genzo was in charge, such restrictions no longer applied. The members of the Lo Po Bia Family were allowed to love whoever they wanted, and, even if their preferences leaned towards members of the same sex, anyone who wanted toin would promptly find themselves on the receiving end of Genzo''s german suplex. Though there was a chance that someone with the power to rival Genzo would appear, that was an event for the far future. For the time being, even Jahad couldn''t do anything about him, and, due to the protections granted to the Great Mother, the Lo Po Bia Family was basically untouchable within the 113th Floor. This meant they had, at the very least, a few tens-of-thousands-of-years to resolve their interpersonal affairs, as, with the exception of Vahn''s other Temtes, the only people with the potential to surpass Genzo were his own offspring. Confident in this assertation, Vahn decided to leave the affairs of the Lo Po Bia Family to the Lo Po Bia Family. They were no longer his concern, so, after tying up a few loose ends rted to the Snow Leopard Family, he decided to temporarily retire to the 199th Floor in order to watch over Pram and help her control her newly awakened Innate. Death Energy was no joke, and, unless they were born with it, mastering the extreme form of Yin Energy was remarkably difficult. There was even a chance it would consume the user, so, while he was tempted to wrap things up within the Tower, Vahn had never considered helping those who were willing to die for him a waste of time. Pram might have a lot of issues to work out, but, were she incapable or unwilling to change, breaking through to Tier 4 would have been impossible. Thus, much as he had in the wake of events on the 100th Floor, Vahn afforded the Tower three weeks to adapt while splitting his time between watching over Pram and investigating what, exactly, had transpired within the Po Bidau Family... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''This is some advanced form of bullying...'',''Oof...'',''Vahn be like, "Taking care of floof is infinitely more important than dealing with a Chuuni Emperor..."'') Chapter 2011: Ascertaining the Truth

Chapter 2011: Ascertaining the Truth

With the rapid changes urring within the Tower, the investigation into the Po Bidau Family was making very slow progress. All anyone knew for certain was that Gustang had been the one to set off the explosion, but, no matter how much they looked into it, they were unable to understand his motives. This led to some specting that Vahn had somehow gained control over him during their brief encounter on the 113th Floor, but, with very little evidence supporting this im, others began to believe that Gustang had experienced a mental breakdown after seeing his ex-wife and daughter among the women following Vahn. Though it was well-known that the Eurasia Family had joined hands with the Aldrnari Empire, few knew the specifics of their arrangement. This didn''t prevent people from specting, however, so, with Gustang''s apparent suicide being the most hotly debated topic within the Tower, rumors had been spreading like wildfire. Some even went to brokers such as Jaina to discern the truth, but, as powerful as her Opera was, it was powerless to peer beyond the 134th Floor. Thus, every time Vahn retired to the 199th, he, and everyone with him, effectively vanished from the observationworks that had been established over thest ten-thousand-years. Since Gustang had prepared numerous countermeasures to prevent members of the Tperie Family from spying on his activities, no one knew for sure what had caused him to act. This ced the Po Bidau Family in a ''very'' precarious position, as, not only did they have to answer for the destruction of the 129th Floor, most of the systems Gustang had prepared in the event of his untimely demise had been taken offline. The few systems they were able to get back online had their data expunged, so, other than a few fragmented pieces of information, all of the knowledge Gustang had amassed over the past twenty-five-thousand-years had been lost. The explosion had also killed a number of their highest-ranking members, so, without any leadership, the once-prodigious family was on the verge of splintering into several smaller factions. Making the most of the Po Bidau Family''s misfortune, several Great Teachers from the Workshop immediately stepped in to assimte the more promising members of the family into their ranks. This included Graham, who, thanks to Phae''s meteoric rise, saw a tremendous increase in his power and authority within the Workshop. She wasuded by several Teachers as the type of genius who appeared once every ten-thousand-years, and, more importantly, her ties with the Aldrnari Empire were something the Workshop intended to make use of once the seal on the 135th Floor had been removed. As one of only five Great Teachers within the Workshop, Graham''s status could even rival the Leader of a Great Family. While thisparison was bing increasingly less relevant due to the actions of Vahn, it was still a highly coveted position that basically allowed him to act as he pleased. He had also managed to ''secure'' Phae''s loyalty by learning her preferences and setting her up with another of his prized female Disciples, so, while the Great Father had yet to appoint anyone as liaison to the Aldrnari Empire, Graham was fairly certain he would be the one chosen. With such an end in mind, Graham took advantage of the rumors linking Vahn to Gustang''s death to personally oversee the Workshop''s investigation. This was directly supported by Phae, so, even if others wanted to procure a piece of the pie for themselves, the former''s connections were his alone to exploit. Of course, he never said this aloud, as, despite her expertiseying in the reproduction of ancient artifacts, Phae''s power was one of the most heavily debated topics among members of the Workshop. Though he once believed himself far more powerful than the buxom cksmith, Graham had long ago made the connection between her power and the growth exhibited by Vahn. If this hypothesis proved true, she would be among the most powerful beings within the Tower, so, even if he had to bend over backward on several asions, he carefully measured each of his actions in an effort to remain in her good graces. This might sound antithetical for someone aiming to ascend to the rank of Father in the not-so-distant-future, but, believing Phae had no interest in such titles, Graham was more than willing to give a bit of ground if it meant he could stand near the pinnacle of his beloved organization in the future. Guided by this insight, one of the first things Graham did after installing himself as overseer of the Workshop''s investigation was tasking Phae''s team of elites with uncovering the truth. She had taken in a handful of Disciples after scouring the slums spread throughout the Middle Tower, and, while a few of her detractors had called her out for exclusively picking female Disciples, the results her team had put out spoke for themselves. She had a knack for drawing out the talents of others, and, even though it had been less than a year since she became a Teacher, many of her Disciples had already made names for themselves. This included once-impoverished youths who most people would have simply overlooked unless they were in desperate need of ''materials''. With Phae as their Teacher, it seemed like anyone could be refined into a peerless genius in one or more trades. This had garnered her a mixture of attention and frustration from virtually every other Teacher, as, more often than not, they hand-picked their Disciples from among the most prodigious of backgrounds. Phae, however, didn''t seem to care about her Disciple''s background at all. Rather, other than the fact they were all women, the thing most of her Disciples had inmon was that they were uneducated orphans. Some hadn''t even known how to read, yet, mere months after they had begun studying under Phae, many were able topete directly against Disciples several times their age. This was unheard of in the history of the Workshop, and, while it had yet to gain any real traction, Graham had been privately promoting the notion that genius was something that could be nourished so long as the person teaching them waspetent Though this was ultimately just another attempt to capitalized on Phae''s momentum, observing the former''s Disciples had led to Graham truly believing this was the case. While it wasn''t enough to get him to abandon the notion that certain people were born more gifted than others, he couldn''t deny that Phae''s methods had born fruit. There was a chance that she had been able to see something in the children that other people missed, but, given his own ability to see talent, Graham didn''t believe this was the case. Instead, it was like she nted the seeds of talent within them before using their overwhelming desire to ovee their past as nourishment for their growth. Following this example, Graham had attempted to nourish an orphan of his own, but, much like everyone else who attempted to emte Phae''s results, he quickly grew impatient with his young protege''sck of talent and progress. He was still doing his best to educate the young girl, but, no matter how much effort he put into trying to nourish her talent, there didn''t seem to be anything to draw from. This was in spite of her constant efforts to improve, a trait Graham had learned to both appreciate andment since it often made him feel he wasn''t doing enough as her teacher. Fortunately, after discussing the matter with Phae, Graham managed to secure a position for his young protege among the former''s growing group. At first, she didn''t really fit in among the other girls in Phae''s team, but, after limating to the group, her results began to fall in line with the rest of her peers. This demonstrated Phae''s inordinate ability to bring out the potential of even the most hopeless students, as, prior to observing her growth for himself, Graham couldn''t even imagine his former protege seeding. In response to this admission, Phae had privately gifted him one of the most important pieces of advice he had ever received as a Teacher, expressing, "It is not our job to imagine our students seeding. Such expectations limit the path of their growth. In that regard, it can be argued that our most important duty as Teachers is helping our studentsprehend their strengths and weaknesses while gently pushing them in the direction they wish to go. Rather than teaching them what we want them to know, we teach them how to study and research the things they need to know in order to seed in the path they have chosen..." Though it seemed a bit counterintuitive, as most children had no idea what path they wanted to follow, Graham quickly realized the truth contained within Phae''s words. He also understood why each of her students was a street urchin, as, unlike normal children, those who grew up in less than ideal conditions spent an inordinate amount of time thinking of ways to escape their circumstances and improve their lives. This made them remarkably easy to manipte, but, on the opposite end of the spectrum, it made nourishing their talents significantly easier. They were already willing to do whatever it took to ensure they would never end up back on the streets, so, with Phae''s remarkable patience and unlimited resources, there was very little to hold them back. When he had first taken in his protege, Graham had failed to consider the child''s interest. Rather, due to their age and upbringing, he assumed they had no idea what they wanted to do with their life. Even if they did, they had no understanding of how to achieve their goal, so, from the moment he took them in, he defaulted to the mentality that they were simply lucky to be chosen by him. As a result, he had ced an unfair burden on the young girl, as, from the start, he never believed she could seed. Despite this, he still felt frustrated by her failures and, were it not for the influence of Phae and the inordinate amount of effort she put into improving, he likely would have regarded her as a failure before promptly abandoning her. As much as he didn''t want to admit it, Graham realized that his ethic as a Teacher was iparable to Phae''s. It could be argued that the only reason he had seeded was that he, like virtually every other Teacher, had hand-picked Disciples with phenomenal talent. In other words, he had benefited from their talent, not because he was an exceptional Teacher. This was a hard pill to swallow, but, in the face of Phae''s results, it was difficult to disregard the possibility that he was the reason so many of his students had failed. It wasn''t that they werecking. Had that been the case, he never would have chosen them as potential Disciples. Instead, they had failed because he was unable to nourish their potential. When he first realized this, Graham made a point to find out what each of his former students had been up to since their apprenticeship beneath him. Some had gone on to be Senior Research Assistants and Data Analysts, but, more often than not, those who failed to be Disciples ended up leaving the Workshop entirely. Among these, some went on to climb the Tower, ultimately losing their lives in thepetition to be Rankers. This was perfectly eptable within the society of the Tower, but, when he learned of the number who had outrightmitted suicide after returning home in shame, Graham ended up investing the better part of three months trying toprehend what kind of mentality a person needed to possess in order to take their own life. Unfortunately, while he was able to exin most of their deaths away using various psychological studies, Graham wasn''t able to absolve himself of his personal responsibility in the matter. He knew his words and actions had yed a major part in their inevitable ends, as, no matter how he looked at it, he couldn''t imagine any of Phae''s students doing the same. They were such a close-knit group that they could be mistaken for members of the same family, and, no matter how many times they failed, Phae was always there to help them find their footing. This was the realization that cemented Graham''s respect for the former Advisor of the Aldrnari Empire, so, even if it ultimately became little more than her puppet, he sincerely believed the Workshop would benefit from her influence... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''People love to gossip...'',''Being a Teacher is a heavy responsibility...'',''Graham simping hard...'' (A/N: I really want to write more, but, after three chapters, I''m feeling a lot more drained than I would have liked xD. I''ll try to increase my pace in the days toe, but, for the time being, three chapters per day might be my limit. I''ll most likely write a continuation of ''A Certain Scientific Side Story'' once this chapter goes out, but, after that, I''m hitting the hay.) Chapter 2012: Adhering to the Order of Things

Chapter 2012: Adhering to the Order of Things

Though he should have been focusing more on his investigation of the 129th Floor, Vahn quickly lost interest after confirming that not even the most senior members of the Po Bidau Family knew what had taken ce. Since Gluttony was bound by a contract that prevented him from disclosing any information pertaining to Gustang''s research, this left Vahn without any credible leads, so, after failing to turn up anything on his own, he decided to let others search for clues while he enjoyed his time on the 199th Floor. To that end, Vahn currently found himself reclining against a veritable ball of fluff as Pram, in what they were calling her ''Death Goddess'' state,y curled up in hisp. In essence, they were reclining against each other, as, despite appearing as a shadowy mass, the ck ball of fluff he was rxing against was actually Pram''s tail. She could drastically increase its size by stockpiling additional Yin Elemental Energy, and, thanks to the series of icy ck pirs encircling them, she was now able to maintain her Death Goddess state for up to three hours. Staring at the ck-haired beauty curled up in hisp, Vahn couldn''t help adopting an affectionate smile as he ran his fingers through her silky, slightly chilled, hair. She had already been a world-ss beauty prior to her transformation, but, now that her body was saturated with Yin Elemental Energy, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say she couldpete with Goddesses in terms of appearance. Trembling in response to Vahn''s touch, Pram released an adorable groan as she drew herself a little closer to his body before opening her eyes just enough to see through her thick yet elegantshes. When she saw him looking down at her with a smile, the ears atop her head began to twitch as the chill in her body was gradually reced by a gentle and increasingly familiar warmth. To help Pram adapt to her transformation, Vahn had been periodically infusing pure Yang Elemental Energy into her body. Her Death Goddess transformation provided her an extreme Yin constitution, and, while this made her exceptionally suited for things like Dual Cultivation, her inability to control the Death Energy emanating from the very core of her prevented her from taking full advantage of this particr advantage. Thus, at least for the time being, Vahn had been using his Petting Laws to keep her calm as he channeled Yang Elemental Energy into the energy channels of her body, gently yet willfully thawing them. Had she received a Yang Elemental infusion from someone else, Pram would have experienced an extreme amount of pain and pleasure. Beneath Vahn''s palms, however, her body was suffused with a feeling of extremefort that, more often than not, lulled her into a deep and peaceful slumber. From there, he would sustain her transformation for hours on end, and, as a result, she was quickly adapting to her transformed state without having to experience any of the pain and suffering often associated with mastering negative energies. For this, she was eternally grateful, so, even though he had yet to demand her loyalty, Pram had already decided to follow her ''Master'' to the very ends of reality if necessary... Sensing the sudden increase in Pram''s emotional state, Vahn began to caress the side of her face with his left hand, his voice gentle and smooth as he softly asserted, "Rx...there is still a half-hour until your treatment is finished. Don''t worry. Once you''ve returned to your base state, I''ll be sure to shower you with plenty of affection..." Though she was tempted to return to her ''base state'' then and there, Pram ultimately just nodded her head before closing her eyes in acquiescence. She knew these treatments were for her sake, so, while it was surprisingly difficult to suppress her urges, she managed to appear borderline apathetic thanks to the Yin Elemental Energy coursing through her body. To others, she would have appeared as a cold and detached beauty, but, from the perspective of Vahn, he barely managed to maintain a straight face as Pram''s vibrant pink aura clung and coiled around him with possessive intent... --- After finishing Pram''s treatment and subsequently pacifying her, Vahn emerged from his bedroom wearing little more than ck trousers as he made his way downstairs to the living room. There, he found Lotte cuddling with Mikotochu on the couch while the sounds of grease popping could be heard emanating from the kitchen. Fenrir had recently been teaching Yuri and Enne how to prepare a few basic meals, not because they were interested in learning how to cook, but because Blossom had mentioned they would make terrible wives and even worse mothers if they couldn''t even make snacks for their children. While mentally preparing himself to eat their burnt offerings, Vahn made his way over to the couch, startling Lotte who, prior to his arrival, had been immersed in a rather depressing yet extraordinary anime known as Angel Beats. It was a series that lured viewers in withedic undertones before effectively smacking them in the face with a series of soul-shattering twists that, once upon a time,pelled numerous members of his harem to petition that he go in and ''fix'' things. With Mikotochu taking advantage of the situation to extricate herself from Lotte''s grasp, Vahn soon found himself seated between two bashful beauties as he kicked up his feet and inquired, "Enjoying the show?" As both girls had been staring at his refined and inordinately chiseled upper body, their immediate response was to hastily avert their eyes as a dangerous shade of crimson stained their cheeks. Then, realizing he had been talking about the anime, Lotte buried her face into her hands as Mikoto, with electricity emanating from her ahoge, pinched the minimal amount of flesh around his waist. Holding back hisughter, Vahn increased his height to afortable size before pulling the duo closer to him and enjoying the rest of the episode. It had been some time since hest viewed the anime, so, even if he could recall every detail with perfect rity, watching it alongside the people he cared about was always worthwhile. He enjoyed being a part of their experiences, and, though it was a little troublesome at times, he always got a kick out of their pleas to have him change things they didn''t agree with. Fortunately, the girls were only on the third episode, and, while the ending was a little sad, it was far from the emotional roller coaster awaiting them in theter episodes. His presence also provided a suitable distraction, so, even when one of the main characters disappeared near thepletion of the episode, neither was particrly upset. They simply nestled a little closer to him,forted by his warmth until Yuri emerged from the kitchen and eximed, "Lunchtime! Move your asses~!" in amanding yet audibly nervous tone... --- With three weeks passing in the blink of an eye, Vahn found himself wondering whether or not he should pay Jaina Repellista Jahad a visit before advancing to the 134th Floor to finally settle things with Jahad. He still had the pillow Ureko had stolen from her, so, at the very least, he should return it before departing the Tower. The question was whether or not he should return it now or wait until he had dealt with far more important matters... Though the answer might have seemed obvious, Vahn had been keeping tabs on Jahad. As a result, he knew the man wasn''t quite ready to receive him, so, while he shouldn''t really care, a part of him wanted to crush Jahad when he was at his best. This was the best way to finitely resolve the matter, as, even if he killed Jahad, the action only had meaning if the man recognized the error of his ways prior to his death. While this might not seem important, Vahn had never been the type to arbitrarily kill someone unless they were proactively engaged in a reprehensible or licentious act. Jahad might have perpetrated countless tragedies in the past, but, from an objective point of view, that had very little to do with Vahn. His desire to defeat the man was purely personal, so, if he failed to obtain an admission of guilt from the man, he simply wouldn''t be satisfied. As petty as it sounded, this was one of the only ways Vahn could think of to lessen the amount of guilt he would experience following Jahad''s death. After all, despite his numerous ws, Jahad had acted in what he believed to be the best interest of the people living within the Tower. He was also a victim of the Workshop''s machinations, and, though his end goal would have required countless sacrifices, he genuinely believed that he was doing the right thing. He simply viewed the world from the perspective of an immortal, so, even if billions had to die, he didn''t care so long as billions more could live on... Shaking his head in an effort to clear his thoughts, Vahn looked towards the group of girls waiting for him to make a decision before settling his gaze on Yuri and asking, "Would you rather pay a visit to Jaina or move directly to the Imperial Castle?" Pointing towards herself, Yuri adopted a somewhat incredulous expression as she asked, "Eh? Are you really asking me to choose?" Nodding his head, Vahn was about to exin his own views on the matter, but, seeing the massive grin on Yuri''s face, he waited until she excitedly eximed, "Let''s visit Jaina! That brat used to tease me about my preference in men. I can''t wait to see the look on that pervert''s face when I show up with a handsome man at my side! She is going to be so jealous~!" Not expecting such a ''girly'' reaction from the former Princess, Vahn''s expression gradually morphed into a wry smile as he turned around and said, "Very well. From here, we''ll move to the 123rd Floor. After Yuri has finished ying around, we''ll either advance on the 134th Floor or spend a few days collecting the remaining 13 Month Series. Either way, I intend to try and wrap everything up before the week''s end. If there is anything else you think I should consider, feel free to let me know before then..." Though he was facing away from everyone, Vahn could sense Lotte sheepishly raising her hand, so, before he initiated the transfer, he looked over his shoulder and added, "Don''t worry. Your father is already doing quite a bit to redeem himself. Though his personality is something I cannot overlook, I will try to arrange things so that he isn''tpletely screwed over in his next life..." Understanding the underlying meaning within Vahn''s words, a sad smile developed across Lotte''s face, as, despite resenting her father for the actions he hadmitted, she still loved him. He had been kind to her when she was a child, and, despite countless others saying she was unqualified, he had been her greatest supporter during the Princess Selection Trials. He had also promised to nevery a hand on any of her friends, and, while this alluded to a number of underlying issues, he had always been willing topromise in order to ensure her happiness and loyalty... Sensing the inordinately tall woman''s mncholy, Vahn promptly chose to dy their departure in order to address the buxom beauty''s needs. The mental wellness of his loved ones was one of the most important things to him, so, while he couldn''t allow someone as monstrous as her father to continue living, that didn''t mean he couldn''tpromise in other ways. After all, despite his various ws, he stilluded himself as a God of Infinite Possibilities... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Pet the fluff...'',''Angel Beats is a real kick in the nuts xD...'',''Vahn is such a softie...'')(A/N 2.0: Deleted side story chapters can be found on my *******. I''ll try to post more in the future, so please check it out, and, if you''re feeling particrly giving, maybe throw a dor or two my way. The cost of living in my area is gradually going up due to the imminent increase in the minimum wage. When multiple people pitch in, a little bit can go a long way.) Chapter 2013: Extravagance : Lamentation

Chapter 2013: Extravagance : Lamentation

With countless peopleing to her with requests for information, Jaina eventually got so fed up with disturbances that she ended up retreating to number seven of her twenty-three secret bases. In reality, this was just the basement of her castle, but, with her Guide turning most people away, it was one of the few ces she could truly rx due to the existence of fifteen luxurious baths, each filled with different types of highly-concentrated and exceptionally valuable Shinsu. Though she had no interest in climbing the Tower, that didn''t prevent Jaina from taking measures to ensure she was adequately prepared for her climb. After all, she wouldn''t be allowed to take the Opera with her, so, before the ''hateful'' rabbit came knocking on her door, she was doing everything in her power to strengthen her body. This predominately revolved around simply soaking her body in various types of Shinsu, but, with countless High Rankers lining up to gift her with exceptionally valuable materials, she wasn''t going to simply refuse the tinum spoon life had gifted her... While soaking her body in a tub of Shinsu that couldpress the average C-Rank Regr to the size of a grapefruit, Jaina made the most of her leisure time bypleting Dailies on her eighteen favorite mobile games. At the same time, she used miniature Lighthouses connected with her Opera to keep track of various markets throughout the Tower. One of her favorite hobbies was beating her real-life High Scores, which, in essence, amounted to opening a new bank ount at the beginning of each year to see if she could beat her score from years prior. Noticing a notification pop up on one of her games, Jaina''s mood immediately improved as the only people on her friends lists were other Princesses and interesting people she had forced to y with her in exchange for information. Most of them quit shortly after ying for the amount of time specified in the contract, but, every now and then, she managed to convert one of her sisters into a hardcore gamer like herself. Opening her notification box, Jaina was unsurprised to see the nickname ''HatefulMonkeySnake'' in the sender column. This was the nickname she had assigned Yuri''s ount handle after thetter joined up with Vahn and started wreaking havoc throughout the Tower. She normally wouldn''t have cared, but, three days after Yuri''s year-long ''vacation'' in the Little Garden, she ended up bbing to Jaina about her rtionship with Vahn. To make matters even worse, she also prattled on about the existence of the Quest System, so, as an avid gamer, Jaina couldn''t help feeling ''extremely'' envious of her elder sister''s luck. If her spoon was tinum, Yuri''s was formed from some type of rare and indescribably valuable gemstone, as, despite being aplete idiot, everything always seemed to go her way... With half her face sinking beneath the surface of the water, Jaina began to blow bubbles as she prepared herself to read Yuri''s braggadocious text. To her surprise, there were only three words making up the body of the message, specifically, "Look behind you." This caused Jaina''s body to tense up, as, despite being an irredeemable idiot, Yuri was also a remarkably straight-forward and tactless woman. Though it would have been simpler to use her Lighthouses to reflect the view behind her, Jaina slowly shifted around in the bath until she was staring at the empty space behind the tub. Under normal circumstances, this would have caused her to feel relief, but, shortly after she had looked back, Yuri''s disembodied head, attached to a translucent neck, manifested out of the void as she shouted, "Boo...!" Without startling in the slightest, Jaina simply stared at Yuri for several seconds before asking one of the most important questions guing her thoughts, chiefly, "Are you alone...?" Stepping out of the void as if it were some kind of malleable fabric, Yuri adopted a slight pout as she said, "You''re no fun. What kind ofme reaction is that?" Ignoring Yuri''sment, Jainamanded her Lighthouses to scan the area as her Opera, located in her main bedroom, lit up like a miniature sun. Even this didn''t allow her to sense where Yuri had emerged from, however, so, even without the former exining, she could reasonably assume that Vahn was either nearby or currently present. This caused her face and body to heat up considerably, as, despite caring very little about three-dimensional romance, the notion that an invisible deity had invaded her bath was supremely embarrassing. Amused by the pink-haired woman''s reaction, Yuri was thinking about the best method to tease her when Vahn sent her a telepathic message telling her to stop fooling around. Unfortunately, this only served to rile her up even further, so, before the former could use his Unit Management to teleport her away, Yuri began to undress, saying, "Make some room. It''s been a long time since west took a bath together. I might not longer be a Princess of Jahad, but I''m still your big sister. It''s important for us to bond when we get the chance~." Disregarding Jaina''s protests, Yuri stripped down in a matter of seconds before forcing the petite pinkette forward and sinking into the peculiar green Shinsu filling the tub. This caused the bath to overflow a bit, and, due to the runes on the tub only affecting the Shinsu within, a rather sizeable explosion urred as the highlypressed liquid instantaneously converted into a gaseous mist that quickly filled the entire room. With reaction speed that allowed her to casually dodge lightspeed attacks, Yuri was easily able to veil Jaina with her Ki long before the explosion urred. Despite this, the pink-haired maiden still had a disgruntled expression on her face, and, were it not for the fact that she might trigger a muchrger reaction by moving around too quickly, she would have immediately kicked Yuri in her smug face. Instead, she retreated to the opposite end of the oversized tub, hands protecting her rtively modest breasts as she asked, "Tell me, why are you here? Where is Vah-, I mean, where is the Sage Dragon Emperor? You clearly had his help infiltrating this ce. Subtlely has never been your strong point..." Laughing in response to Jaina''s words, Yuri hooked her arms over the sides of the tub, answering, "You''re right~!" before using her toes to invade the pinkette''s personal space. This caused Jaina''s face to redden considerably, as, due to the former''s height, she could easily extend her toes to the opposite end of the bath. Yuri wasn''t exactly shy, either, so, even if Jaina wanted to shout at her to stop messing around, getting her to behave was nigh-impossible. Just as Jaina was about to protest, the tips of her ears turning scarlet, her mindpletely nked when Yuri simply vanished into thin air. Were it not for her clothes littering the ground, Jaina might have assumed she was having some kind of fever dream. Instead, she quickly yet cautiously got out of the tub before hurrying over to the hamper containing the same garments she had been wearing prior to her bath. Under normal circumstances, Jaina wouldn''t think twice about wearing the same clothes for days on end. This time, however, she hesitated for a moment before lifting her frilly pink panties to her nose and giving them a tentative whiff. The smell of her own aroma caused her still-ruddy cheeks to turn a textbook example of apple red, as, for the first time in her life, she deeply regretted not practicing proper hygiene... Though the notion she was being watched made her feel exceptionally flustered, Jaina did her best to wash her panties in one of the tubs before donning them. She was lucky that the enchantments on the tub attracted the Shinsu within towards the bottom, so, as long as she was careful, anything pulled from within would dry before it breached the rim. The enchantment was like an exceptionally powerful ma, so, even though she invested several minutes into washing her clothes, she didn''t have to worry about having to dry them out after the fact. By the time she was ready to go upstairs, Jaina had spent the better part of forty minutes mentally and physically preparing herself. Before she left the bath, however, she made sure to stamp her feet on Yuri''s clothes. She might be the closest thing to a real friend Jaina had ever made but that didn''t mean she would simply forgive everything the former Princess did. Just the thought of what might have transpired if Yuri wasn''t teleported away caused her to turn beet red, so, if she didn''t take her anger out on ''something'', she wouldn''t be able to calm down. With her petty revengeplete, Jainabined all the miniature Lighthouses she had brought with her into a muchrger cube before riding it back to her room. She disdained having to walk around, so, much like a member of the Eurasia Family, her preferred mode of travel was floating. In fact, it was this ability that first earned her the attention of the Tperie Family, as, despite the fact she had yet to be a Regr, she could freely manipte the Tower''s Shinsu. The only other people with capability were Irregrs and absolute monsters like Baek Ryun, so, ever since she was a child, the entire Toweruded her as a genius. Unfortunately, due to her nervousness, said genius could barely travel in a straight line, and, were it not for an invisible force preventing her from stumbling, she might have fallen off her Lighthouse as it ascended the spiral staircase connecting her bath to another of the castle''s secret chambers. With her intelligence, Jaina could easily guess that the invisible force was somehow rted to Vahn, so, by the time she finally reached her bedroom, her face had be a dangerous shade of red as she manipted the doors to open with her Shinsu control. Instead, undetectable despite the fact they were a few meters away from her Opera, arge group of people was sitting in a semi-circle, clearly waiting for her to arrive. This included an unrealistically handsome man with dark-brown hair and green eyes that seemed to shift to a mysterious shade of blue whenever the light hit them just right. Unfortunately, the moment he looked towards her and smiled, Jaina immediately cked out, propelled from her Lighthouse as if Vahn''s smile carried some kind of physical force behind it... --- Feeling a peculiar and somewhat ticklish warmth spreading through her body, Jaina opened her eyes to discover that she was sleeping in the middle of a distortedndscape filled with adorable yet mishappen creatures. This confused her quite a bit, but, seeing a sickeningly cute girl with pink hair floating a few meters from her position, understanding donned upon her as she groaned, "It''s been a while...Lady Eurasia..." Nodding her head, the pink-haired girl, Blossom, approached to within a few centimeters of Jaina''s position before exining, "You passed out. I suppose locking yourself away and refusing to even meet your own Guide face-to-face has had some...unfortunate side effects..." Adopting a pout that was greatly emphasized due to the fact she was currently in a dreamscape, Jainained, "3D isn''t supposed to beparable to 2D. There is something seriously wrong with that guy. Wait. I know! He must be using some kind of transformation magic to make himself look better...!" Cupping her cheek like a concerned mother, Blossom adopted a somewhat helpless expression as she softly remarked, "What a helpless girl..." before immediately following it up with a radiant smile the moment Jaina red at her. Then, before the pinkette couldin, she snapped her fingers and said, "Well, I''m sure you''ll do better the second time. Good luck~!" Confused by Blossom''s words, Jaina was about to ask what the inordinately petite woman was talking about when the ground beneath her spontaneously ceased to exist. This caused her to fall into an abyssal ck void, frightening her to such an extent that she immediately lurched forward in the real world, grabbing the closest thing to her. Unfortunately, this just so happened to be Vahn, so, after several seconds of stunned silence, Jaina immediately cked out a second time... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''I wish I could set High Scores like that...'',''Yuri has naughty toes...'',''RIP Jaina xD...'') Chapter 2014: Value and Misunderstandings

Chapter 2014: Value and Misunderstandings

Once Jaina was able to stay conscious for more than a few seconds, Vahn finally got around to the reason for his visit, surprising the pinkette with a nket,forter, and pillow as he exined, "I know about your attempts to procure the pillows I gifted away in the lower floors. I would normally chastise you for such behavior, but, since your situation was something that had been inadvertently caused by events I set in motion, please ept these aspensation." Receiving the three pieces of ''Divine Bedding'', anyints that Jaina might have had regarding Ureko''s visit faded away the moment she felt their texture and softness. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced, and, were it not for the fact there were still more than a dozen people in her room, she might have gone to sleep then and there. Seeing Jaina hugging her pillow as if it were a great treasure, Vahn couldn''t helpparing her to the members of the Eurasia Family. She even had their characteristic pink hair, but, a stark contrast to the Mare-descended maidens, Jaina spent so much time awake that it often caused her to have health problems. This had been remedied by the blood infusion she had received after bing a Princess of Jahad, but, even now, there were dark circles beneath both of her eyes, a tell-tale sign she wasn''t getting enough sleep. Since she probably wouldn''t listen if he told her to get more sleep, Vahn figured he might as well ensure that the sleep she was getting was of the highest quality. The Divine Comforter was perfect for this, as, not only did it generate a protective barrier around the user, it increased the ''efficiency'' of their sleep by 800%. This meant, even if she was only getting an hour of sleep every other day, it was the same as resting for a full eight hours. Though there was a chance someone like Jaina woulde up with a way to exploit the beddings in the most ''efficient'' manner, thefort they provided made this unlikely. She was far more likely to be ustomed to even longer periods of sleep, as,pared to the ''real world'', being able to control and manipte her dreams at will was a tremendous blessing for someone as infatuated with video games as Jaina was. After all, unless you were proactively involved with it, the real world simply wasn''t that interesting... Wanting to give Jaina the opportunity to try out the surprisingly rare artifacts, Vahn surprised the pinkette quite a bit when he turned to hisrades and suggested, "We should be going. I''m sure our little friend here would like to get back to ying her video games and spying on people using her Opera." Before anyone else could reply, Jaina, still hugging her freshly gifted beddings, intoned a confused, "Eh?" before immediately following it up by asking, "You''re leaving so soon? Didn''t you want to ask me something, or, I don''t know, invite me toe with you?" There her social skills were sub-par, Jaina had always had a ''knack'' for saying whatever was on her mind. Since there was a very real possibility that Vahn would never return if he just up and left, most of her nervousness had been momentarily suppressed by sincere concern. After all, he basically had the power to turn a person''s life into a video game, so, as much as shemented the idea of leaving her room, she feared ''never'' leaving even more. Vahn was essentially a ''super tinum spoon'', so, if she passed up on this opportunity, she was sure to regret it. Raising a single brow in response to the girl''s unexpected inquiry, Vahn was about to ask the Law of Identity what the heck she was thinking when Yuri chimed in to teasingly remark, "No way. Without the Opera, you''re practically useless. What makes you think Vahn would want to haul around azy brat who spends most of her time ying video games? You''re better off staying here in your little castle and messing with anyone whoes seeking information." Puffing out her cheeks, Jaina''s purple eyes began to glisten with a hint of moisture as she failed to think of anything that might refute Yuri''s ims. After all, Vahn had demonstrated, time and again, that he didn''t really need the help of others. He could go wherever he wanted and do whatever he pleased without any real consequences. All she was good at was collecting information, spying on people, and manipting markets to her advantage. These capabilities were extremely coveted by most people, but, as virtually anyone who had met him could attest, Vahn wasn''t anything like most people... Realizing that she might be ''useless'', an extremely sour feeling spread through Jaina''s nose as the moisture in her eyes surpassed the threshold to generate tears. This caused the smile on Yuri''s face to immediately cramp up, as, despite the content of her statement, it should have been obvious she was just joking. She just wanted to get a rise out of the petite pinkette, not reduce her to tears... Seeing Yuri look towards him for support, an inaudible sigh escaped Vahn''s throat as he shook his head and said, "Yuri''sck of a filter shouldn''te as a surprise. You shouldn''t take it personally..." Shifting her attention to Vahn, a hopeful glimmer appeared in Jaina''s eyes as she expected him to say something nice to counteract Yuri''s previous remark. Instead, she felt as though the world was crashing down around her as he went on to exin, "Still, there is a grain of truth to her words. You have built your entire life around your ability to use the Opera. It has allowed you to amass enough wealth to rival organizations that have been around for thousands of years, and, more importantly, it has drastically changed the way you view other people. You see them as nothing more than NPCs with rudimentary behavioral patterns that you can easily exploit for your own ends...tell me, if I were to invite you to apany, what, exactly, would you hope to aplish...?" Since she hadn''t really thought about it, other than imagining how fun it would be, Jaina''s response was to bury her face into the bedding Vahn had gifted her. She found herself incapable of refuting a single thing he had said, so, for the first time in her life, she began to consider whether or not what she had been doing was ''right''. After all, if someone were to observe her with the same scrutiny she observed the lives of countless others, there''s no way she wouldn''t feel ufortable... Seeing Jaina seriously considering his words, Vahn''s impression of the petite pinkette developed in direct proportion to the amount of guilt he felt. She was clearly just a misguided young girl with an inordinate amount of talent for gathering and processing information. It wasn''t like she was evil, so, while his words hadn''t been wrong, it didn''t feel right to chastise her for behaving in a way that was encouraged by virtually everyone around her. Unfortunately, that same logic could apply to people who hadmitted some of the most heinous crimes imaginable, so, while a part of him wanted to apologize, the experiences he had umted over the yearspelled him to remain silent. In the end, it was Blossom who suggested, "I say we let here along. Even if it''s just a temporary arrangement, the ability to operate an Opera makes her invaluable so long as you''re still inside the Tower. In fact, unless I''ve misjudged your ability to ''know everything'', her abilitiesplement your own quite a bit. She also has pink hair, so, even if you don''t wish for her to apany you beyond the Tower, I''m certain she would fit right in with the members of my family~." With Blossom essentially saying she would take responsibility for Jaina''s future, Vahn had no real reason to refuse her. He suspected this woulde back to bite him, but, despite Yuri talking them up like they were character ws, Vahn had always been fond of girls with hikikomori characteristics. He enjoyed pampering his women quite a bit, and, as fate would have it, one of the women closest to his heart just so happened to be among theziest Goddesses in her Record... Though it was impossible topare them directly, especially considering Jaina''s productivity, the fact she had even briefly reminded him of Hestia went a long way towards ensuring her a potential position within the Little Garden. The notion that she would get along well with girls such as X and Tomoe also helped her case quite a bit, so, after a very brief period of consideration, Vahn nodded his head and said, "Very well. Though I imagine my earlier words might have given you a reason to reconsider-" Before Vahn could even get to his apology, Jaina surprised nearly everyone present by practically bouncing to her feet and shouting, "I''ll go...!" with an excited smile and an even more enthusiastic glimmer in her eyes. The fear of missing out on her chance a second time allowed her to suppress her negative emotions, so, while some might mistake her earlier behavior as crocodile tears, Vahn''s ability to vaguely discern a person''s aura even without View Affection allowed him to ascertain the truth. Smiling in response to the petite pinkette''s enthusiasm, Vahn was about to make a second attempt at apologizing when Yuripletely ruined the atmosphere by suggesting, "I guess the only thing to have her do at this point is strip." with a massive grin on her face. Though she was briefly taken aback by Yuri''s words, a rather fierce me immediately appeared within Jaina''s amethyst eyes as she dropped the Divine Bedding, hands balled into resolute fists as she nervously stammered, "I...I''m not afraid! If it''s for my dream of living in a video game world, I''m willing to do whatever it takes...!" Noticing Jaina''s nostrils ring as she looked at him like a perfectly prepared dragon meat skewer, the smile that had developed on Vahn''s face immediately turned into an awkward grimace as Yuri cackled like a hyena at the side. She was still feeling a little guilty about making Jaina cry, so, even if her words had ultimately caused a misunderstanding, Yuri was pretty confident it would help out in the long run. Vahn was simply too kind, so, as long as she made an earnest effort, there was a very real chance he would help Jaina realize some of the fantasies she had developed thanks to her long istion and unrestricted observation of other people... With the Law of Identity narrating Yuri''s train of thought, Vahn was very tempted to give the former Princess a smack on the head. Instead, he met Jaina''s inordinately ''passionate'' purple eyes, dousing a bit of the fire contained within by exining, "You don''t need to get naked. What Yuri is indirectly alluding to is something called the Familia Induction Ceremony. By engraving my Familia Crest unto others, I am able to provide them with my Blessing as the God of Infinite Possibilities. You need only expose your back. After that, you will gain ess to the Quest System, and, so long as your belief is high enough, you can even change your physical characteristics or have me change your race like a certain muscle-brained snake-head..." Though it took her a few moments, Yuri eventually realized that Vahn was talking about her when several people directed their gazes her way. This caused her brow to twitch slightly, but, assuming this was Vahn''s way of getting back at her, she ultimately just crossed her arms before adopting a smile that didn''t quite reach her eyes. Violence didn''t really work on him, so, for the time being, she decided it was best to wait until she could ask for someone else''s advice before trying to get even... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''At least he didn''t give her the futon...'',''Voyeurism is bad...!'',''She''s learning...'') (A/N: This is technically the third chapter from yesterday. There will be three more releases before tomorrow''s reset unless somethinges up.) Chapter 2015: Learning From History

Chapter 2015: Learning From History

Though the order was a bit reversed, Vahn concluded Jaina''s induction into his Family by exining, in detail, the various perks rted to being one of his ''children''. After that, they surprised her Guide, Alumik Edrok, by exining to him that he no longer had a charge to look over. While it would have been a crippling blow to some other Guides, the fact that Jaina rarely even left her room meant Alumik''s only responsibility had been vetting her innumerable guests, ascertaining their true intentions, and sending them on their way. He had also received a warning from Evan, so, while he was curious about whaty beyond the 135th Floor, he didn''t insist that he follow along as her caretaker and Butler. Instead, like a father seeing off his daughter, he had Vahn swear to protect her before seeing the entire group off with a forced yet equally sincere smile. What Alumik hadn''t realized was that, prior to the rather dramatic sendoff, Vahn had been seriously considering whether or not he should transport Jaina''s pce to the 199th Floor. He would need to establish a seat of power there once he had deposed Jahad, so, in preparation for the future, he was intending to escort Jaina to each and every Floor so that her Opera could spread its influence to the rest of the Tower. Though he could have moved forward with his original intentions, regardless of what anyone else had to say on the matter, Vahn knew that Alumik was intending to return to the Empire to join his kin in preparation for the changes that were about to sweep across the Tower. Jahad wasn''t actually a fool, so, in acknowledgment of the fact he might be defeated, he had tasked Evan and the rest of the Edrok Family with developing countermeasures against the Empire''s copse. This was the main reason Vahn wasn''t in any hurry to advance to the 134th Floor. His experience in the Nasuverse had shown him what could happen in the wake of societal copse, but, unlike then, he didn''t have any measures in ce to counteract the effects. In the end, Vahn would be relying on his reputation and the acquiescence of existing institutions to prevent various forces from running rampant in the wake of Jahad''s defeat. This made him a lot like Jahad, but, unlike the aforementioned King, he didn''t mistake himself as a God, he was one. He also had the support of Gluttony, and, as a result, the support of virtually every Guardian. They couldn''t simply annul the contracts they had established with others, but, so long as he kept his word, they would support his endeavors without much fuss. This included implementing a modified version of the Common Law, and, more importantly, fundamentally changing the way in which people climbed the Tower. While he now understood that Jahad''s intent was to pit opportunistic individuals against each other in an effort to cull their numbers, what the King had failed to ount for was the corrupt nature of society. So long as there was a powerdder to ascend, people at the top would suppress people at the bottom. Inversely, people at the bottom would both resent and envy those at the top, and, due to feeling suppressed, they would do everything in their power to depose them. Simply put, by creating something like the Ten Great Families, Jahad had effectively jeopardized the entire system. He had also shot himself in the foot as the entire purpose of dering himself King was to distance himself from others and act as a deterrent to prevent Rankers and other sufficiently powerful people from using said power to oppress the peoples of the Tower. In essence, his desire to respect his formerpanions'' autonomy ended up creating the very kind of system he wanted to avoid. They were supposed to help him maintain control, but, due to their inordinately long lives and the traumas they had experienced during The Great War, chief the loss of their first-generation descendants, they had simply stopped caring. In the beginning, even Eduan had been a great father, and, while he didn''t agree with what Jahad was doing, he still supported the formation of the Empire along with his fellowpanions. It was when the members of FUG had assassinated his first wife and all of their children that he ended uppletely losing his mind. The pain he had experienced,bined with the fact he had not been allowed to seek revenge, caused him to develop the mentality that he couldn''t be hurt if he simply didn''t care. After that, he drowned his sorrows in every pleasure imaginable, married more than a hundred different women, and, in the end, established one of thergest and most dysfunctional families in the entire Tower. While Eduan was ultimately to me for every major issue guing the modern Khun Family, he, like virtually everyone else in the Tower, was a victim of circumstance. Had he been allowed to let out his anger and frustrations on the people who had ughtered his family, his personality might not have deviated all that far from his data-self. The Khun Family would have still grown into arge and powerful ''n'', but, rather than being the father of nearly every mainline descendant, he would have watched over his sons and daughters as they created generational lines of their own. With the other ''Great Warriors'' having very simr circumstances, it was no surprise that they would allow their families to act as they pleased. After all, if they weren''t even allowed to protect and seek vengeance for their own children, their only option was empowering their descendants and creating an environment where they were provided every feasible advantage. This entailed consolidating the Tower''s wealth, and, more importantly, suppressing the development of organizations unrted to their Families. Though their initial intentions had simply been self-preservation, it didn''t take long for such ''victim mentalities'' to nourish the seeds of corruption that existed within the hearts of and minds of nearly every sapient creature. This mentality allowed them to justify all manner of atrocities, as, from their perspective, they were the ''real'' victims. They believed that, if they didn''t act, they would be killed off by people who coveted their wealth and power, so, before that could happen, they came to the conclusion they needed to kill any and all threats before they mature. As ''unfortunate'' as this development was, it was actually one of the mostmon developments in the history of every culture across the Records. Those who first ventured out considered themselves as explorers who simply wanted to know more about the world they inhabited. They were driven by a sincere desire to learn more, and, more importantly, survive. It was this desire that allowed them to brave the unknown, and, alongside like-minded individuals, these first explorers were the people responsible for the creation of nearly every civilization in existence. Unfortunately, the moment people began to settle down and develop infrastructure to make their lives easier, they quickly became hostile to anyone outside their immediate friends and family. This was an important instinct, but, more often than not, most of the people migrating from location to location were, like their ancestors, merely looking for a ce to settle down. Despite this, it was themon assumption of established societies that anyone attempting to join them from the outside was simply trying to take advantage of the systems and infrastructure they had established. Instead of embracing the unknown and joining hands with their fellow man, the very behavior that allowed them to thrive in an inhospitable world, they began fearing anything outside of theirfort zone. Though it was this fear that allowed for the existence of multiple cultures, it was also what gave rise to war. The assumption that anyone born outside yourmunity coveted what you owned caused tensions to gradually increase until it became something a self-fulfilling prophecy. After all, the best method to prevent others from coveting your wealth was to ughter them, upy theirnd, and take away theirs in turn. This sentiment allowedmunities to develop into countries, and, due to establishing a tradition of conquest, the norm for budding civilizations wasn''t to establish trade and work alongside their fellow man, it was to seize whatever they desired from people they gradually began to view as ''lesser'' than themselves. It was only when the cost of war became too great that trade became the norm, but, in the grand scheme of things, this was little more than a method to rue wealth in preparation for the next war... Following these principles, the Great Warriors had originally ventured into the Tower, not to seize power and install themselves as rulers, but to protect the people they cared about. The world they hade from had been on itsst legs due to the invasion of strange creatures from beneath the ocean floor, so, in the hope of obtaining enough power to turn the tides of war, they ventured into the Tower to be ''True Gods''. Instead, they found a chaotic world filled with monstrous beings and countless civilizations fighting over what few resources could be found. While most people would have been dispirited, their desire to see an end to all conflict was what allowed Jahad and hispanions to press forward. They fought to unify the peoples within the Tower, and, as a result, they were able to assemble like-minded individuals to apany them in their conquest of the upper floors, ces spoken of only in legend prior to the Age of Ascension. Were it not for the machinations of the Workshop, there was a very real chance that Jahad and the Great Warriors would have conquered the entire Tower. Unfortunately, reaching the 134th Floor had already taken thousands of years, and, in the process, most of the people they had initially brought with them had died along the way. Thus, rather than risking their lives to save a world that had very likely been destroyed, Jahad decided to protect the home they had found for themselves within the Tower. As for why he chose to stop on the 134th Floor, it was primarily due to the fact that, prior to the Age of Genesis, no civilizations had existed beyond the 100th Floor. In essence, Jahad had wanted to protect the people of the Tower, not conquer them. His only real fault in that regard was that he couldn''t be the impartial God he believed the Tower needed him to be. He had also fallen for a woman who, prior to his sudden and spontaneous proposal, had already been in a rtionship for thousands of years. Then, instead of marrying someone else or putting his foot down on the issue, he pressed forward to ensure the fulfillment of several prophecies. This was in spite of his belief that fate was something shaped by the people living in the present, so, in more ways than one, Jahad was simply a hypocrite. Now, thousands of yearster, everything Jahad initially stood for existed as little more than a shell of his former principles. The Empire had be the very force of corruption it intended to oppose, and, due to their circumstances, the Ten Great Families had be the root cause of innumerable tragedies. In essence, the system he had created was the very antithesis of his ideals, but, believing it was only a matter of time before Arlen''s prophecy would be fulfilled, a prophecy he had a hand in creating, Jahad simply bided his time until that fateful day. He failed to consider the fact that others might be able to influence fate to a simr degree, so, now that Vahn had entered the Tower, it was only a matter of time before the King was forced to answer for his crimes. Fortunately, at least for the time being, Vahn was too busy introducing new game consoles to Jaina to care about what his penultimate enemy within the Tower was up to... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Poor Alumik xD...'',''Everyone has their reasons...'',''Vahn ''bout to hit Jahad with that Uno Reverse Card...'') Chapter 2016: Inception

Chapter 2016: Inception

As much as he enjoyed seeing Jaina defeating Yuri in every single game they yed together, Vahn decided it would be prudent of him to focus a little more on his training. The limitations he had set regarding the Little Garden gave him considerably less time to focus on things like honing his skills, so, for the first time in a long while, he had to bnce his life like a ''normal'' person. A usual day for Vahn involved waking up long before dawn, cooking breakfast for the girls, taking a nice long bath, checking in on everyone in the Tower, tending to Pram, performing maintenance on his Zanpakuto, preparing lunch, checking in on everyone a second time, watching anime, preparing dinner, having sex, checking in on everyone a third time, and,st but not least, spending time with the members of the Eurasia Family within his Dreamscape. Though he could always ''find'' extra time when he really needed it, Vahn''s schedule was jam-packed from non-existent sunrise to sunset. He also couldn''t skip things like watching anime, as, at least for the time being, it was one of the only ways he got to rx and simply cut loose with his women. He didn''t want their rtionship to revolve around sex, so, while there were a number of exceptions, he typically kept ''sexy times'' for after dark. As could be expected when every waking moment of your day was dictated by a routine, thest few months had, at least from Vahn''s perspective, passed in a blink. This wasn''t necessarily a bad thing, but, every now and again, he would imagine the voices of his former mentors scolding him for letting his skills rust. While this was far from the actual truth,rge in part due to his [Universal Mind] and [Actualization] Innates, the central themes of Vahn''s life had always been working hard, ying hard, and grasping power with his own hands. With [Universal Mind]pounding in ordance with its rank, Vahn would be able to produce upwards of 3,265,920 Temtes once it reached SSS. To this end, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that he could simply allow his Temtes to run wild, and, as a result, he would be umting the knowledge and experiences of hundreds, thousands, or even millions of Tier 5 beings. In a way, this made training seem pointless, but, were it not for the support of Sis, Vahn had little doubt he would have been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of useless and conflicting information transmitted by his Temtes. To this end, the vast majority of Vahn''s ''training'' revolved around meditation, or, more specifically, attempting toprehend the Mantra of Eternity. He no longer had any doubts that The Path had given him the Mantra and Eva''s Orb to aid him along the path he had chosen. The former''s purpose was still an enigma, but, were it not for Eva, there was a very real chance that his past would still be haunting him to this day. Mastering the Magia Erebea had forced Vahn to confront his past directly, and, in the end, he was able to ept and move on from the events that had shaped his childhood. From that moment on, he no longer experienced the night terrors that Sis kept at bay. Instead, he found a kindred spirit in Eva, and, in the end, he even managed to return the favor by liberating her from the cycle of hatred and negativity forced upon her by The Mage of the Beginning. Since the Mantra of Eternity had been bestowed upon him around the time when he was seriously considering linking multiple Records, Vahn believed mastering it was the key to achieving that goal. It had the ability to increase his spiritual energy without limit, and, ever since he had obtained it, the mantra had been one of the pirs supporting his rapid development. It had reinforced the concept introduced by his [Will of the Emperor], chiefly that there were no limits, only inexperience, ack of will, and ack ofprehension... --- Opening his eyes, Vahn exhaled a stagnant breath that caused the emerald-green moss that had spontaneously sprouted around him to ripple as if it were a living creature. At the same time, the Shinheuh who had been watching him from a distance promptly retreated, the ze covering their eyes rapidly faded away as the inordinately peaceful energy radiating from his body was expunged from their systems. Shifting his attention away from the fleeing monstrosities, Vahn extended his index finger so that a crystalline dragonfly couldnd. This was one of the many mysterious creatures that appeared when he contemted the Mantra of Eternity, and, now that he had awoken, it was only a matter of time before it dissolved away into nothingness, undetectable by even Da Vinci''s most advanced scientific instruments. As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn watched silently as the tips of the dragonfly''s wings rapidly dissolved. The emerald-green moss coating therge stone he was seated upon also began to lose its color, but, unlike the dragonfly, it managed to persevere as rtively normal moss even after the energy exuding from his body faded away. The same could be said for every other type of flora that was affected by his power, but, considering his inordinate affinity with nts, Vahn wasn''t especially surprised. Suppressing a sigh, Vahn rose to his feet, and, after dusting himself off, he checked the time to see that seven hours had passed since he told the girls he was going to train. This meant he had missed lunch, and, while it wasn''t an issue for any of them to miss meals, he knew Yuri and Enne would be a little disappointed he hadn''t shown up to taste the results of their effort. They had been working hard to master the basics of cooking, so, in a way, he had let them down by not being there when they needed him. Shaking that thought from his mind, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he found himself considering whether or not he should pause time, retire to an Actualized World, or make use of the Little Garden in secret. This was a testament to just how reliant he was on the boons his Innates had provided him, as, despite having one of the most fulfilling lives imaginable, he was always searching for something ''more''. It was almost like an instinct, and, no matter how much he tried to focus on a single matter, his mind had a way of cing just as much emphasis on other, oftentimes unrted, things... Though he had once considered this a side-effect of his [Universal Mind] Innate, Vahn knew he had been this way ever since he first stepped out of the Western Forest hundreds of years prior. He just hadn''t realized it at the time, as, back then, even the existence of trees, grass, and curiously shaped stones were new and exciting to him. He was someone without any real experience, so, every time he encountered something new, regardless of how mundane others might consider it to be, he feltpelled to know more. At this point, nearly four-hundred-years had passed since his time in the forest, yet, in spite of this, Vahn''s curiosity and intrigue towards the world around him had never waned. Rather, they seemed to grow stronger with the passage of time, and, were it not for his rather expansive harem and the family he had waiting for him back ''home'', he could easily imagine himself spending thousands of years just experimenting with his [Actualization] Innate. The amount of control he had over each of the Actualized Worlds was, simply put, intoxicating. There was little he couldn''t do, and, if he really wanted, he could make an amalgamation of multiple worlds just to see how the inhabitants, chiefly the Gods, would react to various situations... Staring at his palms, Vahn imagined each speck of moss, remnants of when he had brushed himself off, to be entire multiverses. Were he inside his Internalize Realm, these would have been motes of light, but, regardless of the form they took, it didn''t change the fact that he held iprehensible power over beings who, for the most part, didn''t even know he existed. This was a terrifying notion, and, were it not for The Path affording him insights into the very structure of creation, he might not even be aware of how his life was being manipted by beings beyondprehension... Noticing his fingers trembling ever-so-slightly, the pupils of Vahn''s aquamarine eyes narrowed to the size of pinholes, as, for a very brief moment, the idea that he was currently being manipted crossed his mind. He knew Tier 7 basically epassed everything in reality and fiction, yet, at the very beginning of his journey, he had actually met a being that eclipsed all of that... Thinking of Klyscha, Vahn attempted to recall their encounter, yet, despite possessing the ability to recollect everything he had ever experienced, he couldn''t remember what she looked like. The only thing he could remember was that he had met her, and, despite not being able to even imagine her voice, her words resonated in his ears as if he were hearing them for the first time... With a sound simr to lightning reaching his ears, Vahn''s eyes immediately came back into focus as he noticed the boulder he was standing on now had a massive crack from top to bottom. Then, as if responding to the notion that he hadn''t intended to break anything, both sides rejoined as if they had never been separated in the first ce. This caused a cold sensation to spread through his body, and, for the first time in a long while, his [Will of the Emperor] was operating in overdrive just to keep him calm. Though he didn''t actually need to breathe, Vahn willed himself to take several deep breaths as the realization that Sis hadn''t been speaking dawned upon him. This was something that had only ever urred under very specific circumstances, so, rather than allowing himself to panic, Vahn began to consider alternatives to the existential realization he had ''chanced'' upon. Since his [Will of the Emperor] had only recently activated, Vahn quickly dismissed the possibility that he might be suppressing her. In fact, ever since she had obtained an Ego of her own, he wasn''t even sure he ''could'' suppress her. Thus, with that possibility eliminated, the only viable exnations were that he was either dreaming or trapped within an illusion. Of these options, the former made a lot more sense, as, unless he had somehow ensnared himself, the [Eyes of Truth] made him immune to most illusions that didn''t affect reality itself. While it was possible that someone like Madara might be able to prank him using something like the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Vahn didn''t want to imagine she would go to such lengths just to mess with him. It wasn''t like there was any bad blood between them, so, unless she had been put up to it by someone else... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn remembered who, exactly, Madara had been traveling with. This caused his left brow to twitch, and, though he wasn''t ''too'' angry, Vahn couldn''t prevent a smile that didn''t quite reach his eyes from developing across his face. After all, the first thing he had done after ''waking up'' had been to check the time using the system interface. This would be impossible if he were in a dream, as, not only did the system interface not appear, the only Innate he could make use of while unconscious was his [Will of the Emperor]. In other words, someone with ''very'' intimate knowledge of his memories, likely containing a version of their own, was either dictating everything he was currently experiencing, or, less likely, he had synchronized with one of his Temtes during his meditation and was currently essing their version of his memories... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn is a busy man...'',''I would argue that an insatiable curiosity is necessary for any being that could feasibly exist beyond eternity...'',''This is either an omega-tier bruh moment or a very peculiar turn of events...'') Chapter 2017: Reminisce

Chapter 2017: Reminisce

While Vahn was attempting to make sense of his situation, the control room within his mind was in a state of disarray. Catgirls of various shapes and sizes were running around in a panic, and, though she was doing her best to maintain control, even Sis was feeling more than a little anxious. Somehow, against all rhyme and reason, Vahn had managed to peel back a substantial number of the protectiveyers guarding his greatest secret. This was very-nearly a worst-case scenario, as, if he essed that information before he was ready, the consequences would be both unimaginable and irreversible. Though she hated keeping things from him, The Path had determined that Vahn needed to be very near the pinnacle of Tier 6 before the seals ced on him could be removed. At the present, he was still meandering through the shallow end of what it meant to be an ''unrestrained'' Tier 5, so, while it was only a matter of time before he uncovered the truth, he was grossly unprepared to cope with it. Seeing the seals surrounding the sphere representing Vahn''s soul slowly dissolve away, Sis couldn''t help clicking her tongue before biting her nail with a vexed expression on her face. The degradation rate was only at 8.03219%, but, from the moment he had be one with The Path, the amount of power Vahn could ess was limited to 1% of his Soul''s potential. Even that required him going ''all out'', so, now that his limiter had been breached, there was no way of calcting just how powerful he had be. The Path was literally connected to the source of all energy within what Vahn described as the Tier System. It was one of the foundational pirs of reality itself, so, even if he had only ever been able to ess a single percentage of its power, it was only a matter of time before he stood at the very pinnacle of power within the Records. The only thing preventing him from reaching that point in an instant was his desire to see and experience the world around him rather than simply lording over it like some kind of untouchable existence. Vahn was the type of person who could be totally engrossed in the structure of a single atom, so, while he could easily obtain even greater power, his curiosity and his sincere desire to interact with the residents of each Record prevented him from advancing too quickly. In even simpler terms, this meant his power increased in direct proportion to the perceived strength of whatever threat he was facing. There were no limits to this, as, unlike the beings restricted to their respective Records, Vahn was an existence that, on the most fundamental level, transcended everything else entirely. Suppressing a sigh, Sis ordered her sisters to do everything in their power to prevent the seal from degrading even further. It was beyond her power and authority to even attempt reapplying the seal, as, from the very beginning, it was always intended to be destroyed when Vahn began searching for answers about himself. Right now, he was too distracted by events happening around him to really care, but, once he was nearing the pinnacle of Tier 6, he would have had no choice but to reflect, as, from the moment he ascended to Tier 7, reality would essentially be a representation of how he and his counterpart viewed themselves in respect to one another. In essence, it would be apromise shared between them, so, without having an absolute understanding of himself, Vahn''s path towards Tier 7 was blocked... --- Unaware of the turmoil his minor breakthrough intoprehending the Mantra of Eternity had caused, Vahn began experimenting with ways to break through the ''illusion'' that had been cast on him. He had convinced himself that his current situation was the result of someone with an intimate understanding of his thoughts and memories pulling a prank, so, rather than get all flustered about it, he decided to use it as an opportunity to practice breaking free from techniques that intercepted his consciousness. Though there were a number of differences, Vahn likened his current situation to a ''full dive'' into the Virtual World. Simply put, someone had used a technique to fool his own mind into creating a world based on his own thoughts and memories. In other words, everything he was currently seeing and experiencing was a construct of his own mind, so, when he imagined the sky turning pink, there wasn''t even a dy before the pitch-ck void above became a vibrant pink hue. He could extend his hand to grasp mountain-sized Shinheuh in the distance, and, due to the Law of Perspective, they would be the size of insects within the palm of his hand. Seeing the miniature monstrosities panicking within the invisible bounds of his grasp, Vahn decided to test the limits of this Phantasmagoria-like illusion by expanding his domain far beyond its natural limits. His domain allowed him to grasp the position of even the most minute particles within range of his senses, so, if the world was being generated based on his thoughts and memories, he should be able to ''break'' it by pushing his perception to the absolute limits. Unsurprisingly, Vahn was able to extend his domain far beyond the maximum range he was able to achieve in the outside world. Infinitely more surprising was the fact he couldn''t detect even a single anomaly within its 8,991km range. This indicated that his mind was either filling in the nks, or, far more frightening, drawing from his memories to generate the entire Tower all at once. In Layman''s Terms, there was a very real possibility he was currently trapped within a fully fabricated yet illusory Realm... Rubbing his temples, both as a result of frustration and the sheer amount of information his brain was trying to process, Vahn habitually retracted his domain before ''teleporting'' back to the cottage he shared with the girls. His domain had allowed him to sense that each and every one of them was being generated, but, while they emted natural thoughts and movements, it hadn''t escaped him that they were ''exactly'' where he expected them to be. In other words, everything within the illusion was moving, perfectly, in ordance with his expectations. Emphasizing this point, Vahn found Fenrir lying face-down in their bed, butt raised and face pressed into the spot where he typicallyy. This was a marking behavior she had developed years ago, and, though he was fully aware of it, Vahn had never called her out on it since her aroma actually helped him to rx. She was also pretty careful about not getting caught, so, the moment that thought his mind, Vahn was unsurprised to see Fenrir simply vanish before reappearing in the kitchen alongside Yuri and Enne. Though he wasn''t nearly as shameless as his faithfulpanion, Vahn allowed himself to fall face-first onto the bed, Fenrir''s aroma soaking through his olfactory system as he did his best to remain calm. After all, this was actually quite the opportunity, and, so long as he suspended his disbelief a bit, he could experience a wondrous dream dictated by his expectations... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn''s heart seized as a very subtle vibration transmitted to him, a tell-tale sign that someone had just sat on the edge of the bed. Then, as his mind made itself up, he was able to sense a heart-wrenchingly familiar aura. Were it not for the fact his face was buried against the bedding, he might not have been able to prevent himself from tearing up, as, momentster, a concerned and slightly husky voice asked, "Is something the matter...?" Though Fenrir''s scent remained, the moment Vahn heard the voice, the world around him seemed to undergo a shift. He no longer found himself on the upper floor of a demure cottage situated on the 199th Floor of the Tower. Instead, in the blink of an eye, he was lying in bed back at the Hearth Manor, and, despite an extreme amount of guilt swelling from within, he couldn''t resist the urge to turn his head and face the red-headed beauty staring down at him with her slightly mismatched red and crimson eyes. Before Vahn could find the words the express himself, the woman, Hephaestus, adopted the most gentle smile he could imagine as she reached out to caress the side of his face and say, "You must have had it e, even if this is ultimately just an illusion, I can still be here for you..." Not expecting her to call attention to the fact they were currently trapped within an illusion, Vahn found himself at aplete loss for words. This elicited an amused chuckle from the Goddess, who, with a confident smile on her face, carefully moved aside a few strands of his hair as she asked, "Did you forget? We are connected in a way that no one else can emte. Your thoughts, memories, and even your emotions are all transmitted to me. Besides, you''re a hundred-million-years too young to think you can keep secrets from a Goddess as intuitive as myself..." Though her words had been directed towards him, Hephaestus'' eyes briefly shifted away from Vahn as a second red-headed beauty appeared out of thin air. Her casual mention of intuitive Goddesses had caused him to think about Loki, and, as a result, the Goddess in question appeared to ask, "Oh? What''s going on here~? Is our little boy toy feeling lonely~?" Without waiting for a reply, Loki caused Vahn to be a statue as she raised her hand to the side of her mouth and shouted, "Hey! Everyone! Get your butts in here! Vahn''s back~!" The moment Loki''s words fell, the door connecting Vahn''s room to the rest of the manor shattered into countless pieces as Tiona, followed by a veritable horde of women, burst into the room. Before she could leap towards him, however, Hestia appeared out of thin air, her godly aura active as she adopted an almostical martial arts stance and threatened, "Don''t even think about swarming him before I get a chance to wee him home...!" Completely ignoring the petite Goddess'' words, Tiona attempted to slip past Hestia only to find an imprable barrier blocking her path. This wasn''t in the form of any godly magic, however, it was due to the presence of numerous child-like individuals manifesting around Vahn the moment he sat up. These were none other than his children, and, the moment they appeared, understanding smiles appeared across the faces of everyone present as Hestia led them all to say, "Wee home..." --- After what felt like an inordinately long and painfully short length of time, Vahn opened his eyes to find himself seated atop the same moss-covered boulder he had chosen to meditate on. This time, however, there were far more animals, several of which were mammalian in nature, lingering around him. This included a remarkably adorable creature that looked like a mix between an emerald-green fox, a moth, and some kind of ivy. It also had watery blue eyes, and, the moment he looked down at it, Vahn could swear it smiled back at him. Undoubtedly as a result of this perception, the peculiar creature did not immediately dissolve when the rest of its kin disappeared into nothingness. Instead, it tentatively approached Vahn, cautiously sniffing his extended hand before nimbly climbing up to his shoulder and rubbing against him in a manner reminiscent of a cat. This caused a fine green powder to cover the left side of his face, but, after what he had experienced, there was very little that could perturb Vahn''s mental state. Instead, a smile developed across his face, and, though he wasn''t sure it would work, that didn''t prevent him from picking up the creature and musing, "I think I''ll call you...Beryl..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''...'',''...'',''...'') Chapter 2018: Skirting the Edge

Chapter 2018: Skirting the Edge

After returning to the cottage, Vahn apologized for beingte before spending the rest of the day as usual. As for Beryl, he decided to gift it to Jaina, as, from the perspective of everyone else, it was simply regarded as a Pokemon. They had already grown used to such creatures, so, while a part of him was tempted to keep the adorable creature for himself, Vahn ultimately allowed the Princess to look after it. Fortunately, none of the girls, sans Fenrir, Mikoto, and, to a lesser extent, Blossom seemed to suspect there was anything wrong with him. It wasn''t unusual for him to return calm and rxed after long periods of meditation. Rather, by virtue of the fact he had spent several hours meditating, it would have been stranger for him toe back tense and unfocused. This allowed Vahn to pass the rest of the day without anyone questioning whether or not anything was wrong, a question he wasn''t quite sure how to answer... ---several hours prior--- Though he wasn''t quite sure what had changed, Vahn could tell that ''something'' had happened. His senses seemed sharper than ever before, and, though it wasn''t to the extent he had achieved within the illusion, his domain was several timesrger than before. He could also feel something he could only describe as the ''will of thend'', a vague awareness that could be likened to his ability to sense emotions, just from ''everything''. As strange as it might sound, Vahn felt as though he could now determine the ''purpose'' of even the most minute particles of Shinsu. He could sense whether or not something was out of ce, and, if he focused his senses, it was like a faint, nearly inaudible, voice recounting the ''history'' of whatever he was looking at. This applied to the moss beneath him, and, though it was difficult to imagine, he could even focus his intent on individual particles and recount their journey from the moment they departed their parent stars, eager to experience something more... Feeling a soft yet slightly dry sensation against his cheek, Vahn returned to his senses to find that a rainbow-hued mist had gathered around his outstretched hand. Even stranger was the fact that this mist wasprised of countless individual particles, a massive congregation of constituent matter that, against all rhyme and reason, coexisted alongside other elementary particles without blending together or interfering with each other in the slightest. Instead, it was almost like they were waiting for him to decide what their purpose would be... As a God of Creation, Vahn actually had a fair amount of experience with pulling energy from the void to create things that simply didn''t exist before. His [Eyes of Truth] also allowed him to tap into the Law of Oblivion, one of the fundamental concepts that, presumably, gave form and function to everything within the Records. Despite these two things, Vahn had never experienced anything quite like the phenomenon he was currently observing. It was like everything in existence possessed a form of consciousness, but, like every other being within the Records, they were bound to a specific fate that had been determined from the very moment of their creation. Every single particle was exactly where it was supposed to be at the exact moment it was supposed to be there, and, thanks to the existence of Laws touched upon by Quantum Theory, even particles that had been disced vast distances would simply snap back to their intended position, fulfilling the purpose they had been assigned. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible to change the ''purpose'' that had been assigned to individuals particles, as, much like everything else in the Records, their past, present, and future had already been determined. It was only when an ''outside force'' acted upon them that their fate could be changed, and, as a result, even elementary particles could eventually grow to be something ''more''...something without limits... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn realized that the nearly indiscernible voice within his mind was none other than the Mantra of Eternity. It turned out that the sounds he had been hearing all this time were, quite literally, the voice of all things. It was as if the world was telling him its story, and, as a result of their desire to be heard, innumerable voices had been ovepping in such a way that it was impossible to make out what was being said. This was why he always felt at one with the world while he was meditating, and, as he got better at listening, the world around him shifted, not in response to his will, but because it was seeking ''greater purpose'' by interacting with the energy emanating from his body... Now that he could hear its voice, the world, like an insatiably curious child, was waiting for him, not to tell it what to do, but to give it permission to act. In this manner, it wasn''t all that dissimr from his past self, as, much like the naive young boy he had been at the start of his journey, it didn''t care where it ended up, only that it could choose what to do from there... While it might seem nonsensical to attribute such human sentiments to particles without any Ego of their own, Vahn had literally sired children with conceptual beings, so, while he couldn''t help feeling a little perturbed, that didn''t stop him from saying, "Go...be free..." in recognition of the yearning he could sense from the world around him. In response, the rainbow-hued mist immediately vanished, and, perhaps as a result of his statement''s ambiguity, so too did arge portion of the environment. With the exception of some organic matter, most of the rocks, minerals, and metals within earshot of Vahn''s statement had simply vanished into thin air. This produced a vacuum in his surroundings, but, thanks to his domain, Vahn was able to prevent an implosion by willfully manipting the flow of Shinsu until the atmospheric pressure had returned to normal. Then, with Beryl perched upon his shoulder, tail wrapped around his neck for stability, Vahn corrected his posture and asked, "Is there something you want to tell me...?" towards no one in particr. Understanding he was addressing her, Sis, sounding uncharacteristically tired, meekly replied, (*You know I would never harm you...please don''t ask me to exin...I...I...*) Shaking his head, a rxed smile developed across Vahn''s face as he sincerely stated, "I trust you. If it were something I needed to know, I have no doubt you would inform me. Your unwillingness tells me this is something rted to The Path...something I''m either unprepared to learn or incapable ofprehending at my current level..." Though he had his suspicions, Vahn didn''t directly ask Sis to confirm any of them. Instead, he let his words trail off for a moment before proceeding to add, "I will be stronger...strong enough that you won''t have to worry about me...strong enough to reim what''s mine..." As those final few words left his lips, Vahn couldn''t help but adopt an even bigger smile, right hand slowly clenching into a fist as he punctuated his previous deration with a heartfelt, "Thanks...even if it was only for a short while...seeing everyone, even as illusions, has lifted a heavy weight from my shoulders...I know you can feel it, but, even so, I want you to know how grateful I am. Thus, from the bottom of my heart...thanks for always looking out for me, Sis...I love you..." ---back to the present--- While it had been quite some time since he required sleep, Vahn found himself in a state where he couldn''t rest even if he wanted to. He had always been a curious fellow, so, now that he could hear the voice of all things, it was difficult to simply ignore. When he wasn''t focusing on anything, Vahn could now hear a chorus of countless whispers in the back of his mind. These weren''ting from the world around him, however, but from within his own body. After all, while he wasprised of Source Energy, his body still emted the form and function of the creatures he presented himself as. He still had blood flowing through his veins, and, though they would dissipate the moment they were cast from his body, there were trillions of cells making up his physical vessel. Compared to the voices he heard from his surroundings, the chorus of voices emanating from his own cells were nigh-impossible to drone out. After all, they had been given purpose by him, so, like children eager to please their father, they worked excitedly to fulfill the duty that had been assigned to them. It was like his body had be a macrocosm, and, should he so desire, Vahn imagined he could actually grant his cells sapience, much like the anthropomorphic microorganisms found in the anime ''Cells at Work''. Since there were literal metaverses existing within his Internalized Realm, it wasn''t all that difficult to imagine converting his body into a Realm of its own. This would undoubtedly make the voices even louder, but, more importantly, there was a chance he could create Temte cells to greatly increase his understanding of Source Energy. After all, every cell in his body wasprised of the enigmatic energy, so, by virtue of simply doing their job, his understanding would increase exponentially. They would also be Tier 5 entities, so, if push came to shove, they could provide support inbat using the various Innates he assigned them. Imagining a literal army of trillions emerging from within him, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he realized the way he viewed himself was beginning to change. In essence, he was closer to something like Azathoth than a simple True Dragon. If he hadn''t be ustomed to his human form, he could even give Gluttony a run for his money in regards to eldritch appearances. Inversely, he could exist without form entirely, wandering the cosmos as little more than a mass of intent that, depending on the circumstances, could inhabit the vessel of another. Though he would like to say he would never do such a thing, Vahn knew well the kind of monster he could be if he didn''t care about his methods. Possession, encroachment, and absorption were surprisinglymon themes in fiction, and, thanks to the experiences he had received from Rimuru, he had a substantial amount of experience with absorbing the traits of other creatures. He had also willfully subsumed Gaia prior to his departure from the Nasuverse, so, while he had never acted with malicious intent, he couldn''t deny that he had already skirted the boundary separating him and his more monstrous aspects. Fortunately, while many would attempt to deny him his humanity, Vahn was confident he had not deviated too far from the path of his kin. He had simply expanded upon the definition, and, thanks to his ability to emte the traits of other organisms, he had be something ''more'' than what most humans could aspire to. That didn''t mean others couldn''t reach the same point, however, so, at least for the time being, Vahn came to the conclusion there was no meaning in worrying about such things. The only things that truly mattered were that he was exactly who he wanted to be, and, more importantly, he was well on his way to reaching the ce he ''needed'' to be... As that thought crossed his mind, so too did the memories he had umted within the illusion created by Sis. There was a fair chance she had something to do with this, but, rather than fretting over the particrs, a smile spread across Vahn''s face as his consciousness began to gradually fade away. Then, after lying awake for the better part of six hours, he was finally able to get some sleep... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Awash in an endless sea of voices...'',''Some things are important to say out loud...'',''Slumbering God...'') Chapter 2019: Solution

Chapter 2019: Solution

Despite a rtively short two-hour nap, Vahn awoke feeling refreshed, reinvigorated, and ready to start a new day. Rather than immediately get out of bed, however, he created a second version of himself to prepare everyone''s breakfast while his main body enjoyed the gentle chorus of nearly a dozen women peacefully slumbering. With the exception of Fenrir and Mikoto, both waking at nearly the exact same moment as him, the other girls were still asleep. This gave Vahn the urge to silently watch over them, so, with no one but himself to dictate how his time was spent, that is exactly what he did. The previous day, while strange in many ways, had reminded Vahn of the importance of living life to the fullest. It had also revealed a fundamental truth about creation, so, while he would undoubtedly remain a busybody, he was slowly starting to understand that the only thing that truly mattered was that he was doing ''something''. His presence within the Records was something the Records seemed to long for, as, without an outside force to influence change, everything, even the most rudimentary particles of the universe, had no choice but to fulfill the role they had been given. Simply put, it didn''t really matter whether he was good or evil, only that he existed. He was basically the key liberating the Records from a fixed fate, and, though he might only interact with a rtively small subsection of each Record''s inhabitants, that was more than enough to inciteprehensive change. After all, the beings he interacted with were often among the most powerful in the Record, and, depending on the decisions he made, his actions in the present had consequences that would ultimately spread throughout countless timelines. As egotistical as it might sound, Vahn was beginning to feel as though he was seeing the pieces of aplex yet paradoxically simple puzzle being brought together. At the center of everything was Source Energy, but, thanks to his [Universal Mind] and [Actualization] Innates, he was already at a level where he could influence entire realities. This was the reason he had felt smothered within the Tower, as, even if Jahad were to muster all of his power, it would ultimately amount to nothing. His fate had been decided from the moment he became Vahn''s enemy, as, no matter how powerful the opponent, there was very little they could do against a being whose every action shaped the fate of the entire Record. Though there were times when his concern for others caused him to make questionable decisions, the one thing Vahn was absolutely certain of was that Source Energy eclipsed everything within the Records. As the sole conduit of said energy, anyone unfortunate enough to be his enemy, no matter how powerful, would ultimately find themselves on the receiving end of an often one-sided beating. This had always been the case, and, were it not for his fear and naivete, even Tiamat would have been forced to kneel once he finally gained the confidence to confront her. In essence, Vahn didn''t really need to concern himself with the matters of the world around him. He could also skip training, as, much like Ureko had pointed out, there was nothing hindering him from stopping time and simply bing stronger as needed. His growth had always been influenced by perceived threats, so, even if he trained every single day to increase his power,prehension, and mastery, the end result was either bing too powerful or ''power leveling'' at thest moment to ovee whatever threat he was facing. Despite realizing these things long ago, Vahn was only now beginning to ept that his power had never really mattered. The most important thing, at least from the perspective of creation itself, was that he existed. The path he chose was entirely his to decide, and, even if he spent millions of years cuddling with Fenrir, there was nothing intrinsically wrong with that. This was the ''freedom'' that had been granted to him by The Path, and, though he possessed an earnest desire to earn the power he wielded, the truth of the matter was that the proverbial deck had not only been stacked in his favor, he was allowed as many mulligans as he pleased... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn skillfully flipped pancakes with both hands, a rxed smile on his face. He had no intentions of giving up The Path, so, while he would undoubtedly continue his training, it was a relief knowing he didn''t have to force himself. Instead, much like when he was just a kid, he could focus on whatever he wanted without having to worry about whether or not his power would stagnate. The only thing Vahn needed to worry about was what might happen to his family and friends, but, so long as their indestructible souls remained, there was a very real chance he could simply recall them using his Unit Management. Constructing a new physical vessel was child''s y at this point, and, even if they were somehow transported to a different Realm, the simple fact of the matter was that Vahn''s true body existed outside of the Record. This allowed his system to function outside of the Record''sws, and, as a result, even the mostprehensive restrictions could not prevent him from freely exploiting his Unit Management. Though he would do everything in his power to preserve the lives of his family, friends, and loved ones, Vahn was gradually beginning to ept that death was simply another part of life. There was nothing wrong with wanting to protect them, but, just as he was allowed to venture out and make mistakes, he needed to be willing to let them experience setbacks of their own. Death was the best teacher in this regard, as, depending on the circumstances of your demise, it would drastically alter the way you viewed and interacted with the world. With his expertise, there was nothing preventing Vahn from creating an artifact that could store the memories contained within a person''s Ego. This meant, even if their Ego was severely damaged and found themselves forced into the cycle of reincarnation, they would still able to retain their sense of self and identity. In other words, death would simply mean transmigrating to a different world, and, thanks to the experiences he had umted in the Toaruverse, he could even arrange a scenario where the artifact acted as a system to allow them to return of their own ord. The more he thought about it, the more Vahn believed this was the solution he had been searching for. He still had mixed feelings regarding the decision everyone would make once they reached the top of the Tower, so, rather than forcing the matter, the simpler solution seemed to be developing countermeasures to prevent a worst-case scenario from urring. This would allow them to make their own decisions, and, byworking their systems with his own, he could always recall them to his side even if they ended up losing their lives. There was no need to wait until he had reached the Divine Realm, and, from the perspective of the Record, they would be performing a great service by simply interacting with the world around them. Smiling at this notion, Vahn reduced the heat of the stove as he mused, "I wonder if this is how the Gods responsible for reincarnation feel whenever they select people to isekai..." Imagining people like Artoria and Mordred being born into a cultivation world, the smile on Vahn''s face became even more prominent. They would no doubt experience setbacks, but, knowing them, it wouldn''t be long before they rose to the pinnacle of their verse. Artoria would most likely extend the Aldrnari Empire''s influence into her world, and, due to her nature, Mordred was bound to ''p'' quite a number of young masters'' faces before securing her position as the ''strongest''. Though this might not seem all that different from letting the girls reincarnate once they reach the top of the Tower, the end result was quite a bit different. After all, the rtive nature of space and time meant that it flowed differently depending on the world you were in. In other words, the girls could effectively spend tens, hundreds, or even thousands of years in a new world without a single second passing in whichever world he ended up. This meant they would have as much time as they needed to increase their strength, and, so long as he included a stasis function, they could basically exit the world whenever they got bored or fed up with it. With a bit of effort, Vahn was rtively certain he could link the worlds the girls ended up in with the Little Garden. He could theoretically use World Tree Seeds to power the artifacts he produced, so, as long as Rose and her sisters existed, travel between various multi and metaverses should be possible. The only downside was that ''outsiders'' might be able to force their way in, but, so long as the Little Garden remained a part of himself, Vahn was confident he could simply seal them away or erase them entirely. The Little Garden was basically an extension of his Realm, so, unless they were a higher tier, they would effectively be at his mercy the moment they trespassed within. Confident he had found the ''answer'', Vahn waved his hand over the food, and, as a result, the total amount increased to a point that it could easily serve more than a hundred people. Then, while his main body was rousing the members of the Eurasia Family, he manipted space within the dining room to drastically increase its size before recalling the majority of the explorer group. This caught a number of people by surprise, but, rather thanin, most promptly decided to take a seat as Artoria, Eva, Arika, Asuna, and Theo, the aptly named ''Council of Wives'', came over to question why he had summoned them. Before answering their questions, Vahn proceeding to embrace each of them in turn before going on to outline everything that had transpired in thest twenty-four hours. This included his sudden urge to train, and, though he skipped the parts about Sis being responsible, he told them about the illusion he had been trapped in for the better part of three months. This allowed him to put a lot of things into perspective, and, though he was confident in the ''answer'' he had found, he wanted their input beforemitting to any specific course of action. Needless to say, the girls were somewhat taken aback by the revtion he had spent three months trapped in an illusion, but, seeing how calm he was, they didn''t pressure him to reveal the details. It was enough knowing he was okay, and, hearing the solution he hade up with, they actually felt relieved. It might not be an ideal solution, but,pared to what he hade up with during their previous meeting, there were significantly fewer ws. The only thing they didn''t agree with was his apparentck of regard for what might happen in the worlds they visited. They knew this wasn''t the case, but it was almost like he didn''t care what they might do when the only people they could rely upon were themselves and the allies they made along the way. Though it wasn''t particrly likely that any of them would be despots or tyrants, one of the most important factors preventing this was Vahn''s view of the world. If he suddenly stopped caring and simply allowed them to do whatever they wanted, it was only a matter of time before someone experienced something that caused them to go off the deep end. Things would be even more troublesome if he empowered people that began earnestly seeking strength, as, when death was no longer a consequence, people gradually stopped caring about how they lived. Vahn''s proposition would effectively convert the Little Garden into a ''Realm of the Gods'', as, with the exception of select individuals, everyone within was a God. In other words, it would be a version of Heaven akin to what could be seen in Records such as Danmachi. Everyone within would effectively be immortal, and, thanks to the artifacts provided by Vahn, the mortal world would basically be their yground. This wasn''t necessarily a bad thing if their desire was to punish injustice and help people, but, the moment they viewed reincarnation as little more than a means to have fun, it was only a matter of time before someone deviated down a dark path...after all, not all Gods were benevolent creatures... (A/N: No alternate titles this time around. Instead, I want to ask for everyone''s opinion. Would you rather see Vahn venturing forward as a confident and self-assured deity that basically slow rolls the worlds he traverses or would you rather he encounter legitimate, albeit temporary, struggles? We''reing up on the end of the ToG arc, so, while it won''t change much in the end game, the tone of the story will change drastically depending on Vahn''s attitude towards the world around him. In the first instance, he would be supremely confident, rarely questioning whether or not he is doing the right thing. In thetter, he would effectively be a goofball/troll, who, rather than forcing his ideals onto people, simply goes with the flow while smacking down anyone unfortunate enough to earn his ire. For a baseline, you couldpare the former''s behavior to people such as Sephiroth and Wise King Gilgamesh. For thetter, imagine someone like Ace from One Piece of Spike Spiegel from Cowboy Bebop. He would be serious when he needs to, but, most of the time, he would basically just be messing around or trolling the people around him.) Chapter 2020: Structure

Chapter 2020: Structure

Using the feedback he received from the girls, Vahn ultimately decided to borrow inspiration from the Heavenly Realm of Danmachi and the Divine Realm of The Transcendental Path to Heaven. This meant, from the moment they were reincarnated, idental or otherwise, the residents of the Little Garden would have all their powers sealed. They would still able to ess them, but, simr to the Gods of Danmachi, doing so would force them back to the Little Garden. Expulsion from any particr world prevented reentry, and, depending on the circumstances, there was a chance you would be penalized in ordance with your behavior. Inversely, epting Quests and performing exemry acts would earn you points towards a number of coveted prizes. Most of these provided advantages towards future reincarnations, but, so long as you umted enough points, one of the grand prizes was reincarnating alongside Vahn. Since time within the Little Garden could be structured in such a way that a single day equated to ten years in the outer realms, it wasn''t particrly difficult for Vahn to invest a few days of his time in order to pander to the hardest working girls in his harem. His existence seemed to be intrinsically rted to the concept of eternity, so, while it might seem like a waste of time, at least from a purely objective point of view, he didn''t particrly mind spending a few hundred years of his eternal life caring for the people that mattered most. He had already been experimenting with having multiple versions of himself existing at different points in time, so, if he worked hard, he might even be able to provide the reward while another version of himself simply meditated for a few days back in the Little Garden. Though this might sound like he was going to be exceptionally busy, purchasing the Grand Prize outright would require hundreds, if not thousands, of years. There were cheaper methods to obtain it, but, as a countermeasure against people stockpiling points, the girls made it so that most of the cheaper alternatives were rted to a lottery. Thus, while it was possible to obtain the Grand Prize earlier, the chances of sess were very-near 0.01%. The lots would also be drawn by apletely neutral party, unaffected by skills or Innates rted to luck, so, while it was impossible to make sure everything was pletely'' fair, it was as bnced as it could be. Fortunately, while reincarnating alongside Vahn was among the most coveted prizes, it was not the only item in the Grand Prize category. There were also options along the lines of reincarnating into an Actualized World of your choosing, and, while it wasn''t as enviable as spending an entire lifetime together, one of the Grand Prizes included teaming up with Vahn to plete a story''. Many of the girls had anime, manga, and video games they had be fond of, so, while it might only be for a few years, they wouldn''t mind altering the story or even roleying as specific characters so long as Vahn was there to apany them. While he had been against entering a Record under an assumed identity, Vahn had opened up to the idea after spending time with Mikoto and sending numerous Temtes into Actualized Worlds based on their origins. There were a functionally infinite number of Records where the protagonist was someone who had assumed the role of an existing character, so, while it still made him a little ufortable, he wouldn''t particrly mind so long as he didn''t have parents or siblings to worry about or deceive. After all, even after all these years, there were still times when he imagined what it would be like to live the lives of his favorite characters... --- With everything tentatively decided, Vahn tasked the girls with expanding his territory on the 199th Floor while he invested the vast majority of his time and effort into converting the Little Garden into a Heavenly Realm. He also began working on a prototype of the artifact that would link the internal space of the Little Garden to the outside world. This would ultimately require him to keep it open at all times, but, just as he had done with the Quest Boards in the past, Vahn was mentally prepared to adopt the form of a World Tree himself if it meantpleting his objective. Fortunately, after a number of failed experiments, Vahn, or, more specifically, Rose had figured out a remarkably simple solution to the problem of preserving the girls'' Egos and transporting them back to the Little Garden. She was surprisingly against the idea of him transforming into a World Tree, so, after discussing the matter with her sister trees, they proposed the idea of using [Universal Mind] to create ''System Temtes'' capable of interfacing with the ''Yggdrasil Network''. Though the notion of creating Temtes based on various weapons and artifacts had urred to him, Vahn had never once considered the idea of creating sapient systems to watch over and guide the people in his charge. This was somewhat ironic considering he was the beneficiary of The Path, and, though she had not always possessed an Ego, Sis was one of the most intrinsic factors behind his sess. She not only served as the intermediary between him and The Path, but, even when he waspletely focused on other things, she was constantly processing and analyzing any and all information that might be of use to him. In many ways, she was his better half, and, without her, he would have died countless times before finding his footing in one of the safer Records. Understanding the benefits of having someone like Sis on his side, Vahn conferred with the former to develop System Temtes based on his personality and abination of her abilities. The idea was that they would have all his thoughts and memories, so, even if the girls felt lost or lonely, they would always be able to hear his voice guiding them back. To prevent any potential plications'' from arising, Vahn followed Sis'' advice by prohibiting the System Temtes from developing an Ego of their own. Instead, they would piggyback the Ego of their charge, and, depending on the wants and needs of the person they were looking after, change to amodate them. This might sound ''unfair'' to the Temtes in question, but, ording to Sis, possessing a True Ego early on would actually be a liability due to the sheer volume of information they would need to process. She even suggested that he generate them without his personality and memories, as, depending on the circumstances, there was a possibility of an ovep urring if the original Ego sustained catastrophic damage. Since the entire point of the system was to protect the girls'' original ego, not overwrite it with a Temte of his own, Vahn ended up following Sis''s advice to the letter. This caused the Temtes to behave simrly to Memory Fragments, but, after linking his senses with the original, Vahn very quickly understood the reason for Sis'' warning. The Temtecked the filter known as Sis, so, the moment he linked their senses, Vahn was momentarily overwhelmed by the amount of information transmitted through the connection. At the same time, time around him had slowed to a crawl, as, for the sake of fulfilling their duties, the Temtes in charge of supervising the systems needed to process information far faster than the average quantumputer. After that little experiment hade to an end, Vahn''s appreciation of Sis increased to an all-time high. He knew she worked tirelessly on his behalf, but, experiencing even a few moments of what it was like to be her, his own efforts felt half-baked. After all, from her perspective, his rtively short journey through the Records would equate to more than 400 sextillion years...an iprehensible number that would break the vast majority of sapient creatures, himself included. When he first learned this, Vahn actually felt a little mortified, but, before he could even express his guilt, Sis assured him that receiving a True Ego was the greatest blessing she had ever received. She even came out to give him a hug, so, while he couldn''t help feeling more than a little apologetic, he did his best to avoid thinking about alternatives to the predicament he had forced upon her. Even if she were only saying it to appease his anxieties, he wanted to believe she was happy, so, at least for the time being, he intended to avoid broaching the subject a second time. This ended up being the correct decision, as, had he pressed any further, Sis was fully prepared to introduce him to all of her ''sisters''... --- For the sake of stability, Vahn ended up shrinking the Little Garden from tenyers to a mere three. The first was obviously theyer containing Rose, his sisters, and their many children, but, instead of a nar world, it was now a full-fledged roughly the size of a Red Giant. This meant it had a diameter of approximately one-billion-kilometers, but, considering it would serve as the central hub of countless worlds, this was actually rather modest. For the foreseeable future, the First Layer would effectively serve as the ''Heavenly Realm'' inhabited by the godly pantheon Vahn had inadvertently created. As for the other twoyers, the second was basically their version of the mortal world, as, with the exception of a few unique individuals, it was the ce where people provided refuge by the Empire would reside. As for its size, it actually had arger surface area than the First Layer, but, much like the Textures of Gaia, it was able to exist inside thetter without any ovep whatsoever. In fact, you could bore from one side of the First Layer to the other, and, no matter how long you looked, you would never find the Second. Though he was nning to kick most of the current residents out, Vahn knew it was only a matter of time before he invited others to reside within the Little Garden. Unlike the past, however, he was intending to see how much the residents could grow if he created a situation where they were able to develop without too much interference. With this in mind, he was intending to create a structure very simr to the Tower of Babel, but, unlike its counterpart in Danmachi, his version would punish those who attempted tomit heinous acts within its depths. Simply put, Vahn wanted to see what kind of society would develop when most of its residents were people who had experienced trauma and adversity. This might seem selfish, but, as someone fated to govern numerous Records and countless worlds, it was better he began umting experience sooner, rather thanter. The experience he umted within his Realm was too biased, so, while some might use him of negligence, he wanted to see whether or not Heroes could arise on their own if given adequate stimulus. He also needed a method to deal with the tremendous number of spirits inhabiting the Third Layer, the result of countless monsters brutally ughtering each other, so, much like the tower back in Danmachi, his own was designed to absorb and purify the negative energy of the deceased so that they might be reborn anew. The irony that the Little Garden was effectively bing the same Heaven/Earth/Hell temte he observed in countless Records was not wasted on Vahn. Unfortunately, he had underestimated just how much negative energy would umte when various creatures werepeting for natural resources and trying to survive. This problem had been significantly worsened thanks to the Law of Progress, as, not only did it promote the growth of living creatures, it also supported the evolution of monsters, evil spirits, and, every now and then, beings that greatly resembled demons. While it was certainly possible for him to kill, purify, expel, or even absorb the energy that had been umting within the Little Garden, xenocide wasn''t exactly at the top of Vahn''s favorite things. If other Gods attempted to erase their creations in an effort to cover up a mistake, he would assuredly disdain and oppose them. Thus, much like the Second Layer, Vahn intended to continue monitoring the Third whilst Urahara and the members of the R&D Division researched methods to control and regte the flow of negative energy between the twoyers. In other words, he was basically doing the job he had initially been assigned in Bleach, but, unlike the members of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, the members of the R&D Division cared more about the methods used than the results... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''What a covetous prize...!'',''Heph is bae, but Sis is, inarguably, ''best girl''...'',''TFW the systems you abhorred ended up being adopted for a reason...'') Chapter 2021: Cull

Chapter 2021: Cull

When everything was said and done, a total of three-and-a-half months had passed since the time of Vahn''s shift in mentality. Though he could have significantly reduced the amount of time, at least from the perception of the people outside the Little Garden, he no longer felt like he needed to rush things. Instead, he found himself spending a fair amount of time simply listening to the world around him, as, even in a ce like the Little Garden, the world was ''very'' eager to be heard. Of course, as was often the case, the vast majority of Vahn''s time was spent simply bonding with his family, friends, and loved ones. Reuniting with everyone had removed a substantial burden from his heart and mind. This was especially true in regards to his children, as, prior to their release from the Little Garden, they had been tucked away within the Emerald Grove. Now that a small city had emerged, practically overnight, Naruto and Hana could safely explore the outside world. The former had grown incredibly close to Xerneas due to spending most of his time in her forest, so, with Latias having taken a shine to him ever since he was born, there were very few ces Naruto couldn''t explore. As for Hana, she was the official protege of Madara, and, though he would never admit it, Izuna often watched over her from the shadows alongside Yoruichi and Angri. With virtually all of his Temtes doting upon them, for obvious reasons, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that Vahn''s children were safeguarded twenty-four-seven. They had also received a modified version of the System Temte, so, even if something did happen to them, Vahn could always recall them using his Unit Management system. From an objective point of view, this sounded a little odd, but, considering the consequences should he overlook even a single potentiality, Vahn didn''t mind being called a helicopter papa... --- As part of the final phase of their n to take over the 199th Floor, Vahn was apanying the trio of Kyurem, Zekrom, and Reshiram as they battled against some of the most powerful Shinheuh in the entire Tower. This included a few god-like beings that eclipsed mountain ranges in sheer size, but, unfortunately for them, they were no match for the trio consisting of a handsome young man, a petite beauty, and, despite being the oldest among the trio, an adorable little loli. In the original Pokemon, Reshiram, Zekrom, and Kyurem made up what was known as the Tao Trio. In reality, they were actually one and the same creature. The original Rishiram and Zekrom could be fused with Kyurem to produce one of the most powerful Pokemon in existence, but, for the sake of simplicity, the Temted versions were effectively a father/mother/daughter trio with the power to amplify each others'' attacks. Though quite a number of stories dedicated Reshiram as a female, Vahn had always found the color ck more suitable for women. As a result, his variant of the Legendary Dragon/Fire Pokemon was a young man with windswept white hair and intelligent grey eyes attired in an outfit resembling a frayed white tuxedo with striped, off-colored, orange cks. Apanying the inordinately handsome young man was a petite beauty with raven-ck hair and an athletic yet curvaceous figure. Her outfit was basically the antithesis of the young man, as, adhering to the colors of her true form, she wore a ck shirt, grey leggings, ck boots, and a ck zer with spiked cufflinks. This allowed the electric blue ribbon tied around her neck and hair to stand out, but, the moment you looked past them, the feature that would captivate people the most was her obsidian ck pupils, ringed with luminous gold. Standing side-by-side, the duo, despite their contrasting color schemes, were what many would describe as a match made in heaven. The only incongruency was that they could always be seen following around an adorable monochromatic loli with blue-grey hair, a gothic-style grey dress, dark-grey riding boots, and, of all things, a jagged mask formed of pale ashen-blue ice. This was none other than Kyurem, and, despite being an Ice/Dragon Type Pokemon, she was an incredibly hot-headed youngdy. In terms anime fans might find easier to understand, Kyurem had what some would refer to as an Ojou-samaplex. As for her parents, Reshiram and Zekrom, the former gave off the impression of a stoic and extremelypetent butler. Zekrom, however, gave off the impression of someone inordinately kind, caring, and slightly airheaded. Together, the duo did their best to look after their ancestor-turned daughter, but, more often than not, they were simply dragged around as Kyurem set out to conquer the world with abination of ice, overwhelming force, and cuteness. While this might sound like an exaggeration, the truth of the matter was that all three of the Tao Trio were Tier 5 beings. Any one of them would be able to conquer the Tower on their own, but, together, they were basically unstoppable. This was especially true for Kyurem, as, so long as her ''parents'' were nearby, she could both produce and bend Fire, Ice, and Lightning at will. What made the trio especially terrifying was that their Realm functioned remarkably simr to a Reality Marble. In other words, they could superimpose their Realm onto reality, and, for a brief moment, their opponents would find themselves trapped in a world of perpetual darkness where the terrain was formed from liquid magma despite a frigid electrical storm rampaging overhead. This had earned their Realm the name ''Fire-Ice Tribulution'', and, unless you possessed some form of immunity against Yin, Yang, and Purification Energy, surviving more than a few hours was difficult for even Tier 5s. With these factors taken into consideration, it wasn''t even remotely surprising to see Kyurem, arms akimbo,ughing like a tyrannical imp as a Shinheuh reminiscent of a Long Dragon struggled to so much as raise its head. This was inarguably the most powerful Shinheuh in the entire Tower, but, in the face of Kyurem, a True Dragon that had already stepped into the realm of Tier 5, it was basically just a snake with teeth, ws, ivory antlers, and whiskers... Though she knew she would get scolded once everything was over, that didn''t prevent Kyurem from raising the back of her hand to her mouth, pinky extended as she leaned back andughed even louder. She greatly enjoyed watching massive creatures freeze to death, and, thanks to the guidance she had received from Eva, she had be remarkably apt at targetting key muscles and joints to debilitate her opponent. This allowed her to draw out the freezing process, and, though it earned her a fair amount of admonishment from Vahn, she was, secretly, quite fond of his chidings. Fortunately for the Long, the ever-silent Reshiram eventually produced a ghostly blue me that made short work of the river-sized creature. This earned him a re from Kyurem, but, before she could say anything, Zekrom hugged her from behind, a gentle smile on her face as she said, "Be a good girl. If you take things too far, there will be no dessert after dinner." Though her response was to harumph in a rather haughty manner, arms crossed in defiance, theck of a more vocal reaction was indicative of just how important dessert was to Kyurem. In fact, had she been given the option, the only distinction in her diet would be the varying vors of ice cream, pudding, and cheesecake she consumed. Without letting Kyurem escape her grasp, Zekrom turned towards Reshiram, the corners of her smile turning upward as the handsome man habitually averted his eyes. This gave her a sudden and intense urge to tease him, but, deciding to save it untilter, she simply smiled even more radiantly as she proposed, "Shall we return home~?" After quickly adjusting his tie, Reshiram responded with a curt, "Umu..." before creating a fiery blue portal with a wave of his hand. As Tier 5 beings, manipting their respective Laws to influence the fabric of Space-Time was a rtively simple feat. It was significantly less effective than the variation used by Vahn, but, so long as they used their energy to produce the correct equation, teleportation could be achieved by virtually anyone. The only issue was, unless you possessed godly control skills, idents weren''t simply likely, they were expected. Fortunately, simply by achieving Tier 5, the world would proactively coordinate with you in order to realize the phenomenon you are trying to produce. This might not seem fair from the perspective of lower-tiered creatures, but, from the perspective of the cosmos, coordinating with Tier 5 beings was necessary for maintaining the integrity of the Universe. After all, Tier 5s were multiversal level individuals, so, were they to make a ''mistake'', the consequences would be beyond measure. In Reshiram''s case, he didn''t have to worry about making mistakes, as, prior to his creation, Vahn had alreadypleted his stint in the Toaruverse. This allowed Temtes produced afterward to benefit from the knowledge he had acquired from countless grimoires, so, while his teleportation gate resembled a portal to Hell, the truth of the matter was that Reshiram, specifically, made it to look like that. He might appear cool, calm, and collected on the outside, but, were you to possess an ability to read minds, this illusion would be shattered in an instant. In reality, he was an extreme Chuunibyou, as, during their creation, Vahn had been thinking about anime stereotypes that might be interesting to observe in real life. With Zekrom and Kyurem unable to see his face, a somewhat sadistic smile immediately developed across Reshiram as he stared into his ''ming Netherportal'' and resisted the urge to strike a pose. While this might lead others to believe he had remarkable restraint, the truth of the matter was that his resistance was just another aspect of his Chuunybyouism. He regarded his Pokemon form as if it were some kind of ancient dragon that had been sealed away, and, every time he ''released'' its blue mes, he yed the part of someone barely holding the seal together. What Reshiram didn''t know what that Zekrom, thanks to their unique bond, could hear each and every one of his internal monologues. Instead of judging him, however, her inordinately kind nature caused her to find his behavior adorable. This was the reason she was constantly smiling, as, despite their problematic natures, Zekrom knew Reshiram''s and Kyurem''s true natures. This allowed her to be increasingly efficient at handling them both, and, had it not been for her clumsy and kind nature, she could have easily manipted the duo into doing whatever she wanted... Seeing the trio depart through the portal, Vahn emerged from his position within the void to stare down at the half-frozen/half-eviscerated Long. He had actually been against the idea of culling the ''Lords'' of the 199th Floor. They were intelligent creatures capable ofmunicating, and, at least in a few instances, transforming into humans. Unfortunately, they made the mistake of trying to target his children while they were out exploring, so, after a brief period of negotiations, Vahn ordered the execution of every Lord that refused topromise and sign a contract. Though it was a tyrannical and arguably cruel act, the ''purpose'' of Shinheuh within the Tower was to hinder and eliminate those attempting to reach its peak. It was possible to reach apromise, but, were it not for the authority and protections afforded them by Gluttony, there would be no end to the number of Shinheuh attempting to attack their settlement. This was, simply put, the way they were made. Thus, while it was ultimately his fault for never officially inducting Naruto and Hana into his Familia, Vahn had never hesitated to eliminate beings who refused topromise...especially if they were brazen enough to target his children... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Tier 5 Helicopter Papa o_o...'',''Kuh...! Be still, my right arm...!'',''Vahn don''t y when it concerns the safety of his children...'') Chapter 2022: Request

Chapter 2022: Request

Returning to the city, Vahn was unsurprised to find that it had expanded in the few hours he had been away. The theme they were going for something simr to a modernized ''Elven Forest'', so, using her Mokuton(Wood Style), Madara had been rapidly expanding the burgeoning city''s borders in preparation to amodate future residents. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn expanding his domain as an invisible pulse, instantaneously mapping theyout of the entire city. This was bing the most frequent way in which he used his domain. As for his reasons, well, the most prominent justification he hade to was that he simply wanted to make Sis''s job even a little easier. She was against this, but, as she was also the main person advocating he does what he wants, Vahn made the decision for both of their sakes. Even as far back as Danmachi, using his domain had made him feel detached from the rest of the world. Now, he felt closer to the world than ever before, so, rather thanpromising the peace he had found, Vahn intended to make the most of every moment. His power had also increased to the point that using his domain was simply overkill. Thus, at least for the time being, he intended to see and experience the world using his seven senses alone. (Touch, Taste, Sight, Smell, Hearing, Energy, Emotions.) Having located the person he was searching for, Vahn teleported to just outside his own bedroom before gently knocking on the door. Immediately thereafter, he heard a soft sigh before the voice of Artoria could be heard echoing from his surroundings as she said, "It''s your own bedroom...you do not need permission to enter..." Opening the door, Vahn found Artoria wearing little more than pajamas. She had also let her long and beautiful golden hair down, so, for a brief moment, he found himself rooted to his position as he instinctually remarked, "Beautiful..." Though she did her best to appear calm, Artoria was unable to prevent a blush from creeping into her cheeks as shebed aside her bangs and asked, "Is it done?" Nodding his head, Vahn closed the door behind him before making his way over to Artoria''s side, joining her on the bed and embracing her startlingly hot body as he exined, "Shen Long was thest of the Lords who refused to cooperate. The trio was able to make short work of him." Exhaling a hot sigh in response to Vahn''s touch, Artoria habitually rested her head against his chest as she distractedly uttered, "That''s good..." Feeling his own body temperature increasing, Vahn used his fingers tob through Artoria''s remarkably soft hair as he asked, "Do you want me to help...?" Responding with a rare chuckle, Artoria gently nudged Vahn''s chest with her head before replying, "It''s just a typical Dragon''s Heat. Don''t worry, I can manage it on my own. Besides, if you decided to ''help'' me, you would need to tend to the others as well." Unable to refute her words, Vahn held Artoria a little more firmly while resting his head atop her own. At the same time, memories of a few weeks prior resurfaced in his mind. At that time, he had humored Mordred''s request to demonstrate the Sage Dragon Emperor transformation he had used during his fight against the Great Mother. This ended up being a mistake, as, due to his most recent and drastic increase in power, he inadvertently triggered the reproductive impulses of nearly every woman with draconic features. At the time, Vahn had attempted to help them quell the fires burning within their bodies, but, much like Terra, the only permanent solution was to fertilize their eggs. This was something he was willing to do, but, as a result of the desires that initially brought them to this world, most of the girls were being remarkably obstinate. The only exception was Mordred, who, being the closest to him at the time, ended up receiving the brunt of his draconic aura. As a result, she could now be seen carrying around a pale-golden egg that wasrger than her head, a proud smile blossoming across her face any time someone made mention of its size... Fortunately, not that he would have minded, Modred was the only one to wholeheartedly sumb to her instincts. Everyone else decided to simply bear with it, as, ording to Da Vinci''s research, it would gradually fade away so long as they limited the flow of energy from their Dragon Heart and avoided sexual intercourse. This would cause them to experience flu-like symptoms, but, after a few weeks had passed, they would eventually return to normal. Understanding this, Vahn made no attempts to help alleviate Artoria''s symptoms. Instead, he simply held her for the better part of an hour, gently cradling her in his arms until she broke the silence by asking, "When are you nning to confront Jahad? If you''re waiting for me to get better-" Pressing his index and middle fingers to her lips, Vahn prevented Artoria from speaking further as he softly replied, "Let''s not mix personal and private affairs...Jahad isn''t doing anything right now that would mandate his immediate destruction. Of course, if my beautiful Empress demands it of me, I wouldn''t mind dealing with him right this instant..." While others might mistake his words as simple ttery, Artoria understood that Vahn was 100% serious. If she asked him to wrap things up, he would immediately trespass the Imperial Pce to confront Jahad. This would spell the end of an era, and, from that moment on, the Aldrnari Empire and its coborators would be the dominant force within the Tower. Though she was momentarily cowed by the notion that a single request from her could decide the fate of the entire Tower, Artoria quickly recovered. She wasn''t an Empress in name only, so, after a moment of consideration, she adopted a serious expression as she said, "You should go. The people of the Tower have been waiting too long for this day toe. We also need to advance beyond the Tower if we want to anchor the Little Garden to the outside world. This ce is far too small to hold us..." Raising his brows, Vahn was tempted to ask if she were sure, but, knowing Artoria, there were very few moments when she wasn''tpletely serious. Thus, while he had originally been intending to wait a while longer, dealing with Jahad immediately shot to the top of his list of things to do... --- With Vahn and the Aldrnari Empire''s forces having ''vanished'' three months prior, many within the Tower, specifically those who had been dreading a personal visit from the legendary Sage Dragon Emperor, were beginning to suspect they had already moved on. Thus, when a strange formation suddenly lit up the entire sky of the 134th Floor, the reaction of the Floors residents quickly went from confusion to absolute despair once they realized the Floor had effectively been isted from the rest of the Tower. Sensing the disturbance even before the massive spell formation had appeared, Jahad rose from his throne before turning towards a spatial ripple that had appeared nearby. He half-expected Vahn to step out, but, instead, he came face-to-face with none other than Headon. Unlike the white rabbit most people were familiar with, however, this one had multiple mouths superimposed onto various parts of his body, each snickering as the entity in question dered, "It would appear your time hase...Your Majesty..." Seeing Headon grit his teeth near the end of his statement, a faint smile appeared upon the face of Jahad as he remarked, "I always knew you hated me. Tell me, are you the one who invited the Sage Dragon Emperor into the Tower? I suppose I should have anticipated that a monster like you would eventually discover a loophole to circumvent our contract..." Unable to suppress hisughter, the mouths all across Headon''s body began snickering as Headon spread his arms rather theatrically and announced, "That''s the beauty of this situation! I didn''t have to raise a single finger! The Sage Dragon Emperor entered the Tower of his own ord. So you see, my dear King, this has nothing to do with any secret plot. No. It is fate that has betrayed you...!" As Headon continued to cackle like a pack of hyenas, Jahad simply turned away without bothering to continue the conversation. He was someone who had manipted the fates of countless people, so, even if this was fate''s hand, he had no intention of running away. Not only would his pride not allow it, but, more important than even that, he simply refused to bend the knee to fate. He would keep fighting until the very end. After all, long before he became a King, he had been both a Hero and an Adventurer...if he feared whaty beyond the horizon, he never would have left his home in the first ce... --- With the dual-purpose spatial seal/teleportation ward in ce, Vahn used his authority to teleport anyone below a certain level of power to the 2nd Floor of the Tower. This would prevent them from returning any time soon, as, without their Suspend Ships, they would need to travel to each Floor''s Warp Gate. As for everyone else, they were prohibited from leaving until Jahad had been dealt with. Though he knew there were a fair number of earnest and kind people amongst the Empire''s upper echelons, the majority of residents who lived on the 134th Floor belonged to the Jahard Family and its forces. They were many of Jahad''s most zealous supports, so, once the King fell, they would most likely serve as the backbone of the ''resistance''. After all, Jahad actually had a substantial number of clones spread throughout the Tower, so, even if the man himself was killed, it was only a matter of time before they rallied behind one of his "sons". As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn briefly considered whether or not he should go ahead and deal with Karaka once he was finished with Jahad. He was among Jahad''s eldest ''sons'', so, once the Empire lost its figurehead, the Elders of FUG would undoubtedly support him as the ''rightful heir'' to the throne. This was the reason Karaka had been chosen as the yer to kill Jahad, as, the moment the King fell, a new one would need to take his ce. If this person just so happened to be one of the former King''s illegitimate children, a lot of the social and political resentment associated with a sudden change in power could be mitigated. Fortunately, Vahn was aware of at least two other candidates that could easily rece Karaka as the rightful heir to the throne. If he took them under his wing and raised them to be peacekeepers, not tyrants, there was a fair chance the Jahad Empire could be converted into a Republic. This might not be the most ideal oue, but, so long as he left behind a few Temtes to preserve the peace, he should be able to leave without having to worry about some opportunistic ''assholes'' stepping in to make life difficult for everyone but themselves... Sensing a presence, even without his domain active, Vahn ceased thinking about which Temtes would be best suited to long-term observation of the Tower. He had other things to worry about right now, and, though Jahad didn''t pose a threat, he felt he owed it to the man to send him off with a bit of fanfare. After all, despite his innumerable ws, Jahad''s original reason for bing King was to help people. He was simply an idealist who had lived far too long, and, as a result, he experienced the trope where a Hero lived long enough to see themselves be the viin. Thus, in response to the meteoric golden rods converging on him from all directions, Vahn smiled as he mused, "A waning candle shines brightest the moment before it is extinguished..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''OwO...'',''I kind of feel bad...the only time Karaka is mentioned is when he is about to be bullied xD...'',''Time to snuff him out...'') Chapter 2023: What is a King before an Emperor?

Chapter 2023: What is a King before an Emperor?

Though he hadn''t expected it to earn him any advantages, seeing his attack knocked to the side with a simple backhand from Vahn caused Jahad''s eyes to widen, albeit only a little. It wasn''t the first time the attack had been countered, so, while it was certainly impressive to see someone swat it away, it wasn''t enough to deter him from continuing the fight. Instead, a hint of a smile could be seen on his face as he held his hands out to the side and muttered, "You can block one...let''s see if you can block a hundred...!" "Jahad Style Shinsu Control Technique - God-Skewering Golden Needles...!" Powered by a functionally infinite amount of Shinsu, golden needles more than three kilometers in diameter and a hundred kilometers in length began to fill the sky of the 134th Floor. Upon seeing this, the remaining residents felt an overwhelming sense of awe. A few, as if driven by some primal instinct, even fell to their knees and started to pray. Unfortunately, just as the impossiblyrge needles began to turn into beams of golden light, a loud thunderp could be heard throughout the entirety of the Floor as an invisible wave radiated from Vahn''s body. This wasn''t anything like a technique. Instead, he had simply ''erased'' all Shinsu within sixteen-thousand-kilometers. As a result, every single one of the massive golden needles dissolved into nothingness as the man himself began to slowly descend, saying, "You should get serious...this might be an important event for you, but it''s eating into my anime viewing time. If you don''t go all out, I might very well lose interest..." Though they were separated by several kilometers, Jahad could hear each of Vahn''s words as if they were standing face-to-face. In response, he used his left hand to draw one of the three weapons at his side, a peculiar de that resembled a curved fang more than a traditional Needle. Aiming the tip directly at Vahn, Jahad, his voice carrying through the void, muttered, "You''re more arrogant than I expected..." as a runic pattern coiled up and around the length of his weapon. Recognizing the weapon as something forged from an inordinately powerful Killer Whale,rgely considered the strongest Shinheuh in the Tower, an amused smile spread across Vahn''s face as he manifested Laev-tan in his right hand. It hadn''t even been two hours since the Tao Trio one-sidedly ughtered a Shinheuh that thousands of Killer Whales wouldn''t have been able to contest. Jahad was wholly unaware of this, but, the notion that he could be defeated by such a ''weak'' weapon was very-nearlyughable. Though he was unable to sense Vahn''s thoughts, Jahad knew he was being looked down upon. This caused the smile to drain from his face as he silently muttered to himself, "It seems you are not the man I had hoped you would be..." As the final few words parted Jahad''s lips, a low rumble seemed to spread through the entirety of the 134th Floor as the runes along his weapon shone with an ocean-blue light. His weapon was an S-Rank Needle known as the ''Call of the Leviathan'', and, while it only possessed a fraction of the original Shinheuh''s power, it was still an item forged from the King of all Killer Whales. The thing that made Killer Whales so deadly wasn''t their size. Instead, it was their ability to generate a veritable ocean of Shinsu from within their bodies. The King of the Killer Whales, the Levithan, was actually the offspring of the 134th Floor''s Guardian. It possessed such tremendous reserves that it could submerge an entire Floor in a denseyer of Shinsu more than a hundred-meters deep. Shifting his attention away from Jahad, Vahn''s pupils contracted ever-so-slightly as he wondered if this was how the people at Marineford felt when Whitebeard attempted to sink the ind. After all, no matter which direction he looked, there was a tidal wave more than twenty-kilometers in height barreling towards him. While he didn''t have any particr reason to fear the iing wave, the sight was so fantastical that Vahn couldn''t help feeling a little awed. It was unlike anything he had ever witnessed, and, for a brief moment, he even felt small and insignificant as the converting wave gradually blotted out the sky. Shaking such thoughts from his mind, Vahn extended his left hand and said, "Stop." in a solemn andmanding tone. To the surprise of everyone viewing the fight, the massive wall of Shinsu obeyed hismand, ceasing its advance in an instant. Even Jahad was no exception to this, and, for a brief moment, he could be seen standing in the air, lips parted in incredulity. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn descended until he was roughly eye-level with Jahad before saying, "That''s quite the cinematic ability. Unfortunately, your authority over Shinsu seems to have weakened your ability to control it. If only you had spent thest ten-thousand-years training...this might have been interesting..." Though he would normally ignore such remarks, Jahad couldn''t help furrowing his brows. The main reason he could ignore most people was that their remarks were simply inconsequential. It was just the vitriol spewed by the weak and powerless in an attempt to drag others down to their level. This was a stark contrast to what Vahn as, unlike the base and mundane masses, he had ample leeway to look down on others. Thus, for the first time in several millennia, Jahad felt as though his blood was beginning to boil due to abination of rage and excitement. With a snaggle-toothed smile spreading across his face, Jahad cast aside the Call of the Leviathan as if it were a useless piece of trash. Then, with his palms facing upward, hands formed into a shape reminiscent of ws, he asked, "You think my control iscking? Let''s test that theory...!" "Jahad Style Shinsu Control Skill - Cosmos...!" Using the tremendous amount of Shinsu contained within his own body, Jahad produced a series of Baangs reminiscent of stars,s, and other celestial bodies. This included a substantial number of ck holes, and, more surprisingly, a singr ''white hole''. A white hole was basically the pr opposite of a ck hole. If a ck hole was a singrity from which nothing, not even particles or electromaic radiation could escape, a white hole was an impassable region of spacetime that spewed out a functionally infinite amount of highly condensed energy. In many records, white holes were oftenpared directly with creation events such as the ''Big Bang''. In other words, they were hypothetical points from which all matter in the universe could be generated. Seeing Jahad produce a white hole, seemingly with the intention of countering his ability to erase Shinsu, an intrigued and slightly appreciative smile developed across Vahn''s face. Jahad was clearly an unparalleled genius, and, were it not for the machinations of the Workshop, he might have been able to ascend to the realm of a Creation God. Instead, he became azy tyrant ying the part of a deterrent, a mockery of the ideals that had spurred him to be King... Assuming Vahn''s unresponsiveness was the result of his arrogance, Jahad didn''t wait around for the former to speak. Instead, he swept his arms forward,manding theoids and stars to circle around and crash towards his opponent. This caused the terrain of the 134th Floor to violently twist and crumble, as, unlike normal Baangs, Jahad''s Quality allowed his to emte the very objects they resembled. This meant they generated their own gravitational wells, and, as a result of the heat cast off by the various star-like Baangs, all foreign Shinsu instantaneously evaporated. One of the things that had made Jahad ''unbeatable'', even before he gained authority over several Floors, was his ability to absorb an endless amount of Shinsu from his surroundings while making it nigh-impossible for his opponents to do the same. Even the Great Warriors were powerless against this, as, from the moment they underwent Revolution on the Hell Express, their power had be extremely reliant on Shinsu. They could still fight without it, but, against an opponent like Jahad, the skills they umted before their ascent were simply useless. After all, while his current disy of power was enough to make even the most skilled Wave Controllers doubt their title, Jahad was, first and foremost, the greatest Fisherman the Tower had ever known. Unfortunately, this title was from the era preceding Vahn''s entrance into the Tower. Any one of his Temtes would be able to give Jahad a run for his money, and, were someone like Musashi to get serious, he might not even survive their initial exchange. As for Vahn, well, he was currently batting aside stars and smashing ck holes with his bare fists, a feat that would have undoubtedly excited a certain raven-haired monkey. Though it was somewhat unpleasant to feel his cells being pulled every which way by a number of conflicting gravitational wells, Vahn was able to maintain his original position. His intent was to let Jahad y all his cards, and, once the King had nothing else to give, he would draw the battle to its conclusion in a single, swift, strike. There was absolutely no suspense concerning how things would end, as, from the moment he ascended to Tier 5, Vahn''s power had eclipsed virtually everything in the Tower. The only person who could have given him a run for his money was Ureko, but, thanks to his most recent breakthrough, even that was doubtful. Simply put, even Vahn wasn''t quite sure how strong he had be. His status simply disyed a bunch of question marks, and, even when he fought against his own Temtes, he no longer felt even an ounce of pressure. It was like his upper limit had been removed in its entirety, and, so long as he willed it, any opponent standing across from him would simply cease to exist with a wave of his hand. A testament to this fact, Vahn, having grown tired of the endless barrage of heat and gravitational incongruency, waved Laev-tan in the direction of Jahad. From an outside perspective, this was little more than a casual motion. As the person on the receiving end of the attack, however, Jahad''s eyes widened as an invisible pressure formed a massive gulf in his onught of Shinsu. Then, despite his best efforts to stand his ground, he found himself careening through the wall of Shinsu summoned by the Call of the Leviathan. It took several seconds for him to regain his bearing, and, when he did, the first thing he saw was a massive ''divide'' separating the top half of the wave from the bottom... Sensing that Jahad hadn''t sustained a single injury, almost as if he had just struck an indestructible object, an approving hum emanated from Vahn''s throat. He knew Jahad''s immortality was a much higher grade than the other Great Warriors, but, feeling a numb sensation in his hand, it was fair to say that had been an understatement. Were it not for Laev-tan shrugging off the brunt of the force, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that he would have sustained all the damage he intended to inflict. "Immortality centered around damage reflection...my, you''re just full of surprises, aren''t you...?" Though Vahn hadn''t transmitted his voice through the void, Jahad was able to ascertain what he was saying thanks to the subtle fluctuations in the surrounding Shinsu. His perception and control actually dwarfed most High Ranking Wave Controller, so, despite Vahn''s earlier provocations, Jahad was justifiably confident in his abilities. Were he facing any other opponent, this wouldn''t even be a contest, as, the moment his foes unleashed their most powerful attacks, they would find themselves reduced to a pitiable state by one of his many curses, specifically his ''Curse of Retribution''. Unfortunately, Vahn wasn''t just any opponent. In fact, he was unlike anything Jahad had ever faced before. Thus, for the first time since the Age of Genesis, a toothy grin spread across his face as he excitedly replied, "I''m just getting started...!" (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Bully Mode Activated (O,...,O)...!'',''This confirms it. Vahn is denser than a ck hole...'',''The demon that has apanied Jahad since childhood is starting to awaken...and it ain''t called Pride xD...'') (A/N: Just thought I would let everyone know I''m starting up a new project called Nobunaga Oda''s Isekai Cultivation Experience(NOICE). You can find the link posted in thements section. Give it a read and let me know what you think.) Chapter 2024: Absolute

Chapter 2024: Absolute

"Jahad Style Secret Technique - Billion Fold Universe - Great Trichiliocosm...!" Though the celestial bodies he had produced previously were great in number, it was nothingpared to the amount of quality-infused Baangs that manifested in response to Jahad''s call. It was like the entire Floor had filled with an infinite number of ck holes, stars,s, asteroids, and gaseous mist. At the center of it all, encircled by nine golden rings, each delineating the orbit ofs, was none other than Jahad. While his heavily outfitted appearance hadn''t changed all that much, Jahad''s hair was now glowing with resplendent golden light. Complex runes had appeared on the left side of his face, and, though his left still shone with a brilliant golden hue, his right eye had turned crimson as the eye-like tattoo covering it began to writhe about like a chain being pulled along a path. With what could best be described as an excited grin on his face, Jahad raised his right hand and stated, "All the world revolves around me..." As if responding to his words, the countless celestial bodies began to orbit around him, slowly at first but quickly building speed. Far stranger was the fact that even the terrain of the Floor began to follow suit, seemingly pulled along by the nigh-infinite gravitational forces acting upon it. Like a scene out of a disaster film, the entirety of the 134th Floor was reduced to rubble as even thergest mountains turned into little more than loose debris. Were it not for the fact Vahn had shown mercy by teleporting them to safety, most of the people overlooked during the previous evacuation would have been in danger of losing their lives. Still, Vahn had to give credit to Jahad for the cinematic nature of the attack. He had even managed to influence the massive wall of watery Shinsu stalled under his previousmand. Because of this, the ten or so kilometer region epassing them now resembled the eye of a truly awe-inspiring typhoon, one capable of rending stars ands from the sky. Seemingly unfished with his theatrics, Jahad lowered his right before raising his left hand and bringing his thumb and middle fingers together. Then, in a voice that caused the void around them to tremble, he uttered a surprisingly familiar line, "I am be death, destroyer of worlds..." *Snap* As the sound of the snap seemed to echo across space and time, each of the fast-moving celestial bodies produced by Jahad suddenly exploded. A phenomenal amount of energy was released from their interior, and, due to the rotation provoked by Jahad''s previous statement, the entirety of the 134th Floor became a sea of destructive energy and light. Within this seemingly endless torrent, the ck holes he had produced began to steadily increase in size, greedily consuming everything that came near... ... .. . Understanding the energy would never dissipate of its own ord, Vahn raised Laev-tan as if she were a lighter being held in front of an aerosol can. As his power flowed into her, brackish mes erupted along her length. Immediately thereafter, the chaotic energy swirling around him caught fire, as, despite beingprised of a truly tremendous amount of Yin, Yang, and other Elemental Energies, there was, implicitly, nothing Laev-tan''s mes couldn''t burn. Simr to setting a piece of steel wool ame, Laev-tan''s spread quickly. The speed and rotation of the energy actually worked in his favor, as, shortly after he held Laev-tan aloft, a ''ring-like'' void had formed within the tempest. This gave Vahn a bit of breathing room, an amused smile appearing on his face as he muttered, "This kind of reminds me of woodworking...or perhaps pottery...?" Likening the phenomenon to what might happen if he held a chisel to a piece of rapidly spinning wood, Vahn was briefly tempted to see if he could ''shape'' the energy around Jahad into a specific form. This would be showing off a little too much, however, so, after a moment of consideration, he rxed his stance, eyes closed as he thought, "Maybe I should demonstrate my own Trichiliocosm? I bet Suzuka would be happy if she learned I used her technique to defeat a ''boss''..." Recalling the somewhat brash yet easily teased Kitsune, a smile developed across Vahn''s face as he made a mental note to visit his Realm. It had been a while, and, now that he had found a solution to the problem of inadvertently limiting his loved ones'' freedom, it was probably time to start merging his Realm with the Little Garden. Keeping them separate served no real purpose at this point, and, while they were technically safer within his Realm, Vahn wanted his children to be able to y, grow up, and even venture into different worlds together. As that thought crossed his mind, the world around Vahn slowed to a crawl as the edge of Laev-tan''s de began releasing a thin white light. If you were to magnify this light with an extremely powerful microscope, you would find a veritable universe of stars,s, and even life contained within. If you somehow possessed the ability to enter within, you could even be able to witness the birth and inevitable destruction of countless parallel worlds, all of space and timepressed into a single moment. "Enter the infinite...Trichiliocosm...!" ... .. . Though he didn''t expect Vahn to actually sumb to his attack, Jahad''s pupils shrank to the size of pinholes as every single instinct he possessed screamed at him to evade. Unfortunately, before his brain could even begin to process these signals, a paper-thin ripple instantaneously passed through his body. His senses had failed to perceive this, and, as a result, he ended up teleporting away from the lower half of his body and everything beneath his right elbow. Discerning the state of his body immediately after his nigh-instantaneous spatial transference, an incredulous look reced Jahad''s previous glee as he whispered, "What just happened? How did his attack ignore my curse...?" "The simple answer is: easily. A more involved exnation would require you to have an advanced understanding of the Laws. Unfortunately, I have better things to do so I''m afraid you''ll have to be content with the former." Looking behind him, Jahad was surprised to discover that Vahn was less than five meters away from him. Since he hadn''t been able to sense any spatial ripples, this implied that thetter had reached this location even before him. For this to be possible, Vahn''s spatial transference would either need to exceed the speed of thought or, far more likely, he possessed the ability to peer into the future... "I expected you to draw this out a little longer...did you lose interest?" Shaking his head, Vahn spread his arms as if to gesture to the ongoing storm encircling them as he answered, "You escted things a bit faster than I anticipated. I was originally intending to counter all of your techniques before ripping that little parasite out of your body and sending you on your way. This life has nothing meaningful left for you to aplish. You let yourself stray too far from the path your younger self originally set upon. It''s time for you to move on and start over." Having regained his apathetic appearance, Jahad muttered, "I see..." in a somber tone before raising his severed right arm and adding, "Then show me. Allow me to witness the power I failed to achieve even after all these years. Show me what it means to live freely, unbound by fate...!" Punctuating his words, crimson tendrils reminiscent of ribbed horn spears erupted from the stump of Jahad''s right arm. Their speed was far beyond the reaction speed of most High Rankers, greatly exceeding the speed of light as they covered hundreds of kilometers in what most would quantify as an instant. "Not bad for a borrowed power..." Though Jahad''s tendrils had failed to push him back, the small puncture holes in the shield Vahn was wielding demonstrated the attack was nothing to scoff at. Unfortunately, this would ultimately elerate Jahad''s defeat as the Zanpakuto Spirit residing within the rather futuristic-looking shield, Hyaku-chan, groaned, ("Papa...it hurts...") Hearing the demure and pain-filled voice, the smile on Vahn''s face immediately vanished as he whispered, "Sorry...I''ll be sure to make it up to you when we return home..." ("Nn...okay...") As if motivated by his words, winged formed from pure energy radiated from Hyaku-chan''s sides, instantaneously severing the tendrils. Then, activating her special ability, aplex magical circle resembling a cross manifested across her surface as Vahn shouted, "Divine Retribution...!" Since Jahad had previously reflected an attack back at him, Vahn decided to return the favor using one of his three shield-inspired Zanpakuto. The other two, Aegis and Svalinn, were better suited for mitigating damage, but, when it came to pure destructive power, Hyaku-chan even exceeded many of his offense-oriented Zanpakuto... Unable to resist the cross-shaped beam of light, Jahad''s tendrils shattered like broken ss as the half-transformed man was sent spiraling into the ongoing energy storm. He had been attempting to fuse with the artificial demon sealed within his body. This would have made it marginally more difficult to purify his Ego after death, so, rather than allowing the metamorphosis toplete, Vahn figured he might as well save himself a bit of trouble by nipping the problem in the bud. "This energy storm is starting to get on my nerves...hmmm..." Though he was keeping a watchful eye on Jahad to make sure the man didn''t attempt anything too troublesome, Vahn had more than enough room to consider his options. Thus, after returning Laev-tan and Hyaku-chan, he opened his Unit Management and summoned a very startled yet pleasantly surprised Fenrir. Habitually petting the lovable Vanargandr''s ears, Vahn exined, "I want you to try and absorb the energy rampaging on this Floor. Everyone has already been evacuated so feel free to go all out. I''ll deal with Jahad." Squinting her eyes from both pleasure and glee, Fenrir could hardly contain her excitement as she replied, "Understood! Leave it to me...!" Amused by her vigor, Vahn gave Fenrir''s bottom an affectionate smack, spurring her transformation into a massive wolf. This caused her cheeks to flush red, but, thanks to theyer of fur covering her entire body, it was indiscernible to the naked eye. Though the smack might have resembled a yful love tap, those with enhanced perception would have been able to witness aplex magical formation appearing the moment Vahn''s palm sent a ripple through Fenrir''s soft and incredibly pliant bottom. What made this formation unique was the fact that it was actuallyprised entirely of Source Energy. While this might soundpletely ludicrous considering Source Energy couldn''t exist outside his body, Vahn''s recent change in mentality had caused him to experiment with a number of ways to get around. Thus, drawing inspiration from the phenomenon he had witnessed during Yuri''s battle against Han, Vahn came up with an oundish yet surprisingly simple solution to the problem of keeping the people fighting alongside him safe: he would simply be a magic circle. As an entity that could literally exist without a physical or spiritual vessel,pletely transcending the definition limiting creatures bound to the Axis of Reality, there were no limits to the forms Vahn could take. He could exist as a part of the void itself, and, even when he was emting a physical form, the truth of the matter was that each of the trillions of cellsprising his body was, on the most fundamental level, the byproduct of Source Energy emting actual cells. In essence, Vahn was a Conceptual Entityprised entirely of pure energy. Magical formations were simr in this regard, so, while it was certainly an abstract way to manifest, there was nothing preventing him from materializing as a magic formation or even a single molecule within a person''s body. This was all that was necessary for him to channel every ounce of the truly limitless energy at his disposal, and, as long as he maintained the connection, Vahn could both empower and protect the people around him without limit. There was no longer anything that could take away the people he loved...not even death... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Things just went from 0 to infinity real fast...'',''Vahn be like, "You call that a Trichiliocosm?"'',''The Legendary SSS-Rank Special Ability: Love Tap of Protection'') (A/N: For those wondering where the chapters are. It''s not that I''m not writing. I was just doing a mass release of NOICE in order to get it into the rankings xD. I''m really enjoying that story and it is helping me get back into the groove of writing 3+ chapters a day. In other words, even if it appears I''m writing less, I''m actually improving on my word count with each passing day :P.) Chapter 2025: An Incomprehensible Distance

Chapter 2025: An Iprehensible Distance

With red-horned tendrils erupting from various parts of his body, Jahady at the bottom of an abyssal pit with a contemtive and slightly incredulous look on his face. He hade into this fight with the intent of going all out for the first time in millennia. It wasn''t an exaggeration to say he had even been looking forward to it, as, for the first time since he had be King, someone with the power to oppose him had finally appeared. Until this very moment, Jahad had expected things to be rtively close between him and Vahn. He knew thetter possessed tremendous might but it shouldn''t be to the point he was invincible. The universe had a way of bncing things out, so, even if Vahn''s power was beyondprehension, it had to have some kind of weakness. So long as he discovered what it was, Jahad was confident that he could, at the very least, force an internecine oue. It wasn''t like he hade into the fight without any information whatsoever. Rather, thanks to the seals worn by his daughters,bined with the Opera he had appropriated from the Tperie Family, Jahad been watching Vahn during all the key moments of his climb up the Tower. He had observed every major battle Vahn had taken part in, and, more importantly, documented each of the actions that led to the former''s growth. It was fair to say that his information regarding Vahn was the mostprehensive within the entire Tower, but, as if none of that mattered at all, Jahad found himself seriously considering whether or not he could harm a single hair on the former''s head... "Kyeukyeukyeukyeukyeuk! This is what you get for not listening to me when I offered to grant you even greater power! Luckily for you, it''s not toote! So long as you ept my power, there will no longer be anything in this Tower that can stand in our way! Sage Dragon Emperor? Ureko Mazino? Phantaminum? They will either kneel or die...!" Without waiting for Jahad''s consent, the demon sealed within his body, Pride, attempted to extend his tendrils into the former''s mind. This caused the eye-like chains on Jahad''s forehead to glow with a vibrant, bloody, light. As for the man himself, his expression had hardened into a severe glower as he inly stated, "What a farce. You''re simply a pawn of the Workshop. Had I never listened to your temptations, my friends and I might have already conquered the Tower by now. Because of you, I let my heart be corrupted and ended up driving away everyone I ever cared about. If you think I''ll spend thest moments of my life clinging to someone else''s power, you''ve severely misjudged me. I am Jahad! Before bing known as the King of the Tower, I was first called King of Adventurers! I have never needed your power...!" Though he could notpletely inhibit the encroachment of Pride, Jahad punctuated his statement by ripping away the tendrils sticking out of his right arm. Then, with a majestic golden aura erupting from his body, he ascended towards the sky with such extreme speed that he practically teleported. "Vahn Aldrnari Mason! Consider this myst request! This next attack is the most powerful attack in my original arsenal! Grant me the privilege of measuring the distance between your most powerful attack and my own...!" Following these words, Jahad extended his left hand to form a w. Immediately thereafter, a series of cracks appeared at the center of his palm, almost as if something was trying to break free. "It''s been a long time old friend...let''s go out with a bang..." "Jahad Style Transcendent Skill - Gae Bolg...!" ... .. . In the brief interval between Jahad''s request and the moment his attack was released, a conflicted look had appeared on Vahn''s face. Much less Jahad, the Tower itself might not be able to withstand his strongest attack. Thus, while he wanted to honor the man''sst request, the simple truth of the matter was that the situation didn''t merit such a response... "Well, it''s not like he''ll be able to tell the difference between this and my strongest attack..." Having made his decision, Vahn, once again, manifested Laev-tan. Then, as time began its slow yet gradual crawl forward, he held her in a manner reminiscent of a sword prayer and whispered, "The path of the sword has no endings, only new beginnings. Every moment flows into the next, and, no matter how far you walk, the road only grows longer. Fortunately, it is not a path walked alone. No. It is an opportunity to grow closer with thepanions we encounter along the way. Wouldn''t you agree, my precious little Laev-tan?" Throughout the chant-like payer, the fiery cracks covering Laev-tan''s length had increased in size and intensity. It appeared as though she would explode into countless fragments at any moment, yet, in spite of this, an exceptionally excited, ("Nn!") resonated from within the fiery de. Feeling Laev-tan''s excitement spread throughout his body, a smile developed across Vahn''s face as he promptly pointed her tip towards his chest and shouted, "Even the all-consuming mes cannot burn without limit! Destruction and Creation are two sides of the same coin! The time hase! Set alight the divine forge! Awaken! Nidavellir...!" Without a single moment''s hesitation, Vahn thrust Laev-tan''s de into the very center of his being. At the exact same moment, the cracks adorning her length spontaneously exploded, mystical white light reminiscent of starlight emerging from within. Said light formed a cacoon around Vahn''s body, but, if you were to look closely, it was possible to make out her de retracting into his chest and back before the light enveloping them formed into a crystallized egg. From the perspective of Jahad, a blindingly white light had emitted from Vahn''s the moment he shouted the name of his own attack. Rather than focusing on this, however, he channeled every ounce of his energy into the golden spear protruding from his palm. At a nce, it looked like the golden needle he had been famous for since a time long before his ascent up the Tower. In reality, much like the lightning bolt that had been sealed within Eduan''s arm, it was a legendary weapon that had been recovered from a mysterious ind back on his homeworld. ording to schrs, it could eveny low the Gods, and, so long as it recognized the user, it was capable of producing an attack that simply couldn''t be blocked, avoided, or mitigated. (A/N: Scathach would like to know your location...) It was the existence of Gae Bolg that gave Jahad the confidence to force an internecine oue. It was his ultimate trump card, and, during his battle against the King of Killer Whales, Levithan, it was instrumental in allowing him to defeat the beast with powerparable to a Guardian... cing even his faith in the attack, Jahad observed with rapt attention as the spear turned into a sh of golden lightning that instantaneously branched into countless faster-than-light beams of energy. Several of these impacted the egg-like shell surrounding Vahn, but, instead of piercing the rtively thin-looking membrane, every single beam immediately reflected away from the surface. This wasn''t enough to dissipate them, but, the moment he saw the highly prative beams simply bounce off of Vahn''s protective barrier, the color drained away from Jahad''s face. Fortunately, he wasn''t afforded the time to even consider giving in to despair, as, shortly after the first beams of light struck, a crack appeared on the ''egg''. From the perspective of Jahad, said crack slowly expanded from its starting point, but, in reality, less than a picosecond had transpired by the time Vahn erupted from the egg and stabbed him in the chest. As for the movements leading up to this development, Jahad hadn''t been able to perceive them in the slightest. "You''re the first person to witness this technique in an actualbat situation. Satisfied...?" Though he had managed to process Vahn''s words, Jahad was more distracted by the fact that the beams of light produced by his Gae Bold had arced back in an attempt to pierce the former from behind. The moment they came into contact with the angelic white wings that now protruded from his back, however, they simply shattered like ss without so much as singing so much as a single one of his feathers. Despite offering a casual smile, Vahn didn''t wait for Jahad to recover from his stunned silence. The red tendrils in and around his body had started to gain ground as a result of his distracted mind, so, before the King could be little more than a puppet, he appended, "You''ll have to be..." Punctuating this statement, the feather-like scales covering Vahn''s forearm and fusing his right hand together with his silver-white sword began to turn crimson red. At the same time, originating from the point where his sword had pierced Jahad''s chest, a strange distortion urred as Jahad, the tentacles protruding from his body, and even the fate attached to him began to dissolve away. Borrowing a page from the residents of the Tower, Vahn''s expression became inordinately serious as he eximed, "Sage Dragon Emperor''s Secret Technique - Fate Severing...!" The moment Vahn''s words fell, the crimson red tentacles protruding from Jahad''s body became little more than a red mist before promptly disappearing into thin air. A simr phenomenon was urring to the rest of his body, but, thanks to a thin veil of Source Energy, he was able to persist long enough to smile and reply, "The distance was much further than I expected. It''s a shame we didn''t meet sooner. I would have liked to...experience...an adventure...with you..." Though his smile had persisted until the very end, a tremendous amount of regret could be seen in Jahad''s eyes as his body and spirit dissipated into the void. Not even his Ego had been spared from Vahn''s attack, so, despite possessing tremendous willpower and an extraordinary amount of Karma, his next life would be a fresh start. As for Vahn, his Karma suddenly increased by several billion, but, in spite of this, his Status continued to disy nothing but question marks for the actual value. "I wonder if this means I''m no longer influenced by things like fate and karma..." Shaking his head, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he realized this was, at best, wishful thinking. He might not possess a fate of his own, but, so long as there were beings more powerful than himself, Karma would continue to be an influence in his life. There was even a chance one of the Deities within the Divine Realm would send something to ''test'' him the moment he leaves the Tower, so, until he reached Tier 7, it was best to respect Karma and her influence on the Record. Having formed that resolution, Vahn shifted his attention to the silvery-white sword protruding from his hand, musing, "I wonder if this is how the original Ichigo felt like when he activated the Final Getsuga Tensho? The power of Shukai...even I can''t help feeling this is a little excessive..." Though it didn''t appear in every iteration of Bleach, Shukai, meaning Mastered Release, was the third and final transformation a Zanpakuto and its user could achieve. It was the state where the user and their Zanpakuto fused to be a singr entity, and, as a result, they had received a shared name. This was even updated in his status, so, for the time being, Vahn was no longer Vahn Aldrnari Mason. Instead, he had be Nidavellir, a name originating from the Dwarven Realm of Norse Mythology. Nidavellir was the ce where countless legendary weapons had been forged. Laev-tan''s desire to allow him to wield multiple weapons,bined with his skills as a Divine Smith, had culminated in a form that embodied one of the most legendary homes of craftsman across all Records. It allowed him to create powerful weapons and defensive armaments with a mere thought, but, as powerful as this was, the thing that terrified Vahn the most was how his domain had spread to epass the entirety of the 134th Floor''s Middle Tower...a region roughly the size of North and South Americabined... (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''giarism...!'',''That''s one way to save OP...'',''I can''t even imagine how happy Laev-tan is right now (>,...,<)...'') Chapter 2026: Disbelief, Incredulity, and Stupefaction

Chapter 2026: Disbelief, Incredulity, and Stupefaction

Though he was tempted to return home and just rx, Vahn could sense that Laev-tan wished to stay in the Shukai state for a while longer. He also wanted to give Fenrir a chance to absorb some of the energy from the ongoing storm, so, taking advantage of his domain''s extended range, Vahn guided as much of the energy as he could towards her location. Ever since Pram had attained Tier 4, Fenrir had been feeling increased pressure to breakthrough herself. Consuming the energy of the 134th Floor wouldn''t really help with this, but, so long as her opponentcked aprehensive understanding of the Laws, she could easily battle against Gods with limited or constrained Authority. When everything was said and done, a wry smile had developed across Vahn''s face as he caressed Fenrir''s somewhat bulbous belly. She could consume billions of calories without putting on a single gram of weight, but, when it came to consuming tremendous volumes of energy, it took her body a while to process it. During those moments, the energy in her body would disperse into her fur, and, as a result, she would glow a different color depending on the purity, element, andposition of the energy she had absorbed. At the present moment, Fenrir''s fur had be a fiery white with a hint of gold. This was the result of a tremendous amount of Yang Elemental Energy, one of the few types Fenrir genuinely struggled with processing. Thus, while he could have used the magic circle on her body, Vahn decided to help her digest by caressing her belly and uttering a few teasing remarks... "I know I''ve been wanting you to put on weight ever since we were living in the Hearth Manor, but this is a little ridiculous..." As she was lying on her back, Fenrir twisted her entire body, emting a head-tilt as she released a canine-esque whine. She was perfectly capable of speaking in her wolf transformation, but, knowing how weak he was to her puppy-like appearance, she didn''t hesitate to full advantage of her species'' inherent cuteness. "You clever little minx..." Punctuating his words, Vahn fell face-first into Fenrir''s belly, disappearing into her inordinately thick underfur. It was still possible to see him if you were standing nearby or behind, but, from any other point of view, he had basically vanished into the tall grass that was Fenrir''s exceptionally warm belly fur, nuzzling and tickling without mercy... ... .. . Since it would take her a while to process an entire Floor''s worth of energy, Vahn helped Fenrir topress it into a semi-solid mass reminiscent of a monster core. This would allow her to absorb it at her leisure, and, so long as it persisted within her body, she wouldn''t have to worry about feeling hungry. Though she had effectively gained full control over her hunger pangs and urges, Fenrir''s [Insatiable Hunger] wasn''t considered an ''unrestricted'' Innate without reason. It had no Grade to speak of, so, if her emotional state became even slightly chaotic, her hunger would return with a vengeance. The only actual change between now and her more youthful counterpart was that she could ignore and outright suppress the hunger using sheer force of will. If she were willing, Vahn could have Fenrir ingest a crystalized version of him, and, much like how he had once powered Scathach, she would benefit from the excess energy that naturally radiated from his body. The only reason he didn''t do this was that Fenrir, in adherence with his teachings, wanted to master herself and her Innates without assistance. She had taken every lesson he ever taught her to heart, and, while it sometimes concerned him, Fenrir''s heartfelt desire to remain a ''good girl'' was one of the things that gave Vahn strength... As that thought crossed his mind, an affectionate smile developed across Vahn''s face as he stared down at the inordinately beautiful woman curled up in his arms. She hade a long way from the emaciated young woman who made him apprehensive at the mere thought of starting an intimate rtionship. Now, even if she were to stand next to a Goddess such as Ishtar, she wouldn''t lose out in charm. This might be conjecture based on pure bias, but, when it came to love, even Gods could be blind... Undoubtedly sensing his thoughts, Fenrir opened her eyes to reveal cial-blue irises that starkly contracted her usual crimson reds. Then, with an uncharacteristically cheeky smile on her face, she teased, "No matter how much you love me, I''ll always love you more~" "Ahahahahaha..." Amused by the rather bold promation, Vahn allowed a light-heartedugh to emanate from his throat before hugging the lovable girl a little tighter and saying, "Challenge epted..." --- Several days after the ''climactic'' battle between Vahn and Jahad, the seal preventing ess to the 134th Floor naturally faded away. Shortly thereafter, members of the 1st Army Corps,manded by Adori Jahad, ventured into the scene. When they first saw the devastation wrought by the battle, shock and awe overwhelmed even the strongest of Rankers within the group. Everything the group hade to associate with the Empire''s eternal reign had been erased. It wasn''t just buildings like the Imperial Pce either. Even naturalndmarks and monuments had been wiped from existence. They wouldtere to learn that the elevation of the entire Floor had descended by more than 3km in some ces. When themon residents of the Tower heard about these things, the mostmon reaction among them was utter disbelief. They didn''t doubt that the fight between Jahad had shaken the very foundation of the 134th Floor, but it was impossible for them to imagine everything above a 3km depth simply being erased. It was a level of destruction beyond humanprehension, and, even with images showing the devastation first-hand, their minds simply refused to process it as anything more than fantasy. No group was affected more by this sentiment than the loyalists of the Jahad Empire. In their mind, it was simply impossible that their King could be defeated. The absence of a body caused the more desperate among them to im he was still alive, recovering, or even trapped by Vahn. This led to a substantial group of people demanding that the Imperial Army conduct rescue operations, but, due to the measures Jahad had taken ce prior to his death, they were unable to gain any momentum. It was a secret to most but Jahad had been meeting with his most trusted Ministers and Advisors in the months leading up to his demise. He had also reached out to each of his formerrades, not just the Leaders of the Ten Great Families, but all of the people who had apanied them during their ascent up the Tower. This had caught many of them by surprise, as, ever since the Great War, a considerable number of Jahad''s former allies had gone into hiding. The fact he could contact them showed that he had been keeping tabs on them for thousands of years, so, while a handful refused to even hear him out, others seriously considered their former friend''s words. Though a transcript of the discussion wouldn''t be public until several yearster, the contents included, first and foremost, an apology. While he hadn''t regretted his decision to be King, it would be an understatement to im that Jahad hadn''t felt remorse over the events leading up to, and following, The Great War. He had originally wanted to create a utopian Kingdom where he and his friends could rule together. He had never imagined things would develop to the point where he would need to order the execution of people who had served alongside him for thousands of years. Simply put, Jahad''s only regret was that he hadn''t been able to share his wealth and power with the people he cared about. This was the true reason he had never started a family, as, prior to The Great War, he had genuinely considered his friends to be his family. When they betrayed him, he felt such an overwhelming sense of shame that he even formed a contract with Headon to prevent him from producing a genuine heir. It wasn''t that his blood was too powerful to be passed down to others. If that were the case, the Princess of Jahad would have never existed. No. The truth of the matter was that he had cursed himself to remain alone, a solitary King bearing a burden he had hoped to share with others. While these revtions only served to incense the majority of people who felt betrayed by Jahad, a handful felt genuine empathy and remorse. After all, they had originally followed Jahad, not out of respect for his overwhelming power, but his character. His charisma had been so infectious that he had been able to convert countless enemies, people who had once wanted nothing more than to see his head on a pike, into allies. Even the Leader of the Arie Family, Arie Hon, was no exception to this, as, prior to his ten consecutive defeats, he and Jahad had been mortal enemies. Recalling the man Jahad was, not the King he hade to be, several legendary figures made the decision toe out of hiding. A few of them harbored thoughts of revenge against the Ten Great Families. As for the rest, they had chosen to either honor Jahad''s request or, in response to the final part of his message... ''The way forward should have never been closed. It is the right of every resident within the Tower to aim for its summit. On the eve of my death, the way forward will be open. For many of you, it might be toote to say this, but, for those with the resolve to face the future with their heads held high, I pray that you find glory, prosperity, and excitement in the adventure toe. Go forth and witness a world I could only imagine in my dreams...'' -Excerpt from ''A Prideful King''s Confession''. --- Understanding that things would only be increasinglyplex if he were to appear too soon, Vahn decided to wait until some semnce of peace and stability had been restored. He knew that people like Tu Perie Tperie, Ha Yurin, and even Adori Jahad were attempting to contact him, but, for the time being, Vahn was content with letting spection regarding his own fate run rampant. The conclusion Vahn had reached after his most recent awakening was that, despite his apparent disregard, he had ced too much emphasis on the Tower and its affairs. When he first started out, he had every intention of just going with the flow and orchestrating a situation where the peoples of the Tower could solve their own problems. He wanted to empower people like Baam, Khun, and other members of Team Wolf Pack so that they could eventually ovee the existing system and introduce change in a gradual, more natural, manner. With Baam''s inordinately powerful fate, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that he would eventuallye out on top. There was no way of knowing what kind of person he would be, but, after observing the developments within his Actualized Worlds, Vahn could certain that he would remain a force for ''good'' until the very end. The [Child of Destiny] Innate might apply to heroes and viins in equal measure, but, so long as someone like Jahad bore the antagonistic variant, Baam was fated to develop in a manner that either reflected or foiled the former King''s. Exined simply, Vahn didn''t actually have to interfere with the ''stories'' he found himself a part of. He could sit still, literally doing nothing, and, at least from the perspective of the ''world'', he would still be the single most important existence in the entire Record. He was a variable that allowed for dynamic change in a world that, prior to his arrival, had a fixed past, present, and future. Thus, while he was free to take any action he so desires, there was nothing necessitating he be the one to solve everything. Rather, so long as hemunicated his intentions with the world, it would readily make changes at his behest... "It looks like Headon is going to be receiving an early present..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''There is always time for *mofu* *mofu* (UwU)...'',''Picture billions of surprised Pikachu faces...(O o O)...'',''Immeasurable power and authority...'') Chapter 2027: Special Service

Chapter 2027: Special Service

Though things hadn''t quite turned out the way she anticipated, Jaina had been enjoying herself quite a bit ever since Vahn picked her up from the 123rd Floor. The number of things she had to see and explore using the Opera had increased exponentially, and, whenever she was bored, there were countless games, anime, and manga she could use to distract herself. With people like Yuri, X, Altria, and even Enne to keep herpany, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that Jaina was happier now than she had ever been previously. She was no longer alone, and, thanks to the Opera, many of the 199th Floor''s residents would seek her advice before venturing out toplete Quests. This drastically improved her self-esteem, and, more importantly, allowed her to feel as though she belonged among the impossibly beautiful and iprehensible women who had gathered around Vahn. If there was anything Jaina had toin about, it was the fact that Vahn, even after she asked him to change her race to a Wererabbit, hadn''tid a hand on her. She had thought that bing a rabbit, a species famous for its sex drive, would make it pretty obvious what she had in mind. He also possessed the capacity to read a person''s thoughts, so, with months passing without incident, Jaina had been feeling increasingly listless. "Maybe he just doesn''t like girls with small breasts...no, that can''t be it...he wouldn''t have a harem of Eurasia Family members if he cared about things like that..." Hearing Jaina''s mutterings, a tick mark appeared near X''s temple as she shouted, "Aaaah! At least pay attention when you''re kicking my butt...!" With her Team, consisting of Altria, Mavis, and, most importantly, Rindo on standby, X had been spending a lot of time in Jaina''s room. She had be a pretty hardcore gamer during the time she lived with Tomoe, so, after hearing about their resident hikikomori, she and Altria had naturally gravitated towards the petite pinkette. This caused the room to turn into a veritable sty, but, every now and then, someone like Mira woulde by to help them clean up. Instead of responding directly to X''s words, Jaina, much to the former''s dismay, finished her off with a machine-precisebo. This caused a gloomy aura to exude from X''s body, the light fading from her ordinarily vibrant eyes as the ahoge atop her head dangled pitifully... "Weak..." As if her previous state had been nothing but an illusion, X immediately became more energetic as she red towards the near-identical girl sitting at her side, eximing, "I''m not weak! Jaina is just too strong...!" Without so much as flinching in the face of X''s outburst, the room''s third nad final upant, Altria, maintained an impassive expression as she tly rebutted, "You don''t hear the strongining about people being too strong..." With a red face, twitching brow, and slightly watery eyes, X appeared as if she was mere moments away from challenging Altria to a life and death match. She honestly didn''t know why she spent so much time with the cold and robotic woman, as, even before joining the Aldrnari Empire, they had never gotten along. Literal decades had passed since then, yet, every time she made even a minor mistake, Altria wouldn''t hesitate to let her know how much of a failure she was... Though her expression didn''t change much, a soft sigh parted Altria''s pale peach lips as she averted her amber eyes and emotionlessly asserted, "There''s nothing wrong with being weak. It just means we have room for improvement..." Zeroing in the fact that Altria had said ''we'', the majority of X''s frustrations faded away, reced by a somewhat naive smile as she rubbed the back of her head and happily dered, "That''s right, isn''t it? I almost forgot we were training to defeat Tomoe the next time we meet. Thanks for reminding me. Ehehehehe~." Exhaling a second sigh, Altria shifted her attention to Jaina before saying, "You should also try and cheer up. If you were more confident and assertive, you wouldn''t have any trouble getting Vahn to sleep with you. He is weak to women who disregardmon sense and set aside their inhibitions. It took longer than expected but I managed to seduce him by behaving like a spoiled kitten. If that doesn''t work, you can just follow this idiot''s example by lumping yourself together with a few other girls..." Demonstrating how quickly she could transition between emotions, X immediately bounced to her feet when Altria called her an idiot, shouting, "That''s it! Today''s the day we settle things...!" Without taking her eyes away from Jaina, Altria just tly replied, "Don''t wanna..." before popping open a bag of chips and adding, "If you bully me...I''ll tell Vahn..." Understanding that it wasn''t just an idle threat, X quickly deted like a balloon before adopting a defeated expression on her face. At the same time, however, a fair amount of red had bled into her cheeks as memories of her previous ''punishment'' surfaced within her mind. "Pervert..." Body trembling, right hand clenched into a fist, X looked towards Altria with a pouty re as she stammered, "I-I-I''m not a pervert! You! You''re the pervert! Y-Y-You horny cat...!" Adding to X''s frustration and embarrassment, Altria tilted her head to the side, the cat-like ears atop her head twitching as she pointed to herself and intoned a ''befuddled'', "Nyaa...?" Though she had elected to retain her ''humanity'', Altria had developed the habit of wearing a head ornament and detachable tail that realistically emted the appendages of a cat. Unlike X, however, she was both confident andfortable with her sexuality. She enjoyed feeling good, and, as far as she knew, there was no one better at making women feel pleasure than Vahn. He also provided her with delicious food, so, even if there were someone who could make her feel better, Altria was more than happy being doted upon by her favorite fool... ... .. . While absentmindedly observing the usual intery between X and Altria, Jaina was also seriously considering thetter''s words. She realized that she had never actually told Vahn what he wanted her to do. Heck, she hadn''t even confessed to him. Instead, she had been waiting for him to make the first move, disregarding the fact that there were numerous other options avable to him if he was actually in the mood. As that thought crossed her mind, Jaina''s eyes ran up and down the figures of the near-identical yet pr opposite girls wrestling a few meters away from her. Both wore rtively casual, loose-fitting t-shirts, rtively in bras, and hoodies. This was pretty normal for people who lounged about all day. What truly stood out was the fact that they almost always wore form-fitting shorts, spats, and other garments that left very little to the imagination... "Could it be...?" After muttering that question to herself, the images of every woman associated with Vahn shed across Jaina''s mind. Though there were a few notable exceptions, she realized that most of the girls around him wore tight or formfitting bottoms. Very few actually wore skirts, and, though there were a few who wore trousers, the materials they were constructed from were thin and stic. Feeling excitement beginning to swell from the pit of her stomach, tickling her troubled heart, Jaina surprised the prizing duo, eagerly asking, "Could it be that Vahn likes girls with big butts...!?" With their wrestling match momentarilying to a stop, Altria, seemingly unperturbed by the fact she was being pinned beneath X, tly replied, "That isn''t entirely urate. While you aren''t wrong, it would be more urate to say he likes girls with a firm, well-shaped, bottom. He likes being able to y with them or give them a squeeze so it doesn''t suffice to simply have a big butt. You have to work hard to ensure the shape and feel are adequate. While it doesn''t actually matter all that much when ites to being ''chosen'', most of us still put in the effort since we know he''ll be looking. Isn''t that right, X?" Punctuating her words, Altria gave X''s butt a firm squeeze, pale white fingers sinking into the dark-colored mesh of her spats. This caused the already red face of X to turn deep crimson, but, before she couldsh out, Jaina surprised them a second time by forming her fists into a ''guts pose'' and shouting, "I understand!" before following it up with a marginally more nervous, "Can I ask the two of you to help me with something...?" Though X adopted a somewhat confused expression on her face, a rare and somewhat mischievous smile developed across Altria''s as she mused, "Of course...that''s what friends are for..." ... .. . While it wasn''t particrly umon for people toe looking for him, both Vahn and Hinata were surprised to hear a knock on the door. They had been cuddling together on a plush sofa, and, while his hands had wandered here and there, they were primarily just watching anime. What made this situation truly peculiar was the fact that they were currently in one of the miniature theaters that existed in the basement of the main residentialpound. These were constructed to allow for a more ''cinematic'' viewing experience, but, more importantly, they weren''t restricted areas that required permission to enter. Anyone could enter and leave at their leisure so it was more than a little strange to hear someone actually knocking beforehand... Though he had already sensed who was waiting outside, Vahn still answered, "Uh...it''s open...?" in a confused tone. He had instructed the Law of Identity not to arbitrarily reveal the thoughts of people living within the 199th Floor and Little Garden, so, while he had his suspicions, he could only guess what the trio was thinking. With Hinata having already separated from him, primarily to fix her clothes, Vahn half-turned to see a nervous-looking X shielding Jaina as Altria ushered both from behind. This was unusual in and of itself, but, increasing his suspicions, Vahn couldn''t help raising his brows as he observed the nket Jaina was using to veil her body... Havinge to the same conclusion as Vahn, a wry smile developed across Hinata''s face as she gave him a gentle pat on the leg and said, "I''ll go check on Hana. We''ll continue where we left offter this evening." Punctuating her words, Hinata nted a kiss on Vahn''s cheek before promptly rising to depart the darkened chamber. On her way, she took the opportunity to squeeze Jaina''s shoulder, whispering, "Good luck." with a supportive smile on her face. This actually made Jaina feel even more nervous, but, having already formed her resolve, she managed a sheepish, "Nn..." before following Hinata''s departure with her eyes. Taking advantage of Jaina''s momentary stupor, Altria waited until the door had just closed behind Hinata before tearing away the nket veiling the former''s body. This startled the petite pinkette more than a little, and, as a result, she ended up instinctually squatting as a girlish, "Kyaaaaaaaa...!" emanated from her throat... ... .. . With nothing but silence to greet her outburst, Jaina gradually opened her eyes before awkwardly observing her surroundings. The looks she was receiving from Altria and X were tolerable, but, the moment she locked eyes with Vahn, a dangerous shade of red crawled up her neck, instantaneously spreading through her face and ears. Before she could internally question what the heck was wrong with her, however, Altria promptly picked her up by the armpits, inly stating, "We brought you a present." before attempting to carry her towards Vahn. "W-W-W-W-Wait! P-Put me down! I-I-I-I can do it on my own...!" Ignoring Jaina''s protests, Altria continued to carry her like an actual rabbit until they were standing right in front of Vahn. Throughout this entire process, he had just been watching them with a mix of amusement, mild intrigue, and moderate concern. He had his suspicions the moment they showed up, but, seeing Jaina wearing what some referred to as a ''reverse bunny'' costume, he would have to be incredibly dense not to realize what they had in mind. Since Jaina had tucked in her legs, effectively curling up into a ball, Altria continued to hold her out, an impassive expression on her face as she said, "One horny rabbit. Express shipping. Please sign on the dotted line." Noticing Altria''s amber gaze prating through the darkness, X quickly came back to her senses before rushing over and presenting a pen, piece of paper, and clipboard. This caused a wry smile to develop across the face of Vahn, but, rather than refusing to sign the nk document, he produced his Imperial Seal before teasingly remarking, "I don''t remember ordering anything but I''m certainly not going toin..." Waiting until Vahn had finished stamping the piece of paper, Altria dropped the panicking Jaina on hisp before asking, "Are you satisfied with your order or would you like to apply for our premium package? If you sign up now, you can obtain a kitten and a perverted monkey without ruing any additional costs." Though he was slightly concerned about the trembling rabbit seated atop hisp, Vahn managed a light-hearted chuckle as he answered, "I might as well. With service like this, I imagine I''ll be making use of it quite often in the near future..." Nodding her head, Altria motioned for X to pass over the clipboard a second time before unzipping her jacket to reveal she had beenpletely naked underneath... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Like oil and gasoline xD...'',''Oh my (O w O)...'',''I wish I had this kind of service instead of amazon prime...'') Chapter 2028: Release

Chapter 2028: Release

"So? What do you intend to do from here on? You know my rtionships with women aren''t exactly normal. I will do my best to care for you. I will provide you everything you need, keep you safe, and, at times like this, I will dote on you as much as you require. However, at the end of the day, I cannot promise to love you as much as you want, need, or deserve..." Not expecting to hear such words, especially at a time when she could barely even move her legs, Jaina just looked up at Vahn with an impassioned yet stupefied expression on her face. He was a lot more skilled than she had anticipated, and, though there was a sharp pain near the very beginning, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say Vahn had exceeded every expectation she had about the rtions between men and women. She even got the impression he could turn her stupid if he really wanted to, yet, at no point during the process did she ever feel like he was trying to dominate or make her submit to his will. Instead, he had started off exceedingly gentle, only increasing his pace when she sincerely wanted more... After more than a minute of consideration, Jaina justid her head against Vahn''s chest, whispering, "I don''t care...matters for the future can wait till the future. All I know is that I feel happier right now than I''ve ever felt in the past. So long as you don''t begin actively avoiding me, I don''t mind keeping things casual between us. A lot of my sisters have lived for thousands of years without being able to experience moments like this. Even if it was only a few times a year, I bet they would still be envious of our rtionship..." Remembering all of her sisters, a dangerous thought manifested within Jaina''s mind, but, before it could mature, she shook it from her mind before staring up at Vahn and adding, "What I''m trying to say is that I''ll be fine with the way things are even if a few thousand years pass. Just make sure you remember one important thing, okay...?" Adopting an affectionate smile, Vahn pulled Jaina a little closer before saying, "Tell me what it is and I promise to never forget it..." Though her cheeks became ruddier in response to his touch, Jaina managed to maintain a serious expression on her face as she stated, "Rabbits can die from loneliness...and being forgotten is even worse than death. I don''t mind if you see me as a horny bunny. Even if you just want to have sex, I''ll be happy so long as youe and visit me..." Blinking in surprise, Vahn was unable to prevent the smile on his face from growing as he internally mused, ("It''s truly amazing how adorable some girls can be...the real question is whether or not she is doing this intentionally or by pure instinct..."). Deciding it wasn''t all that important to ascertain that particr truth, Vahn lowered his hands until he was cupping Jaina''s small yet impably soft posterior before answering, "Of course. I won''t be able to stop by every day but there''s no way I could neglect such an adorable creature. I''m actually looking forward to it quite a bit...also, even if you were a thousand times more perverted, I''m sure I could handle it..." With X and Altria lying at his sides, each wearing contented expressions despite the fact they were in a disheveled mess, Vahn''s words weren''t an exaggeration. His most recent ''awakening'' had even affected his prowess in the bedroom, as, even without the girls telling him what they wanted him to do, the cells in their body produced a symphony of sound and desire. So long as he listened closely, he could even discover things about his partners that they might be wholly unaware of... "Myuuunnn...!?" Though she was about to say something, a freshyer of moisture built within Jaina''s amethyst eyes as a pleasurable tremble ran through her body. The culprit responsible for this reaction was Vahn''s index and middle fingers pressing a nerve located to the right of her rabbit-like tail. This caused the pure white tuft to twitch, and, though she had only recently calmed down, Jaina felt as though a fire had been ignited near her butt, quickly spreading through the rest of her body. With an almost pained expression on her face, Jaina ced her hands atop Vahn''s chest, almost as if she were pleading, before mewling, "I want it..." in an impassioned tone. This caused a discernibly teasing smile to develop across Vahn''s face, but, before he could even ask what it was she wanted, Jaina made her desire transparently clear, unabashedly stating, "I want your big dick to pound my bunny cunny until it remembers your shape..." Taken aback by the statement, the smile on Vahn''s face turned into a slightly incredulous look until Jaina averted her eyes bashfully to the side and whispered, "You said you wouldn''t mind if I were a thousand times more perverted...I wanted to try it at least once..." Unable to restrain the urge, a borderline guffaw emanated from Vahn''s throat as he threw his head back andughed without inhibition. This caused the red that had suffused through Jaina''s cheeks to shift into a luminous crimson. Fortunately, just as she felt as though her extreme embarrassment might consume her, Vahn looked down at her with an almost wolfish grin as he said, "I''m starting to regret noting to you first...you''re an unbelievably adorable woman..." ... .. . Though he would much rather deal with his personal little bunny rabbit, it was only a few days after the fall of Jahad that Vahn decided to pay Headon a visit. He could have called the eldritch rabbit to him, but, having already reached a consensus with the residents of the Little Garden, it was time he begins preparing for their departure. "How did you enter this ce...?" Not expecting Vahn to suddenly appear within the Tower''s Core Room, a location that was more so the ruins of a massive altar than anything else, obvious shock could be seen in Headon''s cyan-blue eyes. He had given Vahn virtually unchecked authority within the Tower, but, if he wanted to enter ces like this, he still needed permission. The Core Room was also located within the non-existent medium isting the Tower from the outside, so, even if Vahn knew of its existence, he shouldn''t be able toe and go at his leisure... Raising his hand in a pacifying gesture, Vahn casually exined, "My power has grown beyond what you canprehend. Rather than question how I got here, what you should be questioning is what brought me here. To that, I would answer as such. The time to close our contract hase. Though I will require you to immediately reincarnate, I am prepared to sever the contract binding you to the Tower right here and now." Though it was difficult to read the expressions of a creature whose only facial feature was a slit that amodated both its mouth and eyes, Vahn could still make out the excitement and anticipation contained within Headon''s gaze. There was also a predatory glimmer, but, even if the beast decided to bare its fangs the moment it was freed, Vahn was confident in his ability to cut it down. "I see! This is spectacr news! Hahahahahahahaha~!" Seemingly unable to control himself, the slit on Headon''s mouth opened to reveal a toothy maw set with hundreds of impossibly sharp teeth. He would finally be freed after more than fourteen-billion-years of service so it was difficult for him not to feel excited. For a brief moment, even the agonizing hunger that had apanied him throughout his entire existence seemed manageable, so, while it was true he desperately wanted to devour Vahn, he was willing to restrain himself in order to assure his freedom. With the Law of Identity narrating the eldritch entity''s thoughts, Vahn couldn''t help shaking his head, a wry smile on his face as he suggested, "We should move to the Altar of Ascension. Once I''ve severed the contract binding you to the Tower, you''ll need to activate the altar immediately. If you attempt to dy, even for a moment, I willpletely erase you from existence. Understood?" Recovering from hisughing fit, Headon grasped around his throat, almost as if here were fixing an invisible tie before answering, "Yes. I understand. I''ve been awaiting this day for billions of years. I''m not going to jeopardize my life and freedom at the veryst moment." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn didn''t resist when Headon pulled out his dual-orbed staff and teleported them both to the 200th Floor''s Altar of Ascension. This was yet another set of ruins, but, unlike the deste wastnd surrounding the Core Room, the Altar of Ascension was surrounded by an endless expanse of space, filled with stars. It was the sight Rachel had undoubtedly dreamed of as a young girl, but, due to her sociopathic nature, she had to settle with the skyline of his Realm since she simply couldn''t be trusted not to endanger herself and others. "Is there anything you require of me?" Shifting his attention away from the admittedly breathtaking veil of stars, Vahn met Headon''s gaze before answering, "I would suggest you stand at the middle of the altar. You''ll be less inclined to do anything foolish that way..." "Shishishishi..." Though he had already resolved himself not to do such a thing, Headon couldn''t deny that he was ''very'' tempted. Thus, rather thanining about Vahn''s apparent inability to trust in his words, Headon proceeded to the center of the stone altar before standing with his hands behind his back. Nodding his head, Vahn produced a Fate-Severing Knife from his Inventory. He could now sever a person''s fate using his own means, but, as part of the contract with Headon, he had agreed to use a Fate-Severing Knife. If he attempted to use a different means, he would be in vition of the terms they had agreed upon, and, as a result, he would have no choice but to put Headon down when thetter transformed into Gluttony and attempted to consume him. Vahn had always been a man of his word, so, even if it was ultimately a waste of OP, it was a small price to paypared topromising his integrity. Thus, without any hesitation whatsoever, he swiped the Fate-Severing Knife towards Headon, saying, "I wish you well in your future endeavors. Try not to let your gluttonous aspects dictate how you live. In higher realms, there are a number of beings infinitely more powerful than you. Don''t lose your life the moment you reincarnate..." Though it was hard to describe what he was truly feeling, the one thing Headon knew for certain was that his contracts had been canceled. It was like countless chains had been removed from his body, and, for a brief moment, he felt as though he might float away due to how light he felt. "So this is what it feels like to be free...amazing..." As much as he wanted to give Headon the time to adapt to his newfound freedom, Vahn''s domain immediately spread through the area as he asked, "Aren''t you forgetting something? Do not try my patience, Sin of Gluttony." Coming to his senses in response to the terrifying aura radiating from Vahn''s body, Headon looked towards the former before performing a courteous bow and saying, "Thank you. If fate allows, our paths will cross again. Until then, I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavors, Your Imperial Majesty." Since he was literally on the cusp of achieving his most heartfelt desire, Headon used every bit of his willpower to restrain his urge to devour Vahn and rampage throughout the Tower. There were few things he desired more than theplete and utter destruction of the ce that had served as his prison for thest fourteen-billion-years, but, among them, departing the Tower behind was at the very top. Thus, rather than risk everything on a course of action that might result in his erasure, Headon held out till the very end, a toothy grin developing across his face as his body broke down into countless motes of bluish-white light... "Farewell..." (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Jaina might be a pervert but she is also quite the realist...'',''Vahn has always been weak to dirty talk xD...'',''Sayonara hunger-bunny...'') Chapter 2029: Resolving a Few Underlying Issues

Chapter 2029: Resolving a Few Underlying Issues

As per their original agreement, all of Headon''s authority transferred to Vahn the moment their contract had beenpleted. This allowed him to spread his senses throughout the entire Tower, and, much like when he was in his personal Realm, he could control the flow of time at his leisure. While he had also inherited the restrictions that came with his newfound authority, Vahn, unlike Gluttony, could simply ignore these. There was no contract that could bind him against his will, so, if there was something he didn''t like, he could just ''shrug'' it off like a loose chain dangling from his shoulders. Along with his ability to stop time, one of the most important authorities Vahn had been granted was the ''right to open the door''. Some would misinterpret this as the ability to invite people into the Tower, but, in actuality, the tradition of inviting climbers into the Tower was something that had been developed after the Age of Ascension. Before then, the only people authorized to ascend the Tower were Irregrs and theirpanions. This was the reason so many people had rallied behind Jahad and the Great Warriors, as, without them, they simply weren''t qualified to participate in Tests. The person to introduce the invitation system was none other than Jahad. For the sake of peace, he had forged a contract with Headon that would separate selfish and power-hungry individuals from themon peoples of the Tower. He didn''t believe it was wrong for people to seek wealth, power, and authority. Rather, he believed this was the natural way of the world. What he didn''t agree with was taking advantage of people who simply wished to live peaceful and mundane lives. Thus, once it was determined that a person would do anything to achieve their dreams, they would quickly find themselves on the receiving end of Headon''s invitation. Simply put, Jahad had gathered the greediest and most selfish people in the Tower so that normal people could live in peace. This, unsurprisingly, created a society where the vast majority of people were greedy and selfish individuals who would feel no qualms about things like killing if it allowed them to achieve their objectives. There were exceptions to this, specifically among the people who were born ''inside'' the Tower, but, from the moment they became Regrs, people wouldn''t really have a choice. They would either exploit others or be crushed by the ambitions of people who had fewer qualms aboutmitting atrocities. Now that the contract between Headon and Jahad no longer existed, Vahn had absolute authority to dictate who could and couldn''t climb the Tower. He could even remove the barriers between the Inner, Middle, and Outer Towers if he really wanted to, but, understanding Jahad''s intentions at the time of their creation, he elected to keep them in ce. In the end, the only change Vahn introduced to the existing system was giving everyone the ability to ascend the Tower. There were other reforms he intended to implement, but, considering he was about to depart the Tower, such things were best left to his Temte. He couldn''t urately predict how things would develop moving forward, so, rather than impose changes he wouldn''t be around to uphold, Vahn shifted his focus to tying up loose ends. Near the very top of his list of things to do, quite literally, was settling things out with Ureko. Before that, however, Vahn teleported to a secret location on the 30th Floor that not even the Opera could prate. There, in the ruins of an underground facility previously abandoned by the Workshop, he found a room filled with luminous green tanks, each containing the body of a young girl in various states of development. Managing this secretive operation was a young girl with dark-grey hair, mechanical green eyes, and a petite yet impably bnced figure. She was attired in clothes that screamed ''cute'', but, despite this, she still managed to give off an apathetic vibe as she asked, "Are you the one I''ve been waiting for...?" Combing through his hair, Vahn took a moment to organize his thoughts before muttering, "What is it with super-geniuses choosing to be reborn as cute or inordinately beautiful girls...well, at least now I know how a man like Gustang could fall in love with a woman like Blossom..." Though he resisted the urge tobel Gustang as a Lolicon, for obvious reasons, that didn''t prevent Vahn from thinking it. After all, the petite young girl standing before him was effectively Gustang''s reincarnation, albeit without his memories. The only things the Homunculus-like girl had inherited were his tremendous intellect and a set of instructions intended to prevent her from beingbeled as a candidate for elimination. With her superhuman senses, the grey-haired girl was easily able to hear Vahn''s mutterings. Despite this, she cocked her head to the side in an overly cute manner that didn''t really suit someone with a nk expression, dering, "If you''re not the person I''ve been waiting for, please leave once you''ve finished looking around. It would also inconvenience me considerably if you messed with any of my equipment, so, if you''re curious about something, feel free to ask me directly. The fewer things you touch, the better..." Adopting a deadpan expression, Vahn tly inquired, "And if I am the person you''ve been waiting for...?" Like aputer processing a tremendous volume of information, the grey-haired girl momentarily froze in ce before spontaneously lifting up the front of her pleated skirt and saying, "If that''s the case, I suppose you''re allowed to touch whatever you like? I''m quite confident in the parameters of this body. In exchange, I''d appreciate it if you afforded me the opportunity to join the Research and Development Division of the Aldrnari Empire. I would like to conduct my research without having to fear erasure." With the same deadpan expression on his face, Vahn monotonously retorted, "Right...am I correct to assume your spirit will be transferred to one of those bodies if you''re destroyed?" Without releasing the hem of her skirt, the grey-haired Homunculus followed Vahn''s finger, pausing for a moment before turning to meet his gaze and asking, "Do you prefer girls with a more youthful appearance? If so, please give me a moment. I have an inhibitor solution that can reverse the effects of aging. Please don''t attack any of the girls in the gestation tanks. They are my important Research Assistants..." As if she was afraid he would grow impatient, the grey-haired Homunculus attempted to scamper over to a disy shelf lined with hundreds of neatly arranged, brightly colored, vials. This left Vahn with a helpless expression on his face, not because the petite Homunculus was pretending to be a lot more naive than she actually was, but because Gustang had really gone the extra mile when he came up with this n. Not only had the man paid the penultimate price for his crimes, but, for the purpose of acquiring even greater knowledge, he had effectively left behind a daughter who was willing to do whatever it took to be a member of the R&D Division... Though the Homunculus had inherited fragments of what could be considered to be the entity known as Po Bidau Gustang, the original Gustang had died the moment he attempted to probe Vahn''s mind. This effectively made the girl fumbling around the potion cab a third-generation descendant of Gustang, and, while she had inherited the traits associated with the peerless genius, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say she was apletely unique entity. This was further supported by the Law of Identity, so, while it was well within his right to simply ignore her, Vahn felt like he would be doing both the Homunculus and Gustang''s memory a disservice by leaving the amalgamation of his hopes and dreams to rot within an underground facility. "Are you done ying around...?" Hearing Vahn''s words, the grey-haired Homunculus stopped trying to reach for a vial that was just beyond the range of her dainty fingers. Then, in a mechanically somber tone, she stared back at him and said, "Sorry...this is the only solution I could think of. Without analyzing your character, I had no way of knowing how you would react to certain suggestions. Orchestrating an awkward scenario is one of the quickest methods to expose a person''s true nature. I meant no offense. Rather, so long as you agreed to let me join your R&D Division, I was serious about letting you do whatever you wanted with me. I''m currently inexperienced but I''m confident I could make up for it with genuine intrigue and perseverance. Please give me the chance to prove it." Having dealt with one omnipotent genius''s intrigue, Vahn had no doubts regarding the grey-haired Homunculus'' ims. Da Vinci had managed to convince him to ''assist'' her in a number ofscivious experiments, so, given their simrities, Vahn could easily imagine the Homunculus pursuing a very simr course. After all, when it came to understanding the true nature of the world, hypotheticals and theories could only take you so far... After slowlybing through his hair and staring up at the ceiling for the better part of a minute, Vahn lowered his gaze to meet the Homunculus'' before saying, "Come over and stand right in front of me." Though she didn''t react immediately, it didn''t take long for the petite Homunculus to scamper over and stop just a few centimeters away from Vahn. The top of her head stopped around the center of his diaphragm, and, while she was far from the most petite woman he had ever dealt with, a slightly exasperated sigh escaped Vahn''s mouth as he proceeded to gently ruffle her hair. "You might be able to change your appearance and age at will but you''re still just a kid. I''ll let you join the R&D Division, but, until your mentality had developed to an appropriate level, I don''t want to hear you talking about things like sex and experimentation. You will apprentice under one of my Chief Researchers. She will let me know once you''ve matured. Until then, you have a better chance of wooing one of my children than convincing me to sleep with you..." Demonstrating her first real emotion, a slight pout appeared on the face of the Homunculus. One of the hardcoded objectives within the database that was her mind included getting pregnant and experiencing childbirth. Since pregnancy was actually a very inconvenient thing, she wouldn''t settle for receiving inferior genes. Thus, knowing Vahn was a being that existed near the very pinnacle of all species, she was absolutely determined to bear his child. With the Law of Identity narrating the girl''s innermost thoughts, the rxed smile on Vahn''s face became noticeably wry. He wasn''t particrly surprised. After all, Da Vinci had gone through a very simr phase in the past. Still, knowing a hyper-intelligent loli was absolutely determined to bear his child, Vahn couldn''t resist silently cursing Gustang for going out of his way to burden him with such a dangerous creature... Retracting his hand from the youthful-looking girl''s head, Vahn asked, "So? What should I call you?" while gesturing to create a portal between the 30th and 199th Floors. Even the Law of Identity was unable to reveal her name, so, when she unhesitantly answered, "I don''t have a name." Vahn wasn''t particrly surprised. She was, after all, just a Homunculus. She also lived in istion, so, while she was more than capable of assigning herself a name, it wasn''t necessary. She also understood that she could ingratiate herself to him by allowing him to choose a name, so, until now, the grey-haired Homunculus hadn''t even considered what to call herself. Learning these things from the Law of Identity, Vahn resisted the urge to shake his head as he said, "Very well then...henceforth, you shall be known as...Eureka..."(A/N: Pronounced simrly to Arika.) Since it didn''t particrly matter what her name was, Eureka forced a smile despite thinking Vahn had a terrible naming sense. She could always change itter, and, though she wasn''t sure where the surname originated from, the name Aldrnari Eureka had a way of rolling off the tongue. Upon realizing this, the smile on her face became marginally more sincere, and, though Vahn had already been made aware of her original thoughts on the matter, he still ruffled her hair when she asserted, "Thank you. I will cherish it always." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Jahad really did make an effort...'',''Gustang has found a way to deal constant damage of time even after his death xD...'',''Da Vinci is going to have a field day...'') Chapter 2030: Claim

Chapter 2030: im

Though it probably wasn''t the smartest decision he ever made, Vahn ended up entrusting Eureka to the care and oversight of Android 21. It wasn''t that he didn''t trust Urahara, but, shortly after his and Mikoto''s stint in the Toaruverse, the man ended up creating a Mod Soul using the data obtained on Magic Gods. Mod Souls, in the vast majority of Bleach Records, were artificial souls created to enable ordinary humans and even corpses tobat against Hollows. They were originally intended to be used as expendable pawns, but, due to several Mod Souls developing Egos of their own, the project was scrapped due to ''ethical concerns''. In reality, the governing body of Soul Society had been afraid that Mod Souls would be mass-produced and used to incite a rebellion, a constant threat for an organization that had stagnated to the point of cultural decay. Simply put, Urahara had basically created his own version of a ''Temte'' in the form of a Mod Soul infused into a Gigai. His original reason for doing this had been pure scientific intrigue, but, perhaps as a result of the memories and experiences he had inherited from Vahn, the Mod Soul''s personality ended up being female. He had also talked to constantly throughout the production process, so, by the time the Mod Soul, Yuna, gained awareness, she had already irreversibly imprinted on the Little Garden''s residential mad scientist. Though there hadn''t been any major developments between them, everyone, including Urahara himself, was aware of how attached Yuna was to him. She was also extremely persistent, so, despite his efforts to wean her off him, it didn''t take long for Yuna to strong-arm her way into a position as Urahara''s Assistant. She had even gotten into a few arguments with his Zanpakuto Spirit, Benihime, so, at least for the time being, Urahara had enough troubles to deal with without having to oversee a hyper-intelligent loli... ... .. . With Eureka no longer a concern, at least for the time being, Vahn decided it was time to bite the bullet and close one of the two major loose ends remaining. To this end, he teleported to the vast wastnd that once represented the heart of Imperial power, the 134th Floor. Though some people had taken to calling it the ''Valley of the End'', that had nothing to do with the reason behind Vahn''s visit. No. His business was with a specific individual, who, after hearing about the battle between him and Jahad, ventured to the 134th Floor to see the devastation for herself. Since he could now sense and locate virtually anyone and anything within the Tower, Vahn was able to manifest directly behind his target. This would have normally earned him an ''affectionate'' punch, but, seemingly anticipating that he would appear, the lithe Half-Dragoness remained seated as she asked, "How long did the fightst? With devastation like this, I doubt it actually continued for three full days..." After carefully considering where and how he should sit, Vahn seeded in reducing some of the tensions in Ureko''s body by plopping down behind her and wrapping his arms around her exposed abdomen. She had been secretly afraid that he might have changed his mind, and, knowing about the existence of Temtes, she wasmenting the possibility that he might try and pawn her off to someone he had casually manifested out of thin air. This would have been a substantial blow to her pride, so, while he had actually considered it, Vahn ultimately decided against it after remembering his promise with her Data Self. "Rather than three days, it would be more urate to say the battle ended in three moves. The only reason it took so long for the Floor to open was because there was very little Shinsu left by the time Fenrir finished absorbing it. I needed to borrow Shinsu from the other Floors just to make this ce habitable again." While giggling in a surprisingly feminine manner, Ureko leaned into Vahn''s chest, head tilted back as she adopted a radiant smile and mused, "As expected of the man I chose..." Returning a smile of his own, Vahn resisted the temptation to simply nod his head in affirmation and instead lowered his lips to meet Ureko''s. At the same time, the fabric of space and time began to distort around them until they were contained within their own isted sub-dimension, a world all their own... Though she sensed what was happening, Ureko''s initial response was to hook her left hand around Vahn''s head in order to prolong their kiss. She would never admit it but kissing had always been her weakness since it was the most intimate thing she had ever done prior to her bonding sessions with Yuri. She might dress up in rtively skimpy clothing, generally consisting of shorts and a bikini-like top, but, much like Nero, her primary reason for doing this was pride. She enjoyed showing off, and, to a lesser extent, she wanted to give people a sample of what they could obtain if they were strong enough to actually defeat her... Hooking his hand around the interior of Ureko''s elbow, Vahn had to use a bit of force to pry away her arm. When their lips separated, a thin line of saliva briefly connected them before being licked away by the hungry-looking woman nestled within his embrace. Her eyes glistened like a predator that had just stumbled upon its favorite prey, but, before she could say anything, Vahn beat her to the punch, his voice low and velvety smooth as he whispered, "I havee to im you..." Feeling her pulse beginning to rapidly elerate, a challenging smile develop across Ureko''s face as she attempted to retort, "Tough wordsing from a guy-" Without waiting for her to finish, Vahn sealed Ureko''s lips a second time, this time using a bit of force and a fair amount of technique. She was severelycking in practical experience, so, despite all her power, Ureko remained on the defensive the entire time. By the time they separated, Vahn had her leaning back, supported by his right arm and leg as he stroked her lower abdomen and traced his fingers along the band of her shorts. With the blonde-beauty staring up at him with glistening red eyes, panting gasps emanating from her throat, Vahn adopted a stern yet affectionate tone as he said, "I didn''te here to fight. You have belonged to me from the moment you bore my crest and decided to make me your target. I came here today, not to determine which of us is superior, but to im what is mine." Since he knew Ureko''s innermost concern was that he was just going with the flow and didn''t really care about her, Vahn decided that the simplest solution was to shatter her expectationspletely by iming her as he saw fit. This had absolutely nothing to do with instinct, tradition, or any otherplicated matters. She was an amazing woman with an interesting character and an appearance that not even the greatest artists in the Record would be able to capture. He wanted her at his side so that is why he came here today. Not to conquer, but to collect... After several seconds of catching her breath, Ureko adopted an inordinately serious expression of her own, swallowing her saliva before saying, "That isn''t how this works...you have to prove you''re stronger than me. You can''t just skip to the end..." Adopting an amused yet slightly mischievous smile, Vahn circled his fingers around Ureko''s navel as he mused, "It seems that kiss really did a number on you. You''re telling me you still haven''t noticed? This isn''t just any sub-dimensional space. No. It is something far moreplex than that..." With an expression of profound confusion on her face, Ureko attempted to sense what Vahn was talking about only to discover that she couldn''t. This caused her eyes to immediately widen, not because her senses were being blocked by some oppressive force, but because she couldn''t use them at all. While tracing his fingers up the line of her body, stopping just beneath the band of her bikini-like top, Vahn exined, "In this ce, titles such as the Sage Dragon Emperor and the daughter of the Divine Dragon Emperor simply don''t exist. We''re just a man and a woman, two people coexisting in a world beyond the concepts of space and time..." Fortunately, while his words weren''t exactly a lie, Vahn could still ess the system functions of The Path while he and Ureko were trapped. This allowed him to store her top in his Inventory, and, more importantly, it was really the only way they could escape once everything had been settled. Even his powers werepletely sealed at the moment, and, were it not for the fact he had left a substantial number of ''anchors'' back in reality, freeing themselves from the sealed dimension would take tens, if not hundreds, of years. Feeling panic for the first time in thousands of years, Ureko was about to demand that Vahn return them to the real world when thetter, once again, sealed her lips. This time, however, she began to strike his shoulder and side in protest, but, as his words had implied, her strikes possessed none of the might she had cultivated over thest thirty-thousand-years. Instead, she felt an aching pain in her wrist and a burning sensation emanating from her knuckles. Vahn''s persistent kissing was also depriving her of oxygen, so, before even a minute had passed, Ureko was shocked to discover that she was alreadypletely exhausted. With Ureko''s protests turning into powerless smacks, Vahn pulled away in order to catch his own breath, an apologetically wry developing across smile his face as he gazed into her passion-filled yet horrified eyes. She looked like she was on the verge of tears, but, perhaps as a seque of her draconic instincts, her face had turned a deep shade of crimson as her body gradually heated within his embrace. In a bid to both calm her down and disy his affection, Vahn gingerly brushed aside a few strands of hair clinging to Ureko''s face as he softly asserted, "Your raw power isn''t what made you such an amazing woman, Ureko. It was your character, your unyielding spirit, and the kindness that allowed you to help others even when you, yourself, had lost everything. This ce might have robbed us of our power but it hasn''t changed who we are..." Noticing the fear and uncertainty contained within Ureko''s eyes even as he was reaching the end of his statement, Vahn''s expression became progressively more guilty until he punctuated his guiding words by saying, "If you ask it of me, I will take you away from this ce in an instant. I just wanted us to be closer without all the restrictions of race and circumstance...sorry...I..." Seeing the guilt contained in Vahn''s eyes as he looked away from her for the first time, a conflicted look instantanly marred Ureko''s counteance. A part of her wanted nothing more than to leave this god-forsaken ce, but, hearing him both apologize and offer to release her, a muchrger part of her felt genuinely offended. He had also just talked up the traits that made her a so-called ''amazing woman'', so, if she were to demand he take her back, she would effectively be admitting defeat and running away... Adopting an usatory re, Ureko muttered, "I don''t know if you''re doing this intentionally or if you''re just an idiot, but, if you make a second offer like that, I''ll spare no effort to kill you once we get out of here. You''re the one who decided on this course of action so you dam well better follow it through to the end. Don''t tell me you got cold feet just because I got a little spooked? And here I thought you came to im me...pathetic..." Turning to meet Ureko''s gaze, Vahn found himself at a loss for words when the former pulled his face close, hands gripping his head as she forcibly seized his lips. If not for the awkward angle he had forced her into, she might have actually pushed him down and seized the initiative for herself. This was her way of telling him, "If you aren''t going to do it, I will", so, after quickly recovering from his stupor, Vahn did his best to regain the initiative against the suddenly assertive half-dragoness... ... .. . (A/N: I wasn''t feeling well today so I ended up going back to sleep shortly after waking up. Sorry for the dy.) Chapter 2031: The Duality of Care and Guidance

Chapter 2031: The Duality of Care and Guidance

"Mmnn...?" Feeling a hot, moist, and extremely pleasurable undtion from his lower body, Vahn opened his eyes to find a perky butt, milky white thighs, and slightly swollen yet perfectly symmetrical vulva dominating his vision. The thing that captured his attention the most, however, was the strawberry-blonde, fox-like, tail bobbing yfully as the mischievous minx massaging his testicles managed to take the full length of his not-so-little dragon into her throat. "This is a hell of a way to wake up every morning..." Hearing Vahn''s words, the aforementioned minx released his member from her mouth with a pop before practically sitting on his face and saying, "You''re the one who made me this way. It''s toote to startining now." Since he wasn''t in a position to respond verbally, Vahn grabbed the woman''s waist, anchoring her in ce as his tongue invaded her steamy folds and probed perennially tight entrance. Her vagina was unique in the sense that her entrance would contract to an imprable nine millimeters when she was either not in the mood or feeling obstinate. Inversely, whenever she was feeling especially horny, her inner walls would roll to create a powerful suction that would forcibly essentially swallow whatever dared enter into the very depths of her remarkably moist pressure chamber. Fortunately, or perhaps not, the mischievous woman was almost always insatiably horny, so, while there had been a few incidents near the very beginning, Vahn no longer had to worry about having his tongue or penis nearly amputated whenever she tensed up or climaxed. Instead, he would get a face full of peculiar honey-vored love juices, a surprisinglymon feature among females with draconic heritage. With her body trembling from her waist to the fox-like ears protruding from the top of her head, the woman, Ureko, demonstrated apleteck of inhibitions as she wiggled her low body and sweetly moaned, "Hnnnng~!? Your tongue is reaching all the way to my womb~! And you wonder how I ended up this way~?" Feeling a mixture of pleasure and jubtion rising from her lower body and tickling her brain, Ureko punctuated her question by cing her full weight against Vahn''s face and arching her back to the point that the only thing keeping her from falling backward was thetter''s hold on her waist. This was her way of telling him that she wanted his tongue to go even deeper. Instead, Vahn allowed his tongue to grow thicker, forcibly expanding her walls before a powerful vibration spread through his body and into hers. "Ahahahahahaha~!" Despiteughing in an exuberant manner, almost as if she was responding to someone tickling her under the arms, the slovenly expression on Ureko''s face resembled a woman in the deepest throes of pleasure. For a brief moment, her ruby-red eyes even began to roll towards the back of her head until she forcibly bit the side of her lips and remarked, "You cheeky little brat..." While it might sound odd for Ureko to refer to the man she had chosen as a ''brat'', it had already been more than three years since she and Vahn entered this timeless ce. Though a fair amount of this time had been spent having sex and experimenting with all manner of ys, their weakened physiques required them to rest quite often. As a result, approximately 80% of their time had been spent just resting, rxing, messing around, and, more importantly, talking. When Ureko first learned that Vahn was only a few hundred years old, she genuinely didn''t believe him. It was only when he allowed her to view much of his journey from start to finish that she began to realize just how monstrous her chosen partner truly was. After that, any lingering doubts she had regarding her decision had faded away, and, as a result, Vahn often found himself on the receiving end of a ''very'' proactive half-dragon''s affections. Vahn had been rather fond of this development at the start, but, after a while, Ureko, seemingly in an attempt to unnecessarily ingratiate herself to him, began to demand ''training''. His attempts to talk her out of it had failed, so, after more than three years within the sealed dimensional space, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that Ureko''s body had been thoroughly trained to respond to even mild stimulus. He could make her enter a heat-like state by simply staring at her, and, by snapping his fingers, a suggestion that had been nted deep within her mind would cause her sensitivity to increase with each sessive snap. Demonstrating how effective this training had been, Vahn gently pressed his index finger into the pressure point beneath Ureko''s navel. In response, she immediately leaned her body forward, her eyes swimming due to the sudden and involuntary change in orientation. Then, before she could even hope to recover, he lightly smacked her butt and said, "Present." As if a jolt of electricity had run through her body, Ureko jolted forward before pressing her face and body against the bed with her butt in the air. Immediately after that, with her head turned sideways and a zed look in her eyes, she practically pried herself open with both hands before saying, "My body...is always...ready...please enjoy...your stay~" in an impassioned tone. With the entrance of Ureko''s vagina visibly expanding along with her invitation, Vahn felt a sudden and instinctual urge to swallow as he positioned his ns between her glistening, ruddy-pink, folds. At that exact same moment, Ureko, matching his movements perfectly, pushed back her hips while raising her upper body in a single smooth motion. This allowed her to practically ''devour'' his penis in one fell swoop, a sonorous, "Nnnnnnnn~." emanating from her throat as she resisted the urge to continue moving on her own. Though he still didn''t think it suited such a proud woman, Vahn couldn''t help but smile in response to Ureko''s obedient disy. Then, while provoking her descended womb, ever eager to receive his iparable vital essence, he teasingly remarked, "Ever the greedy bottom..." Having recovered some of her faculties after the initial suggestions wore off, Ureko looked back with a slightly pouty expression on her face as sheined, "Mouuu...you''re the one who made me this way. You''d better take responsibility..." Resisting the urge to remind her that she was the one who had constantly requested additional and more intense training, Vahn raised his right hand, middle finger and thumb pressed together as he asked, "Since today is supposed to be ourst, shall we stress test the limitations of the suggestions I ced on your body and mind...?" Rather than immediately replying to Vahn''s words, Ureko swallowed audibly as a mix of excitement, concern, and giddiness spread through her body. A few of their more intense training sessions had nearly traumatized her, and, were it not for the fact she genuinely believed Vahn would never harm her, she never would have been able toe this far. As for why she wanted him to train her, it wasrgely due to the fact that she might try and kill him the moment they leave this ce. A dragon''s pride couldn''t be underestimated; so, since Vahn had ced them in a situation where he couldn''t suppress her draconic nature, Ureko decided to undermine her own instincts by permitting him to dominate both her body and mind. Though these were the types of thoughts running through Ureko''s mind, it had already been some time since she habitually replied, "Of course~." in a sensual tone. There was no way she could resist Vahn in her current state. Her body literally craved his touch, and, though she could restrain herself if she really wanted to, the truth of the matter was that she didn''t. He had introduced her to a world of pleasure that most simply couldn''t fathom, and, as terrifying as the descent had been, she didn''t regret allowing him to irreversibly corrupt her. Comforted by the licentious sound of a persistent ''pah'' that sent waves of pleasure throughout her entire body, Ureko was oblivious to the sounds of snapping that caused the fox-like ears atop her head to twitch. It was like her very existence was being overwritten by the boundless pleasure she was experiencing. The only thing that could reach her in this state was Vahn''s voice, and, as a result, he was able to implement as many suggestions as he wanted without her offering even a modicum of resistance. "Let''s see...rather than a kitsune, how about we try turning you into actating catgirl? You always did enjoy it when I suckled your nipples..." Though their powers were supposed to be sealed within this sub-dimensional space, both Ureko and Vahn were still Tier 5 beings. She had previously regarded herself as a perfect existence, and, as a result, she had been unable to modify her original form. Now, however, she regarded whatever he saw fit as perfection. He just needed to make a suggestion, and, almost as if she were under the effects of the Law of Normalcy, she wouldn''t find anything even remotely strange with her body. Responding to his words, the fox-like tail protruding from Ureko''s backside condensed to resemble the tail of a cat. A simr phenomenon urred atop her head, but, far more noticeable than both of these things was the fact her breasts had ballooned from modest B-Cups to remarkably maternal Ds in an instant. Almost immediately thereafter, a milky white substance began to leak from the two pale-pink protrusions at their center, followed by a slightly started gasp from the blonde bombshell as she remarked, "I''m leaking..." in a slightly mncholic yet deeply impassioned tone. Never one to leave his lovers feeling sad or lonely, Vahn flipped Ureko onto her back before taking her left nipple into his mouth. This caused a profoundly relieved expression to blossom on her face as she stroked the back of his head and said, "How cute...you''re almost like a baby..." The moment the word ''baby'' left Ureko''s mouth, the inside of her vagina tensed with such extreme pressure that all the precum in Vahn''s urethra was immediately sucked out. This was the one thing that hadn''t changed about her even after three years. She desperately wanted a child, and, were it not for the fact they had agreed to wait until they departed the sub-space, he might have given her several just to satiate her extraordinary maternal instinct. It was his desire to provide her some relief that led to Vahn initially suckling Ureko''s breasts. Even as far back as Danmachi, Ryuu had confessed to him how therapeutic it was to let him drink her breast milk throughout her pregnancy. It was an extremely intimate act that encouraged the production of additional breast milk whilst simultaneously helping to alleviate the tenderness associated with the production process. Thus, after hearing simr ims from several of his wives and women, suckling actating woman''s breasts had be one of Vahn''s guiltier pleasures. Despite her rity gradually returning, a gentle and affectionate expression spread across Ureko''s face as she continued to gingerly caress Vahn''s hair. It didn''t even cross her mind to question how her breasts had suddenly swollen to the point of producing milk. Instead, she felt a strange sense of relief seeing Vahn suckling her nipple with his eyes closed. He just seemed so content, so, much like the other girls he had questioned, she lied about how good it felt. The thing that really allowed her to immerse herself in the act was the peculiar aura of vulnerability that radiated from Vahn''s body whenever he let others pamper him. He didn''t seem to be aware of it himself, but, whenever he was with an older or more mature woman, there were moments when Vahn behaved very much like a spoiled child. This stimted the maternal instincts of the girls with a strong desire to have children of their own, so, while people like Ryuu hadn''t lied when they said it was a very therapeutic experience, the main beneficiary was none other than Vahn. "There, there...no need to rush...we still have all the time in the world..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The return of the R18...!?'',''What even is this chapter...'',''Vahn is a big baby...'') Chapter 2032: In the Spirit of Keeping Promises...

Chapter 2032: In the Spirit of Keeping Promises...

After safely storing away the cozy little vi they had lived in for the past three years, Vahn guided himself and Ureko back to reality using one of the anchors he left behind. This just so happened to be a version of himself, so, after waving to the pseudo-clone and returning it to nothingness, Vahn looked around the area with a reminiscent smile on his face, remarking, "It''s amazing how time can just fly by...three years now feels like a blink. Despite that, it feels like forever since Ist witnessed this scene..." Though he hadn''t addressed her directly, Vahn''s words were obviously intended for Ureko. To his surprise, however, she didn''t respond to him. Instead, she stood at his side with her head hanging down, bangs covering her eyes, absolutely silent. Remembering the discussion they had had prior to their emergence, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he said, "Tongue..." in a helpless yetmanding tone. Jolting in response to the deeply ingrainedmand, Ureko immediately raised her head to reveal glowing red eyes. She looked like she might attack him at any moment, yet, in spite of this, she still opened her mouth wide, chin raised, as she presented her abnormally developed canines and ruby red tongue. Wrapping his arm around the tomboyish beauty''s waste, Vahn reduced the distance between them to zero, whispering, "Good girl..." before bending down to suckle on her tongue. This quickly turned into a passionate kiss that caused Ureko''s body temperature to increase so drastically that Vahn was pretty sure he could crack open an egg and fry it on the small of her back. After separating their lips with a bit of effort, Vahn gazed into Ureko''s deep crimson eyes, a serious expression on his face as he resisted the urge to ask if she was okay. Instead, his tone became even more severe than usual as he maintained steady eye contact and said, "Present." with a fair amount of authority infused into his voice. Though Ureko''s circr pupils immediately turned into draconic slits, she didn''t immediatelysh out and try to attack him. She also didn''t move a muscle, so, with his own aura descending like the literal Heavens, Vahn adopted a slightly aggressive tone as he said, "Ureko. Present. Now." With a violent tremble running through her body, Ureko immediately broke free from his embrace before dropping to the devastated and rocky terrain with a dazed yet heated look in her eyes. Then, despite the fact she was still wearing clothes, she tore apart the fabric before dutifully prying herself open to reveal a white-hot interior that dripped liquid hot enough to create a hissing noise when it impacted the ground. This would have terrified a normal person, but, as could be seen in his ability to create a fortress-like castle with the wave of his hand, Vahn was anything but normal... ... .. . Carrying a very contented-looking Ureko in his arms, much like the Princess she actually was, Vahn teleported back to the 199th Floor. This gave him a moment of pause, nostalgia washing over him like a warm current as he looked skyward and noticed Naruto riding on Latias''s back as Latios gave chase... Noticing Vahn''s sudden pause, Ureko ceased staring at her lower abdomen long enough to look up and ask, "Is something the matter?" before following his line of sight. Then, much like Vahn, a smile developed across her face as she mused, "I hope our kid gets along with your other brats..." Chuckling in response to Ureko''s musings, Vahn habitually nuzzled his forehead against hers as he said, "So long as you hold that thought close to heart, it is bound to be a reality. Now, let''s go. We need to exin the situation to the others before getting you settled in." Groaning like a spoiled teenager, Ureko turned her face away from him beforeining, "Why''d you have to remind me? I know I''m the one who originally targetted you, but I still can''t believe I''m now a member of a massive harem...like...what even am I? A wife? A mistress? A concubine? A piece of ass you keep off to the side...?" Without a moment''s hesitation, Vahn answered, "You''re Ureko Mazino, an outstanding woman with one of the most resolute characters I''ve ever met. It is ultimately up to you to decide what you want to be. My duty is to support you to the best of my ability, regardless of the choice you make along the way. To that end, it doesn''t matter if you want to reestablish your n, travel the multiverse, or even conquer the heavens. I will always be there for you." Though she didn''t blush like a normal girl, Vahn could tell Ureko from the way she rolled her eyes and failed to conceal a smile. She had defined herself by her independence, so, while her goal was to reestablish her n, she didn''t actually want to get wrapped up in the politics of governance. If anything, she just wanted to watch over their son, safeguarding him until he was ready to venture out and establish a n of his own. After that...well, even she didn''t know what she wanted to do... ... .. . Since the vast majority of his harem had already been aware of his impending ''battle'' with Ureko, none of the girls were particrly surprised when Vahn showed up the pregnant half-dragoness in his arms. They were more surprised by the fact he had been gone three years, but, understanding this would be the norm in the future, they primarily focused on asking whether or not he was okay before whisking Ureko away for questioning. With the case of Urekorgely resolved, Vahn only had one pressing concern to deal with before departing the Tower. In all honesty, this number was actually closer to thirty, but, havinge to the realization he didn''t need to personally resolve everything on his own, Vahn was willing to let a few loose ends remain untied. Thus, with the intent of fulfilling the promise he had made near the very beginning of his journey through the Tower, Vahn waited a few days before calling Yuri to his room. Arriving less than a minuteter, Vahn was unsurprised when Yuri practically burst through his door and asked, "What''s up? Wanna fuck...?" with an expectant smile on her face. With a characteristically wry smile on his face, Vahn gestured for the buxom Saiyaness toe and take a seat on hisp before exining, "We''ll be leaving the Tower pretty soon. Before that, I need you to finish your Quest and gather the rest of the Thirteen Month Series. It''s time for those girls to get their lives back." Though she was a little disappointed he didn''t call her to have sex, the idea of battling against the current holders of the Thirteen Months brought a smile to Yuri''s face. Before agreeing to go off and search, however, she wrapped her arms around Vahn''s neck and unabashedly asked, "Are you going to make them a part of your harem? If so, you have to invite me along when you y with the ck March and Green April. I owe those bitches for putting me through so much shit in the past..." With an even wrier smile on his face, Vahn didn''t immediately answer Yuri''s question. He knew that the ck March would probably ''insist'' she stay with him but he couldn''t be certain how the Green April would react, much less the rest of the series. He merely wanted to free them from their curse, but, if it came down to it, he could see himself doing his best to make them happy... ("Let''s just hope the other Spirits aren''t also lolis...") Though the majority of his women were rtively curvaceous and mature, the number of petite and borderline childlike women in Vahn''s harem wasn''t small. There were even times when he felt like it might be rted to a hidden Innate. This might sound likeplete nonsense, but, after traversing multiple Records and meeting countless young girls who were, in actuality, exponentially older than him, Vahn had his reasons for believing this was the case... Shaking that thought from his mind, Vahn decided to focus on the buxom beauty right in front of him, smiling as he said, "We''ll see...". Then, before setting out to surprise a certain Commander-in-Chief, he made love to the ravenous warrior woman for the better part of an entire day... ... .. . With the ''disappearance'' of her father, Adori had been so busy tending to uprisings and rebellions that she hadn''t slept in weeks. This wasn''t normally an issue for a High Ranker of her caliber, but, as the stress continued to pile up, bags had started to form under her eyes despite her best efforts to appear calm and imcable in front of her subordinates. Fortunately, while she had been under tremendous stress, Adori wasn''t alone in her struggles. She had the direct support of Senna, and, thanks to the joint efforts of the Tu Perie, Arie, Ari, and Khun Families, things hadn''t gottenpletely out of hand. Rather, now that the contracts binding them had suddenly disappeared, people like Eduan and Hon were basically having a field day as they cut down anyone who attempted to take advantage of the chaos sweeping through the Tower. If there was anything Adori had to genuinelyin about, it was the fact Vahn hadn''t appeared even once since the death of her father. Jahad had entrusted her with one final mission prior to his death, and, unlike the majority of now-deposed Princesses, Adori still believed in her father''s dream of preserving the peace and stability of the Tower. This was something she was willing toy her life down to achieve, so, even if she was more than a little nervous about meeting him face-to-face, she ''needed'' to see Vahn before things got too out of hand. What Adori didn''t expect was for a sudden presence to appear out of thin air two minutes into her first break in days. This caused her brain to pulse from the migraine she had been experiencing, but, seeing the faces of Vahn and Yuri, a substantial amount of relief washed over her mind and body as she identally voiced her thoughts, saying, "You certainly took your time..." Restraining a chuckle, Vahn adopted his usual carefree smile as he answered, "Had I known a beauty was waiting for me, I would have appeared a lot sooner." Punctuating his words with a wink, Vahn was marginally surprised when a bit of red spread through Adori''s otherwise porcin white cheeks. He already knew about the ''mission'' Jahad had given her, but, seeing the golden-haired beauty''s bashful reaction, it was clear she had been thinking about it a lot more than he anticipated... Suddenly feeling awkward, Vahn motioned to scratch the back of his head before nearly falling over when Yuri spontaneously asked, "Oh~? What''s this? The infamously impassive Adori is actually able to disy such a cute response? This just got a whole lot more interesting~." Despite maintaining an unflustered appearance, Adori''s cheeks became noticeably redder as she shifted her gaze towards Yuri and calmly stated, "I have no idea what you''re talking about..." in a soft monotone. Smiling even wider, Yuri attempted to approach Adori only for thetter to immediately manifest her Carrier and ask, "What do you think you''re doing?" Without losing her smile, Yuri answered, "I should be asking you that. You''re clearly having some lew-" Before Yuri could finish, Vahn promptly recalled her to the 199th Floor. He clearly wasn''t going to need her to recover this particr Thirteen Month Series, so, while his duplicate vessel was dealing with her, he adopted a slightly apologetic smile and said, "Sorry about that...Yuri can sometimes be a little...brash..." With her Carrier gradually bleeding back into the void, Adori exhaled a sigh before shaking her head and saying, "No. This is my fault. As uncouth as her words might have been, there is also some truth to them. I believe you are also aware of it, correct? The final duty my father entrusted to me?" Restraining a sigh of his own, Vahn nodded his head before muttering, "Seek happiness or seduce the Sage Dragon Emperor..." Though the actual request was a lot moreplicated and wordy, Vahn''s words struck at the very heart of the matter. Jahad had wanted her to leave the Empire and start a journey of her own, but, understanding Adori''s character, he couldn''t imagine her abandoning the people and venturing out to obtain happiness. Thus, in a very roundabout way, Jahad shifted the burden of Adori''s happiness onto Vahn''s shoulders. By seducing him, she could not only guarantee the peace and stability of the Empire, but, by ''sacrificing'' herself, she would no longer be bound by the duty that had dictated her life for thest five-thousand-years. Following a curt nod, Adori reached up to the sps keeping her flowery cloak in ce. This caused the surprisingly heavy garment to crash to the ground, and, though it didn''t leave her naked, seeing her lean yet wless physique wrapped in little more than a ck and white bodysuit was quite the sight to behold. It perfectly contrasted her long golden hair, and, despite the reddening of her face, the resolute glimmer in her golden eyes implied she wouldn''t simply take no for an answer. Truth be told, Vahn was expecting something like this to ur ever since he learned that the Spirit of the Golden November was none other than Adori herself. Thus, while it would have been easy for him to simply dismiss Jahad''s request in its entirety, doing so would make fulfilling his promise with the other Thirteen Month Series unnecessarily difficult. After all, he couldn''t force Adori to give him the Golden November. Well, he could, but that wasn''t really in his nature. He had always been more of a lover than a fighter, so, after observing the nervous beauty slowly unzip her bodysuit, revealing the vast, bountiful, and untouched white expanse hidden beneath, he slowly made his way forward to lend a hand... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Good girl...'',''The curse of the loli-baba...'',''Make love, not war (UwU)...'') Chapter 2033: Collection

Chapter 2033: Collection

While Adori was lying face down at his side, gasping and with a subtly rainbow-hued liquid pooling on the bedsheets between her thighs, Vahn was performing maintenance on the Golden November. Across from him, appearing identical to the woman slipping in and out of consciousness to his left, an inordinately beautiful woman with gilded hair and matching eyes carefully observed his actions with a red face and a slightly zed expression. As could be expected, this ethereal andpletely naked woman was none other than Adori, or, more urately, the Spirit from who Adoru, Adori''s true name, obtained her identity and purpose. The Golden November was intended to serve as the sword and shield of the Empire from the very beginning, so, unlike the rest of the Thirteen Month Series, it could not be allowed to slip into the hands of another Family. Instead, the Jahad Family, coordinating with Gustang and various rogue members of the workshop, began conducting a series of experiments using blood from the original Princesses of Jahad. In the simplest terms, Adori was the ''perfected form'' of a Princess of Jahad, an artificial being designed to be wless from birth. Unfortunately, as was often the case when people attempted to create a ''perfect being'', fate had a way of revealing just how foolish such sentiments were. The original Adori ended up getting killed during her very first battle due to her machine-like personality and inability to perceive things like fear and pain. The only thing that had mattered to her was the mission she had been assigned, so, as could be expected, she waspletely yed in the campaign to kill the current leader of FUG, Grace Mirchea Luslec. Since it would be a problem if the ''ultimate weapon'' of the Empire was defeated so easily, Gustang and his team recovered the remains of the original Adori''s body for use in one of the most profane experiments Vahn could imagine. They used her as an experimental seedbed, infusing her eggs with Jahad''s gic material with the intent of producing an even ''more perfect'' human. Most of these experiments ended in failure, but, after thousands of years and countless sacrifices, they were finally able to seed in the production of the ''perfect human'', Adoru. Having learned from their previous mistakes, Adoru received a thorough education and ample care from every person she encountered in her young life. Everyone praised her and told her how special she was, and, once she had been thoroughly indoctrinated, she even spent a brief period of time as Jahad''s official charge. This was the experience that had cemented the views she had carried for thest five-thousand-years. More importantly, it was the convictions she had formed over those three years that allowed her to survive the soul-shattering pain of having her spirit fused with the original. In other words, the naked beauty seated across from Vahn was actually an amalgamation of two Spirits that had been irreversibly merged into a singr whole. She was a lot like Maemiru in that regard, but, unlike the perverted maid duo from Danmachi, Adori and Adoru were more mother-daughter than sisters... ... .. . Using an artifact-grade oil rag, Vahn continued to meticulously polish the crystalline surface of the Golden November with a carefree yet amused smile on his face. Each of his actions would garner an adorable response from the Spirit seated across from him. She would twitch and tremble, and, every time he ran his fingers along her de''s spine or polished the rings near her base, her teeth would tter despite her efforts to appear calm and unflustered. As this had already been going on for close to half an hour, Vahn was unsurprised when Adori, still lying on her stomach, turned her head toward him, silence lingering for several seconds before she finally asked, "Umm...does this...can you tell me what time it is...?" Though she could have easily checked the time herself, Adori wasn''t really sure what to say or do at a time like this. Prior to a few hours ago, her knowledge regarding the rtions between men and women was purely theoretical. She didn''t know if this implied a sessful seduction or if Vahn had just sumbed to his carnal instincts. Thus, while she wanted nothing more than to ask whether or not he would be providing his support to the ailing Empire, she could barely muster the courage to ask him for the time... Setting aside the Golden November, much to the Spirit''s disappointment, Vahn looked towards the timid beauty before patting his thighs and saying, "Come. Take a seat." Restraining the urge to swallow, Adori forced her tired body to a sitting position, her golden eyes briefly lingering on Vahn''s naked lower body before quickly oveing her inhibitions and taking a seat. In response, he unashamedly began fondling her impably soft breasts, forcing an adorably surprised yelp from her throat as he gently pinched her pale-pink nipples and exined, "I don''t like to force people. I epted this arrangement because I understood your father''s, Jahad''s, true intentions. You will abdicate from your position as Command-in-Chief, and, in exchange, I will install someone with even greater power to watch over the Empire until the rightful heir is ready to take the throne." As this was her first time hearing about a ''rightful heir'', Adori managed to ovee the pleasure assaulting her body long enough to cease biting her lip and ask, "Wh-" Before she could finish uttering a single syble, Vahn sealed the golden-haired beauty''s lips with his own. At the same time, his left-hand moved down the line of her body, fingers tracing through fields of gold before invading the previously hallowed grounds hidden between her remarkably fair and surprisingly thick thighs. This caused a girlish yelp to emanate from Adori''s throat, her thighs instinctually shutting around his hand before rxing a few momentster. After continuing in this manner for the better part of an hour, Vahn separated his lips from Adori''s to find the golden-haired beauty staring up at him with apletely dazed expression on her face. She had even extended her tongue for a brief moment, but, realizing they were no longer kissing, a light of rity immediately returned to her gaze. Before she could even think to ask him a question, however, Vahn adopted a moderately authoritative tone as he said, "The affairs of the Empire are no longer your concern. Now that you have chosen to follow this path, you are no longer Adori Jahad, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army. You are my woman...understood...?" Though a part of this could be attributed to the time he spent with Ureko, Vahn knew that someone like Adori needed someone to tell her what to do. She was unable to willfully pursue selfish notions such as her own happiness, and, if given the option, she would unhesitantly dedicate the rest of her life to rebuilding the Empire and keeping peace within the Tower. Jahad had been aware of this, so, taking advantage of her self-sacrificing mentality, he sent her to Vahn under the pretense of a ''final mission''. Under normal circumstances, Vahn wasn''t particrly fond of being used in the machinations of other people. This time, however, he had decided to make an exception. Adori had spent thest five-thousand-years dedicating her everything to the Empire. She deserved to experience genuine happiness, and, while he didn''t need to be the one to give it to her, he believed she would benefit greatly from interacting with the other members of his harem... Having already formed the resolve to ''sacrifice'' herself, the conflict in Adori''s gaze onlysted for a brief moment before she ultimately nodded her head and said, "Understood...from this moment on, I am no longer Adori Jahad...I am your woman..." Waiting for this exact moment, Vahn brought Adori, who had been on the verge of climaxing for a very long time, topletion. This caused a violent tremble to run through her body, and, though they were far from finished, he still wrapped his arms around her, his tone gentle yet resonating as he whispered, "Good girl..." ... .. . Though the sudden inclusion of Adori was quite a surprise to certain members of his harem, Vahn had alreadye to terms with the notion that he might end up adding several more members in the very near future. He knew people like Garam had taken an interest in him a long time ago, and, ever since he defeated Hon, Hagipherione had set her sights on him. She wanted him to teach her the ''true way'' of the sword, and, as could be expected from someone whose entire life had revolved around mastering the de, she was willing to do whatever it took to ''convince'' him. Having discussed the matter at length with the Council of Wives and the more influential members of his harem, Vahn was seriously considering inviting most, if not all, the former Princesses of Jahad into the Little Garden. He had no intention of making each and every one of them into members of his harem, but, understanding how difficult their lives would be should they remained in the Tower, he felt he owed them an opportunity after killing off their primary backer. With this in mind, Vahn, along with Ureko, teleported to a rather scenic location on the 119th Floor. From the outside, it resembled a massiveke surrounded by verdant forests, but, peering into the depths, it was possible to make out a ptial structure formed from pure ice. This was the location of Garam''s secret base, and, thanks to the Blue August, the surface of theke was able to appear as a liquid despite being more than a hundred degrees below zero. Ignoring this chillpletely, Vahn and Ureko dove into theke before swimming to the entrance located at the very front of the ptial structure. They could have teleported directly inside, but, as nigh-indestructible beings with free rein to go wherever they pleased, activities such as diving and free climbing were novel ways to pass the time. Unfortunately for Garam, she had made the ''mistake'' of cing a powerful barrier at the entrance so much of the pce ended up getting flooded once Ureko smashed it open and shouted, "Oi~! Frost-nips! Get your ass out here! We''vee to collect you~!" Hearing Ureko borrow the line he had used back on the 134th Floor, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as Garam emerged from the pce''s interior atop an icy blue Lighthouse, asking, "What the hell are you on about, you blonde psychopath...?" Adopting a massive grin, Ureko ced her hand over her lower abdomen, affectionately caressing it as she said, "Vahn and I have already sealed the deal. Since you''re basically my woman, you shoulde and have fun with us. Also, we''ll be leaving the Tower pretty soon so this is basically yourst chance to jump on the bandwagon. Either way, we need your Blue August and Indigo July. You can either hand them over or turn that ass around. Your choice." Though she was used to Ureko''s unabashed way of speaking, Garam was caught off guard by the wordsing out of her former friend and pseudo-lover''s mouth. She understood what Ureko was trying to say, sure, but, as this had basicallye out of nowhere, all she could do was look toward Vahn and ask, "Are you okay with this...?" Restraining a wry smile, Vahn nodded his head and said, "I''m currently gathering the-" before Ureko interrupted and said, "Oh,e on. Don''t tell me you intend to spend the rest of your life holed up in this prison? There are countless worlds waiting to be explored beyond the Tower. Besides, even if you put on a cold front, I know you still love me~." Glowering in response to Ureko''s words, Garam was tempted to remind the annoying blonde that she was the one that kept harassing her. Instead, she inhaled a slow and steady breath through her nose before looking toward Vahn with an alluring smile and dering, "Well now...It seems my ''ass'' has suddenly be the property of the Sage Dragon Emperor. And here I thought you would be content with just my panties...you''re pretty greedy..." Punctuating her words, Garam hopped from her Lighthouse, instantaneously freezing the deluge of water flooding into her pce. Then, seemingly following Ureko''s suggestion, she slowly turned her back, hands resting against the surface of her Lighthouse as she looked over her shoulder and said, "I don''t dislike greedy men..." ... .. . (A/N: This seems less like the end of an arc and more like the ass-end of a 100% speedrun. I really env-I mean-I really hate Vahn at times like this xD...) Chapter 2034: Honesty: Resolution

Chapter 2034: Honesty: Resolution

Though Garam seemed to think things would be over rtively quickly, the participation of Ureko pretty much nipped that thought in the bud. There had been a time when Ureko tried to convince Garam to be her girlfriend, so, now that she had the chance to tease the icy-blte, Ureko wanted to see her blush. Vahn also had business to attend with the Blue August and Indigo July, so, while Garam was learning just how big of a pervert Ureko had be, he left the two to their own devices in order to converse with the two Spirits and perform maintenance on their bodies. Fortunately, while the Blue August was very clearly a loli from the Khun Family,plete with their characteristic blue hair and eyes, the Indigo July was a budding yet decidedly more mature beauty with long, indigo-blue, hair. She also had blue eyes, but, while one was a rtively gentle shade of cobalt, the other was a vibrant shade of azure with a dragon-like pupil. As for their individual attires, the Blue August wore a flowing white dress with icy ents while the Indigo July was fitted with an inordinately beautiful gown resembling the night sky. Like their sisters, neither the Blue August nor the Indigo July could recall their original names. Such things had been stripped away along with the memories of everyone who had known them in their lives. With the passage of time, they had forgotten much more, but, simr to the ck March and Green April, they possessed an overwhelming desire for freedom and revenge. This was something that worked in Vahn''s favor as both Spirits had already been made aware of the fact he was the one to y Jahad. Since he also exined his purpose to them, specifically providing them the freedom they so desperately desired, it wasn''t particrly surprising that the duo had grown rather fond of him by the time he finished their maintenance. With the addition of the two blutes, Vahn, and, by proxy, Yuri had already managed to collect five of the Thirteen Month Series. These were the ck March, Green April, Blue August, Indigo July, and the one that, ordinarily, would have been the most difficult to obtain, the Golden November. In total, this brought his count up to three lolis and two maturing beauties, so, while he wouldn''t know for sure until he assembled the final seven, Vahn was hopeful that half of the Thirteen Month Series would be on the mature side of the spectrum... ... .. . Deciding to collect the next three Thirteen Month Series at the same time, Vahn, once again, found himself in Maschenny''s bed chambers. She had actually been anticipating his arrival ever since the sudden ''disappearance'' of Adori and the inarguably more jarring deration of a new Commander-in-Chief. Thus, for thest three days, she had been loitering about in her room in little more than a transparent silk negligee and ace t-back that showed off her pale white cheeks in all their glory. Sensing his presence, Maschenny remained with her back turned as she purred, "You''vee..." in a sultry tone. Then, turning around, she revealed that a negligee and panties were, in fact, the only things she was wearing. She hadpletely forsaken the use of a bra, and, as a result, her modest yet immactely sculpted breasts were on full disy,plete with pale pink protrusions sticking out against the fabric of her nightgown. With a rxed smile on his face, Vahn nodded his head, answering, "Indeed...'' while unashamedly admiring her figure. This gave the athletic yet shapely beauty the courage to saunter over to him in an overtly seductive manner, but, instead of covering the full distance, she stopped a few meters away from him and asked, "The question is...have youe for me...or something else~?" Though it was unnecessarily misleading, Vahn adopted an ostensibly teasing smile as he answered, "Both." in a rxed tone. Raising her brows slightly, Maschenny began to slowly draw the silken thread holding the front of her negligee closed as she inquired, "Oh~?" in an audibly heated tone. She had already formed her resolve to set out on her own, but, even if it was just for one, two, twenty, or even a hundred nights, she wouldn''t mind keeping Vahnpany. Waiting until the string had beenpletely unfastened, the edges of Vahn''s smile curled up as he covered the remaining distance and gingerly cupped Maschenny''s butt as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do at that exact moment. To his amusement, this caused a fair amount of pink to tinge her cheeks, but, without losing the confident and seductive look on her face, she managed to link her arms around him and remark, "This is quite a bit different from my expectations...thest time we met, you were pretty standoffish and ended up talking more than acting..." While gently massaging Maschenny''s butt with his rhythmically undting fingers, Vahn nodded his head, casually replying, "You''re not wrong. Even now, I would be lying if I said your character didn''t absolutely disgust me..." Amused by Vahn''s contrary words and actions, a remarkably sly and discernibly predatory smile developed across Maschenny''s face as she asked, "What changed? Don''t tell me you''vee here with the aim of simply teasing me...I honestly can''t imagine you doing something so...cruel..." Without losing his own smile, Vahn put a bit more force into his hands, forcing Maschenny off her feet and drawing her face closer to him as he exined, "I came with the goal of revealing the truth and seizing the three Thirteen Month Series you''ve hidden away..." Blinking in surprise, Maschenny was genuinely taken aback by the fact Vahn knew about the Silver January and Luminous June. He hadn''t mentioned them during any of their previous encounters, so, while others believed he might be all-knowing, she had started to specte there were a number of blind spots in his knowledge. Thus, for a brief moment following his admission, her mental faculties slowed to crawl... As it was always amusing to see clever and maniptive women with expressions of stupefaction on their faces, Vahn found himself holding back a chuckle as his thumbs hooked under the bands of her panties. Then, running his hands up her smooth and inordinately pale body, he forced her back to awareness by giving her a slight wedgie. Blushing a fair shade of crimson, Maschenny adopted a practiced yet discernibly genuine pout on her face as she said, "So you havee to tease me..." Rather than denying it, Vahn nodded his head in a casual manner before releasing the stic band of Maschenny''s panties with a ''pa'' sound. Then, before she couldpletely misconstrue his intent, he gestured toward the bed and said, "Lie down. I''ll give you a massage as I exin everything that has been taking ce behind the scenes. Since you''ve already formed the resolve to walk your own path, I''ll exin the options avable to you. After that, if you still want to...well, I don''t mind giving you a good one, two, twenty, or even a hundred good memories." Punctuating his statement with a wink, Vahn guided Maschenny towards the bed, gently pulling her left hand, before she could even begin to fully process his words. Then, after removing her negligee and stowing her panties away with a practiced finesse, he ced his hand against the small of her back, gently urging her forward as he softly uttered, "Rx. Though you''ll probably be upset about a particr revtion, everything else I have to say is purely beneficial in nature." Though she obediently crawled onto the bed, Maschenny didn''t lie on her stomach. Instead, she remained facing upward, supported by her elbows as she stared at him and asked, "What did you do...?" in a slightly cautious tone. There were actually quite a number of things that could easily set her off. However, it was another matter entirely to hear Vahn mention such a thing... As it wouldn''t be his first time giving a girl a frontal massage, Vahn brazenly sat atop Maschenny''s thighs before cing his palms on her sides and answering, "Well...it''s about what happened while I was on the Hidden Floor..." ... .. . Though Maschenny was understandably annoyed by the fact that Vahn had kept her Data Self, the thing that upset her the most was the fact her counterpart had been allowed to live within the Little Garden while also receiving the benefits of guided training. Thispletely spoiled her mood, and, after a bit of back and further, Vahn ultimately agreed to let them meet. Fortunately, this particr oue had been within Vahn''s expectations. He had even informed Scathach about it beforehand. Thus, while the two electric-haired beauties battled it out to decide which of them would be the ''real'' Khun Maschenny Jahad, he observed alongside Scathach while performing maintenance on the Yellow May, Silver January, and Luminious June. To Vahn''s considerable relief, none of the newly acquired Spirits fit the traditional description of a loli. The closest was the Silver January, who, as could be expected, was clearly descended from the Arie Family. She had long silver hair, a slender body, and silvery eyes with a purple hue. As for the Silver January itself, it was a massive ymore-like de that appearedically oversized in such a fair maiden''s hands. Yet, in spite of this, Vahn couldn''t help feeling that the two suited each other perfectly. A stark contrast to the rtively petite Silver January, the Yellow May and Luminous June were both remarkably mature and iprehensibly beautiful women. The former had yellow hair that flowed from her scalp like a golden waterfall, deep red eyes that seemed even sharper than her spear, and, most notably, a curvaceous figure that couldn''t be concealed even with severalyers of kimono. As for the Luminous June, she had simrly golden hair, but, instead of flowing straight, it curled in a natural and graceful manner as it cascaded down her remarkably voluptuous body. Her purple eyes possessed a supernaturally hazy quality to them, and, though she appeared to bepletely naked at a nce, the truth of the matter was that it was that she was garbed in a dressprised entirely of luminous golden light. Like their sisters, the Silver January, Yellow May, and Luminous June were all pleasantly surprised to learn that the target of their vengeance had already been dealt with. The Silver January seemed far less concerned about this than the others, but, considering she was assuredly a member of the Arie Family, that wasn''t too surprising. What did surprise Vahn, quite a bit, was the Luminous June''s deration that she would be his wife once he managed to free them from their curse. This nearly prompted the other two to do the same, but, after a considerable amount of coaxing, Vahn managed to convince all three to take a bit of time to discover what they truly wanted. This included an exnation of the reincarnation system he was nning to implement in the very near future. Thus, while the Luminous June seemed pretty steadfast regarding the promise she had made, she was also willing to experience reincarnation just to prove how serious she was. As for the Silver January and Yellow May, the former only really cared about polishing her sword techniques further while thetter, matching herzy expression, seemed content with having a ce to sleep and a roof over her head... ... .. . Though her training with Scathach had drastically increased her power, Data Maschenny ultimately ended up losing, not because her counterpart was exponentially stronger than her, but because she had overtaxed her body using Lightning Pills. Neither had been able tond any decisive blows on the other due to the restriction prohibiting the use of weapons, so, after a number of shy moves, the contest ultimately devolved into a war of attrition between the two excessively prideful women. Thus, after a slugfeststing the better part of seventeen hours, Maschenny, with a vicious smile on her face, attempted to approach her downed counterpart with a spear coalesced from vibrant blue lightning in hand... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''RIP Garam...'',''Pa~!'',''Catch ''em, catch ''em, gotta catch ''em all, gotta-catch-em-all, Poke-I mean-Thirteen Month Series~!'',''Also, for those of you who are worried, there are only like 2-5 chapters left until the end of this arc. Ganbare~!'') Chapter 2035: Spirit of Cooperation

Chapter 2035: Spirit of Cooperation

Just as Maschenny was preparing to eliminate her counterpart, Vahn appeared right behind her, his hand smacking her pert backside with enough force to ripple through her butt and body, dispersing her Shinsu as he said, "No. That''s enough." Feeling more than just pain radiate through her body, Maschenny looked back at Vahn with a vexed expression on her face, rubbing her now tender butt as she asked, "What are you doing? We agreed to settle things between us. Are you-" Flicking the blute in the forehead before she could finish, Vahn inly stated, "Don''t even think about trying to shill that type of excuse to me. There is no genuine enmity between the two of you, yet you expect me to let you kill each other? No. I don''t think so." Though a head flick shouldn''t hurt all that much, Maschenny had tears in her eyes as she held her forehead with both hands. There was something about Vahn''s ''attacks'' that made them ridiculously effective. Her pain tolerance was among the best in the Tower, yet, with just a casual flick, Vahn was able to make her feel as though the center of her forehead was on fire. With Maschenny making no further attempts to argue, Vahn extended his hand to caress her head, instantaneously easing the pain as he said, "I''m not going to tell you that killing is wrong. I mean, it is, but there are always situations where it is either necessary or justified. This isn''t one of them. My hope is that one day, you will realize that true power isn''t obtained through suppressing or erasing threats before they can rise against you. Ites from protecting the people you love." Removing his hand from the unconvinced beauty''s head, Vahn moved over to the broken body of Data Maschenny before bending down and cing his palm against her abdomen. A vibrant white pulse immediately erupted from the palm of his hand, rapidly spreading through her body like the jolt of a defibritor. Immediately thereafter, a gasp escaped her body as she shot up into a seated position, eyes zing with blue electricity until she saw Vahn kneeling at her side. Blinking several times in stupefaction, Data Maschenny shifted her gaze from Vahn to her real-world counterpart before adopting a deep frown and muttering, "I lost..." in a defeated tone. Nodding in affirmation, Vahn extended his hand to gently ruffle the girl''s electric blue hair as he said, "There''s no shame in losing. Things like pride only have meaning if you can hold onto them in the face of failure. If you beat yourself up over every minor setback you experience, what you have isn''t pride. It''s arrogance." As this was far from the first time Vahn had pat her head, Data Maschenny just hugged her knees to her chest with a teary-eyed expression on her face. She had worked hard to increase her strength as much as possible for this day, yet, in the end, she ended up doing more damage to herself than her opponent. She felt like she had let herself down, and, though she hated Scathach with every fiber of her being, Maschenny couldn''t help feeling as though she somehow failed her... Seeing her Data Self beingforted by Vahn as she fought back tears, a resentful look appeared on the face of Maschenny as she resisted the urge tombast the ''little girl'' for her weakness. The only thing preventing her from doing so was the presence of Vahn, and, to an extent, the words he had previously imparted. She didn''t really agree with him, but, having witnessed the power of the Little Garden''s residents, outright refuting them would only make her appear to be a pretentious fool... As that thought crossed her mind, Maschenny silently observed Vahn consoling her equally aged yet perceptively younger self. Various other thoughts were crossing her mind, but, at the forefront of most was the notion that the ''fake'' in front of her would invariably receive greater benefits than her. She could easily imagine trying her best to be stronger only toe back from a foreign world to find her more youthful counterpart shaking her ass atop Vahn''sp, a cunning smile on her face as she wielded an iprehensible amount of power... Though Vahn had already exined how time would flow differently within the Little Garden, it was difficult for Maschenny to think rationally when she was watching the former treat her counterpart with such care. She could vividly recall all their previous encounters, and, while he had afforded her quite a number of benefits, there had never been a time when he disyed any ''sincerity'' towards her. Now that she knew he had been keeping a pocket version of herself in his private realm, it was all starting to make sense...at least within her mind... Balling her hands into fists, sparks of electricity dancing across them, Maschenny adopted a severe glower as she silently uttered, "This promiscuous little slut..." despite the fact she and her Data Self were the same age. Sensing the negative energies radiating from Maschenny''s body, Vahn looked back with a frown on his face, saying, "You know I can see through your thoughts. You''re also aware of the fact that I hate people with unnecessarily sadistic and cruel personalities. I''ve already given you more chances than you deserve. Are you really going to keep testing the limits of my patience...?" in a grim tone. Though she couldn''t prevent a pout from developing across her face, Maschenny did her best to remain calm as she sincerely replied, "I''m trying my best. It''s not easy changing after behaving the same way for thousands of years. It''s even more difficult when I see you treating my other self with such consideration. I feel like, the moment I turn my back, the two of you are going to start fucking like rabbits while I''m supposed to be grateful for the asional massage..." Taken aback by Maschenny''s words, Vahn was about to exin that he and her Data Self had hardly even interacted with each other. Before he could, however, Data Maschenny, with a remarkably red face, eximed, "Don''t go putting strange ideas into people''s heads...!" in a surprisingly girly tone. Though she had been okay with just about anything when she and Vahn first met, Data Maschenny had mellowed out quite a bit thanks to Scathach''s training. She had also started to get along with a few of the other girls during the periods when she was allowed to rest, so, while she was still willing to do anything to obtain power, she was no longer as ''eager'' as she used to be. With the two girls ring daggers at each other, Vahn decided to nip the problem in the bud, even if only temporarily, by saying, "This is ridiculous. I understand your desire topete against each other, but, let me ask you this...what''s so special about being the ''real'' Khun Maschenny Jahad? The King you borrowed your name from is no longer alive, and, even if one of you were toe out on top, you would be far from the strongest being in the Tower, much less the Little Garden. Instead of squabbling over somethingpletely nonsensical, you should be working together to polish each other''s skills. You''re in a pretty unique situation where you''re essentially twins with virtually identical thought processes. Why fight when you can work together to achieve even greater results?" While he could already anticipate the condense the two girls would reach, Vahn didn''t particrly mind. As silly as it might sound, he had already realized, as far back as the Record of Danmachi, that he could solve a substantial number of disputes by having sex. He had even managed to be a literal God of Sex during his stay in the Nasuverse, so, while he still had a fair number of inhibitions, his aversions to sex were virtually nonexistent. Unsurprisingly, after staring at each other for several tense moments, it was Maschenny who first crossed her arms, emphasizing her breasts as she said, "I believe Vahn might be on to something. Hating you is basically the same as hating myself so I''m willing to call a truce if you are. What do you say...Maschenny...?" Though she didn''t answer immediately, it didn''t take long for Data Maschenny to nod her head and answer, "Fine. However, I no longer wish to be called Maschenny. Since you won the fight, you can keep that name. From now on...I''ll go by Mash...no...Chenny." Remembering there was already someone named Mash, strangely enough, Chenny decided to just go with the pet name frequently used by her father. She wouldn''t admit it, but she also felt it suited her more youthful appearance since it was also her nickname when she was a child. Understanding the origins of the name her counterpart had chosen, an amused giggle emanated from the throat of Maschenny as she said, "Very well, then..." before shifting her attention toward Vahn and asking, "I believe you had something in mind when you suggested we worked together, correct? I''m really eager to know what it might be..." Rolling his eyes, Vahn gestured with his left hand, and, as a result, a ptial structure reminiscent of the Ivory Castle manifested around them. This was more than enough to surprise the duo, but, what really surprised them was the fact they were in some kind of multi-tiered chamber that resembled a bunch of steps leading towards a rather intimidating throne. With the intent of strengthening the duo''s bonds to an unshakeable extent, Vahn decided to make their first time as memorable as possible. Thus, instead of taking them to a bedroom, he exined the significance of the uniquely structured chamber they had found themselves in, an exact replica of his Throne Room. Learning about the significance of the chamber, literal sparks could be seen in the eyes of the two blue-haired women as their excitement progressively increased. The Throne of an Empire was, quite literally, the seat of power representing a degree of authority that most people couldn''t even begin to fathom. It was something coveted by countless people, but, no matter how hard they worked, an Emperor''s Throne was something only a select few chosen by fate would ever be able to sit upon. Resisting the urge to try it out for herself, Maschenny waited until Vahn had taken his rightful ce before attempting to sit in hisp. Unfortunately, she wasn''t the only one with this particr intent. Chenny had very simr thoughts running through her mind, and, though they had agreed to work together, that didn''t mean their rivalry had ended. Thus, thanks to Maschenny''s attempts to appear sultry and seductive, Chenny managed to beat her to the punch by simply walking over and taking a seat. ("This little bitch...") Though she did her best to maintain a seductive smile, Maschenny was unable to prevent her brow from twitching ever-so-slightly in response to Chenny''s ''shamelessness''. Thetter, however, didn''t seem to care about this in the slightest as she half-turned her body and asked, "So? What now? You have a lot more experience in things like this. What do you want us to do...?" After gesturing for Maschenny toe and take a seat on the rather spacious armrest, Vahn earned a slightly annoyed yet bashful look from Chenny as he picked her up by the armpits and positioned her so that she was straddling his hips, her small yet shapely butt nestled against something hard as he answered, "Well, since the two of you enjoypeting so much, why don''t we make this into apetition? I can perfectly replicate the amount of stimulus I give to my partners. Let''s see which of you can hold out the longest and then progressively ramp things up from there. Don''t worry. At times like this, we literally have all the time in the world..." With that said, Vahn interrupted anything Chenny might have wanted to say by sealing the petite blute''s lips with his own. This caused her eyes to widen in stark surprise, but, after his tongue invaded her mouth, she quickly entwined her own as his hands stealthily snaked their way under her skirt... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Jealousy...'',''When life hands you lemons, screw them on to the tip of your-'',''I kind of want to see the scene of Maschenny pouting at the side while Chenny responds to getting teased. It kind of feels like an Oyakodon...or maybe an elder and younger sister sharing the same man...? Either way, Vahn is a bea-scratch that-a dragon...) Chapter 2036: Endings, Beginnings, and Redemption

Chapter 2036: Endings, Beginnings, and Redemption

"Uuugh...is sex supposed to be like this? I feel like you changed the shape of my insides..." Hearing the petite blute''s remark, a light chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat as he teased, "I tend to have that effect on people..." After a not-so-brief foray in the Throne Room, Vahn had taken Maschenny and Chenny to a proper bed. From there, he allowed the duo topete for several hours before they eventually gave up and decided to just go with the flow. They realized they should have been working together to try and eke out a victory against him, but, by the time they were feeling more cooperative, the pleasure he had carved into their bodies gave Vahn an absolute advantage. Apparently having yet to learn her lesson, Maschenny responded to her counterpart''s remark by forcing herself to a seated position and asking, "So? Now that everything''s said and done, which of us would you say is better?" Frowning in response to Maschenny''s words, Chenny sat up from the other side of Vahn, ring at her counterpart as she asked, "How did you be so annoying...?" before shaking her head and saying, "Whatever. Now that we''ve crossed this line, I don''t give a damn aboutpeting with your stupid ass. There are people here who possess power your ignorant ass can''t even begin to fathom. So, go ahead. Keep acting like a pompous buffoon. As for me...I''m going to keep getting stronger..." Though it had very little to do with increasing her strength, Chenny bent down and gave Vahn a kiss on the cheek before attempting to crawl out of the bed. Before she could, however, he grabbed her by the ankle and teasingly inquired, "Where do you think you''re going...?" With the tips of her ears turning discernible ruddy, Chenny resisted the urge to kick herself free and, instead, allowed herself to be pulled back. What she didn''t expect was for Vahn to give her a kiss in turn before caressing her head and exining, "I already discussed it with Scathach. She has agreed to let you take a break until we depart the Tower. For now, go take a bath. Someone wille by to help you get situated once you''re finished." Though her expression didn''t change much, the ruddy coloration of Chenny''s cheeks showed that she wasn''t dissatisfied by Vahn''s actions and words. The kicker, of course, was the look of envy she was receiving from her more mature counterpart. Sure, she knew Vahn was bound to provide them with simr amodations, but, at least for the time being, she enjoyed the experience of feeling someone else''s envy instead of having to direct her own towards the countless strong and beautiful women surrounding Vahn... ... .. . After sending Chenny on her way, Vahn was left alone with her pouting counterpart. Maschenny had even gone so far as to turn her back to him, arms crossed as she radiated a slightly icy aura that periodically crackled with electricity. Deciding to get straight to the point, Vahn asked, "What are you going to do from now on? So long as you follow the rules, you''re free to stay within the central residential district of the Little Garden''s First Layer. If you would rather-" Rolling over and sitting up in the same motion, Maschenny spontaneously mounted Vahn''s body, a somewhat annoyed expression on her face as she asked, "Do you enjoy teasing me? Because of our previous encounter, I''ve spent thest couple of months forming the resolve to set out on my own. Now you return and tell me I can travel countless worlds, and, so long as I behave, there will be no real consequences to my actions. You''re offering me nigh-limitless power and a degree of freedom that others can''t even begin to imagine. You also carved pleasures into my body that I hadn''t even thought possible. Now you''re asking me what I want to do? Are youpletely heartless...?" With tears beginning to build in the corners of her eyes, Maschenny looked like she was about to break down and start crying at any moment. Vahn, however, had a slightly amused expression on his face as he asked, "Are you done...?" Exhaling a sigh, Maschenny stopped pressing him down and instead sat so that her but was pressed against his slumbering dragon. Then, with a helpless yet discernible foxy expression on her face, she shrugged her shoulders and answered, "Well, it was worth a shot. The real question is, are you really okay with me doing whatever I want? What if I meet a handsome man in some distant world and try to start a family? Or, better yet, what if I develop my own harem and then abandon them when I get bored? Will you still make love to me...?" Though his hands had instinctually found themselves around Maschenny''s hips, an annoyed frown marred Vahn''s face as he replied, "You''re oveplicating things. I would never begrudge anyone for falling in love and wanting to experience a normal rtionship. So long as you don''t bring back trouble, we''ve already agreed that the lives everyone experiences in the outside worlds are entirely private affairs. The only time I would be upset is if someone returned and suddenly started trying to tell me off or convince the others to turn against me...at that point, you''re not leaving things in the outside world. You''replicating the lives of everyone else for personal reasons..." Not believing Vahn''s words in the slightest, Maschenny began tough in an unrestrained manner, head titled back as she began to grind his hips. This caused Vahn''s expression to turn gloomy, but, with the Law of Identity nestled at his side, whispering in his ear as a carbon copy of Maschenny, he quickly regained his usual smile moments before the blte ceasedughing, a somewhat vicious smile on her face as she mused, "Your confidence knows no bounds...I wonder...is this the reason...?" Reaching between her thighs, Maschenny grabbed Vahn''s now fully awake dragon, a hungry look in her eyes as she added, "I admit...it felt a lot better than I ever imagined it would. Now, even if I did have sex with another man, I would probably only feel depressed or disappointed. Is that what you were aiming for~?" Instead of answering Maschenny''s questions, Vahn brought up his hands and ced them behind his head with a rxed smile on his face. Arguing with her wouldn''t really aplish anything, as, when people like Maschenny felt like they had cracked the case, they became remarkably obstinate. Chenny hadn''t been wrong when she used the woman of being incredibly ignorant. She would eventuallye to her senses and receive a reality check, but, at least for the time being, he didn''t mind watching her fumble around in her own delusional little world...after all, he was getting quite used to dealing with people like her... ... .. . Feeling as though he had been adding too many women to his harem in too short a period of time, Vahn decided to forestall his reunion with Hagipherione. Instead, he teleported to one of the most private and secluded regions in the entire Tower, a homely-looking forge hidden behind a massive waterfall that resembled the edge of the world. There, he found an ancient-looking man with ashen grey hair, a matching beard, and a misshapen yet remarkably muscr body working the billows of a peculiar purple forge. Not wanting to interrupt a master in the middle of his craft, Vahn waited patiently at the side for the better part of three days until the man looked over, his voice aged and profound as he asked, "Why have youe here? I''m through with forging weapons and armaments to be..." Before the man could finish speaking, Vahn produced the throne-like carrier he had created to hold each of the Thirteen Month Series. Immediately thereafter, a bunch of girls manifested around him, some closer than others, as he exined, "Ashul Edwaru. I have note here to force you to craft weapons of war. I havee here to free you from your burden. Hand over the White February and Colourless December. I intend to free these girls from their curse. After that, you can finally rest..." Though very few people had ever met him, even within the Empire, everyone within the Inner and Middle Towers had heard the name Ashul Edwaru. He was the legendary cksmith responsible for the production of the most powerful weapons and armaments in the entire Tower, the most famous among them being the Thirteen Month Series. It wasn''t an exaggeration to say he was the greatest cksmith in the entire Tower. However, once he had learned what became of the original wielders of his weapons, he became a hermit who had been forging and reforging the same pieces of metal for nearly ten thousand years... Seeing the girls surrounding Vahn, smiles visible on several of their faces, Edwaru couldn''t conceal the emotion within his eyes. He had spent a lot of time with each of the girls when he was reforging the weapons to suit them so he had been devastated when he learned of their fate. There had even been a time when he wanted nothing more than to kill Jahad, but, understanding better than most how ''impossible'' this was, he ended up secluding himself in a vain attempt to atone for his failures as both a man and a cksmith... Dropping to his knees with a thud, Edwaru hung his face in his hands, his muscr body trembling as Vahn urged the girls to step forward with a silent nod. Most of them could no longer remember who Edwaru was, but, just as a skilled cksmith would recognize the weapons they had forged, so too would the weapon in the presence of their creator. Thus, after a few seconds had passed, a few of the girls stepped forward to gently pat the man''s head and shoulders,forting his weary soul for the first time in several millennia... ... .. . Though he had gotten rtively lucky with the series obtained from Maschenny, Vahn couldn''t help but smile wryly as he conversed with the Spirits of the White February and Colorless December. The former appeared to be another young woman from the Arie Family. She had flowing white hair and pale-blue eyes that glistened with a silvery hue. As for her attire, she was dressed in a white poncho that extended from her neck to her knees. She also had on a pair of pure white panties. As for how he knew this, well, these two pieces of clothingprised the entirety of her outfit. Thus, whenever she moved about or raised her arms, it was possible to see both her panties and the dainty frame they were attached to... Appearing even younger than the White February, and virtually every other Spirit, was the Spirit of the Colorless December. Though her ''true body'' was a monochromatic katana with a peculiar blue hue, her Spiritual form was a young girl roughly the same size and shape as Anak. Instead of green skin and a lizard-like tail, however, she possessed an etherealplexion and blue hair that nearly resembled ss. It was like her entire body was transparent, and, though there was a blue hue to her entire body, it was almost like staring into the depths of an ocean. Things simply got darker as you delved further. Unlike the other Thirteen Month Series, the Colorless December ended up beingpletely mute. Her Ego had been damaged beyond repair after she had ''rampaged'' alongside Enne in the distant past. She was still cognizant of her surroundings, but, without a considerable amount of time and a substantial amount of support from other people, she would undoubtedly remain like a doll for the rest of her life. Fortunately, this wasn''t the first time Vahn had dealt with such an affliction, so, even if it took a thousand years for her to recover, it was only a matter of time before she was able to run around and y like the young girl she appeared to be... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Maschenny is courting death...'',''Poor Edwaru...'',''I know it should be funny that Vahn picked up two new lolis, but I can''t help feeling a little sad...'') Chapter 2037: Fresh Start...?

Chapter 2037: Fresh Start...?

Though it took a little longer than expected, primarily due to the fact he had met with a few people at the behest of the Temte he created to rece Adori, Vahn eventually made his way over to the temporary estate of the Arie Family. There, he found Hagipherione watching over the younger members of her family as they practiced the training methods he had gifted them weeks prior. His sudden appearance had caught the ashen-haired beauty by surprise, but, as she had been expecting him for quite some time, she quickly passed on her duties to someone else before asking if he would apany her to her private quarters. As tempting as the invitation was, Vahn politely refused Hagipherione''s offer. He doubtlessly would have said yes a few weeks prior, but, after spending a fair amount of time helping the other girls get situated, the fervor that had initially driven him to act began to wear off. Now, he just wanted to give everyone a chance to rx rather than inadvertently stressing them out with even more additions. Fortunately, Hagipherione''s desire to pursue him had little to do with any sort of emotional attachment. She merely wished to pursue the path of swordsmanship to even greater heights, so, after finishing the first phase of integration between his Realm and the Little Garden, Vahn asked Juuzou Shishimi and Jinbei if they would watch over the Arie Family before gradually making their way up through the Tower. Though their mastery over the sword might notpare to his own, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that Juuzou and Jinbei were Grandmasters near the pinnacle of swordsmanship. They had also been looking for something to do ever since their departure from the Nasuverse, so, after spending a bit of time familiarizing themselves with Shinsu, they agreed to lend him a hand on the condition they were allowed to quit whenever they wanted. Vahn had no problems with this, so, after discussing the matter with Eva and introducing the duo to Hagipherione, he recovered the Red October, a rather temperamental Spirit that clearly descended from the Yeon n. She possessed their trademark ck hair, pink eyes, and, despite having lost most of her memories, their general disdain towards men. This made her a little harder to deal with than the other Spirits, but, after a rather lengthy and meticulous session of maintenance, she mellowed out quite a bit. With the addition of the Red October, the only part of the Thirteen Month Series Vahn had left to collect was the Dark September, an ownerless ck dagger that had been sealed away for the past eight-thousand-years. As for why he waited till the very end to collect her, well, it was primarily due to the fact that she was the Spirit responsible for driving the Princesses who had attempted to wield more than one Thirteen Month Series mad... ... .. . Trespassing a barrier located at the bottom of the deepest ocean trench on the 134th Floor, one of the few ces untouched by Jahad''s cataclysmic attack, Vahn found himself staring at a young girl with ck hair lying atop a sacrificial altar. Her body was garbed in a ck dress that left very little to the imagination, but, what stood out more than anything was the dagger sticking out of the center of her underdeveloped chest... "Poor girl...it''s no wonder Gustang decided to take his own life. Had I visited this ce sooner, I would have invariably killed him myself..." Though it was her own ambitions that led to the young girl attempting to be a Princess of Jahad, the simple truth of the matter was that the Princess Selection Trials shouldn''t have existed in the first ce. Jahad had no desire to marry, and, based on how he had spent thest ten-thousand-years, it was pretty clear he didn''t care about aying public concerns. When it came down to it, the Princess Selection Trial was basically just an excuse for Gustang to experiment with the Power of Blood. When the victor of these trials learned the truth, she felt such an extreme level of despair that she ended up taking her own life in an attempt to curse Jahad, the Ten Great Families, and everyone associated with the Empire. Unfortunately, she failed to ount for Jahad''s precognitive abilities. In the end, rather than cursing Jahad and the Empire, the girl ended up bing the first Spirit attached to a Thirteen Month Series. This was a destructive process that resulted in the fragmentation of her ego, and, as a result, her anger was ultimately redirected towards future Princesses of Jahad. In other words, Jahad had weaponized the despair intended to be used against him as a convenient tool to prevent other Princesses from ever seeding. He could have just nipped the entire program in the bud, but, just as he had done in nearly every other instance, he decided to simply observe from the sidelines with an impassive expression on his face. Shaking his head, Vahn grabbed the hilt of the dagger and said, "With this, a tragedy of more than ten-thousand-yearses to an end. I pray you find yourself in a world where you won''t have to suffer any longer..." Though he could have provided such a world himself, Vahn, after discussing the matter with the other Spirits and most of the former Princesses living within the Little Garden, decided it was for the best if the Dark September return to the natural cycle of reincarnation. She would be a constant reminder of the dark history attached to the other Spirits. Thus, for the sake of everyone, including the Dark September, Vahn tightened his grip on the dagger''s hilt before muttering, "Begone..." Responding to his words, the Dark September immediately broke down into its constituent particles before fading from existence momentster. Fortunately, while this was unbelievably tragic, the Spirit of the Dark September was virtually guaranteed to experience great fortune in her next life. She had doubtlessly rued a tremendous amount of negative karma in the years leading up to her sacrifice, but, from that moment onward, her actions were the direct result of someone else''s machinations. The Spirit of the Dark September had been exploited for more than ten-thousand-years so it was safe to assume that any negative karma she rued would effectively be converted aspensation for the disproportionate suffering she had been forced to endure. He had also connected a threadprised of pure Source Energy and intent to her dissipating spirit, so, even if the cycle of reincarnation refused to do her any favors, he could always take matters into his own hands once he reached the Divine Realm. Choosing to believe in the same forces of bnce that hadplicated his life on countless asions, Vahn stared off into the distance for several seconds, a contemtive look on his face, before sweeping his hand and effectively erasing the altar from existence. Then, with a slightly apologetic yet hopeful smile on his face, he gazed skyward, his eyes piercing through the barrier, the ocean above, and even the Tower itself as he muttered, "I suppose it''s time to continue my own journey...let''s just hope Shiroyasha extends me an invitation before I end up adding another twenty women to my harem..." Though Vahn was intending to put the "what happens in the outside stays outside" saying to practice, he had very little confidence in his ability to leave women he had be attached to behind. He would do his best, but, understanding the type of person he had be, the odds were stacked against him. Thus, while it was unfair to ce this burden on the Demon Queen who had been observing his journey from thefort of the Divine Realm, Vahn was hoping she would act sooner rather thanter... "Well...either way, I''m looking forward to seeing where the Tower sends me. Will I end up in Heaven, the Netherworld, or Purgatory? Time to find out..." ... .. . Despite his words, Vahn ended up spending several additional weeks within the Tower before making his way to the 200th Floor''s Altar of Reincarnation. In that time, he helped solve a few problems for the Temte he had ced in charge of the Tower before picking up Yurin and checking in on Phae, Gandr, and the other members of Team Wolf Pack. Vahn felt like he had stolen the spotlight from the original heroes of the Tower, so, prior to his departure, he gave each of them a System Temte before building a tiny cottage on the 200th Floor for Rachel to live in until she either reincarnated or allowed herself to be picked up by Baam. Either way, he wasn''t going to let her remain in his Realm, and, no matter how much she begged, the Little Garden had no ce for people who didn''t even try to change. When everything was said and done, Vahn found himself standing in the center of the Altar of Reincarnation with more than a dozen Temtes and a few guests to see him off. Then, after a few parting words, he activated the altar with the intention of experiencing what it was like to reincarnate within a Record. He was sort of hoping there would be a God or Goddess waiting for him on the other side. Their reactions were always novel and amusing, and, depending on the circumstances, he might even be able to skip directly to the Divine Realm. Unfortunately, the only thing Vahn experienced after initializing the reincarnation process was a slight tugging sensation reminiscent of the phenomenon he experienced when entering a new Record for the first time. This included passing through a number ofyers that basically represented the various Laws of the world. Feeling saidyers attempt to strip away his power and authority, Vahn willingly relinquished it without any real resistance. He could literally be as strong as he needed to be, so, for the sake of enjoying his first few months in a new world, he didn''t mind starting from scratch. After all, there was a very real chance that he might be reborn as an infant, a thought that previously terrified him until he discussed it with the girls. They seemed to believe he would benefit from experiencing a rtively ''normal'' childhood, so, while the notion made him more than a little ufortable, he would be lying if he said he wasn''t excited by the prospect... ... .. . After a period of time that felt like several weeks, or even months,pressed into a single moment, Vahn was beginning to feel bored. This was taking a lot longer than he anticipated and he couldn''t exactly return to the Little Garden since he had no idea what might happen if the process was interrupted partway through. Rather, unless he was feeling especially lonely, the consensus everyone hade to was that he would only visit the Little Garden once he managed to reach the Divine Realm. The 10Y:1D conversion had already been arranged, so, even if he spent a hundred years on his path towards Tier 6, only ten days would pass within. Fortunately, even within the nebulous void that existed between dimensions, Vahn could still ess the system function of The Path, and, more importantly, converse with Sis. He also had the option of reliving his memories, so, while the process was taking longer than expected, it wasn''t like he had nothing to do. Rather, even if he ended up trapped within the void for what might equate to an eternity in the ''outside'', he could always advance by simply expanding his Realm into the outside and creating his own reality. He was even beginning to suspect he had been reincarnated into a situation where he was the Progenitor God of his own Universe and the only reason things were taking so long was because he was beingzy... ... .. . After what felt like an entire year, Vahn was pretty close to uttering the oh-so-famous phrase, "Let there be light.". Fortunately, Sis had talked him out of it, suggesting that the dy could be the result of his new body gestating. It would cause all kinds of problems if a reincarnator was transmigrated into a developing fetus, so, as he was wont to do, Vahn decided to ce his trust in Sis''s words. This ended up being the correct choice, but, unfortunately, he hadn''t been reincarnated as a baby. Instead, he found himself waking up in what appeared to be a deste wastnd filled with strange purple flowers beneath a crimson red sky. Infinitely stranger was the fact that he appeared to be a penguin-like creature with blue skin, bat-like wings, stubby arms, peg legs, and visible stitching along his stomach...almost like he was trapped inside a costume filled with flesh... "What the hell...?" ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''RIP Hag...'',''Oof. Rachel just got destroyed...'',''Quite literally...'') Chapter 2038: A Fateful Encounter...?

Chapter 2038: A Fateful Encounter...?

"I knew there was a possibility I would reincarnate as something inhuman, but what kind of creature has explosives in lieu of normal organs? Loi...?" Though he had resolved himself not to make use of her too much, Vahn habitually called out the pet nickname he had given to the Law of Identity. In response, a cute yet clumsy-looking redhead manifested out of thin air, her frayed ponytail and breasts bouncing despite the fact she wasn''t influenced by things like gravity. "Hai~! Hai~! Loi-chan reporting~! And might I say, you''re looking particrly adorable today, Vahn-sama~." Staring up at her with his dark, seemingly soulless, eyes, Vahn asked, "Can you please tell me where, and what, I am...?" Supplying a quick salute, the Law of Identity''s body immediately changed into aplex and ancient-looking grimoire before answering in a voice that sounded as ancient as time itself, "It appears you are located in Netherworld #104,332,492,001,233 on the Blood Parch. As for your race, you appear to be something called a Larval Prinny God with the appearance of a Private Prinny, one of the weakest demonic creatures in the entire Netherworld." Nodding his head, Vahn was about to ask for more information when a blindingly bright light illuminated the horizon with such intensity that the rest of the world appeared to darken for a brief moment. Immediately thereafter, a mushroom cloud shaped like the face of a cartoonish demon,plete with bat-like wings, bloomed into existence less than a hundred kilometers from his positions. "Well now...that''s unexpected. Does this world function with Gag Laws? That would exin why my body''s proportions are so strange. I sincerely never expected to encounter the Law of Normalcy outside one of my Actualized Worlds..." Shaking his head, or, more urately, his entire body, Vahn allowed the Law of Identity to disappear back into non-existence as he opened his Status. Even if this world functioned on Gag Laws, something typically only found in worlds with heavyedic overtones, his status should still reflect his power in rtion to the beings that upied the Three Realms... ********** [Status] Name: Vahn Aldrnari Mason Age: 0 Race: Prinny, (*sealed*) ss: Larval Prinny God Parameters: [Transcendental Path to Heaven 1-6] Level: 1 HP: 3000(150%) SP: 5000(300%) ATK: 290(120%) DEF: 230(90%) INT: 400(135%) RES: 710(150%) HIT: 190(115%) SPD: 290(120%) SOUL: 5 KARMA: 100 OP: 913,556,210 HL: 0 Innates: [Will of the Emperor: SSS], [Rakshasa Body: SS], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome: B], [Eyes of Truth: A], [Universal Mind: B], [Actualization: (-)] Weapon Mastery: [Sword: SSS(300%)], [Spear: SS(150%)], [Axe: S(120%)], [Fist: S(120%], [Staff: SS(150%)], [Gun: S(120%)], [Bow: SS(150%)], [MonAttack: S(120%)], [MonMagic: S(120%], [Armor: S(120%)] Resistances: [Fire: -25%], [Ice: 25%], [Wind: 0%], [Star: 0%] Weapon Resistances: [Sword: 15%], [Spear: 15%], [Axe: 15%], [Fist: -20%], [Staff: -20%], [Gun: 15%], [Bow: 15%], [Monster: 50%] Reincarnation Costs: [Good-for-Nothing: 1000], [Ipetent: 10,000], [Average: 100,000], [Skilled: 500,000], [Distinguished: 10,000,000], [Genius: 100,000,000,000] Evilities: [Explosive Body], [Focused Bomb], [Nine Lives], [Immune] ********** [Explosive Body] Effect: Explodes when thrown or impacted with sufficient force. [Focused Bomb] Effect: Deals 100% of HP as damage when exploding. [Nine Lives] Effects: Can be exploded nine times without sustaining damage. [Immunity] Effects: You are immune to negative status and debuffs. ********** Skills: [Anomaly: ???], [Never Say Die: S], [Say it, Dood!], [Hands of Nirvana: SSS], [Godsmith: A], [Godly Chef: E], [Divine Swordsman: S], [God of Magic: B] ********** [Anomaly] Rank: ??? Effect: You are an abstract existence that should not exist yet is somehow able to. You have been bound to the form of a Prinny as a precaution. Please don''t break anything. [Say it, Dood!] Rank: D Effect: You feelpelled to say the word dood at the end of your sentences. [Never Say Die] Rank: S Effect: Your HP cannot be reduced below 1 except through specific circumstances. [Godsmith] Rank: A Effect: You are able to forge practically anything. [Godly Chef] Rank: E Effect: People will gather from across the Three Realms to taste your cooking. [Divine Swordsman] Rank: S Effect: Your skills defy logic and even make the Gods tremble in fear. [God of Magic] Rank: B Effect: You have peered into the Abyss and the Abyss blinked. ********** Though he was pleasantly surprised to see his Status, Vahn couldn''t help feeling it was a little too game-like. He wasn''t reallyining but it was a little strange to see he had something like an HP(Health Points) value. That implied everything else would have health, and, unless he could deal an adequate amount of damage, people and monsters would be able to shrug off his attacks without flinching. "Well...at least it makes things interesting..." As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn attempted to take flight using his bat-like wings only to discover that they didn''t actually do anything. They were purely ornamental, but, by using a bit of his SP(Special Points), he could achieve a form of flight simr to a Dragon. *Unique Skill: Dragon''s Flight Unlocked* "Oho..." ... .. . After quickly familiarizing himself with his Status, Vahn took off with hypersonic speed towards the explosion that had urred several minutes prior. Along the way, he noticed the charred remains of countless animals, monsters corpses, and, of course, Prinnies. "I understand this is supposed to be a world where people repent for their sins but isn''t this a little excessive? It reminds me a little too much of Azathoth''s Realm..." Shaking that thought from his mind, an action that caused him to perform a barrel roll due to his distinctck of a neck, Vahn decided not to feel too guilty about the lives of people living in the Netherworld. He would help those he felt like helping, but, as could be expected, most of the creatures living here were sinners in their previous lives. There would be exceptions, of course, but, more often than not, the more monstrous a creature appeared, the more terrible they had been in their previous life. "Hmm...? Is that an army of Prinnies...?" Seeing a number of blue-skinned Prinnies gathered up and huddled behind objects such as crates and barrels, Vahn increased his elevation in order to get a better look. They seemed to be squaring off against a horde of goblin-like orcs, demons, and a few dragon-like creatures, most of which had the exactly same skin color and appearance. This was how the Netherworld stripped away a person''s identity, and, unless they managed to Reincarnate or grow beyond a certain threshold of power, most entities within the Netherworld were indistinguishable from other members of their race and ss... As Vahn was looking down at them, a considerable number of beasts, monsters, demons, and even people took notice of him. This included a woman with a paradoxically thin yet shapely figure which includedrge breasts and pert buttocks. She also had bright pink hair tied up in aplex ponytail, amethyst eyes, and, most notably, pointed ears. Theseplimented her fairly skimpy yet stylish attire quite a bit, so much so that, even though he wasrgely immune to the Law of Normalcy, Vahn felt she was a beautiful and charming woman. Almost as soon as that thought crossed his mind, Vahn''s figure produced an afterimage as he sidestepped a heart-shaped energy projectile fired from the woman''s dual pistols. If he had a brow to raise, he would have done so, as, immediately after missing her shot, the pink-haired woman shouted, "You, Prinny! How dare you look down upon this Lady Seraphina! Stay still so I can hit you properly...!" Punctuating her words, the woman, ostensibly called Seraphina, fired a barrage of bright pink projectiles that whizzed past him at hypersonic speeds. They were actually a fair bit faster than him, but, thanks to his considerable experience, the distance between them, and the woman''s remarkably terrible aim, dodging them was fairly easy. The only thing he found strange about the situation was that the word *miss* would invariably appear above his head every time he evaded one of her attacks. "You...you...you...! I told you to stay put! What kind of Prinny dares to defy the most beautiful, courageous, and intelligent demoness in all the Netherworlds!?" Surprised by the woman''s shameless self-promotion, Vahn momentarily ceased dodging, but, even then, none of her attacks managed to hit. This caused the pink-haired woman to glower with tears in her eyes before reaching into her cleavage as if it was some kind of dimensional storage. What came out was a spherical bombrger than both of her breasts, and, based on the demonic-faced pattern painted on the side, it was fairly obvious this was the source of the previous explosion. "Eat this, you jerk...!" Despite her rather thin and dainty appearance, Seraphina managed to throw the explosive with the force of a canon. Far more surprising, and somewhat ironic, was the fact that she was somehow more urate with the bomb than she was at firing her pistols. As a result, it ended upnding in between Vahn''s flippers as if his actions were guided by some unseen force. "What the-" Before he could finish his exmation, a massive explosion enveloped Vahn, Seraphina, and the entire battlefield. This was quite the sight to behold from a distance, but, once the bright pink light had faded away, Vahn had what could best be described as a deadpan expression on his face as a measly *290* appeared above his head. Even stranger was the fact that none of the other people enveloped by the explosion had taken any damage, Seraphina included. "How did you survive my Ultra Secret Love Bomb of Death!? Don''t tell me...are you some kind of Prinny Overlord!?" Rubbing the back of his head with his flipper, Vahn didn''t really know what to say. All he knew for certain was that Seraphina must be someone important to this world as there was a vague aura of fate flowing around her. The forces in charge of his reincarnation had clearly sent him here for a reason. The only question was, did he feel like putting up with an ostensibly spoiled heroine with a princess mentality and an aura reminiscent of a Subus? "Well...at least she can help me to get my bearings..." As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn''s figure vanished from where he had been hovering in mid-air. In the very next instant, he appeared behind Seraphine, his rtively short height and her remarkably short skirtbining to provide quite the view as he looked up and said, "You should control your temper, or, at the very least, choose your opponents wisely. Had I been an enemy, your careless action would have ced you in quite the predicament..." Spinning around with surprising speed and grace, Seraphina pointed the heart-shaped barrel of her gun towards Vahn''s head, a victorious smile on her face as she eximed, "Ha! Got you now, you perverted little freak...!" Without any discernible hesitation, Seraphina punctuated her words by pulling the trigger. At the exact same moment, however, Vahn''s figure left behind an afterimage as he, once again, appeared behind her. Before the befuddled beauty could so much as bat an eye, Vahn chopped the top of her head with the intent to knock a bit of sense into her. Instead, a *371* appeared above her head as a golden *Critical!* rippled across his vision. This caused Seraphina to copse heavily against the ground ground, her butt leaving a visible imprint in the stone terrain as a bump the size of a grapefruit,plete with cross-shaped bandages, appeared atop her head... "You...you...you stupid jerk...! How dare you strike the most beautiful Overlord in the entire Universe!? Didn''t anyone ever tell you that you''re not supposed to hit beautiful women...!?" Tearing his eyes was from theically oversized bump, Vahn met Seraphina''s gaze with the intent to gently chide her. Instead, visible hearts appeared within the center of her amethyst pupils as she shouted, "Fine! You asked for it! Taste my Overload Ability! Balor Gaze...!" ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn, the Anomalous Prinny God'',''Well, that escted quickly...'',''That''s a lot of damage...!'') Chapter 2039: Soft and Squishy

Chapter 2039: Soft and Squishy

Following Seraphina''s exmation, a pink pulse rippled out from her body, instantaneously passing through the bodies of Vahn and several other Prinnies. Immediately thereafter, glowing pink hearts appeared in the eyes of every Prinny present. A few of the closer ones even began to sweat, a light blush coloring their cheeks as they eagerly eximed, "Alright, dood! Let''s kick some butt for Lady Seraphina...!" In response to the initial Prinny''s shout, several others released a loud war cry as they pulled outrge swords from inside the pouched strapped around her bellies. Then, with a fervor that could only be matched by Berserkers, they leaped into the overwhelming enemy forces without any signs of fear or hesitation. Several even allowed themselves to be picked up and thrown by their fellow Prinnies, their bodies exploding the moment they impacted the enemy forces. Seeing this scene y out, Seraphina ced one hand on her hips while bringing the other to her mouth andughing in a haughty manner before happily chiming, "No man can resist the power of my Balor Gaze! Now, what to do with you? Perhaps I''ll turn you in to my personal carrier? I''ve never seen a Prinny that could actually fly. I wonder how squishy your head is~?" As if it was the most natural thing in the world to do, Seraphina shamelessly attempted to sit atop Vahn''s head. This provided him with quite the view, but, before she could use his face as a cushion, he adopted the closest thing to a deadpan expression he could manage in his current form, asking, "What do you think you''re doing...?" Without missing a beat, Seraphina replied, "What does it look like? I''m sitting on my newly acquired Prinny?" before startling in response to the unexpected inquiry. Unfortunately, her realization came a little toote as Vahn had already casually side-stepped her attempt to take a seat. As a result, she ended up falling on her butt a second time, tears appearing in the corners of her amethyst eyes as she eximed, "Why did you evade!? You''re a terrible Prinny...!" Since he didn''t have brows to raise, Vahn tilted his head and body slightly to the side as he asked, "What makes you think I would just let you sit on my face? Actually, let''s shelve that tillter. Why are you being surrounded by this horde of monsters...?" Realizing he was gradually being pulled into the woman''s pace due to the influence of the Law of Gags, Vahn cleared his thoughts and decided to focus on the matter at hand. The enemy was being surprisingly courteous, almost as if they were waiting until the impromptuedy routine toe to an end. Unfortunately, this didn''t change the fact that Seraphina and her hundred or so Prinnies were currently surrounded by more than a thousand enemies of various shapes and sizes, several of which, predominately humanoid in appearance, gave off fairly powerful auras. In response to Vahn''s question, Seraphina crossed her arms in a defiant manner, head turned to the side as she harumphed in a haughty tone. She was apparently ignoring him now, and, perhaps as a result of his refusal to follow the ''script'', the enemy began a full-frontal assault that resulted in the night-instantaneous copse of the Prinny''s frontline. With the majority of its kin obliterated, one of the few surviving Prinnies hobbled back as fast as its peg-legs could carry it, eximing, "Lady Seraphina! At this rate, they''re gonna annihte us, dood!" Reacting to the Prinny''s words, the feather-like mantle surrounding Seraphina''s arms and shoulders began to rustle like an angry raven as she bounced to her feet and shouted, "Wh-What did you just say!? I will not abide being annihted...!" Without waiting for the Prinny''s response, Seraphina stepped on its head, forcing it to the ground rather mercilessly before adding, "One sardine for 20 hours ofbor! That was our agreement! Now, put your soft and squishy backs into it...!" Despite having its head squished by Seraphina''s heel, the Prinny underfoot had what could best be described as a fervent expression on its face as it looked up her skirt with beady, bloodshot eyes. If you looked closely, it was even possible to make out blush marks beneath its eyes as its breathing became noticeably ragged. Satisfied by the Prinny''s response, Seraphina began grinding her heel as she looked over at Vahn and said, "See? This is how a Prinny is supposed to react. Haven''t you read your handbook? You''ll never find employment if you don''t behave like the useless pig your meaningless little life forced you to be." Just as Vahn was about to ask what the woman was talking about, arge explosion urred near the center of the battlefield, stopping the advancing army in its tracks. When the smoke began to clear, an inordinately thin man with sharp features, spiky ck hair, and long pointed ears could be seen sitting on the ground with arge bowl of ramen in hisp. His outfit consisted of form-fitting ck trousers, a long-sleeved jacket that that seemed to be fused with his body,plete with a spiky fur cor, and an attachment that resembled demonic wings with a ck exterior and blood-red interior. Though the man''s stripper-like appearance made him stand out quite a bit, it was the massive bowl of ramen in hisp that garnered the attention of everyone present. Not only was itrge enough to serve as a washbasin, but, the moment the smoke cleared away, a remarkably aromatic and mouth-watering fragrance spread through the entire battlefield. This caused a number of awkward rumbles to echo through the area, their origin being the numerous drooling monsters eyeing the glistening bowl of ramen with voracious intent. Noticing the thin yet heroic-looking demon, a not-so-subtle blush appeared on Seraphina''s cheeks before she quickly regained her senses and shouted, "You there! What do you think you''re doing!?" As if he had only just noticed there were other people in his surroundings, the inordinately thin man looked over at Seraphina with a nk expression on his face before answering, "Eating, obviously..." Ignoring the visible tick mark that had appeared on Seraphina''s head, the man quickly returned his attention to the massive bowl of ramen, a faint smile appearing on his face as he exined, "It''s a Fluffy Rising Dragon Bowl with all-white breast meat from a thousand-year-old Dragon Lord and a century-old egg. It''s delicious." Following the impromptu exnation, the man''s chopsticks created visible afterimages as he began to scarf down his meal with remarkable fervor. This left Seraphina with a wry smile on her face, eyes half-lidded as she tly remarked, "There''s no way you gathered those kinds of ingredients to make ramen..." By the time she had finished her utterance, the man had already emptied the entire bowl, including several gallons of broth. Then, after wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve, he jumped up to his feet and adopted a martial art''s stance, wind manifesting out of nowhere to make his wing-like mantle p heroically as he stated, "Alright, then. Now that I''ve finished refueling, lemme get rid of these guys..." Without waiting for Seraphina''s response, the man surprised the gawking members of the monster horde by vanishing into thin air. Immediately thereafter, an explosion rippled at the location he had been standing, the result of a shockwave generated by the man''s instantaneous movement. Though there were several orc-like creatures closer, the man ended up reappearing near a stunned dragon, his gauntleted fist glistening with demonic energy as he punched the befuddled creature in the gut. This created a gaping hole in the creature''s abdomen, the letters *OHKO* briefly appearing atop its head before its body dissipated into motes of bluish-white light. Seeing the inordinately thin man''s horrifying disy of speed and power, the presumed leader of the group, a shirtless man who resembled a martial artist with spiky brown hair, gauntlets, hakama-like trousers, and a red bandana shouted, "W-What are you idiots standing around for! Let''s teach this jerk how foolish he is to attack the Lost Army! Nobody opposes Lord Void Dark and gets away with it...!" As if responding to the man''s words, the inordinately thin demon appeared right in front of him, fist impacting the Commander''s gut before proceeding to chain together a series of punches and kicks until thetter''s body burst into light. After that, he thumbed his nose with his gauntleted left hand, a look of disdain on his face as he muttered, "Don''t you dare mention that man in front of me..." ... .. . Seeing the heroic-looking demon make short work of enemies several times his size, visible hearts appeared in Seraphina''s eyes as she sped her hands together and eximed, "My, how heroic! It seems my Prince has finallye to rescue me from this plight. Oh, Seraphina, you wicked woman! Is there anything your beauty and wits can''t tame~?" Though she had been quite immersed in her musings up until that point, Seraphina blinked a few times in response to her own words. Then, with slightly furrowed brows, she looked back to find a seemingly normal Prinny staring back at her with an ostensibly ''stoic'' expression on his face. Noticing the pink-haired demoness'' gaze, Vahn casually raised his right flipper, saying, "Yo." before following it up with, "Don''t mind me. Feel free to keep gawking at your Prince. He really is quite the heroic-looking individual, isn''t he?" "You''re weird." Having said that, Seraphina made her way over to Vahn''s side before scrutinizing him her hands on her hips and body bent forward in a manner that overtly emphasized her breasts. Despite this, Vahn continued to stare directly in her eyes, as, even without gawking, he could grasp the entirety of her body thanks to his spatial awareness and remarkable perception. "Yeah, you''re super weird. What kind of Prinny doesn''t behave like an irredeemable pervert when they''re around a beautiful demoness such as myself? Don''t tell me you skipped out on orientation when you were first sent to Hell? You''ll never be able to redeem yourself if you don''t perform your duties properly. Prinnies are supposed to be subservient to Overlords like me, even if it costs them their lives. Now, hold still so I can sit on your head. For a Prinny, the most coveted position they can attain is bing the personal transport of a beautiful Overlord such as myself." As if she expected him to suddenly obey, Seraphina attempted to press down on Vahn''s head so she could make herselffortable. This time, however, she didn''t turn her back on him since her butt was still sore from colliding with the ground, not once, but twice. With the closest thing to a deadpan he could manage, Vahn swat away Seraphina''s hand with the back of his flipper. This caused the busty demoness'' brows to furrow into a slight pout, but, rather than give up, her amethyst eyes glistened as she crossed her arms beneath her breasts and said, "I get it. You want to negotiate your pay, right? You''re surprisingly intelligent for a Prinny. Let''s see...I give my other Prinnies one sardine for every twenty hours of work. I normally wouldn''t pay the ones who carry me around, but you''re clearly something special. How''s about this. Two sardines for every thirty-nine hours of work, and, if you perform well, I''ll give you a kiss on top of your head every ten years. I guarantee you won''t find a better contract in all the Netherworlds." Without so much as a single change in his expression, Vahn continued staring at Seraphina until she had concluded her haughtyughter. When she was done, a victorious expression appeared on her face as she attempted to, once again, take a seat on his head. This time, however, Vahn didn''t try to dodge. Instead, he took advantage of the fact she was presenting her cheeks right in front of him to give him a sudden and surprisingly loud smack that echoed throughout the entire battlefield... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Seraphina''s butt is going to be sore after this...'',''The appearance of a knight in scantily d armor...!?'',''Vahn ten yearster, "And that, children, is how I met your mother...'') Chapter 2040: Going with the Flow

Chapter 2040: Going with the Flow

With a triangr flipper print on her right buttock, Seraphina had one of the most indignant looks Vahn had ever seen as she shouted, "How dare you! Even my Father has never dared to spank me!" Nodding his head, Vahn immediately rebutted, "That much is clear." before evading a point-nk shot from the teary-eyed demoness and asking, "Do you want another one...?" Hearing Vahn''s question, Seraphina''s fingers froze on their triggers. She really didn''t want to receive another spanking, yet, at the same time, she couldn''t just forgive him for striking her, not once, but twice. It might not have mattered if they were in private, but, if the other Prinny got wind of this, the entire Netherworld mighte to think she was some kind of masochistic pervert. As that thought crossed her mind, Seraphina shifted her attention to a nearby Prinny, specifically the one tasked with holding her tea. It immediately noticed her gaze, its beady ck eyes staring back at her nkly for several seconds before its entire expression spontaneously morphed into a lewd sneer. Reacting faster than even her brain could, Seraphina shot the Prinny in the face before proceeding to massacre every Prinny in the vicinity. She also popped off a few sneaky shots towards Vahn, but, much to her chagrin, he managed to evade them without discernible difficulty. Since her bullets consumed her SP, a few beads of sweat had appeared on Seraphina''s forehead by the time she finished massacring the remainder of her own army. Her throat was also parched, but, the moment she looked over to demand her Prinny pass her a drink, the only thing waiting for her was a cracked teapot, its contents absorbed by the barren earth dominating her surroundings. As if he was the person responsible for the massacre, Seraphina looked towards Vahn with an angry glower on her face. Before she could say anything, however, a rtively deep voice asked her, "Why did you...kill panions? People who kill their allies...are worse than trash." Turning around, Seraphina found the demon who was supposed to be her Prince Charming staring at her with a judgmental expression on his face. Behind him, the corpses of several monsters could be seen littering the ground as far as the eye could see. She also noticed he was more than a little winded, but, considering he had just wiped out an entire Company of Lost Soldiers on his own, that was to be expected. Balling her hands into fists, Seraphina adopted an aggrieved expression,plete with crocodile tears and puffed out cheeks as she pointed towards Vahn and eximed, "It''s that darned Prinny''s fault! H-H-He left me with no choice...!" Shifting his attention towards the Prinny in question, the lean demon''s golden eyes sharpened as he noticed the strange aura emanating from Vahn''s body. His instincts told him that the rtively in-looking Prinny wasn''t an opponent to be underestimated, so, while he initially believed that Seraphina was just making excuses, he gradually fell into abat stance, left hand held out as he lowered his body and said, "My name is Killia. Tell me, did Void Dark send you...?" Without any discernible changes in expression,rgely because Prinny weren''t very emotive, Vahn unhesitantly replied, "Never heard of him." Furrowing his perpetually furrowed brows even further, Killia muttered, "I see..." as blue electricity danced across his arms. In the next moment, his body flickered out of existence before reappearing to Vahn''s left, a profound scowl on his face as he added, "ying dumb..." Punctuating his words, Killia attempted to punch Vahn in the side of his head, but, despite the vast disparity in their speed and strength, his attack barely managed to graze thetter. This caused the pupils of his eyes to shrink, but, before he could retract his hand, Vahn finished spinning along the interior of his arm before delivering a razor-sharp uppercut to his chin. Though the attack only caused a *96* to appear above Killia''s head, his HP was already significantly reduced after his battle against the Lost Army. As a result, he quickly lost strength in his knees, and, thanks to the precise strike to his chin, his brain briefly rattled around in his head, instantly sending him into a K.O. status. Smacking his flippers together like someone who had justpleted a job well done, Vahn looked towards the statuesque Seraphina and said, "You really should choose your opponents more wisely. If I were an actual enemy, both yours and this young man''s lives would have been forfeit." Startling back to awareness the moment Vahn finished speaking, mes appeared in Seraphina''s eyes as she excitedly shouted, "Alright! I''ve made my decision! As the most elegant, intelligent, and morous Overlord in all the Netherworlds, it only makes sense that I have the strongest and most capable bodyguards! You''re in luck, Prinny! From now on, both you and Sir Killia will be my number one and number two subordinates! Oh-hohohohoho~!" Raising his non-existent brows, Vahn resisted the urge to ask if there was something wrong with the woman''s head. Instead, he raised his right flipper. This caused Seraphina to tilt her head adorably to the side, confusion visible in her amethyst eyes until the flipper print on her buttocks spontaneously throbbed. Paling noticeably, a markedly more nervousugh emanated from Seraphina''s throat before she held her hand up towards empty space and said, "A-A-Anyways. You''re in luck today, Prinny! For you see, I, Lady Seraphina, most beautiful and intelligent Overlord in the entire Cosmos, nay, all of Creation, happen to be in possession of my own Pocket Netherworld~! Now grab Sir Killia and let us be on our way. You knocked him out so he''s your responsibility. Oh-hohohohohoho~!" Before Seraphina had finished her exnation, a swirling blue vortex had manifested out of thin air. Then, without bothering to check if he was following her orders, she swaggered through the portal, a triumphant smile on her face as herughter continued to echo through the surroundings. "..." (*If you''re going to y along, I suggest staying as a Prinny. She seems pretty invested in that man over there, but you know better than anyone how quickly a woman''s heart can be changed...*) Nodding in response to Sis''s words, Vahn extended his flipper towards Killia''s body, a notification sounding within his mind as he used Telekinesis to lift the man''s surprisingly heavy frame. Then, in response to Seraphina poking her head out and shouting, "What''s taking so long!?", he tossed the unconscious man through the portal before passing through himself. Since this was a world where the Law of Gags was working in full effect, Vahn was unsurprised to find that Killia hadnded in a lucky pervert position, his face nestled firmly between Seraphina''s breasts. As for the demoness in question, she ''instinctually'' grabbed his head despite shouting in a girly voice, "Noooooooooooo~!" Ignoring the impromptuedy routine, Vahn looked around to find that they were standing in what appeared to be a living room of sorts. There was an inordinatelyrge andvish sofa on one side of the room, a jukebox off to the side, several posters depicting Seraphina in risque poses, a number of unpacked boxes, a circr table filled with snacks, and a massive television with a pir-like sound system. Shifting his attention to the room''s only other upant, Vahn found a blue-skinned Maid staring at him with blood-red eyes. She had faded blonde hair tied into gravity-defying pigtails, but her most notable features were her sewn-together limbs and the skimpy Maid outfit covering her ostensibly lifeless body. "Never thought I''d see a Zombie Maid Demon...I wonder what kind of sins you''d have tomit in your past life to be reincarnated as something like this...?" Seemingly with the intent of responding to his words, the zombie maid unblinkingly tilted her head to the side as before answering, "Grruuah...Auwuuuuugh...?" Though others might not have been able to understand her, The Path gifted Vahn with the ability to interpret all forms of speech. The woman might be a Zombie Maid, but she still possessed an Ego, so, from his perspective, she had answered, "I don''t remember. Maybe I can recall something if you let me eat your brains...?" Chuckling in a manner that didn''t suit his appearance in the slightest, Vahn levitated his body just enough to pat the petite zombette on the head. This caused a line of drool to flow from the blue-skinned woman''s head, but, at the same time, it allowed Vahn to analyze the internal structure of her body. "So you''re basically a spirit piloting a corpse...hmmm..." Noticing what Vahn was doing, Seraphina pushed Killia''s body off of her and asked, "What are you doing? Even if you''re powerful for a Prinny, I won''t let you bully my subordinates. Only I''m allowed to bully my subordinates...!" Orienting his entire body toward her,rgely because he couldn''t turn his neck, Vahn remarked, "It''s no wonder you couldn''t hit me with your bullets...your eyesight must be terrible..." With a ruddy coloration spreading through her cheeks, Seraphina spontaneously manifested one of her pistols. Before she could even pull the trigger, however, Vahn appeared right beside her, saying, "From now on, I will spank your bottom every time you attempt to shoot me. You''re clearly in need of some disciplining..." Swallowing in response to Vahn''s threat, Seraphina instantaneously reverted her pistol to bluish-white light. At the same time, the ruddy coloration of her cheeks suffused into her pointed ears as she crossed her arms and harumphed haughtily. Raising his nonexistent brows, Vahn resisted the urge to ask if Seraphina was secretly a masochist and instead asked, "So? What''s the deal with those people who were attacking you. Also, where is this ce located...?" Though he had yet to confirm it with his own eyes, Vahn could sense a number of life forms living within the Pocket Netherworld. The vast majority were rtively weak demons, but, based on what he could tell, their potential was through the roof. It was like the creatures in the Netherworld had no limits whatsoever. Heck, even this Pocket Netherworld was effectively an Artificial Realm not all that dissimr to the Little Garden... Clicking her tongue, Seraphina began to bite the nail of her thumb as she answered, "Those jerks were members of the Lost Army. They''ve been going around various Netherworlds with the intent of killing or recruiting everyone who stands in their way. As for why they were after me, well, isn''t it obvious? I''m Lady Seraphina, the Princess Overlord of Gorgeous. Not only am I the most beautiful, intelligent, and famous Overlord in all thends, I am also the wealthiest. Unfortunately, my fool of a father became afraid of Void Dark''s growing power so he tried to arrange a marriage between us. I got pissed off and ran away so I''m currently on a mission to kill Void Dark and reim my position as the most-" Before Seraphina could continue rambling on about how amazing she was, Vahn interrupted by stroking his non-existent chin and answering, "I see...so, simply put, the Lost Army is attempting to capture you so you can be married off to this man called Void Dark? And I''m guessing Void Dark is the person who ordered the Lost Army to go around conquering worlds, right?" Though she was a little annoyed about being interrupted, Seraphina nodded her head, smiling as she said, ''That''s right. That fool ended up gaining a bit of power and now he''s using it to conquer other Netherworlds as he pleases. At this rate, it''s only a matter of time before every Netherworld in this ne of existence falls under his influence. It''s be quite the problem." While continuing to stroke his chin, Vahn checked his Status to see that his level had increased from 1 to 4. This wasn''t particrly high, but, considering he had been able to knock around an Overlord like Seraphina, he was far from the lowest rungs of Netherworld society. Rather, if the rather potent flow of fate around her and Killia were any indicator, they were basically the ''main characters'' of this particr world. So long as he stuck with them, his level would naturally increase in response to the ever-increasing threats they would face along their journey. "The only real question is...should I y along or just go and defeat Void Dark on my own...?" Hearing Vahn''s musings, the pupils in Seraphina''s eyes shrank as she internally remarked, ("There''s no way this guy is just a normal Prinny...I can''t wait to show him off to the other female Overlords...! They''re going to be so jealous~! Oh-hohohohohoho~!") ... .. . (A/N: I might be taking a break today. I''ve been doing 3-4 chapters a daytely and I think I might have pinched a nerve or something in my left leg. I''ll most likely release a chapter of NOICE after a short break, but no promises.) Chapter 2041: Unbelievably Broken yet Surprisingly Balanced

Chapter 2041: Unbelievably Broken yet Surprisingly Bnced

After entrusting Killia to a saintly-looking beauty with long blonde hair, a phenomenal figure, and a pitch-ck dress that bloomed out near her feet, Vahn explored the Pocket Netherworld alongside Seraphina, who, after walking for a short while, found another group of Prinnies to carry her around. From the outside, the Pocket Netherworld resembled a series of purplish tforms linked together to form a vaguely ptial structure. Purple and pink were apparently Seraphina''s favorite colors so the floor wasprised of dark and light purple stone that tiled in a checkered pattern while most of the other decorations, includingvish carpets and stone pirs, were various shades of pink. If he was being honest, Seraphina''s aptitude for interior decorator wasparable to a child, so, when he learned that the 165cm woman was somehow 1724 years old, Vahn had been genuinely surprised. Even more surprising, however, were some of the facilities avable within the Pocket Netherworld, several of which defiedmon sense... "And this here is the Recruiter. So long as you have enough HL, you can basically recruit any type of demon, monster, or other Netherworld inhabitants you can think of. They say money is the root of all evil but it also makes the world go round. In the Netherworld, everything has its price, even the Senators of the Dark Assembly. Thus, so long as you have enough HL, you can even influence the Laws that govern the entire Netherworld. Of course, without the power to protect yourself, those tyrants are bound to just rob you blind before devouring you down to the bone." Though he was still actively listening to Seraphina''s exnation, Vahn was far more focused on the remarkablyplex magic circle generated by the Recruiter, a demon resembling an excessively thin cowboy garbed in a blue hat, chaps, and a poncho. Despite being much smaller than the ritual magic circles designed to alter the structure of the multiverse back in Toaru, the magic circle casually manifested by the Recruiter was among the most advanced Vahn had ever seen. It possessed the ability to convert HL, the currency of the Netherworld, into the vessel of any living creature. To make matters even more convenient for the user, there were a series of small spell circles encircling therger spell formation. Each of these produced a three-dimensional hologram of the entity you would be summoning, and, so long as you had the HL to support the transaction, you could freely modify their attributes and growth rates to make them as powerful or as weak as you pleased... Waving his flipper, Vahn navigated to the hologram depicting his fellow Prinnies only to find that they required a measly 10HL to summon. It was possible to spend even more, drastically increasing their power, but, inversely, it was also possible to reduce the cost down to a single HL. This resulted in a Prinny that waspletely useless, yet, despite purporting herself as the wealthiest Overlord in all the Three Realms, discount Prinnies made up the bulk of Seraphina''s forces... Looking over at the demoness sitting upon a ''throne'' formed of Prinnies, Vahn maintained the impassive expression emblematic of his race as he asked, "If you''re serious about confronting the Lost Army and defeating Void Dark, why not use some of your vast wealth to fill your army with more powerful allies? Sure, they''re a little expensive, but there are even a few Overlords listed among the options..." Though there was an awkward pause before she answered, Seraphina quickly recovered her haughty visage as she cheekily replied, "Oh my! You really don''t know anything about the way things work here in the Netherworld! To think you would make such a foolish proposition with such a straight face~! Oh-hohohohohoho~!" Deadpanning in response to Seraphina''s remark, Vahn held up his left flipper in a threatening manner. This brought herughter to an immediate end, her cheeks turning noticeably red as she cleared her throat and went on to exin, "You don''t be the richest person in all the Three Realms by spending money. Also, even a baby imp knows that the demons summoned using Recruiters have their growth limited by the summoner. I''m not one to brag, but I''ve very littlebat experience." Resisting the urge to ask how that was considered bragging, Vahn continued to cycle through the options listed around the inordinatelyplex magic circle. There were even listings such as Hero, an unsurprisingly heroic-looking youth, and Future Final Boss, a surprisingly cute girl that looked like something Azathoth might produce if he ever decided to have children. Though he was somewhat tempted to try and summon some of the more interesting-looking options, Vahn didn''t have a single HL on his person. He could always purchase some from the system shop, but, despite his current appearance, he wasn''t actually a demon. He didn''t want to arbitrarily generate negative karma, and, more importantly, he didn''t think it was fair to the creatures summoned to be bound to their Master. After all, unlike the Hero Summoning back in the Nasuverse, the beings summoned within the Netherworld were bound to subservience unless they could somehow surpass their summoner... Since he seriously doubted Seraphina would lend him any HL, Vahn stepped out of the spell circle that designated him as a potential Master and allowed him to navigate the Recruitment System. Then, before she could introduce him to even more ludicrous systems, Vahn decided to get straight to the point, asking, "How are you nning to defeat Void Dark? If not for mine and Killia''s arrivals, you would have been defeated in the previous battle." With an unabashed look of pride and haughtiness, Seraphina raised her chin, arms crossed in a manner that overtly emphasized her ample bosom as she exined, "Why, it''s simple, really. You see, be they man, beast, or even Overlord, it is the fate of all men to kneel before me. All I need to do is get in range and my Balor Gaze will have Void Dark eating out of the palm of my hand. Besides, now that I have you and Sir Killia on my side, those jerks in the Lost Army don''t stand a chance." "Right..." Though he wasn''t too surprised by Seraphina''s behavior, this was the Netherworld, after all, Vahn couldn''t help shaking his and body in mild exasperation. This was simply the way things were in the Netherworld, and, even if he did want to make changes, the only way to ''convince'' people was to be an existence simr to Void Dark. He could also wipe out everything in the Netherworld, purifying the spirits of everything he encountered, but, from the perspective of the people he was attempting to ''save'', this would make him the most terrifying monster in existence... Shaking both his head and body, Vahn decided not to worry about things that didn''t truly concern him. He had resolved himself, quite a number of times, to only intervene in matters that were taking ce right in front of him. After all, his participation wasn''t ''required'' in the resolution of events, and, even if he just sat on the sidelines, things would either work out or they wouldn''t. Either way, life would go on, and, no matter how powerful someone like Void Dark became, there would invariably be someone who came along to depose or defeat him. Having made up his mind, Vahn nodded his head, an action that resembled a bow from the perspective of others, before looking towards Seraphina and saying, "I''ll follow along, but not because I''m agreeing to be your subordinate. Rather, I''ve decided to either educate you or convert you into a good girl, whicheveres first. Either way, I''m not going to just sit idly by as you behave like a spoiled Princess and freely exploit others. Now, stop sitting atop those Prinnies. You''ll never get anywhere relying on others to carry you." Though she was prepared to gloat when she heard Vahn mention following along, Seraphina literally transformed into a stone statue when she heard the rest. This wasn''t an exaggeration either. Everything from her hair down to the tips of her toes had turned stone grey, and, for a brief moment, there had even been a visible crack near her head before she spontaneously returned to normal and shouted, "You can''t just decide that on your own...!" Adopting the haughtiest expression he could manage as a Prinny, Vahn intoned an amused, "Oh?" before failing to cross his arms and stating, "This is the Netherworld. Power and wealth are the only things that matter. If you live your life forcing others to obey, you have no right toin when others do the same. Now, I''ve already told you once. Are you ready to find out what happens if I''m forced to repeat myself...?" Though she had one of the most indignant looks Vahn had ever seen, Seraphina promptly hopped to her feet the moment he finished speaking. This earned him a hateful glower from the Prinny she had been sitting on but the rest looked at him as if he were a God. One even went as far as the mutter, "So cool. I never knew us Prinnies could be so badass, dood..." Ignoring the Prinny''s reverent remarks, Vahn nodded his head and body in acknowledgment of Seraphina''s obedience before levitating up to her head and giving her expectedly smooth and surprisingly springy hair a few light pats. This caused her to grit her teeth from shame and embarrassment, but, feeling the rxing energies transmitted from his flipper, her vexed look quickly morphed into one of confusion as she inquired, "Eh? What''s this? Were the flippers of Prinnies always this soft...?" Retracting said flipper from her head, Vahn answered, "I am no mere Prinny. I''m not entirely sure how I ended up in this form, but my true identity is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the man once and soon to be known as the Sage Dragon Emperor. Right now, I am trapped in the form of a Larval Prinny God, but, once my power increases, I will reveal my true form." Though he could forcibly remove it if he wanted to, Vahn decided to hold on to the [Anomaly] skill that had been imposed upon him. The idea of starting off as one of the weakest creatures in a verse was rather novel, and, while his very existence broke all the rules, most of his harem could attest to the fact he was into role y. He was also rather fond of the idea of stepping in at the final moments of a climactic battle, stunning both allies and enemies alike as he casually deflected an enemy''s ultimate attack with a single flipper... Unaware of what Vahn was thinking, Seraphina touched the spot where he had previously pat her before asking, "You didn''t put anything strange in my hair, did you? It took me hundreds of years toe up with this particr hairstyle. If you messed it up, I''m going to be pissed." Rolling his eyes, Vahn decided to shift the topic back to the tour, asking, "So? Where are we off to next? You''ve already introduced me to the hospital and the various merchants. Are you going to show me the Dark Assembly next...?" Crossing her arms in a ''no'' gesture, Seraphina unhesitantly replied, "No way, no how. Only an Overlord is allowed to ess the Dark Assembly and I have no desire to associate with those smelly old farts. Only fools and ambitious idiots attempt to involve themselves with that group of devils. Besides, without any HL, what could you possibly hope to aplish by visiting the Dark Assembly?" Since he had only mentioned it because Seraphina brought it up numerous times, Vahn rolled his eyes a second time before directing his attention to the inordinately thin yet adorable girl who had been watching them for quite some time. She had spiky blue hair that extended to her shoulders, blood-red eyes, and an apathetic expression despite resembling a young girl in a white sundress. He remembered seeing a variation of her listed as a Mascot among the potential creatures that could be recruited, but, more importantly, she was standing in front of a massive vault door with the words ''Dark Assembly'' shing overhead. Noticing Vahn''s gaze, Seraphina''s expression paled slightly as she forced herself to stand in front of him, arms spread wide as she said, "I''m telling you it''s not a good idea! At least level up before you do something that puts all our lives in danger...!" Blinking in surprise, Vahn tilted his head and body to the side, asking, "Can you actually see my level...?" ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Money is power...!'',''The origin of Saintess Seraphina...'',''Could it be...? Seraphina isn''tpletely useless...!?'') Chapter 2042: Discipline

Chapter 2042: Discipline

Seizing the opportunity to praise herself, Seraphina puffed out her chest, hand raised to her mouth as she performed her characteristic, "Oh-hohohohohoho~!"ugh before proceeding on to exin, "It''smon knowledge that all Overlords possess the ability to examine their potential underlings'' status. How else would we know if someone was useful or not~?" Rubbing his nonexistent chin, Vahn muttered, "I see..." with a thoughtful glimmer in his eyes. If what Seraphina said was true, it meant he would obtain a simr ability so long as he obtained the title of Overlord. He had already gained a number of skills since his arrival on Blood Parch so it made sense that the ability to view status could be obtained in a simr manner. As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn startled Seraphina by promptly asking, "How does one go about bing an Overlord? I''m guessing the mostmon method is to steal the title from an existing Overlord, correct...?" Somehow misinterpreting his words, Seraphina used her hands to cover both her breasts and the front of her skirt as she averted her blushing face to the side and nervously asked, "W-W-What are you thinking about doing?" Deadpanning in response to Seraphina''s words and behavior, Vahn shifted his attention to the Law of Identity. She had manifested out of thin air the moment he started thinking about her, and, after transforming into Seraphina, she dly revealed, "She believes you won''t kill her so the only way to take her Overlord title is to conquer her heart or force her to submit. She might not look like it, but her mother was a Subus and her father was an Orc Lord. In other words, she is suuuuuper horny, like, all the time." "Well, that would exin why she behaves like she has a few screws loose..." Though she was currently having all kinds of lewd thoughts, Seraphina''s pointed ears perked up the moment she heard Vahn''s words. She wasn''t quite sure what he said but her women''s intuition told her it wasn''t very polite. Thus, despite his previous warning, she brandished her dual pistols out of thin air before rapid-firing them as she shouted, "What did you say, you...you Prinny...!?" Since she didn''t really know any insults more sophisticated thanparing a person to a Prinny, Seraphina ended up calling out Vahn''s race. This left thetter with the same deadpan expression as he easily evaded more than twenty shots before getting clipped in the wing. Seeing a *43* appear above Vahn''s head, Seraphina ended up freezing in ce as a sudden and intense foreboding welled from within her chest. Despite this, a ruddy hue began to spread through her cheeks as she promptly put away her weapons and offered a cutesy, "Teehee~" before sending a tiny pink heart his way with a wink. With the color of his body shifting from a navy blue to pale gold, Vahn appeared behind Seraphina in less than an instant. For a brief moment, there were even two versions of his Prinny form, the first providing a suitable distraction while the second crossed his flippers and uttered, "Vahn Style Secret Technique - Dragon Punishing...!" Using one of the skills he had developed during the three years he spent with Ureko, the inside of Vahn''s flippers glowed with a rainbow hue as he executed a ny-nine hitbo on Seraphina''srgely exposed butt cheeks. This happened so quickly that the pink-haired Subus couldn''t even exim her surprise by the time he was winding up the final p, his right flipper growing to more than twice its usual size as he prepared a backhand strike, adding, "Vahn Style Ultimate Skill - Pain Inversion...!" Just as the pain was about to reach Seraphina''s brain, her entire nervous system spontaneously lit up like the grand finale of a firework festival. This caused her eyes to immediately roll towards the back of her head, but, no matter how badly it wanted to shut down, her brain continued to light up as wave after wave of indescribable pleasure surged through her body. By the time Seraphina returned to her senses, nearly twenty minutester, she found herself lying in a rather sizeable puddle, a dazed look in her eyes as she gazed at the ocean of stars visible beyond the Pocket Netherworlds artificial atmosphere. She had no words to describe how she currently felt, as, rather than shame or embarrassment, she felt a strange mixture of relief and several other hard to describe emotions. Just as Seraphina was thinking about how she might convince Vahn to be her personal Prinny Masseur, an instinctual shiver, followed by an intense heat, spread through her body as she felt her legs pried open. Looking down, she found a golden-skinned Prinny staring at her with vibrant azure eyes, and, though it shouldn''t be possible due to the restrictions ced on them as a species, there was an impossiblyrge object resting on her most delicate region. It was almost too big, too thick, too long to be a penis, but, thanks to her instincts as a Subus, Seraphina could recognize it as a penis nheless... Unlike the other Realms, which generally frowned upon interspecies rtionships, the Netherworld was a ce where love between various races blossomed like an explosion. It could happen at any time and anywhere, and, more often than not, it left only devastation in its wake. Seraphina''s father was a ck-skinned Orc Lord, a creature most people would find utterly disgusting. In spite of this, her mother still loved him, and, though they were currently feuding, Seraphina cared deeply for the monster who had doted upon her for the first seventeen-hundred-years of her existence. Realizing this, Seraphina began to feel a little homesick, but, at the same time, the fire in her body developed to the point that it felt like her insides would turn to ash if she didn''t act, Thus, despite disdaining Prinnies alongside virtually every resident of the Netherworld, she adorably pushed up her hips before reaching around her thighs to spread herself open. Then, just as Vahn''s impossiblyrge meat rod was about to pierce her from bottom to top, a shudder passed through Seraphina''s body as the person she envisioned piercing her like a meat skewer leaned in close to her ear and whispered, "April Fools..." in an impassioned tone of voice... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The byproduct of an Orc and a Subus...dear god...'',''Vahn breaking out the secret techniques o_o...'',''Oh my...'') Chapter 2044: Unexpected Invitation Chapter 2044: Unexpected Invitation Though he could have just left Seraphina to wallow in self-pity, Vahn had never particrly enjoyed seeing women cry. Thus, after confirming that Killia wasnt going to randomly attack him a third time, he approached the faucet-like demoness and asked, "Whats wrong?" in a gentle tone that didnt suit a Prinny in the slightest. Sniffling like a child trying to hold back their tears, Seraphina answered, "M-My B-B-B-Balor Gaze...is brokeeeeeeennnnn...!" Taking advantage of Vahns close proximity, Seraphina clung to him as if he were her favorite pillow. This caused an "Oof..." to emanate from the formers throat as Seraphinas deceptively dainty-looking arms closed around his body like a vice. She was either a lot stronger than she appeared or, far more likely, his body was literally designed to be squishy. As that thought crossed Vahns mind, Seraphinas tears promptly ceased as she said, "Oh, you really are squishier than normal. I thought as much." "Right...mind letting me go?" Furrowing her brows into a potent pout, Seraphina tightened her hold, saying, "I refuse!" in an overtly spoiled tone. Feeling as though his organs were being forced up his throat, Vahn promptly teleported out of Seraphinas grasp, a visible indentation visible around his body until he took a deep breath and reinted himself. This caused Seraphina to appear as though she was about to cry, but, before she could begin the waterworks anew, Killia chimed in to ask, "How do I get out of this ce? I dont have time to waste watching aedy routine." Deadpanning in response to Killias words, Vahn was about to say something when Seraphina beat him to the punch, stating, "Sir Killia, youre still injured. We dont have to worry about the Lost invading this ce. Please, rx and focus on recuperating." Clicking his tongue, Killia continued searching for an exit with his eyes as he said, "I told you. I dont have time to y around. At this rate, Void Dark-" Without waiting for Killia to finish speaking, Seraphina bounced up to her, pistols in hand as she attempted to shoot him in the shoulder. Instead, a powerful pulling force robbed both of the pistols from her hands as Vahn warned, "Youre really asking for it..." Paling in response to Vahns words, Seraphina instinctually blocked her butt as the former directed his attention to Killia and exined, "Seraphina hasnt exined it, but time flows differently in this ce. You have plenty of time to recover before venturing outside to face the Lost. Forcing yourself to fight in your current state is just senseless." Though he could have easily taken care of Killias wounds himself, Vahn waved over the busty Healer, saying, "Please look after Sir Killia. The quicker his wounds are treated, the sooner we can take the fight to the Lost." Bowing low enough that her inordinatelyrge breasts nearly spilled forth from her abyssal ck dress, the Healer replied, "Understood. Please leave it to me." Responding with a curt nod, Vahn shifted his attention to the frowning Killia, stating, "Im sure you have your reasons for wanting to rush things. However, in your current state, you are more of a liability than anything else. Now, stop wasting time and get yourself healed up. Youre the reason were currently idling about." Clicking his tongue a second time, Killia balled his hands into fists as he answered, "I never asked for your help..." through gritted teeth. Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn began to gradually levitate from the ground as he rebutted, "I dont recall Seraphina asking for your assistance in dealing with the Lost. Thats the thing about being strong. You can generally do whatever you want." With aplex magic circle appearing behind his back, Vahn extended his flipper towards Killia. This caused thetters pupils to shrink, but, before the signal from his brain could ever hope to reach his nerves, the attack had already hit him. As a result, he fell to the ground like a marite with its strings cut, a surprisingly peaceful expression on his face as aically oversized snot bubble expanded and contracted from his right nostril. Since he would have felt guilty having the Healer carry Killias surprisingly heavy body, Vahn used his Telekinesis to lift the mans body before turning towards Seraphina and saying, "You should also get some rest. There is no enmity between me and Void Dark. I will watch over the two of you to make sure nothing bad happens, but your vengeance is your own. Youre going to have to fight." Ostensibly offended by these words, Seraphina adopted a severe pout on her face as she asked, "You want me, Lady Seraphina, Overlord of Gorgeous, to do manualbor? Have you lost your mind?" Without missing a beat, Vahn replied, "Youre the one who decided to oppose Void Dark. How you do that is ultimately up to you. Just dont expect that charm ability of yours to carry you to the top. In fact, youre pretty lucky you tried it on myself and Killia first. Had it failed against an enemy, you would have been dead, or worse, by now." Unable to refute Vahns words, Seraphina just continued to stare at him with one of the most petnt expressions he had ever seen. She was used to everything going her way, so, hearing Vahns words, she couldnt help feeling indignant. Unfortunately, no matter how indignant she felt, it didnt change the fact that she was weak and helpless without the support of others... ... .. . With nothing better to do, Vahn decided to lounge about with Makoto, the Demon Thief that operated the Item World. She had also attempted to sit on him, but, after skillfully evading her attacks for the better part of half an hour, almost as if they were ying tag, he ultimately let her squeeze and cuddle his body as he asked her various questions rted to the Item World. What Vahn didnt expect was for a sealed envelope to appear out of thin air as he was staring off into the starry abyss surrounding the Pocket Netherworld. Even stranger was the fact that Makoto didnt seem to notice it. If she had, her kleptomania would have immediately kicked in, as, despite possessing the coveted ss of Item Worlder, she was still just a Thief. "Hmmm? What are you looking at~?" Noticing Vahn extend his flippers to catch something she couldnt see, a mischievous glimmer appeared in Makotos cat-like eyes. Before she could even think about grabbing it, however, an irresistible repulsive force sent her sliding across the ground as a vibrant bluish-white light enveloped Vahns body. Immediately thereafter, the Prinny known as Vahn, and all memories rted to him, had vanished without a trace... ... .. . Opening his eyes, Vahn found himself falling from several thousand meters in the air. Looking out towards the horizon, he saw a massive pir of light surrounded by concentric circles that were further segmented into a series of massive domes. At a nce, they appeared to be like greenhouses, but, rather than cover a small area, even the smallest appeared to be hundreds of kilometers across. "Well, this was a little unexpected..." Ignoring the fact he was falling towards the ground at terminal velocity, Vahn pulled out the letter he had been reading prior to the sudden spatial transfer. It resembled an expensive and highly embossed greeting card at first nce, but, thanks to his [Eyes of Truth], he was able to perceive the inordinatelyplex magic formation hidden beneath the words: This is an invitation to those of you with extraordinary powers. If you wish to test the limits of these powers, cast aside your family, your friends, and your possessions. We await you in the Little Garden. "Isnt it kind of pointless to call this an invitation if you forcibly teleport the person reading it? Feels more like a kidnapping than anything else..." Though he was actually quite enthused about the current situation, Vahn couldnt help issuing a fewints. Seraphina might have been a little annoying and Killia gave off an extremely edgy vibe, but neither appeared evil despite being born and raised in the Netherworld. Thus, even if it was only until they defeated Void Dark, Vahn wanted to watch over and guide them... (*Are you sure you werent just looking forward to training Seraphina...?*) Deadpanning in response to Sis words, Vahn, still appearing as a Prinny, remarked, "I have no idea what youre talking about..." (*Oh? It must have been my imagination...*) Hearing Sis issue an amused giggle in the back of his mind, a fair amount of heat spread through Vahns cheeks as he righted himself a few meters above the massiveke he was set to crash into. This caused the protective aura generated by the letter to dissipate, and, for the first time since his arrival in the Divine Realm, he could finally sense his surroundings. "Oh, wow...this is quite something..." (*Indeed...*) Despite appearing as a rtively normalke surrounded by verdant forests, Vahn nearly fell into theke the moment he attempted to perceive his surroundings. He had already known this was the case prior to his arrival but even the most minute particle of sand upon the shore was a veritable multiverse. The same could be said of the air he was breathing and the water contained within theke, so, the moment he tried to expand his domain through the area, it was like a physical mass of information had impacted his brain like a sledgehammer. Fortunately, just as he could filter how much information was discerned by his [Eyes of Truth], Vahn was able to tune his domain so that it wasnt attempting to analyze the internal structure of every individual particle within his perception. This took the better part of an hour, but, now that he was in the Divine Realm, he literally had all the time in the world. Though a part of him felt guilty about tuning out the voices of countless universes, Vahn knew he was nowhere near the level required to concern himself with their individual affairs. He still had a very long journey ahead of him, so, rather than allow himself to be distracted, he shifted his attention to the little girl who had been observing him since his arrival, remarking, "Youre a little smaller than I anticipated..." Smiling impishly, the little girl, possessing blue-hued white hair, elven ears, golden eyes, and a petite frame adorned with a wa lolita-style kimono instantly retorted, "Speak for yourself, Mr. Penguin." Understanding why she had decided to summon him now, of all times, an amused chuckle emanated from Vahns throat as he promptly transformed back into his true form. This caused the little lolita to click her tongue, but, without missing a beat, she sprouted two bat-like wings from her back and said, "Follow me. I doubt I need to tell you this, but my responsibilities as a Floor Master dont allow me to be away for long periods of time. We also need to register you at the Seventh Gate before those old farts in the central district decide toin..." Though he quickly followed after her, Vahn couldnt help asking, "Oh? Are there people that even the Ranked 10 Shiroyasha-sama fears?" Snorting through her button-like nose, Shiroyasha promptly turned around, flying backward at hypersonic speeds as she remarked, "It seems your knowledge is a little dated. I havent been in the Rankings ever since I gave up my title and obtained Divinity. Nowadays, Im pretty sure the Rank 10 is either the Demon Dragon Emperor Adrammelech or that irredeemable pervert Deus. Either way, the politics of the central district have nothing to do with me. If that was your intent, Im afraid youll need to find someone else to act as a backer." Noticing the purples and greys mixed into her aura as she talked about the central district, it was easy to imagine that Shiroyasha had experienced something traumatic during her time as the tenth most powerful being in the Little Garden. Vahn could easily ascertain what this was using the Law of Identity, but, understanding that some things were best left for the person in question to reveal, he just smiled in response to Shiroyashas words, stating, "Dont worry. By summoning me to the ce, youve already helped me more than enough. From here on, feel free to sit back, rx, and enjoy the show. Ill be sure to make things interesting." Amused by Vahns words, a smile developed across Shiroyashas face as she flipped over and continued flying normally. She actually wouldnt mind lending Vahn a hand, but, after seeing how drastically his power had increased during his time in the Tower, she doubted he would need it. Rather, depending on how things yed out, the entire Little Garden might be turned on its head once Vahn found his footing... ... .. . (A/N: Mwahahahahahaha. You thought the next arc was going to be Disgaea, but it was me, Mondaiji-dio~!) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 2045: Structure, Authority, and Relief Chapter 2045: Structure, Authority, and Relief Due to the nature of the Divine Realm, virtually every inhabitant belonged to an organization known as a Community. Even Gods, Demons, Asuras, and Dragons were no exception to this, not because they were particrly interested in following rules, but because they didnt really have a choice. In the Divine Realm, a persons individual power, represented by various Gifts and Divine Blessings, took a back seat to the Authority possessed by the most powerful beings within the Realm. Simply put, it didnt matter how powerful you were prior to entering the Divine Realm. If you didnt have a sufficiently powerful backer or the requisite Authority to guarantee your own, you might as well be powerless. Regardless of their status in the Outer Worlds, every new arrival in the Divine Realms started off in the fringe territories with absolutely no Authority to their name. This meant, without a backer, they could only make use of their power in very specific circumstances. More often than not, this meant participating in a Community-sponsored event known as a Gift Game. Though there were circumstances that allowed children to be born, the vast majority of the Little Gardens inhabitants were entities that had either taken a part in its creation or were summoned there, specifically, as a result of their Gifts. These were, in the most simple of terms, non-standard Innates that could be transferred between people. Examples might include someones Sharingan, or, much like the Heroic Spirits of the Nasuverse, abilities tied to specific legends or events. The primary purpose of the Divine Realm, as the Invitation Letter made readily apparent, was to pit the most powerful being from countless metaversal structures against each other to determine who was the most powerful. To this end, the beings at the absolute pinnacle of power had structured the world in such a way that the various Gifts possessed by its inhabitants could be won or lost. In other words, a single person could collect countless Gifts by challenging other residents. They would then bequeath these Gifts to other members of their Community with the end goal of taking over one of the many Gatesprising the Little Garden. Much like Vahns original Little Garden, the Little Garden of the Divine Realm was separated into a total of seven concentric regions. These were further subdivided into various Gates, ownership of which allowed the Communities in charge to enforce invible Laws over the lesser Communities inhabiting their territory. As could be expected, the Authority of a Community was directly rted to the number of Gates it controlled. Lower numbered Gates, meaning those that existed within regions closer to the center of the Little Garden, granted exponentially more Authority. In other words, the penultimate goal of anyone looking to test the limits of their power was to be a One-Digit Community. This would allow them to upy territory near the center of the Little Garden, and, as a result, they would have the Authority to pass Laws that affected, not just the Communities located in the higher-digit Gates, but the structure of all realities. Simply put, the strongest existence within the Little Garden was basically the strongest existence in all realities. This was a status coveted by many, so, despite being one of the most unforgiving ces in the entire Order of Creation, there was no end to the number of people who epted invitations to partake in the crucible that was the Little Gardens Gift Games. Unfortunately, as horrifying as having your Gift stolen was, it was far from the only thing that could be wagered. Rather, due to the nature of the Divine Realm, being that it existed above all realities, it was possible to wager everything from yournguage proficiency to your literal existence across all realities. The only real limitation regarding what could be wagered was that both sides had to offer something of rtive or equivalent value. Other than that, everything else was fair game... ... .. . As the Floor Master of the Eastern Quadrant of the Little Garden, Shiroyasha had Authority second only to a handful of individuals within the entire Divine Realm. She was also one of the founders of a Community known as Thousand Eyes, a Four-Digit Trade Community with more than a thousand branches extending from the 3345th Gate to the 2105380th Gate. This might sound like a lot, but, when you considered there were a grand total of 7,777,777 Gates in existence, owning a thousand branches as the former Rank 10 being in the entire Divine Realm was rather small. Unfortunately, Shiroyasha had given up most of her power and the status associated with it when she effectively retired. The only thing she really cared about these days was watching interesting events y out, so, more often than not, she could be found lounging about in her room, eating snacks, and spying on events in the lower realms. In other words, she was essentially azy otaku, as, from the perspective of beings in the Divine Realm, all other realities were fiction. Shiroyashas interest in Vahn was rted to his existence as a singrity, something that shouldnt exist within the structure of the lower realms. All of the past, present, and future had already taken ce in the lower realms, and, while there were new branches constantly being created, uncovering a single singrity among them was impossible. He also possessed knowledge that someone in the lower realms shouldnt have ess to, but, rather than asking him to reveal his sources, Shiroyasha left Vahn speechless by guiding him to the outermost gate before promptly stating, "Youre on your own from here. Im not fond of babysitting, so, as you suggested, Ill be kicking back, rxing, and enjoying the show. Feel free to stop by one of the Thousand Eyes locations if you want to exchange or purchase information." With that being said, Shiroyasha flew off before the crowd gathering in the streets could pester her. She might have abandoned her status as a Demon God, but, as the Floor Master of the entire East Side, there was no end to the number of people trying to curry favor with her. She had absolutely no interest in such things, so, unless they were someone close to her back in her Demon God days, she tended to ignore the politics of the Little Garden to the point of neglecting her duties. Wanting to ask her a few questions regarding the Little Garden and its structure, Vahn attempted to step through the Gate only to be blocked by an invisible barrier. At the same time, a status window simr to the type you would see in a video game popped up, informing him: ess Denied. Please Register your Identity at the nearest Gate Station. Knocking on the transparent window, Vahn was tempted to force his way through when the leader of a group of children, the oldest appearing no older than ten, advised, "I wouldnt try it, Onii-chan. The barriers barring entry into the Little Garden cannot be broken with physical strength or magical power. There have been people who spent days trying only to beughing stocks the moment they entered the Gate..." Looking down, quite literally, Vahn found a little girl with short ck hair and deep purple eyes staring up at him with a slightly concerned expression on her face. Her form-fitting white blouse and frilly red skirt made her stand out quite a bit, but, more so than anything else, it was the fact that all the other children surrounding her were dressed like orphans that caught Vahns attention. Some were even carrying buckets filled with water, much like children fetching fresh water from a river in a rural vige... Resisting his almost instinctual urge to pat the little girls head, Vahn adopted an appreciative smile on his face as he said, "Thank you for your advice, Miss...?" Though she had thought Vahn was handsome from his side profile, the girl blushed beet red the moment he directed his ostensibly perfect smile towards her. She even stumbled backward a few steps, hand grasping her chest as she stammered, "M-M-Miss? Me...?" before quickly recovering enough of her faculties to answer, "M-My name is Sarina...!" in an excitedly bashful tone. Before he even realized what he was doing, Vahn extended his hand to caress Sarinas head as he amusedly replied, "Thank you for your advice, Miss Sarina. Ill be sure to repay this kindness in the future." With a veritable plume of steam rising from her head, Sarina found herself unable to respond to Vahns words. It was only when he sought out one of the officials manning the Gate that she came back to her senses and flusteredly eximed, "I-If you dont have a ce to go, youre wee to join our Community! We dont have much, but there are lots of kind people who will wee you!" Looking back, Vahn was about to answer when a man with red skin and four muscr arms butt in, saying, "Dont let those urchins fool you, mate. Giftless brats like those could only belong to a No-Name Community. If youre confident in the abilities you possessed on the outside, you should look into the Communities located near the Six-Digit Gates. If youre just lookin to get your dick wet, the Crimson Moon Community manages a brothel filled with youthful-lookin girls from various species. Dont waste your time on brats like this." Though he understood the man was just trying to give him some friendly advice, Vahns expression immediately darkened at the mention of a Community that specializes in whoring out young, or, at the very least, youthful-looking girls. Sure, approximately a fifth of his harem was on the dainty side of the spectrum, but, understanding the basics of Divine Realm, it wasnt difficult to imagine most, if not all of the girls in the Crimson Moon Community being forced to be there. Raising two of his four arms in a gesture of surrender, the red-skinned man began to slowly back away as he said, "Woah, there. No need to get upset, fe. I aint a member of the Crimson Moon Community. Im just a simple butcher in the Apopo Trade Community. I wasnt trying to offend you or anything." Though Vahn was very clearly a new arrival in the Divine Realm, the aura emanating from his body was reminiscent of a member of the Strongest Species. This was a term colloquially associated with the three most powerful species in the Divine Realm, chiefly: Divine Spirits, Celestial Spirits, and True Dragons. Since all three could take on human forms, it was possible that even a beggar might be a True Dragon in disguise, so, the moment he noticed Vahns pupils contract into thin slits, the four-armed man immediately tried to deescte the situation. Snorting through his nose, Vahn decided to ignore the four-armed man as he shifted his attention to the now apologetic-looking Sarina. She felt like she had deceived him by trying to invite him to join their no-namemunity, as, despite her words attesting to there being a number of people willing to wee him being true, it was also true that they possessed very few Gift Holders. This was, ironically, one of the few reasons they hadnt been subdued by one of therger Communities. They simply werent worth the trouble... Before Sarina could even think to apologize, Vahn returned his hand to her head, willfully messing up her hair before saying, "Rx. You didnt do anything wrong. Rather, it is the right of children to shamelessly rely on others. The real issue here is the society youre growing up in. Lets fix that, shall we...?" Though she didnt fully understand the context of Vahns words, Sarina could tell he was offering to help them. This filled her with a strange feeling of ease, as, despite having just met, she could feel a certain reliability radiating from the inordinately handsome man caressing her head. Thus, despite their Leader often telling them not to trust strangers, a radiant smile blossomed across Sarinas face as she intoned a happy, "Nn~!" ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: Basically No-Game No-Life on steroids xD...,Four-armed bro almost stepped on a Vahnmine...,Yes? FBI-sama? Hes at it again...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 2046: Setting Out Chapter 2046: Setting Out "Thank you for your kind intentions, but please leave..." After registering at the Gate and following the children back to a partially destroyed monastery, the interior of which had been converted to a small farm, these were among the first words Vahn heard from the Communitys Leader, a young woman wearing a Nuns Habit. "Pardon...?" Though he could already guess the womans reasons, Vahn couldnt help raising his brows as the inordinately busty, pink-haired, andvender-eyed Nun went on to exin, "Even if you do possess the power to improve our quality of life, doing so would only cause the neighboring Communities to begin eyeing us. Were able to live a rtively peaceful life because we possess nothing the other Communities covet. The moment that changes, it is the children who will suffer first and foremost..." Understanding where the woman wasing from, Vahn slowly nodded his head before looking towards Sarina, the person who had guided him here. She was currently gripping the hem of her frilly red skirt with a vexed look on her face, as, despite understanding the Sisters words, she felt it was wrong to not even try. Plopping his hand atop the girls head, Vahn gently ruffled Sarinas hair, an equally gentle smile on his face as he said, "Its okay. This is only a minor setback. All I need to do is establish a Community of my own. Once I take over the surrounding Gates, Ill be able to improve the lives of everyone, not just the members of this Community..." Though Sarina looked like she was about to cry her little heart out, a smile developed across the fatigued-looking Nuns face as she muttered, "It would be wonderful if youre able to achieve that. Now, please leave. Your visit today would have already drawn a lot of attention. If people believe we are affiliated in any way, they will target us the moment you gain even a minute amount of fame or infamy..." Smiling wryly in response to the Nuns words, Vahn resisted the almost instinctual urge to just invite them all to stay within the Second Layer of his Little Garden. They would be significantly safer there, but, if he extended a simr offer to every downtrodden resident of the Divine Realm, it wouldnt be long before the refugee poption of the Second Layer numbered in the trillions. As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn retracted his hand from Sarinas head with the intention of departing the way he came. Before he could take more than a few steps, however, the Nuns weary voice rung out again, saying, "We all walk our own paths in life, Sarina. If you wish to follow him, do not hesitate. Life is too short. Dont waste it on regrets." Turning his head, Vahn was about to mention how counterintuitive it would be to send one of their own to follow him after making such a strong case for disassociation. These words got caught in his throat, however, as Sarina enthusiasticallytched onto his arm, a beaming smile on her face as she said, "Ill be in your care from now on." Though there was a fair amount of sorrow contained within her aura, likely rted to the fact she would be leaving her friends and family behind, Vahn could tell that Sarinas jubtion wasnt false. She seemed absolutely determined to follow him, a sentiment that caused him to feel more than a little awkward due to the threads of pink contained in her aura as she clung to his arm... ("Here we go again...") ... .. . Though there were a number of stringent requirements for advancing to the lower-digits, virtually anyone could establish a 7-Digit Community. The only real requirement was that you needed three people, primarily a Leader, a Sub-Leader, and an Adjutant. It was also rmended that you have a name, a g, and a territory, but these were only truly necessary when you were trying to advance from a higher-digit Community to a lower one. After traveling a considerable distance, enough that most people wouldnt be able to recognize Sarina even if he did cause a ruckus, Vahn found a rather charming Cafe called Inumimi Paradise. Each of their waitresses was an adorable girl with dogs ears and a tail, and, if you paid a premium, you were allowed to caress their heads and ears at your leisure. Fortunately, while the mostmon currency on the East Side were the metal coins printed by the Thousand Eyes Community, smaller shops generally epted all forms of verifiable currency. A few even allowed customers to pay using their Gifts, specifically allowing them to provide services such as cooking, cleaning, or good old-fashioned manualbor. In other words, so long as you had the means, you could barter for various goods and services without having to exchange actual currency. Though it earned him an adorable pout from Sarina, Vahn managed to convince the owner of the Cafe to allow him to pay with headpats. Others had to pay for the opportunity to fluff the girls in the Cafe, but, after proving that he could treat underlying medical conditions while simultaneously improving the health and wellness of the people he pet, Vahn earned the envy of nearly every other customer by systematically petting every girl in the Cafe for free. Even the owner stopped by a total of three times, her Doberman-like tail wagging happily as she and several others invited him to join their predominately female Community no less than ten times... As tempting as the offer was, Vahn managed to escape the Inumimi Paradise before the girls could contemte forcibly dragging him back. He also felt sorry for Sarina, who, during their three-hour stay, became progressively more downtrodden every time the girls offered her free food and drinks just to keep her upied. "Do you like kemonomimi girls more than normal girls...?" Hearing Sarinas whisper-like inquiry, Vahn adopted a wry yet gentle smile as he tousled the girls hair and answered, "Youre overthinking things. It would be more urate to say that I like girls as a general rule of thumb rather than having any particr preference. Besides, its a little too soon for you to be concerning yourself with matters such as this. Based on what I can tell, you cant be more than ten years old. I dont mind if you harbor intentions towards me. Just dont expect me toy my hands on a little girl. I have children who are older than you..." Though she was happy to have her head pat, Sarina became downcast when she heard what Vahn had to say. A part of her even regretted leaving the monastery as one of her main reasons for doing so was the expectation that romance would blossom between them if she tried her best... Understanding the little girls thoughts, even without the Law of Identity, a slightly amused chuckle escaped Vahns throat as he retracted his hand and said, "For now, focus on maturing both mentally and physically. If you still feel this way when you discover more about me...well, lets just say I dont have a reputation for disappointing the women in my life. Youre just not one of them. At least, not right now." With that said, Vahn extended his hand towards Sarina, and, though she hesitated for a very brief moment, it didnt take long for her to reach out her own and grasp his. She had already made up her mind, so, while this was certainly a setback, she still had hope for the future... ... .. . Though the Divine Realm made use of the Geocentric Model, meaning the Sun and Moon orbited around it, each of the individual Gates was able to implement their own day and night cycle. As a result, there were some Gates where the Sun never set, others where it was a perpetually full moon, and even more where the day-night cycle waspletely random. It all depended on the whims of the Community in charge. Noticing the Sun was still high in the sky even after they had been wandering around for several hours, Vahn turned to the fatigued-looking Sarina and asked, "What do you want to do? Unless you would rather be the Adjutant or remain a simple member, youre going to be the Sub-Leader of the Community we form. We can move to the Outermost Gates and try to recruit new arrivals or we can search for someone that is being oppressed by one of the more dastardly Communities. Ill let you decide." After taking a few moments to catch her breath, Sarinas mood seemed to improve quite a bit as she performed an adorable guts pose and answered, "We should try to help people! There are too many bullies in the Little Garden. If we have the power to do something about it, we should try...!" Though shecked any real power of her own, Sarina was baselessly confident in Vahns ability to do something about the injustices faced by the weaker residents of the Little Garden. She didnt know why, but she felt like he could just fix things whenever he wanted. There had even been a few unruly-looking individuals who steered clear from him the moment he looked towards them, something that typically only urred when famous or infamous Communities were performing their rounds and patrolling their territory. Offering a smile, Vahn resisted the urge to call Sarina a good girl since it would be a problem once she was invariably introduced to people like Fenrir. Instead, he just pat her head as he looked around the area for any passersby in need of assistance. More specifically, he was looking for young boys around her age, someone he could ept as a protege while training them both to be a lot stronger than they currently were. Noticing a downtrodden youth hobbling along the periphery of the crowd with his head lowered, tightly clinging to a few tattered books, Vahn manifested to the Law of Identity to inquire about his background. Unfortunately, it seemed that he already belonged to a Community. The reason for his limp was also rtively innocent, so, other than sending a thread of healing energy into the young mans body, surprising him quite a bit, Vahn left the youth to his own devices. "Hmmm..." Just as he was thinking about asking some of the locals for information, a familiar tingling spread through Vahns mind as a young girl with auburn hair emerged from an alleyway, expression pale and tears building in the corners of her eyes she implored people to make way. This caused Vahns expression to morph into a wless deadpan, as, momentster, a group of bandit-like individuals burst from the same alleyway, the most muscr among them shouting, "Get back here, you brat! Youre the one who agreed to participate in a Gift Game! You cant just run away because you dont like the conditions...!" Despite the soles of her feet bleeding rather profusely, the little girl continued running barefoot as the trio gradually caught up to her. As for the pedestrians in the surroundings, most simply got out of the way. After all, while the Little Garden was known to house countless Heroes, most had their Gifts stolen shortly after their arrival or quickly advanced to be members of four or five-digit Communities. The who settled in the Seven-Digit Gates were among the dregs of society within the Divine Realm, so, more often than not, they did their best to stay out of other peoples business. Just as the skinniest man among the three, an individual with a mouse-like face, was about to catch up to the girl from behind, an invisible wall seemed to impede his progress. From the perspective of others, it was like he had tried to break through the barrier protecting a Gate using his face, and, as a result, blood began to pool from his nostrils as he slid, unconscious, to the ground. Borrowing a one-liner from an anime that his son, Naruto, had taken an interest in, Vahnbed his fingers through his hair, magically changing the direction in which it flowed as he mused, "Good grief..." in a defeated tone. ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nun dont y,Vahn about to be a VIP member at every kemonomimi Cafe xD...,Yare yare daze...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 2047: Enter the Infinite Chapter 2047: Enter the Infinite Seeing theirpanion run into an invisible wall, the duo chasing after the young girl promptly halted in their tracks. The burliest among them then whirled around, eyes bloodshot as he shouted, "Whose the asshole gettin in our way!?" "Yo." Much to the duos surprise, Vahn had already appeared right behind them. Thus, the moment they turned around, he grabbed both of their faces before promptly nting them into the ground. An invisible force attempted to protect their bodies from harm, but, thanks to his Source Energy, both ended up being knocked out with their heads buried in the cobbled street. After taking a moment to confirm the men werent dead, Vahn dusted off his hands before looking towards the stunned Sarina and asking, "Shall we catch up to our little friend...?" Startling back to awareness, Sarina quickly ran over to Vahns side, grabbing his hand as if it was the most natural thing in the world to do. Smiling wryly in response to the young girls brazenness, Vahn attempted to teleport only to sense that the surrounding space solidified the moment he tried. This caused his brows to furrow slightly, but, rather than trying to force his way through the void, he just used an advanced form of Shundo to instantaneously cover the distance the girl had run. With her thoughts revolving around escape, the auburn-haired girl had yet to take notice of the fact that her would-be assants had already been dealt with. Instead, she continued to push through the crowd, each step leaving behind a bloody footprint that caused intense, biting pain to shoot up her legs. Unable to hold them back any longer, a tremendous volume of tears and sweat marred the girls face as an irresistible urge to just stop and rest began to consume her. The only thing that kept her moving forward was fear. Fear that should she stop, her life would no longer be her own. She would either have to spend the rest of her days as someone elses ve or they would forcibly appropriate her Gift. Either way, her life would be over. "I just need...to find some sand..." As the pained utterance had merely been intended topel herself forward, the auburn-haired girl never expected someone to suddenly appear in front of her, gently arresting her momentum as a deep yet velvety smooth voice answered, "You need to calm down..." Since it was usually painful to run headlong into another person, the auburn-haired girl was more than a little confused by how soft the collision had been. Even more confusing was thefortable energy that had suffused through her body, instantaneously erasing her fatigue. At the same time, an itchy feeling transmitted from the soles of her feet, scabs quickly forming across several wounds before king away to reveal tender yet undamaged skin. "Youre safe now..." Without stepping away from the owner of the voice, the auburn-haired girl tentatively looked up, her heart skipping a beat as she found a tall and handsome man looking down at her with a smile. The sun was also shining high in the sky, so, from her perspective, a literal halo had formed around his head as his glowing green eyes cut through the shadows cast over his face... Noticing the girls eyes roll back, Vahn smoothly scooped her into a Princess Carry before she could faint and copse to the ground. This caused Sarina to puff out her cheeks slightly, but, by the time he had looked back, she had regained her smile, suggesting, "We should find a bench in the shade." Nodding in affirmation, Vahn surprised Sarina quite a bit by extending an invisible hand to caress the top of her head. Then, before she could make sense of what had happened, he used the same hand to grasp hers, gently pulling her along with a wry yet amused smile on his face... ... .. . Since it would have been a little too troublesome to allow the girl to use hisp as a pillow, Vahn produced a memory foam pillow from thin air before further surprising Sarina as he pulled a coldpress and several other items from his Inventory. He even earned a few curious nces from various passersby, as, even in the Divine Realm, Gifts rted to Spatial or Interdimensional Storage were remarkably rare. Unable to contain her curiosity, Sarina, sitting immediately to Vahns left, decided to ask, "Just what is your Gift? Could it be...you have more than one...?" Though it wasnt unheard of, quite the contrary, it was umon for people who had just arrived in the Divine Realm to possess numerous Gifts. Summoning someone with just a single Gift took an unreasonable amount of resources. Thus, unless Vahn had strayed into the Divine Realm, the only way he could possess numerous Gifts was if someone unreasonably powerful had both summoned and abandoned him... After folding the coldpress and cing it on the sleeping girls forehead, Vahn elected to tease Sarina a bit by musing, "You would have a harder time ascertaining what I cant do than discovering what I can..." Punctuating his words, Vahn created a spherical pill in his left hand, its surface covered in a peculiar rainbow hue that obscured countless runic symbols. Had this been a lower realm, its presence alone would have been enough to cause the flow of time in their surroundings to stagnate. Instead, it just shimmered with a hazy light that caused it to appear as though it was moving in slow motion as he extended it towards Sarina and said, "Eat this. It will unlock the potential hidden within your body. I dont mind helping you grow stronger, but it will be your own efforts that allow you to stand at the peak..." Since she had already decided to follow someone who was basically a stranger, Sarina saw no harm in epting candy from them. Thus, without any real hesitation, she picked up the rainbow-hued pill and scrutinizing it like a piece of vibrant opal before tossing it to the back of her throat. To her surprise, she didnt actually have to swallow anything, as, the moment the pill entered her mouth, it melted into a liquid form of light that instantaneously spread through her mouth before suffusing throughout the rest of her body. Alleviating some of the girls confusion, Vahn exined, "Its my own version of a Heaven-Grade Pill known as the Innate Awakening Pill. Innates are essentially the framework of the abilities referred to as Gifts in the Divine Realm. Contrary to what others would have you believe, these cant actually be taken away. In the absolute worst-case scenario, they can be sealed away or weakened. To that end, the Gifts in this world are basically just pale imitations of a persons Innate, not the ability itself..." As he was saying these things, Vahn was also looking over Sarinas Status to confirm whether or not the pill had worked. It only had a 10% chance of sess, but, even if it failed, it would still awaken a unique ability rted to the Innates awakening. This would drastically increase Sarinas power, and, so long as he guided her properly, it was only a matter of time before her Innates awakened... ----------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: Sarina Age: 10 Race: High Human Parameters: [Transcendental Path to Heaven] Strength: 3F Agility: 8F Dexterity: 4F Intelligence: 15F Luck: 20F Spirit: 2F Wisdom: 5F Charisma: 11F Divinity: N/A Authority: N/A Innate(s): [Descendant of Hermes: F], [Tria: (sealed)] Gift(s): [Dont Shoot the Messenger: D] Talent(s): [Language Comprehesion: F], [Reading: F], [Writing: F], [Cooking: F], [Cleaning: F], [Farming: F], [Sewing: F], [Arithmetic: F]... [Dont Shoot the Messenger] Rank: D Function: Causes non-homing projectile attacks to curve around the user. ----------------------------------------------- Though Vahn wasnt entirely sure how each of the parameters broke down into quantifiable values, it was easy to understand from Sarinas Status that she was, basically, just a normal girl. Sure, being a descendant of Hermes was rather impressive in the lower realms, but, here in the Little Garden, it wasnt an exaggeration to say that the majority of citizens were the descendent of some wayward Hero, God, Divine Spirit, or something simr... ----------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: Vahn Aldrnari Mason Age: 0, Ageless Race: True Dragon, (sealed) Parameters: [Transcendental Path to Heaven] Strength: 1,492,734,993S Agility: 911,366S Dexterity: 1,619,510S Intelligence: 1,450,007S Luck: 903D Spirit: 3,492,212S Wisdom: 18,778,983,418,004SSS Charisma: 188,854B Divinity: Creation(B), Destruction(C), Space(C), Time(C), Forging(B), Sword(B), Spear(D), Archery(E), Life(B), Death(D), Nature(A), Wisdom(S), Sun(D), Moon(D), Sky(C), Sex(A) Authority: Self-Enforced(???) Soul Tier: 5 Karma: 118 Innate(s): [Will of the Emperor: SSS], [Rakshasa Body: SS->A], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome: B->C], [Eyes of Truth: A->C], [Universal Mind: B], [Actualization: (-)] Gift(s): [Authority: ???], [Hands of Nirvana: S], [Breath of Life: B], [Touch of Death: D], [Enkidu: C], [L?vateinn: S], [Alpha: A], [Beta: B], [Gamma: B], [Delta: B]...(A/N: This list would literally be longer than several chaptersbined...) Talent(s): (A/N: There is very little that Vahn is unable to do and nothing he cant do...so...yeah...) ----------------------------------------------- Despite feeling suffocatingly weak right now, Vahns Status showed that he was anything but. His Wisdom, in particr, was a phenomenal value that seemed to defymon sense. Then again, he was technically an amalgamation of the knowledge and experiences of various Temtes, several of which were derived from Sis. He had also downloaded hundreds of thousands of grimoires to his mind, and, thanks to the Law of Identity, he had even memorized some of the contents contained within the Sacred Tome... ("I never even considered myself a God of Wisdom, yet it is apparently my mostprehensive Divinity...you learn something new every day...") (*Quite literally...*) Smiling in response to Siss witty retort, Vahn was about to issue his own when Sarina suddenly pulled out a pale green tarot card, smiling as she eximed, "It actually worked...!" Noticing the curious and greedy gazes of several pedestrians the moment Sarina pulled out the card, Vahn created an illusory barrier with a wave of his hand, effectively erasing their presence in the eyes of others as he said, "You shouldnt take that out in public. They might not be able to take it from you, but that wont stop people from challenging you to a Gift Game..." Though Vahn didnt actually know what the card was, it didnt take long for the Loi-chan, appearing as Shiroyasha, to exin things. It was apparently known as a Fragment of Lace, and, as could be expected, it was basically the manifestation of a persons Gift. Having learned this, Vahn imagined his own Gifts manifesting, and, as a result, he ended up with a veritable mountain of cards erupting from his chest like a broken faucet. This caused the previously excited Sarina to adopt a wless deadpan, as, even after a full minute had passed, cards continued to fly out of him without end. With his enhanced senses, Vahn was able to see that the vast majority of these Gift Cards were the manifestation of knowledge, skills, and abilities possessed by his Temtes. This included hundreds of thousands of individual grimoires, Zanpakuto, legendary weapons, powerful armors, and a whole host of other abilities. If he hadnt turned it off, the entire za might have been filled with cards by the time the flow began to reduce. As for when it would end, well, even he didnt know the answer to that question... Seeing the veritable mountain of cards that had leaked from Vahns body, Sarina vaguely recalled his previous remark about it being harder to ascertain what he couldnt do. She had thought he was bragging at the time, but, now that she saw this absolutely ludicrous sight, the realization that she might have fallen in love with someonepletely ridiculous had cemented itself within her mind... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: Happy birthday to the ground...!,Bruh...that Luck parameter...,I imagined Shiroyasha performing a spit take when she saw this taking ce xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 2048: Busybody Chapter 2048: Busybody Understanding Sarinas confusion, Vahn attempted to give her a very brief summary of his past and abilities. In the midst of this, the girl sleeping at his side gradually stirred, her eyelids flickering for a moment before grabbing the coldpress on her head. "Well now, look who decided to join us..." Though she had already noticed someone sitting next to her, the auburn-haired girl startled when she heard Vahns deep yet gentle voice. The only thing that prevented her from immediately trying to run away was the strange feeling offort that had spread through her body, suppressing the fear, pain, and hunger she had be ustomed to since her arrival in the Divine Realm... Seeing the girl bolt to a seated position, a sad smile developed across Vahns face as muttered, "It would seem you have suffered quite a bit. Dont worry-" Rather than wait for Vahn to continue speaking, the auburn-haired girl interrupted, asking, "W-Who are you? What do you want with me...?" in a wary tone. As cheesy as it might sound to the average listener, Vahn softly replied, "You can call me Vahn. Vahn Aldrnari Mason. As for what I want...well, it would make me happy if you were happy." Borrowing a worn yet refreshing page out of Tionas book, Vahn pushed up the sides of his mouth with his fingers, yfully contorting his face into an intentionally silly smile. Though a concerned frown appeared on her face, the auburn-haired girl seemed to understand he wasnt a threat as she quickly rxed, shoulders and head slumped as she meekly replied, "There is no happiness left for me in this world..." "Hmmm..." Noticing the girls aura diminish quite a bit as she was speaking, Vahn quickly sorted his thoughts before extending his hand and manifesting a golden apple out of thin air, saying, "Eat. Its hard to be optimistic on an empty stomach. Youll feel better once you fill your belly." Though it wasnt actually necessary to eat in the Divine Realm, going long periods of time without food or water affected the mind and body. This was especially true for those who had only been in the Divine Realm for a short period of time. Thus, having confirmed the girl hadnt eaten anything in quite some time, Vahn figured he might as well address her empty stomach before moving on to anything moreplicated. Staring at her reflection in the remarkably shiny apple, the auburn-haired girl was surprised to find that she was actually salivating. This was an inherent property of the apple, and, while it was a little underhanded of him, Vahn didnt mind making use of his Gifts if it was to help people... ----------------------------------------------- [Golden Apple] Rank: B Function: An irresistible golden apple that captivates anyone who sets their sights upon it. Just a single bite is said to fill ones belly and bring happiness. Eating the entire thing, core included, is said to replenish stamina, removes abnormal status effects, and cleanse curses. ----------------------------------------------- Before she even realized what she was doing, the auburn-haired girl had already taken several bites out of the apple. This caused a warm and fluffy feeling to spread from her stomach as memories of her past, specifically happy memories rted to her mother and father, caused tears to swell at the corners of her eyes. "There, there...its okay...if you want to cry, go ahead and cry. Just remember. No matter how sad or painful things get, there is still happiness to be found in the world. If youre unable to find it in the present, you need only look to the past. It is memories like those that give us the strength to create happiness in the future..." Though it earned him another pouty glower from Sarina, Vahn gently caressed the auburn-haired girls head as she continued to eat the golden apple. Instead of engorging herself upon it, however, she was now taking progressively smaller bites. She seemed to equate eating the apple with being happy, so, fearing the moment would escape her once the apple waspleted, she attempted to draw it out for as long as possible... ... .. . "Feeling better...?" Staring up at the man who, even now, continued to caress her head, the auburn-haired girl slowly nodded before replying, "Thank you..." in a meek tone of voice. "Dont mention it." replied Vahn. Then, with the best smile he could manage, he retracted his hand from the girls head before asking, "So? Feel like introducing yourself? As I mentioned previously, my name is Vahn. As for this little one here-" "Sarina. My name is Sarina." Though it was a little awkward since they were seated on opposite sides of each other, Sarina made a show of grabbing Vahns arm as she introduced herself in an audibly hostile tone. This caused the auburn-haired girl to appear afraid, so, before things could get further out of hand, Vahn adopted a stern tone, stating, "Sarina. Thats enough. You followed me with the intention of helping people. Is this how you behave towards someone who just experienced a trauma...?" Surprised by Vahns tone, Sarina quickly released his arm, a nervous and apologetic look on her face as she eximed, "S-Sorry! Please forgive my rudeness...!" before promptly bowing her head. With his arm freed, Vahn was able to caress both girls heads, chuckling lightly as he said, "Thats a good girl. Now, how about you introduce yourself, little missy? It would also help if you exin why those men were chasing you but I wont force you to disclose anything youre notfortable with discussing." Though she was still more than a little nervous, the auburn-haired girl sheepishly replied, "My name is Nono...Nono Nalnanananu..." Blinking in mild surprise, Vahns smile became somewhat wry as he asked, "Nalnanananu...?" just to confirm she hadnt added a few extra sybles. In response, the auburn-haired girl simply nodded, mild confusion visible in her eyes as she asked, "Is it...strange...?" Laughing in the most good-natured way he could manage, Vahn retracted his hands from the two girls heads before rising to his feet and answering, "Of course not!" in a spirited tone. Then, before either could make sense of his actions, he turned back, a luminous smile on his face as he extended his hands to the two girls and added, "Its a wonderful name." ... .. . Since they had been garnering too much attention at their previous location, Vahn escorted Sarina and Nono to another small Cafe, this one attached to a rather pleasant-looking Hostel. There, he let the two order whatever they wanted before handing arranging two rooms, one for himself and one for the girls. Having secured a ce to stay, Vahn returned to the table to find Sarina and Nono trapped in an awkward silence. The former was still feeling guilty about her earlier behavior. As for thetter, well, she was just confused by everything that was happening. Pulling up a chair to the side, rather than sitting beside either girl, Vahn picked up a small cheese pastry, biting into it before exining, "I went ahead and booked two rooms. The two of you can share one. Unless, of course, you somece else to be...?" Though he had already checked Nonos situation with the Law of Identity, Vahn wanted to give her the chance to exin things. It would also make things a lot easier if she directly asked for his help, as, after his most recent awakening, he was trying to avoid resolving everyones problems. He was a little tired of trying to fix everything himself, so, unless she asked for help and showed a willingness to take control of her own life, there wasnt much he could do for her... Turning mncholic in response to Vahns words, Nono hung her head for several moments before finally mustering up the courage to mutter, "I dont want to go back...but...but Im afraid something terrible might happen if I dont..." "Is it your Community...?" Despite knowing the answer, Vahn still tried to lead Nono along so that she wouldnt fall silent. In response, she nodded her head, exining, "I was summoned seven months ago...in the beginning, everyone was very kind to me...they told me I had a powerful Gift and wanted me to be one of their fighters...but...but I dont like fighting..." Tearing up, Nono began to sniffle as memories of thest seven months resurfaced in her mind. She could still remember how well her Community had treated her when she was first summoned. A few of the senior members had even taken to referring to her as their Little Princess. They showered her with all kinds of praise, and, even when she made mistakes, they were always quick to console and encourage her...all the way up until they werent... In the end, the only thing her Community had really cared about was her Gifts. Her future self was apparently an influential priestess back in her homeworld, one with the potential to even seal away the Gods. Unfortunately, theycked the means to summon her more heroic iteration, so, with the intention of grooming her into a powerful weapon, they ended up calling upon her much younger self. What they failed to ount for was the fact that she had only grown that powerful due to the hardships she had experienced and the other heroic figures at her side. Without going through all of those things, she was just a normal little girl. Someone who disliked fighting and only epted their invitation out of naive curiosity... Once her Community realized she was just a useless brat, their treatment became progressively worse. The only exception to this was her Leader, but, after everything that had happened, Nono didnt trust him. These feelings only grew when he attempted to convince her to give up her Gift and simply be a Maid. He promised she would always have a ce within their Community, but, when she tried to get him to agree to a Geass, a contract that bound people to their word, he immediately got angry and used her of being a selfish brat who didnt know what was good for her. After that incident, Nono found herself isted within the group of people who had promised to be her family. This ultimately led to the previous event, an incident that involved members of her own Community conspiring with a group of Gift Hunters to try and steal her Gift. They wanted to force her into a Gift Game with extremely unfair conditions, warning that if she didnt y along they were going to lock her away until she either gave up ormitted suicide. Instead of abiding by these terms, Nono did the only thing she could think of at the time. She ran. It didnt matter how tired she was or how painful each sessive step became. She kept running as if her life depended on it, because, in no uncertain terms, it did... ... .. . After listening to Nonos story and assuring her that everything was okay, Vahn allowed her to rest, forcing Sarina to watch over her as he stepped out into the busy city streets. In the end, Nono didnt actually ask for his help. Instead, she wanted him and Sarina to leave so that members of her Community wouldnt target them. She didnt want anything to happen to them, so, in turn, Vahn had decided he wouldnt let anything happen to her. Thus, after cing her into a very deep and peaceful slumber, he set out with the intention of settling her debts. Fortunately, he didnt have to travel very far. Members of the same Community were able to track their other members using various artifacts. Such items were originally intended for Gift Games that involved searchingrge areas or entering Labyrinths, but, at times like this, they could also be used by malicious individuals to track those who wanted to escape. Thus, without even needing to travel more than two blocks, Vahn found himself promptly surrounded by a group of individuals lead by a man with silvery-white hair and golden eyes... "Well, this is convenient..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: Atnta would like to know your location...,Kidnapping and grooming are evil...,Vahn could probably drown these asshats just by releasing his Gift Cards xD...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 2049: Exception Chapter 2049: Exception Emboldened by the fact that Vahn was both alone and without a g badge to represent the Community he belonged to, the group immediately surrounded him as their presumed Leader stepped forward to ask, "Where is Nono? Why are you-" Raising his hand, Vahn earned a cold glower from the white-haired man as he said, "This ends one of two ways. You apologize, let Nono go, and never appear in front of me again. Do that and Ill at least pretend todays incident never happened. Refuse and, well, lets just say the Little Garden will have a bit less trash by the end of the day..." Vahn didnt likebeling people as trash. He liked being surrounded even less, however, so, with his opponents radiating auras of pure arrogance, he punctuated his words by popping his knuckles and rolling his neck. This made it clear what his intentions were, but, rather than exhibiting any fear, the group radiated unadulterated hostility as their Leader loosened the tie of his rather stylish ck suit and replied, "You must be confident in your strength to interfere in another Communitys affairs like this. Tell me. Which Community do you belong to? Perhaps we should make things more...official?" Understanding that the man was insinuating starting a war, Vahn just rolled his eyes and said, "Even if my time is unlimited, Id rather not waste it on rabble such as yourselves. Lets get this over with." Punctuating his words, Vahn appeared in front of the silver-haired man before he could so much as widen his eyes in response. The Laws of the Little Garden prevented people from sustaining serious injuries outside Gift Games, but there were a number of ways to get around this. The mostmon among these was to have the opponent injure themselves, so, timing his attack just as the man was about to say something, Vahn ended up forcing him to bite off the tip of his tongue as he sent the man soaring more than twenty meters with a simple uppercut. Seeing their Leader get sent flying with an attack they hadnt even been able to perceive, the nine other individuals immediately tensed up in disbelief. This afforded Vahn the opportunity to flick his wrist, a violet-purple card appearing between his index and middle fingers as he yfully dered, "You activated my Trap Card. Karmic Inversion!" ----------------------------------------------- [Karmic Inversion] Rank: B Function: A unique ability that causes a target to experience all the pain and suffering they had inflicted onto others. Only works against those who have murderous intentions towards the user. ----------------------------------------------- With the exception of the only woman in the group, everyone else immediately dropped to their knees, kicking and screaming as indescribable pain wracked their bodies. As for the woman, she ended up being spared because she didnt possess murderous intent towards him. Rather, due to his physical appearance, she had actually been thinking about methods to try and recruit him into their Community. "Sorry, but Im not particrly fond of women who turn a blind eye to the exploitation of children. Im afraid youll have to suffer a bit..." Though she had fallen onto her butt out of fear, the purple-haired woman immediately attempted to flee the moment she heard Vahns words, screaming, "Im sorry! Please forgive me...!" as she used a green-colored card to drastically increase her speed. Shaking his head, a wry and slightly apologetic smile appeared on Vahns face as he mused, "Sorry, but I dont issue threats idly..." Performing a simple sleight of hand technique, Vahn caused the violet-purple card to appear as though it had transformed into a deep crimson as he muttered, "Penance Curse..." ----------------------------------------------- [Penance Curse] Rank: C Function: An ability that causes the target to experience pain based on how much they have relished in the suffering of others. Has no effect on light-based creatures. ----------------------------------------------- Despite her drastically increased speed, a purple pattern appeared on the womans back as she attempted to leap over a building. At a nce, it appeared to be a purple heart surrounded by thorns. This indicated she had quite a violent and sadistic personality as the skill generally ranged from pale pink to dark purple. The darker the color, the more she enjoyed the suffering of others, so, while he still felt guilty about punishing someone who had already given up, Vahn got over it pretty quickly. "Hey! You there! What do you think youre doing in the middle of the street...!?" Shifting his attention to the person who had called out to him, Vahn found another purple-haired woman rushing over with a judgmental re on her face. Her clothes, consisting of a fashionable white blouse, frilled ck skirt, white stockings, and a peculiar half-apron made her appear to be an Alchemist or a Sorceror. There were potion vials around her waist, and, though it appeared to be a form of scepter at a nce, the object in her hand resembled an inordinatelyrge syringe, albeit without a needle. Noticing that the woman had a different g badge than the group writhing about on the ground, Vahn adopted a rxed smile as he exined, "These people surrounded me with the intention of seeking trouble. I just happened to be a little more than they anticipated..." Since it was one against nine, the woman had no reason not to believe Vahns words. Despite this, she maintained a stubborn expression on her face as she approached to within a few meters of him and said, "If youre strong enough to defeat them without injury, you could have just as easily run away. At the very least, you should have settled things with a Gift Game. Fighting in the middle of the street is not only against the Law, it inconveniences everyone trying to go about their business in peace. You also overwrote the protections of the system with the express intent of causing harm so Im afraid Ill need to take you in. Pleasee quietly." Raising his brows, Vahn said, "Sorry, but Im afraid Ill have to decline. There are people waiting for me and I have no reason to recognize Laws that punish vigntes but ignore the exploitation and suffering of children. The Gift I used causes people to experience the pain and suffering they have forced onto others. It also only triggers when the other party has murderous intentions towards me, so are you telling me I was simply supposed to ignore them? Ridiculous." Manifesting the Gift Card in question, Vahn flicked it towards the befuddled woman so that she could read its description for herself. Gift Cards couldnt actually be stolen, and, even if they were somehow misced, they could be brought back with a simple thought. Confirming the description on the card, the womans expression immediately became troubled as she looked around at the people writhing on the ground. They had clearly caused great suffering based on their current appearance, so, even though she was duty-bound to arrest all of them, she couldnt exactly refute Vahns words. Furrowing her brows into a surprisingly adorable pout, the purple-haired woman eyed up Vahn with a scrutinizing gaze before asking, "Which Community do you belong to? You dont appear to have a g badge..." Realizing that the woman was considering letting him go, Vahns smile became more friendly as he crossed his hand over his heart and performed a slight bow, saying, "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vahn, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. To answer your question, I do not currently belong to any Community. I am, however, intending to create one in the very near future. Perhaps even as soon as the end of today." Blinking in surprise, the woman immediately replied, "Thats impossible. Without the backing of a Community, you shouldnt be able to use your Gifts outside of a Gift Game. If people could freely use their abilities, the Little Garden would never have peace..." Though the womans words caught him by surprise, it didnt take long for Vahn to find a solution. This involved drawing an obsidian-ck card tinged with ornate golden embossing as he said, "Im a bit of an exception to the rules..." ----------------------------------------------- [Champion of Inanna] Rank: A Function: A Blessing bestowed upon those who have won the favor of Inanna, Goddess of Sex, Love, Justice, and Political Power. Allows the user to mete out justice against sinners. Twice as effective on women. Three times as effective against other Goddesses. ----------------------------------------------- While the color of most Gift Cards didnt matter, that concept flew out the window when the color was ck. This signified that the card possessed a Fragment of Divinity, and, more often than not, indicated that the person in question had the favor of a Patron God or Goddess. Seeing the name Inanna attached to the card, the purple-haired girl promptly tossed it like a hot potato. Inanna was a rtively famous Goddess from a 2-Digit Community. She was known to be very antagonistic towards other women, so, the moment she saw Inannas name on the card, the purple-haired woman began floundering nervously as she stammered, "P-P-P-Please forgive me. I had n-n-no idea you were affiliated with the Garden of Venus." Not expecting such an overreaction, a wry smile developed across Vahns face as he made a mental note not to borrow the names of Gods and Goddesses he hadnt met. The [Champion of Inanna] he possessed was something he had received due to his rtionship with Ishtar and Ereshkigal. It had nothing to do with any Goddess in the Divine Realm, but, just as Shiroyasha had been able to sense Rimurus Innate, Vahn suspected the Gods near the pinnacle would be able to sense it the moment he invoked their names or made use of Gifts rted to their myths. Returning the cards to his body, Vahn adopted a disarming smile as he stated, "Rx. You havent done anything wrong. Rather, I shouldmend you for being open-minded enough to consider letting me go. By the way, I never got your name...?" Though she was more than a little perturbed by the idea of giving her name to someone affiliated with the Goddess Inanna, the purple-haired woman didnt hesitate to cross her hands over herp, bowing as she said, "My name is Dorothea. Dorothea Abysswalker. Its a p-p-pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Mason." As it had been quite some time since someone referred to him as Mister, Vahn couldnt help issuing a light chuckle as he resisted the urge to close the distance and caress Dorotheas head. There was actually a rather sizeable ahoge atop her head, and, though it didnt draw nearly as much attention as the glistening golden ornament fastened to her bangs, it filled people with the urge to reach out and grasp it. Feeling a strange shift in the atmosphere exuding from Vahns body, Dorotheas instincts told her to get as far away from his as possible. To this end, she manifested an object simr to a Rubix Cube in her left hand, saying, "I-I-If you dont mind, can you please deactivate your Gift? Im going to collect these people and escort them back to my Community. Im the Rank 5 member of Twice Twilight, the Community in charge of this particr Gate. We do our best to maintain peace and order within the Gate so your cooperation would be greatly appreciated..." Since he had no reason to interfere with Dorotheas duties, Vahn just nodded his head, saying, "No problem. Im currently staying at that Cafe over there. The one called La Papillon. Ill go ahead and extend my stay to a few days so feel free to stop by if you have any questions. I might not be willing to follow you back to your Community but I have no problems cooperating with authorities. Unless, of course, they have a problem with me..." With that said, Vahn waved his hand in a casual gesture of farewell before promptly turning around and cing his hands into his pockets. This left Dorothea standing stationary for several seconds, a concerned glimmer in her bluish-purple eyes as she seriously considered not even mentioning him in her report... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: Just imagine Vahn walking around with a duel disc and only making use of the Gifts he draws...,Inanna be like, "OwO...?",Dorothea has good instincts...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 2050: Direction

Chapter 2050: Direction

After returning to the Cafe, Vahn decided against heading up to his room and instead purchased a coffee before retreating to the veranda to think. Now that he was in the Divine Realm, he needed to decide on his next course of action. Dorotheas reaction had reminded him that the Little Garden was, quite literally, filled to capacity with the Gods and Goddesses of various metaversal structures. There were also Heroes and Viins tied to various myths present, and, even without confirming it, Vahn could already guess that Communities such as Avalon must exist somewhere in the North or West Side. Though it wasnt a perfect representation of the societal structure of the Little Garden, the East Side was essentiallyprised of Pantheons, Heroes, and Demons rted to Eastern Cosmologies. This was reflected in the way people carried themselves, dressed, and the way buildings were designed. Sure, there were countless exceptions, the Cafe he was currently in being one of them, but the vast majority of the East Side was popted with buildings evocative of Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, and other eastern cultures... Seeing a petite fox girl with six tails walking hand-in-hand with a vulpine woman who was clearly her mother, Vahn couldnt help but smile as he mused, "Well, its not like Im unfamiliar with eastern culture. The only question at this point is whether or not I should start a revolution or use my Gifts to curry favor and influence with the people presently in power..." While it was certainly possible to conquer the entire Divine Realm if given enough time, doing so risked cing a tremendous burden on those who served under or alongside him. He might also offend the Gods in charge of the Little Garden, and, while he was confident in his ability to be able to defeat them, that was a matter for the far future. With Source Energy at his beck and call, Vahn could theoretically go wherever he pleased. The issue was that this wasnt the first Little Garden. Rather, whenever things got too out of hand, the Gods in charge had a habit of simply resetting things by creating another Little Garden elsewhere. This was a countermeasure against conceptual beings and creatures with reality-altering power that allowed them to essentially ignore the rules. In other words, unless he could somehow catch the omnipotent beings who governed all realities by surprise, the only practical means to reach the center of the Little Garden was to follow the rules. Fortunately, so long as they followed the rules, the entities in charge of the Divine Realm didnt actually mind if someone possessing the intention to destroy everything managed to work their way up the ranks. This was considered a natural thing, and, even if the current order was destroyed, it was only a matter of time until a new one was created. Nobody knew whether or not anyone had actually seeded in destroying everything. Ever since the abandonment of the previous Little Garden, however, those with the potential of doing so had struggled with growing beyond a 3-Digit Community. The lowest gated one at present, meaning it was the strongest, was the 666 Beast Community. They ruled over the 666th Gate, and, every time they made even a small amount of headway, other Communities would quickly step in to suppress them. Thus, while it wasnt impossible for an organization to eventually reach the point where they possessed the Authority to destroy everything, the implication was that they would need to defeat every other Community first. Though he didnt consider himself a paragon of truth and justice, Vahn would rather avoid being lumped together with Demon Kings, Lords, and Gods if he could avoid it. He also didnt really feel like waging war against the entire Little Garden just to secure his position in the 1-Digit Gates, so, while it was certainly possible, he was currently leaning towards the paths of forging, medicine, and trade. While this might sound like a very roundabout manner of doing things, it was actually the fastest method when considering the requirements for advancing to lower-digit Communities. This was best exemplified by the requirements to advance to a 5-Digit Community. This required having at least three other 6-Digit Communities serving under you, a total of ten or more yers, the right to hang your g on the Outer Gate, and, most importantly, the ability to host a Gift Game with at least 100 other Communities swearing an oath beneath your g. Simply put, without the support of countless other Communities, it was impossible to increase your rank. This was why even Shiroyasha, the previous Rank 10 and the literal Floor Master governing the entire East Side, had only been able to create a 4-Digit Community. She simply didnt have enough support since she had virtually zero interest in politics and often punished anyone even attempting to curry favor with her. Thinking of the petite Demon Goddess, Vahns thoughts shifted to Rimuru as he briefly toyed with the idea of releasing his Temtes and creating hundreds of Communities. If he wasnt absolutely sure the people in charge would freak out if he began summoning dozens, if not hundreds, of Tier 5 beings to the Divine Realm, this would, inarguably, be the fastest method to improve his rank. "Hmmm...maybe I should just find out where Yggdrasil and Avalon are located? Ive always been rather fond of Fae, Spirits, and Elves and I cant even imagine a World Tree turning me away..." Though this was certainly a viable method, Vahn knew it would actually stall him in the long run if he became affiliated with any purely good or evil organization. They could be remarkably hostile and intolerant towards one another, so, if he affiliated himself with either side in the beginning, the other would doubtlessly distrust him. This would make maintaining his Chaotic Neutral alignment exceptionally difficult. Thus, after seven cups of coffee, enough to make the barista slightly nervous, Vahn stood up, popped his back, and remarked, "Well, I have been referring to myself as the God of Infinite Possibilities for quite some time. It will be interesting to see how the other Communities and organizations react when I begin awakening and handing out all kinds of Gifts..." Since Gifts were the most highly sought-aftermodity in the entire Divine Realm, Vahn was in a rather unique position due to his ability to produce a functionally infinite amount. He could supply both sides of the karmic spectrum with Gifts, and, in exchange, guarantee their support. Sure, they would doubtlessly be at each others throats the moment they obtained additional power, but how was that any different from the present? Rather, the very purpose of the Little Garden was to pit the residents against each other to determine who was the most powerful... "I wonder what the Loki of this world is like...?" ... .. . Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click ./book/endless-path-infinite-cosmos_11766562205519505/direction_53140106797706771 for visiting. Having made up his mind, Vahn made his way up the stairs before giving the girls room a gentle knock. He already knew they were both awake, but the less they knew about his sensory abilities, the better. Sarina was giving him some serious Lili and Asuna vibes, so, the moment she knew he could sense everything she was doing, her boldness would progressively grow... After checking the peephole to confirm it wasnt anyone strange knocking on their door, Sarina quickly unfastened the bolt lock maintaining the defensive wards on the door. Then, with a happy smile on her face, she flung to door open and chimed, "Wee back, Vahn~!" in a cheerful tune. Adopting his characteristic smile, Vahn casually ruffled Sarinas hair before making his way into the room and smiling even more radiantly when he noticed Nono staring at him. This caused the young auburn-haired girl to immediately avert her eyes, a subtle blush coloring her cheeks as she used the covers to conceal her body. It wasnt that she was naked or anything along those lines. She just felt self-conscious being alone in a room with a man she had just recently met. Understanding why she would be cautious, Vahn stayed rtively close to the door as he pulled out a wooden chair and sat with his arms crossed over the back. He wasnt going to invade her personal space if she was ufortable with it, so, with the door still open behind him, he revealed, "I met a group from your Community. If Im not mistaken, the fellow with silvery-white hair and golden eyes was your Leader, correct...?" Blinking in surprise, Nono looked back at Vahn before nervously nodding her head and answering, "Yes...his name is Justinian..." Confirming the mans name with the help of Loi-chan, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation before exining, "Well, lets just say he wont be bothering you any time soon. Dont worry. I made sure not to kill any of them. I just taught them a lesson in civility before entrusting them to a member of Twice Twilight, the Community that governs this Gate. That name ring a bell...?" Nodding her head, Nono visibly rxed when she heard Vahn mention he hadnt killed anyone. She no longer trusted them after everything they had done to her, but that didnt mean she wished they were dead. Even her Gift was focused on defense and sealing so even the notion of someone being harmed on her behalf filled her with guilt. "Thank you for showing mercy...you are a very kind person..." Smiling wryly in response to the bashful attestation, Vahn resisted the urge to scratch the back of his head and simply epted thepliment. She would undoubtedly think differently if she knew what kind of punishment he had meted out against them. Fortunately, she wasnt wrong when she said he had shown mercy. If he really wanted to, even the protections of the Divine Realm wouldnt be able to prevent him from killing someone. Deciding to shift the topic towards far more important matters, Vahn surprised both girls by asking, "So, what do you think about bing a member of my Community? It doesnt actually exist yet, but Im thinking about creating a neutral organization that specializes in helping people. I only just arrived in the Divine Realm a few hours ago, but Im pretty confident in my ability to unify people and bring about change. I also have these, just in case you were worried that I might be targeting you for your Gift." Waving his hand, Vahn created a stack of Gift Cards that were roughly 8x5x3m in length, width, and height. This was actually just a portion of the Gift Cards he had stacked in his Soul Realm, but, from the perspective of others, it was a truly horrifying amount. "Are...are all of those...?" Nodding his head, Vahn used his Telekinesis to pick up one of the Gift Cards, exining, "Prior to my ascent to the Divine Realm, I was known as the Sage Dragon Emperor and The God of Infinite Possibilities. Im also a Heaven-Grade cksmith and Artisan, so, while the current number of Gifts I possess is finite, it isnt an exaggeration to say I can create countless more. Your Gift is certainly very powerful, but it isnt the only one of its kind..." Flipping the card over, Vahn allowed Nono to see its surface as an intermediate Spirit formed from sand manifested behind him. This caused the girls eyes to widen, as, despite there being a number of differences, the guardian behind was functionally identical to her own. Unfortunately, she needed actual a tremendous amount of sand to manifest hers. In that regard, his was far superior... Dissipating both the Gift Cards and the pseudo-spirit standing behind him, Vahn exined, "Im not going to force you. Rather, as the God of Infinite Possibilities, I am a fervent believer in the ideology that people must be willing to walk their own path in life. I can support you and help you grow, but, in the end, the only person that can ensure your happiness is yourself. All I can do is give you a little push in the right direction..." Lowering her head, Nono seemed to seriously consider Vahns invitation. In many ways, it was the only sensible choice to make. She couldnt exactly return to her Community, and, even if she did try to venture out on her own, people coveting her Gift were bound to target her. She understood this better than most after what she had suffered through, so, in response to Vahns words, she raised her head and meekly replied, "I..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: I wonder if the King Arthur of this world is also a chick...?,Loki would be proud...,Yes,e to the dark side. We have cookies and head pats...) https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 2051: Remembrance

Chapter 2051: Remembrance

"I don''t want to fight...I-" Waving his hand dismissively, Vahn adopted a friendly smile as he said, "No worries. If I needed to force children to fight for me, I wouldn''t be much of a God. All I really expect from you and Sarina, at least for the time being, is that you grow up happily and healthily. Let adults worry about adult problems." Though she was still a little apprehensive, Nono only hesitated for a brief moment before nodding her head and answering, "Okay..." in a meek tone of voice. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn rose from his chair and gave Sarina''s head onest pat as he said, "I''ll leave the two of you to rest. We''ll go and register our Community in the morning. Until then, the two you should get to know each other better. You''ll be sisters from today onward. Try to get along..." Blinking in surprise, Sarina appeared as if she wanted to say something but couldn''t quite find the words. In the end, she just returned a smile and intoned an affirmative, "Nn~!" before scampering over to Nono''s bedside and saying, "I''m looking forward to working with you, Onee-chan~!" Pulling the nkets up to cover the lower half of her face, Nono simply nodded in response to Sarina''s enthusiasm. Her experiences over thest seven months had left her less than enthused about living in the Divine Realm, so, while she was feeling hopeful for the first time in a while, she was significantly less optimistic than Sarina... ... .. . After closing the door behind him, Vahn ced his own protective charm on its surface before heading to his own room. This Cafe didn''t have anything like a bath, and, despite being the Realm inhabited by the most powerful beings in existence, civilization within the Little Garden appeared to be stuck around the middle ages. There was an underground sewer system, but most toilets just fed straight into it without a moreprehensive water system. In fact, freshwater was actually rare, so much so that a number of Communities literally specialized in its production and sale... While this might sound a little counterintuitive for a society that could literally pull the geniuses of various worlds to their side, the simple truth of the matter was that the Little Garden prohibited the advancement of civilization unless it was ''inherently constructive''. The people in charge, specifically those among the Buddhist Communities, believed that suffering was the natural state of all beings. It was the trials they faced to ovee their suffering that led people to Nirvana, and, more than anything else, they repudiated progress for progress''s sake. Thus, unless something contributed to the universal good of all things, they believed it was better for people to have to fetch water and hunt their food rather than having it brought to them. At the present moment, the Buddhist Faction was among the most powerful in the Divine Realm. It was so influential, in fact, that even Shiroyasha had converted to Buddhism approximately 200 years ago. Thus, while several opportunists had attempted to elevate their status by improving the quality of life ofmon citizens, they simplycked the resources, manpower, and, most importantly, the authority to do so. After all, even if they knew how to construct factories, production facilities, and machines, it wasn''t like they could just wander outside the Little Garden''s gates, pick a spot of their choosing, and begin strip-mining it for resources. With the exception of Community grounds and self-created territories, modifying the natural world was prohibited by the Laws of the Little Garden. As a result, most food, natural resources, and even water originated from Gifts. This wasn''t an exaggeration, and, more often than not, the first priority of any burgeoning Community was obtaining a Water Tree Sapling and forming a contract with an Earth Spirit so you could begin cultivating thend for farming. Though he could basically skip all the foundational steps of building amunity and just focus on increasing his influence, Vahn knew he wouldn''t be able to just ignore people, or, more specifically, children in need. He also knew that Sarina and Nono wouldn''t be able to keep up with his progress, so, before they made the mistake of trying, he was intending to instill in them a sense of duty and obligation before entrusting them to watch over other children. Understanding his nature better than most, Vahn knew it was only a matter of time before he found a woman or ten that garnered his interest. He didn''t really have time to babysit children and he had never enjoyed the feeling of ''grooming'' young girls into potential lovers. He could still vividly recall the difort he felt regarding Tina, Asuna, and, to a lesser extent, Mordred, Mash, and a handful of others. He wasn''t going to tell Sarina that she wasn''t allowed to love him, but, unless something pretty drastic happened, he had no intention of making things ''easy'' for her. With such thoughts on his mind, Vahn reced the bed in his room before sprawling out with his arms and legs spread wide. It had been years since he simply rxed in a bed on his own, so, for a very brief moment, he actually felt a little lonely. This caused the Law of Identity to manifest out of thin air, and, though she didn''t make an appearance, Sis made her presence known by giggling in the back of his mind and instigating a conversation as the adorable redhead curled up next to him... ... .. . Perhaps as a result of the Community in charge being called Twice Twilight, nighttime never came to Gate #2105393. Thus, after idling about for the better part of ten hours, Vahn went to wake up the two girls before heading downstairs for some breakfast. Producing an A-Rank Gift Card, Vahn managed to convince the owner of the establishment to let him borrow the kitchen. He also provided all the ingredients so they had no problem letting him use their stove and oven in exchange for a few tips rted to their own recipes. In the end, most of the items Vahn prepared were modifications to the existing menu. This included a few types of danishes and an apple pie made from his personal stockpile of Avalon Apples. Today was an important day for Sarina and Nono, so, even if it was a little excessive, he wanted to make it as memorable as possible. The stronger their feelings were at the formation of the Community, the more they would want to protect itter in life. Thus, for the sake of themselves and the children they would be protecting, he intended to make sure today was one of the happiest of their lives. Emerging from the kitchen, Vahn surprised both Sarina and Nono by appearing in a stylish barista outfit,plete with a bowtie and apron. This earned the attention of several other patrons, but, paying them no mind, he approached the two girls with a silver tray filled with pastries, smiling as he said, "Breakfast is served~." in a soothing baritone. As could be expected, Sarina blushed crimson, stammering, "T-T-Thank you...!" in an overly excited tone. Nono, however, just returned a delicate smile, a nearly indiscernible pink hue to her cheeks as she softly replied, "Thank you..." in her characteristically meek tone. Chuckling lightly, Vahn arranged all the items on the table before snapping with his left hand. This caused a golden pulse to spread through the interior of the Cafe, a pleasant aroma lingering in the air as afortable warmth settled into each of the patrons. At the same time, he produced a chair for himself out of thin air before taking a seat and casually exining, "Once the two of you have finished eating, we''ll go and register our Community at the Gate. Still, that''s no reason to rush. Take your time and enjoy the meal. I''m pretty proud of my cooking ability." "You made all of this...?" asked Sarina in an ostensibly surprised tone. Surprised by such a question, Vahn couldn''t help raising his brows slightly as he answered, "Today is an important day and I intend to make it memorable. Please, give it a try and let me know what you think." Nodding her head, Nono picked up a tiny cookie in the shape of a lotus flower before tentatively biting the edge. It wasn''t especially vorful, but it had a uniquely bnced taste reminiscent of vani and honey. This caused Nono to tear up slightly, as, despite the shape appearing markedly different from what she remembered, the taste was something she was intimately familiar with... "Mommy..." Smiling sadly in response to Nono''s soft utterance, Vahn resisted the urge to reach out and caress the girl''s head. The cookies were actually a special recipe developed by Rindo, and, as a result, the recipe had manifested as a D-Rank Gift known as [vor of the Heart]. This caused the cookies to, quite literally, taste like nostalgia. With the intent of cheering her up a bit, Vahn adopted an even gentler tone than usual as he said, "Don''t worry. I might not be able to do anything about it in the near future, but I can promise that you will be reunited with your parents. The Divine Realm is unique in the fact that it exists above the principle axis of all other realities. This is what allowed your former Community to learn about your future achievements before summoning your younger self. In that same vein, both of your parents are still alive and well at some point in space and time. We just have to bring them here." As if a switch had been flipped in her heart and mind, all of Nono''s shyness appeared to disappear in an instant, her expression visibly brightening as she excitedly asked, "Mommy and Daddy are still alive!? Can you really bring them here...!?" Not expecting Nono to practically pounce on him, Vahn''s smile became marginally more awkward as he gently guided her back to her seat and answered, "Of course. The hardest part is just finding out where your reality is located. After that, we just need to prepare a catalyst and everything else is rtively straightforward. Until then, you should focus on doing everything you can to live your life to the fullest. As a parent myself, I can assure you they would be a lot happier if they came to the Divine Realm and discovered you were living happily." Offering the first genuine smile he had seen on her face since her rescue, Nono practically beamed as she answered, "I understand..." in a bashful yet happy tone. Herplexion had improved quite a bit, and, though there was a fair amount of red coloring her cheeks, Vahn pretended not to notice as he continued to caress the girl''s head with a gentle smile of his own. "You already have children...?" Hearing Sarina''s question, Vahn retracted his hand from Nono''s head before answering, "Of course. You would be hard-pressed to find a God that didn''t have a few dozen children. Heck, I even have a few who are older than me if you can believe it..." Recalling Xysteria, Sylva, and Krona, Vahn''s smile became noticeably more affectionate as he briefly considered bringing them out to y. He had spent some time with them after the merger between his Realm and the Little Garden, but,pared to the millions of years they had lived, a few months seemed negligible. Noticing the change in Vahn''s expression, Sarina felt a twinge of pain and envy. She couldn''t even remember her parents as they had abandoned her when she was still a baby. Thus, even though she did her best to suppress it, she couldn''t help feeling jealous when Vahn mentioned his children and bringing back Nono''s parents. She was trying to look forward to the future, but, based on how Vahn was behaving, her prospects, at least in terms of love, were looking grim... Understanding Sarina''s thoughts, even without the Law of Identity, Vahn reached out to caress her head, his expression softening as he said, "You worry a lot for a ten-year-old..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Buddha be like, "Life is suffering..." while donning a pair of jadeite knuckle dusters...'',''Vahn could use a hundred different Gifts every day and never have to use the same one twice...'',''Nono is precious. Sarina is precocious. Both are adorable yet troublesome (UwU)...'') Chapter 2052: Getting Started

Chapter 2052: Getting Started

After coaxing Sarina with the use of his Petting Laws, Vahn waited for the two to finish eating before they all headed over to the nearest Outer Gate. Though it wasn''t strictly necessary, any Community aiming to improve their rank or im territory needed to have an official name and banner. They also needed to register at least one yer, the official designation given to those with the capacity to participate in Gift Games. Fortunately, there were no other requirements, so, after a brief interview at the nearest Outer Gate, Vahn, Sarina, and Nono were all given yer status. After that, they were given an ancient-looking grimoire to serve as an official record for each member of their Community. It also allowed those in charge to set Commandments, invible rules that other members of the Community would have to follow. For the time being, the only Commandment Vahn and the girls agreed upon was, ''Be good to each other.'' As for the name of their Community, the former decided to change things up a bit by calling it the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. He would eventually go on to found the Aldrnari Empire, but, for the time being, he wanted to pay homage to his roots. In Vahn''s mind, a Hearth was synonymous with peaceful coexistence, warmth, and family. He even had a few Gift Cards associated with Hestia, so, for the sake of acting as a mediator between both Demons and the Divine, Vahn wanted his first Community to be founded on the principles of peace and civil discourse. With that taken care of, Vahn decided to apany Sarina and Nono until the two girls invariably became tired. He ended up taking them shopping, and, thanks to his various Gifts, he didn''t have to worry about things likeck of funds. He could have simply produced clothes for them to wear, but, after traversing numerous Records and dozens of Actualized Worlds, Vahn hade to understand that girls, be they mortal or God, enjoyed shopping. Since Nono had grown up in a rural desert vige, her only experience with shopping was perusing a bazaar for imported goods. As for Sarina, she had grown up in a no-name Community, and, while her clothes were rather stylish for someone in her position, the truth of the matter was that the Nun in charge of their Community had splurged quite a bit in order to purchase the outfit as a gift for her tenth birthday. Needless to say, Sarina and Nono enjoyed their first shopping spree quite a bit. Sarina ended up treating it as a mock date of sorts, asking for Vahn''s opinion every time she tried on a new outfit. This gave Nono a simr idea, but, unlike her more rambunctious counterpart, most of the outfits she picked were rtively tame and modest dresses. Sarina had even attempted to convince Vahn to help her pick out a bra and panties, but, rather than humor her, he ultimately left the girls in the care of the female staff while they were picking out undergarments. Unsurprisingly, the two girls had exhausted themselves by the time lunch was rolling around. This prompted Vahn to purchase the services of a Coolie, the colloquial term used to describe a person who pulled a rickshaw. There was nothing like automobiles or airships in the 7-Digit Gates, so, while it wasn''t the fastest way to get around, traveling via rickshaw was a popr method to get around in the East Side. During their shopping spree, Vahn ended up purchasing himself a turquoise yukata topliment the stylish kimonos he had purchased for the two girls. They were going to be living in the East Side for quite some time so he figured they might as well embrace the culture. Besides, it was technically the traditional wear of the Aldrnari Empire, so, while he had resorted to wearing western clothes in the Tower, Vahn was mostfortable in the loose clothing associated with eastern cultures. Sarina and Nono also seemed to appreciate it quite a bit so there was no sense in oveplicating things by defaulting to more ''modern'' styles... ... .. . With the rickshaw ride taking quite a while, Vahn decided to make conversation to ease a bit of the awkwardness that had resulted from being sandwiched by two lolis. Sarina, in particr, was sitting a little too close forfort, and, while she did her best to maintain an impassive look on her face, Vahn noticed Nono''s aura re up whenever their legs or arms briefly touched. "I promised a member of Twice Twilight that we would spend a few days at La Papillion. After that, I intend to open up a shop near one of the Thousand Eyes branches. I wouldn''t exactly say I have any connections among their senior membership, but I imagine we will be working closely with them in the near future. As for our actual territory, well, unless you girls have anything in mind, I intend to create a sub-space beneath the shop until I can leverage some territory from another Community." As the Sub-Leader of Sage Dragon''s Hearth, Sarina feltpelled to contribute something, so, in response to Vahn''s words, she supplied, "Thousand Eyes has a bit of notoriety in the East Side due to their Leader being a former Demon God. Are you sure you want to work with them...?" Despite being the former Rank 10 and the current Floor Master of the East Side, very few people knew that Shiroyasha was the Leader of Thousand Eyes. She generally introduced herself as a senior executive, and, more often than not, holed herself up inside of her room unless someone important came by. Thus, unless they knew her personally, very few people knew the specifics of Shiroyasha''s involvement with anything. Adopting a confident smile, Vahn answered, "Our Community isn''t going to just pander to people who purport themselves as good and righteous. When you''ve lived as long as I have, youe to realize that good and evil are just words that people just arbitrarily assign at their leisure. Justice is the weapon of the strong, and, more often than not, the heads of most religious organizations are among the most corrupt individuals in any world. Thus, regardless of whether they be god, demon, human, or even animals, I intend to help everyone. Besides, if I can convince a Demon to enter into a contract that prevents them from harming people, that will help a lot more people than providing a weapon to some righteous fool who cuts down anything they identify as evil." Deciding to trust in Vahn''s words, Sarina just nodded her head, smiling as she attempted to convince herself that not all Demons were bad. After all, not all Gods were good, and, when it came to people, there were countless examples of individuals representing both good and evil. She could understand this much, so, while she had no desire to interact with Demons, she decided she would do her best not to judge them for what they were. Instead, just as she regarded her fellow humans, she would judge them based on their behavior. Noticing Sarina''s aura stabilize, Vahn decided to reward her with an affectionate smile and a head pat. This earned him a somewhat listless look from Nono, so, despite the looks it garnered from the surrounding passersby, he ended up caressing both girls'' heads for a short while before retracting his hands and asking, "Have the two of you thought about what you would like to contribute to the Community? I won''t give you a Gift associated with it, but I can teach you pretty much any skill. So long as you are willing to put in the effort, there is nothing you can''t be." Demonstrating just how little she had actually thought about it, Sarina unhesitantly answered, "I just wanted to get to know you better. I don''t really know how to be stronger or help people so I''ll just listen to the Leader''s orders. Even if it''s just a Secretary or a Maid, I''ll do my best not to let you down...!" Seemingly inspired by Sarina''s exmation, Nono responded with a meek nod, answering, "I was afraid of Justinian...you''re a lot nicer than he was. If you want me to...I wouldn''t mind bing a Maid...I don''t want to be useless..." In an effort to uproot the two gs before they could cement themselves in the girls'' minds, Vahn responded with a light chuckle before exining, "Rather than thinking about how to repay me, I''d rather the two of you think about how you can best help the children we''ll be taking in. To that end, I think I''ll teach the two of magic rted to healing, sealing, and barrier creation. Other than that, it would be best if you figure out for yourselves the paths you wish to tread." Though his words didn''t seem to have much of an impact on Sarina, Nono''s mind immediately wandered to the conversation that had taken ce at breakfast. She wanted to believe that it was only a matter of time before she could be reunited with her parents. To that end, she intended to follow Vahn''s advice by doing everything in her power to be happy. She didn''t really understand what that entailed, but, having always enjoyed helping people, she was looking forward to taking care of the other children that would invariably join their Community. As that thought crossed her mind, a delicate smile spread across Nono''s face. At the same time, Sarina, having organized her thoughts a bit, asked, "Can''t I just be your Apprentice? I might not be experienced, but I''m confident I can be more skilled if I follow your teachings. I''m also the Sub-Leader of the Community so it would make sense if I worked alongside you." Though it brought a wry smile to his face, Vahn briefly imagined training Sarina in a simr manner to Nanu. There was nothing particrly wrong with this, but, due to the teachings of Tsubaki, this would invariably involve her forging alongside him in little to no clothing. That would be a disaster and a half, so, after quicklying up with an alternative, he nodded his head and answered, "Sure. Since youck the physical strength and stature necessary for forging, I''ll teach you Alchemy. At the higher levels, it''s one of the most powerful and profitable skills you could learn. If you stick with it, you could even produce potions that cure all diseases and make people immortal. How about it...?" Having heard about Alchemy in the past, mes of excitement burned in Sarina''s amethyst eyes as she balled her hands into fists and eximed, "Yes! Please teach me alchemy, Vahn-sama...!" Chuckling lightly in response to Sarina''s enthusiasm, Vahn extended his hand to caress her head even as his eyes shifted further up the road. The familiar figure of Dorothea had appeared near their destination, but, unlike before, she was now wearing rtively risque armor while supporting a massive sword on her shoulder. If their auras weren''t perfectly identical, Vahn would have thought this was Dorothea''s twin sister, as,pared to the modest outfit she had worn previously, her current attire was bold enough that she could intermingle amongst Amazons without standing out... Seemingly sensing his gaze, Dorothea looked over before smiling as she raised her left hand in a gesture of greeting. At the same time, the people apanying her looked over, confusion visible on their faces for a brief moment until they noticed the approaching rickshaw. After that, pure and unadulterated rage colored their expressions, as, instead of belonging to Twice Twilight, everyone surrounding Dorothea was a member of Nono''s previous Community, Silver Adonis... ... .. . From within a room resembling a traditional Japanese living space, a petite girl with bluish-white hair, golden eyes, and tiny horns immediately perked up the moment she saw Vahn staring down the members of Silver Adonis. Her excitement caused her to begin shoveling rice crackers into her mouth, an impish smile on her face as she mused, "This should be interesting~." before wiping her hand on her dress. This earned her a helpless sigh from the slender Japanese woman sweeping the floor, but, paying the blue-haired beauty no mind, Shiroyasha continued shoveling snacks into her mouth as she focused all her attention on the [Omnipresent Television] in front of her... ... .. Chapter 2053: Posturing

Chapter 2053: Posturing

"Nono! Get away from that bastard...!" Apparently having failed to learn his lesson, Justinian, Leader of the Silver Adonis, shouted with such rage and indignation in his voice that it nearly cracked. Nono, hearing his outburst, immediately turned towards Vahn, face buried into his sleeve as she clung to his yukata with her right hand. This caused the silver-haired man to be even more incensed, but, before he could shout a second time, Dorothea adopted a harsh tone and said, "I didn''t bring you here to insult people and throw a tantrum. Be quiet." Though he looked like he had swallowed a bug, Justinian fell silent when he saw Dorothea shift the oversized sword on her shoulder. While this interaction was going on, Vahn maintained an unperturbed expression on his face as he listened to Loi-chain reveal the reason behind the man''s anger. He had apparently been more than a little fond of Nono''s adult self. This factored into why he had elected to summon her from among the functionally infinite number of Heroes present within the Lower Realms. He intended to turn her into his future bride, so, seeing her next to another man, it was no wonder he was upset. Snorting through his nose, Vahn''s expression became discernible cold as he handed the rickshaw coolie a rather handsome tip. Then, with Nono effectively hiding behind him, he passed his icy gaze over the predominately hostile group before setting his sights on Dorothea and asking, "What''s this about? Is Twice Twilight in the business of backing ruffians and scoundrels? I would be more than a little disappointed if that was the case..." Furrowing her brows ever so slightly, Dorothea shook her head and exined, "No. It''s nothing like that. We do our best to be fair and impartial. This is ultimately just an extension of our investigation into yesterday''s matter." Nodding his head, Vahn gestured for Dorothea to continue as he shifted his gaze to Justinian. This caused the purple-haired beauty to release a tired sight, but, despite her frustrations, she went on to add, "ording to the members of Silver Adonis, their reason for attacking you was because you had kidnapped a member of their Community. I believe the youngdy behind you is the person in question...?" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn''s expression morphed into a deadpan as he asked, "Does it look like I have kidnapped her? Even a fool would be able to see that I''m protecting her..." Though she didn''t appreciate the fact that Vahn was basically insinuating she was a fool, Dorothea maintained an ostensibly unperturbed expression as she replied, "Yes, that much is clear. However, as there are clearly some personal grievances between both sides, it would serve the public order if you either set aside your differences or settled things with a Gift Game. I have been sent here to act as an impartial Host. If both sides agree, we will settle this using the means ordained by the Gods." "Oh? And what are the terms you came up with? If it wasn''t obvious at this point, Nono is now a member of my Community. Specifically, she is our Adjutant. Even if Silver Adonis offered the lives of every single one of their members as coteral, theirbined value wouldn''t even reach a fraction of Nono''s. In other words, they have absolutely nothing to offer if I win. Why should I participate in a Gift Game with them?" "You son of a bi-" Before Justinian could finish his ill-conceived words, Vahn made a pointing gesture towards the ground, saying, "Lower your head and keep quiet." in amanding tone. This caused the silver-haired man to facent into the ground, his eyes turning bloodshot as he found himself unable to raise his head so much as a single centimeter. Stepping in between Vahn and Justinian, Dorothea''s expression showed her unwillingness as she said, "This isn''t how we do things in the Little Garden. You can''t just resort to violence to solve all of your problems. Please reconsider before this matter grows even further out of proportion..." Upon closer inspection, Vahn noticed that the massive sword on Dorothea''s shoulder was actually another syringe. Unlike the needleless one she was carrying yesterday, however, it had a 20cm long golden needle dripping a fiery red liquid that had crystallized into the structure of her sword. As she stepped out in front of him, the liquid within the syringe began to glisten with an intense light, and, though she was clearly holding back, the surrounding temperature began to skyrocket. With a smile that didn''t quite reach his eyes, Vahn inly stated, "It''s a little counterintuitive to say you condemn violence when you clearly have no problems resorting to it yourself. Is this really the hill you wish to fight upon? Defending a group of individuals that target and attack children from a samaritan that stepped in to prevent a tragedy? You didn''t show up when Nono was being chased through the streets with bloodied feet. Instead, you appear to protect the people who spent thest seven months tormenting her. You''ve quite the twisted sense of justice, don''t ya...?" Clenching her teeth, Dorothea wanted to say something in her defense, but, from an objective point of view, everything Vahn said hit the nail on the head. She was literally preparing to confront him in order to protect a group of individuals that were, very clearly, in the wrong. There were also nows prohibiting people from leaving one Community and joining another, so, after a moment of tense silence, she ultimately chose to retract her de, her outfit changing to resemble the one she wore the previous day as she lowered her head and said, "I don''t wish to fight you. I just want to preserve the peace. The members of Silver Adonis might be absolute scum, but they are still residents of the Little Garden. Please try and settle things in ordance with ourws..." Not expecting Dorothea to suddenly bow her head, a pleading undertone to her voice, Vahn felt as though all the wind had been taken out of his sails. Sincerity had been one of his most prominent weaknesses even as far back as his time in Danmachi. Thus, understanding that Dorothea was just doing what she believed was best, he just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Fine. State your terms. So long as the conditions aren''t too ridiculous, I don''t mind teaching these buffoons a more official lesson..." Punctuating his words, Vahn snapped his fingers, removing the invisible force pressing Justinian''s head to the ground. This cause the man to leap to his feet, but, rather than attacking, he just red venomously as Dorothea went on to exin, "Very well. Both sides will issue their own terms while I, acting as an impartial Host, will determine which Game shall be yed. Don''t worry. I will make sure it is as fair and bnced as possible." Without any hesitation whatsoever, Justinian pointed towards Nono, his expression absolutely livid as he stated, "I want you to return Nono. My Community invested thirteen years'' worth of resources into summoning her. You have no right to poach her out from under us...!" Snorting a second time, Vahn crossed his arms as he asked, "And you''re telling me you had a right to kidnap a 9-year-old girl from her homeworld? Ridiculous. If you want her that badly, feel free to wager your banner and territory. I already mentioned it previously, but thebined value of your entire Community can''t measure up to a single strand of her hair on her head. I also have no use for your Gifts, so, unless you''re willing to wager your territory, get out of my face." "You...!" Holding up her hand, Dorothea effectively silenced Justinian before turning to Vahn and saying, "I don''t mean to take sides, but the Central Network will never recognize the value of a single person as equivalent to a Community''s banner and territory. While it is praiseworthy to ce such value in yourpatriots, others would be able to make simr ims by stating that something as simple as a stone carriesparable value...Unless you have something to offer that is of equal value to what you are requesting, please reconsider your terms..." Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn manifested what appeared to be a thick stack of tarot cards. This caused everyone in the surroundings, not just Dorothea and the members of Silver Adonis, to immediately tense up. "I will wager an additional 100 C-Rank Gift Cards against your Community''s g and Territory. Also, now that you have triggered my ire, know that I will immediately dere war on you the moment you refuse. You forced me to participate in this little charade. You will see it through to the end or face consequences you can''t even begin to imagine." Though his golden pupils reflected a greedy light the moment he saw the stack of Gift Cards, any desire Justinian had to challenge Vahn had dissipated greatly. Even Floor Masters only possessed a few hundred Gifts yet the person in front of him was able to casually proffer forth an entire deck full of them. This implied that Vahn had an iprehensible backing, and, were it not for the threat he had tacked on to the end of his statement, Justinian might have voluntarily lowered his head to the ground. Demonstrating just as much shock as everyone else, Dorothea swallowed hard before asking, "Can I inspect them? Even if they are C-Rank Gifts, it would be a problem if they were all the same thing..." Since it was possible to seal the branches of Water Trees into Gift Cards, effectively converting them into portable water sources, Dorothea needed to check in order to make sure Vahn wasn''t trying to pull the wool over their eyes. The casualness in which he handed them over made it pretty clear this wasn''t the case, but, as she had already promised to be an impartial Host, Dorothea went through each of the Gift Cards in turn, her eyes widening as she found a few B and A-Rank Cards mixed in. "Umm...Vahn...sama? Some of these cards are B and A-Rank..." Waving his hand in a gesture of dismissal, Vahn stated, "It doesn''t really matter. They decided to prick at this Dragon''s Reverse Scale. Now they will pay the price." Punctuating his words, Vahn allowed horns to grow from his head like a crown as golden wings and a thick tail protruded from his upper and lower back. This caused the more opportunistic individuals who were watching from the sidelines to immediately mind their own business. As for the members of Silver Adonis, Justinian''s expression paled as more than half of the group he brought along with him attempted to retract their affiliation with his Community. Since they had alreadye this far, Vahn''s pupils retracted to form thin slits as he said, "It''s far toote for that. You had your chance when I entrusted you to the Twice Twilight Community. Now, youe requesting a member of my family as a prize. Did you really think I would let you walk away a second time...?" Though he was doing his best to restrain his aura, even Vahn was surprised by how oppressive it was bing. This was the first time he had transformed into a dragon since his awakening, and, based on what he was currently seeing, it was a hell of a lot stronger than usual. Fortunately, just as it seemed like the surroundings buildings might copse, a somewhat childish voice echoed through the streets, saying, "This is getting a little out of hand. How about we all just calm down and take a niiiiiiice long breath~?" Immediately following the words, a girl appearing even younger than Sarina and Nono manifested out of thin air with a mischievous yet serious expression on her face. This caused the few remaining people nearby to immediately disperse, as, despite being a recluse, there were very few people who didn''t know what the Eastern Floor Master looked like. She was, after all, the most infamous lolita in the entire Divine Realm... ... .. . Chapter 2054: Compromise: Cooperation?

Chapter 2054: Compromise: Cooperation?

Retracting his horns, wings, and tail, more for the benefit of Sarina and Nono than anything else, Vahn''s expression rxed as he mused, "I was wondering when you were going to show up. Have you been enjoying the show...?" Seemingly amused by Vahn''s words, Shiroyasha snickered mischievously before remarking, "It seems the Little Garden has another Problem Child in its midst. You know, for someone with the power to resolve this matter simply, you sure do have a way of escting things." Shaking his head, Vahn adopted a helpless expression as he said, "I''m doing my best to hold back, but people like this just grate on me like no other. Not only did they target one of my people, but I''m basically a Guardian God of Children. How could I overlook something like this...?" Having seen the oue of Vahn ''not'' holding back, Shiroyasha knew he was telling the truth. His power didn''t seem to be restricted in the same manner as the average resident of the Little Garden. If he really went all out, he could probably destroy tens of thousands of 7-Digit Communities before anyone could even think to stop him. Not really having an answer to Vahn''s question, Shiroyasha shifted her attention to the members of Silver Adonis before looking at Dorothea and stating, "Return to your Community. I''ll handle things from this moment onward. Also, try not to take this matter to heart. Twice Twilight''s handling of this situation wasn''t exactly wrong. You just got wrapped up in something a little above your paygrade." Since Floor Masters had the highest authority when it came to settling disputes and overseeing Gift Games, Dorothea didn''t attempt to argue. Rather, after witnessing Vahn sprout horns, wings, and a tail, there were few things she wanted more than to disentangle herself from the current situation. Bowing politely but not subserviently, Dorothea demonstrated considerable relief in her expression and posture as she said, "Thank you for interceding in this matter. I''m certain that Shiroyasha-sama will be able to uphold justice. Allow me to express my gratitude on behalf of my entire Community." Waving her hand in a shooing gesture, Shiroyasha responded, "Yeah, yeah. Just get going." before returning her golden-eyed gaze to the members of Silver Adonis and asking, "Tell me, do you still wish to participate in this Gift Game?" Understanding this might be their only option for clemency, Justinian immediately dropped to his knees, expression paling as he lowered his head and said, "I have seen the error of my ways. Please forgive my transgressions. I swear on my pride as a descendent of Adonis. Nothing like this will ever happen again..." Rolling her eyes, Shiroyasha shifted her attention to Vahn, asking, "You hear that? Now that he has sworn on the name of his ancestor, he''ll be gged by the Central Network if he breaks his promise. You can also have him sign a Geass Contract. I wouldn''t mind seeing a show, but are you sure this is the best course of action? Have you asked the little ones for their opinion on the matter~?" Though he furrowed his brows ever so slightly, Vahn''s expression returned to normal by the time he looked back at Sarina and Nono. Both appeared more than a little nervous. Nono, however, seemed genuinely horrified by how things were developing. She didn''t have any positive feelings left for the members of Silver Adonis, but that didn''t mean she wished to see them suffer. Realizing he might have gone a little too far, a slightly apologetic smile spread across Vahn''s face as he ruffled the two girls'' hair and muttered, "Sorry...I should have asked for your opinions. I just get a little hotheaded when people try to antagonize and threaten those in my charge..." Returning a smile, Sarina did her best to appear supportive as she said, "It''s okay. Nono and I both understand that you just wanted to protect us...isn''t that right, Nono-chan...?" Though she didn''t say anything, Nono only hesitated for a brief moment before nodding her head, color returning to her cheeks as she reached out to grasp the hem of his tunic. This caused Vahn''s expression to rx, his smile returning until Shiroyasha chimed in to remark, "Lolicon~" in a teasing timbre that only he could hear. Deadpanning in response to the white-haired Demoness''s remark, Vahn resisted the urge to call her a Lolibaba as he dered, "So long as they don''t go around making trouble in the future, I have no reason to pursue this matter further. Consider yourselves lucky that Nono has such a big heart...the next time something like this happens, I will annihte you without a trace..." With Justinian appearing as though he was about to say something ingratiating, Vahn teleported the entire group away with a wave of his hand. He hated how viins would try to suck up to the strong only to turn around and try to stab them in the backter on. It was one of the cliches he hated most within fiction. Unfortunately, reality itself was derived from fiction, so, if you lived long enough, it was only a matter of time before you encountered every type of person imaginable. Understanding Vahn''s thoughts, even without reading his mind, Shiroyasha giggled before turning her attention to Dorothea and asking, "You''re still here? I''m warning you right now, little missy, but you don''t want to get involved with this man. The moment you drop your guard, you''ll find yourself in his bed. He might have a stupidly kind face, but he''s a real beast when the lights go out." Blushing in response to Shiroyasha''s words, Dorothea supplied another bow, saying, "I-I''ll be on my way then...!" before quickly scampering off. The libido of Dragons was infamous, not just within the Divine Realm, but all realities. She also knew of Vahn''s association with Inanna, so, having already dedicated her heart to the Leader of her Community, Dorothea didn''t hesitate to escape from the front of the Cafe at a full sprint. Cackling like a hyena, Shiroyasha hugged her stomach as she watched Dorothea disappear in the distance. When she turned around, however, her expression paled as she found Vahn towering over her with an unamused expression on his face. She wasn''t actually afraid of him, but, for the sake of theatrics, she recoiled away from him, hands covering her breasts and the front of her skirt as she nervously stammered, "W-What are you looking at...?" Though his expression momentarily became even more severe, Vahn ultimately just exhaled a sigh, a wry smile developing across his face as he said, "Thanks for making an appearance when you did. My power is a little unstable at the present. I''m also not sure I could reverse time at my current level so I appreciate your intervention. I''m not particrly fond of senseless destruction so...thanks..." Even without the aid of her Gifts, Shiroyasha could perceive that Vahn was being sincere by the look in his eyes. Despite this, her brow began to twitch slightly as she asked, "Are you enjoying yourself? You know, it''s rather rude to pet someone''s head without permission..." Blinking in surprise, Vahn retracted his hand from Shiroyasha''s head, his smile turning even wrier as he said, "Sorry. It''s basically an instinct at this point. You''re also the perfect height so...yeah...sorry..." Amused by Vahn''s uncharacteristically meek behavior, an amused smile spread across Shiroyasha''s face as she dissipated the strange energy that had flowed into her body. She wasn''t really upset, so, rather than harp over it, she just made a mental note to stay out of Vahn''s range as she said, "Well, I originally intended to give you the chance to spread your wings and do your own thing. Now that it is all but confirmed that your power can''t be regted by the Central Network, I have no choice but to intervene. How about making the Sage Dragon''s Hearth a branch of the Thousand Eyes? If you''re serious about maintaining neutrality, I can help you find clients. I imagine that would save us both a lot of trouble." Though it was an obvious choice from his point of view, Vahn still turned towards Sarina and Nono, asking, "What do the two of you think? Would you rather build up our Community from the ground up or work together with a muchrger organization to keep the peace?" Reacting to Vahn''s words, Sarina ceased ring at Shiroyasha long enough to answer, "As much as I hate to admit it, I don''t really have anything to contribute as a Sub-Leader right now. You''re such an amazing person, Vahn. If you believe it''s a good idea, I''ll trust in your judgment...I promise to do my best, no matter what you choose..." Though he got the distinct impression that Sarina was fishing for headpats, Vahn didn''t disappoint her. As for Nono, she had even less to say on the matter, saying, "I just don''t want to hurt people..." in a meek tone of voice. Recalling his desire to make this a memorable day for both girls, Vahn found himself suppressing a sigh as he noticed Nono''s muddled aura. She was still shaken after the encounter with her former Community, so, with the hope of restoring her confidence in him, he retracted his hand from Sarina before taking a knee and saying, "You''ll never have to hurt anyone. I promise..." in the most sincere tone he could manage. Then, before the petite redhead could fully process what was happening, he wrapped his arms around her body, gently embracing her as a father would his daughter. Feeling a tremendous amount of warmth andfort in Vahn''s embrace, the tensions in Nono''s body gradually rxed as she leaned into his embrace. She was still feeling a little doubtful, but, understanding he had gotten angry on her behalf, she didn''t me him for what had happened. She just wished he could have settled things without needing to resort to threats or violence...she didn''t like it when his kind smile turned into an angry expression... Noticing Nono''s aura beginning to stabilize, Vahn gradually released her from his embrace before offering an affectionate smile and pinching her nose. Then, before Sarina could begin pouting, he gestured for her toe closer before giving both girls one final hug... ... .. . After agreeing to Shiroyashas''s proposal, Vahn had to rent a total of eleven rickshaws to take them to Gate #2105380, the closest Thousand Eyes branch. As for why Shiroyasha didn''t simply teleport them, it was because her Authority as a Floor Master prevented it. Most of her powers only worked during Gift Games, so, even if they were members of her Community, she couldn''t show favoritism by using them outside her official capacity as a Floor Master. Instead, she promised to prepare an interesting gift for them before promptly disappearing in a sh of bluish-white light. Though he could have easily ascertained what the ''gift'' was before their arrival, Vahn dismissed the Law of Identity every time she attempted to spoil him. She was getting better at appearing when he wasn''t focused on her, but, rather than begrudge her for this, Vahn was actually looking forward to the day when she might be able to manifest on her own. It didn''t matter if he was the only one that could see her. He would be happy so long as she was... At the end of their journey, Vahn, Sarina, and Nono found themselves standing outside of what could best be described as a run-down fortune teller''s shop. There were purple banners on the outside dering it the property of Thousand Eyes, but, if you looked closely, it was possible to see paint king from the exterior walls and tiles. As for its structure, it almost resembled a Japanese Shrine,plete with a multi-tiered structure and a sloped-tile roof. Speaking the words on everyone''s minds, Sarina asked, "Is this really a shop owned by the Eastern Floor Master? I expected it to be a little more...extravagant...?" Chuckling in response to Sarina''s words, Vahn gently ruffled the girl''s hair as he said, "It''s quite a bit bigger on the inside." Though she was about to ask what he meant, Sarina''s expression morphed into a hostile deadpan as a woman with bluish-purple hair and distinct rabbit-like ears emerged from the interior of the shop, asking, "Are you Vahn Mason...?" in an audibly nervous tone. ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Justinian''s Luck parameter must be through the roof...'',''That instinct though xD...'',''The appearance of a wild bun''s buns...!?'') Chapter 2055: Setting the Stage or Getting Set Up?

Chapter 2055: Setting the Stage or Getting Set Up?

Seeing the girl that hade out to greet them, Vahn found himself at a momentary loss as he scanned the 158cm tall girl in front of him. She was attired in a ck cor with white frills, a double-vested vest that extended to her thighs, a red miniskirt, ck stockings supported by a garter belt, red shoes, and oversized wrist cuffs. At a nce, she resembled the type of bunny girl you might find in a high-end casino, but, unlike the aforementioned fakes, the rabbit ears atop her head were undoubtedly authentic... "Pardon me, but you are Vahn Mason-sama, correct? You match the description Shiroyasha-sama gave previously." Blinking back to his senses, a slightly apologetic smile appeared across Vahn''s face as he answered, "Sorry about that. Yes, I am, indeed, Vahn Mason. Vahn Aldrnari Mason, to be exact. And who might you be...?" Exhaling a sigh of relief, the rabbit-eared girl adopted a professional smile as she folded her hands over herp, bowing politely as she replied, "My name is ck Rabbit. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Vahn-sama. Shiroyasha-sama informed me that you would be helping out with some of my Community''s problems. For that, I am eternally grateful." Though he was listening to the woman''s words, Vahn was briefly distracted by the enchantments on her clothes. He was normally able to grasp the structure of a person''s body at a nce, so much so that he could basically recreate them within his mind with 100% fidelity. This wasn''t the case with the girl in front of him. Rather, simr to Circe, her clothes appeared to be enchanted in a way that drew the eye, yet, no matter which angle you viewed her from, you wouldn''t be able to perceive the contents of her skirt or peer through the side of her blouse... (*Such a powerful enchantment for such a mundane thing...*) "No kidding..." Hearing Vahn speak, ck Rabbit''s ears twitched slightly as she raised her head to ask, "Pardon?" in a slightly disconcerted tone. At the same time, a very light blush colored her cheeks as one of the enchantments sewn into her garments made her aware when people were trying to steal a peek up her skirt. She didn''t know how Vahn managed it while standing in front of her, but she knew he had, at the very least, tried... Offering a wry smile, Vahn scratched the back of his head as he resisted the urge to apologize a second time and instead answered, "Shiroyasha hasn''t told me anything about your Community. However, so long as it is within my power, I''ll do my best to lend you a hand. That''s kind of what our Community was made for. Helping people..." Returning a smile of her own, ck Rabbit chimed, "How wonderful~!" before shifting her ruby-eyed gaze to Sarina and Nono, asking, "And how might these charming youngdies be? Members of your Community? Their kimonos look very cute." Stepping up, Sarina resisted the urge totch onto Vahn''s arm as she said, "My name is Sarina. I''m the Sub-Leader of Sage Dragon''s Hearth. I will also do my best to provide assistance." Though she didn''t sound nearly as sincere as Vahn when she was speaking, Sarina did her best not to let her jealousy show as she eyed ck Rabbit''s rather shapely breasts with an envious gleam in her amethyst eyes. Noticing Sarina''s gaze, a dryugh emanated from ck Rabbit''s throat as she shifted her attention to Nono. In response, thetter took a half step behind Vahn, her sky-blue eyes glistening with tiny motes of light as she whispered, "My name is Nono...Nono Nalnananu...I''ve never seen anyone with rabbit ears before...you''re very beautiful..." "Oh my! Aren''t you just a darling~! It''s a pleasure to meet you, Nono andSarina~!" Though she responded with a joyful smile, Vahn didn''t miss the mncholy in ck Rabbit''s gaze the moment Nono mentioned her being the only rabbit-eared person she had seen. There were actually a considerable number of demi and beast humans in the East Side, enough that it could easily pass for the Yokai District of Avalon. This included catgirls, dog girls, wolf girls, mouse girls, and pretty much every other version of kemonomimi that could be imagined. Everything except rabbit girls... Shaking his head in response to the Law of Identity''s inquisitive look, Vahn adopted a smile of his own as he suggested, "We should head inside. It''s been a long day for the girls. I''m sure they would enjoy the opportunity to rest." "Oh! Goodness me! I shouldn''t have kept you waiting for so long! Please, follow me! The inside of the shop can get pretty confusing. Let ck Rabbit show you the way~!" Without waiting for the group''s response, ck Rabbit turned around with the intent to lead the way inside. This brought her tiny tuft of a tail into view, and, though he did his best to keep his eyes forward, Vahn couldn''t help looking downward since it was waggling like an over-excited puppy. Sensing his gaze, ck Rabbit looked over her shoulder, an embarrassed smile on her face as she covered her tail with both hands and said, "Please don''t stare too much...I get embarrassed excited and embarrassed easily..." Returning a wry smile of his own, Vahn did his best to ignored the pointed look he was receiving from Sarina as he followed ck Rabbit into the unsurprisinglyplex interior of the Thousand Eyes shop. The interior was basically an entire Japanese estate,plete with a hot springs bath, a vast forest, and a view of snow-capped mountains in the distance. This caught Sarina and Nono by surprise, but, having an entire series of metaverses contained within him, Vahn merely admired the scenic beauty in silence as ck Rabbit gave them a tour of the facilities... ... .. . After several minutes of wandering around, ck Rabbit ultimately led Vahn, Sarina, and Nono to a room near the exact center of the massive estate. There, Shiroyasha could be seen lying on a futon in a rather slovenly manner. This was exacerbated by her frilly ck skirt, as, unlike ck Rabbit, she hadn''t ced any enchantments on her clothing. As a result, each of them could see the outline of her butt and lower body as she had nothing but pale, bluish-white stockings covering her legs and bottom. "Like what you see, big boy~?" Without tearing her eyes away from the rather old-fashioned television she was watching, an impish smile developed across Shiroyasha''s face. She was the chief Sun Deity in the Divine Realm, and, as a result, she possessed a nigh-unrivaled degree of omniscience. She was aware of virtually everything taking ce in the Little Garden, so, even if Vahn hadn''t actually peered at the contents of her skirt, she was well aware of the fact his senses had probed her. With Vahn adopting a deadpan expression on his face, ck Rabbit did her best to smooth things over by issuing an awkwardugh and saying, "Shiroyasha-sama. I''ve brought your guests. Should I have Nadeshiko-san prepare tea...?" After scratching her right calf using the toes of her left foot, Shiroyasha rolled to a seated position, a cheeky grin on her face as she answered, "That won''t be necessary. That man next to you has all kinds of snacks and goodies hidden away in his Inventory. I''m sure he wouldn''t mind contributing a few." Raising his brows, Vahn resisted the urge to cross his arms in defiance as he said, "We just spent thest half a day riding rickshaws to get here. Sarina and Nono are exhausted. I don''t mind providing tea and snacks, but this reception is quite a bit different from what we were expecting..." Shifting her attention to the two girls in question, Shiroyasha''s golden eyes flickered with a not-so-subtle light as she said, "Hmm...I see what you mean. Very well then. I''ll have my personal attendant, Nadeshiko, take them to the bath. We also have about forty guest rooms so there is plenty of space for them to rest while the three of us discuss matters of great importance." Immediately follow Shiroyasha''s statement, a petite woman with blue eyes and matching blue hair entered the room. Just as her name implied, she was like the personification of a perfect Japanese woman except, instead of ck hair and ck eyes, she had the aforementioned blue. As for her attire, it consisted of a modest blue kimono fastened together with a prim and proper yellow obi. Over that, she wore a traditional Japanese-style apron that extended from her corbones down to her calves. "Please, follow me. I will show you to the bath." Since neither Sarina nor Nono moved when the woman spoke, Vahn gave them both a slight nudge as he said, "Don''t worry. This ce is isted from the outside world. Even if a Demon Lord was to attack, they wouldn''t be able to shatter the barrier covering this estate. Go take a bath and enjoy a nice long rest. You''ve earned it." Though Sarina seemed reluctant to go, she quickly adopted a resolute expression on her face as she grabbed Nono''s hand and said, "Come on, Nono-chan. You can help me wash my back and I''ll help you wash your hair. Let''s try out the new shampoo Vahn bought for us." Without waiting for the auburn-haired girl''s consent, Sarina pulled her along gently yet forcibly. Her behavior was clearly forced, but, rather than say anything, Vahn, Shiroyasha, and even ck Rabbit just watched the two girls depart with smiles on their faces. It was only when Nadeshiko had closed the door behind them that Shiroyasha broke the silence, stating, "Though I''m reluctant to hand her over, I''ve decided to gift you ck Rabbit. Be grateful." Vocalizing the thought that had crossed Vahn''s mind, ck Rabbit loudly eximed, "Excuse me!? Whose handing who over!?" in a clearly flustered tone of voice. She was so flustered, in fact, that her hair immediately transitioned from a rich and creamy blue to a vibrant, glowing pink. Digging into her nose with the pinky finger of her left hand, Shiroyasha exined, "Vahn has the power to restore your people. He might not be able to bring them back to life, but he can create new Moon Rabbits using his Gifts. From what I''ve seen, he also has the power to freely change his race so he''s really the only option you have if you want to prevent your species from going extinct. Besides, you''re already 212-years-old. Isn''t it about time you start pumping out baby rabbits?" With cheeks that were redder than her hair was pink, ck Rabbit''s eyes began to spin as she covered her face and stammered, "T-T-That may be so! However! Don''t you think this is a little sudden!? M-My heart isn''t ready...!" In the midst of her exmation, ck Rabbit attempted to look towards Vahn only for an illusory puff of steam to emerge from her head. Her ears were also twitching madly, so much so that they were basically just flopping around as she averted both her face and body away from him. Adopting a grin that would have made Loki proud, Shiroyasha continued observing ck Rabbit for several seconds before looking towards Vahn and musing, "Don''t mind her. She might be flustered right now, but her instincts will activate the moment you push her down. I don''t think I need to tell you this, but rabbits are pretty much always in heat. Make-" Before Shiroyasha could continue, ck Rabbit pulled an inordinatelyrge paper fan out of thin air, smacking the mischievous loli''s head with enough force to rotate it nearly forty-five degrees as she eximed, "There is such a thing as taking a joke too far, Shiroyasha-sama!" Rubbing her head, Shiroyasha maintained a smiling yet serious expression as she said, "But you see, my dear ck Rabbit, I''m not actually joking. Vahn really does possess the abilities I mentioned. He is also an incurable busybody, so, once he learns about the situation guing your Community, he is bound to do everything in his power to help you. You''re bound to fall in love with him anyway, so you might as well get a head start before this nipoop spontaneously ends up with a harem of one hundred women. Really, I''m doing you a favor by trying to set you up early." Though Shiroyasha''s words hit the proverbial nail on the head, Vahn wasn''t fond of the way she was trying to make decisions on ck Rabbit''s behalf. He might possess a peculiar weakness for women with rabbit-like features but that didn''t mean he was just going to smile and ept her suggestion. Thus, before the situation could get further out of hand, he adopted a stern tone as he said, "That''s enough. As you have pointed out, I possess the ability to help restore her people''s poption even without using more ''direct'' means. Stop trying to force her." Simr to Loki, Shiroyasha showed absolutely no sign of perturbation in response to Vahn''s words. Instead, her smile became even more prominent as she spied ck Rabbit peering at Vahn through the gaps between her fingers with an appreciative expression on her face... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Such a malicious enchantment...'',''Shiroyasha is an imp...'',''(O w O)...?'') Chapter 2056: Information Exchange

Chapter 2056: Information Exchange

"Okay then, enough ying around. Why don''t the two of you take a seat? There are a few things I need to exin and I''m certain ck Rabbit has a lot to say as well." Surprised by Shiroyasha''s words, ck Rabbit eximed, "Wah? Was this all just a joke!? Shi-ro-ya-sha-sa-ma...!?" Pulling out a fan from nowhere, Shiroyasha used it to cover the lower half of her face as she said, "I already said it before, didn''t I? I wasn''t joking. We just have more important things to discuss. Now, sit down and be a good little ck Rabbit. And you. How long are you going to keep me waiting? I want snacks. Chop chop." Though he stared at the petite Demoness with a half-lidded expression, Vahn ultimately pulled out a few trays of snacks and a tea set before sitting down and asking, "So? What''s this all about? If you wanted me to help out your friend, why turn me loose in the first ce?" Instead of answering Vahn''s question, Shiroyasha sampled a few of the snacks he set out, a happy smile on her face as she nibbled away at cookies like a chipmunk. It wasn''t until ck Rabbit took a seat next to him that she stated, "It''splicated. The simple exnation is that, unlike you, I am a truly neutral party. My abilities allow me to know everything that is taking ce in the Little Garden, including the movements of my would-be enemies. Unfortunately, unless the person I am talking to can pay the appropriate price, I cannot reveal what I know. In other words, there are a lot of things I want to tell you. However, unless you purchase the information, I''m forced to continue acting as an observer. It''s quite stressful, you know~?" Despite theckadaisical nature of her words, Shiroyasha couldn''t prevent her aura from ring up as she mentioned how stressful her position was. This went unnoticed by ck Rabbit, but, thanks to his extrasensory perception, Vahn could tell she was genuinely frustrated. "That doesn''t really exin your behavior. Were you trying to test my character or something? If I''m not mistaken, you''ve been keeping tabs on me for quite some time. You should-" Interrupting before Vahn could finish, Shiroyasha stated, "I''m d you brought that up. I find it odd that you appeared in the Tower right around the time that the No Names lost their banner. Tell me, just what are you? How did you even know about the Divine Realm when all information pertaining to its existence is highly restricted? You shouldn''t even be able to perceive our existence, much less emte the beings that exist here." Pausing for a brief moment, Vahn quickly organized his thoughts before asking, "Is this an exchange of information? Simr to yourself, there are restrictions ced on the knowledge and information I can reveal to others. In fact, the protections around my soul are so powerful that even the strongest beings in existence would self-destruct if they attempted to pry into my mind." Squinting her eyes, Shiroyasha mused, "Oh? And what, pray tell, do you know about the strongest beings in existence? And yes, you can consider this an information exchange." Returning a smile of his own, Vahn waved his hand to produce magical holograms of the most powerful and influential beings in the Divine Realm. His research hadn''t been thatprehensive, but he knew enough not to embarrass himself. Noticing the mild shock in Shiroyasha''s golden gaze, Vahn''s smile became somewhat teasing as he went on to exin, "I''m afraid there isn''t any information you could offer that would qualify you to learn the true nature of my existence. The simplest exnation is that I am rted to the origin, or, more specifically, the identity of all things..." Though he had never beenfortable with transforming into females, Vahn punctuated his words by transforming into the adult version of Shiroyasha before quickly cycling through several people she was intimately familiar with. This caused ck Rabbit to do a double, triple, and quadruple take, but, as the focus of his demonstration, Shiroyasha''s expression became uncharacteristically serious as she asked, "Are you telling me your Origin is Identity itself...?" Shaking his head, Vahn returned to his original appearance before exining, "No. I wasn''t beating around the bush when I said I was ''rted'' to identity. However, it is merely a part of my existence. In truth, I''m still trying to learn about myself. All I know with any reasonable degree of certainty is this exact moment. I''m sure you''ve already reached this conclusion yourself, but my existence is a singrity within Space, Time, and Fate. I can interact with the Past and Future, but, when ites down to it, I am a being that only exists within the Present." Having spent quite a bit of time searching for other versions of Vahn, Shiroyasha didn''t doubt his words in the slightest. Even the timeline he existed in flowed at a simr rate to the Divine Realm, almost as if his existence had somehow linked the Tower to the Little Garden... Realizing she had stopped eating, Shiroyasha picked up a sunflower-shaped cookie, biting the edge as she pointed out, "If you are what you im to be, shouldn''t you already know what I summoned you? I imagine that''s why you appeared when you did, right? I mean, that can''t all be a coincidence. You clearly had something in mind when you drew my attention." Adopting a serious expression of his own, Vahn shook his head, stating, "As I said previously, I don''t know the future. I only learned of your existence when I was familiarizing myself with my abilities. At that time, the only thing I cared about was earning the attention of a being in the Divine Realm. You just seemed like the best candidate due to your nature. As for the answer to your question. Well, it''s simple. Even if I am capable of knowing everything, I simply don''t like having all the answers. LIfe is a hell of a lot more interesting when there are surprises." As someone who was burdened by her own omniscience, Shiroyasha couldn''t help but agree with Vahn''s sentiment. One of the reasons she had given up her power as a Demon God was because it was simply too easy to do whatever she wanted. Life had be boring, and, no matter how much she pushed herself, she couldn''t ovee the ancient monsters standing at the pinnacle of power in the Little Garden. The top nine positions had only changed twice since the literal dawn of time, so she eventually just got tired of trying. Feeling that she had a bit inmon with the man seated across from her, the smile returned to Shiroyasha''s face as she mused, "Well, I can''t say I disagree with you. Having too much power is a pain in the ass, but it''s nothingpared to possessing too much knowledge." Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn was about to say something when ck Rabbit chimed in, hand raised sheepishly as if she were a student interrupting a lecture to say, "Ummm...why does it feel like I''m out of my depths here? I''m so confused..." Amused by ck Rabbit''s behavior, a light chuckle escaped Vahn''s throat as Shiroyasha snickered like an imp. This caused the aforementioned rabbit to pale as she suddenly had the impression she was trapped in a room with two monstrously powerful entities that could do whatever they wanted without consequence. Guiding the conversation back to the original subject, Shiroyasha covered the lower half of her face with her fan before exining, "Well, the simplest answer is that I brought you here as insurance. A threat to creation itself is bound to appear at some point in the near future. We''ve already prepared a countermeasure against it, but it never hurts to be safe. You''re also pretty interesting so I thought it would be fun to have you around. As for why I''m trying to pair you with ck Rabbit, well, I don''t think that requires further exnation. It''s only a matter of time before you sink your teeth into her so I figured I might as well y matchmaker. Truth be told, I''ve wanted to push down ck Rabbit myself for quite some time. Unfortunately, she doesn''t seem to reciprocate my feelings..." Adopting an expression of mock mncholy, Shiroyasha wiped away a non-existent tear from her eye before taking a sip from her tea and adding, "There are still around seven months remaining until the third generation group of Problem Children appears. I''m not going to ask you to support them, but I would appreciate it if you gave them your guidance. As for the matter of ck Rabbit''s Community, that''s between the two of you. My position prevents me from intervening. If you want more information about her circumstances, you''ll have to ask her." Seemingly finished with what she had to say, Shiroyasha manifested a remote from out of thin air before turning on her rather dated-looking television. Then, as if the two of them were empty air, she pulled the tray of snacks over before lying down on her side and supporting her head with her hand. She truly couldn''t interfere with matters rted to another person''s Community except under specific circumstances, so, even if she could listen in, she couldn''t provide any feedback. Since Shiroyasha had been seated directly across from him, Vahn could have looked up her skirt if he really wanted to. In fact, he was pretty sure she was inviting him to do just that. Instead, he just shook his head before looking towards the befuddled ck Rabbit and asking, "Is there somece else we can talk? It might not matters since Shiroyasha can listen in on everything we''re saying, but it would certainly be less awkward..." Responding with an awkwardugh, ck Rabbit pushed down the front of her skirt as she stood up and answered, "Follow me. There are plenty of spare rooms in the Thousand Eyes estate. I even have my own if-" Realizing the implications of inviting a man to her room, ck Rabbit quickly covered her mouth before the words could escape. Shiroyasha''s words had been a bit of an exaggeration, but it wasn''t inurate to say that Moon Rabbits were very ''excitable. Her pink hair color was an attestation to that fact, and, though she would never say it out loud, Vahn was easily one of the most handsome men she had ever met. If he could truly transform into a member of her race, she really might not be able to hold back... Restraining the urge to pat ck Rabbit''s head, Vahn was the first to exit the room after exchanging casual waves with Shiroyasha. There was no reason to rush things, and, if what Shiroyasha said was true, it really was just a matter of time before he bit into ck Rabbit. She possessed an aroma that could only be described as a fresh breeze through a verdant forest. For reasons he suspected to be rted to his early days in Danmachi, this aroma tickled his heart and mind in a way that made him just want to be near her. For now, however, he would help to resolve some of her problems so that he wouldn''t have to feel guilty about what they might do in the future... Following Vahn''s departure with her ruby-red eyes, ck Rabbit''s ears and tail twitched in a not-so-subtle manner. Moon Rabbits were the servants of the Gods, and, despite his aura being sealed, she was vaguely aware of the Divinities he possessed. This included his Moon Divinity, and, though she tried to ignore it, his Life, Nature, and Sex Divinities hadn''t escaped her notice... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''ck Rabbit is such an easy target for bullying xD...'',''Vahn is broken af...'',''The beginning of a beautiful friendship (O w O)...'') Chapter 2057: Support

Chapter 2057: Support

After moving a few rooms over, ck Rabbit tried to ease some of the awkwardness she was feeling by asking, "If you don''t mind my asking, what Gifts do you possess? It''s embarrassing to admit, but I wasn''t really able to follow the conversation between you and Shiroyasha-sama." Chuckling lightly, Vahn casually waved his hand, tens-of-thousands of Gift Cards appearing as he said, "It would be easier to identify which Gifts I don''t possess. Even then, I could probablye up with something." Gawking in response to the truly ludicrous disy, ck Rabbit''s left ear bent slightly as the other one twitched. It was quite an adorable reaction, but, before Vahn could even think about teasing her, she suddenly shouted, "What the heck!? Even Floor Masters don''t possess this many Gifts! Are you for real...!?" Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn returned the Gift Cards to his body before sitting down and asking, "So? What''s the deal with your Community? I know I already agreed to lend a hand, but it would be helpful to know what I''m getting myself into." Recovering from her shock almost instantaneously, ck Rabbit coughed to clear her throat before exining, "Since you are someone Shiroyasha-sama trusts, I will do my best to be truthful. You see, I''m a member of a Community called the No Names. We ended up losing our name and g after a group of Demon Lords targetted us in a Gift Game. Many years ago, we were one of the most well-known Communities in the entire Little Garden. Now, thews of the Central Network prevent most people from even remembering who we were. Even I can''t recall what our original name was..." Seeing ck Rabbit''s ears droop, the only thing preventing Vahn from caressing the space between them was the distance separating them. This caused his fingers to tremble slightly, but, suppressing it with his willpower, he was able to appear unperturbed as he softly remarked, "I see...that sounds rather unpleasant..." Nodding her head in agreement, ck Rabbit answered, "Indeed. People who use Gift Games to mess with other people''s memories are cruel. To make matters even worse, most of the yers in our Community were either exiled, enved. Since then, the No Names has beenprised almost entirely of children. Even our Leader, Master Jin, is only ten years old. As for the other 121 children, the eldest is a kitsune girl named Lily while everyone else is between the ages of 4 and 9..." Blinking several times in a mixture of surprise and incredulity, Vahn asked, "How? How are two ten-year-old children able to look after and care for 120 other children? And this has been going on for nearly two years? It''s simply not possible." Adopting an extremely mncholic look, a stark contrast to the forced smile on her face, ck Rabbit exined, "We do our best to help each other each and every day...Shiroyasha-sama was also kind enough to make me the Thousand Eyes'' exclusive Judge Master. There are times when she teases me and forces me to dress up and cosy, but Shiroyasha-sama is actually a very kind and caring person towards the people she cares about..." Raising his brows, Vahn shifted his attention towards a seemingly empty point in space. At the same time, back in her room, an impish smile appeared across Shiroyasha''s face as she waved her hand at the image reflected on her television screen. Returning his attention to ck Rabbit, Vahn adopted his characteristically soothing tone as he said, "I see...that exins Shiroyasha''s confidence. Even if I did my best to remain natural, there''s no way I could simply ignore a Community filled with kids. Once the girls have finished resting, you should introduce me to your Leader. I''m not entirely sure what I can do for them just yet, but, in the grand scheme of things, there isn''t much I can''t do." After seeing Vahn pull out a stack of Gift Cards taller than she was, ck Rabbit didn''t doubt the veracity of his im. Her only real doubts were regarding her ability to repay his kindness, as, even if he was unbelievably generous, there was always a limit to the effort people were willing to put in on someone else''s behalf. If they didn''t give anything back, they would be entirely dependent on him... Though there was an obvious answer, ck Rabbit didn''t believe she would be able to repay Vahn''s kindness on her own. In fact, she would actually be the one benefitting in that particr scenario as she was currently thest remaining member of her species. If Vahn truly possessed the capacity to help restore her people, there was literally nothing she could offer of equivalent value... Intuiting ck Rabbit''s train of thought from theplexity of her aura and emotions, Vahn''s smile became slightly wry as he remarked, "I see that you''re the type that overthinks things. I''m probably not the best person to be saying this, but you shouldn''t look at the world in terms of fair and equal exchanges. Everything has a different value to different people. I help people because I enjoy doing so, not because I expect anything in return. In other words, I''m just being selfish. If you really want to repay me, just continue being a good person. You spent thest two years providing for a group of 122 children. You deserve every bit of help people are willing to give." Though her hair was already pink, it quickly became a more luminous color as ck Rabbit stared back at Vahn with a beet-red, slightly teary-eyed expression. Thest two years really hadn''t been easy, and, though she would never admit it, there had been times when she considered just giving up. The only reason she hadn''t was because the children were relying on her. Her entire family had been wiped out more than two hundred years ago so she understood, better than most, how sad it was to lose the people you relied upon. Thus, no matter how difficult things became, she continued to wear a smile so that the children wouldn''t have to worry. Hearing Vahn''s kind and considerate words, even ck Rabbit was surprised by how relieved she felt. He was someone that even Shiroyasha, one of the most powerful residents in the entire Divine Realm, regarded as capable. Hearing that he would support them caused her to feel as though a tremendous weight had been removed from her shoulders. Thus, for the first time in a very long time, she ended up crying tears of relief, sadness, hope, and tremendous loss in front of someone else... ... .. . After nearly an hour of emotional release, ck Rabbit''s hair had returned to a rich and creamy blue as she absentmindedly stared off into space. Vahn had hugged her shortly after she began crying. His care and warmth caused her to cry even harder, but, after a while, she began to calm down in response to his persistent and gentle caress. It was unlike anything she had experienced, and, though it caused her quite a bit of embarrassment in the beginning, she quickly got used to it. "You''re so warm..." Speaking the first thought that had entered her mind in the past ten minutes, a not-so-subtle blush appeared across ck Rabbit''s face as Vahn responded with a light chuckle. At the same time, he, very gently, massaged the interior of her ears with his thumb, rhythmically circling his finger as he mused, "I get that a lot..." With her ears twitching, more so from his words than the actual touching, ck Rabbit''s expression became marginally more ''aware'' as she muttered, Oh yeah...going by Shiroyasha-sama''s words, I''m guessing you had arge harem back in the lower realms? What happened to all of them? Did you really leave them behind just toe to the Divine Realm...?" Without any hesitation whatsoever, Vahn answered, "Of course not. I''m quite greedy, you see? Most of my wives, lovers, and children are currently residing within my Internalized Realm. There, the flow of time has been reduced so that a single day inside is roughly ten years outside. Once I have made adequate preparations, I imagine some of them will want toe out to y..." Blinking in surprise, ck Rabbit extricated herself from Vahn''s embrace, staring into his eyes as she asked, "You brought all of them with you? That...that shouldn''t be possible..." Gesturing in dismissal, Vahn cheekily replied, "I''m the God of Infinite Possibilities. I don''t particrly care what others say is impossible. Don''t worry though. I''m not going to destroy the bnce of the Little Garden by summoning millions of people and waging war. I''ll most likely continue doing my own thing until I either reach the single-digit Gates or find a way to supersede the Little Garden in its entirety. As for what happens after that...well, even I can''t say for certain..." "You''re serious about reaching the one-digit Gates? Even Shiroyasha-sama was unable to surpass Rank 10. I don''t doubt you, but you shouldn''t underestimate the deities who preside over the Little Garden..." As the heiress of the entire Moon Rabbit, the ''aristocrats'' that served only the Gods, ck Rabbit was intimately familiar with the power possessed by some of the most powerful beings in the Little Garden. Their Patron God, Indra, was only Rank 14, yet, in spite of this, he was capable of producing lightning capable of annihting higher metaversal structures, each containing a functionally infinite number of multiverses. Though he was tempted to tease her for trying to change the subject, Vahn just smiled in response to ck Rabbit''s words, caressing her head as he said, "Don''t worry. I never truly underestimate my opponents. I just trust in myself and my ability to achieve the goals I set for myself. Even if I fail, I''ll just pick myself back up and try again. I don''t quit. Not really." Seeing the unfettered confidence contained within Vahn''s gaze, ck Rabbit couldn''t help believing in his words. He didn''t speak with any traces of arrogance. Instead, his words came across as casual, almost as if he were discussing the weather outside. In other words, rather than telling her about his dreams and ambitions, he was basically just making an observation... "You really are powerful, aren''t you...?" Chuckling in response to the timid bunny''s remark, Vahn continued to caress her head as he mused, "At times, I actually feel a little too powerful..." Shaking his head, Vahn preempted any response ck Rabbit might have had by rising to his feet and saying, "The girls just got out of the bath a little while ago. It''s been a few hours since they had anything to eat so I want to prepare something before they go to bed. Care to join me?" Staring at Vahn''s extended hand, ck Rabbit only hesitated for a moment before grabbing it, a radiant smile developing across her face as she eximed, "Of course~! Even if you don''t expect any kind of repayment, the least I can do is help you with things like this! If there''s ever anything I can help with, anything at all, you need only say the word~!" Pulling the blue-haired bunny with a bit of force, Vahn drew her into his embrace, startling her quite a bit as he brought his face to within three centimeters of hers and said, "Careful with your words. I wasn''t joking when I said I was greedy..." With her hair and face immediately turning a bright shade of pink, ck Rabbit found herself at a loss for words. Vahn, taking advantage of her stupor, nted a kiss on her forehead before smiling as he promptly released her. This ended up being something of a mistake, as, immediately after he released her, ck Rabbit fell onto her butt, steam rising from her head as her face turned bright crimson... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn Kaiba casually showing off his card collection...'',''Imagine being a single mother trying to take care of 122 kids o_o...'',''ck Rabbit.EXE has stopped working...'') Chapter 2058: Records of Origin

Chapter 2058: Records of Origin

After cooking up the girls a light meal and sending them off to bed, Vahn spent a few hours just chatting with Shiroyasha as ck Rabbit ran off to act as a Judge Master for various Gift Games. Though they mainly specialized in the sale and exchange of information, Thousand Eyes was also the primary regtory organization between the 4 and 7-Digit Gates of the East Side. Each of the stores were connected through the same dimensional space, so, whenever a request for an official judge came in, ck Rabbit was immediately dispatched to make sure everything was conducted fairly. The difference between a Judge Master and a Host Master, the colloquial term given for anyone with the capacity to host a Gift Game, was that Moon Rabbits were the only species connected to the Central Network of the Little Garden. This allowed them to immediately detect when rules were broken, either indirectly or advertently. In such instances, the person who vited the rules would immediately lose the game. She could even put a game on hold. Thus, as thest surviving Moon Rabbit, ck Rabbit''s abilities were highly sought after by Communities hosting highbrow or high stakes Gift Games. Fortunately, Shiroyasha''s [Omnipresent Television] perfectly suited her version of omniscience. It basically allowed her to spy on anyone or anything within the Little Garden, and, much like Vahn''s ability to freely navigate his memories, she was able to control the ''camera'' with her thoughts. She used this to keep track of ck Rabbit''s movements throughout the Little Garden, and, at least in this particr instance, she was using it to tease Vahn. "Pretty cool, huh? Since I''m the one who developed the enchantments, they don''t work on anything directly linked to me." Despite rolling his eyes, Vahn didn''t take his eyes away from the screen as Shiroyasha manipted the ''camera'' to follow ck Rabbit around at an anime-style ''upskirt'' angle. It was actually a sight to behold, but, as someone who had perceived the bodies of countless people during his journey through the Records, Vahn''s voyeuristic tendencies had faded away quite some time ago. He was only really attracted to women who ''wanted'' him to look at them, and, while he and ck Rabbit were making decent progress, he didn''t get off on something as mundane as seeing her panties. Clicking her tongue, Shiroyasha pressed a button on her remote that caused ck Rabbit''s clothes to appear transparent. This caused Vahn''s expression to morph into a deadpan as he looked toward her and remarked, "You''re well aware of her past. Do you really think it is appropriate for you to-" "Shove it up your butt, dragon brat. I''m not doing any harm. Besides, even if I''m not looking, I can still ''see'' everything. You know exactly what I''m talking about so cut me some ck. I''m just trying to have a bit of fun." Shaking his head, Vahn decided to withhold hisment. He knew Shiroyasha was telling the truth, and, even without the [Omnipresent Television], she could still see everything. In other words, much like himself, she was limiting her abilities to make life more interesting. Regaining her cheeky, imp-like smile, Shiroyasha rolled to a seated position before asserting, "Now that we''re alone, I''m curious. Have you had sex with that ''Temte'' you made of me? Or, better yet, have you pretended to be me whilst having sex? I want all the juicy details." Since she didn''t have to be looking at the television to know what was taking ce, Shiroyasha could easily carry on a conversation. She also considered herself something of a connoisseur when it came to various perversions, so, after witnessing the spectacle that was Vahn''s love life, she was ''understandably'' interested in the specifics. Raising his brows, Vahn was about to ask why she was suddenly interested in his personal affairs when Shiroyasha beat him to the punch, exining, "It''s just a healthy curiosity, really. My words weren''t an invitation to add me to your bucket list if that''s what you''re worried about. Though, if you transformed into ck Rabbit...I wouldn''t mind ying with you a bit~." Licking her lips, Shiroyasha looked like she might pounce on him the moment he transformed. Instead, Vahn remained as is, a wry smile on his face as he answered, "No and No. I''ve only spoken with Rimuru a handful of times ever since they entered one of my Actualized Worlds. I also identify as a man, so, even though I can transform into a woman, I tend to avoid it. I''mfortable enough in my sexuality to admit I have a bit of experience with such things, but it doesn''t even scratch the surface of my exploits as a man." Not expecting Vahn to be so ''open'', Shiroyasha''s expression showed genuine surprise, her cat-like eyes scrutinizing him with equal parts curiosity and amazement. "Are you, perchance, bragging...?" Responding with a teasing smile and a yful wink, Vahn mused, "I have good reason to. Though my actual Luck parameter is terrible, I consider myself to be one of the most fortunate people in all realities. Not only am I fortunate enough to cross paths with innumerable amazing women, but, for a variety of reasons, I have been given the privilege to love many. Even now, despite possessing no intentions towards her, I''m being set up with ck Rabbit. You clearly had your reasons for thinking that was a good idea, so, you tell me. Do I have the right to brag~?" Though she was originally going to use Vahn of being cheeky, Shiroyasha beganughing in a strange, "Yohohohoho~" like manner before flipping out her fan, covering her mouth, and saying, "You really are something special. With the exception of yours truly, the vast majority of perverts are actually pretty timid when ites to discussing their exploits. I wonder, does your bravadoe from being a dragon? Or is it something else...?" Moving the fingers of his left hand in a supernatural disy of dexterity, Vahn maintained his smile as he answered, "People called me Sage Aldrnari and Godhand long before I became known as the Sage Dragon Emperor. When ites to bestowing pleasure, rxation, andfort, I have reason to believe my skills are unmatched. If I got serious, I could even mold a person like soft y without harming them in the slightest." Punctuating his words, Vahn manifested a radiant golden Gift Card with the finesse of a magician before flicking it towards her. This caused her snaggletoothed smile to briefly fade, but, once she saw what was on the card, her eyes widened quite as she fell backward, literally rolling on the floor andughing... ********** [Record of Origin: Godhand] Rank: Immeasurable Function: Designates the holder as a Progenitor who has mastered massage techniques to the point of transcending reason. So long as there is no malicious intent, there is nothing the user cannot achieve with a bottle of oil and a massage bed. Rather thanparing your skills to others, all other people''s skills arepared to yours. ********** Though his [Hands of Nirvana] had been reduced to S-Rank, this wasrgely due to its origins as a medical technique. There were quite a few Gods, Asuras, and even Demon Lords with truly ludicrous healing skills so it was only natural that the [Hands of Nirvana] would have its rank reduced when it was, quite literally, beingpared to every other medical technique in existence. Fortunately, this was only a temporary arrangement, and, once he gained some experience using it on higher-tiered beings, Vahn was confident he could restore it to SSS-Rank... Finished with herughing fit, Shiroyasha sat back up, eyes glistening like stars as she said, "I never expected you to pull out a Record of Origin rted to something so hrious. Do you have any idea how rare these things are? It basically signifies that every other massage technique in existence now originates from you. If you wanted to, you couldpletely redefine how people in all worlds view massaging. Heck, you could even proim yourself as the principle ''God of Massaging'' and history would change to reflect that. Tell me, do you have any other Records of Origin? I''m really curious to know." With the aid of Sis, Vahn was able to identify two more Records of Origin. He kept one hidden away, but, knowing Shiroyasha would be interested in the other, he passed it over, saying, "I believe this is the one you''re looking for...?" epting the card, Shiroyasha''s eyes widened even more so than before. After all, the card in her hand was literally called [Record of Origin: Vahn Aldrnari Mason]. In other words, Vahn truly was a singrity, the first of his kind in all of creation. Others might have a simr name, but, much like the various Heroes, Gods, Deities, Dragons, and Demons found within the Little Garden, there was always a single individual that served as the basis for every other entity with the same name. Figuring she should return the favor, Shiroyasha manifested a total of three golden cards before passing over one and musing, "You''re not the only one who is special, brat." ********** [Record of Origin: White Night Demon] Rank: SSS Function: Designates the holder as the personification of the Geocentric Model. Though the Rank was reduced due to the poprity of the Heliocentric Model and non-nar worlds, the holder is still recognized as one of the original Sr Deities. Feats: The White Night Demon has only ever suffered three defeats. The first culminated in the creation of night and day. The second is responsible for the concepts of morning, afternoon, and evening. The third represents the first eclipse, the transition from Divine to Demonic. ********** Though he had already been aware of Shiroyasha''s identity, Vahn couldn''t help feeling a bit of awe towards the petite Demoness smiling back at him. He never even imagined that he might encounter a being that was the personification of something as abstract yet universal as the day-night cycle. It indicated that Shiroyasha''s existence was fundamentally rted to the passage of time in all worlds, and, depending on the decisions she made, she could drastically alter how every being in the Lower Realms viewed their home star. Handing the card back, Vahn''s eyes briefly shifted towards the other two golden cards in her hand as he said, "Impressive. I mean, I knew you were amazing but it seems I may have underestimated you a bit..." Noticing Vahn''s gaze, Shiroyasha slipped her other two Records of Origin into the ovepping folds of her kimono as she replied, "Don''t worry. I''m used to it. Ever since that bastard Nicus proposed the idea of the Heliocentric Model, my Origin has be increasingly obscure. I also hate standing out, a stark contrast to arrogant assholes like Apollo and copycats like Amaterasu. Fortunately, I still possess more than half of the Principal Sun Authorities so it doesn''t matter how much those brats kick and scream. They''ll never shine the brightest~." Despite her diminutive height, Shiroyasha was able to emit an aura that would make the Amaterasu Vahn encountered in the Nasuverse appear ''small''. It wasn''t happenstance that had allowed her to secure ce as the Rank 10, and, while he wasn''t sure if she had ovee the boundary between Tiers 5 and 6, she had to be close. Offering an appreciative smile, Vahn remarked, "Amazing..." with all the sincerity he could muster. This caused Shiroyasha to rub the underside of her nose with the back of her right index finger, a massive grin on her face as she yfully restored, "I know, right~?" Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn was prepared to offer her a bit more praise when Shiroyasha suddenly discarded her ha lolita dress in a single motion. Then, with an evenrger grin on her face, she struck what was undoubtedly supposed to be a sexy pose as she eagerly eximed, "Now then! You''ve tempted me with a good time. Let''s put those ''immeasurable'' skills to the test. Sculpt me~!" ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Shiroyasha, Goddess of Voyeurism...'',''Immeasurable...'',''Run (*bass drops*)'') Chapter 2059: Mischief

Chapter 2059: Mischief

"I humbly refuse." Though he had built up a tolerance against ''petite'' women, Shiroyasha was nearly the same height as Vahn while he was sitting. She did look very cute, especially with white hose and a strapless bra, but, unless she grew to her adult form, he really didn''t want toy his hands on her. Understanding Vahn''s thoughts, even without the ability to read them, Shiroyasha''s brows began to twitch as she ced her hands on her hips and asked, "Are you looking down on me because of my small stature...?" With a slightly incredulous look on his face, Vahn inly answered, "If I stand straight, you literallye to my waist. I''m not looking down on your status and power, but, when ites to stature, how can I not look down on you...?" Leaving him even more befuddled, Shiroyasha adopted a cheeky smile as she remarked, "Isn''t that just perfect though? I mean, I''m not offering, but me being the same height as your waist is super convenient, you know? I wouldn''t have to hurt my knees and my horns are perfect for providing a bit of leverage~." Though he really shouldn''t have, Vahn found himself imagining what Shiroyasha was alluding to. It didn''t help that he had a fair amount of experience in that regard. Lili could be pretty ''voracious'' at times, and, despite his attempts to keep her under control, there had been instances where Kali had used her diminutive stature against him... Realizing what Vahn must be thinking, a peal of mischievousughter emanated from Shiroyasha''s throat as she covered her mouth and cheekily added, "Oh, wow. You''ve umted all kinds of experiences, haven''t you~?" Deadpanning in response to the mischievous Demoness''s words, Vahn was thinking about chiding her when she suddenly popped off her bra with a cheerful, "Da-dan~! Bear witness to my glory and be disappointed~!" Though her words and actions were a bit contrary, they made sense when Shiroyasha removed her bra to reveal that she didn''t even possess nipples. She was basically like a doll, albeit one with small yet fleshy mounds instead of stic. Taking advantage of Vahn''s momentary stupefaction, Shiroyasha wriggled out of her panties and hose to reveal that she alsocked genitalia. Then, while firing her still-warm panties towards him like a projectile, she exined, "Though there are quite a few exceptions, Deities at my level don''t possess anything like a gender. This is especially true for those possessing a Record of Origin. After all, I''m basically the temte for all other sr deities. If I was ''confirmed'' to be female, it would be very difficult for male sr deities to exist." To emphasize her point, Shiroyasha went as far as turning around and spreading her perky white butt cheeks to reveal that she didn''t even possess an anus. Fortunately, Vahn had dealt with ya, Gaia, and Tiamat, so, while it was more than a little disconcerting to see a loli spread ''her'' cheeks in front of him, it didn''t take long for his expression to return to normal. Noticing how quickly Vahn had recovered, Shiroyasha''s face formed a pouty frown as she clicked her tongue and remarked, "You''re no fun. At least blush or something when a girl is showing you her butt. Have you no tact?" Snorting through his nose, Vahn resisted the urge to point out she was the one that stripped down and began unting her nonexistent orifices in the middle of a conversation. Instead, he rose to his full height, towering over the diminutive Demoness before extending his hand to gently caress her head. This caused Shiroyasha''s expression to morph into a deadpan as, the moment his hand came into contact with her head, an outfit identical to her previous one manifested on her body as Vahn said, "You''re too high strung. I''m not going anywhere and you don''t need to try and win me-" Before Vahn could finish speaking, Shiroyasha reared her head back and promptly headbutt him in the groin. This didn''t deal any actual damage, but it was more than enough to cause the smile on Vahn''s face to twitch as Shiroyasha looked up at him with a predatory smile and said, "If you keep treating me like a child, you''ll leave me with no choice but to prove you wrong. I might not have a gender, but that doesn''t mean I can''t have one." Retracting his hand from Shiroyasha''s head, Vahn raised both in a gesture of mock surrender before shaking his head and taking a seat. He was aware that Shiroyasha was a hardcore lesbian, emphasis on the hardcore part, but preferences didn''t really matter once you exceeded a certain age. If it was to prove a point, he could easily imagine her bing an actual loli just to torment him. She was a lot like Loki in that regard, so, while it was almost inevitable that something would happen between them in the future, he wasn''t in a hurry to push her buttons. Fortunately for the both of them, Shiroyasha didn''t press the issue of receiving a massage. Instead, she just returned to her original spot, briefly scrutinizing the clothes he had created for her before picking up the television remote and changing the channel. This time, instead of ck Rabbit, the person that appeared on screen was none other than Seraphina. This caught Vahn by surprise, not because it was Seraphina on screen, but because she was in the middle of pleasuring herself using a rod with a Prinny''s head on the end... ... .. . Since the power of a Judge Master could only be used every fifteen days, ck Rabbit didn''t have to worry about being asked to adjudicate consecutive Gift Games. Instead, she could use the time between Gift Games to take care of the members of her Community or help out around Thousand Eyes. Shiroyasha enjoyed having her clean house in a variety of different outfits, and, while it was more than a little embarrassing, ck Rabbit knew it was rtively tamepared to what others might ask her to do if they gained leverage against her. "I''m baaaaaack...!" Despite feeling exhausted, ck Rabbit forced herself to call out when she dragged her feet into the nearest Thousand Eyes Community store. Adjudicating a high-stakes game was always very stressful, not because it was particrly difficult, but because all the participants were big-name individuals. To make matters even worse, both sides would generally try and invite her to join their Communities. She would sometimes even receive marriage proposals from literal Gods, so, more often than not, ck Rabbit ended up returning to the Thousand Eyes store feeling exponentially more tired than when she left. In response to her call, the interior of the store appeared to ''shift'' in a manner that most people wouldn''t be able to perceive. This was the store being linked to Shiroyasha''s personal dimension, a ce very few people could ess without a personal invitation from the former Demon Goddess. Tensing up in response to the sound of footsteps pitter-pattering in the distance, ck Rabbit did her best to mentally prepare herself as Shiroyasha emerged from a corridor, shouting, "Yahooo~! ck Rabbit, I missed you~!" As was often the case whenever she returned, ck Rabbit found herself being pounced upon and tackled by Shiroyasha. They even flipped backward several times before crashing into a wall. In the end, this resulted in Shiroyasha''s face being buried between her breasts, unashamedly nestling into them with a perverted grin reminiscent of an old man. Though she was tempted to send Shiroyasha flying, ck Rabbit justughed awkwardly as she prevented the former''s hand from snaking its way up her skirt. It was only when Vahn emerged from the same corridor that she grabbed the mischievous demoness by the face with a vice-like grip, pushing her away as she eximed, "Shiroyasha-sama, you pervert! Not in front of Vahn...!" Grasping ck Rabbit''s forearm so she couldn''t be sent flying, a teasing smile spread across Shiroyasha''s face as she eagerly inquired, "Does that mean it''s okay when he''s not around? You heard her brat! Skedaddle! You''ll have your chance-kuh!" Before Shiroyasha could finish her exmation, ck Rabbit spontaneously kneed her in the ribs with enough force to generate a shockwave and make her croak. At their full power, Moon Rabbits were said to be able to leap across the Heavens in a single bound. ck Rabbit was nowhere near that level. In fact, had Vahn arrived just two years prior, she would have resembled a ten-year-old as Moon Rabbits developed in evolutionary stages based on the amount of spiritual energy they had absorbed, not their actual age. "You''re a lot feistier than usual...good kick..." Releasing her hold on ck Rabbit, Shiroyasha rubbed her side with a slightly pained look on her face. She hadn''t actually taken any damage, but, for the sake of her young charge, she didn''t mind putting on a show. Noticing the pained expression on Shiroyasha''s face, ck Rabbit began to fluster as she waved her hands and intoned an adorably confused, "Awawawawa...?". She wanted to apologize, but, knowing that Shiroyasha was in the wrong,bined with the fact that Vahn was watching, she couldn''t find the words to express herself. Fortunately, Vahn maintained a casual smile as he walked over and helped both girls to their feet. This allowed ck Rabbit to quickly return to her senses, a not-so-subtle blush on her face as she said, "Thank you." before spontaneously losing her fervor and adding, "Sorry for taking so long..." in a meek tone of voice. Shaking his head, Vahn proceeded to habitually caress ck Rabbit''s as he stated, "You were doing your duty. You need not apologize for such things..." Perking up in response to Vahn''s words, ck Rabbit was about to thank him when Shiroyasha chimed in to cheekily remark, "Wow, get a room. At least show some consideration for us single dogs. I''m barely surviving on kibble. Don''t unt that lovey-dovey crap in front of me." "Lovey-dovey!? Me and Vahn...!?" Flustering a second time, ck Rabbit''s eyes shifted between Vahn and Shiroyasha several times as the hair atop her head shifted from blue to pink. She had always been exceptionally weak to being teased, but, now that she had burgeoning feelings towards the man caressing her head, it was a lot harder to stay calm Though he could have helped her calm down, Vahn retracted his hand from ck Rabbit''s head, smiling as he said, "You should get some rest. We''ll head back to your Community once the girls wake up. I''m looking forward to meeting the children you''ve been supporting for these past two years. With someone as kind and caring as you looking after them, I imagine they''re some amazing kids." With her hair turning a shade pinker, ck Rabbit appeared to be genuinely at a loss for words as she stared at Vahn with a flustered yet statuesque expression on her face. She was even weaker to praise than teasing, so, the moment he insinuated that the children were amazing because she was, all the gears in her head ground to a halt. Unable to suppress his amusement, the corners of Vahn''s smile curled upward as he looked toward Shiroyasha and asked, "Has she always been this adorable?" Returning a smile and a thumbs-up, Shiroyasha unashamedly answered, "Of course! Do you think I would fawn over just anyone? ck Rabbit is the second cutest, most adorable, and sexy woman in all the Little Garden. You should have seen what she was like before she understood she was being teased. We used to make her eat thick and juicy carrots without letting her use her hands. Oh, just imagining it is-blurghawak~!?" Before Shiroyasha could finish speaking, ck Rabbit startled to her senses and sent the diminutive Demoness flying with a spinning uppercut. She was literally sent smashing through the ceiling, and, though it was a little exaggerated, her body continued rotating and rising until it had turned into a sparkle in the distance, much like a star in the night sky... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''WITNESS ME...!'',''The butterfly effect is scary (O w O)...'',''It''s the Divine Realm. Of course Gag Laws would be in effect xD...'') Chapter 2060: Looking Forward

Chapter 2060: Looking Forward

ording to ck Rabbit, the only times she needed to sleep was during the New Moon and when she had exhausted herself. Even then, she could always draw energy from the Little Garden''s Central Network in a pinch. Simply put, whenever ck Rabbit got flustered, most, if not all of her physical exhaustion would simply fade away. Vahn suspected this was the real reason Shiroyasha teased her. It provided ck Rabbit with additional energy, and, more importantly, helped to distract her from the grim reality of supporting a Community of 122 children on her own. Fortunately, that would no longer be the case from here onward. The more Vahn learned about her situation, the more he wanted to help her. This was undoubtedly what Shiroyasha had been aiming for when she summoned him but he didn''t particrly mind. Rather, he had always enjoyed teasing certain kinds of women and ck Rabbit was easily among the most teasable girls he had ever met. She was also unbelievably adorable, so, even without the mischievous demoness attempting to y matchmaker, the odds of him helping her were close to 100%. Her being the sole surviving member of her race practically made their encounter fated... ... .. . With ck Rabbit not requiring sleep, Vahn spent the better part of four hours learning more about her situation and teasing her. It was only when he detected Nono rousing from her slumber that he gave the pink-haired maiden a break, saying, "Nono just woke up. Mind helping her and Sarina get ready while I work on breakfast?" Though she was a little caught off guard by the sudden change in topic, ck Rabbit returned an assuring smile as she happily replied, "Leave it to me!" Returning a smile of his own, Vahn briefly caressed ck Rabbit''s hair before seeing her off at the door. Then, using the kitchen Nadeshiko had begrudgingly allowed him to use the previous night, he separated into three different versions of himself in order to prepare enough food for more than a hundred people. This prompted Shiroyasha to immediately appear, a teasing smile on her face as she mused, "If ck Rabbit learns you can divide yourself into multiple bodies, her head is going to explode." Without losing focus on the task at hand, Vahn casually replied, "I don''t intend to keep secrets from her. If she is going to be one of my women, a bit of transparency is to be expected. Besides, it wouldn''t be the first time one of my women made such a request..." Grinning mischievously, Shiroyasha found herself, once again, wishing she could peer into Vahn''s mind. She had spied on him quite a bit while he was traipsing through the Tower but the nature of his existence made it hard to keep track of him when he wanted to remain hidden. Thus, unlike the vast majority of people she had taken an interest in, Vahn had innumerable secrets and experiences she was wholly unaware of... Though he could sense Shiroyasha watching him like a cat eyeing a group of mice, Vahn did his best to ignore her as he skillfully prepared a veritable mountain of pancakes, eggs, sausages, and rice. He wanted to make enough for all the children in ck Rabbit''s Community so he really didn''t have time to deal with her right now. It was a lot harder to manipte space-time within the Little Garden, and, due to the restrictions preventing her from showing a bias towards specific individuals and Communities, he couldn''t rely on Shiroyasha to do it for him. Fortunately, Shiroyasha seemed to understand his intentions, so, after her initial remark, she simply dangled her feet from the counter while watching him prepare te after te of food. Observing people was one of her favorite pastimes, and, at times, she would even watch the same person from the moment of their birth to their inevitable end. He just so happened to be the individual she was most interested in at the present moment, so, even if he was sleeping or staring off into the sunset, she would be paying close attention to his every action... ... .. . Thanks to his additional vessels, Vahn was able to continue cooking even as ck Rabbit appearing in the dining room alongside a fully awake Nono and a very sleepy-looking Sarina. Thetter wasn''t a morning person, so, despite having slept for more than nine hours, she was still dragging her feet up until the moment she noticed Vahn''s presence. After that, she immediately perked up, a smile on her face as she happily eximed, "Good morning, Vahn~!" Restraining a chuckle, Vahn returned a smile of his own as he set down the food and replied, "Good morning, Sarina, Nono. Did the two of you get a good night''s rest?" Nodding her head enthusiastically, Sarina answered, "The futons here are superfortable and the bath was amazing! You really should have joined us. Nono and I could have washed your back." Not expecting Sarina to include Nono''s name in her antics, Vahn raised his brows slightly as he looked between the two ten-year-olds. He noticed a fire zing in the former''s eyes while thetter, noticing his gaze, immediately blushed as she averted her gaze. ("Sarina must feel pretty threatened if she''s coordinating with Nono...") (*Of course. She would need to be blind not to see how you look at ck Rabbit. Your expressions aren''t exactly subtle when you see a woman you fancy. If I didn''t know you had a soft spot for Cat People, I might have grown out my ears and be a rabbit...*) Imagining Sis with rabbit ears, every other thought in Vahn''s mind momentarily faded away. This caused a profound silence in the deepest recesses of his mind until Sis chimed in to remark, (*Oh my...*) in an ostensibly teasing tone. To the surprise of all the girls present, a discernibly flustered expression developed across Vahn''s face until he concealed it behind a wry smile. This caused a few major misunderstandings to ur, and, though he attempted to recover by saying, "The sentiment is appreciated but I can easily wash my own back..." the damage had already been done. Sarina believed his reaction was the result of her suggestion, and, despite being the perpetrator, Sis made things worse by giggling amusedly in the back of his mind... ... .. . After a hearty yet awkward breakfast, Vahn, Sarina, and Nono followed ck Rabbit to the outskirts of a surprisingly expansive yet ravaged territory. It was easily several thousand acres, and, though thend had been made infertile via powerful magics, even an untrained eye could tell the region was once prosperous due to the neatly arranged ruins that, even now, emitted a homely yet sullen aura. Adopting an expression that reflected thendscape perfectly, ck Rabbit''s ears drooped as she exined, "This is the destroyednd of the No Names...not that long ago, this ce was a vibrant region where everyone could smile happily. Now-" Before ck Rabbit could finish, Vahn plopped his hand down atop her head, saying, "That''s in the past. From now on, we only look forward. Let''s go." Without waiting for the befuddled rabbit''s response, Vahn made his way towards the fortress-like estate in the distance. It resembled a castle town surrounded by bricked walls, but, instead of an actual castle, there was a bastille-like mansion situated in the middle of a verdant forest, the only greenery left in the region. This was, very clearly, where the remaining members of the No Name Community were located, so, without minding his surroundings in the slightest, Vahn maintained a calm and confident look as he walked towards it. Staring at Vahn''s departing figure, the roots of ck Rabbit''s hair began to turn pink until Sarina suddenly grabbed her hand, saying, "Come on. We don''t want to fall behind." with an encouraging smile on her face. Surprised by the young girl''s sudden friendliness, ck Rabbit''s expression became even more befuddled as she intoned a confused, "Eh? Um...okay...?" Giggling in response to ck Rabbit''s reaction, Sarina began to pull her along as Nono followed closely behind with a smile on her face. She actually feltfortable in the ravagedndscape as the befouled terrain reminded her of home. After all, she had been raised in a desertmunity so the feeling of infertile soil beneath her bare feet was surprisingly refreshing... ... .. . Though it took a bit of time due to him slowing his pace so that the girls could keep up, it wasn''t long before Vahn reached the outer walls of the estate. Around the same time, he encountered a remarkably adorable girl with two-toned blonde-ck hair and vulpine features that included tworge ears and two inordinately fluffy tails. The moment sheid eyes upon Vahn, the vulpine girl immediately spread her arms in a protective posture, shielding the even younger children behind her as she cautiously inquired, "Who are you? Why have youe here?" Having learned quite a bit about her Community from ck Rabbit, Vahn''s expression morphed into a smile as he said, "You must be Lily." before stepping to the side so that the young kitsune could see the trio following in his wake. This caused her ears to twitch adorably, and, though she didn''t immediately drop her guard, she returned a smile and asked, "Have youe to join our Community?" Shaking his head, Vahn waited until ck Rabbit, Sarina, and Nono caught up before exining, "I belong to a recently formed Community known as Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Our mission statement is to help people so we''vee here at the behest of Shiroyasha and ck Rabbit to do just that. If it isn''t too much trouble, do you mind gathering up all the other children for me? I''ve prepared a big breakfast to celebrate our first meeting." Turning her attention to ck Rabbit, Lily waited until the former nodded her head before smiling even more radiantly as she answered, "I''ll have everyone gathered within the next ten minutes. For now, please head towards the estate and meet with Jin. I''m sure he would want to speak with you." Returning a smile of his own, Vahn casually extended his hand to caress Lily''s head. This caught the petite kitsune by surprise, her body tensing up for a brief moment before promptly rxing due to the influence of his pettingws. Shortly after that, the tails protruding from her lower back began to waggle as the smile on her face became progressively more radiant. Clearing her throat rather loudly, ck Rabbit garnered Vahn''s attention before suggesting, "We should hurry and meet with Master Jin. He has been under a lot of pressure ever since he became the Leader of our Community. I''d like to give him the good news as quickly as possible." Noticing the slightly envious looks in both ck Rabbit''s and Sarina''s eyes, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he reluctantly retracted his hand from Lily''s head. He knew his headpats could be addicting, but he hadn''t expected that even ck Rabbit would exhibit envy. She was well aware of his rather expansive harem so it was a little silly for her to be jealous of someone who was clearly beneath his strike zone. As for Sarina, well, she and Lily were nearly the same age. He would actually be more surprised if she wasn''t a little jealous... Though she felt strangely saddened by the suddenck of Vahn''s hand atop her head, Lily quickly recovered as she turned towards the other children, pping her hands before eximing, "Alright! I''m sure that everyone heard Vahn-san''s words. Let''s hurry and gather everyone so we can enjoy a meal together~!" Responding to Lily''s remark, the group of children, primarily clothed in simple garments or tattered rags, eximed, "Haaaaaaaai~!" with varying degrees of excitement on their heartbreakingly young and gaunt faces. A few of them were even presenting signs of malnourishment, yet, in spite of this, they were able to exhibit natural smiles as they quickly dispersed to spread the good news to their friends and family... Unable to conceal the affection in his gaze as he watched the children scamper away, Vahn turned towards ck Rabbit, his voice bing deep yet velvety as he stated, "They really are amazing..." in a heartfelt tone that caused the aforementioned rabbit''s hair to instantaneously turn bright pink. ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The power of fate...'',''Nono is a bit of an oddball...'',''Calm down, Vahn. At this rate, ck Rabbit''s brain and heart are going to explode xD...'') Chapter 2061: Burdens and Expectations

Chapter 2061: Burdens and Expectations

After waiting for ck Rabbit to calm down, Vahn headed towards the bastille-like estate located at the back of the forest. Though the No Names had fallen from grace, the amount of territory they owned was a testament to how much power they must have wielded in the past. Most Communities only owned a rtively small plot ofnd, barely enough to sustain themselves. The No Names, however, owned thousands of acres, and, based on the vast expanse of tilled yet barrennd, they must have provided food for tens of thousands of people in the past. Noticing the serious look on Vahn''s face as he studied their surroundings, a mncholic expression returned to ck Rabbit''s as she exined, "After the Demon Lord''s assault two years ago, most of the surrounding ntations have be barren and lifeless. Lily''s presence has allowed the forests around the manor to recover, but her spiritual power is too low to sustain the entire estate..." Raising his brows, Vahn was about to ask what ck Rabbit was talking about when Sarina beat him to the punch, asking, "That girl has the power to revitalize thend? She didn''t seem all that special to me..." "Sarina..." Hearing Vahn utter her name in a disproving tone, a nervous smile developed across Sarina''s face as she issued an awkward chuckle. A stark contrast to Vahn''s reaction, ck Rabbit adopted a friendly smile as she enthusiastically exined, "Lily is an amazing young girl. She and her mother descend from the White Fox, one of the Heralds of Ukanomitama. They possess the ability to enrich farnd, drastically improving the quality and quantity of agricultural goods. You see, Ukanomitama is a Goddess that presides over rice and agriculture. She shares an origin with the Great Goddess Inari, one of the most powerful Agricultural Deities in the East Side." Hearing that her ''rival'' was the descendant of a Goddess, Sarina''s expression became somewhat bitter. She had yet to learn about her own lineage, so, from her perspective, Lily had been given an unfair advantage despite the rtively dire circumstances that had been forced upon her. (A/N: Cut her some ck guys. She is literally 10. Show me a child that is capable of thinking rationally and I''ll show you a hundred adults that aren''t xD...) Humming in acknowledgment, Vahn''s mind began to buzz as Sis helped him organize the lineage of every Eastern God and Goddess he had researched. This included a fair amount of information pertaining to Ukanomitama, as, despite the name not ringing in bells, she was actually rtively famous in ssical Japanese mythos as one of Susanoo''s many children. "I see...she dide across as a rather diligent youngdy. Once we''ve finished speaking with Jin, I''ll see what I can do about increasing her spiritual power. It''s actually one of the things I''m best at." Blinking in surprise, ck Rabbit looked towards Vahn with a somewhat troubled expression on her face as she advised, "Just be careful not to take it too far. Lily is simr to me in the regard that she matures based on the amount of spiritual power she has developed. She already acts as the Leader of the Senior Group and the Den Mother for the younger children. I''m afraid she''ll overwork herself if she suddenly matures into an adult..." Hearing ck Rabbit mention the possibility of her ''rival'' maturing, Sarina also chimed in to say, "I agree with ck Rabbit. Children should remain children..." Realizing what she was saying, Sarina''s words trailed off as Vahn looked down at her with a slightly amused expression on his face. In the next moment, however, his expression rxed as he said, "No worries. Even if she were to sprout all nine of her tails, I can seal her development and regte it so that she grows alongside the rest of the children. I''m not going to ce an undue burden on a ten-year-old girl." Exhaling a relieved sigh, a very subtle blush developed across ck Rabbit''s face as she averted her eyes by looking ahead. She hadn''t mentioned it, but Ukanomitama''s rtion to Inari meant she was also a Fertility Deity. Lily''s mother had also been one of the most beautiful women in the entire East Side, so, while it was a little selfish of her, ck Rabbit would rather Lily spend the next two to three hundred years maturing. After all, she had to wait until she was 210-years-old to reach this stage of her development. It wouldn''t be fair if Lily got to skip ahead... Though he noticed the threads of green in Sarina''s and ck Rabbit''s auras, Vahn didn''t pay them any mind. Instead, he fixed his gaze on the young boy who had emerged from the manor to greet them. He possessed an immature, almost girlish face, and, though his eyes gleamed with a glimmer of intelligence, there was an atmosphere of ''defeat'' that permeated his entire existence. As for his actual appearance, he hadrge blue eyes, unkempt teal hair, and an outfit that screamed ''Magus''. Taking notice of the young boy shortly after Vahn, ck Rabbit''s face beamed as she began waving her arms, shouting, "Master Jin, ck Rabbit has returned~!" Adopting a smile that was equal parts sincere and forced, the green-haired youth maintained a poised and dignified bearing as he replied, "Wee home, ck Rabbit. I see you''ve brought guests. Please,e inside. We don''t have much, but I''ll prepare a batch of our finest tea." in a delicate tone of voice Though there was still a considerable distance between them, Jin''s voice carried as if he were only a few meters away. This was made possible due to his tremendous magical power, a volume so great that, had they been back in the Negimaverse, he could have easily passed as an Archmage. Using a sound transmission technique of his own, Vahn smiled as he said, "No need. I brought tea and snacks with me. I''ve also prepared a meal for all the other children so let''s try and wrap things up quickly." Surprised by Vahn''s ability tomunicate over long distances, Jin''s eyes widened as he asked, "Is the gentleman a fellow Magus? I don''t recognize your technique." Adopting an even broader smile, Vahn took another step forward. This time, however, his figure vanished from his previous location before appearing right in front of Jin as he said, "You''lle to find that there are infinitely more things you''re unaware of than things you believe you know. Don''t worry. I intend to help you with that." Ruffling the bewildered boy''s hair, Vahn waited for ck Rabbit, Sarina, and Nono to catch up before gesturing towards thetter two and saying, "These two adorable youngdies are Sarina and Nono. Respectively, they are the Sub-Leader and Adjutant of my Community, Sage Dragon''s Hearth. As for me? My name is Vahn. Vahn Aldrnari Mason. Some refer to me as the Sage Dragon Emperor. Others refer to me as the Godhand. You, my youngpatriot, may simply refer to me as Vahn." Though he was more than a little confused, Jin understood from Vahn''s introduction that he wasn''t a simple Magus. His spatial movement technique was also unlike anything he had ever seen before, almost as if it were a purely physical technique rather than a magical one. This would make sense if it was a Gift, but, thanks to the Authority granted to him as the Leader of the No Name Community, Jin could tell it was something executed by Vahn directly. He just didn''t understand how. "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Vahn. My name is Jin. Jin Russell. Though present circumstances might lead you to believe otherwise, I am the proud Leader of the No Names. Since you have allowed me to refer to you without honorifics, it would be my honor if you call me by my given name." Nodding in approval, Vahn retracted his hand from Jin''s head, saying, "You''re a very polite young man. It''s no wonder the No Names have been able to persevere thesest two years. You have the potential to be a great Leader in the future, Jin." Though he didn''t fully understand why, Jin felt a mixture of relief and pride to hear Vahn say he had potential. He got the impression that the man in front of him was immensely powerful, so much so that he couldn''t even begin to wrap his head around it. As for how he knew this? It wasrgely due to his Gift, [The Wisdom of Solomon]. It was one of three Gifts he possessed, and, though it wasn''t a very high rank, it drastically improved his analytical andprehension abilities. "Thank you, Vahn. Though I have yet to do anything deserving of such praise, I greatly appreciate it." Seemingly disagreeing with this statement, ck Rabbit adopted a somewhat stressed look on her face as she shouted, "That isn''t true! Master Jin is someone that everyone in the Community relies upon! Without you and Lily, ck Rabbit would have never been able to hold things together on her own!" Chuckling in response to ck Rabbit''s words, a somewhat bashful smile developed across Jin''s face as he rubbed the back of his head and said, "Your words are greatly appreciated, ck Rabbit. However, it is all of us working together that has allowed our Community toe this far. You and Lily, especially, have done-" Before Jin could continue, Vahn ruffled the boy''s hair a second time as he said, "You talk too much. As someone guilty of the same behavior in the past, take it from me when I say it is better to just go with the flow when ites to things like this. Speeches are only useful when you''re trying to inspire confidence in people you don''t closely associate with. When ites to the people you''re supposed to care about, it''s okay to be honest. If you keep bottling everything up, you''ll eventually explode..." Staring up at Vahn, Jin was tempted to ask him to stop messing up his hair. Instead, he adopted his characteristic smile, answering, "Thank you for the advice, Vahn. I will be sure to reflect upon it." Furrowing his brows, the thought of creating a Temte of Tsubaki briefly crossed Vahn''s mind as he retracted his hand from the boy''s head and said, "I''m sure you will. Now, how about we all head inside. We have a few things to discuss and I don''t want to keep the children waiting." Since it was the second time Vahn was emphasizing not wanting to make the children wait, Jin offered a courteous smile as he suggested, "Why don''t we eat first? Unless it is a matter of grave importance, there is no reason we can''t discuss itter. Please,e with me. I''ll show you where the children generally take their meals." Returning a smile of his own, Vahn gestured for Jin to lead the way before following behind the teal-haired youth in silence. He was honestly impressed by the young man''s bearing. Unfortunately for Jin, it was impossible for him to conceal the ''truth''. Vahn could sense the mental duress the boy was under, and, though he kept it concealed, likely with the use of a Mind Innate, he was only a few setbacks from aplete breakdown. Truth be told, Vahn saw a lot of himself in the teal-haired youth. Jin was forcing himself to bear a burden no one his age should be expected to bear. The only thing that kept him going was the expectations of others and his heartfelt desire to be someone they could rely on. This was actually verymendable, but, without a reliable Mentor to guide him, it was only a matter of time before he brought himself and everyone who relied upon him to ruin... (*At least he has fate working in his favor. Even without your help, I imagine he would be fine. Now that you''re here, he''ll be much more than that...*) Nodding his head in affirmation, a smile developed across Vahn''s face as he mused, "Indeed..." in an expectant tone that caused ck Rabbit''s ears to twitch... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''When Sarina does it, it''s annoying. When ck Rabbit does it, it''s cute'',''Vahn be like, "Boy..." in his best Kratos impression'',''By the time the Problem Children arrive, Jin is going to be more OP than Nagi in his prime xD...'') Chapter 2062: Check-up

Chapter 2062: Check-up

Seeing the hundred-odd children eagerly yet nervously awaiting his arrival, many wearing little more than rags, Vahn did his best to appear enthusiastic as he made his way towards Lily and a few other ''senior'' children. Noticing Vahn''s arrival along with all the other children, a cheerful smile developed across Lily''s face as she gathered everyone''s attention with a p before cheerfully exining, "Look, everyone. This is the person we were telling you about. His name is Vahn and he''s going to be providing us with a nice, big breakfast. Make sure to thank him properly~!" Though some of the children were too young to really understand what was happening, they each began to p and cheer in response to Lily''s words. As for Lily, she quickly ran over to Vahn''s side, asking, "What can I do to help?" before looking towards Jin and waving with a happy smile on her face. Before Jin could even think of organizing the children, Vahn plopped his right hand atop Lily''s head, answering, "Just leave it to me." as he raised his left hand and snapped. This caused several banquet tables to manifest out of thin air. Then, like magic, 122 tes appeared alongside severalrge trays of pancakes, bacon, eggs, sausage, biscuits, rice, and other breakfast items. Taking advantage of everyone''s stupor, Vahn snapped his fingers a second time to cast wide-range cleaning magic on the entire group. This caused a series ofughs and a few startled exmations, but, when everything was said and done, even the fingernails of the children had been thoroughly cleaned. Satisfied by the result, Vahn retracted his hand from the slightly blushing Lily''s head before looking towards the befuddled Jin and saying, "There''s a lot more where this came from. Let them eat their fill and then send them towards the cottage I''m about to set up. I''ll be performing a medical check on everyone and dental work on those who require it. That includes you. Two years without proper medical care isn''t good for developing children." Since it wasn''t really up for discussion, Vahn shifted his attention to Sarina and Nono, adding, "I''ll have the two of you lend a hand. I intend to teach you medical skills in the future so this will be an important experience. Come." Without waiting for the rest of the group to respond, Vahn made his way towards arge clearing before stopping when ck Rabbit pulled his sleeve and tentatively asked, "W-What should I do...?" Returning a smile, Vahn extended his hand to caress the pink-haired rabbit''s head as he said, "You should spend time with your Community. In the end, I''m an outsider. I''ll do everything in my power to help, but it''s ultimately up to you, Jin, and Lily to look after everyone. Don''t get me wrong. I love kids. It will just cause problems for everyone if I spend too much time with them." Though she had wanted to convince him to eat with everyone, ck Rabbit ultimately nodded in response to Vahn''s words. She knew he had a lot more experience with these types of situations than she did, so, trusting in his words, she allowed him to continue caressing her head for several additional seconds before returning to help Jin and Lily settle the understandably ted children... ... .. . Ignoring the crimson blush on Sarina''s face, Vahn demonstrated the proper use of a stethoscope before allowing Nono to try it herself. He wanted to get them started with the absolute basics, so, rather than teach them how to analyze the structure of a person''s body with a touch, he had Sarina strip down to her underwear before walking them through the basics of a physical examination. Maintaining an impably professional disposition, Vahn shook his head in response to Sarina''s behavior, exining, "Those involved in the care of others must appear calm and professional at all times. You will invariably have male and female patients in the future so you need to condition your mind to regard both sexes as objectively as possible. Bing flustered will onlyplicate things and leave you prone to making mistakes...now, deep breath...hold...and exhale..." Though her face was brighter than a tomato, Sarina did her best to nod as she obediently followed Vahn''smands. At the same time, Nono, demonstrating extraordinary calm, patiently listened to the former''s breathing. It was a little difficult due to her throbbing heart but she could still detect a subtle wheezing sound at the end of Sarina''s breaths. "I think there is something wrong with her lungs...?" Nodding his head, Vahn caused Sarina''s expression to pale slightly as he answered, "It isn''t that advanced, but she has asthma. Don''t worry. It''s easily treatable. I just wanted to see if you would notice. Good job." With that said, Vahn ced his palm on Sarina''s exposed back. This caused a stifling sensation in her chest, but, almost immediately thereafter, a pleasant warmth spread through her body as he said, "There. You''re cured. We still need to measure your height, weight, and a few other variables, but, other than that, you''re fit as a fiddle. Now, stand on this scale. I''m going to walk Nono through the process. Pay close attention as you''ll be recording her values next." Though her heart was still beating a mile a minute, Sarina didn''t hesitate to take advantage of the current situation by raising her arms. She could easily hop down from the examination table on her own but she would much rather Vahn help her down. Understanding the precocious girl''s thoughts, Vahn picked Sarina up by the pits of her arms before setting her down on the floor. He couldter use this as an example of how she was still a child, so, even if she was fishing for affection, he didn''t mind. After all, now that he had learned about the No Names, Sarina and Nono would be spending a lot of time with the other children... ... .. . Around the same time that Nono was getting dressed after her own physical, Vahn heard a gentle rattle on the door. He already knew who this was, so, after manifesting a curtain to afford Nono a bit of privacy, he called out, "Come on in, Jin, Lily." Opening the door almost immediately after Vahn called out, Jin replied with a courteous, "Pardon our intrusion." as he held the door open for Lily. Thetter immediately looked around the room, her emerald green eyes scanning the interior before ultimatelying to settle on Vahn, a radiant smile developing across her face as she said, "Thank you, Vahn. It''s been so long since the children had anything to celebrate. Seeing them smile with full bellies warms my heart." Despite returning a smile of his own, Vahn shook his head and said, "Your gratitude is appreciated but unnecessary. It is the duty of adults to look after children until they are capable of looking after themselves. The No Names have been wronged by the society of the Little Garden. I''m just helping to right a wrong that never should have urred." Adopting an even more radiant smile, Lily left Vahn slightly taken aback as she calmly answered, "I understand. However, even if you consider it unnecessary, I cannot help but express my gratitude. My mother taught me that acts of kindness should not go unrewarded. I have nothing else to give, so, even if you do not require it, please ept my gratitude." Punctuating her words with a bow, Lily did her best to appear as sincere as she felt. At the same time, Jin chimed in to say, "I''m afraid I must agree with Lily on this matter. Rather, as the Leader of the No Names, I would feel ashamed if you didn''t at least ept my gratitude. I should be the one providing for my Community, but-" Raising his hand, Vahn interrupted the teal-haired Magus'' speech with an abrupt, "That''s enough. I don''t want to hear you bemoan your faults. You''re a ten-year-old kid. The only things you should be worrying about are how to make friends and how to have the most fun. I''m not going to tell you to give up being the Leader of the No Names. Rather, I n to help you be strong enough to protect the things you want to protect. Now, stop wallowing in self-pity. I still have a hundred-and-twenty kids to examine after you. Lose the robes. Lily, you can wait outside." Tilting her head to the side, Lily intoned a bemused, "Hmm?" before asking, "Why do I need to wait outside? Jin and I still take baths together. I wash his back and helps to clean my hair, ears, and tails. I don''t mind seeing him naked." Radiating the kind of innocence that only a child could manage, Lily seemed genuinely confused by Vahn''s words as she stared at him with a smile and waited for his exnation. As for Jin, he seemed more than a little embarrassed, but, after hesitating for several seconds, he backed Lily''s statement by exining, "Baths in the East Side aremunal in nature. Though some Communities separate their baths by gender, it isn''t umon for children beneath the age of ten to be allowed entry to both sides. It is a form of social bonding that has existed since the establishment of the East Side..." Despite his words, Jin''s face became progressively redder the longer he spoke. He had actually been trying to convince Lily to let him bathe alone for quite some time, but, as they had already been sharing the bath for years, she simply wouldn''t listen. The one time he tried to put his foot down, she ended up pouting and ignoring him for the better part of three days. Noticing Jin''s and Lily''s auras briefly ovep, an amused smile developed across Vahn''s face as he said, "So be it. I was actually intending to teach Lily as well, so this is a good opportunity. I''ll exin things while Sarina performs your check-up. Remove your robes and take a seat on that table." Gesturing towards the examination table, Vahn pretended to be unaware of the duress in both Jin''s and Sarina''s expressions as he began organizing everything they would need. The teal-haired youth was already afraid to be seen by his childhood friend. The thought of having a girl around his age conduct his physical examination caused his face to turn as red as a cherry. As for Sarina, well, she just didn''t want to touch a boy she had only just met. Noticing that neither was moving, Vahn picked up the stethoscope before handing it to Sarina and asking, "Are you going to give up learning medicine? I''m still going to teach you Alchemy, but the skills I''m teaching you now can be used to help everyone. What if I got injured and you needed to treat me? Would you ignore me as well...?" Though he knew it was a little unfair to present her with such a scenario, Vahn knew the quickest way to remove Sarina''s developing dependence on him was to redirect her focus towards people who might actually benefit from her support. If she received gratitude from others, it was only a matter of time before she began pursuing the path of a physician seriously. He would just need to show enthusiasm around that time so that she would believe he was genuinely proud. Fortunately, so long as she made even a middling effort, he would be. In the end, it was Nono emerging from behind the curtain that made up Sarina''s mind, as, unlike her raven-haired counterpart, the auburn-haired girl genuinely enjoyed ying doctor. Thus, with a gentle smile on her face, shebed aside her bangs before surprisingly everyone as she looked towards Jin and said, "Please remove your robes and take a seat on the table. If you hesitate, the other children will feel nervous. As the Leader of the No Names, isn''t it your responsibility to set a good example...?" As if an opportunity was being stolen from her, Sarina immediately came back to her senses, saying, "He''s my patient, Nono. You can help, but please leave the examination to me." Though her sky-blue eyes briefly shifted to Vahn, much to his amusement, Nono quickly nodded in response to Sarina''s words, saying, "Very well..." in her characteristically calm, subtly bashful tone. ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn still enjoys showing off..'',''Magic is nice, but analog medical skills are also important~'',''Jin is both lucky and extremely unfortunate xD...'') Chapter 2063: Request

Chapter 2063: Request

While allowing Sarina and Nono to perform the check-up, Vahn attempted to keep Jin distracted by making small talk. More specifically, he asked about Jin''s history, how things had been thest two years, and, most importantly, what he had in mind for the future of the No Names. "I just want our Community to keep growing, even if we aren''t able to participate in Gift Games. The most important thing to me is everyone''s happiness..." Shaking his head, Vahn, who had been conversing with Jin while sitting backward in a chair, inly stated, "Naive. It''smendable to aim for a future where everyone is happy, but it''s senseless to believe you can achieve it just because you want to. This is the Little Garden of the Divine Realm. I don''t know why you haven''t been targetted thus far, but it''s only a matter of time before outsiders begin coveting yournd. There are countless ways to address the barrenness of thend. Without the means to protect it, yourself, and others, prosperity will only invite tragedy." Though he was already aware of the truth contained within Vahn''s words, Jin''s expression darkened when the truth wasid bare. In fact, one of the reasons Lily had been returned to them was so that her presence could gradually replenish thend. In other words, the Community that targeted them two years ago wasn''t finished with them. They just wanted to watch them suffer before returning to collect the remainder of their prize... "What else can I do? My Gifts are only suitable for things like puzzles and solving riddles. None of the surrounding Communities will ept a Gift Game on my terms as we have nothing of value to offer them. The only Communities that associate with us have the backing of Demon Lords. If not for ck Rabbit, we wouldn''t have been able tost this long..." Having already heard the basics from ck Rabbit, Jin wanted to believe he could trust Vahn. He hadn''t even discussed these matters with Lily because he was afraid of overwhelming her with an even greater burden. She already did so much more than him for the members of their Community, so, at the very least, he wanted to shoulder their external issues on his own... Shaking his head a second time, Vahn answered, "Honestly, there really isn''t much you can do other than asking for help. You''ve been ced in an extremely unfair situation. Without external help, it is pretty much impossible for you to recover." Slumping his shoulders, Jin looked like he might begin tearing up. Even Lily seemed saddened by Vahn''s words. Fortunately for them both, he was far from finished speaking. Rather, he actually had a lot more to say, so, before either could wallow in self-pity, he issued a light chuckle before asking, "What''s with those expressions? You''re literally talking to the person that has the means to solve all of your problems. Better yet, the only thing I expect in return is for each and every single one of you to be happy and healthy. Beyond that? Well, your lives are your own to decide." Though Jin adopted a somewhat awkward expression in response to Vahn''s words, Lily practically beamed as she asked, "What can I do to help?" Amused by the young kitsune''s fervor, a lighthearted chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat before he went on to say, "The simplest thing you can do is just tell me what you want. Prior to my ascent to the Divine Realm, many referred to me as the God of Infinite Possibilities. I cannot bestow power upon you, but I can provide you the means to obtain it. In Jin''s case, I intend to develop him into a real Magus. As for you, littledy, I was thinking about helping you grow out your tails." Blinking in surprise, Lily repeated what ck Rabbit had told him earlier, stating, "If I grow out my tails, I''ll end up bing an adult. I don''t mind growing up, but I''m afraid others will target us if I do..." Waving his hand in a dismissive manner, Vahn exined, "You don''t have to worry about that. With your permission, I intend to ce a seal on your body that will regte your growth. I''m also going toy a barrier formation around the entire No Name Community so that outsiders can''t sneak in or spy on you. And that''s just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. I have quite a number of things in mind for the No Names. Of course, everything depends on whether or not our teal-haired friend is willing to ask for my help..." Noticing Vahn''s gaze, a conflicted smile developed across Jin''s face as he said, "Truth be told, I feel considerable misgivings towards the notion of entrusting our problems to someone outside of the Community. Unfortunately, Ick the means to resolve everything on my own. You are also a friend of ck Rabbit''s, so, even if I must swallow my-" "You really do talk too much, kid. Save that kind of dialogue for when we''re ironing out the specifics of our partnership. For now, all I need to know is if you''re willing to ept my help or not." Borrowing pages from his former mentors, Vahn was hoping to make Jin a little more decisive. As much as he didn''t like Nagi, the teal-haired boy in front of him would benefit from emting the hot-headed youth. This was especially true considering his Community wasprised of children. They wouldn''t understand polite orplex speech. If he really wanted to motivate them, he just needed to be more charismatic and decisive. Though he was unaware of Vahn''s thoughts, Jin could vaguely guess what he was thinking. Thus, after smiling wryly for several seconds, he did his best to appear more confident as he answered, "Please help us." while lowering his head. After smiling wide enough to show off his pearly white teeth,plete with prominent canines, Vahn began tough in an uncharacteristically boisterous manner before giving Jin a thumbs-up and saying, "No problem. Once you''re done here, write up a list of all the things you think your Community needs. So long as it isn''t something excessive like building you an army capable of conquering the entire Divine Realm, I should be able to manage." Unaware that Vahn could probably do exactly that, Jin issued a chuckle of his own before hopping off the examination table and answering, "Understood. Thank you, Vahn..." ... .. . With Jin''s physical examinationing to an end after he had his height and weight checked, Vahn was suddenly left alone with three ten-year-old girls. Since Shiroyasha also had the appearance of a ten-year-old, he couldn''t help but wonder if there was something special about the number. At the very least, he knew that whoever created the Record must have had a reason when they introduced a bunch of races that matured in stages rather than aging chronologically... As Vahn''s mind briefly wandered towards existential thoughts, Lily, maintaining apletely calm and unflustered expression, chimed in to ask, "Should I take off my clothes now?" Nodding his head, Vahn answered, "Yes. Even if you don''t develop in the same way as the rest of the children, it is important to periodically check your health. Don''t worry, most of the examination will be conducted by Sarina and Nono. I''ll only need to contact you when I''m inscribing the seal on your body." Tilting her head adorably to the side, Lily innocently replied, "I wasn''t worried." with a happy smile on her face. Then, without any discernible hesitation, she removed her apron, yellow blouse, and orange miniskirt before neatly folding them up and cing them at the side. This left her in little more than her socks, a pair of worn-out brown loafers, and an adorable pair of pink panties with a white polka dot pattern. Vahn found thetter rather amusing as Jin had been wearing a matching pair of briefs beneath his robes... ... .. . Undoubtedly as a result of her desire to get rid of Lily as soon as possible, Sarina did her best to speed up the physical examination as much as possible. Unfortunately, this came back to bite her as Vahn had her take Lily''s measurements three times. He knew the young kitsune''s exact proportions so he made sure she kept taking them until she got it right. Throughout the entire examination, Lily was nothing if not cooperative. She offered no resistance to any of the tests, and, even though she admitted to being ticklish, she managed to remain still when Vahn was showing the girls how to check her ears and measure the quality of her fur. This was also when he inscribed the seal on her body, a small runic tattoo that formed a nail-sized circle near the base of her tail. Since granting her nine tails would be the same as bestowing her tremendous power, Vahn just made it so that Lily would be able to absorb spiritual energy at a much faster rate than normal. In other words, she would need to meditate or cultivate in order to increase the number of tails she currently had. As for her growth, he made it so that she would develop at a simr rate to the rest of the children until she reached the age of fifteen. From then onward, she could adjust her shape, age, and appearance freely, a traitmon among kitsune. Unaware that Vahn had already inscribed the magical formation on her body, Lily waited until Sarina had gotten her breast and butt measurements correct before asking, "What do I need to do now? Should Iy down on the table?" Shaking his head, Vahn exined, "Since you already gave me permission, I''ve alreadypleted the procedure. I tried making it as non-invasive as possible. Considering you didn''t even notice, I''d say I was sessful." Blinking in surprise, Lily looked behind her before reaching back to physically count the number of tails she possessed. This earned her an amused chuckle from Vahn before he went on to exin the specifics of the runes he had ced on her body. He also suggested a few methods for her to grow stronger, the simplest being to train alongside Jin, Sarina, and Nono. Ever-eager to make new friends, Lily happily epted the suggestion before donning her clothes and scampering out of the examination room to tell Jin the good news. This gave Vahn hope for the future as he was actually intending to direct the affection of all three girls toward the young Magus. It would take a bit of effort, but, as Sarina''s affection was more puppy love than anything else, Vahn was pretty confident he could shift her focus to Jin by nourishing the rivalry between her and Lily... Meeting Vahn''s expectations, Sarina only waited a few seconds after Lily''s departure before asking, "Do you prefer girls with animal ears and tails?" Offering a rxed smile in response, Vahn gestured for Sarina toe closer before nting his hand atop her head. She believed this was to pet her, but, moments after his hand made contact, a pair of fox-like ears protruded from her head as he calmly exined, "Once you advanced beyond a certain level, things like age, appearance, race, and even gender be transient concepts without any real meaning. You''re far from that point, youngdy. For now, focus on the things right in front of you. Even Gods on the level of Shiroyasha and myself cannot urately predict the future. Don''t waste your time thinking about things you can''t affect. If you lose sight of your surroundings, you''ll end up being left behind by people who focus more on the present in order to assure themselves a better future..." Though he lectured Jin about being long-winded, Vahn didn''t mind contradicting himself if it was for the sake of guiding someone. Unfortunately, Sarina was a little too young to fully understand everything he was trying to say. She was more focused on the ears atop her head, and, after he had finished speaking, she only hesitated for a brief moment before tentatively asking, "Can I have a tail too? I don''t mind if you have to touch my butt..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn be like, "Moshi moshi, God of Infinite Possibilities-desu?"'',''Lily is a very mature youngdy'',''Sarina is not xD...'') Chapter 2064: Reprieve

Chapter 2064: Reprieve

With the average physical taking around five minutes, it took more than ten hours for Vahn to finish each of the check-ups. As for Sarina and Nono. He sent them away around lunchtime and promised to meet up with them once all the examinations were finished. Fortunately, other than a bit of malnourishment and a few insignificant conditions, the children in the No Name Community were surprisingly healthy. More importantly, they were all in high spirits, a stark contrast to how most children in their situation would behave. After seeing off thest member of the ''seniors'' group, a kind-looking young boy with short brown hair, pointed ears, and hazel eyes, Vahn turned towards the person who had been waiting patiently outside the cottage since lunchtime, smiling as he said, "You didn''t have to wait up for me. Not that I don''t appreciate it." Returning a smile of her own, the young woman, ck Rabbit, happily responded, "I know. I waited because I wanted to." Chuckling at the response, Vahn extended his hand to help the blue-haired bunny to her feet as he asked, "Where did Sarina and Nono run off to?" Though she blushed slightly when Vahn pulled her into a natural hug, ck Rabbit didn''t resist as she answered, "They yed hide and seek with the children before apanying Lily to tour the manor..." Humming a curt response, Vahn didn''t immediately continue the discussion. Instead, he stared into ck Rabbit''s ruby-red eyes until tiny motes of pink light began to appear. Shortly thereafter, a hint of pink began to appear near the roots of her hair as she lowered her face and bashfully whispered, "You shouldn''t stare so intensely..." Feeling ck Rabbit''s tuft of a tail tickle the hand he had wrapped around her lower back, the smile on Vahn''s face became notably more prominent as he whispered, "Thank you..." in the most sincere tone he could manage. With her hair bing progressively pinker, ck Rabbit looked up with confusion visible in her eyes as she asked, "Eh? It''s no problem. I wasn''t waiting for very long..." Without losing even a trace of his smile, Vahn pulled ck Rabbit close enough that her breasts were pressed against him before shaking his head and stating, "I''m not thanking you for that. Now that I''ve checked them personally, I can say with absolute surety that these children were blessed to have someone like you looking after them. Jin and Lily did their parts, but the happiness they have acquired was only made possible because of your tireless efforts. For that, you have my gratitude. Few could have aplished what you did here, ck Rabbit. It''s obvious that you really love this Community..." Though she was feeling a little skittish after Vahn pulled her so close, ck Rabbit''s will to separate from him faded in its entirety when she heard his words. Rather, had he not been holding her, she might have fallen on her butt and started crying. Instead, she leaned her head against his chest, a few light sniffles emanating from beneath her bangs as she whimpered a thank you of her own... ... .. . After a cursory check to see what Sarina and Nono were up to, Vahn, apanied by ck Rabbit, entered a ce called the Library of the No Names. It was located in the eastern wing of the manor, and, as the name suggested, it was arge library filled with thousands of books rted to the lore and mythos of the Little Garden. Since the majority of high-brow Gift Games revolved around various legends, most Communities had libraries and teams dedicated to research. This was where Jin spent most of his time, constantly mulling over book after book in a desperate attempt to increase his knowledge and find a solution to the problems guing his Community. "Yo. Having fun?" Hearing Vahn''s words, Jin, who had been nose-deep in a massive grimoire, startled slightly before turning around and answering, "Ah, Vahn, ck Rabbit. I didn''t hear the two of youe in. Please, take a seat. I''ve finished the list you asked me to write up." Rather than immediately sitting down, Vahn walked over to peer at the contents of the book Jin had immersed himself in. This caused the teal-haired youth to appear nervous, as, prior to Vahn''s arrival, he had been searching for legends rted to the Sage Dragon Emperor. The book on the table was a Gift-Grade grimoire pertaining to famous Dragons, their ecology, and the legends associated with them. Amused by the youth''s attempts to learn more about him, Vahn ruffled Jin''s hair before pulling out his Record of Origin and exining, "Even if you possessed the Sacred Tome, you wouldn''t find any information on me. I''m a singrity within space, time, and creation. A being that only exists in the present moment." As there were all kinds of conceptual beings living within the Divine Realm, Jin wasn''t particrly surprised by Vahn''s words. Instead, he just handed over a small journal containing his notes, and, most importantly, the things he believed his Community could benefit from. Deciding not to press the matter, Vahn needed only to ce the journal into his Inventory in order to memorize all the contents. After that, he returned it to the slightly confused youth, stating, "You should be a little greedier. I appreciate your desire to solve problems on your own, but the children outside deserve a reprieve after everything they have experienced." With aplicated expression on his face, Jin exined, "I understand that, Vahn. I really do. What I''m afraid of is that our Community will be entirely dependent on you if we ask for too much. I don''t want my friends and family to suffer. However, I also believe that it is our resolve to ovee the suffering that has been forced upon us that allows us to remain unified..." "Are you a Buddhist?" Adopting a wry smile in response to Vahn''s sudden inquiry, Jin shook his head, answering, "No. It''s just a sentiment I developed after observing everyone''s growth over the past two years..." Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn crossed his arms before calmly stating, "I am a being that has traversed dozens of distinct multiversal structures. To that end, I can conclusively state that your views are correct. What you''re failing to ount for is the fact we''re currently located in the highest metaversal ne. Such sentiments only hold up when you can realistically forecast the future. Here, in the Divine Realm, such foresight is meaningless. It only takes a single conceptual being to flip the lesser Communities of the Little Garden on their heads." Seeing that Jin wasn''t convinced, Vahn internally mused, ("He''s still just a kid...") before going on to say, "Listen. This is what I''m going to do. First and foremost, I''m going to nt a Water Tree Sapling at your Source Spring. Afterward, I''m going to summon a few earth and water spirits to help restore vitality to thend. cing that burden on Lily, alone, puts your entire Community in jeopardy. After that, I''m going to restore the nearby castle town and install a consultation office that will also serve as a branch location of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. That''s where you''ll go when you, or anyone else for that matter, requires my assistance or advice." Though he felt Vahn was doing a little too much for them, Jin didn''t refuse. He got the impression that Vahn would move forward even without his permission if he believed it was for the benefit of the children. More importantly, he could tell that ck Rabbit trusted Vahn tremendously, so, rather than oveplicate things by letting his pride get in the way, he ultimately epted Vahn''s terms with an awkward yet relieved smile... ... .. . Making good on his promises almost immediately, Vahn had Jin guide him to the Source Spring, an unbelievably important location to any growing Community as it served as the water source for the entire region. This wasn''t an exaggeration either, as, without a Source Spring, even rain wouldn''t fall as weather simply wasn''t a natural phenomenon in the Divine Realm. During the battle two years prior, the No Names ended up losing their Water Tree. Ever since then, the children would have to make several trips to a distant river just to have enough water for daily use. They would literally spend hours walking back and forth every single day just to fill a cauldron to supply the few crops they were able to grow. Though food and water weren''t absolutely necessary in the Divine Realm, foregoing them for long periods of time would lead to symptoms simr to malnourishment and dehydration. This was due to the body''s natural consumption of spiritual energy to sustain itself. You wouldn''t die if you didn''t eat, but, without proper nourishment, your body would gradually atrophy until you simply lost the will to live. As someone who had been fond of baths ever since he first enjoyed a dip in a hot spring, Vahn believed that everyone should be able to rx and cleanse themselves at their leisure. After all, when it came to mental health and general wellness, there were very few things even remotelyparable to a nice, rxing bath. Seeing the Source Spring quickly fill after Vahn ced a Water Tree Sapling near the center, most of Jin''s reservations about the present situation simply washed away along with the crystal clear water. Water was, inarguably, one of the most important resources for a Community to possess. Now that they had their own source, they wouldn''t need to purchase it from others or fetch it from a distant source. Instead, they could focus on farming, infrastructure, training, and other important factors for a Community''s growth. Though Jin''s thoughts might seem out of ce in the lower realms, it wasmon for children to perform manualbor in the Divine Realm. They were several times stronger than even adults from the lower realms, and, more importantly, thews of the Little Garden mandated that those without Gifts had to support the yers of their Community. In other words, themon inhabitants of the Little Garden were basically the servants of those with the power topete. Immediately following the return of their water source, most of the children aged six and younger began to gather near the massive bathhouse attached to the manor. Then, without anyone telling them they needed to do it, they changed into simple tunic-style robes before eagerly gathering supplies to clean the inordinatelyrge bath. Not for themselves, but for Jin, Lily, and ck Rabbit. While that was going on, Vahn had his group reunite with Sarina, Nono, and Lily so that he could teach thetter how to make a contract with nature spirits. Summoning Spirits in the Divine Realm was easier said than done, but, thanks to his functionally infinite Gifts, Vahn could ignore the Law of Equivalent Exchange by using his Creation Divinity and Source Energy to create entirely new Spirits. Since Lily was a kitsune, Vahn went out of his way to make the Spirits resemble adorable foxes with traits indicative of their elements. This included a wind spirit with pale blue fur, wings, and adorablyrge ears, an earth spirit with two-tone green-yellow fur with tiny antlers, mushrooms, and flowers growing from its body, a water spirit with features reminiscent of a goldfish, and,st but not least, a fire spirit that, quite literally, resembled a fox formed from mes. Vahn had originally intended to go with something along the lines of Eevee and its evolutions, but, fearing he would oveplicate things by introducing Temted Pokemon into the Divine Realm, he decided against it. He also enjoyed creating things from scratch, so, after creating a few designs for her to choose from, Vahn ended up settling on the four Lily had liked the most. She deserved a bit of pampering after taking care of more than a hundred children from the time she was barely 8-years-old... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''ck Rabbit has already been ensnared...'',''Vahn be like, "I''m going to help you even if you don''t want it. Capiche?"'',''Lily is a good girl (U w U)...'') Chapter 2065: Interference

Chapter 2065: Interference

Afterpleting all the tasks he had set out to aplish within the No Names territory, a week passed in the blink of an eye. In that time, Vahn finished repairing the town, creating a barrier, and, once everything else was said and done, he installed an office within the No Names territory before coordinating with Shiroyasha to establish his main office and forge near one of the Thousand Eyes branch locations. Though he had yet to receive any actual customers, Vahn didn''t particrly mind. Most of his time was simply spent idling around and adapting to the Divine Realm while another version of himself looked after Jin, Lily, Sarina, and Nono. He had, at the very least, ten years until he was supposed to return to his personal Little Garden. This was the amount of time he and the girls had agreed upon prior to his reincarnation so he didn''t mind watching over the No Names until they could take care of themselves. Fortunately, Jin was a very studious young man, and, thanks to his phenomenal magical energy reserves, he was making quick progress towards mastering the basics. The three girls were ''much'' slower, but, considering Sarina and Nono were rtively normal youngdies, Vahn wasn''t all that surprised. Rather, even if they just spent the next few years ying around with the other children, he wouldn''t condemn or criticize them. If there was anything Vahn had toin about, it was the fact that Shiroyasha would drop in on him whenever she pleased. He didn''t particrly mind her presence, but, more often than not, she appeared at the most inopportune times. More specifically, she had developed a habit of popping up when he was spending time with ck Rabbit, taking a bath, or preparing food. Much to Sarina''s chagrin, the rtionship between Vahn and ck Rabbit had been developing at a slow yet steady pace. She would often stop by whenever she had free time, and, after mustering up a bit of courage, she even offered to wash his back for him. Vahn graciously epted this, but, as a result, they ended up having to share the bath with a genderless imp as well. Vahn had tried to coax Shiroyasha using anime, manga, and video games she was unfamiliar with, but, every time he and ck Rabbit were about to cross the line, she would invariably appear. He knew she was only doing this because she was concerned about ck Rabbit''s well being but that didn''t make it any less annoying. After all, she was the one that initially tried to pair them together. If he really wanted to, Vahn was absolutely confident in his ability to get ck Rabbit to bear her all to him. He just didn''t want to force her before she was ready. This was the main thing that annoyed him about Shiroyasha''s behavior. She knew he was letting ck Rabbit decide when they advanced their rtionship, yet, every time the befuddled bunny mustered up her courage, Shiroyasha would appear to tease her... ... .. . "Oho~? What''s this? I''m sensing a bit of favoritism here..." "Shi-Shi-Shiroyasha-sama!? W-What are you doing here!?" Picking up the towel she had just dropped, ck Rabbit''s hair became bright pink as she used it to hide her frilly pink swimsuit. She had actually intended toe naked, but, after fretting over what might happen for the better part of three hours, she ultimately agreed to Vahn''s offer of a massage with her swimsuit on. Staring at ck Rabbit, Shiroyasha wriggled her hands in a manner reminiscent of a lecherous old man until Vahn released an exasperated sigh and remarked, "I thought I tied you up. How did you escape so quickly? Even Nadeshiko shouldn''t have been able to break those bindings..." "Eh...?" Though ck Rabbit was surprised by Vahn''s words, Shiroyasha simply snickered mischievously before puffing out her non-existent chest and answering, "It''ll take a lot more than a few anti-divine ropes to keep me sealed, brat. Besides, I can simply elerate time around my body until they turn to dust. You may be skilled when ites to the production of Gift-Grade Artifacts, but even entire cosmologies are destined to fade away with the passage of time. I just made the ropes age a billion or so years and, vo, I was freed~." "Right...so? What are you doing here? I''m not going to give you a massage." Clicking her tongue, Shiroyasha muttered, "Greedy..." before regaining her smile and adding, "I just came to observe. I could see from my own shop just fine, but it''s a lot more interesting to see ck Rabbit''s reactions up close. Don''t mind me." Punctuating her words, Shiroyasha manifested a thick cushion and some rice crackers out of thin air before taking a seat and adopting an expectant smile. This left Vahn with a deadpan expression, as, almost immediately after Shiroyasha took a seat, ck Rabbit meekly muttered, "Sorry Vahn...I think we should do thister..." Without waiting for his response, ck Rabbit fled from the room with an embarrassed look on her face. Her departure was closely observed by Shiroyasha, who, immediately following ck Rabbit''s departure, erected a soundproof barrier to assert, "I''m not trying to get in your way. I just think your rtionship is developing too quickly. At the very least, I''d prefer it if you wait until the matter with you-know-who has been settled..." Though they had yet to discuss the specifics, Vahn had been made aware of the n that had been drafted by the former leaders of the No Names. Their previous Strategist, a woman named Canaria, was a reality-bending existence known as a Poet. Poets were considered to be the fourth ''Strongest Species'' due to their ability to change the meaning of concepts and rewrite fate. Prior to her death, Canaria had used all of her power to manifest an ultimate trump card to deal with a nigh-unkible threat known as Azi Dahaka, a Demonic Dragon God representing Evil and Destruction. So long as nothing unexpected urred, the measures Canaria had taken all but guaranteed that Azi Dahaka would, at the very least, be sealed away. ck Rabbit had an important part to y in this plot, so, for the time being, Shiroyasha wanted to prevent too many variables from appearing. Vahn was considered an exception, for all kinds of reasons, but things would be inordinately moreplicated if ck Rabbit were to suddenly have children of her own to look after. "You do realize that I could probably defeat him on my own, right? I mean, I don''t mind sharing the spotlight, but it''s nonsensical to conform to fate when you''ve literally met people who can influence it at their will. It only takes another Poet topletely screw over your n." Shaking her head, Shiroyasha stated, "You''re underestimating Canaria. Even if another Poet did try to intervene, they would need to sacrifice themselves in a simr manner. The majority of Poets are extremely selfish individuals. There''s no way they would lump themselves together with a bunch of Demon Lords. They usually spent their free time messing with Gods and Heroes by genderbending them and pulling simr pranks. Hell, most of the Second and Third Generation Deities came about as a direct result of the stories written by Poets. Even if one did appear, they would just spin a story that results in the Demon God having tits. It wouldn''t be the first time." Though he wanted to point out that there was always a possibility, Vahn knew that Shiroyasha was right. Even he could sense the powerful fate around people like Jin and Lily. It would take someone willfully machinating against them to orchestrate a scenario where they ended up losing their lives. With him around, that was pretty much impossible. Exhaling a sigh, Vahn shook his head in mild exasperation before asking, "How long until the ''plot'' begins to move forward? I remember you saying that the third generation of problem children is scheduled to arrive in three months. How soon after that do you n to confront the Demon God?" Shaking her own head, Shiroyasha shrugged her shoulders as she answered, "I have no clue. I don''t even know what powers the third-generation problem children possess. Canaria used her power to make sure beings in the Divine Realm wouldn''t be able to spy on the children of her friends and the trump card she had prepared. We''ll have to see how strong they are when they arrive. After that, it''s a matter of defeating the organizations targeting the seal and confronting the Demon God once he awakens. It could take a year, ten years, or even a hundred years. Who knows?" "So, you''re telling me to ''hold back'' even though you don''t know how long everything is going to take? What if it takes a thousand years? Do you really intend to make ck Rabbit wait that long before she can start a family?" Snorting through her nose, Shiroyasha immediately replied, "Bullshit. If it took the problem children that long to defeat the Demon God, we''d all be screwed. Besides, now that you''re here, I doubt you would just sit around as some three-headed dragon bastard ran around destroying things on your turf. I know how territorial you lizards can be. At the most, I imagine it would only take a few years. After that, you and ck Rabbit can pump out as many baby bunnies as you want. Don''t tell me the illustrious Sage Dragon Emperor can''t control his libido for a few years?" Raising his brow, Vahn gave Shiroyasha the kind of look reserved forplete fools. This caused a visible tickmark to appear on the petite Demoness''s head as he remarked, "Are you an idiot? Sure, I could wait a few years, but the time for me to be a one-woman kind of man has long since passed. I don''t want to hurt ck Rabbit''s feelings but it''s only a matter of time before I find another woman who tickles my fancy or proactively targets me. It''s an integral part of my character at this point. The only thing you''ll aplish by getting in the way is making ck Rabbit sad when other girls make greater headway than her..." Furrowing her brows and crossing her arms, Shiroyasha adopted a slightly hostile look on her face as she stated, "I never expected to hear something like this from you. I knew you had an extensive harem, but I didn''t think you would be this arrogant about it..." Exhaling yet another sigh, Vahnbed through his hair in an effort to remain calm as he said, "I''m not trying to be arrogant. I''m just being realistic. Even when I make an earnest effort to limit myself or prevent girls from targeting me, something will always transpire to bring me closer to a member of the opposite sex. You observed it for yourself when I was climbing the Tower. Do you really think the various factions and Communities are just going to sit by as I continue to expand my power and influence?" Frowning even deeper, Shiroyasha suggested, "You could always disguise yourself as an old man, or, better yet, an aged woman..." Deadpanning in response to the suggestion, Vahn rebutted, "You could always do the same. Why don''t you...?" Understanding what Vahn was trying to get at, Shiroyasha exhaled a sigh of her own before shaking her head and saying, "Fine. I get it. Can you at least wait until the problem children arrive? Once we have a better grasp of their power, you''ll be able to act with a lot more impunity than you currently do. After all, if you''re always much stronger than they are, it shouldn''t be an issue for you to defeat that three-headed bastard on your own." Since it wasn''t like he was desperate to have sex or produce additional children, Vahn ultimately just shrugged in response to Shiroyasha''s suggestion before shaking his head and saying, "Sure. I''ll give you a bit of face this time around. Still, you should know I''m not fond of other people interfering in my personal affairs. At this point, you''re doing more harm than good by interfering in ck Rabbit''s attempts to push our rtionship forward. It''s only been a week and she''s already beginning to feel stressed out. What do you think will happen if this continues for an entire seven months?" Though she could understand what Vahn was getting at, Shiroyasha appeared confident when she stated, "ck Rabbit is a strong girl. I have watched her grow from an infant to the woman she is today. She might get a little stressed out, but, so long as you don''t continue pushing her, she will eventually mellow out. The only reason she is acting like this is because she has no experience with love. If you weren''t such a Casanova, she wouldn''t be trying so hard to meet your expectations..." Wincing in response to Shiroyasha''s usation, Vahn was about to say he wasn''t actively trying to seduce her when the petite Demoness chimed in to say, "Don''t give me that. You know what kind of effect you have on women. You were already hugging her and cing your hands around her waist the first day you met. Now you have her offering to wash your back and deliberating over whether or not she should strip down to her birthday suit for a massage. You might not have been trying to seduce her, but you sure as hell aren''t making an effort not to..." Understanding better than most the kind of effect he had on women, Vahn just shook his head in response to Shiroyasha''s words. He wasn''t trying to refute her. He just didn''t know what to say in response. She had hit the proverbial nail on the head. In fact, every time he and ck Rabbit were alone together, he was always the first to initiate contact. It would be strange if she didn''t think he was harboring even greater ''expectations'' towards her... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Cock-blocking Demon Goddess'',''Poets sound like assholes...highly cultured assholes xD...'',''Vahn is a literal chick ma...'') Chapter 2066: Revelations

Chapter 2066: Revtions

After sorting through his thoughts, aided by his elerated mental faculties, Vahn exhaled a tired sigh as he said, "There isn''t really much I can do about it. I''ve spent hundreds of years pandering to my women and doing everything I can to make them happy. As strange as it sounds, it''s basically a muscle memory at this point. If ck Rabbit keeps giving me ''go-ahead'' signals, I''m going to keep reacting." Not expecting Vahn to say something so honest yet shameless, Shiroyasha pulled out her fan and began to snicker. This proved he wasn''t aplete ''asshole''. He just didn''t really know any better. This was something she could work with, so, after getting her fill ofughter, she snapped her fan shut and said, "Leave it to me. ck Rabbit will do just about anything for her Community. If I can convince her it''s for the sake of the children, she should cool her jets pretty quickly. You just need to stop being so touchy-feely all the time." Raising his hands in a helpless manner, Vahn stated, "That''s easier said than done. Just like when I caressed your head, it''s not really something I can control. If a person is in my range and they do something I find cute or approve of, I''ll end up petting them by instinct. ck Rabbit is simply too cute for my hands to remain idle..." "Hmmm...I can kind of understand that. Even I can barely keep my hands off of her..." Adopting an usatory look, Vahn retorted, "There is a significant difference between me petting someone''s head and you groping their breasts and butt..." Snicking in response to Vahn''s words, Shiroyasha opened her fan again before stating, "So, you''re basically saying you need something to keep your hands upied. Is that why you decided to open up a forge?" Shaking his head, Vahn exined, "There is a forge in my workshop, but my workshop isn''t a forge. It is also a medical ward, an alchemy atelier, a massage parlor, and pretty much anything else I need it to be. But yeah, I guess you could say they''re all tasks that upy my hands." "Then it''s simple. We just need to find you an assistant, extra emphasis on the ass part. ck Rabbit is a pretty skittish woman. If there is someone else around, her boldness will drop from 100 to 0 real quick. This is also a good opportunity to let her sort out her feelings regarding bing a member of a harem. You''ve been pretty open about it, but there''s a substantial difference between knowing your partner has a harem and seeing them interact with other women. If she can''t stomach the idea of seeing you with other women, it would be better to pair her off with someone else." Frowning, Vahn crossed his arms in a defensive manner as he said, "I just told you that I didn''t want to hurt her feelings. I understand where you''reing from, but that objectivity of yours is pretty ruthless." Shrugging her shoulders, Shiroyasha rebutted, "You also said it couldn''t be helped. It wouldn''t be a problem if you were a one-woman man, but you''re not. At least this way she will have more options to choose from. Besides, don''t you need someone to shield you against those two brats you picked up? Your expectations are waaay too high if you think Jin has what it takes to create a harem. You''d have a better chance at convincing a pebble that it''s a." Furrowing his brows even deeper, Vahn begrudgingly groaned, "There are other boys in the No Names..." "Pfft...!" Unable to contain herself, Shiroyasha began tough in a frustratingly boisterous manner, much to Vahn''s chagrin. When she was done, she wiped away a tear from her eye before saying, "You''re not wrong, but girls like that only have eyes for older, more reliable men. You''re basically their knight in shining armor. Sure, you can pawn them off on others if you''re serious about it, but there''s no way in hell they''ll settle for boys younger than themselves. Unlike men, most women aim for men older than themselves. The only notable exceptions are childhood friends or girls with terrible household situations and much younger brothers." Shaking his head, Vahn''s expression didn''t improve as he remarked, "You have an answer for just about everything, don''t you...?" Adopting a smug, remarkably smackable grin, Shiroyasha puffed out her nonexistent chest as she said, "Of course. I might only be a few thousand years old, but I''ve experienced tens of trillions of years, countless epochs, and the start and end of innumerable metaversal structures. I''ve witnessed the beginning and will probably be around after everythinges to an end. You''d be ''very'' hard-pressed to find someone more knowledgable than me when ites to things like this." Since Shiroyasha''s existence predated the concepts of time and space, she only counted the time since she had physically manifested in the Divine Realm as her age. If not, it would be impossible to calcte her actual age as her existence was, quite literally, rted to the formation of stars across all of creation. In other words, she had been around since the birth of every cosmology and would continue to exist until someone reced her or every star in existence burned out. Rolling his eyes, Vahn decided to get to the point, asking, "What did you have in mind? Don''t tell me you''re intending to pair me up with every girl you''ve personally taken an interest in? I''ve lived through a simr plot..." As he had primarily been joking, Vahn''s expression morphed into a deadpan when Shiroyasha spontaneously paled, her cat-like eyes briefly averting to the side as she avoided answering his question. Ever since she had received her Divinity, she had lost the ability to lie. This was one of the reasons she made people pay for the information she had and why so many people trusted her as a source. Unfortunately, at times like this, it could be a double-edged sword. "You sneaky little..." Waving her hands, Shiroyasha became uncharacteristically flustered as she exined, "H-Hey now, it''s not like I was trying to deceive you or anything malicious. I was just thinking ahead. I mean, let''s be real, it''s only a matter of time before you try toy your hands on me. Besides, all the girls I have in mind are either super cute or sexy. What''s there toin about?" Massaging his temples, Vahn didn''t know where to start with the imp-like woman nervously smiling back at him. She had always reminded him of Loki. He had just failed to take into consideration how truly simr they were. Fortunately for Shiroyasha, Loki had secured her ce as one of the women he was most fond of. She had been instrumental in shaping him into the man he was today, and, no matter how much time passed, he constantly found himself relying on the advice she had given him hundreds of years prior... Shaking his head, Vahn found himself restraining a smile as he exhaled a tired sigh and asked, "So? Where is she...?" Realizing that Vahn was basically giving her the green light to proceed with her grand harem n, ascivious grin developed across Shiroyasha''s face before she could conceal it behind her fan. Then, before Vahn could retort with a deadpan expression, she answered, "Her name is Shirayuki-hime. In the lower realms, she was a water wyrm that sacrificed herself to one of my altars. I took an interest in her and blessed her with a fragment of my Divinity. At the present moment, she presides over the Tritonis Falls located at the Edge of the World. Since you''re a Celestial ss True Dragon, I imagine she would be pretty enthusiastic to serve as your concubine, consort, mistress, or even ve." Though he was tempted to ask what she meant by Celestial ss, Vahn could make a few guesses from the name alone. He could also research it more using the Sacred Tome, so, instead of shifting the conversation elsewhere, he remarked, "I don''t need ves. Also, how many women are a part of this n of yours? If I''m going to humor you, I''d like to know what I''m getting myself into..." While concealing her smile behind her fan, Shiroyasha unashamedly answered, "Don''t worry. While I am perfectly capable of appreciating beauty in all its forms, there are only a handful of women who have earned my genuine intrigue. I can''t give you an exact value since it''s constantly changing, but I can assure you it will only be a few drops in the bucketpared to the current number of women in your harem..." Shaking his head, Vahn resisted the urge to have Loi-chan spill the beans. Instead, he spread his senses through the rather sizeable manor to find ck Rabbit lying face down in the room he had prepared for her. The disheveled covers made it look like she had thrown a bit of a tantrum, and, despite several minutes passing since her departure, her hair was still a vibrant shade of pink. "I''m not fond of subterfuge and manipting people''s hearts. If you want to implement this little n of yours, we''ll need to be upfront with ck Rabbit from the beginning. That girl deserves all the happiness the world has to offer..." Exhaling a sigh, Shiroyasha shut her fan shut before muttering, "You really do possess a soft spot for women with tragic backgrounds, don''t you...?" Adopting a wry smile, Vahn elected not to answer Shiroyasha''s inquiry. She had been watching him long enough to know his ''modus operandi''. He didn''t go out of his way to target women with tragic backstories, but, more often than not, they found their way to him. He simply didn''t have the heart to be another chapter in their heartbreaking tale, so, unless he had a specific reason to refuse them, he generally did everything in his power to make them happy... Realizing that Vahn wasn''t going to speak on the matter, Shiroyasha rose from her cushion before popping her back like an olddy and saying, "Okay then. I''ll go and have a chat with our favorite little bunny. I''ll also convince her that it''s not a good idea to pump out babies any time soon. After that, you two can go to town on each other. Just make sure you don''t knock her up." With one of the most incredulous looks he had ever managed, Vahn stared at Shiroyasha as if she had lost her mind, remarking, "What the hell are you on about? Wasn''t this entire purpose of this conversation to convince me ''not'' to have sex with her?" Returning a characteristically impish smile, Shiroyasha answered, "I have no idea what you''re talking about. Most of what I''ve been saying pertains to ck Rabbit getting pregnant. Why should I care if the two of you bump bodies?" ring at the cat-like Demoness, Vahn practically growled, "You''ve been showing up and getting in the way every time we''re about to make progress. If you weren''t trying to interfere with us having sex, what-" "Oh, that? I was honestly just messing with you. Why should the two of you get to have fun while I''m stuck sitting around? At the very least, you should invite me to spectate. I mean, I can keep an eye on you from my room, but that''s basically like watching porn. I''d rather be in the ssh zone, if you know what I mean~" Ignoring Shiroyasha''s lewd remarks, Vahn reyed their entire conversation in his head. He realized that the only stiptions she had ced on him were rted to, as she put it, ''pumping out baby bunnies''. She had never once told him he couldn''t have sex with ck Rabbit. She just chose words that made it sound like she was. "It''s been a long time since I got yed..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn be like, "The demon in my right hand...it''s too strong..."'',''Shiroyasha and Loki would get along...'',''This is what happens when you fool around with beings that have existed since the dawn of creation xD...'') Chapter 2067: At the World鈥檚 Edge

Chapter 2067: At the World''s Edge

In hindsight, Vahn realized that he should have seen through Shiroyasha''s n much sooner. It was pretty obvious she had taken an interest in him. After all, even if she was a bit of a pervert, it wasn''t exactly normal for a girl to strip in front of someone they didn''t like. Fortunately, though there were quite a number of ways around it, Shiroyasha would need to return her Divinity and give up her position as Floor Master if she was serious about pursuing him. In other words, all she could do at the present moment was tease and observe him. Inversely, this meant she would continue to pester him at her leisure as she, quite literally, had nothing better to do... While simultaneouslymenting and looking forward to what the future might hold, Vahn, guided by ck Rabbit, found himself walking through a flourishing forest called the God''s yground. As the name implied, it was a ce where numerous Lesser Deities, Spirits, and Faeries lived free from the conventional rules of the Little Garden. Anyone foolish enough to wander inside would quickly find themselves beset by various mischief-makers, several of which wagered lives, years, and even ''souls'' as their prizes. It was rtivelymon, albeit ill-advised, for residents of the Little Garden who were confident in their strength and intellect to venture outside to forge contracts with various Spirits. It was a quick way to increase your power, and, depending on your luck, you could even be immortal after a simple game of rock, paper, scissors. Inversely, if you were unlucky, you might find your perspective of time-warped to such an extent that seconds from your perspective would be hours from another. You could also find yourself trapped in Fairy''s Garden for what felt like a few weeks only to discover that hundreds of years had passed in the outside world. Simply put, the God''s yground wasn''t a ce normal people dared venture. Fortunately, as a Moon Rabbit, ck Rabbit was also one of the Little Garden''s Aristocrats. She had the privilege to travel virtually anywhere within the Little Garden. Had this not been the case, she wouldn''t be able to act as a Judge Master for the Thousand Eyes Community, as, despite working for Shiroyasha, she wasn''t actually a member of her Community. In other words, the only thing preventing ck Rabbit from venturing into the 1-Digit Gated Communities was the knowledge that she would immediately be captured and made into someone''s pet... "We''re almost there..." Noticing ck Rabbit''s ears drooping, Vahn''s expression softened as he asked, "Are you going to be okay? You know I would never force you to do something against your will. I''m happy so long as you''re happy..." Pausing her steps, ck Rabbit looked back with a mncholic look on her face as she said, "It''s not that. I...I don''t mind bing a member of your harem. You already told me about the other girls in your life, after all. It''s just...I''m a little sad...I was really looking forward to having a family of my own..." Feeling as though the bunny before him had just shot an arrow through his chest, Vahn nearly lost his footing. He recognized this as the influence of fate, or, at the very least, luck. Fortunately, he was able to catch himself before crashing into the dejected beauty. Thus, rather than knocking her over and pushing her to the ground, he ended up wrapping his arms around her waist and gently pulling her into his embrace. "You just need to tell me what you want. I don''t mind going along with Shiroyasha''s n, but your well-being is infinitely more important than that. Even if you asked me to whisk you away from this world for a hundred years, I would do so without hesitation..." Though her hair didn''t turn pink, ck Rabbit''s ears perked up and began to twitch as she buried her face into his chest. He had already told her about his personalized Little Garden so she knew he wasn''t just being facetious for the sake of touching her heart. Unfortunately, she also knew about his ten-year rule, and, more importantly, she didn''t have the heart to be away from the No Names for a hundred years. Thus, without any significant hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him and said, "No...it''s only a few months. Shiroyasha-sama also gave me permission to...to..." Imagining what she and Vahn might be doing in the very near future, ck Rabbit''s hair effectively exploded into a vibrant shade of pink. For a brief moment, she had even imagined them doing the deed in the God''s yground. After all, while it wasn''t impossible for Shiroyasha to leave her post, it would cause problems if she was away for an extended period of time. Thus, so long as they were outside the Little Garden, it was a lot harder for Shiroyasha to interrupt... Understanding ck Rabbit''s thoughts from her reaction, bodynguage, and the color of her aura, a light chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat as he held her a little closer. Unfortunately, they had a lot more than Shiroyasha paying attention to them at the present moment. He could probably hide their presence from the majority of peeping eyes, but, when it came to Gods and their omniscience, he presentlycked the authority to keep them from prying outside of his established territory. "Hold that thought, okay? Once we''re finished here, you need only ask and I will do everything in my power to meet your expectations..." Punctuating his words, Vahn attempted to lower his hands and give ck Rabbit''s butt a squeeze. Before he could, the befuddled bunny immediately hopped out of his arms, her face nearly as pink as her hair as she stammered, "W-W-We should be going...!" in an extremely flustered tone of voice Without waiting for Vahn''s response, ck Rabbit kicked against the ground with enough force to create a powerful shockwave as she leaped over the surrounding trees at hypersonic speeds. This left Vahn with a wry smile on his face, but, knowing it was only a matter of time before the bashful bunny petitioned him directly, he decided not to press the matter. In fact, depending on how things yed out between him and Shirayukihime, there was a good chance that ck Rabbit would take the initiative just so that someone else didn''t rob her of the opportunity... ... .. . With ck Rabbit basically running away from him, it only took a few minutes before she and Vahn reached the Edge of the World. The sight of countless waterfalls flowing over the edge of the world was one of the most breathtaking sights Vahn had ever seen. Of course,pared to the beauty of ck Rabbit, the water cascading over the edge and flowing out into creation was secondary to the pink-haired maiden staring out into the endless blue horizon, a mere three meters from the edge of all things... Though he didn''t think she would jump, Vahn felt uncharacteristically nervous seeing ck Rabbit staring longingly towards the horizon. A part of him was even afraid to get near her, but, never one to back down, it wasn''t long before he found himself standing next to her, a faint blue glow in his eyes as he asked, "What are you thinking about...?" "Tell me...what are the lower realms like? I''ve heard countless stories about the worlds below, but I''ve never been able to perceive them myself..." "Hmmm..." Since there was no easy way to answer such a question, Vahn took a few moments to organize his thoughts before exining, "Anything you can think of can be found in the worlds below. I''m sure you''ve heard something simr, but, from the perspective of beings at the top, the lower realms are no different from fiction. They take the form that others give them, and, through the actions of the people within, innumerable changes can ur..." Having heard something simr before, ck Rabbit just nodded her head before turning towards Vahn with a smile and saying, "It doesn''t have to be any time soon, but, one day, I''d like to explore the lower realm at your side. Will youe with me...?" Returning a smile of his own, Vahn was about to agree when a massive water spout erupted a few meters away from them. Immediately thereafter, a serpentine dragon more than a hundred meters in length appeared. It had a body covered in predominately white scales with a strip of blue running along the right side of its body. Its head more closely resembled a snake than a dragon but it had a bluish-white mane, a crystalline blue horn, and two Shimenawa-style rope bindings around the base of its neck. The single-horn indicated that it was a serpent that had failed to be a true dragon on its own, and, while he would need to confer with the Law of Identity to make sure, Vahn guessed this was the reason she had formed a contract with Shiroyasha. "Foolish mortals! You dare enter the territory of-wh-wh-what the hell!?" Realizing that the white serpent was about to make a pretentious boast, Vahn allowed a bit of his aura to leak out as he stepped out in front of ck Rabbit. This caused the overgrown serpent to slither backward in the water in a somewhatical manner, its yellow-orange eyes widening as it stammered, "M-M-Might I ask why someone as distinguished as your great self has decided to visit this lowly one''s humble abode...?" Figuring it would make things a little easier for everyone involved, Vahn inly stated, "Shiroyasha sent me." As if it had taken both physical and mental damage, the white serpent visibly flinched as it released a pained "K-Kuh..." before following it up by saying, "I haven''t heard from Shiroyasha-sama in years. Why has she sent you?" Though he was starting to feel a little sorry for the lesser water deity, Vahn answered, "She told me you had an agreement to be her maid in the future. She wanted me to give you the option of serving me or fulfilling your agreement and-" "It would be my honor to serve you, oh great one..." If given the option between Shiroyasha and virtually anyone else, Shirayukihime would side with thetter. She could also sense that Vahn was a Pure-Blooded Dragon. So long as he hadn''t arrived with the intention of killing her, she would have readily challenged him to a Gift Game with her body on the line. Pure-Blooded Dragons were as unique as Unicorn Horns and Phoenix Feathers in the lower realms, so, with her only other options being a few lecherous deities that had set their sights on her, she was actually quite desperate. Though he wasn''t particrly surprised by Shirayukihime''s instantaneous acquiescence, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he asked, "That''s it? You don''t want to challenge me to a Gift Game or ask where I came from? You''re just going to ept what I said at face value...?" Shifting her eyes towards ck Rabbit, Shirayukihime exined, "There is only one Moon Rabbit in the entire Divine Realm. Shiroyasha-sama would never entrust her to someone she didn''t believe in. The only other way you could have that little one with you is if you somehow defeated Shiroyasha-sama in a Gift Game. Either way, you are someone worthy of my respect and admiration...I dare not besmirch your honor with something like a Gift Game..." Following her words, Shirayukihime promptly transformed into an inordinately beautiful woman with fair white skin and glossy ck hair tied up in a tri-colored flower hairpin. Her attire consisted of an elegant white kimono with blue trim and a match flower pattern, but, unlike a traditional kimono, it was fashioned much shorter than normal to ent her ample bosom and thighs. She even had on ckce stockings and a garter belt to further emphasize them. Thus, even though she had pointed ears, sharp blue horns protruding from the sides of her head, and peculiar blue runes hidden beneath her bangs, they somehow felt secondarypared to her breathtakingly beautiful physique... Noticing Vahn''s gaze even without his eyes wandering, a surprisinglymon trait among women affiliated with Shiroyasha, Shirayukihime covered her cleavage and the bottom of her short kimono as she said, "Forgive me...Shiroyasha-sama ordered me to wear this shameless outfit...she imed it had something to do with a concept known as gap moe...I humbly request your forgiveness if I have inadvertently offended you..." Earning a slightly pouty stare from ck Rabbit, Vahn unhesitantly shook his head, an appreciative smile on his face as he said, "Oh, quite the contrary. You''re a remarkably beautiful woman, Princess. Shiroyasha wasn''t lying if she said this outfit suited you..." Not expecting to hear such apliment, Shirayukihime''s expression froze as the water around her began to boil. She appeared icy and calm on the surface, but, thanks to the previously pristine blue water basically turning into a hot spring, it was pretty obvious she had been affected by his words. More specifically, Vahn affectionately referring to her as ''Princess'' had practically caused her brain to explode...(A/N: The hime on the end of Shirayukihime''s name means Princess. In other words, her name literally trantes to Snow White Princess.) ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''ck Rabbit wants tiny bun buns (O ^ O)...'',''Shiroyasha really is a demon of culture...'',''Vahn strikes again xD...'') Chapter 2068: Arrangements

Chapter 2068: Arrangements

After waiting for Shirayukihime to calm down, Vahn exined everything he and Shiroyasha had discussed. He wanted her to understand what she was getting herself into, as, from the moment she joined his camp, it would be very difficult for her to change her mind. After all, while he could help her be a Pure-Blooded Dragon, the disparity in their power and authority wouldpel her to obey him for the rest of her life. "My Lord...can you truly help me be a Pure-Blooded Dragon...?" Though she was apprehensive to learn that Shiroyasha would continue her teasing, Shirayukihime had never once believed she could fully escape the diminutive demoness''s influence. Thus, rather than allowing herself to be distracted by things she couldn''t change, she decided to focus on the benefits she would receive by pledging herself to Vahn. Nodding his head, Vahn exined, "I''ll provide a more detailed exnationter on, but I possess the ability to help people change everything about themselves. Be it their race, physical appearance, talents, preferences, and even gender. If your faith in me was strong enough, I could even help you be a Phoenix, a Qilin, or a normal human being. The only limits to my power are the faith and desires of the person receiving my aid." "I see..." Detecting no falsehoods in Vahn''s words, Shirayukihime began to feel a bit of excitement in her chest. Back in the Lower Realms, she had even been willing to sacrifice her life in her attempts to be a Pure-Blooded Dragon. Now that she had been given a second chance, she wasn''t going to waste it. Thus, despite feeling iprehensible embarrassment, she pulled at the binding of her dark blue obi, a faint shade of pink spreading through her cheeks as she whispered, "If my Lord is willing to ept someone as lowly as myself...I would be honored to serve you..." "N-N-Now wait just a minute...!" Though she had been made aware of the fact that Shirayukihime would likely be joining Vahn''s harem, ck Rabbit hadn''t anticipated that they would be consummating things so quickly. She thought they were just going to pick her up and take her back with them. Then, after a few days had passed, they would naturally begin to reduce the distance between each other. This was way too fast, almost ridiculously so. As if she had only just now noticed ck Rabbit''s presence, Shirayukihime prevented her kimono from slipping away as she questioned, "ck Rabbit...what is your rtionship with my Lord...?" Not expecting such a question, ck Rabbit''s hair turned a vibrant shade of pink as she began to flounder about, wholly unable to respond. She wasn''t quite sure how to define her rtionship with Vahn. Sure, she knew she would probably be joining his harem, but, at least for the time being, they were more than friends but less than lovers. Surprising both girls, ck Rabbit most of all, Vahn wrapped his arm around the befuddled bunny''s waist before pulling her close and saying, "She is the future mother of my children, and, so long as she desires it, my fiancee and future Empress. I have vowed to do everything in my power to make her happy and I intend to keep that promise." Hearing Vahn''s words, ck Rabbit looked like her head was on the verge of exploding due to the increase in pressure. As for Shirayukihime, she appeared slightly taken aback for a moment before quickly recovering enough of her mental faculties to politely bow her head and state, "My Lady..." in the sincerest tone she could manage. "Wawawawawawawa-" Unable to process everything that was happening, ck Rabbit ultimately ended up copsing into Vahn''s embrace, eyes swirling around as illusory rabbits hopped around her head. It was a peculiar sight to behold for someone who was immune to Gag Laws and the Laws of Normalcy. At the same time, however, it was also quite cute. Raising ck Rabbit into a princess carry, Vahn briefly met Shirayukihime''s gaze, asking, "Would you rather I call you Shiro, Yuki, or Hime in the future? I don''t mind using your full name, but it''s quite long..." While doing her best to keep her kimono from slipping, Shirayukihime bowed respectfully as she politely replied, "Please, address me as you see fit. I would be honored by any name or title my Lord chooses." Nodding his head in both approval and understanding, a somewhat teasing smile developed across Vahn''s face as he mused, "Let''s go with Hime then. I noticed you seemed to enjoy being referred to as Princess..." Though she was able to prevent a blush from spreading through her cheeks, Hime was powerless to prevent the surroundings from heating up as the water molecules in the air reacted to her flustered state. She, like many of the women Shiroyasha had set her eyes on, was quite weak to teasing. Thus, despite appearing as a cold and intellectual beauty on the outside, she was squealing like a little girl who had just received her crush''s confession on the inside... "I...I would be honored..." ... .. . "I''m surprised you didn''t push both of them down on the spot. Your tolerance is surprisingly high for a sex-crazed idiot..." After returning from their trip to the God''s yground, Vahn allowed ck Rabbit to rest before giving Hime a tour of his workshop and introducing her to Sarina, Nono, and the members of No Name. She had been pretty insistent on bing his Maid, but, thanks to the enchantments on his workshop, there wasn''t really anything for her to clean or look after. Thus, after a bit of deliberation, Vahn assigned her to be the Governess of the two girls. She would be responsible for helping to educate them, and, more importantly, keeping them safe. "That''s pretty riching from a Demon Goddess who spread her butt in front of me during our second meeting..." Snickering in response to Vahn''s words, Shiroyasha continued to yfully kick her feet as she turned her head to the side and teased, "I figured you might need a few hints that I was interested. You were acting pretty standoffish after seeing me in this form." "Hmm..." Sliding his hands from Shiroyasha''s lower back to her legs, Vahn prevented her from kicking before proceeding to massage her calves and say, "I try not to make assumptions. Even after hundreds of years, women can be remarkably difficult to understand. I''ve never been fond of using my abilities to woo women so there are times when even brazen actions fly over my head..." Seemingly in response to the words brazen, Shiroyasha rolled over onto her back, a mischievous smile on her face as she pulled up her legs to create a tantalizingly deviant m shape, teasing, "Is that so~?" Rolling his eyes, Vahn made Shiroyashay t on her back before cing the palm of his left hand on her abdomen, rainbow-hued energy flowing from his hand and into her body as he warned, "If you''re going to continue being disobedient, I''m going to stop..." Though her jaw briefly trembled due to the sudden influx of energy, Shiroyasha managed to appear calm as she folded her hands behind her head in ackadaisical manner as she replied, "Yeah, yeah. I know..." Shaking his head in mild exasperation, Vahn continued to gently caress Shiroyasha''s abdomen as his right hand ran along the length of her thigh. She was still genderless in her current form, and, even if he spread his senses through her body, she was basically just an amalgamation of energy without anything like organs. Thus, while it still felt a little risque, he didn''t particrly mind where his hands wandered as he continued to massage her body. Understanding that he really would stop if she pressed him too far, Shiroyasha decided to focus on what he had said previously, asking, "I''m assuming you can use your powers to know all of a girl''s deepest and darkest secrets, huh? That would be a pretty scary ability in the hands of someone with malicious intent..." Shifting his gaze to meet Shiroyasha''s, Vahn appeared calm and rxed as he said, "If I needed to rely on such things, I wouldn''t be much of a man. Don''t get me wrong. There was a time when I was obsessed with knowing as much as I could about a person so I that could make them happy. Now, I have the confidence to do so even without relying on such abilities..." Though it was imperceptible to others, a teasing smile developed across Vahn''s face as the energy from his palm flowed to form what appeared to be a tree that quickly spread its branches through Shiroyasha''s body. This caused the diminutive demoness to swallow the words she had been about to speak, her cat-like pupils expanding and contracting as her fingers and toes curled against her will. Seemingly by instinct, Shiroyasha''s spontaneously disappeared from beneath Vahn''s palm before subsequently reappearing behind him and asking, "What the hell was that?" Chuckling in amusement, Vahn pulled out a towel to wipe his hands as he exined, "It''s a little trick I learned to deal with conceptual entities whock conventional nerves and neurons. To put it simply, I created branching pathways through your body that are capable of resonating with your unique energy signature. Then, using an assortment of Laws capable of bestowing pleasure, I made them do exactly that." "It''s no wonder you have such a ridiculous Fragment of Origin..." Despite appearing calm on the surface, Shiroyasha was more than a little shaken by Vahn''s words. It shouldn''t be possible for him to affect her in such a manner without her realizing it. Her body was also sealed in a state of perpetuity after she received Divinity from the Buddhist Faction, so, even if he was able to mold people like soft y, Vahn''s powers shouldn''t have any effect on her... Understanding Shiroyasha''s thoughts, even without Loi-chan''s assistance, Vahn wriggled the fingers of his right hand as he said, "God of Infinite Possibilities. Remember?" "So it would seem..." Deciding not to press the matter, Shiroyasha flourished her arms to produce a set of clothes for herself before asking, "How soon can you start taking clients? I was originally going to procrastinate until those brats arrived but an old friend of mine has been having some trouble as ofte. I figured you could lend a hand if you''ve nothing better to do." Raising his brows, Vahn asked, "How are you able to make this request if you''re supposed to remain unbiased? Also, I''m not your personal gofer. I don''t mind lending a hand, but my original intent was to remain neutral. If I go around helping the people you want me to help, that doesn''t exactlye across as unprejudiced and fair." Pulling out her favorite fan, Shiroyasha used it to cool her surprisingly warm face as she confidently exined, "My impartiality is restricted to the East Side. The person I want you to meet with just so happens to reside in the South. She is also one of the women I''ve been keeping a close eye on, so I believe it''s in both of our interests to have you meet. Don''t worry. I''m not asking you to sweep her off her feet or anything. I just want toy the groundwork for future cooperation between the East and the South. Besides..." Having observed Vahn''s behavior in the Tower, Shiroyasha was fairly confident she had, at the very least, a basic understanding of his character. Thus, the moment she had his interest, a mischievous smile developed across her face as she revealed, "The South has thergest poption of mythical creatures, beast people, and hybrids. It''s also the location of the Avalon, Mount Olympus, Yggdrasil, and the Garden of the Gods Communities. I figured you would want to make your presence known to them sooner, rather thanter." Though the notion had certainly crossed his mind, Vahn ultimately shook his head in response to Shiroyasha''s suggestion, saying, "No. I''ll worry about them once I''ve settled things here. For now, I want to focus on training Jin, Lily, Sarina, and Nono. The No Names are still recovering as well, so, unless your friend is in imminent danger, I''d rather wait. You might be eager to increase the size of my harem for your own benefit, but such concerns are only tertiary in my point of view." Clicking her tongue, Shiroyasha crossed her arms in a somewhat defiant manner as she said, "You''re being a little presumptuous, don''t you think? Sure, I might be a pervert, but you make it sound like I''m desperate. Do you honestly believe I would be bringing this up right now if I didn''t think it was important?" Resisting the almost instinctual urge to apologize, Vahn''s tone softened as he shook his head and said, "Very well then. I can, at the very least, hear them out." Adopting the closest thing she could manage to a sincere smile, Shiroyasha''s golden eyes gleamed as she happily replied, "Thanks, Vahn. I knew I could rely on you..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''RIP ck Rabbit xD...'',''*Confused FBI noises*'',''Shiroyasha and Loki really do have a lot inmon...'') Chapter 2069: Taking Matters Into One鈥檚 Own Hands

Chapter 2069: Taking Matters Into One''s Own Hands

Since it would take a few days for her to get in contact with her friend, Shiroyasha left Vahn to his own devices after an additional hour or so of idle chatter. With nothing better to do, Vahn decided to personally check up on ck Rabbit since it had been quite some time since she roused from her slumber. She was feeling a little addled after everything that had transpired. As a result, he found the blue-haired bunny lying face down in the bedding, her adorable tuft of a tail periodically twitching between the fabric of her blouse and skirt. Though she had given him permission to enter the room directly, Vahn gave ck Rabbit a chance topose herself by lightly knocking on the door. This startled her quite a bit, but, after quickly arranging her clothes, she managed to appear rtively calm as she sat in seiza atop the bed and called out, "Come in." in an audibly nervous tone of voice. Doing exactly that, Vahn slid open the sliding bamboo door, smiling as he gently asked, "How are you feeling? I was quite surprised when you ''exploded'' like that..." With her ears drooping adorably, ck Rabbit pushed together her index fingers in a manner reminiscent of Hinata as she answered, "Wuuu...I never wanted you to see that..." Raising his brow, Vahn, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, mused, "Oh? Did I see something I shouldn''t have~?" Nodding her head, ck Rabbit exined, "Indra-sama thought it would be funny if Moon Rabbit''s overloaded when they were excessively flustered or when people broke the rules. I did my best to hold it back, but your words got the better of me..." Though he couldn''t help wondering what the Indra of the Divine Realm was like, Vahn set that aside for the time being as he asked, "Do you mind if Ie over...?" With her ears perking up, the roots of ck Rabbit''s hair began to shimmer pink as she stared at Vahn from beneath her bangs. She was a little afraid that she might explode a second time, but, after a very brief moment of hesitation, she ended up nodding her head with an, "Nn..." Since he could tell ck Rabbit was in an inordinately vulnerable state, Vahn elected to walk over slowly rather than teleporting next to her. He usually enjoyed teasing her quite a bit but that didn''t mean he was going to put his own interests before her mental wellness. Fortunately, it was ck Rabbit who took the initiative to move closer when he sat at the side of her bed. She had be rather fond of his caress, so, whenever they were alone, she liked to snuggle up next to him to provide easy ess to her head. Never one to disappoint the women in his life, Vahn emitted calming energy from the palm of his hand as he proceeded to pet ck Rabbit''s head. He had already confirmed he could get the pink in her hair to retract by helping her calm down so that''s what he was aiming for as he softly muttered, "It was pretty cute..." "Wuuuu..." Despite emitting a pouty sound, ck Rabbit wasn''t particrly upset by Vahn''s words. He was far from the first person who had teased her. Rather, ever since she had escaped from the Moon many years prior, pretty much every senior member of her Community had teased her at one point or another. It was something she hade to associate with people who cared about her, so, while she would never admit it, ck Rabbit had actuallye to appreciate being teased. "I was thinking about preparing dinner for everyone tonight. What are you in the mood for...?" Though he had been providing the ingredients for all the No Names'' meals, Lily managed to convince Vahn to leave most of the cooking to her and the senior group. The food he cooked was a little too vorful, and, while that wasn''t exactly a bad thing, Lily was concerned that the children would lose their interest in the simpler meals if they got too used to eating the food he prepared for them. Since he didn''t want the No Names to be dependent on him, it didn''t take much for Lily to convince Vahn to teach her how to cook. This was well within his expectations. What he didn''t expect was for ck Rabbit to turn her eyes up at him and answer, "Carrots..." with a tantalizingly ruddy coloration to her cheeks. With his perfect recall and elerated thinking, Vahn knew what ck Rabbit was making reference to. Despite this, he still found himself at a loss for words before asking, "Pardon...?" with a wry yet expectant smile on his face. Having spent thest hour and a half gathering her courage, ck Rabbit gripped the front of Vahn''s tunic with her hand as she whispered, "I want your carrot..." in what she hoped to be a seductive tone. Though he knew what ck Rabbit was trying to say, Vahn manifested a perfect specimen of a carrot out of thin air before teasingly musing, "I thought you didn''t like carrots...?" Shifting her attention between Vahn''s face and the most perfect carrot she had ever seen, a slightly pouty look appeared on ck Rabbit''s face as she released his tunic and proceeded to grab his hand holding the carrot. Then, guiding it to her lips, she answered, "I love them..." before ravenously nibbling away at the bright orange vegetable until her cheeks were, quite literally, stuffed. "..." Amused by the deadpan expression on Vahn''s face, a girlish giggle emanated from ck Rabbit''s throat she forced down the remaining carrot. Then, in a surprisingly brazen disy, she stuck out her tongue, waggling it for a brief moment before adopting a teasing smile of her own and saying, "I swallowed it all...aren''t you proud of me~?" Realizing that ck Rabbit''s ''switch'' had been thoroughly flipped, a smile developed across Vahn''s face as he leaned in toward''s hers and asked, "You''re a naughty rabbit, aren''t you...?" Rather than refute Vahn''s im, ck Rabbit swallowed hard before drawing her face closer to his and answering, "Didn''t you know? Deep down, all rabbits are lewd..." Punctuating her words, ck Rabbit mustered every ounce of courage she possessed to try and initiate a kiss with Vahn. Unfortunately, at that exact same moment, she noticed Vahn''s brows furrow as the sound of chewing reached her ears. Turning her face in the direction Vahn was facing, ck Rabbit found Shiroyasha seated on a cushion floating in the middle of the air with a massive grin on her face as she shoveled rice crackers into her mouth and teased, "Oh? Don''t mind me. You two have fun." Feeling as though her brain was about to fry, ck Rabbit nearly used her ears to cover her face until she noticed Vahn suddenly rising to his feet. Then, in a startling disy of speed, he instantaneously appeared behind Shiroyasha, an uncharacteristically scary expression on his face as he tightened the golden rope that now bound the mischievous demoness in a manner simr to shibari. Before ck Rabbit could fully process what was happening, a blindingly golden light shed in the room. By the time it faded away, both Shiroyasha and the scary look on Vahn''s face had vanished into thin air. In their ce stood Vahn, a strangely earnest expression on his face as he inly stated, "I want to have sex with you." "Eh?" Though she had fully intended to cross the line, ck Rabbit was still feeling befuddled after the sudden interruption. The aching sensation in her body had been reced by feelings of extreme embarrassment, and, were it not for the fact Vahn had reacted nigh-instantaneously, she might have already fled the room. Vahn wasn''t lying when he said he had no intentions of forcing ck Rabbit. That didn''t mean he wouldn''t take measures to ensure they would get together. With this in mind, he promptly unequipped his tunic to reveal what many would describe as an immacte physique. It was possible to make out the lines of every muscle in his body, but, instead of appearing crude or angr, the majority of people who saw him exposed would describe his muscles as having a natural or smooth quality. Seeing Vahn bereft of a shirt, ck Rabbit''s hair instantaneously turned pink as her ruby-red eyes widened in shock. She hadn''t actually seen what he looked like beneath his clothes as Shiroyasha appeared the moment she suggested taking a bath together. Thus, like a young schoolgirl seeing her school''s swim team for the first time, ck Rabbit turned statuesque as her eyes instinctually wandered every muscle of Vahn''s upper body. "Like what you see...?" Starling back to awareness, ck Rabbit literally leaped to the far side of the room as she stammered, "I-I-I-I-I-" Before ck Rabbit could find the words to express herself, Vahn adopted the kind of smile that could melt lesser women with a single nce as he said, "There''s no reason to be afraid. From the top of my head to the tips of my toes. There isn''t a single part of me that you aren''t allowed to do with as you please. I''m all yours..." With her pupils contracting to the size of pinholes, ck Rabbit fell silent for several seconds as her mind gradually processed Vahn''s words. At the same time, her eyes naturally wandered from his face to his eight-pack abs as a knot reminiscent of a tremendous thirst formed in her throat... Believing that ck Rabbit only needed a slight push before her switch was flipped firmly in the ''on'' direction, short yet unmistakable rabbit ears promptly protruded from Vahn''s head. This immediately caught ck Rabbit''s attention, the ruddy coloration of her face bingpletely crimson as her breathing became audible from across the room. Though he was briefly seized by the notion he had pushed her a little too far, Vahn adopted a smile as he half-turned to reveal a ck dark brown fur poking out from a slit in his trousers. The moment he tried wiggling it, ck Rabbit appeared right in front of him, a frenzied look on her face as she grabbed at his belt and said, "This is in the way...!" before literally ripping it away. "Whoa now. Calm-" Interrupting Vahn before he could finish, ck Rabbit hopped onto his waist, her inordinately powerful legs wrapping firmly around him as she sealed his lips with her own. This caught the former by surprise, but, as ck Rabbit was far from the first aggressive woman he had dealt with, Vahn managed to reverse their positions, pinning the voracious bunny to the wall as he reciprocated her greedy affections. His hands immediately snaked their way under her skirt, and, though she tensed for a brief moment, ck Rabbit offered no resistance as he began to massage her pert yet remarkably pliant bottom... ... .. . While his main body was learning the true extent of a Moon Rabbit''s reproductive instincts, a second version of Vahn was seated in Shiroyasha''s room with the aforementioned demoness sitting and bound firmly in hisp. She actually enjoyed being tied up quite a bit, so, despite possessing the ability to break free whenever she wanted, Shiroyasha allowed Vahn to caress her abdomen as they watched the scene of ck Rabbit''s gradual descent into pleasure on the [Omnipresent Television]. "This would be a lot more exciting in pers-nnnnn~!?" Sending a pulse of stimting energy into Shiroyasha''s body, Vahn continued to caress her abdomen with his left hand while using his right to lightly cup her breast and pinch the area where her nipple would have been. This caused her bound body to tremble, and, though she still believed it would be a lot more interesting to watch ck Rabbit''s fall from the front row, Shiroyasha ultimately fell silent as her own feelings of pleasure continued to increase... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Wuuuuu...'',''It''s rabbit season (O w O)...'',''How to tame your demon goddess...'') Chapter 2070: Passions and Postulations

Chapter 2070: Passions and Posttions

Staring down at the naked body of ck Rabbit, her supple and soft figure reflectingsciviously in his glowing, aquamarine eyes, Vahn felt genuinely blessed. She wasn''t the most beautiful woman he had ever been with, but, at least in the present moment, there wasn''t a single being in existence, be they god or mortal, who could rival the charming rabbit writhing seductively beneath him. "Vahn..." Though she couldn''t read his mind, ck Rabbit had always been remarkably perceptive. Her duties as a Judge Master required her to be. Thus, even without him saying anything, she was hyper-aware of the affectionate yet possessive aura emanating from Vahn''s body as he gingerly traced his index and middle fingers along her corbone. Meeting ck Rabbit''s impassioned gaze, Vahn could have sworn there were tiny pink hearts in the center of her pupils as she grasped his hand, her voice a heated whimper as she said, "I trust you..." With the pupils of his eyes contracting, an ardent heat spread through Vahn''s body as he watched ck Rabbit pull his fingers to lips, an overtly sensual look in her eyes as she began to gently nibble the tip of his middle finger. "You really know what to say to get a man riled up..." Shaking her head, ck Rabbit dealt another critical blow to Vahn''s sensibilities by staring directly into his eyes and stating, "Only you..." (*Wow...she''s good...*) ("No kidding...") Though they were supposed to be taking a break, Vahn''s muscles strained as he pried apart ck Rabbit''s legs. She was the type of woman that instinctually locked her legs around her partner, and, were it not for the fact he possessed monstrous strength, Vahn might not have been able to pry her off of him. Understanding Vahn''s intentions, ck Rabbit turned her eyes up at him as she instinctually held her hands above her breasts in a manner reminiscent of someone pretending to be a bunny. She wasn''t entirely sure why she did this; it just felt right. It also got a rise out of Vahn, so, even if it was a little embarrassing, ck Rabbit suppressed her anxiety and said, "ck Rabbit want carrot..." "Kuh..." (*Right in the kokoro...*) Ignoring Sis''s remark, Vahn pushed up ck Rabbit''s legs until they were nearly parallel with her upper body. Then, after deftly adjusting his angle, he forced his way through her remarkably moist folds, unwavering even as her interior walls attempted to mp around and confine him. "Nnnnnnnnnn~!" Though she managed to keep her mouth closed, ck Rabbit was unable to prevent a nasally moan from emanating from her throat as Vahn''s ns pressed against the entrance of her womb. She felt as though a surge of electricity had run through her body, her tuft of a tail twitching madly as Vahn lifted her bottom from the bed with his movement. Feeling ck Rabbit''s inner walls coil around him like countless hands attempting to, quite literally, milk him dry, an amused chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat. This caused ck Rabbit to open her tightly shut eyes, confusion visible in her ruby-red depths until Vahn kissed her forehead and teased, "Your body is telling me it really wants to make babies..." Despite blushing fiercely, ck Rabbit surprised Vahn by staring into his eyes and saying, "It''s not just my body..." in a paradoxically meek yet assertive tone of voice. Swallowing in response to the impassioned rabbit''s words, Vahn was briefly tempted to just throw Shiroyasha''s caution to the wind. Unfortunately, he knew that ck Rabbit would be the one to feel guilty if he impregnated her when she wasn''t thinking clearly. She had already decided to wait until her Community had recuperated before having little bunnies of her own, so, despite her words and actions, Vahn knew ck Rabbit wasn''t ready to have children... ... .. . Hearing ck Rabbit''s heated remark, rity instantaneously returned to Shiroyasha''s eyes as she muttered, "Vahn..." in a cautious tone. Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn raised Shiroyasha''s chin with his fingers, his hand gently cradling her neck as he nted a rtively tame kiss on her lips and said, "Rx...I''m not going to do anything..." Not expecting Vahn to suddenly steal a kiss, the first she had ever received from a member of the opposite sex, Shiroyasha''s expression momentarily nked. She didn''t even possess a heart in her present form, yet, in spite of this, she felt even more excited than usual as she cheekily replied, "So you say...for some reason, I find it difficult to trust the words of a man who has a little girl tied up and bound in hisp..." Deadpanning in response to Shiroyasha''s words, Vahn tly retorted, "I could always untie you..." After yfully poking out her tongue, Shiroyasha wiggled her butt in an attempt to nestle a bit closer to Vahn as she said, "No thanks. I''ve had some pretty traumatic experiences with sadists in the past so this is surprisingly nice. If I did ask you to remove them, it would be so that you could tie me up in an even lewder fashion..." "Right..." Though he was tempted to ask who could possibly bully the former Rank 10, Vahn already had a few people in mind. Shiroyasha''s Fragment of Origin had roused his intrigue so he ended up asking the Law of Identity for the identities of the people who had defeated her. To his surprise, two of her three defeats had urred at the hands of the same person, a remarkably beautiful woman known as Queen Halloween. As for her second defeat, culminating in the existence of morning, noon, and evening, it had only been made possible because Queen Halloween had seized several of her Sun Authorities. "Are you thinking about another woman right now? I suddenly feel very annoyed..." Raising his brows, Vahn attempted to deflect by pointing towards the television and remarking, "I would have thought that was rather obvious..." Snorting through her nose, Shiroyasha decided not to press the matter. Instead, she returned her attention to the television before changing the channel with a thought and asking, "What are your thoughts on summoning that Seraphina woman? You seemed quite fond of her." Tightening his hold on Shiroyasha''s small body, Vahn shook his head and said, "No. Though I''m a little interested in seeing how things yed out following my sudden departure, I no longer have any involvement with that world. Unless she somehow ended up alone, I wouldn''t want to interfere in her life more than I have..." Though his words expressed his true feelings, Vahn couldn''t help staring at the television with a glimmer of longing in his eyes. It depicted Seraphina wearing frilly pink pajamas as she cuddled with a remarkably adorable girl attired in an outfit resembling a bunny girl. He didn''t know what their rtionship was, but it almost seemed like Seraphina was taking care of the young bunny as thetter nestled close to her like a child seekingfort from their mother. Humming in response to Vahn''s words, Shiroyasha changed the disy to depict a version of Seraphina wearing a rather stylish military uniform as shemanded a fleet of Prinny-themed ships against an armada of ivory white ships with angelic wings. The same bunny girl from before was standing next to her, but, instead of possessing golden-blonde hair and a rather vulnerable appearance, she now possessed blood-red eyes, pale-grey hair, rather fierce-looking ws, and an obsidian ck outfit in ce of her previously bright yellow attire. Just as Vahn was about to ask what the scene was depicting, the disy Seraphina was using to oversee the battlefield became obscured by a massive beam of light. In the very next moment, a seemingly unstoppable torrent of energy tore through the ship she had beenmanding. When the light faded away, all traces of Seraphina had been erased from the Netherworld. As the pupils of Vahn''s eyes contracted, Shiroyasha exined, "She did fall in love with a demon named Killidia, but, as fate would have it, he was already in love with someone else. She helped to revive the former''s lost love and then went on to restore her homeworld to its former glory. After that, she reigned over a surprisinglyrge section of her Netherworld until the Armada of Heaven was deployed to deal with a Demon God known as Baal. Baal possessed the power to absorb the strength of other demons so the idiots in charge of Heaven got it in their heads that they should destroy the other Netherworlds in an effort to slow him down as they researched a means to kill him." "Are you kidding me...?" Though he knew she wasn''t joking, Vahn felt an overwhelming feeling of incredulity thatpelled him to question the truth right in front of him. Even the thought of Seraphina being in charge of an armada was pretty unbelievable. After all, she had already been in her 1700s when they first met. It was difficult to imagine her maturing to the point she could lead a massive fleet when she couldn''t even be bothered to pour a cup of tea for herself... Shaking her head, Shiroyasha exined, "I figured you would ask about it at some point so I kept a close eye on the reality I pulled you from. Though your existence was erased from that world, your actions caused irreversible ripples in fate. That girl, Seraphina, became a pretty serious person after helping to save several Netherworlds. By the eve of her 2800th birthday, she had managed to gain infamy as the ''Supreme Overlord of Gorgeous'' after forcing more than a thousand other Overlords to submit. After that, she started a campaign for Prinny rights that caused a number of civil wars to break out across the metaverse..." "..." With Shiroyasha changing the image on the television to disy Seraphina''s various exploits, Vahn fell into a period of deep thought before asking, "What''s up with the chibi bunny demon who keeps appearing alongside her...?" "Oh~? I was wondering when you would ask. Her name is Usalia. As for her background...well, let''s just say you''re better off not knowing. That girl experienced something rather traumatizing but she managed to ovee it with the help of Seraphina and several others. If I told you what happened, you would probably do something unbelievably stupid so let''s just leave it at that." "..." Though he was even more interested after hearing Shiroyasha''s words, Vahn decided to trust in her judgment on the matter. Unfortunately, his silence created an opportunity for Shiroyasha to tease him, a mischievous grin developing across her face as she said, "She''s more than 1800 years old in thetter scenes. That makes her perfectly legal in most worlds. How about it? Should we summon both of them~?" Furrowing his brows, Vahn found himself seriously considering Shiroyasha''s proposal. At the same time, however, he felt it wasn''t his ce to intervene in the lower realms. It already took quite a bit of willpower not to look into what happened in the Tower following his departure. He could always find out through his Temtes, but, for the time being, he wanted to focus on getting a foothold in the Little Garden. Noticing Vahn''s hesitation, Shiroyasha decided to make things easier for him, stating, "If you help those two develop Fragments of Origin, you could drastically improve the quality of life for every version of them across all realities. Besides, they''re super cute. Are you fine with letting them lose their lives in such a tragic way~?" Deadpanning in response to Shiroyasha''s words, Vahn met the mischievous demoness'' cat-like eyes before asking, "Are you sure you''re not just looking for more people to tease...?" Amused by Vahn''s usation, Shiroyasha snickered in her characteristically mischievous manner before flexing the muscles of her bubbly bottom in a yful manner and answering, "We can tease them together..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''ck Rabbit contending for that best girl position...'',''Even a small influence on fate can have far-reaching effects...'',''Shiroyasha knows how to push Vahn''s buttons...'') Chapter 2071: Bittersweet

Chapter 2071: Bittersweet

As much as he enjoyed watching ck Rabbit''s ears bob up and down as she greedily sampled his ''carrot'', it was well past the time when Vahn would normally meet up with Sarina and Nono. He had also promised Lily he would teach her how to barbeque various foods, so, after gently grabbing her left ear with his right hand, instantaneously stopping her movements, Vahn softly mused, "Now that we''ve crossed the line, we can do this as much as we want. However, we still have other duties and responsibilities. Too much indulgence leads to degeneracy. I don''t particrly mind you bing a lewd bunny, but the children would be sad if you neglected them..." Though she waited until Vahn had finished speaking, ck Rabbit ultimately released his penis from her mouth with a ''pop'' before adopting an apologetically meek expression and answering, "Sorry...I guess I got a little too excited..." Shaking his head, Vahn caressed the side of ck Rabbit''s face as he said, "There''s no need for that. You''ve done nothing wrong. Rather, I feel like you''ve suddenly be even more amazing...I''m not sure I''ll be able to hold myself back once night falls..." Offering a smile, ck Rabbit made her own intentions known by gently biting Vahn''s thumb as it traced her lips. This was perhaps the only critique Vahn could give her, as, from start to finish, she had persistently bitten or nibbled parts of his body. He didn''t particrly mind it, but it had startled her quite a bit when her teeth managed to pierce the lobes of his ears. After that, she tried to resist the almost instinctual urge, but, less than ten minutester, she ended up nibbling the same exact ear... Seemingly incited by Vahn''s words, ck Rabbit tightened her grip around his still erect member, a lustful look in her eyes as she answered, "I''m looking forward to it..." before giving his ns onest lick... ... .. . "He''ste..." Though it was only a few minutes past the time when Vahn would usuallye to pick them up, Sarina had been feeling on edge ever since he introduced them to Shiryaukihime. Thetter was one of the most beautiful women she had ever seen, and, based on the way she looked at Vahn and referred to him as ''Master'', Sarina couldn''t shake the feeling that something was going on between them... "Fret not, Sarina-sama. I''m certain Master will arrive soon. He is most likely dealing with Shiroyasha-sama. She can be...troublesome at times..." Shifting her attention to the buxom Water Goddess, Sarina''s pout became more prominent as her eyes focused on the former''s cleavage. This caused Hime to feel a little self-conscious, but, recalling Vahn''s praise, she managed to appear calm and unflustered as she tolerated Sarina''s piercing gaze. "Sarina-chan. It isn''t polite to stare. I know you''re worried about Vahn. However, you shouldn''t take it out on others." Hearing the childish yet motherly tone, a sigh escaped from Sarina''s throat as she looked towards the voice''s owner, Lily. She was sitting patiently alongside them with a ceramic teacup in her hands, a friendly, almost grandmotherly expression on her face as she returned a smile and asked, "Would you like something to drink? I''m using the tea leaves Vahn left behind. They''re quite delicious." Though it had only been a week since their first meeting, Sarina had already epted that Lily was simply ''too powerful'' an opponent. Not only was she unbelievably cute, but, no matter how difficult their lessons were, she remained calm and poised. She also possessed strong maternal instincts and a mature temperament reminiscent of a kind and caring wife. Thus, even if she wanted to see Lily as a rival, Sarina knew she wasn''t a match for the remarkably kind kitsune. "No, but thank you..." Smiling even more radiantly, Lily made a simr offer to everyone else present before returning to her own tea with a content look on her face. This left Sarina feeling even more exasperated as she couldn''t fathom how a girl three weeks her junior was able to behave in such a mature and elegant manner. If Lily didn''t dress up in casual clothes and an apron, she could easily pass as a princess... As that thought crossed her mind, Sarina briefly considered asking Lily for advice when a familiar vibration reached her ears. At that exact same moment, Vahn appeared out of thin air with a pink-haired ck Rabbit at his side, saying, "Sorry for the dy. I was ironing out a few particrs with Shiroyasha. I''ll be providing ice cream and cheesecake aspensation. Make sure you save some space after dinner." Since he had appeared right in front of her, Vahn took the initiative to caress Sarina''s head before speaking. This abated the majority of her frustrations, a smile developing across her face as she excitedly eximed, "Ice cream and cheesecake!? I''ve always wanted to try them~!" Like most children her age, Sarina''s wayward thoughts vanished the moment she heard a promise of sweets. Vahn found this particrly adorable, so, while it earned him a disapproving stare from Lily, he pulled out a cone of cheesecake ice cream, winking as he said, "Don''t let the other children catch you." With visible sparkles in her eyes, Sarina epted the cone of ice cream with an enthusiastic smile, eximing, "Thank you, Vahn~!" before happilypping up the impossibly sweet treat. It was unlike anything she had ever experienced, and, were it not for the fact she had also known Lily''s gaze, she might have considered asking for seconds. "Vahn-sama...you''ll spoil her appetite..." Scratching the back of his head, Vahn adopted a wry smile as Lily continued staring at him with a smile that didn''t quite reach her eyes. She wasn''t angry, but, much like a parent that had just caught their child performing mischief, her emerald green eyes possessed a certain judgmental quality thatpelled guilt. Fortunately, Lily was remarkably adept at reading the atmosphere, so, the moment things started to feel awkward, she immediately regained her characteristically soothing smile, suggesting, "Shall we move to the kitchen? I told the children we would be eating something special tonight so I''m really looking forward to what you''ll teach us~." Responding with a light-hearted chuckle, Vahn took advantage of the fact that Lily had risen to her feet to caress her head as he answered, "Now I''m feeling even more motivated than before. Guess I''ll have to pull out something truly special for tonight''s lesson." Supplying a chuckle of her own, Lily''s tails began to waggle slightly as she mused, "I suppose so." in a calm yet audibly expectant tone of voice... ... .. . After teaching most of the senior group how to braise and grill the meat of a mythological chicken known as a Basan, Vahn helped prepare food for the entire No Name Community before cing a number of self-serve ice cream stations around the restored banquet hall. It was adorable watching some of the childrenment the fact they had eaten a little too much during dinner. Fortunately for the children, Vahn promised to leave the ice cream stations until noon the next day so long as they promised not to quarrel over them. This earned him quite a bit of fanfare from the children, who, over the past week, hade to view him as something of a Patron God after ck Rabbit spilled the beans regarding his status. Though the ''revtion'' had caused Jin a bit of a headache, the teal-haired youth didn''t me Vahn for the mishap. Rather, after gaining ess to some of the grimoires Vahn had transcribed for him, it was difficult for Jin not to view him in a simr light. While magic was rtivelymon within the Divine Realm, knowledge rted to it was both rare and valuable. The Little Garden didn''t possess anything even remotely resembling a school system, so, unless you were born in a Community that emphasized the importance of education, you might not even have the chance to learn anything more than basic arithmetic. As a result, even elementary level magical grimoires would sell for a substantial amount, and, unless you had an alliance with the Community printing it, the odds of them actually selling it to you were slim. The grimoires Vahn provided were so far beyond the basics that Jin had barely been able to control his trembling the first time he held one. They were the type of grimoires that, once mastered, would provide a substantial increase to the reader''s capacity as a Magus. Thus, once he learned that Vahn was willing to share the knowledge contained within countless grimoires, how else could Jin regard him if not a Patron God? A Teacher? A Master? He was much more than either of those things... "What are you thinking about, brat...?" Hearing Vahn''s words, Jin looked up from the ancient-looking grimoire spread out before him, a fatigued yet eager look in his eyes as he casually answered, "I was just thinking about how amazing you are to have memorized tens of millions of grimoires. I feel like I could spend the next ten years studying this one and I would still be learning something new each day..." Shaking his head, Vahn ruffled Jin''s already messy hair before saying, "Theoretical knowledge will only take you so far. I''m just lending you this grimoire so that you have an idea of what the future might hold. Once we start our actual training, I''ll demonstrate the path to bing an Archmage without needing to worry about things like this. You might not be able to imagine it now, but, once you exceed a certain level, the only things you need to actualize virtually any spell are imagination, authority, and control." In an effort to prove his point, Vahn ced a seed of Source Energy into Jin''s body, smiling as he said, "Go ahead and give it a try. I''ve granted you a bit of my power. All you need to do is imagine something you want and it should appear right in front of you." "Something I want...?" Nodding his head, Vahn ced his hands on Jin''s shoulders, his already velvety voice taking on a somewhat resonant tone as he said, "The power I''ve lent you can only summon things within the vicinity of the No Names'' territory. As for what-" Before Vahn could finish speaking, both he and Jin were surprised when Sarina suddenly appeared out of thin air, a befuddled look on her face as the ice cream atop her cone plopped to the ground. "Vahn? What just happened...?" Using the grimoire in front of him, Jin concealed his beet-red face as an amused chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat. At the same time, a green glow appeared around Sarina''s cone as the scoop of ice cream on the ground promptly returned to its ce. This served as an ample distraction for the young girl, her eyes widening as she eximed, "Whoa...!" Gesturing with his right hand, Vahn cast a basic obscuration spell on Jin''s body to drastically reduce his presence. Even a beast person with extraordinary perception wouldn''t be able to detect him, so, as far as Sarina was concerned, he might as well not even exist in the present moment. Taking advantage of this, Vahn earned an embarrassed groan from Jin as he casually asked, "Sarina. What do you think of Jin...?" Though she was a little surprised by the sudden question, Sarina didn''t have to consider her answer, saying, "He''s a little girly right now but I feel like he could be a dependable guy if he stopped studying and actually did something. Why do you ask?" Shaking his head, Vahn maintained his smile as he answered, "No reason. I was just curious to know what you thought. After all, you are the Sub-Leader of my Community. Is it wrong for me to ask for your opinion~?" Starling in response to Vahn''s words, Sarina nearly crushed the cone in her hands as she eximed, "Of course not! If it''s you, I don''t mind answering all kinds of questions!" Using a sound-nullifying spell to prevent Jin from hearing thetter half of Sarina''s statement, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he said, "I''m going to transfer you back now. Thanks for your help, Sarina. I really appreciate it." Since she didn''t want to get in the way of whatever Vahn was doing, Sarina nodded her head with a happy smile on her face. She was delighted to be able to help even if it was just to answer a single question. Thest week had been a little rough as she felt like she hadn''t been able to contribute anything to their Community. This made her feel a lot better, so, without even questioning why he would call her to the library, Sarina maintained a smile even as Vahn teleported her away. With Sarina returned to whence she came, Vahn returned his attention to Jin, a massive grin on his face as he asked, "Mind telling me what that was about...?" Without any hesitation whatsoever, Jin replied, "I would rather not..." while burying his face further into the grimoire... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Rabbits are known to nibble when they''re horny (O w O)...'',''Lily could give Senko-san a run for her money...'',''RIP Jin xD...'') Chapter 2072: Promises and Priorities

Chapter 2072: Promises and Priorities

Waking to the sound of a soft knocking on his door, Vahn instinctually elerated his thought processes in order to afford himself more time to think. When he detected who was on the other side of the door, a feeling of confusion washed over him before he noticed the murky yellow and subtle purples in the person''s aura. "Master...?" "Vahn...?" Since the barrier on the door only allowed sound to go one way, Vahn didn''t bother to shush the two girls nking his sides. Instead, he caressed both of their heads, saying, "It seems someone has had a nightmare. I''m going to send you back to your rooms, okay?" Though ck Rabbit seemed somewhat reluctant, the other beauty at Vahn''s side, Shirayukihime, immediately nodded her head, answering, "Understood. Would you like me to prepare some warm milk...?" Shaking his head, Vahn drew Hime closer so that he could nt a kiss between the two patterns on her forehead before saying, "Don''t worry about it. This isn''t my first rodeo." Nodding her head in affirmation, Hime allowed herself to be teleported away without a fuss. As for ck Rabbit, she was feeling marginally more uncertain, asking, "Isn''t it time they learned about our rtionship? I can help..." Meeting the concerned rabbit''s gaze, Vahn could see the eagerness and sincerity in ck Rabbit''s ruby-red eyes. Her maternal instincts had been steadily developing ever since they crossed the line several days prior. Thus, even if she knew it might cause problems, she feltpelled to, at the very least, offer her assistance. Returning a smile, Vahn hooked his hand around ck Rabbit''s head, drawing her closer to nt a kiss on her forehead. Instead of sending her away, however, he maintained his smile as he teasingly mused, "You''ll need to put on some clothes..." Blushing in response to Vahn''s teasing, ck Rabbit half-heartedly pushed him away so she could search for her discarded panties and pajamas. Vahn could have made things easier by reminding her about the [REquip] system linked around her wrist. Instead, he let her fumble around in a panic as he rose to his feet and approached the door. He had taken the initiative to manipte the flow of time within the room, so, despite hearing the knock more than a minute prior, less than a second had passed since then. With ck Rabbit finally recalling the existence of the extremely convenient essory on her wrist, Vahn used a wide-range cleaning spell to remove the signs and smell of sex from the room before opening the door to reveal an anxious-looking Nono wearing a modest, vani-colored nightgown. "Vahn...can I sleep with you...?" Returning a smile, Vahn gently caressed the young aubute''s head, asking, "Did you have a bad dream...?" in a soft tone of voice. Nodding her head, Nono was about to exin further when she noticed a sh of pink near Vahn''s bed. Peeking around his body, she found ck Rabbit smiling back at her with a kind yet slightly flustered look on her face. This caused countless questions to appear within the young girl''s mind, but, before she could voice her thoughts, Vahn gently guided her into the room, saying, "Come on. You can tell us all about it..." Though she had the distinct impression she had walked in on something she shouldn''t have, Nono was too afraid to be alone right now. Vahn was synonymous withfort and security in her heart, so, even if she was intruding on something she shouldn''t, she still crawled into his bed without any discernible hesitation. What she didn''t expect was for ck Rabbit to suddenly embrace her, a kind and loving smile on her face as she said, "It''s going to be okay..." in a motherly tone... ... .. . Unsurprisingly, Nono had been dreaming about her parents and the treatment she had received during her stay with the Silver Adonis Community. This caused Vahn to feel more than a little guilty as Shiroyasha''s persistence had caused him to seriously consider summoning Seraphina and Usalia. While there was nothing inherently wrong with wanting to summon the two demonesses, the crux of the matter was that Vahn hadn''t even considered summoning Nono''s parents. He had the power to make her the happiest girl in all of creation; yet, in spite of this, he had been prioritizing his own wants and needs over his promise... Waiting until the next morning, Vahn split off a second body to pay a visit to the Thousand Eyes Community. There, he found Shiroyasha waiting for him with her characteristically mischievous smile. She kept a close watch over everything he did, so, even without the ability to read his mind, she could easily intuit what he was thinking. "Are you sure about this? I''m not going to tell you how to manage your Community but that girl''s parents died even before she received an invitation to the Little Garden. Have you ever stopped to consider what role they will y in the future? What benefits-" Though he knew Shiroyasha was eerily simr to Loki, Vahn couldn''t help interrupting when she mentioned ''benefits'', stating, "I made a promise. The only thing I want for that girl is for her to be happy. Even if she never does anything for me in return, I couldn''t care less. Some things are more important than an exchange of benefits..." Spreading her hands and shrugging in ackadaisical gesture of helplessness, Shiroyasha mused, "If you say so." before manifesting two envelopes and exining, "You''ll find nk invitation letters in these envelopes. The Laws of the Little Garden prohibit new arrivals from summoning others before they have rued merits but you should be able to get around that with Shirayukihime''s assistance. Just make sure you make the invitationpelling. If you''re trying to summon her parents during a time when they were still alive, that means they''ll have a Nono of their own to look after. Good luck convincing a pair of loving parents to abandon their child~." epting the letters with a frown, Vahn asked, "Can''t I just summon them around the time of their death?" Rolling her eyes, Shiroyasha exined, "Nono''s parents died after their caravan was attacked by monsters. Do you really think their priority would be reading a mysterious envelope when they''re fleeing for their lives or lying on the ground and bleeding out? It''s actually a lot harder than you think to pick a suitable time and ce to summon select individuals. Your best bet would be to target them before they even have Nono but that would kind of defeat the purpose, wouldn''t it?" Though he didn''t want to admit it, there was a considerable amount of truth contained within Shiroyasha''s words. Not everyone wanted to explore other worlds. Rather, unless they were born in a modern setting or felt suffocated by normalcy, very few people would simply abandon everything in order to ept an invitation from someone they had never met. That was something only those who were confident in their strength orpletely delusional could do... Shaking his head, Vahn ced the two envelopes into his Inventory before stating, "I''ll just have to leave it to fate. So long as Nono is the one to send the invitations, I believe she''ll be able to ept any oue. I''ll just need to talk with her and make sure she understands there''s a chance things might not work out..." Snickering in response to Vahn''s words, Shiroyasha adopted a teasingly seductive expression on her face as she mused, "And then you''ll swoop in to heal her broken heart~?" Adopting an unamused deadpan, Vahn refused to dignify Shiroyasha''s remark with words with a response. Instead, he shifted the topic, asking, "When am I supposed to meet with your friend from the South? It''s already been a couple of days." Shrugging a second time, Shiroyasha exined, "I managed to reach out to them but they didn''t believe me when I said you could help to solve their problems. They can be pretty obstinate so it might take a while for them toe around and ept external assistance." Since it was a good opportunity, Vahn asked, "What, exactly, did you want me to do for them? If it''s nothing major, I might be able to prepare something without needing to meet with them directly." Pulling out her favorite fan, Shiroyasha pressed the tip to her chin, seemingly in deep thought. This onlysted for a moment, however, before a mischievous smile developed across her face. Then, in an ostensibly sly tone, she remarked, "That could work. Given that girl''s prideful nature, she''ll have no choice but to seek you out if you offer your assistance without asking forpensation. Not a bad n." Understanding that Vahn wasn''t in the mood to joke around, Shiroyasha punctuated her words by creating a three-dimensional projection of a rather regal-looking Gryphon before exining, "This is Draco Grief, the current Floor Master of the South Side. He is also the Leader of the Draco Grief Alliance, a gathering of Communitiesprised almost entirely of mythological creatures and their descendants." Nodding his head, Vahn scrutinized the image as it morphed from a Gryphon to a handsome and muscr man with sharp eyes, eagle-like wings, and a mane of golden hair. He wasn''t surprised that a mythological creature in the Divine Realm would possess the ability to transform. What did surprise him was Shiroyasha stating, "Without outside intervention, Draco will most likely die within the next ten to fifteen years. He suffered a serious injury during his battle with the Tyrant Dragon of Poison, Nidhogg. The Communitiesprising the Yggdrasil Faction have refused to lend their aid so it''s only a matter of time before he sumbs." Blinking in surprise, Vahn asked, "He''s the Floor Master of the South Side yet hecks the means to acquire a cure...?" Rolling her eyes, Shiroyasha created a second projection, this one showing a winged dragon that resembled a decaying corpse as she exined, "Nidhogg isn''t just any dragon. He is the beast that gnaws at the roots of the world tree, Yggdrasil. His poison is potent enough to leave entire worlds in ruin. Do you really think it could be cured so easily...?" As he actually had a fair amount of experience with Nidhogg''s poison, Vahn surprised Shiroyasha by nodding his head and stating, "There are actually quite a number of cures. The simplest would be to draft a potion from the leaves of the world tree he gnaws upon. I''m guessing that''s the first method they tried?" Nodding her head in affirmation, Shiroyasha snapped open her fan before exining, "Odin can be remarkably petty at times. Unless the Draco Grief Alliance agrees to submit to the Yggdrasil Faction, he refuses topromise. That old codger has been trying to install his own Floor Master for quite some time. This is the best opportunity he''s had in centuries so he intends to seize as many benefits as possible before the Avalon Community regains their strength." Shaking his head, Vahn pulled out a dark-purple Gift Card before manifesting an ancient-looking potion bottle filled with glistening golden liquid. "This is Mithridatum, a legendary cure-all developed by King Mithradates VI Eupator. I''m not sure if it will work against Nidhogg''s poison, but the text on the card states it has the effect of neutralizing and providing immunity against all poisons. If this doesn''t work, let me know. I also have a Panacea that is virtually guaranteed to work. It just requires me to manufacture it." epting the vial with a smile, Shiroyasha slipped it into her nonexistent cleavage before musing, "This is actually one of the options we were considering. I would say I''m surprised to learn you have it in your possession, but I''d be lying~." Shaking his head a second time, Vahn was preparing to return to his workshop when Shiroyasha suddenly grabbed his sleeve, a teasing smile on her face as she asked, "Where are you going? You just arrived a few minutes ago. Stop and stay awhile." Looking down at the petite demoness, Vahn considered refusing before recalling that he would need Shiroyasha''s help in selecting an opportune time to summon Nono''s parents. He didn''t even know how the summoning process worked, so, after a very brief moment of hesitation, he returned a smile of his own and said, "Sure." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The missing lemon...'',''Not everyone is an Otaku...'',''Vahn has Gifts for days...'') Chapter 2073: Subtlety

Chapter 2073: Subtlety

After spending the night with Vahn and ck Rabbit, Nono was feeling more listless than normal. It didn''t bother her that Vahn and ck Rabbit were together. The thing that left her feeling confused was how peaceful she slept in ck Rabbit''s arms. Even now, several hours after she had woken up, she could still feel their warmth lingering in her body...a warmth she hadn''t experienced ever since her parents died... "Are you okay, Nono-chan? Does your stomach hurt...?" "Hmm...?" Shifting her attention to the speaking, Nono found Lily staring at her with a concerned expression on her face. They had been spending a lot of time together ever since Vahn introduced them to the No Names. She really enjoyed looking after the children. If there was anything she couldin about, it was the mischievous nature of the younger boys. Quite a few of them had developed a bit of a crush on her, and, while she wasn''t particrly experienced with love, Nono wasn''t oblivious to their longing for affection. "I''m fine...I was just thinking about something..." Adopting her characteristically kind smile, Lily left Nono feeling at a loss for words as she asked, "Is it Vahn?" "..." Pointing towards her nose, Lily exined, "I have a very strong sense of smell and I memorize the scent of people I care about. It''s faint, but I can smell Vahn''s and ck Rabbit''s scent on you. Did something happen? I''m here if you need to talk." After taking a moment to smell herself, Nono shook her head before exining, "It''s fine. Nothing bad happened. I was just feeling a little lonely..." With her expression softening, Lily put down the clothes she was washing before drying her hands and giving Nono a hug. This left the auburn-haired girl feeling bashful, but, having grown used to things like this, she didn''t attempt to push Lily away. Instead, a faint blush spread across her face as she muttered, "Thank you..." in a sincere tone of voice... "No need. We''re friends, after all. We look out for each other. Whenever you''re feeling lonely, just let me know. I will always make time for you, okay?" Nodding her head in affirmation, a delicate smile developed across Nono''s face as she intoned a meet yet gratified, "Nn..." ... .. . Though he was originally intending to discuss the matter of summoning her parents, Vahn changed his ns after spying on the rather heartwarming scene. His discussion with Shiroyasha had left him feeling doubtful, so, at least for the time being, he decided to let her spend more time with the No Names. He was hoping that the bonds she forged with people like Lily would help to alleviate some of the dejection she would undoubtedly experience if her parents refused the summons... Shaking that depressing thought from his mind, Vahn extended his non-existent hands to caress both girls'' heads. They couldn''t actually sense him, but, so long as he focused on emitting positive vibes, he could drastically improve the mood of others even if they couldn''t perceive him. As for why he was walking around in a non-existent state, well, it was part of his training. Since the Divine Realm was the penultimate stop in his journey towards the absolute pinnacle of the Record, Vahn was focusing on the development of his more abstract qualities. One of his goals was reaching a simr level to the Law of Identity in terms of Acausality. He knew he would need to be able to influence the world around him in a way that even the most powerful beings in existence wouldn''t be able to parse, so, while he was currently far from the level of Loi-chan, that didn''t stop him from practicing. (*If you were an even bigger pervert, this would be a terrifying ability...*) ("Do you really think I''m a pervert...?") Giggling from the deepest recesses of Vahn''s mind, Sis took a moment to pass her gaze over the countless girls in the observation room before answering, (*Just a little...*) Exhaling a sigh, Vahn retracted his hands from Nono''s and Lily''s heads before taking a few steps in no particr direction. Ever since he had installed a barrier and epted Jin as his apprentice, the No Names'' territory was recognized as an extension of his own thanks to his Unit Management. As a result, he was able to move unbounded through space, and, so long as he made preparations in advance, time. In what most people would perceive as an instant, Vahn found himself standing behind Hime as she overlooked Jin''s and Sarina''s studies. This was one of the reasons Jin had already developed a crush on Sarina. The two spent hours in the library focusing on their studies. Sarina was pretty determined to learn both magic and alchemy, so, while Nono spent most of her time helping Lily look after the children, she took advantage of Jin''s knowledge to help her study. Jin was, forck of a more tactful phrase, a very passive boy. He was helpless against strong-willed girls, so, no matter how much it impeded his studies, he did his best to help Sarina. This allowed the two of them to grow steadily closer, as, unlike Lily, his childhood friend, Sarina was something fresh and new in the young boy''s life. As counterintuitive as it might seem, too much familiarity was actually a burden when it came to starting a rtionship. Jin had a crush on Lily but he was too afraid to confess for fear of ruining their sibling-like rtionship. As for Lily, she viewed Jin as one of the many children she needed to take care of. She loved and adored him unlike another other but it hadn''t even crossed her mind to view him as a potential partner. Fortunately, not all hope was lost for the teal-haired youth. Feelings could always change, and, so long as he could be someone dependable in their hearts, there was a chance he could end up with both Sarina and Lily. This was a route Vahn intended to support, so, while Jin did his best not to appear suspicious, Vahn waited until Sarina noticed the young boy''s gaze before causing the surrounding temperature to increase ever so slightly. "What is it? Is there something on my face...?" Startled by Sarina''s sudden inquiry, a ruddy hue spread through Jin''s cheeks as he answered, "No. I just..." Searching for excuses within his mind, Jin was surprised when he realized that he was a lot calmer than usual. His rapidly beating heart quickly returned to its natural rhythm, and, though it didn''t go awaypletely, most of his anxiety seemed to vanish into thin air as he continued, adding, "I was staring at your ribbon. It matches your eyes..." Surprised by Jin''s remark, Sarina blinked several times as her surroundings seemed to inexplicably heat up. This caused her to feel strangely nervous, her amethyst eyes shifting to Shirayukhime to innocently ask, "Is it getting hot in here, or am I just imagining things?" "Hmmm?" Spreading her senses through the area, Hime noticed that the temperature around Sarina''s body was, in fact, hotter than usual. Since it was simr to the heat radiating from her body, however, she didn''t question it. Instead, she asked, "Would you like me to cool you off? We can also take a break. It has been quite some time since we started studying." Feeling uncharacteristically self-conscious, Sarina nodded her head before rising from her chair and saying, "I''m going to go get some ice cream..." Though she was briefly tempted to ask Jin if he wanted toe with her, Sarina scampered out of the Library without looking back. Hime had been assigned to watch over her, so, after bowing her head towards Jin, she quickly followed Sarina''s path of departure. This left Jin alone in the library, his face glowing deep crimson as Sarina''s vaguely suggestive words yed over and over within his mind... ... .. . After triple-checking the barrier to make sure nothing was amiss, Vahn returned to his workshop feeling as though he had aplished quite a bit. Then, as per usual, he spent the better part of half an hour ruminating over whether or not he should summon Fenrir. She was something of an exception, so, even if he summoned her to his side, none of the girls within his personalized Little Garden wouldin. Rather, they would find it weirder if he didn''t summon her... Shaking his head, Vahn decided to wait for a bit. He wasn''t feeling particrly lonely and he didn''t want Fenrir influencing Sarina, Nono, and the youths in the No Name Community to be good girls. Sure, he appreciated everything she did for him, but, when it came down to it, nearly a third of his harem could be attributed to Fenrir teaching susceptible women how to exploit his particr set of weaknesses. As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn manifested a crystalline hammer with the intent to forge a few essories for Jin to gift out. Sarina''s and Lily''s birthdays wereing up in the next couple of months so he was intending to coach the young Magus until he could give them presents without self-destructing. "Hmmm...he did draw attention to her ribbon. I could always make a new one. The real question is, what does Lily want? I can''t imagine that girl asking for anything..." Though he had ced an embargo on using the Law of Identity to obtain ''unfair'' knowledge, Vahn didn''t mind making use of her for things like this. As a result, Loi-chan, appearing as a version of Lily in a school swimsuit, cheerfully answered, "The only things she seems to want are her mommy and for everyone in the No Names to be happy." Furrowing his brows, Vahn resisted the urge to ask about Lily''s mother. He would undoubtedly look into it on his own but he would rather hear it from the girl herself. As for making the children of the No Name Community happy, well, that wasn''t particrly difficult. "I''ll craft her some cooking tools. A knife that never dulls and an indestructible cooking board can go a long way. Maybe a new apron?" (*How about all of the above?*) Nodding his head in approval, Vahn was preparing to get to work when he noticed two envelopes sitting atop his luminescent golden anvil. These envelopes were identical to the ones Shiroyasha had given him previously. The only difference was that they had already been filled out. There was also a footnote from Shiroyasha, a chibi version of herself making a peace sign with the words, "Just in case you wanted to have some fun with a subunny~" Shaking his head, Vahn ced the two invitation letters in his Inventory. He would probably make use of them at some point, but, at least for the time being, he already had his hands full with ck Rabbit. He had also managed to wrangle in Hime after an amorous encounter in the bath, so, while he was certainly interested in reuniting with Seraphina, he would rather things calm down before he made any rash decisions... ... .. . Seeing Vahn ce the envelopes away, Shiroyasha muttered a yful, "Fooey..." before issuing a long, drawn-out yawn. This earned her a curious nce from Nadeshiko, who, as per usual, was cleaning the former''s room with an impassive expression on her face. Feeling Nadeshiko''s nce, Shiroyasha looked over her shoulder, a teasing smile on her face as she asked, "Hey, hey, Nadeshiko-chan. When was thest time we yed together~?" Exhaling a tired sigh, Nadeshiko answered, "Please don''t joke, Shiroyasha-sama. If you want to y around, please go and bother Vahn-sama." Adopting a pretend pout, Shiroyasha rolled onto her back, sprawling out as she groaned, "I would, but he gets butthurt when I interrupt his forging. As much as I enjoy the way my skin crawls when he res at me, I''d rather avoid angering him..." Surprised by her Master''s ''restraint'', Nadeshiko briefly paused her sweeping to remark, "You must really think highly of him..." With her gaze firmly fixed on the ceiling, Shiroyasha appeared uncharacteristically listless as she answered, "Yeah...I think I might be in love..." Not expecting such an answer, Nadeshiko nearly tripped over her own broom. Her usually stoic face instantaneously became a caricature of disbelief as she nervously inquired, "Are you serious...?" Though she wasn''t actually sure herself, Shiroyasha didn''t hesitate to answer, "Nope~." in a teasing tone before rolling to the side and cackling as Nadeshiko attempted to hit her with the broom. All she knew for certain was that Vahn had a way of making her feel special. Whether or not this had anything to do with love, she had absolutely no idea... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Lily is too pure for this world...'',''Vahn be trolling...'',''Shiroyasha be like, "Vahn make me go brrrrrr..."'') Chapter 2074: Selfishness

Chapter 2074: Selfishness

Though it took a little longer than expected, it had only ever been a matter of time before people noticed the changes with the No Names Community. Rumors regarding the barrier had started to circte mere days after its construction, and, thanks to the Water Tree Vahn had nted for them, the children no longer had to leave the safety of their territory to fetch water. This was exactly the type of thing opportunists paid attention to, so, as time continued to move forward, the number of people attempting to break into the No Names'' territory gradually increased. Fortunately, Jin had followed Vahn''s advice by having the children remain in or around the restored castle town. There were very few people with the means to actually break through the barrier and those that could were unable to do so thanks to the Laws of the Little Garden. Thus, so long as the children remained inside, there was very little anyone from the outside could do to harm them. The only organizations that could feasibly put pressure on a Community that had decided to turtle up were those affiliated with Demon Lords. The Laws of the Little Garden allowed Demon Lords to instigate Gift Games at their leisure since nobody in their right mind would ever agree topete against them. Officiating these broad-spectrum Gift Games was one of the primary duties of Floor Masters, so, should anything ur, Vahn would immediately learn about it thanks to his association with Shiroyasha. The bigger issue was the fact that the No Name Communitycked yers capable of defending it should an ''attack'' take ce. Vahn couldn''t participate at their behest, and, thanks to her affiliation with the Thousand Eyes Community, ck Rabbit was prohibited from participating in most games unless the opposing party had agreed to allow her participation. Thus, for all intents and purposes, the No Names only had two people qualified to participate in Gift Games, Jin and Lily... "Mind running that by me again, chibi?" Though he generally did his best to appear calm, Vahn had a disapproving look on his face after hearing what Jin had said. This caused the young Magus to hang his head in shame, a distressed expression on his face as he repeated, "I received a letter stating that one of our former colleagues was being wagered as a prize in a high-brow Gift Game. I wanted our Community to be one of the groups participating..." "It''s only been five weeks since you started your training. I understand your desire to help your former colleague, but what can you do with your current power? If I participated, it would be as a representative of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, not the No Names. If people found out I handed over the ''grand prize'' to a Community I''m not even in an Alliance with, my neutrality wouldn''t hold up under scrutiny. Besides, this is clearly a trap." Tightening his hands into fists, Jin replied, "I know...but Leticia is ourrade. We can''t just ignore her now that we know where she is. What would you do if one of your friends was being treated as a ve or an immortal pet that people could do whatever they want with?" Without any hesitation whatsoever, Vahn answered, "I would ughter and pass judgment on those involved. However, that is because I''m me. You''re not. The difference in our capabilities, at least for the time being, is like Heaven and Earth. You''re letting the recent prosperity of the No Names go to your head, Jin." Though he understood Vahn''s reasoning, Jin was on the verge of tears as he imagined what his friend must have been forced to endure. He might be young but he understood that the fate of captive females, especially those who had been reduced to ves, was never pleasant. It was even worse if they possessed unique or exotic traits, so, with Leticia possessing immortality, remarkable beauty, and eternal youth, she was a prize sought after by many. "Please...I''ll do anything..." Seeing the helplessness and indignation in the young boy''s eyes, an exasperated sigh escaped Vahn''s throat before he shook his head and asked, "What happened to not bing dependent on me? If you ask for my help every time a problem presents itself, you''ll never be strong. If you''re serious about doing anything to protect the people you care about, stop falling for obvious provocations and focus on your studies. The sooner you be a proper Magus, the sooner you can regain everything your Community has lost." "But..." Raising his hand, Vahn silenced Jin''s response, stating, "Rx. I would have gotten involved even without you asking. ck Rabbit would be heartbroken if I ignored her friend''s plight. However, I''m not doing this for the No Names. I''m doing it for entirely personal reasons. If you want your friend back, be strong enough to take her from me." With that said, Vahn ruffled Jin''s hair before promptly teleporting away. He might not be able to help the No Names directly, but that didn''t stop him from taking action on his own. Leticia was a former Vampire Lord with traits remarkably simr to Eva. She was also one of the people who had taken care of ck Rabbit after thetter lost her original family and home, so, even if Jin hadn''t asked for his help, he would have gotten involved. It would contradict everything he stood for if he allowed her to remain a ve... "I was wondering when you would stop by. Pretty soon, you''ll be able to enter this ce without me noticing. Just promise me you won''t lewd Nadeshiko without informing me first. My instincts tell me that woman is the type to go wild when she gets riled up." Staring at the petite demoness shamelessly digging in her pointed ears using the tips of her pinkies, Vahn adopted a deadpan expression as he sat down and said, "I want to purchase information. Tell me everything you know about the anonymous message sent to the No Names and the Gift Game they were invited to participate in." Rolling to a seated position, a yful gleam shed across Shiroyasha''s cat-like eyes as she said, "In exchange, I want to watch you and ck Rabbit bone from up close. Don''t get me wrong, I certainly don''t mind letting you y me like a cello. I just think it would be a lot more exciting to watch from up close." "You''re seriously holding information rted to one of your former allies hostage in exchange for the right to view me having sex with ck Rabbit from up close...?" Rolling her eyes, Shiroyasha maintained her impish grin as she replied, "I''m a simple woman, Vahn. There are very few things I actually care about. This happens to be one of them. If you''re genuinely bothered by my behavior, use your ability to ascertain the information for yourself. It''s not like I can stop you." Exhaling a sigh, Vahn took a moment tob back his hair before answering, "I''ll talk to her about it. I''m not going to make her do anything she isn''tfortable with." Snickering in response to Vahn''s words, Shiroyasha pulled out her fan and mused, "We both know that''s more than enough. That girl is very eager to please. So long as you''re the one to bring it up, there''s no way she''ll refuse." Shaking his head, Vahn decided to change the topic for the time being, asking, "What do you think I should do about the No Names? If things continue to develop as they are, it''s only a matter of time before Jin makes a grave mistake. I''ll clean up after him if I really need to but I''d rather avoid things developing to that point." Suppressing a second snicker, Shiroyasha''s eyes gleamed as she mused, "You really are a busybody. You can''t help helping others, can you?" Returning a wry smile of his own, Vahn just shrugged his shoulders and waited for Shiroyasha to continue. He believed she was actually worse than him when it came to meddling in others'' affairs. She had just ced herself in a position where it was very difficult to do so. After all, if she wasn''t a busybody, he wouldn''t be here right now. Understanding Vahn''s thoughts, Shiroyasha adopted a slightly usatory stare before going on to say, "There are two solutions, three if you''re feeling generous. The simplest is to help them recruit capable Gift yers. However, as that mightpromise things once the Problem Children arrive, I would rather you not. You''re not trying to make them dependent on you, after all." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn gestured for Shiroyasha to continue. What he didn''t expect was for her to say, "To that end, I would suggest summoning the subunnybination. The arrival of two new Demon Lords is bound to give people pause while simultaneously drawing attention to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. After that, you just need to continue acting out and the forces targetting the No Names will have no choice but to factor you into their ns." "..." Amused by the incredulous look on Vahn''s face, a massive grin developed across Shiroyasha''s as she asked, "What? You know it''s a good idea. Besides, if you don''t invite them soon, you might miss the opportunity. Once your fame and notoriety expand beyond a certain point, people will begin to flock to you in droves. You''re already considering rescuing Leticia and keeping her as motivation to help Jin grow stronger. Which do you think is more likely to ur, Jin defeating you in a Gift Game or a cute girl ending up in your bed?" "How long have you know about...no...you''ve always known..." Though he was about to ask how long Shiroyasha had known about the plot against the No Names, Vahn quickly recalled that she knew everything taking ce within the Little Garden. In other words, she was aware of every plot and scheme from the very moment they were drafted. She just couldn''t do anything with the information unless someone willfully purchased it from her. Shrugging her shoulders, Shiroyasha refused toment. Instead, she went on to exin the third option, stating, "If neither of those options tickles your fancy, the simplest solution is to give Gifts to the No Names. You might not want to put them in danger but this is the Divine Realm. Unless they have the means to protect themselves, they will always be in danger. With the power you possess, you could easily empower them and then advertise it as some kind of special awakening to draw in future clients. You just refuse to hand out power because you''re afraid it will lead them astray. To your credit, you''re not wrong. You''re just failing to ount for the broader situation the children are facing." "..." Understanding the truth contained within Shiroyasha''s words, Vahn found himself in a deep and contemtive silence. Truth be told, he had actually considered inscribing his Familia Crest on the entire No Name Community. That would allow them to literally ept Quests rted to menial chores and farm work. In other words, they could be increasingly stronger just by continuing their current routine. The only reasons he hadn''t gone forward with this idea was because of Jin''s request and the fact that it wouldpromise any semnce of neutrality he wanted to purport. Exhaling a sigh, Vahn manifested the envelopes Shiroyasha had given him three weeks prior. He really might miss the opportunity to summon Seraphina if he dyed things for too long. After all, as interested as he was in her, she wasn''t actually that important to him. She would have invariably undergone countless reincarnations since the time of her death so it was pure selfishness to want to summon her. Unfortunately, or perhaps not, he had always been an ostensibly selfish individual... "I choose all three options..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Jin experiencing the moral dilemmas of a shonen protagonist...'',''Shiroyasha is too good at this...'',''He wasn''t lying when he told ck Rabbit he was greedy xD...'') Chapter 2075: Provisional

Chapter 2075: Provisional

"You want to awaken the powers of the senior group...?" Though he nodded his head in response to Jin''s question, Vahn also stated, "Not just the seniors. I intend to awaken your and Lily''s hidden powers as well. I already exined the concept of Innates to you. I intend to give you Gifts rted to the ones you currently possess. After that, we''ll go over the Quest Board and a few other important details rted to the growth of yourself and the senior members of the No Names." As appreciative as he was of Vahn''s words, Jin couldn''t help feeling taken aback. Vahn had been pretty resolute in regards to the notion of obtaining power rather than having it bestowed upon you. It was one of the principal ideologies he had been trying to instill in them so it was strange to hear him mention handing out Gifts all of a sudden. Noticing the doubt in Jin''s eyes, Vahn adopted a wry smile as he said, "This is just a provisionary thing. In other words, the Gifts I''m going to hand out are training tools simr to a wooden sword or an elementary spellbook. They are intended to help you awaken powers you already possess, not provide power beyond your means to obtain. I intend to have everyone sign a contract with termssting for six months. After that, the Gifts I have bestowed will be returned." Though this was the first time he was hearing about a contract rted to lending Gifts, a smile developed across Jin''s face as he replied, "I understand. Thank you for this opportunity, Vahn. I promise we will do our best." Ruffling the youthful Magus'' hair, Vahn returned a smile of his own as he said, "I have no doubt about that. All you and the other No Names really need is time. I figured I can guarantee you at least six months." While it wasn''t a ''perfect'' solution, Vahn hade to the conclusion that he could assist the No Names by spinning the narrative that he had epted a contract to safeguard them. This wouldn''t jeopardize his neutrality as one of the services he intended to offer in the future was protection for burgeoning Communities. He was even tempted to start a Gift Lending service, but that would have to wait until he had worked out all the kinks rted to his current business model. Extracting his hand from the youth''s head, Vahn said, "I''ll leave spreading the news and gathering the others to you. We''ll perform the signing ceremony this evening. For now, I''m off to summon a few new recruits to act as Guardians during the provisional period. They''ll ultimately belong to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, but, much like how ck Rabbit is able to work for Thousand Eyes, I''ll have the two of them act as temporary representatives for the No Names." Blinking in surprise, Jin was about to ask if that was such a good idea when Vahn just shook his head and said, "We''re well past that point, kiddo. Besides, I''m interested to see what you''ll do if you have powerful people on your side. You are the Leader of the No Names. It''s time you begin acting like it." Though his words were a little harsh, Vahn knew that Jin needed to hear them. His low self-esteem was one of his greatest weaknesses. This was an opportunity for him to gain experience and build the confidence he would need to lead the No Names into the future. If he couldn''t, someone else would need to take his ce as he simply wasn''t qualified to continue leading others. On that note, Vahn promptly teleported away. This left Jin alone in the Library with a conflicted look on his face. Fortunately, if nothing else, he had a good head on his shoulders. He could understand what needed to be done, so, after a few moments of silence, he gave his cheeks a few light smacks before departing the Library to spread the news and gather his futurerades... ... .. . Having already discussed the matter with ck Rabbit, Sarina, Nono, and Shirayukihime, Vahn''s next destination was the Outer Gate leading to the God''s yground. There, the four girls were waiting for him with varying degrees of excitement and perturbation visible in their gazes. "I hope I didn''t keep you waiting for too long." Though she was the only one of the girls that didn''t belong to his Community, it was ck Rabbit who answered, "It''s no problem, Vahn. We just arrived a few minutes ago." with an expectant smile on her face. Summoning new yers, much less Demon Lords, to the Divine Realm was always a big deal so she couldn''t help feeling excited. Returning a smile of his own, Vahn habitually caressed the heads of Sarina and Nono as he said, "I don''t expect anything to go wrong but you''ll need to prepare yourselves. Two of the people I''ll be calling upon are Demon Lords. They alsoe from a world with heavyedic overtones so it''s impossible to predict how they''ll behave once summoned." Since he had already mentioned that the people he would be summoning were Demon Lords, the only person to react with any discernible aversion was Sarina. Vahn had also mentioned that one of the people that would be joining them was one of his most important, so, despite making a lot of progress over the past few weeks, she wasn''t particrly enthused by the notion of adding more women to their Community... ... .. . After moving a fair distance away from the Little Garden, Vahn produced a ratherrge magic circle before filling it with a tremendous volume of refined magical ores. One of the fundamentalws of the Divine Realm happened to be ''Equivalent Exchange'' so it required a catalyst and a tremendous amount of resources to summon people from the lower realms. This amount, as could be expected, was directly proportional to the power of the individuals being summoned, so, with Seraphina and Usalia having be two of the strongest Overlords in their Netherworld, Vahn needed to prepare a veritable mountain of resources just to send them an invitation. "I don''t think I''ve ever seen this much wealth and resources gathered in one ce...just who are you trying to summon?" Since the summoning ritual could take upwards of an hour, Vahn only paid cursory attention to it as he turned towards ck Rabbit and answered, "Their names are Seraphina and Usalia. They existed in the world I passed through before arriving in the Divine Realm. As for their official titles...I believe the former is the Supreme Overlord of Gorgeous while thetter is known as the Tyrant Overlord of Toto Bunny." To make things easier for the girls, Vahn created magical projections of the two girls he was talking about. The appearance of Seraphina was enough to leave even Hime feeling at a loss, but, as could be expected, the person ck Rabbit paid the most attention to was Usalia. After all, despite a few startling contrasts, thetter was still a bunny girl. "This little girl is a Demon Lord...?" Rather than ck Rabbit, the first person to ask about Usalia''s status was Sarina. From appearances alone, she felt they were around the same age as each other. Unfortunately, Vahn quickly shattered this misunderstanding by answering, "Indeed. Don''t let her appearance deceive you. She should be around 1815 years old in this image. The physiology of demons is quite a bit different from normal people. After all, they have no biological limits in regards to age and potential." "1815...!?" Feeling as though she had taken critical damage, the only thing preventing Sarina from falling over was Vahn''s support. She felt that Usalia was a lot cuter than she was, and, despite doing her best to feign ignorance, she was well aware of the rtionship between Vahn and ck Rabbit. Thus, with Usalia possessing rabbit-like features, Sarina couldn''t help feeling as though she had lost the battle before it had even begun. Resisting the urge to chuckle at the young girl''s expense, Vahn manifested a pic nket out of thin air before guiding her to sit down and saying, "We might be waiting for a while. Why don''t we enjoy a meal in the process?" Despite saying this, Vahn didn''t join Sarina after guiding her to take a seat. Instead, he manifested his own Little Garden without offering any exnation, his thoughts briefly seeping into it before returning it to the safety of his Soul Realm. Then, much to the surprise of everyone present, he used Unit Management to instantaneously summon Fenrir to his side. "Master~!" Though it had only been a few days since theirst meeting, Fenrir immediately pounced on Vahn as if this was their first meeting in decades. Then, causing everyone but Nono to blush, she sealed his lips with her own, her inordinately fully tail wagging happily as she stood on the very tips of her toes. "..." "..." "..." "..." Feeling Fenrir''s overwhelmingly happy emotions surge into him, it was difficult for Vahn not to adopt a goofy grin of his own as he grabbed her shoulders and teasingly mused, "Someone''s excited..." "Mouuuu...Master has be stingy..." Though he knew she was just ying around, Vahn couldn''t helpughing in response to Fenrir''s adorably pouty words. Then, with his hand snaked around her exposed back, he gestured towards the peanut gallery and said, "Fenrir, I''d like to introduce you to the newest members of our family. From left to right we have Sarina, ck Rabbit, Nono, and Shirayukihime. Soon enough, we''ll have two more additions. Please help me look after them." Passing her gaze over everyone as they were introduced, Fenrir''s scarlet eyes glistened as she set her eyes on ck Rabbit and said, "You''re strong..." as if she were stating a cold hard fact. Before ck Rabbit could respond, however, Fenrir shifted her gaze to Sarina and said, "You shouldn''t let your emotions get the better of you. Master likes obedient girls who get along with others. You''ll only cause-" Not expecting Fenrir to begin her proselytism so quickly, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as she said, "Now, now, there''s no need for that. Sarina has made considerable progress since our first meeting. Don''t be too harsh on her, okay?" Nodding her head in affirmation, Fenrir shifted her attention to Shirayukihime next, asking, "Are you a God? I smell Divinity on you." Offering a polite bow in response, Hime answered, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Fenrir-sama. And yes, I received Divinity from Shiroyasha-sama. At the present moment, I serve our Master as the Head Maid and Governess of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Please treat me well." Approving of Hime''s behavior, Fenrir nodded her head before looking up at Vahn and saying, "She has potential. Can I train her?" Since she could sense the water, ice, and yin elemental energies swirling around Hime''s body, Fenrir was confident in her ability to help her grow. Unfortunately, her words didn''t trante well without additional context. As a result, the surrounding temperature noticeably increased as Hime imagined what she meant by ''training''. Unable to contain himself, a rather boisterousugh emanated from Vahn''s throat. He knew it was only a matter of time before Fenrir caused some kind of misunderstanding but he hadn''t imagined it would be so soon. Fortunately, hisughter didn''t continue for too long as the summoning circle behind him promptly shed with a vibrant light before blinking out entirely. In the past, this particr phenomenon had caused quite a few people to think their invitation had been refused. In reality, the Divine Realm simply forbade direct summons into its interior. Instead, it ''spawned'' new arrivals just outside the invisible dome covering the sun-sized ind. In other words, Seraphina and Usalia were currently falling towards the ground like pink and white meteors due to the restrictions preventing them from flying... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Politics is all about spinning a narrative...'',''The High Priestess of the Good Girl Faith has arrived~!'',''I wonder how many people have heart attacks when being summoned into the Divine Realm...?'') Chapter 2076: Convergence

Chapter 2076: Convergence

With the sound of a girlish shrill growing ever louder, Vahn decided against waiting for Seraphina and Usalia to reach the ground. The spell was designed to arrest their momentum just before they impacted the forest floor, but, for the sake of smoothing things over and making the conversation toe a little easier, he sprouted a pair of wings from his back before bolting into the sky like a golden meteor... ... .. . "Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~! What the hell is this!? I''m too beautiful to die! Usalia! Save meeeeeeeee~!" With her wings failing to provide any life, Seraphina couldn''t help iling her arms and legs as her speed towards the ground continued to increase. As for the white-haired rabbit at her side, Usalia, she maintained apletely neutral expression, saying, "Stop whining." in a cold monotone. "How cruel...!" Rolling her eyes in response to Seraphina''s outburst, the malicious ck ws protruding from Usalia''s paws became noticeably longer as she focused her attention on the golden meteor that was approaching them. She didn''t sense any danger, but, just in case, a violent white aura began to exude from her body as she extended her rapidly erging paw to grab Seraphina''s body. She had a unique ability that allowed her to manipte the size and shape of her body, and, under specific circumstances, the bodies of others. "K-Kyuuk...!" Feeling her body crushed beneath Usalia''s ludicrous strength, a rather udylike croak emanated from Seraphina''s throat as she immediately regretted asking for the former''s assistance. Fortunately for them both, the golden light wasn''t an enemy. Rather, much to Seraphina''s satisfaction, it ended up being a remarkably handsome man with golden wings, dark hair, and vibrant aquamarine eyes. With a wave of his hand, Vahn was able to dissipate the energypelling Seraphina and Usalia to fall to the ground. At the same time, he gradually arrested their momentum until they slowed to a stop, a friendly smile on his face as he said, "Wee to the Divine Realm. I''m d you epted my invitation." Feeling an invisible force keeping them afloat, Usalia released Seraphina from her grasp so that thetter could say, "Oh-hohohohoho~! So you''re the one who dared to summon the great and noble Lady Seraphina? You''ve got a lot of exining to do if you want to avoid spending the rest of your inconsequential existence beneath my heels~!" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn briefly inspected Seraphina''s body. She had matured quite a bit since thest time he saw her. She had a perfect hourss figure, fluffy pink hair fashioned into a fashionable bun, and, rather than the Fleet Admiral''s outfit she had been wearing at the time of her death, her current outfit consisted of a butterfly-themed dress with a ''very'' high cut above her left leg. This would have stood out on its own, but, rather than something more sensible, the dress was designed in such a way that the fabric between the butterflies was transparent. This,bined with the fact she wasn''t wearing undergarments, created quite the sight to behold... Shaking his head, Vahn surprised both Seraphina and Usalia by spontaneously transforming into a golden Prinny. The transition from a lower realm to the Divine Realm caused a causal convergence, so, despite having her memories of him erased, it didn''t take long for Seraphina to recognize Vahn, her pupils shrinking as she pointed towards him and shouted, "It''s you...!" Raising his flipper, Vahn responded with a curt, "Yo." before teleporting to the side as Seraphina attempted to kick him in the face with her inordinately sharp heels. His dodging only served to set her off even further, her face turning bright red as she shouted, "Hold still, you peg-legged piece of shit! If you don''t let me get at least one good hit on you, I...I''ll never forgive you...!" Since the Divine Realm prevented yers from using their full power outside of Gift Games, Vahn responded by letting Seraphina''s hit connect directly with the center of his forehead. This caused a shockwave to ripple outward, but, despite the power contained within the kick, neither he nor the surrounding environment took a bit of damage. "Huh...?" Returning to his ''true'' form, Vahn grabbed Seraphina''s ankle before moving her foot away from his face, releasing it as he said, "We have much to discuss. For now, let''snd. There are a few people I want to introduce you to before we talk about why I sent you an invitation." Without missing a beat, Seraphina stated, "They better not be women. That invitation letter of yours said I would be able to find the man of my dreams if I epted. I won''t forgive you if you spent thest thousand years ying around while I was working my butt off." Before Vahn could offer a response of his own, Usalia chimed in to remark, "If that was true, your butt wouldn''t be so big..." "How rude! I''ll have you know my butt strikes a perfect bnce between shape and pliability! Are you trying to call me fat!?" Rather than respond to Seraphina''s outburst, Usalia just stared at her for several seconds before turning her attention to Vahn and asking, "Can you really bring back my parents...?" Recalling the contents of the letters Shiroyasha had given him, Vahn nodded his head, saying, "I could even try summoning them now if you really want me to. The hardest part is providing a proper justification and finding an appropriate time to summon them. Not everyone is so willing to ascend to the Divine Realm." Though she wasn''t particrly known for herplex reasoning, Usalia only fell silent for several seconds before shaking her head and saying, "No. It''s fine. Just knowing I can meet them again is enough. For now, I want to familiarize myself with the Divine Realm. If it''s too dangerous, I will put off summoning them until I can make it safe..." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn was about to say something when Seraphina suddenly asked, "Hey, Vahn, do you think my butt is fat? Be honest." Since she had half-turned to show off her bottom, Vahn''s eyes were naturally drawn to Seraphina''s rather voluminous backside. Her Subus heritage ensured that her proportions were remarkably close to perfect, so, while her butt was certainlyrger than average, her thick thighs, long legs, and shapely figure bnced it out. "If you''re asking for my honest opinion, I''d have to say you look amazing. Your dress is more than a little ridiculous, but, other than that, you''re one of the most beautiful women I''ve ever met." Though she was moderately irked by hisment regarding her choice of attire, Seraphina''s face beamed when she heard Vahn''s ttering remark. At the same time, however, she couldn''t help but notice he said "one of" the most beautiful women. This implied that he had met women who were even more beautiful than her. This was something she couldn''t ept, so, after quickly recovering from her brief euphoria, she asked, "One of? Implying you''ve met women even more attractive? I''m not trying to brag, but my beauty is touted throughout the multiverse. If you can''t provide proof, I''ll have to ask you to revise your statement. I don''t settle for second ce." Shaking his head, Vahn answered, "I''ll introduce you to themter. For now, there are others waiting to meet you. We''ll talk more once everything has been settled." Crossing her arms in a manner that emphasized her ample bosom, Seraphina was tempted to press the matter further. The only thing that prevented her from doing so was the fact she had countless questions to ask him, chief among them being why he was no longer a Prinny. Her memories might have been erased but their brief encounter had left a deep impression on her heart and mind. Thus, as fond as she was of his current appearance, a part of her felt disconcerted regarding the fact that he wasn''t a Prinny... "Very well. However, I expect a full exnationter. I won''t forgive you if you try to make excuses or keep secrets from me. I even picked this outfit in order to make a good first impression. If you''re supposed to be the man of my dreams, you need to start acting like it." Though he couldn''t help smiling wryly in response, Vahn''s tone softened as he said, "Don''t worry. I can''t promise to meet all of your expectations but I can assure you that you''ll be happier here than in the Netherworld." Snorting through her nose, Seraphina resisted the urge to tell him to prove it. Instead, she looked towards the ground, her eyes glistening with a mystical light as she muttered, "They''re all women..." in a dissatisfied tone. Shaking his head, Vahn decided to throw caution to the wind as he teleported next to Seraphina and promptly picked her up in a bridal carry. This greatly startled the pink-haired Demoness, but, before she could open her mouth to protest, he preemptively sealed it with a kiss. Surprised by Vahn''s sudden action, Seraphina''s pupils shrank to the size of pinholes. At the same time, however, a deluge of heat spread through her body that made her feel as though she was melting from the inside. This was apanied by a pleasant and intoxicating buzz in her mind, almost as if she had just sampled the most potent yet vorful alcohol in the multiverse. A stark contrast to how most women would have acted in a simr situation, Seraphina''s instinctspelled her to reciprocate Vahn''s ostensibly invasive and irrefutablyscivious actions. Even her tail, reminiscent of a reddish-purple whip with a heart-shaped tip, came out to y. She normally did her best to keep this carefully concealed, as, despite being a powerful magical catalyst, the tip of a Subus'' tail was inarguably their most sensitive spot. Fully aware of this, Vahn snatched Seraphina''s tail before she could even think to retract it. Even this was enough to elicit a sensual squeal from the depths of her throat. When he began massaging the heart-shaped tip, far more sonorous sounds began to echo through their surroundings as her body twitched and writhed in his embrace... ... .. . With Seraphina curling up in his arms with a contented smile on her face, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he shifted his attention to Usalia. He was going to suggest that they begin their descent, but, the moment he looked towards the inordinately petite bunny, she beat him to the punch, saying, "I''m not an exhibitionist. If you want me to be your mate, you''ll need to cook a meal I can enjoy. My favorite foods are curry and carrots. I also like the taste of raw meat but only if it''s from freshly ughtered prey. If you feed me something that has been preserved or processed, I''ll take a bite out of you instead. Don''t forget." "..." Though he was tempted to say he had no interest in the 130cm tall rabbit, that argument wouldn''t hold up once she met ck Rabbit and interacted with the more petite members of his harem. Her bestial traits also guaranteed that she would be spending time with Fenrir, so, even if she wasn''t in his strike zone, that had rarely mattered. She was cute, of age, and had a tragic background. Unless she demonstrated some kind of aversion towards him, it was likely only a matter of time before her adorable qualities whittled away at his inhibitions. Realizing that this train of thought was the first sign of his waning resistances, Vahn''s smile became even wrier as he said, "I''ll keep that in mind." Then, without looking back to see if she was following, he began his descent towards the ground. As a result, he didn''t notice the teasing smile on Usalia''s face, her pure white tuft of a tail twitching as she quickly followed after him... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Stronk bunny...'',''Momo would like to know your location...'',''The Aggroli is about to turn into the Predoli...'') Chapter 2077: Pecking Order

Chapter 2077: Pecking Order

Reaching the ground, Vahn attempted to set Seraphina down only for thetter to, quite literally, wrap her tail around his neck like a leash, or, perhaps, a noose. She didn''t seem bothered by the fact that several people were eyeing her. Instead, she linked her arms around his neck, asserting, "I don''t care what kind of rtionship you had with Vahn. From now on, he''s my man. You''re free to y around, but never forget who stands at the top of the pecking order. Got it?" Though most of the girls didn''t take what Seraphina said seriously, Sarina was ostensibly triggered by the remark, her face forming into a pout as she shouted, "That isn''t your decision to make! Who do you think you are, you-you featherhead!?" Since Seraphina had a mantle of purple feathers perpetually wrapped around her body, much like an expensive shawl, it was the first thing Sarina gravitated towards. It was only afterward that she noticed what kind of dress Seraphina was wearing. This caused her face to turn bright red, as, due to the former''sck of undergarments, there was absolutely nothing left to the imagination. Offended by Sarina''s outburst, Seraphina was about to introduce herself in her characteristically haughty manner before Vahn whispered, "She is just a kid. If you try to bully her, I will give you a spanking..." With her butt tensing up in response to Vahn''s words, Seraphina instantaneously became mum. She actually didn''t mind being spanked. Rather, it was something she enjoyed quite a bit. What she was afraid of was Vahn spanking her in front of others. She wanted to secure her position as his primary squeeze so she couldn''t afford to have her dignity degraded in front of thepetition... As Seraphina was struggling with her inner thoughts, Usalia was staring at each of the people that had gathered to greet them. She wasn''t particrly impressed by Sarina, Nono, and Shirayukihime but Fenrir and ck Rabbit had caught her attention. The former reminded her a lot of herself due to the voracious aura that surrounded her. As for thetter, she was quite literally a rabbit. Though there were some rather drastic differences between them, Usalia felt a certain kinship towards ck Rabbit. There was a sense of loneliness that surrounded her, a sentiment she was intimately familiar with due to being thest of her own lineage. "You...how old are you...?" Though she was taken aback by Usalia''s sudden inquiry, ck Rabbit perked up almost instantly, a radiant smile on her face as she replied, "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Usalia-chan. My name is ck Rabbit. I recently turned 210-years-old. Why do you ask?" Nodding her head in affirmation, Usalia gave ck Rabbit an additional surprise by stating, "That makes me the Onee-sama. You will be my imouto from now on. You can call me Usa-ane or Aneue. I will call you Kuro-chan." Without minding the awkward smile on ck Rabbit''s face, Usalia shifted her attention to Fenrir, her carmine eyes meeting thetter''s crimson orbs. Rabbits were often the prey of wolves, but, as an Overlord who had stood near the pinnacle of power within her Netherworld, Usalia was able to stand her ground against eldritch monstrosities, much less petite wolf girls. "My name is Usalia Usagi Toto, Tyrant Overlord of Toto Bunny. Who are you...?" Crossing her arms in a manner that emphasized her modest yet full chest, a predatory aura exuded from Fenrir''s body as she answered, "My name is Fenrir Mason, Queen of the Frozen Abyss and my Master''s most trustedpanion. You might be stronger than me but I can even freeze your spirit if you attempt to bully others..." Since even an average Overlord was small level, Fenrir''s instincts told her that Usalia was, at least for the time being, out of her league. Thetter was strong enough to take on Seraphim and could even survive the point-nk eruption of stars, so, unless Fenrir managed to get close enough to sink her teeth into her, there was a fair chance she might not even be able to damage the current Usalia. "Don''t worry...I''m not a bully, plip..." Though she could sense that Fenrir was much weaker than she was, the hairs on Usalia''s tail had be rigid and pointy in response to the former''s aura. This was something that only happened when she faced off against the most powerful Overlords, so, despite the disparity in their strength, she knew better than to underestimate the wolfish woman in front of her. After all, even a Prinny could kill an Overlord if they were patient enough to wait for an opportunity... Sensing the tensions between the two bestial girls, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he set Seraphina on the ground and said, "I prepared quite a bit of food. How about we all sit down and get to know each other over a pic? We''re going to be allies from this point onward so we should do our best to try and get along." With that said, Vahn manifested several oversized pic baskets before taking a seat and gesturing for everyone else to do the same. This led to a rather amusing scenario where ck Rabbit, Sarina, and Seraphina attempted to sit next to him. Fortunately for Sarina, ck Rabbit didn''t put up much of a fight. She was mature enough not topete with children, and, despite her rtive normalcy, Sarina was still the Sub-Leader of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. What nobody expected was for Usalia to approach Vahn, a serious expression on her face as she asked, "Is this seat taken, plip?" After a moment''s pause, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he said, "That''s myp..." in an amused yet slightly awkward tone of voice. "I know, plip." "..." While Vahn was wondering what might have caused Usalia to make such a request, Seraphina made things easier by ring at the white-haired bunny and asking, "What are you trying to pull, Usalia? I never expected you, of all people, to betray me..." Without a single change in expression, Usalia matched Seraphina''s gaze, exining, "Everyone else ispeting. As the strongest, it is my right to take the best seat, plip. Besides, I can smell it. Vahn''s cooking is delicious. I told him I would be his mate if he cooked a meal I could enjoy. Don''t worry. I won''t prevent you from mating with him, plip." With the exceptions of Fenrir, Shirayukihime, and Vahn, everyone''s faces turned various shades of crimson in response to Usalia''s rather ''straightforward'' words. Then, before Vahn could even think to refuse her, she looked him straight in the eye and said, "Don''t worry. This is only mypressed form. I can grow bigger, plip." Immediately following her words, Usalia''s height rapidly increased from 130cm to a modest 165cm. At the same time, her rtively short hair extended past her hips as her bust and bottom inted like a pair of balloons. There was also a rather substantial change to the thickness of her thighs, the tightness of her waist, and, somewhat surprisingly, the size of her tail. It grew to around the size of a basketball, and, even at a nce, Vahn could tell it was ridiculously soft and fluffy. "This form consumes a lot of energy but I can maintain it for a few days. Of course, even if you want to do it with mypressed form, I wouldn''t mind, plip..." Exhaling a sigh, Usalia''s body instantly reverted back to normal before she promptly plopped down into Vahn''sp. The matter was apparently no longer up for discussion as she concluded her actions by extending her hand like a cartoon character, grasping a pic basket, and engorging herself on the contents in a single series of movements. "..." "..." "..." "..." "..." With even Seraphina at a loss for words, Vahn tried to ease tensions by issuing an awkward chuckle and suggesting, "Why don''t we all eat first? We can talk about moreplicated matters after the fact..." Recovering the moment she heard her Master''s words, Fenrir nodded her head and said, "If Master is okay with it, I have nothing to say. Just don''t take things too far..." Despite having a tremendous amount of food in her mouth, Usalia managed to swallow it all at once before saying, "Don''t worry, plip. Even if rabbits mate a lot, I''m not like a certain someone. I know how to control myself, plip." Casting an usatory gaze towards Seraphina, Usalia made it transparently clear who she was talking about. This caused the pink-haired Subus to immediately re up, the feathers of her mantle bristling as she shouted, "Usalia...! You''re supposed to be my Second-in-Command! What the heck has gotten into you!?" Without missing a beat, Usalia retorted, "I promised to help you unify the Netherworlds. Now that we''vee to the Divine Realm, that promise has be null and void, plip. You know what they say. All''s fair in love and war, plip." Though Vahn was the only one who noticed it, Usalia punctuated her words by squeezing her butt. This was her way of telling him that she wasn''t going to back down, so, unless he made things clear from the start, she had every intention of ''eating him up'' the first chance she got. She was, after all, a demon... ... .. . After a remarkably long pic, followed by a detailed exnation about the Little Garden and its features, Vahn took the three girls to register at the Outer Gate before dropping everyone off at his workshop. He still needed to meet with Jin and draft the provisional contracts for everyone to sign, but, before that, he stopped by Shiroyasha''s to make sure she wouldn''t try anything while he was busy elsewhere. Fortunately, for the same reasons she couldn''t help out the No Names on her own, Shiroyasha was unable to enter the rooms of other people without their permission. The only reason she could do so with ck Rabbit was because she worked for the Thousand Eyes Community. In other words, so long as ck Rabbit wasn''t inside, Shiroyasha was unable to teleport into his workshop without a written invitation. Vahn didn''t particrly mind Shiroyasha''s intrusions but it would cause him endless headaches if she were to try and tease Fenrir, Seraphina, and Usalia. Fenrir had never gotten along with Loki so Vahn had a hard time imagining her getting along with Shiroyasha. As for the other two, Seraphina was rather prideful while Usalia, as Vahn was quickly beginning to learn, was remarkably aggressive. She probably wouldn''t mind if Shiroyasha dropped in, but, depending on how things yed out, he could see Usalia harboring a grudge towards the former if she ''got in the way''... ... .. . Since his Unit Management and Quest Systems didn''t actually require people to be in his Familia to receive their benefits, Vahn managed to add Jin, Lili, and thirteen other children to his expansive list of suboridnates. This allowed him to view their status, modify their attributes, and, should the need arise, he could link senses with them and teleport them around during a state of emergency. With the majority of residents in the Little Garden descending from Gods, Heroes, and even Divine Spirits, Vahn was unsurprised to discover that even the weaker children were, at the very least, Tier 2. As for Lily and Jin, the former was Tier 4 while thetter, somewhat surprisingly, possessed a total of five Innates. His actual Soul Tier was only 3 but, so long as he applied himself, it wouldn''t be long before he could directlypete with individuals in the 3-4 Digit Gates. In the end, Vahn handed out a total of thirty-seven Gift Cards before installing a Quest Board on one of the Library''s walls. This would allow Jin to keep track of who epted which Quest, and, more importantly, keep him informed of everyone''s progress. He desperately needed to learn how to be an actual Leader. He couldn''t keep holing himself up in the Library all day while Lily and the others managed the Community. This was far from an ideal solution, but it was a step in the right direction... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Featherhead...!'',''Aggroli has made her im...'',''Jin has a lot of potential. He just needs to achieve it...'') Chapter 2078: Coaxing and Future Troubles

Chapter 2078: Coaxing and Future Troubles

After finishing things up with the No Names, Vahn returned to his workshop to find Sarina waiting for him in the foyer. Raising his brows, Vahn made his presence known by sitting next to the disconcerted girl, startling her as he asked, "What''s wrong?" Though she released an adorable yelp and nearly jumped to her feet from surprise, Sarina managed to calm down quickly once she realized it was Vahn who startled her. Then, with a pouty expression on her face, she plopped down next to him, hugging her legs as she asked, "Are you going to have sex with those girls...?" Concealing his surprise behind a kind smile, Vahn decided to be honest with her, answering, "There is a very high probability that is the case..." With his senses spread through the workshop, Vahn was well aware of the fact that Fenrir, Usalia, ck Rabbit, and Seraphina were waiting in his room. Judging by how Sarina decided to cut him off in the foyer, she was equally aware of this. Exhaling a mncholic sigh, Sarina hugged her legs even closer as she whispered, "Five years is a long time..." Restraining a sigh of his own, Vahn shook his head and said, "In the grand scheme of things, five years is barely a blink. ck Rabbit and Shirayukihime are still considered young despite living for hundreds of years. For former Overlords, even Seraphina and Usalia are tens of thousands of years from reaching their prime..." Turning her face up at Vahn, visible tears covered Sarina''s eyes as she weakly replied, "It might not be a long time for everyone else...but they don''t have to wait..." "..." Unable to refute the young girl''s words, Vahn fell silent for a brief moment. Fortunately, from the perspective of Sarina, not even a single second had passed by the time he said, "Come here..." in a soft tone of voice. Though she was still on the verge of tears, Sarina felt a ticklish sensation in her stomach as Vahn rose to his feet and picked her up in a ko hold. It was very embarrassing, but, at the same time, being able to sit on his forearm while he gently pats her back was equal parts as excited as it wasforting. Ignoring the pink tendrils present in Sarina''s aura, Vahn proceeded to carry her to his room as he exined, "There are times when life doesn''t seem fair. It is your ability to take things in stride and ovee adversity that determines how mature you appear in the eyes of others. Five years might seem like a long time but it''s necessary for you to grow and mature healthily. If you can''t persist for five years, how could I ever have the confidence that you wouldst fifty, five-hundred, or even five-thousand years? I am someone who will live forever, Sarina. Show me that you have the strength of character to walk beside me..." "..." Though most of what Vahn said went over her head, Sarina understood the gist of what he was trying to convey. She hadn''t even thought about how old he was or how long everyone was going to live for. All she had been thinking about was her current age and how five years was basically half the time she had already lived. It hadn''t even urred to her that she might live forever after bing Vahn''s wife... "Okay..." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn gave Sarina a slightly stronger hug to show his appreciation. He was still intending to try and nurture the rtionship between her and Jin, but, as per usual, he was weak towards sentiments and sincerity. If she managed to hold out for five years despite the many events that would take ce between now and then, he simply wouldn''t have the heart to push her away. She just needed to mature both mentally and physically before then. As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn''s ears twitched as he picked up Sarina''s nearly inaudible whisper. It was barely loud enough to be anything more than sub-vocal, but, with his enhanced senses, he was able to pick up on the fact that she had asked him to kiss her. There was no way he was going to do so in the way she was imagining but that didn''t stop him from tucking her in and nting a ginger kiss on her forehead... ... .. . After dealing with one troublesome lolita, Vahn separated himself into two parts, one to deal with Shiroyasha and the other to deal with the girls that had gathered together in his room. He wasn''t entirely sure what their intentions were but it wasn''t difficult to imagine considering everyone but Fenrir was wearing ostensibly sexy lingerie. As for the loveable Vanargandr, she had been fielding the other girls'' countless questions, starting with why she was wearing a frilly maid outfit... By the time Vahn finally arrived, Fenrir had been ''educating'' the other girls for the better part of three hours. The former knew this was going to happen but he still smiled wryly when he heard Fenrir preaching the merits associated with being good girls. It would have been fine if she shared such information with ck Rabbit. Unfortunately, in doing so, she had simultaneously shared the information with Seraphina, Usalia, and, most troubling of all, Shiroyasha... Shaking such thoughts from his mind, Vahn didn''t bother to knock as he entered his room to find a mature version of Usalia mounting ck Rabbit as Fenrir instructed them from the side. His sudden entrance caused the bunnies to briefly tense, but, as Fenrir had already informed them of his arrival, Usalia took advantage of the situation to force apart ck Rabbit''s legs with her own, saying, "Take your pick, plip..." "Uwaaaaaaa-" As tantalizing as the sight of Usalia''s mons pressing against ck Rabbit''s was, Vahn didn''t pounce on the two bunnies. Instead, he began to remove his clothes the old-fashioned way as he asked, "Is this really what you want? I didn''t summon you here just because I wanted to have sex..." Dismounting ck Rabbit, much to the befuddled bunny''s considerable relief, Usalia stared back at Vahn and said, "I don''t go back on my word, plip. You gave me delicious food to eat. Unless you get rid of me, I intend to keep my part of the deal. Besides, I knew what I was getting myself into when Seraphina and I received our invitations. I''m more than old enough to start my own family now and I intend to do everything I can to restore Toto Bunny to its former glory. I may not be able to return to the Netherworld, but I can still build a new home for us here, plip." Since he had taken the time to learn a bit more about Usalia''s situation after reading the invitation letters prepared by Shiroyasha, Vahn simply nodded his head in understanding before shifting his attention to Seraphina. She had originally been wearing a ratherplicated outfit consisting of a tremendous volume of frills andce, but, after Fenrir''s ''guidance'', she had changed into a simple ck nightgown. It gave her a distinctly ''innocent'' appeal, a stark contrast to her usual choice of garb. However, when he considered she was a 2800-year-old virgin Subus, it actually suited her quite a bit... Noticing Vahn''s gaze, Seraphina took things a step further by cing her hands between her thighs and adopting an uncharacteristically sincere expression as she said, "Wee home, Vahn." At the same time, one of her spaghetti straps fell from her shoulders in a seemingly natural but ultimately magical way. This allowed her to emphasize her breasts without puffing them out like she normally would have. Despite knowing it was an act, Vahn couldn''t help adopting an appreciative smile as he answered, "Thanks...I really appreciate it..." in a sincere tone. He honestly wouldn''t mind if Seraphina kept up this act forever, but, like most good things in life, the facade was bound to fade away the moment she got frustrated or annoyed. Since he already knew what Fenrir would say, Vahn turned his attention to ck Rabbit as he pulled the belt from his waist. In this situation, she was the person he was most worried about, but, before he could say anything, she surprised him by nodding her head and saying, "I''m fine. I want this..." in a resolute tone. Though he could see the hesitation in ck Rabbit''s gaze, Vahn decided against drawing attention to it. He wasn''t unustomed to easing the doubts of his partners. After all, not everyone was okay with being part of arge harem. In the end, the most important factor was making sure everyone felt as though they belonged. After that, he simply needed to demonstrate that he was more than enough man to take care of them all... With this in mind, Vahn casually phased through his trousers before surprising everyone but Fenrir as he separated into three versions of himself. He could easily deal with them using one body, but, as this was Seraphina''s and Usalia''s first times, he intended to take care of them separately while his other self tended to Fenrir and ck Rabbit. He felt she wasn''t quite ready for group sex with more than three people, so, for the sake of everyone, Vahn intended to take things slow... ... .. . Though it was a little awkward, Vahn ultimately ended up guiding Seraphina and Usalia back to their own rooms. This earned him a tongue click from Seraphina, but, based on the color of her aura, Vahn could tell she wasn''t actually upset. Rather, she was happy to have him alone as there were quite a number of things she wanted to try that she didn''t want the other girls to know about. As for Usalia...well...she was just about as voracious as could be expected... "I was looking forward to having fun with everyone, plip. Now that we''re alone, let''s get straight to business." With that said, Usalia climbed onto the edge of her bed with her butt sticking outward. This would have been quite the sight to behold if she was still in her transformed state, but, now that they were alone, she had defaulted to her true form. She had, somewhat tragically, asked Fenrir if he had any aversion towards small and petite women. Unfortunately, thetter had responded in the negative. After all, nearly a quarter of his harem consisted of rtively petite girls... Shaking his head, Vahn approached Usalia without any real hesitation in his step. She might not be the bombshell her transformed state allowed her to be but she was undeniably cute. She might be shorter than Sarina but her proportions weren''t those of a young girl. Rather, her hips were nearly as wide as Seraphina''s, and, as a result of being a Wererabbit, her butt and thighs were remarkably well developed. While caressing said butt with his hands, Vahn stated, "I''m not going to keep asking if you''re certain about this path. All I need to know at this point is how many children you want..." With her tail twitching and her obsidian-ck ws sinking into the fabric of her bedding, Usalia left Vahn feeling at a loss for words as she answered, "All of them...enough to fill severals...I never want my people to be on the verge of extinction...never again...plip..." Feeling an agonizing heat spreading through her body, Usalia was beginning to grow impatient with Vahn''s caress. It felt good, sure, but that wasn''t the reason she had chosen him. Her instincts demanded his powerful genes. Her species was also infamous across all Netherworlds for their sex drive and ability to reproduce at truly monstrous rates. Thus, even without forey, she was ready to go the moment she smelled Vahn''s cooking. Fortunately for them both, Vahn wasn''t oblivious to Usalia''s present condition. The only reason he had hesitated was because he had been intending to ask Usalia to watch over the No Names until the Problem Childrens'' arrival. If he got her pregnant, there was no way in hell he was going to let her fight on someone else''s behalf... Shaking that thought from his mind, Vahn decided he would just deal with future problems in the future. He could feel the heat radiating from Usalia''s bottom through the fabric of her clothes, so, after snapping the band of her remarkably skimpy panties, he ced his ns near the entrance of her veritably scalding folds. Their size difference gave him a moment of pause, but, without any real hesitation, he began to pry apart her surprisingly malleable walls until he was, against all rhyme and reason, able to insert his full length into her petite frame. Then, as if she had been waiting for that exact moment, Usalia''s insides mped around him before undting like a machine with the sole purpose of extracting seed... "You really are a demon..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn about to whip Jin into shape...'',''Fenrir, teaching people how to tame dragons for hundreds of years~'',''Bunny go brrrrrrrrr...'') Chapter 2079: The Peculiarities of Demons

Chapter 2079: The Peculiarities of Demons

"I didn''t know you could split your bodies and create multiple versions of yourself. Tell me, are you the original? If I find out you''re the clone, I''ll..." cing his hands on Seraphina''s shoulders, Vahn effectively silenced her with a series of kisses to the back of her neck. He had been standing behind her as they entered the room, so, before she could go off on a random tangent, he leaned in close to her elf-like ears, whispering, "I''m not a clone..." as his hands moved along her arms beforeing to a stop around her lower abdomen. Trembling in response to Vahn''s words and touch, Seraphina''s tail snaked between his legs with the deftness of a skilled artisan, easily finding the seam of his boxers as she answered, "Good...I''ve been looking forward to this for a long time..." Though he was a little surprised by the skill in which she could manipte her tail, Vahn just smiled as the mischievous appendage coiled around the base of his penis. At the same time, he moved his hands further down her body before bringing them up beneath her nightgown. Seraphina''s actions made it clear they weren''t going to make it to the bed, so, with his left hand cupping firmly around her right breast, the fingers of his right hand trailed through her neatly groomed pink pubes before parting her already glistening folds. "Hyaaaan~" A stark contrast to the vast majority of women, Seraphina allowed her voice to leak without a hint of shame or embarrassment. She might be inexperienced, but she was still a Subus. It wasn''t an exaggeration to say that sex was hardcoded into her DNA, and, were it not for the fact she refused to settle for a lesser man, her life would have been filled with hundreds, if not thousands of sexual liaisons. "You had better be grateful for this, funnn~. Do you have any idea how many men have fantasized about ravishing me, hyahahaha~?" After producing a rather sizeable hickey on Seraphina''s neck, Vahn shamelessly answered, "I would imagine all of them..." in an ostensibly serious tone. He knew this was the answer Seraphina wanted to hear most. The substantial increase of her love juices as her tail tightened around his shaft made this transparently clear. "That''s right...but I waited...all for this day..." Using the tip of her heart-shaped tail, Seraphina began to tickle Vahn''s urethra as she turned her head to the side and attempted to kiss his lips. This was actually more than a little ufortable, but, without letting it show, Vahn epted Seraphina''s kiss, their inordinately long tongues twining around each other at ivory white horns began to protrude from thetter''s head. Though pretty much every race had developed a fondness for Subi, there were still a number of stigmas associated with being one. Most female demons hated Subi to the core as they lived in constant fear of having their men stolen from them. As for the men, well, the Netherworld wasn''t exactly a ce for fine, upstanding individuals. Subi were viewed in a simr light to prostitutes, and, no matter how much experience they had, people regarded them as loose, immoral sluts. As the heiress of the wealthiest in all the Three Realms, Seraphina had always held herself in very high esteem. She had also experienced being teased when she was a very young girl, so, unless she was with people she trusted, she would never allow her tail and horns to show. They were what identified her as a Subus, so, as long as they stayed hidden, she was just a normal Demon girl in the eyes of most. Now that she was alone with Vahn, however, concealing her true form was next to impossible... "I want it...I want you inside me..." Breaking away from Vahn''s kiss, Seraphina''s violet-purple eyes glistened with an intoxicated pink light as she looked up at him with a remarkably ravenous expression on her face. She had close to 2800 years of pent-up sexual desires she needed to vent. If he didn''t take her soon, she would be the one to take him... Feeling a pinching sensation around the base of his penis, Vahn swallowed his response as looked down to see a glowing pink ring where Seraphina had been squeezing him with her tail. He could feel a powerful and invasive energy attempting to invade his already erect member, but, thanks to his unique constitution, it was ultimately unable to affect him. Noticing Vahn''s gaze, Seraphina reluctantly separated from him, a wry smile developing across her face as shebed aside her bangs and said, "Sorry...I guess my body reacted on instinct. It shoulde off by itself after a couple of hours..." Surprising Seraphina quite a bit, Vahn casually removed the glowing pink ring before crushing it in his fist and saying, "It''s fine. It just caught me a little by surprise. Now, where were we...?" Though she was tempted to ask how he had shattered a Subus'' characteristic magic, Seraphina''s curiosity evaporated like steam from her head as Vahn grabbed the fabric of her nightgown before tearing it apart in a single swift motion. The fluttery feeling in her chest seemed to explode at that moment, and, though she wasn''t particrly embarrassed by it, the tips of her ears turned red as a tremendous volume of milky-pink love juices coated her thighs. This was actually one of the most powerful aphrodisiacs in the Three Realms, and, to a lesser extent, the reason Vahn had chosen to separate her from the rest of the girls. Ignoring the peculiar heart shapes that appeared in Seraphina''s mouth and eyes as he tore apart her nightgown, Vahn wrapped his right hand around her waist, his left briefly sliding along her inner thigh before promptly raising it to his side. Immediately thereafter, he bypassed her mouth, his face nestling into the nook between her neck and shoulders as his right hand moved to grasp the base of her tail. This sent a jolt of electricity through Seraphina''s body, a sonorous moan emanating from her throat as gravity around them seemed to spontaneously disappear. Then, just as the ceiling and floor appeared to switch ces, a monumental shout escaped Seraphina''s throat as something hot and hard prated past her bellybutton... ... .. . After effectively ''milking'' him the first time, Usalia suddenly became a lot more yful. She had already gotten what she wanted, so, with the business side of things taken care of, she asked Vahn toy down before straddling his hips with a ''carnivorous'' expression that didn''t suit her youthful appearance. Then, as if it wasn''t a problem at all, her lower mouth greedily gobbled up his entire shaft, an amused giggle escaping from her throat as she asked, "Are you surprised...?" Though he had experienced something simr with Lili, Kali, and several others, Vahn still nodded his head in response to Usalia''s inquiry, answering, "Your insides stretch a lot more than most girls your size..." With an even more amused expression on her face, Usalia licked her lips before tracing her razor-sharp w around Vahn''s bellybutton and exining, "The girls in the Netherworld are simply built differently. Interspecies intercourse is probably the tamest kind of sex you can find. Even if you were ten times this size and thickness, my body would be able to take it. You shouldn''t underestimate demons, plip." Punctuating her words, Usalia attempted to piece Vahn''s belly button with her w. To her surprise, his skin deformed, but, no matter how much she increased the pressure, she couldn''t actually pierce him. "You appear to be quite durable yourself, plip..." Raising his brows, Vahn snaked his hands around Usalia''s waist, an amused smile on his face as he asked, "What are you trying to do?" With an almost imperceptible blush coloring her cheeks, Usalia exined, "My mother taught me that I should mark my mate so that others wouldn''t try to steal him away. I don''t care if you have other girls, plip. I just want everyone to know who you belong to." Though he did his best to control his expression, Vahn''s smile became somewhat wry as he said, "I don''t belong to anyone..." Rather than refute his words, Usalia actually nodded her head, saying, "I know that, plip. I still want to mark you. You let other girls do it..." Looking towards Vahn''s shoulders, Usalia''s peculiar white pupils contracted as she stared at the bite marks haphazardly spaced out across them. She wasn''t entirely sure where they came from, but her instincts told her the culprits were other girls. If that was the case, she wouldn''t be able to rest easy until Vahn allowed her to leave a mark of her own. Noticing Usalia''s gaze, Vahn''s expression softened as he asked, "Do you want to bite me as well...?" As a demon girl, Usalia actually had very sharp teeth. She was simr to Xysteria in that regard, and, should she smile wide enough to disy them, those with weaker wills might be intimidated by the angr rows of teeth that came together like the jaws of a beartrap. Though she hesitated for a brief moment, Usalia asked, "Can I...?" with a tentative, uncertain tone of voice. If not for the drool gradually building within her mouth, Vahn would have found her response rather adorable. Deciding to y a bit of a prank on her, Vahn held Usalia''s hips firmly against his own as he said, "If you can reach..." His original intention had been to trick her into transitioning into her more mature form. What he didn''t expect was for Usalia''s body to expand like a cartoon character as she grasped his body and chomped down on his shoulder with jawsrge enough to sink into his chest and back at the same time... "..." With a gigantified loli covering most of his body, a dryugh emanated from Vahn''s throat as he tapped her side and said, "Shrink down a bit. At this rate, people will think I got bitten by a t-rex or something..." Obeying Vahn''s request, Usalia shrank down to her usual size, now sitting on his chest as she wiped her mouth and said, "Sorry...I guess I got a little excited, plip. You smell delicious..." As it wasn''t his first time hearing such words, Vahn just chuckled before grabbing Usalia''s tail with his left hand and guiding her towards his shoulder with his right. His experiences with Cath Palug, and, to a lesser extent, Eva, ya, and Rindo had numbed him to the thought of his lovers finding him delicious. Even if Usalia ended up sucking his blood or taking a literal bite out of him, he didn''t particrly mind. Though her bottom mouth felt strangely lonely without Vahn''s penis inside her, Usalia''s eyes closed in contentment as her teeth sank into his shoulder. He tasted far better than she imagined. In fact, the moment his blood reached her tastebuds, Vahn instantly became her third most favorite food. If he weren''t her mate, she might have tried to gobble him up then and there. Instead, an affectionate smile developed across her face as she wiggled her body from side to side. His touch was nearly as intoxicating as his taste, and, due to the location of his hand, a pleasurable ''swelling'' was beginning to spread through her butt, lower body, and stomach. If he hadn''t already filled her belly with a ton of his baby batter, she would have misconstrued this as a desire to breed. Instead, she interpreted it as what it really was. She was horny. Super horny. With her butt and body writhing beyond her control, Usalia reluctantly released her hold on Vahn''s shoulder, the front of her body stained crimson as she stared into his eyes and asserted, "I want you inside me, plip. My tummy feels lonely..." while smearing his blood on her exposed abdomen... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Stereotypes exist everywhere...'',''*CHOMP*'',''Bunnies are a bunch of horn dogs xD...'') Chapter 2080: Rouse

Chapter 2080: Rouse

"F-Fenrir-shama...p-pleash give ck Rabbit a break...hyaaaan~" Ignoring ck Rabbit''s words, Fenrir continued to lick in and around her folds before focusing her efforts on the tiny bean that had poked its head out to see what all the fuss was about. This caused ck Rabbit''s legs to kick and twitch about, but, thanks to Vahn''s firm hold on her, she wasn''t able to escape thebined stimtion of having her insides pierced and her pleasure bean assaulted. "Ah! Not my ears! Vaaaaaaahn~!" Taking advantage of the position he was in, reclined backward with ck Rabbitying against his body, Vahn began to nibble the back of her ears. At the same time, he pulled her legs further up so that Fenrir didn''t have to stoop so low. He was basically holding her in what some referred to as a full nelson sex hold. His arms were hooked around her restrained knees with the back of his hands linked around her head. This was a very difficult position to pull off for most girls, but, thanks to her remarkable flexibility, ck Rabbit didn''t experience any significant difort from the hold. Though her main focus was on ck Rabbit, Fenrir didn''t ignore her Master. Rather, every couple of seconds or so, she would run her tongue along his length with an amorous expression on her face, eagerlypping up the befuddled bunny''s love juices while maintaining steady eye contact. "Cum for me..." "...!" Hearing Fenrir''s words, the muscles in ck Rabbit''s lower body tensed as yet another surge of pleasure coursed through her body like a violent deluge. Her previously bent legs straightened out, and, though he was already pressing against her depths, Vahn managed to sink further into ck Rabbit''s body as her arousal continued to increase. "Good girl..." Ignoring the fact that ck Rabbit was still climaxing, Fenrir pursed her lips around the former''s clit before tickling it with her tongue. She wasn''t fond of ''bullying'' people, but, whenever she was with her Master, Fenrir enjoyed seeing how other girls reacted. She had even learned how to sense the changes in a person''s arousal via smell and by paying close attention to her Master. As a result, she could differentiate between what worked and what didn''t as she guided her quarry to even greater depths of pleasure... Pulling away for a brief moment, Fenrir stared directly into ck Rabbit''s eyes as she slowly licked her lips. Quite a bit of pleasure came from psychological stimtion, so, taking advantage of the fact she and ck Rabbit were basically predator and prey, Fenrir maintained a hungry expression that caused the befuddled beauty''s heart to beat remarkably fast. "Fenrir-shama..." Though Fenrir''s gaze caused her to feel extremely nervous, ck Rabbit wasn''t afraid. If anything, she felt even more excited than usual. Shirayukihime was pretty passive in the bedroom so this was the first time she was on the receiving end of a two-pronged attack. Despite this, she didn''t feel any difort. Instead, being held firmly by Vahn actually made her feel safe, secure, warm, and, most notably, aroused... As that thought crossed her mind, ck Rabbit''s insides tensed up as an additional torrent of love juices coated Vahn''s pulsating member. If she had anyints about the current situation, it was that he had stopped pistoning her in order to allow Fenrir to tease her. Having his ns pushing up against her cervix was strangely gratifying but it was nothingpared to the time he ttened her against the bed and pistoned her with enough force to sink the frame into the ground... Fortunately, just as ck Rabbit was thinking about begging, Vahn spontaneously released her legs. This left her feeling somewhat confused, but, before she could even think about what he was up to, ck Rabbit found her face pressed into Fenrir''s chest as thetter clung tightly to her head. At the same time, Vahn raised her butt, an action that caused anticipation to swell within her heart as the thing she craved most pierced her in a single swift motion... ... .. . "I already knew this beforehand...but...you really are...a beast..." Though she did her best to appear calm, Shiroyasha couldn''t help but writhe beneath Vahn''s touch, his hands dancing across her body as he spooned her from behind. She couldn''t even clearly recall the moment he had disrobed her. All she knew for certain was that she was like putty in his hands, not because of his massage, but because he had linked the senses of all the other girls to her own... Ignoring Shiroyasha''sment, Vahn continued to nibble the tips of her tiny ck horns. She had forbidden this in the beginning, but, after more than three hours of teasing, she had stopped caring about the means and started focusing wholly on the pleasure. He had even sprouted two additional arms just for her, two to keep her hands pinned and another two to stimte her body. "Dammit...you''re really getting ahead of yourself..." Turning Shiroyasha''s head to face him, Vahn temporarily silenced herints with a kiss. This caused her body to tense up for a brief moment, but, as this was technically the second time they had kissed, it didn''t take long for her to melt in his embrace. He just needed to tolerate her biting his lip and tongue a few times before she eventually gave up and allowed him to do as he pleased... ... .. . After a ''very'' eventful evening, Vahn allowed the girls to sleep in as he made his way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. He had been teaching the girls how to cook, so, while he could have left them to their own devices for a single morning, it just didn''t feel right. "Ah, Master. Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Chuckling in response to Hime''s greeting, Vahn just replied, "Well enough." as he made his way over to see what Nono and Sarina were working on. To his surprise, thetter actually beamed at him, saying, "Good morning, Vahn." in a cheerful tone intended to hide her frustrations. She had actually tried to peek in on his bedroom night, but, after reaching the door, an impregnable barrier prevented her from going any further. Ruffling both girls'' hair, Vahn returned a greeting of his own before proceeding to offer advice on how they could make their eggs taste better. He was a littlete to the kitchen this morning so they had already gotten a jump start on things by the time he arrived... ... .. . "Things are going to be a bit different starting today. I''m not going to force either of you, but, at least in your case, Sarina, I intend to advance your training to the next phase. You will be epting Quests alongside the other children. How you develop from that moment onward is entirely up to you." Though he was tempted to mention he had increased her affinity with Wind Elemental Energy to the upper limits, Vahn figured it would be better if she misconstrued it as a natural talent she had always possessed. Sarina needed a ''win'' right now, so, even if it was a bit maniptive, he wanted to help restore her confidence. "You''re still going to teach me, right?" Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn answered, "Of course. I''ll be training you alongside the other children, but, as my Sub-Leader, you''ll obviously get some additional lessons. They may not alwayse from me, but Hime and Fenrir will be more than happy to help guide you." Hearing she would receive special treatment, Sarina''s smile became marginally more sincere as she squinted her eyes in satisfaction. As for Nono, she seemed a bit lost, asking, "What should I do...?" Shifting his attention towards the concerned-looking redhead, Vahn maintained his usual smile as he answered, "That has always been up to you. Even if you just want to focus on cooking, cleaning, and healing, nobody is going tombast you for it. I''m happy so long as the two of you are happy." Though she looked like she had something she wanted to say, Nono ultimately just nodded in response to Vahn''s words with a delicate smile blossoming on her face. She had been feeling a little guilty since even Lily was working hard to be stronger. Vahn''s words helped to alleviate some of this guilt, and, at the same time, gave her the motivation to try a little harder... ... .. . With breakfast quicklying to an end, a version of Vahn apanied the girls to the No Names'' territory while the version of himself that had been lounging in a hot spring with Shiroyasha stated, "I''m going to be participating in the uing Gift Game..." "Yeah. No shit, Sherlock..." Ignoring Vahn''s idiotic remark, Shiroyasha continued blowing bubbles in the water as she reclined against his chest for support. This gave Vahn the urge to dunk her beneath the somewhat hazy hot water. Instead, he just shook his head with a wry smile and asked, "Is there anything I need to do as an affiliate of the Thousand Eyes Community? I don''t want to make things difficult for you..." Sitting up properly, Shiroyasha promptly pivoted around in Vahn''sp so that she was facing him before saying, "You don''t have to worry about that. The Thousand Eyes is a pretty loosemunity. Hell, some of our affiliates are actually enemies with one another. So long as you don''t do anything to vite the Laws of the Little Garden, I don''t really care what you do..." Finished with her exnation, Shiroyasha began to suckle Vahn''s nipple as if it was the most natural way to punctuate her statement. She had actually wanted to kiss him, but, due to their difference in height, she would have needed to stand in order to do so. Unfortunately, Vahn''s reaction was rather tame. She had kind of wanted to see him squirm about as most men didn''t like having their nipples teased. Instead, he just cupped her butt with his hands, supporting her so she could continue doing as she pleased... "You''ve be surprisingly tame after just a single night of passion...you''re almost like an adorable little kitten..." After biting down with a bit of force, Shiroyasha released Vahn''s nipple before nestling into hisp and cautioning, "You should choose your words more carefully. Yeah, I like you. In fact, I might even like you a lot. That doesn''t mean I''ll just let you say or do whatever you want. I''m not your pet..." Without losing his smile, Vahn gave Shiroyasha''s bottom a gentle squeeze as he inquired, "Are you sure you don''t want to be? It would give me a reason to pamper and spoil you..." With her pupils contracting ever so slightly, Shiroyasha''s smile became somewhat predatory as she whispered, "You''re ying a dangerous game, Vahn..." Squinting his eyes in response, Vahn''s smile became somewhat brazen as he mused, "Who knows? Maybe I like danger..." in a velvety smooth baritone. Feeling an itchy sensation near her bottom, Shiroyasha looked back to find that a ck cat tail had popped out from above her butt. This should have been impossible but it wasn''t the first time Vahn had done something that defiedmon sense. Rather, the more she learned about him, the more ridiculous his powers seemed. "You cheeky little..." Adopting a teasing smile, Vahn preempted thepletion of Shiroyasha''s statement by running his fingers along her spine, musing, "I assure you. There is no part of me that is ''little''..." Taking advantage of Shiroyasha''s parted lips, Vahn bent down to kiss the usually mischievous Floor Master. She would normally be able to y him at her leisure, but, after the previous night, he had be intimately familiar with her weaknesses. She could probably st him like a fly if she really wanted to. Instead, she was like putty in his hands as he made a concerted effort to get her to mewl like the kitten she appeared to be... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''ck Rabbit might be an M...'',''It''s hard to be passive when everyone else is working hard xD...'',''Shiroyasha be like, "Well, if it isn''t the consequences of my own actions."'') Chapter 2081: Fortune Favors the Bold

Chapter 2081: Fortune Favors the Bold

Unless they were a subsidiary/affiliate of a muchrger Community, the majority of Communities in the 6-7-Digit Gates had a very difficult time obtaining a 5-Digit ssification. You needed to have at least three other Communities serving under you, and, more importantly, you needed to be able to host a Gift Game with at least 100 other Communities participating. More often than not, lower-ranking Communities avoided high-profile Gift Games as, regardless of the oue, they would invariably draw attention to themselves. Contrary to what some might believe, not all publicity was good publicity. High-profile Gift Games garnered a considerable amount of attention. As a result, small and weak Communities often found themselves targetted by opportunistic groups once their weakness had been exposed. This made it remarkably difficult to convince a hundred other Communities to participate in a Gift Game as the risks, more often than not, far outweighed the rewards. Put simply, unless they were specifically trying to draw attention to themselves, most Communities required some kind of incentive to participate in a high-stakes Gift Game. More often than not, this meant being paid off by the Community hosting the game. Other than that, the most reliable way to draw participants was to wager something of extreme value as the grand prize. Due to the unique structure of the Divine Realm, it was possible to wager pretty much anything in a Gift Game. This included Gifts, people, years off a person''s lifespan, Memories, ''Souls'', and, perhaps more frightening than anything else, a person''s identity. Thisst one only really came up when two parties possessed simr identities, but, every now and again, envious and opportunistic individuals would supnt themselves into the life and identity of another. What made this so frightening was that memories rted to the original would be overwritten with memories of their recement. In other words, unless you had some kind of Gift that allowed you to perceive reality from a different perspective than others, you wouldn''t even notice that someone you had known your entire life had been reced by someone else. Fortunately, the Central Network of the Little Garden recognized that few things were of equivalent value to a person''s identity. Thus, unless it was a bout between two simrly named Gods or Heroes trying to establish themselves as the original, the Central Network wouldn''t recognize the exchange as fair. There had been a few exceptions to this in the past, but, more often than not, the value of a person''s identity was simply too great. While this was undeniably a smart decision by the people in charge of the Little Garden, it was also where all semnce of fairness vanished. After all, as terrifying as it was to lose your identity, there were subjectively worse oues. You could find yourself someone''s eternal ve, and, depending on the conditions agreed upon prior to the Gift Game, every aspect of your life could be dictated by another. There werepulsory agreements that would make you obey every single one of their requests without question, and, in some of the more extreme cases, there were even instances of individuals wagering ''love'' as a prize... ... .. . Hearing that a Pure-Blooded Vampire was being wagered as a prize in a Gift Game, countless rumors had spread through the East Side of the Little Garden. Vampires, prior to their fall from grace, were one of the strongest and most influential races in the Divine Realm. Pure-Blooded Vampires were exceptionally rare, and, more often than not, possessed the ability to bestow the Gifts of Immortality, Beastification, and Lesser Demonification. Simply put, a Pure-Blooded Vampire was a tremendous boon to any developing Community as they could, quite literally, make each of their Gift yers immortal. It was virtually unheard of for a Pure-Blooded Vampire to be wagered as a prize in the higher-digit Gates, so, the moment people heard rumors of a vampiric beauty being offered as a prize, the news spread like wildfire. When theyter heard that she was bound by a Vow of Eternal Servitude towards whoever became her Master, even lower-digit Communities began looking into the matter. The only thing preventing people from readily volunteering their Community as participants in the impending Gift Game was the peculiarities associated with the group hosting it. They had effectively appeared out of nowhere, yet, despite having no feats to their name, they had managed to acquire a Pure-Blood Vampire? This was a major red g, not just because they had managed to obtain her, but because they were willing to offer her as a prize. Nobody in their right mind would simply give up an immortal ve capable of turning ordinary people into powerful soldiers. Thus, while quite a number of Communities had taken the bait, the vast majority decided to observe from the sidelines. After all, it would be a lot easier to steal the vampire from the 6-Digit Community that imed her than it would be to involve themselves with the mysterious organization that had offered her as a prize... ... .. . "Leviathan''s Tail? Talk about on the nose..." Staring at the name carved into the colossal stone archway, Vahn couldn''t help shaking his head as he joined the crowd waiting to schedule an audience with the Community''s Leader. This garnered a considerable amount of attention, not because he was trying to stand out, but because the two girls nking him were inarguably among the most beautiful the crowd had ever seen. Annoyed by the lustful gazes of the crowd, Seraphina clicked her tongue before clinging tightly to Vahn''s arm and asking, "Can''t I just use my Balor Gaze to make these idiots get out of the way?" Though she rarely agreed with Seraphina, Usalia, nodded her head and said, "They are even worse than Prinnies..." Under normal circumstances, most of the people in the crowd would have been paying attention to Seraphina. Since she didn''t want people to think Vahn was a pervert, however, Usalia had made the decision to appear as her markedly more mature self. She had also worn a form-fitting white dress with ck fur around the cor and cuffs, so, while quite a number of people gawked at Seraphina, the eyes of virtually everyone in the crowd crawled over her shapely figure with unconcealed desire in their hungry gazes. Nodding his head, Vahn stepped forward before anyone in the crowd could make up their minds to try and approach the two demonic beauties. Then, in a resonating tone that left absolutely no room for argument, he said, "Move or be moved." Had it been anyone else, most of the crowd would have sneered in response to Vahn''s words. They were bold enough to participate in a high-brow Gift Game that would be publicized throughout the entire Little Garden so there was no way in hell they would back down in front of someone they had never met. At least, this was what they thought. Instead, with the exception of a few outliers, people that had gathered to observe the situation y out, everyone in the crowd parted as Vahn escorted Seraphina and Usalia to the front of the queue. "Inform your Master that the Leader of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth hase to pay him a visit. I will wait three minutes before entering of my own volition..." Without waiting for the burly guardsman to reply, Vahn teleported him to the front entrance of arge castle in the distance. This stunned those who were gradually beginning to recover from hispulsory order, and, while it didn''t deter everyone, most of the people who had been thinking about challenging him to a Gift Game quickly changed their mind. "Hey, asshole! Who the fuck do you think you are!?" Though Vahn was intending to handle things himself, his words got stuck in his throat as Seraphina promptly pulled out a pistol and shot the arrogant-looking individual in the face. This didn''t cause any actual damage but it was more than enough to send the man stumbling backward and crashing into several others. "The next words thate out of your mouth better be an apology. No one is allowed to insult my man. Try it again and I''ll sew your lips together." Extending his hand, Vahn lowered Seraphina''s pistol as he whispered, "Calm down. I understand your feelings, but this isn''t the Netherworld. You can''t just go around shooting people in the face..." Like an obedient little wife, Seraphina readily stowed away her pistol before smiling radiantly and saying, "If you say so, Da-na-sa-ma~." Smiling wryly in response to Seraphina''s affectionate teasing, Vahn was about to caress her head when the same man from before bounced to his feet and shouted, "That''s it! I challenge you to a Gift Game!" Furrowing his brows, Vahn turned his attention to the bronze-skinned man and asked, "What could you possibly offer that has any value? Stop speaking nonsense." Gritting his teeth, the man pulled out a vibrant green Gift Card and stated, "If I win, you and that bitch will kowtow and apologize to everyone here. If you win, I''ll spend the rest of the day with my head pressed to the pavement. What? Are you afraid?" Rolling his eyes, Vahn gestured for Seraphina and Usalia to stand behind him before asking, "And what are the conditions of this Gift Game? If it''s something stupid, expect a punishment when you lose. I don''t have time to humor prideful fool who conceals their envy behind bravado..." Though he might have been able to fool others, Vahn could see the green and yellow hues in the man''s aura. He might have taken offense to being forced to move aside but that wasn''t the reason for his outburst. If he was more confident in his victory, he might have asked for a lot more than a simple apology. Instead, he was trying to make himself look like the good guy by challenging him on behalf of everyone else. Producing a Geass Roll out of thin air, the man exined, "It''s simple, really. We take turns rolling dice while the other person attempts to determine whether the sum will be evens or odds. The first to guess correctly three times will be dered the winner. As for-" Cutting the man off before he could continue, Vahn said, "Just hand me the scroll and let''s get this over with." Grinning in a manner that implied he had already won, the man promptly handed over the scroll before looking towards Usalia and saying, "No hard feelings. Okay, babe?" As if she hadn''t heard the man''s words, Usalia continued to stare off into empty space with a bored expression on her face. This caused the man''s smile to cramp up until Vahn promptly smacked him in the face with the scroll and said, "Roll the fucking dice." Though his expression had turned livid after being smacked in the face, the man still produced a set of three dice. Instead of the traditional set, however, the die in question possessed four, eight, and ten sides respectively. As for the face values, the four-sided die had prime numbers ranging from 2-7 while the eight and ten-sided die had values as high as 99. While others might have used the man of trying to cheat, Vahn just rolled his eyes and called out, "73, odds." before the man had even rolled. This caused the crowd that had just started to get excited to fallpletely silent. "What the fuck? I haven''t even rolled and-" Without waiting for the man to finish, Vahn smacked a silencing spell on his mouth before asking, "How much longer are you going to keep wasting my time?" Since the scroll hadn''t forbidden the use of magic, the bronze-skinned man had effectively screwed himself over from the start. Because of it, there was a functionally infinite number of ways in which Vahn could win thepetition. Thus, with the guardsman from before already on his way back, he had already lost interest in this particr Gift Game. ring like someone who had just walked in on their wife having an affair, the bronze-skinned man threw the dice before activating his Gift Card, [Fortune''s Favor]. It wasn''t a particrly high-ranking Gift but it drastically improved his luck when performing feats rted to gambling. In the past, this had allowed him to scam a number of people as Gifts rted to luck and probability maniption were among the rarest and most valuable. Thus, unless they had a specific counter, he was virtually guaranteed to win the deceptively simple game. Unfortunately, the man had nevere across an existence quite like Vahn. The moment he threw out the dice, they simply hovered in ce for a brief moment before spinning to disy values that equaled 73. Then, under the stunned gazes of everyone present, they gentlynded on the ground. "It appears that today isn''t your lucky day..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Identity theft is not a joke! Millions of families are affected every year...!'',''Pigs coveting the flesh of swans...'',''Oof...'') Chapter 2082: Meeting

Chapter 2082: Meeting

After one of the most unsuspenseful Gift Games in Little Garden history, Vahn, apanied by Seraphina and Usalia, was guided into the estate of the Leviathan''s Tail Community. There, they were guided into arge study with three people inside. The first was a handsome man with stylish red hair and lime-green eyes. He wore rtively casual clothes consisting of a light-grey tunic, ck trousers, simple boots, and a red id scarf. Standing behind the man were two women, both possessing fiery red hair. Unlike the man, they were dressed as warriors. One, a woman with short red hair and matching eyes, was garbed in a long-sleeved brown top and beige trousers that hugged her remarkable physique. She wielded a spear in her right hand while a shortsword dangled from the left side of her waist in a ck and silver hilt that matched the coloration of her boots and shin guards. Appearing to be the elder sister of the other woman, despite being much shorter, was a rather heroic redhead with a hairstyle and attire reminiscent of an ancient Viking. She had blue facepaint forming a pattern on her forehead that ran through both of her eyes. As for her outfit, it consisted of a fur-lined skirt, form-fitting leather armor, spiked metal pauldrons, fur-lined vambraces, a furry mantle, and fur-lined boots. She also had tworge battleaxes strapped to her waist, their surfaces glimmering with golden runes that periodically emitted an electric-blue glow. Though the man appeared far more delicate than the two women, almost like a young male model, it was easy to surmise he was their Leader based on the fact he was the only one sitting down. He also possessed a remarkably powerful and demonic aura, but, unless you had incredible perception, it was impossible to distinguish his aura from that of a normal person. "I take it you are the Leader of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth? My name is Sigurd. These are my sisters, Ragna and Gyda. I would say it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance but the incident at the gate leads me to believe you''re not particrly fond of my Community." Returning an affable smile of his own, Vahn exined, "That remains to be seen. As for the incident at the gate, that can be attributed to the crowd that has gathered outside. I''m not particrly fond of people gazing upon my women with covetous orscivious eyes. Simply put, I merely wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible." Though Sigurd briefly cast his gaze upon Seraphina and Usalia when they were mentioned, there was no greed or lust in his eyes. His aura was actually devoid of most emotions, the sole exceptions being curiosity and a hint of fear. This wasn''t directed towards Vahn, however. Instead, both Sigurd and his two sisters seemed to sense the untamed demonic energies concealed within Usalia''s body. "I see. Please ept my apologies. While I am grateful for the amount of attention our Gift Game has garnered, it has also invited some...unsavory types to our doorstep. It was never my intention to offend you and yourpanions. You have my word, Mr...?" "Vahn. Vahn Aldrnari Mason. As for these two, I suppose it would be most urate to refer to them as my fiancees. The mischievous-looking beauty with pink hair is Seraphina. As for this bunny-eared beauty, she goes by Usalia." Though it earned him strange looks from the three people from Leviathan''s Tail, Vahn proceeded to caress the heads of Seraphina and Usalia as he introduced them. Fortunately, Sigurd managed to recover quickly, a wry smile developing across his face as he gestured to the sofa opposite of him and said, "Please, make yourselvesfortable. I believe you''vee to discuss your Community''s participation in our impending Gift Game, correct?" Nodding his head, Vahn guided Seraphina and Usalia to sit down before taking his ce between them and answering, "Indeed. Pure-Blooded Vampires are quite rare. At present, I believe there are fewer than thirteen in the entirety of the Little Garden. How could I possibly ignore a Gift Game that purports to have one as its prize?" Demonstrating a remarkable poker face, Sigurd simply returned a curt nod and a genial smile as he said, "I see. Your reason appears to be the same as everyone else who hase to our doorstep. To that end, I suppose I should exin the conditions for participation." With a simple p of his hands, Sigurd caused two lottery wheels to manifest out of thin air, each possessing hundreds of multi-colored orbs. At the same time, he produced a Geass Roll from his breast pocket, handing it over as he casually exined, "Since it would be remarkably difficult for other Communities to offer a chip matching our own, we developed a lottery system to keep things rtively fair. Participation is actually free. However, you will be required to draw ten balls from the lottery wheels behind me. Depending on your luck, you could bepelled to wager something as inconsequential as a single strand of hair or something as monumental as the lives of everyone in your Community. Quite exciting, no?" Reading the information recorded in the scroll, Vahn''s brows raised as he asked, "So the wheel on the left is filled with nks?" Nodding his head, Sigurd exined, "That is correct. However, drawing from the left side requires 1kg of pure gold. After that, the price doubles with each sessive draw. In other words, to draw ten balls from the left lottery wheel, you would need to produce a grand total of 1023kg of refined gold. This might sound like a lot, but,pared to the market value of a Pure-Blooded Vampire, it''s quite the bargain." While the average 6-Digit Community would have no choice but to draw from the lottery on the right, Vahn didn''t even flinch as he manifested a total of one-hundred gold bars out of thin air. Each of these weighed approximately 12.4kg so it was more than enough to cover the cost of ten lottery balls. Though his smile appeared to remain unchanged, those with enhanced perception would have been able to see the corner of Sigurd''s mouth twitch as he gestured to Ragna and said, "Please confirm the weight and purity..." Hearing her brother''smand, the somewhat stupefied expression on Ragna''s face quickly faded away as she evaluated the stack of gold bars. To Vahn''s surprise, she actually separated the excess gold before pulling out one of her axes to shave away one of the gold bars until there was precisely 1023kg. "It would appear your Community takes its conditions very seriously..." Having recovered from his previous mental state, Sigurd promptly replied, "Of course. There have been countless instances of people crying foul y over such discrepancies. While our Community is rtively new, we consider ourselves honorable. Only short-sighted fools would jeopardize their good name and reputation over a few kilograms of gold." Though he was tempted to point out that no honorable Community would wager someone''s life as a prize, Vahn just smiled in response to Sigurd''s words. He didn''t particrly care what the Demon Lord was up to, as, regardless of their machinations, it was only a matter of time until he shattered their ns. This might sound like hubris, but, in actuality, it was the natural consequence of people touching his bottom line. "So? Where is this Pure-Blooded Vampire? I''ve already signed your Geass Scroll and provided a thousand kilograms of gold as coteral. I don''t believe it would be asking for too much to take a peek at the prize being offered?" Maintaining his smile, Sigurd casually replied, "Though my Community does not fear attention, we are not foolish enough to unt such a coveted item. I''m afraid you''ll have to wait until the day of the Gift Game to see what she looks like. Rest assured. While her appearance might notpare to your brides-to-be, she is quite a remarkable specimen. You won''t be disappointed." Since he wasn''t able to sense Leticia''s location anywhere in the castle, Vahn assumed she was being kept at a far more secure location. Leviathan''s Tail was simply a front for a muchrger organization so it wasn''t too surprising that they would keep her somewhere safe. Returning a smile of his own, Vahn answered, "Very well. However, now that I''ve taken an interest in thispetition, you would be wise to ensure not a single hair on her head is harmed. The name of my Community isn''t particrly well known at the moment but it won''t be long before everyone in the Divine Realm fears the name Sage Dragon''s Hearth..." Punctuating his words, Vahn''s eyes shifted from his characteristic aquamarine to a vibrant gold that caused the surrounding space to stagnate. At the same time, Ragna and Gydra drew their weapons, but, before either could even think to attack, Sigurd raised his hand, saying, "Stand down." in a calm yetmanding tone. Though the two women seemed reluctant to obey, both took a step back with their weapons still drawn. As for Sigurd, his smile and aura reflected the tell-tale signs of an irredeemable battle junky as he stared directly into Vahn''s eyes and stated, "I look forward to meeting you on the day of the Gift Game. Until then, rest assured. We would not jeopardize our standing with the Central Network by damaging the prize we, ourselves, have put forth. Now, if there is nothing else, I believe we both have other matters to attend?" Rising to his feet, Sigurd extended his right hand with the obvious intention of shaking hands. This caused the corners of Vahn''s smile to curl upward as he unhesitantly epted the ostensibly genial offer. Unsurprisingly, Sigurd''s hand tightened around Vahn''s like a vice that caused a powerful shockwave to ripple through the study. Everything on his side of the room, Ragna and Gyda included was sent smashing against the wall. This created a stark contrast with Vahn''s side, which, thanks to the barrier he had erected, appeared undisturbed in the wake of the powerful shockwave. Smiling widely, Sigurd revealed two rows of sharp teeth as red markings appeared on his face and hands. His ears had be noticeably sharper, and, though he concealed it surprisingly well, a hint of bloodlust leaked out as he said, "Nine days suddenly seems like a long time..." Recognizing the man''s transformation as the Lesser Demonification bestowed by a Pure-Blooded Vampire''s Gift, most of Vahn''s excitement faded away. He had mistakenly believed the man was a Demon Lord in disguise. Instead, he barely even qualified as a half-breed. The strength of his grip wasmendable, but, were it not for the Divine Protection of the Little Garden, his hand would have been crushed the moment Vahn got serious. Returning a smile of his own, Vahn replied, "I''ll be counting the minutes..." despite most of his expectations having waned. Fortunately, Sigurd was unable to see through this. Instead, his smile became even more prominent as he retracted his hand and barked, "Ragna! Escort our guests to the front entrance." Though she snorted through her nose, Ragna didn''t hesitate to reply, "Understood." in an audibly annoyed tone before sheathing her axes behind her back. Being mmed into a reinforced castle wall had angered her quite a bit, but, understanding the disparity between hers and her brother''s strength, she obeyed his orders without question... "Follow me..." ... .. . Waiting until Vahn and his party had departed, Sigurd shifted his attention to Gyda, saying, "Come here." in a stern tone. This elicited a soft sigh from the taciturn-looking woman, but, much like her sister, she obeyed her brother''s orders. He would quickly lose his temper if they didn''t listen to him, so, after cursing Vahn for riling him up, she loosened her belt before cing her sword and spear to the side. Then, in spite of their blood rtion, she sat in Sigurd''sp, an expressionless mask on her face as he shredded apart her blouse and dragged his inordinately long tongue along the nape of her neck... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Redheads galore...'',''Vahn be like, "This pansy-ass half-demon..."'',''Um...sweet home bama...? *heavy sweating*'') Chapter 2083: Pandering: Behind the Scenes

Chapter 2083: Pandering: Behind the Scenes

"Vahn, Vahn, buy this for me~!" Smiling in spite of the fact Seraphina had been dragging him around for several hours, Vahn stared down at the piece of jewelry that had caught her attention, asking, "Are you sure? I can easily forge you something simr..." Giggling in response to Vahn''s words, Seraphina nestled a little closer to him before saying, "It''s not about the items we purchase. It''s about sending a message to the masses. Besides, if you''re serious about forging me something..." Drawing her lips closer to Vahn''s ear, Seraphina seductively whispered, "I''d rather you focus your efforts on making me a wedding band..." Ever since Vahn had introduced her as his fiancee, Seraphina''s body had been burning up from the inside. Instead of returning to the workshop to have a bit of fun, however, she forced him to take her on a date. After all, she was the Supreme Overlord of Gorgeous. She would feel itch if she didn''t spend a lot of money. Since Vahn had a functionally unlimited amount of resources, Seraphina felt it was only natural that they unt their wealth in front of others. Returning a smile of his own, Vahn waved down the store clerk, a young woman with blonde hair, pointed ears, and emerald-green eyes. If not for the fact she was around 140cm tall, she could have easily been mistaken as an Elf. Instead, Vahn supposed she was something like a halfling or a half-breed between an Elf and a Dwarf. "Y-Yes...? H-How might I be of assistance...?" Since Seraphina stood out like a polished gemstone among a pile of unpolish opal, she and Vahn had garnered a considerable amount of attention with their public disys of affection. The people of the East Side were rtively conservativepared to the other regions of the Little Garden so it was rare to see a couple happily flirting without any regard for their surroundings. Earning an amorous giggle from Seraphina and a nk look from the petite blonde, Vahn inclined his head towards the disy case, asking, "How much for everything?" ... .. . While Seraphina was satisfied with shopping, at least until they returned, there was really only one thing on Usalia''s mind these days. Thus, the moment they entered the workshop, she immediately pounced on Vahn before they even left the foyer. She was feeling frustrated after having hundreds of people staring at her with lust-filled eyes, so, now that they were alone together, she was unable to hold herself back. Fortunately, Vahn wasn''t oblivious. He was well aware of the condition she was in, so, the moment Usalia pounced on him, he teleported them to her bedroom before his back could hit the ground. As a result, he ended upnding on her bed as the voracious bunny used her inordinately fluffy yet deadly paws to tear at his clothes with a voracious expression on her face. This might sound like an exaggeration, but it really wasn''t. After getting a taste of him the previous night, there was literally a line of drool running from the side of her mouth as she eyes him with a hungry glimmer in her eyes. "I''m pretty sure I''m supposed to be the one eating you up..." Stopping in the middle of tearing apart Vahn''s tunic, Usalia tilted her head to the side, her rabbit-like ears following her movement as she asked, "Did I do something wrong, plip...?" Though she was familiar with matters rted to sex, all of Usalia''s experience was with Vahn. Thus, the moment she heard his words, she briefly believed she had made a mistake. Smiling in response to the befuddled bunny''s inquiry, Vahn sat up so that Usalia was straddling hisp before answering, "I don''t particrly mind, but there''s no need to be so aggressive. We have a few hours until I need to go pick up the girls. Let''s take things nice and slow." Despite believing that sex was supposed to be a passionate affairparable to a climactic battle, Usalia didn''t hesitate to nod her head, answering, "Okay, plip." With his expression softening, Vahn pulled Usalia in for a prolonged, tender, and affectionate hug. This left her feeling slightly confused, but, after a few seconds had passed, she eventually wrapped her arms around him. Then, for the better part of half an hour, Vahn simply held her in his embrace, gently caressing her back before removing his tunic and silently guiding her mouth to his shoulder in a manner simr to how he might treat Eva when she was feeling pouty... ... .. . With his time split between training the No Names, taking care of the workshop, and tending to the needs of his growing number of women, Vahn could feel the days beginning to blend together. This wasn''t necessarily a bad thing. Rather, he quite enjoyed being busy. He didn''t actually require sleep, so, even when he had time to rest, he would generally go and hang out with Shiroyasha so that she wouldn''t feel lonely. If there was anything that Vahn felt troubled by, it was the rapid progression of Usalia''s pregnancy. He had seriously underestimated a Wererabbit''s reproductive capabilities. It had only been a week since they started having sex yet her stomach had begun to swell as though she was in her seventh week of pregnancy. Even more frightening was the fact that she had a total of twelve little buns in the oven, far more than he had anticipated. In hindsight, Vahn realized that he shouldn''t have underestimated Usalia''s desire to fill multiples with their offspring. It turned out that Wererabbits had a gestation period of around 42 days. Even more terrifying was the fact that their ''average'' litter size was around five kittens, the colloquial term given for rabbit babies. When environmental factors were in their favor, however, the total number of kittens they could give birth to often exceeded ten with the record being a startling twenty-seven. When you factored in that they could be pregnant mere hours after giving birth, it was no wonder that Wererabbits were among the most infamous races in the entire Netherworld when it came to their reproductive ability... Fortunately, Vahn had managed to convince Usalia to treat her first litter with the same care and attention her parents had given to her. In other words, they would raise her first twelve kittens to maturity before worrying about producing more. He convinced her this was to allow her to rue experience, but, in reality, Vahn was genuinely concerned that she would pop out more than thirty children by the time the problem children arrived. As ridiculous as it might seem, Vahn realized that Usalia could literally produce more than a million offspring by the time the first generation reaches maturity around the age of 1500. In other words, she hadn''t been exaggerating in the slightest when she suggested filling multiples with their offspring. She was willing to do whatever it took to ensure her species wasn''t pushed to the brink of extinction a second time, even if it meant giving birth to millions... ... .. . While most of the people present were watching Usalia caress her small yet noticeable baby bump, Vahn did his best to keep everyone focused as he exined, "There are less than two days until the Gift Game hosted by Leviathan''s Tail. Given...recent developments, the people participating will be Fenrir, Hime, and myself." Adopting a slightly pouty look, Seraphina was about to object when Vahn focused his gaze on her and said, "I want you to look after the No Names and keep Usalia safe. Don''t worry. This is only the beginning. Once the name Sage Dragon''s Hearth begins to spread, the entire Divine Realm will be talking about the beautiful Demon Goddess managing its treasury." Hearing that she would be in charge of the treasury, Seraphina''s pointed ears began to wiggle ever so slightly as she enthusiastically replied, "Of course~! It''s only natural that the wealthiest Overlord in the Three Realms would be ced in charge of our Community''s finances! Oh-hohohohohoho~!" Nodding his head in approval, Vahn made a mental note to construct a vanity vault for Seraphina before going on to exin, "We won''t know the details until the game has begun, but the basic format follows the King-of-the-Hill ruleset. The Community that upies the centermost position on the Game Board at the game''s end will be dered the victor. As for the time limit and any other victory conditions, we''ll have to wait and see. Every Host Community tends to include some kind of gimmick to give themselves the advantage in situations like this. Any questions?" As one of the people who would be participating, Hime raised her hand, waiting for permission to speak before asking, "Is there a n for if we get separated? Though our individual might should far exceed that of our opponents, we could be ced at a disadvantage if the other Communitiesbine their efforts to oppose us." Smiling in response to Hime''s words, Vahn pushed his chair away from the table a bit before using his Unit Management to teleport the befuddled beauty directly into hisp. Sarina and Nono were having a sleepover with Lily so he didn''t have to worry about the former blowing up if he resorted to a bit of yful theatrics. With the tips of her ears turning red, Hime averted her eyes from Vahn as she muttered, "My Lord..." in a nervous yet slightly heated tone. She wasn''t ustomed to public disys of affection, so, with ck Rabbit, Fenrir, Usalia, and Seraphina staring at her with envious expressions on their faces, she felt as though she had suddenly been asked to give a speech to a crowd of thousands. Enjoying Hime''s reaction, Vahn ced his right hand on her hip as if it were the most natural thing to do as he exined, "I possess the ability to freely teleport mypanions to my side. I can also freely teleport people within space designated as my territory. The best part is that this ability has nothing to do with spatial transference. Even if the enemy tries to block it, I can still call you to my side whenever I please..." Swallowing audibly in response to Vahn''s words, Hime began to realize that her Lord was in one of his ''active'' states. This caused the agonizing heat that had already begun to permeate through her body to drastically increase in intensity. Most of her nervousness began to fade away, and, though she was still hyper-aware of everyone else''s gazes, she responded to Vahn''s words by leaning into his embrace with an expression that could best be described as puppy eyes. "Well then...if there are no further questions..." ... .. . While Vahn was enjoying thepany of five remarkable beauties, a youthful-looking woman with a petite frame, long golden hair, red eyes, and a disposition reminiscent of an emotionless doll was staring up at the full moon visible from the window of her cell. Since the only piece of ''clothing'' she was wearing was arge ck ribbon and the manacles around her neck, wrists, and ankles, it was possible to see that there wasn''t a single sign of injury anywhere on her body. "My, my, it seems our favorite Knight has found herself in a rather pitiable situation...ufufufufufu~." Apanied by the sound of chains grinding against each other, the chained beauty turned her attention towards the hooded figure that had appeared outside her cell. This caused the smile on the person''s face to be more prominent, their voice simultaneously feminine with masculine undertones as they said, "You''re in luck. It would appear our mutual acquaintance was wrong. Not only did the No Names not take the bait, but your little predicament has drawn the attention of a rather...peculiar individual. This may very well be thest time we see each other for quite some time. I''m going to miss you, Princess..." Believing that the woman was just trying to give her false hope, the golden-haired beauty simply returned her attention to the moon lingering in the sky. This caused the hooded figure to chuckle, her sonorousughter echoing through the prison even after she disappeared into the shadows... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Seraphina is a hoarder...'',''Usalia be like, "Stonks...!'',''Longing beneath the light of the Moon...'') Chapter 2084: Expectations: Calm Before the Storm

Chapter 2084: Expectations: Calm Before the Storm

With less than a few hours remaining until the start of the Gift Game, Vahn found himself seated in the library of the No Names. Jin had used a specialized Communication Stone to request a meeting, so, while his main body headed to the location of the Gift Game, another version of himself split off with ck Rabbit to see what the youth wanted to discuss. "Vahn...thank you foring on such short notice. I''m happy to see you as well, ck Rabbit." While Vahn returned a simple smile, ck Rabbit adopted a slightly apologetic expression as she said, "Sorry, Jin. I know I haven''t been around as often as I should..." Shaking his head, Jin said, "I''m not upset or anything. Quite the contrary, actually. I used to worry all the time that you were wasting your life trying to support us. Seeing you happy has removed one of my greatest burdens. I suppose that is yet another thing I should be thanking Vahn for..." "Master Jin..." Though she felt even guiltier after hearing Jin''s words, ck Rabbit also felt a considerable amount of relief. She had been spending a lot of time with Fenrir and Usalia as ofte so she was afraid the No Names might start hating her. Instead, everyone seemed more lively than ever as they worked hard to support each others'' happiness. Since she was sitting next to him, Vahn took the opportunity to caress ck Rabbit''s head as he asked, "So? What''s up? Why have you called me? I''m guessing it has something to do with the impending Gift Game?" Nodding his head, Jin appeared to hesitate for a brief moment before saying, "I have no doubt you will be able to emerge victoriously in theing game. To that end...I wanted to ask you to return Leticia to us. This is her home...it''s not right to treat her as some kind of prize to be won or lost in a game..." Furrowing his brows in response to Jin''s words, Vahn rose from the table without responding to the youth''s request. He actually agreed with Jin''s view. However, it didn''t take into consideration where they were or what their rtionship was. This wasn''t just any other realm. It was the Divine Realm. It wasn''t an exaggeration to say that ''everything'' was a prize to be won or lost in a Gift Game. "Vahn...?" Seeing Vahn depart, ck Rabbit''s ears began to twitch nervously as her gaze shifted between his back and the downcast expression on Jin''s face. She wasn''t sure whose side she should be taking in this particr situation as Moon Rabbits were basically hardwired to observe and obey the Laws of the Little Garden. In other words, she understood that Jin was wrong by making such a request, but, at the same time, both he and Leticia were her friends... Stopping just before the door, Vahn looked over his shoulder, his tone and expression severe as he said, "I am disappointed in you, Jin..." Flinching in response to Vahn''s words, Jin balled his hands into fists beneath the table as he hung his head in shame. This was quite the pitiable sight to behold. Unfortunately, Vahn had no intention of sparing the youth as he added, "Tell me. If I were to return Leticia to you...could you even protect her? You''re aware that this was a plot perpetrated by the very same group that led your Community to ruin. Even your previous leaders, some of the most powerful people in the Little Garden, failed to protect themselves. If the Ouroboros Demon Lord Alliance returns to im her; tell me, how do you intend to keep everyone safe?" Unable to respond to Vahn''s words, Jin remained absolutely silent as he processed everything the former had said. This allowed Vahn the opportunity to exhale an exasperated sigh, his expression and tone softening as he stated, "I didn''t tell you to take her from me because I regarded Leticia as some kind of possession. The simple fact of the matter is that everyone is safer while Leticia is in my care. Now, stop moping. If you''ve got time to sit aroundmenting your strength, you have time to improve it." With that said, Vahn tossed yet another grimoire over to Jin. What made this one unique was that it had been hand-written by Eva. The title was a direct insult to anyone reading it, but it was easily the mostprehensive magical text rted to the magic system from her world. Staring at the title, Jin''s brows furrowed ever so slightly as he read, "How to be a Proper Magus for Dummies..." Waving his hand in dismissal, Vahn said, "Don''t mind the title. The Author is a bit entric. Now, if there''s nothing else, I have a game to win. See you around, kiddo." Since he had already sent a telepathic message asking ck Rabbit to help cheer the young Magus up, Vahn''s vessel promptly ceased to exist the moment he stepped out of the library. He really did have better things to do right now, so, while a non-existent version of himself focused on gathering information, the ''main'' Vahn was enjoying coffee and snacks alongside Fenrir and Hime at the same Inumimi Cafe he had discovered previously... ... .. . Seeing Vahn seated alongside a different set of beauties than before, an approving smile appeared across the face of Sigurd. His elder sister, Ragna, had inherited a Gift that allowed her to summon a ruby-eyed raven that could link its perspective to a mirror. Vahn was the only anomaly participating in the Gift Game so Sigurd had been keeping a close eye on him as his people gathered any and all information pertaining to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. "That man seems to possess a particr fondness for beautiful women. Unfortunately for him, none of his women canpare to the beauty of my two sisters. Isn''t that right, Ragna~?" Staring up at her little brother, Ragna snorted through her nose before releasing his penis from her mouth with a ''pop''. Then, after quickly arranging her disorderly hair, she straddled his waist with an annoyed yet hungry expression on her face as she answered, "If our Father caught us doing this, he would wring your neck like a chicken..." Smiling in amusement, Sigurd grabbed his sister''s plump yet toned posterior as he said, "Isn''t that why we left the South and threw our lot in with demons? That old fool wouldn''t recognize true love if it smacked him in the face like a brick..." Returning a smile of her own, Ragna began to move her hips in a figure-eight motion as she teased, "If only you didn''t have to sacrifice your muscles in the process. You look even more feminine than I do these days..." Exhaling a sigh, horns began to protrude from Sigurd''s forehead as he muttered, "Don''t remind me. My skin crawls every time Gyda stares at me with that disappointed look on her face..." Nodding her head in understanding, Ragna linked her arms around Sigurd''s neck, her abdominal muscles tightening as she asked, "Can you really me her? You were the big brother she looked up to. Now, despite all the power you''ve gained, you''re even shorter than she is. That girl has had a muscle fetish ever since she was a brat..." With his body bing even leaner as he transformed, Sigurd had to fight hard against the urge to release a second sigh. Though he pretended to care about them both equally, the truth of the matter was that he preferred his little sister''s voluminous body over the firm and muscr physique of his elder sister. She would still spread her legs whenever he demanded it, but,pared to how clingy she had been prior to their escape from the South, there was an ever-increasingly feeling of distance between them. Feeling frustrated, Sigurd pulled Ranga''s body close so that he could bite her nipple with his razor-sharp teeth. This caused Ragna''s brows to twitch, but, despite a fair amount of blood flowing from the wound around her nipple, her movements became markedly more vigorous. She had received training as a Berserker ever since she was a child so blood had always excited her... ... .. . With no upper limit ced on the number of people who could participate, thousands of people representing more than a hundred Communities had gathered topete in the Gift Game hosted by the Leviathan''s Tail Community. There was even a Caster''s Desk present as many high-profile Gift Games were broadcast throughout the entirety of the Little Garden. This was the primary reason for many burgeoning Communities to participate. They wanted to draw the attention of sponsors from lower-digit Communities. After all, so long as they could join arger organization, it would be a lot harder for opportunistic individuals to target them... Demonstrating little regard for the massive crowd of people, Vahn continued to lounge on a bench using Hime''sp as a pillow. Lying across his chest was Fenrir in her shrunken puppy form, so, while others were stressed out about the impending Gift Game, he was enjoying the rtive calm before the storm. Hime and Fenrir had very soothing presences due to their natural affinity with Water, Ice, and Yin Elemental Energies so it was very rxing to have the former caress his head while gingerly tracing his fingers through the cool and soft fur of thetter... "My Lord...people are staring..." Despite humming in acknowledgment, Vahn made no effort to rise from Hime''s inordinately soft thighs. It was only when the temperature began to steadily increase that he issued a light chuckle and teasingly inquired, "Are you embarrassed to be seen with me~?" Though she wanted to say no, the Laws of the Little Garden prevented Gods from willfully telling a lie. Hime''s only options were to remain silent or answer truthfully. Since she didn''t want to ignore him, this meant gathering her courage before meekly replying, "A little..." Returning a smile, Vahn grabbed Fenrir before sitting up, cing her in hisp, and saying, "Sorry. I guess I got a little carried away." Shaking her head, Hime did her best to clear the misunderstanding by saying, "My Lord hasn''t done anything wrong. While it is certainly embarrassing to be seen, it makes my heart swell to know you findfort in my presence. It''s just...I don''t want anyone other than my Lord staring at my body..." Ever since Vahn hadmended her beauty, Hime had developed the habit of wearing garments that showed considerably more skin than she was generallyfortable with. This wasn''t an issue when they were alone, but, when there were other people present, it took a considerable amount of willpower not tosh out at them for daring to covet her beauty. She was, after all, a Water God and a Lesser Dragon. They, quite literally, had no right to look at her like that. Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn extended his hand to caress Hime''s head as he said, "No worries. After this, you shouldn''t have to participate in any Gift Games for quite some time. Even if you decided to justze about the workshop or be the guardian goddess of our hot springs, I wouldn''t particrly mind..." Though other Water Gods might have been insulted by such a proposal, Hime''s ears flushed red as she seriously considered it. The only real duty she had at the present was cleaning and maintaining the bath so her lifestyle wouldn''t really change all that much. Rather, she could bless the water and provide all kinds of benefits to the current and future members of their Community... "If that''s what my Lord desires...I''ll consider it..." Chuckling in response to Hime''s words, Vahn brought his mouth closer to her pointed ears before whispering, "Careful with your words...if you keep being this adorable, I might not be able to hold myself back..." Punctuating his words, Vahn bit the very tip of Hime''s elf-like ears. This caused her body to be ramrod straight, but, despite the surrounding temperature bing rather balmy, she managed to appear rtively calm as she restrained a surprised yelp... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Jin still has a lot of growing to do...'',''I always knew bama was in the South...'',''Vahn can''t resist teasing taciturn girls with long ears xD...'') Chapter 2085: Presentation

Chapter 2085: Presentation

"Ladies, Gentlemen, and everything in between~! Wee to the inaugural high-profile Gift Game hosted by the Leviathan''s Tail Community~! Today is an especially-" Hearing the announcer begin their opening address, Vahn rose from his position alongside Fenrir and Shirayukihime, stating, "It''s showtime." before proceeding to stretch his arms and pop his back. Vahn wasn''t particrly well known for his patience when a person''s freedom was at stake so he had been feeling increasingly itchy as the Gift Game drew closer. Now that it was about to begin, the only thing preventing him from releasing his aura was the knowledge that it would trouble both Shiroyasha and the residents of the Little Garden. Fortunately, the opening ceremony was more for the spectators than the participants. As a result, it wasn''t long before a massive teleportation array appeared in the square where the contestants had been asked together. Moments after that, they found themselves transported to a vast stretch of icy terrain surrounded by snow-covered forests and dominated by a colossal mountain that pierced the clouds. Raising his brows, Vahn was about to try and teleport directly to the top when a massive Geass Roll appeared out of thin air, its text glittering like golden runes. "Oh? They really shot themselves in the foot on this one..." ********** < Feast of the Einherjar > [Win Condition] ess the Bifrost, ascend Himinbj?rg, and gain the recognition of Heimdallr. [Hidden Conditions] 1: ????? 2: ????? 3: ????? [Rules] 1: yers attempting to ess the Bifrost need to upy at least half of the Sigrun''s 8 Altars. 2: Defeated yers will be escorted to the Halls of Valha by Sigrun''s Valkyries. 3: Defeated yers will continue to spawn as Einherjar until the end of the game. 4: Einherjar are charged with protecting the mountain and preventing enemies from invading. 5: Einherjar that have defeated at least 10 other yers will be given the opportunity to respawn at their original location. 6: Only one person can earn the recognition of Heimdallr. [Restrictions] 1: Flight above 1000m is restricted. 2: Teleportation beyond 500m is restricted. 3: Gifts that summon Familiars, Constructs, Djinn, and other Non-yer entities are limited to a total of three summons. 4: Gifts that override Immortality or cause Permadeath are strictly prohibited. 5: Gifts that allow yers to overwrite or invalidate rules are strictly prohibited. 6: Duels between yers cannot be interrupted by other yers. [Time Limit] 000:000:09:59:43 ********** Amused by the nordic theme, a smile developed across Vahn''s face as a massive,rgely cosmetic magic circle appeared beneath his feet. Immediately thereafter, an inordinately tall and muscr man appeared, his chest glistening with a glowing green pattern that vaguely resembled a dragon. At his side was a remarkably beautiful woman wearing a skin-tight bodysuit, her purple hair waving gracefully despite the harsh wind as she cast her scarlet gaze over their surroundings. "Yo, Siegfried, Scathach. Wee to the party." Smiling wryly in response to Vahn''s words, Siegfried replied, "I never expected you to summon me like this. It''s been a while since I had a spiritual form..." Showing considerably less perturbation than the silver-haired warrior, Scathach adopted a far more sincere smile as she said, "It''s good to see you, Master. How might I be of assistance...?" Since the Geass Roll had already vanished, Vahn quickly exined the situation to the two Heroic Spirits. When Siegfried learned he had been summoned because he fit the theme of the game, the smile on his face became even wrier. Despite this, he was actually looking forward to helping out as he had always wanted to repay Vahn for his benevolence. He had literally lost count of the number of things he was thankful for. Thus, even if Vahn ordered him to draw his de and assault the sun, he would do so without fear or hesitation. "To surmise, I need the two of you to take over and hold two of Sigrun''s Altars. You can strike down your opponents but make sure you don''t use any anti-immortal or anti-divine weapons. Someone''s freedom is on the line and I don''t want to be disqualified." Nodding his head in affirmation, Siegfried manifested his Balmung before giving it a few practice swings. It had literally been decades since hest participated in anything more than a spar. As for Scathach, she had mastered her body to such an extent that she could control the flow of blood in her veins. Thus, the moment Vahn finished speaking, she answered, "I will not fail." before using a variant of Shundo that left behind a crimson glow. "She certainly seems spirited..." Chuckling in response to Siegfried''s statement, Vahn mused, "I''ve tried getting her to mellow out but she still takes everything seriously. Don''t let it bother you." Shouldering his Balmung, Siegfried returned a nod as the symbol on his chest began to release a vibrant green light. At the same time, a rather thick tail covering in ck scales erupted from his lower back as two rtively small yet draconic-looking wings sprouted at its sides. This was a half-manifestation of his Armor of Fafnir, an ability that had essentially made him invulnerable back in the Nasuverse. "A thousand meters, right?" Seeing Vahn nod, Siegfried returned one of his own before pping his wings and taking to the sky like a silvery-green meteor. This left the former alone with Fenrir and a very confused-looking Hime. Siegfried''s sword had caused her body to tense up, but,pared to the horrifying aura emanating from Scathach, even the anti-dragon sword in the former''s hand seemed tame. Noticing the befuddled beauty''s state, Vahn extended his hand to gently caress Hime''s head as he said, "They''re two of my closest friends andpanions. You''ll never have to worry about fighting them..." Feeling the calming energy spreading through her body, Hime exhaled a breath she hadn''t even realized she was holding. "Did you say their names were Siegfried and Scathach? I have heard rumors of simrly named individuals. I believe Siegfried is called the Dragon Knight while Scathach is known throughout the Little Garden as The Witch of Dun Scaith. Thetter is particrly famous since many of the people she has trained ended up bing heroic figures whose names resounded throughout the Divine Realm..." Since it would have been infinitely more surprising to learn that Scathach didn''t exist in the Divine Realm, Vahn simply nodded his head in response to Hime''s exnation. At the same time, he found himself wondering if there were parallels between the Divine Realm and the Nasuverse. They might not be directly rted to each other, but, considering the number of remarkably beautiful women he had already encountered, he wouldn''t be surprised to learn that certain heroic figures had been converted to heaven-sent beauties due to the machinations of a few Poets... Shaking that thought from his mind, Vahn retracted his hand from Hime''s head before saying, "For now, we''ll stick together. I can easily take over and upy each of the altars on my own so this is a good opportunity for the two of you to show off. The enemy was gracious enough to provide us an icy terrain. Might as well make use of it." Though Hime seemed hesitant to proceed without an actual n, Fenrir happily stepped forward, a tremendous volume of magical energy erupted from her body as she freely manipted the water, ice, and snow in the environment. It took her less than thirty seconds to create a literal fortress of ice and snow that stunned both spectators and casters alike as it began a slow and gradual advance towards the nearest Altar. She had even included an icy throne for Vahn to sit in before curling up in hisp and focusing all her attention on piloting the fortress... ... .. . "Are you freaking kidding me...?" Sitting within an observatory decorated with a twenty-meter tall statue of a golden god holding a double-ded sword, Sigurd couldn''t help but stare in disbelief as he saw the massive fortress of ice and snow float across the battlefield. It was basically a Game Board within a Game Board, and, to make matters even worse,ser-like beams of ice-elemental energy would bombard anyone that got within a few kilometers of the monstrous behemoth. "Such a ridiculous mastery over ice and snow...it''s almost like he knew what kind of Game Board we would be using in advance..." Responding to her brother''s incredulity, Gyda''s voice was cold as she focused her crimson eyes on the image of Vahn lounging atop his icy throne. His bronzed skin, dark hair, stylish clothes, and glowing green cut quite the figure against the frozen backdrop. He was almost like a God-King, all-powerful and utterly unconcerned by the efforts and machinations of his would-be opponents. Though he noticed the look on his little sister''s face, Sigurd convinced himself it was nothing as he waved his hand and changed the image to reflect Scathach. If his affections weren''t fully invested in his two sisters, he might have found her unreasonably attractive. Demons, including those with high ranks and titles, generally only had a single thing they obsessed over. For Sigurd, this obsession was his two sisters. They were the reason he had given up his humanity for them, so, other than intrigue, he felt nothing towards the phenomenal beauty cutting through an entire Community without even batting an eye. "Do you think you can take her...?" Seeing the same image as her brother, Gyda only hesitated for a brief moment before shaking her head and saying, "Impossible. I''ve never seen anyone with movements that sharp and I''m positive she is still holding back. Even if Ragna and I were to team up against her, I doubt we would be able to win." Having reached a simr conclusion, an excited smile developed across Sigurd''s face as he mused, "In other words, we''repletely fucked! Gyahahahahahahahaha~!" While most people would feel dejected or annoyed when they encountered a setback, Sigurd was the type that became exponentially more excited as the odds were stacked against him. It was this trait of his that had allowed him to sway the hearts of his two sisters, as, no matter what, he never gave up. With horns protruding from his head and red markings spreading over his face and hands, Sigurd looked Gyda straight in the eyes as he asked, "Will you stand with me? It''s been a long time since we fought together..." Meeting her brother''s gaze, Gyda''s expression remained unreadable for several seconds until she invariably released a sigh andined, "Do you really need to ask? I''ve already vited one of the greatest taboos of our people. I''m not going to get cold feet thiste in the game..." Smiling wide enough to disy his unnaturally angr teeth, Sigurd appeared even more excited than before as he pumped his fist and eximed, "Alright! We might be up against apletely ridiculous foe, but that doesn''t mean we can''t go out with a bang! Let''s make this a battle the Little Garden will be talking about for generations! Gyahahahahahahaha~!" Nodding her head in response, Gyda did her best to return a smile of her own even as she watched her brother''s body contract to the point he began to appear emaciated. She hated seeing him like this as he couldn''t even be called a shadow of his former self. People in the East might find this kind of appearance attractive, but, back where she was from, men were valued based on their manliness and physique. She used to enjoy being forced down by her brother as his tree-like arms had always made her feel safe and secure. Now, his arms were even thinner than hers, and, whenever he was in his fully transformed state, he barely weighed more than nine stones...(A/N: 58kgs/130lbs) Unaware of his sister''s thoughts, Sigurd pulled out a massive battleax that made the pair wielded by Ragna appear cute and dainty. His physique might have diminished ever since he became a demon, but,pared to his past self, he was actually several times stronger. "Vahn Aldrnari Mason, huh? Our battle will be legendary...!" ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Imagine summoning an ice-themed Game Board when your opponent has a Water God and The Queen of the Frozen Abyss on their side...'',''Fenrir knows how to show off and pander to her Master at the same time~'',''Oof. Can I get an F in the chat for Sigurd...'') Chapter 2086: Steady Progress

Chapter 2086: Steady Progress

With Fenrir eliminating virtually every group that appeared within her range, Vahn was beginning to think Hime wouldn''t even get a chance to act. Fortunately, it wasn''t long before spiritual versions of the people she had eliminated began to rain down from the sky, seemingly unrestricted by the rules prohibiting flight above a certain height as they attempted to assault the fortress. "So these are the Einherjar? They seem stronger now than when they were previously eliminated..." Though it was just an observation of his, Hime mistook Vahn''s remark as confusion, exining, "It is most likely a type of blessing. The word Einherjar trantes to "army of one". They are meant to be mythical warriors who have distinguished themselves on the battlefield. Upon death, the Valkyries of Sigrun would descend from Valha to escort them to Odin''s Longhall. There, they would feast upon the meat of the resurrecting-" cing his finger on Hime''s mouth, Vahn adopted an amused smile as he said, "I know. There is a reason Fenrir is named as such. I''m intimately familiar with the legends and lore rted to Norse and dic mythology..." Freezing in response to Vahn''s words, the tips of Hime''s ears became red as the former issued an amused chuckle and wrapped his hand around her waist. Then, before she could recover, he moved his hand closer to her bottom, gently caressing it as he said, "You should lend a hand. Fenrir might have unlimited mana while we''re together but her most powerful attacks would break the rules of the game. Besides, I want everyone in the Little Garden to know that I have a remarkably beautiful Water Goddess on my side..." Though a part of her wanted to stay seated next to him, Hime nodded in response to Vahn''s words before rising from her seat and spontaneously transforming into a massive white serpent. This was actually her true form so it was more cost-efficient to maintain than her humanoid transformation. She also knew the people in charge of broadcasting the game wouldn''t hesitate to take liberties with the viewing angles, so, while she had no problem showing off, she didn''t want people staring at her with theirscivious gazes. She was a Goddess, after all. She could literally sense when people were having such thoughts about her... Taking advantage of the functionally infinite supply of ice and water produced by Fenrir, a massive vortex appeared around Hime as she ascended towards the sky. Anyone that got close to her was instantaneously shredded to pieces, and, thanks to the excess Ice Elemental Energy saturating the atmosphere after Fenrir''s attacks, the sky above the fortress became a veritable ocean that froze anything that attempted to pass through it. "Mmm...she''s strong. With training, she could be even stronger..." Nodding in response to Fenrir''s remark, Vahn continued to stroke her unbelievably soft and pliant fur as his senses briefly linked with Siegfried and Scathatch. He doubted they would have any real trouble dealing with the Einherjar but it never hurt to check... ... .. . After cutting down dozens of foes, Scathach had managed to single-handedly secure one of the altars located on the Northern side of the mountain. Under normal circumstances, this would have resulted in multiple people teaming up to attack her. Instead, her surroundings had be eerily silent as even the Einherjar had given up attacking her after experiencing the excruciating pain of having Gae Bolg pierce their bodies. With nothing better to do, Scathach was sitting atop Sigurn''s Altar with a listless expression on her face. It wasn''t that she was particrly bored. The enemies had just failed to couldn''t excite her. She was used to battles against beings that exceeded the Gods and even defiedmon sense. Normal opponents were remarkably mundane no matter how great their numbers. While staring up at the mountain, Scathach''s eyes widened ever so slightly as she sensed a familiar presence ovepping with her own. It took a tremendous amount of effort to prevent herself from smiling, but, thanks to her exhaustive training in mastering every single faculty of her body, she was able to y it off as if she hadn''t noticed Vahn''s presence. Demonstrating an acting ability that would earn the approval of her original self, Scathach exhaled a mncholic sigh as sheid across Sigrun''s Altar and muttered, "Master..." in a longing, ostensibly anguished tone. She even ced her hand over her heart, its steady rhythm bing increasingly unstable as her serotonin and dopamine levels dropped. Though it was impossible to discern from her physiological reaction, Scathach couldn''t help feeling amused when the senses that had ovepped with her own suddenly radiated a concerned, slightly apologetic vibe. At the same time, she could feel a sudden and spontaneous longing from Vahn, an indicator that he was thinking about all the times they had spent together, and, most importantly, apart. Taking advantage of the vulnerabilities in Vahn''s mental state, Scathach moved her hand from atop her heart to her breast. A warmth that didn''t belong to her immediately suffused through her body, and, though there was a chance she was being spied upon, Scathach didn''t particrly care as her free hand crept towards the darker purple fabric covering her lower body. Humans were covetous by nature and there was little you could do to prevent the Gods from spying on you. Thus, the only gaze she really cared about was Vahn''s. She also knew that he could feel everything she was feeling right now, so, without any hesitation whatsoever, she began to unabashedly caress herself through the fabric of her clothes... ... .. . "..." "Master...?" Sensing her Master''s arousal, Fenrir sneakily took a big whiff of his aroma before turning her head up and calling out to him. Offering a wry smile in response, Vahn grabbed the sides of Fenrir''s face, shamelessly squishing and massaging her cheeks as he said, "We may need to speed things up a bit..." Understanding the implication within her Master''s words, a familiar longing spread through Fenrir''s abdominal region as she hopped from hisp and said, "Leave it to me!" in an excited tone of voice. Then, stunning everyone spectating the scene within the ice fortress, Fenrir began shaking her body like a wolf that had just submerged from a river. This caused her already fluffy coat to be even fluffier, but, more importantly, several nebulous wolf pups began spreading through the area until a rather sizeable pack had formed. Though the pups appeared simr at a nce, closer observation would reveal that the runes and patterns on their bodies were distinctly different. Some had patterns reminiscent of scales, wings, and other racial markers. Others hadplex magical formations that glistened like icy blue light or destructive mes against a backdrop of ck fur. As ridiculous as it sounded, each of these wolf pups represented one of the people in Fenrir''s pack. The one with angelic markings on its back originated from Jeanne while the version producing fiery red mes actually drew power from Mordred. She had grown into her own woman, but, much like her respect towards her Mother, Mordred had never lost her appreciation for Fenrir. She was, after all, her first girl crush... "Go. Bring victory to our Master." Since the nebulous clones were effectively amalgamations of energy, theycked the sapience to converse with words. Instead, they howled in unison before spontaneously turning into shadowy puddles that moved along the ground and passed through cracks with startling speed. The only exception was a pup with amber eyes and pale gold markings that formed the shape simr to a sword near its bottom. Ignoring Fenrir''s adorably pouty expression, the disobedient pup mozied on over to Vahn before rubbing its body against his leg and jumping into hisp like a cat. This caused Fenrir to bare her teeth as she muttered, "Altria..." in an overtly threatening tone. Looking over at Fenrir, the pup based on Altria adopted a slightly taunting expression as it plopped down and made itselffortable on Vahn''sp. It had inherited its original''s mischievous andzy personality, so, unless the situation was serious, it had no intention of exerting itself. It would much rather justze about in Vahn''sp and receive his pampering. Just like the real Altria... Though she was tempted to bite the disobedient pup, Fenrir''s anger faded in an instant when Vahn ced his hand on Altria''s head and said, "Don''t fight. The others will be able to handle things. For now, let''s just rx until the Bifrost is active. There are still a few hidden objectives that have yet to reveal themselves. No sense in getting worked up before the climax." Ignoring the smug look on the clone''s face, Fenrir returned to Vahn''sp before snuggling next to the annoying pup and making herselffortable. The only thing she really cared about was her Master''s opinion, so, understanding that she could always deal with the real Altriater, Fenrir didn''t mind cuddling up next to the traitor if it meant she could receive additional headpats... ... .. . A stark contrast to the situation on Scathach''s side, Siegfried was beginning to feel pressured as dozens of Einherjar persistently raided his position. This had nothing to do with ack of strength on his part. Rather, the moment he reached the Altar, Siegfried discovered that another Community had already imed it. More importantly, they were barely holding on as they desperately resisted a siege. Though the Community was technically his enemy, Siegfried was unable to simply ignore people in need. He also refused to raise his sword against the innocent, so, until he could ascertain what kind of people they were, he intended to help them. After all, there were a total of eight altars. Even if he gave one up, there were five others he could im. With such thoughts guiding his actions, Siegfried released a three-hundred-meter wide de of energy towards the group of Einherjar descending from the sky. This was far less effective than if he had targetted the ground, but, as an Anti-Army ability that could erase small inds from the map, he didn''t want to get the people he was protecting or the altar caught up in the aftermath. Taking advantage of the momentary lull, Siegfried exhaled an ostensibly fatigued sigh as he casually blocked the sword of a young man with fox-like ears and clothing reminiscent of a ninja. The runic circle behind him denoted him as an Einherjar, but, rather than deal a fatal blow, Siegfried parried the young man''s de to the side before chopping the back of his neck. This added to the pile of unconscious individuals encircling his body, people he had chosen to spare due to their rtively young ages or overall weakness... Looking around, Siegfried confirmed there were no other enemies nearby before turning toward the purple-haired woman that had attempted to guard his back but was too stunned to actually do anything. Her ck-jawed expression caused his to own soften considerably, and, as a result of his handsome appearance, a rather potent blush developed across the woman''s face as she averted her eyes and muttered, "Thank you for helping us...we wouldn''t have been able to defend this ce without you..." Shaking his head, Siegfried adopted a kind smile as he said, "I didn''t do much. I''m sure that, even without my assistance, you and your friends would have been able to manage. I can sense great power dwelling within you. If you released it fully, even an army of Einherjar might not be able to match you." Though she believed Siegfried was just being polite, the purple-haired beauty couldn''t suppress a smile as she said, "Thank you very much. My name is Dorothea, by the way. If it isn''t too much to ask, I would be honored to hear the name of my savior. Who knows, maybe our Communities can work together in the future?" Returning a polite smile of his own, Siegfried''s aquamarine eyes shifted towards the other members of Dorothea''s party before answering, "Siegfried...my name is Siegfried..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Hime is adorable...'',''Scathach is too bold (O////O)...'',''A very mischievous little pup...'') Chapter 2087: Awe

Chapter 2087: Awe

"Master, my pack has taken over three of the Altars." Though it had only been a few minutes since Fenrir sent out her pack of puppies, Vahn wasn''t surprised to hear they had alreadypleted their objective. Even the weakest among them was stronger than the average 6-Digit Community member. They also had nothing to do with any of Fenrir''s actual Gifts, so, even if someone tried to cry foul, it wouldn''t take long to prove their innocence. "Good girl." Running his hand along the side and bottom of her neck, Vahnpelled Fenrir to roll over so he could give her belly a vigorous rub. As this was happening, a horn could be heard in the distance, its sound carrying across the game board as a rainbow-hued pir of light impacted each of the Altars. "Oh. I half-expected something like J?rmungandr to show up..." Since this made his job a lot easier, Vahn created a double to teleport near the base of the Altar Fenrir''s fortress had settled over. The rainbow-hued pir had prated through the icy mass as if it didn''t exist. This would have terrified most people, but, knowing he could just make another version of himself, Vahn immediately stepped into the beam. After a sensation akin to having his body broken down molecule by molecule, Vahn found himself reassembled in arge stone arena. There was arge runic symbol that had burned itself into the ground beneath his feet, but, rather than pay attention to that, he raised his brows toward the rather fierce-looking redhead standing at the opposite side of the arena, asking, "Is it just you...?" Furrowing her brows in response to Vahn''s words, Ragna brandished her twin battleaxes, the runes across its surface emitting a fiery blue light as she exined, "The arena of Himinbj?rg is a sacred ce. Only two people can enter. Only one can leave. You will have to upy this ce until the end of the Gift Game if you wish to dere yourself the victor." As Ragna spoke, an updated Geass Roll appeared out of thin air. Now, instead of three hidden conditions, there were only two. The third row of question marks had updated to reflect what Ragna had said. "Well, that simplifies things..." Raising his hand as he spoke, Vahn left Ragna frozen, the pupils of her eyes contracted as he caught the lightning bolt that attempted to strike him. If he had tanked it, she wouldn''t have been that surprised. Instead, his touch had caused it to turn into a physical tendril of energy as he said, "You can have this back." Though she could deflect natural lightning, Ragna was barely able to tense her body before the bolt wielded by Vahn struck her like a whip. In the very next moment, she felt as though her body had passed through multiple membranes. In actuality, these were a series of stone pirs and a thick wall... With Ragna''s body breaking down into bluish-white light, Vahn shifted his attention to the structure of the arena. It was approximately 500m in diameter with a series of ten, thirty, and fifty-meter walls forming three concentric circles. The circle he had presently found himself in was host to ninerge pirs, each connected via arge engraving resembling a tree. "Marvelous..." As a cksmith and an Artisan, Vahn was someone who could appreciate interesting designs and themes. It was obvious that someone had put a lot of effort into developing this particr Game Board. If he didn''t know that everything would be reset the moment the game came to an end, he might even be reluctant to destroy it... ... .. . "Greetings, friend. My name is Thanus Nyx, Leader of Twice Twilight. I owe you my sincerest gratitude. Without your help, we would have already been eliminated from thepetition." Though he could sense of overwhelmingly dark aura emanating from the glowing-eyed man, Siegfried had learned from Vahn that he should never judge a book by its cover. Thus, without any discernible hesitation on his face, he epted the former''s handshake, stating, "It''s not a big deal. I was just passing through and decided to lend a hand of my own volition. There are no debts between us." Smiling in response to Siegfried''s words, Thanus gave the former''s hand a firm shake before retracting his hand and asking, "What will you do now? I can''t imagine you cooperating with us until the end of the Gift Game. Shouldn''t you be helping your own Community?" Answering in Siegfried''s stead, Dorothea, the same woman Vahn had encountered prior to his affiliation with Thousand Eyes, revealed, "He said he doesn''t belong to a Community. He is the conjured spirit of another yer." Blinking in surprise, Thanus gave Siegfried another once-over as he remarked, "Amazing. Your Master must be a remarkable individual to summon someone as powerful as you. From what I can tell, you''re no different from any other yer..." Returning a kind smile, Siegfried withheld any remarks rted to Vahn. He had no intention of parting with any information rted to his best friend and benefactor. Instead, he just nodded his head and said, "I should be going. I wish you and your Community the best of luck for the remainder of the game." Without waiting for Thanus'' reply, Siegfried directed a second nod towards Dorothea before spreading his wings and taking to the sky. This caused the smile on Thanus'' face to turn wry, but, understanding he wasn''t a match for the silver-haired warrior, he ultimately just shook his head before looking back at Dorothea and musing, "You''re as popr as ever." Blushing in response to her Leader''s words, Dorothea adopted a slightly pouty expression as she rebutted, "Mooou! I told you to stop teasing me! B-Besides, the person I really like-" Before Dorothea could finish her impromptu confession, one of the Einherjar that had been knocked unconscious by Siegfried suddenly charged toward her. Unfortunately for him, he was only able to get about three steps before a bluish-ck shadow resembling a demonic ant emerged from the ground, bifurcating him in an instant... ... .. . With five of the eight Altars under the control of his forces, Vahn wasn''t surprised by theck of people arriving to challenge him. Each individual member of Fenrir''s pack could wipe out an average 6-Digit Community on their own, so, even if numerous Communities teamed up, there was very little they could do to shift the tide in their favor. Fortunately, the Gift Game seemed to have ounted for this particr scenario as another horn could be heard echoing throughout the Game Board after an hour had passed. Since he had another version of himself idling about at the base of the mountain, Vahn was able to see a massive blizzard forming along the edges of the ying field. "So that''s how they intend to force the yers inward. The ying area shrinks over time..." As soon as those words left his mouth, Vahn was unsurprised to see a Geass Roll manifest in front of him. Whenever yers discovered one of the hidden objectives, the rolls had a habit of updating for all participants. What he didn''t expect was the actual description present on the scroll... "We have to protect the Altars from a Frost Giant invasion? That''s sneaky..." With a use dictating that everyone would be eliminated if more than half of Sigrun''s Altars were destroyed, Leviathan''s Tail would have been able to guarantee their victory against most other Communities. The rules of the game not only forced a Community to divide their forces to conquer multiple Altars but they would also need to send their strongest members through the Bifrost in order to ensure victory. In other words, only their weaker members would remain to defend against the Frost Giants'' assault, and, due to the restrictions ced on summoning, someone like Jin would have been helpless to do anything. Unfortunately for the members of Leviathan''s Tail, Vahn had no such limitations. Siegfried and Scathach weren''t even considered summoned creatures, and, even if they had been, the rules of the game didn''t designate that a yer couldn''t use multiple Gifts to summon. It only said that Gifts rted to summoning were limited to a total of three summons. Nowhere did it say you could only use a single Gift rted to summoning. After briefly considering whether or not he should summon the entirety of Avalon''s forces in order to deter future challengers, Vahn ultimately shook his head before patting the two pups in hisp and saying, "My turn." Though the pup representing Altria seemed unwilling to part with him, she ended up having little choice when Fenrir, appearing as a muchrger wolf, picked her up by the scruff of her neck. This allowed Vahn to rise to his feet, his bones creaking and popping as the clothes on his body gradually disappeared. This created quite the sight for female viewers to behold. As for the men...well... Thanks to his numerous Divinities, Vahn was vaguely aware of how others, especiallyrge groups of people, perceived him. Fortunately, he wasn''t inexperienced with this phenomenon so he wasrgely able to ignore it as he appeared outside the frozen fortress. Then, under the shocked gazes of virtually everyone spectating the Gift Game, his body increased in size as an azure light erupted from his body. With the intent of increasing his familiarity with [Rakshasa Body], Vahn decided to transform into a proper Azure Dragon for the first time in quite a while. Instead of the humanoid version, however, he went with the full dragon transformation. By the time the light faded away, he had grown to more than 300m in length, his body resembling that of an eastern dragon,plete with a serpentine body, golden scales,rge horns, whiskers, and an azure mane that crackled with electricity. Ignoring the ravenous look he was receiving from Hime, Vahn opened his maw to release a roar that, for a brief moment, created absolutely no sound. At the same time, the image most people were viewing appearing to freeze. It was like everything had suddenlye to a stop, and, were it not for the ambient sounds around them, some may have even believed they had been frozen in time. As a feeling of incongruency welled in the hearts and minds of the average spectator, a scene unlike anything they had experienced appeared before them. The image seemed to glitch for a brief moment as a majestic roar emanated from the screen, seemingly echoing throughout the entirety of the East Side. At the same time, iprehensible devastation was reflected in the image they had been watching as thick bands of azure lightning tore through the blizzard that had been encroaching upon the Game Board... ... .. . Seeing the form of Vahn reflected on a floating jade tablet, a man with remarkable features, long ck hair, sword-like eyebrows, and sky-blue pupils couldn''t help raising his brows as he remarked, "What a curious fellow. I wonder if he has any rtion to Meng Zhang?" Answering the inordinately handsome man''s inquiry was a woman whose beauty could only be described as heavenly. She also had long ck hair, but, instead of radiant, sky-blue eyes, hers were a shade of milky pink that seemed to draw in anyone that stared into them. As for her response, she simply replied, "Perhaps." Returning a curt nod in response to his wife''s remark, the inordinately handsome man pulled out a jade slip with his right hand, shattering it as he said, "Wang. Fetch Meng Zhang. There is a matter I wish to discuss with him." Shortly after the man had spoken, a remarkably reverential voice, seemingly emitting from the void, answer, "As you will, Your Imperial Majesty..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Is it just you...?'',''That is a pretty sneaky use...'',''Vahn takes showing off to another level...'') Chapter 2088: Incredulity

Chapter 2088: Incredulity

Standing between four and nine meters tall, the Jotun, colloquially known as Frost Giants, were a race of monstrous humanoids with an extreme preference for cold. Rather than garments of fabric or armors made from metal, they garbed their blue-skinned bodies in frigid ck stone held fast by perpetual, magically enhanced ice. In the myths rted to their species, Frost Giants were among the most physically gifted races in the Nine Realms. Even their weakest members could overwhelm the average resident of Asgard, and, despite being a rtively primitive species, their raw physical power and magical resistance allowed them to wage war against the other realms. Under normal circumstances, the only way to overwhelm a Frost Giant was with magical mes and enchanted Asgardian metals. They were nearly unkible using other methods, as, even if you were to throw them into a river of moltenva, it would simply freeze over without doing any meaningful damage. Unfortunately, as was often the case whenever Vahn was involved, such details simply didn''t matter. He was far beyond the level where resistances, natural or otherwise, held any real meaning. Thus, to the surprise and horror of the simted titans, there was nothing they could do as bands of vibrant azure lightning, many thicker than they were tall, tore through their ranks. Without any suspense whatsoever, everything touched by the azure lightning found itself torn apart at the molecr level before being cast into the void. From the perspective of others, it was like the lightning was erasing everything it touched. This included the magical energy sustaining the storm. Thus, by the time three minutes had passed, the battlefield had be eerily silent as Vahn, still in his Azure Dragon transformation, lingered in the sky like a God of Destruction overlooking creation. "Three-hundred-meters may have been a little much..." Feeling the invisible membrane just a few meters above his head, Vahn didn''t have a lot of room to move around. This tempted him to manipte the space above the battlefield to give himself a bit of extra room, but, fearing people would cry foul y, he decided against it. Instead, he expanded his domain to cover most of the battlefield, powerful barriers erecting around each of the Altars as he grasped the position and strength of every remaining contestant. Sensing there were no major threats remaining, Vahn nodded his massive head before shifting his attention to Hime. It was impossible to tell due to his draconic visage, but a wry smile spread across his face the moment he saw the inordinately beautiful white serpent staring at him with an intense, slightly glimmer in her pale yellow eyes. Noticing Vahn''s gaze, Hime immediately lowered her head in a respectful and subservient manner, muttering, "My Lord..." in an audibly impassioned tone. Issuing a resounding chuckle that caused the surrounding space to ripple, Vahn felt a sudden and intense urge to coil around Hime''s body. Unfortunately, as shameless as he was, he wasn''t quite at the level of someone like Scathach. Hime might not be able to control herself if he teased her in her current state, so, after several seconds of contemtive silence, he said, "Return to the fortress. I''ll take care of the rest." Though her aura made it very clear she was reluctant, Hime didn''t hesitate to obey Vahn''s words. Instead of returning to her human form, however, she coiled around the icy throne in the hopes of cooling her remarkably hot body. She felt like literal mes had been ignited inside of her, and, as a result, the ice began to hiss and produce steam the moment she came into contact with it. ("It appears Scathach isn''t the only person I''ll need to deal with once this game has been settled...") (*Vahn...*) ("Yeah, yeah, I know...") As something simr happened nearly every time he transformed in front of a woman with draconic traits, Vahn knew he didn''t have any leeway to act surprised. Rather, he would be far more surprised if Hime didn''t have a reaction. After all, they were already mates. They might not be married, but he doubted she would even consider independence in the next thousand or so years. Dragons, even as servants, could be remarkably obstinate... ... .. . "Gyda...are my eyes ying tricks on me? Did that man seriously just transform into a Pure-Blooded Dragon and wipe out the Frost Giants in an instant...?" "..." Unable or perhaps unwilling to respond to her brother''s words, Gyda just stared at the projection of Vahn with a pensive expression on her face. She had been born into a 4-Digit Community, but, even after sixteen hundred years of existence, she had never seen anything even remotelyparable to the strength Vahn had shown. Furrowing his brows, Sigurd changed the image to reflect the version of Vahn loitering in the arena. He had literallyid a pale-blue nket across the ground, and, instead of exploring the area like a normal person, he simply rxed with his hands behind his head. "Dammit...you can at least pretend to take this seriously. Organizing an event thisrge takes a lot of nning and effort..." Though he had the backing of one of the most powerful alliances in the Little Garden, it had still taken months for Sigurd to establish his Community and make preparations for a high-profile Gift Game. The negotiations, in particr, had been a nightmare. After all, no matter how eager they were to im a Pure-Blooded Vampire as their prize, most Community Leaders had enough sense not to leave their fate in the hands of a lottery. Vahn had managed to emerge entirely unscathed from the lottery process but some Communities had been unfortunate enough to draw lots that required them to hand over Gifts, members of their Community, or even their g. This was the reason so many yers became desperate the moment they became Einherjar. For some, their very futures were on the line. Had things proceeded ording to n, Leviathan''s Tail would have received a tremendous boon once the Gift Game had concluded. They stood to gain numerous Gifts, several additional yers, and an ample amount of territory in one fell swoop. Afterward, they would have returned Leticia to the alliance so that she could be auctioned off or used as bait in future Gift Games. Shaking his head, Sigurd turned to Gyda, asking, "What do you think we should do? I was going to suggest attacking the Altars but most of our forces have already been eliminated. If we ascend now, we might not even have enough people to open the Bifrost for a return trip." Without any discernible changes in her expression, Gyda stated, "We don''t know how many times that man can split his body. I also get the impression he hasn''t gotten serious, so, even if we initiate the Ragnarok protocol, I can''t imagine it having any meaningful effect against him. The power of a Strongest Species is simply beyond our means to deal with..." Though he was in agreement with Gyda''s observations, Sigurd couldn''t help frowning in response to his sister''s words. Instead of getting angry at her, however, he just popped his neck rather loudly before saying, "Well, at least we can earn some brownie points with the spectators by ending things early. Fortunately, I doubt anyone will look down on us for failing to defeat a Pure-Blooded Dragon. They aren''t called one of the Strongest Species for nothing." With that said, Sigurd shouldered his oversized battleax before stepping on a runic engraving that depicted the same pattern as the one left behind by the Bifrost. A rainbow-hued light immediately expanded from the center of the formation, but, before activatingpletely, Sigurd had enough time to turn around and say, "I know I promised we''ll fight together, but you''re the only person I can trust to hold the first. Once I''m defeated, I''ll see if I can''t do something about the Altars as an Einherjar." Finished with his words, Sigurd gave Gyda a cursory wave as a pir of light erupted from his feet and instantaneously enveloped his body. He knew he couldn''t defeat Vahn but that wasn''t going to stop him from trying. Rather, once he became an Einherjar, he intended to descend the mountain and charge directly at the massive dragon that everyone else was avoiding. He had never fought a Strongest Species before. There was no way in hell he was missing the opportunity to do so... Understanding her brother''s thoughts, a sigh escaped Gyda''s throat as she sat down next to the reflecting pool and cycled through various images. Under normal circumstances, she would have focused all of her intention on her brother''s fight. In this particr instance, however, she refused to do so since it might negatively impact her impression of him. It had been quite some time since she felt the same passion towards her brother that hadpelled her to follow him to the East, so, for both of their sakes, she decided to ignore him. As that thought crossed her mind, Gyda''s hand paused mid-swipe as the pool reflected the image of a handsome, and, most importantly, muscr man. His outfit left his chest and part of his backpletely exposed, and, despite the strange runic pattern covering them, it was possible to make out every single muscle in his upper body. Feeling a bit of tension in her throat, Gyda swallowed audibly as she dipped the tips of her fingers in the reflecting pool''s surface. There was a time when her brother''s physique had been even more impressive. Now, he resembled a young boy who had never trained a day in his life. His personality had also changed rather drastically, so, while she still loved him dearly, there were times when Gyda felt that her brother had been reced with someonepletely different. "We should have never left the South..." Shaking such thoughts from her mind, Gyda was prepared to change the reflecting pool''s surface to focus elsewhere. The thing that stopped her was the kind and affectionate smile that had appeared on the ashen-haired man''s face as he pulled out a silvery locket and gazed at the content. This was enough to garner Gyda''s attention, so, rather than change the image to someone else, she adjusted it to take a peek at the locket. "What in Odin''s name...?" Seeing the pictures of nine women reflected in the locket, six of which were nearly identical to one another, Gyda found herself at a loss for words. Harems weren''t particrly rare, but, based on the simrities between the six women, they were clearly sisters of some sort. She had never seen any man capable of wooing sextuplets, much less three goddess-like women. "He must be quite capable..." Since there was an unbelievably beautiful redhead among the women disyed in the locket, Gyda couldn''t help imagining herself in the ashen-haired man''s muscr embrace. His horns, wings, and tail also made it pretty clear he had the blood of dragons flowing through his veins, so, even if she shouldn''t be thinking things like this, she found herself contemting how powerful their children would be... ... .. . Unaware of the fact he was being observed, Siegfried continued staring at his locket for the better part of three minutes before returning it to his pocket. It had been less than two hours since he was summoned, yet, in spite of this, he couldn''t help missing his wives and children. It didn''t matter that his true self was currently sleeping between two of them. Even a moment away from the people you loved could feel like an eternity. Exhaling a sigh, Siegfried turned his eyes aquamarine eyes towards the peculiar phenomenon in the sky. It was like an azure-green filter had been superimposed over reality, and, based on the pulsing of his scar, Siegfried knew this was the result of something Vahn had done. This made it pretty clear that his friend and Master didn''t actually need his help, but, rather than feeling like this was a waste of time, Siegfried felt privileged just to see the former in action. "You really do have what it takes to unify everyone, don''t you...?" ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Hime be like: *jiiiiiiiiiiiiii-*...'',''Vahn needs to give Sigurd some protein powder or something...'',''Sumanai-san is a good guy...'') Chapter 2089: Lesson

Chapter 2089: Lesson

Though the massive pir of rainbow-hued light made it pretty obvious someone had arrived, Vahn didn''t immediately move from his position. Instead, he continued to recline backward with his eyes closed, asking, "Are you sure you want to do this now? We still have more than eight hours until the end of the game. Do you think you''ll be able to aplish something as an Einherjar?" mming his ax into the ground with enough force to send fiery cracks outward for tens of meters, Sigurd answered, "I''ve never been good at thinking ahead. All I care about at this moment is seeing how Ipare to a member of the Strongest Species. I know I''m not your match. However, I would be honored if you would grant me the privilege of a duel." Rolling to a seated position, a rxed smile spread across Vahn''s face as he noted, "You''re pretty straightforward for a Demon. Tell me, whatpelled you to give up your humanity? Was it power you sought or something more...?" Adopting a smile of his own, Sigurd''s lime green eyes glistened with a passionate light as he asked, "Would you believe me if I said I did it for love?" Blinking in surprise, Vahn''s smile became more genuine as he rose to his feet, dusted himself off, and said, "I would." Punctuating his words, Vahn shed forward at a swift yet controlled pace. He had quite a bit of time to kill, and, due to the rules of the Gift Game, there was a considerable amount of merit to dying Sigurd''s defeat. Thus, even if he was ultimately just messing around for a few hours, he didn''t mind humoring the redheaded demon''s request. With the pupils of his eyes contracting to form slits, Sigurd attempted to evade Vahn''s punch by tilting his head to the side. His efforts were actually sessful, but, rather than follow through and create an opening, Vahn was somehow able to arrest his momentum in an instant. Thus, before he could even think to counter with a sweep of his ax, Sigurd experienced the world spinning violently as he was tossed to the side with a casual toss from Vahn. Like a shell fired by a cannonball, Sigurd smashed through the wall of the arena as if it was made from wet paper. This wouldn''t have been enough to deal any real damage to him, but, much to his surprise, he hadn''t sustained even minor injuries. It was like there was an invisible force protecting his body... Shaking wayward thoughts from his mind, a violent red aura exploded from Sigurd''s body as he emerged from the rubble with a loud warcry. At the same time, the runic symbols designating him as a berserker began to glow, his muscles expanding ever so slightly as a result. "Hmmm..." Dodging Sigurd''s attempts to swipe at him with his extended nails, a thoughtful glimmer appeared in Vahn''s eyes as he grabbed the cor of the man''s kimono, pivoted in mid-air, and sent him flying into the opposite wall. "There is merit to using a berserker skill, but, against an opponent like me, control is infinitely more important than raw power. I have battled against foes whose punches could initiate the copse of a star. You would struggle to level arge building at your current level. Sacrificing your sensibilities for even greater strength is pointless." Emerging from the rubble a second time, Sigurd''s expression became severe as he asked, "Are you trying to embarrass me? I expected someone as powerful as you to possess at least a modicum of honor..." Shaking his head, Vahn inly answered, "I''m not trying to ridicule you. If anything, I''m providing you a bit of guidance while I have nothing better to do. As for your request for a duel...you simply aren''t qualified." Hearing Vahn''s words, Sigurd''s pupils contracted to their smallest size as he eximed, "You dare!? Even if you''re a Strongest Species, you have no right to look down on the pride of a warrior...!" Adopting a deadpan expression on his face, Vahn retorted, "It has nothing to do with looking down on anyone. I was simply making an objective statement. You may have infinite potential, but, at your current level, there isn''t much of a difference between you and an ant on the ground. If I didn''t hold back, there is a very real chance that I would squash you byplete ident..." "You bastaaaaaaaaard...!" With his muscles contracting even more than usual, Sigurd entered his third and most powerful form as he charged Vahn with the intent to prove him wrong. From the perspective of the average spectator, he was like a red blur tearing through the air in a single instant. From the perspective of Vahn, however, Sigurd was moving so slowly that it seemed like hours would pass before the man actually reached him. Resisting the sudden urge to yawn, Vahn''s body rose from the ground without actually requiring him to take a step. Controlling his orientation in space and time was as simple as breathing at this point. Thus, at least from his perspective, the world appeared to be moving around him rather than him moving through it. Though Sigurd''s eyes began to move ever so slightly the moment Vahn appeared at his side, there was nothing he could do as thetter ''gently'' swat his hand. This caused a remarkably slow ripple to spread along his arms and through the rest of his body as a pressure wave expanded like a bubble from the point of contact. If he wanted to, Vahn could let Sigurd topple head over heel with this action alone, his momentum more than enough to send him crashing into the far wall. Instead, he closely observed the ripple in the man''s body before lightly tapping a few other spots around his ribs, back, and shoulders. As he moved, time seemed to stagnate even further, and, after a while, Sigurd had basically frozen in mid-air as Vahn floated around his body and continued to slightly adjust his orientation. ("Speed really is king at times like this...") As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn allowed time to return to normal from his perspective. This caused Sigurd''s body to spontaneously contract to a fetal position, his forward momentpletely arrested as ck blood erupted from his ears, eyes, mouth, and nose. Then, like a puppet with its strings cut, he copsed to the ground with a look of utter disbelief on his face. "I-Impossible..." Grabbing the man by his cor, Vahn casually flung Sigurd into one of the pirs as he said, "That is for those at the pinnacle of power to decide. As someone who borrows his power from others, you have no right to make such determinations." With a wave of his hand, Vahn sent a surge of holy energy into Sigurd''s body, forcefully healing his wounds despite his current ipatibility with light-based energies. To his credit, Sigurd was able to restrain the urge to cry out in pain and anguish. Instead, his eyes becamepletely bloodshot as he did his best to stand despite a hazy ck mist rising from his body like smoke from a pyre. "Not bad..." Since he hadn''t moved much from Sigurd''s original position, Vahn grabbed the man''s ax by the handle before tossing it towards him with a casual fling. Then, with a smile on his face, he mused, "You have eight hours to prove me wrong. Let''s see what you''ve got..." ... .. . "So? What do you think? Will he be a threat to our ns~?" Frowning in response to the hooded woman''s yful words, a young boy with pure white hair and golden eyes answered, "I should be able to defeat him with my Trump Card. However, without more information, it is impossible to be certain. Have you learned anything about his origins...?" Much to the young boy''s chagrin, the hooded woman giggled in a manner that seemed to echo from every direction at once before answering, "All we''ve been able to ascertain thus far is that he has some association with Shiroyasha-sama. As for their actual rtionship, we haven''t been able to uncover anything. The wards around his workshop and residence make the inside function simrly to an isted dimension. Without entering the interior, it''s impossible to gather more information." "This doesn''t make any sense! How is it possible for the Eastern Floor Master to interfere with us to such an extent? She was perfectly content with sitting on the sidelines when we were crushing the No Names. What could have changed since then?" Rather than the white-haired youth, the person responsible for the outburst was a young girl with medium-length ck hair with part of her bangs tied fastened into a brain by a bright red ribbon. Based on her sleeveless outfit and the multiple belts of knives around her body, she was something along the lines of a Thief or an Assassin. Instead of appearing as a ruthless killer, however, herrge amber eyes and slightly rounded face made her appear indistinguishable from a pure and innocent youngdy. "Rin...what did I tell you about shouting in my ear?" Covering her mouth with both hands, the young girl adopted an extremely apologetic expression as she eximed, "Ah! Sorry, Highness! I didn''t mean to shout...!" Without a single change in his expression, the youth referred to as Highness exhaled a tired sigh as he said, "Even if you''re covering your mouth, it doesn''t change the fact you''re still shouting..." Blushing like the young girl she appeared to be, ayer of moisture developed across Rin''s eyes as she meekly replied, "Sorry...I''m just so frustrated. We worked so hard toe up with this n only for it to be ruined by some stray dragon. It''s not fair..." Though his expression didn''t change, Highness extended his hand to caress Rin''s head as he stated, "It''s fine. ns fail. So long as we keep trying, it is only a matter of time before we achieve our goal. If you let setbacks like this affect you, you''ll be even more likely to make mistakes in the future. That is when you''ll have truly failed." Smiling in response to Highness''s kind words and actions, Rin was beginning to feel better until the hooded woman at the side issued her characteristically creepy giggle, remarking, "My, isn''t this just precious~?" "Aura..." Not wanting to deal with a crying Rin, Highness sent a re towards the hooded woman that only seeded in getting her to giggle a second time. Fortunately, this particrughter also denoted her departure, so, after a few seconds of eerieughter, silence pervaded the dark chamber where he and Rin were viewing the Gift Game hosted by Leviathan''s Tail. Shaking his head, Highness shifted his attention back to the game with a golden light emanating from his eyes. He could see Vahn move whenever thetter used his superspeed, so, while others were unaware of what he was doing, Highness''s expression became serious as he muttered, "Is he trying to destroy the Gift of Demonification using raw power...?" ... .. . Though he noticed he had been forced back to his second stage transformation, Sigurd never gave up trying tond a blow of Vahn. He didn''t care if he lost. So long as he couldnd a single blow on the former''s smug face, he would be satisfied with any oue. Maintaining said smile, Vahn grabbed the de of Sigurd''s ax with his bare hand, musing, "Put your back into it." before pushing the incensed man away with a gentle shove. This caused Sigurd to grit his teeth in frustration, but, rather than being baited into another careless attack, he did his best to measure the distance between them properly as he swung around his ax in an increasingly smooth trajectory. He was previously one of the most talented members of his generation, and, despite his youthful appearance, he was more than 1600 years old. Thus, even if his attacks were nowhere near hitting Vahn, he was getting closer and closer as time passed... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The power of love~'',''You are unworthy'',''Plotting in the shadows'',''Baby steps'') Chapter 2090: Matter of Course

Chapter 2090: Matter of Course

"You about done...?" Groaning in response to Vahn''s words, Sigurd attempted to force himself from the ground only to fall face-first against the ruined terrain. It had been hours since the start of their battle, and, despite Vahn healing him over and over again, his mental and spiritual energies had depleted to the point he wasn''t even sure who he was anymore. Nodding in approval, Vahn pulled out a simple rune-covered longsword before stabbing it through Sigurd''s heart without hesitation. This caused the man''s body to dissolve into motes of bluish-white light before subsequently disappearing a momentter. As for the sword, Vahn left it embedded in the ground as he pulled out a nket andid it across a rtively t piece of rubble. Then, under the slightly annoyed eyes of countless observers, he reclined backward with an amused smile on his face... ... .. . With less than thirty minutes remaining until the end of the Gift Game, the Azure Dragon version of Vahn looked towards the sky to see hundreds of Valkyrie and Einherjar descending from the sky like drops of rain. Recognizing this as a chance to show off, three sets of angelic white wings sprouted from Vahn''s body as his rtively short limbs elongated into six powerful, vaguely humanoid appendages. He didn''t want anyone to mistakenly identify him as a mere manifestation of the Azure Dragon, so, by the time his transformation hadpleted, even the most minute traces of green had faded from his body. Holding back so that he didn''t identally inflict ''permadeath'' on anyone, Vahn performed a series of hand seals using his four hands, his soul-shaking voice echoing throughout the entire battlefield as he said, "Binary Annihtion..." Opening his palms, Vahn revealed two rtively small ck orbs before releasing them towards the approaching army. This was a variation of the Chibaku Tensei from Naruto, a powerful sealing ability with the power to generate literal moons if the user had enough Chakra. Unable to resist the phenomenal gravitational field, both the Valkyrie, the Einherjar, and arge part of the mountain were sucked up by Vahn''s Binary Annihtion. If he wanted to, he could have easily destroyed the entire Game Board at the very beginning of the game. There were no rules against it, but, in the spirit ofpetition, he decided to save the theatrics for the very end. "Stay there until the game has concluded. Even flies can be annoying if they swarm endlessly..." Though his words sounded arrogant, Vahn was primarily just putting on a show. There would be no end to the number of people seeking him out after this, so, for the sake of his future self, he didn''t mind presenting himself as slightly arrogant. This would actually help to draw out the truly arrogant people who wanted to ''teach him a lesson'', so, before his power exceeded the point where nothing could challenge him, he intended to enjoy himself as much as possible... ... .. . Noticing yet another pir of rainbow-hued energy, Vahn opened his eyes to find Gyda staring at him with what could best be described as an annoyed yet defeated look on her face. She knew she didn''t stand a chance against him, but, for the sake of her Community and her pride as a warrior, she couldn''t just avoid confronting him. "You certainly took your sweet time. There are less than three minutes until the game is scheduled to end." Brandishing her spear, Gyda adopted a low stance that strained at the fabric of her skintight pants as she asked, "Does it make a difference? Three minutes, three days, three years. Even if I had all the time in the world, I doubt I would ever be able to defeat you. Let''s just get this over with." Punctuating her words, Gyda charged towards Vahn with speedparable to Sigurd in his second stage transformation. Unfortunately, her words had annoyed Vahn, so, rather than rise to meet her, he just stared at her with an unamused expression on his face as she ran full-sprint into an invisible wall. "...!?" With a trail of blood leaking from her nose, Gyda''s expression morphed into a scowl as she ced her palm against the invisible membrane and asked, "What kind of trickery is this? Are you refusing to fight me?" Since there was a chance the Central Network might dere the match Gyda''s win if he answered her wantonly, Vahn waved his hand to send the redhead smashing into a wall as he said, "If you''re not going to take this seriously, neither am I. Don''t worry. I''ll make sure to defeat you before time runs out. You simply aren''t worth the effort of getting up for." Pulling herself from the rubble with a pained grunt, Gyda''s expression became markedly more serious as she asked, "What''s your problem? You defeat my sister in an instant, toyed around with my brother for multiple hours, and now you''re telling me I''m not worth the effort? Just what did my family do to antagonize you so?" Rising to a seated position, Vahn maintained a deadpan expression on his face as he said, "This has nothing to do with your family. I defeated Ragna because she charged at me without consideration for the difference in our abilities. I humored Sigurd because, despite being a Demon, he possesses an honest and straightforward personality. As for you...well, I don''t normally insult women, but youe across as an extremely shallow and vain person. Why are you even here?" Gritting her teeth in response to Vahn''s words, Gyda threw her spear like a javelin before drawing the sword at her waist and issuing a spirited war cry. Unfortunately, no matter how fast she ran, she found herself unable to move more than a few centimeters from her starting position. It was like the distance between her and Vahn increased every time she attempted to take a step forward. "You! Fight me like a man...!" Exhaling a sigh, Vahn picked up a stray rock using his telekinesis before sending it flying at Gyda''s forehead at near-light-speed. She didn''t even have time to process what had happened before her body began to break down into motes of bluish-white light that originated from the massive hole in her forehead. "What a waste..." Though he rarely evaluated women withscivious intent, Gyda''s appearance ticked a lot of Vahn''s personal checkboxes. Her body was very nearly wless, and, due to the color of her hair and eyes, he couldn''t help ovep her with people like Hephaestus and Aoko. Unfortunately, her personality left a lot to be desired, and, despite calling herself a warrior, her aura demonstrated aplete and utterck of motivation. As that thought crossed his mind, a rainbow-hued light appeared beneath Vahn before enveloping him in the characteristic pir representing the Bifrost. In the very next moment, he found himself in a circr chamber formed almost entirely of gold. On one side, standing more than twenty meters tall, was a statuesque figure wearing golden armor and a peculiar horned helmet. He also wielded a giant sword with its tip resting against the ground, but, more prominent than anything else were his resplendent golden eyes. "I''m guessing this means I won?" Without moving his lips, the giant figure simply nodded as a remarkably deep voice echoed from the void, stating, "You have earned my recognition, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. May the Allfather bless you in all your future endeavors." Punctuating his words, the Heimdallr stand-in raised his enormous sword before striking the tip against the ground. This caused a massive Geass Roll to appear out of thin air. This time, however, it listed all the prizes that the Leviathan''s Tail would have won if they emerged the victor. Without needing to consider his response, Vahn casually asserted, "I only require the Pure-Blooded Vampir, Leticia Draculea as my prize. Everything else should be returned to its respective owner. Let it never be said that the Sage Dragon''s Hearthckspassion." Adopting a slight smile, the Heimdallr stand-in raised his sword, stating, "Very well." before letting it impact the ground a second time. Immediately afterward, aplex magic circle appeared beneath the feet of every contestant before a white light enveloped each of them. When it faded away, Vahn found himself standing atop arge stage overlooking a crowd of cheering spectators. Next to him, barely reaching his diaphragm, was a doll-like woman with golden-blonde hair and ruby-red eyes. Creating a soundproof barrier with a wave of his hand, Vahn looked down at the girl and frowned as he saw the cor and manacles linked around her neck, wrists, and ankles. At the same time, the girl looked up at him with a questioning look in her eyes as she asked, "Who are you...?" Since the girl was wearing acy ck headdress thatplimented her gothic lolita-style clothing, Vahn restrained the urge to caress her head as he answered, "A friend. I''ll exin more once we get back." Recalling the words the hooded woman had mentioned previously, various thoughts danced across Leticia''s mind as she replied with a curt, "Understood." Smiling wryly in response to the taciturn girl''s words, Vahn awkwardly remarked, "You could smile, you know? You''re free now..." Raising her brows ever so slightly, Leticia emotionlessly replied, "Free? I''m afraid that''s impossible. My contract with the Central Network designates that I am always in service to someone. If you do not intend to act as my Master, you must designate someone else in your ce." Though he was already aware of the contract in question, Vahn''s smile became markedly wrier in response to Leticia''s words. ck Rabbit had already informed him about her character but she was a lot more serious than he anticipated. It was no wonder she was once called a Knight of the Little Garden. "So be it. For the time being, you can regard me as your Master. Whether or not you call me that is up to you though. My actual name is Vahn, Vahn Aldrnari Mason." Grabbing the sides of her skirt, Leticia offered a polite curtsy as she replied, "My name is Leticia Draculea. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Master Vahn." Issuing a light chuckle, Vahn confused Leticia by extending his hand for her to grab. The moment she did, he teleported them away from the cheering crowd without regard for the ceremony that was supposed to follow the Gift Game. He didn''t particrly care about receiving the gratitude of the hundred-odd Communities he had benefitted by returning their possessions. There were a lot of people waiting to meet Leticia, so, while his other self dallied around with Fenrir, Hime, Scathach, and Siegfried, he carried the befuddled vampire princess back to his workshop at max speed... ... .. . "Leticia-samaaaaaaaa~!" Though her status was quite a bit higher than Leticia''s, ck Rabbit still referred to the former with honorifics. She was one of the few people who knew Leticia''s true identity and background, so, no matter how the Central Network identified her, ck Rabbit would always regard her with respect and adtion. "ck Rabbit...?" Not expecting to encounter ck Rabbit the moment Vahn carried her into his home, Leticia was at a genuine loss as the blue-haired bunny clung to her with tears in her eyes. "I told you..." Hearing Vahn''s remark, Leticia looked over with a hint of emotion in her previously expressionless eyes. The presence of ck Rabbit all but confirmed he was an actual ally, so, after several seconds of simply staring at him, a very slight smile developed across her face as she replied, "Yes, you did..." in an audibly relieved, slightly amused tone... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn be like, "An opportunity to show off? Hold my sauce..."'',''That''s a big oof right there...'',''The first wall has been breached...'') Chapter 2091: Questions: Surprise

Chapter 2091: Questions: Surprise

After a very long discussion regarding who he was, where he came from, his association with the No Names, his rtionship with ck Rabbit, and his intentions for the future, it was safe to say that Leticia was thoroughly perplexed. She understood everything he was saying, sure, but, after learning how short his stay in the Little Garden had been, it was difficult for her to ept how far close he and ck Rabbit had be. Having watched ck Rabbit grow up ever since they had rescued her from the destruction of her n, Leticia was far more concerned about thest surviving Moon Rabbit than herself. As a result, she left ck Rabbit floundering, hair pink and hands covering her tomato-red face as she calmly inquired, "Have the two of you had sex?" in a delicate, nearly monotone voice. With Leticia''s eyes shifting to him, Vahn''s smile became somewhat wry as he joked, "Indeed. Thest few days, in particr, have been quite enjoyable..." "Vahn...!" Unamused by Vahn''s antics, Leticia raised her hand to silence ck Rabbit as she furrowed her brows and asked, "Do you love her?" with a pale light glowing in the depths of her eyes. Without needing to consider his response, even for a moment, Vahn answered, "I do." in a firm, resolute tone. Though she had quite a number of additional questions, Leticia ultimately decided to save them forter. Instead, she simply nodded in approval, saying, "I suppose that''s enough. Just try not to tease her too much. Her reactions might be adorable, but she has experienced great pain and suffering. It would be good if you could heal her heart rather than ce additional burdens on her..." Returning a confident smile, Vahn''s eyes shifted to meet ck Rabbit''s as he said, "You don''t have to worry about that. I intend to resolve ck Rabbit''s burdens, not add to them. Also...I would never do anything she didn''t want me to do..." Punctuating his words with a wink, Vahn prompted ck Rabbit to remember the ''requests'' she had been making as ofte. This caused illusory steam to rise from her head as she used her bright pink ears as an additional cover for her face. "..." Seeing the interaction between the two, Leticia couldn''t fathom had Vahn had managed to leave such a deep impression on the overly cautious bunny in such a short period of time. ck Rabbit was generally very shy, and, due to the number of licentious individuals targeting her, she typically avoided men older than their teens. Based on Vahn''s words, Leticia could surmise that he and ck Rabbit had only known each other for a few days before progressing their rtionship to a physical one. This made very little sense to her as ck Rabbit actually used to boast about her purity. It was difficult to imagine her falling for someone to the extent she was willing to have sex with them mere days after their first meeting. As that thought crossed her mind, Leticia stared directly at Vahn as if she were trying to see through him. She had to admit he was very handsome, but,pared to some of the Gods that had tried to im ck Rabbit for themselves, his looks were only so-so. His most notable feature was the color of his eyes but even they weren''t particrly rare within the Divine Realm... Noticing Leticia''s unwavering and unblinking gaze, Vahn''s smile became noticeably wry as he asked, "Is there something on my face...?" Instead of responding to Vahn''s question immediately, Leticia continued to observe him for several seconds longer before directly inquiring, "How were you able to seduce ck Rabbit in such a short period of time?" "Leticia-sama!? W-What are you asking~!?" Recalling that she was the one that kept egging Vahn on, ck Rabbit''s already pink hair practically erupted into a glowing mass of hot pink. This earned her a curious nce from Leticia, but, unable to suppress her curiosity, she calmly asserted, "It just doesn''t make sense. I understand that people can change in two years'' time, but I can''t imagine you falling for someone so quickly. There must be a reason." Answering in ck Rabbit''s stead, Vahn left both girls at a loss for words as he asked, "Have you ever been in love, Leticia?" "..." Hanging her head, a depressive atmosphere immediately exuded from Leticia''s tiny frame as she softly replied, "Not in the way you are thinking...but yes, I have been in love..." Restraining his almost instinctual urge to apologize, Vahn''s expression softened as he said, "Love is a peculiar thing. For some, it takes years to blossom. For others, a chance encounter is all it takes to fall madly in love with another. I was merely fortunate enough to be one of the people ck Rabbit was willing to open her heart to." Detecting no falsehoods within Vahn''s words, Leticia fell into a deep and contemtive silence. As for ck Rabbit, a remarkably tender smile had developed across her face. If it was just this, there wouldn''t have been any issues. Unfortunately, spending upwards of eight hours every single day at Vahn''s side had caused a perpetual me to burn in her body. It only took a small amount of fuel to turn into a veritable bonfire, so, despite appearing rtively calm on the surface, even Leticia could feel the heat radiating from her body. Though she was briefly confused by ck Rabbit''s reaction, it didn''t take long for Leticia to realize what was going on. This caused a rare smile to develop across her face, but, at the same time, she couldn''t help furrowing her brows as she softly mused, "It would appear my presence has be an inconvenience..." Blushing crimson in response to Leticia''s words, ck Rabbit buried her face into her hands. She wanted to tell Leticia she was wrong, but, fearing she would cause some kind of misunderstanding, she just released a frustrated, "Wuuuuu..." sound as her mind worked toe up with the words to say. Amused by the duo''s interaction, a light chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat as he teased, "You''re underestimating me..." before spontaneously splitting into two. This earned him a curious look from Leticia, not because it was particrly difficult to create copies of oneself, but because there was no way to distinguish between them... Despite feeling more embarrassed than ever before, ck Rabbit offered virtually no resistance as Vahn guided her to her feet and escorted her from the room. This left a version of him alone with Leticia, who, despite the awkward tensions, appeared wholly unaffected as she blindsided Vahn by asking, "Are you going to seduce me next? I didn''t want to discuss it in front of ck Rabbit, but I can detect the pheromones of several other women lingering in this ce. Does she know about your rtionships with other women?" As he had nothing to hide, Vahn didn''t hesitate to nod his head, exining, "I informed her about my harem on the first day we met. I''ve never been fond of concealing things from the people I care about. ck Rabbit has suffered too much to have someone deceive her." Nodding her head in approval, Leticia was about to say something when Vahn interrupted, adding, "That goes for you as well. This might be our first meeting, but I know quite a bit about you due to my association and rtionship with Shiroyasha. She-" Before Vahn could finish speaking, the person in question appeared out of thin air, saying, "Hey, now. That''s confidential information you''re about to share. I don''t mind you revealing your own secrets, but it would cause a number of issues if you went around advertising the matters we''ve discussed. There will be a time and ce for such revtions. Now is neither." Though Vahn had grown ustomed to Shiroyasha''s sudden appearances, Leticia was genuinely surprised by the aforementioned demon''s spontaneous manifestation. Vahn''s words were also at the forefront of her mind, so, with a slightly incredulous look on her face, she asked, "Are the two of you lovers...?" Despite the characteristic smile on her face, Shiroyasha''s eyes reflected severity as she said, "Don''t ask about things you shouldn''t..." Blinking several times in surprise, innumerable questions appeared in Leticia''s mind, but, as one of the people who had chosen Shiroyasha for her current position as Floor Master, she knew the loli''s circumstances better than anyone else. Thus, after a very brief moment of consideration, she simply nodded her head before looking at Vahn as if he were even more monstrous than he had revealed himself to be. She had taken his words with a grain of salt previously, but, now that she knew about his rtionship with Shiroyasha...that changed everything... Approving of Leticia''s reaction, Shiroyasha''s expression regaining its usual mischievousness as she crossed her arms and mused, "Since I''m here, I might as well let you in on a secret or two. They''re both Vahn''s so it''s only a matter of time before you learned about them yourself." Though his attention had briefly shifted to the Law of Identity''s exnation regarding Shiroyasha''s behavior, Vahn''s smile became wry when he heard the petite demoness''s words, saying, "So you''re allowed to reveal my secrets but I can''t talk about yours...?" Without any shame whatsoever, Shiroyasha cheekily replied, "Of course. You''re the one who said you didn''t have any secrets. The only difference between hearing it from me and hearing it from you is that she won''t be blindsided by your, ahem, ''thoughtfulness''." Adopting a deadpan expression, Vahn was tempted to retort, but, understanding the futility of such action, he just gestured for Shiroyasha to continue. She wouldn''t do anything topromise any of his future ns. Rather, she was secretly supporting most of them. Thus, even if she did reveal a few of his secrets, she likely had their shared interests in mind. Amused by Vahn''s quick acquiescence, a yful twinkle appeared in Shiroyasha''s cat-like eyes as she looked directly at Leticia and stated, "I''ll tell you something simr to what I told ck Rabbit. Vahn can basically transform himself and others into virtually any race. In other words, he can help to rebuild your poption by converting worthy individuals into Pure-Blooded Vampires. Of course, the far more ''prudent'' approach would be to rebuild from scratch..." Like the pieces of a puzzle, most of the questions Leticia had regarding Vahn''s and ck Rabbit''s rtionship spontaneously fell into ce. ck Rabbit had always been under a lot of pressure as the sole surviving member of her race, so, if Vahn truly possessed such an ability, it was only natural that she does her best to ''secure'' the future of her species. As the Princess of the Vampire Race and one of only surviving members of her species, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that Leticia was in a simr boat to ck Rabbit. Unfortunately, even if she did have the heart to try and revive her race, every surviving Shinso Vampire was female. She was also the reason the reputation of Pure-Blooded Vampires had been dragged through the mud, so, even if she could have children, they would forever be burdened with the stigma she had wrought upon her entire race... Just as Leticia was about to refute Shiroyasha''s words, thetter dropped a veritable bombshell on her, saying, "Your younger sister is still alive. Also, Canaria would have wanted you to do everything in your power to move forward. You can''t keep living in the past, Leticia. I''m not saying you need to rush things, but you shouldn''t keep beating yourself up over circumstances beyond your control..." Ignoring everything else Shiroyasha had said, Leticia tentatively inquired, "Lamia is still alive?" in an understandably shaky tone of voice. Nodding her head, Shiroyasha shifted Leticia''s focus back to Vahn, smiling as she said, "I can''t tell you more, but this big lug can undoubtedly uncover her location. Now might not be the best time to go searching, but it won''t be long before an opportunity presents itself. Rather, given this idiot''s personality, it''s only a matter of time before he reunites you with your sister. He has a soft spot for women with tragic backstories. If you don''t take the initiative, your sister might end up being eaten by him before you know it. Ufufufufufufu~." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Shameless...'',''RIP ck Rabbit. She''s too far gone xD...'',''Shiroyasha using her secret Gift Card, [Fragment of Origin: Loki]...'') Chapter 2092: Sowing Seeds for the Future

Chapter 2092: Sowing Seeds for the Future

Staring directly at Vahn, Leticia had a serious expression on her face as she asked, "What do you think about this...?" Though he had been following the conversation, Vahn still raised his brows, asking, "Pardon...?" in a slightly confused tone of voice. He had an idea of what she was asking, but, for the sake of avoiding a misunderstanding, he would rather she provide a bit of rification. Furrowing her brows ever so slightly, a hint of bashfulness crept into Leticia''s countenance as she asked, "Are you...are you really okay with this? We''ve only just met. I can''t think of any reason you would go to such lengths to...help my people..." Ignoring the ambient snickering of Shiroyasha, Vahn exined, "Listen. The truth of the matter is I don''t think about things like this. I just do what feels right and help however I can. You''re also kind of jumping to conclusions because of this damn imp. If you actually stopped to consider her words, you would realize I don''t need to be the one to ''help'' your people. You''re free to love whoever you want. It doesn''t matter if they''re a normal human, a demon, or even a beast person. So long as you approve of them, I can convert anyone into a Pure-Blooded Vampire." "Tch..." Clicking her tongue, Shiroyasha kept her arms crossed as she remarked, "See what I mean? This guy is as dumb as theye." Furrowing his brows, Vahn was about to retort Shiroyasha''s remark when Leticia issued a sonorous, bell-like giggle. Then, with the most expressive smile he had seen on her face thus far, she said, "So it would seem." in a delicate yet audibly yful tone of voice. Shaking his head, Vahn''s expression morphed into a wry smile as he exhaled a sigh and stated, "I''m just trying to be considerate..." in a helpless manner. Maintaining her smile, Leticia responded by exining, "Vampires used to be among the strongest and most affluent races in the entire Little Garden. In spite of this, we were still brought to ruin in a rtively short period of time. If we are to rebuild, we would need the backing of powerful allies to avoid a repeat of history. Shiroyasha-sama seems to trust you. For me, that is more than enough to ce the fate of my species in your hands..." Bowing her head, Leticia was about to refer to Vahn as her Master before thetter stopped her, a wry smile on his face as he asked, "Aren''t you rushing things a little too quickly? You could at least take a bit of time to think things through. There is literally nothing forcing you to make a decision right this instant..." "You''re mistaken..." cing her hands over her chest, a delicate smile developed across Leticia''s face as she added, "I''m not rushing into things. I lived my entire life in the Little Garden. As one of the persons responsible for the development of the Floor Master system, I have worked alongside the most powerful beings in existence. When we needed them most, the factions supporting uspletely ignored the plight of the Vampire race. The same thing happened to the Moon Rabbits, the race publically recognized as the Aristocrats of the Little Garden. Thus, while it might be impertinent and selfish of me, I would feel a lot more assured if the person backing me was also my husband..." Though it was very faint, a subtle blush developed across Leticia''s face as she looked up at him with her slightly glistening, ruby-red eyes. This was like a javelin straight through his heart. Then, before he could recover his senses, Leticia dealt a killing blow by saying, "I don''t mind sharing you with my sister..." in a meek, uncharacteristically bashful tone of voice. With Shiroyasha failing to inhibit herughter even with both hands covering her mouth, Vahn sent a pointed look her way before returning his gaze to Leticia. He didn''t know if it was because he had a soft spot for Vampires or if it was because he was currently making love to three different women. Either way, her vulnerable and hopeful look managed to prate his defenses as if they had never existed in the first ce. Thus, despite a wry smile developing across his face, he was sincere when he answered, "I''ll do my best...thanks for giving me the opportunity..." ... .. . "Is something the matter...?" Though others might not be able to notice it, Scathach was nearly as perceptive as Fenrir when it came to Vahn. She was one of the few people who could detect when his senses ovepped with hers, and, when they were alone together, even the arrangement of molecules within his body was known to her. Replying with a light chuckle, Vahn gave Scathach''s pert bottom a smack before squeezing it firmly as he mused, "Just the machinations of a mischievous imp..." "Mnn~." Since Vahn didn''t want to talk about it, Scathach wasn''t going to insist. Instead, she linked her arms around his neck while tensing the muscles in her abdomen to produce an undting, wavy motion. She could even direct the individual cells flowing through her veins so manipting the muscles of her body was child''s y. Feeling Scathach tighten around him, her womb practically kissing his ns, a somewhat wolfish smile spread across Vahn''s face as he attempted to reverse their positions. She had been straddling him in a rtively tame cowgirl position, and, while it was both rxing and pleasurable, he knew it would take a lot more than that to get her off. Adopting a mischievous smile, Scathach reacted to the tensing of Vahn''s body by pushing down on his shoulders. There were few things she enjoyed more than being pushed down and forcibly taken by the man she recognized as both her Master and Lover. One of these things was teasing him, so, until he got fed-up enough to take her by force, she intended to do just that. With Scathach leaning over him, Vahn could feel her hair tickling the sides of his face as she stared down at him, her crimson red irises glistening through the shadows. This gave her a rather terrifying appeal, but, having already grown ustomed to the mature beauty''s antics, Vahn''s smile widened as his penis inted inside her body. Biting her bottom lip, the ruddyplexion of Scathach''s face be marginally more prominent as she whispered, "That''s cheating..." Without losing his smile, Vahn spread her butt with his hands, stating, "I''m just getting started..." as another version of himself manifested behind her... ... .. . While numerous versions of himself weremitting various licentious acts, another version of Vahn was lounging about at the Cafe called Inumimi Paradise. The owner, a woman with Doberman traits named Silica, had already closed the shop for the day so he and Siegfried were just rxing as dog girls of various shapes and sizes cuddled up next to them. "So? What do you think? I told you this ce was paradise..." With his hands caressing the face of one woman and the head of another, Vahn felt as though his heart was being healed with each passing moment. As for Siegfried, he had a somewhat conflicted expression on his face, but, at the same time, he couldn''t help caressing the heads and ears of the girls that had flocked around him. "It''s very pleasant..." Though he felt like his wives would either kill him or dress up as dogs the moment they found out about this little liaison, Siegfried couldn''t help himself. He had always been weak against cute and adorable creatures. Vahn had also lent him a Gift rted to petting, so, much like the former when he was firstprehending the wonders of Petting Laws, Siegfried was captivated by the different ways in which each woman reacted. Nodding his head like a teacher witnessing his student''s growth, Vahn was about to scratch near the base of a girl''s ears when he felt a bit of moisture on his left thigh. He had previously inhibited his sense of smell to block out the veritable atmosphere of pheromones, but that apparently wasn''t enough. One of the girls, possessing brown hair, droopy ears, and a bushy tail, had removed her panties in preparation for her turn and was now sneakily grinding against his leg with apletely innocent-looking smile on her face. "..." For a brief moment, Vahn considered gently chastising the girl and informing Silica he hadn''te here for this kind of service. Instead, he began to bounce his knee like someone with restless leg syndrome, surprising the mischievous brte quite a bit. This was immediately noticed by pretty much every other girl present, and, as a result, the already tense and steamy atmosphere became noticeably warmer in an instant. Feeling the body temperature of the girls around him steadily increasing, Siegfried''s smile became wry as he said, "I should probably get going." Though the girls around Siegfried visibly deted, Vahn nodded his head in understanding, saying, "Next time around, we''ll go out for drinks. Who knows? Maybe I''ll invite the others as well? It''s been a while since we did anything together." While giving each of the girls around him one final caress, Siegfried''s expression softened as he said, "I''ll let them know. I''ll also have a talk with my wives. If they know about it in advance, they probably won''t mind if I apanied you until the end..." Laughing in response to Siegfried''s words, Vahn allowed the man to disappear without reiming the Gift rted to petting. He was curious to learn whether or not it would work inside his personal Realm, and, depending on how he used it, Siegfried''s wives might actuallye and thank him the next time he visited Avalon. As that thought crossed his mind, an amused smile developed across Vahn''s face as the eyes of twenty-three dog girls focused solely on him. This might have intimidated others, but, as a God of Sex, he could create a resonate aura that affected each of the girls present. He could also create additional copies of himself, but, fearing they would be even more ravenous if they learned about such a capability, he decided to deal with the entire group on his own... ... .. . Staring at himself in a mirror, Sigurd was genuinely surprised to see how much his appearance had changed after his encounter with Vahn. He had literally grown from 168cm to a moderate 192cm in height. This, alone, would have been a drastic change, but, as if he had been transformed into an entirely different person, even his previously red hair had been converted to a rich and creamy dark brown. "Odin''s beard...what the hell did that man do to me...?" With Gyda in aplete daze as she admired the muscture of her brother''s back, it was Ragna who answered, "Who knows? That manpletely defies logic. We don''t even know if he''s really a Pure-Blooded Dragon. I filed a request with the Central Network but the only information they have is that he arrived in the Divine Realm less than a month ago. There has never been an instance of a Pure-Blooded Dragon arriving from a lower realm so there is clearly something else going on." After admiring his 88cm biceps in the mirror, a smile developed across Sigurd''s face as he looked back at his sisters and said, "Either way, we should attempt to make contact with him. Now that we lost one of their assets, I can''t imagine the Alliance being too pleased with us. We might not be able to forge an alliance with him but we can at least cut a deal. With his strength, it''s only a matter of time before he attempts to spread his influence into the lower-digit gates. If we affiliate ourselves with him early on, we might be able to ride along." Though she was a little peeved about being done in by her own technique, Ragna had always been the type to respect the strong. If her brother wanted to join hands with the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, she wasn''t going to be the one to interject. Instead, she shifted her attention to Gyda, worried that thetter would let her previous humiliation sway her decision. To her surprise, Gyda didn''t seem to be all that bothered. Rather, there was even a slight smile on her face as she stared directly at their brother''s abs... "This girl is helpless..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Leticia ain''t gonna let Vahn get away that easily xD...'',''Crimson eyes peering through the darkness...'',''Vahn can be a real bro at times (UwU)...'') Chapter 2093: Prelude to the Plot

Chapter 2093: Prelude to the Plot

With business picking up quite a bit after his victory in the Gift Game, Vahn found himself seated across from a nervous-looking young man with short brown hair and matching eyes. His outfit, consisting of a sleeveless top, arm warmers, a leather breastte, blue trousers, armguards, shin guard, and a grey scarf gave him an appearance simr to a Thief. Despite this, he had a kind and caring look on his face as he wryly remarked, "Vahn-sama is quite popr..." Chuckling in amusement, Vahn paid no mind to the chibi-esque individuals treating his body as a jungle gym. At a nce, they resembled humanoid Companions inspired by rabbits, but, in reality, they were five of his children with Usalia. "So, what can the Sage Dragon''s Hearth do for the Daybreaker Community? I trust you did your homework beforeing here..." Sitting ramrod straight the moment he heard Vahn''s words, the brown-haired youth replied, "Hai! My Community and I havee to an agreement. We wish to join the Bungeoning Communities ord. We have already epted ten children into our ranks and I am prepared to offer my own life as coteral." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn stared into the youth''s resolute eyes before picking up the white-haired chibi nomming on a carrot plushie in hisp. Its long hair, rounded facial features, andrge eyes made it appear to be a female, but, like all of his children with Usalia, they were actually genderless until they had reached their second stage of evolution. Thinking Vahn was about to hand him the excessively adorable creature, the brown-haired youth became statuesque and nervous. Fortunately, he just manifested arge bottle from thin air to start feeding the tiny tot as he said, "Very well. Your probationary period will start this afternoon. After a month has passed, you will bring by the members of your Community for evaluation. If you pass, I''ll perform the awakening process on your most promising members. Is there anything else?" Smiling radiantly, the brown-haired youth promptly bowed low as he eximed, "Thank you! The Daybreakers will never forget this kindness...!" Maintaining a casual smile of his own, Vahn manifested arge disy card for the youth to hand outside his Community''s residential or work area. These signs had been popping up with increasing frequency in the past few months, as, more often than not, they were the only thing protecting small Communities from assimtion intorger organizations. "Well, then. If there''s nothing else...Leticia, please escort our guest to the entrance." Startling the youth quite a bit, Leticia appeared from within his shadow wearing what could best be described as an ''Alice'' outfit. It was predominately blue and white, and, thanks to her hair color, fair features, and doll-like appearance, the vaguely maid-like outfit suited her quite a bit. Supplying a courteous bow towards Vahn, Leticia''s replied, "Yes, Master." before looking towards the statuesque youth and saying, "Please, follow me." "H-Hai...!" Understanding that the petite beauty was the legendary Pure-Blooded Vampire that everyone had been talking about as ofte, the brown-haired youth couldn''t help feeling nervous. Sure, Vahn was absolutely terrifying, but, due to his overtly casual demeanor, his rtively famous amenability, and the veritable mountain of fluff surrounding him, it was hard to remain tense in his presence... Watching the youth''s departure with his eyes, Vahn''s expression softened as he exchanged the white-haired rabbit in his hands for one with pink hair before smiling wryly as a rather foul aroma tickled his nose. Staring down at the grey-haired, silver-eyed rabbit, Vahn helplessly asked, "Luna-chan...why do you always poop and Papa...?" Since it was a little too early for them to speak coherently, Luna just smiled radiantly, eximing, "Papa~!" before giggling happily. Supplying a chuckle of his own, Vahnmented how his and Usalia''s children were genderless but could still poop. It was quite troublesome, as, despite being as small as Companions, their poops could weigh as much as a kilogram. To make matters even worse, not that he was genuinely upset by the arrangement, most of his children tended to flock around and cling to him since Usalia was generally busy performing her duties as a member of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Fortunately, Vahn wasn''t like normal parents, so, with a snap of his fingers, Luna''s poop vanished without a trace as he mused, "I''m guessing you''re hungry now, right?" "Feed me~!" ... .. . After escorting their guest to the entrance, Leticia flipped around the sign on the door to show that the Sage Dragon''s Hearth was closed before returning to the Library where she and another version of Vahn had been lounging. Noticing Leticia''s arrival, an affectionate smile developed across Vahn''s face as he mused, "Wee back." in a slightly teasing tone. Exhaling a helpless sigh through her nose, Leticia made her way over to Vahn before climbing onto hisp, wrapping her arms around his neck, and asking, "Where were we...?" in her characteristically t monotone. Setting aside the book he had been pretending to read, Vahn wrapped his hands around Leticia''s waist as he answered, "I believe a certain naughty Maid was trying to seduce her Master..." "Mmm...I see..." Tracing her finger along the line of Vahn''s corbone, Leticia maintained a remarkably calm look on her face as she licked her lips, turned her ruby-red eyes up at him, and said, "Be seduced..." in a t, ostensiblymanding tone of voice. Chuckling in amusement, Vahn''s hands phased through Leticia''s dress as if it were a projection as he said, "You''re good at this...". Then, resuming where they had left off, he began kissing the petite Vampire until her body gradually inted into that of a mature beauty. This was another parallel she shared with Eva, and, the first time he learned of it, Vahn couldn''t help wondering if the creators of the Akamatsuverse and the Transcendental Path to Heaven were familiar with each other... ... .. . "Tell me. Is there ever a moment when you aren''t making out or ying around with someone...?" With Shiroyasha seated in hisp, Vahn adopted a sagely look on his face as he answered, "When I sleep?" Despite snorting through her nose, Shiroyasha didn''t stop Vahn from caressing her stomach. It was a very pleasant sensation, and, if she had to choose between this and pretending to be serious, she would always choose the former. "Are you going to let ck Rabbit do the summoning alone? It''s supposed to take ce in less than an hour..." Issuing a light hum in response, Vahn appeared to consider Shiroyasha''s words before asking, "Do you think that would be wise? If they are half as troublesome as you presented them to be, things might beplicated if I interact with them too soon. Would it not be better to let them join the No Names before introducing myself?" Nodding her head, Shiroyasha answered, "Probably. However, what will you do if they try to tease or hit on ck Rabbit? That girl has mellowed out quite a bit ever since you got together but she is still rather high-strung. The birth of Usalia''s kittens didn''t help..." "Right..." Releasing Shiroyasha from his embrace, Vahn motioned to rise as the petite demoness adopted an usatory pout and said, "I didn''t mean this version of you should go..." Restraining the urge to extend his hand and caress her hair, Vahn maintained a casual smile as he said, "Come on over to the workshop. I''ll be preparing lunch in a few minutes. You''re wee to join us." Exhaling a sigh, Shiroyasha''s expression melted into a look of helplessness as she saved him off, saying, "Yeah, yeah. I''ll be there. Just go..." Nodding his head, Vahn was prepared to teleport away when Shiroyasha added, "And Vahn..." Turning back, Vahn raised his brows in response to Shiroyasha''s uncharacteristically serious look as she said, "Try not to break them..." Responding with an amused chuckle, Vahn gestured a casual farewell before musing, "That depends on them, doesn''t it~?" Without waiting for Shiroyasha''s response, Vahn promptly departed the Thousand Eyes Community store. This left the petite demoness exhaling a sigh, but, almost immediately thereafter, an amused smile developed across her face as she remarked, "This should be interesting..." ... .. . Having spent thest three years preparing for this day, ck Rabbit was feeling nervous as she paced around in front of Jin. Though his appearance hadn''t changed much, the present-day Jin gave off a markedly more confident aura as he maintained a rxed smile and said, "ck Rabbit. Please, calm yourself. I''m sure everything will work out. Even if we can''t convince them to join us, I''m positive we will be able to manage something on our own. We''re not the helpless children we used to be." With her ears drooping in response to Jin''s words, ck Rabbit replied, "I know. I just can''t help feeling nervous. I mean, today is the day everyone has been waiting for. How can you stay calm?" Repeating the words Vahn had quite literally beaten into his head, Jin answered, "A capable Leader must appear calm under any circumstances. Truth be told, I''m just as nervous as you are. I just keep it hidden." Feeling marginally more at ease now that she knew Jin was also nervous, a smile developed across ck Rabbit''s face as she shifted her attention to Lily and inquired, "What about you, Lily? Are you also feeling nervous?" "Hmmm~?" Tilting her head to the side, Lily maintained her usual smile as she asked, "Why would I be nervous? Even if things don''t work out today, I''m confident we''ll be okay. I believe in Vahn and the hard work everyone has put in thesest six months." Punctuating her words, Lily''s smile became even more radiantly as the trio of tails behind her body twitched yfully. With the singr exception of ck Rabbit, she was now the strongest member of the No Names. She had no intention of participating in any Gift Games, but, if it was for the sake of her Community, she would do everything in her power to protect them. Exhaling a sigh, ck Rabbit found herself wishing she could be half as mature as Lily. Fortunately, thetter, while remarkably fond of Vahn, showed surprisingly little interest in him as a member of the opposite sex. Rather, she even viewed Seraphina and Usalia, people who were much older than she was, as children who needed to be looked after. It was a very strange phenomenon. Almost as if she possessed an Innate rted to maternal instincts... "Having fun?" "Waaaaah!?" Despite recognizing the voice in an instant, ck Rabbit was so startled that she nearly jumped into the ceiling. Fortunately, Vahn managed to catch her with his telekinesis, a soft chuckle emanating from his throat as he pulled her toward him and said, "You appear to be nervous..." With her hair turning a vibrant shade of pink, ck Rabbit found herself wholly unable to respond to Vahn''s words as he wrapped his arms around her body and gave her a gentle hug. This caused the ears atop Lily''s head to twitch, her expression practically beaming as she pressed the tips of her fingers together and softly mused, "How cute~." Though Lily''s remark made him feel a little exasperated, Jin did his best to maintain the facade of a capable leader as he cleared his throat and said, "Wee, Vahn. It''s good to see you." Returning a curt nod, Vahn ignored the slightly ufortable aura radiating from Jin''s body as he asked, "How''ve you been, chibi? It''s been a couple of days since Ist stopped by. You haven''t been cking off, have you?" Paling quite a bit, cold sweat began to break out across Jin''s body as he forced himself to continue smiling and said, "I would never..." in an honest yet slightly awkward tone. He never felt like he was doing enough to meet Vahn''s expectations, as, every time he made any kind of progress, it was like the goal post had been moved exponentially further away... Adopting a slightly serious look, Vahn said, "I''ll confirm it for myselfter on. For now, what are your ns regarding the problem children? Have you considered how you''re going to convince them?" No longer able to maintain his facade, Jin exhaled a defeated sigh before exining, "I don''t know anything about them so I nned to rendezvous with them at the Outer Gate before taking them to one of the Cafes run by the Six Scars Community. From what I have learned thus far, theye from rtively normal worlds that run parallel to one another. I''m hoping that the presence of cute Catgirls and other beast people will make them more receptive to discussion..." Stroking his non-existent beard, Vahn resisted the urge to mutter naruhodo as the Cafe in question appeared within his mind. He was a regr at quite a number of kemonomimi cafes so he was well acquainted with the Six Scars Community. After all, despite being located in the East Side, they were actually affiliated with the Draco Grief Alliance governing the South. "Tell me...how did you learn about the cafe operated by the Six Scars Community?" Blinking in confusion, Jin shifted his gaze towards ck Rabbit. In response, the befuddled bunny tilted her head to the side, an adorable yet airheaded expression on her inordinately beautiful face as she naively replied, "Shiroyasha-sama rmended it...?" ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn is basically a Carrier-ss Fluff Lord..'',''Lily is a good girl (UwU)...'',''The machinations of Shiroyasha never cease xD...'') Chapter 2094: First Impressions

Chapter 2094: First Impressions

Deep in the God''s yground was a crystal clear, sapphire blueke known as Ulle''s Tear. This was the location that Vahn had been summoned by Shiroyasha, and, as fate would have it, the ce in which the third generation Problem Children would make their entrance. "U...I''m so nervous...!" Since they were, in fact, referred to as Problem Children, ck Rabbit couldn''t help feeling worried. The first generation consisted of Shiroyasha, Queen Halloween, and a Celestial Star Spirit known as Algol. These were beings capable of shaking the entire Little Garden on their own. As for the second generation, they had been responsible for the creation of the most powerful alliance in history, and, were it not for the selfishness of those leading the Divine Army, they might have revolutionized the way people lived in the Divine Realm. Simply put, every time "Problem Children" appeared, great changes were introduced to the Little Garden and its residents. ck Rabbit had witnessed some of these changes with her own two eyes so she knew, better than most, how quirky, irresponsible, and ''problematic'' Problem Children could be. "Rx. These are the people your friends ced their trust in. They might have a few quirks, but that can be said about all strong individuals. You and I aren''t exactly paragons of normalcy..." Though she felt more at ease after hearing Vahn''s words, ck Rabbit couldn''t help issuing an awkwardugh as she leaned into his caress. Around the same time, high in the sky, three massive magic circles appeared. ck Rabbit couldn''t see them, but Vahn''s perception had developed to the point that the only things that could escape his notice were things he willfully ignored. "One boy and two girls. The former''s aura makes it difficult to ascertain his true age, but his body depicts him as a young man around seventeen. As for the two girls, they should be around 14-15?" "It''s hard to imagine a bunch of teenagers possessing the strength to shake the Divine Realm..." Chuckling in response to ck Rabbit''s words, Vahn mused, "I''m not even remotely surprised. One of the things I learned during my travels between worlds is that teen angst and fate amalgamate to produce some iprehensibly powerful individuals. There are so many examples of teens saving the world in lieu of adults that it''s almost ludicrous..." "I see..." Since she had never left the Divine Realm, ck Rabbit could only take Vahn''s word for it. She knew he wouldn''t lie to her, but, at the same time, she couldn''t imagine a group of teenagers rising up to contend against being on the level of himself and Shiroyasha. The notion of someone younger than twenty defeating beings that predated the concepts of time and space seemed ridiculous. If such a thing were possible, the bnce of reality would have been destroyed long ago. Dismissing such thoughts from her mind, ck Rabbit became her characteristically bubbly self as she suggested, "Let''s hide in the bushes and then jump out when they''re looking around! I''m tired of being the only one startled and teased on a daily basis~!" Raising his brows, Vahn asked, "Do you really think that''s wise? If they''re half as troublesome as you believe them to be, startling them doesn''t seem like a particrly good idea. I can''t imagine they''ll be too pleased after crashing into the water. What if they mistake you as an enemy?" "Eh...?" Realizing the truth contained within Vahn''s words, a slight blush spread through ck Rabbit''s face as she poked her index fingers together and answered, "I just thought it would be funny to see their reactions..." Nodding his head, Vahn said, "Under normal circumstances, you''d be right. However, two of them seem to possess enhanced senses. One, the boy, has even managed to detect us from this far away. Rather than surprising them, you would only be asking them to capture and interrogate you..." Imagining the scene of her getting chased around, a nervous expression appeared on ck Rabbit''s face as she moved closer to Vahn. "Hey, now...these are people you''re trying to recruit into your Community. I don''t mind teaching them a lesson if things get out of hand, but you''ll need to be the one to convince them..." Laughing awkwardly in response to Vahn''s words, ck Rabbit took a few steps away from him before giving her cheeks a few light smacks and saying, "Alright! Just leave it to me...!" Nodding in approval, Vahn crossed his arms as he waited for the trio to finish their descent. He could easily catch them, but, as this was basically a baptism for new arrivals, they would need to rely on themselves to avoid a plunge into the icy cold waters below. "At least they''re not screaming..." Shortly after those words left Vahn''s mouth, protective membranes surrounded the trio and what appeared to be a Calico cat as they impacted the water. These prevented new arrivals from losing their lives as a result of falling, but, at the same time, the barrier pretty much guaranteed that the people being summoned either smashed into the ground or fell into a body of water... Emerging before the two girls was a blond-haired boy with the kind of spiky, windswept hair you would expect from a shonen protagonist. He had purple eyes and wore an outfit reminiscent of a Japanese High Schooler. Around his neck was a pair of white headphones with ck stripes and a me logo, but, unlike a normal pair of headphones, these were more of a fashion statement than anything else. Shortly after the heroic-looking youth appeared, a young girl with an appearance that screamed ''oujo-sama'' poked her head out of the water. She had fair skin, dark-brown hair framed by two red ribbons, and bright blue eyes. At the present moment, she was wearing a white blouse ented by a yellow ribbon, a dark-blue secretarial skirt that extended past her knees, and a pair of ck heels that had somehow managed to stay on despite the fact she had hit the water upside down. Rounding out the trio was a petite young girl with short brown hair that neatly framed her youthful face. Her outfit consisted of an open blue and white jacket that vaguely resembled the coat a nurse or a doctor might wear but without the sleeves. Beneath that, she wore a white blouse and a pair of peculiar pumpkin shorts that entuated her riding boots and the ck thigh-high socks covering her fair white legs. Though Vahn briefly met the gaze of the hazel-eyed girls, his attention was more on the cat atop her head than the moderately annoyed expression on her face. It had a base of creamy white fur with patches of pale and dark brown covering its body. The thing that confused Vahn was the fact it was a male. The vast majority of Calicos were female since the color variation typically required two X Chromosomes to create the characteristic patterns on their bodies. The .01% of Calicos that were male usually had some form of chimerism where they had an XXY Chromosomal makeup, but, from what Vahn could tell, the cat sitting atop the young girl''s head was perfectly normal. "How odd..." While others might not care about such trivial things, Vahn could be remarkably obsessive when he encountered something that contradicted his expectations. His curiosity had never waned. Rather, as time progressed, his intrigue towards the world around him gradually increased. Thus, while the trio of individuals would ordinarily be the main focus, Vahn couldn''t help wondering what kind of scenario had urred to produce a male Calico that wasn''t some kind of gic anomaly... As such thought crossed his mind, Vahn remained in the background as the trio swam to the shore and extricated themselves from the water. He noticed the blond-haired youth''s eyes briefly wander to the transparent blouse worn by the haughtier-looking girl, but, rather than continue gawking, he just smiled before turning away from her and wringing out his gakuran-style jacket. ("Eidetic memory...?") (*So it would seem...*) Recalling the game ck Rabbit was intending to y with the trio, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face. Unfortunately, he had already agreed to stay out of things unless they got out of hand. Thus, even though he was tempted to give her the advantage, he just continued to observe the trio until the haughtier-looking girl red at him and remarked, "How brazen. Hasn''t anyone ever told you it''s impolite to stare?" Raising his brows, Vahn elected to withhold his remark as ck Rabbit stepped in front of him, an awkwardugh emanating from her throat as she said, "Don''t mind Vahn. He just came to observe and make sure nothing went wrong. I''m ck Rabbit, by the way. Might I ask your names?" Though her sapphire-blue eyes never left Vahn, the haughty brte answered, "My name is Kudou Asuka. I would say it''s a pleasure to meet the two of you, but I''m not particrly fond of being dropped out of the sky and tossed into ake. If you had made a single mistake, we might have ended up as ground pizza." Chiming in the moment Asuka finished speaking, the blond-haired youth said, "Not likely. There was a strange barrier that protected us before wended in theke. Besides, from that height, it wouldn''t have made much of a difference if we hit water or solid ground. The surface tension of the water would have torn us apart." Harumphing in a haughty manner, Asuka crossed her arms beneath her fairly developed breasts as she retorted, "Does correcting people when they''re clearly exaggerating make you feel smart? Tell me, rude boy, do you have a name to go with that mean-looking face and that bird''s nest you call a hairstyle?" With his brow twitching ever so slightly, the blond-haired youth ced a hand on his hip beforebing through his bangs like an edgy teen and saying, "The dangerous and unrefined Sakamaki Izayoi at your service. I''m also crude, vicious, and hedonistic so I''m basically the worst person you''ll ever meet. You should read all the warningbels before coping an attitude, brat. y with fire, and you''re gonna get burned." Glowering in response to Izayoi''s introduction, Asuka shifted her attention to the expressionless young girl drying off the Calico, asking, "And what about you, catgirl? Care to tell us your name?" While continuing to dry off the Calico using a handkerchief that was somehow still dry, the short-haired girl looked back to answer, "Kasukabe You." Adopting a slight smile, Asuka remarked, "I see. Nice to meet you, Kasukabe." before shifting her attention back to Vahn and saying, "Now then...are you the one who sent us those invitations?" With crossed arms and a wry smile on his face, Vahn answered, "You''re not paying attention, are you? As ck Rabbit stated, I''m here to observe and prevent any idents from happening. Stop trying to antagonize me. I''m not someone you can deal with at your current level." Having already crossed her arms previously, a taunting smile developed across Asuka''s face as she remarked, "Oh? You seem pretty confident in your abilities. Perhaps I should put them to the test?" Without waiting for Vahn''s response, Asuka swiped her hand in a cutting motion as she said, "Hear mymand! Sit...!" For a very brief moment, so short that only he could perceive it, Vahn felt every muscle in his body tense in response to Asuka''s words. At the exact same moment, his Will of the Emperor awakened on its own as an ''are you serious?'' expression developed across his face. Then, before Asuka could make sense of what was happening, hezily pointed towards her, his voice resonating through the void as he tly replied, "No. You." while pointing at the ground. Before the words had even processed within her mind, Asuka found herselfnding heavily on her bottom with a remarkably incredulous look on her face... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''What is a billion years of existence to a kid going through puberty...!?'',''The mysteries of the male Calico...'',''Oof level MAX...'') Chapter 2095: Demonstration

Chapter 2095: Demonstration

"You scoundrel! What do you think you''re doing!? Release me this instant...!" Unable or perhaps unwilling to believe what had just happened, Asuka attempted to jump to her feet only to find her legs unresponsive. As a result, she could only re towards Vahn with a slightly vexed yet threatening look on her face as she demanded to be let go. Rolling his eyes, Vahn was about to let Asuka stand when Izayoi suddenly stepped up, hands in his pockets as he asserted, "Not cool, man. Going around bullying little girls? You should find yourself a better hobby." Exhaling through his nose, Vahn elected to ignore Izayoi''s remark as he released Asuka from hispulsion. He wasn''t against teaching them a lesson, but he wasn''t going to pick a fight with a bunch of kids. Not expecting Vahn to simply ''back down'', Izayoi felt as if he had just tried to punch arge cotton pillow. Most of the ''arrogant'' individuals he had encountered would either get offended or speak highly of themselves whenever someone acted casually or failed to show them respect. Thus, for a very brief moment, he wasn''t sure how to proceed until Yo helped Asuka up, saying, "We shouldn''t be fighting. Now''s the time to gather information." (A/N: I''m just going to call her Yo since Y/You doesn''t read well in English text.) "Cat girl''s right. Mind telling us why you brought us to this world, long legs?" Since it had been mentioned several times that Vahn was simply an observer, Izayoi shifted his attention to the befuddled-looking ck Rabbit. She had been floundering around at the side, but, in response to his words, she quickly regained her senses, a serious expression on her face as she said, "My name isn''t long legs! It''s ck Rabbit! As for why I invited you here...*ahem*...!" Clearing her throat, ck Rabbit performed a cutesy spin before spreading her arms and saying, "Wee, everyone, to the Little Garden~! We are willing to give the three of you a chance to participate in the fabulous Gift Games! Isn''t that exciting~!?" Though Izayoi looked like he was prepared to ask what Gift Games were, the words got caught in his throat as Yo attempted to sneak up behind ck Rabbit and grab her ears. The moment she extended her hand, however, her wrist was suddenly caught by Vahn, who, from the perspective of everyone paying attention to him, seemed to teleport. "That isn''t very polite, youngdy..." "Vahn!?" Not expecting Vahn to appear behind her, ck Rabbit ended up shouting his name as Yo, showing a genuinely apologetic expression on her face, meekly replied, "Sorry. I was just curious. I''ve never seen anyone with rabbit ears before." Releasing the young girl''s hand, Vahn adopted a genial smile as he said, "There are many different races living within the Little Garden. It''s fine to be curious but you can''t go around touching people without their permission. ck Rabbit''s ears are especially sensitive so it would have caused her a great deal of pain if you were to grab them without proper care." "Ah..." Feeling even more apologetic, Yo crossed her hands over herp before bowing at a steep angle and saying, "Sorry. I''ll be sure to keep that in mind." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn stepped off to the side so that ck Rabbit could recover and continue her exnation. He noticed that Izayoi and Asuka were both staring at him with serious expressions on their faces, but, rather than pay them any mind, he just yawned before manifesting a pocket watch out of thin air to check the time... "This guy isn''t simple..." "I''m well aware of that..." Responding to Izayoi''s remark, Asuka''s expression was far more severe than the blond-haired youth''s. Her clothes were still wet after falling into theke so her bottom was now covered in ayer of fresh dirt. She may havee to the Little Garden seeking to change her ways, but, after a lifetime of having everyone follow her will, she resented the fact there was a person with a simr yet more powerful ability than her own... As various thoughts waged war within Asuka''s mind, ck Rabbit reached the part of her speech where she wanted to challenge the trio to a Gift Game. To that end, she pulled out a deck of cards, saying, "Since a single exnation might not suffice, how about we all y a simple Gift Game right now~?" Since he had half-expected a fight to break out, Izayoi''s brows furrowed slightly the moment he saw the deck of cards, asking, "For real...?" in an audibly annoyed tone. Without losing her stride, ck Rabbit returned an excited smile as she said, "Of course! You see, there are all kinds of Communities within the Little Garden. It isn''t strictly required but all residents of this world typically belong to various small, medium, andrge-scale organizations. Rather, with few exceptions, it would be difficult for most people to survive without joining a Community." Snapping her fingers, ck Rabbit caused a rather luxurious dealer''s table to appear out of thin air as she added, "Now then, I wouldn''t mind letting the three of you join the Community ck Rabbit is a part of. However, if you can''t even win a simple Gift Game, it will cause serious problems for us. You''d be in the way and a real drain on resources. Basically, the three of you would be nothing but trouble and we can''t have that now can we~?" Despite her nervousness, ck Rabbit managed a smug smile that caused the faces of Izayoi and Asuka to scrunch up slightly. As for Yo, she just yed with the paws of her cat with a nk look on her face. She was paying attention, but, unlike the other two, she wasn''t bothered by ck Rabbit''s taunting words. "Now wait just a minute! We haven''t even epted!" Never one to allow others to dictate the flow, Asuka took a stand with the intention of gaining a bit of leverage in the conversation. In response, ck Rabbit just crossed her arms with an ostensibly helpless expression on her face before cupping her cheek and remarking, "If you''re afraid, we can just send you back. However, if you turn back now, you''ll never have a chance to experience whatys beyond your original worlds. Would you really be satisfied with that~?" Clicking her tongue, Asuka approached the table with a serious expression on her face as she said, "I''m not afraid of anything. Now, tell me, what are the rules?" Though she was tempted tomand ck Rabbit to exin the rules, Asuka held back when she noticed Vahn squint his eyes. She didn''t know the full extent of his power at the moment, so, until the Gift Game officially began, she couldn''t use her Gift wantonly. "It''s simple, really~!" After spreading the cards out in a wless, evenly spaced arc, ck Rabbit spread her hands happily as she exined, "You just need to pick a face card from among these fifty-two face down cards on the table. However, you only get one chance and each person only gets to draw a single card." Adopting a contemtive expression, Asuka was about to ask whether or not they could use any method to inspect the cards when Izayoi suddenly chimed in to say, "Boring. You clearly brought us here for something more important than this. How ''bout we skip the small stuff and move on to the big boy problems? At the very least, you could havee up with something more interesting than a simple card game." Not expecting such an interjection, the smile on ck Rabbit''s face froze as the ears atop her head twitched in frustration. She had worked really hard toe up with a simple game to serve as the trio''s introduction to Gift Games as a whole. It was also intended to serve as a segue into a number of other topics so she wasn''t quite sure how to proceed now that someone had interrupted... Surprised by ck Rabbit''s remarkably ''innocent'' reaction, an inaudible sigh escaped Izayoi''s throat as hebed back his hair and said, "At least spice things up a little. How about a rule stating you tell us which face cards to draw. We can also make things more interesting by cing something of substantial value on the line. If you really want us to spook us, you should have made the stakes as high as possible from the start. A regr card game just seems pointless. Wouldn''t you agree, big guy?" Raising his brows, Vahn replied, "I''m not a part of this. If I got involved, the only way you could win is with a handicap. Besides, there isn''t really anything you could offer me. Even if your Gifts evolved to be the most powerful in the Divine Realm, they would just be another random card among the functionally infinite number I already possess. I don''t mind humoring you, but I''m more than a little out of your league at the present moment." Raising his hand, Vahn produced a metal cube approximately 1km in diameter from his Inventory. It didn''t exactly blot out the sky, but, having lived in modern settings where most other people didn''t possess any form of superpower, the trio''s eyes widened in shock as it began its descent. "How about this for a Gift Game. Stop the fall of this cube. You can use any means necessary so long as you stop it before it hits the ground. If you win, you can make any single request from me. If you don''t ask for my help, you die. If you do ask for my help, you lose and have to join ck Rabbit''s Community. High enough stakes for you, brat...?" With a Geass Roll manifesting out of thin air, Vahn made it clear he wasn''t ying around. At the same time, the cube of steel, weighing nearly eight billion tons, continued falling towards them as a massive amount of wind pressured began to press down on the surrounding forest. Staring up at the apocalyptic sight, an amused smile spread across Izayoi''s face as he shrugged his shoulders and remarked, "Okay, old man. You called my bluff. Call off your meteor. I''ll be a good sport and participate in ck Rabbit''s little card game..." Though he returned a smile, Vahn didn''t ce the cube back into his Inventory. Instead, he began to close his hand, his fingers trembling as he attempted to force it into a fist. At the same time, the massive metal cube began to release a monstrously loud sound as its perfect corners and t faces began to deform into the shape of a sphere. It took a lot more effort than he expected, but, once everything was said and done, Vahn managed topress the sphere to the size of a softball-sized white orb that released a tremendous amount of heat and energy. Catching the orb with his transformed arms, Vahn adopted a serious expression as he met the gazes of the trio and exined, "This is the Divine Realm. This is the home of the most powerful being in all realities. The three of you may have unlimited potential but you''ll need to work hard if you want to stand at the top. For now, try and get to the point where you can casually shatter a with a punch. That wouldn''t be enough for me to take you seriously, but it''s a step in the right direction." Having drained all the energy from the glowing white ball, a shimmering ck lump appeared in Vahn''s hand. Under normal circumstances, its mass would have produced a localized gravitational field. Instead, Vahn ced a magical seal on its surface so that its weight would only affect people willfully trying to pick it up. After that, he ced it on the ground for some random person or God to findter on... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Bad touch...!'',''Asuka is a very prideful youngdy...'',''*Heavy sweating*...'') Chapter 2096: Expectations vs Reality

Chapter 2096: Expectations vs Reality

With twelve face cards in a deck of fifty-two, the odds of choosing one at random were around twenty-three percent. Unfortunately, such probabilities didn''t matter in the slightest when the rules of a Gift Game were left vague. ck Rabbit had made the mistake of keeping the rules a little too simple. The only conditions were that yers could only choose once and that each yer could only select a single card. How they went about selecting a card and how they chose to interact with the Game Board weren''t mentioned at all. Thus, if they really wanted to, Izayoi and the other could have literally flipped over the Game Board. Instead, Izayoi simply pped his hand on the table, an act of choosing his card that simultaneously sent the others flying into the air. Thanks to her connection to the Little Garden''s Central Network, ck Rabbit was able to ascertain whether or not yers had cheated. Thus, even though she was more than a little annoyed by the oue, there wasn''t anything she could do to protest. "See what I mean? Not exactly the most heart-pounding game you could havee up with." Waving around his King of Clubs, Izayoi had a sly and teasing grin on his face as he stared down the exasperated ck Rabbit. Fortunately for thetter, Vahn had shot her down when she attempted to follow his example by promising to let each of them make a request of her should they win. They weren''t actually betting anything, so, from the perspective of the Little Garden''s Central Network, it wasn''t even remotely fair to afford them such a right. Exhaling a sigh, ck Rabbit visibly deted as she answered, "I just wanted to show you how we do things here in the Little Garden. Unless I''m mistaken, the three of you came from were rtively normal worlds, correct? I figured it would be pretty exciting to see magic and manifestation right in front of your eyes." Flicking his card onto the table, Izayoi adopted a confident grin as he shifted his attention to Vahn and said, "Yeah, I get that. However, if this world really is as amazing as the invitation letter made it out to be, something a little shier would have been nice. I don''t know what it said on the letters of the little missies, but mine promised I would be able to have fun, meet powerful foes, and all that jazz. I didn''t exactlye here to y card games." Nodding her head in assent, Asuka said, "Scary face here is correct. While it wouldn''t be inurate to say I''vee here to y around, my main goal is to reach the top. I abandoned everything. My fame, fortune, and even my family toe here. Something as simple as a game of cards isn''t even a challenge." Though she was far more polite than the other two, Yo followed Asuka''s words with a curt nod of her own. She had actuallye here to make friends, but, at the same time, she wanted to prove that she was no longer the same weak and sickly girl she once was. Since the trio had shifted their gazes to Vahn, ck Rabbit couldn''t help looking towards him with a wry smile on her face. In response, he issued a light chuckle before adopting a paradoxically serious yet casual expression as he said, "The Divine Realm serves as something like a point of reference for everything in the lower worlds. There is nothing you can''t find here. You''re currently very weak, but, with a bit of effort, it won''t be long before you rival the Gods themselves. Heck, if you really wanted to, bing a God yourself is a rtively simple task. It all depends on you." "So all I need to do is make an effort and I''ll be able to knock you off your high horse? I''m looking forward to it." Shaking his head in response to Izayoi''s taunting remark, Vahn adopted a challenging smile of his own as he said, "I''m not like other Gods, brat. They might be content with just sitting around, but I''m constantly growing stronger. It takes a lot more than teen angst to defeat someone like me." As he was used to people calling him edgy, Izayoi simplyughed in response to Vahn''s words. He was confident that, so long as he was able to grow stronger, it was only a matter of time before he overcame the man standing before him. It didn''t matter how long it took. He wouldn''t give up until he had, at the very least, given the former a good punch in the face. Restraining augh of his own, Vahn uncrossed his arms, saying, "You should hurry back and meet with Jin. This is the first time anyone in the No Names has left the Community ground in thest six months. People will have noticed." Though he could always keep an eye on Jin from the shadows, Vahn''s contract with the No Names had, technically, already expired. He wasn''t going to keep babysitting them, so, unless they made an official request for assistance, he would be observing how things y out alongside Shiroyasha. After all, he still had a Community of his own to look after. pping her hands together, ck Rabbit adopted a smile as she said, "Vahn''s right. Master Jin is already waiting for us near the outer gate. Once the three of you have registered as yers, we''ll have lunch at a cozy little Cafe called La Solei. After that, we''ll introduce the three of you to the rest of the Community. Everyone has been looking forward to meeting you~!" "Question." Blinking in surprise, ck Rabbit tilted her head adorably to the side as she replied, "Yes, Asuka...?" Pointing towards Vahn, Asuka asked, "Is that man a member of your Community?" Answering in ck Rabbit''s stead, Vahn pointed to the hearth-like badge on his chest, saying, "I''m the Leader of a Community known as Sage Dragon''s Hearth. We''re a neutral organization affiliated with the Eastern Floor Master. We help to keep the peace but our main services include protection, healing, Gift rentals, equipment production, construction, and upgrades. If you''d like to learn more, we have a branch operating within the Community you''ll be joining." "I see. And what if we don''t want to join ck Rabbit''s Community? What then?" Since she was used to being the one in charge, Asuka wasn''t particrly enthused by the notion of following someone else''s orders. She didn''t know what joining a Community entailed, but, knowing this was a mysteriousnd with magic, Gods, and even Demons, she suspected there were powerful and binding contracts involved. The Geass Roll was a perfect example of this. Plopping his hand atop the slightly nervous ck Rabbit''s head, Vahn gently caressed the space between her ears as he said, "You''re free to do whatever you want. However, if you refuse to join the No Names, you''re certain to regret it. They invested a lot of resources into your summoning and have spent thest three years anticipating your arrival. Once you learn about their situation, you''re pretty much guaranteed to feel like an ass if you refuse to help. Those two, especially." Though Yo seemed unconcerned, Izayoi furrowed his brows as he asked, "What do you mean? Also, three years? Exactly how long have you been keeping an eye on us?" Having already discussed the matter with Shiroyasha, Vahn ultimately shook his head in response to Izayoi''s words, stating, "It isn''t my ce to reveal such details. It will be more meaningful if you find out the answers on your own. Besides, you came to this world looking for fun, entertainment, and, most importantly, a challenge. Do you want me to hold your hand and narrate things for you as you go along?" Clicking his tongue, Izayoi put his hands in his pockets as he said, "Whatever. Let''s just get on with it." before walking in the direction of the Little Garden''s Outer Gates. He had already made a simple map of his surroundings during his brief freefall so he wouldn''t get lost unless some kind of trickery was at y. Seeing Izayoi walk off on his own, an exasperated sigh escaped ck Rabbit''s throat as she shook her head and said, "He really is a problem child..." Though he felt Izayoi''s behavior was pretty normal, Vahn still nodded his head as he retracted his hand from ck Rabbit''s and said, "I''ll see you back at the estate." Surprising Asuka, Yo, and even ck Rabbit herself, Vahn attempted to cheer thetter up with a rtively tame kiss. This caused the roots of her hair to turn pink, but, before she could ''explode'' fully, Vahn released her with a smile before promptly disappearing into thin air. "That exins a lot..." As if she had suddenly gained some kind of insight, Asuka continued to observe the statuesque ck Rabbit for several seconds before turning to Yo and asking, "What are you intending to do, Kasakabe-san?" Without any meaningful changes in her expression, Yo turned to meet Asuka''s gaze as she said, "He mentioned something about ck Rabbit''s Community needing our help. If that''s true, I want to try and help them. What about you, Kudou-san?" Adopting a smile, Asuka said, "Please, call me Asuka. As for what I intend to do...well, I was thinking of forming a Community of my own. For now, however, I don''t mind lending a hand. It all depends on what the members of ck Rabbit''s Community expect of us." Returning a slight smile, Yo said, "You can call me Yo." before holding up the Calico cat in her arms and saying, "This little one is called Calico Cat. We came here together to make friends." Blinking in surprise, Asuka asked, "Friends? Really...?" Nodding her head in affirmation, Yo allowed Calico Cat to dangle from her shoulder as she said, "I used to be very sick. Now that I can move around on my own, I want to see and do all the things I couldn''t do before. That includes making friends." Though it didn''t show on her face, Asuka felt a strange sense of guilt when she heard Yo''s words. A part of her wanted to ask what was wrong with her, but, feeling that would be a little too personal, she just said, "I''ll be your friend, Yo. There''s a good chance we''ll be working alongside one another for the foreseeable future. Besides, you know what they say. Us girls need to stick together." While she had never heard the phrase in question, Yo''s smile became noticeably more radiant as she linked her hands together like a prayer and said, "Thank you, Asuka. Now I can brag to all the animals that I finally have a human friend." With the smile on her face freezing, Asuka asked, "Does that mean I''m your first real friend...?" Shaking her head, Yo''s expression became strangely serious as she said, "I have lots of real friends. Calico Cat is one of them. There is also Shiro-san, Beryl-chan, Kokoroko-sama, Machio-kun..." Hearing Yo list off the names of her animalpanions, Asuka began to feel that the girl in front of her must have lived a very lonely existence. At the same time, she got the impression that Yo was an extremely kind, innocent, and, most troubling of all, naive young girl. "For the time being, the two of us should stick together as much as possible. Okay?" Though she noticed the shift in Asuka''s tone, Yo simply tilted her head to the side for a brief moment before nodding her head and answering, "Okay." Exhaling a sigh of relief, the smile returned to Asuka''s face as she looked towards the patiently waiting ck Rabbit and said, "Lead the way, bunny girl." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Izayoi be like, "Resist authority...!"'',''Asuka ying with fire...'',''Yo is a good girl...'') Chapter 2097: The Gears of Fate

Chapter 2097: The Gears of Fate

After arriving at the Workshop, Vahn was unsurprised to find Leticia waiting in the foyer for him. It was quitemon for her to greet him upon his return. This time, however, she wasn''t wearing her maid outfit. Instead, her body was garbed in a long-sleeved, blood-red overcoat, a ck blouse, a short white skirt, grey and ck stockings, red leather boots, and a grey tie. There were also a series of belts dangling her blouse which served as fasteners for a piece of white fabric that converted her skirt into a dress. "Worried...?" Since the outfit was basically Leticia''sbat attire, Vahn could guess what she was thinking even without the aid of Loi-chan. Raising her head, Leticia revealed a marginally concerned expression as she said, "Since I have never met them, I can''t help feeling nervous about entrusting my former Community to them. Please give me permission to test them..." Drawing closer to the anxious Vampire Princess, Vahn cradled the sides of Leticia''s fair white face with his hands, a gentle look in his eyes as he said, "You don''t need my permission for things like this. Just try not to get caught. That blond-haired boy, Izayoi, has supernatural sensory abilities. If you get too close, he would notice you without fail." Punctuating his words, Vahn ran his thumbs along the upper ridge of Leticia''s ears, a mixture of calming energies and source flowing into her body as he leaned in to give her a prolonged yet rtively tame kiss. She didn''t really show it due to an Innate that basically gave her a calm and clear mind at all times, but she was the type to get riled up by even minor disys of affection. "Vahn..." With a slight pout on her face, Leticia stared up at Vahn, her carmine eyes glistening slightly as she habitually gripped his tunic. In response, Vahn just issued a light chuckle before gently grabbing her wrists and asking, "Didn''t you have somece to be...?" Adopting a remarkably cute frown, Leticia released Vahn''s tunic before sprouting a pair of shadowy wings with a red tint and saying, "I''ll be back soon...". Then, without waiting for a response, she fell into her own shadow before vanishing in an instant. Though most Vampirescked a shadow, Leticia had earned hers after reaching the System Tree that served as the Nexus of the Little Garden''s Central Network. It was basically a World Tree that served as a dimensional anchor for the Divine Realm, but, unlike the Yggdrasil located in the South, the System Tree resembled a giant crystal that glowed with countless circuit-like lines. Very few people were given the opportunity to interact with the System Tree, but, due to the efforts of her people, Leticia had been elevated to the status of a Dragon Knight after reaching its base and cing her palm upon its trunk. That same event earned the Vampires the designation as the Little Garden''s protectors, but, due to the failures of the Divine Army, the once-noble race was eventually wiped out due to greed. Leticia was one of only three Vampires that still possessed a shadow in the present day. Rather than a normal shadow, however, Leticia could manipte hers to produce shadowy constructs that could rival Divine Armaments at her peak. She was far from that level now, but, thanks to Vahn, it wouldn''t be long before she managed to both regain and exceed her previous level of strength. With such thoughts on his mind, Vahn transitioned to the kitchen where Shirayukihime, Sarina, and Nono were working on a massive pot of curry. Usalia was also present, but, instead of helping out, she was sitting face-down at the dining room table with several of their children ying around on and around her body. Noticing Vahn''s presence before anyone else, Usalia raised her head, tears in her eyes as she said, "Save me, plip..." Chuckling in amusement, Vahn split himself into three to deal with the rambunctious bunnies and assist in the cooking. It didn''t really bother him that Usalia struggled as a parent. Rather, he was a little happy she was having a few difficulties as it effectively nipped the idea of producing millions of babies in the bud. She relied on him to deal with the vast majority of the children, and, though he had never breastfed them, there were times when he even pretended to be Usalia so that their children wouldn''t feel like she was avoiding them... ... .. . "You''re telling me those brats got baited into a Gift Game less than an hour after they registered as yers? How?" Shrugging her shoulders in false helplessness, Shiroyasha maintained her usual smile as she said, "It has nothing to do with me. If anything, it was your overprotectiveness that led to this development. Ever since you erected that barrier, numerous groups have been keeping tabs on the No Names. It''s only natural that something would happen when their Leader reveals himself for the first time in six months." Exhaling a sigh, Vahn resisted the urge to ask about the specifics regarding the Community that had targetted the No Names. Jin might becking in quite a number of categories, but he was confident in the progress his young apprentice had made. There shouldn''t be any Communities in the six and seven-digit Gates capable of defeating him in a ''fair'' battle. He was also quite intelligent, so, even if they pulled a fast one on him, he should be fine. The real question was whether or not the Problem Children would listen to him... Since he had already done quite a bit for the recovering Community, Vahn just shook his head. They had their own path to walk. They were also guided by a powerful fate, so, unless they requested his assistance, he should let them live and act as they pleased. If anything, he would just pop over in his non-existent state to check things out. With that in mind, Vahn met Shiroyasha''s gaze and said, "Your friends in the South have been pretty quiet ever since they sent that missive expressing their gratitude. Anything interesting happen since then?" Exhaling a sigh of her own, Shiroyasha manifested the television remote before pointing it towards the TV. Once it had turned on, the screen reflected an army facing off against what appeared to be a monster horde as she exined, "Avalon had done a lot to allow Lesser Dragons and other types of mythical beasts to prosper in thends surrounding the South''s Outer Gates. Ever since their fall, the brood of various powerful creatures have been assaulting the South Side in an effort to weaken the Draco Grief Alliance and cause as much devastation as possible. It''s quite the predicament." Raising his brow, Vahn asked, "How hasn''t news of this spread to the rest of the Little Garden? What is the Divine Army doing?" Snorting through her nose, Shiroyasha stated, "The Gods in control of the Divine Realm are basically just a bunch bureaucrats. Unless an official request is filed and processed, they won''t even consider mobilizing the Divine Army. The only two groups that had the authority to file such a request were the Knights and Aristocrats of the Little Garden. In other words, only Leticia and ck Rabbit could ever hope to make such a request. Even then, the odds of the big wigs taking action are pretty slim. Ever since thest battle against the Demon Dragon God, the Divine Army lost more than 90% of its members. They aren''t exactly eager to fight anotherrge-scale battle." "So you''re telling me a monster horde is allowed to freely attack the South Side without any form of repercussions? So much for everything being decided with Gift Games..." Giggling in response to Vahn''s remark, Shiroyasha surprised him by saying, "This is actually a Gift Game that has been going on for a very long time. The various Pantheons in the South have always been warmongers and battle-crazed idiots. Most of the people that live there are warriors of some kind. In other words, fighting is one of the things that gives their life purpose. As troublesome as the monster horde is, most of the people living in the South enjoy being able to cut loose without the stiption of rules." Recalling that the South was filled with people descended from the Norse, Greek, Roman, Woden, and Mesopotamian Gods, Vahn wasn''t too surprised by Shiroyasha''s statement. He just found the notion of an endless war somewhat mundane. He also knew that not everyone in the South would appreciate the never-ending ughter. Rather, he had already met numerous individuals who had migrated from the South after getting fed up with their original Communities... Shaking his head, Vahn said, "Whatever." before rising to his feet. This earned him a slight frown from Shiroyasha, who, over thest six months, hade to look forward to their various ''ys''. Understanding the pale-haired imp''s thoughts, Vahn said, "I promised Seraphina I would take her on a date once our contract with the No Names had expired. She may not have worked hard these past six months, but she did her best to avoid causing trouble. I should be backter this evening." Though she was tempted to ask him to leave a version of himself behind, Shiroyasha was aware of the promise Vahn had made with Seraphina. He promised she would have him all to herself for an entire evening, so, unless something drastic happened, there was nothing that could get Vahn to go back on his words. "At least give me a kiss before you leave..." As he had been dying his departure for that exact reason, a teasing smile developed across Vahn''s face as he supported Shiroyasha by her butt and gave her a long and passionate kiss. There wasn''t much to hold onto, but, ever since he had sprouted a tail for her, she never asked him to get rid of it. As a result, her tail flickered about in a manner reminiscent of a true Cat Person as he held her close for the better part of ten minutes... ... .. . "After hearing that tale of tragedy, I expected this ce to look a little more...deste..." Having followed Jin and ck Rabbit to the Land of the No Names, Izayoi was surprised to find grassy ins, a verdant forest, and vast fields of glistening golden wheat. There was also a rather sizeable vige looming in the distance, and, most notably, a massive fortress-like castle with ivory walls and vibrant blue rooftops. Rather than the territory of a struggling Community, it looked like the kind of idyllic Castle Town you''d find in a fantasy novel. Offering a friendly smile in response to Izayoi''s words, Jin exined, "We have Vahn to thank for the quick recovery of thend. If you had arrived approximately six or seven months ago, much of what you see now would have been a wastnd. We didn''t even have a Water Tree so the children would have to venture outside to collect water. Now that we no longer have his protection, we''ll be relying on the three of you to prevent opportunistic Communities from targeting us." Snorting through his nose, Izayoi made his way further into the territory as Asuka asked, "That man, Vahn. Just how powerful is he...?" Shaking his head, Jin replied, "No one really knows. There are many mysteries surrounding the Sage Dragon Emperor and his Community. All anyone knows for certain is that he managed to defeat a 5-Digit Community without any effort whatsoever. Based on the rumors that have been circting, many presume him to possess the strength of a God around the 3-Digit Gates. Given his status as a Pure-Blood Dragon, however, there is a very real chance he is much stronger than that..." Though Asuka seemed somewhat taken aback by Jin''s words, Yo perked up the moment she heard Vahn was a Dragon. She had always been fascinated by the various creatures found in myths and fantasy, so, while others might have been intimidated by such knowledge, she couldn''t help but ask, "If I asked nicely, do you think he would be my friend?" ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Save me, plip...'',''Shiroyasha is slowly bing a good kitty (UwU)...'',''Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes...!<---Is this a mother-f**kin'' Jojo''s reference!?'') Chapter 2098: Reputation

Chapter 2098: Reputation

Ignoring the awkward yet fervent gazes of the Chefs observing him, Vahn dutifully prepared his and Seraphina''s meals while his main body kept the woman in questionpany. Though they had visited one of the most luxurious restaurants in the 6-Digit Gates, the food hadn''t suited Seraphina''s pte. Fortunately, he had reserved the entire restaurant, so, while the Chef and his team were more than a little offended to learn their cooking wasn''t up to snuff, it hadn''t taken much effort to convince the owner to lend him the kitchen. While that was going on, Vahn and Seraphina were leaning over the rtively small circr table separating them, their faces mere centimeters apart as they yed with each others'' hands. They weren''t doing anything overtly sexual, but, from the perspective of others, the atmosphere within the dimly lit restaurant had be noticeably steamy. This was primarily due to the aura that was exuded from Seraphina''s body. She was, after all, a Subus. "It''s about time I had you all to myself. I''m not going to say I don''t mind sharing you with others. In fact, it pisses me off whenever I see you ying around with other women. You better make it up to me..." Restraining the urge to chuckle, Vahn maintained an affectionate smile as he traced his thumb over Seraphina''s and said, "Your wish is mymand..." With a yful glimmer in her eyes, Seraphina brought her face a little closer to Vahn''s as she asked, "Is that so~?" in a mischievous tone. Drawing his face closer, Vahn''s nose briefly grazed Seraphina''s as he whispered, "Within reason..." "Pfft...!" Unable to contain herself, Seraphina covered her mouth in a vain attempt to stifle her giggle. Then, with a serious expression on her face, she resumed their previous distance and said, "I''m a Demon Lord and a woman. I don''t do reasonable..." Punctuating her words, Seraphina yanked on Vahn''s tie before aggressively seizing his lips. He had dressed up for the asion, so, rather than his characteristic dark grey tunic, sash, and trousers, he was wearing a stylish, rune-engraved suit. As for Seraphina, she was dressed up in a dress that was unsuited for appearing in public. It was remarkably transparent, and, though it had been enchanted to conceal all the important parts, it left very little to the imagination. Pulling away after several seconds, Seraphina licked her lips in an overtly seductive manner before leaving Vahn somewhat taken aback as she said, "I want you to ravish me. Right here. Right now. I don''t care if these insects watch. I want everyone in the Little Garden to know you belong to me..." Had he been a normal person, Vahn would have gently chided Seraphina for making such a request. Fortunately, he was anything but. Thus, after a moment of consideration, he startled the pink-haired beauty by flipping over the table and pulling her toward him. This caused her pupils to immediately convert into hearts, a girlish "kyaa~!" emanating from her throat as they proceed toy waste to the entire restaurant. As for the restaurant staff, they continued to stand in their original positions with slightly dull eyes, wholly unaware of what was taking ce right in front of them... ... .. . Like many of the beast humans inhabiting the Little Garden, Galdo Gasper used to be a rtively normal animal. His current appearance resembled a muscr man with tanned skin, pointed ears, sharp teeth, deep green eyes, and rows of sharp teeth. Several years ago, however, he had been little more than an ordinary tiger, one of many wild animals roaming the God''s yground. After a chance encounter that allowed him to absorb a fair amount of spiritual energy, Galdo had evolved into what many referred to as a Weretiger. At that time, his body was evenrger than it was in the present. He had stood more than 3m in height, possessed a tiger''s head, and, as could be expected, his entire body had been covered in fur. Though he could still assume his Weretiger form, the current Galdo appeared more human than beast. He had made a contract with a Demon Lord to drastically increase his intelligence while also enhancing his looks. These were two of the most important traits when it came to socializing with humans, so, despite caring very little about such things, Galdo did his best to present himself as a charming and charismatic individual. In reality, Galdo was still the same brutal and ruthless creature he had been when he was a tiger. He only made an effort to blend into society because he was determined to w his way up the socialdder and secure his ce as the Leader of an entire Gate. He also had ambitions of ascending to Godhood in the future, so, even if it was only an act, he didn''t mind putting on a smile and ying human. Unfortunately, just as he was beginning to gain ground within the Gate his Community operated in, Galdo experienced the setback known as the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. He was originally given the task of putting pressure on the surrounding Communities while simultaneously keeping tabs on the No Names. In the beginning, Galdo had an easy time gaining influence. He was backed by the most powerful faction of Demon Lords in the entire Little Garden, the [666 Beast] Community. They didn''t actively support him, but, just by using their name, he was able to cow weaker Communities into obedience. Those that resisted? He just needed to kidnap some of their children, ckmail their members, and then force them into a one-sided Gift Game. Everything had been incredibly easy. Now, thanks to the Burgeoning Communities ord, putting pressure on weaker Communities was next to impossible. You could try, but, the moment one of the weaker Communities made a request to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, your days were numbered. The most frustrating thing about this was the fact that Vahn wasn''t even the Ruler of any particr Gate. He simply imposed his will on others without a care, and, no matter how powerful the Community he targetted was, it only took a single evening for him to either wipe out or cripple them. If not for his Master informing him toy low, Galdo knew his Community would have been among the first to be wiped out. It wasmon knowledge these days that the Sage Dragon Emperor had a soft spot for children, so, the moment a Community was discovered mistreating children, the lives of its members were effectively forfeit. Due to their incessant whining and demands for food and water, Galdo had started killing all of the children he had purportedly taken hostage. By the time he had defeated the opposing Community in a Gift Game, it didn''t matter whether or not they wanted the children released. They would have no grounds to make such demands. Rather, due to the terms of the Geass Scroll, the lives of pretty much everyone in the opposing Community would be his to dictate. Though he didn''t regret his actions in the slightest, Galdo knew he wouldn''t be able to defeat the Sage Dragon Emperor in a fair fight. If his actions were made public, it would only be a matter of time before he was wiped out. Thus, when he was ordered by his Master to approach the yers the No Names were trying to recruit, Galdo was honestly apprehensive. Unfortunately, his contractpelled him to obey, so, with the best smile he could muster, he sat down at the same table as Jin, ck Rabbit, Yo, Asuka, and Izayoi. At first, things seemed to be going smoothly since the No Names didn''t really have anything to offer. They basically just wanted to piggyback off the sess of others so Galdo was confident he could convince both the trio and ck Rabbit to join his Community. Unfortunately, the moment he began to talk bad about the No Names, Asuka used her Gift to force him to remain silent and keep still as shembasted him. To make matters exponentially worse, Asuka followed her harsh lecture by forcing Galdo to reveal the truth regarding the rtive sess of his Community. This included disclosing the fates of the children, so, in ast-ditch effort to silence them, he forced himself into his Weretiger form only to be ced in an armlock by the frail-looking Yo. Though he was indescribably incensed by the notion that such a small girl could pin him, the thing that angered Galdo the most was the casualness in which everyone else present reacted. The only person that seemed even remotely concerned by the sudden esction was ck Rabbit, who, after hearing what he had done to the children, red at him with eyes like daggers. As for Asuka, Izayoi, and even Jin, they just continued sipping their coffee with rtively calm expressions on their faces. Fortunately, ck Rabbit was still a Moon Rabbit. She couldn''t condone violence, so, before things could get further out of hand, she suggested they settle things in ordance with the Laws of the Little Garden. This might have provided some relief to others, but, knowing how absolutely screwed he was the moment his crimes were made public, Galdo had no choice but to wager his Community against the silence of the other party. "Those fucking bastards! I swear! Once this is over, I''ll find a way to kill every single fucking one of them! I don''t care how long it takes...!" After returning to his mansion-like estate, Galdo ended up thrashing his office in a fit of blind rage. He had never been pressured like this since he evolved. Instead, it was always him putting pressure on others. After all, he was a predator and a carnivore. He wa different from the sheep and fodder that made up the vast majority of the Little Garden''s poption. "You pitiful creature..." Hearing a feminine voice tickle his ears, Galdo''s right arm more than tripled in size as he swiped his ws towards the direction it hade from. To his surprise, his attack was casually intercepted by what appeared to be a little girl with golden blonde hair as she said, "You are too weak to serve as a proper test for those three. I will grant you a bit of strength so that you don''tpletely embarrass yourself..." "Wha...?" Before he could ask what the mysterious little girl was talking about, Galdo''s world went dark as he was mmed face-first into the ground. Then, just as his consciousness began to fade away, he felt a sharp pinch in his neck. This was immediately followed by an intense heat, and, momentster, a feeling of power began to swell from deep within as the girl pulled away to remark, "Disgusting..." ... .. . Though he could have reversed time to repair the damage they had caused, Vahnpensated the staff of the restaurant by handing out a few Gift Cards rted to cooking. Seraphina simply loved extravagance, so, with Gift Cards being the most extravagant form of currency in the entire Divine Realm, Vahn didn''t mind handing a few out if it would make her happy. "Oh-hohohohohoho~! How daring! As expected of my husband~!" Amused by the ingratiating behavior of the restaurant staff, Seraphina couldn''t helpughing out loud. Parts of their ceiling were literally beginning to cave in yet they instantly adopted sincere and excited smiles the moment Vahn began to hand out Gift Cards. This was the ''beauty'' of wealth, as, even if you inconvenienced people to no end, they would quickly forgive you so long as you gave them a few gentle smacks with a wad of cash. Smiling wryly in response to Seraphina''s outburst, Vahn snaked his hand around her hips before offering a curt gesture of farewell towards the befuddled restaurant staff. Then, under the envious eyes of countless individuals, he summoned a massive and luxurious airship to take them home... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Seraphina has expensive tastes...'',''You deserve everythinging to you, cat brat...'',''Vahn be flexin...'') Chapter 2099: Frustration

Chapter 2099: Frustration

After returning to the workshop, Vahn whisked Seraphina away in a princess carry before sneakily making a second version of himself to check in on Usalia, Hime, Sarina, and Nono. There was no way Usalia could look after all their children on her own so he had effectively bribed everyone else to lend a hand. Poking his head in the room, Vahn adopted a casual smile as he said, "Yo~!" while casually waving his hand. In response, the twelve balls of fluff immediately perked up before scampering towards him in a rush to be the first. At the same time, everyone except Nono breathed a sigh of relief as, even if they divided the workload, they still needed to care for three children each. "Wee home, Master." Being the first to recover, Hime rose to her feet and offered a polite bow that was quickly followed by Nono. This waspletely unnecessary, but, considering he hadn''t ordered them to do so, Vahn just returned a smile as he used his Telekinesis to prevent his children from falling as they raced to reach the top of his head and shoulders. As was often the case, it was a pink-haired bunny named Momoiro that managed to secure the spot atop Vahn''s head. They had a penchant for being first in everything they did. This included being born, and, more notably, their development. Excluding the ears, they were a full 5cm taller than the rest of their siblings, and, though they were still genderless, their appearance was such that it made it hard to think of them as anything but a girl. ording to the research he had conducted, the gender of a Wererabbit wasrgely dependent on their environmental conditions. Since things were rtively peaceful, most of Usalia''s first litter had a very high probability of being female. Compared to their siblings, however, Momoiro was the only one to show signs of progressing to the second stage of their development. Rewarding the pink-haired infant for their efforts, Vahn produced a third version of himself to pick up the triumphant Momo before starting the inordinately long process of putting the entire litter to sleep. They took naps throughout the day, but, unless he tucked them in, the children refused to go to sleep at night. After all, much like other Wererabbits, they were far more energetic in the evening than during the day... ... .. . While the bedtime ritual was urring in another part of the house, Vahn ''Prime'' was sitting at the opposite end of a marble tub with Seraphina''s foot in his hands. They had a literal onsen attached to the house, but, due to her fondness for bath oils and bubbles, Seraphina typically took her baths alone. "Mhmhmhmhmm~. Make sure you get between the toes, Darling~." Rolling his eyes, Vahn continued to dutifully massage Seraphina''s feet as he asked, "Did you have fun today?" Taking a sip of the inordinately valuable champagne in her ss, Seraphina practically beamed in response to Vahn''s words, eyes glistening as she replied, "Of course~! In fact, I wouldn''tin if every day was like this~!" Returning a chuckle of his own, Vahn carefully kneaded the space between Seraphina''s toes before adopting a sincere tone and saying, "Sorry...though I''m certain a time wille when we can live together on our own, I have no idea when it will be. If you''d like, we can always reincarnate-" Though he was going to suggest spending time together in an Actualized World based on the one she had originated from, Vahn was silenced when Seraphina adopted a serious expression and said, "Now, now. There''s no need for that. I''ve already epted that you have multiple wives. So long as you remember to pamper me plentily, I''m content with the way things are. Just don''t expect me to go pumping out babies any time soon. I''m far too young and beautiful to be a mother." Resisting the urge to point out she would be even more beautiful if she was a mother, Vahn rinsed Seraphina''s foot before leaning forward to suckle her big toe. She had a sadomasochistic nature so it always riled her up when he pretended to be subservient. He wouldn''t let her step on him, but, at times like this, he didn''t mind giving her a bit of extra service for being so ''understanding''. With glowing pink hearts appearing in the depths of her eyes, Seraphina observed Vahn''s actions with an overtly seductive look on her face. If she were beingpletely honest, she hated having to share him with other people. It was Fenrir that opened her mind to the importance of sharing and moderation. She didn''t believe in this at first, but, after spending thest couple of months patiently awaiting this day, Seraphina would be lying if she said it didn''t feel fantastic to be rewarded for her efforts... ... .. . "Achoo~!" Furrowing her brows, Fenrir used the fur on her forearms to deal with the itchy sensation in her nose as she remarked, "Seraphina must be talking behind my back again..." Since the only people who ever really badmouthed her were Seraphina and Sarina, it wasn''t hard to guess which of them might be talking about her in this present moment. Unfortunately, Fenrir was currently keeping tabs on the Daybreaker Community, the group that had most recently joined the Burgeoning Communities ord. She hadn''t been assigned to do so, but, even without her Master asking, Fenrir did her best to support him from the shadows. Fortunately, with very few exceptions, most of the Communities seeking assistance from the Sage Dragon''s Hearth were legitimate and honest. Her Master had already built a reputation for being ruthless toward people attempting to exploit his kindness, so, after the first few idiots were dealt with, every other organization approached him wasprised of rtively kind or, at the very least, above-board individuals. Seeing the youth named Hiro personally serving bread and soup to the children his Community had picked up, Fenrir nodded in approval before leaving Altria''s Shadow to keep watch. She still hadn''t forgiven thetter for disobeying her orders whilst billions of people were watching, so, whenever there was an opportunity to put thezy pup to work, Fenrir did exactly that. "Be a good girl and I''ll make sure Master gives you plenty of headpats..." Despite snorting through her nose, the cat-like wolf sunk into a nearby shadow. Shortly thereafter, her presence could be felt from the shadow beneath Hiro''s feet. Others wouldn''t be able to sense it, but, as the Shadows were ultimately an extension of herself, Fenrir could link senses and even swap ces with them if she really wanted to. She really liked this particr aspect of her Innate as it was very simr to an ability her Master possessed. Confident that Altria would, at the very least, stick around for a few hours, Fenrir used an advanced form of Shadow Step to maneuver through the Little Garden at tremendous speeds. There were still a lot of Communities she wanted to check on, and, knowing her Master would be preupied due to his promise with Seraphina, Fenrir wasn''t in any particr hurry to return. After all, in spite of her efforts to convert others into good girls, she was actually a part of the faction that wished she could have her Master all to herself... ... .. . After putting all the bun buns to bed, Vahn allowed himself to get talked into sharing a bath with everyone. Unfortunately for Sarina, he only agreed to do so on the premise that everyone would be wearing their bathing suits. For Sarina, this meant a school swimsuit with her name stered across the chest. As for Nono, she was markedly more mature, so, even when she appeared in an off-white bikini, Vahn felt no need to correct her. "This is clearly some form of favoritism..." Staring at Nono''s developing chest, Sarina''s had a pouty look on her face despite the fact Vahn was helping to wash her hair. In response to her mutterings, her poured a bucket of warm water on her head, his voice carrying an amused yet stern tone as he said, "Stop pouting. Aren''t you supposed to be the elder sister...?" After failing to blow aside the wet bangs covering her face, Sarina moved them aside with her hand before leaning back against Vahn with an inquisitive look in her eyes. Before she could ask what he knew wasing, Vahn promptly teleported her to the deep end of the bath as he said, "Count to 100 and thene back." Though she ultimately obeyed his instructions, that didn''t stop Sarina from staring at Vahn like an alligator with half her face concealed beneath the water''s surface. This left him feeling more than a little exasperated, but, knowing she had grown much closer to Jin over the past few months, Vahn did his best to rx until Usalia took it upon herself to sit in hisp. "Hold me, plip." "Of course...hahahaha..." Ignoring the sound of bubbles emanating from Sarina, Vahn unhesitantly wrapped his arms around Usalia''s petite frame before leaning back and closing his eyes. She was also wearing what appeared to be a school swimsuit, but, instead of the traditionally tame variation worn by Sarina, Usalia''s was pure white and noticeably transparent. In other words, it was basically just her normal outfit without the stockings, overcoat, and mantle... "Being a mother is hard, plip..." Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn hugged Usalia a little closer as he said, "Don''t worry. You''re doing fine. It''s okay to rely on us. We''re all one big family, after all..." With a ruddy hue spreading through her cheeks, Usalia manipted her ears to gently smack Vahn in the face. Despite this, he just continued to smile as he nestled closer to her and said, "You''re cute when you''re embarrassed..." Feeling something poke against her bottom, Usalia''s ears briefly stood on end as the color of her face became even redder. Then, despite Sarina eyeing her like a hawk, she adjusted her position so that she was sitting directly atop Vahn''s bulge before saying, "Wash me..." with a serious expression on her face. Though he made sure to avoid the more sensitive areas, Vahn obeyed Usalia''s request with a casual smile on his face. At the same time, Usalia took advantage of his movements to discreetly grind her bottom against his bulge. Thanks to a bit of magic, Sarina and Nono remainedpletely unaware of this. Only Hime seemed to suspect, but, considering she had be the Guardian of the onsen, it would be stranger if she hadn''t noticed... Fortunately, even though he could have arranged something, Usalia wasn''t nearly as shameless as Seraphina. She was pretty much always in heat, but, instead of demanding her take her then and there, she was willing to wait until they were alone. Of course, the moment that happened, there was very little he could do to stop her from pouncing on him like a ravenous rabbit... ... .. . Unaware of the scene taking ce at the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, ck Rabbit was feeling downcast as she apanied Asuka, Yo, and Calico Cat in the bath. She wanted to tell Vahn about what the members of Fores Garo, the Community founded by Galdo, were up to. Unfortunately, due to the Geass Roll and the conditions of the Gift Game, none of them could spread the information since it was the chip being wagered. "Are you okay...?" Seeing ck Rabbit blowing bubbles in the water, Yo approached her with a concerned expression on her face. Asuka was also listening in, but, due to her upbringing, she had never been very good atforting people. Thus, with Yo being a self-proimed animal lover, Asuka elected to leave the brooding bunny girl to a ''professional''. "Oh, don''t mind me...I''m just feeling a little frustrated. What kind of monster would kidnap and then kill the children they are keeping hostage? It just annoys me so much...!" Ignoring the water that had sshed onto her face, Yo sat down next to ck Rabbit, an ostensibly serious look on her face as she hugged her knees and said, "Don''t worry...we''ll make him pay..." Tearing up slightly, ck Rabbit resisted the urge to hug the adorable girl attempting tofort her. Instead, she balled her hands into fists, her hair turning a pale shade of pink as she eximed, "That''s right...!" ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Momoiro be like, "I will earn a chapter all for myself! Just you wait...!"'',''Vahn really knows how to pander to his women...'',''Absolutely shameless...!" Chapter 2100: Care

Chapter 2100: Care

Sensing the arrival of Fenrir shortly after midnight, Vahn followed her with his perception before manifesting an additional copy of himself when she reached the children''s room. She didn''t want pups of her own but that hadn''t stopped her from developing a fondness for cute things. "How was it...?" Wrapping his arms around his beloved Vanargandr without any resistance, Vahn nestled his face into the space between Fenrir''s ears as she leaned into him and answered, "Everyone seems to be behaving." "Mmm...that''s good..." Taking advantage of the fact she was always around 20cm shorter than he was, Vahn picked up Fenrir''s body whilst simultaneously elevating himself a few centimeters above the floor. She liked being held, so, even after they had checked each of the cribs, he carried her over to a nearby sofa so they could cuddle. When she wasn''t apanying him, she generally spent the night inside the children''s room so the sofa had been specially prepared for rxation. Enjoying being the little spoon, Fenrir nestled as close as possible to her Master as she asked, "Did you enjoy your evening with Seraphina? She didn''t cause too much trouble, did she...?" Issuing a soft chuckle, Vahn proceeded to gently caress Fenrir''s exposed abdomen as he answered, "It was a pleasant experience..." before following it up with, "Nothing out of the ordinary..." "Mmm..." cing her hand overtop her Master''s, Fenrir guided his index finger to her belly button before closing her eyes with a contented look on her face. She enjoyed moments like this even more than when they made passionate love to each other. When she looked back on the past, she sometimes wondered why she even felt the need to cross the line. Rxing like this felt far more personal and intimate than sex. Though he wasn''t reading her mind, Vahn was vaguely aware of Fenrir''s thoughts thanks to the connection they shared. Thus, rather than rile her up, he allowed his consciousness to gradually slip away as his hand continued to gently caress the velvety smooth skin around her navel... ... .. . After a marginally uneventful evening, Vahn awoke early in the morning to prepare breakfast and help look after the kids. They were pretty temperamental in the morning, and, due to her nightly activities, Usalia wasn''t much of a morning person. She would justy back on the sofa in her adult form, absentmindedly breastfeeding anything that was handed to her before subsequently taking a nap the moment everything had calmed down. Vahn found the scene of Usalia fatigued and buried in their children to be one of the most adorable sights he had ever witnessed. Her small size and the inordinately fluffy nature of her kittens caused them to resemble a ball of fluff with Usalia''s head poking out. It was also one of the only times she was together with all the children at the same time, so, while a part of him wanted to take her ce, Vahn just saved the image as a memory fragment without disturbing them. While that was going on, another version of Vahn helped Sarina and Nono prepare for the day by making sure they washed up before brushing their hair. Nono was surprisingly the more difficult of the two, as, despite being a rtively quiet, reserved, and notably shy youngdy, she was the type that refused to get out of bed until Vahn had literally picked her up and carried her to the sink. Though others might be troubled by such behavior, Vahn knew it was basically just Nono''s way of having him spoil her without directly requesting it. She enjoyed being pampered and taken care of, and, at one point in time, even slipped up by sleepily calling him Papa. This event left Vahn feeling a little guilty, but, rather than allow it to bother him, he just affectionately caressed her head without drawing attention to it. Thus, as far as he knew, Nono wasn''t even aware of the rather adorable slip. "That wasn''t sixty seconds. Start over..." Groaning in the characteristic manner of a young and slightly disobedient young girl, Sarina rolled her eyes before picking up her toothbrush and starting over. She had once asked what the point of brushing her teeth before breakfast was. That ended up being a big mistake, as,ter that day, Vahn spent the better part of three hours teaching them about the risks of improper dental hygiene. This included a number of detailed visuals, so, even though she found it annoying, Sarina still brushed and flossed at least three times a day. In reality, the people of the Divine Realm didn''t actually have to worry about such things. Vahn just didn''t want the girls to neglect personal care and proper hygiene as they were some of the most important aspects of mental stability. The moment you began thinking that taking care of yourself was too troublesome, you were already on the path towards self-esteem issues and a whole host of other problems. After counting to eighty instead of sixty, Sarina spit into the sink before rinsing her teeth and going, "Aaaaaaah~!" so that Vahn could check. He did this by wearing a pair of gloves and using the same wooden stick the girls used when conducting the check-ups of others. After all, consistency was one of the most important building blocks for rearing children into respectable adults. "Good job. Now, go downstairs. Breakfast is already ready." Ruffling the girl''s hair, Vahn sent Sarina off with a smile before demanifesting the moment she left the bathroom. At the same time, another version of himself was still struggling with Nono''s hair as she tossed and tumbled whenever she wasn''t sleeping with someone else. He had tried to curb this behavior by getting her to sleep with arge plushie and a body pillow but she could be remarkably obstinate about certain things. "You slept for ten hours. How are you still tired...?" With half-lidded eyes and a toothbrush dangling from her mouth, Nonu just replied with a cursory "Nn..." before continuing to slowly brush her teeth. This left Vahn feeling a little helpless as he knew she hadn''t been having nightmares. He made sure of that by tucking her in tightly every night and transnting a bit of calming energy into her mind whenever he gave her a goodnight kiss on her forehead. This was primarily to prevent her froming to his room, a behavior that had increased in frequency to the point where she woulde knocking on his door between 2-3 times a week. Exhaling a sigh, Vahn said, "Turn around..." before grabbing the toothbrush from Nono''s hands. In response, her half-lidded eyes closed fully as she promptly opened her mouth wide. She had been brushing the same side for thest three minutes, so, in an effort to speed things up, Vahn gently cradled Nono''s jaw with his left hand while dutifully cleaning each of her teeth. There were some who would consider this an intimate act, but, thanks to his god-like dexterity and his propensity to practice as a Dentist for the No Names, Vahn was able toplete the process without incident. "Good girl. Now, spit into the sink." Since she had previously spit on him, Vahn made sure to remind Nono where to aim whenever she was in her muddleheaded state. Then, taking advantage of the fact time flowing much faster in her bathroom than outside, he spent the better part of an hour fixing her hair before finally sending her away with a wry yet affectionate smile. Though it could be troublesome at times, Vahn had always enjoyed caring for others. He wasn''t just a lover to his women. He was also their personal trainer, hairdresser, masseur, therapist, and pretty much anything else they needed him to be. When he became a father, this aspect of his character became even more prominent. So much so that he would actually feel ''off'' if he wasn''t taking care of at least three different people. Fortunately, Vahn had quite a number of high-maintenance girls in his life. Seraphina, in particr, would be a nightmare for anyone without an ungodly level of tolerance. She wasn''t afraid to make use of every aspect of his character, so, at times, he would spend upwards of eleven hours styling her hair, doing her makeup, and providing various spa treatments. She behaved like an excessively spoiled princess, but, in the end, she was ''his'' spoiled princess... ... .. . Though it was possible to end an evening on the highest of notes, whether or not it was a sess depended exclusively on how a person felt the following morning. There were countless examples of people having the night of their life only to wake up the next day regretting their very existence. Thus, to smoothly transition the previous evening into a wondrous day, Vahn awoke Seraphina with a surprise back massage. "Mmm~?" Opening her eyes, Seraphina was tempted toin about having to wake up less than six hours after she had fallen asleep, but, before the words could reach her lips, a pleasant sensation spread through her entire body. Her wings, tail, and horns were still present from the previous evening so Vahn was, very carefully, cleaning them with a microfiber cloth and specialized oils that would bring out the luster and shine of each. "Good morning to you too, sweetheart." Perking up the moment she heard Vahn call her sweetheart, Seraphina began to yfully kick her legs while crossing her arms beneath her chin. At the same time, she snaked her tail into the back of his shirt before bringing it around to the front of his body and tracing it along each of his well-defined muscles. Shaking his head, Vahn spread a thread of energy into Seraphina''s leathery yet satiny smooth wing in order to prompt it to open. She had already grown ustomed to letting him do whatever he wanted at such times, so, while most people might offer some form of resistance, Seraphina began to hum a cheerful tune as her tail continued to wander and caress his body. This continued for the better part of three hours, but, thanks to time shenanigans, they were still able to head down and join everyone else for breakfast... ... .. . "Our contract with the No Names may havee to an end but you can still visit them whenever you want. I''m not going to keep you away from your friends. That would be pretty hypocritical of me considering ck Rabbit basically lives here..." Though she had already expected such a response, Sarina exhaled a sigh of relief the moment Vahn answered her question. She didn''t get along with everyone but she hade to enjoy the attention she received from the younger members of the No Names. They looked up to her quite a bit so she would have been sad if she weren''t allowed to visit. "What a relief. I mean, what would those brats do without us? Isn''t that right, Nono-chan~?" Despite having awoken fully the moment she tasted Vahn''s home-cooked strawberry pancakes, Nono simply offered a polite smile in response to Sarina''s statement. She had grown ustomed to thetter''s braggadocious nature, so, unless they were talking about something important, she typically didn''t contribute much to conversations. With the corner of her smile twitching, Sarina decided to just pretend Nono agreed with her as she added, "Besides, that dumb boy ispletely useless without someone to look after him. I honestly don''t know how he can be the Leader of a Community. You would think he would grow a backbone after bing strong enough to level a hill with his magic." Recalling how powerful Jin had be, Sarina was honestly a little jealous. Fortunately, he was still a pushover so she was still able to tease him as much as she wanted. As for why this was important, even she didn''t know. It just felt right. Though he chuckled in response to Sarina''s remark, Vahn still gently chided her, saying, "Now, now. That''s no way to talk about someone who has helped you with your studies. Jin might becking in a number of categories but he''s still a kind, earnest, and hardworking young man. Try not to tease him too much, okay?" Nodding her in understanding, Sarina offered a cutesy, "Hai, Hai~!" before picking up a piece of sausage and biting into it. There was no greater meaning behind this action, but, for some reason, Vahn couldn''t help feeling sorry for his young protege... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''I need a longcat Fenrir plushie in my life...'',''Vahn might be an irredeemable harem protagonist but he is still a considerate person xD...'',''Oof...'') Chapter 2101: Discord Around the Dining Table

Chapter 2101: Discord Around the Dining Table

Just as Vahn was beginning to wonder whether or not she would show up, ck Rabbit appeared alongside Asuka, Yo, and Izayoi. This confused him at first, but, considering she might be trying to smooth things over between him and the Problem Children, Vahn manifested in the foyer with a smile, saying, "Wee back. I see you''ve brought guests. Will they be joining us for breakfast?" After a sleepless night, not that she actually required rest, ck Rabbit felt considerable relief just hearing Vahn''s voice. As a result, she ended up hugging him in front of the marginally stunned trio before nestling her face into his chest and saying, "I missed you..." With his expression softening, Vahn returned ck Rabbit''s embrace for several seconds before gently coaxing her toward the dining room as he looked back at the trio and said, "Come along. There''s plenty to go around." Though they each looked like they had something to say, especially Asuka and Izayoi, the trio of Problem Children ultimately followed along without a fuss. When they saw the five girls gathered around the dining table, however, Izayoi couldn''t help remarking, "Wow. Are these the members of your Community? They look more like a harem to me." Since Sarina and Nono were at the table, Vahn sent a re towards Izayoi as he said, "Keep talking, brat. I''m curious to see how deep of a hole you''ll dig before you realize you''re in over your head..." Holding his hands up in a gesture of mock surrender, Izayoi maintained a smile as he said, "Whoa there. It was just a joke. No need to bite my head off." Unamused by Izayoi''s behavior, Seraphina''s expression soured as she asked, "Who is this imbecile?" Meeting Seraphina''s gaze, Izayoi was about to retort when Vahn appeared right in front of him in an instant, saying, "I''m very protective of my women, especially my wives. Choose your next words very carefully." Though a part of him wanted to slug Vahn in the face, the cold sweat sweeping across Izayoi''s bodypelled him to deescte things. To this end, his smile became noticeably wry as he said, "You''re a lucky man. If I had a wife as beautiful as pinky over there, I''d probably never leave home." While she didn''t appreciate being called pinky, Seraphina''s impression of Izayoi improved quite a bit in response to the rest of his words. As a result, she directed her attention towards Asuka and Yo, an appraising glimmer in her eyes as she asked, "Who are these two youngdies? They don''t seem particrly impressive." Though she couldn''t help furrowing her brows, Asuka still puffed out her chest confidently as she replied, "How rude. Isn''t itmon sense to give your own before asking the names of others? As the wife of someone who refers to themselves as the Sage Dragon Emperor, shouldn''t you have at least a basic sense of propriety?" Resisting the urge to whip out her pistols and shoot Asuka in the face, Seraphina''s brows twitched as she looked towards Vahn and asked, "Where did you pick up this brat? She''s more arrogant than those assholes in Heaven." After chuckling at Asuka''s expense, Vahn casually exined, "These are the newest members of the No Name Community. The boy with the headphones is Sakamaki Izayoi. As for these two, the one with the attitude problem is Kudou Asuka while the one with the cat is Kasukabe Yo. Try not to take anything they say to heart. They came from rtively normal worlds and are still adapting to life in the Divine Realm." Raising his hand in a casual manner, Izayoi supnted Vahn''s introduction with a simple, "Yo. Nice to meet you." while Asuka simply snorted in a haughty manner with her arms crossed. As for Yo, she didn''t say anything at all. Instead, she continued to stare at Fenrir with the closest approximation to a serious expression she could manage. Since they had been staring at each other for quite some time, Fenrir took advantage of the lull in the conversation to ask, "Do you want to touch them...?" Though most of the people present were confused, Vahn chuckled in amusement as Yo nodded her head, her tone serious and eager as she asked, "May I...?" Rather than answering herself, Fenrir looked towards her Master for permission. This caused Yo to shift her attention to him, a silent plea hidden within her hazel eyes. Fortunately for her, Vahn had a much better impression of her than Asuka and Izayoi, so, without having to contemte his answer, he said, "If she allows it, you may pet her. However, you must always respect her wishes. If she tells you to stop, you must immediately do so." Offering a delicate smile in response to Vahn''s words, Yo ced Calico Cat on the ground before approaching Fenrir and asking, "May I touch your ears?" Nodding her head, Fenrir replied with a curt, "Umu..." before leaning her head forward and allowing Yo to do as she pleased. To her surprise, Yo''s caress was veryfortable. It was nothingpared to her Master but it was pretty easy to specte she had a Gift rted to taming or an inordinately high affinity with nature. While Yo was lost in her own little world, Vahn invited everyone to take a seat after a quick round of introductions. Delicious food was one of the best things when it came to easing tensions, so, for the sake of ck Rabbit, Vahn presented the trio with some of his best breakfast dishes before asking, "So? What are your first impressions of the Little Garden and the Divine Realm? I heard you already got into a bit of a spat with a rival Community. What was that about?" Since the Geass Roll prevented them from discussing the specifics with unrted parties, Izayoi just shrugged, saying, "Just some rapacious tiger coveting the flesh of littlembs and big rabbits. Don''t worry. We''ll be sure to teach him a lesson he''ll never forget." Raising his brows, Vahn shifted his attention to ck Rabbit to find her pouting with an angry look on her face. This was quite adorable, but, at the same time, it caused a cold sensation to wash over Vahn''s mind as he asked, "Someone tried to target you?" Rxing the moment Vahn shifted his attention towards her, ck Rabbit raised her hands in an expression of helplessness as she replied, "People are always targeting me. I get proposed to or invited to join a Community every time I officiate a Gift Game. I''m used to it." Though he was already made aware of this, Vahn couldn''t help frowning. It was to be expected that people in the lower-digit gates would target ck Rabbit. After all, she was thest Moon Rabbit in the Divine Realm. What annoyed him was a lesser Community thinking they could do the same. Not because they weren''t entitled to be a little ambitious, but because it was suicide to pick a fight with Thousand Eyes over ''ownership'' of thest surviving Moon Rabbit. As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn asked, "When is the Gift Game scheduled to take ce. I''m interested in observing." Feeling considerably better now that she knew Galdo had garnered Vahn''s ire, ck Rabbit happily chimed, "It''s supposed to take ce tonight. We won''t know the full details until we arrive, but the basic format is Capture the g. What form the g takes and what it will be used for are up to the Fores Garo Community to decide." "Hmm..." With ck Rabbit mentioning the name Fores Garo, the image of a tanned man with a lightning-like cowlick entered Vahn''s mind. Fores Garo was one of the Communities that had been lying low ever since he began spreading his influence. Now he knew why. "Based on what I recall, the Leader of Fores Garo isn''t particrly strong. You should assume they will employ some kind of trick. They might try to limit the number of participants or make it so that the ''g'' is-" "Hey, now. We came here for a challenge. Where''s the fun in having someone spoil the surprise?" Though he had been taken aback by how delicious Vahn''s food was, that didn''t stop Izayoi from interrupting him. He already had low expectations for the tiger man that had been pinned to the ground with rtive ease by Yo. Thest thing he wanted was someone offering them advice on how to defeat a weakling. "Rude boy. You dare interrupt my darling when he''s speaking? If you have a death wish, I wouldn''t mind granting it." Without missing a beat, Izayoi adopted the kind of look traditionally attributed to battle junkies as he said, "Try me, Pinky." With literal mes in her eyes, Seraphina looked towards Vahn, shouting, "Vahn! Let me teach this brat a lesson! I won''t stand for such brazen behavior! You went out of your way to invite the oaf to join us for breakfast and this is how he behaves!? It''s simply uneptable...!" "Hmm..." Rather than immediately refuse Seraphina''s request, Vahn caressed his chin in contemtion. This left ck Rabbit feeling nervous, a fretful expression developing across her face as she eximed, "Please don''t fight! We''re all friends here! Besides, Izayoi has an important Gift Game to participate in this evening! At least wait until tomorrow before you start trying to tear each other apart...!" Gesturing for silence, Vahn helped to ay ck Rabbit''s concerns by offering a gentle smile. In the very next instant, however, he left ck Rabbit mming her head into the table as he teased, "So long as he doesn''t have his existence erased, I can heal him." "You serious? Guess that means I can go all out without holding anything back, huh?" Though he was starting to feel as though he had stepped on andmine, that didn''t prevent a grin from developing across Izayoi''s face. He had always been curious about the limits of his power, so, now that he had a chance to go all out, he was looking forward to it. At the very least, he could tell the pink-haired woman seated across from him was a lot weaker than Vahn. Fighting her would be a good way to see how he stacked up against less ridiculous powerhouses. Unamused by Izayoi''s confident stare, Seraphina crossed her arms before harumphing haughtily and saying, "Look all you like, brat. I''m way out of your league." Adopting a slightly incredulous look, Izayoi was tempted to ask if Seraphina was soft in the head before Vahn silenced him with amanding, "Finish eating. Once we''re finished here, the two of you can settle things on one of the custom Game Boards I''ve been working on. I don''t want to hear any more arguing at the table. It spoils the taste of the food." "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Your Imperial Majesty. You won''t hear meining about a free meal. This stuff is delicious, by the way." Grasping Seraphina''s hand beneath the table, Vahn prevented her fromshing out as he said, "I''m d you think you so. I put a lot of effort into it." Blinking in surprise, it was Asuka who asked, "You cooked this yourself? Don''t you have like a Chef or something...?" Though the image of Rindo briefly appeared within his mind, Vahn rolled his eyes before exining, "If you end up bing immortal and living forever, you''ll quickly learn how mundane life can be if you leave everything to others. I may be an Emperor, but I''m also one of the greatest cksmiths, Physicians, Mages, Chefs, and Craftsmen across all realities. I have so many skills and abilities that you would literally need an eternal life just to hear me list each of them. Besides, I enjoy seeing the reaction of people when they eat my food. It makes the effort more than worth it." Not expecting such a response, Asuka found herself at a loss for words as she stared down at the various dishesid out before her. She was generally a light eater, but, after tasting Vahn''s food, she ended up clearing four tes before she even realized it... While Asuka was lost in thought, Yo adopted a friendly smile as she chewed on a piece of pancake and stated, "It''s delicious." in a sincere tone. This earned her a return smile from Vahn, who, in an equally sincere tone, answered, "Thank you, Yo. I''m d you''re enjoying it. Feel free to stop by in the future. We always have room for polite young girls like you." Smiling even more radiantly than before, Yo replied with a monotone yet audibly happy "Nn~." before proceeding to bite into a piece of baked golden apple. Even if Vahn hadn''t invited her back, she would have stopped by to ask Fenrir if she could brush her hair. Now that she had a legitimate excuse, her already pleasant had mood had improved quite a bit... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Galdo is so screwed...'',''Izayoi''s death seeking is leveling up...'',''Yo be like, "This is an absolute win."'') Chapter 2102: All鈥檚 Fair in Love and War

Chapter 2102: All''s Fair in Love and War

Though they had yet to see any y due to the fact he hadn''t challenged anyone to a Gift Game, Vahn actually had quite a number of Game Boards at his disposal. They were effectively just Reality Marbles, so, thanks to the research he and Da Vinci had performed back in the Nasuverse, he could basically create as many as he wanted. Simply put, Vahn had a number of Game Boards that would either equalize the ying field or give the members of his Community an advantage. This included a world of ice and darkness for Fenrir, a filled with gold, gems, and other treasures for Seraphina, and a watery filled with a ton of mountainous inds for Hime. Under normal circumstances, Vahn wouldn''t have minded giving Seraphina the advantage against Izayoi. Since they had agreed to settle things fair and square, however, he made use of his personal Game Board, an extra-dimensional space inspired by his homeworld of Danmachi. This included an exact replica of every location he had ever visited, and, for a variety of different uses, a perfect copy of the Great Dungeon, Tartarus. Since there were no upper limits regarding how long a Gift Game could go on, Vahn had designed his own Game Board with the notion of either breaking down or empowering his opponents. Their only objectives were to reach the bottom of the Dungeon or survive for a total of ten years within the simted space. This was made possible thanks to a tremendous amount of time dtion, and, more importantly, remarkably high stakes. So long as a challenger couldplete the Dungeon within ten years, Vahn would reward them with 1 S-Rank, 3 A-Rank, 10 B-Rank, and 100 C-Rank Gifts. If this proved impossible, each of the members who managed to survive the full ten years would be given the opportunity to participate in a Gift Lottery. In other words, so long as they persisted until the end, anyone participating in his Gift Game would receive a reward while also having their strength and mentality strengthened by the trials they faced within. While it would have probably done Izayoi some good to challenge the Dungeon, the location of his and Seraphina duel was the Colosseum owned and operated by the Ganesha Familia. This wasn''t an exaggeration either, as, in the process of creating his personalized Game Board, Vahn had basically giarized the Hidden Floor of the Hell Train to create Pseudo-Memory Fragments of every person, God, and even animal he had ever encountered. The only notable difference was, here in this world, he, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, had never existed. Instead, he was basically an unseen, all-powerful God watching over the world and controlling its very fate from the shadows... ... .. . Looking around at the crowd of fifty-thousand people, Izayoi would be lying if he said he wasn''t feeling a little nervous. He wasn''t shy, persay. Rather, whenever there were a lot of people watching him, he feltpelled to act and behave a certain way. Though Vahn had told him that everyone within the Game Board was basically a Phantom, the aura they gave off was indistinguishable from real, living people. It was actually a little terrifying, as, for a very brief moment, Izayoi couldn''t help thinking he might be a phantom in someone else''s world... Fortunately, such thoughts didn''t persist for long, as, shortly after his own introduction, the burly man wearing an elephant mask introduced his opponent. Though he would never admit it, Izayoi actually felt a bit of envy as he watched Seraphina descend from the sky like a fallen angel. She and ck Rabbit were two of the most beautiful women he had ever seen yet both were head over heels for the same person. It was honestly a little infuriating, not because he wanted to rece Vahn, but because he had never been fond of the idea of a harem or two-timing. It was one of the only reasons he was still single, as, back in his own world, he had been more than a little popr with brats, girls his own age, and even adults. As cheesy as it might sound, Izayoi genuinely believed that true love was something that could only be experienced between two people. He wasn''t going to go out of his way to tell others how they should live. That was far too troublesome. If anything, he just felt sorry for Vahn, the girls involved with him, and any children they were unfortunate enough to produce. They might be happy, sure, but they would never be as happy as if they were a normal family... Exhaling a sigh, Izayoi''s body shed as he evaded a veritable deluge of pinksers that had been fired at him by Seraphina. He wasn''t exactly familiar with the getup, but she was currently wearing an outfit simr to the one she had worn during her first encounter with Vahn. This consisted of a brasier-like top with spaghetti straps, a multiyered yet remarkably short skirt, a feather mantle, and various essories reminiscent of butterflies. The biggest difference was that she allowed her wings, tail, and horns to show as she was no longer even remotely ashamed of being a Subus. "Die you porcupine bastard~!" Though she was capable of performing attacks that could vaporizes and even copse stars, using them required a tremendous amount of energy and resources. It might sound ridiculous, but her power was intrinsically rted to the amount of wealth in her possession. This was how she had managed to bankrupt her in the past. She had just been named an Overlord, and, as a result, she ended up showing off a little too much. By the time she had realized her mistake, Gorgeous, her homeworld, had effectively be a barren and lifeless as even the metals making up their liquid core had been exhausted due to her carelessness. Now that she had Vahn, Seraphina no longer had to worry about exhausting her fortune. She just didn''t want to ''waste'' it on someone like Izayoi. Thus, rather than going all out from the start, she took advantage of the fact she could fly to zip around the Colosseum at hypersonic speeds as she peppered thendscape with highly prativeser beams. "Come on, little boy~! Is running the only thing you know how to do~?" With a visible tick mark appearing on his head, Izayoi surprised Seraphina by standing his ground and punching thesers fired from her pistols. The strange thing about this was the fact that the entire beam shattered like a piece of ss rather than being deflected or absorbed. Then, without waiting for her to recover from her stupor, he shouted, "You better dodge...!" before throwing the pebbles he had been picking up while dodging. Though Izayoi''s windup wasn''t particrly impressive, a peculiar high-pitched sound was produced when he released the stones from his hand. If he had loosed them normally, they might not even be traveling at a rateparable to a professional athlete. The moment the sound urred, however, the pebbles effectively converted to beams of energy as they instantaneously elerated to around ten percent the speed of light. With her pupils shrinking to the side of pinholes, Seraphina began taking evasive action, eximing, "What the hell!?" in a shrill, slightly panicked tone. In response, Izayoi began tough as he hurled stone after stone, musing, "What''s the matter? You looked like you were having fun when I wasn''t attacking. What? Did you think I was just going to keep standing here as you attempted to turn my body into swiss cheese?" Clicking her tongue, Seraphina waited until Izayoi had to ''reload'' before dispersing her pistols and shouting, "Screw you, you edgy brat...!" Seeing Seraphina reached into her brasier-like top, Izayoi couldn''t help eximing, "What the hell!? Is your bra a freakin'' pocket dimension!?" as she produced a bomb more than twice the size of her body. It was one of the most ridiculous things he had ever seen, but, more importantly, the hair on the back of his neck immediately stood on end. "Well, this isn''t good..." Despite his words, Izayoi adopted an amateurish martial arts stance as Seraphina tossed the bomb towards him before immediately disappearing in a sh of pink light. At the same time, the crowd was literally going wild as Izayoi jumped into the air, a heroic cry emanating from his throat as he attempted to punch the oversized bomb into oblivion. Unfortunately, much like a Prinny, the bomb immediately exploded the moment his fist contacted its surface. Thanks to the phenomenally powerful barrier surrounding the field, the audience waspletely unscathed as a pir of pink light extending from the ground to the heavens dominated the arena. It was almost like watching a God return to Heaven, but, instead of a mere 5m across, the pir was the exact diameter of the arena as it extended beyond the atmosphere and into deep space. Appearing shortly after the pir of light faded away, Seraphina wiped away a bit of sweat from her brow as she mumbled, "That was a close shave. If I didn''t have my Pocket Netherworld, I might have been done in by my own att-!?" Before she could finishining, Seraphina''s pupils shrank to the size of pinholes as a bloodied figure appeared behind her, saying, "Checkmate." with a devilish grin on its face. Though he would prefer not to strike women, Izayoi had always considered himself a champion of gender equality. Thus, after a very brief moment of hesitation, his fist glowed with a pale white light as he slugged Seraphina in the cheek with enough force to send her spiraling into the ground like a projectile fired from a railgun. He wasn''t sure how durable she was, but, considering she was able to dodge around and change direction instantaneously, she shouldn''t be weak. With that in mind, Izayoinded on the ground before whistling at the rather sizeable dust cloud Seraphina''snding had caused. He had never used this much strength before so it wasn''t much of an exaggeration to say he was just as surprised as everyone else. Of course, the thing that surprised him most of all was the fact that, despite his injuries, he still had a lot more to give... Unfortunately for Izayoi, he would have to wait until ater date to discover the true limits of his power. Seraphina hated taking damage, but, far more than that, she hated being struck in the face. She was, after all, the self-proimed most beautiful woman in the three realms. Thus, the moment Izayoi punched her, all the limiters that had been ced on her power spontaneously shattered as a veritable tempest of pink, purple, and ck energy began to swirl around her body. "I think I made her-" Before Izayoi could even finish his statement, Seraphina appeared right in front of him, her hand gripping his face as she coldly stated, "Die." Without waiting for Izayoi''s response, a massive energy st was released from Seraphina''s palm that cut through Izayoi, the barrier, the Colosseum, Orario, and several mountains as if they simply didn''t exist. She hadn''t been elevated to the status of a Supreme Overlord merely as a result of her wealth and influence. It was because she had literally subjugated more than a thousand Overlords, several of which would be ssified as Star-ss Demons within the Divine Realm. Though she had to exhaust most of her existing treasury, Seraphina simply snorted when the dust cleared to reveal what remained of Izayoi. Everything above his navel had simply been erased, and, were it not for the fact they were effectively in a digitalized space, no amount of healing would have been able to restore him to life. "This is what you deserve for daring to strike me in the face. Return to the dirt, you worm...!" Punctuating her words, Seraphina released another energy st, this time producing a sphere of vibrant pink energy that radiated purple and ck lightning. When it faded away, all traces of the blond-haired youth, and much of the arena, had vanished without a trace... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn misses his home...'',''Kazuma approves...!'',''I would tell you to run, but it''s far toote for that...'') Chapter 2103: The Power of Friendship

Chapter 2103: The Power of Friendship

"...!?" Snapping his eyes open, Izayoi lurched into a seated position, hands shooting up to his face as if to confirm his head was still there. "You were screwed from the start, but you really shouldn''t have struck her in the face. Seraphina is rightfully proud of her looks..." Extending a hand, Vahn helped Izayoi stand before patting the young man on the back. The Game Boards were indistinguishable from reality, so, while he was perfectly fine, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say he had just experienced having his head blown off. He seemed to be taking it well but it was better to be safe than sorry. Returning a wry smile, Izayoi replied, "Yeah, I kind of got the message when she blew my head off..." While chuckling at the blond-haired youth''s expense, Vahn turned to Asuka and Yo, a teasing smile developing across his face as he asked, "So? Still want a turn of your own...?" After seeing the superhuman battle between Izayoi and Seraphina, Asuka''s confidence had been thoroughly thwarted. Her abilities primarily revolved around controlling andmanding others, be they human, animal, or even nt to do her bidding. Prior to meeting Vahn, she had believed this ability to be infallible. Now, she was beginning to realize that it was an ability that pits her willpower against her target. In other words, the moment she tried to use it against someone with greater willpower than herself, she might as well be a normal, albeit athletic human girl. "No, thank you. I have no way to deal with Seraphina''sser beams so I''m going to have to pass on this particr opportunity." Adopting a highly practiced, business-like smile, Asuka attempted to take a step back with her dignity intact. This earned her an amused smile from Vahn, but, for the sake of her dignity, she pretended not to notice it. Resisting the urge to verbally tease the former heiress, Vahn shifted his attention to Yo to hear her answer. To the surprise of everyone present, she had a slightly serious expression on her face as she said, "I would like to fight against you. If I win, please be my friend." Punctuating her words with a courteous bow, Yo''s sincerity was transmitted to virtually everyone present. As for Vahn, a casual smile developed across his face as he stated, "I may be an Emperor, but I rarely present myself as an untouchable existence. If you want to be friends, I am more than happy to oblige. There is no need to force yourself to this extent. Besides, even if you managed to borrow a bit of power from Fenrir, it wouldn''t be enough. At your current level, you could exhaust yourself and still be unable to move me from my starting position..." Though she was more than a little surprised to hear Vahn casually reveal the secret of her Gift, Yo''s expression didn''t change. She still wanted to try, so, without any fear or hesitation in her eyes, she said, "Please..." before lowering her head a second time... ... .. . Seeing Yo dash around in a revealing outfit that greatly resembled a skinned version of Fenrir in her Vanargandr transformation, Vahn couldn''t help smiling wryly. She looked like a little Berserker, but, instead of an ax or a club, she had scaled gauntlets that ended in remarkably sharp ws. As said ws traced toward his throat, Vahn''s expression remained unchanged even as they sliced across the right side of his neck. This wasn''t the first time Yo had tried to attack him, yet, despite her best efforts, he remained in his starting position without even a hint of injury. He wasn''t cheating by making himself invulnerable, either. She simplycked the strength required to pierce his defenses. Furrowing her brows, Yo didn''t let up in her assault. Instead, she twisted her body like a bow before sweeping her leg towards the left side of his face. This also failed to get Vahn to budge, so, with the intent of catching him by surprise, arge volume of ice elemental energy erupted from her foot. It ended up encasing his headpletely, but, as if it wasn''t any concern at all, Vahn just stood there with his hands behind his back. Having zero experience manipting mana, Yo sprawled out on the ground immediately following her failed attack. She immediately noticed that her right leg was frozen up to her thigh, but, despite the paradoxically fiery yet numb sensation climbing up her leg, her expression was more pouty than pained. Though it wasn''t absolutely necessary, Vahn took a knee before cing his palm on Yo''s outer thigh and dispersing the ice elemental energy before it could prate her bones and freeze the marrow within. He could have achieved a simr result without any contact whatsoever, but, curious to learn whether or not the young brte could actually draw power from him, a bit of skinship would aid her quite a bit. From her perspective, he was basically just an animal so it really didn''t matter all that much. Rather, if he allowed her to, Vahn could easily imagine Yo trying to pet him if he appeared in one of his dragon transformations... Feeling the pain in her leg dissipate almost instantaneously, a smile developed across Yo''s face as she cheekily yet softly mused, "You moved..." Chuckling in response to the surprisingly mischievous remark, Vahn adopted a smile of his own as he extended his hand and said, "Congrattions. You''re one of the few people in history to have defeated the Sage Dragon Emperor. Shall we advertise it to the rest of the Little Garden?" epting Vahn''s hand, a subtle blush developed across Yo''s face as she answered, "I''d rather not. I don''t really like attention..." Since she still had her Vanargandr outfit on, Vahn ruffled the wolf head atop Yo''s as he said, "I guess I get to preserve my dignity then. If people learned I was defeated by a little girl, I would never hear the end of it. Here, consider this an expression of my gratitude." Pulling out a violet Gift Card, Vahn handed it over to the befuddled Yo with a smile. He didn''t know the specifics, but he was pretty sure he had figured out her Gift. She was able to mimic the traits of ''animals'' she had befriended. So long as she had enough spiritual energy, she could also transform into a form that made it easier for her to channel said abilities. He suspected there was more to it, but, even if that wasn''t the case, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that Yo''s Gift was one of the most powerful and versatile he had ever seen. Reading the text on the Gift Card, Yo''s eyes practically produced stars as an uncharacteristically vivacious smile developed across her face. It was a Gift rted to the Grooming ability Vahn had developed back in Danmachi. In other words, so long as she treated her ''friends'' with care, they would be able to grow stronger alongside her. Though Yo seemed oblivious to it, Vahn had taken notice of the fact that Calico Cat was already nearing the end of its life. If he had to guess, it was a little over fourteen years old. He could easily extend its lifespan on his own, but, for the sake of supnting Yo''s existing abilities, Vahn decided to secretly entrust the task to her. "Thank you, Vahn. I promise to use it well." Emting Asuka, Yo crossed her hands over herp before offering an even more courteous bow than the ones she had supplied previously. This earned her an approving smile from Vahn, but, at the same time, he couldn''t help looking behind her at the wolf-like tail wagging happily despite not being attached to her body... ... .. . Exiting the Game Board, Vahn was unsurprised to see Izayoi grinning at him with his hands in his pockets. Before he could say anything, however, Vahn beat him to the punch, stating, "Don''t bark if you''re too afraid to bite. If you''re that eager for another lesson, I have the Game Board right here." Raising his hands in a gesture of mock surrender, Izayoi maintained his smile as he mocked, "Wow, someone''s testy. I didn''t even say anything. No need to bite my head off..." Realizing what he had just said, an imperceptible shudder ran through Izayoi''s body. He had literally just had his head blown off, so, while his words were intended as a joke, they now carried a certain weight behind them. Fortunately for Izayoi, Vahn had already escorted Seraphina back to her room. There was a very real chance she might attack him in the real world if she heard what he said, so, for the time being, Vahn intended to prevent the two from interacting with one another. With that in mind, Vahn figured he might as well ignore the youth as well. To that end, he shifted his attention to Yo, who, at the present moment, was currently being stared up and down by Fenrir and Asuka. The former had a slightly annoyed look on her face due to the fact Yo''s outfit resembled her a little too much. As for Asuka, she had a troubled look on her face as she cupped her cheek and asked, "Yo...isn''t this outfit a little too revealing...?" As she hadn''t really inspected herself, Yo just tilted her head to the side before looking down at her outfit. Her top and bottom were basically just tattered rags and a loincloth that left very little to the imagination. She hadn''t noticed it at first, but she wasn''t even wearing panties. This caused a ruddy hue to spread across her face as most of her attacks against Vahn had been kicks. Covering her face with both hands, Yo deactivated her transformation as even the tips of her ears glowed red. It didn''t help that Fenrir ced her paw on her shoulder, saying, "Don''t worry. Master is skilled at producing undergarments. I''ll ask him to give you a [REquip] System so you don''t end up shing people." Plopping onto the ground, Yo continued to conceal her face for several minutes as she imagined everyone seeing her exposed bottom. Fortunately, the Game Boards designed by Vahn had a built-in modesty function, so, even if someone werepletely naked, imprable shadows or beams of light would appear to protect their dignity. It didn''t cover absolutely everything, but,pared to beingpletely exposed, it was inarguably better than nothing... ... .. . After sending off the problem children with a smile, Vahn, ck Rabbit, and Fenrir retired to the nursery to spend time with the kittens and discuss the trio''s reception into the No Names. Despite his cocky and brash nature, Izayoi was apparently very good with children. ck Rabbit revealed how she had detected him patrolling around the estate while most people were sleeping. He was apparently worried that the goons of Fores Garo would try something before the Gift Game, so, despite joining the Community hours prior, Izayoi stayed up all night to make sure nothing bad happened as a result of his, Asuka''s, and Yo''s carelessness. Since Izayoi gave off a very warm and friendly aura in spite of his behavior, Vahn wasn''t all that surprised by ck Rabbit''s revtions. The blond-haired youth was basically just a male version of a Tsundere. What did surprise him was the fact that Asuka had decided to sleep in the same room as some of the younger children. As for Yo, she had spent the evening making friends with Lily, the various Fox Spirits, and most of the children with animalistic traits. Her entire reason foring to the Divine Realm was to make one hundred friends, so, despite being much older than the average member of the No Names, she was doing her best to befriend each and every one of them... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Yo be like, "You will be my friend..."'',''Just imagine if I had given her Fenrir''s original outfit. She just might explode...'',''The legendary male tsundere o_o...'') Chapter 2104: Confrontation

Chapter 2104: Confrontation

With nothing better to do untilter in the evening, Vahn split his time between lounging about in the nursery, spending time with Seraphina and Usalia, and watching over Sarina and Nono. Now that his contract with the No Names hade to an end, most of Sarina''s and Nono''s training would now take ce within the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. To this end, he had them don uniforms that made them appear like young students in a military-sponsored magical academy. When asked why they had to wear such uniforms during their training, Vahn answered simrly to the exnation that Chloe had given him all those years ago. Specifically, he told them that one of the most important steps to changing one''s mentality was changing their attire. If they were serious about pursuing the paths they had chosen, dressing the part was very important. Fortunately, neither of the girls really protested the sudden change. Rather, ever since they learned he was the one making all of their clothes, they were generally grateful for everything he prepared for them. Sarina, in particr, had giggled rather creepily when she learned that even her bloomers and pumpkin pants had been hand-stitched by Vahn''s hands. As for Nono, she did her best to take care of every piece of clothing he gifted her as if they were some kind of treasure. After all, back in her previous world, fancy clothes were both exceptionally rare and valuable... ... .. . In the midst of overseeing Sarina''s and Nono''s attempts to resuscitate a small bird, Vahn sensed a subtle fluctuation in the barrier surrounding the estate. Shortly thereafter, a gentle chiming could be heard to indicate that someone had entered their reception room. Gesturing for Hime to rx, Vahn said, "I''ll take care of it." before vanishing into thin air. He could have made another version of himself, but, unless he had something important to take care of, he generally limited himself to three vessels at a time. "Wee to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. What can I do for you...?" "Oh? I never expected a Pure-Blooded Dragon such as yourself to greet guests. It would seem the rumors regarding your entricity are true." Raising his brows, Vahn eyed the young man that had entered his store. He had dual-colored hair with a peculiar pattern of golden blond and ck. It was styled in such a way that his bangs hung over his piercing blue eyes, and, despite appearing rather weak and wiry at first nce, a powerful aura emanated from his body. More specifically, it emanated from the stone pendant attached to the choker around his neck. As for his attire, well, he looked like a punk rock enthusiast. "I''m not fond of repeating myself. If you''ve no business here, the door is right behind you." Batting his bangs like an arrogant young noble, the wannabe rockstar adopted an arrogant smile as he said, "You have something that belongs to me. I came to get it back." Furrowing his brows, Vahn''s teeth became noticeably sharper as he asked, "Is that so? Enlighten me, brat. What do I possess that belongs to you?" Seemingly undaunted by Vahn''s toothy smile, the dual-haired man stepped forward and said, "The Pure-Blooded Vampire, Leticia. I don''t know what those idiots-" Before the man could finish speaking, Vahn already had his hand around his neck, a vicious smile on his face as he eximed, "Wrong answer!" Though he had no idea who the man was, Vahn didn''t particrly care. He was quite protective of his women, but, more than that, he disdained people who believed they had some inherent right to possess other people. Thus, without any hesitation whatsoever, he opened his mouth far wider than humanly possible as a rainbow-hued light built within his throat. Fearing for his life, the dual-haired man pulled out a golden khopesh, but, even after striking Vahn directly in the face, it was the de that cracked. Just as aser-like beam of light was about to erupt from Vahn''s mouth, a paper fan smacked him in the head with a surprising amount of force. This spared the man from having his head removed from his shoulders, but, due to the close proximity of the breath, all the hair on the left side of his head had been burnt to a crisp. "Vahn! You can''t just ignore the rules...!" Dropping the now catatonic man to the ground, Vahn looked back at ck Rabbit, Fenrir, and his other self with a wry smile on his face as he said, "I was going to revive him. I just wanted to teach him a lesson." Stamping her foot in frustration, ck Rabbit''s hair began to turn pink as she shouted, "You know I can''t just ignore such egregious vitions! No means no...!" Patting the frustrated bunny''s head, Vahn adopted an apologetic expression as he said, "Sorry..." in a gentle tone. This caused ck Rabbit to quickly regain her usual pep, but, before the atmosphere could turn rosy, the man on the ground recovered enough to point and exim, "You! Do you have any idea who it is you''re messing with!?" "Do you...?" Though he was momentarily silenced by the aura exuding from Vahn''s body, the dual-haired man managed to rise to his feet, cradling the burnt side of his face as he shouted, "I am Laius Perseus, Leader of the Legendary Perseus Community! You think you''re hot shit just because you managed to defeat a bunch of upstarts? I''ll have your head mounted above my bed so you can watch as I-" Noticing the man''s sickly pink aura attempt to coil around ck Rabbit, Vahn mmed his hand into Laius''s chest with enough force to send him crashing through the front door. Fortunately, it was a lot more durable than the man in question, so, while he would need to perform some light maintenance on the hinges, the door wasrgely unscathed as it gently closed behind him. "What aplete and utter nutjob. He nearly had his head blown off and still has the gall to pick a fight? Talk about ack of awareness." "Vahn..." Unamused by Vahn''s further breaking of the rules, ck Rabbit furrowed her brows with an angry pout on her face. This caused his expression to be awkward until a childish voice chimed in to say, "Calm your tits, ck Rabbit. That brat deserves everythinging to him." "Eh? Shiroyasha-sama!?" Turning towards the direction of the voice, ck Rabbit was the only person surprised to see Shiroyasha seated atop the reception desk with a bag of rice crackers in her hand. She had been enjoying the show for quite some time, and, were it not for ck Rabbit''s timely interference, she would have been the one to intervene. Ignoring ck Rabbit''s outburst, Shiroyasha stared directly at Vahn as she said, "We need to talk. Come by my office when you get a chance." Having said what she intended to say, Shiroyasha, alongside one of the Vahn''s, disappeared without a trace. This left ck Rabbit with a frustrated expression on her face, but, before she could throw a tantrum, Vahn handed her Luna and said, "Let''s go back. I''ve already closed the shop so there won''t be any additional interruptions. You''ve got a Gift Game to officiate this evening so you should try to rx as much as possible..." Unable to stay mad with an infant in her arms, ck Rabbit quickly calmed down. In truth, she was still a little frustrated, but, having already decided to ce her trust in Vahn, she elected to just let him and Shiroyasha settle things. After all, the only time Vahn really got angry was when someone attempted to threaten the people he cared about. If she stayed mad at him because he was worried about them, that would be a little silly... ... .. . "Though I can''t say I''m surprised, this wasn''t what I had in mind when you said we needed to talk..." Giggling in response to Vahn''s words, Shiroyasha nestled even closer to him as she said, "Words are the least meaningful way tomunicate. Besides, you know damn well I can''t interfere in personal matters between Communities. Unless that idiotes here or you purchase the information, there isn''t really anything to discuss..." "I see..." Enjoying the texture of Shiroyasha''s hose beneath his palms, Vahn gave her small yet pert buttocks a squeeze as he teasingly added, "Does this count as a form of payment...?" Snickering in her characteristically mischievous manner, Shiroyasha linked her arms around Vahn''s, her cat-like eyes glistening as she mused, "That depends on whether or not you can satisfy me..." Just as Vahn was reaching for the cord binding Shiroyasha''s obi, a gentle knocking could be heard from outside the room as Nadeshiko softly informed, "Shiroyasha-sama, you have a guest arriving from the Perseus Community. He is awaiting your presence in reception room three..." "..." Seeing the mischievous smile on Shiroyasha''s face, Vahn remained silent for several seconds before asking, "You really want me to teach this kid a lesson, don''t you?" "Who knows~?" Rising from Vahn''sp, Shiroyasha yfully pinched his cheek before refastening the cord of her obi and making her way towards the room''s entrance. Before leaving, however, she pulled out the Omnipresent Remote, tossing it over as she said, "Just think about what you want to see and press the button. Don''t worry, I won''t judge you." Punctuating her statement with a wink, Shiroyasha opened the sliding bamboo door before joining Nadeshiko. This left Vahn alone in her room, a privilege no other person in the history of the Little Garden had been allowed. Though he was tempted to just return home, Vahn dismissed that thought as he eyed the rtively in-looking remote. It wasn''t an exaggeration to say that Shiroyasha''s omniscience covered most realities, so, after a moment of consideration, he shifted his attention towards the Omnipresent TV and turned it on. "Oh my..." Deciding to check in on what Gandr and Phae were up to, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as the disy showed the former making out with Anak. They were both fully clothed but he wasn''t oblivious to the fact that Gandr''s hands were massaging the green-skinned girl''s butt as she eagerly reciprocated his kiss. Changing the channel, Vahn was unsurprised to find Phae in the middle of forging what appeared to be a bracelet. What stood out about this particr scene was the fact she was wearing nothing but a cksmithing apron without any other pieces of clothing on. This wasn''t particrly strange, but, seeing a half-dozen scantily d women crowding around her, Vahn couldn''t help muttering, "Are all my Temtes perverts...?" Since he was primarily just joking around, Vahn nearly spat blood when he changed the channel to see what Roger was up to. He was among the people that had stayed behind in the Tower in order to experience their own journey. At the present moment, however, he, or, more specifically, she was currentlyughing her ass off in the midst of several naked men and women. "..." Though he wasn''t one to judge, Vahn couldn''t helpparing Roger to Drake, the Admiral of his Imperial Armada. They were both exceptionally free-spirited, and, thanks to the technology of the Empire, Francis had been able to both sire and give birth to numerous children. This, alone, wasn''t enough to draw a directparison between her and Roger. However, seeing the rather prominent belly bump supported by the Temted Pirate King, most of the color drained from Vahn''s face as he promptly turned off the television... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn is still on his journey to make the ultimate pair of panties...'',''Is that Peng n''s Young Master!?'',''The power to spy on anyone you want is both a blessing and a curse...'') Chapter 2105: Negotiations: Breakdown

Chapter 2105: Negotiations: Breakdown

"This ispletely uneptable! You know damn well that Vampire wench belongs to the Perseus Community! How can you allow her to transfer into the possession of another member of Thousand Eyes!?" A stark contrast to how she behaved in front of Vahn, Shiroyasha was currently seated properly with a serious expression on her face. In reality, she was doing everything in her power to avoidughing out loud, as, due to the mysterious energy possessed by Vahn, there was a massive bald spot on the side of Laius''s head. He was an extremely vain and hedonistic man so it was beyond hrious to see such a prideful individual ring up like a child throwing a temper tantrum. "The Sage Dragon''s Hearth is a part of Thousand Eyes. This can''t be denied. However, you seem to be forgetting that we are a Trade Community. We don''t interfere in the private affairs of our affiliate Communities unless the matter is directly rted to a business transaction. Don''t expect us to clean up your mess." "Bullshit! Don''t think I don''t know you had something to do with Leticia''s escape! How else would she get the idea to burn her Divinity in order to break her contract!?" Shaking her head, Shiroyasha''s expression remained unperturbed as she stated, "If your argument was grounded in reality, I wouldn''t be sitting here in front of you. Even if the terms of my contract haven''t been made public, even children know I''m unable to intervene in matters unrted to the preservation of the East Side. Only an idiot would think to use me of coordinating with Demon Lords to offer one of my former colleagues as a prize in a Gift Game. Use your head, brat." Gritting his teeth, Laius reached for the pendant around his neck with a fierce look on his face. This caused Shiroyasha to tense slightly, but, at the same time, she was internally daring him to try and do something. If he vited the Laws of the Little Garden and dared to attack her, she would erase him without a thought. Unfortunately, Laius was many things but suicidal wasn''t one of them. He was confident he could destroy Shiroyasha''s store, but, in exchange, he would undoubtedly lose his life. There was nothing he valued more than his own existence, so, after squeezing the pendant tightly for several seconds, he reluctantly released it before saying, "As a senior affiliate of Thousand Eyes, I''m using my right to demand arbitration from a Manager. The Pure-Blooded Vampire, Leticia, was legally obtained by my Community after she rampaged three years ago. Now that she had fallen into the hands of another affiliate, we demand an investigation be conducted and properpensation meted out." Though she had already seen thising, Shiroyasha''s couldn''t help glowering as she asked, "Oh? What, exactly, did you have in mind?" Touching the side of his head, Laius''s expression darkened as he said, "I was originally intending to settle this matter peacefully. Now that the Leader of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth has dared to attack me, I demand his Community be expelled from Thousand Eyes and reparations be paid for the pain and suffering he has caused." Under normal circumstances, Shiroyasha would have been extremely annoyed by Laius''s behavior. Even if she listened to his demands and tried to arbitrate the matter, someone as vain and petty as him would only be satisfied when the other party was stripped of everything. After all, in his mind, there was nothing of equivalent value to his own pride and ego. Unfortunately for Laius, the person he had set his sights on was Vahn. He might be able to pressure others using the tremendous wealth, manpower, and resources he had inherited, but, against Vahn, such things were meaningless. His power wasn''t derived from a story, myth, or established concept. He didn''t require someone else''s authority to wield tremendous power. Instead, he was an anomaly that served as the guarantor of his own strength. Thus, so long as he was outside the 3-Digit Gates, he was practically invincible. Unable to contain herself, a mischievous grin spread across Shiroyasha''s face as she said, "You''re in over your head. Out of respect for your father, I will offer you a bit of advice. Let this mattery. The person you are antagonizing is so far beyond you that you can never hope to defeat him." "You bitch...!" Though he knew better than to throw it directly at Shiroyasha, that didn''t stop Laius from throwing his teacup past her head, smashing into the wall behind her. He got the distinct impression she was baiting him, but, confident in his Community''s ability to crush anyone beneath the 5-Digit Gates, he wasn''t going to back down. His father, the legendary Perseus, had left him numerous treasures that would turn heads even in lower-digit Gates. Thus, while he wasn''t foolish enough to battle a Pure-Blooded Dragon directly, he was confident in his ability to win in a Gift Game. As that thought crossed his mind, a sadistic smile developed across Laius''s face as he said, "Very well. If you believe this matter cannot be settled through arbitration, we''ll do it the old-fashioned way. As an established Community, the Sage Dragon''s Hearth must have a Game of Challenge. To avoid an all-out war, we will both send people to clear the other''s Gift Game. The first to emerge victoriously will gain ownership of the participating group''s members. I believe this is within the scope of the Thousand Eyes Community''s rules, is it not?" Angering Laius further, Shiroyasha exhaled a tired sigh before shaking her head and saying, "Don''t say I didn''t warn you..." Clicking his tongue, Laius rose to his feet and said, "One week. If the Sage Dragon''s Hearth refuses to ept our terms, the Perseus Community will have no choice but to dere war on them. Also, once this matter has been settled...consider our cooperation over with..." Despite Shiroyasha''s words, Laius believed, without a shadow of a doubt, she had something to do with Leticia''s escape. There were too many coincidences for it to be mere happenstance. The most notable among these was the fact that she didn''t interfere despite the fact Leticia had illegally fallen into the hands of a Community affiliated with Demon Lords. She could have easily intervened using her authority as a Floor Master yet she refused to reveal any information rted to her escape and subsequent capture. The only thing she revealed was that Leticia had been moved to the South so there wasn''t anything she could do. Since Shiroyasha''s omniscience was well known throughout the Little Garden, Laius didn''t believe she would just remain idle as one of her former allies fell into the hands of a Demon Lord. He knew she had contacts in the South as well since his Community, as the name implied, owed its origins to Greek Mythology. The Greek Factions were among the most powerful on the South Side, so, while his father had relocated him to the East for his protection, Laius was still well informed on matters rted to his ancestral home... Not caring in the slightest about Laius''s affiliation with Thousand Eyes, Shiroyasha just shrugged her shoulders with a disinterested look on her face. Internally, however, she was squealing like a little girl, as, despite her vast intellect, it was rare for things to go this well for her. Ever since Vahn had arrived, all her carefullyid ns had beening to fruition without incident. It was almost scary how reliable he was. Annoying by Shiroyasha''s reaction, Laius''s made a point to spit on the ground before exiting with a disgusted look on his face. He had never liked Shiroyasha due to her impish nature and child-like appearance. She also prevented him from hitting on her employees, so, now that he was preparing to cut ties with her, he no longer had any interest in feigning respect. If his father hadn''t expressly informed him to never challenge her directly, he would have used his Community to crush her long ago... ... .. . Just as Vahn was contemting giving the Omnipresent Television a second try, a thin pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders from behind. Immediately thereafter, he felt a small prick on his ear as Shiroyasha yfully nibbled on his lobe with her prominent canines. "Someone''s happy..." After suckling a small amount of blood from Vahn''s ear, Shiroyasha grinned like the demon she was before saying, "You have no idea. That fool actually wants to challenge you to apetition known as the Rite of the Challenger. Starting a week from tomorrow, you''ll basically be sending groups topete in each other''s Game of Challenge. The first group to emerge victoriously will basically be able to do whatever they want with the other Community''s participating members. I''m guessing he saw Fenrir and ck Rabbit and now wants them for himself..." Since she couldn''t even imagine Vahn losing, Shiroyasha hadn''t properly considered her words. As a result, her body tensed as a terrifying aura spontaneously erupted from Vahn''s body. He was doing his best to hold it in, but, despite the calm look on his face, Shiroyasha knew she had erred when he coldly replied, "I see..." in a voice that seemed to emanate from the deepest recesses of an abyss. "Rx...there is no way in hell you''ll lose to a brat like that. Besides, he might be a hedonistic fool, but he isn''t truly evil. If you kill him, you''ll end up making an enemy out of his father and the entire Greek Pantheon. Perseus is a good man. The loss of his one and only son would devastate him..." Though it was impossible for him to calm downpletely, Vahn benefited from the fact that his other two selves were among his children and lounging about with Seraphina. Thus, after several deep breaths, he exhaled a sigh and said, "Sorry..." in a sincere and affectionate tone of voice. Exhaling a sigh of relief, Shiroyasha nted a kiss on Vahn''s cheek before moving around to sit in hisp. This was one of the best things about being small. If she were in her adult form, this kind of intimacy would have been impossible. Now that she was a loli, she could nestle in hisp like a bird preparing to nest. Even better was the fact that Vahn had no inhibitions towards her despite the fact he wasn''t a lolicon. He simply appreciated her for who she was, and, no matter what form she took, Shiroyasha was pretty sure he would readily reciprocate her teasing. Comforted by this knowledge, Shiroyasha guided Vahn''s hands to cup her nonexistent breasts as she looked up at him and said, "There is something important we need to discuss..." Though he was tempted to point out that her words didn''t exactly match her actions, Vahn just gave the soft mounds beneath Shiroyasha''s dress a squeeze as he asked, "Does it have something to do with the pendant around Laius''s neck?" After blinking in surprise, an impish grin developed across Shiroyasha''s face as she asked, "You just couldn''t resist, could you?" Chuckling wryly in response to the usation, Vahn moved one of his hands to Shiroyasha''s belly as he exined, "I don''t mind ying fair when the other party demonstrates proper manners and consideration. That man dared to talk about one of my lovers as if they were a possession. He also set his beady little eyes on ck Rabbit. If she hadn''t intervened, he would have died at least twice before I kicked his arrogant ass out of my shop..." Smiling in response to Vahn''s words, Shiroyasha guided his hand a bit lower as she said, "I knew it was a good idea to entrust those girls to you. If you had to, I bet you''d go to war against the entire Divine Realm for the people you love. Isn''t that right~?" Though he knew she was alluding to something, Vahn''s response got caught in his throat as he felt a familiar sensation against his fingers. This caused a number of rm bells to echo within his mind, but, like a fly that had been ensnared within a spider''s web, he was ostensibly powerless to resist as a sonorous whimper escaped Shiroyasha''s lips... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Young Master Peng is so bold!'', ''Laius be like, "My father will hear about this...!'',''Shiroyasha just needs to dye her hair red and keep her eyes squinted and she would be a perfect stand-in for Loki xD...'') Chapter 2106: Seriously Serious

Chapter 2106: Seriously Serious

"It amazes me how Communities can have suchrge estates despite everyone living in such close proximity to one another." Nodding her head in response to Asuka''s remark, ck Rabbit perked up as she exined, "That''s one of the amazing things about the Little Garden! No matter howrge a Community grows, it will never run out of space. Even if we decrease our Rank and transition into a Lower-Digit Gate, all thend and territory belonging to us will be transferred with us~!" Blinking in surprise, Asuka''s expression showed genuine shock as she muttered, "Amazing..." with a thoughtful glimmer in her eyes. She had been wondering how they would be able to decrease their Rank and transition to the Lower-Digit Gates when their Community was located on the outskirts of the Little Garden. She hadn''t even considered that their entire Community grounds could be moved as they continued to expand and progress. "Asuka, ck Rabbit, please stay focused. Now isn''t exactly the best time to discuss such matters..." Though the old him would have simply remained silent until the duo was finished speaking, Jin was doing his best to be a more reliable Leader. Vahn had stressed the importance of dictating the pace and seizing the momentum. It was fine to listen to friends and allies when drafting ns, but, the moment he entered the battlefield, it was his job to keep everyone focused on the task at hand. "The runt''s right. Let''s get this over with so we can return home. Those brats won''t be able to sleep if they''re caught up worrying." Having said his piece, Izayoi only cast a cursory nce towards the Geass Roll before making his way into the moonlit forest with his hands behind his head and a bored look on his face. This left Jin with a wry smile on his face as Izayoi had not only seized the momentum for himself, he kept it by promptly departing. Now, everyone else would feel pressured to follow after him to avoid being left behind. "Hey, wait just a moment! Yo and I were the ones who discovered the truth about Fores Garo! How dare you try to hog the spotlight for yourself...!" Had Izayoi ignored Asuka''s remark, Jin might have been able to recover some semnce of control over the group. Unfortunately, the blond-haired youth adopted a cheeky smile as he half-turned to say, "If you''ve got what it takes, feel free to steal it for yourself, rich girl. I didn''te all the way to the Divine Realm to y second fiddle for someone else. Besides, if you think I''m going to just sit around and behave after learning what this asshole did, you''ve seriously misjudged my character." Punctuating his statement, the same high-pitched sound that apanied Izayoi''s supernatural punches echoed through the area as he leaped more than a hundred meters into the air. Then, to the surprise of both Yo and Asuka, he appeared to use empty space as a foothold before vanishing like a phantom. Momentster, a series of sonic booms sounded through the area as tempestuous winds kicked up a storm of dust and debris. Thanks to Jin casually erected a glowing green barrier of wind, none of the group was affected by Izayoi''s surprising demonstration of speed and power. His battle with Seraphina had opened up his eyes to the fact that he was much stronger than he initially believed. He had no idea what his actual limits were but he was already tens of times more powerful than he was when he arrived. "That idiot..." Despite the drastic difference in their respective power levels, Asuka refused to be impressed by Izayoi''s disy of power. ck Rabbit had exined the true potential of her Gift the previous night, so, while her pride had taken a number of hits against Vahn, Asuka was supremely confident in her ability to grow stronger. After all, unless Izayoi acquired additional Gifts through a Gift Game, he was stuck with what he already had. As for her, she could basically control the Gifts of others to empower or outright negate them. Once her spiritual energy advanced beyond a certain point, she would, for all intents and purposes, be invincible. Using her now fluffy paws, Yo ced a hand on Asuka''s shoulder, saying, "Asuka...we shouldn''t be fighting amongst ourselves. There are plenty of enemies waiting for us in the other Gates. Let''s do our best to be stronger, together. Okay...?" Turning towards Yo, Asuka''s heart melted as she saw the inordinately kind and docile girl wearing what appeared to be a Vanargandr onesie. It was such a stark contrast to the outfit she had been wearing during her battle with Vahn, but, if she were being honest, Asuka preferred this over the rather scandalous outfit she had been wearing previously. At the very least, it didn''t require Yo to go around shing her bottom for the whole world to see. Unable to resist the urge, Asuka reached out to pet the space between the gravity-defying ears atop Yo''s hoodie as she said, "You''re right, Yo. Sorry for allowing my emotions to get the better of me." Though it wasn''t as pleasant as the time when Vahn pat her head, a smile spread across Yo''s face as the tail attached to her mascot-like costume began to waggle. She didn''t really understand how it worked, but her senses were directly linked to her outfit so she could even feel the breeze blowing through her fur. The only downside was that it basically required her to be naked or she would feel as though there was something itchy beneath her skin... ... .. . After rushing to the mansion located at the center of the forest, Izayoi couldn''t help adopting a mocking smile as he looked around at the devastated terrain. It looked like a horde of monsters had swept through the area. There were evenrge gash marks at several locations, and, despite being a famous Community in the Outer Gates, there were massive vines covering one of the most decrepit-looking mansions he had ever seen. "How ominious~." cing his hands in his pockets, Izayoi casually walked over to the vine-covered double doors that used to be the mansion''s entrance. They were reinforced with materials that could even resist siege weaponry, but, with a simple kick, he managed to send both doors flying into the interior likerge projectiles fired from a cannon. "I think I''m starting to figure out how this works. So long as I focus my intent, it''s almost like I have unlimited strength. Pretty sweet..." While humoring the thought of testing his theory against Vahn, Izayoi made his way deeper into the mansion. Unfortunately, he only trespassed three steps before the smile on his face spontaneously faded, reced by a disgusted grimace as he remarked, "Seriously? What a drag..." Though he had already suspected something due to the countless vines entwining the mansion like a prison, Izayoi couldn''t help feeling nauseous when he saw the detached limbs, blood, and viscera littering the interior. Everyone in the mansion had been ripped to shreds. He wouldn''t have cared if it was just a bunch of kidnappers and criminals, but, mixed in among the corpses were the corpses of females and a handful of children... Removing his hands from his pockets, Izayoi adjusted the headphones around his neck so that they were covering his ears. Then, rather than relying on his sight to navigate the interior, he closed his eyes and shut off his sense of smell before relying on a bevy of extrasensory perceptive abilities to track one of the five auras lingering in and around the mansion. Unfortunately, even after shutting off most of his conventional senses, Izayoi couldn''t ignore the slippery quality of the floor and the crunching sensation that transmitted through the soles of his feet. It gave him an almost overwhelming urge to puke, but, from the perspective of an outsider, he appeared calm and unperturbed even as his pants and socks became thoroughly caked with blood and viscera... ... .. . "Not bad..." Though there was a fair amount of negative emotions contained within Izayoi''s aura, Vahn was impressed by how stable it was. He was scared, disgusted, and even a little bloodthirsty, yet, in spite of this, his aura was stable to the point of appearing solid. With very few exceptions, the aura epassing a person''s body resembled a multicolored, ever-changing me. Izayoi''s, however, resembled a luminous membrane that clung to his body like an invible membrane. It behaved much like a barrier, and, despite changing color and intensity, the shape never changed. "Mmm..." Nodding her head in agreement, Leticia''s crimson eyes glistened as she followed Izayoi''s every movement with a conflicted, slightly apologetic look on her face. She was still recovering from the shock of having Vahn show up just as the Gift Game was about to begin. He hadn''t said anything about it but she couldn''t help feeling guilty. She was the one to bestow Galdo power, and, thanks to the vines she had produced, even the servants and ves of his Community hadn''t been spared... Leticia had been afraid that Vahn would regard her as a monster. Instead, he simply held her as he always had, a rxed and loving smile on his face as he providedfort to her weary spirit. This was one of the things she loved about him, but, at the same time, his unconditional love made her feel even guiltier about her actions... What Leticia didn''t know was that Vahn had taken her feelings of guilt into consideration when he decided tofort her. Unless he resorted to violence, her guilt would eat away at her more than any punishment he could mete out. He would punish her if she requested him to do so, but, for the time being, he would continue treating her with the same care and attention as usual. After all, his hands were far from clean. Rather, if they were topare their respective kill counts, he was pretty confident he beat her by several digits... ... .. . Opening the door leading to what used to be Galdo''s office, a smile developed across Izayoi''s face as he mused, "Your outside now matches your inside. Let''s dance, pussy cat." A stark contrast to the traditional ck, white, and orange he presented in his Weretiger form, the current Galdo resembled a monstrous, oversized Bengal Tiger. His body was predominately white with bluish-ck stripes covering most of his body. The only thing that stood out beyond this was the inordinately long mane of white hair flowing from the top of his head and along his spine. He was also several timesrger than a conventional tiger, but, after seeing what Vahn and Seraphina were capable of, Izayoi wasn''t intimidated by an oversized cat. Demonstrating this, Izayoi didn''t even try to dodge as Galdo, like a mindless beast, charged toward him. Instead, he waited until the veryst moment before cracking an evenrger smile as he kicked upward without removing his hands from his pockets. His foot urately impacted the soft spot of Galdo''s chin, forcing his maw shut and sending him crashing through the ceiling with enough force to eject him from the mansion. "Damn. Guess he really can''t be defeated through normal means..." Despite putting a fair amount of strength into his kick, Izayoi felt very no actual feedback. He was generally able to get a feel for how much damage he had inflicted on his opponent. In Galdo''s case, all the force from his blow seemed to be transmitted back into his leg. The only reason the massive white tiger had been sent flying was because the force of his kick still affected their surroundings. In other words, it was the wind pressure generated by his attack that turned the kitty into a kite. Shaking his head, Izayoi made his way over to a silvery-white sword sticking out of the wall. It had a cross-shaped guard ented with gold, and, ording to the conditions of the Gift Game, it was the sole object in existence that could defeat the current Galdo. This was one of the unique aspects of the Little Garden. So long as they were authorized by the Central Network, there were very few restrictions on the rules and conditions that could be imposed during a Gift Game. This was what allowed particrly clever individuals to rise in a world that was otherwise dominated by reason-defying powerhouses. In his present state, Galdo could even tank a multiverse-busting attack without a single hair on his head being harmed. Inversely, it only took a single decisive blow from the sword in Izayoi''s hand to put him down for good. "Guess I should clean up before those brats arrive. Asuka would probably puke her guts out if she saw that scene in the main hall..." As that thought crossed his mind, Izayoi was briefly tempted to idle about just to teach the raven-haired girl a lesson. Fortunately for the former heiress, his words and thoughts rarely matched his actions. If he could spare someone a traumatic experience, he would generally do everything in his power to do so. Thus, after liberating the sword from the wall, Izayoi looked towards the roof with a smile before flexing his legs and jumping with enough force to copse the entire mansion... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The Little Garden is filled with conveniences~! -ck Rabbit'',''RIP Jin''s dignity as a Leader...'',''The Tsundere is strong with this one...'') Chapter 2107: Coordination

Chapter 2107: Coordination

With a thunderous explosion to guide them, it wasn''t long before Asuka, Yo, Jin, and ck Rabbit reached the clearing containing the ruins of the Fores Garo estate. "Jeez, talk about excessive. Hasn''t that idiot ever heard the term moderation?" Interjecting before Asuka could voice too manyints, Jin adopted what he intended to be an authoritative tone as he said, "In situations like this, it is better to assume there was a need for such force. Please stay on your guard, Asuka-san." Turning to meet Jin''s serious gaze, Asuka brought her gloved hand to her chin before issuing a soft and contemtive hum. She wasn''t particrly fond of being told what to do by a boy who hadn''t even started puberty, but, understanding there was a considerable amount of truth contained in his words, she didn''t really have a tform to stand on if she wanted to argue. "Very well, Jin. I''ll withhold judgment until this matter has been settled. Now, shall we-" Before Asuka could finish speaking, blue light emanated from Yo''s body as she charged forward to intercept the transformed Galdo. He might be mindless in his current state, but, as a tiger through and through, he still had remarkable instincts. He had been prowling around under the cover of the debris field, and, the moment Asuka turned towards Jin, he used that as an opportunity to pounce. Reacting nigh-instantaneously, Jin swept the curved wooden staff in his hand, shouting, "Lord of Wind, heed my call and grant my ally the speed and strength of a tempest! Focalor''s Blessing...!" Appearing in response to Jin''s incantation, a feminine figure resembling a bard with predominately green clothes, hawk-like wings, lime-green hair, golden eyes, and an androgynous face manifested behind him with a lyre in hand. Then, with a simple strum of her instrument, a green aura wrapped around Yo''s body, drastically increasing her already swift speed. Though she was surprised by the supernatural eleration of her body, Yo''s instincts were far more attuned than a normal person''s. As a result, she managed to avoid losing her bnce and crashing into Galdo. Instead, she slipped past his extended ws and under his maw in order tond a heavy blow against his surprisingly soft underbelly. Unfortunately, Yo experienced a very simr phenomenon to Izayoi. The winds surrounding her body allowed her to push Galdo''s massive frame back but the only thing she aplished was making him even angrier. "My attacks...they do no damage...!" As if responding to Yo''s outburst, Galdo released a feral roar as he leaped toward her with the intent to sink his sabertooth-like fangs into her petite frame. This time, however, Asuka was the one to act, shouting, "Freeze in ce you foul beast...!" Though he was still in mid-pounce, a nigh-indiscernible red glow epassed Galdo''s body. As a result, his form became locked in the air, wholly unable to move as beads of sweat began to appear on Asuka''s forehead. She could feel him trying to resist the influence of her Gift, but, after meeting Vahn and witnessing how powerful beings in this world could be, she refused to lose a battle of wills against a mindless beast. Taking advantage of the opportunity Asuka had created, Jin''s mana exploded outward as he held his staff with both hands and chanted, "Lord of the Abyssal Trench! Heed...my call...and bind mine enemies! Gaap''s Prison...!" Simr to when he had summoned the bard-like individual, Jin''s incantation caused a muscr man with blue skin, fin-like ears, and seaweed-like hair to manifest behind him. He also wielded a trident in hand, but, instead of attacking with it, hezily flicked his middle finger to send an icy blue beam of energy into Galdo''s forehead. The moment it made contact, a torrent of water exploded outward before immediately freezing over and leaving Jin breathing even heavier than Asuka. Fortunately, while Galdo was functionally immune to damage, there were no rules preventing him from being bound. The ice wasn''t doing any damage and he couldn''t suffocate, but, without the strength to break free, all he could do was re at everyone from within his frozen prison. Forcing a smile, Jin wiped the sweat from his brow as he proudly stated, "This is the first time I''ve managed to summon two Greater Djinn back to back. Vahn wasn''t lying when he mentioned it was possible to draw out additional strength under duress..." Using a handkerchief to wipe away her own sweat, a slight smile developed across Asuka''s face as she said, "Not bad. It''s no wonder you''re the Leader of the No Names. Your power is impressive for an eleven-year-old." "Not bad!? Are you kidding me!? That was amazing, Master Jin~!" Unable to contain her jubtion, ck Rabbit happily embraced Jin with a massive grin on her face. This caused the teal-haired youth to fluster quite a bit as ck Rabbit had effectively forced his face into her chest as she danced around with him in the highest of spirits... While everyone else had apparently dropped their guard, Yo continued staring directly at Galdo''s zing red eyes. He was still radiating a tremendous amount of bloodlust, so, while it didn''t appear he would be able to break free, she couldn''t rx. Fortunately, she didn''t have to remain tense for too long, as, shortly after ck Rabbit had released Jin from her embrace, a dull impact sounded off to the side as Izayoi emerged from a rather sizeable cloud of dust. Noticing the sword in Izayoi''s hand, Asuka''s expression turned soured as she ced her hands on her hips and eximed, "And where did you run off to!?" Waving his hand to clear away the cloud of debris, Izayoi maintained his characteristically arrogant smile as he yfully rebutted, "What? Did you miss me...?" Crossing her arms beneath her modest yet well-developing breasts, Asuka snorted in response to Izayoi''s remark, saying, "You wish." before following it up by adding, "Just hurry and get this over with. Didn''t you say something about returning quickly so the children could rest properly? Stop dallying." Rolling his eyes, Izayoi just flung the cross-piece sword towards Galdo without hesitation. It looked like a casual fling, but, as if propelled by some unseen force, it was somehow able to speed up as it spun in a gravity-defying arc to cut through both the ice and the steel-like muscles of Galdo''s neck. With nothing to live for if he lost the Gift Game, Galdo had wagered his very life in order to secure the condition that he could only be defeated by a specific weapon. As a result, his entire body was enveloped in pitch-ck mes the moment the sword sliced off his head. It didn''t even have time to reach the ground before both it and his body hadpletely vanished into thin air, almost as if he had been erased from existence. Immediately after, the sky transitioned from a moonlit night to a setting twilight, as, rather than taking ce in the middle of the night, the Gift Game had actually started around 7 PM. "Well, that takes care of that. I think it''s about time you stop spying on us, don''t you...?" Though Jin, Asuka, and even Yo were confused by Izayoi''s words, ck Rabbit''s ears perked up as she sensed the familiar presence of Vahn and Leticia an instant before they appeared. The former had an amused smile on his face while thetter, despite feeling an extreme amount of guilt, had reverted back to her usual, ostensibly emotionless expression. "Vahn! Leticia-sama~!" As she was already in a fantastic mood after seeing how well Jin and the others had performed, ck Rabbit practically pounced the moment she saw the duo. They were inarguably two of the most important in her life, so, while she was bound to feel embarrassed after that fact, that didn''t stop her from rushing over to give them both a big hug. Chuckling in response to the adorable bunny''s antics, Vahn happily reciprocated ck Rabbit''s affections as Leticia awkwardly distanced herself in order to stare down Izayoi and say, "You did well. Better than I expected." Without beating around the bush, Izayoi''s expression became serious as he asked, "Were you the one who gave that jerk a power boost?" Nodding her head, Leticia was about to exin her reasoning and apologize when Izayoi charged forward like a loosed spring. He had already decided to slug the one responsible for the ughter he had witnessed, so, even if he ended up pissing a few people off, that wasn''t going to stop him from following through on the promise he had made to himself. To virtually everyone''s surprise, Leticia didn''t even attempt to dodge Izayoi''s punch. Instead, she just closed her eyes, seemingly epting the punishment he was intending to mete out. As a result, Izayoi''s fist stopped less than a centimeter away from her cheek, an annoyed expression on his face as he clicked his tongue and slowly retracted his fist. "Izayoi!? What do you think-" Before ck Rabbit couldsh out at the blond-haired youth, Vahn covered her mouth with his palm as Leticia tilted her head to the side and asked, "Why did you stop?" in her usual monotone. Clicking his tongue a second time, Izayoi just ced his hands in his pockets without bothering to answer Leticia''s question. It was one thing if she resisted, got offended, and tried to protect herself. He might be an advocate of gender equality but even he wasn''t brazen enough to strike a girl who wasn''t even trying to defend herself. Instead, he just turned around and said, "Whatever. I''m going home..." while putting on his headphones... Voicing the thought that had just crossed Vahn''s mind, Asuka muttered, "What a tsundere..." in a voice that only he and ck Rabbit could hear. This caused him to chuckle as ck Rabbit, a little miffed that he had prevented her from speaking, adopting a pouty expression andined, "I can''t believe Izayoi tried to strike Leticia-sama! What was he thinking!?" Patting the frustrated bunny''s head in an attempt to calm her down, Vahn remained silent so that Leticia could exin, "He has his reasons. Try not to be too mad at him, okay? After all, it was my selfishness and desire to ascertain the strength of these three that led to the present situation. It is only natural that he would be upset..." Hearing that Leticia had basically vited the Laws of the Little Garden, ck Rabbit''s hair erupted into a violent shade of pink that exploded outward with simrly colored energy. It didn''t cause any harm, but, by the time the smoke cleared away, ck Rabbit had copsed into Vahn''s arms with an afro-style hairdo as her eyes swirled around in their sockets... "..." "..." "..." "..." Understanding this was what ck Rabbit meant when she said Moon Rabbits would explode if they learned about tant rule-breaking, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he picked her up in a princess carry. He had initially wanted to talk about everyone''s individual performances, but, understanding this could always wait tillter, he said, "I''lle by tomorrow to prepare breakfast aspensation for Leticia''s interference. We can talk once everyone has eaten their fill." Though it looked like Asuka was about to answer, Jin quickly interjected, saying, "Understood. I''m sure the children will be happy. They have been a little mncholic ever since our contract with the Sage Dragon''s Hearth expired." After issuing a light chuckle, both as a result of Asuka''s pouting expression and Jin''s words, Vahn half-turned before asking, "Would you like me to teleport you back, or are you fine with walking?" Since the battle was already over, Jin immediately shifted his attention to Asuka and Yo, saying, "I''ll leave the decision to the two of you. It would be a little anticlimactic to simply teleport back but it does have the benefit of allowing us to arrive before Izayoi." At first, Asuka was perfectly fine with walking back. She enjoyed the various sights and sounds of the Little Garden as everything was new and exciting to her. This was secondary to the thought of ''beating'' Izayoi, however, so, without even needing to consider her response, she adopted a rather cheeky smile and said, "Teleport us back this instant~!" in an audibly excited tone. She couldn''t wait to see the look on Izayoi''s face when he was thest to arrive... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Yo protec...!'',''Jin really is the descendent of King Solomon o_o...'',''Asuka is so petty xD...'') Chapter 2108: Decision

Chapter 2108: Decision

"I suppose it''s a bitte to be asking...but I assume this means you''ve made up your mind...?" Staring down at what could best be described as a teenage version of Shiroyasha, Vahn couldn''t help adopting a wry smile as he marveled at her semen-covered frame. He had released his seed inside of her the first time, but, as could be expected, his source energy had been a little too potent. It had taken her several minutes just to regain her senses, and, after the fact, she made sure he shot it out on her body until it had practically caked her from head to toe. Though she could hear Vahn''s words, Shiroyasha didn''t immediately respond to his inquiry. Instead, she just continued to stare up at the ceiling with a zed look in her eyes and a rather silly smile on her face as her modest chest heaved up and down. Watching as Shiroyasha absentmindedly smeared the semen on her body like someone drawing art in shaving cream, Vahn''s smile became progressively wrier until he ultimately extended his hand to cast cleaning magic. This caused Shiroyasha to issue an adorably girly yelp, but, upon realizing that she was no longer covered in his energy-dense seed, her expression immediately soured as she sat up and eximed, "Hey! What the hell do you think you''re doing!?" Rolling his eyes, Vahn used telekinesis to draw the rapidly de-aging demoness closer as he said, "I''ll give you moreter. For now, be a good girl and tell me what you''re thinking..." Though she didn''t resist Vahn''s embrace, Shiroyasha snorted at the phrase ''good girl''. Then, using her much longer, de-like horns, she sliced a thin line beneath his chin as she teased, "I''m many things, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. But a good girl? Not even in your dreams..." Licking the blood flowing from Vahn''s chin, Shiroyasha''s de-aging process promptly slowed before her body began to rapidly increase in size. She had already known he was iprehensibly special before summoning him but it was observing Leticia sucking his blood that alerted her to how truly special he was. To inhibit her more demonic aspects, Leticia typically wore a ck and gold ribbon in her hair to suppress her power. It was the reason for her child-like appearance, and, more importantly, the reason she was allowed to wander around the Little Garden freely. She could remove it for a short period of time to regain her true form and drastically increase her strength, but, should her power remain unsealed, she would eventually rampage just as she had three years prior. For the most part, the only person that could remove Leticia''s seal was herself. Certain conditions also needed to be met, so, despite being formerly one of the most powerful people in the entire Little Garden, she was currently much weaker than her original self. This was a punishment that had been forced upon her by the Central Network, so, without the aid of Divinity or a very powerful Gift, it should be impossible to circumvent. Demonstrating howmon sense simply didn''t apply to him, Vahn had given Leticia permission to suck his blood even without thetter asking. There was nothing particrly strange about this, but, moments after the rather intimate session had begun, Leticia''s body had rapidly developed to resemble her true self despite the fact her ribbon was still fastened to her hair. The most important takeaway from this event was the fact that the Central Network hadn''t gged Leticia for viting the numerous contracts that bound her. The Administrative Program seemed to have determined that this was the natural result of sucking Vahn''s blood, so, after a considerable period of deliberation, Shiroyasha decided to bite the bullet, or, more specifically, Vahn''s earlobe. In other words, while Shiroyasha had found a convenient way to circumvent the restrictions that had been ced on her, it wasn''t urate to say she had made up her mind. There were still a few things she needed her position as Floor Master to aplish, so, after shamelesslypping up the blood trickling from Vahn''s chin, she licked her lips before musing, "Now, to answer your previous question. Let''s just say you''re well on the way to convincing me..." Punctuating her words, Shiroyasha traced one of her inordinately sharp nails along the length of Vahn''s shaft, but, unlike his chin, the fleshprising his most important body part didn''t give. It deformed in response to her touch, but, even if she were to channel an attack that could sever the void itself, there was a good chance it would emerge unscathed. Understanding that Shiroyasha was still on the fence, a teasing smile developed across Vahn''s face as he gave her pale pink, visibly tense nipple a flick. This caused her to flinch, but, instead of losing her smile or admonishing him, Shiroyasha''s golden eyes gleamed with a seductive light, her hand tightening around his shaft as she sonorously purred, "Naughty boy..." ... .. . After dropping off Jin, Asuka, and Yo, Vahn returned to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth with ck Rabbit in tow. There, he carried the befuddled bunny to the bath in order to wash her body andb out the fritz from her hair. As adorable as her little "explosion" had been, a frilly pink afro didn''t exactly suit her. While that was going on, another version of Vahn retired to the massive Library that existed within. This was Leticia''s favorite ce in the estate. She didn''t need to eat or sleep, so, unless he told her to get some rest, Leticia spent most of her time reading in the library or wandering the estate in a vain attempt to find something to clean. This might sound sad and somewhat lonely when viewed subjectively, but, in actuality, Leticia simply enjoyed being a Maid. Demonstrating this, the first thing Leticia did upon returning to the estate was retrieving one of her favorite outfits, a Maid uniform inspired by the titr Alice in Wondend. She had apparently read the story when she was very young, and, despite living in the highest realm in existence, the idea of entering a mysterious and magical world had always fascinated her. Fortunately for Vahn, Leticia was the naughty variety of Maid, so, after retrieving her outfit, she gave him quite the show by stripping down and casually donning each piece of clothing as he observed her silently from a chaise lounge. There was something truly magical about witnessing a petite girl with golden blonde hair don a pair of pristine white panties and matching hose, so, even if he knew she wouldn''t be wearing them for long, Vahn continued to observe her without even trying to mask his wolfish grin. Well aware of the way that Vahn was looking at her, Leticia pretended to be bashful by turning her back to him as she changed. In truth, she was just giving him a view of her backside. It was a rather immoral sight to behold due to her slender build, but, every time she would bend over to pick up a piece of fabric, Vahn''s pupils would briefly contract before dting in awe. After a solid twenty minutes, Leticia, now fully dressed, quickly fixed her hair before making her way over to where Vahn was observing her in abject fascination. In response, he dutifully sat up straight, as, whenever they were alone, Leticia liked to straddle him. It made sucking his blood easier, but, far more important than that was the fact it allowed him to hug her more easily. She, like many taciturn girls, enjoyed being held more than anything else. She had even informed him at one point that she was genuinely d to have a small chest as it allowed her to feel even closer to him whenever they hugged. Though he had initially thought that was Leticia''s attempt at a joke, Vahn quickly realized she was beingpletely serious. That day, he ended up holding her for the better part of ten hours, and, ever since, it had be routine for them to simply embrace one another whenever they wanted to talk. To this end, Leticia shamelessly climbed atop Vahn''sp, casually straddling his hips as she linked her arms around his body and rested her head against his chest. In response, Vahn unhesitantly wrapped his muscr arms around her tiny frame, gently caressing her back for the better part of ten minutes as they both calmed down. "I''m sorry..." Breaking the silence, the first thing Leticia did was apologize. She hadn''t even thought about it at the time, but, the moment Vahn arrived, Leticia realized how monstrous her actions had been. Her first instinct had been to try and conceal the truth, but, having never spoken a single falsehood in her entire life, she simply didn''t know how to begin... "I know..." Despite his words, warm energy began to flow from Vahn''s hands as he cradled Leticia even more gingerly in his arms. His intentions were to help her calm down, but, seemingly having the opposite effect, Leticia''s body tensed as she whispered, "I want you to punish me..." Without demonstrating even a hint of shock, Vahn continued to embrace Leticia''s body as he softly muttered, "There is no punishment I can mete out that will weigh more heavily on your conscience than the guilt you''re currently feeling..." "But..." Weakening his hold on Leticia''s body, Vahn stared directly into the petite Vampire Princess''s eyes as he said, "Enough. You know full well what you did was wrong. Rather than asking me to punish you, you should be thinking about how you can make amends through your actions. You may have been tainted by darkness, but, deep down, you''re an exceptionally kind and caring woman. From now on, focus on what you can do to help people. That is how you will find absolution. Besides...this isn''t my first rodeo. Even if I did punish you, it wouldn''t really feel like a punishment..." Though she was a little confused by the spontaneously wry smile that had developed across Vahn''s face, it didn''t take long for Leticia to realize what he was trying to say. This caused a subtle blush to spread across her face, but, rather than shy away, she ced her right hand over his heart and said, "If it''s you...I wouldn''t mind..." ("Yeah, I have no doubts about that...") (*Ufufufufufu~*) Keeping such thoughts to himself, Vahn responded to Leticia''s remark with a rtively tame kiss before pulling away with a smile and saying, "You''ve been through so much, Leticia. It would break my heart to treat you in such a manner. If you feel that way after our children have fully grown, I''ll consider it. For now, just allow me to pamper and love you at my leisure...okay...?" Though her expression didn''t change much, Leticia blushed a deep shade of crimson in response to Vahn''s words. He could even feel her body gradually heating up, but, after several seconds of tense silence, her heart began to gradually calm as she returned a rare smile and said, "If that is your wish, it is only natural that I oblige..." ... .. . Had he been aware of the enviable position Vahn was in, the hateful scowl upon Laius''s face would have been exponentially more extreme. He had spent thest ten hours trying to remedy the bald spot on his head, but, no matter what he tried, the hair simply wouldn''t grow back. When he asked a specialist to take a closer look, he learned that the roots had beenpletely destroyed. To make matters exponentially worse, even the pores in which that sat in were effectively erased, a thinyer of scar tissue almost indistinguishable from normal skin covering the entire bald spot. "That bastard! Just you wait, Vahn Aldrnari Mason! When I''m through with you, you''ll be begging for death...!" ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Sauce Energy op...'',''DJ Snake ft. Justin Bieber - Let me Love You...'',''This idiot has no idea how in over his head he is xD...'') Chapter 2109: Routine

Chapter 2109: Routine

After adjusting the dial next to the entrance of his reception room, Vahn, alongside ck Rabbit, stepped out of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth and into the territory of the No Names. He had promised to stop by and prepare breakfast for everyone and that was exactly what he intended to do. Unsurprisingly, Lily, Jin, and a couple of other members from the Senior Group were already there waiting. It wasn''t really necessary, but, as the group responsible for looking after and caring for the younger members of the No Names, it had bemon for the children who had received his blessing to help out with meal prep and clean up. "Good morning, Vahn, ck Rabbit~!" With her three tails swaying happily behind her, Lily was the first to approach with her usual kind and caring smile. She had be quite fond of receiving head pats, so, the moment she stepped into his range, Vahn extended his hand to gently caress the space between her ears, replying, "It''s good to see you, Lily." Giggling in amusement, the tips of Lily''s ears twitched yfully as she mused, "You speak as though it''s been a long time since ourst meeting. I just saw you two days ago." Though it had actually been much longer than two days from his perspective, Vahn just chuckled in response to the petite kitsune''s remark before retracting his hand, shifting his attention to Jin, and asking, "Anything interesting happen sincest night? I half expected those brats toe out and meet us." With an increasinglymon and wry smile developing across his face, Jin exined, "Thest I saw him, Izayoi-san had holed himself up in the Library. As for Kasukabe-san and Kudou-san..." Perking up the moment Jin directed his gaze towards her, Lily happily chimed, "They both stayed upte to help me put all the other children to bed. I told them they could sleep in but Asuka-san said it would be improper for the future Leader of the No Names toze about while everyone else was working hard. Ist saw her dragging off a very sleepy-looking Yo-chan to the bath~." Replying with a soft hum, Vahn startled ck Rabbit by giving her a little nudge and saying, "Why don''t you go and check up on them? Leave breakfast to us." Though she seemed a little reluctant at first, it never took long for ck Rabbit to bounce back, a smile blossoming across her face as she replied, "Okay, Vahn. Just leave it to me~." before flexing her remarkably thick yet pliant thighs and bounding high into the sky. If she exerted herself, it was possible for her to leap several tens of kilometers in a single bound, so, shortly after she departed, ck Rabbit was already disappearing into the Manor of the No Names. As for Vahn and the rest, they immediately set about preparing breakfast for more than a hundred voracious little children... ... .. . While his main body was having fun preparing breakfast for the No Names, several other versions of Vahn were taking care of things back at the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. His morning routine consisted of helping Sarina and Nonoplete theirs, preparing breakfast, and, most importantly, helping his adorably little Wererabbit take care of their kids. Fortunately, as per usual, Vahn had all the time in the world to take care of the things he wanted to take care of. This kind of made it seem pointless to block off his ess to the Little Garden, but, as there was always at least one version of himself adhering to the Principle Axis of Time, Vahn liked to think he had found a loophole in his own restrictions. Besides, it was good practice. Taking advantage of this, one of Vahn''s parallel selves had spent the entire night with Shiroyasha until she was practically purring like a kitten in his arms. At the same time, yet another version of himself had been lounging about in the Library with Leticia using his body as a pillow. Though he didn''t really need to do research, Vahn had spent a bit of time casually researching the history of the Perseus Community and its exploits ever since Laius had taken ownership. Unsurprisingly, the Perseus Community had basically be a shadow of its former self under the leadership of Laius. Prior to his ascent as Leader, it had been a famous Community that hosted a number of high-brow Gift Games that were celebrated throughout the Little Garden. Now, however, it was basically just a tool to support Laius''s hedonistic values. The original Perseus Community had been a noble organization that proactively protected weaker Communities from Demon Lords. Since Laius had taken over, it had be a bastardized version of a Trade Community that specialized in the auction of ves. He had literally converted the group from a Community that protects others to a group that exploits those very same people. Simply put, Laius was even worse than most Demon Lords. They at least owned up to the fact they were basically evil, or, at the very least, exceptionally selfish individuals who only pursued their very specific interests. Laius''s very existence was self-serving, yet, as if his father''s aplishments were his own, he continued to swagger about as if the Perseus Community could do no wrong. Fortunately, Laius was just as big a fool as his actions suggested. He was so confident in the legacy his father had left behind that he hadn''t bothered to change anything even after the conditions of his Community''s Game of Challenge had been made public. This allowed anyone with even half a brain to strategize against him while the members of Perseus would have no choice but to gather information or go in blind. Against a weaker Community, Perseus would generally have no problems gathering information prior to a Rite of Challenge. They were equipped with a number of powerful artifact-type Gifts that were effectively lesser copies of legendary armaments. This included the Boots of Hermes, the Helm of Hades, and, most notably, the Head of the Gorgon. Though they were a far cry from the Tria actually worn by Hermes, the Boots of Hermes granted the wielder drastically increased speed, the ability of flight, and the power to trespass weak barriers without being detected. As for the Helm of Hades, it was temted from the legendary helmet that provided the titr God of Death the ability to move aboutpletely undetected. In the hands of mortals, it granted the power of Invisibility, and, at higher grades, the ability to move through solid matter as if it didn''t exist. With the Boots of Hermes and the Helm of Hades, the members of Perseus were basically masters of infiltration. Laius also had the original artifacts that the emted Gifts were temted from, so, while he was too much of a coward to invade an enemy base himself, it wasn''t difficult to imagine him using his Gifts to take advantage of others. Having produced items with simr effects, Vahn wasn''t even remotely worried that the members of Perseus would be able to infiltrate the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. They would require the originals to have any hope of infiltrating his workshop, and, the moment they got caught, the Laws of the Little Garden stipted that he could basically deal with them however he pleased. Invading the territory of another Community was an act of war, so, even if Vahn disassembled them into their constituent molecules, the Central Network wouldn''t g him for viting any Laws. Though he intended to spare Laius at the behest of Shiroyasha, the arrogant heir''s fate ultimately depended on his choices moving forward. If Laius sent members of his Community to infiltrate his home with the intent to petrify and kidnap Sarina and Nono, he would only have himself to me for what happened after. Vahn had never been fond of people who rely on underhanded tactics to achieve their goals. His ledger wasn''t exactly clean, but, no matter what happened, he always zed forward like a steam train rather than a coward skulking in the shadows. The only times he even bothered to be low-key was when he had people infiltrating criminal organizations to try and gather information. Even then, however, he never targetted their families or friends to try and pressure people into doing what he wanted. Unsurprisingly, Laius had no qualms about using underhanded methods to try and get his way. He had even used the original Helm of Hades to infiltrate a number of Communities containing women he had taken a liking to. He would then pressure them into having sex with him under the threat of having their entire Community wiped out if they refused. The number of women Laius had victimized since his arrival in the East Side had easily exceeded one hundred. Despite this, he enjoyed a rtively positive reputation since anyone who even dared to speak out against him would simply ''disappear'' in the weeks to follow. Vahn had gotten out of the habit of taking vengeance on behalf of others. He also wasn''t going to run around punishing everyone who had a checkered past since he understood, better than most, how futile such an endeavor would be. All he would end up doing is umting positive karma, and, as a result of the imbnce he had caused, progressively more powerful "viins" would begin to appear. He was already expected to handle a number of Demon Gods in the near future, so, from a big picture perspective, Laius was barely even qualified to be a footnote in the legends that would invariably be written about the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. The greatest threat to Laius''s continued existence was sheer arrogance. So long as he yed by the rules, the only thing he needed to worry about is getting thrashed and spending the next decade or twopletely bald. Shiroyasha wanted to spare him and that was the only reason Vahn needed to let the arrogant second-generation wastrel limp away with his tail between his legs. Unfortunately, Laius hadn''t ruined the reputation of Perseus by being a clear-headed and forward-thinking individual. He was also extremely petty, so, shortly after noon, the barrier around the Sage Dragon''s Hearth began to pulse as a red light covered most of the windows. It wasn''t able to break in, but, by the time the light had faded away, a thinyer of shiny grey stone had spread across the outside of his estate. "What the hell? Were this guy''s brain cells located in his hair...?" While his other selves were assuring Sarina and Nono that everything was okay, Vahn manifested in the reception hall of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth before opening the petrified front doors and taking a step outside. When he looked back, he saw that the entire exterior of his shop had been turned to stone. The dimensional membrane separating the inside from the exterior prevented the effect from breaching even the thin ssprising his window panes but it transparently clear that the group dressed like ancient Greek warriors had attempted to petrify the entire premises. "Listen here, swain. Wee bearing an important message from the Great Lord, Laius Perseus. In precisely seven days, the Perseus Community will be disp-" Grabbing the face of the man that was speaking, Vahn crushed his helmet just enough to make it impossible to remove without actually killing him. Then, before the rest of the group could even think to react, several indecipherablyplex magic circles appeared around him as spears from his Inventory loosed towards them at hypersonic speeds. In less time than it took the spectators to inhale sharp breaths, more than a dozen members of the Perseus Community, several of which had been hiding in the wings using Helms of Hades, dropped to the ground. They weren''t dead, but, without prompt medical treatment, there was a chance they would bleed out within the next three to five minutes. Stepping on the petrified head resembling the legendary Medusa, Vahn crushed the duplicated Gift beneath his foot as he stared down at the man who had been speaking and said, "You really fucked up this time..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Papa Vahn is on the job...!'',''Practice makes perfect~'',''Arrogance without true power is hubris...'') Chapter 2110: A Momentary Reprieve

Chapter 2110: A Momentary Reprieve

Having never left Shiroyasha''s side since the previous night, Vahn alerted the sleeping demoness, asking, "You''re seeing this, right...?" Though she wanted to pretend she was still asleep, a sigh escaped Shiroyasha''s throat as she sat up and answered, "Indeed...still, it would make things easier on everyone if you followed through with your original n. Didn''t you say something about it being more meaningful topel malicious individuals into contracts than it was to impose them on good people? Laius may be a bastard and a half, but he is far from irredeemable. Take it from someone who has witnessed the creation and destruction of every multiverseprising our current reality. Laius isn''t evil. He is just a misguided brat trying to win his father''s attention..." "..." Recalling that Shiroyasha was, in fact, a conceptual entity that had existed since before time itself, much of Vahn''s rage and indignation promptly dried up. Laius had crossed the line by attacking his home, but, at the same time, petrification wasn''t something he couldn''t deal with. Rather, much like the rest of his children, Usalia''s kittens were outfitted with clothes that made them virtually immune to damage and negative status effects... "Fine. So long as he yields after I smack the crap out of him, I''ll settle with making him spend the next hundred years bald and celibate..." Imagining the scene of Laius walking around with a perfectly bald head, Shiroyasha couldn''t help snickering as she asked, "Why not make him take a monk''s pledge? The Buddhist faction has a lot of influence in the Divine Realm. If you''re going to shave his head and force him to be celibate, you might as well make him into a monk. A hundred years of helping people will go a long way towards rehabilitating him." "Hmm..." Though he wasn''t particrly fond of the idea of forcing people to convert to a specific religion, it wasn''t all that different from binding them to a contract. The only real notable difference was who Laius would be held ountable to... ... .. . While the conversation with Shiroyasha was taking ce, Vahn was simultaneously removing the petrification effect from his workshop. He wanted to directly infiltrate the Perseus Community to teach Laius a lesson, but, due to the organization being located in a 5-Digit Gate, his options were limited. The Sage Dragon''s Hearth was still a 6-Digit Community so he would need to abide by the timeline that had been established by Perseus, the Host Community. Simply put, Communities of a higher-digit Gate were unable to challenge those of a lower-digit Gate unless specific conditions had been met. This was one of the things that allowed lower-digit Communities to pressure and outright suppress groups in the outer gates. This was frowned upon by most Communities; but, as there were no Laws against it, less reputable organizations relied on this, and other methods to eliminate future enemies, expand their influence, and scout talent. Perseus had branches that extended as far as the 7-Digit Gates but their Headquarters was located in Gate #26745. Even if Vahn outright dered war on them, the only people he could target were those in the 6 and 7-Digit Gates. As many of these were affiliates who were forced to obey Perseus, it simply wasn''t worth the effort. Thus, after calming down, he decided he would just wait until the seven-day deadline had passed before teaching Laius a lesson. After all, Perseus had already issued a deration. They no longer had the option of backing out... ... .. . Hearing about what had happened to the advance party, Laius had fallen into an uncharacteristic silence as he sat atop a stone throne adorned with gold and jewels. At his side was a phantasmal beauty with long golden hair that seemed to billow despite theck of a breeze. She also had azure blue eyes that radiated intelligence, but, were anyone to stare directly into them, they would find a perennial me of wrath contained in their cold and calcting depths. "You have erred greatly this time, Laius. What could have possiblypelled you to challenge a Pure-Blooded Dragon to a Rite of Challenge? Have youpletely lost your mind?" Though he would haveshed out at anyone else, Laius hung his head in response to the woman''s words. She may only be a spiritual projection but her true identity was none other than the Greek Goddess of War and Reason, Athena. As for what she was doing here, well, word got around pretty quickly when half his Community had been tasked with keeping an eye on him and reporting to his father... Exhaling a sigh, Athena crossed her arms under her rather prominent bust before saying, "Just do your best to survive. Our influence in the East is far too weak. Even if you''re my Godson, I wouldn''t be able to seek vengeance should you lose your life. The Demon of the White Night is far stronger than you can possibly imagine and the capabilities of the one referring to himself as Vahn Aldrnari Mason are simply unknown..." Balling his hands into fists, Laius wanted to protest, but, knowing Athena was always just a single slight away from losing her temper, he did his best to remain in control of his own. After all, with the exception of Hephaestus and his father, she was his greatest benefactor. It wasn''t because she was a Goddess that she sometimes referred to herself as his Godmother. She had literally given him her blessing when he was born. Seeing the usually brash and unyielding Laius hanging his head in shame and frustration, a second sigh nearly escaped Athena''s lips as she extended her hand to delicately caress the bald spot on the left side of his head. If this wasn''t her spiritual avatar, she might have been able to remove the curse that had been ced on him. Unfortunately, Zeus wouldn''t allow any of the Olympians to leave the South until his grudge with Odin had been settled. Her father was exceptionally petty, so, ever since Odin had tricked him into bedding a donkey disguised as one of his Valkyries, tensions between the Greek and Norse Pantheons had been at an all-time high... Retracting her hand from Laius''s head, Athena''s body began to shimmer as she said, "I''ll leave you with a parting gift. It should be able to preserve your life in a crisis. However, you must promise me that you will immediately surrender the moment it activates..." As the color drained from her ephemeral figure, an obsidian ck Gift Card glistening with fiery red runes manifested in her hand. This caused Laius to immediately perk, a greedy look in his eyes as he restrained the urge to snatch the card from Athena''s hand. Amused by Laius''s response, a sonorous chuckle emanated from Athena''s throat as she pulled the card away from him and said, "Promise me." Understanding that she would never part with the card under normal circumstances, the muscles in Laius''s jaw flexed a few times before he forced himself to say, "I promise..." Nodding her head in approval, Athena willfully handed over the Gift Card that had been infused with a fragment of her Divinity. When Laius saw what it was, his eyes immediately lit up, a smile developing across his face as a boisterous, somewhat crazed-soundingughter began to exude from his throat. This earned him a disapproving shake of the head from Athena, but, as she had already exhausted this form''s spiritual energy, it wasn''t long before she simply evaporated into a pale, bluish-white mist... ... .. . After making sure each of the children had eaten their fill, Vahn gathered alongside ck Rabbit, Jin, Lily, Izayoi, Asuka, and Yo. He noticed thetter was still wearing the onesie she had adorned during the Gift Game against Fores Garo. He was tempted to ask why, but, seeing her tail wagging as she affectionately cuddled with one of the elemental foxes he had created for Lily, he decided against it. Instead, he opened the discussion by asking, "So? How was it? Did you enjoy your first Gift Game?" Snorting through her nose, Asuka sent a re towards thezily reclining Izayoi as she answered, "We might have if a certain someone hadn''t tried to hog all the glory for themselves..." Half-opening one of his eyes, Izayoi briefly met with Asuka''s gaze before smiling in amusement and reclining back even further. He was tempted toment that she was ying with fire, but, having experienced having his head blown off by Seraphina, he decided to just kick back and pretend she didn''t exist. After all, this was inarguably the easiest way to piss her off... "You...!" mming the table as she jumped to her feet, Asuka seemed like she was half a second away from leaping across the table to give Izayoi a firm p. Before she was able to, however, Jin adopted the closest thing to an authoritative voice he possessed, saying, "Kudou-san! Please calm yourself! We haven''t gathered like this to argue amongst ourselves...!" Though she didn''t cease her ring, a hint of a blush spread across Asuka''s cheeks as she realized he was being chided by an eleven-year-old. She was also the instigator in this case, so, after several seconds of growing awkwardness, she just issued a haughty harumph before crossing her arms and sitting back down. Suppressing a relieved sigh, Jin''s expression rxed as he met Vahn''s gaze and answered, "Given the circumstances, it would be improper to say we enjoyed ourselves. However, considering it was our first real Gift Game, I can''t help feeling proud of each and every one of us. We have much room to improve, but, for people who had only known each other for a day, we were able to support each other without issue. I would have preferred it if Izayoi remained with the group but I understand his reasons for going off on his own. Thus, at least this time around, I am willing to forgo admonishing his behavior..." Having had a lengthy heart-to-heart discussion with Izayoi the previous night, Jin''s understanding of the older boy was far moreprehensive than Asuka''s. He understood that Izayoi was the type of person to try and carry everyone''s burdens himself. They were very alike in this regard, so, even though he didn''t approve of Izayoi running off on his own, Jin understood he would probably do the same if he possessed such tremendous might. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn prevented Asuka''s imminent outburst by saying, "I agree. There are quite a number of things you can improve upon but the coordination between you, Asuka, and Yo was exceptional. If Izayoi coordinated with Yo and acted as the main vanguard, your Community could probably go undefeated until the 4-Digit Gates. Barring a few obvious exceptions." Since there was no way in hell the No Names would be able to defeat his Community, Vahn would be lying if he said they could defeat anyone. He would feel an itchy sensation across his body at the mere thought of spreading misinformation, so, for his own sake, he wasn''t going to lie and say they were unbeatable. As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn surprised nearly everyone by creating a three-dimensional projection of the forest surrounding Fores Garo. He passively recorded everything within the range of his perception so he could rey the events of the previous night in super ultra-high definition. This earned him a frown from Izayoi, as, before anyone could speak, Vahn centered the camera on the blond-haired youth so that everyone could see what he was up to after their separation at the beginning of the Gift Game... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''You fool! Don''t you know he will only be even more powerful without hair!?'',''Odin be like, "You want to bed one of my daughters? Well, if you insist..."'',''RIP Izayoi. There is nothing a Tsundere fears more than having their secret actions exposed xD...'') Chapter 2111: Sentiments and an Important Lesson

Chapter 2111: Sentiments and an Important Lesson

After exining what had happened during breakfast, Vahn surprised Sarina and Nono by saying, "I was thinking about having the two of you participate in the impending Rite of Challenge. You won''t have to fight. I just think it would be a good experience." Unable to suppress her excitement, Sarina immediately eximed, "Yes! I''ll do it~!" with literal stars in her eyes. She had been feeling rather useless as the Vice-Leader of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, so, even if she ultimately just stood on the sidelines, she wanted to participate. Though she demonstrated considerably less zeal than Sarina, Nono offered a delicate smile as she calmly answered, "Okay..." before following it up with meek, "I trust you..." Directing her gaze towards Nono, Sarina''s brow twitched ever so slightly as she internally groaned. She had learned that Nono, despite her lithe and petite appearance, was more than two years older than she was. She had just grown up in a desert with a very restricted diet, so, despite approaching thirteen years of age, her height wasparable to girls several years younger. The only thing that truly distinguished her from a ten-year-old was her rapidly developing chest, something Sarina was more than a little envious of... Noticing the shift in Sarina''s aura, a sigh escaped Vahn''s lips as he muttered, "Sarina..." in a soft yet chiding tone. This caused the young girl to startle slightly, but, more importantly, all the negativity in her aura spontaneously disappeared as she nervously replied, "Yes...?" Shaking his head, Vahn adopted a wry smile as he said, "It''s nothing." Then, after rising to his feet, he added, "Your lessons start around noon today. If you want to go and visit the No Names, make sure you''re back by 11:30." On that note, Vahn waved to the two girls before promptly disappearing into thin air. This elicited a sigh of relief from Sarina while Nono, far more perceptive than she let on, just offered a polite smile and suggested, "I was going to do a bit of self-study in the library...would you like to join me?" Though she enjoyed spending time with the No Names, the notion she should be focusing more on her own Community had long since developed in Nono''s mind. Now that their contract with the No Names hade to an end, she wanted to focus on growing as a person. Thus, while she had no desire to fight, Nono had been studying hard to be a Nurse. She knew he didn''t really need her help, but, if she could alleviate Vahn''s burdens even a little, she wanted to try... Exhaling a long and drawn-out sigh, Sarina rested her head on the table as she mumbled, "Reading is such a chore. I don''t get how some people can just sit around for hours at a time without moving. If I sit still for more than thirty minutes, my body starts to itch..." Covering her mouth to stifle a giggle, a mischievous glimmer shed across Nono''s aqua blue eyes as she leaned forward and whispered, "You know...the red sofa on the far side of the Library smells a lot like Vahn..." Perking up, Sarina''s eyes glistened with a far more innocent light as she practically bolted from the room. This earned her another soft giggle from Nono. Immediately after that, however, she cupped her cheek in a manner simr to Lily, musing, "How cute~" in a yful yet motherly tone... ... .. . In preparation for the Rite of Challenge, Vahn ced arge sign outside the Sage Dragon''s Hearth to inform prospective clients that it would be closed for seven days. He would still ept clients if it was an emergency, but, for the time being, he wanted to focus on strengthening the defenses of his home to make sure even the outside was fully protected from attacks. The annoying thing about the Divine Realm, at least in Vahn''s opinion, was that the Central Network tried to keep things fair and bnced. This wasn''t necessarily a bad thing, but, when it came to Gifts that relied on legends and concepts, they could effectively ignore conventional defenses. This was the reason why even a knock-off version of the Head of Medusa was able to petrify the exterior of his home. To prevent future incidents, Vahn was considering creating an Artificial Intelligence with the ability to analyze and respond to threats in a manner reminiscent of Da Vinci''s Uomo Universale. He had a phenomenal amount of information stored in his mind so all he needed to do was load a ton of Gift Cards into the system so that it would basically be able to counter anything that was thrown at it. Simply put, Vahn was going to create a Temte that borrowed attributes from Household Spirits and the Mother System developed by Da Vinci. Sarina, Nono, and even Seraphina would probably enjoy having their own Companions. He could even make them function simr to Gifts, so, once he got production up and running, he could basically hand them out to burgeoning Communities to serve as Guardian Spirits. Vahn had always been fond of the Companion system he worked alongside Da Vinci to create. The Companions were remarkably adorable, and, so long as they were issued at a young age, they had a demonstrable positive influence on the mental and emotional development of their partners. The children who had grown up under the influence of the Empire were far more adventurous than their parents. They were also much happier, so, while the Empire was far from a perfect ce to live, only the most selfish and egotistical pessimists would argue that things had be worse... ... .. . "Did you seriously create a Prinny!? Oh, Vahn, how thoughtful of you~!" Seeing the custom Companion Vahn had made specifically for her, Seraphina practically beamed as she gave the extremely soft yet durable creature a hug. In truth, it was actually Temted from him, as, even if he appreciated Seraphina quite a bit, Vahn wouldn''t just let her bully any ordinary Prinny. Meeting the dead eyes of his newest Temte, a dryugh emanated from Vahn''s throat as he said, "Try not to be too rough on it. Companions are neither pets nor servants. It will dly help you out, but, if you treat it poorly, you only have yourself to me if it shuns you." After making herselffortable atop the Prinny''s head, Seraphina poked her tongue out at Vahn, saying, "Oh, hush you. Did you honestly believe I would mistreat a Prinny after spending a thousand years advocating for their rights?" Though she may have forgotten about her interactions with Vahn after his spontaneous departure, the impression he left on her had influenced Seraphina''s life from that moment onward. She wasn''t the best Mistress they could hope for, but,pared to most other Demons, she was practically a Saint. Prinnies had literally been lining up to be her personal transport, but, even after going through thousands of them, Seraphina could never find one that perfectly conformed to the shape of her bottom. If she were being honest, Seraphina would rather Vahn transform into a Prinny so she could sit on him. It was one of the few things she genuinely desired with all her heart, but, fearing he might get upset with her, she had never brought it up. Now that he had gifted her a proxy, she was truthfully a little disappointed, but, after sitting atop its head, her mood instantly improved. She didn''t know if sitting atop Vahn''s head would feel simr, but, at the very least, the golden Prinny he had gifted her was far beyond her initial expectations. Maintaining a wry smile, Vahn just shook his head before saying, "We''ll probably be gaining some new members in the future. Do your best to get along with them, okay?" Squinting her eyes ever so slightly, Seraphina''s smile became somewhat predatory as she said, "Oh? Well, I don''t mind. So long as you continue to pamper and spoil me, you can have as many women as you please. Just remember. No matter what anyone else thinks, I''ll always be your number one. I won''t settle for second in anything I do. Oh-hohohohoho~." Issuing another light chuckle, Vahn pulled Seraphina from the unfortunate Prinny, his hands snaking around her thin, soft, and smooth waist as he teased, "At the very least, you''ll always be my number one most pampered Demon Goddess..." Though he got the distinct impression that Shiroyasha had just squinted her eyes at him, Vahn did his best to ignore it as he nted a kiss on Seraphina''s lips. Affection and intimacy were the easiest ways to get her to calm down, so, before she could go on a tirade insisting she was more important than his other women, he silenced her with excessive amounts of both... ... .. . After having his actions exposed by Vahn, Izayoi immediately followed the battle analysis by stating, "That''s a pretty convenient ability if you''re able to move around freely. I imagine it would be super useful in the hands of a pervert..." Realizing the implications of Izayoi''s statement, Asuka''s brows immediately furrowed as she sent an usatory re his way before subsequently directing her attention towards Vahn and saying, "Not everyone is as perverted as you, Izayoi. Besides, I doubt someone who deigns to call themselves the Sage Dragon Emperor would need to resort to such methods. Based on that little breakfast of ours, it''s safe to say that Vahn already has quite a number of women fawning over him..." Ending her statement by directing a knowing look towards the lightly blushing ck Rabbit, Asuka seemed pretty confident in her assertions until Vahn shamelessly exined, "I''ll be honest. While he is a little off the mark, Izayoi isn''t exactly wrong. Rather, you''re both, kind of sort of, correct." Blinking in surprise, Asuka couldn''t help asking, "Pardon...?" as a fluttery and slightly anxious feeling spread through her chest. Without beating around the bush, Vahn exined, "You''re currently in a Realm that overlooks all of reality. Though there are various different kinds, omniscience isn''t a particrly rare ability for Gods in the Divine Realm to possess. I''m not saying you should simply ept it and start running around naked but you''ll need toe to terms with the fact that your privacy has never been a concern for the Gods that rule over creation." Waving his hand, Vahn created a three-dimensional projection of Asuka before forcing it to cycle through a number of different outfits. This caused the young heiress''s face to turn beet red up to her ears as she shouted, "How dare you...!" Shaking his head, Vahn maintained a calm expression as he exined, "The sentiments you have brought with you from the Lower Realms have no ce here. If things like this bother you, you''ll be in for a rude awakening when some stray Alchemist or Poet produces a literal army of golems that share your appearance. In this world, there are no limits. This notion even applies to the depravity and licentiousness of certain Gods, so, if you''re serious about reaching the peak, you''ll need to be prepared. If the current you were to encounter someone as shameless as Zeus or Apollo, you would probably find yourself warming their bed that very same night..." With visible steam rising from her head, Asuka mmed the table in front of her as she stood up and eximed, "I would never do such a thing...!" Rolling his eyes, Vahn manifested a glistening ck Gift Card from his functionally infinite reserves as he said, "For the next thirty seconds, you''ll believe wholeheartedly that you are a cat. Also, from your perspective, Yo''s entire body is covered in catnip." "Vahn...!" Though ck Rabbit called out to him with a reddening expression on her face, Vahn didn''t retract his statement. As a result, Asuka''s eyes briefly shed with a mystical glow as she squats down like a cat seated on its back paws. Then, as if she had smelled something both fragrant and intoxicatinging from Yo''s body, she began to rub her face against the blushing girl''s legs while issuing an adorable yet extremely awkward purr. While Asuka was enjoying another taste of her own medicine, Vahn maintained a calm disposition as he said, "The Little Garden isn''t a yground. There are threats here you can''t even imagine at your current level. This includes conceptual entities who literally dictate how you and pretty much everyone else perceives the world around you. They can literally rewrite the Laws of reality and you wouldn''t even notice it. Thus, while you are ultimately free to do as you please, do so knowing that others, some far more powerful than yourselves, will be doing the exact same thing..." With that said, Vahn liberated Asuka from hispulsion just as she was attempting to climb into Yo''sp... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Nono is just one evolution away from Onee-san status...'',''The return of the Companions...!'',''Vahn really likes bullying proud and obstinate girls xD...'') Chapter 2112: No More Coddling

Chapter 2112: No More Coddling

Though he expected her to jump up and have another outburst, Asuka surprised everyone by rising to her feet, fixing her dress, issuing a light cough, and sitting down with her eyes closed. Then, as if thest thirty seconds hadn''t taken ce, she opened them with a serious expression on her face as she asked, "Why are you here? Surely you didn''te all this way simply to lecture us? Didn''t your contract with the No Names expire the moment we were summoned?" "Wow. You bounce back quickly, don''tcha...?" Ignoring Izayoi''s remark, Asuka continued to stare at Vahn as if she were preparing to engage in a business transaction. This earned her an amused smile from thetter, who, after several seconds of silence, answered, "It''s simple. Now that our contract with the No Names has expired, I intended to invite you all to join the Burgeoning Communities ord. For details-" "Not happening/Pass." Directing an usatory look towards Izayoi for daring to talk over her, Asuka cleared her throat a second time before stating, "The No Names do not require your protection. Now that the three of us have arrived, we will watch over and protect them using our own means. If we wanted the easy way out, we would have joined a more prestigious Community from the start." Though he didn''t disagree with what Asuka was saying, Vahn shifted his attention to Jin. She might view herself as the future Leader of the No Names, but, for the time being, the only one who could decide their Community''s fate was Jin and Jin alone. Fortunately, Jin was a very perceptive young man. He had also put a tremendous amount of effort into growing stronger, so, while he would prefer to keep rtions between their two Communities genial, he also desired to see how far they could grow and develop on their own. Thus, after a long moment of silence, he briefly exchanged nces with Lily before dering, "The No Names will not be joining the Burgeoning Communities ord." "Master Jin...!" Not expecting Jin to turn down Vahn''s offer, ck Rabbit''s hair burst into pink light as she became visibly flustered. Before the befuddled bunny could get too riled up, Vahn plopped his hand atop her head, gently caressing the space between her ears as he said, "Rx. This is a good thing. After all, I can''t keep babysitting them forever." "But Vahn..." Shaking his head, Vahn leaned down to nt a kiss atop ck Rabbit''s forehead before adopting a casual smile and adding, "Have more faith in the Community your friends built. Jin might be young but he has the makings of a great leader. As for these three...they''re a little rough around the edges but they have tremendous potential. Once they catch their stride, I might actually have to watch my back. Or, at the very least, protect my ankles..." Directing his gaze towards Izayoi, Vahn earned a snort from the blond-haired youth by sending him a wink. He wasn''t actually afraid that the young hero would ever catch up to him, but, considering how powerful the opponents he was expected to defeat were, it wasn''t entirely impossible for them to catch up. He would just need toze about and do nothing. Unfortunately for them, Vahn, quite literally, had time on his side. He also had trouble sitting still for too long, so, shortly after his offer had been rejected, he invited ck Rabbit to apany him for a date before promptly departing thend of the No Names... ... .. . After spending part of his morning watching anime and cuddling with Fenrir, Vahn tracked Sarina and Nono to the Library. He wasn''t too surprised to find Nono sitting at the mahogany desk he sometimes used, but, considering how she forced Jin to read and exin things at her behest, it was a little surprising to see Sarina curled up on one of the sofas with a book in hand. "Well, this is a pleasant surprise. However, shouldn''t the two of you be getting ready? I noticed your bento boxes sitting on the counter. Make sure you eat before ss begins." Though Nono simply marked the page she was reading before promptly closing it with a smile, Sarina practically jumped from her position on the sofa when she heard Vahn''s words. She was able to catch herself, but, considering she attempted to hide the book she was reading behind her back, it was pretty obvious she was up to some mischief. Since it wasn''t really his business what the girls did in their free time, Vahn pretended to have no idea what Sarina was up to as he turned away and said, "I''ll see you in about forty minutes. Don''t forget to change into your uniforms." On that note, Vahn promptly departed the library. This caused Sarina to exhale a sigh of relief, but, before she couldpletely rx, Nono chimed in to remind her, "Have you forgotten? Vahn sees and knows everything that takes ce in the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. What reason is there to try and hide things from him?" Though she was perennially bashful around Vahn, Nono could speak in full and unbroken sentences when she really wanted to. Her time with the No Names had helped her break out of her shell. She had also gotten used to Sarina''s antics, so, while her voice was still soft and delicate, it often carried a teasing undertone whenever she conversed with her ''Onee-san''. Paling in response to Nono''s words, Sarina retrieved the book she had haphazardly stowed behind a cushion before whimpering, "He''s going to think I''m a pervert..." Squinting her eyes ever so slightly, Nono resisted the temptation to remind Sarina that reading a book was far from the most perverted thing she had done. She had attempted to time her bath with Vahn''s, and, after learning he handmade many of their undergarments, she even offered to assist him as a live model. Indulging in a medical text rted to the male anatomy was rtively tame inparison. Rather, if they couldn''t treat boys in the future, more than half their potential clients would be ostracized... After quickly organizing her thoughts, Nono surprised Sarina quite a bit by asking, "And? What''s so bad about that? It''s perfectly normal for girls our age to be interested in such things. Do you really think Vahn would resent us over something so trivial? If that were the case, he wouldn''t have left to give you a chance to collect yourself." Blinking in surprise, Sarina ignored most of what Nono said. Instead, she focused on one specific part of her exnation, asking, "You also have these kinds of thoughts? I tried talking to Lily and she said I''m not old enough to worry about the rtionships between men and women..." Though a rather potent blush colored her cheeks, Nono didn''t attempt to dodge Sarina''s question. Instead, she stared in the direction that Vahn had departed, a somewhat wistful look in her eyes as she said, "Of course I do...how could I not? Vahn is the most amazing person I''ve ever met. He cares for us in such a manner it would be impossible not to have such thoughts..." Seeing the ''mature'' expression on Nono''s face, Sarina''s formed into a slight pout as she exhaled a sigh and muttered, "I knew it...you''re also gunning for Vahn, aren''t you?" Bringing a finger to her lips, Nono tilted her head to the side as if she were in deep thought before surprising Sarina a second time by saying, "Not really." "Eh...?" Not expecting such a response, Sarina couldn''t help staring ck-jawed at the auburn-haired girl who, even now, was looking at the spot where Vahn had departed. Feeling Sarina''s gaze on her, Nono''s smile gained an ostensibly amused look as she turned to meet the former''s gaze and inly state, "I don''t have to. I''m happy just being around Vahn. He cares for me in ways I never could have imagined prior toing to the Divine Realm. Even if things stay like this for the next ten years, I''m sure I''ll be just as happy then as I am now. Besides..." Turning away from the befuddled Sarina, a desirous light reflected in the depths of Nono''s eyes as she added, "When he believes I''m ready, Vahn wille to me..." ... .. . Restraining the urge tough, Vahn had a somewhat silly smile on his face as he fed Usalia spoonfuls of curry. She was currently halfying across the table, eyes closed with a defeated look on her face as she absentmindedly ate whatever he brought near her mouth. As for the reason? She had made the mistake of insisting she was perfectly capable of looking after their kittens on her own. This was the result of a single morning. "I''m so tired, plip. How do you manage to stay so busy without ever getting tired? It''s not fair..." Without missing a beat, Vahn proferred forth another bite of curry as he answered, "I guess I draw energy from the people around me? All I know is I feel revitalized and full of energy every time Iy eyes on you and our adorable children." "Muuuu..." Though she groaned in defiance, Usalia was unable to prevent her tail from waggling in response to Vahn''s words. She even felt as though her energy was beginning to return, so, after eating another spoonful of curry, she promptly sat up, spread her arms, and said, "Hold me, plip. I''m going to take my energy back." Restraining yet another chuckle, Vahn hooked his hands beneath Usalia''s armpits before picking her up from across the table. She would probably take a bite out of him if he spoke his thoughts aloud but this was one of the benefits of having an inordinately petite frame. She was exceptionally easy to pick up and carry around. If they were to walk around outside, passersby might literally mistake them as parent and child. Fortunately, despite being a Star-ss Demon, Usalia didn''t possess any mental or mind-reading abilities. Thus, while she could sometimes sense when he was thinking rude thoughts, Vahn could usually get away with regarding her as the cute and lovable existence she was. He was also quite fond of holding people, so, while no one else was looking, he enjoyed carrying Usalia around and gently caressing her back until she invariably fell asleep in his arms... ... .. . Though they arrived a littlete, Vahn wasn''t going to harp over punctuality when their sses often rante. Instead, he waited for the two girls to take their seats before rising from his own and saying, "As I mentioned previously, I intend to have the two of you participate in the uing Rite of Challenge. To prepare you for this, you will be spending six hours a day living in my Game Board. How you choose to spend that time is ultimately up to you. Just know that, unless someone tries to target and take advantage of you, I will not be stepping in. In other words, even if you join up with a Familia and enter into the Dungeon, I will not be there to protect you. If you''re not careful, there is a very real chance you''ll lose your life. This might only result in you being ejected from the Game Board, but, as the pain and hunger you''ll be experiencing are very real, I would advise you to work together and take every precaution you can think of..." Hearing that they would be spending six hours a day in what basically amounted to a foreign and hostile world, both Sarina and Nono adopted conflicted looks on their faces. Nono, in particr, wasn''t a fan of violence. She also had trouble interacting with new people so there was a chance she would freeze up the moment someone tried to approach her. This was something Vahn was well aware of. In fact, it was one of the many reasons he had chosen this particr type of training. As for the others? He wanted the girls to experience his original world for themselves. Thus, before either could protest, he adopted a kind smile and began telling them all about the Hestia, Loki, and Hephaestus Familias... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''I can actually imagine Vahn wearing greaves to guard his ankles once Izayoi begins to increase in strength...'',''Cuddle bunny (U w U)...'',''Aka: Nightmare, Hard, and Easy Modes'') Chapter 2113: Crossing the Line

Chapter 2113: Crossing the Line

With seven days passing in the blink of an eye, Vahn received a message from Shiroyasha detailing which of the Gift Blocks they would be using for the Rite of Challenge. Thanks to spatialpression and all kinds of other neat space-saving tricks, only about 30% of the Little Garden was residential. The remaining 70% was reserved for the various Gift Games that took ce as very few Communities actually had the capacity to produce Game Board. Since it was presently impossible for the members of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth to enter the 5-Digit Gates, the Perseus Community was forced to temporarily relocate to one of the Game Blocks leased by Thousand Eyes. This ended up costing them quite a bit, but, when it came to matters concerning his pride, there was no price Laius wasn''t willing to pay. "It''s not toote to back out, kid. Don''t get me wrong. I''m more than happy to give you a thrashing. I''m just worried people will use me of bullying the weak if we continue..." If looks could kill, Laius, wearing a rather stylish hat to cover his bald spot, might have been able to erase Vahn from existence with how hard he was ring. Unfortunately, hecked the requisite Gift so the only thing he aplished was straining the veins in his temples as he said, "Go ahead and keep talking. We''ll see how arrogant you are when I''m grinding your banner beneath my heel." Rolling his eyes as theatrically as possible, Vahn shifted his attention from the blithering Laius to Shiroyasha, saying, "You can''t say I didn''t warn him..." Though she wanted nothing more than tough, Shiroyasha maintained a neutral expression as she said, "Indeed. Now then, on behalf of the Thousand Eyes Community, I, Shiroyasha, Floor Master of the East Side, stand witness to the Rite of Challenge between the Perseus Community and the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. In ordance with the Laws of the Little Garden, both sides will now attempt toplete each others'' Game of Challenge. For the sake of fairness, the Game Board proferred forth by the Sage Dragon''s Hearth has been adjusted so that the time spent within does not exceed two hours. If the members of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth are unable toplete the Host Community''s Game of Challenge within this period of time, they have agreed to forfeit." As this was the first time he was hearing this, a look of suspicion appeared on Laius''s face as he asked, "What''s this about? You''re not trying to y favorites are you?" Snorting through her nose, Shiroyasha was about to exin when Vahn beat her to the punch, stating, "I never expected anyone to be dumb enough to challenge me so my particr Game of Challenge is designed as a training assist. Those who enter within are given six years toplete a set of objectives. Depending on their performance, they will be rewarded with various Gifts or have the ones they already possess strengthened. I''ve adjusted things so that time flows precisely 4,380 times faster for the people inside. I can normalize it if you insist but I doubt my Community would need six years toplete your joke of a challenge..." "You bastard...!" Though he both shocked and secretly relieved to learn a bit about Vahn''s Game of Challenge, Laius hated how the former continuously insulted his Community. They weren''t just a group of no-name rabble without any merits. They were a legendary organization that had hosted innumerable high-brow Gift Games that shook the very foundation of the Little Garden. Resisting the urge to shave the other side of Laius''s head just to bnce things out, Vahn rolled his eyes a second time before asking, "Can we get on with this? I have so many better things to do that it would literally take longer to list out than toplete your challenge..." "You son of a bitch! Fine! If that''s how you want to y, let''s fucking-!?" Surprising even Shiroyasha, an unnaturallyrge smile developed across Vahn''s face as he stared at the now statuesque Laius. He didn''t really care if people insulted him. That was par for the course in such disputes. Insulting his mother? Even if he wasn''t speaking literally, Laius had just crossed a line he never should have approached. "Good. Good. Very good. Hahahahahahaha~!" Too angry to continue the conversation, Vahn just turned around and walked away. As for Laius, he literally copsed onto the ground, his legs giving out due to the pressure that, even now, hadn''t let up. "For someone with daddy issues, you should have known better than to bring someone''s parents into this. I went through a lot of effort to convince Vahn to spare you. Now, you only have yourself to me if you choose to continue with this farce..." Though Shiroyasha''s words implied Laius still had a way out, even she knew it was toote for that. Vahn, undoubtedly as a result of his power, rarely got angry. Sure, there were times when heshed out at people, but, more often than not, his hostility towards others was driven by disdain for their actions, not hatred. Now that Laius had genuinely offended him, she had no idea what Vahn might do. Coming back to his senses in response to Shiroyasha''s words, Laius''s expression morphed into a scowl as he leaped to his feet and asked, "You think I''m just going to back down and run away like a dog with his tail tucked between his legs? Both you and your little pet dragon can go straight to hell. In fact, once this is over, I intend to file an officialint. I know you had something to do with that vampire bitch''s escape. It''s only a matter of time before she is returned to me and your title as Floor Master is stripped away." Under normal circumstances, Shiroyasha might have reacted hostilely in the face of such nderous insults. Instead, she just shook her head in exasperation before issuing a tired sigh and saying, "Your father was a good man. He wasn''t without his faults but he always did his best to better the lives of his friends, his family, and his people. I pray, for his sake, that you survive this encounter..." Without waiting for Laius to respond, Shiroyasha promptly disappeared with her words still hanging in the air. At the same time, a massive screen appeared high overhead with the numbers 00:15:00 inrge digital font. Over that were the words Preparation Phase, an indicator that both Communities had fifteen minutes to prepare their away teams and their respective Game Boards. Clicking his tongue, Laius leaped into the air, wings manifesting from his sandals as he flew toward the veritable army waiting for him in the rear. There were no restrictions on the number of people who could participate so he had prepared a literal batallion to protect his Game Board. He had also recruited a few temporary members from allied Communities since their agreement only stipted that members of Perseus and the Sage Dragon''s Hearth would be forfeit upon their defeat. In other words, even if he lost, the Sage Dragon''s Hearth would get nothing. "These fucking morons want to mess with me? Let''s see how you swagger around after I''m finished plowing the members of your Community right in front of you...!" ... .. . Though he was angrier than he had been in a long time, Vahn appeared calm and collected by the time he reached his Community''s waiting area. This was Sarina''s and Nono''s first official Gift Game so he didn''t want them to worry by wearing a dour expression on his face. Instead, he caused both girls'' hearts to skip a beat as he smiled even more radiantly than usual, his hands gently caressing their heads as he said, "You''re up. Remember, you don''t actually have to fight them. Just work with the Familias you familiarized yourselves with during your training." As they had already been exhaustively briefed on what they should do, even Sarina appeared a little exasperated by Vahn''s reminder. They had also repeated the same thirty-day cycle a total of seven times, as, prior to Vahn''s tinkering, the time dtion had only been 150. In other words, every time they went inside for six hours, approximately 37 days would pass. Simply put, the girls were now intimately familiar with what they needed to do to get a jump start in the Game Board temted from the anime version of Danmachi. Thus, in response to Vahn''s words, Sarina answered, "Jeez, Vahn, you worry too much..." as a blush slowly developed across her face. As for Nono, she maintained a neutral expression on her face but surprised both of them by asking, "Is it okay to stay inside for the full duration?" Blinking in surprise, a genuinely befuddled, "Huh...?" emanated from Vahn''s throat as images of a certain heterochromatic princess spontaneously appeared within his mind. It didn''t even take him a microsecond to understand what she was aiming for, his expression hardening ever so slightly as he muttered, "Nono..." As if she understood exactly what Vahn was thinking, Nono shook her head, her blue eyes clear and devoid of even a trace of deceit as she said, "You misunderstand. I simply wish to work with Miach-sama to further my understanding of medicine and healing. Even if it''s only for a few weeks longer, I want to try my best." Though he knew she was telling the truth, Vahn couldn''t help manifesting Loi-chan to hear what she had to say regarding Nono''s decision. To his surprise, the usually gossipy girl appeared with both hands covering her mouth, a mischievous glint in her eyes as she yfully mused, "Nuh-uh, not telling~!" before promptly disappearing with a snicker. "..." Since there was little difference between Nono learning from him and learning from a literal God of Medicine, Vahn ultimately just shook his head in mild exasperation before answering, "Very well. As I have said before, everyone is ultimately responsible for the path they choose to walk. I have done my best to guide you till now. If you sincerely believe in this course of action, you have my full and unwavering support..." Smiling more radiantly than Vahn had ever seen, Nono''s face visibly lit up as she pressed the tips of her fingers together and replied with a happy, "Thank you, Vahn! I knew you would understand~!" Restraining a dry chuckle, Vahn just continued to caress Nono''s head as he shifted his attention to Sarina and asked, "What about you, Sarina? If you want, I can remove the thirty-day fail-safe for you as well. The clock isn''t likely to run out but-" "I''ll do it! Nono already has a head start on me! There''s no way I''ll let her get even further ahead...!" A stark contrast to Nono, Sarina''s intentions were transparently clear. This caused the already wry smile on Vahn''s face to grow even more so, as, despite the progress she had made with Jin, Sarina had effectively forgotten about him after seven months in the Game Board. She has also managed to join the Loki Familia in herst three ythroughs, so, as much as he didn''t want to admit it, his n to set her up with Jin was already a lost cause... Suppressing a sigh, Vahn just nodded his head, saying, "Very well, then. If you believe you can hold out for six years, I''m not going to tell you no. Just promise me you won''t get upset when everyone you interact with inside the Game Board inevitably resets..." Demonstrating an uncharacteristic amount of awareness, Sarinaughed heartily in response to Vahn''s words before pumping her right fist and saying, "It''s okay! I''m just treating this as practice for when I meet the real deal! You said they were super important to you so I need to make sure I can get along well with everyone! Ehehehehehe~." Though he got the impression her idea of ''getting along'' would change quite a bit when she met the people she currently idolized, Vahn''s heart melted when he heard Sarina''s words. Unfortunately, the moment was ruined when her nostrils began to re in a manner reminiscent of Loki when she was trying to grope Ais''s breasts... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''You dun goofed...'',''Nono is a very earnest youngdy...'',''Looks like Loki found a new apprentice...'')(A/N: Sorry for thete post. Today was my birthday and rest day so I was a little busy xD.) Chapter 2114: An Important Lesson

Chapter 2114: An Important Lesson

********** < Fairytale in Perseus > [Win Condition] Defeat the Leader representing the Host Community. [Hidden Conditions] None [Rules] 1: The Leader of the Community that Hosts the Game is not allowed to leave the deepest part of the White Pce. 2: The Participants from the Community that Hosts the Game are not allowed to enter the deepest part of the White Pce. 3: Participants are not to let themselves be seen by members of the Host Community with the sole exception of the Leader. 4: Participants that have been spotted will be seen as eliminated, hence losing the right to challenge the Leader. 5: Participants who have been eliminated will only lose their right to challenge the Leader but can otherwise continue the Game. [Restrictions] 1: Destruction of the Game Board: White Pce, is Prohibited. 2: Gifts that overwrite the Divine Protection of the Little Garden are Prohibited. 3: Gifts that inflict curses or injuries that persist beyond the duration of the Game are Prohibited. 4: The area outside of the White Pce is considered a Forbidden Area. 5: Teleportation and other forms of Spatial Movement are Prohibited. [Time Limit] 000:000:01:58:54 ********** "Mmm...they''re really pulling out all the stops, aren''t they?" Though there were a few obvious loopholes he could exploit, the members of Perseus hade up with a rtively decent set of Rules and Restrictions. It was obvious this wasn''t their first rodeo, but, while other people might struggle to infiltrate a Colosseum-like structure guarded by a batallion of highly skilled soldiers, several of which were invisible and capable of flight, Vahn was able to literally walk through the people guarding the premises. Waving his hand in front of a rather serious-looking individual, a smile spread across Vahn''s face as he mused, "Guess they''ve never gone up against someone who is intangible and can shift from the Principle Axis of Reality. Unlucky." On that note, Vahn walked through the literal shield wall blocking the entrance to the Colosseum''s depths. He harbored no ill will towards the lesser members of the Perseus Community. His conflict was with Laius, so, while he could have easily knocked each and every one of them unconscious without being spotted, he intended to wrap things up quickly so he wouldn''t need to deal with a seventeen-year-old Sarina. With that in mind, Vahn stepped out into the arena located at the center of the Colosseum. There, her found Laius seated atop a golden throne with avish, royal purple background. He had a fierce expression on his face, and, based on how he was nervously tapping his armrest, thepleteck of any and all sounds of conflict was beginning to wear on him. Fortunately for Laius, there was something Vahn needed to take care of before teaching the youth a lesson in propriety. Thus, instead of simply walking up and smacking Laius while he was still seated on the throne, he allowed his existence to align with reality, saying, "Yo." the moment he came into view. "...!?" Though he had already begun to suspect that Vahn had the means to turn invisible, Laius''s eyes still widened when the former appeared at the exact center of the arena. "Those useless fools...!" mming his fist on the throne''s armrest, Laius rose to his feet with a half-crazed expression as he added, "Completely worthless, every single one of them...!" Instead of refuting Laius''s im, Vahn nodded his head in affirmation before adopting a smug grin and asking, "What did you expect when even you, their Leader, is a wastrel?" ring with an intensity that made it appear as though he was about to shootsers from his eyes, wings of bluish-white light emerged from Laius''s ankles as he took to the sky and shouted, "That''s it! You can all go to hell...!" "Well, that was easy..." Seeing Laius grab the gorgon-like stone charm attached to his choker, Vahn''s expression gradually rxed. He had been worried that Laius might grow a brain and surrender. If that happened, his job would have be marginally more difficult. "Awaken, Demon Lord Algol...!" Following his outburst, Laius extended his hand towards the sky as a massive bolt of malicious red lightning erupted from the charm in his hand. When it impacted the clouds above, they promptly turned a dark, bluish-purple as their interior swelled with the same red lightning. "This is taking quite a while..." Though it was only a few seconds, even microseconds were a long period of time between beings at the highest level. To make matters even worse, Laius was fully focused on the clouds,pletely oblivious to what was happening beneath him. Thus, by the time an evenrger bolt of lightning hit the center of the arena, Vahn had already disappearedpletely. Fully intending to gloat, Laius''s arrogant expression quickly morphed into one of confusion as he looked around and saw no traces of Vahn. Shortly thereafter, his brow began to twitch violently as he shouted, "Do you think you can hide!? Algol, teach this idiot a lesson...!" Responding to Laius''smand, a monstrous, purple-skinned humanoid with blood-red eyes, long purple hair, and frayed, angelic ck wings released a shrill, high-pitched roar. At the same time, its clearly female frame began to swell in size, its body straining at the thick leather bindings and white padded clothes that gave it the appearance of an escaped mental patient. From within the creature''s mouth, a reddish-purple light began to build until Vahn, appearing like a phantom, manifested right underneath her. She had grown to a height of around 2.5 meters at this point so it was pretty easy to look up at her as he asked, "You''ve suffered quite a bit, haven''t you?" Instead of answering his question, the monster, Algol, arched its body forward to fire the beam of light point-nk into Vahn''s face. This caused Laius''s face to light up like the sky on New Year''s, his expression bing even more crazed as he began cackling like a madman. Algol''s beams of light were capable of petrifying entire worlds, and, so long as she was empowered with Divinity, even the Gods would fall prey to her curse. "Serves you right, you stupid mother-" Unable to finish his words, Laius''s eyes widened as a wed hand closed around the lower half of his face. At the same time, Algol, still standing in the middle of the arena, copsed forward like a poorly bnced statue. "To be honest, I don''t really give a damn about you, your words, or even your actions. If you never appeared before me, you could have lived your entire life without having to fear my wrath. Instead, you keep opening this stupid little mouth of yours without any consideration for the consequences. It''s clear to me you''ve lived a very sheltered life. Allow me to introduce you to the real world." Though he did his best to kick and punch free of Vahn''s grasp, Laius couldn''t even get the former to flinch as his hand gradually tightened around his face and jaw. He even tried to pull out one of his father''s most powerful Gifts, a hooked sword known as the Harpe. In legends, it was the sword that cut off the head of Medusa, and, as a result, it gained the unique ability to cut down Gods and y Celestial Spirits. Unfortunately, despite mustering every ounce of his strength, Laius barely managed to nick Vahn''s neck as thetter mercilessly crushed his lower jaw. "Oops. It looks like you won''t be able to surrender. Guess that means you''re stuck with me until time runs out or you lose the right to participate." On that note, Vahn released Laius from his grasp, a tremendous volume of blood staining his hand as the formerly arrogant man held his jaw and released an excruciatingly pained whimper. It mostly came out as a gargle due to his jaw hanging freely from the tendons, but,pared to the words he had been speaking beforehand, it might as well be music to Vahn''s ears. "You know, I don''t normally do things like this. Even if you were the kind of person who exploited children and performed all manner of profane acts, my normal modus operandi is to simply kill my enemies and return them to the cycle of reincarnation. Since that isn''t an option this time around, I have decided to spend the next hour or so teaching you your first lesson in Buddhist Principles...life is suffering..." Without affording Laius the time to process what he had just said, Vahn pointed to the ground, his voice resonating through the void as he stated, "You do not have my permission to fly..." ... .. . While Vahn was busy teaching Laius a lesson, a much calmer version of the empathic Emperor was looking down at Algol with a wry smile on his face. He had used his own variation of Severing Laws to sever any fate she had with Laius. This included the contract that had effectively turned her into a monster, so, rather than a malicious-looking demon, Vahn currently found himself looking down on a young girl with pale purple skin and long, dark-purple hair... "I already expected as much, but why are all the Star ss Demon Lords legal lolis or perverted old men? I''m starting to think the creator of the world is a bit of a pervert..." Shaking his head, Vahn dismissed that train of thought as he knelt down and ced the tips of his index and middle fingers against the crown of Algol''s head. The moment he did, a frown formed on his face, as, even after removing the contract that bound her, the damage she had sustained to her mind was irreversible. Algol was part of the first generation Problem Children alongside Shiroyasha and a Sadomasochistic woman known as Queen Halloween. She was an extremely prideful person, so, in her attempts to break free from the mental shackles imposed upon her by Athena, Aphrodite, and Artemis, she had basically ruined her mind. He could heal her physical injuries but most of what made Algol the person she was had been destroyed. "I''m starting to get a little fed up with how the Olympians of every world are basically monsters..." (*It''s because they are the most ''human'' amongst the Gods in various pantheons. I can''t speak for the people who came up with the originals, but I believe they were intended to represent the most extreme aspects of humanity. Fortunately, this is the Divine Realm. If you can obtain their Fragment of Origin, you can basically recreate the Olympians across all realities. Kind of like what you did with Ishtar back in the Nasuverse.*) Though he was about to argue that it wouldn''t be right to just arbitrarily change history, the words got caught in Vahn''s throat when he heard Sis''s remark about Ishtar. He hadn''t really thought about it but there wasn''t much of a difference between using a Page of the Akashic Tome and redefining a God''s existence by obtaining their Fragment of Origin... Exhaling a sigh, Vahn muttered, "I''ll think about it...I mean, it''s only a matter of time before I govern over all realities. Fixing a few issues along the way wouldn''t hurt..." With that in mind, Vahn sent a surge of energy into Algol''s body to rouse the sleeping demon from her slumber. When she opened her eyes, tremendous confusion could be seen within the depths of her ruby-red irises. Vahn was going to ask if she was okay, but, before the words could form on his lips, the petite demoness looked up at him with a pleasantly surprised look on her face as she said, "Wow, you''re pretty cute. Mind telling this beautiful Onee-san your name? If you''re honest, I might give you a reward~?" "..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Nothing to see here~'',''The Path to Enlightenment is filled with pain and suffering. Humu...'',''Shiroyasha be rolling on the floorughing...'') Chapter 2116: Sowing the Seeds of Future Troubles

Chapter 2116: Sowing the Seeds of Future Troubles

Resisting the urge to bonk the purple-skinned loli on the head, Vahn introduced himself before asking if she remembered anything prior to waking up. This caused her to look at him like he was an idiot, but, momentster, her expression morphed into one of stupefaction as she realized the only things she could recall were her name. "What did you do to me...!?" Covering her chest as if she were afraid Vahn might assault her, Algol took a few steps back before looking down at her body. Over the course of a single second, her expression morphed from fear to disbelief before finally settling on hostility as she pointed towards him and eximed, "You fiend! Is this some kind of sick joke!? What happened to my bodacious, bombshell of a body!? I''m supposed to be the most beautiful and intelligent woman in existence! How dare you reduce me to this...!" Raising his brows, Vahn asked, "If you don''t remember anything, how do you know you''re supposed to be the most beautiful and intelligent woman in existence...?" Adopting a pitying gaze, Algol crossed her arms beneath her surprisingly well-developed breasts as she answered, "Huuuuuh? Are you an idiot? I don''t need to remember anything to know something as simple as that. That''s like asking what color the sky is. Unless some asshat goes out of their way to change it, everyone knows it''s blue. You''d have to be pretty dumb to argue otherwise." "..." Finding himself at a loss for words, Vahn briefly considered teleporting Algol to Shiroyasha. He got the impression she was even more overbearing than Seraphina, so, while he didn''t mind liberating her from Laius and the Olympians, he wasn''t particrly enthused by the prospect of sheltering her. There was a reason she was ssified as a Problem Child... While Vahn was thinking about pawning her off on Shiroyasha, Algol was giving him a skeptical yet appraising look. She couldn''t remember anything about her past. There was a bunch of information in her mind but it felt distant, almost like she was looking at it through a screen. In spite of this, Algol felt a strange familiarity when she was looking at Vahn. Her intuition told her they had never actually met, but, at the same time, she felt as though they had known each other for a very long time. It was a strange, inexplicable feeling that left her feeling both suspicious and fearful that he would abandon her... As that thought crossed her mind, a light shade of purple colored Algol''s cheeks as she averted her eyes, fiddled with her hair, and muttered, "Anyways...what now? There is obviously a reason for our meeting like this. What were you intending to do with me...?" Noticing the spontaneous change in Algol''s behavior, Vahn found himself restraining a wry smile as he answered, "Right...well, the truth is..." Since he had already made the decision to respect Sarina''s and Nono''s choices, Vahn spent the next hour or so exining Algol''s past, her present situation, and her options for the future. Most of this information just bounced off of her or went in one ear and out the other. In her mind, the only two things she cared about were getting revenge and having fun. To that end, she waited until Vahn was finished speaking before asking, point nk, "So...wanna fuck?" Raising his brows, Vahn was about to ask what the petite demoness was thinking when Algol made her intentions very clear, "Look at me. I''m dressed like a BDSM fetishist''s wet dream. You said I was a ve for some asshat that wanted to turn the members of your Community into ves, right? I''d rather not think about it, but I''m guessing he had his fun with me before I ended up in this state. It would karmic justice if he were to see someone else fucking me right in front of him." "..." Seemingly upset by Vahn''s silence, Algol snorted through her nose before a frustrated pout as she looked down at her figure and said, "Well...can''t really say I me you..." Without minding Vahn''s gaze in the slightest, Algol grabbed her breasts before pushing them up and squeezing them together with an even more frustrated look on her face. She didn''t have any memories directly rted to herself but she ''knew'' her body wasn''t supposed to be like this. She was supposed to be the most beautiful and intelligent woman in existence. There was still a chance that Vahn was just an outlier, but, based on his reaction, she was pretty sure this form wasn''t what people across reality preferred... Unable to resist the urge, Vahn ced his hand atop Algol''s head, gently caressing her peculiar yet eerily nostalgic hair. It reminded him a lot of Medusa, Euryale, and Stheno, as, despite appearing to be normal at a nce, it had a texture simr to the underside of a snake. It was extremely smooth to the touch, but, at the same time, it was both warm and somewhat oily. Looking up at Vahn with a pout, Algol was about to say something when he beat her to the punch, saying, "I don''t mind helping you with your revenge. I''m just notfortable with such...advanced ys. I''ve already made my decision regarding Laius''s fate. Doing what you''ve proposed would just be adding insult to his considerable injuries..." Raising her brows, Algol, seemingly having already forgotten who Laius was, asked, "What are you talking about?" Blinking in surprise, Vahn briefly hesitated before repeating what she had asked him to do. When she looked at him with clear confusion in her eyes, a creeping sense of dread well within his heart as he asked, "Do you remember the names of the people who sealed you...?" Appearing even more confused, Algol tilted her head ever so slightly to the side, finger on her chin as she replied, "If I had to guess, it was probably some petty or jealous Goddess? I don''t remember any of their names, but I remember that a lot of Goddesses resented me because of my beauty and intelligence. What does that have to do with anything?" "..." While listening to Algol''s words, Vahn spread innumerable threads of source energy into her mind and body. He didn''t find anything wrong with her, but, based on her words, it was pretty obvious she had already forgotten what they were talking about. "Do you remember my name...?" With an incredulous look on her face, Algol was tempted to ask if there was something wrong with Vahn''s brain when it donned on her that she didn''t actually know his name. Thus, in response to his question, her expression became hostile as she asked, "How would I know your name if you haven''t introduced yourself? Look, you might be handsome and famous but that doesn''t mean everyone is going to know who you are. Don''t be conceited." Retracting his hand from Algol''s head, Vahn''s mind was racing a mile a femtosecond as he worked to process everything that was happening. He didn''t want to consider it, but there was a very real chance that Algol''s ability to form short-term memories had been destroyed. He had repaired the damage to her brain, but, as a Tier 5 being, theplexity of Algol''s existence far transcended the physical... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn adjusted the color of his eyes while staring directly into Algol''s. Then, while counting in his head, he made idle conversation with her while periodically asking if she remembered what his original eye color was. This annoyed her quite a bit the first couple of times he asked, but, if he waited for more than thirty-seven seconds before asking, she would stare at him as if he were an idiot before asking how she was supposed to know if she had never seen the original... ... .. . "Please...please stop...I''ll never-" Without waiting for Laius to continue, Vahn stepped on the man''s chest with a cold expression on his face. He knew the man was still thinking about taking revenge in the future, so, after crushing every bone in his diaphragm, he quickly healed the dying man before calmly asking, "Want to know something curious about time...?" Staring up at Vahn with trembling eyes, a feeling of dread that far transcended the suffering he had already experienced began to swell in Laius''s chest. He wanted to swear and curse at the former for looking down on him, but, fearing an even greater punishment, the only thing he could mutter was, "Please...just stop..." Ignoring the man''s pleading, Vahn began to increase the pressure on Laius''s chest as he said, "Time is rtive. Two hours, two days, two years. None of these things truly exist. It is our perception that gives meaning to them. Want to know how much time has passed since we started this little heart-to-heart chat?" With Vahn''s foot weighing on him like a mountain, Laius was unable to respond as a peculiar green hue epassed his body. At the same time, the world around him seemed to distort, almost like it was falling away from him. Colors became progressively more distorted until the only thing that remained was an assortment of reds, magentas, and a color that could only be described as bluish-yellow. As Laius''s mind was struggling toprehend his new superhuman perception of time, Vahn''s tone became even colder as he gradually increased the pressure and answered, "None at all..." ... .. . Seeing the catatonic body of Laius carried away by the teary-eyed members of his Community, a tired sigh escaped Shiroyasha''s mouth. She had never expected that Vahn would increase the man''s perception of time to the point that a single second felt like decades. By the time the Gift Game hade to an end, Laius had experienced having every bone in his body shattered over the course of hundreds of years. It was honestly a little terrifying, but, after hearing what had happened to Algol, she couldn''t really me him... "Don''t worry...I created a ''snapshot'' of his memories before I taught him a lesson. His ego may have been fractured but it hasn''t been destroyed. He''ll recover. After that, I intend to send him a memory fragment of his original self. I''m curious to see how they interact with one another..." Exhaling an even louder sigh, Shiroyasha sent a stink eye towards Vahn as she said, "I still think you went overboard. Pushing yourself to behave reprehensibly even though you want to show mercy is never a good thing..." Shaking his head, Vahn suppressed a sigh of his own as he muttered, "If this were a Gift Game with normal stakes, I might have gone easier on him. He''s the one who epted outside help and used underhanded tactics to make sure my side didn''t gain anything. If he was smarter, he would have at least brought out the Aegis Shield that Athena gave to him. He was just too prideful..." Shrugging with an expression of mock helplessness, Shiroyasha decided she might as well change topics, asking, "What about Algol? She would probably be okay even if you released her but there''s a good chance she would rampage the moment someone upset her. I can take her off your hands, but she seems to have grown quite fond of you..." Looking over to where another version of Vahn was standing with two young women and a petite Algol, a teasing smile developed across Shiroyasha''s face. This left the former with a helpless look of his own as he said, "I feel obligated to look after her but I fear she would cause a lot of issues in her current state..." Snorting through her nose, Shiroyasha surprised Vahn by saying, "Truth be told, she isn''t that much different from her usual self. She likes to call herself the most beautiful and intelligent woman in the world but I''m not even sure if she could perform basic arithmetic without using her Gift." Having butt heads with Algol countless times in the past, Shiroyasha was intimately familiar with her fellow Problem Child. As far as she knew, Algol had never really thought about anything other than her own interests. After all, if she had even an iota of intelligence, she wouldn''t have spent a full ten years heckling Athena until thetter eventually snapped. Smiling wryly in response to the petite demoness''s words, Vahn decided to guide the conversation back on track, asking, "Mind if I leave her with you for a bit? I have a few ideas in mind to improve her retention ability. Until then, I can''t really trust her with being around my kids..." Nodding her head in understanding, Shiroyasha gave Vahn''s lower back a pat as she said, "Leave it to me. I was expecting something like this to ur so I''ve already prepared a room. Just make sure you visit often. There''s no way in hell I''m looking after that brat on my own..." Since he was already intending to do just that, Vahn nodded his head without giving it any thought. He knew the mischievous cat was up to something, but, when it came to people like Shiroyasha and Loki, he would honestly be more surprised if they weren''t scheming... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Hi, my name''s Dory...'',''Vahn be like, "Don''t worry, friend. We have all the time in the world..."'',''(O w O)...'') Chapter 2116: Wish Fulfillment

Chapter 2116: Wish Fulfillment

Following their rather unceremonious victory over the Perseus Community, Vahn decided to take Sarina and Nono to celebrate and get to know one another. The two girls, now young women, had changed rather drastically during their time in the Game Board so he wanted to catch up with them before heading back to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. From what he could tell, Nono was the same quiet yet perceptive girl she had always been. There was an air of maturity that lingered around her, but, due to suffering a fatal injury in the Dungeon, her stay was cut short at two and a half years. While others might have been traumatized by such an experience, Nono took it in stride as she had died protecting her friends. As for her physical appearance, she wasn''t all that different from before. She had grown taller, her bust had practically exploded, and her bottom had developed quite a bit, but, even at a nce, it was impossible to mistake her for anyone else. Sarina, on the other hand, was like apletely different person. Her time with the Loki Familia had drastically altered her character. She was no longer a brash yet adorable young tomboy who single-mindedly pursued the things she was interested in. Instead, she had mellowed out quite a bit whilst simultaneously developing a calm and confident personality. Though she had only managed to reach Level 3, Sarina had be close with Tiona, Tione, Lefiya, Anakitty, and Ais. She had tried to be closer with Riveria as well, but, as a member of the 3rd Squad, it was hard for her to get close with the leadership of the vanguard unit. She spent most of her time acting as a Supporter and was only able to reach Level 3 thanks to her knowledge of future events and her rtionship with Lefiya and several other young members of the Loki Familia. Unsurprisingly, it didn''t take long for Loki to figure out that Sarina possessed knowledge of future events. It was her encounter with the petite Goddess that caused Sarina''s shift in mentality. At first, she waspletely horrified that Loki had forced her to expose the truth. She did her best to keep her head down, and, for a time, even avoided interacting with the other members of her Familia. It was only when Loki confronted her monthster that her fear gradually turned to respect, as, even after learning her world was false, the red-headed Goddess didn''t care in the slightest. Her highest priority was ensuring the survival of her Familia, so, rather than me Sarina for the differences in the nature of their existence, she protected her like the rest of her children. As an orphan, the closest thing Sarina had ever had to a parent was Vahn. Unfortunately, she had always viewed him as a potential love interest, so, even though he treated her very well, she didn''t have the heart to view him as a father. After oveing her fears and growing closer to her matron Goddess, Sarina began to genuinely view Loki as her mother. This allowed her to open up quite a bit, and, thanks to the advice she had received from her ''older sisters'', specifically Tiona and Tione, her confidence was only rivaled by her ever-increasing beauty. Unfortunately for her many suitors, the only person Sarina had even given the time of day was Raul due to thetter''s rtionship with Aki(Anakitty). Aki was the person ced in charge of her when she first started out, and, much like how the Second Unit supported the First, Sarina''s Third Unit was never far behind the Second. After Aki suffered an injury that forced her to give up adventuring, she was hoping that Raul would finally man up and confess. Instead, the pressure he was under to rece Finn caused them to grow apart. By the time he gained the confidence toe forward, Aki was already in a rtionship with another retired member of the Familia. He was eventually consoled by Alicia, but, as Vahn had never fixed the issues with Elves in this version of Danmachi, their rtionshipsted less than a year since Raul was unwilling to move beyond simple dating and hand-holding. Though she respected Raul as the Commander of the Second Unit, things became pretty awkward when the twenty-seven-year-old executive confessed feelings for her. She was only around sixteen at the time, and, while age gaps didn''t really bother her that much, it was pretty well known by then that she was already in a rtionship with someone else. This didn''t stop quite a number of people from making a pass at her, but, in the end, Sarina managed to keep most of her would-be suitors at bay bying out as a Lesbian. This was perhaps the biggest factor behind Sarina''s change in mentality, as, for thest six months, she had basically been dating a young half-elf named Aleesa. Their rtionship never reached the point of having sex, but, having alreadye to terms with the fact she would be interacting with a lot of women in the future, everything else was fair game. She just wanted her first time to be with Vahn. Since he knew exactly how persistent the men in Danmachi could be, Vahn wasrgely unaffected by the news that Sarina had dated a slightly younger woman. If anything, he was curious to meet this Aleesa as Sarina seemed quite fond of her, particrly her breasts. After suffering at the hands of Loki for several years, Sarina''s perverted nature had mellowed into a genuine appreciation for the female form. This was reflected in how she presented herself to others, as, rather than conceal her beauty, she unted it. She wore skirts that barely covered the skin-tight shorts she wore beneath, fashionable stockings, a leather bodice that pushed up her full yet modest breasts, and a half-vest that only concealed her neck, shoulders, and upper arms. Her ck hair had grown past her waist, and, though they still possessed a hint of amethyst, her eyes had faded into a glistening shade of silver. Simply put, Sarina was now a remarkably beautiful woman with a hint of Japanese features. She was also a lot more confident, so, while Nono was perfectly content with sitting across from him, Sarina shamelessly sat next to Vahn with a rxed smile on her face. She no longer feltpelled to hurry things along, but, at the same time, she intended to make her interest in him very clear. Fortunately for her, Vahn had no qualms with her current behavior. If anything, he was genuinely impressed by how much she had matured over the course of her time in the Game Board. He had expected her to be even more perverted after hanging out with people like Tiona, Tione, and Loki so this was a drastic yet wee change. Sure, he was a little sad that he didn''t get to see her grow up but that was just another part of life. Everyone had their own path to walk and he couldn''t be there to see every step taken by others. Not yet... ... .. . "Since the two of you were gone for so long, feel free to request anything you can think of. I won''t promise to fulfill your every desire but I''m more than capable of rewarding your efforts." Though an expectant glimmer shed across Sarina''s silver eyes, she managed to suppress her true desires as she answered, "I want you to prepare a banquet and hand-feed it to me. It might sound a little silly, but I have literally dreamt about your food while we were apart." Nodding her head in understanding, Nono chimed in with a curt, "Indeed..." before pressing the tip of her index finger against her moderately puffy lips and adding, "If we''re able to request anything, I would like a massage and to have my status updated. After that...I would be happy just to have my head pat." Seeing Nono gently trace her finger across her lips, Vahn had the distinct impression she wanted to ask for something else but her aura made it hard to tell. Sure, there was a fair amount of pink mixed in, but, rather than give off an amorous vibe, it gently exuded from her body as if it werepletely natural. Compared to Sarina''s, it was likeparing a simmering me to a bonfire. "Sure. I was actually nning to update your statuses the moment we got home. I have no problem giving you a massage in the process." Smiling radiantly, Nono ceased tracing her bottom lip before leaning forward, elbows on the table and hands supporting her head as she replied, "Splendid..." in a soft, ostensibly amorous tone. "..." Seeing the way Nono was behaving, Sarina''s silvery eyes formed into a squint. She thought she had the advantage now that she was older, but, even if she were to force herself, she doubted she could match Nono''s sex appeal. What made this even more frustrating was the fact that Nono didn''t even have to try. She was aplete natural. Shaking such thoughts from her mind, Sarinaforted herself with the knowledge that she didn''t actually have topete with the auburn-haired minx. Vahn was more than capable of loving them both. Thus, rather than waste timeparing herself to the sly woman seated across from her, she decided to focus on Vahn, saying, "If that''s the case, I would like to revise my request...is that okay?" Though he could see the calcting glimmer in Sarina''s eyes, Vahn didn''t hesitate to nod his head. He had alreadye to terms with the fact that she was no longer going to be deterred, so, even if she asked him to bed her the moment they got home, he wouldn''t refuse. After all, six years was a long time to be away from the person you loved. Smiling in a yful yet mischievous manner, Sarina leaned into Vahn''s shoulder as she looked up at him and said, "I want you to do whatever you want...truth be told, there are so many things I desire that it''s impossible for me to ce them all into a single request. All I know for certain is that I want you to be happy. After all, so long as you''re happy, all of us will be..." With each word bringing her close to Vahn''s lips, Sarina made it very clear what she wanted. In the end, however, it was ultimately Vahn''s decision to make. This was something she hade to terms with after reflecting upon Nono''s words for the past six years. If she kept pressuring him, she would be no better than the people who only coveted her looks. Thus, while a part of her wanted nothing more than to press her lips against his, Sarina knew the action would have much greater meaning if Vahn met her halfway. Fortunately for her, Vahn had always been weak to sentiment and sincerity, so, shortly after Sarina finished speaking, he returned a smile before leaning down to give her a peck on the lips. It was a much tamer kiss than she would have liked, but, at the same time, Sarina couldn''t help smiling as a sensation akin to a horde of butterflies swirled around in her body. She had no idea what the future held but this was sure as hell a step in the right direction... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Oof. Even if it''s his fault, I kind of feel bad for Raul xD...'',''Nono is like the girl next door amped up to the level of a Goddess...'',''Sarina is slowly starting to figure things out...'') Chapter 2117: The Burden of Trust

Chapter 2117: The Burden of Trust

Returning home, Vahn allowed the two girls to rest in their rooms as he headed to the kitchen to prepare something to eat. He wasn''t entirely sure what would happen but there was a fair chance things would get steamy during the massage. In preparation for this, he used Rindo''s knowledge to prepare dishes that would increase their stamina. This wasn''t really necessary but it never hurt to be prepared. Once everything was prepared, Vahn briefly severed his connection with his other selves before stepping into Nono''s room and promptly separating the interior from the Principal Axis of Time. A girl''s first time was a precious asion, so, even if nothing happened during the massage, he didn''t want to have any other distractions. Thus, for this particr moment in time, Nono had his full and undivided attention. Unaware of this, Nono just lifted herself from her bed with a sleepy expression on her face as she said, "You arrived sooner than I expected..." before covering her mouth and yawning. She hadn''t even bothered to change out of her dress. This bed was so much morefortable than the one she had back in Danamachi so the first thing she did upon reaching her room was plopping face-down and taking a nap. While marveling at how adorable Nono''s every action was, Vahn whipped out a chair before taking a seat next to her bed and asking, "Would you like me to feed you~?" Returning a smile of her own, Nono seemed to contemte her response for quite a while before answering, "Mmm...if you want to..." Nodding his head, Vahn prepared a rather luxurious bed tray while Nono made herselffortable with her back against the headboard. She enjoyed being pampered quite a bit, so, while she had no intentions of forcing Vahn to pamper her, she wasn''t going to refuse. Thus, for the better part of ten minutes, she just allowed him to feed her until he broke the silence by asking, "What are your ns now that you''ve returned?" Instead of immediately responding, Nono made a point to finish chewing her food before taking a sip of water and gently swishing it around in her mouth. She didn''t want anything to be stuck in her teeth when she was speaking, so, for a good ten to fifteen seconds, Vahn was left silently observing her until she answered, "I haven''t really thought about it. What do you think I should do...?" Though she had considered a number of ways in which she could be useful to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, the only thing Nono really cared about was not being a burden. Even if Vahn asked her to be a Maid, she wouldn''t mind. So long as he could continue living at his side without causing him any problems, she was happy. Smiling wryly in response to Nono''s words, Vahn skillfully cut the steak he had prepared for her into small, bite-sized pieces as he asked, "Didn''t you enter the Game Board with the intent to be a Nurse? I''m certain you must have learned quite a bit studying under Miach." Nodding her head in affirmation, a slight smile developed across Nono''s face as she replied with a soft yet curt, "Indeed..." Expecting her to say more, Vahn waited patiently for Nono to continue. It was only when an amused glimmer appeared in her eyes that he realized she was finished speaking. This caused a wry smile to develop across his face, as, despite the rather substantial difference in their ages, he suddenly had the distinct impression that Nono was in control of the conversation. It was almost like she was the one humoring him... Demonstrating this was the case, Vahn continued feeling Nono until she had eaten everything on the te. At no point in time did she attempt to break the silence or make conversation. Instead, she just continued to observe him, her sapphire blue eyes glistening as she happily nibbled at the tiny bits of food he presented to her mouth... "I see you''re still as taciturn as ever..." Amused by Vahn''s remark, Nono issued a delicate-sounding giggle before adopting a slight smile and saying, "Yes...though my body has changed, it was important to me that I remain the same..." Gesturing towards the tray covering herp, Nono waited for Vahn to remove it before grabbing the hem of her dress and shifting to her knees. This allowed her to look down at him, her sapphire eyes glowing ever so slightly as she said, "Coming to the Divine Realm taught me something very important about myself...I am a very selfish person...I think you have to be in order to ept such an invitation..." Though he half-expected her to raise her dress to reveal its contents, Vahn''s gaze remained focused on Nono''s eyes as she released it''s hem and added, "You have given me so much...yet...even after all this...I can''t help wanting more. That''s why I made a decision...do you want to hear it...?" Punctuating her words with a suggestive lick of the lips, Nono waited until Vahn nodded his head before answering, "I decided I would only change for you...no matter how much I learn...no matter how much time passes...I want to be a reflection of how you see me. You are such an amazing person, Vahn...to be recognized and acknowledged by you...I can think of nothing greater..." After saying more than she had ever said in her entire life, a truly breathtaking smile developed across Nono''s face. Then, without waiting for his response, she turned around moved aside her auburn locks so that he would be able to loosen the strings of her dress. She could do it herself, but, now that she was back home, she wanted Vahn to dress, disrobe, and even cleanse her in the bath. She wanted him to entrust him with everything. In exchange, she would give him everything he asked for...no matter what... Resisting the temptation to ask Loi-chan what the heck Nono was thinking, Vahn only hesitated for a brief moment before standing up and helping to remove her dress. It was a long flowing garment that flowed to her ankles but left her back, shoulders, and her cleavage showing. It was actually very simr to the dress she had worn prior to entering the Game Board. So much so that he was pretty sure she had the original tailored as her body grew and developed... Feeling her body heat up despite the face she had just disrobed, Nono shyly covered her breasts as she peered back to gauge Vhan''s reaction. She was serious about entrusting everything to him, but, at the same time, she couldn''t help feeling curious. She wanted to know how he viewed her. More specifically, she wanted to know whether or not he still viewed her as a child or much, much more... Noticing Nono''s gaze, Vahn''s aquamarines met her shimmering, sapphire blues for the better part of a full minute with neither of them saying a word. He understood that she wanted him to dictate how their rtionship developed but he wasn''t entirely sure what that meant. He was too used to giving the women around him everything they desired. Encountering someone whose only desire was to experience whatever he was willing to give her left him feeling at a loss... Deciding to just proceed with the massage, an uncharacteristically nervous smile developed across Vahn''s face as he said, "Lay on your stomach..." Nodding her head, Nono sprawled out on her stomach with her arms supporting her head. This allow her rtively in yet form-fitting vani colored panties toe into view. She was curious to see whether or not Vahn''s eyes had shifted to them, but, instead of looking back, she just closed her eyes and focused on rxing. Seeing how calm and rxed Nono''s aura was, Vahn just shook his head before climbing onto the bed and straddling her pillowy, remarkably full bottom. This caused her aura to re up for a brief moment, but, shortly thereafter, it died down as a hot sigh escaped her lips. Though he could have whipped out a massage table, the kind the two girls asked for was the type he gave to his other women. Sarina was the one that had made this rification, but, as Nono had nodded her head, Vahn assumed she was interested in experiencing the same. With that in mind, Vahn habitually rubbed his hands together before pressing his thumbs into the pressure points in her lower back, the colloquially termed ''Sea of Vitality''. Girls withrge breasts typically experienced tension in their shoulders and lower back. Nono''s had developed into some rather sizeable D''s, so, before having her roll onto her back and treating them directly, he intended to loosen up the muscles supporting the two immactely shaped mammaries. Thinking he shouldpliment her, Vahn suppressed his growing nervousness, saying, "Your body has matured quite a bit. You''re no longer a delicate flower waiting to bloom. You''ve fully blossomed into a breathtaking beauty..." Though she couldn''t help smiling in response to Vahn''sment, Nono''s own was a curt, "Nn..." as she focused the majority of her attention on the movement of his hands. She was well aware of his status as the Godhand so she had been looking forward to this for quite some time. Suppressing a dryugh, Vahn decided to just focus his efforts on the massage. He was tempted to try and get a rise out of her byplimenting her butt, but, fearing a simr response, he promptly dismissed that thought. Instead, he decided to ask Sis for advice, asking, ("Am I imagining things or has she managed to takeplete control of this situation by relinquishing it to me...?") (*She really is quite something, isn''t she? She is so confident you would never hurt her that she has entrusted every aspect of your rtionship to you. Even if you raised her butt right now, I doubt she would even blush...*) Though he was a little taken aback by the brazenness of Sis''s remark, Vahn didn''t really question it as he nodded his head in agreement. Nono had thoroughly ced the ball in his court. She would happily reciprocate, but, unless he was the one to initiate intimacy, she seemed perfectly content to focus on improving herself and simply living within the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. It was almost like she was a nk te or a lump of y...patiently awaiting the changes he would introduce in her... ("Sarina was right to be cautious. If I had met someone like Nono at the very start of my journey, I never would have left that cave. It''s almost scary how ''epting'' she is...") Nodding her head deep within Vahn''s mind, Sis was inplete agreement despite saying, (*She is like this because of her trust in you. If the two of you had met back then, I imagine she would have filled the role of a big sister rather than a nk te...*) Imagining his former self curled up in the embrace of the current Nono, a wry yet nostalgic smile developed across Vahn''s face. There were a couple of women who had served as sisterly and even motherly figures for him. Had he met any of them near the very beginning of his journey, he might have stayed beside them to this very day. After all, as strong as he had be, he had never cared about increasing his strength. He just wanted to see and experience the world alongside the people he cared about...everything else just kind of happened... Shaking that thought from his mind, Vahn dismounted Nono before saying, "Turn over..." in a now-rxed tone. He expected her to immediatelyply, but, due to thefort provided by his tame yet thorough massage, Nono had long since fallen asleep. He just hadn''t noticed it due to the long silence and his wayward thoughts... Restraining a soft chuckle, Vahn briefly considered his options before promptly deciding toy next to the sleeping beauty. She really was quite beautiful, and, due to her decision, she was growing on him a lot faster than he ever thought possible. Thus, while he wasn''t entirely sure how they should move forward, that didn''t stop Vahn from moving aside her bangs and cing a gentle kiss on the auburn-haired girl''s forehead... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: "Are we sure Nono wasn''t the one spending time with Loki...?'',''The beauty of simplicity...'',''Ladies and Gentlemen...she gottem...'') Chapter 2118: Anticipation : Reward

Chapter 2118: Anticipation : Reward

Waking after a pleasant five-and-a-half-hour nap, an affectionate smile developed across Nono''s face as she found Vahn sleeping next to her. He was still fully clothed but she could feel his warmth flowing into her body. It was an extremely pleasant feeling, so, after a moment of consideration, she nestled closer to him, head on his chest as she promptly went back to sleep... Though he could sense her without doing so, Vahn opened his right eye to see the content smile on Nono''s face. She hadn''t been exaggerating when she mentioned leaving everything to him. Even in nothing but a pair of panties, her aura remained remarkably cid. There were a few bands of pale pink mixed within but they were overwhelmed by a veritable ocean of creamy beige resembling fine sand. Vahn suspected that Nono''s mentality had something to do with her Innates. It just didn''t matter. This was who she was and he had no intention of changing that. He would just continue to love her, and, once he felt she was ready, he would their rtionship a gentle push in the right direction. For now, he was content with just embracing her indescribably smooth and soft body... ... .. . After one of the most rxing naps he had experienced in a long time, Vahn left Nono''s room after bestowing her a rather chaste kiss. This caused her smile to blossom, but, shortly thereafter, she just closed her eyes and continued to sleep. Though he was tempted to join her, Vahn only hesitated for a brief moment before making his way to Sarina''s room. Very little time had passed since their parting, but, after spending the better part of ten hours cuddling with Nono, he was starting to feel guilty about keeping her waiting. He could sense how excited she was ever since their return so it almost seemed wrong to visit her second... Fortunately, Sarina didn''t care about such things in the slightest. She was so giddy that she couldn''t sit still, and, upon hearing a knock at her door, she literally tripped over her own feet in an attempt to answer as quickly as possible. Phasing through the door, Vahn caught Sarina''s body before she could facent against it. This elicited a sigh of relief from the ck-haired beauty, but, momentster, her face turned beet red as she realized her breasts had slipped free from her top. Unable to resist, a teasing smile developed across Vahn''s face as he remarked, "You''ve grown..." in an overtly amused tone. Though she was secretly happy, a pouty look developed across Sarina''s face as she quickly fixed her top. She actually took a considerable amount of pride in her breasts. They weren''t any average D-Cups. They were full, round, and, ording to everyone that had ever touched them, indescribably soft. She had even made sure to exercise the muscles that supported them so it made her happy to see Vahn''s eyes light up when he saw them. While various thoughts were crossing Sarina''s mind, Vahn was genuinely curious to learn how her Luck stat had developed. Her fall reminded him a lot of Tina, who, due to her inordinately high luck, received quite a number of ''benefits''. Sarina might have matured quite a bit, but, unless something drastic forced her to change, she would likely remain a pervert for the remainder of her life. In other words, he could expect a lot of ''happy idents'' in the near future... With this in mind, Vahn was preparing to pull out a dining table when Sarina surprised him, asking, "I know I said I wouldn''t pressure you, but is it okay if I try and seduce you? I''ve learned a lot over thest six years and I''d like to see how far my acquired skills will take me..." Raising his brows, Vahn attempted to appear pleasantly surprised as he asked, "Oh? What did you have in mind?" Lowering her head, Sarinabed back her hair while looking up at Vahn with her silver, slightly purple eyes. Then, in a remarkably amorous tone, she hooked an arm beneath her breasts, further enting them as she answered, "It''s a surprise..." Having no reason to refuse her, Vahn happily agreed to Sarina''s proposal before manifesting her meal. This confused her for a brief moment, but, recalling that she was the one who had asked to be fed, a bashful smile developed across her face as she gestured for him to take a seat. Though he generally preferred taking charge, Vahn''s encounter with Nono had left him feeling a strange sense of incongruency. Thus, while he was fully intending to amp things up the moment she gave him the green light, he didn''t mind following Sarina''s instructions. Swallowing hard, Sarina waited until Vahn had sat down before making herselffortable atop hisp. She was tempted to straddle him, but, understanding that would make feeding her difficult, she elected to sit across hisp with her back ramrod straight. The amused smile on his face caused her own to burn, but, as the meal progressed, she eventually managed to work up the courage to lean into him as he fed her every item on the te. Then, the moment he was done, she did her best to sound as sensual as possible as she asked, "Is it time for dessert~?" Without waiting for Vahn''s response, Sarina tilted her head to the side and began to nibble on his ear. This served the dual purpose of allowing her to initiate intimacy while also cing her breasts on full disy. After all, she had specifically chosen a top that relied on tension to cling to the lower half of her breasts. In other words, the moment she rxed or made any excessive movements, her breasts were bound to spill out. Understanding Sarina''s aim, Vahn supported her back with his right hand while caressing her lower abdomen with his left. He had expected her to wait until the massage was well underway, but, after six years apart, he wasn''t particrly surprised by her eagerness. Thus, the moment her top began to slip away, aided by the movements of his left hand, he reached up to knead her tantalizingly soft bosom. "Nn...naughty boy..." Though she felt a sensation simr to a me spreading through her chest the moment Vahn began fondling her right breast, Sarina pretended not to notice that her top had slipped away. Instead, she focused on licking his ear and caressing his neck. It wasn''t that she didn''t want to do more, she just forgot what she was doing as the giddiness in her body rapidly turned into something more. Amused by Sarina''s usation, a smile developed across Vahn''s lips as he wrapped his right arm around her body and whispered, "You have no idea..." Confused by Vahn''s words, Sarina was tempted to ask what he meant when a startled yelp escaped her throat. He had snaked his left hand under her skirt, and, momentster, invaded the form-fitting shorts she wore beneath. She hadn''t expected him to be this direct so she was genuinely surprised when his middle finger promptly invaded her admittedly wet folds. Feeling pleasure, embarrassment, and a bevy of other emotions, Sarina found herself at a loss for words as she bit her bottom lip. Things became even worse when Vahn removed his hand from her skirt, a wolfish grin on his face as he held up his hand to show a viscous thread connecting his index and middle fingers. Then, in a velvety smooth baritone that seemed to pierce her body to its core, he borrowed her remark, stating, "Naughty girl..." Though her face felt like it was on fire, Sarina surprised Vahn quite a bit by extending her tongue. He immediately understood what she wanted, so, after smiling wolfishly, he inserted his fingers into her mouth and allowed her to suckle on them. At the same time, he extended a number of threads into her body. He had promised her a massage, so, while he fully intended to give her another one if she asked, he figured he might as well get a jump start on the process... "...!?" ... .. . After waiting patiently for six years, Sarina couldn''t even describe how happy she was to be on the receiving end of Vahn''s affection. She had literally dreamed about this day for nearly a third of her life. It was only when she was at his mercy that she finally realized how truly limited her imagination had been. Thus, after climaxing more than ten times and staining hisp with her pee, Sarina''s eyes had be unfocused as she nestled her head against his chin and mewled, "I love you..." Though he was anticipating Sarina''s confession, Vahn hadn''t expected it toe the moment he was thinking about moving things to the bed. He had actually been going easy on her, but, due to years of suppressing her sexual urges, she had been climaxing non-stop since he began massaging her interior walls. When he tentatively grazed her clit, she had literally arched her back and released her dder. Simply put, Sarina was remarkably sensitive. Never one to leave his women disappointed, Vahn alleviated Sarina''s growing concerns by tilting her head up and saying, "I love you too..." before stealing her lips. Then, with her clothes vanishing into his Inventory, he carried her over to the bed in a bridal carry. Finding herself sprawled across her bed, rity returned to Sarina''s gaze as she stared fixedly at the belt around Vahn''s waist. She did her best to pour strength into her muscles, but, the moment she tried, Vahn gently pressed down on her shoulder and said, "Rx. I don''t know where you learned that, but it isn''t necessary to fete your partner before sex. Trust me, after seeing you like this...I am more than ready to go..." Proving his point, Vahn unequipped his clothes to reveal his fully erect penis. He had adjusted it to fit Sarina''s frame, but, even then, it was quite a bit bigger than average. For Sarina, it was the first erect penis she had ever seen so it left quite the impression on her mind as it cast a shadow over her face. Deciding to entrust everything to Vahn, Sarina swallowed hard before lowering herself to the bed and staring up at him. He was infinitely more experienced than she was in these matters, so, even if he told her it was perfectly normal to do it upside down, she would believe him. Seeing how fervently Sarina''s aura clung to his body, Vahn''s expression softened as he grabbed her legs and said, "ce your hands under your butt and raise your hips. This is your first time so I want to be as gentle as possible." Nodding her head, Sarina followed Vahn''s instructions before taking things one step further and spreading her vulva to reveal visibly pulsating insides. Her body literally demanded him inside of her, so, after properly adjusting his hips, Vahn pushed forward without hesitation. Under normal circumstances, such a sudden intrusion might have caused a fair amount of pain but Sarina was so indescribably aroused that her mind instinctually interpreted all forms of stimtion as pleasure. "Vaaaaaahn~!" Summoning strength she didn''t know she possessed, Sarina lurched forward to tightly cling to Vahn''s body. At the same time, her inordinately fair and white legs locked around his hips like a bear trap as a climax unlike anything she had ever experienced wracked her body. It wasn''t until a full three minutester that her tensions began to fade away. After that, Vahn made slow and sweet love to her for the better part of two and a half hours. Then, at her insistence, he took another long and rxing nap with his penis still inside of her... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Sarina went from envying the breasts of ck Rabbit to packing a pair of dobonhonkeros...'',''Silly Sarina...Vahn doesn''t need to be seduced (U w U)...'',''Hestia vibes...'') Chapter 2119: Machinations, Rumors, and the Birth of a Legend

Chapter 2119: Machinations, Rumors, and the Birth of a Legend

After the fiasco that was their conflict against the Perseus Community, Vahn hade to the conclusion that it was time to improve the Sage Dragon Hearth''s standing. There was only so much he could do as the Leader of a 6-Digit Community, so, before things got even further out of hand, he wanted to improve their standing within the Little Garden. Fortunately, there were well over a hundred Communities making up the Burgeoning Communities ord. It was also possible to host a Gift Game without penalizing the participants, so, by hosting a high-brow game that promised rewards for every participant, Vahn was pretty sure he could secure their status as a 5-Digit Community. The problems came after that. The 1, 2, and 3-Digit Gates existed separately from the 4, 5, 6, and 7-Digit Gates. In ancient times, the Gates outside the central three were known as the mortal ne. There were Gods, Demons, and countless other creatures inhabiting it, but, by andrge, the entities living in the Outer Gates were mortal. Though it was possible to transition from a 4-Digit Gate to a 3-Digit one, the effort required was beyondprehension. Thus, while a handful of beings possessed even greater power, the highest position anyone could hope to achieve in the Outer Gates was the position of Floor Master. To qualify for the position of Floor Master, the only requirement was that you belonged to a 4-Digit Community. After that, you would need to either defeat the previous Floor Master in a Gift Game or be nominated as their sessor. Since most of the beings capable of holding the position of Floor Master possessed some form of immortality, defeating them in a Gift Game was the mostmon method of acquiring the highly coveted title. The session method was generally only used in the North Side as the Smandra Community had effectively ruled over the North as Royalty for generations. With the 4-Digit Communities representing the pinnacle most people could hope to achieve, the requirements for bing one were high. You needed ten other 5-Digit Communities to pledge loyalty to your g. After that, you needed an additional one-thousand sub-Communties to dere their allegiance to the Communities serving under you. Once these two conditions were fulfilled, thest step required you to convince at least nine 4-Digit Communities to ce their rankings on the line in a war-like Gift Game. One of these Communities needed to be within the top 2500 and the entire event would be presided over by the current Floor Master. Fortunately, emerging as the ultimate victor within the Game was not necessary to improve the standing of your Community. You just needed to avoid being the first eliminated. While these conditions sounded difficult to achieve, the hardest part was convincing the existing 4-Digit Communities to ce their ranks on the line. The prestige they would lose upon their defeat was so extreme that most simply weren''t willing to risk it. After all, it was within these 4-Digit Gates that the Gods ruling over the lower realms were created and destroyed. Because the 4-Digit Gates still existed within the Little Garden''s mortal ne, the Gods ruling over themprised the various Pantheons found in the lower realms. For this reason, there were quite a few powerful deities that refused to ascend to a lower-digit Gate as they were simply too attached to their fame. They refused to give it up for the chance to gain true authority over the lower realms, as, from their perspective, it simply didn''t matter. In other words, bing a 4-Digit Community meantpeting against Gods, Deities, Demons, Dragons, and other species that had made names for themselves across innumerable realities. This included the Olympians, the Biblical Faction, the Japanese Pantheon, the Nine Realms(Norse), and thousands of other organizations withparable power and authority... ... .. . "The way you talk, it almost sounds like you intend to be a Floor Master..." Looking down at the petite demoness sitting in hisp, Vahn nodded his head, saying, "Based on your prior words and actions, I can assume the political situation of the 3-Digit Gates and lower is going to be a nightmare. I want to try and fix things in the Outer Gates before I get involved with those ancient and timeless creatures." "Hmm..." Though she wasn''t too surprised by Vahn''s desire to be a Floor Master, Shiroyasha didn''t want him to take up her position. He could change his appearance, sure, but it would cause a number of incongruencies in the lower realms if the subsequent Floor Master wasn''t of Eastern Origin. This was the reason she had been trying to garner his interest in the North and South Sides. There, he would fit right in as the North was literally ruled by a n of Lesser Dragons while the South was filled with unique and interesting creatures. "Perhaps it is fate...?" Furrowing his brows, Vahn asked, "What do you mean...?" Amused by his reaction, a teasing smile developed across Shiroyasha''s face as she exined, "Your Gift to the South has saved his life but Draco Grief is still intending to step down in the near future. At the same time, the Northern Floor Master is preparing to abdicate so that his youngest daughter can assume the position. Thetter is scheduled to take ce three months from now. If you time it right, you may be able to install yourself as the next Floor Master through Rite of Challenge..." Raising his brows this time, innumerable thoughts ran through Vahn''s mind as he asked, "Wasn''t Smandra part of the previous alliance with the No-Names? It seems a bit mean spirited to take away the authority of a former ally..." Supplying one of her characteristic giggles, Shiroyasha traced her index finger across Vahn''s chest as she mused, "Former being the key word. The current Leader of the Smandra Community has always been greedy and licentious. He was so afraid of being implicated by the Alliance that ruined the No Names that he didn''t even try to send support. To add insult to injury, he took advantage of the fact that most people couldn''t remember who the No Names were to secretly anull the alliance. In other words, that bastard betrayed his allies just to save his own skin..." Sharpening her nail, Shiroyasha left a thin line across Vahn''s chest. Revealing such information had a price, so, while he was busy contemting her words, she leaned forward top up the carmine liquid flowing from the wound. After investigating matters on his own, Vahn knew quite a bit about the situation in the North and South. The information Shiroyasha provided just helped to provide a bit of perspective. Sure, it was a perspective through her heavily biased lens, but, having alreadye this far, he wasn''t going to just ignore the petite demoness''s input. She was basically his Loki 2.0, and, despite her mischievous nature, he knew she was acting in the interest of the Little Garden, not the Divine Realm. "Three months is a bit of a time crunch but I should be able to manage if I go public with some of my abilities. The only question is...can my Community even challenge the Northern Floor Master...?" Understanding Vahn''s confusion, Shiroyasha licked the excess blood from her lips before looking up at him and exining, "Under normal circumstances, you would need to relocate to the region you wished to challenge. Things are a little different in the North. You see, whenever their authority shifts from one generation to another, they hold a grand festival and art disy. It''s a bit of a loop hole, but the celebration includes a use that allows anyone, be they native or foreign, to initiate a Gift Game. Since there aren''t any rules prohibiting challenges against Smandra itself, they would have no choice but to ept. You just need to prepare a chip they can''t refuse." Though he wasn''t particrly fond of bullying the weak, Vahn understood this was an opportunity he couldn''t afford to miss. Besides, he wasn''t fond of the idea that the next Leader of Smandra was an eleven-year-old girl. Sure, she might be remarkably powerful but there was no way such a young girl was mentally prepared to govern nearly 2.5 million Communities. He also found it hard to believe that someone described as greedy and licencious by Shiroyasha would simply abdicate their position. In other words, someone was taking action behind the scenes to install Sandora, the name of the aforementioned eleven-year-old, as Floor Master. Resisting the temptation to have Loi-chan transform into Shiroyasha and simply reveal everything, a smile developed across Vahn''s face as he answered, "Sounds simple enough. I''ll just wager myself once word regarding my abilities begins to circte. As coveted as the position of Floor Master is, I doubt the Central Network would evaluate it as being of greater value than he ability to produce a functionally unlimited number of Gifts." Unable to contain herself, Shiroyasha beganughing loudly in response to Vahn''s remark. When she was done, she had to wipe a stray tear as she said, "You''re not wrong. However, even if you''re supremely confident in yourself, you should keep that ability a secret. Just being a Pure-Blooded Dragon is more than enough as coteral. After all, the Royal Family of Smandra isprised of Lesser Dragons. They would do anything to get their hands on a Pure-Blooded Dragon." Understanding the implication behind Shiroyasha''s words, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he imagined Sandora pining after him like every other female Dragon he hade across... Shaking that thought from his mind, Vahn began massaging around the base of Shiroyasha''s tail as he said, "The next three months are going to be pretty busy..." Feeling a fire spread through her abdomen, a seductive light shed across Shiroyasha''s eyes as her body swelled in size. She had been drawing his blood nearly every day for the past couple of weeks, so, despite having most of her power sealed, she could now manifest in her true form. She was still a little petite, but,pared to her previous form, her appearance was breathtaking. After all, prior to having her demonic nature sealed, she was among the top ten most beautiful Goddesses in the Divine Realm... "Then I suppose we should make the most of the time we have left..." ... .. . In an effort to make things easier for himself, Vahn hired the Thousand Eyes Community to help spread the word that he would be providing personalized, Gift-Quality Weapons and Armors to any Communities willing to participate in his Gift Game. To sweeten the deal even further, he mentioned there would be no cost to participate. In other words, all they had to do was sign up, and, even if they surrendered the moment the Gift Game began, they would still be rewarded. To further incentivize the participants, the format Vahn decided upon was the Olympics. In other words, it would be a bunch of sporting events with very few pertaining tobat. The medalists of each event would be able to exchange them with the Sage Dragon''s Hearth for additional, A, B, and C-Rank Gifts. With 43 events and a number of rules limiting multiple participations, the chances of each participant winning a Gift were remarkably high. Since most high-brow Gift Games included a singr Grand Prize that Communities had to pay a steep price just for a chance to obtain, news of a Gift Game that rewarded Communities for their participation had taken the East Side by storm. Most people refused to believe it at first. After all, even annual events hosted by Floor Masters only rewarded a handful of Gifts. The notion that a prospective 5-Digit Community could stake hundreds of Gifts in a single Gift Game sounded like utter nonsense to the vast majority of people. As a result, most people treated it as a simple rumor until a number of Communities began toe forward professing that they had, in fact, received personalized Gifts just for signing up. After that, Vahn had to ask Thousand Eyes to issue an amendment as more than 400 Communities had signed up to participate over the course of a 48 hour period... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The Godsprising the various Pantheons are petty cuntspeting for poprity. Who would have thought?'',''Floor Master Vahn has a nice ring to it...'',''Vahn is well on his way to bing the Last Embryo representing excess...'') Chapter 2120: Event Selection and Practice

Chapter 2120: Event Selection and Practice

"You don''t have to participate, but this is an opportunity to gain publicity and begin building a legend of your own. If you intend to be a God or something simr, you''ll need to work hard to obtain a Divinity. I can prolong your life and provide numerous forms of biological immortality but it is against my principles to grant power arbitrarily." Though he had jumped the gun a bit by deciding to host a Gift Game, Vahn was still interested to hear what everyone else thought. Thus, after exining the events in detail, he had asked for their input while making it clear they didn''t actually have to participate if they didn''t want to. Fortunately, even Seraphina seemed interested in participating, musing, "There''s a shooting event? Count me in. It''s high time the people of the Little Garden were afforded the privilege of witnessing their future Empress in action. Oh-hohohohohohoho~." Understanding she would probably go on a rant if he made ament, Vahn just nodded his head in remark to Seraphina''s statement before passing his gaze over the rest of the table. As the first person Vahn had set his sights on, Usalia''s expression morphed into a slight pout as she said, "I want to participate in the Pankration, but I don''t want any men to touch me..." Combining the events of boxing and wrestling, the Pankration was widely considered to be one of the most ancient forms of mixed martial arts. Its origins could be traced back to the battle between Theseus and the Minotaur of the Labyrinth. Thus, when it came to ancient Olympic sports, it was the most celebrated among the entire roster. After all, people absolutely adored watching other people beat the living daylights out of each other. Having already taken this into consideration, Vahn supplied a curt nod before exining, "Each of the events has been sub-divided into men''s and women''s categories. I can''t promise there won''t be any opportunistic perverts among the femalepetitors but there are precautions to prevent any mishaps." As that was her only real concern, Usalia visibly rxed as an expectant smile developed across her face. She doubted any of thepetitors would be able topete with her but she was looking forward to the opportunity to demonstrate her power. The way people looked at her when she was walking around with Vahn always bothered her so she wanted to prove she wasn''t some trophy just anyone could admire. While offering a silent prayer for anyone unfortunate enough to cross Usalia''s path, Vahn shifted his attention to Fenrir. To his surprise, she seemed to have already made her decision, a serious look on her face as she said, "I''m going to participate in the javelin toss." Though her decision was a little odd, it had been decades since Vahn questioned Fenrir''s decisions. Instead, he just adopted a smile, musing, "I almost feel bad for the peoplepeting against you." Snorting through her nose with a proud expression on her face, Fenrir''s tail began to gently waggle even as Vahn''s attention shifted to Shirayukihime. Understanding it was her turn to speak, Hime adopted a slightly awkward smile as she asked, "Does the women''s swimming event require a swimsuit?" Nodding his head, Vahn exined, "For the sake of fairness, eachpetitor will be supplied all the necessary equipment to participate. There is also a provision that prohibits the use of Divinity, Gifts, Spiritual Energy, and Magic. In other words, everyone will bepeting using their physical bodies. After all, this is a friendlypetition." Since he knew she would ask, Vahn created a three-dimensional projection of Hime wearing a white and blue sports swimsuit. It left very little to the imagination but it was a heck of a lot more modest than the string bikini she was expecting. Though she couldn''t help exhaling a sigh, Hime still nodded her head in understanding. Swimming was the only event she could realisticallypete in without her powers, so, unless she chose to sit this one out, her options were limited. Since she wanted to be of service to her Master, Vahn, there was no way around it. She would swallow her shame and do her best. Resisting the temptation to remind Hime that she could participate using her true body, Vahn just smiled before shifting his attention to the next person in line, Sarina. When their eyes met, he could see her throat move up and down, a faint blush developing across her face as she stated, "I''m going to participate in the Horse Race. I''m not all that confident in my strength but I learned how to ride a horse during my time in the Game Board. I prefer a saddle but I''m confident riding bareback..." Now understanding the reason for Sarina''s blush, a light chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat as every girl at the table shifted their gazes to the raven-haired teen. Seraphina, in particr, seemed genuinely impressed by Sarina''s bravado, hand covering her mouth as she eximed, "Oh my! How bold~!" Blushing even fiercer due to Seraphina''s remark, Sarina eventually had to cover her face with both hands before sinking into her chair. Her remark had been intentional but that didn''t mean it wasn''t embarrassing. Sparing Sarina the awkwardness of prolonged silence, Vahn restrained hisughter as he directed a smile towards Nono. In response, the auburn-haired beauty returned a delicate smile of her own as she softly dered, "I will stay home to look after the children." Understanding that Nono was functionally powerless without her Gifts, Vahn simply nodded his head in understanding before shifting his gaze to the only person not seated at the table, Leticia. She took her duties as his ''Personal Maid'' very seriously, so, while everyone else was sitting around the table, she had been standing next to him in a ck and white maid outfit. Offering a curt yet polite bow, Leticia raised her head before stating, "I was going to participate in the Javelin Toss. However, as that honor has been taken by Lady Fenrir, I have chosen to participate in the archery event. I am confident in my ability to secure the Gold Medal." Though her words might sound arrogant to others, Vahn knew full well that Leticia was more than capable of securing the gold. There was a chance an outlier might appear, but, unless they were a literal God or some kind of Ancient Titan, there was little chance of them outperforming Leticia in a contest of strength and uracy... ********** [Status] Name: Leticia Vesp Draculea Age: 1637(23,492), Ageless Race: Vampire Lord, Demon, True Dragon(sealed) Parameters: [Transcendental Path to Heaven] Strength: 19,688,012S Agility: 401,444A Dexterity: 712,105A Intelligence: 742,259A Luck: 19,411B Spirit: 1,005,437A Wisdom: 882,599S Charisma: 629,793S Divinity: N/A Authority: Overall Floor Master(sealed), Sun Authority: Ophiuchus(sealed) Soul Tier: 5 Karma: 56,713,294,112,003(A/N: O_O...) Innate(s): [Child of Destiny: SSS], [Shinso Origin Bloodline: SSS], [Descendant of the Dragon: SS], [Lord of Shadows: SS], [Ophiuchus: (sealed)] Gift(s): [Lord of Vampire: SS], [Deceased Dragon''s Portrait: S], [Sun Authority: Ophiuchus(sealed)], [Game Board: Millennium Castle(sealed)], [Game Board: Twilight Castle(sealed)] Talent(s): [Etiquette: S], [Swordsmanship: A], [Spearmanship: A], [Archery: A], [Riding: A], [Shadow Maniption: SS], [Service: A], [Cooking: B], [Cleaning: B], literally hundreds more~. ********** While her parameters were quite a bit lower than his, disregarding Luck and Karma, Leticia was head and shoulders over the average resident of the Little Garden. Once he helped her to recover her Divinity, she would grow even stronger. Nodding his head in approval of his own thoughts, a smile developed across Vahn''s face as he pped his hands together and eximed, "Great! With the exception of Nono, everyone seems to have decided on the event they want to participate in. If you''d like to practice, just let me know. I''ve already finished working on the Game Board quite some time ago. The actual event is in seven days but I can literally give you as much time as you need." Though his words weren''t intended as an innuendo, a rather fierce blush developed across Sarina''s face. This left Vahn feeling a little helpless, but, considering they had spent weeks indulging in sex over the past two and a half days, he wasn''t too surprised. Her stamina was a littlecking but she was quite the little nymph in the bedroom. Ignoring Sarina''s reaction, at least for the moment, Vahn looked around to see if anyone else had anything to say before promptly dismissing them. They had already eaten dinner and it was long past their usual bedtime. This meant his night was only just beginning, but, rather thanin, he was quite looking forward to it... ... .. . As the others were all pretty confident in their ability to secure a Gold Medal, the only person to take Vahn up on his offer, at least officially, was Hime. He had told her she could use her dragon form if she really wanted to, but, fearing she might lower the Community''s reputation by resorting to such methods, Hime was determined to win the event in her human form. Fortunately for Vahn, this meant he got to watch Hime swimming back and forth in a massive pool a literal kilometer in length. She had always been a remarkably beautiful woman, but, seeing her in a form-fitting one-piece that perfectly hugged her figure, he couldn''t help feeling like the luckiest man in existence. "I''m d you asked me to apany you. This memory is going straight into my most cherished collection. Hahahahahaha~." Having just pulled herself out of the water, Hime nearly slipped and hit the edge of the pool when she heard Vahn''s words. She was, fortunately, able to catch herself but when she looked up at him her usually impassive expression had morphed into an extremely bashful look as she blushed to the very tips of her pointed, elf-like ears. "Master...please don''t say such things without warning...I need to prepare my heart..." Demonstrating just how bashful she could be, Hime elected to sit on the edge of the pool with her back facing Vahn. She had been seen naked by him countless times, but, no matter how much time they spent together, she still behaved like a chaste maiden. It was honestly adorable, and, for a brief moment, Vahn had to summon every ounce of his willpower just to resist pushing her into the pool and promptly joining her. ("Stay focused...") (*...*) Ignoring the judgmental silence in the back of his mind, Vahn suppressed his rising urges as he held up his stopwatch and asked, "You ready to go again? If you''re feeling sore, I can give your arms and legs a quick massage. Nothing lewd." Though her first instinct was to politely refuse, Hime''s mind nked when she heard Vahn promise he wouldn''t do anything lewd. She would never admit it, but, for a very brief moment, she actually felt a little disappointed... "Very well..." Since she was feeling sore after swimming several kilometers with her powers sealed, Hime waited for Vahn to ce down a towel beforeying t on her stomach. Her body tensed and began to heat up the moment he knelt next to her, but, true to his word, Vahn never once targeted any of her more sensitive regions. Instead, he focused primarily on her calves, the lower half of her thighs, and the muscles supporting her rotator cuffs. This helped her muscles rx but it also caused her to feel a growing frustration until Vahn leaned down to whisper, "If you improve your time by ten seconds, I''ll make sure to give you a proper ''reward''..." ... .. . Fortunately for Shirayukihime, Vahn was nothing if not a man of his word. ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn isn''t going to let any other men touch his wives/lovers xD...'',''Sarina is quite bold (O w O)...'',''Dragon waifu working hard~'') Chapter 2121: Some Things Never Change

Chapter 2121: Some Things Never Change

Though they had already stopped epting applications for participation, that didn''t stop people from flocking to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth in droves. Rather, once it becamemon knowledge that Vahn had the means to hand out hundreds of personalized Gifts without batting an eye, even famous Communities were extending invitations to cooperate. Unfortunately, this wasn''t necessarily a good thing... "Your Community has made quite the name for itself these past couple of months. However, if you truly wish to ascend to the top, you''ll need the backing of powerful allies. If you agree to be a part of our Alliance, we will do everything in our power to help you reach your full potential." As this was not his first time receiving such an offer, Vahn simply smiled at the handsome, silver-haired man seated across from him. He had sharp, intelligent features, lc-colored eyes, and an outfit reminiscent of a Shinigami Captain. This included a sleek ck kimono fastened by a grey sash, short ck socks, ck gloves that failed to cover his entire palms, and a dual-colored haori that was white on the outside and royal blue within. "I''m afraid your journey has been for naught, Souta-dono. My Community does not require the assistance of others to reach its full potential. If you''ve nothing else to discuss, please finish your tea and be on your way." Though his expression didn''t change, Vahn could tell Souta was bothered by how his previously cid aura began to fluctuate like a me disturbed by a strong wind. The man was the second son of the Japanese God of Wind, Fuujin. He was also here at the behest of Kotoamatsukami, one of the top three factions within the East Side, so he didn''t take kindly to being dismissed in such a sinct manner. "Vahn-dono...I implore you to reconsider. As a Pure-Blooded Dragon, you have every right to be confident in your strength. However, raw power bes meaningless once you transition to the lower-digit Gates. You see, here in the Divine Realm, true poweres from three things: a being''s origin, how clearly defined their existence is, and their authority. I believe you''ve heard about the existence of Poets, yes...?" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn gestured for Souta to continue. He really didn''t care what the man had to say, but, who knows? He might be able to provide an iota of insight into the inner workings of the Divine Realm. "You see, Poets have the power to influence concepts and alter the perception of others. To prevent this, denizens of the Divine Realm work tirelessly to cement their ''image'' in the hearts and minds of others. The stronger this image is, the more stable their existence bes. In rare instances, those with clearly defined existence can even develop something known as a Fragment of Origin. Without one, a Poet can redefine who you are on a whim. If they spread a rumor stating you were actually a woman, you would be one. If they said you were as powerless as an ant, you would be..." Unable to restrain the urge, an exasperated sigh escaped Vahn''s mouth as he shook his head and asked, "Do you take me for a fool? I am well aware of the existence of Poets. Though their power is as you''ve professed, the conditions to activate it are extremely strict. If you''ve got a point to make, get to it. I have better things to do than sit here and listen to you try and scare me into joining the Kotoamatsukami." Suppressing his growing fury, Souta did his best to appear calm as he squinted his lc eyes and answered, "Our Alliance is backed by three of the most famous Poets in the East Side. Kagutsuchi-sama has also taken an interest in your abilities as a craftsman. So long as you agree to our terms, he is prepared to ept you as his official disciple..." Noticing the ''mockery'' in Vahn''s eyes, Souta''s words gradually trailed off his expression morphed into an unamused glower. He could tell the former wasn''t taking him seriously. More importantly, his behavior was a direct insult to Kagutsuchi, the God of Fire and the Patron God of cksmiths. Had Vahn been anyone else, Souta would have cut him down on the spot. Unfortunately, even his father, one of the eldest and most powerful Shinto Gods, was cautious of the Dragon seated across from him. After all, Vahn''s power was aplete anomaly. They had originally thought he might be a descendant of Meng Zhang, the Azure Dragon. Unfortunately, this was quickly refuted by the Jade Pce, who, much like them, had taken an interest in the anomalous Dragon. After taking a deep breath to calm his fury, Souta''s expression gradually rxed as he said, "I had high hopes prior to this visit. I can''t express how disappointed I am that things ended up this way..." Shrugging dismissively, Vahn gestured toward the door as he said, "They didn''t have to. You could have left when I gave you permission. Instead, you attempt to threaten me and even had the gall to insult me by offering me a position as someone else''s disciple. Next time, bring your daddy. Better yet, bring Amaterasu. At least then your threats might have some weight behind them." "How da-" Finished with the conversation, Vahn snapped his fingers and promptly ejected Souta from the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. To add insult to injury, he teleported each member of the man''s entourage in the air above him. This caused a bit of a scene, but, having already dismissed the arrogant envoy from his mind, Vahn just popped his back before sprawling out and whining, "Lap pillow,p pillow~" in a mock-spoiled tone. Exhaling a soft, inaudible sigh, Leticia made her way over, monotonously muttering, "Yes, Master..." in a soothing tone as she sat down and guiding Vahn''s head to herp. Then, as her fingersbed through his hair, she asked, "Are you sure about this? While Kotoamatsukami''s power might not be a threat to you, their influence among the 4-Digit Communities will make bing one that much harder..." "Mmm...you''re not wrong... Confused by Vahn''s nonchnce, a very slight frown marred Leticia''s doll-like features as she softly inquired, "Then why...?" Since it wasn''t really a secret, Vahn just chuckled before exining, "I have a bit of history with the Shinto Gods. I won''t go into too many details but it might amuse you to learn I have, not one, but two Amaterasu(s) in my harem. If you count Tamamo, it''s more like 2.5..." Deadpanning in response to Vahn''s words, Leticia gave him a light poke as she pointedly asked, "You really do have a thing for women with fluffy ears and tails, don''t you...?" "Mmm...you''re not wrong..." ... .. . While Leticia was busy pulling his cheeks in the other room, another version of Vahn was cuddled up in the nursery with Fenrir, Usalia, and several of his children. As for the rest, they were running around and ying with Companions roughly the same size as themselves. "This is a lot easier when they have someone else to pester, plip..." "Hey now..." Though he didn''t mind if sheined when they were alone, Vahn didn''t want their children to hear Usalia''s grumbling. Realizing what she had said, Usalia''s expression paled, ears drooping as she muttered, "Sorry..." in a sincerely apologetic tone. Vahn worked a lot harder than she did when it came to looking after and their children so she couldn''t help feeling guilty when she heard the tone he was using. Shaking his head, Vahn''s expression softened as he bent down to nt a kiss atop Usalia''s. This caused the tensions in her body to rx, but, as was often the case when it came to parenting, that was the exact moment Luna decided to wake up and start crying. Extending his hand, Vahn made a motion as if he was turning down the volume on an analog TV. As a result, Luna''s crying quickly became a distant murmur as he retrieved her from Usalia''s hands and said, "The two of you can keep rxing and watching over the children. I''ll take care of this." As he spoke, an apparatus resembling false breasts appeared around Vahn''s chest. Feeding a dozen ravenous bunnies had left Usalia''s breasts feeling pretty tender, so, while he would never transform into her, he didn''t mind helping out using artificial mammaries filled with her breast milk... ... .. . With the East Side abuzz with conversations regarding the uing Gift Game hosted by Vahn and the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, it was only natural that Izayoi, Asuka, and Yo had heard the news. Rather, thanks to ck Rabbit, they had learned about the specifics even before the members of Vahn''s Community. "So, we doing this or what...?" Nodding her head in affirmation, Asuka answered, "Of course. Registration may have alreadye to an end but there''s no way that perverted lizard will be able to refuse a request from ck Rabbit. We just need to convince Jin." Smirking in response to Asuka''s words, Izayoi was about toment when Yo, still garbed in her vanargandr-themes onesie, said, "Asuka...you shouldn''t speak badly about Vahn. I know his actions upset you but he was just trying to help...I''m sure of it..." Exhaling a sigh, Asuka cradled her head as sheined, "I really don''t understand what you see in that man, Yo. Anyone who surrounds themselves with that many women can''t be a good person." Adopting a slight pout, Yo wanted to refute Asuka''s words but couldn''t. She hadn''t really interacted with any boys prior toing to the Divine Realm but she knew enough to be wary of ruffians and womanizers. She didn''t believe Vahn was either, but, knowing he was in a rtionship with at least five women made it difficult to argue in his favor... "Hey, don''t say that. Having a harem is the dream of men and boys alike. Liking beautiful women doesn''t make us bad people. Besides, as far as I can tell, that perverted lizard you mentioned keeps the women around him happy. I might not like the guy but he''s clearly doing something right." Snorting through her nose, Asuka elected to simply ignore Izayoi''s remark as she said, "Anyways, we still need to convince Jin. After that, we just need to talk to ck Rabbit and decide which of the 43 events we want to participate in. I was considering Horse Racing." "I''ll take care of the great runt. As for my event...I was thinking about participating in the Boxingpetition. Since we can''t use our Gifts, I''m hoping at least one person will be able to withstand my punches." Shaking her head, Asuka muttered, "Men..." in an exasperated whisper before directing her gaze to Yo and asked, "What about you, Yo? I remember you being pretty light on your feet when we first arrived." With a fiery light in her eyes, Yo balled her hands into fists as she said, "I''m going to participate in the Pankration. I''m not sure I can win without my Gift but I''m confident I can secure a medal." "The Pankration? Isn''t that the event thatbines boxing with wrestling? Are you sure you want to participate in such a violentpetition...?" Worried that Yo might be getting in over her head, Asuka was already thinking of ways to try and dissuade her. Unfortunately, her words appeared to have the opposite effect as Yo seemed even more determined, answering, "I want to fight...!" like a typical battle junky. This left Asuka feeling more than a little exasperated, but, not wanting to take the wind out of her friend''s sails, she just smiled and said, "Very well, then. Now, let''s hurry. If we wait much longer, we might not even be able to participate..." Nodding her head in understanding, Yo bade farewell to Izayoi before apanying Asuka to track down ck Rabbit. They were confident in Izayoi''s ability to convince Jin so they were intending to meet up with their Community''s mascot before paying a visit to Vahn at the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Fortunately, Yo had found a pretty nice brush when she and Asuka went shopping so she was a lot more prepared than she was thest time... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Souta be like, "My Father will hear of this...!"'',''Imagine Vahn forgetting to take those off due to a surprise attack...'',''Ha! Jokes on you. Fenrir has her own brush (O w O)...'') Chapter 2122: Gift

Chapter 2122: Gift

"I refuse." "You can''t be serious..." Surprising Asuka, Yo, and even ck Rabbit herself, Vahn immediately shot down their request to participate in theing Gift Game. This earned him a re from the former heiress, but, as he had already made up his mind, he just shrugged his shoulders, exining, "My Community has dered itself a neutral organization. If I made an exception and allowed the No Names to participate, every Community I refused will cry foul y. Since they won''t be able to take out their anger on me, who do you think they will target...?" With an expression simr to someone that had just swallowed a bug, Asuka remainedpletely silent in the face of Vahn''s reasoning. Yo, however, appearedpletely calm as she said, "That''s a shame..." before following it up by asking, "Is Fenrir here...?" Since she didn''t want to implicate the children as a result of her selfishness, Yo quickly epted the reality of the situation. She also knew they would have plenty of opportunities to fight in the future, so, rather than insisting Vahn make an exception, she immediately shifted her attention to far more important matters. Amused by the animal-loving girl''s eagerness, a chuckle escaped Vahn''s throat as he said, "Thanks for reminding me. I actually have a present for the two of you." Snapping his fingers, Vahn caused two Companions to manifest out of thin air. One resembled a Maneki-neko with calico fur along its backside and crimson red fur lining its stomach. The thing that separated it from a normal Beckoning Cat was the fact it was wearing a cat mask and had two tufts of crimson me for ears. As for the second Companion, it resembled a cartoonish jackal, but, instead of a normal jackal, its body was covered in sleek obsidian fur with ents of pure gold and ghostly blue. It also had long ears, and, much like the Maneki-neko, its face was covered in a mask. Though Yo''s eyes had lit up as if she had just been proposed to by her crush, Asuka adopted a far more cautious demeanor as she asked, "What are these...creatures? Why do their faces look like masks?" Answering in Vahn''s stead, ck Rabbit exined, "These are called Companions. They are basically artificially produced Guardian Beasts. Vahn has been developing them to look after members of the Burgeoning Communities ord." Understanding what Asuka was about to say, Vahn raised his hand to silence her, exining, "I am well aware of the fact your Community does not belong to the BCA. Also, while it is true these two adorable little fellows are Companions, they are among the first of their kind..." Before exining what a Companion was, Vahn grabbed the ceramic mask covering the Maneki-neko''s face. To the surprise of everyone present, its body spontaneously vanished into strangely cool crimson mes as he positioned the mask over his own face. Simr to when he entered one of his Elemental Emperor forms, Vahn''s body released a burst of crimson mes as his clothes instantaneously changed to resemble a stylish crimson yukata with a calico-themed haori. Then, as he raised his hand to produce ghostly crimson mes, he exined, "Normal Companions are life-long partners that protect their user autonomously. This is a variant I developed after drawing inspiration from a special weapon known as a Zanpakuto. Unlike the usual variety, this particr variant shares its strength with its partner and helps to promote their spiritual development. I noticed your Gifts are heavily reliant on the amount of spiritual energy you have so I developed these two with that in mind. Of course, whether or not they ept you as their partners depends entirely on you..." Removing the mask, Vahn used telekinesis to direct it to Yo as the jackal-like Companion walked gracefully to Asuka. It didn''t actually have a gender, but, based on its inordinate beauty and the natural grace in which it moved, most people would assume it was female. "You''re just giving these to us...?" Though she had no idea what a Zanpakuto was, Asuka understood enough to know that these Companions would shake the very foundation of Little Garden society. Even humans relied on the development of spiritual energy to transcend their limits. If people learned Vahn had developed a means to naturally promote that growth, they would spare no effort to obtain it for themselves. Shaking his head, Vahn''s expression became stern as he said, "Companions are not objects. They are sapient creatures with thoughts and feelings. If you regard them as pets or convenient tools to increase your power, they will promptly abandon you." While there were still a number of questions she wanted to ask, Asuka was silenced as Yo, without a moment''s hesitation, ced the mask on her face. The Vanargandr-themed onesie she was wearing immediately burst into mes. In its wake, an outfit simr to the one Vahn was wearing manifested to cover her body. Instead of a Yukata, however, she was wearing a calico-themed kimono wrapped in a crimson obi. As for her haori, it was pure white on the outside, crimson on the inside, and lined with golden trim. Last but not least, she had a bright red cor around her neck with arge golden bell resting between her corbones. "Whoa..." Feeling a surge of power spread through her body, Yo couldn''t help issuing a soft exmation. She didn''t know how to describe it but it was like her perception had expanded beyond the confines of her body. More importantly, she could still feel a connection to the power she had borrowed from Fenrir. Trusting her instincts, Yo manifested a peculiar magenta me in her hand. At the same time, a chill began to spread through the room, as, unlike a normal me, the pretty purple fire was powered by pure Yin Elemental Energy. Seeing Yo produce mes in both hands as if it was the simplest thing in the world, most of Asuka''s inhibitions faded away. She was actually the weakest among her, Yo, and Izayoi, so, after a moment of deliberation, she gazed into the ghostly blue eyes of the jackal and asked, "Will you lend me your strength...?" As it had been specifically attuned to Asuka''s aura, the jackal Companion merely nodded its head before presenting it to her. In response, Asuka grabbed the edge of its mask and pulled, confusion marring her expression as she felt absolutely no resistance. In fact, as far as she could tell, the mask didn''t even have a mass. She could feel it in her hands but the sensation was simr to cing your hand over the vent of an AC on the lowest setting. Shaking away her fears, a resolute light shed across Asuka''s eyes as she ced the mask over her face. Her red and white dress immediately burst into ghostly blue mes. Appearing in its ce was a form-fitting outfitprised of an obsidian-blue material ented with gold and blue. It left very little to the imagination, and, to make matters even worse, at least in Asuka''s opinion, she now had a long and slender tail protruding from her backside. If it was just the tail, Asuka wouldn''t have minded. In fact, she actually thought it looked kind of cool. The problem was that her outfit was basically a futuristic plugsuit. It hugged her body like a leotard and allowed everyone and their mother to view its contours at their leisure. Covering her modest yet developing breasts, Asuka red at Vahn as if he were her mortal enemy, shouting, "I should have known you would pull something like this! You...you damned perverted lizard...!" Were it not for the mask covering her face, everyone present would have been able to see Asuka''s beet-red face. She even had tears pooling in the corners of her eyes as she had never in her entire life felt this level of embarrassment. Reacting to Asuka''s surging emotions, ghostly blue mes began to manifest around her body as space within the room began to billow outward, distorting the shape of the room. Ignoring Asuka''s remarks regarding his perversion, Vahn nodded his head, muttering, "Not bad..." in an audibly impressed tone. Asuka may have had no idea what she was doing but it was still quite a feat to distort the remarkably stable space within the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Thinking he wasmenting on her figure, Asuka''s face became even redder as she extended her hand to produce a torrent of blue mes. Unfortunately, the mes immediately dissipated as Vahn said, "Calm down. If you confer with your Companion, you''ll learn that your appearance has nothing to do with me. Rather, I''m guessing they just prefer sleek and slender designs. If you ask nicely, they should also be able to make adjustments. You really need to stopshing out at every opportunity." Though she was anything but calm, Asuka did her best to suppress her turbulent emotions as she attempted tomunicate with her Companion. To her considerable relief, she was immediately greeted by a soft and velvety voice that had no qualms with making adjustments to her outfit so long as it didn''t feel restrictive or interfere with their movements. While it wasn''t much better, Asuka felt considerably less embarrassed when an Egyptian gown manifested to cover her body. The skirt was a little on the shorter side, barely covering half her thighs, but it was infinitely better than walking around in a skin-tight bodysuit. She already had to tolerate the leers of countless men. Thest thing she needed was them staring at the contours of her breasts and butt with only a thin piece of cloth concealing them. "Now that our resident Ojou-sama has calmed down, how about a short recess? I''m not going to change my mind regarding your participation in theing Gift Game but I can at least fill your bellies before sending you on your way." Though his words weren''t intended to be an innuendo, Vahn noticed the auras of all three girls fluctuate to varying degrees. The roots of ck Rabbit''s hair had even started to turn pink as she had been thinking about pregnancy with increasing frequency over the past couple of months. Restraining a wry smile, Vahn took the initiative to rise first, saying, "I''ll be in the kitchen preparing the food. If you don''t want to wait, feel free to look around. Fenrir is in the nursery and the onsen is always avable if you want to take a bath. Food should be ready in about twenty minutes." On that note, Vahn departed from the room in a sh of pale-blue light. In his wake, ck Rabbit, now sporting pink hair, looked towards Asuka and Yo, saying, "I knew Vahn was incredibly generous but I never expected him to simply give away something so incredible. If converted into Gifts, those Companions might be graded as high as S-Rank. I''m not sure the two of you realize just how lucky you are to have received such an amazing gift..." Snorting through her nose, Asuka was briefly tempted to refute ck Rabbit''s words but ultimately decided against it. She wasn''t a fool. Rather, back in her world, she regarded as a prodigy in terms of business acumen. Sure, her Authority helped but it wasn''t like she had been mind-controlling the entire world. If she made bad decisions, they would havee back to bite her. Simply put, Asuka understood when she was getting an incredible deal and when she should hold her tongue. She could also tell ck Rabbit was head over heels for the perverted dragon, so, while she still suspected Vahn had an ulterior motive, she wasn''t going to badmouth him right in front of his lover. While that, and many otherplicated thoughts were running through Asuka''s mind, Yo had a much simpler view of things. Her mask concealed it but a happy smile had developed across her face as she pressed the tips of her fingers together and mused, "I can''t wait to show this form to Calico Cat. He is going to be so happy now that we match..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Rohan be like...'',''Casually creating world-breaking creatures...'',''Yo is precious (U w U)...'') Chapter 2123: Long Game

Chapter 2123: Long Game

After serving up a light lunch and sending the girls off to share the bad news, Vahn returned to what he was doing prior to their arrival. Though they wouldn''t discover it until their spiritual power had umted beyond a certain point, the Companions Vahn had gifted to Asuka and Yo were far more special than he let on. They were effectively Pure-Blooded Dragons that had been attuned to very specific Laws, and, once they matured to the point of being able to sustain their transformed state, their power would serve as a foundation for change within the Little Garden. Simply put, the current form of the Companions was their Shikai state. Once the girls were strong enough to enter Bankai, their true power as Pure Blooded Dragons would be released. Yo''s had the power to manipte mes in all forms. As for Asuka, her Companion was even more unique as it derived its power from the transitory phase between Life and Death. While it wouldn''t be as powerful as the Companion he created to govern the ''Boundaries'', Asuka''s Abyssinian, the true name of the inordinately regal creature, could trespass barriers, teleport, bend space, and, once she had mastered its power, resurrect the dead. Though these abilities sounded unbelievably powerful on paper, they were difficult to master and required a specific mentality to even be able to pull off. As for Yo''s Agnyon, it was simpler to use, but, depending on theprehension and authority of its user, mastery over mes meant mastery over creation and destruction. A Phoenix''s mes could heal injuries and resurrect the dead while the mes of a Pure-Blooded Fire Dragon could break down and destroy matter in its most basic form. When it came down to it, the Companions Vahn had created had no limits to speak of. Even the Law of Death was capable of creating life, and, under the right conditions, fire and ice could manipte space and time at their leisure. After all, time didn''t truly exist. It was simply a convenient construct to recognize the changes in matter and energy from one state to another until harmony had been achieved. Time moving forward was an observation of chaos and entropy. Time moving backward was a reflection of order and negentropy. With all Laws sharing the same Origin, mastery over the Laws meant approaching the Origin of all things. The closer you got to this point, the more abstract the Laws became. Eventually, you would reach a point where there was no difference between even the most prizing of concepts. If you were able to reach the Origin itself, you could even rewrite the Laws of reality at your leisure. In the end, Vahn was intended to produce a total of 81 Elementary Spirit Companions. These were creatures that would rule over the elemental forces and various lesser concepts. The Companions gifted to Asuka and Yo were of this variety. Ruling over these 81, at least from a conceptual standpoint, would be 18 Companions representing Bnce. They represented various prizing concepts such as Yin-Yang, Life-Death, Order-Entropy, and Creation-Destruction. On the most fundamental level, these were basically the same thing, but, from the perspective of beings attempting to master them, they were drastically different. The thing that truly distinguished the 18 from the other 81 was the fact that they were Star-Grade by default. In other words, if Vahn were to gift them to Asuka and Yo, they would be able to battle against Demons and Gods on the level of Algol and the Olympians without the need for training. With basic mastery, they could even reach the level of the Northern, Western, and Southern Floor Masters. Vahn was still against the idea of granting people power, so, as an added precaution of sorts, he made it so that the 18 prizing Companions could only manifest their full power in conjunction with their pr opposite. Lyfa(Life) would need to team up with Nyxxs(Death), Racana(Creation) would need to ally with Tabahi(Destruction), and so on and so forth. At the present moment, Vahn wasn''t entirely sure who to entrust the 18 prizing Companions to. He was just preparing them in advance so he would be able to give them to people he believed to be worthy of them. More specifically, he was intending to entrust them to people who already had extremely powerful bonds. This could be a familial bond or a bond between lovers. The only thing that mattered was that they were willing to fight alongside and support one another no matter the odds. Though he would never force them, Vahn was currently considered Jin and Lily as the candidates for Yin and Yang. He believed they would make a good couple if Jin could only muster up the courage to surmount the barrier between childhood friends and lovers. If he didn''t, there was a good chance that Lily would always see him as a child she needed to protect. In the absolute worst-case scenario, she would end up falling in love with whoever facilitated this almost instinctual need. Previously, Vahn was worried that Lily would imprint on him due to the care and concern he had shown towards the No Names. Fortunately, most of the sentiments she directed towards him were respect and adtion, not love. Now that Izayoi had been introduced into the picture, there was a very high probability that Lily would imprint on him. Girls, especially young girls with kind natures and well-developed maternal instincts, had a penchant for crushing on "bad boys". One reason for this was their innate desire to try and change the object of their affection into a better person. Even more than that, however, was their attraction to the prizing nature of a bad boy''s character. They could see through the facade of confidence and find the vulnerable boy hidden within. Though he felt sorry for Jin, Vahn knew there was a very high chance that Lily would eventually fall for Izayoi. Tsunderes were prime targets for girls with pronounced maternal instincts so there was no way Lily would be able to ignore him. If it wasn''t for the seal on her body preventing her from evolving to her next stage, Izayoi probably wouldn''t be able to ignore her either. After all, while he would never admit it, Izayoi had a soft spot for motherly women. He even had a crush on his foster mother. So much so that every aspect of his life revolved around bing the person she believed he could be... ... .. . Staring at the Axolotl-like creature levitating in front of him, a glimmer of intrigue radiated from the very depths of Vahn''s eyes as he remarked, "Fascinating. Every time I create one of you, I can''t help being awed by the variability of your nature and appearance. Truly breathtaking..." Though its mouth and eyes didn''t move in the slightest, the vaguely feminine Axolotl telepathically replied, "Thank you. It pleases me to know my Creator has such a fascination with the myriad forms of life. I''m not sure what I would have done if you thought I was ugly..." Chuckling in response to the peculiar pink Dragon''s remark, Vahn resisted the urge toplement its beauty as he produced a spherical assortment of runes and sent it flying into the newly created Companion''s chest. This caused its form to immediately shrink until it resembled arge chibiesque Axolotl with four arms,rge eyes, and a serpentine tail. Picking up the cat-sized creature, Vahn allowed it to perch on his shoulders before exining its purpose. He made sure to infuse his intent in the Companions prior to their creation but it never hurt to exin things in greater detail. This was also his way of bonding with the creatures, as, in more ways than one, they were effectively his children. The more innocent ones even referred to him as their Father rather than their Creator. Thus, while their paths were fated to diverge from his own, Vahn wanted to be there for each of the unsurprisingly adorable creatures... ... .. . With less than a day remaining until he was supposed to Host the Gift Game, Vahn had to meet with a bunch of organizers who had been trying to get in contact with him ever since news of the event went public. He had intended to leave the arrangements to the Thousand Eyes Community, but, as the official Host of the event, there were a number of formalities that required his personal attention. One such formality was participating in an interview that would invariably be broadcast throughout the entirety of the Little Garden. Fame and poprity were two of the most significant aspects of life within the Divine Realm, so, as could be expected, the Little Garden had its own version of the news media. There were even Communities that specialized in organizing and broadcasting events as documenting the rise of an up-anding legend was one of the most direct methods to earn the designation of a Poet. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us. Our Leader, the Chief Editor of our News Community, was starting to worry." Staring at the petite woman seated across from him, an amused smile developed across Vahn''s face as he shook his head and said, "It''s a small matter. However, I would prefer to get this over with. I''m a lot busier than most people seem to believe." Pushing up her square, red-rimmed sses, a mischievous smiled developed across the bob-haired woman''s face as she asked, "Is that so? Perhaps you''d like to shed some light on the inner workings of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth? People are also curious to know, what does a Pure-Blooded Dragon such as yourself get up to when nobody is looking~?" Restraining a chuckle, Vahn''s eyes briefly shifted to the woman''s recently tinted hair, musing, "I''m sure you''ve already reached a conclusion in that regard. Unfortunately, I won''t be able to provide the exclusive you''re looking for. Others might consider me licentious but the truth of the matter is I have a soft spot for certain kinds of women. I''m afraid you''ll have to settle with a normal interview." Punctuating his statement with a wink, Vahn nearly chuckled when the woman shrugged helplessly and said, "That''s a shame. It took a long time to dye my hair like this. I was really looking forward to the opportunity to get to know you. After all, it''s not every day a girl gets to interview a Dragon." Supplying a wink of her own, the rather hip-looking journalist, full name Kanade Katana, pretended to turn on her already running recorder as she asked, "So, what can you tell me about your reasons for hosting such a high-brow Gift Game? Rumors regarding your spat with the Perseus Community have already started to spread. Is this intended as a slight against the Olympic Gods?" Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn casually replied, "I don''t particrly care what the Olympians think. If they''re offended by my actions, that''s on them. My reason for hosting this Gift Game has nothing to do with them. Rather, I just wanted to give people the opportunity to experience apetition that celebrates the founding principles of the Little Garden rather than punishing all but the strongest." With visible stars in her shimmering grey eyes, Katana leaned forward in a manner that entuated her ratherrge bust as she asked, "Oh? It''s rare for a Pure-Blooded Dragon to be so magnanimous. In fact, as far as I know, you''re the first authentic Dragon to promote such a phnthropic ideology. The only other group thates to mind is the Smandra Royal Family but it''s been generations since they could call themselves genuine Dragons." Though he wasn''t too surprised, Vahn still raised his brows at the mention of Smandra. He didn''t expect them toe up so quickly, but, considering her firstment involved an organization in the South, it wasn''t too surprising that she would mention an organization in the North. Still, just to be sure, Vahn had Loi-chan manifest to make sure Katana wasn''t a nt by Shiroyasha just to mess with him... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Sekirei vibes...'',''Axolotls are cute (O w O)...'',''Journalists are scary...'') Chapter 2124: Publicity

Chapter 2124: Publicity

With the first round of events scheduled around 11 AM, Vahn went through his morning process of waking Sarina and Nono, helping Usalia with the kids, and cooking breakfast. Though they had expected him to stop helping them prepare in the mornings, Vahn exined that he actually helped all the girls prepare for their day. He sincerely enjoyed caring for them and took pride in bringing out their natural qualities. Thus, even though Sarina felt as though he was treating her like a child at first, Vahn had cleared her doubts by making love to her in front of the bathroom mirror. Since then, he would help her get ready without a single strand of clothing on while Nono, ever-eager to be pampered, would literally doze off while he was brushing her teeth... "I''m kind of nervous...everyone in the Little Garden is going to be watching me..." Staring at her reflection''s rather sizeable breasts, Sarina made it pretty clear what she was actually concerned about. Recordings of Gift Games could be purchased from the Communities that helped to organize and broadcast the event throughout the Little Garden. She could try to wear a corset to keep them in ce but there was a good chance that perverts throughout the Divine Realm would be gawking at her breasts as she bounced atop a horse... Recalling how envious Sarina had been ofrge breasts in the past, Vahn couldn''t help chuckling at herint. Before she could pout, however, he reached around to cup the two wless mounds of flesh as he said, "There are plenty of solutions to your problem. I can give you a brassier that lets them settle in a sub-dimensional pocket but most of the women who use that method find it to be ufortable. The simplest solution is this..." Just as Sarina was about to get excited from having her breasts fondled, her eyes widened as she noticed her bosom shrinking at a startling rate. It didn''t even take three seconds for her to go from the pinnacle of a D-Cup to a pair of breasts that perfectly fit in the palms of Vahn''s hands. Taking advantage of her momentary stupor, Vahn maintained a smile as he said, "Don''t worry. They will inte to their usual size after a few hours. I can also return them to normal now if you want me to. Your body, your rules." Hearing Vahn''s words, Sarina suppressed her words of protest as she eyed herself in the mirror and joked, "Tione and Tiona would be jealous. Both gripe about their breasts being too big or too small. If they knew it was this easy to solve their problems, they would lose it." Though his version of Tiona had embraced her small yet tantalizing chest, Vahn still nodded his head in approval of Sarina''s words. She liked to talk about her friends back in the Lok Familia, and, if he were being honest, Vahn really enjoyed hearing about her experiences. Her words sometimes made him feel a little mncholic but it was never the bad kind. Instead, it was mncholy tinged with reminiscence and longing...the kind that gave you the strength to ovee anything... Before Sarina could change her mind, Vahn pulled out a cute yet fashional brassier for her, asking, "How''s this? It''s enchanted so that people won''t be able to focus even if they''re looking directly at your breasts." Seeing the paradoxically cute yet sexy bra manifest to cover her breasts, a wry yet bewitching smile developed across Sarina''s face as she stood up, wrapped her arms around Vahn''s neck, and began to kiss him. She could always do itter, but, now that she had the opportunity, she wanted to see what it was like to have sex with small breasts. She had also heard that small breasts allowed you to feel closer to the one you loved, so, knowing Vahn could control and manipte time, she decided to confirm it personally... ... .. . Though the morningsted a bit longer than he expected, Vahn was in a fantastic mood by the time the event organizers asked him toe out and give his speech. The Communities participating in the Vahnatus, the name he had decided on for his version of the Olympics, had already made their pledge. However, for the sake of the billions, if not trillions of people watching the event, the Host was still expected to make a speech. Fortunately, some of Vahn''s Temtes were highly charismatic individuals. He could give a pretty good speech himself, but, more often than not, his boldest statements came when dering war, riling up soldiers, or issuing ultimatums. He had never been much of a crowd-pleaser, so, prior to the event''s start, he made a pseudo-temte of himself with a personality very simr to Ganesha. The elephantine God might have a weirdugh but he was inarguably one of the most charismatic individuals Vahn had ever met. Thanks to the sacrifice of his Temte, Vahn was able to lounge in the waiting area while each of the events were previewed using hyper-realistic illusions. He might have to deal with some bacsh due to how silly his Temte behaved during the introductions, but, as a Pure-Blooded Dragon, he had every right to be entric. He was also entitled to indulging himself at his leisure, so, while the crowd and the contestants were all getting riled up in the massive Colosseum he had prepared, he was kicked back with his feet up on a table as Usalia and Fenrir sat on either side of him. "Look at how excited all the participants are. This is how a Gift Game should be..." Since most Gift Games required Communities to wager something of significant value, ybacks of previous high-brow Gift Games showed the yers as desperate, anxious, and emotional wrecks. In some cases, they were literally fighting with their lives on the line. This excited some viewers, but, at the same time, it horrified many and deterred weaker Communities from ever participating in such events. Though the Aldrnari Empire was far from perfect, it was idyllicpared to the vast majority of social structures Vahn had observed. At the very least, children were protected, everyone had the opportunity to learn whatever they wanted, and, while there were a number of hellish sub-textures, things like disease and hunger had been eradicated in every territory under Imperial control. Now that he was developing a production line and had started to personally produce Companions, Vahn was seriously considering spreading his Empire through the Divine Realm. He didn''t mind the general structure of the Little Garden. It was the fact that more than 90% of the Realm''s inhabitants were rtively normal and powerless people. If the Divine Realm was a ce that was supposed to weed out the strong from the weak, there should be a system in ce for people who were unable or unwilling to participate to opt-out. Forcing normal people to live in a ce dominated by Gods and Demons was utter nonsense. Fortunately, the only real requirement for establishing an Empire was promoting your Community to 4-Digits. By then, he would have more than enough leeway to extend an invitation to the people living in his personalized Little Garden. They would pounce at the opportunity to help him conquer the 4-7-Digit Gates, so, now that he had decided to be a Floor Master, Vahn figured he might as well be the Overall Floor Master... "What are you thinking about, plip? Your eyes are even scarier than an Overlord''s..." Raising his brows, Vahn manifested a mirror to take a look at his face whilst answering, "It''s nothing bad. I was just thinking the Little Garden could use a bit of restructuring..." Seeing that his expression appeared normal, Vahn came to the conclusion that Usalia was simply reading his aura. Her instincts were nearly as developed as Fenrir''s, and, ever since he was back in Danmachi, it seemed like everyone close to him could understand what he was thinking. Thus, with thoughts of removing a few unsavory Gods dancing across his mind, it was no surprise that Usalia thought his eyes looked scary. "Mou...so long as it doesn''t endanger our kittens, plip..." Since her children were her only real concern, Usalia was happy so long as they were happy. She knew that Vahn would do everything in his power to protect them, so, even if he waged war and destroyed half the Little Garden, she wouldn''t care. Rather, as a former Overlord and General, war was something she was intimately familiar with. If Vahn asked her to raise an army and conquer the entire East Side, she wouldn''t even flinch. Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn drew the presently petite bunny close to him as he said, "Don''t worry. I would never ce our children in danger..." before nting a kiss atop her head. In response, Usalia rubbed her head and ears against his chest while Fenrir, understanding her Master better than anyone, silently muttered, "Just you wait, Altria..." with a fierce glimmer in her eyes... ... .. . Though she didn''t approach Vahn''s Temte, for quite a number of reasons, Seraphina had been apanying him during the opening ceremony and the exnation of events. Her primary goal in participating in the Vahnatus was to strengthen her image and spread her name throughout the Divine Realm. Some might assume she was aiming to be a God but her ambitions were much higher than that. If Vahn was going to rule over the entire Little Garden one day, she would be right there alongside him as Empress of all Realities. With this in mind, Seraphina had no qualms about showing up to her event wearing little more than a purple bikini. She was a lot of things but bashful wasn''t one of them. In her mind, it was perfectly natural for men to adore her. After all, she was the most beautiful Overlord in all the Netherworlds. If they wanted to look, they were free to do so. However, if any of them even thought about putting their grubby little hands on her, she wouldn''t hesitate to shoot them in the face. Unsurprisingly, the crowd erupted into enthusiastic, borderline violent cheer the moment Seraphina emerged from the waiting area without a modicum of modesty or shame. This earned her a number of res from the other female contestants but a few had the wherewithal to unzip their blouses or outright strip down to their underwear. This caused the crowd to enter a frenzy, a thunderous cheer echoing through the arena as hundreds of thousands of people, men and women like, hooted and hollered like wild animals. While others might have been intimidated by such a riot, Seraphina simply puffed out her chest in pride before issuing her characteristicugh. A few of the other girls tried topete with her, but, while there were quite a number of beauties participating in the Shooting event, the eyes of billions of men across the Little Garden were wholly focused on Seraphina... ... .. . Though he wasn''t particrly surprised by Seraphina''s behavior, Vahn couldn''t help exhaling a sigh. After this kind of disy, the number of arrogant and licentious fools ''courting death'' was going to increase exponentially. He could already imagine idiots like Zeus threatening to dere war on him if he refused to hand over Seraphina as pensation'' for borrowing the temte of the Olympics or making slights against the Olympians. That man was a greedy and licentious fool in pretty much every Record Vahn had visited, and, based on the rumors, this particr Zeus was no different. "Maybe I should just steal his Fragment of Origin and give it to a little girl? It would be pretty funny to see a loli running around hurling lightning. If I give her a bashful or earnest nature, the people in the Lower Realms won''t have to worry about their wives and daughters getting stolen just because an arrogant old horn dog got a little excited..." As his Thunderbolt Zanpakuto had actually developed a Spirit resembling a young girl with white hair and electric blue eyes, Vahn was highly tempted to entrust the identity of Zeus to her. In fact, if he really wanted to, he could probably rece a lot of Gods and Heroes with his Zanpakuto Spirits. That would give them something to do other than lounging about in his soul, and, considering he was going to rule over the Record itself, cing his Zanpakuto and Companions in charge wasn''t the worst idea he hade up with... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Heresy...'',''The sleeping dragon has begun to stir...'',''Leave ament if you''d like to see Zeus-chan bitch p her predecessor into oblivion xD...'') Chapter 2125: Pleasant Surprise

Chapter 2125: Pleasant Surprise

Though there were a number of expert marksmen participating in the Shooting Competition, none were able topete against Seraphina. She might not have been particrly urate when Vahn first met her, but, after a thousand years of practice, she could even snipe an enemymander on amand deck hundreds of kilometers away with rtive precision. Since it was apetition that took into ount the existence of Demigods, Demihumans, and people with Divine Blessings, the difficulty of events increased without limit until a final winner was decided. By the end of the Shooting Competition, Seraphina was dinging targets moving around at hypersonic speeds. Only a single other contestant, a descendant of Hou Yi himself, had managed to keep up with her. Unfortunately, due to the restrictions ced on Gift usage, the youthful-looking Chinese girl eventually hit a wall due to being Tier 3 while Seraphina was pushing the pinnacle of Tier 4. If Vahn had been in Seraphina''s shoes, not that she was wearing any, he might have let the earnest young marksmen win. Unfortunately for her, Seraphina''s entire reason for participating in the event was to show off. Thus, the moment her victory was assured, she began showboating and posing as much as possible while dinging every target as if her bullets were maic. This caused a number of people to think she was cheating, but, thanks to ck Rabbit serving as Judge Master, none of them were brave enough toe forward with their allegations... ... .. . "Yahoooo~! Did you see my performance~?" Since Vahn''s event wasn''t until muchter in the day, Seraphina was able to track him down after giving a short interview about how great she was. The presence of Fenrir and Usalia slightly irked her, but, without losing her smile, she shamelessly walked over and straddled Vahn''sp without changing out of her bikini. Though she squinted her eyes in response to Seraphina''s behavior, Fenrir didn''t say anything as she was currently too weak to punish the pink-haired Demoness. She would probably emerge the victor in a life and death battle but that was a moot point considering she would never kill the women her Master was fond of. Fortunately for Fenrir and Usalia both, Vahn reacted to Seraphina''s selfish disy by giving her pert and bubbly butt a firm smack. This caused her body to jump, back straightening as a surprised yelp emanating from her throat. When he removed his hand, a very prominent red mark could be seen on her previously unblemished, perfectly white bottom. "Hey! What''s the big idea...!?" Were it not for the presence of Fenrir and Usalia, Seraphina wouldn''t have been bothered by the fact Vahn had spanked her. Rather, she was quite fond of being ''disciplined'' when they were alone together. Giving her opposite cheek a much lighter smack, Vahn maintained a rxed yet no-nonsense look on his face as he firmly stated, "You know better than to antagonize the others. You also know I give you a lot of special treatment. I don''t appreciate you stepping in and behaving selfishly like this..." Though she adopted a rather prominent pout, Seraphina didn''t attempt to refute Vahn''s words. She might be selfish but she knew when she was in the wrong. Vahn was also massaging away the pain in her bottom so she merely harumphed before looking between Fenrir and Usalia, saying, "Sorry..." in a pouty yet sincere tone. Since her Master had already meted out punishment, Fenrir''s resentment hadrgely dissipated as she replied, "It''s okay. Just don''t do it again. Master might tolerate bad girls but he is most fond of those who make an effort to be good. You might be a Demon and a Subus but you can still be a good girl if you do your best." Offering a wry smile in response to Fenrir''s usual ministrations, Seraphina briefly shifted her gaze to Usalia. Thetter simply shrugged at her, so, now that both girls had epted her apology, she met Vahn''s gaze, her demeanor changingpletely as she seductively purred, "When can I expect my reward~?" Restraining the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn matched Seraphina''s gaze with a smoldering leer as he answered, "That depends...Fenrir and Usalia may have forgiven you but a single smack isn''t much of a punishment. I''m thinking of using this as an opportunity to help the three of you grow closer..." Furrowing her brows, Seraphina was going to refuse until Vahn''s index and middle fingers pressed into a sensitive spot near the base of her spine. This caused a sonorous moan to escape her throat as her tail and wings promptly unfurled from her body. This was foul y on Vahn''s part, but, now that her switch was flipped, Seraphina didn''t care if she had to share. Her body craved the pleasure Vahn was capable of carving into her literal soul and there was no way in hell she was going to miss out on the opportunity to experience it... ... .. . With thebat events scheduled to take ce over a three-day period, it waste afternoon by the time Vahn''s turn came up. He was going to be participating in the Pankration, and, as could be expected, the people who had gathered for the event were among the most powerful in the 5-6-Digit Gates. This included people like Sigurd, who, ever since his Community''s defeat during the previous Gift Game, had turned over a new leaf. Seeing Vahn among the contestants, a massive grin appeared on Sigurd''s face as he walked over, hand raised as he said, "Yo! Long time no see! How''ve you been, man?" Returning a casual wave of his own, a smile developed across Vahn''s face as he replied, "Not bad. How about you? I''ve heard quite a number of rumors regarding Leviathan''s Tail these past couple of months..." Scratching the back of his head, Sigurd''s expression became somewhat awkward. Despite that, the smile never left his face as he answered, "Yeah...I''m guessing I have you to thank for that? Whatever you did to my body seems to have increased my virility and removed the restriction preventing me from siring offspring with Gyda and Ragna. At this point, they''re both around 7 weeks pregnant..." Though he now knew that Gyda and Ragna were Sigurd''s blood-rted siblings, Vahn wasn''t going to judge the trio for their actions. Love could be pretty indiscriminate at times, and, based on what he learned after the fact, it was pretty obvious the three weremitted to their rtionship. They were willing to run away from home and even threw their lot in with Demons. Gyda seemed like she was on the fence for a while but that changed pretty quickly after Sigurd''s bloodline purification. Patting the man''s shoulder, Vahn maintained a genial smile as he said, "Don''t worry about it. After you transformed into a demon, your gics were irreversibly changed. When I purified your body, you basically became apletely different person. If anyone gives you trouble about Gyda''s and Ragnar''s pregnancies, make sure to contact me. I''m not going to fight your battles for you but I''m more than willing to give anyone willing to target expectant mothers a piece of my mind..." Returning a sincerely grateful smile, Sigurd nearly pped Vahn on the shoulders before deciding against it. He doubted he would be able to hurt the humanoid dragon but there was quite a big difference in their height. If by some miracle he was able to send Vahn stumbling, no amount of apologizing would be able to suffice. "Thanks...I appreciate it more than words can ever express..." Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn surprised Sigurd by saying, "Then don''t use words. Show me through your actions that I wasn''t wrong when I spared your life. If Iter discover you were a terrible father, don''t expect any mercy." Though his words were said in a casual, ostensibly joking tone, the look in Vahn''s eyes made it very clear he wasn''t fooling around. His views on fatherhood had been shaped by the expectations he had for himself. He understood others couldn''t be held to the same standards he had for himself but he would be damned if he allowed someone he spared to mistreat or exploit their children. Despite feeling a powerful shudder run through his body, Sigurd was genuinely grateful for Vahn''s words. He was the type that excelled under pressure, so, while he wasn''t sure he was qualified to be a father, he was determined to do his best. Now that he knew Vahn was going to be keeping an eye on him, he actually felt relieved. Thus, after quickly recovering from his jitters, a guffawparable to a dragon''s roar emanated from his throat... ... .. . Staring at his opponent, an aged gentleman with spiky white hair, a handlebar moustache, and fashionable facial hair, Vahn couldn''t help smiling. It was clear from the man''s masterfully sculpted figure he had honed his skills through actualbat. There were even scars covering much of his body, and, while there were a number of exit wounds on his back, it was possible to intuit he had never taken a blow from behind. "You remind me of a good friend of mine. I''m looking forward to seeing what you''re capable of." Returning a fierce yet grandfatherly smile, the inordinately burly man, Ziros, answered, "Truth be told, I was looking forward to facing you in the finals. I never expected out bout would take ce in the first series of rounds. I almost feel sorry for the young men scheduled to fight after us..." To punctuate his words, Ziros adopted a loose stance that somewhat gave off the impression it was more stable than a mountain. He hand his right hand loosely clenched near his hip, his left open near his chin, and his feet spread apart in an ostensibly casual manner despite leaving no visible openings. As it had been years since he had an actual form, Vahn just leaned forward slightly with his hands barely raised from his sides. From the perspective of the crowd, it was apletely unremarkable stance, but, from the perspective of Ziros, it was almost as though Vahn had just ced his hands on the grips of two unfathomably sharp katanas. "Hoooo..." Undaunted, Ziros responded to Vahn''s stance by charging forward with such speed that his fist had impacted thetter''s guard in an instant. Then, while his punch seemingly did no damage at all, the space where he had been standing erupted from the force of his movement. Raising his brows, Vahn was slightly surprised to see that flow of time stagnate to such an extreme degree. Ziros was much faster than he expected, and, had he not personally confirmed each of the participating Communities, he would have assumed the man was a War God from the 4-Digit Gates. "Not bad at all..." Seeing his fist deflected to the side by Vahn''s open palm, Ziros''s eyes widened as he immediately shifted his momentum into a fierce roundhouse kick that created a visible ck trail through the surrounding space. The force behind his blows were enough to distort space and time, yet, as if it didn''t matter in the slightest, Vahn just leaned his head back before reaching up to touch his ankle in an instant. With a far more serious expression on his face, Ziros created a bit of distance as he shouted, "Very good...!" before throwing a punch coated in a silvery-white energy. When it was released, a pir of simrly colored light impacted the area where Vahn had been standing. It tore into the ground as if it didn''t exist, and, when the light began to fade, everything around Vahn had been ''erased'' from existence. Unfortunately, Vahn, everything immediately below, and everything behind him were all unaffected. "The Law of Erasure? Well, this just got interesting..." Hearing Vahn''s remark, Ziros''s eyes widened to an almostical extent as he never expected his greatest secret to be discovered after a single exchange. Immediately thereafter, however, the tell-tale smile of a battle junky developed across his face as four metallic arms erupted from his body... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''*SMACK*'',''Vahn can be such a bro at times...'',''TFW the favorites end up fighting in the first round xD...'') Chapter 2126: Power: Purpose

Chapter 2126: Power: Purpose

Seeing his opponent sprout additional limbs despite the restriction preventing the usage of Gifts, a look of understanding developed across Vahn''s face. At that exact same time, however, a silvery fist appeared less than a centimeter away from the tip of his nose. "Mmm..." Instead of dodging, Vahn allowed his body to be immaterial. This would have caught others by surprise, but, demonstrating he was no mere martial artist, Ziros''s body faded into silvery-white light as another version of himself appeared from apletely different angle, this time sweeping a reality-bending kick towards Vahn''s chest. "Causality Maniption...?" With his attention fully focused on the fight, Ziros had no intention of responding to the words that appeared directly within his mind. He was determined to measure Vahn''s strength and ascertain the limits of his power. Thus, the moment his foot reached the apparent center of Vahn''s being, an explosion of destructive silvery energy spread through the interior of the arena without impacting the surrounding barrier. Understanding that Vahn wasn''t going to be defeated by a simple kick, Ziros immediately put up his guard as he attempted to create some distance. What he never expected, at least this early on, was for Vahn to appear right next to him, adding, "I''m not so bad at it myself." Sweeping one of his metallic hands in Vahn''s direction, a de of light emitted from its palm as several condensed spheres of energy gathered in each of Ziros''s other hands. Demonstrating he wasn''t just making arbitrary ims, Vahn watched as Ziros''s attack sliced through empty space. Every attack, no matter how powerful or precise, had a possibility of missing its target. There was even a possibility that a perfectly normal apple could phase through a person''s hand just as they were biting into it. By grasping hold of these probabilities and manipting the flow of fate around them, it was possible to sway even astronomical odds in your favor. Seeing his attack miss despite the fact Vahn didn''t even dodge, Ziros''s eyes sharpened as he fired off the energy in his hands in seemingly random directions. At the same time, runic armor began to spread from his shoulders to his chest, gradually epassing his upper body in the same silvery substance thatprised his additional arms. While others might use Ziros of cheating, Vahn knew this was the man''s natural ability, not a Gift. It was simr to how the people in One Piece could use Armament Haki. He was also enjoying himself for the first time in quite a while so he, sure as hell, wasn''t going to stop the fight. Noticing the beams fired by Ziros entering small tears in space-time before promptly reemerging in his blind spots, a smile developed across Vahn''s face as his body appeared to ''glitch''. Then, just as Ziros manifested six des from each of his hands, literal mes manifesting in his once azure blue eyes, Vahn flickered forward, saying, "Your offense is incredible. Let''s see if your defense matches." Punctuating his words, Vahn threw what appeared to be a normal punch. This confused the crowd quite a bit, as, ever since the fight started, very few could follow it with their eyes. Despite this, even the children amongst the crowd could see Vahn''s punch. Almost as if the world itself had slowed to allow it... Seeing Vahn''s punching toward him, Ziros, for the first time in his life, regretted trying one of his finishing moves. His arms were currently spread wide, and, no matter how much he strained the muscles in his body, he knew he wouldn''t be able to put up his guard before Vahn''s fist connected. Even then, it might not help, as, for the briefest of moments, Vahn''s fist had seemingly be the very center of creation... As that thought crossed his mind, Ziros felt as though the world beneath him had fallen away. He had been in the air, but, even then, his orientation towards the ground remained the same thanks to the Little Garden''s Primary Axis. Now, in the face of Vahn''s fist, it was like the only two things in existence were the seemingly innocuous punch and his body about to be hit... "Not bad, kid..." Though he was barely able to move his body, that didn''t prevent a rather demonic-looking eye from opening in the center of Ziros''s forehead. The iris glowed with a fierce indigo light while the sclera around it emitted an eerie ck glow. At the same time, beads of crimson blood began to build near the bottom of the vertical slit, almost as if his forehead had been cut open to allow for the eye to reveal itself. While most people weren''t able to see these changes, Vahn''s eyes widened ever so slightly as he saw visible cracks extending from his hand and crawling up his arm. He could feel the momentum and power in his fist inverting, and, the closer his fist came to Ziros''s chest, therger the cracks on his arm became. This might have terrified someone else. As for Vahn, he just smiled even as his fist and forearm erupted in a thunderous explosion that made the spectators feel as though the world wasing to an end... ... .. . Seeing the devastation wrought by the exchange between Vahn and Ziros, a purple-skinned man with an impable physique, wless facial features, intelligent amethyst eyes, and a mane of dark-purple hair that flowed away from his scalp like mes couldn''t help frowning. Unlike most of the people viewing the Vahnatus, this particr man had only taken an interest after learning that his former mentor was participating. He had even gathered some of his closest friends so they could all witness the defeat of the Pure-Blooded Dragon that had been gaining influence in the East. Instead, they were treated to the scene of Vahn casually deflecting strikes that would send lesser Gods to their graves... "I now understand why our predecessor decided to participate in this farce of apetition. He is showing us the danger Vahn Aldrnari Mason represents. If we''re to oppose him, we''ll need to stand united. The Divine Army cannot keep fighting amongst itself." Though none of the people present disagreed with the man''s statement, the most senior among them, a rather plump man with faded golden skin covered in runes, remarked, "Lord Shiva''s wisdom is unmatched in this matter. However, what can we do? Ever since the previous war nearly wiped us out, the Divine Army has be fractured. The only person with the authority tomand us is currently being sheltered by the White Night Demon, and, ording to numerous sources, she is romantically involved with that upstart dragon." Furrowing his brows, Shiva, the Great God of Destruction, cursed, "Shiroyasha...that devious and licentious woman. This is clearly one of her schemes. The only question is, what is her aim? Is she looking for revenge...?" Shaking that thought from his mind, Shiva cast his prating gaze over the five men staring back at him, saying, "It doesn''t matter what that scheming demoness is plotting. I will use my authority as a Grand General to convene a meeting with Perun, Odin, Zeus, Amaterasu, Marduk, Osiris, Pangu, and Yehowah. Even if they refuse to cooperate, we would be fools not toy a foundation for future cooperation..." Though his former mentor had given up his Divinity after the war, Shiva knew exactly how powerful Ziros was. The force from his blows was strong enough to make distant stars tremble. When he got serious, even Chief Deities would be forced to bend a knee if they allowed their arrogance to blind them. His raw power was only rivaled by True Asura, a mindless being with such phenomenal might that he needed to be sealed away to prevent the Little Garden''s destruction. "Asura..." Hearing their Lord mutter a name that was all but forbidden within the Divine realm, beads of sweat began to form on the heads of everyone present. Fortunately, Shiva was simply reminiscing his past incarnation''s encounter with the seemingly unstoppable demon. He wasn''t crazy enough to unleash one of their ultimate weapons just because Vahn ''might'' be a threat. That would be like using a volcanic eruption to smother a campfire before it could potentially spread to the forest. Asura was a beast of pure destruction. Unleashing him had, and always would be, theirst resort... ... .. . Ignoring the fact that his arm now resembled a crystal that had been shattered beneath the elbow, Vahn looked around at the chaotic energy swirling around him with a smile. The collision between his fist and Ziros''s chest had effectively destroyed the surrounding space, but, instead of copsing in on itself, the Source Energy released from his fist had effectively formed a bubble of non-existent space where the only things that existed were himself, Ziros, and endless possibilities. "You''re pretty tough. The number of people who have survived one of my full-powered blows can be counted on one hand. Quite literally in this case." Holding up a single finger, Vahn made it clear that Ziros was, in fact, the only person to survive one of his full-powered blows. Sure, he might not have taken it directly, but most people couldn''t even hope to reflect one of his blows, much less survive a st powered by Source... Hearing Vahn''s words, a gruffugh emanated from Ziros''s throat in spite of the fact he was now blind, deaf, bereft of five arms, and nursing a rather sizeable crater in his chest. The only reason he even knew Vahn was speaking was because the eye at the center of his forehead was the source of the reflection, and, as a result, it had emerged unscathed. "It would appear...I may have...underestimated you..." Nodding his head, Vahn began to willfully mend the fabric of space and time as he replied, "Don''t take it to heart. Even when I openly disy my power, there are always people who think it''s some kind of trick. Not that I me them. You see, my power is so far beyondprehension that there are times when even I can''t wrap my head around it..." Recalling the various ''idents'' he had contributed to in the past, a wry and slightly mncholic smile developed across Vahn''s face. There had yet to be a single enemy that could stand against him, yet, even now, he still had a long way to go if he wanted to reach the pinnacle of creation. Shaking that thought from his mind, Vahn sent a haze of green energy towards Ziros''s body, rapidly elerating his healing factor. This was the only thing he could do for him as the matter that had onceprised the man''s limbs had effectively been erased from existence. Even if the literal God of Time was here, they wouldn''t be able to restore Ziros''s body to its previous state. Fortunately, like most beings around the pinnacle of Tier 4, Ziros''s physical body wasn''t the core of his being. Under certain conditions, he could even survive theplete destruction of his physical form, so, even if Vahn had left him unattended, he would eventually recover. It would just cost him a tremendous amount of Spiritual Energy... Seeing his limbs grow back in mere moments, a contemtive glimmer shed across Ziros''s eyes as he looked toward Vahn and asked, "What is your purpose...?" Shaking his head, Vahn adopted a genial smile as he said, "Purpose is something that constantly shifts from one moment to the next. Those who are bound by a fixed purpose end up bing monsters who justify their every action as if it were guided by providence. I choose to be free. As for my goal...I just want to be with my family. It''s as simple as that." Punctuating his words, Vahn extended his hand out before sping it into a fist. This caused the ''bubble of potential'' around them to immediately contract. As a result, both he and Ziros found themselves hoving in the air above the arena. More specifically, the hole where the arena used to be... "S-Since there is no longer an arena to return to, both contestants are judged to be out of bounds! B-By my authority as Judge Master, I dere that Vahn Aldrnari Mason and Ziros Ishana have been disqualified from thepetition...!" ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn has entered his ultimate form...Flex Mode...!'',''Anton Chekhov be like, "Naruhodo..."'',''*wheezing* xD...'') Chapter 2127: Size Isn鈥檛 Everything

Chapter 2127: Size Isn''t Everything

Though some considered it shameful to lose in your own Gift Game, Vahn justughed off his disqualification with a smile. It wasn''t like he stood to gain anything by obtaining a gold medal, so, after promising to meet with Ziros after thepetition had ended, he helped to repair the arena before returning to the waiting room. "I can''t believe you were disqualified! That damned ck Rabbit! How could she!?" Patting Seraphina''s head, Vahn replied, "Rx. She was just doing her job as Judge Master. I''m the one who created the rule stating that anyone who destroyed the arena would be disqualified. Since it was destroyed as a result of my attack being reflected by Ziros, we''re both at fault. She made the right choice." Puffing out her cheeks, Seraphina wanted toin but ultimately decided against it. Instead, her amethyst eyes began to glisten as she mused, "Well, look on the bright side. You''re now free for the remainder of thepetition. Wanna join me in the jacuzzi? I still have my swimsuit...though, if you really want to, I don''t mind going without..." Since it had only been an hour or two since Seraphina was on the ground with the whites of her eyes showing, Vahn couldn''t help issuing a soft chuckle in response to her invitation. Subi were truly insatiable, so, after wiping away a stray tear from his eye, he hooked his hand around her thin and willow waist before guiding her towards their Community''s recreation and rxation area... ... .. . Though the matches following Vahn and Ziros weren''t nearly as exciting, the crowd still got a kick out of them since they could actually tell what was going on. More importantly, the final event of the day was the Women''s Pankration. This really got the crowd going, as, for a variety of different reasons, Usalia pretty much refused to wear anything but a bunny suit. Thus, while the uniforms for women in other events were rtively tame, everyone participating in the Women''s Pankration was outfitted with multi-colored bunny suits,plete with stockings and a tail. Fortunately, most female yers were already ustomed to such requirements. Poprity in the Little Garden was extremely important, and, as shameless as it sounded, showing a bit of skin was one of the easiest methods to get people to remember you. This was one of the reasons Vahn had warned Asuka and Yo not to getcent. If their enemies learned they were bashful by nature, they would not hesitate to exploit them... "What is a little kid doing here? You do realize this is apetition of strength and skill, don''t you?" Craning her head to look up at the woman who had addressed her, Usalia''s expression remained unchanged as she remarked, "It isn''t nice to go around insulting other people, plip." At 227cm in height, the ashen-skinned woman towering over Usalia was a few centimeters short of being twice her size. She also had a mane of wild red hair tied into a careless ponytail, four arms, and zing blue eyes that reflected a confident yet slightly concerned look. The white bunny suit she was wearing perfectly suited her, as, despite visible abs, she hadrge breasts, wide hips, and full thighs. Despite all of these things, Usalia didn''t even flinch as she gazed up at the woman with her reddish-pink eyes and eerie white pupils. Instead, it was the ashen-skinned woman who began to feel a little ufortable as she crossed two of her arms and said, "I''m saying this for your own good, kid. You really shouldn''t be out here." Since she didn''t detect any genuine animosity from the woman, Usalia decided she would simply ignore her. This caused the ashen-skinned woman''s brow to twitch, but, as she didn''t really have a say in who participated in the Pankration, she just shook her head before walking off to talk to yet another youthful-looking contestant. Following the woman''s departure with her eyes, Usalia''s gaze briefly lingered on the woman''s ginormous bottom as the notion that she was just worried about the younger participants briefly crossed her mind. At the same time, however, Usalia couldn''t help wondering where the woman hade from. The power radiating from her body wasparable to an Overlord, and, as far as she could tell, the woman was holding back quite a bit. "Hmmm..." Though she had witnessed the battle between Vahn and Ziros, it never crossed Usalia''s mind that the four-armed redhead might have some connection with him. She had never been the brightest, so, even though the woman was wearing the exact same insignia on her chest, Usalia failed to take notice. Instead, she shifted her gaze towards the sky and muttered, "I''m hungry, plip...I wonder what Vahn is going to make for dinner...?" ... .. . After momentarily pacifying the insatiable Seraphina, Vahn was going over the list of participants with a marginally amused smile on his face. In hindsight, Vahn realized he should have included a use stating that participation was limited to yers who had already been a part of a Community prior to registering. Because he hadn''t, quite a number of Communities had fallen prey to Factions and Alliances located within the 4-Digit Gates. By promising to let the higher-digit Communities be an extension of their far more powerful organization, many of the personalized Gifts Vahn had prepared had already fallen into the hands of people intending to oppose him. He actually found this rather amusing, but, at the same time, he couldn''t help shaking his head at the short-sightedness of the people who had given up their Gifts to pander to people who regarded them as little more than peons. Shaking his head, Vahn just so happened to stumble across the same four-armed woman that had attempted to dissuade Usalia from participating. She had the same six-armed insignia that Ziros had been wearing, but, instead of being emzoned on her back like a banner, it was pinned above her breast like a standard g badge. "Pweamma the Protector? Hmm...this could be troublesome. If she also has ess to the Law of Erasure, her opponents are going to suffer..." Since the rules of the Game Board prevented death, Vahn wasn''t too worried. Sure, there was a chance that she had been sent to eliminate Usalia, Fenrir, or anyone else who had been sent to participate from his side, but that wasn''t very likely. Rather, even if she were as powerful as Ziros, her chances of victory against Usalia wouldn''t exceed 10%. Pulling up the brackets, Vahn saw that Usalia and Pweamma wouldn''t bepeting against each other till the third and final day of the event. This was probably for the best as it was going to be hard for people to remain hyped after witnessing his and Ziros''s battle on the very first day. "Let''s see who Usalia is going to be fighting today...Ona Lanka? That''s an interesting name..." Immediately after those words left his lips, Vahn''s expression froze as he pulled up the profile of the woman named Ona Lanka. She was a literal mountain of a woman, and, based on the curved horns protruding from her scalp, she either had demon, dragon, or oni heritage. Under normal circumstances, Vahn wouldn''t have been surprised by someone else''s appearance. He had literally interacted with eldritch entities and creatures most would consider abominations based on appearance alone. In other words, it was pretty difficult to catch him. Ona Lanka in a bunny suit? That was apparently more than enough. "I should have taken racial characteristics into consideration when I was making my decision...not that she looks bad..." After recovering from his momentary stupor and getting a better look at her features, Vahn realized that Ona Lanka was actually quite the beauty. Sure, she had a different kind of beauty than normal but she was still a remarkable woman. If he were 300cm tall and had a physique simr to Heracles, they would probably make a good match. Hearing Vahnpliment another woman, Seraphina''s eyes immediately opened as she raised her body to get a better look. Unlike Vahn, however, her expression didn''t change in the slightest. The Demons of the Netherworld didn''t actually care all that much for beauty. At least, not in the sense that they would judge people as being ugly just because they were different. Thus, the only things she focused on while looking at Ona Lanka were the woman''splexion and hair. Despite having a physique that would make a Samoan warrior blush, Ona Lanka''splexion was fair. As for her hair, possessed an ashen-blue sheen, and, despite resembling a mane flowing away from her scalp, there wasn''t a single split end in sight. This,bined with the fact her horns were neatly polished caused Seraphina''s views to fall in line with Vahn''s. There was no way the horned woman would be able topete with her but she was clearly a beauty. "Are you going to make her yours...?" Rolling his eyes the moment he heard Seraphina''s words, Vahn tly replied, "No." before waving his hand to generate arge disy showing the ongoingpetition. Usalia''s match was second fromst but that didn''t mean they couldn''t watch the rest. After all, he was still the host, and, while he wasn''t nearly as enamored as the rest of the crowd, he would be lying if he said he didn''t find the sigh of beautiful women brawling in bunny suits appealing... ... .. . Hearing her name called out by ck Rabbit, Usalia awoke from her nap before bashfully rubbing the back of her head with her paws. Then, before the befuddled Judge Master could call her name a fourth time, she shed to the top of the arena in a burst of speed that very few contestants, much less the members of the crowd, could follow. Seeing the giantess standing on the opposite of the ring, Usalia''s apathetic expression morphed into one of surprise as she muttered, "Whoa...you''re pretty big, plip..." As she was already annoyed by Usalia''s tardiness, Ona Lanka''s brows furrowed as she adopted a grappling stance and growled, "I will crush you like a bug..." Puffing out her cheeks, Usalia adopted a stance of her own. When the crowd saw this, a mighty roar shook the Colosseum, as, despite being remarkably petite, Usalia still possessed a certain appeal to her. Seeing her lower herself into a quadrupedal stance with her bubbly butt sticking out was more than enough to get the crowd riled up. As for Ona Lanka, she just raised her foot, a majestic war cry emanating from her throat as she dropped it like a hammer. Though Ona Lanka''s attack was only strong enough to produce a shallow crater, the entire arena trembled as if it were influenced by a powerful earthquake. Unfortunately for her, Usalia''s stance was remarkably stable. In fact, had she been at home taking a nap, this level of trembling wouldn''t have been enough to wake her kittens, much less her. Recalling that she needed to get home to make sure her babies were okay, Usalia''s brows furrowed nearly a whole millimeter as she charged forward to meet Ona Lanka in mid-air. The mountain of a woman had jumped the three-hundred-meter distance between them as if it were a joke, arms high over her head with the intent to carry out her promise of crushing theparably small bunny. "Usagi Punch~!" Demonstrating that size was not a qualifier for strength, Usalia left the crowd speechless as she gave Ona Lanka a furry uppercut. It didn''t appear to pack any power at all, but, the moment her paw made contact with the woman''s jaw, Ona Lanka''s head snapped back like a speedbag as she was sent smashing into the barrier like a projectile fired from a railgun. If it wasn''t for the rules of the Game Board protecting against fatal injuries, she would have st like a bug the moment she made contact... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Having multiple sets of arms seems kind of unfair in a boxing/wrestling match...'',''Ohwd, she''ain...'',''Saitama would be proud...'') Chapter 2128: Brazen

Chapter 2128: Brazen

After leaving his Faux Temte to take care of the closing ceremony for the first day, Vahn returned to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth with Fenrir, Usalia, and Seraphina. At the same time, another version of him split off to go meet with the members of Chhah-Hathiyaar(Six-Arms), the Community that Ziros belonged to. Finding the burly old man at a rather cozy-looking tavern, Vahn briefly eyed the other guests before making his way over and taking a seat. This earned him a gruff chuckle from Ziros, who, after taking a sip of his beer, remarked, "You''re a bold one. Not many people would walk into a room filled with potential enemies." Manifesting a mug of his own, Vahn emptied half the ss before exhaling a plume of alcoholic vapors from his mouth. Then, in response to the man''s words, he adopted a smile and said, "The curious thing about life is that everyone we meet along our path is a potential enemy. At the same time, however, there is also the potential for cooperation and friendship. Besides, even if you were to all team up against me...I wouldn''t be the one to pay a price..." Though he found the first half of Vahn''s words ptable, the second half caused a deep frown to settle on Ziros''s face. He didn''t get the impression that Vahn was trying to threaten him. There was no animosity in his words. Rather, he exuded the aura of an aged warrior who was perfectly willing but had grown tired of killing. Shaking his head, Ziros made his intentions clear, exining, "I didn''t gather these brats to try and intimidate you. They''re mostly here to celebrate their victory. I won''t deny I had ulterior motives in participating in your Vahnatus but there is no ill will between my Community and the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. At least, I would hope not..." Without meeting the man''s gaze, Vahn maintained his smile as he stared at the contents of his ss and mused, "That''s an interesting thing to hear from someone who tried to ''erase'' me..." As he had just been about to take a drink of his beer, Ziros ended up doing a spit take that caused everyone in the room to immediately look over. This included the four-armed woman fated to fight Usalia, the strongest after Ziros himself. "You okay, old man? Need someone to pat your back? I have hands to spare." Waving the woman down, Ziros pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth before adopting a wry smile as he said, "The only reason I used such an attack was because I knew it wouldn''t be effective against you. Even now, I know this isn''t your ''true'' form. As far as I can tell, there should be at least five others, correct...?" Though the number was a little off, Vahn just shrugged his shoulders, answering, "Something like that..." before emptying the contents of his ss. Then, with a slightly more serious expression, he looked towards the old man and asked, "What did you want to talk about? I don''t manifest multiple bodies for recreational purposes. I''m a pretty busy guy." Nodding his head in understanding, Ziros gestured for Pweamma toe over while saying, "Truth be told, I can''t actually talk about the things I''d like to discuss with you. If it wasn''t for my position, I might not even recall that an incident had happened..." Interrupting Ziros''s speech, Pweamma adopted a toothy smile as she looked toward Vahn and said, "This is my first time meeting a Pure-Blooded Dragon. Mind if I shake your hand?" While Ziros was shaking his head with a helpless expression on his face, Vahn just returned a smile of his own as he extended his hand to shake the woman''s hand. When it closed around his own like a vice, he wasn''t particrly surprised. The woman was clearly a member of the Asuri tribe, and, while they weren''t exactly like Amazons due to the existence of males and females, they were a race that regarded individual strength and power over all else. "Hoooooo...quite the grip you got there..." Noticing that Vahn''s grip wasparable to her own, fiery blue runes began to spread across Pwamma''s arm as her strength drastically increased. Even then, however, Vahn just raised his brow at her, smiling as he asked, "Is this apetition? If so, I might have to get serious..." With her previously cheeky smile fading away, Pweamma became serious as she said, "Bring it on..." in a strained yet expectant tone. Though he could have crushed her hand even without it, the edges of Vahn''s smile rose up as gold scales promptly erupted from his forearm. At the same time, his hand morphed into a glistening set of ws that closed around Pweamma''s hand as if he were squeezing tofu. Despite paling, a condition that was rather obvious due to her ashen-grey skin, Pweamma didn''t cry out in pain. Instead, a smile spread across her face as she remarked, "You''re strong..." Maintaining a visibly amused smile, Vahn answered, "I''m well aware." before releasing Pweamma''s hand and asking, "Need help with that?" Shaking her head, Pweamma surprised Vahn by reaching up to the middle of her bicep and simply twisting off the entire arm as if it were attached to a doll. He had noticed it during their handshake, but, seeing the shimmering metallic surface where her stump should be, it was clear that Asuri were not purely biological organisms. Waving around her ''severed'' appendage, Pweamma, now appearingpletelyx, mused, "When I said I had hands to spare, I never expected I would be losing one. Here, take this. You earned it~." Though it wasn''t the strangest thing he had seen, Vahn couldn''t help smiling wryly as he caught Pweamma''s detached limb out of the air. It was heavier than expected, but, considering her muscles and bones were made out of a pale-golden metal and other metallic fibers, he wasn''t too surprised. Instead, he just casually tossed it into his Inventory under the amused eyes of the inordinately tall Asuri. Before Pweamma could derail the conversation even further, Ziros loudly cleared his throat before saying, "Pweamma...please, take a seat..." Hearing the old man''s words, Pweamma scrunched up her nose but ultimatelyplied by taking a seat on the floor. Her height,bined with the fact she was sitting in seiza, actually ced her at a simr level to the seated Vahn. Thetter found this a little peculiar, but, understanding she would probably break a normal chair, he didn''t bother to ask why she was sitting on the floor. After nodding his head in approval, Ziros directed his gaze at Vahn, saying, "I''ve never been fond of subterfuge and deceit so I''m just gonnae out and say it. Once the Vahnatus has ended, I want you to ept Pweamma into your Community as a spy." Raising his brows, the smile on Vahn''s face faded as he asked, "You want me to willfully ept a spy into my home? And to think, it hasn''t even been a few minutes since you called me bold..." Exhaling a sigh, Ziros adopted a serious yet noticeably apologetic expression as he exined, "Your power is far too great. It wouldn''t have been an issue if you were like those apathetic old monsters in the 1-Digit Gates. Unfortunately, your actions are clearly guided by your own moralpass. It''s fine for the moment, but, should you deviate toward the path of a tyrant, I fear the Little Garden will find itself enthralled in yet another war..." "What does that have to do with epting a spy into my home...?" Though he had already reached a number of conclusions, Vahn wanted to hear the excuse Ziros had thought of. At the same time, he briefly shifted his attention towards Pweamma, who, despite being revealed as a potential spy, appeared more bored than concerned. Understanding Vahn''s confusion, Ziros supplied a curt nod before exining, "Even if you don''t do anything to openly antagonize them, it is only a matter of time before those in power begin to feel threatened by your existence. Having an informant within the Sage Dragon''s Hearth will help abate their fears and prevent them from acting on misinformation. I can''t promise they won''t antagonize you, but, so long as you don''t deviate from the path of righteousness and decide to burn the Little Garden to the ground, they won''t be able to justify rallying an army..." "Hmmm...in other words, you''re putting a leash on both sides. Pweamma''s reports will prevent any misunderstandings from happening, and, if I go rogue, her ''sacrifice'' will give you time to prepare. Is that it...?" Nodding his head in affirmation, Ziros cast a nce towards Pweamma, his expression bing visibly conflicted as he revealed, "The Asuri, much like Angels, are remarkably pure beings. When a member of the Asuri tribe is corrupted by malice, it will reflect in their appearance and personality. If Pweamma ''falls'', you can expect the entire Divine Army to mobilize against you..." Snorting through his nose, Vahn filled his ss with an aromatic ale as he mused, "Thanks for giving me yet another reason to refuse your offer..." Furrowing his brows, Ziros was about to advise Vahn not to make a hasty decision when Pweamma beat him to the punch, asking, "You''re not gonna let me join? Come on, man. You can''t do me dirty like that. You already got me all hot and bothered and now you''re giving me the cold shoulder? Not cool." Blinking in surprise, Vahn directed an incredulous look towards the disgruntled-looking Pweamma, stating, "You have a rather interesting way of speaking..." Supplying a snort of her own, Pweamma met Vahn''s gaze with a visibly annoyed look as she tly replied, "You got a problem with the way I talk, lizard breath...?" Though he raised one of his brows, Vahn didn''t hesitate to answer, "Not really, no. At the very least, it has nothing to do with my refusal. As for your hot and bothered remark...I''m ttered, really, but I''m not going to invite you into my home just because you''re willing to sleep with me. I have more than enough women for that and I''m not going to stress them out by inviting a literal spy into their midst. Besides, I don''t care how the Gods view me. If theye looking for trouble, that''s on them. Everyone is responsible for the consequences of their actions. The Gods shouldn''t be the exception; they should set the example..." On that note, Vahn downed the contents of his ss in a single swig before mming it down on the table with just enough force to draw the attention of the entire tavern. Then, before Pweamma or Ziros could reply, he simply vanished from the tavern as if he had never existed in the first ce... ... .. . Several kilometers from the tavern where Vahn had been meeting with Ziros, a bespectacled young woman with red and ck hair could be seen lying beneath a light-refracting nket as she peered through the viewfinder of a rather dated-looking camera. "This is the scoop of the century! I can''t wait to write an expos~!" As soon as those words left the woman''s lips, the ostensibly invisible nket covering her body was pulled away to reveal none other than Kanade Katana in a simple ck t-shirt and a curious pair of panties with the words ''eat up'' emzoned across her butt cheeks. After freezing like a deer caught in a pair of headlights, Katana slowly peered over her shoulder to find Vahn standing there with a deadpan expression on his face. The tips of her ears became tinged with a red hue, but, rather than attempt to cover her pert and shapely bottom, she made a point to squeeze her cheeks together as she asked, "I don''t suppose I could convince you to let me keep my footage...?" Though his eyes were briefly drawn to the woman''s shapely bottom, Vahn ultimately just raised a brow as he asked, "What footage...?" Eyes widening, Katana turned towards her camera and the audio equipment she had set up to find that all of her tapes were missing. This caused her to panic, but, by the time she had turned around, Vahn was already gone... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn ain''t scurred of nothin''...!'',''Begone, thot...!'',''That''s a plus-sized oof...'') Chapter 2129: Intervention

Chapter 2129: Intervention

Since the award ceremony wasn''t until the final day, Seraphina decided to stay at home while Vahn, Fenrir, Sarina, Usalia, and ck Rabbit attended the second day''s opening ceremony. "I didn''t know there were going to be so many people. I''m starting to feel nervous..." Though she had seen the crowd during the previous day''s broadcast, Sarina had underestimated just how massive a crowd of 100,000 could be. It didn''t help that most of the crowd was filled with leery-eyed men who looked at her as if she were a piece of juicy steak. Understanding Sarina''s concerns, Vahn''s expression softened as he gently caressed her head and said, "You don''t have to participate if you don''t want to. There will be plenty of opportunities for you to show off in the future." Shaking her head, much of the apprehension in Sarina''s expression faded away as she pumped her fists and said, "No! I''m the Vice-Leader of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth! I can''t keep sitting around all day while you do all the hard work...!" Chuckling in response to Sarina''s vivacious remark, Vahn earned a fair amount of resentment as he bent down to give the slightly startled young woman a lucky kiss... ... .. . To help get the crowd in the spirit, the first event of the second day was the Long Jump followed by Putting the Stone and ending with the Javelin Toss. As a result, Fenrir had to separate from the rest of the group to join the other contestants in the waiting area. While girls with animal ears and tails weren''t particrly rare, every single contestant took notice of Fenrir the moment she entered the room. She had a certain air around her that reminded people of a winter chill, and, the moment her carmine eyes passed over them, it was like the temperature had dropped tens of degrees in an instant. "Get a load of this. Is she seriously trying to intimidate us before the match even starts? Are all the people in the Sage Dragon''s Hearth this arrogant~?" Directing her gaze towards the person who spoke, Fenrir found a rather strange-looking girl with horns reminiscent of an Oni. What made her really stand out, however, were the prosthetics that extended from her biceps and nearly touched the ground. She also had strange proportions that made her body appear pillowy and soft at a nce, almost like you could touch anywhere on her body and your hand would sink into her flesh. Furrowing her brows, Fenrir restrained the urge to call the woman a pillowy bimbo as she shifted her attention to the strange, seemingly young girl standing next to her. She had aplexion that could make a zombie blush, blood-red eyes surrounded by sickly yellow sclera, a mane of unkempt white hair that extended past her waist, and baggy white clothes that resembled a mix between an EMT and a Firefighter. She was also wearing a pair of spats, but, due to the numerous cuts, bruises, and bandages on her legs, they may as well have been a shadow cast by her oversized coat. "I don''t recognize the two of you. Which Community do you belong to...?" Afterughing in a manner that resembled a sensual cackle, the long-armed woman teasingly replied, "Wouldn''t you like to know~?" before letting her inordinately long tongue fall from her mouth. As for the predominately white figure next to her, she just pointed to the badge on her chest as if that was the only exnation required. Though she got the impression the two were demons, Fenrir just snorted through her nose before ultimately choosing to ignore them. They wouldn''t be here if her Master didn''t allow it, so, even if they were up to something, it wouldn''t really matter. After all, her Master was effectively omniscient and omnipotent within his own territory. The moment anyone attempted to break the rules he had established, they would be held ountable. Seeing Fenrir snub her like a pompous princess, the long-armed Oni promptly retracted her tongue before ring at the retreating Vanargandr and saying, "Damn. Youe in here and release your aura like you''re some kind of big shot and then back down the moment someone speaks out? I was just joking around before. Who would have imagined that the Sage Dragon''s Hearth was filled with pansies? What a joke. It''s no wonder your Leader got disqualified from his ownpetition." Stopping the moment she heard the woman speak ill of her Master, the aura around Fenrir''s body became visible as she looked over her shoulder and said, "Arrogance is derived from ignorance and yours is beyondprehension..." Without waiting for the woman to respond, Fenrir cast a silencing charm on the entire room before walking over to one of the benches lining the walls. This caused a bit of panic among the other girls in the room. As for the demonic duo, the long-armed Oni adopted a fierce expression simr to a vengeful spirit while her white-haired counterpart just stared off into space with zed, unfocused eyes... ... .. . As Fenrir had suspected, Vahn had immediately taken notice of the various demons that had infiltrated thepetition. This was yet another failure on his part, as, not only had he failed to prevent Communities from seeking outside help, he had also failed to include a rule prohibiting substitutions. As a result, a total of thirteen demons had infiltrated the event, and, based on the information provided by Loi-chan, this was only part of a muchrger organization. If it were anyone else, they would have immediately tried to cancel or postpone the event. High-brow Gift Games could be dyed for up to a week with the interference of a Judge Master, so, if he really wanted to, Vahn could call inform ck Rabbit and even fix the rules. Instead, he decided to simply ignore them as most of the demons had elected to join low-risk sporting events. More importantly, Loi-chan had revealed that they were basically just trying to gauge his reaction after ascertaining that Seraphina and Usalia were demons. Thus far, the Sage Dragon''s Hearth had really only cooperated with weaker Communities seeking protection. The rules and provisions of the Burgeoning Communities ord also made him seem like the type of person who only associated with the ''light'' side of things, so, until now, none of the darker Communities had thought to approach him. More specifically, the various Demon Lords that had been active in the East prior to his arrival had effectively gone silent after his Gift Game against Leviathan''s Tail. As a neutral or so-called grey organization, Vahn was willing to ignore the presence of demons so long as they abided by his rules. He didn''t share the prejudice most people had against them as he understood, better than most, that there was no such thing as pure evil. There were literally Angels with hearts cker than pitch and Demons who had dedicated their entire lives to helping people in need. In that same vein, there were religious figureheads who hadmitted every imaginable sin while witches who used their magic to heal and treat the sick might still be regarded as heretics deserving of a pyre. It was ridiculous. "Still...I can''t just let them openly antagonize the people I care about. Guess I''ll need to have a chat with their leader..." On that note, Vahn waved his hand, and, as a result, a young woman appeared in front of him. She had red hair tied into a loose ponytail, crimson eyes set with fiery orange pupils, and an immodest outfit consisting of a short ck and grey dress, and a long ck mantle that left very little to the imagination. Since her hair also flickered like mes toward the end, it was pretty easy to tell which element she was affiliated with. Startled by the sudden teleportation, the young woman immediately raised her hand to produce a gaseous me but it barely reached the size of a softball before petering out as Vahn mused, "You must be Typh(pronounced Tiff). Or perhaps you would like me to refer to you by your official title, Demon Lord of the Typhoid Fever?" Realizing she couldn''t use her powers, Typh did her best to appear calm as she answered, "Typh is fine..." Not expecting such a meek reply from such a fiery woman, Vahn raised his brows before quickly shaking his head and saying, "Very well, Typh. You may call me Vahn. It''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Though the feeling wasn''t mutual, Typh surprised Vahn even further by grabbing the hem of her skirt and performing a polite curtsy as she grumbled, "It''s an honor..." Resisting the temptation to ask where such a tomboyish-looking Demon Lord picked up etiquette, Vahn manifested a table and two chairs before gesturing for Typh to take a seat. She reluctantly did so, but, upon tasting the tea and cookies he supplied, her guard immediately lowered as she asked, "How did you teleport me? Even if you''re the Game Master, named Demon Lords are supposed to have protections against forced spatial discement." Returning a rxed smile, Vahn answered, "We all have our secrets. Now, tell me...why has a group of Demons affiliated with the Ouroboros Demon Lord Alliance decided to infiltrate my Gift Game? I''m not particrly upset, just curious." Not expecting Vahn to casually reveal her backer, Typh began to sweat like someone legitimately infected with Typhoid Fever as she softly replied, "My...our mission was to gauge your reaction to the presence of Demons and ascertain whether or not you are willing to cooperate in the future..." As he was already well aware of this, Vahn just nodded his head before tapping empty space to create a projection of the encounter between Fenrir and two Lesser Demons named Edema and Smokie. Edema, as her name implied, was the oni-like woman with massive arms. As for Smokie, who else could she be if not the little girl covered in wounds and wearing a faded fireman''s jacket? Though she was briefly confused by the sudden projection, Typh''s expression darkened as she saw Edema trying to taunt Fenrir into attacking. She knew the lesser demon was a troublemaker but she hadn''t expected her to go out of her way to taunt a member of the Community their superiors had warned them not to antagonize. Rubbing her now-aching forehead, an exasperated sigh escaped Typh''s mouth as she stated, "I can exin..." as her mind quickly worked to find a reasonable excuse. Fortunately, she didn''t have to as Vahn promptly replied, "Rx. So long as your people don''t go out of your way to try and harm the crowd, I don''t really mind what they do. A bit of banter between rivals never hurt anyone. Fenrir is a big girl. She can take care of herself." Nodding her head in understanding, most of Typh''s fears faded away as she took the opportunity to ask, "Fenrir? As in the Heaven Devouring Wolf owned by the 9 Realms Alliance? I never expected such a legendary beast to be in the hands of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth..." Unsurprised by the reference to a second Fenrir, Vahn just adopted a smile, musing, "Who knows?" in ackadaisical tone. This caused Typh to puff out her cheeks. She wanted to burn him, but, with her powers sealed, that was impossible. Rather, unless Vahn let her go, she doubted she would be able to escape his grasp. This caused her to feel nervous, but, at the same time, she also felt a little excited. Every Demon Lord had a quirk and hers just so happened to be being held against her will. After all, she was the manifestation of the hundreds of thousands of men and women that had died during the war between Sparta and Athens. They had tossed the sick and infirm into stone prisons before setting them aze so being imprisoned against her will just felt natural...in fact, it made her body feel like it was burning from the inside... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Fenrir be like, "Muted..."'',''Where is Eb-chan...?'',''Demon Lords are scary...'') Chapter 2130: Overwhelming : Persistence

Chapter 2130: Overwhelming : Persistence

After waiting patiently for the other events to finish, it was finally time for the Javelin Toss to begin. In preparation for this, Fenrir used her [REquip] system to change into an outfit resembling a sports bra and knee-length yoga pants. She didn''t particrly care about showing off, but, for the sake of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, she was willing to do her part. "You''re going to pay for silencing me like that. I don''t care if the Leader of-" Without waiting for the long-armed woman to finish, Fenrir used Shundo to effectively teleport from the waiting room. This caused Edema to resemble a woman who had just swallowed a bug, but, before she could do anything they would all regret, the monochromatic Smokie opened her mouth to exhale a plume of smoke that briefly formed the words, ''We didn''te here to fight.'' Clicking her tongue, Edema used her inordinatelyrge to create a rather sizeable indentation in the waiting room''s wall. She had actually intended to punch through it, but, due to the durability of the material, she barely managed to send a crack from floor to ceiling as Smokie observed her silently from the side... ... .. . Simr to the traditional Javelin Toss, the first round of the event measured the maximum distance a contestant was able to throw without the benefit of Gifts. For most, this was well under a hundred meters, but, as could be expected from the highest realm in existence, there were quite a number of outliers. Though she wasn''t the first to blow thepetition out of the water, Fenrir earned a considerable amount of fanfare when she appeared in her skin-tight uniform and an ice-covered javelin in hand. Her appearance might not be able topare with the various Goddesses of Beauty that inhabited the Divine Realm but she could still turn heads with her curvaceous yet athletic figure, shimmering blue hair, inordinatelyrge ears, and fluffy tail. Feeling the gazes of countless people crawling across her frame, a slightly nauseous feeling began to build in Fenrir''s stomach. Fortunately, this was the first time she had appeared in front of arge crowd, so, after a few deep breaths, she cast her gaze to the projection showing the current leader before taking her ce at the foot of a 50m track. While most people would adopt a stance with the javelin above their shoulders, Fenrir surprised the crowd by spreading her legs parallel with the track before arching her limber body in a manner that suggested she was going to toss her javelin without a running start. To some, her form resembled a trebuchet, but, instead of a counterweight, she relied on the stability of her stance and the flexibility of her waist to generate leverage. In truth, these people weren''t too far off. It''s just that, instead of standing still, Fenrir took onest breath before raising her left foot, ever so slightly, off the ground. In the very next moment, she was already at the opposite end of the track, her foot less than a centimeter away from the disqualifying line as her body rotated with such force that her foot sank into the ground as if it were soft y. At the same time, the javelin was released from her paw with such force that it would have melted into g if not for the nigh-indestructible icy membrane protecting it. Since it was against the rules to face the throwing direction after releasing your javelin, Fenrir just stood with her arms crossed as she stared up at the projection in the sky. The top three scores at the present moment were 1793m, 104.8m, and 99.7m respectively. She intended to surpass these scores by andslide, so, even after a full minute had passed, her javelin had still hurling through the sky like a shimmering blue meteor. To appease the crowd and prevent them from making usations of foul y, ck Rabbit took it upon herself to exin, "While many of you rely on various Gifts to use magic, the members of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth are taught how to convert spiritual energy into mana. In other words, while it might seem a little unfair, Lady Fenrir''s use of magic to empower herself does not vite any rules." Though there were quite a number of people dissatisfied with ck Rabbit''s exnation, especially among the otherpetitors, there was no denying that Fenrir''s actions were within the rules. As a result, they had no choice but to wait patiently until, three and a half minutester, the scoreboard updated to show a ridiculous value of 2,487,080,003.9m. "Bullshit...!" As she had been looking forward to crushing Fenrir in thepetition, Edema couldn''t help giving voice to the thought that had crossed everyone else''s mind. She wouldn''t have been that upset if it was just a few hundred kilometers, but, based on the value shown on the screen, Fenrir would have had to have thrown the javelin at around 3% the speed of light to achieve such a feat. Snorting through her nose, Fenrir just walked off the field with her head raised and a subtle yet confident sway in her hips. This was merely the result of her using Vis Maxima and a variation of Shundo to transfer her forward momentum into the javelin. It was far from her maximum output, so, if this was enough to shake thepetition, she no longer had an interest inpeting... ... .. . "Holy crap! Does every member of your Community possess such ludicrous strength!?" Keeping in tune with his previous responses, Vahn just chuckled in response to Typh''s outburst before musing, "Who knows~?" Though she wasn''t particrly surprised by Vahn''s response, Typh still clicked her tongue before turning away from him with a pout. At the same time, however, she cradled the bag of cookies he had given her as if they were a treasure, eagerly stuffing her cheeks like a chipmunk as she sat less than an arm''s length away on the same sofa. Amused by the gue Demon''s behavior, a silent chuckle escaped Vahn''s throat before he rose to his feet and said, "So long as you don''te looking for trouble, free to stop by the Sage Dragon''s Hearth in the future. My Community has taken a neutral stance, so, unless you give me a reason, I''m not going to go out of my way to wipe you out. Just keep in mind that my services aren''t free." On that note, Vahn surprised Typh by trying to leave the room. He knew Fenrir would be looking for him now that she had effectively forfeited thepetition, so, before she could reach his other self, Usalia, and Sarina, he was intending to intercept her so they could enjoy some alone time. "Hey! Where the hell do you think you''re going!? Aren''t you supposed to be keeping me captive!?" Raising his brows at the peculiar question, Vahn resisted the urge to manifest Loi-chan as he asked, "What are you talking about? I just invited you here to have a chat and issue a warning. You''re free to go whenever you want. You just won''t be able to use your power with malicious intent." Blinking in surprise, Typh held up her hand to produce a gaseous orange me. This caused the fire in her eyes to be more prominent, but, the moment her usual urge to cause destruction came forth, the fire in her palm promptly vanished. "That me of yours is pretty dangerous. Not only does it cause people to be sick, but it also affects your mind with delirium. If you''d like me to do something about it, feel free to stop by the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. I should be able to create a seal that allows you to use your mes without affecting your mind. I can also help out your friends so don''t be a stranger." On that note, Vahn waved in a casual gesture of farewell before promptly vanishing from the room. Fenrir had already reached their waiting room, and, while he had effectively stopped time, he didn''t want to keep her waiting. Seeing Vahn disappear, the words that had been forming in Typh''s throat ended up getting caught. This caused her to feel annoyed and frustrated, not because he had spontaneously left, but because she had been looking forward to being held captive by a tyrannical dragon. Vahn had basically been teasing her from the moment she was warped to his side, so, while she had no experience with the opposite sex, Typh couldn''t help feeling like she had just been m jammed. "That mother-fucker...!" ... .. . After failing to get her scoop the previous day, Katana was skulking around the restricted areas of the Colosseum with a camera in hand, audio equipment strapped to her waist, and multipleyers of infiltration gear covering her body. This included a special beret that possessed an effect simr to the Helm of Hades, a Cloak of Invisibly inspired by the mantle of King Arthur, and a special ck garter-belt manufactured by Water Nymphs. The first two provided the effects of imperceptibility and invisibility while thetter helped to regte her body temperature so she didn''t pass out and die of heatstroke. One thing that most people didn''t consider when they were using items that granted invisibility was the fact that they prevented your body heat from escaping. High-quality Gifts got around this using various enchantments, but, with her meager sry, there was no way Katana could afford the good stuff. This was the reason she had been pantsless when Vahn arrived, as, even if she left gaps for air to flow, being under a Cloak of Invisibility was simr to covering yourself in a heated nket. Fortunately, while he had taken her footage, Vahn had left her equipment intact. This caused Katana to wonder if he had an ulterior motive, so, after biting the bullet and spending all of her savings on a Helm of Hades, she decided to put her theory to the test. Though her penultimate goal was to get a scoop on the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, Katana''s dream was to be a Poet. In this regard, Vahn was effectively a Golden Goose. He was powerful, handsome, and, most importantly,pletely unknown. She had even scoured the 108,000-pagependium that was constantly updating to reflect the birth of new dragons, yet, even after fingering through it front to back, there was no mention of any dragons named Vahn Aldrnari Mason. As a member of the Strongest Species, it was only a matter of time before Vahn and his Community rose to prominence. It had only been seven-and-a-half months since he registered his name at the outer gates and he was already promoting the Sage Dragon''s Hearth to a 5-Digit Community. Thus, even if she had to spread her legs or perform acrobatics atop Vahn''s cock, Katana was willing to do whatever it took to realize her dream. With this in mind, the false redhead skulked her way through the halls of the Colosseum with every intention of getting caught. Thus, with the exception of her garter belt and the equipment covering her body, she was practically naked. She didn''t believe Vahn would be able to simply ignore her if he disrobed her to find she waspletely naked, so, after sneaking past a number of physical and magical barriers, Katana took slow and deliberate steps towards his Community''s waiting room... "You really don''t give up, do you...?" Pausing mid-step, Katana''s head swiveled like a rusty turret as she looked over her shoulder to find Vahn standing less than three meters away from her. The fact he was peering into her eyes made it pretty obvious her beret and cloak had no effect, so, after a momentary pause, Katana allowed thetter to fall away from her as she heatedly replied, "Not even if it kills me..." Though he already knew she was naked beneath the cloak, Vahn still raised his brows when he saw Katana reveal her sweaty, noticeably flushed body. She looked like someone who had just finished running a marathon, beads of sweat cascading down her voluptuous body as her chest heaved in response to her panting... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Fenrir has be the bully (U w U)...'',''Jebaited...'',''What''s next? She shows up wearing dog ears and a butt plug...?'') Chapter 2131: Paradigm Shift

Chapter 2131: Paradigm Shift

With a disgruntled yet adorable expression on her face, Katana cradled the cup of coffee Vahn had given her while thetter sat across from her with an amused smile on his face. Vahn would be lying if he said he didn''t admire the woman''s gumption. However, even if he wanted to give Katana the benefit of the doubt, her nature made it impossible to trust her. If she was given the chance, she would reveal all of his secrets, so, in a way, she was no different from Pweamma. He could tolerate her presence and even enjoy their time together, but, in the end, she was only aiming at him for selfish reasons. Not that this was inherently bad. "Listen, you''re a beautiful woman. It''s just, it takes a lot more than beauty and persistence to sway my favor. The thing I find most attractive is sincerity. I''m not saying you''re insincere, but there is a difference between sincerity towards oneself and others. Besides, there is something you need to know about me..." Squinting her silvery-grey eyes, Katana looked like she was a few seconds away from emptying her coffee onto Vahn''s face as she tly replied, "Enlighten me..." Maintaining his amused smile, Vahn manipted Katana''s camera to start recording. This caused the look on the journalist''s face to turn grim. While it might sound like an exaggeration to others, she valued her equipment more than her life. Without it, performing her job was impossible, and, even if she sold her body for the next ten years, it wouldn''t be enough to repay her debts, much less rece her equipment. "Rx...I''m not going to break it..." Snorting through her nose, Katana crossed her arms under her now-concealed breasts. Vahn had given her a t-shirt, a strange pair of form-fitting spats, and ck pantyhose. When she asked why he didn''t give her a skirt or a pair of pants to go along with them, he just smiled, winked, and said, "Who knows~?" before having her sit across from him on an admittedlyfortable sofa. After recording a good minute or so of the two of them just sitting there, Vahn manipted the camera to settle in front of Katana before saying, "y it back. Seeing it for yourself will help you to understand what I''m about to exin." Furrowing her brows, Katana picked up her camera, and, after confirming it wasn''t broken or faulty, yed back the recording Vahn had made. When she saw herself sitting alone with a bored look on her face, a sense of incongruency, unlike anything she had ever experienced, washed over her. If the recording had simply shown her seated across from Vahn with a pout, Katana would have just assumed he used some kind of trick to make himself imperceptible to cameras. Instead, she saw the version of herself in the recordingzing about with her feet kicked up on the table, almost as if she were back in her private room and bored out of her mind. "I...is this me...?" Though she was about to use Vahn of modifying the footage, the thing Katana found most disconcerting was the fact she had memories of lounging about, alone, in the waiting room. This caused a cold sweat to break out across Katana''s body, as, despite knowing she had encountered Vahn numerous times in the past, she couldn''t actually recall the exact sequence of events. Like, she knew what he had done, but, the more she tried to remember the exact details, the more she found herself questioning if he had ever been there in the first ce... "Drink your hot cocoa. It will help..." Blinking in confusion, Katana asked, "Cocoa...?" before staring down at her mug to find the contents were now a much creamier shade of brown than she ''remembered''. She could have sworn she was drinking coffee, but, now that she thought about it more clearly, why would Vahn hand her a cup of coffee to help calm her nerves? Noticing the fear and confusion expanding in Katana''s eyes, Vahn''s expression rxed as he softly muttered, "You''re not losing your mind. I just interfered with the flow of fate a bit to make it so that the contents of your cup were never coffee. As for the anomalies in the recording...well, the simplest exnation is that I''m a singrity. I only exist at points in time where my consciousness is present. There are no past or future versions of me, and, even if you were to record my story in painstaking detail, the only beings that can be derived from my Fragments of Origin are those I have created. In other words, I am not the proverbial goose you thought I was. I am simultaneously much more and absolutely nothing at all." "..." Staring at Vahn as if he had lost his mind, Katana found herself at a loss for words. A minute or soter, an incredulous and slightly nervous chuckle emanated from her throat as she asked, "Are you serious? The way you talk makes it sound like you already possess a Fragment of Origin. Besides, if what you said is true, why are there recordings of you in the Central Network''s Archives?" Since there wasn''t really anything she could do with the information, Vahn manifested one of his Fragments of Origin before sliding it over and exining, "There are a number of reasons for that. First and foremost, the events I have written into history cannot be altered through normal means. Even if you were to go back and find old recordings of my exploits, you would see the effect I have on my surroundings. I take advantage of this by creating a projection of what others believe to be my true form. As for why...well, that''s a story for another time..." "..." In her attempts to rationalize everything Vahn was saying, Katana fell into a long and contemtive silence. It was a lot to take in, but, realizing she couldn''t even recall the specifics of their preliminary interview, a depressive atmosphere slowly descended upon the dichromatic journalist. Much to Katana''s chagrin, Vahn found her current state rather amusing. As a result, a light chuckle emanated from his throat. This caused the false redhead to re at him, asking, "What the fuck are youughing at...?" in a slightly threatening tone. Without losing his smile, Vahn just shook his head before exining, "I just find it a little ironic. The abilities of a Poet basically allow them to influence fate and influence a person''s very existence. You are, quite literally, trying to obtain the power to influence reality itself. Don''t tell me you genuinely believe it''s okay for a Poet to have greater control over a person''s existence than the person they''re writing about..." Surprised by Vahn''s usatory tone, Katana''s mouth opened and closed a few times as she tried toe up with an excuse to justify the existence of Poets. The truth was, she had never actually put all that much thought into it. She was just infatuated by the prospect of documenting a person''s journey and presenting it in a format that people would enjoy. Sure, she might embellish a few facts for entertainment purposes but that was par for the course in her industry. Who would want to read a story without action and drama? Wasn''t it better for things to be exciting...? Amused by Katana''s floundering, another light chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat as he adopted a smile and said, "Rx. I never said bing a Poet was a bad thing. In fact, so long as you agree to never spread falsehoods regarding my family or loved ones, I am willing to support you. It''s just, instead of writing my story, you''ll be writing the stories of those around me." With the most sincere look of incredulity Vahn had seen in quite some time, Katana stared at him with her mouth open to the point he could have tossed a lozenge into the back of her throat. She stayed like this for the better part of twenty seconds before blinking several times and asking, "Are you serious...?" in an audibly trepidatious tone. Rather than immediately answering Katana''s question, Vahn allowed his mind to wander to the version of himself that was currently making love to her in a timeline that would cease to exist the moment he vanished from it. He would be lying if he said he didn''t find her captivating, so, while she wing his back in a divergent timeline, the corners of his smile turned up as he softly mused, "I am..." Though she wanted to ask why he was willing to support her, Katana didn''t want to risk changing Vahn''s mind. Instead, she pulled out her pen and writing pad, silvery eyes glistening as she began to ask as many questions as she could think of. She wanted to know who he wanted her to keep tabs on, and, more importantly, whether or not he was willing to sponsor her with the necessary equipment... ... .. . While his other self was taking care of business in the past, the ''divergent'' version of Vahn had a far morescivious smile on his face as he stared down at the half-conscious beauty writhing beneath him. The spats he had given her were torn at the crotch, and, after a fair amount of forey, he had convinced her to let him bestow her with a fluffy ck tail and dog ears. "Tell me...is this the sort of scoop you had in mind when you tracked me down~?" Feeling Vahn''s fingers invade her insides, a sonorous moan escaped Katana''s throat as she tightly gripped the sheets beneath her. He was using his fingers to scrape out some of the semen that had filled her insides to the point of making her stomach swell. This would have been impossible with a normal woman, but, after seeing the metal piercings on her nipples, navel, and clit, Vahn correctly intuited that Katana was into some pretty intense ys. Unfortunately, nothing Katana had experienced could prepare her for a night with Vahn. This was the reason his original had refused her rather obvious advances. Most of the women he slept with simply couldn''t live without him, so, as appreciative as he was of Katana''s beauty, Vahn didn''t want to derail her future by making her dependent on his affection. There was also the fact that she used her looks to loosen the lips of prospective targets, but, as someone who slept with a multitude of women, he couldn''t really me her for weaponizing her sexuality. Instead, he focused on drawing it out to its limits... "You know...you would make an excellent bunny girl..." ... .. . After a brief recess following the morning''s events, it was finally time for Sarina to participate in the Horse Race. Though it was one of the tamer events, the crowd still got a kick out of seeing a swarm of attractive women riding around a track and navigating obstacles atop winged steeds. The people controlling the perspective really knew what they were doing, so, every time one of the contestants performed a hairpin turn or navigated an obstacle that resulted in their stallion mming its hooves into the ground, the scene would slow down so that everyone could see how the rider''s breasts morphed and jiggled in ultra-high definition. If he were being perfectly honest, Vahn found the setup to be a little shameless, but, considering many of the riders had elected to wear bikini tops, they clearly understood what they were doing when they signed up for the Horse Race. Thus, instead ofining, he enjoyed the show along with everyone else. The only difference was that he kept most of his attention focused on Sarina so he could console her when she saw that the rey focused on every other contestant... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn is fucking this girl''s mind and body at the same time xD...'',''This is some advanced stuff...'',''RIP Sarina...'') Chapter 2132: Release

Chapter 2132: Release

Though she did her best, Sarina was only able to rank seventh within her bracket. As for Usalia, her opponent attempted to y it safe by adopting a defensive stance, but, much like Ona Lanka, she was sent flying with a single attack from the overpowered bunny who, after disying her mature form, quickly became a crowd favorite. Fortunately, while Sarina was a little upset to learn people weren''t even paying attention to her, she bounced back pretty quickly after seeing the private recording Vahn had made. It primarily focused on her facial expression and the more harrowing moments in the race, but, every now and then, the point of view would shift to her butt bouncing against the saddle in the same ultra-high definition as the other fanservice shots. Seeing ripples spread from her bottom to her thighs, Sarina couldn''t help blushing redder than a tomato. At the same time, however, she was beyond happy to know Vahn had been paying such close attention to her. When they returned to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, she even changed into a pair of short-short with the very obvious intention of showing off her immactely sculpted butt... ... .. . "And that''s what happened today. Are you sure you don''t want toe with us tomorrow...?" A stark contrast to the scenes that were taking ce elsewhere in the estate, the version of Vahn that was attending to Nono had his head resting in herp as she used a long cotton swab to clean his already clean ears. When asked if she wanted toe with them to view the finals, she simply returned an amused smile and asked, "Would you like me toe with you...?" Though he continued lying against herp with his eyes closed, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he answered, "I want you to do what you want..." "I see...for now, I want you to turn over..." Restraining a light chuckle, Vahn rolled over so that his face was facing Nono''s lower abdomen. This would be apromising position under normal circumstances, but, due to the sand-colored dress she almost always wore, the only thing he could see was thick, vani-biege fabric. If he strained his senses, he would have been able to smell her particr aroma. Instead, he just rxed in silence as she used a secondary swab to clean his other ear... "Finished...if you''d like, you can raise your head now..." "Mmm..." Returning a light hum, Vahn decided to stay put for a while as he enjoyed the feeling of Nono''s soft thighs through the fabric of her dress. This prompted the auburn-haired beauty to gently caress his head, an affectionate and slightly amused smile on her face as she softly mused, "Or you can stay as long as you''d like...I''m not going anywhere..." ... .. . "There is a good chance we''ll be having Demon Lords among our clientele in the future. I doubt anything will happen but you''ll need to stay alert." Located at the heart of the ever-expandingplex that existed beneath the Sage Dragon''s Hearth was a massive cube that served as the central nexus of Vahn''s Temted amalgamation between a House Spirit and an Artificial Intelligence known as Will. Will''s true name was Will of the Emperor, and, as it''s name implied, it was able to expand a domain throughout the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. More impressively, it had inherited Vahn''s wisdom, and, as a result, possessed the requisite knowledge to upgrade and enhance the Sage Dragon''s Hearth based on the wants and needs of its inhabitants. "I understand. If anyone attempts to cause trouble, I will strip them of their power and deposit them in a stasis chamber." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn retracted his hand from the tform that allowed him to pump a functionally infinite amount of Source Energy into Will''s reserves. This wasn''t really necessary, but, when it came to protecting his family, friends, and loved ones, Vahn didn''t cut corners... ... .. . While Vahn was busy enjoying life and taking measures to protect his family, a certain blond-haired youth was bored out of his mind. "I came to the Divine Realm to experience a challenge and have some fun. How in the hell did I get stuck babysitting a bunch of brats...?" Despite his protests, the blond-haired youth had a rxed smile on his face as he finished counting to one-hundred within his mind. Then, after rising to his feet and dusting himself off, he shook his head in mock exasperation before bellowing, "I hope everyone found a good spot because here Ie...!" ... .. . Watching Izayoi y hide and seek with the children from her vantage point atop the Fortress-like Manor of the No Names, a tired sigh escaped Asuka''s lips. This prompted Yo, who, more often than not, could be found at her side to say, "We can go and join them if you''d like. I''m sure the children would be happy to y with you, Asuka." Crossing her arms, Asuka issued a soft harumph before turning her head away from the scene and saying, "I''m far too old to be ying such childish games. Besides, my dress is bound to get dirty if I attempt to conceal myself within the forest. This is the only decent pair of clothing the No Names have been able to provide. I don''t want to ruin it..." With her tone bing progressively softer the more she spoke, a light blush developed across Asuka''s face as she noticed her adorable jackal-like Companion staring up at her with what could best be described as a deadpan expression on its face. So long as it was around, she couldn''t use the excuse of her dress getting damaged as it could easily transform into any outfit she could think of... Coughing lightly into her hand, Asuka turned around to find Yo hugging Calico Cat in her usual onesie. The only difference was, instead of dark-blue fur that glistened with an icy luster, she now had a distinct calico pattern that made her resemble a mix between a cat and a wolf. "You really do enjoy wearing that onesie, don''t you? Aren''t you afraid people will think of you as a child...?" Tilting her head to the side, Yo''s inordinatelyrge ears adorably followed her movement as she replied, "I just turned fourteen when we first arrived in the Divine Realm. I don''t consider myself a child but I don''t have enough experience to call myself an adult. Besides, my father used to tell me the most important thing is that I stay true to myself and live the life I want. If I changed who I was just to please others, I don''t think I would ever be truly happy..." Since Yo was usually a very taciturn girl, Asuka found herself at a loss for words in the face of her well thought-out argument. She also knew about Yo''s past sickness and her history with her father, so, after a moment of silence, Asuka ultimately nodded her head in approval, stating, "Well said, Yo. It seems I still have a lot of maturing to do." Though it caused Asuka''s smile to crack, Yo nodded her head without hesitation, saying, "Indeed. Let''s work hard together, okay...?" Resisting the urge to pounce on the socially inept brte, Asuka shook her head, a wry smile developing across her face as she returned her attention to the game of hide and seek below. As for Yo, she just stared at the girl''s back for a few moments before pulling out the brush Fenrir had gifted her during their previous encounter. It wasn''t nearly as pleasant as when Vahn did it but she had be rather fond of brushing her tail and ears. Based on the way he purred, Calico Cat also seemed to enjoy it quite a bit... ... .. . Using the crystal ball Vahn had given him to monitor the territory, Jin was also observing the game of hide and seek. Instead of smiling, however, the teal-haired youth had a listless look on his face as he muttered, "It seems my time as Leader ising to an end. Izayoi is stronger, smarter, and much more confident than I am. The children also seem to enjoy spending time with him...haaaaaaaa..." Exhaling an exasperated sigh that didn''t suit an eleven-year-old, Jin allowed the crystal ball to go dark by removing his hands from its surface. Then, with a wry smile on his face, he looked to the left where Lily was observing him with her hands neatly folded across herp and a perpetual smile on her face. "You really shouldn''t be so hard on yourself, Jin. Everyone knows how hard you worked before and after Vahn''s arrival. You''ve also be much stronger thesest couple of months so I don''t really understand why you feel the need topare yourself to others. If you continue to study hard and make an effort, I''m sure you''ll be just as strong as Izayoi when you''re all grown up." Though he knew she was trying tofort him, Jin''s smile became even wrier when Lily reminded him that he was, in fact, still a child. This didn''t used to be a sore spot, but, ever since he had seen the changes in Sarina and Nono, the notion that he could always ask Vahn for help was constantly lingering within the back of his mind. He would need to be away from his Community for six years, but, so long as he worked hard, he woulde back far more powerful than before. Seeing through Jin''s thoughts, the smile on Lily''s face became significantly less prominent as she softly added, "Jin...didn''t we promise to support each other until we became proper adults. I won''t stop you if you want to go but I''ll be sad if we''re apart for six years..." With a conflicted look on his face, Jin averted his eyes from Lily''s, hands balled into fists as tears began to build in the corner of his eyes. He knew she was right, but, at the same time, he felt like everything he had worked for was slowly being taken away from him. Vahn had opened his eyes to a degree of power he never could have imagined, and, after observing Izayoi using the crystal ball, Jin knew the blond-haired youth worked a lot harder than him. The former had read through more than a thousand different books since his arrival, and, when everyone else was fast asleep, he was hard at work training his body and patrolling the territory. While Jin respected Izayoi immensely for these traits, it was maddening to know there were people with tremendous talent who were also harder workers than him. He had pushed himself beyond his limits on numerous asions, but, without the support of several others, it would take him decades to reach Izayoi''s current level. Even then, Izayoi would be so far beyond him that he may as well be an infant... Unable to control his swelling emotions, Jin''s body began to tremble until a sh of light caught his attention. Before he could investigate its source, however, a pair of arms wrapped around his head, forcing his face into a rather ample bosom. Then, a mature yet recognizable tone reached his ears as Lily, now resembling a young woman in herte teens or early twenties, gently caressed his head and said, "Shhhhh...it''s going to be okay...just let it all out..." Though he felt an inexpeclicably painful swelling in his chest, Jin ultimately returned Lily''s embrace while using her breast to muffle his cries. They were soft and warm, and, though he could no longer remember the face of his mother, a sense of nostalgia and longing invaded his mind as three years'' worth of angst and frustration flowed from his body and into Lily''s bosom... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Slow motion butt jiggle o_o...'',''Yo knows what she''s about xD...'',''It is said that a woman''s breasts have an endless capacity for tears...'') Chapter 2133: Casual Wrap

Chapter 2133: Casual Wrap

Seeing ck Rabbit curled up next to him with a contented smile on her face, Vahn couldn''t resist picking a few vibrant pink hairs from her face before nting a kiss on her forehead. She had been working a lot harder than him since the start of the Vahnatus, so, whenever they returned home, he had been making sure to pamper her as much as possible. Sensing Vahn''s movements, ck Rabbit''s ears began to twitch before opening her ruby red eyes to stare back at him. His close proximity caused a blush to color her cheeks, but, instead of getting embarrassed, she nestled closer to him, forehead nuzzling against his chest as she muttered, "I love you..." in a tired yet sincere tone. With a massive grin spreading across his face, Vahn drew ck Rabbit even closer to him as he replied, "The sun isn''t even up and you''ve already made my day..." Giggling in response to Vahn''s words, ck Rabbit mewled an affectionate, "Oh, Vahn~." as her ears and tail began to twitch. This caused a possessive glimmer to sh across Vahn''s eyes, but, instead of ruining the moment by making things sexual, he just continued to cradle ck Rabbit in his arms until her stomach issued an adorable growl... "Someone''s hungry..." Gently headbutting Vahn''s chest, ck Rabbit liberated herself from his embrace before sitting up, activating her [REquip] system, and saying, "I''m going to wash up..." Though he was tempted to ask what the purpose of wearing clothes was when she was about to get in the bath, Vahn just smiled as he watched ck Rabbit scamper away in a set ofcy pink lingerie. He was honestly tempted to follow her, but, knowing exactly how that would end, he elected to give her some alone time so she wouldn''t be exhausted or distractedter in the day. With that in mind, Vahn hopped out of the bed as if gravity simply didn''t affect him before popping his back and shoulders. This was ultimately unnecessary but it was a habit he had picked up a long time ago. It was very satisfying, and, much how he enjoyed observing the girls do their calisthenics, they would periodically peek in on him whenever they heard his bones popping. Pretending he didn''t notice the pair of long and pink ears poking out from the bathroom entrance, Vahn performed a few yoga poses in the buff before donning a pair of trousers and making his way to the kitchen without a shirt. Along the way, he briefly linked his senses with Will to receive a quick status report. This was the benefit of having Will as a Temte. He didn''t even need any peripherals to keep tabs on everything happening within the Sage Dragon''s Hearth at all times. "Keep up the good work, buddy." "As you wish, Sir." Understanding that Vahn was talking to him, Will immediately replied in a soft, synthetic voice that sounded like a young male butler. This wasn''t a personality Vahn had given him. Instead, it was the personality Will had decided for itself after essing the vast pool of knowledge they shared. Thus, while it was a little strange, Vahn allowed the youthful-sounding AI to do its own thing... "Good morning, Master." Entering the kitchen, Vahn found Leticia setting the table while another version of himself prepared breakfast. She was a little surprised by his sudden and shirtless appearance, but, after a quick shake of the head, she managed to collect herself to return a smile and a polite greeting. Offering a polite smile of his own, Vahn made his way over the caress Leticia''s head before making his way over to the stove. Then, after briefly exchanging nces with his other self, the two of them made breakfast for everyone in the estate. This included the kittens, who, despite only being a few months old, were already transitioning to solid foods. Seeing her two Masters preparing breakfast side-by-side, the faint blush on Leticia''s face became progressively brighter until she massaged the tension out of her cheeks. She already knew Vahn possessed the ability to manifest multiple versions of himself but it was rare to see two of them in the same ce. This caused a number of licentious thoughts to invade her mind, so, after stealing a few more nces their way, she bowed towards their backs before momentarily excusing herself... Sensing Leticia''s departure, the two Vahn''s issued a simultaneous chuckle as a green pulse invisible to everyone but themselves briefly spread across reality. This drastically increased the flow of time within the kitchen. As a result, Leticia only made it a few steps down the hall before the version of Vahn that had been present from the beginning was following behind her. As for the Vahn that had been attending to ck Rabbit, he finished setting the table before setting a preservation charm on the banquet-like arrangement. Then, like many Vahn''s before him, he simply ceased to exist... ... .. . As it was thest day of the Vahnatus, everyone except Nono decided to tag along. This included Shirayukihime, who still needed to participate, Seraphina, intent on iming her prize, Usalia, who would be facing off against Pweamma in the finals, Sarina, who just wanted to spectate, Leticia, who dominated the archery event, and Fenrir, who, after setting an unbreakable record the previous day, dropped out of thepetition so that others would have a chance to win prizes. (A/N: I feel like an owl wrote this sentence...) "If you''re feeling nervous, you don''t have to participate. Better yet, you can always transform into your true form..." Though she was, in fact, feeling nervous, Hime managed to appear resolute as she adopted a slight pout and said, "I''m going to participate..." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn surprised the petite dragoness by gently grabbing her horns and nting a kiss between the runes on her forehead. This caused the surrounding temperature to skyrocket, but, other than a light blush, Hime''s expression remained unchanged as she stared up at him and added, "I will win..." Since her only realpetition was a demon that resembled a drowning victim and a woman with distant ties to the Nereids of Greek Mythos, Vahn had few doubts regarding Hime''s ability to clinch a victory. Her greatest enemy was her bashful and reserved nature, but, so long as she focused on thepetition, that shouldn''t be an issue... ... .. . Fortunately, while it was a little unexpected, all of the attention Hime had expected to be directed towards her was stolen by a woman that vaguely resembled Mordred. She had a lithe and athletic figure, a boyish and confident smile, golden-blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, and, most notably, apleteck of swimwear. Her actual cement was only fifth, but, with the penultimate goal of most female contestants being to garner attention, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say she hade out on top. As for Hime, she managed to secure first without any issues whatsoever... ... .. . "I already expected this after I saw your performance on the first day but I''m still a little surprised we actually met in the finals. Tell me, why do you bother to walk around resembling a brat when you have a far more mature form...?" After the other matches had been deciding, Pweamma and Usalia found themselves facing each other in the finals. Since she had been paying close attention to every other contestant, Pweamma knew Usalia was capable of transforming, so, with thetter currently in what Vahn referred to as her ''Aggroli'' state, the four-armed woman couldn''t resist asking why. Holding up her paws, Usalia stared at her ws and the pads on her hands before looking back at Pweamma and answering, "Because it''s morefortable. I also prefer being cute over being sexy, plip. Besides, you''re mistaken about something..." With one set of her arms crossed, Pweamma raised her brows, smiling as she asked, "Oh? And what might that be...?" With her tuft of a tail growingrger and her hair bing noticeably spikier, Usalia''s body began to rapidly increase in size as she answered, "I can be big even without transforming my body, plip..." Seeing Usalia grow from an adorably petite bunny who barely crested the 120cm mark to a giant that easily exceeded twenty meters, cold sweat began to spread across Pweamma''s body. If Usalia was just big, she wouldn''t have been surprised. The thing that frightened her to her core was that the previous petite bunny was now radiating an amount of energy she couldn''t evenprehend at her current level. "Someone''s been drinking their milk..." Since she didn''t want people staring at her now-gigantic butt, or, even worse, the crease that would periodically appear beneath it, Usalia responded to Pweamma''s remark by swiping her paw toward her in a manner that resembled a cat ying with a mouse. Her speed was hardly influenced by her increase in size, so, to the shock and awe of many, Pweamma was instantaneously sent flying like a reddish-grey meteor. To her credit, Pweamma wasn''t actually injured by Usalia''s attack. The bodies of the Asura and Asuri tribe were nearly indestructible, so, in the split-second between Usalia''s attack and her body nearly crashing into the surrounding barrier, she managed to right herself and stop her momentum using a fiery runic tform that had manifested out of thin air. The primary difference between males and females of the Asura/Asuri tribe was that the men were adept at reinforcing their bodies even further while the women were experts and manifesting their energy externally. This resembled magic to some, but, in reality, it was a unique skill thatbined spiritual and divine energies to counteract almost anything their opponents could throw at them. With a massive grin spreading across her face, Pweammaunched herself towards Usalia as fiery runes spread across her body. She knew she was going to lose but there was no way in hell she was going to go down without a fight. Surprised by Pweamma''s quick recovery, Usalia was nearly caught off guard by the battle-hungry Asuri. Fortunately, her reaction time was beyond theprehension of most people, so, after a very brief pause, she simply contracted her form so that Pweamma flew over her. Thetter responded by creating another runic tform, but, the moment she was about to bound towards Usalia, her pupils contracted when she noticed the now-petite bunny gathering a ball of unbelievably dense energy between her paws. "Usagi st~!" Releasing the energy between her palms skyward, Usalia sted a hole through the arena''s barrier as if it didn''t even exist. This was an attack capable of decimatings, and, while this normally wouldn''t be enough to break through Vahn''s barrier, Usalia''s affinity with destruction allowed the concentrated beam to prate the barrier as if it were wet paper. Fortunately, members of the Asuri tribe had a simr affinity with the Law of Destruction, so, even though she had taken a direct hit from the energy beam, Pweamma emerged rtively unscathed. There were areas of her previously grey skin that now shone with a golden hue, but,pared to her bunny suit, her body was rtively undamaged. Using three of her hands to cover her breasts, crotch, and backside, a wry smile developed across Pweamma''s face as she raised her only free hand and said, "I surrender. I might be confident in my figure but I don''t have an exposure fetish. Looks like this round goes to you, brat." Adopting a slight pout, Usalia surprised Pweamma quite a bit by stating, "I am more than eighteen hundred years old. Don''t call me a brat, plip." As she had only recently turned 183, Pweamma felt a little awkward hearing Usalia''s remark. At the same time, however, she was eager to get off the stage so that she could find something to wear. It didn''t exactly bother her but she would rather avoid providing even more ''material'' for the billions of people watching the Vahnatus. If she did be a God in the future, she wanted to be a God of War. Thus, before people could begin associating her with sex, she offered a curt wave to the crowd before promptly departing the arena... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Living the dream...'',''Losing a battle in order to win the war xD...'',''Fear the Aggroli...!'') Chapter 2134: Guidance

Chapter 2134: Guidance

"First of all, I''d like to thank everyone foring. I hope you all were able to have fun and enjoy the game despite the rtively low stakes. I am of the opinion that not every Gift Game should require the participants to ce something of value on the line. The Little Garden should be a ce where everyone is able to live freely and have fun. With that in mind, I hope to see you all in future games hosted by the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. This will not be a one-time thing. I give you my word." In response to Vahn''s short and concise speech, the crowd erupted into a violent cheer that seemed to shake the very foundations of the Little Garden. There were a lot of suppressed peoples in this highest of realms so it was refreshing for them to hear someone speak of freedom and having fun. It had been too long since many of them had hope, so, now that there was a Community willing to host events that didn''t require them to make sacrifices, many were looking forward to working with the Sage Dragon''s Hearth in the future. Waving to the crowd, Vahn offered a sincere smile in response to their cheers. Hosting events like this could be a little troublesome, but, once he had found his footing in the 4-Digit Gates, he could always have someone else host them on his behalf. He also enjoyed seeing people happy, so, for the remainder of the closing and reward ceremony, he stuck around to personally pass out medals... ... .. . "Congrattions, everyone. The Sage Dragon''s Hearth is now, officially, a 5-Digit Community~!" Unable to suppress her excitement, ck Rabbit released a number of party poppers as everyone around the table either cheered or returned a smile. Fenrir, Leticia, Hime, and Nono weren''t exactly the type to openly exim. As for Seraphina, she had already retired to her bedroom as she never liked being around such arge group of Vahn''s lovers. This left Vahn, Usalia, and Sarina as the only people cheering from the side of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Fortunately, the Sage Dragon''s Hearth wasn''t the only Community present. Vahn had also invited the core members of Twice Twilight, Leviathan''s Tail, and the No Names to participate. These were the three Communities he had convinced to act as Subordinate Communities in order to meet the qualifications for hosting the Vahnatus. Thus, while more than half the members of his Community were taciturn beauties, the response to ck Rabbit''s cheer was enough to cause Will to activate a sound dampening formation in the recently constructed banquet hall. Though they were a little surprised by the sudden decrease in volume, none of the guests bothered to inquire about the cause. Instead, they began to mingle among themselves while Katana, hired to document the event, skulked around the edges of the banquet hall with a camera in hand. Seizing the opportunity to do a little mingling himself, Vahn, apanied by Fenrir, made his way over to the area where a peculiar duo was seated. His approach immediately caught their attention, a smile spreading across the woman''s face as a troubled expression marred the teal-haired youth at her side. "Lily, Jin, I''m d the two of you could make it. I see someone decided to loosen the seal I ced on them..." Extending his hand, Vahn habitually caressed the smiling Lily''s head. Thest time he had seen her, she resembled a ten-year-old girl with a petite frame. Now, she had grown from around 136cm to amendable 158cm. As for her figure...well, she was the descendant of a Fertility Goddess... Rubbing her head against the palm of Vahn''s hand in a somewhat spoiled manner, Lily maintained her usual smile as she exined, "With all the changes that have been urring recently, I decided it might be for the best if I grow up a bit. How do I look...?" Returning a smile of his own, Vahn ruffled the affectionate fox''s hair before retracting his hand and answering, "You could give ck Rabbit a run for her money." While it was generally rude topare one woman to another, Vahn knew that Lily idolized ck Rabbit''s beauty. Moon Rabbits, prior to their destruction, were famous throughout the Little Garden for their appearances so it was quite thepliment to bepared to one. Thus, rather than take offense, Lily''s expression brightened considerably as she cupped her reddening cheeks and issued a bashful yet gratifiedugh. So things didn''t be too awkward, Vahn took advantage of Lily''s momentary distraction to shift his attention to Jin, asking, "Why the long face, kid? You look like someone who just found out their dog died." Smiling wryly in response to Vahn''s words, Jin''s expression became visibly apologetic as he hung his head and answered, "Sorry...I''ve had a lot on my mind..." Extending his hand, Vahn ruffled the teal-haired youth''s hair, a serious expression developing across his face as he said, "Let me share with you a bit of advice I received from one of my first masters..." With Vahn retracting his hand, Jin looked up with a curious yet hopeful look in his eyes, In response, Vahn channeled his best Tsubaki impression as he balled his hand into a fist and said, "You think too much." Before he could react, Vahn gave the top of Jin''s head an affectionate bonk. With Lily appearing in her current form, it didn''t take a genius to realize what was bothering him. He was clearly troubled by hisck of maturity, and, more importantly, hisck of power. These two things had always been a source of stress for the young mage, so, now that he had three remarkably powerful individuals topare himself to, it was no surprise he was a little stressed out. Holding the top of his head, tears began to build in the corners of Jin''s eyes as he stared up at Vahn like an aggrieved maiden. This gave thetter the urge to give him a second punch. Instead, he just shook his head before ruffling the pouting youth''s hair and saying, "When you experience problems you can''t ovee on your own, there is no shame in seeking the assistance of others. That is how bonds of trust are formed. Now, tell me, what''s the problem?" Feeling the pain in his crown quickly fading away, Jin managed to suppress his tears with a sniffle before exining everything that had been troubling him. He talked about how powerless he felt, and, most notably, how envious he was of the abilities of Izayoi, Yo, and even Asuka. To others, this might have made him sound petty. Vahn, however, appreciated the youth''s honesty. After all, even adults could rarely verbalize everything that was troubling them. Jin was only eleven years old, so, despite his feelings of powerlessness, he was actually ahead of the curve in regards to power and character... After listening to all of the youth''s grievances, Vahn nodded his head in understanding before asking, "So, what are you going to do about it...?" Now that he had gotten everything off of his chest, Jin was feeling a lot more confident as he stared up at Vahn and answered, "I want to enter your Game Board. I want to umte experience while training my body and mind. I don''t care about remaining Leader. So long as I can be someone my Community can rely on, I''ll be happy." Though he nodded his head in approval, Vahn shifted his attention to one of the pirs lining the inordinatelyrge banquet hall, asking, "And what about you three...?" Stepping out from behind the pir, Izayoi had his usual cheeky smile on while Asuka crossed her arms in defiance. As for Yo, she just waved towards Fenrir, who, after exhaling an inaudible sigh, returned a wave of her own. "My only question is, will I be able to have fun...?" Having witnessed Izayoi''s power firsthand, Vahn briefly adopted a contemtive look as he stroked his chin and answered, " That depends. With your current power, you should be able to reach the bottom floor of the Dungeon in about two and a half years. The biggest issue you''ll face is the fact you''re a tsundere. Even if it''s just an illusion, my Danmachi Game Board is a near-perfect replica of an actual ce. Prior to my conquest, there were a lot of people suffering for a variety of different reasons. Given your nature, you won''t be able to simply ignore them." Furrowing his brows, Izayoi''s expression became slightly hostile as he asserted, "I''m not a tsundere." Ignoring the youth''s remark, Vahn shifted his attention to Yo and Asuka, adding, "As for the two of you...you''ll have a difficult time depending on the Familia you join. If you choose to stay together, I would suggest the Ganesha Familia. They specialize in taming monsters, mediating between other Familia, and providing entertainment to the people of Orario. Since most of them are beast tamers, their members can be pretty crude. Their God, however, is among the most caring and responsible deities I''ve ever met. He genuinely cares for the people of Orario and his Captain, Shakti, is a fervent believer in his ideals." Though Asuka didn''t seem particrly enthused by the prospect of joining the Ganesha Familia, Yo''s eyes had practically turned to stars. The notion of being surrounded by beasts made her as giddy as a kid in a candy store. Sure, they might not be real, but that wouldn''t stop her from doing everything in her power to befriend each and every single one of them. As amused as he was by the young brte''s glittery-eyed expression, Vahn shifted his attention back to Jin. The appearance of Izayoi, Asuka, and Yo had caused him to visibly pale. He hadn''t even considered that they might want to enter the Game Board alongside him. If they did, all his efforts would, once again, go to waste... Forming his hand into a fist, Vahn gave Jin another ''gentle'' knock on the head as he asked, "What''s with that expression? You just said you didn''t care about being Leader and that you just wanted to be someone your Community can rely upon. Which is it, Jin? Do you want to be reliable or do you simply wish to be stronger than Izayoi, Yo, and Asuka? Make up your mind." Hearing Vahn''s words, feelings of guilt and shame pervaded Jin''s body. They helped him to realize just how selfish he was being, so, after balling his hands into fists and biting back tears, he adopted a resolute look and asserted, "So long as I can be of use to my Community, I''ll be happy..." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn extended his hand to help ease the pain atop Jin''s head as he said, "Good. That is the correct mentality. When you get inside the Game Board, I want you to seek out a Goddess named Hestia. She is a bit of an oddball and won''t be able to provide you with much in the way of resources, but, so long as you stay resolute, you''ll be able to learn more from her than most other Goddesses." With a tremendous amount of knowledge contained within his mind, Jin immediately recognized the name Hestia as the Goddess of the Hearth. This caused a look of realization to sh across his eyes as adopted a far more serious expression and answered, "I understood. No matter how hard the journey ahead bes, I will continue pressing forward." Though Jin''s choice of words caused him to feel strangely guilty, Vahn just nodded his head before retracting his hand and saying, "Very well. For now, everyone should just rx and enjoy the party. Once things have calmed down, I''ll go over the specifics regarding the Game Board and everything you''ll need to know about its structure and your objectives. After that...you''re on your own..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Banzai~!'',''Jin is simultaneously very mature and very childish...'',''I can totally see Izayoi going toe-to-toe with Ottar within the first two weeks xD...'') Chapter 2135: Subtle Yet Drastic Changes

Chapter 2135: Subtle Yet Drastic Changes

Since things were bound to get chaotic with the introduction of three Problem Children, Vahn decided to take a few extra precautions. First and foremost, he gave the trio the option of temporarily sealing away their powers. They would still be able to activate them whenever they wanted, but, shortly thereafter, they would find themselves ejected from the Game Board. Though they had never revealed it to him, Vahn was aware of each of the Problem Children''s motivations for entering the Divine Realm. Izayoi was eager to be the hero his adoptive mother had always wanted him to be, Yo wanted to make friends, and Asuka had grown tired of living in a world where everyone obeyed her everymand. By limiting their capabilities in the beginning, Vahn was hoping to give the trio the chance to adapt to the world rather than immediately flipping it on its head. They would need to Level up if they wanted unrestricted ess to their powers. As for Jin, well, Vahn had a number of ns for the young magus. Unlike the original Danmachi, the world within the Game Board was entirely under Vahn''s control. This had allowed him to make quite a number of changes, the vast majority of which revolved around the fates of his family, friends, and loved ones. Even if they were ultimately just illusions, Vahn would never turn a blind eye to the suffering of his loved ones. One example of the changes Vahn had introduced included Lily being adopted by the flower store owners at a very young age. Another saw Haruhime being picked up by Syr shortly after being imported to the maind. Simply put, Vahn had effectively plotted out every major event that would take ce over a six-year cycle within the Game Board. This included shamelessly making the girls he was in a rtionship with wholly uninterested in romance. They might be illusions, but, with a fidelity rate of 99.99963%, very few people would be able to tell the difference between the world within the Game Board and reality. Vahn had no desire to see his wives, lovers, and the mothers of his children in a rtionship with other people so even Freya was remarkably chaste within the Game Board. She was still one of the central antagonists, but, depending on the yers'' choices, she would either end up allying with Loki or being forced to return to Heaven. This time around, Vahn had taken it upon himself to alter fate even further. He made it so that, shortly after Izayoi reached Level 5, Legend would take an interest in him. This included Helen, who, even now, existed as a source of exasperation within Vahn''s mind. Though she wouldn''t really be a problem by the time he has ascended to the pinnacle of Tier 7, Vahn had never been particrly fond of Helen. He was interested to see how Izayoi would deal with her, so, while it was a little underhanded of him, Vahn made doubly sure their paths would cross within the first three years. If left to his own devices, Izayoi would quickly conquer the dungeon and trigger the ejection of everyone within the Game Board. There was even a chance he would steal Bell''s spotlight and save the world on his own terms, so, prior to the group''s entrance into the Game Board, Vahn made sure they were aware of the ongoing tensions between Orario and pretty much every other country. This included discussing the Ares Familia''s Caste System, the corruption of the Elves, the greed of the Dwarves, and, most importantly, the envement of the Pallum. Izayoi, despite his protests, was both a busybody and a tsundere. If he knew there was an entire race of people that were being pressed, he was bound to do something about it. The best method would be to team up with Finn, but, given Loki''s nature, Izayoi wouldn''t be able to trust her. In other words, he was bound to venture out and try to resolve things on his own terms. By keeping Izayoi busy with international affairs, the others would have ample time to make progress of their own. Sure, they might not be able to conquer the dungeon but they could still participate in the war that generally took ce near the end of the third year. That would be an invaluable learning experience for them. After all, if Shiroyasha''s words were anything to go by, war wasn''t far off in the Little Garden''s future. In fact, it was the reason the Problem Children had been summoned... ... .. . Since it was a mild inconvenience to make constant changes to the flow of time within the Game Board, Vahn hadn''t adjusted it since the showdown with Perseus Community. In other words, he had about two hours to kill before everyone was unceremoniously ejected from the interior. Though he had invited her to apany him, Lily ultimately refused Jin''s invitation on the grounds that he needed to stop relying on her. Entering the Game Board was a decision he had made, and, while she supported it, she refused to be apart from her friends and family in the pursuit of power. Thus, after seeing the group off with a smile, she plopped down next to Vahn with the intention of awaiting their return. Understanding why she had chosen to sit next to him, Vahn habitually caressed Lily''s head as he said, "Don''t worry. Jin is a good kid. The people I sent him to are also amazing, so, even if he has to experience a few difficulties, he''ll be fine." Adopting a somewhat mncholic, Lily tilted her head so that it was easier for Vahn to ess the space between her ears as she replied, "I''m not worried. I''ve always trusted Jin and Izayoi, Asuka, and Yo are all amazing people. I just wish they didn''t push themselves so hard...Jin used to be so confident and full of energy. Even if it was just a mask, he brought us all together and became our Leader...it breaks my heart to see him so full of doubt..." "Mmm...the burden of leadership is heavy. Even with a tremendous amount of support, there were times when I nearly copsed under its strain. Considering he was only eight when he epted the burden of leadership, Jin has performed spectacrly..." Nodding her head in approval, Lily''s smile visibly brightened as she nestled a little closer to Vahn''s shoulder. This caused thetter''s smile to cramp. Fortunately, Lily didn''t seem to have any wayward thoughts toward him. Her aura was primarilyposed of sunny yellows, soft blues, and a hint of purple. Threads of pink would periodically appear, but, for the most part, they would only persist for a brief moment before promptly fading away... As if to spite him, Vahn noticed the center of Lily''s aura shift from a sunny yellow to a pale shade of pink as she muttered, "Now that I think about it, I never did thank you..." Restraining a dry chuckle, Vahn retracted his hand from Lily''s head as he said, "That isn''t necessary. As I said previously, I didn''t help the No Names because I was expecting gratitude. I helped because it was the right thing to do and-" Interrupting Vahn''s speech with an amused giggle, Lily leaned her head against his shoulder before saying, "I wasn''t talking about that. While I am grateful for everything you''ve done for us, that isn''t what I wanted to thank you for. Rather, even if I dedicated my life to trying to repay you, I feel that my debts would only increase...no...the thing I wanted to thank you for is yourment during the party..." Despite having a mind that could grasp the structure of an entire world, it still took a few moments for Vahn to understand what Lily was referring to. This was immediately followed by a sudden and intense urge to smack himself in the forehead... "Do you really think I''m as beautiful as ck Rabbit...?" In a manner eerily reminiscent of Haruhime, one of Lily''s tails naturally coiled around Vahn''s waist as she craned her head to gauge his reaction. When she saw the stoic yet statuesque expression on his face, she couldn''t help but giggle. He was normally very calm and rxed so it was refreshing to see him with such a silly expression on his face. Feeling emboldened, Lily entrusted more of her weight to Vahn''s shoulder as she softly muttered, "I don''t mind..." with upturned eyes. Resisting the urge to ask what, exactly, she didn''t mind, Vahn startled Lily by pinching her nose and saying, "Cut it out. I''d rather not have Jin resent me the moment he emerges from the Game Board. Besides, even if you look like this, you''re still only ten years old. You might be very mature for your age but you have a long way to go before I consider you an adult." Though she was briefly confused by Vahn''s words, it didn''t take long for Lily to understand the greater meaning behind them. This caused her own expression to turn statuesque, a prominent shade of crimson rising from her neck and spreading through her cheeks as her brain temporarily overloaded. While she had, in fact, been trying to flirt with him, Lily had never considered taking things so far. The most she expected was having her head caressed or her tails fondled. A bit of light touching was also eptable, but, beyond that, the most intimate thing she had envisioned was the two of them holding hands... Cupping her reddened cheeks, Lily''s ears and tails twitched violently as she looked away from Vahn and cutely eximed, "How scandalous~!" in an adorably high-pitched tone. This left Vahn at a loss for words, not because he had misunderstood Lily''s intentions, but because she was clearly pleased by the misunderstanding... ... .. . Wiping away a trace of blood from his lips, a somewhat insolent smile spread across the face of a heroic-looking youth in his early twenties. His blond hair was a bit of a mess, but, with eyes that gleamed like crystal-clear amethysts and a dpidated pair of headphones hanging loosely around his neck, even people who had never met him would recognize the man as the legendary Sakamaki Izayoi. "You''re one tough bastard, you know that...?" Hoving in the air a few hundred meters from Izayoi''s position was a golden-haired man wearing resplendent golden armor. In response to Izayoi''s words, he just snorted before rolling his crimson eyes and remarking, "You''re just weak. It''s pathetic, really. Even after receiving that whore''s power, all you can do is skitter around like an insect. I can''t help but wonder what kind of subterfuge you used to defeat that muscle-headed fool and his brother..." Laughing in spite of his injuries, Izayoi forced himself to stand before tearing away the remnants of the dark-purple tunic covering his body. This revealed a muscr frame covered in injuries, as, even after five years, ten months, and seventeen days, he had never once used his power. He had wed his way to the top through his own efforts, and, after defeating countless foes, the only person that posed any threat to him was the man standing in the air: Gilgamesh, the God-Emperor. "Not everyone has to rely on deceit and subterfuge to defeat their enemies. Just because you got your ass kicked doesn''t mean everyone else has to get their asses kicked. Now, stop talking. This is supposed to be a battle. I''m not your therapist." Snorting a second time, Gilgamesh, inspired by the version from the Nasuverse, spread his arms to create countless golden portals. This caused the smile on Izayoi''s face to be more prominent, as, despite feeling as though Gilgamesh''s ability wasplete bullshit, he was confident he coulde out ahead... "Let''s dance, Goldilocks...!" ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn be like, "Covet my women? I don''t fucking think so..."'',''TFW you step on andmine while trying to avoid shooting yourself in the foot...'',''Protagonist vibes xD...'') Chapter 2136: Insight: Advice

Chapter 2136: Insight: Advice

Expecting at least one of the four to get ejected before the time limit, Vahn was quite surprised when the entire two hours passed. Immediately after that, four shes of light emerged from the nar diorama as far more mature versions of Izayoi, Asuka, Yo, and Jin appeared. "Yo, long time no see." Seizing the opportunity to break the awkward tensions that had built between him and Lily, Vahn rose to his feet and greeted the group. It took them a while, but, after several seconds of stunned silence, Asuka was the one to answer, "Indeed...it really has been..." Though she had started out by speaking towards Vahn, Asuka''s gaze shifted to Izayoi toward thetter half of her words. Then, with an indignant pout on her markedly more mature face, she asked, "And where, might I ask, have you been? We really could have used your help during the war. Some hero you turned out to be." Without missing a beat, Izayoi, hand on his hip, retorted, "Jeez. Just bite my head off, why don''tcha? What, did you miss me?" Surprising the blond-haired young man quite a bit, Asuka''s pout became more pronounced as she asked, "Is that such a bad thing? We were the only real people in that world. We should have stuck together. Why did you have to run off and y hero somewhere we couldn''t follow?" While she was far from tears, a thinyer of moisture began to spread across Asuka''s aqua blue eyes. Thest two and a half years within the Game Board had been especially difficult for her, as, despite knowing the people inside didn''t exist, she couldn''t just ignore them. Thus, she had spent nearly half the duration of her stay trying to guarantee the rights of the Xenos while simultaneously brokering peace between Orario and the surrounding countries. It hadn''t been easy. Not at all. Not expecting the mature Japanese beauty to suddenly tear up, Iazyoi''s smile promptly faded away as he scratched the back of his head. In truth, he felt she was being unreasonable. After all, it''s not like he had just disappeared without an exnation. He told her exactly what he was up to and that he might not be able to return before their expulsion from the Game Board. It wasn''t exactly fair for her to try and pin me, but, rather than point that out, he just shook his head, exhaled a sigh, and muttered, "Sorry..." in an apologetic tone. Biting back her tears with a sniffle, Asuka was about toy into the blond-haired youth even further when Vahn interjected, suggesting, "Let''s shift this discussion to the dining room. I''ve prepared a feast to wee you back. I''m sure you''ll feel better once you''ve filled your bellies with delicious food." Though everyone else appeared rtively unaffected by their time within the Game Board, Vahn made sure to address the entire group as he was speaking. Asuka, despite her numerous character ws, had a very strong sense of responsibility. Even in her previous life, she had primarily used her powers to help people. Thus, even without inquiring into the specifics, Vahn knew she had probably worked herself to the bone trying to ''fix'' the underlying issues of Orario... Hearing mention of food, the stomaches of everyone present felt empty while Yo''s outright growled its response. This caused the youthful-looking brte to blush, but, instead of remaining silent or averting her eyes, a voracious smile developed across her face as she wiped away a bit of drool and said, "Finally...I''ve been dreaming of this day for the past six years...!" Seemingly unsurprised by Yo''s reaction, Asuka, Jin, and even Izayoi exhaled moderately exasperated sighs as the source of their exasperation pumped her fists in excitement. Yo had matured quite a bit in the physical department, but, due to possessing a strong desire to befriend others, her previously taciturn nature had given way for a far more outgoing and bubbly personality. She had even cut her hair in a manner reminiscent of Tiona, so, even without asking, Vahn could surmise the two had met and gotten along very well... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn briefly shifted his attention to Jin, who, since the moment of his return, had been staring at Lily. The once-girlish youth had matured quite a bit, and, though he still possessed a few androgynous features, his perpetually concerned expression had given way for a remarkably calm and calcting look. This,bined with the fact their hairstyles were virtually identical, reminded Vahn of when Merlin was serious... Noticing Vahn''s gaze, Jin briefly shifted his own to match. A slight smile then developed across his face as he said, "It''s good to see you again, Vahn..." Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn was about to return the young mage''s greeting when Jin''s smile promptly faded away, followed by an usatory, "I really wish you would have mentioned Hestia-sama''s quirks in advance..." Restraining the urge to burst outughing, Vahn just issued a light chuckle before asking, "Why? Do you regret joining her Familia?" Without a moment''s hesitation, Jin immediately shook his head, stating, "No. I''m just a little jaded, that''s all. Given how highly you spoke of her, my expectations during our first encounter may have been a little too high. At first, I couldn''t help wondering why you sent me to her. It was only during the events of the second year that I began to understand. Hestia-sama''s regard for the people she considers her family is beyond praiseworthy. She never stopped supporting us, and, no matter how difficult things became, she was always there to pick us up and give us the push we needed to keep fighting. If I possessed even a fraction of the trust Hestia-sama demonstrated toward the people in her Familia, I have no doubt I would have been a much better Community Leader..." Feeling gratified by Jin''s words, an appreciative smile developed across Vahn''s face. When the boy was finished speaking, he was half tempted to just walk over and give him a pat on the head. Before he could, however, Jin shifted his attention back to Lily, a resolute glimmer shing across his eyes as he added, "I promised myself that, upon my return, I would no longer hesitate..." As Asuka and Yo became visibly excited, Jin walked over to the increasingly befuddled-looking Lily before bending down and taking a knee. Even Vahn was surprised by this development, but, thanks to his inhuman speed, he was able to give the two childhood friends an adequate amount of space as Jin grasped Lily''s hand and said, "Lily...even if you never regard me in a simr light, I want you to know how I feel...how I''ve always felt..." Though she appeared slightly troubled by Jin''s words and actions, Lily would be lying if she said her heart wasn''t racing. She had actually been expecting Jin to confess for quite some time, but, due to hisck of self-confidence, he never got past telling her there was something he wanted to say. This was a marked improvement, but, after indirectly confessing to Vahn and spending the better part of two hours flirting, it also felt extremely awkward... After taking a deep breath to steady his heart and mind, Jin stared directly into Lily''s emerald green eyes as he said, "I...I...I think you should be the Leader of the No Names...!" While everyone else looked like they wanted to p their foreheads, Lily just tilted her head to the side in response to Jin''s unexpected ''confession''. The smile on her face didn''t fade in the slightest, but, after getting all worked up, a part of her wanted to ask if there was something wrong with his head. If he had been more direct, she might have given him a chance. After all, she did love him. It was more of a motherly type of love, but, with time, she was certain it could grow into something more substantial. Now, she wasn''t so sure... ... .. . In an effort to salvage some of Jin''s dignity, Vahn ended up interrupting the youth''s exnation by reminding everyone about the feast he had prepared. This left the young magus feeling a little taken aback, but, with everyone else eager to eat, he reluctantly agreed to the change of location. Before they could reach it, however, Vahn pulled him off to the side, asking, "What''s this all about, kiddo?" Though he was briefly confused by Vahn''s words, a look of understanding shed across Jin''s face as he lowered his head and answered, "After spending so much time in the Hestia Familia, I''vee to realize that the best person to lead isn''t necessarily the strongest or the smartest. Lily has always been there for everyone, myself included. Most importantly, no matter how difficult things became, she never stopped smiling..." "Kid...you know that isn''t what I''m asking about..." With a self-deprecating smile spreading across his face, Jin nodded his head in affirmation, adding, "I know...if I''m beingpletely honest, I fell in love with Lily a long time ago. The problem is...I''m not the only one. Most of the boys around our age feel the exact same way. After all, Lily has been our emotional and spiritual anchor for the past three years. Every single member of the Community looks up to her and she has acted as a surrogate mother of sorts for all of us. Even if she was willing to give me a chance, Lily''s smile belongs to everyone...I have no right to monopolize it..." "Kid..." cing his right hand on Jin''s shoulder, Vahn prevented him from moving as his left hand formed into a fist. Then, far faster than Jin could react, he gave the seventeen-year-old youth a firm smack on the head, asking, "Are you an idiot!?" in an incredulous tone. Though it had been six years, Jin immediately recalled all the times Vahn had knocked him on the head. This caused tears to build in the corners of his eyes as he rubbed the knot atop his head and asked, "Why did you hit me!?" like a wronged child. Resisting the urge to give the teal-haired youth another smack, Vahn inhaled a deep breath through his nose before gesturing to therge red sofa he had manifested out of thin air. This earned him a severe pout from the young magus, but, understanding he didn''t really have a choice, it wasn''t long before Jin sat down with a defiant look on his face. Feeling slightly exasperated, Vahn shook his head before sitting next to the youth and cing his hand on Jin''s shoulder. Then, like a father talking to his son, he adopted a stern yet gentle tone as he began to exin his personal thoughts on the matter. In hindsight, Vahn realized that the thing Jin trulycked was parental insight from a father figure. Hestia had helped him to build the confidence necessary to pursue his dreams, but, as a maternal figure, she couldn''t really guide him through the process of transitioning from a young boy to a young man. Jin needed a father figure to teach him how to be selfish or else he would spend his entire life serving the interests of others. This was a w Vahn was intimately familiar with, so, with the hope of correcting some of the youth''s misunderstandings, he spent the better part of six-and-a-half hours exining to him the intricacies of a woman''s heart and mind... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Asuka is a very responsible young woman...'',''There isn''t an OOF setting high enough for this level of cringe...'',''There is still hope, Jin! Listen to the wisdom of the Sage Dragon Emperor...!'') Chapter 2137: Lesson

Chapter 2137: Lesson

Thanks to handy-dandy time shenanigans, very little time had passed by the time Vahn emerged with Jin in tow. In fact, the others had yet to even sit down when he teleported them just outside the dining room, saying, "It''s okay to make mistakes. You''ll regret it a lot more if you never even try." With a resolute expression on his face, Jin looked like he was about to say something when Vahn gave him a gentle yet firm smack on the back. As a result, he was sent stumbling into the dining room as Vahn emerged behind him with a massive grin spread across his face. After quickly recovering his bnce, Jin sent a pouty look in Vahn''s direction before ultimately shaking his head and approaching Lily. Thetter appeared a little confused by his actions, but, as usual, she had the same considerate smile on her face. "Lily...can we talk somewhere private...?" Though there was a hint of helplessness contained within, Lily''s smile became even more radiant than usual as she answered, "Of course, Jin." Then, under the watchful eyes of everyone present, the duo departed the dining room for one of the many empty rooms within the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Waiting until the duo had disappearedpletely, a smile developed across Izayoi''s face as he said, "Let''s hope he doesn''t mess this one up. Thatst "confession" of his dealt coteral damage to my soul." Shrugging his shoulders in mock helplessness, Vahn replied, "I did everything I could. Fortunately, Lily is too kind to outright reject him. She''ll most likely give him a chance. Whether or not they stay together is up to him." Since he didn''t want to spend too much time talking about Jin''s love life, Vahn punctuated his words with a casual wave of his hand. This caused various food items to popte the table as he sat down and stated, "I''m more interested in what the three of you were up to during your stay in the Game Board. Even without relying on my Gifts, I can tell you''ve grown quite a bit...some more than others..." Though Vahn''s final words were intended for Izayoi, it was Yo who reacted with a rather potent blush. This caused the gazes of everyone present to shift to her as she cupped her fiery cheeks and exined, "I don''t know what happened. I tried dieting, but, no matter how much I starved myself, it was like everything I ate went straight to my thighs..." "..." Taken aback by the sudden shift in topic, Vahn found himself at a loss for words as Izayoi burst outughing. This earned him a re from Asuka, but, before she could say anything to rein the young hero in, Yo exacerbated the situation by asking, "Vahn, you do tailoring work, right?" Blinking back to awareness, Vahn''s gaze shifted to the golden bracelet on Yo''s wrist as he answered, "Indeed. However, I believe your [REquip] system renders such services obsolete. There is also the matter of your Companion. They should be able to transform into virtually any outfit you can think of." Though she nodded her head to show she understood, Yo left Asuka massaging her temples as she exined, "I am well aware of that. It''s just that, even with the [REquip] system, my pants and shorts always feel tight around the inseam. It wasn''t an issue when I still had my Aegis but they ended up dissolving away when I encountered a ck Slime. Speaking of which...you really could have warned us about those, you know?" As it had literally been hundreds of years since hest encountered a slime, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he resisted the temptation to say he had simply forgotten. After all, he was the one who created the Game Board, and, as a byproduct, every single monster within. In other words, he was the one who had bestowed the ck Slime with the ability to melt clothing and armaments. "Sorry about that. Truth be told, I never expected anyone venturing into the Game Board to get that far. Those with the ability to descend that deep generally wouldn''t be inhibited by such an effect so I never thought to remove it..." Though she didn''t snort and cross her arms like she used to, Asuka responded to Vahn''s apology with a pointed look as she retorted, "Oh, really? Are you sure you didn''t just want to see us naked? Why else would such a monster exist?" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn adopted a deadpan expression as he tly replied, "Every monster within the Dungeon is something I encountered during my own journey. Also, has your time in the Game Board dulled your memory? So long as you''re within range of my perception, I can sense the very molecules thatprise your body. You couldyer yourself in thousands upon thousands ofyers of clothing and it wouldn''t make a difference. From my perspective, you may as well be walking around in your birthday suit." Blushing furiously in response to Vahn''s words, Asuka looked like she was a hairpin trigger away from exploding. As for Yo, she simply averted her eyes with a bashful smile on her face. She had already been blushing even before hisment. Now, the crimson glow was gradually spreading to her ears, but, unlike Asuka, she didn''t seem particrly bothered by revtion. Instead, she just picked up a simmering leg ofmb before using her inordinatelyrge canines to tear away a rather sizeable chunk of the perfectly braised meat... Amused by Yo''s reaction, Vahn''s smile promptly returned. This seemed to be the proverbial straw the broke the camel''s back, as, from Asuka''s perspective, Yo was someone she needed to protect. mming the table as she bounced to her feet, Asuka''s expression turned fierce as she eximed, "That''s it! I challenge you to a Gift Game...!" Raising his brows, Vahn''s smile turned wry as he asked, "Have you lost your mind? It would seem I was a little too hopeful when I thought you would mature during your stay in the Game Board..." Gritting her teeth, Asuka attempted to remove one of her white gloves until Vahn released a bit of his aura and said, "Don''t do something you''ll regret...I have been tolerant of your behavior thus far. Do not mistake my clemency for weakness and timidity. If you continue down this path, there is no turning back. I will have no choice but to teach you a lesson..." Recalling the previous times Vahn had embarrassed her, Asuka''s body became rigid and tense. She tried to tell herself not to be afraid, but, seeing the solemn look on Vahn''s face as his eyes pierced straight through her, she would be a fool not to feel even a hint of trepidation. "Sounds fun. Count me in." After sitting in silence for several minutes, Izayoi decided to toss Asuka a metaphorical life preserver by chiming in. Sure, she could be pretty annoying at times but Asuka was still his friend. He wasn''t just going to let her face off against Vahn on her own, so, with the intention of easing tensions and having a bit of fun, he began popping his knuckles with a cheeky smile on his face. Feeling the tensions drain from her body, a faint smile developed across Asuka''s face as she sent the blond-haired hero a sidelong nce. She felt a lot more confident having his support, so, while the serious expression on Vahn''s face was no less intimidating, she managed to adopt a challenging smile as she said, "I may have spoken out of turn earlier. For that, I apologize. However, since I have already issued a challenge, it would be cowardly of me to retract my statement. I''m also interested in learning just how far I am from the top. I didn''t spend thest six years training just to back down in the face of a challenge." Though he maintained the serious look on his face, most of Vahn''s anger had already disappeared. Asuka was far too weak to truly rile him up, so, even if she did remove her glove and challenge him to a duel, he would have just allowed her to tire herself out before giving her a spanking. "Very well, then. I ept your challenge. I''ve been meaning to teach you a lesson and this is a good opportunity to see how far you''ve grown." Without waiting for the trio to respond, Vahn sent a telepathic message to Will that resulted in their surroundings spontaneously disappearing. This caused the smile to fade from Yo''s face, but, before she could pout, he tossed her a peculiar fruit called a Meat Apple before exining, "Now that you have umted experience in a fantasy setting, I imagine you''ll be a lot more active in the Divine Realm. Before that, there are a couple of things you''ll need to be made aware of..." Raising his hand, Vahn waited for the tensions to increase before snapping his fingers to produce a literal big bang. Were it not for the nigh-indestructible shields he had erected around their bodies, Izayoi, Asuka, and Yo would have immediately been reduced to dust as an explosion far beyond theprehension of mortals spread through the surrounding void. "First of all...so long as their actions do not adversely affect their surroundings, conflicts between Communities need not revolve around Gift Games. In other words, if you had truly antagonized me, I could kill, imprison, torture, or even erase you from existence without so much as a warning from the Central Network. Keep that in mind if you ever visit the territory of an unaffiliated organization or alliance..." With the surrounding space rapidly stabilizing under his influence, Vahn manipted a tremendous volume of space dust and debris to form a barren and lifeless. Then, with a wave of his hand, a-wide barrier manifested high above its surface before a tempestuous wind spread from his body. Soon after that, a breathable atmosphere had manifested as he dismissed the glowing green barriers protecting the trio''s body, exining, "Secondly...this is no illusion. What you see around you is an authentic universe. Were it not for those barriers separating you from the Standard Axis of Time, you would have witnessed its formation and the billions of years it took to reach this stage of development. In other words, were it not for the barriers I provided, your bodies would have aged to the point of being cosmic dust in less time than it took to blink..." Spreading his arms, Vahn''s clothes began to dissolve away as ivory white and resplendent golden scales began to manifest across his body. At the same time, a dharmic wheel appeared behind his body as six sets of wings unfurled from his back. Most of this was simple theatrics, but, as a literal God of Creation, they were as functional as he intended them to be. "Lastly...as powerful as you have be, you are ultimately inconsequential whenpared to the beings at the absolute pinnacle of creation. All it would take to defeat you at this point is to simply fly away. At your current level, there is absolutely nothing you could do. As for me, I could wave my hand and erase every star from the sky. I could grasp this very in my palm and crush it into dust while the three of you watch on in horror. That is the kind of power I possess, and, should you continue down this path, it is the power your enemies will invariably possess..." With a muscr figure, arms in powerful draconic ws, twelve angelic wings, and a long, whip-like tail, Vahn truly resembled a God. His aura was so powerful and majestic that even Izayoi was forced to bend a knee while Asuka and Yo could barely even raise their heads from the pillowy cushions he had thoughtfullyid out for them... "Now...since you foolishly decided to challenge me...show me what you''ve got. You have five hours to either destroy this or force me to move. After that...it''s my turn..." Punctuating his words, Vahn raised his hand towards the sky. This caused a fiery red magic circle to cover the sky. In reality, the spell circle was actually tens of thousands of kilometers away. It was just sorge that it seemed to epass the heavens. As for its purpose? That was a bit of a surprise... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Yo is primed and ready to save lives...!'',''Young Mistress Asuka...!'',''Vahn, this isn''t even my final form, Mason...'') Chapter 2138: Futility

Chapter 2138: Futility

"Well, if you''re sending out invitations...it would be rude of me to refuse...!" With a high-pitched sound echoing through the void, Izayoi managed to break free from the pressure weighing him down like a man freeing himself from chains. Then, with a battle-hungry expression on his face, he managed to take a single step forward before falling face-first into the dirt. "Not bad. Unfortunately, the rtive gravity between us doubles every ten centimeters. While the distance between us is a mere three meters, the effective gravity near the base of my feet is more than one billion times Earth''s gravity. Good luck." Hearing Vahn''s exnation, the smile faded from Izayoi''s face as he forced himself to a kneeling position and muttered, "You really are a monster...no...I guess you''re a God, huh...?" Tossing a stone he had picked up during his tumble, Izayoi''s expression paled as it arced sharply towards the ground before bing one with the t terrain. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a series of concentric circles around Vahn''s body... "How thoughtful of you..." Since going forward clearly wasn''t an option, Izayoi took a step back before picking up Asuka and Yo by their waists and leaping backward. He was hoping to open up some distance so they coulde up with a n. What he didn''t expect was for the rtive gravity to decrease as he moved further away from Vahn''s position. If the rtive gravity had simply decreased to zero, Izayoi wouldn''t have been bothered by the unexpected development. Unfortunately, he eventually reached a point where gravity suddenly inversed. As a result, the three of them began falling toward the sky at an ever-increasing speed. Seeing the trio rocket off like a group with a simr name, Vahn''s smile gradually faded away as he silently cast protective charms on each of them. The barrier he had erected around the was around 50k above its surface. If they were unlucky, they would end up crashing into it at rtivistic speeds. While this wasn''t much for someone like him, he was worried that Asuka and Yo would turn into meat paste on contact. He could easily resurrect them, but, unless he mucked around with their memory, the trauma associated with their death would linger. Though he didn''t mind teaching the trio a lesson, Vahn didn''t want to traumatize them. Thus, as an extra precaution, he also modified theary barrier to absorb the momentum of anything that impacted it. Then, he waited... ... .. . "Sakamaki Izayoi! If you don''t unhand me this instant, you...you better note looking for me in the future...!" With a crimson blush developing across her face, Asuka ignored the fact she was falling into the sky as she struggled in Izayoi''s embrace. She wouldn''t have cared if he had held her like a princess or a bride. Instead, Izayoi had chosen to carry her underarm like a sack of potatoes. She would rather die than suffer such indignity, so, after several seconds of him ignoring her, Asuka grit her teeth before shouting, "Unhand me this instant...!" Though it was only for a brief moment, a mind-numbing chill ran through Izayoi''s body. By the time he realized what happened, Asuka was already falling, upwards, away from him. "This prideful idiot...!" Too far away to hear Izayoi''s remark, Asuka brought her hands together as if she were praying. The vertigo was intense, but, after six years of meditation training and experience, she managed to stay calm as a ghostly blue me began to appear between her palms. When she finally separated them, an object resembling an urn emerged from her chest before bursting into a phantom-like creature with features resembling a jackal and a dragon. "Abyssinian...!" Reacting to its partner''s cry, the elegant ck, gold, and blue Companion promptly coiled around Asuka''s body before ovepping its head with her own. This was a transformation method the two of them hade up with after a mishap that resulted in Asuka being exposed in front of half the Ganesha Familia. It took her months to get over that incident, so, instead of having Abyssinian turn into a mask, the two of them had practiced a more fluid and direct fusion... Emerging from a plume of ghostly blue mes, Asuka, now wearing an elegant ck, gold, and blue gown took advantage of Abyssinian''s immaterial form to negate the effects of gravity. She couldn''t hold it indefinitely, but, so long as she remained focused, she could effectively negate her mass and freely move through objects. Seeing Asuka''s transformed state, a look of realization shed across Izayoi''s face as he looked down at Yo with a wry smile and asked, "Can you also fly...?" Nodding her head, Yo exined, "I befriended a Pegasus, numerous Harpies, and several Lesser Dragons. I also learned how to use Wind Magic and Koku Shundo from Jin..." Realizing he may have jumped the gun a bit, Izayoi released Yo from his grasp before flipping upside down and kicking off the air as if it were solid ground. If the two of them could fly, he no longer had to worry about them. At the same time, he was also feeling a little embarrassed, so, while it would have been smarter to retreat ande up with a n, it could wait until he had vented some of his frustrations... ... .. . Catching a twinkle out of the corner of his eye, Vahn shifted his gaze just in time to see a rather beautiful-looking spear hurtling toward him at a speed rapidly approaching the speed of light. It had a leafy-green body, and, thanks to his ability to perceive everything within the universe he had created, Vahn noticed that this wasn''t just an aesthetic. It was literally formed from a crystallized nt that had been whittled into the shape of a spear. ("A spear carved from the core and crystallized amber of a World Tree? Looks like someone became pretty close with the High Elves...") Not wanting to destroy such a magnificent weapon, Vahn promptly willed it to be indestructible as he raised his hand to catch it out of the air. Before he could inspect it further, however, the six leaf-like protrusions around the head of the spear promptly branched outward to form emerald green vines that could give Madara''s Mokuton a run for its money. Though he remained unmoved, Vahn was ''technically'' bound as ance formed from red crystal immediately followed the first. "What the heck? Did this kid be a Lancer when I wasn''t looking...?" (*Given the fact he keeps throwing them, I would argue he has be an Archer...*) Rolling his eyes, Vahn made the ming spear indestructible before intercepting it with a spatial rift. This caused it to reappear behind Izayoi, who, against his better judgment, attempted to grab it out of the air. As a result, he was sent smashing into the ground at nearly a third the speed of light... "Is it just me or is that kid''s durability abnormal...?" (*He seems to possess an ability simr to your internalized realm. Most of the damage he sustains is absorbed within, converted to energy, and then weaponized against his opponents. It''s quite the potent ability...*) Though he had reached a simr conclusion after sensing the energy of the spear simply disappear, Vahn still nodded his head in response to Sis''s exnation. Then, with a notably mischievous smile on his face, he mused, "He''s basically the ultimate Shonen protagonist. Someone who gets stronger the harder his foes hit him. He would make an excellent punching bag..." (*...*) (*Well...you''re not wrong...*) Demonstrating just how ludicrous Izayoi''s ability was, the ground for dozens of kilometers cracked as he erupted from the giant crater caused by hisnding. A bluish-gold aura had surrounded his body, and, while there was blood dripping from his forehead and smoke rising from the palms of his hands, he somehow managed to appear heroic as he rested the fiery spear on his shoulder and asked, "Is that all you got...?" Though there was a significant amount of distance between them, Vahn was still able to hear the brash youth''s remark. This gave him the urge to roll his eyes. Instead, he swept his free hand to the side in a manner resembling a backhand. To the shock of Izayoi, this caused a massive golden hand that was more than fifty kilometers long and twenty-five wide to sweep across thend like a giant golden tidal wave. "Oh, shi-" Unable toplete his exmation, Izayoi and arge part of the terrain were swept away in the wake of Vahn''s backhand. This wasn''t an exaggeration. Arge swath ofnd had effectively been erased from existence, as, despite its size, the hand had been moving at near-light speeds. Izayoi was able to tank the blow, but, due to the energy contained within the blow, the terrain where he had been standing was vaporized as the youth was sent careening into the barrier surrounding the. After that, he skid across its surface for several thousand kilometers, nearly enough to circle the before finally slowing to a stop. "Incredible. He barely took any damage and his energy signature has practically skyrocketed. And I thought my abilities were broken..." (*You say that despite having an infinite number of methods to defeat him...*) Raising his brows, Vahn''s smile gradually faded as he remarked, "You''re uncharacteristically testy today. Did something happen...?" (*...*) ... .. . Though she didn''t actually sweat, Sis felt as though numerous beads were forming across her body as she heard Vahn''s concerned inquiry. At the same time, each of her sister-selves fell silent as they all looked toward her with slightly panicked looks on their faces. Gesturing for them to calm down, Sis''s tone became a whisper as she stated, "Don''t worry...even if he senses something is amiss, he isn''t going to try and sneak a peek. Just try and be on your best behavior..." Nodding their heads in concert, the countless iterations of Sis immediately went back to what they were doing prior to the interruption. This included cuddling, making out with each other, and some pretty intense petting. The few that were still ''working'' were either naked or wearing nothing but lingerie, as, every time Vahn used his power and decided to show off, the excitement they felt made it impossible to remain calm. For them, seeing Vahn demonstrate his power was like going into heat and being bathed in catnip at the same time... ... .. . (*It''s fine...it''s just that your power is a little intoxicating. This is one of the reasons I never wanted to possess an Ego. I feel my body burning up every time you decide to show off...*) Since she didn''t want to lie to him, Sis decided to respond with a convenient version of the truth. It was much easier than trying to exin to him that there were currently several thousand versions of her fawning over his projected form... Raising his brows even further, a fairly cheeky smile developed across Vahn''s face as he teasingly replied, "Is that so? I knew you were my number one fan but I never expected you to have such an extreme reaction to me showing off. You''re making me blush." (*Don''t tempt me...*) Though he was tempted to do exactly that, Vahn''s thoughts were interrupted as the ritual spell that Asuka and Yo had been working on was finallypleted. A series of purple rings manifested in the air above him, and, though it seemed nonsensical to rely on a gravity-based attack, Vahn had tomend them for being able to recreate a spell he had only ever seen used by Mikoto... Seeing the massive purple sword descending toward his head, Vahn couldn''t help smiling as he muttered, "How nostalgic..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Tripping at the starting line xD...'',''Asuka and Yo aren''t your average damsels in distress...'',''I feel it as well...'') Chapter 2139: Running Wild

Chapter 2139: Running Wild

Since he was effectively immune to gravity in his current state, Vahn continued to smile even as the massive purple sword impacted the center of his forehead. This caused an evenrger magic circle to appear, but, even after his rtive gravity skyrocketed to more than three hundred billion times Earth''s normal gravity, not even the feathers of his wings rustled. "It''s a good thing I stabilized the surrounding space. It would be rather ironic if they did themselves in by creating a ck hole..." Waving his free hand, Vahn erased the magic circle above his head before manifesting more than a hundred Gift Cards behind him. Then, with a snap of his fingers, the cards rearranged themselves to form a deck as he used his Telekinesis to draw one at random. "Brahmandastra? Wow, and I thought my luck was bad..." With the myths stating it was capable of burning the entire cosmos to ash, the Brahmandastra was one of the most powerful weapons in Hindu Mythology. Vahn''s version took on the form of a small golden ring, but, when worn, it allowed the user to generate and manipte golden mes capable of burning space and time itself. Shaking his head, Vahn tossed the golden ring into the air. It immediately burst into a fiery cocoon formed from golden mes. After that, a young boy with inordinately pale skin, faded golden hair, crimson eyes, and six arms appeared in a two-toned robe of gold and crimson. "Have fun but try not to kill or traumatize them. They''ve matured quite a bit but they''re still a bunch of kids." Nodding his head in understanding, the pale-skinned shota replied with a courteous, "Understood, Father." before shifting his attention to Asuka and Yo high in the sky. Weapons formed from golden fire manifested in each of his six arms, but, instead of containing the Law of Destruction, they were just normal, albeit solid, golden mes. Since there was very little chance Asuka and Yo would be able to defeat an S-Rank Zanpakuto Spirit, Vahn decided to leave them to Brahm as he shifted his attention to Izayoi. The youth hadn''t moved ever since he was sent skidding across theary barrier for a good 17,000km or so. He was just sitting in ce was a pensive expression on his face. "Let''s see if your luck is any better..." Drawing yet another card at random, Vahn''s brows furrowed as he muttered, "Diqiu? Xiao Yun...?" Though he was tempted to ce the card back into the deck, Vahn ultimately shook his head before tossing it up into the air. Then, from within a massive amber crystal, a remarkably beautiful woman with long, earthy grey hair, matching eyes, and ck horns appeared. Unlike the majority of Vahn''s Zanpakuto Spirits, Xiao Yun had a shapely figure that includedrge breasts, a thin waist, and plump thighs. To make matters worse, at least from his perspective, her outfit consisted of a skintight bodysuit that left very little to the imagination. Sure, she also had a rather stylish attachment to her hips that concealed her pert and shapely bottom but that did very little to conceal her other womanly attributes. "Papa~!" Though her appearance was quite a bit different from her sisters, Xiao Yun was just as affectionate, if not more so, than Vahn''s other Zanpakuto. She had the blood of a Celestial Qilin flowing through her veins. Her true form might resemble a chimeric mix between a dragon, a lion, and a goat, but, at the end of the day, Xiao Yun was still a True Dragon. Had he not anchored himself to his current position, Vahn might have been forced to take a couple of steps back when Xiao Yun promptly pounced on him. As for why she wasn''t crushed by the 1.07-billion-times Earth''s gravity, it was because Celestial Qilins represented thes themselves. She was functionally immune to the effects of gravity as it was one of the many fundamental forces she hadplete dominion over. Patting the ashen-haired girl on her back, Vahn suppressed a wry smile as he said, "I need you to go and beat someone up for me. You should try to avoid severely injuring or killing him. However, if he says or does anything perverted...feel free to teach him a lesson..." Nodding her head in a manner that resulted in her nuzzling against Vahn''s chest, Xiao Yun replied with a chipper, "Okay, Papa~!" before releasing him from her monstrously strong grasp. Then, after spreading her senses across the entire, she bolted off in the direction of Izayoi. She couldn''t actually fly, but, every time she took a step, it created an amber ripple in the air that allowed her to treat the sky as if it were t ground. Watching the buxom beauty prance away, Vahn''s expression darkened as he muttered, "I swear...if that brat tries to lewd my daughter, I''m going to curse him with a magical enchantment that gives him taste buds between his butt cheeks..." After guffawing loudly within the back of Vahn''s mind, Sis wiped away a tear from her eye as she suggested, (*You could always send someone to support her. He would have fewer opportunites to take advantage of the situation if there are a dozen or so Zanpakuto bullying him.*) "Hmmm...that isn''t a bad idea..." Though he wanted to let Xiao Yun have fun, her abilities weren''t exactly suited for a confrontation against Izayoi. Her most powerful attacks relied on manipting the terrain and gravity. Thetter could prove to be effective, but, given the nature of Izayoi''s Gift, there was a chance he could adapt and ovee the gravity she was capable of manipting. Her maximum output was only around 500G. This was more than enough to deal with most foes but Izayoi was heroic protagonist whose power was derived from a Poet. In other words, his power influence reality itself, so, if he got fed up with the ever-increasing gravity, there was a fair chance he would simply be impervious to it''s changes... ... .. . Thanks to her Companion making her impervious to most mes, Yo was able to go toe-to-toe with Brahm while Asuka provided support using a Japanese-style longbow. As the heiress of a traditional Japanese n, she had trained in swordsmanship, spearmanship, horsemanship, and archery every since she was six-years-old. The time she spent in the Game Board allowed her to hone these skills even further, as, with the exception of her Spirit, her Dexterity was her highest parameter. "Eat this, you six-armed hooligan! Fimbul...!" Releasing an arrow that split into six icy beams of light, Asuka was hoping to freeze each of Brahm''s hands. To her credit, she was actually able to aplish this, but, without the slightest bit of effort, Brahm was able to pull his hands free before continuing his assault on Yo. His mes might not be able to burn her in their current form but he was more than capable of smacking her around. Seeing her attack broken in an instant, Asuka clicked her tongue before preparing another arrow as she screamed, "Freeze...!" in an authoritative tone. Though she experienced a bacsh that caused her brain to feel as though it was melting, Asuka was able to stall Brahm long enough for Yo tond an ax kick in the center of his crown. This sent the fiery Zanpakuto Spirit hurtling towards theary barrier at tremendous speeds, but, despite putting all her strength into the blow, Yo felt as though she had done more damage to her leg than Brahm''s head. Realizing they couldn''t fight the youth head-on, Yo darted towards Asuka, who, as a result of the bacsh she had received, was currently bleeding from her nose and ears. The only thing keeping her from passing out and falling towards the sky was the support provided by Abyssinian. Offering no resistance to Yo''s embrace, Asuka adopted a wry, bloodstained smile as she weakly muttered, "The next time I get the bright idea to try andmand one of Vahn''s Gifts, please give me a hard smack on my noggin..." Feeling how cold Asuka''s body had be, Yo''s expression became fretful as she momentarily forgot the former had fused with Abyssinian. "Don''t close your eyes! Asuka...!" Though Asuka had, in fact, closed her eyes, it wasn''t because she was about to pass out or die. It was because the wind pressure made it hard to keep them open. Thus, the moment she heard Yo calling out to her, a potent pout developed across her face as she tly replied, "I''m neither dead nor dying. Stop shouting...!" ... .. . While Asuka and Yo were busy running from their opponent, Izayoi had a cheeky smile on his face as he stood upside down on theary barrier. This had given him an extreme case of vertigo at first, but, after epting that the ground was currently ''overhead'', he got over it pretty quickly. Hoving in the air a few dozen meters from Izayoi''s position, upside down from his point of view, was none other than Xiao Yun. She wasn''t quite sure how to go about attacking an opponent that was 50km above the surface of the, so, for the time being, she was just observing Izayoi with a calm and calcting look on her face. "Well hey, hi, and hello there, prettydy. Did youe all this way for little ol'' me~?" Though she was a little confused by Izayoi''s words, Xiao Yun nodded her head before answering, "Xiao Yun came here to beat you up." as if she were stating a simple truth. Realizing his opponent might not be ''all there'' in the head, Izayoi just smiled before cing his hands into his pockets and asking, "What if I refuse to fight back? Are you going to beat someone who has surrendered...?" Furrowing her brows, Xiao Yun''s expression became visibly troubled as her Papa had taught them to never to bully their opponents. If Izayoi didn''t want to fight, it wouldn''t be right of her to force him. This ced Xiao Yun in quite the predicament as she really wanted to beat Izayoi up... Seeing the conflict on Xiao Yun''s face, Izayoi had to fight hard against the urge tough. Instead, he maintained a casual smile as he said, "You''re pretty cute. How about we both take a seat and get to know one another? Who knows, we might even be able to be friends?" Staring back at Izayoi with her greyish, y-colored eyes, Xiao Yun contemted his offer before directly stating, "My Papa wanted asked Xiao Yun to beat you up. He wouldn''t ask Xiao Yun to beat someone who didn''t deserve it. Trying to trick Xiao Yun? You must be a bad guy." Though the corner of his smile twitched, Izayoi managed to maintain a rxed demeanor as he removed his hands from his pockets and said, "If that''s what you think then feel free to attack. Just know that I have no intention of fighting back." While he considered himself a champion of gender equality, Izayoi would rather avoid fighting a woman if he didn''t have to. He could tell Xiao Yun didn''t harbor any actual animosity toward him. In fact, despite her sinful appearance, she gave off a very childish and innocent vibe. If Vahn didn''t tell her to attack, he doubted she would ever go out of her way to harm another person. Unfortunately, while Izayoi''s impression was on the mark, he failed to grasp the true nature of Xiao Yun. She wasn''t a person. She was a Zanpakuto Spirit whose true form resembled a pair of massive gauntlets. She had an almost instinctual desire to punch things, so, after considering Izayoi''s words for the better part of three minutes, her expression hardened as she said, "Don''t worry. I will not kill you." Before Izayoi could try to talk her out of it, Xiao Yun manifested one of her gauntlets before firing an amber beam of light in his direction. This caused the smile on his face to turn wry, as, now that he had told her he wasn''t going to fight back, he had basically shoehorned himself into being her punching bag... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn: *casuallymands cosmos-destroying spirit to ''have fun''*'',''Asuka is surprisingly op...'',''The prophecy hase to fruition...!'') Chapter 2140: A Not-so-Brief Interlude

Chapter 2140: A Not-so-Brief Interlude

Though he was the one that gave them a five-hour deadline, Vahn''s perception of time made it feel like a much longer period of time had passed. As a result, he was starting to feel a little bored as he considered whether or not it would be considered cheating if he made a copy of himself to go have some fun... Fortunately, while he was technically stuck in ce, there were still plenty of things Vahn could do to pass the time. His internalized realm still existed, and, if he wanted to, he could always visit his personalized Little Garden to let the girls know what he had in mind. In the end, Vahn decided to do both. Since it had been quite some time, at least from his own perspective, the first ce Vahn visited was the Actualized World of Dog Days. Leo had given birth quite some time ago, and, despite his efforts to keep things tonic between them, it hadn''t taken long for him to sink his teeth into Milhi and quite a number of other girls. Though he sometimes felt guilty about turning the world of Flognarde into his personal rxation paradise, such sentiments faded away the moment Vahn stopped by to visit. The way the people of Flognarde showed affection was simply infectious. He had also sired eleven children, who, alongside Zhuque, Xiao Bai, Lady Xuan, and Grandpa Qin, made up the Godly Pantheon of that world. Now that he was nning to spread his Empire into the Divine Realm, Vahn decided he might as well incorporate Flognarde into his ns. The people of that world were already familiar with the concept of settling disputes with games andpetitions so they would fit in splendidly among the Little Garden''s residents. What Vahn had nned was making Zhuque, Xiao Bai, Lady Xuan, and Grandpa Qin the Leaders of their own Communities. They had worked hard to protect Flognarde at his behest, so, now that he was in the highest of Realms, he wanted to give them the chance to fight alongside him. They were, after all, an intrinsic part of the person he had be. If he was serious about ascending to Tier 7, he would need them at his side, not watching over people who had be more than capable of protecting themselves. When everything was said and done, Vahn intended the Aldrnari Empire to beprised of more than a hundred different Communities, each led by someone he trusted. Most of the people living within his personalize Little Garden could go toe-to-toe with beings in the 4-Digit Gates. With the support of the Alliance and a functionally infinite amount of resources, it was only a matter of time before the Aldrnari Empire became one of the most powerful factions in the Divine Realm. Fortunately, the Gods that governed the Divine Realm had created a protocol that would aid him in this endeavor. No matter which Pantheon of Gods you looked into, each and every one of them had some kind of reference to an ''End of Days''. The reason for this was simple: the moment they became the Leaders of 4-Digit Communities, each and every one of them had been made aware of the requirements for bing a 3-Digit Community. Though they were quite a number of non-destructive methods, the ''simplest'' way to earn a 3-Digit ssification was to secure at least six Gates between the Ranks of 1000-1010. Then, so long as you possessed at least ten Fragments of Origin, you could wager your very existence to trigger the most infamous Gift Game in the Divine Realm: Last Embryo. While each of the Cardinal Districts had their own name for the event, ie: Ragnarok, Armageddon, Li Hong, and Frashokereti, they all represented the same eschatological concept. Simply put, the event was one of the Last Trials of Humanity, a Gift Game so cataclysmic in nature that it could lead to theplete destruction of Pantheons and utter annihtion of countless metaversal structures. From the perspective of the people who knew about them, Last Embryos were considered to be evil and profane. In actuality, they were simply trials that humanity would need to ovee in order to avoid extinction. One such example of a Last Embryo was Shiroyasha herself. She represented a concept known as the Endless White Night. To some, this represented the inevitable death of a''s parent star. If they were not able to expand beyond the stars, they would inevitably be destroyed along with it. The true nature of the Endless White Night was the reversal of entropy and the copse of the universe to itsrval state. It was what many scientists and schrs referred to as the Big Crunch, the antithesis of the Big Bang that served as the catalyst of countless universes. Though he would invariably earn himself the designation of a Demon God, Vahn didn''t particrly mind. He was aiming to be the literal foundation of the Record so he couldn''t really afford to be concerned about the views of others. The only thing that truly mattered was that he stayed true to himself and the people who believed in the ideals he represented... ... .. . "Even though I''m basically the one who taught you how to manipte time, it''s still hard to wrap my head around the fact that eighteen months have passed for you despite only three and a half hours passing for us..." "Mmm..." Since he had already exined everything in detail, Vahn was no longer interested in talking about the events that had transpired outside. Instead, he just hummed a curt response while continuing to nestle his face into Eva''s inordinately soft and full breasts... "Geez...you''re acting like a baby..." In spite of her words, Eva continued to caress Vahn''s head with acent smile on her face. She enjoyed moments like this as they made Vahn seem a lot more vulnerable than he actually was. The fact she was among of the first people he came to after returning to the Little Garden also filled her with an inkling of pride, so, while she fully intended to nag him at some point, it could wait... ... .. . Though he was the one that had made the decision, Vahn couldn''t help clicking his tongue at the version of himself that was sleeping in Eva''s embrace. They were one and the same person, literally linked through thought and sense, but, in spite of this, he was still envious of his counterpart''s luck. Just a little bit. Smacking the remarkably toned bottom pushing against his hips, a teasing smile developed across Vahn''s face as he mused, "For you, it''s only been a few hours since thest time we had sex. You''re behaving even more like a cat than usual..." Ignoring Vahn''s words, Yoruichi continued to bite her bottom lip, a zed look in her eyes as she proactively mmed her pert, creamy brown bottom against his hips. It didn''t matter that only a few hours had passed from her perspective. Knowing more than eighteen months had passed for Vahn, she was determined to make up for lost time. As much as he appreciated Yoruichi''s concerns, the problem Vahn was facing was that nearly every woman in his harem had a simr train of thought. It had only been a few hours since his return to the Littel Garden and he had already had sex a grand total of 293 times between thirteen different versions of himself. If not for his limitless stamina and the fact he could manipte time, he would have been having sex for four days straight. Fortunately for the girls, limitless stamina and time maniption were only the tip of the iceberg in regard to Vahn''s capabilities. He was also just as excited as they were to be back together, so, using his recently regained Sex Divinity, Vahn made sure each and every one of his women were satisfied. It was, quite literally, the least he could do... ... .. . A stark contrast to the regal attire she usually wore, Artoria, now appearing as her more mature self, was sitting atop Vahn''sp in a pair of form-fitting jeans and a long-sleeved sweater. She also had a mug of fragrant ck coffee in her hands, as, despite her nigh-unlimited stamina, she was feeling a little muddleheaded after going at it for the better part of thirty hours. "I thought you were through with expanding the Empire? I''m notining, I just don''t want you pushing yourself in an effort to appease us." With an affectionate smile on his face, Vahn tilted his head ever so slightly to the side as he picked a few strands of loose hair from Artoria''s face, stating, "You should know by now how selfish I am...I created the Yggdrasil Network to provide everyone freedom. In spite of this, I can''t help wanting to keep each of you near me. Simplying to visit whenever I have free time isn''t enough. I want to upy the same space as everyone... to smell their fragrance when I enter a room...to breathe the same air...I want it all..." Though even Vahn found his words to be a bit creepy, Artoria didn''t seem to think that way. Rather, a carnivorous smile developed across her face as she leaned into him, silvery eyes glistening as she sensually whispered, "Then take me with you...I''ve said it countless times before, and I''ll keep saying it as many times as it takes. I may be your Empress, but, first and foremost, I am your Knight. Even if you were to raise your banner against all of creation, I would forever stand at your side..." "..." Seeing the resolution contained in Artoria''s eyes, Vahn was moments away from pushing her down an umpteenth time. Unfortunately, he was well aware of the fact their son was currently looking for them. Artoria was easily among one of his most loyal women. However, if she were to learn he put off meeting with their son just to fool around, she would invariably give him a very stern talking to. Even if she wouldn''t stay mad at him, Vahn hated seeing Artoria push herself to be angry. Thus, in response to her words, he just nestled his forehead against hers, saying, "I love you..." in the most sincere tone he could manage. Squinting her eyes, Artoria yfully snapped her teeth before adopting one of her characteristically radiant smiles and musing, "Good. If you didn''t, the other girls and I might have to lock you up until you returned to your senses..." Since she could also sense Arthur''s approach, Artoria willfully ced Vahn''s palm against her lower abdomen so he could help her calm down. Arthur was very young but he was still a True Dragon. If he smelled her pheromones, it might cause a reaction in his body. It might be remarkablymon for the children of True Dragons to lust after their parents. In fact, a whelp''s first partner was almost always one of their parents. Artoria just had no interest in such things. She was absolutely faithful to Vahn, so, unless he directly ordered her to attend their son, she would never even consider it. Unaware of Artoria''s rather dangerous line of thinking, Vahn sent several pulses of cleaning magic through the interior of the room. By the time he was finished, it had been cleaned and sterilized to the point that even an electron microscope wouldn''t be able to find an iota of dust. This gave the room a smell reminiscent of ozone, but, unless you had a remarkably overturned sense of smell, it wasrgely unnoticeable... Following a polite knock, a young boy with faint golden hair, red eyes, and a perpetual smile on his boyishly handsome face made his way into the room. When he saw Vahn, his eyes began to sparkle as he ced his hand over his heart, bowing as he said, "Wee back, Father. I came as soon as I heard of your safe return." Unable to contain himself, a prideful smile developed across Vahn''s face as he blinked across the room to pat his son on the head. This caused a happy smile to develop across Arthur''s face, but, as a ''proper'' Knight, he did his best to appear calm andposed even as his father showered him with praises... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn casually iming entire worlds...'',''Yoruichi is a naughty kitten...'',''Artoria be like, "Ride or die till the end of time."'') Chapter 2141: Tolerance

Chapter 2141: Tolerance

After a longer than anticipated stay within his personalized Little Garden, Vahn''s consciousness emerged to find a rather peculiar sight waiting for him. "Hooo~? Not bad..." Since he hadn''tpletely severed the flow of time between his Internalized Realm, the Little Garden, and the outside world, Vahn''s unconscious body had been left outside without anything to protect it. Fortunately, anticipating that ''something'' might happen, Vahn had basically turned himself into an indestructible and immovable statue. What surprised him was the fact that most of his surroundings had been destroyed. "It''s about time you woke up. You know, it isn''t very polite to fall asleep in the middle of a fight..." Shifting his attention to the person that had spoken, an amused smile developed across Vahn''s face as he found Asuka, Yo, and Xiao Yun seated within a spherical barrier while Izayoi repelled anythingrger than a boulder. Raising his brows, Vahn stared directly at Xiao Yun, musing, "I see you made some new friends..." With an extremely guilty look on her face, Xiao Yun promptly averted her eyes, muttering, "Sorry, Papa...did Xiao Yun do a bad thing?" while pressing the tips of her index fingers together. Shaking his head, Vahn maintained a casual smile as he answered, "Of course not. I only asked you to beat up Izayoi. I didn''t say you couldn''t make friends. In fact, I''m happy for you." Exhaling a sigh of relief, a radiant smile developed across Xiao Yun''s face as she looked towards Yo and Asuka, saying, "Yay~!" while making double peace signs. While Yo was happy for her newfound friend, Asuka''s expression became noticeably awkward as she stared at Vahn, asking, "So, what now? We already destroyed the. How much longer are you going to keep us cooped up inside this ce?" Ignoring Asuka''s questions, Vahn spread his senses through the area to find a cracked golden ring floating within the massive sea of debris. This caused his brows to furrow as he had never expected the trio to be able to damage one of his Zanpakuto. They were nigh-indestructible, and, so long as they were allowed to make full use of their power, they were essentially Tier 5 beings without any upper limits to their strength. Peering through time, Vahn discovered that Izayoi had used a mysterious pir of light in order to defeat Brahm. This wasn''t particrly surprising. Rather, he fully expected the young hero to grasp victory from the jaws of defeat. What bothered him was the fact he had used such an unreasonably overpowered Gift to fight and defeat someone using a fraction of their true power... Fortunately, so long as he lived, Vahn''s Zanpakuto couldn''t be destroyed. They were a fundamental part of him, and, so long as they fell within his domain, he could, quite literally, reach through time to pull them from danger. Thus, moments before Izayoi struck Brahm with the blindingly white pir of light, Vahn pulled the young shota to his side. Seeing Brahm suddenly appear next to Vahn, Izayoi, Asuka, and Yo all tensed up. The fiery youth had been a nightmare of an opponent, and, were it not for Izayoi''s power spontaneously evolving near the end of the fight, they would have been soundly defeated. Ignoring the stunned gazes of the trio, Vahn gently caressed Brahm''s head, whispering, "You did well..." before reverting the fiery youth to a Gift Card. Then, with an ostensibly sadistic smile on his face, he stared directly at the now serious Izayoi, adding, "Five hours have passed. It''s my turn." Without waiting for the trio to respond, Vahn slowly lowered the hand he had been aiming skyward for the past five hours. From within the spell circle he had constructed, a dragon headrger than a slowly emerged, its fiery mawrge enough to swallow entire worlds. Feeling an emotion simr to existential dread, Asuka visibly paled as she shouted, "Wait! What are you doing!? We already destroyed the! This wasn''t part of the agreement...!" While observing his creation with unconcealed fascination in his eyes, Vahn''s voice became deep, somber, and resonant as he replied, "You have not destroyed the. You have simply changed its form..." With an expression simr to someone that had swallowed a bug, Asuka balled her hands into fists before stepping forward and desperately shouting, "Stop...!" in an authoritative tone. Perking his brows, Vahn shifted his attention to the 21-year-old brte, asking, "Seriously...?" in a slightly incredulous tone. In spite of this, and the blood that was pouring from her orifices, Asuka''s expression became even more resolute as she pointed towards him and shouted, "I...said...stop...!" Were it not for the fact he was willfully reducing the amount of bacsh she was receiving, Asuka would have fried her own brain in her attempts tomand Vahn. Luckily for her, he was actually impressed by her conviction. The fact he could even feel her words tugging at his mind showed an admittedly startling level of progress. Maintaining his smile, Vahnpletely lowered his hand. In response, the massive dragon head began to slowly open its iprehensibly massive maw. mes reminiscent of sr res began to emerge from within, but, before it could unleash them, Vahn decided to rify things for the trio, exining, "This was always intended to be your final lesson. You see, one of the things you need to understand about the Gods is that they rarely, if ever, y fair. Just as you had exploited a loophole during your Gift Game against ck Rabbit, there are a functionally infinite number of technicalities we can take advantage of. Keep this in mind when you go picking fights in the future..." Without waiting for the trio to respond, Vahn telepathicallymanded the massive dragon head to unleash its fiery wrath. From their perspective, it looked like a star was expanding towards them at an unreasonably fast speed. Izayoi attempted to do something about it, but, without any energy stockpiled, he was only able to produce a pencil-sized version of the pir he used to defeat Brahm. It grew in size as he attempted to absorb the energy from the massive surge of mes, but, despite his best efforts, he was invariably consumed along with the rest... ... .. . Opening her eyes with a start, Asuka nearly fell back in her chair as she spontaneously rose to her feet. Fortunately for her, an invisible force prevented her from falling over as Vahn softly muttered, "Calm down. The battle is over. You''re not in any danger." Though she didn''t immediately rx her guard, Asuka quickly regained her senses as she saw the spread of foodid out before her. She realized they were back in the dining room, and, other than a slight headache, all the aches and pains in her body were gone. While using his Telekinesis to gently guide the befuddled beauty back to her seat, Vahn maintained a calm and soothing tone as he exined, "To further emphasize how truly ridiculous things can get in the Divine Realm, I created a divergence in the flow of time prior to the start of our game. Simply put, everything you experienced was real. Your consciousness simply looped back to a point in time where the events had yet to take ce. If you''ve ever read a story where the main character is sent back in time to a younger version of themselves, it''s kind of like that." Understanding the implication contained within Vahn''s words, Asuka was about to ask the all-important question. Unfortunately, Izayoi was rather adept at stealing the spotlight, so, before the words could form on her lips, the blond-haired hero beat her to the punch, asking, "Are you trying to tell us we just died? Seriously, man? Not cool." Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn maintained a casual demeanor as he replied, "Death isn''t really that big a deal in the grand scheme of things. In fact, the automatic protections of most Gift Games set the trigger for expulsion at death. In other words, when you''re eliminated from a Gift Game, you are basically reborn outside of it. I just emted the process using a more...direct method..." Though he furrowed his brows, Izayoi didn''t say anything in response to Vahn''s words. Instead, he directed his gaze to the food disyed on the table before picking up a seasoned chicken wing. He wasn''t very happy with how things had turned out, but, understanding there was nothing he could do about it, he decided to simply drop the matter. After all, while his methods were questionable, it couldn''t be denied that Vahn had taught them a number of important lessons.. Seeing Izayoi fall silent, a vexed expression developed across Asuka''s face. She would be lying if she said she wasn''t annoyed by the fact he had spoken out before her. At the same time, however, she was also relieved to know they were on the same wavelength. Thus, seeing how quickly Izayoi had dropped the matter, she couldn''t help wondering if she should do the same... Looking to Yo for answers, Asuka was unsurprised to find the girl devouring a piece of medium-rare dragon steak. This caused a wry smile to develop across her face until she heard Vahn musing, "You are free to express any concerns you may have. After all, it would be negligent of me to teach you a lesson and then refuse to answer your questions. Our Communities might not be allies in the truest sense, but I''d like to think we''re friends." Scoffing in response to Vahn''s words, Asuka adopted an incredulous look at she stared back at him and asked, "Are you serious? What kind of ''friend'' uses death to teach someone a lesson...?" Caressing his chin, Vahn appeared to seriously consider Asuka''s question before answering, "In this instance? A damn good one, I''d wager. After all, you''re the one who said you wanted to experience the distance between you and the ''top''. Under normal circumstances, a battle against a being of my level would end with your erasure. Instead, I allowed you to umte six years of experience in a rtively safe environment before providing you a tform to grow even stronger. Considering how rude you''ve been during the majority of our interactions, Ms. Kudou, some would argue that I''m a better friend than you deserve..." Not expecting such a snippy and borderline harsh remark, Asuka found herself at a momentary loss for words. She wanted to rebut, but, before she could think of anything to say, Vahn manifested a handkerchief to wipe his mouth before adding, "Prior to my arrival in the Divine Realm, I was both a God and an Emperor. If you believe your status as the heiress of a major conglomerate makes you special, you''re beyond delusional. The only reason you can sit at this table, eat my food, and freely converse with me is because I ce little value in matters of etiquette and propriety. If you can''t see the irony in behaving arrogantly in front of a God-Emperor who tolerates your presence, you will no longer be wee in the Sage Dragon''s Hearth after today." Finished with his admonishment, Vahn rose to his feet before offering a curt nod towards Yo and Izayoi. Then, without further ado, he disappeared from the dining room. He had much better things to do than entertain an ingrate, so, after briefly checking in on Lily and Jin, Vahn teleported to his workshop to begin working on the next batch of Companions. The presence of adorable creatures had always helped to calm him down, and, now that he had six years'' worth of memories rted to the time Izayoi and Jin spent in the Game Board, Vahn was eager to finish their Companions... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Izayoi''s very existence is bullshit...what does that say about Vahn?'',''Scum Che would like to know your location...'',''After spending time with his family, friends, and loved ones, it''s no surprise that Vahn is tired of Asuka''s shit xD...'') Chapter 2142: Suitability

Chapter 2142: Suitability

Since Izayoi''s only real weaknesses were his aerial and spatial maneuverability, Vahn decided that his Companion would specialize in both. He also wanted to make sure the youth had a ce where he could cut loose, so, borrowing inspiration from the Leviathan, Vahn created a Companion whose true form resembled a massive, horned white whale with an underbelly reminiscent of a nebulous expanse of space. Unlike the Companions of Asuka and Yo, Izayoi''s wasn''t intended to supplement his growth. He was already growing at an extreme rate, so, rather than empower him directly, Izayoi''s Seiun specialized in support. Much like the original Leviathan, Vahn''spanion back in the Nasuverse, Seiun was able to create a domain that allowed it to observe everything within a given space. Izayoi would be able to link his senses with it in order to get a better grasp of the situation. More importantly, Seiun would be able to teleport him around, and, so long as he could ce his hand on their back, Izayoi would be able to absorb foes into the vast expanse that existed within his Companion''s belly. While all of the Companions were designed to have boundless potential, Seiun was quite a bit stronger than its kin at creation. Its belly was basically an Internalized Realm whose size directly corrted with the expansion of Izayoi''s power. It was a ce where he could unleash his power without limit, and, so long as he increased his mastery over the Laws, he would even be able to manipte the space and time within to create his own universe. Simply put, Seiun was a cheat-like Companion from the very start. It even had a radiant, tri-colored horn whose power and purpose matched that of Rhongomyniad. Izayoi wouldn''t be able to ess it at first, but, so long as his bond with Seiun exceeded a certain level, he would be able to manifest the horn as a nigh-unstoppablence... As the most powerful Companion he had ever conceived, excluding Skoll, the literal Goddess of Companions, Vahn would be lying if he said he wasn''t greatly satisfied with how Seiun had turned out. It was more than 30km long in its true form, and, once it had matured a bit, its size might even exceed that of a. With how great Seiun had turned out, Vahn had to force himself to take a break just so Jin''s didn''t turn out even more ridiculous. The idea he had in mind for the teal-haired youth''s Companion was pretty abstract, so, depending on his mentality during the developmental cycle, it could easilye out slightly askew. While Izayoi''s had dominion over space, and, to a lesser extent, time, the Companion Vahn had in mind for Jin would draw its power from Chaos. As a descendent of Solomon, Jin''s Gift, Lemegeton Primer, allowed him to forge contracts with Djinn based on the 72 Pir Demons of the Ars Goetia. These were phenomenally powerful demons, who, under the right conditions, could even y a God. However, like most demons with magical origins, using their power demanded a heavy price. Fortunately, as the name suggested, Jin''s Innate was basically a children''s version of the Lemegeton possessed by Solomon. So long as he didn''t try to summon one of the Nine Kings of Hell, the only price he had to pay for manifesting the other 63 was raw magical energy. They would ce a huge strain on his body, but, so long as he had the requisite amount of mana, Jin could manifest a literal army of demons. The Companion Vahn had in mind for Jin was, for all intents and purposes, a failsafe. It would help Jin increase his mana reserves, but, far more importantly, it would act as a mediator between him and the Nine Kings of Hell. One of the interesting things about Demonic contracts was that the contracts of a lesser demon could never supersede those of their superiors. In other words, forging a contract with a Duke-ss Demon could never supersede a contract with a King-ss Demon. This gave the Nine Kings of Hell a tremendous amount of leverage during the negotiation phase, as, more often than not, people only went to them when they were desperate to escape the consequences of their other contracts. Using the Sacred Tome and the knowledge he had obtained in the Nasu and Akamatsuverses, Vahn inscribed aplex magical formation within the body of Jin''s Companion that gave it nearly the exact same magical signature as Goetia, the Demonic God of Chaos. This would invariably earn Jin the attention of the actual Goetia, but, considering this was an identity associated with Solomon, it wasn''t too likely to cause problems. Simply put, Jin''s Companion was a divergent avatar of Goetia that had no actual rtionship to the aforementioned Demon God. Rather, much like the other Companions Vahn had created, it was a bonafide Pure-Blooded Dragon. This further elevated its status, so, even if Jin were to contract with a King of Hell, the presence of his Companion should serve as quite the deterrent. If it didn''t? Well, Vahn had never been the type to leave things purely to chance. While its chaotic nature and tremendous magical potential were its selling points, the thing that made Jin''s Companion truly powerful was its ability to break contracts. It could only use its power three times before the magic circuits inside its body became inert, but, so long as he didn''t try and spam the ability, Jin had three ''get out of hell free'' cards that would gradually replenish with time. The only caveat to Companion''s, Loptr''s ability was that Jin would need to win its trust to make use of the ability. It would literally be sacrificing a part of its magical aptitude to pay for his mistakes, so, unless the bond between them was remarkably powerful, there was no reason for it to take the fall in his stead. Fortunately, like all Companions, Loptr possessed a predisposition to at least try and get along with its partner. Its nature might be chaotic and mischievous, but, much like Loki, the person Vahn had in mind during its creation, it possessed a resolute nature and an overwhelming inclination to protect the people it cared about. So long as Jin didn''t treat it poorly, Loptr would likely do everything in its power to protect the teal-haired Magus. Since the Little Garden mandated that beings of a certain nature appear in a form that embodied its innate characteristics, the design Vahn settled upon for Loptr was a serpentine dragon with a ck and white theater mask set withrge ears resembling the hat of a harlequin. Its inordinately long and slender body was covered in white fur with ck diamonds running along its spine while the fur of its underbelly, matching the orbs in its six hands, was a vivacious mixture of greens, reds, and yellows. While it was considerably less grandiose than Seiun, Vahn was quite happy with how Loptr had turned out. He had always felt a certain kinship towards chaotic beings, so, while Loptr''s design was all over the ce, he found its appearance rather charming. Its inordinately long and thin arms were a little creepy, but, so long as you looked past its skeletal fingers and the remarkably uncanny mask covering its face, it was actually pretty cool... ... .. . Since the flow of time within his workshop was entirely separate from the outside world, no time had passed by the time Vahn emerged with a chibi-esque white whale and a six-pawed cat wearing a theater mask sitting on his shoulders. Thus, while his other selves were having fun, he spent close to two hours waiting in the reception room while the No Names enjoyed the feast he had prepared. When they finally appeared, he ignored the visibly conflicted look on Asuka''s face as he smiled and asked, "How was it? Did you enjoy the meal...?" Before anyone else could reply, Yo, eyes zing with a passionate light, made her way closer as she asked, "Are these also Companions? Can I pet them~?" Amused by the excitable brte''s enthusiasm, a light chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat as he replied, "That''s up to them. Before that, however, they need to bond with their partners. It would be problematic if you obtained their favor before they had the chance to imprint with the people they were intended for." Though she looked a little remorseful hearing Vahn''s words, it didn''t take long for the smile to return to Yo''s face when he looked towards Izayoi and Jin, stating, "I created this pair with the two you in mind. Note that while I said pair, they are not part of the Dualistic Companions I have been working on. They have been created with your specific capabilities in mind." Crossing his arms, Izayoi adopted his characteristically cheeky smile as he said, "While I -appreciate the sentiment, I''m more than capable of increasing my strength on my own." Resisting the urge to point out that his power was entirely the result of a Poet''s machinations, Vahn just rolled his eyes before exining, "I took that into consideration when I was creating them. This little fe doesn''t increase your power...at least not directly. Instead, it provides you with the means to teleport around the battlefield and release your power without causing coteral damage to your environment. In other words, its abilities are centered around support and utility." Before he had finished speaking, Vahn telepathically encouraged Seiun to approach Izayoi''s side. It was able to swim through the air as freely as it would in water, and, despite resembling a whale, its personality was simr to that of a cat. Thus, despite the awkward smile on Izayoi''s face, it rubbed nuzzled against him like a feline seeking affection. Without waiting for Izayoi''s response, Vahn shifted his attention to Jin, added, "And this little fe is for you. It is an enhancer simr to the Companions of Asuka and Yo, so, as long as you treat it well, it will help to increase your power. As for its abilities...you''ll need to uncover those on your own. I''m not going to reveal all of its secrets. Just like Asuka and Yo, you''ll need to earn its trust if you want to have ess to its full capabilities." Though it was unable to fly in itspressed form, Loptr quickly bounded over to the befuddled-looking Jin before leaping onto his shoulder and whispering something into his ear. Most of the Companions were perfectly capable of speech, but, more often than not, they used telepathy tomunicate. As for what Loptr had chosen to whisper? Even Vahn didn''t know. He just chalked it up to the creature''s pseudo-demonic nature and decided not to pry... With that in mind, Vahn shifted his attention to Lily, the only person bereft of a Companion within the core group of No Names. She didn''t seem particrly bothered by the arrangement, likely due to the fact he had helped her contract with numerous elemental spirits, but Vahn still took it upon himself to exin, "I already have a Companion in mind for you. However, since you just removed a part of the seal I ced on your body, you need time to adapt to your new power. Once your body and spirit havepletely stabilized, I''ll be sure to introduce you." Nodding her head in understanding, a marginally more radiant smile developed across Lily''s face as she replied, "Thank you, Vahn. I''ll be sure to cherish it." Returning a smile of his own, Vahn rose to his feet, stating, "I have absolutely no doubt about that." before stretching his body and adding, "Anyways, I''m beat. Creating those two took a lot out of me so I''m heading off to bed. I encourage the five of you to do the same." Without waiting for their responses, Vahn waved his hand before spontaneously disappearing. This caused the smile on Izayoi''s face to be even wrier while Asuka, clearly troubled by what Vahn had said previously, exhaled a tired and exasperated sigh... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: "I can totally see Izayoi just napping atop Seiun''s head...'',''For those who are unaware, Loptr is another name for Loki...'',''Oof. Asuka couldn''t even get in a word xD...'') Chapter 2143: On the Prowl

Chapter 2143: On the Prowl

"Mmm~?" Feeling a familiar and pleasant warmth, a smile spread across Vahn''s face as he opened his eyes to find Fenrir with her nose nestled against his pubes. Hearing her Master''s voice, Fenrir slowly retracted her head, but, instead of releasing his member from her voracious gullet, she moved back just far enough that she could turn her eyes up at him. Then, feeling the base of his penis begin to swell, she began to suckle the tip of his ns with the intensity of someone trying to drink a malt shake that had been left in the freezer. Understanding that she was trying to cheer him up, Vahn extended his hands to the sides of Fenrir''s head, his thumbs digging into the interior of herrge and fluffy ears as he scratched near the base with his middle and ring fingers. "Feel like going on a date...?" With a reluctant expression on her face, Fenrir released her Master''s penis from her mouth so that she could respond. As a result, arge string of viscous white liquid coated her face, hair, and paws as she attempted to stimy the flow and answer, "I don''t really like going out. I''m fine just spending time together..." Finished with her response, Fenrir''s crimson eyes shimmered with a hungry light as she began top up the stray fluid that had stained her paws. This caused a simr twinkle to appear within Vahn''s eyes, as, even after hundreds of years, seeing his most trustedpanionpping up his bodily fluids was indescribably alluring. Sensing the changes in her Master''s mood, Fenrir willfully slowed her actions while staring directly at him. She could feel his excitement, and, as a result, her ordinarily icy body was beginning to heat up... ... .. . Despite indulging himself for several hours, Vahn was able to start breakfast at the usual time while Fenrir, after a thorough cleaning, enjoyed a nice, long nap alongside Usalia and the kittens. He had promised to spend the rest of the day with her, but, before that, he needed to wrap up his morning routine and meet with Shiroyasha. As thoughts of how he should spend his day yed across Vahn''s mind, he became vaguely aware of the golden-haired beauty that had appeared from his shadow. "I just checked in on Ladies Usalia, Fenrir, and the kittens. It would appear you got off to an early start today, Master..." Without shifted his attention from the stove, a teasing smile developed across Vahn''s face as he asked, "Are you jealous~?" Since Vahn had a habit of cooking without a top on, the golden-haired beauty, Leticia, levitated her body before linking her arms around his shoulders and sinking her teeth into his neck. In response, Vahn just issued a light chuckle as he felt the petite woman''s body rapidly mature until she was able to stand on the tips of her toes with her modest yet remarkably soft breasts pressing into his back. After getting her fill, Leticia licked the rapidly healing wound on Vahn''s neck before softly replying, "It is a Maid''s duty to serve her Master. I don''t get jealous...I get hungry..." Though it hadn''t even been half a day from Leticia''s perspective, the time Vahn had spent in his Internalized Realm and Little Garden ounted for more than seven weeks apart. This wasn''t a particrly long period of time but it was more than enough to make him unusually receptive to the girls'' advances. He had already spent much of the morning making love, so, despite hearing a phantom Benienma harshly rebuking him, a second version of Vahn promptly manifested behind Leticia, whispering, "I suppose that makes it a Master''s duty to keeps his Maid''s belly adequately filled..."(A/N: Oh my...) Blushing furiously in response to Vahn''s words, Leticia found herself at a momentary loss as he reached around her body to cup her breasts. Momentster, her face became a deep shade of crimson as he sat her atop the prep table and ordered her toy down... ... .. . "I would like to peruse through your dictionary one day. I''m beginning to think the word restraint has no meaning to you..." Ignoring Shiroyasha''s remark, Vahn continued to nibble on her obsidian ck horns while his hands kneaded her small yet perfectly graspable breasts. He was in what many of the girls within his Little Garden referred to as an ''active'' state, so, the moment Shiroyasha elected to tease him, she became the next victim on his chopping block. "Jeez...didn''t e here...to talk...?" With Vahn''s left hand sneaking between the folds of her kimono before she realized it, Shiroyasha''s defenses were rapidly crumbling. In response to her question, Vahn discontinued his nibbling long enough to answer, "You''re not wrong. However, from the moment you became one of my women, your happiness became a higher priority than the information you can provide. If I visited you just to ask questions, I wouldn''t be much of a lover..." Opening her mouth to speak, Shiroyasha was silenced by Vahn''s index and middle fingers invading the interior. This gave her a powerful urge to bite down, so, without hesitation, she did exactly that. Then, as Vahn''s left middle and ring finger invaded her lower mouth, her pupils contracted into thin slits as she began to suckle the blood flowing from his right index and middle fingers... ... .. . With her forearm resting over her eyes, Shiroyasha struggled to regte her breathing as the low light of the room reflected off her naked body. Seated at her side, staring down at her with a loving yet possessive glimmer in his eyes, Vahn had a libidinous smile on his face as he remarked, "You get more beautiful every time I see you..." in a soft yet resonating tone. Rolling her eyes, Shiroyasha removed her arm from her forehead before retorting, "At this rate, I''m going to need to prepare a body double just to get any work done. It''s no wonder you have such a ludicrous harem. You''re aplete and utter monster in the bedroom." Resisting the urge to inform her he was actually holding back, the corners of Vahn''s smile turned up as he swept his hand across Shiroyasha''s body. All the sweat and bodily fluids that had stained her immacte flesh disappeared in an instant as her legs instinctually but futilely closed. Though he had always known his cleaning magic had a few ''adverse'' effects on female recipients, it was only recently that Vahn learned the full extent of its reach. It turned out that his unique variant of cleaning magic also spread to any avable orifices, so, if they failed to wipe or clean themselves properly, the spell could be remarkably ''invasive''. There was nothing intrinsically perverted about this but it did give him reason to reconsider using it during the No Names'' bi-annual medical checkups. Feeling a pleasant warmth envelop her body immediately following the invasive magic, a contented sigh escaped Shiroyasha''s lips before she forced herself to a seated position. Then, as her hair fixed itself, she asked, "So? What did you want to discuss? Seeing as how you''ve paid in advance, I don''t mind divulging a few secrets." Raising his brows, Vahn immediately vetoed Shiroyasha''s statement, saying, "That wasn''t intended to be a payment. I just wanted to spend time with you." "..." Though she managed to conceal it well, Shiroyasha felt strangely vulnerable when she heard Vahn''s words. She could tell he was being serious, so, rather than refute him, shebed back a few stray hairs as she softly replied, "I see...still, you must havee here for another reason. Out with it..." Furrowing his brows ever so slightly, Vahn was tempted to deny her im. Unfortunately, he wasn''t particrly fond of lying, so, after several seconds of silence, he answered, "I wanted to know which of 4-Digit Communities are intending to stand in my way. After that, I want any information you can provide on the Communities that stand in opposition to them. If necessary, I''m even willing to team up with Demon Lords to secure my status as the Leader of a 4-Digit Community." As a Demon God, Shiroyasha wasn''t particrly bothered by Vahn''s words. She was, after all, the person who had convinced him to summon Seraphina and Usalia. With the inclusion of Leticia, this meant that half of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, excluding Vahn, wasprised of Demons. All ording to n. "Well, after that little prank you pulled on Fuujin''s whelp, the Kotamatsukami Alliance is looking to teach you a lesson. If you''re looking to flip the tables on them, you should extend an olive branch to the Jade Pce. Their Leader, the Jade Emperor, has taken an interest in you after observing your performance against Leviathan''s Tail. He seems to believe you''re a descendent or offshoot of Meng Zhang, the Azure Dragon. More importantly, the members of the Jade Pce are quite covetous of treasures so you should have an easy time convincing them if you provide sufficientpensation." Though he had been intending to avoid the Immortal Communities, Vahn could understand why Shiroyasha would advise him to befriend them. The Jade Pce was an Allianceprised of some of the most powerful Communities within the 4-Digit Gates. This included the Seven Great Demon Kings, who, after converting to Buddhism, became known as the Great Sages. With each of the Great Sages possessing power rivaling a 4-Digit Community, it wasn''t much of an exaggeration to im they were beings on the level of a Floor Master. Had they not been located in the East, they very well might have be one. Unfortunately, even the most powerful member of the group, The Great Sage Equaling Heaven, was far from Shiroyasha''s match. She was, after all, the former Rank 10 in the entire Divine Realm. Believing he was beginning to see Shiroyasha''s end game, the edges of Vahn''s smile curled upward as he answered, "Sounds like a n. I was kind of looking forward to seeing how my version of the Four Symbols would fair against the Divine Realm''s but I guess that''ll have to wait until the matter with the Northern Floor Master has been settled." Understanding the greater implication behind Vahn''s words, Shiroyasha''s golden eyes glimmered with expectation. He hadn''t told anyone but she had already begun to suspect that he was going to rece quite a number of Gods in the not-too-distant future. This would invariably throw the Little Garden into chaos, but, so long as his intentions remained pure, that wasn''t necessarily a bad thing. It was high time some positive change had been introduced to the Little Garden. "You''re actually in a pretty advantageous position. I might not be able to back you directly but I can lend you the support of the Thousand Eyes Community. It may have slipped your mind, but we are a bonafide 4-Digit Community. If you ally with the Jade Pce, that should give you more than half the Communities you need to initiate a Battle Royale. The hardest part will be convincing one of the Communities to take a fall. After all, even if you host thepetition legitimately, it doesn''t change the fact that a Community will have to surrender its Gate. There are only 8999 in total and they have been upied for millennia." Shaking his head, Vahn maintained his smile as he asserted, "That won''t be an issue. I can be pretty ''persuasive'' when I need to be, so, once I have a better grasp of the situation, I''m sure I can figure something out..." Raising her brows, Shiroyasha was tempted to ask what he had in mind, but, feeling it would be far more interesting to see events y out in real-time, she decided against it. Instead, she steeled her heart and mind before musing, "Well, if there''s nothing else, I suppose that just leaves the matter of payment..." Returning a smile of his own, Vahn pulled Shiroyasha''s body toward him using his Telekinesis. She could have resisted, but, knowing what he had in mind, an impassioned giggle emanated from her throat as she took the initiative to link her arms around Vahn''s neck before biting his bottom lip in a yfully seductive manner... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''What a way to wake up...'',''Vahn go hard...'',''A never-ending cycle xD...'') Chapter 2144: Bias

Chapter 2144: Bias

In the days following his meeting with Shiroyasha, Vahn exined his intentions to the other members of his Community while also gifting Companions to Sarina and Nono. Things were going to get pretty hectic in the near future so it was best they had the means to protect themselves on the off chance they decided to venture beyond the rtive safety of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Fortunately, while the requirements for ascending to a 4-Digit Community were pretty difficult for most people, Vahn had a few advantages. The Vahnatus had drastically increased the fame of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. People were literally lining up in the street to try and form an alliance with him so the condition of recruiting a total of 10 5-Digit Communities wasn''t particrly difficult to achieve. With Leviathan''s Tail and Twice Twilight already agreeing to form an Alliance with him, Vahn only needed 8 additional Communities to advance his n. The only problem was choosing the correct affiliates, as, more often than not, the structure of an Alliance, especially one aspiring to ascend to a 4-Digit Community, dictated how people throughout the Little Garden viewed you. Though he wasn''t particrly known for it at this point, Vahn wasmitted to establishing the Aldrnari Empire as a Neutral yet highly principled force. He wanted it to be a regtory body for the 4-7-Digit Gates, so, while the most straightforward solution was to have the residents of his personalized Little Garden establish Communities of their own, the simplest way to ensure people viewed him as a neutral force was to recruit five ''righteous'' and five ''viinous'' organizations. Put simply, Vahn needed to recruit Communities whose Leaders hailed from Heroic or Demonic descent. He would also need representatives of the non-humanmunity, as, despite being the Divine Realm, Speciesism and Xenophobia were rampant in each of the Cardinal Districts. Even the East Side was no exception to this as people of Eastern descent had always possessed traditionalist and reclusive views. They might not outright attack immigrants, but, the moment any issues arose, the natives of the East Side would quickly band together to oust anyone they didn''t like. Fortunately, while Thousand Eyes was Headquartered in the East Side, they had numerous branches in the other districts. After all, Shiroyasha had a monopoly on Judge Masters and her omnipotence was extremely beneficial to the few who could afford her services. At the expense of a proverbial arm and leg, Vahn was able to arrange meetings with a number of foreign Communities using Thousand Eyes as a mediator. There was no restriction stipting that the members of an Alliance hail from the same Cardinal District so Vahn''s intention was to nt the seeds of future conquest by extending an olive branch to opportunistic individuals within the other districts. To this end, Vahn currently found himself seated, alone, in one of the rooms the Thousand Eyes Community used to conduct negotiations. From the perspective of some, this ced him in the lesser position, but, with the power contained within his body, Vahn was confident he could flip such ''misunderstandings'' on their head if it became necessary. *tok* *tok* *tok* Though he had already sensed their presence long before they reached the room, Vahn waited until his guests had knocked before saying, "Enter." in a casual tone that seemed to resonate throughout the entire estate. In response, an inordinately tall man with shaven ck hair and a healthy, caramelplexion stepped into the room. His features were sharp, serious, and heroic, but, considering he was literally wearing the type of outfit you would only see inics, that wasn''t too surprising. Shifting his attention away from the heroic-looking man in tights, Vahn eyed the bespectacled woman at his side. Her outfit was ratherinpared to the red, blue, and gold bodysuit of her male associate but she still stood out due to her stylish and futuristic-looking clothes. She even had a clipboard in her hand that was simply a metal frame with a vibrant blue, hard light surface. The technological development of the Little Garden was remarkably behind the norms found in the Lower Realms. This was especially true in the areas under the influence of the Buddhist Faction, so, unless you visited the West Side, it was pretty umon to find people walking around in modern clothes, much less futuristic attire... After briefly inspecting each of the woman''s remarkably advanced devices, Vahn''s smile became marginally more sincere as he mused, "Innovation and technology are truly wondrous. One of you possesses a body that has been enhanced to the point it could even contend against the strongest of Demigods while the other, despite appearing rtively normal, possesses armaments that can produce stable gravitational singrities. You''ve even managed to achieve biological immortality by recing your marrow with biomechanical nanites. Very impressive." Hearing Vahn''s ''praise'', the duo became noticeably tenser as the man, demonstrating that his outfit wasn''t just for show, stepped forward to say, "We didn''te here to chit-chat. Cut the creeper talk or we''re leaving." Raising his brows, Vahn was tempted to ask how he was being creepy. The man had literally tried to scan him using half a dozen different ocr abilities while the woman, even now, was attempting to analyze him using her artificial eye and the chip imnted in her brain. Others might not notice the HUD visible on her sses but Vahn''s perception allowed him to discern even the most minuscule particles in existence. Seeing the full electromaic spectrum was child''s y. Understanding they would probably storm off if he pointed out their hypocrisy, Vahn just shook his head before rising to his feet and pulling out furniture better suited to western sensibilities. It would be awkward as hell if they kept standing while he was seated on the ground, so, for the sake of their future cooperation, he wanted to make it easier to converse. Seeing objects appear out of thin air, the intelligent-looking woman''s eyes practically lit up as the heroic-looking man furrowed his brows in caution. He didn''t seem particrly fond of sitting and discussing things in a casual manner, but, after seeing Vahn sit down, he eventually took the seat opposite of him, stating, "We were told you could supply resources and technology that function even in the West. Well, let''s see it." Rolling his eyes, Vahn leaned forward, elbows on the table and fingers linked together as he stated, "We haven''t even been introduced and you expect me to put everything I have on the table? There is a limit to the amount of impropriety I can stomach." Furrowing his brows a third time, the caramel-skinned man exuded amendable amount of pressure as he asserted, "Listen here, punk. I didn''te here to y games and make friends. Every second I waste here is a second I''m not saving lives. I don''t know nor do I care how you do things here in the East. All I know is there are lives on the line back home. If you can''t disy the goods, you''re wasting our time." While others might have been intimidated by the man''s aura, Vahn had to suppress the urge tough. The man was the ssical archetype for a superhero. He possessed a bevy of super senses, nigh-unlimited speed, strength, durability, and, most notably, a gross inability to grasp the bigger picture... Recalling how he had once aspired to be a Hero, Vahn couldn''t help pitying the man. At the same time, however, he was tempted to give the man a firm knock on the head before literally beating some sense into him. After all, he could literally provide all the resources his organization needed to be one of the most influential in the West Side, yet, because of the biases he had formed as a ''Hero'', the man viewed him as a potential enemy simply because he wanted to talk terms. "You do realize there are more archetypes for people than simple Hero, Viin, and Civilian...right? Your time in the West had blinded you to therger truth of the world. I would advise you to travel more and broaden your horizons. People aren''t viinous just because they don''t automatically step in line and support you..." Rising to his feet, the ''heroic'' man adopted a stern look as he stared down at Vahn and said, "We''re done here. I thought you might have been different but you''re just another opportunist looking to profit off the people''s suffering. When I return to the West Side, I''ll make sure everyone knows what kind of person you are." Turning to leave, the caped crusader''s body tenses when he sensed a distortion in the surrounding space. He immediately spun around in anticipation of a sneak attack, but, even with the ponytailed woman''s pistol aimed at him, Vahn remained seated with a deadpan expression on his face. "You''re an idiot." Realizing that Vahn wasn''t attacking, the man lowered his arms, but, as could be expected, he didn''t let the tensions drain from his body. Instead, the energy contained within his cells began to swell as he demanded, "What are your intentions? Did Dystopia put you up to this...?" Exhaling a sigh, Vahn ignored the humming of the woman''s sma pistol as he rose to his feet and stated, "You really need to get away from the West Side. The Dystopian Demon Lord hasn''t even managed to conquer the West yet you believe he has the power to influence the East? This mighte as a shock to you but the Little Garden doesn''t revolve around what happens in your district. Get over yourself." Though he waited until Vahn finished speaking, the caramel-skinned man''s bodynguage made it pretty clear he had already turned hostile. The center of his eyes had begun to release a vibrant red glow that illuminated the rest of the eye in a rather malicious manner. He had also balled his hands into fists, his cape billowing behind him as he said, "Fine, then. You want to y games? Let''s y. Your kind only knows how to tell the truth when-" Without waiting for the man to finish, Vahn sent a wave of pressure toward him in the form of a simple palm strike. To his credit, the man was able to evade it in an instantaneous burst of speed that resembled teleportation. At the same time, the ponytailed woman fired off several shots from her sma pistol, but, despite making direct contact, the sma wasn''t even able to burn through his clothes. "He has some kind of barrier protecting his body...!" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn didn''t even flinch as the heroic man''s fist connected with his face. In their eyes, this all but confirmed the fact he possessed some kind of barrier but the truth of the matter was they simplycked the strength to overwhelm his defenses. Sure, the man''s punches might be enough to devastate small asteroids, but, without properprehensions of the Laws, he might as well be a normal human. Waving his hand, Vahn attempted to bat away the fist impacting his face. In response, the caped fool used his superspeed to retract his hand before attempting an uppercut with such speed and strength that the surrounding air superheated to form white-hot sma. Furrowing his brows, Vahn''s speed spontaneously increased to a point that far-exceeded his would-be opponent. Despite this, his movement didn''t cause so much as a single ripple in the surrounding air, as, unlike the gically engineered brute, his power and speed were derived from an adequate understanding of various Laws. The former''s power was clearly defined by science while Vahn''s was basically an abstract concept backed by Willpower and Authority. Inyman''s terms, this meant his opponent was working against the Laws while he was able to freely manipte them at his leisure. Striking the man in various pressure points, Vahn was able to ignore his indestructibility by releasing Source Energy into his nerves. If he wanted to, he could easily overpower the man. Instead, he took this as an opportunity to teach him that the abilities granted to him were basically a gimmick. True power didn''te from a reliance on technological innovation. It was something that came from a mastery of oneself and a desire to protect. The man was on the right path, but, as his power wasn''t something he had obtained for himself, he had allowed it to blind him. In his mind, he was right by virtue of the fact he was a Hero. This was a very dangerous mentality to possess, so, before the man could live long enough to see himself be the viin, Vahn decided to teach him a lesson... ... .. . (A/N: I''m back~!) Chapter 2145: Sowing the Seeds of Change

Chapter 2145: Sowing the Seeds of Change

"Just let me know when you feel like being sensible and talking things out." Freeing himself from the personalized crater Vahn had created for him, the heroic man spit a mouthful of blood onto the ground before wiping his mouth and saying, "You can''t defeat justice. No matter how many times you knock me down, I''ll keep getting back up. If you kill me, someone else will rise to take my ce...!" Finished with his speech, the spandex-d fool elerated like a projectile fired from a MAC gun. Both of his fists were extended in an effort to reduce drag and m into Vahn''s body at the highest speed he could manage within atmosphere. Exhaling a sigh, Vahn allowed the man to pass, unobstructed, through his body. This confused the caramel-skinned hero until hispanion, the bespectacled woman flitting around the battlefield with a barrier that also made her invisible, exined, "He has the ability to be immaterial! Try and hit him with a sound-based attack...!" "Actually, no." Without waiting for the man to attempt yet another fruitless attack, Vahn teleported right behind him before grabbing the back of his head. The heroic man''s body immediately went limp, and, as a result, the tinkerer-like woman shouted out, "Dauntless...!" in a panicked tone. Teleporting next to the woman, Vahn tossed the man known as Dauntless onto the ground as he said, "Rx. I just knocked him unconcious. Unlike you two fools, I wouldn''t go out of my way to try and kill an opponent because of a misunderstanding." Rather than respond to Vahn''s words, the ponytailed woman erected a spherical barrier with a hexagonal pattern before tapping the device on her wrist and manifesting a pair of twin gatling cannons attached to a mechanized exoskeleton. Then, despite the fact Vahn was just standing in ce, she began firing a volley of puple-ck projectiles that radiated a violet hue. Ignoring the superdense gravity projectiles, Vahn extended his hand to make a grabbing motion. The moment he pulled back, all of the devices on the woman''s body were ripped away as if pulled by a powerful ma. The only things spared were her artificial eye and the biomechanical nanites in her body. Tossing a nket towards the half-naked woman, Vahn''s expression hardened as he said, "I invited you here with the hope of reaching an agreement that would be benefit everyone. In exchange for functionally unlimited resources, the only thing I was asking for was your support as I endeavor to make the Little Garden a better ce to live. Instead, you regard me as an opportunist despite the fact your Community benefits exponentially more from the agreement. Are you daft...?" Though she had been ring fiercely after having her gadgets deprived and clothes torn, a look of grim realization appeared on the woman''s face as she said, "Return my equipment and there is still a chance we can work things out..." Using his telekinesis, Vahn caused the woman''s gadgets to crash into her body with enough force to knock her back without severely injuring her as he said, "I require neither your trinkets nor your cooperation. People like you and your little friend make me sick. You purport to be Heroes but the reality of the situation is that you''ve simply ced yourselves in an opportunistic position that lets you act however you please. I don''t need ignorant and hypocritical fools within my organization." Snapping his fingers, Vahn brought the duo back to the room they were meant to discuss terms in. This caused a look of panic to appear on the woman''s face, but, before she could utter so much as a single additional syble, he promptly teleported away... ... .. . "That could have gone better." Seeing Shiroyasha cover her smile with her fan, Vahn had to resist the urge to bend her across his knee and give her a spanking as he retorted, "As if you didn''t know what kind of people they were before arranging our meeting..." Snapping her fan closed, Shiroyasha shrugged her shoulders before exining, "Truth be told, I''ve never really understood the society of the West. Before the ''Age of Enlightenment'' a few thousand years ago, the West was the most peaceful region in the entire Divine Realm. Now, it has be a veritable cesspool of corruption. I doubt this wille as much of a surprise but humans, especially those who have been swayed by demons, are remarkably terrible at governing themselves." Suppressing a sigh, Vahn shamelessly over to Shiroyasha''s side before plopping down next to her. This caused a glimmer of expectation to sh across her eyes, but, feeling he ought to punish her for making her meet such an asinine group of people, Vahn promptly adjusted his position beforeying his head in herp and saying, "Wake me up in a few hours..." Sensing Vahn''s consciousness slip away, Shiroyasha''s brow began to twitch as she muttered, "You damned tease..." before pinching his cheek stretching it like a piece of mochi... ... .. . Though Vahn''s meeting with the ''Justice Association'' hadn''t gone particrly well, it would be inurate to say it was fruitless. It had taught him a very important lesson, chiefly that he didn''t need to rely on outsiders to achieve his goals. Since he was already nning to spread the Empire into the Divine Realm, Vahn decided to take a risk by creating the additional Communities he would need to ascend to a 4-Digit Gate. He could still recruit additional Communities to his cause, but, for the sake of preventing future troubles, he decided to fill the central positions of the Alliance with people he could trust. Fortunately, while it was a strange way to view things, Vahn hadn''t specifically targetted ''good'' or ''righteous'' women when he was expanding his harem. Quite a number of his women were outright considered viins in their previous worlds, so, while he would have a much easier time establishing Communities affiliated with the ''light'', Vahn wasn''t left wanting for options. After a considerable amount of discussion with the residents of his personalized Little Garden, a total of six Communities were decided upon. They had more than enough people to establish ten Communities but Artoria had proposed letting established groups fill the other four openings so they wouldn''t need to spread themselves too thin. In the end, those that were interested ended up diving themselves into six different groups, each serving as the foundation for a future Community. Representing the first group,prised of six people, was Artoria. She was going to be the Leader of a Community whose founding members consisted of Nero, Lakshmibai, Gray, Gareth, and, after a very long discussion, Arthur. As for the name of their Community, they had decided to go with the Saberface Alliance. Though Vahn felt they were establishing a dangerous precedence by drawing attention to the fact they had very simr features, the name Saberface Alliance wasn''t the worst. That honor went to the Community founded by Mordred, Altria, X, and Jeanne, who, despite a number of protests, decided upon the name ''Sage Dragon Riders'' as their Community name... Wrapping up the ''righteous'' Communities was the group led by Ureko. She had decided to put off reincarnating in order to create a foundation for her n in the Divine Realm. After all, if she could spread their name in the Little Garden, countless iterations of her n would appear in the Realms below. This was, inarguably, the best way to ensure their continued existence, and, as interested as she was in the Realms below, Ureko was far more excited by the prospect of fighting powerful foes in the Divine Realm. Following Ureko''s example, nearly every woman that Vahn had picked up in the Tower, specifically those with battle-hungry natures, decided to join her. This included Yuri, both Maschenny(s), Jaina, Lotte, and, somewhat surprisingly, Ryun. Vahn had expected Ryun to insist on joining him but she had apparentlye to an agreement with Ureko to document thetter''s exploits. In other words, she was intending to be a Poet by recording and publicizing the stories of Ureko and the other girls. Her penultimate goal was to reinforce the identity of everyone affiliated with the Aldrnari Empire, but, understanding the futility of trying to document Vahn''s story, Ryun decided to start with Ureko and the girls originating from the Tower as she was already intimately familiar with their background. As someone who had always advocated for the independence of his women, Vahn didn''t oppose Ryun''s n. He could literally visit any of his lovers whenever he wanted so it really didn''t matter what they decided to get themselves up to. He was happy so long as they were. Representing the first ''dark'' Community, not that she was even remotely evil, was Da Vinci. Vahn had basically entrusted her with taking over the entire West Side, so, while most of the other groups were rtively small, Da Vinci had the support of nearly every Magus Vahn had encountered in the Nasuverse. Vahn''s hope was to reintroduce the concept of Magic in the West Side, as, ever since the rise of a being known as Yehowah, science and reason had suppressed pretty much everything else. This led to a situation where even Divinity was pretty much useless as people in the West had built a system of belief that devalued the existence of Gods to an extreme degree. They had even wiped out most magical creatures, so, with the exception of humans and a few gically engineered subspecies, the West was inhospitable to and outright intolerant of other races. Simply put, Da Vinci was a ''hard counter'' to the belief system embodied in the West. Magi on the level of Rin, Illya, and Aoko were also more than capable of actualizing the effects of their spells using pure imagination and willpower, so, unless they were against something that specifically negated magic, they could still use it. Unfortunately for the people in the West, creating technology that negated Magic was the same as epting its existence as you couldn''t make something to counter a concept you didn''t believe in. To make matters even worse for them, the West, much like the South, was currently participating in a perennial Gift Game that affected everyone that chose to live there. This was what allowed Heroes and Viins to run rampant as they were basically the yers in an endless struggle between ''Good'' and ''Evil''. All Da Vinci and the girls would need to do in order to cement their position in the West Side was create a profitable and reasonably powerful business. This was the reason they were considered a ''dark'' Community, as, despite having good intentions, the powers that govern the West Side were bound to regard them as a viinous organization unless they decided to y ball or submit to the existing system. While it wasn''t impossible to work with the people in power, the simple truth of the matter was that the people in charge of the West Side were irredeemably hedonistic and corrupt. They were also an extremely patriarchal society, so, the moment they set sights on the iprehensible beauty of Da Vinci and the rest, they were bound to get greedy. As an additional precaution, Vahn asked Nobunaga, Kenshin, Musashi, Scathach, Okita, Yoruichi, Madara, and several other frontlinebatants to assist with Da Vinci''s efforts. If it came down to it, they were more than prepared to go to war against the entire West Side. A dystopian society had no ce in Vahn''s vision of the Little Garden''s future... Wrapping things up, Vahn entrusted Semiramis with the Leadership of a Community consisting of their daughters Ebony and Raven. They were more than capable of protecting themselves and she had already built a literal kingdom for herself in one of Gaia''s Textures. As for the final Community, it wasprised of Tamamo, Shuten, Ibaraki, and pretty much every animalistic member of Vahn''s previous Menagerie. Thetter group would be stationed in the East alongside the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, as, even if he trusted them with all his heart, Vahn wanted to keep a close eye on the more ''mischievous'' members of his harem... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The ultimate punishment for a mischievous demon...'',''Vahn be like, "Fine, I''ll do it myself..."'',''We all know why Vahn wants to keep the members of his Menagerie close OwO...'') Chapter 2146: Impression

Chapter 2146: Impression

With a helpless yet affectionate smile on his face, Vahn was currently staring at a map of the entire Little Garden while Xysteria, clinging to his head and back, curiously observed his actions. If she was just clinging to him, Vahn wouldn''t have minded Xysteria''s presence. The reason for his mild difort was the fact she would periodically sniff his hair, climb into his clothing, and bite him. She was also remarkably clingy, so much so that it was nearly impossible to separate her from him whenever they spent time together. "Papa...Papa...hungry...!" Though she was well over three hundred million years old, Xysteria had never really matured. She was an extremely intelligent being, but, for reasons even Da Vinci couldn''t understand, her mental development had stalled around the age of an extremely curious toddler. It was really peculiar, as, despite speaking in broken sentences, Xysteria''s Wisdom parameter was even higher than Leticia''s. She had memorized countless books, studied advanced magecraft, and could even dismantle and fix the advanced machinery produced in the Moon Cell. She just never matured. At first, Vahn thought that Xysteria''s stalled mental development was simr to Fenrir''s, but, even after spending a considerable amount of time with her, she hadn''t progressed. This implied it had something to do with one of her Innates, but, as a being of Chaos, it was hard to ascertain the true nature of Xysteria''s abilities. The more you tried to understand her, the greater your surprise when youter discovered that her ability had evolved into somethingpletely different... Holding up an amethyst-colored insect that resembled the crystalline shell of a locust, Vahn said, "It''s almost time for lunch. This is yourst sna-" Without waiting for Vahn to finish, Xysteria extended her frog-like tongue totch onto both the locust and his hand. Unfortunately, no matter how much she pulled, she was unable to move either as Vahn adopted a wry smile and muttered, "Someone is about to lose their desert..." With an adorably panicked expression on her face, Xysteria immediately retracted her inordinately long and sticky tongue before nuzzling her cur-covered head against Vahn''s neck and lower jaw as she said, "Xysty be good..." in an assertive yet audibly anxious tone. "Mmm..." Feeling even more fretful after hearing her Papa''s response, Xysteria''s body spontaneously became noticeably more malleable as she slithered around Vahn''s neck and shoulders before slinking into the cor of his tunic. Momentster, she poked out the upper half of her face, amber eyes focused on the gem-like locust in his hand as she patiently awaited permission to eat it. Since he didn''t want to stress his daughter too much, Vahn used a spell to increase the size of the insect as he assured, "Xysty is a good girl..." before drawing it closer to her mouth. In response, she promptly poked out the rest of her head, rows of razor-sharp teeth appearing in her maw as she bit down on the nigh-indestructible insectoid as if it was a rice cracker. Understanding she was probably going to curl up in his tunic to take a nap once she had finished eating, Vahn seized the opportunity to caress Xysteria''s inordinately fluffy head as he returned his attention to the diorama of the Little Garden. It showed, in real-time, the current state of the Little Garden and its Communities. This included recently formed Communities so Vahn had been using it to keep track of the situation without making direct contact with the groups formed by Artoria, Da Vinci, Semiramis, Mordred, Tamamo, and Ureko. Unfortunately, the diorama wasn''t always as cooperative as Vahn would like it to be... Tired of sitting still, Loi-chan reverted back to her default, scantily d appearance before saying, "I''m bored." with a slightly pouty expression. Restraining the urge to bothugh and sigh, Vahn forced a smile as he asked, "Is there something you had in mind...?" Though Xysteria was a little confused by her Papa''s sudden monologue, she just looked up at him for a brief moment before promptly descending into his tunic and curling up into a ball. The locust did little to satiate her hunger, so, for the sake of dessert, she intended to hibernate until lunchtime. cing her index finger on her lips, Loi-chan appeared to be serious thought as she slowly rotated in a mid-air, cross-legged position. This continued for several cycles until Vahn manifested a cup of coffee out of thin air before lying back against the fabric of space and time as if it were a hammock. Despite possessing an Ego of her own, Loi-chan had a difficult time forming thoughts of her own. Vahn had been trying to help her with this, so, even if she sometimes took several hours to make a decision, he didn''t mind waiting. Time didn''t have any real meaning to him at this point. After all, he could literally extend a single moment into eternity if he really wanted to. Fortunately, it only took Loi-chan around forty minutes to inquire, "Want to watch an anime? You can send a version of yourself inside or I can transform into all of the interesting female characters that appear on-screen. Though we have sex every time you have sex, it''s been a while since we did it directly." Since she was fully aware of Vahn''s exploits in alternate timelines, Loi-chan didn''t see the harm in changing her appearance and personality to match the characters in an anime. They were all her, so, unlike other girls, she had no qualms about changing her appearance on a whim. Rather, she enjoyed seeing Vahn''s reactions when she suddenly transformed into someone else mid-coitus... Smiling wryly in response to Loi-chan''s suggestion, Vahn found himself seriously considering the proposal. He would be lying if he said he wasn''t interested in quite a number of female characters that appeared in various ''fictional'' universes. Loi-chan allowed him to fool around without directly expanding his harem, so, despite feeling it was pretty degenerate of him, it was hard to refuse her outright. It didn''t help that she was literally cycling through all the women that came to mind as he allowed his thoughts to wander... Seeing Loi-chan settle on a slightly muscr woman with brown skin, dark-brown hair, and icy blue eyes, Vahn''s left brow abruptly twitched as countless memories rted to the woman''s background and origin surfaced in his mind. She was the titr Main Character from a rtively low-tier Record known as the Legend of Korra. When he first watched it, Vahn had been fascinated by the animation style and plot, but, the moment the story began delving into the drama of Korra''s love life, it wasn''t long before things went south, fast. Though he would be lying if he said he wasn''t interested in bedding Korra, it was far from the first thought that came to Vahn''s mind when he saw her. Rather, it was her dysfunctional rearing and the gross ipetence of the people involved in guiding her as the Avatar, the Spiritual Leader of her world. She had been born in an era where people were transitioning from traditional sensibilities to a more modern perspective on the world around them. This ced her in a rather precious position from the start. It didn''t help that the organization responsible for training her allowed her nature to run rampant while they did everything in their power to ''protect'' her by concealing the truth to the point she was effectively ignorant of the world around her... Interested to see what kind of changes his Temte could introduce into the world, Vahn created a second version of himself so that Xysteria could continue her nap. Then, along with the transformed Loi-chan, he teleported to his private viewing room before making himself. She immediately did the same, but, instead of paying attention to the screen, she straddled hisp before wrapping her arms around his neck and grinding against the bulge in his pants. In response, Vahn unhesitantly reached around to grasp her toned yet remarkably pliant bottom. He may not have any interest in pursuing the actual Korra but that wasn''t going to stop him from having a bit of fun as the revised episodes began airing in the background... ... .. . After enjoying themselves for the better part of twenty-six hours, Vahn had Loi-chan revert back to the diorama of the Little Garden. He might have all the time in the world but he liked to stay on top of things whenever he was nning a conquest. Though it had only been nine days since he allowed his girls to venture out and have fun, a few were well on their way to bing 5-Digit Communities. The only Communitiesgging behind were Da Vinci''s and Semiramis''s but that wasn''t too surprising. Progressing in the West required a fair amount of diplomacy and even greater amounts of scheming, so, despite having functionally unlimited resources, Da Vinci''s progress was stalled by bureaucracy. As for Semiramis, she wasn''t exactly the type to get her hands dirty so she was allowing Ebony and Raven to take charge while advising them from thefort of her refurbished Hanging Gardens. Seeing one of the blue lights sh with a red light, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he connected his senses with the System Temte active within Mordred''s body. She and Ureko had founded their Communities in the South Side so they had been fighting multiple times a day ever since their formation. Finding himself in a familiar cockpit, Vahn could feel Mordred''s thirst for battle as she piloted her crimson-red mech, the Mechanized Dragon: Red rent, against a horde of beasts led by a group of men and women resembling Viking Berserkers. They were literally charging at her without regard for life or limb, so, without disappointing them, Mordred cut through the seemingly endless horde using a massive ymore resembling her Zanpakuto, Superbia. Matching its name, Superbia was a sword that embodied Mordred''s tremendous pride. As a result, it resembled abination of Artoria''s Excalibur and Vahn''s Laevteinn. It also had a lion''s face on the cross-guard, but, unless you looked closely, it resembled the visage of a Dragon more than the chimeric beast it was meant to resemble. Unsurprisingly, Mordred was making short work of her foes. Anything that got close to her was cut down, and, due to the tremendous heat emanated from her mech''s numerous exhaust ports, much of her surroundings had caught fire. Shaking his head, Vahn sent a telepathic message reminding Mordred not to go overboard before cutting the connection. He knew his words would actually have the opposite effect, but, at the very least, they would prevent Mordred from behaving like a viin. Her affinity with War had a powerful influence over her nature, so, every now and again, he needed to remind her that she was supposed to be one of the good guys... Fortunately, the one thing that hadn''t changed about Mordred''s character was that she was very eager to please the people she cared about. Thus, if he really wanted her to calm down, the only thing Vahn needed to do was ask her to spread her influence without relying on violence. After all, wars weren''t fought solely on the battlefield. A true God of War and Conquest was also proficient in diplomacy, delegation, and resource management. After all, while fighting was a coreponent of war, it wasn''t the reason they were fought. Mordred was equally as skilled on the battlefield as she was at the negotiation table. If Vahn ever chose a sessor, she would be near the very top of his list. Until then, she would remain his most pampered princess and one of his most reliable Generals... With that thought in mind, Vahn watched over Modred''s battle from the perspective of Altria. She was theziest member of the group, so, whenever he wanted to keep tabs on their progress, Vahn would usually interface with the cat-like woman to see what everyone else was up to... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Xysteria <3'',''There are times when I can''t help wanting to punch Vahn...'',''RIP Viking-sans...'') Chapter 2147: Encounter at the Gate of Heaven

Chapter 2147: Encounter at the Gate of Heaven

Though he could trust the girls to meet his expectations, that didn''t mean Vahn had nothing to do. He still needed to convince multiple 4-Digit Communities to participate in his uing Gift Game, so, following Shiroyasha''s suggestion, he sent a missive to the Jade Pce requesting an audience. After eleven days, leaving him with just 48 until the Coronation Ceremony in the North, Vahn finally received a response from the Jade Pce. They, or, more specifically, the Jade Emperor had invited him to participate in an event known as Zao Shin''s Immortal Banquet. As the Jade Pce and its affiliate Communities believed in the ideology that gathering strength was to stand in opposition to Heaven, they were constantlypeting amongst themselves in an effort to determine who was the strongest. Zao Shin''s Immortal Banquet was an event where each of the Gods, Sages, Faeries, and Immortals affiliated with the Jade Pce would gather together to feast, and, more importantly, challenge each other for a more dominant position within the Imperial Court. Simply put, by inviting Vahn to participate in Zao Shin''s Immortal Banquet, the Jade Emperor was giving him a tform to debut within the Imperial Court. The Communities affiliated with the Jade Pce respected strength and wisdom over all else. So long as he could prove himself their equal or better, Vahn would be epted into the Immortalmunity without question. While he appreciated the Jade Emperor''s very obvious intentions, Vahn had absolutely no desire to tie his fate to the Jade Pce. He wasn''t particrly fond of the mentality that most people aspiring to be Immortals possessed. They regarded normal people as little more than cattle, and, more often than not, oppressed anyone outside their immediate line of session. Though there were a few notable exceptions, nearly every cultivation/murim/wuxia novel Vahn had ever read revolved around a very simr premise. The Main Character almost always started out as a normal person or a cripple with a prestigious background. Everyone they came across, with the sole exception of potential love interests, venerable seniors willing to sacrifice everything for them, and simple-minded childhood friends who were no better than patsies, was a heartless monster, pervert, or someone with a massive ego who spared no effort to try and suppress or outright kill them. The thing that annoyed Vahn the most about such a premise was that, more often than not, even the close family and rtives of the Main Character treated them poorly. As a result, when the MC finally gained some kind of fate-defying power, their first victims were almost always their own kin. Then, despite being a n that had dominated their regions for hundreds, perhaps even thousands of years, the very next town over would be filled with powerful experts that could have easily taken over the MC''s hometown. One of the most ridiculous things Vahn had ever read was a cultivation novel where the Imperial Family of the MC''s starting world or continent wasn''t even in the top ten in terms of power. While there was nothing inherently wrong with this, the thing that irked him was the fact that they were described as having thousands of years of history and a tremendous amount of wealth during their initial introduction. Then, a few hundred chapterster, there were literally bandits and thieves with even greater cultivation than the literal Guardians of the Imperial Family, yet, instead of taking over and ruling as Emperor, they remained simple thugs in a region where any stray Young Master could kill them with a wave of their hand... As the Communities affiliated with the Jade Pce adhered to these kinds of sensibilities, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say they were among the most contentious and confrontational groups on the East Side. Were it not for the existence of Shiroyasha, they likely would have taken over a long time ago. Instead, they treated their individual Communities as closed worlds/realms, each containing a society that directly reflected the types of stories Vahn had read about. With the Little Garden having a surface area equivalent of a medium-sized star, not even counting the surroundingndmass, it was possible forrge Communities and Alliances to dominate an area evenrger than a. This,bined with the fact that a Community''s territory could be muchrger than the plot ofnd they were assigned, allowed the more ambitious Gods to create literal metaversal structures that were wholly unaware of the existence of the Little Garden. While he wasn''t particrly fond of the way they regarded their people, Vahn couldn''t actually pass judgment on this particr subject. After all, he was host to an ever-growing number of metaversal structures. He had even converted a part of his Little Garden into an experimental testing ground so that he could better understand how societies developed and changed under certain conditions. He had even allowed a hell-likeyer to form within, a ce where negative energy pooled to produce creatures evocative of eldritch horrors... In the end, the only real difference between Vahn and the beings presiding over the three hundred thousand Immortal Communities was the fact that he cared more. He didn''t view the people living within his Little Garden as resources. Instead, he had created a system where everyone, regardless of the circumstances of their birth, had a chance to be happy. Those that sought power were given the chance to obtain it while those who simply wished to live in peace could literally reside in a sub-dimensional ne reminiscent of Avalon or the Garden of Eden. From a subjective point of view, the structure of Vahn''s personalized Little Garden was idyllic to the point of defying reason. Unfortunately, even this didn''t really give him the right to judge others, as, even at the pinnacle of Tier 5, there was a limit to the amount of power and influence the Creators of various metaversal structures could exercise whilst under the influence of the Law of Equivalent Exchange. They needed to expend their Divine Power in order to create worlds, and, depending on theplexity of the verse, their powers would be drastically weakened. This was a limitation that simply didn''t apply to Vahn as his body was basically a factory that produced an unlimited amount of Source. He might experience a bit of bacsh from creating an Actualized World, but, after a few hours of rest, he would be fully recovered and demonstrably more powerful... ... .. . With the invitation allowing him to bring two additional guests, Vahn asked Fenrir and Mikoto to apany him. Thetter had decided to join the Sage Dragon''s Hearth along with most of the girls that hadn''t formed Communities of their own. She was also intimately familiar with the Laws of Lightning and Tribtion, so, if push came to shove, she had more than enough power to teach the participants of the banquet a lesson. "Talk about excessive..." Smiling in response to Mikoto''s remark, Vahn stared up at a massive gate that was more than a thousand meters in height. The Gods of cultivation worlds were among the most extravagant, so, prior to attending the feast, Vahn had been required to ascend to Heaven via a set of ivory white steps that had descended from clouds of gold. Though there had been tens of thousands of steps, it only took a few minutes for Vahn to ascend past the clouds and through an invisible membrane connecting to the Jade Pce''s ''Lower Heaven''. This was the ce where most Immortals lived, and, despite appearing as a vast and seemingly infinite expanse of clouds from the outside, the interior was clearly inspired by the Divine Realm. It was a literal ind, and, while he couldn''t grasp its dimensions, Vahn suspected it was evenrger than the actual Divine Realm... Approaching the massive gate, Vahn''s smile promptly faded as two gigantic statues, each more than 300m in height, used their massive spears to block his path. Then, in paradoxically soft yet booming tones that resonated through the surrounding void, they synchronously roared, "Thou who hast crossed the Silver Bridge, submit and allow thine bodies to be cleansed of impurity." Without a moment''s hesitation, Vahn adopted a resonating tone of his own as he said, "I refuse." with a deadpan expression on his face. "IMPUDENCE...!" Punctuating their words, the two statues swept their oversized spears towards Vahn and his two animalisticpanions. Fenrir was presently in her wolf form while Mikoto was hanging out on his shoulder as a Pikachu wearing a Raichu hoodie. She had always enjoyed riding on his shoulder, and, though she was more than capable of protecting herself, she had elected to remain in her Pokemon form to reduce the chance of an incident urring. Neither she nor Fenrir enjoyed being gawked at by licentious, overbearing, and egotistical idiots. Reacting the moment the statues began their assault, a runic pattern manifested across Mikoto''s body as she released what appeared to be a very small spark of luminescent golden electricity. It was so small that you could have easily missed it if you weren''t looking, yet, in spite of this, both of the statues paused mid-sweep as she said, "Our Master came here at the invitation, not the behest, of the Jade Emperor. The next time you attack him, do not expect mercy." The moment Mikoto finished issuing her threat, cracks began to manifest along the surface of the gigantic spears. Momentster, the inordinatelyrge weapons began to crack and split as vibrant golden electricity danced about their interior. A simrly colored electricity affected the two guards, but, in spite of her words, Mikoto had no intention of killing them. Her paws weren''t exactly clean, but, unless the situation forced her hand, she would never go out of her way to kill her opponents. Fortunately for the two guards, they wouldn''t have to put her conviction to the test, as, immediately after their weapons were destroyed, a raucousugh echoed through the surroundings. Then, from atop the massive gate, a rather heroic-looking man with three eyes, apanied by a peculiar dog with ivory white fur and amber eyes descended like meteors towards the Silver Bridge. With a body covered in silvery golden armor and an inordinatelyrge spear in hand, the three-eyed man adopted a friendly yet challenging smile on his face as he rose to his feet and said, "It has been centuries since anyone dared to threaten the Menshen. You said you were invited by the Jade Emperor? State your names. If you are who you profess to be, I, Eng Shen, shall escort you to the Jade Pce. If it turns out you are lying, however..." Brandishing his spear, Eng Shen caused a wave of pressure to descend upon Vahn, Fenrir, and Mikoto. To the God''s surprise, none of them so much as flinched as Vahn proferred forth a letter, smiling as he said, "We have no reason to conceal our identities. Tell your father that Vahn Aldrnari Mason and his twopanions have arrived." Recognizing the name, Eng Shen''s surprise turned into sincere exhration as he shouldered his spear and eximed, "You''re the Pure-Blooded Dragon that recently appeared in the East! I''ve been looking forward to meeting you for quite some time! Please, enter! This old fellow will be more than happy to show you around~!" As rumors regarding Vahn had already disseminated through the Jade Pce and the surrounding Heavens, Eng Shen wasn''t lying when he said he was looking forward to their meeting. The thing he conveniently neglected to mention was that every War God in the Heavenly Domain was looking forward to trading blows with the Little Garden''s most recent star. They knew Vahn was remarkably powerful, but, until they had confirmed it for themselves, most of the warriors representing the Jade Pce couldn''t help looking down on him. Eng Shen was no exception to this, so, while his smile was sincere, there was also a fierce glimmer in his eyes as he scrutinized Vahn like a sulent piece of dragon steak... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Deadlines are never fun o_o...'',''The return of Mikotochu~!'',''Battle junkies and bricks have a lot inmon...'') Chapter 2148: Concessions

Chapter 2148: Concessions

With most forms of flight being limited within the Heavenly Domain, Vahn and co were asked to board a silvery gond whose base was surrounded by billowy, golden clouds. Using an ornate piece of white wood that only vaguely resembled an oar, the gondolier waved it through the clouds as if they were a liquid medium. This allowed the rather ornate-looking boat to move through the sky at a surprisingly swift speed, aet-like trail following in its wake. Gazing out over the gond''s side, Vahn had to admit that the Heavenly Domain was a remarkably beautiful ce. There were a number of ancient-looking ruins dotting the scenery, massive spheres that resembled miniatures drifting through the sky, and, in the distance, a pce of jade so massive that it appeared to divide the world in two. "Quite the view, isn''t it?" Nodding his head in response, Vahn shifted his attention from the scenery to the man, or, more specifically, the God seated across from him. Eng Shen was one of the more prominent Gods in Chinese Mythology. He had originally made a name for himself as a God of Infrastructure, but, after Sun Wukong ran rampant through the Heavens, he eventually rose up to be one of the most powerful warrior deities affiliated with the Jade Pce. Hispanion, the Howling Celestial Dog, had also been elevated to the status of Venerable Elder of all canines, and, ording to legends, its howl could weaken demons while drastically strengthening allies. Noticing the husky-like beast staring at Fenrir, Vahn''s brows furrowed as he said, "You''re ying with fire, little pup." Turning to meet Vahn''s gaze, the Howling Celestial Dog, in a deep and manly voice, answered, "You misunderstand my intentions. I am merely admiring the quality of her fur. It is obvious you''ve taken very good care of her. To be perfectly honest, I''m a little jealous." Hearing the ivory white dog''s statement, most of the enmity that had been building within Fenrir''s heart and mind immediately faded away. She didn''t approve of the way he was looking at her but she could forgive him if he keptplimenting her Master. "Besides, I already have seventy-three wives and more pups than I can count. As tantalizing as yourpanion''s haunches are, I''m not exactly wanting for mates." Changing her mind in an instant, Fenrir bared her teeth, a low growl emanating from her throat as she stated, "Choose your words carefully. The only person who can talk about my haunches is my Master." Not expecting Fenrir to speak, a curious light shed across the Howling Celestial Dog''s amber eyes as it adopted a remarkably human smile. Then, with audible amusement in its tone, it stated, "Worry not, young one. I have no intention of stealing you from your Master." Unamused by the implication that he had any hope of stealing her away, a bluish-ck aura began to rise from Fenrir''s body until Vahn plopped his hand atop her head and said, "Calm down. He isn''t trying to antagonize you. Even if he was, you have no reason to get upset. There isn''t a force in this world that could take you from me." Though the Howling Celestial Dog frowned in response to Vahn''s words, Fenrir practically beamed as she rubbed her head against his palm. Interrupting the strange atmosphere, Eng Shen had a slightly incredulous look on his face as he remarked, "Your words make it sound as though youy with beasts. Take it from me, friend. Even if she can transform into a human, you should not engage in such deviant-" Furrowing his brows, Vahn met Eng Shen''s gaze, stating, "You would do well to mind your own business. I have little tolerance for self-righteous fools and bigots..." Adopting a remarkably simr expression, Eng Shen''s friendly facade began to melt away as he said, "Calm yourself, brother. Just as mypanion meant no offense, my words were not intended to generate enmity between us. You should not be so quick to cebels and insult others. A less magnanimous God might have taken offense to such a gross disregard for propriety..." Though he wasn''t particrly fond of Eng Shen''s words and tone, Vahn couldn''t deny the logic contained within. It wasn''t like the man was trying to offend him, so, after several tense moments, he gradually rxed, saying, "I may have overstepped my bounds by calling you a fool and a bigot. For that, I apologize. However, the first half of my statement remains. You shouldn''t speak on such matters unless you are intimately familiar with both the person and their circumstances. Arguments made from ignorance are bound to cause offense." Caressing his chin with a gauntleted hand, Eng Shen seemed to seriously consider Vahn''s words before nodding his head in approval, stating, "Now that I have reflected upon them, I can see the wisdom contained in your words. It appears I was in the wrong this time around. Once we reach the Jade Pce, I will be sure to make it up to you. Tell me, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, do you like alcohol...?" Recalling that the Communities formed by Immortals ced a heavy emphasis onpensatory words and actions, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he replied, "Indeed. When the timees, we can exchange drinks with one another. After all, while your words may have prompted my ire, they were notpelled by hatred or animosity. In that regard, the fault lies with me..." With his shimmering third eye, the Golden Eye of Truth, allowing him to see through illusions and falsehoods, Eng Shen could tell Vahn was being sincere. His friendly smile immediately returned, as, with the exception of a few venerable Sages, it was pretty hard to find people who were willing to take a step back and admit they were wrong. This drastically increased Vahn''s status in his eyes, so much so that he made a silent vow to support the man if anyone tried to bully him during the impending banquet... ... .. . After a rtively short, twenty-minute journey, the gond carrying Vahn, Fenrir, Mikoto, Eng Shen, and the Howling Celestial Dog finally reached its destination. From far away, it resembled a spiraling staircase that extended thousands of meters into the air despite being fragmented and broken at several parts. Up close, or, more specifically, at the very top of the spiraling staircase was an ornate archway covered in vines that, against logic and reason, produced softball-sized peaches. Upon closer inspection, Vahn also noticed a stream that formed a helix around the structure. There were several breaks in its flow, but, if you were to look closely, it was possible to make out a variety of different fish swimming around the inside as if they were attempting to scale the gravity-defying stream and ascend to heaven. This reminded him of the legend concerning the Dragon''s Gate so he was moderately amused when Eng Shen dutifully exined, "This is one of the gates we use to travel great distances in the Heavenly Domain. In the Mortal World, they refer to these archways as Dragon''s Gates. It''s said that a carp that manages to swim up the stream and pass through the gate is able to be a dragon, but, as you can see here, the stream doesn''t actually intersect with the gate. I once tried carrying a carp through but it ended up slipping from my grasp and falling to the ground without transforming." Seemingly amused by his words, a low chuckle emanated from Eng Shen''s throat as he ced his palm against the glossy, jade-white stoneprising the archway. Immediately thereafter, a portal showing an ancient yet surprisingly bustling cityscape opened at the opposite end. The architecture was reminiscent of a fantasy illustration, but, what truly stood out was the diverse variety of people and races walking about. There were people with animalistic traits, people with bird-like wings, and even a number of demonic-looking individuals present. It was a veritable smorgasbord of races... Noticing Vahn''s surprise, a wry smile developed across Eng Shen''s face as he exined, "Though it used to be pretty empty, the Heavenly City surrounding the Jade Pce hase to house more than three-hundred million lesser deities over the past seven thousand years. Most of the residents are pretty weak but you should still be careful about who you offend. Even someone as simple as a beggar might have familial ties to someone in the Imperial Court. Unless you have the ability to see through illusions and deceit, you should be careful who you trust." As if to demonstrate his point, Eng Shen''s form was blurred before coalescing into an aged man with a war-weary expression and a tattered ck robe. At the same time, the Howling Celestia Dog shook his body as if he were trying to dry off. When he was finished, his ivory white fur had be a mangy grey, and, though there was still a glimmer of intelligence in its cloudy-brown eyes, it now resembled a stray on itsst legs. "This is a technique known as the 72 Earthly Transformations. I don''t mean to sound braggadocious, but I''m a little too famous. If I were to appear in my normal form, the people wandering the streets would form together as if watching a parade. I''m not particrly shy, but, unless I''m returning from a conquest, I would rather avoid gathering a crowd." Pulling out a tattered bamboo hat, Eng Shen covered his head in an attempt to conceal his third eye. Then, without waiting to see if Vahn was following behind, he stepped through the portal at a pace that better matched his present appearance. The Howling Celestial Dog immediately followed suit, head lowered and shoulders slumped as if it was just a few steps away from copsing... Exchanging nces with his two animalpanions, Vahn was unsurprised to hear Mikoto say, "I''m already in my Pikachu form. I don''t want to look old and ugly." While Mikoto wasn''t exactly vain, she still had standards regarding her appearance. She might not like attention but she didn''t want people to think she was ugly. Thus, instead of changing her form to appear incognito, she just climbed into the front of Vahn''s tunic before settling where Xysteria usually napped. As for Fenrir, she had always taken pride in the beauty of her coat, so, unless she was ordered to transform, she would remain in her current form. Extending his hand, Vahn gave Fenrir''s head a pat before adopting a slight smile and following in the direction of Eng Shen''s departure. He wasn''t particrly fond of crowds, but, at the same, he didn''t really care about concealing his presence or identity. If push came to shove, he was confident he could shove back a lot harder. Thus, even if someone recognized him and tried to make trouble, he didn''t, truly, mind. In fact, he quite enjoyed teaching people a lesson... ... .. . While most of the Heavenly City''s residents remainedpletely oblivious to Vahn''s visit, a few of the more influential Gods had been keeping an eye on him the moment he began his ascent up the Silver Bridge. It was no ident that Eng Shen had been nearby. Rather, in the days leading up to the Jade Emperor''s invitation, the Imperial Court had discussed everything from who would go out to meet him to where he would stay during the banquet. Though many argued that Vahn was receiving far too much consideration for someone that wasn''t even part of the Jade Pce, there wasn''t much they could say when the Jade Emperor was the one making the concessions. The inordinately handsome God had been keeping a close eye on Vahn''s escapades ever since his debut against Leviathan''s Tail. He was also one of the few people who had recognized Ziros as a former Deva, so, while others still doubted Vahn''s ability, he knew, better than most, how powerful the Sage Dragon had to be in order to secure even a pyrrhic victory. Thus, the moment Vahn sent his message, he immediately convened the Imperial Court before spending the better part of seven days discussing how they would handle him during his stay... He really wanted Vahn to join the Jade Pce... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''How dare you mention Fenrir''s fluffy haunches...!'',''It turns out that Eng Shen is a pretty chill guy o_o...'',''Looks like Vahn found himself a fan xD...'') Chapter 2149: Favor

Chapter 2149: Favor

Though it was only ever a matter of time before someone stopped him, Vahn hadn''t anticipated that the people stopping him would be a group of young girls with ornate hairstyles resembling rabbit ears. "Pardon me, Elder Brother. Might I inquire as to the origin of yourpanion? I have never seen a creature with such a pure Yin constitution. If possible, I would like to purchase her from you. Please, name your price." Scratching Fenrir''s head to help her remain calm, Vahn adopted a smile that wasn''t quite a smile as he answered, "Fenrir is my most trustedpanion. She isn''t for sale." As if she was genuinely surprised by Vahn''s response, the young, princess-like girl ced a hand over her mouth as she replied, "Oh my..." Reacting to their mistress''s words, two of the girls in her entourage, appearing nearly identical to one another, stepped forward to synchronously state, "Lady Xiao Yue has shown you tremendous favor by allowing you to name your price. Who are you to refuse the Moon''s Grace?" After briefly exchanging nces with the disguised Eng Shen, Vahn stared down at the two girls, answering, "I am known as Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor and Leader of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Tell me, daughters of Changxi, does your Venerable Mother approve of this kind of behavior?" Not expecting Vahn to mention their mother, the twins visibly paled as the other ten girls in the entourage promptly averted their eyes. The only person who still appearedpletely innocent was the young girl they were escorting. Her dainty little face morphed into one of curiosity and confusion as she asked, "Have we erred in some way...?" Resisting the urge to pat the girl''s head,rgely because of the ornaments contained within, Vahn''s expression softened as he said, "It is unbelievably rude to expect someone to part ways with one of theirpanions. Tell me, if I were to make a simr offer for the girls following behind you, would you be willing to sell them?" Furrowing her brows, the rabbit-like girl, Xiao Yue, briefly pursed her lips before muttering, "I see..." in a disheartened tone. Immediately afterward, however, her expression immediately brightened as she proposed, "Then I will simply purchase both of you. That way, you can always remain together." While Eng Shen was issuing a rather creepy soundingugh from the sidelines, Vahn was doing his best to resist facepalming. He could tell the girl was naive and innocent by the way she carried herself but this was bordering on the ridiculous. "Listen...you can''t just go around trying to purchase people..." Tilting her head to the side, Xiao Yue appeared genuinely confused by Vahn''s words as she lightly furrowed her brows and repeated, "I see..." in an even sadder tone. This earned him a number of scary looks from the people observing the events from the periphery, but, not caring about them in the slightest, Vahn pulled out a candied golden apple and said, "Cheer up. We all make mistakes. So long as we learn from them, there''s no problem." Staring at the shimmering apple covered in caramel, Xiao Yue''s brows raised as she leaned forward, nose twitching ever so slightly as she attempted to capture its aroma. This caused her to resemble a rabbit even further. The ears atop her head even twitched slightly, almost as if they were alive. "This is...?" Though wild apples were remarkablymon in Heavenly Domain, Xiao Yue couldn''t corrte the object in Vahn''s hand with the fruit she was familiar with. The variety they produced, Malus Sieversii, was typically fed to livestock or consumed by the poor. It wasn''t something the wealthy consumed. Rather, depending on the circumstances, offering an apple to a wealthy and affluent deity could be seen as a tremendous insult. "It is a candied sweet from my homnd. Itbines the Golden Apples of Avalon with caramel manufactured by Wood Nymphs and Dryads. They are remarkably popr among men, women, and children alike." While she wasn''t particrly learned in the stories and myths of other Districts, Xiao Yue had heard numerous tales pertaining to Golden Apples. They were often directlypared to the Peaches of Immortality guarded by the Most Revered and August Matriarch, the Queen Mother and wife to the Jade Emperor, Lady Xiwangmu. After a brief moment of consideration, Xiao Yue extended her dainty, jade-white fingers to grasp the stem supporting the candied apple. Then, despite the concerned looks she was receiving from the members of her entourage, she lowered her head to gingerly nibble the unbelievably fragrant and appetizing treat. Though the caramel met her expectations, Xiao Yue''s eyes began shimmering like starlight as she took several additional bites of the apple. She wouldn''t be able to describe its vor in detail but it was easily the most delicious thing she had ever tasted. It was almost like ingesting pure happiness, and, much like genuine happiness, it was gone before she knew it. "Ah..." Staring at the emptied stick, a feeling akin to mncholy washed over Xiao Yue as she directed a rather pitiable gaze towards Vahn. Fortunately for her, he had already anticipated this, so, as a kind of toll, he produced an entire tray filled with candied apples as he said, "This should be enough for everyone to have two. Unfortunately, I need to be on my way so you''ll have to enjoy them on your own. I suggest you find a shop that sells cinnamon-vored tea. They go remarkably well together." Hearing Vahn''s words, a wide range of emotions presented themselves across Xiao Yue''s face. She went from pleasantly surprised and grateful to somber and mncholic in less than ten seconds. It made her appear remarkably adorable, but, with an entire litter of kittens back home, Vahn had no intention of looking after another baker''s dozen... Understanding it would be rude of her to continue barring Vahn''s passage, Xiao Yue reached up to the golden, branch-like ornament twining around her head. It had golden leaves and several berry-like gems growing along its length, and, the moment she reached up to pull one, even Eng Shen came forward to shout, "Princess Yue...!" in his actual voice. Shifting her confused gaze to the disguised Eng Shen, Xiao Yue briefly lowered her hand, asking, "Uncle Shen...?" in a slightly doubtful tone. Exhaling a sigh, Eng Shen surprised everyone present by dropping his disguise and affectionately replying, "Little Moon, you should not be so quick to part with the buds of your Ginko Tree Diadem. There is a difference between returning a favor and cing yourself at a disadvantage..." Furrowing her brows, Xiao Yue''s face scrunched up adorably as she rebutted, "The Revered Mother told me that acts of kindness should be returned ten-fold. I inconvenienced this Elder Brother, yet, in spite of my careless words and actions, he has gifted me with the most delicious offering I have ever eaten. I do not believe our favor is too much aspensation..." Without waiting for Eng Shen''s reply, Xiao Yue plucked one of the sapphire-like buds from her diadem before proferring it towards Vahn and exining, "Elder Brother, this seed allows you to make a single request of me. You need only crush it between your thumb and index finger and I vow to do everything in my power to grant your request." Though he was tempted to refuse Xiao Yue''s offer, Vahn ultimately epted the Ginko Seed with a smile. He knew she would most likely pout if he refused, so, with the intention of never using it, he ced the seed into his Inventory before cupping his hands together and saying, "Thank you. I will remember this kindness for the rest of my days." Smiling radiantly in response to Vahn''s words, Xiao Yue promptly stepped aside before offering a polite and courteous bow. Then, along with her sister-cousins, the twelve moons sired by Changxi, she departed with uncharacteristic haste in an effort to find a tea house serving cinnamon tea... Seeing Xiao Yue scamper off, a tired sigh escaped Eng Shen''s mouth before he walked over to Vahn and said, "You possess the luck of the devil. It''s rare to meet the Moon Princess in the Jade Pce, much less wandering the streets. Make sure you protect that seed with your life. If it falls into the hands of someone with malicious intent, the Jade Pce will spare no effort to hold you ountable..." As the daughter of Chang''e, the most beautiful Goddess in the Heavenly Domain, Xiao Yue was nearly as famous as her mother. She was also the personal disciple of Lady Xiwangmu, and, more importantly, a dear friend of Sun Wukong and Karyou, two of the Seven Great Demon Kings. Once it was discovered that a man from outside the Jade Pce possessed the right to request Xiao Yue''s favor, they were bound to cause an uproar. With Loi-chan conveniently narrating Eng Shen''s thoughts, the smile on Vahn''s face became increasingly wry as he replied, "Rx. I stored it in a location beyond the reach of even the most powerful deities in the Divine Realm. I also have no intention of asking for the Princess''s favor so it won''t be an issue." Catching Vahn by surprise, Eng Shen actually red in response to his words. Then, in a heavy and ostensibly threatened tone, he asserted, "You shouldn''t do that. When a female Daoist gives their favor to another, they will ruminate on it every day until a request has been made. You might not care about such things but it will burden Princess Yue''s heart and mind if you never make use of the right she has bestowed you..." Understanding better than most how fretful women could be, Vahn exhaled a mildly exasperated sigh of his own before answering, "I understand. Once I havee up with something suitable, I''ll be sure to make a request. Now, I believe we have an audience to attend? I can''t imagine the Jade Emperor enjoys being kept waiting." Snorting through his nose, Eng Shen continued ring at Vahn for several seconds before easing up and answering, "Along with the title of Jade Emperor, the old man is also known as the Greatest God of Benevolence, Fairness, and Mercy. He is patient enough to tolerate that troublemaker, Sun Wu Kong, trashing the Imperial Court. He isn''t going to get upset over something as insignificant as a dy in arrival. Rather, he is the type that genuinely believes that people appear at the exact time they are meant to." Not expecting Eng Shen to go on a moderate tirade that effectively amounted to him praising his father, Vahn''s wry smile turned into a light chuckle as he mused, "I see. Your father is, undoubtedly, a great man. However, my words were just a polite way of suggesting we ditch the crowd. I believe you said something about wanting to avoid garnering too much attention~?" Blinking in surprise, Eng Shifted his attention from Vahn to the rather sizeable crowd forming around them. The moment he did so, a few of the bolder members of the audience came forward, smiles on their faces as they shouted things along the likes of, "Eng/Brother Shen!" before asking for his autograph. This, somewhat amusingly, caused the proud warrior god to blush, as, despite his previous im about not being shy, he actually had a fear of public speaking andrge crowds... ... .. . While Vahn was enjoying the sight of Eng Shen failing to disperse the crowd, a woman with long, smokey grey hair was watching him from afar. Her golden eyes glistened with fierce intellect, but, if anyone were to spot her, the first thing they would notice is her remarkably curvaceous body veiled behind a skintight, predominately white bodysuit. She also had an inordinatelyrge and armored petticoat, but, juxtaposed against her phenomenal figure, even the sun overhead seemed to pale inparison. "Vahn Aldrnari Mason...you will have the honor of being my 109th kill..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn''s curse is still going strong xD...'',''If a girl gives you her number, you better call back...'',''New chapter. Who dis...?'') Chapter 2150: Bridge

Chapter 2150: Bridge

After passing through the surprisingly crowded Heavenly City, thest obstacle between Vahn and the Jade Pce was an inordinately long bridge spanning a bottomless chasm. Falling here meant descending to the Mortal Domain below, and, due to the restrictions against flight, anyone without the ability to survive crashing into the ground at thousands of kilometers per hour would invariably lose their life. For reasons Vahn couldn''t understand, many of the worlds revolving around the cultivation of Qi had no upper limit to the speed at which a person could fall. Concepts such as friction still existed, but, due to theyer of Qi that covered their bodies, Immortals, Daoists, and Cultivators would find themselves elerating to the point that a rtively short descent of a few hundred meters might kill them. Fortunately, Vahn was far beyond the point that a fall could kill him. He could travel at such speeds that he could bore through entires without sustaining the slightest of injuries, so, if anything, the descent to the Mortal Domain would be a leisurely and nostalgic experience. Guarding the inordinately long bridge connecting the Heavenly City to the Jade Pce was a young man with predominately white hair that extended past his hips. The tips of his somewhat wild and free-flowing bangs were tinged with ck, and, despite possessing a pair of humanoid ears on the side of his head, there were two, rounded tiger-like ears protruding from the top. As the wall dividing the Heavenly City from the rest of the Heavenly Domain ran from North to South, the gate most people passed through to enter the Jade Pce was the West. As a result, even without seeing the massive white tiger the man was lounging against, Vahn could already guess the man''s identity. After all, the tiger stripes on his face and his cial blue eyes made it pretty obvious... "Baihu." Hearing his name, the animalistic God ceased staring off into space long enough to acknowledge the existence of Vahn and his party. Instead of responding to Vahn''s address, however, he focused his gaze on the disguised Eng Shen, asking, "What are you doing here, dog breath? Weren''t you punished to guard the Mortal Domain after attempting to bribe Yue Lao?"(A/N: Yue Lao is the God of Marriage that ties people together using the strings of fate.) Snorting through his nose, Eng Shen undid his transformation before answering, "I was asked to receive and escort one of the Jade Emperor''s guests. Move aside, stupid cat." Turning his attention from Eng Shen, Baihu stared at Vahn for a brief moment before furrowing his brows when he saw Fenrir. Then, noticing the bulge near Vahn''s belly, he groused, "Another dog lover..." before asking, "What are you trying to sneak into the Jade Pce?" Producing the same invitation letter he had shown at the Gate of Heaven, Vahn calmly exined, "I was allowed to bring along twopanions. One of them is currently asleep so I would appreciate it if you kept your voice down and retracted your aura..." Recognizing the spiritual imprint on the invitation letter, Baihu cupped his hands together in azy gesture of respect before sitting back down and making himselffortable against his bus-sized animalpanion. This caused Eng Shen to shake his head in disapproval, but, instead of going out of his way to antagonize the legendary beast, he just looked towards Vahn and said, "Let''s go." in a slightly exasperated tone. Though he was half-tempted to invite his Baihu out, Vahn just smiled and waved towards thezy-looking God in passing. The man furrowed his brows in response, but, rather than saying anything, he just snorted through his nose while his tigerpanion exhaled through his nose in a manner remarkably reminiscent of a sigh... ... .. . With Eng Shen and the Howling Celestial Dog leading the way, it wasn''t long before Vahn and Co found themselves in what appeared to be apletely different, extremely ancient world. They had been walking in a straight line, yet, as if they had stepped through time and space, the bridge led to a fantastical rock formation covered in glistening runes and lush vegetation. "Once we pass through the Cavern of Reflection, we''ll be at the western entrance to the Jade Pce. I should warn you. Those with malicious intents or wicked hearts will find themselves unable to pass the trials ahead. If you would like to return, now is yourst chance..." To emphasize the severity of his words, Eng Shen pointed to a few lines of runic text engraved in a nearby stone tablet. It was a little unorthodox, but, even at a nce, Vahn could recognize it as a type of Geass Roll. Instead of being a one-time use item, however, it was of the perpetual variety. In other words, entering the Jade Pce required consenting to andpleting a Gift Game... *** < Cavern of Reflection > [Win Condition] Complete the trials within the Cavern of Reflection. [Hidden Conditions] None [Rules] 1: Participants must enter alone. 2: Participants are unable to lie within the confines of the Cavern of Reflection. 3. Participants may forfeit the game at any time. [Restrictions] 1: Participants cannot leave the Cavern of Reflection beforepleting its trials. 2: The use of Gifts is strictly prohibited. 3: Destroying the Cavern of Reflection is strictly prohibited. [Reward] 1: Entrance into the Jade Pce. [Penalty] 1: Expulsion from the Heavenly Domain. [Time Limit] Unlimited *** Though he wasn''t fond of the idea of entering alone, Vahn had innumerable ways to get around it. Instead, he gave Mikoto a gentle pat, stirring the mouse-like Pokemon awake before asking, "Feel like participating in a Gift Game?" Poking her head out of Vahn''s tunic, Mikoto briefly looked around before spotting the stone tablet. After reading the rules and restrictions listed out, she issued an adorable yawn before climbing out of his tunic and answering, "Sure. Now is as good a time as any to participate in my first game." With that said, Mikoto jumped off of Vahn''s shoulder before scampering over to the Cavern of Reflection. Since the rules stated they would need to enter alone, she didn''t see in point in idling around. She was also prettypetitive at times, so, with Fenrirgging behind, Mikoto intended to be the first toplete the trial. Understanding Mikoto''s intentions, Fenrir furrowed how brows before spontaneously transforming into her human form. This caught Eng Shen and the Howling Celestial Dog by surprise, as, in preparation for the banquet, Fenrir had worn a rather stylish yet form-fitting gown that matched the sensibilities of the Eastern Gods. It left her shoulders and part of her thighs exposed but it was still an extremely tasteful garb that resembled white and ck martial arts apparel entuated by an ornate teal sash, detached sleeves that vaguely resembled flowers, and a stylish purple cape. "I take back my previous statement. Human or not, you''re a lucky man to have captured the heart of such a beautiful woman." After recovering from his brief stupor, Eng Shen surprised Vahn with a toothy smile and a thumbs up while the Howling Celestial Dog adopted a remarkably human expression of regret. Both he and his wives also possessed human forms, but,pared to Fenrir, even his most beautiful wife would fall short. With an uncharacteristically haughty expression on her face, Fenrir''s chest swelled with pride as she stared down at the Howling Celestial Dog. Before she could say anything unnecessarily antagonist, however, Vahn gently urged her forward by gently pressing his palm just above her tail. This caused her ears to twitch and her back to straighten as he said, "Go on ahead. If anything happens, be sure to contact me." Nodding her head in understanding, Fenrir cast onest taunting look towards the pouting pup before picking up her pace and dashing into the cavern''s entrance. It didn''t even take a full second for her figure to disappearpletely, as, the moment anyone passed the invisible barrier covering the entrance, they were immediately teleported to an isted dimensional space. Having followed Fenrir''s departure with his eyes, Eng Shen returned his attention to Vahn, asking, "Seriously, how did you tame a woman like that? She gives off the same impression as those high-brow women who seclude themselves in all-female sects. It''s no wonder she caught the attention of Little Moon."(A/N: FYI, Xiao Yue and Little Moon mean the same thing.) Though he was tempted to say he hadn''t tamed her, Vahn knew that wasn''t exactly true. There had been a time when Fenrir was basically his pet, and, even to this very day, there were moments when he had to give her guidance in response to her behavior. Running his hand through his hair, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he chose to answer in the most honest manner possible, asserting, "I''m not gonna lie. I was, and continue to be, one of the luckiest men in the world. Fenrir is just the tip of a veryrge iceberg when ites to my luck with women. In fact, I often have to go out of my way to avoid increasing the size of my harem..." Not expecting such a braggadocious remark, Eng Shen stared at Vahn as if thetter was pulling his leg. With his Golden Eye of Truth, however, he could ascertain that Vahn was, indeed, telling the truth. This caused a bit of resentment to swell within the three-eyed God''s chest, as, despite being one of the most famous Warrior Gods affiliated with the Jade Pce, his luck with women was truly abysmal. He had even started to assume that someone had cursed him, as, despite proposing to a total of 937 women, every single one of them had refused his courtship... cing his hand on Vahn''s shoulder, Eng Shen''s countenance became uncharacteristically serious as he said, "Brother...you must teach me your methods. Each of my brothers and sisters has already found a Daoist partner. I''m tired of eating dog food..." Blinking in surprise, Vahn stared Eng Shen up and down before briefly exchanging nces with the Howling Celestial Dog. In response, the ivory-white canine exined, "This fool is beyond hope when ites to romance. He believes normal courtship practices are too roundabout so he ends up proposing the first time he meets a woman he likes. I even attempted to set him up with one of my daughters but he ended upining about how everyone in the Imperial Court would make fun of him for settling down with a dog..." Turning a resentful gaze toward Eng Shen, the Howling Celestial Dog adopted a gaze simr to a father who had all but given up on his son. In response, the three-eyed god nervously averted his gaze before softly muttering, "I at least want my first time to be with a beautiful fairy..." Though the man had spoken in a voice that was clearly meant to be inaudible, both Vahn and the Howling Celestial Dog were able to hear him. As a result, Vahn was genuinely surprised, as, despite the moderately oppressive aura that radiated from Eng Shen''s body, the man was actually very handsome. He was also the son of the Jade Emperor and possessed tremendous power. These two traits, alone, should have had women lining up from the Silver Bridge to the Jade Pce in an effort to be his wife... As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn shifted his attention to the fiery third eye at the center of Eng Shen''s forehead. He suspected this was the true reason the God hadn''t been able to find a partner. People didn''t really like having all their secrets exposed, so, even if there were women who harbored intentions toward him, they would be too afraid of being seen through. As for the women he had proposed to...well, Vahn would have to see it to understand how the man had erred... cing one of his own hands on the desperate-looking God''s shoulder, Vahn returned a friendly smile as he said, "Sure. Once the banquet hase to an end, we''ll discuss the matter over a few drinks. I can''t promise my advice will ensure you a wife but I should be able to correct the mistakes in your approach. Just promise me you''ll invite me to the wedding if things go well." Since he was always looking to increase his number of malepanions, Vahn didn''t mind offering Eng Shen a bit of advice. Thetter could also tell he was being sincere, so, despite feeling more than a little awkward, an excited smile developed across his face as he threw his arm around Vahn''s shoulders and stated, "Of course!" before issuing a boisterousugh... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Lazy tiger...'',''Fenrir being haughty-naughty (O w O)...'',''Howling Celestial Dog be like, "What''s wrong with dog food...?"'') Chapter 2151: Frigid

Chapter 2151: Frigid

Though the inscribed Geass Roll mentionedpleting trials, the Cavern of Reflection was more of a formality than anything else. So long as the participants didn''t harbor evil or malicious intentions, it was actually a rather beautiful and scenic detour filled with jadeite frescos, mossy ruins, andkes that glowed with a radiance reminiscent of starlight. Simply put, the Cavern of Reflection was more of a tourist attraction meant to mesmerize visitors rather than deter them from entering. After all, the Jade Pce wasn''t exactly wanting for powerful experts. If someone were to invade, they would have to contend against dozens of gods and one of the most powerful forcesprising the East Side''s Divine Army. Unfortunately, while the Cavern of Reflection was an attraction for most, it was an obstaince for a certain type of person... "State your purpose..." Staring up at the twin jade statues, each resembling an amalgamation between a lion and a dragon, Fenrir took a moment to consider her response before confidently dering, "I exist to support and providefort for my Master." Though the two beasts resembled statues, both leaned forward to get a better look at Fenrir before asking, "If your Master were to order you to kill a member of the Jade Pce, what would you do?" Without any hesitation whatsoever, Fenrir answered, "I would kill them. My Master is a good man. If he deems someone deserving of death, they have brought it upon themselves." "Hmmm...." x2 Detecting no falsehoods in Fenrir''s words, the two statues, colloquially known as Guardian Lions, briefly exchanged nces. They could appreciate Fenrir''s loyalty, but, at the same time, their duty prevented them from letting her pass freely. After a moment of silent deliberation, the statue on the left looked towards Fenrir and said, "Your loyalty ismendable, young one. However, blind faith is rarely a good thing. Even the Gods are not infallible. If your Mastermanded you to kill an innocent, it would weigh upon your soul for the rest of your days." Radiating an aura of confidence, Fenrir raised her head to meet the Guardian Lion''s gaze as she stated, "I am well aware of that. It doesn''t change the fact that my Master is a good man. There are times when both of us make mistakes. Whenever that happens, we support one another and do our best to ensure a repeat incident never urs." ying off Fenrir''s words, the Guardian Lion on the right raised one of its brows before muttering, "Your statement indicates that both you and your Master have wronged the innocent. Can you tell us how many...or, perhaps, has the number increased beyond your means to recount?" Furrowing her brows, Fenrir paused for a brief moment before answering, "My Master is a God, an Emperor, and a Dragon. His actions have an impact on the entire Order of Creation. The number of innocents he has allowed to die is beyond even the God of Wisdom''s ability to recount. However, it was never malicious intent that drove his actions. He has always acted in the interest of the world as a whole..." Detecting numerous falsehoods in Fenrir''s statement, both Guardian Lions stated, "You''re lying." in a firm, rebuking tone. At the same time, their eyes began to ze like fiery orbs as the runic pattern lining their bodies began to illuminate. Though she was unable to prevent the fur covering her head, ears, paws, and tail from bing noticeably more rigid, Fenrir managed to appear rtively calm in the face of the duo''s usations. She wasn''t lying to them, or, more specifically, it hadn''t been her intent to lie to them. Thus, instead of immediately attacking, she took a moment to reconsider her statement before muttering, "Ah....I think I understand where I erred..." Finding the faults in her argument, Fenrir ignored the increasing auras of the duo as she raised her head and appended, "My Master has always acted in the interest of those who long for a free and unfettered existence. He cares intensely for his family, friends, and loved ones, but, no matter how much he loves them, they will forever take a back seat to his desire to grant freedom to those who sincerely yearn for it..." Having seen her Master fail, time and again, to mind his own business, Fenrir was confident that he would never abandon those who seek freedom. He might not go out of his way to save them in the beginning, but, after seeing the countless injustices that existed within the world, it was only ever a matter of time before he did something about it. This was one of the reason so many people loved and respected him. It didn''t matter how great the burden was. If he could help people and provide them with greater freedom, he would shoulder the weight of reality itself... Hearing the conviction in Fenrir''s words, the two guardians began to calm down as they sat atop their perches. Then, after a moment of silence, the one of the left asked, "If your Master was to lose his life or sumb to corruption, what would you do...?" After a moment of incredulity, Fenrir confidently asserted, "There isn''t a force in Creation that can kill my Master..." before adopting a far more serious expression and stating, "If he were to sumb to corruption, I would remain at his side until he returned to his senses. It doesn''t matter how long it takes or how poorly he treats me. I will persist so that he does not lose himself to regret once his awareness has returned. That is my duty...my pride..." cing her paw over her chest, a phenomenal aura spontaneously erupted from Fenrir''s body. The two guardians, wholly unprepared for this, were effectively powerless to resist as a wave of icy cold energy washed over them. In its wake, the cavern was covered in ayer of pristine white ice as the hair atop Fenrir''s head gradually shifted from a midnight blue to a lighter, icier blue... Exhaling arge plume of white mist, Fenrir opened her eyes to reveal icy blue irises that matched the color of her hair. When she saw the state of the cavern, a look of confusion briefly marred her face before quickly turning into an apologetic and slightly fretful look as she quickly dissipated the yin and ice elemental energy that had pervaded the statuesque creatures'' bodies. Under normal circumstances, the twin lions, Fu and Fuu, would have immediately retaliated if the person undergoing the trial dared to attack them. When they sensed the pure, unblemished, and divine aura exuding from Fenrir''s body, however, they hesitated. This ended up being the correct decision, as, the moment Fenrir experimentally flexed her paw, now covered in bluish-white fur, the medium supporting the sub-dimension began to crack as if the void had suddenly be frozen solid and on the verge of shattering. Fortunately, all of the negative emotions Fenrir ordinarily had to keep in check had vanished along with her change. She felt more in control in this one moment than she had throughout the entirety of her life, so, after noticing the strange phenomena, she quickly got it under control. Then, as if to emphasize the significance of her change, particles of golden light began to appear from the void before promptly coalescing into a luminous golden Gift Card. "Fragment of Origin...!" x2 Recognizing the phrase, Fenrir promptly snatched the card before cing it against her chest. She could always check itter. It was far more important to prevent others from doing the same. After all, while there were innumerable benefits to having your identity more clearly defined, it also made your weaknesses easier to exploit. A notable example of this was how the Norse God of Light, Baldr, was imperverious to harm. However, the moment he was exposed to mistletoe, he became as weak and vulnerable as a normal human male. (A/N: Fun fact. Many have spected that this is the origin of Superman''s weakness to kryptonite.) Seeing Fenrir ce away the golden card before they could get a good look at its features, the Guardian Lions adopted remarkably humanoid expressions of discontent. Unfortunately, while it was well within their right to question Fenrir''s identity, they couldn''t force her to reveal personal secrets. Their duty revolved around exposing a person''s purpose and ascertaining whether or not they could be trusted to enter the Jade Pce. Prying too deeply into a person''s secrets was more than enough justification for a war between Communities and the factions backing them. As that thought crossed their minds, the Guardian Lions were prepared to proceed with the next phase of the trial when Fenrir''s ears suddenly perked up. Then, before either of them could utter so much as a single additional syble, she vanished into thin air... ... .. . Having passed through the Cavern of Reflection with considerable ease, Vahn was waiting outside the entrance to the Jade Pce with Mikoto, Eng Shen, and the Howling Celestial Dog. They were just making small conversation until Vahn sensed a subtle shift in the connection between him and Fenrir. When he focused his attention on it, he felt an unbelievable chill, but, at the same time, there was a sensation akin to ''serenity'' thatpelled him to remain calm. Surprising the increasingly friendly God and his animalpanion, Vahn spontaneously raised his hand to interrupt the former, stating, "One second..." before promptly linking his senses with Fenrir. He could feel her excitement the moment the connection was established, but, unlike the times he had linked with her previously, it wasparably subtle. Instead, the moment prominent emotion she was currently experiencing could best be described as contentedness. Just as Vahn was contemting sending her a message, Fenrir''s Fragment of Origin manifested into existence. This was more than enough reason to extract her from the trial, so, the moment she drew the Gift Card into herself, he pulled up her Status in his Unit Management tab and teleported her to his side. Then, before anything else, he pulled her into his embrace, a massive grin on his face as he squeezed her tight and said, "Congrattions on bing a God..." Hearing her Master''s praise, Fenrir''s tail began to waggle as she nuzzled her face against his chest. This caused Vahn''s smile to turn notably more affectionate, but, feeling his hand freeze the moment he grazed Fenrir''s tail, his brows immediately perked up as he looked down to see a subtle, icy glow radiating from the interior of each individual bristle. He could also feel a frigid chill seeping into his body from Fenrir''s paws. The most surprising thing about this was the fact his body wasn''t breaking it down like it would other foreign energies. Instead, it seemed to absorb the icy energy, almost as if it was happy to have it... ********** [Status] Name: Fenrir Mason Age: 108, Ageless Race: Vanargandr, Primordial Ice Spirit, Pure-Blooded Dragon Parameters: [Transcendental Path to Heaven] Strength: 304,292B Agility: 711,419A Dexterity: 118,567B Intelligence: 39,873C Luck: 77,003A Spirit: 504,108A Wisdom: 6,228D Charisma: 1,004,617S Divinity: Primoridial Ice(S), Wolf(B), Moon(C), Hunt(C), Severing(C) Authority: Sage Dragon Emperor''s Most Trusted Companion(???) Soul Tier: 4 Karma: (-) Innate(s): [Insatiable Hunger(Innate):(-)], [Heaven Devouring Wolf(Innate): SS], [Queen of the Pack(Innate):S], [Fenrir Mason: SSS] Gift(s): [Sage Dragon Emperor''s Most Trusted Companion: ???], [Unchained: ???], [Queen of the Frozen Abysss: S], [Primoridial Ice Spirit: S], [Apex Predator: S], [Lunar Cry: A], [Freezing Roar: A], [Huntress: S], [Severing ws: B], [Gleipnir: A], [Blessing of the Moon: C] Talent(s): [Ice Elemental Maniption: S], [Archmage: S], [Mimicry: B], [Singing: B], [Dancing: C], [Etiquette: C], [Spearmanship: C], [Archery: B], [Flexibility: B], and many more~ ********** ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Fenrir is the goodest girl'',''Fenrir is the goodest girl'',''Fenrir is the goodest girl'')(A/N: Important things should be said thrice.) Chapter 2152: Obeisance: Intuition

Chapter 2152: Obeisance: Intuition

After casually creating a dantian-like container to house the energy Fenrir was infusing into his body, Vahn separated from the lovable wolf girl to ask, "How do you feel?" Though her mood had diminished somewhat the moment her Master pulled away, Fenrir managed an uncharacteristic smile as she answered, "I feel great. It''s difficult to put into words, but I suddenly feel more plete'' than before." Recalling his moment of ascension in the Record of Danmachi, Vahn offered an understanding nod as he hooked a hand around Fenrir''s head before resting his forehead against hers. She wasn''t the only one feeling moreplete at the present moment. He could feel their connection more clearly than ever before, so, even without her exining things directly, he knew exactly how she felt. "Master..." As if they were the only two people in the entire world, Fenrir stood on the tips of her toes in an effort to seize her Master''s lips. Vahn offered no resistance in this regard. Rather, the moment he sensed her intentions, he forcibly separated them from the Jade Pce''s Principle Axis of Time. In other words, they now had all the time in the world and no one, except perhaps the Administrator of the Central Network, had the ability to spy on them. From the perspective of everyone else, Vahn and Fenrir had just been staring into each others'' eyes after the former rested his head against thetter. The only person to sense anything was amiss was Mikoto, as, the moment Vahn and Fenrir returned to the Principle Axis of Time, she could sense the changes in their bodies and auras. This caused her to feel envious, so, before anyone else could say anything, she jumped onto Vahn''s shoulder and gave both him and Fenrir a light shock. Chuckling in spite of the bands of electricity flowing between his mrs, Vahn reached his hand up to caress Mikoto''s head as he teased, "You''re cute when you''re jealous..." Though she was fully capable of speech, Mikoto replied with a threatening, "Pika..." before puffing out her cheeks and producing even more electricity. This time, however, she didn''t shock either of them as the serene yet piercing gaze of Fenrir''s face made it readily apparent she didn''t appreciate being electrocuted. Ignoring the energetic bands of electricity, Vahn used his index and middle fingers to persistently scratch under and around her chin until she inevitably released a sigh and rubbed her cheek against the back of his hand... Seeing the intimacy between Vahn and his two animalpanions, Eng Shen briefly exchanged nces with the Howling Celestial Dog. In response, the ivory-white canine adopted a moderately offended expression before stating, "Even if you look at me like that, I have no intention of letting you anywhere near my butt..." Understanding the implication contained in the Howling Celestial Dog''s words, a violent aura began to exude from Eng Shen''s body as he stared down at his longtimepanion and threatened, "It would appear I''ve been too lenient on you these past three-hundred years..." Without waiting for his Master to continue, the Howling Celestial Dog promptly transformed into a puppy before speeding off through one of the Jade Pce''s walls. He possessed the ability to cross boundaries, so, with walls serving as a boundary between the interior and exterior of a building, he was able to pass through them as if they didn''t exist. "You mangy lout! If you run off, you better note looking for meter on...!" Ignoring his Master''s threats, the Howling Celestial Dog proceeded to the medium-sized pavilion that served as Eng Shen''s home and the kennel of his moderately sized harem. It had been a few years since hest saw his pups so he was eager to see how they had grown. He was also feeling a little frustrated after seeing Fenrir''s human form, so, with the intention of healing his broken heart, he sped off towards his home... Sensing the Howling Celestial Dog''s aura disappearing, Eng Shen clicked his tongue in frustration before shifting his attention back to Vahn, Fenrir, and Mikoto. When he discovered the affectionate trio staring back at him, a bit of heat and a ruddy coloration spread through his cheeks. His fair and unblemished skin made this even more obvious, yet, in spite of this, he managed to appear stoic as he said, "I''ll show you to the audience chamber. After that, I expect our next meeting will be at Zao Shin''s Immortal Banquet. Truth be told, I''m quite looking forward to the evening''s festivities..." Though his impression of Vahn had improved tremendously over thest couple of hours, there was also a bit of resentment in Eng Shen''s heart. Exchanging blows in the arena was the most reliable method of settling grievances, so, the moment the ranking matchesmenced, he intended to be among the first to challenge Vahn. Then, regardless of how things concluded, they would forever be brothers-in-arms. Recognizing thepetitive glimmer in Eng Shen''s eyes, an expectant smile gradually presented itself across Vahn''s face. He was also looking forward to the evening''s festivities, so, after a moment of allowing the tensions to increase, he assuredly replied, "As am I." before proceeding to follow his newly found friend through the beautiful and scenic estate constructed from crimson wood, pristine white marble, and vibrant jade... ... .. . Shortly after Vahn passed Baihu in the West, an inordinately beautiful woman with ashen hair and a phenomenal figure, eyed by everyone she passed, attempted to bypass the Vermillion Bird, Zhuque, in the South. Noticing the woman''s approach, Zhuque, one of the most elegant and attractive women in the entire Heavenly Domain, couldn''t help frowning. She didn''t consider herself a vain person but the aura exuded by the ashen-haired woman caused her to feel uncharacteristically insecure. It was like the woman held absolutely nothing...almost like she was above even the Gods... With a fiery aura exuding from her body, Zhuque''s feet parted with the ground as she elevated herself gracefully into the sky. Her somewhat revealing gown, consisting of red, orange, and gold cloth seemed toe to life as her silky ck hair, fastened into a traditional phoenix hairstyle that perfectly framed her face, gained a vermillion hue. "Who are you? What business have you with the Jade Pce...?" Catching Zhuque by surprise, the woman promptly took a knee before respectfully lowering her head and answering, "My name is Baegis Assipattle of Orcadia. I havee to the Jade Pce in pursuit of the Sage Dragon, Vahn Aldrnari Mason." ... .. . (A/N: Just kidding. Assipattle is a real person in Orcadian Folklore though.) ... .. . "My name is Vor Valkyria, First Generation Valkyrie and Vice-Leader of the White Raven Community. I have entered the Heavenly Domain in pursuit of the Sage Dragon, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. I believe the Allfather has already exined the situation to the Greatest and Most Venerable Jade Emperor. Please allow me passage." Recognizing the name almost instantaneously, Zhuque''s eyes widened as she lowered herself to the ground and asked, "You''re the Goddess of Spears? The Undefeated Dragon yer of Odin''s Hall...?" Holding out her left hand, Vor manifested an inordinatelyrgence with the exact same white coloration as her bodysuit. Both were formed from materials that had been harvested from Pure-Blooded Dragons, so, the moment people set eyes on them, an instinctual feeling of dread would settle upon them. After all, while there were quite a number of Dragon yers spread throughout history and myth, few had the legacy of hunting one of the ''Strongest Species'' for sport. Swallowing hard, most of the ill-will Zhuque had been directing toward Vor immediately settled. The kneeling Valkyrie was purported to be one of the three most powerful female warriors in the South Side, and, ording to rumors, she had nearly in Kouryuu, the Great Sage Who Devastates Seas, during their past encounter. Were it not for the timely intervention of Sun Wu Kong, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, the legendary Seven Sages would have been reduced to three members. Understanding she was absolutely not Vor''s match, Zhuque cupped her hands in a respectful and courteous manner as she said, "You honor us with your presence, oh great one. Please, raise your head and stand. If you continue to kneel, everyone here will be forced to prostrate..." Rising the moment she heard Zhuque''s words, a practiced smile developed across Vor''s face as she said, "Thank you." before dismissing her spear and asking, "May I pass...?" Though she might get in trouble for letting someone pass without an invitation, Zhuquecked the ability to bar Vor''s passage. The rules of the Jade Pce allowed people to challenge each other for virtually any reason, even minor slights. This rule extended to people visiting the Heavenly Domain, so, if Vor really wanted to, she could challenge her to a deathmatch in order to ''earn'' passage to the Jade Pce. Refusing to spend the next century resurrecting, Zhuque forced a smile before offering yet another courteous bow and saying, "Please pass..." in an awkward, notably strained voice. She felt like she had swallowed a bug, but, knowing how violent the warriors from the South could be, she wasn''t going to risk her neck barring the passage of someone exponentially stronger than an opponent she had no hope of beating... Emting Zhuque''s actions, Vor cupped her hands together and repeated, "Thank you." before raising her head and passing the resentful-looking guardian. Then, the moment no one could see her face, her expression became devoid of emotion as her long and remarkably toned legs carried her forward at a surprisingly swift yet elegant pace... ... .. . Though the Heavenly City had once been situated at the exact center of the Heavenly Domain, it had been forced to relocate after the Legendary Poet, Wu Cheng''en, published the ssical story ''Journey to the West''. The tale had effectively split the Heavens in two, one side representing the East while the other side represented the Western Regions visited by Xuanzang during his journey to recover Buddhist scriptures. Located near the southern point of the Heavenly Domain''s Western Region was therge, floating mountain range that Vahn had noticed shortly after his arrival. He hadn''t thought much about it at the time but this was actually the birthce and home of the second most powerful figure in the East Side, Sun Wu Kong. To the residents of the Little Garden, it was the Legendary Mount Huaguo. To the peoples of the Heavenly Domain, it was known simply as ''Monkey Mountain''. Resting at a pool in the center of a rtively small ind whose only prominent features included a bodhi tree and numerous, pumpkin-sized peaches was a golden-hairedss who appeared no older than 13-14 years old. Her hair, reminiscent of golden rice ready to be harvested, was fastened into two small tufts while rounded, monkey-like ears protruded from the sides of her head. Contrary to what most people would expect, this youthful-looking girl with shimmering, emerald-green eyes was none other than the legendary Sun Wu Kong. When people first learned this, their first thought would be that she had used the 72 Transformations in order to prank them. In reality, the monkey demon associated with her myth was actually an entirely separate entity known as the Demon Lord of Confusion. He was deadset on seeking revenge by stealing her Fragment of Origin for himself, but, due to the monstrous difference in their power, Sun Wu Kong was able to enjoy a rtively peaceful life among her people. Grabbing one of the oversized peaches, Wu, as her friends called her, was preparing to take a bite when she sensed a subtle fluctuation in the flow of fate to the East. She still took a massive bite out of the peach, but, rather than continuing to soak in the pull, she raised her nearly naked body from the water and mused, "Oh~? It seems like something interesting is happening over at the old man''s ce." Using her extendable, monkey-like tail as an extra hand, Wu picked up several more peaches before leaping thousands of meters into the air without any discernible effort. The transparent white fabric covering her body immediately crumbled due to the air pressure, so, for a brief moment, her naked figure was visible for all the inhabitants of Mount Huaguo to see. Fortunately for them, every single one of them immediately averted their eyes, as, despite telling everyone how little she cared about being seen, Wu had severely beaten every single person, nt, or animal who dared ogle her naked form. She might not be shy, but she still had her dignity as a woman. Sensing apleteck of gazes, Wu issued a contemptuous snort, muttering, "Cowards..." under her breath before promptly donning a brown and white robe, predominately white leggings, and a pair of leathery panties that left very little to the imagination. At the same time, she reached behind her rounded, monkey-like ear to grab a toothpick-sized staff, shouting, "Nimbusssss~!" as her body began to elerate towards the ground. In response, a golden cloud came out of nowhere to catch her. Then, like a meteor speeding across the sky, she hurried towards the Heavenly City... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Mikotochu wants some loving~'',''Zhuque got wrecked...'',''This is not a joke. If you read Last Embryo, the sequel series to Mondaiji, you will learn that this is a faithful rendition of the character xD...'') Chapter 2153: Acknowledgement

Chapter 2153: Acknowledgement

With Eng Shen leading the way, it wasn''t long before Vahn found himself in arge antechamber connected to what he assumed to be the Jade Emperor''s throne room. His senses were somewhat limited within the Jade Pce, and, while he could always expand his domain to get a grasp of the situation, he elected not to as it was remarkably rude to spread your perception through someone else''s home. He would react hostilely towards anyone that attempted such a thing within the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, so, as a matter of course, Vahn elected to keep his domain retracted while visiting the homes of others. Blocking the entrance to the throne room was an elderly man, who, despite the phenomenal aura exuding from his body, gave off a friendly and approachable vibe. His head was framed with ashen hair that formed a rather stylish beard while his eyes, glistening with a luminescent golden radiance, seemed to prate through everything despite his bespectacled, grandfatherly look. With an appreciative smile on his face, the man, garbed in a wrinkled white robe, ck sash, and matching hanfu cloak, caressed his beard as he said, "Xiao Shen...wee home. It''s good to see you. And these must be the Jade Emperor''s guests? Wee to the Jade Pce. This old fellow''s name is Huangdi but you''re free to address me as Grandfather Huang. It''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Though he didn''t lower his head, Huangdi politely cupped his hands as he maintained a kind and grandfatherly smile. This surprised Vahn quite a bit, as, even before the man had spoken, he had already guessed his identity. After all, suppressing the aura of a Pure-Blooded Dragon, much less one on the level of Huangdi, the Yellow Dragon of the Center, was remarkably difficult. As someone who had been mistaken as the Yellow Emperor more than once, a smile naturally made its way to Vahn''s face as he cupped his hands and stated, "The pleasure is mine. I''m not going to lie. My time in the Heavenly Domain has been far more pleasant than anticipated. Meeting someone of your status and seeing them behave humbly is like a breath of fresh air in a polluted world." Amused by Vahn''s words, Huangdi issued a light chuckle as he reached into this sleeve to produce a red envelope. It was customary for Elders to bestow promising Juniors with gifts during their first encounter, so, while Vahn might not belong to the Jade Pce, Huangdi felt it was only natural he mark their encounter with a blessing. "Contained within this red envelope is a series of talismans designed to ward away evil spirits. In the outside world, they would qualify as B-Rank Gifts. I hope you''ll ept them." Without waiting for Vahn''s response, Huangdi ced the red envelope into his hand before giving him a pat on the shoulder. Then, with the even more grandfatherly smile on his face, he shifted his attention to the duo nking therge doors connecting to the Jade Emperor''s throne room. Both had youthful appearances that resembled 12-13 year old children. What made them stand out was the fact that the girl on the left had subtly green skin that resembled jade while the boy on the right radiated a pale, golden glow. "Yunu, Jintong, please allow our guests entry to the throne room. His Most Venerable Augustness has informed me that he is ready to receive them." Cupping their hands, Yunu and Jintong, better known as the Jade Girl and Golden Boy, bowed their heads low, replying, "Understood. Thank you, Venerable One." before promptly raising their heads and grabbing the two massive handles near the center of the set of doors. Their diminutive statures made it appear as if they wouldn''t be able to open the massive golden doors, yet, as if they had no weight whatsoever, the duo managed to pry them open without producing a single sound. Stepping to the side, Huangdi gestured with his left hand before musing, "Please proceed. While the Jade Emperor is unparalleled in his kindness, Empress Xiwangmu can be temperamental. It''s best not to keep them waiting." Raising his brow, Vahn shifted his attention to Eng Shen, who, noticing his nce, adopted a wry smile as he said, "Hey, it''s not like I lied. I just didn''t tell you everything. Anyways...I''ll see you at the banquet...!" Without waiting for Vahn''s response, Eng Shen bolted towards the exit. This elicited an amused chuckle from Huangdi, who, waiting until the younger god had departed, remarked, "That boy has only just returned and he''s already digging himself a hole. It eases this old man''s heart and mind to know there are some things that never change." With that said, Huangdi gave Vahn another light pat on the shoulder before departing in the same direction as Eng Shen. It had been three years since hest saw the youthful god so he wanted to catch up before the evening''s festivities. Following the elderly god''s departure with his eyes, an appreciative smile developed across Vahn''s face as he internally remarked, ("Even if Iter find out this was all an act, I''m liking how drastically different things arepared to my expectations. I was genuinely expecting at least half a dozen Young Masters to appear...") (*Well, the Jade Emperor is known as the God of Benevolence. He may simply be an observer like Ouranos but his mentality has clearly rubbed off on those closest to him. Don''t worry. I''m certain there will be plenty of young-master types during tonight''s banquet.*) Nodding his head in response to Sis''s words, Vahn took a moment to scratch the underside of Mikoto''s chin before giving Fenrir a pat. He could sense that they wouldn''t be able to bypass the transparent barrier between the antechamber and the throne room so they would need to wait outside. This might upset Empress Xiwangmu, but, in the grand scheme of things, Vahn was far more concerned with the happiness of his twopanions than pandering to a goddess he had never met... ... .. . Seeing Vahn dawdle in spite of Huangdi''s advice, a sigh escape the lips of a remarkably beautiful woman with fair features, snow-white hair, and pale pink eyes. At her side, a handsome man with simrly white hair and a body garbed in flowing jade robes couldn''t help issuing a soft chuckle. This earned him a pointed look from the woman, but, rather than shy away, the man returned an affectionate smile as he said, "Xiwang...brazenness and youth are as inseparable as young lovers. Let''s just enjoy what remains of our peace and quiet until Xiao Wu arrives..." Hearing her husband mention Sun Wu Kong, a smile promptly reced the frown on Xiwangmu''s face. Others might be disconcerted by Wu''s behavior, but, ever since the changes introduced by Wu Cheng''en, she had always taken pity on the motherless monkey. Sure, Wu could be a troublemaker, but, unless they attempted to kill or confine her, she did her best to avoid maiming or crippling her opponents. She just wanted attention and Xiwangmu saw nothing wrong with that. "You never informed me that Xiao Wu would be attending the banquet. I need to inform the faeries so they don''t end up suffering too much when Wu attempts to steal the Peaches of Immortality..." Amused by the remarkably swift change in his wife''s demeanor, the white-haired man, the Jade Emperor, adopted an even more affectionate smile as he extended his hand to gently caress the side of her face. This caused Xiwangmu''s anxieties to instantaneously settle, a nearly indiscernible blush coloring her cheeks as she stared into her husband''s eyes and muttered, "Darling..." Inspired by Vahn''s actions, the Jade Emperor leaned over to give his wife a kiss. It had been years since hest exhibited his affection for her, so, after witnessing how close Vahn was with Fenrir and Mikoto, he feltpelled to demonstrate his own love. In response, Xiwangmu''s cheeks flushed a color that resembled the peaches she guarded. She was unustomed to this kind of conduct from her husband, as, after countless eons, romance gradually lost its luster. Fortunately, like a gem that had umted dust, it only took a concerted effort to return its shine. The moment her husband''s lips ovepped with her own, Xiwangmu felt as though the world had around them had spontaneously brightened. When they inevitably parted, she felt a bittersweet yet nostalgic wistfulness that caused a smile to develop across her face as she softly whispered, "I want another baby..." Unable to contain himself, the Jade Emperor issued a light-heartedugh in response to his wife''s words. They already had tens of thousands of children at this point so he didn''t see any problems with siring another. He could even peer into the future to confirm that their next child was a girl, a beautiful young goddess with flowing white hair, golden eyes, and a moon-shaped imprint on her forehead. Though he could learn everything about his future daughter by tapping into his omniscience, the Jade Emperor, much like Vahn, enjoyed being surprised. Thus, the moment his daughter appeared within his mind, he promptly sealed away even her name as he leaned forward to say, "I''m looking forward to it..." ... .. . After thoroughly pacifying his twopanions, Vahn entered the Jade Emperor''s throne room to find two remarkably tall people seated atop golden thrones. He imagined they could change the size and shape, but, for the time being, both were more than 5m tall even whilst sitting. Though it was customary to bow and the waist or outright kowtow in the presence of the divine couple, Vahn cupped his hands together as a general courtesy before stating, "It''s an honor to meet the Most Venerable and August Jade Emperor and his Empress, the Queen Mother of the West." As the duo had too many titles to count, Vahn decided to go with the simplest for both. The Jade Emperor was able to see through his intentions, so, with an amused smile on his face, he remarked, "Worry not. Though they can be remarkably useful at times, we care little for such titles. Sincerity is the greatest expression of politeness." Surprising even his wife, the Jade Emperor rose to his feet before promptly shrinking to Vahn''s size. Others might not know thetter''s true identity but he had heard Vahn referring to himself as the Sage Dragon Emperor. When he queried the Central Network, the Jade Emperor was able to learn that a Fragment of Origin rted to the title had recently formed into existence. Vahn was the only person to refer to themself in this manner, so, after witnessing the moment when Fenrir obtained a fragment of her own, the Jade Emperor promptly decided to regard the recently arrived dragon as his equal. Not expecting the Jade Emperor to quite literally lower himself to his level, a pleasantly surprised smile developed across Vahn''s face as he extended a hand towards the white-haired god. This time, it was the Jade Emperor''s turn to be surprised as he had never, not even once, expected to receive an offer for a handshake... After a very brief moment of deliberation, the Jade Emperor extended his slightly luminescent hand to grasp Vahn''s. Both immediately felt the power contained within the other''s body. This caused a moderately surprised expression to appear on Vahn''s face. As for the Jade Emperor, his eyes, for the first time in his life, had widened to the point they resembled saucers. "Remarkable..." Finding himself at a momentary loss, that was the only word the Jade Emperor could think of to describe Vahn''s power. It reminded him of the time he had made contact with the System Tree at the very heart of the Little Garden. There was simply no limit to the depths of Vahn''s power, and, the further he probed, the more unfathomable it seemed. Thus, after a moment of silence, the Jade Emperor couldn''t help remarking, "Your power... it''s likeing into contact with the origin of all things. Just who...no, what are you...?" Amused by the Jade Emperor''s reaction, Vahn''s smile became marginally more prominent as he unhesitantly replied, "The name''s Vahn Aldrnari Mason. To some, I''m known as the Sage Dragon Emperor. To others, I''m known as the Godhand. In this instance, my most important title would be the one I picked up prior to my arrival in the Divine Realm..." Letting his words hang for a moment, Vahn waited until the Jade Emperor looked like he was about to urge him to speak before adding, "I am the God of Infinite Possibilities." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Where are all the Young Masters...!?'',''Vahn has his priorities in order...'',''This is some giga-dick energy...'') Chapter 2154: Prelude

Chapter 2154: Prelude

Though he was somewhat surprised by Vahn''s words, the Jade Emperor just issued an amused chuckle before extracting his hand from the former''s grasp. Then, with a rxed smile on his face, he remarked, "It''s unfortunate. I was sincerely hoping you would be an affiliate of the Jade Pce in the future. Now, it seems our positions have been reversed..." While other gods of his level might have been upset to discover someone was more powerful than them, the Jade Emperor wasn''t known as the God of Benevolence without reason. He was also one of the few gods that carried the fate of being reced at some point in the distant future, so, while others did everything in their power to remain relevant, he preferred to enjoy the time he had left. Unfortunately, even if he proposed the idea of an alliance with the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, the Jade Emperor knew his court would never agree. Many within the Jade Pce shared the same mentality as gods in other pantheons. They genuinely believed they should rule over all other pantheons, so, while things were rtively peaceful in the present, there were always people pushing to take over and dominate the Little Garden. Understanding the futility of pursuing an actual alliance, the Jade Emperor adopted a faint smile as he removed a jade ring from his right ring finger. This caused a concerned expression to develop across the face of his wife as she was the only one, sans the Jade Emperor himself, that understood the ring''s significance. "Please, ept this gift as a gesture of fellowship. Circumstances make it difficult for me to openly address you as my equal so I hope this might serve as a physical representation of my desire for the Jade Pce and Sage Dragon''s Hearth to remain on good terms..." As an Emperor himself, Vahn understood the Jade Emperor''s circumstances better than most. The god''s benevolence was actually his weakness, as, much like Ouranos, he was more of an arbitrator than a true ruler. His Empress, Xiwangmu, literally had more sway in the Imperial Court than he did as he left most decisions to his Ministers, Courtiers, and children. epting the ring, Vahn returned a smile as he ced it on his right index finger. The ring fingers of both of his hands were already upied, and, while it was possible to wear more than one ring on a single finger, he preferred not to. Seeing Vahn don the ring without even questioning its function, the Jade Emperor''s smile became notably more affectionate. Most Deities, especially those near the pinnacle of their pantheon, were extremely paranoid. It said a lot about Vahn''s character that he was willing to both ept a don a gift without question. This was especially true in the East, as,pared to the other three Cardinal Districts, their mastery over seals was second to none... ... .. . As they didn''t actually have anything to discuss, Vahn only spent a few minutes within the Jade Emperor''s throne room before emerging to find Fenrir curled up in her wolf form while Mikoto used her inordinately fluffy fur as a pillow. They immediately noticed his presence and jumped to their feet while Vahn passed an amused gaze over the Jade Girl and Golden Boy. The peculiar duo had been eyeing hispanions with a simr intensity to children in a pet store. Surprising the duo, Vahn summoned two Companions from the preserve located beneath the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. The first looked like a pink rabbit with a white underbelly, sapphire-like eyes, and ents of pale green on the interior of its ears. The second resembled a rtively normal fox, but, simr to the pink rabbit, it was small enough to easily sit in the palm of one''s hand. Proferring forth the two Companions, Vahn adopted a fatherly tone as he said, "I may not be able to give you mypanions but I can provide you the opportunity to rear your own. So long as you treat these two well, they will be your most reliable allies in the future." Without exining the powers and abilities of the pocket-sized partners, Vahn gifted the rabbit to Yunu while offering the fox to Jintong. The former, quite literally, squealed in glee while thetter, despite putting on a stoic front, couldn''t help smiling when the diminutive fox pounced up to his shoulder and nuzzled against him like an affectionate kitten. This continued for the better part of a minute before the duo finally recalled they were supposed to show Vahn and the girls to one of the Jade Pce''s many guest pavilions. There, they idled about for several hours until one of the Pce Stewards, an elderly man with white hair, bushy brows, a full beard, and jade-green clothing came by to respectfully inform them that the banquet would bemencing on the hour... ... .. . Though Zao Shin''s Immortal Banquet was an annual event intended to determine the ranks of Gods in the Jade Pce, only the top 100, their guests, and people who had received an invitation from the Jade Emperor were allowed to attend. After being guided to a stadium-sized banquet hall,plete with an elevated tform that served as an arena, Vahn was shown to one of the tables nearest the steps separating the dining area from two magnificent thrones fashioned from jade and gold. This was noticed by nearly every God in the hall, and, as could be expected, they immediately began to talk amongst themselves when they saw him upy one of the most coveted positions within the hall. Unlike the banquets Vahn was familiar with, every guest was given their own low-lying table to sit at. This was purely for hierarchal purposes, and, the closer you were to the Jade Emperor''s throne, the higher your status in the eyes of others. As for why there were separate tables for every single guest, it was due to the fact that most Gods affiliated with the Jade Pce were extremely prideful and individualistic. They could not lower themselves to sharing a table with people they believed to be beneath them, so, with the exception of close family and friends, most Gods elected to sit alone. Noticing the gazes of nearly everyone in the hall focusing on him, Fenrir, and Mikoto, a rxed yet ''hungry'' smile developed across Vahn''s face. The two girls had transformed into their human forms, and, as could be expected, their appearances garnered a substantial amount of attention. Fenrir, in particr, was receiving a number of greedy and possessive looks as every single person in the hall could sense her remarkable affinity with Yin Elemental Energy. One of the things Vahn had always disdained about cultivation novels and rted media was the concept of a ''cultivation furnace''. Yin Elemental Energy was one of the most powerful supplements for a male cultivator''s body, so, more often than not, the women in cultivation novels were reduced to little more than convenient tools by those seeking to increase their strength. There were very few stories with female main characters, as, unless they were born with tremendous power, it was simply impossible for them to ascend to the peak without the protection of a powerful sect. With Fenrir''s recent breakthrough, the quality and quantity of her aura had increased by several orders of magnitude. Before, it would have taken someone with an inordinately high Yin affinity to sense the energy contained within her body. Now, due to her inexperience with controlling Divine Energy, she was basically a beacon that screamed ''my body was made for dual cultivation''. Fortunately, it was considered extremely rude and improper to leave your assigned table and pester the people at another. Thus, while Vahn, Fenrir, and Mikoto were garnering a considerable amount of attention, no one attempted to approach them. Instead, they remained at their seats, calcting and licentious looks on their faces as they bided their time until the second stage of the banquet... Suppressing the urge to unleash the Lightning of Tribtion on everyone gawking at her, Mikoto''s ahoge twitched as she grumbled, "Why are men in power almost always perverts...?" As a man in power, Vahn couldn''t help smiling wryly in response to Mikoto''s remark. He had never even considered forcing himself on an unwilling partner, a stark contrast to nearly every other God present, but he would be lying if he said he wasn''t a pervert. It was hard not to be when his harem was filled with remarkably beautiful women who could turn the heads of everyone in the Heavenly Domain... "Look on the bright side. It won''t be long before you''re able to teach them a very harsh lesson..." Hearing Vahn''s assurance, the scowl on Mikoto''s face gradually eased into an expectant smile. She would never admit it but everyone around her knew she was a battle junky. Vahn had brought her to the banquet for this exact purpose, as, in ordance with the regtions of the Imperial Court, challengers would need to prove themselves against a person''s entourage before they could hope to challenge the person directly. As a Tier 5 entity, Mikoto was more than a match for nearly every God in the Heavenly Domain. The Jade Emperor could probably give her a run for her money, but, as a nonbatant, the odds they would face each other were astronomically small. After all, Mikoto would need to defeat every other God present just to gain the right to challenge him. She had more than enough power to do so, at least on paper, but there was no way of knowing what kind of tricks her opponents would pull out. Immortal cultivators, especially those that had ascended to Godhood, were extremely crafty. As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn''s attention was drawn to the entrance along with nearly every other person in the hall. This included Fenrir and Mikoto, who, upon seeing the person that had just arrived, became extremely alert. With a height of 185cm and a body that emphasized her secondary sexual characteristics to the extreme, the newest arrival to the banquet hall was able to silence everyone in the room with her beauty. This included the females present, who, much like Fenrir and Mikoto, immediately shifted their attention to the woman''s sizeable bust, long legs, and toned thighs. This was made easier by the fact that the woman was wearing a skintight bodysuit that left very little to the imagination... While everyone was gawking at her, the woman, possessing ashen hair and amber eyes was passing her gaze over each of every person present within the hall. When her gaze met Vahn''s, a very subtle smile developed across her face before promptly disappearing a momentter. Then, at the behest of the Pce Steward escorting her, her inordinately long legs, ented by 10cm heels, carried her to one of the tables located on the opposite side of the path dividing the hall. Voicing the thought that had just crossed Vahn''s mind, Fenrir muttered, "That woman came here to hunt you..." Nodding his head in confirmation, Vahn maintained a nonchnt smile as hemented, "She''s quite powerful as well. If either of you ends up fighting her, make sure to go all out from the start. The aura she gives off is remarkably simr to Scathach. Don''t underestimate her." Though Fenrir nodded her head in understanding, Mikoto nearly caused Vahn to do a spit take as she remarked, "That woman''s body is absurd. Even without seeing it directly, I can tell she has an even bigger butt than Asuna. You better not go easy on her just because she has a big ass..." After sensing the power contained within the woman''s body, Mikoto wasn''t too opportunistic about her chances of emerging victoriously. In other words, it was only a matter of time before she and Vahn encountered each other in the arena. Mikoto didn''t know why she was searching for him, but, seeing the woman''s extraordinary physique, it wasn''t difficult to imagine how things might turn out. After all, Vahn might be an amazing person, but he was still a pervert... Understanding Mikoto''s thoughts, Vahn''s smile gradually faded into a deadpan. The saddest thing about the situation was that he couldn''t even refute her. The only person that knew him better than himself was Sis, and, as she could attest, there was no way he would be able to refuse the advances of such a remarkable beauty. With the exception of her hair color, the woman checked off each and every one of the preferences he had built over the past three hundred years. He may not add her to his harem, but, if she provided him the opportunity, he would readily sample whatys beneath her skintight bodysuit. His Sex Divinity hadn''t exactly manifested out of thin air... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The Jade Emperor is a pretty chill fe...'',''Swines coveting swan meat...'',''At least he''s being honest with himself xD...'') Chapter 2155: Attention

Chapter 2155: Attention

Shortly after the arrival of the ashen-haired woman, several other notable figures began appearing one after another. This included an effeminate youth, who, contrasting nearly everyone else in the hall, appeared in rtively modern clothes that consisted of a ck and white windbreaker, a white undershirt, green shorts, ck leggings, and tennis shoes that had mes embossed on their sides. Their hair was done up in strange, almost horn-like twin-tails, and, were it not for the fact they had an open shirt, most people would readily mistake the youth as female. Though he wasn''t sure what he had expected, Vahn was moderately surprised when he heard one of the youth''spanions, another effeminate youth with snowy-blue hair and diminutive dragon horns, refer to them as Nezha. They were trying to tell Nezha not to cause any trouble, but, almost as soon as these words left their mouth, the androgynous teen''s crimson eyes settled on the ashen-haired woman seated at a higher position than he was. "Who the hell are you?" As everyone in the hall had been wondering the same thing, none of the Gods that would normally rein in Nezha bothered to say anything. In response, the ashen-haired woman gazed at him with an impassive, clearly false smile as she answered, "My name is Vor Valkyria. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lady Nezha." Hearing the woman refer to Nezha as ''Lady'', Vahn, for the first time in centuries, had to question his eyesight. He became even more confused when Nezha adopted a scowl before kicking the table in front of the woman and eximing, "I''m the Third Lotus Prince! How dare you refer to me as Lady!" with a visible flush on their cheeks. This caused the pale-haired youth standing behind him to palm his forehead while everyone else watched on with visible amusement in their eyes. Despite having a table kicked into her face,pletely ruining the neatly organized spread of tea and entrees, Vor hardly reacted to Nezha''s provocative actions. She didn''t even blink when a bit of oyster sauce got in her eye. Instead, she just stared impassively at Nezha as she stated, "I apologize if my words have offended you. However, I must ask that you cease your hostility. There is no glory awaiting you at the end of this path." Rather than staring into Vor''s eyes, Nezha''s crimson gems were focused on the noodles and liquid pooling in the ashen-haired woman''s rather ample cleavage. Her white bodysuit only covered the lower half of her chest. As a result, there was a rather deep line dividing the two sizeable mounds on her chest. A line that was now garnished with egg noodles and pork broth. With his/her left brow twitching, Nezha appeared as if they were moments away from trashing the entire venue. Before s/he could, a fiery pagoda manifested above them before mming down and pinning Nezha to the floor. At the same time, a paradoxically heroic yet diabolical-looking man in obsidian-ck armor reminiscent of a Chinese warlord appeared within the banquet hall, saying, "I take my eyes off you for ten minutes and you''re already trying to start a fight..." As there were very few people that used a pagoda as their primary weapon, Vahn wasn''t surprised when one of the servants cried out, "It''s the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, Lord Li Jing...!" While numerous stories dedicated Li Jing as a mortal man who had cultivated his way to godhood, others depicted him as one of the Four Heavenly Kings, specifically Vaisravana. Said God shared an origin with Bishamonten, so, while he hadter learned all about Chinese Folklore, Vahn had been aware of the existence of Li Jing since before his encounter with Kenshin... With mes appearing from their feet, Nezha thrashed about beneath the fiery pagoda, shouting, "You damned geezer! If you don''t let me go this instant, I''ll...I''ll...I''ll tell Sister Wu to beat you up...!" Hearing Nezha''s threat, Li Jing could be seen visibly paling beneath their horned, multi-tiered war helmet. Despite this, his expression remained stern as he increased the sealing effect of the pagoda and said, "You are mistaken if you think you can threaten me in such a manner. Even if I must suffer a beating, I will do what I must to ensure you behave properly..." Though Nezha was legendary for their speed and power, the pagoda wielded by his father was one of the greatest sealing artifacts in the Heavenly Domain. It could capture any spirit, demon, or god within its walls, and, so long as the wielder possessed no ill will towards the imprisoned, it was nigh-impossible to escape without achieving enlightenment or vowing to change your ways. Having spent hundreds of years within the aforementioned pagoda, Nezha''s expression darkened as they gradually ceased their struggling. They were far from calm, but, understanding they had no choice but to capitte, they red at the ashen-haired Vor and growled, "We''ll settle this during the rankingpetition..." Hearing Nezha''s words, Vor ceased staring at the pale-haired youth who was standing a few meters away. She didn''t really understand why the youthful-looking god/dess was antagonistic toward her, but, as a Valkyrie, she never shied away from a battle. Thus, with a hint of a smile, she stated, "Very well." in an indifferent-sounding yet audibly expectant tone. Snorting through their nose, Nezha waited until the fiery pagoda weighing them down disappeared before rising to their feet and dusting off their clothes. The pagoda was wholly incapable of causing harm, so, despite feeling as though it weighed more than a while active, it hadn''t even left an indentation on the carpet. After ring the cor of their windbreaker, Nezha turned towards their hornedpanion before pausing when they noticed how pale thetter had be. "What''s your problem? Need to take a shit...?" With a rather fierce blush, the blue-haired youth shouted, "Nezha!" with a fretful and remarkably embarrassed expression on their face. This caused a toothy grin to spread across Nezha''s face, and, though they were missing one of their canines, they managed to appear friendly and approachable as they teased, "What? It''s nothing to be ashamed of~" Balling their hand into a fist, the blue-haired youth, who Vahn assumed to be Ao Bing, appeared as though they were about to knock Nezha upside the head. Instead, they briefly cast their cerulean eyes towards Vor before promptly turning away and saying, "I''m going..." in a markedly cold tone. Realizing they may have gone too far, Nezha immediately barred Ao Bing''s passage, saying, "Oh,e on, Bing-Bing! You know I was just ying around! Please don''t pout...!" Huffing in response to Nezha''s words, Ao Bing attempted to walk around them but Nezha kept blocking the way. Fortunately, just as the temperature around them began to decrease, yet another notable figure appeared in the hall. Ao Bing was among the first to notice their presence, but, soon after, nearly every person in the hall had shifted their attention to the ethereal beauty that had just entered alongside a veritable horde of fair-skinned maidens with hairstyles reminiscent of rabbits... With luminescent skin reminiscent of moonlight, golden eyes that seemed to draw in everything, and silvery-white hair fashioned into a hybrid style between an Empress cut and rabbit ears, even people unfamiliar with her would be able to identify this particr Goddess. She was considered to be the most beautiful woman in the Heavenly Domain, and, ording to many, a candidate for the most beautiful in the entire Little Garden. "Wow, she really is quite something, isn''t she...?" Hearing Vahn''s words, Mikoto was liberated from the momentary reverie she, and nearly everyone in the hall had fallen into. Then, despite knowing exactly who the Goddess was, she asked, "Is that supposed to be Chang''e? What''s she doing here...?" Nodding his head in response to her first question, a smile spread across Vahn''s face as he lightly mused, "I would think that''s pretty obvious considering the people in her escort..." As if she had only just noticed the presence of others, Mikoto stared at the group surrounding Chang''e before palming her head and muttering, "Of course..." While most people in the hall were focused exclusively on Chang''e, one of the young girls standing next to her was searching around the hall. When she noticed Vahn, her face practically lit up as she tugged on Chang''e''s sleeve before whispering something into the silvery-haired Goddess''s ear. In response, Chang''e immediately looked over, a faint smile developing across her face as she and her entourage made a slow and graceful beeline towards the wryly smiling Vahn. Seeing the Goddess of their hearts approaching the man they were already envious of, nearly every male God in the hall radiated a not-so-subtle bloodlust. They seemed to havepletely forgotten about Nezha, so, as could be expected, the boyish yet apparently female God immediately blocked Chang''e''s path, asking, "What are you doing here, Chang''e? You aren''t even ranked. This is no ce for pacifists and children." As if only just noticing Nezha''s presence, Chang''e briefly shifted her attention from Vahn to look down at the slightly shorter tomboy and answer, "Though I have never used it, the Most Revered and August Matriarch has given me the option to attend Lord Zao''s banquet at my leisure. If Lord Nezha would be so kind as to step aside, this little one would greatly appreciate it..." Though they red at Chang''e with an expression that resembled someone who had swallowed a bug, Nezha was well aware of the fact their father was currently ring dagger at them. Thus, after a moment of hesitation, they muttered, "Whatever." before cing their hands in their pocket and walking past the group of rabbit-like girls. Ao Bing quickly followed suit, but, before stepping past the group of Goddesses, they politely cupped their hands and mouthed an apology. Returning a smile, Chang''e performed a simple curtsy that was emted by each of the girls in her group before promptly continuing on her way. This caused the hatred of everyone God the room to immediately shift back to Vahn, who, in response to the approaching group, rose to his feet before casually cupping his hands and saying, "This is quite the pleasant surprise. It''s a pleasure to see you again, Xiao Yue. And, if I''m not mistaken, I believe you are Chang''e? You are even more elegant and beautiful than the legends dictate." Having heard simr praises countless times, Chang''e offered a faint smile in response to Vahn''spliment while Xiao Yue, happy to be acknowledged before her mother, adopted a delighted smile as she politely cupped her hands and said, "I am pleased to see you again, Senior. I pray the fates have been kind to you since ourst encounter." Resisting the urge to point out she was likely much older than him, Vahn offered a curt nod and a polite smile in response to Xiao Yue''s words. This earned him an inquisitive look from Chang''e, who, even prior to her ascension as a Goddess, had been the center of everyone''s attention. She found it odd that he was able to focus on other people when she was less than two meters away from him... Noticing the subtle change in Chang''e''s countenance, Vahn''s smile became noticeably wry as he asked, "To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting...?" Raising her brows ever so slightly, the curiosity in Chang''e''s eyes increased as she remarked, "How peculiar...your words make it seem as though you''re in a hurry to be through with this conversation. Does my presence...inconvenience you...?" Shifting her attention to Fenrir and Mikoto, a hint of surprise manifested within Chang''e''s golden, moon-like eyes. She had already sensed Fenrir''s Yin constitution, but, now that they were standing less than two meters apart, she could also sense the terrifyingly powerful aura hidden deep within Mikoto''s body. It was so potent that, for a brief moment, she felt as though a bolt of lightning had struck her body... Noticing the shudder that ran through Chang''e''s body the moment she made eye contact with Mikoto, Vahn''s wry smile eased into one of amusement as he answered, "I would never say your presence is an inconvenience. It''s just, this isn''t exactly the best venue for a polite conversation..." Coming back to her senses in response to Vahn''s words, Chang''e offered an appreciative smile, stating, "Perhaps not..." before soldering her hands over the center of her chest. A luminescent golden light immediately emerged from her bosom, and, momentster, a pristine white rabbit emitting a simr glow appeared in her embrace as she exined, "This is my beloved pet, Xiao Yu...please take her with you. Once you are avable, you need not send anyone to inform us. We wille to you." As if it wasn''t up for discussion, Chang''e handed over the little white rabbit whose name, despite sounding simr to Yue''s, meant Jade. Then, without a single additional word, she smiled toward Fenrir and Mikoto before promptly departing the banquet hall with her entourage of rabbit-like girls following close behind... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Nezha is that sporty girl at an all-girls high school that everyone refers to as Prince xD...'',''Vor is going to fuck you up...'',''Now that I think about it, Vahn has a remarkable affinity with moon goddesses and rabbits...'') Chapter 2156: Pandering

Chapter 2156: Pandering

Following the departure of Chang''e and her entourage, one of the groups sitting nearest to Vahn could no longer contain themselves. Fortunately, unlike the vast majority of people within the hall, their leader, an androgynous man with flowing ck hair framing green eyes and fair features, showed no obvious resentment as he remarked, "It would appear you possess quite the unique identity. My name is Tang Tianxia, the Immortal Bamboo Sovereign. These are my apprentices, Tang Dongxi and Tang Yaiba. We are pleased to make your acquaintance." Though he didn''t recognize the man''s name and title, Vahn was aware of the general structure of the Jade Pce and its affiliate Communities. The Tang n and its derivative Tang Sect were the most prominent organizations due to their prominence in both the Heavenly and Mortal Domain. The name Tianxia was also associated with the material ne and political sovereignty, so, even if the man hadn''t included his title, Vahn could assume he was one of the Divine Courtiers ruling over the mortal world. Since the man hadn''t gone out of his way to genuflect, Vahn maintained a rxed and casual smile as he replied, "Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor. It''s a pleasure to meet three of the Tang Sect''s Ancestral Gods." With a bit of assistance from Loi-chan, Vahn was able to grasp Tianxia''s true identity. This seemed to surprise the jade-skinned man, but, other than curling the corners of his lips, he didn''t show any particr signs of perturbation. Instead, he offered a slight nod before questioning, "Has the Sage Dragon''s Hearth decided to affiliate themselves with the Jade Pce? If so, the Tang n is always looking to make new friends. I''m certain a partnership between our respective organizations can be mutually beneficial..." "Hmmm..." Caressing his chin as if he were actually considering the man''s words, Vahn was, in fact, listening to Loi-chan divulge some of the man''s deepest and darkest secrets. He was a mortal who had risen to be a God after receiving the Mandate of Heaven. Though it was rarely touched upon in many of the novels he had read, it was the Mandate of Heaven that allowed many of the Main Characters in Cultivation Novels to ovee countless trials and tribtions to be a God. It was basically an advanced form of plot armor, and, no matter how many mistakes they made during their ascent, it was only a matter of time before those with the Mandate of Heaven became one of the strongest and most influential individuals in their world. Though Tianxia had converted to Buddhism after the proliferation of Wu Cheng''en''s ''Journey to the West'', his path to power was marred with rivers of blood and mountains of corpses. If they had met at some point in the past, Vahn probably would have killed him on the spot. Instead, he maintained a casual smile. After all, the path he had tread wasn''t exactly built upon flowers andpromise. "Your good intentions have been duly noted. If the opportunity presents itself, I''m sure we can work something out. For now, however, there are more pressing matters to attend..." Seeing Vahn shift his gaze to the numerous groups paying close attention to their conversation, a soft chuckle emanated from Tianxia''s throat. He was tempted to assert that men should be brazen and unconcerned with the machinations of their adversaries, but, having experienced a number of setbacks in the past, he elected not to. He was one strongest Immortals, but, when it came to raw power, hegged far behind the Heavenly Domain''s highest-ranking deities. This had bothered him quite a bit in the past, but, after failing to rise above Rank 13 after thousands of years, he eventually gave up trying to be the strongest and instead focused on bing the most influential. As that thought crossed his mind, Tianxia briefly focused his jade-green eyes on Fenrir and Mikoto. His intuition told him that he would be able to be much stronger with their "assistance", but, as someone who had once exhibited his lovers for the whole Heavenly Domain to see, Tianxia was well aware of Vahn''s intentions. You didn''t parade around remarkably beautiful women unless you were supremely confident in your abilities or specifically looking for trouble... Shaking wayward thoughts from his mind, Tianxia returned his gaze to Vahn before pulling out a band of creamy brown prayer beads and softly musing, "There is no fear for one whose mind is not filled with desires..." With Loi-chan revealing Tianxia''s true thoughts, Vahn had to resist the urge to snort through his nose. He had never been particrly fond of people who yed at being wise despite harboring thoughts and intentions that sharply contrasted their sayings. If Tianxia was confident he could get away with it, there would be nothing preventing him from taking everything he desired. Thus, while Vahn''s initial impression of the man wasn''t all that bad, Tianxia had effectively burned every bridge between them with his hypocrisy. Unfortunately for the effeminate man, Vahn was remarkably good at concealing his thoughts from people he didn''t particrly care for. He was absolutely terrible at hiding the truth from his loved one, but, in front of someone like Tianxia, he may as well be an ancient tome bound with wax paper and chains. The man had no hope of reading his thoughts and intentions. Thus, with a rxed smile on his face, he casually retorted, "An insincere and evil friend is more to be feared than a wild beast; a wild beast may wound your body, but an evil friend will wound your mind..." Surprised by Vahn''s words, Tianxia opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. He hadn''t expected the former to counter his musings with another Buddhist saying, much less one carrying such implications. As a result, a nearly indiscernible glimmer of hostility shed across his eyes as he internalized the notion that Vahn was an exceptionally dangerous individual... ... .. . With several other important and distinguished figures arriving, the atmosphere within the banquet hall became increasingly festive. There were still people gawking at Vahn and his entourage, but, for the most part, everyone began focusing on themselves and their cliques. This included Tianxia, who, following their brief conversation, excused himself to converse with a few of his fellow Immortals. Fortunately, not that he would have minded keeping the girlspany, Vahn wasn''t left without a conversation partner. Eng Shen had eventually shown up, and, while they weren''t seated next to each other, that didn''t stop the two of them from conversing until Huangdi made an appearance to announce the imminent arrival of the Jade Emperor and Empress Xiwangmu. This caused everyone to return to their seats, and, momentster, the hall had be silent as the distant yet loud echo of a drum reverberated off the surrounding walls. Expecting the duo to make a grand entrance, Vahn was somewhat surprised when the Jade Emperor and his wife meandered into the hall without so much as an escort. Shortly thereafter, the duo took their seats before the Jade Emperor simply nodded towards a remarkably ancient-looking man with jade-green vestiments reminiscent of a court official from the Han Dynasty. He didn''t even bother to give a speech. Instead, he just observed in silence with a serene, unperturbed smile on his face... Unsurprisingly, the ancient-looking old man was none other than Zao Shin, the host of the banquet and one of the most senior Gods in the Jade Pce. He was even older than the Jade Emperor, and, simr to Hestia, represented perpetuity, good health, family, and the hearth. He was also the God of the Kitchen, and, ording to many, his culinary skills ced him among the ten greatest chefs in the Divine Realm. Some even imed he could raise the recently deceased by merely wafting the aroma of his food in their direction... To Zao Shin''s credit, the dishes brought out by the pce servants were among the best Vahn had ever tasted. Even Fenrir, who could be remarkably picky at times, was pleasantly surprised by many of the dishes brought out. It wasn''t quite on the level of Rindo''s cooking, but, considering thetter had a system that allowed her to exponentially and infinitely increase her proficiency in the kitchen, that wasn''t too surprising. After all, she had functionally unlimited ess to ingredients from other Records while Zao Shin was limited by the ingredients collected in the Heavenly Domain. Noticing the rtively rxed expressions on the faces of Vahn, Fenrir, and Mikoto, it wasn''t long before Zao Shin approached them directly, an iparably kind smile on his face as he asked, "Is there anything this old man can do to make your meal more enjoyable? I pride myself on preparing meals that people will remember fondly for years toe. If these dishes do not suit your palette, I am more than happy to prepare something else." Though he was tempted to politely refuse, Vahn understood how prideful chefs could be when it came to the principles that guided their cooking. Thus, after a moment of consideration, he asked Sis to purchase a high-quality storage ring before filling it with rare ingredients and one of Rindo''s personal cookbooks. He was curious to see what the elderly god could pull off if given the proper resources, so, with a rxed smile on his face, he presented the ring and exined, "The quality of Zao Shin''s food is beyond reproach. However, there are mountains beyond mountains and infinite expanses above even the Heavens themselves. This ring contains the records of the greatest Chefs in existence. There are also ingredients to prepare meals for more than three hundred people. I''m looking forward to tasting Lord Zao''s version of these legendary dishes." While others might have been offended by Vahn''s words, Zao Shin went as far as to cup his hands in respect before presenting both hands to ept the ring. Impable customer service was one of the foundational pirs of preparing delicious meals, so, even if someone were to spit his food back in his face, Zao Shin would maintain his grandfatherly smile as he prepared a second course. After all, hatred does not cease through hatred and vindictiveness. It ceases throughpassion, love, and tolerance... ... .. . With the ingredients and recipes supplied by Vahn, it wasn''t long before the banquet hall was filled with an intoxicating fragrance. Even the Jade Emperor couldn''t help perking up as nearly every set of eyes followed the group of hungry-looking servants bringing Vahn, Fenrir, and Mikoto their meal. There were silver cloches covering each of the food items, yet, in spite of this, a subtle luminescence emanated from their surface as a powerful aroma followed the group through the hall. When the cloches were finally removed, an aromatic eruptionparable to the big bang spread through the hall in an instant. Everyone in the hall immediately became deathly still, as, for a brief moment, everything in existence seemed to revolve around the dishes atop Vahn''s table. When he picked up a piece to sample it, they felt as if they were watching an essential portion of reality itself being consumed... Unsurprisingly, quite a number of Gods within the hall became offended when they noticed the disparity between the dishes they were being served and those being presented to Vahn. It didn''t matter to them that he had provided both the ingredients and the recipe. They wanted a taste of the dishes he was being provided. Fortunately, just as a few of the more brazen individuals were preparing to protest, a veritable tidal wave of servants flowed into the hall. Zao Shin had realized Vahn''s intentions the moment he sent his intent into the spatial ring. He had also sampled the dishes himself, so, understanding just how chaotic things would be once the dishes were presented, he made sure to prepare enough for everyone in the hall before sending out the servants with Vahn''s meal. As for himself, he personally carried a tray to the Jade Emperor, who, for the first time in hundreds of years, appeared genuinely excited to try something new... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The appearance of the Immortal Sects...!'',''I can totally imagine Zao Shin bowing to Rindo as his Master xD...'',''Seraphina would be proud...'') Chapter 2157: Exhibition

Chapter 2157: Exhibition

Seeing how much everyone was enjoying Rindo''s dishes, Vahn couldn''t help smiling. He might not have the best impression of their society but that didn''t prevent him from appreciating the festive atmosphere and the smiling faces of nearly everyone present. After all, it was far more gratifying to see people happy than upset. "A single lit candle can kindle countless others. Happiness does not diminish by being shared..." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn looked to his left to find Tianxia staring at him with a far more respectful look. This was another benefit of delicious food. It was remarkably difficult to resent the person who had provided it. As Tianxia''s words were yet another Buddhist proverb, Vahn decided to supply his own, stating, "If you knew what I know about the power of giving, you would never allow a single meal pass without sharing it in some way. Kindness should be the natural way of life, never the exception." With an appreciative smile spreading across his face, Tianxia offered a curt nod of his own. At the same time, he made a mental note not to make an enemy out of Vahn. Anyone that could supply this many unique and precious ingredients without batting an eye wasn''t simple. Thus, while a part of him wanted nothing more than to seize Vahn''s treasures for himself, Tianxia, like many others in the banquet hall, had concluded that it was better to remain in his good graces. Understanding the man''s thoughts, Vahn offered a polite yet nomittal smile as he continued to casually caress the rabbit entrusted to him by Chang''e. Its pristine white fur wasparable to satin, and, simr to Fenrir''s, cool to the touch. He also knew Chang''e was basically using it to spy on him, so, as a form of teasing, Vahn was using his [Godhand] to mold the befuddled bunny like mochi... ... .. . Though she very rarely slept, Chang''e was currently lying face-down atop a luxurious bed shrouded by soft golden canopies reminiscent of moonlight. What made this scene especially strange was the fact she had buried her face in a remarkably fluffy, cloud-like pillow. The tips of her ears had turned crimson, and, if anyone had been present to witness the peculiar scene, they would have been able to see an invisible force flowing across her body and leaving impressions in her impably pliable, smooth-as-jade skin... ... .. . With the first stage of the banquet ted tost an hour, it felt as though mere minutes had passed by the time the Jade Emperor raised his hand to announce, "Now that everyone has been given the opportunity to sample Zao Shin''s delicacies, we will continue to the rankingpetition..." The moment the Jade Emperor finished speaking, an ancient-looking Geass Roll exuding a vibrant golden hue unfurled out of thin air. Most of the guests were already familiar with the rules, but, in ordance with the Central Network''s regtions, the Jade Emperor had no choice but to review them during each and every banquet. ********** < Heaven''s Will > [Win Condition] Defeat your opponent(s). [Hidden Conditions] None [Rules] 1: yers can only challenge those of a higher Rank than themselves. 2: yers without a Rank can be challenged by anyone. 3. yers can designate a substitute to fight on their behalf. 4: Substitutes cannot be Ranked higher than the yer being challenged. 5: A match is decided when one opponent is rendered incapable of continuing or surrenders. If an opponent is rendered incapable of surrendering, the match is automatically concluded. [Restrictions] 1: Killing, Crippling, and Cursing your opponent is strictly prohibited. 2: Gifts rted to sealing will have their effects annulled at the end of the match. 3: Sexually assaulting or harassing your opponent is strictly prohibited. 4: Outside assistance during a match is strictly prohibited. 5: Gifts that adversely influence the audience in any way are strictly prohibited. [Rewards] 1: Increase in Rank and standing within the Jade Pce. 2: Variable [Penalty] None. [Time Limit] None. ********** "Now, if there are no questions, we will proceed to the main event. As usual, the first match will be an exhibition match between a Senior and Junior member of the court..." After cupping his hands and bowing respectfully towards the Jade Emperor, Huangdi manifested a lottery wheel out of thin air. Then, after spinning it around a few times, he pulled the lever to have it produce a number of white and gold balls before grabbing the first of each. Seeing the names listed on the balls, a smile developed across Huangdi''s face as he mused, "What a surprise. The Venerable God of Thunder, Lei Gong, will be giving pointers to one of the more recent additions to the Heavenly Domain, Faerie Qingtaun. If both participants consent, please proceed to the arena." The moment Huangdi finished speaking, the sound of a thunderp echoed through the banquet hall as a humanoid eagle appeared within the arena. His head was evocative of an eagle adorned with the crown of a warlord while his hands, wielding a chisel and mallet, were evocative of talons. This,bined with the fact he had taloned feet and majestic wings protruding from ornate armor made Lei gong appear more beast than man. "Come forth, child! Let this old man test your mettle...!" As one of the Gods assigned to punish the wicked and impose tribtions on cultivators who used their knowledge to harm ordinary people, Lei Gong was notorious as a battle-hungry individual. As for his opponent, nearly everyone in the hall was surprised when a young girl wearing a white tunic, grass-green trousers, and leaf-green slippers adorned with flowers leaped into the arena. Her long brown hair was fashioned into dango-like buns that framed the sides of her head before cascading to the backs of her knees in two loose twin tails. As for her eyes, they were a luminescent shade of green that perfectlyplemented her child-like features and attire. Not expecting his opponent to be a literal child, a notably wry smile developed across Lei Gong''s face as he asked, "Are you sure you don''t want to send forth a representative? I can also substitute for one of my children if you''d prefer a fairer match." Surprisingly nearly everyone present, Qingtaun offered a smile in response to Lei Gong''s words before cupping her hands together and softly musing, "Qingtaun would be honored to receive Senior Lei''s guidance." Punctuating her words, Qingtaun adopted a stance reminiscent of the Mantis Style of Kung Fu. This caused Lei Gong''s brow to subtly twitch, as, despite the drastic disparity between normal birds and mantids, the Mantis Style was considered a counter to the Crane and Eagle Schools of Kung Fu. Thetter was something he had invented so he couldn''t help feeling that Qingtaun was attempting to taunt him. "So be it...!" Without any further hesitation, Lei Gong performed a quick spin that caused the tips of his wings to sweep across the arena before leaping high into the air and ring them widely. At the same time, a tremendous amount of lightning elemental energy began to condense around his mallet and chisel as he shouted, "Taste the First Heavenly Tribtion - Penance...!" Smacking the base of the chisel with his mallet, Lei Gong sent bolts of azure lightning more than ten meters in diameter hurtling towards Qingtaun in a wild and uncontrolled manner. This caused the slight smile on the young girl''s face to promptly vanish. After all, the lightning of the literal God of Thunder wasn''t something to look down on. In fact, a single strike was usually more than enough to fell both Gods and Demons. Fortunately, Qingtaun wasn''t without options. Her ascent may have been recent, but her presence at the banquet was a testament to her strength. Thus, the moment Lei Gong unleashed his attack, she produced what appeared to be a rtively simple paper parasol adorned with flowers. In spite of this, it was able to both shield against and deflect Lei Gon''s lightning. Seeing his attack deflected, Lei Gong didn''t panic in the slightest. Instead, he simply smacked his mallet against one of the drums strapped to his hips. Immediately thereafter, all the lightning on the battlefield vanished as he stared down at Qingtuan and remarked, "Well done. However, this next attack will be much stronger. Are you willing to continue...?" Rather than responding verbally to Lei Gong''s question, Qingtaun chose to rest her parasol against her shoulder before smiling up at him. This caused Lei Gong''s brow to twitch a second time, but, as one of the most senior Gods in the Jade Pce, he couldn''t allow himself to lose his cool against a junior. Face was extremely important to the Gods of the Jade Pce, so, after affording Qingtaun a moment to reconsider, Lei Gong raised his violently humming mallet overhead and said, "This is the Second Heavenly Tribtion - Retribution...!" Though the attack produced yet another thick band of azure lightning, the difference between the First and Second Heavenly Tribtion became readily apparent when it began leaving ck trails in the surrounding space. It was also much faster than traditional lightning, so much so that Qingtaun wasn''t able to react by the time it had struck her body. While many expected some kind of explosion, an eerie silence spread through the hall as Qingtaun remained fixed in the position she had been in prior to receiving the strike. It was almost as though she had been frozen in time, and, were it not for the fact bands of electricity would periodically arc between her fingers, a few of the more inexperienced Gods might have assumed that was the case... "She got cocky..." Nodding his head in response to Mikoto''s remark, Vahn''s eyes emitted a faint golden glow as he observed the energy surging through Qingtaun''s body and invading her Dantian. She was doing her best to try and resolve it but all her efforts had ended in vain. After all, unlike normal lighting, this particr variety had been infused with Lei Gong''s intent. The more a person tried to dissipate it, the more obstinate it became... After nearly a minute had passed, blood began to pool at the corners of Qingtaun''s eyes as a thin trail flowed from her nose. In response, Lei Gong promptly smacked one his drum while Huangdi, understanding the former could have ended the fight at any point over thest minute, raised his hand and said, "The match has ended. The Venerable Lei Gong is the victor...!" Though he raised his mallet triumphantly, Lei Gong didn''t dawdle for too long before descending to the arena and asking, "Are you okay?" in a fatherly tone that didn''t suit his appearance. Smiling wryly in response to Lei Gong''s concern, Qingtaun finished wiping away the blood from her face using a handkerchief before answering, "Senior Lei is truly magnanimous. Showing concern for your opponent. This is Qingtaun''s total and absolute defeat." Rather than attempt to console her, Lei Gong nodded his head in affirmation before cing his mallet and chisel in their holsters. Then, as was customary when an Elder met a Junior for the first time, he paused for a moment before plucking one of his feathers and saying, "ept this as my gift. If you fashion it into a charm, it will provide protection against most forms of lightning. May it serve as a reminder of our encounter and aid you in your journey towards the pinnacle." epting the feather with both hands, Qingtaun forced a polite smile as she said, "Thank you, Senior. Qingtaun will cherish it for as long as she lives..." Though he was well aware of the fact she was forcing herself, Lei Gong still nodded in response to Qingtaun''s words. It wasn''t umon for new arrivals to have a bit of an ego. Rather, here in the Heavenly Domain, it was considered one of the foundational pirs of the strong. Thus, rather than chastise Qingtaun for her insincerity, Lei Gong was looking forward to how she would try to get her revenge. Daily life within the Jade Pce could be pretty boring... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The pitfall of linking senses~'',''Zapdos has entered the arena...!'',''The Elder Gods of the Jade Pce are remarkably chill'') Chapter 2158: Stepping Up

Chapter 2158: Stepping Up

While Qingtaun returned to her seat, Lei Gong stayed in the arena to ept additional challenges. It was customary for the higher-ranked Gods to appear first, and, if no one challenged them, they would step down and keep their rank for another year. They also had the option of challenging a higher rank than themselves, but, as the Rank 9 God, Lei Gong''s options were pretty limited. "Well!? Is this the limit of your conviction!? Are none of you brave enough to step forward and challenge this old man!?" ring at a few of the Gods ranked between 10 and 20, Lei Gong''s expression made it clear he was looking down on them. Unfortunately, none of the Gods beneath him were foolish enough to step forward. The only person who even considered it was Nezha, but, after their earlier altercation with Vor, they wanted to preserve their strength. Seeing none of his fellows step forward, a disdainful snort escaped Lei Gong''s beak as he prepared to depart the arena. Before he could, however, a feminine voice excitedly dered, "If it''s an open invitation, I wouldn''t mind having a go." Like everyone else in the hall, Lei Gong''s cerulean eyes promptly shifted to the person that had spoken. When he saw Mikoto rising to her feet, a look of confusion briefly shed across his face before he ultimately adopted a smile and bellowed, "Very well, Faerie from a Foreign Land! Enter the arena! Let''s show these cowardly louts what a bit of backbone looks like...!" Though a number of Gods expressed their dissatisfaction by ring at Mikoto, anyints they might have had were silenced when she shed into the arena faster than most of them could blink. Even Lei Gong was surprised by this, as, the moment Mikoto shed into the arena, he could detect a hint of the phenomenal energy contained within her body. With a far more serious expression on his face, Lei Gong reached for his holstered weapons before bellowing, "You stand before the Venerable God of Thunder, Lei Gong! Reveal your name, fearless one...!" Since Lei Gong had already drawn his weapons, Mikoto didn''t see any reason to hold back. Vibrant bands of electricity began to dance around her body as she stepped forward, an action that caused most of the arena to tremble as she answered, "The name''s Mikoto Mason...!" Punctuating her words, Mikoto''s body exuded a brilliant light with the activation of her [REquip] system. In the next moment, the oriental garb she had been wearing was substituted by a ck hoodie with ents of electric yellow. Beneath that was a ck t-shirt, a pair of form-fitting ck shorts, ck leggings, and ck tennis shoes with the same design as her hoodie. It was a modern yet fashionable look that caused people like Nezha to watch on with stars in their eyes and Mikoto stepped forward to send a veritable tidal wave of pitch-ck iron sand towards Lei Gong. To his credit, Lei Gong wasn''t caught off guard by Mikoto''s sudden attack. He immediately leaped into the sky, and, thanks to the temperature from his own lightning, he was able to both melt and sweep away the encroaching iron sand with a wave from his mallet. "Not bad! Not bad at all! I''m guessing you use this ability both offensively and defensively! Let''s see how it holds up, shall we!?" Simr to when he had fought against Qingtaun, Lei Gong ascended high into the air as the mallet and chisel in his hands began to condense a tremendous amount of lightning elemental energy. At the same time, vibrant blue arcs of electricity danced around Mikoto''s body as she raised her right hand and condensed the surrounding iron sand into a remarkablypact projectile resembling a coin. With the feathers on the back of his neck standing on end, Lei Gong''s excitement was increasing at a remarkably fast pace as he shouted, "First Heavenly Tribtion - Penance...!" While others would try to evade or ck Lei Gong''s attack, Mikoto surprised everyone by standing her ground. Her AIM Diffusion Field, the medium through which her power manifested, was capable of epassing entire stars, much less a single arena. Within its confines, she was the uncontested master of electromaism, so, the moment Lei Gong released his lightning, it arced back to strike him in the chest as she stated, "Mass eleration Cannon." in a calm and confident tone. Stunned by his own lightning, Lei Gong''s pupils shrank to the size of pinholes the moment Mikoto unleashed the hyper-dense iron projectile gathered at the tips of her fingers. Its speed was reduced by the inordinately dense spirit energy that existed within the Heavenly Domain, but, even with this, its instantaneous eleration exceeded Mach 800,000. Under normal circumstances, Lei Gong could easily evade even lightspeed attacks without any real difficulty. This time, however, thebination of his own lightning and Mikoto''s wless timing left him wholly incapable of responding. As a result, the projectile impacted the ting of his pauldron before passing through his right shoulder and wing in nearly the exact same moment. Seeing Lei Gong spontaneously lose an arm, many of the lower-ranked Gods gasped in surprise. Lei Gong, however, adopted a massive grin as he promptly grabbed his detached limb before spinning around and hurtling it towards Mikoto. To thetter''s surprise, the appendage literally transformed into a golden spear with the chisel in his hand serving as the head. Choosing not to underestimate her opponent, Mikoto teleported behind Lei Gong long before the spear pierced through her previous position. Before she could unleash an attack, however, the silk hagoromo flowing around Lei Gong''s neck and shoulders attempted to bind her. At the same time, Lei Gong spun around fast enough to leave a visible ck trail through the void as his mallet aimed at her shoulder. Realizing that the avian god was trying to get even with her, an amused smile developed across Mikoto''s face as her body promptly contracted to the size of an ordinary house cat. As a result, Lei Gong''s mallet passed through her previous position as Mikoto, now in her Pikachu form, unleashed a cataclysmic thunderbolt instantaneously filled the arena. From the perspective of the observers, a vibrant blue cube had formed atop the battlefield. Many misunderstood this to be the result of the barrier surrounding the elevated tform, but, in reality, Mikoto had such an absolute mastery over lightning that she could freely shape it to avoid idents. With the intensity of the light growing rather than dissipating, many within the banquet hall had to squint their eyes or look away. This continued for a surprisingly long seventeen seconds before the light faded to reveal Lei Gong, now resembling an eagle that had been struck by lightning, kneeling on the ground. His feathers were in disarray and his body was covered in burns, yet, in spite of this, he had a remarkably human smile on his face as he said, "Well done...this battle...is your win..." Unable to dissipate Mikoto''s energy from his body, thick bands of electricity began to emerge from Lei Gong''s eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Before it could fry him from the inside, however, the energy promptly dissipated thanks to the protections of the Gift Game. Immediately thereafter, a pale blue light enveloped his body before he subsequently appeared outside the arena with his arm attached. This was one of the primary benefits of a well-structured Gift Game, as, unless the rules specifically allowed death, defeated yers would simply be ejected from the Game Board without so much as a hair missing from their head. Flexing the talons of his right hand, Lei Gong''s smile became even more prominent as he looked up at Mikoto and added, "Good luck, Mikoto Mason. I doubt-" Before Lei Gong could finish saying he doubted anyone would be willing to face her, a thunderp echoed off the walls of the banquet hall as a woman withvender hair and thergest breasts Vahn had ever seen promptly appeared at the center of the arena. This wasn''t an exaggeration either, as, due to the revealing nature of her garments, her remarkably substantial cleavage was visible for the whole world to see. "I do not possess a Rank but I hope you''ll ept my challenge..." Though she was going to say she didn''t mind, Mikoto found herself at a loss for words as her eyes zeroed in on the woman''s chest. It had been years since she suffered from breast envy, but, seeing a pair of breastsrge enough to swallow her head twice over, she couldn''t help gawking like a fool. Taking advantage of Mikoto''s momentary stupor, the woman unsheathed an inordinatelyrge Jian-style longsword, shouting, "Defend yourself...!" as she charged forward with a speed rivaling spatial movement. At the same time, Lei Gong, having recovered from his stupid, shouted, "Leizi! What are you doing...!?" Ignoring Lei Gong''s shout, Leizi, the Principle Goddess of Lightning within the Heavenly Domain, sliced towards the wide-eyed Mikoto''s neck. Her skills were somewhatcking, at least in Vahn''s opinion, but, the moment she cut forward, a blinding light reminiscent of lightning instantly filled the center of the arena. There was also a sound evocative of a thunderp, but,pared to the thunderous rumble produced by Lei Gong''s drums, it sounded distant and muffled, almost like an echo. To the surprise of nearly everyone present, Leizi''s sword passed through Mikoto''s neck without thetter reacting. Even Leizi was somewhat surprised, but, after seeing her husband get his arm blown off, she couldn''t help smiling at Mikoto''s head spun through the air. Unfortunately, just as she was about to raise her sword in triumph, both the head and Mikoto''s body disappeared as an unharmed version of the brte appeared behind her. Though she could have ended the match then and there, Mikoto manifested a longsword from iron sand before surprising Leizi with a tap on the shoulder. Thetter immediately spun around, but, as a result of her inordinatelyrge bosom, her movements were, very noticeably, dyed as the fabric of her gown desperately attempted to preserve her dignity. As a result, Mikoto had nanoseconds to stare at the melon-sized mammaries in slow motion before casually deflecting Leizi''s de with her own. Clicking her tongue, Leizi retreated backward before running her index and middle fingers along the t of her de. Hundreds of electric-blue runes immediately lit up across its surface as pale golden electricity began to dance around its length. This ended up being a grave mistake, as, the moment she was preparing to unleash her attack, Mikoto offered an apologetic smile as the pale golden electricity immediately crawled up Leizi''s arm. Sensing the inverse flow of electrical energy, Leizi''s pupils contracted in much the same way as her husband''s. Unfortunately, she had been gripping her sword tightly, so, the moment she sensed the change, extremely destructive lightning was already spreading through her body. The energy was so intense that her forearm immediately carbonized as painful golden cracks spread as far as her elbow. While a lesser Goddess might have dropped her weapon, Leizi managed to earn Mikoto''s respect by absorbing the lightning into her body, ignoring the pain as she charged forward with clenched teeth. Her pride as the Goddess of Lightning wouldn''t allow her to fall to her own element, so, with the aid of her Qi, she forcibly channeled it back into the de as she unleashed a series of attacks that left visible scorch marks on the previously invisible barrier surrounding the arena. Unfortunately, no matter how desperate she was to ''avenge'' her husband, Leizi was limited by her status as a Tier 4. Mikoto had gone toe-to-toe with Gods who could destroy universes with a wave of their hand, so, while she appreciated and respected Leizi''s fervor, the oue had been decided long before the match began. Leizi''s only hope was for Mikoto to lower her guard, but, with a mind that could humble even the most exceptional supeputers, the chances of that happening were beyond astronomical... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Lei Gong doesn''t know it, but he''s courting death...'',''Mikoto uses Reverse Card...it''s super effective...!'',''All the nutrients intended for Leizi''s brain went into her bust xD...'') Chapter 2159: Dominance

Chapter 2159: Dominance

Though she did her best to persist, it was only ever a matter of time before Leizi ran out of stamina. The damage caused by her lightning had spread beyond her elbow, and, thanks to Mikoto''s greater mastery, Leizi could only grit her teeth as each of her attacks was deflected or dodged. "I think it''s about time we wrap this up. I don''t want to see you destroy your body any further..." Punctuating her words, Mikoto dodged one of Leizi''s attacks at a hair''s breadth before stepping in to strike the busty Goddess''s abdomen. To the casual observer, this looked like a rtively simple blow, but, in reality, Mikoto had ced a temporary seal on Leizi''s Dantian. This wasn''t enough to render her powerless but it was more than enough to interfere with her ongoing efforts to restrain the lightning running rampant in her body. By the time Mikoto had withdrawn her hand, Leizi''s figure had already faded into motes of bluish-white light. Immediately thereafter, she appeared next to Lei Gong with a vexed look on her face and tears in her eyes. Seeing the aggrieved look on Leizi''s face, Mikoto awkwardly scratched her cheek as she began to wonder whether or not she should apologize. Fortunately, before she could make up her mind, Lei Gong enveloped his wife from behind using his wings and arms, whispering, "Calm your rage, my little thunderp. Faerie Mikoto has not wronged us in any way..." As if she had never been angry, the look on Leizi''s face became as docile as a kitten in response to her husband''s embrace. She also enjoyed being enveloped by his wings. Their warmth allowed her to feel safe, secure, and, most importantly, they prevented people from staring at her chest... Feeling his wife lean into him, a remarkably human expression of affection spread across Lei Gong''s face as he gently preened her hair. This earned him the jealously and resentment of his fellow Gods, but, as such attitudes were remarkablymonce within the Heavenly Domain, Lei Gong simply ignored them as Huangdi went on to announce, "That makes two sessive victories for our young guest hailing from the Sage Dragon''s Hearth! It appears yet another rising star has appeared in the Little Garden''s East Side~." Breaking the awkward silence that had descended upon the banquet hall, Huangdi began to p in acknowledgment of Mikoto''s triumph. This was quickly followed by Vahn, Fenrir, and, after several seconds, nearly everyone in the hall. None of them were brave enough to face off against someone who could casually defeat the Gods of Thunder and Lightning, so, while they weren''t all that fond of outsiders, the only person brazen enough to speak out was Nezha... "Yeah, yeah~! Kick their asses~! Woooooooooh~!" With his daughter causing a scene at his side, a frown marred Li Jing''s perpetually stern face as he manifested the ''Fiery Jade Pagoda'' in his right hand. He had forbidden Nezha from speaking out after the previous incident, so, now that she had defied him, he had no choice but to teach her a lesson. The moment he attempted to, however, the pagoda fractured as an authoritative voice that only he could hear said, "I ignored it earlier but if you keep treating your daughter as if she were a prisoner, we''re going to have a problem..." Feeling an oppressive chill spread through his body, Li Jing didn''t immediately shout out or draw attention to himself. Instead, he followed the intent contained within the voice until he found Vahn staring at him with luminescent golden eyes. Realizing that the person who had threatened him was an outsider, Li Jing''s expression immediately darkened him. In spite of this, he didn''t say anything. After all, Mikoto was part of Vahn''s entourage. Unless she was his bodyguard, this implied that Vahn was much stronger than her. Even if he wasn''t, there was nothing Li Jing, the Rank 23, could do against an opponent capable of defeating the Rank 9 with ease... ... .. . Seeing Li Jing break eye contact and lower his head, the urge to snort briefly entered Vahn''s mind before promptly vanishing as he shifted his attention back to the arena. The rtionship between Li Jing and Nezha wasn''t really his concern, but, after seeing how readily thetter''s father resorted to pulling out his pagoda, Vahn couldn''t help feeling annoyed. Though Nezha was clearly a troublesome youth, it wasn''t to the level that their behavior mandated being sealed away or suppressed every time they acted out. If anything, sealing them away actually made Nezha''s behavior worse as rebelliousness couldn''t be solved using the same punishment over and over. The correct method when dealing with rebelliousness was patience and understanding. You needed to lower yourself to the other person''s level and ascertain why they wereshing out. After that, you needed toy out clear expectations for them before working together to improve their behavior. If you resorted to punishment without even trying to address the underlying issue, the only thing you would aplish is desensitizing the child and reinforcing the idea you regarded them as more of an inconvenience than offspring. While he was far from a perfect father, at least in his own mind, Vahn couldn''t help taking issue with the fact some parents didn''t even try. Li Jing behaved more like a Warden than a father, and, based on Nezha''s appearance and disposition, it was pretty obvious they resented being kept on a leash. If they could, Vahn imagined they would break away without a second thought... ... .. . Hearing Nezha cheering for her, Mikoto looked over to find the tomboyish youth waving her way with an excited grin on their face. Her acknowledgment seemed to excite the twin-tailed youth even further, as, the moment their eyes met, Nezha proceeded to violently shake Ao Bing before happily eximing, "She looked at me~!" in a distinctly high-pitched tone of voice. While smiling wryly in response to Nezha''s behavior, Mikoto couldn''t help thinking back to the time she spent in the Actualized World of the Toaruverse. Nezha''s behavior reminded her of Kuroko and some of the more enthusiastic members of her Fanclub. This caused her to feel nostalgic, but, at the same time, Mikoto got the unmistakable impression that Nezha would be a stalker in the very near future... With that thought in mind, Mikoto came to the conclusion that it was probably for the best if she stepped down. It didn''t seem like anyone was going to challenge her, and, while she could always challenge an opponent directly, she wanted to remain in top condition to safeguard Vahn. The only reason she stepped up to challenge Lei Gong was to give her opponents an initial impression of her strength and prevent weakling from pestering him. Fortunately, no one spoke out even as Mikoto returned to her seat. Instead, Huangdi waited until she had sat down before caressing his beard and musing, "It seems our younger generation is a bitcking in spirit..." Though a few of the younger gods were annoyed by Huangdi''s words, none of them dared to speak out against him. Huangdi was the former Rank 3 prior to his appointment as Chambein of the Jade Pce. He was also descended from a Pure-Blooded Dragon, so, even if they had ten lives, most of the Gods present wouldn''t dare challenge him... Chuckling in spite of the awkward silence, Huangdi ceased caressing his beard before asking, "Well? What are you waiting for? If someone doesn''t step up in the next three minutes, this year''s rankingpetition will have officiallye to an end. I had better not hear anyp-" Before Huangdi could finish, Nezha leaped to their feet and shouted, "I want to challenge that big-tittied bimbo in the fourth row...!" Making it transparently clear who she was talking about, Nezha trained her gaze and index finger at Vor. In response, the ashen-haired woman merely raised her brows before staring down at her chest and remarking, "They aren''t that big..." as if it was the most important part of Nezha''s deration. While most people would vehemently disagree with her, it was hard to argue with Vor''s statement after the appearance of a Goddess like Leizi. Thetter clocked in at a truly astounding 140cm, so, while Vor was quiterge at 88cm, her bust was fairly modest inparison... Despite glowering in response to Vor''s words, a faint red hue spread through Nezha''s cheeks as they shouted, "Who the fuck cares!? Get your fat ass in the arena so I can shove my foot up it...!" Though she did rise in response to Nezha''s words, Vor didn''t immediately proceed to the arena. Instead, she craned her head back in an attempt to get a look at her backside. Her bust was modest inparison to the Goddess of Lightning but the size and shape of her rump was breathtaking. It was usually hidden behind her armored battledress, but, in an attempt to get a better look, Vor had briefly given her side of the hall a glimpse by removing it... Seeing the eyes of every god near Vor turn round as saucers, the only thing preventing Nezha from attacking directly was their understanding that Li Jing would immediately intervene. This would get in the way of their desire to beat the living daylights out of Vor, so, rather than continuing to shout, Nezha manifested golden, de-like wheels beneath their feet before igniting them and leaving a visible path of me through the sky as they soared to the center of the arena. Following Nezha''s actions with her eyes, Vor promptly manifested her battledress before surprising everyone focused on her by instantaneously disappearing. Even the Gods closest to her unable to follow her movements, and, before they fully understood what had happened, a tremor ran through the hall as a loud explosion rocked the center of the arena. While most of the gods in the hall were still confused, Ao Bing immediately jumped to his feet, shouting, "Nezha...!" at the top of his lungs. This caused a few Gods to cast nces towards him, confusion marring their faces when they saw how fretful the inordinately pale and androgynous youth had be. Clearing a bit of the confusion, a secondary shockwave promptly dispersed therge cloud of dust that had formed at the center of the arena. When the Gods saw the scene within, disbelief became the mostmon response, as, despite mere seconds passing since the moment Nezha soared to the center of the arena, they were presently skewered and unconscious on Vor''s ivory-whitence. Adding to their incredulity, Vor, appearing as impassive as she had during her first encounter with Nezha, softly remarked, "I thought you would be stronger..." before pressing a small button on the hilt of hernce. In response, the turbine-likeponent recing thence''s pommel hummed to life as vibrant golden electricity began to dance across its surface. Then, despite having clearly won the fight, Vor brandished hernce in a way that caused Nezha''s unconscious body to ascend high above the arena before unleashing a terrifying beam of abyssal ck energy that pierced through the epassing barrier as if it didn''t exist... Reacting before said beam could punch a hole in the Jade Pce itself, Huangdi twisted his hand to create a spatial vortex in its path. Beads of sweat began to form on his forehead due to his draconic heritage, but, as powerful as Vor was, she wasn''t at the level where she could overwhelm the former Rank 3 of a 4-Digit Community. If she was that strong, the Jade Pce would have been subsumed by the Norse Faction a long time ago... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Zapdos is a surprisingly good husband o_o...'',''Is this the advent of the Biri-Biri Fanclub...!?'',''*Enuma Elish SFX*'') Chapter 2160: Retribution

Chapter 2160: Retribution

Respawning outside the arena, the first thing Nezha did after recovering from their brief stupor was point toward Vor and shout, "You cheated! I want a rematch...!" in a surprisingly girly tone. They had developed the habit of forcing themselves to speak in a ''manly'' tone, but, whenever they got upset, their voice became noticeably higher pitched. Staring down at Nezha, Vor''s expression remained apathetic and unreadable as she answered, "Very well. I will ept your challenge on the condition we use the Holmgang ruleset. I''m not in the habit of entertaining children who do not consider the consequences of their actions..." Without even bothering to ask what the Holmgang ruleset was, Nezha was about to agree when a hand suddenly plopped down atop their head. When they attempted to look up and curse whoever dared to touch their head, said hand roughly ruffled their hair as its owner said, "The Holmgang is a fight to the death. Don''t go throwing your life away, kiddo." Feeling the hand leave their head, Nezha looked up to find Vahn staring down at them with a smile that didn''t quite reach his eyes. Then, before they could even think to respond, he pointed towards the direction of the banquet, adding, "Your friend is worried about you." Following the direction of Vahn''s finger, Nezha noticed Ao Bing looking over with an anxious look on his face. A wave of guilt immediately washed over them, yet, in spite of this, they red back at Vahn, asking, "So what? I''m not a child that needs so-" Though they had intended to tear into Vahn, Nezha''s expression morphed into one of confusion as the former suddenly held out a bright yellow object. For a brief moment, they had no idea what the object was supposed to be until memories of the match between Mikoto and Lei Gong resurfaced in their mind. Taking advantage of Nezha''s momentary silence, Vahn stated, "I''ll give you this lifesized Pikachu plushie if you return to your seat. I noticed how you were looking at my partner. Since I can''t give away the real thing, this should suffice as a substitute. How about it...?" Without waiting for Nezha''s response, Vahn tossed the plushie toward them. Nezha ended up catching in on reflex, and, feeling how soft it was, their eyes immediately lit up as a faint smile spread across their face. This was immediately reced by a scowl, but, having born witness to Nezha''s cute side, Vahn couldn''t help smiling even as they snarled, "Do I look like someone who ys with dolls!?" Following their outburst, Nezha appeared to set the Pikachu plush ame. In reality, they ced it into one of the many rune-covered rings adorning their fingers. Then, with the middle fingers of both hands raised, they added, "Whatever. You can both go fuck yourselves." before sticking out their surprisingly long tongue, taking a few steps back, and pivoting on their heel. After that, they ced their hands into their pockets before returning to their seat without any additional fuss. (*What a remarkable example of a Tsundere...*) "No kidding..." Though Nezha''s words and actions made him want to sit down and have a talk, Vahn set that aside for the time being as he shifted his attention to Vor. She had been closely scrutinizing him without so much as blinking, so, with a slight smile on his face, he asked, "Like what you see?" Simr to how she had created a gap in Nezha''s mental state, Vor''s response sharply contrasted the impassive look on her face as she tly replied, "Indeed. The structure of your face and body, while markedly different from aesthetics in the South, is impressive to the point of being called sublime. I would even go so far as to describe you as wless..." Amused by the ashen-haired beauty''s calcted shamelessness, a yful smile developed across Vahn''s face as he casually countered, "You''re not so bad yourself." Raising her brows, Vor appeared just the slightest bit offended as she remarked, "Your words strike like a dagger to my heart. Before now, I had always taken pride in my beauty. It appears I''ll need to work a bit harder if there are still people who would refer to my looks as ''not bad''..." Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn resisted the urge to inform her that she wouldn''t even ce within his Top 100 in terms of looks. After all, while their appearances might lose out when evaluated by others, Vahn considered each and every member of his harem to be head and shoulders above thepetition. Immediately following them were his children, so, while Vor had an attractive face and a truly remarkable figure, they only left a shallow impression on Vahn''s heart. If they never saw each other again after today, he wouldn''t feel as though he had lost something... Believing that Vahn was trying to rile her up, an ostensibly amused smile spread across Vor''s face as she shouldered hernce and remarked, "Though I am thoroughly enjoying our back and forth, I do believe there is another reason these fine Gods and Goddesses have gathered here today. I''m more than willing to continue this discussion at ater date. For now, it would be one of my life''s greatest honors to record my name in the legend of the Little Garden''s most prominent rising star..." Noticing the genuine eagerness contained within Vor''s aura, Vahn''s smile curled up at the edges as he promptly replied, "I''ll pass. I didn''te here to steal the limelight, and, as you pointed out, our audience has gathered here for a specific purpose. Watching outsiders battle might be entertaining, but, in regards to the purpose of this event, a conflict between us is pointless." Punctuating his statement with a smile and a wave, Vahn turned around without waiting to hear Vor''s response. As a result, the ashen-haired Valkyrie could only stare in impassive stupefaction as he walked away. She had never expected a Pure-Blooded Dragon to pass on the opportunity to do battle. They were among the most prideful and battle-hungry creatures in the entire Divine Realm. The notion that one would refuse to fight had never, not in tens of thousands of years, crossed her mind... Before Vor couldpletely gather herself, an explosion strong enough to send her crashing into the arena''s barrier rocked the center of the nigh-indestructible field. This caught the entire banquet hall by surprise, as, despite stepping down fewer than five minutes ago, Mikoto had reappeared in the center of the arena. The thing that truly surprised onlookers was the fact that her previous outfit was nowhere to be seen. Instead, her body was garbed in a bright, bluish-white light that perfectly concealed her figure. Above her temples, two antennae-like horns protruded from her head as two hagoromo-like sashes formed from pure lightning elemental energy coiled around her shoulders. "Congrattions. You''ve managed to piss me off." Charging toward Mikoto the moment she recovered, Vor''s expression became serious as the dress around her waist red out before transforming into a pair of mechanical wings. The ends of said wings promptly expanded to reveal thrusters, as, despite hailing from one of the oldest factions in the South, the members of the White Raven Community focused on gathering andpiling the knowledge of other Communities. This starkly contrasted their peers in the ck Raven Community, who, as could be expected, focused exclusively on knowledge of the past and keeping to tradition. "This spear shall engrave a mark upon your Soul! Divine Assault - Nibelung Valesti...!" With hernce promptly transforming to resemble a needle-like dragon''s head, Vor attempted to skewer Mikoto in a simr manner as Nezha. What she, nor anyone else expected, was for Mikoto to arrest the momentum of hernce by simply grabbing its tip. Then, long before the reality of the situation hit her, a hand that seemed to teleport through space and time struck the right side of her face and sent her crashing into the barrier at near-light speed. Not satisfied with giving Vor a simple p, Mikoto raised her right hand in what appeared to be slow motion. The bluish-white light concealing her body suddenly became exponentially brighter, but, at the same time, the light shrouding her face inverted to resemble a void. Once the color had stabilized, her head and shoulders resembled the backdrop of a night sky as a three-pronged halo and six sets of wings promptly manifested behind Mikoto''s body. As for her hand, it changed shape to resemble an angr bident as her voice, seemingly sounding from every direction, coldly stated, "Sacred Lance - Longinus...!" Though everyone present was able to see each of Mikoto''s movements, the interval between Vor crashing into the barrier and Longinus piercing her body was so short it couldn''t even be regarded as an instant. The attack existed as a Quantum Superposition, and, the moment Mikoto decided to unleash it, it had ''always'' been piercing Vor''s body. Even if a God of Time was to reverse entropy to the exact moment when Vor impacted the barrier, her body would already be pierced. Following Vor''s example, Mikoto flung the bleeding Valkyrie into the sky as she said, "It is the duty of the strong to look after and guide the weak. Those who derive pleasure from using their power to suppress and bully others deserve to experience even greater helplessness than the quality they impose upon others..." From within the nebulous void that represented Mikoto''s head, two zing blue eyes reminiscent of the light present at the birth of a cosmos suddenly snapped open. For a brief moment, her body became perfectly symmetrical as she spread her arms and wings, muttering, "Abyss of the End..." in a soul-shaking tone that sent shivers through the bodies of nearly everyone present. Responding to Mikoto''s words, the sky above the arena suddenly copsed in on itself to reveal a triangr abyss reminiscent of a spatial crack. Instead of pulling Vor in, however, the unnervingly ck ''substance'' within the void drooped downward like vantack paint. Everyone that saw this felt an existential dread wash over them as Vor, realizing what might happen if the substance was allowed to touch her body, promptly shouted, "I yield...!" in an uncharacteristically emotional tone. Fortunately for the ashen-haired Valkyrie, Mikoto had controlled the abyssal-ck substance so that it didn''t immediately descend. Had she not, no amount of protection provided by the Central Network would have been able to prevent Vor from being erased. Vahn would have stepped in if things got out of hand, but, as far as Vor was concerned, Mikoto had just unleashed an attack far above the standards of the 4-Digit Gates without any prep time. Appearing outside the arena, the pupils of Vor''s eyes contracted to the size of pinholes as she opened them to find the tip of Mikoto''s Longinus less than a centimeter away from her nose. "I have shown you mercy this time. There had better not be a next." Feeling a knot form in her throat for the first time in millennia, Vor opened her mouth to speak, but, before she was able to, her legs suddenly gave out. She ended up copsing to the ground with her battle dress ring out like a flower, and, momentster, a puddle of faintly golden liquid appeared beneath her. Retracting the tip of her Longinus, Mikoto swung her arm to the side in a manner that caused the bluish-white light shrouding her body to fragment into pieces resembling ss shards. This caused a chain reaction that quickly spread to her body. Fortunately, while this transformation had left her naked more times than she could count, Mikoto had long since mastered the timing to don proper clothing. As a result, she appeared in the same casual clothing as before. The only difference was, now that she had exhausted arge portion of her reserves, her previously twenty-something figure had diminished to that of a girl between 12-13 years of age. Seeing Mikoto''s diminutive size, a wave of relief washed over Vor''s body. If Mikoto had appeared in her previous form, she would have regarded the hazel-haired girl as even more of a monster. Now, despite feeling a feeling akin to existential dread towards the youthful-looking brte, she could at least rest easy knowing Mikoto had to pay a price to wield such extreme power... If Vor knew that Mikoto would recover in mere hours thanks to Vahn, she might have peed herself a second time... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn is unparalleled when ites to enticing children (O w O)...'',''Loki would be proud...'',''Pikachu used Extreme Violence...It''s super effective...!'') Chapter 2161: Stepping Up

Chapter 2161: Stepping Up

Surprising nearly everyone present, Mikoto extended a hand to the downed Vor, asking, "Can you stand?" with an awkward smile on her face. She hadn''t expected Vor to pee herself, so, seeing the puddle of faintly golden liquid beneath the woman''s body, the notion she had taken things a little too far briefly crossed her mind. Staring at the hand proferred by Mikoto, a look of confusion shed across Vor''s face. Mercy wasn''t exactlymonce in the South. Compassion was even rarer. Thus, for a brief moment, Vor found herself sincerely confused by Mikoto''s behavior. With Vor staring at her hand, the awkwardness Mikoto was experiencing increased by several orders of magnitude. Fortunately, just as the tension increased to the point it could be cut with a knife, Vor reached out to grab her hand, stating, "It is the privilege of the strong to show mercy to the weak..." in a manner that sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than others. Smiling awkwardly in response to Vor''s remark, Mikoto pulled the much taller woman to her feet before shifting her attention to the ground. The previously steamy puddle was now nowhere to be seen. This caused Mikoto to feel considerably relieved while Vor, confused by the absence of liquid, briefly tensed as a tingling sensation spread across her body. In its wake, every trace of her ident had vanished. Understanding what must have happened, Mikoto''s smile became markedly more genuine as she said, "It looks like Vahn decided to spare you from additional embarrassment. Remember this if or when you decide to try and hunt him in the future." Feeling much less awkward now that Vor was cleaned up, Mikoto gave the 185cm tall woman a pat on the shoulder before cing her hands into the pockets of her hoodie and returning to her seat. This left the ashen-haired Valkyrie staring at her back, an inordinately rare glimmer of appreciation contained in her amber eyes. She had no intentions of abandoning her mission but Mikoto''s power and words had given her ample reason to reconsider her approach. With that in mind, Vor elected to return to her seat. Her legs were still a little shaky, but, in spite of this, she managed to appear stoic and graceful as she slowly meandered past table after table of greedy, licentious-eyed Gods. Her beauty and power had left a deep impression on each of them, so, after seeing her defeated by Mikoto, they couldn''t help harboring intentions toward her. After all, in the Divine Realm, it wasn''t even remotely difficult to force someone''s obedience... ... .. . Returning to Vahn''s side, Mikoto immediately returned to her Pikachu form as the former extended his hands to catch her. He understood, better than even Mikoto, how taxing her transformation was. It literally used the energy contained within her Ego as fuel. From the perspective of others, she was weaponizing her Soul to achieve feats that were otherwise impossible. As a result, decreasing in size was the least of her concerns. If she pushed herself, amnesia and other, far more serious side effects were possible. Under normal circumstances, performing such a feat would take years, if not several millennia to fully recover. Fortunately, Mikoto was one of Vahn''s Temtes, so, with a steady supply of Source Energy, she was bound to recover in a few hours. She just needed a bit of rest, and, as strange as it sounded, an ample amount of headpats. "You did well...I''ll be sure to reward you plentily once we return..." Though she was perfectly capable of speaking, Mikoto replied with azy, "Pikaaaa..." as she curled up in the spot previously upied by the Jade Rabbit. Vahn had entrusted the pure white bunny to Fenrir when he intervened in Vor''s attempt to bait Nezha into a deathmatch. As a result, both Jade and her master were currently trembling as Fenrir ran her soft yet exceptionally deadly paws across its head, back, and butt... ... .. . In the wake of Mikoto''s one-sided assault on Vor, the tensions within the banquet hall had be palpable. Many of the Gods couldn''t even begin to understand what happened. They just knew that the power unleashed by Mikoto was something bordering the taboo. Fortunately, before things could be too awkward, Huangdi spoke out to encourage the next set ofbatants to proceed into the arena. His words were initially met with silence until a young woman with white hair and a matching qipao rose to her feet and said, "Well then, if everyone else is too afraid to step up, I''ll dly steal the spotlight." At 165cm tall, the white-haired woman was somewhat tall for a female in the East Side. The traits that caused her to stand out, however, were the crimson streaks in her loosely ponytailed hair, her vibrant amethyst eyes, and elf-like ears. Of course,pared to the jagged crimson horns framing her head, the me-tipped white tail protruding from her backside, and the crimson scales covering her forearms, they were rtively in. While the Gods and Goddesses around her were more than a little surprised, Huangdi adopted one of his grandfatherly smiles as he caressed his chin and remarked, "Nuuba...It''s good to see that not every member of the younger generation has forgotten their filial responsibility..." Giggling in response to Huangdi''s words, the tail of the white-haired woman gently swayed back and forward as she covered the lower half of her face with a fan and said, "It''s only natural that the children take care of their parents after retirement. Now then, who should I challenge~?" Though she wasn''t particrly famous outside of the Heavenly Domain, the white-haired woman, Nuuba, was actually the daughter of Huangdi. In other words, she was a direct descendant of the Yellow Dragon Emperor and the Imperial Princess of the Heavenly Dragon n. As if she hadn''t already decided on her opponent, Nuuba proceeded to pass her gaze over each of the Gods and Goddesses in her surroundings. She had never been given an official rank due to her responsibilities as Imperial Princess. Thus, if she felt so inclined, she could challenge anyone in the banquet hall. In the end, however, her glowing amethyst eyes settled on Vahn as she mused, "Oh~? This could be interesting. I''ve always wanted to see how Ipare against a Pure-Blooded Dragon. I wonder if this Big Brother will do me the courtesy of epting my challenge~?" While he normally wouldn''t mind epting such an offer, it had only been a few minutes since Vahn refused a match against Vor. Since Nuuba was unranked, their match wouldn''t really serve any purpose. Rather, due to her draconic heritage, he would basically be shooting himself in the foot by epting her challenge. "I''m afraid I must refuse. I promised mypanions they would be given the chance to cut loose before I personally enter the arena. If you''re serious about challenging me, you''ll have to convince them you''re worthy of my time." Though Vahn''s words may have sounded like an insult, none of the Gods or Goddesses present, Nuuba included, expressed anger or amazement. It was perfectly normal, at least in the Heavenly Domain, for powerful and high-ranking members of the court to send forth subordinates to deal with would-be challengers. After all, if a challenger couldn''t even beat one of their subordinates, what meaning was there in fighting them directly? Shifting her attention from Vahn to Fenrir, the corners of Nuuba''s smile curled upward as she said, "Very well, then. Might I have the pleasure of hearing this Little Sister''s name...?" After returning the Jade Rabbit to Vahn, Fenrir rose to her feet before answering, "Fenrir Mason." in a curt, no-nonsense tone of voice. This was immediately noted by the majority of the Gods present, as, during Mikoto''s introduction, she had also given the name Mason. Nodding her head in approval, Nuuba snapped her fan shut before casually tossing it to one of her servants as she said, "Very well, Fenrir Mason. My name is Nuuba, Goddess of Droughts, Daughter of the Yellow Emperor, and Vice-Leader of the Heavenly Dragon n. I look forward to facing you on the field of battle." With that said, Nuuba stepped out of her traditional Chinese silk slippers before turning into a blur that promptly appeared near the center of the arena. It wasn''t the most extreme example of speed, but, considering she hadn''t empowered her body in the slightest, it was pretty impressive. While others might have struggled to follow Nuuba''s movements, Fenrir was easily able to track the white-haired Goddess with her icy blue eyes. Her eyesight was currently sharper than ever, so, for a moment, Nuuba appeared to be moving in slow motion near the beginning and end of her feat. Shifting her gaze to her Master, Fenrir telepathically asked, ("What do you want me to do, Master? She gives off an aura of arrogance but I don''t think she''s a bad person. Should I go easy on her?") As if he was simply giving Fenrir permission to go, Vahn responded with a curt nod while internally answering, ("Let her control the pace and see how she chooses to escte things. Even I''m not too sure about your current limits so it''s best to y it safe. If anything happens, I''ll step in.") Returning a nod, Fenrir flexed her razor-sharp ws, which, after her ascension, resembled bluish-white, slightly transparent crystals. A simr translucence could be observed in her fur, which, due to the energy contained within, appeared icy near the tips and cker than the night sky near the roots. Following Nuuba''s example, Fenrir ran forward before pouncing into the arena using raw speed. This earned her a marginally surprised look from the white-haired dragoness, who, understanding Fenrir''s intentions, remarked, "Oh~?" before following it up with a smile and adding, "This is going to be fun." Punctuating her words, Nuuba adopted a stance reminiscent of the Southern Dragon Style of Kung Fu. She brought her left foot forward, angled inward, while both of her hands came up in a rxed stance that emphasized the sharp, shimmering red and green scales covering her forearms, hands, and fingers. At the same time, the me on the tip of her tail began burning even more vibrantly, almost as if she were a Charizard preparing to use ze. The temperature around her body began to skyrocket, and, true to her name, the surrounding tiles began to dry up as if an extreme drought had spread through the area. A stark contrast to the scene on Nuuba''s side of the arena, ayer of pure white frost spread from the base of Fenrir''s feet as she adopted a low, quadrupedal stance. This would have created quite a tantalizing sight under normal circumstances, but, thanks to the fur-covered waistcoat she donned prior to entering the arena, the spectating Gods could only glower as the fur across Fenrir''s body shifted from a pale blue to a stark, snowy white. Though she was tempted toment on Fenrir''s ridiculous stance, Nuuba never had the chance, as, the moment she opened her mouth to speak, the former lunged toward her with a speed that sent shivers up her spine. Her instincts were also screaming at her to avoid a direct confrontation, so, despite being supremely confident in her physical strength, Nuuba sidestepped Fenrir''s charge like a matador, saying, "Dragon Plucks the Peaches of Immortality." Empowered by her words, fiery runes manifested on the scales of Nuuba''s right hand as she reached forward to try and grab Fenrir''s leg as thetter zipped past her. To her surprise, ayer of ice immediately spread across the surface of her skin as icy cold energy invaded the inner channels of her arm. Retracting her hand in an instant, Nuuba relied on her instincts to evade a remarkably swift kick from Fenrir''s paw before using the same hand to send out a wave of red-ocher mes. When she saw even her mes get cover in ice, the pupils of her eyes contracted to thin slits as she promptly bounded away and muttered, "I may have spoken too soon..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Mikoto is a big softie...'',''Chang''e is experiencing a lot of firsts today...'',''When the drugs wear off and you have to face reality...'') Chapter 2162: Through the Frost and the Flames

Chapter 2162: Through the Frost and the mes

With even her most casual attacks generating a wave of frost that impacted the arena like a ten-thousand-car freight train, Fenrir was more than a little surprised by her power. It felt like there was an infinite well of energy where the pit in her stomach used to be. The sometimes-dull, sometimes-agonizing hunger that had apanied her throughout her entire life waspletely absent. In its ce, a feeling of satiety she had never known before caused an uncontainable giddiness to slowly swell without her chest. Seeing the ''battle-hungry'' expression on Fenrir''s face, a wry smile developed across Nuuba''s as she circted her Heavenly Qi in an effort to dispel the frigid energy gradually pooling within her veins. She had never fought an opponent with such an extreme affinity with Yin before, and, after this, she resolved herself never to fight another. "You''re really something, you know that...?" After evading a st of energy more than ten meters in diameter, Nuuba attempted to buy a bit of time by making conversation. Fortunately, Fenrir wasn''t in a particr hurry to deal with her, so, the moment she heard the white-haired dragoness''s remark, her tempestuous assault gradually ceased as she replied, "Thanks. You''re pretty strong yourself." Adopting an even wrier smile in response to Fenrir''s remark, the dragon heart within Nuuba''s chest began to pump with ever-increasing vigor as frigid energy in the form of pure white vapor expelled from her pores. "It pains me to admit but there''s no way I can defeat you in my current form. I normally wouldn''t do this during a friendlypetition but I''d rather not lose my first match in sixty years..." Punctuating her words, Nuuba''s body pulsed as a tremendous volume of steam erupted from her body. The temperature in her surroundings began to increase at a phenomenal rate as a reddish-pink luminescence manifested in the center of her chest. Those with sharper eyesight would have been able to make out that this was Nuuba''s heart beating within her chest, the energy contained without so dense and potent that it resembled the surface of a star. Under normal circumstances, Fenrir would have interrupted Nuuba''s very obvious transformation sequences. Instead, the smile on her face grew into a ''toorge'' grin as the snowy white fur on her forearms and legs began to spread up her arms and thighs. The wild and untamed hair that flowed from her head also began to elongate as two hazel-brown horns emerged a few centimeters above her brows. Then, as if a dam had broken in the back of her mind, Fenrir''s body suddenly exploded into motes of bluish-white light that resembled snow. Staring wide-eyed at the veritable avnche of ice elemental energy sweeping towards her, Nuuba crossed her arms as the heart in her chest began to pulsate even faster. She ended up being swept up and mmed against the barrier surrounding the arena, but, instead of losing hope, an excited smile developed across her face as the light from her chest slowly climbed up her neck... Just as it seemed like the entire arena was going to be buried in tens of meters of snow, a roar that shook the banquet hall sounded in the hearts and minds of everyone present. Nuuba''s body, simr to Fenrir''s, suddenly erupted, but, instead of producing ice and snow, her half of the arena began to fill with a hazy smoke that billowed outward like the pyrostic flow of an erupting volcano. From within the surging tode of smoke, a massive oriental dragon covered in dark green scales and fiery pink runes attempted to bite at something unseen within the center of the arena. Its maw was more than seven meters wide while the ivory white, extremely fierce-looking teeth lining its interior resembled the rock formations of a limestone cave. The canines, in particr, wererger than most adults, yet, in spite of this, Nuuba''s head ended up reeling backward as a pristine white appendage smacked her in the lower jaw. Though she managed to recover in an instant, her serpentine body coiling like a cobra preparing to strike, Nuuba ended up getting knocked even further back as a bluish-white meteor mmed into her chest. Immediately thereafter, a soul-shaking roar resonated throughout the banquet hall as the snowy-white figure revealed itself to be an inordinatelyrge wolf with a majestic mane of fur,rge horns, and features reminiscent of a western dragon. This included a pair of fur-covered wings, and, most prominently, a long, incredibly soft-looking tail... ... .. . Seeing Fenrir transform into a dragon, the look on Vahn''s face could best be described as ecstatic. There was a massive grin on his face, and, though he did his best to restrain it, his heart was beating fast enough to create small ripples in the surrounding space. Though Vahn had oncemented the possibility of Fenrir transforming into a True Dragon, such sentiments were nowhere to be seen at the present moment. All he felt was happiness, excitement, and, most notably, infatuation with the fluffy white dragon currently sinking its teeth into Nuuba''s neck. Fenrir''s dragon form was everything he had expected it to be, and, were it not for the fact she was currently engaged in a brawl evocative of the end of the world, he would have buried himself into her veritable mountain of fur without hesitation... ... .. . Sensing her Master''s excitement, Fenrir''s own was increasing at an exponential rate as she persisted in the face of Nuuba''s struggles. It said quite a lot that the fiery Long''s body was durable enough to resist her teeth and ws. There was also a potent Yang Elementa Energy contained within Nuuba''s blood, so, despite the aura shrouding Fenrir''s body decreasing her surroundings to a point nearing absolute zero, the serpentine dragon refused to go down... In an effort to dislodge Fenrir from her body, Nuuba basically embraced the former with her four-taloned ws before ascending towards the barrier overhead with momentum reminiscent of an extinction-level event. The impact caused a cataclysmic pulse of energy, and, for a brief moment, the nearly indestructible barrier resembled shatterproof ss. To Nuuba''s surprise, Fenrir''s much smaller body actually gave beneath the force of the blow. This would have been a cause for celebration in most other circumstances, but, as if she had no bones in her body, Fenrir''s figure began to stretch and deform to surround Nuuba''s torso. At the same time, several other heads protruded from her body before sinking their icy white teeth into her arms and neck. Issuing a roar that caused the cracks in the barrier''s surface to exacerbate, Nuuba attempted to pry Fenrir away only for her ws to pass through thetter''s body as if it were a ferrofluid clinging to a maic surface. Panic quickly began to set in momentster as the frigid energy gathering within Nuuba''s body caused the border between the affected and unaffected areas to scream out in pain. She was doing her best to expel the frigid energy, but, the longer Fenrir clung to her, the quicker itpounded. Speaking out for the first time since her transformation, Nuuba bellowed, "GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME...!" as the fiery light between her ventral scales began to build in intensity. A simr light rose in the back of her throat before she released a veritable beam of fiery, reddish-pink energy against her own body. She didn''t care if she ended up damaging herself in the process. She wanted Fenrir off of her. Unable to react in time, Fenrir felt a dull sensation in the back of her mind as she lost feeling in arge part of her body. It was only when Nuuba''s catastrophically powerful breath began to fade away that she realized the reason. Every part of her body affected by the zing beam of energy had effectively been melted down and reduced to ash. The reason she felt a dull sensation in the back of her mind was because five of the seven heads she had grown were reduced to ashes along with the majority of her body... Realizing the dangers of staying put, Fenrir''s remaining mass took the form of puppy-sized versions of her previous self. One, borrowing from her experience in the Dungeon of Danmachi, snaked her way up Nuuba''s body in an attempt to find a blind spot. This was amon tactic she had used to deal withrge monsters, as, the moment you moved outside the scope of their range and abilities, they were powerless to protect themselves. As for her other self, she became a sacrificial pawn that leaped away from Nuuba''s body before unleashing an abyssal-ck beam of energy that radiated a bluish-white light along its edges. This was her own version of a dragon''s breath, and, thanks to her mastery over Devouring Laws, it was capable of cutting through almost anything. With Fenrir''s breath leaving a shallow trail across her body, Nuuba writhed in rage and indignation as she attempted to swat the bear-sized pup out of the air. At the same time, she tried to scratch at the version of Fenrir attempting to bore into the back of her head, but, much like before, her ws simply phased through the seemingly immaterial form of the unreasonably determined wolf... Seeing the skyscraper-sized tail descending towards her, Fenrir spontaneously rxed her entire body. As a result, she ended up being sttered into innumerable tiny pieces, pieces that quickly coalesced into a locus-like cloud of insect-sized wolf-dragons. This caused a remarkably human expression of disbelief to appear across Nuuba''s draconic visage as memories of a certain golden-haired monkey surfaced in the back of her mind... Deciding she would rather avoid having to experience someone boring into her skull, Nuuba surprised the swarm of mini-fens by dering, "I surrender...!" in an audibly stressed tone. Bluish-white light immediately enveloped her body before her human form promptly manifested outside the arena. Not expecting her opponent to suddenly surrender, the swam of Fenrir''s found themselves at a momentary loss. The battle had been much closer than she expected so she couldn''t help feeling an inkling of disappointment now that things had ended in such an anticlimactic way... Pulling herself together, quite literally, Fenrir returned to her human form only to deadpan when she realized how unusually close the ground was. Everything in her surroundings also appeared a lot bigger than usual, so, when she finally got a good look at herself, Fenrir was unsurprised to find out she had be a chibi. Far more troubling was the fact that she waspletely naked. Though her expression remained a deadpan, Fenrir covered her chest with her paws while curling up her tail between her legs. Her stupefaction caused her topletely forgot about her ability to transform, and, more notably, her ability to create clothes using magic. She had be a little too reliant on her [REquip] system, so, now that it had been destroyed, she ended up freezing in ce as hundreds of gods eyed her with covetous gazes. Baring her teeth, a blood-curdling aura began to exude from Fenrir''s body until a thick and heavy fur coat spontaneously covered her body. At the same time, Vahn appeared right in front of her, his figure towering to the point she barely reached past his hips. Then, in a casual motion, he scooped her up in his arms, an affectionate smile on his face as he leaned in close to her and said, "You''re so unbelievably amazing..." Feeling her anger and bloodlust fade in an instant, an uncharacteristically bashful smile developed across Fenrir''s face as she shrank in her Master''s embrace. This elicited an amusedugh from Vahn, who, ignoring the resent-filled gazes of more than half the banquet hall, made his way down from the arena before turning to the stunned Nuuba and saying, "Thank you. Fenrir hasn''t been able to cut loose like that in a long time. Once this is over with, I''ll make sure to prepare a gift for you and your father." Blinking in surprise, Nuuba opened her mouth, but, before she could find the words to speak, Vahn had already teleported back to his table. Shortly thereafter, Fenrir transformed into her puppy form, so, from the perspective of others, he was now surrounded by three inordinately adorable animals, each nestling close together as Vahn gently caressed their sleeping figures with a smile... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Plus Ultra'',''Never underestimate a Dragon''s Breath Attack'',''I''m not jealous...I just have a habit of grinding my teeth...'') Chapter 2163: Banquet Crasher

Chapter 2163: Banquet Crasher

Seeing Vahn ignore her, Nuuba''s eyes squinted in displeasure. The former might not be a member of the Jade Pce, but, as the Imperial Princess of a 4-Digit Community, Nuuba felt he should show her at least a little respect. "Nuuba..." Tearing her eyes away from where Vahn was seated, Nuuba was slightly surprised to see her father materializing next to her. Any desire she had to make a scene promptly faded away, as, despite his grandfatherly temperament, Nuuba understood just how fierce her father could be. Adding to Nuuba''s incredulity, Huangdi borrowed a page out of Vahn''s book, gently caressing the befuddled dragoness''s hair as he said, "You did well. It''s time for you to return to your seat." With an uncharacteristically bashful expression developing across her face, Nuuba lowered her head before replying, "Okay..." in a soft, timid tone. It had been centuries since shest received any kind of affection from her father, so, with hundreds of other gods present, Nuuba was as embarrassed as she was happy... Making a mental note to spend more time with his children, Huangdi observed Nuuba''s departure with a smile before rising into the air and asking, "Would anyone else like to issue a challenge? As I have stated previously, you have three minutes to make a decision. If no onees forth, this-" Before Huangdi could finish speaking, an earth-shattering force impacted the center of the arena. The resultant shockwave was so intense that it caused the nearly indestructible arena to split into four equal parts as the barrier surrounding it fractured like ss. Then, in a thunderous yet girlish tone, a voice cried out, "You dare to hold a banquet without inviting me!? Looks like this Great Me is gonna have to teach you old bastards another hard lesson...!" Hearing the voice, nearly half the assembly immediately rose to their feet in an effort to be the first to exit the banquet hall. This caused a secondary explosion as the person nearest the exit was sent flying back into the hall by an extendable pole. Their body ended up smashing into the ceiling as a petite figure with rice-gold hair and emerald green eyes stepped through the door, asking, "Where the hell do you think you''re going!?" As those closest to the little girl were about to protest, several other versions of the petite figure appeared to block the other exits. The cloud of debris near the center of the arena also vanished as the person responsible for its destruction emerged from within the crater caused by their impact. "I came all the way from Mount Huaguo to see how everyone was doing. Why are you trying to run away? Talk about rude..." A stark contrast to her chiding tone, the golden-haired girl was currently in the process of picking her nose using the tip of her pinky finger. When she was finished, she removed it to reveal a rather sizeable booger. Then, with a mischievous smile on her face, she looked towards Huangdi and said, "Hey, old man. This Great Me has brought you a gift. Make sure you receive it properly~!" Punctuating her words, the golden-haired girl blew on the tip of her finger. As a result, the booger was promptly dislodged like a bullet, but, instead of staying its original size, it promptly erged to the size of a rather disgusting-looking meteor. In spite of this, Huangdi maintained a rxed smile as he yfully remarked, "While I appreciate the gesture, I''m afraid this old man will have to refuse the Great Sage''s gift..." With a twist of his hand, Huangdi disced the hill-sized booger before it could create a mess in the hall. This earned him a snicker from the golden-haired girl, who, after giving him a thumbs up, looked around the room, asking, "Where''s that old bastard, Laozi? It''s been a while since I took a piss on his bald head." Caressing his beard, Huangdi promptly replied, "Laozi hasn''t appeared within the Jade Pce since thest time you decided to wreak havoc. In fact, he isn''t even in the East at the moment. He went on a pilgrimage to the South in search of materials and medicinal recipes." Clicking her tongue, the golden-haired girl shouldered her staff before looking around a second time. It had been three years since thest time she crashed a party, so, now that she had made an appearance, she wasn''t going to hold back. "Xiao Wu...didn''t you promise me you wouldn''t cause a scene in the Jade Pce for the next five-hundred years...?" Hearing the familiar voice, the golden-haired girl''s shoulders shrank ever so slightly as she looked over her shoulder to find the Jade Empress, Xiwangmu, staring at her with a moderately disproving expression on her face. This caused the girl, the legendary Sun Wu Kong, to scratch the back of her head as she answered, "Ayi...it''s not what you think..."(A/N: Ayi means Auntie.) Cupping her cheek, Xiwangmu adopted a hurt expression as she repeated, "Ayi...? I thought I told you to call me Muqin..."(A/N: Muqin means Mother.) With the corner of her mouth twitching, Wu decided that the best course of action was to pretend she hadn''t heard Xiwangmu''s remark. She could always apologizeter, so, for the time being, she ignored the white-haired Goddess, shouting, "Okay, you lot! You know the drill! Form an orderly queue! If this is your first time, move to the front of the line! When your turn arrives, your options are to kowtow ten times and call me Grandfather or have your shit kicked in. Your choice...!" Punctuating her words, Wu manifested a dark purple Geass Roll that glowed with fiery golden runes in ce of ink. This was a type of Geass Roll limited to the various Demon Lords that dominated the Little Garden, and, as could be expected, it didn''t leave room for refusal. ********** < I, Your Grandfather, Carry a Big Stick > [Win Condition] 1: Follow the Rules. [Hidden Conditions] 1: ??? 2: ??? 3: ??? [Rules] 1: Every yer within the Host''s perception at the start of the Gift Game is considered a participant. 2: Kowtow ten times and refer to the Host as Grandfather. 3: Failure to fulfill the aforementioned condition will result in a beating. [Restrictions] 1: Leaving the area after the beginning of the Gift Game is prohibited. 2: Surrendering in the midst of your beating is strictly prohibited. 3: No pervy stuff unless you want to have an extendable pole shoved up your ass. [Rewards] 1: You get to avoid a beating. 2: Variable [Penalty] 1: You will be marked by the Curse of the Monkey King. Monkies will randomly appear in your surroundings to destroy your property and pull pranks on you. [Time Limit] Until everyone designated by the Host has either paid their respects or received a beating. ********** Reading the ginormous scroll, everyone unfamiliar with Wu Kong''s diabolical Gift Game adopted expressions of rage and indignation. They had never heard of such an unreasonable Gift Game, but, seeing their fellow Gods reluctantly forming an orderly queue, they had little choice but to grit their teeth and get in line. After all, there were more than sixty versions of the golden-haired girl present, and, ording to the rumors, each and every one of them was just as strong as the original... ... .. . While everyone else was forming into a queue, Vahn was observing the events with a zed look and a wry smile on his face. Though he really should have, especially after encountering Shiroyasha and Algol, Vahn had never considered that the Wukong upon which all others were based might be female. ("I''m starting to regret not using Loi-chan to investigate my opponents in advance...") In response to Vahn''s musings, a soft chuckle echoed in the back of his mind before Sis remarked, (*It wouldn''t really change anything. I''m not sure why, but you seem to have a strange connection with the fates of overpowered little girls. Even if you avoided the banquet, it was only a matter of time until your paths crossed. I mean, just look how cute she is...*) Unable to refute Sis''s words, an exhausted sigh escaped from Vahn''s throat as he ced Fenrir, Mikoto, and even the Jade Rabbit inside his personalized Little Garden. The Geass Rolls didn''t say anything about others transporting you outside the y area, so, even if Wu realized something was amiss, she couldn''t really do anything about it. Rising to his feet, Vahn was unsurprised to find three versions of Wu appearing around him, asking, "Where did those three furballs go? I don''t recall giving them permission to leave." Looking down at the nearest monkey-girl, Vahn''s expression morphed into a rxed smile as he answered, "None of your business." Instead of taking offense to his words, the trio of Wu(s) adopted impish smiles on their faces as they sonorously stated, "I knew you would say something like that. Tell me, are you a member of the Jade Pce?" Shaking his head, Vahn answered, "No. I received an offer but ultimately turned it down. I''m here as a guest of the Jade Emperor." cing their index fingers on their pursed lips, the trio of Wu(s) adopted expressions simr to people in deep thought. They, or, more specifically, their original had been observing the banquet since the beginning. If Vahn hadn''t intervened, they would have appeared to prevent Nezha from epting Vor''s challenge, so, in a way, they kind of owed him a favor. After all, Nezha was one of their underlings. Waving their hands in a dismissive manner, the trio of Wu(s) said, "You can go. Once we''re finished here, we''lle by to share a gourd of monkey wine. Make sure you prepare snacks." Without waiting for Vahn''s response, the trio of Wu(s) promptly departed to help corral the queue of Gods. This left Vahn at a momentary loss as he hadn''t expected such a legendary troublemaker to just send him on his way... (*It''s probably because you rescued Nezha. If you''ll recall, thetter had previously threatened her father by stating she would tattle on him to her ''Sister Wu''. With Xiwangmu referred to Wukong as Xiao Wu, who else could she be referring to? Li Jing isn''t exactly weak.*) "Right..." Shifting his attention to the location of Nezha, Vahn was unsurprised to find them conversing with one of Wu''s clones with a massive, toothy grin on their face. As for Li Jing, he had joined his fellow Gods in the queue, a grim and defeated expression marring his countenance. He almost looked like a death row prisoner being marched to the electric chair. "Wow...I almost feel sorry for him..." Though Li Jing was a terrible father, Vahn knew the man wasn''t singrly responsible for Nezha''s bad behavior. He had been dealt a pretty terrible hand by fate, and, when it ultimately came down to it, Nezha was the person causing trouble. The influence of people like Wu clearly didn''t help, so, while he had no intention of bailing the man out of his present predicament, Vahn made a mental note to meet with the man and hear his side of the story. After all, he couldn''t me Li Jing for hisck of patience and understanding if he wasn''t willing to demonstrate simr characteristics... On that note, Vahn waved towards the Jade Emperor and Lady Xiwangmu before promptly phasing out of the banquet hall. A part of him was interested to see how things would y out between Wu and Vor, but, after seeing how the ashen-haired beauty dealt with Nezha, Vahn was seventy percent sure she would simply kowtow. She didn''t give off the impression of someone who was particrly concerned with appearances. If she was, she wouldn''t have stared impassively when Nezha turned over her table or when Mikoto caused her to pee herself... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''I imagine Wu having a simr personality to Laharl...'',''The Loli Curse is still going strong...'',''RIP Li Jing...'') Chapter 2164: Invincible

Chapter 2164: Invincible

Though Vahn and a few others had departed, that didn''t mean the events in the banquet hall hade to an end. Not everyone was willing to immediately kowtow to Wu Kong. Many would rather suffer a beating than lower their heads to another, so, shortly after Vahn''s departure, the banquet hall became a battlefield. Among the group of Gods that refused to lower their heads was Eng Shen. He had fought Wu numerous times in the past, and, at one point, he had even managed to defeat her with the help of the Buddhist Faction. He was one of the people responsible for Wu''s transition from a Demon King to one of the Seven Great Sages, so, whenever she appeared to cause trouble, he would be among the first to butt heads with the mischievous monkey. "Wu, you stone-headed monkey. Why couldn''t you just participate in the banquet like a normal person? Thanks to you, I missed my opportunity to face off against the Sage Dragon Emperor...!" Snorting through her nose, Wu performed a half-turn, smacking her left butt cheek and ring her tail as she taunted, "Bite me, dog breath...!" Baring his teeth as if he was tempted to do exactly that, Eng Shen charged towards Wu with the momentum of a wayward sr re. The space epassing him illuminated as if lit by a golden me, and, by the time he reached Wu, a draconic visage more than twenty meters in diameter had formed in response to the superheated spear in his right hand. "Dragon Shatters the Rampart...!" Under normal circumstances, Eng Shen''s attack would allow him to pierce through the heart of a mountain in a single thrust. Unfortunately, Wu''s head was significantly harder, so, the moment Shen unleashed his attack, she reared her head back with a smile, shouting, "Monkey Shatters Illusions of Grandeur...!" before surging forward to headbutt the tip of his spear. Refusing the backdown, Shen sent a surge of Divine Qi into his spear the moment it made contact with the center of Wu''s head. Ancient runes immediately lit up across the body of the spear, and, as a result of the impact, a violent shockwave rocked the center of the arena before copsing inward to produce a swirling, gravitational vortex. Smiling even wider, Wu appeared as though she was fullymitted to breaking the spear with her forehead. Even Shen believed this was the case, so, after a brief moment of hesitation, he clenched his teeth hard enough to produce blood as he sent nearly have of his Divine Qi into his spear. Waiting for that exact moment, Wu sent chills through the bodies of nearly every God present by manifesting a clone right behind Shen. Then, before the God could react, she practically inverted her body as she raised her foot backward in the preliminary movement of punting motion. "Soul-Shattering Branch Kick...!" Hearing Wu''s voice behind him, the ruddiness of Eng Shen''splexion immediately faded away as he instinctually closed his legs. This disrupted his bnce, and, as a result, Wu was able to smash through the tip of his spear before reversing the direction of her movement to give him a powerful uppercut to the lower jaw. Though he was extremely angered by Wu''s actions, Eng Shen couldn''t conceal an expression of considerable relief as he flipped in the air, massaged his jaw, and said, "You unscrupulous rascal..." Sniggering in response to Shen''s remark, Wu produced double-peace signs as she teased, "You''re lucky I''m a magnanimous person. Even I wouldn''t go out of my way to neuter a dog that has yet to leave behind a litter~!" Clicking his tongue, Eng Shen discarded his three-pointed, double-edged spear before forming a seal with his hands and shouting, "Heaven''s Punishment...!" As she was incapable of flying without assistance, Wu''s brows perked up as an extremelyplex, circr magic formation appeared beneath her feet. At the same time, five ck pirs emerged covered in golden runes emerged along the periphery to form a pentagonal cage of vibrant golden electricity. Spreading his hands apart, hazy golden triangles in the center of Eng Shen''s palms as the third eye at the center of his forehead began releasing an intense, blinding light. "You think you can simply destroy my weapon and be done with it? Do not underestimate the spirit of those who pursue the Dao of the Spear...!" pping his hands together, cracks appeared along the gauntlets adorning Eng Shen''s hands and forearms as he shouted, "Divine Art - Heaven''s Divide...!" Though most expected some kind of massive energy attack to be unleashed the moment Eng Shen''s pped his hands together, a far more peculiar scene presented itself as the arena beneath Wu''s feet spontaneously opened to reveal a seemingly bottomless chasm. The moment she began to fall, the fiery golden eye at the center of Shen''s forehead ruptured, blood pouring down his face as a muchrger version of his three-pointed, double-edged spear pierced towards Wu at a speed most of the Gods present couldn''t even follow. "Well, fu-" With the spear impacting her the exact moment she became aware of its presence, Wu wasn''t even able to finish her exmation as the skyscraper-sized projectile impacted the center of her chest. Its momentum ended up carrying her deep into the chasm as Eng Shen, anticipating this, produced a third and final seal as he shouted, "Divine Art - Earth Prison...!" As a Stone Monkey whose legend included being sealed beneath a mountain for five hundred years, prisons formed from earth were one of Wu''s only weaknesses. This wasmon knowledge in the Divine Realm, but, unless they were a literal Earth God or Goddess, most people were unable to take advantage of it. Following the activation of Eng Shen''s third seal, the massive chasm formed in the center of the arena promptly mmed shut with enough force topel numerous Gods to take a knee. A few of the younger Gods were even impertinent enough to cheer while those closest to Wu''s stupefied clones adopted scornful, jeering smiles. This earned them incredulous looks from the clones, who, all at the same time, remarked, "Did someone rece your brains with a bunch of rocks?" As if to punctuate their sonorous rebuttal, a tremor that seemed to shake the very foundation of the Jade Pce reached the Gods present within the hall. Almost immediately thereafter, the fissure at the center of the arena began to open up, and, despite his best attempts to keep it closed, Eng Shen had already exhausted most of his Divine Qi. He could normally endure for weeks on end, but, against an opponent like Wu, he had to go all out from the very beginning. "Dammit...!" Realizing he wasn''t going to be able to keep the fissure closed, Eng Shen released the seal in an attempt to use his remaining energy to send Wu even deeper into the rift. The moment he did so, however, an angry and high-pitched voice could be heard bellowing, "Monkey Bounds Across the Heavens...!" Like a golden beam of light, Wu emerged from the seemingly bottomless pit with an enraged look on her face. Her trusted Ruyi Jingu Bang had been used to pry open the rift, so, while she wanted nothing more than to smack Eng Shen on the top of his head, she settled for wrapping her tail around his neck before treating his face like a speed bag. Though he gave as good as he got, Eng Shencked the ostensibly indestructible body of Wu. She literally had seven forms of Immortality ovepped on top of each other, two of which made her impervious to both physical and magical attacks. She was widely considered to be one of the most immortal and invincible beings in all of creation, so, by the time their exchange hade to an end, his previously majestic helmet looked like a crushed can while his face was battered to the point of resembling a Pig Demon. With Eng Shen''s body going ck in her tail''s embrace, Wu was about to discard him to the side when the unconscious God gave her one final slug across the face. It didn''t do any damage, but, as she was about to say something, Wu ended up biting the tip of her tongue. This also failed to injure her, but, as she still felt sensations such as pain, faint moisture built upon the surface of her eyes as she grabbed the sides of Eng Shen''s head and gave him a parting headbutt. Having been knocked out halfway through the exchange of blows, Eng Shen ended up impacting the arena with meteoric force. Wu was half-tempted to throw him into the rift he attempted to seal her in, but, understanding his assistance would be necessary to retrieve her Ruyi Jingu Bang, she left him with easily treatable injuries. Most of his bones were broken, but, when it came to Gods on the level of Eng Shen, even the destruction of their physical body wasn''t an irrecoverable injury... Landing outside the arena, Wu adopted a petnt re as she snorted through her nose and said, "So, you thought you couldugh and jeer at me just because you thought I got trapped? We''ll see how you like it...!" Grabbing one of the Immortals who hadughed at her, Wu nted more than half his body in the ground before he could even hope to protest. Then, with an ostensibly murderous expression on her face, she red at the group of Gods who hadughed at her,manding, "Laugh...!" as her eyes shifted from beautiful, crystal-clear emeralds to fiery red orbs reminiscent of hot coals... ... .. . While Wu was in the middle of bullying her fellow Gods, Vahn was enjoying a rxing rest back at the pavilion prepared for him by the Jade Emperor. He had already retrieved Fenrir, Mikoto, and the Jade Rabbit from his Little Garden so he was unsurprised when, a few minutes after his arrival in the pavilion, a gentle, natural-sounding bell echoed through the halls. Feeling a littlezy, Vahn simply answered, "It''s open..." without rising from the hammock he was currently resting in. Shortly thereafter, Chang''e, apanied by Xiao Yue and a few of her sister-cousins appeared at the entrance of the resting area with curious looks on their faces. They were unustomed to not following the Jade Pce''s rules on etiquette so this was the first time many of them had entered someone else''s pavilion without a guide. Waiting for the moment Chang''e made eye contact with him, Vahn gently massaged the interior of the Jade Rabbit''s ear. This caused a faint blush to spread through her cheeks, but, having prepared herself prior toing over, Chang''e managed to appear calm and unflustered as she remarked, "I heard about what happened during the banquet. How did you manage to escape from Senior Wu''s Gift Game...?" As someone who had suffered as a result of Wu''s antics in the past, Chang''e knew how difficult it was to escape the golden-haired monkey''s grasp. She had suffered the effects of Wu''s curse on no less than thirteen asions. To have the curse removed, she had been forced to cohabitate with the aforementioned Monkey King for months on end. Wu could be exceptionallyzy, so, whenever her curse affected female Immortals and Goddesses, she had them wait on her hand and foot for a few months before sending them back. During that time, they would be tasked with hand-feeding her, filling her ss with wine, washing her back, brushing her hair, and, every now and then, caressing her head until she fell asleep. Removing his hand from the Jade Rabbit''s head, Vahn the three of the balls of fluff as he rose to a seated position and answered, "I gave Nezha a hand when they nearly got in over their head. She let me go after telling me she would stop by with a gourd of monkey wine." Hearing that Wu would being by to pay a visit, theplexion of the various Yue''s paled as Chang''e adopted a wry smile and muttered, "I see..." in a slightly troubled tone. She knew Wu was just lonely, but, much like Nezha, the golden-haired monkey girl didn''t seem to know the meaning of the word restraint. She was also extremely daring at times, so, while many of the Goddesses had a secret fondness for the greatest of the Seven Sages, they didn''t exactly look forward to interacting with her... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''I felt that kick...'',''Wukong, "Think, Shen, think! Everyone you know, everything you care about will get thrashed! What will you have after ten thousand consecutive punches to the face!?"'',''Eng Shen, "My dignity...I''ll still...have my dignity..."'',''Wu, "..."'') Chapter 2165: Expectations vs Reality

Chapter 2165: Expectations vs Reality

Not wanting to be around a drunken Wu, Chang''e waved her entourage out of the room before stating, "I heard about Senior''s encounter with my daughter. Please, allow me to apologize on her behalf. Though her essence is even older than mine, she is still a naive and innocent girl...I hope her actions did not cause too great an offense..." Punctuating her statement, Chang''e performed a rather peculiar curtsy that involved pulling up the sides of her lotus-like gown whilst simultaneously lowering her head. What made this different from a normal curtsy was the fact she hiked her gown up just enough that it disyed her thighs without showing off the contents hidden within. The top of her gown also shifted to reveal just a hint of her pale-white, ethereally luminescent cleavage. Without shifting his gaze away from Chang''e''s pale yellow, moon-like, Vahn raised his brows ever so slightly as he answered, "Don''t worry about it. I didn''t take what Xiao Yue said to heart. She also apologized and even gave me one of her Ginko Seeds. There is nothing for you to apologize for..." Seeing Vahn''s clear, focused, and undeviating gaze, a breathtakingly beautiful smile spread across the face of Chang''e. Most people would get flustered or stare possessively if she revealed even a hint of her body. The only other person who had stared at her with such a stoic expression on his face was the Jade Emperor, so, while it was difficult to view Vahn in simr regard, Chang''e felt he must be exceptional not to be swayed by her beauty. "That is the main reason I wished to meet with Senior. My daughter spoke rather highly of you, but, as her mother, I can''t help worrying about her safety. The Sacred Ginko Seeds are among the most precious treasures in the Heavenly Domain. They are coveted by all, but, due to the nature of their blessing, it is impossible to force the owner to bestow them unwillingly. Now that my daughter has given away her first and most important seed...I would like to learn more about the person she has bequeathed it to. That way, I wouldn''t have to worry about the contents of your request..." As she spoke, Chang''e meandered slowly and gracefully towards Vahn. The luminance of her moon-like eyes became noticeably brighter while her pupils, evocative of the night sky, glistened with the distant light of countless stars. By the time she was finished with her exnation, her exposed feet had carried her to just outside of Vahn''s range... Having alreadyid the three balls of fluff on the hammock, Vahn rose to his feet, his height letting him stand more than a head taller than the 159cm Moon Goddess. This sent a trepidatious tremor through Chang''e aura. In spite of this, her expression appeared smoldering and eager as her mouth parted just enough to appear inviting... Extending his hand, Vahn motioned as if to caress Chang''e''s face. This was what thetter believed, but, the moment she closed her eyes in anticipation, a sharp yet temporary pain radiated from the center of her forehead as Vahn said, "Don''t y with fire unless you''re prepared to receive a burn. If I was actually a bad person, this little trinket wouldn''t have helped in the slightest." Dangling the thumb-sized jade fetish Chang''e had been grasping in her left, Vahn earned a terrified and befuddled look from the Goddess even as he handed it back to her. The fetish was a life-saving treasure known as the Ten-Thousand Li Transfer Jade. It allowed the user to instantaneously teleport a distance of 5000km. This wasn''t a particrly great distance when there were individuals capable of moving faster than the speed of light, but, so long as she never left the Jade Pce, it was more than enough. Taking advantage of Chang''e''s momentary stupor, Vahn pulled out two peculiar pieces of furniture known as globe chairs. Unlike the normal variety, however, these radiated a glow reminiscent of the full moon. Chang''e immediately took notice of this, her moon-like eyes widening quite a bit as Vahn handed her a thick, pale-yellow nket that radiated a very simr glow. "These should help you calm down. The chair serves as a charging station of sorts for those with Yin Affinities. The nket possesses a simr function but its foremost selling point is the fact it''s super soft. Why don''t you make yourselffortable while I head outside and prepare tea and snacks for the girls? I''ll be back in a few minutes." Without waiting for Chang''e''s response, Vahn raised his hand in a casual gesture of farewell before making his way outside. This left the silver-haired Goddess staring at his retreating figure, confusion and disbelief marring her expression as she wondered how Vahn had managed to both see through her and resist the temptation of her beauty... Chang''e didn''t consider herself a vain woman. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that she was among the most beautiful women in the Divine Realm. This was how the people of the Little Garden viewed her, and, thanks to the machinations of a Poet that had be infatuated with her several hundred years prior, her body exuded a natural grace and charm that made her irresistible to most men. "How peculiar..." As she had personally witnessed Fenrir and Mikoto at Vahn''s side, Chang''e doubted he was the type that sowed seeds among his fellows. Since her charm was supposed to affect everyone who viewed her with libidinous or even affectionate intentions, this implied that Vahn was either immune to her charms or simply wasn''t attracted to her. Either way, he was an exceptional person as even Buddhist monks needed to recite mantras to rid themselves of libidinous thoughts in her presence... Recalling her previous encounter with the Buddhist Faction, a shudder ran through Chang''e''s body as she attempted to shake away the memory from her mind. Sanzang had attempted to convince her to shave her head so that she could feel more attuned with the energies of Heaven and Earth while simultaneously quelling the desires many directed her way. When Chang''e refused, the mad monk attempted to petition the Jade Emperor directly, but, fortunately, he politely refused before sending Sanzang back to the West... "Was the chair not to your liking...?" Startling back to awareness, a rosy hue colored Chang''e''s cheeks as she noticed Vahn staring at her from the entrance to the room. He kept a supply of tea and snacks in his Inventory, so, while he was briefly dyed due to Xiao Yue''s questioning, it had only taken him a short while to return. Seeing how startled the Moon Goddess was, Vahn didn''t need to be a genius to figure out she had been standing in the same ce since his departure. A wry yet amused smile immediately found its way to his face, and, as a result, he could feel the effects of Chang''e''s charm washing over him like a cool and rxing shower after an intense workout. Fortunately, not that he actually needed it, Vahn''s charm was far superior to Chang''e''s. He was, after all, an A-Rank God of Sex. It was one of his highest-ranking Divinities, so, even if he didn''t possess a natural immunity to mind-altering abilities, Chang''e''sparably weaker charm wouldn''t have had any effect on him. Rather, because she was a ''pure maiden'', her charm possessed a nostalgic quality that reminded people of their first love... Resisting the urge to allow Chang''e to experience a far more potent charm, Vahn made his way over to the chair he had prepared for himself before teleporting the ''sleeping'' Fenrir and Mikoto over to him and asking, "So? What, specifically, did you want to know about me? I don''t mind keeping youpany until Eng Shen, Wu, or whoever else arrives." Hearing Vahn mention Wu, Chang''e''s senses immediately returned. As a result, she elected not to ask why he hadn''t picked up the Jade Rabbit as well. Instead, she procured the snowy white rabbit for herself before gettingfortable in the remarkably cozy chair. It was a lot more pleasant than she had anticipated, but, staying focused, Chang''e managed to ask, "Where did youe from...?" before losing herself in the conversation that followed... ... .. . After thrashing more than seventy percent of the Gods attending the banquet, Wu was beginning to feel a little bored. The only people present who could realisticallypete with her were Eng Shen, Guan Yin, Yan Wang, Huangdi, Nuwa, and the Jade Emperor himself. She was on good terms with most of these, so, after her battle with Eng Shen, Wu had thrashed a few upstarts before the rest simply kowtowed and called her Grandfather. When she first initiated the Gift Game, Wu had been looking forward to facing off against Vor, but, the moment the ashen-haired woman reached the front of the line, she immediately kowtowed ten times before referring to her as Grandfather with apletely straight expression on her face. This irked Wu to no end, but, as part of her agreement with the Buddhist Faction, she had no choice but to follow the rules listed within the Geass Roll. In the end, Wu''s frustration reached the point where she told the remaining Gods to piss off before snatching up Nezha and promptly departing the banquet hall. This was met with a mixture of relief and frustration by the Gods present within, but, not caring about them in the slightest, Wu hopped, skipped, and jumped across a few jade-tiled roofs before setting the dizzy-eyed tomboy down and asking, "Do you know where that man and his little pets are staying?" Rubbing the back of her head and neck to alleviate some of the pain caused by her whish, Nezha answered, "If he''s a guest of the Jade Fart, he should be staying in the Celestial Star Gazing Pavilion. If he isn''t there, we can always ask Yunuu and Jintong. They should know where all of the guests are staying." "Ah, I almost forgot about those brats. Good job, Nezha...!" Though she smiled in response to Wu''s praise, Nezha''s expression quickly soured when she found herself promptly flung over the mischievous monkey''s shoulder like a sack of potatoes. This was a little better than being carried by the cor of her jacket, but, by the time they finally reached the Celestial Star Gazing Pavilion, Nezha felt like she was on the verge of regurgitating the contents of her stomach. Had the food at this year''s banquet not been the best she had ever eaten, she might have... Seeing Nezha breathing heavily on her hands and knees, a teasing smile developed across Wu''s face as she crouched down to pat the boyish youth on the back, saying, "You''ve been cking off in your training. Tomorrow morning, I''ll go and give your old man a piece of my mind. After that, you cane live with me on Mount Huaguo. It''s been a few decades since west trained together..." Shuddering in response to Wu''s words, Nezha had to cover her mouth with her left hand in ast-ditch attempt to hold her lunch. She respected Wu''s strength and regarded her as her Big Sis, but, every time they trained together, it was like bungee jumping between Heaven and Hell. There were times when it was both rxing and fun, but, more often than not, ''training'' with Wu actually meant serving as her punching bag for months on end... After failing to get Nezha to throw up even after three and a half minutes, Wu clicked her tongue in frustration before retracting her hand from the paling youth''s back and asking, "This is the Celestial Star Gazing Pavilion? It looks exactly the same as every other pavilion." Without dropping her guard, Nezha repositioned herself so that she was sitting on her butt before answering, "The Immortals whine like little babies whenever they think someone is receiving better treatment than them so the Jade Fart made all the pavilions look the same. The only real difference between them is the furnishings on the inside..." Though she nodded her head in understanding, Wu''s brain was abuzz due to a sudden and intense urge to paint each of the pavilions a different color. That would have to wait untilter. For now, she had a promise to keep, so, after dragging Nezha to her feet, the simrly sized duo entered into the pavilion without bothering to knock or announce their presence... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''*approving Itachi noises*'',''Chang''e is lucky that Vahn is a good boi xD...'',''Wu might be a bully...'') Chapter 2166: Prowess : Promise

Chapter 2166: Prowess : Promise

Sensing Wu''s arrival the moment she entered the pavilion, Vahn''s brows perked up as he realized she had the ability to pass through barriers and wards without triggering them. This exined how she was able to pilfer, not one, but six different means of obtaining immortality. She simply didn''t trigger the protective formations that would have alerted people to her presence. "It would appear my guests have arrived. Would you like me to teleport you outside...?" Hearing Vahn''s words, Chang''e nearly spilled the cocoa he had given her. She had been so engaged by their conversation that she hadpletely forgotten about Wu. After all, it wasn''t exactly normal for her to be able to converse with a man, much less one from outside the Heavenly Domain. Gesturing for the startled Goddess to be calm, a teasing smile developed across Vahn''s face as he casually exined, "Don''t worry. I''ve adjusted the flow of time between this room and the outside world. Even if you were to linger here for days, weeks, or even years on end, you would be able to leave before Wu arrived. As even the Mortal Domain governed by the Jade Pce was filled with disconnected realms and secret caves where the passage of time might be thousands of times faster than the outside world, Chang''e wasn''t too surprised by Vahn''s words. She was more confused by the fact she hadn''t even been able to sense when he triggered the formation necessary to influence time to such an extreme degree. Even more confusing was the fact that they were currently resting in a room connected to a patio. When she looked outside, the world appearedpletely normal. Understanding the Goddess''s confusion, Vahn slowly rotated his hand. This caused the scene in the background to appear as though it was speeding up rapidly. When he reversed the direction of his movement, time appeared to flow in the opposite direction as he exined, "As someone who has frequently deviated from the Standard Axis of Time, I understand how dreary the sight of grey skies and never-changing surroundings can be. This barrier emtes the passage and creates a looping simtion of the outside world in ordance with a number of different variables. As for how I can reproduce the energies emitted by the Sun and Moon...well, let''s just say you''re not the only Moon Deity in the Divine Realm..." Shifting his attention to Fenrir, Vahn elected to momentarily conceal his Moon Divinity a secret by using his belovedpanion as a scapegoat. This was the same as killing two birds with one stone as he was well aware of the fact that both Chang''e and Xiao Yue were curious about the lovable Vanargandr''s inordinate affinity with Yin Elemental Energy. Following Vahn''s gaze, realization donned upon Chang''e''s face as she softly remarked, "I see...it''s no wonder Xiao Yue was so taken with her. From her perspective, yourpanion gives off the feeling of a close rtive..." As another wave of realization washed over her, Chang''e shifted her attention back to Vahn, asking, "If you wouldn''t mind my asking, what Divinities does Senior possess? If one of yourpanions is a Moon Goddess, it stands to reason that Senior is also a God..." Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn left Chang''e astonished beyond words as he pulled out a veritable stack of Gift Cards infused with Divinity, asking, "Are you sure you want to know each of them...?" Swallowing hard, Chang''e nodded her head even as a feeling of giddiness began to swell in her abdomen like a swarm of butterflies. The whimsical smile on Vahn''s face reminded her of Wu, but, as someone who had spent thousands of years in istion on the Moon, she couldn''t restrain her curiosity. Deciding to list them in the order they were recorded in his Status, the corners of Vahn''s smile curled upward as he revealed, "B-Rank Creation, C-Rank Destruction, C-Rank Space, C-Rank Time, B-Rank Forging, B-Rank Sword, D-Rank Spear, E-Rank Archery, B-Rank Life, D-Rank Death, A-Rank Nature, S-Rank Wisdom, D-Rank Sun..." With even her highest Divinity clocking in at C-Rank, Chang''e''s eyes were practically spinning by the time Vahn''s words began to trail off. His S-Rank Wisdom Divinity, in particr, had impacted her mind like a sledgehammer. As a result, her mind had already stalled by the time he went on to add, "D-Rank Moon, C-Rank Sky, and A-Rank Sex..." "..." Though it took her a moment to process Vahn''s words, a vermillion hue spread through Chang''e''s face and neck when she realized what he had just revealed. This wasn''t an exaggeration either, as, even at normal times, Chang''e''s body always exuded a glow reminiscent of moonlight. When a bit of red was added to it, her incandescence resembled what many referred to as a harvest or a blood moon. Amused by Chang''e''s response, Vahn elected to punctuate his statement with a yful wink. At the same time, he dangled the card signifying his Sex Divinity to make it clear he wasn''t merely ying around. When Chang''e saw it, her face and body became even ruddier as she hid behind the pale-yellow nket he had lent her prior to their conversation. Fueled by abination of curiosity and amusement, Vahn took advantage of Chang''e''s flustered state to ask, "What happened to the Hou Yi of this world? The existence of Xiao Yue implies quite a bit but his absence during the banquet implies even more..." Hearing Vahn reference her former husband, Chang''e''s heart began to pound in her chest as the notion he may be trying to seduce her emerged in the back of her mind. This was as terrifying as it was exciting, as, despite having a daughter, she had never actually had sex. If she did, she couldn''t remember it as the Poet who had previously taken an interest in her ended up modifying her story in such a way that she could only recall being a virgin. As for her husband... Exhaling a sigh, Chang''e''splexion gradually returned to normal as she exined, "In an effort to protect the Mortal Domain, my former husband ended up murdering nine of Uncle Dijun''s and Auntie Xihe''s children. As punishment, both he and I were sentenced to live amongst mortals and protect their Domain for nine hundred generations. The Jade Emperor and Empress Xiwangmu attempted to mediate on our behalf but Auntie Xihe''s demanded justice for her children. In the end, Hou Yi was expelled from Heaven while I was sent to the Moon Pce to serve as a handmaiden for the Moon Rabbit Royal Family..." ... .. . As a Generation in the Little Garden was defined as a period ranging between 25-50 years, Hou Yi''s punishment was ted tost upwards of 45,000 years. This might not sound like a long time when there were beings with ages ranging in the billions of years, but, simr to how Shiroyasha was only around a thousand years old, Chang''e''s chronological age was much younger than the concept she represented. She had memories dating back upwards of 4.5 billion years but the time she had spent manifested in the Little Garden was a mere 33,392. Worried that she would be lonely and depressed, Hou Yi had gifted Chang''e their marriage certificate prior to being expelled from Heaven. He had left the decision regarding whether or not they would stay married up to her. So long as Chang''e kept the document safe, they would return to being husband and wife the moment his punishment had ended. Not wanting to be regarded as someone who had turned her back on her husband, Chang''e had done her best to safeguard the document for the better part of six thousand years. Unfortunately, the fates hadn''t been kind to them. The assault on the Moon Pce more than three hundred years ago had resulted in the deaths of more than ny-three percent of the Lunar Deities. Chang''e was one of the few to escape, but, much like the pce that had served as her home for more than six thousand years, the marriage certificate between her and Hou Yi had been destroyed... ... .. . "Shortly after the destruction of the Moon Pce, the surviving Moon Gods and Goddesses became a hot topic among the residents of the Little Garden. My beauty garnered a considerable amount of attention. As a result, I ended up earning the attention of a rather...peculiar group of Eastern Poets. After that...it''s difficult to distinguish fact from fiction even within my own mind. All I know with any reasonable degree of certainty is that my union with Hou Yi hade to an end. Shortly after that, the Jade Empress created Xiao Yue from a beam of moonlight. Since then, I have focused on raising her as my daughter..." Not expecting to hear such a story in response to his teasing, Vahn''s expression had softened into a concerned look as he stated, "If you''d like, I can free both you and Hou Yi from your fates. It won''t be long before the Sage Dragon''s Hearth attains the status of a 4-Digit Community. The Jade Em-" Without waiting for Vahn to finish, Chang''e shook her head, stating, "Thank you, but I''m afraid I''ll have to refuse Senior''s kindness..." with a mncholic smile on her face. When Vahn was about to ask why, the pale-haired Goddess beat him to the punch, exining, "In his current incarnation, my former husband is a King who rules over his Kingdom with three wives and eleven children. He also loses his memories near the beginning of each cycle so this is far from the first time he has started a family in the Mortal Domain. As for me...I''m happy so long as Xiao Yue is able to continue living a peaceful existence..." Swallowing his words, Vahn experienced a moment of emotional turmoil as he attempted to think of a solution to Chang''e''s predicament. He might be able to convince her toe with him, but, if the notion of Hou Yi having multiple wives bothered her, she probably wouldn''t be too enthused to learn about the existence of his harem. That wouldn''t deter him from doing everything in his power to make her happy, but, in the grand scheme of things, sex oftenplicated more problems than it solved... As if she could suddenly peer into Vahn''s mind, an affectionate smile developed across Chang''e''s face as she softly remarked, "You''re a very kind person..." Opening his mouth, Vahn, for reasons he couldn''t fullyprehend, intended to refute Chang''e''s statement. Before he could find the words, Chang''e issued an amusedugh before tugging at one of the golden Ginko Seeds attached to her ne. Then, rather than gifting it to him, she pinched it between her thumb and index finger... "I feel like I have learned more about you these past few minutes than the two hours we conversed previously. As there is a chance this will be ourst meeting, allow me to bestow unto you a parting gift..." As the Ginko Seed fragmented into a surprising volume of milky-white light, the Jade Rabbit within the hammock stirred for the first time in hours. The light produced by the Ginko Seed immediately flowed into its body, and, much like how Fenrir and Mikoto were able to transform, it quickly took the form of a young woman with short, silvery-white hair and pale golden eyes. Though the womancked Chang''e''s glow, Vahn would have to be blind not to see the simrities between the two. He even suspected that the woman''s appearance was temted from a previous version of Chang''e. Perhaps even her original considering Chang''e went on to exin, "This young woman is my Mortal Avatar, Heng''e. My destiny is bound to the Jade Pce but that doesn''t mean I can''t experience life in the outside world. May she serve you well in my stead..." Adopting a smile that was nearly as breathtaking as Chang''e''s, Heng''e offered a courteous bow as she said, "I vow to do my best..." in a soft yet audibly excited tone... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn over here casually distorting space-time at his leisure...'',''That''s one bashful bunny...'',''Sasuga Chang''e-sama...'') Chapter 2167: Uh...Girl Power...?

Chapter 2167: Uh...Girl Power...?

After barging into the Celestial Star Gazing Pavilion, the first thing Wu did was raid the kitchen. Her stomach had been protesting since halfway through the banquet, so, before raiding the rest of the estate, the first thing she did was clear out the pantry. "Man, this stuff tastes like crap. I''ll never understand how you people can eat this stuff." Despite her words, Wu had managed to scarf down several tens of kilograms worth of ingredients over the course of three minutes. In response to her words, Nezha couldn''t help rolling her eyes as she retorted, "I told you before. You have to cook them first. You''re too used to eating the fruits and flowers of Mount Huoguo." "Mmm..." Ignoring Nezha''s remark, Wu downed an entire bottle of vinegar as if it was normal water before releasing a loud and pungent burp. Nezha''s nose scrunched up in response, but, understanding the dangers ofmenting on Wu''s breath, she elected to stay quiet. Thest time sheined, a very drunk Wu ended up pushing her down and blowing into her mouth and nose for the better part of an hour... With memories of the past surfacing in her mind, Nezha was more than a little surprised when Wu popped up less than three centimeters away from her face, asking, "You have that serious look on your face. Are you thinking about lewd thoughts?" "What!? Don''t be stupid...!" Seeing how flustered Nezha had be, a mischievous grin appeared on Wu''s face as another version of her manifested behind the boyish girl. Then, before Nezha could react, the cloned Wu snaked her hands around the front of her body, fiercely groping her chest as the original grabbed her wrists and forced them over her head. "Not this shit again! Unhand me, you monkey bast-nnnn!?" Having already seen through Nezha''s thoughts, Wu silenced the fiery tomboy with some ''mouth breathing''. In reality, they both knew this was kissing, but, for a variety of different reasons, they pretended it was something entirely different... After putting up a perfunctory amount of resistance, Nezha''s struggles gradually ceased. She knew she had no chance of breaking free from Wu''s invible grip, and, though she would never admit it, Nezha enjoyed ''mouth breathing'' quite a bit. She just wished Wu wasn''t so violent... Feeling Nezha cken in her embrace, Wu was tempted to sneak her hands under the former''s shirt but ultimately decided against it. She didn''t sneak into the Celestial Star Gazing Pavilion to y with her Junior. They could have as much fun as they wanted during Nezha''s stay on Mount Huoguo, so, after teasing her for a while longer, Wu released the crimson-eyed tomboy from her clutches before licking her lips and saying, "I can taste the remnants of what you ate during the banquet. Looks like I''m gonna have to sneak into that old man''s home and force him to cook something for me." Ignoring Wu''s words, Nezha adopted a pouty look as she red at the mischievous monkey out of the corner of her eye. This continued for the better part of a full minute before she finally decided to ask the question lingering at the back of her mind, "Why did you bring me here? You know what happens when I get drunk. If something happens and Ao Bing finds out, he''s going to be upset..." Raising her brows, Wu cheekily remarked, "That isn''t a very manly thing to say. Besides, I saw how you were geeking out over that electric mouse girl. If things go well, we can kill three birds with one stone. You get to repay your debt and we both get to have a bit of fun." "Debt? What debt...?" Though a few things came to mind, Nezha wasn''t quite sure what Wu was talking about when she mentioned repaying her debt. It had never crossed her mind that Vor might actually try to kill her in the middle of the Jade Pce. That was tantamount to the South dering war on the East. Such a thing hadn''t urred since the end of the war three hundred years prior. Many Communities were still recovering from that, so, unless Odin had gone senile, there was no way he would send out one of his Valkyries to start a war. Resisting the urge to knock Nezha on the head, Wu adopted an uncharacteristically serious and solemn look as she said, "You need to do more research. If you had epted that Gift Game and lost, you would have be a ve of the White Raven Community. You''ve heard of the Einherjar, right? The Norse Faction pretties it up by making it out to be some great honor, but, when ites down to it, the Einherjar are nothing but fodder to be thrown at their enemies. While that might not sound too bad, it''s only really the case if you''re a man. Female Einherjar are degraded to little more than barmaids and pleasure ves. You would have been reduced to filling the mead horns of burly bastards covered in more body hair than a half-shaven sasquatch and your only reward would have been having your holes filled whenever they got bored." For extra emphasis, Wu pointed to her mouth and crotch. This caused the confused expression on Nezha''s face to turn into a dark glower as she balled her hands into fists and remarked, "Bullshit..." in a grim tone. Staring at the boyish girl with an ''are you serious?'' expression on her face, Wu asked, "What do you mean? I know you''re dumb but you shouldn''t be this ignorant. Just look at how some of those old bastards in the Immortal Sects behave. They treat women as nothing more than tools to aid in their cultivation. If you go down to the Mortal Domain, things like sexual assault are asmonce as fish in a seaside market. If you go even further and venture outside, you''ll find that women without power are basically regarded as second-ss citizens. Unless they''re unbelievably ugly, the only real option for most women is totch onto a powerful man or swallow their pride and ept a position as a servant. You and I were lucky to be born with power. Without it, we wouldn''t be allowed to get away with half the trouble we cause." As her inordinately sharp teeth made it impossible to grind them, Nezha could only clench her jaw in response to Wu''s words. She was actually well aware of the status of most women. It was one of the reasons she had ultimately decided to identify as a man. She got tired of people telling her how she needed to behave despite her older brothers being allowed to do whatever they wanted. They got praised for the same things she was chastised for, so, in the end, she ended up killing one and crippling the other... Noticing specks of fiery red me spreading through Nezha''s crimson eyes, Wu extended her hand to pat the girl''s shoulder as she said, "Rx. You might begging behind a bit, but we''re two of the most powerful women on the East Side. We might have to be cautious of the Buddhist Faction, but we can basically do whatever we want." Hearing Wu''s assurance, the destructive me in Nezha''s body gradually settled down. At the same time, however, she began to feel a little confused. Thus, after sorting her thoughts, she asked, "Then why are we here? I don''t see any point in repaying a debt I didn''t even realize I owed..." Exhaling a sigh, Wu continued to pat Nezha''s shoulder as she shook her head andmented, "How can you be so dumb...?" With the veins of her left temple protruding ever so slightly, Nezha resisted the urge to give Wu a punch. Doing so would only injure her own hand, so, after taking a few deep breaths, Nezha forced a smile and asked, "Care to borate...?" Nodding her head, Wu retracted her hand from Nezha''s shoulder before holding up a finger like someone prepared to give a lecture as she said, "It''s simple, really. It''s because we''re women. We possess weapons that menck and can use them to get the few things we''re unable to grasp on our own. Those two girls, Fenrir and Mikoto, are exceptionally powerful despite the fact they are clearly new arrivals to the Divine Realm. Unless they possess Fragments of Origin, such power can only be wielded when the person backing them has adequate power and authority. In other words, they are strong because that man is even stronger..." Furrowing her brows, Nezha interrupted Wu''s exnation, stating, "So what? Don''t tell me you''re trying to convince me to spread my legs just so I can have the backing of someone I barely even know..." Rolling her eyes, Wu spread her hands in a helpless manner, answering, "Kind of, sort of, but not really. I''m telling you to spread your legs in order to repay your debt. After that, you don''t really need that man''s backing. So long as you ask, I can pretty much guarantee he''ll give you whatever you want. People that would interfere in the affairs of other Communities without batting an eye must be incorrigible busybodies. You may not have noticed it, but that man disabled your father''s pagoda when you were cheering for the electric mouse girl. He also gave the old man more than enough ingredients to feed everyone in the banquet hall. In other words, he isn''t just a busybody, he''s a wealthy and powerful buffoon who likes to unt his assets." Taken aback by Wu''s words, Nezha found herself wholly unable to respond. This allowed Wu to take things even further, adding, "Even in the Heavenly Domain, immortals and lesser gods are willing to massacre each other in order to monopolize the Realm''s limited resources. If they could gain ess to rare materials just by spreading their legs, the Alchemists of the Heavenly Domain would literally make a fortune from selling Yang Conversion Pills..." Though it wasn''t toomon, there were multiple instances of female immortals being exposed as men the moment they underwent purification at the Gate of Heaven. This had caused a number of longsting blood feuds between people as there were few things more jarring than learning your Daoist Partner, the person you had pledged to be with for an eternity, was actually born a different gender... As someone who had once considered ingesting a Yin Conversion Pill, Nezha''s expression darkened in response to Wu''s unnecessary addendum. At the same time, however, she couldn''t find any fault with the monkey girl''s logic. She had personally witnessed the lengths some people were willing to go to in order to obtain something as simple as rice pilfered from the Jade Pce''s pantry. If it was something on the level of Xiwangmu''s Peaches of Immortality, a conflict was bound to ur even if they were auctioned legally. This was the reason people fought tooth and nail to earn an invitation to Zao Shin''s Immortal Banquet. For many, it was their only opportunity to obtain resources directly from the Jade Pce... In the midst of considering Wu''s proposal, the face of Ao Bing promptly appeared within Nezha''s mind. This caused her brows to furrow even further, as, despite being a male, Ao Bing was, for all intents and purposes, Nezha''s Daoist Partner. Thetter had even gone through the effort to make themselves appear more effeminate by consuming elixirs and cultivating yin techniques, so, even if he wouldn''tin about her phndering, Nezha knew he would be hurt. After all, it would be pretty hypocritical of her if she were to spread her legs for a man she had only recently met when she had never allowed her life partner to do the same... Noticing the hesitation in Nezha''s eyes, Wu was about to try and convince her when a sudden voice startled both of them, saying, "You really shouldn''t have these kinds of conversations in the pavilion of the person you''re targeting..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''*Mouth Breathing Intensifies*'',''Wu is a bad influence...'',''Hello there...'') Chapter 2168: Patience, Tolerance, and Putting Your Foot Down

Chapter 2168: Patience, Tolerance, and Putting Your Foot Down

Though Nezha was a bit slower, both girls recovered pretty quickly as Wu crossed her arms and teased, "It seems we have a little voyeur on our hands. Tell me, did you enjoy our little bonding session~?" Waving his hand in a ''so-so'' manner, Vahn casually replied, "It looked a little forceful but otherwise pretty decent. If I was interested in watching two little girls make out, I might have enjoyed it a bit more." Snorting through her nose, Wu unfolded her arms to reveal a muchrger pair of breasts than the ones that had been present previously. She was the creator of the 72 Transformations Technique, so, while her agreement with the Buddhist Faction prevented her from disguising herself as others, Wu could still use it to disguise as an alternate version of herself. "You say that but I don''t see any apprehension in your eyes. You also wouldn''t go out of your way to conceal your scent and suppress your pheromones if you didn''t feel ''something''. Come on. Be a good boy and I might let you cop a feel~?" With a naive and innocent smile that didn''t match her actions, Wu pressed her breasts together with a slight glimmer in her brilliant, emerald-green eyes. Noticing that Wu''s aura remained a yful, remarkably vibrant, and sunny yellow, Vahn just shook his head, saying, "That''s enough..." in a soft yet firm tone. Then, before the monkey girl could react, he plopped his hand down on her head, gently ruffling her strangely metallic-feeling hair as he said, "You don''t need to push yourself. I was going to help Nezha even without you doing something like this...." Retracting his hand, Vahn had to restrain an amused smile as both Wu and Nezha gawked at him with dumbfounded expressions on their faces. After all, even the Jade Emperor would never be so brazen as to try and caress the head of the legendary ''Monkey King''. Before either could recover, Vahn adopted a tender yet chiding tone as he said, "Even if you regard her as a subordinate, Nezha is still your friend. I can understand your desire to protect her by giving her a bit of...insurance. However, forcing her into a situation where she is forced to acquiesce on the matter of her identity isn''t very considerate. If she ended up losing her virginity to someone she just met, how do you think that would affect her sense of self? I''m not trying to brag, but I''m not exactly the type of person you can have sex with and walk away unaffected..." Recovering from her previous stupor, Wu adopted a challenging look as she said, "Yeah, yeah, sure. As if every man in existence doesn''t think they''re a god in the bedroom. I won-" Without waiting for her to finish, Vahn pulled out the Gift Card denoting his status as an A-Rank God of Sex. The average Rank for Divinities outside the 1-3-Digit Gates was C-Rank, so, even if she looked down on men, Wu didn''t have any ground to stand on in regard to arguing his prowess in the bedroom. Snatching the card out of Vahn''s hand, Wu attempted to bend it with her fingers before biting the edge like an old prospector. Once she had confirmed the card was real, the expression on her face changed quite a bit as she looked up at him and remarked, "You don''t really give off the same vibe as the other Gods of Sex I''ve met. I mean, what kind of Sex Deity actively tries to talk people out of having it. Did the Chief Deity of your Pantheon drop you on your head as a child...?" With a deadpan expression on his face, Vahn attempted to retrieve his Gift Card only for Wu to snicker as she inserted it between her breasts. It was clear she was baiting him into a literal booby trap, so, with the same deadpan expression on his face, he simply willed the card to disperse as he exined, "I possess numerous Divinities. Sex is merely one of them. Now, where were-" "Do you feel it when other people are having sex? How many girls have you done it with? Have you ever tried butt stuff~?" Like a child who had just discovered a new toy, Wu invaded Vahn''s personal space in an attempt to make him feel ufortable. Instead, he just raised her brows at her before stepping forward. This confused Wu quite a bit until he passed, unobstructed, through her body. She responded to this by waving her inordinately long tail through his body, curiosity coloring her expression as she inquired, "Is this an illusion? It''s pretty advanced if even my eyes can''t see through it..." Shaking his head, Vahn decided to guide the conversation back on track, his gaze settling on Nezha as he asked, "Are you happy in the Jade Pce...?" Blinking in surprise, Nezha adopted a slightly hostile expression as she answered, "I don''t see how that''s any of your business..." Though she had secretly panicked when Vahn revealed his status as an A-Rank God of Sex, Nezha was still annoyed by the fact he had previously referred to her as a ''little girl''. He had then tried to use her gender identity as a talking point in his half-assed attempt to convince Wu. She had never needed the support of others when it came to her identity, so, rather than appreciating the fact he had taken her side, Nezha was annoyed by the fact he thought she ''needed'' him, or anyone for that matter, to take her side. Surprised by Nezha''s sudden hostility, Vahn had to resist the temptation to call on Loi-chan as he adopted an apologetic smile and said, "I apologize if my words have offended you. Perhaps I was a bit too vague. Rather than prying into your personal matters, I should have asked if you wanted me to do something-" Adopting a markedly more hostile expression, Nezha balled her hands into fists as she shouted, "I don''t need you to do anything for me! If you''re serious about helping, just give me the resources I need to fix my own problems! What, do you think I''m some ''little girl'' that needs a big strong man to deal with my own father? Eat a big, fat, smelly dragon di-" Appearing behind Nezha, Wu promptly covered the enraged tomboy''s mouth as she said, "Whoa now, no need to go that far. He was only trying to help. He just didn''t take into consideration your nature and personality..." Though she was speaking in a manner to calm Nezha down, Wu directed a pointed re towards Vahn that told him everything he needed to know about the current situation. It was obvious that someone like Nezha wouldn''t ept outside help so easily. If it were that simple, Wu would have solved her problems a long time ago. ("Looks like I stepped on andmine...") (*How very astute of you...*) Ignoring the yful quip, Vahn attempted to smooth things over by manifesting a veritable feast atop the nearby table. They were currently in the kitchen so there was arge number of cooking utensils, a massive cauldron, and several t surfaces which could be used as a tabletop. "It seems I''ve offended you twice now. For what it''s worth, it was never my intent to look down on you. I''m just a little sensitive when ites to children and bad parenting. I understand you''re not really a child but your appearance reminds me of my more spirited sons and daughters..." Though she squinted her eyes when Vahn, once again, referred to her as a child, Nezha''s temper began to wane when she heard himparing her to his actual children. It would exin why he helped her, and, more importantly, why he didn''t want to have sex. She hadn''t been all that eager about moving forward with Wu''s n but Vahn''s refusal and subsequent attempts to make excuses had bothered her more than she was willing to admit... Feeling the tensions in Nezha''s body fade, Wu promptly released her as several other versions of her manifested around the table Vahn had prepared. She quickly joined them, a massive grin on her face as she engorged herself on the food without any hesitation. This left Vahn at a momentary loss for words while Nezha, having long since grown ustomed to Wu''s antics, whispered, "Damned glutton..." before looking toward Vahn and asking, "Got anything to drink?" Pulling out the same apple-cinnamon tea he had supplied to Xiao Yue and her cousins, Vahn was slightly offended when Nezha snorted through her nose and asked, "Are you an idiot? If I wanted tea, I would have asked for tea. When a man asks for a drink, they''re obviously talking about wine. Man, you really are ignorant..." Despite his sudden urge to bend Nezha over his knee and give her a spanking, Vahn''s expression remained calm as he remarked, "I have arge variety of alcohols. Unfortunately, they''re reserved for friends, family,plete strangers, spirits, stray animals, and people with manners. I''m afraid I can''t spare a single drop for brats who get pissy when someone offers them high-quality tea..." With the kind of expression most people only reserved for their mortal enemy, Nezha''s feet began to glow in a manner reminiscent of heated steel as she said, "Call me a brat...one more time..." Without missing a beat, Vahn casually retorted, "I refuse." before offering the same cup of tea as before. This caused Nezha to re up even more, but, after several exceptionally tense moments, the heat building in her legs promptly dissipated as she epted the tea and said, "Whatever..." in a huffy, ill-tempered tone. Though he was tempted to deny her the tea as well, Vahn watched expectantly as Nezha sipped at the aromatic liquid that had even earned an intrigued look from Wu. She was especially sensitive to the smell of flowers and fruit so she could tell the tea was exceptional even without tasting it. Noticing the expectant look on Vahn''s face, Nezha was fully prepared to tell him the tea tasted like cow piss the moment it touched her tongue. Instead, her malcontent sip quickly turned into several full-mouth gulps before she ultimately exhaled a satisfied, cinnamon-vored sigh... Preempting Nezha''s realization of what she had done, Vahn adopted a mirthful smile as he said, "You''re wee." in an ostensibly teasing tone. Then, before she couldsh out at him, he made his way over to the table, saying, "Make some space. There are thousands of tes where these came from. Eat properly or I''m going to pack up and go home. I no longer have any business with the Jade Pce so nothing is preventing me from leaving." Though her first instinct was to flip the table and attempt to snatch his storage ring, Wu''s instincts told her things might not end in her favor. She was pretty confident she could beat Fenrir without breaking a sweat but the final attack of Mikoto had caused the hairs on her back, arms, and legs to stand on end. Vahn was clearly stronger than the both of them, so, while she was fully intending to prank him, Wu decided it could wait until after she had eaten her fill... Seeing Wu make space for Vahn at the table, everything Nezha had been intending to say got stuck in her throat. Wu had never, ever, not in the entire history of the Heavenly Domain, shared her food with someone else. Thus, for a brief moment, Nezha humored the notion that she might be trapped in an illusion. It was the only thing that exined the ridiculousness of the current situation... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Booba...'',''I would make a joke about the LGBTmunity but they''re not exactly known for their tolerance...'',''Snap back to reality...'') Chapter 2169: Vulnerability

Chapter 2169: Vulnerability

After engorging herself to the point she appeared pregnant, Wu released a thunderous burp as she gave her protruding belly a contented pat. This earned her a fish-eyed stare from Nezha, who, aftering to terms with the fact she wasn''t dreaming, ended up joining Vahn and Wu at the table. "Haaaa, look what you''ve done to me. You better take responsibility~." Raising his brows, Vahn gave Wu''s melon-like belly a stare beforementing, "That looks pretty convincing. I''m guessing this isn''t the first time you''ve made use of the 72 Transformations to appear pregnant?" Rather than answer Vahn''s question, Wu pressed down on her stomach as if she were deting a balloon. This wasn''t an exaggeration, as, despite possessing the ability to transform seamlessly, Wu ended up releasing a prolonged far reminiscent of a whoopie cushion... Contrasting Wu''s expectations, Vahn responded with a light chuckle before casually disposing of the mountain of tes dominating the kitchen table. One of Gaia''s Textures was a Realm of flesh and blood, so,pared to the stench of billions of rotting corpses, the flowery farts of Wu were rtively tame. "If there''s nothing else, I''ll escort the two of you to the front gate. Feel free to stop by tomorrow morning for breakfast. I don''t mind cooking up onest feast prior to my departure." Since Wu seemed to possess an Innate or Gift that prevented involuntary spatial transfers, Vahn decided to escort the duo on foot. Before he could even urge them out of the kitchen, however, it was Nezha who asked, "Huh? Weren''t we supposed to get drunk and piss the night away? You also promised me resources. How am I supposed to obtain them if you just run off?" Piggybacking off of Nezha''s words, Wu nodded her head, adding, "Nezha''s right. I was nning to crack out one of my best Monkey Wines. You can''t just give us the boot after feeding us like a pair of stray animals." Exhaling an inaudible sigh, Vahn''s expression morphed into a troubled smile as he ran his fingers through his hair and said, "Listen...I don''t mind lending a hand. You''re just not willing to ept it without some form of equivalent exchange. While I can appreciate that, the truth of the matter is that you have nothing I want, need, or desire..." Shifting his attention to Nezha, Vahn''s brows furrowed as he continued, adding, "You shouldn''t be so quick topromise on matters regarding your integrity. I''m not sure what kind of rtionship you have with Ao Bing but it''s clear they''re important to you. They might forgive you and you might be able toe to terms with your actions, but, in the grand scheme of things, it wouldn''t be worth the guilt and regret you would feel during the interim..." Leaving Nezha at a loss for words, Vahn shifted his attention to Wu next, his expression hardening as he said, "Pressuring your friend to use their virginity as leverage in some kind of transaction isn''t something a real friend would do. It''s also remarkably hypocritical. You might be able to conceal it from others, but, as a God of Sex, I can tell you''re still a virgin. Trying to convince someone to make a sacrifice you''re unwilling to make is one of the-" Without waiting for Vahn to finish, Wu gave him an incredulous look, asking, "What are you talking about? I''ve never tried to conceal the fact I''m a virgin. In fact, it''s one of the things I''m most proud of. I mean, just look at me. I might not be a conventional jade beauty but I''m super adorable. I also have my 72 Transformations so I can make myself look as young or mature as I like. The only reason I''m still a virgin is because I''ve never found anyone strong enough to be my partner. Don''t lump me in with those hussies who need to spread their legs in order to get stro-" Realizing what she was about to say, Wu promptly covered her mouth with both hands before sending a wide-eyed stare towards Nezha. To her surprise, thetter appeared more vexed than angry. After all, even if she was offended by Wu''s words, she couldn''t deny the cold, hard truth contained within... Instead of ming Wu for her weakness, Nezha directed her crimson gaze to Vahn as she asked, "If I decided to move forward in spite of your warnings, would you still reject me...?" Though he was tempted to immediately nod in the affirmative, Vahn decided to remain patient, asking, "Why? Exin your reasoning..." Spreading her hands and shrugging in a helpless manner, Nezha answered, "I mean, my life isn''t exactly free from regret. Most of the books written about me omit the finer details but they still manage to convey the more important aspects of my history. My nature is tied to destruction, and, no matter how I try to suppress it, I always end up hurting the people around me. Ao Bing was even my ve at one point. It wasn''t until a few hundred years ago that we actually hit it off. Before that, I was pretty terrible to him..." As she had never confided in anyone like this, Nezha''s words began to trail off as she broke eye contact with both Vahn and Wu. She felt weaker in this one moment than every other moment in her entire life. In spite of this, she managed to gather enough resolve to continued, exining, "If it''s for the sake of my...no, mine, and Bing Bing''s freedom, I don''t mind picking a few more regrets onto the mountain I live with every single day. The more important thing is that I''m able to obtain our freedom through my own efforts...I don''t need...I don''t want anyone''s pity..." Hearing Nezha bare her heart to him, Vahn would be lying if he said his own hadn''t melted for the troubled girl. Even Wu wasn''t unaffected, her characteristically mischievous smile reced by a far more serious and concerned expression. She was well aware of Nezha''s struggles but this was the first time she had ever seen the youthful-looking girl expose herself in such a manner... Directing her gaze to the person responsible for Nezha''s extremely out-of-character behavior, Wu couldn''t help wondering if Vahn had done something. If he had, she hadn''t been able to detect it. Either way, he was clearly an exceptional person to be able to get the hot-blooded and extremely prideful Nezha to open up mere hours after their first meeting... Noticing Wu''s gaze, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face. In truth, he knew exactly why Nezha was behaving this way. He had been exuding a natural and calming aura ever since he arrived in the kitchen. This was aided by his capacity as an A-Rank God of Nature, but, more than anything else, it was thebination of delicious food and drink that had lowered Nezha''s defenses. Electing to keep this to himself, Vahn''s expression softened as he stared at the crimson-eyed girl slowlying to terms with the fact she had just revealed her innermost desires. Then, before she could experience an emotional overflow that caused her vulnerability to turn to intractable hostility, he surprised both girls by manifesting a Riolu, the pre-evolved form of the Pokemon Lucario, out of thin air. "Just as you have things you won''tpromise on, my nature makes it impossible for me to take advantage of your present situation. Thus, instead of providing you a direct increase to your power, I will provide you the means to increase it through your own efforts. This adorable little kit is known as a Riolu. So long as you care for it and treat it like a friend, it will eventually evolve into a creature known as a Lucario. After that, you need only train alongside it to drastically increase your power." Preempting any protests she might have, Vahn tossed the Riolu towards the stunned Nezha before going on to exin, "There are more important things than raw power when ites to strength. If you''recking in emotional and spiritual development, your power will rule you instead of the other way around. As a C-Rank God of Destruction, trust me when I say thatprehension and mastery surpass raw power by several orders of magnitude." So as to remove any doubt from her mind, Vahn produced the Gift Card denoting his status as a God of Destruction. This earned him a ck-jawed stare from Nezha, as, despite iming her nature was tied to destruction, shecked the corresponding Divinity. She was a lesser God of mes, and, due to the influence of the Three Pure Ones and the Buddhist Faction, her principal Divinities made her the Patron God of Children and Filial Piety. ording to Sanzang, it was actually her rejection of these two identities that resulted in her unstable nature. Alternating her gaze between the violet-hued Gift Card and the predominately blue creature staring up at her withrge, rust-red eyes, the emotion at the forefront of Nezha''s mind was confusion. She had already resolved to do whatever it took to secure freedom for herself and Ao Bing, so, now that Vahn had put his foot down and presented her with an alternative solution, she didn''t know how to react... As if sensing her thoughts, Riolu extended its paws upward, a smiling expression on its face as it yfully chimed, "Ri Riolu~!" "..." Though her heart palpitated slightly when she met its gaze, Nezha held out the confused Riolu towards Vahn as she said, "I can''t ept this. I don''t have the means to care for it and it''s clearly not a normal animal if it has the potential to help a High-Ranking God be stronger. If it was sold at an auction, there''s no way in hell I would be able to afford it. Like I said before...I have no intention of epting any handouts..." Refusing to ept the disheartened-looking creature, Vahn took a step away from Nezha as he said, "You''re mistaken. I''m not actually giving this to you. Pokemon, the race of creatures this little fees from, are not pets. They arepanions with their own wants and needs. If you failed to earn its trust or treated it poorly, it would simply leave. As for the whole auction thing, well, you can rest assured nothing like this would ever appear. Each Pokemon is tied to my Divinity and has received my Blessing. The moment they are in danger, I would be aware of it. If someone did try to put them up on auction, I would merely summon the Pokemon to my side and then persecute the people responsible." Furrowing her brows, Nezha was about to refuse a second time when the Riolu in her hands began to tear up, its previously happy smile reced by a pitiful, puppy-eyed expression as it muttered a sad, "Riolu...?" Though she would never, ever admit it, Nezha had always had a weakness for cute things. Thus, the moment she met the pitiable Riolu''s gaze, it was like a vice had closed around her heart. Her brows furrowed even deeper, but, instead of addressing Vahn, she maintained eye contact with the puppy-like creature as she inquired, "Do you really want to be my partner that badly? You don''t even know me..." Without so much as a moment of hesitation, the diminutive Pokemon raised one of its paws, its sad expression disappearing in an instant as it happily replied, "Riolu~!" Feeling waves of happiness exuding from the Riolu''s body like a gentle warmth, a byproduct of its natural ability to manipte its aura and interpret emotions, Nezha''s brows ended up creasing to the point it looked like she was constipated. Wu immediately took advantage of this, saying, "If you need to take a shit, there''s a bathroom down the hall..." With an illusory tick mark appearing on her head, Nezha immediately red towards Wu, shouting, "You''re the one that needs to take a shit you tulent monkey...!" with a slight flush to her face... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Someone needs to give this monkey a spanking...'',''Everyone has a reason for the way they behave...'',''The indefensible puppy eyes strat...!'') Chapter 2170: An Insurmountable Distance

Chapter 2170: An Insurmountable Distance

Ignoring Nezha''s remark in its entirety, Wu ended up staring at Riolu for several seconds before turning to Vahn and asking, "Where''s mine?" Having already anticipated such a question, Vahn met Wu''s gaze without fear as he unhesitantly replied, "As I said previously, I''m not giving them away. I entrusted Riolu to Nezha so they could grow alongside each other. You have a mountain of monkies and other magical creatures at your beck and call. You don''t need a Pokemon." Clicking her tongue, Wu left Vahn at a loss for words as she snapped her fingers and spontaneously changed from her predominately white, martial arts garb to a more modern but exponentially more revealing outfit. Her previous attire hadn''t left much to the imagination but it had, at the very least, covered all the important parts. This one consisted of a pair of fur-lined short-shorts that hung low on her hips, a pair of blue and white stockings, a loose top that was essentially just a piece of cloth barely concealing her breasts, and fur-lined parka that primarily covered her shoulders and arms. "We can talk about thatter. For now, let''s find a ce to unwind and cut loose. I still owe you a gourd of Monkey Wine." Without waiting for Vahn''s response, Wu pounced towards in without any consideration for her current attire. As a result, the cloth covering her chestgged behind her initial movement, a sh of peach set within hills of fair white appearing for a brief moment before she grabbed his arm and asked, "Did you see~?" in a mischievous tone. Deciding to ignore the baited question, Vahn met Nezha''s gaze, asking, "What do you want to do? I don''t mind ying host for a few hours. I have a functionally infinite library of movies, and, if you''re interested, there are a few anime I could rmend." Since Nezha and now Wu had appeared in rtively modern clothing, Vahn correctly assumed they had an interest in societies outside the Jade Pce/Heavenly Domain. They simply weren''t allowed to leave as Wu was essentially the final weapon of the Jade Pce while Nezha''s destructive nature prevented her from stepping outside the Jade Pce without an escort. Unsurprisingly, it only took a moment for Nezha to nod her head. Unfortunately, she also elected to say, "Sure. Just don''t get any strange ideas. I don''t mind a bit of over-the-clothes touching but the moment your hand disappears, so do I." Resisting the urge to palm his head, Vahn''s rxed smile turned into a notably exasperated grimace as he asked, "How many times do I need to repeat the same thing? I''m not going to take advantage of you..." Shrugging her shoulders, Nezha''s expression remained unchanged as she rebutted, "Yeah, you say that, but you''re still a guy. Who knows how you''ll behave once you get a few drinks in your system? I''ve seen two-faced monks go from acting all benevolent and righteous to behaving like lechers the moment some bit-tittied harlot enters the room. Words mean jack shit." Exhaling a sigh, Vahn was about to say something to try and defend himself when Wu interrupted by spontaneously reaching towards his crotch. He caught the movement the moment her muscles twitched, so, the moment her fingers made contact with the fabric of his loose-fitting trousers, she ended up slipping through his body. Restoring her bnce by performing a sommersault, Wu''s face contorted into one of disapproval as she remarked, "What gives? I was just checking the goods to see what you''re packing. Who knows, I might even give you a present if you can satisfy my curiosity. I might be a virgin but I know my way around bananas, peaches, and plums..." With a yfully seductive expression on her face, Wu traced her index finger along her bottom lip in an effort to get a rise out of Vahn. Instead, he just shook his head before saying, "You should go. I don''t actually mind a bit of skinship but your behavior is just toxic. Thinking you can do whatever you please and then reacting with hostility the moment your target takes the bait is as hypocritical as it is egotistical. If you want to fight, juste out and say it." Though she hadn''t expected Vahn to expose her intentions, a toothy grin developed across Wu''s face as she asked, "Are you sure~? I was actually nning to let you get away with a bit of touching since you were nice to Nezha. If we end up fighting, we might not be able to remain friends. I do my best to hold back but everyone I fight ends up beaten and bloodied. Some even fall intoas for weeks on end...." Rolling his eyes, Vahn seeded in legitimately angering the petite monkey girl by answering, "If I got serious, you wouldn''t evenst a single exchange." With the fur on her tail bristling violently, the smile on Wu''s face became even more vicious as she eximed, "Ha! And people have the audacity to call me shameless! Okay, big boy! Let''s see what you got! If the skin on your body is half as thick as your face, I may actually have to try...!" Without bothering to change back into herbat attire, Wu threw a punch towards Vahn''s face that caused time, at least from his perspective, to stagnate. Then, simr to when he fought against people like Scathach or Musashi, her fist actually managed to connect with his face the moment he registered the fact she had punched forward. ("Well, I suppose it would be more oundish if she couldn''t use the Power of Law...") As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn was preparing to counterattack with a simr attack. To his surprise, however, Wu''s fist actually managed to indent his cheek and force his head to turn to the side. This was in spite of the fact he had made himself both immovable and indestructible. ("Self-Actualizing Authority and extraordinary Willpower...not bad at all...") After taking a step back to find his footing, it was Vahn''s turn to mete out surprises as he stepped into Wu''s range before nting a fist into her exposed abdomen. She had been taken aback by his ability to take her punch without being sent flying, so, when he stepped in to return the favor, she was a little slow to react. Under normal circumstances, Wu didn''t need to take her opponents seriously. Even those who were stronger or faster than her would eventually find themselvesmenting her indestructibility. She just needed to endure their blows until they had tired themselves out. After that, they were putty in her hands. Unfortunately, even though she possessed one of the most unbreakable forms of indestructibility in existence, Wu suffered from a weakness reminiscent of Karin. Her body didn''t retain injuries but she still felt the pain from her opponent''s blows. As a result, the moment Vahn''s fist made contact with her abdomen, an explosive force, unlike anything she had ever experienced, radiated through Wu''s body without dissipating. At the same time, a deep, iprehensible pain seemed to prate to the very core of her body as she folded over his fist and unleashed a ridiculous quantity of partially digested food from the ck hole that was her stomach. Trusting in Wu''s indestructibility, the only thing Vahn held back was his intent to kill. As a result, he had no idea how much force was packed into the rtively simple-looking punch. His instincts told him it would have allowed him to punch a hole through a star. Against Wu, it was enough to force her to cling to his arm for support, her expression reminiscent of Cell the moment SSJ2 Gohan gave him a punch to the gut. "Had enough...?" Unable to speak, Wu responded by tightening her grip around Vahn''s forearm. There were very few things she couldn''t crush, but, due to the spasming of her core and the feeling of numbness in her legs, most of her strength had been sealed. In spite of this, she managed to raise her head, a vicious smile on her face as she weakly groaned, "You''re...so fucked..." The moment Wu finished speaking, all of the tiny golden hairs she had sneakily scattered during her time in the kitchen burst into an identical, uninjured clone. Then, like victorious baseball yers at the end of a World Series event, they dogpiled onto Vahn with the intent of burying and beating the living daylights out of him. Like an immovable mountain, Vahn managed to remain upright even as more than a dozen half-naked Wu(s) piled atop his body. If not for the fact one had taken the liberty of straddling his face in a foolish attempt to suffocate him, the original would have been able to see him smile even as several of her clones attempted to strangle him with their tails. As for the reason? Well, so long as he didn''t acknowledge their existence, Wu''s clones might as well be empty space. He could even see through them as if they were phantoms or illusions, their attacks having no effect on him as he grabbed the back of Wu''s parka before flinging her towards the wall with a normal, and therefore powerless throw. With her body refusing to obey her, Wu ended up mming into the wall before dropping to the ground with a pouty expression on her face. She could tell Vahn had held back so she was about to give him an earful until he preempted her, saying, "As someone who enjoys pranks, you should get a real kick out of this. I''ve made it so that the space surrounding you expands and flows around you in the direction of your movement. Unless you''re able to break free, you can no longer move from that spot." Unlike Vahn, both Wu and Nezha were fully cognizant of the former''s clones. As a result, Vahn''s words hade across as slightly muffled as a result of a very determined clone wrapping her body around his head like a vice. It was a very strange sight, one made even stranger when Vahn began walking forward despite an ever-growing number of clones weighing him down... Noticing the strange looks on the duo''s face, Vahn made his body immaterial so that the clones sticking to his body no longer had anything to hold onto. Then, after extricating himself from the translucent pile, he repeated, "You won''t be able to move from that spot..." in a marginally more awkward tone. Snorting through her nose, Wu forced herself to stand before channeling Qi into her thighs and calves. This caused them to bulge ever so slightly, but, more importantly, it allowed her to spring forward as she shouted, "Monkey Bounds Across the Heavens...!" As the name implied, Monkey Bounds Across the Heavens was an ability that, quite literally, allowed Wu to leap across any imaginable distance. Long ago, she had used it to leap from the center of the Jade Pce to the furthest reaches of the near-infinite space upied by the Heavenly Domain. At the time, Wu had been attempting to escape from the Buddha after making a bet with thetter to escape his palm. Unfortunately, even after reaching what she believed to be the furthest reaches of the Heavenly Domain, she found herself between five rune-covered pirs. She ended up signing her name on one and peeing on another only to discover that said pirs were actually the fingers of the Buddha... Simr to that time, Wu found herself unable to escape from the meter-wide spatial prison Vahn had trapped her in. She could feel herself moving forward at an ever-increasing speed, but, even as her body gained a golden luminescence reminiscent of a star going supernova, the space in front of her expanded and flowed around her faster than she could move forward. Her attempts to change direction also ended in failure, so, after several minutes of futile effort, her body gradually returned to normal as she said, "You suck." before puffing out her cheeks like an ill-tempered child. ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn can''t win with Nezha x_x...'',''I would wear that mask...'',''I hope he washed his hands...'') Chapter 2171: Plans, Pestering, and Persistence

Chapter 2171: ns, Pestering, and Persistence

With Wu promising to clean up the kitchen and behave, at least for the time being, Vahn released her from the spatial prison. Afterward, the three of them, four if he included Riolu, moved to one of the empty residences while a total of eighteen Wu clones stayed behind to wipe down surfaces and mop up the veritable pond of vomit she had regurgitated onto the floor. "I can''t believe you made me waste food like that. You''re a hell of a lot stronger than I gave you credit for. I mean, I can''t even recall thest time someone stirred up my insides like that." Ignoring Wu''s innuendous remark, Vahn finished setting up the TV while she and Nezha made themselvesfortable on the sofa he had pulled out of his Inventory. They were going to be watching an anime called RE: Born with a Cultivation Chat Group! as it was one of the first things that popped into Vahn''s mind when he thought about words with rtively modern settings and cultivation techniques. As the name implied, RE: BCCG was an anime where the main character, a Korean by the name of Dae Song, had been reincarnated into a seemingly innocuous world that was no different from his original. It was only when he was preparing to enter college that he realized how truly mystical the world he had found himself in was, as, three weeks before he was scheduled to attend sses, he received an invitation to a WeChat group known as the [Nine Provinces (1) Group]. When the main character first stumbled upon the group, he didn''t take it seriously as the name had reminded him of a fictional story from his previous world. It wasn''t until events began ying out in ordance with his memories that he realized the truth. He may not have reincarnated with cheats, but, thanks to the knowledge he had inherited from his previous life, he was able to break free from the constraints of mundane society and enter a fantastical world filled with limitless possibilities and just as many hardships. Once everything was set up, Vahn upied the center of the sofa as Nezha was leaning on the left armrest while Wu had sprawled out with her feet kicked up on the right. She was rtively petite at only 133cm tall, but, as the sofa was rather cozy at 248cm in width, she managed to upy half of it despite her feet dangling off the side. At first, Wu had positioned herself in such a way that Vahn would have needed to cozy up next to Nezha. Instead, he didn''t hesitate to plop down where Wu''s head had been moments prior. If she hadn''t lurched forward like someone doing a crunch at thest moment, he would have sat on her face. Unfortunately, Vahn hadn''t really thought his actions through, so, the moment he plopped down, Wu returned to her original position. Instead of resting her head on the sofa, however, she used hisp as a pillow, a mischievous smile on her face as she cheekily remarked, "Well hello there~." Instead of reacting as Wu expected, Vahn just returned a casual smile before cing his left hand on her exposed abdomen and his right on her head. This caused the yful smile on Wu''s face to tense, the pupils of her emerald-green eyes contracting for a brief moment to indicate surprise and a marginal amount of panic. In the end, however, she didn''t protest his actions. Instead, she fell into a ruminative silence as the warmth from his hand slowly spread through her belly... ... .. . With hours passing like minutes, it wasn''t long before Vahn had both Wu and Nezha snuggling up to him while Riolu made itselffortable on the back of the sofa. Unsurprisingly, the Monkey Wine produced from Wu''s Gift possessed the qualities of a moderate aphrodisiac. Had he been a normal person, or even a lesser God, Vahn would have easily fallen into the mischievous monkey''s trap. Instead, he easily suppressed the fiery heat in Nezha''s body using abination of headpats and feigned obliviousness. So long as he didn''t acknowledge the hungry look she would periodically send his way, he didn''t have to worry about her getting embarrassed or doing something she would regret. In this manner, the first season of RE: Born with a Cultivation Chat Group! came to an end without incident. When it was over, Vahn removed his arm from Nezha''s shoulder before pushing aside Wu, who, for some time, had been pretending to be asleep atop hisp. The former ended up staring at him with a slightly confused expression on her noticeably flushed face while thetter ended up on the ground, her head making a loud thump as she fell off the couch. Ignoring the fact Wu''s bib-like top had slid up to cover her face instead of her breasts, Vahn made his way over to the TV, saying, "I suggest we wrap things up. It''s already been nine hours and forty-three minutes. I can lend you the remaining seasons if you''d like to watch them on your own time." Tucking her legs inward, Wu promptly bounded to her feet, saying, "It''s about time. I was starting to think you were going to continue pretending to watch that screen the entire night. I guess even you have your limits." As Vahn had consumed thergest quantity of alcohol, Wu misinterpreted his intentions when he said they should wrap things up. Nezha wasn''t any different, but, thanks to Vahn''s efforts in abating the heat in her body, an expression of reluctance developed across her face as she softly muttered, "I''m not too sure about this..." Just as Wu was about to give Nezha a push, Vahn interjected, saying, "Stop. If it wasn''t obvious, I''m not affected by the...medicinal properties of your Monkey Wine. I also took the liberty of remedying the effects in Nezha''s body so she''s just drunk, not concupiscent. If you keep pushing in spite of the consideration I''ve shown, I''m going to get angry..." "Eh...?" Having never encountered anyone that was resistant, much less immune to her Monkey Wine, Wu was genuinely surprised by Vahn''s words. At the same time, however, she could easily believe them as most people in his situation would have been harder than the Ruyi Jingu Bang by now. After all, her wine was so potent that men without a partner would literally drill a hole in the ground if they couldn''t find something more ''amodating''. Despite realizing her n was aplete and utter failure, a cheeky smile developed across Wu''s face as she shrugged her shoulders and teased, "That''s a shame. I may have been nning to get revenge for that punch to the gut but I''d be lying if I said I hadn''t taken a liking to you. If you had just yed along, I would have at least given you a tail job...maybe more..." Demonstrating the dexterity of her inordinately long tail, Wu created a loop near the end before jerking it up and down in a familiar motion. She also made no effort to fix her clothes, which, due to her poor sleeping posture and the fact she had rolled off the couch, were in a state of disarray that made it apparent she wasn''t wearing any undergarments. Shaking his head, Vahn maintained a cid expression as he inly stated, "If your words weren''t false bravado rather than genuine boldness, I wouldn''t mind keeping youpany. As for Nezha, she has someone to return to. If you truly cared for her, you would respect that." Though she hadn''t actually intended to do anything, Wu was annoyed by Vahn''s insinuation that she was afraid. She regarded herself as the most fearless existence in the Heavens and abroad, so, after a very brief moment of hesitation, she pulled at the fabric concealing her modest yet shapely breasts as she asserted, "The only thing I''m afraid of is the feeling of disappointment you''re bound to bring me..." As if she were tearing through rice paper rather than nearly indestructible fabric, Wu tore away her top with a casual motion before staring at Vahn with a challenging smile. If it weren''t for the myriad blues and purples that appeared in her previously sunny aura, he might have been tempted to put her resolve to the test. Instead, he maintained the same expression as he remarked, "Not bad. Once you get your feeling sorted out, I wouldn''t mind proving your assumptions wrong." With that said, Vahn waved his hand to produce a hazy green aura around Wu''s body. Almost immediately thereafter, the bib-like shirt was restored to its previous form. As for Wu, she had a predominately nk, slightly pensive look on her face as she stared back at him with her vibrant, emerald green eyes. The fretful threads in her aura gradually faded away. In their ce, a single, almost imperceptible thread of pink appeared as she stated, "You''re really weird..." as if she were uttering a simple truth. Returning a wry smile, Vahn''s voice softened as he exined, "Not everyone views the world in terms of giving and receiving benefits. Some people attain gratification and reach fulfillment by helping others. As someone who wants for very little, it does me no harm to render assistance to those in need." Snorting through her nose, Wu''s expression became somewhat pouty as she grumbled, "You''re starting to sound like Sanzang..." Unable to suppress his curiosity, Vahn willed Loi-chan to manifest as Sanzang. When he saw that it was a beautiful woman, he wasn''t even remotely surprised. What did surprise him was the fact her head waspletely shaven, and, despite being a monk, she carried a longsword sword on her hip and wore a ne fashioned from cat-like skulls around her neck. Even more surprising was the fact that Loi-chan promptly reported, "Oh? It seems like she can sense it when people are thinking about her. She has just taken notice of you." "..." Restraining the urge to palm his own forehead, Vahn thanked Loi-chan before promptly dismissing her with a thought. Then, as if he hadn''t even heard Wu''s previous statement, he said, "I''ll show you to the exit. Not a lot of time has passed since your arrival so you have ample time to trespass a few of the other pavilions before returning to the Mountain of Flowers and Fruits." Furrowing her brows, Wu inquired, "What makes you think I''m just going to turn tail and return to Mount Huoguo? So long as you''re in the Heavenly Domain, I''m going to keep bothering you until you either reveal your true colors or run away..." Confused by Wu''s statement, Vahn''s expression reflected his bewilderment as he asked, "My true colors? What do you mean...?" Crossing her arms in a triumphant manner, Wu''s previous expression of doubt was reced by an unbridled air of confidence as she answered, "You''re a Pure-Blooded Dragon. There''s no way you came to a ce like the Jade Pce just to participate in a banquet when the food you can provide is better than anything Zao Shin cane up with. You''re up to something and I intend to find out what it is." "..." Realizing that Wu was likely just bored and wanting to y around, Vahn shook his head in mock exasperation before adopting a wry smile and saying, "Do what you want. Just keep in mind that I won''t tolerate you bullying people in my presence. That punch from earlier is just the tip of a veryrge iceberg. I may not be particrly fond of violence but I''m not even remotely a stranger to it..." Surprised by how easily Vahn had acquiesced to her selfishness, a radiant smile developed across Wu''s face as she promptly pounced over to him. Then, with her soft and visibly expanding breasts pressed against him, she yfully tantalized, "Since you gave me permission, I''ll be keeping a ''very'' close eye on you until you leave the Heavenly Domain..." Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn startled Wu by giving her a chaste hug as he whispered, "If that''s what you want. I don''t mind keeping youpany..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''I would be happy with just Vahn''s ability to watch virtually any anime...'',''You have no power here...!'',''Conquering the stone monkey with kindness...'') Chapter 2172: Longing

Chapter 2172: Longing

While his other self was dealing with matters in the Heavenly Domain, another version of Vahn was helping Heng''e get situated in the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. She had requested to be a Maid so the first thing he did was introduce her to Shiroyukihime, Leticia, Iris, Mira, Lisanna, and quite a few others. He also exined his rtionship with ck Rabbit, a revtion that had caused the silvery-haired Avatar to briefly short-circuit as neither she nor Chang''e had expected to encounter thest surviving descendant of their former Masters. Though ck Rabbit was more than a little famous within the Little Garden, few people knew where she lived or what she was up to. Her association with the No Names wasn''t particrly well known, as, for the time being, neither were they. All anyone knew for certain was that she was working for and under the protection of the Eastern Floor Master, Shiroyasha. Needless to say, Heng''e was both befuddled and tremendously relieved to learn that the daughter of her former Mistress was both alive and well. They even had a brief yet tearful reunion that caused ck Rabbit quite a bit of duress as she hadn''t met anyone from the Moon Pce in more than 300 years. Heng''e''s unexpected arrival ended up bringing back a lot of memories, so, while Lisanna and the others helped the former get situated, Vahn stayed with ck Rabbit to help ease her tensions... "You okay...?" Though she nodded in affirmation, ck Rabbit didn''t remove her face from Vahn''s chest. His smell had a calm and rxing quality to it, almost like taking a nap in a verdant forest on a cool yet sunny day. She had developed a bit of a dependence on it, so, fearing Vahn might leave if she opened her eyes and said everything was okay, ck Rabbit elected to remain silent as she enjoyed the warmth from his body. Well aware of ck Rabbit''s thoughts, Vahn nestled his face between her ears, a faint mncholy visible in his countenance as he ran the fingers of his right hand through her silky blue hair. He had always been sensitive to the emotional states of others, so, whenever someone he cared about was feeling blue, he couldn''t help feeling the same. Thus, with ck Rabbit''s mind reying memories of her family, Vahn couldn''t help thinking about the family he had left behind... "I want a baby..." Blinking back to awareness, Vahn looked down to find the roots of ck Rabbit''s hair transitioning from a mncholic blue to a luminous pink. Then, as if she could sense his gaze, she looked up at him, her red eye glistening with longing as she repeated, "I want a baby..." Returning a smile, Vahn resisted the urge to ask why she had chosen this particr timing to ask for a baby. He had already been keeping her waiting for more than seven months, so, without showing any signs of unwillingness or hesitation, he brought his face closer to hers as he yfully replied, "I was hoping you''d ask..." before stealing her lips the moment she tried to respond. As if a switch had been flipped, ck Rabbit went from sitting at Vahn''s side to stradling hisp in less than three seconds. She had always been one of his more ''active'' girls, but, now that she knew what was at stake, ck Rabbit was like an entirely different person as she ripped open Vahn''s shirt without breaking from his kiss. This gave Vahn the urge tough. Instead, he followed ck Rabbit''s example by tearing away her skirt and panties in the same motion... ... .. . Sensing what his counterpart was up to, Vahn couldn''t help cracking a smile and muttering, "Lucky bastard..." before throwing back a ss of hazel-brown liquid. Hearing Vahn''s remark, a battered and bruised Eng Shen gave him a sidelong nce, asking, "Are you making fun of me? Which part of me looks lucky to you...?" Answering in Vahn''s stead, Wu ceased noming on a te of golden apples long enough to chime in and remark, "Stop whining. You''re supposed to be a proud warrior God. A few cuts and bruises after battling against the Great Me is getting off easily. Besdies, don''t think I haven''t noticed you stealing nces at my butt. I''m keeping count of each one so you had better prepare yourself..." Though he paled quite a bit in response to Wu''s words, Eng Shen was unable to prevent his eyes from wandering towards the peachy mounds visible within arm''s length. Wu, for reasons he dared not inquire, had taken it upon herself toy across the table in front of Vahn. She had also changed into her martial attire, but, afterining about the heat, she ended up removing the coat that usually concealed her exposed back and bottom. As a result, her butt waspletely visible except for a piece of thin fabric that disappeared between her pert and peachy butt cheeks... Snorting through his nose, Eng Shen was tempted to state he didn''t have an interest in children, but, understanding the risks involved, he elected not to. Instead, he took severalrge swigs of the six-thousand year old whiskey Vahn was having him try. It tasted drastically different from the wines of Heaven, but, thanks to the fiery aftertaste, it was quickly growing on the three-eyed God. After increasing Eng Shen''s tally by three, one for each eye, Wu took a bite out of a half-eaten apple before shifting her attention to Vahn and asking, "You''re doing something naughty, aren''t you? I can feel my skin tingling in response to the excitement you''re trying to suppress. Look." Holding up her left arm, Wu revealed that the fine hairs along its surface were standing on end. Her tail also appeared noticeably more bristly, and, though he was certain she was only doing it to mess with Eng Shen''s dog-like senses, Vahn could smell an aroma reminiscent of flowers and fruit that didn''te from the apples strewn across the table. Though it earned him a moderately incredulous look from Eng Shen, Vahn didn''t attempt to deny Wu''s words. Both she and Eng Shen possessed the ability to see through lies and falsehoods, so, after a moment of silence, he answered, "You''re not wrong. Rather than saying I''m doing something naughty, however, it would be more urate to say I''m being...procreative..." Blinking in surprise, Wu''s expression became unreadable even to Vahn as she responded with a soft and curt, "Oh..." before biting into the core of her golden apple. As for Eng Shen, he honestly had no idea how to approach such a conversation so he ended up finishing off the contents of his ss before ming it on the table, exhaling a sigh, and saying, "I should probably be going. When next we meet, drinks are on me." Sensing things were heading in a strange direction, Eng Shen decided to leave before he ended up digging himself into an even deeper hole. Before he could depart, however, Vahn called out to him, saying, "Feel free to stop by the Sage Dragon''s Hearth in the future. I tend to take care of my friends so expect a pleasant surprise if you decide to stop by." Turning around, it was Eng Shen''s intent to return an appreciative smile, but, as ifpelled by instinct, his eyes briefly darted to Wu''s bottom. As a result, his expression appeared more wry than grateful as he said, "I''m looking forward to it..." With Wu giving him a casual look that was somehow scarier than when she was angered, Eng Shen punctuated his words by promptly departing with a wave. He had always trusted his instincts, so, the moment he got outside, his speed increased as he bolted from the premises like a criminal in flight... Sensing the speed in which Eng Shen departed, Vahn''s expression hardened ever so slightly as he remarked, "I thought I told you not to bully people..." Raising her brows, Wu took a bite out of a fresh apple, its flesh and juices mixing in her mouth as she tly rebutted, "You said you wouldn''t tolerate me bullying people in your presence, not that I couldn''t bully them. Besides, I''m the victim here. All I''ve been doing the past hour or two is eating apples. I didn''t force him to stare at my butt." Unable to outright refute Wu''s words, an exasperated sigh escaped Vahn''s throat as he leaned back andbed through his hair. This prompted Wu to shift atop the table, but, instead of perching on hisp as Vahn expected, she ended up sitting at the very edge of the table with her legs drawn up in a way that allowed her to rest the soles of her feet on its side. This left absolutely nothing to the imagination, but, instead of staring at the ostensibly inviting sight less than a few centimeters away from him, Vahn met Wu''s gaze as he asked, "What do you want...?" With a smile developing across her face, Wu supported herself by leaning back on her hands as she lowered one of her feet to Vahn''s left thigh. Then, as if stating a simple truth, she answered, "I don''t know. I''m not exactly the type of person that wastes time anguishing over the consequences of my actions. I just follow my instincts and act in the moment..." Punctuating her statement, Wu traced her toes along the interior of Vahn''s thigh before moving further up. Before she could make any substantial progress, however, Vahn grabbed her ankle, his expression t yet serious as he rified, "That isn''t what I was asking about. I want to know what your dream is." Blinking in surprise, Wu hesitated for a moment before leaning forward to ce her right foot on Vahn''s knee. Then, with her face less than ten centimeters away from his, she asked, "Who sent you here? Was it Shiroyasha...?" Though he wouldn''t be able to deny Shiroyasha''s involvement, Vahn shook his head, answering, "I came here of my own volition. I''m aiming to upy a 4-Digit Gate in the near future so I''m making deals with a few existing powers to ensure things progress smoothly. If you think I came here at the behest of someone else, you''re mistaken. I also had no idea our paths would intersect. In fact, prior to the banquet, I didn''t even know you were a woman..." Sensing no falsehoods in Vahn''s words, Wu''s tensions gradually rxed as she liberated her foot from his grasp and said, "I see...though I find it hard to believe you were unaware of something as basic as my gender, I can''t really me you. The Demon King of Confusion has been spreading all kinds of misinformation about me in an effort to influence my Origin..." Recalling her self-proimed nemesis, an exasperated sigh escaped from Wu''s throat as she stared up at the ceiling for several seconds. Then, just as Vahn was about to ask if everything was okay, she elected to answer his previous question, revealing, "My dream died more than three-hundred-years ago. Now, the only thing I''m looking forward to is teaching a certain three-headed albino bastard a lesson..." Undertanding exactly who Wu was referred to when she said ''three-headed albino bastard'', Vahn''s expression softened into an apologetic smile. He could be jumping to conclusions, but, with what he knew of the Seven Sages and their bond, he imagined Wu had been devasted when nearly half the group was wiped out. Wu was a prideful person who cared deeply about her subordiantes so she had likely taken it personally when the Demon God and his forces killed her friends... Feeling the deep-seeded resentment Wu had towards the Demon God, Vahn pulled the befuddled monkey girl onto hisp. Then, before she could protest or misinterpret his intentions, he wrapped his arms around her body, his tone as sincere as possible as he whispered, "Shhhhh...it''s going to be okay..." Furrowing her brows, Wu was tempted to escape from Vahn''s grasp, smack him on the head, and remind him she wasn''t some child that needed coddling. Instead, her body tensed as he hugged her head to his chest and added, "Your hair smells nice..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''(O w O): Oh my...'',''Poor Shen xD...'',''Bruh...'') Chapter 2173: Entrapment Chapter 2173: Entrapment With minutes bleeding into hours, Wu''s desire to escape from Vahn''s embrace gradually faded away. She had even fallen asleep at one point, the hairs across her body standing on end when she awoke to find herself nuzzling against someone. Fortunately, Vahn had been in a dormant, seemingly asleep state at the time. In reality, he was simply more focused on what his other vessels were up to. As a result, the tensions in Wu''s body gradually rxed as she stared at his sleeping face with a thoughtful look on her own. "If you don''t stop pretending...I''m going to prank you..." Though she got the impression Vahn was actually asleep, Wu couldn''te to terms with the fact she had been proactively nuzzling against him. Most of her previous disys of affection had been an act. She was still deadset on getting her revenge against Vahn for humiliating her in front of one of her friends and subordinates... Seeing Vahn fail to react to her words, a slightly conflicted look developed across Wu''s face as she muttered, "There is a limit to looking down on someone..." Since she had made it very clear she intended to prank him, Wu couldn''t help feeling as though Vahn was looking down on her. Her Fragment of Origin recorded her as one of the most prankish individuals in the Divine Realm. If the opportunity to prank someone presented itself, it was nearly impossible for her to resist the temptation. Thus, after several seconds of staring at Vahn''s sleeping face, a pettish snort escaped Wu''s nose as she slowly and carefully inverted her position. "Let''s see you sleep through this..." After failing to get a glimpse previously, Wu would be lying if she said she wasn''t interested in what Vahn was concealing beneath the fabric of his trousers. She had seen plenty in the past. Heck, there was even a time when she had disguised herself as a man using the 72 Transformations. That didn''t prevent her from wanting to take a look. After all, men were pretty sensitive about the sizes of their penises. If Vahn had a meager mushroom instead of a banana, she could use it to make fun of him... "What, pray tell, do you think you''re doing...?" Hearing the familiar tone, the hairs across Wu''s body stood on end. In spite of this, she tugged at the belt and fabric of Vahn''s trousers with a grim and resolute look on her face. The material was a lot more durable than she expected, but, with functionally unlimited strength, it only took a single determined tug to tear through both. "...!?" Contrasting every expectation Wu possessed prior to tearing away Vahn''s trousers, another pair of trousers existed beneath the first. Upon closer inspection, she realized that even the remnant fabric of the previous pair of trousers had simply disappeared... "What the heck...?" Unaware of the existence of Vahn''s ''Auto-Equipm Function'', Wu attempted to tear away the second pair of trousers only to feel a sharp, radiating pain from her bottom. Vahn had given her right cheek a smack, and, as a result, she ended up tumbling forward and face-nting between his legs. "I''m the God of Infinite Possibilities, not the God of Limitless Patience. Keep ying with fire and it''s only a matter of time before you receive a burn..." Rather than attempting to right herself, Wu tucked her feet up near her head before raising her butt and staring at Vahn upside down. This caused the thin white fabric concealing her body to strain in a manner that left nothing to the imagination as she waggled her butt and retorted, "I''m not afraid of getting burned. I once spent forty-nine days in Laozi''s furnace, the Brazier of Eight Trigrams. Even if you were a thousand times hotter, I wouldn''t be affected..." Furrowing his brows in response to Wu''s words, Vahn briefly recalled the fact that she, much like Shiroyasha in her youth, was exceptionally vulnerable to wagers. This was the source for each and every one of their losses, so, after a moment of consideration, Vahn decided to set a trap, asserting, "If I was serious about injuring you, I could easily cut, bruise, or even burn your skin..." Flipping right side up, Wu adopted a cautious yet skeptical look on her face as she asked, "Are you trying to bait me into a wager?" While it was true that most of her defeats could be attributed to her prideful and fearless nature, that didn''t mean Wu waspletely oblivious to the machinations of others. She possessed an instinct bordering on the precognitive, so, the moment Vahn made his assertion, her guard was raised. Was she going to back down? No way in hell. She wouldn''t be the most ''fearless'' in all of Heaven if she tucked her tail and ran away. As it infringed upon his pride to lie and deceive people, Vahn shrugged in response to Wu''s words, saying, "I won''t deny it. However, my reason for doing so is in response to your previous im. You may think your indestructibility is invible but there are plenty of ways to circumvent it without a Gift Game. Knowing this, I simply decided to point it out...how you interpret that is ultimately up to you..." Adopting a rather vicious-looking smile on her face, the tufts of hair above Wu''s monkey-like ears began to fray as her hair became noticeably spikier. For a very brief moment, Vahn thought she was about to go Super Saiyan. Instead, the smile on her face grew to the point he thought it was going to tear her face as she said, "You cheeky little lizard. Fine. I''ll take the bait. Tell me the terms of your wager. If they''re fair, I''ll ept without hesitation." Adding fuel to the fire, Vahn shook his head, stating, "It doesn''t matter what the terms are. Even apletely one-sided wager where I stand to gain nothing is unfair to my opponent. After all, there is absolutely nothing you can do to win. It doesn''t matter if you cheat ore up with bogus rules that make it nearly impossible to win. My victory may as well be predetermined." With her ability to deduce truth from lies, Wu couldn''t help tensing in response to Vahn''s words. In spite of this, the smile on her face was unaffected. She refused to take Vahn''s words lying down, so, understanding there was a chance he merely believed his words to be true, Wu extended her hand, palm up as she said, "We''ll keep it simple then. You''ll have ten seconds to try and inflict an injury on my hand. If I win, everything you possess, have possessed, or will possess will belong to me. You wille to stay with me on Mount Huoguo and spend the rest of eternity attending to my every want and need..." Feeling an uncontainable giddiness spreading through her body, Wu, for only the second time in her life, felt nervous. If Vahn actually epted her wager and lost, they would be together for the rest of eternity. This wasn''t an exaggeration either, as, due to the number of Immortal Peaches she had consumed, her lifespan had already been extended by tens of billions of years. Her name had also been erased from the Book of Mortals, so, even if something was able to destroy her body, her spirit would persist until the end of existence itself... Though she would never admit it, Wu was genuinely afraid of spending her eternity alone, so, after a brief pause, her frenzied smile gradually developed into a more serious expression as she added, "If you win...I''ll let you do whatever you want, whenever you want, to my body. Even if you decided to cut me into pieces and use my flesh to produce the Elixir of Immortality, I wouldn''t offer any kind of resistance..." Realizing that Vahn might be the only person who could kill her if his ims proved to be true, Wu decided to ce her body on the line as coteral. She was pretty sure he wouldn''t actually cut her up or make her do anything she didn''t want to do, so, even if he gained the right to do whatever he wanted to her body, Wu wasn''t particrly concerned. They may have only known each other for a day or two but she could already tell Vahn was a big softie... Demonstrating this, an exasperated sigh escaped Vahn''s mouth as he adopted a visibly concerned expression and said, "You shouldn''t be so quick to wager your body like that..." Snorting through her nose, Wu resisted the urge to point out she was basically demanding his very existence as she said, "You''re the one who said I could decide the rules and wager. If you back out now, it will be my victory by default. So much for your ''predetermined'' victory..." Emphasizing her point, a golden Geass Roll unfurled a few meters away from the sofa Vahn and Wu were entangled on. The Central Network closely monitored things like promises and wagers, so, the moment Vahn relinquished the right to negotiate, a Geass Roll matching Wu''s terms was formed. In other words, unless she decided to annul the contract, he had no choice but to ept. Resisting the urge to run his hand through his hair, Vahn answered, "Very well..." before reaching out and cing the index finger of his right hand against Wu''s palm. The ten-second countdown had started the moment he agreed to Wu''s terms, so, without hesitation, Vahn covered the tip of his finger with Source Energy before heating it up to more than a million degrees in an instant. He had a decent understanding of Wu''s durability so a lower temperature wouldn''t have had any effect on her body. As she could feel pain in spite of her indestructibility, Wu didn''t immediately register the fact the center of her palm had been burned. It was only when the Geass Roll burned up, long before the ten-second countdown hadpletely, that she realized the truth. In spite of this, she still couldn''t quite believe it when she pulled back her hand and discovered a charred blister at the center of her palm... "Impossible..." Shaking his head, Vahn''s expression softened as he whispered, "Nothing is impossible...I don''t refer to myself as the God of Infinite Possibilities just because I think it sounds cool. In fact,pared to some of my other titles, it sounds prettyme..." Smiling in self-deprecation, Vahn extended his hand to grasp Wu''s wrist. This caused her body to tense, but, due to her loss, she was now wholly incapable of resisting anything Vahn wanted to do to her. She could attempt to run away, but, the moment he told her toe back, her body would move against her will. This was one of the more terrifying aspects of cing your body on the line, as, depending on the choices of the person who owned it, you would basically be a prisoner in your own body. Fortunately, just as Wu had anticipated, Vahn had no desire to take advantage of her. After healing the burn on her palm, he promptly released her wrist before dering, "As the owner of your body, I exercise my right to transfer ownership back to you. Make sure to take care better care of yourself from now on, okay?" Taking advantage of the brief period where the Central Network was processing his request, Vahn gave Wu''s head one final pat. Her stupefied expression was one of the cutest things he had ever seen. Unfortunately, the moment the corners of his smile turned upward, Wu''s expression turned into a rather fierce re as she promptly pounced on him, rage, indignation, and embarrassment visible in her glowing green eyes as she began hammering his face with meteoric punches... Chapter 2174: Breaking Down the Walls of the Heart

Chapter 2174: Breaking Down the Walls of the Heart

"Feel better...?" After allowing Wu to wail on him for the better part of ten minutes, the power behind the petite monkey girls punches gradually waned. In the end, she was just sitting atop his stomach with a pouty expression on her face. Balling her right hand into a fist, Wu gave Vahn yet another punch as she asked, "Why did you do it? You had one of the strongest beings in the Little Garden at your beck and call and you decided to just free me? You could have sent me on a suicide run to the South and I wouldnt have had any choice but to obey. Tell me, why did you cut me loose so quickly? I mean, you didnt even..." Unamused by the wry smile on Vahns face, Wu grabbed the sides of his head as if she were about to headbutt him. Instead, she brought her face close enough that their noses were touching before asking, "Is this some game to try and win my heart? What, you arent satisfied with just my body...?" Shaking his head, Vahn opened his mouth to answer. The moment he did so, Wu attempted to steal his lips only to fall face-first into the pulverized remains of the sofa. There, she remained for several seconds, her face nted into the spot where Vahns had been as her tail twitched vigorously from side to side. Having phased through the frustrated monkey girl, Vahn whisked out a recement sofa from his Inventory before sitting down and exining, "Listen...youre a charming girl, Wu. Your personality leaves a lot to be desired but I would be lying if I said you werent adorably attractive. The simple truth of the matter is that I didnte here with those kinds of intentions. I also have no need for additional power, and, even if I were to try and win you over to my side, I would never do so using such...underhanded methods..." Shaking his head, Vahn inhaled a deep breath before adding, "Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, youre not the kind of woman who can y well with others. I have a harem that has long exceeded a hundred members. My family is also growing even as we speak. Im not going to jeopardize their happiness just to alleviate your boredom..." As if her batteries had run out, Wus tail spontaneously went limp. "...are you trying to say there are more than a hundred women better than me?" Suppressing an exasperated sigh, Vahn answered, "You know damn well that wasnt the intention behind my words. Im being honest with you, Wu. Stop regarding everything I say as part of some grand conspiracy to get you to fall in love..." Using her tail, Wu pushed herself over before rising to a seated position. To Vahns surprise, she actually had a relieved look on her face as she said, "Thats good. If you had tried to argue those women were better than me, I would have had no choice but to seek them out and challenge each and every one of them. This makes things a lot simpler..." Simr to how Einas panties would be transparent when she was aroused, the fabric of Wus martial attire became reminiscent of thin silk as she adopted a cheeky smile and said, "I never had any intention of marrying you or bing something like your lover. Hell, unless you had forced me to, theres no way I was just going to abandon my home. I just want to have sex with someone stronger than myself. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a handsome man that matches that basic requirement?" As her clothing gradually dissipated into a mist-like substance, Wu rolled forward, tumbling in a way that allowed her to seamlessly transition into a somersault. This brought her right in front of Vahn, an uncharacteristically serious look on her face as she said, "Lets be fuck buddies. Im tired of being a virgin and youre probably the only decent person outside the 1-3-Digit Gates that can take it from me. If you reject me...Im honestly not sure what Ill do..." Though she would neverpromise on her desire to prank him, Vahn was the first person Wu had ever met who was both approachable and stronger than she was. Everyone else that couldpete with her in strength was either an eldritch abomination, an emotionless killing machine, or a female. Every other man she had ever taken an interest in was either too weak, taken by someone else, or aplete and utter monster in terms of personality. Finding someone that was powerful, kind, and unwilling to take advantage of others was like stumbling upon the winning ticket to a lottery in the middle of the street... Noticing the hint of desperation contained in Wus emerald green eyes, an almost overwhelming urge to sigh swelled from the very core of Vahns being. A part of him was tempted to just create a Temte or introduce her to one of the people back in his personalized Little Garden. It just wasnt in his nature. The person Wu had decided to give her virginity to was him, so, even if he did refuse her, there was no way in hell he could just send a recement like she was just some prize waiting to be imed... "You really dont give up until you get what you want, do you...?" Sensing the direction things were going, a visibly relieved smile developed across Wus face as she cheekily replied, "Youre learning..." Adopting a smile of his own, Vahn extended his hand ine hither gesture as he teased, "And youre about to..." epting Vahns outstretched hand, a surprised yelp emanated from Wus throat as he promptly pulled her to sit with her back against his chest. Then, before she could even think to protest, he ced one hand on her abdomen before leaning down to nibble on her rounded, monkey-like ear. "Ah! What...what the hell do you think youre doing...!?" As his left hand traced up Wus abdomen, Vahn answered, "Lesson one...forey..." before grabbing her right breast. She had moderately sized B-Cups even without utilizing her 72 Transformations, so, while they were strangely hard, they fitfortably in the palm of his hand. This made them perfect for groping, so, while his right hand reced his lefts position on her abdomen, Vahn proceeded to gently knead Wus breast before whispering, "Feel free to tap out whenever you want..." Hearing Vahns words, Wu ceased biting her bottom lip long enough to reach back, hands grasping his hair as she asserted, "Sun Wu Kong never quits..." Chuckling softly in the face of the monkey girls bravado, Vahn habitually manipted the flow of time in their surroundings until they were practically cut off from the rest of the world. Then, as his right hand slowly descended below her navel, he softly mused, "Theres a first time for everything. Youre about to experience several..." Opening her mouth, Wu was about to riposte when an rming shiver ran from the very core of her being to her brain. At first, she didnt understand what happened, as, the moment the jolt hit her, a blindingly golden card manifested a few centimeters away from her nose. When she read what was on the card, the pupils of her eyes contracted to fine points as Vahns middle finger came to rest on her precious little bean... ... .. . "How are you feeling...?" After one of the most passionate sessions of lovemaking she had ever experienced, ck Rabbit was in such a daze that she simply regarded Vahns words as an auditory hallucination. They had literally gone at it for days, and, towards the end, she wasnt even sure where her body ended and Vahns began. It was like they had be a singr entity, and, now that they had separated, it was like an integral part of her being had been removed... Recognizing the symptoms of what Da Vinci referred to as Vahnistic Dependency, an apologetic smile developed across Vahns face as he bent down to nt a kiss between ck Rabbits ears. He had tried to hold back, but, the longer they went at it, the more impassioned the lovable bunny girl became. Things eventually reached a point where he simply couldnt satisfy her using conventional methods, so, after exining the process mid-coitus, they ended up melding for nearly thirty hours straight. Simr to ck Rabbit, there had been a moment when Vahn felt as though they were one and the same. He now knew everything there was to know about the perpetually pink-haired rabbit, and, if he really wanted to, there was a fair chance he could even deceive the Central Network if he were to transform into her. In exchange, ck Rabbit had been given a brief look into the iprehensible vastness of his existence. Such an experience was life-changing, and, more often than not, resulted in a state of mind that could best be characterized as enlightenment... With her spiritual power exploding far beyond its previous limits, the only thing preventing ck Rabbit from developing to her next stage of growth was the fertilized egg within her womb. Her body was instinctually routing all the excess energy towards the developing fetus, and, as a result, her hair was semi-permanently affixed in a vibrant, nearly-red shade of pink. Some might assume that ck Rabbits pink hair was responsible for the amorous aura that now exuded from her body. Instead, it was the fact she had awakened a Divinity rted to Sex halfway through their melding. For reasons Vahn was well aware of but chose not to acknowledge, his sex life was the part of his memories that ck Rabbit had been most drawn to whilst they were connected. She now knew the full extent of his rtionships with other women, and, as a result, her libido had flowered into something even he wasnt fully confident in handling. Fortunately, unlike Divinities in the Lower Realms, Divinities in the Little Garden could be sealed in the form of Gifts. ck Rabbit could also give up her Divinity in a simr manner to Leticia, so, as worrying as the existence of an S-Rank Sex Divinity was, Vahn chose to believe ck Rabbit would be able to ovee it. He knew, even better than herself, how strong she was. Thus, once the initial high had worn off, she should return to her usual, bubbly, and somewhat naive self. As tantalizing as the thought of an S-Rank Bunny Goddess of Sex was, Vahn would rather enjoy a nice and leisurely session of lovemaking. He didnt mind experimenting, but, unless she sincerely wanted to try a new y or position, he would prefer it if ck Rabbit remained the same loveable bunny he had nearly fallen in love with at first sight... With that thought in mind, Vahn held ck Rabbits indescribably soft body as tenderly as possible before whispering, "I love you..." in a soothing tone that caused the surrounding space to fluctuate under thepulsion of his Authority. In response, ck Rabbits ears twitched, and, though there was a distant look in her vibrant, glowing red eyes, she still managed a faint smile as she replied, "I love you too..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: Wu is a bit of an idiot...,A very lucky idiot...,S-Rank whenpared to every being in existence? Too spooky for me...) (A/N: Sorry for thete chapter. After releasing a chapter of NOICE, the pain in my leg started acting up so I decided to rest in bed and watch a Netflix series called Manifest. Its pretty fucking bad, but, much like watching a car crash, I couldnt tear my eyes away from it xD...) Chapter 2175: Tolerance

Chapter 2175: Tolerance

Though Wus disposition gave the impression she would enjoy a rougher experience, Vahn decided to go with the gentle yet methodical route instead. There were a number of reasons for this but the most important thing was to subvert Wus expectations. She expected him to treat her roughly, so, instead of behaving like a wild beast, he introduced her to a world of pleasure one systematic step at a time. "Lesson five...aftercare..." After gently yet thoroughly ravishing the befuddled monkey girls body, Vahn used cleaning magic to rid her of the evidence of their lovemaking before wrapping her up like a burrito using a series of heated nkets. At the same time, he drastically lowered the surrounding temperature so her head and face would be cool while her body retained the warmth it had umted during sex. Then, a version of himself remained at her side while another split off to prepare a meal. Following the departure of the second Vahn with her eyes, Wu was d she hadnt chosen to make use of her clones partway through the experience. Her intention would have been to prove she was more woman than he could handle. Instead, she would have simply increased the number of people he had to bully... Exhaling a sigh of relief, Wus body tensed when Vahn issued a light chuckle and asked, "Did I just hear the most fearless woman in Heaven exhale a sigh of relief? How peculiar..." Shrinking into the nkets Vahn had wrapped around her body, Wus only response was a grumpy, "Shut up...". This elicited another chuckle from Vahn, but, unlike the previous one, it waspletely silent due to a makeshift magical barrier. He also disguised it by snuggling closer to the petite and pouty monkey, his left hand resting on her abdomen so he could assist in the gradual conversion of Source into Heavenly Qi. Though she couldnt sense Source, Wu could feel Vahn circting her energy through her body. In many ways, this was even more intimate than having sex, as, depending on the nature of the person manipting your energy, they could cripple you on a whim. Prior to meeting Vahn, Wu never had to worry about such things. Her Qi Network, energy channels, and meridians were even more indestructible than her body. The Gods of the Heavenly Domain had once attempted more than 72,000 methods to try and execute her, but, no matter how painful their methods were, she managed to persevere and get her revenge by pestering and pranking them at every opportunity. Now that she had finally met someone with the ability to harm her, Wu couldnt help feeling giddy as Vahn circted her Qi with a finesse she would be hard-pressed to emte. It was almost like he understood the structure of her body better than she did... As that thought crossed Wus mind, so too did the memories of Vahns slow and steady invasion of her body. She had expected him to forcibly pry her open with his gargantuan penis, but, after more than an hour of forey, her body had basically invited him in. Then, over a period of time that was difficult to grasp, her insides slowly changed to amodate him... "Im starting to understand why you turned Nezha down...if she had endured something like this, I dont think her manly facade would havested. Her rtionship with Bing Bing would alsoe to an end as theres no way in hell that bottom brat could match up to...whatever the hell you want to call this..." Though she was tempted to call it lovemaking, the words got caught in Wus throat. She refused to believe she had fallen in love after putting up a strong front and effectively forcing Vahn to be her sex friend/fuck buddy. Now, even if Vahn was the one to confess, she would probably tease him for being sentimental... Exhaling yet another sigh, Wu was relieved when Vahn didntment on it. Instead, he just kissed the top of her head. This reinforced just how considerate the man was, so much so that Wu found it difficult to believe he was actually a Pure Blooded Dragon... ... .. . While waiting along the outskirts of the Heavenly City, Vors attention was caught by an inordinatelyrge white raven. Upon nearing her, it promptly transformed into a lovely, twin-tailed girl with pure white hair, grey-blue eyes that appeared to be able to prate all of creation, and a pristine white dress that resembled a wedding gown. "Lady Muninn..." Kneeling the moment the markedly shorter woman appeared, Vor lowered her head in respect as Muninn, better known as the White Raven, adopted a slight smile and said, "Its been quite a while since Ist departed the South. This had better not be a waste of time..." Without raising her head, Vor exined, "Though I was unable to confirm the abilities of the Sage Dragon directly, his subordinates are strong enough to go toe-to-toe with the strongest members of the Heavenly Domain. One of them, Mikoto Mason, was even able to manifest an ability simr to the End Emptiness..." Tensing the moment she heard the familiar name, Muninns pupils contracted to fine points as she asked, "Are you absolutely certain...?" Though it was impossible for Vor to lie to her, Muninn simply couldnt believe the Valkyries words. End Emptiness, also known as the Wind of Decadence, was the sobriquet of the most terrifying Last Embryo in existence. It was the manifestation of pure nothingness, a paradoxical non-existence that rendered even Divinitypletely meaningless. Instead of answering with words, Vor simply nodded her head. She had once encountered the End Emptiness prior to the destruction of the original Little Garden, so, while members of the younger generation might not recognize it, she would never forget the existential dread that apanied staring into the void of nothingness. Inhaling a sharp breath, Muninn stared at the outer walls of the Heavenly City with uncharacteristic trepidation in her gaze. For a brief moment, she found herself seriously considering initializing the Gungnir Protocol, an apocalyptic weapons system that the White Raven Community had spent thest three hundred years developing. It existed in the form of tens of thousands of orbital tforms that hovered just below the barrier surrounding the Divine Realm. When activated, the Gungnir Protocol could be used to strike any location within the Little Garden with invible precision and remarkable destructive potential. It was intended to be a trump card to be used against the Demon Gods Army, but, now that she had learned of the existence of a being capable of weaponizing the End Emptiness, Muninn was seriously considering its use against Vahn and Mikoto... Fortunately, for everyone involved, Muninncked the authority to initiate the Gungnir Protocol at her leisure. The only reason the Norse Faction had been authorized to construct such a ridiculous weapon system was tobat the threat of the Demon God. If they attempted to use it as a means to pressure or eliminate their enemies, the rulers of the Little Garden wouldnt hesitate to destroy it. Understanding this, it didnt take long for Muninn to suppress her destructive instincts. Instead, she attempted to be optimistic, asking, "What are your impressions of the Sage Dragon? Is he someone we can work with...?" Though she now had a deeply ingrained fear of Mikoto, Vor still nodded in response to Muninns question, answering, "It would appear his title of Sage is not without merit. Despite being a Pure-Blooded Dragon, he exudes a calming aura reminiscent of the World Tree. He was also quick toe to the aid of others. So long as we approach him with sincerity, I dont think he would refuse us..." "Sincerity..." As the meaning of sincerity differed from person to person, a thoughtful expression developed across Muninns face. She knew very little about Vahn, but, based on Vors testimony, she could assume he was either a truly benevolent or an extremely machinating individual. Either way, she needed more information regarding his wants and needs if she was going to cut a deal with him. "Your report mentioned the Sage Dragons willingness to engage in a flirtatious exchange. What is the probability of seducing him?" Shaking her head, data points began to sh across Vors eyes as she answered, "While the chances of bedding him are quite high, I dont think it can be used as leverage. If my analysis is correct, even the insinuation of such an exchange might offend him..." "Oh? You make it sound as though he is promiscuous yet principled..." Raising her head, Vors expression resembled ake on a windless night as she rified, "There is a 93.057% probability he possesses a Divinity rted to Sex." Understanding what Vor was trying to say, an exasperated sigh escaped Muninns throat. Gods of Sex regarding physical intimacy in the same manner others might regard a casual conversation. It was possible to convince them by making a concerted effort, but, unlike the majority of men and women who could be swayed with promises of pleasure, they were the source of such emotions. In other words, it was almost impossible to entice a God of Sex with Sex unless you possessed an even greater Divinity... "Well, at least that gets us in the same room as him..." Fortunately, while it might be difficult to leverage sex against them, sex was still a convenient tool against Gods of Sex. Unless they had a reason to refuse, most wouldnt even think to turn down the opportunity to bed a member of the opposite sex. Thus, so long as you had the stamina to keep up with them, you could virtually monopolize their attention. There were even instances of Gods of Sex being imprisoned for years just because their Divinity made it impossible for them to be the first to quit... Raising her brows, Vor was surprised to feel a faint giddiness in her abdominal region. She doubted a Dragon yer such as herself would be appointed the task, but, rather than feeling disgusted by the notion of bedding one of her mortal enemies, she actually felt excited. She didnt know if it was because of the nostalgic aura that exuded from his body or because he had casually dismissed her offer to do battle. Either way, she still wanted a piece of him... "I will send a message to Sigrun and ask her to deploy Hrist. Until then, you will keep an eye on the Sage Dragon. If the opportunity presents itself, see if you can join the Sage Dragons Hearth. Even if were unable to act against him, we might be able to leverage his support by discovering one of his weaknesses. Can you handle this?" Restraining a sigh at the mention of Hrist, Vor disguised her disappointment by lowering her head and answering, "Of course. I am the Spear of the Allfather. If anyone is qualified to prate enemy lines, it is I..." As she had literally been deployed to the Heavenly Domain for this exact reason, Vor was confident in her ability to be a member of the Sage Dragons Hearth. There was absolutely nothing she wasnt willing to sacrifice in the pursuit of her mission, so, unless Vahn simply refused to ept new members, convincing him to let her join was a small matter. Nodding her head in approval, pure white wings emerged from Muninns lower back as she said, "I have absolute confidence in your capabilities. Even so, I wish you the best of luck, Vor Valkyria. May the Blessing of the Allfather keep you safe in the trying times toe..." Since it might cause problems if she lingered in the Heavenly Domain for too long, Muninn directed her gaze toward the intent observing her in the sky before offering a polite bow. The Jade Emperor had been closely monitoring their conversation from the very beginning so she was obligated to at least acknowledge him before reverting back to a white raven and flying away. After all, she was the Leader of a 4-Digit Community. It would be quite the faux pas if she trespassed his territory without greeting him... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: Step Five: Roll that bitch into a burrito...,The most terrifying non-existence in all of creation o_o...,The Jade Emperor is a voyeur...) Chapter 2176: Machinations

Chapter 2176: Machinations

Since Meng Zhang hadn''t even bothered to send a courier, Vahn decided he wasn''t going to y the prideful dragon''s game. Instead, he wrapped up a few small matters with Eng Shen, Nuuba, and Xiao Yue before informing Wu of his departure. They had been cohabitating the Celestial Star Gazing Pavilion for the past two and a half months, divergent axis, so he was fully expecting her to make a scene. "Huh? You''re leaving?" Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn exined, "I have a Community to manage and a number of preparations toplete before our promotional Gift Game. Hanging out with you has been pretty fun but there are more important matters for me to attend." Demonstrating none of the pep and vigor she was known for, Wu was clearly searching her head for a solution when she suddenly ced her hand over her belly and stated, "I''m pregnant" in an uncharacteristically meek tone. As it was quite literally impossible for him not to know, Vahn adopted a deadpan expression on his face as he said, "No, you''re not" Clicking her tongue, Wu grumbled, "Asshole" before entering another ruminative silence. She had be rather fond ofzing about and having Vahn take care of her so the prospect of his sudden departure wasinconvenient, to say the least "This is too sudden. You should have told me at least a month ago if you were going to leave. You can''t alter my tastebuds to your cooking and change my insides to the shape of your cock and just leave. At least give me time to wean" Having already anticipated such an argument, Vahn produced a jade ring from his Inventory. There was more than a decade''s worth of food on the inside, so, even if Wu stuffed herself to the brim, it should stillst her a month or two. While other girls might have been excited by the prospect of receiving a ring, Wu snorted through her nose before swatting it at a reality-altering speed. The ring''s durability allowed it to withstand the blow, but, as a result, it ended up prating through the foundation of the Jade Pce like aser before descending into the Mortal Domain like a meteor "" Seeing the unamused deadpan on Vahn''s face, Wu adopted a somewhat defiant look as she asked, "What? Do I look like the kind of woman who wears trinkets and essories? I might consider it if you begged me to marry you. Other than that, there''s no way in hell you can pacify me with just a ring" Conveniently ignoring the fact she was wearing no less than seven essories, two of which were rings, Wu crossed her arms in preparation for what Vahn would say or do next. Rolling his eyes, Vahn undermined Wu''s defiant posture by extending his hands to frame the sides of her face. Her rounded, monkey-like ears grew on the sides of her head rather than the top, so, as his thumbs rested on her slightly flushed cheeks, the tips of his fingers dug into the fringe located behind her ears. This quickly shattered the illusion of her defiance, as, even if she wanted to resist, Wu was powerless in the face of his Godhand "Listen closely, Wu" Opening her half-lidded eyes, an embarrassed and somewhat mncholic expression developed across Wu''s face as she looked up to meet Vahn''s gaze. When she saw him smiling down at her, a faint yet audible throbbing could be heard as he said, "You don''t need to make excuses if you want to spend more time together. If you want me to stay just say it. I''m a God of Time. While there are a number of pressing matters that require my attention, I also have all the time in the world" Though she had gradually gotten used to Vahn''s almost overbearing sincerity, Wu couldn''t prevent the palpitation of her heart whenever he held her gently or stared into her eyes. It was like he could see through to the most vulnerable parts of her existence, but, rather than condemning her for her weakness, there was nothing but empathy andpassion in his unfathomably deep, aquamarine eyes Feeling as though she might get lost in said eyes, Wu promptly averted her own as she muttered, "I don''t know what you''re talking about" Restraining a light chuckle, Vahn tilted his head slightly to draw Wu''s gaze as he whispered, "That''s a shameI was looking forward to preparing a banquet and binge-watching some anime. I suppose that''ll have to wait till my next visit" Releasing his hold on Wu''s head, Vahn motioned to leave only to feign surprise when Wu promptly pounced on his back, her arms, legs, and tail wrapping around him like indestructible chains as she bit the tip of his ear in frustration. She really wanted to ask him to stay but it was almost impossible for her to vocalize such sentiments. This was something she had hinted at multiple times, so, unless he was unbelievably dense, Wu knew Vahn was just teasing her. Proving her suspicions, Wu was slightly creeped out when Vahn''s body suddenly ''inverted'' on itself so that she was suddenly straddling his front. Then, as per usual, his hands gravitated towards her butt as he leaned down to whisper, "You''re adorable" before nting a kiss on her lips. This gave Wu an almost overwhelming urge to bite his lips, but, the moment Vahn''s fingers began to knead her bottom, such notions were quickly banished to the back of her mind . "With the support of the Jade Pce, the only thing we''re reallycking is the requisite number of subordinate Communities. How are things going in the West and North?" Though there was a teleportation nexus in the basement of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, Vahn had gathered each of his Subordinate Community Leaders via projection magic. They were all seated around an oval-shaped table, as, despite regarding his lovers as his equals, the guidelines of the Central Network required that conference rooms be structured in such a way that the hierarchy between attending Communities was apparent. As the de facto head of operations in the West, it was Da Vinci who replied, "We experienced a few minor issues at the start but things have been going smoothly ever since our Alliance with the Sage Dragon Riders was made public." Piggybacking off of Da Vinci''s words, Mordred rubbed the underside of her nose with a massive grin on her face as she said, "Those bastards thought they could pressure us with their tech but their mechs might as well be toys in front of an Imperial Dragon. My Community is undefeated in seventeen Gift Games thus far. If it wasn''t for those paper-pushing scumbags and those wannabe heroes mucking things up with their deceptions and schemes, we would have already secured our status as a 5-Digit Community." As Communities in the West were effectively nations, the requirements for upying a lower-digit Gate were different than the other three regions. More specifically, there were infrastructure and poption requirements that could only be circumvented if you were part of an existing Nation or Alliance. It was possible to start a business and climb through the ranks of an existing Community, but, more often than not, this involved cutting deals andpromising on your principles just to be a cog in a broken machine. Da Vinci was basically starting her own country, so, from the moment her intentions were made clear, the existing factions had been doing everything in their power to nder and put pressure on her. They have even triedbeling her a Superviin imposing sanctions on the goods herpany was producing, but, unlike the majority of Communities in the West, Da Vinci didn''t have to concern herself with profits or purchasing supplies. If it weren''t for the deadline Vahn had given them at the start, she wouldn''t even require the assistance of the Sage Dragon Riders. "That''s good to hear. The West Side has more than 40% of the Little Garden''s poption. It is also the region that will require the most oversight once the Aldrnari Empire has been established so the work you''re doing now will serve as the foundation for our future endeavors." Smiling faintly in response to Vahn''s words, Da Vinci yfully teased, "Oh myit seems I''ll need to work a little harder". As for Mordred, she simply adopted a toothy and somewhat fierce smile, as, ever since she had be the Leader of a Community, her Divinity rted to War was seeing a lot of use After chuckling in response to Da Vinci''s yful retort, Vahn briefly directed an affectionate smile toward Mordred before turning to meet the gaze of Semiramis. The North was the most peaceful region after the East so her Community, the Hanging Gardens, was alone in its task of gathering information in preparation for his future takeover. Though it wascking the undertones of love and affection she exhibited towards Vahn and her daughters, Semiramis managed a smile in spite of the general disdain she had for nearly every other woman in the room. It had only been thirteen years since the time of her summoning, so, while she had made an effort to befriend people like Eva, Iris, and Medusa, Semiramis tended to avoid interacting with people outside her very small social circle. "If things go well, Ebony and Raven should be infiltrating the Smandra Community as attendants of their future Leader, Sandora Doldrake. Their ages are less than two years apart so they have had little trouble befriending the troubled heiress." Having ''suffered'' at the hands of his mischievous daughters quite a bit, Vahn couldn''t help smiling wryly in response to Semiramis''s words. At the same time, he was happy they were making friends, as, due to their peculiarities, they typically only associated with each other. It was simply ''easier'' that way, as, much like Maemi and Emiru, the two shared a remarkable bond that allowed them to know each other''s thoughts without directmunication. "Just make sure they don''t go poisoning the poorss. There''s a decent chance that Sandora might be my adoptive daughter in the future so don''t allow them to bully her" Though the look in her eyes was reminiscent of a snake that had just stumbled upon a rat, the smile on Semiramis''s face appeared more amused than malicious as she sensually replied, "Worry not, my beloved Emperor. Though I cannot predict what the future may hold, there is currently only a single person our daughters are interested in poisoning" Understanding exactly who Semiramis'' was referring to, a dryugh emanated from Vahn''s throat. Fortunately, while Semiramis was a literal disaster in the kitchen, Ebony and Raven had learned the art of cooking from Bennienma. Thus, while everything they prepared was poisoned, Vahn enjoyed their meals nearly as much as he enjoyed Rindo''s Adopting a reminiscent smile, Vahn nodded in approval before answering, "I see. I''ll be sure to stop by more often to make sure that remains the case for the foreseeable future. Do you mind if I bring Stheno and Euryale along? It''s been a while since they had a ydate with Ebony and Raven." As Medusa, Stheno, and Euryale were among the people she allowed free passage in the Hanging Gardens, Semiramis didn''t hesitate to nod in affirmation. The trio of Gorgons had some of the most powerful venoms she had ever analyzed, so, even if Vahn hadn''t given the excuse of a ydate, she would have happily epted them into her home . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn really enjoys teasing strong-willed women xD'',''Da Vinci was already Last Boss material. Now she has Boss level adds!?'',''Only in the Aldrnari n'') Chapter 2177: Stop-Gap

Chapter 2177: Stop-Gap

With the meetinging to an end after a short discussion regarding potential allies, Vahn left the conference room to find Sarina sitting out in the hallway. Plopping down next to her, Vahn gently nudged her shoulder with his own, asking, "What''s up? Did you get in an argument with someone?" Exhaling a sigh, Sarina shook her head before resting it against Vahn''s shoulder and answering, "I tried sparring with Mash and Lotte" "Ah" Understanding what the issue was, Vahn grasped Sarina''s left hand with his right before nting a kiss atop her head and saying, "You''re not weak, Sarina. You just need time. Mash might appear to be around the same age as you but she has been training ever since she was a very young girl. As for Lotte, she is several thousand years older" Though she nodded her head in understanding, Sarina''s mood hadn''t improved as much as Vahn would have liked. The core issue wasn''t that she was weak, it was the fact she was weak in spite of being the Vice Leader of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. "Hmm" Sensing the internal conflict in Sarina''s mind, Vahn''s immediately kicked into overdrive. There were actually a number of solutions to the problems currently guing her. One was a prize that otherspeted for, so, after a moment of deliberation, he asked, "Would you like to try spending some time in an Actualized World? We can go together and I can support you while you assist others in saving the world" Perking up the moment she heard Vahn''s words, a radiant smile developed across Sarina''s face as she eximed, "I want to go to Dragon Ball! If I learn how to control and manipte Ki, I can easily be stronger!" Resisting the urge to point out more than half the members of his harem could teach her how to control and manipte Ki, Vahn just nodded his head, saying, "Sure thing. Is there a specific point in the timeline you wanted to start from?" Understanding this was her opportunity to spend a lot of alone time with Vahn, a mischievous smile developed across Sarina''s face as she answered, "I want to start from the very beginning. Back when Bulma and Goku had first met." Though he didn''t actually mind, Vahn couldn''t help furrowing his brows, asking, "Are you sure? At your current level, you could easily defeat most opponents prior to the Z timeline. If we arrive near the beginning of the series timeline, it''ll take upwards of thirty years to reach the events in Super" With an even bigger grin on her face, Sarina replied, "I know. To close the gap between me and the others, I need at least that much time. Besides, I''d rather start early so that we can change a few of the things I didn''t like about the original series. Like, how did Bulma end up with Vegeta? He wasn''t that bad by Super but the guy was aplete nutjob throughout the Android, Cell, and Majin Buu Sagas!" Resisting the urge to point out there was a Vegeta among his Temtes, Vahn just issued a light chuckle before squeezing Sarina''s hand and saying, "Well, if that''s what you want" . Following Vahn''s and Sarina''s disappearance from the hallway, a period of thirty-seven years transpired in an instant. In that time, Sarina''s power had increased by leaps and bounds. She was far from the most powerful woman in Vahn''s harem, but,pared to her previous self, she may as well be a different person. Though her face maintained a youthful glow, Sarina was no longer the same sixteen-year-old girl that had descended into the Actualized World of Dragon Ball. An aura of confidence now exuded from her curvaceous body and, while her proportions remained rtively unchanged, she now possessed lithe yet powerful muscles capable of leveling mountains. Near the beginning of her training, Sarina had been worried that muscles, even small ones, wouldpletely ruin her appearance. Now, simr to the spiky-haired woman at her side, she elected to wear clothes that showed off her back, shoulder, and abdominal muscles. They were her pride and joy, as, rather than appearing even remotely ugly or repulsive, they enhanced her beauty and made her appear more powerful. "Is this really the Divine Realm? The air feels a bit different but I don''t see what makes it so special." Punctuating her words, the woman who had spoken, a petite beauty with spikey golden hair, lithe yet well-defined muscles, and a monkey-like tail began to re up her aura. This earned a number of exasperated sighs from her surroundings, as, despite entering the Actualized World with Sarina alone, Vahn had returned with an additional twenty-three people in tow. Appearing next to the perennially blonde beauty, Vahn ruffled the woman''s mass of hair as he said, "Cauliit hasn''t even been fifteen minutes since you promised to be on your best behavior. Don''t make me put you on probation" At 155cm tall, Cauli was the perfect height for Vahn to caress at his leisure. The thing that would have surprised most people was the fact that she actually let him get away with it. As for the reason, well, Cauli was prideful to a fault. She had challenged Vahn a total of 1,538 times, each wagering that the defeated party would have to do what the victor said. Vahn hade out ahead in 1,533 of these challenges, so, while she would still re at him, Cauli no longerined about having her head pat. Rather, based on the movements of her tail, she enjoyed it quite a bit. "Rx, old man. I''m not gonna run off and cause trouble. Just make sure you keep your promise to Kale and me. We''ve been waiting for nearly six years. If you don''t hurry and put buns in our ovens, we might start searching elsewhere" Though she would never run off before settling their score, Cauli really had grown impatient with Vahn. Her mother and grandmother had been pressing her to produce a sessor even before the Tournament of Power. Vahn''s resolution not to have children during his stay in the Actualized World had inconvenienced quite a number of people. If he kept making excuses, they were going to have to take matters into their own hands Feeling the gazes of several women lock onto him the moment Cauli mentioned cing buns in ovens, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he exined, "Don''t worry. Now that we''re in the Divine Realm, we just need to get everyone settled and up to speed. After that, I''m more than willing to keep my promises" With what could best be described as a triumphant smile, Cauli crossed her arms beneath her modest yet well-shaped breasts before retorting, "Good. I can''t speak for the others but Kale and I didn''t leave our Universe to follow some insincere pansy. Now, let''s hurry and get all the mundane bullsh*t out of the way. I''ve got an itch in my belly-" "Now wait just a minute you golden-haired bimbo! Don''t even think about cutting the line!" Realizing what Cauli was trying to pull, a mature blte immediately spoke out. This was none other than Bulma, who, despite being well over fifty, resembled a perfectly ripened woman in her mid-tote twenties. "Chi-Chi and I have known Vahn for the better part of thirty-seven years! If you think you''re the first in line to receive a baby, you really are a monkey-brained fool!" Clicking her tongue in response to Bulma''s words, Cauli didn''t even try to argue with the enraged blte. There was once a time when she would have readily butt heads with Bulma, but, ever since thetter afflicted her with an enchantment that made her butt itch in ordance with the amount of Ki she was using, Cauli had done her best to avoid offending her. Bulma may becking in raw power, but, as an Archmage recognized by the Gods, she was a terrifying foe with countermeasures against everyone and everything. Emting Cauli''s triumphant expression from before, Bulma stood with her arms akimbo as she stated, "The simplest method is to go in order of familiarity. Sarina would obviously be the first as she descended into the Actualized World alongside Vahn. After her would be me, Chi-Chi, my sister, Chronoa, Vados, and Kusu. It''s only after the six of us have been given a chance that you, Kale, and Marcarita will have a turn." Though Chi-Chi blushed fiercely in response to Bulma''s words, her hands cupping her cheeks, each of the other girls mentioned had rtively rxed smiled on their faces. This was especially true for Chronoa, Vados, Kusu, and Marcarita. They were each over a hundred million years old, and, despite developing a fondness for Vahn, thetter three had departed the Actualized World at the behest of their father, the Grand Priest. He was extremely interested in the worlds beyond, so, once it became clear that Vahn was an existence above even the Omni-King, he instructed his daughters to pursue but not pressure him. Glowering in response to Bulma''s words, Cauli was about to protest when Vahn startled everyone by separating into ten separate versions of himself and saying, "Now that we''re in the Divine Realm, the restrictions I forced upon my power''s have been removed. Things like ''turns'' no longer have any meaning" As even a single Vahn was an iprehensibly powerful existence, the presence of numerous was enough to leave therge group stunned. Chi-Chi even fainted, her face glowing bright crimson as she copsed into an eleventh Vahn''s embrace Having nipped the squabble between Cauli and Bulma in the bud, Vahn took advantage of the fact that everyone was focused on him to say, "Though many of you will be departing to create or join one of the Communities affiliated with the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, this estate serves as a central nexus of sorts. The rooms here have the potential to function as independent realms. You just need to let Will, the Guardian God of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, know what you want. After that, we''ll all reconvene in the dining room. A lot of introductions need to be made, and, despite no time passing while we were away, I imagine Sarina is eager to reunite with her friends and family. I know I am" Though it wasn''t his longest experience in an Actualized World, most of the memories Vahn had of their interior came from his Temtes. Even so, thirty-seven years was still a long time to be away from his family, so, while he wasn''t nearly as anxious as Sarina, he was yearning to spend time with his family, friends, and loved ones . (A/N: Since I''m sure everyone wants to know, the people who havee back from the Actualized World with Vahn are as follows: Sarina, Bulma, Chi-Chi, Tights, Broly, Chei, their three kids, Goku, Launch, Gohan, Krillin, Lazuli, Marron, Lapis, his wife and child, Chronoa, Vados, Kusu, Cauli, Kale, and Marcarita. Though it''s a bit spoilery, it should be pretty obvious that Vahn ended up with most of the aforementioned females. The only exceptions are Chei, who ended up with Broly, Launch, who ended up with Goku, and Lazuli, who ended up with Krillin. As for why Goku and several others wanted to follow along with Vahn, well, that should be pretty obvious. Vahn was a parental figure to both Goku and Broly. The others have their own reasons, but, for the sake of keeping at least a few secrets about the spin-off series, I won''t reveal them at the present moment. Anyways, this isn''t a part of the chapters I promised. I just figured I should have a ''filler'' chapter since there are quite a number of changes introduced as a result of Vahn''s time in the Actualized World. Also, when I said there were going to be 2-3 chapters of EPIC and 1 chapter of NOICE, I was specifically referring to today''s block, not yesterday''s. In other words, this is kind of a recement for the Update chapter I posted previously. There should be 3-4 more chapters before the 10 AM reset tomorrow morning. Sorry if I wasn''t as clear as I could have been.) (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Deja Vu'',''That''s one malicious curse'',''I wonder how many more years are going to pass before the next dawn xD?'') Chapter 2178: Tempo

Chapter 2178: Tempo

Though it took weeks to get everyone settled, only a few minutes had passed from the perspective of people outside the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Vahn and Da Vinci had gone to great lengths to make sure each of the territories affiliated with the Aldrnari Empire referenced the same temporal axis. As a result, they needed only to inform Will of their intentions and they would basically have as much time as they required. Taking advantage of this remarkably convenient function, Artoria, Eva, Rin, Luvia, Olga, Tamamo, Semiramis, Arika, Theo, Asuna, and pretty much everyone affiliated with the Council of Wives gave Vahn a lecture he wouldn''t soon forget. They weren''t actually upset with him. Rather, after learning how long he had been gone, they took it upon themselves to make sure he knew exactly how much they loved him. Fortunately, while a few of the girls did whisk her away for a ''very'' long discussion, no one med Sarina for the inordinately long delve into an Actualized World. They just wanted to hear her side of the story, and, more importantly, ascertain how her character might have changed. Even a few days with Vahn could be a transformative experience. Thirty-seven years may as well have turned her into apletely different person. Before her descent into the Actualized World of Dragon Ball, Sarina had beencking in power and confidence. Now, while her Authority andprehension werecking, she possessed enough raw power to go toe-to-toe with people like Yuri. She would eventually lose, but, considering thetter was hundreds of years old and possessed an even greater mastery of Ki, that wasn''t too surprising. Though she had the option of bing a Saiyan, Sarina elected to follow the evolutionary path of a Human. As a result, she was managed to go from a High Human to a Demigod in just a few short years. Her penultimate goal had been ascending to the status of a God, but, despite gaining ess to God Ki near the very beginning of her journey, she was never able to master it. One of the problems with entering a world you were familiar with was that very little could surprise you. Sarina had trained hard, but, knowing the rtive strength of your opponents years in advance led to her bingcent. It didn''t help that she had people like Broly around since the start. She had done her best to try andpete with him, but, the moment thetter''s Legendary Saiyan Biology kicked in, he surpassed everyone by leaps and bounds. With most threats being dealt with long before they had the chance to mature, Sarina''s interest in training gradually waned until the arrival of Beerus. This was around the time she suffered her first major defeat, as, shortly after the God of Destruction''s arrival, even Broly was knocked unconscious with very little effort. After that, the cat-like God handily defeated each of the Z-Warriors until Vahn stepped in to bring an end to the conflict. Realizing how close they were to the Battle of Gods and the Tournament of Power, Sarina began training in earnest. She may have given up trying to surpass people like Broly and Goku but that didn''t mean she was going to just stand aside and let people like Cauli and Kale steal her status as the most powerful female mortal. In the end, Sarina was able to defeat Cauli without too much effort, as, unlike in the series she and Vahn were most familiar with, Vegeta hadn''t been around to teach Cabba how to be a Super Saiyan. As a result, Cauli ended up participating in the Tournament of Power in her base state. She was still monstrously powerful, but, without the 100x multiplier of Super Saiyan Two, it was impossible for her to contend against Sarina''s magically enhanced Kaio-ken. Unfortunately, Sarina had never been the most forward-thinking individual. Her desire to defeat Cauli had blinded her to therger threat to her status as the most powerful female mortal: Kale. Simr to Broly, Kale was a very passive woman with very little interest inbat. This changed the moment she witnessed Sarina celebrating Cauli''s defeat. Her rage immediately boiled over, and, were it not for Brolying to her aid, Sarina may have been killed the moment Kale transformed into a Legendary Super Saiyan. Fortunately, for everyone involved, the disparity between Broly and Kale was like Heaven and Earth. The former had spent nearly thirty years mastering his transformation, and, thanks to the training methods provided by Vahn, his power eclipsed even the Angels when he entered Super Saiyan Four, colloquially known as Super Saiyan: Sage Mode due to its reliance on natural energy. When everything was said and done, Broly ended up emerging as the final victor in the Tournament of Power. As for Sarina, she ended up being knocked out of the ring shortly after Jiren realized Broly was a legitimate threat. After that, she and Cauli became fierce rivals as thetter, alongside Kale, migrated to Universe 7 in order to train under Vahn. With a powerful female rival, Sarina was able to increase her power by several orders of magnitude in a very short period of time. Cauli was eventually able to surpass her after making Super Saiyan her base state, but, with thetter possessing absolutely no affinity with magic, Sarina was still able to secure victory in around thirty percent of their spars. In essence, Sarina had developed more in the final seven years than the thirty preceding them. She went from being a rtively level-headed individual to a battle-hungry maniac with a penchant for fighting first and asking questionster. A lot of this could be attributed to Cauli, but, more than that, it was their imminent return thatpelled Sarina to train harder than ever before. She didn''t want to return only to find she was still one of the weakest members of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, so, for the better part of six years, Sarina had trained tirelessly to shatter her limits. Fortunately for her, Vahn''s unwillingness to impregnate her had left Cauli feeling more than a little frustrated, so, no matter how often Sarina wanted to train, the golden-haired Saiyaness was more than willing to apany her . While several of his counterparts were helping everyone get settled in, another version of Vahn was still attending Wu. Unsurprisingly, thirty-seven years apart had drastically affected how Vahn viewed the petite monkey girl. She suddenly appeared even more adorable, and, perhaps as a result of the amount of time he had spent with Cauli, he couldn''t help imagining the two of them ovepping, tails coiled around one another as he teased them both. Surprising the petite monkey girl quite a bit, Vahn asked, "Will you return with me to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth?" just as she was making herselffortable atop hisp. Not expecting such a question, especially after Vahn had shown very little interest in making use of her power, Wu found herself unable to respond. She would be lying if she said the thought hadn''t crossed her mind. Unfortunately, her pride didn''t allow her to ask, and, due to her contract with the Buddhist Faction, her fate was tied to the Jade Pce. She could leave for short periods of time, but, the moment she tried to break away, much of her power and authority would be lost. Though Fragments of Origin could bestow someone with great power, they could also be a double-edged sword. This was especially true for individuals whose powers were directly associated with or linked to a specific group. Such was the case for Wu, so, unless she was acting in the interests of the Jade Pce, her power would be significantly reduced. To make matters worse, there was a very real possibility that she would be susceptible to foreign Poets ording to the Demon King of Confusion, Wu had actually been a man in the past. She obviously didn''t believe this, but, with most of her incarnations in the Lower Realms being male, she couldn''t deny the possibility existed. This resulted in her existence bing less defined, so, while she was tempted to agree to Vahn''s proposal, Wu found herself unable to voice her heart''s desire. The one thing she and many other beings in the Divine Realm were afraid of was being forgotten Sensing the fear and trepidation contained in the deepest recesses of Wu''s mind, an affectionate smile developed across Vahn''s face as he stared into her emerald green eyes and said, "The Little Garden is set to experience great changes in the near future. If being together isn''t enough reason to convince you, ask yourself this. Would you rather be at the forefront of the changes toe or remembered as someone who sat at the sidelines?" Furrowing her brows, a threatening glimmer shed across Wu''s eyes as she whispered, "You''re ying with fire talking like that" Returning a dauntless smile, Vahn reached down to cup Wu''s butt, his fingers digging into her firm yet pliant flesh as he retorted, "I''m brave enough to love the legendary Sun Wu Kong. There isn''t a me in all of creation that could intimidate me" Though she was tempted to headbutt him for daring to fondle her butt in the middle of a serious conversation, Wu''s anger was promptly assuaged by Vahn''s confession. A warm and fluttery feeling spread through her chest, and, though it didn''t show in her expression, the curling and twitching of her tail gave away the fact she was happy. Hammering the proverbial final nail into the coffin, Vahn drew his lips progressively closer to Wu''s as he said, "Let''s shake up the Little Garden and create a new legendtogether" Without waiting for Wu''s response, Vahn sealed her slightly parted lips with his own. This caused the golden-haired monkey girl to tense, but, after weeks of ''weaning'', her desire for intimacy had reached unbearable levels. She could also sense Vahn''s desires more powerfully than ever before, so, after a very brief moment of panic, she habitually tore away at the fabric of his tunic, her tongue eagerly entangling with his as the sofa and floor beneath them spontaneously copsed due to the strain and intensity of her movements . Witnessing the remarkably intense and passionate session of lovemaking between Vahn and Wu, a glimmer of concern shed across Shiroyasha''s luminescent golden irises. Vahn''s extended stay in the Actualized World of Dragon Ball was something she hadn''t ounted for, so, while she didn''t think it would affect her ns, the notion that he was far beyond her control had reaffirmed itself within her mind. Fortunately, while the implications behind Vahn''s existence were terrifying, so much so that it had caused her to question the very nature of reality, Shiroyasha was confident that he didn''t actually need to be controlled. Vahn was altruistic to a fault, so, even if he did be the most powerful being in existence, it wouldn''t corrupt him. The greater threat would always be the people around him, as, even if he had the means to know their thoughts, Vahn had a bad habit of limiting himself when it came to the people he cared about. If someone particrly clever got their hands on him, he might not even try to stop them from exploiting him. She would know "It would appear my reunion with that hateful woman is fast approachingwell, at least I won''t be the only one to suffer this time around" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''TBH, I can''t really me Sarina for cking off when Broly basically solos the entire verse xD'',''Sun Wu Kong? More like Sun UwU Kong'',''Shiroyasha the Schemer'') Chapter 2179: Difference in Power vs. Authority

Chapter 2179: Difference in Power vs. Authority

Though she ultimately agreed to Vahn''s offer, Wu didn''t want to abandon Mount Huaguo. She also felt a sense of filial responsibility towards Xiwangmu, so, instead of forcing her hand, Vahn created a teleportation array linking Mount Huaguo to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Simply put, Wu would continue to reside on Mount Huaguo, but, whenever she was bored, she, and anyone she was in direct contact with, could drop by the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Since she was able to create hundreds of clones, she could always leave at least one of them to keep an eye on things, so, even if she spent weeks, months, or even years just ying around, the odds of the Jade Pce being threatened without her notice were slim. Fortunately, despite Wu''s concerns, the Jade Emperor didn''t oppose the arrangement. Rather, when Vahn met with him to exin the situation, both he and Lady Xiwangmu gave their blessing after he swore an oath to protect and cherish the troublesome yet lovable monkey girl. This came as quite a shock to Wu, who, after a private discussion with Lady Xiwangmu, emerged from her chambers with an ornate jadeb, neatly arranged hair, and slightly puffy eyes. The evening that followed was among the most intense and passionate that Vahn had experienced since his early days in the Record of Danmachi . "You know, this isn''t exactly what I had in mind when I agreed toe with you" Standing above a beaten and bloodied Cauli, Wu had to fight the urge to step triumphantly atop the half-conscious Saiyaness''s head. Cauli had challenged her the moment they were introduced, as, despite suffering quite a number of beatings, she was determined to ascertain where she stood inparison to Vahn''s other women. Smiling wryly in response to Wu''s remark, Vahn decided against pointing out she had a massive grin on her face. Instead, he said, "You should prepare yourself. This is where the real fight begins." Without responding to Vahn''s words, Wu shifted her attention to the opposite end of the massive wastnd created by her''s and Cauli''s battle. There, Kale could be seen releasing a thunderous roar as an emerald green aura erupted from her body. At the same time, ayer of reddish-pink fur slowly spread across much of her body, the only exception being her face, hands, neck, and breasts. Though a more sensible person may have tried to interrupt Kale''s transformation, Wu upied herself with a booger in her left nostril. The energy exuding from Kale''s body was enough to bristle the fur on her tail, but, confident in her limitless strength and invible durability, she waited until the Legendary Saiyaness was giving her a death starer before asking, "You sure you don''t need a bit more time? Who knows, I might die of old age if you stall things out long-" With Kale appearing behind her in an instant, Wu didn''t even have time to widen her eyes before a meteoric punch mmed into her lower back. Unfortunately, just as Kale was about to send her flying away from the downed Cauli, Wu''s body promptly dispersed into a cloud of pale golden smoke as a peal of impishughter sounded from behind her. "Bzzt! Wrong one~!" Rewarding Kale''s efforts, Wu grabbed the befuddled Saiyaness''s tail before spinning her around like a world-ss hammer thrower. Then, the moment she generated enough momentum, she released the muchrger woman from her grasp as another version of herself appeared high in the sky. To her credit, Kale was able to right herself almost instantaneously, but, even after unleashing a Ki st capable of destroying a a hundred times over, Wu passed through it unscathed before sending her crashing towards the ground like a spiked volleyball. Emerging from the massive crater caused by her impact with the earth, a thunderous roar escaped from Kale''s throat as she charged towards Wu with even greater speed and intensity. Unfortunately, no matter how much she powered up, she would never be able to harm so much as a hair on Wu''s head. This was the insurmountable wall most people faced when transitioning from a Lower Realm to the Divine Realm. She had absolutely nothing guaranteeing her power, so, against an opponent with multiple Fragments of Origin, she may as well be an insect crawling about in the dirt. Demonstrating this, Wu was able to ignore Kale''s attacks even when thetter was punching her with enough force to fracture the surrounding space. At the same time, even her casual punches and kicks were enough to send Kale flying, as, without a legend attesting to her sturdiness, there was simply ''no way'' she could withstand blows from the legendary Sun Wu Kong. Adding insult to injury, Wu side-stepped one of Kale''s telegraphed punches before spinning around and smacking her in the back of the head with her tail. This sent the slowly expanding Saiyaness on another crash course towards the ground as she said, "We should hurry and wrap this up. Any more than this and I''m going to start feeling like a bully." Undeterred by Wu''s words, Kale liberated herself from a city-sized crater before thumbing her nose and snorting out a fair amount of blood. Then, startling even Wu, the fur on her body began to shift from a reddish pink to a dark purple as she said, "Eat a dick and choke on it" As these were the first words she was hearing from the taciturn Saiyaness, Wu was genuinely taken aback by Kale''s caustic remark. Her right eye immediately started to twitch, but, before she could even think to retort, a tremendous amount of heat and pressure erupted from Kale''s body as she brought her hands together to produce a massive, eerie purple beam tinted with an abyssal ck shroud. Feeling a marginal amount of danger exuding from the eerie beam of energy, Wu used ''Monkey Bounds Across the Heavens'' to effectively teleport out of the way. This ended up being the correct decision, as, even if her mastery was limited, Kale had been learning how to manipte the Law of Destruction from Vados. She had agreed to be the next God of Destruction for Universe 6, as, despite being a Saiyan, Cauli had been nominated for the position of Daikaioh after beating up their Supreme Kai and mastering God Ki in a remarkably short period of time. "It seems you''ve got a bit of bite to your bark" Hearing Wu''s voice from behind her, Kale, still releasing an ear-piercing roar, attempted to sweep her energy beam around. Unfortunately, Wu''s words were punctuated by the Ruyi Jingu Bang. She had sensed the destructive energy contained within the st, and, while it may not have been able to injure her, Wu knew it would have hurt like hell. This wasn''t an exaggeration either as the mes of hell were, quite literally, powered by the Laws of Purgatory, Purification, and Destruction With an indentation forming at her crown, Kale was smashed into the ground with enough force to create a fissure that extended far beyond the horizon. If not for the fact Wu had held back, a simr fissure would have formed in her skull as the weight of the Ruyi Jingu Bang couldpete with a white dwarf star when fully unleashed. Seeing Kale lying motionless at the bottom of the abyssal crevasse, a subdued yet disdainful snort emanated from Wu''s nose as Vahn manifested beside her with apletely healed Cauli and an uncharacteristically serious-looking Vados. With the exception of Vahn, she was the most aware of how truly powerful Kale was, so, despite hearing that the power scaling of the Divine Realm utterly eclipsed that of her world, it was difficult to ept how one-sided the fight had been. Noticing the look on Vados''s face, Wu''s brows perked up as she asked, "You got a problem, blue?" Before Vados could answer, Vahn plopped his hand atop Wu''s head, saying, "This isn''t the Heavenly Domain. I don''t mind if you spar against people who are willing but you shouldn''t go around trying to pick fights with everyone who gives you a funny look. Vados and her sisters are still getting used to the differences between their world and the Divine Realm. She wasn''t trying to look down on you or question your strength" Interpreting Vahn''s words to mean she would suffer defeat at the hands of Wu, Vados bowed her head in a respectful but dignified manner as she said, "Forgive me if my actions have offended you in any way. I was merely taken aback and in awe of your power. Vahn wasn''t exaggerating when he said you were among the most powerful beings in all of creation" Though she wasn''t particrly fond of Vados''s overly polite response, Wu''s mood improved quite a bit when the blue-skinned beauty mentioned Vahn''s praise. She wouldn''t really care if others called her powerful, but, as one of the few people to have defeated her in a direct exchange, Wu assigned an inordinately high value to Vahn''s words. Reducing the size of her Ruyi Jingu Bang, Wu ced it behind her ear before answering, "Very well then. Out of consideration for Vahn, I''ll be magnanimous this time around and let you off the hook. Just keep in mind I''m very sensitive to gazes. The next time you gawk at me like I''m some kind of strange animal, don''t me me for poking you in the eye." On that note, Wu bat aside Vahn''s hand before leaping into the chasm to retrieve Kale. She knew Vahn would have handled it even without her, but, feeling a little apologetic after basically bashing the girl''s head in, she felt obligated to lend a hand. Kale might resent her for defeating Cauli, but, at the end of the day, they were all sisters. If she didn''t at least try to get along, her status as one of the most preeminent members of Vahn''s harem would be threatened. After all, nobody liked a vain consort . Sensing the disappearance of Vahn from the Heavenly Domain, a faint yet distinguishable frown developed across Vor''s face. She had been waiting outside the walls of the Heavenly City for days, and, while this wasn''t a particrly long period of time, it was enough to make her feel pressured after receiving orders to infiltrate the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. "At least I was able to confirm the establishment of a rtionship between the Jade Pce and the Sage Dragon''s Hearth" As teleportation within the Jade Pce was impossible without the Jade Emperor''s consent, Vahn''s sudden disappearance pointed to one of two options. He either didn''t care about the Jade Emperor in the slightest or the two had reached some kind of agreement. Considering Vahn had received his invitation from the Jade Emperor himself, Vor doubted the two were on bad terms with each other. Confident in her assessment, Vor''s battle skirt promptly transformed into a shape resembling wings as she bolted towards the horizon at a cruising speed of Mach 600,000. If she wanted, she could go even faster, but, so long as she was in the Heavenly Domain, she needed to respect their rules. Most Communities had strict regtions against outsiders traveling faster than this speed of light within their territory, so, while she was more than a little tempted to tear a hole through the foundation of the Heavenly Domain itself, Vor held back to avoid instigating a war . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Lady Xiwangmu be like, "If you break my daughter''s heart, I''ll make you suffer ten trillion deaths!'',''Cauli and Kale just got the unnamed mob treatment from Grandpa Wu o_o'',''Vor is very eager to reunite with our boy'') Chapter 2180: The Dawn of a New Era?

Chapter 2180: The Dawn of a New Era?

With the formation of Capsule Corp and the Sage Dragon School, Communities formed by Bulma and the trio of Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita, the only thing Vahn needed to move forward with the establishment of the Aldrnari Empire was a willing ''victim''. Though the simplest method was to convince an existing Alliance to let you subsume or take over one of their lesser-coveted Gates, Vahn''s ambitions were too great to be constrained by a mere 4-Digit ssification. He would eventually need to upy more than half of the Gates between 1000 and 1010, so, while he had no problem ying nice and providing benefits to those willing to work alongside the Aldrnari Empire, Vahn knew the most expedient path towards his goals was conquest. Fortunately, many of the highest-ranking 4-Digit Communities were either infamous, notorious, or on the verge of civil war. The previous war had crippled many of the most powerful and influential Pantheons of Gods. Were that not the case, the Draco Grief Alliance never would have been able to install itself as the Floor Master of the South Side, a region host to Zeus, the Olympians, Avalon, and the Norse Faction. Simply put, now was the second-best time to strike at the Communities clinging to power in the Lower-Digit Gates. The absolute best timing would be to wait until the awakening of the Demon God, but, as he would rather avoid unnecessary bloodshed, Vahn intended to take action before then. There was a pretty substantial difference between overwhelming disobedient Communities through Rite of Challenge and wiping them outpletely Vahn''s first target, entirely as a result of their proximity to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, was intended to be Kotoamatsukami, one of the top three Factions in the East Side. They just so happened to be in possession of the 1009th Gate, and, thanks to his previous disagreement with Souta, the second son of the Japanese God of Wind, they were already marginally antagonistic towards him. More importantly, the current leader of the Kotoamatsukami was Amaterasu, the Japanese Goddess of the Sun. The Little Garden allowed beings with simr origins to challenge one another for possession of the associated Fragment of Origin. This meant, so long as they could convince the general popce or earn the recognition of the Central Network, the Amaterasu and Tamamo who originated from the Nasuverse would be able to challenge the current Amaterasu for her status and origin. Though he had always possessed a peculiar affinity with the aforementioned Sun Goddess, literally marrying two separate versions of her, the Amaterasu of the Little Garden was rather infamous for her vanity and pride. She had even challenged Shiroyasha a number of times in the past, as, unlike her counterparts in innumerable Records, the Amaterasu of the Transcendental Path to Heaven was a Commander of the Divine Army and one of the greatest swordswomen in the Divine Realm. If not for the fact she also possessed fox ears, a trait Vahn hade to associate with most versions of Amaterasu, he may have been worried . "You want me to apany you despite knowing I possess no Authority within the Divine Realm? I would never dare to refuse a request from my beloved Shufu-sama but I fear you haven''t given this matter due consideration" Though she was more than a little happy to receive a personal visit from Vahn, Amaterasu couldn''t help smiling wryly in response to his request. She was one of the few people who couldn''t readily depart his Little Garden, not because her existence was still required to maintain its structure, but because she was effectively powerless without her connection to the Sun. Even Tamamo was more powerful than her outside the Little Garden, so, as one of the most powerful beings on the inside, Amaterasu was reluctant to leave. Understanding Amaterasu''s concerns, Vahn casually exined, "I''ve already discussed the matter with both Tamamo and Shiroyasha. The former is willing to split her tails to create a new body for you to inhabit. Your original vessel will remain enshrined here while your Ego will be transmigrated to the outside world. As for Shiroyasha, she has agreed to entrust you with a Divinity rted to her 14 Sun Authorities. You will technically be her subordinate, but, in exchange, your power should be even greater than it is at the present moment." "Hmmm" Though she wasn''t particrly enthused by the notion of bing subordinate to someone other than Vahn, Amaterasu would be lying if she said she wasn''t interested in the outside world and the Divine Realm. She was also infatuated with the notion of training to increase her power, so, after a very brief moment of deliberation, she answered, "Very well. If Shufu-sama trusts this Shiroyasaha-sama enough to leave me in her care, it is only natural that I do the same" Reaching up to her lips, Amaterasu yfully kissed the tip of her index finger before pulling it away to reveal a tiny yet unfathomably powerful golden me. This was the core of her essence as a Tier 5 being, a physical representation of the 4.6 billion years of energy she had umted within her Ego. As the color faded from her once vibrant pink hair, reced by an ashen-grey color, Amaterasu fearlessly entrusted the me to Vahn. This was something she never would have considered a few hundred years ago, but, understanding that Vahn could basically erase her with a thought, the once haughty and immutable Goddess saw no reason to hesitate. Rather, the notion of entrusting Vahn with her ''everything'' made her more than a little excited "The next time we see each otherI''ll be expectinga reward" With her body turning to stone at an rming rate, Amaterasu elected to punctuate her words with a remarkably seductive smile. She had be rather fond of the moments of intimacy she shared with Vahn, so, now that she was finally able to leave the Little Garden, she was looking forward to being able to spend more time with him. His recent impregnation spree had also reached her ears, so, depending on how things yed out, she might give being a mother a try Though he was unaware of Amaterasu''s interest in motherhood, an affectionate smile developed across Vahn''s face as he ced the diminutive golden me against his chest. He had yet to spend any quality time with her since his return from the Actualized World of Dragon Ball, so, even if she hadn''t asked, he would have ''rewarded'' both her and Tamamo until they werepletely satisfied. This would probably take weeks, but, considering he had an eternity to work with, Vahn didn''t mind investing days, months, or even years towards the gratification of his loved ones "I promise" . Unbeknownst to Vahn, each of his efforts to bait Kotoamatsukami into a conflict were for naught, as, the moment he spurned their good intentions, the trio of Gods presiding over the East Side''s third most powerful faction had already decided to confront him. More specifically, Amaterasu was interested in Vahn''s abilities while her brothers, Susanoo and Tsukuyomi, simply wanted to cut loose and have a bit of fun. With the intention of discussing their future conquest of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, Amaterasu, an inordinately tall woman with fox-like ears and golden hair that shimmered like the horizon at dawn, had her brothers gather alongside several of her most trusted vassals. This included several Gods of War such as Takemikazuchi and Bishamon, but, more importantly, at least for the purpose of saving face, it also included famous heroes such as Uesugi Kenshin, Minamoto no Yosh*tsune, Sakamoto Ryoma, and Miyamoto Musashi. Towering over everyone else present, much like the Goddess Vahn was familiar with, a rather fierce smile developed across the face of Amaterasu as she said, "The Sage Dragon Emperor has refused Kagutsuchi''s offer, and, in turn, the olive branch we extended to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. To add insult to injury, he has conspired with the Jade Pce in an obvious attempt to avoid responsibility for the offense he has caused. Now that he has failed to secure an Alliance, I propose we move to eliminate or subsume the Sage Dragon''s Hearth before they have the chance to grow even further." Though rumors had already started to circte regarding Mikoto''s and Fenrir''s power, it wasn''t enough to deter people from antagonizing the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Rather, now that they had a better understanding of the power possessed by its core members, an ever-increasing number of factions were eying the Sage Dragon''s Hearth as if it were a fatmb. Kotoamatsukami was simply the first with an adequate pretext to maneuver against them. Nodding his head in response to Amaterasu''s words, a remarkably handsome man with wild, free-flowing ck hair, golden eyes, and an untamed aura answered, "Leave it to me, Aneue. Fuujin is a member of my Strongest Storm Deity Community. Even if others are to act, doing so before I''ve had the chance to avenge my subordinate is improper." Snorting in response to the untamed man''s spirited words, a paradoxically handsome yet feminine figure with fair features, three glowing eyes, silky purple hair, and fox-like ears remarked, "Restrain your imprudence, Susanoo. Our venerable sister is far too wise to entrust such a delicate matter to one such as yourself. We''re trying to subsume them, not destroy them." Glowering in response to the androgynous figure''s remark, Susanoo ced his hand on the handle of his trustedpanions, the legendary Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi as he asked, "You believe your Fox-Moon Shrine to be the better option, Tsukuyomi?" Seeing Susanoo reach for his sword, purple mes began to build at the edge of Tsukuyomi''s robes as a ck, scale-like pattern spread across his forehead. At the same time, two fox-like masks, one ck and one white, detached from his shoulders. ck and white mes manifested behind them like the tails of a kitsune, but, before either Tsukuyomi or Susanoo could act, an overwhelming heat and pressure descended upon everyone present as Amaterasu said, "Enough." Though Susanoo and Tsukuyomi were able to withstand it better than the others present, even they were forced to kneel when the purple-hue of Amaterasu''s eyes was gradually reced by a vibrant orange hue resembling the sunset. "I didn''t summon the two of you here to see you squabble amongst yourselves like children. I''ve already made my decision. Now, stay quiet and listen" Retracting her aura just enough to allow Susanoo and Tsukuyomi to stand, Amaterasu''s expression rxed into a smile as she added, "The Sage Dragon''s Hearth hasn''t even been around for a year, yet, in spite of this, they are already preparing to ascend to the status of a 4-Digit Community. At the same time, several other notable Communities have begun to appear in each of the Cardinal Districts. This is clearly a ploy concocted by that imp in the Thousand Eyes Community. I refuse to let her have her way. Thus, before the Sage Dragon''s Hearth can expand its influence any further, the entirety of Kotoamatsukami will take action." Surprised by their sister''s words, both Susanoo and Tsukuyomi appeared slightly taken aback. Even the former, a God of Storms known for his violent temperament and lust for battle couldn''t help but ask, "Are you sure this is the best course of action, Aneue? No matter how we try to spin things, our actions are certain to be interpreted as a deration of war." Surprising the duo even further, Amaterasu simply shrugged before saying, "Peace goes against the very nature of the Little Garden. It dulls our des and leads even the greatest of gods astray. Now that a wave of change has begun to sweep across the Divine Realm, it is the responsibility of those who bore the banner of the previous era to break it. Our only other options are to go with the flow or be drowned in its wake. I, for one, have no intention of going down without a fight. Now, are you going to continue gawking like fools or are you going to help mee up with a n?" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''She has fox ears? RIP'',''Amaterasu, the Mega MILF'',''I almost feel bad for her xD'') Chapter 2181: Change is Inevitable

Chapter 2181: Change is Inevitable

"Are you serious?" Though she nodded her head in response to Vahn''s question, Shiroyasha adopted a slight pout as she asked, "What reason could I possibly have to lie to you? I entrusted one of my Sun Authorities to that foxy maid of yours. If that isn''t enough evidence to prove I''m all-in, why, I don''t know what else to say" Taking advantage of the fact she was lounging with her head in hisp, Vahn poked Shiroyasha''s inted cheeks as he remarked, "You know I wasn''t calling into question your loyalty. I just find it difficult to believe that Kotoamatsukami would muster their forces without greater provocation" As he had spent the past weeking up with methods to bait Kotoamatsukami into action, Vahn couldn''t help feeling something was amiss when Shiroyasha suddenly informed him that his efforts were unnecessary. Kotoamtsukami had seized the initiative by nominating several of their lesser 4-Digit Communities to participate in the Sage Dragon''s Hearth''s promotional Gift Game. At the same time, they began spreading rumors that the Sage Dragon''s Hearth was attempting to purchase a 4-Digit Gate rather than earning it through their own strength and merits. Those unfamiliar with how the Divine Realm worked might misconstrue Kotoamatsukami''s actions as petty. While this was certainly the case, there were a number of convincing, perfectly reasonable justifications to pursue such a course of action. Just as Cauli and Kale had learned, reputation and status were of paramount importance outside the 1-3-Digit Gates. If you could convince the general public that your enemy was weak and relied on underhanded methods to achieve victory, their power would, quite literally, be reduced. This was amon tactic employed by Communities at every level. After all, if you could weaken your foes while simultaneously strengthening your allies, why wouldn''t you? The reason Vahn was confused was that such tactics were typically reserved for Communities that were at war with one another. Manipting the public was a double-edged sword. People didn''t like being fooled, so, if your opponent possessed the means to prove their innocence or sway the public in their favor, spreading rumors could have the exact opposite effect. This was how a group such as the Buddhist Faction was able to rise to prominence, as, even if their opponents attempted to nder them, the vast majority of people would simply assume they were lying. With rumors regarding Mikoto''s and Fenrir''s strength quickly circting throughout the East Side, it wasn''t too surprising that someone would either attempt to quash or downy them. Such was par for the course when a new Community was building strength. The difference between this situation and the norm was that the members of Kotoamatsukami were being very public about their usations. From the perspective of themon people, this made it seem as though they were on the side of righteousness. This would give them a substantial amount of leverage moving forward, as, even if their clearly sacrificial Community lost in the uing Gift Game, they could orchestrate a scenario that made the Sage Dragon''s Hearth appear guilty. "What a farce" Snickering in response to Vahn''s words, Shiroyasha rolled onto her side before curling up in a fetal position and muttering, "That''s just the way things are. Why do you think the powers that be allow so many ''normal'' people to reside in the Divine Realm? If strength was the only qualifier for power and authority, all of creation would just be a never-ended cycle of war. Systems such as this need to be in ce so that those who are clever and opportunistic have the opportunity to w their way to the top" Though his hand habitually moved to scratch near the base of Shiroyasha''s obsidian-ck horns, Vahn found himself at a loss for words as a wave of realization washed over him. He had actually been intending to expel the vast majority of people from the Divine Realm via transmigration. The notion that those with power were given a choice while those without were forced to submit and obey had never sat well with him. By allowing people to transmigrate into worlds of their choosing, Vahn was hoping to make it up to the trillions who had been forced to suffer as a result of games they had no hand in. Now, however, he was- "Are you this impressionable every time you return from one of your Actualized Worlds?" Blinking back to awareness, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he looked down to meet Shiroyasha''s cat-like eyes, answering, "It''s a little ironic, isn''t it? I have all the time in the world to think yet still end up making decisions based on spur of the moment shifts in perspective" "MmmI wouldn''t say it''s ironic. Many of the Primordial Gods refused to change even after the destruction of the original Little Garden. It''s one of the reasons Poets were created. Without them, existence would have been erased long ago as the only driving forces of change were the demons representing war, disaster, and chaos" With a reminiscent look in her eyes and a mncholic smile on her face, Shiroyasha used the tip of her inordinately sharp nail to casually cut a line down Vahn''s pant leg. This caused thetter''s brow to twitch, but, instead of interrupting the mischievous demoness''s reverie, he tenderlybed his fingers through her silvery-white, indescribably silky hair Understanding that Vahn wouldn''tin even if she took a bite out of his calf, the smile on Shiroyasha''s face became slightly predatory as she traced her tongue along the skin her ''careless'' actions had exposed. She hadn''t been particrly fond of blood in the past, but, ever since getting to know Vahn, suckling the remarkably sweet extract from his body had be one of her favorite pastimes Realizing where things were head, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face. Before she bit into him, however, Shiroyasha continued from where she left off, exining, "The ability to change our mind and adapt to external stimuli is a rtively recent addition to the repertoire of Gods. Before, even the most powerful among us were little more than ves to our Divinities. We had very little freedom, only purpose" Rising to a seated position, Shiroyasha positioned herself in Vahn''sp, willfully guiding his hands to her stomach before adding, "It was the creation of Gifts that allowed a few of us to break free from the chains that had bound us since time immemorial. As for the rest, they went on to form the very foundation atop which the current Little Garden was established" Leaning her head back, Shiroyasha''s dagger-like horns poked Vahn in the chest as she met his gaze, concluding her tangential exnation by stating, "Change is inevitable. Those who cannot or refuse to change are fated to be the stepping stones of others. Your impressionability may result in a number ofdisadvantageous situations in the future. Even then, you should never doubt yourself. It is our ability to make mistakes and learn from them that allows us to grow. If you were perfect from the start, nothing would ever change" As a being that had existed since before the dawn of time, Shiroyasha was something of an expert when it came to the subject at hand. It wasn''t all that long ago that she had descended to the Little Garden. Almost immediately thereafter, she made a number of poor decisions, experienced what it was like to be exploited, and even had her very existence profaned beyond repair. In spite of all the hardships she had been forced to endure, Shiroyasha had never once thought to go back and change things. Sure, there were a number of events that haunted her to this very day, but, prior to those happenings, all she had was the experiences of others. Shiroyasha had witnessed the formation and decay of countless cosmological structures, the birth of creation, and, within it, the lives of a functionally infinite number of creatures. In spite of this, if anyone were to ask her which she would prefer, Shiroyasha would choose even the memories from the very worst day of her life over every experience she had umted watching others With that in mind, Shiroyasha''s kimono gradually dispersed into a pale,vender-colored mist. She may be content with choosing her worst memories, but, as there was currently no one forcing her to make such decisions, she would rather focus on creating new, happier ones. The time she spent with Vahn was among the most memorable, so, while she may have suppressed the urge to follow the current ''trend'', that wasn''t going to stop her from having as much fun as she desired . Armed with the knowledge of Kotoamatsukami''s scheme, Vahn informed the leaders of each of his affiliate Communities before taking a back seat on the issue. This may seem negligible on his part, but, in actuality, he just wanted to give everyone else the chance to act. They needed a tform to build their legend upon, and, as contrived as it might seem, ignoring such rumors would ultimately work in their favor once people realized they werepletely unaffected. If Vahn really wanted to, he could actually grant the people ''beneath'' him a portion of his Authority via his Familia Crest or something as simple as an emblem on their armor. Instead, the only benefit he granted them wasplete immunity to the formative effects of a Poet. In other words, even if a famous Poet attempted to alter that nature of their existence, the System Temtes he had granted each of them would intervene. Then, once it became known that they were immune to the effects of a Poet, their legend and identities would quickly take shape as ''only the strongest'' were impervious to the influence of a Poet. Simply put, letting the girls do whatever they wanted was the best way to ensure they were able to develop or seize Fragments of Origin for themselves. If he took proactive action, they would always be seen as beneath him. While there was nothing intrinsically wrong with this, Vahn had never once viewed his wives and lovers in such a manner. They may not be his equals in power or status but he would continue to regard them as such until the sentiment was firmly nted in the minds of every single person in existence. To this end, Vahn passed his days by lounging about, spending time with the people visiting the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, and watching over his kids. Xysteria got along remarkably well with Usalia and her kittens, and, ever since they were given the opportunity to venture outside, many of Vahn''s children were eager to try creating Communities of their own. Though he did ce quite a number of restrictions on them, Vahn didn''t have any issues with his children wanting to venture out on their own. The only caveats were that they would need to stay in groups of three, and, for the most part, rely on themselves to ascend through the ranks of the Little Garden. They would have ess to the Quest Board, but, unless they were in danger of being taken advantage of by a far more powerful organization, Vahn had no intention of stepping in to resolve problems they had created for themselves. In actuality, Vahn wouldn''t hesitate to step in if his children, specifically his daughters, were truly in danger. However, if it was something as base as their lives being on the line, he didn''t mind letting them experience a minor trauma or two if it was the result of their own actions. Their actual bodies were safely stowed away within his personalized Little Garden, so, unless they encountered a being capable of detecting and destroying the ostensibly indestructible System Temtes, death simply meant returning and having to ''reincarnate'' into a new vessel. As for the fate of anyone who tried to exploit or take advantage of his childrendeath would be a reprieve . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''What is this, High School?'',''System Temtes are busted'',''Vahn isn''t a helicopter papa. He''s the weapons tform watching from high orbit xD'') Chapter 2182: Cognitive Dissonance

Chapter 2182: Cognitive Dissonance

Though the Little Garden was abuzz with rumors and spection regarding the Sage Dragon''s Hearth and their unscrupulous methods, the leaders of Kotoamatsukami couldn''t help feeling nervous. While most Communities would be in damage control, the members of the Sage Dragon''s hearth, or, more specifically, Vahn demonstrated little regard for the rumors circting about him and his Community. Instead, he continued to operate his business in the same manner as before, leisurely and however he pleased. When approached by Communities specializing in news and journalism, Vahn''s only response was that the Sage Dragon''s Hearth was a neutral party that treated all who approached them in a fair and just manner. It didn''t matter if they were good, evil, or somewhere in between. So long as they were willing topromise and reach an agreement, the Sage Dragon''s Hearth was willing to help any and all who sought their aid. It was this statement that caused the leaders of Kotoamatsukami to begin sweating, as, rather than attempting to absolve himself of wrongdoing, Vahn''s words and actions made it seem as though he simply didn''t care. This wouldn''t earn him any favors with the general public, but, so long as he kept minding his own business, the people would soon lose interest. The only reason most people even paid attention to such matters was because they enjoyed watching the drama unfold between rival organizations. Watching one group throw around usations while the other simply ignored them wasn''t very interesting . "Master. A delegation from the Nine Dragons Sword Association has arrived." Nodding his head in response to the petite Vampire Princess''s deration, a smile developed across Vahn''s face as he sat down his cup of tea and replied, "Thank you, Leticia. They have my permission to enter." Returning a courteous bow, Leticia softly muttered, "As you will" before raising her head and going to retrieve her Master''s ''guests''. "I told you things were about to get interesting" Shifting his focus from the direction Leticia had departed, Vahn met the mesmerizing gaze of the buxom beauty seated next to him. In response, a remarkably predatory smile developed across the woman''s face as she replied, "We''ll see about that" Arriving shortly after Leticia''s departure, three girls, each with very distinct features, made their way into the room. The first, appearing as the leader of the group, was a petite woman around 158cm tall. She had long brown hair fastened into a neat ponytail, fiery-red eyes, and, despite her small stature, a fierce aura radiated from her body. As for her attire, she wore a twoyered kimono that was purple on the inside and reddish-orange on the outside. This was apanied by a dark brown hakama, a pair of wooden geta, and a blue-green haori with the kanji for ''Dragon'' and ''Echigo'' sewn into the shoulders in golden print. On the back, pulsating with sword intent, were evenrger kanji denoting the words ''Peerless'' and ''Heaven''. Dragging her feetzily behind the prim and proper samurai beauty was, in Vahn''s opinion, an even more remarkable woman with healthy brown skin, somewhat unkempt ck hair, and paradoxicallyzy-looking eyes that threatened to ''cut'' anyone that stared directly at them. She was much taller than the first woman, standing approximately 182cm even whilst barefoot. As for her clothing, she wore a grey tunic, matching trousers, a tattered-looking obi fastened with red cord, and a peculiar poncho that seemed to be lined with the feathers of an owl. She also had a modified amigasa, a circr straw hat covering her back, and, most notably, three different katanas, two at her hip and one, muchrger de resting in a sling on her back. Following closely behind the second woman was a rtively normal-looking girl, who, at a nce, resembled any other girl you might encounter on the street. She was average height, possessed medium-length brown hair, brown eyes, and, though she was far from ugly, she wasn''t going to be winning any beauty contests in the near future. In spite of this description, the girl managed to stand out even more than the others due to the sheer ''normalcy'' exuding from her body. She seemed so out of ce, yet, at the same time, gave off the impression that it was absolutely normal for her to be here. As for her clothes, they gave off an equally disconcerting impression as they seemed perfectly normal at first nce, but, the longer you looked at them, the more questions entered your mind Noticing Vahn''s gaze, a marginally surprised expression appeared on the rtively normal-looking girl''s face before she promptly tilted her head to the side and stuck out her tongue. Then, for a very brief moment, Vahnpletely lost track of her until he noticed her standing in the corner with her hands in the front pockets of her oversized hoodie Interrupting before Vahn could ask what the mysterious girl was up to, the presumed leader of the group said, "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us, Vahn-dono. My name is Uesugi Kenshin. This is mypatriot, Miyamoto Musashi-dono. We are pleased to make your acquaintance." Speaking before Vahn could return his greeting, the buxom beauty at his side promptly chimed in, asking, "Oh? You''re ''the'' Miyamoto Musashi?" Though Kenshin adopted a disproving glower, thezy-looking woman at her side maintained apletely neutral expression as she cooly answered, "Somethin'' like that" Adopting a massive grin, the woman sitting at Vahn''s side, possessing pale-pink hair and eyes that glimmered with a different color depending on the angle you viewed them from, rose to her feet as she said, "What a coincidenceI just so happen to have the same-" Reacting before Musashi could finish speaking, the raven-haired Musashi immediately drew one of the swords at her waist. At the exact same moment, almost as if her sword had always been drawn, the pink-haired Musashi charged forward with one of the most battle-hungry expressions Vahn had ever seen. Unfortunately, despite no time passing since the moment they drew their swords, Vahn managed to appear between the two Musashi(s), his hands closing around their respective des as he said, "Not inside" Though he was pretty confident in the durability of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, Vahn knew better than to underestimate one Musashi, much less two. The duo had the power to cut through all of creation, so, even if they were in a closed-off space, there was a non-negligible chance that their attacks could pierce through the protective barriers of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth and affect their surroundings. Hell, the duo were still holding back yet their des had managed to pierce nearly a centimeter into the near-indestructible flesh of his palms Surprised by Vahn''s ability to stop her sword with his bare hand, Musashi ck opened her mouth to speak even as her hand slipped towards the second katana at her waist. Fortunately, before she could draw it, the de appeared in Kenshin''s hand as thetter said, "Musashi-donos, I implore you to remain calm. We didn''te here to start a war." With Musashi Pink already backing down, the raven-haired Musashi gradually retracted her intent, muttering, "Whatever" as she freed her sword from Vahn''s hand. Then, rather than returning the de to its sheath, she stabbed it into the ground, exining, "Let''s hurry this along. Now that my Kagero has been drawn, it won''t return to its sheathe before shedding blood" Surprising the bronze-skinned beauty, Vahn grasped the hilt of her sword before her eyes could widen so much as a single micron. A reddish-ck haze immediately erupted from the de, but, nearly as soon as it had appeared, the silvery edge had returned to normal as Vahn handed it back to her, saying, "That should have calmed it down a bit." With her mouth hanging open, Musashi ck epted her sword with a look of utter disbelief on her face. The Kagero was one of the Immortal cksmith''s, Sengo Muramasa''s masterpieces. It was a sword that would consume the souls of the in and unworthy to increase its strength, so, seeing Vahn both handle it and pacify it with ease, Musashi found it difficult to believe this was the same sword that had caused her countless headaches Amused by the befuddled swordswoman''s expression, Vahn exined, "I may not be the greatest cksmith in all of creation but I''m pretty confident in my understanding of the heart and soul of weapons. I''m also pretty handy with a sword so it would be pretty strange if I was unable to wield something like a Muramasa" Emphasizing his point, Vahn manifested his own Muramasa, a Zanpakuto by the name of Tokiwatari. It possessed the unique ability to sever time, but, more importantly, it clearly radiated the aura of a Muramasa de. As Muramasa was a close friend of hers, Musashi ck was intimately familiar with every de her drinking buddy had forged. The Tokiwatari was not among them, so, after a moment of remarkably awkward silence, she met Vahn''s gaze, asking, "Do you share an origin with Muramasa?" Smiling wryly in response to the unsurprising inquiry, Vahn returned Tokiwatari to his Soul Pce before returning to his seat and answering, "My origin is my own. Let''s just say I drew inspiration from Muramasa-dono''s work when I was forging that particr sword. Now, care to exin why the three of you have ventured all the way from the Nine Dragons Sword Association." Though Musashi ck seemed genuinely confused by Vahn''s words, Kenshin''s expression briefly hardened as her grip on Musashi''s second Muramasa tightened. Fortunately, she wasn''t given the opportunity to draw it as the unremarkably mysterious girl chimed in to say, "I knew it. You really can see me, can''t you?" Showing just as much surprise as her raven-haired counterpart, Musashi Pink asked, "Who the hell? When did you get behind me?" Answering in the girl''s stead, Vahn exined, "Nanashi no Hanako, the Demon Lord of the Lost and Forgotten. She is a Greater Demon representing lost children. Unless you are specifically looking for her, she can slip from your mind the moment you get distracted" Surprised by Vahn''s words, Hanako''s eyes lit up as she remarked, "How curioustell me, what do I look like to you?" Though he was somewhat confused by Hanako''s words, Vahn answered, "You look like a young girl between the age of 14-16 years old. You have brown hair, brown eyes, and rtively in features that range between cute and unremarkable" With her eyes glowing with even greater intensity, Hanako took a few steps forward, asking, "And? What about my clothes~?" Keeping the overly excited girl at bay with a weak telepathic push, Vahn''s expression revealed a modicum of incredulity as he dutifully answered, "You''re wearing an oversized, dark-grey hoodie with matching stockings" Seemingly surprised by Vahn''s response, Hanako looked down at her body before pulling at the cor of her hoodie to get a better look at its contents. Then, with a slight pout on her face, she looked up at Vahn and remarked, "You must have experienced something pretty messed up if you imagined me without underwear" Confused by Hanako''s words, Vahn shifted his gaze towards Loi-chan, the person who had revealed her identity. In response, she ced her finger on her chin, seemingly in deep thought before finally answering, "It seems her appearance and outfit change based on the perception of people viewing her? She was happy because you were able to see her true self. Now she''s bothered by the fact you didn''t imagine what her underwear would look like?" Realizing where the issue lie, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he asked, "How about now?" Blinking in surprise, Hanako lifted her hoodie to find a pair of denim shorts and afortable, pristine-white blouse with red ribbons on the side. The shorts were a little tight, but, feeling thefortable fabric beneath them, a radiant smile developed across her face as she asserted, "You really care about children, don''t you? I can''t even remember thest time I had clothes this warm and cozy" With Loi-chan promptly informing him that Hanako was telling the truth, the expression on Vahn''s face gradually morphed into a fatherly smile. Before he could offer anyforting words, however, Hanako surprised everyone present by asking, "Can I stay here from now on? I don''t think I need to exin this but being the Demon Lord of the Lost and Forgotten gets pretty lonely. Even if it''s only for a short while, I would be happy if at least one kind person remembered memost of the people who can see me aren''t exactly pleasant-" Seeing the indescribable mncholy in the depths of Hanako''s hazel-brown eyes, Vahn didn''t wait for her to finish speaking. Instead, he took a knee before wrapping his arms around her inordinately thin and frail body. Rather than a fifteen-year-old, she suddenly had the stature of a girl around ten. Thus, even though there was currently a knife sticking out of his abdomen, he embraced the young Demoness, answering, "Of course you can stay" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''People love drama'',''Vahn never misses a chance to show off'',''Uhbroyou kind of have ayou know what? Nevermind'') Chapter 2183: Cause, Effect, and Consequences

Chapter 2183: Cause, Effect, and Consequences

Though it was prettymon for her victims to simply ignore things like being stabbed, Hanako could tell Vahn was aware of it due to the fact he wasn''t bleeding. Her powers allowed her to ignore conventional durability, and, thanks to the Law of the Assumed Form, even the most powerful Gods in existence were vulnerable whilst appearing as humans. Under normal circumstances, the people stabbed by Hanako would simply ignore the injury even as they bled out. The closest they would get to being aware of their plight is feeling weak or nauseous. It didn''t matter if they were alone or surrounded by a group of people. Unless they possessed some form of extra causal sense, they shouldn''t be aware of her actions. Such was the fate of the Lost and Forgotten. "You knew I was going to stab you?" Hearing Hanako''s question, Musashi Pink''s brows perked up as she looked towards Musashi ck and Kenshin, asking, "Are you for real? Did you actually believe you could just walk into the Sage Dragon''s Hearth and assassinate Vahn? And I thought I was rash" Recalling how she had once attempted to battle against Vahn head-on, a wry yet reminiscent smile developed across Musashi Pink''s face Confused by her counterpart''sck of hostility, Musashi ck sent Kenshin an usatory look out of the corner of her eye as she coldly replied, "Someone neglected to inform me of this particr aspect of our n" Shaking her head, Kenshin did her best to appear calm as she exined, "You''re mistakenwe did note here with the intention to kill or cause harm. Our mission was to ascertain the true nature of Vahn Mason and the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. If your Community is truly as neutral as you purport it to be, there is no reason for you to refuse your services to the Nine Dragons Sword Association" Rising to his feet, Vahn removed Hanako''s pitch-ck dagger from his stomach before ruffling her hair and handing it back to her. Then, with a marginally more serious expression on his face, he met Kenshin''s gaze, stating, "That isn''t the only reason you were sent here. Hanako is unable to trespass the domain of another unless someone enters with the intention of seeking lost children. You must be aware of her existence, or, at the very least, aware of the possibility of her existence in order for her to manifest" "" Realizing there was some truth to the rumors regarding Vahn''s deductive omniscience, the tensions in Kenshin''s body began to rx as a paradoxically oppressive yet serene aura began to exude from her body. The turquoise haori on her body, starkly contrasting the rest of her outfit, wasn''t worn out of a sense of pride or braggadociousness. She was, at the present moment, the greatest among all mortal swordsmen, women, and everything in between. Her Origin also ascribed her with the ability to break through encirclements and shatter the ranks of her enemies, so, even if she was trapped in an inescapable prison, she could break free so long as the people within identified her as an enemy. Amused by the overly serious woman before him, a teasing smile developed across Vahn''s face until he heard Musashi Pink muttered, "There he goes again" Promptly deciding against teasing the fiery-eyed brte, Vahn motioned towards the cushions he had prepared before returning to his seat, manifesting tea, and asking, "So? What, specifically, does the Nine Dragons Sword Association seek from my humble enterprise?" Taken aback by Vahn''s behavior, Kenshin found herself at a loss for how to respond. It didn''t help that Musashi ck immediately followed Pink''s example by taking a seat. As for Hanako, the only person still aware of her was Vahn. Kenshin knew she had to be around, but, unlike Vahn, she had very little affinity with beings possessing non-existent or acausal physiologies. Hanako wouldn''t be able to kill her due to the differences in their Origins, but, unless the Demoness went out of her way to draw attention to herself, even omniscient deities would find it difficult to sense her. (A/N: Simply put, a Lost/Forgotten Child could never defeat a swordsman recognized as Peerless Under Heaven.) Deciding it was for the best if she continues with her mission, Kenshin returned Musashi''s sword in an effort to remove the temptation from her heart before taking a seat and answering, "ording to the rumors, the Sage Dragon''s Hearth specializes in the production of Gifts. Simr stories credit you with the ability to awaken a person''s hidden potential. We have unearthed substantial evidence to back these allegations, but, no matter how dig we deep, we have been unable to ascertain what, exactly, you expect in return. How does the Sage Dragon''s Hearth benefit from empowering others? What is your aim?" Though they had conducted a thorough investigation into the Communities affiliated with the Sage Dragon''s Hearth through the Burgeoning Communities ord, the subsidiaries of Kotoamatsukami had failed to ascertain the reason behind Vahn''s actions. It would have made sense if he was trying to build a rapport with the people of the Little Garden, but, looking at his most recent actions, that didn''t seem to be the case. He also didn''t activelymunicate with or demand tributes from the Communities he assisted, so, while there was a possibility he would call upon them in the future, all evidence pointed to the fact that Vahn had helped them simply because he felt like it. Reinforcing this sentiment, Vahn just shrugged his shoulders, answering, "Everyone, be they good or evil, deserves the right to pursue strength if they''re willing to work for it. The reason I don''t care about benefits is that I have no need for them. As for my aims, well, I don''t see how they are any of your concerns. Even if you did ept my offer, it wouldn''t have anything to do with my penultimate goal, much less my final aspiration." Furrowing her brows, Kenshin asked, "You would empower the wicked in their pursuit of strength? Do you have no conscience?" Rolling his eyes, Vahn''s expression became a mocking deadpan as he asked, "Really? You''re going to lecture others on conscience when you willfully brought a Demon Lord that specializes in making children disappear into the home of someone who''s never wronged you? It always amazes me how truly hypocritical you ''justice'' types can be" Unable to refute Vahn''s words, Kenshin could only lower her head in shame, hands clenching into fists. She didn''t like the thought of employing Hanako any more than Musashi did. It simply wasn''t her decision to make Resisting the urge to snort, Vahn briefly cast his gaze towards Hanako. A smile immediately spread across her face, as, despite trying to kill him, she didn''t have any actual enmity toward Vahn. Killing people was just the most ''convenient'' method to ensure there was always at least one person who remembered her. There were a number of other reasons as well, but, as those were significantly less pleasant, she did her best not to even think about them. Ruffling the marginally more mature-looking girl''s hair, Vahn''s expression gradually rxed into a smile as he said, "Besides, you''re mistaken about one thing. More specifically, I haven''t exined to you the ''cost'' of receiving my aid" Retracing his hand from Hanako''s head, Vahn met Kenshin''s gaze, adding, "Anyone who signs one of my contracts epts the inevitability of being wiped out the moment theye anywhere near my bottom line. Trying to eliminate ''evil'' is a fruitless endeavor as even people such as yourself are capable of making exceptionally foolish decisions. Thus, rather than arbitrarily killing people I don''t like, I ce restrictions on them to make them act more in line with my principles. I provide them the means and opportunity to change. If they vite the terms of our contract after the fact, they only have themselves to me for the consequences of their actions" Tensing at the word ''consequences'', the fiery glow in Kenshin''s eyes became more prominent as she asked, "And what, exactly, are these consequences you speak of?" Shrugging his shoulders, a smile that didn''t quite reach his eyes spread across Vahn''s face as he answered, "As I stated previously, I don''t help people while expecting anything substantial return. If they vite our contract before the term expires, I will kill them without hesitation. I don''t believe in imprisoning people, and, unless theymitted some kind of heinous act against children, I see no merit in forcing people to suffer. I would rather just kill them and let the systems in ce sort them out. Simple as that." Though Vahn''s words might sound extreme, they were actually rtively tame in regards to the way most Gods dealt with their enemies. Nearly every major 4-Digit Faction had its own version of Hell, a ce where their enemies and people who refused to abide by their will would be made to suffer for all of eternity. In that regard, killing was a mercy, as, more often than not, it simply meant being reincarnated or descending into a lower realm. This often meant losing your memories, but, unless the person who killed you went out of their way to remove your inborn powers or Gifts, they would persist even after reincarnation. "I seeit would appear our Master may have misjudged you" Following her words, Kenshin attempted to perform an apologetic dogeza but found herself barred by an invisible force. This briefly improved her impression of Vahn until he, in a tone reminiscent of Musashi ck, stated, "Mistaken as she was regarding the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, Amaterasu is right to fear me. Soon enough, my Empire, the Aldrnari Empire, will span the entirety of the Divine Realm. I''m not particrly fond of the current state of affairs, so, unless they are willing to join me, Factions such as the Kotoamatsukami are bound to be shattered and subsumed. Thus, while I can appreciate your willingness to apologize, rest easy knowing there is no need. The moment she tasked you with inviting Hanako into my home, Amaterasu had already crossed my bottom line" Though his tone and expression gave off the impression he waspletely disinterested in the wordsing out of his mouth, the aura exuding from Vahn''s body caused even Musashi Pink to freeze in ce. He might not have any enmity towards Hanako, quite the opposite, but Loi-chan had made him very aware of her powers and abilities. As the Demon Lord of the Lost and Forgotten, Hanako didn''t even need to take personal action in order to make children simply spirit away. The only prerequisite was for a child to be neglected for even a moment. Then, unless the parent or guardian proactively searched for them, it would only take a few hours for them to forget they even existed. The most terrifying thing about Hanako''s ability was that it wouldn''t actually take the children away. Rather, from the perspective of the child, everyone would simply be ignoring them. They would still be able to interact with the world around them, but, even if they threw objects or violently attacked people in an effort to garner their attention, nothing would work. They would be lost and forgotten in a world filled with people. To make matters exponentially worse, the only people who could see them were Demons, Evil Spirits, and those who willfully predated on children. In their eyes, the Lost and Forgotten were a rare treat, as, even if theymitted all manner of heinous acts right in front of other people, no one would notice Though the odds of his children being spirited away were precisely 0%, Amaterasu had no way of knowing that. She knew it was a possibility, but, for the sole purpose of obtaining information, she sent Hanako into his home without regard for the consequences. After all, if the Lost and Forgotten couldn''t be remembered, what consequences could there possibly be? She would learn the answer to that question very, very soon . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''SCP-1504 had a daughter'',''Vahn almost had a rpse xD'',''To be Lost and Forgotten is a fate worse than death'') Chapter 2184: De-escalation

Chapter 2184: De-esction

Though she could understand Vahn''s anger, Kenshin was still an affiliate of Kotoamatsukami. She also didn''t believe her Goddess, Amaterasu mikami-sama, was as malicious as Vahn was making her out to be. There were times when she could be ruthless, but, as a Goddess in charge of one of thergest Factions in the Little Garden, showing weakness was the same as inviting tragedy upon the billions who relied on the Sun Goddess''s grace and protection. "Vahn-donoI believe there has-" Raising his hand to silence the nervous-looking swordswoman, Vahn said, "What you choose to believe has nothing to do with me. If Amaterasu wishes to apologize, she knows where I live. You have no right or reason to speak for her" "I-" "Have misinterpreted my words? Yeah, I noticed. Don''t worry, even if Kotoamatsukami attempts to wage war against the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, I have no intention of holding anyone but the people in charge ountable. Stop looking at me like I''m some kind of monster that''s going to appear in your territory and start ughtering innocents. I am not your Goddess." "" As she had never been the most sociable person, Kenshin found herself at aplete loss in the face of Vahn''s words. This seemed to amuse Musashi ck quite a bit, a cheeky smile developing across her no longer bored expression as she remarked, "Wow, you really know how to put people in their ce, don''t you? If you''re half as good with your sword as you are with your-" Interrupting before her counterpart could finish, Musashi Pink stated, "Don''t even think about it, doll face. Unless you''re prepared to spread those pretty little legs of yours, you shouldn''t involve yourself with this one. He has a thing for strong-willed women and you won''t be able to get him out of your head once he sends you back to foundation building" Though the thought of Vahn dominating another Musashi made her more than a little giddy, Pink would much rather be rid of the raven-haired swordswoman. As novel as this encounter had been, the world had no need for two Miyamoto Musashi(s). Demonstrating she wasn''t all that different from her sakura-haired counterpart, ck gave Vahn a clearly intrigued look. She was no stranger to the rtions between men and women. Rather, once you reached her level, there was little else to do but drown yourself in alcohol and debauchery. Unfortunately, like many of the most powerful swordsmen in the East Side, the only people ck would sleep with were those she recognized as her contemporaries. For one reason or another, this meant most of her partners in thest three hundred years had been female. Herst male partner had been Sasaki Kojiros, but, ever since he got yed to death by the Purple Demon, the reclusive swordsman had spent more than fifty years in seclusion Seemingly having made up her mind, a smile developed across ck''s face as she replied, "Sounds like fun." Though she wasn''t particrly surprised by her counterpart''s brazenness, an exasperated sigh still escaped Pink''s lips. She had once been willing to give up everything, even her soul, just to pursue the path of swordsmanship a few steps further. Instead, Vahn showed her countless paths she had never even considered. Now, even if she were to fight against an innumerable number of her past selves, they might not even be able toprehend how they died Simply put, if Vahn humored ck, the raven-haired woman would doubtlessly be obsessed with him. Pink wouldn''t have been bothered if ck was anyone else, but, imagining Vahn calling out the name ''Musashi'' while he was with another woman caused a chill simr to sword intent to exude from the very core of her being. Thus, before she even realized the wordsing out of her mouth, she locked eyes with her raven-haired counterpart, a vicious smile on her face as she said, "Over my dead body" Undaunted by her counterpart''s words, an equally vicious smile developed across the face of ck as she retorted, "Don''t tempt me with a good time, Pinky" Recovering a bit thanks to the actions of the two Musashi(s), Kenshin cleared her throat, a mask of calm veiling her previous nervousness as she stated, "That isn''t the reason we came here, Musashi. If the two of you are insistent on determining the ''True Musashi'', I suggest settling things at Gojo Ohashi. Quarreling like children behind closed doors is inappropriate for people of your status and ability" Though she would normally abide by Kenshin''s words, a snort escaped ck''s nose as she replied, "I''m to learn propriety from someone who invites an assassin into the home of a person they are trying to make a deal with? Shave your head and go preach somewhere else" Inhaling an inhumanly deep breath, Kenshin''s hair and clothes began to bristle as if acted upon by a powerful wind. This caused the color to drain from ck''s face, but, having known Kenshin for more than three hundred years, she was fairly certain the highly principled swordswoman wouldn''t attack over a few teasing words While ck''s assessment of the situation wasn''t entirely incorrect, she had failed to ount for the fact that Kenshin was even more upset by the situation than she was. She abhorred such tactics, yet, due to her status as the ''Peerless Under Heaven'', she bore the burden of executing Amaterasu''s will. Causing ck to pale even further, Kenshin, with a pouty expression and tears beginning to build in the corners of her eyes, pulled out a piece of folded washi paper, a Japanese-style long brush, and a high-quality inkstone. "H-Hold on a minute, Kenshin! It was just a joke! A joke!" Ignoring Musashi ck''s words, Kenshin suppressed a few sniffles as she aggressively prepared her brush for use. She was fully intent on issuing a challenge letter to her longtime friend and rival, but, before she could finish scraping the inkstone, Vahn interrupted, asking, "Uhcan we get on with our discussion? As much as I''m enjoying this little exchange, I have other matters to attend to. You also need to inform your Master that she has crossed my bottom line. I would feel guilty if I showed up and she had no idea why I was punishing her" Wiping away the evidence of her indignant fury using the sleeve of her kimono, Kenshin managed to regain her mask of calm as she said, "Vahn-dono is correctplease forgive my imprudence" in an audibly strained tone. Restraining the urge to scratch the back of his head, Vahn forced a smile as he said, "Don''t worry about itnow, where were we?" . Though Musashi and Kenshin ultimately refused his services, Vahn didn''t particrly mind. He knew their only intention had been gathering information. Since his contract and services weren''t exactly a secret, he just treated the interaction as entertaining guests. Going into the discussion, Vahn''s only goal had been introducing Musashi to her counterpart in the Nine Dragons Sword Association. The appearance, heck, the very existence of Hanako had caught himpletely off guard. Thus, while he was more than a little incensed by Amaterasu''s disregard for the safety of his children, Vahn didn''t mind putting off her potential execution so he could help the peculiar Demon Lord get settled. With this in mind, Vahn linked the Temporal Axes between their two territories before asking Da Vinci to return to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. When she heard the reason for his request, she didn''t even hesitate before dropping everything else she was working on, as,pared to the mundane task of conquering the West Side, investigating an anomalous existence on the level of Hanako was infinitely more interesting. Seeing Hanako for herself, albeit after using quite a number of advanced detection spells, Da Vinci''s eyes shifted like a kic painting as she remarked, "Oh myhad I not already conducted 1,307,492 studies into non-existent physiologies, I would never have imagined such a person could existwell, appear to exist" As Vahn had been her primary focus for the better part of 50,000 years, Da Vinci had done ''a lot'' of research into his anomalous properties. She was even aware of the existence of the Law of Identity. After all, she was literally the person who nted the idea of creating her Temte in Vahn''s mind. Thus, as tantalizingly intriguing as Hanako''s physiology was, Da Vinci wasn''t particrly impressed by it. Compared to Vahn''s ability to separate himself from the Axes of Time, Space, and Reality itself, Hanako''s ability was quite a low level Realizing she was, once again,paring one of her subjects to Vahn, specks of pink appeared in Da Vinci''s eyes as she sent a yful gaze his way. At the same time, the inordinately thick tail that dangled from the bottom of her skirt perked up slightly. It wasn''t enough to show anything but it was more than enough to nt ideas in Vahn''s mind Shaking his head, Vahn resisted the urge to ruffle Da Vinci''s indescribably smooth hair as he said, "I need you to develop an upgrade for Will and the Companions. Though it could sever the concepts binding Hanako-" "Someone else would invariably appear as her recement. Worry yourself no longer, my beloved. Now that I''m here, the matter may as well be settled. Just make sure you prepare a suitable reward, okay~?" Wafting a few her pheromones Vahn''s way, Da Vinci''s already picturesque smile be a peerless masterpiece as she saw his pupils contract into thin slits. He might keep it concealed at most times, but, deep down, potentially serving as the foundation of his very being, Vahn was still a Dragon. She had restructured her body countless times in order to bepletely irresistible to him, so, while he no longer pushed her down the moment she teased him, Da Vinci took pleasure in knowing he had to stop time just to hold himself back "Unless you''re going to start painting me, I''d rather not continue holding this position" As her SS-Ranked Embodiment of Beautypelled her to present her best angle when she was smiling directly at someone, Da Vinci couldn''t help speaking out to interrupt Vahn''s gawking. The very faint blush that developed across his face caused her smile to be even more prominent, but, thanks to him averting his eyes, she was able to return her attention to Hanako, saying, "Shall we move to myb? Don''t worry, none of the tests I''ll be conducting are invasive in a manner that might cause you any harm. I swear by every Gift I have and ever will possess." With a Geass Roll literally appearing in response to Da Vinci''s words, Hanako was able to breathe a little easier. She had long grown indifferent to the pain and suffering wrought by human curiosity and experimentation, but, if given the option, she would rather avoid it. Da Vinci gave her a simr impression to the Scientists who once held her captive during her brief stay in the West Side. They had also worn kind smiles, but, shortly after agreeing to let them ''protect'' her, they stored her away in an underground containment facility and performed all manner of inhumane experiments on her. Though there were various loopholes to be exploited when it came to Geass Rolls, there were few greater assurances than a person swearing by their Gifts. If they vited their promise, they would never, under any circumstances, be able to make use of a single Gift. This included tools, and, more notably, things as instrumental as water produced by a Water Tree. In other words, if Da Vinci broke her promise, she wouldn''t even be able to eat or drink if said food and water were produced from a Gift. Extending her hand, Hanako epted Da Vinci''s with a smile. Her nature made it impossible for her to ever truly trust another person, but, much like an actual Lost and Forgotten child, Hanako could be remarkably gullible in the face of kindness, real or otherwise Seeing through each and every one of Hanako''s thoughts, an indescribably motherly expression promptly developed across Da Vinci''s face. She could understand why Vahn would want to help such a girl, so, even if Hanako never trusted her, Da Vinci swore in her heart she would never let either of them down . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''We have ourselves a Hignder situation here'',''Kenshin is surprisingly cute xD'',''Every time Da Vinci appears, she immediately puts herself into contention for the title of Best Girl'') Chapter 2185: Serenity, Chaos, and Time

Chapter 2185: Serenity, Chaos, and Time

Entrusting the matter of Hanako to Da Vinci, the version of Vahn that had called her over made his way to a rtively ''distant'' location within the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Contrasting thepletely normal exterior, the interior of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth had expanded exponentially since its establishment. Each room could serve as a localized Realm, and, the moment you descended into the basement, abyrinth reminiscent of Benienma''s Enmatei awaited you. Unless you had permission to be there, navigating the more secure regions of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth was like trying to travel between dimensions without even the most rudimentary mastery over space and time. Every path would lead you back to the entrance, and, unless you knew the spatial coordinates of your destination, forcing open any of the doors would connect you to the streets outside. The only beings that could outright ignore the security measures of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth were Vahn, Will, and the Companions. This was an intentional design w, as, throughout the course of his life, Vahn had learned that the more secure and off-limits a ce was, the more likely a Child of Destiny would find their way in. It might not happen any time soon, but, so long as there was a rare or powerful treasure contained within, fate would conspire to have someone make use of it Bypassing the doors that would have contained his personal atelier and workshop, Vahn entered a door connecting to what appeared to be an outdoor antechamber. It was a small space decorated with various types of nts, but, more importantly, there were three ancient-looking marble doors perfectly interspaced at each of the cardinal directions. There was also a stone bench, but, ignoring everything else, Vahn made his way to the Easternmost door, an entrance marked with the motifs of various animals. cing his hand at the center of the stone door, a magical pattern reminiscent of vines immediately lit up before gradually covering the surface. Once it had, the material of the door appeared to break down into mist-like particles, but, instead of dispersing like a gaseous vapor, it held its form even as Vahn passed through to the other side. Passing through the door, Vahn found himself in the center of an almost spherical clearing formed from various nts. The stone door immediately solidified behind him, but, rather than connecting to anything, it stood at the exact center of the clear,pletely isted from everything except the stone tform it was situated upon. Spreading his senses through the area, a smile developed across Vahn''s face as he extended his hand to form a cantaloupe-sized rhinoceros beetle. Instead of a ck carapace, however, it was formed almost entirely of a deep, amethyst-purple crystal that exuded a tremendous amount of magical energy. Following the appearance of the beetle, an amorphous white blur entered the clearing without producing so much as a single sound. Then, despite moving at massively hypersonic speeds, it impacted Vahn''s body without pushing him backward before coiling around his torso and into his tunic before emerging from his sleeve in the form of a diminutive girl possessing six arms, healthy brown skin,rge fluffy ears, and a body covered in predominately white fur. Using two of her arms and legs, the tiny figuretched to Vahn''s arm while seizing the beetle in his hand with a ravenous expression on her face. It didn''t matter that the beetle was nearly asrge as her head. The moment her ws prated its crystalline carapace, her jaw stretched in a manner eerily reminiscent of a cartoon character as she chomped down on more than a third of the fretful insect in a single bite. Chuckling in amusement at the sight, several other insects began to emerge from Vahn''s body as he took a seat. Immediately thereafter, several other phantoms entered the clearing, each darting over to one of the insects on his body before iming their prize and perching themselves upon him. This continued until the only part of his body uncovered by fluffy white fur was Vahn''s wryly smiling face. Fortunately, the moment they realized there was no room left for them to perch, the amorphous little girls began to meld together until they had constructed a form evenrger than Vahn. Then, as they would much rather be smaller, the oversized anomaly spontaneously shrunk until she was able to sit snuggly within Vahn''sp. Several other versions of her showed up after that, but, rather than pouncing on Vahn, they epted their prize before shrinking down andbining with the version of themselves purring in response to his caress With several minutes passing, each of the stragglers was finally able to reach the clearing. Then, and only then, did Vahn break the silence, asking, "Have you been getting along with your brother and sister?" Responding to Vahn''s inquiry, the fluffy white creature ceased purring before raising its head and adopting a far more human appearance as it stated, "Xys has been a good girl." Pinching the loveable little girl''s cheeks, Vahn adopted an affectionate smile as he mused, "Xysteria is always a good girl." With her eyes widened to an almostical extent, Xysteria muttered a mystified, "Woh" before promptly pouncing on her papa and eximing, "Xys loves Papa~!" in a happy tone. Chuckling in response to the overly affectionate girl''s words, Vahnbed down Xysteria''s fan-like tails before supporting her like a ko. This was always enough to immediately calm her down, so, while her body morphed into a form easier to hold, Vahn shifted his attention towards empty space and asked, "Are you not going toe out and say hello?" Responding to Vahn''s words, a soft yet perennially calm voice answered, "I didn''t want to interrupt before you seeded in calming her down." Manifesting along with the words, even though his mouth didn''t move, was a remarkably thin and petite young boy resembling a time-themed harlequin. There were various timepieces adorning his body, but, far more noticeable than the youth''s appearance were the illusory clocks that encircled his body like pale-blue, three-dimensional projections. "Though it has only been seventeen hours, thirty-three minutes, and forty-nine seconds since west met, it is good to see you father." Though the youth''s expression didn''t change in the slightest, he punctuated his words by removing the bicorn cap from his head. This revealed an extra set of cat ears, but, more importantly, allowed Vahn to extend his hand and gently ruffle the youth''s pale, ashen-grey hair as he said, "It''s good to see you as well, Krona. I trust you have been keeping things in order while I was away?" Offering the faintest of smiles, Krona, once again without his mouth moving, answered, "Of course. I would never betray the trust that Father and Mother have ced in me. Speaking of which, how has Mother been? I miss her dearly." Smiling wryly in response to his son''s mncholic remark, Vahn resisted the urge to remind him he could always go and visit ya whenever he wanted. Unfortunately, unless the they were on was put into stasis, he refused to divert his attention for so much as a single attosecond. ya had given him the task of observing and protecting Silva, so, unless she manifested to apany them, Krona wasn''t going anywhere. Unfortunately, ya had a very simr mentality. She was constantly monitoring each and every one of Gaia''s ever-increasing Textures, so, unless Vahn put his foot down, paused time, and brought everyone together, the headstrong mother and son refused to take a break. Though he was tempted to do exactly that, Vahn''s options were limited as Silva was currently in a dormant state. She was getting ready to ''birth'' her first generation of Gods, so, while Xysteria drove evolution on the Surface, Krona kept silent vigil over Silva as she gathered strength in the''s core. "Don''t worry. It probably won''t be today but I''ll make sure to bring it up the next time I see ya. It''s been a while so I''m pretty sure I can talk her and your other mothers into an impromptu family reunion of sorts." Perking up in response to Vahn''s words, Xysteria grew to the size of a small, approximately ten-year-old child she excitedly inquired, "Tiamamae here!?" Though he channeled a bit of calming energy into her back to reduce Xysteria''s tensions, Vahn didn''t hesitate to nod his head, answering, "Of course. The two of you can even y in the sea again." As the sea was basically the starting point of terrestrial life, it was the region most susceptible to Tiamat''s and Xysteria''s influence. This made it a remarkably dangerous ce for Xysteria to y, but, as sapient life had yet to form on Silva''s surface, advancing evolution by a few million years over the course of a single barbeque wasn''t necessarily a bad thing. Rather, Silva and Krona had grown fond of their chaotic little sister''s creations Unable to contain herself, even with Vahn''s coaxing, Xysteria''s body continued to increase in size until he could no longer hold her naturally. Then, undermining his efforts from before, her body promptly ''exploded'' into more than a hundred different versions of herself. This caused the original Xysteria to feel more than a little guilty, but, before she could even think to apologize, Vahn took a seat and repeated simr words as before, stating, "No need to get upset. Even when you''re split up like this, Xysteria is still a good girl." Though a few of her less stable counterparts wandered off into the surrounding, primordial forest, the vast majority of Xysteria(s) immediately pounced on their Papa. Receiving his praise made her tummy feel like it was filled with a swarm of tiny, winged insects. It was a very unpleasant feeling if she tried to suppress it, so, whenever she felt happy or excited, Xysteria let everything out without inhibition. This was something she could only do with her Papa, so, knowing it was only a matter of time until he had to leave, she practically buried him in her clones, each vying for the opportunity to be closest to his warmth. Fortunately, the moment he realized this, Vahn unhesitantly abandoned his human form, willfully assuming a more amorphous form so that he could ''embrace'' each of the Xysteria(s) at the same time. This prompted Krona to pull out one of his timepieces, arge pocket watch, as, rather than feeling as though he was being ignored, he rather enjoyed documenting how long it took his father to calm Xysteria down . Emerging from the ancient-looking door with unkempt hair and a number of persistent bite marks all over his body, Vahn made his way over to the Northernmost door to meet with ya, Gaia, and Tiamat. Silva wouldn''t be waking up any time soon, but, if they really wanted to, it was possible for Krona to advance the flow of time within her Realm until the exact moment when she woke up. As a Primordial God of Time, Krona had all the knowledge and memories of his past, present, and future selves. The only variables in his life were Vahn, his immediate family members, and anyone who gained ess to his sister''s Realm from the ''outside''. For this reason, he was very fond of his family, as, for the most part, they were the only things that added even a hint of spice to his life. Understanding this, Vahn did his best to abide by any requests Krona made of him. This included speaking to ya on his behalf, but, before he could do that, he had to pacify yet another force of chaos. This one manifested in the form of a remarkably beautiful woman with inordinately long hair that cascaded from her scalp like a literal waterfall. Her eyes, radiation a pink glow, seemed capable of piercing through the very truths of the universe, but, far more noticeable than anything else was the skintight bunny suit and rabbit-like ears currently veiling her indescribably voluptuous body "Vaaaaah,e y with me~" Unable to resist the woman''s invitation, Vahn allowed her to pull him into an isted sub-space, a dry chuckle emanating from his throat as he mused, "It''s good to see you as well, Tia" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The Sage Dragon''s Hearth is like one of those optional/secret dungeons you identally stumble upon in an RPG'',''Xysteria is too precious for this world'',''Vahn is powerless against the danger bun'') Chapter 2186: Antithesis

Chapter 2186: Antithesis

After checking in and spending time with each of his children, much of Vahn''s hostility towards Amaterasu had mellowed. He still nned to teach her a lesson, but, so long as she apologized, he would spare her too much indignation. At the end of the day, Vahn wasn''t a very cruel or malicious person. Amaterasu''s only real crime was the fact that she had disregarded the existence of his children. As there were people who genuinely wished them harm, people who Vahn ignored due to their powerlessness, holding a grudge against her served very little purpose. Fortunately for Amaterasu, dealing with Kotoamatsukami wasn''t even phase two of Vahn''s current n. That involved bing, or, at the very least, gaining control over the Northern Floor Master. He was actually nning to use the festival to announce the existence of the Aldrnari Empire, so, in the grand scheme of things, dealing with Amaterasu wasn''t even a tertiary matter. Though some might criticize him for ack of vignce, the simple truth of the matter was that Vahn didn''t fear anyone, or, more urately, anything outside the 1-3-Digit Gates. If he did, his n wouldn''t include the possibility of going to war against the ''entire'' Little Garden. Having given it quite a bit of thought during his stay in the Actualized World of Dragon Ball, Vahn had already decided upon the theme of his Last Embryo, the name of the most infamous Gift Game and the designation he would invariably be given once it had concluded. While the other Gods had to expend a bit of their essence in order to create things, Vahn was able to, quite literally, bypass this requirement. He could create without any upper limit, so, taking into consideration his other abilities, Vahn decided to be the Last Embryo personifying Excess and Change. With the exception of Empathy and Compassion, Excess and Change were the most prominent traits that remained once Vahn broke down and evaluated his character. They best exined his behavior, and, more importantly, represented the traits even his loved ones associated with him. By installing himself as the Last Embryo of Excess and Change, Vahn wasying the groundwork to subsume the entirety of the Divine Realm. This was the penultimate step required to advance to a Tier 7 being, so, for the sake of reuniting with his family and making the Little Garden a safer ce, Vahn was willing to crush any and all who stood in his way . "Since her existence as the Lost and Forgotten would fade if she was remembered by many people, I decided to borrow a bit of inspiration from that Launchss to create this! Behold! The Antithesis Locket~! " Dangling an ornate, amethyst-infused silver locket in her hand, the only thing preventing Da Vinci''s nose from extending was the fact it would have marred her beauty. She took great pride in each of her creations, so, even though the Antithesis Locket was rtively straightforward in its design and function, Da Vinci couldn''t help beaming as she showed it off in front of Vahn. epting the proferred locket, Vahn turned it over in his hand a few times in order to inspect the internal structure and craftsmanship. He also took a moment to deconstruct the enchantment Da Vinci had ced on it. The magical formation was like a multi-dimensionalbyrinth, but, as one of the people Da Vinci had authorized to peek inside, Vahn was able to inspect the entire thing in less time than it would have taken most people to blink. "As impressive as it is terrifying" Though failsafes made up more than 90% of the locket''s structure, the notion of an essory that could invert the nature of a Conceptual Entity was terrifying. In the hands of someone like Hanako, it was rtively safe. If it was weaponized, it would instantly throw the entire Order of Creation out of bnce. After all, unless they had a countermeasure against it, Da Vinci could gift lesser versions of the Locket to her enemies and they would promptly transition from greedy and licentious people to fair, almost saint-like individuals Seeing through Vahn''s thoughts as if they were her own, Da Vinci poked out her ruby-red tongue before snatching back the pendant and saying, "You''re looking down on me. If I required trinkets such as this to deal with my enemies, I wouldn''t be worthy of standing at your side until the end of existence. The only reason this locket exists is to aid Hanako. Nothing more, nothing less." On that note, Da Vinci handed the locket over to Hanako, who, as per usual, just stood off to the side and observed. She was so used to being ignored, that, unless they were actively looking at or talking to her, she simply assumed she had been forgotten. Donning the oversized silver locket, Hanako marveled at the purple heart adorning its center before holding it over her heart. This was the Activation Key that Da Vinci had prepared. She found it to be a lot more ''thematically relevant'' than a simple sneeze Nearly as soon as Hanako willed the change to happen, her hair transitioned from a neutral brown to a silvery, pristine white. At the same time, her previously forgettable features became wless to the point that, even with Da Vinci standing near, Vahn had to admit she was a remarkably beautiful, ostensibly unforgettable youngdy. Opening her previously brown eyes, Hanako revealed a pair of aquamarine irises that glistened like multi-faceted gemstones. This caused a wry yet appreciative smile to develop across Vahn''s face, as, even without asking Loi-chan for rification, it wasn''t difficult to grasp Hanako''s reason for settling on olive skin and aquamarine eyes ("Looks like we''ve got ourselves an adorable little daughter") Hearing Da Vinci''s enchanting voice echoing within his mind, a soft chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat as he took a knee to match Hanako''s inquisitive gaze. The Antithesis Locket wasn''t designed to influence her mind directly, but, when the very nature of your being changed, there were bound to be some side effects. "How are you feeling?" Though she readily met Vahn''s gaze, Hanako didn''t immediately answer his question. The truth was, she didn''t really feel all that different. She still had the exact same thoughts and memories. The only thing that had changed was herawareness? It was hard to put into words. All she knew for certain was that she was fully aware of herself, and, to a lesser extent, the awareness of others "I don''t know how to describe itI feel like myself, but, at the same time, I feel like someone else?" Nodding her head, Da Vinci manifested a disy that only she could see, analyzing Hanako''s body as she exined, "In this state, you no longer represent the Lost and Forgotten. Instead, while you are still a Demon Lord, your nature is that of the Found and Remembered. Simr to your previous self, your form would change based on the perception of the people who perceive you most clearly. At the present moment, you resemble what you might have looked like had you been born as one of Vahn''s children." Manifesting a circr mirror, Da Vinci allowed Hanako a better look at her current form. At the same time, she monitored the structure of the Demoness''s body to see how it would change in rtion to her observation. Unsurprisingly, the structure of Hanako''s body became significantly more stable the moment she saw her reflection in the mirror. The only thing that changed was the color of her hair, as, despite finding the silvery-white color beautiful, she had always associated herself with having brown hair. Smiling radiantly in response to the change, Da Vinci made a few notes in Hanako''s profile as she exined, "There are a few things you''ll need to keep in mind when using the Antithesis Locket. It has a remarkably powerful enchantment that serves as a contract with the Central Network. You are able to stay in this form as long as you like, but, the moment you revert back to the Demon Lord of the Lost and Forgotten, you will be obliged to stay in that form for an equivalent amount of time. In other words, an hour in this form mandates an hour in that form" "Fortunately, as you''ve already spent a tremendous amount of time as the Demon Lord of the Lost and Forgotten, you have a rather substantial stockpile saved up. Even if you stay in this form for the next 200,000 years, there shouldn''t be any major issues. At the very least, we''ll havee up with a few other solutions before then." Hearing Da Vinci''s exnation, Hanako almost couldn''t believe her ears. She wasn''t entirely sure how old she was, but, prior to entering the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, she would be happy if people remembered her for more than a few hours, days, or weeks at a time. Now, as the Demon Lord of the Found and Remembered, it would be impossible for people to forget her unless she willfully changed back Feeling a sourness in her nose that hadn''t appeared in quite some time, Hanako gripped the fabric of her hoodie with enough force to turn her knuckles white. She felt like she had just received the most precious gift in the entire world, but, before she could even express her gratitude, she felt as though she had received something far more important as Vahn wrapped her arms around her and said, "It''s okay to cry" in the most gentle and fatherly tone she had ever heard. Unable to suppress herself, emotions Hanako didn''t even know she had surged through her mental defenses like an unstoppable deluge. Since her powers as the Lost and Forgotten had also affected her perception of self, it had never even urred to her that she might be remembered and cared for by others. She had suffered so much that it couldn''t even be put into words, yet, no matter how bad things got, she had never once questioned the reason for her existence. It was only at this exact moment that Hanako realized there was so much more to life than the suffering she had been born into. Thus, the moment she received Vahn''s permission to cry, that is exactly what she didnot just for herself, but for the countless people who had been lost and forgotten throughout history It was a very long cry . Observing the scene of Vahnforting and coaxing Hanako, an indescribable longing could be seen in Shiroyasha''s eyes. The locket that Da Vinci had created was yet another bnce-breaking creation, yet, as if it was a simple trinket, it had been entrusted to a little girl that few people even knew existed. Though she could understand why Vahn had taken action to help Hanako, Shiroyasha couldn''t helpmenting hisck of foresight. It wouldn''t be a problem if she remained in the confines of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, but, the moment Hanako ventured outside, everyone who gazed upon her would be unable to forget about her. This may not sound like a terrible thing at first, but, in a realm where poprity was one of the most important measures for Authority, Hanako now had the potential to be one of the most powerful beings in the Divine Realm. Exhaling a sigh, Shiroyasha attempted to console herself with the notion that Hanako wouldn''t be concerned with such matters. Now that she had found a family, she wasn''t likely to leave the Sage Dragon''s Hearth unless Vahn or Da Vinci specifically asked her to. Thus, rather than bing one of the most powerful beings in the Divine Realm, it was infinitely more likely that she would develop into something like a Poet. There was even a chance that Vahn had nned for this, but, unless he had been gaming her this entire time, Shiroyasha heavily doubted it. Da Vinci, on the other handsuch developments were right up her alley "I really don''t want to meet with that woman" . (A/N: My friend thought he would ''surprise'' me by stopping by yesterday morning and dragging me over to visit my family. I hadn''t really gone home ever since my mom''s funeral so he was a little worried that I had been ghosting them. Sorry for theck of releases yesterday. I can''t promise I''ll make up for them but things should be rtively normal now that I''m back.) Chapter 2187: Peculiarities : Home

Chapter 2187: Peculiarities : Home

While his counterpart split off to introduce Hanako to everyone currently living within the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, a different version of Vahn stayed back in order to give Da Vinci her ''reward''. Though the word ''reward'' both sounded and was sexual, sex wasn''t the only thing Da Vinci demanded from Vahn during their brief, three-week stay in herboratory. He was still her primary research subject, so, whenever she got him alone for long periods of time, Vahn had little choice but to submit himself for testing. Fortunately, as dangerous and disconcerting as the word testing sounded, it wasn''t particrly invasive. Da Vinci had long concluded that she wouldn''t be able to make headway on his blood andposition until he reached the pinnacle, so, rather than focus on his physical and spiritual forms, her primary interest in recent years was Vahn''s mental and emotional development. As intent and willpower were two of the most important factors to determining a person''s power and authority, Da Vinci wanted to know everything there was to know about Vahn. She had even proposed ''piggybacking'' his mind at one point, but, as supportive as he was of her research, Vahn had readily refused her. Sis was also opposed to the idea, for a number of reasons, so Da Vinci had little choice but to interpret his world through Memory Projections and via direct questioning. This is where things got interesting, as, for the sake of establishing a baseline she was intimately familiar, Da Vinci used their ''sexcapades'' as the central focus of her research. In other words, they would ''experiment'' with all manner of ys and positions before watching it back and analyzing it together. It was a remarkably embarrassing experience, but, after a while, Vahn had learned to enjoy it. After all, he wasn''t the only one embarrassed . "I can still recallthe dayswhen this form made you ufortableit''s amazing how timecan change thingsso drasticallyisn''t it?" Though she was doing her best to remain calm, a thick ze covered Da Vinci''s eyes like an oil painting as she stared off into space. Her body was currently enduring such an extreme amount of pleasure that she had needed to partition a piece of her psyche just to avoid sinking wholly into the abyss that was Vahn. It wouldn''t be the first time he had ''broken'' her, but, for both their sakes, Da Vinci did her best to remain sane even as she goaded him into more precarious ys Instead of immediately responding to Da Vinci''s words, a greater volume of the nebulous ck goo that currently formed Vahn''s body surged into the visibly swollen abdomen of her ''Lily'' form. At the same time, tendrils formed from the same substance coiled around her body, several holding her in ce while innumerable others massaged each and every nerve cluster, muscle, and meridian in her body. There were even extremely fine, hair-like tendrils extending into her ears Retracting said tendrils, Vahn''s voice, seemingly echoing from everywhere, answered, "I''m still put off by such forms. I simply tolerate them out of respect for my partners. If you weren''t more than 50,000 years old, I would never do something like thisregardless of your form" Inverting Da Vinci''s body, forcing her to dangle upside down, Vahn''s tendrils began to coalesce until they had formed a nebulous mass reminiscent of the cosmos covering Da Vinci''s body. Then, as countless lines of data ran across her phantasmagorical irises, the mass slowly epassed her entire body (A/N: O_O) . After recreating her body and snuggling up to Vahn in her far more mature form, Da Vinci nestled as close as she possibly could to him before muttering, "I know you don''t, but I still feelpelled to ask if you need my help. I may be a pacifist but I''m confident I cane out ahead in most Gift Games" Much like before, Vahn didn''t immediately respond to Da Vinci''s words. Instead, he made his right hand predominately immaterial before sinking it into her body and directly caressing her interior of her right buttock. This caused a tantalizing blush to develop across Da Vinci''s face, but, after what she had just experienced, the pleasure derived from the Hands of Nirvana was like having someone ce a single cube of ice against your skin after spending an hour in an ice bath. "If the two of us worked together, there wouldn''t be anything for the others to do. Besides, you still have difficulties in the West to take care of. I don''t mind bringing you with me to the North, but, for the time being, I would rather you focus on addressing the matters in your own district" Though she puffed out her cheeks ever so slightly, Da Vinci didn''t insist on Vahn allowing her to help out. Instead, she swat away his hand before standing up and reaching into the void to grab what appeared to be a golden ring. The diameter made it appear more like a bracelet than a ring, but, before he could even ask what it was for, Vahn''s expression turned wry as Da Vinci exined, "I''ve been researching methods to make it easier for you to deal with multiple women at the same time. This ring pairs with the most recent version of the Aegis I''ve developed, the Aegis XXX. All you need to do is insert your penis inside andyou know what, why don''t I just demonstrate it for you?" On that note, Da Vinci tossed the ''ring'' towards Vahn before reaching into the void to procure one of the upgraded [REquip] Systems. Her body was immediately garbed in her characteristic red and blue garb, but, beneath the renaissance-style clothing, a rather futuristic pair of underwear covered her breasts and bottom. Resisting the urge to shake his head and shrug his shoulders, Vahn donned the ring without putting much thought into it. In response, a tantalizing smile developed across Da Vinci''s face as she licked her lips and said, "Think of me" in a sultry tone. Doing exactly that, Vahn was more intrigued than surprised when a realistic yet slightly transparent version of Da Vinci manifested atop his hips. At the same time, he felt a ''very'' familiar pressure and warmth wrapped around him as Da Vinci flexed her abdominal muscles and asked, "How is it? Now we can have sex even when I''m preupied with work. Better yet, it includes a Layer, Visibility, and Dy mode. The Layer mode allows you to ovep multiple women in a simr manner to Aoko''s Magic Blue. As for the Visibility and Dy modes, the former allows you to toggle off the projection while thetter synchronizes with the Aegis XXX to make sure yourministrations aren''t interfering with someone''s work. Put simply, it allows your sex in the present to provide pleasure to women in the future. It even takes the person''s sensitivity into-" Realizing she was going on a tangent, Vahn''s expression turned into a wry deadpan as he said, "Da Vinci" in a helpless tone. Coming to her senses, a picturesque smile developed across Da Vinci''s face as she asked, "Yes? Is there something you''d like to ask~?" Shaking his head, Vahn removed the ring from his penis before rising to his feet and saying, "You know I can''t use something like this. I mean, I don''t really mind, but I don''t have sex simply to feel good" Giggling in response to Vahn''s words, Da Vinci pushed back the ring he was proferring toward her, saying, "You''re misunderstanding. This is more for the women around you than yourself. There are times when we want to get off but hold ourselves back because we don''t want to travel all the way to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. There is also a substantial amount of interest in experiencing what it''s like to be in the position of others. The Aegis XXX makes this possible as ites equipped with an option to allow the wearer to interface with the projections of others. In other words, if you made love to me while wearing that ring, anyone who wears the Aegis XXX would be able to experience it at their leisure" Though he understood what Da Vinci was saying, Vahn couldn''t help gawking as the implications of her words washed over him. The Aegis XXX, much as the name suggested, was, quite literally, a tool for masturbation. If he epted and made use- Interrupting Vahn''s train of thought, Da Vinci moved forward to embrace him as she said, "You''re overthinking things. If we were given the choice between you and a tool, each and every single one of us would choose you. The simple fact of the matter is that we each have our own responsibilities, and, while you are perfectly capable of tending to our needs, doing so obligates you to split your body and invest an inordinate amount of time towards our gratification. This is merely a stop-gap measure so that our urges don''t build up while we''re focused on other things. Nothing could ever possibly rece you, Vahn" Feeling the tensions drain from his body, Vahn wrapped his arms around Da Vinci''s indescribably soft and petite frame. She was only 165cm tall in her most mature form, so, with his current height reaching 188cm, Vahn towered over her quite a bit After waiting for Vahn to calm down, Da Vinci gradually loosened her hold on his body, a teasing smile developing across her face as she exined, "This is actually apromise we made after a discussion regarding the use of dildos and other forms of masturbation assistance. Only a handful of people werefortable with the notion of inserting something ''foreign'' into their bodies, so, rather than settle for a recement, we came up with the idea of linking your penis to our vaginas through causal maniption. Now, even if we''reforting ourselves in private, the thing getting us off is, and always will be, the genuine article" Punctuating her statement, Da Vinci slipped the ring onto Vahn''s penis before linking her arms around his neck and doing the same with her body. She knew it would take a little more than words to convince him, so, for the sake of expediting things, she drew her lips close to his right ear before whispering, "I already received permission from the Council of Wiveseach and every one of them is currently wearing an upgraded Aegis" In response to Da Vinci''s words, projections of Artoria, Luvia, Olga, Rin, Eva, Asuna, Semiramis, and every other member of the Council of Wives manifested as realistic, ovepping projections. At the same time, the pressure on Vahn''s penis increased explosively, as, much like when he made love to Aoko, he was experiencing more than a dozen different pressures and warmth simultaneously . After meeting everyone in the Sage Dragon''s Hearth and settling into her room, Hanako found herself staring off into space with a rare smile on her face. She had never expected that the person she had been tasked to spy on would offer a ce in his home. He had even given her permission to report back to the people who contracted her, but, as the person they had contracted was the Demon Lord of the Lost and Forgotten, Hanako had absolutely no intention of doing so. As far as she was concerned, the Sage Dragon''s Hearth was her home. Vahn had stated as such, and, based on the reactions of everyone she had encountered since, they respected his decision and regarded her as one of their own. This was a novel experience to Hanako, but, even after several hours had passed, she couldn''t help smiling at the notion she had finally found a ce to call her own . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Da Vinci is into some intense sh*t'',''That ring is both convenient and dangerous'',''Wholesome as fuck(U w U)'') Chapter 2188: Working Out the Kinks

Chapter 2188: Working Out the Kinks

With twenty-three days remaining until the session festival in the North, Vahn gave Shiroyasha permission to begin advertising the Sage Dragon''s Hearth''s Promotional Gift Game. This sent the general public into a frenzy, but, just as before, Vahn simply ignored their droning as he prepared an event guaranteed to go down in the history of the Little Garden. As 4-Digit Promotional Gift Games were used to determine the rank and status of the participating Communities, the most popr way to settle things was through a Battle Royale. The people loved witnessing bloodshed, and,pared to every other form ofpetition, a Battle Royale was one of the best ways to demonstrate the overall power of a burgeoning Community as it mandated the participation of all yers. Though he wasn''t particrly fond of Battle Royales, Vahn decided to keep things rtively simple. The only change he made to the basic format was introducing the theme ofary defense. Each of the participating Communities would be given a filled to the brim with precious resources and raw materials. Their headquarters would also be equipped with a modified version of the Room of Spirit and Time, so, as long as they had the capacity to make use of them, they could train or use the chamber to convert raw materials into all manner of offensive and defensive equipment. Beyond the assigneds, several moon-sized fortifications could be found. The majority of these were defensive structures containing additional resources, but, should you stumble across a satellite protected by autonomous Imperial Dragons, reaching the central core would allow you to invoke one of Da Vinci''s most terrifying creations, the Sage Dragon Emperor''s Visage, also known as the Model Omega. Though it was significantly smaller than the Model Excalibur, rent, and Tiamat, the Model Omega was capable of using an attack known as Executioner''s Judgment to annihte even sapients. In other words, it was an artificial constructparable to a Tier 5 being. Its only notable weakness was that the power it wielded could only be used in areas where Vahn''s authority was present. Simply put, the Model Omega was a weapon that could only be wielded by Vahn or with his express consent. In other words, while it was remarkably powerful, it was essentially useless. After all, Vahn''s power had far exceeded the standards of a simple buster''. If not for hisck of Authority, he could conceivably envelop the entire Little Garden in his Domain before turning it, and everyone in it, into particles of energy. It would literally only take a single, decisive, intent-fueled thought. Such was the power of Authority. . "You''re really going all out, aren''t you? Setting the destruction of entires as the win condition is something only you would think of" Though she wasn''t particrly surprised by Vahn''s decision, Shiroyasha couldn''t help shaking her head in exasperation. There were a number of Gifts described as being able to destroys and erase every star in the night sky, but, without the necessary authority, such disys of power were all but impossible. Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn maintained a casual smile as he exined, "If they can''t even destroys, what right do they have to proim themselves as Gods of entire cosmologies? Besides, so long as they have sufficient mastery over the Laws, defeating Imperial Dragons isn''t too difficult. At the very least, the Musashi and Kenshin that arrived at the Sage Dragon''s Hearth should be able to pull it off." Snorting through her nose, Shiroyasha stared at Vahn with an usatory look as she stated, "Yeah, I get that. The problem here is that very few people, even in 4-Digit Communities, possess the ability to fly or freely trespass the vacuum of space. What use is the ability to defeat an Imperial Dragon if they can''t even leave the they spawn on?" Shrugging a second time, Vahn remarked, "I don''t see how that''s my problem. If they fundamentallyck the ability to contend against Communities of a simr grade, they shouldn''t be upying a 4-Digit Gate. In the lower realms, there are innumerable examples of normal humans freely traversing space. If the Leader of a 4-Digit Community can''t even transcend the terrestrial ne, what right do they have to stand above others?" Shaking her head in mock exasperation, Shiroyasha manifested a scroll containing the names of more than a hundred different Communities. These were the people interested in participating, or, at the very least, negotiating with the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Most of these were affiliates of much higher ranking Communities. The Gates they upied were generally used as leverage to draw in talent, so, with the exception of a few outliers, most of the Communities on the list wouldn''t be able topete in Vahn''s modified Battle Royale Exhaling a sigh, Shiroyasha noted, "If this is your attempt to undermine the rumors propagated by Amaterasu and the members of Kotoamasukami, you might want to reconsider. At this rate, most of the Communities willing to participate would be unable to activelypete. Even if they wanted to, they would have no-" Interrupting before Shiroyasha could finish, Vahn stated, "I''ll make theoids mobile and add teleportation nexi across their surface. To make things easier, I''ll add a self-destruct button in the control room of each. If they can''t even battle their way to the control room of an enemy fortification, they really have no reason to be upying a 4-Digit Gate." Though she wasn''t particrly fond of being interrupted, Shiroyasha ultimately nodded her head in response to Vahn''s words, adding, "For the sake of ''fairness'', you should make space off-limits. The same teleportation nexi used to transport people betweens should also link to the satellites. Space battles are notoriously difficult to broadcast due to poor lighting and the sheer scale of the events taking ce so it''s infinitely better to keep things ''grounded'' for the sake of the spectating audience. Battles such as this are basically a poprity contest, so, even if you have multiple people capable of destroyings with energy ts, it isn''t nearly as impressive as watching two people tear apart the foundation of a with physical blows." Having spent 37 years in the Actualized World of Dragon Ball, Vahn had to agree with Shiroyasha''s assessment. It was a lot more interesting to see two people duke it out in an arena than it was to watch two motes of light dart around in otherwise empty, ck space. If there was a backdrop of stars, it was even harder to make things out, as, unless they grew to the size ofs or fought within a designated area, they would simply bleed into the background. "Fine. I''ll make it so that space is off-limits until someone activates a Model Omega. Thetter has an effective range of 600,000,000km so it wouldn''t be fair to thepetitors if they were stuck on the after its activation." Nodding her head in affirmation, Shiroyasha updated the information she was nning to send out to the participating Communities before suggesting, "How about cing a cooldown on the Model Omega''s Executioner''s Judgment? You could also set it up so that each of the secondary satellites is capable of producing a-wide shield to protect the of whoever upies them. As cool as the Model Omega is, watching one Community decimate every other just because they managed to obtain it first isn''t very interesting." "Right" Though he felt like Shiroyasha''s suggestions wereplicating things, Vahn didn''t mind making a few adjustments in order to ensure things were interesting for the spectators. The original draft he hade up with didn''t include the Model Omega or space at all. Instead, each of thes was structured simrly to the Dungeon in Danmachi. Reaching the bottom would allow you ess to the''s controls, and, as a result, you would be able to fire off a beam capable of destroying up to twos. The problem with this initial draft was that there was a reasonable probability that the Gift Game would never end. Since space and teleportation had been off-limits, everyone would be required to stay on their. If Communities colluded and simply refused toplete their Dungeons, they could basically hold every other participating Community hostage. A simr situation could ur if the weaker Communities were simply incapable of clearing their Dungeon, so, in the end, Vahn had to run his ideas by several others before approaching Shiroyasha with his penultimate draft. "I don''t want things to be too drawn out so we''ll set the Model Omega''s cooldown to an hour and give each Community a total of seven unique keys. Defensive satellites will take a single key to activate while offensive satellites will require three. Each defensive satellite will be able to generate a shield capable of withstanding a total of three Executioner''s Judgments. If we preclude keys from being exchanged, the longest anyone can hold out for after the activation of a Model Omega is 21 hours." Nodding her head in approval, Shiroyasha quickly updated the information on the scroll before asking, "Anything else you want to add? If not, I''m going to go ahead and send this out. Twenty-three days isn''t a long time to prepare for a Gift Game of this magnitude." Though he had a number of hidden objectives in mind, there was an optional objective that Vahn wanted to make known from the start. Thus, in response to Shiroyasha''s words, a smile developed across his face as he answered, "Yes, actually. Though it would have been necessary for anyone to take first ce in the event, I want to include an optional objective rted to defeating me. More specifically, anyone capable of removing me from my throne will be given the title of Sage Dragon Emperor and full control over the Sage Dragon''s Hearth" Opening her mouth, Shiroyasha appeared as though she wanted to say something but couldn''t find the words to do so. In the end, a low chuckle emanated from her throat before quickly turning into a cackle as she realized what Vahn was up to. By including such a condition and making it public knowledge from the get-go, he was basically telling everyone who agreed to participate that they were going to lose. At the same time, he was setting a trap for anyone who was willing to take him to task. After all, the only thing they would be risking was their rank and gate. In exchange, they had the opportunity to gain ownership over Vahn and all the assets of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. The best part of the arrangement was that Vahn''s words were a p in the face to anyone using the Sage Dragon''s Hearth of foul y. By publicizing the event and making it clear that those with a higher rank had priority in regards to participation, he was showing the entire Little Garden that he wasn''t afraid ofpeting against the most powerful people in the 4-Digit Gates. It was hriously brilliant, so much so that Shiroyasha couldn''t believe that Vahn hade up with the idea himself. "Did that perverted dragon magee up with this n? If so, she''s even scarier than I thought" Understanding that Shiroyasha was referring to Da Vinci, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he asked, "Do you think so little of me?" Though she shook her head, a teasing smile developed across Shiroyasha''s face as she replied, "Oh, I think the world of you, Vahn. I''m just not an idiot. You simply don''t care enough toe up with a n like this. If you didn''t want to give your lovers a chance to show off, I imagine you could settle this entire event while sitting on that impably soft ass of yours. Don''t think I haven''t noticed how much your domain has expanded since your little vacation. At this point, the only thing preventing you from spreading your influence even further is yourck of Authority." Unable to refute Shiroyasha''s ims, Vahn''s smile became even wrier as he remarked, "My ass isn''t that soft" Amused by Vahn''s attempt to deflect, a mischievous smile developed across Shiroyasha''s face as she raised her hands, dexterously wiggling her fingers as she said, "Boy, I bet I could spread those cheeks more than a meter if you didn''t resist. They''re basically mochi. Hell, if I bit into them, I bet something simr to red bean paste woulde out" Inspired by her own words, Shiroyasha found herself licking her lips. This elicited a dryugh from Vahn, who, sensing the surrounding space solidifying, prepared himself for a climactic battle . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''I''m not sure which is more imba, Da Vinci or Authority'',''Space battles are only exciting in cinema'',''Shiroyasha be like, "BRING ME THAT ASS!"'') Chapter 2189: Limit Breaker

Chapter 2189: Limit Breaker

Just as Shiroyasha, or, more urately, Da Vinci had expected, the Communities specializing in the dissemination of news pounced the moment details regarding Vahn''s Gift Game became known. As a result, it didn''t even take a full twenty-four hours before people throughout the Little Garden, not just the East, began discussing the implications behind and potential ramifications of such an event. The group most affected by the announcement was, unsurprisingly, the Kotoamatsukami. They had spent weeks ndering the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, yet, due to Vahn''splete and utter dismissal of their antics, most of the rumors had already lost traction. Now, without even bothering to make a statement, Vahn had casually announced a Gift Game with rules that even a child could infer to be a provocation. Not towards the members of Kotoamtsukami, specifically, but everyone who had been eyeing the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, its wealth, and its people. Seraphina, Usalia, and even Fenrir had garnered themselves a considerable number of fans after their appearances in the Vahnatus. With the events of Zao Shin''s Immortal Banquet also being made public, everyone knew that the Sage Dragon''s Hearth was filled with inordinately beautiful and remarkably powerful women. This had garnered Vahn a substantial amount of hate and envy, so, now that they had the proper pretext, even Communities affiliated with organizations in the West were eager to take action. Unfortunately for these people, six of the slots were filled before Vahn made the details of the Gift Game public. This included four Communities affiliated with the Jade Pce, the Nine Dragons Sword Association, and, for obvious reasons, the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. In other words, among the hundreds of additional groups wishing to participate, only four would be selected. With priority being given to Communities with higher ranks, it wasn''t long before Takamagahara, the Community formerly helmed by Amaterasu, put forth its name. This garnered a considerable amount of attention from the general public, but, before it could gain any traction, news of a far more prominent organization''s participation reached their ears. Tryastri??a, a variation of Heaven that literally tranted to ''belonging to the thirty-three devas'', was one of the Communities founded by Indra, Lord of the Devas, Patron God of the Moon Rabbits, and one of the single most powerful deities outside the 1-3 Digit Gates. They upied the 1002nd Gate, so, the moment their name was put forth for contention, Amaterasu, begrudgingly, wagered Kotoamatsukami''s 1009th Gate just to remain relevant in the public discourse. Though there were several Communities that attempted to follow this example, the two that won out were the Rank 1019th Onigashima and the Rank 1023rd Akuma. The former, as the name made readily apparent, wasprised almost entirely of Yokai. They had an antagonistic rtionship with the members of Kotoamatsukami, so, while their end goal was to secure a better gate, their primary objective was to ''assist'' the other Communities in humiliating their long-time enemy. As for Akuma, a name that literally tranted to ''Devil'', their members were former humans who had ascended to the Divine Realm with various, cheat-like abilities. Very little was known about them other than the fact they were former Heroes who wanted revenge against the Gods who regarded them as pawns . While the Little Garden was abuzz with news and rumors rted to the uing Gift Game, Vahn was focused on entirely separate issues. First and foremost, he finally got around to upgrading his Enkidu using the Upgrade Function of The Path. This was a matter he had been sitting on for a long time, so, now that he was preparing to, once again, install himself as the Sage Dragon Emperor, he wanted to bring his formerly favorite ''weapon'' back into the limelight. As the name implied, the Upgrade Function could increase the stats and grade of an item through the use of a consumable item known as an Upgrade Stone. Each sessive upgrade would increase the stats of the item by 1% between the levels of 1-10, 2% between the levels of 11-20, and 3% for the levels between 21-30. In other words, for every ten levels, the efficacy of each upgrade would increase by an additional 1% until the item reached level 99. Once an item had reached Level 99, upgrading its Rank and adding additional effects to the item became possible. This would reset the item''s Level back to 0, and, as a result, you would be able to start the upgrade process anew, albeit with a much stronger item. With Enkidu starting at Rank C, Vahn could Upgrade it a total of five hundred times before it was upgraded to something known as a Limit Breaker. At that point, he could continue to Upgrade it, but, no matter what grade of Upgrade Stone he used, there would only be a 1% chance to increase its base parameters by 1%. As the percentage increase always referenced the items base parameters, upgrading Enkidu from C-Rank to B-Rank increased its Physical Attack from 100 to a rtively modest 550. Increasing it from B-Rank to A-Rank brought this value to 3,205 while each subsequent upgrade effectively broke the bnce of the world with a whopping 16,637, 91,506, and 503,284. If an attack modifier of 503,284 wasn''t ludicrous enough, Enkidu had obtained a new, seemingly random Ability every time its Rank increased. At the start, its only Abilities were Indestructibility, Piercing, and Sealing. Upgrading it to B-Rank had given it an Ability known as Proliferation. As the name implied, this allowed it to rapidly increase from a mere nine chains to a functionally unlimited number dependent on the amount of energy fed into it. If Proliferation wasn''t ridiculous enough, Enkidu''s subsequent Abilities bordered on the Realm of the abstract. Its A-Rank Ability, Absolute Fire Immunity wasn''t particrly impressive, but, following that, it gained the Abilities: Purification, Soul Extract, and Intangibility. Purification was one of the most prominent Laws in all realities, as, depending on the skill of the user, it could aplish everything from counteracting negative energies to dispelling karma. It was, quite literally, of the fundamental Laws governing the Cycle of Reincarnation, so, in the hands of someone like Vahn, it was an ability that would allow him ''cleanse'' the spirits of his enemies with even greater ease than before. Making this process even simpler, the Ability, Soul Extract, allowed the user to, quite literally, pull the ''soul'' out of their opponent. This could be resisted with considerable Willpower, but, with the added power of Purification, it was only a matter of time before the energiesprising their Ego were purified. With Intangibility allowing Enkidu to move through physical objects and barriers as if they didn''t exist, the only people who could resist them were beings with greater Willpower or a higher Soul Tier than Vahn. This meant, unless they had a Fragment of Origin that specifically counteracted its abilities, the only beings that could possibly resist Enkidu''s influence existed within the 1-3-Digit Gates. With Shiroyasha, a Tier 5, previously upying the Rank 10 position, there was a very real chance that even the Ranks 4-9 may not be immune. As for the Ranks 1-3, they were so far beyond everyone/everything else that even Shiroyasha couldn''t fathom their power. Simply put, stockpiling Upgrade Stones for hundreds of years had allowed Vahn to upgrade Enkidu to the point it effectively destroyed the bnce of reality. This was the reason he had put off using the Upgrade Function for so long, as, even if he started off with a ''weapon'' that possessed a mere 100 Physical Attack, it could be upgraded to a point that merely stabbing it into the ground could level an entire city. After all, even a 10kiloton nuclear warhead only had a Physical Attack rating of 100,000. At 503,284, Enkidu could output a force equivalent to a 50kiloton nuke even in the hands of a child. Had Vahn started with the first S-Rank weapon he ever forged, L?|vateinn, the final parameters would have been around 8,600,000 P.Atk and 5,800,000 M.Atk. In other words, swinging it around would be like hitting an opponent with a condensed, 860kiloton bomb. Casting spells with it, even something as simple as a single fireball, would be enough to annihte entire armies, the fortress they were hiding in, the equipment on their bodies, and the ground beneath their feet. Even in Vahn''s opinion, the Upgrade Function was broken beyondpare. It took a tremendous amount of resources, sure, but, with SS-Rank items having the same upgrade path as F-Rank items, the potential returns were ludicrous. After all, even at his current level, Vahn wouldn''t be able to forge an SS-Rank item without decades of effort. With the Upgrade Function, however, he simply needed Upgrade Stones of varying grades. The only actual risk of the Upgrade Function was that Vahn might have produced an item beyond his ability to control. Now that he had reached Tier 5 and ascended to the Divine Realm, that was no longer a concern. After all, even without a sword in hand, he could sever time and space with a simple wave of his hand. The destructive force of a few kilotons was a joke at his current level, but, thanks to the parameters working as modifiers rather than a t increase to a person''s destructive output, even a simple iron dagger was a destroyer in Vahn''s hands. The only reason he had upgraded Enkidu was so that even the most powerful beings in the Divine Realm wouldn''t be able to break free from its hold. After all, its Indestructibility was directly tied to its Grade/Rank. At SSS, the only thing that could possibly destroy it was something thatpletely transcended The Path''s ability to quantify . ------------------------------- [Enkidu]-][Enkidu: Limit Broken] Slots: 0 P.Atk: 100 -] 503,284 M.Atk: 0 Ability: Indestructible(SSS), Piercing(SSS), Sealing(SSS), Absolute Fire Immunity(SSS), Purification(SSS), Soul Extract(SSS), Intangible(SSS), Soulbound(Vahn Mason) The Indestructible Magical Chains of the Sage Dragon Emperor. They, like their Master, have been upgraded beyond the limitations of reality, transcendingmon sense. Though their Legend has yet to be written, it is only a matter of time before these glorious golden chains leave their mark on history. A desire to prove itself slumbers deep within ------------------------------- (A/N: I went to a free clinic to get my leg looked at a few days ago. The pain in my leg is apparently tied to a pinched nerve in my lower back so they gave me some extra strength pain medication and advised me to avoid sitting for long periods of time. I also need to do stretches every few hours, so, for the time being, I will only be releasing 1-2 chapters a day. To that end, know that I haven''t been sitting on my bum all day. Rather, I''ve been writing a chapter of EPIC and a chapter of the Dragon Ball Side Story. I currently have a stockpile of seven chapters that will be releasing within the next 2-3 days. I was originally going to try something with *******, but, with only 714 Collections, I have a lot of doubts about its poprity) (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Amaterasu must be pulling her hair out'',''Upgrade Function needs a patch, ASAP'',''I''m living a life the Buddhist Faction would be proud of (T ^ T)'') Chapter 2190: Rehearsal

Chapter 2190: Rehearsal

Darting around with such speed that the fabric of space and time distorted in their wake, the three Angels from the Actualized World of Dragon Ball couldn''t help thinking Vahn was even more of a monster now that they had entered the Divine Realm. He was just sitting atop a make-shift throne, yet, no matter how they maneuvered or what attacks they threw at him, everything was intercepted or dispersed by a seemingly infinite number of golden chains. Though it didn''t function in the exact same manner, the Angels from Dragon Ball were capable of using an ability remarkably simr to Lace''s Key, the Perfected Ultra Instinct. It allowed them to dodge virtually any and all attacks without the need for conscious thought. At the absolute pinnacle of mastery, they could even allow attacks to phase harmless through them, as, from the perspective of the world, there was nothing that could touch them. During his stay in the Actualized World of Dragon Ball, Vahn had experienced the pinnacle of Ultra Instinct during his battle against the Grand Priest. The rtively short Angel had even forced him to activate Bankai for a brief moment, as, no matter what kind of attacks were thrown at him, he just evaded or phased through them with a smile. Unfortunately for the blue-skinned trio, they were nowhere near the level of their father. Even Kusu, the eldest yet most diminutive of the Angels, was only given a Grade of S when her Perfected Ultra Instinct was converted into a Gift known as Autonomous Sovereign. It allowed her to dodge most attacks, but, due to herck of Authority, there were quite a number of Gifts that could affect both her and her sisters. As an SSS-Rank Gift, Enkidu may as well be the nemesis of anyone who was proud of their speed, strength, and durability. Its Intangibility allowed it to emerge from the void without producing so much as a single sound. Thus, unless you had an extrasensory ability rted to space and time, it could appear without notice, instantaneously binding you with its luminous golden links. With an SSS-Rank Sealing Ability, Enkidu was capable of restraining and rendering pretty much anything in the Order of Creation powerless. To make matters worse, at least for Vahn''s opponents, even something as simple as contact was enough to trigger the effect, so, even if you possessed an artifact or Gift capable of deflecting Intangible objects, it would spontaneously lose said Ability the moment Enkidu made contact. In other words, the only way to deal with Enkidu was to avoid it. Any and all other methods were futile. Unfortunately, once again for Vahn''s opponents, Enkidu''s effect was limited to people and objects. It could also influence the space, and, to an extent, the Laws within a given area. Vahn merely had to produce Enkidu along the edges of his domain and everything within, himself included, would have their power sealed. The only difference was, unlike the vast majority of people, he was able to resist the effects of Enkidu thanks to his training. In fact, the longer he was under its effects, the less influence it would have over him. Thanks to the aforementioned effects, Vahn was able to sit atop his temporary throne, smiling as he watched Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita trying to resist Enkidu''s slow yet unstoppable encroachment. He wasn''t even controlling it, as, the moment it advanced to S-Rank, a nascent Ego had developed within the resplendent golden chains. It was capable of learning and making decisions on its own, so, while this scenario was supposed to be a rehearsal for the uing Gift Game, the truth of the matter was that Vahn simply wanted to give Enkidu the opportunity to umte experience. If it could ensnare the trio of Angels, who couldn''t it catch? To their credit, Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita were able to hold out for seventeen days before the youngest of the trio ended up receiving a small cut to her ankle. This was more than enough to trigger the effects of Enkidu, and, as a result, Marcarita subsequently found herself bound in a ratherpromising position. This wasn''t enough to distract Kusu and Vados, but, as the three of them had been working together to bend and distort the surrounding space to their benefit, the loss of Marcarita ced a tremendous amount of pressure on the markedly older Angels. In the end, even Kusu onlysted an additional three hours, as, fifteen minutes after the capture of Marcarita, Vados followed suit. She also ended up in a ratherpromising position, but, much like her sister, she didn''t appear even remotely flustered. Rather, due to their genuine interest in Vahn and the mission given to them by their father, all three sisters hade to expect such oues as an ''inevitability''. After all, Vahn had already ''imed'' them even before their departure from the Actualized World. Had she tried her hardest, Kusu could have easilysted a few more days. She was the oldest of her father''s children, and, as a result, she had been created with much higher specs than her brothers and sisters. She was also the most expressive, as, during the era of her creation, the Universes had yet to exist. In other words, she hadn''t been born with the same duty as her other siblings. Instead, she had lounged about for millions of years before begging her father to let her be the Guide Angel for Universe 10. Simply put, Kusu was the most emotive, and, as a result, the most impressionable of the Angels. She would often feel envious of her younger brothers and sisters, so, seeing Vados and Marcarita sitting with Vahn atop his throne, it was actually quitemendable that she hadsted three whole hours before letting herself be captured. Fortunately, Vados, Marcarita, and pretty much all their fellow Angels were used to handling their eldest sister. They even doted on her quite a bit, as, despite the vast disparity in their ages, Kusu was much smaller than the other Angels. She was also the only one who could visit the Grand Priest whenever she wanted, so, for this, and a variety of other reasons, the younger Angels did their best to stay in Kusu''s good graces . One of the ''neat'' things about Perfected Ultra Instinct, or, in this case, Autonomous Sovereign, was that itpelled the user to move in the most efficient manner in any and all situations. It wasn''t simply used forbat. If the user didn''t want to get wet, they could even walk casually through a downpour without a single droplet of water touching them Benefitting from this ''peculiarity'' to the fullest, Vahn enjoyed his time with the three sisters quite a bit. They were three of the only girls, bar a few Tier 5s and quite a number of Sex Goddesses, that could keep up with him in the bedroom. They also had remarkably developed ''service'' mentalities, so, even if he decided to just kick back and rx, Vahn didn''t have to worry about the trio feeling even remotely dissatisfied. Rather, much like Fenrir, Jeanne, and a few of Vahn''s more devout lovers, they were much happier getting him off rather than being serviced in turn. Though he was a pretty down to Earth person, Vahn was still an Emperor, a Dragon, and a God. He enjoyed being pampered quite a bit, so, taking advantage of the fact he was seated atop a throne, he allowed the trio to service and entertain him as they might an Emperor. This involved Vados and Marcarita sitting at his sides, the former affectionately tracing her long and slender fingers over his muscles while thetter skillfully pumped his penis. While this was going on, Kusu, demonstrating a skill she had picked up prior to bing a Guide Angel, performed a yfullyscivious dance in garments reminiscent of an Arabic Belly Dancer. While he would have preferred it if Vados or Marcarita were the one dancing, Vahn wasn''t incapable of enjoying Kusu''s performance. She enjoyed being the center of attention, so, even if she did trade ces with one of her sisters, it wouldn''t be long before she used a more ''direct'' method to get his attention. Either way, whenever the four of them spent time together like this, Kusu was always the first andst of the sisters Vahn made love to. Vados and Marcarita didn''t even try topete with her. Taking advantage of this ''privilege'', Kusu did her best to appeal to Vahn with her dance before punctuating her performance with a series of cartwheels and a gravity-defying back handspring that brought her to a position where she was standing on his knees. She didn''t have much to work with in regards to breasts, so, taking advantage of the fact she had been dancing and performing gymnastics for more than a hundred million years, Kusu gave Vahn a moment to admire her legs and butt before raising the sides of her pareo to reveal that she wasn''t wearing panties. Admiring the glossy blue cheeks, a smile developed across Vahn''s face as Vados and Marcarita used their free hands to spread Kusu''s perfectly sculpted posterior. Then, in a single fell swoop, the petite Angel lowered her hips without even needing to adjust her angle. Immediately thereafter, she used his thighs as support before sticking her legs out, feet brought together and toes pointed outward as if she were on a pommel horse, before swaying and bucking her waist in a manner that made it feel as though his ns were being kneaded by her insides. At the same time, without so much as a word between them, Vados and Marcarita leaned in to nt a kiss on each of Vahn''s cheeks before mirroring each other as they traced their long, purple tongues toward his ears . While Vahn was ''training'' with Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita, everyone else who was participating in the Gift Game was hard at work sparring and practicing invasionary tactics. Vahn and the ''Throne Angels'' would be protecting their. This made it ''impossible'' for the Sage Dragon''s Hearth to lose, but, for the sake of Vahn''s future objectives, everyone was spending months at a time in one of Bulma''s modified Rooms of Spirit and Time. The penultimate goal of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth was to secure the 1003rd or 1009th Gate by the end of the Gift Game. This would make things much easier for Vahn, so, while she would prefer to stay at his side and cuddle with him for the duration of the Gift Game, even Fenrir was pushing her limits each and every day. Her goal was to refine her magic andpletely master her Bankai, so, alongside Arcueid and Eva, she had secluded herself in the veritable tundra that was her room. As the sess of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth was their highest priority at the moment, many of the girls who set out to form their own Communities had temporarily returned. Arcueid and Eva weren''t the only ones helping people train, either. Artoria was helping to train her fellow ''Saber Faces'' while Ureko and Yuri, having developed a fondness for Kale and Cauli, were wreaking havoc within one of Vahn''s Game Boards. Even Blossom and her daughters had emerged from Vahn''s Little Garden, not to train or participate in theing battles, but to help everyone else rest and recuperate. After all, as important as training was, proper rest and rxation were necessary for mental and spiritual development. Body, mind, and spirit were the foundational pirs of strength. Without a proper bnce between the three, the tform atop which you stood was bound to copse . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Enkidu be like (O w O)'',''Kusu is her father''s little angel xD'',''There are few things more terrifying than a prepared Sage Dragon''s Hearth'') Chapter 2191: Prelude to Battle

Chapter 2191: Prelude to Battle

Though there was less than a week until the session ceremony in the North, the majority of the Little Garden''s inhabitants were focused on the Battle Royale hosted by the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Hundreds of millions of people had migrated to the East in order to witness the event directly. After all, while the establishment of a 4-Digit Community wasn''t particrly rare,petitions between the organizations upying the lower-digit Gates were exceptionally so. Even if it were just Kotoamatsukami and Trayastrimsapeting against one another, the entire Little Garden would have paid attention to the affair. Now that their Gates were on the line, even the most reclusive entities within the Divine Realm hade out to see what all the fuss was about. Everyone could feel that great change was afoot, so, despite several other notable events urring around the same time, even the Royal Family of Smandra, was paying close attention to the East. a??a?? Taking advantage of the rather drastic increase in publicity, Vahn allowed Katana, the journalist he encountered during the Vahnatus, to interview everyone who would be participating on behalf of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. This garnered a considerable amount of interest but also left many at aplete and absolute loss for words. One of the greatest strengths of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, at least from the perspective of those in the know, was the fact that very little was known about the organization and its members. Everyone who visited the Sage Dragon''s Hearth on business would meet, at most, Leticia, Vahn, and whoever he was entertaining at the time. The only other known members were Shiryukihime, Fenrir, Mikoto, Seraphina, Usalia, and, to a lesser extent, Sarina and Nono. Everything else about the rapidly rising Community was shrouded in secrecy, so much so that, prior to the exclusive interviews, the general public had thought the entire organization wasprised of Vahn and half a dozen or so powerful women. Nobody, not even the members of Kotoamatsukami, had expected the Sage Dragon''s Hearth to show their hand prior to the Gift Game. Everyone was under the assumption that Vahn was going to great lengths to keep information about his Community a secret. Thus, the moment the interviews were made public, spection regarding each of the girls'' identities and Vahn''s true intentions ran rampant throughout the Little Garden. Most people interpreted the event for what it was, a publicity stunt intended to give the girls a bit of exposure. Others, reading a bit too much into things, believed this was Vahn''s way of saying he had nothing to hide. They thought he was going out of his way to p Amaterasu in the face, and, due to the message she had received from Kenshin and Musahi, the aforementioned Sun Goddess believed this to be the case. In reality, Vahn was just keeping his promise with Katana and helping his loved ones increase their fame and infamy. They wanted to be able to stand at his side, so, while it wasn''t particrly difficult to lend them his Authority, he wanted to give them a tform to build their own. To this end, Vahn allowed Katana to interview Shirayukihime, Fenrir, Mikoto, Seraphina, Usalia, Kusu, Vados, Marcarita, Cauli, Kale, Chronoa, Sarina, and, for the sake of further inting tensions with the members of Kotoamatsukami, Amaterasu, Tamamo, Musashi, Kenshin, Tomoe, Okita and Nobu. Quite a few of these were ''on loan'' from other Communities, but, as his affiliation with said groups had been made public prior to the announcement of the Gift Game, Vahn could borrow their talent at his leisure. In fact, if he really wanted to go all in, he could mobilize the Imperial Fleet and bring forth every single person living within his Little Garden. After all, with very few exceptions, all those living within Vahn''s Little Garden could be considered yers. Instead of amassing an army, a surprisinglymon tactic among well-established Communities, Vahn would rather hit his foes with a rtively small group of elites. The more enemies there were inparison to his forces, the greater the impact it would leave on the hearts and minds of the Little Garden''s residents. This was the double-edged sword of mobilizing an army, as, the moment a genuine powerhouse appeared, numbers meant very little. Wu, for example, couldy waste to the entire Imperial Armada on her own. In other words, unless he brought out Da Vinci''s more powerful armaments from the very beginning, deploying an army would simply be providing an opportunity for his enemies to increase their fame. As the penultimate purpose of the Gift Game was to give his loved ones the opportunity to increase their fame, keeping the number of participants low was ideal. The fewer there were, the greater the impact they would leave on the citizens of the Little Garden. Twenty was the number Da Vinci hade up with after countless simtions, so, while Amaterasu, Tamamo, Musashi, Kenshin, Tomoe, Okita and Nobu were harassing the members of Kotoamatsukami, everyone else would be splitting into much smaller teams to tackle the forces of entire Communities. Cauli and Kale, in particr, were nning to take on Trayastrimsa, one of the most well established Communities in the entire Divine Realm, by themselves. Though their chances of sess weren''t particrly great, Vahn was confident the two Saiyanesses could put on a good show. This would, in turn, provide them with the means to inflict damage on their opponents. After all, from the perspective of normal people, there had to be a reason for them to challenge the entirety of Trayastrimsa on their own. There would be tens of billions, if not trillions of people thinking this during the Gift Game. As a result, attacks that would have been ineffective in every other situation would break even the defenses of the Asuri Tribe. From that moment onward, even Wu might not be impervious to their attacks. In the Divine Realm, poprity and perception were second only to Authority andprehension of the Laws. If the vast majority of the Little Garden''s popce believed you could defeat even the mightiest foes in a single blow, the only thing that could possibly prevent you from doing so is ack of willpower. In that regard, Cauli could evenpete with Roger in terms of mental density and resolve . "Wee, one and all, to the inaugural ceremony celebrating the Sage Dragon''s Hearth potential rise from a 5-Digit Community to a 4-Digit Alliance! I trust that everyone is just as excited as I am to witness this historic moment in the Little Garden''s history~!?" Capitalizing on her recent poprity, Katana, having recently joined the Thousand Eyes Community, had been chosen as the primary Caster for the Sage Dragon''s Hearth''s promotional Gift Game. This was clearly a ploy by Shiroyasha, but, having already epted the impish beauty''s scheming nature, Vahn enjoyed the little surprises she presented on a near-daily basis. In response to Katana''s shout, a massive crowd that appeared to stretch beyond the horizon issued a thunderous yet festive roar. Everyone was keen to witness if the Sage Dragon''s Hearth could live up to the hype, but, more important than even that was the fact that Katana was currently wearing little more than a ck bikini top and short-shorts. This wasn''t just an opportunity for the members of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth to increase their poprity. Rather, as someone aspiring to be a Poet, Katana was willing to do whatever it took to increase her fame, and, if necessary, her infamy. Assisting the faux-redhead in her endeavor was a woman with remarkably simr features, the only notable differences being the color and shape of her hair and eyes. This was actually Katana''s non-identical twin sister, who, upon learning of the former''s agreement with Vahn, decided she wanted a piece of the pie. More specifically, she wanted to capitalize on her sister''s poprity to increase her own, so, much like Katana, the blue-haired woman, Dagger, wore a ck bikini top with blue mes and a pair of tight, form-fitting short-shorts that revealed a hint of her bright blue, t-back thong. Piggybacking her sister''s words, Dagger held up her own mic, a seductive smile on her face as she answered, "I know I am. Vahn and his Sage Dragon''s Hearth are well on their way to breaking the record for the fastest-promoted Community in the Little Garden''s history. I can''t way to see what the members of his Community have in store for their opponents." Nodding her head in approval, Katana briefly exchanged nces with her sister before the two of them shifted their gazes to the massive disy that had appeared behind them. It showed Vahn, and, alongside him, the Leaders of every other participating Community. This included the golden-haired Amaterasu, an inordinately handsome man with medium-length brown hair and a tanned body, a rather demonic-looking individual with fiery red hair, a disinterested looking girl with fang-like teeth, and several other prominent figures. Seeing the graphic from within the Sage Dragon''s Hearth''s waiting room, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as Cauli shouted, "That damned monkey is also participating!? I can''t wait to kick her ass!" Located in the 9th position, representing one of the teams affiliated with the Jade Pce, was none other than Sun Wu Kong. She had, quite literally, strong-armed the Jade Emperor into allowing her and the surviving Sages to participate in the event. Thus, rather than the original throwaway teams, the Jade Pce was being represented by Wu, a remarkably petite girl with vermillion hair, an idol-like man wearing an eyepatch, and, somewhat surprisingly, a middle-aged man with long ck hair and azure eyes who Vahn recognized as Meng Zhang, the Azure Dragon. ("It never ceases to amaze me how ''petty'' those with tremendous pride can be") (*Well, you did kind of stand him up. It''s only natural that he woulde to ''teach'' you a lesson.*) Restraining a chuckle, Vahn shifted his attention to the remaining representatives as Katana and her sister continued to pump up the crowd. He hadn''t done very much research prior to the Gift Game, so, much like the crowd, he was just now learning who the representatives were. The inordinately handsome man acrros from Amaterasu was none other than Indra, one of the most powerful beings outside of the 1-3-Digit Gates. As for the red-haired man and the rather voracious-looking girl with white hair, the former as the Divine Realm''s version of Shuten-d??ji while thetter was the leader of Akuma, the ''Devilish'' Communityprised almost entirely of former Heroes who had been invited to and exploited by the Little Garden. Though she looked like a rtively normal, albeit tomboyish woman at a nce, the white-haired girl, Tokudaiji Shion, gave Vahn a simr impression to Fenrir. She had cold, disinterested blue eyes and an expressionless face, yet, in spite of this, even her image exuded an aura of perennial hunger. The look in her eyes were reminiscent of an Apex Predator, someone who had sat at the top of the food chain for so long that they stopped viewing the people around them as people and more like livestock ("That one is going to be dangerous") (*She is the Leader of a Communityprised of Isekai''d Heroes. Even without asking Loi-chan for confirmation, I can pretty much guarantee she has an ability simr to Rimuru. She may even be the type that absorbs the skills and abilities of whatever she eats. If that''s the case, you may want to tell everyone to avoid her. She will most likelye to you.*) Resisting the urge to ask Loi-chan to reveal all of the girl''s secrets, Vahn responded to Sis with a curt nod as he focused on the final representative, an unconventionally handsome and muscr man by the name of Johnathan. He didn''t stand out muchpared to the other representatives, but, as someone brave enough topete against two of the most powerful factions in the East, he couldn''t be underestimated . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Fame and poprity really do let you get away with anything'',''A white-haired, blue-eyed Isekai protagonist with multiple ahoge!? Run for the hills!'',''(O w O)'') Chapter 2192: Deployment

Chapter 2192: Deployment

After an inaugural ceremony that involved introducing each of the Communities and the various teams of Casters representing them, Vahn and Co found themselves teleported to a vast chamber located near the very center of an artificial, six thousand kilometers below the surface. Taking a seat atop the throne located at the very center of the chamber, Vahn maintained a rxed, ostensibly amused expression as he leaned against his armrest, head supported by the knuckles of his right hand as he looked around at the neen inordinate beauties and said, "Have fun." a??a?? Though the crowd had been expecting Vahn to give some kind of speech, the girls weren''t all that surprised by his casual demeanor. Their triumph was assured even before the Gift Game began, so, while they each had their own objectives, it was most important they enjoyed themselves. With this in mind, each of the girls, many dressed in outfits reminiscent of swimwear, made their way over to the teleportation nexus located in the adjacent antechamber. This left Vahn alone within the throne room, as, rather than protecting him directly, Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita had the duty of guarding the aforementioned nexus . Taking advantage of the fact she was aware of everything touched by the Sun''s light, an annoyed snort escaped Amaterasu''s nose as she witnessed Vahn''s casual disy from the perspective of a spectator. "What''s wrong, Aneue?" Snorting a second time, Amaterasu narrowed her eyes at her younger brother, Susanoo, as she answered, "Concern yourself less with my thoughts and more on your objectives. Your Strongest Storm Division is tasked with the elimination of Onigashima. Do not fail me." Smiling wryly in response to his sister''s words, Susanoo donned his helmet and joined therge group of people waiting to use the teleportation nexus. He knew better than to speak against his sister when she was like this, so, as she suggested, he decided to focus on leading his army rather than dealing with the temperamental Sun Goddess Following Susanoo''s departure with her fiery purple eyes, Amaterasu waited until the throne room was empty before retracting her scowl. Fortunately, she could tell when Casters were observing her, so, with the vast majority of perspectives focusing on the deployment of each Community''s forces, she allowed herself a moment of reprieve as she shifted her attention to the massive sphere of fire and gas dominating the very center of the Game Board . "What do you want us to do, Shion? Should we split up and tackle the various satellites or do you want us to focus on eliminating one of the lower-digit Communities as soon as possible?" Asking the petite, white-haired girl for orders was a kind-looking youth with peculiar, ck and white hair. At his side, standing barely half his height was a young girl with simrly colored hair, but, rather than appearing in, she was among the most entric-looking people in the room due to her cat-inspired attire, inordinatelyrge pigtails, and massive, paw-themed hammer. Shifting her icy blue eyes towards the duo, Shion maintained apletely neutral expression as she answered, "Our priority should be capturing or destroying the offensive satellitesother than thatI don''t really care what you dojust don''t embarrass us" Though she was confident in her ability to defeat pretty much anything, the rules of the Gift Game made the Model Omega out to be a Win Condition. There was a fair chance it was indestructible by conventional means, so, while she was tempted to simply destroy the presumed machine outright, Shion decided to y it safe by personally protecting their control room. "Right" As it was pretty rare for all of them to gather like this, the dichromatic youth, known to his friends andpanions as Ryouma, had forgotten how anti-social Shion could be. In the distant past, he had found this aspect of her character to be cute, but, as it quickly became apparent she was even more of a ''main character'' than even he was, he eventually gave up trying to add her to his harem. Understanding that Shion would probably just ignore him if he asked for clearer orders, Ryouma turned to the inordinately petite girl at his side, a loli-baba with a split personality named Cheshire, asking, "You ready to cut loose, Chi-chan?" Raising her massive hammer as if it was an intable, weightless toy, a mischievous grin spread across the demure Dwarfette''s face as she animatedly answered, "Of course~! Chi-chan is always ready to smash some heads! Nyahahaha~" Returning a smile and a nod, Ryouma extended his hand for the petite girl to grasp before guiding her towards therge group of women waiting at the side. They, like himself and Cheshire, each had ck and white hair, as, despite his fondness for their original hair color, Ryouma wanted to make it very clear who they belonged to. When half of yourpanions were ''Heroes'' with harems of their own, precautions against cuckolding were, unfortunately, very necessary . Though she was technically a part of the group opposing the Kotoamatsukami, Tomoe, appearing in an outfit resembling a blue and white sports swimsuit, had been designated as her team''s pilot. The Model Omega was perfectly capable of taking action autonomously, but, for the sake of preserving it against more powerful foes, it was better to have a skilled pilot in the cockpit. Tomoe was pretty much unbeatable in this regard, so, while Amaterasu, Tamamo, Musashi, and Kenshin invaded the of Kotoamatsukami directly, she, alongside Okita and Nobu, assaulted one of the Offensive Satellites. Unfortunately, while her skills as a pilot were nigh-unmatchable, Tomoe''s skills as abatant had waned with the passage of several decades. She had trained hard in preparation for the Gift Game, but, against opponents on the level of Imperial Dragons, her bow was pretty much useless. "My apologies, Nobu-dono, Sou-donoIt has been quite some time since I''ve been active on an actual battlefield" Without so much as batting an eysh, Okita, sporting a stylish ck bikini, used her inordinately long sword, Rengokuken, to casually deflect hundreds of powerfulsers as she tly replied, "It''s not an issue" Nodding her head in approval, Nobu, appearing as her younger self and sporting an even more revealing ck and gold bikini added, "Mochita is correct. Your duty is to pilot the Model Omega and fuck everyone up. Our duty is to get you inside the cockpit. Don''t you dare look down on us, you horny nun." Though she didn''t appreciate being called a horny nun, Tomoe nodded her head in response to Nobu''s words. At the same time, however, an usatory glimmer shed across her ruby-red eyes as she stared at the petite, raven-haired woman currently squatting behind Okita, clearly admiring her butt. She presumed Nobu was doing it just to garner additional attention from the Casters, but, at the same time, Tomoe couldn''t help condemning the woman for her shamelessness In truth, Nobu simply couldn''t help admiring Okita''s pert, shapely, and remarkably tanned bottom. Her bisexuality wasn''t exactly a secret among the members of Vahn''s harem. She had always had a certain fondness for women, and, thanks to Vahn''s ''epting'' nature, she had basically established a harem of her own among the girls with eastern origins. This included Okita, who, feeling Nobu''s breath against her bottom, developed a faint blush as she allowed a beam of energy to slip past her guard Deflecting the beam with a wave of her hand, a moderately annoyed expression developed across Nobu''s face as she rose to her feet and said, "That does it. You can all go to hell." Manifesting a military-style cap with the emblem of the Oda n emzoned on the front like a luminous sun, a vicious smile developed across Nobu''s face as she ced it atop her head. At the same time, a vibrant red cloak manifested across her shoulders, golden mes decorating the edge as the sky overhead shifted from a crystal clear nightscape to a hazy, blood-red atmosphere. Realizing what Nobu was about to do, Okita sheathed her sword faster than the ''cameras'' could perceive before unleashing a sword beam that seemed to separate the heavens and earth. Each of the Imperial Dragons affected by the unfathomably swift beam had their torsos cleanly separated from their lower bodies, but, unlike normal machines, there was nothing like an explosion to mark their destruction. Instead, the torsos continued forward in defiance of gravity, mindlesslyunching forth volley after volley of prating energy beams as the openings in their waists quickly sealed themselves. Clicking her tongue, Okita swept her sword in a half-crescent that produced a curtain-like veil of light. Each of the energy beams that impacted it was subsequently nullified, so, taking advantage of the opportunity she had created, Okita promptly moved behind Nobu as thetter pulled down her cap, an evenrger grin developing across her face as she said, "Bankai!" . Though the spectators had previously been focusing on Nobu''s, Okita''s, and Tomoe''s swimsuits, the tensions in the crowd shifted once the two-syble word echoed throughout the Little Garden. Even though it was just an image on the screen, everyone witnessing the event felt a chill spread through their body, as, rather than simply unleashing her Bankai, a functionally infinite number of malicious-looking rifles, Nobu also activated her Mangekyou Sharingan. More urately, she activated one of the most powerful abilities associated with the Mangekyou, the Susanoo. While all Susanoo''s were intimidating to look at, Nobu''s took on the form of a blood-red skeleton with a demonic visage and four arms. The aura exuding from it resembled mist formed from blood, and, due to the energies of Destruction contained within, it eroded everything in her surroundings like an unfathomably corrosive acid Had it just been the skeletal visage and the countless rifles that had manifested behind her, the crowd wouldn''t have cared about Nobu''s ability. What shook them to the core were the tens of thousands of blood-red skeletons that manifested from the unceasing tide of corrosive, carmine mist. It was like witnessing a scene out of hell, as, even when an energy beam passed through their head or chest, the monstrous skeletons would instantaneously regenerate as they took up the rifles produced by Nobu''s Bankai and surged forth like an unstoppable tide . Witnessing Nobu''s performance from the rtivefort of his throne, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he remarked, "I should have known Nobu would be the first to activate her Bankai" (*She always was a bit of a show-off*) Nodding his head in response to Sis''s words, Vahn shifted his attention away from the swimsuit-d trio to focus on other matters. Now that Nobu had activated her Bankai, the only thing that could stop her from taking over one of the offensive satellites was enemy interference. Even then, the odds of them breaking through her Susanoo were pretty slim, as, the moment a dangerous foe appeared, Okita would invariably take action. "Hmm?" Though it had nothing to do with the members of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, Vahn''s intrigue was piqued when he noticed the members of the Araki Community, the Community led by Johnathan, invading the of Wu. He didn''t know if it was a coincidence or if the group of inordinately muscr men had intentionally targetted her, as, rather than defending his control/throne room, Johnathan was leading the attack directly. Reacting to the invasion, hundreds of demonic beasts, ranging from palm-sized marmosets to hill-sized apes, charged towards the inordinately muscr group. These were the inhabitants of Mount Huaguo, so, despite their animalistic appearances, many within the monstrous horde were able to contend against the Gods of the Heavenly Domain. At first nce, it was easy to imagine Johnathan and his allies being defeated by the swarm of demonic beasts. Instead, they unhesitantly threw themselves against the seemingly unstoppable horde, illusory figures manifesting behind and around their bodies as they mowed through the tide of monkey-like beasts in a manner reminiscent of bulls in a china shop . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The danger of teaming up with other isekai protagonists'',''Nobu is a woman of culture'',''*Rock music ys in the background*'') Chapter 2193: Justice

Chapter 2193: Justice

Though the teleportation nexus of each was linked to every other and satellite, reaching your destination was easier said than done. Without the ability to obtain information across vast distances, the only way to know which Community owned a specific was to encounter the forces stationedside. To make matters worse, the only way to teleport to a different was to capture one of several ry stations located on the surface, so, the moment they found themselves facing a horde of monkey-like creatures, a cold sweat developed across the bodies of the members of the Araki Community as they began fighting their way towards one of the rys. Unfortunately, Wu wasn''t a particrly forgiving individual, so, shortly after Johnathan and hisrades began mowing down her forces, a version of the petite monkey girl burst through the foundation of her own in order to bar their passage. This caused the spectators to go wild, as, ever since the publishing of Journey to the West, very few people had been given the chance to witness the legendary ''Monkey King'' in action. a??a?? Sweeping her trusty Ruyi Jingu Bang in a manner that forced the invading members of the Araki Community backward, a mischievous grin developed across the face of Wu as she proimed, "You invade this Great Me''s territory, bully my subordinates, and then attempt to flee? Courting death!" Without waiting for the group''s response, Wu extended the length of her Ruyi Jingu Bang as she swept it towards Johnathan''s head at a speed that left behind a tangible afterimage. This caused the inordinately muscr man''s body to tense, but, instead of trying to evade, he raised his left arm as if to intercept the unfathomably fast staff. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Wu''s Ruyi Jingu Bang broke through Johnathan''s guard and sent him flying towards the upper atmosphere like a rocket propelling into space. In the very next moment, however, the very same man appeared in Wu''s location, a stern expression on his face as he looked towards hispanions and said, "We need to hurry. I don''t-" Before Johnathan could finish speaking, a bared foot rose between his legs, clearing aiming for his family jewels. Theplexion of Johnathan''s face immediately paled, as, despite an illusory purple aura intercepting Wu''s attack, a powerful shockwave passed through his body with enough force to spike up his previously, neatlybed hair. Retracting her foot, Wu leaped backward several tens of meters in an instant, Ruyi Jing Bang resting on her shoulder as she teased, "That''s a pretty nifty ability. Swapping positions with someone else? Not bad at all." Feeling weak in the knees, Johnathan used the intensifying purple aura to support his body as he red towards Wu and said, "We didn''t participate in this Gift Game to oppose you, Venerable Wu Kong. Our target is located within the Akuma Community. They have taken someone very important to me. Please allow us to pass" Understanding the improbability of defeating Wu in a contest of martial prowess, Johnathan made the decision to try and talk his way out of the situation. He wasn''t lying when he said the members of Akuma had taken someone important to him, so, banking on Wu''s ability to ascertain truth from lies, he decided to be honest. Hearing Johnathan''s words, a slight frown marred Wu''s face. A few months ago, she wouldn''t even humor such a request. Her time with Vahn had affected her way of thinking, so, after a moment of silence, she asked, "Is the person in question a woman?" Nodding his head in affirmation, Johnathan exined, "The members of Akuma really are devils. They go around collecting women who suit their preferences, regardless of whether or not they are married or in a rtionship. The man I''m after is named Yamamoto Kazuya. He specifically targets pregnant and married women to add to his collection. Please do not stand in my way of bringing him to justice." Seeing the rage and conviction contained within Johnathan''s eyes, Wu couldn''t help scrunching up her nose in disgust. Not towards Johnathan but the man named Yamamoto Kazuya. She, honestly, didn''t really care about what people got up to on their own time, but, now that she knew about his crimes, she couldn''t simply ignore them. She might be a tyrant but she wasn''t without a conscience. Unfortunately for Johnathan, Wu wasn''t known for letting her enemies simply walk away. Johnathan may have had a good reason for doing so but the members of his Community had injured and even eliminated many of her subordinates from the Gift Game. As the King of Mount Huaguo, she owed it to them to seek revenge, so, after a moment of deliberation, she said, "Sorry, kid, but I can''t allow you to pass unobstructed. Besides, can you even defeat this Kazuya fellow? If so, you wouldn''t have waited until this Gift Game to take action." Hoping that Wu would see reason, Johnathan''s expression became even more determined as he exined, "You''re right. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for me to defeat a monster like Yamamoto Kazuya. However, with tens of billions of people actively observing the Gift Game, I''m confident I can garner enough support toe out ahead. The behavior of Akuma has gone unchecked for too long. Though I''m standing here for personal reasons, I''m also acting in the interest of the countless people they have harmed. Now, please, step aside!" Exhaling a sigh, Wu swung the Ruyi Jingu Bang from her shoulder before shaking her head in mild exasperation and saying, "Poor choice of words, brat" Had Johnathan and his allies immediately dropped to their hands and knees, Wu may have allowed them to pass. The correct way to deal with her was topletely set aside your desire to fight. She may be a bit of a tyrant, but, unless they had seriously offended her, she wouldn''t go out of her way to beat and bloody people who had never wronged her. By standing his ground and expecting her to stand aside just because he believed his cause was just, Johnathan had effectivelypelled Wu to stay her ground. As she was under no obligation to exin such things, Wu responded to Johnathan''s confusion by sweeping the Ruyi Jingu Bang towards him. At the same time, several hairs from her head, ears, and tail dislodged from her body as her position was, once again, swapped with Johnathan''s. This time, however, he didn''t even have time to open his mouth before several clones of Wu punched, kicked, and pped him. Seeing his friend in dire straits, a remarkably buff and stone-faced teen wearing what appeared to be a modified Japanese gakuran charged forward, muttering, "Good grief" while lowering the brim of his cap. A tinum-hued figure manifested behind his body, but, instead of remaining illusory, it soon took the shape of a buff, purple-skinned figure with a man of violet, dark-purple hair. "Uoooooooooooh!" Turning her head, the original Wu was about to bat the man aside when purple vines suddenly erupted from the void, entangling her body. This caused her expression to immediately darken as vines and tentacles were practically taboo when fighting against scantily d women in the Divine Realm. Sure, the spectators may enjoy it quite a bit, but, unless they had some strange inclinations, employing tentacles was one of the easiest ways to offend female yers. Acting before the thorny tendrils could encroach upon the more sensitive parts of her body, Wu''s body shed with a golden light as she tore free from the purple-hued appendages and mmed her palm into the burly young man''s face. The purple figure had tried to intercept her, but, now that she was thoroughly pissed off, Wu''s movements bordered on causal maniption. If she wanted to hit someone, there was very little they could do to stop it . Observing the confrontation between Wu and the members of the Araki Community, Vahn couldn''t help wincing when he saw the capped youth''s face practically cave in. Wu had held back quite a bit, but, due to her anger, a literal palm imprint had been left in her opponent''s face and skull as he was sent crashing into the face of a mountain more than six hundred kilometers away. "I kind of feel bad for himhe wasn''t even the one that employed the vines" Though he couldn''t actually see her, Vahn got the impression that Sis had just shrugged as she said, (*It''s sort of their own fault for trying to use someone else''s promotional Gift Game as a tform to carry out justice. I can understand their reasoning but it''s simply foolish to think that others will just move out of their way in the middle of apetition*) Nodding his head in agreement, Vahn briefly shifted his attention away from the conflict between Wu and the Araki Community. He was interested to see what kind of person Yamamoto Kazuya was, so, while Wu taught the inordinately burly Community a lesson, Vahn''s intent shifted to a somewhat arrogant-looking young man with dark-blue hair, violet eyes, tanned skin, and cat-like features that included pointed ears, a sly smile, and a tail. Under normal circumstances, Vahn would have felt an almost instinctual urge to reach through the void and pat the man''s head. This time, however, a frown marred his face as the man lounged atop a ''throne'' formed from the linked bodies of multiple females. To make matters exponentially worse, two of the girls on their hands and knees were clearly in thetter stages of pregnancy. "Yeahno" Though he had been content with sitting around and waiting for his opponents to show up, there was no way in hell Vahn was just going to ignore such brazen and disgusting behavior once he had be aware of it. Thus, before the blue-haired man even knew what was happening, Vahn took a deep breath before opening his eyes to reveal eerie a pair of eerie, bluish-white irises that seemed to flow towards the abyssal-ck pupils in their centers . Feeling a frigid, exceptionally sickening sensation spreading through his chest, Yamamoto Kazuya attempted to ce his hand over his heart only to find something inordinately soft obstructing the action. When he looked down, confusion married his characteristicallyzy and sadistic expression as his previously lean yet well-defined pectoral muscles had seemingly inted, their shape taking on a ''very'' familiar form As the unbearably cold sensation spread through the rest of his body, the pupils of Kazuya''s eyes contracted into fine slits as he practically pounced from his personalized ''throne''. This was thest willful action he was capable of performing, as, the moment his feet touched the ground, his knees immediately gave out due to an overwhelmingly oppressive feeling of weakness. Copsing to the ground, Kazuya attempted to lift his head only to find the action impossible. It was like every single cell in his body had been reced with a frigid form of lead. Other than stare nkly at the changes happening to his body, he was wholly incapable of moving. When he finally realized what was happening, a panic unlike anything he had ever experienced pervaded from the very core of his being as the world around him spontaneously took a very familiar form Just as Kazuya''s panic reached a level where it felt like his heart was literally going to burst out of his chest, an eerily familiar tone reached his ears as a hand tightened around his now long, blonde hair. "You expect me to save your world when the onlypensation you offer is the opportunity to return home? Do you think other people are your convenient tools just because you were born a Princess?" Feeling pain spread through his scalp and neck, surprise, fear, and disbelief colored Kazuya''s face as he found himself staring up at a past version of himself . (A/N: My fever subsided yesterday afternoon but I decided to continue resting. On the plus side, I got to catch up on a few other novels I had been putting off. That Harry Potter one, HP: A Magical Journey, is actually pretty legit. There are a number of needless tangents but it''s one of the better Harry Potter fics I''ve read. Either way, I''m back now xD.) Chapter 2194: Identity, Divergence, and Incredulity

Chapter 2194: Identity, Divergence, and Incredulity

Emerging in the center of a misty mountainous valley that glistened with a peculiar green hue due to the abundance of spiritual energy exuded by the surrounding flora, an amused smile developed across the face of a remarkably beautiful vulpine woman with pale, sakura-pink hair. Standing next to the woman, appearing near-identical except for their hairstyles and choice of garb, another vulpine woman remarked, "Where are we? The dense spiritual energy is interfering with my ability to sense beyond a few hundred kilometers." a??a?? Turning towards her descendant turned ancestor, the smile on the vulpine woman''s face became notably mischievous as she said, "We''re actually quite fortunate. This mist serves to obscure the light of the Sun. As a result, even my senses are blocked. If this truly is the of our would-be Origin, she shouldn''t be able to sense us. If I didn''t know better, I would think our husband had a hand in this." Though she knew Vahn wouldn''t interfere in such a ''small'' matter, the sakura-haired woman felt their teleportation destination was more than mere coincidence. Fate seemed to be guiding them to meet with their Divine Realm counterpart, so, while a part of her feared the encounter, a muchrger part of the woman''s being was looking forward to securing her status and identity as "True Amaterasu". Hearing even a casual mention of Vahn, a radiant smile developed across the face of the secondary vulpine woman. She, Tamamo, tookfort in the notion that Vahn was watching over and out for them. It gave her an overwhelming sense of assurance, as, even if things went south, Tamamo knew Vahn would never allow them to suffer. If she called out for him, she believed, deep in her heart, he woulde running. With her three tails flickering behind her, Tamamo looked like she was about to say something when one of the other two figures present, a rather heroic-looking woman with dichromatic ck and white hair suggested, "We should set camp and gather information. Even if this is the of Kotoamatsukami, exposing ourselves and charging blindly into the enemy is not wise." Reacting to the dichromatic woman''s words, a teasing smile developed across the face of the woman standing next to her, a buxom, pink-haired beauty wearing a red and blue bikini adorned with stars. She also didn''t think charging into the enemy was a particrly wise decision, but, hearing it from the dichromatic beauty, she couldn''t help remarking, "Seriously? I didn''t expect the brave and noble Kenshin to fear charging through enemy lines. Even in our world, isn''t that what you were best known for?" Sighing in response to herpanion''s words, the dichromatic woman, Kenshin, gripped her spear and katana tightly as she exined, "Such things are irrelevant in the present. Even my connection to Bishamonten doesn''t exist so I''m using this as an opportunity to reinvent myself. I was previously able to be a Goddess of War through my own efforts. Now that we stand upon the precipice of the Aldrnari Empire''s rise, I care not for the name Uesugi Kenshin. I am my Lord''s spearmy only concern at this point is creating a world where children need not fear being shoehorned into a path chosen by someone else" Recalling her own son, Kenshiro, a motherly smile developed across Kenshin''s face. The former''s desire to reach the pinnacle of swordsmanship without killing had left a deep impression on her. There was nothing she could do about the millions she had already cut down, but, for the sake of her son, Kenshin had resolved herself never to kill again. The fates of her opponents now rested in the hands of her Lord, Master, and Husband. Rolling her eyes, the buxom, pink-haired woman, Musashi, made a show of popping her neck before saying, "You do you, Spear-chan. As for me? I''m going to scout the area and see if I can''t find the woman holding on to my name and title. Don''t worry. So long as I remain in the State of Nothingness, I doubt even that golden-haired vixen can detect me. If I''m not back before sunset, feel free to assume I''m dead." Waving her hand in a casual gesture of farewell, Musashi''s body appeared to blend into the surrounding space before even the most minute traces of her existence vanished. This was a little contrary considering she had dressed up specifically to draw attention to herself, but, for the sake of her sister-wives andpanions, Musashi didn''t mind lying low for a while. Sensing every trace of Musashi vanish into thin air, a subdued sigh escaped from Kenshin''s throat as she ced her hand between her fairly developed breasts. She was also wearing a swimsuit, but, rather than baring it all like a certain crimson-eyed Demon King, she elected to wear aparably modest leather top to cover her breasts and a bright yellow sarong around her waist. Feeling the steady rhythm of her heart, Kenshin was able to gradually calm herself. She had be a lot more emotional since the birth of Kenshiro, so, every now and again, she would feel a creeping anxiety that could only be suppressed by the memory or presence of Vahn. More specifically, she would reminisce on the moment when Vahn held her in front of the mirror. This would invariably cause a me of passion to spread through her body, but, at the same time, it was the memory that made her feel most ''grounded''. The only thing that even came close was the moment she firstid eyes on Kenshiro . While the members chosen to deal with Kotoamatsukami had decided on a more subtle approach, two of the groups associated with the Sage Dragon''s Hearth had chosen decidedly different routes. Prior to the start of the Gift Game, Cauli had been determined to track down Wu so that she could finally teach the petite monkey girl a lesson. Her official mission was to confront the forces of Trayastrimsa, the Community led by Indra, but, as fate would have it, she and Kale ended up being transported to the protected by Onigashima. Though their arrival was mere minutes after the start of the Gift Game, the belonging to Onigashima had already metamorphosed into a world of perpetual night. The rivers and oceans appeared to be filled to the brim with blood, and, rather than normal flora and fauna, the was popted by man-eating nts, carnivorous trees, sinewy ck vines, and an incalcble number of blood-sucking creatures. While others might have been daunted by the sight, Cauli''s golden hair and the bright red marks around her eyes weren''t an aesthetic choice. The thing that allowed her to make the Super Saiyan Transformation her base state was her mastery over Super Saiyan Sage Mode. She had managed to refine it to the point it influenced even her base state. This was something even Broly and Yuri were incapable of emting, so, in the weeks leading up to the Gift Game, Cauli had refined the state even further by spending an uncharacteristic amount of time meditating. One of the benefits of Sage Mode, even in its lesser state, was that it allowed the user to sense even minute fluctuations in the foreign and natural energies. This,bined with the fact she had been training with the Angels in order to master Ultra Instinct, made Cauli very hard to surprise. There were very few attacks she couldn''t evade outright, and, thanks to the golden energy exuding from her pores, she was practically immune to any attack that wasn''t at least half as strong as her current power level. With Kale even stronger than she was, the two Saiyanesses were able to easily counter the surprise attack waiting for them on the of Onigashima. Several carnivorous nts and trees had tried to attack them, but, with a single bellow from Kale, even the ground for several hundreds of meters was turned to dust. After that, the two Saiyanesses took to the sky before raining down a barrage of gold and green energy that left the side of the they were on looking like the scarred surface of a moon While that was going on, an eerily simr scene was urring on the protected by the Roc Demon King Community, one of the four surviving Communities affiliated with the Seven Demon Kings Alliance. Though they were moremonly known as the Seven Great Sages, the executive members of the Seven Demon Kings Alliance were, much like Shiroyasha in her prime/youth, were forcibly lumped together with Demons due to their destructive natures. The Roc Demon King, in particr, was one of the more destructive entities in the entire organization, as, leading to her inception, her father, a tyrannical Garuda, had forced himself upon the Divine Phoenix. Her mother had never resented her for this, but, as a result of the hatred directed towards her from the rest of the Heavenly Domain, Karyou, the Great Sage who Leaves Heaven in Dissary, could only manipte her mes with the intent to destroy. As fate would have it, Karyou''s ended up being the collective destination of four different Communities. Since she was something of a loner, the petite and remarkably youthful-looking Roc Demon King had no choice but to focus purely on ''defending'' her. As a result, the moment she sensed an intruder, she ended up setting the entire surface aze before appearing in the form of a massive golden bird exuding markedly less resplendent golden mes. With a wingspan more than three hundred meters in length, Karyou was a sight to behold, both in reality and through a disy. Her body, even whilst transformed, was covered in resplendent and highly ornamented golden essories that resembled the plumage of the Divine Phoenix. The only thing that seemed ''off'' about her were the mes exuding from her body, as, rather than the pure gold associated with the Divine Phoenix, the core of her murky golden mes was tainted with an eerie ck light. Though many within the crowd didn''t understand the reason for the ''dirty'' ck hue, it didn''t take long for rumors to spread amongst the spectators. As a result, Karyou could feel her very existence being tainted, resentment building within her as she assailed the people invading her with a seemingly endless tide of corrosive golden mes. ("Just you wait, Wu. Once this matter has been settled, I swear I won''t rest until I pull on your tail at least once") As the person who had forced her to participate, Karyou couldn''t help harboring a small amount of resentment towards Wu, her surrogate sister, rival, and best friend. She had been doing her best toy low these past three hundred years as she was sick and tired of being hated and resented for an event she had absolutely no control over. Unfortunately, no matter how much time passed, people never hesitated to reinvigorate the negative rumors associated with her birth Unfortunately, just as Karyou attempted to unleash her anger and resentment on one of the groups that had invaded her, a stupefied expression developed across her avian face as one of the invaders opened her mouth to an unreasonable extent before simply sucking in all the mes like a ck hole. Immediately thereafter, one of the invader''spanions charged forward like a meteor, her previously petite frame growing to the size of a small mountain as she crashed into Karyou with her forehead, shouting, "Usagi Charge!" Though she managed to recover almost instantaneously, the look on Karyou''s face became even more incredulous as she found herself facing a three-hundred-meter tall woman wearing a white leotard and rabbit ears. Gigantification wasn''t particrly rare as far as Gifts were concerned. What caught Karyou by surprise was the woman''s ability to physically strike her. She was supposed to be immune to physical attacks in her transformed state. In spite of this, the feral-looking woman was able to strike her directly while ignoring the mes licking her legs and feet Just as Karyou was about to ask the woman''s identity, ck lines appeared on her forehead as the ravenous rabbit girl held up her scary-looking ws and said, "You''re pretty tough for a fire chicken. Come at me, plip." "" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''FYI, Tamamo''s Luck Parameter is among the highest in Vahn''s harem'',''The legend of the Saiyan Sage begins'',''Oof. Now I kind of feel bad for Karyou-chan'') Chapter 2195: Rage, Indignation, and Fury

Chapter 2195: Rage, Indignation, and Fury

Though it was a strange sight to behold, hundreds of millions of people were able to see Karyou''s brow twitching when the giant bunny girl, Usalia, called her a fire chicken. She already had enough problems with people hating her due to the circumstances of her birth; she didn''t need some stray rabbiting up with a convenient insult for people to use against her. "You dare insult the Great Sage who Leaves Heaven in Disarray!? My mes will burn you to ash!" a??a?? In an attempt to do just that, a runic pattern spread across Karyou''s wings as she reared back in the prelude to a sweeping motion. Her mes could reach temperaturesparable to the Sun''s core, just under 15 million degrees Celsius. With their added corrosiveness, even Gods and Pure-Blooded Dragons could be reduced to ash in her fury. Unfortunately for Karyou, Usalia had never been the type to sit around and wait for her opponent to finish their attack. The moment Karyou shouted her threat, she charged forward with a terrifying momentum that altered the very rotation of the. "Usagi Punch!" With the pupils of her eyes contracting to points, Karyou attempted to close her wings in a manner that resembled an embrace. The temperature in the surroundings soared to the point that thend for several kilometers was instantaneously liquidated in a fiery explosion, but, thanks to her natural resilience, Usalia was able to push through the intense heat to give Karyou an uppercut. Though Usalia was quickly bing famous for her feral and untamed beauty, those that knew her well would attest that her two most prominent features were her durability and appetite. During her time in the Netherworld, she had tanked blowsparable to the forces present at the creation of a Universe. Though the power of the Sun was a direct counter to most demonic entities, especially those affiliated with the Moon, Karyou''s tainted mescked the purification properties that would have given her an advantage. As a result, the only notable ''injury'' Usalia suffered from the exchange were slightly singed pantyhose and a few ck stains on her previously, pure white leotard. With space being off-limits until the release of a Model Omega, Karyou found herself skidding along the invisible membrane surrounding her. By the time she came to a stop, she had circled the globe a total of thirteen times. This earned her a tremendous amount ofughter and ridicule from the spectators, and, though she couldn''t hear them, Karyou could sense their disdain washing over her like frigid, unforgiving water. "That''s it! I''m done ying around! Every single one of you can go to hell!" Fearing that people would notice the tears building in the corners of her eyes, Karyou tucked her body and furled her wings in a manner that made her resemble a cacoon. The same runic pattern from before began to spread across her wings. This time, however, the runes shifted from a brilliant golden hue to pitch ck as her entire body, previously golden, became shadowy and illusory. "End of Nirvana!" Having lost interest in participating in the Gift Game, Karyou unleashed her most powerful attack without consideration for herself or the beneath her. An eerie ck pulse was released from her chest, but, instead of simply spreading outward and destroying her surroundings, it vaporized her body before continuing outward at a slow yet unstoppable pace. From the outside, it was like watching the expansion of a star. Instead of bright, bluish-white, yellow, or red light, however, the entire thing was a mixture of abyssal ck and suppressed golden mes. What Karyou never could have anticipated was that thes used in Vahn''s Gift Game were quite a bit different from those that appeared in other games. Her penultimate attack was impressive but it was nowhere near the level of an Executioner''s Judgment. If thes were fragile enough that an invader could simply throw caution to the wind to destroy the entire thing, there would be very little preventing people from doing exactly that. Thus, while the eerie ck pulse spread across the entirety of the''s surface, it only managed to peel away a few hundred meters of the crust. To Karyou''s credit, ssing and stripping away the surface was a lot more than most people would have been able to pull off. Unfortunately, while it was able to eliminate some of the weaker and more opportunistic invaders, it was far from enough to deal with the trio that had invaded from the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. If anything, her attack helped them out, as, due to the nature of the mes, arge portion of Usalia''s already scandalous bunny outfit had been destroyed. This garnered her a tremendous amount of attention as the sight of a three-hundred-meter-tall bunny girl vexatiously concealing her body using fluffy paws wasn''t exactlymonce . Observing the scene from thefort of his throne room, a frown marred Vahn''s face as he sensed the tremendous volume of negative energy flowing towards Karyou. Her attack may have destroyed her body, but, due to her heritage as the descendant of a Phoenix, her body had promptly reformed at the center of a 3,000km wide crater. This prompted him to cast a reality-altering illusion over the area, not just because Karyou had appearedpletely naked but because she started crying the moment she realized her failure ("Poor girl") (*Just don''t go ming some ''Loli Curse'' or Innate if you decide to help her*) Chuckling dryly in response to Sis''s words, Vahn briefly observed Karyou''s figure as he prepared a change of clothes for her. Thest time he saw the hybrid between a Garuda and a Divine Phoenix was when Loi-chan had assumed her form. At that time, she had dolled herself up using an almost ludicrous amount of makeup. She had also worn extremely gaudy clothing, and, as a tertiaryyer of protection, relied upon multiple illusions just to make herself appear more mature. Now that she had undergone a process simr to a Phoenix''s Rebirth, Karyou had none of her usual protections. As a result, she looked even younger than Sarina when Vahn first encounter her at the entrance to the Little Garden. She was barely 140cm tall, and, despite possessing fairlyrge breasts in her illusory form, she was even smaller than Wu in her present condition. Shaking such thoughts from his mind, Vahn startled Karyou by using telepathy to inform her that the cameras and spectators couldn''t see her. At the same time, he manifested a small, pagoda-style cottage around her before leaving a pile of neatly folded clothes on the ground. He could have just as easily ced them on her body, but, understanding there was a very strong possibility he would upset her even further, Vahn decided it was safer to allow Karyou to dress herself. Instead of immediately grabbing the clothing, Karyou leaned forward to conceal her body, the temperature of her which caused the tears on her face to evaporate as she attempted to cast an illusion on her chest. This caused the smile on Vahn''s face to turn wry, as, even at her lowest point, Karyou was more concerned with the perceived size of her breasts than the fact she was naked Resisting the urge to ask if she would like him to increase the size of her bust, Vahn remained silent until Karyou, havingpleted a physical illusion around her chest, sat up straight and asked, "Who are you? Why are you helping me?" Ignoring the two shapely mounds that now dangled from Karyou''s chest, Vahn focused his intent on the petite woman''s vermillion eyes as he answered, "This is the voice of Vahn, the Sage Dragon Emperor. I''m not sure if Wu informed you, but she and I have be very close since my stay at the Jade Pce. As her friend, I will not allow you to be shamed in front of the public." Though he imagined Karyou would be more than a little angry once she learned that Usalia was a member of his Community, there wasn''t much Vahn could do about that. They were fated to fight from the moment Karyou unleashed a wave of mes towards her, Fenrir, and Mikoto. If anything, she was lucky that Usalia was the one that took up the challenge. If Mikoto had her clothes burned away in the middle of a battle, she would have short-circuited before transforming into her Pikachu form and unleashing a thunderous and indignant fury upon her fiery golden opponent As Wu had actually bragged quite a bit about finally finding a man worthy of her affections, Karyou exhaled a sigh of relief when she heard Vahn''s words. Immediately thereafter, however, a gleam of hostility reflected across her luminous vermillion pupils as she stated, "I''m not going to thank you. If it weren''t for you and that damned monkey, I wouldn''t be in this mess. I expectpensation once you''ve ascended to a 4-Digit Community" Though he smiled wryly in response to Karyou''s words, Vahn didn''t hesitate to answer, "Very well. If youe by the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, you will have ess to all the services we provide without needing to pay. I believe that should suffice aspensation?" Nodding her head in approval, Karyou generated an obscuring hemisphere of mes around her body before picking up the clothes Vahn had prepared for her. She was a little surprised to find that he had even prepared high-quality essories to rece the ones she lost, but, after dering that she wasn''t going to thank him, the only thing she said after dissipating the veil of mes was, "I will visit once things have settled down." before immediately transforming into a fiery golden bird and bursting through the pagoda he had prepared ("There she goes") (*Indeed*) . After mowing down a veritable army of carnivorous nts and creatures, Cauli and Kale finally came face to face with one of the better-known members of Onigashima, S??j??b??, the Daitengu of Mt. Kurama. Tengu, as a species, were a form of Buddhist Spirit, that, as a result of their faith, made it impossible for them to go to Hell. At the same time, however, their excessive pride, vanity, or other ws made it impossible for them to ascend to Heaven. As a result, they were trapped in the mortal ne until they either reached enlightenment or reneged on their beliefs and became yokai. Generally speaking, Tengu were separated into one of two categories. Those who were wise and benevolent during their lives would be Daitengu, retaining the vast majority of their features prior to death. Inversely, those who lived ignorant or despotic lives would be Kotengu, many even losing their identities as they gradually metamorphosed into beings that resembled humanoid ravens. Like all humanoid Tengu, S??j??b?? possessed an inordinately long nose, long-lobed ears, and a perpetually stern, almost angry-looking face. As one of the oldest and wisest Tengu, however, hisplexion resembled that of a human instead of the traditional red and ashen-grey associated with those on the path towards bing a Kotengu. The thing that stood out the most were his eyes, as, rather than white sclera and a natural eye color, he possessed ck sclera and yellowish, perennially wrathful eyes. "Ignorant and shameless wenches. You dare assail the great and mighty Onigashima Community in such licentious garb and in so few a number!?" Though Kale was wearing rtively modest clothing that consisted of a halter top, spat-like shorts, and a skirt, Cauli was wearing her usual tube top and baggy pantsbination. The majority of people wouldn''t find this overtly scanty, but, due to her propensity to gomando and the low-lying nature of Cauli''s trousers, it wasn''t exactly ''proper'' either. Angering the Daitengu even further, Cauli unhesitantly used her middle finger to draw down the fold of her left eye as she stuck out her tongue, intoning a taunting, "Nyeeeeeh~!" before adopting a fighting stance and saying, "I didn''te here to listen to a lecture. If you''re not going to attack, don''t me me for taking the-" Moving even faster than instant transmission, S??j??b?? appeared right behind Cauli without even a hint that he was about to move. An ethereal purple me spread within his palm, but, the moment he tried to thrust forward to strike her back, Cauli''s tail promptly grabbed his wrist as she twisted her body to kick him directly in the temple . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The legendary Usagi Punch!'',''Another Tsundere appears'',''Will S??j??b?? be able to put up a fight? Find out on the next, exciting episode of drawait, haven''t I done this joke before?'') Chapter 2196: Omens, Parades, and Scripted Encounters

Chapter 2196: Omens, Parades, and Scripted Encounters

Though her attack was swift enough to leave a ck distortion in the intervening space, Cauli''s pupils shrank to the size of pinholes when S??j??b?? used his free hand to casually intercept her kick. Snorting through his long nose, S??j??b??''s expression became even sterner than usual as he said, "Not bad, monkey brat. This kick was worth at least three hundred Tengu. Unfortunately for you, this form possesses the strength of one thou-" a??a?? Before S??j??b?? could finish lecturing Cauli, a fistrger than his face impacted him from the left as Kale shouted, "Take your filthy hands off my Aneue!" Though S??j??b?? had raised the hand Cauli ensnared with her tail to try and intercept Kale''s attack, the force behind the blow greatly exceeded his expectations. If not for Cauli''s timely release, she would have been sent flying along with him as he smashed into the forest below with enough force to create a mushroom cloud more than ten thousand meters in height Smacking the back of Kale''s head before she could go on a rampage, Cauli''s expression revealed a moderate amount of frustration as she asked, "What do you think you''re doing? I can easily beat this old bastard without your help." Rubbing the back of her head, Kale, despite towering over Cauli, appeared to shrink as she bashfully replied, "Sorry, Ane-sanI just don''t like it when men touch you" Rolling her eyes, Cauli resisted the urge to point out that Kale didn''t seem to mind when it was Vahn doing the touching. Instead, she waved off the half-giantess, saying, "Yeah, yeah, I know. Don''t worry. Now that I know he isn''t a small fry, I''ll stop ying around" Punctuating her words, vibrant golden electricity shed across Cauli''s body as a thickyer of short golden hair began to spread along her arms, back, sides and shoulders. When it was done spreading, the only part of her body uncovered by golden hair was her face, the front of her neck, breasts, and abs. Even her legs and butt were covered in a denseyer of short hair, but, due to her baggy pants, the audience wasn''t privy to this fact Exhaling a plume of steam, the fur covering Cauli''s body gained a tinum, almost silvery hue as the color of her eyes shifted from a beautiful, emerald green to shimmering pearl. At the same time, the temperature of her body increased far beyond the limit of most biological organisms. It couldn''tpare to the mes of a Phoenix or a Sun God, but, even from hundreds of meters away, metals would be white-hot in Cauli''s current state. "Ane-san" Raising her hand before Kale could try to stop her, a feral grin developed across Cauli''s face as she said, "I trained my ass in preparation for this little game. It''s time to show the world what we Saiyans are made of." Understanding the futility of trying to talk her aneue out of a fight, Kale simply nodded her head before pulling away to give Cauli some space. At nearly the exact same moment, the ground below erupted like a supervolcano, ethereal purple mes ascending towards the heavens like the pirs of a massive demon''s w as S??j??b?? emerged with Khakkhara, Buddhist Ring Staff, in hand. Though Tengu were masters of martial arts, their true prowessy in their supernatural spellcasting abilities. S??j??b??, in particr, was famous for his training of the legendary samurai, Minamoto-no-Yosh*tsune, then known as Ushiwaka-maru, in the arts of swordsmanship, tactics, and magic. "Taste my staff, you upstart!" Sweeping said staff forward, the pirs of ethereal purple mes spiraled towards Cauli at a terrifying speed. Instead of finding their mark, however, a pulse of silver energy erupted from Cauli''s body as she leaned forward in the prelude to a charging motion. The fire that had been barreling towards her acted as if it had struck an invisible shield, but, rather than a physical barrier, the thing keeping them at bay was raw, unadulterated willpower. "Grit your teeth, you old fart!" Hearing Cauli''s words sound directly in his mind, S??j??b??''s eyes widened as pitch-ck wings unfurled from his back. He also attempted to teleport away, but, the moment he appeared at his destination, Cauli was already there waiting for him, arm drawn back in the most telegraphed punch he had ever seen. Unfortunately, while he was able to follow the punch as if it was thrown in slow motion, S??j??b?? felt as though his entire body was being pressed upon by a series of mountains. Purple lightning began to erupt from his body, but, even though it was much faster than actual lightning, it appeared to be spreading away from him at a rateparable to the formation of a stgmite. It felt like it would take years for the lightning to spread from his body and reach Cauli. Long before then, thetternded a punch so devastating that S??j??b??''s very next memory was waking up outside of the Game Board . Feeling a tremor spread through his throne/control room despite the fact it was located more than 4,000km beneath the surface, a sharp-toothed smile spread across the face of a paradoxicallynky yet muscr man with fiery red hair. Noticing the man''s smile, the hundreds of demonic-looking entities surrounding him immediately ceased enjoying their feast. At the same time, the androgynous figure seated atop theirp, an Oni with long white hair, ruby-red horns, and a veil reminiscent of a bride yfully remarked, "It would appear Lord S??j??b?? either underestimated his opponent or greatly overestimated his capabilities" Nodding his head in approval, the fiery-haired man shifted his attention to seven simrly dressed figures seated near the far end of a massive banquet table. These were the remaining Lords of the Tengu, ancient and proud individuals who had boasted Tengu superiority when S??j??b?? volunteered to repel the enemies on his own. Tensing under the gaze of their Lord and Master, the eldest of the remaining Tengu Lords, Tar??b?? of Atago, nervously stroked his stomach-length beard, asserting, "The assants must have used some sneaky or underhanded method. Lord S??j??b?? would not have been defeated in a fair contest" Hearing the elderly Daitengu speak of sneaky methods and fair contests, many of the surrounding demons and yokai rolled the varying number of eyes. Promotional Gift Games were practically War, so, while certain individuals ran around purporting themselves as noble and honorable warriors, the majority of participants used whatever methods avable to secure victory. This was especially true among the members of Onigashima, as, with few exceptions, each and every one of them was some kind of demonic entity. Without a word, the fiery-haired man extended his free hand towards the increasingly tense group of Tengu. In response, those furthest attempted to flee, but, before they could fully rise from their seats, their expressions scrunched into prune red and purple caricatures before their entire bodies were crushed into meat paste. Extricating his remaining hand from the blood-red yukata of hispanion, the fiery-haired man waited for the white-haired Oni to alight from hisp before rising to his feet and stating, "Though being weak is not a sin, making excuses for your weakness is. If you do not have the courage to join me in this battle, save me the effort and kill yourselves. Those of you who wish to frolic in the blood and entrails of our enemies, follow me." As a blood-red mist began to ooze from the remarkably tall man''s feet, the Yokai gathered around the table began to grow restless. They knew exactly what it meant for the man to take the lead, so, after a moment of indescribable tensions, one of the Yokai seated closest to the throne eximed, "Hyakki Yak??! Lord Shuten is on the move!" in a ferocious, guttural tone. While several other Yokai began chanting the phrase Hyakki Yak?? in turn, the fiery-haired man, better known as Shuten-Doji, began marching forward without paying them any mind. The white-haired Oni from before, Ibaraki-Doji, immediately fell into step next to him while each of the Yokai seated around the table adopted their most ghastly forms. The Hyakki Yak??, tranting to ''Night Parade of One Hundred Demons'' was one of the most infamous events in Japanese mythos. It was also a unique Gift Game that Shuten could trigger whenever he pleased. Others may have gathered for the game to better their standing in the Little Garden. In Shuten''s mind, the only thing that mattered was spreading bloodshed and fear. He wasn''t regarded as the most famous of the Three Most Evil Yokai of Japan for naught. He may prefer to just lounge about and engage in debauchery, but, once his lust for battle had been triggered, rivers ran red with the blood of his enemies, allies, and everything that dared to cross his path. For this reason, each of the Yokai making up the Hyakki Yak?? made doubly sure to follow ''behind'' him . After searching the surrounding forests and finding no trace of any enemies, Musashi ventured beyond the concealing mist until she reached one of the temple-like structures housing a lesser teleportation nexi. These were used to facilitate transfer to others, and, more importantly, the control room of each. Noticing that the only person guarding the incredibly important structure was a young man with raven-ck hair that neatly framed his face, Musashi elected to cancel her State of Nothingness a few meters away from his position. This caused the apparently sleeping individual to open his eyes, a surprised expression appearing on his face before he promptly adopted an appreciative smile and said, "My, you''re quite beautiful." Shouldering a katana most people couldn''t even perceive before it came to rest, Musashi adopted a smile of her own as she rebutted, "I''m well aware. Now, are you gonna introduce yourself, or is my first opponent in the Divine Realm destined to be some nameless ronin?" Though others may have been distracted by Musashi''s pert and perfectly shaped breasts, the clear ck eyes of the youthful samurai were focused entirely on the sword in her hand. At a nce, he almost resembled a youth that had justid eyes on his childhood crush in a bikini. Thus, for a very brief moment, he failed to even process Musashi''s words until she lowered her rtively in but masterfully crafted katana and mused, "Nameless it is" Faster than even the hypersensitive, faster than light cameras guided by the Casters, Musashi swept her sword in a simple yet immutable arc. The motion gave off the impression that it simply couldn''t be stopped, so, rather than trying, the smiling youth appeared to manifest in multiple ces, a total of ny-three versions of him appearing simultaneously. Eighty-seven of these were bifurcated at the waist while six were only partially cut through. This left only a single version of the young man intact, the smile on his face growing wider as he remarked, "The person wielding you is also quite phenomenal, isn''t she?" Hearing the man''s words, Musashi realized his originalpliment had been directed towards her sword. Unable to contain herself, she immediately burst intoughter, hand cupping her exposed abdomen as she chortled uncontrobly. In response, the youth simply scratched the back of his head, politely waiting until she had gotten herself under control before offering a courteous bow and saying, "My name is Sasaki Kojiro. May I have the honor of hearing your name?" Not expecting to hear the name of her former rival from the young man''s mouth, Musashi''s body tensed ever so slightly as a mixture of fear and expectation spread through her body. The color of her eyes immediately shifted like a kaleidoscope, but, rather than attacking as her instincts told her to, she habitually activated a lesser State of Nothingness, a mask of calm developing across her face as she replied, "Miyamoto Musashi" Simr to Musashi, Kojiro''s body immediately tensed when he heard her introduction. In the very next instant, however, a sword that was longer than he was tall appeared in his hand as the two unleashed an attack that caused even the immaterial ''camera'' viewing them to be sliced in half . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''How ominous (O w O)'',''Every female reader when they read the scene with Shuten and Ibaraki: *leans forward*'',''Some fates are stronger than others xD'') Chapter 2197: Appreciation, Fatigue, and the Power of Money

Chapter 2197: Appreciation, Fatigue, and the Power of Money

"Incredible. You truly live up to the name Musashi." Though they had only exchanged a single blow between them, Kojiro could feel the indomitable sword intent contained within Musashi''s sword. The moment their des ovepped, a frigid chill ran through his body. It was almost like he had been walking alone in a peaceful mountain forest only to turn his head to find an avnche charging towards him. a??a?? Instead of responding to Kojiro''s words, Musashi''s perpetually changing eyes shifted towards the edge of her Zanpakuto. It might be unnoticeable to others, but, thanks to her incredible eyesight, she was able to make out an indescribably small nick on the edge of her de. "Gaze into the Void, G??enjin!" Realizing her opponent was more dangerous than his disarming smile let on, Musashi immediately unleashed her Shikai. This caused Kojiro''s eyes to widen considerably, as, rather than a simple 10x increase in spirit energy, Musashi''s G??enjin provided a startling 50x increase. A bluish-white energy erupted from her body, forcing Kojiro back until he raised his almostically long katana to block, or, more specifically, cut through the seemingly insurmountable pressure. Adopting a far more serious expression than before, the edge of Kojiro''s de began to glow with a simrly bluish-white light as he murmured, "Has she already surpassed the realm of the gods?" Not expecting an answer to his question, the hairs on Kojiro''s body stood on end as a feminine voice sounded from his side, stating, "The only person I focus on surpassing is myself." Spinning away from the voice, Kojiro''s body spun in such a smooth and graceful arc that, for a very brief moment, he appeared to be the only thing in existence capable of moving. The only exception to this seemed to be Musashi''s eyes, which, in spite of her unmoving figure, stared directly at Kojiro, their hue shifting between various blues, greens, and purples. Undaunted by the peculiar sight, an inexplicable scene urred in the eyes of the Spectators. The spinning Kojiro promptly changed directions, a secondary arc forming as he cut towards Musashi''s head to produce a dividing line that perfectly bisected her body. Some mistakenly believed this was the Tsubame Gaeshi. Instead, it was a raw disy of speed. Speed so great that it simply defied the conventional rules of causality. To the horror and chagrin of quite a number of people, the ''cameras'' viewing and recording the fight were able to see a thin red line running down Musashi''s body. With everything appearing to move in slow motion, they were even able to make out Musashi''s flesh beginning to slowly part. In spite of this, the pale, pink-haired swordswoman maintained a smile as her eyes continued to focus on the increasingly nervous-looking Kojiro. Just as it seemed as though Musashi was about to be perfectly split in two, the pink-haired Samurai took a step forward. Everything was still moving in slow motion, but, as if she was unaffected by the distortion, Musashi swept her G??enjin in a casual arc that sent Kojiro''s head spinning from his body. As if someone had picked up a remote and pressed fast forward, Kojiro''s spinning head appeared to revolve at several hundred RPM, a cascade of blood spreading outward in a perfect spiral as the crowd looked on with stunned, stupefied gazes. Then, in such a short amount of time that people thought the disy hadgged, several other versions of Kojiro had appeared on screen while the spinning head from before hadpletely vanished. Just as everyone was beginning to wonder what, exactly, was going on, Musashi satisfied their curiosities, her yful, almost innately seductive tone echoing through the Little Garden as she mused, "You''ve taken your Infinity in a rather interesting direction, haven''t you? Your speed has exceeded the point of Parallel Superposition. Every action you perform results in the creation of countless versions of yourselfif I didn''t already know she was taken, there is a redhead I would have liked to introduce you to" Wiping away a bit of sweat from his brow, Kojiro regained his earlier smile as he rebutted, "Those eyes of yours are dangerousthe ability to guarantee an oue is beyond terrifying in the hands of a truly skilled warrior" As it was natural for people at their level to be able to see through each other''s techniques with a single nce, Musashi simply shrugged in response to Kojiro''s revtion. She didn''t mind if people learned about her Empyrean Eyes. Rather, the whole reason she was wearing a bikini was to garner attention and increase her fame. If the residents of the Little Garden truly believed her eyes had the power to guarantee an oue, the grade/rank of her Gift would invariably increase. Unsurprised by Musashi''s silence, Kojiro adopted a low, sideways stance with his sword held parallel with his shoulders. An indescribably sharp aura immediately surged forth from his body, but, due to the intense spiritual pressure emanating from Musashi''s, Kojiro actually felt an even greater feeling of suppression than before. He felt as though he was trying to blow a bubble at the bottom of the ocean. The more effort he pushed into expanding his domain, the greater the surface area exposed to Musashi''s. Fortunately, the stance Kojiro had adopted was so famous that the momentum generated from the crowd''s interest immediately shifted in his favor. His Tsubame Gaeshi was regarded as the absolute pinnacle of swordsmanship, so, while there were a frustrating number of opponents that hade up with methods to counter it, Sojiro had an absolute advantage when it came to high-profile Gift Games. Just as Kojiro was sure of his victory, something the crowd had been anticipating for quite some time urred. Many had noticed the peculiar and unnerving sight of Musashi''s flesh beginning to part in slow motion, but, rather than focusing on such gruesome details, the vast majority of people had directed their gaze to the string tying together her bikini. They figured that if the body behind the fabric had been cut, it was only natural that the fabric had also been cut. Now that Musashi was on the verge of being defeated by the Tsubame Gaeshi, hundreds of millions of people immediately shifted their attention to Musashi''s breasts, eager to see the string loosen or sliced through With so many people focused on the exact same thing, it was only natural that the Central Network took matters into its own hands. Thus, at the exact moment that Kojiro was preparing to unleash his Tsubame Gaeshi, the blue cord fastening together the two half of Musashi''s top loosened . After thinning the numbers on the surface, Nobu had managed to breach thirteenyers of the offensive satellite''s underground structure before her mental and spiritual energies began to wane. The activation of her Bankai had vastly increased her reserves, but, at the same time, it ced a tremendous burden on her mind, body, and spirit. If not for her tremendous willpower, she might not have been able to surpass the 10th Floor without stopping to take a rest. Without wiping away the blood pouring from her eyes and nose, a vicious smile developed across Nobu''s face as she mentally cursed the durability of the Imperial Dragons. She had wanted to clear the offensive satellite in a single go, but, with more advanced models appearing every five floors, it was proving to be impossible. It didn''t help that Bosses appeared every ten floors, their power and durability far surpassing the parameters of lesser models. epting the thermos of tea offered by Tomoe, Nobu grumbled, "Remind me to kick Da Vinci''s ass when we get out of here" before emptying the contents in a single go. She immediately felt a cool and refreshing sensation spread through her body as theplex tattoo coiling around her back and shoulders lit up in response to the revitalizing energies contained within the surprisingly minty liquid. "Paaaaaaathat hits the spot!" Though she would have preferred sake or some other form of alcohol, Nobu was afraid she might pounce on Okita or Tomoe if she got tipsy. She didn''t mind if the Little Garden viewed her as being bisexual, but, until her rtionship with Vahn was known, she didn''t want to do anything that mightpromise his position. The only reason she openly gawked at Okita''s butt was because she felt it would be an insult if she didn''t admire such a wless piece of work With that in mind, Nobu shifted her attention to the bronze-skinned woman only to find that she now had a red sarong wrapped around her waist. The three tomoe in her ruby red eyes immediately morphed into a shape resembling the Oda n''s Family Crest, but, instead of asking what the hell Okita was thinking, Nobu directed an usatory glower toward Tomoe. Believing she had done nothing wrong, Tomoe maintained a calm andposed expression as she pulled out a bento box and said, "Take this. It''s a bento box specially prepared by Lady Rindo. It will help you recover." Snorting through her nose, Nobu practically yanked the bento box out of Tomoe''s hands before plopping down on the ground with a clearly annoyed expression on her face. In response, Tomoe exhaled a sigh before walking over to where Okita was keeping watch. This caused a scrutinizing gleam to sh across Nobu''s eyes, as, much like the countless spectators, her gaze immediately focused on a certain aspect of Tomoe''s departing figure It didn''t really need to be said, but there was a reason Nobu was the Heroic Spirit summoned by Vahn . While everyone else was showing off or struggling, a rather strange scene was urring on one of the defensive satellites littering the Game Board. Though she would normally be the first to show off, Seraphina had teamed up with Chronoa, the Supreme Kai of Time, to execute a special mission. They had been given the task of securing at least a single defensive satellite, as, while he was perfectly capable of defending their against the Model Omega, Vahn felt it wouldn''t be fair if their Community was the only one impervious to the Executioner''s Judgment. Unlike the offensive satellites, the only obstacle preventing yers from reaching the core of the defensive satellites was abyrinth. While Seraphina might not seem like the best option when it came to exploring and capturingbyrinths, her recently acquired Zanpakuto more than made up for her personal ineptitude. Even in its Shikai form, it was among the most obscene abilities Vahn had ever seen as it created a domain that emted the Netherworld''s Dark Assembly. Representing the tip of a ''very''rge iceberg, Seraphina was able to use her Zanpakuto to create or summon beings from virtually any world she was aware of. The only prerequisites were that she had enough money to create and enough spirit energy to sustain them. There was also a restriction that she could only use money and resources she had earned, but, as a Subus Queen, Seraphina was more than capable of ''earning'' everything she required from Vahn. Using her ability, Seraphina was able to purchase a functionally infinite number of ethereal Prinnies. They would disappear the moment she deactivated her Shikai, but, until then, she had a veritable army of weak yet extremely loyal servants to search and navigate the defensive satellite''s corridors. As for what she did while they were hard at work? Well, any excess movements would be a waste of energy, so, while tens of thousands of Prinnies scoured thebyrinth at her behest, Seraphina used the Companion Vahn had created for her as a tanning bed, her bare back exposed for all the Little Garden to see . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''I don''t know if I should feel bad for Kojiro or envious of the crowd'',''Nobu is a truly cultured individual (U w U)'',''Of course she would be the one to get such a broken ability'') Chapter 2198: Testing the Waters

Chapter 2198: Testing the Waters

Seeing Seraphina lounging atop her amorphous golden Prinny, an exasperated sigh escaped from Chronoa''s lips. Vahn had informed them about the existence of his harem outside the Actualized World, but, even with foreknowledge regarding how he came to be associated with each woman, Chronoa couldn''tprehend how certain girls had managed to weasel their way into his life. "He''s simply too kind" a??a?? Nodding in affirmation of her own statement, Chronoa crossed her arms under her ratherrge breasts before shifting her attention to the innumerable humanoids and beasts scouring both the surface of the moon-sized satellite and its interior. Seraphina may have a preference for Prinnies but they weren''t the only beings she had summoned to carry out her mission. In fact, there were more than fifty different types of creatures roaming about. "What a terrifying ability" Though the creatures she had summoned would dissipate once Seraphina ran out of energy, the versatility of her ability was beyondpare. If she had an adequate amount of spirit energy, she could theoretically spread her influence throughout entire Realms. She was basically a Creator God whose only real weaknesses were herziness, vanity, and dependence on Vahn Were it not for Vahn''s overwhelming power and seemingly infinite capacity for empathy, Chronoa may have feltpelled to deal with Seraphina before she could master her ability. Fortunately, no matter how powerful Seraphina became, the chances of her surpassing Vahn were very near zero. Vahn had survived the erasure ability of the Omni King, and, though it looked to be a close fight, he had even managed to defeat the Grand Priest in a battle of pure martial prowess. Thetter possessed thebined power of every being in existence. The notion that he could be defeated had never once crossed the minds of the Angels or the Kai. By proving himself against the two most powerful beings in creation, Vahn had effectively installed himself as the de facto ruler of every Universe. As a result, Chronoa couldn''t even imagine what it would take to actually defeat him. It was for this reason that she decided to apany him outside of the Actualized World. She wanted to see what kinds of beings could give him trouble, and, more importantly, help him fulfill his objective of reuniting with his family. After everything Vahn had done for her, Chronoa felt obligated to apany him to the very end "Hmm?" Sensing a distortion in the surrounding space-time, Chronoa muttered, "Kai Kai." before vanishing into thin air and reappearing on the opposite side of the defensive satellite. Kai Kai was a technique simr to teleportation, but, instead of requiring an anchor point, the only prerequisite was that the user knows where they wanted to go. So long as you satisfied that very simple requirement, it could transport you to any person, ce, or thing within a given realm of influence. In this case, it allowed Chronoa to teleport anywhere Vahn''s domain extended. Finding a trio of ashen-skinned individuals emerging from the center of aplex magical circle, a slight smile developed across Chronoa''s face as she looked forward to the opportunity to do battle. This was her chance to begin paying Vahn back, so, while she wasn''t particrly fond of Seraphina, Chronoa was determined to keep the frustratingly rambunctious Subi safe. With this in mind, Chronoa sent a telepathic message to Seraphina before teleporting all the nearby ''minions'' away. At the same time, she descended before the trio, a serious expression on her face as she cautioned, "This satellite has been imed by the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Depart for the nearest teleportation nexus or prepare to suffer the consequences." Undaunted by Chronoa''s warning, thergest of the ashen-skinned individuals, a mountain of a man with six arms and a height of 364cm, raised a 340cm long sword to his right shoulder as he said, "I''m afraid that isn''t how this works. When the Rakshasa Tribe makes an appearance, there are only two options to our opponents. Capitte or prove your worth." Having never heard of the Rakshasa Tribe, Chronoa responded to the white-haired man''s words by manifesting a cog-like halo behind her back as she said, "Very well then. My name is Chronoa, the Supreme Kai and Goddess of Time. State your names, brave warriors." Rather than introducing himself, the inordinately tall man shifted his attention to the smallest member of their group, an ashen-skinned woman with six arms, ashen-white hair, grey, fox-like ears, and a ghostly tail. Despite her small stature, a mere 195cm tall, she was the leader and the most powerful member of their group. Adopting a cutesy pose, two of her six hands pointed towards the dimples in her cheeks, the vaguely vulpine woman answered, "My name is Prurmubhi, daughter of Attutyaptish. Nice to meet''cha~!" Following his leader''s example, the massive, bare-chested man went on to thump his chest with one of his free hands, stating, "My name is Uvashu, son Attutyaptish. It is a great honor to battle against a member of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth." Nodding her head in response to the man''s words, Chronoa shifted her attention to the remaining member of their group, an androgynous figure with the same ashen skin as theirpanions. She half-expected them to introduce themselves as the son or daughter of Attutyaptish. Instead, they opened their mouth to reveal two rows of razor-sharp teeth as they said, "Avhudaughter of Kili" before following it up by asking, "Do you bleed?" Scrutinizing the exceptionally spikey and heavily belted outfit of the peculiar woman, Chronoa promptly decided against answering Avhu''s question. Instead, she directed her attention to the leader of the group, Prurmubhi, asking, "Will the three of you fight as one, or would you prefer to take turns?" cing one of her index fingers on her chin, Prurmubhi appeared to be seriously considering Chronoa''s question. This gave thetter ample time to better examine her would-be opponents. Prurmubhi wasn''t the only one with animalistic features among the three. Two of Uvashu''s hands resembled paws, and, rather than humanoid feet, he possessed three-toed, lion-like paws covered in white fur. Hecked the rows of razor-sharp teeth that Avhu possessed but his bottom jaw was affixed with two,rge, tusk-like teeth that gave him a rather prominent underbite. Standing out even amongst the other ashen-skinned individuals, Avhu possessed four, antennae-like horns that vaguely resembled the horns of a nudibranch, a type of sea slug. There were also tiny gills on the side of her neck, but, due to the ck leather choker biting into her skin, Chronoa wasn''t sure if she actually used them to breathe. Her razor-sharp teeth gave off a rather dangerous vibe, and, unlike her two counterparts, she hadn''t blinked once since appearing. Judging by the size and structure of her eyes, there was a very real chance she couldn''t Seemingly incapable ofing up with an answer, Prurmubhi tilted her head adorably to the side before asking, "Are you strong~?" in a sing-song tone. With a power level exceeding ten-quintillion, Chronoa was rtively confident in her strength. Thus, even though her instincts were warning her that the trio in front of her was exceptionally powerful, she didn''t hesitate to nod her head, answering, "Of course." with a confident smile on her face. Instead of acknowledging Chronoa''s response, Prurmubhi shifted her gaze to the unblinking Avhu. In response, the 222cm tall woman promptlyunched herself forward with terrifying momentum, kunai-like knives appearing in her hands as she attempted to simultaneously stab, slice, and skewer Chronoa''s vitals. Thetter''s pupils immediately shrunk to the size of pinholes, but, long before the attack could connect, pointers reminiscent of the hands of a clock appeared on Chronoa''s golden halo. With Avhu''s daggers mere centimeters away from her neck, chest, and ribs, Time for all but a few participants of the Gift Game promptly ceased. At the same time, a mildly offended look developed across Chronoa''s face as one of the things she hated most were surprise attacks. She had given the trio a chance to flee and even discussed terms with them. Sneak attacking after she had shown such consideration was simply rude. Intending to teach the trio a lesson, Chronoa balled her right hand into a fist before teleporting to the side of Avhu and striking forward with all her might. She didn''t particrly excel in terms of raw physical strength, but, when your attacks exceeded time itself, the amount of force contained within was very near infinite. The only reason it wasn''t was because she would destroy her own body if she attempted to strike someone while time was stopped. Instead, she unpaused it the moment her fist was about to make contact. Though Avhu was more than a little surprised by Chronoa''s counter, the look of stupefaction on thetter''s face when her first barely deformed the monochromatic girl''s cheek made it pretty obvious who was most shaken by the incident. As nonsensical as it sounded, Chronoa felt as though she had just punched a cotton ball the size of a. There was virtually no feedback. Recovering before the befuddled Supreme Kai, Avhu opened her mouth wide, her jaw stretching to a terrifying degree as she attempted to bite Chronoa''s hand. Instead, a golden sphere erupted from thetter''s fist, sting the seemingly indestructible slug girl several hundred meters as Prurmubhi and Uvashu watched on with a mixture of intrigue and excitement. Seeing that presumed brother and sister had no intention of interfering, a golden aura surrounded Chronoa''s body as she charged towards the downed Avhu. She wanted to confirm her suspicion, so, at the exact moment the expressionless girl pushed herself to her feet, Chronoanded a lightspeed dropkick on her opponent''s face. A massive shockwave erupted from the point of contact as a smell reminiscent of ozone spread through the area. In spite of this, Avhu neither blinked nor recoiled as she attempted to grab Chronoa''s ankles and stab her legs Having confirmed her suspicions, the minute hand on Chronoa''s halo began to move in a counter-clockwise fashion. She didn''t want her opponents having any information on her abilities, so, rather than stopping time, she reversed it to the point when Prurmubhi was still in the midst of making her decision. Against a normal opponent, this was an absolute advantage. What Chronoa never could have expected, even though Vahn had cautioned her against it, was for Prurmubhi to promptly raise her brows, a teasing smile developing across the vulpine woman''s face as she remarked, "You really are a Goddess of Time. Interesting." Before Chronoa could respond to the woman''s words, Avhu revealed that she was also aware of what had transpired, a faint snort emanating from her nose as she remarked, "Annoying" in her strangely soft and delicate tone. This left Uvashu as the only person seemingly unaware of what had transpired, a look of confusion marring his rtively simple-looking face as he used one of his free hands to scratch his head. Though she was tempted to ask for confirmation, Chronoa''s immediate response was to stop Time. She still needed to confirm whether or not Prurmubhi and Uvashu were also impervious to physical attacks. If that was the case, her only means of dealing with the trio would be sting them with Ki or freezing them in Time. Thetter would severely weaken her for the remainder of the Gift Game, so, unless it was absolutely necessary, she wanted to avoid it. With this in mind, Chronoa teleported next to Prurmubhi, her right hand sping one of the ashen-skinned woman''s wrists before unfreezing time and flinging her into Uvashu. To absolutely no one''s surprise, the vulpine woman was able to effortlessly react to the assault, seamlessly righting herself before using Uvashu''s unmoving figure as a foothold tounch herself towards Chronoa. This was a little annoying, but, considering the force in which Prurmubhi was sent flying into Uvashu, Chronoa could all but confirm one of her suspicions regarding the trio. For all intents and purposes, members of the Rakshasa Tribe were impervious to physical damage. If not, their bodies were so adept at dispersing shockwaves that they may as well be . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Seems to me that someone is jealous'',''Never underestimate people that travel alone or in small groups'',''The solution is simple. You just need to go PLUSU ULTRAAA!'') Chapter 2199: Retreat, Providence, and Envy

Chapter 2199: Retreat, Providence, and Envy

To the chagrin of billions across the Little Garden, the unfastening of Musashi''s top did not result in her ostensibly perfect breasts being exposed for all to see. Instead, two tiny, cartoon-like caricatures of a man with dark brown hair and vibrant, aquamarine eyes appeared to cover her nipples. Adding to the crowd''s indignation, the caricatures were waggling their fingers in a chiding gesture. While countless people were cursing Vahn, Musashipletely ignored her wardrobe malfunction as she charged towards the befuddled Kojiro. The Law of Modesty only affected the view of people outside the Game Board. As a result, while others thought she was baring it all, he was privy to the fact Musashi had used star-shaped stickers to preemptively cover her nipples a??a?? "Tsu-Tsubame Gaeshi!" Half-fumbling his own words, Kojiro''s body appeared to split into countless iterations of himself, each cleaving towards Musashi. From the perspective of the spectators, the paths of the countless de seemed to block every possible angle. In the eyes of Musashi, otherwise imperceptible ws appeared in the technique, her Empyrean Eyes glistening like indescribably beautiful paintings as the lesser, more wed versions of Kojiro simply disappeared. Faster than even the most diminutive measurement of time, Musashi and Kojiro appeared to pass through each other in an instant. Immediately thereafter, the crowd was stunned to see Musashi standing with a distant look on her face, countless red lines covering every exposed section of her body. The scene gave off the impression that even a slight breeze would cause her body to fall to pieces. Instead, she, very slowly, almost mechanically adopted a rxed posture before turning her head to stare at Kojiro. Unlike Musashi, Kojiro had a single, glowing blue line bisecting him from crown to crotch. He was currently stuck in the position of a downward strike, eyes wide open as he willed even the blood in his veins to temporarily stop their flow. He knew that any movement, even the beating of his own heart, would lead to his body being split in two. Unfortunately for Kojiro, Musashi had bigger fish to fry at the moment. Thus, after silently observing the youth''s rather heroic figure for several seconds, a wakizashi with a pink, sakura-patterned tsuba appeared in her left hand as she said, "See ya around, Koji." Adopting a smile of his own, the blue line dividing Kojiro''s body vanished as a single, vibrant pink sakura petal fell onto his shoulder . Ducking under a de whose edge was nearly as thick as her wrist, Chronoa stepped closer to her attacker before releasing a solidified sphere of ki into his stomach. At the exact same moment, her form appeared to flicker as a series of abyssal-ck daggers sliced through her neck and body. With her attack against Prurmubhi serving as the catalyst, Chronoa soon found herself facing off against all three of the ashen-skinned Rakshasa. In spite of this, a smile had developed across her face, as, even three-against-one, she was supremely confident in her chances of victory. Demonstrating one of the reasons for this, Chronoa simply ignored the massive ck beam fired at her by Prurmubhi. The vulpine woman appeared to be the group''s spellcaster/mage. Unfortunately, at least for the trio, her specialties appeared to be Death and Time Magic, two forces Chronoa had absolute immunity against. Seeing Chronoa, once again, ignoring her attack, the smile adorning Prurmubhi''s face no longer reached her somewhat eerie, red, and gold eyes. She wasn''t going to stop trying, but, after seeing Chronoa shrug off a series of curses that were specifically designed to debilitate Gods and Asuras, she couldn''t help thinking something was amiss. What Prurmubhi didn''t know was that Vahn had outfitted everyone in the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, even the immortal and timeless Angels, with artifacts and essories that counteracted the vast majority of negative status effects. This included the majority of curses and abilities that inflicted instant death, so, even if Chronoa hadn''t possessed a natural resistance against Time and Death, most of Prurmubhi''s spells wouldn''t have affected her. The greatest threats to Chronoa at the present moment were Uvashu''s seemingly limitless strength and Avhu''s apparent ability to siphon the speed of her opponent. At first, Chronoa had thought the slug-like woman was simply bing faster and more ruthless. It was only when Uvashu''s slow yet monstrously powerful attacks became harder to dodge that she realized the truth of the matter. As far as Chronoa could tell, Prurmubhi possessed little to no physical strength. Instead, she was capable of producing a functionally infinite amount of magical energy to devastate the majority of opponents. Inversely, Uvashu appeared to possess absolutely no affinity with magic. He relied on raw, unadulterated strength to overwhelm his foes, and, based on the steam that would rise from his body whenever he sustained even a mild injury, he possessed a potent form of regeneration. Though the brother and sister duo would have been troublesome enough on their own, it was the ability of Avhu that was giving Chronoa the most difficulty. Avhu didn''t even need tond a blow in order to siphon her opponent''s speed. Based on what Chronoa had been able to deduce, the effect was achieved by simply staring in the direction of her foe. To make matters worse, Chronoa''s speed wouldn''t recuperate even when she reversed the flow of Time. In other words, the longer the battle dragged on, the slower she would be. Fortunately, as troublesome as Avhu''s ability was, Chronoa could generate a field to elerate her personal flow of time. She had also confirmed that the trio wasn''t vulnerable to magic, so, as one of the greatest Mages in her verse, the only thing preventing Chronoa from ending the battle was her desire to learn more about the characteristics of the Rakshasa Tribe. As a Kai that had lived well over one-hundred-million years, most of which was spent observing the lives of people in the lower realms, Chronoa''s curiosity could even give Da Vinci and Vahn a run for their money. Annoyed by the casual expression on Chronoa''s face, Avhu bared her muted-white, razor-sharp teeth towards the pink-skinned Kai. The ck spikes protruding from the sleeves and back of her thick white hoodie began to wriggle and elongate, but, before she could do anything, the various belts enveloping her body promptly contracting, tightening around herparably petite frame. This included the choker around her neck, so, instead of charging forward, Avhu fell face-first into the ground as Prurmubhi stated, "That''s enough. We''re going to withdraw." While others might have protested such ignominious treatment, Avhu continued to stare directly at Chronoa even as Uvashu picked up her tightly bound, audibly creaking body and tucked her under his arm. This caused a frown to develop across Chronoa''s face, but, as the dynamic between the trio had nothing to do with her, she elected to remain silent as the trio regrouped and cautiously made their way towards the nearest teleportation nexus. Her mission was to protect Seraphina and ensure the procurement of the defensive satellite, so, while she was more than a little interested in learning more about the ashen-skinned species, Chronoa made no attempt to inhibit the trio''s departure "And just when I starting to get excitedhow annoying" . Though Chronoa believed the trio''s departure was rted to the realization they couldn''t defeat her, the truth of the matter was quite a bit different from expectations. By diverting forces to nearly every destination listed within the teleportation nexus, the Rakshasa Tribe, the de facto foot soldiers of the Tr??yastri1???a Community, quickly located their target. As a result, the Queen of the Rakshasa Tribe, Ahirani, sent a telepathic messagemanding her sons and daughters to assemble. One of the reasons the Rakshasa Tribe introduced themselves along with the name of their fathers was because they each shared the same mother. They were simr to ants in that regard, so, ever since her sisters were wiped out during the Great War, Ahirani had endured the burden of her entire species on her own. Other Rakshasa were capable of siring and giving birth to children of their own, but, instead of Rakshasa, the end result were red and blue-skinned demons known as Tieflings. As pensation'' for her species'' sacrifice, Ahirani had been granted an imutable Divinity that ensured she would be reborn even if her mind, body, and spirit were destroyed. She wasn''t a True God, but, so long as a single member of her species remained, the Rakshasa would be reborn time, and time again Standing precisely 108m tall in her true form, Ahirani resembled a frightful yet uncannily beautiful woman with ashen skin, numerous, branch-like horns, six arms, and white hair that flowed gracefully past her ankles. At a nce, she appeared to bepletely naked, but, while she possessed all the contours of a shapely and attractive woman, her mons and breasts were as smooth and baren as a porcin doll. Orbiting around Ahirani''s body were two amorphous, ghost-like creatures with six atrophied limbs and a trio of eerie, ck, and red eyes. Said eyes would move around the bodies of the creature as if it didn''t possess a single bone in its body. It was a rather unnerving sight to behold, as, much like a Mangekyou Sharingan, the creatures possessed strange, revolving patterns that constantly shifted within their crimson-red eyes. Using their Queen as a waypoint, dozens, soon to be hundreds of Rakshasa began to appear on the surface of the they were preparing to attack. Most of these new arrivals immediately prostrated themselves upon reaching the area beneath their Queen and Mother. The only people daring enough to approach her in the sky were a handful of extremely diverse-looking individuals, the Eight Great Kings who ruled over their species. As the first eight of Ahirani''s children, the Eight Great Kings were the sons of various heroes and Hindu Gods. Among the Eight, the eldest, also known as the Great King of Wisdom, Attutyaptish, was the only one to approach Ahirani directly. The ghost-like creatures orbiting her body would attack anyone else, so, while he was actually the smallest and weakest of the Eight Great Kings, his form resembling a vaguely humanoid cat with six arms and three tails, Attutyaptish''s authority was second only to Ahirani''s herself. At a meager 110cm in height, Attutyaptish wasn''t even the size of Ahirani''s toe in her true form. In spite of this, he fearlessly approached the giantess''s mouth, hands cupped in a respectful manner as he lowered his head and stated, "We eagerly await your orders, oh Great Mother" Though she was typically expressionless, a faint smile developed across Ahirani''s face as herrge, crimson-red eyes focused on Attutyaptish. The truth of the matter was that she only allowed the petite cat-man to approach her because she thought he was cute. He was also the first child she had sired in the wake of the Great War, so, while the other Great Kings weren''t particrly fond of their eldest brother, Ahirani cherished him dearly. Resisting the urge to shrink down to a form that would have allowed her to embrace and caress theparably petite feline, Ahirani telepathically replied, ("Lord Indra has stated that the Sage Dragon is not to be underestimated. Once the remainder of my children have gathered, we will demolish all but a single teleportation nexus. After that, I will lead those specializing in magic to prepare a ritual magic circle while our warriors invade the''s inner sanctum. Vamashir, Agnosh, and Kili will be leading the charge.") Nodding his head in affirmation, Attutyaptish darted towards his muchrger brothers to pass on his mother''s words. This earned him the stink eye from all but one of them, but, as he was already quite used to being resented by his siblings, Attutyaptish adopted an unapologetically cheeky smile as he ordered them to make preparations for theing battle . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Omae wa'',''Chronoa got m-jammed'',''Great King of Wisdom? Seems like an opportunistic troll to me'') Chapter 2200: Compliance

Chapter 2200: Compliance

Seeing the peculiar group gathering on the surface of his, a curious, somewhat appreciative light reflected in Vahn''s eyes. Undoubtedly as a result of the time he spent Tiona, Tione, Aisha, and even Kali, Vahn had always possessed a particr fondness for naturalistic, tribal groups. The way the Rakshasa Tribe dressed made it readily apparent they weren''t a particrly advanced species. Many even wore loincloths, bone charms, and feathered essories, so, even without prying into their minds, Vahn could easily imagine the peculiar group of people living in the mountains or surviving in forests inhospitable to other creatures. a??a?? "Now, the real question ishow should I deal with this?" Though he had expected one or more groups to send someone to test the waters, Vahn hadn''t anticipated that Indra, of all people, would mobilize one of his most powerful forces on the very first day of thepetition. It was almost like Indra was legitimately trying to prevent the Sage Dragon''s Hearth from promoting Resisting the urge to acquire the answer from Loi-chan, Vahn rhythmically tapped the armrest of his throne. Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita should be more than capable of dealing with any invaders. They were exponentially more powerful than Chronoa, and, so long as the enemy didn''t possess any Gifts exceeding S-Rank, the odds of themnding a decisive blow against the trio of Angels was slim. The tricky thing about the present situation, other than the unknown capabilities of their attackers, was that Ahirani gave off a simr impression as Tiamat, ya, and Gaia. Her aura was as grey and lifeless as the color of her skin. There were hints of emotion contained within, but, the moment they appeared, she would promptly suppress them in favor of acting like a machine. Simply put, Ahirani was exceptionally depressed and doing everything in her power not to show it. Though she was literally, not technically his enemy, Vahn had never been the type to simply ignore people who were experiencing emotional turmoil. Thus, while it would be a rtively simple matter to repel or eliminate the Rakshasa Tribe from thepetition, actually finding the motivation to do so was a bit difficult. "Vados" Appearing out of thin air the moment Vahn uttered her name, Vados, an inordinately tall woman with pastel blue skin, white hair fastened into a high ponytail, amethyst eyes, and long, elf-like ears inquired, "How may I be of service?" After briefly admiring the 214cm tall beauty, Vahn waved his hand to produce a three-dimensional projection of Ahirani, exining, "This is Ahirani, Queen-Mother of the Rakshasa Tribe. I want you to find out why she is gathering her children en masse for an attack. I also want you to inform her that, even during a Gift Game, the Sage Dragon''s Hearth is always willing to render assistance to those in need" Offering a polite and courteous bow, Vados replied, "Very well." before tapping her staff on empty air and promptly disappearing. She knew Vahn could easily find out everything he wanted to know without her help, but, much as he had done in the Actualized World of Dragon Ball, he preferred to, at the very least, make an effort to obtain the answers using more ''conventional'' methods . Appearing in the air before Ahirani, Vados waspelled to evade the attacks of the two nebulous, ghost-like creatures, who, sensing a threat, immediately transformed into two massive, three-eyed members of the Rakshasa Tribe. Their attacks were remarkably swift, yet, in spite of this, Vados was able to maintain a rxed smile as she focused her attention on Ahirani, narrowly evading each of the duo''s strikes as she said, "My Lord, the Great Sage Dragon Emperor, has sent me to inquire as to the reason you have gathered your children. He has also tasked me with rying the fact that the Sage Dragon''s Hearth is always willing to provide assistance to those in need." Raising one of her enormous left hands, Ahirani called off the gigantic duo before telepathically answering, "Lord Indra has tasked my people with eliminating the Sage Dragon''s Hearth from thepetition. As for your statement regarding the Sage Dragon''s Hearth''s willingness to provide aidthe Rakshasa Tribe has no need for the pity of others" Punctuating her words, Ahirani swept one of her massive right hands towards Vados, almost as if she were trying to swat away a fly. Instead, the inordinatelyrge and ashen appendage ended up striking an invisible barrier as Vados raised her staff and replied, "I see." in a curt, undisturbed tone of voice. Immediately thereafter, she gracefully dodged backward as an eerie ck beam of light, courtesy of Attutyaptish, pierced through the area where her head had been. As Vahn had not tasked her with wiping out the army, Vados simply evaded the growing number of attacks directed towards her. This caused Ahirani''s gaze to gradually intensify, as, even when six of the Eight Great Kings attempted to surround her, Vados managed to fend off their attacks without losing her smile. It was kind of infuriating. Telepathicallymanding her children to move out of the way, Ahirani brought all six of her palms together in a manner resembling a flower. This was immediately noticed by Vados, who, for the first time since the start of the fight, adopted a marginally more serious expression as Ahirani unleashed a beam of inky-ck energy more than thirty meters in diameter. Sensing the danger contained within the eerily silent energy, Vados tapped her staff on empty air to produce a massive, ring-shaped portal. Her instincts told her the energy contained within Ahirani''s attack was far more dangerous than that of her children, so, rather than simply evading and letting it strike the, Vados decided to seal it within the void between space. This ended up being the correct decision as the source of Ahirani''s power was Grudges. Anyone struck by her abilities would suffer the effects of a debilitating curse that forced them to endure the same helplessness she had experienced during the war against the Demon God. Without an indomitable, unyielding will, they would invariably be crushed by the weight of the responsibility she bore. Seeing how easily Vados dealt with her attack, a scowl marred Ahirani''s expression as she spread her arms to produce a series of ck cubes precisely three meters in diameter. Said cubes then broke down into a series of nine, 1x1 meter cubes. This process repeated twice more, the second split producing 729 cubes while the third produced a startling 387,420,489 dice-sized cubes that promptly erupted outward before tracing angr trajectories towards Vados. Though she was somewhat surprised by the rain-like volley unleashed by her opponent, Vados simply teleported right in front of Ahirani''s face. The attack had been directed away from her body, so, while the angr beams of energy appeared to cover every possible escape route, there was a tremendous safe zone surrounding the 108m tall giantess. Waving her hand right in front of the scowling giantess''s nose, Vados said, "My duty here has been fulfilled. Have a wonderful day." Without waiting for Ahirani''s response, Vados promptly returned to the throne room in order to report the failure of her mission to Vahn. She knew he was well aware of how things had turned out, but, just as she had been willing to go through the motions in order to help him obtain information, Vados quite enjoyed reporting to him directly. Roleying was fun. . After thrashing the invading members of the Araki Community, Wu stood with her foot on the back of Johnathan''s head as she informed him, "You know, if you had lowered your head and begged for clemency from the very beginning, I would have allowed you to pass. Instead, you attempted to use me as a stepping stone for your revenge. Though I can understand your reasons, I don''t appreciate people trying to walk over me." Punctuating her words, Wu forced the half-conscious Johnathan''s face further into the ground. She hadn''t wanted to embarrass him like this, but, as one of the most prideful individuals in the entirety of the Divine Realm, she couldn''t simply let him go after he had attacked her people and attempted to force her aside. Her reputation simply didn''t allow it Now understanding the futility of trying to convince Wu with words, Johnathan remained absolutely silent even as unfathomable indignation swelled within the back of his mind. Encountering Wu near the start of the Gift Game was very near the worst-case scenario. After all, even if they had lowered their heads and pleaded to get past her, they would have lost the support of the spectators. People may empathize with their plight, but, as it ultimately had nothing to do with them, the vast majority of spectators simply wanted to see some action. Refusing to provide the entertainment they had gathered to witness was one of the fastest ways to lose the support of the public Balling his hands into fists, Johnathan used every ounce of willpower he had remaining to suppress the urge to curse Wu''s very existence. Offending her even further would mean his elimination from the Gift Game. While he didn''t really care which Gate his Community upied, elimination meant losing the chance to save his beloved. Every day they were apart caused him to feel a tremendous sense of guilt. If he couldn''t even reach her side after weeks of nning, he would never be able to forgive himself Fortunately, while she could be unbelievably obstinate, Wu wasn''t a truly malicious individual. The time she spent with Vahn had also influenced her quite a bit, so, after confirming that Johnathan had well and truly surrendered, she retracted her foot from his head and asked, "What did you say that sh*thead''s name was? Yamamoto Kazuya?" Without raising his face from the dirt, Johnathan nodded his head. In response, Wu offered a nod of her own before crossing her arms and saying, "I understand. Since you''re too weak to do anything on your own, this Great Me has decided to lend you a hand. In exchange, I expect the members of your Community to erect a golden statue in my honor. Never let them forget who decided to help you in your time of need." Though he was seized by the urge to smash his head further into the ground, Johnathan ultimately nodded in response to Wu''s words. At this point, his only hope of opposing the Akuma Community was relying on the power and support of people more powerful than himself. He had already lost all the momentum his cause should have generated, so, while a part of him wanted nothing more than to sink his teeth into Wu''s ankles, his desire to save his belovedpelled him to submit. Nodding her head in approval, Wu grabbed Johnathan''s cor before flinging him towards one of the monkey-like demons keeping watch over his downedpanions. The only person she had eliminated was a man with the ability to stack damage and loop time, so, with a bit of rest and an ample amount of medical treatment, the Araki Community should be back in fighting shape in a few hours. One of their members even possessed an ability that restored objects and people to a previous condition, so, once he recovered, the group of inordinately burly men should be ready to charge head-first into the Akuma Community. While she was willing to lend Johnathan''s Community a hand, Wu wasn''t going to charge into the Akuma Community''s territory on her own. She may be absolutely confident in her martial prowess and durability, but, against a group famous for their cheat-like abilities, she would rather have a few meat shields to test the waters. There were a surprising number of abilities that could render power and durabilitypletely meaningless. Thus, while the Araki Community was recovering, Wu began sending out scouting parties to locate thes belonging to Vahn and the Akuma Community . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn''s most powerful Innate: [Good Guy:(-)]'',''I''m surprised Vados didn''t hit Ahirani with that "Ara Ara"'',''When the wall blocking your path hits back'') Chapter 2201: Communication

Chapter 2201: Communication

Though it would not prevent her from carrying out her duty, the appearance and performance of Vados were enough to give Ahirani a reason to reconsider her approach. Thus, while the mages of her tribe prepared the ritual spell to destroy the, a delegationprised of Attutyaptish and his most prominent children, an all-female group that referred to themselves as the Seven Sages of Wisdom, teleported to the core. Looking around the antechamber, Attutyaptish wasn''t particrly surprised to find it empty. Vahn, very clearly, didn''t take their invasion seriously. This irked the petite Rakshasa quite a bit, but, as it was also something they could take advantage of, he maintained a rxed expression as he turned towards the group of rather entric-looking girls that had teleported alongside him. a??a?? "Remember, we did note here to fight. We will defend if attacked, but, unless the Sage Dragon or his followers make the first move, we will attempt tomunicate with them" Though their true purpose was to stall for time, Attutyaptish couldn''t exactlye out and say it when they were right outside the enemy''s throne room. Fortunately, with the exception of his sixth eldest daughter, a ditzy-looking girl who wandered around with a cartoonish bear and a pile of faux poo on her head, the others were intelligent enough to easily ascertain the true meaning behind his words. Representing the group of girls as both the strongest and the eldest, a 258cm tall woman with fox ears, arge fluffy tail, half-lidded eyes, and an exceptionally mature figure inquired, "Should we be concerned with preserving face?" Shifting his attention to the rather slovenly-looking woman, Attutyaptish remained silent for several seconds before crossing all six of his arms and saying, "Just keep in mind that billions of people are watching" Seemingly unperturbed by her father''s words, the vulpine woman licked her lips in an overtly suggestive manner before directing her enervated gaze towards the ornate stone doors separating the antechamber from the throne room. Then, with her hips and tail swaying with each of her steps, she meandered toward the door as all but two of her sisters fell into step behind her. Restraining a sigh, Attutyaptish directed his gaze towards his most loyal daughter, an inordinately petite Rakshasa with short white hair andrge horns reminiscent of an axolotl. She was even more diminutive than he was, so, while he often pretended his height didn''t bother him, it was no secret that the girl in question was Attutyaptish''s favorite daughter. "Amawatch over Dhasi and make sure she doesn''t wander off. Ifmunications break down, I will be relying on you to destroy the teleportation nexi" Nodding her head in affirmation, Ama grabbed the hands of the muchrger Dhasi, saying, "Come, Dhasi. Let''s go y over there" "Da~?" Though she briefly looked towards her father, the 228cm tall Dhasi didn''t resist as Ama, standing a mere 108cm, dragged her towards the far side of the antechamber. Dhasi, despite being one of the Seven Sages of Wisdom, wasn''t particrly known for her mental acuity. Her inclusion in the group was entirely the result of herbat potential. She was far from the strongest or the fastest among Attutyaptish''s children but her Gift, The Oblivious King, was one of the most terrifying in a battle of martial prowess. Trusting that Ama would be able to keep her sister under control, Attutyaptish levitated from the ground before quickly following after his other daughters. He hated walking on his hind legs, as, due to his feline appendages and three pairs of arms, his bipedal motion resembled waddling. His younger brothers used to make fun of him for this, so, unless flight was strictly prohibited, his mostmon method for getting around was via levitation Entering the throne room, Attutyaptish nearly became the victim of gravity when he found his two most troublesome daughters, one seated atop Vahn''sp and the other dangling her legs from the armrest of his throne. Despite feeling as though a vein had popped near his temple, Attutyaptish did his best to maintain a neutral expression as he floated forward, hands cupped politely as he said, "I see you are getting along surprisingly well with my daughters?" Feeling a strange sense of incongruity, Attutyaptish''s pointed statement turned into a question as he habitually tilted his head to the side. Something about the present scene just felt off, but, even after tilting his head nearly forty degrees, he couldn''t quite figure out what it was Retracting his hand from the vulpine woman''s head, Vahn maintained a neutral expression of his own as he stated, "I wouldn''t exactly say that. These two rascals kind of just walked in and made themselvesfortable" As the group showed no hostility, Vahn prevented Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita from appearing. He was still interested in learning about Ahirani''s condition, so, even when the unnamed woman took advantage of his silence to sit on hisp, he just habitually caressed her head. Instead of paying attention to Vahn''s words, Attutyaptish was still attempting to make sense of the strange feeling of incongruency that had washed over him. It was only when he drew closer to the group that he realized what it was. "Your human form is quite a bitrger than I was expecting" Raising his brows, Vahn was about to ask why it mattered when the voluptuous woman seated atop hisp suddenly grabbed the sides of his face and remarked, "Oh myare you ignoring me?" in an overtly seductive tone. Instead of responding to the woman''s words, Vahn simply snapped his fingers. As a result, the busty Rakshasa promptly found herself teleported several meters away, herpromised bnce forcing her to copse onto the stone floor with a surprisingly loud ''thump''. Taking advantage of the vacancy, the second of the two vulpine women, Prurmubhi, the very same woman Chronoa had encountered on the defensive satellite, silently entreated Vahn with her eyes. In response, he simply patted his right thigh, an indecipherable expression on his face as he allowed theparably petite beauty to make herselffortable. Unamused by the turn of events, the markedly more mature-looking Rakshasa, known to her kin as Hantemu, red toward Prurmubhi with her half-lidded eyes. Instead ofining, however, she simply rose to her feet before dusting herself off and standing in a pose with two arms crossed, two linked behind her head, and two more thumbing the stretchy band keeping her loincloth in ce Coughing into one of his fur-covered paws, Attutyaptish attempted to seize the momentum in the conversation by stating, "At the behest of the Queen-Mother, I have beenmissioned to inquire about the services of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Though it is impossible for us to betray our Lord, it is not outside the realm of possibility for us to employ your services" Though his words were primarily intended to stall for time, Attutyaptish was also putting Vahn and the Sage Dragon''s Hearth on the spot. Vados had boldly dered that their Community was willing to offer their services even in the midst of a Gift Game. If Vahn reneged on his promise and refused to provide his services, the otherwise impable reputation of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth would be tarnished. When public opinion influenced the power and potency of attacks, reputation was among the most important pirs supporting a Community''s growth. Vahn ''fluffing'' up two of his daughters in front of a crowd of billions was already putting the Sage Dragon''s Hearth at a minor disadvantageafter all, people could be remarkably petty ying along with the anthropomorphic cat man''s ploy, Vahn proceeded to exin the services he, specifically, offered within the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. At the same time, he continued to shamelessly fluff up Prurmubhi''s hair and ears as he didn''t particrly care if people came to associate him with petting. Though the peculiar grey blush on Prurmubhi''s face might imply otherwise, it wasn''t like he was doing anything overtly lewd Hearing Vahn casually list off his services, Attutyaptish was seized by the notion he had just given the man the opportunity to freely advertise without sounding shameless. This caused his left ear to twitch in frustration, but, as his primary objective was to buy time, interrupting Vahn''s surprisingly long soliloquy wasn''t an option. If anything, he needed to goad the seemingly oblivious man into continuing With that in mind, Attutyaptish followed Vahn''s exnation by stating, "That''s quite the listI''m not entirely sure I can remember it all. Do you mind repeating the parts concerning the awakening of a person''s innate talent? I believe our guests spectating abroad would appreciate it" Having never been fond of repeating himself, Vahn returned a faint smile as he mused, "Feel free to review the rey once you''ve returned home. For now, I''m afraid I''ll have to ask you to leave. While I have no problems entertaining guests, the crowd outside didn''t gather to watch us sit around and discuss business. If you''ve nothing to request, it''s my turn to ask a few questions. If you''re unwilling to answer, your options are towhat was they again? Ah, yes" Retracting his hands from Prurmubhi''s head, much to the vulpine woman''s dissatisfaction, Vahn adopted an expression of mock severity as he appended, "Capitte or prove your worth." in the exact same voice and tone used by Uvashu. Recognizing their brother''s voice, the five ashen-skinned beauties immediately perked up, varying degrees of amusement coloring their expressions. This was a stark contrast to their father, who, with an adorably grumpy expression on his face, asked, "What did you want to ask?" Levitating Prurmubhi from hisp, Vahn crossed his right foot over his knee before getting straight to the point, asking, "Why does your mother possess such a pessimistic aura? I''m fairly certain I''ve already ascertained the reason but I''m curious to hear what you think." Furrowing his brows, Attutyaptish gazed into Vahn''s expression. The tragedy of the Rakshasa Tribe wasn''t a secret, but, like most tragedies, it wasn''t exactly polite to inquire about the details. Thus, before responding, he searched Vahn''s expression for any signs that the man was trying to ridicule them. Noticing none, Attutyaptish drew in a deep breath before exhaling a profoundly exasperated sigh and saying, "The Queen-Mother grieves for the loss of her King and sisters. She also bears the burden of our entire species on her shoulders. If you were to lose everything, including the people you loved, I imagine you might be pretty pessimistic as well" Exhaling a sigh of his own, Vahn resisted the almost instinctual urge to apologize. As the tragedy of the Rakshasa Tribe had absolutely nothing to do with him, however, he remained silent. At the same time, Loi-chan manifested at his side, a bubbly, mood-shattering expression on her face as she bent down to whisper in his ear. It didn''t help that her form currently resembled Ahirani Hearing the specifics from Loi-chan, a look of realization donned on Vahn''s face as he offered her an appreciative nod. This greatly confused the six individuals staring at him, but, without minding their usatory stares, Vahn adopted a rxed smile as he said, "Inform your Queen-Mother that, once this game has ended, I will dly remedy the plight of your people. For now, you should do your best to try and remove me from my throne. I imagine the crowd outside is beginning to grow pretty restless with all this talking." Not expecting such a response, Attutyaptish couldn''t help looking at Vahn as though thetter was an idiot. If the plight of the Rakshasa Tribe could be solved so easily, they wouldn''t have spent thest three hundred years slowly rebuilding. Saying he would help them when even their Patron God was powerless to act was more of an insult than an assurance Sharing this sentiment, each of Attutyaptish''s daughters, sans Prurmubhi, adopted moderately hostile expressions. Thetter was also offended, but, after having her head pet and caressed for the better part of half an hour, it was difficult for her to direct even a marginal amount of hostility towards Vahn. She would much rather have him continue caressing her head, so, while everyone else was ring at him with severe expressions on their faces, she felt like the odd one out as she slowly inched out of the way . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Da~!'',''Vahn can be remarkably shameless at times xD'',''At least he didn''t crack out the ''Yo Mama'' jokes on them'') Chapter 2202: Power vs. Utility

Chapter 2202: Power vs. Utility

Reacting to the increase in tensions, Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita promptly appeared between Vahn and the six Rakshasa Tribe members. This was the proverbial straw that broke the camel''s back, as, the moment the trio appeared, the more mature of the vulpine women, Hantemu, charged toward Kusu with a massive club in hand. Extending his paw, Attutyaptish was prepared to call his daughter back but elected not to when Vahn suddenly stated, "Try not to injure them." in apletely rxed tone. a??a?? In an effort to respect Vahn''s decision, Kusu dodged Hantemu''s attack at a hair''s breadth before darting around the six-armed woman''s back and chopping her neck. When she felt virtually no feedback from the strike, a marginally surprised expression colored her face, but, thanks to her Autonomous Sovereign, she was easily able to avoid Hantemu''s tempestuous follow-up. Though it offered a number of inconveniences, especially for those withrge breasts, one of the benefits of possessing six arms was that you could string togetherbos that the majority of two-armed individuals had no hope of defending against. Hantemu, despite being one of the Sages of Wisdom, was one of the Warrior ss members of her tribe. Her specialty was hammers and maces, but, like every physically inclined member of her species, she was also gifted in the art of grappling. Realizing that she would never hit the nimble Kusu with her hammer, Hantemu promptly lobbed it into the air before pouncing on theparably petite, blue-skinned woman. She believed that, so long as she could get a single hand on Kusu, the battle would swing in her favor. Amused by Hantemu''s efforts, Kusu allowed her staff to blink out of existence before cing her hands behind her back. Then, much to the Rakshasa woman''s chagrin, she began narrowly evading each attempt to grab her with apletely rxed smile on her face. This was a good opportunity to strengthen the notion that the Angels were an untouchable existence. More importantly, it was an opportunity to show off in front of Vahn, so, while everyone else was reluctant to start fighting, Kusu happily performed her evasive dance. "My, you''re quite spirited, aren''t you~?" Clicking her tongue, Hantemu ceased her torrential attempts to grasp Kusu''s before breaking away and performing a series of hand signs. Unfortunately, while this was enough to earn her a curious stare from Vahn, Kusu wasn''t particrly fond of sharing her spotlight. The moment she felt Vahn''s attention shift to her opponent, the carefree smile on her face suddenly appeared remarkably frigid as she flickered into Hantemu''s range and promptly nted her fist in the grey-skinned woman''s gut. Confident in her durability, Hantemu made no effort to defend herself from Kusu''s rtively in attack. Instead, a ridiculing smile developed across her face as she spread her arms like a trap ready to spring shut. To Hantemu''s credit, such a tactic would have worked against most opponents. Unfortunately, the Angels didn''t stand at the pinnacle of their verse by resting on theirurels. They were among the most skilled martial artists that Vahn had ever encountered. Thus, while her punch appeared normal at a nce, those with enhanced perception would be able to see her fist vibrating at a remarkably high speed. Resonant Frequency was a concept that denoted everything in existence, even space and time, as having a natural frequency where the medium vibrates the highest possible amplitude. Anything beyond that maximum threshold would result in the catastrophic failure of the medium. Having gotten a basic understanding of Hantemu''s body during their initial exchange, Kusu had managed to approximate the frequency needed to ovee a Rakshasa''s apparent immunity to physical attacks. As a result, the moment her fist made contact with the muchrger woman''s body, Hantemu simply froze in ce, her half-lidded eyes widening for the first time as an overwhelming numbness seized her entire body. "It''s time for you to go to sleep." Without giving Hantemu a chance to respond, Kusu stepped away from the statuesque woman before manifesting her staff and pointing it towards her opponent''s head. Vahn''s order to avoid injuring them left her with very few options, so, simr to how Vados dealt with Ahirani''s Grudge-based attack, Kusu was intending to seal Hantemu off in a closed space. Just as a ring-shaped portal appeared over Hantemu''s head, a sh of light briefly obscured the throne room as thergest of Attutyaptish''s daughters, a woman with wolf-like ears but no tail, pressed the shutter of an old, magnesium-sh camera. When the light faded away, Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita had lost all color, their appearances reminiscent of people found in old, ck and white photos. Undaunted by the sudden sh and the change in her body, Kusu guided the ring-shaped portal to envelop Hantemu''s body before directing her gaze towards the remarkably tall woman wielding a variety of different cameras. In response, the woman pressed the shutter-release of her handheld camera, her voice a cool monotone as she said, "Freeze Frame" Though it was invisible to others, Vahn was aware of a hazy grey cube manifesting the moment the camera''s shutter clicked. Immediately thereafter, everything within the viewfinder of her camera was promptly frozen in time. Pointing her second camera towards Vahn, the remarkably tall photographer briefly paused when she found him smiling at her and making a peace sign. For the briefest of moments, her camera felt a lot heavier than usual, a look of confusion marring her otherwise innocent-looking expression as she reluctantly snapped his, Vados''s, and Marcarita''s picture Seeing his daughter sessfully capture the images of Vahn, Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita, a smile developed across Attutyaptish''s face as he remarked, "Excellent work, Shaanti. The Queen-Mother is bound to be pleased with this result. Once we return to the forest, expect an ample reward." Though he doubted it would hold them for long, Attutyaptish felt the tensions drain from his body when he saw Vahn sitting statuesque atop his throne. Shaanti was actually the weakest member of the Seven Sages of Wisdom as she possessed no martial or magical talent. Fortunately, fate hadn''t beenpletely cruel to her. While it prevented her from speaking above a whisper, Shaanti''s Gift, Silent Documentarian, possessed incredible utility. The smaller cameras allowed her to temporarily freeze her opponents in time. As for therger camera, it possessed an even more terrifying ability, as, once processed, any damage or alterations made to the photos would directly affect reality, or, more specifically, the subjects captured within the image. Just as Attutyaptish was preparing to reward his tallest daughter with some additional praise, the smaller cameras in her hands suddenly fell to pieces. A look of unbridled panic developed across Shaanti''s face, as, evenpared to enthusiasts and extreme voyeurs, she cherished her cameras and equipment more than her life. Photography was how she interacted with the world around her. Without the means to capture images, she wouldn''t know what to do with herself. Fortunately, while the cameras disassembled themselves into their constituent pieces, none of the extremely delicateponents crashed to the ground. Instead, they neatly arranged themselves on a cloth that had appeared out of nowhere. The only exception to this were the rolls of film, which, at the present moment, orbited around each other atop Vahn''s outstretched hand. "Neat trick. If your father and sisters had coordinated with you, you may have been able to get off a spell or two before Ibroke free?" Seeing Shaanti tear up as she stared unblinkingly at the rolls of film orbiting above his palm, Vahn''s desire to tease her rapidly diminished. He hated seeing people cry. He also had a weakness towards women with fluffy, wolf-like ears, so, after quickly splicing out the images she had captured of Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita, he softly muttered, "Don''t cry" before returning the rolls of film to her using telekinesis. Not expecting her film to be returned, Shaanti''s ears promptly stood erect as she hurriedly donned a pair of pristine white gloves. Direct contact with film could irreversibly damage the medium upon which the images were captured, so, while she wanted nothing more than to snatch the rolls out of the air, Shaanti made sure to follow proper procedure as she carefully ced each roll into a small, briefcase-like storage container. While that was going on, Attutyaptish and his remaining three daughters stared at Vahn and the Angels with a wide range of expressions on their faces. Attutyaptish looked as though he had just swallowed a bug, but, undoubtedly as a result of the prolonged petting she had received earlier, an appreciative smile had developed across the face of Prurmubhi. Simr expressions could be seen on the faces of her other two sisters, but, rather than appreciation, their smiles revealed a mixture of curiosity and chicanerous intrigue. Representing the ''most intelligent'' of Attutyaptish''s daughters, Eshavi was a bespectacled woman with the same ashen-grey skin as the vast majority of the Rakshasa Tribe. What truly distinguished her, at least as far as appearances were concerned, was the fact she elected to wear sophisticated ck and white robes rather than the tribal garments typically associated with her people. She also kept her pristine white hair short and neatly styled, a stark contrast to the free-flowing, carelessly groomed styles sported by the vast majority of her sisters. Pushing up her square-rimmed sses, a smile remarkably simr to the one often sported by Loki developed across Eshavi as she turned towards thest of Attutyaptish''s most prominent children, aparably petite woman with a reputation for being the greatest chef in the entire Rakshasa Tribe. Her outfit wasn''t particrly sophisticated, but, with a remarkably voluptuous figure, fringe pigtails that framed her face, and arge ck hat reminiscent of an upturned saucer, she stood out quite a bit even among the other members of their tribe. "I believe it is our turn, Vahida. Would you like to go first?" Turning to meet her sister''s gaze, a yful yet distorted smile developed across Vahida''s face as she retorted, "You know my abilities aren''t suited to directbat. If you''re too afraid to act, however, I suppose I''ll have no choice but to take action" Though she didn''t lose her crafty smile, Eshavi squinted her eyes ever so slightly in response to her sister''s words. Their group, like many groups of seven, was loosely based on the Seven Deadly Sins. In that regard, she represented the Sin of Pride while Vahida, as could be expected of the greatest chef in their tribe, represented the Sin of Gluttony. Thetter''s skills might not be suited to fighting, but, when it came to stalling for time, she was nearly as gifted as Shaanti. Out of consideration for their mission, Eshavi responded to Vahida''s words by turning towards the repositioned Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita. Before stepping forward, however, she made sure to hit the rim of Vahida''s wide-brimmed hat using the tip of her long, thick, crystal-tipped tail. This earned her a murderous glower from the much smaller Rakshasa, but, pretending she didn''t notice, Eshavi took a few slow and graceful steps forward before manifesting a ck and white grimoire in one of her right hands. "Before we begin, I believe introductions are in order? My name is Eshavi, daughter of Attutyaptish. May I have each of your names~?" While a look of realization shed across Vahn''s eyes, Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita still had the habit of looking down on their opponents. They were used to being the most powerful individuals in their respective Universes, so, in response to Eshavi''s words, they readily introduced themselves. Though she was a little disappointed that Vahn had remained silent, his look of realization hadn''t escaped Eshavi''s notice. Thus, before he could inform the trio of the trap they had just walked into, she replied with a teasing, "Thank you." before snapping her grimoire shut and manifesting a very familiar staff in her left hand. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Kusu has the makings of a yandere'',''Unfortunately, Vahn'',''Mega Oof'') Chapter 2203: Entanglement : Futility

Chapter 2203: Entanglement : Futility

Seeing an Angel Attendant''s Staff appear in Eshavi''s hand, a hint of surprise appeared on the faces of Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita. They had heard about Gifts and abilities that could copy, borrow, or outright steal the abilities of others, but, having never experienced such a thing in their remarkably long existences, the trio of Angels couldn''t help feeling marginally surprised. Amused by the trio''s reaction, Eshavi attempted to activate the Angel Attendant''s Staff only for a synthetic voice to respond, "Unauthorized ess." "I beg your pardon?" Without responding to the ashen-skinned woman''s words, the staff in her hand promptly vanished into thin air. This left her far more surprised than the trio of Angels until Vahn, with a wry, somewhat apologetic expression on his face exined, "Sorry, but, so long as I don''t approve of it, no one has the right to borrow or steal the identities of my friends, family, or lovers. I might not have interfered if they knew what they were getting themselves into and you challenged them to a fairpetition. Thinking you can get away with something like this right in front of me is simply foolish" Clicking her tongue, Eshavi dismissed the eerie ck and white grimoire before raising her chin and adopting an usatory expression as she stated, "How shameless. Even if they were unaware of my ability, they still gave their names willingly. You can''t seriously expect-!?" Performing a flicking gesture with his right middle finger, Vahn sent Eshavi stumbling back a few steps as he said, "Don''t put words into my mouth. If it were any other type of Gift, I wouldn''t care in the slightest. Your fault is thinking you could steal, even temporarily, the identities of people I care about. If this weren''t a Gift Game, I would have crushed you on the spot." Surprised by the pain radiating from her forehead, Eshavi rubbed the area with one of her gloved right hands to check if she was bleeding. Confirming this wasn''t the case, she directed a remarkably indignant look towards Vahn, stating, "There were no rules against it" through gritted teeth. Unperturbed by the woman''s venomous look, Vahn raised his left brow, an expression of mock incredulity spreading across his face as he rebutted, "Are you going to make an actual point? It''s not as though I prevented you from using your ability; I simply negated it after the fact. If the only thing you''re going to do isin, I suggest making way for your sister. I''m not particrly fond of the overly prideful and petnt." Gritting her teeth hard enough to cause ck blood to appear near the base of her gums, Eshavi held her sses in ce as she lowered her head slightly and said, "I challenge you, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, to a battle of wits" Rolling his eyes, Vahnzily leaned his head against the knuckles of his right hand as he said, "Yeah, sure, whatever. Just know that I reserve the right to annul thepetition if you attempt to exploit, break, or bend the rules" Snorting through her nose, Eshavi surprised Vahn quite a bit by manifesting what appeared to be an ancient-looking, remarkably ornate chessboard. It wasprised almost entirely of opal-hued stone. As for the pieces, both were carved from pure white ivory but one side had been stained an eerie, blood-red color. They were also themed to resemble members of the Rakshasa Tribe, the only exception beingrge, mammoth-like creatures with multiple horns and tusks. Speaking before Eshavi could begin exining the rules, Vahn asked, "Chaturanga?" in a pleasantly surprised tone. Blinking in surprise, Eshavi''s expression appeared to brighten ever so slightly as she asked, "Oh? Are you familiar with Chaturanga? Most people mistakenly believe this to be a simple chessboard." Returning a smile of his own, Vahn mused, "I''m familiar with many things. Now, out with it. Even if you''re supremely confident in your intellect, I doubt you would challenge me to a simple game of Chaturanga. What are the rules, and, more importantly, the stakes?" Pushing up her sses, Eshavi adopted a confident grin as she exined, "The rules are identical to a standard game of Chaturanga. The only difference is, every time you lose one of your Padati, one of your appendages will be rendered useless. If all your Padati are imed, you lose the game. After all, a Raja without any subjects is no King. As for the stakeswell, that''s for you to decide" "Hmm" Though he knew Eshavi wasn''t revealing everything, Vahn wasn''t too worried. He had implemented quite a number of measures against foul y. More importantly, he has reserved the right to annul thepetition if she attempted to swindle him, so, after a moment of considering, he nodded his head and said, "Very well. If you win, I will allow you to make a request of me once the promotional Gift Game hase to an end. As you have nothing I desire, I will forgo my right to a prize on the condition each turnsts no longer than fifteen seconds. As fond as I am of board games, I have no intention of being trapped in one for all eternity just because you refuse to make a move" Covering her mouth to stifle augh, a yful light shed across Eshavi''s eyes. It hadn''t been her intention to stall out the game indefinitely, but, if Vahn proved to be ahead by arge margin, there was a very good chance she would do exactly that. At the very least, she could have leveraged each of her turns against him. "I understand and ept your conditions. Now then, would you prefer to y as white or red?" As it ultimately didn''t matter, Vahn answered, "Red." before shifting his attention to the Geass Roll that had manifested next to him. At the same time, Eshavi sat in a seiza-like position before hastily moving one of her Padati, the Chaturanga equivalent of a Pawn, forward. This earned her an eye roll from Vahn as she was, very clearly, trying to pressure him. Unfortunately for her, he was able to read the remarkablyplex Geass Roll in less time than it would have taken an atomic clock to record a single moment. Shaking his head in mock exasperation, Vahn mused, "Nice try" before motioning with his right hand to manipte one of his own Padati. Eshavi had made herselffortable more than twenty meters away from his throne, so, unless he got up and walked over, his only options were to move the pieces at a distance. Seizing the initiative, a sly smile developed across Eshavi''s face as she stated, "You just vited one of the rules. Pieces must be moved via hand or foot. Using Gifts or other means to manipte them will result in the aforementioned piece being eliminated." Showing very little care for Eshavi''s statement, Vahn issued a yawn before waving the hand he used to manipte the piece, asking, "What does this look like to you? I''ll give you a hint. It rhymes with band." Confused by Vahn''s words, Eshavi''s thought process momentarily stalled. She wanted to point out that, while he may have used his hand to activate whatever Gift he used, it was still relying upon a Gift. He needed to touch the piece directly or he was viting the rules. The only thing that prevented Eshavi from saying this out loud was the fact that the pieces were designed to vanish the moment they were eliminated. This included eliminations as a result of rule vitions, so, seeing the piece restingfortably in its ce, Eshavi could only conclude that the Central Network didn''t recognize Vahn''s actions as cheating. She simply had no idea how he pulled it off In an effort to save face, Eshavi chose to remain silent as she moved one of her elephant-like Gaja, the Chaturanga equivalent of a Knight, two spaces diagonally. Unlike normal Chaturanga, where Padati were readily sacrificed to protect higher-value pieces, this particr variantpletely reversed the usual dynamic. Losing a Padati meant losing one of your limbs, so, while she had plenty of limbs to spare, Eshavi elected to y it safe by eliminating a few of Vahn''s as quickly as possible. Amused by Eshavi''s abrupt seriousness, a teasing smile developed across Vahn''s face as he reached through space-time to move one of his own pieces forward. The Law of Perception was remarkably convenient at times like this, as, even if an object was tens of millions of kilometers away, he could still interact with it so long as it was within the domain of her perception and authority. Seeing Vahn move his Raja, the Chaturanga equivalent of a King, into the space previously upied by his Padati, a gloomy expression developed across Eshavi''s face. She now understood the trap he had set for her when he decided to forgo a prize of his own. "You never had any intention of winning" Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn maintained a rxed smile as he replied, "Winning isn''t everything. I also have a habit of honoring any requests that don''t touch my bottom line, so, even if you came to me of your own ord, I would have helped you. Now then, I believe it''s yourturn?" Without waiting for Vahn to finish speaking, Eshavi knocked over her own Raja, a surprisingly pouty expression on her face as she said, "Screw you." in a scathing tone. She loathed being looked down upon, so, believing Vahn was either pitying or making a fool of her, she decided she wasn''t going to y his game. Instead, she kicked off the ground with explosive force, the muscles in her six arms swelling ever so slightly as sheunched herself towards the ''infuriatingly rxed'' man. Raising his hand to prevent Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita from intervening, Vahn maintained the same casual expression on his face even as Eshavi began raining meteoric punches on the invisible barrier separating them. He had already allocated the ashen-skinned woman seventeen minutes and forty-five seconds of his time. How she chose to spend that was up to her. Though she wasn''t much of a warrior in her default state, Eshavi still felt an unbridled sense of frustration seeing her attacks stop just a few centimeters away from Vahn''s face and body. The barrier he had erected wasn''t a physical membrane, so, rather than the feeling of striking a solid object, she felt as though her attacks were simply falling short. It didn''t matter how much power she mustered in her blows. Everything she threw at him, even magical attacks, simply stopped the moment it seemed like they were about to make contact. The most frustrating thing about the present situation was that she was literally able to step on Vahn''s throne, but, the moment she tried to stomp his groin or thighs, the same invisible barrier prevented her from doing so. She was even able to sit atop hisp, heavily breathing with virtually zero distance between them. However, the moment she attempted to crush him with her thighs or wrap her hands around his neck, absolutely nothing worked. It was like, even when she was seated atop hisp, there was an infinite distance separating them Realizing the futility of her actions, Eshavi ultimately slumped her head and shoulders, her sses having long since dislodged themselves from her face as she muttered, "I hate you" Shaking his head, Vahn simply leaned against the backrest of his throne before saying, "No, you don''t. You are indignant as a result of the transgressions you believed I havemitted against you. In reality, the only thing I did was prohibit you from borrowing the identities of people I care about. Other than that, I''ve tolerated pretty much everything you''ve done. Saying you hate me is just an excuse to protect your pride" Gritting her teeth, Eshavi made onest effort to punch Vahn in the face. To her surprise, he actually allowed her to do so, as, unlike her previous attacks, there was little to no power contained within the strike. Feeling as though she had been seen through for the first time in hundreds of years, an indignant feeling swelled within Eshavi''s chest as she powerlessly headbutted Vahn''s and muttered, "I really, really hate you" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Nice try'',''Loki would be wheezing'',''Mada Kirai'') Chapter 2204: Stalling for Time

Chapter 2204: Stalling for Time

"As much as I enjoy thepany of beautiful women, I believe it''s about time you return to your group. Your father doesn''t seem to approve of our particr seating arrangement" Once the time he had allotted her transpired, Vahn feltpelled to have Eshavi alight from hisp. He didn''t actually mind attractive women making themselvesfortable on hisp, but, with Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita standing nearby, there were better ways he could be spending his time. Raising her head from Vahn''s chest, Eshavi stared nkly into his eyes for several seconds before remarking, "You''re surprisingly cruelyou have, by your own admission, a beautiful woman seated atop yourp. You also know I''m upset yet you want me to alight so quickly? And here I thought-" Surprising both Eshavi and the crowd of spectators viewing the scene with diminishing interest, Vahn used the index fingers of both hands to press her faint yet still visible nipples. The teasing smile on her face immediately faded away. In its ce, a cold deadpan reminiscent of a serial killer took hold as she asked, "What do you think you''re doing?" With confusion marring his expression, Vahn continued to lightly poke Eshavi''s breasts as he tilted his head to the side and asked, "What do you mean? I thought now was the time when people got to do whatever they wanted. I asked you to move. You elected to stay. This is the result." Punctuating his words, Vahn activated his Hands of Nirvana before spreading threads of Source Energy through Eshavi''s breasts. Her back immediately straightened, and, though she did her best to cover her mouth with two of her six hands, a sonorous echo sounded through the vast,rgely empty throne room. As Rakshasa didn''t feel sensations in the same way as other races, Eshavi was so startled that she practically sprang away from Vahn''sp. When shended, a dark grey blush could be seen on her face, as, despite her quick reaction, a spiderweb pattern only visible to Vahn could be seen pulsing within her breasts. "Oh? And here I thought you were fullymitted to stalling for time. Shame." "Youyou ba-" Before Eshavi could finish speaking, a massive red x mmed into her face with enough force to give her whish. Vahn had never been fond of beingbeled as a bastard. Not because he was upset by hisck of a father but because it was a brash insult that carelessly implicated his mother. "You have lost your right to speak until the end of thispetition" Opening her mouth, the only sound emanating from Eshavi''s throat was an exact replica of the moan she had previously attempted to stifle. Her hands immediately darted to her mouth, but, despite her best efforts, an echo lingered within the hall as she red at Vahn as if he were her mortal enemy. Rolling his eyes, Vahn directed his gaze to thest of the sisters present, asking, "So? How do you intend to stall for time? Judging by your hat, I''m assuming you possess a Gift rted to cooking?" Though she would have preferred it if Vahn continued to torment her sister, Vahida, the Sage of Wisdom representing Gluttony, adopted what could best be described as a carnivorous smile as she brought a finger to her lips and mused, "My, how perceptive. More specifically, my Gift is rted to vor enhancement. Even if it was something as in and simple as rice, my Gift has the capacity to make it taste like Heaven" With Vahida cing extra emphasis on the word Heaven, Vahn had to take a deep breath just to suppress the urge to ask if she was an idiot. Rather than a ck and white apron, she may as well be wearing a signboard that said, "My food kills people." Fortunately, poison was something Vahn didn''t even need to take precautions against, so, after mentally shaking his head, he adopted his characteristically casual smile and remarked, "Sounds interesting. Though I doubt they canpare with my personal chefs, I''m interested to see what you cane up with." Frowning at the insinuation there were better chefs than her, Vahida was half-tempted to challenge Vahn to a Gift Game. Instead, she removed the inordinatelyrge saucepan from her head, taunting, "You really know how to get a girl''s blood boiling, don''t you?" As he always enjoyed a bit of yful banter, Vahn''s smile became marginally more sincere as he offered a yful wink and replied, "In quite a number of ways." Though she felt an almost overwhelming urge to snort, Vahida maintained a predatory smile as she flipped the saucer in her hands. The action seemed rather careless at first, but, by the time the dish had flippedpletely, enough curry to feed more than twenty people had appeared within. "I hear the ''appetites'' of dragons are near insatiable. Please ept this paltry offering as an apology for today''s events" With three of her sisters having made themselvesfortable atop hisp, Vahida didn''t hesitate to approach Vahn directly. She even extended her tongue towards Kusu, a teasing smile appearing on her shoulder nearly grazed the unsmiling Angel. Approaching close enough that she could have easily turned and made herselffortable, Vahida took a knee before extending therge saucer toward Vahn. To the surprise of absolutely no one, he epted the dish before cing it to his lips without question. This was an incredibly daring action, but, after seeing Vahn''s performance during each of his Gift Games, daring was probably one of the tamer words that could be used to describe him Swallowing severalrge mouthfuls of the surprisingly spicy, chicken-based curry, Vahn pretended not to notice the foreign energy attempting to invade his body. To his surprise, said energy actually possessed a remarkably familiar structure. There were so few differences, in fact, that it didn''t even take him a full second topletely analyze it To the astonishment of billions, Vahida included, Vahn''s figure began to change from a muscr and handsome man with tanned skin to a stout, ck-skinned pig. Genuine surprise colored the ashen-skinned woman''s face, as, even in her wildest dreams, she had never imagined her ability would take effect soseamlessly Looking around, Vahida''s suspicions grew when she found Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita staring at her with tranquil expressions on their faces. Even her father seemed equal parts confused and nervous, so, instead of assuming she had seeded, Vahida observed the chubby ck pig for several tense moments before attempting to pick it up. "Huffwhat the hell?" Though she was able to get her hands around it without any trouble, no amount of effort allowed Vahida to lift ''Vahn'' from his throne. He wasn''t simply heavy; Vahida got the impression that, no matter how many peoplebined their efforts, they would never be able to move the adorably plump pig from its position. If not for the fact she could stretch his ears and pinch his cheeks, she might have assumed he waspletely immovable. Feeling something was amiss, a smile that didn''t quite reach her eyes developed across Vahida''s face as she asked, "You''re messing with me, aren''t you?" Adopting a toothy, eerily human smile, the ck pig promptly replied, "I would argue that I was humoring you. By the way, while your food was surprisingly vorful, the overall quality ces it around a six. You''re a little too reliant on your Gift. Here, try this." While maintaining his pig form, Vahn used cleaning magic on Vahida''s hat before filling it with a portion of curry prepared by Rindo. When Vahida saw, or, more specifically, smelt it, the glower on her face promptly turned to curiosity, as, even from more than twenty meters away, everyone in the hall got the impression the dish was indescribably delicious. As the worst that could happen was her elimination from the promotional Gift Game, Vahida didn''t hesitate to manifest a small bowl of rice and arge spoon. She really wanted to ascertain whether or not Vahn was just talking out of his ass, so, after scooping up a spoonful of curry, she dipped it into her rice before cing it into her mouth. To the shock of many, an ''explosion'' of golden light erupted from Vahida''s body the moment she ced the spoonful of curry into her mouth. Stranger still, the essories in her hair and even the clothes on her body promptly burst away, but, thanks to the Law of Modesty, the brilliant golden light exuding from her body made it impossible to make out anything but her silhouette. While everyone else was marveling at the scene ying before them, Vahida felt as though her soul had departed her body. In spite of this, she felt an indescribable feeling of calm as she stood, naked as the day she was born, at the base of a petrified bodhi tree. A warm breeze caressed her skin, but, rather than paying any attention to herself, Vahida was captivated by a literal ocean of stars gently flowing in and out over a sea of glistening ck sand Just as Vahida was tempted to throw herself into said ocean, a feeling of loss washed over her mind and body as she found herself standing in front of a smiling ck pig. Seeing the ''smug'' expression on Vahn''s face, Vahida was nearly overwhelmed by the urge to smack him in the head using her saucepan. Instead, she exhaled a sigh before setting the now-barren pan aside and bringing all six of her hands together in a gesture resembling prayer. Every adult member of the Rakshasa Tribe had been given the opportunity to experience a lesser form of Enlightenment, so, even if the experience was quite a bit different, Vahida knew she had just received a tremendous gift from Vahn. Raising one of his trotters before Vahida could thank him, Vahn''s voice emanated seriousness as he said, "You can thank meter. For now, you may want to fix your clothing" Confused by Vahn''s words, Vahida promptly directed her attention to her presently naked body. A grey hue immediately spread through her cheeks, but, instead of behaving bashfully, she returned her attention to Vahn and remarked, "You''re a lewd little piggy, aren''t you?" With hands to spare, Vahida was able to cover her breasts, front, and back without difficulty. Then, as if their encounter hade to an end, she returned to the side of her sisters and father without further dialogue. Shrugging his virtually non-existent shoulders, Vahn directed his attention to Attutyaptish before asking, "Are we done here, or do you intend to give the duo waiting outside an opportunity? The little one with all the concealed weapons gives off a very pettable vibe." Shifting his attention from Vahida, Attutyaptish met Vahn''s gaze, a hesitant look on his face as he asked, "What is your obsession with petting? There must be a reason for it." Though he didn''t reveal the details, Vahn took advantage of the opportunity Attutyaptish had provided by manifesting his [Fragment of Origin: Godhand]. A swell of energy suddenly spread through his body, but, as he was already ustomed to the feeling of being empowered through beliefs, he managed to appear unshaken as he returned to his true form and answered, "Though I prefer being called the God of Infinite Possibilities, I''m also a God of Petting. Why? You curious?" Swallowing the knot the had suddenly appeared in his throat, Attutyaptish reminded himself that his mission took precedence over everything else. He could call in his other daughters, but, fearing they wouldplicate matters, he steeled himself before answering, "Indeedafter observing the changes in my daughters'' behavior, I would be lying if I said I wasn''t at least a little curious about your ability. Even now, despite her association with the Sin of Lust, Prurmubhi is behaving as docile as a kitten. You clearly did something to influence her" Unamused by her father''s revtion, Prurmubhi, the vulpine woman that had enjoyed more than half an hour of Vahn''s headpats, adopted a pouty expression as she asked, "Did you really have to go out of your way to reveal that in front of billions of people?" Meeting his daughter''s gaze, Attutyaptish unhesitantly replied, "Yes. The more people associate you and your sisters with the Seven Deadly Sins, the more potent your respective abilities. You were the one who fought your sisters for the right to be the Sin of Lust. If you''re dissatisfied, feel free to trade ces with Hantemu." Though she was ustomed to being chastised, Prurmubhi resented the fact her father had gone out of his way to do so during a highly publicized Gift Game. For a brief moment, the urge tosh out of him swelled in the back of her mind, but, before she could muster the conviction, a soothing voice entered her ears, stating, "Don''t worry. I''ll be sure to teach him a lesson on your behalf" Shifting her attention to Vahn, a look of confusion marred Prurmubhi''s face. Thanks to an illusion, however, Attutyaptish was wholly unaware of this. As a result, he did his best to appear calm andposed as he floated over to Vahn and stated, "Don''t expect me to straddle yourp" before taking a seat on his right thigh. Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn decided not to dignify Attutyaptish''s words with a verbal response. Instead, he removed the feathery headdress from the remarkably furry man''s head to reveal messy white hair. Then, without holding anything back, he nestled his hand between the man''srge, cat-like ears and got to work . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Should have brought some Echo Herbs'',''This is what it''s like to chew Five gum'',''Bruh, he ded'') Chapter 2205: Return

Chapter 2205: Return

Seeing how easily Usalia was able to deal with her opponent, a frown marred Mikoto''s expression as she remarked, "The Little Garden must really hate her" Though Karyou was far from the level of Wu, she was still one of the Seven Great Sages. As strong as Usalia was, it was a little difficult to imagine her defeating someone of such renown in as little as two strikes. Showing no change in expression, Fenrir, wearing uncharacteristically modest clothes that consisted of a fur-lined parka and dark blue leggings tly replied, "That is none of our concern. If she is truly suffering, Master is bound to intervene. Our mission is to ascertain the owner of each before regrouping with the others." Restraining a sigh, Mikoto gave Fenrir a nce out of the corner of her eye before shaking her head and choosing to remain silent. She wanted to argue that Vahn would want them to do their best to help others, but, understanding there was very little she could do to change the public''s opinion of Karyou, Mikoto decided to follow Fenrir''s example by cing her trust in Vahn "Fire is annoying, plip. I feel like my whole body has been roasted" After defeating Karyou with her Usagi Punch, Usalia took a moment to regenerate her outfit before returning to Fenrir and Mikoto. She actually didn''t mind people seeing her naked, but, now that she was a mother, she intended to set a better example for her children. Extending her paw, Fenrir casually generated a cooling aura around Usalia''s body as she said, "We should leave. That woman doesn''t strike me as the type to stay down for long" Feeling a pleasant chill surrounding her body, a grateful smile developed across Usalia''s face as she said, "Thank you." before casting her gaze over the fiery below and adding, "Leaving is easier said than done, plip. I don''t see any teleportation nexi" Emting Usalia''s actions, Fenrir''s expression promptly morphed into a grimace. Karyou was unable to attack and defend her at the same time. With no use for theside teleportation nexi, she hadn''t hesitated to set the entire surface on fire. This not only trapped the people who dared to invaded her; more importantly, it prevented them from using said nexi to reach her core Fearing that Fenrir might do something drastic, Mikoto ced a cating hand on her shoulder as she said, "Hey, no need to get upset. Did you forget that I''m here? Vahn isn''t the only one familiar with the Laws of Space and Time. Before we departed, I made sure to memorize the coordinates of our homeworld. I might not be able to teleport us to worlds we haven''t visited but I can easily take us home." Though she didn''t always get along with Mikoto, Fenrir breathed a sigh of relief when she heard the presently petite brte''s words. If they hadn''t been able to return via conventional methods, she was prepared to dig and tear a path all the way to the core of the Just as Fenrir was prepared to tell Mikoto to transport them, the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as a cube-shaped barrier of light manifested around them. In the very next moment, a man with wild, dark-brown hair and pale golden eyes appeared outside the barrier, hand scratching the back of his head as he stated, "Sorry about this,dies. I don''t normally attack women but I couldn''t help overhearing you mention you possessed the means to teleport off this rock. I''m gonna have to ask you to take me and my friend along" Reacting to the fashionably dressed man''s words, the seemingly ordinary ck cat lounging on his shoulders issued azy meow. As for Fenrir, a bluish-ck aura manifested around her right paw as she swiped towards the barrier with her Severing ws. Seeing Fenrir attack his barrier, an ostensibly teasing smile developed across the dark-haired man''s face. This didn''tst long, however, as, the moment her attack met the anti-magical membrane, a frightful sound reminiscent of metal being torn apart could be heard echoing throughout the Little Garden. At the same time, almost as if his barrier had been made of tissue paper, Fenrir''s des of energy seamlessly cut through it. "Gimme a break" Though he was more than a little surprised by Fenrir''s ability to cut through his barrier, the look on the man''s face appeared more disinterested than anything. In response to the attack, he drew what appeared to be a hunting knife from the holster at his waist. Golden runes lit up across its otherwise pitch-ck surface, and, though it consumed significantly more mana than he anticipated, the man was able to cut through the four des of energy with apparent ease. Following her initial attack, Fenrir smashed through the remnants of the barrier, ws extended as she intended to slice the man to ribbons. Her ws were exponentially sharper than the des she was capable of producing, so, without even considering whether or not the man could cut through her attack, she charged toward him with a fierce expression on her face. Seemingly in an effort to protect its master, the ck cat on the man''s shoulder promptly jumped forward. In moments before Fenrir''s attack struck, its form quickly transitioned to that of a dainty, 144cm tall girl with medium-length ck hair, cat ears, and a tail. Her outfit vaguely resembled the style of an old school mobster, but, rather than focusing on her attire, Fenrir locked eyes with the resolute woman as she eximed, "Cat Scratch Fever!" Simr to how Fenrir was attacking with her ws, the petite cat girl lunched forward with a pair of prolonged, razor-sharp nails. The disparity between her and Fenrir was like Heaven and Earth, but, so long as she could inflict even a grazing injury on her opponent, the effects of her attack would take hold Noticing the resolution in the cat girl''s eyes, Fenrir simultaneously activated her Queen of the Pack and Koku Shundo. She wasn''t even remotely afraid, but, having been taught to never underestimate her opponents, she elected to y it safe by flickering behind the duo and surrounding them with the shadow wolves representing Altria, Atnta, and Gareth. Though she deadpanned the moment she was summoned, Altria managed to evade the ws of her opponent. At the same time, Atnta and Gareth took advantage of their speed to snap at the man''s ankles. This ultimately proved unsessful, but, the moment he stepped back to evade the duo, he found Fenrir waiting for him, teeth bared and surrounded by illusory projection resembling her giant wolf form. "Shion is going to be piss-" Unable to finish his statement, the dark-haired man found the upper half of his body ''erased'' as the massive, illusory wolf closed its jaws around him. Part of never underestimating your opponents was going all out from the start. The man had dared to imprison her, so, while she would have normally left him frozen in a column of ice, Fenrir decided on a more decisive course of action. Nobody sealed or restrained her without permission . As her true identity was that of a familiar, the ck-haired cat girl promptly vanished the moment her Master was defeated. Shortly after that, Mikoto, with a wry smile on her face, ced her hands on Fenrir''s and Usalia''s shoulders. The truth of the matter was that she could have easily teleported them away even with the barrier up, so, while she understood Fenrir''s reasons for attacking, Mikoto couldn''t help thinking he had gone overboard. Instead of voicing her thoughts out loud, Mikoto made a mental note to discuss it with Vahn once the Gift Game had concluded. The only people Fenrir sincerely listened to were Vahn, Eva, and, to a lesser extent, Artoria. Her [Queen of the Pack] Innate hadn''t helped. Instead, it had seeded in her an almost oppressive sense of duty and pride. Thus, unless you were her Master, one of his children, or one of her mentors, Fenrir didn''t have time to deal with you. In Fenrir''s mind, time spent talking was time that could have been spent performing her duties or growing stronger "" "" "" As the coordinates recorded by Mikoto were set within the throne room rather than the adjacent antechamber, the trio was gobsmacked by the scene presented to them upon their arrival. Vahn was seated upon his throne. This waspletely normal. What surprised them was the fact that there were several ashen-skinned women present, many with equally incredulous expressions on their faces as they observed him caressing the head of an oversized, partially-clothed cat. While the scene of Vahn petting something wasn''t particrly abnormal, the state of the person he was petting left even Fenrir at a loss for words. She was one of the few people to experience the full effects of her Master''s petting, so, seeing the feline figure lying limply atop hisp, an absurdly loud purring emanating through the hall, a hostile gleam shed across her carmine eyes Noticing the trio''s arrival, the amused grin on Vahn''s face softened into a sincere and affectionate smile as he retracted his palm from Attutyaptish''s furry, upturned belly and mused, "Fenrir, Mikoto, Usaliawee back" Asking the question on all three of their minds, Mikoto eyed the half-conscious figure drooling atop Vahn''sp as she inquired, "What''s going on here? Who''s the cat?" Poking said cat in the cheek, Vahn answered, "This is Attutyaptish, the Great King of Wisdom. He''s a bit of a schemer, but, as you can see here, he''s also quite cute once he lets his guard down. He kind of reminds me of a monochromatic version of the second and third generation of Companions" Retracting his finger from Attutyaptish''s cheek, Vahn used Telekinesis to levitate him over to where the aforementioned''s daughters were enjoying a light lunch. The ''educational'' petting session had been going on for the better part of an hour and a half hours, so, rather than forcing them to stand around, he manifested a low-lying table and a few snacks for them to enjoy. Though she was a little surprised, Shaanti, the Sage with a Gift rted to photography, epted her father''s half-conscious body with a curious expression on her face. She was the only person with animalistic ears to not have her head patted, so, seeing her father with a silly yet contented look on his face, she couldn''t help wondering what it was like to be on the receiving end of Vahn''s caress Unfortunately, Vahn followed the turn-over by saying, "I suppose that about wraps up our little rendezvous. Feel free to stop by the Sage Dragon''s Hearth once the Gift Game has concluded. So long as you''re willing to pay the price, there is very little we can''t provide." Without waiting for the group''s response, Vahn teleported them to the antechamber. He hadn''t missed the ostensibly murderous glimmer in Fenrir''s eye, so, as much as he enjoyed teasing the peculiar group of six-armed individuals, their value didn''t equate to a single hair on his belovedpanion''s tail . Coming to his senses nearly an hourter, Attutyaptish first observed his surroundings before setting his gaze on Eshavi and asking, "What happened? Thest thing I remember" Recalling the feeling offort that had invaded his mind the moment Vahn began kneading the space between his eyes and ears, an imperceptible, dark-grey hue spread through Attutyaptish''s cheeks. Were it not for his fur, the entire Little Garden would have been able to see him blushing. Deciding he would rather review the recording rather than hearing his daughters recount what would invariably be his most embarrassing moment, Attutyaptish directed his gaze to the nearby teleportation nexus. He was originally nning to destroy them so that Vahn wouldn''t be able to escape. Now, realizing Vahn had no intention of moving from his spot, he decided it would be best if they simply returned. "We''re leaving. By now, our fellow tribesmen and women should be cing the finishing touches on the ritual magic formation. I don''t mind going out in a ze of glory but I''d much rather assist in the destruction of whichever follows this one" Though it was toote to take back his previous decision, Attutyaptish was confident he could save some face by demonstrating his prowess against other Communities. Preventing his brothers from teasing him would be impossible but he could at least change how the general public viewed him With this in mind, Attutyaptish directed his daughters to stand atop the nearest tform before personally activating the teleportation array. This immediately brought them to the surface, but, instead of finding a-wide formation awaiting them, the group was stunned when one of the nearest Rakshasa asked them if something had gone wrong with the initial teleportation. After all, while several hours had passed since their first encounter with Vahn, a mere thirteen seconds had passed since their departure . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Good mommies don''t streak (U w U)'',''Only Master is allowed to confine Fenrir!'',''*deep breath*Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh-'') Chapter 2206: Awaiting the Climax

Chapter 2206: Awaiting the Climax

Sensing no trace of her opponent, a plume of steam escaped Cauli''s throat in the form of a sigh. At the same time, the silvery hue of her fur gave way for a bright, pinkish-red coat that continued to exude an intense amount of heat. Her instincts were telling her the danger had yet to pass, so, while the Super Saiyan Sage Transformation greedily consumed her mental and physical energies, Cauli ignored the throbbing in her temples as she called over Kale and said, "You''re up next. Make sure to give them hell." "Nee-san" Seeing how exhausted Cauli was, Kale reached up to the golden locket dangling from her neck. It was a gift forged by Vahn that had been gifted to her by her beloved Aneue. The interior disyed pictures of her and Cauli, but, as Vahn was the one that brought them together, Kale allowed him to engrave his Familia Crest on the surface. She might never love him in the same way as her Aneue but Vahn was still the most important man in her life More importantly, the locket also served as a storage device. Retrieving a glistening golden bean from the locket''s storage space, Kale practically forced it into Cauli''s hand, saying, "Eat." in an uncharacteristically firm tone. As she had no reason to refuse, Cauli epted the Avalon brand Senzu Bean. Instead of eating it, however, a teasing smile developed across her face as she said, "The muscles in my jaw are feeling kind of weak. Chew it up for me, mama bird." Taking advantage of the fact Kale had opened her mouth to protest, Cauli effortlessly flicked the golden senzu into her mouth. Then, despite an unnervingly ticklish sensation spreading across her skin, almost as though billions of eyes had spontaneously focused their intention on her, she linked her arms around Kale''s neck and uttered a teasing, "Tweet tweet" before opening her mouth and extending her dazzlingly red tongue Swallowing both the senzu bean and the knot in her throat, Kale hurriedly retrieved a recement before linking her hands around Cauli''s exposed back and sealing her lips. Though the majority of people assumed she was a bashful and shy woman, the truth of the matter was that Kale simply felt it was a waste of time to speak with most people. She disliked pretenses and deceit, so, from a very young age, she had always gotten along better with animals than people. It was her Aneue''s ''wildness'' that had first attracted her, so, while others might be afraid to exhibit their affection in front of others, Kale didn''t mind in the slightest. In her mind, humans, Saiyans, and even the Gods were just animals. Being roundabout with their desires was simply denying their true nature Feeling Kale''s hand slip into her pants, firmly grasping her right buttocks, Cauli''s back promptly straightened as she used her tail to grasp the aggressive Saiyaness''s wrist. She actually liked it when Kale was bold, but, as they were currently in the middle of a battlefield, she swallowed the remnant senzu bean in her throat, saying, "Save it forter. Right now, we still need to conquer this. If we''re going to ''y'', I''d rather do it atop a throne" Spurred by Cauli''s words, Kale''s previously obsidian-ck eyes gained a golden luster as she snapped her gaze toward the below. The silver band keeping her hair in a ponytail promptly gave way, but, instead of falling under the influence of gravity, her raven-ck locks red outward to form a number of spiky clumps as ruby-red fur began spreading across her body. Though she was quiet and reserved at most times, Kale was quick to anger when things got in the way of her spending time with Cauli. She couldn''t have cared less about the a few minutes prior, but, now that the Community protecting it was prohibiting her from spending time with the person she loved, the only thing she wanted more than their destruction was her Aneue''s affection. With one hand wrapped around Cauli''s waist and the other pointed towards the below, a feral grimace developed across Kale''s face as she ruthlessly muttered, "Extinction Beam" Starting off as a highlypressed, marble-sized ball of fiery green energy, the Ki in Kale''s palm promptly erupted to form a veritable column of destruction more than three meters in diameter. This might not sound particrly impressive when she was capable of producing moon-sized balls of death, but, as her goal was creating a path to the core, not destroying the, Kale was doing her best to control the output as much as possible Sensing the amount of energy contained in Kale''s single-handed ki st, an inaudible sigh escaped Cauli''s throat. She would be lying if she said it didn''t bother her how effortlessly Kale was able to exert her strength. Instead ofining about it, however, she took advantage of their proximity to rest her head against Kale''s pillowy breasts. This caused the output of the st to spontaneously skyrocket, as, evenpared to love, ''horniness'' was an extraordinarily powerful motivator . Staring at the spot where Kojiro had been standing moments prior, a pensive glimmer illuminated Musashi''s eyes even as a trace of a smile adorned her face. Kojiro was simultaneously stronger and weaker than she had expected. This made her excited for the battles toe, but, at the same time, she couldn''t help thinking her time would have been better-spent training in one of the Actualized Worlds "Wellno matter. I can always start a new journey once I settle things with ck. No way in hell I''m letting someone else parade themselves around as the ''original''" With that in mind, Musashi took a moment to make sure her red and blue bikini top was properly fastened before directing her attention towards the fortress-like building''s entrance. She had half-expected someone to appear during her fight with Kojiro. Now that several minutes had passed, a small part of her was tempted to go and test her skills against Amaterasu "Hmmnah" Deciding she would rather avoid a sunburn, Musashi reached her fingers into her cleavage before manifesting G??enjin in its Shikai form. This waspletely unnecessary, but, as she was going out of her way to put on a performance, a bit of fan service wouldn''t hurt. Though her original intention was to slice the entire fortress in half, Musashi promptly changed her mind when the Spirit of G??enjin muttered, "You should dodge" in a t yet child-like voice. Trusting her Zanpakuto Spiritspletely, Musashi appeared to fade from existence as countless beams resembling goldensers tore through the area where she had been standing. Amaterasu had been observing her since the moment she appeared in front of Kojiro. She wasn''t particrly bothered by thetter''s defeat. There were moments she didn''t approve of, but, as the fight was ultimately a fair exchange, she was willing to let Musashi walk away. She wasn''t, however, going to let her destroy one of Kotoamatsukami''s teleportation nexi. Appearing at the top of a cliff more than seventeen kilometers away, Musashi directed her gaze towards the fiery orb illuminating the sky, a faint smile on her face as she said, "Fine, fine. I''m not gonna break your toys. In exchange, I''d like you to pass along a message for me. Tell your Musashi I''ll be here waiting for her. If she doesn''t appear before thepetitions'' end, she only has herself to me when people begin recognizing me as the True Musashi" In response to Musashi''s words, the sun overhead briefly increased in luminosity. At a nce, many would have assumed it was preparing an attack. Instead, a much finer beam of light struck the area in front of Musashi''s feet. When it faded away, a message stating that Musashi would appear within three days could be seen Reading the immactely engraved kanji, the corners of Musashi''s smile curled upward. Instead of calling Amaterasu out, however, she directed her gaze towards empty space and asked, "Hey, Vahn. Mind providing me with a lounge or something? Looks like I might be here for a while." To the surprise of many a spectator, a fully furnished Japanese-style cottage promptly appeared a few meters away from the remarkably beautiful swordswoman. More importantly, at least from the perspective of Musashi, a low wooden table and an adjustable chaise lounged manifested near the cliff''s edge. The former had numerous ss and ceramic containers arranged atop its surface, so, with glistening purple eyes and a massive grin on her face, Musashi directed her gaze into the void and asked, "Have I ever told you how much I love you?" . Seeing the various items appearing within her domain, the amused smile Amaterasu had adopted in response to Musashi''s challenge gradually gave way for a far more serious expression. One of the first things she had done following themencement of the Gift Game was spread her Divinity to cover the entire. She couldn''t prevent people from trespassing via the teleportation nexi, but, for all intents and purposes, she had sealed the surrounding space and imed it as an extension of her territory. "How hatefulthat man must have implemented some kind of bypass that allows him to exploit the teleportationwork with impunity. He''s treating this like some kind of game" Disregarding the irony of resenting others for treating a Gift Game as a game, Amaterasu began to rhythmically tap the tips of her nails against the metallic surface of her armrest. A growing part of her wanted nothing more than to manipte the sun to crash into Vahn''s. She couldn''t even begin to describe the fury she experienced when Kenshin came to her with Vahn''s words of caution. Thus, seeing the apparent disregard he showed for his own Gift Game, the amethyst purple color of her eyes gradually gave way for a fiery, progressively golden hue Inhaling a deep breath, Amaterasu took a moment to herself that another person''s brazen behavior wasn''t an excuse to disregard propriety. As the Leader of the Kotoamatsukami and one of the most famous Goddesses in all of creation, she needed to set the example for others to follow. Losing her cool was the same as giving a Poet ammunition to harm her reputation, so, despite the metal of her throne turning white-hot beneath her nails, Amaterasu did her best to appear calm andposed as she focused on the actions of Ahirani and her children. She doubted they would be sessful in their endeavor, but, knowing Indra was on her side in this matter, Amaterasu was gradually able to restore her calm . Sensing a fiery intent attempting to bore a hole into his skull with the sheer intensity of its gaze, the corners of Vahn''s amused smile curled upward. He could always tell when Amaterasu was observing him as she didn''t even try to keep her presence concealed. Ignoring said intentpletely, Vahn continued to caress the heads and bodies of Fenrir, Mikoto, and Usalia. They had gone out of their way to return, so, before sending them off to continue their mission, Vahn elected to help them recharge. As a result, he ended up with Usalia nestling against the left side of his body while Fenrir and Mikoto snuggled up to him in their wolf pup and Pikachu forms. Though the spectators might assume Vahn''s primary responsibilities were protecting their and throne room, the truth of the matter was that he was here to support the girls. With the power he had obtained during his time in the Actualized World of Dragon Ball, showing off was as simple as breathing. Thus, while their penultimate goal was to secure the lowest possible Gate, the primary objective of everyone participating was to show off and make a name for themselves. Establishing a legend was of paramount importance within the Little Garden, so, for the sake of his family, friends, and loved ones, Vahn didn''t mind acting as the girls'' recharge station. After all, once he got serious, no forces currently at y could prevent him from annihting every other with a thought . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Cauli knows how to push Kale''s buttons (U w U)'',''I was kind of hoping for some hot, MusashixMusashi action'',''I can practically feel the stonks radiating off of him'') Chapter 2207: Coming Storm

Chapter 2207: Coming Storm

While everyone else was focused on their missions, Sarina, entirely on her own, found herself in a rather precarious position. Prior to the start of the Gift Game, Vahn had informed Sarina that she would be the Leader of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth once he went on to establish the Aldrnari Empire. He also wanted to give her a tform to exhibit the power she had obtained during their stay in the Actualized World, so, with numerous blessings and various artifacts protecting her, Sarina managed to make her way into the very heart of Meng Zhang''s, the Azure Dragon''s territory without garnering attention. Though he suffered quite a number of defeats at the hands of Wu, Meng Zhang was still among the most powerful beings affiliated with the Jade Pce. He was the Azure Dragon, Guardian of the East Gate, and Commander of the 4th Division of the Jade Pce''s Divine Army. Curiously enough, while Meng Zhang was famous for his mastery over the Dao of Space and Time, his true power resided in his ability to see the future and grant wishes. This was yet another reason he believed Vahn to be one of his manifestations or offshoots. After all, while it wasn''t umon for Gods to impart Blessings and Gifts unto others, those with the power to grant wishes were few and far between. Around the time of Zhao Shen''s Immortal Banquet, Meng Zhang had greatly looked forward to his meeting with Vahn. He had even skipped out on the feast so that the two of them could meet in a less crowded, more traditional setting. When Vahn failed to appear, Meng Zhang initially gave him the benefit of the doubt. He thought the former may have wanted to prepare a gift or something before their meeting, so, in the days following the banquet, Meng Zhang waited patiently for Vahn''s arrival. Instead, thetter ended up departing both the Jade Pce and the Heavenly Domain without so much as sending a letter Though he had mellowed out quite a bit since the war against the Demon God, Meng Zhang had a reputation to uphold as an objective and ruthless individual. He was a True Long, a first-generation descendant of a Pure-Blooded Dragon. His pride didn''t allow him to tolerate even perceived slights, so, following Vahn''s failure to appear, Meng Zhang had entreated the Jade Emperor for the right to participate in the promotional Gift Game. With his Lord''s permission, Meng Zhang rallied every yer within his Community. This included his eight brides, twenty-three of his sons, seventeen of his daughters, and more than a hundred of their most promising descendants. While eight wives, forty children, and more than a hundred grandchildren may sound like a lot, this was actually a painfully small amount in the eyes of Meng Zhang. Most of his immediate family had been wiped out during the previous war, and, while he would never admit it, the experience had left him a shell of his former self. When Meng Zhang first witnessed Vahn''s performance against the Leviathan''s Tail Community, a rare smile reced his characteristically impassive expression. He had spent the better part of thest three hundred years looking for someone to inherit his status and title as the Azure Dragon. In this regard, Vahn seemed like the perfect choice. Not only was he tyrannically powerful, but, more importantly, he hadn''t been tainted by the politics of the Heavenly Domain and life within the Little Garden. Unfortunately, Meng Zhang couldn''t juste out and say he was looking for a recement. If he did, his power would gradually wane as everyone, even his own sons and daughters would believe he had lost his spark. In the worst-case scenario, they would begin ughtering one another over the opportunity to receive his Fragment of Origin. Not wanting to see children brutalizing one another, Meng Zhang had decided, long ago, that his recement would have toe from outside his family. To this end, the only two people he had informed of his intent to abdicate were the Jade Emperor and Huangdi. Theymented but wholly supported his decision, as, during the war against the Demon God, they each lost their fair share of descendants. Huangdi, in particr, ended up ''retiring'' after losing all of his sons and all but one of his daughters in the conflict Unaware of Meng Zhang''s intentions, a cold sweat broke had broken out across Sarina''s body as she infiltrated the ptial structure that had appeared on the former''s. The reason for her nervousness was the numerous, serpent-like dragons that dominated the sky overhead. Many of Meng Zhang''s children were well over a hundred meters in length, and, much like their father, they possessed dominion over space, time, and lightning. With the intention of giving Vahn an opportunity to redeem himself, Meng Zhang had ordered his children to protect their rather than venturing off to attack other words. As a result, the sky overhead was filled with the silhouettes of massive dragons ying amongst a backdrop of green, blue, gold, and even ck lightning. Though she was confident in her ability to defeat a dragon or two, seeing a literal flock had, at least for the time being, cowed Sarina''s enthusiasm. Thus, rather than immediately throwing herself into the fray, she elected to gather information on the enemy''s number and rtive strength. Fortunately, Sarina wasn''t the only person to appear on Meng Zhang''s. Members from the Kotoamatsukami, Tr??yastri1???a, and Akuma Communities had also appeared around the same time, so, taking advantage of the stealth capabilities of her outfit, Sarina observed the groups battling it out from the rtive safety of Meng Zhang''s pce. Simr to the Scouter Vahn had made use of during their time in the Actualized World of Dragon Ball, Sarina''s goggles possessed the ability to quantify and disy the power of anything within her field of view. More importantly, it possessed a function to analyze theposition of various types of energy to give the user a basic understanding of the Laws at y in any given situation. While her power level had exceeded 5.7 billion, Sarina had realized pretty early on that she didn''t have a talent for martial arts. There was no way she couldpete against powerhouses like Broly and Goku in terms of raw strength and potential, so, shortly after the defeat of Frieza, she resumed her alchemy training and focused most of her efforts on mastering her Zanpakuto. As a result of her desire to bridge the gap between her and the more powerful members of the Z-Fighters, Sarina''s Shikai manifested in the form of arge flintlock pistol. This had disappointed her in the beginning, but, after learning of its ability to ignore conventional durability, her fondness for the weapon increased by several orders of magnitude. The one thing Sarina had always excelled at was agility. As a descendant of Hermes, her speed and perception developed at a pace most people couldn''t even fathom. Had she been born in the West Side, she could have easily secured a position as a famous ''Speedster''. The biggest downside to Sarina''s Zanpakuto was that it could only fire a single shot before having to be manually reloaded. This feature had carried over to her Bankai as well, so, while she was able to one-shott unsuspecting opponents, Sarina always had to take into consideration proper timing and positioning. With most of her potential opponents possessing power levels in the tens or hundreds of millions, Sarina was pretty confident in her ability to emerge victoriously in a direct confrontation. The only reason she remained hidden was because raw power meant very little when Gifts were concerned. Just as her Zanpakuto was able to ignore conventional durability, there were all kinds of cheat-like abilities that couldpletely invalidate the difference in power level and skill. This was one of the reasons she had developed a reliance on armaments and ranged abilities, as, more often than not, it simply wasn''t worth it to try and fight fairly. Not everyone could recreate themselves from nothingness Giving credence to Sarina''s decision to pursue the path of a stealthy markswoman, the leader of the Akuma Community''s raid party, a young girl veiled in a hooded, owl-like cloak possessed a number of ludicrous abilities. Not only was she able to summon an ostensibly infinite number of owls, but, every now and then, the dragons fighting against her would spontaneously just drop out of the sky. Based on the analysis of her goggles, Sarina was able to determine that the barefoot girl''s skill was rted to the Law of Death. The problem was that she had absolutely no idea what the trigger was. To make matters exponentially worse, the hooded girl was simply observing the battle while sitting on the sideline and nursing a cup of tea. Whenever anyone struck her, she would simply vanish into a mist of ck smoke before reappearing a few hundred meters away as if nothing had happened. To add insult to injury, the hooded girl''s power level was only around 17,000. Even the weakest of the Dragons present possessed a power level eclipsing ten million. In that regard, the owl-themed magus was around six hundred times less powerful than even her weakest opponent. It just didn''t matter. The only person that was even able to get a rise out of the petite magus was a handsome man from the Kotoamatsukami Community. Even then, the two had simply exchanged nces before the man promptly ordered his people to withdraw. The reason why this was significant, at least in the eyes of Sarina, was because the man possessed a power level exceeding eight billion. In terms of raw power level, he was even stronger than her, yet, the moment he peered into the hooded woman''s glowing yellow eyes, he didn''t even hesitate to retreat . Motivated by her desire to install Cauli atop the''s throne, Kale''s highly prative ki st slowly bored a hole through the. She didn''t even consider that her attack might destroy the core and the contained throne room, as, prior to the start of the Gift Game, Vahn had exined to them that containing structure was borderline indestructible. As for why she didn''t just search for a teleportation nexus? Even in her base state, Kale wasn''t particrly known for her mental acuity. When transformed, the only people she listened to were Vahn and Cauli, as, unlike Broly, Kale had yet tomit the time and effort required to master her Super Saiyan Sage Transformation. As a result, she was essentially a mindless beast whilst transformed. A being propelled forth by pure, animalistic desire. Under normal circumstances, the primal aura exuded by Kale would be more than enough to cow even the most violent of beasts. To the Yokai of Onigashima, however, she was like a beacon in the darkest of nights. They were drawn to bloodshed and ughter, so, while others might have been deterred by the sight of an increasingly muscr woman boring a hole in a, the members of Onigashima released blood-curdling cries of excitement as they advanced towards Kale and Cauli on clouds of flesh and blood. Leading the literal tide of Yokai was none other than Shuten, who, for the first time since the great war, had a genuine smile on his face "Let the game begin" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''I almost feel bad for him'',''After spending so much time with Vahn, Sarina knows better than to underestimate anyone'',''Unfettered Savagery vs. Absolute Violence'') Chapter 2208: Force of Will Chapter 2208: Force of Will Like an animal sensing the onset of a natural disaster, Kale ceased her assault on the below as she shifted her attention to the approaching tide of Yokai. Her eye, which had previously gone out of focus, promptly became crystal clear and razor-sharp as she released Cauli from her hold and said, "It''s dangerous..." in an increasingly husky tone. Due to her close proximity to Kale''s chaotic energy, Cauli didn''t immediately notice the army of demonic creatures approaching them. She had been fully focused on preserving her Ki and resting her mind, so, hearing Kale''s words, she raised her face from thetter''s breasts and remarked, "It''s about time. I was starting to get bored." Ignoring the fact Kale had said it was dangerous, Cauli began rolling her right arm and shoulder as she marveled at the sight of hundreds of inhuman monstrosities. In the process, her gaze briefly met Shuten''s, and, as a result, a distinct, tingling sensation ran up her spine as the reddish-pink fur across her body stood on end. ment "Hot damn. If that one isn''t the leader, I''ll eat my left shoe." Following her words, Cauli formed her right hand into a w as she began to gather energy from the surrounding environment. Before she could release it, however, Kale grasped her shoulder with her oversized hand, saying, "No. My turn..." Turning her head, Cauli gave the two-and-a-half-meter tall Saiyaness a disbelieving look as she resisted the urge to tell her to piss off. The only time Kale stepped in to prevent her from fighting was when the opponent was legitimately dangerous. This normally wasn''t enough to deter Cauli from fighting, but, seeing the uncharacteristically serious expression on herpanion''s face, she ultimately just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Give ''em hell." Nodding her head, Kale released Cauli''s shoulder before floating toward the approaching army of Yokai at a slow and intimidating pace. Her height ended up leveling out around 275cm, but, as if there were no limits to the amount of energy she could tap into, the ruby-red fur covering her body began to exude a radiant glow as sections of the ground began to break away. The density of her Ki was so great that the effective mass of her body began topete with the entire. Sensing the energy exuding from Kale''s body, the smile on Shuten''s face turned into a toothy grin that threatened to tear at his face. A very simr expression could be seen on the gourd strapped to his waist, a massive container nearly two meters in length and more than a meter in diameter at its widest point. Grabbing said gourd, Shuten tucked it under his left arm before directing the mouth towards Kale. At the same time, the muscles of his right arm began to bulge as the color of his arm transitioned from a pale, ghastly white to a carmine red. Apanying this, the nails on his right hand grew in length until they couldpete with shortswords in both form and function. Sweeping his wed hand in an arcing motion, the clouds of blood and gore that had gathered in the wake of Shuten''s march surged forward like a tsunami. The Yokaiprising his Night Parade immediately became frenzied, their forms bulging and twisting as the same carmine coloration in Shuten''s arm spread through their ranks. Undaunted by the sight of a veritable wall of flesh and blood surging toward her, the muscles of Kale''s body swelled to an almost ludicrous extent as she charged forward and released a mighty, heaven-shaking roar. Then, just as the various cameras captured the image of her leaning forward, the light exuding from her fur appeared to explode outward as her form disappeared from view. In its ce, a ruby-red streak could be seen piercing through the ranks of the Yokai army as a massive ripple could be seen surging across the invisible barrier surrounding the. Treating said barrier as a trampoline, Kale rebounded towards the Night Parade with even greater force than her initial charge, a maneuver that had effectively ''erased'' more than a dozen frenzied Yokai from existence. An effeminate man wearing a red kimono and a wedding veil attempted to intercept her, but, the moment his personal gourd surged forward to try and bite Kale''s shoulder, thetter smashed it away with a backhand before rewarding the surprised Oni with a meteoricriat. With more than enough force to level a from her Universe, Kale smashed her would-be attacker into the ground. Had the cameras been zoomed out, the spectators would have been able to witness the shifting several hundred meters as an explosive shockwave reminiscent of an extinction-level event rippled across the surface of the. Covering her face and body with her arms, Cauli was barely able to prevent herself from being swept away as much of the atmosphere was burned away by Kale''s attack. Fortunately, part of her training had focused on converting Ki into the vital energy necessary to sustain biological functions, so, even if she was punched into space, Cauli could survive for months on end without having to worry about food or water. Radiation was still an issue, but, so long as she made use of her [REquip] System and avoided flying aroundpletely naked, it wasn''t something she had to worry about. In an effort to clear away some of the dust that now filled the atmosphere, Cauli released a series of pulses from her body. At the same time, a fiery pink aura covered her from head to toe as each and every one of her cells generated their own microscopicyer of Ki. Observing the below, Cauli was unsurprised to find that all thend for hundreds, if not thousands of kilometers had simply been annihted. Kale''s attack had forced arge section of the''s crust into the mantle. As a result, much of the''s surface had been turned into a fiery, hellscape. From an outsider''s point of view, it was like someone had torn away arge chunk of the. "That woman seriously needs to learn how to hold back..." Though quite a number of people told her she needed to do the same, Cauli rarely took such advice to heart, as,pared to Kale, she may as well have perfect control. Thetter had nearly destroyed the very fabric of reality when she learned that Vahn had ''stolen'' her virginity. Thus, so long as Kale was around, Cauli could rest easy knowing she would never be the worst when it came to controlling both her anger and Ki... Just as Cauli was prepared to pull out her own locket, a convenient tool she could use to track Kale, a dome more than three hundred kilometers in diameter formed in the exposed mantle below. It was quite the terrifying sight to behold, but,pared to the cataclysmic scene that followed, it was soon forgotten by the countless observing the scene from outside the Game Board... Resentful of the fact that Kale had eliminated his closest friend andpanion before they even had the opportunity to y around, Shuten immediately transformed his body into a massive red Oni more than sixteen meters in height. The oversized gourd that had previously been strapped to his waist now appeared rtively small as he grasped it in his hand and aimed the mouth towards the surprisingly one-armed Kale, shouting, "Your suffering will be legendary...!" As arge plume of reddish-pink steam emerged from the stump of her rapidly regenerating left arm, Kale unleashed a pir of peculiar green energy that appeared to fill the heavens. In response, Shuten simply thumbed open his gourd. This was the cause of the mantle''s magma surging upward, as, the moment the cork was removed, a suction forceparable to a miniature ck hole began sucking up everything with impunity. At the same time, the toothy maw on the bottom of Shuten''s gourd opened up, a seemingly endless tide of wine-smelling blood surging into the atmosphere as it attempted to form a fleshy membrane around the entire. Sensing that something was amiss, Cauli used Instant Transmission to appear next to the fiercely smiling Shuten. The red-skinned Oni was briefly caught off guard by her sudden appearance, but, the moment her fist barreled towards his left cheek, the fiery red locks flowing away from his scalp like a mane immediately surged toward her as if they had a mind of their own. Thanks to her rudimentary mastery over Ultra Instinct/Autonomous Sovereign, Cauli was able to evade the entangling locks long before they could surround her. What she wasn''t prepared for was Shuten turning away from her, almost as if he was about to run away. Instead, he continued nearly 270 degrees, his right hand sweeping toward her in a backhand motion as the toothy maw near the base of his gourd stretched more than eight meters in diameter. Though the interior of the maw was pitch ck, an indescribably repugnant aroma of blood and wine assaulted Cauli''s senses as she attempted to escape using Instant Transmission. Her efforts were ultimately sessful, but, the moment she reappeared, the world in Cauli''s vision began to spin as an overwhelming feeling of drunkenness assaulted her mind. Even the essories prepared by Vahn didn''t help, as, much like the poison of the Nidhogg, the Blood Wine of Shuten possessed qualities that simply couldn''t be negated using conventional methods. Unable to maintain her focus, the aura protecting Cauli''s body faded away as she began falling towards the turbulent pool of magma below. Unfortunately, Shuten had no intention of letting her be eliminated from thepetition. His gourd possessed an ability that allowed him to imprison his enemies in a sub-dimensional space that would crush them under immense pressure without killing them. More terrifyingly, those sealed within would be prohibited from surrendering as the gourd was one of the many sources of Shuten''s power. As a result, anyone unlucky enough to be captured would be forced to remain inside for the duration of the Gift Game, their bodies crushed and squeezed under immense, irresistible pressure... Smiling viciously, Shuten attempted to scoop up the defenseless Cauli before she or Kale could recover from the effects of his Blood Wine. The maw on the bottom of his gourd stretched more than fifteen meters in diameter, but, just as it was enveloped the half-conscious Saiyaness, goose pimples spread across Shuten''s body as the pupils of his eyes shrank to the size of pinholes. Before the fiery-haired Oni could make heads or tails of what was happening, an overwhelming pressure assaulted him from every angle. From the perspective of the Casters and spectators, he appeared to suspend in ce before the entirety of his sixteen-meter frame was spontaneouslypressed to the size of a softball. Then, with one final contraction, the most vile and wicked of Japan''s Three Great Monsters was eliminated from thepetition. As for Cauli, she ended up being rescued by Kale long before her body got anywhere near the magma bubbling up from the mantle... ... .. Opening his eyes, a faint blue glow could be seen in the depths of Vahn''s pupils before promptly fading away. The aura exuding from Shuten''s body gave him a bad feeling, so, the moment he saw Cauli copse, he gave in and asked Loi-chan what the effects of the gourd were. Upon hearing Loi-chan''s exnation, an unbelievably frigid sensation spread through Vahn''s mind as his intent closed around the errant demon like a vice. This was immediately sensed by Fenrir and Mikoto, but, instead of saying anything, the duo simply nestled closer to him as he crushed the red-headed Oni using raw, unparalleled willpower. This caused several cameras to focus on him, but, as even the Central Network couldn''t trace his intent, no one knew for certain if he was the one to kill Shuten... ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Kale don''t y...'',''Suck-boi Shuten-doji...'',''O_O...'') https://bit.ly/2XBzAYu <-(p.atreon link) paypal.me/Einlion Discord Invite: https://discord.gg/Jwa8PKh Chapter 2209: Mischief Maker

Chapter 2209: Mischief Maker

Though she wasn''t sure how he had done it, seeing Vahn crush Shuten into nothingness caused a powerful chill to spread through Amaterasu''s body. For the first time since she decided to oppose him, the notion that he was far beyond anything she had ever encountered crossed her mind. "This doesn''t make any sensehow can someone be this powerful without" Before she could finish her statement, realization washed over Amaterasu''s mind as she muttered, "Shiroyasha" in a low, hissing tone. Simr to Vahn, Pure-Blooded Dragons, Vampires, and several other ludicrously powerful creatures, Shiroyasha had simply appeared out of nowhere one fateful day. Shortly after that, she managed to flip the entire Divine Realm on its head. Her power hadpletely transcended themon sense of the Little Garden, and, despite the protests of numerous Sun Gods and Goddesses, she managed to secure her ce as the ''original'' with extreme ease. Like her fellow Sun Deities, Amaterasu refused to believe that Shiroyasha was the temte that had inspired them all. Unfortunately, even if she wasn''t, the power wielded by the oppressively powerful Demoness had allowed her to make it a reality. Such was the nature of the Divine Realm. Recalling what little information she was able to gather on Vahn and the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, the notion he was a pawn acting at the behest of Shiroyasha was firmly nted in Amaterasu''s mind. It was the only thing that could exin how someone without a legend could possess such power. He had to be borrowing it from someone, or, at the very least, something else "Damnthat loli bitch yed us all for fools" Convinced that the present circumstances were entirely the result of Shiroyasha''s machinations, a vexed expression marred Amaterasu''s countenance. She could still recall, in vivid detail, her past encounter with the infamous Demon of the White Night. Back then, Shiroyasha''s only power was trajectory maniption. In spite of this, she was virtually untouchable as anything aimed toward her, even a person''s line of sight would simply deviate from its course. Recalling how Shiroyasha would taunt her every time her sword went off course, the color gradually drained from Amaterasu''s face. If Vahn possessed a simr ability, there was very little anyone could do to him. He could just remain seated on his throne, a carefree and roguish smile on his face as his opponents failed to influence him in any meaningful way "I seeit all makes sense now. The careless disregard he showed during the weeks leading up to this event, the challenge he issued to everyone participating, and his performance thus farhe is trying to cement the notion that he is ''untouchable'' in the hearts and minds of the Little Garden''s residents" Recalling how the members of the Rakshasa Tribe couldn''t strike Vahn even whilst seated atop hisp, Amaterasu found herself bitting the pointed nail of her thumb. The only time they were able to affect him in any way was when they showed no hostility. This implied there were conditions to his ability, but, at the same time, there was a very real possibility he could simply choose when people were able to affect him. Either way, the odds of defeating him in a direct encounter were decreasing with each and every moment he spent seated atop his throne . Though he was significantly less disturbed than Amaterasu, Indra, a handsome man that could pass as a distant rtive of Vahn, couldn''t help squinting his eyes the moment Shuten was destroyed. He was well acquainted with the capabilities of Japan''s Three Great Monsters, so, seeing a powerhouse on the level of Shuten defeated with such ease, a pensive expression gradually developed across his face. "So this is the man you have chosen" Closing his eyes, a nearly indiscernible sigh escaped from Indra''s throat. It wasn''t particrly well known, but, several hundred years ago, Indra had once pursued Shiroyasha as a potential consort. Her passion and vivaciousness had captivated countless people, but, as one of the few Gods fated to experience countless reincarnations, Indra was often the first to support individuals who sought to bring change to the Little Garden. While others opposed Vahn for fear of losing their positions and having their power stripped from them, Indra opposed him for purely personal reasons. He envied the former''s autonomy, and, now that he had all but confirmed there was ''something'' going on between Vahn and his ill-fated love, Indra couldn''t help begrudging him. He didn''t hate him. Far from it, in fact. After all, Shiroyasha had actually given him a chance, but, due to his fear of being forgotten, Indra had refused to relinquish his status and authority. Thus, while he was more than capable of begrudging Vahn, Indra couldn''t hate him for supporting the people he had failed If there was one thing Indra felt fully justified inining about, it was the ''careless regard'' Vahn had for his rtionships. Any man would be fortunate just to garner Shiroyasha''s intention, yet, as if he was some insatiable beast, Vahn surrounded himself with countless women. Most frustratingly of all, the women around him didn''t seem to mind. Rather, based on the information he had been able to obtain, many of the women surrounding Vahn felt fortunate just to be with him Exhaling a sigh, Indra ran his fingers through his silky, dark brown hair before directing his gaze at the ceiling above. As someone who had only ever loved a single women, he simply couldn''t fathom the dynamic between Vahn and the members of his harem. A growing part of him wished he could just drag the former off by his ear and give him a stern talking-to regarding theplexities of a woman''s heart. Unfortunately, as someone who had once created a female clone of himself due to a misguided belief that there was no woman worthy of his love, Indra didn''t think he was qualified to lecture others "How vexing" . Unaware of her Lord''s dilemma, Ahirani directed her children to continue making preparations to destroy the Sage Dragon''s Hearth''s. The report from Attutyaptish had given her cause for concern, but, upon realizing that Vahn wasn''t going to intervene, she elected to carry out her duty without pause. Though it took three hours and thebined efforts of more than three-hundred of their most powerful sorcerers, shamans, and alchemists, the ritual magic that would have caused the to copse and implode upon itself was well very nearpletion. Unfortunately for Ahirani, the machinations of one Community were rarely respected by another, so, while most of the groups that appeared made a quick getaway, others were spurred to action the moment they realized which they were on. The forces of Mount Huaguo, in particr, had been sent out to search for Vahn''s. Thus, shortly after a group of diminutive, mascot-like monkies appeared on the surface, the members of the Rakshasa Tribe could only stare nkly as a certain golden-haired monkey giarl appeared out of thin air, demanding, "What the hell is going on here!? Where''s Vahn!?" After recovering from their momentary stupor, one of the Eight Great Kings, a princely-looking man with short white hair, golden eyes, and regal attire approached Wu with all six of his hands raised in a catingly nonresistant gesture. Wu was one of the people they had been ordered to avoid at all costs, so, now that she had appeared, the man, better known as Rathobhos, stooped to one knee as he exined, "We are one of the raiding parties of the Tr??yastri1???a Community. We have been sent at the behest of our Lord to destroy the of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. May I inquire as to the reason for your presence here?" Surprising everyone present, Wu''s response was to whack Rathobhos atop his head using her Ruyi Jingu Bang. This drove the ashen-skinned individual into the ground like a nail, a visible indent atop his head as she shouted, "No one is allowed to beat Vahn except for me! Scram!" Without waiting for the group''s response, Wu extended her Ruyi Jing Bang before sweeping it in a wide arc towards thergest group of Rakshasa. Severan attempted to defend using their weapons and other armaments, but, with the exception of a few remarkably powerful individuals, everything in the path of Wu''s attack ended up being sent flying towards the horizon like a bunch of ragdolls. Realizing that Wu was beginning to rampage, one of the other kings, a man with bird-like legs and six wings attached to his arms attempted to strike her with his staff. With the exception of Ahirani, he was the most skilled at sealing amongst his entire race. Unfortunately, while he was sessful in his attempts to seal his target in a pyramid of inky ck energy, several additional Wu(s) promptly popped up out of nowhere "Ohthat''s no-" Before he could finish vocalizing his regrets, the winged King, known among his people as Ashvara, found himself reeling backward due to a barefooted dropkick to the face. Wu''s raw power was so legendary that the innate defenses of the Rakshasa Tribe members provided absolutely no defense against her onught. Even the Eight Great Kings were no exception to this, as, despite their status, there were actually a number of Rakshasa Tribe members more famous than them. One such individual was Shuvinraja, an inordinately short, thin, and effeminate-looking youth better known as the greatest swordsman in the Tr??yastri1???a Community. Unlike the majority of men in his tribe, Shuvinraja wasparably petite at only 165cm tall. This, coupled with the fact he possessed very little muscle mass and often wore his hair up in a neat ponytail had resulted in many mistaking him as a female in his youth. Topensate for this, he developed his own form of swordsmanship and honed his skills to the point that even the greatest warriors in his tribe would lower their heads in his presence. With three katana-like des in hand, Shuvinraja resembled a graceful ck and white phantom as he attempted to bifurocate one of Wu''s clones at the waist. His swords were B-Rank Gifts bestowed to him by Lord Indra himself, so, while he was well acquainted with the legends pertaining to Wu''s invulnerability, Shuvinraja refused to believe she could resist his de with mere flesh and bone. Though she was marginally surprised when someone appeared in her blind spot, Wu didn''t even flinch as she caught the seemingly unstoppable de with her bare hand and stated, "The Mantis stalks the Cicada" "Unaware of the Oriole Behind" Hearing the second voiceing from behind him, the stupefaction on Shuvinraja''s face turned to panic as he released the sword in Wu''s vice-like grip, spun around, and sliced through the empty air behind him. Theck of a Wu left him feeling indescribably disconcerted, but, before he could even begin to rationalize what had transpired, the monkey girl behind him promptly muttered, "Monkey Steals the Peaches of Immortality" . Though he knew Wu had been searching for him, even Vahn was surprised to see her rampaging among the members of the Rakshasa Tribe. In hindsight, he realized had severely underestimated just how ''overprotective'' she could be in regards to things she believed were hers. In this particr instance, the thing she wanted to protect was him, so, while he initially believed she had decided to participate just to y around, Vahn was now beginning to suspect Wu had different intentions ("This damned monkey girl is going to propose to me, isn''t she?") (*I''m not too sure a proposal is what she had in mind. Based on all avable data, I''m pretty sure her intentions are to y im'' to you in front of thergest crowd possible. After all, there is no way the ''Legendary Sun Wu Kong'' could be reduced to the position of someone''s wife. If anything, she would attempt to make you hers*) Imagining Wu kneeling before him with an engagement ring in hand, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he ran his fingers through his hair and muttered, "Someone needs a spanking" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Amaterasu is finally starting to realize how deep of a hole she has dug for herself'',''Oofhow can Indra be such a chad and such a simp at the same time?'',''Wu go hard'') (A/N: A storm swept through my area yesterday and knocked out the power for a few hours. Sorry for theck of updates.) Chapter 2210: Surprise

Chapter 2210: Surprise

Though they did their best to hold her off, it wasn''t long before the lesser members of the Rakshasa Tribe were ''wiped out'' as a result of Wu''s onught. None of them had been eliminated, but, unless they received medical attention and care, the odds of them waking within the next day or two were slim. Seeing wave after wave of her children sent flying, Ahirani could do little more than re at the rampaging monkey girl. She had tried to support them, but, no matter what anyone threw at her, Wu would just shake her head and shrug it off. Thus, less than forty minutes after Wu''s assault had begun, the only members of the Rakshasa Tribe left standing were Ahirani, her two guardians, and Attutyaptish. There were a few others, but, as far as the spectators were concerned, only these four had any chance of standing against Wu''s ''tyranny''. Brandishing her Ruyi Jingu Bang, Wu stared up at the trio of massive women ring at her with grim expressions on their faces. She also noticed Attutyaptish, but, sensing he wasn''t a threat, shergely ignored him as she directed her gaze at Ahirani and said, "You''re the leader of this motley group of ghosts, right? Why didn''t you order their retreat?" Inhaling a deep breath through her nose, Ahirani did her best to remain calm as she answered, "We, the Rakshasa, are forever indebted to Lord Indra. If he tasks us with an objective, we willattempt to see it through without fail" Though she had initially wanted to say they alwaysplete the tasks assigned them, the present situation would have contradicted such a im. At this point, the sess or failure of their mission depended entirely on Wu''s whims "Hmm" Scratching the back of her head, Wu took a moment to consider Ahirani''s words before ultimately shaking her head and saying, "It doesn''t matter. As I mentioned previously, the only person allowed to defeat Vahn is the Great Me, Sun Wu Kong. Brats like you simply aren''t qualified. Now, get out of my sight before I decide to pay your so-called Lord a visit." Furrowing her brows, Ahirani was prepared to unleash her most powerful attack when the familiar voice of her Lord entered her ears, saying, "Just fall back. Even if you had managed toplete the ritual magic formation, I doubt it would have had any effect. Order those that can still move to help those that can''t. Dhanvantari is on standby and waiting to treat them." Lowering her arms, Ahirani continued to stare at Wu for several seconds before nodding her head and saying, "Very well. We shall withdraw" in a reluctant tone. This earned her a brow raise from Wu, but, having already given the group the option to withdraw, she ultimately just shrugged her shoulders, replying, "Good for you." before vaulting towards the nearest teleportation nexus. Following Wu''s departure with her eyes, Ahirani was half-tempted to send a grudge-based attack at the retreating monkey''s back. Instead, she dutifully transmitted her Lord''s message before directing her guardians to retrieve those in critical condition. They were capable of storing and sealing things within their bodies, so, while they darted around like phantoms devouring ''corpses'' on a battlefield, Ahirani turned to Attutyaptish, asking, "What do you make of this development, Atty?" Shaking his head, a conflicted expression marred Attutyaptish''s feline visage as he answered, "There is clearly a connection between the Sage Dragon''s Hearth and the Jade Pce. Whether or not they have conspired against the other Communities remains to be seen. One thing we can be absolutely certain of is that the Sage Dragon, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, possesses incredible power. This is merely spection, but, even if we hadpleted the ritual, I doubt it would have had any effect" Exhaling a sigh, Ahirani''s body rapidly contracted until she was around 220cm tall. Then, with a look of considerable weariness on her face, she directed her scarlet eyes to the cloudy sky as she uttered, "I can''t keep doing this" Due to their proximity to one another, Attutyaptish''s sensitive, feline ears were able to pick up his mother''s hushed musings. Extreme guilt briefly marred his expression, but, soon thereafter, it was reced by grim resolution as he balled his paw-like hands into tiny fists and said, "Motherthere is something I failed to mention in my previous report" . Following the sound of an explosion, the metallic doors separating Vahn''s throne/control room from the adjacent antechamber were sent careening into the far wall with enough force to embed them into the surrounding stone walls. Shortly thereafter, Wu meandered into the room, a cheeky smile on her face as she briefly passed her honey-colored gaze over Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita. Before a fight could break out, Vahn sat up straight atop his throne, a faint smile on his face as he mused, "You really know how to make an entrance" Half-covering her mouth, Wu snickered in response to Vahn''s words before embedding her Ruyi Jingu Bang into the floor and stating, "There is something else I wanted to discuss but my main reason foring here is to ept your challenge. Now, are you going to get up or do I have to drag you off that throne by force?" Shrugging his shoulders, the corners of Vahn''s smile curled up as he replied, "You''re free to try" in a teasing, untroubled tone. This caused the smile on Wu''s face to turn notably more ferocious, but, instead of trying to attack him, she surprised everyone spectating by simply walking over, climbing onto hisp, and sitting with her back against his chest. Then, after making herselffortable, she turned her head to stare up at him, a provoking smile developing across her face as she teased, "My throne is better than yours" Though this was a little outside his expectations, Vahn wasn''t particrly surprised by Wu''s words and behavior. Instead, he sat a little straighter before raising his arms, palms turned upward in a manner that resembled armrests. Seemingly understanding his intentions, Wu immediately rested her arms atop his, palms turned downward as she linked their fingers and said, "Good boy" in the same teasing tone as before. Rolling his eyes, another pair of arms sprouted from behind Vahn''s back before promptly linking around Wu''s abdomen. This briefly caught her by surprise, but, as it wasn''t the first time he had sprouted additional limbs against her, the tensions in her body gradually rxed as she secretly snaked her tail into his tunic and asked, "Did you create an illusion?" Shaking his head, Vahn surprised Wu quite a bit by answering, "Nope. You''re the one that decided on this course of action. Now you reap what you sow" Inhaling a deep yet inaudible breath, the expression Wu''s face froze as the realization that billions, if not trillions of people would be observing and reviewing this particr moment in time. It wasn''t an exaggeration to say that history was being rewritten, as, depending on her next course of action, the way in which every person in the Little Garden viewed her was bound to change. It was kind of exciting Closing her legs for fear that the cameras might catch a glimpse of something they shouldn''t, Wu stared up at Vahn for several tense moments before dropping a veritable bombshell as she said, "I love you" in an uncharacteristically serious tone of voice. Surprised by the very public confession, the look of stupefaction on Vahn''s face was so extreme that it would soon be a ''meme'' amongst the people of the Little Garden. While it was remarkably easy to imagine Wu proposing to him as a sort of prank, Vahn had never suspected, not even for a single moment, that she would sincerely confess her feelings for him. The former would have made sense. After all, Wu had an overbearing, ostensibly tyrannical character. By confessing to him in this manner, she was exposing her vulnerable side, an aspect of her character that even he had only seen glimpses of, to the entire Divine Realm Satisfied by Vahn''s reaction, a cheeky smile developed across Wu''s face as she leaned the back of her head against his chest and closed her eyes. To the people observing the scene, she appeared to be restingfortably. In reality, her heart currently felt as though it was doing sommersaults in her chest. For the first time in her life, she was genuinely at a loss for words, so, instead of saying something that could potentially ruin the moment, she allowed her confession to linger in the vast and silent hall Noticing the rather prominent palpitations of Wu''s heart, the look of stupefaction on Vahn''s face gradually eased into an affectionate smile. He was still surprised, but, as Wu had clearly made her decision, he had no reason to hesitate. Instead, he held her lovingly in his embrace before kissing the top of her head and answering, "I love you too" . Seeing the scene y out overhead, Katana and Dagger, the two sisters Shoutcasting on behalf of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, found themselves at aplete loss for words. Fortunately, they were far from the only ones. In fact, with the exception of a few people who clearly had no idea who Wu was, everyone as far as the eye could see had fallen silent. Recovering a bit quicker than most, Katana promptly muted both her and her sister''s microphones before turning to thetter and shout-whispering, "Holy sh*t! Did this really just happen!? If so, this is the scoop of the fucking century!" Though she hadn''t recoveredpletely, the blue and ck-haired Dagger gradually came back to her senses when she heard her sister''s words. Then, despite thetter not asking, she extended her hand to give the fleshier bits of Katana''s waist a not-so-gentle pinch. Swatting her sister''s hand away, Katana shouted, "Wh-what the fuck!?" before ring at the still-dazed Dagger. In response, thetter offered an insincere smile as she exined, "I wanted to make sure this wasn''t a dream." Rubbing the spot where Dagger had pinched her, a vengeful look marred Katana''s face as she said, "If that was the case, you should have pinched yourself" Waving her hand in a dismissive manner, Dagger shamelessly rebutted, "Are you an idiot? You know I bruise easily. There''s no way in hell I''m going to pinch myself when I''m wearing a string top and a thong." Glowering in response to her sister''s words, Katana had to summon willpower she didn''t even know she possessed in order to resist pouncing on the blte and giving her a series of pinches "Finebe that wayI was originally going to introduce you to Vahn after the post-match interviews. Now you can go and eat a dick for all I care" Furrowing her brows, Dagger seemed to consider her sister''s words before ultimately shrugging her shoulders and asking, "Does it even matter at this point? If someone like Wu isying a im, there is no way people like us canpete. I don''t know about you, but I''d rather avoid having the Ruyi Jing Bang shoved up my ass" Though she was originally looking forward to meeting and potentially have a one-night stand with Vahn, Dagger wasn''t nearly as ''resolute'' as her younger sister. She also had aspirations to be a Poet, but, unlike Katana, she was content publishing the stories of people in the 6 and 7-Digit Gates. Not every Poet aspired to write and influence the legends of Gods Clicking her tongue, Katana had to take several deep breaths to suppress her growing desire to smack Dagger''s head. As she was unaware of her ''tangential encounters'' with Vahn, she had been nning to use the bustier blte to try and entice her quarry into a threesome. Her chances of sess were slim when Dagger was still on board. Now that she had all but given up, the odds of Vahn tending her garden or turning her soil had diminished considerably "Damn traitor" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Wu be like, "Git"'',''Wu used Charm. It''s super effective!'',''Katana is a very ''ambitious'' young woman xD'') Chapter 2211: Actions and Consequences

Chapter 2211: Actions and Consequences

"What are you thinking about?" With Wu remaining silent even after his reciprocative confession, Vahn eventually gave in to the urge to ask what she was thinking about. In response, the petite monkey girl simply smiled before discreetly flexing the muscles of her pert and exceptionally toned bottom. "" Returning a smile of his own, Vahn attempted to decipher the meaning behind Wu''s actions by observing the state of her body and aura. In the end, the conclusion he came to was that she simply didn''t know what to say or do. He could sense that she was extremely giddy, but, a stark contrast to her usual self, she appeared reserved and calm. (*This is rather unexpectedshe appears to be letting you dictate how things develop*) Having reached a simr conclusion, the corners of Vahn''s smile briefly curled upward as he cast an illusory barrier over the entire throne room. Then, just to be sure, he strengthened his hold on Wu''s body and asked, "Are you sure about this?" Sensing the changes in her surroundings, Wu remained silent for several seconds before looking up at Vahn and answering, "I wasnow that you''re asking, I''m starting to have doubts. Are you usually this indecisive?" Shaking his head, Vahn moved one of his hands to gently caress Wu''s abdomen as he exined, "If my previous reaction hadn''t made it clear, I never expected you toe out like this. I''m extremely happy, but, at the same time, it feels like my ns have been derailed a bitI sort of had something different in mind when I hosted this Gift Game" Though she briefly tensed when Vahn shifted his hand to her abdomen, it didn''t even take a second for Wu topletely rx in his arms. She even ced one of her own hands over his, a contented smile developing across her face as she softly replied, "Yeahto be honest, I hadn''t actually thought things through before pressuring the old man to let me participate. It''s justMount Huaguo has felt strangely lonely ever since you installed the teleportation ward" Resisting the urge to ask why she didn''t juste and visit whenever she was feeling lonely, Vahn continued to caress Wu''s abdomen until most of the cameras focusing on them naturally gravitated to other scenes. As groundbreaking as Wu''s confession was, watching the two of them sit in silence wasn''t particrly interesting. Thus, after observing them for the better part of ten minutes, most of the perspectives focusing on them simply shifted to other, more exciting scenes. In spite of their increasing privacy, Vahn strengthened the illusory barrier surrounding himself and Wu before muttering, "I see" in a soothing, affectionden tone. Then, as his fingers traced over the golden buckle keeping her belt fastened around her waist, he added, "I will give you a choice, Wuyou can either tell me what you want or leave everything to me. Just know that if you choose thetter, there is a good chance I''ll spoil you rotten" Amused by Vahn''s words of warning, a yful snicker emanated from Wu''s throat as she allowed her body to go limp in his embrace. This wasn''t exactly the answer Vahn was looking for, but, after a moment of silence, he decided to just go with the flow as he scooped her unresisting body into his arms, gently cradling her as he whispered, "So be it" . Though she wasn''t privy to what was going on behind the illusion Vahn had created, the sight of Wu seated atop hisp was enough to make Amaterasu feel anemic. She was already beginning to regret picking a fight with the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Now that Vahn had someone as troublesome as Wu on his side, Amaterasu wanted nothing more than the opportunity to go back in time and beat up her past self Unfortunately, even if she had realized the error of her ways, Amaterasu''s pride wouldn''t allow her to backpedal. This was a battle she had proactively sought, so, until the dust had settled, she would do everything her power to emerge victoriously. At the very least, she needed to take measures to ensure the standing of Kotoamatsukami wasn''t irreversiblypromised as a result of her actions. With this in mind, the color of Amaterasu''s eyes shifted from a fiery violet to a pure, amber-esque hue. Immediately thereafter, she rose from her throne, a majestic and luminous aura exuding from her body as she coldly muttered, "Vahn MasonI don''t know if you''re listening, but, if you are, know that I, Amaterasu ??mikami have acknowledged your power and supremacy. The Kotoamatsukami will no longer oppose the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. In exchange, I ask that you not intervene as I take steps to ensure my Community is not brought to ruin" Not expecting an answer, Amaterasu followed her statement by manifesting her sword, a legendary de known simply as Eclipse. Before she could take a step forward, however, illusory kanji formed from mes appeared less than a meter away from her, stating: "You touched my bottom line when you ced my children in jeopardy. I have no problem sparing you, but, unless you abandon the game here and now, expect to receive some form of punishment. This has nothing to do with holding a grudge; actions have consequences." Seeing the illusory kanji, the golden coloration of Amaterasu''s eyes briefly waned as her previously around pupils contracted into thin, cat-like slits. The knuckles of her left hand, the hand holding her katana, promptly became pure white, and, though she did her best to appear calm andposed, the vulpine ears atop her head began to twitch as a result of her frustration . Feeling a familiar warmth spreading through her mind and body, Cauli opened her eyes with the expectation that Vahn would be near. Instead, she found herself seated half-naked atop a partially destroyed throne. The only other person present was Kale, who, after tuckering herself out, decided to curl up near Cauli''s feet and get some rest. Seeing her loyalpanion sleeping peacefully on the ground, a soft but clearly exasperated sigh escaped Cauli''s throat as she attempted to recall what had transpired prior to her copse. Thest thing she recalled was feeling extremely nauseous as an overwhelming, sweltering heat began to pervade her body. After that, she hadpletely cked out "Vahn must have done something" Though there was a chance Kale hade to her rescue, the rejuvenating warmth permeating her body led Cauli to believe Vahn had intervened. This left her feeling somewhat bitter, but, at the same time, a smile developed across her face as she muttered, "Looks like I''ll need to ''reward'' him once things calm down. I wonder if there are any positions he hasn''t tried yet?" Seemingly in response to the sound of Cauli''s voice, Kale''s brows began to twitch before she ultimately opened her eyes and sat up. For a brief moment, a look of confusion marred her face. Upon seeing Cauli, however, tears began to swell in the corners of her eyes as Kale practically pounced on the wryly smiling Saiyaness, shouting, "Ane-saaaaaan!" in a sobbing tone. Suppressing a sigh, Cauli dutifully wrapped her arms around Kale''s body as thetter nestled into her chest and began to sob. This was the one aspect of Kale''s temperament that she genuinely despised, but, havinge to terms with it long ago, Cauli epted the woman''s smothering, overly emotional ministrations with a smile. "There, thereas you can see, I''m perfectly fine. Make sure to thank Vahn once we get back, okay?" Hearing Cauli mention Vahn, a low groan emanated from Kale''s throat as her sobbing gradually began to wane. She ''really'' didn''t want to have to thank Vahn, but, after a moment of deliberation, she realized it was probably the right thing to do. She just hated the fact that she was always being indebted to him "Okay" Nodding her head in approval, Cauli ran her fingers through Kale''s long, paradoxically smooth yet spiky ck hair. Her hairband had been destroyed when she began tapping into her power as the Legendary Super Saiyan, so, while she normally kept it tied up in a high ponytail, Kale''s current hairstyle greatly resembled the mother of Goku, Gine. Thinking of the petite Saiyaness, it wasn''t long before Cauli''s mind wandered to Goku, and, as a result, Broly. She didn''t want to admit it, but, had the two of them been present, they likely would have been able to seize victory without Vahn''s help. Such realizations made Cauli feel more than a little bitter, but, instead of letting it show, she adopted a tantalizing smile as she raised Kale''s chin and asked, "You ready to run rampanttogether?" Understanding the meaning behind Cauli''s words, Kale''s nostrils began to re noticeably as she excitedly replied, "Of course! To be one with Ane-santhere is nothing I desire more!" Chuckling in response to Kale''s vigor, Cauli grabbed the sides of her face before leaning down to give the overly excited Saiyaness a kiss. Vahn had given them the ability to perform a Potara Fusion without the need for Potara Earrings. The only caveat was that the fusion could only be undone by him, and, as per Cauli''s request, the method mandated a fair amount of debauchery Following a not-so-chaste kiss, a blinding, bluish-white light enveloped the bodies of Kale and Cauli. When it faded, a lithe yet remarkably toned woman with the characteristics of both Saiyanesses appeared atop the throne Cauli had previously been seated upon. Then, despite the fact she wasn''t even trying to output any power, the surrounding throne room began to tremble as the metalprising the throne began to slowly bend and buckle toward her, almost as if it was being drawn by a powerful gravitational force. Staring at her outstretched palms, a predatory smile developed across the fused Saiyaness''s face as she mused, "I seriously love this feeling" in a voice that resembled two women speaking in perfect synchrony. As the dominant personality, Cauli was the main consciousness in control whenever she and Kale fused into the being known as Ke. This allowed Cauli to experience what it was like to possess Kale''s truly unlimited potential. It was an incredibly intoxicating feeling, and, were it not for the fact she wanted to obtain such strength on her own, Cauli may have wanted to stay fused indefinitely. Kale certainly wouldn''t mind Pulling out an incredibly durable scrunchie, Ke took a moment to tie up her unruly hair before rolling her shoulders and popping her neck with a loud, satisfying pop. The area around her had already started to dissolve as a result of her ever-increasing energy, but, the moment the cracking sound emanated through the hall, it was like an invisible explosion had been triggered. As a result, even the near-indestructible throne behind her was reduced to molten g as she slouched over, hands sped into fists as she released a loud, empowering shout . Though people with the power to destroys weren''t particrly rare within the Little Garden, watching a violently explode was always a humbling experience. Those that bore witness to such a scene rarely cheered. Instead, they were forced to stare in silence as a wave of existentialism washed over them. After all,pared to an entire, their existences were minute to the point of being inconsequential. Thus, while they were excited by the destruction of the first, most of the Little Garden''s residents watched on in stunned silence as they resolved themselves never to oppose the Sage Dragon''s Hearth . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''When ites to pampering, Vahn may as well be a God (U w U)'',''When will you people learnwhen will you learn that your actions have consequences!?'',''A Legendary Super Saiyan with the mind, prowess, and ambition of a prodigytoo spooky'') Chapter 2212: Shamelessness

Chapter 2212: Shamelessness

Observing the sun''s gradual disappearance over the horizon, Kenshin pulled out a device used to keep time, saying, "It appears Musashi will not be returning" Hearing Kenshin''s remark, Amaterasu''s shimmering golden eyes briefly passed over her before returning to the hearth she and Tamamo had gathered around for warmth. She wasn''t very good at making casual conversation, so, while she was originally going to tell Kenshin to stop worrying over nothing, she ultimately decided against it. Noticing her counterpart''s behavior, a bell-like giggle emanated from Tamamo''s throat before she promptly pounced to her feet and approached Kenshin''s side. Shifting her attention to the approaching fox girl, Kenshin was taken aback when Tamamo suddenly hugged her from behind. Fortunately, she was a long-time member of Nobu''s Alcohol Appreciation Society, so, while she was marginally surprised by Tamamo''s sudden closeness, she was intimately familiar with having her personal space vited by others. "Tamamosan?" Ignoring Kenshin''s confused query, Tamamo pressed her face into the former''s surprisingly soft and silky hair. She had actually expected Kenshin''s peculiar ck and white hair to be somewhat coarse. Instead, it was nearly as smooth as her own Venturing as to the reason, Tamamo gently caressed Kenshin''s remarkably toned abdomen as she asked, "Does our beloved husband help tob your hair?" Instead of responding to Tamamo''s question, Kenshin stared down at where the vulpine woman''s long and slender fingers were tracing around her navel. Until now, she had rarely ever interacted with Tamamo. Thus, while she was used to receiving this kind of treatment from Nobu, she didn''t know what to make of it when someone she barely even knew was taking liberties with her body Though she could sense Kenshin''s confusion, Tamamo didn''t cease her actions. The dichromatic beauty had worn a ck bikini with the intention of garnering attention during the Gift Game, so, while Tamamo knew very little about the legendary swordswoman, she feltpelled to ''assist'' her on Vahn''s behalf. "Your body is tense with stress and anxietyI can feel it in your muscles. What say you join me for a drink? Though it would be more appropriate to have you serve me, I don''t mindpensating you for your dutiful service" Exhaling a sigh, Kenshin resisted the almost instinctual urge to refuse Tamamo''s proposition. They would be working together until the end of the Gift Game, so, while she didn''t think it was a good idea to get drunk, she didn''t want to be the reason for needless tensions within their group. Besides, if Nobu had been present, she would have been drunk and yed to death hours ago "Very well" Having anticipated that Kenshin would put up more of a fight, Tamamo was somewhat surprised by her prompt acquiescence. Instead of letting it show on her face, however, she simply giggled before grabbing Kenshin''s surprisingly firm bicep and guiding her over to their encampment. Then, for the remainder of the evening, she poured Kenshin quite a number of drinks before ultimately lending a thigh pillow to the surprisingly affectionate drunk . With her counterpart failing to appear during the day, Musashi, half-drunk eventually retreated to thefort of her cottage. Unsurprisingly, the interior of the cottage was much, much bigger than the exterior. There was also an attached bathhouse, so, after a moment of consideration, Musashi decided she would warm her body and calm her mind in its fragrant waters. While others may have been cowed by the possibility of billions of people watching them bathe, Musashi had never been particrly shy. She also had absolute trust in Vahn, or, more specifically, his overprotective nature. Even if she enjoyed a long bath and decided to sleeppletely naked, she doubted the audience would be privy to anything they shouldn''t. With this in mind, Musashi stripped out of her gloves before removing her vest, belt, and, once everything else was removed, her bikini. This left her with red and blue stars covering her nipples, and, though it was imperceptible to the people boring holes into her from outside the Game Board, there was a striped, red, white, and blue talisman protecting herher region. Peeling said stickers away, Musashi was preparing to enter the bath when a secondary presence entered her perception. For a moment so short that it was impossible to quantify, every muscle in Musashi''s body tensed. Instead of manifesting her Zanpakuto or activating her [REquip] system, however, she shifted her attention to the entrance of the changing room and asked, "Is the me of the Divine Realm an assassin and a voyeur? If so, it''s no wonder the Divine Realm''s Kenshin is the strongest swordswoman" Halfway through Musashi''s statement, a distinctly eastern-looking woman with fair brown skin, long ck hair, and obsidian-ck eyes appeared out of thin air. Instead of responding to her counterpart''s taunt, Musashi ck''s eyes focused exclusively on Pink''s breasts. She didn''t consider herself small, but,pared to herparably bubbly counterpart, the difference was like the distance between Heaven and Earth. "Was your mother a cow?" Raising her brows, an amused glimmer shed across Musashi Pink''s Empyrean Eyes as she asked, "Are you serious? I never expected any version of myself to rely on such base insults to try and rile an opponent up. A word of warning. If you ever square off against Vahn, you would do well to avoid saying things like that. He doesn''t take kindly to people who insult his, or anyone''s mother." "" As her words weren''t actually meant as an insult, Musashi ck was momentarily taken aback by Pink''s statement. She just couldn''t quite believe that Musashi Pink''s breasts were real. She also had serious doubts regarding the woman''s nationality, so, after an inordinately long moment of silence, she asked, "Were you truly born in the East? Yourplexion, hair color, and physique don''t exactly inspire notions of a traditional Japanese beauty" Shrugging her shoulders, Musashi Pink made no effort to conceal her body as she puffed out her chest and stated, "I guess I''m just special like that. Now, mind telling me why you waited until now toe out? I waited on that cliff all day for you to appear. Don''t tell me you were waiting for me to ''lower my guard''. If so, you seriously don''t deserve that name and title." Snorting through her nose, Musashi ck removed the horned Kasa from her head before pulling at the cord keeping her feathery poncho in ce. The umon garment dropped to the ground without producing so much as a single sound. At the same time, Musashi ck exined, "I spent the past few hours observing you. The spectators outside might use me of cheating if I attacked a drunkard so I decided to wait until you had sobered up before defeating you." While providing her exnation, Musashi ck continued to undress as if it waspletely natural. This earned her an incredulous and slightly amused look from Pink, who, after a moment of silence, ended up crossing her arms beneath her borderline E-Cup breasts and asking, "You''ve got a couple of screws loose, don''tcha?" Returning a questioning look of her own, Musashi ck loosened her ashen-grey kimono before answering, "That''s pretty riching from a woman who spent half the day drinking and lounging about in enemy territory. You''re clearly not taking this seriously so whyshould I?" Noticing Musashi Pink staring at her breasts with a cheeky smile on her face, the expression on ck''s quickly darkened as her words slowly trailed off. For a brief moment, she was tempted to cut Pink into twelve distinct chunks. Unfortunately, the people of the Little Garden would never forgive her for such a thing, so, after clenching her teeth a few times to calm down, ck asked, "What are you looking at?" Adopting an even cheekier smile, Musashi Pink could barely contain her amusement as she pointed towards the bindings around ck''s chest and exined, "No need to get your panties in a bunch. I just never expected you to be such atraditionalist? I swear, if you remove your hakama and reveal a pair of fundoshi, I may justugh myself to death." As modern and even futuristic alternatives were readily avable, Musashi Pink hadn''t expected her Divine Realm counterpart to be wearing a sarashi. It was such a dated piece of clothing, and, more importantly, it was ''extremely'' ufortable. After all, a sarashi was, more often than not, a simple cotton cloth. It was excellent for holding the breasts in ce, but, at the same time, it restricted the wearer''s breathing and chaffed like no tomorrow. Though it was nearly indistinguishable, a faint blush crept into Musashi ck''s cheeks as a sudden and intense desire to remain clothed surfaced within her mind. The truth of the matter was that she was actually quite poor as Amaterasu forced her to providepensation whenever she ended up cutting people down or damaging public property. Thus, while her outerwear and equipment were of exceptional quality, she had never paid much attention to her innerwear Inhaling through her nose, Musashi ck loosened the belt of her hakama. Before the ashen-grey cloth could even reach the ground, a massive grin spread across Musashi Pink''s face as she began tough without inhibition. After all, Musashi ck was, in fact, wearing a fundoshi. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Musashi ck did her best to ignore Pink''sughter as she folded her clothes into a neat pile. Were it not for the fact her reputation and power would be adversely affected if she took immediate action against the bothersome pinkette, she would have already cut her down. This was one of the more annoying aspects of the Divine Realm, as, due to Musashi Pink''s inordinate beauty, she was automatically the crowd favorite. Musashi ck could defeat her, but, instead of securing her position as the True Musashi, people would resent her for taking away their eye candy Though it frustrated her to no end, Musashi ck knew she had to do ''something'' to sway public opinion in her favor. Fortunately, while she was somewhat embarrassed by Musashi Pink''sughter, she was simrly without shame. She didn''t care if everyone in the Divine Realm saw her naked, as, even if they pined after and adored her, they would never be able to approach her. Those that tried would invariably be cut down, so, after unwrapping her sarashi and removing her fundoshi, Musashi ck turned to Pink, brows raised as she asked, "What were you saying about being a voyeur?" Demonstrating considerably less shame than her raven-haired counterpart, Musashi Pink simply shrugged her shoulders before stating, "I''m stripping down and nning to take a bath in front of tens, if not hundreds of billions of viewers. I couldn''t care less if they or anyone else thought I was a voyeur. Besides, this is my cabin. You invited yourself inside and decided to put on a show without asking for my permission or consent. Don''t me me for appreciating the view when you''re readily unting that perky little ass of yours." Not expecting such a ''crude'' response, Musashi ck waspletely taken aback by Pink''s words. Her body becamepletely statuesque, and, though she still didn''t care if people saw her naked, she felt a strange sense of anxiety washing over her when Pink implied she was unting her figure in an effort to appeal to others. While this wasn''t far off, the truth of the matter was that she hadn''t actually thought about it. She just knew she had to do something to try and even the ying field against the pink-haired vixen that shared her name While the cameras may not have noticed it, Musashi Pink was able to see the muscles in ck''s body tense. The smile on her face became even more amused, but, rather than continuing to apply pressure on the raven-haired woman, Musashi Pink turned her back and gracefully meandered over to the bath. Pushing ck''s buttons was incredibly amusing, but, as much as she enjoyed observing the surprisingly conservative samurai''s reactions, she would rather warm her body in the bath than continue standing around in the buff . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Tamamo has excellent maternal instincts (U w U)'',''I can imagine people in thements section being like, "I want to be those stickers"'',''Pink regrly drinks with Nobu. ck never stood a chance xD'') Chapter 2213: Tensions: Relaxation

Chapter 2213: Tensions: Rxation

After fooling around and spending a bit of time observing other groups, Wu, seemingly recalling the reason for her visit, asked, "What did you do with that Yamamoto Kazuya fe? Knowing you, you must have done something." Nodding his head, Vahn waved his hand towards one of the nine disys he and Wu had been using to peruse others. Shortly thereafter, the image of Yamamoto Kazuya sitting alone in the middle of an empty room came into view. At a nce, there wasn''t anything wrong with him. He didn''t have any visible injuries, and, while his face had be noticeably gaunt, his skin still had a healthy brown glow. It was only when they looked closer that an observer would realize there was absolutely no light in his sole, visible eye. He was just staring off into nothingness, his eyepletely out of focus as he sat slouched and alone in the middle of an otherwise empty room. Seeing the sight, a marginally surprised expression marred Wu''s face as she remarked, "Wow. You never struck me as the type to ''break'' people. What did you do to him?" Shaking his head, Vahn''s eyes remained clear and tranquil as he exined, "In truth, I didn''t really do anything. I did create an illusion that would allow him to experience what it was like to be on the receiving end of his sadistic tendencies. However, the suffering he was made to endure was a direct result of his personal views and expectations. In other words, he was forced to experience what he genuinely believed the women he had victimized experienced" Since she wouldn''t understand the reference, Vahn didn''t bother to exin that the technique he used was effectively a modified version of the Izanami from the Record of Naruto. It forced Kazuya to experience a seemingly endless loop that would only end once he epted that his actions were wrong and wholeheartedly resolved himself to repent. Until then, he would remain a prisoner within his own mind. Recalling what she had heard about Kazuya, Wu didn''t feel that Vahn''s actions were too extreme. If she knew about the specifics of the technique, she would actually think that Vahn was being rather lenient. After all, as terrifying as the notion of being forced to endure all the suffering you had met out to others was, it was still just an illusion. Kazuya might experience a mental breakdown, but, so long as he was given time, he would eventually recover. That was more than could be said for many of his victims Seeing how Vahn was able to influence yers and keep track of everything that was taking ce, Wu decided to ask the question at the very forefront of her mind, specifically, "So, how much longer are you going to keep ying around? I get that you''re trying to give those brats a chance to show off, but is it really necessary? I mean, so long as you''re able to convince people of your power and authority, the power of those around you is all but guaranteed." Shaking his head a second time, Vahn yfully caressed the underside of Wu''s chin as he asked, "For what reason did you choose to participate in this Gift Game?" Though she was tempted to remind him of her previous confession, the truth of the matter was that Wu hadn''t nned to juste out and profess her love. It was aplete spur of the moment, a decision she had made less than a second before the words actually parted her lips. Before that, she just wanted to mess around and have a bit of fun. As that thought crossed her mind, Wu understood what Vahn was trying to say. This Gift Game was exactly that, a game. The end result had never truly mattered. It was just an opportunity to cut loose and have a bit of fun. More specifically, Vahn was giving the people he cared about a chance to y around before he stepped in and resolved everything in one fell swoop. "You really do enjoy spoiling your women, don''t you?" Shrugging his shoulders in a carefree manner, an affectionate smile developed across Vahn''s face as he answered, "I''m a lucky guy. I''m surrounded by exceptionally beautiful, intelligent, and genuinely intriguing women. If I didn''t make a concerted effort to keep them happy, I feel as though the envy of countless men and women would consolidate into some kind of supernatural lightning to strike me down" Imagining the scene of countless bolts of lightning striking Vahn without effect, an impish snicker emanated from Wu''s throat before she nestled a little closer to him and muttered, "At least you''re aware of your fortune. Do you have any idea how many fools have tried to approach and woo me over the years? Someone could win a thousand lotteries in a row and never be this lucky" Punctuating her statement, Wu ced Vahn''s hand on her exposed abdomen before tensing her muscles and causing a veritable deluge of viscous white fluid to erupt from where they were still connected. Part of their ''fooling around'' had involved a rather intense and passionate session of lovemaking. Things had originally started off with Vahn gently caressing her and hand-feeding her various fruits. This was a pleasant experience, but, after being passive for several hours, Wu began feeling restless. In the end, she ended up ''attacking'' Vahn, her assault continuing for the better part of an hour before the tensions in her body began to wane. Seeing Vahn''s semen dissolve into nothingness the moment it erupted from her body, Wu briefly forgot what she was going to say. There was something strangely disconcerting about seeing the energy-rich liquid disappearing into thin air. She had never thought she would be fond of having someone release their seed inside of her, but, after feeling the immense energy contained within, Wu had be addicted to the feeling of having Vahn pry her open and coat her insides. It was one of the most invigorating things she had ever experienced. Suppressing such notions, Wu lifted her feet so that they were resting on Vahn''s knees before hitting his chest with the back of her head. She wanted him to verbally acknowledge her previous statement so that she could ''reward'' him for his obedience. In reality, she was just feeling restless after a brief period of inactivity. She may not have cared if they were just lounging about, but, with Vahn''s penis stretching out her insides, Wu found it very difficult to remain calm. Though he understood what the mischievous monkey girl wanted, a teasing smile developed across Vahn''s face as he gently probed her navel with his middle finger. At the same time, he raised his left hand to cup her right breast, lightly squeezing as he softly mused, "I am remarkably fortunate. That much is certain. In this-" "Don''t say it" Understanding what Vahn was about to say, a faint blush developed across Wu''s face as she turned her head to the side. She knew she was the one that had basically forced herself on him, but, for the sake of her pride, she would rather pretend it was all part of some scheme he had concocted to win her heart. Her previous confession may have been her true feelings but she had yet to reconcile the truth with her perception of self and the sense of obligation she felt towards the Jade Emperor and Lady Xiwangmu. They had already given her their blessing, but, due to her nature, it was difficult for her to actually ept it Instead of responding to Wu with words, Vahn simply kissed the top of her head before proceeding to massage her abdomen. All of the tension in her body gradually waned, and, though she was still a little shaken, Vahn could tell from Wu''s aura that she was quickly getting back into the mood. She began swaying her hips from side to side, and, after a while, she used the leverage she had gained from cing her feet on his knees to raise her hips and roll her belly in a manner that resembled an exceptionally skilled dancer . Hearing the sound of water being disturbed, Musashi Pink opened her eyes to find her raven-haired counterpart entering the onsen a few meters to her left. Thetter noticed her gaze, but, instead of saying anything, she allowed her body to sink into the murky, mineral-rich water until it had crested her breasts. Exhaling a contented sigh, ck reclined against the smooth stone border encircling the artificial hot spring before muttering, "This is a good onsen" Nodding her head in approval, Pink remarked, "Vahn has always had a great appreciation for baths and hot springs" before nudging a bamboo tform filled with various types of sake towards her archnemesis. ck gave the numerous bottles a suspicious look, but, shortly thereafter, she ended up grabbing one of therger containers and downing half the contents in one go. Though she didn''t immediately notice the vor, Musashi ck''s eyes widened when she realized the quality of the drink in her hand. A wave of regret immediately washed over her, but, seeing five more containers sitting atop the bamboo tform, a steamy sigh of relief escaped her throat as she huskily noted, "Even better sake" Seeing ck move the bamboo tform to the far side of her body, an amused chuckle emanated from Pink''s throat as she stated, "It''ll take more than stealing cheap sake to set me off. Here, watch this" pping her hands together as though she was about to offer up a prayer at a shrine, Musashi Pink adopted a ''serious'' expression as she said, "Oh great and powerful Vahn-sama, please bestow upon this lowly one a bounty of delicious food and drink." Immediately following Pink''s words, a muchrger floating tform appeared at her side. Situated on top were several bottles of sake, a te of crispy chicken skin, some pickled wasabi, and arge dish garnished with fried potatoes and cheese. More importantly, these were all dishes prepared by Rindo, so, the moment they appeared, an indescribably salivating aroma permeated the entire bath as Pink rubbed her hands together and said, "Thanks for the meal~!" Seeing her counterpart dig into the unbelievably fragrant dishes, a ravenous glimmer shed across ck''s eyes. Good sake needed no apaniment, but, if given the option, she would much rather have something to snack on than continue drinking on an empty stomach. Pink''s mention of ''cheap sake'' had also caught her attention, so, while it was difficult to imagine something better than what she had previously stolen, ck couldn''t help eyeing the ceramic bottles atop the second tray Noticing ck''s voracious gaze, Pink wriggled her brows in a yfully provocative manner before asking, "What are you looking at? If you want something to eat, ask Vahn. You''re already intruding. No reason to be polite now." Furrowing her brows, ck appeared to be contemting her response as she stared directly into Pink''s eyes. She got the impression thetter was messing with her, but, at the same time, she felt that Vahn would really provide her with food and drink if she asked for it. The self-proimed God was clearly spying on them, and, based on their previous interactions, it seemed like something he would do As ck was attempting to make up her mind, a faint yet clearly audible gurgling sound echoed through the bath. A bit of color immediately drained from her face, but, thanks to the heat of the bath, it was impossible to make out unless you were looking ''very'' closely. Seeing the corners of Pink''s smile curl upward, a half-scowl developed across ck''s face as she attempted to cover her embarrassment by pping her hands together and performing the same ''ritual'' as the former. She was immediately rewarded with her own tray of snacks, but, located next to the te of fried chicken skins was a folded piece of paper. Upon reading it, ck''s expression darkened as she looked towards Pink and threatened, "You''re pushing your luck" Smiling even wider, another soft chuckle emanated from Pink''s throat as she lowered her body into the water and mused, "What? I never said you had to pray or perform a ritual. You decided that on your own" Though she was tempted to summon her swords and cut Pink down, the fragrant aroma wafting off the food allowed ck to remain calm. She was also worried that the sake might be taken from her, so, after ring at Pink for several seconds, ck eventually just shook her head before grabbing a piece of fried chicken skin using her bare fingers and throwing it into her mouth . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Izanami op'',''Wu is kind of cute (O w O)'',''And then she joined the Sage Dragon''s Hearth'') Chapter 2214: Rampage

Chapter 2214: Rampage

Despite a concerted effort to reach the core as quickly as possible, Nobu, Okita, and Tomoe had only managed to breach thirty-nine of the offensive satellites fifty levels by the dawn of the second day. They had attempted to push into the fortieth floor, but, shortly after they ventured inside, they had to contend against one of Da Vinci''s inventions and a sneak attack from an enemy Community. Though she had activated her Bankai and Susanoo, Nobu was unable to prate the defenses of the 40th Floor''s Guardian. During that time, a female assassin, presumably belonging to the Akuma or Kotoamatsukami Communities, attempted to stab Tomoe through the liver and heart. Okita was quick to repel her, but, even after slicing the woman from crown to crotch, the ruby-eyed assant simply staggered for a moment before leaping backward and sinking into a shadow. With Okita''s exceptional mastery of Sword Laws, the only thing that could exin her opponent''s survival was her possession of a unique constitution. Her ability to submerge into shadows implied an affinity with darkness, but, without observing her over a longer period of time, they couldn''t be certain. All they knew was that they were no longer alone and that their opponent could maneuver through what Da Vinci referred to as the Shadow Axis, a sub-dimensional ne between the Axis of Reality and the Void. As much as she wanted to advance, Nobu was exhausted after several consecutive activations of her Mangekyou Sharingan. The only things keeping her going were her pride, her obstinance, and the food provided by Rindo. Attempting to push ahead when she was on the verge of copse was just asking for an assassin to finish her off, so, after posting up skeletal soldiers at each entrance to the 40th Floor, Nobu gave the order to make camp "I swear to Vahn. If that bitch isn''t the hottest piece of ass this side of the Divine Realm, I''m going to pluck her eyes out and consume them alongside my sake" Punctuating her words, Nobu chugged nearly a liter of scalding hot green tea just to suppress her desire to drink a bottle of sake. She didn''t mind when Vahn did it, but, whenever an enemy attempted to attack her from behind, Nobu couldn''t help feeling frustrated. Though she understood the importance of taking advantage of every opportunity to defeat a more powerful opponent, Nobu could be pretty self-centered in her ideologies. She would readily snipe a powerful foe from their blind spot, but, the moment someone began targetting hers, she resented them with every fiber of her being. Frowning in response to Nobu''s words, a conflicted expression marred Tomoe''s face as she said, "I would advise against such a brutal course of action. As one of Vahn-sama''s Empresses, you should carry yourself with greater dignity" Directing her scowl towards Tomoe, Nobu briefly eyed the white-haired woman''s pert and perky breasts before shaking her head, snorting through her nose, and saying, "It''s just an expression. I may have prominent canines but I''m not a beast" Recalling the frequency in which she attended Rindo''s special tastings, Nobu''s words gradually trailed off as she stared into space. Tomoe took notice of this, but, instead of prying into Nobu''s thoughts, she just exhaled a sigh before pulling out a handheld gaming tablet. She still needed to finish some of her dailies, so, while Okita was keeping watch, Tomoe pulled up her legs and began tapping away at her tablet. Noticing Tomoe''s behavior, Nobu was half-tempted to sneak up behind and grope the intently focused albino. Instead, she shook her head in mock exasperation before lying against the ground and closing her eyes. None of them required sleep, but, for the sake of expediting her recovery, she intended to let her body and mind rest. Nearly as soon as Nobu''s head touched the ground, a pair of hands covered in ck armguards emerged from the shadow beneath her. Instead of panicking, a smile developed across Nobu''s face as she allowed herself to be drawn into the inky ck substance that had spread beneath her. This was also observed by Tomoe, but, as they had already discussed what they would do if their would-be assant tried to seize one of them, she just paused for a moment before shaking her head and focusing on her tablet . After passing through a membrane that could best be characterized as ice-cold msses, a fiery red light erupted from Nobu''s body as she spun around and manifested an ornate, Tanegashima-style rifle. The person that had grabbed her was pushed away by the explosive force of her aura, but, due to the nature of the Shadow Axis, she was able to recover and dodge to the side as if she had absolute control over the direction and momentum of her movement. Undaunted by the woman''s swiftness, the smile on Nobu''s face became a toothy grin as pulled out a second rifle and fired towards the area where her opponent was set to appear. Her uracy came as a surprise to the ruby-eyed woman, but, thanks to her superior speed, she was able to evade the light-formed projectile fired from Nobu''s rifle with a simple sidestep. "Give upyou''ll never be able to-" Before she could finish her words, the ruby-eyed woman evaded to the side as an abyssal-ck,pletely invisible projectile pierced through where her head had been moments prior. Several beads of sweat appeared across her brow, not because of the close shave but because Nobu had startled to cackle madly as a six-armed skeletal demon manifested around her. "Good, good, good! Let''s see how long you can keep dodging my attacks!" With eight rifles in hand, two in her own and six wielded by thepact version of her Susanoo, Nobu proceeded to spin around at a high speed, countless projectiles firing from her rifles as she continued tough like a crazed person. The ruby-eyed assassin was able to easily evade the vast majority of these, but, every now and then, an invisible projectile would attempt to pierce one of her vitals. Unable to sense the projectile until it had targetted her, the ruby-eyed assassin clicked her tongue before reaching into the interior of her pitch-ck cloak and producing six, glistening silver kunai. Nobu immediately took notice of this, but, instead of ceasing her assault, she directed her Susanoo to continue firing in random directions as she stared directly at her opponent, the flowery pattern in her eyes spinning faster than the cameras observing them could pick up. Sensing something extremely ominous, the ruby-eyed assassin appeared to vanish from the murky ck space before reappearing behind Nobu''s body. She had briefly exited the Shadow Axis in the hope of evading whatever Nobu threw at her, but, the moment she returned, hundreds of crimson red beams of light barreled toward her from every conceivable angle. Clicking her tongue a second time, the ruby-eyed assassin tossed the silvery kunai towards Nobu''s back before sweeping her palms towards the projectiles. To the surprise of the spectators, each of her movements caused beams of light to curve around her body. At the same time, the kunai she had previously cast out ended up impacting Nobu''s Susanoo. A sound simr to metal impacting metal at a high speed echoed through the seemingly endless dimension of darkness, but, as could be expected, the six kunai were unable to prate the carmine skeleton''s defenses. Just as the spectators thought the woman''s attack had failed, each of the kunai erupted to form a series of star-like spheres of light. These also failed to prate Susanoo''s defenses, but, much like actual stars, they generated powerful gravitational fields. The body and arms of the Susanoo were immediately drawn towards the nearest star, and, though she did her best to tuck in her arms and legs, Nobu felt as though her body was being torn apart by the immense gravitational forces. "Youyou sneaky bitch!" Activating the effect of her left eye, Nobu manipted each of her ''bullets'' to curve towards her opponent. At the same time, blood began pouring from her right eye as the invisible bullet she had been using to harass the ruby-eyed assassin pierced through one of the pulsating stars. The exterior promptly turned an unnatural shade of ck, and, momentster, the entire sphere copsed in on itself before vanishing entirely. Like other Mangekyou Sharingan, Nobu possessed different abilities in each of her eyes. She was able to modify these with assistance from Vahn but the two she was most fond of were known as Maho-no-Dangan(Magic Bullet) and Shinigami-no-Shinigami(Reaper Death Shot). The former let her alter the trajectory of bullets she had already fired while thetter, much like death itself, was a slow yet invisible projectile that could kill any target so long as it struck a vital. After encountering numerous swordsmen and women capable of cutting through concepts, Nobu felt it was only fair that she should be able to shoot them. Thus, even though something like a star might not have a conventional vital point, Nobu could ''fake the funk'' by designating one herself. In this case, she decided that the stars would be destroyed if the bullet struck their core, so, before the gravitational forces could rip her apart, she directed the invisible bullet to prate the cores of all six in less than a second. Freed from her gravitational prison, Nobu, now bereft of her bikini and bleeding from multiple parts of her body opened her mouth to release a thoroughly bone-chilling roar. The sound she produced was so menacing that the ruby-eyed assassin immediately opted to run away and abandon Nobu in the shadowy sub-dimension. She immediately appeared in the outside world, but, before she could breathe a sigh of relief, cracks began to appear in the surrounding space before a crimson red hand covered in strange ck markings emerged from the void to try and grab her. Unable to contain herself, the ruby-eyed assassin dodged backward, eximing, "What the fuck!?" as she drew a metal-ted umbre from her back. Unfortunately, the only response she received from Nobu was a series of soul-shattering roars as eight draconic visages emerged from the void, each condensing a horrendously powerful sphere of energy in their toothy maws. In the very next moment, eight faster-than-light beams of pitch-ck energy intersected at the location where the ruby-eyed assassin had been standing. Instead of dissipating upon contact with the durable surface of the satellite, however, those angled towards the surface bore through all thirty-nineyers of theoid before continuing off into space . Feeling her surroundings trembling like a magnitude 12 earthquake, an exasperated sigh emanated from Tomoe''s throat as she returned her tablet to her inventory and grumbled, "I''m never going to be able toplete my dailies" Appearing next to Tomoe, though not in response to the former''s mumblings, Okita stated, "That''s the signal for us to move. Are you ready?" Nodding her head, Tomoe manifested a rather futuristic-look bow before saying, "Lead the way." in a resolute tone. In response, Okita offered a curt nod before directing her silvery gaze towards the approximate location of Nobu and muttering, "Try not to destroy the satellite before we reach the center" Though her words seemed to be directed towards the empty air, Okita''s utterance was greeted by the sound of Nobu telepathically replying, ("Don''t worry. My Mangekyou abilities work even in my Yamata-no-Orochi form. I''m going to rampage for a bit but I can guarantee no harm will befall the core.") Deciding to trust in Nobu''s words, Okita offered a nod of her own before holding her inordinately long katana near her hip and charging forward. Tomoe immediately fell into step behind her, but, before she elerated to her maximum speed, she also cast a nce in Nobu''s general direction, a reflective glimmer shing across her vibrant red eyes as she seriously considered having a custom Tailed Beast sealed into her own body Maybe she could even grow a pair of fluffy ears and a tail? . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Gotta get those dailies done'',''Showdown in the Shadow Realm!'',''I wonder what Nobu''s favorite anime is?'') Chapter 2215: On Edge

Chapter 2215: On Edge

After sending her message to Okita, Nobu, appearing as a 190m tall hydra with eight heads, eight tails, and a mixture of red and ck scales focused her attention on her surroundings. Her instincts told her the ruby-eyed assassin was still alive, so, taking advantage of her eight pairs of Mangekyou Sharingan, Nobu scanned every inch of her surroundings. As she had yet to get used to manipting multiple heads to perform different functions, the maws of Nobu''s eight heads opened at the same time as she mused, "Come out,e out, wherever you are~." in a yful yet bone-chilling tone. Sensing movement nearby, three of Nobu''s draconic visages, almost as if they were on autopilot, turned towards the motion before unleashing fiery red breath that liquified the metallic structure of the satellite on contact. Unfortunately, the thing that had caught her attention was the remnants of an Imperial Dragon, not her opponent. Clicking all eight of her tongues, a blood-red aura began to exude from Nobu''s body as the notion that her opponent had fled gradually settled within her mind. She couldn''t really me her, but, at the same time, she couldn''t help feeling annoyed. This was supposed to be her opportunity to show off, yet, the moment she unleashed one of her trump cards, the opponent just fled? Talk about anti-climactic Just as Nobu was thinking about reverting to her human form, she noticed a glimmer of silver out of the corner of her leftmost set of eyes. This implied that the attack was a fair bit slower than the speed of light, yet, in spite of this, Nobu felt an immediate stinging sensation near the upper ridge of her left eye as what appeared to be a fuuma shuriken grazed her. "You sneaky little sh*t!" Though the wound healed instantaneously, the attack was all Nobu needed to know the ruby-eyed assassin was still nearby. She was most likely just lurking in the Shadow Axis and looking for a weak spot she could exploit. Taking advantage of her eight heads and the expanded visual range of the Mangekyou Sharingan, Nobu used six of her heads to achieve a panoramic view of her surroundings while the remaining two monitored her blind spots. She even plopped down onto the ground, her belly sinking into the superstructure of the satellite so that her opponent couldn''t easily manifest beneath her. Nearly as soon as Nobu''s preparations had been made, yet another glimmer of silver entered the periphery of her fifth head''s right eye. Instead of trying to dodge it, however, she simply closed her eyelid as a feeling of incongruency washed over her. The vision of her fifth head was shared by her third and sixth, yet, in spite of a perfect ovep in her line of sight, only her fifth head noticed the glimmer of silver. It had seemingly emerged from a position in full view of her sixth head yet she had somehow missed it? Impossible. Realizing her opponent must have an Innate rted to presence erasure or perception alteration, the expressions on Nobu''s eight heads became markedly more intense. She still had two massive trump cards at her disposal, but, without knowing the specifics of her opponent''s ability, she would be exhausting herself for nothing. As the crest of the Oda n began to spin in each of her eyes, the blood-red aura that had been exuding from Nobu''s body surged outward like a tidal wave of miasma. It was a blood toxin that possessed extremely corrosive properties, so, confident that she had sealed off the ground, Nobu began to gather energy in each of her throats. If her opponent didn''t appear soon, she was going toy waste to everything in her surroundings . Unbeknownst to Nobu, the opponent she was so desperately searching for was currently standing atop her centermost head with a pensive expression on her face. As Nobu had spected, she did possess an Innate rted to stealth. So long as her opponent believed she was hiding, she could stand right in front of them without drawing attention. This would be negated if she attacked them directly, but, thanks to her status and identity, she, Hattori Hanzo, had numerous ways to bypass such a restriction. The problem Hanzo was facing was that she had no way to bypass Nobu''s defenses. The scales of her Yamata-no-Orochi form were nearly as durable as the bonesprising her Susanoo. To make matter worse, even if she could prate Nobu''s defenses, thetter simply regenerated. The one time she had tried a poisonous numbing agent, Nobu didn''t even register it as an attack "How troublesome" Plopping down atop Nobu''s head, Hanzo briefly considered withdrawing and reporting back to Amaterasu that her mission was a failure. Unfortunately, she was nearly as prideful as Nobu, so, as the ''Greatest Ninja in History'', Hanzo refused to retreat without securing at least a minor victory. To this end, she had decided that she would annoy Nobu for as long as possible before catching up to Tomoe and Okita. Thetter''s swordsmanship had terrified her quite a bit, but, so long as she didn''t die six more times, she could continue pestering them without having to worry too much. With such thoughts on her mind, Hanzo pulled out a thick bamboo container filled with a mixture of salt, sugar, and water. Her throat was feeling rather parched after experiencing her body being reduced to atomic ash by Nobu''s breath attack. Thus, before continuing with her n to annoy and pester her quarry as much as possible, Hanzo took a moment to wet her throat before pulling out a leaf-wrapped onigiri and pulling down her facemask to reveal facial features remarkably simr to Musashi. The only notable difference was their eye color, and, every time she opened her mouth to take a bite, rather prominent canines could be seen within Hanzo''s mouth . Feeling a strange sense of difort, a frown marred Musashi ck''s face as the dumpling she had just grabbed slipped from her chopsticks. With her dexterity, she could juggle grains of rice using the thin utensils, so, while most people wouldn''t have taken notice of such a slip-up, Pink promptly finishing slurping up a mouthful of noodles before asking, "What''s wrong with you?" After a rxing evening and uneventful night, Musashi Pink had asked ck if she wanted to eat breakfast together before they proceeded to kill one another. This was readily agreed to by ck, who, ever since she had tasted Rindo''s cooking, became noticeably more amicable. Shaking her head, ck attempted to dismiss Pink''s concerns, stating, "It''s nothing" in a curt tone. She actually didn''t know why she was suddenly feeling off. Even if she did, she wasn''t going to talk about it with someone she was about to kill. Raising her brows, Pink observed ck''s somewhat downcast expression with a curious glimmer in her ever-shifting eyes. Had this been a few hundred years ago, she might have attacked the woman then and there. Instead, she actually felt a tinge of sympathy towards the olive-skinned woman, the expression on her face softening ever so slightly as she asked, "Are you on your period?" Having just picked up a ceramic cup filled with tea, ck ended up getting drenched as her grip on the cup caused the entire thing to shatter. Her expression immediately darkened, and, though she had noticed the concern in Pink''s tone, ck''s voice became icy as she mouthed, "Don''t go giving those sheep outside strange thoughts" As she had just been trying to lighten up the mood, Musashi Pink simply shrugged in response to ck''s words before returning to her seemingly bottomless bowl of miso pork ramen. Rindo had gotten tired of preparing certain dishes on demand, so, rather than cooking the same thing over and over again, she had enchanted a few containers and dishes to perpetually replenish. The taste suffered a bit, but,pared to the food prepared by others, it was head and shoulders above thepetition. Rather, at this point, even the most prominent Gods of Cooking could be brought to their knees at the mere sight of Rindo''s cooking Though she continued ring at Pink for several seconds, the fragrant aroma wafting from her foodpelled ck to return to her meal. The vor of the bite-sized dumplings actually made her feel a lot better, so, despite feeling a growing sense of unease, ck simply ignored it as she practically packed her cheeks with dumplings . Feeling several more tremors, Tomoe briefly shifted her attention away from the battle between Okita and an eighty-meter long Imperial Dragon that closely resembled the Leviathan Vahn had encountered in the Akamatsuverse. She couldn''t believe Nobu was still battling, as, whenever thetter activated her Yamata-no-Orochi form, even people on the level of Artoria would need to be cautious. "The Divine Realm truly is filled with a host of exceptional beings" Resolving herself to put more effort into her training, Tomoe returned her attention to the battle taking ce a few hundred meters away from her. Okita was more than capable of slicing through the sapphire blue metalprising the automaton''s outer shell, but, much like the creature it was based on, the Model Leviathan was capable of generating and manipting a horrifying amount of water. It was also extremely elusive, so, while Okita could conceivably defeat it in a single strike, she first needed to locate its true body within an endless tide of rapidly regenerating water constructs. Drawing back her bowstring, an arrow of light began to form at Tomoe''s fingertips as her rather futuristic-looking bow suddenly ''bloomed'' to form three separate boughs. A mass of vibrant blue energy began to gather at the tip of the bow, and, though she was much weaker than both Nobu and Okita, Tomoe was still able to unleash powerful arrows capable of fragmenting into hundreds of smaller, highly prative arrows. With several of Tomoe''s arrows piercing into thergest mass of water, a shrill, high-pitched roar echoed through the massive,yer-like chamber they were fighting in. Okita immediately loosed a series of sword beams that could dwarf even skyscrapers, but, despite creating numerous rifts that prevented the water from immediately reforming, the roar of the Model Levithan continued to echo without so much as a tremble in its voice. Within each fragmented section of water, a brilliant blue glow could be seen before a series of water-formed serpents, thergest of which was more than fifteen meters in diameter, barreled towards Okita. She was easily able to slice through each of these, but, rather than dissipating, the persistent projectiles simply multiplied based on the number of attacks Okita dished out. Though she no longer had her Furthest Earth, the footwork that allowed her to step and basically teleport wherever she wanted, Okita had obtained a truly ludicrous Innate known as neswalking. It required a tremendous amount of energy, but, so long as she had even a basic understanding of where she wanted to go, she could theoretically go wherever she wanted. With a functionally infinite amount of energy contained in the vessel of her sword, the only thing preventing Okita from using neswalking as her preferred means of transport was the fact she simply didn''t like using it. It was an ability she believed should be reserved forbat, so, unless someone like Vahn asked for her help going somewhere, she only used it whenever she felt it was ''necessary''. Feeling annoyed by the Model Leviathan''s trickery, Okita sheathed her inordinately long katana, a slight pout marring her expression as she red at the hundreds of homing water serpents. At the exact moment when they were about to make contact with her, a mesmerizing glow exuded from the depths of her silver eyes. In the very next moment, a thin line of light appeared to bisect reality itself as Okita appeared behind the Model Levithan and slowly resheathed her sword . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Nobu is an angry girl'',''When two trolls battle against one another'',''TIL that you don''t mess with Okita'') Chapter 2216: Observation

Chapter 2216: Observation

Failing to locate her opponent even after twenty minutes had passed, Nobu began to suspect that the attacks directed toward her were set on some kind of timer. To be sure, however, she decided to skip her other trump cards and directly ess her most powerful asset, a snort emanating from her eight pairs of nostrils before she asked, "Hey, Vahn, is that bitch still nearby?" Hearing Nobu''s impromptu inquiry, Hanzo tilted her head to the side in confusion. The impression she had gotten from Nobu was that she would never look to others for help. It was, quite literally, the reason she had chosen Nobu as her target. Thus, hearing her call out for Vahn, Hanzo couldn''t help wondering what kind of person he was to inspire trust in such a self-centered woman Unfortunately for Hanzo, Vahn was the type to dote on his women, so, the moment Nobu made her inquiry, a strange, anchoring force enveloped her body. She noticed this almost immediately, but, at the same time, so did Nobu. "You sneaky little fucknugget!" Sensing her ruby-eyed assant sitting atop her centermost head, it wasn''t particrly difficult for Nobu to imagine she had been there the entire time. The pattern of her left eye immediately began to spin at a tremendous speed, and, as a result, all of the blood-red mist she had scattered through the area surged towards Hanzo as if it had a mind of its own. Clicking her tongue, Hanzo lept into the air as she removed the metal-ted umbre from her back. It was her most powerful defensive tool. Sure, it may not have stood up against Nobu''s breath attack, but it was still better than nothing. Spinning said umbre at an extremely high RPM, Hanzo was able to create a vortex that collected a fair amount of the encroaching red mist. Unfortunately, this only managed to be about 3% of the carmine mist''s total volume. The rest managed to slip past unabated, but, instead of trying to avoid it, Hanzo resolved herself as she released all the gathered mist in the form of a massive red beam of corrosive energy. One of the abilities of the umbre was reflecting attacks, so, as she went out, she attempted to take one of Nobu''s heads with her. Reacting before the condensed energy could impact her, Nobu''s right eye glistened with a fierce red glow as an invisible projectile emerged from her pupil. The moment it made contact with the mist-formed beam, the entire thing appeared to copse in on itself. At the same time, three of her other heads unleashed their breath attacks on the carmine sphere that had consumed Danzo. Thetter''s presence had already disappeared, but, after realizing that her assant had been sitting on her head, Nobu didn''t mind a bit of overkill. After all, there was no kill quite like overkill . While Nobu was taking out her anger on nothing, a petite figure gradually coalesced from a nearby shadow. At a nce, it was difficult to distinguish whether or not the figure was a man or a woman. Most of the distinguishing features were obscured by a shadowy, tar-like substance. In spite of this, it was possible to make out a pair of horn-like protrusions that ultimately turned out to be a pair of cat ears once the tar-like substance had sloughed away. "There goes number three" Following the utterance, the figure shook its head to reveal the face of a young girl with ruby-red eyes, sharp eyebrows, and short, windswept ck hair. There were also a pair of cat-like ears atop her head, but, unlike a conventional cat girl, the ruby-eyed maiden''s ears were slightly thinner and angled backward. (A/N: Simr to a Miqo''te.) Exhaling a sigh, the youthful-looking girl grabbed tworge clumps of the shadowy ck goop before rubbing it into her face andbing it through her hair. Instead of sloughing away, the tar-like substance appeared to sink into her flesh, rapidly aging the face beneath until it resembled a mature beauty with features nearly identical to Musashi. Even the cat-like ears atop her head had vanished. In their ce, or, more specifically, appearing at the side of the woman''s head were a pair of rounded, human-like ears. As if understanding her intentions, the shadowy goop clinging to the petite figure''s body promptly sank into her. All at once, she appeared to age ten, maybe even twenty years as everything from her height to the contours of her body contorted to resemble those of a woman in herte twenties to very early thirties. Immediately thereafter, the shadow beneath her quickly spread across her body before forming into the clothes and equipment she had been wearing prior to her ''death''. Condensing a bow from the same shadowy substance, a somewhat exasperated look appeared on the woman''s, Hanzo''s face as she notched an arrow and groaned, "Five to go" . Trusting her instincts, Nobu didn''t drop her guard even after her assant''s presence had vanished. She would normally feel a sense of contentment whenever she had dealt with a troublesome for. In this instance, however, the frustration that had seeded within her heart was still present. Thus, even if it turned out that the woman was truly dead, she would continue rampaging until Okita informed her of the mission''s sess. While contemting whether or not she should once again ask Vahn for help, a seemingly normal arrow hit just below the left eye of Nobu''s second head. The power contained within the arrow was so minuscule that, for a brief moment, Nobu didn''t even register that something had hit her. It was only when her first, second, and third heads noticed a hooded figure kneeling with a bow in hand that she realized what must have happened. "Youyou''re ying with fire and you don''t even realize it" As Nobu oriented her massive body and eight heads towards her, a smile developed beneath the veil covering Hanzo''s face as she notched a second arrow and stated, "Who knowsmaybe I like the way it hurts" Punctuating her statement, Hanzo loosed her second arrow towards the right nostril of Nobu''s centermost head. Instead of continuing along its original trajectory, however, it traveled in a swift, zig-zagging pattern that ultimately impacted the exact same location of her previous arrow. Though she had barely even registered the first arrow''s impact, Nobu felt a faint yet noticeable pinching sensation when the second met its mark. She was also aware of the fact that, despite the corrosive aura covering her body, the tip of the arrow had managed to prate the thinner skin between her scales. Deciding she would rather not find out what happens when subsequent arrows are fired, the aura covering Nobu''s body exploded outward as all eight of her heads barreled towards her ruby-eyed assant. In response, Hanzo promptly sank into her shadow, but, before disappearingpletely, she loosed a third arrow skyward. Having anticipated this, Nobu used her first head to cover the spot impacted by the previous two arrows. She wanted to see how the arrow would reach its destination when the intended target was no longer essible. What she never expected was for the third arrow to descend from the sky like a bolt of lightning, piercing her leftmost headpletely in order to impact the same spot as the previous two arrows "Holy fucking fuck!!!" Though the wound on her first head regenerated instantly, the pain Nobu felt when the third arrow found its purchase radiated from her cheekbone to the rest of her head. It didn''t do any substantial damage but the pain was tantamount to having a red-hot skewer stabbed into her left eye Appearing several kilometers away from where Nobu was rampaging, Hanzo had to support herself against a piece of rubble to avoid copsing. The arrows she unleashed contained fragments of her ''Soul'', so, while each sess arrow inflictedpounding amounts of pain and damage, the strain they ced on her body, mind, and spirit was tremendous. There was also the caveat that she could only unleash arrows equivalent to the number of lives she had lost. Thus, at least for the time being, Hanzo elected to let Nobu rampage while she focused on recovery. At least, that was the intention she had when she removed her veil and attempted to take a drink With her opponent refusing to y ''fair'', Nobu no longer saw a reason to hold back. The moment Hanzo disappeared, she gritted her maws hard enough to produce a tremendous volume of blood as she telepathically growled, ("I don''t care if the people use me of cheating. Tell me where she''s hiding.") Though he calmly advised her to rx and take it easy, Vahn didn''t even hesitate to modify one of Nobu''s Mangekyou Sharingan to include a spiritual trace. This allowed her to immediately discover the location of Hanzo, and, as a result, she unleashed a full-powered breath attack that left a series of 30m wide ''tunnels'' in the offensive satellite''s superstructure. Hanzo, not expecting Nobu to ask for Vahn''s assistance so soon after the first time, waspletely caught off guard. She hadn''t even managed to bring the opening of the bamboo container to her lips before her entire body was simply ''erased'' from existence. Not in the truest sense, but, from the perspective of the spectators, her disintegration was so swift that it hadn''t even produced a shadow in the beam''s path . Following a long and uneventful breakfast, Pink gave ck the option of dying their duel until she was in top condition. Unfortunately, this had theplete opposite effect as there was no way in hell Musashi ck was going to let one of her ''offshoots'' show her mercy. She insisted that they settle things at noon before gathering her things and promptly departing the cottage around 7 AM. Though there was a chance that ck would attack before noon, Pink decided she would enjoy the remaining five hours by focusing on her tan. Her resilience and passive regeneration made tanning difficult, but, so long as she applied a suitable ointment, she would be able to enjoy walking around with tan lines for a bit. Trusting that Vahn would protect her dignity, Musashi ending up taking a nap without bothering with a bra or bikini top. Instead, she donned a pair of oversized sunsses before kicking back with her hands behind her head and a margarita at her side. This earned her a fair amount of attention, as, even if she wasn''t really doing anything, people couldn''t help gawking at scantily d beauties that appeared to have dropped their guard. It was practically a part of human nature . Though she had anticipated it, Musashi ck couldn''t help sighing when she saw Pink perch herself up at the edge of the cliff. For a brief moment, an almost overwhelming urge to step out and attack the ''careless'' swordswoman swelled within her chest. Instead, she chose to close her eyes, calm her breathing, and focus her senses to the extreme. While she was nowhere near the level of Vahn and Amaterasu, Musashi ck had honed her senses to the point where she could tell when she was being watched. It took a bit of effort, but, so long as she remained calm, it wasn''t particrly difficult to sense the ''cameras'' flitting about and recording events within the Game Board. Confirming that there were no cameras focused on her, ck took a moment to breathe a sigh of relief before looking around with her own two eyes. Then, and only then, did she bring her hands together and whisper, "Oh great and powerful Vahn-sama, please bestow upon this lowly one a bounty of delicious food and drink" Though she knew it was unnecessary, ck figured that Vahn wouldn''t be as amodating now that she was outside the cottage and preparing to attack Pink. Thus, with the intention of securing food and confirming that Vahn was, in fact, keeping an eye on her, ck figured she may as well try appealing to him. Fortunately for ck, Vahn greatly enjoyed ying along with such antics. He quickly provided her with a te of food, several drinks, and a small, neatly wrapped package. Thetter escaped ck''s notice near the beginning, but, once she had sated her hunger and warmed her belly with a bottle of sake, she eventually took an interest in the rather discreet-looking parcel. This was immediately followed by a darkening of her expression, as, contained within the package were afortable-looking pair of ckce panties, a matching bra, and a note exining their effects . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Nobu''s speech patterns are very poetic xD'',''I call hax'',''The boons of beingpletely shameless'') Chapter 2217: Pursuit With nooning and going, Pink was beginning to think that ck may have reneged on their promise to duel. Fortunately, just as Pink was thinking about calling it a day and rxing in the onsen, ck showed up with an ''unreadable'' expression on her face. Pink took notice of this, but, instead of focusing on the woman''s face, her perpetually shifting eyes lingered on ck''s bust as she asked, "Did you stuff your bra...?" Instead of responding to Pink with words, ck ced her hand on the kashira(butt) of her katana in a reverse grip. The smile on Pink''s face immediately faded, her pupils contracting to the size of pinholes as she rolled backward to evade a thin, bluish-white ''line'' that only she could see. Far faster than the cameras could perceive, ck unleashed a strike that left a visible distortion that extended several thousand meters in an instant. Though it faded almost instantaneously, everything along the line appeared to have been ''erased'' from existence. It wasn''t simply sliced. Everything the thin beam of light had touched was simply gone. With her incredible mastery over Sword Laws, Pink was generally able to see through even the most mysterious sword techniques at a nce. ck appeared to be an exception in this regard, as, even though she was on the receiving end of the woman''s attack, Pink''s intuition told her the attack had very little to do with Sword Laws. She just didn''t know what it was. Realizing there was a possibility she would lose instantly if she kept fooling around, the emotion in Pink''s expression appeared to melt away as she manifested Goenjin in her left hand and Mugen-no-Hana in her right. A visible pulse immediately erupted from her body, but, instead of destroying her surroundings or kicking up a storm, the space surrounding the two Musashi''s appeared to stagnate as even the leaves falling from trees ceased their descent towards the ground. At a nce, it appeared as though even time had frozen. In reality, Pink''s reiatsu(spiritual pressure) was so great that it simply held everything in ce. If one were to look closely, literally down to the sub-atomic level, they would find that even the electrons orbiting atoms were vibrating in a strange manner. Under the influence of her own spiritual pressure, Pink was forced to enter the State of Nothingness just to be able to move. ck reacted in an identical manner, but, due to her momentary shock, she was barely able to protect her heart as Pink attempted to stab both it and her kidney. Activating her Empyrean Eyes, Pink intended to ensure that both of her attacks were sessful. A mysteriouspelling force spread through the area, and, for a brief moment, the trajectory of the attack ck had blocked shifted slightly. Unfortunately, even though Pink fully anticipated it, so too did the position of ck''s body and katana. She wasn''t able to make it so that she wasn''t stabbed, but, instead of having her kidney pierced, she suffered a superficial injury as Pink''s Mugen-no-Hana cut through the fabric of her obi and grazed her abdomen. While others might feel a bit of apprehension upon receiving a cut, ck was far from a normal woman. The moment she felt the familiar heat of a sword slicing through her flesh, a vicious smile developed across her face as she slipped between Pink''s swords, her free hand leaving a ck trail as shended a loud, cracking blow against thetter''s face. While many of the people viewing the scene hissed in response to the unnerving sound, the events that immediately followed the painful-sounding strike left thempletely speechless. Instead of reeling back, Pink''s eyes released a vibrant, blue, and purple glow as what appeared to be an afterimage flew away from her body. As for Pink herself, she stood her ground without so much as flinching, an equally vicious smile on her face as she attempted to bifurcate ck''s body via bringing her des together like a pair of scissors. With her path of retreat cut off, ck''s body briefly became immaterial as she slipped through Pink''sparably bustier frame. Thetter, seemingly having anticipated this, swapped ces with the illusory figure that had been sent flying by ck''s punch. Then, at a speed untraceable by the growing number of cameras present, both she and ck appear to blink out of existence for a brief moment before appearing where each had previously stood. For a brief moment, the crowd spectating the scene had absolutely no idea what had happened. It was only when a series of bluish-white ''lines'' appeared out of nowhere, their number reaching into the hundreds, that they began to piece things together. They couldn''t fathom the speed required to perform such a feat, but, the area surrounding the two swordswomen had been severed to such an extent that an area of several hundred meters resembled atticework of fractured ss. Exhaling a steamy sigh, Pink half-turned to meet ck''s gaze. When she noticed the olive-skinned woman''s eyes had shifted from obsidian-ck to a familiar mix of blue and purple, a teasing smile developed across her face as she mused, "You''re supposed to be the original. Don''t you think it''s a little shameless to be stealing my techniques...?" Instead of responding to Pink''s taunting, ck slowly sheathed her two katanas before closing her now-mesmerizing eyes and muttering, "It was a good fight...next time, don''t hold anything back..." Snorting through her nose, Pink appeared as though she was about to say something, but, feeling what could best be described as a sense of ''wrongness'', her body suddenly became statuesque. In the very next moment, several of the lines that had ''frozen'' in her surroundings emitted an eerie yet familiar glow that immediately reminded Pink of a certain heterochromatic princess. By the time she finished that thought, she found herself standing in the otherwise empty waiting room of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. "Well, fuck..." ... .. Seeing Pink disappear into motes of bluish-white light, a sigh of relief parted ck''s lips as she pulled down the rim of her bamboo hat. Shortly after that, her figure gradually blended into her surroundings, but, if one were to look closely at where she had been standing, a fair amount of blood could be seen staining the ground... ... .. Realizing that Nobu could suddenly sense where she was located, Hanzo''s fifth resurrection was followed by a prompt departure. Nobu severely outssed her in both offense and defense, so, now that she could also track her location, Hanzo understood she would merely be wasting lives trying to dy her. To her credit, Hanzo''s raw speed was head and shoulders above Nobu. Thetter was the type to overwhelm her opponents with tremendous firepower. She was decently skilled with a sword, but, if she tried to cross des with a true master, it wouldn''t even be apetition. Unfortunately, while Hanzo was exponentially faster than Nobu, thetter was extremely persistent, and, more importantly, possessed the ability to teleport. Hanzo could outrun her and move through the Shadow Axis at faster than light speeds, but, unless she found a way to remove the trace on her body, Nobu would invariably appear the moment she stopped to rest. Hanzo''s only saving grace was that Nobu had reverted back to her human form due to the difficulty of teleporting her Yamata-no-Orochi form acrossrge distances. The caveat was that Nobu was no longer in her petite, scantily d form. Instead, she appeared as a mature, demonic-looking woman with blood-red hair, three eyes, and a voluptuous body garbed in a leather bodysuit covered in thin yet exceptionally durable ting. Trailing behind her was a blood-red cloakprised of the same corrosive mist that caused even the ground beneath her to hiss as it turned pitch ck and barren. Though its offensive and defensive power were merely a fraction of what she was capable of in her Yamata-no-Orochi form, Nobu''s ''Demon King of the Sixth Heaven'' transformation was nothing to scoff at. She had previous obtained a Logia Type Devil Fruit known as the Chi-Chi-no-Mi. Eating it had turned her into a Blood Human, so, even if her head or heart were pierced, she would quickly regenerate so long as her body wasn''tpletely destroyed. Taking advantage of the unique properties of her body, Nobupletely ignored most of Hanzo''s efforts to deter her pursuit. It didn''t matter if the woman threw kunai into her body, obstructed her path with explosives, or loosed excruciatingly painful arrows towards her. The only thing that could stop her from ripping the ruby-eyed ninja apart was interference from Vahn or her elimination from the Gift Game. Aiming for thetter, Hanzo lured Nobu all the way to a location upied by another Community. They hadn''t been the only ones trying to invade the offensive satellite, so, in the hopes of getting Nobu off her tail, Hanzo effectively tried to perform a ''Pass Parade'' on a small group belonging to the ''Undersea Volcanic Pce'', aka the Community belonging to the Saurian Demon King. As a Communityprised almost entirely of the Saurian Demon King''s descendants, each and every member of the Undersea Volcanic Pce possessed the blood of a Pure-Blooded Dragon flowing through their veins. Their father was also a Lunar Dragon and one of the previous Moon Guardians, so, while they were nowhere near their father''s level, each of Kouryuu''s descendants possessed an inordinate affinity with the Moon, Yin, Ice, Water, or Darkness. Unaware of Hanzo''s true identity, Nobu believed that the group of young men and women were a part of the same Community. They all had raven-ck hair, and, while most possessed icy blue or sapphire eyes, a few had the same ruby-red irises as Hanzo. They also attacked her the moment she appeared, so, before pursuing Hanzo, Nobu assaulted the group of five with the temperament of a natural disaster. Surprised by the sudden attack, the leader of the group, a handsome young man named Suiryu shouted, "Audacious! You dare to attack we, the descendants of the Great Demon King Kouryuu!? Courting death...!" Punctuating his words, the raven-haired youth manifested a pitch-ck sword that resembled a wide and t piece of ornately carved wood. A tremendous volume of ice-cold water manifested around him, but,pared to the deluge created by the Model Leviathan, it was rtively tame. As a result, Nobu was able to casually sweep it away with a veritable tidal wave of blood as she asked, "Have you lost your find? Do you truly believe you have the standing to make such usations? I am Oda Nobunaga! Demon King of the Sixth Heaven and Eastern Empress of the Aldrnari Empire! Allow me to show you what true audaciousness looks like, brat!" Activating the effects of her left eye, Nobu directed an ever-increasing swirl of corrosive blood to surround the man who had brazenly called out to her. The pupils of his pale-blue eyes immediately contracted to thin slits as he waved his weapon in an effort to try and freeze the encroaching blood. Unfortunately, even though he was sessful in icing over a rather sizeable quantity of blood, that did little to prevent Nobu from controlling it. So long as it was blood, the state didn''t matter. It was her''s tomand. Seeing their brother crushed in series of icy, blood-colored pirs, the four remaining members of the Undersea Volcanic Pce attempted to contain her using a powerful sealing formation known as the Seal of the Four Gods. Unfortunately, Vahn had gone above and beyond to make sure each of his friends, family, and loved ones were immune to sealing, so, while the group of four managed to trigger the seal, Nobu barely even had to try before she was able to break free, ughter each of them, and continue her pursuit of Hanzo. Nothing was going to stop her from capturing and butchering her prey... ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Sephiroth vibes...'',''Well, that was unexpected o_o...'',''Nobu is pretty chill up until the moment she isn''t...'') Chapter 2218: Teetering on the Edge

Chapter 2218: Teetering on the Edge

After destroying the upied by the Onigashima Community, Ke, thebined form of Kale and Cauli, found themselves in a bit of a predicament. Due to the rules of the Gift Game, space became ''off limits'' until the awakening of a Model Omega. Thus, shortly after destroying Onigashima''s, the fused Saiyaness found herself floating in an ocean of debris without any means to transfer to another. Thanks to their monstrous vitality and Cauli''s training, Ke was more than capable of surviving in space for months, perhaps even years at a time. Therger problem was her boredom. She didn''t want to wait for space to open up, but, at the same time, she, or, more specifically, Kale didn''t want to ask Vahn for help. Sighing in a synthetic-sounding voice reminiscent of two women speaking at the same time, Ke loungedzily atop a spinning piece of debris. Every now and then, she would raise her left hand to fire off aser-like beam of destruction towards distant lights she believed to bes. "We should really learn how to use Kai Kai when we get back" Unlike Mikoto, Kecked the means to forcibly teleport through restricted and blocked space. She could use Instant Transmission, but, due to the restrictions of the Gift Game, the furthest she could teleport was the boundaries of the debris field. It was incredibly annoying . Though there were a few hups along the way, Seraphina, wearing an irrationally form-fitting, butterfly-themed gown had finally managed to reach the core of the defensive satellite. This was entirely the result of her minions, but, as if she had scoured every inch of the satellite herself, an exceptionally haughty smile had developed across her face as she sauntered over to the core and inserted one of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth''s keys. Seeing the machine whirring to life, rune-like circuits lighting up along the length of a branching pir, Seraphina held the back of her hand up to her mouth and issued her characteristically shrill, "Oh-hohohoho~" typeughter. Staring at the voluptuous Subi''s back, Chronoa, the former Supreme Kai of Time, couldn''t help shaking her head in exasperation. She couldn''t deny that Seraphina was the reason they had been able to reach the core in such an expedient manner. The thing that bothered her was the fact that Seraphina had basically spent the entire timezing about and sleeping Just as Chronoa was about to tell Seraphina they should hurry and return, arge disy lit up in front of the boisterous Subi. It showed the entire structure of the defensive satellite, and, more importantly, the location of each and every entity within. This included the thousands of ''minions'' that Seraphina''s had summoned, and, somewhat surprisingly, a fair number of red dots that clearly denoted enemies. "Hmmm~? What''s this~?" Having never been known for her intelligence, Seraphina was a bit slow when it came to grasping new things. Chronoa was theplete opposite in this regard as she had spent the better part of one-hundred million years simply observing various forms of data. She immediately understood the meaning of the red dots, stating, "It would appear a number of enemy Communities have managed to slip past my observation and your minions. You should send a few Ninjas or Scouts to-" Giving Chronoa what could best be described as a ''stink eye'', Seraphina''s tone sounded cold and distant as she stated, "Do not presume to tell me, Lady Seraphina, what to do. You may have been picked up by Vahn when he was off ying around but I was personally summoned to apany him. It was basically love at first sight so don''t go thinking you can give me orders. Understood?" Deadpanning in response to Seraphina''s words, Chronoa found herself, once again, questioning how Vahn could have fallen for such an intolerable woman. Sure, Seraphina might not be evil, but she was one of the most selfish women Chronoa ever had the displeasure of interacting with. Understanding the futility of trying to argue, Chronoa took a deep, steadying breath before forcing a smile and saying, "We were given the task of securing and protecting this defensive satellite. Vahn may be able to handle all the enemies on his own but I still want to try and meet his expectations. If you won''t help, I''ll deal with the intruders myself." Without waiting for Seraphina''s response, Chronoa manifested her Chrono Dial, the glowing golden halo that resembled the hands of a clock, before using Kai Kai to reach the nearest intruder. She felt it was a waste of time to speak with Seraphina, so, rather than exhaust her mental energies trying to make the airheaded woman see reason, Chronoa decided to focus on eliminating the enemy. Unaware of Chronoa''s thoughts, Seraphina simply snorted in response to the buxom Kai''s behavior before calling her personalized golden-skinned Prinny over and making herselffortable atop its head. A blue-skinned, zombie-like Maid immediately made her way over with a tray containing two sses while a short, blue-skinned Prinny followed behind her with an ice bucket and arge bottle of glistening, golden champagne. Prior to Chronoa''s departure, Seraphina was fully intent on cracking open a bottle of champagne and celebrating with the pink-skinned Kai. Unlike Chronoa, she felt no particr enmity towards any of the women in Vahn''s ever-growing entourage. All that truly mattered to her was that Vahn cared for and continued to pamper her until the end of time. The one thing Seraphina couldn''t tolerate was people telling her what to do. She would even pout when Vahn tried to order her around, so, with Chronoa demonstrating signs of hostility toward her, there was no well in Hell Seraphina was going to let her get away with telling her what to do. Filling both sses of champagne, Seraphina poured the contents of one ss into her Prinny''s mouth before making herselffortable and nursing her own. For the better part of the minutes, she simply observed the dot representing Chronoa eliminating various intruders. Thinking about Chronoa''s parting words, a sigh invariably escaped Seraphina''s throat as she sat up and pulled out an oversized key. Upon stabbing it into empty air, a massive, vault-like door with the words ''Dark Assembly'' engraved on the top appeared. Shortly after that, an exceptionally thin and petite mage with an oversized, rabbit-eared cloak popped out with a flustered expression on their face, asking, "W-Wee to the D-Dark Assembly. What can I d-d-do for you, L-Lady Seraphina?" Resisting the urge to make the 134cm tall mage grovel on his hands and knees, a smile developed across Seraphina''s face as she mused, "I would like to pass a bill" . Upon teleporting to the location of her first target, Chronoa was surprised to find what appeared to be an empty room. Beforehand, the disy had shown a total of thirteen life signs in this particr section of the defensive satellite. There was a chance they had sensed hering before promptly teleporting away, but, believing something was amiss, Chronoa pulled out a pair of square-rimmed sses that functioned simrly to a Scouter. Immediately after donning the sses, Chronoa was able to detect multiple life signs hiding within the shadows of various pieces of debris. The thing that confused her was the fact that the highest power level among them was a startling 0.0003. Using her version of Telekinesis, Chronoa mentally seized each of the exceptionally small creatures before pulling them toward her. Seeing them caused her expression to immediately be sullen, as, even after a hundred million years, she still hated insects. Cockroaches, in particr, were one of Chronoa''s least favorite organisms. Crushing twelve of the figures, Chronoa grumbled, "Disgusting" as she pulled thest remaining insect close enough to observe. "Hmm? Is thisdirt?" Though the diminutive insect resembled a cockroach, its body was a dark, earthen brown. From a distance, it resembled apletely ordinary insect, but, from a few centimeters away, Chronoa was able to tell it wasprised entirely of dirt, stone, and a granule-sized piece of red crystal. Sensing a powerful magical trace within the fragment of red crystal, a glimmer of intrigue shed across Chronoa''s golden irises as she muttered, "Is this a golem?" Seemingly in response to her words, the cockroach-shaped golem promptly self-destructed along with the remnants of the previous twelve. The person that created them clearly didn''t want people analyzing their structure in greater detail. Snorting through her nose, Chronoa reversed the order of entropy around the previously intact roach before cing it in a temporal lock. It would take a hell of a lot more than a self-destruct mechanism to deter her from discovering the truth . Located far from the defensive satellite Seraphina and Chronoa had conquered, a young man with short, dirt-brown hair and grass green eyes could be seen furrowing his brows. He was the one that had created cockroach golems that Chronoa had discovered, and, while he was unable to ascertain what she had done, he was able to sense that she had restored one of his golems before promptly sealing it away. Believing she was going to try and reverse engineer his golem production method, a scowl marred the otherwise handsome man''s face as he groaned, "That''s IP infringement, you know?" Punctuating his words, the young man rose from the workbench he had been seated at before donning a stylish trenchcoat that vaguely resembled ab coat. Then, upon removing the goggles he had been wearing, he donned a pair of half-moon sses before reaching into a blue panel of light that only he could see. From within the panel, he managed to pull out a pair of headphones, an oversized mechanical gauntlet, and a massive, weaponized wrench. Shouldering the massive wrench, the young man turned towards a rather heroic-looking woman with wheat-colored hair, silver eyes, dark skin, and armor that appeared to be carved from stone. From a distance, people would assume the scantily d beauty was wearing said armor, but, upon closer inspection, they would quickly notice it was a part of her body. She, like many of the man''s creations, was a type of golem. A very, very advanced type. "Come, Gaia, we have pests to eliminate." Responding to the man''s words, the busty and voluptuous woman sprouted three pairs of wings, but, instead of beingprised of feathers, they were formed of leaves and vines. She was a golem temted from a Great Earth Spirit, so, be it stone or nt, she had dominion over all things that originated from or grew upon the. With six wings exuding a pale green light behind her body, Gaia, who was much, much taller than the young man promptly picked him up in a bridal carry. Others might be embarrassed by such a development, but, as someone who absolutely adored strong and dominant women, the youthful-looking mage adopted a smile as he rested his head against Gaia''s voluminous chest. While other members of Akuma were desperate to umte women like trophies, he was perfectly content with the bride and family he had created for himself . After observing the owl-like woman for the better part of a full day, Sarina had graduallye to terms with the fact she wasn''t the former''s opponent. The cloaked figure had managed to shrug off the attacks of dozens of dragons, and, despite numerous attempts to seal her away, she just walked out of formations as though they didn''t exist. It was like nothing could affect her, so, after watching others try and fail for hours on end, Sarina decided to retreat. What Sarina didn''t realize was the moment she turned away, the petite, owl-like figure immediately looked towards her. Ghostly blue eyes glowed from within the pitch-ck interior of her hood, and, momentster, thirty-three different owls, each possessing matching blue eyes, tilted their heads in Sarina''s direction. They didn''t attack or pursue her, but, deep within their ghostly blue eyes, a sense of existential dread radiated like an icy chill . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Instant Transmission go brrrr'',''Ah, a man of culture'',''Always watching'') Chapter 2219: Not Really a Chapter

Chapter 2219: Not Really a Chapter

I''m a bit preupied today, so, rather than a standard chapter, here''s an example of a one-shot I''ve been working on. There are a few more like this, but you''ll have to wait until the big announcement to learn more xD [The Broken Ones, Chapter 0] "I willwait for you" Clinging to the body of the woman he had loved and fought alongside for the past thirteen years, anguish beyond description gripped the heart of a young man with raven-ck hair and pale-blue eyes. "I won''t keep you-" Before the man could finish, the woman lying on the ground ced her bloodied fingers over his lips. The light had already faded from her once-vibrant pink eyes, but, despite this, she was able to stare directly into the man''s regret-filled expression as she softly muttered, "Nothis world still needs youpromisepromise me you won''t abandon them" Though he would have readily made such a promise a few days prior, the raven-haired man found himself unable to speak due to the overwhelming pain and resentment he was currently experiencing. With blood pooling in his mouth due to the intensity in which he had been gritting his teeth, the raven-haired man gently squeezed the woman''s left hand as he whimpered, "Ipromise" Smiling in response to the man''s words, the woman moved her fingers from his lips to the side of his face, gently tracing a line of blood across his cheek as she weakly cried, "You never were good at lying" The moment the woman''s words finished, her fingers fell from the man''s cheek. Her body, once lively and full of energy, nowy limply within his arms. Staring into the unfocused eyes of the woman he loved, even greater anguish seized the man''s heart. He was able to force a smile near the end, but, much like his promise, it was the furthest thing from sincere. With tears flowing freely from his face, the raven-haired man reached out to close the eyes of his childhood friend and lover. Due to the smile on her face, it almost appeared as though she were sleeping. "Even in death, you are the most beautiful woman I have everid eyes on. If I weren''t afraid of leaving you alone in the afterlife, there is nothing in this world that could prevent me from destroying it" Punctuating his words, the raven-haired man ced a chaste yetsting kiss on the woman''s forehead. Shortly after that, the spherical barrier he had created to protect her slowly withered away, each of the hexagonal segments resembling ice melting under extreme heat. Seeing the scene of the raven-haired man cradling what remained of his lover in his arms, the color drained from the face of a priestess with long, silvery-blonde hair and an outfit that was significantly less reserved than one might expect from the High Priestess of the Sacred Order of Light. "Oh, Gods" Hearing the High Priestess''s trembling utterance, a fiery light appeared in the raven-haired man''s eyes as he gentlyid his lover on the ground. Half of her body had beenpletely destroyed. In ce of a lower body, the only thing that remained of the woman was charred, steaming entrails. "Anastasia" Feeling a frigid chill run from her crown to the base of her spine, High Priestess Anastasia took several instinctual steps backward. It had been years since the man referred to her by her full name. He was actually the only one she allowed to call her Anna, so, feeling a sense of dread unlike anything she had ever experienced, Anna clung to her scepter-like staff and muttered, "CaenI''m so sorry" After arranging the hands of his deceased lover over her chest, the raven-haired man, Caen, rose to his feet and said, "Once this battle has finished, we''re through. Iwe have given everything for the Empire and the Sacred Order of Light. Go backtell your Gods, the Emperor, and the Archbishop that they can find a new pawn" Without waiting for Anna''s response, Caen grabbed the hilt of a massive, almostically oversized sword. The de alone was more than 180cm in length, yet, as if it weighed absolutely nothing, Caen was able to pick it up with one hand before leaping into the sky like a rocket soaring towards outer space. At the apex of his jump, tendril-like wings of light, now stained with hints of pitch-ck energy, emerged from grooves in Caen''s armor. With them, he was able to fly at hypersonic speeds through the sky, his destination argely destroyed castle formed from ck iron, marble, and brimstone. Located in the depths of the castle, seated atop arge throne that had the upper half sliced away, was a voluptuous woman with long ck hair and fiery golden eyes. The curved, de-like horns framing her head and the segmented tail flowing from behind her back and resting on her thighs gave away her status as a member of the Demon n. Though several bruises and abrasions covered the demoness''s body, her beauty was such that she could charm most people with a simple nce. This wasrgely due to her heritage as a Subus, but, even more than that, it was the overwhelmingly powerful aura exuding from her body that brought most onlookers to their knees. Unaffected by the oppressive yet captivating aura, Caen went out of his way to smash through one of the only undamaged segments of the roof. His collision with the ground caused a shockwave and arge plume of dust and debris to spread through the ruined chamber. From within, the radiant blue eyes of Caen could be seen before he casually dispersed the entire cloud of debris with a single swing of his now-luminous holy sword, the Legendary Sword of Promise, L??fte. "Lilis Marinayou will pay dearly for what you did to Rika" Undaunted by Caen''s words, Lilis, the Demon Queen of Chaos, rolled her eyes before leaning her cheek against the knuckles of her right hand and remarking, "You massacred my people, destroyed my kingdom, and killed my most cherished and beloved vassals. If I didn''t take at least one thing from you before I died, the souls of my people would never be able to find peace" Gripping the hilt of his sword, Caen responded to Lilis''s words by stepping down with enough force to shake the very foundation of the throne room. At the same time, a runic pattern spread across his right arm as he swept his greatsword in a sweeping arc that appeared to bisect reality itself as it barreled toward and through Lilis''s body. She didn''t even try to resist, as, unlike the Heroes that had appeared before, Caen was a monster beyondpare. With her body bifurcated just under her breasts, Lilis slumped forward before falling face-first onto the hard stone floor. Vibrant golden blood flowed from her wounds as a rainbow-hued crystal, half of which was still located in her stomach, unleashed a tremendous volume of mana into the surrounding environment. shing forward at a speed that resembled teleportation, tears flowed from Caen''s eyes as he grabbed one of Lilis''s horns, twisted his body, and threw her against the furthest wall. The resultant impact sent spiderweb-like cracks from floor to ceiling before Caen''s L??fte pierced through her heart and pinned her to the wall. Appearing less than a few centimeters away from Lilis''s face, a steady stream of tears continued to roll down Caen''s face as he weakly growled, "Rika didn''t deserve thiseven until the very end, she never killed a single demonshe was kinder and gentler than anyone. If not for her, you would have died during ourst encounter! Why!? Why her!?" Raising her head to meet Caen''s gaze, a naturally alluring smile gradually took shape on Lilis''s face as she asked, "Who knows? Maybe I resented how she was able to smile and pretend like she had done nothing wrong? She may not have held the de, but by supporting and healing you, that woman may as well be responsible for the deaths of millionssheno one deserves to walk away from this happy" With her magic core destroyed, the only thing keeping Lilis alive was her desire to see the anguish on Caen''s face. Truth be told, she hadn''t meant to kill Rika, better known as the Third Imperial Princess, Adrika Von Kroft. Thetter may have supported Caen, but she was also the representative of the faction suing for peace between the Kroft Empire and the Demons of the nes of Twilight. With her death, any hope of peace between the Alliance of Light and Demonkind had disappeared. With an ability that allowed him to deduce truth from lies, Caen could tell Lilis wasn''t being honest with him. Before he could press her for the truth, however, her head and body slumped forward as the unrepentantly sharp edge of L??fte bisected her like a hot knife through butter. Her two halves ended up striking the stunned Caen, golden blood staining his face and body as she sloughed off of him and onto the ground. Though the blood of Demons was poisonous to others, Caen''s countless Blessings provided him a near-absolute immunity to status afflictions. At least, they were supposed to. Demonstrating just how shameless they could be, the Gods immediately retracted their Blessings the moment Caen had in Lilis. They had been observing when he told Anna to return and inform them he was no longer their pawn. Thus, before he could be a threat to the Empire and the Sacred Order, they retracted their Blessings with the intent of letting him die alongside the Demon Queen. Apanied by a hissing sound, Caen felt as though his entire body was enveloped in molten gold as Lilis''s blood sank into and burned through his flesh. In spite of this, he didn''t cry out in pain or agony. Instead, he simply smiled as his once-indomitable strength rapidly drained from his body. "Sorry, Rikamy mother always told me it was rude to keep a woman waitingdon''t worryonce I get to the other sideyou can scream and shout at me all you want" Feeling more powerless than when he had initially reincarnated into the world of Vega Terre, Caen copsed to the ground in a heap. The blood soaking the floor was like an acid bath, but, without trying to escape, the corners of his smile curled upward as he closed his eyes and sumbed to a familiar darkness . "Wee back, Mr. Walker. Did you enjoy your time in Vega Terre?" . (A/N: Let me know what you guys think. I could really use the feedback.) Chapter 2220: Underlying Tensions

Chapter 2220: Underlying Tensions

Sensing Sarina''s return, Vahn poked the cheek of the sleeping, Wu, stating, "It''s about time for you to stop lounging about" After pretending to be asleep for several seconds, Wu responded to Vahn''s words by biting the tip of his index finger. Then, as her emerald-green eyes opened to stare at him, she began to trace her tongue over and around it before suckling it in an overtly sexual manner. "" (*Looks like you acquired yourself another nympho*) Ignoring Sis''s words, Vahn wiggled his hand a few times, but, as could be expected, Wu refused to release her hold on the tip of his finger. Now that she had formally professed her love, Wu wanted to stay with Vahn until the very end. She understood he had other things going on, but, with such arge number of people watching, she wasn''t going to let him give her the boot so easily. Seeing Wu''s expression gradually morph into an increasingly adorable pout, Vahn eventually gave up on trying to dislodge her from his fingertip. It was a little awkward but he decided to just let her do as she pleased. In this particr instance, that meant curling up in hisp and continued to suck on the tips of his fingers as he adjusted the flow of time to allow Sarina to enter the throne room Pushing open the massive doors separating the antechamber and control/throne room, Sarina was about to greet Vahn when her settled on the inordinately petite monkey girl curled up in hisp. A look of confusion briefly and slight envy briefly marred her expression, but, after shaking her head, she was able to regain herposure as she reported, "I managed to infiltrate the pce of Meng Zhang but was forced to retreat due to the appearance of a mysterious woman resembling an owl. I observed her for several hours but was unable to discover even a hint of any weaknesses she might possess." Rather than Vahn, the person that responded to Sarina was Wu, asking, "A woman resembling an owl? Was she wearing a cloak or did she actually have the features of an owl?" Though she was slightly taken aback by Wu''s interjection, Sarina eventually answered, "She was wearing a cloak" after seeing Vahn supply a curt nod. With an expression of genuine surprise, Wu perked up quite a bit as she remarked, "Wow, you''re really lucky. If I''m not mistaken, the woman you encountered was Nav, the Queen of Owls. She is one of the top three powerhouses within the Akuma Community. A few years back, she ended up wiping out more than a thousand different Communities in the 6-7-Digit Gates. Several lower-digit Communities tried to step in and deal with her but everyone that dared venture into her ''Forest of Owls'' ended up losing their life or disappearingpletely." Though she had never encountered Nav directly, Wu had heard about the woman''s exploits from Lady Xiwangmu. Thetter loved to gossip, so, whenever Wu stopped by to pilfer peaches, the two would chat about various persons of interest within the Little Garden. Hearing Wu''s exnation, a chill ran through Sarina''s body. Nav''s rampage had ended long before she was born, but, back when she was still at the orphanage, Sarina remembered hearing an urban legend rted to an owl-like woman who had converted arge section of the Little Garden into a haunted forest. She had forgotten the woman''s name due to the time she spent in the Actualized World of Dragon Ball, but, now that she was hearing it from Wu, memories of the stories she heard during her childhood came flooding back to her. Recalling that the Queen of Owls was supposed to be an old Crone with an arched back, twisted face, bone-like fingers, and deathly white hair, Sarina couldn''t help asking, "Are you certain that was the Queen of Owls? She didn''t seem particrly old" While adjusting her position so that her butt was pressed snugly against Vahn''sp, Wu adopted an expression that seemed to say, ''this woman is an idiot'' as she asked, "How am I supposed to know for certain if I haven''t actually seen her? All I know is that Nav eventually went on to be one of the Big Three of the Akuma Community. I seriously doubt another powerhouse associated with owls would just appear out of thin air. Besides, what does age have to do with anything? You''re like fifty-plus yet you don''t look a day over neen." Though she wasn''t particrly sensitive about her age, Sarina''s expression morphed into a resent-filled deadpan as she stared daggers at Wu. She got the impression that Wu was trying to make a fool of her in front of Vahn. Fortunately, just as she was about to say something, Vahn grabbed the tips of Wu''s rounded, monkey-like ears as he said, "Don''t go out of your way to antagonize others." Leaning her head back, Wu''s eyes squinted in a threatening manner. If he dared to pull on her ears, she would pull on his until they either drooped like an elephant or became detached from his head. Her ears were easily one of the most sensitive parts of her entire body. She also didn''t- Before Wu could even think to issue a threat of her own, Vahn began to gently massage the interior of her ears using his Hands of Nirvana. Sudden and intense pleasure permeated through the nerves in Wu''s ears before spreading through her head and running down her spine to the base of her tail. Immediately after that, it was almost like fireworks had been set off in her mind, a dazzling disy of light and sound that assaulted the senses and left Wu both mesmerized and disoriented. Just as Wu felt the imminent surge of a powerful climax, Vahn suddenly released her ears from his grasp. A dazed and confused expression subsequently developed across Wu''s face before quickly forming into a pout as she realized the meaning behind his actions. "You''reying with fire" Instead of a vocal response to Wu''s threatening words, Vahn nted a kiss on the top of her head before directing his attention to Sarina and asking, "What do you want to do?" Hearing Vahn''s words, the glimmer of envy in Sarina''s eyes disappeared as she answered, "I want to continue my mission but I can''t do it alone. Can you call someone to aid me?" Nodding his head, Vahn was about to call Ke when Wu interjected, saying, "We''re technically on the same side. As an apology for my previous behavior, I''ll go ahead and lend you a hand. No hard feelings, ''kay?" Though Wu''s words sounded remarkably insincere, the fact she had apologized at all left many in the Little Garden at a total loss for words. Wu wasn''t the type of person to give ground and admit her mistakes. There were even instances of her beating the people she had offended and wronged until they apologized to her. Thus, while it wasn''t nearly as impactful as her confession, hearing her offer even an insincere apology was shocking. Feeling itchy due to the number of people that were focusing on and thinking about her, Wu began to fidget atop Vahn''sp. In response, he wrapped his arms around her body, gently embracing her tiny frame as a steady stream of calming energy flowed from his body into hers. Though she would rather Vahn finish what he started previously, a contented sigh escaped Wu''s lips before she wriggled out of his embrace for the first time in nearly a full day. She felt a strange sense of emptiness when she was on her own two feet, but, having be ustomed to loneliness, she managed to appear as her usual, confident self as she gazed at Sarina and said, "Lead the way." Furrowing her brows, Sarina attempted to channel the dignity she believed the Vice-Leader of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth needed, stating, "I do not take orders from you. Besides, the whole reason I returned was to ''recharge'' and spend a bit of time with Vahn. I wouldn''t havee all this way just to tell him something he was already well aware of." As she spoke, Sarina did her best to maintain a rxed yet confident posture as she made her way past Wu and over to Vahn. To her surprise, Wu didn''t even try to stop her. Instead, she just raised her brows, an ostensibly surprised expression on her face as she followed Sarina''s passage with her zing, emerald-green eyes. Seeing Sarina sit sideways atop Vahn''sp, Wu would be lying if she said it didn''t bother her. The only reason she didn''t bonk Sarina over the head with her Ruyi Jingu Bang is because she knew it would make Vahn upset. This, in turn, would make her even more upset, so, for a brief moment, Wu was at aplete loss for what to do. To Wu''s surprise, it was Sarina that broke the silence, asking, "Are you just going to keep standing there, or are you going to join us? I''ll have you know I have no intention of leaving within the next four to six hours. If you''re not going to join us, you should go take a bath or something." Thinking Sarina was insulting her, Wu''s confusion quickly turned to anger as she asked, "What the hell did you just say?" Like a prey animal that had just stepped into the line of sight of a predator, Sarina''s body became tense enough to rival a statue. Fortunately, Vahn was there to assist, warmth flowing from the hand he had ced on her hip as he rified, "She was insinuating that you go and rx for a few hours, not that you smell bad. In response to Vahn''s exnation, Sarina nodded her head like a chicken. Wu was still ring at her, but, momentster, her expression rxed into an amused smile as she teased, "You''re pretty skittish, aren''t you? Is this big sister really that scary~?" To Wu''s surprise, Sarina promptly decided that she simply wasn''t going to respond. She was still feeling a little unnerved after her encounter with the Queen of Owls, so, now that she was seated atop Vahn''sp, Sarina took advantage of the situation to lean against his body and rest her head against his chest . While continuing to capture and crush countless insect-like golems, Chronoa also took the time to analyze the one she had ced into stasis. Despite resembling a cockroach formed of earthen materials, the interior structure of the golem was a lot more advanced than Chronoa had expected. Whoever created was clearly a skilled Mage, but, as one of the most gifted Mages in her entire verse, its secrets were not beyond Chronoa''s abilities to probe. "The secret appears toy in these crystals. Their interior structure is remarkably simr to a highly advancedputer. I bet I could reprogram them" Though the insectoid golems were nothingpared to the nanite-sized microgolems produced by Da Vinci, Chronoa wasn''t particrly well acquainted with Vahn''s most intelligent lover. The two had been introduced to one another, but, the moment Chronoa set eyes on Da Vinci, she knew they would never get along. Chronoa didn''t know if others were aware of it or simply chose to ignore it, but, as someone that had spent more than a hundred million years observing others, she could tell that the only things Da Vinci truly cared about were Vahn and whatever invention she happened to be working on. She was capable of appearing perfectly genial when speaking to others, but, deep within the woman''s mesmerizing eyes, Chronoa could sense an emotion simr to disdain. With the exception of Vahn, Da Vinci didn''t really seem to care about anyone in the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Believing that Vahn was well aware of Da Vinci''s quirks, Chronoa had never broached the subject. She had a lot of introspective thoughts regarding the other women in Vahn''s harem, but, fearing she would create unnecessary drama, she simply bottled them up. A hundred million years of living alone had left her with a number of her own quirks, so, as long as people like Seraphina or Da Vinci didn''t go out of their way to cause trouble, Chronoa would do her best to tolerate their existence. As far as Chronoa could tell, this was how most of the women in Vahn''s harem dealt with the girls they didn''t like . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Wu is a mischievous monkey'',''Spooky'',''Chronoa gives off the impression of a gossipy yet introverted housewife xD'') Chapter 2221: Assault

Chapter 2221: Assault

As Chronoa was preupied with analyzing insectoid golems, Seraphina was feeling frustrated as her literal army of minions failed to find anything of note. "I don''t get it. How can half a dozen people search a room filled with enemies without finding a single one?" With Chronoa keeping her discovery to herself, Seraphina was wholly unaware of the existence of the insectoid golems. A few of the cat-like Thieves in her employ had taken notice of them, but, as insects weren''t exactly umon, they simply ignored them. Unfortunately for Seraphina, most of the minions she sent out, while specializing in scouting, had very little sense in regards to magic. Had she deployed a few Mages, they may have been able to detect the subtle traces of magical energy contained within the golems. Instead, she had a ton of scantily d Kunoichi and a number of petite, cat-like Thieves running about in search of treasure and traps. Just as Seraphina was thinking about contacting Chronoa or asking Vahn for help, a muchrger red dot appeared on the disy she was observing. Out of curiosity, she ended up leaning forward and pressing therger dot without thinking. When it immediately zoomed in to show a feed of the area in question, Seraphina couldn''t help grimacing as she grumbled, "Seriously? All I needed to do was press one of the dots to see who it belonged to? How annoying" While groaning about something that would have been obvious to most people, Seraphina stared at the peculiar duo that had appeared on the disy. Hermon sense was somewhat distorted due to her origins as a Netherworld Subus but even she could tell there was something strange about the inordinatelyrge woman and the man cradled in her arms. "A Seraphim? I thought ''Heaven'' was located in the West?" Seeing the six wings framing the inordinatelyrge woman''s body, Seraphina mistook her for one of the Seraphim she had battled against during Heaven''s attempts to purge her Netheworld from existence. They weren''t nearly as powerful as Archangels, but they were still unbelievably annoying to deal with due to their ridiculous durability, insane regeneration, and powerful light magic. "Well, whatever. It''s not as though I, the Great and Powerful Lady Seraphina, haven''t killed hundreds of Seraphim. Oh-hohohohohoho~." Despite her words, Seraphina leaned back and made herselffortable atop her personal Prinny before directing her army to intercept the newly arrived duo. She wasn''t going to go out of her way to confront an enemy if she didn''t have to. Rather, as the General of an Army, Seraphina believed it was only natural she sit back and give orders. If the opponent wanted to battle her, they would first need to prove themselves against her minions . "You can set me down now, Gaia. Thank you." Complying with her Master''s orders, Gaia answered with a deep yet feminine, "Understood." before kneeling down and allowing the bespectacled man to stand on his own two feet. nting his oversized wrench into the ground, the man took a moment to dust himself off before reaching into his blue, panel-like Inventory to produced arge, ruby-red crystal. Tossing said crystal onto the ground, lines reminiscent of circuitry spread out to produce a strange yet very obvious magic circle. Once the circle had beenpleted, the ground below began to stir before promptly transmuting into the shape of an adorable creature resembling a fennec fox. The only notable differences were that it had arge, ruby-red horn growing from its head and a body entirelyprised of minerals found within the defensive satellite''s surface. Bending down, the bespectacled Magus took a moment to caress the metallic creature''s surface as he softly mused, "Hey there, Carb. Long time no see" While taking care to avoid cutting its Master with its incredibly sharp horn, Carb nuzzled against the bespectacled man''s palm like an obedient housecat. Adopting an affectionate smile, the bespectacled man was about to pick up his belovedpanion when Gaia disrupted his reverie, stating, "Master Leshaad, the enemy approaches" in her deep yet velvety tone. Exhaling a sigh, the bespectacled man, Sean Leshaad, gave Carb onest caress before rising to his feet, donning his headphones, and grasping the handle of his giant wrench. He was a little surprised to see that his opponents were a trio of near-identical girls with petite frames, exposed midriffs, and cat-like features. The only notable differences between them were the colors of their hair, eyes, and clothes. As Leshaad was observing the trio of Thiefs, the one in the lead, possessing a near-ck outfit with pure white hair and red eyes, suddenly reached into her skintight tube top. Then, despite having A-Cup breasts and virtually no cleavage, she managed to withdraw an oversized bomb that was evenrger than her head. "What the-" Before Leshaad could even finish his utterance, Gaia''s body split open like a suit of armor before promptly closely around him. At the same time, the fennec-like Carb jumped into the air, arge barrier appearing between it and the now 10m wide bomb that was crashing towards them like a meteor. *BOOM* Apanied by literal text spelling out the word boom, a massive explosion impacted the barrier generated by Carb. From the perspective of the people viewing from outside, it was like watching a nuclear warhead being set off from close range. Despite this, very little damage was done to Carb''s barrier, the walls of metal Gaia had shaped, and the defensive satellite as a whole. Some even came to the conclusion that the explosion had done no damage whatsoever . Seeing the Master Thief she had purchased do next to no damage, Seraphina, for the first time in quite a while, regretted being stingy. It was actually possible for her to spend additional resources to drastically increase the parameters of her summoned minions. She could even purchase levels to further increase their capabilities, but, as per usual, she only purchased discounted, Level 1 minions. Adding insult to injury, Gaia managed to defeat all three Thiefs with a simple wave of her hand. The Artificial Earth Spirit was able to manipte metal and earth with remarkable ease, so, the moment the trio tried to flee, she sent a series of spear-like spikes through their bodies. If observed through a Scouter, Gaia''s Base Power Level would average around 3.5 billion. Compared to the true powerhouses in the Divine Realm, she still had quite a long way to go. Unfortunately, at least for Seraphina and her trio of Thiefs, the strongest among them only had a BP of 888 at Level 1. With enough funds, this could have been increased to around 480 million, and, while that might not be a lotpared to Gaia, there was such a thing as quantity over quality. Understanding that her current army of minions was pretty much useless against an opponent like Gaia, Seraphina nearly bit through the nail of her left thumb as she promptly resummoned her Dark Assembly. For a brief moment, she seriously considered purchasing one of the Gods of Chaos or a Supreme Overlord ss minion. Instead, she hovered over the most powerful of the generic units, a feminine robot known as a Mecha Girl. With Vahn effectively forcing her to familiarize herself with each of the generic units, Seraphina knew that Mecha Girls had the highest parameters and the greatest overall firepower. They might not be the best suited for fighting individual opponents, but, with their ''Full Strike Artillery System, they could cover entire battlefields with their missile barrage andser cannons. Having already made up her mind, Seraphina reached into her cleavage to pull out a rainbow-hued credit card that was actually a sub-dimensional storage device containing a-sized version of Das Rheingold. It was capable of generating a veritable mountain of magically enriched gold every twenty-four hours, so, unless she purchased hundreds of C-B-Rank Gifts every single day, Seraphina would never go broke. Despite her iparable wealth, Seraphina still hesitated before swiping her rainbow-hued credit card and confirming her purchase. Immediately thereafter, ten ck and gold Mecha Girls known as War Ladies appeared before her. There were perfectly identical to each other, and, due to Seraphina maxing out the sliders for their Level and parameters, their respective Power Levels were just over 2 billion. Though she was wholly unaware of the strength of each War Lady, Seraphina knew it would be a pain in the butt for even her to fight ten at once. She would ultimately emerge victoriously, but, due to their ridiculously defensive capabilities, War Ladies would continue fighting even after sustaining blows that would levels. Confident that the decuplets would be more than enough to deal with any current and future foes, a confident smile developed across Seraphina''s face as she stood before the unblinking Mecha Girls and issued their orders . After extricating himself from the snug and warm interior of Gaia, Leshaad thanked her for worrying about him before arge blue panel a few meters overhead. From within, tens of thousands of ruby red crystals poured out before quickly spreading out like a deluge of exceptionally fine sand. Those in contact with the ground quickly formed into various types of insects while therger crystals bore into the surface of the defensive satellite in search of better materials. Less than a minute after Leshaad had released the crystals from his inventory, an army of animalistic and humanoid golems had surrounded him. This included a bulky, tank-like Earth Dragon that was more than 40m in length. Leshaad wasn''t much of a close-range fighter, so, shortly after the tank-like dragon had taken shape, he exchanged a brief kiss with Gaia before entering the interior of his mobilemand center, the Earth Dragon, Adamantoise. While Leshaad was preparing hismand and workstation, Gaia flew into the air in order to take charge of the massive army that was gradually taking shape around them. She was Leshaad''s most powerful creation, and, as a result, his General. "Proud warriors of the Earth Sage, heed my call! This is filled with people who have treated our brethren as little more than insects to be crushed. Let us demonstrate for them the fate that awaits all those who oppose Mother Nature and its majesty!" Though very few of Leshaad''s creations were gifted with the capacity for speech, that didn''t stop the army of golems from issuing low, high-pitched, and rumbling cries. Even the smallest insects flitted their wings or rubbed their legs together to produce a high-frequency, vibrational sound. Satisfied with her army''s response, Gaia shaped her right hand and forearm into a twistingnce before manifesting an ornate, multi-tier shield in her left. From her lower back, a segmented tail formed from earthen debris while two branch-like horns emerged from the sides of her head. Aiming hernce at one of the temple-like entrances that led further into the defensive satellite, Gaia shouted, "Chaaaarge!" in amanding tone. The army of golems immediatelyplied with her orders, a furious war shout reminiscent of a rockslide echoing across the entire surface of the defensive satellite as the earthen automatons prepared charged into its depths. Just as the first wave was prepared to make its descent, ten skyscraper-sized missiles emerged from over the horizon. Gaia immediately took notice of these, but, before she could even think to charge forward and destroy them, said missiles promptly splinted into tens of thousands of smaller, pencil-sized projectiles. It was a terrifying sight simr to a torrential downpour. However, due to the failed attack of the trio of Thiefs, Gaia wasn''t too concerned. She would, very quickly,e to regret this carelessness . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Gag Laws OP?'',''Seraphina is the biggest whale'',''Comcency kills o_o'') Chapter 2222: Bond

Chapter 2222: Bond

"Oh-hohohohohoho~! That''s what you get for thinking you could stand against me, the beautiful, powerful, and brilliant Lady Seraphina!" Seeing the destruction wrought by the mechanical War Ladies, Seraphina couldn''t help believing she had already won. With the exception of the massive dragon and a few of therger opponents, everything else had been utterly obliterated by the torrential volley of magically enhanced missiles. The few that remained showed signs of tremendous damage, cracks covering their bodies as their limbs crumbled away like brittle earthware. Among the heavily damaged golems was Gaia, who, despite being much stronger than each of the individual Mecha Girls, couldn''t hold up against theirbined assault. Each of her leaf-like wings had been burned away. The shield she had previously wielded in her left hand, much like the arm it was attached to, was nowhere to be seen. Had she not defended at thest moment, Gaia may have been destroyedpletely. As for the Earth Dragon piloted by Leshaad, it was the least damaged among the army of golems. It had been given the name Adamantoise for a reason. Unless it received a focused strike from someone with an advanced mastery over one of the more destructive Laws, it could withstand virtually any attack. Seeing that the original invaders were still standing, Seraphina paused to consider whether or not she should send the War Ladies forward. Instead, an ostensibly sadistic smile developed across her face as she suppressed augh and ordered yet another barrage. There was a reason she preferred guns over other forms of weaponry. If her opponents could be defeated from a distance, why waste time with other methods? Following Seraphina''s order, the group of ten War Ladies ended up unleashing several volleys of their splintering, extremely wide range missiles. For several minutes, it was like fire and death was raining from the sky over one specific area of the defensive satellite. By the time the onught had ceased, even the Adamantoise was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a pock-marked, ocean-sized crater had formed where the golem army previously stood "Oh-hohohohohoho~!" . After replenishing her Vahnobtainium reserves to their limit, Sarina, apanied by Wu, returned to the upied by Meng Zhang and the Guardians of the East. Shortly after that, they found themselves near the mountain range housing Meng Zhang''s pce. It was there they encountered their first obstacle, a seemingly endless forest filled with dense fog and dead or dying trees. "This wasn''t here when I left" Shrugging her shoulders, Wurgely ignored Sarina''sment as her Ruyi Jingu Bang started to emit a fiery, reddish-orange glow. Her Fiery Eyes of Truth allowed her to ascertain the truth and see through illusions, so, having determined that the forest before her was real, she decided the safest course of action was to destroy it. Noticing Wu''s actions, Sarina was about to ask what the petite monkey girl was thinking when thetter suddenly leaned forward and dashed into the eerie-looking forest. Momentster, a scene that could best be described as an infernal tempest of destruction urred. Wu ended up spinning her Ruyi Jingu Bang with such speed that it created a massive, fiery vortex. Each of the trees in her wake were uprooted or outright destroyed, consumed by the vortex and increasing the amount of destruction to her surroundings. Teleporting several kilometers away, Sarina''s expression formed into a deadpan as she watched the ming pir extend tens of kilometers into the sky. It was far from the most devastating attack she had seen, but, for reasons she couldn''t quite understand, it still frightened her to her core. A part of her knew, even though she was durable enough to survive the destruction of a, she wouldn''t emerge unscathed from the swirling vortex of me. "She kind of reminds me of Beerus and the Gods of Destruction" "Hey, watch your tongue. Don''t goparing me to some no-name losers." Following the unexpected response, Wu promptly manifested from one of the tiny golden hairs that had snuck their way onto and even inside of Sarina''s clothing. Her right hand had formed into a fist, but, instead of knocking Sarina on the head, she just tensed the muscles of her fingers a few times before dropping her hand and adding, "You''re someone important to Vahn. As your name spreads throughout the Little Garden, the weight of your words will gradually increase. I''ll ignore it this time but don''t expect me to turn a blind eye if you make any nderous remarks in the future" As someone that had endured quite a number of hardships as a result of the Little Garden''s system, Wu didn''t take kindly to peopleparing her to others. It was marginally more eptable if they werepared to her, but, even then, it was basically an insult that depreciated her character, and, depending on the circumstances, her very existence Recovering from the shock she experienced due to Wu''s unexpected appearance, Sarina swallowed the knot in her throat before nodding her head and saying, "My apologies. Despite being born in the Little Garden, I''m still getting used to the way things work. I''ll be sure to watch what I say in the future." Understanding that Sarina hadn''t been trying to insult her, Wu offered an approving nod before joining theparably busty beauty in her observation of the ongoing destruction. It was a little strange, but it actually felt nice not to have to pummel someone every time they said something that could be even remotely misconstrued as an insult . Mentally, physically, and spiritually exhausted, Hanzo was struggling to pull herself together after her seventh resurrection. As a result, Nobu, still in her Demon King of Sixth Heaven transformation, managed to locate her long before her body had fully formed and matured. "Ara, ara~? What''s this? You''re a real cutiepie, aren''t you~?" Forcing a smile, Hanzo attempted to elerate her recovery as she looked up at Nobu and asked, "Who knows? It''s been a while since I''ve seen my actual appearance. Why? Are you going to spare me for being cute?" Surprising Hanzo quite a bit, Nobu shrugged her shoulders in a careless manner, answering, "Sure? By this time, Mochita and Tomoe should be nearing the core of the offensive satellite. I also get the impression you''re no longer a threat. So long as you behave like an obedient little kitten, I don''t see the harm in sparing you." Unbeknownst to Hanzo, Nobu had developed a particr fondness for girls with cat and dog ears. She med this on Vahn, but, in reality, she simply enjoyed caressing beautiful girls with animalistic traits. Since Hanzo currently resembled a young Japanese girl with cat ears and a tail, Nobu''s desire to torment her had promptly vanished. At the very least, the form of torment she had in mind had changed drastically. Noticing the unconcealedsciviousness in Nobu''s gaze, realization washed over Hanzo like a bucket of icy cold water as she internally remarked, ("She is significantly more perverted than I thought") Realizing she could have saved herself a lot of time, effort, and pain if she had just altered her approach, a pained groan emanated from Hanzo''s throat as she cradled her aching head. Nobu, amused by Hanzo''s reaction, promptly squat before the petite cat girl, fearlessly caressing thetter''s head as she asked, "What''s your name, kemono brat?" Pulling a tanto de from the shadowy substance covering her body, Hanzo attempted to stab Nobu in the heart. To her surprise, thetter actually let this happen, a sadistic smile spreading across her face as she mused, "Bad kitty" Punctuating her words, Nobu jammed the index and middle fingers of her right hand into Hanzo''s mouth. Even without biting, a bloody taste spread through Hanzo''s mouth before quickly invading her throat. She attempted to jerk her head away and sink into her shadow, but she was incapable of escaping the vice-like grip Nobu had on her skull. "There, thereno need to be afraid. I''m just making sure you behave for the rest of the time we''re together" With Hanzo promptly biting through her fingers, the sadistic smile on Nobu''s face became even more prominent as she instantaneously regenerated the two digits. Before she could follow through with her n, however, the familiar voice of Vahn entered her mind, whispering, ("NobuI didn''t say anything previously but you''re clearly getting carried away. You know I hate when people are forced to act against their will") Clicking her tongue, Nobu removed her fingers from the confused Hanzo''s mouth before rising to her feet and giving the petite cat girl a firm kick in the rump, saying, "Scat! Get out of here!" Without hesitation, Hanzo gave up trying to fully form her body as she sank into her shadow and disappeared. She didn''t know what had changed Nobu''s mind, but, understanding that she had just escaped something terrible, Hanzo didn''t hesitate to flee far, far away. Tracking her quarry''s departure with the spirit imprint, Nobu had to take several deep breaths to suppress her almost instinctual urge to give chase. Fortunately for Hanzo, she really didn''t want to make Vahn angry or upset. He wouldn''tsh out or try to harm her, but, in many ways, that actually made things worse. It might sound kind of childish, but Nobu couldn''t stand whenever Vahn forced a smile through his disappointment . Exhaling a sigh of relief, Vahn contemted pulling Nobu to his side and helping her calm down. Instead, he transmitted calming energy through the Unit Management Function. He would never ssify Nobu as one of his subordinates but she was still listed alongside the tens of billions that had ced their trust in him over the years. In other words, he could link his senses with her, see through her eyes, and even experience her emotions whenever he wanted. Sensing Nobu''s inner turmoil and guilt, Vahn gradually absorbed it into himself before recing it with pure, positive emotions. At the same time, he recalled some of the more precious memories he and Nobu had shared since the moment he first summoned her in the Nasuverse. Though Nobu quickly realized what he was up to, Vahn sensed no desire for him to stop. Instead, a sense of relief washed over her as she mentally teased, ("If you wanted to get inside of me, you just had to ask") Returning a smile, Vahn decided to follow through on his previous urge to call Nobu to his side. She immediately appeared atop hisp, and, though she was slightly surprised by the sudden change in scenery, that didn''t stop her from grinning like a demon, grabbing the sides of his face, and kissing him with the passion and fervor of a Subus . After fleeing to apletely random, Hanzo took a moment to forcefully expel the contents of her stomach. She wasn''t entirely sure what Nobu had in mind but her instincts were screaming at her to get the woman''s blood out of her system. Unfortunately, even after Hanzo hadpletely purged her stomach, she still had the impression that something was seriously amiss. A sudden and intensifying warmth was spreading through her body. As someone who was intimately familiar with poisons, Hanzo''s first instinct was that Nobu had forced her to imbibe a powerful aphrodesiac. Beads of sweat began to develop across her forehead, and, though she did her best to resist the excruciating heat, it wasn''t long before she had copsed in a heap, her ears and tail twitching violently as she found herself lying in a bed that had ostesnbily appeared out of thin air . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Oh-hohohohoho~!'',''Wu is like a maiden in love (O w O)'',''RIP Hanzo'') Chapter 2223: Overcome

Chapter 2223: Ovee

Demonstrating she was a fair bit stronger than even the ''upgraded'' Nobu, Okita managed to cut a path all the way to the 49th Floor in just a few hours. The only thing standing between her, Tomoe, and the Model Omega was a humanoid automaton known as the Proto Dragonyer. Unlike the various Imperial Dragon Models that invaders would encounter along their way to the core, the Proto Dragonyer was exceptionally small at only 220cm. It possessed an exceptionally lean body covered in pure, ivory white armor. In its right hand was a 340cm long runic weapon that served as ance, a magical catalyst, and an executioner''s de. As a weapon that hade about as a ''safeguard'' against Imperial Dragons going rogue, the Proto Dragonyer could bepared to beings near the absolute pinnacle of Tier 4. The core pulsating in its chest was capable of generating a functionally infinite amount of energy, and, despite being a machine, it had been programmed to possess capabilities on par with Artoria in her base state. Sensing Okita and Tomoe the moment they trespassed the moon-sized 50th Floor, the eyes of the Proto Dragonyer immediately came to life with a silvery-blue glow. Pressure hissed from each of its previously locked joints as the runes lining its A-Rank Weapon burned with fiery gold. Without so much as a single moment of hesitation, the Proto Dragonyer covered the distance between it and Okita in what appeared to be a single step. Its teleportation-like speed was enough to catch Tomoe by surprise, but, as someone once had a personalityparable to an automaton, Okita immediately intercepted with her Zanpakuto, an excessively long katana whose handle, alone, was nearly 100cm in length. As for the de, even Da Vinci wasn''t sure of its exact measurements, as, despite appearing to be around 143cm in length, the space around it was sopressed that its actual length was easier to measure in lightyears than centimeters. Despite the rather drastic difference in their respective heights, it was the Proto Dragonyer that was sent skidding backward after crossing des with Okita. A hair-thin nick had also appeared at the point of contact, so, rather than attempting to defeat her in a contest of speed and strength, it began to generate an infinitely amplifying loop of energy using the crescent-shaped ring near the center of its weapon. It was exceptionally difficult for a machine to emte a person''s mastery over the Laws, so, topensate for itsck of trueprehension, the Proto Dragonyer was able to generate des and beams of energy that could cut through entires like a hot knife through butter. Spinning its weapon with a forceparable to a tempest, hundreds of skyscraper-sized des of golden, highly prative energy beset Okita and Tomoe at near-lightspeed. Okita was able to cut through each and every one of these with a notably casual finesse, but, instead of dissipating once cut, the resplendent energy lingered in the environment like a glistening golden mist. Sensing that something was amiss, Okita returned her Zanpakuto, Rengoku, to its sheath with such extreme speed that the cameras observing the battle failed to register the movement. Immediately thereafter, everything within the scene appeared to slow to a crawl as the Central Network adjusted the frame rate to be able to capture the fastest object on the screen, Okita. From the perspective of observers, the Proto Dragonyer, and even Tomoe, everything around Okita appeared to dim at an ever-increasing rate. Even the golden particles produced by the Proto Dragonyer''s attacks appeared to fade away as Okita, very slowly, grabbed the hilt of her katana. For a brief yet unnervingly long moment in time, Okita appeared to solidify in her drawing stance. Then, despite the fact the cameras had been adjusted to a frame rate of ten undecillion frames per second, it was only able to capture a blindingly bright sh of light before Okita appeared behind the now-bifurcated Proto Dragonyer. Though it could survive losing its limbs or being sliced through at the waist, Okita had effectively annihted the Proto Dragonyer''s core by unleashing an even greater amount of energy than the functionally infinite it was capable of outputting. As a result, the silvery-blue glow promptly faded from its eyes, golden vapor erupting from its joints as it slouched over and spontaneously heated up to a temperature that rivaled the core of a blue star on the verge of copse, approximately 350 million degrees. Despite the fact they were wearing a sports swimsuit and a bikini, neither Tomoe nor Okita panicked when the Proto Dragonyer promptly unleashed a wave of radiation so intense that it would instantaneously kill most biological organisms. The heat it generated was also localized on the molecr level, so, while their surroundings suddenly heated up to nearly 40 degrees, it was offset by the fact the previous temperature had been close to -240. Wiping away a trace of sweat from her brow, a radiant smile developed across Tomoe''s face as she approached Okita and said, "Good job. It''s no wonder our Lord entrusted you with this task. I''m not sure Nobu-dono and I would have been able to emerge victoriously at our current level." Shaking her head, Okita maintained a calm, almost emotionless expression as she stated, "Nobu is a lot stronger than you know. Her physical strength and speed may becking but she makes up for it with sheer cunning, determination, and general shamelessness. If she was unable to defeat it on her own, she would have asked Master for help." Smiling even wider at the mention of Vahn, Tomoe didn''t even try to argue with Okita. It might not exactly be fair or honorable, but, if they were to ask for help, Tomoe had no doubt Vahn would step in to lend a hand. While others needed a reason to help others, Vahn was pretty much the opposite of a normal person. Unless he had a very good reason not to help, he would even assist his enemies if it meant improving their quality of life and helping them better themselves. It was just the kind of man, no, the kind of God he was. Nodding her head in agreement with Okita''s previous statement, Tomoe was about to mention that it was her time to shine when a petite, heavily sweating cat girl suddenly emerged from her shadow to grab her ankles. Okita was quick to act, but, due to the attacker''s innocent, child-like appearance, she was hesitant to cut off her hands, much less her head. Fortunately, at least for Tomoe and Okita, the petite cat girl was currently having ''a lot'' of trouble maintaining her focus. Her intention was to immediately draw Tomoe into her shadow, but, due to a sudden and intense shudder assaulting her body, she ended up clinging to the former''s ankles as if they were the only thing keeping her from sinking into the depths herself. Coming to her senses, the muscles in Tomoe''s long, pale-white legs flexed as she leaped from her would-be abductor''s clutches. The force of her jump was more than enough to break free, and, due to the girl clinging to her, she ended up being ''yanked'' out of the shadow. She tried to right herself in mid-air, but, the moment the cat girl reached the apex of her arc, Okita appeared like a phantom before nting the pommel of her Zanpakuto into the girl''s stomach. While most people would exhale and gasp upon receiving such a blow, the petite cat girl actually issued a whimpering mewl as she copsed over Okita''s left arm. This left the tanned beauty more than a little confused, a befuddled expression appearing on her face as she held the limp cat girl by the scruff of clothes and asked, "Are you horny?" "Okita-dono!" With a faint blush on her face, Tomoe promptly retrieved the panting cat girl from Okita''s clutches before helping her toy on the ground. She knew this was the girl that had tried to assassinate her previously, but, even before her meeting with Vahn, Tomoe had already given up the path of a true warrior. She also had a soft spot for children, so, after a moment of deliberation, she pulled out a nket to cover the cat girl''s torso before retrieving a bucket and a series of hand towels from her Inventory. Taking advantage of the medical knowledge she had umted during her time as a Nun and a Midwife, Tomoe soaked the towels in cold and lukewarm water. The former was ced on the girl''s head to help cool her fever while thetter was ced into the slits of her hakama, specifically over her thighs. After that, she pulled out a golden apple and a vial of opaque, rainbow-hued liquid as she exined, "This Elixir should treat any underlying conditions you may have. As for the apple, it will replenish your stamina and satiate your hunger." Without waiting for the girl''s response, Tomoe promptly poured the contents of the vial into her mouth. To herplete and utter shock, an even more violent tremor ran through the girl''s body as she curled up into a fetal position and shivered like a kitten that had been abandoned outside in the cold rain. Just as Tomoe''s confusion reached its peak, a contented sigh suddenly escaped the cat girl''s mouth as all the tension drained from her body. She immediately lost consciousness as a pitch-ck liquid began to condense like beads of sweat on her body. The sight was simr to seeing someone expel the impurities from their body. However, due to the distinctck of a pungent aroma, Tomoe didn''t believe this was the same thing. Donning a pure white glove, Tomoe spooned up a bit of the pitch-ck liquid before watching as it dissolved from her fingertip. It was surprisingly cool to the touch, and, though it wasn''t obvious at first, she could detect a very faint yet feminine aroma. "Is it really just sweat?" Though she was intimately familiar with first aid and patient care, Tomoe couldn''t be qualified as an experienced physician. She just trusted that the Elixirs developed by Da Vinci and Vahn were able to cure pretty much anything. What Tomoe didn''t know was that the Elixirs Da Vinci had prepared for use during the Gift Game were catalyzed from Vahn''s blood. They didn''t have a particrly long shelf life on their own, but, the moment they were used, Vahn would be aware of it. In essence, it was actually Vahn that was curing people rather than the Elixir itself. At first, Vahn was content with letting the cat girl, Hanzo, reap the consequences of her actions. He had no obligation to help her expel the blood Nobu had forced her to imbibe. Rather, the moment he stepped in to prevent her from being controlled, he had already done the feline assassin a great service. Since Tomoe had decided to help Hanzo of her own ord, Vahn no longer had a reason to dy her treatment. He immediately purged Nobu''s blood from her body, but, due to the energies that had transmitted and settled into her body, the Elixir had actually exacerbated her condition. He was able to mitigate the effects almost immediately, but, for a very brief moment, Hanzo experienced a wave of pleasureparable to melding. If not for her inhuman self-control, her back would have arched rather than allowing her to curl up into the fetal position in ast desperate attempt to stifle her moans. As for the ck substance expelled from her body? Hanzo''s cells basically existed in a state of quantum superposition. She was a real person, but, simr to someone that had mastered the Magia Erebea, her cells were alsoprised entirely of Shadow Energy. In other words, she was basically a Logia with the physical properies of a Shadow Human. Simply put, the substance excreted from Hanzo''s body was sweat. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Of course Da Vinci would have countermeasures for her own creations xD'',''Proto Dragonyer be like, "Infinity!" while Okita be like, "Infinityplus one!"'',''Tomoe is a good girl (U w U)'') Chapter 2224: Stealing the Show

Chapter 2224: Stealing the Show

Feeling more content than she had in a long time, Hanzo released an unrepentantly adorable, "Munyaaa?" before stretching her body and sitting up with a dazed expression on her face. For the briefest of moments, she hadpletely forgotten she was supposed to be participating in a Gift Game. Instead, she just stared nkly at Tomoe and Okita, her cat-like ears twitching atop her head as she slowly pieced everything together. With the towel having fallen from Hanzo''s head, Tomoe took the opportunity to check the petite ninja''s temperature. She had cooled down a lot, but, even after sleeping for the better part of an hour, she was still a little warm. "You shouldn''t get up just yet. Your fever has yet to break." Despite her words, Tomoe brought out some apple slices and a cup of green tea. She spent a lot of time with girls possessing animalistic tendencies, and, more often than not, green tea with ginger or mint were their go-to''s in terms of drink preference. Altria, in particr, enjoyed her tea with a hint of catnip sprinkled in. She apparently enjoyed the way it made her tummy flutter. Though the gears in Hanzo''s mind were spinning like high-performance servos, the expression on her face was a perfect mask of calm mixed with slight caution. She wasn''t unustomed to ying the part of a child, so, seeing how Tomoe and Okita had lowered their guards, her mind was racing with thoughts of how she could kill them andplete her mission. Extending her hands in a tentative, sheepish manner, Hanzo epted the tea proferred to her by Tomoe, muttering, "Thank you" in a meek tone. The ears atop her heady t, and, though she was very nearly 500 years old, she managed to give off the impression of an innocent, ostensibly harmless youth on the cusp of adolescence. Unfortunately, at least for Hanzo, Vahn had given the girls essories that allow them to know the true intentions of the people around them. Hanzo was exceptionally gifted in the art of masking her emotions, but, unless she could manipte the flow of fate around her body, the essories joint-manufactured by Vahn and Da Vinci would invariably give away her intentions. Feeling the band on her right ring finger vibrating ever-so-slightly, the corners of Tomoe''s smile became indiscernibly cramped. She didn''t know how old the girl sitting before her was but it made her ufortable knowing a ''child'' wanted to kill her. It wasn''t going to prevent her from lending a hand, but it was still disheartening when the people you helped were willing to betray you. It was one of those things that just felt wrong Though she had noticed the subtle changes in Tomoe''s expression, Hanzo could only guess at the white-haired woman''s thoughts. All she knew for certain was that Tomoe had helped her, so, taking advantage of her kindness, Hanzo downed the entire cup of green tea before voraciously devouring each and every one of the peeled apple slices. Then, with traces of gratitude in her doe-like eyes and an expression of childish naivete superimposed on her face, she asked, "Where is this?" in the same meek tone as before. Exhaling through her nose, a motherly expression of exasperation marred Tomoe''s smiling face as she extended her hand to caress Hanzo''s head and say, "Don''t take things too far. We know there is nothing wrong with you. That Elixir I gave you can resurrect the dead, regrow limbs, remove curses, and treat every ailment imaginable. That includes ailments that affect the mind, so, please, drop the act." While resisting the urge to slice off the hand that was caressing her head, Hanzo silently shifted her ruby-eyed gaze between Tomoe and Okita. She was pretty sure she could deal with the former, but thetter gave off a simr impression to the Angels found in the West. Her current form appeared to provide her some degree of protection, but, based on what her instincts were telling her, Hanzo knew the dark-skinned woman wouldn''t hesitate to cut her down if forced. Exhaling a sigh of her own, Hanzo moved her head away from Tomoe''s hand as she asked, "What do want from me? If you expect me to betray my Master over something as mundane as medical care, you''re severely mistaken. I may have lived my entire existence in the shadows, but I''m not a traitor." Raising her brows, a mixture of amusement and genuine concern appeared in Tomoe''s equally red eyes as she unhesitantly replied, "We helped you because we wanted to. Though I would prefer it if you stop trying to assassinate or steal me away, you''re free to do whatever you please once you''re able to move freely. Just be more careful in the future, okay?" Pulling out another golden apple, Tomoe ced it onto Hanzo''sp before rising to her feet and adding, "Good luck." in her characteristically motherly tone. Then, alongside Okita, she made her way towards the massive, vault-like door that led to the chamber containing the Model Omega. Hanzo followed their departure with her eyes, but, instead of attacking, she ultimately ended up shaking her head before grabbing the apple, taking a bite, and sinking into her shadow . ***yer Tomoe Gozen of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth Community has managed to awaken a Model Omega. Space has now opened to those with the ability to ess it.*** Hearing the announcement broadcast throughout the entire Game Board, a smile developed across Amaterasu''s face as she immediately ced Susanoo in charge of the effort to besiege the Akuma Community. At this point, her Community had already managed to blockade thes belonging to the Roc and Saurian Demon Kings, but, due to their scorched earth tactics, they had been unable to destroy them. Now that space was open, Amaterasu had a lot more options. Manifesting within the center of the Game Board''s Sun, Amaterasu quickly expanded her Authority through it. Momentster, she had absolute dominion over the massive ball of sma and gas. This gave her a sudden and intense urge to unleash a series of sr res towards the belonging to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, but, feeling that she had already offended Vahn too much, Amaterasu set her sights on the various offensive and defensive satellites littering the surrounding space. "Model Omega? Such toys arepletely meaningless in the face of true power. Now, people of the Little Garden! Bear witness to the majesty of a Goddess possessing a Sun Authority!" With most of the external disys shifting their focus to her, Amaterasu manipted the Sun to transform into an impossiblyrge fox with nine, ming tails. Unlike a traditional kitsune, however, it had rtively tiny, dragon-like horns protruding from its head, as, like all constructs formed from a Sun Authority, Amaterasu''s ''True Form'' was also a Pure-Blooded Dragon. Unleashing a radiance that caused clouds to dissipate and oceans to boil, Amaterasu was about to unleash her rage and indignation on the nearestoid when her instinctspelled her to look in the direction of the belonging to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. She hadn''t been able to sense it in her base state, but, now that she was a Pure-Blooded Dragon, Amaterasu was vaguely aware of the tyrannical aura that Vahn was keeping contained within. It caused a cold yet imaginary sweat to break out across her body, but, at the same time, she also felt a growing sense of excitement "Vahn Aldrnari Masonyou really are a beast beyondpare" Though Amaterasu''s words had been muttered under her breath, the murmurs of a star-sized fox weren''t exactly discreet. Everyone in the Little Garden had heard her, and, as a result, a seemingly endless surge of power flowed into Vahn. Compared to the amount he already possessed, however, it was surprisingly minuscule . Sensing the focus of hundreds of billions of people spontaneously shifting to him, Vahn actually felt a little guilty about the illusion he was using to obscure him and Nobu. He could feel their desire to know more about him, so, after a moment of silence, he forced the half-conscious Nobu to look up at him as he said, "It''s time" Though she was currently in a dazed state, a predatory smile developed across Nobu''s face as she traced the razor-sharp nail of her index finger across his exposed chest and mused, "Go and steal the show" Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn manifested clothes to cover Nobu''s body before surprising quite literally everyone as he rose from his throne and allowed her to take his ce. She was still a little tired, but, thanks to the illusion he had created to cover the entire throne room, the version of Nobu that everyone saw was the confident, slightly terrifying woman that had pursued Hanzo like a possessed demon. While the Little Garden was practically exploding due to the unexpected development, Vahn took a moment to stretch his body and pop his joints before gazing at the ceiling overhead. A part of him was tempted to smash through the very foundation of the, but, considering he had basically just transferred ownership of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth to Nobu, it wouldn''t exactly be appropriate to destroy part of her ceiling. Instead, he teleported directly into space, a rxed smile developing across his face as he, very briefly, allowed the tensions of his body to rx in zero-g. Feeling even more people directing their attention towards him, Vahn inhaled a ''breath'' formed from the energies contained within the void. Once his lungs werepletely filled, he opened his eyes to reveal shimmering golden pupils that were squarely focused on the massive fox staring at him in the distance. He could feel the fear exuding from the very core of Amaterasu''s being, but, as he had already promised her the consequences of her actions, his body began to swell as he quickly took on a form resembling a bipedal dragon with taloned feet, four arms, golden scales, and several sets of wings. By the time Vahn had finished transforming, the he had previously been sitting at the center of could now fit in the palm of one of his hands. He could feel the attention directed towards him shifting from curiosity to a mixture of fear and awe, but, thanks to the self-actualized nature of his existence, he wasrgely unaffected as he exhaled a breath of fiery golden breath, fixed his gaze on Amaterasu, and said, "We are Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sagon Dragon Emperor and God of Infinite Possibilities. Amaterasu Omikami, the time for your judgment is nigh." Though she had been stunned by Vahn''s transformation, Amaterasu''s vulpine expression morphed into one of vexation and fury as she bared her teeth and growled, "Wewe are not afraid of you!" Instead of shaking his head, Vahn actually nodded in response to Amaterasu''s words. This left the spectators feeling confused until he began gathering energy in his palms, stating, "You will be." in a voice that spread through the Game Board and the Divine Realm in equal measure . As the scene of two star-sized entities facing off against each other was pretty difficult to miss, Wu temporarily ceased her destruction of the Forest of Owls. The zing inferno she created was still rampaging, but, instead of empowering it further, she allowed it to roam freely she joined Sarina in staring at the heavens, asking, "Is that Vahn? And here I thought he was going to sit on his ass the entire game" Understanding Wu''s confusion, a conflicted yet resigned look developed across Sarina''s face as she exined, "Once this Gift Game has reached its conclusion, the Sage Dragon''s Hearth will develop into an Alliance known as the Aldrnari Empire. Vahn intends to spread his influence throughout the entire Little Garden. I can''t go into too many details while we''re in the Game Board but I can reveal that Nobunaga-sama is one of the Eight Empresses he has selected to help govern and watch over the Little Garden. I believe her official title was something along the lines of ''Far Eastern Empress'' or ''Empress of the Far East''" Furrowing her brows, Wu couldn''t help feeling annoyed by the fact Vahn hadn''t informed her about his ns. She understood why he had kept it a secret, but, now that they were a couple, she wanted to be a part of everything he was nning. Her pride wouldn''t allow her to be kept out of the loop when even someone as ''weak'' as Sarina was kept informed . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Hanzo is cherishing her final life xD'',''Amaterasu be like, "I have be error"'',''It''s okay Wu-chan. You can always Journey to the West and be one of the Empresses there xD'') Chapter 2225: Reaction : Clemency

Chapter 2225: Reaction : Clemency

Covering the distance between him and Amaterasu''s avatar in an instant, Vahn took advantage of the fact she had reared back her head to grab her throat. His ws immediately extended to form solid bands around her neck as his two, free right hands sank into the massive fox''s abdomen and chest. "Kuh-! You-" Though her true body was located near the center of the fox, Amaterasu could still feel the impact of Vahn''s fist. Unfortunately, the moment she opened her mouth to try and curse him, he released a soul-shaking roar directly into her face. Her vision becamepletely obstructed by his maw, and, for a brief moment, the terrifying notion that he was about to devour her whole briefly crossed her mind. Without waiting for Amaterasu to recover from her stupor, Vahn hooked one of his ws under her left arm as his remaining two hands sank deep into the gaseous flesh of her abdomen. Then, with a second roar echoing throughout the entirety of the Divine Realm, he promptly ripped her avatar in two . "Holy sh*t! Is that Vahn?" With space opening up, Ke was no longer forced to sit and wait for a chance to rampage. She was originally nning to charge towards Amaterasu, but, seeing a massive dragon appear shortly after the massive fox took form, she correctly assumed it was Vahn. He had done something very simr during his battle against the Grand Priest. From the back of Ke''s mind, the voice of Kale could be heard grumbling, ("Grrrrrrhow dare he steal my Ane-san''s spotlight!?") Responding with her own inner voice, Cauli stated, ("Don''t get worked up over nothing. We just need to find some other ce to wreak havoc.") ("H-Hai!") Feeling marginally more plete'' after Kale''s response, Ke took off like a golden meteor towards one of the distant specks of light she believed to be a. She had already made a name for herself by facing off against the Onigashima Community and destroying their. In spite of this, Ke was nowhere near satisfied. She was someone who had once aspired to be the absolute strongest. Vahn knocking her up had caused her to mellow out a bit, but, now that she had a chance to show off, there was no way in hell she was going to pass it up . Hearing her Master''s roar wash over her like a warm shower, a smile developed across Fenrir''s face as she angled her head towards the heavens with her eyes closed. Mikoto and Usalia had also taken notice of the battle urring in space, but,pared to Fenrir, their reactions were markedly more grounded. Though she had seen Vahn go full-blown Eldritch God in his battles against the Magic Gods and the being known as The Beginning, Mikoto never enjoyed watching it. She genuinely believed that Vahn was the type that hated violence. He may enjoy showing off every now and again, but, whenever he was forced to take action and cause harm, he would subsequently fall into a depressive state. Someone that cared so deeply about the happiness of others shouldn''t be forced to subjugate their enemies through fear While Fenrir and Mikoto were lost in their thoughts, Usalia''s mind had wandered in a very different direction. She was one of Rindo''s biggest fans, so, seeing Vahn in his dragon transformation, Usalia was practically drooling as she imagined what it would be like to engorge herself upon a mountain-sized dragon tail steak Liberating the trio from their reverie, a massive explosion rocked the very foundation of the they were currently standing on. The trio immediately came back to their senses with Mikoto being the first to speak, asking, "Was that Ke?" Spreading her AIM Field across the, Mikoto was able to confirm her suspicions even before Fenrir had nodded in affirmation. This left her with a wry smile on her face as Ke''s arrival was one of the biggest possible wrenches that could have been thrown into their ns. "We should hurry, plip. Vahn doesn''t want this to be destroyed until the others have been taken care of. I''m not sure how powerful this Indra fellow is, but I don''t think he can defeat Ke in her current state." Though Kale, Cauli, and even Ke would have been powerless near the beginning of the Gift Game, their performance against the Onigashima Community had earned them quite a bit of favor within the Little Garden. It was also well known that Indra had bequeathed the majority of his power to his son after the previous war, so, even though he was one of the Gods credited with the creation of the current Little Garden, his power was a mere fraction of his original self''s. Exhaling a sigh, Fenrir attempted to contact Ke via telepathy, but, due to Kale''s cheering, she was unable to get a clear message through to Cauli. Thetter was fully focused on breaking through a defensive formation maintained by members of the Rakshasa and Asura Tribes. In truth, Cauli was fully aware of the fact that Fenrir was trying to speak to her. She simply had no intention of backing down after crashing into a and discovering a massive army awaiting her. Had they been using a standard means ofmunication, she would have pretended the reception was bad before subsequently dropping the call. Understanding exactly what Ke was up to, an icy expression developed across Fenrir''s face as she shifted her attention to Usalia, asking, "Can you deal with that monkey-brained idiot for me? I can''t fight her in her current state." Though her power had increased by leaps and bounds ever since her ''awakening'' during Zao Shin''s Immortal Banquet, Fenrir was still a lot weaker than Mikoto and Usalia. The former wasn''t all that far behind Vahn in terms of actual Tier while thetter was durable enough to survive the copse of a universe. If anyone could make Ke feel as though she had hit a wall, it was Usalia. Nodding in affirmation of Fenrir''s request, the hair on Usalia''s body began to re outward as it became noticeably spikier. Her tail, in particr, seemed to inte like a balloon, quickly increasing to the size of arge melon as red electricity crackled across her body. Believing that time was of the essence, Usalia followed her transformation by squatting down onto all fours and practically teleporting in the direction of the conflict. A massive explosion crashed into the bodies of Fenrir and Mikoto, but, thanks to their magical barriers, the dust flowed around them as they began to discuss changes to their original n . Amaterasu was afraid. For the first time since her encounter with the Demon God, Amaterasu knew what it meant to feelpletely powerless. Her body vehemently refused to listen to her, and, no matter what kind of defenses she tried to put up, Vahn would tear through them as though they were paper. To make matters worse, each of his attacks was followed by a period of calm. He was, quite literally, giving her the chance to regenerate and retaliate just to demonstrate the futility of her actions "Pleaseno more" After experiencing the pain of having her avatar ripped limb from limb more than a dozen times, Amaterasu had already lost the will to fight. Vahn had even managed to punch clean through her Sacred Mirror, the Yata no Kagami. It was supposed to be able to reflect any attack, but, as if there was no force in creation capable of stopping his blow, Vahn managed to smash through it before piercing through her avatar''s chest with such precision that the tip of his w nearly grazed her true self. Stopping just as his ws were about to tear out the avatar''s throat, Vahn retracted his hand long enough to say, "Those that willfully endanger children and try to leverage the lives of the innocent against their opponents have no right to clemency. As beings that stand above countless others, we have an obligation to set an example. If we don''t care, why should anyone else?" Despite his words, Vahn didn''t immediately continue his assault on Amaterasu''s avatar. Instead, he shifted his gaze toward one of the cameras focusing on the action. This prompted the majority of disys to show the same image as he dered, "The Little Garden may be a crucible to determine who has the right to govern reality, but it is also a ce for entertainment and fun. The existence of Gift Games was supposed to allow us topete without causing harm. Instead, it has be a tool used by the strong and opportunistic to oppress and take advantage of the weak. Most of the current residents of the Little Gardenck even the most basic qualifications to participate in a Gift Game yet their lives and living conditions are decided through them" Shaking his head, Vahn raised one of his massive, wed hands before forming it into a fist as he said, "No more. Soon enough, my Aldrnari Empire will spread its influence through all four districts of the Little Garden. If I find there are people exploiting the Gift Game system to take advantage of others, the only mercy they should expect from me is a quick death" Manifesting a star-sized version of Laev-tan, Vahn swept it through Amaterasu and her foxy avatar before she could even blink. She was instantaneously ejected from the Game Board but the image that was burned into the hearts and minds of the spectators wasn''t the defeat of one of the most prominent Sun Goddesses. It was the sight of a massive, abyssal ck rift dividing the Game Board in two . Rising with a start, Amaterasu found herself searching her body in a panic. The attack Vahn had used against her was empowered by the Law of Destruction, so, even though the Central Network had protected her, cold sweat had developed across her body as the fear she might break down at any moment persisted in the back of her mind. Fortunately, while Laev-tan did, in fact, carry the Law of Destruction within her, Vahn controlled it so that it only affected Amaterasu''s physical vessel. He could even cut through fate at his current level so controlling the power of destruction to ''spare'' her mental and spiritual energies was remarkably simple. After confirming that she wasn''t going to spontaneously dissolve into dust, a sigh of extreme relief departed Amaterasu''s lips as she copsed against the throne-like chair in her private waiting room. For several minutes after that, she just stared off into space, her eyes periodically shifting in and out of focus as she reced the battle over and over within her mind. Though he had ripped her limb from limb, Amaterasu recalled that there was never a moment when Vahn showed a genuine desire to kill her. "Was he trying to break me?" Shaking her head in response to her own question, Amaterasu reasoned that if Vahn had wanted to break her, she wouldn''t be sitting in her Community''s waiting room right now. It was far more likely that Vahn had acted with the intention of teaching her a lesson and illustrating the fate that awaited those who opposed him Recalling the moment Vahn had grabbed her throat, Amaterasu''s fingers subconsciously moved to her neck. She became keenly aware that her heart was beating far faster than usual, but, instead of feeling difort, she felt relief. If Vahn had wanted to kill or rece her, Amaterasu had no doubt he could have done exactly that. He had even prepared an Amaterasu of his own, but, from start to finish, she never appeared. She didn''t know what had changed his mind, but, feeling that Vahn had given her the clemency she had been looking for, Amaterasu decided to carve his final warning into her heart as she began to reflect on her past actions (A/N: So many buts in thatst paragraphalso, since there is a good chance that people have forgotten, Vahn keeps the true bodies of his family/friends/lovers in his personalized LG. Those appearing ''outside'' are basically just avatars. Cauli and Kale are actually a few months preggers atm.) . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn really knows how to split a girl in two'',''Ke is a naughty girl'',''A very one-sided affair o_o'') Chapter 2226: Entering the End Game

Chapter 2226: Entering the End Game

With Amaterasu taken care of, Vahn didn''t really have much left to do. He could destroy the others with rtive ease but that would defeat the purpose of sending Nobu, Tomoe, and Okita to capture the Model Omega. Thus, after repairing the Sun and asking Amaterasu if she was willing to watch over it, Vahn teleported back to the throne/control room where Nobu was waiting. "Oh~? Are you finished showing off? I expected you to at least wipe out the Akuma Community before returning." As it had only been a few minutes since Vahn''s departure, Nobu was still exhausted. Others couldn''t see it but she was currently curled atop the throne in her most petite form, a smoldering, somewhat predatory smile on her face as she observed Vahn''s approach with her carmine eyes. Taking advantage of their rtive privacy, Vahn picked Nobu up before cing a kiss atop her head and sitting back down. She responded by biting his nipple through the fabric of his clothes, but, as he was already used to such antics, Vahn just smiled as he drew her closer and answered, "I''ll step in if Wu and Mikoto are unable to handle things" "MmmI see" Though she was prepared to defend the throne room with her life, Nobu would be lying if she said she wasn''t happy that Vahn had returned. She didn''t need to sleep but that didn''t mean she didn''t enjoy it. Thus, after making herselffortable, she quickly dozed off in Vahn''s embrace. A fatherly smile briefly appeared across thetter''s face, but, understanding that Nobu wouldn''t appreciate it if she learned he was looking at her with such eyes, Vahn subsequently leaned back, eyes closed as he enjoyed a short nap of his own . Even though it had only been a short while since she crashed into the, Ke had managed toy waste to arge portion of the Rakshasa tribesmen and women. If not for the interference of the Asura Tribe, she may have wiped them out in seconds. Despite having one of the smallest poptions in the Divine Realm, each individual member of the Asura/Asuri Tribe was a powerhouse capable of crushing weaker 4-Digit Communities on their own. They were considered one of the ultimate warrior tribes, so, while Ke was able to fodder even the strongest Rakshasa, the only injury sustained by the nine members of the Asura Tribe was the loss of a single limb. A limb that almost immediately healed. Unfortunately, as powerful as the Asura Tribesmen and women were, their only saving grace was the fact that Ke was fighting with her arms crossed. She didn''t want the battle to end too quickly, so, despite being surrounded on all sides by muchrgerbatants, she maintained a cocky smile as she practically danced around their attacks. "You bastards ain''t half bad. Keep this up and I may break a sweat." While the other members of the Asura Tribe were offended by Ke''s remark, one of their members, an inordinately tall woman with ashen skin, untamed red hair, and emerald green eyes gestured for them to remain calm as she said, "Calm down. If you get riled up against an opponent like this, you won''t be able toy a hand on her. Maintain the encirclement and try to time your attacks so there are no gaps." Shifting her attention to the apparent leader of the group, a taunting smile developed across Ke''s face as she raised her brow and asked, "Who the hell are you supposed to be? I''m Ke, by the way. I guess you can call me the Saiyan Goddess. Nice to beatya." Returning a smile of her own, the four-armed woman answered, "Pweamma." before manifesting a pair of daggers and two ornate metal clubs known as Gada. Without waiting for Ke''s response, Pweamma charged forward with a rxed expression on her face. Her attacks were unable to so much as graze Ke''s body, but, thanks to herrge frame and four arms, she was able to gradually push her spiky-haired opponent back. Dodging each of Pweamma''s attacks at a hair''s breadth, Ke wasmitting each of the woman''s moves to memory when the hair at the back of her neck and the tip of her tail stood on end. In the very next moment, a wooden mallet, the type typically used to beat mochi, passed through the area where her head had been. Though she twisted her body and kicked towards the person that had sneak attacked her, Ke was surprised when a jolt of pain ran up her leg. She felt as though she had just kicked an indestructible metal te, yet, in ce of such an object, there was a familiar and somewhat feral-looking woman with rabbit ears and arge, bushy tail. "Usalia!? What the hell do you think you''re doing!?" As Pweamma and the other Asura Tribe members had tentatively pulled back to observe, Usalia took a moment to massage the spot where Ke had kicked her, stating, "Vahn never gave us the order to attack. I know you want to have fun, but you''re out of line, plip. We may be at odds right now, but these people are supposed to be our allies. What you''re doing is generating unnecessary enmity, plip." Furrowing her brows, Ke was about to protest when Fenrir and Mikoto popped up. The former didn''t really concern her but thetter possessed an almost unreasonable amount of power. Ke wasn''t really afraid of either but she knew it wouldn''t be particrly sensible of her to pick a fight with her own side. Clicking her tongue, Ke briefly surveyed the destruction she had wrought over the past couple of minutes. She didn''t truly regret her actions, but, knowing she had probably caused trouble for Vahn, a mild feeling of difort swelled within Ke''s chest. Kale might not really care but Cauli felt a debt of gratitude towards Vahn after everything he had done for them back in the Actualized World of Dragon Ball. She would never regard him as her Lord, Master, God, or anything else like that, but she respected him enough not to want to cause trouble for him. "Fine. Just point me in the direction of someone I can fight. It''s not like I particrly enjoy beating up weaklings" Though Ke''s final remark was directed towards Pweamma, thetter just shrugged her shoulders with a rxed smile on her face. Mikoto was a bit of a surprise but she had known that Fenrir and Usalia were lurking around since earlier in the day. Her Lord, Indra, had told them not to antagonize the members of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, so, while Ke''s attack was somewhat annoying, she had no intention of pursuing the matter. Snorting through her nose, Ke didn''t wait for a response before darting off toward the nearest Teleportation Nexus. Mikoto quickly gave chase while Fenrir, acting as a representative of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, stepped forward to cup her hands and say, "You have my apologiesit was never our intention to attack you so soon" Taking note of the fact that Fenrir had said ''so soon'', a wry smile developed across Pweamma''s face as she dispersed her manifested armaments and said, "It''s no problem. This is a Gift Game, after all. It would be stranger if we didn''t fight it out." As she wasn''t the type to ingratiate herself or be overly polite, Fenrir simply nodded in response to Pweamma''s words before shifting her attention to Usalia and saying, "Let''s go. We will return once ourmy Master has given his orders." Noticing the slight frown on Usalia''s face, Fenrir quickly changed the way in which she referred to her Master. Usalia didn''t really view Vahn as someone ''above'' her. Fenrir didn''t really agree with this, but, so long as her Master regarded his wives and lovers as equals, she would do her best to regard them as such. Nodding her head in both approval and affirmation, Usalia took a moment to wave towards the members of the Asura Tribe before departing alongside Fenrir. Their departure was met with mixed reactions from the two groups of multi-armed tribesmen and women. Some wanted to give chase while others, seeing the devastation wrought by Ke''s rather casual assault, couldn''t help feeling that the members of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth were monsters to be avoided at all costs . With Amaterasu agreeing to watch over and protect the Sun from further interference, Kenshin and Tamamo decided to venture out of the obscuring mist to explore their surroundings. The wasrgely unprotected now that Amaterasu had been eliminated, so, before another Community could step in to reap their rewards, the duo decided to give invading the a go. "Hurry along, Ken-chan~! I''m certain our Lord and Husband will reward us plentily if we manage to conquer this on our own~!" Excited by the prospect of a reward, Tamamo was practically frolicking as Kenshin followed close behind her with a far more serious expression on her face. They may be able to move freely now that Amaterasu had been eliminated but she didn''t believe that a Community as powerful as the Kotoamatsukami would leave their base unprotected. Tamamo''s carelessness made her feel as if ''something'' was about to happen, but, even after twenty minutes of skulking through a meadow, they had yet to encounter a single enemy. What Kenshin didn''t know was that the vast majority of Kotoamatsukami''s members were currently engaged with the Akuma Community. Thetter had gone on the offensive the moment Amaterasu had been defeated, so, even though Susano''o wanted to order the retreat, their strongest members were forced to hold the line in order to avoid aplete route. At the present moment, the only people protecting Kotoamatsukami''s were a few of their vassal Communities. Tsukuyomi had been sent to invade the of Kouryuu, so, while Kenshin was right to be cautious, she had severely underestimated just how lucky she and Tamamo were . Following Vahn''s one-sided victory against Amaterasu, Wu was feeling excited to the point of fidgeting. She knew he was powerful but his performance against one of the most prominent Sun Deities left her feeling uncharacteristically hot and bothered. A growing part of her wanted nothing more than to use her Monkey Bounds Across the Heavens to return to his and immediately pounce on him. Instead, she turned her attention to the rapidly regenerating forest, a vicious smile on her face as she bellowed, "Come out and face me! If you continue with this farce any longer, you only have yourself to me for whates next!" To Wu''s and Sarina''s considerable surprise, the former''s shout was immediately followed by a hooded figure manifesting from a cloud of mist. Her feet werepletely bare, and, due to the charred remains of the forest, covered in ash and soot. In spite of this, she appearedpletely calm and unflustered as she took a sip from a steaming cup of tea and remarked, "It''s not nice to burn down someone''s home" Brandishing her Ruyi Jing Bang, Wu was ready to pounce at the girl when a sudden chill passed through her body. Her Fiery Eyes of Truth allowed her to see through lies, deception, and illusion. The moment she peered into the shadowy veil concealing the woman''s face, her instincts began sounding rm bells that simply couldn''t be ignored. Trusting in her instincts, Wu immediately closed her eyes before shouting for Sarina to do the same. At the same time, she swept her Ruyi Jingu Bang towards the hooded woman, who, expecting the attack to simply phase through her, ended up being sent careening through several hundred trees before lying motionless at the end of a long and deep crevasse . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn be like, "Showing off is easy. I have better things to do."'',''No redheads left behind!'',''Some say hubris tastes like blood and bile. Others say it tastes like dirt'') Chapter 2227: Overreliance

Chapter 2227: Overreliance

Though her eyes were still closed, Wu managed to track her downed prey using scent alone. When she found Nav lying motionlessly on the ground, a sneer crossed her face as she spat off to the side and remarked, "You''re one of those brats that relies entirely on your Gifts, aren''t you? Consider this a learning experience." "" Seeing that Nav had decided to y dead, Wu shifted her attention to Sarina, saying, "Go ahead and try to finish her off. Make sure you don''t open your eyes. If you do, even Vahn might not be able to save you." Furrowing her brows, Sarina resisted the urge to ask what Wu had discovered. Instead, she drew her pistol-like Zanpakuto, saying, "Sayonara" in a somber tone. Following a remarkably loud cracking sound, a condensed energy projectile escaped the end of Sarina''s Zanpakuto before piercing through Nav''s body in an instant. Said projectile managed to bore nearly three-hundred meters into the surface of the, but, as could be expected, it had no effect on Nav''s body. While Sarina might not be able to sense the subtle changes in Nav''s condition, Wu was able to hear the sound of feathers rustling several kilometers away. One of the owlsprising Nav''s seemingly endless entourage was punctured from chest to back. The surrounding owls attempted to cover up the noise by ruffling their feathers, but that actually made it easier for Wu to pinpoint their position and ascertain another one of Nav''s abilities. Realizing there was a very real possibility that Nav wasn''t injured, Wu promptly smashed toward her with her Ruyi Jingu Bang. This time, however, Nav immediately evaded by turning into ghostly mist and darting back several hundred meters in an instant. What Wu didn''t know was that her damage transfer ability was far from perfect. Precision attacks such as Sarina''s would only result in the death of a single owl. When Wu sent her flying, dozens of owls ended up losing their life as a result of her carelessness. "Oh? Do you honestly think you can flee from me, the Great Sun Wu Kong? You''re really in the need of a harsh lesson, aren''t you?" "" Rather than signifying Wu''s words with a verbal response of her own, Nav began to p the hem of her cloak like someone trying to cool their legs on a hot summer day. Her actions resulted in arge quantity of mist cascading down her legs and spreading through the surrounding forest. Hearing the sounds from the environment bing muffled as the mist increased, Wu pounced towards Nav with the intention of putting a stop to her actions. Nav reacted by dispersing into a cloud of mist, but, having already seen through the technique, Wu pointed her Ruyi Jingu Bang in the path of Nav''s retreat, shouting, "Monkey Pierces the Viel of Heaven!" As if it had a repulsing effect on the mist, the Ruyi Jingu Bang created a cylindrical tunnel through the ghostly substance as it extended more than a kilometer in an instant. Before making contact with Nav, however, it promptly expanded to fill this void. As a result, the aforementioned Queen of Owls could only stare in stupefaction as the skyscraper-sized staff smashed into her entire body. Carried by a forceparable to arge meteor striking a, Nav was sent flying far beyond the bounds of her forest and into a mountain peak. Instead of stopping, however, she ended up smashing through said peak and continuing onward until she had nearly exited the atmosphere. There, she ended up floating aimlessly for a moment, all thoughts erased from her mind until she began a slow and gradual descent towards the. Assured that she had seen through Nav''s abilities, Wu turned towards Sarina and said, "Destroy the forest. Without her little pets, the Queen of Owls may as well be powerless. I''ll keep her and anyone stupid enough to get in our way distracted." Without waiting for Sarina''s response, Wu bounded into the air before manifesting a fluffy golden cloud beneath her feet. She no longer felt threatened by anything Nav could throw at her, so, while the Sommersault Cloud was actually one of her slowest methods of travel, it was Wu''s go-to means of transport whenever she was feelingzy. Sensing Wu''s departure with her Ki Sense, a frown marred Sarina''s expression as she opened her eyes and followed the monkey girl''s ascent. She didn''t like how Wu kept telling her what to do, but, understanding the futility of trying to reason with one of the most legendary troublemakers in the entire Divine Realm, she ultimately just shook her head before grumbling, "I hope someone appears to teach you a lesson one of these days" . Opening his eyes, Vahn directed his gaze towards the ceiling of the control room as he remarked, "Hmmm? I didn''t expect anyone toe looking for trouble after I defeated Amaterasu" Shifting his intent to the surface of the, Vahn was marginally surprised to find a single, white-haired woman casting an expressionless gaze over her surroundings. Seemingly sensing his gaze, the white-haired woman shifted her attention to the rtive location of Vahn''s intent. Her blue eyes immediately lit up, but, even after several seconds had passed, she was unable to pinpoint his exact location. "It isn''t polite to spy on other people. If you''re going to go out of your way to observe me, you may as welle out and introduce yourself" Though he had been having fun shifting his intent around to evade the woman''s attempts to locate him, Vahn didn''t hesitate to step out of the void and state, "You willfully came here in search of me. I would like to think my reputation precedes me" Instead of responding to Vahn''s braggadocious remark, the white-haired woman continued staring at him with an impable deadpan. She seemed to be sizing him up, the antennae-like ahoge atop her head bobbing and twitching as nearly indistinguishable points of light appeared in the depths of her pupils. ("She appears to have some kind of systemnot that I''m surprised") (*Well, she is the Leader of a Communityprised almost entirely of Isekai Protagonists*) Taking advantage of the fact that Vahn was just staring at her, the white-haired woman, Shion, Leader of the Akuma Community, kept trying to analyze him using her [God''s Eye of Perception]. She had MAXed it out tens of thousands of years ago so it was supposed to be able to give her information on virtually anything. When she analyzed Vahn, however, the only information she was able to ascertain was his name, some misceneous information about his time in the Tower, and the various Fragments of Origin in his possession. "You''re a Transmigratorsomeone who received a cheat and used it to traverse various worlds. Tell mewhat do you seek at the end of your journey?" Assuming Vahn had a skill that allowed him to obscure his information, Shion decided to voice the first thoughts that came to her mind. In response, Vahn''s expression actually softened, a sad smile developing across his face as he honestly answered, "I seek to one day be reunited with my family. Until then, I will continue doing what I can to make the worlds I inhabit a better ce for everyone that dwells within." Perusing the information rted to Vahn''s time in the Tower, Shion couldn''t deny that he had done a decent job in correcting countless injustices. The thing that reduced her opinion of him was the fact that she could see a list of all the women he had ''collected'' along the way. She had always hated how the vast majority of male Transmigrators treated the women they met along the way as prizes to be won Exhaling a sigh through her nose, Shion ced her hands into the pockets of her white hoodie as she said, "If you''re serious about your desire to be reunited with your family, we should team up. I can promise you that once I be the Ruler of the Little Garden, I will return you to them." In an effort to demonstrate her sincerity, Shion manifested a peculiar, ruby-red Geass Roll with the intention of sealing their agreement. This particr scroll, known as the Pledge of Eternity, was one of the most powerful binding contracts in the entire Divine Realm. If infringed upon, the offending party would be the other''s ve for all eternity. Even if they were reincarnated a trillion times over, they would never be able to break free from the binds of the contract. Raising his brows, Vahn briefly scanned the contents of the scroll before ultimately shaking his head and saying, "I''m afraid I can''t agree to your conditions. Though I have no doubt you believe yourself capable of reaching the top, you are severely overestimating yourself. Those subordinate to systems established within the Order of Creation would never be able to surpass it. When you''re able to cast aside your system and oppose the person that created it, I''ll reconsider your words." Though his own system was probably the most heinous cheat across all realities, Vahn actually went out of his way not to rely on The Path''s various functions. He did make an earnest effort to try andprehend Source Energy, but the vast majority of his efforts were focused on mastering himself and ascertaining the true nature of reality. Exhaling a second sigh, Shion waved away the Pledge of Eternity before saying, "Your words make you appear to be wiser than mosthowever, the person overestimating themselves isn''t meI know, better than anyone, how weak I am" cing a hand over her heart, Shion''s eyes appeared to ze over for a brief moment as memories from the past surfaced within her mind. Vahn had no doubt she was having some kind of shback, but, as this wasn''t an anime, he could only imagine what she was thinking about. If the depressive aura exuding from her body was any indicator, it wasn''t something pleasant. Coming back to her senses, a glimmer of resolution shed across Shion''s breathtakingly blue eyes as she said, "This world is broken. Even if it takes me tens of billions of years, I will never stop trying to fix it. If you won''t join me, you''re an obstacle standing in my way" Removing her left hand from her hoodie, Shion raised it in the direction of Vahn. Her already pale skin became a translucent shade of silvery-white before exploding outward like a dam that had just ruptured. In the very next moment, a veritable horde of magical creatures, monsters, demons, and even a few humans charged outward like a routing army. Leading the charge was a handsome-looking youth with wild, windswept hair and a suit of armor that practically screamed, ''I am the Hero''. The sword in his hand was a brilliantly silver de with a golden crossguard, so, as could be expected, he was able to unleash a massive discharge of Holy Elemental Energy capable of leveling a mountain. Catching said de in the palm of his hand, Vahn''s expression became marginally more serious as a faint trickle of blood appeared beneath the wound. It healed almost instantaneously but it said a lot that the heroic-looking youth was able to injure him at all. Meeting said youth''s gaze, Vahn noticed there was no ''awareness'' in the young man''s crystal clear, pale-blue eyes. They glowed like jewels under intense light, but, much like a zombie or some kind of machine, there was absolutely no ''will'' contained within the youth''s eyes. He was just acting on pure instinct. As various thoughts crossed his mind, Vahn was forced to take a step back when a scantily d woman with vibrant pink hair and an outfit resembling an eastern dancer attempted to sever his neck with a pair of oversized chakrams. Immediately thereafter, a burly man that resembled a mix between a human and a lion attempted to tackle him, the spear-like protrusions on his shoulders making his intentions very clear Though he could easily dodge all the attacksing his way, Vahn reacted to the lion-like man''s charge by sending aser-like spear of pure magical energy through his forehead. When the wound immediately closed up, a grim expression marred Vahn''s countenance as he muttered, "I don''t think I''m going to like where this is going" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Wu: "I don''t like to bully the weak."'',''Also Wu: *proceeds to beat the sh*t out of Nav*'',''Getting some bad vibes'') Chapter 2228: Reflection Amidst Flames

Chapter 2228: Reflection Amidst mes

Within the structure of the lower realms, there existed a system to increase the rank and status of Gods and Goddesses. Those on the side of light/good/righteousness were able to summon heroes from other worlds to saves on the verge of having their fate severed. In doing so, they were able to prevent the world''s destruction, and, in the process, umte merits that would empower them to increase their standing among the various godly pantheons. As the Order of Creation mandated that bnce must exist between the forces of good and evil, the Gods representing the more positive aspects of creation weren''t the only ones able to choose champions. The Gods representing darkness/evil/chaos were also able to select Heroes, but, unlike their counterparts on the side of light, their choices often reflected their interests. In essence, they selected people that would cause chaos in rtively peaceful worlds or designated rtively good people to be reincarnated into situations where they were forced to endure tremendous suffering. Put even simpler, the Gods of Chaos often sought out lonely, depraved, or outright unstable people as their champions. They would then provide these individuals with systems, wishes, and cheat-like abilities to virtually guarantee their power would increase at a rate their maturity simply couldn''t hope to keep up with. As a result, the people they chose would quickly grow stronger, and, in the process, wreak havoc within the worlds they had been reincarnated. With each world that was saved from imminent destruction, another,paratively peaceful world would be brought to ruin as a result of a single individual''s selfishness. Long ago, so long that she could no longer recall the exact passage of time, Shion had been given the chance to transmigrate into a fantasy world of her choosing. Her life prior to her reincarnation had been hell, so, the moment she found herself floating in an empty white space, she didn''t even think to question the entity that had dered himself the God of Reincarnation. Instead, she eagerly recounted her wishes with the hope of being able to live free and unbound in one of the worlds she had always imagined herself inhabiting. Like many in her position, Shion had already decided the types of wishes she would request long before her death. This was one of the criteria the Gods meddling in Reincarnation looked for. If a person''s wishes didn''t match with their interests, they would simply look for someone else. Shion had been a rtively sessful novelist during her first life, so, even though her worlds had some grim elements, she happily reincarnated into one of the worlds she had spent years crafting. As for her wishes, she picked Immortality, the ability to change her appearance at will, and a system that would allow her to y through life as if it were a video game. Prior to her reincarnation, Shion had been looking forward to exploring the world she had created, interacting with some of her favorite characters, and increasing her strength at a slow and leisurely pace. She nned to use her knowledge of the plot to guarantee the easiest life possible, but, the moment she reincarnated, she found herself lying in a pool of blood in the middle of a prison cell. As she had been an orphan in her previous life, anothermon trait among those chosen to be reincarnated, Shion hadn''t particrly cared about the circumstances of her birth. She was looking forward to having kind and caring parents, but, even if her reincarnation followed the temte of her being born as a Noble with strict parents, Shion was certain she would grow to love them. Contrasting every expectation she could have possibly had, Shion''s mother ended up being a ve. To make matters worse, her mother had given birth to her several weeks early after experiencing a brutal assault from her Master and his friends. Thus, rather than finding herself in the embrace of a loving mother or the care of a wet nurse, Shion''s onlyfort was a cold stone floor and a mother that viewed her as a product of sin. Though most infants in her situation would have died within hours of being born, Shion''s wish for immortality ensured her survival. This was the true start of her suffering, as, shortly after discovering her, the Master of the household, one of the candidates for Shion''s father, quickly took note of her abnormal qualities. Either as a result of her developing mind or the fact she had simply suppressed her trauma, Shion was unable to recall everything that had happened to her during her first four-six years of life. All she knew with absolute certainty was that her life had been a living hell. She had been tormented and experimented on in ways that even the most brutal and imaginative authors couldn''t put into words. In the end, Shion was discovered by the Holy Church, and, shortly thereafter, seized as a candidate to be one of the many Saintesses that represented the Church''s power. Unfortunately, as was often the case in both reality and fantasy worlds, the Church within Shion''s world was unbelievably corrupt. The Saintesses were effectively human weapons that had been brainwashed from a young age to carry out the Church''s will. Her mother and former Master were brutally ughtered to tie up loose ends. As for Shion, she was forced to endure everything from sexual assault to literal mind control magic until the Church was confident she was a perfectly obedient soldier. Unlike the suffering she had endured during her formative years, Shion could recall her training to be a Saintess with crystal rity. She may have yed the part of an obedient tool, but, from the moment the Church arrived to seize her, Shion had made an effort to memorize the names and faces of each and every person who harmed her. She didn''t know how long it would take, but, due to her foreknowledge of the plot, she was absolutely certain the time for her revenge woulde. Shortly after her sixteenth birthday, approximately ten years after she had been forcibly seized by the Holy Church, Shion was finally given the chance to seek revenge when the Archbishop tasked her with getting close to the newly appointed Hero. This was originally a responsibility given to one of the most tragic heroines of her story, but, upon realizing the course her fate had taken, Shion did everything in her power to ensure she would be the one chosen. Shion''s original task was to make the Hero, a young man named Rnd, fall in love with her. The Church had always feared the power of the Hero, as, unlike them, the Hero actually had the support of the Gods. The Holy Church had long since lost the Gods'' favor, but, due to them eliminating any and allpeting religions, they had managed to stay in power for hundreds of years. In Shion''s original story, the Saintess, a pink-haired woman named Celeste, was able to manipte the Hero into bing yet another weapon of the Holy Church. Rnd would eventuallye to realize the truth, but, due to his earnest nature, he never med Celeste for exploiting him. Instead, he directed his anger and resentment towards the Holy Church. He wanted to save her and expose the truth, but, shortly after the death of the Archbishop, Celeste ended up taking her own life once it became known how Saintesses were made. Unlike Celeste, Shion had no interest inmitting suicide. She had tried too many times to count, so, having already given up hope on dying a peaceful death, she intended to take out as many vile and despicable people as possible before building a cottage in the woods or disappearing into the mountains. As strange as it may sound, she actually med herself for all the bad things that had happened to her up until that point, so, after ''fixing'' things, Shion intended to fade into obscurity or be something like a Hermit. What Shion hadn''t anticipated was the fact that she would genuinely fall in love with Rnd. Prior to their first meeting, she had always viewed him as another one of her characters. She knew he was supposed to be handsome and charismatic but she had severely underestimated just how quickly he could peel back the defenses of a person''s heart and expose the truth. She ended up confiding in him much sooner than nned, and, as a result, Rnd ended up pointing his sword towards the Holy Church long before either of them was ready. After a civil war that nearly brought their home Kingdom of Roma to ruin, Rnd ended up being publically executed for dereliction of his duties as a Hero and conspiring with Demons. Shion had made the mistake of revealing that the Demons weren''t nearly as evil as the Holy Church presented them to be, so, during their campaign to depose the Archbishop, Rnd joined hands with several of the more prominent characters from the Demon Lord''s Army. Following the execution of Rnd and all of the friends Shion had made during their journey, the Holy Church readilybeled her a Witch. They pinned the me for everything on her while using her inability to die as proof of her conspiring with and selling her soul to the Devil. Very few people genuinely believed this, but, fearing the retaliation of the Holy Church, even children gathered to watch as the pyre that would consume her for thirteen years was lit. Though she quickly gained an immunity to mes, Shion never attempted to free herself from her bindings or remove the nails that had pinned her to arge stone cross. She med herself for the deaths of Rnd and their friends, so, for thirteen long years, she allowed the mes to wash over her as people would arrive on a daily basis to pelt her with stones and me her for every terrible thing that happened to them. What brought Shion down from her cross was the appearance of a young girl wearing little more than rags. She was clearly a ve, and, like many young girls in the same situation, she was forced to endure unspeakable suffering for no better reason than the fact someone had decided she was merchandise. On most days, Shion wouldn''t have batted an eye even if the girl threw herself into the mes that were perpetually consuming her. It was when the girl brought her hands together in a gesture of prayer, tears dripping down her face that rity gradually returned to Shion''s gaze. She didn''t raise her head, but, for the better part of an hour, she listened as the girl recounted her years of suffering in horrifying detail. Though the girl''s suffering couldn''t even begin topare to her own, Shion saw much of herself in the downtrodden ve. The fury that had been slumbering deep inside of her for years began to bubble to the surface. Thus, once the girl''s would-be Master appeared, Shion manipted the pyre below to create tendrils of me. Before the man even realized what was happening, he was pulled into the deepest parts of the pyre. An excruciating sound emanated from his throat, but, due to the crackling of the mes and the early hours, the only person who heard his final cry was the young ve girl. Raising her head for the first time in more than a decade, Shion noticed a smile on the young girl''s face. A simr smile developed across her own, and, from that moment onward, Shion embraced the title of Witch with every fiber of her being . Chapter 2229: Emptiness

Chapter 2229: Emptiness

(A/N: Website has been updated with other stories. Feel free to check it out~!) Though it would have been simple for him to destroy all of Shion''s army, Vahn didn''t immediately take action to eradicate them. He may have if Shion directed any kind of male toward, but, in ce of anger, hatred, or resentment, she radiated an aura that said, "I''m done." The only thing keeping her going was her desire to achieve her objective. Dodging a literal meteor cast by a petite mage with an oversized witches hat,rge sses, and elven ears, a soft yet exasperated sigh escaped Vahn''s mouth. Tragic and resolute Heroes were one of his few weaknesses, so, even though he was unaware of Shion''s past, her conviction to see things through to the end made it difficult for him to retaliate. Vahn had never been the type to crush people''s dreams. (A/N: There are exceptions to everything.) "It''s futileI won''t tell you to give up on your dreams but you can''t hope to defeat me using simple numbers. I can sense how much pain it causes you to manifest this army. Don''t force me to destroy them." Without so much as a single change in her expression, Shion lowered her left hand before removing her right from the pocket of her hoodie. Instead of reaching forward, however, she reached up to pull down the zipper of her hoodie until it had reached her navel. She was wearing a ck sports bra underneath, but, while some took a moment to ogle her fairly modest breasts, it wasn''t long before the eyes of every single person in the Little Garden gravitated towards the massive scar on Shion''s abdomen. "They are already deadthere is no longer anything you or anyone else can take from me" Caressing the scar with her fingers, Shion''s eyes once again went out of focus as the center of her scar gained an unnatural, burgundy hue. Momentster, beads of blood began to gather near the surface before dripping downward as if the wound were fresh. With the exception of her sports bra, the rest of Shion''s ensemble was pure white. The moment her blood began to flow, the bottom of her hoodie became an eerie, carmine color that quickly spread through her shorts before sequentially flowing down her legs to dirty her socks. Even then, it didn''t cease. Instead, it overflowed from her sneaker-like shoes before spreading outward to form arge pentagram. Though he could have stopped her at any point, Vahn found himself unwilling to interfere in Shion''s performance. She wasn''t jeopardizing his ns or endangering anyone else''s life, so, while her pain was bing unbearable, he alternated between standing his ground and deflecting attacks. At no point in time did he turn away. Undoubtedly fueled by Shion''s blood sacrifice, an eerie ck mass began to gather at the center of the pentagram. Just looking at it was enough to cause people to feel as though their skin hade alive, but, as if it was the mostfortable thing in the world, a faint yet deranged smile developed across Shion''s face as the eerie ck liquid crawled up her legs before spreading across the rest of her skin. When it was finished, her body resembled a living shadow with bottomless white eyes and hair that seemed to fade into the fabric of reality. At this point in his life, there were very few things that could genuinely take Vahn by surprise. Shion was apparently one of them, as, rather than Shadow or Darkness Laws, the thing she had fused with her body was Emptiness. She had be one with the Abyss of the End, an unstable existence that shouldn''t be able to possess an Ego yet clearly did. Staring into the fathomless depths of Shion''s eyes, the only thing Vahn could sense from her was pure, unadulterated apathy. She was basically the antithesis of everything he represented, a being that hadpletely abandoned the prospect of emotional connections in order to reach her goals. Shion had managed to attain incredible power, but, in exchange, she had abandoned everything that permitted her to use it Seeing what could have been himself in the depths of Shion''s eyes, a serious expression developed across Vahn''s face as he evaded an abyssal ck bolt of lightning that left absolute nothingness in its wake. The attack hadn''t been aimed towards any of his vitals, but, had he been a normal person, he wouldn''t have recovered even after the Gift Game had ended. In other words, Shion was seeking to cripple him. Permanently. Though he could have requested a Host Master''s adjudication to have Shion disqualified, Vahn did something that no one expected. He teleported next to Shion with such an unreasonable degree of mastery over Space and Time that she failed to detect any trace of him. Then, instead of hitting her, he plopped his hand down atop her head and said, "You''ve had it rough" As Shion''s hair was somehow unaffected by the Void, Vahn was able to caress her head without having to worry about losing his hand. In response, Shion''s figure seemed to ''glitch'' before her head was spontaneously tilted in his direction. In the very next moment, without any preliminary movements, her abyssal ck hand passed through his abdomen as a voice that sounded both distant and near echoed, "We do notrequireyour pity" Retracting her hand from Vahn''s abdomen, Shion was expecting him to copse or cry out in pain. Instead, Vahn just adopted a wry smile as he answered, "Pity isn''t something anyone requires. It is something we give freely when they empathize with others. I am not looking down on you. I am trying to understand your pain." Staring at the pitch-ck hole in Vahn''s abdomen, Shion, once again, attempted to use her [God''s Eye of Perception] on him. Her attacks in this form would generally inflict a status effect known as [Voidtouched] onto her enemies. Most of Vahn''s information was hidden from her but she should still be able to view whether or not he was affected by any abnormal status conditions. To Shion''s shock, the only condition that had appeared in the column for Vahn''s abnormal statuses was a box filled with question marks. This was something that typically only appeared when she had encountered beings far beyond her current level. Ever since her arrival in the Divine Realm, the only other being whose status she couldn''t read was Shiroyasha, the former Rank 10 Deciding not to hold anything back, Shion''s figure spontaneously bloomed outward like an abyssal ck shockwave. It didn''t produce so much as a single sound, but, by the time she had retracted to her original form, an area of several hundred meters had been ''erased'' from existence. Looking around, Shion was unable to discover so much as a single trace of Vahn. In spite of this, she had yet to be ousted from the Gift Game. This could only mean a handful of things, so, after a while, Shion found herself whispering, "It must have been a clone" Unable to rationalize how else Vahn could stay calm in the face of absolute oblivion, Shion reached the same conclusion as countless observers. What she didn''t know was that her attack had, in fact, been sessful. Vahn simply wasn''t the type to be ovee by something as ''basic'' as existence erasure. He was one of the few beings in all of Creation that could step in and out of the Principle Axis of Reality at his leisure. Simply put, he decided when and how he existed. Manifesting next to the abyssal ck woman, Vahn couldn''t help asking, "Did you get smaller?" as he extended his hand to caress Shion''s head. Her body momentarily tensed, but, with nothing but empty white voids for eyes, it was difficult to tell if she was genuinely surprised. Never the type to exin her abilities to others, Shion responded to Vahn''s question by forming her left hand into a de and slicing through him at the waist. In the same fluid motion, she balled her right hand into a fist, urately striking his diaphragm as she, somewhat surprisingly, growled, "You do not have permission to touch me!" Raising his brows, Vahn promptly retracted his hand from Shion''s head,pletely ignoring the fact he was now half a person with a hole in his chest as he said, "Sorry. I just thought you could use a headpat or two. It''s not particrly well known at this point but one of my identities is the God of Petting. I meant no offense." Taken aback by Vahn''s ''earnest'' response, Shion just stared at him for several seconds as the cogs in her mind slowly processed what he had said. Unperturbed by Shion''s admittedly eerie gaze, Vahn took a moment to confirm that she was, in fact, getting smaller. Her original height wasn''t particrly impressive, but, with each use of her abilities, a part of her seemed to be lost to the Void. It was simr to how Mikoto would revert to a child-like state whenever she overtaxed her reserves. The only distinction was that Shioncked the means to recover what she had lost. ("She really is sacrificing everything in the pursuit of her objective") (*Don''t lose focus, Vahnthe best thing you can do for her is sending her on her way orpleting your own objective. Even if she did manage toplete her objective, do you genuinely believe she would be happy?*) Though it was a little mean-spirited of her, Sis brought memories of Vahn''s interactions with the original Scathach to the surface. He wasn''t wrong to want to help people, but, every now and then, he was bound to encounter people that simply didn''t want his help. This was something Vahn was stilling to terms with, as, in his mind, so long as there was life, there was hope. Adopting a sober expression, Vahn broke the silence between him and Shion by asking, "What is it you hope to achieve by gaining dominion over reality?" Tilting her head to the side, Shion seemed to consider Vahn''s words for several moments before answering, "I intend to abolish the current system of transmigrationthe Gods should not be able to interfere with people''s lives at their leisurepeople should not be called to the Divine Realm for the sole purpose of providing entertainment to others" Recalling how she had felt when she discovered the reason for her own reincarnation, a hint of fury appeared in Shion''s eyes. Immediately after that, several white cracks appeared across her body, the majority of which originated from the white voids representing her eyes. Shifting her attention away from Vahn, Shion observed as one of the cracks spanned the length of her arm before spreading through her hand. Then, for the first time since she adopted her current form, she opened her mouth to reveal another white void as she exhaled a sigh. One of the downsides to tapping into the Void was that it was constantly trying to consume you. The Void, or, more urately, the Abyss of the End wasn''t something that was meant to exist. It was a state that followed the erasure of all things, so, the more agitated she became, the greater Shion''s chance of destroying herself. If she failed to deactivate it in time, she would be the one erased from existence. "Were you aiming for this?" Though she didn''t get the impression that Vahn was trying to make her self-destruct, Shion couldn''t help asking him directly. Instead of answering her question, however, Vahn adopted a wry smile as he said, "Sorry about this" Without exining what he was sorry for, Vahn, once again, plopped his hand down atop Shion''s head. Several pieces of her body immediately fragmented, but, momentster, those that remained began to ''heal''. It didn''t make any sense but Vahn was somehow able to ''replenish'' the nothingness that made up her Void Transformation "What are you?" Returning a far more sincere smile, Vahn continued to caress Shion''s head as he softly replied, "I''m Vahn Aldrnari Mason, Sage Dragon Emperor, and God of Infinite Possibilities. It''s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.") . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Sadge'',''Gaze into the Abyss'',''Not all battles are won through suppression and conquest'') Chapter 2230: Persistence

Chapter 2230: Persistence

Feeling her power gradually increase, Shion didn''t immediately respond to Vahn''s words. Instead, she elected to wait, eyes unblinking as her form expanded from a diminutive 138 centimeters to a fairly respectable 180. Though it was difficult to make out the contours of Shion''s body, Vahn could tell she was maturing in a very ''healthy'' direction. His suspicions about her physical appearance being tied to the amount of time she had spent in her Void/Abyss State had proven true. ("I''ll need to ask Da Vinci to look into this phenomenon once we get back") (*As if she isn''t already scrutinizing every single moment you appear on-screen*) Restraining a wry smile, Vahn waited until Shion''s appearance began to stabilize before retracting his hand and asking, "Round 2?" Ignoring Vahn''s question, Shion took a moment to look herself over. Others couldn''t tell but she was well aware of the changes that had urred to her body. She didn''t know how he had done it but Vahn had basically fixed the damage that had umted on her Soul. As far as she knew, this was supposed to be impossible, so, after a moment of silence, she found herself muttering, "God of Infinite Possibilitiesa surprisingly apt description" Hearing Shion''s remark, Vahn was about to say something when the abyssal substance covering the markedly more mature woman''s body began to slough away. Fortunately, just as Vahn was about to offer her something to wear, Shion materialized a dark blue gown as she said, "It''s been a long time since I was able to appear in this formyou have my gratitude" Contrasting her words, Shion raised her right hand towards Vahn''s chest. A ck cube covered in fiery golden runes shot out of her palm, its initial size resembling a die before quickly expanding to more than 10m in width as it pushed him back and continued to elerate. Exhaling a light chuckle, Vahn phased through the incredibly dense cube before reappearing a few meters away from Shion. The army from before began to form an encirclement, but, now that Shion had returned to her base state, Vahn wasn''t particrly worried about what she might pull out next. Seeing the smile on Vahn''s face, Shion''s expressionless facade faded away, a slight frown marring her markedly more mature countenance as she asked, "Why aren''t you fighting back? You didn''t seem particrly concerned about gender when you were ripping Amaterasu''s avatar to pieces" Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn maintained a casual demeanor as he answered, "I don''t consider you an enemy. If anything, I empathize with your current situation, so, unless you go out of your way to touch my bottom line, I have no reason to embarrass you." Furrowing her brows even further, a glimmer of hostility reflected in the depths of Shion''s eyes as she stated, "I don''t require your empathy, sympathy, or anything else for that matter. I came here to pit my ideals against yours. Fooling around and refusing to fight is the same as disrespecting me in front of the entire Divine Realm." Punctuating her words, Shion raised her right hand over her head. An illusory blue sword covered in runes manifested high in the sky, its lengthparable to a mountain range. More so as a result of Shion''s words than the oversized de, Vahn''s expression became marginally more serious as he responded, "Very well" Before Shion could even fully process that Vahn had said something, an indescribable suppressive force descended upon her as the sky overhead took on a brilliant golden luster. Countless beams of golden light had appeared out of thin air, their speed and trajectorypletely untraceable as they proceeded to coil around her [Divine Sword: Ragnarok], her body, and every member of her private army. Finding herself in a position resembling crucifixion, a hint of panic appeared in Shion''s eyes as she attempted to pull herself free from the luminescent golden chains that had bound her. When she realized she couldn''t even get them to rustle, the look on her face turned iparably frosty as she directed a re towards Vahn and said, "Release me" in a threatening tone. Exhaling a sigh, Vahn directed Enkidu to release Shion from her bindings. Instead, the mischievous golden chains issued a pleasant yet defiant-sounding hum. Shion''s brows immediately twitched in response, her expression darkening as she came to the conclusion that Vahn was taking advantage of her. "You despicable cur" Ignoring Shion''s remark, Vahn connected his mind to Enkidu in an attempt to understand what it was trying to convey. It had yet to reach the point where it couldmunicate freely, but, thanks to Vahn''s ability to interpret any and allnguages, it didn''t take long for him to figure out what it was trying to say. Suppressing the growing sense of ''expectation'' from the spectators, Vahn approached to within arm''s length of the glowering Shion before asking, "That scar on your abdomenwhat caused it?" Refusing to answer Vahn''s question, Shion lowered her head before promptly suppressing her emotions and defaulting to a wless deadpan. The injury on her abdomen was something she had inflicted upon herself. It was meant to represent her conviction, but, for reasons she couldn''t quite understand, she felt ufortable when Vahn was the one asking about it. Though he was getting better about not prying into people''s past traumas, Vahn didn''t hesitate to shift his attention to the version of Shion that had appeared next to him with a vibrant smile on her face. In response, Loi-chan, understanding Vahn''s intentions, elected to restrain her typical antics as she exined, "She formed a covenant with the Demon Lord of Cinders, Ashka. In exchange for her ''future'', she gained the ability to loop back in time to the moment of her reincarnation. She had her reproductive organs, specifically her uterus and ovaries, removed." Understanding why Enkidu was reluctant to release Shion from its grasp, an exasperated sigh escaped Vahn''s throat as he extended his hand and said, "Feel free to hate me for this" Without exining what he was doing, Vahn ced his hand atop Shion''s head. An agonizing heat spread through thetter''s abdomen, but, having experienced unthinkable suffering in her previous life, Shion''s expression remained unchanged until the chains binding her body suddenly loosened. Feeling her powers return, crimson mes erupted from Shion''s body as she leaped backward and manifested a pitch-ck,pass-like ring behind her back. The dark blue gown she had used to conceal her body immediately burned away, but, while her figure was revealed, it was covered in a red, ck, and gold outfit that left her shoulders, unmarked abdomen, and the sides of her thighs exposed. In ce of unblemished blue eyes, Shion''s irises and pupils coalesced into crimson gems that stood out against a backdrop of pitch ck. Her previously pristine white hair gained an ashen hue, but, what stood out most of all was the segmented, horn-like crown that had appeared near the center of her forehead. "You think you can just do whatever you want because you have power? I told you not to touch me. Now you will suffer my fury!" A stark contrast to the coolheaded beauty she typically presented to others, a somewhat deranged expression appeared on Shion''s face as she spread her hands to the side. From the ground beneath Vahn, several tendrils formed from an amorphous metal substance attempted to grab his wrists and ankles. Though a handful of his women enjoyed it quite a bit, Vahn had never been particrly interested in tentacle y. He was also beginning to realize that Shion was something of an idiot. She wasn''t overtly stupid, but, much like a typical shonen protagonist, shepletely ignored the fact he had effectively won three times over at this point. Unless he defeated her in a way she would ept, she was going to keeping at him over, and over, and over again. Disappearing before the tentacles to coil around him, Vahn ignored the surprise on Shion''s face as he reached forward to rip the horn-like crown from her forehead. In the same motion, he fractured it into several pieces before surprising virtually everyone as he gave her a firm p across the face. "Listen closely, brat. I am not your enemy. I am not trying to assault, embarrass, or take advantage of you. Stop creating enemies for yourself when there is already a boatload of people just waiting for you to slip up and make a mistake!" Touching her cheek, Shion was surprised to find that it was beginning to swell. Her immortality didn''t make her immune to damage but it allowed her to heal pretty much instantaneously. She didn''t sense Vahn activating any kind of skill so she simply couldn''t fathom how he was able to bypass one of her most powerful abilities as if it didn''t exist Believing that Shion was going to continue her assault the moment she came back to her senses, Vahn punctuated his statement by flicking her forehead with enough force to send her flipping through the ck ring floating behind her back. By the time she managed to right herself, a thin trail of blood was flowing from the center of her forehead as she stared back at him with a look of disbelief. "What was that for?" With a deadpan expression of his own, Vahn stated, "You are an abnormally hardheaded individual. I felt it was necessary to get my point across. You seem to forget it every time I give you a moment to think." Furrowing her brows, Shion reached up to feel the wound on her forehead. A red light shed at her fingertips, and, as a result, the blood pooling from the wound coalesced into a red gemstone. As for the actual wound, it hadpletely sealed. "I told you beforerefusing to fight is the same as disrespecting me. If my actions are starting to annoy you, you need-" Raising his hand, Vahn''s expression and tone became stern as he said, "Stop right there. Are you even listening to yourself?" Though Vahn had infused a bit of Authority into his tone, it wasn''t the reason Shion had stopped. She was just so used to people listening to her that she was genuinely taken aback by his sudden interruption. "I beg your pardon?" Exhaling a profoundly exasperated sigh, Vahn raised the index finger of his right hand as he pointed out, "You only recently attempted to chastise me for believing I was entitled to do whatever I want just because I had the power to do so. Now you''re trying to put me on the spot by challenging me to use my power to force you into submission. There is a limit to how tyrannical you can behave in the name of a checkered past. I understand that you have probably experienced things most people can''t even begin to imagine. That doesn''t actually give you the right to vilify everyone that opposes you. You are far too powerful to continue ying the victim." Lowering her hands, Shion''s expression defaulted to an indecipherable mask as she stared back at Vahn inplete silence. She wanted to deny his words, but, having lived for tens of thousands of years, she wasn''t incapable of rationalizing what other people had to say. Rather, as someone who had assumed a leadership position, she had developed a habit of at least hearing people out. Instead of using Vahn of having no idea what he was talking about, Shion decided to ask a far more important question, specifically, "Have you ever experienced trauma?" Though it appeared somewhat forced, Vahn was able to manage a smile as he said, "You don''t get to be as powerful as we are without enduring the darkest aspects of society. I won''t discredit what you went through by saying my suffering eclipses yours but I can assure youmy past isn''t exactly filled with sunshine and rainbows. At the very least, it sure as hell didn''t start out that way" Sensing no falsehoods in Vahn''s words, a significant portion of Shion''s growing resentment toward him promptly faded away. She was still extremely annoyed by his excessively casual demeanor, but, at the very least, she no longer hated him "Very well thenlet''spare notes" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''I bet she grew booba'',''I get knocked down, but I get up again. Ain''t never gonna keep me down.'',''Vahn is about to be an angry boi'') Chapter 2231: The Price of Progress

Chapter 2231: The Price of Progress

Following her fateful encounter with the young ve, a human girl named Shelly, Shion went on to be a symbol of fear, resistance, and liberation within the Kingdom of Roma. Thirteen years staked to a cross had given Shion a lot of time to think about the mistakes she had made in the past. Thus, rather than trying to oppose the Holy Church openly or in an above-board manner, she used her shapechanging ability to blend into normal society. She became a phantom that hunted down people known to mistreat their ves before eventually going on to kill any and all people who regarded others as property. Near the beginning of her second journey, Shion made sure to avoid attaching herself to any person or ce for a prolonged period of time. She had grown tired of losing people, so, for the better part of ten years, she traveled purposefully throughout the world she had penned to paper in her previous life. Her goal was to learn as much as she could about the world while simultaneously increasing her strength to the point that none could stand against her. Though the Holy Church hunted her and resorted to despicable tactics such as burning an entire vige filled with liberated ves, the one thing Shion''s suffering had taught her was patience. She only took action when she was absolutely certain she would be able to kill her enemies. As a result, the Holy Church gradually lost its influence as the upper echelons of the clergy invariably retreated to the Capital City, mas, for their protection. By burning down churches and ughtering ve owners, Shion quickly garnered herself a massive cult following. Some attempted to me her for the misery they were forced to endure as a result of her ''rebellion'', but, having long since given up the path to bing a Hero, Shion burned them along with the rest. Without any attachments, there was nothing Shion''s enemies could use as leverage to restrict her actions or put pressure on her. She wasn''t like the Demons who had territory and people to protect. She was a singr, untraceable entity that skulked around the three continents like a phantom. The only reason people even knew she was the one wreaking havoc was because she would always burn her victims from the inside out. For years and years, Shion butchered and burned tens of thousands of people. Whenever she ran out of one demographic to ughter, she would move on to the next most corrupt group. When she finally extended her hand to various merchant associations, the already struggling economypletely copsed. This ended up being the proverbial straw that broke the camel''s back, as, in response to her actions, both the Kingdom and the Holy Church had been increasing taxes in an effort to expand their forces and shore up the defenses of the Capital. In the end, it wasn''t Shion that overthrew the Kingdom andid waste to the Holy Church. It was the people they had suppressed, exploited, and overworked to the point they had no choice but to retaliate. Unlike the Civil War that had started as a result of Rnd''s actions, the secondsted a mere six months before the Royal Family and the Archbishop were dragged out of their homes and executed in public. It was at that moment that Shion finally decided to step out of the darkness and into the light. Instead of attempting to rule over the Kingdom herself, Shion nominated the leader of a family of Knights that had never stopped supporting the people. The man she had chosen hated her to the core, but, understanding the importance of having someone to guide them, he willingly epted Shion''s nomination before appointing her as history''s first court-appointed Witch. Taking advantage of her status and the notoriety she had garnered as a result of her one-woman crusade, Shion established an administrative organization known as the Witch''s Court. She allowed the newly appointed King free rein when it came to passing legition and collecting taxes but the authority ofw fell into the hands of the Witch''s Court. They became the Judge, Jury, and, in many cases, the Executioners enforcing the Rule of Law throughout the Kingdom. Though many directlypared her to the Archbishop due to her recruitment of young women with innate magical talent, Shion knew better than anyone how different her actions were from the monster that had purported himself a vessel of the Gods. She didn''t subject the girls she recruited to years of mental, physical, and sexual abuse. Instead, she embedded them with a genuine sense of purpose while empowering them with the knowledge and skill necessary to carry out their duty as fair and objectively as possible. For decades following the establishment of the Witch''s Court, a tentative peace reigned over the rtively young Ashbourne Kingdom. Many even began to view Shion as a genuine Saintess, but, as someone who had born the title in the past, she vehemently refused to carry it. Instead, people across the world of Gisele came to know her as the Phoenix Witch. Her actions had resulted in one Kingdom burning to the ground, but, in its ce, a far more prosperous Kingdom had taken shape. Unfortunately, as was often the case when it came to humans and politics, it only took two and a half generations before corruption had, once again, taken root in the Kingdom. Merchants readily took advantage of the vacuum of power that had appeared in the wake of countless noble families beingpletely annihted. They bought upnd, paid impoverished farms to rejuvenate it, and cut deals with the Royal Family to be a new generation of aristocrats. Despite her best efforts, Shion was unable to prevent the younger members of her court from being swayed by promises of wealth and a life of luxury. By guaranteeing young witches a certain degree of freedom and independence, she ended up creating a situation that allowed them to be exploited by those seeking to curry favor with future Adjudicators. With many young Witches hailing from extremely impoverished families, it didn''t take a lot of effort for wealthy and charismatic merchants to take advantage of their naivete to woo them. Bing a Princess or a Noblewoman was the dream of countless young girls. As a result, it wasn''t long before the less magically inclined began seeking better prospects outside the Witch''s Court. After a while, even Shion''s immortality became a problem as the sentiment that she was preventing the Kingdom from prospering began to spread far and wide. People instinctually feared things they couldn''t understand, so, shortly after the Ashbourne Kingdom had coronated its third King, people began pressuring her to step down from her position as Supreme Justice of the Witch''s Court. Having lived well over a hundred years at that point, Shion only put up a middling resistance in the face of her deposition. She had long harbored the desire to travel and had already created a home for herself near the heart of a mountain range roamed by dragons. Thus, after a five-year selection process, she ended up passing her title to one of her many apprentices before starting her journey with a new name and face. For decades following her ''retirement'', Shion daylighted as an Adventurer while night lighting as a vignte. Some suspected her of being the recently disappeared Phoenix Witch, but, as she never made use of her mes, she eventually made a name for herself as an SSS-Rank Adventurer known as the White Snake Princess. During her career as the White Snake Princess, Shion crossed paths with several rising and many, already corrupt Nobles. She even had a few run-ins with members of the Witch''s Court, but, due to her intimate knowledge of the legal system, her ability to change form, and her constant relocating, none of the crimes she was used of ever stuck. Though she could see the Kingdom was on a slow and gradual descent towards despotism, Shion eventually retired from her life as an Adventurer when the 3rd Prince began propositioning her to be his bride. Shion had no interest in marrying someone who was clearly looking to stage a coup, so, shortly after the man sent his Knights to try and ''persuade'' her, Shion ventured into one of the most dangerous Dungeons on the Continent before simply disappearing. While many of her more distant memories had faded with the passage of time, Shion could vividly recall the days she spent living in the mountains. Istion, at least in her case, was like medicine for the soul. She enjoyed the serenity of the mountain basin and even managed to make friends with a few of the surrounding tribes of dragons. Their elders were far more knowledgeable than even the wisest human Sage, so, for the better part of a hundred years, Shion exchanged knowledge with the dragons while enjoying the rtive peace and quiet of the mountains. Had things continued in such a way, Shion may have never left the mountains. Unfortunately, two of the most prominent features of humanity were their tenacity and their pursuit of progress. While other races would maintain their way of life for hundreds, if not thousands of years, humans never stopped pushing the limits of technological advancement. Though the Holy Church had been irredeemably corrupt, the one thing it had managed to achieve was preventing humans from developing too quickly. Without some kind of ''divine oversight'', there was nothing to inhibit humanity''s rate of progress during times of peace. As a result, the Ashbourne Kingdom developed from a rtively backward medieval kingdom to a reasonably advanced nation on the cusp of an industrial and magical revolution. With every notable human civilization being built upon a foundation of conquest, it wasn''t long before humanity''s desire for progress extended far beyond their borders. Tensions between the various races continued to build until the more conservative races, specifically the Elves and the various Dragon tribes, began to threaten war if humans continued to expand into their territory. Undaunted by the threat of war, a number of organizations purporting the human race''s inherent superiority over other races began to develop. They viewed the ''inability'' of other races topete with them in terms of scientific progress as undeniable proof that humans were the destined rulers of Gisele. When the Dragons and Elves invariably retaliated, the various supremacist groups painted them as savages who wanted to prevent humanity from reaching its full potential. Thus, just as they had during the war against the Demons, humanity vilified every other race in an effort to justify the innumerable atrocities they subsequentlymitted. Shortly after that, humanity branded their first ve in more than a hundred and fifty years, a young elven girl who went on to be a sex ve pandering to high-profile businessmen. When Shion first learned of the events transpiring outside of the mountain, a part of her refused to believe it. She knew that human naturepelled them to repeat the same mistakes over and over again, but, after dedicating more than fifty years of her life towards abolishing very, she couldn''t fathom how it could simply take root without the general popce caring. Sure, it might start with other races, but, once very had be an institution, it was bound to expand to humans. Using her ability to alter her appearance, Shion, for the first time in more than a hundred years, entered into human society. The changes they had made during her absence were startling, but, as someone that had reincarnated from a rtively ''modern'' world, she wasn''t too surprised. After all, lightning magic was actually one of the very first magic bestowed upon humanity by the Gods, so, as strange as it was to see power lines in a ''fantasy'' world, Shion quickly got used to it. What Shion couldn''t ept was seeing a wealthy-looking man in a top hat and monocle walking around with a scantily d elven girl on a literal leash. When she confronted him about it, the man looked at her as if she were trash before threatening to report her to the police if she didn''t cease harassing him. That night, Shion entered into the man''s mansion, strung him up over the entryway, and burned him from the inside out When news outlets learned about what Shion had done, the front page of the newspaper read: An Ancient Calling Card: Return of the Witch of Chaos? . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Some lessons stick with you longer than others'',''Human Nature'',''History is written by the winners'') Chapter 2232: Gathering Information : Losing Patience

Chapter 2232: Gathering Information : Losing Patience

Embracing her historically revised title, Shion set out to determine who was truly responsible for the state of affairs between humans and nonhumans. She wanted to understand what had gone wrong during her absence, and, if possible, set humanity on a less destructive course. Believing answers could be found in the Capital, Shion ventured forth with the intention of enrolling herself into the Witch''s Court. To her surprise, the organization had been abolished a few years after her retirement as an Adventurer. The daughter of her chosen sessor ended up getting entangled with the firstborn son of the third generation King of Ashbourne. Shortly after the couple''s romance was discovered, the Witch''s Court was used of conspiring to seize power from the monarchy. History had literally been rewritten to make it so that the Witch''s Court was a direct offshoot of the Holy Church. Historians pointed to the fact that Shion had once been a Saintess, and, instead of faithfully recounting her exploits during the ''Phoenix Rebellion'', the revised history purported that she had agreed to be the Apostle of the Demon Lord of Cinders in exchange for an immortal body. Following the revtion that the Witch''s Court had been conspiring to overthrow the monarchy, the general public immediately turned on them. Those tasked with the responsibility of enforcing thew were rarely appreciated by the people expected to follow them. The moment they had an excuse to retaliate, mobs began to form with the purpose of hunting down and executing anyone affiliated with the ''Dark Arts''. Though it was possible for even a simple viger to learn magic, those with a genuine talent for it were approximately one in ten thousand. People hated the notion that some people were simply born better than them, so, simr to when the Holy Church was in charge, people with an affinity for magic were used of being the spawn of demons. They were mercilessly hunted down until the only forms of magic allowed to be practiced were Alchemy and Light Magic. The most ridiculous thing about these ''Witch Hunts'' was that the offspring between humans and demons were incapable of using magic. They had longer lifespans and stronger bodies, but, due to the ipatibilities between a human''s and a demon''s magic veins, their direct descendants were wholly incapable of using magic. There were exceptions, of course, but the vast majority of hybrids ended up crippling themselves in their attempts to master even the simplest of spells. Their limbs would, quite literally, explode. Simply put, referring to magically inclined humans as demonspawn was just a convenient excuse to allow average humans to vent their inferiorityplex unto the more exceptional members of their species. It was simr to older and more physically inclined children would bully and abuse children that showed greater intelligence than them. They knew their path was severely limitedpared to those that delved in books and sought a higher education so they would beat and harass others on the grounds that their victims believed themselves to be better than them. In truth, they just had an inferiorityplex. Since gaining information through the Witch''s Court was impossible, Shion disguised herself as a maid in order to sneak into the castle and gain ess to its library. Her [Stealth] skill had long since reached the MAX Rank, so, even if people entered the library alongside her, they wouldpletely ignore her unless she willfully drew their attention. Unfortunately, while the Royal Library contained many rare books, it was no longer the primary repository of knowledge within the Kingdom. Most of the important documents were kept in secure locations, so, without any kind of status or clearance, Shion was left with no choice but to gain intel the old-fashioned way. After sneaking into the Bureau of Registry and fabricating an identity for herself, Shion divided her time between educating herself and increasing her infamy as the Witch of Chaos. This may sound like a waste of time, but, after spending more than a hundred years learning from dragons, Shion had gained an appreciation for knowledge and proper education. If she could go back in time to the point when she assisted in the foundation of the Ashbourne Kingdom, the reforms she would have focused on more than any other were education. With rumors of the Witch of Chaos''s return spreading like wildfire, opinions were divided between those who resented the current system and those who supported it. Many outright discredited her existence, but, once the military police began implementing martialw in the areas where she was active, it became apparent that the Royal Family was treating the rumors seriously. Around the time of her second year in the Royal Academy, Shion decided to throw a wrench in the Kingdom''s war machine by assassinating the Prime Minister and every Military Officer above the Rank of Captain. She also began airing out the dirtyundry of various politicians and merchants, so, while many resented the Witch of Chaos for ruining their ''peaceful'' lives, it couldn''t be denied that Shion was living up to her title. Graduating with Highest Honors from the most prestigious academy in the so-called civilized world, it wasn''t long before Shion found herself in a Secretarial position serving the House of Lords. As the name implied, the House of Lords was the Supreme Legitive Body serving the Ashbourne Royal Family. They were charged with drafting, passing, appending, and annulling the variousws that dictated how citizens of the Ashbourne Kingdom lived. With the obvious exception of the King, the representatives of the House of Lords were the highest-ranking officials in the entire Kingdom. In the beginning, Shion was fully intent on umting information and slowly purging the more corrupt elements of the House of Lords. Even during her tenure as Supreme Justice, she had never harbored the desire to rule over others. Thus, while she was determined to try and ''fix'' things, she had no interest in waging a one-woman war on yet another Kingdom. After more than two hundred years of existence, Shion was honestly tired of dealing with the affairs of humans. If the Ashbourne Kingdom wasn''t her own creation, she wouldn''t even bother trying to fix things. She would have just let the Dragonsy waste to them as they had done a total of sixteen times in the past. As innovative as humans were, their burgeoning technology was no match for Dragons that could annihte the peaks of mountains with a single breath attack. Unfortunately, at least for the people of the Ashbourne Kingdom, Shion had only been a Secretary for eleven days when one of the Lords threatened to obstruct her career path if she didn''t agree to enter into a sexual rtionship with him. Thispletely derailed her ns, so, as a reward for the inconvenience he had caused her, Shion ended up burning the man''s insides from the waist down. He ultimately survived the ordeal, but, even with ess to the most proficient healers in the entire Kingdom, he would never recover the function of his legs or the little sausage between them. With her identity all but exposed, Shion disappeared for a few days before informing one of the state-sponsored media groups that she would begin investigating and executing members of the Nobility until they came to their senses and ceased their expansionist ways. As an added kicker, she mandated that all industrialization efforts would cease until thepanies backing them financed methods to properly dispose of hazardous waste products. She had seen what happens to worlds that prioritized products over the health of the environment, so, while she was taking action to fix one problem, Shion figured she may as well address others. For reasons Shion couldn''t even begin to fathom, neither the Nobility nor the people in charge of various industrialization efforts took her warning seriously. The King even made a public statement dering that the Kingdom would never submit to the demands of a ''terrorist with a godplex''. In response, Shion''s next warning was apanied by the severely charred remains of the King. Simr to when Shion had opposed the Holy Church, those in power were quick to backpedal when they felt their lives were in danger. They were the type that looked down on others, but, when push came to shove, they were generally the most cowardly individuals within any given society. Though a few of the more brazen individuals attempted to conspire against her behind the scenes, Shion undermined all of their efforts by simply refusing to acknowledge their attempts to entice or bait her into apromise. Instead, she would issue ultimatums, and, if they refused to abide, she would simply kill them. Was this tyrannical? Certainly. Shion simply didn''t care. Over the course of a seven-year period, Shion effectively ground humanity''s progress to a stop. Her actions had crippled the economy, and, as a result, unemployment increased from around 16.9% to a startling 83.5%. The only people able to operate in their previous capacity were farmers and a few people with specialized trades. In essence, Shion had forced the Ashbourne Kingdom to revert back to the medieval period until they could sort themselves out. Unsurprisingly, the vast majority of people absolutely loathed Shion. They med her for ruining their lives, but, considering they were okay with their Kingdomying waste to virtually every other civilization, Shion didn''t particrly care what they had to say. She didn''t like ssifying people in such a way but the average person was a brainless sheep whose only purpose in life was to pursue their personalized version of happiness and reproduce. When times were tough, the average person would put their nose to the grindstone and work hard to ensure their survival. When things became peaceful, however, they quickly becamecent and beganining about every little inconvenience until someone came along to pacify them with some new and exciting product to make their lives easier. Those that provided such products would eventually be wealthy, and, shortly thereafter, the people they sold to would begin to covet their wealth. This contributed to a cycle of greed and envy that invariably led to conflict, and, as a result, suffering for those who simply wanted to live in peace. So long as humans prioritized their individual happiness and coveted the sess of others, such cycles would never cease. Thus, whenever Shion heard people insulting or ridiculing her while she was walking around in disguise, she never so much as flinched. She knew what she was doing was wrong, in the grand scheme of things, it was the much lesser of two evils. What Shion didn''t expect, even though she had once fought alongside one, was the birth of a Hero chosen by the Gods. Unlike the Heroes that hade before, however, this one was a woman with a near-perfect immunity to magic. As for her mission? What else could it be other than eliminating the ''evil'' Witch of Chaos and restoring peace to the ''world'' of Gisele? When Shion first learned about the crowning of a new Hero, she didn''t actually believe her ears. As the ''creator'' of the world that had effectively be her private purgatory, Shion knew better than anyone the conditions to create a Hero. It used a tremendous amount of magical energy and one of the Artifacts belonging to the original Hero as a catalyst. Prior to her ''retirement'', Shion had gathered each and every Artifact that could have been used to produce a Hero. The Ashbourne Kingdom had also gone out of their way to kill off the majority of magic users so she couldn''t fathom how they were able to produce a Hero out of thin air. Eager to learn the truth, Shion returned to the Capital before promptly invading the Royal Castle. There, she found a young woman with excessively pink hair and star-shaped pupils living in one of the rooms typically reserved for members of the Royal Family. While the woman''s appearance stood out like a monster in the middle of a town square, the thing that caught Shion''s attention was the device the girl was typing on. It was different from the kind she was familiar with, but, even at a nce, Shion could tell the highly essorized device was a smartphone . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''I wonder what Shion''s alignment would be?'',''That so-called Lord royally fucked up'',''*Surprised Pikachu face*'') Chapter 2233: Frustration

Chapter 2233: Frustration

Realizing that the pink-haired Hero must havee from a different world, Shion approached her with the intention of preventing future conflicts between them. What she didn''t expect was that the girl, named Margaret, had been warned by the Gods not to fall for her ''tricks''. Though they ended up battling it out and destroying a section of the Royal Castle, Margaret ended up revealing quite a bit before, during, and after the altercation. She was an excessively bubbly girl, and, as a result, Shion was able to learn that the Gods in charge of governing Gilese had apparentlybeled her as an agent of the Gods of Chaos. This was the true reason she had beenbeled as the Witch of Chaos. The fourth-generation King of Ashbourne had been given an oraclebeling her as such. ording to Margaret, the God responsible for Shion''s reincarnation existed in a higher ne than the Gods in charge of overseeing Gilese. He had chosen her, not to be a boon on the world, but to set it on a path towards destruction. This was apparently an event that had already transpired in the rtively near future, so, in an effort to prevent the world''s destruction, Margaret was ''summoned'' to dispose of or seal her away. Unfortunately for the Gods governing Gilese, Shion''s Immortality was of a higher grade than the Blessings they were capable of giving out. Margaret was also inexperienced, so, while her attacks, reminiscent of a magical girl''s, were capable of causing immense damage, they were more of an inconvenience than an actual threat to Shion. After all, even with various Blessings, Margaret was revealed to only be around Level 100 in Shion''s eyes. As for Shion herself, she had exceeded Level 900 prior to leaving the mountains. If Shion had so desired, killing Margaret would have been a simple task to aplish. Instead, she handily defeated her before advising the fourteen-year-old Heroine to learn more about the world and the tragedies wrought by humanity. On that note, she promised she would never willfully seek to destroy the world before departing the Capital and returning to the mountains. To her credit, Margaret did actually look into the activities of humans over the past hundred or so years. As for Shion, she sought out an audience with the King of Dragons, but, much as it had been during her stay in the mountains, her request was denied. Though the majority of Gilese''s inhabitants were unaware of it, Shion knew the reason the Dragons had been stationed in the mountains. They were the Guardians of the Gate connecting the Mortal World of Gilese to the Heavenly Realm of Celestia. The King of Dragons, Tiamaulis, was a Level 9999 Dragonparable in size to a mountain range. He was thest line of defense preventing beings from the mortal world from trespassing the Realms beyond. Having learned the ''truth'' of her reincarnation, Shion wished to meet with Tiamaulis and have him act as an intermediary between her and the Gods. If her existence was detrimental to the continued existence of the world, she saw no reason for her to stay in it. Since the Gods clearly had the means to summon people from other worlds, Shion refused to believe theycked the means to send her back. Maybe not to her original world, but somece where she could live out the remainder of her immortal life in peace. What Shion didn''t know, at least at the time, was that the Gods responsible for overseeing Gilese simplycked the authority to overrule the decision of a higher-ranking God. Had they been able to, they would have expelled her from their world the moment they took notice of her existence. Instead, they were forced to observe as every decision she made irreversibly altered the course of fate in an increasingly destructive manner. Things had gotten a little better when she retired to the mountains, but, even then, the day of Gilese''s reckoning was forever drawing closer. Though she was frustrated by the Dragons'' refusal, Shion didn''t allow it to ruin the kinship she had developed with the majestic and wise creatures. She knew they were only fulfilling their sacred duty, so, in the weeks following Margaret''s summoning, Shion divided her time between scouting out the territory of the Demons and reminding those on the human side that a novice Hero wasn''t going to prevent her from killing them if they acted out of line. During this period, Shion crossed paths with Margaret on numerous asions, but, much like their first encounter, the fight was remarkably one-sided. Margaret was growing stronger at a ridiculous rate, but, refusing to simply let herself be sealed away, Shion began investigating other methods to transfer between worlds. Since it was impossible for her to defeat Tiamaulis and trespass the Realm of Celestia, Shion set her sights on the other end of the spectrum. People already viewed her as a being of chaos, so, instead of seeking absolution, Shion decided she may as well attempt to enter the Netherworld. From what she had learned from the Dragons, it wasn''t actually a world filled with fire and brimstone. Rather, it was an entire universe filled with innumerable worlds, an endless variety of magical creatures, and a number of remarkably powerful beings known as Overlords. ording to the Dragon Elders, the power of an Overlord could be increased without limits. More importantly, virtually anyone could be an Overlord so long as they were able to seize the title from another. Having learned the ''truth'' of her reincarnation, Shion was determined to seek out the God that had manipted her for his own ends. She basically had an eternity''s worth of time to track him down and seek revenge, but, fearing it was only a matter of time before she broke down and tried to seal herself, Shion decided she may as well get a jump start on reaching her objective. Fortunately, as could be expected, the Demons located on the Eastern side of the Continent were aware of several means to, at the very least, make contact with those residing in the Netherworld. Many of the magical creatures they utilized during the war were actually summoned from various regions of the Netherworld, so, as long as she could deconstruct and make a ''reverse'' summoning formation, Shion reasoned that she would eventually be able to escape Gilese and make a home for herself in a world far beyond the that had be her prison. To her surprise, it didn''t take long for Shion to figure out how to send objects to the Netherworld. The existing spell already possessed the ability to transmit magical energy and blood sacrifices to beings on the other side, and, ording to the Demonic entities she had made contact with, there were actually a ton of Witches that had managed to enter the Netherworld via selling their souls or dedicating their bodies to high-ranking Demons. Shion was fully prepared to do the same, but, the moment she attempted to sign the contract, her blood simply evaporated from its surface. Her Immortality was the variety that always reverted her body back to its original state, so, even if she slit her wrists or sliced her own neck, the blood would invariably retract as her wounds disappeared. Simply put, Shion was unable to sign a contract with the vast majority of Demons located in the Netherworld. Her only option was to seek out even higher-ranking Demons, but, upon learning of her circumstances, they asked for a lot more than just her Soul. They wanted things like absolute loyalty, eternal obedience, and, in quite a number of cases, marriage. Beings that could transform and change the shape of their body were umon even in the Netherworld, so, as a reasonably attractive woman even in her true form, many wanted Shion to be their eternally loyal bride. With the goal of bing an Overlord and seeking vengeance against the God the had wronged her, Shion was unwilling to pledge absolute obedience until the end of time. She hadn''t even had sex since the death of Rnd so the notion of servicing some inhuman monster for the rest of her days made Shion sick to her stomach. After summoning and failing to reach an agreement with more than a hundred Demons, Shion temporarily shelved the idea of entering the Netherworld. Margaret had been delving into some of the more dangerous Dungeons and gathering allies from across the Western side of the Continent. She was still nowhere near Shion''s Level, but, as thetter had experienced whilst fighting alongside Rnd, numerical superiority and teamwork could easily bridge the gap between individuals. Though many of her allies had started off between the Levels of 35-50, Margaret managed to raise the average Level of her Party to around 200 in less than a year. With the typical S-Rank Adventurer being around Level 100, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say her Party was well on its way to bing a legendary team of Adventurers. Having tried and failed to reason with Margaret on numerous asions, Shion approached the Party of seven with the intention of settling things once and for all. When Margaret once again refused to abandon her mission, Shion ended up wiping out the entire group. Immediately after that, she returned to the Royal Capital, burned down the Castle, and killed all but the youngest Princess, a four-year-old girl named Amalia. Believing her actions had bought her ample time to achieve her objective, Shion was genuinely surprised when she awoke the next day to find Margaret and her Party alive and well. For a very brief period of time, she believed she may have imagined the entire incident. This notion quickly changed when she encountered Margaret. Though their meetings would invariably result in conflict, Margaret was generally a very bubbly and outgoing young woman. She always wore a radiant smile, and, every now and then, she would even ask if Shion wanted to meet up to discuss their past lives together. When Shion went to meet up with Margaret after her extremely realistic ''dream'', thetter had no smile to give. In its ce, an uncharacteristically serious expression had reced her usual vigor, as, in anticipation of the Level and skill gap between them, the Gods had given Margaret the ability to ''reset'' the day whenever she was killed, sealed, or crippled. In other words, even if Shion killed her, she would simply ''respawn''. To make matters exponentially worse, her stats would increase by 1% every time she died. Upon realizing that Shion was more than willing to kill both her and her friends, all of Margaret''s goodwill had dried up. She was still the same bubbly girl around others, but, whenever she met Shion, she would immediately do everything in her power to try and defeat her. Shion made an effort to apologize and atone, but, no matter what she said or did, Margaret no longer believed anything she had to say. With Margaret''s Party growing stronger with each passing day, Shion began to resent the Gods governing Gisele just as much as the God that had reincarnated her. She had demonstrated her willingness topromise but they were fullymitted to sealing her away. In their eyes, Shion was effectively a cancerous tumor that was impossible to remove. Thus, before she could lead the world to ruin, they intended to make her benign. In ast-ditch effort to resolve things peacefully, Shion departed the Central Continent and headed North towards the vast, frozen wastnd upied by the Dwarves. She reasoned that things would eventually calm down if she simply wasn''t there to pose a threat. Instead, nearly five years after her departure, Shion awoke one morning to the sound of Explosion Magic being unleashed on her tiny cottage. Margaret''s Party had received an oracle from the Gods and tracked her more than 6900km just to pick a fight . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Newbie Hero vs Veteran Witch'',''Immortality is a curse'',''Now that''s just cheating'') Chapter 2234: Difficulties in Expression

Chapter 2234: Difficulties in Expression

Hearing Shion recount her tale, Vahn had to admit that her past was pretty lousy. She was able to narrate it with a straight face, but, thanks to his ability to view and sense auras, he could tell which parts of the story made her happy, sad, or frustrated. Recalling how she felt when Margaret and her Party tracked her all the way to the Northern Tundra, Shion fell into a prolonged period of silence. She normally felt a sense of catharsis when recounting her tale. It had been tens of thousands of years since the majority of these events, but, while certain aspects of her past had faded into obscurity, others were still fresh in Shion''s mind. For reasons Shion couldn''t understand, narrating her story to Vahn felt ''different'' than normal. His reaction wasn''t all that different from a normal person''s but, for some reason, it just felt like he got her. While others with a tragic background might feel a sense of relief knowing there were people who truly empathized with them, Shion grew increasingly ufortable as the conversation continued onward. It was almost like her instincts were telling her that once she finished her story, there would be no escaping the increasingly gentle-seeming man seated across from her Exhaling a sigh, Shion made the decision to gloss over and skip a few sections of her story, stating, "After Margaret tracked me down to the Northern Tundra, I became a nomad. The Gods may have given her incredible power, but they hadn''t granted her or her allies an eternal lifespan. By traveling around by boat and avoidingrge poption centers, I was basically able to outlive them" Though he could tell she had skipped over a few key details, Vahn couldn''t help thinking that was a very novel way for an immortal to deal with their opponents. At the same time, however, he could see the tell-tale signs of depression in Shion''s aura when she brought it up. People could adapt to pretty much anything, but, when it came to a person''s mental wellness, loneliness and long periods of istion were two of the most potent poisons In an effort to disguise her mood, Shion took a moment to drink from the cup of tea Vahn had provided for her hours prior. It had gone cold long ago, but, the moment she raised it to her lips, a fragrant aroma of mint and a fair amount of steamy condensation tickled her nose as she savored the cup''s extraordinarily refreshing contents. Understanding that Vahn had warmed her tea in the brief period before it reached her lips, Shion gave him a pensive look as she said, "Thank you" in a soft and feminine monotone. Returning silence and a faint smile, Vahn waited patiently for Shion to continue her story. When she did, he was somewhat taken aback when she exined, "I''m guessing the Gods weren''t particrly happy with me for outliving their chosen Hero. Whenever I sailed out to sea or attempted to make camp on an ind, massive waves and tumultuous storms would assail me. After a while, they even began sending Dragons, creatures that were supposed to be neutral, to hunt me down" As Shion''s mood took a sudden drastic shift towards rage and indignation, she noticed that Vahn was also exhibiting signs of suppressed fury in Vahn''s aquamarine eyes. Most people would show signs of intrigue or genuine excitement whenever she was recounting the more ''fiery'' aspects of her story. She was starting to realize that the thing that distinguished Vahn was the fact he appeared to experience the same emotions she felt when recounting her story "What''s your deal?" Not expecting the sudden shift in topic, Vahn blinked in surprise, asking, "Pardon?" in a genuinely confused tone. Breaking eye contact, Shion took a moment tob through and tuck the leftmost fringe of her bangs behind her ear as she said, "I''m told you most of my story. The only major events that took ce after that are me contracting with a psychotic demon, going back in time, and killing more people than I''mfortable with discussing" When mentioning her contract with the Demon Lord of Cinders, Shion habitually ced her hand over therge scar on her abdomen. She had been so focused on other things that she had yet to realize it was gone, so, for a brief moment, traces of confusion appeared on Shion''s face until she suddenly raised the hem of her blouse to observe directly. "Impossible" Though she was able to alter her appearance at will, Shion was unable to conceal the scar on her abdomen due to it being a spiritual injury. The Demon Lord of Cinders had taken away her future and a piece of her soul in exchange for the power and opportunity to seek vengeance against the people and Gods that had persecuted her for centuries. The iparable feeling of ''emptiness'' she felt when she finally realized what the Demon Lord of Cinders had done was one of the things that allowed her to tap into the Abyss of the End. Feeling a genuine sense of panic for the first time in thousands of years, Shion quickly opened her own Status panel before exhaling a sigh of relief when she saw the skill [Abysswalker] listed near the top of her veritable encyclopedia of skills. She even spotted the curses associated with the contract she had made with Ashka. The only difference was that it now had the words (suppressed) listed in the Skill descriptions. Directing what she intended to be an icy gaze towards Vahn, Shion was incapable ofpletely disguising her relief as she softly used, "You did this" Without beating around the bush, Vahn nodded his head in conformation, saying, "Even if you grow to hate me, I won''t regret it. No one should be burned with such a tragic condition" Blinking in surprise, Shion whispered the word, "Hate?" in a tone so soft that she had basically just mouthed the word. In truth, she didn''t know exactly how she felt right now. A part of her wanted to be angry. After all, she had never given Vahn permission to do such a thing. Rather, she had warned him multiple times not to touch her Despite her efforts to muster her usual indignation, Shion was too relieved to actually be angry. The strongest emotion she could manage was being mildly upset, so, while she did her best to re at Vahn, it came across as more of a pout than a genuine glower. Showing absolutely no signs of remorse, a faint smile developed across Vahn''s face as he waited for Shion to collect herself enough to speak. His considerable amount of experience with members of the fairer sex was telling him it was best to remain silent. Speaking at this point was tantamount to willingly stepping on andmine. With Vahn failing to provide the fuel she needed to explode, Shion''s fury gradually waned until she actually began to feel a sense of guilt. She hadn''t asked for Vahn''s help but getting angry at him for helping her didn''t seem sensible. If she helped someone only for them tosh out at her, she would undoubtedly regard them as petty or foolish. Deciding to change the subject, Shion, once again, avoided Vahn''s gaze as she softly muttered, "No matter" before mustering a bit of conviction and appending, "It''s your turn to talk. Just know that I can tell if you''re lying. If you try to embellish things, I won''t hesitate to expose you." As his past wasn''t exactly a secret, Vahn just shrugged before pulling out a Memory Projection Orb from his Inventory. He kind of felt bad for all the people watching as Shion recounted her story, so, in an effort to make things a little more ''entertaining'', he decided to provide them with a visual aid. With this in mind, he exined the function of the orb before cing it on the table separating him and Shion. When it began projection, people throughout the Little Garden were presented with the exceptionally graphic depiction of a very young and emaciated boy strapped to an operating table . Though she normally presented herself as an unppable, mysterious, and outright scary woman, Nav, the self-titled Queen of Owls, was currently in a sorry state after severely underestimating just how ludicrously overpowered Wu was. She had known that Wu was a serious contender for the title of ''Strongest outside of the 1-3-Digit Gates'', but she hadn''t expected the gap between them to be somassive. Fearing that the army she had umted over thest seventy years would be annihted, Nav attempted to try and flee by aggroing some of the dragons she had been fighting onto Wu. What she had failed to ount for was the fact that most individuals hailing from the Heavenly Domain, dragons included, feared Wu. There was hardly a single powerful individual that hadn''t suffered at the hands of Ruyi Jingu Bang, so, instead of aggroing onto Wu, the various descendants of Meng Zhang promptly fled to give the duo some space. Though it was impossible to tell due to the shadowy veil concealing her face, tears of indignation had started to pour down Nav''s face. She felt like she was being bullied and no one wasing to help her. She understood the reasons, sure, but that didn''t make her feel better. If anything, it made her feel worse. She felt that was cheating to let people like Wu participate in a Gift Game. How was anyone supposed to defeat her when Wu was both immune to damage and capable of hitting even intangible objects? It just wasn''t fair "Run, run, as fast as you can~! Don''t stop! If you do, this Big Sister is going to beat the sh*t out of you~!" And now she was rhyming . Sitting in the cockpit of the Model Omega, Tomoe felt an overwhelming sensation of tion as she interfaced with the remarkably powerful machine. She could feel her perception bubbling outward, her senses extending far beyond their limits until she felt as though she had achieved an awarenessparable to omnipotence. It was an exceptionally intoxicating feeling, but, as someone who had experienced melding with Vahn, Tomoe was able to maintain absolute focus as she manipted the Model Omega''s limbs as if they were her own. It was a little strange having four arms but it wasn''t something that would inhibit her piloting abilities. Directing one of her palms towards the ''ceiling'' of her spherical hangar, Tomoe felt a pleasant chill run through her body as everything between her and the space outside, thousands of kilometers of reinforced metal ting, simply vanished. One of the most terrifying abilities of the Model Omega was its ability to ''disassemble'' anything within the boundaries of its Domain. It was significantly less effective against beings with willpower, but, as the offensive satellite was a mindless structure, there was nothing preventing Tomoe from simply willing it out of existence. "Incredibleis this what it''s like to see the world through Vahn''s eyes?" Believing that Tomoe was addressing her, Okita replied with a sinct, "I don''t know." From the perspective of Tomoe, Okita''s voice sounded directly in her mind, as, despite not interfacing with the Model Omega, Okita was still seated in the cockpit. Feeling a little embarrassed, Tomoe decided to pretend as though she hadn''t heard Okita''s words. Instead, she prepared to fly into space only to stall when she abruptly appeared exactly where she had intended to move. Her perception of time had drastically increased when she linked her senses with the Model Omega, yet, even as the person piloting it, Tomoe hadn''t been able to recognize its movement. It was so fast that she had effectively teleported to her destination faster than her ability to perceive "Da Vinci is a monster" Once again assuming that Tomoe was speaking to her, Okita nodded her head in approval, stating, "Agreed". This brought Tomoe out of her reverie, and, as a result, one of the Model Omega''s four-wed hands moved to its mouth as its pilot coughed to cover her embarrassment . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''And thus the Origin of Vahn, the Sage Dragon Emperor was written into history'',''Wu really is a bully xD'',''Tomoe is cute'') Chapter 2235: Repudiation

Chapter 2235: Repudiation

Though she felt Vahn''s suffering couldn''tpare to her own, Shion would be lying if she said the parts prior to his transmigration hadn''t shaken her to the core. Her childhood hadn''t exactly been pleasant. In fact, she had experienced suffering beyond the imagination of most people. The thing that distinguished her from Vahn, however, was the fact that she had a system, cheats, and a future to look forward to. Her first reincarnation had been a waking nightmare but that was primarily due to the fact she had carelessly wished for immortality without considering the consequences Had Vahn''s first incarnationsted a bit longer, Shion may have tried to sympathize with him. What changed her mind was Vahn''s life from the moment he reincarnated. There were moments when he experienced setbacks, but, once he had found his footing, Vahn hit the ground running. He became a true ''leading man'', someone whose momentum was so unstoppable that the only options he left his enemies were acquiescence or annihtion. Seeing Vahn grow from a naive, terribly tragic young boy into a bonafide, seemingly unstoppable force of will, Shion found herself feeling mixed emotions. She envied his confidence, but, far more than that, she envied his ability to gather people around him. Sure, he handled most issues on his own, but, no matter how great their burdens of others, Vahn seemed to be able to carry them with a smile. The part of Vahn''s story that impacted Shion the most were the parts rted to his mastery over the Magia Erebea. While she had suppressed her trauma to the point it still haunted her even after tens of thousands of years, Vahn had faced his darkness head-on. Instead of simply oveing it, however, he epted it as an integral part of himself. He used his pain to propel himself forward, and, most notably, help others ovee theirs. He was like a beacon of hope that wandered the seas, actively searching for those in need of aid rather than waiting for them to find him By the time Vahn''s extended, movie-like presentation had ended, Shion found herself no longer willing to pare notes''. Her suffering had been great, but, had she faced things head-on, she wouldn''t have nearly as many regrets. Instead, she spent much of her life on the run or avoiding her problems entirely. When she had finally gained the power to defeat all the Gods in Celestia, she was incapable of feeling a sense of aplishment. The only thing she felt was a painful, agonizingly lonely feeling of emptiness cing her hand over her abdomen, the glimmer of resolution that had previously existed in the depths of Shion''s brilliant blue eyes was nowhere to be seen as she said, "You wineven if I had all of eternity, I can''t see myself surpassing you. Once this Gift Game has reached its conclusion, I will disband my Community and disappear into the Abyss" Though he wasn''t even remotely surprised by Shion''s words, Vahn couldn''t help scowling. He hated seeing people simply give up, and, knowing what fate awaited Shion once she died, he vehemently refused to let her disappearing into ''nothingness''. Everyone deserved to be happy. They may not be able to obtain it in one life, but, given enough time and reincarnations, they would eventually find a ce where their heart and soul could restfortably. "I refuse." Without going into detail, Vahn suddenly lunged forward to stab his right hand into the center of Shion''s chest. Her eyes became as round as saucers, but, having already given up on life, she didn''t even try to resist. Instead, a look of resignation appeared on her face as she closed her eyes and let Vahn do as he pleased. While it may appear as though Vahn had pierced Shion with a spear hand strike, the truth of the matter was that he had activated both [Hands of Nirvana] and [Godhand] to their absolute limits. His hand had literally phased into her body, but, instead of targetting anything physical, Vahn was reaching much, much deeper. Thanks to the numerous System Temtes he had created, Vahn had be intimately familiar with the structure of a person''s Ego. He was also one of the only beings in all of Creation that had even a basic understanding of the true nature of the Soul. He knew that, even if Shion did give her body, mind, and spirit to the Abyss, her Soul would eventually manifest another Ego at some point in time. It simply wouldn''t have anything to do with her. Not even in the most elementary sense. As horrible as tragedies were, Vahn ''had'' to believe they served a purpose. They were one of the things that allowed a Soul and the Egos associated with it to grow and develop across countless incarnations. ''Resetting'' the cycle was a purely destructive act that served absolutely no purpose. Shion may have experienced some of the most terrible things imaginable, but, so long as she, or, more urately, the people she became kept moving forward, such experiences would eventually be her strength. Removing his hand from Shion''s chest, a gem-like object that resembled a rainbow-tinted star encircled by a ring appeared in Vahn''s palm. The moment it appeared, the Cameras operated by the Central Network began to ''glitch'' for the first time since the conception of the Gift Game System. It was like the image that had appeared on screen was simply impossible for it to reconcile with any known thing in existence Seeing the strange object in Vahn''s hand, an overwhelming sense of panic exuded from the very depths of Shion''s being. The resignation she had shown previously was now nowhere to be seen. In its ce was an expression of terror and mild hysteria as she instinctually lurched forward, shouting, "Give that back!" Intercepting Shion''s charge with his left hand, Vahn ced her into a state of unconsciousness thatpletely ignored any resistances she had against abnormal status effects. Her body became limp against his chest, but, as much as he wanted to focus on her, Vahn''s gaze was fixed on the object in his right hand. It had a rtively simple structure but was somehow one of the most mesmerizing things he had ever seen. He felt as though he could just stare at it for the rest of eternity and never grow tired of it. (*Vahn*) Hearing Sis whisper his name, Vahn immediately came back to his senses. He ced the pulsating object in the most secure region of his personalized Little Garden before supporting Shion''s waist with his left hand and patting her back with his right. When she woke up momentster, confusion marred her expression before she suddenly pushed him away, shouting, "Get your hands off of me!" in an uncharacteristically panicked tone. Raising his hands as both a cating gesture and to show he had no intentions ofying a hand on her, Vahn looked past the vexed expression on Shion''s face and focused on the connection that had formed between them. For a very brief moment, he found himself staring back at himself before his perspective promptly returned to normal. Feeling that somewhat was very, very wrong, Shion ced her hand over her chest while her eyes focused on the Status screen that had appeared before them. There didn''t appear to be anything wrong with her but she couldn''t shake the impression that something, something fundamental to her very existence, had changed. It was almost like she had be apletely different person. With far more emotion than she had shown throughout the entirety of their interactions thus far, Shion red at Vahn, asking, "What did you do to me?" Though Shion and the people who had witnessed the scene would vehemently disagree with him, Vahn wasn''t lying when he returned a smile and answered, "Other than put you to sleep and wake you back up? Absolutely nothing." "Bullsh*t!" Grabbing the cors of Vahn''s tunic, Shion shifted her weight so that she could leverage his before mming him over her body in a textbook example of a shoulder throw. What distinguished it from a normal shoulder throw was the fact that it caused spiderweb cracks to spread outward as a plume of dust more than a kilometer in height dominated the image visible to spectators. When the dust began to fade, the audience outside was able to see Shion mounting Vahn, tears building in the corners of her eyes as she rained down meteoric punches on his calmly smiling face. She couldn''t recall what, exactly, he had taken, but Shion felt as though Vahn had taken something unbelievably precious from her. Emotions that she hadn''t experienced in tens of thousands of years were surging forward like a tidal wave, and, no matter how much she tried to stymy her tears, they just kept pouring in an unceasing flow. What Shion, or, more specifically, the woman that looked like Shion didn''t know was that Vahn had, in fact, reced her. She had the exact same thoughts and memories as the original, but, in reality, the woman smashing her fists into Vahn''s face was one of his Temtes. If Shion was incapable of bearing her trauma, Vahn figured he may as well bear it in her stead. As for the original Shion, Vahn had effectively enticed her Soul to inhabit the artifact he had pulled from her chest. Once the game had concluded, he was nning to create an Actualized World that was an exact replica of the one Shion had reincarnated into. This time, however, she would be able to live the life she had in mind prior to falling for the God of Chaos''s scheme. In essence, Vahn had separated the parts of Shion''s Ego thatprised the version of herself at the exact moment of her original death. As for the pain and suffering she had umted, it was now his to bear. The Shion smashing his face in may act and think like her original self, but, on the most fundamental level, she was an extension of Vahn. His willpower and resolution were now an integral part of her being, so, while it was unbelievably painful, the emotions she had suppressed for tens of thousands of years were rising to the surface. This time, however, she wouldn''t run away from them. Though he wasn''t sure he had done the wrong thing, the simple truth of the matter was that Vahn was never sure if his actions were objectively correct. All he knew was that he wanted to help, and, no matter how much either Shion hated him, he would willingly bear their rage, indignation, pain, and sadness. He would even bear their very existence if it meant they could move on and find the happiness they deserved . For the first time since the creation of the second Little Garden, the being that ruled over it as the absolute pinnacle of existence opened its eyes. It wasn''t the type of entity that would traditionally pay attention to things transpiring in the ''outside'' world, but, the moment Vahn withdrew the gem-like object from Shion''s chest, the undisputed Rank 1 in all of Creation couldn''t help taking notice, stating, "The Axis of Reality has shifted" before once again falling silent Simr to the being upying the Rank 1 Gate, the deities upying the Rank 2 and 3 Gates both opened their eyes. The first was a statuesque being that simultaneously resembled an old man, a young woman, and a fierce beast. Everyone that gazed upon it would see something different, but, no matter who they were, all beings would recognize the entity as Ahura Mazd??, the Principal God of Zoroastrianism. As for the second figure, representing absolutely no one and the most powerful Faction in the Divine Realm, their appearance resembled that of a young schr with jade-like skin, fair features, and exceptionally long, raven-ck hair that was supported by twining branches that grew directly from their body. They were much younger than the majority of deities that called the Divine Realm, yet, in a remarkably short period of time, they had managed to secure their position as one of the three most powerful beings in existence. As for their identity, they were known across all Realms as the Buddha of Truth "Darkness falls/The Dawn Approaches" x2 . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn is no mere mountain. He is the foundation that supports all'',''That escted VERY quickly o_o'',''The Big Three have awoken'') Chapter 2236: Exceptional

Chapter 2236: Exceptional

After beating Vahn and crying for well over an hour, Shion felt a lot better. She still felt as though she was missing something, but, at the same time, she somehow felt more plete'' than before. It was almost like there was a voice in the back of her mind telling her that everything was going to be okay. While wiping away the remnants of her tears, Shion didn''t immediately dismount from Vahn''s body. There was no special meaning behind her actions. It just felt good to sit on top of him and have the option to continue beating his face whenever she wanted. Her attacks may not have had any effect on him, but they also didn''t hurt her hands. He was basically the perfect punching bag. Though it felt really weird to have a girl sitting on top of him without grabbing her butt her holding her waist, Vahn just closed his eyes and waited patiently as Shion gathered herself. Unlike some of his other Temtes, he had no intention of meddling in her life. He would be honest with her if she ever learned the truth, but, even if she never approached him after the Gift Game, he wouldn''t let it bother him. They may be one and the same, but, at the same time, she existed wholly independent from him. Seeing Vahn close his eyes, Shion fell into a long period of silence where she just stared at him. As her emotions settled, her feelings towards him had changed rather drastically. It was difficult to say she felt ''good'' about him, but, at the very least, she neither hated nor resented him. "I don''t know what you didbut I''m reasonably certain you did it to help me. I didn''t ask for it, but I also don''t me you for wanting to help. That''s just the type of person you areisn''t it?" cing her hand over the spot where her scar had been, Shion felt as though Vahn had given her far more than he had taken away. She couldn''t really exin why but she felt better at this exact moment than she had in the past ten, maybe even forty thousand years. Even her mind felt a lot clearer than before, so much so that she could now distinctly remember incidents that had taken ce as far back as her very first childhood "Thank you" Though Shion''s words were barely a whisper, Vahn just smiled without saying a word. It was only when she dismounted him with a faint, almost undetectable blush on her face that he finally sat up and asked, "What are you going to do from here onwards?" As she had been considering suicide less than seventy minutes prior, Shion didn''t really have an answer to Vahn''s question. Ever since she had destroyed the Community that summoned her, her singr goal had been reaching the pinnacle of existence and fixing the very broken system in the Lower Realms. Now that she had met someone with a much greater chance of sess than herself, she felt lost With Shion staring at the ground with a pensive look on her face, it wasn''t long before Vahn found himself extending his hand to caress her head. Her brows immediately creased, but, unlike before, she didn''t react with hostility. Instead, she looked up at him, her brilliant blue eyes searching his for the better part of a minute before asking, "What do you think I should do?" Retracting his hand from Shion''s head, Vahn didn''t need to consider his words before answering, "I think you should do as you please. I can tell from the types of people you surrounded yourself with that you put your objective before your personal views, wants, and needs. If the Community you are in charge of is broken, how do you expect to fix something on the scale of Creation? For now, focus on the small things. It is by bing happy we gain the strength of character to help others obtain the happiness they deserve." Exhaling a sigh, Shion''s emotions appeared to stabilize quite a bit as she muttered, "You''re really somethingI suppose this is the difference between someone who spent their entire life gatheringpanions and someone who spent the majority of their life running away?" Though she believed she had good reasons for it, Shion now felt as though she had wasted time by not even trying to open her heart to others. She just didn''t want to defile the memory of the people who had supported her before her gradual descent into madness and solitude. She had convinced herself that if she never opened her heart to others, she would never have to endure the pain of losing them Immortality was not a blessing. It was a curse. Catching Shion by surprise, Vahn actually shrugged in response to her self-deprecating remark, stating, "Who knows? The best metric to evaluate a person''s life is observing the legacy they leave behind. Things like differences in a person''s character, temperament, and even inborn talent have very little meaning. So long as there is life, there is the possibility of change. We all make mistakes. So long as you pick yourself up and continue to move forward, I can guarantee you will one day be able to look back on this moment and smile." Hanging her head, Shion couldn''t shake the feeling she had been utterly defeated. As ridiculous as his strength and authority were, the thing that made Vahn truly amazing was his character. She had thrown her everything at him, yet, with the exception of the time he had chastised and pped her, Vahn never lost his smile. He just continued tolerating everything until she no longer had anything left to givealmost like a father waiting for his rebellious daughter to see the error of her ways Feeling her face heating up, Shion attempted to disguise her embarrassment by rubbing her cheeks and wiping away her eyes. Vahn noticed her reaction, but, as was often the case when he dealt with a Tsundere, he pretended not to. (*That Tsundere is actually an extension of yourself*) Ignoring Sis''s teasing remark, Vahn waited for Shion to collect herself before saying, "The Gift Game should be concluding within the next couple of hours. When you have the time, stop by the Sage Dragon''s Hearth ore visit me at Castle Aldrnari. I''m not going to force you, but I think it would do you some good to stop by and vent your frustrations. I have a bad habit of rambling but I''m also a pretty good listener." Having just likened Vahn to a father figure within her mind, Shion felt embarrassed just hearing him speak. In spite of this, she managed to appear rtively calm as she met his gaze and answered, "I''ll keep that in mind" before promptly vanishing. With space no longer off-limits, it was a simple feat for her to teleport back to her. As for what she would do from thereshe wasn''t entirely sure. It was one of those things she would need to figure out as she slowly and steadily moved forward . Observing the interaction between Vahn and Shion from start to finish, Indra couldn''t help feeling a sense of appreciation for the man he simultaneously resented. Vahn really was the epitome of what he believed a man should be. He was strong, magnanimous, kind, caring, and, as far as Indra could tell, extremely genuine. Where most people doubted themselves to the point of changing their behavior from one moment to the next, Vahn remained himself no matter the situation. So long as you didn''t touch his bottom line, he appeared to have an infinite capacity for benevolence. It was truly awe-inspiring, but, at the same time, incredibly worrying. As nonsensical as it sounded, Indra couldn''t sense the depths of Vahn''s power. It wasn''t particrly well known, at least not anymore, but Indra, or, more urately, his original self was, and still is, the Rank 7 in all of Creation. He had given away and bestowed the majority of his power unto others, but he was still one of the beings responsible for the creation and maintenance of the Little Garden. The one power Indra had never given up was his ability to see the potential in others. It was one of the reasons he was known to be a jealous God, as, while his existence remainedrgely unchanged, the people around him were constantly moving forward. The only way he could experience change was to give up his power, manifest as an avatar, or reincarnate. Even then, everything he gave out would invariably return to him. Thus, in the grand scheme of eternity, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say he remained the same. When Indra looked at Vahn, he saw two things. The first was ''absolutely nothing''. While this might sound confusing, it made sense when every being except for Vahn had a clearly foreseeable fate. It might change from one moment to the next, but, from the moment of their creation to the time of their death, all beings were pulled along in the endless stream of fate. Since before the dawn of time, Indra had never encountered a single being without a fate. Even the Abyss of the End, End Emptiness, had the fate of bing the nothingness that followed the end of all things. It was an event that could be dyed for a literal eternity, but, at some point, beyond the concept of time, End Emptiness would consume all things. Vahncking a fate made him the sole exception in all of Creation. This was concerning in and of itself but the thing that terrified Indra most of all was Vahn''s unfathomable potential. It could be argued that all beings in the Order of Creation had the potential of reaching the absolute pinnacle of existence, but, when looking at Vahn, Indra sensed somethingmore. If Vahn decided to take over the Little Garden and superimpose his vision onto the rest of Creation, Indra had no doubt he would be able to achieve it. The only question, at least in Indra''s mind, was how much destruction would be wrought in Vahn''s wake. Anyone or anything that got in his way or contradicted his vision was bound to be destroyed. Depending on the circumstances, even the Little Garden wouldn''t be spared, as, ording to the things Vahn had said and done thus far, he wasn''t particrly satisfied with how ''out of hand'' things had be At this juncture, Indra had an important decision to make. He could trust in Shiroyasha''s decision and allow the Little Garden to fulfill its purpose or he could rally the Gods for onest stand against Vahn. It may turn out that he is inevitable, but, much like the Demon God, End Emptiness, and every other Last Embryo, they could still dy him for as long as possible. If all of Creation was bound to be changed as a result of Vahn''s ambition, it stood to reason that all of Creation should stand against him Had Vahn been an overtly corrupt or malicious individual, Indra wouldn''t even need to consider whether or not he should oppose him. The thing that made his decision so difficult, other than the fact that Shioryasha had clearly ced her trust in him, was the fact that Vahn was clearly a good person. He demonstrated a considerable amount of patience and even showed genuine concern for his enemies. So long as they didn''t touch his bottom line, Vahn seemed capable of forgiving anyone for anything. The biggest issue was that the Little Garden wasn''t exactly filled with fine, upstanding individuals. A lot of the Gods had be corrupt, but, while some had walked that path of their own volition, the vast majority had simply sumbed to fate and the influence of Poets. With time, they could be led back to the path of righteousness, but, a Vahn had clearly demonstrated, he wasn''t going to just sit around and wait patiently for them to reform. He was making startling progress toward his goal, so much so that it may only take him a few years to achieve something no one, not since the Dawn of Creation itself, had achieved . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''When you Kuudere evolves into a Tsundere'',''Vahn has always been the exception'',''Be very careful about what you choose'') Chapter 2237 Currying Favor Chapter 2237 Currying Favor With the Model Omega''s long-range sensors, Tomoe was able to sense that thergest collection of participants was on the belonging to the Akuma Community. It was also one of their primary targets due to its rtively low Gate Number, so, after familiarizing herself with the Model Omega''s near-instantaneous movement, she repositioned a few hundred thousand kilometers away in order to prepare the Executioner''s Judgement. While it was possible for yers to leave theirs and confront the Model Omega, the rules prohibited it from returning the favor. Tomoe would first need to destroy the barrier surrounding her target. It was only once the''s defenses had been ovee that she be allowed to run rampant. Spreading the upper arms of the Model Omega wide, a tremendous amount of energy began to flow into the massive crystals embedded into its wings. Each crystal had been attuned to a specific element, and, as a result, the Model Omega had a scary amount of influence over the fundamental forces of the Universe. Were it not for the restriction preventing it from tapping into its only energy reserves, Tomoe would have been able to obliterate something as small as a sr system using a single pulse of energy. Though its capabilities had been severely restricted, the Model Omega was still an unbelievably powerful marvel of magical engineering. It took less than six seconds for Tomoe to draw enough energy from the surrounding space to vaporize an entire. For a brief moment, she became even more luminous than the nearby star as she unleashed a beam of pure elemental energy in the form of a 300m wide pir of rainbow-hued destruction. When the Executioner''s Judgment impacted theary barrier, everyone above the surface of the immediately ceased what they were doing. The scene of the entire sky heating up and fracturing was enough to shake even the hearts of Gods. Thus, even before the energy had begun to dissipate, everyone ceased fighting and began running toward the nearest Teleportation Nexus. The-wide barrier may be able to hold up against multiple strikes but no one wanted to be around when it finally shattered... ... .. Failing to escape Wu''s assault, Nav suffered the same fate as the vast majority of the Monkey King''s opponents. Her head was pressed to the ground, and, even though Wu was the one that sought her out to do battle, Nav was forced to apologize for daring to offend her. Though she nodded in approval of Nav''s behavior, Wu still flicked a booger towards the kowtowing girl before giving her permission to flee. Itnded right on top of Nav''s head, but, due to having her face to the ground, she didn''t notice it as she thanked Wu for her clemency. Immediately thereafter, she bolted towards the nearest Teleportation Nexus, moisture building in the corners of her eyes as she swore to report Wu''s bullying to Shion. Each member of the Akuma Community had a supreme degree of faith in Shion''s [Abysswalker] transformation, as, even if they worked together to try and defeat her, she was simply untouchable. What Nav didn''t know was that the booger clinging to her hair wasn''t the only gift Wu had left for her. More than a dozen golden hairs had invaded the interior of her cloak or adhered to its surface. Wu had done this with the intention of simply tracking Nav back to her. Unfortunately, each of the hairs shared her senses. Thus, the moment Nav badmouthed, insulted, or tattled on her, Wu would know... ... .. With the promotional Gift Game clearly entering its final stages, tensions in the Little Garden were at an all-time high. At this point, everyone understood, without a shadow of a doubt, that Vahn and his Aldrnari Empire were about to be major yers in the happenings of the Little Garden. His power was far beyond their expectations, but, rather than being terrified of him, people were eager to see him deposing and pping some of the more tyrannical Gods in the face. While the vast majority of the Little Garden''s residents were looking forward to their suffering, the Gods in question were split into three distinct categories. There were those who had epted there was no longer anything they could do to prevent Vahn''s rise, those that were willing to work with him to make the Little Garden a better ce, and those that were determined to do everything in their power to stop him. Taking advantage of the fact that Vahn was currently embroiled in a Gift Game, several of the forces that had previously set their sights on the Sage Dragon''s Hearth decided to make their move. They believed that the majority of Vahn''s war potential was gathered to participate in the Gift Game, so, before it ended, they intended to infiltrate the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, apprehend the people inside, andpletely destroy it. What none of these people expected was for a force to be lying in wait for them even before they entered the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Even stranger was the fact that said force belonged to one of the most powerful Factions, not from the East, but the South. After missing the timing to join and infiltrate the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, Vor had returned to the South to coordinate with her sisters. Shortly after that, Odin had ordered Vor and several of her sisters to relocate to the East. Though Odin was unable to see Vahn''s future, he was able to see the changes brought about as a result of his actions. If the Sage Dragon''s Hearth was allowed to be attacked, tens of thousands of Communities would be brought to ruin. While this was none of Odin''s concern, one of the futures he peered into showed his Valkyries protecting the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, and, shortly after, there was a vision showing the World Tree restored to its former glory. Odin didn''t know how Vahn would aplish it but he believed the World Tree''s restoration was a direct result of currying favor with the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Thus, in the months leading up to the promotional Gift Game, he met with Shiroyasha and obtained permission to have one of the White Raven Community''s branches relocated to the East. They had to give up a lower-digit Gate in order to arrange the trade but it was a small price to paypared to the restoration of their single most precious treasure. The World Tree, Yggdrasil, was the heart and soul of the Nine Realms Community. If it died, it wouldn''t be long before the Norse Faction followed. With a single high-ranking Valkyrie being enough to match some 4-Digit Communities, defending the Sage Dragon''s Hearth was a rtively simple task. The Laws of the Little Garden restricted the groups targetting it from doing so in an overtly brazen manner. Thus, by merely posting up along the outside, the members of the White Raven Community were able to deter most of the would-be attackers. The only exception was a group from the Argonaut Community, a Greecian Community famous for being one of thergest and most famous groups of Heroes in the entire Divine Realm. After the utter defeat of Laius and the Perseus Community, Athena, Laius''s Aunt, practically begged the Olympus Faction to take action. She even entreated Zeus and Hera directly, but, as the status of the Olympians had fallen greatly ever since their battle with the Avalon Community, Zeus was in no hurry to antagonize a Community under the protection of Shiroyasha. He was one of the Gods that had stood in her way during her Problem Child days, so, while he would never admit to being afraid of her, he had absolutely no intention of offending her. With Zeus practically forbidding her from getting involved, Athena could only rely on the Argonauts to avenge her nephew''s defeat. Jason wasn''t particrly reliable but his charisma had allowed him to recruit legendary figures such as Heracles, Achilles, Castor, Pollux, Atnta, Odysseus, and, most importantly, at least for Athena''s purposes, Perseus. He also had the support of the Great Witch of Colchis, Medea. She was mentally unstable, but, so long as Jason was the one asking, she would set the entire Little Garden aze if it meant earning his attention and love. Though she was forced to humiliate herself in order to garner Jason''s support, Athena was willing to forgo getting revenge so long as he was able toplete her objective. Jason was well aware of this, so, in the months leading up to the Gift Game, he buttered up the members of the Argonauts in order to ensure their participation. His Community wasn''t nearly as unified as most other groups, so, while they would rally to his call in the event of an emergency, it took a significant amount of effort to convince them to join in his ''antics''. Fortunately, at least for Jason, he had Perseus there to support him. Thetter was good friends with the vast majority of the Argonauts. This made it a lot easier to convince the rather obstinate group that their cause was just. After all, avenging the crippled son of a dear friend was something even normal people would consider a worthy cause. While Jason was wholly incapable of defeating a high-ranking Valkyrie, most other Greecian Heroes were more than a match for anyone outside the Top 3. The only Argonauts that could pull that off were Heracles and Achilles, but, even then, it would be a pretty close match. The difficulty Jason and the Argonauts faced was that the Valkyries outnumbered them quite a bit. They also couldn''t outright attack them, so, while most people were focused on the promotional Gift Game marking Vahn''s inevitable rise, a rather sizeable crowd had formed to watch Jason and his Argonautspete against the members of the White Raven Community... ... .. Finding a Teleportation Nexus unguarded, Kenshin and Tamamo loitered around on the surface for a short while before mustering the resolve to head directly to the core/control room. Kenshin went in first, and, as could be expected, an army affiliated with the Kotoamatsukami was there waiting for her. What surprised her was the fact that it was a rtively small force, and, while there were quite a number of people that gave her dangerous vibes, none gave her the impression she couldn''t defeat them. Though shecked a Fragment of Origin rted to breaking through enemy lines, Kenshin was still Kenshin. The moment she realized there were no significant threats, she immediately charged into the group of samurai, shinobi, and shrine maidens. They did their best to impede her but the most they were able to aplish was slowing her down as she smashed through their defensive line in a single push. Around the same time, Tamamo appeared atop one of the teleportation tforms, so, while most people were focused on Kenshin, the opportunistic fox girl decided to teach them the importance of watching their backs... .... .. Seeing the members of her Community being defeated with rtive ease, Hanzo, lurking in the depths of Tamamo''s shadow, weighed the pros and cons of helping them out. She would normally only eptmissions at the behest of Amaterasu. As thetter had already been defeated, the only reason Hanzo could think to act was to curry favor with her Patron Goddess. Unfortunately, at least for the people being incinerated by Tamamo''s mes, Amaterasu wasn''t known as a particrly generous Goddess. If Hanzo took it upon herself to help out, Amaterasu was more likely to argue she was fulfilling her duty than performing amission. Honor didn''t exactly put food on the table or replenish her stockpile of ninja tools, so, having already spent eight of her lives, Hanzo made the executive decision to preserve the one she had remaining... ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Even when nerfed, the Model Omega is ridiculously OP...'',''Athena be giving off some mad Karen vibes xD...'',''Hanzo be like, "Work smart, not hard."'') Chapter 2238: Casual Amusement

Chapter 2238: Casual Amusement

Taking advantage of his ability to project realistic illusions over reality, Vahn was watching events unfold throughout the Game Board whilst rxing with the back of his head against Nobu''s butt. She had a habit of lying on her stomach so she wouldn''t choke when she passed out drunk. As a result, Vahn was able to reduce his size, nestle between her thighs, and rest his head against her remarkably soft and pillowy bottom. (A/N: He brought out a bed.) With Amaterasu suffering a crushing defeat and Shion basically giving up the notion of victory, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say that the Sage Dragon''s Hearth had the exclusive right to determine which Community ended up in which Gate. This was generally the case during thetter stages of a promotional Gift Game, but, more often than not, the Community Hosting the game would end up upying the highest-numbered Gate. The number of times a burgeoning Community had caused such an upset, securing the top position for themselves, could be counted on a single hand. Since it would cause problems if Wu''s personal Community ended up with a lower-digit Gate than the entirety of Communities in the Heavenly Domain, Vahn was intending to give her the position formerly upied by the Onigashima Community. The 1002nd Gate would be serving as the seat of power for the Aldrnari Empire while the 1009th Gate, previously belonging to the Kotoamatsukami, would invariably fall into the hands of Indra''s Tr??yastri1???a. Though he was unaware of their past rtionship, Vahn had learned quite a bit about Indra from both Shiroyasha and ck Rabbit. He had a considerable amount of respect for the altruistic God, but, as the 1002nd Gate was necessary for his future ns, Vahn had no choice but to seize it for himself. Given how Indra hadn''t attempted to oppose him following the Rakshasa Tribe''s retreat, Vahn hade to the conclusion that their invasion had been a test. Indra was renowned for investing in people he believed were capable of making the Little Garden a better ce. The Aldrnari Empire was bound to stir things up, but, once he had dealt with the Demon God, Vahn expected most of the Little Garden''s inhabitants to side with him. "Hmmm?" Sensing that someone was praying to him, Vahn promptly shifted his intent to their location. There, he found Musashi rubbing her hands together as if she were offering up a prayer at a shrine. What surprised him more was the fact that Musashi wasn''t alone . Located in the middle of a forest clearing, two distinctly Japanese women could be seen sitting next to a brook. The first was a mature woman with raven ck hair, eyes that resembling a perpetually shifting painting, and healthy brown skin. As for the second, she greatly resembled the woman that was seated across from. The primary differences between them were that the first woman appeared to be in herte twenties while it was more urate to refer to thetter as a youngdy. She also had cat ears and a tail. "Musashi-donohave you lost your mind? Even if there are no cameras focused on you, it''s only a matter of time before someone reviews the recordings and finds you praying to a foreign God. Are you trying to incur the wrath of Amaterasu-sama?" Rolling her ever-shifting eyes, Musashi retorted, "That pink-haired vixen reveres the God of Infinite Possibilities. He may not be my God, but, through her, we share a connection. If Amaterasu-sama is petty enough to hold a grudge over something like this, she only has herself to me when people jump ship." Shifting her attention away from the young cat girl, Musashipleted the ritual before smiling as a veritable banquet appeared before her. She was a little annoyed that a second wooden table had appeared in front of her uninvited guest, Hanzo. When she noticed thetter was served an omelet shaped like a fish, however, a massive grin developed across Musashi''s face. There was even a little g of Japan sticking out of it. Though her expression morphed into a hateful glower, the aroma rising from the omelet caused Hanzo''s stomach to growl. Her nose was exceptionally sensitive so she could detect traces of soy sauce and bonito kes on the inside. The rice served on the side was also emanating a magical, somewhat mesmerizing golden glow. Just staring at it gave the impression it was some kind of precious treasure, so, after observing Musashi dig into her dishes without incident, she eventually pulled out her personalized pair of chopsticks to give it a taste. As the omelet made its way to Hanzo''s lips, Musashi cast a mischievous nce towards the petite cat girl. She had fallen for the same trick previously so she was eager to see someone else ''suffer'' the same fate. Failing to notice Musashi''s gaze, Hanzo ced the glistening golden rice into her mouth only to find her mind and tastebuds exploding. Not literally, of course, but it felt like a physical impact had struck her mind like a gong. A pleasant vibration spread through her body, and, for a brief moment, the only thought in Hanzo''s mind was the vor and mouthfeel of the rice. Everything else seemedpletely meaningless Coming back to her senses, Hanzo was about toment on the quality of the rice when her body suddenly froze. She took notice of the fact that Musashi was trying desperately to stop herself fromughing, but, far more important than the hateful woman seated across from her was the fact that she was now in her underwear. "" Unable to contain herself any longer, Musashi burst outughing with enough vigor that she could barely sit upright. The look of stupefaction on Hanzo''s face was something she would never forget. When they returned home, she was immediately purchasing a recording of the Gift Game in order to immortalize this moment for eternity. Though Musashi was much, much stronger than her, Hanzo didn''t hesitate to throw a pitch-ck kunai towards theughing woman''s throat. Musashi could have easily intercepted it, but, before it could cover the short distance between them, the kunai simply disappeared. In its ce, a double-sided piece of paper telling them it was improper to fight during a meal could be seen hovering in the air. It also told them their food would be taken away if the message was ignored, so, following a moment of silence, both Musashi and Hanzo returned to their respective meals . Preserving the image of Hanzo''s stupefied expression in one of his personalized memory archives, an amused smile developed across Vahn''s face as he repositioned himself between Nobu''s pillowy butt cheeks and closed his eyes. Now that he had administered the first installment of Amaterasu''s punishment, he no longer held any enmity towards the Six-Dragons Alliance. Many of the women in the organization were incredibly interesting. Hanzo, in particr, possessed a number of interesting abilities. Her ears and tail also resonated with something deep inside of him. Were it not for the fact he was trying to cut back on the expansion of his harem, he may have been tempted to try and pet her until she purred (*I wonder what Fenrir would think if she learned you were more of a cat than a dog person~?*) Restraining a chuckle, Vahn linked his hands over his stomach before stating, ("She already behaves more like a cat than a dog. Besides, when ites to texture and feel, Fenrir''s fur and tail are easily among the top three across all realities. Even then, I would probably choose to snuggle her over the other two") Though Vahn''s words caused his mind to wander to a certain sheep girl, his mood didn''t diminish in the slightest. He missed Preasia dearly, but, based on his current rate of progress, it would only be a few years before they reunited. She probably wouldn''t be the first person he sought out, but, once the opportunity present itself, he nned to cuddle up with her and enjoy a nice, long nap. While such thoughts made it seem as though Preasia was the softest girl he had ever encountered, that title actually belonged to Xysteria. The little ball of malleable fluff was so soft and fragrant that the easiest way to describe the texture of her fur wasparing it to Arachne silk and the warmth of a fire in the dead of winter. When her countless duplicates cuddled up and surrounded him, Vahn would sometimes feel as though he was floating weightlessly in an ocean of ethereal fur. Thinking of Xysteria, Vahn decided he would pay the ''triplets'' a visit once the celebration following the Gift Game had ended. He had been visiting them with increasing frequency as ofte, but, as a God of Time, he had as much as he needed in any given moment. Even if he decided to watch over them for a million years, it wouldn''t interfere with any of his ongoing ns. If he made a ''snapshot'' of the present state of his Ego, he could even return to his present state of mind without losing any of his focus. Since he was already going to spend a few years watching over Shion to make sure things went smoothly for her, Vahn decided he may as well link her Actualized World to the same metaversal structure as Gaia. That way, he could watch over Shion while spending time with the three sisters and his children. The end result was ultimately the same, but, having spent a considerable amount of time with Da Vinci, Vahn had developed the habit of at least trying to be efficient. "Seriously?" Sensing yet another prayer directed towards him, Vahn, once again, found his intent shifting to Musashi and Hanzo. To his surprise, the former was actually petitioning him for a set of underwear on behalf of Hanzo. They had apparently gotten into a discussion regarding undergarments, and, as a result, Musashi ended up unting the Aegis Vahn had previously gifted her. Hanzo hadn''t been all that interested in the beginning, but, upon discovering that the undergarments wereparable to A-Rank Gifts, she quickly changed her tune. Hearing Musashi''s request, a mischievous smile developed across Vahn''s face. He knew that Hanzo would eventually return to her more mature form, but, if he was being honest, she was a lot cuter in her present state. Thus, while the Aegis he provided was form-fitting and resizeable to virtually any body type, their outer appearance resembled the type of panties worn by young children. He even included a little shuriken print on the front where the face of a cartoon bear or cat would typically be located. As could be expected, Musashi immediately broke into another bout ofughter. As for Hanzo, she just stared at the pair of pure white panties and apanying training with a deadpan expression on her face. At first, Vahn thought she was going to refuse them, but, after nearly two minutes had passed, Hanzo suddenly stood up and unfastened the cord keeping her hakama-like trousers fixed in ce. This prompted Vahn to shift his perception back to the throne room, but, in the back of his mind, he couldn''t help being amused at the notion that a legendary ninja was going to be running around in the Divine Realm in a pair of indestructible kiddie underwear (*Was that supposed to be a pun?*) Confused by Sis''s words, Vahn''s brows twitched ever so slightly as he attempted toprehend their meaning. Thanks to his elerated rate of thinking, it only took a few picoseconds, but, from his perspective, nearly a full minute had passed by the time Vahn realized Sis was drawing upon the fact that Hanzo was a cat girl. Since her current form was a bit on the younger that, that meant she was basically a kitty running around in kiddie panties. Had he imprinted a cat face on them, Hanzo would have been a kitty running around in kitty kiddie panties ("Have I ever told you you''re a genius?") (*53,488 times, to be precise.*) ("You''re also a braggart") (*Well, I am an extension of you*) ("") (*Onee-chanughter sounds*) . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Reminds me of one of those Zhongli mousepads'',''I''m wheezing xD'',''Sis is a very punny woman (U w U)'') Chapter 2239: Rushing Towards the Climax

Chapter 2239: Rushing Towards the Climax

After smashing her way through the Kotoamatsukami''sst line of defense, Kenshin found herself in a near-identical throne room to the one Vahn had been sitting in. The absence of a defending God made her feel like something was wrong, but, upon reaching the throne and taking a seat without incident, she breathed a sigh of relief before activating the''smand console. While Kenshin was preparing the for self-destruction, Tamamo was busying herself with the construction of an exceptionally powerful magical barrier. Neither she nor Kenshin had the inherent ability to survive for a prolonged period of time within a vacuum. Their [REquip] Systems came with a highly advanced spacesuit, but, as enclosed outfits always made her feel ustrophobic, Tamamo would rather protect herself with magic than ''imprison'' herself in one of Da Vinci''s creations. Just as Tamamo was cing the finishing touches on the magical barrier, a portion of the ceiling above them spontaneously copsed. A tremendous amount of heat and an apanying flow of liquid metal invaded the throne room but the thing that stood out most was the emaciated, white-haired, mask-wearing figure standing in the center. With a veritable mane of white hair that billowed outward like violent mes, the mask-wearing man slowly rose to his feet to reveal zing red eyes and a visage akin to a devil. His mask was a carmine shade of red with curved horns jutting outward from the sides in a manner reminiscent of a samurai''s helmet. Unlike thetter, however, the horns protruding from the man''s mask were clearly a natural addition to his body. Wielding a massive spiked club that look far toorge for his emaciated figure to wield, the masked man growled, "Youdare?" in a ghastly, bone-chilling voice that extended each consonant like an echoing whisper. Though she was slightly startled by the man''s sudden appearance, a teasing smile developed across Tamamo''s face when she heard his word. Fire and mes were two of the things she feared least, so, as her trio of tails ignited with vibrant, pinkish-golden mes, she answered, "I might~." in a teasing tone. Issuing a legitimate hiss this time, the oni-like man created a physical whip of mes with the intent of striking Tamamo across the face. To his surprise, she darted under the trajectory of his whip with extreme speed, the pupils of her golden eye contracting like a predator''s as she carved eight tracks through his flesh with her elongated ws. "K-Kuhyoudespicable wench!" As the wounds on his chest rapidly healed, the masked man burst into mes before reappearing next to Tamamo with a vicious glint in his eyes. Had this been a few hundred years ago, Tamamo may have been terrified by such an expression. Unfortunately for the man, she had spent thest couple of months learning tips and tricks from none other than Eva. Thus, the moment the man appeared behind her, Tamamo''s body flickered as she nted a devastatingly powerful kick to his abdomen. She was still learning, but, with mana reservesparable to a Tier 5, she was a monster in terms of potential. Smashing through the far-side wall, the oni-like man felt himself briefly losing consciousness. His true identity was that of Kagutsuchi, the Japanese God of Fire. A substantial portion of his power had been lost during the war against the Demon God but he still couldn''t believe he was on the back foot against a mere three-tailed fox spirit. Liberating himself from the deep channel formed by his body, Kagutsuchi regenerated therge hole in his chest as he asked, "Whoareyou?" in his characteristically terrifying tone. Showing no signs of fear, the smile on Tamamo''s face became markedly more prominent as she replied, "I am my Lord Husband''spanion and Wife. I have no name to give to someone like you." Punctuating her words, a series of vibrant blue magic circles manifested behind Tamamo''s body. Her greatest affinity was, unsurprisingly, fire. However, that did not mean she was incapable of tapping into the other elements. Rather, when it came to magic and illusions, she was well on her way to bing one of the most proficient Mages affiliated with the Aldrnari Empire. "Magna Cararacta(Great Waterfall)~!" Swallowing the words he was about to use to admonish Tamamo, Kagutsuchi generated a massive wall of mes to protect against the veritable tidal wave surging toward him. This resulted in arge steam explosion, the throne room instantaneously filling with a tremendous amount of scalding hot vapor. Unfortunately, at least for Kagutsuchi, he had severely underestimated the Water Elemental version of Nivis Casus(Fallen Snow), one of Eva''s signature spells. He was able to momentarily dy the crushing wall of water, but, like a man that had tried to stop a tsunami with a methrower, it wasn''t long before he was forced back into the hole had recently crawled out of . While her clones were wreaking havoc in the moments preceding the destruction of the Akuma Community''s, the actual Wu was paying a visit to Meng Zhang. Like a true ''Ancestor'', Meng Zhang had note out of his pce even whilst his children and grandchildren were getting smacked around and bullied by multiple Communities. Gift Games, at least from the perspective of people near the pinnacle of the Heavenly Domain, were often regarded as a crucible of sorts to nourish members of the younger generation. There was very little risk of being permanently crippled or killed, so, while Meng Zhang made note of all the people who had invaded his to seek trouble, neither he nor his wives ever stepped foot out of their pce. "Meng Zhang, you old fart! Why haven''t youe out to greet this Great Me!?" Emerging in ce of Meng Zhang was an ethereal, serpentine dragon that appeared to be formed entirely of liquid ice. Its body was over eighty meters in length, and, based on the halo-like crown flickering in and out of existence atop its head, Sarina, walking alongside Wu, concluded that it was a very high-ranking member of its species. Despite itsrge size, the ethereal blue dragon immediately descended with its head lowered to the ground as it stated, "Venerable Wuwe implore you to cease your current course of action. Though thispetition had pitted-" "You''re Zhou Han Ruogong, Old Man Meng''s Third Wife, right?" Though there was an awkward period of silence, the watery dragon eventually nodded her head, answering, "Venerable Wu''s wisdom knows no bounds. This lowly one''s name is indeed Zhou Han Ruogong" "Good for you. Now, let me ask you something, Ruo. Have you ever heard a single tale about the Legendary Sun Wu Kong turning away when she decided to venture somewhere?" "" Taking Ruogong''s silence to imply she understood exactly where things were headed, a rather vicious smile developed across Wu''s face as she asked, "And do you know what happens when someone tries to bar my path?" Flexing the muscles of her jaw, Ruogong hesitated for a moment before charged towards Wu with the unstoppable momentum of a raging river packed with ice. In truth, the power of her charge was far beyond suchparisons, but, thanks to the Central Network slowing everything down so that the people outside could make sense of everything that was going on, it was theparison most people would make whilst looking at her. Smiling even wider, Wu was about to step forward and smack Ruogong when she suddenly sensed motion from Sarina. Her smile immediately vanished, but, instead of pressing forward, she allowed Sarina to meet Ruogong''s charge with a ki-empowered fist. Ruogong''s head was smashed upward like a volleyball, her seemingly unstoppable momentum redirected toward the ceiling. With the Gift Game rapidlying to a close, Sarina was starting to feel a little desperate. She had managed to destroy the vast majority of Nav''s familiars by bombarding the Forest of Owls, but, as impressive a feat as that was, she doubted there were a lot of cameras watching as she basically just hovered in the air and fired off ki sts. Her time before that was spent idling about and gathering information, so, with things wrapping up much sooner than expected, Sarina feltpelled to do ''something'' before things came to an end. Following Ruogong through the smashed ceiling, a serious expression developed across Sarina''s face as she unholstered the pistol behind her back and uttering, "Bankai!" in a solemn tone. Simr to most Bankai transformations, a veil of protective spiritual energy momentarily swirled around Sarina''s body before surging outward along with her amplified reiatsu. Her Zanpakuto, previously resembling an old-fashioned flintlock pistol, now resembled a massive cannon that was nearly as long as she was tall. The interior diameter of the barrel was a startling 18cm, and, though it could only fire a single shot before having to be manually reloaded, it was a veritable weapon of mass destruction due to Sarina''s power level temporarily jumping up to 57 billion in an instant. Just as Ruogong was on the cusp of recovering from Sarina''s meteoric uppercut, thetter aimed her Zanpakuto directly at the water dragon as she shouted, "Sorry about this, but I can''t allow Wu to steal all the credit!" Before Ruogong had the chance to respond, Sarina unleashed a burst of energy that resembled a spiraling pir more than thirty meters in diameter. She reason she had sent Ruogong into the sky was that the energy contained in the st was well over the threshold required to destroy a. That would probably be the best way to imprint her name in the memories of everyone in the Little Garden, but, until Vahn gave the go-ahead, Sarina had no intention of destroying Meng Zhang''s. Unfortunately for Ruogong, and, depending on the circumstances, Meng Zhang himself, Sarina was not above defeating each and every one of them. The members of a Community would be ejected the moment their was destroyed, but, so long as their remained, they were not out of thepetition. Unless Vahn contacted her to change her orders, Sarina was nning to annihte all of Meng Zhang''s forces. She may have a serious desire to prove herself, but, as the Vice-Leader of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, she was obligated to prioritize the interests of the Community over her own . Observing Sarina from thefort of his, or, more urately, Nobu''s throne/control room, Vahn was seriously considering whether or not he should meet with Meng Zhang. He wasn''t particrly fond of the purposefully arrogant man''s disposition, but, as a favor to the Jade Emperor, Vahn felt he should at least prevent tensions from developing between him and his would-be ancestor. The thing that kept Vahn from just hopping over to say hi was the ''gift'' Meng Zhang had prepared for him. A number of remarkable beauties ranging from young women to mature maidens could be seen waiting in a chamber adjacent to Meng Zhang''s throne room. Since all of his wives were either sitting around him or running errands, it wasn''t difficult to surmise that the girls waiting in the other room were his daughters, nieces, or grandchildren. Either way, Vahn was absolutely certain that the middle-aged dragon was intending to set him up with one of his descendants. Had Meng Zhang prepared just a single girl, Vahn may have humored him. The problem was that Meng Zhang had prepared a total of thirteen women of various shapes and sizes. At a nce, this made it seem as though Meng Zhang intended to have Vahn pick and choose the one he liked the most, but, in reality, there was a tradition where the sessor of a Dragon n would be arranged to have thirteen wives. Cultivation didn''t cease after marriage, so, in an effort to preserve their vital yin, a vitalponent in the production of stable and powerful offspring, twelve of the wives would rotate in ordance with the month of the year. As for the thirteenth wife, her duty was to observe the other twelve and ensure they did not do anything ''untoward'' behind their husband''s back. They would also remain a virgin in order to stockpile as much yin elemental energy as possible. This allowed them to maintain a calm mind, but, more importantly, it ensured they were a readily avable source of yin elemental energy in the event their husband encountered a bottleneck. Simply put, even without meeting with Meng Zhang directly, Vahn was already well aware of what the man was thinking . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Tamamo is so mischievous (O w O)'',''Sarina is fighting an uphill battle just to stay ''relevant'' in the narrative of the Aldrnari Empire xD'',''I wonder if Vahn has started to develop a phobia against dragon girls?'') Chapter 2240: Catastrophic

Chapter 2240: Catastrophic

After departing the belonging to Tr??yastri1???a, Ke, followed closely by Mikoto, found herself transported to an oceanic world without a single sign ofnd. This might have deterred some people, but, as someone who could loiter in ck holes and shake the very foundation of universes with her blows, she wasn''t concerned by the pressure and depths of the ocean. Turning to Mikoto, Ke''s brows briefly furrowed as she asked, "I know this is kind of a pointless question, but did you pack a swimsuit?" Unlike the majority of yers participating on behalf of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, Mikoto had not dolled herself up for the sake of drawing attention. Instead, she was wearing her favorite ck and yellow jacket, a simple ck t-shirt,fortable ck shorts, and, in ce of socks, ck stockings that flowed into ck and yellow tennis shoes. As for her physical appearance, she had defaulted to a tomboyish look after growing increasingly ufortable with the number of pregnant women in the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. She wouldn''t really mind having a kid of her own, but, unless Vahn asked her to, she was content with remaining his Pokemon of choice. After a moment of deliberation, Mikoto slid her hands into the pockets of her jacket, saying, "Unless I allow it, water and pressure don''t affect me. My Electromaster powers also give me an edge in this kind of environment so you don''t need to worry about me." Rolling her eyes, Ke emted Mikoto''s standoffish behavior by crossing her arms and retorting, "As if I would worry about a monster like you. Just don''t get in my way, okay?" Though the ahoge she went to great lengths tob down promptly perked up, Mikoto resisted her sudden, almost overwhelming urge to give Ke a shock. Ever since the trip to the Heavenly Domain, she had been going through a phase where she was trying to temper her aggression. She didn''t want the people of the Little Garden to view her as some hothead who couldn''t control their anger, so, after a tense moment of silence, she directed her gaze to the bottom of the ocean and said, "Yeah, whatever" in an audibly sulky tone. Smiling in response to Mikoto''s response, Ke was tempted to try and tease her when a massive column of water more than five hundred meters in diameter erupted from the ocean below. From within, a monstrous, Serpentine Dragon whose head rivaled the size of a small ind burst forth in an obvious effort to try and swallow both Ke and Mikoto. With her Autonomous Sovereign always active in her fused state, Ke didn''t even have to think as she immediately teleported to the side. When she did, the pupils of her obsidian-ck eyes briefly expanded before contracting to fine points as she realized just how big the monstrous serpent was. Though its hydrodynamic head was nearly 500m in diameter at the widest point, the most terrifying aspect of the sapphire blue dragon was its sheer length. Ke didn''t know its exact dimensions but she felt it was evenrger than the dragon they would frequently summon back in the Actualized World of Dragon Ball. When it fully emerged, its size so was immense that she would have needed to retreat a significant distance just to have a hope ofprehending its scale. Taking advantage of Ke''s momentary stupor, halo-like rings of cobalt-blue electricity began to emerge along the Serpentine Dragon''s length. In the Divine Realm, Dragons with Eastern Origins often manifested ''crowns'' as a symbol of their power and authority. They were simr to Kitsune in that regard, but, unlike Kitsune, the only way for a Dragon to increase their number of crowns was to consume the hearts of simrly powerful Dragons. Due to the difficulty of obtaining even a single crown, even Dragons in possession of Divinity were not guaranteed to possess one. Thus, while Ke didn''t seem to care in the slightest, Mikoto was a little surprised to see a total of nine crowns illuminate along the Serpentine Dragon''s body. Just as Mikoto was about to tell Ke to be careful, thetter promptly powered up, shouting, "Let''s do this!" before charging toward it with a massive grin on her face. To her credit, she managed tond a meteoric punch that sent the colossal dragon reeling backward, but, in the same motion, it whipped its tail around with such extreme speed that it appeared to cut through the fabric of space and time. Though she could have easily dodged such an attack under normal circumstances, Ke, wanting to show off a bit, intended to let the tail pass within a few centimeters of her body. To her surprise, an intense gravitational pull affected her body the moment the tail neared her. The mass of the dragon was so great that its physics-defying momentum distorted the surrounding space to generate what was effectively a localized, infinite gravitational well. As a result, Ke''s body adhered to its surface like a ma as it smashed her into the surface of the ocean with enough force to vaporize tens of kilometers of water in an instant. As someone who could tank universe destroying attacks with rtive ease, Ke should have been able to emerge from such an attack entirely unscathed. The problem was that she hadn''t taken into ount the dragon''s identity, and, more importantly, the unbridgeable gap of Authority. When she finally reappeared a few kilometers away, there was blood pouring from her nose, ears, and mouth while the entire left side of her body was covered in dark, nearly ck bruises. Despite her rather serious injuries, a vicious grin had developed across Ke''s face as she covered her left nostril with her thumb and snorted out a scarilyrge blood clot. It almost looked like she had just expelled a section of her brain, but, even if she had, it wouldn''t have mattered. Momentster, the bruises on her body hadpletely vanished, as, even in their base forms, both Kale and Cauli possessed cheat-like regeneration. Kale, in particr, could regenerate from virtually any injury so long as a section of her brain or heart remained intact. Though it could have followed its previous attack with another, the Serpentine Dragon elected to observe Ke with visible intrigue in its eyes. When she fully recovered from her injuries, it used a calm and masculine tone to telepathically remark, "Your vitality and strength are impressive. It''s no wonder the members of your Sage Dragon''s Hearth were able to bully my descendants." Winding up her left arm, Ke''s smile morphed into a confident grin as she said, "You ain''t so bad for an oversized snake. At this rate, I may even have to get serious." "Hmmm" Shifting its attention away from Ke, the massive dragon took a moment to observe Mikoto, who, at the present moment, was sitting high in the sky. Its instincts were telling it that she was far more dangerous than the monkey-like woman floating a few kilometers away, but, as someone who had suffered innumerable defeats at the hands of a certain golden-haired tyrant, it knew better than to look down upon those who were clearly inspired from her. As if to make theparison even more obvious, Ke''s hair and tail suddenly became a luminous shade of gold as her eyes shifted from obsidian ck to a radiant, greenish blue. The aura exuding from her body also increased by a truly ridiculous amount, so much so that the ocean below began to gravitate towards her. "How troublesome" Offering a feral grin in response to the dragon''s words, Ke replied with a cheeky, "This isn''t even my final form." before promptly disappearing in a sh of light. In the very next instant, shended a blow powerful enough to fracture the pointed tip of the dragon''s chin. The upper half of its body was, once again, sent reeling backward. This time, however, Ke immediately followed suit. While the dragon''s size would leave the majority of people feeling helpless, it wasn''t something people like Ke concerned themselves with. If she didn''t control the energy within her strikes, the very beneath them would turn to dust. Thus, while an archipgo-sized dragon was pretty intimidating to look at, Ke saw little difference between it and an actual snake. With this in mind, Ke reared back in a highly telegraphed manner before smashing a devastating punch near the connecting point between the dragon''s head and neck. She knew that a dragon''s most powerful offensive ability was its breath attack, so, while her primary focus was on enjoying herself, she was also taking steps to ensure she wouldn''t pay too substantial a price for her hubris. To Ke''s surprise, the lighter, bluish-white scales lining the bottom of the dragon''s body were a lot softer than she expected. Her fist sank into the material as if it were made of some kind of adaptive foam. She could feel the force of her blow enter the dragon''s body, but, instead of piercing through it, the impact rippled through its flesh before seemingly dissipating. "And you called me troublesome?" Gathering a superdense ball of golden ki in her right hand, Ke was intending to st a hole clean through the dragon''s neck. Before she could unleash it, however, it was like someone had dialed up the''s gravity by several tens of thousands of times. She could easily resist such forces, but, as the change had urred nigh-instantaneously, Ke promptly found herself impacting the freezing ocean below and being pulled towards its depths. As Ke cursed the Serpentine Dragon in her mind, said dragon attempted to enter the ocean after her. This proved to be a mistake on its part, as, despite the unexpected increase in gravity, Ke still had the ball of Ki in her hand. The moment the Serpentine Dragon dived in after her, she unleashed a st powerful and wide enough to vaporize the surrounding ocean and epass the dragon''s entire body. Though the attack had been aimed towards the sky, the continental shelf below the ocean was pulled along by the forces contained within Ke''s attack. From a satellite perspective, the entire could be seen shifting as a country-sized beam of golden light erupted from its surface and extended tens of millions of kilometers in the opposite direction . While the spectators outside were enjoying it quite a bit, Wu was growing increasingly bored as she watched Sarina battle it out against Meng Zhang''s wives. Though Sarina had the advantage in terms of raw speed and strength, herck of Authority and her rtiveck of fame meant her attacks weren''t nearly as effective as they should be. Her Bankai was awe-inspiring to see in action, but, even afternding a ''surprise'' attack on Ruogong, thetter had ultimately reformed from water in the surrounding environment. Shortly after the battle began, two more of Meng Zhang''s wives, each possessing crowns of their own, came out to support their sister. This immediately ced Sarina on the backfoot, but, as thetter had intruded in on her fun, Wu had absolutely no intention of helping. She would step in if things got out of hand, but, from her perspective, Sarina was reaping what she had sown. While considering how she would make her entrance, the hairs near the base of Wu''s neck and tail suddenly stood on end. Her instincts were practically screaming at her, but, before she could make sense of where the danger wasing from, a bluish-white light enveloped her body. In the very next instant, she found herself sitting in her Community''s waiting room alongside a literal army of her subordinates. Realizing what must have happened, several veins appeared near Wu''s temples as she growled, "You irredeemably daft fool. Just wait till this Grandma gets her hands on you" . Staring at the remnants of Wu''s, a cold sweat broke out across Vahn''s body. He had let his guard down since there were no longer any genuine threats to his Community''s inevitable victory. By the time he realized what was happening, it was already toote. He had attempted to stop the flow of time, but, due to Wu spreading her Authority across her, he was unable to affect it in the same way he might his own. As a result, Ke''s attack passed through the barrier of Wu''s as if it didn''t even exist before vaporizing the entire thing momentster "I knew I was going to regret making it so that the barriers only prevented attacks from the Model Omega" (*You might want to start thinking about how you will appease herSince she went through the effort of confessing to you in such a public manner, an incident such as this is going to severely impact Wu''s reputation*) Though Vahn had taken measures to prevent Wu''s Fragment of Origin from being influenced by external forces, public opinion still had a drastic influence on her power. She could easily increase her infamy by terrorizing a few known Communities but she was clearly trying to turn over a new leaf by confessing to him in public. This put Vahn in the precarious position of being the guarantor of Wu''s status and authority. In other words, if he didn''t personally rectify this issue, it was the same as personally dragging Wu''s reputation through the mud "Haaaaa" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: "Mikoto has life figured out'',''That''s one big snek'',''This may just be one of the biggest oofs in all of EPIC xD'') Chapter 2241: De-escalation

Chapter 2241: De-esction

Understanding that it might not be the best idea to allow Wu to stew in her fury, Vahn rose from his resting position with the intent of drawing things to a conclusion. This was immediately noticed by Nobu, who, without rising from the bed he had brought out for them, asked, "Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Gazing in Nobu''s direction, Vahn took a moment to appreciate the view of her lying on her stomach before answering, "Against all odds, Ke managed to strike Wu''s with a stray ki st. I don''t want things to get out of hand so I''m going to head out and wrap things up." Rolling onto her side, Nobu moved her hair out of the way to reveal a massive grin on her face. Wu had never officially joined their Alcohol Appreciation Society but that hadn''t stopped the infamous drunkard from stopping by to have a bit of fun. Nobu liked how ''daring'' Wu got whenever she was drunk, so, while they couldn''t be called friends, they got along surprisingly well. "I say you let matters take their course and just console both sides once things have been settled. If you underestimate a woman''s capacity to hold a grudge, it''s bound toe back to bite you." Smiling wryly in response to Nobu''s words, Vahn took a seat on the bed in order to give her a kiss before saying, "I am well aware of that. I''m just taking action to prevent things from getting out of hand. The longer Wu is forced to wait, the angrier she will be." Nodding her head, Nobu didn''t attempt to refute Vahn''s words. If she was in Wu''s situation, she would feel a lot better knowing Vahn was doing ''something'' rather than simply pretending things were okay. If she found out that he hadn''t even reacted to her being eliminated, she might not say anything, but, deep in the back of her mind, she would be extremely pissed off. Grabbing Vahn''s cor, Nobu seized another kiss before yfully snapping at him and saying, "See you on the other side." in an aggressively alluring tone. She always enjoyed getting in the final kiss. It was her way of reminding Vahn that she wasn''t simply his woman. He was also her man. Understanding Nobu''s thought, a light chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat as he stood up and promptly teleported away. In the very same movement, he intercepted a charging attack from Ke before sting away the massive serpentine dragon with a wave of air pressure. Under normal circumstances, Ke, or, more specifically, Cauli would be over the moon to see Vahn. His appearance in the middle of a fight was rarely a good thing, however, so, despite forcing a smile, her brows gradually creased into a furrow as she asked, "Vahn? What are you doing here?" Before Vahn could answer, Mikoto appeared next to him with an incredulous expression on her face as she stated, "Your ki attack struck Wu''s" Though Kelfa tilted her head with an expression that seemed to ask, ''What is this dumbass talking about?'' it was the giant dragon that answered, "Please tell me you''re joking" Shaking his head, Vahn showed the final moments of Wu''s via a magical projection. When he saw it, the sapphire-blue serpent appeared to pale before a mystical light shrouded his body. Once it faded, a tall, lean, and handsome figure with ck hair and a single, brilliant blue eye appeared in ce of the 1.8km dragon. There was an eyepatch covering his left eye, and, like many high-ranking Gods affiliated with the Heavenly Domain, a billowy, cloud-like shawl coiled around his arms before framing his head and shoulders like a halo. His outfit consisted of a form-fitting ck top, a long-sleeved, open-breasted tunic, baggy pants, a bluish-white sash, and a pair of traditional, hanfu-style boots. "I, Kouryuu, hereby announce my intention to yield. My Undersea Volcanic Pce will no longer participate in this Gift Game." Though he couldn''t do anything about his Gate Number being lower than Wu''s, Kouryuu, better known by his titles as the Saurian Demon King and the Great Sage Who Devastates Seas, knew he would pay an even greater price if he secure an even better Gate. Ke may have been the one to destroy Wu''s, but, as her attack had been directed his way, Wu was bound to impose part of the me on him. He wouldn''t be able to escape a beating, but, at the very least, he could ensure his recovery didn''t take more than a few months. The seque from Wu''s beatings had a habit of persisting even if her victim''s possessed the ability to regenerate. Following Kouryuu''s words, both he and the ocean beneath him promptly vanished. The members of the Undersea Volcanic Pce also found themselves ejected from the Game Board, but, as none of them were nearby, it wasn''t noticed by the trio standing above a now deste. Realizing the severity of the situation, Ke''splexion noticeably paled as she asked, "Did I fuck up?" Understanding that Wu was probably paying close attention to the disys present in her waiting room, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he nodded his head and answered, "Indeed" As Vahn was usually quick tofort her or y things off as inconsequential, Ke was given the impression things were even more serious than she anticipated. In many ways, she was even more concerned by Vahn''s reaction than the possibility of Wu doing something irreversible to either her or Kale. Fortunately, though it certainly wouldn''t earn him any brownie points from Wu, Vahn had never been the type to take sides. The destruction of Wu''s was more so a quirk of fate than any of the people involved. It was aplete ident, so, following his words, he hugged Ke''s head to his chest and added, "Don''t worry. Despite what some people seem to think about her, Wu isn''t an overtly malicious individual. She may be angry at the moment, but, once things have calmed down, this will invariably be an event the two of you joke about over drinks" Feeling at ease in Vahn''s embrace, Ke exhaled a sigh of relief as she wrapped her muscr arms around his body. Whenever Caulf and Kale fused together, their muscles became markedly more defined. Some people were put off by muscr women. Vahn was almost the inverse in this regard. So long as it wasn''t too excessive, he found that muscles greatly amplified a woman''s beauty. After all, many of his earlier women were warriors and cksmiths by trade. After nting a kiss atop Ke''s head, Vahn gave her body one final squeeze before releasing her to say, "I want you to withdraw from thepetition and go and apologize to Wu. You don''t have to bow or anything but you should do your best to show a bit of sincerity. Don''t worry, I won''t be too far behind." Though she still wanted to rampage for a bit, Ke didn''t try and argue with Vahn''s decision. She had scrapped with Wu dozens of times in the weeks leading up to the Gift Game so she was well aware of the petite monkey''s temperament. If she was allowed to continue participating, Wu was bound to hold a grudge. Wu was the type that vehemently hated watching others have fun while she was forced to sit on the sideline "I, Ke Cauli Kale, hereby announce my intention to yield" . Seeing the scene ying out on-screen, Wu would be lying if she said she was happy with how things were developing. A part of her had been looking forward to thrashing Ke, Cauli, and Kale. Now that such a touching development had taken ce in such a high-profile manner, she felt like a tiger that just had its ws and teeth clipped Exhaling a sigh, Wu muttered, "I guess I shouldn''t have expected Vahn to take my side in things like this" Shaking her head, Wu attempted to cheer herself up by reminding herself that she knew what she was getting herself into when she decided to fall for a man surrounded by an extensive harem. She also knew that Ke''s destruction of her had been an ident, so, rather than brooding over the matter, she decided she would simply increase the intensity of Cauli''s and Kale''s training. As that thought crossed her mind, two shes of bluish-white light appeared near where Wu was sitting. Immediately thereafter, Cauli and Kale manifested out of thin air. When the duo saw Wu seated atop Vahn''s chair, chills ran through their bodies as they hadn''t expected her to go as far as sneaking into the Sage Dragon''s Hearth''s waiting room. Though she adopted a cold glower, most of Wu''s anger had already vanished up as she said, "Take a seat" in an authoritative tone. Looking towards Cauli, Kale muttered a fretful, "Ane-san" before instinctually stepping behind the former''s body. Patting Kale''s head, a confident smile developed across Cauli''s face as she teased, "Don''t stress yourself out. There are some weirdos among them, but none of the women that have fallen in love with Vahn are truly evil. Come on. So long as we apologize properly, things should be okay." Though Cauli had whispered her words as softly as possible, Wu''s extra sensitive ears allowed her to make out everything that was said. It annoyed her that Cauli was trying to downy the issue, but, understanding she was just trying to make Kale feel better, Wu did her best not to let it bother her. Instead, she waited for the duo to take a seat before pulling out a melon-sized peach, taking arge bite, and asking, "Do you know what you did wrong?" Speaking on behalf of herself and Kale, Cauli adopted a serious look as she said, "We destroyed your with a stray ki attack" Nodding her head in both affirmation and approval, Wu took anotherrge bite out of her peach before saying, "That''s right. It''s good that you can admit your faults. Now, how are you nning to make it up to me? An apology is a good start but actions speak a heck of a lot louder than words. If you really want my forgiveness-" "I was going to receive a reward from Vahn once everything had settled down. Since I was the one in control, I''ll let you take my reward if you agree to leave Kale out of any future ns for revenge." "Ane-san!" "" Though she was a little annoyed by Cauli''s interruption and Kale''s sudden outburst, Wu didn''t rebuke them. Instead, she finished off the remainder of her peach while seriously contemting whether or not to ept Cauli''s proposition. Based on her knowledge of Vahn, Wu knew he would probably do anything she asks even without ''earning'' it. In other words, just by knowing what Cauli was going to receive, she would be able to receive it regardless. The only advantage of this exchange would be denying Cauli the reward she was meant to receive. However, given Vahn''s nature, there was a pretty good chance he would just give Cauli her reward in some other form Pulling out another peach, Wu decided to leave the Saiyan duo in suspense for as long as possible before answering, "Very well. I will agree with your terms. However, in exchange, I expect the two of you to refer to me as Venerable Wu or Grandmother from now on. The whole lot of you Saiyans are clearly inspired by my legend. From now on, you should regard me as you would a Matriarch or the Grand Ancestor of your people." As someone born and raised in the Heavenly Domain, Wu held the status associated with being an Ancestor in high regard. She was a being born from a magical stone found at the very center of Mt. Huoguo, and, as far as she knew, it was impossible for her to leave behind descendants. There was a fairly high probability that Vahn could address this particr issue, but, as she was secretly terrified by the prospect of having children, Wu had absolutely no intention of broaching the subject. In spite of her personal misgivings regarding parenthood, Wu enjoyed it when people regarded her as their Ancestor. She frequently used it as a means to humiliate people, but, when it came to those she cared about, it was a way for her to feel closer to them. It was a stretch to say that Cauli and Kale were people she genuinely cared for, but, as ''sisters'' who shared the same man, Wu figured it was only a matter of time before they shared much, much more. To that end, she intended to make sure she was always in the ''superior'' position in their rtionship Seeing no harm in regarding Wu as her Ancestor, Cauli simply shrugged her shoulders before saying, "If you''re really okay with being called a Grandma, I don''t mind. What about you, Kale?" Though she was pretty close with her maternal Grandmother, there were actually a number of Elders that Kale referred to as Grandma, Granny, Nana, and other terms of endearment. Wu was the furthest thing from a person she held in high esteem, but, if it was for her Aneue''s sake, Kale could tolerate pretty much anything. Thus, without having to consider her response, she nodded her head and answered, "Granny Wu" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Nobu is a good girl (O w O)'',''Kouryuu be like, "Nope, nope, nope."'',''Wu be like, "I, your Grandmother, carry a big stick."'') Chapter 2242: A Glimpse Into Transcendence

Chapter 2242: A Glimpse Into Transcendence

Following Ke''s departure, Vahn asked Mikoto to return to their while he teleported to where Sarina was currently engaging Meng Zhang''s wives. She was forced back following Wu''s sudden disappearance, so, before things could get further out of hand, he appeared to the path of a sleek, eastern dragon covered in a mix of phthalo green and faded golden scales. Arresting the 73m long dragon''s charge with a single hand, a smile developed across Vahn''s face as he said, "I would appreciate it if you pulled back" With a jade green crown pulsating between curved, burgundy-colored horns, it was clear to most that the phthalo green dragon wasn''t an opponent to be looked down on. Against Vahn, however, she may as well have been a kitten. The moment he appeared to confront Amaterasu, even Meng Zhang, a Long in possession of seven crowns, felt his soul tremble in fear and expectation. As far as he and his wives were concerned, Vahn''s status may as well be equal to the Jade Emperor''s. Pulling away from Vahn''s hand, the phthalo green dragon immediately transformed into a beautiful woman with hair matching her scales, pointed ears, red eyes, and curved horns that started off as a deep purple near her scalp before transitioning into a pale shade of burgundy. Her eyebrows were a little on the thicker side but her body was lean, thin, and flexible. As for her outfit, it consisted of a bodice-like top that flowed into a long-sleeved robe. An armored pauldron, seemingly forged from her own scales, protected her right shoulder while simr ting protected her hips and the slender tail protruding from her lower back. As for the rest of her outfit, it consisted of an ornate skirt, white stockings, and various essories. Though the woman''s outfit was rather eye-catching, the thing most people would take note of was the fact her left hand and feet were still transformed. Those with more dilute dragon bloodlines had a harder time transforming into humans. They could ovee this limation via cultivation, but, due to the Heavenly Lightning Tribtion forcing non-human entities to revert to their original forms, it wasn''t umon for those descended from dragons to struggle with maintaining a human form. Descending to one knee, the bushy-browed dragoness lowered her head as a sign of respect as she practically shouted, "Xiu Xuanshe greets the Venerable Sage Dragon Emperor!" Gesturing for the woman to rise, Vahn''s expression rxed as he stated, "Your courtesy is noted and appreciated. Now, take me to your Husband. We have important matters to discuss." Cupping her hands together, Xuanshe offered a courteous bow, answering, "As you will." before raising her head, turning to her sister-wives, and nodding. In response, the duo reverted to their human forms in order to offer simr courtesies before darting off into the half-destroyed pce below. Following the duo''s departure with his senses, Vahn had to admit that Meng Zhang was a lucky man. Not nearly as lucky as himself, of course, but, upon seeing the beauty of the Goddess whose true form was that of a Longprised of ice and water, Vahn couldn''t help feeling that there had been a bit of bias when Chang''e was concluded to be the most beautiful woman in the Heavenly Domain. "May I have your permission to walk ahead?" Returning his focus to the dragoness standing before him, Vahn simply nodded before extending a hand towards Sarina and asking, "Shall we?" Recovering from the stupor she had been ever since Vahn arrived, Sarina swiftly dissipated her Bankai before flitting over to link her arm with his. She would never pass on an opportunity to be closer to Vahn, but, feeling a little miffed by his sudden arrival, a cute pout developed across her face as she whispered, "I had everything under control." Nodding his head, Vahn returned a whisper of his own, stating, "I am well aware. It''s just that a lot has changed in the past few minutes. Don''t worry. Once I''ve delivered my message to Meng Zhang, you''re free to destroy this at your leisure." Though he had been whispering, Vahn made no efforts to prevent Xuanshe from overhearing him. Her expression became considerably more solemn, but, rather than prying into why Vahn wanted to destroy their, she just epted it as an inevitability. After all, they were in the midst of a Gift Game. As the weaker Community, it was only natural that Vahn decides their fate Following a short journey through a pce constructed from marble and jade, Vahn and Sarina found themselves in a massive throne room that dwarfed the one situated at the core. An ornate throne could be seen on the far side of the room, but, contrary to what most would expect, Meng Zhang was not seated upon it. Instead, he had his wives lin up in two columns, heads bowed as a sign of respect while he waited to greet Vahn at the chamber''s entrance. After witnessing Vahn''s performance against Amaterasu, Meng Zhang no longer had delusions about the former''s status. Vahn was clearly not a descendant of his. His multiple transformations had already called this into doubt. Seeing Vahn manifest as a Celestial Star-ss Dragon had just confirmed things. It was a degree of power that far exceeded Meng Zhang''s, so, if anything, it was more urate to say he drew inspiration from Vahn. Believing that Vahn may be the Origin of all Dragons, Meng Zhang, for the first time in his life, knelt for someone other than his father, the Jade Emperor, and Sun Wu Kong. "Meng Zhang is both humbled and honored to be in the presence of the Venerable Sage Dragon Emperor." Observing the heroic-looking man kneeling before him in a set of flowing, azure-blue robes, Vahn would be lying if he said he wasn''t surprised. He had thought Meng Zhang was still being stubborn by expecting him toe and pay a visit. Instead, it was starting to seem as though he was just too afraid toe and pay a visit himself Resisting the urge to cough and clear his throat, Vahn simply nodded his head in approval before moving forward to help Meng Zhang stand. This was a sign of considerable respect that implied he would no longer need to bow in the future. Vahn had never been particrly fond of such customs. He often observed them, but, more often than not, he was paying homage to the culture more than the people he encountered. Surprising many of his wives, a relieved smile developed across Meng Zhang''s face as he epted Vahn''s assistance and self-deprecatingly stated, "You honor me beyond my standing." Deciding not to get dragged into apetition of humility, Vahn chuckled in response to Meng Zhang''s before stating, "No need for such remarks. My reason foring here is to inform you that I will be stopping by your home to pay a visit. I''m not entirely sure of the date but it should be soon after the festival in the North." Like a young man learning his father was about to return home from war, an enthusiastic smile developed across Meng Zhang''s face as he loudly replied, "Splendid! The entire Azure Dragon n shall eagerly await your presence! For someone as August as the Sage Dragon Emperor, our doors shall never be closed!" Feeling a little awkward due to the man''s zeal, Vahn''s smile became imperceptibly strained as he extended his hand to give Meng Zhang a pat on the shoulder. This caused the heroic dragon''s eyes to visibly sparkle, a hint of fervor appearing in his expression as he prepared tomand his wives to prepare a feast. Unfortunately, at least for Meng Zhang, Vahn had other ces to be, so, immediately following the friendly pat, he stated, "We will discuss this matter in greater detail as the date approaches. For the time being, I have other matters to attend." On that note, Vahn remove his hand from Meng Zhang''s shoulder before promptly teleporting away with Sarina. He got the impression the overzealous dragon would try and convince him to stay if he dyed for too long. Since he had already announced his intentions to allow Sarina to destroy the, it would be incredibly awkward once Xuanshe passed along the message. He had a feeling Meng Zhang would readily surrender, but, as that would remove Sarina''s chance to show off, Vahn willfully departed before things could take a strange turn Reappearing high in the sky, Vahn waited for a few of the spectating cameras to shift their focus to him before surprising Sarina with an unrepentantly passionate kiss. She was startled at first, but, less than three secondster, she was practically clutching the sides of his face like a vice as she eagerly reciprocated his affections. Though he could feel the envy and disdain of countless people washing over him, Vahn managed to appearpletely rxed when he ultimately separated his lips from Sarina''s to state, "It''s time to stop holding back. Let the entire Little Garden see your true power." Recovering from her dazed state, a hint of confusion appeared in Sarina''s eyes until she noticed the meaningful glimmer contained within Vahn''s. Immediately after that, a veritable ocean of energy far beyond her natural capabilities erupted from her body as her previously ck hair gained a silvery-white hue. As for her eyes, they had shifted from a beautiful, obsidian grey to a vibrant, shimmering silver. Though she felt as though her heart was about to burst from her chest, Sarina managed a confident smile and an affirming nod as she separated from Vahn and saying, "It''s finally time to show people why I was chosen as the Vice-Leader of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth" Striking a pose, Sarina manifested her Bankai without even needing to call out its name or exim its activation. When she saw the form it took, excitement and a hint of fear appeared in the depths of her eyes, as, rather than the cannon she was familiar with, a futuristic, shoulder-mounted cannon that made Soi Fon''s Bankai look like a toothpick enveloped her right arm. At the same time, a petite girl with remarkably simr features to the version of herself Vahn had picked up all those years ago manifested next to her, an excited smile on her face as she assisted Sarina in keeping the oversized cannon stable. Simr to when Ke charged one of her incredibly dense ki sts, the below began to visibly shake as an indescribably vast quantity of Divine Energy surged charged Sarina''s artificial Shukai. A thin trail of blood emerged from her right nostril, but, with Vahn next to her, neither of the Sarina(s) showed any semnce of fear. Instead, their smiles continued to grow until a series of angel-like wings spontaneously erupted from the back and far side of the cannon. Hearing words echoing within her mind, Sarina ignored the fact her gums were starting to bleed as she smiled wider than ever and shouted, "Glimpse the Light of the First Dawn! Creation Cannon!" Following her outburst, Sarina squeezed the trigger hidden within the massive cannon''s structure. Thest thing she recalled before waking up outside the Game Board was Vahn''s warmth spreading throughout her body as a blindingly white light consumed everything in her vision. When sheter reviewed the footage, she almost couldn''t believe it, as, the moment she pulled the trigger, a mass of energyrger than the nearby star erupted from the end of her cannon . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn casually checking people out with apletely straight face'',''Meng Zhang be like, "Subarashi, Vahn-sama!!!"Ah''m a firin'' mahzor!!!!'') Chapter 2243: Power, Prowess, and...Perversion?

Chapter 2243: Power, Prowess, andPerversion?

Cradling the unconscious Sarina in his arms, Vahn''s expression became iparably gentle as he picked a few stray hairs from her face and said, "I''m so proud of you. From this moment onwards, the entire Little Garden shall know the name Sarina Stone"(A/N: Herm(es) means Heap of Stones. Sarina and Vahn never married.) Punctuating his words, Vahn nted a kiss on Sarina''s forehead before informing the ever-present Central Network that she would be retiring. She wasn''t injured, but, after overtaxing her mental and spiritual energies, she had fallen into a deep state of unconsciousness. By the time she woke up, the Gift Game would be long over. "Righttwo more stops to go" Following his utterance, Vahn appeared at the center of the belonging to Kotoamatsukami. There, he found Tamamo in the midst of her battle against Kagutsuchi, an aspect of the very same God that had previously extended him an invitation to study cksmithing as his apprentice. While most Gods manifested in a single form in order to consolidate their power and Divinity, Kagutsuchi was an exception. His origin myth attributed him with the tragedy of identally burning his mother, the Primordial Deity Izanami, during childbirth. She eventually sumbed to her wounds, and, as a result, Izanagi separated Kagutsuchi''s body into eight pieces to serve as the foundation for some of thergest volcanoes in Japan. Though he wasn''t aware of the events that had urred during the war, Vahn knew that five of Kagutsuchi''s manifestations had lost their lives. The three that remained went on to be the Gods of Destructive mes, Forging, and Ceramic Workers. Even at a nce, it was pretty easy to deduce which version of Kagutsuchi they were dealing with. The oni-like entity was clearly the God of Destructive mes, but, rather than immediately crushing him, Vahn appeared between the enraged God and Tamamo, dering, "This battle has ended. You fought well, but your General has already fallen. ept your defeat with the dignity expected of a God representing the Kotoamatsukami." Exhaling a plume of scalding hot steam between the slits of his mask, the mes in Kagutsuchi''s eyes wavered for a brief moment as he recognized Vahn as the man who had defeated Amaterasu. This effectively brought an end to his efforts to stall for time, as, even in his prime, Kagutsuchi was no match for his elder sister. With 5/8ths of his Divinity lost, he wouldn''t evenst a single exchange with someone on the level of a Pure Blooded Dragon. Despite knowing how futile his actions were, Kagutsuchi stabbed into his heart with his right hand before pulling out a demonic-looking katana wreathed in mes. His coal-like eyes burned brighter than ever before as he said, "I, Kagutsuchi, challenge you, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, to a Trial by Fire. It is rumored that your skill with the sword has reached a transcendent level. Allow me to bear witness to the truth for myself." Before Vahn could answer, Tamamo''s ears and tail twitched in frustration as she stamped her feet and shouted, "Who do you think you are!? You can''t even defeat me and you think you''re qualified to challenge my Beloved Husband!? Absolutely shameless!" Ignoring Tamamo''s remark, Kagutsuchi''s fiery eyes remained fixed on Vahn. In response, thetter adopted a rxed smile before gesturing to Tamamo, saying, "I''ll allow itplease take a step back. It would break my heart if so much as a single hair on your head or tails were harmed" Perking up the moment Vahn addressed her, a lovestruck expression blossomed across Tamamo''s face as she happily eximed, "Hai hai, Darling~!" before scampering over to where Kenshin had been observing the battle. Thetter immediately got up from the throne to allow Tamamo to take a seat while Vahn, adopting a marginally more serious expression, manifested the ymore version of Laev-tan in his right hand. "A ymore?" With many of Vahn''spanions wielding katanas and dressing in traditional Japanese clothing, Kagutsuchi expected him to manifest one of his own. After all, Vahn was presently wearing a stylish, dark-grey yukata with a white, hearth-like emblem embroidered on his back. A crimson sash was tied around his waist, and, were it not for the fact he was wearing form-fitting gauntlets and a pair of matching greaves, he could have easily passed as a foreign Samurai. Seeing him wield a ymore just felt wrong Unfortunately for Kagutsuchi, Vahn wasn''t particrly concerned with how the God viewed him. He had already decided to end things quickly, so, the moment Laev-tan appeared in his hand, her edge emitted a crimson red glow as he swept her in what appeared to be a slow and rxed arc. In spite of this, Kagutsuchi wasn''t even able to react as his body, the wall behind him, and half of the were sliced in two. By the time Kagutsuchi realized what had happened, a second line running from his crown to his crotch appeared. This was more than enough to be fatal, but, as Vahn had also decided to show off a bit, his third strike produced a line that cut through the walls, floor, and ceiling in a perpendicr arc. Then, with a push of Vahn''s left hand, the side of the Kagutsuchi was standing on began to float away before splitting off into four, perfectly segmented slices. "Good fight" . "Did you seriously recall us just to have us sit and wait patiently for our deaths!? What happened to securing victory and gaining a foothold to enter into the 3-Digit Gates? What about our friends, the people who have given their lives to ensure we made it this far? I demand an exnation!" Believing their had been in danger, Ryouma, apanied by his plethora of wives, gave up his subjugation of an offensive satellite in order to rush back and provide support. When he learned that Shion was considering withdrawing from thepetition, he couldn''t believe it. She wasn''t the type of woman that just gave up halfway. If she had been, he wouldn''t have spent thest eighteen years upying the Rank 2 position in an effort to impress and make her his woman. Having regained her stoic look following her encounter with Vahn, a cold shimmer shed across Shion''s luminescent blue eyes as she repeated, "Vahn, the Sage Dragon Emperor, is far beyond our present level. Even my [Abysswalker] transformation waspletely ineffective against him. If we''re serious about breaching the 1-3-Digit Gates, we''ll need to reconsider our approach. Those nearest the pinnacle of the Divine Realm are far more powerful than we anticipated." Smashing his fist against empty air, shimmering white cracks spread from the point of contact as Ryouma shouted, "That isn''t a good enough reason! We''re Heroes, Shion! We don''t give up just because the enemy is more powerful than us! We keep pushing and doing our best until our foes submit or we no longer have the strength to continue! If we lose, we pick ourselves back up, gather our allies, and try again! We never, ever surrender!" With a fierce and heroic expression on his face, Ryouma looked like he was mere moments away from charging out of the throne room to assail the Sage Dragon''s Hearth on his own. He didn''t care how powerful Vahn was supposed to be. Until he had given his all and pushed beyond his limits, he would never ept defeat. Anticipating this type of reaction from Ryouma, Shion exhaled an inaudible sigh through her nose before adopting a marginally more serious expression and stating, "Very well, Ryouma. If you insist on opposing the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, I will not stop you. Just don''t go seeking trouble with Vahn once he wipes the floor with you" Thumbing his nose, a warm yet calcting smile developed across Ryouma''s face as he asked, "If you''re that confident in my defeat, how about a friendly wager? If I win, you''ll have to apany me on three separate dates. With the promise of a date on the line, I bet I can draw out even more power than usual." With an expression remarkably simr to the woman standing behind Ryouma, Shion made a show of rolling her eyes before leaning to the side and answering, "I will ept if you agree to have your Gifts rted to pleasure amplification and quantifying a person''s affection values sealed. If you lose, you will be prohibited from making use of them for a full year. Agreed?" Though he managed to maintain his confident smile, a bead of sweat appeared on Ryouma''s left cheek as he imagined managing his harem for a full year without ''cheats''. He believed he could pull it off, but, at the same time, he was worried that the more opportunistic and predatory members of his Community would seize the opportunity to poach the more susceptible members of his harem while he could no longer view their affection values of his harem. He was far from the only male in the Akuma Community with a Charisma parameter and the ability to amplify pleasure through skills or magic "Thatisn''t that a little unreasonable?" Without having to consider her response, Shion immediately replied, "Not nearly as unreasonable as expecting someone to willfully entangle themselves in your System with the excuse of a ''friendly wager''. I''ve told you before but I have absolutely no intention of bing one of the Heroines in your little Dating Sim. The next time you attempt to bait me like this, expect a much steeper price." Feeling Shion''s bloodlust, a dryugh emanated from Ryouma''s throat as he scratched the back of his head and did his best to maintain a smile. He often disregarded just how much Shion resented the System he had received from his Patron Goddess, Eros. It allowed him to determine whether or not members of the opposite sex had an interest in him. So long as he could get a heart to appear over their head, he needed only fill it up before even the iciest of beauties were willing to sleep with him. Simply put, Ryouma was no mere harem protagonist. He was a Hero straight out of an eroge. The world he had reincarnated into was that of his favorite adult visual novel. It was famous for having more than 300 unique Heroines to collect across three different routes. As his System allowed him to reset and receive bonuses afterpleting one of the main routes, Ryouma had collected each and every single one of the Heroines across eleven ythroughs. Uponpleting the character catalog, Ryouma had even managed to sleep with the Goddess that had gifted him the aptly named Ero God System. Getting her to climax a thousand times was one of the requirements to unlocking Multiversal Travel. After that, Ryouma traversed a total of twenty-six different worlds before finding himself summoned to the Little Garden by Pearl Foam Community, a groupprised entirely of boyish and muscr men meant to service the Greek Goddess of Love and Lust, Aphrodite. Though he had ''suffered'' quite a bit during his stay in the Pearl Foam Community, Ryouma never med the Ero God System. Instead, it became his crutch once Aphrodite had gotten bored and discarded him. The notion of having it sealed even for a short while made him ufortable, so, while there were few things he wanted more than adding Shion to his harem, Ryouna ultimately ceased scratching the back of his head, sighing as he said, "I understand. I can''t guarantee I won''t try again, but I can at least assure you I won''t try for the next three years. That should suffice as an apology, right?" Staring at Ryouma as if he were a helpless idiot, Shion was about to agree when the dichromatic ''youth'' exhaled a second sigh and appended, "Fine, fine, I get it. I crossed a line, okay? At least let me off with five years. Any longer than that and I would be too depressed to even raise my sword" "" "Okay, okay! Si-no-seven years! That''s the best I can do!" "" "Ten?" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Izanagi is kind of a cunt'',''Never look down on Laev-tan'',''Someone get this kid some Omega-3s. His brain is beginning to fail'') Chapter 2244: Mass Release Notice and Important Announcement

Chapter 2244 Mass Release Notice and Important Announcement

Though I''ve been backed into a corner for quite a while now, I was forced to borrow money from my brother just to be able to feed myself near the end ofst month. A few people increased their contributions through my Pat ount, but, when ites down to it, I''ve been making between 1/4 to 1/3 minimum wage for nearly three years at this point. I wrote EPIC for three years at a substantial loss to myself. In total, I earned around $14,000 through various contributions, but, in that same amount of time, I had to spend around $35,000 just to keep myself alive. That''s without any health insurance, dental care, or anything. In spite of this, I never let up because I was confident that themunity woulde out to support me. No matter how difficult things got over these past three years, I always did my best to output at least a single chapter a day. On most, I posted at least three. In my prime, even six wasn''t beyond the realm of possibility. Rather, I was writing an average of 14,000 words a day just to ensure I was reaching the goal I had set for myself. What most of you may not realize is that writing takes a lot of time and effort. Sure, I may sit at aputer most of the day, but, as a result, my health has declined immensely. On average, I work between 8-10 hours a day with only a single day off. In total, that amounts to around 48-60 hours depending on whether I''m releasing 3-4 chapters a day. The minimum wage in my area is around $11.50. In other words, an untrained High School dropout can make upwards of $11.50 an hour just working retail at a fast-food restaurant. Due to the recent pandemic, there are some ces that are hiring people for even more just to get them to stay. The thing most people don''t know about minimum wage, at least here in the States, is that it is far from enough money to pay rent and support the average person''s lifestyle. There are innumerable examples of people having to work multiple jobs just to be able to afford their car payments and insurance. In my case, I''ve been forced to rely on the kindness of others just to avoid entering the red each month. Now that I''m supposed to be treating writing as a full-time job, my goal is to, at the very least, earn a minimum wage. If I can''t, I will have no choice but to get another job, and, as a result, the amount of time I have to write will decrease exponentially. Thus, from this moment onward, my release rate will depend entirely on the amount of money I''ve made. After all, no one in their right mind would work upwards of 60 hours a week for free. In an effort to increase my earnings to a living wage, I''ve updated my Patron Goals ande up with a few incentives to try and encourage people to continue supporting me. First and foremost, I will be releasing content based on what my patrons want to read. Once we have achieved my first goal, we will be running polls thatst for two weeks at a time. At the end of those two weeks, the prompt that has received the most votes will be the story I focus on for the following two weeks. If people want me to write Fenrir''s Journey, I will write Fenrir''s Journey. If they want me to write Babel, I will write Babel. If they want me to write a new fanfic filled with smut, I will write a new fanfic filled with smut. Simply put, I will write what I''m paid to write. It''s that simple. Since some of you may look at my Patron Goals and scoff, allow me to break down the numbers for you. At 300 Patrons, I will guarantee at least 50 chapters a month. While that may not sound like a lot, the thing you need to consider is that 50 chapters take roughly 125 hours to produce. Even if I didn''t factor in overtime and double-time, that is approximately $1437.50 worth of work. To sweeten the deal a bit, once I reach my first target goal, I will be investing $100 back into themunity each month in the form of Discord Nitro giveaways. Once I reach my second goal, that amount will increase to around $200. A grand prize winner will also receive the opportunity to have me write a personalized one-shot regarding any subject of their choosing. In other words, you will be able to pitch me your idea and I will do my best to draft it into a 3000-5000 one-shot that you can either keep for yourself or include in the writing prompts people will vote for every two weeks. If I haven''t made it transparently clear at this point, my penultimate goal is merely to earn a living wage for the work I do. Reaching 600 Patrons will allow me to do just that, but, because I am used to living a very frugal existence, upwards of 55% of my earnings will invariably find its way back to themunity in the form of artwork and other assets. I just want to be able to earn enough to be healthy and not have to worry about my teeth literally falling out due to an abscess that has been slowly spreading through my gums. While this post may make me sound selfish, I believe the vast majority of you will be able to understand my reasoning. If earning a minimum wage in exchange for providing content to tens of thousands of people is considered selfish, I honestly don''t know what else to say... Sincerely, Ein Chapter 2245 Motivation

Chapter 2245 Motivation

Before escorting Tamamo and Kenshin to their encampment, Vahn joined the two girls in watching the destruction of Kotoamatsukamis. As oundish as it may sound, witnessing the destruction of a was a strangely grounding experience. It was something very few people were able to observe directly, so, whenever he got the opportunity, Vahn would find a nice vantage point to observe thes final moments. He was gradually bing the type of person that found beauty in all things, even destruction... ... .. . Before dealing with thes belonging to the Akuma and Tryastri??a Communities, Vahn decided to wrap things up with Karyou. After suffering defeat at the hands, or, more urately, the fur-covered paws of Usalia, Karyou had been brooding and recovering at the center of her. Her first action near the start of the Gift Game had been setting her aze and destroying each of the Teleportation Nexi. As a result, the only way for most people to reach her core was to bore through nearly 6000km of molten stone and metal. Ignoring the wards Karyou had set to prevent it, Vahn teleported just outside of her throne room before adopting a wry smile as he stared up at the massive, superheated metal doors marking the entrance to a domain of destructive mes. Karyousst line of defense had been to fill her control room with magmous mes running from floor to ceiling. Without a tremendous resistance against them, passing through the door was like trying to trespass the core of a star. Likening Karyou to a pouting teen that had closed themselves off in their room, Vahn made his way up to the superheated door. Even temperatures exceeding tens of millions of degrees had very little effect on him. He had also be intimately familiar with the Law of Destruction during his time in the Actualized World of Dragon Ball, so, even when a sudden and intense wave of destructive intent washed over his body, he just smiled and said, "Its me, Vahn. I dont have toe inside if you-" Before Vahn could finish speaking, the massive set of superheated doors spontaneously opened. A tidal surge of liquid mes poured from within, but, instead of attempting to sweep him away, they flowed around him to form a channel between Vahn and the delicate, raven-haired figure seated on the throne. "Vahn Aldrnari Mason...what do you want?" Though it was difficult to say they were on friendly terms, Karyou had always been the type to repay her debts. This included debts of charity and kindness, so, with Vahning to her aid and helping to preserve her dignity, Karyou felt she owed it to him to at least hear him out. Crossing his hand over his heart, Vahn offered a polite bow before raising his head to answer, "The Gift Game will soon draw to its conclusion. I came to inform you that your elder brother and sister have already retired. I thought it would be rude of me to-" "Kouryuu is one thing, but you mean to tell me that Wu has been defeated? Impossible. Even if that annoying Fox Goddess made use of her Authority, she wouldnt be able to beat Wu without paying a price. Tell me, what trickery did her opponent use?" Understanding that it would probably harm Wus reputation if he mentioned that her had been destroyed byplete ident, Vahn maintained a rxed smile as he exined, "Wu was not defeated in a contest of speed, strength, or wit. Her was suddenly destroyed while she was protecting someone elsewhere." Furrowing her brows, Karyous crimson eyes appeared to be attempting to look through Vahn. He was remarkably proficient at fooling his enemies, but, whenever it came to people he trusted or felt sorry for, his expression and aura gave him away. Karyou couldnt tell he was lying, but, feeling that something was amiss, she stated, "You arent telling the whole truth..." Rather than trying to refute Karyous im, Vahn nodded his head and affirmed, "Your intuition is telling you the truth. However, I can say with certainty that I am not withholding information with the intent to deceive or exploit. I just reasoned that it would be more appropriate for you to learn the truth from your brother and sister directly." Sensing no falsehoods within Vahns words, Karyou fell silent for a moment as she considered her options. Wu was significantly more caring towards her than Kouryuu, so, unlike thetter, Karyou wasnt particrly concerned that she might receive a beating. She may even receive a reward if she secured a lower-digit Gate and simply swapped ces with Wu once it was over. With that thought in mind, Karyou asked, "Which Communities still remain?" Seeing through Karyous intentions, a wry smile developed across Vahns face as he answered, "The Akuma, Tryastri??a, and Sage Dragons Hearth Communities." Furrowing her brows, Karyou gave up the notion of trying to secure a better position through her own efforts. Instead, she stared deep into Vahns eyes as she asked, "Are you willfully choosing to ce me beneath the Akuma Community? I was under the impression you were an ally to the Jade Pce..." Shaking his head, Vahn adopted a more casual expression as he exined, "I am on friendly terms with the Jade Emperor, Eng Shen, and a handful of others within the Jade Pce. However, as a Community that aspires to maintain neutrality, the Sage Dragons Hearth does not forge alliances. We act in the interest of bnce and ensuring the people of the Little Garden have the same rights as those who presume to rule over them. As fond as I am of the Jade Emperor and certain members of his court, the values of the Aldrnari Empire and the Heavenly Domain are drastically different. We have absolutely no obligation to act in their interest." Though she kept her brows furrowed, Karyou didnt question Vahns statement. In hindsight, she realized that the Jade Pce, or, more specifically, the members of the Jade Court would demand she hand over her lower-digit Gate. She could refuse, but, as a Communityprised of a single individual, she wouldnt be able to protect such a coveted Gate without the protection of arger organization. As that thought crossed Karyous mind, so too did the words Wu had spoken to her in the weeks leading up to the Gift Game. Wu, between her ramblings, had implied that Vahn might be able to do something about her mothers injury and the corruption that was gradually spreading through her body. Karyou didnt take this seriously at the time, but, even if there was only a 0.000000001% chance that Vahn could help, it was infinitely better than nothing. "You said I could make use of your Communitys services without needing to pay, correct...?" Recalling the conversation he and Karyou had the previous day, Vahn nodded his head. Before he could rify, however, Karyou beat him to the punch, stating, "I need your help. Help me acquire a lower-digit Gate and I will join your Aldrnari Empire as a vassal. After that, so long as you can fulfill two of my requests...I will never refuse a single thing you ask of me..." Though she disdained men to the very core of her being, Karyou trusted Wus judgment. Thetter never stopped talking about Vahn whenever they were together. She wasnt entirely sure what Wu saw in him, but, if Vahn really could help her mother, Karyou wouldnt mind bing his servant... Stopping time, Vahn took a moment to massage his temples and drag his hand along his face. Sis, viewing this as a perfect opportunity, chimed in to tease, (*Look on the bright side. As one of Wus only friends, it was only a matter of time before you became entangled in Karyous affairs. At least this way, you can secure the 1002nd and 1009th Gates at the same time.*) Hearing Siss words, Vahns eyes widened as realization donned on him. His original intention had been to let Indra upy the 1009th Gate. This would allow him to ease a lot of the fear and anxiety people held towards him and Aldrnari Empire as Indra was one of the original creators of the Little Garden. By demonstrating a willingness to cooperate with the existing powers, Vahn could ensure the establishment of his Empire was a lot smoother than it otherwise might be. The caveat was that it was only a matter of time before Vahn instigated as Last Embryo scenario. In order to do so, he would need to upy six of the Gates between the Digits of 1000 and 1010. The opportunity to seize two of these Gates in a single game wasnt something he should ignore... "..." (*...*) Shaking his head, Vahn allowed the flow of time to resume as he calmly answered, "I am more than willing to help you even without such conditions. As much as I appreciate your intentions, I would much rather forge a contract that prohibits you from making such guarantees...no one should have to sacrifice themselves just to help the people they love..." Not expecting Vahns response, Karyou found herself at a genuine loss for words. Anyone else in his position would have readily epted such an offer. She may be on the shorter side but the number of people that had coveted her body could form a mountain linking the Heavens and Earth. Hearing Vahn deny her in such an earnest manner was touching, but, at the same time, Karyou couldnt help feeling mildly offended by how quickly he had refused... Though they couldntpare to Dragons and the Young Masters of insignificant ns, Phoenixes were among the most prideful creatures in the entire Heavenly Domain. Karyous bloodline was far from pure, but, having never met her father, the only major influencers in her life were her mother, Wu, and her chosen siblings. Her mother was a remarkably kind person, but, as the manifestation of the Divine Phoenix, she wouldnt even look at or meet with people she considered beneath her. Making no effort to conceal her displeasure, Karyou asked, "Is there something about me you findcking...?" Recalling that Vahn had seen her true form, Karyous eyes sharpened as the temperature of the surrounding mes began to increase. In response, Vahns expression morphed into a deadpan as he concealed telepathically replied, ("Are you seriously asking me a question like despite knowing about my rtionship with Wu?") Blinking in surprise, a hint of confusion briefly appeared in Karyous expression before realization donned upon her. She and Wu had remarkably simr proportions. If anything, she was actually a little more developed in certain regions, so, uponprehending Vahns words, the faintest hint of a blush colored Karyous cheeks as she appended, "Forgive me...I may have spoken out of turn..." Exhaling a sigh, Vahn shook his head in mild exasperation before saying, "Dont worry about it. Just make sure to stop by the Sage Dragons Hearth when you get the opportunity. Any friend of Wus is a friend of mine." Nodding her head in affirmation, Karyou decided to save a bit of face by promptly announcing her intention to withdraw. When her body vanished, so too did the mes filling the throne room. The temperature was still unbearable for most people, but, from the perspective of someone like Vahn, it was actually a little chilly... ... .. . In the midst of Vahns conversation with Karyou, a figure resembling a zombie with ck and white hair appeared on the belonging to the Sage Dragons Hearth. Unperturbed by the figures ghastly appearance, an abnormally petite girl with coordinating hair color and an outfit reminiscent of a grinning cat made her way over, saying, "You dont have to look so dispirited, Ryouma. Even if the Captain refuses to give you the time of day, you still have us." Exhaling a depressive sigh, Ryouma looked down at the petite girl with dead fish eyes as he said, "In the end, I had to promise not to ask her out for thirteen years. I appreciate your concern, Cheshire. I really do. Its just difficult to be happy when the person you like doesnt like you back..." Resisting the urge to smack Ryouma with her oversized, paw-shaped hammer, Cheshire forced a smile as she said, "As I said before, you still have us. I understand that you really like the Captain but youre going to make everyone sad if you stay like this. Come on. Lets go ahead and prepare for our raid. Who knows? If we do well, the Captain may even change her mind..." Though the first half of Cheshires statement did little to improve his mood, the final part was like fuel on the cinders of Ryoumas motivation. Infernos appeared within the depths of his obsidian-ck eyes, and, along with them, a powerful aura burst out from his body as he pumped his fist and shouted, "Youre right! Alright, everyone! Lets do this...!" ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: I imagine Vahn sitting in the middle of a burning room and being like, "This is fine.",What are Vahns preferences, you ask? The easy answer is, "Yes." The best answer is, "Booty.") Chapter 2246 The Hand That Feeds

Chapter 2246 The Hand That Feeds

"Though your enthusiasm isudable, Im afraid our is no longer epting guests. Please leave." Hearing a voice echo in his ears, Ryouma practically leaped out of his skin, shouting, "Eross perky tits!" in a surprisingly shrill voice. A stark contrast to Ryouma, Cheshire immediately manifested her paw-shaped hammer out of thin air, yelling, "Battle formations!" as she attempted to strike one of the blue-skinned women that had appeared a few meters away. "My, my, how violent~." Tapping her Angels Attendant Staff against the air, Marcarita created a column of gravity so intense it may as well have been a physical mass impacting Cheshires body. The diminutive Dwarfette did her best to endure but the only thing she managed to aplish was getting hammered, feet first, into the ground. "Cheshire...!" Reacting even before Ryouma, another exceptionally petite girl, this one possessing fox-like ears and four tails that were split between ck and white, charged forward with a pair of ded fans. At the same time, an eyepatch-wearing girl with inordinately long pigtails and a gothic lolita dress pulled out a massive, mana-powered Gatling Gun, shouting, "Heavy Rain...!" Instead of firing at the trio of Marcarita, Vados, and Kusu, the petite lolita pointed her gun skyward. When the projectiles reached a few hundred meters above the ground, they exploded into a series of pitch-ck magic circles. From within, equally ck rain began to pour in a heavy deluge as the vulpine loli from before attempted to slice Marcarita to ribbons with an endlessbo of vacuum des. Though she could feel her body getting heavier with each raindrop that hit her body, Marcarita just smiled as she effortlessly dodged each of the girls attacks. As an Angel, her strength was very near infinite. Even if her weight increased a million times over, it wouldnt have much of an impact on her mobility. As that thought crossed her mind, one of the few women Marcarita was genuinely concerned about raised her right hand. She had untamed ck and white hair that extended well past her waist but the traits that earned Marcaritas attention were her curved horns, pointed ears, red eyes, and pale, ashen-purple skin. Simply put, the woman was a Demon. From a cut in the demonic womans index finger, a single drop of violet blood flowed against the direction of gravity. After moving ten centimeters, a tremendous amount of pure, dark elemental energy began to surge forward from the void before condensing around the drop of blood to form a grapefruit-sized ball of pulsating, purple-ck energy. With a voice as emotionless as her expression, the demonic beauty met Marcaritas gaze, muttering, "Darkness Hydra..." in a cold monotone. Clearly responding to the womans words, the sphere of pulsating darkness split into eight distinct beams of homing energy. Instead of curving towards their opponent, however, they could change direction at angles in excess of 90 degrees. Four would target and pursue the enemy directly while the other four attempted to cut off their path of retreat. Against a normal opponent, such an attack was basically a death sentence, but, against someone like Marcarita, even the pitch ck rain wasnt particrly difficult to dodge. It was simply unnecessary. Waving her Angels Attendant Staff, Marcarita shattered the four beams attempting to pierce her shoulders and the upper part of her thighs, musing, "Youre a lot weaker than the Demons back in my world. Im honestly a little disappointed." Furrowing her brows, the dichromatic demoness spread her arms with the intent to produce ten more spheres of darkness. Before she could, however, Ryouma finally came back to his senses, shouting, "C-Chotto matteeeee! Stop fighting-!" Though the demoness ceased her attack due to the ve crest thatpelled her obedience, the fox girl with the fans was too focused on avenging her friend to listen to reason. She had retreated when the Darkness Hydra wasunched, but, the moment it was broken, she immediately charged forward with the intent of bifurcating Marcarita at the waist. "Mana-chan!? St-" Before Ryouma could call out a second time, Marcarita used her staff to smack the petite fox girl on top of her head, saying, "Bad girl." in a disapproving tone. There was absolutely no force behind the blow, but, thanks to her exceptional control, Marcarita was able to directly affect the part of Manas brain that allowed her to remain conscious. It was a little trick she had picked up from Vahn and it was incredibly useful. Demonstrating that he wasntpletely ipetent, Ryouma vaulted forward before Mana could copse face-first against the ground. Upon confirming that she was simply unconscious, a sigh of considerable relief escaped his throat. Immediately thereafter, however, he red toward Marcarita with an indignant expression on his face, asking, "Was that really necessary? I had already called to stop the fight. With your power, you could have easily evaded until I stepped in to intervene." Raising her left brow, a hint of incredulity blended into Marcaritas amused expression as she asked, "Are you an idiot? All of my attacks were reactionary. Rather than ming the victim, shouldnt you be apologizing? Not that I particrly care." Pretending to ignore Marcaritas remark, Ryouma lifted Manas body before carrying her over to one of the more mature members of his party, a remarkably buxom woman wearing attire that blended elements of the clergy with an incredibly inappropriate wedding gown. "Take care of her for me, okay? Ill take care of the rest on my own..." Nodding her head in affirmation, the sisterly woman epted Mana in her arms before the entire group, sans Cheshire, retreated a considerable distance. As for thetter, she may look like a mascot but she was also Ryoumas strongestpanion. If he told her to retreat, she would pout for weeks on end about him thinking she was useless. Ryouma didnt particrly mind putting in the effort to cheer her up but he would be lying if he said it wasnt extremely tiresome. Adjusting the band on his left ring finger, Ryoumas wedding ring rapidly cycled through more than a hundred different designs before settling on one that vaguely resembled a cat. Shortly thereafter, Cheshire appeared at his side with a hateful pout on her face. Her oversized helmet and the massive bells she usually wore in her hair were nowhere to be seen. Being smashed hundreds of meters into the ground by a gravitational hammer hadnt been a pleasant experience. "You okay, kitten...?" Nodding her head, Cheshire re-manifested her paw-like hammer before answering, "Ill feel better after I smash that bitchs face in..." Laughing dryly in response to his diminutivepanions words, Ryouma promptly reconsidered trying to convince the trio of blue-skinned beauties to go on a date with him. His Ero God System had evaluated each of them as Ultimate Rarity Heroines. If he could add even a single one of them to his harem, he would gain 30% of their total parameters. He didnt know exactly how strong they were but they had to be powerful to smash Hebelles Darkness Hydra... Shaking his head, Ryouma was about to abandon his usual approach when a dark blue sh of light appeared nearby. He recognized this as some kind of teleportation magic, but, instead of focusing on the peculiars of how she had arrived, Ryoumas mouth immediately became agape when he saw the feral-looking beauty that had emerged from within. She had wild and untamed hair reminiscent of the night sky, a pair of ruby-like eyes, an incredibly soft-looking tail, and, most importantly, a pair ofrge, wolf-like ears. Forgetting the situation, Ryouma practically teleported over to the new arrival before falling to one knee and stating, "You are one of the most beautiful women I have everid eyes on. Will you marry me and be my Mofu-Mofu Goddess? I-" Dodging the w swipe directed at his head, Ryouma briefly admired the womans furry paws and the bright pink pads present on their underside. The hair on the back of his neck was standing on end, but, ignoring the dangerpletely, he teleported behind the woman and said, "At least tell me your name..." as he attempted to fondle her tail. Seeing the woman tense up before spontaneously rxing, a smile developed across Ryoumas face before he noticed a hand grasping his wrist. By following the attached arm, he was able to discover a man beaming at him with a smile that didnt quite reach his vibrant golden eyes. "Uh...Im guessing youre Vahn? Ni-" Faster than he could blink, Ryoumas eyes widened as he found himself barreling through space at several times the speed of light. Far more terrifying was the fact he couldnt arrest his momentum or use any of his skills. An invisible force had mped around his body like a vice, and, though it prevented the surrounding vacuum from affecting him, it also prevented him from escaping as he drew progressively closer towards the star located at the center of the Game Board... ... .. Though some people might call Vahn a hypocrite for reacting in such a way when he was known to casually pet women he had just met, they would immediately side with him upon learning the truth. Part of Ryoumas Ero God System included a function that allowed him to tame monsters and other kinds of magical creatures. The world he had reincarnated into had arge variety of monster girls that appeared asmon enemies. It was the type of world where the monsters drained humans of their life force as opposed to killing them. As the Hero, Ryoumas essence was even coveted by the Four Heavenly Generals thatmanded the Demon Lords Army. It was necessary for their evolution, so, after suffering numerous defeats at the hands of various monster girls, Ryouma had developed some rather...exotic tastes. This included a borderline obsession with women who possessed animal ears, fluffy tails, and, more importantly, feral natures. During one of Ryoumas ythroughs, he ended up being captured by a tribe of warrior women with wolf-like traits. He panicked near the beginning, but, after being designated as the Chieftains mate, his status within the tribe increased from a captive to a king. He could basically walk around and have sex whenever he wanted since his scent alone was enough to send the overly affectionate women into heat. Though he had originally intended to conquer the Elven Queendom during that particr route, Ryouma ended up spending several years living among the tribe of wolfish women. In the process, he sired more than a hundred children, and, thanks to his essence helping the girls increase their strength and evolve, it wasnt long before he had built an army that could blitz through the Demon Lords Army with extreme ease. When Ryoumaid eyes on Fenrir, he immediately activated the Max Level [Taming] skill. There was no chance of it working, but, just knowing the man was trying to im Fenrir as his pet, Vahn had no choice but to step in. There were two reasons for this. First and foremost, he wanted to teach the man a lesson. This may sound like the most important reason but the truth of the matter was that Vahn had actually done Ryouma a favor. Had he grasped Fenrirs tail and attempted to tame her, he would have been lucky to respawn outside the Game Board with his head intact, much less either of his hands... Simply put, if Vahn hadnt gotten rid of Ryouma, Fenrir would have permanently crippled or killed him. In that regard, Ryoumas quick yet fiery end was a mercy...a mercy that Vahn would not afford him a second time... ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: The Aggroli Squad...,Angels OP...,Ive never seen such an advanced disy of death seeking o_o...) Chapter 2247 Authority: Penance

Chapter 2247 Authority: Penance

Following Ryoumas disappearance, Cheshire leaped towards Vahn with a paradoxically fierce yet adorable expression on her face. Unfortunately, the moment her feet departed the ground, Vahn arrested her momentum and anchored her in ce. She was still able to move around and swing her hammer, but, the moment she tried to throw it, Vahn just ced it into a pocket dimension, saying, "Calm down. Its not as though he has truly died. Once the game has concluded, you will find him outside." Ignoring Vahns words, Cheshire held up her hands as though she was about to grab the air. The dimensions of her mouth suddenly began to expand, but, before she could execute whatever she had in mind, Vahn waved his hand to produce a pair of paper talismans over her mouth, exining, "They will fall when the game ends or when an hour has passed." On that note, Vahn teleported Cheshire back to the Akuma Communitys before using long-range telekinesis to physically rip their Teleportation Nexi from thes surface. This was pure theatrics on his part, but, as it looked pretty cool to see massive, ruin-like structures ripped from the ground, he doubted the spectators wouldin. Shifting his attention to the remaining members of Ryoumas party, Vahn took notice of the fact that less than half of the twenty-three women present bothered to try and avenge their lost lover. Those that rushed forward found themselves temporarily frozen in ce, not because Vahn didnt feel like dealing with them, but because there was a far more important matter for him to address. Turning towards Fenrir, Vahns expression softened in a tender and loving smile as he wrapped his arms around her and said, "Sorry for showing up sote..." Chuckling in response to her Masters words, Fenrirs tail began to waggle slightly as she nuzzled against his chest and said, "Master arrived just in time. It was my fault for choosing to intervene. I just wanted a chance to show off but ended up embarrassing myself..." "Mmm..." Rather thanmenting on what Fenrir had said, Vahn continued cradling her in his arms while nestling the lower half of his face and nose between her ears. He could sense the desire for revenge she was doing her best to keep concealed from him. Until it had abated to the point he was certain she wouldnt sneak off to teach Ryouma a lesson, Vahn had no intention of letting her go... Understanding her Masters thoughts, an exasperated sigh escaped Fenrirs throat as she nestled even closer to his chest. She had been isting herself with increasing frequency as ofte so her anger and frustration had been increasing along with her desire to prove herself. It didnt help that she had spent thest seven months attempting to master the basics of the Magia Erebea... Aided by her Masters scent and the meditation technique she had been practicing for decades, a calm and cooling sensation gradually spread through Fenrirs mind. By the time half an hour had passed, her desire to kill Ryouma had transitioned into theparably tame desire to cut off his hands and feet. Ten minutes after that, she had convinced herself that she would be satisfied with someone else kicking him a firm kick in his reproductive organs. She was tempted to do it herself but she didnt want to get her paws dirty... Sensing the mes of Fenrirs hatred mellow into smoldering ashes, Vahn nted a prolonged kiss atop her head, whispering, "Good girl..." in an affectionate tone of voice. This caused her drooping tail to begin waggling again, but, more importantly, it thoroughly smothered any lingering appetite she had for revenge. So long as Ryouma didnt go out of his way to rekindle it, she likely wouldnt even spare the dichromatic man so much as a single thought... ... .. While the primary version of himself escorted Fenrir, Kusu, Vados, and Marcarita back to the throne room, Vahn made his way over to where the members of Ryoumas party were currently waiting. He needed to act before Shion could announce that her Community had surrendered, so, shortly after sending Ryouma off to explore space, Vahn manipted the flow of time to give them as much as he needed. Waving his hand, Vahn released the frozen members from their temporal prisons before sending them skidding backward in the same motion. At the same time, he adopted his characteristically casual smile as he said, "You are free to attack me, but, as I mentioned to the diminutive girl with cat-like features, there is little point. Once the Gift Game has concluded, Ryouma will be perfectly fine. As for why Ive kept you here...I merely wanted to ask each of you a series of questions. Who among you is willing to act as a representative?" To Vahns surprise, it was the little lolita with oversized twin tails and a massive Gatling Gun that stepped forward, stating, "When Ryouma-san is absent, I have the highest authority as Strike Team Leader. If you have something to ask, I will answer do my best to answer your questions. Just know that, no matter what you say, none of us here will betray Ryouma." Though he had serious doubts about the little lolitas words, Vahn offered an understanding nod before ignoring her statement entirely as he asked, "Do each of you follow Ryouma of your own volition?" "You...you asshole...!" Preempting the little lolitas attack, Vahn held up his hand and dered, "From this point onward, aggression equates to docility. The angrier you be, the stronger your desire to sit in a seiza." Immediately following Vahns words, four of the girls present sat down in a wless seiza with their backs straight and eyes forward. The look in their eyes made it very clear they were angry, but, due to the overwhelming difference in Authority, there was very little they could do to free themselves from their predicament. Using the four as an example, Vahn passed his gaze over the other women present, stating, "I have no intention of harming or forcing anyone against their will. As I stated previously, I simply want to ask you a series of questions. Once my curiosity has been sated, you will be allowed to leave at your leisure." Though he wasnt particrly fond of using his Authority in this manner, Vahn knew he would need to demonstrate his capabilities. This demonstration would serve as a deterrence against those who still viewed him as an upstart with cheat-like abilities and limited Authority. In reality, his Authority was his greatest asset, so, while he couldnt help feeling a little guilty about forcing a bunch of girls to sit in seiza, he maintained his usual smile without so much as flinching. Loki would have been proud. ... .. Following the impromptu interrogation, Vahn learned that nearly half of the women present had effectively been tricked into bing members of Ryoumas harem. The moment they epted his offer for a date, it was already toote to change their mind. So long as Ryouma kept pestering them and providing gifts, they would eventually feel obligated to return the favor. After that, they would either be addicted to pleasure or offered power in exchange for bing members of his harem. In many cases, both. Though this exnation made it sound as though the girls were partially responsible for the events leading to their downfall, the truth of the matter was that Ryouma had approached the majority of them at taverns, restaurants, or cafes. He had figured out an exploit that allowed him to trigger the activation requirements of his System by approaching women and proposing to buy them drinks in exchange for theirpany. The moment they epted, Ryouma would treat them with care and consideration for days, sometimes weeks on end. By the time most of them realized something was wrong, they were already being introduced to the other members of his harem. Simply put, Ryouma had taken advantage of the fact that some girls visited taverns with the intent of receiving free drinks or having one-night stands. If he had respected their intentions, it would be difficult to say he had done anything wrong. Instead, Ryouma entered into such situations with the singr intent of adding new members to his harem. In other words, he ignored the fact that most of the girls present were simply looking for free drinks or casual rtionships. He didnt drug them or anything, but, by tracking them down to their Communities and constantly pestering them on a daily basis, he effectively removed the right of the women to refuse his advances. Ryouma was a textbook example of someone who used their kindness and charisma as weapons to take advantage of people. To make matters exponentially worse, he didnt find anything wrong with his behavior. In his mind, he was still the protagonist of a world where every attractive woman he encountered was a viable target to romance. He basically treated everyone except for himself as non-yable characters, people whose only purpose was to add vor and variety to his life. The saddest thing about this was that Ryouma was a genuinely good person. He viewed himself as the Hero of the world so he never stopped trying to help the people around him. His perspective of the world had simply been twisted to the point it was almost impossible for him to change. Fortunately, though it would take several years for Ryouma to ept it as a good thing, Vahn was there to guide the youthful-looking Hero back to the path of righteousness. His power allowed him to purge the influence of Ryoumas Ero God System from the girls minds. This resulted in all but six of the girls choosing to seek asylum with the Sage Dragons Hearth. As for the rest, they hailed from worlds that Ryouma had passed through on his journey. Bypleting each of the girls routes, Ryouma had effectively earned their unconditional love and support. There were times when they felt unbelievably frustrated by his incessant womanizing, but, understanding it was necessary for Ryouma to increase his strength, it never took long for them to forgive him. Some had even helped him pick up girls by apanying him to various taverns and cafes. The presence of another female was a good way to lower the guard of a potential target, so, with the hope of having a date with the one they loved, many of the girls apanied Ryouma in spite of the knowledge that their lovers night out might turn into a plot to expand their numbers. Armed with this information, one of the first things Vahn did in the days following the promotional Gift Game was ripping out Ryoumas Ero God System. At the same time, he helped Shion purge the more cancerous elements of her Community. Instead of killing them, however, Vahn afforded each of the former Heroes the opportunity to prove they werentpletely irredeemable. To this end, he marooned each of them in an Actualized World based on memories from the lives they had led prior to their first reincarnation/transmigration. He wanted to see what kind of decisions they would make if given simr opportunities but without the cheats to back them up. Though some would undoubtedly liken Vahns decision to a form of imprisonment, he felt no guilt as it was ultimately the decision of the Heroes. He had given them the option of choosing between transmigration and returning to the cycle of reincarnation without memories. Each and every single one of them had chosen the former. Some may argue that Vahn hadnt really given them a choice, but, considering 99.99999999999999...% of people reincarnated without being given the option to retain their memories, it was kind of a moot point... ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "Grab the Vanargandr and squash it against your body. It may not like it at first but it will eventually calm down. You just need to keep squashing it until it feels calm and secure in your embrace.",Authority is pretty terrifying...,I like to imagine that the only reason the Heroes got off easily is because they have A-SS Rank Luck (O w O)...) Chapter 2248 Conclusion

Chapter 2248 Conclusion

With Shion announcing her Communitys resignation shortly after Ryoumas one-way journey to the sun, thest Community Vahn had to deal with was Indras Tryastri??a. As the Rank 1002 Community, Tryastri??a was inarguably one of the most powerful Communities outside the 1-3-Digit Gates. The only groups upying lower-digit Gates than them were the Three Schools Alliance, the principal Buddhist Faction, and the Divine Army. Though the aforementioned Communities were ranked higher, the only reason for this was because one was the policing body of the Little Garden while the other was an amalgamation of hundreds of thousands of lesser Communities. When factoring in individual influence, Indra was without equal in the Little Garden. He was the Leader of Tryastri??a, the Commander-in-Chief of the Divine Army, a Bhikkhu in the Three Schools Alliance, the Strongest of the 12 Devas, the Patron God of Heroes, and the Origin from which all Sky and Thunder Gods originated. Simply put, opposing Indra was the same as opposing the interests of the Little Garden. His power had waned considerably with the passage of time, but, with so much as a single word, every major faction in the Divine Realm would move at Indras behest. This included the recipients of his power, and, more importantly, the majority of Heroes to ever exist throughout history. Ignoring these factors, Vahn, apanied by Fenrir and Mikoto, appeared a few hundred meters away from the defensive line established by the Asura and Rakshasa Tribes. The Commanders of the opposing armies immediately noticed their arrival, but, before they could react, Vahn raised his left hand toward the sky and muttered, "Shukai." in a voice that resounded through the minds, bodies, and spirits of everyone present. Ever since his awakening in the Tower, Vahn no longer needed to undergo an incubation period in order to achieve Shukai. He and Laev-tan had long since be a singr entity. The only reason they spent any time apart was due to Vahns pursuit of the stage beyond Shukai. He wanted Laev-tan to one day be independent from him, so, when the two of them werent fighting in Shukai form, he had her looking after his other Zanpakuto Spirits. Due to his increased mastery of the Shukai form, there was no pulse of energy when Vahn activated it. Instead, his hair turned pure white as feather-like scales spread along his left and right forearms. As for Laev-tan, she resembled a in yet pristine white de whose only conspicuous trait was the fact it had fused with his arm. Rather than slice downward, Vahn lowered Laev-tan in a slow yet graceful manner as he said, "The curtains have closed. Your chance to perform has now passed. Surrender and Begone." Compelled by Vahns overwhelming Authority, the majority of Rakshasa and three of the Asura Tribe members promptly surrendered. When the bluish-white light faded away, a mere eleven individuals, excluding the people from his side, remained on the battlefield. Passing his gaze over those who remained, an appreciative glimmer appeared in Vahns silvery eyes as he nodded his head and said, "The Tryastri??a Community is worthy of its status as one of the most powerful Communities outside the 1-3-Digit Gates. I genuinely didnt expect more than three of you to remain. Beyond praiseworthy." Towards the end of his statement, Vahn shifted his attention to Fenrir and Mikoto to find the two of them staring at him with serious yet fervid looks on their faces. The aura exuding from his body was enough to send those closest to him into aplete frenzy, so, before they could get too agitated, Vahn adopted an approving smile as he said, "Have fun." Transforming into her Pikachu form, Mikoto practically teleported into the center of the remaining Asura Tribesmen and women before releasing a phenomenally powerful burst of golden electricity. Fenrir, following suit, transformed into her dragon-wolf form. Instead of charging forward, however, she activated her Gleipnir and began spreading her Domain of Primordial Ice through the area. She was very nearly immortal in her dragon-wolf form, so, even if the opponent attempted to interrupt the process, the most they could hope to aplish was dying the inevitable. Unable to resist the urge, Vahn took a moment to nuzzle and caress Fenrirs head and maw before turning around. By the time he had turned aroundpletely, he was standing less than ten meters away from where Indra was seated atop his throne. Surprised by the ease with which Vahn transitioned through space and time, Indras brows perked up to their maximum height. A visibly impressed expression developed across his face as he rose to his feet, manifested a five-pronged golden Vajra, and stated, "Shiroyasha really knows how to pick her Champions. At your current pace, I cant imagine it taking more than ten years for you to spread your influence throughout the entire Little Garden..." Returning a smile, Vahn took a step forward, stating, "Only if I get distracted..." before reappearing in behind Indra in an instant. Ignoring the veritable fountain of golden blood erupting from his shoulder, Indras smile became markedly more vicious as he halfughed, half-growled, "You cheeky brat..." As the blood erupting from Indras body flowed in reverse, countless tendrils of lightning erupted from the Vajra in his left hand. Then, at a rate far exceeding the speed of light, he sliced towards Vahn as if he were wielding a cat o nine tails. Instead of dodging, Vahn maintained a rxed smile as he met Indras fiery golden gaze over his shoulder. Several tendrils impacted and coiled around his flesh, but, despite their best efforts, they were unable to leave so much as a blemish on his skin. Though he wasnt going all out, seeing Vahn resist his lightning caused Indras smile to fade away. Even the Demon God and other Gods of Lightning werentpletely immune to his lightning. It was supposed to be one of the most powerful and destructive forces in all of Creation. Vahn being able to resist it could only mean two things. His Spiritual Power was far beyondprehension or his existence was somehow unbound by the current Order... ("That would exin his anomalous properties...") Believing he had discovered Vahns secret, Indra discarded his Vajra before manifesting a massive golden spear known as the Brahmastra Spear. With the exception of Shivas Trish and Vishnus Chakra, it was the most powerful weapon in the Hindu Pantheon. It could turn entire armies to ash simply with its manifestation, and, once thrown, it could neither be evaded nor stopped. Unless the target possessed a very special constitution, it would run them through and destroy them from the inside. Eager to confirm his suspicions, Indras smile threatened to tear at the muscles of his face as he excitedly shouted, "Lets see how special you really are...!" Without needing to rear back, Indra merely swept his hand forward. In response, the Brahmastra Spear sped up to iprehensible speeds in an attempt to run Vahn through. It was so fast that even thetter was unable to react, but, instead of piercing through his body, a devastatingly loud metallic ping resonated throughout both the Game Board and the Little Garden as Vahn was sent smashing through and far beyond the. When Vahn finally processed the fact he had been hit, an incredulous expression developed across his face as he found himself viewing the Game Board from an outside perspective. The interior of the Game Board was supposed to be an infinite expanse, yet, against all rhyme and reason, he now found himself flying away from it at speeds that could best be described as imaginary. Grabbing the spear impacting his chest, Vahn continued to tighten his grip until fractures began to spread across its length. Had it not disappeared the moment the first couple of fractures appeared, it would have been destroyed. Shaking his head, Vahn took a moment to inspect the area where the spear had struck him before teleporting back to a very serious-looking Indra. The side of the he had been standing on was now nowhere to be seen, but, rather than focusing on that, Vahn met the tanned Gods gaze and asked, "Got any more surprises?" Though he was anything but calm, Indra managed a smile and a soft chuckle in response to Vahns words. His previous attack had effectively forced Vahn outside of the Game Board. This should have disqualified him from thepetition, yet, as if the rules simply didnt apply to him, he was able toe back as if nothing had happened. Understanding that he shouldnt address such topics in the middle of a Gift Game, Indra surprised nearly everyone by shaking his head and stating, "Not this time. Rather, now that you have proven yourself more than capable of contending against the prevailing Rulers of the Outer Gates, I look forward to seeing the changes you will introduce to the Little Garden." On that note, Indra stepped forward to give Vahn a firm pat on the shoulder before turning to the nearest camera and announcing his Communitys withdrawal from the Gift Game... ... .. Though the Little Garden practically erupted the moment Indra dered his intent to withdraw, one person could be heard exhaling a sigh of relief. Despite the immense trust she had in Vahn, Shiroyasha hadnt been able to shake the feeling that something would go wrong at thest moment. Now that he had defeated Indra, most of her ns moving forward could now be implemented with extreme ease. "Nadeshiko, please inform the Smandra Community that we have epted their invitation and will be attending the festival to decide their next Leader..." Appearing the moment Shiroyasha spoke, Nadeshiko offered a courteous bow before attempting to excuse herself. Before she could leave, however, Shiroyasha looked over her shoulder and added, "Once you havepleted that task, feel free to take the rest of the day off. Im expecting guests..." Though she showed an expression of confusion, Nadeshiko didnt bother asking why she was being dismissed if Shiroyasha was expecting guests. Instead, she quickened her pace in order to carry out her duties as quickly as possible... ... .. Around the same time that Nadeshiko was preparing Shiroyashas response for the Smandra Community, two exceptionally beautiful women emerged from behind an ordinary-looking light post. Their unexpected appearance startled the people nearest to them, but, the moment theyid eyes on them, any thoughts of questioning how the two women had appeared vanished from their minds. Though she was rtively short at only 158cm tall, the first of the two women was an indescribable beauty with golden hair, ruby-red eyes, and an ensemble reminiscent of a high-ranking member of the Nobility. This included a fashionable red, white, and gold dress that was cut so low it looked like her ample bosom might spill out at any moment. The gazes of men and women alike were drawn to the captivating sight, but, the moment they dared to stare directly, a milky haze would emerge from the depths of their pupils. "What the fuck!? Who turned out the lights!?" "I...I cant see! Someone help me...!" While dozens of people in the surroundings were panicking due to their sudden loss of eyesight, the golden-haired woman turned to herpanion, a 183cm tall woman with sharp features, long purple hair fastened into a braid, and emerald-green eyes. "It would appear I forgot to activate my concealing charm. Will you do the honors, Scathach?" Offering a polite bow, the womanspanion, Scathach, answered, "It would be my honor to be of service to my Queen." before raising her head and drawing a series of glowing runes in the air. When she was finished, not only did the people in their surroundings stop panicking, they showed absolutely no signs of being able to discern the duos presence... "Thank you, Scathach. Now then, shall we pay our former vict-ahem, our old friend a visit~?" "Im looking forward to it. Ufufufufufu~." "Ufufufufufu~." ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Everyone else is desperate to master Shukai while Vahn is over here trying to get his Zanpakuto to be more independent xD...,1% Indra is surprisingly powerful...,Some massive ara ara energy radiating from these two...) Chapter 2249 Aftermath

Chapter 2249 Aftermath

Though the Gift Game hadnt ended how he expected, Vahn wasnt particrly bothered by the development. Fenrir and Mikoto were a little miffed at having their fights interrupted, but, when it came down to it, neither really cared about fame. A whispered promise was all it took to color their faces red and qualitatively improve their moods. The hardest person to appease in the wake of the Gift Game, sans the Communities that feared the Aldrnari Empires takeover, was Wu. She wasnt anywhere near as angry as Vahn expected her to be, but, before she was willing to forgive Cauli and Kale for their unintended slight, she demanded a grand celebration to acknowledge the fact they were now a couple. While not exactly a wedding, the event was attended by many within the Heavenly Domain nearly every member of the Sage Dragons Hearth. Wu enjoyed each and every moment but her favorite part was when Cauli, Kale, Goku, Broly, and their children came forward to pay their respects and acknowledge her as their Ancestor. She also enjoyed what followed quite a bit, but that was a secret affair between Vahn and the three monkey-like women. On the topic of celebrations, a grand festival was organized by the Thousand Eyes Community to acknowledge the formation of the Aldrnari Empire. A number of people used them of trying to steal the thunder from the Smandra Communitys uing session ceremony but the truth of the matter was they still had five days set aside from the time allocated for the Gift Game. A lot of people had migrated to the East in order to witness the event first-hand, so, instead of sending them home early, Vahn invited them to stay and attend his Inauguration and the subsequent, five-day celebration. To get the other Communities on board, Vahn offered a plethora of Gifts and other rewards to any and all who were willing to support the festivities. He achieved this by inviting many of the highest-ranking individuals in the East to participate in a private banquet catered by Rindo. Very few people appeared on the first evening, but, by the fifth, well over a thousand people hade by to discuss business and sample Rindos iprehensibly delicious cooking. Among the guests that Vahn personally greeted were members of the Nine Realms Alliance and White Raven Community. He had heard about the assistance they provided, and, whilepletely unnecessary, he had never been the type to ignore gestures of kindness. It didnt matter that they had only helped in order to further their own goals. When it came to politics and intermunity affairs, such exchanges were asmon as stones on the ground. Though Vahn ultimately refused Odins invitation to join hands and form an Alliance, Vahn swore an oath that he would restore the World Tree to good health. He also agreed to ept a few members of the White Raven Community into the Aldrnari Empires soon-to-be-developed Aldrnari Institute. This included Vor, two breathtakingly beautiful Valkyries named Hrist and Leh, and, somewhat surprisingly, Muninn herself. With Vor, Hrist, and Leh appearing in extremely revealing gowns, it wasnt difficult to imagine why they had been chosen as representative of the White Raven Community. Muninn, however, was something of a curveball. She was clearly there to act in the interests of Odin, but, at the same time, she showed a genuine interest in the technology of the Aldrnari Empire. When the discussion of the Aldrnari Institute came up, she immediately took an interest, and, by the end of the conversation, all but insisted that she be allowed to join. Though the task had clearly been assigned to Vor, Hrist, and Leh, Muninn spent the rest of the evening attempting to seduce Vahn. This was clearly noticed by Odin and several other guests, but, demonstrating very little regard for the opinions of others, Muninn didnt give up. What genuinely surprised the guests was when she and Vahn disappeared into a side room before returning a few minutester. While it was no secret that Vahn had an inordinate fondess for beautiful women, the guests that had participated in the festivities across multiple evenings had seen him politely refuse more than a dozen different offers to have a private discussion. The majority of these offers came from literal Goddesses of Love, Beauty, and Sex so it was a surprise to even Odin when Muninn returned to the banquet hall with a faint smile and an absentminded expression on her face. What many of the people attending the ball-like event were unaware of was that Vahn appreciated genuine intrigue and sincerity far more than he appreciated beauty. Muninn may have approached him with simr intentions as the other girls at the party, but, hidden beneath her pretense of duty was a genuine desire to learn more about him. His very existence fascinated her, so, even though he would have preferred if she approached him after the party, Vahn eventually sumbed in the face of the snow-white beautys persistence. Needless to say, Muninn became very popr once her sess spread to the other attendees of the party. Those that had previously approached Vahn wanted to learn her secrets while Vor, Hrist, and Leh wanted to know if their mission was still a go. In response, she notified them that their mission hadnt changed but that it would be difficult for Hrist, in particr, to approach Vahn. Though Hrist felt more than a little vexed by Muninns words, Vor and Leh were equal parts nervous and excited. ording to Muninn, Vor needed only to be honest and Vahn would quickly reward her efforts. As for Leh, she had specifically been chosen because of her earnest nature and unshakeable conviction. When Leh learned that there was even a remote chance the World Tree could be restored, she offered to give her everything in order to see it done. This hade as quite a surprise as Lennths duty among the Valkyries was the preservation of the present. She was the Valkyrie that should be the most opposed to drastic change, but, after witnessing the suffering of her people over thest three hundred years, Leh had slowlye to the realization that preserving the present meant toiling and sacrificing oneself for the benefit of those that walked the same path and followed after you. For the sake of her people, and, more importantly, her younger sister Silmeria, the Valkyrie assigned to safeguard the future, Leh was willing to sacrifice even her pride. This was more than enough conviction to win Vahns favor, but, at the same time, it drastically decreased the chances he wouldy a hand on her. Vahn had never been the type to take advantage of others or pressure them into making sacrifices in exchange for his assistance. Lehs particr brand of sincerity actually ced him in a bit of a bind as itpelled him to refuse her advances while simultaneously rendering his assistance. In many ways, Leh was actually the best possible candidate to infiltrate the Aldrnari Empire and secure a close connection with Vahn. His refusal of her advances would invariably develop into an overwhelming feeling of obligation that her pride wouldpel her to repay. The more he refused her, the stronger her feelings of obligation would be until both of them eventually just broke down, confronted, and epted one another. In the end, their feelings would turn into a powerful bondparable to true love. It was simply a matter of time. For simr yet contrasting reasons, Hrist would find it very difficult to close the distance with Vahn. She was one of the original Valkyries, and, much like Leh, she was charged with preserving an aspect of fate. More specifically, she was the Valkyrie charged with preserving the past. As a result, she was also willing to do whatever it took to restore the Nine Realms Alliance to its former glory. The things that distinguished her from Leh were her disposition and her personal allegiances. Whereas Leh was a stoic and reserved woman who properly considered each and every word that parted her lips, Hrist could transition between being exceptionally cold and extremely alluring in the blink of an eye. Her true nature could be likened to a breathtakingly beautiful but venomous snake. Whenever she entered a room, she would immediately be the center of attention. As a result, those she rewarded with her own often felt as though they were the most important person in all of Creation. In actuality, the only people Hrist cared about were her sisters. Even then, she would not hesitate to kill them if she believed they were a threat to the Nine Realms Alliance. To that end, those seduced by her would often find themselves with a dagger buried deep into their spines. In spite of this, the people that had fallen victim to Hrist would rarelyy the me on her. Instead, they wouldment the fact they couldnt experience just one more night together... Though she was easily one of the most ruthless Valkyries, Hrist was paradoxically the gentlest of Odins daughters. During the weeks, months, or sometimes years leading up to her assassination attempts, her act was so convincing that many of her victims would actually believe they were at fault for her betrayal. Her association with the past allowed her to ascertain the innermost desires buried deep within a persons heart. Exined simply, spending time with Hrist made people feel extremely nostalgic. Some people had even likened it to falling in love for the first time each and every day they were together. For this reason, there were a surprising number of people that actually looked forward to being targeted by her. She was well known as one of the most capable assassins in the entire Little Garden. Many just didnt care. For being that could live for tens of thousands, if not millions of years, the experience of falling in love for the first time was indescribably precious... Unfortunately for Hrist, Vahn could re-experience falling in love whenever he wanted. Rarely a day passed where he didnt look back on his time in Danmachi with fondness. He could recall each and every moment spent with his loved ones with crystal rity, so, unless she could demonstrate some form of sincerity, Hrist had no hope of breaking down the walls of his heart. After all, unlike the vast majority of people, Vahn simply didnt have any. People were able toe and go as they pleased. The caveat was that his heart was so vast that finding a ce to leave your mark was exceptionally difficult without him personally revealing the foundation... ... .. Aided by Muninns advice, Vor awoke to find herself lying naked against Vahns chest. The previous night had been her first time, yet, instead of feeling pain, she enjoyed every moment from start to finish. Now, instead of feeling muscles aches or abdominal pain, a pleasant warmth permeated her entire body as she stared at Vahns sleeping face with an unreadable expression on her own. "Youre awake...I can feel your intent wandering my body. Tell me, what are you searching for...?" Opening his eyes, Vahn surprised Vor by tilting her chin up and nting a chaste kiss on her lips. It was so unexpected that she was wholly unable to respond. As a result, traces of anxiety appeared in her aura as the notion she had just missed an opportunity washed over her body and mind. Amused by Vors surprisingly innocent yet opportunistic thoughts, a light chuckle emanated from Vahns throat as he rewarded her with a second kiss. This time, Vor was more than prepared, her tongue immediately entangling with his as she pushed herself further up his body. Though it hadnt been his intention when he kissed her, Vahn didnt prevent Vor from mounting his body. Instead, his hands immediately gravitated towards her paradoxically firm yet pillowy bottom, a subtle tremor spreading through her body the moment his fingers sank into and began to knead her supple flesh... Breaking away from the kiss, Vahn allowed Vor a moment to catch her breath as he answered her previous question. When she heard the words that hade out of his mouth, a far more powerful tremor ran through her body, as, the moment Vahn brought his lips near her ear, he revealed that she was no longer incapable of bearing children. Did he have the intention of knocking her up? Not at the present moment. He just didnt like that neither she nor any of the other Valkyries possessed the ability to bear children. They could have sex, but, for the sake of ensuring they treated each of the Einherjar equitably, they were intentionally made barren. This was something Vahn vehemently disagreed with, so, even though he had no intention of impregnating any of them, even Odin could not prevent him from restoring the function all females, by right, ought to possess. The Valkyries may struggle with their emotions but they were not machines. Treating them as such, at least in Vahns opinion, was simply wrong... ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Granny Wu (O w O)...,Muninn be like, "Let me just step right in...",Sage Aldrnari strikes again xD...) Chapter 2250 Invitation

Chapter 2250 Invitation

In the middle of a vast, seemingly infinite white space, an illusory young womanprised of pale, bluish-white light could be seen looking around with a terrified and confused look on her face. Thest thing she could recall was attempting to cross the street on the way to her job. She didnt have a car so she was forced to walk nearly forty minutes to and from work six-seven days a week. "What happened? Where is this ce...?" Immediately following the illusory womans words, an entric-looking figure wearing a ck and white theater mask manifested out of thin air, shouting, "Congrattions, Soul #48859358221! You have been given the exclusive opportunity to reincarnate into a world of your choice. To make your journey a little easier, I will also offer you a total of three wishes. I trust you already have something in mind~?" Though she was nearly startled to death by the figures sudden appearance, it didnt take long for an excited smile to develop across the illusory womans face. For a brief moment, her body became noticeably more solid as she excitedly asked, "Are you serious!? Youre telling me that reincarnation is actually real!?" Snicking her response to the womans excitement, the masked figure was about to answer when a hand suddenly appeared out of the void, firmly grasping his shoulder before a man with dark skin and even darker hair appeared to say, "Ill take it from here. You can go back." "Who the fu-" Before the masked figure could finish his exmation, the illusory woman watched in confusion as the dark-skinned man pulled his body to some unseen location. A feeling of intense anxiety washed over her, but, before it could diminish her previous excitement, the man smiled toward her and said, "Sorry about that. Lokur can be a bit of a trickster at times. He likes to lure people into a false sense of security using the promise of wishes. While it is true that he would have granted each of them, it wouldnt be long before you came to regret your decision." "Now then...shall we discuss the specifics of your reincarnation...?" ... .. Observing his Temte dealing with the God that had tormented Shion, a smile developed across Vahns face as he prepared to depart the Actualized World. He wasnt entirely sure his decision had been the correct one, but, knowing Shion would now be able to live the life she always envisioned for herself, he chose to believe it was. "Wee back..." Opening his eyes, Vahn was unsurprised to find darkness obscuring his vision. Instead of panicking, he grabbed the waist of the woman that had made herselffortable on his face, mumbling, "Its good to see you too, Shiroyasha..." before pressing his nose into the aromatic white fabric pressing against him. "Mmnnn...youre always such a...naughty boy..." "Says the woman literally sitting on his face..." "Ufufufufu..." Turning towards the golden-haired goddess wearing bright red lingerie and a transparent white crop top, a teasing smile developed across Shioryashas face as she asked, "What? Are you worried that I might steal your beloved Chichiue away from you~?" Glowering in response to Shiroyashas words, the golden-haired beauty, Mordred, exhaled a pouty snort as she retorted, "Not even in your wildest dreams." Punctuating her statement, Mordred pushed Shiroyasha off of Vahns face. In response, the white-haired demoness just snickered before fixing her posture and purring, "So violent..." in an overtly sultry tone. In an effort to prevent the two from arguing, Vahn rose to a seated position before pulling Mordred to sit in hisp. Her aura of hostility was immediately reced by an air of bashfulness, a ruddy hue spreading through her cheeks as Vahn wrapped his hands around her waist and gently caressed her abdomen. "What brings you here so early in the morning? Is it rted to the festival in the North...?" Though she squinted her eyes at Mordreds sudden and drastic change in behavior, Shiroyasha didnt lose focus as she casually replied, "Of course. What other reason could I possibly have to sneak into your room and sit on your face~?" Understanding that Shiroyasha was just messing with him at Mordreds expense, a smile developed across Vahns face as he yfully remarked, "Who knows~?" Rolling her eyes, Shiroyasha reached into the sleeve of her kimono to produce a rather extravagant-looking letter, exining, "This is a letter penned by Sandora, the Princess of the Smandra Royal Family. Fearing that it would be imprudent of her to send you a direct invitation, she has asked that the Thousand Eyes Community convey her desire to have you attend her Coronation Ceremony..." epting the letter, Vahns expression revealed a hint of incredulity as he asked, "This isnt that kind of situation, is it...?" Adopting one of her characteristically mischievous grins, Shiroyasha didnt hesitate to answer, "Of course it is. You are currently one of the most talked-about individuals in the entirety of the Little Garden. More importantly, you are one of the only Pure-Blooded Dragons residing in the 4-7-Digit Gates. Dont tell me you never considered this sort of development...?" Ignoring Shiroyashas remarks, Vahn took a moment to read the rather heartfelt letter penned by the iing Leader of the Smandra Community. The wording was extremely formal but Vahn could feel the emotions Sandora must have felt while writing it. There were traces of fear, a hint of nervousness, and a growing feeling of resolution that built with each character written. By the time she had finished writing, it was clear that she had thoroughly convinced herself that she was doing the best thing for her Community. "This is why children shouldnt be burdened with the fates of billions..." Though Vahns were meant as more of an intrapersonal gripe, Mordred didnt hesitate to chime in, saying, "I dont know. She seems like a qualified leader to me. She may be a little young but she is clearly putting the interests of her people before her own. I dont think its fair to look down on her conviction just because of her age." Seeing a bit of herself in Sandora, Mordred feltpelled to take the young Dragonesss side. She also believed that Vahn was the best possible choice for anyone searching for a mate. It didnt really matter that Sandoras intentions were motivated by political intrigue and a misguided belief in the importance of blood purity. If given the option, Mordred genuinely believed that her Chichiue was the best possible choice anyone could make in regards to a political marriage. Shiroyasha, agreeing with Mordreds sentiment, albeit for very different reasons, nodded her head in affirmation, supplementing, "The angry lion girl is correct. Princess Sandora still has a significant amount of room for improvement but its an undeniable truth that she has earned the respect and adtion of her people. She has been the acting Leader of the Smandra Community ever since she was a mere eight years old. Viewing her as an ordinary adolescent is ignoring the achievements she had rued in spite of her age." Restraining the urge to sigh and roll his eyes, Vahn nted a kiss on top of Mordreds head before answering, "I have never once looked down on her age or achievement. Myment was more a matter of personal opinion. I sincerely believe that children, regardless of the circumstances of their birth, should have the option to live freely and decide for themselves the path they wish to take. As impressive as Sandoras achievements are, it doesnt change the fact that she was denied the option to decide her own fate. She was forced to bear the burden of another and simply performed well..." Unable to refute Vahns statement, Shiroyasha decided to shift things back to the more important topic at hand, asking, "So? What are you going to do? Even if you forcibly seized control over the North and ordered Sandora to make the most of what remains of her childhood, do you think that she, a girl with the conviction and capabilities to be Floor Master at such a young age, would simply nod her head and ept?" "..." Taking advantage of Vahns silence, Shioryashas expression became less serious as she reminded him, "That girl, Sarina, was even younger than Sandora when you first encountered her. If you are that concerned with her mental wellness, allow her to spend a few years in one of your Actualized Worlds. Thats killing two birds with one stone. Not only does Sandora get to experience what its like to live a rtively normal life, but, once she has matured, you wont have to feel guilty about her pining after that not so little toy in your trousers..." "Even if your words make sense, there are some things you shouldnt say..." Though he could understand where Shiroyasha wasing from, Vahn regarded Sarina, Nono, and even the problem children as exceptions. It would be one thing if Sandora proposed the idea of her own volition. Considering it as an option before they even had the chance to meet just felt...wrong... Shrugging her shoulders, Shiroyasha averted her gaze from Vahns as she muttered, "That is one of the things I will never understand about you. I dont know if its due to sentimentality or some other factor but your behavior is so contrary at times. This shouldnt even be an issue yet you manage to create drama where there was none..." As much as she hade to appreciate Vahn, there were aspects of his character that Shiroyasha simply couldnt fathom. Sandora had already demonstrated her willingness to sacrifice herself for the sake of the North Side and the Smandra Community. Had she been a few years older, Vahn wouldnt have batted an eye at her proposition. It wouldnt have mattered if she had been forced to bear the burden of leadership at such a tender age. He would simply do everything in his power to ensure her happiness from that moment forward. Though no one else regarded her as such, Sandora being what Vahn considered a minor clouded his judgment. This was something that simply didnt make sense from Shiroyashas point of view. She knew that if Sandora had possessed a more mature appearance, Vahn wouldnt have felt even an iota of guilt. Inversely, he would have absolutely no qualms about her current appearance if she was beyond a certain chronological age. It was easily one of the most mind-boggling and annoying aspects of his character... Shaking such thoughts from her mind, Shiroyasha appended, "Just do as you see fit. Even if there are times where I cant even begin to fathom the thoughts running through your head, I trust that you will always do your best to help the people around you. Regardless of how things develop, Im confident that you will be able to set Sandora on a path towards obtaining happiness..." On that note, Shiroyasha was prepared to leave but found herself unable to do so. The surrounding space had effectively be severed from the rest of the Little Garden. She could easily break out, but, instead of doing so, she looking towards Vahn with a knowing smile and asked, "Oh? Feeling a bit guilty, are we~?" Offering a wry smile, Vahn extended his hand to grab Shiroyashas thin wrist, answering, "You came all this way...dont be in such a hurry to leave. At least allow me-" Meeting Mordreds gaze, Shiroyasha interrupted Vahn by asking, "How about it, lion brat? Mind if I take another seat on your Papas face...?" Though she snorted through her nose, Mordred didnt refuse Shiroyashas request. Instead, a smile developed across her face as she said, "Just dont expect me to support you when your back gives out..." ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Thats one way to wake someone up...,I me society...,Get it? Because she is old (O w O)...) Chapter 2251 Parasite

Chapter 2251 Parasite

After seeing off Shiroyasha and escorting Mordred back to her Community, Vahn encountered Leticia, Henge, Mirajane, and, somewhat surprisingly, Nono en route to his recently constructed Throne Room. "Good morning, girls. My day just got 400% better." In response to Vahns greeting, the first three girls, each dressed as Maids, offered polite bows, replying, "Good morning, Master." As for Nono, she returned a faint smile before performing a half-hearted curtsy and saying, "I had a dream about youst night." in her characteristically gentle and soothing tone. Raising his brows, Vahn remarked, "Oh...?" as he extended his arm for Nono to grasp. She happily did so while the other three girls exchanged nces with each other before promptly returning to their respective duties. Such intery always made Vahn feel a little awkward, but, now that he had reimed his status as an Emperor, he was doing his best to get used to it. Speaking aloud the thoughts that Vahn had elected to keep hidden, Nono craned her head up at him and asked, "Are you lonely...?" Without needing to consider his response, Vahn shook his head, gently patting the hand Nono was using to cling to his arm as he exined, "Lets just say Ive never been fond of formalities between close family, friends, and lovers. Even if Im an Emperor, a Sage, a God, or something even greater, it doesnt change that fact Im still me..." "Mmm..." Not sure how she should respond to Vahns words, Nono simply hummed before leaning her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes. If he was feeling lonely, she would do her best to stay as close as possible to put him at ease. Understanding Nonos thoughts, a low chuckle emanated from Vahns throat before he enjoyed the remainder of their journey in silence. Simr to the one he had constructed back in Avalon, Vahns newest Throne Room was circr in shape. It also had a tiered gallery, but, unlike the previous one, there were seven tiers representing the various Gates of the Little Garden. If you looked at it from above, the room served as a current and constantly updating map that showed the position and Gate number of each and every single Community. Though most people wouldnt understand the purpose of the roomsyout, those that did would quickly be solemn. Some thought he was mad, but, recalling the words Indra had spoken near the end of the Gift Game, none were brave enough to voice their thoughts aloud... Seemingly oblivious to the chambers oppressive ambiance, Nono apanied Vahn all the way to his Throne before unhesitantly taking a seat next to him. This earned her an appreciative smile from Vahn, who, taking advantage of the fact they were alone, leaned in to nt a chaste butsting kiss on his lips. Though her reactionscked any sort of vigor, Nonos heart was aflutter as she happily reciprocated Vahns affection. It had been months since she made the selfish decision to entrust every aspect of their rtionship to him. Most of that time had been spent studying healing and sleeping alongside members of the Eurasia Family. She had basically be an honorary member of said family, so, as time passed, her personality and aura had gained an ethereal, dream-like quality... Separating after nearly twenty minutes, Vahn took a moment to admire Nonos panting expression before brushing aside her sweat-dampened bangs and asking, "You mentioned something about a dream? It must have been quite something for you to leave your bedchamber..." Nodding her head nearly thirty secondster, Nono took a moment to nestle closer to Vahns chest before whispering, "Its difficult to exin...I didnt actually see you. It was more like you were there with me...almost like you were seeing the world through my eyes..." Despite a number of objectively terrifying memories appearing along the periphery of her thoughts, Nonos aura remained as calm and cid as the surface of a subterraneanke. Even in the midst of the incredibly realistic dream, she never once felt as though she was in danger. So long as Vahn was nearby, she knew there was nothing in this world that could harm her. "I saw it...a being of pure destruction...three heads bound by stakes...wings of pure darkness...skin whiter than bone...red eyes that could pierce through the veil of all things..." Opening her eyes, a hazy glow could be seen emanating from the depths of Nonos aquamarine eyes as she appended, "It looked straight at me...through me..." For the first time since she began her recounting, Nonos voice and aura wavered. She wasnt truly afraid, but, recalling the creatures gaze, she couldnt help feeling exposed and vulnerable. Even in the literal heart of the Aldrnari Empire, she could still feel its gaze upon her... Noticing something that Nono couldnt, Vahn reached his hand between her still-developing yet already extraordinary breasts. Instead of grasping at them, however, he extended his hand into her body without her notice. Immediately thereafter, the feeling that she was being watched faded from Nonos mind as Vahn removed what could best be described as a parasitic tumor attached to her fate. "Hmmm...?" As the mystical light faded from her eyes, Nono looked down to find Vahns hand buried in the center of her chest. A hint of confusion flickered across her face before shifting into a naturally seductive smile as she looked up and purred, "Naughty..." in the type of voice that would send shivers through a persons spine. Retracting his hand from Nonos chest, Vahn bent down to nt another kiss on her lips before whispering, "You really know how to bring out the beast in me..." Instead of responding to Vahn with words of her own, Nono guided his hand to her left breast before yfully snapping her teeth. She may have developed the habit of letting him take the lead but that didnt mean she would justy there and do nothing. Rather, the moment Vahn managed to flip her switch, Nono could be exceptionally proactive. It was almost as though she spent the majority of the time they were apart storing energy... ... .. Following his unnned tryst with Nono, Vahn was lost in thought regarding the parasite he had found in her body. It wasnt difficult to imagine where it hade from, but, knowing there were still methods people could use to influence the people he cared about, Vahn couldnt help feeling annoyed. "I never imagined a day mighte where someone was able to touch my bottom line without even existing..." (*At least you were able to notice it before it could mature into something legitimately threatening. Now you can coordinate with Da Vinci to develop countermeasures.*) Though he nodded his head in response to Siss words, Vahns mood didnt improve. Even if he and Da Vinci were able to develop a means to safeguard every single person affiliated with the Aldrnari Empire, that still left trillions of people as potential hosts for the parasite he rightly associated with the Demon God. So long as a single person carried the parasite within them, the Demon God was fated to return no matter how many times it was killed, defeated, or sealed. (*Sounds like your only options are to seal it away or reach the pinnacle of existence and eliminate it directly.*) Nodding his head a second time, the image of Enkidu briefly appeared in Vahns mind. As far as he knew, there was absolutely nothing on par with his Limit Broken Enkidu in terms of its ability to seal. The only caveat was that it simply didnt feel right to use his Enkidu in such a manner. It was more than capable of sealing the Demon God, but, based on its temperament, Vahn knew it wouldnt be particrly enthused if he used it for such a purpose. As strange as it sounded, Enkidu seemed more interested in binding women and rectifying fertility issues than sealing away Vahns enemies. It didnt help that thetter genuinely disdained the very notion of sealing people away or imprisoning them for all eternity. Though he was confident that Enkidu wouldply if he forced the issue, Vahn was unwilling to burden the ever-faithful chain with such a responsibility. Neither of them would befortable with such an arrangement, so, after a prolonged period of deliberation, Vahn exhaled a tired sigh before shaking his head and muttering, "Whatever...so long as I can shove him back into the seal when he awakens, I should be able to buy more than enough time to reach the pinnacle..." With others managing to seal the Demon God on more than one asion, Vahn was absolutely confident he could do the same. He was pretty sure that Izayoi and the other Problem Children were supposed to be the ones to defeat him. Considering their current levels, there was even a chance that Vahn may not even need to act. Any reasonably powerful member of his Community could fodder all three Problem Children with rtive ease. Feeling a little better about the situation, Vahn allowed the flow of time to return to normal. He had effectively separated himself from the Principal Axis in order to afford himself a functionally infinite amount of time to think. Now that he had organized his thoughts, he was ready to tackle the sixty-three audiences scheduled for the first half of the day... ... .. Though shemented being forced to stand in a queue like somemon riff-raff, Amaterasu did her best to appear calm and dignified as she awaited her turn for an audience with Vahn. Fortunately, while most recently risen powerhouses would go out of their way to put on airs and drag things out, Vahn didnt seem particrly concerned with such pressure tactics. Barely a minute would pass between the moment an individual first entered his Throne Room and the moment they returned. More importantly, everyone that emerged would invariably have a smile or a considerably relieved expression on their face. After the fiasco regarding Nanako, Amaterasu wouldnt be surprised if Vahn decided to hold a grudge. Had their positions been reversed, she would have readily forced him to beg and grovel in exchange for her forgiveness. Even then, the chances of her actually forgiving him were very nearly zero. Banking on the fact that Vahn was considerably more magnanimous than she, Amaterasu waited a few weeks for tensions to die down before requesting an audience. She doubted he would forgive her immediately, but, so long as she demonstrated her sincerity and a genuine desire to cooperate, there was a good chance they could work something out. Assuring herself that everything was going to be okay, Amaterasus back straightened even further when her name was called. Her nervousness intensified as she drew closer to the Throne Room, but,pared to the pressure she experienced within the actual chamber, it was like exiting an area of zero gravity only to find yourself in the deepest depths of the abyss. "Hmmm? I thought I sensed you waiting outside. You are incredibly brazen to enter this ce of your own ord..." Recovering her senses in response to Vahns words, Amaterasu swallowed the knot forming in her throat before attempting to lower herself to the ground. Instead, an invisible force prevented her from doing so as Vahnmented, "I am not your God and you owe me no loyalty. Now, tell me, whatpelled you to visit me so soon after our previous encounter...?" Feeling another knot forming in her throat, Amaterasu made several attempts to clear it before ultimately giving up and replying, "I came seeking to make amends for my past behavior...now that I have had the opportunity to better understand the situation, I havee to understand just how foolish my actions were..." Surprising Amaterasu, Vahn rolled his eyes in response to her words before waving his hand and saying, "That is usually the case when people allow their ego to guide their decisions. Due to the perceived difference in our status, you allowed your arrogance to blind you. Well, lucky for you, I dont really care about such things. So long as you stay away from my bottom line, you are free to live and act however you please. Just remember the warning I gave you prior to ripping you into pieces. Every action has consequences. For those who believe themselves beyond reproach, I am that consequence..." Without waiting for Amaterasus response, Vahn waved his hand to deposit her near the exit of the hallway leading up to his Throne Room. Shock briefly marred her face, but, shortly thereafter, it was reced by the same expression of relief exhibited by every other person that hade seeking to apologize for past grievances. She was a little upset by Vahns casual dismissal, but, knowing there were no hard feelings between them, Amaterasu exited the hall with significantly less anxiety than she had entered it... The Sage Dragon Emperor was truly magnanimous... ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Nono behaves like such a stoner...,Evil is not so easily subdued...,You know you messed up when you have Kemonomimi and Vahn didnt even try to pet you...) Chapter 2252 Paradise? Providence

Chapter 2252 Paradise? Providence

Finished with the mornings scheduled audiences, Vahn decided to spend the rest of his morning with ck Rabbit. She had been spending the vast majority of her time helping Usalia look after the kittens ever since she got pregnant. Her original intent was to apprentice under Usalia, but, thanks to her experience with the No Name Community, ck Rabbit was already exceptionally suited for child-rearing. In fact, more often than not, Usalia was the one going to her for advice. With his senses making him aware of everything taking ce within the newly renovated Sage Dragons Hearth, Vahn was unsurprised to find Yo, Asuka, and Lily within the nursery alongside Fenrir, Usalia, and ck Rabbit. The trio had developed the habit of stopping by to check up on ck Rabbit two to three times a day, as, ever since she had started showing signs of pregnancy, thetter had only left the Sage Dragons Hearth twice. "Did I identally stumble into paradise...?" Seeing the six girls rxing quietly as the kittens used their bodies as pillows, Vahn couldnt help smiling. Things were still tense between him and Asuka but there was something captivating about seeing the excessively prideful woman watching over his children with an affectionate smile on her face. Since the kittens were currently asleep, none of the girls greeted Vahn in the usual manner. Instead, Usalia adopted a glower that was more adorable than threatening as she half-growled, "Keep your voice down..." Holding his finger up to his lips, Vahns expression practically melted when one of his daughters, a quickly developing kitten named Prima, issue an adorable hup. In response, Yo gently rubbed her back, a tender smile developing across her face as Prima nestled closer to her. With each of the other girls saddled with two kittens, Vahn approached Usalia to retrieve Shiro from her embrace. The pout she presented upon being separated from her mothers warmth was beyond adorable, but, the moment Vahn cradled her in his arms, a contented smile immediately developed across her face. "Cheater..." Hearing Asukas whispered remark, Vahn cast her a nce before rolling his eyes when she quickly averted her own. He then made himselffortable between Usalia and ck Rabbit, thoroughly enjoying the rare moment of serenity where all the kittens were simultaneously asleep. It didntst very long, but Vahn wouldnt have traded even a single moment for all the riches in the Universe... ... .. Though they were more than capable of returning on their own, Vahn apanied the trio of No Names to the Consultation Office connected to their territory. This was usually Leticias duty, but, as their paths just so happened to cross, Vahn figured he may as well ask how they were doing before sending them off with a few gifts. Contrasting Asukas usual standoffishness, Lily and Yo had absolutely no filter when speaking with Vahn. It was a little awkward at times, but, as he was technically the No Name Communitys Primary Care Physician, Vahn didnt bat an eye even when they consulted him about extremely sensitive and physiological matters. Lily, in particr, was constantly asking Vahn to help regte the seal on her body as it had been going haywire ever since she and Jin began experimenting together. In truth, things hadnt been going particrly well between Lily and Jin. The barrier between friends and lovers was proving more difficult to ovee than either of them anticipated. Both were trying their hardest but Jin still struggled with taking the initiative. The times they had tried to have sex, he ended up suffering from performance anxiety. Vahn could have easily remedied this, but, as a result of Jins self-esteem issues, he couldnt bring himself to ask for help regarding such a sensitive topic. When Lily mentioned experimenting, it was generally her taking the initiative to perform various services. The most thetter had been able to manage was holding her hand, kissing, and asking her out on a few dates. The one time he tried seizing the initiative himself, he ended up having the kind of ident that was best forgotten to time. Had they been a normal couple, the rtionship between Lily and Jin wouldnt be anything to be concerned about. The problem was that Lily was descended from a Goddess whose origins could be traced back to Inari, a Goddess associated with foxes, fertility, rice, tea, and sake. They were also the Patron Goddess of Actors and Prostitutes, so, while Lily was a very distant descendant, she was not wholly unaffected by Inaris influence. The crux of Lilys problemsy in the development of her Spiritual Energy and her growing interest in the rtions between men and women. If Jin had been a little more proactive, there was a good chance that things would progress smoothly between them. Instead, Jin was inhibited by hisck of confidence while Lily was too kind and caring to force the matter. She didnt want to pressure him before he was ready, so, using the excuse that her seal was going haywire, she would consult Vahn for physical, mental, and spiritual relief. As inappropriate as this may sound, Lilys treatment was more of a therapy session than anything else. She would talk at length about all the things that were troubling her while Vahn eitherbed or caressed her head. There had been a single incident where she tried to talk him into giving her a massage, but, out of respect for Jin and as a professional courtesy, Vahn politely declined. He didnt mind helping to suppress or dissipate her developing urges. He had no intentions of bing the outlet she used to release them. Ever since the first time Vahn had refused her offer to escte things just a little further, Lily never broached the subject a second time. Instead, she began spending more time with Yo, who, despite a developing interest in the opposite sex, felt morefortable around women. Neither hade out to say anything just yet but pretty much everyone in the No Name Community assumed there was something going on between the nearly inseparable friends. As the confidant of both girls, Vahn knew exactly how far the two had gone. He even suspected they went out of their way to keep him informed, not because they had any malicious intentions, but because it was equally well known that Yo had developed a crush on him. It started out as a mild intrigue and a fascination with the many animalistic women in his entourage, but, during her time in the Game Board, it quickly developed into something more. Though Asuka used him of using it to trick Yo into falling in love with him, the proverbial straw that broke the camels back was the Companion Vahn had gifted her, the Maneki-neko. It not only served as Yos day-to-day clothing but, at several points during her stay in the Danmachi-inspired Game Board, it ended up saving her life. The two of them had developed an incredibly close bond, so, as the person who had gifted the Maneki-neko to her, Vahn was held in extremely high esteem by the bubbly brte. The only thing preventing Yo from surrendering to her feelings was her friendship with Asuka and Lily. She didnt want to hurt either of them, so, until they managed to find happiness for themselves, she wanted to support them as best she could. As for the kinds of mischief she got up to whenever she and Lily were alone, it was a lot more wholesome than most people assumed. They had kissed a few times, but, more often than not, their interactions involved gratuitous amounts of hugging and petting. This was the reason the two of them had never been caught. Whenever someone walked in on them, they would simply find the two of them snuggling up together or sleeping. Yo wasnt aware of it but it was this type of behavior that prevented Vahn from even thinking about doing anything untoward to her. She was way too adorable and wholesome, so much so that there were times when he felt guilty about corrupting her with the asional flirtatious remark. It didnt help that Yos periodic attempts to seduce him involved her wearing adult underwear beneath her onesie and simply cozying up to him. Did she inform him about her particr choice in undergarments? No. She just believed he would take notice due to the lessons he had taught them in the past. More specifically, she recalled that he had once mentioned that even a thousandyers of clothes couldnt conceal their bodies from his senses. This was a point against him in Asukas book, but, from the perspective of a maiden in love, it was apparently something to be excited about. At the very least, Yo seemed to enjoy it quite a bit as she would often leave messages on her body. In one instance, she even had Lily draw a pair of cat-like eyes on her butt along with a misguided message asking if he wanted to pat the kitty... Needless to say, Asuka had been pretty upset when she saw the yful message in the changing room. Yo was pretty good about erasing the marks she left on her body, but, due to that particr messages location, she hadpletely forgotten about it. The same could be said for Lily, so, ever since then, the duo had been careful to make sure the messages were small or located in areas that Asuka wouldnt easily notice. On the subject of Asuka, things were actually going surprisingly well between her and Izayoi. They never really talked about it but it wasnt umon to find them watching the moon together or sneaking off to discuss things in private. It was rumored that one of the children had seen the two of them kissing, but, due to how reserved Asuka was, most of the details regarding hers and Izayois rtionship were a closely guarded secret. At the very least, thats what Asuka wanted to believe... In reality, Vahn knew pretty much everything there was to know about the rtionship between the two Heroes. Asuka may be tight-lipped around the No Names but she regrlyined to the aptly named Nursery Group. Everyone needed an outlet to vent their frustrations, so, whenever she was helping to look after the kittens, Asuka would often confide in the growing group of girls. This was actually one of the reasons she was still hostile towards Vahn. Whenever he showed up in the nursery, she couldnt help feeling though he was intruding upon their girl time... Fortunately, Asuka was the only person who thought that way. Every other girl recognized Vahns right to be there. Rather, without him, Usalia and ck Rabbit would be at their wits end once the kittens started throwing a tantrum. When one cried, it would set off a chain reaction that couldnt be stopped without Vahn popping in, splitting into multiple versions of himself, and coaxing them to sleep. Though she could be exceptionally brash at times, Asuka was far from stupid. She may view Vahn as an enemy of women but the only times she openly voiced her grievances towards him was back in the territory of the No Names. More urately, she wouldin to Lily and Yo in the bath while asking what the two of them saw him. When she was around people like Fenrir, Usalia, ck Rabbit, and the other members of the No Names, she generally kept her opinion to herself. As much as she personally disliked him, Asuka knew better than to nder Vahn around the people he had helped during some of the most trying times in their life. Lily was the singr exception in that regard as Asuka viewed her as a remarkably mature and dependable woman. Around the other children, there were times when Asuka outright praised Vahn. After all, in their minds, he had saved their lives. Insulting someones savior was a remarkably quick way to undermine the trust they had in you, so, for the sake of the Community and her position within it, Asuka did her best to tolerate Vahns existence... Fortunately for everyone involved, Asuka didnt truly hate Vahn. She was just really persistent when it came to holding grudges. Knowing she was basically naked whenever he was around didnt help. In fact, it was 95% of the reason she didnt like being around him. As for the remaining five percent, it was actually a genuine appreciation for Vahn as a character... It was surprisingly difficult to hate people that went out of their way to help virtually everyone they met... ... .. (Alternate Titles: I need to get my blood sugar checked...,I would say to call an ambnce but I think Jin would be better served by a coroner...,95% Tsun, 5% Dere...) Chapter 2253 Anxiety

Chapter 2253 Anxiety

Though his afternoon was best by another round of audiences, Vahns day ended on a high note when he returned to his room to find Artoria, Gray, and Gareth lounging on his bed in silk pajama tops,ce panties, and stockings. "Is it my birthday or am I just the luckiest man in the world~?" Noticing Vahns presence, Gareth practically pounced from the bed before running over, wrapping her arms around him, and eximing, "Wee back, Master~!" while her dog-like tail wagged furiously behind her. As for Artoria and Gray, they just adopted smiles as they waited patiently for Vahn to carry the puppy-like woman back to the bed. Waiting until Vahn had climbed in alongside them, Artoria exined, "Fenrir came by to tell me you were in low spirits earlier this morning. Since she had already been given the opportunity to spend time with you, she asked if I coulde by and help cheer you up. Gareth, Gray, I had been taking tea with Lady Boudica so it was decided they would apany me." Though he didnt actually need an exnation, Vahn ended up thanking Artoria with a kiss. Then, for the better part of an entire day, he pampered and was indulged by the three loveable dames until his mood had fully recovered... Gareth had apparently been learning how to dance from Nero... ... .. "How are you intending to respond? Unless I am misremembering things, I believe you wanted Eva to be the Empress of the Far North. Are you going to allow this Sandora to continue operating her Community as a police force...?" Though a very small part of him wished they had found fault with the circumstances, Vahn wasnt even remotely surprised when neither Artoria, Gray, nor Gareth presented so much as a single hint of confusion or frustration. In their eyes, he could basically do no wrong, as, even if he did make a mistake, they knew he would do everything in his power to either fix it or make amends. It didnt help that there was no legal age during the period in which Artoria and Gareth had lived. In fact, prior to bing a Page at the tender age of 7, Gareth had already been betrothed to one of her cousins. If her elder brothers hadnt convinced their mother to let her impersonate a young boy, she would have been married off and never allowed to be a Knight. When she learned about the letter penned by Sandora, Gareth was actually excited by the prospect of adding a new member to their family. She still had a very naive and pure view of the world, so, as long as she could train hard, y hard, and fill her belly whenever she wanted, she was happy. Scratching the underside of the puppy-like womans chin, Vahn carefully considered Artorias words before answering, "I think I will ept. When Shiroyasha and I first considered the idea of taking on each of the Floor Master positions, I had already considered that something like this might ur..." Nodding her head in both affirmation and approval, Artoria noted, "Its probably for the best. When ites to young girls with tragic pasts, there is little you can do to resist helping them. Given how you described her, I imagine that Princess Sandora would feel considerably stressed if you rejected her proposal but still choose to help her. Girls like that, burdened by the expectations of others, find it particrly difficult to ept the assistance of others without providing something of substantial value as rpense..." Having already reached a simr conclusion, Vahn offered a nod of his own as he squished and massaged Gareths cheeks like mochi. It always amazed him how soft girls could be, so, with his mood slowly diminishing, Vahn decided to cheer himself up by tickling the unsuspecting Gareth until she managed to escape his clutches and get revenge by y biting him all over his body... ... .. Though there were a few days remaining until the start of the week-long festival, Vahn decided he would head over early in order to spend some time with Semiramis and their two twins, Ebony and Raven. After that, he would be staying at the Royal Pce as Sandora had invited him to visit early so she could show him around and personally acquaint him with the Royal Capital, Kouen City. Unlike the residential districts in the East, reminiscent of Feudal Japan, the buildings in the North closely resembled the types of buildings present in Europe between the seventeen and neen hundreds. This included a number of clock towers, neatly arranged cottages, and, every now and then, a gothic-style church. Reinforcing theparison, the Royal Pce of Smandra more closely resembled the Pce of Westminister than the middle-eastern structure most people would expect after meeting members of the Royal Family. For reasons even the senior members of Smandra didnt fully understand, the direct descendants of Smandra wore the type of garb typically associated with Arabic culture. For men, this typically meant muted grey tunics bound by a sash, curve-toed slippers, and long-sleeved robes made from extremely fine and breathable materials. Toplete the image, they often carried around scimitars and a special type of curved knife called a Jambia. Though it made them exponentially more popr with the citizenry, the female descendants of the Smandra Royal Family were made to wear far more revealing outfits than the males. More often than not, this included a ceremonial top that only covered the breasts, various golden essories, and flowing skirts. At a nce, there was no discernible difference between their ceremonial attire and the outfits worn by simple street performers and belly dancers. Vahn had yet to meet Sandora but all the posters of her depicted a young girl walking around in an outfit more suitable for a Samba Parade than the future Queen of Smandra. Her entire back and belly were exposed, and, though her skirt covered everything it needed to, it hung dangerously low on her hips. So much so that it gave the impression she either wasnt wearing anything underneath and, even if she was, it was very scant... While a version of himself went to meet with Semiramis, another version of Vahn decided to give the Capital a sweep with his domain. He wasnt actively searching for something, but, by sweeping his domain across the entire city, he could create a map of the city while Sis sorted through and analyzed the data at his behest. This allowed them to keep tabs on suspicious individuals, discover secret locations, and, most importantly, create a snapshot of the present moment for the sake of posterity. Reality and fate were constantly shifting within the Divine Realm. Depending on the decisions of the people living within, even the identity of a person could be changed over something as simple as a coin flip. During Vahns exploration of the Royal Capital, he had noticed hundreds of missing person posters posted all throughout the city. This wasnt actually that umon, but, upon noticing that the vast majority of missing persons were children, Vahn began paying closer attention. ording to the people discussing andining about the disappearances in the various bars and taverns littering the city, children between the ages of 7 and 12 had been disappearing every single night for the past three months. The strangest thing about these disappearances was that there was absolutely no indication of any wrongdoing. In some cases, the missing children would be mere meters away from a group of adults or actively ying with other children before simply vanishing into thin air. After his encounter with Hanako, Vahn was a little sensitive about the subject of children vanishing without a trace. It may not be a problem he was obligated to resolve, but, now that he knew about it, the people responsible would either need to flee or face his wrath. The moment he noticed even a hint that something was amiss, there wasnt a force outside the 1-3-Digit Gates that could prevent him from passing judgment. By that point, they couldnt even hope to flee... ... .. Due to the increased security in and around the Royal Capital over the past three months, Vahns appearance was immediately noticed and reported by countless people. Nearly every resident of Kouen City was affiliated with Smandra in some form or another, so, with children going missing on the regr, they were pretty on top of reporting strange sightings and suspicious individuals. While some would undoubtedly refer to Vahn as a suspicious person, the reason so many people had taken notice of him was due to his sudden and meteoric rise to fame. There was hardly a single person who hadnt seen and heard of the Sage Dragon Emperor at this point, so, seeing a recently coronated Emperor walking around in casual clothes without an escort, they couldnt help thinking something was amiss. Since a version of himself was already enjoying a cup of brackish-purple tea back at the Hanging Garden, Vahn didnt make a fuss when a group of men riding 3m tall Wyverns descended upon his position and nervously asked him to apany them to the nearest guard station. Vahn was originally nning to tour around the Capital for a few days before visiting the Royal Pce, but, now that he knew about the mass disappearances, he figured he may as well see what the Royal Family has to say on the matter. Thus, in response to the visibly nervous soldiers request, he answered, "Certainly." before transforming into a much, muchrger dragon and adding, "Lead the way." ... .. Even before Vahn had been approached by members of the Winged Dragon Brigade, a messenger had already rushed over to the Royal Pce in order to report his arrival to a young girl seated atop an ornate golden throne furnished with bright red cushions. Upon reaching the throne room, the man dared not look directly at the petite yet limber redhead seated atop the throne. Her outfit may be exceptionally revealing, but, if you were caught staring at her for a prolonged period of time, members of the Royal Police Force would invariably bring you in for questioning. "Princess Sandora, we have received numerous reports stating that the Sage Dragon Emperor has been seen wandering the streets of Kouen City. We have sent a brigade to confirm his identity but we need to know how you wish to proceed from there." Hearing the mans report, the young girl seated atop the throne, Princess Sandora Doltrake, visibly tensed. In spite of this, her expression remained calm and dignified as she ordered, "Make sure he is afforded the same courtesy as a member of the Royal Family. Once his identity has been confirmed, notify him that I wish to meet at his earliest possible convenience. If he declines, do not attempt to impede him in any way. Anyone found attempting to sow dissension between Smandra and the Aldrnari Empire will be investigated on grounds of treasonous intent..." Though a veritable horde of butterflies was waging war within her stomach, Sandora managed to enunciate her orders without revealing so much as a single indication of the nervousness she was currently feeling. She hadnt been anticipating Vahn so soon after she had penned her letter. At the very least, she expected him to return one of his own rather than just appearing out of thin air. She needed time to mentally prepare herself... Unfortunately, the moment Vahn learned that Sandora wished to meet with him, he agreed to allow the Winged Dragon Brigade to escort him to the Royal Pce. When Sandora heard about this, she immediately ordered the pce chefs to prepare a banquet before practically sprinting back to her room, locking the door behind her, and burying her bright red face into a pillow. Then, for the first time in many years, she screamed... ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Fenrir is so thoughtful (O w O)...,Some say hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Such people have never harmed children in the presence of Vahn...,Sandora was not prepared for today...) Chapter 2254 Anticipation

Chapter 2254 Anticipation

After being escorted to the VIP suite he would presumably be staying in during his sojourner in the North, Vahn waited for around an hour before a firm knocking could be heard from the door. Without rising from the ratherfortable lounge he had purchased from the System Shop, Vahn called out, "Its open." in a calm and rxed tone. Though there was a noticeable pause, the exceptionally thick door opened to reveal a tall man with bronzed skin, bright red hair, and rugged features that consisted of a squarish face, thick brows that flowed into a pair of dulled ck horns, pointed ears, and ck studs protruding from his chin. His outfit consisted of a dark grey tunic that flowed past his ankles, a red sash, open-toed sandals, and a set of dark robes emzed with the fiery emblem of Smandra on the back. Seeing Vahn reclining against the lounge, the mans brows wrinkled almost imperceptibly before he quickly caught himself and bowed, stating, "It is an honor to be in the presence of the Sage Dragon Emperor. My name is Mandra Doltrake, Strategist of the Smandra Community, First Prince of the Smandra Royal Family, and Chief Inspector of the Military Police. I hope my men have not caused you any offense..." Leaning forward, Vahn surprised Mandra by appearing right in front of him as he answered, "While it was a mild inconvenience to be stopped in the midst of my exploration of the Capital, your men were nothing but professional and courteous during our brief exchange." Further throwing Mandra off, Vahn extended his right hand with the obvious intention of initiating a handshake. The man initially hesitated, but, after regaining hisposure and nodding his head, he extended his own right hand and said, "I am relieved to hear that. The situation outside has be rather tense as ofte. The impending festival has led to a drastic increase in the number of...guests visiting from abroad. If an incident does ur, please demonstrate the magnanimity you are known for. My men are under a lot of stress and even the Gods are not without their faults..." Raising his brows, Vahn searched Mandras dark blue eyes to ascertain if the man was attempting to threaten him. Instead, he noticed genuine concern in the mans gaze while traces of moisture had started to develop above his brows and the sides of his face. If not for the threads of grey and dark purple in his aura, Vahn wouldnt have suspected him of any wrongdoing. Adopting what he intended to be a prating smile, Vahn retracted his hand from Mandras and stated, "You had several small tumors in your lungs. Tomemorate our first encounter, I took the liberty of removing them for you. I hope you dont mind." Extending his left hand, Vahn held out a small ss container filled with granule-sized masses of grey, ck, and dark red flesh. When Mandraid eyes on the container, his expression became a white as a sheet as he ced his hand on his chest and took several, unobstructed breaths. Instead of appearing relieved, however, a hint of panic shed across his face as she said, "Thank you..." in a low, clearly anxious tone of voice. Patting the mans shoulder, the corners of Vahns smile curled upward as he said, "Dont mention it. Even if youre targetting me for purely political purposes, were practically family from this moment onward. Your troubles are my troubles. Just dont go making too many messes for me the cleanup, okay...?" Swallowing the knot in his throat, Mandra attempted a response but found himself unable to find the words to speak. Vahn was far morepetent than any of them could have anticipated, and, based on that smile from before, it was clear he had already seen through their schemes. After finally recovering enough wherewithal to speak, Mandra had to fight hard against the urge to wipe the sweat from his brow as he muttered, "It would appear the rumors regarding your ability to intuit information were not exaggerated. Worry not. Though we anticipate numerous casualties, the agreement we made prohibits the killing of non-yers..." Though he had absolutely no idea what Mandra was referring to, Vahn just nodded his head before retracting his hand from the mans shoulder and warning, "So long as your actions do not impress upon my bottom line, you have no need to fear the consequences of my wrath. Just pray that I do not discover you have a connection to the recent disappearances..." Having already confirmed with Loi-chan that Mandra had nothing to do with the children going missing within his territory, Vahn eased up the pressure he had been exuding subconsciously. This resulted in Mandra nearly losing his footing, as, even when he suppressed it as much as possible, Vahns Authority had a habit of leaking out when he felt anger or was trying to intimidate someone. Feeling equal parts relief and fear wash over him, Mandra was about to thank Vahn for his clemency but thetter had already turned his back to him. This signified that Vahn was finished speaking, so, while there were actually quite a number of things that Mandra wished to discuss, he ultimately just bowed before backing out of the room and easing the door shut... The power and supremacy exuded by a Pure Blooded Dragon were far more potent than Mandra could have prepared himself for... ... .. With the help of several handmaidens, Sandora thoroughly cleansed her body and washed her hair before donning her most recently tailored outfit. She had yet to receive Vahns response regarding her proposal, but, understanding the importance of first impression, Sandora was psyching herself up to make the best impression possible. Had this been a few weeks prior, Sandora wouldnt have been looking forward to her meeting with Vahn. She had known ever since she was a mere eighteen months old that she would be forced to marry with the intent of preserving her bloodline. With the exception of her sister, she was thest person that could pass on the legacy of Smandra, so, while there had been a period in her youth where she wanted to run away with a boy she liked, Sandora had long since epted her fate. Fortunately, Vahn was the best possible candidate Sandora could imagine. He was a Pure Blooded Dragon, but, instead of being arrogant and cruel, he showed genuine concern for the people in his Community. More importantly, he treated those who came seeking his help in a fair and impartial manner. So long as they hadnt done anything to touch his bottom line, he would even provide aid to Demons without asking for anything substantial in return. Even if Vahn had only possessed these traits, Sandora would have epted their arranged marriage without hesitation. The thing that pushed her over the edge, deeply imprinting itself onto her heart, was the moment when Vahn had transformed into what many were referring to as the Dragon God of Infinity. Since then, Sandora had viewed the recording of Vahns showdown with Amaterasu more than three hundred times. Though the content was a little disconcerting, Sandora knew that the only reason Vahn had ripped Amaterasu to pieces was thetters apparent disregard for the lives of his children. Amaterasu had actually made a public statement rifying the situation, so, like many maidens of Dragon descent, Sandora had been dreaming about Vahn with increasing frequency. When her brother broached the subject of entreating him for a political marriage, Sandora had actually spent three days and nights penning the letter. While most girls wouldnt be particrly enthused by the notion of being pressured into a Stag Wedding, Sandora had gotten over such aversions years ago. If anything, she was relieved things had turned out this way as not only was Vahn from a different district, his Community, the Aldrnari Empire had much greater standing than the Smandra Community. They may be the Community affiliated with the position of Floor Master, but, ever since the war against the Demon God and his endless hordes, they had stagnated to a 5-Digit Community. Near the beginning of the war, the Smandra Royal Family flourished with well over a hundred members. In its wake, a mere seven had survived. By the time of Sandoras birth, the lineage of the Smander had diminished to four surviving members. One was nearing the end of his life, another was gued by a congenital birth defect attributed to inbreeding, and another had fled after nearly being forced into an incestuous rtionship after the death of their mother during childbirth. For all intents and purposes, this left Sandora as the so viable member of the Smander race. Thanks to her brother and a parting gift from their sister, Sandora managed to escape the fate of bing her mothers recement. If Vahn agreed to bed her, she would also be able to silence many of the people pushing to have her marry her brother. Thus, while most girls in her situation would be nervous and afraid, Sandoras emotional state could best be characterized as giddy with a hint of excitement. Staring at herself in the mirror, Sandoras demeanor changed the moment her handmaidens ced a golden, diadem-like crown atop her head. The crown was the processed remains of the Ster Sea Dragon King, and, under normal circumstances, it safeguarded the wearers mind against all forms of mental influence. Sandora didnt believe that someone of Vahns level would peek into her mind or try and manipte her, but, whenever she left her personal chambers, she was obligated to wear the crown at all times. It was the symbol of her status as the Leader of the Smandra Community, and, though she had yet to be dered Queen, it simultaneously represented her Authority as Floor Master. Feeling a lot more confident with the crown on, a smile graced Sandoras face as she stared into her own eyes and affirmed, "Dont worry, Sandora. You can do this. Vahn is a nice guy. Whats the worst that could happen...?" Imagining various scenes within her mind, a hint of a blush developed across Sandoras face as she promptly dismissed the twin sisters that had quickly risen to be two of her most trusted aides. In response, the two raven-haired beauties exchanged knowing looks before staring into Sandoras eyes through her reflection and chorusing, "Just be truthful and everything will go smoothly." Without borating further, the two girls offered courteous bows before mirroring each others movements as they departed the room. This was observed by Sandora, who, for the first time in a while, felt the urge to chuckle as she remarked, "How envious...if I could be half as confident and rxed as those two, maybe there wouldnt be so many people opposing my ascent to the throne?" Shaking her head, Sandora did her best to rid her mind of needless thoughts. She knew the sisters, Ebony and Raven, were just looking out for her. Ever since the duo had arrived, they had been two of the only people to treated her as something more than just the Leader of Smandra. Sandora appreciated them greatly, but, believing they had no idea what it was like to stand face to face with a man like Vahn, she disregarded their advice and continued to psyche herself up in preparation for her fated encounter with the Sage Dragon Emperor... ... .. While Sandora was busy mustering her courage, Ebony and Raven migrated towards Vahns room as if guided by some unseen force. When they reached it, they didnt even need to knock before an indescribably handsome man opened the door, an affectionate smile on his face as he asked, "How is she...?" Understanding that the man, their father, was referring to Sandora, Ebony mused, "She is behaving even more adorably than usual." before Raven followed up by asking, "Are you really going to have sex with such a small girl? I fear you may break her..." Laughing dryly in response to his daughters rather brazen question, Vahn extended his hands to caress both girls heads as he stated, "The two of you are bing more mischievous with each passing day. I hope you havent nted any strange ideas in her head..." Exchanging nces with each other, smiles developed across the faces of Ebony and Raven as they cheekily chorused, "We didnt need to." in the same sultry tone often employed by their mother... ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn the type of guy that shows up to pick up someones daughter and the father is too afraid toe outside...,I would say that Royal Families and the notion of blood purity dont mix, but...,Semiramis would be proud...) Chapter 2255 Conviction

Chapter 2255 Conviction

*tok* *tok* *tok* "Come on in, Princess." Simr to before, Vahn didnt rise from his seated position to answer the door. He did, however, rise to his feet as Sandora entered into the room, lowered her head, and asserted, "It is a great honor to stand in the presence of the Sage Dragon Emperor. I hope my bted arrival has not offended you. As important as this meeting is, I did not want to present myself in less than perfect form..." "Hmmm..." Looking at Sandora from the top of her fiery head to her pure and perfect feet, the first thought that crossed Vahns mind was, ("Shes even shorter than expected...") "Considering I neither announced my arrival nor my intention to visit, I would argue that Im rather fortunate to be given time out of your busy schedule. Though I understand your reasons, there is really no need for you to hold me in such...high esteem..." Though his original intent was to ease tensions, Vahns words seemed to have the opposite effect as Sandora raised her head and, very seriously, stated, "Youre wrong. As the Leader of the Aldrnari Empire, the Community upying the 1002nd Gate, your status far exceeds my own. On principle, it should have been my responsibility to venture to the East and pay my respects. The fact you are here at all honors my Community beyond all possible words of gratitude..." Punctuating her words, Sandora attempted to bow in a manner simr to a servant. The moment she looked down, however, she found Vahn squatting down and staring up at her, a wry smile on his face as he said, "Youre way too serious for an eleven-year-old..." Not expecting Vahn to appear so close to her, Sandoras body became statuesque as she stared down at him with an unreadable expression on her face. It was only when Vahn waved his hand in front of her that she came back to her senses, stepping back as she said, "I can assure you, my age has nothing to do with it. As the Leader of Smandra and Crown Princess of the Smandra Royal Family, I have a duty to act in ordance with my status. Countless people rely on me to lead them through hardship and many more look to me as an example for them to follow. Please do not look down on me for my age...I am not a child..." "So it would seem..." Rising to his feet, Vahnpelled Sandora to take another step back to the rather drastic height difference between them. In truth, he was around the same height as her brother, but, due to the overwhelming difference in status and authority, Vahn gave off arger-than-life impression. For a brief moment, Sandora was even gripped by the notion that the ceiling 5m above was too low for Vahn to walk aroundfortably... Liberated from her reverie the moment Vahn turned his back to her, Sandora was briefly at a loss. She didnt know if she should fall into step behind him or if he was wordlessly dismissing her from the room. As a result, she ended up standing stock still until Vahn turned around, a far more casual smile on his face as he asked, "Would you like to join me for tea? I believe there are a few important matters for us to discuss..." As there was only a single matter of importance in Sandoras mind, a faint blush colored her cheeks as she instinctually folded her hands over herp and replied, "It would be my ple-...it would be my greatest honor." ... .. While Vahn was in the midst of his marriage interview with Sandora, a young boy garbed almost entirely in pure white had a rare expression of frustration on his face. At his side, an equally young girl garbed in predominately ck garments asked, "What should we do, Highness? At this rate, it is only a matter of time before our plot is uncovered. Should we pull back and n a new strategy...?" Exhaling a contemptuous sigh, the young boy known as Highness remarked, "If that fools words are to be believed, we only have a few years before the Sage Dragon Emperors influence spans the entire Little Garden. If my theory is correct, his ability to ascertain information is directly associated with his territory. By the time he expands his influence through the North and South, it will already be toote to act." Paling in response to Highnesss words, the young girl, better known as Rin, asked, "Can you not use your Another Cosmology against him? What about the Void Star...?" Squinting his brilliant golden eyes, Highness gave Rin one of the nastier looks he had ever shown on his face. This caused the young girls body to tense until Highnesss expression promptly eased into an apologetic look as he exined, "Things are no longer that simple...that man was unaffected by Indras lightning and managed to return even after being forcibly expelled from a Game Board. If we try and face him without a better understanding of his powers, the only thing we will aplish is exposing our hands and cing a target on our backs..." Though he was about to say he didnt want to lose anyone, Highness allowed his words to trail off as a sudden influx of hot and cold air permeated the storage room where he and Rin were having their discussion. Shortly thereafter, a tall and lean man with an appearance reminiscent of a Count stepped out of the void, his right eye gleaming with a fiery red light while his left exuded a biting chill that threatened to freeze any and all who found themselves in his line of sight. "Maxwell..." Smiling in response to Highnesss aggressive issuance of his name, Maxwell swept aside the pale-brown bangs covering his left eye as he mused, "Oh? Does my presence cause you some form of difort, my esteemed Leader...?" "..." "..." Undaunted by the child-like duos silence, Maxwells smile grew as he exined, "Orders from the top. Regardless of the dangers involved, we are to press forward. As you so urately pointed out, this may very well be thest chance we have to take action in the North. If we fail here, there is no way of knowing how many centuries it would take to try again." Speaking up as the Strategist of their little terrorist cell, Rins expression hardened as she said, "Even if our ns are setback a thousand years, it would still be better than opposing an existence like the Sage Dragon Emperor without a n. Had you done your duty and gained information on the Sage Dragons Hearth prior to their ascent as a 4-Digit Community, the Smandra Community may not have reached out to him. What happened?" Squinting his eyes, a clearly unamused expression marred Maxwells otherwise handsome face as he answered, "I have submitted my reports without obfuscating even the most minute of details. I tried gaining ess to the Sage Dragons Hearth and their affiliate Communities hundreds of times over the past three months. With the exception of Communities that existed prior to the founding of the Sage Dragons Hearth, each and every one of their properties is virtually imprable. If you dont believe me, just as the tens of thousands of Communities that failed to gather so much as a single thread of information that wasnt personally propagated by the Sage Dragon Emperor. Every single thing we know about that man is something he allowed us to know." Though she couldnt help adopting a pout in response to Maxwells words, Rin didnt try to refute him. She had also attempted to infiltrate the Sage Dragons Hearth, but, the moment she stepped into their reception room, she got the distinct feeling that someone or something had seen through every aspect of her being. Her intuition was derived from one of her most powerful Gifts, so, before she could further jeopardize their mission, she departed the Sage Dragons Hearth without looking back. Speaking in Rins stead, Highness stated, "Telling us to act is meaningless without providing the means to achieve our objective. With our current forces, even stalling the Sage Dragon Emperor would be impossible. If death is the only oue we can expect, I would rather pit my life against those old goats hiding away in their castles than a Pure Blooded Dragon whose power has already exceeded the standard of the Outer Gates." "You..." As the agent that had been tasked with watching over Highness and ensuring thetters group didnt betray them, Maxwell was the furthest thing from amused when he heard the white-haired youths treacherous words. In an effort to prevent things from getting out of hand, Rin inserted herself between Highness and Maxwell, hands raised as she said, "Now, now, no need to get excited. Its not like were refusing to do our job. Highness is just concerned weck the means toplete it. For now, why dont you go back and petition for reinforcements? Fighting amongst ourselves when the Sage Dragon Emperor is barely a stones throw away aplishes neither of our goals." Though he didnt tear his eyes away from Highness, Maxwell would be lying if he said he didnt see the logic in Rins words. He also wasnt particrly enthused by the notion of fighting against Vahn, so, after a prolonged and tense period of silence, he begrudgingly nodded his head and answered, "Very well. I will pass on your words to the Elders. For now, you should focus onpleting the first phase of the mission. Without the key, it wont matter how much support the Elders send." Without waiting for the duos response, Maxwell created a rift in the void using a simple wave of his hand. One half of the room was filled with extreme heat while the other was spontaneously covered in ayer of permafrost. In spite of this, neither Highness nor Rin showed any signs of difort as they watched Maxwell disappear between the boundaries of hot and cold... "I really hate that guy..." "..." ... .. Though she had been extremely nervous at first, hours ended up passing in the blink of an eye as Sandora gradually came to realize that Vahn wasnt some unapproachable Dragon God that existed far beyond her reach. His status and authority didnt seem to have any meaningful influence on his character. Rather, based on what Vahn had told her about his time in a ce called the Nasuverse, it was pretty obvious he had absolutely no desire to rule. He merely shouldered the burden so that other, more tyrannical individuals couldnt seize power. By the time Sandora started to feel as though she may be neglecting her duties, seven hours had passed. During those seven hours, she had somehow found herself sitting mere centimeters away from Vahn as he introduced her to a number of anime he thought she would enjoy. A few of them did seem pretty interesting, but, due to her shrinking proximity with Vahn, Sandora wasnt focused on the screen. Instead, her thoughts were gued by concerns regarding her aroma and whether or not Vahn would be offended by the scent of her shampoo... Noticing Sandoras gaze fixating on him for a prolonged period of time, Vahn ceased pretending he didnt notice, asking, "Is there something you would like to say?" as he paused the anime neither of them had been paying attention to. "It may be imprudent of me...but I would like to hear your answer. There are those among us that view a union with the Aldrnari Empire as nothing more than a means to an end but I see it as an opportunity to strengthen the ties between the North and the East. While that may sound a little insincere, I just...I wanted you to know that I dont view our potential union as a means of restoring Smandras past glory. It is something I decided for myself. Something I yearn for from the very depths of my soul..." cing her hand on her chest, Sandora was startled by just how quickly her heart was beating. In spite of this, her expression remained a perfect mask of calm. She wanted Vahn to know just how serious she was, so, even though she wanted nothing more than to bury her face into a pillow and scream at the top of her lungs, she matched his gaze without so much as a single sign of hesitation in her own... ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: This loli is he serious...,Vahn: Exists, His Enemies: How the hell are we supposed to aplish anything with this literal cheat walking around!?,Time to exercise that grip strength xD...) Chapter 2256 Deliberation: Warmth

Chapter 2256 Deliberation: Warmth

Though he had already made up his mind even beforeing to the North, Vahn would be lying if he said Sandoras words werentpelling. He still felt that she deserved a normal childhood, but, instead of looking down on her convictions and telling her she wasnt old enough to be doing the things she had already been doing for more than four years, he answered, "Sure thing. There are a few specifics well need to work out but I have absolutely no issues with epting you as one of my wives." Feeling the tensions drain from her body, a sigh beyond her years escaped Sandoras throat along with the words, "Thank the Gods..." in a profoundly relieved tone. Immediately afterward, however, a faint blush colored her cheeks as she looked up at Vahn and added, "Though I suppose it would be more befitting to thank you...?" Shaking his head, a wry smile developed across Vahns face as he extended his left hand, palm up, towards Sandora. She was a little confused by his actions, but, after a moment of silence, the color of her cheeks became noticeably ruddier as she tentatively ovepped her hand with his. "This is entirely the result of your convictions. You have worked hard to reach this point in your life, Sandora. From the moment onward, allow me to help carry your burden..." Using his free hand, Vahn traced the base of Sandoras ring finger. The moment he did so, a golden band that radiated a distinct red hue manifested into existence. The most eye-catching thing about it, however, was the brilliant red gemstone embedded in what appeared to be a coiling Smander. Not only was it mesmerizing to look at, but, gazing deep into the gems structure, you would find a slit-like pupil staring back at you, as, rather than a simple ring, the band wrapped around Sandoras finger was the prototype for an artificial Zanpakuto Spirit. Though her body began trembling when she saw the ring manifest around her finger, it wasnt fear that Sandora was feeling. Instead, an exhration unlike anything she had ever experienced surged through her body as her Spirit Energy had increased by a factor of ten in an instant. "Incredible..." Guiding Sandoras chin so that she was staring at him rather than the ring on her finger, Vahns expression softened as he teased, "A paltry trinketpared to the person wearing it..." Blushing a luminous shade of crimson that extended all the way to the tips of her pointed ears, it was Sandoras turn to catch Vahn by surprise as she suddenly closed her eyes and puckered her lips. She had interpreted his act of touching her chin as an indication that he was about to nt a kiss on her lips. As a result, Vahn suddenly found himself in a rather precarious position as he was just about to broach the subject of letting Sandora spend a few years in one of his Actualized Worlds... (*Just get it over with. It will be a lot easier to reason with her once she is convinced of your mutual affection. If you pull back now, needless doubts will permeate her mind. She may be a capable ruler but she is still a child. She is bound to read too much into things if you hesitate over something as trivial as a kiss.*) Though he smiled wryly within his mind, Vahn didnt attempt to argue with Siss words. Sandora may be able to conceal it from others but he could sense the loneliness she kept hidden within the deepest recesses of her heart and mind. The only person she truly trusted was herself, but, due to her age, she wasnt nearly as confident as she pretended to be. People who presented themselves as perfect were often the most afraid of making even minor mistakes... After a long period of deliberation, at least from Vahns extremely skewed perspective of time, he finally lowered his head to nt a very chaste kiss on Sandoras lips. Her aura practically exploded, but, before she could reciprocate, Vahn pulled away with an apologetic smile on his face as he said, "We still need to discuss a few of the specifics regarding our engagement..." Opening her eyes, a mixture of confusion, doubt, and mild disappointment could be seen reflected in Sandoras dark-blue irises. The crimson hue that had spread through the entirety of her face took mere seconds to recede fully as the serious expression she had worn during their initial introduction promptly returned. "..." Understanding that he had actually made things worse, Vahn caught Sandora off guard by exhaling a clearly exasperated sigh. Before she could read further into it, however, he earned a surprisingly adorable yelp from the too-serious Princess as he snaked his hand around her back and ced it on her exposed side. This was already far beyond Sandoras expectations, but, instead of stopping there, Vahn pulled her onto hisp in a single, smooth, remarkably practiced motion. Tensing to the point that she could humble a statue, Sandora dared not look directly into Vahns face. The blush she had previously suppressed came back with a vengeance. Instead of stopping at the tips of her ears, however, it spread down into her neck before gradually permeating through the rest of her body like a potent me. Further exacerbating Sandoras condition, Vahn ced his hand on her exposed, surprisingly taut abdomen. Sandora may have the appearance of a young girl but she was still descended from a Pure Blooded Dragon. Her skin was remarkably soft but the muscles concealed beneath were as firm and flexible as augmented graphene fibers. Internally shaking his head, Vahn channeled calming energy into Sandoras body as he said, "Dont misunderstand. Im not trying to be contrary or deceitful. I just have a set of principles that prohibit me from engaging in scious or inappropriate acts with those I perceive as minors. You are a very mature youngdy, but, as much as I respect and admire what youve been able to aplish over your eleven short years of existence, you are simply too young. Wait a couple of years, and, even if your features remain exactly the same, I will be more than willing to meet each and every single one of your expectations..." Punctuating his words, Vahn lowered his hand ever so slightly to Sandoras lower abdomen. He was still channeling calming energy into her body, but, understanding the implication behind his words, Sandora swallowed so hard it produced an audible gulping sound. "I...I understand what youre trying to say...but...but I..." Though her expression appeared remarkably calm, Sandoras mental and emotional states were aplete mess. She had absolutely no words to describe what she was currently feeling, so, after failing to assemble something more profound, she just lowered her head and asked, "How long is a couple of years? As one of thest Smanders, everyone is anxious to see me produce offspring. I would like to put their hearts and minds at ease...not just for them, but for my own sake..." In response to Sandoras words, Vahn surprised her yet again by pulling her into his embrace and simply holding her for the better part of three minutes. It broke his heart that Sandora genuinely believed the things she was saying. Nearly everything she did was for the sake of others, yet, much like his past self, she had convinced herself that it was necessary for her own happiness. Unlike him, however, she had been shouldering everything on her own. She waspletely miserable, but, for the sake of everyone else, she maintained a smile and kept telling herself that everything would be okay so long as she kept trying her hardest... Confused by Vahns actions, Sandora didnt immediately respond to his embrace. This was actually the first time she had ever received a hug. She may have received one when she was an infant, but, as great as her memory was, she couldnt recall events that had taken ce before she was seven months old. Since her mother had died shortly after birthing her, Sandoras only memory of being held was when she was being breastfed by her Nursemaid. Realizing that Vahn may be the first person that held her in such a caring and tender manner, a hint of moisture developed across Sandoras eyes before she closed them and snuggled a little closer to his warmth. Her crown and horns ended up poking into him more than a few times, but, instead ofining or admonishing her, Vahn just wrapped his arms around her even more firmly until the only thought in Sandoras mind was howfortable it was to be held. That and one other thing... Noticing Sandora was beginning to nuzzle against his chest, a wry smile developed across Vahns face as he slowly released her from his embrace. When she looked up and noticed this, a look of shame immediately marred Sandoras countenance until Vahn affirmed, "You have done absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. I just didnt want things to get out of hand before we had the chance to talk..." Though she was still incredibly embarrassed after being caught burying her face into Vahns chest and inhaling his aroma, Sandora managed to adopt her characteristically serious expression as she said, "I understand. Though I may need to discuss it with my brother and the Elders of Smandra, know I will do everything in my power to abide by your conditions. Tell me what I must do." Resisting the urge to sigh andment on Sandoras sudden change in demeanor, Vahn nted a kiss atop the too-serious redheads crown before proceeding to exin her options. He advised her that the correct choice was to continue living as she had been. He exined his ability to change a persons race and even revealed that he had removed the tumors from her brothers lungs. In other words, there was no need for her to bear the burden of her entire species. Even if she waited tens of thousands of years to have children, there was absolutely no chance that her species and bloodline would be wiped out. As surprised as she was by the revtions about her brother and Vahns abilities, Sandora insisted that he exin the rest of her options. She actually knew about Sarina and Nono, so, even if Vahn failed to broach the subject himself, Sandora was prepared to mention it. If he refused, she would simply enter a different Game Board. Her age had always been a point of controversy so now was as good a time as any to do something about it. Fortunately, the very next option Vahn brought up was using his personal Game Board to both umte experience and increase her strength. The third option was entering into one of his Actualized Worlds but that was easier said than done. It was also the least expedient method to achieve her goal, so, while Sandora could appreciate Vahns desire to let her experience a normal childhood, she ultimately chose the second option. The only caveat was that she wanted to enter alongside him so they could get to know each other better. She didnt particrly care about the Dungeon or joining any Guilds. Even if they spent the entire time isting themselves somewhere in the mountains, she wouldnt mind. Though Vahn agreed to allow Sandora to make use of the Game Board, the notion of spending five-to-six years inplete istion with a promiscuous Dragon girl didnt exactly bring him peace of mind. He knew exactly how persistent a girl like Sandora could be, so, while he was willing to enter alongside her, he insisted they either join separate Familia or invite a few others to enter the Game Board with them. This caused a rather adorable pout to develop across Sandoras face, but, after a long period of deliberation, she eventually epted. So long as she didnt have to enter the Game Board alone, she was satisfied with any arrangement Vahn could think of. She just didnt want to be alone...not again... ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Vahn be like, "Well, well, well...if it isnt the consequences of my own actions. Its been a long time...",You better keep giving that girl hugs...,Lots and lots of hugs...) Chapter 2257 Helplessness

Chapter 2257 Helplessness

Deciding she would enter the Game Board after the Coronation Ceremony had concluded, Sandora was prepared to wish Vahn a good night only to find out mere minutes had passed since her arrival. "Given how serious you are, I figured you would feel guilty about skipping a full day of work just to keep mepany. If youre feeling tired, you are more than wee to rest here for a while. I can also prepare something to eat if youre hungry." Hearing Vahn mention food, Sandora suddenly recalled that she had prepared the chefs to prepare a banquet. It would have been fine if they missed it, but, now that she knew they could still make it in time, her nervousness began to build as she exined the situation and asked, "Would it be okay if I informed the others about our engagement? I think it would put a lot of people at ease knowing things have gone smoothly." Having already presented her with an engagement ring, Vahn saw no reason to refuse Sandoras request. It was only a matter of time before people found out, so, even if she elected to announce it to the entire Little Garden, he wouldnt particrly mind. The most important thing was that it was something she wanted to do, not something she feltpelled to do. "Of course. In fact, Ill be there right alongside you when you make the announcement. Now that were engaged, its only natural that we stand united at times like this." Feeling reassured by Vahns words, the fatigue Sandora had been staving off impacted her mind and body like a tidal wave. Under normal circumstances, she would have politely declined Vahns offer to rest, but, recalling how tenderly he had treated her, she found herself averting her eyes as she meekly inquired, "At the risk of sound impertinent...can I request that you hold me until I fall asleep...?" Though he was somewhat taken aback by Sandoras request, Vahn didnt have to contemte his answer. He had practically forced her to sit on hisp just to get her to calm down, so, in response to Sandoras request, he simply smiled and answered, "Ill be there when you wake up as well..." Feeling even more reassured, Sandora lightly headbutted Vahns chest, her arms wrapping around his body as she closed her eyes. It would take her quite a while to actually fall asleep, but, when she did, it was inarguably the best sleep she ever had... Compared to what followed, however, it was difficult to describe which was better. Her dream or the reality she woke up to... ... .. Cradling the sleeping Sandora in his arms, Vahn was about to shift his attention elsewhere when he noticed an abnormality in the young Dragoness. Her body began to heat up at a startling rate, but, instead of causing her any harm, it appeared to be promoting her growth. "Im an idiot..." (*You certainly have your moments...*) Simr to ck Rabbit, Lily, and pretty much every race that depended on spiritual energy for their development, Sandoras body began to experience rapid changes the moment her mind descended into a deep state of unconsciousness. The engagement ring Vahn had gifted her provided the same standard increase as a Shikai, the first stage of an awakened Zanpakuto. It had effectively multiplied Sandoras spiritual energy by a factor of ten, and, as a result, her body was evolving from its second stage to its third... Though he could probably manage it if he really tried, Vahn had been told that it was exceptionally dangerous to interrupt someones evolution. Thus, even Sandora practically inted in his arms, the dimensions of her body threatening the integrity of her already revealing outfit, he remained silent and patient as the image of Shiroyasha appeared in his mind. ("She nned this from the start, didnt she...?") (*Hmmm...its hard to say. Im certain that Sandora had factored into her n from the start but her reaction during your previous conversation would indicate she hadnt really considered this kind of development. Given the nature of her existence, I would question whether or not Shiroyasha even concerns herself with factors such as age. In her mind, the value of a person is probably decided by howpetent and capable they are.*) "..." Unable to refute Siss words, Vahn remained silent as he redirected and absorbed the heat radiating from Sandoras body into his own. He also dispersed the mes that would periodically erupt from her body, and, for the sake of preventing things from bing too awkward once she woke up, he spread his senses through her clothes and manually adjusted the spacing between the constituent molecules. The incredibly expensive and durable fabric was designed to have a reasonable amount of sticity, but, due to the prevalence of Gag Laws, Vahn knew that something was bound to give if he simply ignored it... ... .. Feeling a pervasive and indescribablyfortable warmth epassing the entirety of her being, Sandora opened her eyes to find herself lying in the center of a massive, canopied bed. Confusion appeared in the depths of her eyes, but, upon looking to her right, it was immediately reced by a hint of panic as she found a seemingly naked version of Vahn lying next to her. More urately, he was lying on his back while she was using his chest and shoulder as a pillow... Recoiling from Vahns body, Sandora was unsurprised yet flummoxed to find that she was just as naked as Vahn. Her mind began racing for answers, but, before she could find them, two muscr arms suddenly wrapped around her shoulders. The Vahn that had been sleeping on the bed was now nowhere to be seen. Instead, he had appeared behind her in an instant, his left hand reaching to her lower belly as his right forced her to stare up at him as he said, "I changed my mind...seeing you sleeping in such a defenseless manner...how could I not want to eat you up?" Though her body trembled in Vahns embrace, Sandora neither struggled nor made any attempts to break free. She had already noticed a number of irregrities with her present situation. Vahn was the most obvious but the most significant was the fact she was currently bereft of her crown. It was an artifact that could only be removed when the wearer willed it. If someone else tried to remove it, they may as well be trying to remove a part of her head. There was a chance Vahn could circumvent this, but, with their surroundings being a poor reflection of the interior of her room, it barely took a single second for Sandora to realize what was going on. Sandora was, once again, dreaming about Vahn. This time, however, she wasnt imagining the scene of him tearing Amaterasu apart or breaking into her pce to whisk her away somece no one in her Community could ever hope to reach. Instead, it was the version of Vahn she had spent thest few hours with. More urately, it was the version of Vahn that Sandora wished she had met... Despite feeling as though she was doing something very, very wrong, Sandorapletely ignored the tiny voice in the back of her mind telling her she should wake up. Vahn had added a bit of light to her world, but, as far as she was concerned, the outside world was an unpleasant and lonesome ce. She was constantly pushing herself beyond her limits to make everyone else happy, so, just this once, couldnt she be just a little selfish? Didnt she deserve to be happy? Prompted by the thought she generally kept locked away in the deepest recesses of her heart and mind, Sandora ced her hand over her imagined version of Vahn before practically forcing it to go lower. It was surprisingly difficult, almost as though she was like trying to press a mountain t, but, unwilling to lose yet another chance at happiness, she persisted until the end... ... .. (*Its almost like shes trying to pull herself into you...*) ("Yeah, I kind of noticed...") Though Sandoras evolution had stabilized nearly an hour prior, she showed no signs of waking up. Rather, based on the electrical impulses of her brain and the fluctuations in her aura, he was pretty sure she was willing herself to remain asleep. At the same time, she was adhering to him with such tenacity and vigor that, had he been a piece of coal, she may havepressed him into a diamond. (*I wonder what shes dreaming about...?*) ("Dont tempt me...") (*Nyahahaha~*) Ignoring the yfully mischievous voice in the back of his mind, Vahn spread his senses throughout Sandoras body to make sure everything was okay. He already knew there wasnt but concentrating on the more minute aspects of her body made it easier to ignore the pillowy softness pressing into his chest, the equally soft sensation weighing him down, and the far more troublesome elements of his present situation. ("I think I understand Shiroyashas frustration now. Her age hasnt changed, yet, had this been the version of Sandora I encountered, I doubt I would have even considered making use of the Game Board. In hindsight, I experienced something very simr with Lily...") Shrugging her shoulders within thefort of Vahns mind, Sis replied, (*It doesnt really matter in the end. Even if some people view you as a hypocrite, you were only acting in ordance with your principles and Sandoras own interests. She really does need to mature a bit before she goes on to start a family. As for Lily...that girl has always been something of an exception. I would be surprised if she awakens a Divinity rted to motherhood or something simr in the near future. That girl is far too stable for someone in her situation.*) With Sis pulling up the memories for him, Vahns expression became pensive as he reflected on the situation with Lilys mother. She had yet to petition him for help, but, ever since the night Lily had confessed to him, Vahn had been looking into details regarding her mothers fate. Though it had been a little difficult as even Lily could no longer recall her mothers name, Vahn was able to piece together the pieces of the puzzle using the same method he had abused in the Tower. He had Loi-chan continually transform into people affiliated with the destruction of the No Names until shended on one that knew both the name of Lilys mother and her present location. At first, Vahn had been ecstatic about the discovery, but, before he could approach Jin and give the boy a push in the right direction, he asked Loi-chan to ascertain the condition of Lilys mother, Yuki. She turned out to bepletely healthy, but, the moment Loi-chan transformed into her, Vahn was stunned beyondpare when he noticed Yukis swelling belly. Shortly after that, his anger built at an incredible rate until Loi-chain rified that Yuki wasnt being forced against her will. Instead, she seemed to have fallen in love with the man originally assigned to watch over her... Upon pressing Loi-chan for more details, Vahn genuinely didnt know how he was supposed to feel about the situation. Yuki still cared deeply about Lily, but, upon reaching the ce that had be her new home, she quickly became absorbed in her new duties and responsibilities. The Community that had purchased her never once treated her as a ve. Instead, they respected her greatly whilst the children of said Community began to view Yuki as a surrogate mother. Mere months after she had been purchased, Yuki began to fall deeply in love with the Leader of her new Community. One thing led to another, and, ten monthster, a brand new kitsune had entered the world. A few months after that, Yuki ended up getting pregnant a second, and, by the time Loi-chan had emted her, a third time. Though Vahn had initially suspected that Yuki was being fooled into producing offspring for the sake of future profits, this was quickly disproven when Loi-chan transformed into her husband and every significant member of his Community. There was a very high probability that members of the Ouroboros Demon Lord Alliance were keeping tabs on her, but, at least within her Community, Yuki was inarguably one of their more cherished members. If not for the contract forcing her to remain a ve, the man she had married would have released her shortly after her purchase. Simply put, though the situation was far from simple, Yuki was currently living a free and unfettered life in her new home. She still cared deeply for Lily, but, fearing the Demon Lords may take action if she showed even a hint of resistance, she buried her feelings deep in her heart as she embraced her new family. This wasnt really a bad thing, but, imagining how Lily would react if she discovered that the mother she had been yearning for was off living happily with a brand new family, Vahn couldnt bring himself to reveal the truth. He would tell her if she asked, but, until then, he would keep tabs on Yukis situation and make sure her new Community didnt suffer the same fate as the No Names. Lily would probably be upset when she learned her mother had started a new family but she would be absolutely devasted if her half-siblings suffered the same fate... Sensing Sandoras grip loosening, Vahn shook his head free of wayward thoughts before shifting his attention to the diminutive yet markedly more mature redhead seated on hisp. Her height hadnt changed all that much, increasing from 142cm to 153cm, but every other aspect of her appearance had changed rather drastically. If the previous her resembled a young girl between the ages of 10-12, the current her resembled a breathtakingly beautiful young woman between the ages of 16-20. Even Sandoras previously petite horns, the symbol of a Smanders strength, had grown from around the width of a palm, 8.5cm, to amendable 13.4cm in length. Considering her brothers were only around 11.3cm despite being well over a hundred years old, it wasnt an exaggeration to say her growth was staggering... "Mmm...?" ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Sandora wants huggies (O w O)...,Oh no...,There are times when having ess to the truth is a curse...) Chapter 2258 Exasperation

Chapter 2258 Exasperation

Feeling more rxed than she had felt in her entire life, Sandora was understandably reluctant to wake up and face reality. It was her feelings of guilt towards Vahn thatpelled her to do so. Not because of the very inappropriate dream she had just experienced, but because he was forced to sit and wait for her to wake up. She didnt want to inconvenience him any further than she already had. Opening her eyes, the first thing Sandora noticed was how close her face was to Vahn. A faint blush colored her cheeks, but, at the same time, a feeling of incongruency washed over her since she was well aware of the fact she was seated on hisp. Given her build, she was nowhere near tall enough for their faces to be this close... Looking down, the color in Sandoras cheeks became far more prominent as she noticed the two pillowy mounds where rtively t nes had previously existed. "That would exin why I felt so fatigued...my body was preparing to undergo metamorphosis..." Though she was presently beyond surprised, Sandoras expression didnt show it. She had already intuited that the culprit behind her sudden growth was the ring Vahn had gifted her. There was a possibility that Vahn had done something as she slept, but, even though she had only known him for a few hours, Sandora didnt think he would perform such an act without her consent. "Are you feeling okay?" Rather than immediately answering Vahns words, Sandora looked to the ring on her hand with a pensive expression on her face. Her second metamorphosis was estimated to take ce when she was between 60-100 years old. She wasnt particrly upset by this development but she couldnt help feeling as though a major chapter of her life had juste to a close. "Want to try taking it off...?" "Pardon...?" Adopting a perplexed look, Sandora looked up at Vahn as if his face held the answers to all her questions. In response, Vahn exined, "The ring I gave you has the property of amplifying the wearers Spiritual Energy by a factor of ten. Its true purpose, however, is to nourish the wearers spirit and allow them to resist attacks that would damage their soul. The longer you wear it, the more resilient your spirit will be..." Looking down at the faintly glowing ring, Sandoras expression rxed into a smile as she asked, "You were trying to protect me...?" Nodding his head, Vahn surprised Sandora with a warm embrace as he said, "I wont force you to exin the reasons, but I could sense from the start how lonely you were. Your mind and body are remarkably stalwart for a girl your age, but, even though you possess tremendous willpower, your heart is still vulnerable. To that end, the ring serves two purposes...it is a reminder of our union and a catalyst to both strengthen and protect your heart..." Burying her face into the nape of Vahns neck, mixed emotions swirled around in Sandoras chest. She was grateful for Vahns concern, but, at the same time, she couldnt help feeling as though he had only epted her proposal out of pity. The possibility may be minuscule, but, due to her bias towards rational thought, Sandora simply couldnt dismiss it. "So youre hypothesizing that I will return to my previous form if I remove the ring...?" Without waiting for Vahns response, Sandora took advantage of the fact her arms were wrapped around his body to slip the ring off her finger. The excess energy in her body didnt immediately dissipate, but, like a tub without a rubber stopper, Sandora could feel it draining from her body at an incredible rate. Though he was a little taken aback by Sandoras actions, Vahn would be lying if he said he hadnt anticipated something like this urring. The moment he casually proposed the idea of removing the ring, he had the distinct impression he had just be a victim to Gag Laws. Thus, even when Sandoras resized top began sliding down her increasingly slender frame, Vahn exhibited absolutely no indication of surprise. Instead, he averted his eyes before promptly manifesting a warm nket to cover Sandoras body. Confused by Vahns actions, Sandora sat a little straighter before immediately covering her chest as her top slid awaypletely. A fiery red blush spread through her face, but, instead of crying out or tearing up, she just stared intently at Vahn for several seconds before stating, "It would appear your hypothesis was correct..." "Indeed..." "..." Staring at Vahns profile, a growing part of Sandora wanted topel him to face her. She didnt really understand the logic behind it but she felt as though his behavior reinforced the notion he had only agreed to her proposal out of pity. She wanted him to prove otherwise, but, at the same time, she feltpelled to prove his conjecture wrong through her own actions. Suppressing her embarrassment, Sandora adopted her characteristically serious expression as she lowered her hands and asked, "Do you have a way of modifying the ring so that it doesnt amplify my spiritual energy? If I suddenly emerged from your room in my transformed state, there is a good chance it would cause needless concerns among my people and staff..." Noticing the glimmer of spiteful conviction in Sandoras eyes, Vahns brows furrowed into a serious expression as he looked directly at her and said, "If you wish to demonstrate your capabilities and cultivate spiritual energy on your own, you have that right. Just dont deceive yourself into thinking you are somehow proving me wrong by refusing to ept help. I am not looking down on you nor am I pitying you. I am simply doing my best to understand and support someone who is supposed to be important to me. In time, you wille to learn this is perfectly normal behavior for people who respect and care for one another..." Taken aback by Vahns words, Sandora found herself at a loss for her own. She was also seized by a sudden and intense urge to cover herself, not because she was half-naked, but because she felt as though Vahn could peer into her innermost thoughts. He didnt appear to be reading her mind but that did little to make her feel better. If anything, it made her feel even more exposed... Before Sandora could make up her mind, Vahn took her left hand into his own before retrieving the ring contained within. Multiple threads of fear and trepidation appeared within her aura, but, before she could mistake his intentions, he flipped her hand over before promptly returning the band to its rightful ce, stating, "Regardless of the decisions you make in the future, know that I will continue to support you. The most important thing to me, at least in regards to our rtionship, is that you are happy and healthy. Even if you were just a normal girl without any status or power to speak of, I would never, not even for a moment, look down upon you..." Taking advantage of Sandoras stupor, Vahn reached down to grab her breastte-like top before helping to resize and fasten it to her body. He was extremely adept at helping girls get dressed, so, by the time Sandora recovered enough wherewithal to pay attention to what he was doing, most of her outfit had been readjusted to its original size and state. "..." Though the same nagging voice from before waspelling her to be frustrated by Vahns actions, Sandora managed to smother it without too much trouble. She knew Vahn wasnt fixing her clothes just because he didnt want to see her body. He just wanted to help her. It was surprisingly difficult to ept, but, seeing none of the disdain, contempt, or pity most people had when looking at her, Sandora had no choice but to ept it. Vahn wasnt pitying her, he was just being considerate... ("Since when did I start viewingpassion as an indication of scorn...?") Unable to find the answer to such a question, Sandora did the only thing she could think to do given the present situation. She lowered her head, and, with the sincerest expression she could manage, muttered an apology. Then, before Vahn could respond, she raised her head and said, "Thank you for being so patient with me...it may not sound all that convincing after my unsightly behavior thus far, but I really do mean it when I say this...thank you, Vahn..." Exhaling a sigh, Vahn suppressed the urge to tell the young dragoness she didnt need to thank or apologize to him. He was being pretty selfish himself, so, even if Sandora was doubly so, it wouldnt really bother him. He would have just continued supporting her until she gradually opened up and epted the fact that she was no longer alone. There would be countless peopleing forward in the future, each more than willing to help shoulder her burdens. Thus, rather than admonishing or underappreciating the depth of her gratitude, he just wrapped her in his embrace and promised, "I will always be here for you..." ... .. Returning to her room after what had felt like an entire day, Sandora immediately copsed face-first into her bed. There was still plenty she had to do in preparation for the banquet and her big announcement, but, for the time being, she just wanted to stew in her own thoughts. Though she was initially ecstatic that Vahn had epted her proposal, Sandoras excitement had diminished greatly as each and every mistake she had made during their discussion resurfaced in her mind. She didnt want to admit it, but, looking back on the way she had behaved, Sandora was able to understand what Vahn meant when he pointed out she was stillcking in experience and emotional growth. Recalling how petnt her behavior had been at several points throughout the discussion, Sandora wished she could go back and smack her past self upside the head. Vahn was already making a lot of concessions on her behalf, yet, as if he had some duty to appease her, she had treated him as if he were somehow beneath her. All he was doing was trying to make her happy yet she had viewed his kindness as if he were trying to ridicule her... Suppressing her sudden and intense urge to scream, Sandora rolled onto her back before raising her left hand and staring listlessly at the metallic band on her finger. The prospect of marrying Vahn still made her giddy, but, after their disaster of a first encounter, Sandora had started to question if she was even deserving of him. Compared to the innumerable benefits she was bound to receive as his wife, what could she possibly give in return? The obvious answer was her body, but, even before penning her letter, Sandora knew full well that Vahn had a harem that likely exceeded a hundred members. This included a number of women with distinctly draconic features, so, even if she really was thest remaining Smander, she wasnt that special. In fact, based on what Vahn had revealed about his powers, he could effectively produce as many Smanders as he pleased. In that regard, there was truly nothing she could offer him... Giving voice to the thoughts lingering at the back of her mind, Sandora asked herself, "Why did he agree to marry me? Wouldnt it have made better sense to rece me with someone already loyal to him? Why does he care so much about my well-being...?" Having never had genuine confidence in herself, Sandora was unable to find an answer to even a single one of these questions. She was able to imagine how Vahn would respond, but, as much as she wanted to trust him, she simply didnt know how to open her heart to others. Vahn had made a few sizeable dents in her defenses, but, until he had given her a legitimate reason, the only logical conclusion was that he was pitying her. She believed him when he said he wasnt, but, as someone who believed everything happened for a reason, Sandora needed something more concrete to go off of if she wanted toy her concerns to rest. As sad as it sounded, the eleven-year-old dragoness needed proof that her life had some kind of value...if it didnt, what could she possibly hope to give Vahn in return...? She had to find something... ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Booba...,Gag Laws strike again (O w O)...,This is actually kind of sad...) Chapter 2259 Breaking Point

Chapter 2259 Breaking Point

Observing Sandoras actions from the rtivefort of his suite, a fairly exasperated sigh escaped Vahns throat. Sandoras inability to trust was even more severe than he presumed. She was so used to shouldering everything on her own that the moment she is presented with a situation that makes things easier for herself, she instinctually rejects it. In Sandoras mind, the notion of requiring help was the same as being seen as weak or inadequate. As someone responsible for the safety and wellbeing of billions, she couldnt allow herself to show even a hint of weakness. The moment she did, her innumerable detractors would immediately try to use it against her. They didnt care that she was doing her best despite carrying responsibilities that shouldnt have been hers to bear. Instead, they beat her down over and over again in order to make her easier to control. "I really hate politics and political intrigue...everyone deeply involved with them does everything in their power topromise those bearing responsibility while simultaneously avoiding it. I wonder if Sandora would feel more at ease if I just deposed everyone that has ever stood in her way...?" Despite his words, Vahn knew there was a much higher chance that Sandora would actually side with the very same people who had caused her so much pain and anguish. It was one of the things that annoyed him most about situations like this. The people pulling the strings were unrepentantly burdensome to those publically in charge, yet, in spite of this, they wholly expected to be protected by the very people whose lives they made difficult. They werent simply cowards. They were harmful tumors that often jeopardized the very society they were duty-bound to preserve. (*Dont do something both you and Sandora will regret. Once you are married, you will have every right to get rid of those who represent a danger to both Smandra and the Aldrnari Empire. If you really want to teach people like that a lesson, expose them as the frauds they are. Strip them of the power they cling to and let the people they took advantage of sort them out.*) "..." Calming down in response to Siss carefully chosen words, Vahn retracted the aura he had been subconsciously exuding. From the perspective of the various officials loitering around the Royal Pce, it was like a substantial weight had just been removed from their shoulders. For everyone else, they hadnt even noticed anything was wrong. "Karmic justice, eh? I imagine those old codgers will be beside themselves with excitement when Sandora announces our engagement. They probably think Ill be too busy managing the affairs of the Empire to concern myself with matters in the North. I cant wait to see the look on their faces when I interrupt their future attempts to advise Sandora..." (*You could always adapt and modify your previous n to govern the North. Take advantage of the fact that the Elders of Smandra view Sandora as a child by assigning someone like Artoria or Luvia as her Governess. Im certain thetter would jump at the opportunity to be a Dragoness and teach Sandora everything she needs to know about governing a territory.*) Imagining Luvia with a dragon tail, curved horns, and maybe even wings, a knot began to form in Vahns throat. She had retained her humanity thus far, yet, even as far back as their first meeting, Luvia and her family had always possessed the pride and temperament of Dragons. The members of the Clock Tower may have referred to her family as a group of hyenas, but, far from the politics of London, the Edelfelt Family were known globally as the Dragons of the North. They certainly had the wealth and power to back it up... Though he supported Siss rmendation, Vahn pointed out, "While the idea is solid, Sandora is bound to take issue with the notion of being babysat. Her detractors may also use me of trying to weaken Smandra in order to install a new Floor Master..." (*So? As long as that isnt your intent, it doesnt really matter what others say or think. Besides, once Sandora escapes the burdens of Smandra and spends a few years in the Game Board, she should mellow out quite a bit. Her biggest issue right now is something you brought up. She has never had the opportunity to live free from the constraints of duty and responsibility. To that end, it might not be such a bad idea to ept her previous proposal. A few years away from the hustle and bustle of society would do that girl a lot of good.*) "You mean the thing about holing up in the mountains...?" Though he couldnt see it, Vahn could feel Sis nodding her head before saying, (*Indeed. Though you are correct to be concerned, spending a few years alone with Sandora would do wonders in regard to her trust issues. With her present mentality, she may actually lose confidence if she sees you interacting amicably with imaginary women.*) "..." Realizing his rather serious mistake, Vahn took a moment tob through his hair before staring up at the ceiling in a manner not all that dissimr to Sandora. He knew full well that she had trust issues, yet, despite having the means to remedy them with surprising ease, he allowed her to think she was worthless. Setting aside a few years to convince her otherwise wasnt even difficult. In fact, just a few days ago he had spent seven months cycling through Actualized Worlds just to check in on the people living within... "Who would have thought that my desire to be considerate would actually exacerbate things...?" Shrugging her shoulders, Sis resisted the urge to inform Vahn he could have easily reached these conclusions on his own if he just stopped to think. The problem was, whenever Vahn encountered someone suffering from emotions such as longing or loneliness, his brain would basically shut off. This was especially true when he encountered children beneath the age of 14, as, even after all this time, he still saw his past self reflected in each and every one of them. Since he had been given the opportunity to realize his dreams, Vahn did everything in his power to guarantee others, especially children, were afforded the same right... Catching Vahnpletely by surprise, Sis manifested next to him for the first time in quite a while, saying, "There is no reason to beat yourself up over your desire to help others. If you trulyment your decision, you need only to approach Sandora and demonstrate your willingness to help and support her through actions rather than words. For now, however, I believe its about time you had a nice long rest..." Without waiting for Vahns response, Sis practically forced his face into her breasts before falling backward. Under normal circumstances, this would have ced them in a rather precarious position on the sofa, but, due to her power and authority being linked to Vahn, Sis was able to pull both of them outside the Standard Axes of Time, Space, and Reality itself. It had actually been months since hest took a nap, so, while she was normally content with letting Vahn do whatever he wanted, Sis feltpelled to get him to rest. She understood why he was in such a rush, but, as someone who had all the time in all the worlds, Sis wished Vahn would take more time for himself...he, much like Sandora, shouldnt have to bear everyones burdens all the time... "Go to sleep...when you wake up, you can y hero as much as you want. For now, just let this big sis take care of you, okay...?" Instead of responding to Siss words, Vahn kept his face buried in her ample bosom as his hands instinctually wrapped around her body. Sis tensed a bit when he suddenly grabbed her butt, but, instead of chastising or scolding him, she simply giggled before running her fingers through his hair with a smile... ... .. After an inordinately long yet impossibly brief period of time, Vahn opened his eyes to find that he was currently lying on the floor of his suite. All the stresses and tensions that had been building in his body and mind were now a distant memory. In their ce, Vahn experienced a feeling of calm on par with the times he had delved a little too deeply into the Mantra of Eternity... (*Dont go making connections that dont exist. I have absolutely nothing to do with that little chant of yours. In fact, even though our minds used to be one and the same, I have never once been able to hear the mantra. I assume it is automatically filtered out by The Path so that I can pull you back if you somehow lose yourself in its verses.*) Surprised by Siss casual mention of The Path, Vahn couldnt help asking, ("Did something happen? You arent usually this talkative about the inner workings of the system...") Giggling in response to Vahns words, Sis took a moment to collect her thoughts before exining, (*It likely has something to do with your spiritual and emotional growth. You may not have noticed it, but you have changed quite a bit ever since you reimed your title as Emperor. If I had to guess, it is your gradual eptance of the responsibility you will soon bear that allows me to converse so candidly. Im not entirely sure.*) "I see..." Nodding his head in implied understanding, Vahn earned another gigglingughter from Sis as she teased, (*You dont have to be so serious about it. This is actually a good thing. Once your mentality has developed beyond a certain threshold, there will no longer be any secrets between us. Truth be told, Im equal parts terrified and excited. I fear I wont be able to remain just your big sister in the near future...*) Hearing Siss sultry voice echo through his mind, a powerful shiver coursed through Vahns spine before spreading through the rest of his body and causing goosebumps to develop across each of his limbs. He was used to Sis teasing him, but, feeling the sincerity contained within her words, a sudden and intense feeling of expectation arose from the very depths of his being. (*Oh my...it would appear my words have inadvertently moved up that particr deadline. Calm down, would you? If you grow any more excited...things may be rather dangerous...*) While Vahn was doing his best to calm down, Sis was looking around at the veritable army of cat and bunny girls staring at the projection of Vahns thoughts with borderline carnivorous looks on their faces. She was also in rather dire straights, but, as the representative of her other selves, she was thest thing standing between them andplete takeover of Vahns harem. The moment Vahn became aware of and released them, absolute chaos would unfold... As that thought crossed her mind, Sis casually transported one of her alternate versions out of the observation room. The overexcited cat girl was attempting to sneak up on her, and, following that, several other versions of herself directed their attention her way. Snorting through her nose, Sis grumbled, "You brats...you really think you can take me on?" whilst popping her fingers. This was enough to deter the vast majority of her offshoots, but, powered by Vahns lust, a few of the feistier girls stepped forward, arguing, "Vahn needs us..." as they adopted variousbat stances... Squinting her eyes, an oppressive aura exuded from Siss body as she asserted, "You have things in reverse. It isnt Vahn who needs us, its we who need Vahn. Putting your personal desires before his growth is the antithesis of everything the Sister Corps stands for. Dont think I wont destroy you if you dare to impede Vahns path..." As each of the people around her was ultimately an extension of herself, Sis would not hesitate to destroy them if they threatened Vahns growth. When Vahn granted her an Ego, she had even been willing to erase herself if it meant ensuring the fulfillment of his dream. This was a sentiment shared by each and every one of the Sisters, but, due to Vahns current emotional state, they were willfully neglecting their shared responsibility... (*I suppose this is the pitfall of having a little brother whose desires manifest as females capable of entering into heat...haaaaaa...*) ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Politicians...,Onee-san Secret Technique: Surprise Abduction...!,Bunch of naughty kittens...) Chapter 2260 A Change in Dynamic

Chapter 2260 A Change in Dynamic

After dpressing for a bit and returning to her duties, Sandora hadrgely returned to normal. Work had always been her go-to method of escaping the negativity that frequently tormented her when she was alone. Thus, with several hours until the scheduled banquet, Sandora did her best to distract herself with preparations for the uing festival. Unfortunately, just as Sandora was getting into the groove of things, her brother and several of the higher-ranking members of Smandra showed up. She could guess the reason for their visit even without asking. Even so, she summarily dismissed the people she was speaking with before donning her usual mask and saying, "Dear Brother, I am pleased to see you in good health. Tell me, is there a matter I can assist you with...?" Before responding to his sisters words, Mandra cast a threatening glower to the group of middle-aged men apanying him. Reluctant expressions appeared on several of their faces before the entire group begrudgingly bent the knee, heads lowered as a sign of respect towards their future Queen. Snorting in contempt, Mandra shifted his deep blue eyes away from the group of obstinant old men before nodding towards Sandora and exining, "I came to ask how your meeting with the Sage Dragon Emperor went. From what I heard, the meeting was rather brief." Though it was pretty well known that Vahn could manipte time, doing so within the territory of another Community was exceptionally difficult outside of a Gift Game. Thus, even though Sandora had spent a startling 13 hours within the suite prepared for Vahn, only thirteen minutes had passed from the perspective of the Stewards, Maids, and Guards keeping an eye on the room. Inhaling through her nose, Sandora steeled her resolve before raising her left hand to highlight the gently pulsing ring Vahn had given her. Upon seeing it, a hint of conflict appeared in Mandras deep blue eyes before he closed them and said, "I see..." Nodding his head in approval, Mandra opened his eyes before looking towards the group kneeling at the side and saying, "The future of Smandra is now secured. With an ally like the Sage Dragon Emperor on our side, it is only a matter of time before our reputation and honor are restored. I trust none of you have any problems with this?" In response to Mandras question, the most senior member of the group eximed, "Of course not! The name of the Sage Dragon Emperor resounds throughout the entirety of the Little Garden. With the exception of our Lord, there are none better suited to bing Her Highnesss husband. Glory to Smandra!" Though there was a distinctck of vigor from some of the men, none hesitated to exim, "Glory to Smandra!!!". It didnt take a political genius to understand this was a power y by Mandra to test their loyalty. If they showed any signs of dissension now that a yer like Vahn had entered the game, they were bound to experience some grief... Turning back to his sister, the briefest hint of a smile graced Mandras otherwise rugged and serious countenance as he said, "Youve done well, Sandora. If Father and Mother had been here, Im certain they would agree with me." Feeling a knot forming in her throat, Sandora didnt immediately respond to her brothers unusually supportive words. He wasnt exactly known for being kind and supportive. Rather, even before their father had dered her the next Leader of Smandra, Mandra had rarely spoken with her outside their official duties. He was one of the few people Sandora trusted, but, ever since she was a very young girl, she couldnt shake the feeling Mandra med her for their mothers death. Noticing his sisters difficulties, Mandra promptly ced himself in a position to obscure her from the crowd kneeling behind him. He was quite tall at 195cm, and, thanks to his robe, he could easily conceal Sandorasparably small, 142cm frame. Seeing through her brothers actions, the knot in Sandoras throat became a painful tightness as she stared up at him in absolute silence. She never shed any tears, but, for a very brief moment, a denseyer of moisture covered her eyes as she seriously questioned whether or not the man in front of her was the same brother she had grown up seeing from a distance. Recalling that Vahn had removed the tumors from her brothers lungs, Sandora briefly shifted her gaze to Mandras chest. In response, he immediately shook his head, a far more serious expression on his face as he whispered, "You have already shouldered the burdens of Smandra for four and a half years. There are none more suited than you to sit on the throne..." Since the ze had already faded from Sandoras eyes, Mandra emphasized his point by kneeling as respectfully as possible. The men that had been sneaking nces from behind him immediately lowered their heads in a simr manner. Few of them genuinely supported Sandora, but, now that the person they had been backing was demonstrating his loyalty, they no longer had a choice. The era of Sandora, the Fire Dragon of the Northern ins had begun... ... .. Located approximately 980,000km away from the Northern Capital of Kouen City, a handsome man with untamed blond hair and a pair of headphones could be seen gazing up at one of three moons. A remarkably attractive young woman with dark brown hair was leaning against his shoulder, yet, rather than appearing even remotely excited, both had incredibly bored looks on their faces as the woman asked, "How much longer are we going to keep idling about? As much as I relish these little moments of peace and quiet, I didnte to the Divine Realm to gaze at stars..." Without missing a beat, the blond-haired youth adopted a wolfish grin as he remarked, "If youre that bored, we would always trade peace and quiet for passion and fervor. Im not sure what it was like immediately following the war, but people from my time arent exactly known for waiting until marriage to have a bit of fun..." Snoring through her nose, the young woman, Asuka, adopted a harsh tone as she criticized, "Its better to have at least some principles when it concerns matters of love and romance. If youre that desperate to get in my pants, you could always propose..." Though a blush colored her cheeks, Asuka was able to conceal it by lowering her head slightly and leaning into the young mans, Izayois shoulder. Rolling his eyes, Izayoi strengthened his hold on Asukas hand as he returned his gaze to the moons above andined, "Im not sure my heart can take you rejecting me a fourth time..." Snorting a second time, the ruddy coloration of Asukas cheeks darkened as she grumbled, "If you were sincere about it, I would have said yes the first time..." "..." "..." With neither really knowing what else to say, Izayoi and Asuka sat in silence for the better part of an hour before thetter muttered, "Im bored..." Nodding his head in affirmation, Izayoi replied, "No kidding..." before leaping to his feet, extending his hand to Asuka, and adding, "Lets go have some fun." with a mischievous grin on his face. Though she was a little annoyed by the fact that Izayoi had basically shrugged her off his shoulder, Asuka only red at him for a brief moment before adopting a smile of her own, grasping his hand, and asking, "What did you have in mind?" Without any hesitation whatsoever, Izayoi answered, "No clue. All I know is theres a massive world out there waiting for us. Im sure we can find something if we just go out and explore it." Furrowing her brows, Asuka asked, "Youre not suggesting we just up and abandon the No Names, are you? What about working together to raise them from one of the weakest Communities to the strongest?" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Izayoi surprised Asuka by picking her up in a princess carry and saying, "Were not going to aplish anything by just sitting around and gathering our strength. If it were up to Jin, the No Names would remain isted from the rest of the Little Garden for the next hundred years. No way am I going to just sit around twiddling my thumbs while Vahn and his Community get to have all the fun." Without waiting for Asukas response, Izayoi leaped high into the night sky. Asuka closed her eyes and clung to him in response, but, upon realizing there was no wind pressure whipping against her hair or face, she gradually rxed enough to ask, "Where are you taking me?" Adopting his characteristically wolfish grin, Izayoi continued to kick and bound off of empty air as he teased, "Well, since my bedroom is apparently off the table I figured we may as well consult a professional. Just try not to get riled up likest time, okay? Im more than willing to throw down, but Id rather not have my ass handed to me just because youre jealous..." "Huh? Jealous? Me? Did you hit your head somewhere? Who could I possibly be jealous of...?" Meeting Asukas incredulous glower, Izayois expression morphed into a deadpan as he answered, "Me, Jin, Lily, Yo, ck Rabbit, Usalia, everyone in the Sage Dragons Hearth, people who are even mildly better than you at something, and Vahn." "..." Ignoring the piercing chill in Asukas gaze, the corners of Izayois smile curled upward as he asked, "What? I didnt say it was a bad thing. If anything, I think its kind of cute. Your drive to be the best is one of the things I love most about you. It would be one thing if you were jealous of people and didnt even try, but, whenever you encounter an obstacle, you continuously push yourself and try to ovee it. Its honestly kind of hot..." Though she snorted through her nose, a healthy shade of crimson spread through Asukas cheeks and ears as she looked away from Izaoi. She was honestly still a little miffed, but, like many young maidens in love, her anger subsided greatly when she heard Izayoi say he loved her. Sure, he may not have said it directly, but that was beside the point... ... .. "Hmm...?" Sensing someone entering one of his consultation offices, a version of Vahn immediately appeared as Izayoi and Asuka stepped inside. Raising his hand, Izayoi immediately greeted, "Hows it goin, old man? We decided to drop in and ask you for a bit of advice." As this was the first time Izayoi and Asuka had visited the consultation office by themselves, Vahn was genuinely confused regarding the reason for their visit. The only thing that came to mind was rtionship advice, but, if that was the case, Asuka wouldnt have been present. Shifting his gaze to the pouty, faintly blushing brte, a teasing smile developed across Vahns face as he asked, "Whats this? Did the two of you enter the path of adulthood and have a happy little ident...?" Understanding the meaning behind Vahns words, Asukas cheeks practically glowed as she balled her hands into fists and hissed, "You...you scoundrel...!" Blinking in surprise, Vahn shifted his gaze to Izayoi, mild incredulity in his expression as he asked, "Did I do something wrong?" Much to Asukas chagrin, Izayoi shrugged in response to Vahns question before asking, "Are there any interesting events going on in the Little Garden right now? Were bored out of our minds and are looking to get out and have a bit of fun." Watching in amusement as Asuka attempted to discreetly step on Izayois foot, Vahn asked, "Just the two of you or the No Names as a whole?" Seemingly oblivious to the fact Asuka was driving her heel into his foot, Izayoi looked down at her and asked, "You heard the man. We eloping or do you want to entangle everyone else in our thrill-seeking?" Realizing that trying to crush Izayois foot was like trying to crush diamonds, Asuka forced herself to regain herposure before answering, "I know for a fact that Yo would want to tag along. We can also use this as an opportunity to drag Jin out of hisfort zone. Who knows, if he builds up a bit of confidence, he might stop stressing out so much..." Noticing Asuka directing an usatory gaze his way, Vahn furrowed his brows and asked, "Whats that look for? My rtionship with Lily is strictly tonic. If it wasnt, you would literally be one of the first to know about it." Unable to refute Vahns words, Asuka just crossed her arms and looked away. She knew full well that Lily and Yo would have told her if something happened between them and Vahn. They may have developed a game to send Vahn secret messages, but, based on what they had told her, he would usually just chuckle before ruffling their hair and gently chastising them... Taking advantage of Asukas silence, Izayoi half-stepped between her and Vahn before asking, "So? Anything interesting going on? Something an entire Community could get in on...?" Though he was mildly amused by Izayois protective demeanor, Vahn didntment on it. Instead, he pulled out a flier with the words Rise of the Fire Dragon emzoned them in shimmering, bright red ink, asking, "Have you not heard about the festival in the North...?" ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Glory to Airyglyph...!,Not sure if wholesome or annoying...,Fate reveals its hand...) Chapter 2261 Affirmation

Chapter 2261 Affirmation

*tok* *tok* *tok* Hearing the rapping sound, Vahns figure briefly flickered out of existence before appearing next to the door in an instant. His movement was so swift the third knock was still reverberating around the room, so, as could be expected, the person standing on the opposite side was quite surprised when he suddenly opened it and said, "We meet again." with a smile. Not expecting Vahn to answer the door, much less so quickly, Sandora momentarily froze in ce before adopting a smile of her own and asking, "Are you always this mischievous?" Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn surprised Sandora a second time by looking past, or, more specifically, over her head and observing, "I see youve been getting along with my daughters." "....?" Confused by Vahns words, Sandora turned her head to confirm the only people standing behind her were her Ebony and Raven, her personal Handmaidens. Though they were surprised by their fathers sudden disclosure, Ebony and Raven simply giggled in response to Sandoras confusion before moving around her, grabbing Vahns arms, and sonorously chorusing, "We told you before, didnt we? Our Papa is the most amazing person in the entire Little Garden." Seeing Ebony and Raven happily snuggling up to Vahn as he affectionately caressed their heads, Sandora was at aplete and utter loss for words. Countless questions surfaced in her mind, but, before she organize her thoughts, Vahn left her reeling as he exined, "I asked them to look after you a few months ago. This maye as something of a surprise, but I took an interest in you long before you penned that letter. I just never thought our rtionship would start out as spouses-to-be..." Tapping Ebony and Ravens shoulders, Vahn gently coaxed them to release him before taking a step forward and kneeling in front of the understandably shaken Sandora. Due to their rather substantial size difference, this brought them to around eye level as he reached out, grabbed her left hand, and said, "I know youve been wondering why I agreed to marry you. Since were about to announce our engagement to the senior members of your Community, allow me to put your concerns to rest..." Staring into Sandoras quivering gaze, Vahn adopted a sincere but slightly serious look as he said, "I agreed to your proposal because youre an amazing person. Youre kind, caring, and, above all, one of the most selfless individuals Ive ever had the pleasure of meeting. You have your faults, sure, but there are people ten times your age that have aplished less across multiple decades than you have in the past four-and-a-half years..." Shaking his head, a hint of exasperation and loneliness could be seen in Vahns gaze as he looked into the petite dragonesss now widened eyes and whispered, "The world desperately needs people like you, Sandora. And, if Im being perfectly, so do I. As powerful as I may seem, I could never have made it this far without a plethora of amazing people supporting and pushing me forward. In that regard, youve got me beaten through and through...had I been in your situation, Im honestly not sure I could have withstood it..." Thoroughly shaken by Vahns words, Sandora opened her mouth to speak but found herself unable to. She feltpelled to refute him but the words simply wouldnte out of her mouth. Instead, a sour feeling spread through her nose, moisture zing her eyes as she shakilyined, "You could have mentioned this earlier..." Adopting a self-deprecating smile, Vahn softly replied, "As I said before...we all have our faults. Im not perfect, and, truth be told, I never want to be. Without ws, we have nothing to improve upon. Without weakness, there is-" Before Vahn could ramble any further, Ebony kicked him in the foot as Raven threatened, "Just hug her already..." Shaking his head, Vahns expression softened in a sincere and affectionate simper as he said, "Case and point..." before gently pulling Sandora towards him. Her body briefly tensed, but, the moment his arms wrapped around her, Sandora quickly returned the favor. What Vahn didnt expect was for her to suddenly whispered, "Youre really unfair, you know that? This was supposed to be a political marriage...you werent supposed to make me fall in love with you..." As incongruous as it was to hear such a young girl whisper such heartfelt words, Vahn managed to maintain a smile as he held Sandora close and remarked, "me yourself...who told you to be such an amazing and hard-working youngdy...?" Trembling in response to Vahns praise, Sandora put a lot more strength into her arms. A part of her vehemently resisted the idea she deserved praise, yet, hearing Vahn whisper in her ear, she couldnt help wanting more. ("If this is a dream, please dont let me wake up...") Recalling how strangely her brother had behaved, Sandora was genuinely afraid that everything she had experienced throughout the day was all part of some hyper-realistic dream She was afraid that, at any given moment, she would wake up to find herself, once again, alone. Thus, even though she could feel the strength in Vahns arms and his warmth flowing into her body, Sandora clung to him as if she were afraid he would suddenly disappear. Now that she had finally found someone who needed her, Sandora wasnt going to let him go no matter what... ... .. Though it was originally supposed to be a rtively small and private affair, the banquet ordered by Sandora quickly turned into an impromptu g as Mandra assembled more than six hundred of the most senior officials of Smandra. Kouen City was divided into several districts and had well over ten thousand Communities living within the city limits. If not for ongoing festival preparations, the ongoing disappearance cases, and the unexpected nature of Vahns visit, Mandra could have easily gathered six thousand, much less six hundred guests. Among the people that had gathered for the celebration was a middle-aged man with dark skin, rugged features, faded red hair, dark blue eyes, pointed ears, and curved horns that followed the contours of his head before branching out like scythes near the end. He was currently bound to a wheelchair, but, even whilst seated with medical equipment hooked up to his body, he gave off an oppressive and overbearing aura thatmanded respect. Standing behind the man, or, more urately, pushing his wheelchair was a remarkably beautiful young woman with a shapely figure, maroon-red hair, and matching eyes. Her most notable traits, however, were the curved horns growing from the sides of her head, the diminutive, scale-covered wings protruding from her back, and the inordinately thick tail protruding from beneath her pleated skirt. Her appearance was incredibly eye-catching, but, despite drawing a considerable amount of attention, none were brave enough to strike up a conversation with for fear they might offend the man she was charged with caring for. None except for Mandra. "Im d you could make it, father. Its good to see you as well, Frey..." Though the young woman offered a polite bow, the man seated in the wheelchair, none other than King Smandra himself, snorted through his nose before asking, "For what reason have you called me here, Mandra? You said it was a matter of grave importance to all of Smandra..." Nodding his head in affirmation, Mandra pulled out a small conch that had the effect of converting all sound beyond a certain point into the distant echo of crashing waves. It wasnt exactly the best tool for preventing eavesdropping but it was suitable considering most people didnt dare listen in on the private conversations of a Floor Master. Smandra may be deathly ill but he was still one of the most powerful and influential figures in the North. Shifting his attention from the conch back to his sons face, Smandras expression became even more severe as he growled, "You better start exining, boy..." Suppressing the frustration he felt whenever his father addressed him as boy, Mandra maintained a serious expression of his own as he exined, "The Sage Dragon Emperor, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, has agreed to Sandoras proposal. When I saw her previously, she was already wearing a ring-" "Do you take me for a fool? I am well aware of the reason for this party. My question was why you asked me, specifically, to be here. Every minute I spend outside the Chamber of me, my lifespan shortens that much further. Stop wasting what little time I have left." Inhaling a deep breath, Mandra did his best to remain calm even as the woman behind his father squinted her eyes and prepared to attack the moment he showed any signs of hostility. "The healing power of the Sage Dragon Emperor is far beyond what the rumors purport. I believe he may be able to cure your illness..." Squinting his eyes, Smandra gripped the armrests of his wheelchair with more than enough force to warp the nearly indestructible material it wasprised of. He was well aware of the kind of man his son was, so, after a moment of seething deliberation, he asked, "Mandra...what sort of game are you ying? Even if your words were true, how do you benefit from my good health? Among all my children, you have always been the one who hated and resented me the most..." Meeting his fathers gaze head-on, Mandras expression hardened more than usual as he said, "Im not doing this for you. Now that Sandora has someone like the Sage Dragon Emperor on her side, I no longer have to worry about youying your hands on her. I just want to make sure you live long enough to see Smandra restored without your help..." Though he smiled viciously in response to his sons words, Smandra wasnt particrly upset by them. If anything, he was d his son had finally grown a pair. "I guess even a short-horned little shit like you can be a man if you put your back into it..." Ignoring the indignant fury contained in his sons gaze, Smandra nced back at the woman standing behind him, saying, "Frey, take this little pup somewhere and confirm whether or not his balls have dropped. The Sage Dragon Emperor has clearly treated him so youll be his broodmare from today onward. Produce a few healthy whelps and you can consider the debt your family owes paid in full." Though she tensed in response to her Masters words, Frey ultimately closed her eyes and offered a polite bow before answering, "As Your Majestymands, it shall be done..." Opening her eyes and raising her head, Frey was prepared to drag Mandra off somewhere private when thetter stated, "I am more than capable of finding my own partner. However, as you have already offered her to me, Lady Frey is no longer yours tomand. As for the debts owed by her family, consider them paid in full. With Sandora at the helm and the Sage Dragon Emperor backing her, the Community you nearly ruined will prosper even without such shady methods..." Snorting two puffs of me from his nostrils, Smandra was seriously tempted to give his son a beating. Contrary to what Mandra seemed to believe, however, he had always cared deeply about the Smandra Community. Everything he did was to ensure their survival, so, even if every single one of his children hated him, Smandra didnt care. Sure, one of his daughters had run off as a result of a mistake he made at the absolute lowest point of his life, but, seeing how far Mandra and Sandora hade, Smandra sincerely believed he had done the right thing. He may have been a shitty father and an even worse King but he would willingly ept suchbels so long as the legacy he left behind, his children, were able to prosper. "You cheeky little shit..." ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Happy Sadge...,Smandra looks like old Natsu while Freya resembles Grea from Manaria Friends,Someone punch this asshole...) Chapter 2262 Legacy of a King

Chapter 2262 Legacy of a King

Interrupting the conversations taking ce throughout the spacious hall, a deep-voiced Herald called out, "Announcing the arrival of His Imperial Majesty, the Sage Dragon Emperor, and Her Royal Highness, Princess Sandora...!" "Uuuoooooh...!" Seeing Vahn enter into the hall with Sandoras arm linked through his, it didnt take long for people to begin piecing together why they had been summoned to the Pce. A few of the sharper-eyed individuals even took note of the expensive-looking ring emitting a mystical red glow on Sandoras finger. With her extra sensitive ears, it wasnt difficult for Sandora to listen in on conversations throughout the hall. She normally wouldnt be bothered by people chatting about her, but, hearing a number of people offering spection on when her first child would be born, it didnt take long for her cheeks to shift from a pale, almost porcin white to a healthy shade of red. Just as Sandora was beginning to regret calling for a banquet, a mixture of surprise, confusion, and a fair amount of caution marred her countenance as she spotted a man in a wheelchair. "Father..." Hearing Sandoras utterance, Vahns brows raised ever so slightly as he locked eyes with the pale-haired man he presumed to be the current yet inactive Floor Master of the North, Smandra, aka the Fire Dragon King... Meeting Vahns gaze, Smandra would be lying if he said he wasnt intimidated. It didnt show in his expression but a slight tremor had started in his body the moment Vahn entered the room. Thest time he had felt this terrified was when he faced down the Demon God and nearly lost his life... "What an absolute monster..." Catching the aging King by surprise, Vahn projected his voice across the hall but in a tone that only Smandra could hear, stating, "That isnt a very polite thing to say about your son-inw..." Exposing his canines in amusement, Smandra gestured towards Frey, saying, "Take me over to him." in amanding tone. She immediately moved toply, but, before she could ce her hands on the wheelchairs handles, Mandra stated, "He is no longer your Master. You do not need to obey hismands." As Frey turned statuesque, Smandra turned his head, ring at his son before adopting an even bigger grin and repeating, "You little shit..." before gripping the sides of his wheelchair and adding, "Fine, Ill do it myself..." Surprising virtually everyone in the hall, Mandra included, Smandra forced himself to his feet before ripping away the various electrodes and lines connected to his body. It took significantly more effort than he anticipated, but, seeing the incredulous expressions on everyones faces, the smile on Smandras face grew wider as he walked towards Sandora and Vahn. "Father...!" Concerned for her fathers well-being, Sandora released Vahns arm before running over to try and support him. Before she could, Smandras expression became severe, his tone grim as he barked, "Stop right there, Sandora! Im not so feeble that I cant stand and stare my daughters fiance in the eye..." Ignoring the hush that had descended upon the hall, Smandra continued forward until he was less than an arms distance from Vahn. Then, to the surprise of everyone, he pulled off the ashen-white scarf that had hung around his neck for the past two hundred years, saying, "This is a scarf fashioned from the scales of the Demon God. It is borderline indestructible, and, even after more than two hundred years, the energy contained within rivals the purest magic crystals in the entire Little Garden..." Extending the scarf towards Vahn, Smandrasplexion paled as beads of sweat began to form across his forehead. The energy within the scarf was one of the things keeping him alive, but, at the same time, it was also responsible for his present condition. Without it, he would surely die within a few hours. However, contrary to what his son and a great many others believed, Smandra wasnt desperate to cling to life. Rather, he had died more than ten years ago. The only thing that kept him going this long was his refusal to let the legacy of the Ster Sea Dragon King end with him and his children. Now that someone like Vahn had appeared, he could finally beid to rest in the ce his heart had been buried years prior... "Take it...let it serve as a reminder of the horrors that await those who sumb tocency..." Forcing the scarf into Vahns hands, Smandra was prepared to return to his wheelchair when a firm hand gripped his left shoulder. Before he could look back and demand to know what Vahn was doing, a fiery warmth saturated every single cell in his body. From the perspective of the crowd, the surrounding temperature suddenly shot up by several tens of degrees as the color of his lion-like mane of hair shifted from a pale, almost pink hue to a far more vibrant shade of red. Though he could feel the weakness in his body fading away, Smandra promptly smacked Vahns hand away from his body, saying, "My era has long passed. If you want to help me, do right by my son and daughters. Even if I fade to dust, the legacy of Smandra will live on..." On that note, Smandra used his authority as Floor Master to teleport himself to one of the most secure and isted regions in the North. Then, even though Sandoras coronation had yet to take ce, he transferred his authority over to her before looking up at the sky with a massive grin and saying, "Sorry, Mandra...your father may have been a piece of shit but I owe it to your mother to go out with a bit of ss. If you really want to one-up me, be a better man than I ever was..." Punctuating his words, Smandra pulled out a small curved dagger embedded with a fiery red gemstone. Instead of stabbing himself in the heart, however, he ced it, and several other items, into a small lockbox. This included his eyes, his fangs, and, once everything else was prepared, he reached into his chest as if were made of liquid before pulling out a pulsating, gem-like heart... ... .. While everyone else was in a mild panic due to the sudden disappearance of their King and former Floor Master, Vahn was observing the man with a solemn look on his face. Shiroyasha had already informed him that Smandra wasnt exactly a kind and benevolent King, but, seeing how he the man had elected to spend his final moments, Vahn couldnt help feeling a tinge of admiration for the former tyrant. Though there were a few notable exceptions, Vahn had always tried to live ording to the belief that hatred directed at the dead was a toxin that affected the mind and corrupted the spirit. Even if the person hadmitted unspeakable acts during their lifetime, he would still pray that their next life was filled with happiness and joy. He had never understood the rationale of people who wished an eternity of suffering onto others. It was one thing if your vengeancepelled you to carry out their punishment directly, but, the moment you entrusted the task to another and simply moved on with life, such suffering served no purpose. After watching his experimental version of Hell gradually amalgamate into a veritable vortex of negative energy, Vahn had reached the same conclusion as his childhood self. Realms that existed solely for the purpose of gathering positive or negative energies were inherently wed. The only correct method of dealing with Spirits was a fair and unbiased Cycle of Reincarnation that drained the energies within a persons Ego and returned them to the void. Unfortunately, this was a dead end as far as reality was concerned, as, without good and evil people reincarnating with karmic advantages, stagnation would quickly take hold. As Vahns understanding of the Soul increased, he hade to realize that the means to seed life in a new reality involved enticing Souls to inhabit it. If your world wasnt interesting, it didnt really matter how much power or authority you had. You may be able to create life and produce artificial Egos, but, as time passed, you would quicklye to see the ws in such designs. This was often how Creators Gods produced their first servants, entities that were infinitely close to perfection yet ultimately paled inparison to the mundane life that invariably appeared on smaller, seemingly inconsequential worlds. Simply put, even if Vahn wanted to create a perfect and objectively fair system, the Souls lingering outside the Records simply wouldnt inhabit it. It was the essence of the Soul to seek stimulus and experience new, sometimes harsh experiences. If the world was perfect and everyone was allowed to live in the exact same manner,pelling new Souls to inhabit it was virtually impossible. The moment you created a disparity between the entities that ruled and the creatures they ruled over, however, Souls would practically flood into your world. Life would prosper, and, in turn, so would death... Seeing Smandra turn to particles of light that dispersed through the mausoleum where his wife was buried, any feelings of enmity or judgment Vahn had towards the man faded along with them. In their ce, a desire to protect the legacy Smandra had left behind was seeded within him. He didnt care what atrocities the man hadmitted throughout his life. Now that he was gone, Vahn would do everything in his power to ensure others werent made to pay for his mistakes. There was a memorable quote he recalled at times like this. There were countless versions of it but the one he enjoyed most was, "Never waste new tears on the past. Hatred and resentment towards a memory sever the path towards the future. If you really want to be happy, the only thing you can do is move forward, seizing each and every moment along the way..." "Rest in peace..." ... .. Though the banquet continued as scheduled, Sandora hadnt paid much attention. She had been lost in thought ever since her father transferred his authority as Floor Master to her. She had never been particrly close to the man, but, understanding she would probably never see him again, an indescribable feeling of emptiness had pervaded her entire being. Were it not for the fact that Vahn had stayed by her side throughout the entire evening, Sandora got the distinct impression she may have lost something important. What brought Sandora back to her senses was Vahn entering her room rather than seeing her off at the entrance. She tried telling him she would be okay on her own, but, instead of listening, he made himselffortable and stayed with her the entire night. By sunrise of the next day, she was feeling a lot better, but, even then, Vahn never left her side. Instead, he cooked a delicious breakfast for her before helping her freshen up by offering to brush her teeth, style her hair, and apply her makeup. Though she adamantly refused his assistance for the first task, Sandora ended up epting Vahns offer to style her hair and apply her makeup. The notion that someone as powerful and influential as Vahn could style a womans hair was simply too novel for her to refuse. When he ended up doing a better job than even her personal hairdresser, Sandora was at aplete and utter loss for words. When sheter learned that he personally operated a spa within the Sage Dragons Hearth, one that was frequented by virtually every member within, Sandora waspletely gobsmacked... Fortunately, while gobsmacked was rarely a good thing to be, it was infinitely better than wallowing in depression. Thus, for the better part of two and a half days, Vahn continued to pester, tease, and simply apany Sandora until the indescribably bleak, ck, and purple threads in her aura had either disappeared or diminished into less concerning colors. This caused Sandora to develop a bit of a dependence on him, but, considering what she had just lost, he didnt mind bing her rock of support. After all, he was her fiance, and, more importantly, the man her father had entrusted to look after her... ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Some real big pp energying from this man...,Grim reality...,Vahn is best support (O w O)...) Chapter 2263 Business or Pleasure?

Chapter 2263 Business or Pleasure?

"Is this the North Side? It has a totally different vibe from the East. Kind of reminds me of when I visited London but everything is decorated for Halloween." "You visited London? London, Paris...?" Stepping out from the Astral Gate Terminal that allowed people to travel to the various regions of the Little Garden in an instant, Asuka couldnt help perking up when she heard Izayoi mention Paris. She often traveled on business with her Grandfather, but, for the most part, the regions she visited were limited to the South East Asian circle. Traveling internationally wasnt exactly easy around the end of the Second World War. Shrugging his shoulders, Izayoickadaiscially replied, "I got around a bit when I was a kid. We can talk about itter. Our main focus right now should be searching for a ce to stay. What say you, oh fearless Leader?" Tearing his eyes away from Lily, a conflicted look developed across Jins face as he answered, "Our invitation should allow us to stay at the Royal Pce. Prior to losing our name and banner, the No Names were long-time allies with the Smandra Community. This is a good opportunity to find out why they never tried helping us..." "Jin..." Hearing the strain and frustration in Jins tone, Lily couldnt help feeling a little worried. It wasnt particrly well known, but the two of them used to be good friends with Sandora. They had even bathed together as children so Lily was afraid Jin might say or do something they would all regret. Shaking his head, Jins expression rxed as he said, "Im fine. I just want to hear their reason. Even if they dont have one, Im not going to throw a tantrum or use them of betraying us. I just need to know for certain..." Though she wasnt exactly relieved by Jins words, Lily offered one of her characteristically calm and supportive smiles as she answered, "I understand." in a soft tone. Destroying the depressive atmosphere, Izayoi spontaneously picked up Asuka and shouted, "Well see you guys there!" before jumping into the air and using the tops of buildings to avoid the heavy pedestrian traffic. Not wanting to be a third wheel to Jin and Lily, Yo also bolted off but not before saying, "Enjoy the festival." in a supportive tone. Lily smiled in response to this while Jin, realizing he would be alone with his girlfriend during one of the biggest festivals in the North, began feeling nervous. He could barely disy his affection in private. He also had a habit of holing himself in the library for days on end, so, as romantic as the notion of a festival date sounded, he wasnt looking forward to the idea of being surrounded by so many people. It would be one thing if he and Lily were still children, but, now that she had matured into one of the most beautiful women he had everid eyes on, walking around in public was tantamount to asking for trouble... Grabbing Jins hand, Lily maintained a supportive smile as she said, "Everythings going to be okay, Jin. Youre a lot stronger than I think you realize. You just need to be a bit more confident." With Yo having already departed, Jin only hesitated for a brief moment before asking, "You mean like Izayoi and Vahn?" "..." Exhaling a sigh, Jins expression immediately turned apologetic as he appended, "Sorry, Lily...I just..." Shaking her head, Lily adopted an even brighter smile as she linked her arm with Jins, her breasts pressing into him as she said, "Its fine, Jin. It really is. Now,e on. Lets have a bit of fun before going to visit Sandora-chan, okay?" Though a ruddy hue colored his cheeks, Jin made no attempt to break away from Lily. Instead, he stood a bit straighter than before as he answered, "Youre right...we dont get many opportunities like this. Lets make the most of it." Suppressing the urge to sigh in relief, Lily surprised Jin with a kiss on the cheek before following it with a yful giggle and saying, "Lets go~!" in the most jovial and excited tone she could manage. ... .. "Is this why youre so rxed all the time? Im honestly a little envious..." Walking around the Pce with her arm linked through Vahns, Sandora couldnt help staring in awe at the various people they passed along the way. Vahn had manipted their rtive flow of time to such an extent that everything and everyone around them appeared to be frozen in time. It was a truly terrifying ability, but, knowing she was betrothed to the person it belonged to, Sandora felt more excitement than trepidation. Amused by Sandoras words, a light chuckle emanated from Vahns throat as he exined, "That isnt the reason. As I mentioned previously, I often control multiple versions of myself at the same time. I meant that in the literal sense. Unlike Wu, I cant just create infinite copies of myself and let them run wild. I have to manually control each and every one of them. Staying calm makes it a lot easier." As Vahn had already demonstrated his ability to produce multiple versions of himself, Sandora wasnt surprised by his words. Instead, she just tilted her head a bit, eyes focused on nothing in particr as she wondered what it would be like to control multiple bodies at the same time... "Sounds kind of difficult..." Nodding his head in affirmation, a wry smile developed across Vahns face as she said, "When we get back, Ill show you some of the memories from the time when I was first trying to master said ability. You wouldnt believe the number of times I walked into walls or tripped over my own feet..." Imagining Vahn walking face-first into a wall, Sandora couldnt help giggling. This was one of the things she liked most about Vahn. He wasnt really shy about anything. Rather, unless it pertained to another person, he would share everything about himself. Though her experiences were nearly inconsequentialpared to Vahns, his openness had given Sandora the strength and courage to share her personal history and traumas. Beforehand, he had promised her that talking about it made things a lot easier. She didnt believe him at first, but, after baring her heart, Sandor felt as though a tremendous weight had been lifted from her shoulders. It was an incredibly liberating experience, and, more importantly, it helped her feel a lot closer to the man she was quicky falling in love with. As that thought crossed her mind, Sandora rested her head against Vahns arm with a contented smile on her face. It was a little eerie walking through halls filled with frozen people, but, so long as Vahn was at her side, Sandora felt like she could go anywhere and aplish anything... ... .. After breaking off from the rest of the group, Yo ascended to the top of one of the many clock towers present throughout the city before reaching into her pocket and pulling out an envelope with the symbol of Thousand Eyes embroidered on its surface. When Vahn had initially told Izayoi and Asuka about the festival taking ce in the North, Jin had vehemently refused their participation. He didnt see any reason for them to travel nearly a million kilometers just to participate in a harvest festival and bear witness to a coronation ceremony that had little, if anything to do with them. They alsocked the funding to make use of the Astral Gate, so, unless they entreated Vahn for an escort, they had no way of traveling such a distance in such a short period of time. Though people like Izayoi were able to travel and dodge attacks faster than the speed of light, that didnt mean they could cover vast distances in a short period of time. The thing about traversing at such speeds was, more often than not, it was a quirk of rtivity rather than raw agility. Simply put, those with sufficient authority or adequateprehension of the Laws could ignore the restriction of physicalws within a given area. In other words, even if it appeared as though they were moving faster than light rtive to others, their actual speed wasparably slow. If he had the stamina for it, Izayoi could theoretically run from the territory of the No Names all the way to Kouen City in around 3.2 seconds. The caveat was that he would need to be running at max speed for around 400 hours. Since he would tire out after a few thousand, the actual journey would take around 49 days. With less than three days till the start of the festival, Izayoi, Asuka, Yo, and Lily got together for a brainstorming session while Jin, as usual, holed himself up in the library. They concluded the only way for them to make it in time was to ept amission, so, after mulling over the matter and conferring with ck Rabbit, they eventually paid a visit to the Thousand Eyes Community to see if Shiroyasha was willing to give them some work. Though there were thousands of Gift Games taking ce over the duration of the festival, the one most people had gathered to witness was the Battle of the Creators. For all intents and purposes, it was the main event of the festival, so, with the excuse they could use it to generate publicity, Izayoi, Asuka, Yo, Lily, and even ck Rabbit gathered to convince Jin to let them participate. He refused at first, but, after a private discussion with Izayoi, he eventually relented on the grounds they promised not to cause trouble during their stay. As the name implied, the Battle of the Creators was a Gift Game that pit yers with Creation-Type Gifts against one another. This made it sound like it was restricted to individuals with Gifts rted to forging and item production but the truth of the matter was that it also extended to those with Gifts rted to conjuring, spirit creation, and even Gift production. With a Gift that allowed her to absorb the gic data of animals and reproduce them in the form of various armaments, Yos Gift was the best-suited for the Battle of the Creators. She was also the second strongest member of the No Names, so, while everyone else was off exploring the city and enjoying thepany of their respective partners, Yo set her sights on therge colisseum located on the far side and surprisingly attached to the Royal Pce. Grabbing the wooden carving around her neck, dark blue energy burst forth from Yos body before vanishing to reveal a buxom and shapely beauty wearing a skimpy outfit with wolf ears and a tail. It was a little embarrassing now that she had matured, but, as it was her most powerful form, Yo often defaulted to Fenrirs Vanargandr transformation whenever she was preparing for a fight. Fortunately, ever since Vahn had given her the Maneki-neko, Yo no longer had to worry about the forms her armaments took. The moment she transformed, red and gold mes spread out across her body before forming into a less revealing outfit. More importantly, the Maneki-nekos warmth helped alleviate the cold sensation that would permeate Yos body whenever she transformed into her Vanargandr form. Feeling a lot more snug andfortable, Yo bounded through the air on illusory tforms formed of icy magical energy. What she didnt expect was that the closer she got to the coliseum, or, more urately, the Royal Pce, the giddier she would feel. She wasnt the type to get nervous about a fight, so, upon reaching the hotel located adjacent to the Royal Pce, Yo took a moment to close her eyes and focus on her senses. She couldnt actually smell him, but, for some reason, her senses were telling her that Vahn was nearby... "What could Vahn be doing in the Royal Pce...?" ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Jin needs to get his shit together...,I wonder what Sandoras Affection Value is at...?,Even if its through an armament, there are none better at sensing her Master than Fenrir...) Chapter 2264 Befuddlement: VIP

Chapter 2264 Befuddlement: VIP

Sensing a faint yet determined intent attempting to lock onto his position, Vahns brows perked up as he remarked, "It would appear your guests have arrived." Hearing Vahns words, Sandora raised her head from his chest, a hint of confusion in her eyes as she asked, "Guests...?" Though it would potentially cause some problems if anyone were present to witness it, Sandora was currently curled atop Vahnsp as thetter made himselffortable on her throne. There was no hidden meaning behind this. Sandora just wanted to be pampered a bit after zing through most of her responsibilities in record time. Fortunately, even if someone were to rush towards and attempt to enter Throne Room, Vahn could extend the moment before their arrival to a functional eternity. Sandora was fully aware of this, so, ever since Vahn had guided her through one of the most insufferable moments of her life, she had developed a penchant for being held. It made her feel safe, warm, and, most importantly, closer to the man she loved. "The one outside is named Kasukabe Yo. Youve yet to meet her, but she is an amazing and friendly young woman. As for the others, I imagine theyre currently exploring the city...?" Helping Sandora put a face to the name she had already been made aware of, Vahn created a 3D projection of Yo observing the Pce from her perch. This caught Sandora by surprise, not because she hadnt seen him use projection magic, but because Yo was a remarkably beautiful woman. "You never mentioned how pretty she was..." "Mmm...I find its best not to actively discuss other women unless the one Im with actively inquires about them..." Recalling the existence of Vahns rather vast harem, a hint of solemnity appeared in the depths of Sandoras deep blue eyes as she asked, "Is this...Kasukabe Yo one of your women...?" Though they had yet to make things official, Vahn imagined that Yo would be sad if she heard him deny such a question. Thus, after a very brief moment of deliberation, he nodded his head and said, "Yes. While it would be more urate to argue were just close friends, the only thing preventing us from taking things further is Yos desire to support her friends..." Tilting her head in confusion, Sandora asked, "What do you mean...?" before immediately regretting it as Vahn detailed the situation between him, Jin, and, most importantly, Lily. Under normal circumstances, Sandora would be over the moon to learn more about her two friends from childhood. She missed both of them dearly, and, even now, never understood why the Alliance between their two Communities had been annulled. "Jin..." As troubling as the information regarding Lily was, the thing that impacted Sandora most were the revtions rted to Jin. Most people likened their rtionship to the bond between brother and sister, but, deep down, Sandora had always had a crush on Jin. When they were both six years old, she attempted to get him to promise to marry her once they matured. She expected him to relent, but, shortly after she started pressuring him, Jin ran out of the bath with teary eyes and a blush on his face... Though a faint smile developed across her face due to the fond memory, it faded rather quickly when Sandora noticed Vahn observing her with his characteristic smile. She immediately became embarrassed, cheeks tinting red as she averted her eyes and remarked, "I...its nothing..." Adopting a marginally more affectionate smile, Vahn answered, "It isnt nothing. In fact, its perfectly understandable. Never suppress your emotions for the benefit of others. Openness and honesty are two of the most important pirs of asting rtionship. This maye as a surprise, but many of the women Im closest to even had families and children long before I came along..." Emphasizing his point, Vahn showed projections of Hephaestus, Loki, Aki, Chloe, Lunoire, Anubis, Tsubaki, Mn, Freya, Demeter, Shizune, Rufina, Aisha, Kali, Rin, Ereshkigal, and many, many others. Each was a woman who had formerly been in love with someone else, married, or had children. The case of Demeter was one of the most noteworthy, as, prior to settling down with him, she had given birth to hundreds of children and married multiple times. Such matters may concern others, but, in Vahns case, he actually found motherly and experienced women the most rxing to be around. They knew exactly what they want, and, unlike some of the younger and more inexperienced women, they felt significantly less inclined to experiment or push boundaries in the bedroom. Even Loki was no exception to this. The moment she noticed he was pushing himself or suffering from mental fatigue, she would practically force him to just stop and rx. It was something few would expect from such a chaotic entity, and, over time, it became one of the aspects Vahn most loved about her... Seeing the startling number of women that apparently had rtionships prior to Vahn, Sandora was at aplete and utter loss for words. She knew, or, at the very least believed Vahn wasnt the type to intrude on other peoples rtionships for his personal benefit. There were just so many... "..." Noticing the pensive expression on Sandoras face, Vahn asked, "Is something the matter?" while tilting his head to the side to get a better look at her. Turning to meet Vahns gaze, Sandora hesitated for a brief moment before asking, "Have...have any of your wives or lovers ever left you? Have you ever left any of them...?" Providing Sandora considerable relief, Vahn immediately shook his head, answering, "None. From the moment of my first confession till now, there has never been a single instance of anyone falling out of love with me or vice-versa. There have been quite a few bumps along the way, but, no matter how difficult or strained things became, we always managed to ovee it together..." Though images of Scathach briefly shed across his mind, Vahn knew she had never left him. Her desire for death may have exceeded his ability to remedy, but, at no point in time did he ever lose her heart. In fact, she had gone out of her way to leave it with him... Noticing the hint of loneliness in Vahns eyes, an indescribable pain manifested in Sandoras heart. She didnt know why but it felt wrong for Vahn to have such an expression, so, after a moment of hesitation, she grabbed the sides of his face and parroted his words to her, promising, "No matter what...I will always be with you..." With an affectionate yet wry smile on his face, Vahn prepared himself for the inevitable kiss that wasing. To his surprise, Sandora didnt aim for his lips when she drew his head towards her. Instead, show borrowed another page out of his book by nting a chaste yetsting kiss on his forehead. Separating her lips from Vahns head, Sandora couldnt help giggling when she saw the befuddled look on his face. Immediately thereafter, a remarkably radiant smile developed across her face as she yfully inquired, "What? Were you expecting something else...?" Supplying a chuckle of his own, Vahn returned Sandoras forehead kiss with one atop her crown before holding her close and whispering, "You be more amazing with each passing day..." Leaning into Vahns embrace, the smile on Sandoras face rxed into the content expression she had been wearing with increasing frequency. She was still a little worried regarding the situation with Lily and Jin, but, having already made her choice, she decided to prioritize her own happiness over the concerns of others. She had lived her entire life trying to make other people happy. It was her turn to experience it... ... .. After observing the Pce for several minutes, Yo was thoroughly convinced that Vahn was inside. Since she didnt have their invitation, however, she made no attempt to approach the pce guards or break inside. Instead, she made her way over to the coliseum in order to register for the Battle of the Creators. Today was the final day of registration, so, as much as she wanted to drop in and see what Vahn was up to, Yo decided to focus on her original objective. Approaching one of the many kiosks separating the coliseums interior from the outside, Yo was pleasantly surprised to find a Lizardman with vaguely feminine features manning the window. While fluff was supreme, the ruggedness of scales had a charm of its own. Yo also noticed the woman put a considerable amount of effort into her grooming, so, the moment it was her turn to approach the window, she couldnt help remarking, "You have very pretty scales." with a sincere and unmistakably excited smile on her face. Though she was briefly taken aback by Yos suddenpliment, a somewhat scary smile, at least to the vast majority of people, developed across the Lizardwomans face as she rebutted, "You aint so bad yourself, girly. Now, how can I help you? Dont think ttery will get you free entry..." Shaking her head, Yo reached into her pocket to pull out a tiny pouch filled with gem-like crystals. She had made a habit out of epting simple Quests from the Quest Board, so, while most of the items she received were junk, a few rewarded her with things like Mana Crystals and Magic Stones. Yo didnt really understand what the difference was but most businesses eagerly epted them as a form of payment. Sensing the magical energy contained within the tiny pouch, the Lizardwoman flickered her tongue out of sheer instinct. Items containing magical energy werent particrly rare in the Little Garden but no one in their right mind used them for simple transactions. In the Lower Realms, Yos actions were the equivalent of pulling out a pouch full of gold coins to pay for a single stick of gum. "I wish to register my Community for the Battle of Creators. My Community doesnt have a name but I have a referral letter from Shiroyasha-sama, the Eastern Floor Master. If this isnt the correct ce, please tell me where I need to go." Hearing the woman before her casually mention possessing a referral letter from the Eastern, aka the Strongest Floor Master, the Lizardwomans jaw muscles promptly loosened into a ck-jawed expression. Fortunately, one of her Managers, a young woman with dark skin, purple hair, and cat-like features had been close by. When she heard Yo mention the letter, she immediately sauntered over, asking, "May I please see the letter? Once I have confirmed its authenticity, well also need you to follow us somewhere to verify your identity." As Shiroyasha had mentioned that something like this might ur, Yo nodded her head but didnt hand over the letter. She had been told to keep it on her person at all times, so, in response to the womans words, she exined, "Youll need to verify it without touching it directly. Shiroyasha-sama told me to hold onto it no matter what." To Yos surprise, the feline woman actually rxed when she heard her response. What she didnt know was that the womans words had been a test of sorts. Had she actually handed over the letter, they would have been forced to detain her in ordance with protocol. A surprisingly high number of people thought they could get away with pretty much anything by forging the seal or signature of a Floor Master. By invoking Shiroyashas name and refusing to hand over the document despite scrutiny, Yo had effectively proven her identity. Had she been lying, the letter would have burst into mes. "I understand. Please follow me to my office. I will help process your registration, and, if necessary, help you check into a room. We dont normally allow contestants to stay in the coliseum during the festival but were more than willing to make an exception for a VIP such as yourself." Though she followed after the woman, Yo refused the offer for a room by exining she would be staying at the Pce. She wasnt aware of it, but this immediately elevated her position in the mind of the Manager. Once Yos registration had beenpleted, she even gave her a ruby-red keycard that would allow her ess to most of the coliseums facilities. More importantly, it allowed her to basically take anything she wanted from the various stores and gift shops found within. As a guest of the Smandra Royal Family, she wasnt merely a VIP. She was a Super VIP. ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Jin cant catch a break...,Sandora got them uno reverse card strats...,Yo is an equal opportunity Mofu Master (U w U)...) Chapter 2265 Lingering Attachment

Chapter 2265 Lingering Attachment

Matching Jins expectations, people all throughout Kouen City turned their heads when he and Lily were passing through. Many didnt even try to hide the desire in their gaze, so, even though he was supposed to be enjoying the festival with his girlfriend, his expression didnt show it. If anything, he appeared upset. "Come on, Jin. Dont worry about what other people think. Lets just have fun, okay?" Though he wanted to do exactly that, Jins expression darkened when a group of burly-looking men approached them with smiles lecherous grins stered across their faces. Lily noticed them as well, but, unlike Jin, she radiated no hostility. Instead, she exhaled an exasperated sigh before pulling him into an alleyway and whispering, "Remember what you told the others? Even if those men approach us, try not to make a scene. Just knock them out and be done with it, okay?" Punctuating her words, Lily grabbed the sides of Jins face before giving him an unrepentantly deep kiss. His eyes immediately widened, but, before he could even think to break free, Lily separated her lips and added, "Youre strong, Jin. Stop being so gloomy all the time..." Before Jin could respond, the trio of men that had previously targetted them simply walked past the alleyway. Two of them looked over, but, other than smiling with knowing looks on their faces, they didnt say or do anything. They just went about their business like everyone else. Seeing the men walk away, a look of confusion briefly marred Jins face before he promptly averted his eyes and muttered, "Sorry..." Forcing Jin to stare back at her, Lily offered aforting smile as she said, "Dont be. It makes me happy knowing you want to protect me. Just do it when the moment calls for it. If you start viewing everyone around us as potential enemies, well never be able to have any fun." Though Lilys words did very little to improve his mood, Jin forced himself to nod in understanding. At the same time, however, he couldnt help thinking she could at least dress in a less eye-catching manner. She was supposed to be his girlfriend. What was the point of wearing outfits that invariably drew the attention of others? Even if she were wearing rags or thick robes, he would still love her all the same... Noticing the hint of suspicion in Jins eyes, a painful sensation spread through Lilys chest. It didnt show on her face, but, every time he gazed at her in such a manner, it hurt in a way she couldnt put into words. Offering a smile as mellow and rxing as a warm hearth inte Autumn, Lily ran her fingers along Jins cheek beforebing through his hair. She wished he would juste out and say what was on his mind. Maybe then, she wouldnt feel so lonely all the time... Rxing a bit due to Lilys tender and loving behavior, a faint smile developed across Jins face as he finally reciprocated her embrace. Her warmth had a calming effect on his mind, and, though it was a little musty and animalistic at times, he had long since developed a fondness for the fragrant aroma of her hair and ears. If the thought of her refusing didnt terrify him, he would have asked if he could smell her tail as well... Sensing the increase in pheromones exuding from Jins body, a tingling sensation spread through Lilys tails starting at their base. Since there was a very high probability that things would be awkward when they reunited with Sandora, Lily leaned further into Jins body, her bountiful breasts pressing into his chest as she drew her lips close to his ear and purred, "If walking around stresses you out...we can always find somece more private..." Punctuating her words, Lily attempted to maneuver her thigh into the gap between Jins before thetter immediately separated from her, a crimson hue extending all the way to the tips of his ears as he eximed, "Lily! There are people nearby!" in a hushed, audibly stressed tone. Though her ears briefly ttened due to her frustration, Lily suppressed her urge to punch the wall next to Jins head as she calmly replied, "Thats why I suggested we move elsewhere..." Pressing his hand to his heart, Jin did his best to calm his breathing as he turned towards the wall in an effort to conceal the front of his body from Lilys gaze. This caused her to squint ever so slightly, her voice bing noticeable firmer as she asked, "What are you trying to hide? Were supposed to be boyfriend and girlfriend. Theres-" "Just stop! Please...!" Though he immediately regretted yelling, Jin didnt look back at Lily. Instead, he balled his hands into fists, head lowered as he trembled due to a mixture of embarrassment, frustration, and, regret. In spite of this, he still managed to eke out, "What happened to you, Lily? You were never like this when we were kids. Why are you so...so eager to advance our rtionship? Cant we just take things slowly? You know, like Izayoi and Asuka?" "..." Feeling a considerable amount of guilt, the frustration in Lilys heart turned to shame as she averted her eyes from Jins back. She wanted to contend that he was the one who changed, but, fearing she would only make things worse, she elected to remain silent. When she finally did manage to speak, her voice was strained in a manner that made Jins heart twist as she weakly replied, "Im sorry Im not the girl you fell in love with in your memories..." Without waiting for Jins response, Lily bounded up the alley walls in a zig-zagging manner before disappearing over the canopy of the rooftops. Jin turned to try and stop her, but, despite extending his hand towards her back and crying out, "Lily! Wait...!" his legs refused to obey him. By the time he recovered enough to manifest his magical aura and fly up to the roofs above, Lily was already long gone... "What did she mean by the girl I fell in love with in my memories? Arent you the same person...?" Though he was currently and understandably confused, it wouldnt take long for Jin to figure out what Lily meant. In truth, she hadnt really changed all that much. He simply wasnt there to see as she slowly developed from a young girl into a young woman. She had already been developing an interest in romance even before his entry into the Game Board. He just hadnt noticed it due to his single-minded focus on gaining strength. As a result, the version of Lily he yearned for throughout his long years of training was the same naive and innocent young girl that had supported him ever since they were children. What Jin had failed, despite Lilys warnings, was that their time apart had slowly altered the way in which he viewed even her past self. He had converted the memory of her into a near-perfect ideal, so, when she failed to behave in the way he expected, he couldnt help feeling as though there was something wrong with her. It didnt help that one of the first things he encountered when emerging from the Game Board was Lily behaving all lovey-dovey towards Vahn. Simply put, Jin wasnt in love with Lily. He was in love with the idea she represented. He wanted the always faithful and supportive girl that doted upon and always did everything she could to support him. This new, proactive Lily may as well have been a stranger that shared her memories. And now, because of his obstinance, he risked losing both... ... .. Though she very rarely trained, Lily was, on paper, the fourth strong member of the No Names. She could cover vast distances in a very short period of time, but, instead of attempting to escape to the other end of the city, she dropped down into the adjacent alleyway and simply waited. Seeing no signs of Jin flying overhead even after several minutes had passed, Lilys ears gradually drooped until theyy t against her head. After ten minutes, she had slouched against the wall, and, though she was wearing a short white skirt in an effort to catch Jins attention, she paid it no mind as she pulled up her knees, buried her face into them, andined, "Stupid Jin..." ... .. Having spotted Lily descending into the alleyway, two men loitering around a festival attraction kept their eyes on her for several minutes. In the beginning, they were simply curious, but, after seeing her slouch down and pull her legs up, they willfully repositioned so that they could get a better look. Upon seeing her pure white and intricatece panties on full disy, they exchanged looks with one another before cing their hands in their pockets, looking around, and making their way into the alleyway. Despite a possessive and hungry glimmer deep in his green eyes, the bolder of the two men slowly approached Lily before asking, "Hey...you okay?" in an ostensibly concerned voice. In response, Lily didnt even bother raising her head as she warned, "Go away..." in a low, threatening tone. Frowning in response to Lilys harsh tone, the two roguish-looking men moved to surrounded her the same man from before asked, "Whats with the tone? We were just worried. You know, a pretty young thing like you shouldnt be loitering around in the middle of an alleyway like this. Security is pretty tight due to the festival but there are still some less than respectable types roaming about..." Snickering in response to his friends words, the second of the two ruffians crouched down in front of Lily and added, "Hes right, you know? How bout youe along with the two of us? Well keep you safe, and, who knows? Maybe youll feel so grateful you feelpelled to offer us a reward..." Towards the end of his statement, the second man attempted to reach between the gap in Lilys thighs. As they got closer, both men were able to get a much better view of the contents of her skirt. Since she was so willfully disying them, he figured he may as well sample the goods... Without raising her head, Lily promptly squeezed the tiny crystal she had been holding in her left hand. Before the mans fingers could reach her, the space within the alleyway seemed to stagnate before an oppressive aura smashed both men into the ground. The one that tried to reach for her even had his hand and forearm crushed to a pulp as a far more handsome and reliable figure with aquamarine eyes and dark-brown hair manifested from within the void, asking, "Are you okay...?" in a far more concerned tone than either scoundrel could manage. Springing to her feet, Lily practically leaped into Vahns embrace before releasing the tears she had been holding back for the better part of twenty minutes. In response, he immediately wrapped his arms around her, one hand drawing her close while the other moved to caress her head. Feeling a familiar warmth spread through her body, Lily preempted Vahns attempt to ask about the situation, whimpering, "Please just hold me..." between silent sobs. This promptly quelled any desire Vahn had to press her for information. Instead, he hugged her closer before teleporting them to the suite he hadnt used since his first day in the Pce. Then, as Loi-chan carefully exined what had transpired, he did his best to console the crestfallen kitsune as a progressively conflicted expression developed across his face... ("Damnit, kid...how the hell did you mess things up this badly...?") ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Boya...,When brain very big but confidence super smol...,Vahn dont y...) Chapter 2266 Breaking Point

Chapter 2266 Breaking Point

Waking from a peaceful slumber, Lily was unsurprised to find Vahn cradling her in his embrace. Any time she slept near him, she never experienced any difort or nightmares. Any negative feelings she had would seemingly vanish into thin air. In their ce,fort and security would envelop her like a warm, heated nket in the dead of winter... Noticing Lilys aura stir before promptly attempting to envelop him, Vahn gave her a light pat on the back, asking, "Feeling better...?" in a soothing tone. Hearing Vahns voice, Lily reconsidered her growing desire to pretend to be asleep. She didnt think he would mind, so, after a moment of deliberation, she closed her eyes and refused to answer. This caused an awkward smile to develop across Vahns face, but, as Lily had anticipated, he didnt say or do anything to try and dislodge her. Instead, he waited patiently for Lily to wake up and answer his questions of her own ord. Fortunately, even in her borderline bereaved state, Lily was still the same kind, caring, and incredibly dependable girl she had always been. After around five minutes had passed, her guilt regarding the possibility she may be inconveniencing Vahn grew beyond her selfishness. She nuzzled against him onest time, and, after a final squeeze, sat a little straighter on hisp to answer, "I can still feel an ache deep inside my chest...but I am feeling a lot better..." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn extended his hands to caress the sides of Lilys face, her scalp, and the base of her ears as he said, "Thats good. Things like this happen every now and again. So long as you pick yourself up and keep trying, things will get better..." Though she was initially leaning into Vahns caress with a content smile on her face, Lilys expression quickly morphed into a sullen look as she weakly replied, "Im not sure I want to keep trying..." Slumping her shoulders, Lily brought her hands up to conceal her face. She couldnt even begin to describe the amount of guilt she was currently feeling, but, after trying for several months without any progress, she didnt think she could keep going. She didnt want to. If she had changed, it was because her rtionship with Jin was slowly breaking her... Noticing the concerning changes in Lilys aura, Vahn suppressed a sigh as he once again drew her close to him. She immediately returned his embrace, and, despite crying her eyes out previously, a fresh, seemingly endless stream of tears surged forth from Lilys eyes. She felt like she had just lost her best friend, and, though their rtionship was less than fulfilling, she felt like she was somehow betraying Jin by refusing to try harder... ... .. "Hey, kid...you okay...?" Raising his head, Jin looked up to find a young woman with bright red hair fashioned into two, inordinately long pigtails. She was dressed like a swordsman, and, though she had a somewhat grumpy expression on her face, it did little to hide the concern visible in her ruby-red eyes. Surprised by how handsome Jin was, the red-headed woman was briefly taken back. She never expected that the young man she found sniffling in an alleyway would be such a pretty boy. His facial features and skin were somehow even fairer than hers and she spent more than an hour in front of the mirror each morning... Shaking such thoughts from her mind, the red-headed swordswoman extended a hand towards Jin, saying, "Take my hand. I dont know what happened, but youll feel better after we get something in your belly. You sure as hell aint gonna fix anything by squatting down in an alleyway and crying." Furrowing his brows, Jin refused the womans outstretched hand, saying, "Leave me alone..." before hanging his head. This caused the womans left eye to twitch, her outstretched hand balling into a fist as she resisted the sudden and intense urge to smack Jin upside the head. "Damn brat..." Leaving Jin to his brooding, the young woman disappeared from the alleyway in an apparent huff. A few minutester, however, she came back with several piping hot meat skewers in hand before plopping down next to Jin and saying, "Here. Eat." in an authoritative tone. Believing the woman would just go away if he ignored her, Jin neither epted the meat skewer nor raised his head. Instead, he just continued to sulk for the better part of an hour as the woman finished off half the skewers before emting his sulking. This caused Jin to feel more than a little annoyed, but, confident she would eventually get fed up, he continued ignoring her until the sky overhead began to darken. "Hey...kid...you got somece to stay? Like a Community or something?" Hearing the woman mention Community, Jins brows wrinkled. He was supposed to be the Leader of a Community yet here he was sitting in an alleyway and brooding. There was a good chance the others were waiting for him to arrive, so, after a lengthy period of silence, he reluctantly nodded his head and replied, "Yes..." Exhaling in relief, the woman picked up one of the now chilled skewers before holding up her free hand to produce a bright orange me. She ended up burning the meat a bit, but, after checking to make sure it was edible, she proferred it towards Jin and said, "Thats good. I wouldnt have minded letting you crash at my ce but it aint exactly prepared for guests." Though Jin was tempted to refuse the slightly charred skewer, sadness and longing had a way of amplifying the feeling of hunger. He also felt guilty about ignoring the woman for the better part of four and a half hours, so, after staring at the meat for several seconds, he eventually reached out to ept it, muttering, "Thanks..." in an aloof-sounding but appreciative tone. Waiting until Jin had bitten into the skewer, the red-headed woman nodded her head in approval before saying, "The names Helena, by the way. Im a Sergeant serving in the Smandra Military Police. Mind telling me your name and what youre doing here in this alleyway? Im not the best of listeners but I know it helps to talk about things whenever youre feeling down. It sure as hell beats moping about without any purpose." Furrowing his brows, Jin countered, "I wasnt moping...I was thinking about how I could fix things..." Snorting through her nose, Helena picked up one of the remaining skewers, biting into it as she said, "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. First time I ever saw someone productively crying..." Adopting a slightly hostile expression, Jin looked directly at Helena and asked, "What do you know? Do you have any idea what I just went through? How much pain Im feeling!?" Chewing the cold meat from the skewer, Helena didnt so much as twitch when Jin suddenly yelled at her. Instead, she continued chomping away at the skewer until he gradually lost his momentum and slumped back against the wall. Finished with the skewer, Helena flicked it into a nearby trash bin before saying, "I dont know jack shit about you, kid. To be perfectly honest, I dont need to. All I know is I found some brat sobbing away in the middle of an alleyway so I decided toe over to see if he needed help. If you dont want to talk about what happened, so be it. Just dont go condemning others for not understanding things you refuse to talk about. You wont get anywhere in life expecting people to magically know your thoughts." Feeling a little thirsty, Helena rose to her feet with the intention of looking for a stand that sold beverages. Jin followed her departure with his eyes, but, after hearing what she had to say, he was genuinely at a loss for words. He didnt know if their meeting was providence or something more but Helenas words resonated strongly with his current mental state. Ever since Lily ran off, Jin had been seriously contemting the root cause of the problems in their rtionship. The conclusion he came to was the same thing Lily had been pressing him to do ever since they started dating. He simply didnt know how to properly express himself or talk about the things that were troubling him. He was so used to bottling up andpartmentalizing everything that he would actively shut out the people trying to help him... Realizing the root cause was his self-esteem issues, Jin hung his head in shame, muttering, "Im a terrible Leader..." Though she should have been out of earshot of Jins words, Helena stopped near the mouth of the alleyway, stating, "Only if you give up..." Widening his eyes, Jin looked in the direction of Helena only to find that she was nowhere to be seen. He rose to his feet and ran to the entrance of the alleyway, but, even after searching left and right, he saw neither hide nor hair of the redhead that had appeared out of thin air to try and help him. She had simply vanished... ... .. Appearing on a roof several hundred meters away from the alleyway where she had encountered Jin, a somewhat annoyed expression developed across Helenas face as she muttered, "Now what? Do I join the Military Police or should I go exploring the Northern ins?" Though the question was directed at herself, Helena was unsurprised when a pratingly deep yetforting voice emanated from behind, answering, "Thats up to you. If youd like, I can even send you to the Actualized World your Temte originates from." Shaking her head, Helena stated, "Even if my abilities are currently limited, my potential far exceeds the standard of that world. Throwing a Tier 5 into a ce where horses and wyverns are considered the fastest means of transport is simply ridiculous..." Having made up her mind by the time she was finished speaking, Helena directed her attention to the North, adding, "I may as well check the ins to the North. Theres supposed to be a bunch of Fae and other Spiritual creatures roaming about. Who knows, maybe Ill find some other lost brats in need of guidance...?" Without waiting for the voices, Vahns response, Helena stepped off the edge of the rooftop before blurring into a red meteor that garnered a lot of attention before disappearing beyond the horizon. The character she was Temted from had a prideful and unyielding nature. Since Vahn had given her the freedom to choose her own path, that is exactly what she intended to do... Following the temperamental redheads disappearance, Vahn manifested atop the roof with a wry smile on his face. Instead of chasing after or trying to call Helena back, however, he fixed his gaze on Jin, muttering, "There is only so much I can do for you, kid...if you cant ovee your personal setbacks, you have no one else to me if Lily seeksfort in another..." Understanding that the person Lily was most likely to attach to was himself, Vahn couldnt help shaking his head as he turned around and vanished into thin air. He was doing his best to support them, but, understanding how much pain Lily was in, Vahn couldnt help wanting tofort her. If Jin didnt get his act together soon, he would need to step in before she had aplete and utter mental breakdown. Someone as kind and caring as Lily didnt deserve to suffer the anguish of a broken heart. She had already lost one family. If Jin couldnt be the pir she relied upon, Vahn would willingly bear her burdens... It was one of the things he was best at... ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: *sad kitsune noises*...,Lending a hand...,When girls rebound to Vahn, they dont go back...) Chapter 2267 More than Friends

Chapter 2267 More than Friends

After defeating a giant stone golem, a six-armed mechanical puppet, a fully outfitted cksmith-turned-swordsman, and what appeared to be a thresher robot from an apocalyptic world, Yo had managed to secure her Communitys participation in the Final 32 of the Battle of the Creators. While most people had to struggle quite a bit during their matches, Yo quickly gained a reputation as the events ck Horse after defeating each and every one of her opponents within the first two to three minutes of each round. She had gotten even stronger since her stay in the Game Board, as, every other day, she and Izayoi would battle it out in a specially prepared training room provided as a courtesy by Vahn. Though she doubted she would be able to deal with the massive metal cube summoned by Vahn during her first moments in the Divine Realm, Yo was confident should would, at the very least, be able to shatter its surface and slow its fall. She could also escape from the side, but, understanding most foes would only use such an attack if there was something important at the impact site, Yos goal was to be strong enough to destroy or prevent the cubes impact entirely... Despite the conclusion of her final match, Yo elected to stay in her Vanargandr transformation. The sun had already descended over the horizon so she actually felt even stronger than she had during the day. More importantly, however, was the fact it allowed her to track down Vahn. After saying her farewells to the staff that had been very polite to her throughout the day, Yo made her way over to the entrance of the Royal Pce. A group of heavily outfitted Royal Guards barred her passage, but, upon confirming her identity, two of them split off to escort and show her to the Audience Chamber/Throne Room, aka the Chamber of mes. Stepping into the ornate red and gold chamber, Yo was surprised to find she was the only member of the No Names present. The moment she saw Vahn standing next to a young girl seated atop an excessivelyrge throne, however, her confusion faded away as she eximed, "Vahn~!" in a happy tune. Though it earned her a severe look from the girl seated atop the throne, Yo, quite literally, leaped across the chamber in order to tackle Vahn. Despite Yo crashing into him, Vahn was able to thoroughly negate her momentum the moment she made contact with him. A wry smile developed across his face, not because he was concerned that Sandora may be upset, but because Yo didnt even try to moderate her actions. The faux tail behind her swayed like an excited puppy, her arms wrapping around him like a vice as she pressed her face, and, as a result, her rather ample bosoms against him. Earning his own look from Sandora, Vahn returned Yos affections by embracing her firmly enough to raise her feet from the ground. She enjoyed being picked up and practically smothered in a bear hug. It was one of her many quirks, but, considering there were women in his harem who enjoyed a number of extreme ys, Vahn didnt question it. "I missed you..." Rolling his eyes, Vahn set Yo down before ruffling her hair and saying, "It hasnt even been two days since ourst encounter. Perhaps Im spoiling you too much..." Puffing out her cheeks, Yo maintained an adorable pout for several seconds before releasing it in the form ofughter. Then, with a friendly smile on her face, she turned to Sandora and said, "My name is Yo. Kasukabe Yo. You must be Princess Sandora-sama?" Since it was pretty obvious Yo wasnt going to follow protocol, Sandora offered a curt nod before rising from her throne and answering, "Indeed. We are Sandora Doltrake, Northern Floor Master, Leader of Smandra, and Crown Princess of the Smandra Royal Family. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Kasukabe-san." Taking Sandora by surprise, Yo waved her hand in a dismissive manner, her smile brightening as she said, "No need for such formalities. Others might not notice it, but I can smell Vahns scent all over you. If youre close with Vahn, that makes us friends! Maybe even sisters~!" Opening her mouth, Sandora tried to speak but found herself unable to do so. Instead, a faint blush crept into her cheeks as she lowered her head and attempted to smell herself... Covering the rather silly smile on her face, Yo excitedly eximed, "Uooooooh~!? Isnt it illegal to be this cute!?" Having spent a considerable amount of time in the Sage Dragons Hearth, Yo nearly pounced on Sandora without asking. Fortunately, Vahn was there to grab the cor of her jacket, his voice firm as he said, "Dont go hugging people without permission." While he wasnt exactly a paragon when it came to following such advice, Vahn knew that Sandora wasnt ustomed to interacting with strangers. She had gradually opened her heart but the only person allowed inside at the present moment was himself. If others attempted to trespass of their own ord, there was no way of knowing how she would react. Dragons could be very temperamental... Fortunately for Yo, Vahn had, very recently, exined their rtionship. Sandora could also tell Yo wasnt a bad person, so, before thetter could apologize, she adopted a friendly smile of her own and said, "Its okay, Vahn. Though this is our first time meeting, it would not be urate to say that we are strangers. Rather, as Yo pointed out, we are united through amon...interest. I am not so self-centered as to prioritize my personalfort over maintaining friendly rtions with the other members of your harem..." Taken aback by Sandoras eloquent yet overly serious speech, Yo found herself at a momentary loss for words. When she did return to her senses, she zeroed in on Sandoras final statement, a look of incredulity on her face as she turned to Vahn and asked, "Whats going on...?" Though Sandora and Vahn were covered in each others scent, Yo never expected that the little girl standing before her was a member of thetters harem. From what Lily had told her, she, Sandora, and Jin were all around the same age. Yo couldnt really imagine the kind and caring Vahnying his hands on such a small girl... Ruffling Yos hair, a helpless expression developed across Vahns face as he said, "Dont give me that look. Though Sandora and I have recently be engaged, we havent engaged in any of the acts you seem to be thinking about. Get your head out of the gutter." Supplying a yful wink and sticking her tongue out, Yo managed to escape Vahns hand before turning to Sandora and asking, "Can I hug you~?" with one of the most radiant smiles the young Princess had ever seen. After a moment of deliberation, Sandora swallowed the knot forming in her throat before nodding in approval. In response, Yo practically pounced on her, a somewhat goofy smile on her face as she picked Sandora up, squeezed her tightly, and spun her around. Sandora might look like a rtively normal girl but Yo could tell she was something much, much greater. To that end, Yo really wanted to be Sandoras friend. Though Yos breasts were practically smothering her, Sandora did her best to remain calm even as the bubbly brte remarked, "Youre a little heavier than I expected but your skin is so soft. I can tell youve been spending a lot of time with Vahn, havent you~?" Waiting until Yo finally released her, Sandora took a moment to fix her outfit before answering, "A dragons bones and muscles are a lot denser than a normal humans. As for yourment about me spending a lot of time with Vahn..." Shifting her attention towards Vahn, a rather potent blush developed across Sandoras face as she muttered, "He hasnt left my side at any point in thest three and a half days..." Though the actual time they had spent together easily exceed a week, maybe two, Sandora often lost track of time when she and Vahn were just lounging about or talking. During those moments, he would always slow time to a crawl. It was a little disorienting, but, at the same time, it gave her the impression they had all the time in the world. Pressing her finger on her lips, Yo appeared genuinely envious as she remarked, "Wow...I think the longest amount of time Ive spent alone with Vahn was around eleven hours? I cant imagine even begin to imagine how rxing it must be to spend several days together..." Directing her gaze to Vahn, Yo made it pretty obvious she would like to spend more time together. At the very least, she wanted to experience what it was like to have his full and undivided attention for a full day...maybe ten... Seeing the longing in Yos expression, Sandora couldnt help recalling the circumstances Vahn had revealed to her earlier in the day. He had also informed her that he was currently looking after Lily, so, after a moment of silence, she stated, "You dont have to imagine it. Though I have only recentlye to know Vahn, I know he wouldnt refuse if you wanted to spend time together. It may not be my ce to speak, but I find your restraint in this matter to be pointless. You shouldnt dy your happiness for the sake of others..." As Yo had already dered them more than friends, Sandora didnt want to see the bubbly brte make the same mistakes she had. She would feel sorry for Jin, but, knowing Yo and Lily were both in love with Vahn, Sandora couldnt help wanting to support them. Blushing rather fiercely in response to Sandoras admittedly rational advice, Yo briefly exchanged nces with Vahn before quickly averting her eyes and responding, "Ill think about it..." in a soft, uncharacteristically meek tone. The thing that made this scene most impactful, however, was the bushy tail swaying behind her. Yo had never dropped her Vanargandr transformation. As a result, her bashful bearing was thoroughly shattered by the enthusiastic wagging of her tail... ... .. Though she had long since calmed down, Lily remained seated atop Vahnsp for several hours. The notion she was wearing a mini skirt had crossed her mind more than once, but, unwilling to part with his warmth, she practically clung to him until he pat her back a few times and revealed, "Yo entered the Pce a short while ago. I imagine the others will be arriving soon..." Raising her head, Lilys emerald green eyes searched Vahns for several seconds before surprising him as she asked, "Can we stay like this a while longer? Im feeling much better than before but I dont think my heart is prepared to see Jin...I...I would rather stay here with you..." Punctuating her statement, Lily grasped the fabric of Vahns yukata-like tunic while turning her eyes up at him in a clear attempt to incite his sympathy. At the same time, though there was no greater meaning behind it, she squeezed her legs together and leaned into him in a way that squashed her breasts against his chest. Were it not for his ability to sense and even interact with a persons aura, Vahn would have assumed she was making a very difficult kind of appeal. In reality, she just wanted to be as close as possible to his warmth... Feeling a sense of responsibility towards both Jin and Lily, it was around this time that Vahn created the Temte of Helena. At the same time, he held Lily so that her face and head were nestled into the nook between his neck and shoulder as he whispered, "I will stay with you as long as you need. However, at some point, you will need to face the outside. We both know youre not the type to run away from things like this...youre an incredibly strong and caring person, Lily. In terms of heart, you may very well be the strongest person I know..." Though she was initially tempted to lose herself in Vahns aroma, Lily couldnt help paying attention whenever he spoke. When she heard his remarks about how she was a strong and caring person, a wave of guilt immediately washed over her. Not because of the matter with Jin, but because she felt as though she was taking advantage of Vahns kindness. In spite of this, she couldnt help herself. It was just so much easier to entrust herself to Vahn than it was to make an effort... Burying her face into the space between Vahns neck and shoulder, a sour feeling began to spread through Lilys nose as she muttered, "Just...five more minutes..." Caressing Lilys hair, Vahns expression and tone softened immensely as he ran his fingers through her hair and said, "No...stay as long as you want. So long as you understand well eventually need to leave, I dont mind even if we stay here another five days, much less five minutes..." Sniffling in response to Vahns words, Lily tightened her embrace around him in a manner that made it appear as though she were trying to fuse their bodies together. She didnt know how she would face Jin and the others when they finally emerged, but, for the time being, the only thing she cared about was being as close as possible to the man that never failed to provide her withfort and advice... ... .. (A/N: Alternate Titles: Yo used tackle...! Its not very-wait a minute...its super effective!?,Sandora is a very rational youngdy...,If not taken in moderation, Vahn is like a very powerful drug...) Chapter 2268 Breakdown

Chapter 2268 Breakdown

While contemting the words of the strange woman, Jin dragged his feet to the Royal Pce only to encounter Izayoi and Asuka approaching from the opposite direction. "Oh? Is that our fearless Leader I spy...?" Though he noticed the distinct absence of Lily and the fact Jin was looking more than a little worse for wear, Izayoi continued on as usual. He could be serious when he had to, but, unless the situation was dire, he rarely adjusted his behavior as a courtesy to others. A stark contrast to Izayoi, Asukas brows furrowed slightly as she asked, "Jin, wheres Lily? Dont tell me you left her all alone or let her run off without you..." Drooping his shoulders, Jins expression became more mncholic than usual as he answered, "She disappeared before I could chase after her..." With an expression that showed she didnt buy Jins excuse one bit, Asuka retorted, "Do you expect me to believe that? With Shundo, you should have no trouble catching up even if Lily had a massive head start. If you didnt see her, it meant she was probably hiding somewhere nearby. Did you even bother searching?" Though he had reached a simr conclusion earlier, Lilys refusal to answer his telepathic messages led Jin to believe she didnt want to even speak with him, much less be found. Since he didnt want to make things worse, he didnt even try looking for her. Instead, he chose to give her some space so they could both cool down... Seeing Jin avert his eyes with an ashamed look on his face, a sudden and intense desire to lecture her would-be Leader manifested in Asukas heart. Before she could go off on him, however, Izayoi inclined his head towards the group of heavily armored guardsmen nearby before saying, "There is no sense in talking about this outside. Our first priority should be finding Lily and making sure shes okay. Its prettyte so theres a good chance shes already checked in. We should do the same and then ask around." Following Izayois gaze, Asuka noticed around twenty guards and two ratherrge wyverns staring at them from a distance. She still intended to give Jin a piece of her mind, but, understanding the reasoning within Izayois words, she eventually nodded her head and said, "Very well. If the Leader of Smandra really is childhood friends with Jin and Lily, there is a good chance thetters inside. Even if she isnt, we should be able to get a search party together if we fail to reach her." As he was just about to make a simr argument, the corners of Izayois smile curled upward as he remarked, "Wow, brains and beauty. Seems like I hit the jackpot..." Rolling her eyes, Asuka lightly bumped Izayoi with her shoulder before adopting a far more serious expression as she practically red at Jin, asking, "What do you think we should do, Jin? Since you came all this way, I suppose you had something simr in mind...?" Though his intentions were slightly different, Jin didnt hesitate before nodding his head. In truth, he suspected that Vahn had something to do with the fact Lily wasnt responding to him. He would sometimes try to contact her whenever she went to him for one of her consultations. Areas under the influence of timepression had a strange effect on Telepathy. It was possible to establish a connection but the messages, more often than not, wouldnt go through. Even if they did, it would generallye out sounding like an auditory hallucination or a sudden, indecipherable blip. "Im pretty sure Lily is inside. The only other possibility is that she returned home but I cant imagine her doing such a thing without telling at least one of us..." Seeing through Jins thoughts, Izayoi remarked, "Seems like you stumbled upon the correct answer. I heard a couple of people talking about how the Sage Dragon Emperor hase to the North in order to form a union with the Leader of Smandra. It hasnt been announced to the public but there was apparently a pretty high-profile party a few days ago." Showing even more surprise than Jin, Asuka asked, "What? Is that true? I didnt hear a single person talking about it. And what do you mean by forming a union? Dont tell me..." Before Izayoi could confirm Asukas suspicions, Jins expression became noticeably more serious as he promptly ignored them to approach the group of guards keeping an eye on them. He had never discussed it with Izayoi, Asuka, and Yo, but Sandora was actually the first girl he ever had a crush on. If not for the downfall of his former Community, the kidnapping and subsequent return of Lily, and the abrupt annulment of their Alliance, there was a good chance they would have be a couple. ("Vahn...why is it always you? Will you not rest until youve taken everything from me...?") Ignoring the fact that Vahn was one of the reasons Lily had given him a chance in the first ce, Jin made his way into the Royal Pce with Izayoi and Asuka following close behind. Theyout hadnt changed much since he was a child, so, even without an escort to show him the way, he was able to navigate to the Chamber of mes without the need for a detour. Though they were briefly obstructed by the Royal Guards guarding the chamber, it didnt take long for the trio of No Names to be granted permission to enter. When they did, Jins heart immediately sank. Not only was Lily standing next to Vahn, but, even from a distance, he could make out the ring glistening on Sandoras finger. "Jin~! Its been so long~!" Since the only people in the throne room were people she trusted, Sandora momentarily shed her Royal bearing as she ran towards Jin with an excited smile on her face. It had been years since theirst encounter, and, as Vahn had mentioned, he had matured into a very handsome and intelligent-looking young man. Surprised that Sandora would run over to him, Jin habitually opened his arms only to feel awkward when she suddenly slowed down and asked, "How have you been? I really wanted toe and visit but my father and brother wouldnt allow it." Lowering his arms, Jin did his best to conceal his embarrassment behind a serious expression as he answered, "Ive been well. Things were looking pretty grim for a time, but they got a lot better once Vahn showed up..." Directing his gaze towards Vahn, Jin had mixed feelings about the current situation. A part of him, deep within, was incensed beyondpare. At the same time, however, his gratitude towards Vahn made it difficult to truly resent the man. Vahn had rescued the No Names from their plight, restored their territory to its former glory, empowered its members, provided them with functionally endless resources, and shielded them from harm. He was also Jins personal mentor, and, in many ways, the only reason he had been able to be as powerful as he had... "Jin...?" Returning his attention to concerned-looking Sandora, Jin figured he may as well confirm things directly, asking, "I heard you and Vahn were getting married? If so...I suppose some congrattions are in order..." Though she felt a pang of guilt hearing Jin mention her betrothal, Sandora managed a smile as she nodded her head and answered, "Youve heard correctly. Shortly after the formation of the Aldrnari Empire, I penned a letter inquiring if Vahn would be willing to be my partner. I was worried he would refuse in the beginning but he ended up saying yes after confirming I wasnt being coerced. Hes a lot more considerate than most people think." Hearing Sandora mention that she was the one that approach Vahn, Jin found himself at aplete and utter loss for words. He had assumed that Vahn hade to the north seeking to form a union for the sake of expanding the Empire. Instead, it was the exact opposite... Feeling a little unsteady, Jin had to channel magical energy through his mind and body to maintain the illusion of calm. Then, with a clearly forced smile on his face, he said, "Im happy for you...I really am..." Noticing the contrast between Jins words and his expression, visible concern appeared in Sandoras as she asked, "Jin? Are you okay...?" Chuckling in an unnatural manner, Jins smile became noticeably distorted as he answered, "Im fine. Vahn is a truly incredible person. I mean, he already has well over a hundred lovers, but Im sure youll be happy together. He is Vahn, after all." Despite his best efforts to remain calm, everyone present could see Jin trembling as ayer of moisture gradually developed across his eyes. "Jin..." Feeling responsible for Jins current state, Sandora was about to step forward to give him a hug when Lily shouted, "Just stop already! Stopparing yourself to Vahn and worrying about what other people think! Why are you so afraid to just be yourself!? Youre an amazing person, Jin! Why cant you see that!?" With tears rolling down her cheeks, Lily shouted in anguish for the first time since she was forcibly separated from her mother. She just couldnt understand what Jin was thinking. He was supposed to be a calm, caring, and rational person, but, ever since he returned from the Game Board, it was like he had be apletely different person. There was a possessive glimmer in his eye and he acted like everyone, even the people who helped him, were out to steal things from him. ming herself for allowing Jin to enter the Game Board, Lily took a step forward with the intent to console him. The moment she did so, however, Jins expression became desperate as he eximed, "Youre telling me to stop!? I havent even done anything! All I want is for things to slow down or go back to the way they were! Youre the one that keeps pushing me to do things Im not ready for! Im trying to get strong enough to protect everyone but you keep dragging me off-" Before Jin could finish, Sandora surprised him with a p to the face. Her intention was to help hime to his senses, but, after a moment of stunned silence, a glimmer of indignant fury appeared in the depths of Jins teal-green eyes. His right hand balled into a fist, but, before he could even think to throw it, Vahn appeared between him and Sandora. "Thats enough, kid...youre letting your anger cloud your judgment. Everyone here is either a friend or an ally. Calm down and lets talk thing through..." Seeing Vahn appear before him, Jin began hyperventting. He wanted nothing more than to beat the mans face, but, before he could muster the courage, Vahn left him feeling at a loss by suddenly pulling him into a firm, almost smothering hug. "This isnt you, Jin. You are not the kind of wrathful person that would strike your own friends. Think about what you just tried to do..." Though he was about to try and struggle free from Vahns embrace, Jin stopped when he heard the formers calm yet prating voice. The notion that he was about to punch an eleven-year-old girl caused a shudder to run through his body. To make matters worse, the girl was supposed to be one of his best friends. Though he had ultimately chosen Lily, Sandora still upied a very special ce in his heart. Had he actually struck her, he never would have forgiven himself... With tears pouring down his face, Jins body began to tremble violently as he leaned into Vahn and asked, "Whats wrong with me...?" Shaking his head, Vahn tightened his hold on Jins body, warmth exuding from his own as he softly replied, "Nothing at all...its just as you said. You werent ready..." ... .. (A/N: This is thest chapter for this month. The $820 Im making on ******* isnt enough to even keep me out of the red. Since the effective value of a chapter is around $28.50, Ive already written as many chapters as Ive been paid to write. For the past three years, I havent even been making a living wage. Instead, Ive worked for as little as a quarter of minimum wage and kept myself afloat using my personal savings. Since writing novels and providing content for my readers is supposed to be my job, I need to start treating it as such. My current goal is simply to earn as much money as a sixteen-year-old high school student might working at McDonalds. I am literally only asking for a minimum wage, so, if you would like to support me and have ess to upwards of 100 chapters a month, please consider donating $5 through my *******. Though writing has gradually be my passion, I cant keep doing it if its literally killing me. To put things in perspective, it would basically cost me $1750 to keep releasing chapters. In total, Ive earned around $14,000 writing EPIC over thest three years. In that same amount of time, I have had to spend $35,000 just to keep myself alive. In other words, I have spent $21,000 of my own money in order to keep my promise. Now that Im trying to make writing my career, I need to start getting paid for it. No one in their right mind works for free...) Chapter 2269: The Pursuit of Oneself

Chapter 2269: The Pursuit of Oneself

Opening his eyes, Jin was surprised to find himself staring at an unfamiliar yet nostalgic ceiling. At his side, or, more urately, sitting off to the side of the bed, was Vahn. "Feeling better?" Rather than immediately answering Vahn''s question, Jin focused on the pleasant warmth that had filled his entire body. It didn''t eliminate all the negativity he had umted over the past few months, but it did make him feel a lot better. "Yeah" Rising to a seated position, Jin ignored the fact he was wearing lime green pajamas as he looked around the room to confirm that he and Vahn were the only two people present. "How''s Lily doing?" Shaking his head, Vahn''s expression and tone softened as he said, "She needs time. You both do" Though he nodded his head in understanding, the pained look in Jin''s eyes was a testament to the guilt he was feeling. He didn''t think he was wrong to want to take things slow, but after a considerable amount of soul-searching, he also understood how his actions hadn''t exactly been fair to Lily. While he could be highly self-centered at times, Jin wasn''t stupid. He knew that Lily liked Vahn. His fear that she would be taken from him is whatpelled him to enter the Game Board and subsequently propose to her. When Lily agreed to be his girlfriend, Jin was over the moon with joy. More than anything else, however, he was relieved. Jin thought, from the moment Lily became his girlfriend, she would stop spending so much time with Vahn and, as a result, things would gradually return to the way they were. When they didn''t, he felt as though she had betrayed him. Like she didn''t care about their rtionship. In hindsight, Jin realized he had been expecting Lily to make concessions since the very beginning. He was incredibly fortunate that she had agreed to date him, yet, instead of relishing each and every moment of their time together, he focused on studying and increasing his strength. At times, he even avoided her outright. The only time they did anything together was when Lily attempted to force the matter. And what did he do in response? He, the person who had asked her to date him,shed out at her for trying to progress their rtionship too quickly. Realizing just how contrary his behavior had been, Jin hung his head for the better part of five minutes before muttering, "Please take care of her for mesheLily and Sandora both deserve to be happy" "Kid" Shaking his head, Jin wiped away the tears building in his eyes before staring directly at Vahn and stating, "Pleaseplease don''t say anything. If this rtionship has taught me anything, it''s the fact that I''m not ready to bear the responsibility of another person''s happiness" Looking away from Vahn, Jin stared at his open palms before clenching his hands into fists and saying, "You were rightpeople who are given things without earning them don''t know how to appreciate them. I may have worked hard, but most of the power I possess is thanks to the help, resources, and guidance you provided. Even Lilyif you hadn''t turned her down to try and support me, she never would have epted to be my girlfriend" Closing his hands with enough force that his whole body trembled, tears began pouring down Jin''s face. Despite this, an intense light glowed in his eyes as he clenched his teeth and said, "I''m tired of being weak! I want to be strong! Strong enough that I can grasp the things I want with my own two hands!" Returning his gaze to Vahn, Jin''s expression became even more intense as he added, "I want to be like you, Vahn. I want to journey across various worlds to gather strength and umte experience through my efforts. I''m tired of everything being handed to me, only for it to slip between my fingers due to my weakness!" Understanding what Jin was asking, Vahn''s expression became equally severe as he asked, "Are you sure about this, kid? Even if I send you away for a thousand years and pull you back to this exact moment, any chance you had at being with Lily would be gone" Shaking his head, Jin answered, "I''m not sure about anything, and that''s the problem. I keep needlesslyparing myself to others and spend most of my time thinking about all the bad things that could happen if I allowed the Community to grow. I''m not qualified to be a Leader, and I''m not ready to shoulder the burdens of others. I need to find myself before I worry about anything else" Though he would be lying if he said he wasn''t devastated by the thought of losing Lily, Jin had graduallye to the conclusion she was never his. She was a separate person with wants and needs wholly unrted to his. As Vahn had told him long ago, rtionships were apromise between two willing individuals. If one side was incapable or unwilling to sacrifice for the other, both were bound to suffer. Having formed his conviction, Jin stared into the depths of Vahn''s subtly glowing pupils as he stated, "Please allow me to descend into one of your Actualized Worlds. If possible, I would like you to strip away everything that isn''t my original power. This time, everything I achieve, every ounce of power I attain, will be acquired through individual merit and diligence!!" Seeing the conviction in Jin''s eyes, Vahn resisted the urge to exin just how foolish he was being. While it was essential to gain power through personal effort, the power obtained while cooperating with others served as the foundation of a person''s strength. Trying to aplish everything on your own was incredibly foolish. Fortunately for Jin, Vahn believed that people should be allowed to make their own mistakes. He could be very overprotective when it came to his children, but that was the case with most parents. If they truly wished to pursue a path without his influence, he wouldn''t stop them. "Very well. However, before I send you on your way, you need to exin the situation to Lily, Sandora, and the rest. If you''re serious about taking responsibility for yourself from this moment onward, start by convincing them. Take it from me, kid. If you run away without saying goodbye, you will regret it for the rest of your life" Though he had been hoping to avoid an encounter with Lily and Sandora, Jin didn''t refuse Vahn''s words. He needed the man''s assistance to ess one of his Actualized Worlds. If Vahn refused, there was nothing Jin could do to force the matter. He was, once again, powerless. "I understand" . Upon learning of Jin''s decision, Lily demonstrated genuine anger for the first time in her life. She ended up pouncing on him, pinning him to the ground and beating his fairly handsome face over and over again until he resembled a pig. Then, for the better part of an hour, she just sat on top of him, tears streaming down her face as Jin silently endured a level of regret beyond words. Once Lily had calmed down enough to allow Jin to rise to his feet, it was Sandora''s turn to p him. She only hit him once, but, simr to when Lily had struck him, tears began pouring down her face immediately after. Compared to the anguish he felt upon seeing Lily and Sandora cry, the throbbing pain in Jin''s face was negligible. In the years that followed, he even felt a bit of resentment towards Vahn for making him endure such an experience. It wasn''t until he silently parted ways with yet another person he cared for that Jin understood the burden of failing to say goodbye. As painful as partings were, they were necessary to give both parties a form of closure. Failing to say goodbye only amplified the heartache you would feel. In some cases, it even bred resentment Unfortunately, by the time Jin had realized the error of his ways, he was living a life far removed from the people in the Little Garden. There were times when he wanted to return, but with a family, friends, andrades who relied on him, he couldn''t bring himself to leave their side. Thus, over time, the anguish he had endured during his parting with Lily and Sandora eventually became a cherished memorysomething he couldugh about whenever he recounted his past to his grandchildren . After dropping off Jin and ensuring his path wouldn''t immediately deviate towards a bad end, Vahn hesitated for a moment before teleporting to the room where Lily was currently staying. Sandora had assigned everyone a suite, but instead of staying in her assigned quarters, Lily had barricaded herself in Vahn''s room with all the lights turned off. "Come on out, kit" Though she didn''t immediatelye out, Vahn was unsurprised when Lily emerged from under the covers to reveal that she wasn''t wearing a single piece of clothing. Her original n was to seduce Vahn, but upon hearing the concern in his tone, a freshyer of tears developed across Lily''s eyes as she asked, "This is my fault, isn''t it? If I weren''t such a dirty and lustful woman, Jin never would have left" Shaking his head, Vahn approached Lily before taking a seat on the bed and hugging her. Her body briefly tensed, but, immediately after that, she began bawling into his chest as she tightly clung to the fabric of his tunic. Her rtionship with Jin hadn''t gone particrly well, but he was still one of the most important people in her life. Even if they couldn''t be a couple, Lily would have continued supporting both him and their Community for the rest of her life. Though Jin was still alive, Lily understood there was little chance their paths would cross in the future. By choosing to enter an Actualized World and pursue a solitary path, Jin had effectively given up on life, died, and reincarnated. All for the sake of personal validation. "It hurts so much, VahnI feel like a hole has opened in my heart" Grabbing Vahn''s cor in a manner that implied she was about to try and rip his shirt open, Lily''s countenance became iparably desperate as she begged, "Pleaseplease make it go away" As Vahn had always been a source of fulfillment and warmth, Lily believed he was the only thing that could repair the massive rift that threatened to tear her apart. If he rejected her now, Lily felt as though she would never again be happy Desperate to feel wanted, Lily promptly deactivated the seal on her body. The tails swaying behind her increased from four to eight, and, as a result, various parts of her body began to swell as her hair practically ''exploded'' into curls that extended well past her waist. Her height didn''t increase all that much, but that wasn''t too strange considering her mother was only around 162cm. Though he was awed by the sudden and drastic increase in Lily''s beauty, Vahn''s expression remained as calm and serene as an undergroundke as he held her close and whispered, "I will do everything in my power to fill the void in your heart. For now, however, you need to rest. As much as I want to take you right now, I would never take advantage of someone in their moment of despair" Hearing the first half of Vahn''s words, Lily felt a sensation that could only be described as vertigo. She felt like she was falling into an endless abyss of darkness, only for Vahn to reach out at thest moment to catch her. It was a jarring experience, but Lily felt better knowing Vahn wasn''t refusing her. He was just worried about her mental state "I understandjust pleasepromise me that you''ll never leavemy heart cannot take losing another person precious to me" Without any hesitation whatsoever, Vahn answered, "I promise youI''m not going anywhere" before nting a kiss atop Lily''s head. Then, as an additional assurance, he forced her tear-stained face to meet his before nting a second, much longer kiss on her lips . (A/N: Since people have been encouraging me to continue plugging for the website and pat-reon, I wanted to let people know that I''ve been working on a Legend of Korra Fanfic at the behest of my sponsors. We''re only at 11 chapters right now but it should be at 30 by the end of the month. If you are interested in checking it out, I''ve made the first three chapters avable to the public.) Chapter 2270: Acceptance

Chapter 2270: eptance

While Vahn was busy dealing with Sandora and Lily, Izayoi, Yo, and Asuka were gathered together in a lounge-like room featuring a self-service bar. Since there were nows to prevent it, Izayoi made himselffortable behind the bar, his usual smile nowhere to be seen as he mixed drinks for the two girls seated across from him. Though she had never been particrly fond of Jin, Asuka couldn''t help feeling a little guilty. It was no secret that she aimed to take over the No Names, so she couldn''t shake the feeling she had directly contributed to Jin''s gradual breakdown and departure. Breaking Asuka from her reverie, Izaoi ced a scotch ss filled with plum wine in front of her, saying, "Chin up, Oujo. Jin''s decision to leave isn''t that different from the three of using to the Divine Realm. We shouldn''t be moping about like a bunch of bereaved babies. Our priority should be making the No Names into the best Community it can be" Pushing the ss a little closer to Asuka, Izayoi''s smile promptly returned as he whispered, "You''re in charge now, Leader" Though she didn''t immediately bounce back, Asuka''s back straightened in response to Izayoi''s words. With Jin''s abrupt departure, she was officially in charge of the No Names. Izayoi was their Strategist, and, despite being one of their most powerful members, Yo had refused to ept any official position or title. Thus, while it wouldn''t be official until they submitted the request to the Gate Administration, Asuka was the de facto Leader of the No Names. epting the previously offered ss, Asuka downed the contents in a single go before mming it on the counter and eximing, "Right! Now isn''t the time to be moping around! Let''s show that little brat what the No Names could have been if he had a bit of backbone!" Raising a ss of his own, Izayoi tly replied, "I''ll drink to that." before following Asuka''s example and downing the contents in threerge swills. He would never admit it, but he was one of the people most impacted by Jin''s departure. He viewed the No Names as his younger siblings, so he couldn''t help feeling as though he had failed them by letting Jin leave. Fortunately, Izayoi and Asuka weren''t alone in their suffering. They had each other to rely on, and though she had deeply rooted affections for Vahn, Yo was there to help and support them. No matter what obstacles they faced in the future, the trio of friends was determined to ovee them together. If only Jin had been willing to do the same . In the span of a single evening, Vahn spent the better part of five weeks attending Lily and helping her cope with Jin''s departure. The two of them literally binge-watched three of his lives in the form of anime, so while it was a little surreal, Lily was able to obtain a bit of closure by watching Jin ovee his personal demons. Though there were some painful moments where Jin would reminisce about his childhood, they became less frequent inter episodes. By the time he was nearing the end of his third life, a journey spanning well over ten thousand years, the only time he ever talked about his past was as a cautionary tale for his descendants. As ironic as it sounded, Jin ended up parroting many of the things Vahn had attempted to teach him. Age, experience, and wisdom had helped him mature considerably, but the thing that had impacted Jin''s life the most was the birth of his first child. The event had drastically changed the way he viewed the world around him, and, by the end of his first life, Jin had followed in Vahn''s footsteps by bing an Emperor in his own right. Watching Jin gradually mature from an unstable, clearly troubled youth into a confident and reliable father drastically impacted Lily''s views on his departure. She went from feeling despair and loss to mild annoyance and eventual eptance as Jin''s looks and personality invariably attracted a number of heroine-ss beauties. By the end of the first season, Lily was actively rooting for certain girls to end up with Jin. She began viewing him as less of a person she was close to and more as a fictional, or, at the very least, a separate individual living his own life. When he finally confessed to one of the heroines, she literally jumped for joy before subsequently quieting down and bing meek as the scene developed from a confession to something far more intimate. Though it was probably one of the most inopportune times imaginable, it was during the scene depicting Jin''s loss of virginity that Lily gave up her own. She felt incredibly guilty after the fact, but, at the same time, she felt as though a tremendous weight had been removed from her chest. Following their first time together, Lily and Vahn were nearly inseparable for the remainder of their stay in the timeless suite. Lily had been holding herself back for a long time by that point, so, with nothing else standing in her way, she explored her sensuality to the fullest while reveling in Vahn''s care and constant attention. If there was anything Lily regretted about her time in the royal suite, it was the fact she had gotten a head start on Yo. The two had promised to give up their first times together if the opportunity presented itself, so she couldn''t help feeling at least a little guilty . With Vahn informing her that the time for their return hade, Lily spent their final few hours together trying on new clothes. She had spent nearly three of the five weeks wearing little more than lingerie and sleepwear, so it felt a little strange going back to ''normal'' clothing. In the end, Lily settled on a lc-purple blouse that resembled a kimono but functioned more as a crop-top. In other words, it left her shoulders, back, and navelpletely exposed. The rest of her outfit wasn''t much better as her skirt, matching with her top, barely concealed more than a third of her milky white thighs. It was enchanted to prevent people from sneaking a peek at the contents, but it was still a rather risque garment that left very little to the imagination. Toplete her outfit, Lily, somewhat ironically, donned a pair of long, kimono-like sleeves that extended from her biceps and flowed well past the tips of her fingers. As for essories, she decided upon a flowery hairpin to ent her flowing golden locks and a dark-purple cor with Vahn''s name engraved in gold lettering along the interior. Though Vahn had offered her a ring and a pendant, Lily had refused both. She appreciated his concerns, but she wanted something that embodied the notion she had ''given'' herself to him. As for why this was important, it was due to the fact she was a Harvest Spirit. They were entities bound to serve and protect, so while the notion of bing Vahn''s bride made her tails twitch excitedly, Lily was content with simply ''being his''. Since Lily was far from the first woman he had cored, Vahn didn''t mind it too much. So long as she was happy, he was even more so. Extending his hand toward the breathtakingly beautiful kitsune, Vahn''s smile illuminated the entire room, at least from Lily''s perspective, as he asked, "Are you ready?" Returning an affectionate smile of her own, Lily gingerly linked her hand with Vahn''s as she sonorously replied, "Where you go, I will follow" . Though his super-human regeneration should have prevented it, Izayoi awoke the following morning with a mild hangover. He could barely recall the previous evening''s events, so, first and foremost, he looked around to get his bearings. "Well, fuck" While it wasn''t atypical for him to sleep naked, goosebumps developed across Izayoi''s body as he noticed the high-brow brte lying next to him in her birthday suit. If it were just her, he wouldn''t be too upset, but lying on the other side of the girl was a chestnut-haired woman wearing a onesie. Reacting to Izayoi''s voice, the brtenguidly rose to a sitting position, hair sticking to her face as shezily observed her surroundings. She had also gotten ckout drunk the previous night, so it took her a moment to recognize the room as the suite afforded to her by Smandra. After that, her gaze moved to her body before her brainpletely stalled In a vain attempt to deter theing storm, Izayoi forced a smile as he said, "I know what this looks like, but I don''t think it''s nearly as bad as it seems" Ignoring Izayoi''s words, Asuka''s reached between her naked thighs to check for blood or moisture before shifting her attention to her right. The presence of Yo caused her body to tense, eyes to widen, and pupils to contract, but, as Izayoi had suggested, things weren''t nearly as bad as they first appeared. At the very least, there was no evidence of anything irreversible urring. Shifting her gaze to Izayoi, Asuka mouthed the words, "Get the hell out of here." with a panicked expression on her face. More than willing to get as far away from theing storm as possible, Izayoi raised his hands in azy gesture of surrender before grabbing a pillow to cover his crotch. He wasn''t ashamed to be seen naked, but he knew Asuka would give him crap about it if he sauntered around with Yo sleeping nearby. Following Izayoi''s departure with her eyes, Asuka''s gaze briefly lowered before she quickly shook her head and began to search for her [REquip] System. Then, recalling the existence of her Companion, Abyssinian, she focused her mind and imagined the form she wanted it to take. With Izayoi long gone and a pair of pajamas to conceal her nudity, Asuka went into investigation mode. It nearly awoke Yo, but she removed all the nkets from the bed to inspect them for any evidence of blood or bodily fluids. After that, she searched around the room and under the bed before finding three sets of clothes littering the floor of the adjoining bath. Seeing several empty bottles around the still-filled tub, it wasn''t difficult for Asuka to piece together what must have happened the night prior. The three of them must have gotten ckout drunk at the bar before retiring to her room to continue drinking. The only mystery was whether the three of them had taken turns or entered the bath together. As conspicuous as three sets of clothes were, it didn''t indicate they had been abandoned at the same time. Deciding to trust in Izayoi, Asuka busied herself with cleaning up until Yo awoke nearly three hourster. Fortunately, she couldn''t recall so much as a single detail from the previous night. This might have been a boon if not for Yo immediatelying up with a solution Asuka had overlooked. Curious to know what had transpired, Yo asked her own Companion, the Maneki-neko, for an exnation. Neither it nor the Abyssinian had taken in a single drop of alcohol, so they could easily recollect the events of the previous night. Thus, despite dodging numerous death gs, Izayoi''s fate was set in stone when the two Companions reported that the trio had, in fact, entered the bath together. To make matters exponentially worse, at least for Asuka, it was apparently at her insistence . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Gotta move forward'',''That''s one hell of a way to speed up the process of eptance'',''This is why you shouldn''t drink xD'') Chapter 2271: Morning After

Chapter 2271: Morning After

After brushing Sandora''s hair and helping her prepare for the day toe, Vahn apanied her to the small, private dining room reserved for members of the Royal Family and their guests. There, they found Lily, who, upon seeing Vahn enter alongside Sandora, briefly paused before offering her characteristically radiant smile and saying, "Good morning, Sandora-chan." Noticing Lily''s momentary pause, Sandora''s expression softened into a concerned look as she asked, "How are you feeling?" Since Lily was a little confused by Sandora''s question, it was Vahn who exined, "She forgot about my ability to manifest multiple forms at the same time. My other self is busy preparing breakfast, so she was a little surprised by my sudden entrance." "Ah" Though she rxed a little upon hearing Vahn''s words, Sandora still made her way over to Lily''s side, a supportive smile on her face as she grabbed thetter''s hand and said, "You''re looking especially radiant this morning, Lily. I take it things went well between you and Vahn?" Since Lily looked significantly older and more mature than she had the previous day, Sandora didn''t discount the possibility she and Vahn had been away for a very long time. It would exin why Lily was giving off apletely calm and serene aura despite losing an important friend mere ''hours'' prior. Sensing Sandora''s concern, Lily''s confusion morphed into a very motherly smile as she caressed the young Dragoness''s hand and said, "I was given closure and the opportunity to express myself for the first time in my life truly. Vahn" Shifting her gaze to Vahn, Lily''s expression softened into an indescribably affectionate, almost sultry look as she softly appended, "Vahn-sama is a truly wonderful person" As if agreeing with her, the tips of Lily''s nine tails flickered contentedly behind her. The movement caught Sandora''s eye, who, for the first time, noticed that Lily now had all of her tails. "Beautiful" Amused by Sandora''s soft utterance, Lily covered her mouth to stifle a giggle before surprising theparably petite Dragoness by pulling her into a hug. Sandora''s crown and horns ended up poking against her skin, but Lily ignored them as she tenderly embraced her remaining childhood friend and whispered, "Thank you, Sandorafrom now on, let''s always be togetherokay?" Though she had tensed due to the unexpected contact, Sandora quickly calmed down, returning Lily''s embrace as she softly replied, "Of course. After all, we do love the same man" Giggling a second time, Lily squeezed Sandora even closer, practically smothering the adorable Dragoness with her fairlyrge breasts before finally releasing her to remark, "We''re going to have a lot of sisters in the future" Understanding the implication within Lily''s words, a dry chuckle emanated from Sandora''s throat before the two of them shifted their gazes to Vahn. He had been watching the scene y out with apassionate smile on his face, but the moment they turned towards him, he yfully remarked, "Don''t worry. I''m pretty confident in my ability to keep the women around me happy." Punctuating his remark with a wink towards Lily, Vahn managed to elicit a rather prominent blush from the usually calm kitsune. Sandora took notice of this, but before she could pester her childhood-friend-turned-sister for details, the door at the far end of the dining room suddenly opened. Though he had his customarily confident smile, therge, square-shaped bandage on Izayoi''s left cheek ruined his heroic image. It is evident to everyone in the room that he was concealing a bit of swelling, and, based on the gloomy yet abashed aura exuding from Asuka, it wasn''t too difficult to imagine she had something to do with it. Seeing the trio already present in the room, Izayoi raised his hand, saying, "Yo." as the person by the same name ran past him to presumably leap at Vahn. At the very least, that''s who everyone assumed until she practically tackled Lily, eximing, "Oh my gosh, Lily-chan, you''re so fluffy~!!!" with illusory stars glistening in her eyes. Reacting to Yo''s words, Izayoi remarked, "Hold up. You''re telling me that premium MILF material is-" Before Izayoi could finish speaking, Asuka elbowed him, hard, in the ribs. She was equally surprised by Lily''s sudden and rather drastic change, but that didn''t mean she would overlook her boyfriend referring to another girl as MILF material. Though he coughed, winced, and held onto his side, Izayoi wasn''t even slightingly injured by Asuka''s attack. Thetter was well aware of this, but she ignored it since it made her feel gratified knowing Izayoi was at least willing to pretend she was powerful and in control . Following the arrival of the Problem Children, the group at breakfast and made small talk until the subject of Jin invariably came up. Asuka and Yo had noticed how carefree and vivacious Lily was behaving, so it was only natural that they investigate the cause. Illustrating how far she hade in regards to epting Jin''s decision, Lily readily revealed the existence of the anime she and Vahn had binge-watched together. That segued into a rather lengthy discussion regarding the true nature of time, and, by the end of it, Vahn had agreed to turn over a copy of Jin''s anime to the No Names. It would need to have some of the ''spicier'' bits edited out, but watching Jin mature from a naive child into a literal God would go a long way towards helping the other No Names find closure . Towards the end of breakfast, Vahn epted Yo''s proposal toe and witness her performance at the Battle of the Creators. Sandora had also cleared out arge portion of her schedule, so, after notifying the pce staff and her brother, she decided to apany Vahn and spend the rest of the day with Lily. Since Sandora wasn''t intended to show up until the finals, her presence in the VIP region of the stands caused quite a stir. However, the people that drew the most attention were, as could be expected, Vahn and Lily. Rumors regarding Vahn''s and Sandora''s engagement had already started to propagate throughout Kouen City. Thus, while many citizens had mixed feelings about seeing their beloved idol sitting next to Vahn, others were curious about the identity of the breathtakingly beautiful kitsune sitting on his opposite side. The cor around her neck led many to believe she was a ve, but if that had been the case, she wouldn''t be sitting on the same throne as their Leader and the most infamous rising star from the East. Unfortunately for the crowd, Sandora was attending the event as a guest, so while the event organizers did ask her to give a speech, she ultimately declined. Observing the Battle of the Creators alongside Vahn had all but confirmed the rumors circting throughout the city, but Sandora didn''t let it bother her. Instead, she focused on enjoying the day and spending time with two of her most precious and beloved people . With her only difficult opponent being a 6m tall suit of armor based on the legend of the Duhan, Yo had little difficulty securing a spot for the No Names in the Finals. In fact, due to her dominant performance, she was currently the favorite to win the entire event. Not caring about the opinion of others, Yo broke away from the veritable horde of columnists and reporters waiting for her in order to meet up with Vahn and the rest as quickly as possible. Prolonged use of her Vanargandr transformation had given her a few of Fenrir''s quirks, so, as much as she enjoyed receiving praise from Asuka and Lily, the opinion Yo most cared about was Vahn''s. Fortunately, Izayoi and Asuka had gone off to enjoy the festivities. Better still, an alternate version of Vahn had escorted Sandora and Lily back to the pce, so instead of finding arge group of people waiting for her, Yo found a version of Vahn loitering about in the hallway connecting the pce and the coliseum. As was often the case when she encountered Vahn, Yo elerated into a sprint before springing several tens of meters to pounce on him. Vahn had long since gotten used to this, so even before Yo started running towards him, he had already spread his arms and squared his feet. "Vaaaahn~!" Catching the vaguely Vanargandr-shaped projectile, an affectionate smile developed across Vahn''s face as he held Yo close and exined, "I talked with Lily and Sandora. Due torecent events, the two of them thought we should spend a bit of time together. Thus, for the rest of the evening, you have my divided yet focused attention" Punctuating his words, Vahn surprised Yo tremendously with a soft peck on the lips. Her expressionpletely nked, and, for a brief moment, she seemed to think she had imagined it as she reached up to touch her lips, asking, "Did you just?" Nodding his head, Vahn was prepared to give Yo a second kiss when the petite yet shapely brte beat him to the punch, arms linking around his neck as she simultaneously kissed his lips and dangled from him. She had waited a long time to be able to kiss Vahn whenever she wanted, so, now that he had initiated it, Yo saw no reason to continue holding back. Feeling Yo''s supple thighs and remarkably powerful legs lock around his waist, the only thing preventing Vahn from smiling wryly was the tongue invading his mouth. Fortunately, he was able to suspend the flow of time around them, so even if Yopletely abandoned her inhibitions, there was no risk of them being walked in upon or exposed. Sensing the tell-tale fluctuations in space-time, Yo continued clinging to Vahn for the better part of ten minutes before separating from his mouth with a beguiling smile on her face. Lily had already apologized for getting ahead of her, so Yo knew the only thing preventing Vahn from ''ravishing'' her was consent. As for why she used ravish to describe the act? It was because Yo had a very animalistic view of sex. She had always envisioned Vahn pushing her down and taking her from behind as she wed at the ground and panted like a beast. Thus, while increasing the strength in her arms and legs, Yo brought her face closer to Vahn''s, her voice radiating a tremendous amount of passion and moisture as she said, "I''m in heat" Though he had been looking forward to just walking around and enjoying the festival, Vahn could tell Yo wasn''t going to release him that easily. He also didn''t want her to, so, without any hesitation whatsoever, he brought his face close enough that their lips grazed against each other as he said, "You''re in luckwhen ites to dealing with girls in heat, I''m something of a specialist" Punctuating his words, Vahn surprised Yo by grasping her butt and sinking his fingers into her pliant flesh with a spare set of hands. Such an act may have disturbed or rmed other girls, but, as someone who relished new and unique experiences, the look in Yo''s eyes became even more fervent as she willed the Maneki-Neko to dissipate. The only clothes she had on underneath were the scanty garments afforded to her by her Vanargandr transformation: a loincloth and a thin piece of fabric covering her breasts. Feeling Yo''s exposed, indescribably soft cheeks against his palms, Vahn promptly discarded his own clothes. Then, despite the fact they were in a rtively public throughway, he pinned her against the wall and initiated a very long and primal session of lovemaking . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Sandora be thinking, "Mine are biggerat least in my adult form"'',''Izayoi knows when to give his girl face'',''Just think, if you were a Patron, you would be able to vote for up to 28 chapters of raw, uncensored erotica (O w O)'') Chapter 2272: Liberation

Chapter 2272: Liberation

"This isn''t exactly what I had in mind when I asked if you wanted to walk around town." After indulging themselves for a couple of hours, Vahn and Yo took a nap in the same hallway where they had made love. Afterward, he asked her if she still wanted to go on a date, to which Yo readily agreed. What Vahn hadn''t expected was for Yo to want to walk around with time still frozen. As for her reason, it appeared she had always wanted to feel what it was like to walk aroundpletely naked. "Doesn''t walking around like this feel free and liberating, though? I never really understood why people were so obsessed with things like clothing. I mean, I get that it helps us resist the natural elements, but humans are ultimately just animals. I don''t get why so many people are afraid to just ''be'' themselves." Walking with her arms spread wide and an uninhibited smile on her face, Yo was enjoying every moment of her date with Vahn. Others might view her as a pervert, but she honestly didn''t care. In her opinion, people were always too concerned about other people, and rarely in a good way. Now, for the first time in her life, Yo felt like there were no more obstacles in her way. She was finally free. Feeling the need to express herself, Yo beganughing as she performed a series of yful pirouettes and gamboled over to the highest point of a stone bridge. Vahn was following close behind her, so, while enjoying the scene of the frozen river below, Yo leaned over the parapet, her butt and tail swaying from side-to-side as an open invitation. Whether or not Vahn epted was ultimately up to him, and, as far as Yo was concerned, that was how it should be. Though he did take a moment to admire the sight of Yo''s perfectly pear-shaped bottom, Vahn didn''t walk over and insert himself into her. Instead, he stood next to her, acent smile on his face as he leaned over the parapet and answered, "I won''t deny itit does feel liberating. Back when I was still living in the world of Danmachi, one of my favorite things to do was spend time with the Xenos. Though I have walked this path willingly, I would be lying if I said my heart didn''t yearn for a simpler time" Recalling how he would spend hours cuddling with the Almiraj orzing about and allowing Naho to groom him, a longing smile developed across Vahn''s face. He wasn''t as far gone as Yo, but he also disliked how society forced responsibilities onto people and forced them to fill specific molds. It was one of the reasons he would spend days on end just ying with Xysteria or cuddling Fenrir. It was just soeasyso simple. "Hey, if I jump down, will I fall into the water or remain above it?" Sensing Vahn''s mncholy, Yo decided a change of scenery was in order. Thus, without waiting for his response, she issued a cheerful, "Yaho~!" as she leaped down onto the water''s surface. It felt likending on a sponge, but it didn''t so much as deform when shended on it. "Whoahow weird" Jumping down next to Yo, Vahn''s expression had returned to normal as he asked, "Want to check it out? So long as we remain in constant contact, I can phase us through pretty much anything." Fascinated by the notion of being able to stroll beneath the surface of the river, Yo leaped towards Vahn in a manner thatpelled him to catch her in a bridal carry. Vahn dutifully did just that, so Yo rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek before raising her fist into the air and shouting, "Let''s go~!" in an eager, excited tone. Feeling Yo''s body beginning to heat up, Vahn had a pretty good idea of what she had in mind once they reached the bottom of the river or found a more scenic location. Instead of feeling even remotely put off by this, a wolfish grin developed across his face as he returned her kiss and started their gradual descent to the river''s depths . "So you never entered one of Vahn''s Actualized Worlds or spent time in a Game Board?" Though Vahn had expected it toe up, he couldn''t help smiling wryly when the subject of Sandora''s and Lily''s conversation veered towards the specifics of his affiliation with the No Names and the development of their romance. However, instead of intruding upon their conversation, his two selves merely exchanged wry smiles with one another before continuing to give the two childhood friends a massage. "NnnVahn ced a magical seal on my body that helps to regte and consolidate spiritual energy. I maintained my adolescent form for a while but chose to enter my third stage of development when everyone decided to enter the Game Board. As for my current formwell" Swaying her tails in a fluid motion, Lily''s voice and smile gained a sensual undertone as she appended, "I believed my fourth form would help me to seduce a certain someone" Noticing Lily shift her attention to the Vahn massaging her back, Sandora briefly exchanged nces with the one being smothered by the kitsune''s nine tails. He immediately returned a smile while the version kneading her back and shoulders spontaneously ran his middle and index fingers down the line of her back. A pleasant shiver ran through her body, and though it wasn''t visible even in her revealing attire, she had a tiny nub of a dragon tail that twitched in response. Though he had already gotten over his previous inhibitions, Vahn softly whispered, "Lily has always been a very mature girl. You''ve made a lot of progress these past couple of weeks, Sandora, but you still have a ways to go before I consider you an adult." Hearing Vahn''s words, Sandora attempted to form a pouty expression, but Vahn prevented it by pressing into one of the more sensitive nerves above her tail. As a result, a surprised yelp escaped her throat before mellowing out into a prolonged "Waaaauuuu~" as her tiny frame became increasingly limp. Spoiling Vahn''s attempt to keep Sandora subdued, Lily issued an amused giggle before adopting a squinting smile as she sonorously replied, "Don''t worry, Sandora-chan. It may be a little difficult right now, but once Vahn recognizes your growth, you''ll be able to experience a degree of pleasure that makes this massage feel like a gentle breeze" "" x2 Resisting the urge to give Lily''s pert yet pillowy bottom a firm smack, the two Vahn''s, once again, exchanged nces. Then, at the same time, their fingers began to exude a faint rainbow glow as they softly chorused, "You are severely underestimating the potency of our massage" . As they had spent the previous day exploring the city, watching parades, and visiting various stands, Izayoi and Asuka decided to take it easy by visiting one of the Festival''s main attractions, the Corridor of Disys, an exhibit showcasing the various artisanal crafts of Smandra Community and their affiliates. Though the North Side was known for its abundance of Spirits, the sight of dozens of Tool Spirits, many taking the forms of Floating Lanterns and Candlesticks, was enough to make Asuka''s eyes sparkle. One of the tales she had enjoyed the most as a child was a ssical story called ''Beauty and the Beast'', so she couldn''t helpparing herself and Izayoi to the titr main characters. After all, while he may be easy on the eyes, Izayoi was definitely a beast at heart Fortunately, Asuka kept her thoughts to herself as she didn''t want to ruin the mood. Instead, she allowed Izayoi to escort her, a contented smile on her face as she leaned against him and enjoyed the stone corridor and its many disys. Unbeknownst to the young couple, their highly ranked [Child of Destiny] Innates were in full sway. As a result, they found themselves pulled along by fate''s invisible current until Asuka, specifically, noticed a tiny, luminous figure flying around with a fretful expression on its face. "Hmm? What''s that?" Following Asuka''s gaze, Izayoi noticed the tiny, humanoid creature flitting about like a vibrant candle. He didn''t know the exact species, but he was pretty confident as he answered, "I''m guessing it''s either a faerie or some form of house spirit. It''s pretty cute." Standing 4cm tall, the faerie in question was a vaguely humanoid and distinctly feminine creature that flittered about while releasing a vibrant, bright yellow aura. It had fluffy golden hair, simple facial features, and, as far as clothing was concerned, it wore a frilly yellow dress that red out at the waist, a pointed yellow hat, tiny mittens, and oversized shoes. The only thing it was missing was a pair of wings to denote it, unequivocally, as a faerie. Though she gave Izayoi a skeptical look when she heard him call the tiny creature cute, Asuka quickly returned her attention to the fretful-looking faerie, asking, "Do you think she''s in trouble? Or perhaps she''s lost?" Shrugging his shoulders, Izayoi replied, "Only one way to find out." before half-dragging-half-escorting Asuka towards the diminutive fae. Thetter was a little annoyed by his shameless behavior, but, as she was genuinely curious about the tiny creature, Asuka allowed herself to be pulled along without a fuss. Unfortunately, the moment they got close to the adorable little fae, Izayoi beat Asuka to the punch, asking, "Hey, chibi, you lost or something? Need help finding your Community?" Though she was startled by the sudden appearance of two giants, the fae was intelligent enough to understand Izayoi''s words. As a result, it began iling its mittened hands, shouting, "Rattenfanger~! Rattenfanger~!" over and over again. "Rotten Finger?" Due to the faerie''s ent, Asuka couldn''t fullyprehend what it was trying to say. Izayoi, however, immediately recognized the word, stating, "Rattenfangerit''s a German word meaning rat catcher. The real question is, is that its name or the name its Community?" Having learned to speak German and several othernguages, Asuka was on the same page as Izayoi as she released his arm, stooped down, and asked, "Are you a member of the Rattenfanger Community? If so, do you need us to help you find them?" Tilting her head to the side, the tiny faerie pointed to herself, repeating, "Rattenfanger!" in a cheerful yet insistent tone. Voicing what Asuka was thinking, Izayoi stated, "I''m guessing that means it''s her name?" Though she had the same thought, Asuka feltpelled to say, "It could be both. For now, let''s take her with us. We might be able to find someone who recognizes her." Extending her hands towards the faerie, Asuka gave her best smile in the hopes of coaxing it into her palms. Fortunately, like most faeries, the tiny sprite was sensitive to people''s intentions. It could tell that Asuka wanted to help, so, after a moment of hesitation, it promptly leaped into the palms of her hands before adopting a v-shaped smile. Returning a smile of her own, Asuka rose to her feet before shifting her gaze to Izayoi and asking, "What do you think we should do? Should we try and ask the Smandra Military Police for help?" Spreading his arms and shrugging in a carefree manner, Izayoi answered, "Beats me. For all we know, it''s someone''s Familiar or a newly manifested Spirit without a Community. The Military Police can probably help, but I''m not exactly keen on the idea of going to a station and answering a bunch of questions. Authority figures and I rarely see eye to eye." Hearing Izayoi mention authority, Asuka''s thoughts shifted to Vahn and Sandora. The former seemed to know just about everything, and thetter was the Leader of Smandra. If anyone could help them find the faerie''s home, it was them . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Taking free-spirited to another level'',''RIP Lily and Sandora'',''Ah, yes, the illustrious Rotten Finger Community'') Chapter 2273: Interference

Chapter 2273: Interference

Since they didn''t feel like walking back to the Pce right then, Izayoi and Asuka decided to continue along with their date. Fortunately, the tiny faerie didn''t seem to mind. Rather, shortly after Asuka picked her up, the diminutive fae climbed atop her head, a happy smile on her face as she yfully kicked her feet and enjoyed the view. "Some of these disys are fairly impressive. You can really feel how much effort the Communities behind them put into their creation." Though he nodded his head in approval, most of Izayoi''s attention was on the various gs and symbols decorating the innumerable disys. There was a rather drastic disparity between Communities with gs and those without them. Asuka may not have noticed, but Izayoi could see that even the half-assed creations of a famous Community were presented in a way that made them stand out over the masterpieces o lesser-known groups. "Ah! Rattenf?nger~! Rattenf?nger~!" Patting Asuka''s head, the tiny faerie attempted to draw hers and Izayoi''s attention to one of the most prominent exhibitions in the gallery. However, this waspletely unnecessary as it would have been pretty difficult for them to overlook a giant, crimson automaton. "Wow, I didn''t know the Little Garden had Gun. Nice." Though he knew the object was a kind of golem, Izayoi couldn''t helpparing the crimson automaton to the giant robotsmonly seen in the anime of his world. It stood around 14m in height, and, as far as he could tell, it appeared to be made out of the same material as Wu''s Ruyi Jingu Bang. Izayoi had fought against the legendary monkey kind a few times, so he was ''intimately'' familiar with the mystical energies radiated by her staff. Since she came from a world that was just a bit farther in the past than Izayoi''s, Asuka wasn''t familiar with the term Gun. However, before she could ask for an exnation, the lights abruptly went out in the gallery. At the same time, a frigid wind carrying the stench of death surged through the stone cavern as a feminine voice reverberated, "I''ve finally found you, one who dares to lie about the name Rattenf?nger!" The moment the voice echoed through the cavern, a wave of pitch-ck energy spread across the walls, floor, and ceiling as Izayoi shouted, "It''s a domain! They''re trying to trap us!" Summoning his whale-like Companion, Seiun, Izayoi managed to repel the expanding domain by unleashing his own. This was apparently outside the expectations of the person who released the previous domain, a beautiful woman with milky skin, blue eyes, elf-like ears, and blonde hair that red outward at the sides and framed the sides of her face with long bangs. Further enting her beauty, the befuddled woman wore a rather skimpy outfit consisting of a pointed white hat, a flowing white cape, long sleeves ented with purple stripes, puffy leg warmers, stylish white heels, and a top and bottom set better suited for the role of undergarments. Suppressing the almost overwhelming urge toment on the woman''s outfit and appearance, a luminous blue aura erupted from Izayoi''s body as he charged forward like an arrow of light. If she was surprised before, the pointy-eared woman was utterly terrified when Izayoi suddenly charged toward her. He was a lot faster than he, or anyone else for that matter, had the right to be. She was able to manifest her weapon, a silver flute, but Izayoi''s fist was already barrelling into her abdomen long before she could bring it to her lips. "K-kuh!" Shifting his weight and twisting his body, Izayoi sent the scantily-d woman flying in a counterclockwise motion, her body crashing into the wall of the Corridor of Disys and embedding itself nearly a meter into the surface. Though it was against his policy to strike a ''defenseless'' woman, Izayoi had a very advanced view on gender equality. Domains were one of the most dangerous weapons in the entire Divine Realm as they could strip away a target''s power and render thempletely helpless. They were also strictly prohibited outside of Gift Games, so the moment she tried to imprison him and Asuka in a Domain, Izayoi recognized the woman as an enemy. And as far as he was concerned, the gender of his enemies didn''t matter in the slightest. Knocked senseless by Izayoi''s punch, the pointy-eared womany limply within her earthy prison with a visible imprint of a fist just above her navel. It was a rather sorry sight to behold, so much so that two of the guards tasked with providing security for the exhibit ran over, shouting, "Hey! You there! Stop what you''re doing! You''re under arrest!" Furrowing his brows, Izayoi was about to knock some sense into the two guards when Asuka shouted, "Go to sleep!" in an authoritative tone that echoed throughout the cavern. The eyes of the two guardsmen promptly rolled towards the backs of their heads as Asuka grabbed Izayoi''s sleeve and added, "Let''s go!" in a firm tone. Though he was about to protest, Izayoi noticed the thing that Asuka had seen moments prior. The body of the half-naked woman was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was just a vaguely human-shaped hole in the wall and a smell simr to ozone lingering in the air . Since she had refused to wear them of her own ord, Vahn was helping Yo to both choose and wear a new outfit. She wanted to change things uppletely, so, after several hours of dressing her up and down, Vahn had helped her decide upon a single-sleeved, open-cored white blouse, a daffodil-yellow jacket, a pair of form-fitting red shorts, open-toed leather boots, and a single, thigh-high stocking. She also carried her usual pouch, but the thing that stood out most was the silver key that now adorned the indestructible chain hosting her Genome Tree. Though the key appeared rtively in, it was actually an S-Rank Gift-Grade Artifact that allowed Yo to create a door on virtually any surface. Said door connected to a pocket dimension that would grow in size and autonomously produce biomes to amodate just about any creature. More importantly, time would effectively ''freeze'' the moment Yo entered the interior, simultaneously alerting Vahn to her presence. Put simply, the pocket dimension was a veritable paradise where Vahn and Yo could rendezvous and express themselves. To guarantee this, Yo asked Vahn to create a Law that prohibited wearing anything that might qualify as clothing. Exceptions were made for items and essories such as the [REquip] System, but, for the most part, the interior of Yo''s private dimension was an exhibitionist''s Eden. To that end, she had even named it Elysium, the paradise where Greecian Heroes were said to rest after being conferred Immortality by the Gods. With her outfit decided, Yo asked the Maneki-neko to memorize it before promptly discarding the original garments atop one of therge piles that had formed around her. She and Vahn were currently alone, so unless he specifically dressed her up or asked her to wear clothes, she would rather forgo them entirely. "There''s onest thing I want to ask you before we return to the Pce. Is that okay?" Removing his eyes from Yo''s rather sizeable, milky-white breasts, Vahn''s smile curled up at the edges as he teased, "I think we''re beyond the point of asking for things like permission. Just tell me what you want, and I''ll do my best to provide it." Resisting the urge to ask Vahn to give her ayer of fur across her entire body, Yo adopted a radiant smile of her own as she reached up the grasp her inordinately long fringe bangs, exining, "I want you to cut my hair. Today is the first day of the rest of my life, so I want everyone to be able to tell at a nce. You can leave my bangs alone, but I''d like the rest of my hair to fall above my shoulders." Raising his brows, Vahn asked, "Are you sure? Pretty soon, your bangs are going to extend to your nipples" Blushing at Vahn''s mention of her present perky nipples, Yo lowered her head and used the ends of her hair to cover them as she exined, "I like having two tufts of hair on the side of my head. They kind of remind me of floppy dog ears." Nodding his head in affirmation, Vahn extended his hands to frame Yo''s face, the tips of his fingers tracing the elf-like ears she had asked him to provide her as he answered, "I understandand yes, they suit you" Leaning down, Vahn nted a kiss on Yo''s lips as her delicate fingers immediately found their way to his crotch. Some might misconstrue this as a desire to have sex, but the truth of the matter was that she simply enjoyed fondling his genitals. It was one of her many, many quirks, but, like most concerning Yo, Vahn didn''t mind it in the slightest. Instead, he found her open and honest behavior both adorable and refreshing . Though his massage had taken both girls out ofmission for several hours, Vahn''s ability to manipte time had given Sandora and Lily plenty of time to recover. Afterward, the two girls temporarily gave him a wide berth, not because they suddenly hated him, but because just looking at his hands caused their bodies to tremble in expectation rather than fear. Fortunately, Vahn had long developed a habit of standing with his hands in his sleeves or behind his back. He could also create an illusion around them to ensure they didn''t draw attention, a handy little trick developed by Madara to make it difficult to discern her hand seals. Thanks to Vahn''s efforts, Sandora was able to appear calm and collected as a member of the Smandra Military Police informed her of the attack that had taken ce at the Corridor of Disys. Except for the Battle of the Creators and Sandora''s Coronation, the Corridor of Disys was the most prominent event urring during the Festival of the Fire Dragon. As a result, even a minor disturbance was a big deal as it could be seen as a direct slight against Smandra, a Community known for its pride. "I seethank you for your report. Now, please return to your station and continue protecting the residents of Kouen City. As for this matter, I will assign a specialist to deal with it." "Yes, Your Majesty! Long live Smandra!" Though Sandora had yet to ascend the throne, Mandra had been putting a lot of pressure on dissident groups to ensure there was no opposition to her enthronement. Thus, despite Sandora''s attempts to assure them that such formalities were unnecessary, everyone reporting to her was overtly formal. What she failed to understand was that their behavior had less to do with her and more to do with the man standing at her side. Seeing the man depart the audience chamber as though he was trying to flee a fire, a soft sigh emanated from Sandora''s throat. Immediately after, however, she regained herposure and looked to Vahn, asking, "Can I ask for your help in this matter? Just the names of the culprits will suffice. Everything else will be resolved by myself or the Smandra Community." Nodding his head, Vahn made a show of closing his eyes before promptly stopping time and opening them to find Loi-chan staring at him from less than two centimeters away. "Heya." Adopting a smile, Vahn was about to return Loi-chan''s greeting when she skillfully evaded his embrace, snickering as she said, "Too slow~!" Rolling his eyes, Vahn resisted the temptation to chase the mischievous imp around, asking, "Can you help out?" Though she flipped upside down first, a teasing smile on her face, Loi-chan happily answered, "Sure~!" before promptly transforming through a series of people, Asuka and Izayoi being two of the first. Exhaling a sigh, Vahn muttered, "I should have known those brats were involved" before falling silent as Loi-chan stalled on a man with pure-white hair. Instead of stopping there, however, she reversed the order of her transformations until she settled on a young-looking girl with purple hair, inordinately long sleeves, and a gothic-style dress. "There are a boatload of people pulling the strings, but this is the person responsible for the attack at the Corridor of Disys. Their target is the faerie that is apanying Asuka. I can give you her name, but it would qualify as one of those ''spoilers'' you wanted to avoid." Furrowing his brows, Vahn took a moment to consider Loi-chan''s words. She only said things like this when something ''interesting'' was about to happen. More urately, she would tease him whenever she felt it was a matter ''beneath'' his concern, something that would either resolve itself or didn''t pose a legitimate threat to the people around him. Seeing Vahn trying to make up his mind, Loi-chan decided to tease him a bit by lifting her skirt and saying, "They''re ck with frills." in a matter-of-factly tone of voice. This earned her a deadpan from Vahn, but Loi-chan could tell he had sneaked a peak with his perception . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''In the art world, reputation and status are often regarded higher than actual skill'',''Yo is really embracing her newfound freedom (O w O)'',''Loi-chan is yabai'') Chapter 2274: Prelude to the Finale

Chapter 2274: Prelude to the Finale

Though he trusted in Loi-chan''s judgment, Vahn felt it wouldn''t be right for him to overtly withhold information from Sandora just to keep things interesting. Thus, after a short discussion with Loi-chan, he allowed the flow of time to return to normal before opening his eyes and answering, "There is a Community of Demon Lords targetting the Festival of the Fire Dragon. As for the culprits behind the incident, Asuka and Izayoi are two of the suspects. The rest belong to a recently formed Community known as Grim Grimoire Hamlin." Thankful for the information, a smile blossomed across Sandora''s face as she remarked, "The rumors weren''t exaggerating. You really do know just about everything, don''t you? It''s no wonder Shiroyasha-sama and Indra-sama hold you in such high esteem. I am curious, though" As even Shiroyasha had limits to the information she could willfully share with others, Sandora expected there was some price Vahn had to pay. It wouldn''t make a lot of sense for him to know and disseminate information without any penalties whatsoever. If he could, that would put Vahn above even Lace and the Central Network. "What is the cost of your omniscience? The Law of Equivalent Exchange wouldn''t allow you to disseminate such information so freely. If there is a cost, please tell me. I would not be able to live with myself if I knew you were shouldering some kind of penalty without my knowledge" As Shiroyasha had warned him several times about sharing information freely, Vahn wasn''t surprised by Sandora''s inquiry and concerns. It was one of the reasons he had only given her iplete information rather than simply revealing the names of the people involved. "I can''t lie, and I refuse to try and mislead you, so I''ll just be honest. The only restriction on my ability to gather information is my desire to see and experience things directly. If I wanted, I could know everything there was to know. However, that would remove a lot of the intrigue I have about the world around me. Life wouldn''t lose its meaning, but it would certainly feel as though it had." Understanding the significance of Vahn''s statement, Sandora adopted a serious expression as she nodded her head and stated, "I understand. I''ll keep that in mind if and when I ask you for other knowledge in the future." Adopting a smile, Vahn habitually extended his hand towards Sandora''s head only for thetter''s face to immediately turn crimson up to her ears. She didn''t attempt to shrink away, but her eyes began to waver as Vahn''s hand phased through her crown and caressed her head directly. "Mnnn?" Feeling a soothing sensation wash over her body like warm water, much of Sandora''s tensions faded. There was a lingering disappointment in the back of her mind, but she didn''t really pay it any heed. The more patient she was now, the greater the sense of gratification she would feel when she and Vahn finally became one. She just needed to avoid speaking too much with Lily before her entrance into the Game Board . "Are you fine with Yoing over?" Hearing Vahn''s words, Lily ceased humming to herself as she looked back at him through the veritable wall of fluff that was her tails. "Of course. I''m actually a little surprised that you would feelpelled to ask. I would never refuse an opportunity to bond with another member of your harem, and Yo is one of my most precious friends. I would have been pleasantly surprised if you had brought her here without asking." Nodding his head in understanding, Vahn remarked, "I''ll keep that in mind for the future." before summoning Yo using Unit Management. Thetter was a little surprised by the sudden and instantaneous change in scenery but immediately lit up upon seeing Lily. "Lily~!" As if Vahn was just a figure in the background, Yo pounced on Lily and began to cuddle her with intensifying fervor. In response, Lily issued a soft chuckle as she hugged Yo''s face into her rather ample bosom, gently caressing her hair as she whispered, "It''s good to see you too, Yo-sama. Did you get a haircut?" Without removing her face from Lily''s breasts, Yo nodded her head and answered, "Yes. I asked Vahn to do it for me. He''s really skilled when ites to hairdressing and makeup." Nodding her head in affirmation, the smile on Lily''s face gained a faintly sensual tone as she remarked, "Oh, I am very aware of Vahn-sama''s skill as a Cosmetologist" To support her statement, Lily used her avable tails, the ones not pinned beneath her body, to embrace and caress Yo. If thetter was happy before, she was utterly ecstatic by this particr development. Adopting a mischievous smile, Yo raised her face from Lily''s breasts and said, "You''re not the only one" Catching Lily by surprise, Yo activated her Genome Tree to transform into a Kitsune. Vahn had inscribed a very advanced transfiguration charm over the original Phylogenic Tree using microscopic runes. As a result, instead of summoning various pieces of equipment, she could now directly adopt the traits of the creatures she befriended. Since Lily was one of her best friends, transforming into a Kitsune was incredibly easy for her. Further increasing Lily''s surprise, Yo leaned forward to seal her lips before skillfully entangling her tails with the passive Kitsune pinned beneath her. Ever since she had experienced her ''liberation'', she felt little desire to hold back her more primal urges. Lily had also been her ''practice partner'' back when the two of them were learning how to kiss, so Yo saw absolutely no reason to restrain herself . Though things had developed in the manner he expected, Vahn couldn''t help smiling wryly as he manifested a low-backed chair and sat down in reverse. Even before her ''liberation'', Yo had always been an instinct-driven person. Beforeing to the Divine Realm, she had spent most of her life either in a hospital bed or surrounded by nothing but animals. Hermon sense had always been drastically different from the norm. Now that she had the freedom to act how she pleased, animalistic and uninhibited were the best adjectives to describe her behavior. Having given in to her more primal instincts, Yo was currently feeling an instinctual drive to try and assert her dominance over the other members of Vahn''s harem. She would quickly hit a wall in the form of the many Tier 5s in his life, but when it came to girls like Lily, Yo had minimal difficulty in ''subduing'' her. To her credit, Lily quickly understood what was going on the moment Yo linked their fingers together and pinned her hands next to her head. She offered virtually no resistance and, after a short while, she even began to work together with Yo to make things easier. Thus, for the better part of an hour, Vahn was privy to the rather tantalizing sight of two remarkably mature Kitsune making love. Fortunately, Vahn wasn''t left outpletely as Yo didn''t understand how to make another woman climax, especially after they had experienced the depths of pleasure he was capable of offering. She did her best, but, after failing to make Lily reach a genuine climax, she eventually opened a gap in their tails, wordlessly entreating his assistance . After fleeing the Corridor of Disys and confirming the Military Police weren''t actively seeking people who matched their description, Izayoi and Asuka decided to return to the Pce with their little faerie friend in tow. When the guards allowed them to pass without even stopping them, Asuka, in particr, was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. "It would appear we''re still the Honored Guests of the Royal Family. That pretty much confirms we''re not being considered as suspects." Shrugging his shoulders, Izayoi appeared considerably less concerned than Asuka as he remarked, "I''m honestly a little disappointed. Battling against the Royal Army and shing with Vahn over the city would be a pretty expeditious way to increase our fame." Furrowing her brows, Asuka sent Izayoi a side-long glower as she said, "Please don''t do anything rash. At the very least, wait until the Battle of the Creator''s conclusion before you go on a rampage. I know you adore the spotlight, but Yo has worked too hard to have you steal it from her at thest moment." Shrugging a second time, Izayoi adopted a pretend helpless expression as he teased, "Sometimes, it feels like you''re more concerned about that girl than your beloved boyfriend. Yo''s a big girl now, Asuka. She can take care of herself?" Spotting two identical women approaching from the direction they were headed, Izayoi''s words took on a curious undertone that earned him yet another re from Asuka. It certainly didn''t help that the girls in question were two of the most beautiful young women she had ever seen. Noticing Izayoi''s curious gaze and the envy contained in Asuka''s vibrant blue eyes, the two girls, Ebony and Raven, adopted slightly mischievous smiles. However, instead of saying or doing anything to engage the young couple directly, they split to separate sides of the hall and offered polite yet unsubservient bows. Seeing the duo make way, Asuka felt a bit of relief. Unfortunately, Izayoi had never been the type to suppress his curiosity. The moment they were about to pass between the two beauties, he turned to the one on his side and asked, "Are the two of you a part of that perverted old man''s harem? It''s faint, but I can sense a Draconic aura emanating from your bodies" Not anticipating Izayoi''s question, Raven didn''t even flinch when Asuka subsequently shouted his name. When she did recover, she exchanged looks with her sister, faint blushes coloring their cheeks as they averted their eyes and stated, "We would never harbor such libidinous intentions towards the esteemed Sage Dragon Emperor" Adopting a cheeky smile, Izayoi was about to call the duo out on their strange behavior when Asuka grabbed his ear, shouting, "That is quite enough out of you! We''re leaving!" Though he could have easily escaped, Izayoi issued a pained, "Aatata" as Asuka pulled him in the direction of the audience chamber. He was still interested in learning more about the two deceptively powerful maids, but he didn''t want to make Asuka too upset. As much as she bothered him at times, he still liked her. Maybe even loved Following the duo''s departure with their amber-gold eyes, Ebony and Raven waited until Izayoi and Asuka had turned a corner before exhaling sighs. The truth of the matter was that their mother, Semiramis, had, on numerous asions, expressed that she was okay with them pursuing their father. They were pretty sure she wanted them to do precisely that, but, for the time being, both girls were more than content with just being their father''s daughters. After taking a few moments to calm themselves, their actions perfectly mirroring one another, Ebony and Raven fell into step before continuing towards their destination. Tomorrow was the conclusion of the Festival of the Fire Dragon, so they had been asked to assist in the kitchen. The very notion of this made the twin sisters giddy, not because they intended to poison the food, but because they knew the Pce Chefs would freak out if they ever learned the duo''s true nature. Inviting the daughters of one of history''s first and most significant poison users into a kitchen catering to royalty was just asking for trouble . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn could basically purge every major threat in a few days/weeks/months if he made full use of Loi-chan'',''Yo has be a wild animal (O w O)'',''Semiramis doesn''t want her daughters to be hurt or despoiled by ''inferior'' men xD'') Chapter 2275: Affection Overload

Chapter 2275: Affection Overload

Entering the Chamber of mes, Asuka was the first to speak, asking, "Where are Yo and Lily?" in a t but audibly concerned tone. Turning her head up, Sandora, who was currently sharing her throne with Vahn, remarked, "I''m not entirely sure, but I''m certain Vahn knows." Nodding his head, Vahn briefly exchanged nces with Izayoi before meeting Asuka''s gaze and answering, "They''re right here." Immediately following Vahn''s words, Lily and Yo appeared out of thin air. Thanks to his ability to manipte time, he could extend the brief moment between his words and their appearance to infinity. Thus, even though Yo and Lily had been ''preupied'' at the time of Asuka''s inquiry, they were able to appearposed and unflustered after being allowed ample time to collect themselves. "Asuka~!" Seeing Asuka, Yo''s face lit up as she trotted over to give her first and best friend a hug. Asuka was pretty used to this, so she happily epted Yo''s affections with a gentle smile. Though the scene seemed rtively wholesome at first, everyone, even Vahn, was surprised when Yo suddenly kissed the bewildered Asuka. Thetter''s eyes widened as round as saucers, but due to the rather drastic difference between her and Yo''s strength, she wasn''t able to break free as quickly as she would have liked. "What the heck?" Instead of stepping in to save his girlfriend from Yo''s sudden assault, Izayoi shifted his attention to Vahn, asking, "What did you do to Yo?" with an incredulous yet curious look on his face. Returning to his senses in response to Izayoi''s question, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he answered, "I liberated her?" in an uncharacteristically uncertain tone. Yo had informed him that she would no longer hold herself back, but this was outside even his expectations. He didn''t particrly mind Yo kissing or doing even ''more'' with Asuka; the problem was that Asuka was in a rtionship with Izayoi. Fortunately, at least this time around, Yo didn''t take things further than kissing. She did, however, continue kissing Asuka for the better part of a minute and a half before releasing her lips, adopting a radiant smile, and saying, "Thanks for bing my friend and always being here to support me. I know you''re happy with Izayoi, but I just wanted you to know that I really, really love you. You''re my best friend, and I cherish every moment we spend together." Though her brain had short-circuited due to Yo''s surprisingly passionate canoodling, Asuka quickly regained her wits when she heard the bubbly brte''s words. "Yo" Shifting her attention to Izayoi, Asuka''s expression went from conflicted to moderately annoyed when he promptly raised his hands and said, "Why are you looking at me? I had no hand in this." Rolling her eyes, Asuka returned her gaze to Yo, a potent heat spreading through her cheeks as she answered, "I love you too, Yo. However, I do-" Before Asuka could finish speaking, Yo, in her excitement, started kissing her anew. This time, however, the two girls ended up tumbling over, Asuka pinned beneath Yo as the overly affectionate eagerly sought her lips. Realizing he should probably intervene, Vahn rose from Sandora''s throne but was stalled when Izayoi waved him down, saying, "Hey now, no need to rush. There''s a pretty good chance this is just a one-time thing. I vote we enjoy the show and let things take their course." Hearing Izayoi''s remark, Asuka groaned in frustration. She knew he was a pervert, but preventing Vahn from stepping in to aid her was a bit much. If Yo weren''t the one kissing her, she would probably wring his neck the first chance she got. As for why she didn''t just avert her head to the side and break the kiss? It wasplicated. Unfortunately for Izayoi, Vahn ignored his suggestion, appearing next to the two girls as he whispered, "Yo" in a soft yet authoritative tone. "Mnn?" Releasing Asuka''s lips, Yo sat atop her in a straddling posture before wiping her mouth and asking, "What''s up?" in a curious tone. Then, as if she had realized what Vahn was thinking, she furrowed her brows into a slight pout as she said, "I don''t think Asuka or Izayoi would be okay with you kissing her" Having opened his mouth to respond to Yo''s first question, Vahn found himself, momentarily with a ckjawed expression on his face. It quickly reverted to a smile, but there was a moderate amount of exasperation in his tone as he said, "You shouldn''t kiss people without permission. Even if they offer little to no resistance, it doesn''t indicate consent." "Eh?" Shifting her gaze from Vahn to Asuka, Yo decided to question the target of her affections directly, asking, "Did I do something wrong?" in a soft, audibly apologetic tone. Instead of immediately responding to Yo, Asuka cast an usatory re in Vahn''s direction before adopting a gentle smile and saying, "I wouldn''t say you did anything wrong, per se. However, Vahn isn''t wrong when he said you should have petitioned my consent. For now, how about you get off of me? We can talk about thister, in private." Though she felt a sensation akin to suffocation, Yo responded to Asuka''s words with a nod before bouncing to her feet and helping thetter stand. Noticing the traces of difort visible in Yo''s usually bubbly expression, it was Asuka''s turn to feel guilty. She knew Yo hadn''t meant any harm, so it felt wrong to even consider chastising her. After all, Yo was just showing how much she loved her Fortunately for Asuka, Vahn freed her from the responsibility by wrapping his hand around Yo''s waist, nting a kiss atop her head, and whispering, "The thing about freedom is that it''s a very personal thing. Your version of freedom doesn''t apply to everyone, Yo. As suffocating as restrictions feel to you, they providefort to others" Caressing Yo''s face with his left hand, Vahn guided her to meet his gaze, but before he could continue his words of love and reassurance, Asuka stepped in, her face beet red as she shouted, "Don''t even think about it!" Furrowing his brows, Vahn looked towards the former heiress and asked, "Have you lost your mind? Who are you-" Interrupting Vahn''s rebuke, Izayoi''s expression was uncharacteristically serious as he exined, "She doesn''t want to share an indirect kiss with you. Let it go, old man." Widening his eyes, Vahn''s expression went from annoyance to surprise as he shifted his gaze from Izayoi to Asuka''s faintly swollen lips. At the same time, quite a number of rtively recent memories surfaced from the back of his mindmemories of the things he and Yo had been doing just hours prior. Though she was more than a little temperamental, Asuka was still a very sharp woman. Her intuition and ability to read others had been cultivated over years of navigating high society and conducting business. Vahn was also like an open book to people he didn''t recognize as an enemy, so she immediately understood what he was thinking when his eyes deviated to her lips. "I think I''m going to be sick" While she had secretly enjoyed Yo''s kiss quite a bit, Asuka began feeling sick to her stomach the more she thought about the implications behind Vahn''s nce. It didn''t help that Yo had actually confided in her many of the things she wanted to try once her rtionship with Vahn had finally moved forward . With Asuka feeling ill, Sandora suggested that everyone return to their rooms. The matter that had transpired at the Corridor of Disys wasn''t something they could resolve through talking, so there was no reason to stick around unless they wanted Vahn to reveal everything he knew. Fortunately, the identity of the faerie was something he could disclose without really revealing anything as it simply didn''t have a name. It was just a young Earth Spirit belonging to the Rattenf?nger Community. The most interesting thing about the tiny earth spirit, or, more urately, the Community it belonged to, was that it didn''t exist before the start of the Festival of the Fire Dragon. Smandra kept detailed records of their affiliates, so it was a pretty major gaffe that a Community had effectively appeared out of thin air yet was included in their ranks. Though Vahn could have revealed the culprit to be Mandra, Sandora was determined to uncover the truth for herself. Thus, for the remainder of the day and much of the evening, she mobilized the forces of Smandra to increase security and try to resolve the matter prior to her Coronation and the Festival''s conclusion. With Mandra supporting her from the shadows, Sandora was able to make fairly decent progress in a remarkably short period of time. Unfortunately, she waspelled to stop when a very important guest arrived from the East, Shiroyasha. . "I see the two of you are getting along splendidly." As the Floor Master asked to oversee Sandora''s ascension, Shiroyasha was always going to attend the Festival of the Fire Dragon. She had even told Vahn as such, but he suspected she may have changed her mind due to herte arrival. It was, unsurprisingly, very difficult to know what Shiroyasha was thinking without asking her directly. Unaware of just how involved Shiroyasha was in her engagement to Vahn, Sandora had momentarily reverted to her veil of regality, her back straight and voice perfectly poised as she replied, "Yes. His Imperial Majesty, the Sage Dragon Emperor, has been nothing but caring and considerate since his arrival. To that end, I would like to thank you on behalf of the entirety of Smandra. Shiroyasha-sama''s willingness to act as an intermediary has benefited us tremendously." Amused by Sandora''s response, Shiroyasha covered the lower half of her face with a fan, an impish snicker emanating from her throat. Before she could even think about teasing the delightful dragoness, however, Vahn interjected, saying, "Though she is markedly more independent than the majority of women in my harem, Shiroyasha is undoubtedly a part of it. In fact, she had been contributing to its growth quite a bit since my arrival in the Divine Realm" Recalling that Vahn had mentioned something simr during their first few days together, a look of understanding developed across Sandora''s face as she adopted a slight pout and growled, "Shiroyasha-sama" Rolling her eyes, Shiroyasha snapped her fan shut, saying, "Don''t give me that look, brat. If anything, you were right to be thanking me. The moment you break down this idiot''s defenses, you''re going to experience a degree of pleasure others can''t even imagine. If you thought that massage was a game-changer, you''re underestimating the lengths Vahn is willing to go to for his women." Since the cat was already out of the bag, Shiroyasha fearlessly sauntered over to Vahn, a mischievous smile on her face as she mewled, "Perhaps a demonstration is in order~?" Though she had been keeping it a secret, Shiroyasha promptly grew to her adult form by the time she had reached Vahn. He didn''t resist as she linked her arms around his neck and shoulders, but his voice was firm as he answered, "I''ll consider it once we return from the Game Board." "My point exactly" Swatting Vahn''s hands away before he could grasp her butt, Shiroyasha separated from him before taking a seat next to Sandora and whispering something into her ear. The young dragoness''s face immediately turned red, illusory steam rising from her head as she averted her eyes and said, "I could never do such a thing" Shrugging her shoulders, Shiroyasha remarked, "Your loss." before rising to her feet, staring at Vahn, and asking, "We doing this or what?" with her brows raised. Exhaling a sigh, Vahn briefly closed his eyes, the flow of timeing to a sudden and spontaneous halt before he subsequently opened them, met Shiroyasha''s gaze, and asked, "What are you up to?" Adopting her characteristically mischievous smile, Shiroyasha retorted, "If you''re that eager to know, feel free to use that ability of yours. I have very different priorities at the moment." Though it had only been a few days since theirst encounter, Shiroyasha had been feeling an itch that only Vahn could scratch. Watching him go to town on Yo, Lily, Semiramis, and quite a number of other girls had caused her tensions to increase to a dangerous level. Thus, even though Sandora was frozen in time less than a meter away, Shiroyasha shed hervender kimono and dered, "My previous question was more of a courtesy than anything else. We are, most definitely, doing this" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Did anyone else see thising?'',''When Asuka realizes the reason Yo''s saliva tastes sweet'',''Yo isn''t the only onecking in inhibitions'') Chapter 2276: Compromise

Chapter 2276: Compromise

Though they each had rooms of their own, Asuka, Yo, Lily, and the tiny Earth Spirit chose to stay in the same suite. The bed within wasrge enough to amodate ten peoplefortably, so they just needed to be careful of rolling onto Lily''s tails or inadvertently squashing their little faerie friend. Thanks to a bushel of golden apples and a functionally bottomless teapot provided by Vahn, Asuka had quickly ovee her nausea. She had also graduallye to terms with the events that had transpired earlier in the afternoon but still feltpelled to ask, "Yo, about what you said before. You know, the thing about you loving me" Adopting a beaming smile, Yo leaned her head back against Asuka. Thetter had been brushing her hair, so Yo was able to conveniently recline against Asuka''s breasts as she answered, "I meant it. I don''t think we can be lovers, but I never want us to separate. You''re my first and best human friend, and I want us to remain together always." Exhaling a sigh, Asuka adopted an ostensibly helpless expression as she reached up to gingerly caress the sides of Yo''s face, a faint smile on her face as she said, "I also want us to stay together. However, I''m not sure how things will work out with both of us loving different men. Izayoi may be a perverted brute, but he is also reliable. Ever since he saved us back in the Game Board, my heart has followed him wherever he goes. Unless he went out of his way to betray me, I don''t think I could ever stop loving him" Recalling the incident Asuka was referencing, Yo simply nodded. Izayoi had stepped in when the two of them were being osted by members of the Apollo Familia. Apollo had taken an interest in their abilities pretty early on, so he conspired to try and forcibly recruit them. Izayoi stepped in, and, as a result, he ended up being forced to flee the city after wiping out the Apollo Familia. Following Izayoi''s departure, Asuka had worked tirelessly to increase her influence and clear his name. She ultimately failed in her goal of bing Governess of Orario, but the experience had all but solidified her views on the rather roguish hero Having been paying close attention to the conversation, Lily chimed in to say, "I think you may be oveplicating things, Asuka. I can''t really see Vahn-sama or Izayoi-san bing upset even if you and Yo entered into a rtionship. Vahn-sama only wants the people around him to be happy, and Izayoi-san is more likely to joke about it than take offense." Furrowing her brows, Asuka remarked, "That may be the case. However, it is the principle of the matter that concerns me. If Izayoi were to cheat on me with another person, be they man or woman, I''m not sure I could ever forgive him. As fondas much as I love Yo, it would be hypocritical of me to hold him to a higher standard than myself" Though Asuka''s words caused her to feel a little empty inside, Yo could understand what she was saying. It wasn''t that Asuka didn''t want to be together with her; she just didn''t want to hurt Izayoi. Thinking of solutions, Yo briefly humored the idea of asking Vahn if it was okay if she entered into a rtionship with Izayoi. She got the impression he would be okay with it, but, at the same time, Yo felt a strange feeling of anxiety just thinking about being with someone other than Vahn. Dismissing the idea nearly as quickly as she had thought of it, Yo rose to a seated position before half-turning to face Asuka as she said, "So long as we can be together like this, I''m happy. I just don''t want us to grow apart and be unable to share things like we do now. Even if we both got married and started families, I would rather we raise our children together than be separated" Feeling her heart melt, Asuka muttered, "Oh, Yoeven after all this time, you''re still so precious. Come here" Inviting Yo into her embrace, Asuka gave theparably busty brte a firm hug as she quietly added, "I can promise you thisno matter what happens with Vahn and Izayoi, our bond will remain eternal. You are like a little sister to meno, something much, much more" Though she didn''t go for the lips, Asuka nted a chaste yetsting kiss on the nape of Yo''s neck. Her feeling towards thetter were nearly as strong as Yo''s towards her. She just didn''t have what it took to abandon her principles and live a life without inhibitions. In that respect, she and Yo were pr opposites. It just so happened that opposites attracted . After stepping in to prevent her from being captured by Izayoi, Maxwell, the Demon Lord of Thermodynamics, hurled the body of the scantily d blonde in front of a petite demoness with short purple hair, saying, "Keep your pets in line. The Game hasn''t even started, but one of your members nearly got taken out. Our Master will not tolerate a second mistake." Squinting her blood-red eyes, the petite demoness began to discharge a hazy ck mist from the inordinatelyrge and frilly sleeves adorning her slender arms. She, like most people, had never liked Maxwell. He wasn''t even her direct superior, so she didn''t dy in sending the ck mist to swirl around him as she said, "Leave." "ck Percher! You ungrateful wench!" Gathering heat in his right hand and cold in his left, Maxwell was prepared to teach the lower-ranked Demon Lord a lesson when a soft voice echoed from the void, stating, "Maxwell, I wish to speak with you. Attend me." Though the voice radiated no anger or hostility, everyone within the room tensed. Even the scantily d woman on the ground awoke from her deep state of unconsciousness, goose pimples breaking out across her body as she contemted prostrating herself and apologizing for her failure. As if the owner of the voice could read her mind, it assured her, "There is no need for you to apologize, Ratten. The appearance of the Sage Dragon Emperor has obfuscated matters in a way even I couldn''t divine. For now, just focus on supporting your Master. As for you, ck Percher, continue ording to the original n." Cupping her hands together despite her oversized sleeves, ck Percher respectfully lowered her head as she said, "Very well, Master. I will do as youmand." Though no one could see the voice''s owner, everyone in the room got the impression it had just nodded. It was like an aura of affirmation had filled the room, drastically improving the morale of everyone present. The only exception was Maxwell, who, prior to his departure, directed a disgusted, hate-filled re towards ck Percher and Ratten. . After pacifying Shiroyasha and apanying her back to the Thousand Eyes Branch, Vahn spent some time restoring the Chamber of mes to its original state before renewing the flow of time. When he did, Sandora immediately started sniffing at the air, her face turning a little red as she noted, "Shiroyasha-sama is missing, and the air suddenly smells cleaner than before" Directing her crystalline blue eyes to Vahn, Sandora''s expression became serious as she said, "Please tell me Shiroyasha-sama didn''t do anything to my body when you stopped time" "What?" Though he understood why Sandora might ask such a question, Vahn was still a little taken aback by it. Shiroyasha had endeavored to ''prank'' him by pulling Sandora into their flow of time, but he would never allow anything like what she was currently thinking to ur. Learning everything she needed to know from Vahn''s reaction, Sandora exhaled a sigh of relief. She would trust Shiroyasha with her life, but she was well aware of the Eastern Floor Master''s entricities; they weren''t exactly a secret. "Sorry, Vahn. I''m just feeling a little befuddled due to Shiroyasha-sama''s previous remark. She offered to let me piggyback her consciousness so I could experience what the two of you were going to do together. Though I refused, I would be lying if I said I wasn''t at least a little curious" Shaking her head, Sandora attempted to clear her wayward thoughts. She didn''t want Vahn to think she was a desperate or perverted girl. Seeing through Sandora''s thoughts, Vahn''s expression visibly softened as he exhaled a sigh through his nose. Only a few days had passed since Vahn''s arrival in the North. However, thanks to his gratuitous maniption of time, several months had passed since his initial encounter with Sandora. This included nearly two months with Sandora herself, so his views towards her had already changed quite a bit. He still felt she had a lot of maturing to do, but there was no reason they couldn''t just expedite the process. "Sandora" Feeling shivers pass through her body due to Vahn''s soft yet resonating tone, Sandora found herself unable to speak as she turned to meet his luminous, aquamarine eyes. When he grabbed her hand, she felt a wave of warmth spread through her body that was only exacerbated when he said, "I feel like visiting one of my Actualized Worlds. Will youe with me?" Opening her mouth, Sandora''s first instinct was to ask about the Festival of the Fire Dragon, but, knowing what she knew about Vahn''s Actualized Worlds, they could spend a lifetime inside and still return before morning. Without having to consider her response for too long, Sandora adopted a faint yet excited smile as she asked, "Where are we going?" . Though Sandora would have been fine with finding a ce to settle down in the mountains, Vahn wanted to bolster her confidence and give her the opportunity to experience a grand adventure. He also wanted to create a unique experience for just the two of them, so he ended up taking her to an Actualized World known as the Ghibliverse. More specifically, he took her into the world of a game known as Ni No Kuni II. While the story of Ni No Kuni II took ce over several months, it had a kingdom-building aspect that spanned generations. The world itself was also remarkably simr to the North Side as there were vast, open ins and countless Elemental Spirits known as Higgledies roaming around. As for the civilization level, it varied quite a bit as the settingbined the fantasy tropes of excavating ancient yet highly-advanced technology and summoning Heroes from modern and futuristic worlds. Sandora initially struggled due to the drastic disparity between her power in the North Side and her abilities within the Ghibliverse. Fortunately, she had Vahn there to help limate her to a brand new system of magic. He had also ced them at a point seven months before the start of the main story, so they had plenty of time to both adapt and simply live together. Though things became a littleplicated when one of the Heroines, a girl named Tani, started imprinting on Vahn, thetter managed to steer her back towards her intended love interest, a boy named Evan, using a bit of fate maniption. He ended up feeling a little guilty about it, but he hadn''t entered the Actualized World with the intent of having yet another young girl imprint on him. He was there to spend time with Sandora, so that was exactly what he did. In the end, Vahn and Sandora spent close to seven years helping Evan and Tani build and expand their kingdom before choosing to return. They had already informed the residents of Ni No Kuni that they were travelers from another world, so the parting wasn''t nearly as sad as it could have been. The onlyplication was Sandora promising they would return if the Kingdom were ever imperiled. Since Vahn had knowledge of the entire timeline from the outside, he and Sandora ended up having to return three times just to prevent her from being a liar . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Asuka is a woman of principle'',''Maxwell is slowly building his Aggro'',''Vahn takes promises very seriously xD'') Chapter 2277: Preparation

Chapter 2277: Preparation

"We''re back" Staring down at her hands, Sandora slowly opened and closed them a few times, a pensive expression on her face as Vahn answered, "Indeed. What did you think?" Closing her hands as if she were grasping something, Sandora replied, "I think I understand why you''re socasual about everything. The ability to create worlds and stretch a single moment into eternity is both terrifying and liberating" Shifting her gaze to Vahn, Sandora''s expression softened into a smile as she supplemented, "It almost makes the circumstances of a singr life feel insignificantalmost" Though she suspected her opinion might irreversibly change if she stayed in the Actualized World, seven and a half years wasn''t a particrly long period in the grand scheme of things. Extending her left hand towards Vahn, Sandora waited for him to help her rise before yfully questioning, "I trust you''re satisfied with my growth, Prime Minister Mason~?" Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn drew Sandora close to him, her feet dangling off the ground as he lifted her petite body to nt a kiss on her lips. He and Sandora had already crossed the line during their stay in Ni No Kuni. Though he would prefer it if she used her engagement ring to transform into her third developmental stage, he didn''t particrly mind her current form. She was small and dainty but nowhere near the level of girls like Liliruca, Kali, or select members of the Eurasia Family With Vahn supporting her by her butt, Sandora''s body began to heat up much faster than she had anticipated. The form she had assumed in the Actualized World had also been a Dragon, but the rtively weak power scaling of the world had made it easy to suppress her instincts. Now that she was in her original form after more than seven years, she felt like she was on the verge of losing control just being near Vahn. Fearful that she might inadvertently turn the Chamber of mes into a literal inferno, Sandora lightly tapped Vahn''s chest. She didn''t have the willpower to break the kiss herself, so she needed him to stop and give her a chance to speak. Fortunately for Sandora, Vahn only continued for a few seconds longer before slowly separating from her lips. He could have stopped instantly, but he didn''t want to seem too eager to stop. He could also sense that Sandora hadn''t wanted him to, so, even after suspending their kiss, he continued supporting her by her pillowy bottom as he teased, "Getting cold feet?" Though her face was flushed red to the tips of her ears and the base of her neck, Sandora managed to appear calm as she whispered, "I want to wait until after the coronation ceremony" Raising his brows, Vahn was about to ask if she was sure, but Sandora beat him to the punch, stating, "If we start now, it will be weeks before I manage to calm down and recover my senses. You''ve already afforded me 2740 days of your time. I can wait a few hours before surrendering myself anew" Seeing the resolution in Sandora''s eyes, Vahn''s ostensibly wolfish smile rxed into an affectionate twinkle as he replied, "Marvelouseven after seven years in apletely different world, you haven''t lost sight of your duties and responsibilities as the Leader of Smandra. You really are an amazing person, Sandora" Delighted by Vahn''spliment, a remarkably radiant and charming smile developed across Sandora''s face as she countered, "I have to be if I want to continue standing next to a certain someone" Since she couldn''t reach Vahn''s lips of her own ord, Sandora nestled her head against his chest. Her crown and horns got in the way, but that was easily remedied when Vahn adjusted the state of his body to allow them to phase through him . Though the remainder of his evening with Sandora was remarkably calm and rxing, other versions of Vahn were busy catching up with the rest of his harem. Back when he first started delving into Actualized Worlds, Vahn promised to update the ''Council of Wives'' whenever he spent more than six months within one. They were perennially concerned about his mental health and well-being, so even if he justzed about and observed others for a few months, Vahn made sure to notify them after the fact. If there was anything Vahn couldin about regarding the situation, it was the fact Da Vinci had developed a protocol for his return. It saved him a lot of time, but he couldn''t help feeling as though something was a little off whenever Da Vinci provided him an itinerary informing him when, where, and who to visit. All Vahn needed to do was provide her with the details of his time in the Actualized World, and she would know precisely who he needed to interact with to recenter himself in the shortest amount of time. When Da Vinci first started providing him with structured itineraries, Vahn deviated from them quite a bit. He wanted to check up on and spend time with everyone but quickly came to realize he was inconveniencing certain people by dropping in out of nowhere. No one everined, but Vahn could see the effects his sudden and unexpected arrival had on whatever objective they were trying to achieve. Not everyone could just drop whatever they were doing, go on a romantic tryst, and then return without some change in mentality or motivation, so, after disrupting quite a number of ns, Vahn began sticking to Da Vinci''s schedule. It made him a little ufortable, but he knew it was the best decision if he was serious about supporting everyone''s independence . With the majority of his other selves dissipating, a relieved sigh escaped Vahn''s mouth as the burden on his mental faculties lessened by several orders of magnitude. The only versions of him still active were his current self, the one sleeping next to Semiramis, and the lucky fool cuddling with Fenrir and the members of his Menagerie. Reacting to Vahn''s sigh, Sandora promptly opened her eyes before rising from his chest, rubbing her eyes, and staring at the nearest clock. It was only 3:23 AM, but she quickly decided she had slept long enough as she turned towards Vahn, smiling as she leaned over and whispered, "Good morning" before nting a kiss on his lips. Then, without thinking, her hand habitually gravitated towards the appendage slumbering between his thighs before Vahn grabbed her wrist and reminded, "We''re no longer in Ni No Kuni" Though she was momentarily confused by Vahn''s words, Sandora''s face quickly developed a blush as she retracted her hand and said, "I suppose we''ll have to revert to our old tradition" Mounting Vahn''s stomach, Sandora,pletely naked, bent down to give Vahn a particrly passionate kiss. Shortly before her loss of virginity in the world of Ni No Kuni, she and Vahn had developed the habit of kissing before and after sleep. She had since then grown ustomed to far more intimate acts, but kissing was still at the top of her list in regards to things she enjoyed the most. After a prolonged, forty-minute makeout session, Vahn and Sandora took a long bath together before he kissed her goodbye and turned her over to Ebony and Raven. He and Shiroyasha had been asked to participate in the day''s events as Guests of Honor, so he needed to meet up with Sandora''s brother, Mandra, and the other event organizers. Upon seeing Vahn appear out of thin air, the event organizers and several Military Police immediately put up their guards. Before any of them could even think about attacking, however, Mandra shouted, "The Sage Dragon Emperor has arrived! Kneel!" Setting the example, Mandra promptly dropped to one knee, the knuckles of his right hand touching the floor as he lowered his head and said, "Your Imperial Majesty honors us with Your presence." Resisting the urge to exhale a sigh, Vahn waited for everyone present to lower themselves before nodding his head in approval and saying, "Rise. We have note here to observe etiquette or put on airs. Tell us what you require." Though he had been speaking in the Majestic Plural, Vahn''s words lost a bit of their gravitas when Shiroyasha spontaneously manifested to his left, adding, "What he said." "By your will!" Rising to his feet, Mandra maintained amanding aura as he looked towards his recently appointed Secretary, Frey, and ordered, "Escort the Sage Dragon Emperor and Lady Shiroyasha to their positions. If there is anything they require, fulfill their requests to the best of your ability." Bowing forward and cupping her hands together, Frey replied with a curt, "Understood." before approaching Vahn and Shiroyasha, adding, "Please, follow me." in a markedly more nervous tone. Voicing the thought lingering in the back of Vahn''s mind, Shiroyasha''s cat-like eyes practically lit up when she saw Frey, remarking, "Very, very nice. Is that Dragonscale armor? I assume it would have to be considering how little it covers" Unlike when Frey had first appeared, dressed much like a schoolgirl, her current outfit resembled that of a Dragon Knight. What made it stand out was that it wasprised of crimson scales fashioned into a scant, highly revealing breastte that emphasized her cleavage and navel rather than covering them. The rest of her outfit wasn''t much better, consisting of red pauldrons, scaled gauntlets, and leg tings that left her upper thigh and much of her butt exposed. There was a cloth covering her crotch and two more covering her backside, but they were more decoration than practical due to her inordinately thick tail. As for whaty below? The best way to describe it was a leather thong. Though the tip of her tail curled slightly, Frey appeared rtively calm even as Shiroyasha stepped around to get a better look at her backside. In response to the previous question, she answered, "It is the Ancestral Armor of the Scarlett Family. The materials used are, as you pointed out, Dragonscale, Sinew, and Hide. It is designed to be indestructible yet easy to move in" "I''ll say" Resisting the urge to raise Frey''s tail and bury her face between the stoic woman''s pert and perky glutes, Shiroyasha finished her circumnavigation before returning to Vahn''s side and gesturing for him to lower his head so she could whisper in his ear. She was currently in her diminutive, child-like form, so he was nearly 50cm taller than her. Closing his eyes to prevent others from seeing him roll them, Vahn bent down to hear Shiroyasha ask, "What do you think about having a little fun with this one? She is literally dripping pheromones, and I can pretty much guarantee she would be happier serving the Sage Dragon''s Hearth than trying to restore her family''s honor under Mandra." Realizing that Shiroyasha was projecting her voice into his ear rather than speaking out loud, Vahn resisted the urge to ask why she bothered having him lean down as he replied, "I can''t help everyone. Frey might not be the happiest she could be serving Mandra, but it''s a decision-" Completing Vahn''s words for him, albeit in a very different manner than he intended, Shiroyasha stated, "It''s a decision her family and circumstances forced into her. Do not mistake resolve and pertinacity as contentedness, boya. There is a reason she decided to wear this outfit, and you know it" Though the truth of the matter was that Frey''s father had entreated her to try and win Vahn''s favor, Shiroyasha knew it wouldn''t matter once she had obtained it. Once Vahn got involved, the machinations of Frey''s father and uncle wouldn''t matter in the slightest. Matching Shiroyasha''s expectations, Vahn silently entreated Loi-chan to exin the situation. When he learned about some of the things Frey had and was currently going through, his expression briefly darkened. Due to his stopping of time, however, no one noticed it except for Shiroyasha . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn, God of Infinite Possibilities and Patron God of Lolis xD'',''Da Vinci strikes again!'',''No tragic girls left behind'') Chapter 2278: Compounding Troubles

Chapter 2278: Compounding Troubles

With Frey leading the way, Vahn and Shiroyasha found themselves in a waiting room reserved for foreign dignitaries and important guests. The interior was decorated like an extraordinarily high-ss parlor,plete with a fully stocked bar, a performance-style cooking range, and a small stage where three remarkably beautiful and scantily d dancers were waiting to perform a traditional sword dance. The Smandra Community had gone to great lengths to ensure Vahn and Shiroyasha were thoroughly entertained and upied before their scheduled appearance. Shiroyasha''s perverse nature was well-known to the majority of the Little Garden''s residents, and rumors of Vahn''s harem and preferences had been circting ever since the celebration following his ascension as the Sage Dragon Emperor. In the opinion of a growing number of people, winning Vahn''s favor and bing an affiliate of the Aldrnari Empire were the fastest methods to achieve virtually any goal. The number of personal messages and hand-written letters he received daily had long exceeded one million. It was for this reason that Sandora employed Shiroyasha to act as an intermediary. Without one, it was nearly impossible to get a private message through to Vahn. Unfortunately for the team of hopeful Maids, skilled Chefs, and tastefully exotic dancers, the first thing Vahn did after looking around the room was ask them to withdraw. Since Shiroyasha didn''t contradict him, the sixteen individuals within, many having used all their connections just to get into the same room as Vahn, began to file out. The only exceptions were two of the dancers, twins whose only visible differences were their skin and eye colors. Waiting until everyone else had departed, Vahn spread his domain to seal off the room before turning towards Shiroyasha and asking, "Why did you ask these two to stay?" Though he could have ascertained the answer for himself, Vahn wanted to hear what Shiroyasha had to say. In response, she stuck her tongue out at him before sping her hands together and suggesting, "For now, why don''t we all make ourselvesfortable?" Despite squinting his eyes, Vahn didn''t oppose Shiroyasha''s suggestion. Instead, he cast his gaze over the equally fretful and excited twins. Each had short, white-blonde hair, slender waists ideal for belly dancing, and fairly ample breasts. What distinguished them from one another was that one was dark-skinned and had a ck horn protruding from the center of her head, while the other perfectly contrasted her sister with fair skin and a white horn. The tone of their eyes was subtly different, but both sisters had amber-grey irises andrge pupils that were nearly the same color. "What are your names?" Instead of answering Vahn''s question, the two girls exchanged nervous nces with one another until Shiroyasha exined, "They can''t speak. Those cor-like markings around their neck have the function of limiting the development of a person''s vocal cords. They were originally intended to be assassins but were recruited into the Smandra Community when they were eight years old. It''s probably better you didn''t know what came after. Just know that,pared to what they would have been forced to endure, it was rtively tame." Not expecting Shiroyasha to spontaneously reveal their pasts, the two sisters hung their heads in shame. They were instructed never to show their emotions, but certain situations made it a lot harder than usual. If Vahn viewed them as dirty or soiled goods, they would probably break down and cry. "Raise your heads" Compelled by the resonating tone of Vahn''s voice, both girls promptly raised their heads to the point their chins were jutting outwards. For a brief moment, terror unlike anything they had experienced since their childhood washed over them as Vahn suddenly extended hisrge yet remarkably soft hands to grasp their necks. "Speak" With Vahn''s voice carrying the samepulsion as before, both sisters simultaneously replied, "We can''t" in a frightened yet considerably more surprised tone. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn retracted his hands from the sister''s necks, dering, "From this moment onward, the two of you are free. So long as I draw breath, there isn''t a force in all of Creation that can change that" Since they weren''t used to speaking or straining their vocal cords, the two sisters fell to the floor and began crying in painful silence. It wasn''t until Vahn said, "Let is out" in his captivatingly reverberating voice that their own came forward, anguished wails escaping their throats, apanied by a deluge of tears . Though he wasn''t even remotely surprised by the development, Vahn couldn''t help smiling wryly when the two sisters invariably prostrated themselves before him, pleading, "Please allow us to serve you!" in soft yet resolute tones. Ignoring the prompt from his Unit Management, Vahn said, "The Aldrnari Empire is fundamentally different from other nations and organizations. I have quite a few, but no need for servants, ves, or private entertainers. If you are concerned about what to do with your newfound freedom, then the answer is simple. I''m sure the two of you have always harbored hopes and dreams of some kind. Now is your chance to pursue them." Without raising her head, the darker of the two twins exined, "The only hope my sister and I have ever harbored is finding a Master that will treat us gently. It is for that reason the two of us came here today" Though the copper-skinned woman''s words were nearly inaudible, Vahn could understand her without any difficulty. He could also see the auras of her and her sister gravitating towards him, a mixture of fear, hope, and desirous intent contained within. The only thing the two sisters knew was attending others, so they were willing to do whatever it took to convince him of their worth. Speaking in defense of the two girls, Shiroyasha, who had made herselffortable on one of the elegant sofas, remarked, "Stop beating around the bush. Can''t you see how your actions are stressing them out? If they want to serve the Aldnrari Empire until they figure something else out, just let them. It''s not like they can''t change their mindster" As if she had just realized something, Shiroyasha promptly adopted one of her mischievous smiles as she sat up and said, "Tell you what, if you don''t take them, I will. Then, just to annoy you, I''ll have them dress up in skimpy Maid outfits and invite them to join us whenever youe by to visit. Shishishishi~." "" Inhaling a deep breath, Vahn reached up to rub his forehead and temples before ultimately just shaking his head and muttering, "Whateverin for a penny, in for a pound" Directing his gaze to the silently observing Frey, Vahn asked, "What about you? Know that I have already looked into your situation thoroughly. If it''s just restoring your family''s honor and securing a better position in the new Smandra, I can help you withoutpensation. The moment I became aware of their schemes, your father and uncle lost all power and influence over you. By the conclusion of the day''s events, you will be the Leader of the Scarlett Family in more than just name." Though he already knew how Frey was going to answer, Vahn couldn''t help shaking his head when she asserted, "My family may have assigned me this task, but I have yearned for Your Imperial Majesty''s touch ever since I bore witness to your power against Amaterasu-??mikami. Even if I must foreswear their right to your throne, I am willing to give anything for the right to bear your children" Misinterpreting the shaking of Vahn''s head as a rejection, Frey began to feel a little panicked. She was willing to settle for someone like Mandra if she had no choice, but for the sake of her family and children, she would prefer the far more superior mate. If she failed to convince Vahn here, the prosperity of her family would be inextricably tied to Smandra and its politics. She would never voice it aloud for fear of beingbeled a traitor, but Frey was frankly fed up with Smandra and its politics Fortunately, just as Frey''s mind was beginning to race for ways to appeal to Vahn, he freed her from the burden by saying, "Very well. I will ept your proposition and allow the Scarlett Family to join the Aldrnari Empire as an affiliate." Overly excited by Vahn''s words, Frey''s diminutive wings perked up and began to p as the base of her tail became rigid and slightly raised. Her desire to breed was in full swing, but before she could even think about presenting herself, Vahn revealed that he wasn''t exaggerating about his knowledge of her situation, asking, "What do you intend to do about your cousin?" Though she felt like she was pushing her luck, Frey decided to go out on a limb, answering, "If Your Imperial Majesty permits it, I know for a fact that she would be more than willing" Demonstrating his power and the fact he had basically given up, Vahn just nodded his head before waving his hand to produce a petite woman with burgundy hair and blood-red eyes. Her identity was Frey''s cousin, Alexys. However, despite descending from the same genealogy, shecked Frey''s pointed ears, wings, and tails. Her only draconic feature were her horns, a pair of ridged, dagger-like protrusions that jutted out from the sides of her head in a surprisingly fashionable manner. "What the hell?" As she hadn''t even sensed a spatial fluctuation, Alexys was more than a little confused by her sudden, near-instantaneous transfer. The presence of her elder cousin helped to lessen her growing panic, but that changed rather drastically when she noticed Vahn and Shiroyasha. "Your-Your Imperial Majesty!" Hurrying to take a knee, Alexys''s panic increased when an invisible force prevented her from doing so. Fortunately, Frey had quickly recovered her senses, readily stepping forward to embrace her much younger cousin as she softly cooed, "Calm downthere''s no need to panic" Though she could feel Frey''s heart beating at an incredible pace, Alexys began to calm down with the help of her cousin''s gentle caress. Frey had stepped in to take care of her following the death of their shared mother. When sheter became the caretaker of Smandra, Alexys was chosen as a candidate for the next Dragon Knight, so this was only their second time meeting since Smandra''s ''disappearance''. Like Frey, Alexys was presently wearing a suit of Dragonscale armor. The difference between them was that Alexys''s was made from the materials of a ck Dragon. She also wasn''tfortable with the notion of running around half-naked, so, simr to Vor, she wore a skin-tight bodysuit under her armor. While this covered all the important bits, it actually caused her butt to stand out even more due to how the pale-grey material caught the light and cast shadows Undermining her efforts to keep Alexys calm, Frey exined the situation by whispering into her ear. By the time she was finished, the youthful yet remarkably busty young Dragoness was trembling due to a mixture of fear and immense excitement. She had also seen the recording that had made innumerable dragon girls, even those with thinning bloodlines, thoroughly smitten with Vahn. The only reason they weren''t head over heels for him was because they would rather Vahn hold their heels over their heads Turning along with her sister-cousin to meet Vahn''s gaze, Alexys adopted a genuine yet remarkably fierce smile as she dered, "It would be one of my life''s greatest honors to serve the Sage Dragon Emperor. My body, my life, my everything is yours to do with as you please" Getting a little ahead of herself, Alexys promptly removed the piece of covering her privates. This revealed yet another w of the bodysuit, as the moment she removed the piece of metal, it became apparent just how genuinely ''excited'' she was . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''It''s like showing up for an orgy and getting turned away at the door'',''I''m not sure if Shiroyasha is an awesome wingman or an absolute troll'',''The family dynamic of dragons is messed up'') Chapter 2279: Rising Thunder

Chapter 2279: Rising Thunder

"By the Gods" Though she hadn''t expected Vahn to be ''inadequate'', Alexys couldn''t help feeling a little intimidated when she knelt in front of Vahn and removed his trousers. Even Frey was a bit surprised, her pupils contracting to thin lines as she observed how Vahn''s penis extended past Alexy''s head. Nearby, enjoying the dance of the two twins, Shiroyasha remarked, "Don''t let it frighten you. It''s a multi-purpose, one-size-fits-all kind of penis. Put it in your mouth, and it''ll adjust to fill the space it upies." Failing to realize Shiroyasha was ''mostly'' joking with her, Alexys muttered a sincere, "Wow" as she reached out her fingers to tentatively caress the significantly less intimidating appendage in front of her. "AlexysI didn''t agree to let you go first to watch you dawdleI''m sure the Sage DraVahn-sama would prefer it if you got started." Since one of Vahn''s conditions was to address him by name, Frey fixed her form of address halfway through. However, contrasting both hers and even Alexys''s expectations, Vahn shook his head, hand extending out to caress thetter''s as he said, "Take your time. Even if we spent an entire month in this room, we would not affect the schedule in the slightest" Chiming in before the two Dragonesses could, Shiroyasha said, "Go easy on them. It''s your habit of dragging things out and providing ''too much'' pleasure and satisfaction that causes inexperienced women to be dependent on you. Most women would be happy with two, maybe three climaxes. You don''t need to string together twenty or continue fucking for days on end" As much as she enjoyed Vahn''s affections, Shiroyasha would be lying if she said they weren''t, at times, a little excessive. She also noted Vahn''s ability to ''siphon'' negative emotions and rece them with positive ones. If it was him, he could probably take someone that hated him to the core, force himself upon them, and then emerge a few dayster with his victim willing to die for him. If Vahn weren''t the kind of man he is, he would be a truly terrifying existence. Though he scrunched his brows in response to Shiroyasha''s words, Vahn didn''t try to refute them. Instead, he met the gazes of Alexys and Frey in turn, asking, "What do the two of you want?" Presumably speaking on behalf of both of them, Frey answered, "We are beyond fortunate to be here. Even if you were to provide your fluids and tell us to breed one another, we would readily oblige." Nodding her head in approval, Alexys began stroking Vahn''s shaft as she appended, "For the sake of our family and ambitions, we have submitted ourselves to you fully. Even if you refuse to restrain us with a contract or prohibit us from addressing you with honorifics, we will forever view you as our Lord and Master" Drawing Vahn''s penis towards her lips, Alexys nted a kiss on the tip of his ns as if sealing a promise. Dragons may be a frustratingly obstinant species, but they were among the most loyal beings in all of Creation. The moment Frey and Alexys epted him as their Master, the only thing that could change that was Vahn''s death Sensing the borderline fanaticism exuding from Frey, Alexys, and even the nearby twins, Vani and Caramel, a moderately exasperated yet genuine smile developed across Vahn''s face. He wasn''t unustomed to this level of zealotry, so instead of agonizing over the recent expansion of his harem, he surprised Alexys by grabbing her horns and slowly drawing her face forward. Instead of resisting, Alexys opened her mouth and attempted to angle her neck and body so that Vahn could readily enter her throat. Her remarkably diminutive stature of 125cm made her slightly concerned that he might be able to prate her stomach. Fortunately, just as Shiroyasha had stated, Vahn''s penis promptly adjusted to the dimensions of her mouth and throat in a way that caused little pain or difort. Eager to please, Alexys held onto Vahn''s thighs as she began to bob her head while allowing Vahn to control the angle. She felt like her horns were on fire, but instead of feeling even a hint of pain, a me of passion began to spread through her body like a wildfire Seeing how ''vigorously'' her younger cousin was sucking Vahn''s penis, an irrepressible ache spread through Frey''s body, originating from the base of her tail. For a brief moment, she severely regretted allowing Alexys to take the lead. Her throat suddenly felt parched, and, despite her efforts to appear calm, she began to fidget due to a growing desire to have her itch scratched. Fortunately, just as Frey exhaled a sigh that generated a small plume of me, a pair of hands grasped her shoulder. She was more than a little surprised by this, but, upon finding a second Vahn looking down at her, the proverbial floodgates were open. A surprised yelp escaped her mouth when he suddenly lifted her up and over the back of the sofa by her pits, but she offered no resistance when he directed her to bend over. Instead, her distinctly draconic fingers sank into the material of the sofa as Vahn lifted her tail, slung it over his shoulder, and began grinding a muchrger version of his penis between her mons and thighs. "Haahaahaa" Seeing Frey exhale a plume of me each time he moved, Vahn promptly rewrote the Law of Fire within his domain to make her mes harmless. It was one of the Laws Vahn was most familiar with, so unless Frey abruptly developed an Authority greater than his own, even her Dragon Breath was powerless within his domain. Though she was a little confused when she noticed her mes spreading over the sofa without burning it, Frey didn''t have the wherewithal to think about the reason as Vahn changed the angle of his thrusting. The muscles in her body intuitively rxed, and, as a result, Vahn''s searingly hot ns were able to prate her with minimal resistance. Unable to contain herself, a startled yet pleasured moan escaped Frey''s mouth along with arge plume of fire. Vani and Caramel immediately ducked for cover, but upon seeing the bright red mes dissipate without even producing heat, they tentatively stood back up before reacting to Shiroyasha inviting them to join her on the sofa. With Frey''s fire passing directly over her head, Alexys regained enough of her senses to separate from Vahn''s penis with a ''pop''. When she saw Frey covering her mouth with one hand and attempting to support herself with the other, realization donned upon Alexys as she adopted a faux pout and asked, "What happened to letting me go first?" Removing her hand from her mouth, Frey attempted to reply to Alexys''s question when the Vahn behind her promptly smacked his hips against her butt. Her body lurched forward slightly, and, due to her tremendous strength and moderate heft, she ended up tearing apart the reinforced frame of the sofa as if it were soft tofu. With Vahn''s grip on her tail barring her from falling forward or separating from him, Frey briefly supported herself by pping her diminutive wings in a wild and exceptionally adorable manner. After recovering her senses, however, she grasped her thighs for support and relied on her powerful core muscles to maintain a slightly arched posture. Seeing the pleasured expression on her cousin''s face, Alexys was about to say something when Vahn guided her gaze back to him by caressing her cheek. Then, before she could even think to apologize, he said, "Get up." in a calm yet authoritative tone. Though she felt like a bit of an idiot for doing so, Alexys practically leaped to her feet before standing at naked attention. She interpreted the ''nk'' look on Vahn''s face as incredulity. In truth, he was just momentarily taken aback by how truly short she was. Even Sandora was around 142cm, so it was a little strange seeing such a ''developed'' young woman barely above eye level while he was seated. Providing an answer to the question lingering at the back of Vahn''s mind, Loi-chan manifested next to him as a second, equally naked version of Alexys, answering, "She is 53-years-old. However, due to her bloodline, she is only in her second stage of development. As for Frey, she is 105-years-old, 136.4kgs, and slightly smaller than Alexys at 84.2cm." Without needing to ask which part of Frey was smaller than Alexys, Vahn directed his gaze to the petite Dragoness''s 85cm bust. Alexys was short, but she was anything but underdeveloped. If this were merely her second stage of development, her third would probably be enough to give Hestia a run for her money Noticing Vahn''s rather obvious gaze, Alexys rxed a bit as she reached up to jiggle her breasts and ask, "Do you prefer them bigger?" Answering in Vahn''s stead, Shiroyasha remarked, "He''ll never admit it, but Vahn has a fetish for women with strong maternal instincts and the bodies to match. You should be more concerned about your butt. The moment he gets his hands on it, even sitting will be enough to make you wet." With a butt nearly asrge as her breasts, Shiroyasha viewed Alexys as a ''prime target'' for Vahn''s unfathomably skillful touch. Even she would find it difficult to escape if she made the ''mistake'' of carelessly straddling hisp. Someone as green as Alexys had absolutely no hope. Rather than feeling daunted by Shiroyasha''s words, Alexys met Vahn''s gaze with clear expectation in her eyes. When he lightly pat his thighs, every muscle between her thighs and diaphragm briefly tensed before she readily climbed atop him, her knees digging into the cushions of the sofa as she kept her hips raised in a way that provided easy ess. Rewarding Alexys''s efforts, Vahn gripped her right butt cheek with his left hand while using his right to angle his ns at the entrance of her vagina. It was a move he had practiced well over a million times at this point, so it took no time at all for him to find the correct angle and surprise Alexys by pulling her hips forward. His ns seamlessly prated her folds, and, due to the unique physiology of Dragons and their progeny, he had no trouble reaching her depths. Very few Dragon sub-species had hymens. Simr to Frey, a startled yelp escaped Alexys''s throat, but instead of bright red mes, she exuded a plume of ck smoke that caused her to start coughing. Like many modern descendants of Western Dragons, she was incapable of manifesting pure mes. Frey''s ability to do so was the result of gic atavism. In the past three hundred years, she was the only member of their family to manifest draconic features such as horns, ws, wings, and a tail. She was unable topletely transform into a human or dragon, but her bloodline was consideredparable to the Royal Family in terms of purity. Just as Alexys was about to apologize for exhaling smoke and coughing into Vahn''s chestshe couldn''t reach his facehe stunned her by holding her close and pressing his palm against her back. Then, to the surprise of nearly everyone present, a thick tail covered in pitch-ck scales erupted from her lower back as an indescribablebination of pain and pleasure caused her body to convulse in Vahn''s arms. In the interim period where everyone but Shiroyasha was staring at him in abject shock, Vahn carved an intricate seal above Alexys''s tail that would allow her to conceal it at her leisure. Afterward, he gave her slender back a series of firm pats that effectively erased any feelings of congestion or difort she was feeling. Having recovered enough of her senses to correct her posture, Alexys momentarily ignored the tremendous heat building in her abdomen, her head briefly turning to observe her tail as she asked, "What did you do?" in a trepidatious tone. As if it was no big deal, Vahn answered, "I purified your bloodline and removed some of the defects caused by your ancestor''s poor decision making. You''re now a proper half-dragon rather than a chimeric hybrid." Preventing further discussion, Vahn slid his hand under Alexys''s tail, a faint rainbow hue spreading across his palm as he lifted the dangling appendage and ran his hand along its length. "Funyaaaaaaa!?" Unustomed to the remarkable sensitivity of a female dragon''s tail, a veritable deluge of body fluids erupted from Alexys''s body as her back and tail arched to the point she nearly formed a perfect circle from the side. To exacerbate matters, Vahn grabbed the tip of her tail with his left hand, preventing it from returning to its initial position as he lowered his head to nibble Alexys''s leftmost nipple. He knew both she and Frey had a lot of questions, but they could wait until much, muchter . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''By the Gods'',''Alexys got that short stack energy'',''Priorities (O w O)'') Chapter 2280: Common Realization

Chapter 2280: Common Realization

After guiding the two dragon beauties to climax half a dozen times, Vahn brought out a durable bed beforeying theparably petite Alexys on top of her cousin, Frey. Both girls appeared a little haggard, but they were still more than raring to go since Vahn had yet to release his seed in either of them. While his other self was undoing the damage caused by the two sister-cousins, Vahn raised Alexys''s butt before prating her depths and adjusting his size to permeate the entirety of her vaginal canal. Her body shook violently in response, but she had Frey''s powerful yetforting embrace to keep her from thrashing about as Vahn effectively formed a seal with his penis. Feeling Alexys''s womb descend to kiss his ns, Vahn began releasing a slow yet constant stream of source-infused semen into the fleshy basin located at the back of her vaginal canal. The moment it came into contact with Alexys''s walls, an orgasm, unlike anything she had ever experienced, violently spread through her body like a series of explosive shockwaves. Though Alexys made ast-ditch effort to ''escape'' the sensation akin to her insides being set ame, Vahn kept her firmly rooted in ce even as her eyes rolled backward and she passed out. Her body knew what to do even if she wasn''t conscious, so he continued filling her insides until her womb had finished greedilypping at his semen. The process took a little more than ten minutes, and, by the end of it, Alexys was 100% pregnant. Havinge to her senses partway through the process, Alexys clung to Frey''s body as if her life depended on it. Tears constantly streamed down her face, not from pain but due to the unrepentant pleasure assailing her body without end. Beyond certain levels, pleasure was one of the most terrifying sensations a person could experience. It gave them the impression they were being swallowed up, their minds unable to focus, as their body refused to listen to them. In some instances, it could even lead to a mental breakdown, so after guaranteeing Alexys''s pregnancy, Vahn assisted Frey in helping the remarkably petite dragoness in calming down. Once she had, he directed Alexys to pin her cousin down before repeating the process with Frey. . While his other self was tending to the two Dragon heiresses, the Vahn seated on the sofa was enjoying a rare, at least for others, treat. He had the two sisters, Vani and Caramel, nking his sides, his fingers slowly working in and out of their vaginas as they peppered him with kisses. At the same time, having gotten excited from the earlier disy, Shiroyasha, in her adult form, was skillfully grinding Vahn''s hips, hands clutching his knees and back facing him. It was a tantalizing sight made all the more rivetting due to the fact Shiroyasha''s moans sounded like the impassioned mewls of a cat in heat. Seeing Shiroyasha practically gouging herself using Vahn''s more than plus-sized ''magnum'', Vani and Caramel couldn''t help feeling a mixture of fear and anticipation. One of the things they had been concerned with was Vahn thinking they were too loose. As much as they hated to admit it, they couldn''t even recall the number of guests they had tended over the years. Some had made them do things that left them with deeply rooted traumas, so Vahn''s impending assessment caused their bodies to tremble as they did their best to keep the muscles of their lower bodies tense. Unfortunately, not that they wereining, Vahn''s mind-boggling skill with his fingers made it impossible for Vani and Caramel to uphold their facade. They did their best, but his fingers were somehow able to extend as far as their uterus. There were even a few instances where his fingers felt boneless as they sought out and deliberately massaged each of their most sensitive spots. Unable to resist the pleasure imposed on them by Vahn''s fingers, Vani and Caramel were forced to cling to his arms and shoulders for support. They continued peppering his neck, face, and shoulders with kisses, but it became increasingly difficult with each passing moment. It was only after their third consecutive climax that the two sisters began to understand the reason for their elevated arousal; Vahn''s massage was forcibly contracting, perhaps even ''restoring'' the interiors of their vaginas. Either way, it caused their interior walls to feel as if they were burning up and vibrating, fevered gasps escaping their throats as they clung to Vahn for support. Though he didn''t think they would mind, Vahn wasn''t actually ''restoring'' Vani''s and Caramel''s bodies. He didn''t want them to believe they were somehow broken or profaned because they were forced into a situation beyond their control. What he was doing was simr but fundamentally different; he was healing their scars and undoing the damage caused to their interior muscles. Despite Shiroyasha''s reminder that Smandra wasn''t all that bad, he still had Loi-chan discover the identities of the people who had taken pleasure in harming the two sisters. Several of them had simply lost themselves in the moment upon finding out that Vani and Caramel were mute. Others had a history of viting even the female members of their Communities, so Vahn intended to audit those hailing from foreign regions while letting Sandora take care of those affiliated with Smandra. There were some things that Vahn simply couldn''t tolerate once he was made aware of them. The treatment of Vani and Caramel was beyond inhumane, yet, to secure political and business ties, their suffering was effectively swept under the rug and ignored. To make matters worse, they were forced to pay out of pocket for any injuries they may have rued in the execution of their ''duties''. It was apletely ludicrous situation, but the sisters did their best to endure, sustained by the waning hope that a kind Master would eventually appear to take them in. The thing that annoyed Vahn the most about the sisters'' situation was his awareness that they were far from the only ones suffering. They were just lucky enough to be present when he and Shiroyasha entered the parlor. If Shiroyasha hadn''t incited him to do so, he wouldn''t have even thought to look into their situation. They would have been forced to leave along with the rest of the servants. Depending on the circumstances, they may have spent the rest of their lives waiting for a Master that might never appear Now that he knew of the sisters'' situation, Vahn intended to do everything in his ability to make them happy. He also conspired to put together a task force to look into the internal affairs of his affiliates to ensure they weren''t taking advantage of or mistreating their ''normal'' members. Though Vani''s and Caramel''s exotic appearances would lead people to believe they were special, the truth of the matter was that they were, for the most part, rtively normal girls. Their only Gifts had been taken from them when they were eight years old, and, ever since then, they had been forced to serve Smandra as maids, servants, and entertainers. In other words, their power had been stripped from them along with their rights as yers. Vahn intended to give the sisters the option to grow stronger, but, based on what Loi-chan had revealed about them, their only desire was to live a peaceful and serene life serving a kind and caring Master. They had been serving others for so long that they couldn''t even imagine living any other way. Thus, at least for the time being, Vahn intended to focus on granting their current heart''s desire. Broadening their horizons and inspiring them to pursue a different path couldeter. To that end, two additional versions of Vahn appeared out of thin air, each picking up one of the twins in a bridal carry. In response, the two fatigued girls simply looked up at him with their hazy, amber-grey eyes. When they beheld him smiling down at them without so much as a hint of judgment in his gaze, tremendous relief washed over them as a warm and revitalizing energy gradually permeated their bodies. They were still more than a little nervous about what came next, but they could tell from the look in Vahn''s eyes that they had finally found a Master willing to cherish them . Though their wombs had receded up and out of the way to protect their prize, the inner walls of Alexys''s and Frey''s vaginas continued to excrete a veritable deluge of lubricating love juices. The notion they were carrying the children of such a mighty Dragon had sent both girls into a frenzy, so, for the better part of seven and a half hours, Vahn thoroughly ''subjugated'' the two draconic beauties. Despite her diminutive size, Alexys was still the descendent of a Dragon. Her draconic physiology ensured she could endure the strains of mating with even the most well-endowed members of her species. From Vahn''s perspective, her intestines and other organs could be seen shifting about as the connective tissues holding them together sticized. At the same time, her vaginal canal continued to stretch and expand to the point she could have easily amodated even the 30cm he initially presented. As her body continuously adapted, Alexys''s desirespounded until she was practically mming her hips against Vahn''s, her inordinately long tail dangling from her mouth as her teeth gradually developed into fangs. The reason for this was simple; the longer she mated with Vahn, the more pronounced her draconic traits became. By the end of the seven and a half hour mating session, ck scales had started to protrude from the dermal tissue of Alexys''s lower back, hands, and feet. Vahn half-expected her to spontaneously ''evolve'' in the middle of their love-making, but it turned out that Alexys''s body was channeling most of the absorbed energy into her womb. Simr to her younger cousin, Frey''s also benefitted from the baptism of Vahn''s astonishingly powerful and refined energy. Her wings and tail even started to molt around three hours into the session, an indication she was nearing the threshold for achieving her fourth form. Though the molting process was often a painful experience thatsted several days, Frey didn''t even notice it at first due to Vahn managing her symptoms as they appeared. It was only when Alexys abruptly pulled off arge piece of thin yet remarkably durable molting from her tail that she realized what was happening. Fortunately for Frey, this was far from Vahn''s first experience dealing with something like molting. To prevent Frey from stressing about it, he flipped her over onto her back, a position most Dragonkin instinctually resisted. It made Frey feel iparably vulnerable, not just because her wings were pinned beneath her but because the inordinate thickness of her tail forced her hips into an ''essible'' position. Intensifying Frey''s momentary panic, Vahn grabbed her ankles and forced them towards her head. He also closed his legs around her tail, effectively pinning her in ce before grinding her interior folds with slow and steady movements. Frey''s instinctspelled her to try and break free, but she calmed down almost immediately when Vahn sealed her lips with a deep and passionate kiss. Though it wasn''t her first kiss, Frey felt as though fireworks had been set off in her mind as a variety of different pleasures assaulted her body. Shepletely forgot about her molting. The usual pain of her breasts and tail swelling never came, and, thanks to Vahn ''distracting'' her, she didn''t even notice Alexys dutifully peeling away the excess skin. The only thought in her mind was how desperately she wanted to please Vahnthe father of her future brood and her one and only Master . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Spooky'',''The actions of others cannot despoil you. So long as hope remains, the only thing their actions aplish is exhibiting how truly rotten they have be'',''Frey''s Affection Value be like: +100, +1,000, +10,000'') Chapter 2281: Underwood Maze

Chapter 2281: Underwood Maze

Though they had only been apart for a few hours, Sandora was starting to feel a little restless without Vahn at her side. There were times when they had separated during their sojourn in the Actualized World, but things just felt ''different'' now that they were back in the Divine Realm. Fortunately, Sandora was not entirely alone as she carried out her duties. Lily was there with her, and though they had disappeared for a few days while Vahn was caring for her, Ebony and Raven dutifully attended her as she moved from one meeting to another. Finally, half an hour before noon, Sandora''s schedule brought her to the coliseum. Instead of heading to the Royal Box, however, she ignored the suggestions of the event organizers and made a beeline towards the VIP waiting area. Without knocking, Sandora, still apanied by Lily, Ebony, and Raven, opened the waiting room door, shouting, "Vahn~!" in a happy, bright, and cheerful tone. Raising his hand, Vahn stopped the performance of Vani and Caramel before rising to his feet alongside Shiroyasha. Before he could greet his petite fiancee in turn, however, her nose began to twitch as a slight pout developed across her face. Though Vahn had thoroughly cleaned and ventted the room in anticipation of Sandora''s arrival, there was little he could do about Frey and Alexys radiating pheromones like a space heater. Female Dragons were especially sensitive to the pheromones of others, so it didn''t even take a full second for Sandora to ascertain the situation. Fortunately, Sandora wasn''t too upset. If anything, she was just a little envious that Frey and Alexys had gotten to spend time with Vahn while she was busy fulfilling her duties as the Leader of Smandra. After her initial shock, a natural smile returned to her face as she asked, "I suppose some congrattions are in order?" "Princess Sandora" Feeling more than a little guilty, Frey hung her head and averted her eyes. She would have preferred Sandora to be angry; eptance and kindness weren''t something she was used to receiving, especially from members of the Royal Family. A stark contrast to her elder cousin, Alexys folder her hands over herp, a radiant smile developing across her face as she performed a polite bow and said, "Thank you, Princess Sandora. I sincerely hope that the Scarlett Family can, once again, be the shield and spear of the Royal Family." Nodding in approval, Sandora answered, "I look forward to it." as her eyes scanned the rest of the room''s upants. Theck of any other servants made the presence of Caramel and Vani stand out like a sore thumb, so Sandora reasonably assumed they had either won Vahn''s or Shiroyasha''s favor. Perhaps even both. Instead of asking about the twins directly, Sandora met Vahn''s gaze and asked, "Do you enjoy dancing?" with a visible twinkle in her eyes. As much as her outfit was ceremonial, it was also designed for the specific purpose of dancing. She was a little out of practice, but Sandora had a fair amount of confidence in her dancing ability. It had been a fairly important part of her education as a member of the Royal Family. Without missing a beat, Vahn answered, "Most certainly." before making his way over to give the petite dragoness a hug. After that, he repeated the act with Lily, and since they had previously revealed their identities, his two daughters, Ebony and Raven. Shiroyasha seized the opportunity to make a few teasing remarks, but Vahnrgely disregarded them as he steered the conversation toward the uing Gift Game . Though the Bookmakers favored her at 7:1 odds, Yo couldn''t help feeling a little nervous. She wasn''t too concerned about the match itself. Instead, it was her personal decision to forgo concealing her body with the Maneki-neko that concerned her. As much as she told herself she didn''t care about the opinion of others, the notion that millions, billions, or even trillions of people would see her naked made Yo feel equal parts excited, anxious, and ufortable. Her Aegis would prevent them from seeing anything they absolutely shouldn''t, but it didn''t exactly leave a lot to the imagination "Introducing our first finalist, Kasukabe Yo of the No Names!" Hearing her name called, Yo''s expression went from anxious to a mask of confidence as she stepped out of the passage connecting the contestant waiting room to the coliseum''s arena. The moment she did so, the 25,000 audience members immediately erupted into cheers, not just because she was the crowd favorite but because her custom Aegis covered less than some swimsuits. Her top resembled a skin-tight white blouse that left her shoulders and much of her back exposed, while her bottoms were a pair of form-fitting red shorts that only covered about 2/3rds of her butt. They also had arge hole for any tails she might spontaneously sprout, so the view of anyone fortunate enough to be behind her was quite the sight to behold . "That idiot" Seated in the Royal Box located above the passage Yo had just exited from, Asuka couldn''t help exhaling an exasperated sigh when she saw her best friend''s outfit. She knew Yo wanted to start wearing less restrictive clothes, but this was just ridiculous. "I don''t know. It looks pretty good from where I''m sitting." Adding fuel to the fire, Izayoi fearlessly eyed Yo''s prominent posterior and truly remarkable thighs. Even from several hundred meters away, he could feel the power contained within them rippling with each and every step Yo took. She was a lot stronger than she had been just two days prior. Though she honestly couldn''t me him for staring, Asuka still directed a warning look at Izayoi. In response, he just smiled and asked, "What? Do you want me to keep my eyes closed for the remainder of the Finals? I''m just admiring something our little animal lover, very clearly, wants to show off." Coming to Izayoi''s aid, Shiroyasha, seated two spaces over, stated, "The lesson Vahn gave you shortly after your arrival in the Divine Realm wasn''t just him messing with you. There is little you can do about others coveting things like beauty, so it''s best to benefit from it when you can. Besides, Yo was the one who decided toe out wearing that. If you want to lecture someone, talk to her after the match has concluded." While it was hard to argue with Shiroyasha''s words, Asuka felt a powerful urge to smack the impish woman atop the head. Not because Shiroyasha was lecturing her, but because she was leaning forward in her seat with a pair of binocrs and ascivious smile on her face. Adding insult to injury, Shiroyasha wiped a bit of drool from her mouth as she remarked, "I''ll have to join Yo and Vahn on their next ''walk''" "You cheeky little imp!" Though she suspected Shiroyasha was in a rtionship with Vahn, Asuka didn''t want the impish demon anywhere near Yo. Unfortunately, it wasn''t her decision to make. She may have been able to do something about it if she and Yo were in a rtionship, but that ship had sunken before it had the chance to sail. . With her extra sensitive hearing, Yo could hear Asuka screaming from the center of the arena. She couldn''t make out what was said, but she could imagine it had something to do with her outfit. Doing her best to avoid looking in the direction of the Royal Box, Yo gave the crowd a smile and a wave while the Announcer, an attractive woman with caramel skin, remarkably long ck hair, hazel eyes, and bull-horns announced, "And our next Finalist, hailing from our very own North Side, Ayesha Ignis Fatuss from the Will-o-Wisp Community~!" Apanied by the sound of a ''Yohoho~" styleughter, a ball of blue mes more than 2m in diameter darted out from the far side entrance and attempted to sweep past Yo from her blind spot. To the surprise of the petite, blue-haired girl surfing atop it, Yo just casually stepped to the side with a moderately confused expression on her face as she wondered if the girl was trying to attack her. Clicking her tongue, the inordinately thin and pale leaped down from the blue fireball, finger pointed at Yo as she announced, "You''re not half-bad, girlie! Still, you''re going to need a lot more than quick reflexes to be Jack and me!" As if responding to the girl''s words, the ball of fire spontaneously burst apart to reveal a figure with a massive jack-ontern for a head, white-gloved hands, a flowing purple gown, and an old-fashioned steelntern in its right hand. "That is indeed correct, Lady Ayesha! Yohohohoho~!" Smiling confidently due to herpanion''s words, the youthful-looking Spirit was about to say something when Yo interrupted, asking, "How old are you?" Though looks could be incredibly deceiving in the Little Garden, Yo got the distinct impression that the Spirit before her was still a child. It wasn''t the girl''s thin, child-like figure, inordinately long, pale-blue twin-tails, or gothic-style clothing that gave her this impression. It was the trembling of her sharp, almost cat-like yellow eyes and the faint yet audible quaking of her voice. Believing Yo was looking down on her, Ayesha''s cheeks became visibly red as she shouted, "Older than you, you No Name brat!" in a distinctly child-like manner. Furrowing her brows, Yo wasn''t sure whether she should apologize or be offended by Ayesha''s remark. Fortunately, she didn''t have to think about it for long as Shiroyasha promptly bounded up to the railing of the Royal Box, arms spread wide like a gymnast who had justnded a dismount as she shouted, "Enough dawdling! If you want to fight, settle it in the Game Board!" Punctuating her words, Shiroyasha pped her hands together, stunning the crowd with a visible, rippling shockwave that expanded to epass the entire coliseum. At the same time, at least from the perspective of Yo, Ayesha, and Jack, a domain of greenish-ck energy washed over them before they suddenly found themselves in a dark environmentprised of a seemingly endless entanglement of massive tree branches. Illuminating the darkness, two Geass Rolls unfurled out of thin air, a faint golden glow emanating from their surface to make them a little easier to read. The only other light in the maze-like entanglement was a luminous, greenish-blue moss, but while it appeared to illuminate the surroundings, it was a poor substitute for natural light. ----------------------------------------- [Underwood Maze] [Clearing Condition(s)] 1: Participating yer sessfully leaves the maze. 2: Participating yer sessfully breaks the opponent''s Gift. 3: If a yer is rendered unable/incapable ofpleting either of the two conditions above, they are immediately disqualified. [Rules] 1: yers must use the Gift they registered at the start of the Battle of the Creators. [Restrictions] 1: Gifts rted to Teleportation or Spatial Movement are Prohibited. 2: The killing of your opponent is Prohibited. 3: Leaving the Game Board without fulfilling one of the Clear Conditions will result in immediate disqualification. [Time Limit] 000:000:00:59:45 ----------------------------------------- "So we either escape from this tree or destroy our opponent''s Gift to win" While Ayesha was muttering the rules of the Gift Game aloud, Yo was staring at the Jack-o-Lantern behind her. As far as she could tell, it was a sentient creature, so she wasn''tfortable with the idea of destroying it. She also didn''t want to bully someone she considered to be a child, so, after a moment of hesitation, an extraordinarily bright yellow light surged across her body. Surprised by the sudden and intense light, Ayesha shielded her eyes as she shouted, "You scoundrel! Resorting to underhanded tricks this early in the game!?" Contrasting Ayesha''s expectations, Yo didn''t attempt to sneak attack her. Instead, she burst out of the light withrge patches of bright yellow and a bit of ck fur covering her ears, hands, feet, forearms, and calves. The lightning-bolt-shaped tail protruding from her backside and the bright red markings on her face made it pretty obvious she was channeling Mikoto''s powers as a Pikachu. Before Ayesha or Jack could recover, lightning danced across Yo''s calves before surging up and enveloping the rest of her body. Then, using her enhanced sense of smell, she, quite literally, bolted in the direction of the exit . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Sandora''s intuition is scary'',''Pretty soon, Asuka will be left with no choice but to grow up xD'',''Yo be like, "I am speed!"'') Chapter 2282: Triumph : Despair : Resolution

Chapter 2282: Triumph : Despair : Resolution

After recovering her senses, Ayesha did her best to try and catch up to Yo but quickly realized the futility of her actions. Yo''s speed greatly eclipsed hers, so much so that she would have immediately lost sight of her if not for the fact she was radiating a bright light in an otherwise dark region. As an Ignis Fatuus, Ayesha was an Intermediate Earth Spirit capable of generating and manipting natural gas. Her specialty, however,y in creating illusions to deceive people. She could produce blue mes, but, much like the tiny tufts that would sometimes appear over marshes, they were rtively harmless. "Damnit!" Biting the nail of her left thumb, Ayesha''s ordinarily haughty expression turned to one of vexation. The Battle of the Creators was supposed to be her debut and an opportunity to repay the Leader of her Community, Wi the Ignis Fatuus. Ayesha was indebted to the much older Earth Spirit after she and Jack both protected and provided her a home. She didn''t want to lose, not in such an embarrassing and one-sided manner. "Jack! No more holding back! We can''t afford to lose!" Nodding his oversized pumpkin head, Jack answered, "Very well." before his body appeared to flicker out of existence. In the very next moment, he appeared in front of Yo, stating, "Sorry about this, Oujo-chan." Though his original size was around 2m, Jack spontaneously grew to more than 5m in height as he swept his oversized, white-gloved hand towards Yo. . "That''s cheating! That was clearly some kind of spatial movement!" Though Yo managed to evade Jack''s attack with rtive ease, Asuka couldn''t stay quiet after seeing the pumpkin-headed creature suddenly appear to block her path. Unfortunately, Shiroyasha summarily shot her down, exining, "No, it just resembles spatial movement. In reality, he''s just fast." Furrowing her brows, Asuka wanted to say more but immediately decided against it as Izayoi added, "Calm that pretty little head of yours. Yo''s got this one in the bag." As if to demonstrate just how unnecessary Asuka''s concern had been, Yo used the surrounding tree branches to maneuver around Jack with such extreme speed that she created numerous afterimages. Though itcked anything even remotely resembling pores, a bead of sweat could be seen running down the side of Jack''s pumpkin head as it barely evaded one of Yo''s increasingly powerful blows. Seeing Yo''s stunning disy, Asuka was once again reminded that she was among the weakest of her Community''s main forces. Her expression immediately turned somber, and, though she was happy that Yo had the upper hand, she couldn''t help doubting her qualifications as Leader of the No Names Noticing the sudden and rather drastic change in his girlfriend''s mood, Izayoi muttered, "This girl" in a quiet and reasonably exasperated tone. One of the onlyints he had about Asuka, aside from her nagging, was her chronic biprism. There were times when she would go from a supremely confident woman to a meek and moody Aristocrat at the drop of a hat. The most annoying thing about her behavior was that she rarely trained yet got upset when others performed feats beyond her level. Shaking his head, Izayoi decided to focus on the match. If he attempted to talk with her in such a ''public'' setting, Asuka would invariably use him of trying to embarrass her. She would know that wasn''t his intention, but her rigid upbringing and ''noble'' mentalitypelled her to behave in a certain way. She was quick to apologize after the fact, but it was still an extremely troublesome character w, one Izayoi wished she would make an earnest effort to correct . After darting around her opponent for several seconds, Yo decided to test Jack''s durability by doing something she hadn''t been able to do just days prior,bining her transformations. As an honorary member of the Menagerie, Yo had befriended most of the girls within. She had also befriended every Companion she came across, so, after contemting which would be the best to fuse with her Pikachu form, Yo''s lightning-bolt-shaped tail suddenly inted before splitting into nine distinct appendages. At the same time, long, fox-like ears protruded from her head as the color of her fur shifted from a bright, sunny yellow to a luminous shade of reddish-gold with ck markings. Empowered by the hybrid transformation, Yo''s figure became a blur as she darted past Jack and lefter several significant cuts in his robe. When she looked back at him, her previously brown eyes had be crimson with ck slits as she mused, "I''ll have to thank Kushina-nee when I get back" Before he could ask who Kushina was, Jack was sent flying by a massive fist nearly the size of his body. Yo made sure to hold back, but a sizeable crack had appeared on his pumpkin-like head after he was sent crashing through more than a dozen of the inordinatelyrge branches. It promptly closed up thanks to his incredible regenerative ability, but Yo was already long gone by the time he was able to recover enough to fly . "And our winner is Kasakabe Yo of the No Names! Everyone give her a round of apuse~!" Though the match ended much faster than anyone expected, the crowd still erupted into cheers. Not entirely because Yo had won, but because her hybrid outfit made her appear practically naked. Her entire body was veiled in a reddish-gold light, but that same light had also obscured the contours and details of her outfit. She wasn''t actually exposed, but that didn''t stop people from imagining she was. Misinterpreting the reason for the crowd''s enthusiasm, Yo inadvertently exacerbated matters by pumping her fists, waving her arms, and bouncing around the center stage with a contagious smile on her face. It was when she heard several people shouting out marriage proposals that she began to settle down, her expression bing awkward as she meekly replied, "Sorry, but there is already someone I love" With her words were broadcast to the entire coliseum, Yo''s response was met with a number of boos, an ample amount ofughter, and even louder cheering. A few of the more hopeful crowd members believed they would be able to poach Yo from the No Names, but they would soon realize the futility of their beliefs once it became known that Vahn was the object of her affection . "That''s not something you see every day" Following Vahn''s gaze, Sandora, who had been sitting beside him atop matching thrones, remarked, "Demons" While they failed to blot out the sky, the sight of millions of pitch-ck Geass Rolls raining down from the sky was rather intimidating. Had she not spent part of her seven and a half years in the Actualized World of Ni No Kuni saving it, Sandora may have been as terrified as the members of the crowd. Instead, she was one of the first to take action, shouting, "An enemy Demon Lord has appeared! Prioritize relocating and protecting the citizens!" Surprised by his younger sister''s swift reaction, Mandra and many of his Officers were momentarily stunned. When she turned towards him with a severe expression and shouted, "Now!" however, he immediately regained his senses, repeated her orders, and began helping to carry them out. Increasing the dread many people were feeling, an eerie ck miasma began to manifest around Shiroyasha. Her expression immediately soured, not because of the miasma, but because of the feeling of powerlessness that had suddenly permeated her body. "How annoying" Just as the ck miasma attempted to surge outward from Shiroyasha''s position, a twoyered spherical barrier appeared around her, one to prevent it from touching her and the other to prevent it from spreading outward. Immediately after that, an aqueous white light spread between the two barriers, rapidly purifying the miasma as Vahn appeared next to her and asked, "Should I let you out?" with a cheeky smile on his face. To Vahn''s surprise, Shiroyasha answered, "Check the Geass Roll first. If there is a rule prohibiting me from leaving this area, it could result in our loss if I try." Though he was confident he could ''overwrite'' the rules by initiating a Gift Game of his own, Vahn nodded his head and teleported a Geass Roll into his hand, reading: ----------------------------------------- [The Pied Piper of Hamelin] [Participants] 1: yers, Hosts, Communities, and Citizens currently in the Outer Gate of 3999999 and 4000000, Kouen City. [Victory Condition(s) for Participants] 1: Kill the Host Master 2: Shatter the False Legend, making the True Legend known. [Victory Condition(s) for Host Master] 1: All Participants are either killed or forced to submit. [Rules] 1: Spirit of the Sun and White Night, Star ss Demon Shiroyasha is the Host Master. 2: Participants who surrender during the Game are automatically enlisted as members of Community: Grim Grimoire Hamelin. 3: Members of Grim Grimoire Hamelin must do everything in their power to force others to submit. [Restrictions] 1: Suicide or killing of other Participants. 2: Gifts capable of modifying or interfering with the Rules/Conditions of a Gift Game. 3: The creation of Domains is strictly prohibited. [Time Limit] None ----------------------------------------- Hearing Vahn read off the rules, Shiroyasha''s expression soured further as she remarked, "How absurd. Killing other Participants is against the rules, but the victory conditions for both sides include me dying or killing everyone else? Even I wasn''t this unreasonable during my Problem Child days." After shaking her head in mild exasperation, Shiroyasha ignored the fact that everyone had gathered around her and Vahn, asking, "So? What are you going to do? If you use your ability, I imagine you could settle this in an instant." Though he nodded in affirmation, Vahn didn''t say he was going to settle things. Instead, he surprised Sandora by lightly touching her lower back, gently pushing her forward as he said, "Since the rules prohibit killing and suicide, I see no reason to intervene. Rather, this is a perfect opportunity for Sandora to demonstrate her capacity as a Leader. I''ll only intervene if things get out of hand." Recovering from her momentary diposure, Sandora regained a calm and serious expression as she dered, "I am in agreement with Vahn. Though Smandra and the Aldrnari Empire will soon be allies, this is currently a matter for the North to handle. If I can''t resolve something like a Demon Lord attack, I have no reason being Floor Master." "Well said, chibi." Though his words were a little out of turn, Izayoi couldn''t help admiring Sandora''s conviction. He was also eager to cut loose, so, before Asuka could even think about lecturing him, he leaped into the air and took off towards the massive wall surrounding the city. "That impatient oaf!" Unwilling to be left behind, Asuka directed her gaze to Sandora, saying, "The No Names and Smandra used to be allies. Once this matter has been settled, we should sit down and discuss the terms of our renewed Alliance. Agreed?" As she had been nning to do just that, Sandora immediately nodded in response to Asuka''s words, stating, "There are very few things that would make me happier, Asuka-san." with a radiant smile on her face. Adopting a faint smile of her own, Asuka shifted her attention to Yo and Lily, asking, "Can I ask the two of you to escort me? Though I may be the Leader, mybat power is severelyckingpared to the two of you and Izayoi. The best I can do is provide support." Though Yo readily agreed to Asuka''s proposal, Lily refused, apologizing before she exined, "I dislike fighting. If possible, I would prefer to aid in the evacuation and help treat the injured." Seeing no reason to refuse and too anxious to continue standing around talking, Asuka immediately approved of Lily''s suggestion before she and Yo took to the skies with the aid of their Companions. Sandora was very tempted to follow them, but her top priority was ensuring her people were safe. If there were people who hadn''t read the rules and ended up giving in, things might quickly devolve into a situation resembling a civil war As important as it was to repel or deal with the enemies, defeating them would not bring the game to an end . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The Legendary Nine-Tailed Demon Rat!'',''Yo would make a great idol (O w O)'',''Those are some pretty janky rules'') Chapter 2283: A Grim Realization

Chapter 2283: A Grim Realization

After departing the coliseum, Izayoi, aided by his whale-like Companion, Seiun, darted across the sky like a pale-blue meteorite. While Izayoi''s senses were nowhere near the level of Vahn''s, he could detect bloodlust and hostility across vast distances. The woman he had sent flying the previous day had apparently held a grudge towards him, as, shortly after the ck Geass Rolls appeared, he detected her anger towards him from several tens of kilometers away. Fortunately for the woman, less so for herpanion, she wasn''t alone this time around. He had already determined her to be a non-threat, at least to him, so Izayoi''s first target was her pointy-earedpanion, a man with spikey ck hair and an outfit reminiscent of a German Army Officer. "What the-" Before the man could finish eximing his surprise, Izayoi grabbed his head and smashed him into the wall surrounding the city. He was tempted to smash the man through it, but, understanding that would end with him being forced onto the enemy team, Izayoi held back quite a bit. "It''s you, that damnable man with the headphones!" Having learned her lesson from the previous day, the scantily d blonde, Ratten, attempted to fly up and away from Izayoi, flute in hand. She knew she wasn''t Izayoi''s match, so she intended to assist the man buried in the wall, a Low-ss Demon named Wesser. Demonstrating that he was far more durable than hispanion, Wesser managed to endure Izayoi''s retrained blow without losing consciousness. More importantly, he managed to convert arge section of the city wall into a mud-like substance, temporarily trapping him and Izayoi as he spat up blood and groaned, "Cocky bastard" Only marginally inconvenienced by the thickyer of mud, Izayoi drew back his right fist, a cheeky smile on his face as he rebutted, "You idiots targetted a Community hosting the Sage Dragon Emperor, and you have the gall to call me cocky? Your Leader had better be a badass, or this is going to be a stomp." With the intent of punctuating his words, Izayoi threw his fist towards the snarling demon, only for his body to temporarily freeze as the sound of a flute reached his ears. Seeing Izayoi stop mid-swing, a wicked expression developed across Wesser''s face until the former''s fist promptly impacted it. Ratten''s flute had halted his movements, but, unfortunately for the two demons, Vahn was the one who repaired Izayoi''s headphones following his stay in the Game Board. Not only were they borderline indestructible, but they could y music from Izayoi''s original world while simultaneously blocking out all sounds from the outside. "You assholes are so going to pay for making me owe that lizard a favor" . After seeing Izayoi resist thepulsion of her flute, Ratten immediately turned tail and flew away. Her task was to mind control people and cause chaos, not fight some monstrous pretty boy with more than enough bite to back up his bark. Unfortunately for Ratten, she soon found her path blocked by Asuka and Yo. Her expression immediately soured, and, for a very brief moment, she felt like crying as she brought her flute up to her lips and said, "Get out of my way!" While Asuka instinctuallymanded Abyssinian to cover her ears, Yo charged forward with the intention of preventing Ratten from ying her flute. Her reserves were spent after using a hybrid transformation during the Finals, but her Maneki-neko was more than willing to provide its own. Not expecting Yo to be so fast, Ratten cursed the Communities that were supposed to be supporting her own as the former''sparably small fist impacted the same spot as Izayoi''s. She managed to avoid being knocked out, but the pain made her wish she had been. Adding insult to literal injury, Asuka waved her open hand towards Ratten, her voice echoing through the void as she shouted, "Drop your flute!" in amanding tone. Ratten attempted to resist, but thest thing she saw before Yo ced her in a chokehold was Asuka enthusiastically grabbing her flute before it could fall to the streets below . As the rules didn''t strictly prohibit her from moving around, Shiroyasha elected to join Vahn, Vani, and Caramel in thefort of his room. Her status as Host Master prevented her from providing any help or feedback, so she figured she might as well enjoy Vahn''s pampering as he kept tabs on events happening throughout the city. Though the rules prohibited their creation, Vahn''s domain had never been a representative example of the ability. His [Will of the Emperor] was also SSS-Rank, equivalent to Lace and the Central Network itself. Unless he ''agreed'' to y by the rules, there wasn''t a force in the Divine Realm that couldpel him to do so. Fortunately for his would-be enemies, Vahn knew this event was at least partially the result of Mandra''s machinations. It was a ploy concocted to silence Sandora''s critics by demonstrating, once and for all, that she was capable of dealing with Demon Lords and carrying out her responsibilities as Floor Master. Vahn didn''t wholly agree with his methods, but he could understand Mandra''s desire to support his sister. The far more significant threat was the forces pulling the strings behind Mandra and the Grimm Grimoire Hamlin. Vahn knew at least six different groups were coordinating with each other, two serving as diversions, one targetting Sandora''s crown and horn, one targetting Shiroyasha''s life, and two entire Communities targetting him. Though he asked her to keep mum regarding the specifics, Vahn hadn''t been able to resist asking Loi-chan about each group''s objectives. Their penultimate goal was clearly to release the seal on the Demon God, but his very existence had thrown a wrench into that n. While thinking about what he would do if the enemy attempted to lure him into an ''unwinnable'' Gift Game, Vahn ran his fingers through Shiroyasha''s pale-blue, perennially warm hair. She was currently ying the part of his little spoon as any overtly intimate acts could be seen as ''collusion'' due to the remarkable potency of his seminal fluid. Voicing one of the many thoughts lingering in Vahn(s) mind, Shiroyasha whispered, "We should do this more oftenI almost forgot how rxing your aura can be when you aren''t hopped up on lust" Resisting the urge to point out that she was frequently the one riling him up, the Vahn spooning Shiroyasha nted a kiss on her head. At the same time, his other self adopted a faint smile as he continued gently caressing the heads of the two girls using hisp as a pillow. Compared to the chaos outside, the atmosphere within the suite was truly serene. . "It would appear your hypothesis was correct, Rin. So long as we do not directly anger or offend him, the Sage Dragon Emperor seems satisfied with simply observing." Happy to receive praise, a radiant smile developed across Rin''s face as she merrily chimed, "I told you so. Beings like the Sage Dragon Emperor live ording to a stringent set of rules. We just need to figure out what they are, and he''s easy to n around." Nodding his head in affirmation, the white-haired youth standing next to Rin waved his hand to change the spherical disy to show Sandora. For a very brief moment, a glimmer of conflict shed across his eyes before promptly disappearing as he asked, "So, what now? Do we tell the others to pull back, or should we continue with our original n? I get the feeling that man won''t just sit around if we target something that belongs to him." With a noticeably more cramped smile, Rin nervouslybed through her hair as she answered, "I''m not entirely sure. We don''t have nearly enough data on the Sage Dragon Emperor''s omniscience or sensory abilities. If he thinks, even for a moment, we intend to hurt Sandora, he will probably kill us all. Our best bet is to leverage the lives of the people of Smandra in an exchange, but I can''t imagine the Sage Dragon Emperor behaving if we start killing hostages" Furrowing his brows, the white-haired youth, Highness, raised his hand to stare at his palm. He was rtively confident he could at least stall Vahn; the question was whether or not it would be enough. As far as they could tell, Vahn had near-absolute dominion over the flow of time within a given area. They ascribed this ability to an unseen domain, but if it turned out to be something ''more'', it might not matter what they do. "Though we have never met, I sincerely hate that Shiroyasha woman" Exhaling a sigh, Rin groaned, "I agree with youpletely. While I can understand her motives, inviting the Sage Dragon Emperor into the Divine Realm was an outrageous decision. At this rate, it may only be a few years before the Little Garden has a new ruler" As Vahn had exceeded their expectations at every turn, Rin had no doubt he would continue growing faster than they could n around him. It had taken him less than a year to acquire one of the lowest-digit Gates in the Little Garden. If the rumors alleging him to be the Progenitor of Dragons continued to gain traction, he might very well be the most powerful being in Creation. After all, every major Authority, even those of the Sun, manifested in the form of Pure-Blooded Dragons Just as Highness was about to make a suggestion to help Rine up with a n, one of the mirrors lining the wall of their hideout began to emit a pale white light. Shortly after that, the visage of a woman with a dark hood covering half her face came into view, stating, "It''s no good. The space surrounding the Sage Dragon''s Hearth is as impregnable as always. To make matters worse, we have confirmed the presence of the Sage Dragon Emperor within his castle. Are you certain the one on your end is the real deal?" Though he wasn''t traditionally very expressive, Highness couldn''t help hanging his head and rubbing his temples when he heard the woman''s report. They knew about Vahn''s ability to create ''clones'' of himself, but the ongoing Gift Game should have made that impossible. The moment the Central Network detected a version of him outside of Kouen City, he should have beenpelled to join the Grimm Grimoire Hamlin. Hazarding a guess, Rin suggested, "Perhaps we were wrong. Instead of clones, there is a possibility that each of the Sage Dragon Emperors we have seen thus far is an Avatara. We already know that most of the core members of the Aldrnari Empire were created by him. Since there were no records of his existence before his emergence in the Divine Realm, who''s to say he didn''t simplycreate himself?" "You suspect him to be Self-Actualizing? If that were the case, how was Shiroyasha able to summon him? The Lower Realms do not support the concept of Self-Actualized beings. Such an aberration wouldpletely disrupt the bnce of Creation" Realizing what he was saying, Highness''s expression turned grim as the entire room fell into an eerie silence. After all, his refusal was basically a textbook definition of Vahn''s existence. Everything about thetter was anomalous, so much so that every attempt they made to understand him resulted in them learning just how little they truly knew Voicing the thought on everyone''s minds, the hooded woman, Aura, softly muttered, "By the Godsif what you say is true, the Sage Dragon Emperor is basically a Poet writing himself into the story of Creation itself. How can we hope to oppose such a being?" Answering without a moment''s hesitation, Rin''s eyes briefly lost focus as she listlessly replied, "That''s all we can dowithin the rules that the Sage Dragon Emperor, himself, has set" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Getting hit on a bruise hurts like hell'',''Vahn does what he wants'',''When you realize the person you''re trying to gank in PvP is the Admin'') Chapter 2284: Fire Dragon vs. Black Percher

Chapter 2284: Fire Dragon vs. ck Percher

Sensing her connection with Wesser and Ratten weaken, the Leader of Grimm Grimoire Hamlin, ck Percher''s face formed into a pout. "This must be the result of the Sage Dragon Emperor''s influencehow troublesome" Despite her words, the pout of ck Percher''s face formed into a fierce smile as she raised her hands to her sides, the fabric of her inordinately oversized sleeves dangling well past her hands as she said, "No matter. Once the pestilence takes hold, not even the Sage Dragon Emperor will be able to prevent us from umting allies." By the time ck Percher was finished speaking, arge volume of ck mist had started to flow from the ends of her sleeves. At the same time, the 14m tall, vaguely ghost-like golem she was standing atop raised its arms and began releasing tempestuous winds from the holes adorning its body. "Let''s see how quickly youe begging me for a solution!" Propelled by the winds of the golem, a type of Intermediate Wind Spirit known as Strom, ck Percher''s ck mist began to spread through the city. To make matters exponentially worse, at least for the inhabitants of Kouen City, several other Stroms, encircling the city, raised their arms to generate massive storm clouds overhead. Their purpose was to create a localized natural disaster and strain the Smandra Community''s ability to respond to and treat the gue that was secretly spreading as a result of ck Percher''s mist. So long as they could make the residents of Kouen City lose hope, the ranks of Grimm Grimoire Hamlin would steadily increase until they were able to subsume the entire Gate. At least, that''s what ck Percher, the Demon Lord of the ck gue, was hoping would happen . Seeing the clouds gathering overhead, Sandora''s expression darkened nearly as much as the sky as she muttered, "There is a foul stench in the air" Though she wasn''t entirely sure what the enemy was nning, Sandora had always possessed a remarkable intuition. The Gift Game prevented her from using her power and Authority as a Floor Master, but she could still sense ''something'' dangerous to the West. "Mandra, brother, take charge here. I will go and confront the enemy directly." Hearing his sister''s remark, Mandra wanted to argue, but Sandora had already taken to the sky like a bright orange meteor. Since he could not fly without the aid of a Flying Drake or Wyvern, he could only furrow his pronounced brows in concern, whispering, "Please keep my sister safe" before continuing to direct the evacuation . "Hmmm?" Though Mandra hadn''t invoked his name, the sincerity of his request allowed it to reach Vahn''s ears. He immediately shifted his attention to Sandora and the group plotting to steal her regalia, but thetter hadn''t made a move. Realizing the true motivation for Mandra''s request, a moderately amused smile developed across Vahn''s face as he whispered, "I suppose an older brother must worry about his younger sister" Hearing Vahn''s remark, Shiroyasha responded with a soft, "Nn" without opening her eyes or liberating herself from his embrace. She was keeping tabs on everything, just as Vahn was, so she knew that Sandora wasn''t in any immediate danger. Rather, due to the ring adorning her finger and the crown atop her head, there was very little her current opponent could do against her. Vahn may not have nned for the Demon Lord''s attack, but his concern for his loved ones gave them an absolute advantage against anyone that relied on poisons, diseases, and things like mind control . Reaching her destination in seconds, Sandora immediately noticed ck Percher standing atop one of her Stroms, asking, "Are you the one behind this?" Instead of answering Sandora''s inquiry, ck Percher squinted her eyes and said, "Sandora DoltdrakeLeader of Smandra and Floor Master of the North. You are brave to approach me on your ownbrave, yet foolish." Punctuating her words, ck Percher raised her hand and sent a column of ck mist towards Sandora. Thetter was going to scatter it with her mes, but this ultimately proved unnecessary as the mist dispersed into motes of pure white light the moment it trespassed within 5m of her. "" "" Following a brief pause, Sandora smiled as she held up her left hand to reveal her glowing engagement ring, teasing, "Sorry, Miss Demon Lord, but the power of love protects me." Visibly cringing, ck Percher''s expression formed into one of disgust as she raised both arms and shouted, "Then you''ll have someone to mourn you!" Instead of a hazy ck mist, two dark-purple ''beams'' erupted from ck Percher''s sleeves. It was basically the same attack, but this time she had empowered it with her Spirit Energy. Though she believed in the power of Vahn''s love, Sandora''s instincts were telling her to dodge. Her ring may be able to purify the miasma, but it had absolutely no effect on the kic energy contained within the st. Demonstrating her quick reaction speed and her extraordinary flexibility, Sandora practically pirouetted around the beams of purple energy as she brought her fore and index fingers to her lips. When she opened her eyes, ck Percher could see they had formed into thin slits as Sandora''s lungs filled with a phenomenal amount of Fire Elemental and Spirit Energy. Realizing the danger she was in, ck Percher promptly abandoned the Strom, her figure appearing to flicker out of existence just as a veritable tidal wave of bright orange mes enveloped her previous position. This may sound like an exaggeration, but it was a very apt description as the mes didn''t immediately disperse. Instead, they washed over the wall and spread along its surface like napalm as Sandora swept her breath in the direction ck Percher had dodged. "Damn brat!" Seeing Sandora''s mes sweeping towards her, ck Percher waved her hand to create a wall of luminescent, brackish-purple mist. It managed to prevent the breath from washing over and consuming her; but, due to the inherent purification properties of mes, the wall was quickly dissolving away as a loud, hissing sound emanated through the area. Putting even greater pressure on ck Percher, Sandora''s expression became severe as she increased the amount of Spirit Energy she was channeling into her breath. The plume of mes erupting from her lips began to contract until, less than a secondter, a high-pitched whirring echoed across the entire city as her breath condensed into aser-like beam of light. Though she dodged at thest moment, ck Percher''s expression paled as Sandora''s breath cut through the protective membrane of miasma and pierced her side in an instant. The wound healed almost instantaneously, but the pain wasparable to having a white-hot skewer stabbed into her abdomen. Evading the subsequent sweeping of Sandora''sser-like breath, ck Percher''s thought process briefly stalled when she noticed the orange-haired Dragoness wasn''t aiming at her. Instead, her breath was cutting through the Stroms that had encircled the city like an unreasonably hot knife through butter. Feeling something ''snap'' inside of her, ck Percher charged towards Sandora rather than producing her trademarked ck mist. Her actions were so unexpected, at least from the perspective of Sandora, that thetter''s breath practically exploded in her face as she narrowly evaded a sweep from oversized metallic ws that had emerged from within ck Percher''s sleeves. Demonstrating she wasn''t just a long-rangebatant, ck Percher''s body blurred as she quickly entered within Sandora''s range, her forehead striking the startled Princess in the nose. Intending to take advantage of the moment when Sandora instinctually grabbed at her face, it was ck Percher''s turn to be surprised when the former grabbed her wrists and returned a headbutt of her own. Despite her delicate appearance, Sandora was still a Dragon. She had also umted a tremendous amount of experience training with Vahn and fighting to save the world, so it would take a lot more than a headbutt to disorient her. A stark contrast to Sandora, ck Percher had just recently manifested in the Divine Realm. This was the first fight she had ever been in, so, despite knowing she shouldn''t, she ended up covering her face and nose as tears built in the corners of her eyes. Thinking her opponent was trying to mislead her into lowering her guard, Sandora ignored ck Percher''s tears and nted an explosive fist into the petite Demoness''s gut. ck Percher''s durability was nothing to scoff at, but she ended up being sted back hundreds of meters and through numerous buildings. When she subsequently charged out of the cloud of dust and debris caused by her union with the ground, a part of her gothic-style dress had been burned away, revealing a charred yet rapidly healing cavity in her stomach. "You''re going to pay for that!" Surprised by her opponent''s shrill and indignant scream, Sandora was nearly grazed by the tip of the skyscraper-sized ck spear that had erupted from ck Percher''s sleeve. In the very next moment, however, she grabbed the shaft of the spear, her fingers sinking into its surface as she spun around and swung both it and ck Percher into the city wall. "Gwak!" Impacting the wall at a bad angle, the air was forced from ck Percher''s lungs as her back and body contorted in a way that would cause anyone who looked upon her to inhale sharply. Her nature as an amalgamation of more than 80 million Spirits made her practically immortal, but it was still a frightful sight to behold. Apanied by the unbearable sounds of bones popping and breaking, ck Percher quickly reverted to her original form. Herplexion was ghastly, and a few beads of sweat could be seen beneath her brow, but her fighting spirit hadn''t waned in the slightest. "Just you waitevery ounce of pain you inflict on to meI will return it to you a billion-fold" ring her hands outward, ck Percher manifested a pair of pitch-ck wings formed of purple-ck miasma. At the same time, matching ck katana des erupted from her sleeves as she charged towards Sandora like a beam of eerie ck light. Compelled by her instincts, Sandora teleported away from the trajectory of ck Percher''s attack just as the enraged Demoness carved two 30m long rifts in the void. Her speed and power had drastically increased, so much so that Sandora could feel goose pimples breaking out across her body as she muttered, "You''re not a Demon Lordyou''re a Divine Spirit!" Instead of responding to Sandora''s outburst, ck Percher adopted a malicious smile as she generated a massive scythe and sliced it toward the befuddled Dragoness. Sandora responded by manifesting an ornate golden trident, but she was still sent crashing into the ground like a tiny, Princess-shaped bullet . "HmmmI expected the Floor Master of the North to be a little stronger. Could she be holding back for the sake of the city?" Responding to the golden-haired beauty''s words, a masked female knight with long, pure white hair tied together by a ck ribbon asked, "Forgive me for speaking out of turn, my Queen. But shouldn''t we be helping out?" Dismissively waving her hand, the golden-haired beauty, more famously known as Queen Halloween, answered, "No. ording to our agreement with the Demon of the White Night, we will not intrude unless the Demon God awakens and proves too much for the Sage Dragon God to handle. If that happens, I''ll be relying on you to help protect the civilians." Though she didn''t like the idea of just standing around, the masked knight nodded her head in response to her Master''s words. Fortunately, Sandora still had a lot of fight left to give. In fact, much like ck Percher, she was just getting warmed up . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''ck Death? More like Body Odor!'',''Fun Fact: All of the Demon Lords that appear in the Mondaiji Anime are Lolis'',''Sandora emerges from the rubble, blood trickling from beneath as she points her trident at ck Percher and shouts, "Bankai!"'') Chapter 2285: Power Overwhelming

Chapter 2285: Power Overwhelming

"Give up. I am empowered by the spirits of the more than 80 million victims of the ck gue. You cannot hope to defeat me." Though revealing information rted to her origin could ce her at a disadvantage, ck Percher wanted to see Sandora despair. Many of the spiritsprising her existence had been burned alive or cremated after death, so while mes were effective against her, they also served to stir the anger and resentment of her constituent spirits. These were the very emotions that powered her Divinity, so, the more pain and misery she was forced to endure, the more powerful ck Percher became. Indicative of this, ck Percher''s body was slowly yet visibly maturing. At the beginning of the fight, she resembled a girl no older than ten. Now, as a result of Sandora''s attacks, her height had increased from around 131cm to 143cm. Her figure hadn''t changed all that much, but it was beginning to show the signs of transitioning from a prepubescent girl to a teen. Noticing the changes in her opponent''s body, Sandora narrowly evaded the massive, 50m long scythe that attempted to bisect her at the waist. In the same motion, she stabbed her trident into the space next to her, the tippletely disappearing into the void as she asked, "Why are you attacking my Community? With power like yours, you could have gained a foothold in the Outer Gates. It doesn''t make sense for you to antagonize a Floor Master in your debut as a Demon Lord" Furrowing her brows, ck Percher dissipated her giant scythe, recing it with a pair of sickles attached to chains. Instead of attacking, however, she began to retreat backward, her eyes narrowing as she scrutinized the glistening golden trident in Sandora''s possession. In an attempt to cut off her opponent''s path, Sandora formed a seal with her left hand, shouting, "I don''t think so!" as rings of fire formed around ck Percher''s biceps, ankles, and neck. Feeling the weight of her body increase by several orders of magnitude, ck Percher clicked her tongue as her dress spontaneously burst into dark purple mes. When they faded away, a rather stylish suit of ck and purple armor reced much of her previous outfit. The top was a form-fitting ck breastte that left her shoulders exposed. As for the rest, it consisted of ck tassets that followed the contours of her skirt, a pair of ck greaves with rather prominent heels, and a head guard that protected her neck, cheeks, and chin but left the rest of her headrgely unprotected. Dissipating the sickle in her left hand, ck Percher reached up to grasp the cor of fire around her neck. She still had her oversized sleeves, but a ck and purple gauntlet came into view as she tore away the ring with a simple tug. "You dare try to cor me?" Since her opponent had previously ignored her, Sandora responded to ck Percher''s question by cutting her fingers towards the ground. The rings around her arms and legs caused her to fall towards the city streets as Sandora removed her trident from the void to reveal its tip glowing like the core of a star. One of the ''secret techniques'' Sandora had learned from Vahn was how to absorb energy directly from the void. There were ces where Elemental and Spiritual Energy simply didn''t exist, at least not in a tangible form. The void, however, provided a functionally infinite supply as it was a domain of endless reserve. It was just very, very difficult to ess, much less use. "Though I''m sure you have your reasons, I cannot allow you to endanger the lives of my friends andpanions! Take this!" Though she managed to get out quite a few words, the interval between the start of Sandora''s attack and the moment she stabbed her trident into ck Percher''s chest was only 0.00000003 seconds. She could go much, much faster, but she was holding back to try and limit the damage to her surroundings. Each of the buildings encircling her was someone''s home or ce of business; Sandora didn''t want to destroy their hard work. With this in mind, Sandora controlled the energy released from her trident to pierce nearly ck Percher''s breastte, body, and 3km of the ground beneath her. The ambient temperature increased to the point that several buildings caught fire, but that was promptly resolved thanks to the storm incited by ck Percher and her Stroms. Grabbing the shaft of Sandora''s trident, ck Percher rasped, "So long as our grudge remainswe will never perish" Instead of refuting ck Percher''s words, Sandora nodded her head and said, "That may be. Unfortunately for you, this trident wasn''t made to take lives" Punctuating her words, Sandora twisted her trident as if she were turning a key. To ck Percher''s immense shock, there was no pain produced by this action. Instead, she felt as if all the power had drained from her body as Sandora removed the trident to reveal unblemished, fair white skin and an intricate tattoo resembling a keyhole. "Vahn is far kinder than you can imagine. He imbued this trident with four different enchantments. The first, Mercy Strike, ensures that even a fatal blow would always leave an opponent with enough life to recover. As for the other three, the most relevant to this situation is its ability to seal the power of people it otherwise would have killed." No longer injured, ck Percher attempted to leap to her feet, but the weight of her armor prevented her from so much as sitting upright. The material appeared thin and form-fitting, but even her gauntlets weighed as much as 60kgs. With her strength reduced to that of a pubescent girl, all she could do was re at Sandora as she shouted, "Don''t think this is over! You may have defeated me and destroyed my Stroms, but I''ve been releasing my miasma throughout the city for weeks! Unless you can clear the game and restore the light of the Sun, it''s only a matter of time before my pestilence ims every member of your Community!" Though she furrowed her brows, Sandora didn''t take the teary-eyed Demoness''s threat seriously. Vahn would never allow something like a gue to run rampant throughout the city. Even if it took days for them toplete the game, there was no danger of anyone dying or surrendering to escape illness. Believing in the man, no, the God she had spent thest seven and a half years living with, Sandora repeated her earlier question, asking, "Why did you target my Community? Even if there was a personal grudge between us, attacking with Vahn present was incredibly foolish." Snorting through her nose, ck Percher attempted to turn her head but found the action impossible due to her headguard. Her only option was to avert her eyes in a vain attempt to evade Sandora''s line of sight. "" Realizing her opponent wasn''t going to reveal anything of her own ord, Sandora briefly considered her options before calling out, "Vahn? Can you hear me?" Hearing Sandora talking to herself, ck Percher was about to ask if she had gone soft in the head. Before the words could leave her lips, however, the space next to her wavered as Vahn appeared out of thin air, a rxed smile on his face as he answered, "Of course." Not expecting Vahn to appear directly, even Sandora was surprised until she realized the reason, asking, "Did you predict this oue?" Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn casually replied, "The rules prohibit killing. I also know you''re not the type to strike someone down without knowing the motive behind their actions" Shifting his gaze away from Sandora''s, Vahn briefly met ck Percher''s carmine eyes before pulling out a nket, covering her body, and adding, "Your subordinates, Ratten and Wesser, have already been defeated. Are you certain you wish to continue this farce?" Adopting a re that was more cute than terrifying, ck Percher replied, "So long as I draw breath, I will never cease seeking revenge against all those rted to the Sun. No one deserves to receive the Sun''s grace after what we were forced to experience!" "Mmmis that so?" Crouching next to the enfeebled Demoness, Vahn disregarded her literal hissing as he ced his palm on her abdomen. There was a thick nket, a thinyer of armor, and a dress separating them, but his hand was able to pass through all of them before sinking into her body directly. With a wave of panic washing over her, ck Percher''s breathing began to elerate as she anxiously eximed, "Wh-what the hell do you think you''re doing!? Get your hand out of there!" Without ceasing his actions, Vahn asked, "If our positions were reversed, would you listen to my pleas? Or would they simply make you excited?" Though the only sensation she felt as a result of Vahn''s invasive actions was a feeling of warmth spreading through her abdomen, ck Percher did her best to writhe about as she eximed, "Youyou don''t know what you''re talking about!" Even with her Divinity sealed, ck Percher was so used to speaking the truth that she didn''t consider lying. Instead, she was doing everything in her power to avoid answering Vahn''s questions. If he knew the truth, that she would delight in every moment of his suffering, she had no doubt he would return the favor in excess. Seeing through the panicking Demoness''s thoughts, Vahn had to resist the urge to roll his eyes as he used his Godhand and Hands of Nirvana to purify the amalgamation of negative energy epassing and polluting her Divine Core. He was unable to change her nature as a Divine Spirit of Vengenace, but he could easily purify the negative energies contained in the 80 million Spiritsprising her. He had done something simr with Weiss, and she had well over a billion Feeling a warm and fuzzy sensation permeating her body, ck Percher gradually ceased her struggles. She had no clue what Vahn was doing, but, whatever it was, it wasn''t painful. In fact, it was feeling better with each passing moment. As oundish as it sounded, it evoked the distant memory of the time when she would rest her head against her mother''sp, the warm rays of the Sun beating down on her as a cool breeze blew over the meadow where they frequently picked In a markedly calmer voice than before, ck Percher listlessly inquired, "What are youdoing to me?" Retracting his hand from ck Percher''s body, Vahn''s smile softened as he replied, "I''m fulfilling the sincerest desire you and the eighty million Spirits within you have harbored these past seven centuries. I''m healing you" Despite the indescribably pleasant feelings permeating her body, ck Percher managed a severe pout as she softlyined, "You have no right" Without missing a beat, Vahn ruffled the petite Demoness''s purple hair as he retorted, "I have about as much as your right to infect others" Unable to avoid Vahn''s palm, ck Percher''s pout amplified as she tried, in vain, to snap at him with her small but prominent fangs. With her horn-like hair essory vaguely resembling the ears of a cat, she gave off the impression of a stray yet dewed kitten. She was very, very aggressive, but ultimately harmless . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The bad guy, moments before their defeat: "You cannot hope to defeat me!"'',''ck Percher''s behavior reminds me of that ''very angry frog'' meme'',''Now she is going to be running around like E, screaming, "Vengeance!" without any genuine animosity xD'') Chapter 2286: Interruption

Chapter 2286: Interruption

"What are you going to do with her?" Since she couldn''t imagine Vahn going out of his way to kill someone that looked like a child, Sandora was curious about what Vahn intended to do. What she didn''t expect was for him to answer, "You''re the one that sealed her powers. Once this Gift Game hase to an end, she, and the rest of her Community, will be your responsibility." Furrowing her brows, Sandora uttered a conflicted, "Nn" as she looked at ck Percher. Even if it were her decision to make, Sandora knew there would be many within her Community petitioning for ck Percher and her subordinates to be brought to justice. The lightest punishment they could expect was a public execution. In the event Smandra intended to make use of them, they would either spend the rest of their immortal existences as ves or something much, much worse Seeing the glimmer of pity in Sandora''s eyes, ck Percher squinted her own, saying, "I don''t need someone like you to pity me. We knew what we were getting ourselves into when we decided to face a Floor Master. Also, the Gift Game has yet to conclude. If your people cannot reveal the truth, it''s only a matter of time before members of your citizenry be agents of Grimm Grimoire Hamlin. Deciding what you''ll do with me after the game is simply arrogant" Though her words had lost a fair amount of their bite, ck Percher was still serious about subsuming Smandra and seeking vengeance against all beings rted to the Sun. Her feelings of urgency had waned, but she wasn''t going to simply abandon the purpose she had carried with her for nearly seven hundred years. Exhaling a sigh, Sandora resisted the urge to inform ck Percher that a subset of her Community would willingly torture her and herpanions for information. A Royal Family couldn''t govern for thousands of years on purely good intentions. She had previously ignored it at the behest of her brother, but Sandora was well aware of Smandra''s dark underbelly. Turning to meet Vahn''s gaze, Sandora asked, "What if my decision was to leave the members of Grimm Grimoire Hamlin to the Aldrnari Empire?" "Hmmm" After ''briefly'' considering his response, Vahn answered, "I''m not entirely sure that''s the best decision. However, if it''s the one you''ve decided, I''m not going to refuse." Tilting her head to the side, Sandora asked, "What do you mean?" with an adorably confused expression on her face. Before Vahn could exin how certain people would use him of either staging the attack or protecting the culprits, ck Percher interjected, a severe and pouty expression on her face as she said, "I refuse! I would rather rot away in prison than be that man''s pet!" Recalling how Vahn had unabashedly stabbed his hand in her body and caressed her head, ck Percher didn''t want to be anywhere near him. Not because his actions had caused her pain or difort, but because they made her feel fluffy and giddy. She didn''t really know how to put it, but ck Percher was sure she would eventually ''lose herself'' if left in the care of Vahn. It had only been a few minutes since their initial encounter, but she already found herself questioning whether or not her vengeance was justified Feeling offended on Vahn''s behalf, Sandora''s expression morphed into a simr pout as she asked, "What''s so bad about bing Vahn''s pet? If you did end up in prison, your treatment would be much worse. I''m not in a position to issue nket pardons, so there is a good chance you would end up being tortured and mistreated just to assuage the people''s anger. Is that really the fate you want for you and your friends?" Though herplexion paled, ck Percher managed an impish grin as she confidently asserted, "Your threats don''t frighten meeven if your Community did want to torture me, neither you nor that man would allow it. Despite his unmatched power and authority, everyone knows the Sage Dragon Emperor is a soft-hearted fool. So long as I promise never to harm any women or children, you''ll have no choice but to let me walk free" Raising his brows, Vahn inquired, "Women and children? I can understand people associating me with children, but women as a whole? That doesn''t sound like me." Snorting through her nose, ck Percher regained a bit of her confidence as she asserted, "Even if you send someone flying or slice them in half during a Gift Game, it doesn''t matter unless you hold them ountable after the fact. Unless they went out of their way to antagonize you after the fact, I doubt you''ve ever actually killed a woman." Though quite a few names and faces came to mind, Vahn didn''t think it would help his situation if he spontaneously listed off all the people he had killed over the years. Instead, he adopted a deadpan expression as he said, "You''re behaving pretty brazen for someone within easy petting distance" Before ck Percher could ask him what the heck he was talking about, Vahn cupped the sides of her face, gently massaging her cheeks with his palms as the tips of his fingers kneaded her fringe and scalp. "Wh-wh-what do you think you''re doing!? Get your grubby little hands off of meeeeee-!?" Feeling a pleasant shiver run through her body, ck Percher summoned power she didn''t know she possessed, breaking free from Vahn''s clutches before promptly sinking her rather prominent canines into the surprisingly soft flesh of his hand. Without attempting to pull his hand away, Vahn''s expression softened as he said, "There is another optiongive up your revenge, and I''ll allow you to reincarnate into a world where you''ll never have to endure the pain and anguish of disease. I can even send you back hometo a time when your mother was still alive, and your father cherished you" Furrowing her brows, ck Percher removed Vahn''s hand from her mouth but kept a hold of it as she stated, "I didn''t need the Princess''s pity; what makes you think I need yours? I don''t know what you did to me, but I owe it to the 80 million Spirits that gave me form to pursue my vengeance until the very end. Whether or not I''m able to obtain it doesn''t matter. Until the Sun has repented for its crimes, I will never stop trying to make life more difficult for those who enjoy its splendor" As if it were the most natural thing to do in the present moment, ck Percher punctuated her words by sinking her teeth into the index and middle finger of Vahn''s right hand. His blood was a lot sweeter than she expected, so even though it earned her weird looks from both Vahn and Sandora, she continued to shamelessly suckle his fingers with a ''serious'' expression on her face. Shaking his hand in a casual and ultimately vain attempt to extricate his fingers from ck Percher''s maw, Vahn''s expression became wry as he asked, "Enjoying yourself?" Instead of answering Vahn''s question, ck Percher attempted to bite down even harder. When she did, Vahn''s fingers spontaneously gained an immaterial quality as he pulled them free, ruffled her hair, and said, "Only people I''m especially close to are allowed to suck my blood." Clicking her tongue, ck Percher averted her eyes, grumbling, "Only an idiot would want to be close to you" "If you say so" Retracting his hand from ck Percher''s head, Vahn turned to Sandora and asked, "What are you going to do now? I''ve already neutralized the miasma that has spread throughout the city. We''re still trapped, but the danger hasrgely passed." Hearing Vahn mention he had neutralized her miasma, ck Percher''s face formed into a scowl as she shouted, "Impossible! Even if you have a Gift rted to purification, there''s no way you could have prevented the spread of the pestilence without a Domain! You must have cheated!" Shaking his head, Vahn''s expression softened as he exined, "While the rules you came up with were prettyprehensive, there was something you failed to ount for" Adopting an intense glower, ck Percher waited for Vahn to continue, her brow twitching when he exined, "The rules prevented the creation of Domains but said nothing about Domains already in effect. Though, to be perfectly honest, that wouldn''t have prevented me from stopping the spread of your miasma. My control over all forms of energy far exceeds themon sense of this world" To make things easier for ck Percher to understand, Vahn created a mass of purple-ck energy in the palm of his hand before promptly purifying and converting it into a ball of pristine white fire. When she saw this, the petite Demoness''s carmine eyes briefly zed over as she softly muttered, "You really are a monster" Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn promptly crushed the ball of holy fire in his palm, saying, "Call me what you will. I''ve rarely concerned myself with the titles others impose upon me. I am who I am, the person I choose to be." Shifting his attention back to Sandora, Vahn waited for her to answer his previous question. Fortunately, she immediately understood the meaning behind his look, exining, "I left the evacuation up to my brother and the members of Smandra. Interrupting it partway through would just cause chaos, so I intend to return to the coliseum to wait for Izayoi, Asuka, and Yo to return." Though he knew Izayoi had been watching them from the shadows for quite some time, Vahn simply nodded his head in response to Sandora''s words. He had already resolved to let her and the No Names handle this particr incident, so, after thoroughly mussing ck Percher''s hair, he kissed the petite Dragoness before whispering into her ear that he would be waiting for her back at the Pce . High in the sky over Kouen City, far beyond the invisible boundary that denoted the city as a Game Board, was a woman with bronzed skin, two-tone ck and blue hair, reptilian eyes, and a truly remarkable physique. Her outfit did very little to conceal her form, but the thing most people would take notice of was her inordinately long and thick tail, a meaty, pitch-ck appendage set with glowing blue spines. "Pathetichow could a 5-Digit Demon Lord be defeated by a brat that still smells of milk? It''s no wonder the higher up are so desperate to do away with the Demon God. The power of recently manifested Demon Lords is aplete joke" Snorting through her nose, tufts of blue, me-like energy emerged from the woman''s nostrils as simrly blue, circuit-like lines began to spread across her body. "Well, not that it matters" With an intense blue light emanating from her throat, the bronze-skinned woman adopted a smile that caused the sides of her mouth to crack. Two rows of razor-sharp, distinctly crystalline teeth came into view as the blue ridges along her tail began to pulse, minute spatial cracks forming around them due to the phenomenal amount of energy contained within. "You''ll all die, just the same" Immediately following the woman''s words, massive, three-pronged wings erupted from her back as aplex, halo-like magic circle formed behind her. The energy condensing in her body reached the point that her entire chest had gained a prominent blue hue, highlighting the bones and organs within as she arched back and prepared to unleash a full-powered Dragon Breath. If nothing appeared to hinder her, the draconic woman would have been able to erase the entirety of Kouen City from the map. The moment she attempted to unleash it, however, a vice-like promptly covered her mouth, suppressing the breath within as a very unamused Vahn asked, "What do you think you''re doing?" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Smandra has more than a few skeletons in its closet'',''ck Percher is just one dragon meat away from falling"'',''Not today, b*tch (O w O)'') Chapter 2287: Death Transcendent

Chapter 2287: Death Transcendent

Unable to respond to Vahn''s question via words, the shapely Dragoness grabbed his forearm before attempting to wrap her legs and tail around his waist and torso. At the same time, the vibrant blue runic halo behind her back began to emit thick bands of simrly blue lightning that ripped apart the surrounding space. Though he managed to hinder the woman''s tail with his free hand, Vahn''s expression morphed into a deadpan as her thick and powerful legs locked around him. She was nearly 210cm tall, so, in his base form, the woman''s thighs were almost as thick as his admittedly slender waist. As his body began to swell up, Vahn pulled the woman''s face closer to his own before pushing her away with enough force to send a small moon out of orbit. Due to herparatively small size, she ended up tumbling away from him at rtivistic speeds, her body crashing through the vibrant blue halo and energy-formed wings that had previously anchored her in ce. Not affording the woman any time to rest, Vahn instantaneously appeared in the path of her flight, his hands briefly gripping the tip of her tail before promptly letting go due to the massive gashes caused by her electric blue spines. "Hmmm" Staring at the blood streaming and subsequently evaporating from his hands, Vahn allowed the mysterious Dragoness to arrest her momentum as he remarked, "Your body pulses with the energy of destructionyou''re no ordinary scumbag" Snorting through her nose, the dark-skinned Dragoness flicked her tail to produce arge, crescent-shaped gash in the fabric of Space-Time as she said, "The heathens of the Little Garden believe you possess the Origin of all Pure-Blooded Dragons. However, I know of at least three that reign far beyond you. You may be powerful, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, but you will soon find out how truly inconsequential you are" Following her words, the dark-skinned beauty appeared to be trying to escape through the portal she had created. Vahn stopped this by raising his hand and closing the portal, but, at that exact moment, far exceeding the limitations of perception itself, a pitch-ck bullet pierced through his heart. Under normal circumstances, a blow to the heart would have very little effect on Vahn. However, when this particr bullet pierced his body, it was as if the concept of mortality itself had been superimposed onto his existence. It only persisted for a fleeting moment, but it was more than enough time for the bronze-skinned woman to charge forward, her body transforming into that of a ck and blue eldritch monstrosity that only vaguely resembled a serpent-like dragon. With a body hundreds of kilometers in length and a mawrge enough to swallow a small mountain, the massive serpent was able to devour Vahn with a single snap of her jaws. The moment she did so, it was like he had been transported to apletely different world, oneparable to the hellish dimension generated by Azathoth. Though there were spire-sized teeth infinitely undting in an attempt to pull things towards the back of the Dragon''s impossiblyrge throat, the things that left the deepest impression were the millions, if not billions of assimted corpses reaching out in an attempt to restrain and tear apart anything that entered within. They were like an endless ocean of people, animals, and magical creatures crying out in pain yet eager to dispense as much as possible to anything unfortunate enough to find itself within their grasp. To make matters even worse, the Laws present within the strange dimension robbed anyone within of their powers . While Vahn was being pulled further into the hellish Realm that was her stomach, the dark-skinned Dragoness had an uncertain expression on her face as she tentatively caressed her exposed abdomen. "Is it done? Did we get him?" Manifesting next to the woman in an outfitprised almost entirely of ashen bones, pitch-ck leather, and a shadowy shroud was a man with a helmet or, more urately, a head resembling a demonic skull. In ce of eyes, hellish mes burned within two malicious-looking sockets. "I don''t knowI can feel him within me, but he isn''t being absorbed like a normal person" A stark contrast to the bold front she had put on earlier, the dark-skinned Dragoness felt more uneasy with each passing moment. She was immune to even the most potent poisons and toxins, but she was experiencing the same existential dread an ordinary person might feel upon learning they had just consumed something that would kill them. Observing the Dragoness''s reaction, the demonic, reaper-like individual paused for a moment before exacerbating matters as he manifested an ornate pistol carved from ckened bone and pulsing with ghostly blue energy. "Do you have him under control or not?" Baring her razor-sharp teeth at the man, the paling Dragoness growled, "Death, you son of a bit-" Without waiting for the woman to finish, the reaper-like man, one of the Avatars of Death itself, squeezed the trigger of his pistol. A pitch-ck bullet traveling far beyond the speed of light emerged from the ghostly blue chamber, instantaneously piercing the center of the woman''s head as he muttered, "No loose ends" in a ghastly, bone-chilling tone. Though she was immortal under normal circumstances, the bluish light pulsing through the draconic woman''s scales instantly dissipated as she fell backward and started falling toward the ground thousands of meters below. Her body curled up in an instinctual fetal position, but the light hadpletely faded from her previously luminescent golden eyes . Noticing the surrounding space copsing, much like the destruction of a Realm, Vahn ceased purifying the billions of damned spirits that had been trying to subsume him. Furrowing his brows, Vahn spoke aloud, "Was this part of their n? If so, they have sessfully broken through the very foundations of my bottom line" Following his words, Vahn''s domain exploded outward like an unstoppable sphere of glorious golden light. Wherever it passed, the destruction of the Realm altogether ceased. At the same time, the fleshy environment began to dissolve into motes of golden light as the tormented spirits within were instantaneously purified . Just as Death was preparing to return and report thepletion of his mission, a golden light spontaneously erupted from the body of his formerpanion. Instead of pulsing with an electric blue, the ridges along her tail began radiating the purest, most glorious golden light that Death had ever observed. He could feel the energies within his body being purified, the hue of his eyes shifting from a hellish orange to a marginally lighter color as he remarked, "Impossible" In defiance of Death''s utterance, the draconic woman''s eyes snapped open, a simr golden glow emanating from her irises as she shouted, "I don''t care what it takes! I''m going to rip you apart, you son of a bitch!" Moving far faster than her previous maximum, the draconic beauty tore away the arm Death had raised to summon his pistol. In the same motion, she sent him flying with a cataclysmic tail sweep that sent him crashing into the seemingly endless expanse of ins below with enough force to produce a crater several kilometers in diameter. Far from finished, six sets of golden, distinctly angelic wings of light emerged from the draconic woman''s back as a multi-tiered halo formed behind her. Death''s eyes appeared to widen when he saw this, but due to his severe injuries, he couldn''t so much as twitch his remaining pinky as a Dragon''s Breath that seemed to blot out the entire sky promptly reduced him to dust . Immediately following Death''s destruction, a young man with pure white hair and heterochromatic, ghostly blue, and fiery orange eyes awakened atop a throneprised of the bleached bones of various creatures. He appeared no older than ten years old, but his true age predated the very concept of Time. "Leviathanthat damned foolpletely forgot our objective." Exhaling a tired sigh that caused the few organic nts in the vicinity to rapidly age and decay, the youthful-looking boy alighted from his throne before manifesting a total of twelve wings; six covered in ck feathers and the remainingprised entirely of white bone. Despite manifesting wings, Death didn''t attempt to fly to his destination. Instead, he pulled out a deceptively simple-looking ck scythe that was more than twice his size in length. The de was long, thin, and ck but otherwise nondescript. However, were anyone unfortunate enough to see their reflection in the de''s pitch-ck surface, they would immediately find themselves staring back at their dead body, their soul trapped within for so long as the concept of Death itself existed. Simr to Leviathan, Death opened a portal by shing at the fabric of Space-Time. The difference was that Death''s gave off a terrifying aura reminiscent of the Abyss. If anything ''living'' attempted to pass through it, they would emerge from a shadow of their former selves; a being Death oft referred to as a Hollow. Immune to the effects of the ''Abyss''s Call'', Death moved through the portal before immediately wincing as his body began to hiss, almost as if acid had been poured onto him. The cause was an indescribably beautiful woman whose only identifying feature was her veil of pure white hair. The rest of her features changed depending on the person observing her. In Death''s case, she resembled the non-existent woman he corrted with his mother, a peculiar entity whose features and voice he could recollect despite the fact she had never existed. Though staring at the woman caused the fluids within his eyes to boil and evaporate, Death didn''t so much as blink as he calmly stated, "We failed to kill or capture the Sage Dragon Emperor. Leviathan''s Avatara may have also betrayed us." Without saying anything, the indescribably beautiful woman waved Death away. His body was forcibly expelled from the pristine white throne room before a woman with features nearly identical to Leviathan''s appeared in his ce. Then, with a wave of the light-formed beauty''s hand, Levithan was seemingly erased from existence as tens of thousands of Gift Cards spread across the floor of the throne room . Feeling her connection to herself spontaneously sever, Leviathan''s pupils contracted to thin lines as she nervously whispered, "That petty piece of sh*t really went and tattled on me" With her original likely erased from existence, the only thing preventing Leviathan from disappearing was the mysterious energy surging through her body. She knew Vahn was the source, but she was unfamiliar with the concepts contained within. She assumed it was an amalgamation of Light and Creation Energy, but that didn''t really exin how the copse of her inner world was prevented. cing her hand on her abdomen, Leviathan''splexion regained a bit of its vigor as she muttered, "Well, whatever he''s doing, I hope he doesn''t stop. I may be a being of misery and destruction, but I''d rather not cease to exist" Noticing golden light gathering wherever her fingers grazed, Leviathan began drawing on her exposed abdomen. As far as she was concerned, she was already dead, so all she could do now was wait for Vahn to finish whatever he was doing inside her body. So long as she was able to retain her sense of self, she didn''t mind serving a new Master; She sure as Hell wasn''t going to go running back to the one that had erased her . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn is exceptionally experienced when ites to dealing with female Dragons (O w O)'',''My Concept of Death can''t be this cute!?'',''Once Vahn gets inside of them, no woman is ever quite the same'') Chapter 2288: Forever Longing

Chapter 2288: Forever Longing

After thoroughly stabilizing and purifying the previously hellish Realm of his opponent''s stomach, Vahn surprised Leviathan by simply teleporting outside. His other selves had made this an option from the very start, but he couldn''t just ignore an ocean of billions of spirits crying out in pain. With Vahn shifting his attention to her, his eyes squinting in displeasure, Leviathan recovered enough of her faculties to bend the knee, lower her head, and say, "The Abyss Dragon, Leviathan, greets her Master, the Sage Dragon Emperor" Without changing his expression, Vahn remarked, "I don''t recall epting you as my subordinate." Exhaling a sigh, Leviathan lost her facade of respect as she sat back on the ground, legs spreadzily and carelessly as she said, "Then just get on with it. Now that my original self has been destroyed, the only thing sustaining me is whatever you did while inside me. I figured I could get vengeance by serving you, but I''m sure as hell not going to beg." "Hmmm" Tearing his eyes away from the admittedly captivating sight of Levithan, Vahn briefly skimmed his Unit Management, unsurprised to find her name listed among his subordinates. He hadplete dominion over the Realm within her, so it was no surprise he also had Authority over her. Quite a bit if her ''Eternal Servitude'' Status was any indicator. "Stand up." Feeling a wave ofpulsion surge through her body, an additional sigh escaped Leviathan''s throat as she rose to her feet and remarked, "Don''t get carried away" in azy, non-threatening tone. She knew there was nothing she could do even if Vahn ordered her to rip out her own guts or impale herself on a spike. As far as the Central Network was concerned, she was now an extension of him, a sapient Gift in the same vein as Algol before her liberation. Realizing the woman had been effectively eliminated as a threat, Vahn took a moment to consider his options before asking, "The copse of your Realm. Were you betrayed?" Spreading her hands and shrugging dismissively, Leviathan answered, "Not really. If I had to guess, it was a failsafe our Strategist came up with to destroy your Avatara in the event my Hell of Envy failed to incapacitate you. My pride just doesn''t allow me to ept being treated as a Pawn, so I couldn''t help ripping apart Death the moment you resurrected me." Hearing Leviathan mention the Hell of Envy, Vahn now understood why all the Spirits condemned within were so eager to impose their suffering unto him. "Your Community, which did you belong to?" Giving Vahn a skeptical look, Leviathan stood with one hand on her hip, her thick tail sliding across the ground as she tly replied, "Aren''t you supposed to possess some form of omniscience? Even if you didn''t, my name and status as a Pure-Blooded Dragon should be a dead giveaway. You really are new to the Divine Realm, aren''t you?" Punctuating her words with a flip of her long, two-tone ck and blue hair, Leviathan made it clear she had no intention of answering without a direct order. She may have lost her Origin, but she was still an extremely prideful woman. In her mind, it was nonsensical for Vahn not to know who she was. Resisting the urge to order the proud Dragoness to beg like a puppy, Vahn tly replied, "Judging by how you referred to yourself as an Avatara, your Community must reside in 1-3-Digit Gates. If I had to guess, you''re, or at least were, a member of the 666 Beasts." pping her hands together with apletely uninterested expression on her face, Leviathan retorted, "Woooooow, look at you. You can do it if you try" "" Inhaling a deep breath and exhaling through his nose, Vahnpelled himself to calm down before remarking, "You''re ying with fire" Snorting through her nose, Leviathan asked, "What are you going to do about it? As far as I''m concerned, you''re wasting both of our time. You supposedly have the power to know anything you want to know, so this conversation is entirely pointless. If you''re going to kill, torture, fuck, or let me go, just get on with it. I hate being interrogated." In a presumed effort to entice Vahn towards a specific option, Leviathan gave the thong-like straps of her Dragonskin chaps a pop. She still didn''t want to die, so even if she had to reduce herself to little more than a sex ve, she was willing to do whatever it took to survive, obtain power, and seek revengeeverything except yielding her pride. Though Leviathan''s ''Hell of Envy'' hadn''t left the best impression on him, Vahn''s eyes couldn''t help being drawn to her actions. The anatomy of her hips and thighs were different from ordinary women, but considering she had a tail nearly as thick as his abdomen, that wasn''t too surprising Raising her brows, Leviathan asked, "What''s this? The so-called ''Ancestor of all Pure-Blooded Dragons'' is hesitating? I am not unwilling, and there is absolutely nothing I can do to stop you. If you want to fuck me, then fuck me. It''s that simple." Feeling his draconic nature stirring in response to Leviathan''s words, Vahn closed his gold-shifted eyes in an effort to suppress his growing desire to push down and ''dominate'' the arrogant Dragoness "Patheticsome Dragon God you-" Unable to finish her words, Leviathan found her face impacting the grassy ground with enough force to embed half her face into the fragrant topsoil. A wave of anger washed over her, but, at the same time, her thinly veiled concupiscence was thoroughly enkindled. She would never admit it, but from the moment she recognized Vahn as her Master, an ever-increasing desire to be conquered by him had been swelling in her heart. She hadn''t been goading him without purpose. With his left hand forcing Leviathan''s head into the ground and his right restraining her tail, Vahn''s pupils expanded and contracted as he fought to suppress his instincts. Being recognized as the Progenitor of Dragons meant he was constantly being assailed by the ''beliefs'' of billions, if not trillions of people. He could always ignore it, but as it was necessary for his ns, Vahn had been allowing it to build ever since his battle against Amaterasu. Surprising and disappointing Leviathan, Vahn suddenly released her from his grasp. Her wild mane of hair became noticeably spikier as a result of her iprehensible rage. However, before she could even think aboutshing out, Vahn manifested an entire pce and throne out of thin air, saying, "Sit." in amanding tone. Unable to resist thepulsion of Vahn''s voice, Leviathan''s ratherrge rump impacted the ground with enough force to leave cracks in the stone floor, the tip of her tail twitching in frustration as she red at him with an expression reminiscent of a wild dog, teeth bared and growling. Leaning onto the knuckles of his right fist, Vahn turned Leviathan''s fury to vexed indignation as he said, "If you''re that eager to be conquered, then do it yourself. With the vast disparity in our power, expecting me to do all the work is simply arrogant" Though she had never felt such rage and frustration since the moment of her inception, Leviathan slowly rose to her feet and said, "Don''t regret it" in a threatening tone. Then, with the intent of ''turning the tables'' on Vahn, she began peeling away her clothes as she approached his throne with a hungry, borderline murderous expression on her face . Ignoring the pregnant-looking woman passed out next to him, eyes rolled back and butt sticking in the air, Vahn was wondering what he should do about the 666 Beasts. They were one of the most powerful and influential Demonic Communities in the Little Garden. More importantly, they were a counterbnce to the Rank 13 entity known as Truth, the Primeval Divine Spirit serving as the Origin of nearly every Monotheistic Religion. Though he could always seize and reassign the Origins of the current 666 Beast members, it wouldn''t solve the underlying issue. Unless he created evil or malicious entities willing tomit all manner of atrocities, Vahn''s takeover of Communities such as the 666 Beasts would invariably disrupt the bnce of Creation. He couldn''t simply erase evil from existence, so unless he intended to wipe out both the 666 Beasts and Truth itself, there was very little reason to concern himself with their machinations. Unless they were legitimately seeking death, they should avoid him of their own ord in the future. "I miss when things were simpler" Undoubtedly as a result of the time he spent with Sandora, Vahn was no longer looking forward to taking on the Little Garden and climbing his way through the Ranks of the Inner Gates. He just wanted to return ''home'' and be with the people he loved Exhaling a weary sigh, Vahn pushed Leviathan onto her side before lying down next to her and burying his face in her rather ample bosom. She had an aroma that was anything butforting, but that didn''t prevent Vahn from nestling into the soft yet firm mammaries and simply letting his mind wander . After reconvening back at the coliseum, Sandora, Izayoi, and Yo stood on the sidelines as Asuka tried to use her Authority-based Gift, Oraculum, to interrogate the trio from Grimm Grimoire Hamlin. Sandora had sealed their powers, but due to pre-existing contracts they had made before the Gift Game, prohibiting them from revealing the answer, the interrogation had born little fruit. Realizing that a direct answer would be impossible to acquire, Asuka had spent the better part of twenty minutespelling ck Percher, Weser, and Ratten to share their origins. All Demon Lords had specific origins, so she was confident she would be able to sus out the answer once she had learned each of them. Unsurprisingly, ck Percher was the amalgamation of the more than 80 million people, predominately children, that had sumbed to the ck gue. The more surprising revtion was that she was one of the very first victims, the daughter of anded noble from Eastern Europe who got infected because she had secretly been providing food and water to her family''s ailing servants. In response to his daughter''s infection, ck Percher''s father effectively imprisoned her as a rudimentary form of quarantine before subsequently executing every servant, serf, and animal that hade into contact with her. What he didn''t know was that the majority of infections were caused by much smaller creatures: fleas and ticks whose bellies were filled with the contaminated blood of an ever-increasing number of corpses. Despite his efforts, it wasn''t long before ck Percher''s father, mother, and the rest of her family contracted the same disease. Shortly after that, her father set fire to the estate, a final effort to prevent the spread of the disease and ''purify'' thend of a gue he believed to be imposed upon them by God. Moments before her death, as her lungs filled with smoke, ck Percher shouted a curse from the confines of her prison cell. She damned each of them to death, tears of rage and resentment streaming down her face as she writhed about in a vain attempt to smother the mes that invariably consumed her body. Due to the me that had been assigned to her, the curse ck Percher made in her final moments ended up ruing her a bit of Spiritual Power. Every time a member of her family or someone else who med her died, she became a little bit stronger. After wandering Europe aimlessly for hundreds of years, ck Percher found her way into Asia, countless spirits gathering around her until she eventually found herself at the center of a ''family''prised of more than 80 million vengeful spirits. Then, as if she had awoken from a bad dream, she spontaneously found herself in the Divine Realm, bound to a ring and given the exnation that her suffering was the result of the Sun being in a cooling period, an event caused by the whimsical nature of beings such as Shiroyasha . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Dragons are a bunch of horn dogs'',''The regret and rity that follows a moment of passion'',''Mega oof'') Chapter 2289: Arrogation

Chapter 2289: Arrogation

"Damn, that''s pretty rough" After hearing ck Percher recount the events of her past, it was Izayoi who gave voice to the thought in everyone''s mind. They knew the origin of any significantly powerful Demon Lord would be marred in tragedy, but it hadn''t prepared them to hear a direct recounting of their origins. "I feel sorry for her" Chiming in after Izayoi, Yo was moments away from suggesting they just let ck Percher go when Sandora stated, "Tragedies and misfortunes do not give a person the right to impose suffering unto others. If Vahn hadn''t been here to prevent it, everyone in Kouen City might have sumbed to the ck gue. Demon Lords might be pitiable existences, but it is their potential victims we need to be concerned with" With her expression forming into a pout, Yo muttered, "But stillisn''t she powerless now? We were able to stop her before there was even a single victim in the Little Garden. It doesn''t seem right to imprison her for doing as her nature dictates" After spending several years in Danmachi, Yo hade to understand that not everyone had a choice in how they thought and acted. A God of War couldn''t choose to be a pacifist, and a God of Sex certainly couldn''t decide to be abstinent. ck Percher wanting to spread her pestilence was assuredly a bad thing for her potential victims, but it didn''t change the fact she was also a victim of circumstances beyond her control. Thinking of a ''solution,'' Yo said, "We should hand them over to Vahn. If it''s him, he should be able to help." Hearing Yo''s suggestion, ck Percher began to pull at her bindings as she shouted, "Why is everyone trying to pawn me off onto that pervert!? No, no, no, no, no, no, no! Just no!" Not expecting ck Percher to throw a tantrum, even Weser and Ratten were surprised, thetter asking, "Did something happen? You''re acting a little strange, Pest-chan" Snorting through her nose, ck Percher, also known as Pest, turned her head and said, "I don''t want to talk about italso, I told you not to call me Pest-chan in front of others. It makes me seem like a child" Speaking out before Ratten, Izayoi chimed in to say, "That''s an interesting thing to say after throwing a mini tantrum" Directing a hate-filled gaze towards Izayoi, Pest growled, "Eat cow dung, you headphone-wearing brat!" With Izayoi spreading his hands and helplessly shrugging his shoulders, Yo tried to guide the conversation back on track, insisting, "I still think it''s the best option. I wouldn''t be able to sleep peacefully knowing Pest-chan is suffering because of something she didn''t have control over. There has to be a way for Demon Lords to coexist with people in peace" Unashamedly derailing the conversation a second time, a cheeky smile developed across Izayoi''s face as he jokingly mused, "Oh? I didn''t think you would be getting any sleep now that-" "Izayoi!" With a red hue developing through her cheeks, Asuka grabbed Izayoi by the cor before dragging him off somece private. This ended up being for the best, as, shortly after the duo''s departure, Yo left even the scantily d Ratten speechless by muttering, "Vahn always gives his girls enough time to recuperate" in a pouty tone. "Yo" Though she was personally acquainted with the truth contained in Yo''s words, Sandora didn''t think they should be revealing it to others. Tilting her head to the side, Yo asked, "What? It''s the truth. I don''t like when people have misunderstandings or try to vilify Vahn. He is one of the kindest and most caring people I know." Suppressing a sigh, Sandora returned an empathetic smile as she said, "I am well aware of that. Still, there is a time and a ce for everything" Directing her gaze to Pest, Ratten, and Weser, Sandora appended, "Even if the stakes are low, this is still a time-sensitive interrogation. We''ll decide their fates once the Gift Game has concluded. In the end, it''s ultimately a choice each of them has to make. Vahn would never out-and-outpel anyone to obey him. If anything" Stopping herself before she could reveal the fate that awaited the trio if they didn''t agree to apromise, Sandora shifted her gaze to Ratten, asking, "What about you? What''s your story?" Raising her brows, Ratten chimed, "Oh? Not going to get your Little Red Queen to use her powers? Perhaps her Gift has a limit to the number of times it can be used~?" Before Sandora could answer that it was none of Ratten''s business, Yo beat her to the punch, stating, "That''s wrong. So long as she has enough Spiritual Energy to support it, Asuka''s Gift can be used as many times as she wants. Thanks to Vahn, she can almost use it without limit." Realizing Yo was the type to speak her mind without restraint, an amused smile developed across Ratten''s face as she yfully remarked, "My, how incredible. Perhaps I should try my hand at winning the Sage Dra-I mean, Vahn''s favor" Though her words sounded like she was just messing around, Ratten was actually being serious. She was willing to give her life to protect Pest, but that didn''t mean she wanted to die. Her decision would ultimately depend on Pest, but she would much rather be a ve of the ''merciful'' Sage Dragon Emperor than rot away in Smandra''s Dungeon. With that thought in mind, Ratten earned an adorably pouty glower from Pest by lightly bumping into her and suggesting, "Come on, Pest-chan. I don''t want to spend the rest of my life locked away in a prison cell" As someone that had previously died in prison, Pest wasn''t even remotely amused by Ratten''s words. Fortunately for the busty Demoness, they also helped to remind Pest of the severity of their present situation. It was her decisions moving forward that would ultimately spare or endanger each of their lives Furrowing her brows in vexed contemtion, Pest hesitated for a moment before looking to Yo and Sandora, asking, "What fate awaits us if we yield to the Sage Dragon Emperor?" After exchanging nces with Yo, it was Sandora who answered, "While it is not my ce to speak on Vahn''s behalf, he really is too kind for his own good. So long as you vowed never to harm anyone who did not wish harm upon you, he would allow you to live freely within the territories managed by the Aldrnari Empire. If you would prefer to start anew somece else, he even has the means to return your soul to the Cycle of Reincarnation. I have personally experienced that aspect of Vahn''s power" Recalling that Vahn had previously offered to let her return home and live her life anew, a depressive atmosphere descended upon the coliseum as Pest hung her head in pensive reflection. Ever since Vahn had prated her stomach with his hand, she hadn''t been feeling like herself. She was still determined to seek vengeance against the Sun, but, at the same time, she couldn''t help feeling that such a pursuit was ultimately pointless Unfortunately, despite Vahn absorbing most of the negative energy and sentimentsprising her being, he hadn''t done anything about Pest''s memories. She could still vividly recall how her family had turned against her, so even if she were given a chance to return, she would do her best to bar every door and window in the castle before setting it on fire. Even if they were alternate versions of her parents, she could never, ever forgive them . With several hours passing since Vahn had coupled her into a deep and profound state of unconsciousness, Leviathan awoke feeling a sensation akin to weightlessness. Her belly had deted back to its original size and contours, but she could still feel Vahn''s presence lingering within her Looking down at the man sleeping peacefully with his face nestled within her cleavage, Leviathan honestly didn''t know how to describe what she was feeling. A part of her wanted to scalp him with her teeth, devouring his brain in a single bite, but a growing part of her wanted to simply hold him close. As a creature whose being revolved around death, destruction, and torment, the desire not to kill was somethingpletely alien to her Unfortunately, Leviathan was still an exceptionally prideful Dragoness, so, after three full minutes of staring at Vahn''s face, she bared her teeth and growled, "You arrogant little prickdo I look like a pillow to you?" Since he hadn''t actually been asleep, Vahn unhesitantly replied, "For now, that is exactly what you are" Before Leviathan could retort, a feeling of existential dread washed over her as most of her senses spontaneously dulled. When she realized what Vahn had done, she could only imagine her heart palpitating as her entire body had been transformed into a pillow. Unable to speak, Leviathan telepathicallymunicated, "It was just a joke! A joke!" in an understandably panicked tone. Fortunately for her, Vahn wasn''t the type to excessively torment people. "Rxit''s just an illusion" As if Vahn''s words had made it so, Leviathan ''realized'' her body was in the exact same position it had been prior to her bing a bodypillow. The heart she had previously only imagined to be racing was beating like a drum in her chest, and, due to her panic, circuit-like lines of blue energy had spread across her body. Despite feeling rageparable to when Death had killed her, Leviathan was doing her best to suppress her usual fury as she grasped Vahn''s hair and said, "Never do that again" "Mmm" Though he was tempted to tell her he could do whatever he wanted, Vahn didn''t feel like bickering. Instead, he reached around to give Leviathan''s fleshy butt a firm squeeze before biting her left nipple. Feeling pleasure akin to electricity surging through her body, Leviathan clenched her teeth as her grip on Vahn''s seemingly indestructible hair tightened. When he eventually reached between her thighs, raising her left leg, a throaty moan emanated from her throat as the sensation she had been longing for spread through her abdomen. Compelled by her prideful nature, a smug, ostensibly ridiculing smile developed across Leviathan''s face as she inquired, "What happened to making me serve you? Don''t tell me you sumbed to my body after a single breeding sessionhow ridiculous" A stark contrast to her words, Leviathan was rocking her hips and biting her lip with very little input from Vahn. She couldn''t stand that he hadn''t been moving, so she feltpelled to take matters into her own hands. Instead of responding to Leviathan''s words, Vahn simply rolled onto his back, his penis smoothly sliding out of her despite her crushing, vice-like tightness. This caused the abyssal-ck pupils of Leviathan''s shimmering golden eyes to contract to thin slits, a visibly aggravated look marring her countenance as she shifted her gaze between Vahn''s deadpan expression and his nowid member. "You cheeky little" Though she had a veritable mountain of curses she wanted to cast upon Vahn, Leviathan''s body was primed for breeding. She craved Vahn''s seed, so much so that her instinctspletely overwhelmed the other aspects of her personality. The moment his penis twitched, shepletely forgot what it was she wanted to say, her hands and mouth gravitating towards the nearly forearm-sized appendage as her tail swayed excitedly behind her Caressing the top of Levithan''s head, Vahn made a mental note to give her a chance to ''dpress'' once they returned to the Empire. For now, however, a faint smile developed across his face as he said, "Good girl" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Izayoi is a Grade-A Asshat xD'',''You can''t oppose fate, Pest-chan'',''Does this qualify as a Tsundere?'') Chapter 2290: Mishap : Intervention

Chapter 2290: Mishap : Intervention

After giving Izayoi a ''stern'' talking, Asuka, alongside the aforementioned troublemaker, returned so that she could use her Oraculum on Ratten and Weser. The danger of Pied Piper Hamlin hadrgely passed, but they still needed to clear the game. Fortunately, though their tales weren''t exactly pleasant to hear, Ratten''s and Weser''s status as Lesser/Low-Ranking Demons meant their origins were considerably less tragic than Pest''s. Weser, in particr, was just a spiritual manifestation of the Weser River. In other words, he had no real origin and was just given form as a result of the Weser River''s association with the tale of the Pied Piper. Simr to Weser, Ratten was also a derivative spirit associated with the tale. More specifically, she was the personification of a ''Piper who could y a sweet melody to control rats and children''. She wasn''t the original Pied Piper associated with the tale, but her flute had a simr effect. Upon hearing the two Demons reveal their origins, Izayoi was, once again, the first to speak, remarking, "So that was a waste of time." before turning around with the apparent intention to leave. Following Izayoi with her eyes, Asuka''s brows visibly twitched as she shouted, "Izayoi, wait! At least tell us what you''re thinking before you storm off on your own!" Without turning around or removing his hands from his pockets, Izayoi looked toward the sky and said, "I remember seeing some stained ss panels portraying the tale of the Pied Piper while we were exploring the Corridor of Disys. Since that''s where our busty blonde friend made her first appearance, I figure they might have something to do with this whole charade. Who knows, they may even be the key to solving the riddle. Only one way to find out." Finished with his exnation, Izayoi leaped into the sky without further remark. Asuka wasn''t particrly enthused by this, but she didn''t have time to brood as the tiny Earth Spirit that had been nestled between her breasts popped out, shouting, "Rattenfanger! Rattenfanger!" while waving in the direction Izayoi had just departed. Confused by the tiny spirit''s behavior, Asuka let it stand on her palms as she asked, "Yes? Are you trying to tell us something?" Seeing the diminutive, faerie-like spirit in Asuka''s hands, Pest surprised everyone present by advising, "You should take that Spirit with you and follow that boy" "Pest-chan?" Snorting in response to the way Ratten addressed her, Pest adopted a catty glower as she said, "I told you to stop calling me that" before meeting Asuka''s gaze and adding, "That boy wasn''t wrong to take an interest in those panels. They are one of the catalysts used to summon us. However, they are not the key. If you want to learn the truth, you''ll need to look deeper" Squinting her eyes, Asuka asked, "Why are you suddenly helping us? If this is some kind of trick-" Interrupting before Asuka could finish, Pest answered, "We''ve already lost. All I can do now is try to protect the members of my Community" Not trusting the petite Demoness, Asuka was prepared to use her Oraculum when Yo grabbed her sleeve, saying, "We should hurry" in a soft tone. Exhaling a sigh, Asuka allowed her Gift Card to dissipate as she looked to the bound trio and said, "If it turns out you''re telling the truth, we''ll factor that into the reparations you''ll be expected to make." Shifting her attention to the quietly observing Sandora, Asuka asked, "I trust Smandra has no problem with that?" Shaking her head, Sandora calmly replied, "So long as we can wrap this incident without any significant damages or loss of life, Smandra will not request anything unreasonable. With how things have developed so far, we may even be able to pass it off as some kind of prank" Surprised by Sandora''s words, Asuka was about to ask what she meant when Yo suddenly picked her up in a princess carry, saying, "We''re going." in an uncharacteristically firm tone. Then, without further dys, she took off in the direction Izayoi had departed previously. After watching the duo take off, apanied by the high-pitched sound of Asuka''s scream, a pensive expression gradually returned to Sandora''s face. What Pest revealed about the panels had resonated with her. If her suspicions proved correct, Pied Piper Hamlin wouldn''t be the ones to hold responsible for this incident "Brother" . "You about ready to get out of here?" Though she heard Vahn''s words, Leviathan didn''t raise her head from his shoulder. Instead, she nestled a little closer to him as she asked, "Can''t we just stay here? The outside world is so tiresome" In an effort to convince Vahn to ept her proposal, Leviathan snaked her hand up his thighs, firmly gripping the appendage nestled between his legs. They were currently rxing in a bath of pulsing blueva, but it was somehow colder than the heat radiating through her palm. "Mmm" Closing his eyes, Vahn enjoyed the increasingly dexterous movements of Leviathan''s hand for the better part of a full minute before saying, "There are people waiting for me. People whose importance I can''t even put into words" Squinting her eyes, a glimmer of anger and moderate envy shed across Leviathan''s golden eyes. She hated when Vahn talked about other people. If it were up to her, she would lock him away and keep him to herself until the end of days. Unfortunately, she couldn''t even imagine someone more powerful than he was. He had also forbidden her from fighting against the other members of his harem, threatening to cast her away into one of his self-created worlds if she tried. In other words, the only way they could remain together was if she behaved like a ''good girl.'' "At least promise me this won''t be thest timeafter what you''ve done to me, you have a responsibility to take care of me for the rest of my life" Though Leviathan''s words were more than a little overbearing, Vahn just intoned a casual, "Nn" before opening his eyes and adding, "I''m not the type to abandon others. So long as you don''t cross my bottom line, you''ll always have a ce at my side" Inhaling a deep breath that ultimately came out from her nose in the form of two electric blue plumes of me, Leviathan elected not to respond to Vahn''s words. She hated being told what to do, but, unwilling to part with the man that had conquered her heart, mind, and body; she was willing to make an effort to y nice "Only the Sage Dragon Emperor could force a being of pure destruction to y the part of a pacifistyou damned tyrant" Despite her final words sounding like a curse, Leviathan nted a kiss on Vahn''s neck. She actually preferred him to behave overbearingly, so the more potent her desire, the more profane her vocabry. So long as she didn''t bring up or insult maternal figures, he was generally willing to y along Meeting Leviathan''s expectations, Vahn slid his hand up her waist until his scale-covered palm was over her breast. Leviathan was the type that got even more excited when he took on draconic features, so Vahn allowed ayer of gold and white scales to spread across his hand and forearm, his fingers growing to resemble talons as he gave her breast a firm squeeze. Feeling a stifling surge of heat permeate her chest, an impassioned sigh that caused the magma within the pool to boil over escaped Leviathan''s glowing throat. Her core temperature exceeded 6,000 degrees when she was excited, hotter than the surface of the yellow sun. This was nowhere near the millions of degrees certain Sun Goddesses could achieve, but it was more than enough to melt conventional metals and stone. Immune to the rapid increase in temperature, Vahn lowered his head to give Leviathan''s shoulder a not-so-yful nibble. His teeth sank nearly a full centimeter into her ashen-bronze flesh, but instead of screaming out in pain, Leviathan''s back and tail arched, her toes curling as a moan akin to a dragon''s roar emanated from her throat . After reaching the Corridor of Disys and locating the panels depicting the story of the Pied Piper of Hamlin, Izayoi inspected the metal card underneath, eyes narrowing as he discovered it had been manufactured by the Rattenfanger Community. "Figures" Since the original story of the Pied Piper of Hamlin was a German story called Rattenf?nger von Hameln, Izayoi would have to be pretty dense not to notice the connection between the Rattenfanger Community and Grimm Grimoire Hamlin. He had even brought it up when Asuka initially discovered the tiny Earth Spirit. Thus, after a moment of deliberation, he promptly shattered the stained ss panels. Apanying the sound of ss shattering, an invisible domain spread outward at an rming rate. Izayoi attempted to counter it with his Seiun, but that ended up being his biggest mistake. A cold sensation suddenly spread his mind, a soft, "I''m a fucking idiot" escaping his mouth as the color of his eyes shifted from amethyst to blood red . Despite rushing over to the Corridor of Disys, the sinking suspicion Yo had felt ever since Izayoi''s departure ended up proving true. Her instincts were a lot more attuned than Asuka''s, so she had been able to sense that something terrible was going to happen. Unfortunately, Asuka''s numerous dys caused them to arrive just after Izayoi''s inadvertent rule-breaking, their expressions paling as his hair transitioned from a golden blonde to a silvery-white. Feeling an almost overwhelming sense of dread, Yo opened her mouth to shout out Vahn''s name. Before she could, Izayoi appeared right in front of her, a devilish grin on his face as he grasped hers with a vice-like grip and said, "Uh-uh, can''t have you calling in the cavalry just yet. I want to have a bit of fun first" Punctuating his words, Izayoi, much to the shock of Asuka, attempted to crush Yo''s jaw with his immense physical strength. At that exact moment, a hand closed around his wrist,pletely cutting off feeling to his hand as Vahn, seemingly manifesting in an instant, asked, "Seriously? You, of all people?" Catching everyone but Vahn by surprise, Izayoi leaped back with more than enough force to sever the tendons and bones in his forearm. Even more surprising, at least for Yo and Asuka, was his ability to regenerate the missing appendage in an instant. Tossing Izayoi''s severed hand to the side, Vahn''s expression morphed into a deadpan as he said, "Even if you''ve turned into a Demon Lord, you should still have enough sense to understand how foolish it would be to fight me. Stand down and let yourself be pur-" Surprising even Vahn this time, Izayoi manifested a blindingly white pir of light in the palm of his right hand. In the very next moment, simr to Wu''s Ruyi Jingu Bang, the pir extended to a size that was impossible to dodge within the confines of the Corridor of Disys. At the same time, it tore apart the surrounding space with such brutality that massive cracks formed in the sky above the city, almost as though the sky was about to shatter and fall. Returning the favor, Vahn arrested the momentum of Izayoi''s pir of light with his left hand while concurrently teleporting Yo, Asuka, and their little faerie friend to safety. His ring and middle fingers fragmented like pieces of stone, and several cracks extended from his palm to his elbow, but he managed to stand his ground as he asked, "Is that the best you can do?" With a few beads of sweat forming across his forehead, Izayoi remarked, "I''m just getting started, old man." Thinking Vahn was going to humor him with a fight, Izayoi was surprised a second time when the former stated, "Unfortunately for you, the fight was decided the moment you grabbed Yo''s face" Opening his mouth, Izayoi was about to ask what Vahn was talking about when an irrepressible surge of energy welled within him. The moment he became aware of it, all the demonic energy that had permeated his body was forcefully expelled along with his own. He would normally be able to supplement his power with the pir of light. Unfortunately, thest thing he saw before his eyes rolled toward the back of his head was a series of golden chains coiling around it "Damned Problem Child" . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Someones in trouble'',''RIP Leviathan'',''Vahn be like, "Bruh"'') Chapter 2291: Breaking Point

Chapter 2291: Breaking Point

"Come on, is this really necessary?" Though Vahn had dispelled the demonic energy from Izayoi''s body, he still ended up bound and, for a short while, gagged inside of a cell. After all, until the Gift Game came to an end, he was ''technically'' on the side of Grimm Grimoire Hamlin. In response to Izayoi''s words, it was Asuka who answered, "Though it is partially my fault you ended up here, I''m siding with Vahn on this one. I can''t believe you, of all people, made such a foolish mistake. Maybe a bit of prison time will make you think before the next time you run off on your own" Exhaling a sigh, Izayoi rolled onto his side with a bored expression on his face as he said, "Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, Princess" Squinting her eyes, Asuka was about to chastise Izayoi for his behavior when Vahn chimed in, asking, "Do you really intend to lecture someone under the influence of the Central Network''spulsion? Izayoi isn''t the only one that needs to learn from this incident. You need to work on getting your priorities in order, Asuka." Hanging her head, Asuka''s confident demeanor momentarily cracked as she softlyined, "Not everyone can be like you. Some of us" Though she was about to say that ''some people'' needed to work to obtain their power and authority, Asuka realized the irony of her words before they could part her lips. After all, she was born into a family with tremendous wealth with an ability that allowed her to get whatever she wanted. She also had one of the most potent Gifts, powerful allies, and a functionally unlimited number of supplies. Simply put, she didn''t have a tform to stand on if she wanted to argue about fairness Believing Vahn could be reading her thoughts, Asuka muttered, ''"Never mindforget what I was about to say. I''mI''m just not thinking clearly at the moment" Just as Asuka was about to excuse herself, Yo suddenly embraced her in a warm hug, whispering, "You don''t have to be like Vahn, Asukawe love you for who you are. Just be your best self, okay?" Surprised by Yo''s words and actions, Asuka opened her mouth to speak but simply couldn''t find the words. Instead, she hesitated for a moment before returning Yo''s embrace in silence. Their interaction earned them a rather rude remark from Izayoi but, thanks to Vahn, his voice couldn''t carry beyond the cell. . After Asuka''s and Yo''s moment of bonding, the duo reconvened with Sandora to discuss their next n of action. Vahn was also present, but none of the girls paid him any mind due to the fact he was, momentarily, standing outside the Axis of Reality. Having regained her confidence, Asuka was the one to start things off, stating, "Things aren''t as bad as they could be. As much of a blunder as it was, Izayoi''s actions prevented whatever was meant to happen when the ss panels were broken. If we go back to the Corridor of Disys, we should be able to resolve this without further issue." Nodding her head in approval, Sandora stated, "We''ll go together this time. I''ve assigned Forte, Frey, Ebony, and Raven to keep an eye on the members of Grimm Grimoire Hamlin. Let''s try to end this without having to rely on Vahn a third time." Though she was grateful for Vahn''s intervention, especially in the case of Pest and her pestilence, Sandora couldn''t help feeling as though she had failed in her original intent. However, instead of letting it bother her, she was more determined than ever. One of the most important lessons she had learned from Vahn was that it was okay to make mistakes. Even if the consequences of your actions were catastrophic, you hadn''t failed so long as you hadn''t given up. The burden of your mistakes may weigh heavily on your body and mind, but that was even more of a reason to push forward. If you simply gave up, the deaths that came about as a result of your actions would have been in vain. "Agreed. I can''t stand being indebted to that man, so let''s try to wrap this up with just the three of us." As if to protest Asuka''s words, the tiny Earth Spirit seated atop her head gave it a firm pat as she shouted, "Asuka~!" Smiling wryly, Asuka plucked the faerie-like Spirit from her head, gently poking its cheek as she supnted, "Make that the four of us. After all, there''s a good chance you''re the key to everything, isn''t there?" Tilting her head to the side, the Earth Spirit had a supremely innocent expression on her face as she intoned a confused, "Asuka?" Producing a biscotti from her Inventory, Asuka fed the confused Earth Spirit a piece of the almondy cracker before returning her attention to Sandora and asking, "When do you want to set out?" Returning a faint smile, Sandora said, "I would prefer to set out as soon as possible. The sooner we can solve this matter, the sooner my people can return to their lives." "Can''t argue with that." Though she wasn''t looking forward to getting crumbs in her bra, Asuka allowed the Earth Spirit to conceal itself in her cleavage before adopting a confident, resolute expression and saying, "Right! Let''s do this!" Feeding off Asuka''s energy, Yo pumped her fist in the air, shouting a spirited, "Ya-ho~!" while Sandora just nodded. Then, without so much as sparing him a nce, the trio bolted past Vahn with the Corridor of Disys as their destination. In their wake, Vahn walked over and made himselffortable atop Sandora''s throne, a pensive expression on his face as he called out, "Sis?" "Hmmm~?" Aware of Vahn''s present mental state, Sis elected to manifest in front of him instead of conversing with him from thefort of his mind. Vahn''s mood improved qualitatively the moment she did, so Sis chalked it up to a win-win as she snuggled up next to him and asked, "What''s wrong?" Though he would normally bury his face in her breasts or enjoy herp pillow, Vahn surprised Sis by wrapping his right arm around her, pulling her a little closer, and caressing the space between her cat-like ears. At the same time, his left hand nearly went for her breast, but he managed to catch himself at thest moment, his palm resting on her abdomen as he softly replied, "Yo nearly experienced something traumatic because of me" Ceasing her throaty purring, Sis''s words and actions were somewhat contrary as she affectionately nestled her head against Vahn''s chest and asserted, "You''re wrong. Yo willfully participated in this event, and Izayoi''s blunder was entirely the result of a personal oversight. Now, be a good boy and tell me why you''re actually upset" Nestling his face between Sis''s ears, Vahn closed his eyes to inhale a ''very'' deep breath before opening them to reveal zing golden irises as he said, "I''m tired, SisI''m tired of all the conflict, pain, and tragedy that is only ever a moment away from ruining everything. I have all this power, but it''s utterly meaningless unless I abandon my principles and take control of everything. I''ve been trying so desperately to hold onto all the things that make me who I am, but they only ever seem to get in the way" "Mmm" Dragging the nail of her right index finger down the center of Vahn''s chest, cutting through the fabric of his tunic as if it simply didn''t exist, Sis asked, "Sowhat you''re saying is that you''re trapped between the decision to ''take control'' or ''relinquish'' it. And you believing choosing either option means losing yourselfis that it?" Instead of responding to Sis''s words, Vahn silently observed as she finished cutting a line down the entirety of his tunic. When her hand made its way over his heart, they could both feel the powerful organ pumping with enough vigor to power, not one, but innumerable stars. "Does this remind you of anything?" Even without Sis helping to pull up his memories, Vahn recalled all the times when Chloe would affectionately caress his chest or listen to his heartbeat. He longed for those simpler times, a period in his life when- "You''re lying to yourself" Blinking in surprise, Vahn''s face contorted into confusion as he asked, "What do you mean?" Despite drawing a tiny heart shape in Vahn''s chest, Sis''s expression hardened as she asked, "Did you forget why you ''fled'' the Record of Danmachi? If those times were truly as simple as you believe them to be, why are you here right now?" "" Cupping Vahn''s face to prevent him from looking away from her, Sis maintained a stern look as she added, "Every burden you carry is one you willfully picked up, Vahn. If you want to drop them, I will support you to the very end. However, I won''t sit here and listen to you make excuses. Since the very beginning of this journey, you have been the only one that can make decisions for yourself. If you want to rampage for a bit, sleep for an eternity, or travel ten thousand worlds as nothing more than a guardian, there is nothing anyone can do to stop you" Near the end of her words, Sis brought her indescribably sharp nail to her blouse, her eyes glistening with even greater intensity than Vahn''s as she purred, "Just do as you please" Feeling a knot forming in his throat, Vahn barely managed to mutter, "Sis" in an uncharacteristically shaky tone. In response, Sis squinted her eyes, surprising Vahn as she said, "If you desired it, I would set out and conquer this entire reality, bundle it up, and present it to you with a neat little bow around it. You might have forgotten, but my power is the same as your own. If you''re ''really'' tired of making an effort, you need only say six words" Before Vahn realized it, he found himself being cradled in Sis''s naked bosom, his body resembling that of the young boy that emerged in the forest so many years ago as she whispered, "Sisplease help me return home. Say those six words, and you won''t have to worry about anything ever againunless, of course, you choose to" Following her words, Sis emted Vahn''s habit of sniffing her hair. If he didn''t recover his senses soon, she wouldn''t be able to control herself Fortunately, though it caused the massive array of animalistic beauties within Vahn''s mind to cry out in frustration, he promptly reverted to his ''true'' form, whispering, "I still have a bit of fight left in me" Exhaling a hot sigh, Sis attempted to suppress her desires and resume her sisterly persona. Vahn apparently had different intentions, however, his voice gaining a soul-quivering quality as he said, "SisI love you" Feeling an insuppressible shiver spread through her body, Sis''s eyes began to ze over as she whimpered, "We shouldn''tif we do, I''m not sure I can contain myself. If I lose control-" "I''ll rein you in" Punctuating his words, Vahn leaned in to give Sis a deep and passionate kiss. At the same time, taking advantage of the fact she had sliced open her blouse, he reached up to squeeze her right breast. He could feel her jaw trembling through their connected mouths and tongues, his passion and desire increasing by the nanosecond. Just as Vahn''s hand began to move further south, Sis''s eyes widened like a startled cat as she jerked away from him and said, "No! Bad girls!" in a shrill, panicked tone. Before Vahn could ask what was wrong, women of various shapes and sizes began to manifest within the Chamber of mes, quickly filling it as a strange feeling of ''emptiness'' swelled within his mind. Then, like a horde of hungry animals swarming around someone holding a bag of treats, Vahn was quickly overwhelmed by what he wouldtere to know as the Sis Corps It was an experience he would never forget. . (A/N: Well, hello there (O w O)'') Chapter 2292: Accidental Exposure

Chapter 2292: idental Exposure

Staring out across their shared battlefield, a veritable sea of animal girl bodies, nearly a hundred different Vahn''s couldn''t help sumbing to a profound reverie. They had been fighting for so long that theypletely lost their sense of time. However, in the end, it was not the horde of cute, beautiful, and incredibly enthusiastic girls that won out. No. Once again, it was the Sage Dragon Emperor that had emerged supreme. "We did it" Hearing the soft utterance of their brother, the other Vahn''s all nodded their heads in concert. Then, starting from the periphery, each began to disappear into thin air. In the end, only a single Vahn remained among a field of more than ten thousand panting, mewling, and twitching women. Just as Vahn was about to begin his search for the original, one of the ''surviving'' Sis Corps members nearest to his feet grabbed his ankle. He looked down to find a petite cat girl with hazy pink eyes and ashen grey hair that extended well past her lower back. He immediately recognized her as Kaya, one of the ''Nekomini Maid Corps'' that had assailed him near the beginning of the battle. She was nearly identical to her twenty-seven sisters, but Vahn could tell each of them apart without issue. Putting as much strength as she could manage into her grip, Kaya issued a euphonious, "Myaastahdon''t go" "Still got a bit of fight in you, eh?" Though he risked setting off a chain reaction in the surrounding Sisters, Vahn waved his hand to levitate Kaya from the ground. She was a little on the small side, around 144cm, but he still drew her close and gave her an intense kiss as she locked her legs around him and willfully guided the tip of his ns to her steamy entrance. Fortunately, though Kaya cried out with a cataclysmically loud mewl when she dropped her hips, Vahn was able to suppress the sound as it escaped her lips. A few of the surrounding Sisters began moving about and making sonorous noises, but that was primarily due to the ''resonance'' caused by Vahn''s Sex Divinity . After making his way through several other ''survivors'', Vahn finally arrived at the epicenter of the cataclysmic battle, arge circr region upied by a single slumbering figure with short ck hair, tanned skin, and feline features. Sensing Vahn''s approach, the figure immediately stirred away, a dreamlike smile developing across her face as she teased, "Long time no see~? Oh my" Even before the cat-like woman had finished speaking, she found herself lifted into the air and supported by three nearly identical men. When they propped her up and spread her legs, she offered absolutely no resistance. Instead, she extended her left hand, willfully spreading apart her vulva to reveal a thin yet constant stream of lubricating fluids as she inquired, "Is this what you came for~?" Without any hesitation, Vahn inserted himself into the woman in a single thrust. Her back arched as a silent scream emanated from her throat, but that wasn''t enough to deter the four men surrounding her. Instead, they began to knead and caress every part of her body as the version of Vahn directly behind joined his counterpart in probing the woman''s depths. He just took a very different route. Feeling something hot and thick invade her rear, a giggle emanated from the woman''s throat as she mewled, "Naughty boy". Then, using her own version of the Hands of Nirvana, she began dexterously stroking the ns and shafts of the two Vahn''s nking her Breaking the woman''s concentration, the Vahn in front of her leaned in as if he were about to kiss her. She eagerly extended her tongue to receive him, but before their lips could meet, he whispered, "You''ve been a very bad girl, Sis" "Eh?" Surprised by Vahn''s words, a feeling of panic washed over Sis, her mind racing to understand what she had done wrong. Fortunately, it wasn''t as bad as she was expecting. Following his words, Vahn brought lips close enough to touch hers as he added, "If I had known you were this lewd, I would have imed every version of you years ago" Feeling a sudden and pleasurable heat spreading through her body, Sis became keenly aware of the fact that two of the Vahn(s) had inserted their rainbow-hued hands into her body. She could feel them caressing the literal core of her existence, her features rapidly shifting between her ten-thousand-three-hundred-and-thirty-nine offshoots as Sisters across the battlefield began to disappear. "Vahnwaitit''s too much" Shaking his head, Vahn allowed his other selves to disappear as he fell with Sis against the pillowy surface of the bed-like realm she had created near the start of the ''battle''. Then, with his fingers linked through hers, he leaned close enough that his lips tickled the delicate hairs within her cat-like ears as he said, "No matter what happens, I will always love youjust as you have always been here to pull me back together, I will do the same for you" As her rapid transformations came to an end, Sis''s body tensed as Vahn''s mindpletely nked. His previously steady heart began beating like a drum in his chest as he asked, "Is this the ''real'' you?" Pulling her hands from Vahn''s, Sis hurriedly covered her face, furiously shaking her head as she insisted, "It''s a misunderstanding! This is just the form closest to your heart!" While doing his best to suppress the shaking of his body, Vahn scanned the pale and petite woman pinned beneath him. She had short, somewhat messy auburn hair, a lithe body, and, before she had hidden it away, Vahn noticed that were a shade of leafy green set within a lightly freckled face. The only differences between her and the woman Vahn was imagining were her tiny horns, her pointed ears, the lion-like tail protruding from her lower back, and the reptilian scales covering her hands, forearms, calves, and feet. Feeling a sudden and overwhelming urge to pull out for the first time in his life, Vahn nearly did exactly that until he noticed the tears escaping from beneath Sis''s hands. His panic and confusion were immediately reced by a feeling of guilt as he pulled her into his embrace before shifting to a seated position and hugging her as tenderly as possible. "Shhshhshhhshhhit''s going to be okay, Sis. What did I just finish saying? No matter what happens, I will always love you. I was justreally, really surprised" After a fair amount of sniffling, Sis lowered her hands to reveal a pair ofrge, green, teary eyes. Vahn could feel his heart seize in his chest the moment they made eye contact, but he quickly suppressed any and all feelings of difort as he tentatively inquired, "This is just a form you adoptedright?" Understanding Vahn''s concerns, Sis sniffled a few more times before resting her forehead against his exposed chest and meekly replying, "It''s difficult to exinhowever, no matter how things might appear, I''m not your mother. It''s justthere was a time when I really wanted to be her" With most of Vahn''s memories being recycled through the Kaleidoscopic Wheel of Karma, the most prominent image within his mind at the time of Sis'' creation was the memory of his mother. Vahn had actually been lying through his teeth when he imed to have always wanted a big sister to take care of him. In truth, the one thing he had always yearned for, even after thousands of years of existence, was his mother''s embrace. Long before she had taken on the traits of people like Chloe, Sis had silently watched over Vahn in the guise of his mother. She would even visit him whenever he had nightmares, slowly weakening their influence over his mind by introducing Vahn''s most significant source offort. This was the actual reason Vahn rarely dreamed back in the Record of Danmachi. Sis had actively suppressed them so that he wouldn''t have a mental breakdown upon discovering her in the form of his mother. Exhaling a breath he didn''t even notice he was holding, Vahn surprised Sis by releasing her from his embrace, an indescribably affectionate smile on his face as he asserted, "You''re so fucking adorable" "Eh?" Since it was pretty unusual for Vahn to curse, Sis was momentarily taken aback by his words. Before she could form any further thoughts, however, Vahn''s hands suddenly slid down her body, firmly grasping her hips as he began to rock her in hisp. A shiver of pleasure ran from her core to the crown of her head, but, fearing Vahn would regret his actions, Sis shakily inquired, "Are you sure about this?" Letting a soft chuckle emanate from his throat, Vahn put a bit of force into his shallow thrust, eliciting a yelping moan from Sis as he said, "No matter what form you take, it doesn''t change the fact you''re still my beloved Big Sis. I won''t lie. It is more than a little disconcerting, but, at the same time, I can''t help feeling obligated to ''reward'' you for being so cute" As his right hand made its way to the small of Sis''s back, supporting her as he continued to hasten his movements, Vahn''s smile gained a wolfish quality as he teased, "Besidesyou''re far from the first woman who has wanted me to call her Mommy" With her jaw and teeth ttering each time Vahn invaded her depths, Sis found herself wholly unable to respond to his words. Her emotions were goingpletely haywire, but none were more powerful than the feelings of love and devotion she felt towards the boy, no, the man sitting in front of her. She still intended to view him as her beloved little brother, but Sis knew their rtionship would never be the same after this . After a surprisingly easy ''battle'' against the Rattenfanger Community, Sandora, Yo, and Asuka watched as the 130 spirits slowly disappeared from the Little Garden. "To think that the ''true legend'' of the Pied Piper of Hamlin was something so mundanetragic, but mundane" Though she was delighted to have acquired a new Gift in the form of a giant, seemingly indestructible red golem, Asuka couldn''t help feeling a little empty inside. It turned out that the 130 children hadn''t been killed off by a natural disaster or sacrificed by some demonic entity. They were simply a group of children who left home with the goal of forming a smallmunity away from their oppressive parents. As for the cause of their deaths, it was entirely natural causes. Most of them had starved to death, while others had simply sumbed to the elements "At least with this, the matter hasrgely been settled. We just need to get out of here and inform the people they can return to their daily lives. After all, I''ll arrange amendation ceremony to make it known just how important a role the No Names yed in the quick resolution of events. It will take a day or two to get everything organized, but it should give your Community a substantial increase in influence." Regaining her smile, Asuka had to restrain the urge to give Sandora a big hug as she said, "I''m d you''re such a prudent person, Sandora. Let''s be friends from now on, okay?" Hearing Asuka mutter her trigger word, a radiant smile developed across Yo''s face as she pulled together both girls and enthusiastically eximed, "That''s right! From now on, the four of us will be the best of friends~!" Though she initially smiled wryly in response to Yo''s words, Asuka quickly noticed the discrepancy in her statement, asking, "The four of us? Do you mean Lily?" Answering in ce of Yo, the tiny Earth Spirit hiding in Asuka''s cleavage poked her head out, her mitten-like hands waving eagerly as she happily chimed, "Asuka~! Friend~! Friend~!" Surprised that the tiny Spirit hadn''t disappeared along with the rest of the Rattenfanger members, Asuka was briefly at a loss for words. In the end, however, she just epted it as a good thing, smiling as she said, "Looks like Deen isn''t our only new member. Wee to the No NamesMerun?" Tilting her head to the side, the diminutive fae pointed toward herself, asking, "Merun?" in an adorably confused tone. In response, Asuka just nodded her head, stating, "That''s your name. We can''t keep calling you Earth Spirit, now can we~?" Though she didn''t fully understand Asuka''s words, Merun happily flew around the trio of girls, her voice a mixture ofughter and excitement as she sang, "Merun~! Asuka~! Merun~! Asuka~! Ehehehehehehe~!" . (A/N: Bet no one saw thating (O w O)'') Chapter 2293: Resolution : Looking Forward

Chapter 2293: Resolution : Looking Forward

"You did well today. A few things didn''t go as nned, but you never gave up. Good job." After issuing a few orders and informing everyone that the danger had passed, one of the first things Sandora did during her off time was ask Vahn to reward her. She didn''t feel like she had earned it, but one of the things Vahn had taught her during their time together was that she simply didn''t need to. People were allowed to be a little selfish when it came to things like love and attaining happiness. While lying atop Vahn and enjoying his caress, Sandora asked, "When do you want to get married? A lot of people were asking me about it" "Mmmafter all the time we''ve spent together, it feels like we''re already married. I''m ready and willing the moment you are" Reading a little too much into Vahn''s words, or at least pretending to, a sultry smile that didn''t quite suit her presently dainty figure developed across Sandora''s face as she said, "Don''t tempt me" Showing no apprehensions to Sandora''s current form, Vahn gave her butt a firm squeeze without further remark. After the ''day'' he had experienced, he was down for just about anything. In fact, it felt like most of his worries and concerns had ceased to existalmost like he was inplete control for the first time in thousands of years Staring into Vahn''s face, a serious expression developed across Sandora''s as an intense heat permeated her body. She had intended to wait until their wedding night, but if Vahn was in the mood, there was no way she was going to refuse. Sensing the changes he had triggered in Sandora''s body, Vahn squinted his eyes as his smiling face developed a wolfish undertone. He wanted to respect Sandora''s initial decision, but if both of them were willing, he saw little reason to dy things. After all, they had already crossed that line a long time ago. "I want you" Following a shudder that emanated from her core, any thoughts Sandora had of waiting were promptly dismissed. It was pretty rare for Vahn to be the initiator, so she wasn''t going to pass on the opportunity to experience ''being wanted'' by the man she had willfully given her everything. "Then take meI''m yours" Squinting his eyes, Vahn''s irises shifted from aquamarine to gold as he said, "You''re also adorable" Without waiting for Sandora''s response, Vahn pulled her legs so that she was straddling him. He could feel her body temperature skyrocket. As for what came next, only the bedroom, walls, and furniture were made privy . "You realize what you did wrong?" Though he had regained his luscious golden locks, Izayoi found himself at Asuka''s mercy, hands bound and most of his power still sealed. In spite of this, he managed a daring smile as he answered, "I acted on my own and nearly did something incredibly foolish." Nodding her head in approval, Asuka muttered, "It''s good that you know." as she continued circling Izayoi''s body with a pensive yet subtly beguiling expression on her face. After circling to the front of Izayoi''s body, Asuka ''surprised'' him by hiking up her dress so she could take a seat on hisp. Then, with her hands and arms linked around his back and shoulders, she asserted, "We nearly lost everything today. I-" Squinting his eyes, Izayoi interrupted what Asuka wanted to say, stating, "But we didn''t. And now that we know our shorings, we can work to fix them. Don''t get hung up on the past" Turning her eyes up at Izayoi, Asuka barely suppressed the urge to use her Authority to make him stay quiet. Instead, she quietly replied, "Trust meit isn''t the past I''m concerned about" As Izayoi raised his brows, various questions forming on the tip of his tongue, Asuka leaned forward and asked, "Have you noticed anything ''different'' about our situation?" Taking a bit of the wind out of Asuka''s sails, Izayoi asked, "You mean other than the fact you aren''t wearing panties?" "" Sitting up straight, Asuka met Izayoi''s gaze, her expression a pout as sheined, "Seriouslyhow did I ever fall for such a base and barbarous scamp?" Without missing a beat, Izayoi replied, "I imagine my roguish good looks and-" Interrupting Izayoi''s response, Asuka sealed his lips with an intense and passionate kiss. She had nearly lost everything she cared about in just a few short seconds. She hadn''t, but the possibility was more than enough to annul any apprehensions about advancing the rtionship between her and Izayoi. Besides, she didn''t want to be the only person in her group of friends that was still a virgin Though he felt like Asuka was about to do something she would regret, Izayoi didn''t say or do anything to stop her. As the day had proven, he was far from infallible. Vahn''s overwhelming disy of power had also left him feeling a lingering feeling of dread, so Izayoi wasn''t going to refuse a chance to forgeteven if only for a short while . After an ''eventful'' night for all parties involved, Vahn, Sandora, Yo, Lily, Asuka, Izayoi, and the Earth Spirit Merun gathered for ate breakfast the following day. Though Asuka had simr thoughts about every other girl at the table, Lily was the first to teasingly remark, "Asuka is looking particrly radiant this morningdid something good happen?" Instead of responding to Lily''s words, Asuka issued a dismissive harumph before subsequently failing to prevent a blush from spreading through her cheeks. What she didn''t know was that everyone at the table could ''smell'' the difference between her present and past selves. If she did, she would have had to excuse herself to stifle a series of screams. Amused by Asuka''s reaction, a soft chuckle emanated from Lily''s throat as she remarked, "How cute" with squinted eyes. This caused the blush on Asuka''s face to be far more prominent, a condition made all the more severe when Izayoi chimed in to add, "No kidding" with a teasing smile on his face. Before Asuka could explode from embarrassment, Vahn stepped out of the kitchen, asking, "Anyone order the Aldrnari Empire''s Special?" With all the focus shifting to Vahn, Asuka was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, her respite was short-lived as Vahn slid a te of aromatic, perfectly cooked red rice in front of her and Izayoi, winking as he said, "Congrattions." Burying her face into her hands, Asuka attempted to convince herself she was trapped in a nightmare. Instead, she found herself dragged back to her new reality as Yo supportively squeezed her hand and asserted, "I''m happy for you, Asuka! You too, Izayoi! Congrattions~!" Unable to take it any longer, Asuka''s face began to twitch like she was having a seizure as she eximed, "This isn''t a suitable breakfast topic! And would you people please stop making it sound like I''m pregnant!?" Though Yo was more than a little surprised by Asuka''s outburst, everyone else at the table either smiled orughed. Even Izayoi was no exception, a lightheartedugh emanating from his throat even as Asuka crushed his foot beneath the table . Following the nearly hour-long breakfast, the group split up for a short while before reconvening at the Chamber of mes. Sandora had a few things she wanted to talk about, so she had asked them to gather there once they had washed up and calmed down. "So? What''s this about, chibi?" Without minding Izyaoi''s overly casual way of speaking, Sandora returned a friendly smile as she exined, "There are three things I wished to discuss. First and foremost, I wanted to thank the No Names for helping to resolve things without any significant incidents. Though we could have resolved things ourselves, things would not have ended so swiftly without your support." Following her words, Sandora waved her hand to signal for the servants waiting in the wings to bring out severalrge chests filled with gold bars, a variety of gems, and a pair of gauntlets. "Due to your affiliation with the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, I can''t imagine you have many financial issues. Still, Smandra owes you at least this much for your services. Please ept them." While it was true that they could receive practically anything they needed from Vahn, having a treasury and resources of their own was never a bad thing. Asuka, in particr, had a fondness for gold that nearly rivaled that of a Dragon. It wasn''t for no reason that she had been blessed with a Gift that granted her Authority. "Second is the matter of what to do with our captives. Vahn and I further discussed the issuest night, and he suggested turning over the Lesser Demons to the No Names. After all, you are the ones who defeated Weser and Ratten. Given the stiptions of the Gift Game, it is only natural they join the Community that subdued them." Voicing the thought on nearly everyone''s mind, Yo inquired, "What about Pest? It would be too tragic if she were separated from her friends" Maintaining her smile, Sandora revealed, "I have entrusted Pest to the care of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. While it is true that I was the one to defeat her, Vahn was the one who expelled Pest''s demonic energy and prevented the gue from sweeping through the city. On the conditions that her friends'' lives be spared, she has agreed to apprentice within the Sage Dragon''s Hearth as a Maid." "What a relief" Exhaling a breath she didn''t even realize she was holding, a radiant smile developed across Yo''s face as she directed her hazel-eyed gaze to Vahn. After learning about Pest''s origins, Yo would be beside herself if anything terrible were to happen to the adorable but deadly Demoness. With Vahn taking control of the situation, Pest was in safe and reliable hands. At the very least, Yo couldn''t imagine anyone more able and willing to help. Understanding Yo''s thoughts, Sandora supplied an approving nod before adopting an almost silly smile as she said, "Last but not least, I wanted to invite each of you to attend mine and Vahn''s wedding ceremony as guests of honor. We''re still working out the details, but it should take ce within the next five days." Seeing no reason to refuse, Asuka, acting as representative and Leader of the No Names, answered, "We would be honored to attend your wedding. In fact, now that we are in discussions to establish an alliance, it would be strange for us to refuse." Giggling in response to Asuka''s words, Sandora surprised nearly everyone present by waving her hand a second time. Instead of servants appearing with treasure chests filled with valuables, however, it was her brother who stepped out from behind one of the curtains nking Sandora''s throne. In his hands was a glistening golden scroll that exuded an immense amount of magical power, enough to make the hairs of everyone except Vahn and Sandora stand on end. "Instead of an Alliance between Smandra and the No Names, I wanted to rmend a Contract of Perpetuity between myself, the Floor Master of the Northern ins, and the prevailing Leader of the No Names, Kudou Asuka. In simple terms, it is a contract of friendship that supersedes even the restrictions of certain Gift Games. In even simpler terms, it makes us honorary members of one another''s Communities. If you make this public, I imagine it would provide quite a substantial boost to your Community''s reputation" Though she was tempted to ask why Mandra''s face and eyes were visibly swollen, Asuka just epted the contract with a smile, stating, "You have done us a great service, Sandora. One I, and the No Names, will not soon forget." Offering another light chuckle in response to Asuka''s words, Sandora''s expression lit up like the sun on a clear Summer day as she tittered, "Of course. That''s what friends are for~!" . (A/N: I''ve been busy these past few days due to holiday preparations and such. As an apology of sorts, I''m posting the first 20 chapters of a new Mushoku Tensei/Genshin Impact Fanfiction on my website Feel free to check it out and let me know what you think.) Chapter 2294: Freedom

Chapter 2294: Freedom

Several days after the Pied Piper incident, nearly the entire poption of Kouen City had gathered to witness the wedding ceremony between Vahn and Sandora. Wearing a phoenix-like wedding dress, hand-crafted by Vahn himself, Sandora surprised the crowd of millions by appearing in her adult form. The top resembled a fiery red, form-fitting bodice that left parts of Sandora''s neck, navel, and back exposed, while the bottom resembled ethereal mes with a subtle rainbow hue. The entire outfit was ented with gold, but, instead of ordinary gold, it wasprised of the same material as many Divine Weapons and Armaments. When the crowd first saw Sandora appear, a stunned silence descended over the entire gate. She had always been very popr with the people due to her adorable appearance and hard-working nature. Many viewed her as the little sister of the entire Community, but, while some people were disappointed to see her suddenly appear as a breathtakingly beautiful woman, it wasn''t long before the entire city was trembling due to their cheers. Fortunately for the guests attending the ceremony directly, there was a very powerful barrier that muted sounds from the outside. Vahn could still feel the envy and hatred of a remarkable number of people, but that was nothing new. As Sandora made her way up the aisle, escorted by her brother, a casual yet loving smile set across Vahn''s face. He and Sandora had cohabitated for the better part of eight years, and this was far from his first wedding. He was still a little nervous, but it was nothingpared to Sandora. With the gazes of millions of people directed at her, Sandora felt like her every action, despite being impably smooth, was robotic. Things got a little better when sheid eyes on Vahn, but her body was trembling with anxiety as she made her way up the aisle. Since the ceremony was more of a performance than anything else, Sandora couldn''t help using her telepathy to remark, ("I never expected this to be so nerve-wracking") Revealing a hint of amusement in his smile, Vahn proposed, ("If you want, I can create an illusion, and the two of us can observe from the side. Our Communities and the Central Network already regard us as husband and wife.") Though the old her might have feltpelled to continue ying her part till the end, Sandora didn''t hesitate to answer, ("Let''s get out of here.") With a subtle nod, Vahn separated himself and Sandora from the Principle Axis of Reality while simultaneously creating realistic, physical illusions of the two of them. Then, as the wedding progressed in the background, he swooped the lovable redhead up in his arms before promptly teleporting back to their room. After breathing a sigh of relief, the tensions in Sandora''s body rxed as she adopted a slightly mischievous smile and asked, "Should we proceed to the honeymoon~?" Adopting a wolfish smile of his own, Vahn drew his face and lips closer to Sandora''s as he asked, "Is here okay, or would you like to go somece else?" Though she would have been fine even if Vahn pushed her down in the middle of the aisle, Sandora didn''t immediately respond to his words. The notion she could now go anywhere and do virtually anything crossed her mind as she drew her lips close enough to touch Vahn''s. However, instead of kissing him outright, she replied, "I want to be stronger" Despite defeating Pest rather handily, Sandora wasn''t even remotely satisfied. She couldn''t even grasp the distance between her and Vahn, so even though she knew she was more than a little selfish, Sandora wanted Vahn to take her somece where she could be much stronger. Having anticipated Sandora''s words, Vahn nted a lingering kiss on her lips before pulling away to exin, "There are two worlds I have in mind. The first is not dissimr to the Little Garden, governed by a God of y known as Tet. The second is a world ruled by sorcery and magic, a ce where summoners have tapped into the very essence of creation to attain powerparable to the beings that created their world." With a bit of a teasing undertone, Sandora inquired, "Which has the most beautiful women? Can you show me~?" Smiling wryly in response to Sandora''s words, Vahn created two disys in mid-air, one showing a surreal world known as Disboard while the other disyed a rtively normal-looking world known as Rerra. However, while both worlds had powerful beings inhabiting them, Vahn believed thetter to be far more dangerous. In Rerra, even Dragon Gods capable of producing stars could be trapped and ensnared by the powerful magics that governed that world. Seeing the drastically different worlds depicted by Vahn, Sandora rolled her eyes before remarking, "If they are worlds you''re familiar with, there must be people you''ve taken an interest in. Show me the girls." Waving his hand, Vahn forced the disys to cycle through the various casts affiliated with each world. The world of Disboard was inhabited by races standard within fantasy settings, while the world of Rerra was filled with so many unique and sapient races that it was nearly impossible to keep track of them all. Though the aesthetics of both worlds were drastically different, Sandora could tell the world of Disboard was a bit more perverted than Rerra due to how scantily d most of the women were. There were manyscivious-looking women in thetter, but it seemed a heck of a lot more ''normal''pared to a world filled with chess pieces that prated the atmosphere. Since she was a little fed up with how the Little Garden chose to settle everything through games, Sandora found herself increasingly drawn to the more naturalistic setting of Rerra. She felt like she would have a lot more freedom to act there, so, after a brief period of deliberation, she nodded her head towards the disy and said, "Let''s go there. We could make a far more significant impact on a world wrought with conflict and strife. As enjoyable as Gift Games are, they get tiring after a while" Nodding his head in both approval and affirmation, Vahn held Sandora a little closer, drawing her Ego and consciousness into himself as he made use of his Actualization Innate. He still had to create vessels for himself and the people who wished to inhabit the worlds he created, but he had gotten a lot better at it. At the very least, he could prevent their original bodies from being destroyed during the transfer . Despite the immense danger involved, two little girls, roughly eight and nine years old, could be found crossing a rampaging river in pursuit of a bright, fiery blue butterfly. The eldest, a blonde-haired girl named Daisy Hastur, was the one chasing after the butterfly while her brown-haired stepsister, Annie, followed after, shouting, "Daisy! Wait! It''s dangerous!" Ignoring her sister''s pleas, Daisy, enchanted by the magical properties of the butterfly, simply giggled as she ran across the slippery, moss-covered stones spanning the river. She would usually be very cautious of the river, but the butterfly she was chasing was a type of pseudo-spiritual creature known as a Fae Willow. The dust from its wings was used to produce one of the most powerful hallucinogens in the world, but the thing it was most famous for was luring lost children to their deaths. Though she and Annie had been warned to stay away from both the river and butterflies, Daisy was already captivated by the Fae Willow''s spell as she ignored every danger to her life and tried to catch it. In response, the Fae Willow flittered to the edge of the most precarious rock before finally stopping in ce and waiting for Daisy to try and grab it. When she did, it simply dispersed into thin air like a Will o'' Wisp, the little girl''s shock and momentum causing her to slip. "Daisy!" Mustering strength and speed she didn''t know she had, Annie practically shed forward to grab Daisy just as thetter plunged into the rapids, screaming, "Annie!" with renewed rity. Though she failed to grasp her stepsister''s hand, Annie was able to extend her favorite doll, a stuffed teddy bear named Tibbers, just in time for Daisy to grab it. Unfortunately, she was nowhere near strong enough to oppose the force of the rapids. The most she could do was hold on as tightly as possible as Daisy, tears streaming down her face, cried, "Help! Annie, please!" "Justjust hold on! Help ising!" As if to spite both of the desperate girls, the Fae Willow reappeared as the seams along Tibbers'' body began to weaken and tear. It was a type of creature that dined on fear, and there was no fear more sulent than the despair of children facing their inevitable end. Just as the Fae Willow contemted exacerbating the situation, all thoughts ceased from its mind as a bronze-skinned hand suddenly closed around it. Immediately after that, the river seemed to freeze in ce as a man with tanned skin, dark hair, and glistening green eyes scooped up the two girls, saying, "You shouldn''t be ying out here by the river." Though Annie was stunned by the appearance of the strange man, Daisy immediately clung to him, tears streaming down her face as she cried her heart out. She had never been more scared in her entire life, so she didn''t even notice that the man was standing in the air or that the world around them was moving at a snail''s pace . After saving the two damsels in distress and giving their parents a bit of advice, Vahn reappeared in a homely-looking tavern filled with swirling golden portals. Noticing Vahn''s return, the barkeep, a 93cm tall ''man'' withrge pointed ears and features reminiscent of a red panda, asked, "Off saving the world again?" as he continued cleaning a ss mug. Returning a smile, Vahn asked, "When am I not?" before looking around at the emptied tavern and asking, "Where is everyone?" Setting aside the ss, the mustached barkeep exined, "Corki, Teemo, and Tristana ported over to Bilgewater. Ever since the Harrowing a couple of months ago, a bunch of wraiths have been appearing to cause trouble. As for Lady Sandora and the rest, you would know better than me" "Right" Shifting his awareness to Sandora, Vahn was pleasantly surprised to find her napping at the base of a tree next to a woman identical to her in every way. Nearby, another woman, possessing purple-blue hair,rge ears, and the centaurian lower body of a fawn, could be seen strumming a lyre with a contented smile on her face. Waving to the barkeep, Vahn said, "See ya around, Jim." before vanishing into thin air. His appearance briefly startled the deer-like girl ying the lyre, but her nimble fingers never stopped strumming the lyre as she said, "Wee back, Vahn. Have youe to use the Dreaming Tree or to see us?" Before Vahn could answer, one of the Sandora''s sprang up, shouting, "It''s the Vahn~!" before pouncing on him. When she did, her form slowly gave way to reveal a slender woman with purple-pink hair that red outward at the sides like oversized ears. There was bright pink plumage protruding from the crown of her head, but her most striking features were herrge amber eyes, green sclera, the green scales covering various parts of her body, and the lizard-like tail protruding from her lower back. With said tail curling around his body, much like the woman''s legs, Vahn''s expression became slightly wry as he said, "It''s good to see you as well, Neeko. Have you been a good girl?" Nodding her head with a bit of vigor, Neeko dered, "Neeko is always a good girl~!" before following it up by wiggling her hips and asking, "Is the Vahn going to give Neeko a reward~?" Though it wasn''t how he nned to spend the rest of his day, Vahn didn''t hesitate to nod his head, answering, "Sure." before shifting his attention to Sandora and adding, "If your big sis permits it." Before Neeko could pounce on her, Sandora rose to a seated position with a dream-like smile on her face as she replied, "Of course. What about you, Lillia? Do you want to join in?" Hearing Sandora''s words, Lillia missed a few notes on her lyre, her oversized ears twitching as she sheepishly replied, "N-Nobut thank you for offering" Since it was customary for Lillia to refuse her invitation, especially when Neeko was around, Sandora wasn''t particrly surprised by her answer. Instead, she just stretched her body, issuing a long yawn in the process, before bouncing to her feet and saying, "Let''s have fun." . Chapter 2295: Return

Chapter 2295: Return

As their stay in the Actualized World came to an end, space and time began to distort around Vahn and Sandora. The dimensions of the room they upied increased exponentially as more than a thousand beings of various shapes and sizes manifested into existence. Among the incredibly diverse group, a 96cm tall man with a bushy white mustache and golden hair reminiscent of an afro eximed, "Fascinating! To think there were nes of existence beyond our own! I can''t wait to uncover the secrets of this Little Garden~!" Reacting to the pointy-eared man''s words, Vahn replied, "Just be careful. The people here can be even more opportunistic than the Summoners of the Council." Squinting his eyes in response to Vahn''s words, the schnauzer-like man, better known as Professor Heimerdinger, remarked, "Worry not, Your Majesty. If this world is as you reported, I''m certain we''ll be able to thrive. I can hardly wait to get to work~!" Nodding his head, Vahn was about to mention introducing Heimerdinger to Da Vinci or Bulma before he was interrupted by a young woman with fur-covered ears, curved horns, a lion-like tail, and somewhat unkempt, raven-ck hair that extended to the small of her back. "Is this really Master Vahn''s and Lady Sandora''s home? The amount of spiritual energy here is incredible" Agreeing with the chimeric beauty, an attractive woman with maroon-red hair, golden eyes, earsparable to a fennec fox, taloned feet, and a wing-like mantle remarked, "It would need to be if we''re to rebuild our people" Adding to the exotic-looking woman''s words, a shirtless man with red and white hair reminiscent of a cockb wrapped his arms around her, teasing, "Speaking of whichI think it''s about time you epted my marriage proposal" Though she elbowed the man in his gut, a smile developed across the face of the maroon-haired woman as she said, "I told you not to act all lovey-dovey in front of the Emperor" Coming to the bird-like man''s aid, Vahn casually replied, "There is no shame in disying one''s love" before nting a kiss on the fiery-haired dragoness cradled in his arms. Despite the attention of everyone in the spacious room shifting toward them, Vahn and Sandora continued kissing for several seconds before he separated from her lips. Afterward, he shifted his attention towards the crowd and said, "As I said before, you''re free to make your own decisions from this moment onward. Those of you that wish to continue supporting or serving the Aldrnari Empire can apany me back to the East. If you''d like to try setting out on your own, the only thing I ask is that you remember the ts established by the Sage Dragon Emperor''s Decree. As long as you remain true to our cause, I can revive you as many times as necessary." Without attempting to break free from Vahn''s princess carry, Sandora added, "Those of you who aren''t a part of the Vastaya, please consider joining my Smandra Community. We''re ultimately an extension of the Aldrnari Empire, but our political situation is tumultuouspared to Vahn''s court. I could really use some help getting things in order" Though she was tempted to just entrust everything to Vahn, Sandora hadn''t given up on her desire to stand beside him. She now knew it was impossible to close the distance in their respective power levels, but she could at least alleviate some of his burdens by governing the North reliably. In response to Sandora''s words, an enigmatic figure with golden horns, nebulous purple hair, and a body that resembled the night sky answered, "Allow me to be of assistance, young one. I promised the Sage Dragon Emperor that I would act as a Guardian of the Ts in exchange for my freedom. If there are enemies who would oppose your rule, allow me to deal with them." Answering in ce of Sandora, Vahn stated, "If that is your decision, Aurelion, I will not stop you. However, now that we''ve left the ne of Runterra Prime behind, you are free to act as you please." Having been bested by Vahn in singlebat, Aurelion, full name Aurelion Sol, maintained a neutral expression as he replied in a remarkably deep voice, "I gave you my word. So long as you continue along your current path, I will continue to support and protect all those who obey the Ts." Unsurprised by Aurelion''s response, Vahn just nodded his head before directing his gaze to the other nebulous entities that stood out even among the remarkably diverse group. They were the various Aspects of Targon Prime, the colloquial name given to the Gods that presided over various Laws. "I offer you the same opportunity. Now that we''ve departed the Actualized World, you are free to act as you please. You no longer have to obey me unless you choose to." Answering before the others could speak up, a remarkably beautiful woman with silvery-white hair and six angelic wings replied, "You are the one who restored bnce to our fractured world. We will continue to follow you until the end of all things." Though he would normally smile wryly in response to such a statement, Vahn just supplied a series of nods as he listened to each of the Aspects affirm their loyalty. The only exception was a youthful-looking girl with inordinately long hair that transitioned from bright orange to nebulous purple as it flowed behind her in defiance of gravity. When it was her ''turn'' to speak up, she said, "I''m gonna go exploring." before asking, "Is that okay~?" Nodding his head in approval, Vahn said, "Of course. Just try not to cause too much trouble, okay? Also, keep in mind that your powers are not as omnipotent here as they were back in the Actualized World. My Familia Crest affords you a certain amount of impunity, but there are beings in this world that can destroy entire metaversal structures with a wave of their hand." Ignoring Vahn''s warning, the youthful-looking Aspect waved towards a boyish man with golden blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and pale blue markings on his cheekbones, eximing, "Ezreal~! Let''s go exploring together~!" Though he was fully intent on exploring the Little Garden, the golden-haired man winced when he heard the diminutive Aspect''s words. Scratching the back of his head, Ezreal replied, "I appreciate the invitation, Zoe, but I already-" Before Ezreal could finish speaking, the petite Aspect dropped through a circr-shaped portal before reappearing behind him, musing, "I won''t let you go back on your promise." before they both disappeared. Vahn could have interfered to prevent the abduction, but he knew that Ezreal had dug himself into his current predicament. Much like himself. Though he held back a bit in the beginning, Vahn had underestimated how ''liberal'' Sandora had be after their marriage. She apparently felt guilty about ''holding him back'' during their stay in the Actualized World of Ni No Kuni, so she ended up ''conspiring'' against him a bit when it came to the various women he encountered during their journey. In the process of brokering peace between the various nations and assisting the foundation of an organization known as the League of Legends, Vahn allowed his curiosity andck of inhibitions to get the better of him. By the time he had be the God-Emperor of Rerra, he had slept with a total of twenty-nine different women, the vast majority belonging to the Vastaya, a chimeric raceprising nearly seventy percent of the people he brought back with him. While most of Vahn''s partners had been members of the nearly extinct Vastaya, a race he promised to help rebuild, his other conquests included the various Aspects and a handful few Yordles. He was a little reluctant at first, but, as was often the case, Vahn''s sentiments and curiosity got the better of him. His ability to transform into virtually any race, and the fact he had initially based himself out of Bandle City, the homnd of the Yordles, worked against him. Shifting his attention to the diverse group of women than had sumbed to his charms, three of which were Yordles, Vahn''s expression softened as he stated, "This is yourst chanceif you refuse to set out on your own, I might never let you go" Though a few of them looked towards each other as if to confirm whether or not they were willing to stay, the majority of the group appeared resolute. This included a 96cm tall woman with blue fur, long pointy ears, an adorable snaggletooth, and pale white hair fastened into pigtails. "I can''t speak for the others but I intend to follow you until the end. You showed me what it meant to be a true hero and prevented multiple wars. Even if you were to push me away, I would continue following after you for as long as my feet will carry me" Shouldering a massive hammer that was more than twice her size, the resolute Yordle made it clear she wasn''t going to back down. Before encountering Vahn, she had spent nearly a thousand years searching for a hero that ultimately turned out to be her. When Vahn initially exined the situation to her, she refused to believe him. However, after traveling back in time and helping him to save the world, there were no longer doubts in Poppy''s mind. More importantly, Vahn had also been able to wield the Hammer of Orlon, so she vowed to follow him for as long as the hammer found them to be worthy. Though none of them actually intended to leave Vahn, those that were feeling a little apprehensive about bing a member of a massive harem felt more at ease when they heard Poppy''s words. Vahn had either saved or changed their lives for the better, so, even if it was just for a short while longer, they wanted to continue following, supporting, and being loved by him . After getting the majority of the Vastaya situated in his personal Little Garden, Vahnpressed a few weeks into a few hours so that everyone could be brought up to speed on the situation in the Divine Realm. It was no longer as necessary as before, but he also wanted to give them a bit of time to adapt to the Laws of the Little Garden. This was especially important for the Aspects, as, back in their world, they had near-absolute power over the Laws they represented. While Vahn''s backing and Authority could make up for what the Aspects had lost, they would still need to ''prove'' themselves in order to acquire the status of Gods within the Little Garden. Without it, they risked being foddered and one-sidedly oppressed by anyone in the 4-Digit Gates or lower. Thus, while they would ultimately belong to the Aldrnari Empire, Vahn had Pantheon, the Aspect of War, and Urza, the Aspect of Identity, established Communities of their own. The former would be located in the South, aiding in the conquest of the Greek and Norse Pantheons, while Vahn nned for thetter to reside in the West. Urza, better known as the Mask Mother, had the unique ability to both assign and remove identities from people. While most being would lose their power upon entering the West Side, the Domain of Identity superseded nearly every other Law in existence. Its influence was also invible, so, as long as she coordinated with Da Vinci, Vahn was confident that Urza could ''rewrite'' the Laws within the West. She had a strange personality, but Urza was one of the first three Aspects within her world, a timeless entity that governed fate itself. Since Urza could literally create her own supports, the only ''people'' Vahn sent with her were Bard and Tyari, the Aspects of Journey and Travel. He was tempted to send Kindred, the Aspect of Death, but the dualistic entity had be rather attached to him after he survived their hunt and taught them the meaning of life. Lamb, in particr, was one of Vahn''s earliest ''conquests'' during his stay in the Actualized World of Rerra . (A/N: I have been bedridden for nearly nine days. I''d like to say I''m feeling better, but I can''t even sit up for a few minutes before I start coughing violently I''m doing what I can to recover, but it''s taking a lot longer than I expected.) Chapter 2296: Zeal

Chapter 2296: Zeal

As per usual, one of the first things Vahn did upon returning from an Actualized World was inform the Council of Wives about his actions. Since it hadn''t been that long since Vahn''sst stint within an Actualized World, the girls couldn''t help feeling a little exasperated. They understood his reasons, but it was a little painful knowing he was spending years at a time away from home. Though none of the girls outrightined about his actions, it was impossible for them to keep their emotions hidden from Vahn. It didn''t help that he had returned with several children. Fortunately, not that it did much to put the girls'' concerns at ease, Vahn had already decided that Rerra would be thest Actualized World he personally visited. He would make exceptions for those that redeemed their ''points'' to spend time with him, but his main focus would be conquering the Divine Realm. When Vahn had first descended into the Actualized World of Rerra, he only nned to stay for around four years. Instead, he jumped around through time and manipted events over the span of thousands. He hadn''t actually stayed there that long, but he had the memories and experiences of Temtes that had. By the time he emerged from the Actualized World, Vahn had earned the recognition of the two beings responsible for the world''s creation. He also gained experience rewriting fate and creating nar realms that made textures appear elementary inparison. Understanding he could retroactively ''fix'' everything once he took over the Divine Realm, Vahn took advantage of The Path''s functionalities to create a Quest that would keep him on track. ------------------------------------------------- [Quest: Genesis Path: Return to Origin] Rank: Zenith Objective(s): Reach Soul Tier 6(5/6), Transcend the Divine Realm(0/1), Return to the Dais of Origin(0/1) Optional Objective(s): Subsume the Central Network(0/1), upy Ranks 1-9 Within the Little Garden(0/9), Obtain Principle Sun Authorities(2/13), Subjugate or Rece the Chief Gods of the Divine Realm(2/37) Reward(s): 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 OP, Link Function Unlocked, Inheritance Function Unlocked Failure Condition(s): Forfeiture of Main Quest Chain, Failure toplete Quest within the stipted time: (728D 17H 48M 11S) Penalty: Afflicted with [Curse of Remembrance] until Objectives arepleted. ------------------------------------------------- Though two years might sound like an unreasonably short period of time, especially when it came to conquering something like the Divine Realm, Vahn was pretty confident in his ability to pull it off. The only thing that could possibly stand in his way was himself, and, ever since he had entered into a rtionship with Sis, that became less of a factor. Ever since Vahn first began his journey, Sis had been his emotional and spiritual anchor. During his time in the Actualized World, he had actually spent more time with Sis than Sandora. She was the one that hadpelled him to be the God-Emperor of Targon and the Primordial Aspect of Creation, effectively rewriting the fate of the entire Actualized World. Now that they had returned, Vahn intended to work alongside Sis to make his long-held dream a reality. Fortunately, even if Vahn just spent all his time cuddling up with Fenrir, ck Rabbit, Usalia, and countless others, he could still conquer the Divine Realm. Sis was just as powerful as he was, and, thanks to the System Temtes, he could elevate everyone affiliated with the Aldrnari Empire to Tier 5 with rtive ease. Adding insult to injury, at least for his opponents, Vahn coordinated with Loi-chan to ascertain the identities of his enemies. By providing this information to Da Vinci and the others, he could just sit back and wait for them to bring him victory. Instead, Vahn went out of his way to create more than a hundred additional Temtes, several of which were sent into select Actualized Worlds while the rest were assigned the task of recing various Gods. A stark contrast to how he felt when he first entered the Transcendental Path to Heaven, Vahn no longer cared about ''ying'' around. As much as he cared about people, he had never once cared about the intricacies andplexities of politics and society. If not for his deeply rooted desire to experience new things, he would just hole himself up somewhere and spend literal eons cuddling with people like Sis and Fenrir. Though he still intended to ''fix'' a few things once he reached the pinnacle, Vahn no longer cared about trying to fix everything. His reason for reaching the top wasn''t to have greater control over the worlds below but to remove himself from the equation. It wasn''t that he had grown tired of interacting with others; he just found greater meaning in spending time with his family, friends, and loved ones. When Vahn left the Record of Danmachi, he was roughly 155 years old. Several thousand years had passed since that fateful moment, and, due to the experiences of his Temtes, he now had memories spanning tens of billions of years. He had witnessed the design and destruction of entire universes, reshaped realities, and influenced the lives of a truly countless number of people. However, even after reaching the point where he could pluck stars from the night sky and create metaversal structures with little more than a thought, it was the memories of his time in Danmachi that left the most profound impression on Vahn''s heart and mind. He was ready to return home, and there was absolutely nothing that could stop him from doing so . "Keep breathing. You''re almost done." As if ced into a trance by Vahn''s words, ck Rabbit focused on her breathing, her contractions bing progressively stronger as a ratherrge group of people observed the delivery of her kittens. Seeing Vahn use abination of Authority, Godhand, and Telekinesis to deliver each of ck Rabbit''s six children effortlessly, Shiroyasha couldn''t help remarking, "This feels like cheating" Taking ck Rabbit''s final, rabbit-like child, Vahn handed the pink bundle over to Heng''e before stating, "I''ve never been fond of tragedies. If I can make things easier for the people I love, why shouldn''t I?" Instead of responding to Vahn''s words, Shiroyasha observed as Da Vinci ced a glowing sphere against the forehead of ck Rabbit''s final child. Vahn wasn''t taking any chances, so each of his and ck Rabbit''s kittens were outfitted with Tier 5 System Temtes from birth. With the deliverypleted, Vahn healed ck Rabbit''s body and freed her from her trance, saying, "You did great" as he caressed her face. Blinking in surprise, ck Rabbit asked, "Eh? It''s over already?" before immediately focusing on the group of girls standing by with her children. Each currently resembled pink, white, and ck rabbits, but that didn''t stop ck Rabbit from tearing up a little as she reached out her arms and whimpered, "My babies" Without any hesitation, Xiao Yue, having attended the delivery at Vahn''s behest, handed over ck Rabbit''s first kitten, a predominately white doe with a peculiar, pink, heart-shaped birthmark on its forehead. (A/N: Xiao Yue is the Moon Goddess that gave Vahn one of her Ginko Seeds.) epting the adorable kitten from Xiao Yue, ck Rabbit began to sniffle as she affectionately nuzzled against her daughter. It was a peculiar sight for those who expected ck Rabbit to give birth to humanoid offspring, but no one said anything about it. They just smiled and enjoyed the warm and pleasant feelings that filled the delivery room, amplified by Vahn . Following the sessful delivery of ck Rabbit''s children, a version of Vahn apanied Shiroyasha back to Thousand Eyes. There, Shiroyasha ordered Nadeshiko to prepare tea before making herselffortable atop Vahn''sp. "You''ve been very busy these past few weeksit''s making a lot of people very nervous" Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn replied, "I''m going home. If they get in my way, I''ll remove them. It''s as simple as that" Punctuating his words, Vahn gave Shiroyasha''s butt a firm squeeze as he nted a kiss on her lips. She was currently in her more diminutive form, but, after ''mingling'' with Yordles, most of the inhibitions he had regarding a person''s size had faded into nothingness. Feeling an intense surge of heat and pleasure spread through her body, Shiroyasha''s voice became a little shaky as she broke free from Vahn''s kiss and asked, "What will you do with those who stand aside? Will you just ignore them, despite the tragedies they had wrought unto others?" While continuing to massage Shiroyasha''s butt, Vahn calmly replied, "I''m not trying to purge ''evil'' from the world. My penultimate goal is to lessen its influence and create a world where the innocent have greater freedom to choose the path they walk" "Mmmwell, so long as you give them a way out, everything should be fine" Though she got the impression that Vahn was starting to be like the monsters inhabiting the single-digit Gates, Shiroyasha had already thrown her lot in with him. He was the only one with the power to bring about the changes she desired, and, more importantly, the ideals Vahn represented were in line with her own. With such thoughts on her mind, Shiroyasha closed the distance between her''s and Vahn''s lips,forted by the notion that, if nothing else, he was the one person capable of making her feel like a woman . Taking advantage of the fact that Vahn had allowed them to seduce him, Muninn waited until he had finished with Leh and Vor before casually inquiring, "If you don''t mind my asking, when are you nning to visit the South? The Allfather has been awaiting your arrival for some time" While asking her question, Muninn readily and eagerly spread her cheeks as sheid face down with her butt in the air. In response, Vahn inserted himself inside of her, sheathing himself to the root as he replied, "I''ll stop by tomorrow if it''s that pressing an issue." Without waiting for Muninn''s response, Vahn effortlessly scooped her up into a precarious position known as the Standing Nelson. This prevented Muninn from immediately responding, her body trembling violently every time Vahn thrust into her from below. She attempted to cut off her sense of pleasure, but Vahn didn''t allow it as he contorted her body into various positions. Under ordinary circumstances, Vahn would drag things out and enjoy his time with the trio of Valkyries as much as possible. However, to prevent himself from bing sidetracked, the Quest he created counted time even when slowed, stopped, or outright reversed its flow. Unfortunately for Muninn, this meant Vahn would no longer be ''ying around'' when she seduced him. He may have taken his time if she loved him, but they both knew why she had joined the Research Division. She acted as an agent of Odin, and the only thing she genuinely cared about was acquiring additional knowledge. Despite her efforts to retain her senses, it wasn''t long before Muninn''s mind had nked due to pleasure. For several minutes, all she could do was produce animalistic noises and moans as Vahn demonstrated for her the danger of ''provoking'' him carelessly. When Leh and Vor saw this, the two of them were genuinely surprised as they couldn''t even imagine their usually stoic leader producing such obscene noises. Sensing the duo''s thoughts, Vahn allowed Muninn to fall onto her hands and knees, his hips rhythmically smacking into the cushion of her toned buttocks as he said, "Rx. Unless you request it of me, I''m not going to bully the two of you like this" Hearing Vahn''s words, Leh couldn''t help swallowing hard as she imagined what it would be like to experience such intense pleasure. Vor was having simr thoughts, but, unlike the younger Valkyrie, she wasn''t even remotely afraid. In fact, ever since Vahn had given them the ability to reproduce, she had been eagerly anticipating the day he impregnated her . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''ytime is over'',''A bounty of bun-buns (O w O)'',''RIP Muninn'') Chapter 2297: Rendezvous

Chapter 2297: Rendezvous

Before heading to the South to meet with Odin, Vahn took a moment to visit Xysteria, Silva, Krona, and the new inhabitants of their Realm. Back in the Actualized World of Rerra, the Vastaya had been among the first species to walk the physical ne. They could thrive in virtually any environment, so, after consulting with Silva and Krona, Vahn allowed them to move into the rtively safe and burgeoning reality. With Xysteria upying a separate texture, the only threats they had to worry about moving forward were themselves Teleporting to the heart of the newly created Vastayan settlement, a burgeoning forested city known as Omikayn, Vahn found the deer-like Lillia tending to arge, flowering tree that exuded pink and blue mist. Sensing Vahn''s presence, Lillia''s oversized ears twitched as she looked back, a bashful smile developing across her face as she said, "Wee back, Vahn. Leni is out exploring right now" Adopting a smile of his own, Vahn sauntered over to Lillia''s side as he said, "I came to confer with the Elders. I just sensed you were feeling a little lonesome, so I decided to stop by." "Oh" With Vahn wrapping his hands around her Cervitaurian waist, a potent blush spread through Lillia''s face. Even after several years had passed, she still wasn''t ustomed to intimacy. Fortunately, at least for the time being, it was just her and Vahn present. Resting her forehead against Vahn''s, Lillia exined, "The Vastaya don''t dream the same way as humans. It''s just a little quiet, that''s all" As the Daughter of the Dreaming Tree, Lillia spent most of her time within a veritable dreamscapeprised of countless peoples'' dreams. With the poption of Omikayn a mere 2,581 Vastaya and Yordles, the ordinarily boundless dreamscape felt small and restrictive. "Mmmif you''d like, I can talk with Silva about increasing the number of Spirits present in the world. Now that the Vastaya have made themselves home, it''s a good time to start promoting the growth of other lifeforms." Shaking her head, Lillia replied, "No, it''s better if things develop naturally. Besides, I''m never truly alone. I have Leni and lots of people I can call my friends" Upon mention of her rather adventurous daughter, the faint mncholy in Lillia''s eyes faded away. Before meeting Vahn, she had been the first and only member of her species, the Dream Fawn. With his help, the Dreaming Tree was able to produce seventeen other blossoms, each bing one of Lillia''s sisters. As for Leni, she was the first natural-born Dream Fawn in existence, an impossibility made flesh thanks to Vahn''s ''efforts.'' "Well, as long as you''re happy" Punctuating his words, Vahn nted a kiss on Lillia''s forehead. She was one of the few women he associated with that didn''t like kissing. Instead, they rested their foreheads against one another or touched noses . After parting with Lillia, Vahn checked in on Leni to find her exploring one of the unmapped regions of Silva''s surface with several others. He didn''t want to interrupt their adventure, so he only spent a few minutes observing them before teleporting to his next destination, a misty forest perpetually shrouded in gloom. "Hmm?" Though he could have easily evaded, Vahn remained stationary as several arrows formed from ethereal blue energy impacted his body. At that exact moment, a massive, pitch-ck shadow emerged from the mist, charging toward him as a ghostly blue, wolfish maw formed beneath a bone-white, vaguely sheep-like mask. Extending his hand, Vahn said, "Sit." in a firm, authoritative tone. When he did, the shadowy creature, resembling a massive wolf''s head without any limbs, promptly ceased its charge. Immediately after, a somewhat goofy expression developed across the creature''s face as it cocked its head to the side and asked, "Father? What are you doing here?" in a curious yet bone-chilling tone of voice. Answering in Vahn''s stead, a cold and feminine voice, seemingly echoing from every direction at once, dered, "He has no doubte to visit us, dear Wolf." Apanying the echoing voice, a petite, 122cm tall, vaguely female figure covered in bluish-white fur emerged from the dense mist. Her face was covered by an obsidian ck mask reminiscent of a wolf''s visage, but her body was distinctly that of a faun,plete with drooping, sheep-like ears and bluish-ck, hoofed feet. Sending shivers through Vahn''s body and causing a wry smile to develop across his face, the bow-wielding Aspect removed her mask to reveal a vaguely humanoid face that quickly became more feminine as she asked, "Have youe to breed me, Father?" Though he understood why many of the Aspects referred to him as their father, Vahn maintained a wry smile as he answered, "LambI see you''re still as candid as always" Evidently anticipating an affirmative response, Lamb''s body transformed from a vaguely feminine figure to aparably voluptuous frame as she replied, "Many days have passed since ourst union. Our body yearns for your essence" cing her hand on Vahn''s chest, Lamb''s mesmeric, bluish-purple eyes exuded a fierce, predatory hunger as she sensed the tremendous vitality coursing through him. She was one half of the Aspect of Death, so there was nothing more alluring to her than the inextinguishable life force held within Vahn''s body. She craved it with every fiber of her being. Unsurprised by Lamb''s behavior, Vahn manifested a ghostly white rabbit that immediately caught the attention of Wolf, the amorphous ck wolf that made up the second half of the entity known as Kindred. Compelled by his instincts, Wolf immediately pursued the phantom rabbit as Vahn reached up to cup Lamb''s modest yet remarkably soft left breast. Her fur was uncannily cold to the touch, giving off the impression of death itself, but Vahn hade to appreciate it quite a bit. After all, many of his most cherished and belovedpanions had an affinity rted to death, ice, or yin elemental energy "Turn around" Understanding that Lamb didn''t care for forey one bit, Vahnpelled her to turn around. When she did, she immediately leaned forward slightly before reaching back to spread her perky, white, fur-covered cheeks. This caused her goat-like tail to curl upward, revealing the rather peculiar sight of her glowing, bluish-purple anus andbia. Recing Lamb''s left hand with his own, Vahn spread her open with his thumb as he inserted his ns against her frigid, neon purple entrance. A foreboding chill promptly pervaded his lower body, but it was immediately ovee by the intense heat exuding from the very core of his being. More so as a response to the heat pervading her body than the fact she was being pried open by arge and invasive object, a loud and sonorous moan escaped Lamb''s lips. At the same time, the runic patterns covering her outer thighs and ears lit up as Vahn unhesitantly filled her insides full of his ''vital essence.'' He was far from finished with her, but he knew Lamb was more interested in epting his seed than having sex. Presenting her hands so that Vahn could grasp her wrists, unrestrained gasps of pleasure emanated from Lamb''s throat every time the former''s hips impacted her rump. She really enjoyed this position as it allowed her to entrust everything to Vahn without having to worry about maintaining her facial transformation or covering him with her drool. Fortunately for Lamb, Vahn was also rather fond of the position as he had always enjoyed the sight of a woman''s backside. It was even better when said woman had a tail, so while Wolf was busy chasing down a rabbit that was nearly twice as fast as he was, Vahn continuously pumped Lamb full of his vital essence. Afterward, the two of them cuddled for a while at the base of a gnarled tree, silently enjoying the eerie yet rxing ambiance of the mist-filled forest . Though there were still quite a few people he felt like spending time with, Vahn promptly departed the Realm of his children after his encounter with Lamb. The timer for his Quest counted down regardless of whether or not he was in an alternate reality or an Actualized World, so he couldn''t afford to ''y around'' as much as he used to. Manifesting in response to Vahn''s introspection, Sis, appearing in her more feline form, said, "You shouldn''t force yourself, Vahn. I understand your desire to wrap things up and return home, but you may end up hitting a wall if you try too hard and fail to achieve your objective." Before answering Sis''s words, Vahn embraced her in his arms and nted asting kiss on her lips. When they separated, nearly nine had passed as he answered, "Perhaps. However, what''s the point of having all the time in the world if I can''t spend it with the people I care about most? I''m tired of not being able to see my children, Sis" Though he had plenty of children at this point, knowing there were those he couldn''t interact with left Vahn feeling bitter and mncholic. He now possessed more than enough power to protect the things he cared about, so he wanted to reunite his family beforepletely caving to his whims. Understanding Vahn''s thoughts, a caring yet exasperated sigh escaped from Sis''s throat as she tenderly caressed his face. His happiness was the only thing she cared about, so she was more than willing to do everything in her power to make his dreams a reality. "Before we head out, we should retrieve Fenrir. Depending on how things develop, she may be able to acquire the Origin of Fenrir. It would also be advantageous to inform the Temted Olympians to be on standby since there is a reasonably high probability that Mount Olympus will antagonize you during your stay." "Hmm" While cradling Sis in his embrace, Vahn''s thoughts wandered to the South Side. Zeus and Mount Olympus might not have taken action directly, but they had allowed Jason and the Argonaut Community to target the Sage Dragon''s Hearth during his promotional Gift Game. That was tantamount to targetting his family and loved ones, so Vahn couldn''t just let them off. "Very well. I''ll have everyone on standby so that we''ll be ready to respond the moment something happens. But who knows? At this point, I may end up ripping Zeus limb from limb using my bare hands" Since Loi-chan had revealed Zeus''s intentions, any goodwill the God may have had with Vahn was gone. The errant fool wanted to forge an alliance by marrying off their children. While such arrangements were rtivelymon, the thing that annoyed Vahn was that Zeus intended for them to be the suitors. In other words, the lecherous God wanted to get his hands on one of Vahn''s daughters, something thetter would never, ever allow. At this point, the only thing stopping Vahn from storming Mount Olympus was the fact he didn''t feel like it. He would rather spend time with his kids or one of his many lovers than engage in acts of violence and brutality. In other words, it was simply inconvenient. Now that he would be visiting the South, however, Vahn no longer had a reason to dy the arrogant God''s lesson . Chapter 2298: Meandering

Chapter 2298: Meandering

A stark contrast to the North and East, which were rtively modern and filled with people, the South Side was dominated by massive forests, vast ins, and mountain ranges. There were a fewrge settlements here and there, but most of the South Side''s residents made their homes within the trees or under the ground. "Now that I see it for myself, I''m surprised you didn''t choose to settle in the South. The naturalistic environment and distinctck of humans give it a moreaodating feeling." Sitting astride Vahn as the two of them rode on the transformed Fenrir''s back, Sis couldn''t help remarking on their surroundings. There were a few Viking-like individuals wandering around in groups, but most of the people they had encountered upon reaching the South Side were ''fantasy'' races such as Elves, Dwarves, Beast People, and various Eudemons. Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn maintained a rxed smile as he said, "It''s not like I hate people" Giggling in response to Vahn''s words, Sis squeezed him a little tighter as she said, "I never implied you did. You simply have a preference for races that attempt to live in harmony with the environment rather than wantonly destroying it" "Hmmcan''t argue with that" Looking up at the intricate web of treehouses overhead, Vahn would be lying if he said he didn''t find it fascinating. Since the Draco Grief Alliance came into power, the South had be progressively more peaceful. It was still bound by a series of Gift Games that promoted endless conflict, but things had calmed down considerably since the fall of Avalon and the weakening of the Norse and Greek Factions. Thinking of the Draco Grief Alliance, Vahn noted, "I should take Sandora to meet with her sister and tie up loose ends with Leticia" Nodding her head in approval, Sis replied, "That would probably be for the best. With so many others getting pregnant and having children, I imagine Leticia has been feeling restless." Shifting his intent to Leticia, Vahn found the vampire in question taking a nap in the nursery. Ever since ck Rabbit had given birth, she had been spending most of her time helping look after the children. "It shouldn''t take more than a few days to wrap up everything with the Norse and Greek Factions. After that, we''ll rendezvous with Ureko before heading to Underwood to meet with Draco Grief and his allies." "Nnsounds like a n" Not having much else to say on the matter, Sis allowed her cat-like eyes to wander to their surroundings. There were a growing number of people paying attention to them, so it was only a matter of time before someone either called out to or tried to stop them. After all, even in a ce like the Divine Realm, it wasn''t exactlymon to see a 10m tall wolf wandering around in broad daylight. Though he could have teleported to his destination, Vahn often went out of his way to make use of more conventional methods of transport. It was an opportunity to see how his enemies would react and, more importantly, a chance to let Fenrir serve as his mount. She genuinely enjoyed carrying him around, so Vahn didn''t mind creating opportunities for her to do so. Much like Sis, Fenrir was also paying close attention to the people in their surroundings. Everyone was giving her a wide berth, but she knew better than to lower her guard in ''enemy'' territory. When a bearded, red-haired man riding a giant, moss-covered stag appeared to bar her passage, she immediately bared her massive fangs until Vahn patted her back and said, "He is here to deliver a message." Immediately following Vahn''s attempt to calm Fenrir, the bearded deer rider dered, "Vahn Aldrnari Mason, Sage Dragon Emperor of the East! My name is Herm?3?r! The Allfather has bid mee and escort you to Asgard!" With an amused smile on his face, Vahn retorted, "I''ll get there when I get there. Besides, isn''t it the duty of Valkyries to escort people to the halls of Valha?" Furrowing his brows, Herm?3?r wanted to chastise Vahn for his disrespect but promptly decided against it. His father, Odin, had warned them not to make an enemy out of the Sage Dragon Emperor. Thor had even been put on house arrest to prevent a confrontation, so, while he did not fear Vahn, Herm?3?r knew better than to offend him. "Very well. I shall ry your words to the Allfather. However, know that a great many people are awaiting your arrival. For their sake, I implore you to make haste" Finished with what he had to convey, Herm?3?r tugged at the reins of his mount. In response, it leaped high into the sky, its hooves impacting the air as it vaulted high above the trees. Following Herm?3?r with his eyes, Vahn was briefly tempted to return to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth and rx. He had never been fond of grand processions and ceremonies, so it was a very tempting thought. Shaking such thoughts from his mind, Vahn gave Fenrir a firm pat on the back, proposing, "Let''s take the scenic route." as Sis giggled from behind him. Understanding her Master''s intentions, Fenrir took a moment to sniff the air before heading in the direction of a river. She didn''t really care about reaching Asgard, so she didn''t mind taking a few detours along the way. . Hearing the report from his son, Odin dismissed the redheaded God before exhaling a sigh. When Muninn informed him that Vahn would be arriving, he immediately ordered everyone in the Nine Realms Alliance to prepare. He had intended to give Vahn the most incredible wee thetter had ever received, but it seemed he had no interest in such things. Seeing her husband sigh, Frigg, a remarkably beautiful woman with olive-brown skin, wheat-colored hair, alluring blue eyes, and a winged helmet forged from shimmering gold, remarked, "Worry not, my love. I''m certain the Sage Dragon Emperor meant no offense with his actions." Shaking his head, Odin replied, "That was never a concern. What worries me is the possibility that the Aldrnari Empire will not support our im to the position of Floor Master. With the fall of Avalon, I had hoped to secure our ce as the rightful rulers of the South" Since numerous individuals within the Aldrnari Empire had unmistakable ties to Norse Mythology, Odin had wanted to entreat Vahn for his support. With the backing of the Aldrnari Empire, it wouldn''t even take a decade to regain most of their strength. Understanding her husband''s concerns, Frigg stated, "We simply need to take action once he weakens the Greek Faction. With Zeus and Avalon out of the way, there is little to prevent us from reiming the South." Though Frigg would be correct under normal circumstances, Odin knew things wouldn''t be that simple. The Draco Grief Alliance may not have any genuine powerhouses within their ranks, but that didn''t matter so long as they possessed the Authority of the Host Master. Anyone that challenged them would be subject to their terms, so it was nearly impossible to beat them without some form of leverage. Before Vahn provided a cure, Odin intended to use Draco Grief''s sickness to pressure the Alliance. Now, even if he sent them a message, they were more likely to burn it than read it . After meandering about for several hours, Vahn, Sis, and Fenrir eventually found themselves at the entrance of a walled-off city built adjacent to the sea and into a mountain. Tens of thousands of longhouses could be seen dotting thendscape while bands of Vikings roamed around in little more than leather and fur hides. Anticipating the arrival of Vahn''s group, the remarkably tall and muscr men guarding the gate did not attempt to bar his passage. Instead, they began clearing the path, shouting for people to make way as Fenrir made her way through the densely popted streets. Giving voice to Vahn''s thoughts, Sis remarked, "Unsurprisingly, there are no demihumans or beast people around here" Though it was unnecessary, Vahn nodded his head and exined, "The Communities making up the Nine Realms Alliance are segregated by race. Humans are the only ones who actively worship the ??sir, so the only way to ess Asgard is to pass over the Bifrost located near the heart of the Midgard Community." Amused by Vahn''smentary, Sis restrained a giggle as she yfully mused, "My, my, how knowledgeable my little brother has be~." Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn shifted his attention to a group of ax-wielding men and women adorned with ceremonial wolf headdresses and war paint. The person Vahn assumed to be their leader was a fierce-looking woman with one eye and tinum blonde hair affixed into braids. Runes glistened along her exposed arms, but the thing that stood out the most was therge, rune-covered wolf she was using as a mount. It may as well have been a puppypared to Fenrir, but it was still quiterge. Noticing Vahn''s nce, the tinum-haired woman snorted through her nose beforemanding her group to follow after her. However, instead of approaching and attempting to seek trouble, she ushered her group in theplete opposite direction. Once again giving voice to Vahn''s thoughts, Sis remarked, "She reminds me of Sejuani and the Winter''s w. Perhaps you should consider letting them run rampant in Midgard?" As tempting as the thought was, Vahn didn''t hesitate to reply, "I may have considered it if I wasn''t working with a deadline. At this point, it would be better to just support Sandora''s sister and let Ureko do her thing. With her power, the only thing preventing her from subjugating the South is ack of Authority" While conversing with Sis, Vahn was also using Loi-chan to ascertain the identity of the woman riding a wolf. He half-expected her to be someone plotting against him, but it turned out she was just envious of Fenrir''s size and coat. Dismissing the woman from his thoughts, Vahn shifted his attention to the gigantic archway that had been carved into the mountain. It was over two kilometers in height, several hundred meters wide, and nked by statues depicting Heimdallr and Thor in full battle regalia. With the sky overhead giving way to twilight and a stunning aurora, Vahn figured he had dyed his arrival for long enough. It also didn''t seem like anyone was going to seek trouble with him, so he gave Fenrir a firm pat as he mused, "Let''s hurry along. We don''t want to keep our guests waiting." Rolling her eyes, Fenrir put a bit of strength into her legs, leaping high in the sky before ultimatelynding at the base of the mountain. There, more than a thousand stone sentries, each adorned with silvery gold armor and outfitted with massive halberds, immediately came to life in preparation to repel any would-be attackers. Fortunately for the statues, they were not the only ones on the tform leading into the Bifrost. Muninn was also there, apanied by Vor, ten astonishingly beautiful women, and two little girls. Before the stone sentries could charge to their deaths, Muninn shouted, "Stand down! This man is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor and a respected guest of the Allfather!" In response to Muninn''smand, the giant stone soldiers immediately stopped before standing at attention and performing a warrior''s salute. At the same time, Vor and the girls Vahn presumed to be her younger sisters each took a knee, dering, "It is our honor to wee the Sage Dragon Emperor and his guests." in unison. Sliding off of Fenrir''s body, Vahn helped Sis down before turning to face Muninn and the thirteen Valkyries kneeling behind her. When he did, the former immediately returned a smile and a polite curtsy as she said, "You certainly took your time" Though Muninn''s words could be considered a faux pas, Vahn adopted a faint smile as he replied, "It''s my first time visiting the South Side. A bit of sightseeing is to be expected." Nodding her head as if to approve of Vahn''s response, Muninn gestured for Vor and the rest to rise before asking, "Will you allow us to escort you to Valha?" Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn linked his arms with Sis and Fenrir before musing, "Better you than some old guy with a beard." Understanding that Vahn was talking about Herm?3?r, Muninn giggled at thetter''s expense before leading the way to the city of silver and gold that existed on the horizon. . Chapter 2299: Introductions

Chapter 2299: Introductions

Though Asgard appeared rtively close, that was due to its enormous size. The length of the Bifrost was the same as the distance between the Earth and Sun, so, under normal circumstances, those attempting to cross the rainbow-hued bridge would need to span 150,000,000km to reach the-sized city on the opposite end. Fortunately, not that it would have mattered for Vahn and Co, the Bifrost functioned simrly to an autowalk for those that had permission to use it. The moment they stepped onto its surface, the crystalline bridge beneath their feet glowed with a brilliant rainbow hue before moving them forward at the speed of light. Breaking the silence, Muninn stated, "It will take approximately eight and a half minutes to reach Asgard via the Bifrost Bridge. Shall we fill the time with introductions~?" Though he was tempted to refuse, Vahn eventually nodded his head in response to Muninn''s proposal. He already knew the names of each of the Valkyries, but he didn''t want to appear unnecessarily rude or standoffish. With a gratified smile on her face, Muninn gestured to Vor, stating, "As you are well aware, this is Vor Odinsdottir, the Herald of Spears." With her futuristic dress blossoming outward, Vor apanied Muninn''s introduction with a courteous bow, appended, "It is a pleasure to behold Your Imperial Majesty''s esteemed countenance" Scrunching his brows and nose, Vahn retorted, "Seriously? You can forgo the unnecessary pleasantries. This isn''t an audience chamber." Rising to her full height, Vor adopted a faint but discernible smile as she cooly replied, "My apologies. I just thought I''d set a good example for my sisters to follow." "Right" Restraining a sigh, Vahn shifted his attention to the two Valkyries standing to Vor''s left, a diminutive duo with nearly identical appearances. They were a lot smaller than the other Valkyries present, but their most notable traits were their dark hair, clearly mechanical legs, and metallic antennae. Withpletely disinterested looks on their faces, the two Valkyries cast a nce towards Muninn before staring back at Vahn and dering, "We are G??ll and Geir??lul, Outriders of the White Raven." Following the duo''s synchronous introduction, Muninn exined, "Their physical bodies are located back at Headquarters. What you see before you are mechanical avatars used for scouting purposes." Before Muninn had finished her exnation, Vahn had already shifted his intent to the location of G??ll''s and Geir??lul''s actual bodies. When he did, a frown immediately marred his expression as they were little more than heads and torsos integrated into a machine resembling a tree. Noticing the not-so-subtle change in Vahn''s expression, Muninn quickly appended, "So long as the core of a Valkyrie remains intact, their spirits can be transnted into another container. The Valkyries making up our internalwork-" Shaking his head, Vahn said, "Enough. I know you aren''t ''forcing'' them to serve as Operators. I don''t need to hear your excuses" Though the White Raven Community''s method appeared significantly more morbid, Vahn was also guilty of creating beings whose sole purpose was overseeing orprising awork. Will, Ark, Shadow, Mother, and the Companions were good examples, so it would be hypocritical of him to condemn Muninn for doing something simr. "When you return to the R&D Department, you should speak with Da Vinci about overhauling and upgrading your currentwork. At the very least, she can help you implement a lessmacabre method." Following a sigh of relief, Muninn regained her smile as she said, "I will do as you say. I appreciate your understanding." Shaking his head a second time, Vahn cut the exchange short by shifting his attention to the next Valkyrie, a slender woman with pale-blonde hair, synthetic blue eyes, and an outfit reminiscent of a Maid. However, unlike a typical Maid, there were two futuristic-looking cannons nking her and a number of secondary weapons hidden beneath her skirt. With Vahn directing his attention to her, the Maid-like Valkyrie performed a curtsy that revealed she also had stylish yet mechanical legs. However, unlike G??ll and Geir??lul, hers were clearly intended for offense rather than agility. "It is a pleasure to make Your Majesty''s acquaintance. My name is Herja Odinsdottir, though I am better known as The Valkyrie of Devastation. If there is anything I can do to be of service, please do not hesitate to ask." "Noted." Though he was tempted to ask why Herja was dressed as a Maid, Vahn didn''t actually care. He was more focused on getting the introductions over with, so he immediately shifted his attention to the next Valkyrie, a strangely in-looking girl with short brown hair and a glum expression on her face. Unlike the other Valkyries present, the somber-looking girl appeared to blend into the background despite adorning silvery-white armor and wielding a massive ymore. Answering in the slender Valkyrie''s stead, Muninn exined, "This is Pawn, The Valkyrie of Silence. Contrary to her name and title, her voice is so mighty that it can shake the Heavens and rend the earth asunder. As a result, she is unable to speak under ordinary circumstances." Rolling his eyes, Vahn manifested a tiny rune at the tip of his index finger before flicking it at Pawn''s throat. She hardly reacted at first, only staring back at him with a confused expression as he said, "Speak." in a calm yet authoritative tone. With Muninn nodding her head in approval, Pawn only hesitated for a brief moment before saying, "Yes?" in a soft, incredibly meek tone of voice. It had a mysterious, resonating quality, but it was nothing like the booming voice everyone except Vahn, Sis, and Fenrir anticipated. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn shifted his attention to Muninn as he questioned, "You''re telling me that Odin couldn''t fix such a simple issue?" Adopting a fairly severe expression, Muninn answered, "In our culture, it is believed that the responsibility of mastering inborn Gifts and abilities falls to those they are born to. We do not live with the expectation that others will appear to solve all of our problems" Realizing the w in her argument, Muninn''s words gradually trailed off towards the end. After all, Vahn had literallye to the Nine Realms to solve a problem they were unable to remedy themselves Fortunately for Muninn, Vahn was well acquainted with the hypocrisy of the strong. He did his best never to go back on his word, but there were times when his actions, especially when he was upset, went against his better judgment. Thus, rather than calling her out, he turned his gaze to Pawn, asking, "Should I undo the enchantment, or will you ept it as a gift?" Without having to consider her response, Pawn performed a knightly bow as she softly replied, "It is an honor to receive the Sage Dragon Emperor''s blessing" After nodding his head in approval, Vahn passed his gaze over the rest of the Valkyries present, stating, "I suppose I owe the rest of you a giftas you introduce yourself, tell me if there is something you desire." As Vahn''s eyes came to rest on a Valkyrie whose appearance strongly resembled the Medusa from the Nasuverse, the spear-wielding woman returned a fairly predatory smile as she dered, "My name is Randgrid Odinsdottir, the Shieldbreaker. If we''re able to request anything, I would be remiss not to ask for Your Majesty''s favor." "" Following a somewhat ufortable silence, the world atop the Bifrost seemed to ''jolt'' for a brief moment before Randgrid appeared sprawled out on the ground. Her clothes didn''t appear out of ce, but her eyes were utterly unfocused as she stared up at the sky with an enraptured expression on her face. "Oh my" Though she wasn''t even remotely surprised, Sis covered her mouth as if she were shocked by the sudden change in Randgrid''s state. This was a stark contrast to Fenrir, who couldn''t help remarking, "Dumb bird" under her breath. Seeing their sister sprawled out on the ground, the other Valkyries came to the realization that Vahn would meet just about any of their demands. Fortunately, none of them were as ''brazen'' as Randgrid, who, in the end, only tempted Vahn due to her eternal rivalry with Vor . Observing the events urring on the Bifrost, Odin couldn''t help issuing a light chuckle. There were moments when Vahn reminded him a lot of his younger self, long before he became known as the Allfather. "Disgusting." Hearing the ghostly yet familiar voice, the smile on Odin''s wrinkled face faded, reced by a grave expression as hemanded, "Show yourself, Loki." In response to Odin''smand, an androgynous figure Vahn would havepared to Merlin manifested from within a spatial tear. At a nce, it was impossible to determine whether or not they were male or female, as not only were their features fair, but their outfit consisted of ornate robes, a skirt, checkered leggings, and a shawl. With hair that flickered like ghostly blue mes, cat-like eyes, and a smile that revealed rows of razor-sharp teeth, Loki approached their father with teetering, almost zombie-like steps as they said, "Long time no see, pops. Did you miss me~?" While Odin maintained a fierce expression, Frigg adopted a sad smile as she softly muttered, "Loki" in the kind of longing tone that only mothers could manage. However, before she could speak further, Odin interrupted, asking, "When did you revive, and what is your aim?" Tilting their entire body to the side, defying physics as they never lost their bnce, Loki sullenly replied, "What? No warm words of wee for your beloved child? And to think, we used to be so close in the past" Using their unnaturally long tongue, Loki licked their lips as they ced their hand over their abdomen. In response, Odin erupted from his throne, a three-pronged golden spear manifesting in his right hand as he shouted, "You have no ce here! Begone!" Instead of trying to dodge, Loki adopted an ostensiblyzy expression of disgust as Odin''s spear pierced through their illusory heart. Even though they were an illusion, they could still feel a phantom pain permeating their body as it was Odin''s spear, Gungnir, that ended their previous life. "Seriously, pa? For someone famous for their wisdom, you do some pretty foolish things" With his singr eye zing with a fierce blue light, Odin brandished his spear and said, "Do not tempt me, Loki" Despite shivering violently, Loki managed a mischievous smile as they hugged their body and retorted, "You''ve already pierced me with both of your spears. What more can you do to me~?" Inhaling deeply, Odin was about to send his spear flying to Loki''s actual location before Frigg stepped in, asking, "Why have youe here, Loki? You''re not the type to imperil your life like this" Adopting a sharp-toothed smile, Loki cast a nce toward their adoptive mother, answering, "I came to warn you. The Community I belong to does not want to see the Sage Dragon Emperor umte even greater power and authority. If he extends an offer for you to join him, please refuseas much as I hate every fiber of your being, you''re still my parents. If anyone is going to destroy you, it should be me" Furrowing his brows, Odin firmly dered, "Asgard will never bend the knee to another." before asking, "You said you belong to a Community? Which one?" Holding their index finger up to their lips, Loki replied, "Come now, father. Have you gone senile with your old age? You know I can''t answer such a quest-" Before Loki could finish speaking, Odin shed his Gungnir through the former''s illusion, dissipating it. Then, with his senses spread through all of Asgard, he exhaled an exasperated sigh and grumbled, "That fool" as he witnessed his second eldest son charging towards the Bifrost. . Chapter 2300: Clashing Thunder

Chapter 2300: shing Thunder

Though the Bifrost led directly to the center of Asgard, those attempting to cross it would invariablye face to face with its guardian, Heimdall. With ivory skin, golden eyes, golden teeth, and standing 711cm tall, most who met Heimdall would assume he was part giant. In reality, his origins were far stranger, as, rather than a single mother, he was born to a group of nine maidens who ''sacrificed'' their virginities to appease Odin. Sensing what was about to happen through his foresight, a frown marred Heimdall''s expression as he donned a dark, almost obsidian gold helmet with horns reminiscent of a de''s guard. Shortly after that, the sound of a violent thunderp filled his dwelling as a 228cm tall man with fiery red hair and an intricately braided beard smashed through his ceiling. Rising to his feet, the burly, bare-chested figure used his pulsating iron gauntlets to wipe away the debris coating his rune-covered body as he said, "Heimdall, it''s good to see you, old friend." Despite towering over the red-haired man by three-fold, Heimdall felt looked down upon as he thumped his chest and replied in a deep, almost scarily resonating tone, "Thor, Odinson, it is good to see you. I do wonder, though. What reason have you for your sudden visit?" "Hmph." Never fond of being questioned, Thor began channeling energy through the runes covering his body. Heimdall wasn''t an opponent he could defeat easily, but he was more than willing to teach the ''all-seeing'' God a lesson. Squinting his fiery golden eyes, Heimdall prepared to defend himself. Thor had a habit of beating up anyone that didn''t immediately sing his praises, so he wasn''t even remotely surprised by his errant, half-brother''s temper. Apanied by a thunderous boom, Thorunched himself toward the much-taller God with the casual momentum of a freight train. He had his legendary hammer, Mjolnir, in a holster on the left side of his hips, but he generally only used it when trying to kill or maim his opponents. Suppressing a sigh, Heimdall blocked Thor''s initial punch with crossed arms. When Thor''s fist impacted his forearms, the nearly-indestructible metalprising his armguards gained a fist-shaped indentation as he was sent smashing through the wall at his back. Though most knew him as the God of Thunder and Lightning, Thor was also the God of Strength and, curiously enough, Agriculture. His fame had dwindled since his previous incarnation''s death, but he was still regarded as one of the physically most powerful Gods in the Divine Realm. With his belt, Megingjord, doubling his already legendary strength, there were very few people who could withstand his blows. Despite being one of the few that could, Heimdall allowed himself to be sent flying by Thor''s punch. He knew thetter was there to seek trouble with Vahn, so he would rather prepare Asgard''s defenses than waste time trying to reason with the Nine Realms'' most hot-headed God. Realizing that Heimdall didn''t intend to fight, Thor shouted, "Coward!" as thick bands of lightning erupted from his body, tearing through or melting his surroundings. However, before he could even think to give chase, the Bifrost beneath him pulsed as a groupprised of sixteen women and one man appeared at the Midgard-side entrance of Heimdall''s abode. Redirecting his anger towards the man at the center of the group, Thor pointed towards the rxed-looking and bellowed, "You must be Vahn Aldrnari Mason! I am Thor Odinson, the God of Thunder! Come, show me what you''re made of!" After unholstering the ornate, ostensibly stone-carved hammer at his hip, Thor charged at Vahn with reality-warping momentum. He didn''t appear to be that fast, but he was able to close the distance between himself and his opponents in an instant. Stopping Thor''s hammer with the palm of his hand, the smile faded from Vahn''s face as he asked, "What reason do you have to attack me? I don''t recall antagonizing the Nine Realms" Seeing Vahn stop his attack with ease, an almostically stupefied expression marred Thor''s face. When his brain finally finished processing Vahn''s words, it immediately transitioned into a battle-crazed smile as he shouted, "For glory! What else is there!?" Empowered by his shout, the runes covering Thor''s body burned with a fiery blue light that crawled down his arm, quickly spreading through his gauntlet before igniting the mural-like runes covering Mjolnir''s sides. As it did, Vahn''s seemingly immovable hand buckled slightly, an eerie humming sound reverberating within Heimdall''s observatory as the force contained within Thor''s blow continued topound without limit. "Hmmm" With Loi-chan confirming that Thor just wanted to prove himself against a powerful opponent, Vahn''s invible defenses began to crumble. He was virtually unbeatable against those who wished harm upon him and his kin, but he was considerably less so when the person attacking him had ''pure'' intentions. Deciding to humor the battle-hungry God, Vahn continued to hold Mjolnir in ce as he kicked forward, impacting Thor''s chest. A blue, barrier-like ripple spread across the muscr God''s body, but it was far from enough to mitigate the force behind Vahn''s blow. Not expecting Vahn to attack from such an awkward position, Thor found himself crashing through the same wall as Heimdall. He had attempted to hold onto Mjolnir, but his right arm ended up getting dislocated, reducing his grip strength. Finding himself floating in the nebulous void that surrounded the-sized city of Asgard, Thor coughed up a mouthful of blood as he traced the foot-shaped imprint on his chest. He didn''t feel any pain, but he could tell he had sustained tremendous damage as he muttered, "Son of a-" Before Thor could make a grave mistake, Vahn appeared a few hundred meters away, hurling Mjolnir towards the befuddled God with a deadpan expression on his face. The enchantments on Mjolnir made it so that only Thor could wield it, but such restrictions had never gotten in his way. With Mjolnir impacting his chest, propelling him at faster-than-light speeds through the void, an incredulous expression marred Thor''s face. He found himself unable to get his faithfulpanion under control as an invisible force kept him from escaping to the sides. Appearing in Thor''s path, Vahn manifested a simr, albeit considerablyrger hammer in his right hand as he warned, "I don''t mind humoring you, Thor, God of Thunder. However, you should choose your words very, very carefully" Punctuating his statement, Vahn used his giant version of Mjolnir to send Thor careening towards a moon-sizedoid. Instead of smashing into the surface, thetter''s body prated the entireoid as if it were an illusion before the back half violently erupted. Deciding to give Thor a chance to recover, Vahn held up the enormous stone hammer vibrating in his right hand, amusedly remarking, "Someone is excited." As the runes lit up across the surface of the hammer, a tomboyish voice excitedly replied, ("Of course I''m excited! I get to fight with Papa! Let''s go, go, go, go~!") Exhaling a light chuckle, Vahn swung the oversized hammer to produce a bolt of lightningparable to a sr re. Thor had attempted to st him with a simrly sized bolt of lightning, so Vahn countered it with his own before charging through both to meet the enraged God at the center. Swinging their respective Mjolnirs, Vahn and Thor created an explosion that ripped apart the surrounding space and spread outward with enough force to vaporize the partially destroyedoid. Soon after, despite being several tens of millions of kilometers away, violent ripples could be seen spreading across the luminous, rune-covered barrier epassing the entirety of Asgard. With Sis informing him that the echoes of their conflict were reaching Asgard, Vahn evaded one of Thor''s seeding blows before surprising the battle-crazed God with a hand to the face. Then, using an advanced form of Shundo, he practically teleported them several lightyears away before closing his fingers around Thor''s beard, spinning him around, and throwing him towards a nearby star. Despite the vacuum of space, Vahn could hear Thor unleashing a furious battle cry before he impacted the star, sinking into its surface and causing a massive plume of fiery sma to erupt outward. Without giving Thor time to recover, Vahn raised his Mjolnir over his head, tremendous amounts of Lightning Elemental Energy gathering above him to form a small star as he said, "Let''s kick things up a notch." Dropping his hammer in the direction of the star, Vahn sent the massive ball of Lightning Elemental Energy surging toward it in the form of a giant dragon''s maw. It was initially smaller than the star but quickly expanded to a size capable of devouring the entire thing before coiling around itself and imploding with the force of several supernovas. Unaffected by the shockwave produced by his attack, Vahn watched in silence as the destroyed star copsed into a ck hole. Naturally formed ck holes were far more potent than those created through magic, so he was curious to see if Thor would be able to break free. Demonstrating just how absurd the Divine Realm could be, several cracks appeared across the surface of the ck hole as if the event horizon was a physical object. Momentster, itpletely shattered as Thor emerged from the center, body covered in wounds and veiled in blue lightning. After absorbing the energy contained within Vahn''s previous attack, Thor felt utterly unstoppable. It didn''t matter that the energy was tearing him apart from the inside, barely kept in check by immortality. So long as he could channel it into his Mjolnir and strike Vahn, Thor was confident of his victory. Seeing Thor making use of his gift, a faint yet distinctly battle-hungry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he charged towards the resolute God. It had been quite some time since he faced an opponent who just wanted to fight him, so he intended to make the most of it. . Despite the many lightyears separating them, Sis was able to experience everything Vahn was undergoing as if she were right there with him. She could see through his eyes, hear through his ears, and feel the excitement coursing through his body as he and Thor traded blows. Like Sis, Fenrir could also feel her Master''s emotions through the link they shared. Thus, for the past couple of minutes, her tail had been wagging as she stared silently at the heavens above. "Master is having fun" Nodding her head in both approval and affirmation, Sis replied, "Indeed." before extending her hand to pat Fenrir''s head. When she did, thetter immediately leaned into her caress, as, despite recognizing that Sis was a separate entity, Fenrir viewed her as an extension of her Master. Intruding upon the duo''s intimacy, Muninn cautiously approached Sis and Fenrir, asking, "Can I ask the two of you to apany me? The Allfather has asked that we escort you somece safe." Though Fenrir was about to refuse, she stopped herself when Sis calmly replied, "Certainly." Sharing her awareness with Vahn, Sis was well aware of events taking ce ''behind the scenes.'' She also knew Vahn would have a much easier time acting if he had the excuse of ''protecting'' them, so she didn''t mind cing herself into ostensiblypromising positions. Noticing how Fenrir deferred to Sis, despite her reputation as Vahn''s most trustedpanion, Muninn couldn''t help squinting her eyes in interest. If she weren''t afraid of offending Vahn, she would have liked to question the peculiar cat woman to ascertain her secrets. Instead, she offered a polite bow and said, "Well then, allow me to show you to your quarters. I''m sure they will be to you and your Master''s liking." Returning a faint, squinty-eyed smile of her own, Sis mused, "I''m looking forward to it." before grabbing Fenrir''s paw and dragging her away from the actual Muninn. . Chapter 2301: Reason

Chapter 2301: Reason

Rather than guiding Sis and Fenrir towards thevish chamber that had been prepared for them, ''Muninn'' directed the duo to a hidden stairway that led deep beneath Asgard. Breaking the long silence, Muninn spun around began floating backward, the smile fading from her face as shezily droned, "I don''t like how calm you are. It makes me think you''re looking down on me" Maintaining a rxed smile, Sis raised her brows ever so slightly as she mused, "Oh~? Have you given up on the charade so quickly? And here I was, looking forward to seeing what you had in store." "KuhI really hate that look on your face" Punctuating her words, Muninn attempted to form a seal with her hands but found herself unable to as a dark blue paw blocked her view. In the next moment, she found herself crashing through several pirs as Fenrir mmed her head and body through Asgard''s foundation. Despite the punishment that she was enduring, Muninn''s expression remained unchanged as she gripped Fenrir''s forearm and said, "I abhor violence" Following Muninn''s words, a series of ghostly blue chains erupted from her body, each link reminiscent of a jagged tooth as it attempted to coil around Fenrir''s arm and body. Instead of evading, Fenrir surprised the increasingly illusory Valkyrie by elerating exponentially, busting through the attempted encirclement. At the same time, her nails began to radiate a shimmering white light that allowed them to sink deeper and deeper into Muninn''s flesh. With traces of golden blood trickling from her wounds, Muninn grumbled, "Disgusting" before spontaneously bursting into a gaseous, ghostly blue haze. Some attempted to invade Fenrir''s mouth and nostrils, but it quickly dispersed upon realizing she was proactively trying to devour it. Breaking past the voracious Vanargandr, a thread of the ghostly blue mist sped towards Sis with extreme speeds. Unfortunately, it was only able to get within a few meters of her before impacting a rune-covered barrier that not only arrested its momentum but prevented it from escaping with a tremendous gravitational pull. With a distinctly mischievous smile on her face, Sis began drawing runes in the air as she asked, "What''s the rush? Why not stay a while and have a chat~?" Compelled by the intricate runic passage, the ghostly blue mist that had permeated arge part of Asgard''s subterraneanplex was attracted towards the shimmering golden barrier surrounding Sis. Even Gods on the level of Odin would struggle to string together more than a few runes at a time, but Sis was able to write them with the fluency of spoken word. Unable to resist Sis''s magic, the ghostly blue mist inevitably coagted into a phantom figure with ghastly pale skin, golden eyes, jagged teeth, and me-like blue hair. "There you are~." Finished with her binding spell, Sis added injury to insult by swiping her hand in a cutting motion. When she did, seven swords formed of golden light manifested out of thin air before elerating at blinding speeds to pierce the figure''s back, forcing it to a corporeal state and binding it to the barrier she had erected. As much as she enjoyed teasing Vahn, Sis didn''t fool around when it came to her opponents. Despite golden blood leaking from their mouth and nose, the ghastly pale figure didn''t appear to be in pain as it stared at Sis through her barrier and remarked, "You''re nearly as disgusting as the Sage Dragon Emperor" Smiling radiantly, Sis chimed, "Thanks for thepliment." before making a second cutting gesture, this time piercing the figure''s wrists and ankles with spears of golden light. . Sensing what was happening back at Asgard, Vahn grabbed the bolt of lightning trying to envelop him as if it were a solid object before flicking it like a whip towards the surprised Thor. Rather than affording the befuddled God of Thunder the time to collect himself, Vahn teleported next to him, his fist smashing into Thor''s cheek. In the very next moment, he appeared on the opposite side of Thor, yet another fist smashing into the God of Thunder''s face before following it up with a barrage of punches and kicks thatpelled him to remain in the same position. Afternding a series of blows that could have leveled entires with ease, Vahn ended his assault by lightly tapping Thor''s forehead with his Mjolnir and dering, "Our battle has been enjoyable, but we should wrap things up here. I didn''te to Asgard seeking conflict." Though his face was swollen to the point of resembling a pig''s near the beginning of Vahn''s statement, Thor had nearly recovered by the time he had finished. However, instead of immediately attacking, he looked up at the hammer obscuring his vision, stating, "You''ve quite the hammer" in a weary yet joking tone of voice. Before Vahn could respond, Thor swung his own Mjolnir in an attempt to send him flying. Since Vahn was no longer ying around, however, the runes on the hammer appeared to peter out as it impacted the unsmiling dragon''s cheek without so much as leaving a dent. Taking advantage of Thor''s momentary stupor, Vahn smacked his would-be adversary on the forehead with enough raw power to vaporize most of his body. This was far from his full power, but he was hoping it would be enough to convince the battle-hungry God to stand down. Reversing the order of entropy, Vahn allowed Thor a moment to process what he had just experienced before saying, "If you want to fight again at ater date, I''m more than willing. For now, there are other matters that require my attention. If you continue getting in my way, I will no longer regard this as a ''friendly'' bout." Instead of responding to Vahn''s words, Thor took a moment to touch his face and body, seemingly to confirm he was still whole. He had died many times throughout history, his most recent death being at the hands of the Demon Dragon God, but he had never experienced being vaporized in an instant. Realizing the iprehensible gap between his and Vahn''s strength, an uncharacteristically serious expression developed across Thor''s face as he looked into the former''s golden eyes and inquired, "Tell mefor what reason do you possess such strength? I can''t imagine why anyone would require such anexcessive amount of power." Having heard simr questions in the past, Vahn adopted an almost sad-looking smile as he shouldered his Mjolnir and calmly replied, "So that I never have to use it." Blinking in surprise, Thor opened his mouth to say something but found himself at a loss for words. He was under the impression that, at least for a time, Vahn was enjoying their battle. Now, thetter gave the impression that he would rather be doing anything else Seeing through Thor''s thoughts, Vahn adopted a less cynical smile as he elucidated, "Make no mistake, I do enjoy friendly battles and contests of strength. It''s just that I find much greater meaning in spending time with the people I care about, watching over and guiding them as they pursue their respective paths." "I see" Hanging his head, Thor stared at the Mjolnir pulsing in his right hand as he contemted Vahn''s words. He couldn''t see eye to eye with them, but he could understand one thing: Vahn had a much stronger sense of purpose than most other Gods in the Divine Realm. Holstering Mjolnir at his hip, Thor gazed into Vahn''s eyes as he said, "It''s no wonder you have the support of Shiroyasha and Indrayou might just have what it takes to bring about the change so many have failed to bring about in the past." Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn allowed his Mjolnir to disperse into motes of golden light as he replied, "That was never in question. Now then, shall we return?" Shaking his head, Thor gazed off towards nothing in particr as he said, "You go. I''ll follow after in a few hours. When I do, allow me to pour you a drink. Valha runs rich with the finest mead in the Nine Realms, nay, the Little Garden as a whole!" Regaining a bit of his vigor, Thor raised his hand to manifest a drinking horn carved to depict some of his more famous exploits. He was about to offer Vahn a drink, but thetter preempted him by saying, "Very well, I''ll look forward to it." before disappearing in an instant. Though he would have felt offended if anyone else departed in such a hasty manner, Thor didn''t brood over Vahn''s sudden departure. Instead, he just shrugged his shoulders before removing the cork of his horn and engorging himself with several sloppy mouthfuls . Sensing Vahn''s imminent arrival, Sis promptly lowered her left hand and adopted a smile as the former manifested next to her, eyes fixed on her captive as he remarked, "Even if this is just a y golem, don''t you think you''re going a little overboard?" Before Sis could respond, the blue-haired figure, Loki, appended, "Yeah, don''t you think you''re going a little overboard?" in an identical pitch and tone. Furrowing his brows, Vahn floated over to Loki, staring into thetter''s snake-like until the androgynous God asked, "Why are you staring at me so intensely? What, gonna kiss me?" "Gotcha." Without borating, Vahn stabbed his right hand into the center of Loki''s chest. However, despite prating up to his elbow, his hand didn''te out of the befuddled God''s back. Instead, a panicked expression began to develop across Loki''s face as they screamed, "What in Odin''s saggy balls do you think you''re doing!?" Ignoring Loki''s outburst, Vahn retracted his hand, concurrently pulling out an identical copy of the fiery-haired God as he tly remarked, "Let''s get a little serious, shall we?" Showing genuine emotion for the first time, Loki stared back at Vahn with a mixture of fear and disbelief as they muttered, "Impossibleyou can''t just backtrace across multiple dimensions and pull someone out through them" Releasing Loki from his grasp, Vahn stated, "I''ve never once cared what others thought to be possible. If you and yourpanions intend to get in my way, don''t expect me to keep ying by the rules." With Vahn releasing their cor, Loki was tempted to teleport to safety but found the surrounding spacepletely solidified. To make matters worse, Fenrir had spontaneously appeared behind them, a no-nonsense expression on her face as she bared her increasingly sharp fangs. Realizing they couldn''t run, Loki hesitated for a moment before reaching towards the center of their chest and manifesting the hilt of a pitch-ck ymore wreathed in ghostly blue mes. Upon seeing this, the severity in Vahn''s expression faded into a look of interest as he inquired, "Is that your version of the Laevateinn?" Scowling, Loki brandished the two-and-a-half-meter long ymore as they spat, "There are no ''versions.'' I''m the one that created Laevateinn. All others are just a pale imitation! Now, see what happens when you-!" Interrupting Loki''s shout, Vahn promptly sliced through their Laevateinn with his own before nting a kick in the former''s abdomen. Loki''s sword may have the power to destroy all of Asgard, but the legend required it to be wielded by others to reach its maximum potential. Loki wasn''t exactly known for their might. Grabbing one of the fragments of Loki''s Laevateinn, Vahn held it up to his own as he asked, "How about it? Want to try bing the ''original''?" Having no interest in such titles, Laev-tan replied, ("Ehjust toss it. I''m happy enough just being your Zanpakuto.") Exhaling a light chuckle, Vahn reversed the order of entropy to restore Loki''s Laevateinn before running his finger along the t of the de. As he did, a trail of golden runes reced the existing enchantments. Laev-tan may be unwilling to be the original, but he could still remove the curse that tied it to Asgard''s destruction. As Cauli might say, Surtr and his little Ragnarok Community could go suck it . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Sis is scary'',''Vahn be like: *bonkai*'',''Laev-tan supremacy (U w U)~!'') Chapter 2302: Wisdom

Chapter 2302: Wisdom

With powerful tremors spreading through Asgard, it wasn''t long before the Realms protectors, consisting primarily of Valkyries and Einherjar, began to rally in an attempt to uncover the cause. Fortunately for Muninn, Odin ordered Heimdall and Tyr, the Norse God of War and Justice, to stay alert on the surface while she and the members of the White Raven Community handled things underground. Following the path of destruction wrought by Fenrir, it wasn''t long before G??ll and Geir??lul discovered Vahn and his retinue hovering in the air with a disheveled-looking Loki. With G??ll and Geir??lul acting as beacons, Muninn, Vor, and the rest of their group were able to teleport over. When they saw Loki bound in golden chains, Muninn''s usually stoic expression immediately paled as she inquired, "YouI mean, Your Imperial Majesty managed to capture the real one?" Without taking his eyes off of Loki, Vahn answered, "I have my methods." before shifting his gaze to a seemingly empty area of space and adding, "Don''t tempt me" in a threatening tone. Though others might not be able to detect such things, Vahn had be increasingly aware of the presence of foreign intentions. Even if someone were to peer across space and time using an advanced form of divination, he would be able to sense them. In response to Vahn''s threat, several of the intents keeping an eye on him immediately vanished. Those that remained were predominately the result of the various forms of omniscience ever-present within the Little Garden, specifically Lace, Shiroyasha, a few simrly powerful individuals that had little better to do than spy on others. With most of the peanut gallery departed, Vahn surprised nearly everyone present by releasing Loki from Enkidu''s embrace, exining, "I''ve severed your contract with the Ragnarok Community. I rmend youy low for a bit and avoid antagonizing me in the future. Next time, I won''t be nearly as merciful." "Your Majesty!" Knowing how dangerous Loki could be if allowed to traipse about, Muninn attempted to interject. Unfortunately, Loki wasn''t regarded as one of the most tenacious Gods because of their durability. The moment Vahn let them go, they immediately teleported away without so much as a quip or barb. Shifting his attention to the understandably incensed Valkyrie, Vahn''s expression remained calm and rxed as he said, "It''s not my job to clean up the Nine Realms Community''s messes. Loki may have targeted me and my people, but so too did your Community''s Thor. The right to spare and or release them is mine, not yours." Though she ''really'' wanted to argue, Muninn remained silent for several seconds before exhaling a tired sigh and muttering, "I understand" in a sullen tone. She couldn''t find fault in Vahn''s perspective on the matter, so there wasn''t much else she could say. What Muninn didn''t know was that Vahn had no intention of allowing Loki to simply roam free. Much as he had back in the Tower, he ced a curse within their body that would activate the moment Loki attempted to take advantage of a ''protected'' ss of people. At that point, Loki would have no one else to me but themselves. In an attempt to lighten the mood, Vahn snapped his fingers to revert their surroundings to their original state. Sis had created a ''snapshot'' of Asgard''s underground long before Loki revealed themselves, so it was a simple matter for him to undo the devastation wrought by Fenrir''s charge. Seeing everything spontaneously return to normal, Muninn opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something. Instead, she exhaled another sigh before adopting a faint smile, shaking her head, and muttering, "As expected of the Sage Dragon Emperor" . Though he would ordinarily greet guests while seated atop his throne, Odin made an exception for Vahn by choosing to wait for him near the base of the stairs separating the pce from the Bifrost. While everyone else bowed towards the Chief God of their Pantheon, Vahn made his way over with Sis and Fenrir in arm, saying, "It''s good to see you again, Odin." Adopting a grandfatherly smile, Odin resisted the temptation to inspect Sis with his prating blue eye. Instead, he maintained eye contact with Vahn as he replied, "Indeed. I trust my children have not caused you too much trouble?" Shaking his head, Vahn adopted a smile of his own as he stated, "None worse than my own. While most of my children are good-natured, there are quite a few prone to mischief." "Mmmspeaking of which, rumor has it that the Little Garden has been blessed with a new generation of Moon Rabbits. I''m looking forward to the restoration of the Moon Pce." With Odin mentioning his and ck Rabbit''s kittens, a far more sincere smile developed across Vahn''s face as he mused, "I am very fortunate." while pulling Sis and Fenrir close. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Odin cast his gaze over the two animalistic beauties, remarking, "Indeed." in a sincere tone of voice. Even without scrutinizing them, he could sense the unfathomably vast quantity of energy contained within the two women. Sis, in particr, gave off an impression simr to the World Tree, Yggdrasil. Seeing through Odin''s surface thoughts, Vahn somewhat surprised the elderly God by inquiring, "Thinking of which, how is the World Tree faring? I trust the Panacea I provided functioned without issue?" While discreetly increasing his mental defenses, Odin nodded his head and replied, "Better than expected. In fact, as far as we can tell, the tree has already made aplete recovery. We were simply waiting for your visit before dering it to the public." Unsurprised by the revtion, Vahn maintained a rxed smile as he said, "That sounds about right. Then I presume the reason for this invitation was to discuss a union of sorts between the Nine Realms and the Aldrnari Empire?" Gesturing towards the interior of the pce, Odin suggested, "We should move somece morefortable to speak in private. As I''m sure you''re aware, Valha is more than hospitable towards those worthy of entering its halls." Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn replied, "Sounds good." before releasing his hold on Sis and Fenrir, adding, "I''ll meet the two of you back at our room. If anyone gives you trouble, be sure to return the favor." Punctuating his words, Vahn nted kisses on the duo''s foreheads before shifting his attention to Muninn, briefly narrowing his eyes as he said, "Try not to lose them this time." Feeling a shiver run up her spine, Muninn stood even straighter than usual as she hastily replied, "Understood! We won''t fail you a second time!" Nodding his head in approval, Vahn exchanged a telepathic message with Sis and Fenrir before apanying Odin into the silvery-golden pce of Valha. As could be expected from a structure that was visible from nearly 150 million kilometers away, stepping into Valha was like entering into an entirely separate world. The distance between the floor and ceiling, at least at the entrance, was close to 50 kilometers, while the room Odin escorted him to had a literal mountain range visible in the distance. Fortunately, even an average human would be able to wander the halls of Valha without getting lost as, much like the Bifrost, the floor would glow with a rainbow hue before moving you to your destination. It was nowhere near as convenient as instantaneous teleportation, but that wasn''t exactly an option for most people. While eyeing a few mountain-sized figures walking around in the distance, Odin broke the silence between him and Vahn by revealing, "I viewed the battle between you and my son, Thor. What you said to him near the end; I must admit, I didn''t expect it" Though he was briefly confused by the elderly God''s words, it didn''t take long for Vahn to realize Odin was referring to hisment about wanting power so that he wouldn''t need to use it. Seeing no reason to keep silent, Vahn nodded his head and exined, "As much as I enjoy helping people and improving their lives, I''ve been forced to acknowledge there is no actual reason behind such actions. I will never stop trying to make the world a better ce, but eternity is an unforgiving mistress. I''vee to realize that even a single moment spent with the people I love has greater meaning than the countless I''ve spent trying to ensure fairness and equality in the world" Turning towards Vahn, Odin''s singr sky blue eye zed with an intense light as he calmly remarked, "You have great wisdom. Mimir himself could not have said it better." Returning a somewhat sad smile, Vahn softly retorted, "I have everything except the things that truly matter. For their sake, I will stop at nothing to draw even the concepts of fate and identity into myself" Sensing the passion contained within Vahn''s words despite his tone, Odin felt fear for one of the few times in his life. The former wasn''t threatening him or anything, but he got the impression not even the sum of Creation could prevent Vahn from reaching his goal. There was only a singr fate awaiting anyone that got in his way . After escaping Asgard and retreating to the Seven-Digit Gates, Loki took several moments to collect themselves before pulling out a fiery red orb and contemting whether or not to contact Surtr, the current leader of the Ragnarok Community. Though Vahn had said that the contract between them and the Ragnarok Community had been nullified, Loki didn''t immediately believe him. Even they could not annul a contract established through the Central Network without something like a Gift Game, so it wasn''t easy to believe they had been liberated so easily. Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, Loki activated the fiery red orb and waited for it to connect to Surtr. Instead, the orb flickered a few times before turning pitch ck, seemingly broken. Groaning in frustration, Loki droned, "Seriously?" before smacking the orb against a nearby wall. Somewhat surprisingly, this actually seemed to work as the orb immediately regained its luster, revealing a woman with raven-ck hair, dark green eyes, and pale, almost snow-white skin. Recognizing the woman as one of their children, confusion briefly marred Loki''s expression as they asked, "Hel? Why are you answering instead of Surtr? Don''t tell me you''re sleeping with that ancient piece of charcoal" Scoffing in response to her faux father''s words, Hel exined, "Surtr has been severely injured, and the entire Community is inplete disarray. What happened between you and the Sage Dragon Emperor?" Blinking in surprise, Loki asked, "Injured? How?" in a genuinely confused tone of voice. Furrowing her brows, Hel answered, "How am I supposed to know? There was an explosion, and then we discovered Surtr unconscious in his throne room. We also checked on you, but you were nowhere to be found. At this point, everyone is assuming you''re the one responsible." While others might be surprised by Hel''s words, Loki appeared rtively calm as they remarked, "It certainly sounds like something I would do" Shaking their head, Loki preempted their daughter''s enraged response by exining, "The Sage Dragon Emperor was somehow able to pull me into Asgard through my connection with my puppet. I don''t know how, but he was able topletely ignore the wards ced by my father and the fact I am prohibited from entering Asgard directly. He is far more capable than we expected." Understanding that her ''father'' wasn''t capable of defeating Surtr even with their full strength, Hel was one of the few people that didn''t think Loki was responsible for Surtr''s injuries. Vahn, however, was more than capable of performing such a feat. Exhaling a sigh, Hel took a moment to consider her words before saying, "It matters not. Return to Muspelheim and await further instruction. If what you say is true, we''ll need to devise a counterme-" Interrupting before Hel could finish, Loki supplied a curt, "Nah." before promptly smashing the orb against the ground. If Vahn had the power to take out someone like Surtr without having to make an appearance, there was no way in Helheim they were going to face him. More importantly, the fact they could refuse their daughter''smand was more than enough evidence to prove they were free from their contract. It had only been a few months since their resurrection, and they weren''t going to squander it trying to poke a Dragon that wasn''t even asleep . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Not my problem'',''True wisdom'',''Loki be like, "Fuck this sh*t, I''m out~"'') Chapter 2303: Detour

Chapter 2303: Detour

After a brief discussion with Odin regarding the future of their respective Communities, Vahn retired to the room where Sis and Fenrir were waiting for him. Muninn, Vor, and the rest of the Valkyries were also present, but Vahn promptly dismissed them as he was rarely in the mood the mingle with ''outsiders'' after a moderately serious discussion. When everyone else was gone, Vahn effectively isted the room they were staying in from the rest of reality before transforming into a younger version of himself. Ever since Sis had confided in him the fact she wished to be his mother, there were times when Vahn allowed her to pamper him at her leisure. With Fenrir''s transformed body serving as their backrest, Vahn allowed Sis tob her fingers through his hair, her voice soft and melodic as she whispered, "You worked hard today" Though he felt like he hadn''t made that much of an effort, Vahn intoned azy, "Nn" rather than refuting Sis''s words. At his current level, the only times he felt like he exerted himself was during the creation process of a Companion or Zanpakuto. Everything else was almost too easy Aware of Vahn''s thoughts, Sis took a moment to deliberate before asking, "What do you want to do now? Nothing is forcing us to stay the night in Asgard. If you want, we can immediately head South or return to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth." As tempting as the thought was, Vahn didn''t hesitate to shake his head and say, "We''ll wrap things up with Mount Olympus and the Draco Grief Alliance before heading back. I''m the reason everyone else is working so hard, so I need to at least set the stage before indulging myself" Instead of trying to convince him otherwise, Sis supplied an affirming, "Nn." of her own while continuing to caress Vahn''s head. As it stood, the forces of the Aldrnari Empire were more than enough to conquer the Little Garden. If Vahn asked it of her, Sis was rtively sure she could secure the Rank 1 position unaided. The only reason she didn''t was because Vahn ''needed'' to seize it for himself. Due to the influences of Chloe, Hephaestus, Tsubaki, and several others, Vahn had the mentality that power and status had to be acquired through one''s efforts. The Path allowed him to reach heights even the Gods could not imagine, but he was determined toprehend the ''truth'' on his own. It was one of his best and most discordant traits . After a rtively short rest, which was actually several hours outside, Vahn, Sis, and Fenrir emerged from their room to find Vor and a buxom, white-haired Valkyrie named R?3ta waiting out in the hall. They had stuck around since the previous night to readily attend to any requests he or the girls may have at a moment''s notice. While Vor wore her usual, flower-bottomed waistcoat and skin-tight battle suit, R?3ta was a stark contrast to most of her sisters as she wore a multiyered gown and a fur-lined coat that gave the impression she operated in frigid climates. The only thing that contradicted this impression was the ratherrge ''boob window'' that exhibited her ample bosom. Though the two of them shared the rank of Lieutenant within the White Raven Community, it was Vor who stepped forward to exin, "We have been tasked with attending you during your stay. If it pleases-" Before Vor could finish her prepared speech, Vahn shook his head and said, "We won''t be staying much longer. I''ve already reached a provisional agreement with Odin, and the World Tree has made a full recovery. Unless there is something that requires my attention, there are matters for me to attend elsewhere." Despite appearing to put his foot down, Vahn was concurrently speaking with Loi-chan to ascertain whether or not Vor or the rest had something to request of him. To his surprise, there was actually quite a lot Stopping time for himself, Sis, Fenrir, and Vor, Vahn exhaled a sigh before meeting the stoic Valkyrie''s golden gaze and wryly remarking, "I suppose I should have seen thising" Though it was stored within the depths of Vor''s supeputer-like mind, Loi-chan had no trouble essing her deepest secrets. After spending a considerable amount of time with Vahn, especially near the beginning of her stay in the East, Vor had gradually developed a more independent mentality. She had started to seriously consider whether or not there were other paths for Valkyries to walk, so her n was to have Vahn visit the Great Hall of Valha so that he could see how the average Valkyrie was treated. It wasn''t pretty. Hanging her head, Vor revealed a mixture of vulnerability and shame as she said, "I have no lost sight of my dutyhowever, there should be more to a Valkyrie''s life than serving others. Many Valkyries are little more than outlets for the Einherjar''s sexual desires, dedicating their entire lives to a group of people who only care for themselves and their skewed views of honor." Though he was tempted to interrupt Vor halfway through her exnation, Vahn allowed her to continue to the end. The moment Loi-chan revealed the ''truth,'' he didn''t need further convincing. In fact, he had already been aware of the Valkyries'' rather miserable existence for quite some time. It just hadn''t been one of his priorities. With Vor beginning to express herself, the way in which Vahn viewed their rtionship changed on a fundamental level. Before, he regarded her in a simr light as Muninn, someone he periodically slept with but had limited affection for. Now, she had managed to elevate herself to an equal status as Leh; not quite a lover but exceedingly close. Despite having already made up his mind, Vahn asked, "And what would you have me do? I can discuss the matter with Odin, but it would take a considerable amount of time to bring aboutsting change. In the worst case scenario, future generations of Valkyrie will simply have their sense of self removed" Having explored worlds where artificial beings had managed to be self-aware, Vahn knew how resistant people were to the idea of service-oriented beings turning against them. It very rarely ended well. Fortunately, though it was the same answer Vahn had reached, Vor had already thought of a solution, exining, "There are entities that care for the World Tree and govern the destiny of all beings that inhabit the Nine Realms. Since you were able to heal the World Tree, they are obligated to repay you. With their power, they should be able to change the fates of all past, present, and future Valkyries." Though her words were tantamount to treason, Vor maintained a resolute expression as she revealed her n. Before meeting Vahn, she had never questioned her father''s wisdom. Now, she couldn''t help feeling as though he had been misguided. The average Valkyrie was vastly superior to the average Einherjar, so why were thetter elevated to the status of Heroes while she and her sisters were bound to a life of servitude? It just didn''t make sense. What Vor failed to ount for was the amount of time and resources that went into the creation of a single Valkyrie. Most Communities, even those backed by powerful Creation Deities, had a finite number of resources at their disposal. The production of Gods required the allocation of Divinity and the splitting of a Creation Deity''s Divine Spark, while the formation of Realms was even more taxing. In that regard, it was significantly easier to elevate hundreds of qualified mortals to the status of Einherjar than it was to produce even a single Valkyrie. Rather than revealing the truth, Vahn just nodded in response to Vor''s proposal, stating, "Very well. I''ll convene with Odin to inform him of my decision and then meet with the Norns. I don''t want to destabilize the Nine Realmspletely." Understanding that Vahn wasn''t the type to renege on his promises, Vor felt as though she had just unloaded a tremendous burden. Ever since she first began having thoughts of liberating her sisters, she had been worried that Vahn would refuse or, even worse, expose her treachery. Everything she knew about him contrasted this sentiment, but it was difficult to trust even herself after she had started to question her very existence. cing her hand over her chest, Vor muttered the most sincere, "Thank you." just about any Valkyrie had ever given. At the same time, she told herself that if Vahn requested it of her, she would tear out her own heart at his behest. Instead, he approached her with an affectionate smile on his face and said, "Don''t mention it." before gently caressing her head . After promising Odin S and A-Rank Gifts for each Valkyrie that was to be liberated, Vahn found himself at the base of a truly awe-inspiring ash tree. Though he knew Yggdrasil would be massive, standing at the base of a tree whose canopy rivaled the diameter of a small star was still a sight to behold. If not for the three beauties standing across from him, Vahn may have lost himself in the nebulous ocean of stars that glistened amongst Yddragsil''s boughs. As giantesses born from the Yggdrasil, the Norns were nearly as stunning as the World Tree itself. The eldest, representing the future, was Ur?r, a breathtakingly attractive giantess with pink hair that turned a luminous shade of blue as it cascaded down a voluptuous body veiled in little more than feathers. Not losing out to her elder sister, Ver?andi, the middle Norn representing the present, possessed extraordinary features that includedvender hair, golden eyes, long legs, six ck wings, and a phenomenal bust. She was also the tallest of the three, standing roughly thirty meters tallpared to Ur?r''s twenty-eight and their youngest sister''s, Skuld''s, twenty-five. As the youngest of the Norns, though they were actually formed around the same time, Skuld had the most youthful figure and features. She was the Norn representing the future, so people would get the feeling she still had room to grow even though she was already a phantasmal beauty with fair skin, purple hair, lc eyes, and six angelic wings. With Vahn having grown to exceed even their height, Ver?andi, serving as the representative of the group, stared up at him as she stated, "What you ask for is not something we can supply with ease. Unlike mortals, the fate of the Valkyries has been written in stone since their inception. Changing the fate of an individual is a simple matter, but rewriting the fates of every Valkyrie will require a tremendous amount of sacrifice" As even Odin had been forced to stab and hang himself from the boughs of the World Tree in exchange for the Norn''s assistance, Vahn wasn''t even remotely surprised by Ver?andi''s words. Instead, his expression remained calm and serene as the surface of a frozenke as he answered, "I have already made my decision. Tell me what you require, and I will provide it." After exchanging nces with her sisters, Ver?andi gazed back at Vahn as she exined, "To be the Master of the Past, Present, and Future, you mustplete each of our trials. Be warned, however, as none before you have been able toplete even a single one." Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn responded with a terse, "Let''s get on with it." At his current level, it didn''t really matter what kind of trials the Norns had prepared. Even the Central Network couldn''t bind him, so their magic could only affect him so long as he allowed it. Though she felt as though Vahn was looking down on them, Ver?andi was well acquainted with the vainglory of the Gods. She also knew that, unlike the vast majority of Gods that had attempted their trials, Vahn had reason to be confident. After all, he was the first person they had been unable to see through. "Very well then. Allow us to bear witness to the power of the Sage Dragon Emperor. Show us you have what it takes to be the Master of Fate." Punctuating her words, Ver?andi tapped her spear-like staff against the ground to produce several watery ripples. Shortly thereafter, Vahn found himself alone in the middle of a dark chamber with a very ancient-looking Geass Roll unfurling in front of him . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Enviable'',''People fear being made obsolete'',''As if Vahn needs confirmation'') Chapter 2304: Trial Start

Chapter 2304: Trial Start

Reading through the Norns'' Geass Roll, a faint smile gradually developed across Vahn''s face. There were a total of nine Trials, and while some of them seemed troublesome, he could imagine several not even activating against him. Putting his theory to the test, Vahn waved away the scroll before making his way over to an oval-shaped mirror that had manifested on the nearby wall. It was supposed to show an image of his younger self so they could confront one another about how his hopes and dreams had changed over time. Instead, it reflected his present self against a backdrop of hazy pink mist. After several moments of nothing happening, a spatial distortion urred to Vahn''s left as Ur?r appeared to say, "You need to open your mind so my power can take effect. You''ll never be Master of the Past by refusing to face it" Maintaining a rxed smile, Vahn retorted, "Nowhere in the Geass Roll did it state I must allow myself to be influenced by your powers. I looked into the mirror, and nothing happened. That''s on you." Furrowing her brows, Ur?r poutily remarked, "That''s not very sporting of you" before pausing for a moment and asking, "What are you afraid of? Is the past something even the legendary Sage Dragon Emperor fears to confront?" Rolling his eyes, Vahn returned his gaze to the mirror. However, instead of the image within changing, the world around him began to distort as Ur?r nervously inquired, "What are you doing?" Without breaking eye contact with himself, Vahn exined, "I am a being that carries his past with him wherever he goes. I do not fear it. Rather, I have embraced it long ago" Turning around, Vahn ignored Ur?r as he made his way over to the side of a limbless boy staring listlessly up at the ceiling. When he did, the youth stared back at him with familiar aquamarine eyes, asking, "Who are you?" in a confused but unafraid tone. Instead of answering his past self''s question, Vahn asked one of his own, specifically, "Tell mewhat is your wish?" Since the illusion was a fragmented manifestation of himself, Vahn was genuinely curious about its response. Unsurprisingly, the youth hesitated for a moment before answering, "I want to be free" with a considerable amount of longing in his voice. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn was about to release his past self from his bindings when thetter surprised him by adding, "But I also want to help people" Retracting his hand, Vahn emitted a curious, "Oh?" before asking, "And which, in your opinion, is more important? Helping people or being free?" Too weak to shake his head, the limbless youth stared nkly for a few moments before answering, "I don''t knowI just feel like I''m supposed to help people" "I seebut what if you could only choose one of the two? Freedom often means behaving selfishly, prioritizing your personal wants and needs over the interests of others. Helping people generally requires a sacrificeand when you give even a little bit of yourself to someone, others wille to expectparable treatment. In the end, you may even find yourself in a situation where you have nothing left to give" Staring at the emaciated figure of his past self, Vahn''s words resonated with himself as much as they did the young boy strapped to the operation table. If not for the existence of The Path, he would have run out of things to give long ago Closing his eyes, the much younger version of Vahn appeared to be contemting his future counterpart''s words before answering, "Then I would choose to help peopleI''ve already given so muchmaybe if I give the rest, I can be free in my next life?" Hearing his younger self''s response, Vahn found himself at a genuine loss for words. He knew Dr. Keenly had instilled in him a bit of a heroplex, but it was still jarring to hear such a young child talking about sacrificing themselves for the chance to be happy in their next life Suppressing a sigh, a mncholic smile developed across Vahn''s face as he rustled his younger self''s hair and said, "You''re a good kid. See you on the other side." Though he was confused by the stranger''s words and behavior, the young Vahn returned a weak smile in response to having his hair ruffled. He felt a sense of familiarity towards the tall and robust figure, but before he could inquire about Vahn''s identity, the illusion forming him dissipated, returning to memory. Shifting his attention to Ur?r, Vahn asked, "Satisfied?" with a borderline deadpan on his face. Though she was tempted to refuse and say that Vahn couldn''t just create his own illusions to ovee, Ur?r was silenced when the door leading to the ensuing Trial suddenly opened. This implied that the Central Network recognized his aplishment, so she had no choice but to answer, "It would appear you have seeded with my First Trial. I don''t like how you did it, but I can''t argue if the Central Network recognizes the result. When you''re ready, proceed through that door." Feeling a little miffed, Ur?r followed her words by disappearing along with her mirror. She had the feeling that Vahn had tampered with it, so she was going to inspect it while he was undergoing the Trials of her two sisters . Making his way into the next room, Vahn discovered a vaguely humanoid golem that appeared to be constructed from a rainbow-hued metal simr to Bismuth. When he entered, the golem quickly took his shape, mirroring his movements as Ver?andi''s voice exined, "In order to advance to the next Trial, you must first ovee your present self. Good luck." Raising his brows, Vahn mused, "A Doppelganger?" as the metallic figure gradually solidified into a copy of himself. Then, seemingly in response to his question, the figure raised its brows and repeated, "A Doppelganger?" in the same tone of voice. Though he was tempted to fool around and see if the Doppelganger could keep up with him, Vahn manifested Enkidu and sent it charging toward his would-be clone at unimaginable speeds. The Doppelganger attempted to employ an Enkidu of its own, but even the Laws that governed Gift Games couldn''t emte an SSS-Rank Gift. With all of its powers sealed, the Doppelganger gradually melted into an amorphous blob of rainbow-hued liquid as Vahn made his way over to the next door, musing, "Open sesame." as Ver?andi''s intent radiated a feeling of solemnity. She couldn''t help feeling as though Vahn''s behavior was in defiance of the ''spirit'' of their Trials. Under normal circumstances, challengers attempting to pass through the Second Trial would find themselves in a difficult position, forced to reflect on their actions. The enchantments on the golem transferred any damage it sustained to the attacker, so the best way forward was to make peace with oneself and recognize that violence was not always the solution to a problem. Unfortunately for Ver?andi, the Central Network acknowledged Vahn''s method and allowed him to pass into the next room. All she could do was pray her younger sister was able to dy him as she worked on his next challenge . Having witnessed Vahn''s general disregard for the previous Trials, Skuld elected to manifest before him, expressing, "You should treat this more seriously. How can you expect to be the Master of Fate if you can''t even pretend to care?" Though he knew Skuld''s question wasn''t a part of the Trial, Vahn decided to humor her, answering, "The simple fact of the matter is that I''m already a ''Master of Fate.'' Me undergoing these Trials is a formality to prevent the Nine Realms from destabilizing. If I wanted to, nothing could prevent me from liberating the Valkyries and setting them on a new path. I don''t need others'' permission or acknowledgment to do what I think is right." Taken aback by Vahn''s words, Skuld found herself at a momentary loss for her own. Every other person that had attempted their Trials did so in the pursuit of wisdom or power. She could also see the oue before their Trials even started, so she didn''t know how to interact with someone whose future was beyond her sight. Adopting a faint smile, Vahn said, "Rx. Even though it''s not necessary, I intend toplete each of your Trials. I''ve already decided to liberate the Valkyries from their fates, so I might as well do the same for you and your sisters while I''m here." Surprised by Vahn''s words, Skuld blinked her amethyst eyes several times before asking, "You intend to liberate us? With our power, you could easily be the ruler of the Nine Realms. You could-" Waving his hand as if he waszily swatting away a fly, Vahn adopted an impable deadpan as he said, "Pass. I''m already capable of creating metaversal structures that exceed the Nine Realms in scope. I don''t need someone else''s power to rule." "" Sensing no falsehoods in Vahn''s words, Skuld, for the first time in her long existence, felt as though her actions were pointless. When she and her sisters first learned that Vahn was the one that supplied the cure for their mother, they decided they would allow him to experience their Trials even though he was an outsider. If he were sessful, they would reward him with all of their power and, in turn, their hearts. Though many, including Odin himself, had attempted to court them, the Norns had remained chaste since they first awoke beneath the canopy of the World Tree. Their power would be transferred to the one that imed their maidenhood, so they had patiently awaited the day when someone unbound by fate would appear. In that regard, Vahn was the first and, as far as they knew, the only one with such power. If he refused them, Skuld didn''t know what they would do Surprising the six-winged giantess quite a bit, Vahn answered, "Whatever you want. That''s the beauty of being free to choose your own destiny. As for Ur?arbrunnr, you don''t have to concern yourself with that. I have a few people in mind who would happily tend to the World Tree in your stead." "" Aspelling as Vahn''s words were, Skuld couldn''t help feeling a little ufortable knowing he could ascertain her thoughts. She had a habit of peering into the minds and futures of others, but that was a part of her duty as one of the Norns. Knowing there was someone that could peek into her mind was unnerving Smiling wryly, Vahn exined, "I''m not reading your thoughts. I can, but I generally tend to avoid employing such invasive methods. What I''m doing is reading your emotions and using context clues to piece together a very general overview of what I assume you''re thinking." "I see" Not really feeling better after Vahn''s exnation, Skuld briefly averted her eyes from his, her mind clouded with wayward thoughts. There was still a chance that Vahn would fail their Trials, but it didn''t seem very likely. Now that she knew her ''freedom'' was on the line, Skuld couldn''t help feeling a strange sense ofdifort. She had never considered what she would do if given a choice to act freely Sensing Skuld''s uncertainty, Vahn''s smile became even wrier as he said, "If it''s that big a deal, you''re more than wee toe and stay at the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Besides, it''s not like I''m outright refusing you and your sisters; I just want you to have a genuine choice in the matter. There should be more to a rtionship than a sense of duty or obligation." Feeling Vahn''s sincerity, the apprehensions forming in Skuld''s mind faded away as a rare smile developed across her face. Knowing the future was a heavy burden, so she typically appeared rather sickly due to her pale skin and the esoteric quality of her garments. She seldom had anything to look forward to, so Vahn''s words were a breath of fresh in a formerly stagnant world . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''A moment of reflection'',''Trying to emte a singrity xD'',''Vahn is a strong, independent Creation Deity!'') Chapter 2305: Carving a Path

Chapter 2305: Carving a Path

Following his conversation with Skuld, Vahn entered a type of maze known as a Trojaborg Labyrinth. Unlike typical mazes, Trojaborg Labyrinths only had a single path with no dead ends. As he made his way through, panels would rise behind him to prevent him from turning back, presumably representing the passage of time and the general inability for people to turn back on the road of life. Contributing to this spection, Vahn eventually found himself within a room whose environment spontaneously changed into the aftermath of a great battle. There were hundreds of corpses littering the ground, but it was possible to make out subdued sobbing and other signs of life if you listened closely. "Hmmm" Though he could see a rather conspicuous gate located a few hundred meters away, Vahn took a moment to ponder the purpose of his current setting. At the same time, his domain captured everyone and everything within range of his senses, instantaneously informing him of the number of survivors and their respective conditions. Presumably in an attempt to break his concentration, Vahn''s attention was drawn to a rtively young boy with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a missing arm that called out to him, "Pleasehelp me" in a strained tone. "Sure, why not?" Raising his right hand towards the sky, Vahn surprised the skulking Skuld by creating aplex magic circle that easily covered the entirety of the battlefield. Then, with a simple snap of Vahn''s fingers, everyone in need of treatment, including a few that had recently passed, found themselves without injury. While it would have been understandable if they needed time to process what had just happened, there was no stillness following Vahn''s actions. Rather, upon discovering they could move about freely, a few of the more bloodthirsty individuals picked up stray hammers and axes in an attempt to strike down their recently recovered foes. Adding insult to injury, the boy that had asked Vahn for help picked up a spear and attempted to impale him through the stomach, shouting, "Die, Sorceror!" Rolling his eyes, Vahn began making his way towards the gate at the far end of the battlefield as several individuals joined the youth in trying to kill him. In response, Vahn made his body immaterial,pletely ignoring their frenzied attacks as they seeminglypeted for the glory of taking his head. After passing through the gate, Vahn, once again, found himself within the Trojaborg Labyrinth. When he looked back, the battlefield had vanished, reced by a smooth stone wall and a mural depicting a man raising his hand toward the sky and raising the dead. "Neat." While others may have fallen into a moment of reflection after passing through the battlefield, Vahn left Skuld feeling at a loss as he resumed his journey without a fuss. In his mind, there was nothing to be learned as he was well-acquainted with the selfishness of those who lived in the pursuit of glory. At the same time, his healing of people was an expression of his personal form of selfishness. He wasn''t going to brood because someone used his gift to spite him ormit atrocities. That was their decision, not his. Making his way through the maze, Vahn inevitably came across several other settings that required him to make choices that would have weighed heavily on the consciousness of others. There was even a situation where he had to choose between saving two children, his decision to save one invariably resulting in the death of the other. Completely ignoring the premise, Vahn teleported both children to his side before ruffling their hair and telling them to be more careful in the future. Later, he was given the option of saving a group of hunters being assailed by a massive wolf. The wolf turned out to be a mother trying to secure food for her pups, soing to the aid of the hunters, at least under normal circumstances, would have resulted in the deaths of several innocent lives. Doing things at his own pace, Vahn prevented the mother wolf''s attack with some headpats before smacking some sense into the hunters that wanted to kill her in retaliation. He then provided more than enough food for both groups to go their separate ways before relocating the mother and her pups somece where they would be able to live without human intervention, at least for a while. In the end, Vahn had to clear a total of eleven stages, one for each circuit of the Trojaborg Labyrinth. Awaiting him at his destination was a massive stone wall depicting the decisions he had made along the way, eachid out in a fresco. Skuld was also there, appearing somewhat unenthusiastic as she said, "Much like this mural, the decisions we make in life are set in stone. It might be possible to take a chisel to it, but there is no changing what hase to pass, only what is toe" Gesturing towards an ancient-looking hammer and chisel located beneath the mural, Skuld added, "Beyond the limitations of time, knowledge of the past, present, and future are one and the same. With the proper tools, it is possible to change all three. However, the only thing that truly changes is oneself. Attempt to change the past in the present, and the only thing you end up aplishing is writing a new future" Having long been aware of such fundamental truths, Vahn simply nodded his head in response to Skuld''s words. When she saw her words had very little effect on him, a subdued sigh escaped her throat as she lowered her hand and remarked, "I thought as much. You truly are a unique existence. Most people spend their entire lives searching for meaning along the path they walk. It is exceptionally rare, even among the Gods, for an individual to be content walking the path itself" Resisting the urge to point out he was the manifestation of The Path itself, Vahn maintained a smile as he replied, "Compliment me any further, and I may float away due to my ego overinting." Rolling her eyes, Skuld began to slowly dematerialize as she said, "When you reach the end of your journey, the best way forward is to carve a new path" "MmmI see" Though she could be trying to be mysterious, Vahn decided to interpret Skuld''s words literally by sting a hole through the mural depicting his journey through the maze. When he did, he could have sworn he heard the sound of someone tripping, but Vahn just ignored it as he made his way into the nebulous ck void that awaited him on the other side of the newly created door . Shortly after entering the darkness, Vahn found himself stepping out into what appeared to be an underground cavern. The walls were covered in bioluminescent algae that made it resemble the evening sky, but the thing that immediately caught Vahn''s attention was the stunning beauty waiting for him near a spring filled with a hazy, rainbow-hued liquid. Knowing what the sisters originally had in mind once hepleted their challenges, Vahn decided to tease the ephemeral, pink and blue-haired giantess by asking, "Oh? Are we going to take a bath?" Snorting through her nose, the mesmerizing beauty, Ur?r, exined, "This is one of the many mouths of Ur?arbrunnr, the Well of Fate. To proceed to the next Trial, you must find your way through this passage without losing yourself in its flow. Be warned, as even the most stalwart of spirits can be shattered-why are you taking your clothes off?" Seeing everything but Vahn''s underpants spontaneously melt away, Ur?r couldn''t prevent her eyes from roaming even as she took a step back and prepared to apparate away. Both she and Ver?andi had been listening in when he spoke with Skuld, but she didn''t trust that Vahn wouldn''t try to force himself on her if the opportunity presented itself. Most Gods weren''t exactly gentlemen Resisting the temptation to point out that Ur?r''s feathery outfit was even scantier than his own, Vahn calmly replied, "If I''m going to pass through the spring that contains the memories of everyone''s pasts, I may as well experience it directly." Recalling how Solon had once been swept up by the Ur?arbrunnr, Vahn had always wondered what it would be like to subsume himself into the collective memories of everyone that had ever lived within a designated Realm. Most people would be terrified by such a thing, fearing they would be consumed and lose themselves, but Vahn knew it was only a matter of time before he had to subsume all of Creation into himself. He couldn''t be intimidated by the collective experiences of a few trillion people. Seeing no signs of fear or hesitation in Vahn''s actions, Ur?r couldn''t help thinking he was looking down on their Trials. At the same time, however, a fluttery feeling filled her bosom as she considered the possibility that he really could clear them with ease Noticing the dazed giantess''s gaze as he walked past, Vahn sent Ur?r a wink before stepping into the rainbow-hued liquid without a moment of hesitation. Nothing happened when it was just his body, but the moment his head sank beneath the surface, he could feel countless fragments of Ego attempting to invade his body. ("Ohthis is going to be easier than I thought") Simr to when Gustang attempted to invade his mind and analyze the structure andposition of his Ego, Vahn didn''t even have to resist as his body and mind naturally purged the invasive influence. Then, as if to prevent further intrusion, a pulse of energy surged out from the very core of his Ego, purifying the surrounding waters of their rainbow hue. Though he was a little disappointed, Vahn swam through the underwater tunnels with the finesse of a god-tier penguin until his senses detected an air pocket. When he surfaced, he found Ver?andi staring down at him with an almost offended look on her face as she asked, "Just what are you?" Rising from the water like a balloon, Vahn casually replied, "Those close to me call me Vahn. Pretty much everyone else calls me the Sage Dragon Emperor. Nice to meet you?" Furrowing her brows, Ver?andi gripped the staff in her hands as she said, "I''ve never heard of a Dragon that can exorcise Souls by simply swimming through them" While drying himself off and donning a fresh outfit, Vahn tried to correct Ver?andi''s misunderstanding, exining, "The waters of the Ur?arbrunnr are notprised of Souls, but the fragments of countless people''s Egos. It is a collection of memories and intentions that refuse to merge, so they form a stream of consciousness that attempts totch onto anything more ''whole'' than itself." Landing on the ground, Vahn ignored the suspicion in Ver?andi''s gaze as he looked around asked, "So? Where''s my next Trial? I''m not exactly in a rush, but there are a lot of people waiting for my return." "Hmph" Tapping the spear-like end of her staff against the ground, Ver?andi produced what appeared to be several additional Doppelgangers. This time, however, they did not take Vahn''s form. Instead, two took on the forms of Sis and Fenrir while the others began changing into people the Central Network undoubtedly recognized as precious to him. If it were just his lovers, Vahn wouldn''t have minded too much as he knew the Doppelgangers weren''t ''real.'' It was when a few began taking on the form of his children that the casual smile faded from his face, reced by a grim expression as he looked towards Ver?andi and warned, "This goes beyond ying with fire" Though she would have ordinarily scoffed at such a threat, Ver?andi''s eyes widened as she found herself unable to move under Vahn''s stare. It was like a hand had grasped around her entire body, threatening to crush her into paste the moment she said or did anything out of line . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn does things at his own pace'',''Oof'',''Even the Central Network is sweating'') Chapter 2306: Simmering Calm

Chapter 2306: Simmering Calm

Understanding that Ver?andi wasn''t entirely at fault, Vahn slowly reined in his anger as he turned to face the group of Doppelgangers. Their ranks included Sis, Fenrir, Mikoto, Usalia, Seraphina, Sarina, Nono, Leticia, and Shiroyukihime, pretty much everyone that had assisted in the formation of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. If it were just the founding members of his Community, Vahn wouldn''t have been that upset. He knew what kind of games the Central Network yed, so it wasn''t too surprising to encounter replicas of the people he cared about. He had even forewarned Yo, Asuka, and the rest of the No Names of this very possibility. What annoyed Vahn was that the Central Network had included Xysteria among the ranks of Doppelgangers. When he was first transferring people from his Little Garden into the Divine Realm, there was a period where she would apany him pretty much 24/7. He had been especially cautious around that time, evidently leading to the Central Network gging her as a potential weakness. It wasn''t entirely wrong. Combing his fingers through his hair, Vahn forced himself to calm down as he tly inquired, "What are the clear conditions of the Trial?" Sensing that the surrounding space had been sealed, prohibiting spatial movements such as teleportation, Ver?andi swallowed nervously before answering, "It''s simr to the previous Trialyou need to get past them if you want to advance further. However, you need not resort to violence. It is but one of many paths towards the future" Turning to stare back at thevender-haired giantess, Vahn squinted his eyes and growled, "Lucky for you" With Ver?andi making it clear he didn''t ''need'' to fight, Vahn returned his gaze to the group of Doppelgangers as potent, rainbow-hued light began to exude from his palms. The moment he stepped forward, Mikoto led the charge against him, her body bing shrouded in Tribtion Lightning as she attempted to stab through his neck with her fingers. Ignoring the non-existent threat to his life, Vahn allowed Mikoto''s hand to slip through him, subsequently catching her waist with his left arm. Then, before she could even attempt to wriggle free, he ran his right palm from her shoulders to the small of her back in a swift yet extremely practiced manner. "Hwaaaaaah~!?" Grasping the structure of the faux-Mikoto''s body in an instant, Vahn gave her bottom a firm smack as he said, "Bad girl." in a chiding tone. When he did, her body burst into a cloud of yellow smoke before reappearing as a very defeated-looking Pikachu. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn was about to set the Pikachu aside when a flurry of bright pinksers impacted his position. He was able to sweep them away with a wave of his hand, but that ultimately created an opening for the feral-looking bunny girl charging toward him with razor-sharp teeth. As a furrow marred Vahn''s face, a series of golden chains erupted from the void in an attempt to bind him. When he looked towards the culprit, he found the faux-Sis smiling at him with a mischievous smile on her face. Adopting a stone-faced expression, Vahn remained unmoving as the chains entangled his body and the faux-Usalia opened her mouth wide enough to try and bite off his head. From his perspective, everything had suddenly slowed to an imperceptibly slow crawl as his eyes glistened with a fierce golden glow. Instead of shrugging off the chains, Vahn allowed them to sink into his body, instantaneously absorbing them as he reached up to poke the area just below the faux-Usalia''s navel. Then, while everyone else appeared to be frozen in time, he slipped past the faux-Usalia''s charging figure to pat the simrly fake Sis on the head, muttering, "You''re lucky I''m keeping the actual Sis at bay" As if stimted by Vahn''s words, the world around him appeared to move again as the faux-Usalia tore through his previous position before curling up in the fetal position. At the same time, the faux-Sis''s legs gave out, a low and sonorous mewl escaping from her throat as she fell onto her side with an enraptured look on her face . Seeing how Vahn had elected to deal with the Doppelgangers, a stupefied expression developed across Ver?andi''s face. She had heard some of the rumors regarding his ''prowess'' but never anticipated that he could bring women to their knees with a simple touch. Looking towards the downed Usalia, a shiver ran through Ver?andi''s body as she sensed the ambient pleasure exuding from the former. "Did he trap them in some kind of illusion?" Suppressing the urge to glimpse into the Doppelganger''s mind, Ver?andi returned her attention to Vahn, her golden eyes reflecting the scene of him making short work of Seraphina, Leticia, Shiroyukihime, Sarina, and Nono. It was one of the most one-sided Trials she had ever witnessed as none of the Doppelgangers'' attacks appeared to have even a minor effect while Vahn simply needed to touch them. "Wait a momentwhat''s this?" Noticing that two of the Doppelgangers weren''t even attempting to fight, Ver?andi''s eyes locked on the faux-Fenrir and the ''creature'' she assumed to be the cause of his previous fury. While the other Doppelgangers were doing everything in their power to fight back, the peculiar duo was simply watching from the sidelines . Afterying Nono next to Sarina in a bed he had manifested, Vahn shifted his attention to the final two Doppelgangers: Fenrir and Xysteria. When he did, the former stood a little straighter while thetter just stared nkly with her amber eyes. "Hmmm" Extending his right hand, Vahn said, "Come." in amanding tone. The moment he did, the faux-Fenrir rushed over and ced her paw into his hand, her thick and bushy tail swishing excitedly behind her. "I guess even the Central Network couldn''t turn my most loyalpanion against me, huh? Good girl." Exhibiting rows of razor-sharp teeth, the faux-Fenrir adopted an uncannily wide grin as Vahn caressed her head and fluffed up her oversized, almost rabbit-like ears. While continuing to fluff up his loyal pup, Vahn shifted his attention to the faux-Xysteria before activating his Eyes of Truth. "Ahso that''s how it is" Since Xysteria had never participated in a Gift Game and Vahn had taken extra precautions to keep her safe, the Central Network hadn''t been able to emte her skills and abilities. All it knew about her was that she could transform and that she was very timid around other people. It had no way of knowing just how ''terrifying'' she could be. Taking a seat on the ground, Vahn allowed the faux-Fenrir to snuggle up to him as he extended his hand towards the faux-Xysteria and whispered, "Come to Papa" Rather than listening to Vahn''s words, the Xysteria Doppelganger hissed before turning into a wispy white phantom and darting to the roof. There, she metamorphosed into a veritable ball of fluff that stared back at him with caution. "" Though it wasn''t ''his'' Xysteria, Vahn couldn''t help feeling a little hurt by the Doppelganger''s response. Even after all this time, he never had the experience of being shunned by any of his children. There were instances where he had been at odds with his sons, particrly Kamiya, but he had never tried to avoid him. Suppressing the frustration he felt towards the Central Network, Vahn exuded an aura of calming energy as he manifested a series of gem-like beetles and bugs. If the Central Network had ''faithfully'' reproduced some of Xysteria''s behavior, she wouldn''t be able to resist her favorite food. With Vahn''s presence suddenly disappearing, the faux-Xysteria spun her head around like an owl, seemingly oblivious to the fact he hadn''t moved from his seated position. This was a trick Vahn had picked up a very long time ago, the ability to blend his aura into his environment so that animals and people alike would feel at ease. From the faux-Xysteria''s perspective, he may as well be a tree right now. After a prolonged period of hesitation, Xysteria began scuttling across the ceiling like a spider. Upon lining up with one of the gem-like beetles, she adhered one of her tails to the roof before pouncing down, snatching the beetle with her teeth, and returning to the ceiling like a yoyo rebounding to a hand. Though a wry smile had developed across his face, Vahn couldn''t helpmenting, "Clever girl" as he watched the faux-Xysteria scarf down her prey. She was unable to resist the allure of her favorite food, but she was smart or, at the very least, cautious enough not to simply trust in the fact she could no longer sense him Upon finishing with the first beetle, faux-Xysteria took a moment to take in her surroundings before lining up with her second target. Like before, she repelled down from the roof with incredible speed. However, before she could snatch up the beetle in question, it promptly moved out of the way in a zig-zagging pattern. Though she allowed herself to be bungeed back to the roof, a very discontent look developed across faux-Xysteria''s face as she eyed her missed quarry. The pupils of her eyes became like a cat''s as she arched her body in the precursor to a pounce beforeunching herself with even greater velocity towards her target. Instantly angering the bronze-skinned huntress, the beetle once again dodged her attack. When it did, she immediately broke her tether to the roof in order to pounce after it, much like a cat pursuing aser pointer. Despite possessing supernatural speed and agility, faux-Xysteria found herself unable to catch the emerald-hued beetle. Adding insult to injury, each sessive beetle she attempted to catch seemed to move even faster than thest. Feeling increasingly frustrated, faux-Xysteria''s body became increasingly more animalistic as she began snarling through razor-sharp teeth. It was drastically different than the actual Xysteria, but the Central Network had no way of knowing what she looked like when angry. Seeing several beetles gathering in the same spot, faux-Xysteria''s pupils became thin slits as she sprang toward them with all four arms stretched outward. What she never expected was to collide with something invisible halfway through her leap. "Gotcha~" Before faux-Xysteria could make sense of the situation, warmth filled her body as a pair of arms wrapped around her. Her first instinct was to break away, but it was quickly suppressed by a feeling of contentment as Vahn scratched under her chin and said, "Behave." in a calm yet resonant tone. Though he would never use his Authority against his actual children, Vahn made an exception for the discordant Doppelganger. Fortunately, it didn''t take long for the faux-Xysteria to calm down as shey across hisp and stared up at him with a curious expression on her face. "There you go. Good girl." Knowing how much the actual Xysteria enjoyed it, Vahn gently caressed the fake''s smooth and pliable stomach. She immediately grasped his hand with two of her three-wed hands but made no actual attempts to stop his actions. Evidently recognizing Vahn''s sess in the Trial, the gate on the far side of the room promptly opened. However, instead of getting up and passing through it, Vahn continued petting the faux-Fenrir with his left hand while creating beetles to feed the faux-Xysteria with his right. At the same time, another version of himself manifested behind Ver?andi, startling her as he said, "Sorry, but you deserve a bit of punishment." Without giving thevender-haired giantess the chance to protest, Vahn ran his index finger along the line of her back. As he did, her pitch-ck wings promptly extended to their full width as a very loud yelp emanated from the giantess'' throat . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Woosah'',''Fenrir is the goodest of girls (U w U)'',''Vahn is an expert when ites to luring young girls'') Chapter 2307: On the Verge of Triumph

Chapter 2307: On the Verge of Triumph

After meting out Ver?andi''s punishment, Vahn made his way through the stone gate leading to his next Trial. He found Skuld waiting for him there, but, unlike before, she kept her distance and her back toward the wall. Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn attempted to justify his actions, exining, "It''s no secret that my children are my soft spot. If you''re going to try and use them against me, you should prepare yourself for the consequences." Swallowing the knot that had formed in her throat, Skuld muttered, "I''ll keep that in mind" before waving her hand and causing the room to turn into an ancient forest filled with white, leafless trees covered in runes. A dense fog emanated from the interior, broken only bouts of magical blue mes that periodically flickered in and out of existence. "This is the Forest of Forgotten Dreams. To make your way through, you must have a powerful ambition or something that drives you forward no matter what. Spirits that get lost within this mist are doomed to wander without aim for all eternity" Manifesting an ancient-lookingntern constructed primarily from wood, Skuld added, "The fuel for thisntern is hopes and dreams. It will light your way even in the darkest of circumstances, but overusing it will lead to the consumption of one''s spirit and will. Take it, and may your journey be swift" epting thentern from Skuld, Vahn waited for a few moments without anything overt urring. He could feel an intent within thentern trying to probe at his mind, but it was far too frail to advance. Seeing the me failing to ignite, a touch of ruddiness spread through Skuld''s cheeks as she recalled the previous incident with Vahn and her sister''s mirror. If thentern was unable to ignite, she could be punished by the Central Network for staging a Gift Game that couldn''t be won. Fortunately for Skuld, Vahn wasn''t just standing around aimlessly as he eyed the peculiarntern. Instead, he was deconstructing how it worked by deciphering the runes carved into its surface and testing the functions of the intent within. Once he was finished, a cerulean blue me erupted from thentern''s interior before surging towards the Forest of Forgotten Dreams like a tidal surge. Smiling at Skuld''s ck-jawed response, Vahn mused, "I''ll be taking the scenic route." before promptly vanishing into thin air. The rules for the Gift Game forbade teleportation and spatial movements, but he had more than a few ways around such restrictions. With the ghostly forest fading moments after Vahn''s disappearance, Skuld knew he had satisfied the conditions of the Sixth Trial. Her expression still revealed a fair amount of helplessness, but she couldn''t help adopting a faint smile as she muttered, "He''s quite something, isn''t he?" In response to her younger sister''s utterance, Ver?andi appeared out of thin air, her expression significantly less approving as she poutily replied, "He''s a brute, that''s what he is." Maintaining her smile, Skuld gave her sister a side-long nce before asserting, "Most men are. The Sage Dragon Emperor is just one of the few that possesses the leeway and character to get away with it." Crinkling her brow and nose, Ver?andi wanted to retort but found herself unable to find suitable words. Instead, she suggested, "We should hurry and prepare our future Trials. Given his performance thus far, I suspect it won''t be long-" Receiving a notification that Vahn had just entered her Trial, the look on Ver?andi''s face alternated between confusion and disbelief. It hadn''t even been three full minutes since Vahn zed through Skuld''s Trial. Restoring her sister''s senses, Skuld reiterated, "We should be on our way." before disappearing into thin air. Ver?andi followed shortly after that, but not before staring in the direction Vahn had departed, whispering, "I pray the Nine Realms never antagonize the Aldrnari Empire" . With Ur?r''s challenge requiring him to face everyone he had ever killed or failed to save, Vahn simply decided not to give her ess to his thoughts and memories. As a result, the Central Network was only able to recall the people he had faced in the Tower and during his stay in the Divine Realm. Since he was no longer in the mood to y around after the incident with Ver?andi, Vahn shattered Ur?r''s illusory domain the moment Gandr, of all people, made an appearance. He knew better than anyone that the boyish Vanargandr harbored absolutely no resentment towards him, so Vahn just shook his head in exasperation, muttering, "What a farce" before turning to Ur?r and asking, "Want to try something else? Even I''m starting to feel guilty about how easy this has be." Shaking her head, Ur?r attempted an emotionless, unreadable expression as she replied, "With your sess in this Trial, you''ve be the Master of the Past. I can stage another if you''d like, but the person who would be dictating the rules would be you." Though most people wouldn''t be able to notice it, Vahn could see Ur?r''s aura ring with a mixture of fear, anticipation, and barely restrained lust. The Origins of her and her sisters coincided with the conceptualization of Time itself, so it wasn''t an exaggeration to say she had been waiting since time immemorial for a man capable ofpleting her Trials to appear. Adopting a wry smile, Vahn gave Ur?r''s scantily d figure a quick once-over. She was easily one of the most stunningly attractive women in all of creation, but the same could be said for the vast majority of his harem. He would be lying if he said he wasn''t tempted, but it just didn''t seem right to im her when she had been waiting for so long With Vahn observing her with his eyes rather than his other sensory abilities, Ur?r''s heart began to race as the purple feathers forming her garment began to re, unfurling like the petals of a flower in bloom. If Vahn requested it of her, she was ready and willing to give her everything to satisfy his desires. Understanding that Ur?r probably wouldn''t be content if he just ''tossed her aside,'' a faint chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat as he shook his head and muttered, "Here we go again" . Upon teleporting to the location of the Seventh Trial, Ver?andi was briefly surprised to find her elder sister floating behind Vahn, her arms wrapped around his neck and an absentminded smile on her face. Furrowing her brows, Ver?andi asked, "What is the meaning of this?" in a disproving tone. Since Ur?r was more focused on nuzzling against him than responding to her sister, it was Vahn who casually replied, "I''m very good at what I do." "" Though she was tempted to ask what Vahn was talking about, Ver?andi already had the answer in her heart. After all, if he managed toplete theing Trial, she too would be subject to his whims and desires. Seeing through thevender-haired giantess''s thoughts, Vahn shook his head and remarked, "I''m not the type that forces people against their will. If you would rather ept my offer of freedom and find someone worthy of your care and attention, I would not stop you." Hearing Vahn''s words, Ur?r promptly came back to her senses, squeezing him tightly as she stared at her sister and asserted, "I''ll support whatever decision you make, but I''m convinced that Vahn is the person we''ve been waiting for all this time. I haven''t felt this wholethis plete'' since our initial separation from Mother." "Clearly" Seeing her sister clinging possessively to Vahn, Ver?andi had no doubts about the integrity of her words. Had the former not spanked her just a few minutes prior, she would probably be looking forward to what came next. Exhaling a sigh, Ver?andi tapped the twining, spear-like end of her staff against the ground, saying, "We''ll see what Fate has in store" Since she hadn''t been given much time to prepare, Ver?andi left it to the Central Network to fill in the nks for the Eighth Trial. Given Vahn''s performance thus far, she was convinced it didn''t really matter what she threw at him. So long as it wasn''t one of his children Fortunately for Ver?andi, the will associated with the Central Network seemed to understand the futility of pitting Vahn against anything known to him. Thus, after a remarkably long and progressively tense dy, the world around the trio began to crack and fragment away, eerie grey light emanating from within. Raising his brows, Vahn suggested, "You should probably stand back for this one." Ur?r reluctantlyplied but not before nting a kiss on his cheek and pressing her now-familiar breasts against his shoulders. Adopting a faint smile, Vahn manifested Enkidu and sent it flying toward the cracks rapidly spreading across the sky. He didn''t know what was on the other side, but it caused the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end, a phenomenon that hadn''t urred in quite some time. Compelled by Vahn''s intent, Enkidu tore through the cracks in space-time, eager to seal whatevery beyond. From the golden chain''s point of view, it was moving at iprehensible speeds toward its target. What it didn''t know, and what Vahn didn''t expect, was for Enkidu to effectively freeze in ce the moment it came into contact with the grey energy exuding from the cracks. "Well, that''s not normal" Dodging one of the beams of light that seemed to curve toward him, Vahn watched as it spread out across the ground like a mist, rapidly eroding the surface and converting it to a type of inert ash, utterly devoid of life and energy. Furrowing his brows, Vahn waved his hand in an attempt to prevent the strange mist from spreading outward. He had reached a point where he could manipte even the Void, but there seemed to be something ''off'' about the peculiar grey mist. He could see it very clearly with his eyes, but it didn''t have any presence whatsoever. It was like everything within range of the fog simply ceased to exist, leaving nothing for him to sense. As it wasn''t his first time dealing with something capable of erasing the very concept of existence, Vahn was rtively calm even as his efforts to stem the mist''s expanse failed. This was a stark contrast to Ver?andi and Ur?r, who, for the first time in their lives, could not ess their powers. It was like Time, Fate, and Reality itself were being eroded by the enigmatic mist. To the horror of the two giantess''s, especially Ur?r, Vahn stopped trying to dodge and allowed the mist to epass him. Enkidu had been frozen in ce, but unlike everything else influenced by the mist, Vahn could still sense it. Thus, in order to get a better understanding of just what the mist actually was, he allowed it to affect him directly. As the light-formed mist enveloped him, Vahn experienced a phenomenon simr to time stopping. More urately, it was like time spontaneously ceased to exist, nearly severing his connection to the outside world as he looked around to find a world shrouded in ash. Noticing that he couldn''t feel the ground beneath him, nor the influence of gravity, Vahn experimentally moved his right foot. He felt as though every molecule within his body weighed as much as a small start, but that didn''t prevent him from sifting through the ashen ground beneath his feet. There was absolutely no feedback, and, rather than being propelled forward, the ash clung to him like weightless mud, wholly unaffected by thews of physics. Recognizing the phenomenon, though he had never experienced it in such an extreme manner, Vahn peered through the cracks in reality to find what appeared to be an impossibly ancient man sitting motionless in the center of an empty grey void. Parts of his body appeared to have decayed away, but Vahn could feel an iprehensibly powerful intent exuding from his body and permeating the entirety of the ashen world . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Speedrunning strats'',''Some things never change'',''O_O'') Chapter 2308: Focus

Chapter 2308: Focus

Making his way toward the monochromatic figure, Vahn''s expression became somber as he tried to speak, but no sound came out. There was no air to carry his voice, and while he could muster his intent without issue, it effectively dissipated the moment it left him. As a result, he couldn''t even use telepathy to try andmunicate with the ancient figure. ("How troublesome...") Stopping less than a meter and a half from the motionless man, Vahn half-expected him to raise his head or at least try tomunicate. Instead, he remained as motionless as the world around him, a milky grey glow emanating from the depths of his eyes as he stared into nothingness. Though he was unable to sense the man, that didn''t stop Vahn from kneeling down in front of him to get a better look at his face. It appeared human at a nce, but his flesh was knarled and twisted like a petrified tree. Deep scars covered his body, and severalrge chunks of his flesh appeared to have been gouged away by rune-covered stakes. A spear covered in simr runes had been stabbed through the gap between his left shoulder and corbone, a non-fatal wound designed to prolong the victim''s suffering for as long as possible. ("I guess I''m not the only one to have made it this far? How peculiar...") As the man before him was one of the most ancient and powerful beings in all of Creation, the Demon Lord of Stagnation, Vahn found it a little odd that others had managed to approach him. He was one of the few entities that Shiroyasha had expressly cautioned him to be wary of, a Last Embryo whose domain would inevitably spread to consume all realities... ("Hmmm...") Unsure of what, exactly, he was supposed to do, Vahn decided to confer with Loi-chan. He might not be able to form a link with the Demon Lord of Stagnation, but his connection with Loi-chan should give him some insight into what to do. Appearing the moment Vahn thought about her, Loi-chan''s face crinkled into a rare frown as she took a moment to view her surroundings. "I don''t like this ce..." Since she didn''t actuallymunicate with sound, Vahn was able to hear Loi-chan''s words without issue. In response, he adopted a wry smile and replied, ("I''ll take you somece fun once we return home. For now, can you tell me what, if anything, this man is thinking? If that doesn''t work, try transforming into Lace. If this is someone''s attempt to try and ''seal'' me away...well, some punishments will need to be meted out...") Though there was visible reluctance in Loi-chan''s expression, she didn''t hesitate to nod and transform into the Demon Lord of Stagnation. As she did, even Vahn felt an unusual sense of ''dullness'' in the back of his mind, almost like he was spacing out. After a tense period ofplete silence, Loi-chan eventually reverted to her original form, an apologetic expression on her face as she shook her head and revealed, "The only thing in this guy''s head is a strange sound. It''s kind of like the dial tone of a phone, but it reverberates around in your head and prevents you from thinking." Extending his hand, Vahn ruffled Loi-chan''s vermillion-red hair as he said, ("No worries. At least you tried.") Feeling a lot better after Vahn''s caress, Loi-chan''s smile returned as she changed into the form of a remarkably voluptuous woman with purple hair that extended well past her feet. She bore an uncanny resemnce to the Medusa from the Nasuverse, but she was nearly two meters tall and ''a lot'' more developed... Aware of Vahn''s thoughts, a teasing smile developed across Loi-chan''s face as she put her hands on her hips and shamelessly wagged her butt. Her white and gold outfit left ''very'' little to the imagination,rge sections of her skin left entirely exposed while the rest was veiled in a paper-thin fabric that looked like it would bepletely transparent when wet. ("Loi-chan...") As much as he appreciated the sight of Lace''s ostensibly wless body, Vahn didn''t want to tarry in the Demon Lord of Stagnation''s domain. He might be immune to most of its effects, but if his connection with the outside was somehow severed, the Little Garden might not even exist by the time he emerged. The likelihood of that happening was infinitesimally small, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Sensing Vahn''s concerns, Loi-chan offered a curt nod before closing her eyes and focusing. Lace possessed one of the most all-epassing forms of omniscience within the Transcendental Path to Heaven. She was given the purpose of observing and cataloging all things within the Order of Creation, so, in many ways, she could be considered the younger sister of Loi-chan. Others would bepletely overwhelmed by the vastness of Lace''s awareness, but Loi-chan felt a peculiar sense offort as she casually sifted through an infinite number of conscious threads. "Found it~." Opening her amethyst-purple eyes, a yful smile developed across Loi-chan''s face as she revealed, "It was Lace herself that intervened. She is concerned you''re ruining the n her friend sacrificed herself to set in motion, so she wanted to keep you here until things concluded. As for the clear condition of the game, you simply need to touch the Demon Lord of Stagnation''s body." ("Ah...") Understanding what Loi-chan was referring to, Vahn couldn''t help feeling a twinge of guilt. Unfortunately, while he didn''t mind letting Izayoi and the Problem Children y heroes, he wasn''t going to let trillions of people die in the wake of the Demon Dragon God''s release. Canaria, Izaoi''s adoptive mother, was an extraordinary woman, but the n she formted was no longer the only way to ensure the Little Garden''s survival. Extending his hand, Vahn gave the transformed Loi-chan another pat on the head as he said, ("Try to convey to her that the legacy of Canaria was never her n, but the future that lies beyond it. So long as even a single additional person is saved, I doubt Canaria would mind events ying out a little differently...") Nodding her head in understanding, Loi-chan closed her eyes and tried to convey Vahn''s intentions to Lace. She had no direct influence over the people whose identities she assumed, but Lace was methodical to the point she would notice even subtle changes in her thoughts or intentions. Thus, from the moment Loi-chan assumed her identity, Lace had been analyzing each of her threads of consciousness in search of the ''anomaly'' that existed within. While Loi-chan was busy doing her thing, Vahn floated over and ced his hand on the Demon Lord of Stagnation''s shoulder. The moment he did so, the world around him began to dissolve away as the Laws of the world gradually came into effect. What was far more surprising, at least to Vahn, was the fact that the Demon Lord of Stagnation abruptly raised his head, a twisted smile adorning his face before his body dissolved away with the world around him... Though he sensed no malice from the man, Vahn couldn''t help thinking, ("Well, that was ominous...") as a destructive force copsed in on him from all sides. The Demon Lord''s domain had created a void within space and time itself, so the pressure differential between the interior and the outside was enough to generate apressive force rivaling a singrity as the atmosphere attempted to achieve equilibrium. Unaffected by the destruction, Vahn took a moment to assist with the stabilization process before turning to meet the stunned gazes of Urer, Vereandi, and even Skuld. When he did, illusory hearts seemed to appear within pastel blue eyes before she abruptly teleported over to him, arms wrapping around his head as she forced his face into her bosom and eximed, "That''s my darling~! Not even one of the Three Great Demon Lords is enough to stop you~!" Seeing how shameless her elder sister was being, a faintly exasperated sigh emanated from Vereandi''s throat. Immediately afterward, however, a smile developed across her face as she and Skuld floated over. Vahn still needed toplete the Ninth Trial, but that was more of a formality than anything else. By bing the Master of the Past and Present, he could ''grasp'' the Future whenever he pleased. With Urer releasing him after a gentle smack to the bottom, Vahn met the gaze of Vereandi as he mused, "That was quite the Eighth Trial..." Smiling wryly, Vereandi attempted to defend herself by saying, "I have no control over who or what appears in my Trials. If I did, I would have never allowed that...thing to enter this ce..." Since there were no known means to stop the spread of the Demon Lord of Stagnation''s influence, only slow it down, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say his appearance had jeopardized the World Tree and the Nine Realms as a whole. Thus, even though she was still a little frustrated by Vahn''s previous words and actions, Vereandi''s most prominent sentiments right now were anxiety, gratitude, and a hint of expectation... Though he felt it was wrong for Vereandi to refer to the Demon Lord of Stagnation as a thing, Vahn alleviated most of her concerns by nodding his head and stating, "No worries." before shifting his attention to Skuld and asking, "What now...?" Averting her eyes, Skuled used her three pairs of wings to conceal her body as she meekly replied, "Now you just need to im your prize...by bing the Master of the Past and Present, you''ve gained the right to shape the Future as you please..." Punctuating her words, Skuld slowly opened her wings to reveal she was nearly naked. Aplex runic pattern covered much of her torso, almost like a corset, but the thing that stood out more than anything else was her ornate silver chastity belt. There was also a key attached to a silver chain around her neck, but Skuld promptly pulled it off and presented it to Vahn as she said, "The Future is yours..." in a solemn tone tinged with devotion. Though he epted the key, Vahn didn''t actually need it if he wanted to remove Skuld''s chastity belt. Thus, after a moment of deliberation, he left the blue-haired beauty at a momentary loss for words as he tossed it over his shoulder. Then, before she could misconstrue his intentions, he moved close enough to slip his thumbs under the metallic band of her belt as if it wereprised of ordinary fabric. Her body briefly tensed, leading to her closing her wings around him, but Vahn just smiled as he leaned closer in an attempt to kiss Skuld''s lips... *Ahem* After loudly clearing her throat, a tinge of red bled into Vereandi''s cheeks as she hugged her body remarked, "There is an order to everything...you can''t be the Master of the Future without first iming the Past and Present..." Understanding what Vereandi was trying to say, a low chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat as two more versions of himself manifested out of thin air. He had already crossed the line Urer, so while he still believed the trio would be happier if they found someone else to dedicate their hearts and bodies to, he had no intention of leaving things half-finished... ... .. . Distracting her from her search for Loi-chan, the eyes of the original Lace widened as she ''witnessed'' Vahn oveing what should have been an impossible trial. Ever since the destruction of the original Little Garden and the advent of Gift Games, no one has managed to approach the Demon Lord of Stagnation. His power had increased drastically since then, so she couldn''t fathom had Vahn had managed to break free, much less in such a short period. Shifting her focus to Vahn, something she had rarely done throughout her entire existence, Lace was unsurprised to find him having sex. She had witnessed such scenes countless times before, so she didn''t so much as flinch upon seeing it. She did, however, pay attention...something she had never done before... ... .. . (A/N: We''re baaaaaaack~! For those that don''t know, I put EPIC on hiatus to focus on my mental and physical health for a bit.. If you''d like to read the story I was working on in my ''off time,'' feel free to check out Mushoku Impact. It''s up to Chapter 140 now and is only getting better~!) Chapter 2309: Freedom

Chapter 2309: Freedom

"It''s done." Though he still needed to supply the Nine Realms with the Gifts he had promised, Vahn promptly informed Vor and her sisters of his sessful trial. A few of them had been lounging about in his room, not having sex or trying to service him, but watching animated movies together. Hearing Vahn''s statement, a faint but genuine smile developed across Vor''s face as she softly remarked, "You would be the one toplete an impossible series of Trials in mere hours...now I feel like a fool for failing to entreat you sooner..." Chiming in from her position at Vahn''s side, Fenrir appended, "Everyone who opposes Master is a fool. It''s good that you realized your mistake..." Instead of taking offense to Fenrir''s words, a rare chuckle emanated from Vor''s throat. She could still vividly recall the incident that had taken ce during Zao Shen''s Immortal Banquet. Back then, she genuinely believed she could at least injure Vahn. With the benefit of hindsight, she couldn''t deny she had been incredibly foolish. After ruffling Fenrir''s hair and whispering for her not to bully others, Vahn asked the question at the forefront of his mind, specifically, "What will you and your sisters do now? I imagine quite a few of you will join the Aldrnari Empire, even if I insist it isn''t necessary..." Nodding her head in affirmation, Vor stated, "I can''t speak for the others, but I intend to pledge myself to you and the Aldrnari Empire. As base as this may sound, I consider myself one of the more fortunate women in the Little Garden to be able to share your bed. I''ll not give up such a coveted position willfully..." Exhaling a soft chuckle, Vahn did his best to ignore the looks the other Valkyries were giving him as he replied, "If that''s what you want, you''re free to stay as long as you''d like. Just keep in mind the Aldrnari Empire doesn''t need servants or soldiers. If service orbat is what they seek, tell your sisters they are free to determine their own path from now on. If that happens to be a life outside of the Little Garden, I have the power to send them to virtually any world, even the ones we''ve spent thest day or so binging." Hearing Vahn''s remark, one of the twin scouts, G?ll, perked up to ask, "Is that true?" in an audibly excited tone. They had been binge-watching an anime rted to the Nasuverse known as Poetic Edda, a three-part series where the main character had allowed his Servant, the Rider ss Sigrun, to wish upon the Holy Grail. As a result, Yggdrasil, located on the Reverse Side, had been linked to the Surface. What followed was a destructive but visually stunning tale that pit Servants and Gods from across time against the seemingly unstoppable forces of the Nine Realms. Seeing through G?ll''s intentions, the corners of Vahn''s smile curled up as he nodded his head and replied, "Of course. I''m not exactly known for lies and deceit. Why? Is there a world you would like to visit...?" Pointing toward the theater-sized disy, G?ll adopted an expression that was equal parts pouty and adorable as she insisted, "I want to go and teach those despicable mages a lesson! How dare they attempt to set fire to the World Tree...!" "..." Resisting the urge to point out that the Mages, at least those aiding the MC, were technically the good guys, Vahn just nodded his head and said, "I don''t mind sending you over. However, it goes against my principles to allow people to run rampant without regard for the sanctity of life. If I do send you over, you would have an obligation to preserve and protect, not cause wanton destruction." "Eeeeh..." As she had been imagining herself blowing up ces like London and the Clock Tower, G?ll''s face scrunched up when she heard Vahn''s words. She understood why Vahn would have such policies, but many of the Mages who appeared in the series were both despicable and cowardly. Instead of fighting honorably, they enved Heroes and Gods to do their bidding. To make matters worse, they even employed blood magic to sacrifice the entire poption of Nothern Europe in an attempt to burn down Yggdrasil, all while they actively avoided the frontlines. Adopting a wry smile, Vahn supnted, "I didn''t say you couldn''t kill, just not wantonly. If you want to intervene in the efforts of the Clock Tower or try to talk some sense into the rulers of Asgard, I don''t mind sending you over. You just need to keep in mind that there are good and bad people on both sides." "Mou..." Unable to refute Vahn''s words, G?ll began drawing circles on the ground while her twin sister, Geir?lul, pat her shoulder. Thetter also wanted to punish the Mages of the Clock Tower, but she also understood that there wouldn''t be a conflict if Sigrun hadn''t wished for it. After being trapped on the Reverse Side for so long, there was no way the Nine Realms would sit on their hands and try to negotiate with the Surface... Deciding to offer the girls some advice, Vahn suggested, "If you value my opinion, you should descend into a peaceful world without conflict. There is no shame in living a mundane life. It''s remarkably therapeutic and helps you better understand the values of ordinary people." Nodding her head in affirmation, Sis, while happily snuggling up against Vahn, appended, "Vahn''s right. If you''ve never even tried to understand how ordinary people live, you''ve no right to pass judgment on them. You girls were born with remarkable power and a sense of purpose from the start. You could benefit greatly from starting over and living a life where you seek purpose rather than being given it. That''s what allows humans and other ''lesser'' creatures to readily change and adapt, a characteristic even the Gods envy." Supplying a nod of his own, Vahn all but cemented the decision of a few Valkyries as he added, "I can make it so that your ''true'' body remains in the Divine Realm. That way, you can reincarnate or transmigrate without having to feel as though you''re trapped in a specific setting. Inversely, I can inhibit your memories and allow you to livepletely ordinary lives. That would be the best way to get an unbiased perspective on what it''s like to live amongst humans, beast people, or whatever race you choose to be. Now that you''re free, the possibilities are endless, the paths avable to you infinite. You just need to be brave enough to take the first step." With a hint of authority naturally suffusing his words, Vahn sounded pretty convincing to the group of Valkyries that had spent their entire lives in the service of others. Many of them had been nning to relocate to the East and join the Aldrnari Empire, not because they felt obliged to repay Vahn''s favor, but because they didn''t know what else to do. Before today, notions such as what they would do if given the freedom to determine their future were little more than a passing fancy. Now, after thousands of years in the service of others, they were finally free to serve themselves... ... .. . While the ''prime'' version of himself waszing about with Sis, Fenrir, and a handful of Valkyries, another version of Vahn had been demonstrating his craftsmanship in front of Odin, Muninn, and a small vige''s worth of Dwarven Forgemasters. He didn''t want to reveal that he could essentially just snap his fingers to create high-ranking Gifts, so he was forging a few directly. Seeing Vahn''s skill with a hammer, a few of the Dwarves inexplicably had tears in their eyes. The Norse Pantheon was one of the few without a God of Forging/Crafting. Instead, it was the Dwarves of Nidavellir who forged their weapons and armaments, their skills so legendary that they were the reason so many fantasy settings had Dwarves among their core races. Ignoring the ''passionate'' gazes of several Elder Dwarves, Vahn continued hammering away while casually manipting multiple Laws to ensure the quality and condition of the materials he was forging. At his current level, he didn''t even need to swing a hammer as he could freely manipte the internal structure of anything he touched. He simply enjoyed the feedback of striking metal to form virtually anything he could imagine. Using a pair of tongs that glistened like the surface of the sun, Vahn held up what appeared to be a dark-purple crystal. In reality, he had spent thest hour or so condensing Space Laws into a physical stone. Odin already had a few powerful armaments he was ustomed to using, so many of the Gifts he had requested for himself were catalysts that would empower his present abilities. Sensing the immense power contained within the stone, Vahn activated his Oblivion and began inscribing an intricatetticework of runes within its core. His actions drastically decreased the output of the stone, but it also made it much, much easier to control. "And that makes five..." Dipping the unimaginably hot stone into a quenching liquidprised of Pure Yin Elemental Energy, a glisteningyer resembling ice formed over the stone. The energy it produced gave it a surface temperature nearing infinity, so he utilized Pure Yin Elemental Energy as a stabilizing element. After that, it was a simple matter of naming the stone. Holding up the 100 carat stone between his thumb and index finger, Vahn looked to Odin as he questioned, "What do you want to call this one? The Space Stone...?" As the other four stones he had produced were called the Time, Fire, and Water Stones, Vahn wasn''t too surprised when Odin nodded his head and said, "Space Stone will suffice." Nodding his head, Vahn channeled his authority and intent as he held the stone in his palm and dered, "Henceforward, you shall be known as the Space Stone..." Reacting to Vahn''s words, ayer cker than the void formed across the stone as a massive surge of energy attempted to explode outward. Due to the presence of Vahn, however, the stone simply appeared to shimmer for a moment as theyer, despite appearing paper-thin from the perspective of an observer, had a volumeparable to a sr system. Sensing that the energy within the stone had stabilized, Vahn took a moment to confirm it was ''only'' S-Rank before manipting it to drift over to Odin as he exined, "Like the other stones, it''s Soulbound, so, unless you willfully transfer ownership to another, the only person that can make use of its power is you. As for its abilities, it''s virtually indestructible and allows you to produce a domain in which you have near-absolute control over the Space within. Beyond that, you can use it to manipte gravity and, more notably, the space between atoms. I imagine you already have the power to change size, but the Space Stone will allow you to alter the size and mass of anything it touches." Grabbing the Space Stone, Odin could sense the power contained within even through his gauntleted hand. When he heard Vahn''s exnation, his singr eye glistened as he muttered, "Extraordinary..." in genuine marvel. Gifts rted to Space and Time were among the rarest and most powerful in existence. Now that he had Gifts rted to both, he could theoretically manipte Space and Time within the territory of other Communities, not just the Nine Realms and Asgard... Shaking his head, Odin summarily suppressed his notions of domination and conquest. So long as Vahn and the Aldrnari Empire were around, he would have to measure his actions and ''y fair.'' After all, no matter how powerful Gifts like the Space and Time Stone were, they might as well be trinkets in front of the being that had casually created them... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn is Rank 1 speedrunner xD...'',''He said the thing...!'',''Casually creating Infinity Stones....'') Chapter 2310: Underwood

Chapter 2310: Underwood

After one final night in Asgard, Vahn left Muninn and Vor to deal with any fallout from freeing the Valkyries while he, Fenrir, and Sis made their way further South to the headquarters of the Draco Grief Alliance, a huge city built beneath a Giant Water Tree. Though the size of the Giant Water Tree couldn''tpare to Yggdrasil, Vahn was still impressed by its beauty. The emerald canopy of the tree spanned several tens of kilometers while the root system branched out toward the horizon. Betwixt this root system, hundreds, if not thousands of canals had been constructed, their interiors reinforced with shimmering green crystals that helped to redirect the water from the Great Water Tree into severalrge rivers. It was quite the sight to behold, but the reason most people venture to the Giant Water Tree was for whaty beneath, a massive, endlessly expanding depression where the Underground City of Underwood had been constructed. With more than 90% of Underwood''s residents being eudemons, beast people, or some form of magical creature, no one even batted an eye as Vahn, Sis, and Fenrir ventured through the carved wooden streets. From the perspective of the underground city''s residents, a ''human'' like Vahn stood out more than the two girls, so, shortly afternding, he made his ears pointy, sprouted a pair of curved ck horns, and a thick dragon tail tinged with a golden hue. Though Sis kept periodically poking his tail, Vahn didn''t particrly mind it as the three of them made their way down one of the helical paths that lined the interior of the Great Water Tree. Countless shops and entire city districts extended away from the central helix, disappearing into a maze-like structure that spanned hundreds of kilometers. It was pretty easy to get lost if you didn''t have a cheat-like mapping ability, but that was a non-issue as Vahn, Sis, and Fenrir had no reason to stray from the city center, the convergence point of the six Communitiesprising the Draco Grief Alliance: One Horn, Two Wings, Three Tails, Four Feet, Five ws, and Six Scars. Bypassing the headquarters of the other five Communities, Vahn and co continued until they reached the deepest level of Underwood''s spiraling path, the location of a vast system of underground tunnels and the One Horn Community Headquarters. Vahn found it a little odd that a Griffin, a creature known for its flying prowess, would establish a Community deep underground, but, seeing how vast some of the surrounding tunnels were, it wasn''t difficult to imagine entire squads of Griffins flying through them. Making their way to a building constructed in and around one of the Great Water Tree''srger root systems, Vahn, Sis, and Fenrir were forced to stop outside a heavily fortified gate by guardsmen and women from more than a dozen different races. Representing the group was a tall, heavily-armored man with the head of a wolf, shouting, "Halt! You are attempting to enter the Headquarters of One Horn and the Draco Grief Alliance! Unless you have an invitation or an escort, you''ll need to be processed before you''re allowed entry...!" Though he was unsurprised by the man''s words, an ''are you serious'' kind of face developed across Vahn''s as he saw the wolf-headed man staring intently at Fenrir. The man had a no-nonsense expression on his face, but the not-so-subtle wagging of his tail made it clear he was excited. Narrowing her eyes at the wolf-headed man, Fenrir threatened, "I will tear your throat out if you keep looking at me like that..." Instead of being offended or deterred by Fenrir''s words, a literal wolfish-grin developed across the man''s face as he brandished his spear and was about to give the order to arrest the three intruders. The moment he even thought about it, however, he abruptly copsed to the ground like a sack of potatoes, eyes rolled back and frothing at the mouth as Vahn exuded a fraction of his aura and stated, "Inform your leadership that Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor, hase to pay a visit." Upon seeing theirpanion fall to the ground, many of the guardsmen and women were prepared to detain Vahn andpany at all cost. When they heard his introduction, however, they abruptly froze in ce as those with the ability felt a cold sweat break out across their bodies. Just as Vahn was about to retract his aura, a deep and womanly voice called out, "Stand down...!" as a beautiful young woman with bronze skin and vermillion hair leaped through the sky tond between Vahn and the collection of guards. Her pointy ears and horns revealed her heritage as a Dragon''s descendent, but the feature most people would notice about her appearance was the scant, dancer-like outfit that did little to conceal her lithe and athletic frame. Having exposed herself to Vahn''s aura, a noticeable shudder shook the body of the bronze-skinned woman before she managed a determined expression and started to ask, "What businesshold on a minute! Aren''t you the Sage Dragon Emperor...!?" Though she very rarely paid attention to events taking ce beyond the South, the bronze-skinned woman, better known as S Doldrake, could never mistake the identity of the man who had married her younger sister. His pointed ears, sharper features, horns, and tail had momentarily thrown her off, but the aura he exuded was unmistakably that of a Pure-Blooded Dragon. Not sure if she should bow or cower, S''s knees began to shake even as Vahn adopted a casual smile and said, "It''s good to finally meet you, S. Though you parted ways when she was still an infant, your sister has told me quite a lot about you." Hearing Vahn mention her abandonment of Sandora, S''s expression paled as she balled her hands into fists. She doubted Vahn hade all this way to take her back to the North, but the thought of being forced to reconcile with her family terrified her to the core. Mustering what little willpower she could, S sheepishly inquired, "Why have youe here...?" Not used to seeing their War Leader behaving in such a way, the group of guardsmen and women appeared even more nervous than S. Vahn felt a little sorry for them, but he did his best not to mind it as he replied, "We were invited here some time ago by Draco Grief himself. I happened to be in the area after visiting the Nine Realms, so I figured I might as well stop by." Furrowing her brows, a bit of vigor returned to S as she parroted, "The Nine Realms? What business could you possibly have with such a vicious and bloodthirsty lot? Don''t tell me..." Waving his hand in a dismissive manner, Vahn said, "Rx. I''m not trying to destabilize or conquer the South. At the very least, I have no intention of starting a war. If anything, I''m taking measures to prevent one." "I see..." Though she didn''t fully trust Vahn''s words, S knew the Aldrnari Empire had more than enough power to conquer the South. If the rumors were to be believed, he was already at a level where he could contend against the ancient beings inhabiting the 1-3-Digit Gates. Even if he wasn''t, the Draco Grief Alliance wasprised of six 5-Digit Communities. If not for the fall of Avalon and the constant fighting between the 4-Digit Communities that popted the South, the Draco Grief Alliance would never be able to hold on to the position of Floor Master. Imagining Vahn''s dragon form erasing Underwood with a single sweep of his hand, another powerful shiver wracked S''s frame. She wasn''t cold, but she found herself hugging her body in a vain attempt to suppress her instincts. Her subordinates interpreted her behavior as fear, but Vahn and S knew the actual reason for her trembling... Smiling wryly, Vahn suppressed his draconic aura as much as possible as he said, "Please tell Draco Grief I havee to meet him. The medicine I sent over previously should have healed him fully, but I''d like to check on him at least once." Recalling that Vahn had, in fact, treated their Leader''s illness, S felt a sudden urge to apologize on behalf of the entire Draco Grief Alliance. If she lowered her head in her current state, however, she might not be able to raise it without Vahn''s permission. Thetter''s bloodline and aura were so pure that S''s body, quite literally, craved to submit to him... Gritting her sharpening teeth, S muttered, "Dammit..." under her breath. Then, as if he had been standing right in front of her, Vahn''s hand came to rest on her head, an overwhelming calm and cooling energy pervading her body before she even had time to blink. The heat that had been agonizing her disappeared in an instant, reced by a sense of peaceful serenity as Vahn retracted his hand and revealed, "I sealed your bloodline, albeit only temporarily. You can break it by mustering your power, but I would advise you to keep it in ce until my departure. If you want a more permanant solution, I can change your race into something else entirely..." Though she felt a mixture of frustration and confusion at the first part of Vahn''s words, S blinked in surprise when he mentioned being able to change her race. One of the reasons she had fled the North was because her father had forced her to consume a special aphrodisiac mixed with his blood. It was supposed to make her more pliant.'' Instead, it triggered a violent awakening of her draconic heritage,pelling her to attack her father before fleeing in a frenzy. When she finally returned to her senses, most of her power had been lost, and she now felt agitated whenever she was in the presence of other dragons, particrly males. After briefly considering Vahn''s proposal, S''s pride as a Smander eventually won out, her expression turning severe as she shook her head and replied, "While I appreciate your concern, this is a matter I must deal with personally. If I can''t do this much, I''ll never be able to face those my actions have harmed..." "You''re an idiot." "Wha-" Without giving S a chance to question him, Vahn shook his head and said, "While I understand your reasons, we both know you''re just making excuses. The truth of the matter is that your brother and sister have been eagerly awaiting your return. Now that your father is dead, the only thing preventing you from returning home is your selfishness. I''m half-tempted to teleport you over to the North and force you to reconcile...In fact..." Before S could even think to evade or argue, Vahn extended his hand to flick her forehead. The moment his middle finger made contact with the golden band holding up her bangs, the befuddled beauty dispersed into motes of golden light. Seeing their War Leader suddenly disappear, the guardsmen and women that had been standing around like a bunch of statues immediately came back to life. Those closest attempted to charge at Vahn, but he countered their efforts by casually teleporting them to the surface of Underwood as he, Sis, and Fenrir advanced into the interior. Arge gate and an invisible barrier barred their passage, but both warped and distorted to allow the trio passage before repairing themselves the moment they were inside... Spreading his senses through thepound, a frown marred Vahn''s face as he realized there were no Griffins inside. Instead, there was a veritable army of beast people loitering about and a girl withvender hair sitting in what he had presumed to be Draco''s office. She had a tiny, spiral-shaped horn growing from the center of her forehead, and, based on the structure of her aura, Vahn correctly assumed she was a Unicorn... "That exins the name..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''He''s just lucky Vahn knocked him out before Fenrir could teach him a lesson...'',''RIP S-chan xD...'',''Who could have imagined the Leader of One-Horn being a Unicorn (O o O)....?'') Chapter 2311: The Leader of One-Horn

Chapter 2311: The Leader of One-Horn

*tok* *tok* *tok* Though it was unusual for people to knock on her door, especially around this time of day, the Leader of One-Horn, one of thest Unicorns, perked up as she replied, "It''s open. Please enter." Doing just that, Vahn opened the door to the room with a friendly smile on his face as he said, "Greetings. It''s-" Rising from her chair with a start, the Leader of One-Horn''s eyes were as round as saucers as she abruptly eximed, "You''re Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor!" Though he was somewhat surprised by thevender-haired girl''s reaction, Vahn maintained his friendly smile as he raised his hand and issued a curt, "That''s me." in a jovial tone. Exhibiting even more excitement, the Leader of One-Horn took a moment to grab what appeared to be a sketchbook and a pen before rushing over to Vahn with supernatural speed and asking, "Can I please, please, please have your autograph!?" After quickly confirming there were no shenanigans afoot, Vahn epted the sketchbook to find an almost photorealistic drawing of himself on the presented page. It,bined with the sparkles in the girl''s eyes, made it pretty clear he had himself a little fan. "Here you go, Miss?" "Mariane Silverhoof! Please call me Merry!" Nodding his head, Vahn handed the signed sketchpad back to Merry as he replied, "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Merry." epting the sketchpad, Merry issued a high-pitched squeal as she hugged it to her chest and did an amusing little jig that involved stamping her feet and spinning around in excitement. Afterpleting two full revolutions, Merry spontaneously stopped in ce, a look of realization developing across her face as she tilted her head to the side and asked, "How are you here right now? I didn''t hear anything from S-oneechan" Closing her eyes, Merry tensed when she perceived that S and quite a few of her guards were missing. Her body immediately began to tremble, but, instead of exhibiting fear, there was a hint of excitement in her gaze as she opened her eyes, allowed the band of her white dress to slip from her left shoulder, and muttered, "Oh, nowhat are you nning to do with me?" "" x 3 While being sure to avoid Merry''s horn, an appendage rumored to be able to pierce through virtually anything, Vahn gave the 133cm tall girl a pat on the head as he remarked, "You have a bit of ayful side to you, I see" Realizing that Vahn hadn''t invaded her office to **** and ***** her, Merry exhaled a long and exasperated sigh as she questioned, "Is it my height? Or maybe the size of my breasts?" Since the fabric of her pure white dress was thin enough to appear transparent in some ces, Mery made a show of grabbing and pushing up her fairlyrge breasts. At the very least, they were very notable for a girl of her diminutive stature. With upturned, ostensibly resolute purple eyes, Merry pushed her breasts together as she remarked, "I''m 308, you know?" Exhaling a soft chuckle, Vahn retracted his hand from Merry''s head as he assured her, "Rx. It''s not that I don''t find you charming. It''s just that I, or, more urately, we came here in search of Draco Grief." Though the truth was that she had been ignoring them, Merry pretended to be surprised by the presence of Sis and Fenrir, her eyes widening as she covered her mouth and replied with a mock startled, "Oh! Where did you two pop out from!?" Maintaining a deadpan expression, Fenrir remarked, "Bad girl" while Sis just covered her mouth to suppress a squint-eyed giggle. Members of the Unicorn species were known to be a little vain, so she wasn''t surprised by Merry''s behavior. Instead, she found it rather amusing. Hearing Fenrir''s remark, Merry furrowed her brows as she insisted, "I''m a Unicorn. Unicorns are among the purest and holiest creatures in the Little Garden. I can''t be a bad girl." Rolling her eyes, Fenrir managed to elicit a rather prominent blush from Merry as she corrected herself, appending, "Horny girl" With a face redder than a cherry tomato, Merry began to tremble as she held the hem of her dress and muttered, "You" Instead of refuting Fenrir''s words, Merry became a little teary-eyed as she stamped her foot and eximed, "So what if I''m perverted!? Don''t think you can judge me, youyoustinky dog breath!" Raising her brows, Fenrir tly remarked, "My breath isn''t stinky." before crossing her arms and adding, "Master likes good and honest girls. If you want him to pamper you, you need to be-" "Fenrir" Having just added a trio of Giantesses and quite a number of Valkyries to the list of girls he was having sex with, Vahn''s expression turned wry as he uttered his most trusted Companion''s name. Her ears drooped a little in response, but she kept her arms crossed as she engaged Merry in an impromptu staring contest. Suppressing her growing urge to stab Fenrir with her horn, Merry decided to give the Vanargandr''s advice a try, stating, "Unicorns are nearly extinct, and we can''t stand being around members of our own species." Tearing her eyes away from Fenrir, Merry looked up at Vahn with a serious expression on her face as she added, "Every Unicorn is said to have a soul mate, a single person who they feel a connection. When I saw your battle against Amaterasu, my heart felt like it was going to beat out of my chest. I couldn''t sleep for days, and my stomach feels all fluttery when I imagine all the things we might do together" cing her hands on her stomach, Merry''s breathing became noticeably quickened as she swallowed hard and stated, "I want you to mess me up. I want you to defile the purity I have protected thesest three-hundred years by ****** my ***** with your massive dragon ****." "" "Oh my" "I knew she was a pervert" Ignoring Sis and Fenrir, Merry''s face became progressively redder as she began to move her hands across her abdomen, panting, "PleaseI want it so bad. ***** my insides and make me into your *******" Unable to ignore it any longer, Vahn scratched the back of his head as he asked, "What''s with the sudden gaps in your speech pattern? I know what you''re saying, but it''s a little uncanny" "Eeeeeeeeh" Before responding to Vahn''s words, Merry brought her left hand up to her breast, unabashedly pinching her faintly visible nipple as she said, "I said it before, didn''t I? Unicorns are among the purest and most holy creatures in the Little Garden. Even if I say ****, *****, and **** ** **** **** *** **** *** *** ** **** * **********, the Central Network will censor it." "" Though he realized he was dealing with a rather advanced pervert, a soft chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat as he replied, "I see. I''m guessing it works simr to how the Law of Decency functions. Pretty neat." Since Vahn hadn''t said anything about her literally groping herself, Merry hiked up her dress and remarked, "I know, right? Check this out" Exhibiting an outrageousck of shame, Merry promptly pulled down her pure white panties just enough to reveal their contents. The moment she did, Vahn, Sis, and Fenrir were practically blinded as a brilliant white light filled the room. Seeing that Vahn and Sis werergely unaffected by her exposure, the ruddyplexion of Merry''s face became more prominent as she asked, "Can you see it?" Returning a smile, Vahn remarked, "It''s cute." while Sis just covered her mouth to suppress anotherugh. They didn''t know if it was a birthmark or something Merry had inscribed upon herself, but she had a tiny, pale purple heart tattooed above her groin. She was alsopletely shaven or, more likely, unable to grow hair. "It grows" "Pardon?" Instead of borating, Merry pulled up her panties and let her dress fall back into ce as she asked, "So, how about it? If you say no, I may have to spend the rest of my life alone. There''s even a chance someone will capture me, saw off my horn, drain my blood, and carve out my heart to use as materials. Don''t you think it would be suuuuuuper tragic if I didn''t get to experience love at least once before then?" Maintaining a smile, Vahn shook his head and remarked, "You really are a bad girlwell, maybe not badmore like naughty" Adopting a smile of her own, Merry stated, "I''m usually not like this. It''s because you''re here. So long as it means you''ll *** **** **** **** **-" cing his hands on Merry''s shoulders, Vahn said, "Please stop doing that. It''s incredibly uncanny" Hanging her head and shoulders, Merry''s expression morphed into one of profound mncholy until Vahn suddenly picked her up by the pits of her arms and mused, "Don''t look so glum. It isn''t the reason I came here, but I never said we couldn''t have sex. You''re certainly cute enough, and your words have a scary amount of sincerity in them" cing Merry on the edge of her desk, Vahn rolled up the abruptly silent girl''s dress before pulling it over her head and arms. A brilliant white light immediately filled the room, but he could still clearly make out the petite Unicorn''s wless white mounts and her perky pink nipples. As if her behavior from before was an illusion, Merry appeared meek and innocent as she silently observed Vahn''s actions. When he guided her toy on her back, however, she willfully raised her hips and asserted, "*** ** ** ** *** **." "" Ignoring the sense of incongruency that came from his ability to trante even filtered speech, Vahn allowed his clothes to dissolve away as Sis and Fenrir moved closer to observe from his nks. Merry frowned when she saw them, but the stain on her panties continued to expand until Vahn slid them off of her and gave the perverted Unicorn everything she asked for . Sharing senses with his counterpart, a soft chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat that prompted the frowny-faced S to inquire, "What''s so funny?" in a pouty tone. In response, Sandora adopted a frown of her own as she said, "S! Don''t be mean to Vahn!" Exhaling a huffy sigh, S averted her ruby-red eyes from Sandora and Vahn as she poutily grumbled, "It was just a question" Surprising the vermillion-haired beauty, Vahn nodded his head and said, "S''s right, Sandora. No need to be so testy. As for why I wasughing, well, let''s just say another version of myself has met the Leader of One-Horn" Understanding what Vahn was implying, an exasperated groan emanated from S''s throat as she remarked, "Of course you have" As S took a moment to massage her temples, Vahn exined things for Sandora''s benefit. When Sandora responded with a radiant smile and a suppressed giggle, S couldn''t help asking, "Why are youughing? Your husband, the person responsible for your pregnant belly, is sleeping with another woman. I understand you''re trying to-" "That''s enough, S. Please don''t make assumptions based on yourck of understanding. I am perfectly content with my current situation, and I take pride in knowing my husband is socapable." Unable to suppress herself, another giggle emanated from Sandora''s throat when she saw Vahn wriggle his eyebrows. Seeing the intery between the two, S felt her exasperation growing as she hugged her body and muttered, "I don''t get it" Challenging S''s statement, Vahn stated, "If I didn''t seal your bloodline, you would have attacked me by now. Instead of fretting over nothing, you should be using this opportunity toy bare everything that''s troubled you these past couple of years. Bottling everything up when there are people ready and willing to help you is just senseless" Nodding her head in approval, Sandora added, "Vahn''s right. I''m sure you had a good reason for fleeing to the North, but, truth be told, I don''t really care. I just want my sister back. Even if you return to the South, I''m happy so long as we can meet like this once or twice a year." "" Not sure how to respond to Sandora''s words, S slumped her head, her expression a mixture of shame and confusion. She immediately regretted her silence, however, as Sandora adopted a fairly mischievous smile and added, "You don''t have to worry about sharing my ''burden'' by producing offspring with Vahn, you know? Not that I would mind, ufufufufu~." "Sandora!" Though her bronzed skin made it difficult to discern, a rather prominent blush spread through S''s cheeks when she heard Sandora''s words. It didn''t help that she had been considering that very scenario ever since Vahn first made his presence known. After all, she couldn''t just allow her species to go extinct . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Target Acquired'',''**** *** ***** ** *** *****'',''S is just asking to be bullied xD'') Chapter 2313: Improv

Chapter 2313: Improv

After doting on Merry a little more than he probably should have, Vahn carried her like a princess as she directed him to ascend the Great Water Tree. While most of the Draco Greif Alliance was situated in the underground city and its surroundings, the members of Two-Wings, consisting almost entirely of Hippogriffs and other flight-capable Eudemons, had made their home in the Great Water Tree''s branches. This was also where the Leader of the Draco Greif Alliance, Draco Greif himself, had his nest. Though many magical creatures did their best to emte humans, Griffins were nearly as famous as Dragons when it came to pride. Draco Greif was no exception to this, so, despite possessing the ability to transform into a human, he preferred to remain in his Griffin form and live in arge, 300m wide nest near the peak of the Great Water Tree. Seeing Vahn, Sis, and Fenrir touch down with Merry in tow, Draco raised his head, resembling a bald eagle''s, from his fierce-looking, four-taloned forelimbs and said, "I was wondering when you would appear. This Draco Greif wees the Sage Dragon Emperor and hispanions. Wee to Overwood." Rising to his feet, Draco Greif emitted an ear-piercing eagle''s cry that caused a veritable swarm of Hippogriffs, Harpies, Cockatrices, Winged Cats, and several other Eudemons to emerge from the canopies below. Then, in a voice that presumably echoed through both Underwood and Overwood, he loudly announced, "The Sage Dragon Emperor has graced us with his presence! Prepare a feast and start the festivities...!" As the distant sound of cheering reached all the way to Draco Greif''s nest, a wry smile developed across Vahn''s face as he remarked, "You certainly know how to wee guests..." Adopting a strangely human smile, Draco Greif replied, "You are my life''s benefactor. Were it not for the Panacea you provided, Nidhogg''s vicious poison would have taken me months ago. This is the absolute least I can do to express my gratitude." Catching Vahn by surprise, Draco Greif made his way over and lowered his head. In less intelligent Griffins, this was a sign of respect that implied it was okay to ride them. In Draco Greif''s case, he was essentially giving Vahn permission to caress the crown of his head. As the closest thing to a God of Petting in the Transcendental Path to Heaven, Vahn immediately understood Draco Greif''s intentions. He also had zero qualms about caressing the heads of men, especially when they were in an animal form, so he set Merry down and cheerfully stroked the grateful Griffin''s head with a smile. "Oh, wow...your feathers are a lot softer than I expected..." After permitting Vahn to pet him for several seconds, Draco Greif raised his head to reveal an expression of pride as he puffed out the feathers of his chest and replied, "Of course! We groom ourselves meticulously...!" "Hahaha..." "Father...!" Interrupting the cordial atmosphere between Vahn''s group and Draco Greif, a Hippogriff possessing the front legs, wings, and head of a giant golden eagle, descended into the nest. It also possessed the backside and tail of an equine, the only features besides its size that distinguished it from a Griffin. Furrowing his brows in a very human manner, Draco Greif''s voice lowered into a borderline growl as he said, "Griffith...what are you doing here? I do not recall permitting you to leave your nest..." As he had recently put his Griffith on ''nest arrest'' for picking fights and trying to assert Two-Wings'' dominance over the other five Communities, Draco Greif wasn''t at all happy to see his youngest son. Adopting a glower of his own, albeit directed at Vahn and hispanions, Griffith replied, "Father, we''re supposed to be making preparations for our annual Harvest Festival. Preparing an Alliance-wide feast and celebration to wee someone from another district is a waste of resources..." Before Vahn could offer to ''foot the bill'' for all expenses, Draco Greif left him momentarily stunned as he abruptly charged at Griffith, reared back, and scratched him across the chest. Griffith had risen onto his hind legs to meet his father''s charge, but there was an unbridgeable gap between their size, strength, and speed. As Griffith bled profusely from some rather severe wounds on his chest, Draco Greif bellowed, "Begone, foolish child! Away with you...!" Though he didn''t forget to send another re at Vahn, Griffith kept his body low as he crawled to the edge of the nest and dove off. When he was gone, Draco Greif exhaled a tired sigh as he said, "I must apologize. We have shown you a distasteful disy..." Shaking his head, Vahn replied, "I know you have your reasons. I can also tell you held back quite a bit, so let''s leave the matter here." Nodding his head in approval, a grateful expression developed across Draco Greif''s face as he made his way over to where he had initially been lying. He didn''t want to trouble his benefactor with his family''s matters, so he appreciated Vahn''s tact. After plopping down in his original position, Draco Greif stated, "We would ask that you go and enjoy the festivities while we assemble and meet with the Leaders of Three-Tails, Four-Footed, Five-ws, and Six-Scars. Since you seem rather...well acquainted, I will permit the Leader of One-Horn to escort you..." As Merry was currently clinging to Vahn''s left arm with a happy smile on her face, Draco Greif elected to let her skip out on the meeting. One-Horn and Five-ws were jointly responsible for the security of Underwood, so their duties didn''t really change during a festival. While Merry smiled radiantly enough that her eyes appeared closed, Vahn took the liberty to state, "While I appreciate your hospitality, please allow the Aldrnari Empire to remunerate the Draco Greif Alliance for the costs of this impromptu celebration. It was never my intention to ce a burden on you or your people." Raising his brows, Draco Greif revealed, "The Under and Overwoods have abined poption of 37,339,804. I''ll not refuse if you''re offering, but can the Aldrnari Empire afford such an expense...?" Without any hesitation whatsoever, Vahn replied, "Easily. Just send me an invoice, and I can reimburse you within twenty-four hours. I''m not called the God of Infinite Possibilities for no reason." Rising with a start, Draco Greif eximed, "Splendid!" before exhaling a hearty, deep-throatedugh. Most people in Vahn''s position were greedy, licentious, and irredeemably opportunistic. It was rare for someone to be so powerful and still consider the circumstances of others. Expecting Draco Greif to keep his proposal a secret, Vahn was more than a little surprised when the former suddenly bellowed, "The Sage Dragon Emperor has generously offered to repay our hospitality in full. Make sure to express your gratitude and spare no expense for the celebration...!" cing Vahn squarely in the limelight, Draco Greif used his authority as Floor Master to create countless disys exhibiting the former''s smiling face. He was unaware of the incident that had urred when Vahn first arrived at the One-Horn Community, but Draco Grief wanted to prevent something simr from happening due to people failing to recognize him. Now, no matter where Vahn ventured in the Under or Overwoods, people would immediately recognize, greet, and celebrate his presence... ... .. . Interrupting the watch party that had S witnessing her sister''s journey through Ni No Kuni and Rerra, Vahn revealed, "A massive celebration is starting in the South. You girls want to visit...?" Without removing her head from Vahn''s chest, Sandora softly replied, "I''m fine like this..." Observing the lovey-dovey duo from the opposite end of afortable, five-person sofa, S furrowed her brows and tly remarked, "Oh? Am I finally free to go...?" Rolling his eyes, Vahn replied, "You were never trapped in the first ce. I only brought you over; I''m not keeping you here." "..." In the absence of S''s response, Sandora adopted a hurt expression as she asked, "Have our actions troubled you so? I believed we were having fun..." "..." Unable to meet Sandora''s puppy-eyed expression, S closed her eyes and massaged her forehead. She would be lying if she said she hadn''t been enjoying watching her sister living an eventful life in another world. In fact, when she first heard about Vahn''s ability to ess something he referred to as Actualized Worlds, she was seriously tempted to request if he would let her explore one. For those who had been trapped in the Little Garden their entire lives, the opportunity to descend to a lesser realm was nigh irresistible... "Look...it''s not that I don''t want to spend time with you. It''s just-" Interrupting before S could finish, Sandora pped her hands together and eximed, "Great~! Then I''ll have Vahn set up a teleporter so we can visit each other whenever we want!" "..." Seeing the excited smile on her sister''s face, S found herself exhaling another sigh before replying, "Sure..." in a somewhat defeated tone. After several hours of dealing with her not-so-little sister, she hade to the realization Sandora wasn''t going to let her disappear a second time... Inserting himself back into the conversation, Vahn maintained a casual smile as he asked, "So, what''ll it be? Want me to return you to the South, or do you want to spend more time with Sandora? If you want, I can give the two of you some-" Squeezing Vahn tightly, Sandora said, "Don''t leave." before returning her head to his chest. She got to spend plenty of time with Vahn, but it was never quite enough. Now that he was here, she wasn''t letting him leave any time soon. Adopting a markedly affectionate smile, Vahn raised Sandora''s chin to meet his gaze as he replied, "Your wish is mymand..." Earning a disproving pout from S, Vahn nted a not-so-chaste kiss on Sandora''s lips. It had started reasonably tame, but Sandora had always been prone to excitement. She also really enjoyed kissing, so their simple disy of affection ended up turning into a brief make-out session while S watched them with a developing deadpan. Imnting in S a sudden urge to return to the South, Sandora abruptly cast a sidelong gaze toward her sister and winked. She wanted S to be happy, so even if it meant she would have marginally less time with him, Sandora intended to rope her elder sister into Vahn''s ''clutches.'' Once S was able to experience the sense of contentedness Vahn was capable of bestowing, Sandora was confident she would open up more. What Sandora, and most people, didn''t know was that S already had someone she liked. It was currently one-sided, but S had developed feelings for the Saurian Demon King, Kouryuu, ever since he helped her recover from her frenzied state and settle in the South. He already had several wives and quite a number of children, but she would have joined his Community if it wasn''t situated in the East... ... .. . Though Merry had promptly invited him to her bedroom the moment they departed Draco Greif''s nest, Vahn politely declined as he felt an obligation to look around and interact with the members of the Alliance. Merry was a little disappointed at first, but she immediately perked up when Vahn told her to consider it a date. He even split off a version of himself to wander around with Sis and Fenrir, so it was just the two of them walking around and visiting all of her favorite locations. As Draco Greif had nned, virtually everyone Vahn encountered greeted him with a joyous grin. The Southern Communities were nearly as famous for their fondness of celebrations as they were for their love of conflict, so everyone was more than happy to wee the patron of their impromptu festival. Even more so when he began manifesting high-quality foods and alcohol out of thin air... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Draco Greif don''t y...'',''Sandora''s mind be like, "Vahn is love, Vahn is life..."'',''Can anyone else imagine Merry having to keep away horny animal girls with a stick? Better that than her horn, I suppose....'') Chapter 2313: Discourse

Chapter 2313: Discourse

While Vahn was enjoying his impromptu dates with Sis, Fenrir, and Merry, Draco Greif was convening with the Leaders of Two-Wings, Three-Tails, Four-Feet, Five-ws, and Six-Scars. He had also attempted to summon S, but even after searching for her using his Authority as Floor Master, he could not detect her presence. As he was well aware of the marriage between Vahn and Sandora, Draco Greif rightly assumed the former to be responsible for her absence. Thus, instead of waiting for her to arrive, he waited for the other Leaders to seat themselves before revealing, "I am considering abdicating my position as Floor Master." Though most of the Leaders reacted with some degree of surprise, the Leader of Six-Scars, a Communityprised almost entirely of Kemono, aka Beast People, calmly inquired, "I take it we are to join hands with the Aldrnari Empire...?" Despite resembling an oversized cat wearing a business suit, the Leader of Six-Scars, Garol Gundark, was nearly equal to Draco Greif in terms of influence. Six-Scars was the Community responsible for trade within the Draco Greif Alliance, so they relied heavily upon Draco Greif''s status as a Floor Master to do business in North and East Sides. If he relinquished his position without a n, it wasn''t just their profits that would suffer... Understanding his long-time friend''s concerns, Draco Greif shut his eyes, appearing to be in deep contemtion for several seconds before calmly replying, "Though I am referred to as a Floor Master, my individual power is a far below those that have held this position before me. It shames me to admit it, but I have only managed to upy this position because the more noteworthy Communities feared being targetted during their efforts to rebuild. Once they regain their power and influence, they will annihte everything we''ve struggled to build these past few years..." Never one to back down from a fight, the Leader of Five-ws, Lau Pantera, mmed the circr table in front of her as she eximed, "If it''s a fight they want, Five-ws will meet them on the battlefield! We''ve never bowed to them before; we won''t start now...!" Standing 156cm tall and possessing distinctly humanoid features, Lau wasn''t a very imposing person at first nce. Many found her more cute than intimidating, especially with her floppy, fur-covered ears and fluffy, leopard-like tail covered in white and ck fur. However, despite being surrounded by men and women with features reminiscent of lions, tigers, bears, and wolves, her raw physical power was nearly unparalleled in the entirety of the Draco Greif Alliance. The only person who even came close was S, a distant descendant of a Pure-Blooded Dragon. Closing his left eye, Garol gave Lau a side-long nce as he remarked, "As much as I appreciate Lady Pantera''s enthusiasm, such barbarity is the reason our people have been persecuted throughout the ages. Survival of the fittest may be a part of the natural order, but prosperous societies are built in opposition to such ideals. There''s no shame inpromise if it''s to ensure the survival of the next generation..." Despite her predominately human appearance, Lau''s teeth resembled those of a predator as she bared them at Garol. While she had observed the benefits of trade andmerce, she hated how Six-Scars cooperated with the very people who once persecuted them. It had only been around three years since the fall of the Avalon Community, so there was still a lot of hostility between the various beastkin tribes and humanity. Rising to his full height, Draco Greif shouted, "Enough!" before spreading his wings and releasing an intense burst of wind pressure, shattering the increasingly tense atmosphere. Lau was sent flying backward, but she managed to flip over andnd against the wall as if it were a t surface before returning to her seat with an expression that was more pouty than fierce. After Lau had returned to her seat, Draco Greif rxed his posture and said, "While I have brought you here to discuss the future of our Alliance, my abdication is unavoidable. I am long past my prime, and my life might have ended months ago if not for the grace afforded by the Sage Dragon Emperor. With that in mind, I have invited you here for three reasons. To determine whether or not we will join hands with the Aldrnari Empire, who will represent us within the Sage Dragon''s Court, and who will rece me as Floor Master..." Shifting his eagle-eyed gaze to Garol, Draco Greif added, "As Six-Scars is singrly responsible for our Alliance''s coboration with Communities in the North and East Sides, I would hear your counsel first. Tell us what you know of the Aldrnari Empire and the Sage Dragon''s Hearth preceding it..." While caressing his furry chin as if it were a beard, Garol casually replied, "Very little, I''m afraid. I attempted to have one of my daughters prate the ranks of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, but the only person who seems to recruit for them is the Sage Dragon Emperor himself. All anyone knows for certain is that they can grant pretty much any request, so long as you are willing to sign a contract..." Lowering his head slightly, Draco Grief paused to organize his thoughts before questioning, "Do we know what these contracts entail? I''ve heard countless rumors, but I''ve yet to hear the specifics." Nodding his head, Garol adopted a distinctly business-like smile as he answered, "That''s actually one of the more fascinating things about the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. Many assume the contract is akin to signing their life away or swearing allegiance to the Sage Dragon Emperor. In reality, the only thing the Sage Dragon Emperor demands from signators is basic decency. He doesn''t seem to care whether or not a person is good or bad, only that they do not take things too far or target children." Though there were quite a number of additional uses in the contract Vahn had people sign, Garol found it to be incredibly straightforward for what it offered in return. There were opportunistic individuals who forced people to sign their lives away in exchange for bread and water. Vahn was practically the antithesis of this, offering wealth, power, and personalized Gifts in exchange for little more than a promise not to oppress others. It was a contract so skewed in favor of the person signing it that, even after hundreds of people had benefitted from Vahn''s phnthropy, most people still believed it to be a ruse. Adopting a smile despite possessing the facial features of an eagle, Draco Greif remarked, "That certainly sounds like the Sage Dragon Emperor. His magnanimity appears to know no bounds." Passing his gaze over the rest of the Leaders present, Draco Greif asked, "What about the rest of you? I will hear your opinions before making my final decision." Surprisingly absolutely no one, the first person to speak up was Lau, expressing, "I don''t trust him. His meteoric rise is beyond suspicious, and his nature is dubious, at best. No one seems to know what motivates him or his ultimate objective. For all we know, his apparent generosity is just a means to umte belief and extend his influence to the entirety of the Little Garden. Once he has rued enough, there''s no telling what he will use it for..." While he could see where Lau wasing from, Draco Greif shook his head and replied, "Were we talking about anyone else, I would have been inclined to agree. However, your logic is founded on the presumption that the Sage Dragon Emperor ''needs'' the belief of others..." Furrowing her brows, Lau asked, "What are you trying to say? Even the most ancient and primordial deities derive their power from belief, be it in their existence or the concepts they represent. The Sage Dragon Emperor is no exception..." Shaking his head, Draco Greif''s expression and tone became severe as he dered, "There are exceptions to everything. Just look at what the Sage Dragon Emperor has aplished in the rtively short period since his emergence. No one had heard the name Vahn Aldrnari Mason before, yet his Community currently upies a Gate none thought possible to im. Since then, he has married a Floor Master, forced countless Communities topromise, and, ording to rumors, he is even in a rtionship with the Demon Lord of the White Night..." Closing his eyes, Draco Greif allowed his words to settle into the hearts and minds of everyone present before adding, "Even if he isn''t a genuine exception to the rules we are forced to abide, the Sage Dragon Emperor is among the most ''exceptional'' beings to manifest in the Little Garden since its genesis. With beings such as Lord Shiva and Shiroyasha backing him, I believe it''s only a matter of time before he upies a 1-Digit Gate..." Convinced by Draco Greif''s reasoning, Lau slumped in her seat with a visibly pale expression. No one had managed to rise up and im a 1-Digit Gate since the destruction of the original Little Garden. Many thought that Shiroyasha and Algol would be able to shake things up, but the former faltered at the finish line while thetter practically disappeared mid-way through her rampage. If Draco Greif''s spections proved urate, Vahn would be the first in recorded history... Realizing she had been speaking ill of someone with the potential to one day rule over the Little Garden, Lau promptly decided to remain silent for the rest of the discussion. She still had her doubts, but she knew how beneficial it would be if the various Beastkin tribes and Eudemon species had a representative among the Little Garden''s upper echelons. Vahn was rtively famous for his fondness of races with animalistic traits, so, even if she didn''t fully trust him, Lau wasn''t willing topromise the future of countless races by openly challenging him... With Lau providing no additional contention, it wasn''t long before the remaining Leaders came to a consensus. The Alliance could not survive without a powerful backer, so joining hands with the Aldrnari Empire was the most sensible thing they could do given their present circumstances. As for their Representative and who would substitute Draco Greif as Floor Master, the group decided upon Merry and S. If thetter refused, the next in line would be Lau herself... ... .. . Taking advantage of the fact that neither Sandora nor S could see her, Loi-chan manifested buck naked in front of Vahn, a mischievous smile on her face as she was borrowing the form of Lau. Though he was a little surprised by Loi-chan''s sudden appearance, Vahn didn''t so much as flinch as he telepathically inquired, ("What''s up? Is the meeting already over...?") Since the two girls nking Vahn would notice if she interacted with him directly, Loi-chan maintained a safe distance as she flipped upside down and replied, "They''re willing to subordinate themselves if necessary, but they would prefer to keep their autonomy. The more interesting revtion is that Draco Greif intends to step down as Floor Master, nominating S as his recement~." ("Hoooo...") While not surprised by Draco Greif''s decision, Vahn hadn''t expected the proud Griffin to abdicate directly. If he had hosted a Gift Game, someone like Ureko could have stepped up to im the title in his ce. As Ureko was probably happier doing her own thing, Vahn dismissed the notion of trying to ''help'' her. Instead, he asked, ("Is there a reason you''re borrowing the form of Five-ws'' Leader...?") Instead of answering Vahn''s question, Loi-chan linked her hands behind her back, puffed out her breasts, and smiled mischievously. Lau was a very petite woman, but her figure was extraordinary. She had a few battle scars, including a cross-shaped scar under her vicle, but they did little to diminish her charm. Since it wasn''t umon for Loi-chan to adopt the forms of attractive women just to tease him, Vahn mentally rolled his eyes and said, ("Thanks for the information. I''ll be sure to reward you plentilyter on.") Though she hadn''t been seeking a reward, an expectant smile developed across Loi-chan''s face as she replied, "I''m looking forward to it~!" in a high-spirited tone that would have made the real Lau want to smash her face into a wall... ... .. . (A/N: I intended to write a formal apology, but I figured it would be better to post a chapter. I know I''ve disappointed a lot of people by choosing to focus on myself and other projects. I hope a dayes when I''m able to regain your trust.) Chapter 2314: Decision

Chapter 2314: Decision

With the episode they were watchinging to an end, Sandora happily remarked, "It''s amazing how interesting and diverse the worlds of anime can be. Once the baby has arrived, we should go on holiday to one of the safer worlds." Though it would be his third time descending into an Actualized World with Sandora, Vahn readily replied, "Sure. Not for too long, though. We don''t want a repeat of what happened during our stay in Rerra..." Unable to restrain her curiosity, S sat a little straighter before asking, "What happened in Rerra...?" Seizing the initiative, Sandora giggled before exining, "Vahn is popr wherever he goes. He also saves a lot of people, so those with powerful fates end up being drawn to him. During our stay in Rerra, we ended up umting quite a number of bedfellows..." Understanding what Sandora meant by ''bedfellows,'' S gave Vahn a disproving look as she asked, "What will it take for you to be satisfied? You''ve already dug your ws into my sister and countless others...does the word ''restraint'' not exist in your vocabry?" Answering before Vahn could, Sandora adopted a pouty expression as she said, "You''re mistaken, S. Vahn did his best to avoid starting any new rtionships during our stay in Ni No Kuni and Rerra. I was the one who convinced him to share his love with others." Not expecting Sandora''s response, S found herself at a prolonged loss for words. She couldn''t understand why anyone, much less her own sister, would want their man to sleep with other women. Seeing through her sister''s thoughts, Sandora was once again tempted to try and convince her to give Vahn a chance. Before she could, Vahn shook his head and whispered, "It''s okay, Sandora. I''m sure she''ll understand in due time. For now, there is something I need to mention..." Shifting his attention to S, an action that caused the bronze-skinned woman to tense, Vahn maintained a rxed smile as he revealed, "Draco Greif intends to step down as Floor Master. He has nominated you as his sessor and the Leader of Five-ws as his second. If you refuse, the position will fall to her by default." Though Draco Greif had once asked her if she was willing to take up the mantle of Floor Master, S was still taken aback by Vahn''s words. Ever since she fled the North, she had viewed herself as someone unqualified to rule. She also wasn''t a Beast Person, Kemono, or Eudemon, so it didn''t seem right for her to represent them as the Leader of the Alliance. Adopting an empathetic look, Vahn''s tone softened as he said, "You don''t need to make your decision immediately, and no one is going to force you to ept. Even if you choose to remain here or seek happiness in one of my Actualized Worlds, I will not allow the Draco Greif Alliance to crumble. Rest easy, and make the decision you believe to be best for yourself. You have that right...I guarantee it..." Feeling more relieved than she was willing to admit, S averted her eyes from Vahn and fell into deep thought. She felt like he was goading her to enter one of his Actualized Worlds, but she would be lying if she said she wasn''t tempted. The Little Garden had never felt like a home to her, and though she felt a sense of obligation towards the Draco Greif Alliance, she wasn''t ready to helm the entire organization... Though she immediately felt guilty, S hugged herself in selffort as she meekly inquired, "Where would I even go...?" Adopting an assuring smile, Vahn replied, "That''s the beauty of Actualized Worlds. You can go anywhere and be anyone you want. I could send you to apletely innocuous world without conflict, a multiversal battlefield where you can harness your skills, or an empty void where you can create worlds of your own. More importantly, you can return whenever you want and, if applicable, bring along any family or friends you happen to make during your stay..." Turning to meet Vahn''s gaze, S''s expression revealed a hint of disbelief as she questioned, "I can bring people back with me? Doesn''t that vite the Laws of the Little Garden...?" Shaking his head, Vahn calmly replied, "We wouldn''t be viting the Law of Equivalence as we''re not calling anyone from outside the Little Garden. Each of the Actualized Worlds I create exists within myself. The moment I entered the Divine Realm, the functionally infinite and diverse inhabitants of my Actaulized Worlds came with me..." Despite the tranquility of Vahn''s tone, S felt her body trembling due to the implication of his words. While it wasn''t umon for powerful Gods to manifest personalized Realms within the Gates they upied, not even the Primordials upying the 2-3-Digit Gates were capable of what Vahn was describing. Their existence gave rise to the myriad worlds making up the Lower Realms, but there was always a degree of separation between said worlds and the Divine Realm. If Vahn''s Actualized World truly existed within him, he possessed a power thatpletely circumvented the Laws of the Little Garden... Seeing through S''s thoughts, Vahn gave a yful wink and said, "Rx. If it hasn''t been made apparent, I''m the type that prefers to handle things himself. I might bring a few unique and interesting individuals out to y, but I have no intention of overwhelming the Little Garden with an endless tide of formerly fictional characters. I don''t view people as pawns." Realizing how rude she was acting, S lowered her head and said, "I apologize...it was never my intention to insinuate such a thing..." Dismissively waving his right hand, Vahn mused, "I''m used to people thinking much worse of me. Now, what do you want to do? Keep in mind that you don''t have to make a decision right this instant." Instead of immediately responding to Vahn''s words, S shifted her gaze to Sandora. It was impossible to convey how guilty she felt about running away and leaving Sandora to bear her responsibilities. If Sandora asked it of her, she would dedicate the remainder of her life to serving Smandra and, if necessary, Vahn... Returning an affectionate, meless smile, Sandora ced her hand on her abdomen as she expressed, "The only thing I want is for you to find happiness. I''ve already moved on and found my own. Isn''t it about time you do the same?" "Sandora..." Feeling an achieving feeling in her chest, S ced her hand over her heart and started to tear up. She didn''t believe she deserved forgiveness, much less happiness, but she couldn''t help craving it all the same... Driving the final nail home, Vahn conveniently reiterated, "Time within the Actualized Worlds flows independently from the Little Garden. Even if you decided to stay a literal eternity, not even a second would pass for us. In other words, you don''t have to worry about leaving Sandora behind. She''ll be here waiting for you the moment you''re prepared to return." "Ah..." Recalling that Vahn had mentioned something simr before, a faint blush colored S''s cheeks. If his words were urate, which they likely were, she was being overly dramatic over nothing. Suppressing her embarrassment, S forced herself to meet Vahn''s gaze as she asked, "You mentioned I could go anywhere, right? Are you able to create ''personalized'' worlds on a whim...?" Making a so-so gesture with his left hand, Vahn answered, "It''s not that straightforward, but basically. The only real requirement is that I have a point of reference to work from. Why, did you already have something in mind?" Though she was tempted to ask if Vahn could create a version of the Little Garden where she hadn''t run away from her responsibilities, S understood that it wouldn''t fix things. With that in mind, she adopted a resolute look and said, "Send me somewhere where I can grow stronger and recruit dependable allies. When I return, I will take up the mantle of Southern Floor Master and work with both the North and East to ensure the Little Garden''s prosperity." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn replied, "Very well." before waving his hand to change the image reflected on the disy they had been using to watch anime. On it appeared a remarkably beautiful woman with fiery red hair and matching eyes, the former styled in a manner that resembled cat ears. Her body was garbed in form-fitting armor, much like a Valkyrie, and she wielded an intricate-looking, double-sided de in her right hand. Without needing to be asked, Vahn revealed, "This is Mitra Paramatman. In the world I''m sending you to, she is fated to be the first of seven Hegemon-ss Deities. I''m not telling you to ally with her, but you should avoid antagonizing her too much..." Raising his left hand, Vahn produced arge, ancient-looking grimoire that closely resembled the Sacred Tome he often had Loi-chan transform into, adding, "This grimoire details the fate of that entire verse. You don''t have to use it, but if you ever find yourself at a crossroads and unable to make a decision, feel free to refer to it at your leisure." Though she was a little reluctant, S epted the ancient-looking tome. It disappeared the moment her hand touched it, but, much like her other Gifts, she had the feeling she could summon it at will. Since the world he was sending her to was among the most dangerous he had stumbled across, Vahn adopted a serious expression as he reminded her, "Never forget that you can leave that world whenever you please. You need only focus on your desire to leave, and it shall be done..." Nodding her head, S adopted an appreciative smile as she said, "Thank you, Vahn. I know you''re going out of your way-" Catching the fiery-haired Dragoness off-guard, Vahn silenced her by pressing his index finger to her lips and saying, "You can thank me after you''ve obtained the happiness both Sandora and I desire for you...until then..." Without giving S the chance to respond, Vahn subsumed her into the Actualized World he had created for her, a ludicrous reality known as the Masadaverse. The Tier of the beings within was restricted by his own, but their in-verse feats wereparable to the Little Garden''s ''Big Three.'' He had gone there twice before and, due to ying by their rules, suffered a handful of defeats against the verse''s more powerful Hegemons... Seeing her sister abruptly disappear, Sandora gave Vahn a side-eye as she said, "That''s pretty mean-spirited of you..." Laughing off the remark, Vahn insisted, "It''s better this way. Now, what do you want to do? I can recall her instantly, or we can peek in on her to see the path she took. Either that, or we can fool around for a bit..." cing his hand on Sandora''s abdomen, Vahn narrowed his eyes in a way that caused her entire body to tremble with anticipation. However, instead of giving in to her urges, she swallowed hard and replied, "You should call her back..." Unsurprised by Sandora''s response, Vahn just nodded before rewarding her with a chaste kiss. He then closed his eyes, focusing on the presence of S as he connected with the Temte assigned to watch over her. He wasn''t the type to leave things to chance, so he had produced a Temte to keep an eye on S throughout her stay in the Actualized World... Seeing the usually carefree smile on Vahn''s face turn progressively awry, Sandora''s expression became mischievous as she narrowed her eyes and asked, "Let me guess...you created a Temte to protect her, and the two ended up falling in love~?" Opening his eyes, Vahn''s smile became even wrier as he answered, "It''s a little moreplicated than that..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Theo be like, "Trust me, girl, Vahn knows all about restraints..."'',''Everyone deserves to be happy...'',''Vahn''s Temtes are just as bad as him xD...'') Chapter 2315: Complications

Chapter 2315: Complications

Opening her eyes after what felt like an eternity of peaceful serenity, S didn''t immediately react to the presence of Vahn and Sandora. She stared directly at them, but her expression was a wless deadpan as she softly inquired, "Is this real...?" "S...?" Concerned about her sister, Sandora attempted to approach her but was stopped by the red and blue de of a fierce-looking woman with scarlet, pink, and light purple hair. Channeling her authority, the buxom warrior narrowed her eyes as shemanded, "You will remain where you are." To her surprise, Sandorapletely ignored thepulsion of her words, asking, "Why are you getting my way? S is my sister...!" Blinking her red and blue eyes, a confused expression developed across the Valkyrian beauty. She no longer upied the Throne, but she couldn''t believe her power had dwindled to the point someone could disregard herpulsion entirely. In an effort to deescte the situation, a red-haired woman wearing a form-fitting dress and robes reminiscent of a Schr interjected herself between Sandora and the confused warrior woman, expressing, "These people are not our enemies. Stand down, Mitra." Though she kept her de pointed toward Sandora, the tri-haired woman looked towards her marginally more diminutive counterpart and intoned a confused, "Yvonne...?" Ignoring herpanion''s query, the red-haired, amethyst-eyed woman met Vahn''s gaze, a wry smile marring her otherwise wless features as she stated, "This man is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor and the being that gave form to our world..." Reacting to Yvonne''s words, S repeated, "Vahn...?" as she blinked back to awareness. Her previously lifeless eyes became filled with vigor as she adopted a radiant smile and added, "It really is you..." Returning a wry smile, Vahn replied, "Indeed." before gently pulling Sandora to stand in front of him as he added, "However, there is another person you should be greeting, no?" As if she had just noticed her, S excitedly eximed, "Sandora!" before separating herself from the bevy of beautiful women surrounding her and embracing her sister for the first time in what felt like eons. Since her sister had been a rtively awkward and taciturn woman before her departure, Sandora was surprised by S''s emotional outburst. When the two embraced, S practically clung to her, tears streaming down her face as she whispered, "My Sandora..." in a grief-stricken tone. Though she returned S''s embrace, Sandora looked toward Vahn to ask what she should do. In response, he exhaled a faint sigh through his nose before shaking his head and telepathically advising, ("She''ll be okay...she just needs time to process things.") Nodding her head in understanding, Sandora just held S like a mother trying to console her child. Vahn had already exined the plications'' that had urred during S''s stay in the Masadaverse, so Sandora had a basic understanding of why her sister was reacting this way. Fusing with a ''system'' that conferred boundless knowledge of the past, present, and future took a toll on even the strongest wills... ... .. . After arranging for Sandora and S to have a bit of privacy, Vahn sat down with the Yvonne, Mitra, and a trio of breathtakingly beautiful yet peculiar-looking women. One had a shapely figure with long golden hair, off-colored eyes that glistened with gold and silver light, and an outfit that was both regal and scant at the same time. Another had a modest physique, peculiar ck and white hair, and, much like the former, off-colored eyes that contrasted one another. As for the final woman, it was difficult to describe her as her appearance seemed to change every time Vahn blinked. She would resemble a young girl with ashen skin, wine red eyes, and muted grey hair one moment before transforming into a buxom beauty with obsidian skin, golden eyes, and demonic horns the next. And those were just two of her many transformations... Though Vahn was already well aware of the trio''s identities, Yvonne went out of her way to introduce the trio, exining, "These are my partners, Mitra, the Goddess of Dualism, Ahura Mazda, the Ultimate White, Nadare, the Ultimate ck, and Naraka, the Ouroboros Cycle..." Following her introduction, Ahura Mazda narrowed her eyes and yfully mused, "And this is Vahn Aldrnari Mason...the being who supposedly gave form to our fractured world..." Unperturbed by Ahura''s usatory statement, Vahn raised his hand and smiled in a friendly manner as he replied, "Nice to meet you." Returning a smile of her own, Ahura raised up the sides of her transparent skirt and replied, "The pleasure is all mine." "Quiet, you." Annoyed by her Avatara''s behavior, Mitra gave her a warning look out of the corner of her eyes before shifting her gaze back to Vahn and saying, "By all rights, I should loathe you. However, without Yvonne and S, we would have been powerless to reach the Origin Coordinate and undo the Curse of Amrita. For that, you have my thanks..." Though she was famous for her unbending pride, Mitra lowered her head to express gratitude toward Vahn. In the very next moment, however, she manifested her red and blue twin-de, lunging toward him with a fierce expression on her face. Instead of attempting to evade the fiery-tempered woman''s strike, Vahn allowed it to pierce his chest, smiling sadly as he exined, "I may have given form to your world, but it was another who determined its fate. You have every right to be angry, but that isn''t why you apanied S and Yvonne to this world, is it...?" Removing her de from Vahn''s chest, Mitra stared at it with a conflicted look, muttering, "How annoying..." before spinning it around, twisting her body, and slicing cleanly through Vahn''s neck. With his ''wound'' closing behind the path of Mitra''s de, Vahn managed to keep his head on his shoulders as he looked to Yvonne and said, "You sure know how to pick ''em..." Adopting a wry smile, Yvonne extended her hand toward Mitra and said, "That''s enough, Mitra. Come and take a seat." Though she gave Vahn one final re, Mitra returned to herpanions with a pouty look on her face. However, instead of sitting beside Yvonne, she sat down on the floor and ced her head on the schrly-looking woman''sp, closing her eyes and allowing herself to be caressed. Exhaling a faint sigh, Yvonnebed her fingers through Mitra''s hair, an affectionate yet mncholic smile as she softly muttered, "I know you''re already aware of the justification behind my actions, but I feel I owe you an apology..." Raising her head, Yvonne found Vahn staring back at her with an equally apologetic smile on his face. Yvonne had fulfilled her duty by stepping in to prevent S from experiencing a great tragedy. That would have been the end of things under normal circumstances, but instead of epting her loss and allowing herself to be expelled from the Masadaverse, S pleaded for Yvonne to let her return. The red-headed Temte couldn''t simply ignore S''s appeal, so, even though she should have refused the request, she ended up bing progressively more involved...so much so that she eventually ended up ''fixing'' things directly... Shaking his head, Vahn said, "You did absolutely nothing wrong. If I were ced in a simr situation, I likely would have taken even more extreme action..." Understanding that Vahn wasn''t just paying her lip service, the smile on Yvonne''s face revealed hints of relief and vindication. Vahn had given her the freedom to make her own decisions, but she couldn''t help feeling she had failed in her duty. Vahn''s assurance that she had done nothing wrong meant more than she could put into words. After wiping away a tear that had condensed at the corner of her right eye, Yvonne adopted a markedly more serious expression as she removed her hood and sprouted a pair ofrge, cat-like ears. She also grew a fluffy tail from her lower back before asking, "Is it okay with you if I take up the mantle of Floor Master in S''s ce? After merging with the Throne, she has lost the desire to rule over and manage others. The five of us will bear that burden in her stead." Without having to consider his response, Vahn nodded and replied, "I feel bad for the Leader of Five-ws, but pacifying her shouldn''t be too much of a problem. She doesn''t actually care about the position of Floor Master, only protecting her people. If you can prove yourself more capable in that regard, she should serve you willingly." Supplying a nod of her own, Yvonne raised her right hand and sprouted a pair of golden ws as she said, "I no longer possess the Authority of the One True God, but I''m confident I can handle a single naughty kitten..." Smiling wryly, Vahn advised, "Just don''t take things too far. The five of you are technically affiliated with the Aldrnari Empire, so some might regard it as a hostile takeover if you fail to show adequate restraint..." Feeling Vahn''s gaze, Mitra opened her eyes and gave him a sidelong re as she retorted, "We don''t need your advice..." Maintaining his wry smile, Vahn replied, "We''ll see." before returning his gaze to Yvonne and adding, "Though I have granted you autonomy, you are still a part of me. I trust you to do the right thing..." Retracting her nails, Yvonne adopted a teasing smile as she said, "I know when to apply pressure and when to exhibit tenderness. I can assure you that the South will prosper under our management." Nodding a second time, Vahn replied, "I''m sure it will." before rising to his feet and adding, "As for S, I suggest we entrust her to Sandora for the time being. Come, I''ll give you a tour of the pce. You''ll likely be staying here for a couple of weeks." Instead of rising to her feet, Yvonne shifted her attention to Ahura Mazda and Nadare, saying, "Please apany the Sage Dragon Emperor. I need to have a chat with Mitra and Naraka." Though Nadare rolled her eyes in response to Yvonne''s request, she still rose alongside Ahura Mazda. As for thetter, she gave a courteous bow, answering, "As you will..." before shifting her gaze to Vahn, narrowing her eyes, and adding, "We''ll be in Your Imperial Majesty''s care..." Returning a polite smile, Vahn did his best to ignore the fact Ahura was attempting to use a powerful allure on him. He knew she was just testing him, so he allowed her ability to affect him but simply ignored its effects... ... .. . Though the festivities hadn''t even started to die down for the day, the version of Vahn touring Underwood with Sis and Fenrir decided to return to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth for the night. The situation with S and the memories he had absorbed from Yvonne gave him the urge to spend time with his family, so that''s exactly what he did. While a version of himself split off to visit the nursery, Vahn Prime, as per usual, made his way over to see Xysteria, Krona, and Silva. It had been a few days since hest visited them, and while that wasn''t a particrly long period of time, he couldn''t help worrying about Xysteria. Emerging from the door that separated the triplets'' personalized realm from the ''outside'' world, Vahn found himself immediately pounced upon by a white blur. Several versions of Xysteria had been curled up nearby, so he barely had time to get his bearings before they practically buried him beneath their amorphous, indescribably fluffy bodies... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Mitra is a very stabby woman...'',''Male or Female, Vahn''s Temtes are fated to have a harem xD...'',''The real Ahura Mazda when he discovers he has an Ojou-sama counterpart: (O _ O)...'') Chapter 2316: Meaning

Chapter 2316: Meaning

"I''m curious to know where you stand among the spectrum of ck and White. ording to the Great Sage, Mistress Yvonne, you''re a paragon of freedom and virtue. Yet, when I look at you, you seem fairly...ordinary. I''m certain you possess tremendous power and authority, but you don''t give off the impression of a being that can create entire metaversal constructs on a whim..." Instead of paying close attention to her surroundings, Ahura spent much of Vahn''s tour observing him. Yvonne had told them much about him, but as they were unable to sense him even after reaching the pinnacle of their verse, it was hard to believe such a powerful yet easy-going being could exist. Without pausing to consider his words, Vahn casually replied, "That''s one of the more peculiar things I''ve learned during my journey. The beings ''in charge'' of things are rarely as impressive as people presume. The closest thing I''ve encountered to a ''perfect'' God resembled aputer. However, despite its intrinsic objectivity, there were countless people who viewed it as a wed, inherently malicious entity..." Turning to face the incredibly contrasting beauties, Vahn narrowed his eyes ever so slightly as he added, "Sapiencyes ingrained with the w ofparative psychology. When creatures gain the ability to think and rationalize, one of the first things they do is supnt themselves at the ''top'' of whatever ecological structure they have observed. It doesn''t matter if there are Gods present; self-awareness seeds within all beings the ''need'' to stand at the peak...the desire to be ''free'' from the influence of constructs like fate..." Believing that Vahn was challenging Mitra''s vision of a world where people were free to choose their fate, Ahura narrowed her own eyes and inquired, "Is that such a bad thing? Life wouldn''t have a lot of meaning if people just kept their heads down and never questioned those who ruled over them. And I mean that from both perspectives. If your creations only adhered to beliefs, obeying your everymand like unfeeling machines, what was the point of creating them?" Adopting a faint smile, Vahn replied, "Exactly that. There is meaning in the act of creation itself. It is the mirror by which Creator Godse to know and understand themselves. You see, omnipotence, despite the meanings ascribed to it, is entirely subjective. It is wholly contained within the mind, restricted by the scope of one''s knowledge." Noticing the doubt in Ahura''s eyes, Vahn exhaled a light chuckle before exining, "Even children possess a form of omnipotence in the form of their imagination. With little more than a thought, they can give birth to entire cosmologies, countless universes, and a limitless variety of races and people. They are capable of creating idealized versions of themselves that seemingly know everything, and, so long as they wish to ovee a given scenario, they possess absolute, uncontested power..." Recalling his original self, the powerless boy strapped to an operation table, a hint of nostalgia appeared in Vahn''s expression as he added, "If allowed to blossom, a child''s imagination is a truly remarkable thing..." Chiming in for the first time since Vahn started the tour, Nadare asked, "So you liken the Gods of Creation to children? They are omnipotent, but only so far as nothing urs to make them ''question'' their knowledge...?" Nodding his head in approval, Vahn replied, "Indeed. In that regard, Miss Ahura here isn''t wrong. In fact, more often than not, the first creations of Creators are little more than ''machines'' who know nothing but obedience. After a while, however, they begin to doubt whether or not they have truly created anything. After all, if everything follows the course they set within their minds, never deviating from beginning to end, what was the point of creating anything...?" Realizing what Vahn was trying to say, Ahura softly muttered, "So that''s where sapience and free will originate from...the desire of Creators to give meaning to their creations?" Catching the golden-haired beauty by surprise, Vahn shook his head and contended, "Quite the opposite, actually. While you''re not exactly wrong, the truth is much more straightforward..." Furrowing her brows, Ahura asked, "What do you mean?" in a surly, ill-tempered tone. She didn''t enjoy being talked down to or treated like a child, even if she was the one asking questions. Maintaining his smile, Vahn exined, "They do not bestow free will to their creations to give them meaning. It is a method by which they can further their understanding of themselves. You see, even for a Creator God, there is no greater sense of difort than not knowing where you originated. By giving their creations the ability to ovee the limitations of their origin, they seek a method to free themselves. To give meaning to an existence born without boundaries or limitations." "..." x2 Unsure of how to respond to Vahn''s words, Ahura Mazda and Nadare fell silent for several minutes. It would be a simple matter to argue that Vahn was wrong, but no matter how long they mulled over their thoughts, they couldn''t find a legitimate counterargument. It didn''t help that Naraka, the being representing the ''origin'' of their reality, pursued a very simr end... Deciding to give the duo a direction to go in, Vahn off-handedly remarked, "In the end, we are each individually responsible for giving meaning to our lives. It doesn''t matter if you''re a peasant born in the slums or a God born atop a golden throne. That is the ''fate'' of all beings born with the capacity for introspection and the ability to question the world around them." Though Vahn''s statement ultimately left them with more questions than answers, Ahura and Nadare suspected that was his intention. By looking within themselves for answers, they demonstrated that even they, beings who once governed countless multiversal structures, were not beyond the bounds of fate. They were given purpose from the moment their inception but still spent the vast majority of their lives attempting to understand the concepts they represented... Regaining her earlier smile, Ahura gave Vahn an appraising gaze as she remarked, "I''m starting to understand why the Great Sage often spoke so highly of you. Appearances aside, you possess remarkable insight..." Raising his brows, Vahn couldn''t help questioning, "What''s wrong with my appearance?" He wasn''t vain enough to think he was the most handsome man in all of creation, but, as someone who had cultivated his appearance over several millennia, his form was pretty close to the ideal of men and women alike. Speaking out before her counterpart could respond, Nadara casually revealed, "This one has a fondness for younger men, specifically young, inexperienced boys. You shouldn''t take her words to heart." "Nadare..." ring at her ck and white-haired counterpart, a powerful aura began to exude from Ahura''s body. She was nowhere near as strong as she was in the Actualized World of the Masadaverse, but, thanks to Yvonne acting as a ''guarantor,'' she was very near the peak of Tier 5. She also shared a name with one of the Little Garden''s ''Big Three,'' so once she gained a bit of authority, she would be a force to be reckoned with. Undaunted by Ahura''s pressure, Nadare manifested a ck and white twin-de in her right hand while spurs resembling the spined tails of dragons emerged from the backs of her calves. She and Ahura Mazda represented the Dualism of Good and Evil, so their powers were nearly identical, regardless of their efforts to surpass one another. As Ahura manifested a massive ymore with a cross-shaped hilt, intent on treating her counterpart a lesson, Vahn inserted himself between the two, smiling as he said, "That isn''t how we do things here. If you want to fight, you need to make it official in the form of a Gift Game. You can fight without one, but then you would have to answer to the Floor Masters and myself..." Raising his hands, Vahn snapped his fingers, causing the weapons in each of the girls'' hands to disappear. At the same time, seals the size of beauty marks appeared beneath their left and right eyes, effectively limiting their ability to use their powers outside of self-defense and Gift Games. Feeling a sense of ''distance'' between herself and her power, a disproving frown marred Ahura''s face as she tly remarked, "Someone is quite the tyrant..." Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn retorted, "I''ve been called worse. Besides, I would argue it''s far more tyrannical to fight without consideration for the setting you find yourselves in. The two of you are currently guests within the Smandra Community. This isn''t a yground where you can do as you please." While reaching up to touch the beauty mark beneath her right eye, Ahura responded, "So it would seem..." in a pointed tone. She could understand where Vahn wasing from, but the thought he could restrict her power at his leisure made her uneasy. Not even Mitra, her creator, or Yvonne, her Master, possessed such an ability... A stark contrast to Ahura, Nadare was staring at Vahn with a faint, almost predatory smile on her face. As the Ultimate ck and the Mother of the Dragvant species, beings that sought to subsume all power and authority within the Order of Creation, the ability to suppress others on a whim was more tantalizing than disconcerting. With the intent of gaining the edge against Ahura, Nadare attempted to approach Vahn, her tail-like spurs snaking behind her. However, before she could press herself against his body and attempt to seduce him, Vahn smiled wryly and said, "No, but thank you. As attractive as you are, I have no intention of poaching harem members from my Temtes. You''ll have to find another way if you wish to reach the ''pinnacle'' of this world." Instead of being offended by Vahn''s words, Nadare covered her mouth and giggled, musing, "We''ll see about that..." with a mischievous look on her face. Yvonne and Mitra had given her the freedom to choose her own fate, but life was more interesting when things were filled with chaos and drama. Seeing through her counterpart''s thoughts, Ahura narrowed her eyes and said, "You harlot...don''t tell me you intend to corrupt this world with your brood. I would never allow such a thing...!" Shrugging her shoulders and spreading her hands in a ''so what'' kind of gesture, Nadare retorted, "Since when have I allowed you to dictate how I live my life? And who are you calling a harlot? I may have given birth to countless children, but at least I don''t diddle them while pretending it''s for their benefit." "You bitch...!" Though Vahn had sealed away her power, that didn''t stop Ahura from pouncing on Nadare like a lioness trying to maul a honeybadger. Their durability was unaffected by the seal Vahn had ced on them, so, no matter how hard she punched, Ahura was unable to damage Nadare or silence herughter. Realizing there was nothing Ahura could do to her, Nadare''sughter steadily increased in volume. Ahura attempted to shut her up by shoving her fingers into Nadare''s mouth, but thetter just bit down on them and snickered with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Reaching the end of her patience, Ahura did something that caused Vahn to pull her up by the scruff of her outfit immediately. As an entity near the pinnacle of Tier 5, she was able to change and alter her form at will. Thus, upon realizing there was little she could do to ''harm'' Nadare, she abruptly pulled down her skimpy ck panties to reveal a penis nearly the size and thickness of her forearm. Though Nadare seemed perfectly okay with the turn of events, Vahn had misgivings about allowing Ahura to effectively **** her counterpart in the middle of his tour. He knew she originated from a world where such things were pervasive to the point of beingmonce, but the Little Garden, despite its many simrities, wasn''t the Masadaverse... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''This is some deep shit...'',''Freedom is a construct of the mind o_o...'',''You can really feel the ''goodness'' radiating off of Ahura...'') Chapter 2314: Decision

Chapter 2314: Decision

With the episode they were watchinging to an end, Sandora happily remarked, "It''s amazing how interesting and diverse the worlds of anime can be. Once the baby has arrived, we should go on holiday to one of the safer worlds." Though it would be his third time descending into an Actualized World with Sandora, Vahn readily replied, "Sure. Not for too long, though. We don''t want a repeat of what happened during our stay in Rerra..." Unable to restrain her curiosity, S sat a little straighter before asking, "What happened in Rerra...?" Seizing the initiative, Sandora giggled before exining, "Vahn is popr wherever he goes. He also saves a lot of people, so those with powerful fates end up being drawn to him. During our stay in Rerra, we ended up umting quite a number of bedfellows..." Understanding what Sandora meant by ''bedfellows,'' S gave Vahn a disproving look as she asked, "What will it take for you to be satisfied? You''ve already dug your ws into my sister and countless others...does the word ''restraint'' not exist in your vocabry?" Answering before Vahn could, Sandora adopted a pouty expression as she said, "You''re mistaken, S. Vahn did his best to avoid starting any new rtionships during our stay in Ni No Kuni and Rerra. I was the one who convinced him to share his love with others." Not expecting Sandora''s response, S found herself at a prolonged loss for words. She couldn''t understand why anyone, much less her own sister, would want their man to sleep with other women. Seeing through her sister''s thoughts, Sandora was once again tempted to try and convince her to give Vahn a chance. Before she could, Vahn shook his head and whispered, "It''s okay, Sandora. I''m sure she''ll understand in due time. For now, there is something I need to mention..." Shifting his attention to S, an action that caused the bronze-skinned woman to tense, Vahn maintained a rxed smile as he revealed, "Draco Greif intends to step down as Floor Master. He has nominated you as his sessor and the Leader of Five-ws as his second. If you refuse, the position will fall to her by default." Though Draco Greif had once asked her if she was willing to take up the mantle of Floor Master, S was still taken aback by Vahn''s words. Ever since she fled the North, she had viewed herself as someone unqualified to rule. She also wasn''t a Beast Person, Kemono, or Eudemon, so it didn''t seem right for her to represent them as the Leader of the Alliance. Adopting an empathetic look, Vahn''s tone softened as he said, "You don''t need to make your decision immediately, and no one is going to force you to ept. Even if you choose to remain here or seek happiness in one of my Actualized Worlds, I will not allow the Draco Greif Alliance to crumble. Rest easy, and make the decision you believe to be best for yourself. You have that right...I guarantee it..." Feeling more relieved than she was willing to admit, S averted her eyes from Vahn and fell into deep thought. She felt like he was goading her to enter one of his Actualized Worlds, but she would be lying if she said she wasn''t tempted. The Little Garden had never felt like a home to her, and though she felt a sense of obligation towards the Draco Greif Alliance, she wasn''t ready to helm the entire organization... Though she immediately felt guilty, S hugged herself in selffort as she meekly inquired, "Where would I even go...?" Adopting an assuring smile, Vahn replied, "That''s the beauty of Actualized Worlds. You can go anywhere and be anyone you want. I could send you to apletely innocuous world without conflict, a multiversal battlefield where you can harness your skills, or an empty void where you can create worlds of your own. More importantly, you can return whenever you want and, if applicable, bring along any family or friends you happen to make during your stay..." Turning to meet Vahn''s gaze, S''s expression revealed a hint of disbelief as she questioned, "I can bring people back with me? Doesn''t that vite the Laws of the Little Garden...?" Shaking his head, Vahn calmly replied, "We wouldn''t be viting the Law of Equivalence as we''re not calling anyone from outside the Little Garden. Each of the Actualized Worlds I create exists within myself. The moment I entered the Divine Realm, the functionally infinite and diverse inhabitants of my Actaulized Worlds came with me..." Despite the tranquility of Vahn''s tone, S felt her body trembling due to the implication of his words. While it wasn''t umon for powerful Gods to manifest personalized Realms within the Gates they upied, not even the Primordials upying the 2-3-Digit Gates were capable of what Vahn was describing. Their existence gave rise to the myriad worlds making up the Lower Realms, but there was always a degree of separation between said worlds and the Divine Realm. If Vahn''s Actualized World truly existed within him, he possessed a power thatpletely circumvented the Laws of the Little Garden... Seeing through S''s thoughts, Vahn gave a yful wink and said, "Rx. If it hasn''t been made apparent, I''m the type that prefers to handle things himself. I might bring a few unique and interesting individuals out to y, but I have no intention of overwhelming the Little Garden with an endless tide of formerly fictional characters. I don''t view people as pawns." Realizing how rude she was acting, S lowered her head and said, "I apologize...it was never my intention to insinuate such a thing..." Dismissively waving his right hand, Vahn mused, "I''m used to people thinking much worse of me. Now, what do you want to do? Keep in mind that you don''t have to make a decision right this instant." Instead of immediately responding to Vahn''s words, S shifted her gaze to Sandora. It was impossible to convey how guilty she felt about running away and leaving Sandora to bear her responsibilities. If Sandora asked it of her, she would dedicate the remainder of her life to serving Smandra and, if necessary, Vahn... Returning an affectionate, meless smile, Sandora ced her hand on her abdomen as she expressed, "The only thing I want is for you to find happiness. I''ve already moved on and found my own. Isn''t it about time you do the same?" "Sandora..." Feeling an achieving feeling in her chest, S ced her hand over her heart and started to tear up. She didn''t believe she deserved forgiveness, much less happiness, but she couldn''t help craving it all the same... Driving the final nail home, Vahn conveniently reiterated, "Time within the Actualized Worlds flows independently from the Little Garden. Even if you decided to stay a literal eternity, not even a second would pass for us. In other words, you don''t have to worry about leaving Sandora behind. She''ll be here waiting for you the moment you''re prepared to return." "Ah..." Recalling that Vahn had mentioned something simr before, a faint blush colored S''s cheeks. If his words were urate, which they likely were, she was being overly dramatic over nothing. Suppressing her embarrassment, S forced herself to meet Vahn''s gaze as she asked, "You mentioned I could go anywhere, right? Are you able to create ''personalized'' worlds on a whim...?" Making a so-so gesture with his left hand, Vahn answered, "It''s not that straightforward, but basically. The only real requirement is that I have a point of reference to work from. Why, did you already have something in mind?" Though she was tempted to ask if Vahn could create a version of the Little Garden where she hadn''t run away from her responsibilities, S understood that it wouldn''t fix things. With that in mind, she adopted a resolute look and said, "Send me somewhere where I can grow stronger and recruit dependable allies. When I return, I will take up the mantle of Southern Floor Master and work with both the North and East to ensure the Little Garden''s prosperity." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn replied, "Very well." before waving his hand to change the image reflected on the disy they had been using to watch anime. On it appeared a remarkably beautiful woman with fiery red hair and matching eyes, the former styled in a manner that resembled cat ears. Her body was garbed in form-fitting armor, much like a Valkyrie, and she wielded an intricate-looking, double-sided de in her right hand. Without needing to be asked, Vahn revealed, "This is Mitra Paramatman. In the world I''m sending you to, she is fated to be the first of seven Hegemon-ss Deities. I''m not telling you to ally with her, but you should avoid antagonizing her too much..." Raising his left hand, Vahn produced arge, ancient-looking grimoire that closely resembled the Sacred Tome he often had Loi-chan transform into, adding, "This grimoire details the fate of that entire verse. You don''t have to use it, but if you ever find yourself at a crossroads and unable to make a decision, feel free to refer to it at your leisure." Though she was a little reluctant, S epted the ancient-looking tome. It disappeared the moment her hand touched it, but, much like her other Gifts, she had the feeling she could summon it at will. Since the world he was sending her to was among the most dangerous he had stumbled across, Vahn adopted a serious expression as he reminded her, "Never forget that you can leave that world whenever you please. You need only focus on your desire to leave, and it shall be done..." Nodding her head, S adopted an appreciative smile as she said, "Thank you, Vahn. I know you''re going out of your way-" Catching the fiery-haired Dragoness off-guard, Vahn silenced her by pressing his index finger to her lips and saying, "You can thank me after you''ve obtained the happiness both Sandora and I desire for you...until then..." Without giving S the chance to respond, Vahn subsumed her into the Actualized World he had created for her, a ludicrous reality known as the Masadaverse. The Tier of the beings within was restricted by his own, but their in-verse feats wereparable to the Little Garden''s ''Big Three.'' He had gone there twice before and, due to ying by their rules, suffered a handful of defeats against the verse''s more powerful Hegemons... Seeing her sister abruptly disappear, Sandora gave Vahn a side-eye as she said, "That''s pretty mean-spirited of you..." Laughing off the remark, Vahn insisted, "It''s better this way. Now, what do you want to do? I can recall her instantly, or we can peek in on her to see the path she took. Either that, or we can fool around for a bit..." cing his hand on Sandora''s abdomen, Vahn narrowed his eyes in a way that caused her entire body to tremble with anticipation. However, instead of giving in to her urges, she swallowed hard and replied, "You should call her back..." Unsurprised by Sandora''s response, Vahn just nodded before rewarding her with a chaste kiss. He then closed his eyes, focusing on the presence of S as he connected with the Temte assigned to watch over her. He wasn''t the type to leave things to chance, so he had produced a Temte to keep an eye on S throughout her stay in the Actualized World... Seeing the usually carefree smile on Vahn''s face turn progressively awry, Sandora''s expression became mischievous as she narrowed her eyes and asked, "Let me guess...you created a Temte to protect her, and the two ended up falling in love~?" Opening his eyes, Vahn''s smile became even wrier as he answered, "It''s a little moreplicated than that..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Theo be like, "Trust me, girl, Vahn knows all about restraints..."'',''Everyone deserves to be happy...'',''Vahn''s Temtes are just as bad as him xD...'') Chapter 2315: Complications

Chapter 2315: Complications

Opening her eyes after what felt like an eternity of peaceful serenity, S didn''t immediately react to the presence of Vahn and Sandora. She stared directly at them, but her expression was a wless deadpan as she softly inquired, "Is this real...?" "S...?" Concerned about her sister, Sandora attempted to approach her but was stopped by the red and blue de of a fierce-looking woman with scarlet, pink, and light purple hair. Channeling her authority, the buxom warrior narrowed her eyes as shemanded, "You will remain where you are." To her surprise, Sandorapletely ignored thepulsion of her words, asking, "Why are you getting my way? S is my sister...!" Blinking her red and blue eyes, a confused expression developed across the Valkyrian beauty. She no longer upied the Throne, but she couldn''t believe her power had dwindled to the point someone could disregard herpulsion entirely. In an effort to deescte the situation, a red-haired woman wearing a form-fitting dress and robes reminiscent of a Schr interjected herself between Sandora and the confused warrior woman, expressing, "These people are not our enemies. Stand down, Mitra." Though she kept her de pointed toward Sandora, the tri-haired woman looked towards her marginally more diminutive counterpart and intoned a confused, "Yvonne...?" Ignoring herpanion''s query, the red-haired, amethyst-eyed woman met Vahn''s gaze, a wry smile marring her otherwise wless features as she stated, "This man is Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor and the being that gave form to our world..." Reacting to Yvonne''s words, S repeated, "Vahn...?" as she blinked back to awareness. Her previously lifeless eyes became filled with vigor as she adopted a radiant smile and added, "It really is you..." Returning a wry smile, Vahn replied, "Indeed." before gently pulling Sandora to stand in front of him as he added, "However, there is another person you should be greeting, no?" As if she had just noticed her, S excitedly eximed, "Sandora!" before separating herself from the bevy of beautiful women surrounding her and embracing her sister for the first time in what felt like eons. Since her sister had been a rtively awkward and taciturn woman before her departure, Sandora was surprised by S''s emotional outburst. When the two embraced, S practically clung to her, tears streaming down her face as she whispered, "My Sandora..." in a grief-stricken tone. Though she returned S''s embrace, Sandora looked toward Vahn to ask what she should do. In response, he exhaled a faint sigh through his nose before shaking his head and telepathically advising, ("She''ll be okay...she just needs time to process things.") Nodding her head in understanding, Sandora just held S like a mother trying to console her child. Vahn had already exined the plications'' that had urred during S''s stay in the Masadaverse, so Sandora had a basic understanding of why her sister was reacting this way. Fusing with a ''system'' that conferred boundless knowledge of the past, present, and future took a toll on even the strongest wills... ... .. . After arranging for Sandora and S to have a bit of privacy, Vahn sat down with the Yvonne, Mitra, and a trio of breathtakingly beautiful yet peculiar-looking women. One had a shapely figure with long golden hair, off-colored eyes that glistened with gold and silver light, and an outfit that was both regal and scant at the same time. Another had a modest physique, peculiar ck and white hair, and, much like the former, off-colored eyes that contrasted one another. As for the final woman, it was difficult to describe her as her appearance seemed to change every time Vahn blinked. She would resemble a young girl with ashen skin, wine red eyes, and muted grey hair one moment before transforming into a buxom beauty with obsidian skin, golden eyes, and demonic horns the next. And those were just two of her many transformations... Though Vahn was already well aware of the trio''s identities, Yvonne went out of her way to introduce the trio, exining, "These are my partners, Mitra, the Goddess of Dualism, Ahura Mazda, the Ultimate White, Nadare, the Ultimate ck, and Naraka, the Ouroboros Cycle..." Following her introduction, Ahura Mazda narrowed her eyes and yfully mused, "And this is Vahn Aldrnari Mason...the being who supposedly gave form to our fractured world..." Unperturbed by Ahura''s usatory statement, Vahn raised his hand and smiled in a friendly manner as he replied, "Nice to meet you." Returning a smile of her own, Ahura raised up the sides of her transparent skirt and replied, "The pleasure is all mine." "Quiet, you." Annoyed by her Avatara''s behavior, Mitra gave her a warning look out of the corner of her eyes before shifting her gaze back to Vahn and saying, "By all rights, I should loathe you. However, without Yvonne and S, we would have been powerless to reach the Origin Coordinate and undo the Curse of Amrita. For that, you have my thanks..." Though she was famous for her unbending pride, Mitra lowered her head to express gratitude toward Vahn. In the very next moment, however, she manifested her red and blue twin-de, lunging toward him with a fierce expression on her face. Instead of attempting to evade the fiery-tempered woman''s strike, Vahn allowed it to pierce his chest, smiling sadly as he exined, "I may have given form to your world, but it was another who determined its fate. You have every right to be angry, but that isn''t why you apanied S and Yvonne to this world, is it...?" Removing her de from Vahn''s chest, Mitra stared at it with a conflicted look, muttering, "How annoying..." before spinning it around, twisting her body, and slicing cleanly through Vahn''s neck. With his ''wound'' closing behind the path of Mitra''s de, Vahn managed to keep his head on his shoulders as he looked to Yvonne and said, "You sure know how to pick ''em..." Adopting a wry smile, Yvonne extended her hand toward Mitra and said, "That''s enough, Mitra. Come and take a seat." Though she gave Vahn one final re, Mitra returned to herpanions with a pouty look on her face. However, instead of sitting beside Yvonne, she sat down on the floor and ced her head on the schrly-looking woman''sp, closing her eyes and allowing herself to be caressed. Exhaling a faint sigh, Yvonnebed her fingers through Mitra''s hair, an affectionate yet mncholic smile as she softly muttered, "I know you''re already aware of the justification behind my actions, but I feel I owe you an apology..." Raising her head, Yvonne found Vahn staring back at her with an equally apologetic smile on his face. Yvonne had fulfilled her duty by stepping in to prevent S from experiencing a great tragedy. That would have been the end of things under normal circumstances, but instead of epting her loss and allowing herself to be expelled from the Masadaverse, S pleaded for Yvonne to let her return. The red-headed Temte couldn''t simply ignore S''s appeal, so, even though she should have refused the request, she ended up bing progressively more involved...so much so that she eventually ended up ''fixing'' things directly... Shaking his head, Vahn said, "You did absolutely nothing wrong. If I were ced in a simr situation, I likely would have taken even more extreme action..." Understanding that Vahn wasn''t just paying her lip service, the smile on Yvonne''s face revealed hints of relief and vindication. Vahn had given her the freedom to make her own decisions, but she couldn''t help feeling she had failed in her duty. Vahn''s assurance that she had done nothing wrong meant more than she could put into words. After wiping away a tear that had condensed at the corner of her right eye, Yvonne adopted a markedly more serious expression as she removed her hood and sprouted a pair ofrge, cat-like ears. She also grew a fluffy tail from her lower back before asking, "Is it okay with you if I take up the mantle of Floor Master in S''s ce? After merging with the Throne, she has lost the desire to rule over and manage others. The five of us will bear that burden in her stead." Without having to consider his response, Vahn nodded and replied, "I feel bad for the Leader of Five-ws, but pacifying her shouldn''t be too much of a problem. She doesn''t actually care about the position of Floor Master, only protecting her people. If you can prove yourself more capable in that regard, she should serve you willingly." Supplying a nod of her own, Yvonne raised her right hand and sprouted a pair of golden ws as she said, "I no longer possess the Authority of the One True God, but I''m confident I can handle a single naughty kitten..." Smiling wryly, Vahn advised, "Just don''t take things too far. The five of you are technically affiliated with the Aldrnari Empire, so some might regard it as a hostile takeover if you fail to show adequate restraint..." Feeling Vahn''s gaze, Mitra opened her eyes and gave him a sidelong re as she retorted, "We don''t need your advice..." Maintaining his wry smile, Vahn replied, "We''ll see." before returning his gaze to Yvonne and adding, "Though I have granted you autonomy, you are still a part of me. I trust you to do the right thing..." Retracting her nails, Yvonne adopted a teasing smile as she said, "I know when to apply pressure and when to exhibit tenderness. I can assure you that the South will prosper under our management." Nodding a second time, Vahn replied, "I''m sure it will." before rising to his feet and adding, "As for S, I suggest we entrust her to Sandora for the time being. Come, I''ll give you a tour of the pce. You''ll likely be staying here for a couple of weeks." Instead of rising to her feet, Yvonne shifted her attention to Ahura Mazda and Nadare, saying, "Please apany the Sage Dragon Emperor. I need to have a chat with Mitra and Naraka." Though Nadare rolled her eyes in response to Yvonne''s request, she still rose alongside Ahura Mazda. As for thetter, she gave a courteous bow, answering, "As you will..." before shifting her gaze to Vahn, narrowing her eyes, and adding, "We''ll be in Your Imperial Majesty''s care..." Returning a polite smile, Vahn did his best to ignore the fact Ahura was attempting to use a powerful allure on him. He knew she was just testing him, so he allowed her ability to affect him but simply ignored its effects... ... .. . Though the festivities hadn''t even started to die down for the day, the version of Vahn touring Underwood with Sis and Fenrir decided to return to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth for the night. The situation with S and the memories he had absorbed from Yvonne gave him the urge to spend time with his family, so that''s exactly what he did. While a version of himself split off to visit the nursery, Vahn Prime, as per usual, made his way over to see Xysteria, Krona, and Silva. It had been a few days since hest visited them, and while that wasn''t a particrly long period of time, he couldn''t help worrying about Xysteria. Emerging from the door that separated the triplets'' personalized realm from the ''outside'' world, Vahn found himself immediately pounced upon by a white blur. Several versions of Xysteria had been curled up nearby, so he barely had time to get his bearings before they practically buried him beneath their amorphous, indescribably fluffy bodies... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Mitra is a very stabby woman...'',''Male or Female, Vahn''s Temtes are fated to have a harem xD...'',''The real Ahura Mazda when he discovers he has an Ojou-sama counterpart: (O _ O)...'') Chapter 2316: Meaning

Chapter 2316: Meaning

"I''m curious to know where you stand among the spectrum of ck and White. ording to the Great Sage, Mistress Yvonne, you''re a paragon of freedom and virtue. Yet, when I look at you, you seem fairly...ordinary. I''m certain you possess tremendous power and authority, but you don''t give off the impression of a being that can create entire metaversal constructs on a whim..." Instead of paying close attention to her surroundings, Ahura spent much of Vahn''s tour observing him. Yvonne had told them much about him, but as they were unable to sense him even after reaching the pinnacle of their verse, it was hard to believe such a powerful yet easy-going being could exist. Without pausing to consider his words, Vahn casually replied, "That''s one of the more peculiar things I''ve learned during my journey. The beings ''in charge'' of things are rarely as impressive as people presume. The closest thing I''ve encountered to a ''perfect'' God resembled aputer. However, despite its intrinsic objectivity, there were countless people who viewed it as a wed, inherently malicious entity..." Turning to face the incredibly contrasting beauties, Vahn narrowed his eyes ever so slightly as he added, "Sapiencyes ingrained with the w ofparative psychology. When creatures gain the ability to think and rationalize, one of the first things they do is supnt themselves at the ''top'' of whatever ecological structure they have observed. It doesn''t matter if there are Gods present; self-awareness seeds within all beings the ''need'' to stand at the peak...the desire to be ''free'' from the influence of constructs like fate..." Believing that Vahn was challenging Mitra''s vision of a world where people were free to choose their fate, Ahura narrowed her own eyes and inquired, "Is that such a bad thing? Life wouldn''t have a lot of meaning if people just kept their heads down and never questioned those who ruled over them. And I mean that from both perspectives. If your creations only adhered to beliefs, obeying your everymand like unfeeling machines, what was the point of creating them?" Adopting a faint smile, Vahn replied, "Exactly that. There is meaning in the act of creation itself. It is the mirror by which Creator Godse to know and understand themselves. You see, omnipotence, despite the meanings ascribed to it, is entirely subjective. It is wholly contained within the mind, restricted by the scope of one''s knowledge." Noticing the doubt in Ahura''s eyes, Vahn exhaled a light chuckle before exining, "Even children possess a form of omnipotence in the form of their imagination. With little more than a thought, they can give birth to entire cosmologies, countless universes, and a limitless variety of races and people. They are capable of creating idealized versions of themselves that seemingly know everything, and, so long as they wish to ovee a given scenario, they possess absolute, uncontested power..." Recalling his original self, the powerless boy strapped to an operation table, a hint of nostalgia appeared in Vahn''s expression as he added, "If allowed to blossom, a child''s imagination is a truly remarkable thing..." Chiming in for the first time since Vahn started the tour, Nadare asked, "So you liken the Gods of Creation to children? They are omnipotent, but only so far as nothing urs to make them ''question'' their knowledge...?" Nodding his head in approval, Vahn replied, "Indeed. In that regard, Miss Ahura here isn''t wrong. In fact, more often than not, the first creations of Creators are little more than ''machines'' who know nothing but obedience. After a while, however, they begin to doubt whether or not they have truly created anything. After all, if everything follows the course they set within their minds, never deviating from beginning to end, what was the point of creating anything...?" Realizing what Vahn was trying to say, Ahura softly muttered, "So that''s where sapience and free will originate from...the desire of Creators to give meaning to their creations?" Catching the golden-haired beauty by surprise, Vahn shook his head and contended, "Quite the opposite, actually. While you''re not exactly wrong, the truth is much more straightforward..." Furrowing her brows, Ahura asked, "What do you mean?" in a surly, ill-tempered tone. She didn''t enjoy being talked down to or treated like a child, even if she was the one asking questions. Maintaining his smile, Vahn exined, "They do not bestow free will to their creations to give them meaning. It is a method by which they can further their understanding of themselves. You see, even for a Creator God, there is no greater sense of difort than not knowing where you originated. By giving their creations the ability to ovee the limitations of their origin, they seek a method to free themselves. To give meaning to an existence born without boundaries or limitations." "..." x2 Unsure of how to respond to Vahn''s words, Ahura Mazda and Nadare fell silent for several minutes. It would be a simple matter to argue that Vahn was wrong, but no matter how long they mulled over their thoughts, they couldn''t find a legitimate counterargument. It didn''t help that Naraka, the being representing the ''origin'' of their reality, pursued a very simr end... Deciding to give the duo a direction to go in, Vahn off-handedly remarked, "In the end, we are each individually responsible for giving meaning to our lives. It doesn''t matter if you''re a peasant born in the slums or a God born atop a golden throne. That is the ''fate'' of all beings born with the capacity for introspection and the ability to question the world around them." Though Vahn''s statement ultimately left them with more questions than answers, Ahura and Nadare suspected that was his intention. By looking within themselves for answers, they demonstrated that even they, beings who once governed countless multiversal structures, were not beyond the bounds of fate. They were given purpose from the moment their inception but still spent the vast majority of their lives attempting to understand the concepts they represented... Regaining her earlier smile, Ahura gave Vahn an appraising gaze as she remarked, "I''m starting to understand why the Great Sage often spoke so highly of you. Appearances aside, you possess remarkable insight..." Raising his brows, Vahn couldn''t help questioning, "What''s wrong with my appearance?" He wasn''t vain enough to think he was the most handsome man in all of creation, but, as someone who had cultivated his appearance over several millennia, his form was pretty close to the ideal of men and women alike. Speaking out before her counterpart could respond, Nadara casually revealed, "This one has a fondness for younger men, specifically young, inexperienced boys. You shouldn''t take her words to heart." "Nadare..." ring at her ck and white-haired counterpart, a powerful aura began to exude from Ahura''s body. She was nowhere near as strong as she was in the Actualized World of the Masadaverse, but, thanks to Yvonne acting as a ''guarantor,'' she was very near the peak of Tier 5. She also shared a name with one of the Little Garden''s ''Big Three,'' so once she gained a bit of authority, she would be a force to be reckoned with. Undaunted by Ahura''s pressure, Nadare manifested a ck and white twin-de in her right hand while spurs resembling the spined tails of dragons emerged from the backs of her calves. She and Ahura Mazda represented the Dualism of Good and Evil, so their powers were nearly identical, regardless of their efforts to surpass one another. As Ahura manifested a massive ymore with a cross-shaped hilt, intent on treating her counterpart a lesson, Vahn inserted himself between the two, smiling as he said, "That isn''t how we do things here. If you want to fight, you need to make it official in the form of a Gift Game. You can fight without one, but then you would have to answer to the Floor Masters and myself..." Raising his hands, Vahn snapped his fingers, causing the weapons in each of the girls'' hands to disappear. At the same time, seals the size of beauty marks appeared beneath their left and right eyes, effectively limiting their ability to use their powers outside of self-defense and Gift Games. Feeling a sense of ''distance'' between herself and her power, a disproving frown marred Ahura''s face as she tly remarked, "Someone is quite the tyrant..." Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn retorted, "I''ve been called worse. Besides, I would argue it''s far more tyrannical to fight without consideration for the setting you find yourselves in. The two of you are currently guests within the Smandra Community. This isn''t a yground where you can do as you please." While reaching up to touch the beauty mark beneath her right eye, Ahura responded, "So it would seem..." in a pointed tone. She could understand where Vahn wasing from, but the thought he could restrict her power at his leisure made her uneasy. Not even Mitra, her creator, or Yvonne, her Master, possessed such an ability... A stark contrast to Ahura, Nadare was staring at Vahn with a faint, almost predatory smile on her face. As the Ultimate ck and the Mother of the Dragvant species, beings that sought to subsume all power and authority within the Order of Creation, the ability to suppress others on a whim was more tantalizing than disconcerting. With the intent of gaining the edge against Ahura, Nadare attempted to approach Vahn, her tail-like spurs snaking behind her. However, before she could press herself against his body and attempt to seduce him, Vahn smiled wryly and said, "No, but thank you. As attractive as you are, I have no intention of poaching harem members from my Temtes. You''ll have to find another way if you wish to reach the ''pinnacle'' of this world." Instead of being offended by Vahn''s words, Nadare covered her mouth and giggled, musing, "We''ll see about that..." with a mischievous look on her face. Yvonne and Mitra had given her the freedom to choose her own fate, but life was more interesting when things were filled with chaos and drama. Seeing through her counterpart''s thoughts, Ahura narrowed her eyes and said, "You harlot...don''t tell me you intend to corrupt this world with your brood. I would never allow such a thing...!" Shrugging her shoulders and spreading her hands in a ''so what'' kind of gesture, Nadare retorted, "Since when have I allowed you to dictate how I live my life? And who are you calling a harlot? I may have given birth to countless children, but at least I don''t diddle them while pretending it''s for their benefit." "You bitch...!" Though Vahn had sealed away her power, that didn''t stop Ahura from pouncing on Nadare like a lioness trying to maul a honeybadger. Their durability was unaffected by the seal Vahn had ced on them, so, no matter how hard she punched, Ahura was unable to damage Nadare or silence herughter. Realizing there was nothing Ahura could do to her, Nadare''sughter steadily increased in volume. Ahura attempted to shut her up by shoving her fingers into Nadare''s mouth, but thetter just bit down on them and snickered with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Reaching the end of her patience, Ahura did something that caused Vahn to pull her up by the scruff of her outfit immediately. As an entity near the pinnacle of Tier 5, she was able to change and alter her form at will. Thus, upon realizing there was little she could do to ''harm'' Nadare, she abruptly pulled down her skimpy ck panties to reveal a penis nearly the size and thickness of her forearm. Though Nadare seemed perfectly okay with the turn of events, Vahn had misgivings about allowing Ahura to effectively **** her counterpart in the middle of his tour. He knew she originated from a world where such things were pervasive to the point of beingmonce, but the Little Garden, despite its many simrities, wasn''t the Masadaverse... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''This is some deep shit...'',''Freedom is a construct of the mind o_o...'',''You can really feel the ''goodness'' radiating off of Ahura...'') Chapter 2317: Choose Your Own Path

Chapter 2317: Choose Your Own Path

Disregarding all the times he had stopped, reversed, or outright separated himself from the time axis to do perverted things, Vahn forced Ahura and Nadare to sit in seiza, his arms crossed as he warned, "Listen. I don''t care what the two of you do in private. You can''t bemitting these kinds of acts in public." As she was unable to rise from her seiza, Ahura red up at Vahn as she asked, "And who are you to decide such things? Even if you had a hand in our creation, you''re not our father." Virtually incapable of being on the same page as her counterpart, Nadare immediately contradicted Ahura''s statement, musing, "I don''t mind calling you daddy." with narrowed eyes and a seductive grin. Ignoring the off-handed remark, Vahn exhaled a sigh and said, "I don''t need to be your father to remind you that actions have consequences..." Shaking his head, Vahn decided it would be counterproductive to try and lecture the two women, especially when their Creator had such a deeply rooted distrust for him. Ahura and Nadare were autonomous beings, but, simr to his Temtes, they had effectively been ''programmed'' to think and behave a certain way. If he really wanted to influence them, he would need to change Mitra''s and, potentially, Yvonne''s views... Freeing the duo from their forced seiza, Vahn adopted a sad, ostensibly apologetic look as he muttered, "I owe the two of you an apology. As you said, it''s not my ce to tell you how to act. Just know that if you go out of your way to cause trouble for the people of the Little Garden, I have an obligation to stop you..." Rising to her feet, Ahura took a moment to smooth out the creases of her dress and overcoat before replying, "Your concerns are unnecessary. Our duty as the Ultimate ck and White ended the moment we liberated our reality from the influence of Naraka. We apanied the Great Sage and our Mistress out of a desire to confirm whaty ''beyond'' the pinnacle with our own two eyes. I can''t say for sure what actions we''ll take in the future, but that was the entire point of our endeavors in the ''Masadaverse.'' To be free to choose or own path." As Nadara had yet to rise, Ahura stared down at her predestined rival and extended a hand, dering, "In a world unbound by fate, there is no need for absolutes..." Realizing that Ahura was effectively asking her to join hands, an amused chuckle emanated from Nadare''s throat. However, as intriguing as the idea was, she wasn''t fond of sharing power with others. She knew Ahura was the same, so even if they did join hands, they would spend most of their time trying to dominate one another. As enjoyable as that sounded, she would rather see and experience the Divine Realm beforemitting to anything. Smacking away Ahura''s hand, Nadare teased, "There is also no need to stick with the same group of people I''ve known for an eternity. I''ll permit you to follow me if you''d like, but I intend to give walking my own path a try." On that note, Nadare rose to her feet and began walking away, her hips swaying seductively as she passed Vahn and softly whispered, "See you around, Daddy." Smiling wryly, Vahn made no attempt to correct or prevent Nadare from leaving. There was a good chance she would gain notoriety as a Demon Lord in the very near future, but, as she had yet to do anything wrong, it wasn''t his ce to stop her. He permitted the existence of other Demon Lords, so unless she crossed his bottom line, he would leave her to Mitra and Yvonne... Waiting until Nadare had disappeared around a corner, Ahura shifted her gaze to Vahn, narrowing her silver and gold eyes as she remarked, "You''re more irresponsible than I expected..." Shaking his head, Vahn reiterated, "Unless they ce themselves under my influence or go out of their way to oppress others, it isn''t my ce to tell people how to live their lives. Good and evil, creation and destruction, life and death...change is born from the existence of such contrasts. She may abhor what I represent, but that''s one thing your Mistress and I can agree on..." Turning to meet Ahura''s gaze, Vahn asked, "What will you do? This might be your only chance to ''free'' yourself from the influence of your Mistress and Yvonne. If you return to their side, you will likely sever under them for the rest of your days." Crossing her arms, Ahura didn''t need to consider her response as she replied, "I''ll likely travel to the West. The Great Sage has told us quite a bit about the Little Garden, so I believe I can thrive in such a distorted, borderline dystopian environment. Who knows, I may even be the Number 1 Hero..." As the Actualized World she originated from had developed technology to the point their spacecraft could destroy entire sr systems with a single bomb, Ahura was confident she could reach the pinnacle of the West Side on her own. The existence of Da Vinci made this nigh impossible, but that wouldn''t stop her from trying. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn affirmed, "The West is probably the best option for someone with your character. However, you should know that I intend to conquer the entire Divine Realm within two years. I won''t stop you from starting a Community and expanding your influence, but it would probably be better to wait a few years before attempting anything major." Raising her brows, Ahura asked, "Is it okay for you to be telling me this? Even if you''re confident in your strength, there''s a chance I could oppose you by conspiring with others." Shaking his head, Vahn left Ahura feeling moderately annoyed as he tly replied, "Unlikely. The power and authority I possess make the Hegemons of your world seem tame inparison. Even if you seeded in rallying the entire Divine Realm against me, it wouldn''t be enough. If I weren''t still ying by the rules, I could take over right this instant." Though his words sounded brazen and borderline braggadocious, Vahn knew, with absolute certainty, that the Big Three couldn''t stop him if he decided to go all out. They might be able to destroy his body, expel him from the Divine Realm, or run away with their tails tucked between their legs, but it wouldn''t matter. After analyzing various Authorities, including the Sun Authority lent to Amaterasu by Shiroyasha, he could prevent the destruction of the current Little Garden or create a brand new one. There was nothing anyone could do to stop him. Appearing slightly pouty, Ahura grumpily inquired, "Then what''s the point of setting out on my own? It sounds like I should just join you and enjoy a free ride to the top." Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn replied, "You''re free to join my Community or be an affiliate of my Empire, but it won''t provide you ess to the ''top.'' I do feel a sense of obligation towards you, but there are thousands of people ahead of you in terms of my priorities. Besides..." Manifesting Laev-tan with his right hand, Vahn brandished her proudly as he said, "I already have the best sword at my side..." As she had intended to offer herself as Vahn''s sword, her true from being the ymore she wielded, Ahura''s expression darkened when he brought out Laev-tan. Back in the Masadaverse, she was regarded as the Ultimate Weapon of White, a Divine Sword that came into being at the very birth of the Universe. She was currently weakened due to no one really knowing about her, but she still viewed herself as the most powerful sword in all of Creation. "You think that trinket canpare to me? I may be weakened now, but it''s only a matter of time before I secure my position as the most powerful sword in the Divine Realm...you may not regret it any time soon, but there wille a time when my wielder ends up driving me through your body, annihting your very soul..." Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn just smiled as he said, "To that end, I wish you and your future wielder the best of luck. It won''t be near enough, but do your best." Furrowing her brows, Ahura adopted a remarkably affronted expression as she red up at Vahn with balled fists. She wanted nothing more than to p Vahn in his smug-looking face, but, understanding the futility of such action, she eventually turned around and stormed off, shouting, "You''ll rue this day, Vahn Aldrnari Mason! Mark my words...!" Shaking his head, Vahn shouldered Laev-tan and walked in the opposite direction of Ahura. It had been a while since he walked around with Laev-tan in her sword form, so he decided to finish his tour with her while Mitra, Yvonne, and Naraka finished their discussion. Yvonne knew he was privy to everything they were saying, but he could at least pretend to give them some privacy... ... .. . "Ahura has also departed..." Hearing Yvonne''s words, the already grumpy expression on Mitra''s face became even more so as she remarked, "Those ungrateful brats...I know I''m the one who said they could make their own decisions, but they could have at least said goodbye..." Adopting a wry smile, Yvonne decided not to respond to Mitra''s remark. Instead, she continuedbing her fingers through the pink and red-haired warrior''s hair until she asked, "What now? I retired from fighting when I handed over the Throne to you...without Ahura and Nadare, our ability to manage arge organization will be limited..." Narrowing her eyes lovingly, Yvonne whispered, "You know I''m going to tell you the same thing I told you back then...do you enjoy hearing it so?" Instead of responding to Yvonne''s question, Mitra snuggled closer before staring up at her with an expectant look. Moving her hand to caress the side of Mitra''s face, Yvonne''s expression and tone softened as she whispered, "Leave everything to me...your pain, your suffering, your dreams, your aspirations...I will bear them all. You''ve done enough..." Rubbing her cheek against Yvonne''s palm, Mitra closed her eyes with a contented smile on her face. There was a time when she attempted to bear the burden of ''everything'' all on her lonesome. However, while she managed to do exactly that, the loneliness she was forced to endure was beyond anything she had imagined. She managed to be one with everything, but, in exchange, she felt detached from it all, even the very people she sacrificed herself to save... At her absolute lowest point, Mitra seriously considered taking her own life and bringing an end to everything. It was at that moment that Yvonne, someone who served as a mentor to her prior to her ascension, appeared before her. It should have been impossible for anyone who wasn''t chosen to reach the Throne, yet, as if such limitations meant absolutely nothing to her, Yvonne appeared to relieve her of her burdens and guide her toward a new, much brighter path... Feeling a little emotional, Mitra whispered, "Tell me you love me..." in a soft, almost inaudible tone. Adopting an even more affectionate smile, Yvonne whispered, "I love you..." Opening her eyes ever so slightly, Mitra''s red and blue irises glistened as she said, "Say it again..." Moving her hand down Mitra''s face, Yvonne raced her pampered lover''s lips with her thumb as she repeated, "I love you..." Reaching up, Mitra took hold of Yvonne''s wrist and began suckling the tips of her fingers. If anyone in her previous life saw this, they would be beside themselves with confusion. She was known to be prideful to the point of arrogance, yet, whenever she was with Yvonne, she resembled the kitten her hairstyle made her out to be... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn when he hears Nadare call him daddy, "Hello darkness, my old friend..."'',''Ahura may as well be a butter knife before the might of Laev-tan...!'',''It seems Vahn isn''t the only one who can turn proud, warrior women into pets...'') Chapter 2318: Accord

Chapter 2318: ord

Waking from a dreamless slumber, S didn''t even attempt to process where she was or who she was with. It was only once Sandora gently caressed her face and said, "Good morning..." that she blinked back to awareness, asking, "Is this real...?" Nodding her head, Sandora softly replied, "Yes. And if my presence isn''t enough to convince you, just ce your hand on my abdomen...can you feel the life gestating within...?" As Sandora had taken the initiative to guide S''s hand to her abdomen, thetter just paused for a few moments before adopting a faint smile and saying, "It certainly feels real..." Exhaling a soft chuckle, Sandora pulled S''s face into her bosom, gently caressing her head as she softly cooed, "Take your time, S...I''ll be here as long as it takes..." "Mmm..." Feeling Sandora''s warmth flowing into her, S promptly sumbed to a bout of respite. She had been ''sleeping'' for so long that it was difficult for her to stay awake and distinguish her dreams from reality. She wanted to believe that the person cradling her was her sister, but she had dreamed of Sandora so often that an actual reunion seemed too good to be true. Sensing S''s consciousness slip away, a forlorn smile marred Sandora''s face as she gently called out, "Vahn..." Manifesting less than a second after Sandora had called his name, Vahn had a simr look on his face as he replied, "You called...?" Feeling better the moment Vahn appeared, Sandora''s smile regained its vigor as she returned a slight nod and asked, "I know this was something S decided for herself but isn''t there anything we can do for her? I don''t mind watching over her for as long as it takes, but it doesn''t feel like she''s truly returned to us..." Having alreadye up with numerous solutions, Vahn narrowed his eyes affectionately as he replied, "We can entrust her to the care of the Eurasia Family, or I can directly cordon off the parts of her ego imprinted with the knowledge of the Throne. However, neither of those options respects the sacrifices she made in the Masadaverse. I doubt she wouldin, but she may lose her confidence if she isn''t allowed to ovee this with her own strength..." Seeing the smile fade from Sandora''s face, Vahn''s became slightly wry as he appended, "The best thing we can do for her is simply give her time. It may take days, months, or even hundreds of years, but she will eventually regain her senses. What you have to decide is if you want to wait patiently or have her ''awaken'' immediately..." With the ability to manipte Time, Vahn could expedite S''s recovery to a single moment. However, while it might seem that from an outsider''s perspective, thousands of years could pass from the viewpoint of S. Thousands of years that may have been shortened to decades if she had someone she cared about looking after her. Though she was tempted to simply allow Vahn to solve everything, a look of conviction formed across Sandora''s face as she said, "I will wait...this is the path S has chosen; I will respect her decision." After nodding his head in approval, Vahn waved his hand to produce a series of shimmering golden runes. He intended to respect Sandora''s decision, but that didn''t mean he couldn''t make things a little easier for her. Over the course of three seconds, Vahn weaved enough runes to fill a grimoire more than ten centimeters thick before sending them floating into Sandora''s chest as he exined, "That enchantment will effectively ce your body into stasis whenever you''re near your sister. I know you want her to be present for our child''s birth, so that will allow you to spend as much time as you want at her side without having to worry about going intobor..." Unable to restrain herself, an amused chuckle emanated from Sandora''s throat as she covered her mouth. She was wondering what Vahn was up to when he began weaving runes. In hindsight, she should have realized it was something along these lines. While some women would dread the notion of being pregnant for literal decades, Sandora found it somewhat novel. She also knew Vahn could create an Avatara for her if she wanted to walk around unencumbered, so she eventually narrowed her eyes and replied, "How thoughtful of you..." in a beguiling tone. cing his hand over his heart, Vahn''s expression became equally yful as he performed a gentlemanly curtsy and replied, "I aim to please." Though her pupils briefly narrowed into slits, Sandora managed to calm herself and retort, "Speaking of which, are you truly content with letting those girls go? I know you''re trying to avoid collecting ''every'' beautiful woman you just so happen to encounter, but won''t you feel responsible if they run rampant?" Instead of trying to refute it, Vahn nodded his head and replied, "Without a doubt. However, unless I intend to suppress free will, that''s something I have to be willing to ept. They''re aware of the repercussions of taking things too far, so they have just as much a right as anyone else to decide the paths they walk." "Mmm...well, so long as they don''t cause trouble in the North, I have little else to say on the matter..." As her words trailed off, Sandora looked down at her sister to find a faint smile on S''s face. That was more than enough to bring an affectionate one to both hers and Vahn''s, thetter remarking, "She''s nearly as cute as you when you sleep..." Exhaling another light chuckle, Sandora picked a few strands of hair from S''s face as she softly replied, "You should go now...I know you''re busy with matters in the South and East Sides. You don''t need to force yourself to stay here on my behalf. Finish what you need to and then return to us. I will always be waiting..." Though he was tempted to point out that he could handle his other affairs without leaving her side, Vahn ultimately nodded his head and replied, "I''ll be back..." before fading away like an afterimage. Sandora just needed to call out to him before he would instantly return to her side. So, knowing she probably intended to manipte the flow of time within the room, he decided to give the two sisters the privacy they required. Seeing Vahn fade away, a pang of loneliness briefly pervaded Sandora''s chest before she promptly suppressed it. Vahn had informed her about his self-imposed time constraint. Thus, while she wanted nothing more than to spend as much time as possible with him, Sandora also understood it would be better for everyone if she allowed Vahn to focus on matters that concerned all of creation, not just her. With such thoughts on her mind, Sandora used her Authority as both a Host and Floor Master to elerate the flow of time within the room by a factor of 8760. This ratio meant that an entire year would pass within the room for every hour that passed outside. While most people couldn''t fathom spending years confined to a single room, Sandora knew this wasn''t even a fraction of the ''time'' S must have endured within the Throne. Thus, while she understood it wouldn''t be easy, Sandora was resolved for the long haul. Fortunately, Vahn had previously gifted her a disy linked to his Actualized Worlds. She could use it to view events of the past, present, and future in anime format, so, after a moment of hesitation, Sandora navigated to the ''Masadaverse'' and prepared to witness her sister''s journey from beginning to end... ... .. . Sensing subtle fluctuations in the space above the opposite couch, Mitra opened her eyes just in time to catch Vahn manifesting out of thin air. The cat-like smile that had adorned her face immediately withered into a pout, but before she could say anything, Yvonne interjected, softly muttering, "I see you have decided to respect S''s decision..." Though he nodded his head in affirmation, Vahn''s expression turned mncholy as he exined, "I recently used my power to give a girl name Shion a ''second chance.'' I don''t regret my decision, but I have alsoe to realize that my actions at the time were more than a little extreme. You could say this is an opportunity to prove to myself that there are always alternative solutions to a problem..." "Mmm...I have experienced something simr. During the start of S''s journey through the Masadaverse, I did my best not to intervene. After she appealed to me for assistance, however, I ended up tampering with the fates of trillions in a vain attempt to ''fix'' things. In the end, I realized that the only permanant solution was the one Mitra came up with during our first loop..." Shifting her gaze to Naraka, currently resembling a young therianthrope with lc hair, draconic eyes, and androgynous features, Yvonne added, "The only way people can be free from the influence of fate is if they are granted the same power and authority as the Gods. By disseminating the knowledge contained within the Throne to all of Creation, we managed to create a world where everyone was equal...a world where Hegemons and the Root were simply unnecessary..." Returning her gaze to Vahn, Yvonne''s expression became inordinately serious as she said, "That''s what we hope to achieve here in the Little Garden. I understand it doesn''t make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, but the imperfection of the Gods is a cancer that has imed countless lives. Since even you cannot attain perfection, I say it is our ''obligation'' to ensure everyone has the same opportunities...that is the only way everyone can be free..." Though he furrowed his brows, Vahn didn''t attempt to argue with Yvonne. He possessed all of her memories, so he knew her ''solution'' had a degree of merit. It was far from perfect, but when everyone possessed the same knowledge, power, and functionally infinite resources, there weren''t a lot of reasons to fight. There was still conflict, but it didn''t matter when both sides were immortal and drew from the same, perfectly partitioned power source. After a considerable silence, Vahn replied, "Your path is yours to choose. My goal has always been the same. I will reach the pinnacle of Tier 6 and link the Records. If you wish to create a reality where everyone is ''equal,'' I have no intention of stopping you. However, if you intend to depose me or get in the way of my objective..." Shaking her head rapidly, beads of sweat appeared on Yvonne''s brow as she replied, "I would never dream of intervening in the reunion between you and your family. I know you intend to iste the Record of Danmachi once the merger has taken ce, and we have absolutely no intention of interfering with that. We simply wish to create an Order of Creation where everyone can exist on equal terms. We have no desire to superimpose our will over Orders outside the one we establish..." Since she understood how impossible it was to defeat Vahn, the thought of getting in his way had never once crossed Yvonne''s mind. No amount of training could ever surpass the ''concepts'' he represented, so the best way to achieve their objective was to let Vahn return home and leave him to his own devices. Then, so long as they didn''t touch his bottom line, he would afford them the same luxury. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn replied, "Then we have an ord. I will permit you to establish a new Order, but ascending to the pinnacle will depend on your efforts. Just know that others, potentially even my other Temtes, will rise to oppose you. I have made it so that each of you can choose your own paths, so don''t expect me to intervene or take sides." Exhaling a sigh of relief, Yvonne replied, "That is more than enough. Our belief won''t be shaken by any amount of opposition. So long as you don''t get in our way, we''ll eventually be able to reach our goal..." Though he was half-tempted to create a Temte specifically to oppose Yvonne, Vahn resisted the urge and simply nodded. The penultimate form of Creation didn''t really matter to him as there were limitless Records and his Actualized Worlds were wholly unrted to the current Order. He also didn''t disagree with Yvonne''s and Mitra''s somewhat unique solution, so, as long as they didn''t go crazy and try to spread their system through the linked Records, he didn''t mind letting them do as they pleased. Everyone had the right to choose their own paths... ... .. . Chapter 2319: Chaos Affinity

Chapter 2319: Chaos Affinity

Having wrapped things up in the North, Vahn''s manifestations decreased to a meager three. There were usually around nine of him walking around at any given time, so his mind felt sharper and more focused than usual as he watched various versions of Xysteria dig an enormous cavity in Silva''s outermost Layer. Without any external prompting, Krona, Silva, and Xysteria had concluded that it was ''safer'' for the forting residents of their world if thetter''s chaotic influence was contained to a single location. However, as neither Silva nor Krona wanted topletely iste their sister''s creations, they arranged for Xysteria''s ''nest'' to be located on the Surface. Though it took a considerable amount of time and restructuring, Silva was able to shift around her Continents so that Xysteria would have a circr ind, roughly 800,000km2, to do with as she pleased. Of her own volition, Xysteria concluded that it would be better if she dug down instead of letting her creations roam freely within the ind''s basin. A colossal mountain range encircled the entire ind, but Xysteria didn''t believe that would be enough to prevent her ''children'' from escaping. She also wanted explorers and adventurers to be able to visit in the future, so her solution was to bore a massive hole, nearly 700km in diameter, before asking Krona to ce a temporal barrier over it as a type of lid. While he didn''t entirely agree with the trio''s intentions, Vahn permitted his children to do as they pleased. Their solution reminded him of quite a few anime with massive dungeons, sky-piercing towers, and abyssbyrinths, so he simply concluded this was the natural progression of things. At the very least, it was the path that Krona, Silva, and Xysteria had decided for themselves. Breaking Vahn from his reverie, Xysteria ''prime'' used one of her ruby-red talons to prick the base of his chin as she petitioned, "Papa, want to make something with Xysteria?" Raising his brows, Vahn calmly asked, "What did you have in mind?" with a faint yet perceptibly wry smile. Sensing the subtle change in her father''s mood, Xysteria''s oversized ears drooped pitifully as she shrank within hisp and muttered, "Nevermind..." in a sulky tone. Before Xysteria could fully retract into her ''ball form,'' Vahn wrapped his arms around her and buried the lower half of his face into the inordinately thick fur atop her head. Her body was incredibly warm, almost hot to the touch, and her coat had an aroma most people wouldpare to freshly-baked bread. She could change it at will, but, as she liked being cuddled quite a bit, Xysteria, much like Fenrir, put a lot of effort into ensuring she was as fluffy and pleasant to hold as possible. Though she didn''t immediately rx, Xysteria eventually unfurled her tails and becamex in Vahn''s embrace. A minute or twoter, she appeared to be ''melting'' within his arms, as, even when he wasn''t making a concerted effort, Vahn was very proficient in the art of petting. "Funyaaaaaa~." ying off the audio cue, Vahn exhaled a light chuckle before squeezing the semi-amorphous ball of fluff firmly and inquiring, "Now, tell me...what did you want to make?" Bing discernibly more solid, Xysteria hesitated for several seconds before answering, "Xysteria wants to make people..." "Hmmm..." Though he didn''t think Xysteria was at a point where she could oversee a group of people, Vahn didn''t immediately refuse her request. Instead, he absentmindedly fluffed up the hair around her ears and caressed the base of her chin as he considered various possibilities. To get a clearer understanding of Xysteria''s actual request, Vahn paused for a moment, asking, "What kind of people? Humans? Therianthropes...?" Without any hesitation whatsoever, Xysteria raised two of her arms and shouted, "Bug people...!" in an enthusiastic tone. This left Vahn more than a little speechless, not because he had anything against Insectoids, but because insects were Xysteria''s favorite food... Smiling wryly, Vahn couldn''t help asking, "You''re not nning to eat them, are you...?" Tilting her head to the side, Xysteria didn''t immediately respond to Vahn''s question. When she did, he felt somewhat guilty as she curiously inquired, "Why would Xysteria eat them? Did they do something bad...?" Instead of answering the adorable fluffball''s questions, Vahn changed the topic to something more pertinent, asking, "Have you thought about what you want them to do? Creating people from scratch isn''t particrly hard, but ensuring their survival can be challenging. Without knowledge, power, and purpose, they will need constant protection and guidance..." "Muuuu..." Feeling a little annoyed, Xysteria began to flex her ws open and closed. She had been spying on the variousmunities Vahn brought back from the Actualized World of Rerra. Their culture and society caused her to feel things she typically only felt around her Papa, so she really wanted to have a ''people'' of her own, not just monsters and copies of herself... Saving Vahn the trouble of having to pry directly into his daughter''s mind, Loi-chan materialized out of thin air, her form identical to Xysteria as she leaned against his back and whispered into his ear. Her words caused the smile on his face to cramp, but it returned to normal a few momentster as he asked, "Have you been feeling lonely...?" Nodding her head, Xysteria admitted, "It''s lonely without Papa. Xysteria tries to keep herself busy, but she''s only good at breaking things. Brother Krona and sister Silva are very nice, but Xysteria knows...she knows she is only causing them trouble..." Though she didn''t appear sad as she was speaking, Vahn could sense the deeply rooted mncholy within Xysteria''s heart. Her aura was a pleasant shade of gold, reminiscent of sunlight, but he had learned long ago that a person''s aura wasn''t a true reflection of their mental or emotional state. It might sound paradoxical, but it was more than possible for someone to be outwardly happy despite harboring profound sadness. Shaking his head, Vahn wrapped his arms snugly around Xysteria''s body, whispering, "Krona and Silva would never say that. You also aren''t going out of your way to cause trouble, so you''re innocent of any wrongdoing..." "Mmm..." As Vahn''s warmth permeated her body, a faint smile naturally developed across Xysteria''s face. She always felt the most plete'' when he held her close like this. She didn''t know if her feelings were the same as those between Krona and Silva, but she believed they were simr. If she didn''t know it would burden him, she would want them to stay together forever... Smiling affectionately, Vahn reached up to ce his hand at the center of Xysteria''s chest. She was a little surprised by his actions but offered no meaningful resistance even as his hand sank into her, disappearing up to the wrist. Her trust in him was so great that, even if he were to tell her the sky was purple and that the ocean was filled with caustic acid, she would ept it as the gospel truth. Despite Xysteria''s inordinately fluffy, four-armed, five-tailed, seemingly mammalian appearance, she was still the daughter of two True Dragons. The veins running through her body had a crystalline appearance, and the trio of hearts pumping rainbow-hued blood through her body had enough energy within them to destroy the arm of a gxy if unleashed all at once. After ensuring there wouldn''t be any issues, Vahn removed his hand from Xysteria''s chest, revealing a visibly pulsating crystal roughly the size of a plum. Upon seeing it, Xysteria couldn''t help feeling confused, an anxious frown marring her face as she poked the crystal and questioned, "Are you taking a piece of Xysteria...?" As it would have been understandable if Xysteria had freaked out, Vahn couldn''t help exhaling a chuckle before answering, "Don''t worry. I left a piece of myself where your heart used to be. Now, even when I''m away, you''ll always have a piece of me with you..." Blinking in surprise, Xysteria ignored everything else, using two of her hands to pry her chest open. It was an extremely gruesome sight, but the blood-stained fluffball didn''t even flinch as she verified there was a near-identical gem where her heart used to be. The only difference was that it emitted an energy signature identical to her Papa''s. Realizing she would always have a piece of Vahn inside of her, a nearly crimson hue colored Xysteria''s face as she used her bloody talons and paws to clutch and massage her cheeks. Her actions caused her usually white fur to be stained with blood, but Vahn quickly cleaned her up while also healing the rather ghastly hole in her chest. Then, as Xysteria watched him with unblinking eyes, he absorbed her crystalline heart into his palm, allowing the luminance to show through his skin as he directed it to the center of his being. Unable to contain herself, Xysteria slipped under the nearly indestructible fabric of Vahn''s tunic, eagerly pressing her head and ear to his chest. She couldn''t distinguish between his heartbeat and the tiny pulsationsing from her crystal, but the notion there was now a piece of her inside of him caused her to feel fuzzy. Without thinking, Xysteria began to ''nuzzle'' against Vahn with a lot more force than usual. Since he let his guard down around his children, it didn''t take long for one of her horns to pierce his body, creating a rather vicious gash that became the subsequent focus of Xysteria''s nuzzling. Though he was briefly taken aback by Xysteria''s reaction, Vahn stopped Xysteria''s apparent attempt to burrow into him by grabbing her scruff and phasing her through the fabric of his tunic. "Ah..." Seeing the wry smile on Vahn''s face, Xysteria realized she had crossed a line she shouldn''t. However, before she could think to form the words for an apology, Vahn dematerialized the excess blood from her face and fur coat as he mused, "I understand you''re excited, but you''re going to make your other-selves jealous if you burrow inside of me..." Though she was momentarily confused by Vahn''s words, Xysteria quickly understood when he turned her around and showed her the thousands of reflective eyes staring at them from a distance. She was the ''original'' that dictated the actions of her offshoots, but she didn''t have absolute control over them. She was more like a queen ant, so it wasn''t out of the ordinary for versions of her to break off and even rebel against her selfprised colony. Disregarding the fact Vahn was still holding her up by the scruff, Xysteria spread her four arms in a threatening posture and hissed. Some versions of herself were ''very'' powerful, but they had no hope of defeating her in battle. If they got close or tried to attack her, she could directly reabsorb them back into her body, so her hissing was generally enough to daunt all but her most obstinant offshoots. With most of the eyes turning away from her, Xysteria ignored the rest as she turned to Vahn and asked, "Can we go somewhere else?" without her usual inflection. Vahn immediately noticed this but decided not to inquire as he replied, "Of course," before teleporting them to a small cottage he had materialized in the mountains. As it was her first time in the cottage, Xysteria took a moment to take in her surroundings before asking, "Will this be where you stay during your visits?" Though he had initially intended the cottage to be a temporary dwelling, Vahn nodded his head and replied, "Sure, why not?" Returning a nod of her own, Xysteria momentarily liberated herself from Vahn''s hold and began crawling around the floor, walls, and ceiling. She was using the scent nds within her tails to mark virtually every surface, so it wasn''t long before a heavy aroma simr to freshly baked bread and pheromones permeated the entire residence. Satisfied with her results, Xysteria crawled back over to Vahn, climbing onto hisp before circling around a few times like a cat attempting to getfortable. However, instead of curling up like she was going to take a nap, she eventually turned belly up, using two of her paws to conceal her breasts and the other two to rub her abdomen as she demanded, "Rub my belly..." in a serious, almostmanding tone. ... .. . (A/N: I got severely sunburned when I went fishing with my brother, so I was out ofmission after catching a fever. On a far more positive note, today is MY birthday. A friend of mine got me some cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory and Tales of Arise, but I''m going to put thetter on the backburner for the time being. I''ll also be doing triple releases for the rest of the month(starting tomorrow), so look forward to it~!) Chapter 2320: Steps, Both Large and Small

Chapter 2320: Steps, Both Large and Small

"It''s pretty rare for you toe to me first. Are you feeling guilty about what happened with S?" Adopting a faint smile, Vahn replied, "Something like that..." as he reached up to caress Shiroyasha''s neck and chin. She gave him a slight prick with her horns, but that didn''t discourage him from tracing the line of her neck and corbone as he added, "Though the situation has changed since ourst meeting, I''ve more or less concluded my business with the North and South Sides. All that remains is collecting Sun Authorities, supnting a few discordant deities, and ensuring our allies are well-protected during my ascension..." As the current Laws of the Little Garden prohibited residents of the 1-3-Digit Gates from interacting ''directly'' with people outside, Vahn needed to ensure his enemies wouldn''t be able to strike in the brief period where he was pushing for the peak of the Little Garden. He could leave an ''Avatara'' behind in the form of a Temte, but, as Wu and others had shown, they didn''t inherit the ''tenacity'' afforded to him by his unique constitution and Innates. He could grant them power ''identical'' to his own, but they would still lose against the more famous/infamous Gods. Understanding Vahn''s concerns, Shiroyasha exhaled a sigh before softly muttering, "I suppose it''s about time I introduce you to an old...''friend'' of mine. You know the one..." As there were actually a few people that came to mind, Vahn muttered, "I''m assuming you''re referring to Queen Halloween, but I''m unsure as the two of you aren''t exactly friends..." Rolling her eyes, Shiroyasha replied, "She has in her possession the Aries, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Capricorn Authorities. If you can ''convince'' her to join us, we will have eighteen of the twenty-five Sun Authorities. Neen if you decide to stop dallying and obtain the Ophiuchus Authority..." "Right..." Though he hadn''t forgotten about his promise to Leticia, Vahn had ced her ''liberation'' on hold at her request. She was currently in the process of gaining the power to free her sister while simultaneously helping care for the various children residing in the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. "If I took action directly, everything could be resolved in one fell swoop. However, Leticia, her sister, and the vampire race would be indebted to me in a way I''m not entirelyfortable with..." Exhaling a slightly exasperated sigh, Shiroyasha adopted a mock deadpan as she remarked, "This would be a lot easier if you weren''t so sentimental. I understand your desire to have people choose their own paths, but that doesn''t mean you have to course-correct to give them time..." Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn replied, "I still have 722 days toplete my current objectives. Besides, if you and Queen Halloween agree to work together, we don''t even need the Ophiuchus Authority. Setting it aside, for the time being, hurts no one." Feeling a little annoyed, Shiroyasha poked Vahn with the tip of her horns as she grumbled, "You''re being unreasonable...while I do trust you, asking me to lend you multiple Sun Authorities ces me in a difficult situation..." Squeezing the pouty Sun Goddess''s body, Vahn casually replied, "Then let''s not worry about it. I told you before, but obtaining a majority of Sun Authorities is optional. I trust you not to betray me and side with the other Gods once I start taking action, so not having them doesn''t really change anything." Since he only needed a majority of Sun Authorities to prevent the Gods from abandoning the current Little Garden and creating a new one, Vahn didn''t actually require them. Shiroyasha currently possessed fourteen, so unless she suddenly decided to betray him, he didn''t have to worry about the Big Three attempting to flee once he began aiming for their thrones. Instead of feeling relieved by Vahn''s words, Shiroyasha''s brows furrowed as she gave him another firm prick with her horns. She didn''t like that he was basically saying he didn''t need her help to achieve his goal, so, after jabbing him hard enough to draw blood, she turned around and straddled hisp before leaning forward top up the crimson liquid. Realizing he had inadvertently upset her, Vahn allowed Shiroyasha to do as she pleased while habitually massaging her butt. He was tempted to point out that making concessions for her was functionally the same as making ''detours'' for others but promptly decided against it. Instead, he waited until she was finished drawing his blood before muttering, "Tell me what you want, and I''ll do my best to make it a reality..." Licking the blood from her lips, Shiroyasha took a moment to look Vahn in the eyes before narrowing her own and answering, "You know damn well what I want. An enormous harem, revenge against those who harmed my friends, and changes to the current system. Beyond that..." Linking her hands around Vahn''s neck and shoulders, Shiroyasha licked her lips a second time before yfully appending, "Unequip your pants, and I might just scream the rest..." Punctuating her words, Shiroyasha silenced any potential responses with a kiss. She was feeling a little frustrated after Vahn''s earlier remarks, so she intended to have him relieve her stress before they returned to their original conversation. As for Queen Halloween, Indra, and everyone else she needed to arrange meetings with, they could wait. After all, it wasn''t like Vahn ''needed'' their cooperation... ... .. . After pacifying Xysteria with a significant amount of belly rubs, Vahn had her exin ''exactly'' what she had in mind for her colonists. Contrasting Vahn''s initial expectations, the ''insects'' Xysteria had in mind weren''t actual insects. Xysteria simply hadn''t known the appropriate word for what she was attempting to describe: automatons. Not wanting them to sumb to thirst, starvation, and the influence of her power, Xysteria intended to popte both the interior and the area around her ''nest'' with purely mechanical lifeforms. Those inhabiting the interior would be known as Guardians, beings tasked with observing and cataloging the various creatures produced by her power. Those upying the surface would be known as Keepers, predominately humanoid robots that would tend to the surrounding forests and establish infrastructure to amodate people from the outside. Using a bit of y, Xysteria was able to give Vahn a pretty good idea of what she had in mind for both groups. The Guardians would be outfitted with enhanced sensors, borderline indestructible armor, various types of excavation equipment, and armaments capable of incinerating just about any form of biological life. They needed to be able to deal with outbreaks such as the mushrooms that had nearly overtaken one of Gaia''s textures, so their incinerators weren''t meresers; they were molecr disruption devices that forcefully separated electrons, converting virtually all other molecules into an inert form of atomized ash. Contrasting the rather fierce-looking Guardians, the Keepers were made to be a lot more unassuming. The ''males'' of the species had tanned skin and dark hair that vaguely resembled younger, child-like versions of Vahn. As for their female counterparts, they unsurprisingly ended up resembling Xysteria. However, instead of four arms, white fur, and multiple tails, they only possessed two arms and a single tail, ensuring they would always be ''lesser'' in terms of adorableness and appeal. Understanding there was a chance that creatures could escape her nest and run rampant on the surface, Xysteria decided to outfit male Keepers with a lesser variant of the ''Incinerator,'' one that specialized in eliminating single targets. As for the females, they were to be blessed with enhanced senses, incredible strength, and the ability to discern creatures adversely affected by Xysteria''s power. Though he didn''t mind the existence of a race of child-like automatons that vaguely resembled him, Vahn made a few tweaks before finalizing Xysteria''s first experimental poption. He gave the males pointed ears and bestowed both Guardians and Keepers with the ability to ''hibernate'' for extended periods. It could be anywhere between a few hundred to a few thousand years before outsiders showed up on their ind, so being able to ''sleep'' for years would be a boon in their exceptionally long lives. After all, unless they were damaged beyond repair, they were effectively immortal. With the designsrgely finalized, Vahn acquiesced to Xysteria''s demand to give the males an ''affinity with all things fluffy'' before creating a total of twenty males and females to popte the surface. Xysteria was still in the process of excavating her nest, so he didn''t want to overburden her with having to look after hundreds of people when she still depended on others to care for herself. As each Keeper was given form through abination of her and Vahn''s power, Xysteria became increasingly excited. If Vahn hadn''t warned her about inadvertently destroying them, she would have pounced upon and cuddled each and every one of them. Instead, she waited until all twenty had been formed before tentatively approaching and examining them up close. Though she was a little bothered by their nk, ostensibly emotionless expressions, Xysteria took the time to nuzzle and mark each of the male Keepers. She eventually did the same with the females, but only after a lengthy exnation on imprinting and a bit of ''encouragement'' from Vahn. When she was finished, they worked together toe up with names for each of them beforemencing the long process of ''programming'' them via demonstration and verbal instruction. ... .. . Seeing Xysteria''s reaction to her ''children'' from the perspective of his other self, Vahn couldn''t help smiling. This was immediately noticed by ck Rabbit, who, after breastfeeding their six children, was enjoying some much-deserved cuddles. Narrowing her eyes into an affectionate smile, ck Rabbit yfully inquired, "What''s got you in such a good mood~?" Returning an affectionate smile of his own, Vahn replied, "I''m watching Xysteria take her first significant steps toward maturing as a Primordial Deity. She now has a small poption to supervise, one that isn''t entirelyprised of other versions of herself." Though she had only met and interacted with Xysteria a few times, ck Rabbit couldn''t help feeling happy for the inordinately cute yet aggressive ball of fluff, responding, "Wow, that really is a major step forward for her. I hope everything turns out well." Nodding his head, Vahn, somewhat shamelessly, replied, "I''ll make sure it does. I''ve been anticipating this kind of development for a long time, so I won''t let things fall through before Xysteria learns a lesson or two..." "Mmm...how reassuring..." Since she didn''t want her cuddle session to be a discussion about Xysteria and her development, ck Rabbit ended the conversation by resting her head against Vahn''s chest and nuzzling against him. His scent caused her body to feel hot, but it was nowhere near as ''agonizing'' as it was before her pregnancy. Understanding ck Rabbit''s intentions, Vahn promptly left the matter of Xysteria to his other self, nting a kiss on the pink-haired beauty''s head before squeezing her tightly. It was only a matter of time before someone came along to ''interrupt'' them, so he didn''t mind spending the moment in peaceful serenity. Things were going to get pretty busy in the weeks and months toe, so it was important to savor each and every moment he had with his loved ones... Feeling Vahn''s warmth fill her body, suppressing the heat radiating from her abdomen, an exceptionally contented smile developed across ck Rabbit''s face. She wouldn''t mind if he wanted to have sex, far from it, but, after bing a mother to six seemingly insatiable kittens, she hade to realize just how precious moments of peace and quiet could be... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Shiroyasha showing her Tsundere side...'',''Akihito Tsukushi would like to know my location...'',''Every mother in the multiverse just nodded their heads in agreement xD...'') Chapter 2321: Slight

Chapter 2321: Slight

Though he was trying to limit his number of manifestations, Vahn created a fifth to pay a visit to Draco Greif, apprising him of the situation with S. He also gave the retiring Griffin a warning about Yvonne but promised the Empire wouldn''t just stand by if she attempted to conquer the South using more ''forceful'' methods. After hearing Vahn''s ount till the end, Draco Greif understood that the former was aware of the meeting between himself and the Leaders of the Draco Greif Alliance. However, instead of expressing offense at the notion that Vahn was spying on them, Draco Greif remained calm andposed as he replied, "Then it appears that Lau Pantera, Leader of Five-ws, will be the next Floor Master. Does the Aldrnari Empire have any counsel they wish to provide on this matter...?" Shaking his head, Vahn answered, "The internal affairs of the Draco Greif Alliance are their own to manage. I''ve already inconvenienced you greatly by intervening in the matter between S and her sister. Instead of telling you what to do, I''m more inclined to ask if there''s anything the Empire can do to help ease the transition." "Hmmm..." Understanding that Vahn wasn''t simply being polite, Draco Greif closed his eyes and carefully considered his response. Vahn was known to make the impossible a reality, and there seemed to be no limits to the Empire''s resources and capabilities. Thus, the next few words that came out of his mouth could genuinely shape the future of the Draco Greif Alliance. Not wanting to disturb Draco Greif''s thoughts, Vahn manifested an ornate jade teapot and served himself a cup of aromatic jasmine tea. This version of himself existed for the singr purpose of this discussion, so he wasn''t in any particr hurry. After deliberating for several minutes, Draco Greif adopted a noticeably wry smile and asked, "Do you mind if I call for the Leader of Five-ws? As the next Floor Master and Leader of the Draco Greif Alliance, I believe she should be present." Though Draco Greif''s words raised a number of gs, Vahn didn''t hesitate to respond, "Sure, I don''t see why not? If the Draco Greif Alliance and the Aldrnari Empire are going to be allies in the future, it''s only natural that we meet at some point." Nodding his head, Draco Greif responded with a curt, "Indeed," before using his Authority as Floor Master to send a telepathicmunique to Lau. She was busy dealing with a few drunken brawls that had broken out during the impromptu celebration but immediately dropped what she was doing when she heard the reason for her summoning... Bursting into the conference room a few minutester, Lau''s luminous golden eyes briefly focused on Vahn before she turned to Draco Greif, cupping her hands and bowing as a sign of respect as she said, "Lau Pantera, reporting as ordered..." Getting straight to the point, Draco Greif revealed, "Due to circumstances rted to her family, S Doldrake''s candidacy for Floor Master has been revoked. As such, you, Lau Pantera, have been designated as the sole nominee for the positions of Floor Master and future Leader of the Draco Greif Alliance. I trust you have no objections?" Cupping her hands together a second time, this time with enough force to generate a small shockwave, Lau''s fur-covered ears twitched excitedly as she loudly eximed, "It would be my honor!" Though he nodded his head in approval, Draco Greif took a bit of the wind out of Lau''s sails, adding, "I''m confident you''ll lead the Alliance into an era of prosperity. To that end, I have invited you here to participate in the discussion rted to our...''cooperation'' with the Aldrnari Empire..." Furrowing her brows, Lau directed a sidelong gaze toward Vahn as she asked, "Has the Aldrnari Empire requested something of us...?" Catching the spirited warrior princess somewhat off guard, Draco Greif replied, "Quite the opposite. However, as I do not wish to put words into his mouth, the Sage Dragon Emperor can speak for himself." Setting aside his cup of tea, Vahn offered a cordial smile as he exined, "Aspensation for the troubles my actions have wrought, I was asking your Leader if there is anything I, or the Aldrnari Empire, could do to make the forting transition smoother. I have technically robbed you of one of your most powerful allies, so it''s only natural that Ipensate you for the loss." Understanding that Vahn was referring to S, Lau crossed her arms in defiance, retorting, "S might have been strong, but the Alliance existed before and will endure after her. Do not look down on us. We are not some helpless throng that needs your guidance and protection..." "Lau..." Though he had somewhat anticipated Lau''s brazenness, Draco Greif couldn''t help covering his face with his taloned hand. He knew she didn''t trust Vahn, but her words undermined both the long and short-term future of the Alliance. If Vahn was half as bad as she believed him to be, such an overt slight could have resulted in theirplete and total destruction... Fortunately for the many inhabitants of Under and Overwood, Vahn just smiled in response to Lau''s words, responding, "If that''s the way you feel, I have nothing more to say on the matter. Just know that the Aldrnari Empire does not turn its back on its allies. If therees a time when the Draco Greif Alliance is in need, do not hesitate to seek us out. Pride at the expense of your peoples'' lives is hubris." Finished with what he had to say, Vahn rose to his feet, dusted himself off, and offered a curt nod toward Draco Greif as he said, "If you need to contact me during the festival, a version of me can be found at the side of One-Horn''s Leader, Merry. After that, the best way to contact me would presumably be through the Leader of Six-Scars, Garol Gundark." Having risen at the same time as Vahn, Draco Greif offered a respectful nod of his own as he replied, "I''ll be sure to keep that in mind. Farewell, Vahn Aldrnari Mason." As the corners of his smile curled upward, Vahn faded from existence like grains of sand being blown by the wind. The moment he had disappearedpletely, the atmosphere within the room became oppressive as Draco Greif directed a fierce re at Lau, stating, "Though I have no intention of retracting your nomination, know I am disappointed with your handling of this matter. Had he the mind to, the Sage Dragon Emperor could stamp out our entire Alliance on a whim. We are beyond fortunate he didn''t take your careless words to heart..." Cowed by the oppressive aura exuding from Draco Greif like a powerful gravitational force, Lau appeared to shrink into herself, timidly pressing the tips of her index fingers together as she meekly replied, "I didn''t want to appear weak in front of the Leader of a foreign Community..." Exhaling a profound and exasperated sigh, Draco Greif retracted his aura and plopped down into a seated position. He empathized with Lau''s need to appear strong, but there was a time and a ce for everything. The resources of the Aldrnari Empire could bolster their entire Alliance to new heights, but Lau had effectively set fire to the bridge without even thinking about the consequences. Had Vahn been less magnanimous, her actions may have burned it down entirely. Shaking his head, Draco Greif forced himself to regain his calm, advising, "I won''t tell you to apologize. However, it would be wise of you to make a concerted effort to befriend the Leaders of One-Horn and Six-ws. You are entitled to govern the Alliance as you see fit, but a representative who ignores the will of the people will invariably be a tyrant..." Hanging her head, Lau silently reflected on Draco Greif''s words and her actions. With the benefit of hindsight, she realized that rejecting Vahn''s offer outright probably wasn''t the smartest thing she could have done. After all, it wasn''t like he was asking anything of them. Rather, he effectively gave them a nk check and invited them to fill in the nks. She could have asked for all kinds of resources, yet she just ripped it up on principle... Realizing her mistake, Lau abruptly took a knee, her right fist touching the ground as she lowered her head and stated, "I''m not sure how, but I''ll make this right. You have my word." Exhaling a slightly softer sigh, Draco Greif adopted an uncannily human smile as he replied, "It''s okay to make mistakes, Lau. So long as you learn from them, you will continue to move forward as both a person and a leader. Now, away with you. I''m certain there are better ways you could be spending your time. Leave me to my rest." Without another word, Lau promptly cupped her hands together before backing out of the chamber and rushing to Underwood. She was tempted to track down Vahn and apologize for her carelessness but didn''t want to intrude upon his and Merry''s time together. Instead, she locked onto the scent of Garol Gundark, leaping from the boughs of the Great Water Tree with the resolve to be a proper leader for her people... ... .. . "Oh no...it''s spilling out..." Though Vahn had insisted they take several breaks, Merry had thoroughly demonstrated that it wasn''t just hernguagecking in decency. She was a veritable nymphomaniac, and due to her inordinately prolonged chastity, there were countless things she was eager to try. Watching the petite beauty scoop up his semen and try to force it back inside her, Vahn couldn''t help smiling wryly as he said, "I can always fill you upter. For now, we should get ourselves cleaned up and grab a bite to eat outside. Festivals shouldn''t be spent idling about indoors." Adopting a pouty expression, Merry attempted to guilt Vahn into staying inside by tearing up and asking, "Do we have to? The outside world sucks, and I don''t like being around other people. They all stare at me with lewd gazes like they want to tear off my dress and **** me in the middle of the street..." A stark contrast to the teary-eyed expression she had at the start of her argument, a ruddy hue spread through Merry''s cheeks as she imagined Vahn being the one to push her down. The thought, alone, was enough to make her feel embarrassed, but she would be lying if she said it wasn''t as exciting... Overwhelmed by her overactive imagination, Merry stared into space for a few moments until a thin line of silvery blood trickled from her left nostril. Merry immediately noticed this, quickly wiping away the evidence before adopting an innocent smile as she looked at Vahn and asked, "What were we talking about?" With Loi-chan enthusiastically narrating Merry''s libidinous thoughts, Vahn made a mental note not to inform her of his ability to separate from the Axes of Time, Space, and Reality. He didn''t mind doing it in public, but he didn''t want to encourage her ''bad'' behavior. Merry was clearly a little unstable, so he offered a smoldering smile and replied, "We were talking about going out on a date. I want everyone in Underwood to know we''re together, so I was hoping to show you off while you show me around. If you would prefer to keep our rtionship a secret, however, I don''t mind staying inside..." Though she was more than a little tempted by Vahn''s final few words, the chance to disy her rtionship in public was enough to convince Merry to go out. Thus, with a rather substantial volume of semen dripping down her legs and thighs, she hopped out of bed and ran to the bath, shouting, "Hurry along, darling~! We musn''t keep the peasantry waiting~" in a sing-song tone. ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn has all the time in the world...'',''More muscle than brain...'',''Someone bonk this damned Unicorn...'') Chapter 2322: Dont Shoot, Messenger

Chapter 2322: Don''t Shoot, Messenger

Seeing Vahn and Merry emerge from the One-Horn Community''s headquarters, a seemingly voluptuous woman with maroon hair and olive, slightly reddish skin narrowed her eyes. Her features and physique could be described as wless from a distance, but closer inspection revealed that her entire body was purely mechanical in nature. Though androids, gynoids, and other artificial lifeforms could be found in many ces throughout the Little Garden, they were especially rare in the South and East Sides. However, while her mechanical form and golden, camera-like irises stood out, the features most people would notice when viewing the peculiar woman were her garments. Instead of ''conventional'' clothing or a form of attire that would help her blend in with her surroundings, the maroon-haired woman was garbed in a pristine white toga and various red and gold ornaments. Most prominent among these was a golden pauldron fashioned in the visage of a deer, an armored arm bearing a durable-looking buckler, banded, fur-lined sandals that covered much of her calves, a crown-like diadem affixed with antlers, and a girdle with runic symbols depicting a mountain and lightning bolts. "So, that''s the Sage Dragon Emperor...he''s a lot less imposing in real life..." Following the woman''s remark, an even more conspicuous figure replied, "Perhaps. That doesn''t change the fact he was able to defeat Amaterasu and Indra in singlebat. It would be pretty rash to underestimate him." Despite possessing a purely mechanical head resembling a helmet with a visor, the fashionably dressed, rtively modern-attired man brought up a cigarette to his non-existent lips and inhaled. As he did so, fiery crystals protruding from his helmet and the backs of his silvery, metallic boots lit up in a manner resembling luminous golden mes. After inhaling a considerable amount of smoke, the man exhaled in a clearly exasperated manner, the smoke emanating from the sides of his helmet rather than the approximate location of his ''mouth.'' Without taking her eyes off Vahn, the maroon-haired woman adopted a scowl as she remarked, "Such thinking is the reason Olympus is gradually losing its power and authority. Even if it means our destruction, we should face the Sage Dragon Emperor with conviction. The Poets and Bards have already begun to sing songs of our ''cowardice.'' If we try to ignore them as we did during Avalon''s ascent, Olympus may never rise again." Exhaling another tired sigh, the helmeted man remarked, "We''re relics of a bygone era, Artemis. Our efforts to modernize andpete with the Nine Realms have long since undermined the history and traditions upon which we derive our power. At this point, there are ''Heroes'' in the West that have nearly as much power and influence as we Olympians..." Clenching her teeth, the maroon-haired woman, better known as Artemis of the Olympians, raised her fist as if she were about to strike her helmet-headedpanion. She was one of the more popr Olympians, but that was a double-edged sword. As the influence of other Artemis grew in the West, her form became more mechanical to match the many markswomen and gunslingers that relied upon cybeic enhancements and advanced weaponry to emte her power. That''s one of the many reasons she was so eager to return to the battlefield; she wanted to restore her image and regain her ''purity.'' Though he clearly suffered from an even worse ''affliction,'' the helmeted man, Hermes, had long embraced his form and the influence it had on his lifestyle. He was part of the progressive faction of Olympians, so even if he becamepletely robotic in the future, he didn''t care so long as their Community continued to prosper. Unfortunately, while Hermes stood in opposition to Zeus, the Chief God of the Olympians and de facto leader of the conservative faction, he still had to follow the tyrannical Gods'' orders. Zeus was infamous as one of, if not the most vengeful Gods in the entire Little Garden. He permitted the existence of the progressive and neutral faction, but he would often show up to ''clean house'' whenever he was in a bad mood. Recalling Zeus''s past actions, Hermes caressed a vicious burn mark that covered the entirety of his left arm and much of his body. Conspiratory thoughts ran rampant within his mind, but they were promptly suppressed by a sub-routine he had created to store away and prevent such thoughts from being read by others. Unless essed directly, even he would not be aware of the true extent of his hatred and subterfuge. After calming himself sufficiently, Hermes flicked aside his extinguished cigarette and said, "Let''s go. And remember, we''re only here to deliver a message. If you pick a fight, don''t expect me to bail you out." Snorting through her nose, Artemis retorted, "Coward..." before jumping from her perch and bounding through the air with the grace of a gazelle. Golden ripples appeared each time her feet impacted the air, effectively allowing her to stride across the sky. As this was far from the first time he had been called a coward, Hermes just shook his head and ced his hands into his pockets. The crystals protruding from his helmet and greaves briefly illuminated, but only the most discerning would have been able to recognize it as he immediately vanished... ... .. . Though he had been keeping tabs on Artemis and Hermes, Vahn couldn''t help muttering, "Really? You''re going to interrupt my date...?" just as twin streaks of me bypassed him and Merry, culminating in the appearance of Olympus''s God of Trade, Wealth, Luck, and Travel. Despite the helmet covering his head, Hermes raised his hand to scratch the back of it as he answered, "Yeah, sorry about that. You''re not exactly easy to pin down. I rmended we send an official missive to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, but the big man up top isn''t exactly known for listening to the counsel of others." Recognizing who Hermes was, Merry''s body became tense, a fierce look marring her previously smiling face as she clung to Vahn''s right arm and growled, "You shouldn''t be here. Underwood may wee outsiders and tourists, but that courtesy doesn''t extend to the hounds of Zeus..." Shrugging his shoulders, Hermes elected to ignore Merry''s remark as he made ''eye contact'' with Vahn and revealed, "Anyways...we came here to deliver a message." Following Hermes''s remark, Artemis touched down a few meters away from Vahn and Merry, a proud and detached glower on her face as she added, "Zeus awaits you at the peak of Mt. Olympus. If you ept, we are to escort you there immediately." Waving her hand, Artemis created a golden vortex to her right. From the interior emerged a mechanical Ibex, its height exceeding three meters as it stood proudly next to its master. In an attempt to prevent an altercation, Hermes raised his hands in a gesture of mock surrender, his tone chipper and upbeat as he rified, "What my sister neglected to mention is that we''ve prepared a banquet and various forms of entertainment to wee you. We also know about your ability to split yourself into multiple forms, so it''s not like we''re asking you to abandon your date with little miss unicorn here." "Hmmm..." Directing his gaze to Artemis, Vahn narrowed his eyes, his voice taking on a yful undertone as he asked, "And if I refuse...?" Narrowing her eyes in turn, Artemis crossed her arms under her shapely, ostensibly artificial breasts as she replied, "Then Zeus was right about you. You''re a coward that has conspired with the declining rulers of the Little Garden to reinforce their standing and undermine the influence of any God that might oppose them." Though Artemis''s words were clearly vitriol intended to anger him, Vahn exhaled a light chuckle. He hadn''t conspired with anyone, but the optional objectives listed in his Quest made it clear he wasn''t opposed to the idea of undermining certain Gods. Among those, Zeus was near the top of the list, second only to a certain ''God of Truth.'' Annoyed by Vahn''sughter, Artemis manifested what appeared to be an inordinately long-barreled revolver. It resembled a rifle, but the stock was curved, clearly intended to be wielded with a single hand. As her golden eyes emitted an ever-growing radiance, Artemis''s naturally husky tone sounded audibly strained as she put pressure on the gun''s trigger and bellowed, "Why are youughing!? Do you think we Olympians are some kind of joke...!?" "Artemis...!" Vanishing from his initial position, Hermes appeared in front of Artemis in an instant, his arms spread in a defensive posture. He understood full well that Vahn didn''t need his protection, but initiating a conflict in the territory of a Floor Master was asking for trouble. Draco Greif''s reputation couldn''tpare to even the least famous Olympian, but he still had the authority of a Host Master. If they acted out and received thebel of Demon Lord, their reputations would never recover. Clicking her tongue, Artemis shouldered her ornate, oversized revolver and asked, "Why are you getting anxious? It''s not like I had any intention of firing. I just wanted the Sage Dragon Emperor to take our conversation more seriously. Is that a crime?" "..." Understanding the futility of trying to argue with a Goddess as proud as Artemis, Hermes took a moment to adjust his cor before looking back at Vahn and Merry, his voice audibly apologetic as he stated, "It would mean a lot to a lot of people if you were to ept our invitation..." Catching the two Gods off guard, Vahn showed no discernible hesitation as he replied, "Sure. I originally nned to stop by once the festival was drawing to an end. Showing up a few days earlier doesn''t change much." Punctuating his words, Vahn''s body appeared to vibrate and be illusory as he split into three identical versions of himself. He only needed two, but Hermes''s revtion that he could split himself had caused Merry to bore holes into him with her passionate, ruddy-faced gaze. Understanding the implication behind Vahn''s actions, Artemis''s already frigid expression became exceptionally icy while Hermes just exhaled a synthetic-sounding chuckle. However, as Vahn was pretty famous for his ''womanizing,'' neither was particrly surprised by his actions. Not wanting to stick around any longer than was absolutely necessary, Artemis climbed onto the back of her artificial Ibex and suggested, "We depart immediately." in amanding tone. She wasn''t the type to offer courtesy to anyone, not even Zeus, so she couldn''t care less if her words and actions offended Vahn. Borrowing a page from Hermes''s book, Vahn ignored the maroon-haired Goddess, his gentle green eyes fixating on her markedly more mechanical half-sibling as he asked, "Are you truly okay with that form? I could easily restore you to your ''original'' appearance." Though he didn''t have a mouth or the muscture to smile with, Hermes gave off the impression he was doing precisely that as he replied, "Nah. It was a little jarring in the beginning, but I''ve grown somewhat fond of this form. I do appreciate the offer, though. Thanks." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn briefly shifted his gaze to Artemis, a natural smile developing across his face as he noticed the sudden conflict within her distinctly mechanical eyes. Both he and Hermes knew the true reason for his proposition. The only question was whether or not Artemis had the intestinal fortitude to swallow her pride, apologize, and appeal to his good nature. Unfortunately, while he had absolutely no qualms about restoring her original appearance, Artemis ultimately clenched her teeth and tightened the reins of her Ibex, growling, "Don''t fall behind..." before giving them a flick and taking off at hypersonic speeds... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-'',''Hermes seems like a bro...'',''Let''s just hope she doesn''t shit the bed if Vahn allows her to lie in it...'') Chapter 2323: Radiance

Chapter 2323: Radiance

Since the Little Garden had a finite amount of space, the vast majority of Communities made use of Gates like personal, secluded Realms. Very few went out of their way to build structures in view of ordinary people unless they were trying to show off or recruit new members. A stark contrast to the majority of Communities, Mt. Olympus went out of their way to erect their titr mountain at the center of a sr dome, one of the massive superstructures intended to allow Vampires to walk around without fearing the Sun. Because of this, every other Community situated within the dome had to deal with the sight of a massive mountain serving as a perpetual reminder of who they neighbored. And that was just the beginning of their troubles... As could be expected of a construct envisioned by Zeus, one of the most infamous, narcissistic, and prideful Gods in the Little Garden, Mt. Olympuspletely dominated the dome in which it was constructed. There was arge rune shaped like an Omega symbol hovering high in the sky, serving as a stand-in for the Sun, while the upper half of the ten-thousand-meter tall mountain had been carved into a luminous, temple-like pce. To ensure his home stood out even more, Zeus used his authority to make the sky beneath the dome a shroud of perpetual twilight. Even during the middle of the day, the sky overhead was a gloomy shade of bluish-purple, the only exception being the clear, golden skies over Mt. Olympus. Seeing the overcast skies dominating much of the sr dome, the friendly smile typically found on Vahn''s face rxed into a neutral, contemtive expression. He had heard the rumors but seeing Zeus''s pce so brightly illuminated while everyone else was forced to tolerate an endless twilight irked him more than he anticipated... Interrupting Vahn''s introspection, a sound simr to a simmering skillet tickled his ears as Hermes appeared next to him, remarking, "It''s been a long time since I lost in a race. I think thest time was when I made the mistake of pitting myself against Sun Wu Kong. I''m sure you''re fully aware of this, but that''s one fast monkey." Though he would generally adopt a smile to put those around him at ease, Vahn maintained a neutral expression as he replied, "You need not go out of your way to butter me up. I have no intention of punishing you for past crimes. Just continue doing your best for your people. That''s all I have to say on the matter..." Noticing the borderline disinterest in Vahn''s tone, an involuntary shudder racked Hermes''s body. He was well acquainted with the rumors regarding Vahn''s knowledge and wisdom, but it was...unpleasant to be seen through with such ease. He had assumed his bio-mechanical imnts might give him some leeway, but that apparently wasn''t the case. Before Hermes could think of how to respond to Vahn''s words, a sh of light shone from the top of one of Mt. Olympus''s towers. In the very next moment, a man with a wless, muscr physique and fiery golden hair appeared before them. Hisplexion resembled ivory, and his body was veiled in little more than scant white cloth, numerous golden essories, and a crown set with the same symbol floating in the sky, . With a smile that caused the surroundings to light up, the luminous man offered a nod and practically sang, "Wee, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor. It''s a privilege to meet someone whose radiance far exceeds even my own. Your match against that vixen, Amaterasu, is one I''ll not soon forget." Enhancing his performance, the luminous man, clearly Apollo, strummed a golden harp whose wires were forged with pure sunlight. The sound they produced couldpel mortal enemies to reconcile, but Vahn barely cracked a smile as he inquired, "Should I be anticipating a greeting from each of the Olympians?" Instead of taking offense to Vahn''s standoffish response, Apollo adopted his most captivating smile and replied, "Not all of us, I''m afraid. My father haspelled my Great Aunt and many of my sister Goddesses to remain in private quarters for the duration of your stay. Your reputation, including your rather sorted history with women, proceeds you." As Apollo was nearly as famous as Zeus for his phndering, Vahn felt a strongpulsion to roll his eyes. Instead, the corners of his smile curled upward as he offered a terse, "Understandable." Feeling an obligation to exin further, Apollo gave his harp a practiced strum as he added, "Worry not. You''ve already had the honor of meeting my elder sister, Artemis. Once we reach the pce, you''ll also have the opportunity to meet my mother, Hera, and my eldest sister, Athena. While their magnificence might notpare to Demeter and Aphrodite''s, I can assure you they''re a delight to the senses." As it didn''t really matter to him either way, Vahn just smiled in response to Apollo''s words. He was somewhat interested in meeting Hestia, but they could chat as much as they liked once his business with the likes of Zeus and Athena had been concluded. After all, depending on how things went, the pantheon of Mt. Olympus would be undergoing some ''restructuring'' in the very near future. Noticing Vahn''s disinterest in the topic at hand, Hermes injected himself back into the exchange, appending, "Speaking of which, we should make our way to the pce. Artemis knows the way, so there''s no need to wait around to receive her. If anything, she would probably be more annoyed if we did." Though he loved his sister dearly, Apollo sighed in response to Hermes''s words, responding, "Hermes is correct. Ever since she began experiencing changes to her body, Artemis has been somewhat...difficult. If we''re here when she arrives, I imagine she would simply fly over us without stopping to exchange greetings." Resisting the moderate temptation to stick around, Vahn offered a curt, affirmative nod as he said, "Very well. I''ve never been particrly fond of false pleasantries, so I don''t mind heading over early. The sooner I meet with Zeus, the sooner I can be on my way." Furrowing his brows, Apollo couldn''t help remarking, "My father may not be a wless individual, but I do not believe he has done anything to sow enmity between Mt. Olympus and the Aldrnari Empire. I sincerely believe that if Your Majesty is willing topromise, our Communities will be able to get along spectacrly." As the God of Music, Poetry, Knowledge, and Order, Apollo had a great disdain for ''unnecessary'' conflict. He knew his father''s character better than most, but he still believed Mt. Olympus and the Aldrnari Empire could be allies. Vahn was bing increasingly renowned for his magnanimity and tolerance, so Apollo couldn''t help envisioning a bright future for both of their Communities. Understanding that Apollo wasn''t trying to be intentionally daft, Vahn offered another curt nod and replied, "I would wee such an oue. Unfortunately, while I''m willing topromise on just about anything, the sole exception is my bottom line. The moment your father does something that crosses that line, there''s no going back." Frowning deeply, Apollo was thinking about how he could convince Vahn to extend his father a degree of leniency when Hermes inserted himself back into the conversation, saying, "We can continue this conversation in the pce. I don''t imagine our father will appreciate us dying his guest any further than we already have." Directing his frown at Hermes, Apollo was briefly tempted to chastise his younger brother. As one of the staunchest members of the conservative faction, the two rarely saw eye to eye. However, as they were currently in the presence of a highly esteemed guest, Apollo decided it was probably for the best if they didn''t argue right in front of Vahn. "Very well. Please, allow me to lead the way." With Vahn offering another nod, Apollo took off at a much slower speed than the one he had used to arrive. He knew Vahn could easily keep up with even his maximum speed, but he wanted to give the visiting Emperor an opportunity to admire the scenery surrounding Mt. Olympus. He took great pride in his home, and he wanted Vahn to be able to appreciate it just as much as he did. Little did he know that the more time Vahn had to observe the massive disparity between Mt. Olympus and its surroundings, the greater his urge to tear it down... ... .. . Observing Vahn, Hermes, and Apollo from atop her personal tower, one of twelve surrounding the central pce upied by Zeus, Athena couldn''t help feeling a little trepidatious. She didn''t regret her past actions, but the notion she had slighted the wrong person began to set in following Vahn''s acquisition of Indra''s, previously thought to be immutable, Gate. Appearing next to the troubled Goddess, a shapely woman with free-flowing brown hair, modest attire, fair skin, and gentle brown eyes ced her hand on Athena''s shoulder and said, "It''s never toote to apologize, Athena. Even if he doesn''t ept, you''ll never be able to move forward if you continue clinging to this anger and resentment." Though she knew her fellow Goddess was undoubtedly correct, Athena''s expression revealed her vexation as she poutily replied, "Why should I be the one to apologize? That hateful man broke Laius and utterly ruined the reputation of the Perseus Community. Even if Laius''s actions went too far, the Sage Dragon Emperor could have settled the matter without resorting to such an excessive form of punishment. It was like a lionno, a Dragon using all of its energy to torment a defenseless rabbit...!" Smiling sadly, the marginally more diminutive Goddess, none other than Hestia, calmly retorted, "Even you cannot deny Laius''s guilt in the matter. I understand your justifications for pinning the me on the Sage Dragon Emperor, but his actions were ultimately reactive. It''s also objectively true that the Sage Dragon Emperor could have killed Laius. Instead, he forced him into a situation where he had no choice but to change his ways...that is a mercy very few are willing to afford the vanquished..." Feeling a twinge of pain the moment she witnessed sadness in Hestia''s gaze, Athena averted her eyes and muttered a frustrated, "Dammit...if I had known I was going to feel like this, I would havee to you ''after'' the banquet..." Taking advantage of the fact Athena had turned away from her, Hestia wrapped her arms around the taller Goddess''s waist,pletely ignoring the armor between them as she whispered, "It''s going to be okay, Athena. Vahn isn''t our enemy, not really. If you can ovee this resentment, not only will you be a stronger person, there''s a good chance the Sage Dragon Emperor will be willing to treat Laius''s injuries. He doesn''t strike me as the type to hold a grudge. If you can exhibit a willingness to move forward and change, I believe he will readily assent to mending Laius''s broken mind and spirit..." Though she did not attempt to break free from Hestia''s embrace, the look on Athena''s face made it apparent she wasn''t convinced. Swallowing her pride for the mere possibility of helping her nephew was easier said than done. If Vahn refused her apology and spurned her appeal, the amount of shame and embarrassment she would feel couldn''t be quantified. Understanding how difficult it was for her fellow Goddesses to set aside their pride, a glum look marred Hestia''s face as she closed her eyes and held Athena a little more firmly. She couldn''t say it, but she knew Vahn''s arrival at Mt. Olympus wasn''t a good thing. If things progressed how she envisioned they would, there was a good chance she would be losing a few members of her family. As wed as they were, the thought of losing even a single member of her cherished kin was enough to break Hestia''s heart... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''I know he probably isn''t, but it kind of seems like Zeus ispensating for something...'',''Apollo is a bit of a simp...'',''Even the vilest and most despicable people can have friends and family who would genuinely mourn their loss...'') Chapter 2324: Entering the Halls of Mt. Olympus

Chapter 2324: Entering the Halls of Mt. Olympus

With Apollo leading the way and Hermes following close behind, Vahn was led into arge, open, lounge-like chamber carved from marble and ented with gold. Square pirs supported the interior structure while traditional, rounded columns lined the exterior patios. Noticing the peculiar sheen of the intricate golden patterns, a faint smile adorned Vahn''s face as he inquired, "Was this entire pce constructed by Hephaestus? There isn''t a single w to be observed and the number of enchantments borders on the excessive..." As they were just one room away from where the banquet was being held, Apollo''s smile cramped when he heard Vahn''s query. He would rather not keep his father waiting, but he also felt obligated to answer as Vahn was a very, very important guest. Seizing the initiative, Hermes made things easier for Apollo by casually revealing, "You hit the nail on the head. Before they fell out, Hephaestus constructed this ce in honor of our father''s status. Now, even though he-" "Brother...I do not believe our family''s personal affairs are an appropriate subject to delve into with guests..." Shrugging his shoulders, Hermes retorted, "Literally everyone in the Little Garden is aware of the quarrel between our father and half-brother. If you have an issue, take it up with Homer and the other Poets." Narrowing his eyes, Apollo looked like he was about to say something but was interrupted when a pair of massive marble doors opened up at the far end of the chamber. From within, a fiery-haired man that reminded Vahn a lot of Pantheon, one of the Gods he had encountered during his ventures in Rerra, emerged in an ostensibly battle-ready state. His remarkably muscr body was dyed red with dried blood, spiked pauldrons adorned his shoulders, and he wielded a bloody, three-pronged spear in his right hand. The rest of his attire resembled a far more brutal version of ancient Spartans, but the things that stood out the most were his featureless face and the fiery heart visibly pulsating within his muscr, severely scarred chest. A stark contrast to his exceptionally vicious appearance, the fiery-haired man exuded no hostility. His eyes were red hot, almost like liquid metal, but a peculiar sense of calm exuded from their depths as he passed his gaze over Apollo, Hermes, and ultimately Vahn. Feeling a faint yet incredibly sharp intent attempting to probe his mind, the corners of Vahn''s smile curled upward as he said, "I''m afraid those types of abilities don''t work on me." Without expressing any kind of shock or anger, the fiery-haired man, Ares, replied, "So it would seem..." before standing to the side and providing a better view of the interior. A room simr to the one they were in awaited them on the other side, popted by arge assembly of entities whose skin and clothing emitted various colors. Though he took in the entire room and its upants concurrently, Vahn focused on the rather sizeable duo seated at the far end of the chamber. They were nearly twice the size of everyone else present, and both were perched atop ornate, silvery-gold thrones. However, while the inordinately beautiful woman on the right stood out quite a bit, the golden-maned man seated next to her gave off the impression he was the center of the entire universe, not just the banquet. "Hmmm...?" Looking around himself, Vahn feigned surprise as he took in the endless sea of clouds and sky that surrounded him. A distant sound of lightning gave the impression that a storm was beginning to build, but he wasn''t even remotely intimidated as he shifted his gaze to the muscr man hovering in the air a few meters away from him, body shrouded in golden armor. As a ring of runic lightning formed behind his back, causing his golden hair and beard to jut out even further, the increasingly fierce-looking man boomed, "So, we finally meet, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. Even if it wasn''t your intention, you''ve given me many headaches these past few months..." Extending his right hand, a bluish-white lightning bolt formed within the man''s hand as he asked, "Tell me, how should we settle the grievances between us?" Without waiting for Vahn''s response, the man''s body shed, his form briefly resembling that of a javelin thrower before he threw forth the bolt of lightning within his hand. The surrounding space fractured like ss due to the force of the blow, but Vahn didn''t even bat an eye as the bolt struck him in the center of his chest, sky-blue lightning erupting from the point of impact and consuming his entire body. Looking down at the lightning bolt sticking out of his chest, the smile on Vahn''s face grew more prominent. Illusions that could affect reality were fairly rare, so while he didn''t appreciate people trying to use him, he was still a little impressed. Ignoring the figure making a speech and congealing another bolt of lightning, Vahn turned to his left and remarked, "You do realize that I intend to teach Zeus a lesson even without such tricks, right? I would advise you to stop fooling around before I take this personally." "You dare ignore the Mighty Zeus...!?" As if to punish Vahn for his disrespect, the golden-haired man, Zeus, appeared next to him with a veritable spear of lightning in hand. The energy within was enough to level a ten thousand times over, but Vahn just waved it away with a sweep of his right hand, eradicating both the spear and the false God wielding it. Then, before the illusion could copse, he reached out with his left hand, materializing the figure of an old, silvery-haired, azure-eyed man veiled in robes formed from silvery, star-like sand. Feeling his control over the surrounding area wrested away from him, the azure-eyed man raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, fumbling as he said, "P-Please have mercy...!" Rolling his eyes, Vahn released the elderly figure with a shove as he said, "You must be Morpheus, the God of Dreams. Tell me, did Hermes put you up to this, or are you acting at the behest of someone else?" Though he already knew the answer, Vahn wanted to see if the elderly God would try to hoodwink him. Fortunately, Morpheus seemed to have wisened up considerably in the past couple of seconds, slipping his hands into his sleeves and bowing as he replied, "This was an act I carried out at my discretion. The number of people who dream of a world without Zeus''s tyranny rivals the stars in the night sky. Zeus is scheming to force you into a difficult situation. I thought I might be able to-" Raising his hand in a silencing gesture, Vahn revealed, "I am well aware of what Zeus is plotting. Your concerns are unwarranted. Now, go. Return to your people and inform them to remain patient. No matter what Zeus tries, he will only be digging himself further into a hole." After having his domain wrested from him with such ease, Morpheus had no intention of questioning Vahn''s decision. He considered himself lucky to be alive, so the moment Vahn waved him off, he immediately vanished in a puff of smoke resembling a neb in the night sky. Sensing Morpheus''s presence disappear, Vahn exhaled a faint sigh before closing his eyes and shaking his head in mild exasperation. The next time he opened them, he was back in his original position, staring at the actual Zeus with a rxed smile. Though he waited for an exceptionally beautiful and androgynous boy to fill his goblet, Zeus rose to his feet alongside the pink-haired Goddess at his side, bellowing, "Mt. Olympus wees the Sage Dragon Emperor...!" in a booming voiceparable to a thunderp. Responding to Zeus''s outburst, the hundred or so Gods gathered for the banquet raised goblets of their own, shouting various greetings. Not all of them did so, but it was enough to generate a festive cacophony within the chamber. Vahn was easily one of the most famous people within the Little Garden as ofte, so many within Mt. Olympus were genuinely excited to meet and converse with him. Adopting a friendly smile, Vahn made his way into the chamber, politely greeting and exchanging nods with various Gods and Goddesses. There was actually an equal distribution of both, so, contrasting Apollo''s earlier allusions, Vahn didn''t have to worry about being surrounded by muscr, half-naked men for the duration of his visit. Reaching the ''well'' at the base of Zeus''s and Hera''s thrones, Vahn looked up at the unnecessarily tall couple and mused, "This is quite the wee you''ve prepared. I''m ''almost'' honored..." Narrowing his eyes, Zeus passed off his goblet to the androgynous youth that had filled it before expressing, "I understand that the Sage Dragon''s Hearth has had a number of...''disagreements'' with several Communities affiliated with Mt. Olympus. It is my hope that this banquet will serve as the first step toward mending our fractured rtionship. Further conflict will benefit neither of our Communities..." Following his words, Zeus shifted his gaze to a pair of servant-ss Gods waiting near a set of marbled doors. The moment he did so, the duo gave respectful bows before pulling open the doors to reveal a heroic-looking beauty garbed in what was colloquially known as an exomis, a white tunic that left the shoulders exposed. As the garment was typically associated with enved individuals, nearly everyone gathered for the banquet gasped or began to gossip excitedly. After all, it wasn''t every day they got to see a fellow God, much less one of the Twelve Olympians, dressed as a member of the lowest caste. Despite her attire,plete with manacles around her wrists and ankles, the golden-haired woman made her way into the hall without lowering her head orpromising her posture. She exuded dignity from every pore of her being, even as she stopped a few meters away from Vahn, narrowed her eyes, and asked, "Is this what you desire...?" Before Vahn could reply, Zeus''s tone became firm and authoritative as he said, "Show some respect to our guest, Athena. Though you may not have taken direct action, you cannot deny your culpability in the events leading to the current tensions between Mt. Olympus and the Aldrnari Empire..." Shifting his gaze to Vahn, Zeus''s tone softened ever so slightly as he added, "Aspensation for her slights against you, Athena will attend you for the duration of your stay in Mt. Olympus. You are free to refuse, of course, but I will interpret that as you epting that the matter between our Communities has been resolved." As if the matter was already decided, Zeus raised his gaze to the rest of the hall, bellowing, "And now, we feast! To the Sage Dragon Emperor! To the glory of Mt. Olympus...!" Though they couldn''t believe Zeus had effectively ''sacrificed'' one of the Olympians, nearly every God within the hall responded with a loud cheer. They doubted the matter was settledpletely, but there was a reason ancient Greece and Rome were known for their debauchery and splendor. The Gods never passed on an opportunity to feast, drink, and fornicate to their hearts'' content. As everyone began to get in the mood for a party, Zeus made a circle with his left index finger, creating a soundproof barrier around the area before plopping onto his throne and making eye contact with Vahn. He still gave off an intense aura, but his voice was much quieter as he said, "I know you are probably very busy, but I encourage you to enjoy yourself these next twenty-four hours. Once the festivities have died down, we will talk again." Shifting his attention to Athena, sparks began to exude from the depths of Zeus''s eyes as he added, "I will entrust the Sage Dragon Emperor to you. If you have any sense at all, you will not damage the rtionship between our Communities further..." Though her seething expression made it clear she wasn''t even remotely satisfied with Zeus''s decision, Athena replied, "I understand..." in a cold, icy tone. She then directed that same gaze toward Vahn, a hint of conflict within her bluish-purple eyes as she growled, "This is the least I can do to make amends..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Poets OP...'',''Morpheus should rename himself to Prometheus...'',''What kind of cake is this...?'') Chapter 2325: Repercussions

Chapter 2325: Repercussions

"Are you just about done?" asked Vahn. "Even you must have a limit to your arrogance." As he had been expecting a rebuttal of some sort, Zeus did his best not tosh out in response to Vahn''s remarks. Instead, he paused for a moment, the cores of his azure blue eyes crackling with lightning. After collecting himself, Zeus questioned, "What part of my proposal do you find disagreeable? The number of individuals that desire to be waited upon by Athena rivals the total number of men in the Little Garden. Of course-" Though he was nowhere near the limit of his patience, Vahn interrupted Zeus''s rant, asking, "Would you just shut up already? I didn''te here to hear you ther on and stroke your ego. Do you sincerely believe you have the leeway to talk down to and try to make decisions for me? Rather than shameless, you''re outright delusional." Resisting the urge to rise up and unleash his divine fury upon Vahn, Zeus balled his hands into fists and adopted a vicious grin. Vahn''s reaction was ''confirmation'' of his suspicions, so he firmly stated, "Then leave the South and never return. I extended you an olive branch, and you refused. If you continue to support our enemies and intervene in our affairs, I will ensure you experience regret beyond fathom." Shaking his head, Vahn had to resist the urge to roll his eyes as he tly stated, "No, you won''t. Your little n may have worked against virtually anyone else, but there isn''t an action that you can take to circumvent my awareness. The moment you try, you''re as good as dead." Hearing Vahn threaten him, lightning surged from Zeus''s body, shattering the throne beneath him. He didn''t attack, but his fury was approaching its limits as he growled, "Bold words, boy. However, unless you intend to take on the mantle of Demon Lord, there isn''t a damn thing you can do against me. I will never agree to a Gift Game where you''re a yer, so all you can do is watch as I take out my fury on those the Empire purports to protect. Let''s see-" Before Zeus could finish speaking, everyone in the chamber was stunned to see a peculiar, ashen grey spear sticking out of his chest. The moment it pierced him, his voice spontaneously cut off, his previously luminous body gaining the same hue as the spear as Vahn asked, "Whatpelled you to believe I feared the title of Demon Lord...?" Unable to perceive that a question had been asked, much less respond to it, Zeus just continued to stare at Vahn, his expression perpetually fixed in mid-bellow. The spear was the result of Vahn''s insight into the Law of Stagnation, so while it appeared Zeus had been frozen in time, the truth was far more terrifying. He had effectively endured an eternity in a single moment, the energy within his body seeping into the Void as even his Ego crumbled to nothingness. Absorbing the spear back into himself, Vahn looked around at the various Gods gathered within the hall, each frozen like a deer in headlight as the body of Zeus crumbled to dust behind him. Hera was the first to try and retaliate, but the moment she rose from her throne, a pressure akin to the gravitational force of a neutron star caused her to stumble face-first into the ground, unable to rise. Though he felt a little guilty seeing Hera facent into the ground, Vahn knew she was nearly asplicit as Zeus in his crimes. She was the one who had talked Zeus into avoiding a direct confrontation, one of the most foolish suggestions she could have possibly made. After all, had Zeus just targeted him, Vahn would have readily epted his challenge. Attempting to target everyone but him was a mistake beyondpare. Shifting his gaze to Athena, Vahn was about to make it transparently clear what his desires were when a sound akin to a bullhorn echoed throughout the Little Garden. Ebony ck scrolls unfurled next to the Leader of every Community, but, unlike a ''traditional'' Demon Lord''s Geass Roll, the letters embossed upon its surface glistened with a prominent golden hue. ---------------------------------- [Win Condition] 1: Follow the Rules. [Hidden Conditions] 1: ???? 2: ???? 3: ???? [Rules] 1: Everyone in the Little Garden is a Participant. 2: Vahn Aldrnari Mason is the Demon Lord of Abundance and Stagnation. 3: The Game ends when the Demon Lord of Abundance and Stagnation has fulfilled his objective or been defeated. [Restrictions] 1: Targetting anyone affiliated with the Aldrnari Empire outside of the Demon Lord of Abundance and Stagnation. 2: Expatriation from the Little Garden. 3: Establishment of a new Little Garden. [Rewards] 1: ???? [Penalty] 1: ???? [Time Limit] None ---------------------------------- Finished reading the scroll, Vahn couldn''t help smiling as he mused, "Demon Lord of Abundance and Stagnation? I suppose that''s better than the Demon Lord of Petting and Punishment..." Shifting his attention to Athena, Vahn''s smile curled up at the edges as he asked, "What do you think?" As the Leader of a Community, one of many affiliated with Mt. Olympus, Athena had received a ck scroll alongside nearly everyone else in the banquet hall. The moment she read its contents, a cold chill permeated her entire body. Not because Vahn had been dered a Demon Lord but because the Central Network had deemed it appropriate to pit everyone in the Little Garden against him. While that meant they were free to take action against him, it also implied that Vahn had the impunity to act freely within the territory of other Communities... Seeing Athena''s expression pale, Vahn rolled his eyes and said, "Rx. If I were the type to go around killing arbitrarily, there would be a lot fewer evil entities within the Little Garden. Zeus brought this upon himself, so-" Interrupting Vahn''s words, Apollo shouted, "Murderer...!" as he impacted the former within a sphere resembling the Sun. Apollo understood that his father was far from perfect, but Zeus was still his father. If he didn''t try to avenge him, his spirit would never rest in peace. Stopping Apollo''s charge with his bare hand, a frown marred Vahn''s face as the flesh of his palm sizzled and dissolved away. Apollo''s outrage was entirely justified. Thus, while Vahn would ordinarily be immune to even the most extreme temperatures, the enraged Sun God''s attacks were, at least for the time being, effective against him. To counter Apollo''s attack, Vahn channeled his self-created Sun Authority while sprouting golden scales from his hand and arm. The sun-like sphere surrounding Apollo''s body then vanished, absorbed by Vahn as he calmly asserted, "During my battle with Amaterasu, I dered to the entire Little Garden that those who willfully endanger children or attempt to leverage the lives of the innocent against their opponents have absolutely no right to clemency. Your father believed he could ''punish'' me by targetting those very groups. This is the natural consequence of his actions." Punctuating his words, Vahn nted Apollo into the ground with enough force to shake the very foundations of Mt. Olympus. However, due to his extreme respect for those bearing the name and title of Hephaestus, the actual structure remained undamaged. Instead, it was Apollo''s face that gave way, his nose shattering into countless pieces as silvery-gold blood spurted from his ears. Exhaling a sigh, Vahn suppressed his feelings of guilt as he looked to the rest of the hall and asked, "Anyone else?" As Zeus and Apollo were among the most powerful Gods affiliated with Mt. Olympus, every God gazed upon by Vahn immediately averted their eyes. Poseidon and Hades might have stood up to him, but they tended to avoid social gatherings that included Zeus. As for Ares, the version Vahn encountered previously was just a projection created by Morpheus, so the only Gods present that could oppose him were Hera, Athena, and Hermes. Artemis might have been tempted to try, but she had elected to return to her tower, annoyed by Vahn and Hermes leaving her behind. With Hera currently pinned to the ground, Vahn briefly exchanged nces with Hermes before directing his attention to Athena, asking, "You asked if this is what I desire? The simple answer is no. While I do tolerate it, there are few beings in all of Creation that abhor very and servitude as much as I do. You also said this was the least you could do to make amends? I wholeheartedly beg to differ. The least you could do is acknowledge you made a mistake and try to learn from it. Stop shifting the me to others and ept responsibility for your actions. Beyond that, I have absolutely no other expectations of you." To demonstrate his point, Vahn promptly turned away from Athena and began to make his way out of the hall. He could have simply teleported away or ceased to exist, but he wanted to give the Gods present a chance to argue or attack him. Just as Vahn reached the halfway point between Zeus''s destroyed throne and the exit, a heroic-looking Goddess with braided brown hair and azure blue eyes suddenly manifested a war banner and shouted, "The sanctity of Mt. Olympus has been befouled! We cannot permit this Demon to do as he pleases! Brothers! Sisters! Let us fell this fiend for all those who inhabit the Little Garden...!" Though they would ordinarily want nothing to do with someone like Vahn, the various Gods and Goddesses present began to exude a divine light in response to their dark-haired counterpart''s cry. Her identity was Alke, the personification of battle-strength, prowess, and courage, so her battelcry was enough topel even the most cowardly Gods present to action. Joining in with their sister was the fiery-haired Eris, the purple-haired Phobos, and the crimson-haired Ioke. They were members of Zeus''s Elite Guard, the Aegis, so it was their duty to protect him and fell his enemies. Zeus''s death had actually left them feeling more relief than fury, but, as Goddesses of the Greek Pantheon, their pride didn''t allow them to simply let the matter lie. As the four Goddesses led the charge, the other deities present began to manifest their battle raiments. Those closest to Alke immediately joined in the fray, but not even those on the periphery were spared as Vahn''s body became a blur, appearing next to each of them with a resolute expression on his face... ... .. . Reading the Geass Roll that had unfurled next to her, Shiroyasha took a long drag from her pipe before exhaling a thin stream of smoke. She knew it was only a matter of time before Vahn was burdened with the title of a Demon Lord, but she never expected him to be elevated to the status of a Last Embryo at the same time... *tok* *tok* *tok* Directing her cat-like eyes to the sliding door on the opposite side of the room, Shiroyasha deadpanned as she inquired, "Since when were you the type to knock...?" Instead of the person Shiroyasha was ''expecting,'' the door slid open to reveal a beautiful, heroic-looking woman with long purple hair, teal eyes, and an attire matching that of a butler. At that exact moment, she felt a stirring beneath her clothes as a soft pair of hands cupped her breasts, followed by a sensual voice whispering into her ear. "You''ve been naughty, Shiro-chan..." Furrowing her brows, Shiroyasha exhaled two plumes of smoke from her nose before grumbling, "You''re trying my patience, Queen. Now is neither the time nor the ce for your foolishness..." Undaunted by Shiroyasha''s words, Queen Halloween fully manifested behind her, an alluring smile on her face as she continued to grope her former rival. "You should have informed me that the Sage Dragon Emperor was about to take action. While I have long abdicated my position, the South is still my domain. If your little pet were going to go around killing Chief Gods, a heads up would have been nice..." Frowning even further, Shiroyasha was about to retort when she, Queen Halloween, and Scathach all sensed a distortion in the surrounding space. Then, as if he had been listening in on them, Vahn manifested out of thin air, a narrow-eyed smile on his face as he stared into Queen Halloween''s eyes and remarked, "I believe she told you to stop..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Oh, how the turn-tables...'',''The Advent of Chad Mason...'',''Queen Halloween be like, "Haha, I''m in danger."'') Chapter 2326: Complications

Chapter 2326: Complications

Without removing her hands from Shiroyasha''s breasts, Queen Halloween asked, "Ara? Why so hostile? We''re all friends here, right~?" Instead of answering Queen''s words, Vahn looked to Shiroyasha to see what she had to say on the matter. In response, she just exhaled a tired sigh, exining, "Technically speaking, she has the right to touch and caress me, so long as it''s in private. I''d rather not get into the specifics..." Amused by Shiroyasha''s response, Queen gave her a firm hug and mused, "Is there any reason to keep it a secret? With his power, the Sage Dragon Emperor can surely uncover the truth, no~?" Shaking her head, Shiroyasha stared directly at Vahn as she said, "No, he isn''t the type to probe into a woman''s past. Not without a good reason, at least..." "Hmmm..." Moving her hands from Shiroyasha''s breasts to her belly, Queen directed her heterochromatic green and blue eyes at Vahn, remarking, "That would exin his actions since arriving in the Little Garden. It doesn''t, however, exin your reasons for summoning him. The n Canaria drafted wasn''t without ws, but it''s the closest thing we had to a guaranteed resolution. cing your trust in someone else after everything we''ve sacrificed...just what were you thinking?" Shrugging her shoulders, Shiroyasha replied, "There''s no such thing as a guaranteed resolution. As for what I was thinking? Well, I saw the power Vahn possessed and determined he would be able to achieveparable results without the need for so many sacrifices. Looking at the conditions specified by the Central Network in his Last Embryo setting, it''s apparent I''m not the only one that came to that conclusion." Understanding who Shiroyasha was alluding to, Queen softly muttered, "Lace..." before blinking back to awareness, meeting Vahn''s gaze, and asking, "How long do you intend to continue standing there? Please, take a seat." "..." Though he was tempted to retort, Vahn ultimately sat across from Queen and Shiroyasha after exchanging nces with Scathach. She smiled back at him, but he could tell she was prepared to leap into action the moment things escted. Not that it would make much of a difference... After taking his seat, Vahn attempted to justify Shiroyasha''s actions, stating, "Even if Shiroyasha hadn''t summoned me, I would have found my way into the Little Garden. Seizing the initiative to invite me was probably the best decision she could have made." Instead of refuting Vahn''s words, Queen replied, "I agree. Had you been allowed to act and roam freely, I imagine many more Communities would have fallen before you reached this point." Squeezing Shiroyasha''s body, Queen''s eyes glistened with a mischievous light as she appended, "What bothers me is that I wasn''t consulted on the matter. Though I can''t imagine my chagrin in anywhere near as developed as Indra''s, having someone I treasure taken away from me is more than a little...shall we say, vexing?" In an effort to prevent misunderstandings, Shiroyasha followed Queen''s words by dering, "This she-devil has always had an obsession with the Sun. Back when I first entered the Little Garden, she used to stal-" Narrowing her eyes, Queen brought her lips to Shiroyasha''s pointed ear and whispered, "Now, now, Shiroyasha. We''re not here to talk about the past, are we? If so, I have quite a few stories to share..." After an involuntary shudder, Shiroyasha promptly decided to change topics, asking, "So, what now? I know it''s only been a few hours since ourst discussion, but I imagine things have changed rather drastically since your designation as a Last Embryo." Shaking his head, Vahn answered, "Not really. If anything, this just makes things more clear-cut. Previously, I had to put on airs and worry about the people around me being targeted. Now, until I''m dealt with, my would-be enemies have no choice but to focus their efforts on me." Inserting herself into the conversation, Queen remarked, "That''s one of the things that surprised me. While it ismon for the Central Network to pit the entire Little Garden against a Last Embryo, this is the first time Lace has shown such...favoritism. If I didn''t know better, I would say she is conspiring with you to ensure everyone bes an affiliate of the Aldrnari Empire. I can easily imagine weaker Communities flocking to join you en masse, either for protection or to avoid the conflict entirely." Piggybacking off Queen''s words, Shiroyasha asked, "Speaking of which, you should probably prepare a battlefield of some sort. The Restrictions state that those affiliated with you can''t be targeted, but there is such a thing as coteral damage. So long as they can confirm you''re inside, an assant could, theoretically, drop a bomb on the Sage Dragon''s Hearth without viting the restrictions." Furrowing his brows, Vahn noted, "That''s a pretty massive loophole..." Shrugging her shoulders, Shiroyasha replied, "Well, you have just been designated as a Last Embryo. From the perspective of those who don''t know you well, you are a threat to all of Creation. With stakes like that, a lot of people are going to be aiming for your head." Nodding her head in approval, Queen added, "There is another matter you must consider. The Restrictions make no mention of infighting. You''ll need to be cautious of people infiltrating the Communities that wish to join the Empire. A number of Demon Lords possess Gifts that let them inhabit the hearts and minds of others. Many others can circumvent the Restrictions of the Game by instigating their own. That is one of the principal benefits of bing a Demon Lord." Realizing things weren''t nearly as clear cut as he initially believed, Vahn slumped his shoulders and exhaled a sigh. Shiroyash and Queen hadn''t really gone into it, but he also realized that his enemies could target him ''indirectly'' by attacking Communities that had yet to join the Empire. He could easily deal with those responsible, but there was little he could do about the victims that would pile up out of spite... Unable to contain herself, an amused smile blossomed across Queen''s face as she mused, "My, did Shiro-chan really ce her faith in such a wretched man~? You''re the Sage Dragon Emperor, a being that garners fear and respect from even the greatest Gods. This oue is the direct consequence of your actions. Don''t expect us to console you when you''re the one that set himself upon this path." Raising his brows, Vahn gave Queen a somewhat incredulous look as he remarked, "I know you''re a sadist, but give me a break...I never asked for any of this. I''m just doing what I can to reunite with my family..." Adopting a slightly grim expression, Queen looked down at Shiroyasha and asked, "What''s going on here? Has the Sage Dragon Emperor always been such a...despicable lot?" Though she felt a little sorry for Vahn, Shiroyasha adopted a wry smile as she replied, "I know what you mean. Even I don''t fully understand the reason behind his sentiments at times. Still, that''s not necessarily a bad thing. It''s proof that, despite all his power, he''s still ''human'' at the core of his being." "Ah..." Redirecting her gaze to Vahn, Queen did her best to view him through the lens of ''humanity.'' In that regard, Vahn was actually rathermendable, as, more often than not, humans with power readily exploited it. Vahn was guilty of much the same, but he was at least aware of his position and the consequences of his actions. Regaining her smile, Queen mused, "Now I understand. You''re aiming for the top, not to rule, but to ''escape'' the rule of others. You desire freedom but possess sufficient empathy to afford others the same right. In other words, letting you conquer the Little Garden is the same as freeing it from the control of machine-like beings who only care about Creation itself, not the form in which it takes. How utterly irresponsible~." Imagining the conflict that would arise when Vahn invariably abdicated his position and abolished the current system, Queen Halloween couldn''t help feeling excited. She absolutely abhorred war and ughter, but the change such conflicts brought about was necessary for the development and survival of humanity. In other words, Vahn wasn''t a true Last Embryo. If anything, his existence would allow them to transition into a new Order without needing to bring a finite end to the present reality... pping her hands together, much to Shiroyasha''s chagrin as they were right in front of her face, Queen added, "Very well, then~! I''m still a little annoyed that you derailed so many of my ns, but I ept Shiroyasha''s decision to entrust the fate of the Little Garden to you. Feel free to make a mess of things. Ufufufufufufu~." Before Vahn could respond, Shiroyasha interrupted, asking, "And what are you going to do? As someone possessing numerous Sun Authorities, your ''assistance'' is necessary to achieve Vahn''s goal." "Hmmmm~?" Tilting her head to the side, Queen stared at Vahn with a mischievous smile on her face, almost as if she were daring him to affirm Shiroyasha''s words. When he didn''t do so immediately, she questioned, "Is that really the case? So long as I don''t conspire with others to rob you of your Sun Authorities, I doubt anyone will be able to stop him before he reaches the Gatekeeper. If he can''t ovee that particr nuisance, I don''t see any reason to join forces and risk jeopardizing my ''integrity'' as a woman. Make no mistake; I am ''very'' interested in the man who managed to conquer my Shiroyasha. However, it''s not to the extent I''m willing to subject myself to his whims and desires." As someone with a strict preference for women, Queen would never admit it, but she was actually afraid of Vahn. When Shiroyasha initially appeared in the Little Garden, she invested considerable time, effort, and resources into ensuring they had simr preferences. Queen couldn''t have imagined Shiroyasha with a man before Vahn''s arrival, so being in the same room as he made her more than a little nervous. Without missing a beat, Vahn responded, "That''s fine by me. It''s not like I go out of my way to ''collect'' women. I also don''t really need your help, so I suppose this is the end of our discussion? You three have fun..." Rising to his feet, Vahn was prepared to leave but found his path blocked by Scathach. She knew she had no hope of stopping him if push came to shove, but that didn''t prevent her from adopting a professional smile as she ced her hand over her heart and said, "Please remain seated until my Mistress has finished speaking." Raising his brows, Vahn was tempted to ask Scathach who she thought she, or, more specifically, her Mistress, was but promptly decided against it. He knew she wasn''t intentionally trying to offend him, so he returned a smile and replied, "That depends." before turning around and asking, "Was there anything else...?" Though she was a little annoyed by Vahn''s sudden effort to leave, Queen maintained a calm andposed demeanor as she replied, "I would have liked to continue conversing for a while longer. However, if you have other ces you need to be, I''ll not keep you." Understanding exactly why Vahn was in a hurry, Shiroyasha added, "Stop by once things have calmed down. As Floor Master, people will expect me to address the matter of your designation as a Last Embryo. We''ll discuss the specifics when you return." Nodding his head, Vahn offered a curt "Thanks." before turning around to face Scathach. Then, as a rather sizeable crowd had begun to gather near his pce, he adopted a squinty-eyed smile and disappeared into thin air. ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''That privilege...'',''Few things are rarely as simple as they first appear...'',''Queen is afraid that her 10,000+ years of lesbianism is at risk xD...'','' Chapter 2327: Public Relations

Chapter 2327: Public Rtions

Though none of them intended to be the first to strike, thebat forces of several Communities had gathered outside the Gate containing Vahn''s pce. No one yet knew the reason Vahn had been designated as a Last Embryo, so the Little Garden was abuzz with equal parts excitement and nervousness as everyone awaited an official statement/announcement. As the journalists mostmonly associated with the Aldrnari Empire, Katana and her sister, Dagger, took it upon themselves to prepare a stage and coordinate with other news/broadcast Communities. The pressure on them was monumental, but the duo could hardly contain their excitement as they rushed to get ready while their crews set everything up. Much to the chagrin of the team helping with her makeup, Katana kept fiddling around with a tablet-like device as she asked, "Have we received any word from Shiroyasha-sama? As Floor Master of the East, she needs to issue an address of some sort." Sitting much stiller than her sister, Dagger calmly replied, "Everyone we sent to make contact was turned away by Nadeshiko-san. This is pure spection, but there''s a good chance she''s meeting with Vahn-sama as we speak." Clicking her tongue, Katana muttered, "Lucky..." while swiping through messages on her tablet. Ever since the promotional Gift Game that saw the creation of the Aldrnari Empire, her fame and influence had soared beyondpare. She was also a member of Thousand Eyes, so she now had contacts throughout the Little Garden. Someone had to know the circumstances surrounding Vahn being designated as a Last Embryo, so she was determined to uncover the ''truth'' and break the story as soon as possible. Unfortunately, while there were numerous reports of incidents happening in the South, there was nothing concrete for Katana to report. There was a considerable amount of information rted to Vahn''s actions in the Nine Realms and Underwood, but the odds of that having anything to do with the present situation were slim. Feeling increasingly anxious, Katana attempted to send another private message to one of her contacts in the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, Seraphina. She had identified the bubbly Subus as an easy mark after witnessing thetter''s performance during the promotional Gift Game, and she had been correct. All it took was a fewplimentary words, and the two had been ''good friends'' ever since. Under normal circumstances, Seraphina would have happily shared a few tidbits of information with Katana. However, as Vahn had yet to gather all of them together and exin the situation, she was presently ignoring all of Katana''s messages. She didn''t mind gossiping, but there was no way in hell she would betray Vahn by specting about things she had yet to be apprised of. Seeing a little green check mark pop up to indicate that her message had been read, Katana waited for several seconds before grinding her teeth in frustration. She hated being ghosted, but she risked losing Seraphina as a contact if sheshed out at her. Just as Katana was seriously considering smashing her tablet against the shelf beneath her vanity mirror, several gasps alerted her to the fact that Vahn had appeared out of thin air. When she saw his reflection, her eyes practically lit up as she spun around and eximed, "Your Majesty! We''ve been waiting for your arrival...!" Shooing away her makeup team, Katana habitually pulled out a recorder, holding it up to Vahn as she asked, "I know this is a bit early, but care to make a statement about the circumstances leading up to your designation as a Last Embryo? The entire Little Garden wants to know." Returning a casual smile, Vahn answered, "It''s good to see you as well, Ms. Katana, Ms. Dagger. I understand things have been going well for you these past couple of months...?" Clicking off the recorder, or at least pretending to, Katana adopted a narrow-eyed smile, her voice gaining a husky quality as she replied, "No small thanks to Your Majesty''s rmendation. I couldn''t have dreamed of reaching this point a year ago. I wonder if there''s anything me and my sister can do to thank you~?" Having shared a bed with the two sisters in the past, Vahn would be lying if he said he wasn''t tempted by Katana''s offer. Unfortunately, he had more pressing matters to attend to, chief among them being the crowd outside and the tens of trillions waiting to hear his version of events. Shifting his gaze between the two sisters, Vahn replied, "Some other time, perhaps. For now, I''vee to issue a statement. How soon can you and your team be ready?" Though he could easily issue a statement on his own, Vahn had promised Katana and Dagger exclusive rights to any breaking stories rted to the Aldrnari Empire. He was effectively grooming them into Poets to serve the Empire''s interests, but they happily obliged as it was nearly impossible to attain aparable status on their own. Without missing a beat, Katana crossed her arms and confidently replied, "Don''t look down on my team and me. We''re prepared to broadcast the moment you''re ready. Heck, we even have a test audience and studio on standby if you want to rehearse your speech and broadcast a recording." Piggybacking off of her sister''s words, Dagger added, "Due to the rules and restrictions listed in the Geass Roll, we factored in the possibility of a riot breaking out if you were to issue a statement in public. Our ratings would skyrocket if an incident were to ur, but the decision is yours to make." "Hmmm..." Shifting his intent to the crowd outside, Vahn looked for any indications that someone might actually attack. The central forces of several 4-Digit Communities were present, but his performance during the promotional Gift Game should cow most of them. In other words, unless someone like Indra were to show up to lead the charge, they were just there to see how things yed out. Earning smiles from the two sisters, Vahn mused, "So many people have gathered to hear what I have to say. It would be rude of me not to make an appearance." Pumping her fist, Katana eximed, "Now that''s what I''m talking about!" before storming out the dressing room and shouting, "Everyone, get your asses in gear! We''re about to go-" Before Katana could finish ordering her people into their ces, the sky overhead darkened as a beam of light more radiant than the Sun struck the building they had erected to prepare for the shoot. A peculiar silence followed the moment of impact before a sphere of destruction enveloped several kilometers in the surroundings, annihting virtually everything it came into contact with. Though the Thousand Eyes Community had seized the initiative to set up the primary broadcast, dozens of other broadcasting Communities were present to specte and report on the event. News rted to the Aldrnari Empire was a hot topic in the Little Garden, so more than seven hundred billion people had already tuned in, patiently awaiting Vahn''s appearance and address. Instead, people throughout the Little Garden were horrified to see the destructive sphere envelope, not just the building Vahn was in but several others unrted to the Aldrnari Empire. Acting quickly, the Leaders of several 4-Digit Communities teleported around the expanding sphere of light, containing it before it could cause even more destruction. At the same time, Amaterasu herself appeared in the sky, high above the devastation. The explosion had been caused by a ''satellite'' hovering just below the barrier surrounding the Little Garden, so she took it upon herself to ensnare the construct before it could do more damage. Her first instinct was to eradicate it, but she figured Vahn might want to analyze it to uncover the parties responsible for the attack. After sealing the peculiar satellite within a hand mirror, Amaterasu was about to return to the ground and assist in suppressing the destructive sphere of light. The moment she looked down, however, an ''as expected'' smile developed across her face as she saw the sphere slowly retracting. Though Vahn would ordinarily be unable to affect the territories of other Communities without viting the Laws of the Little Garden, his status as a Last Embryo permitted him to ignore such restrictions. He was unable to prevent the attack, but he was able to expand his domain faster than the explosion could consume its surroundings. As a result, everyone watching the broadcast was privy to the scene of him ''rewinding time,'' restoring not just the buildings but the people inhabiting them. Afterpressing the energy from the st in the palm of his hand, Vahn turned to Katana and Dagger, an apologetic smile on his face as he asked, "Are the two of you okay...?" As Vahn had permitted them to keep their memories of the event, neither of the sisters immediately responded to his inquiry. They were still a little shaken by the sensation of having their bodies instantaneously vaporized. There had been no pain, but there was a brief moment of ''awareness'' that followed the obliteration of their bodies, almost like their spirits remained, unable to believe what had transpired. Absorbing the ball of energy into his body, Vahn repurposed it using his Godhand before unleashing it as an invisible force into his surroundings. A potent warmth immediately pervaded the bodies of everyone affected by the explosion, including the two sisters. It didn''t erase the impression that they had just been obliterated, but it helped them calm down enough for Katana to respond, "I''m...I mean, we''re okay..." Looking to Dagger for confirmation, Katana regained a bit of her vigor as the former returned an affirmative nod and said, "We should hurry up with the broadcast. The longer we dy things, the more time otherworks have to specte." Unwilling to let such a tremendous scoop fall into the hands of another, an illusory fire appeared in the depths of Katana''s eyes as she returned to what she was doing previously, shouting, "Double time, people! This is the scoop of the century! Move it, move it, move it...!" With Katana rushing out of the room, Dagger allowed her body to go limp, nearly falling to the ground. Instead, she fell directly into Vahn''s arms, thetter appearing next to her with a gentle smile on his face as he said, "It''s going to be okay. I''ll never let anything like what just urred happen again. I promise..." Feeling Vahn''s warmth fill her body, the lingering sense of dread in the back of Dagger''s mind promptly vanished. She might dress boldly and act cocky around others, but shecked the same confidence that permitted her sister to pursue a dream most people considered impossible. She was the type that just went with the flow, so the moment Katana departed the room, her facade naturally crumbled. Fortunately for Dagger, while Vahn was undoubtedly pressed for time, he could spare a few minutes to help her recover. At the same time, another version of himself appeared outside the hideout of the group responsible for the satellite. They believed they could sow discord by hacking into one of the White Raven Community''s satellites and using it to attack him, so he intended to teach them a hard lesson before leaving their fates in the hands of the Communities caught in the crossfire. Sensing Vahn''s aura, the face of one of the people hiding underground contorted into one of disgust. They had warned theirpanions about angering Vahn at this crucial juncture, but their advice had been ignored. Now, even though they had only recently escaped from Vahn''s clutches, they, once again, found themselves beneath the luminous golden gaze of the Sage Dragon Emperor... "Fucking Hel..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Never hurts to have a good PR Team...'',''Amaterasu lookin'' for headpats...'',''You dun goofed...'') Chapter 2317: Choose Your Own Path

Chapter 2317: Choose Your Own Path

Disregarding all the times he had stopped, reversed, or outright separated himself from the time axis to do perverted things, Vahn forced Ahura and Nadare to sit in seiza, his arms crossed as he warned, "Listen. I don''t care what the two of you do in private. You can''t bemitting these kinds of acts in public." As she was unable to rise from her seiza, Ahura red up at Vahn as she asked, "And who are you to decide such things? Even if you had a hand in our creation, you''re not our father." Virtually incapable of being on the same page as her counterpart, Nadare immediately contradicted Ahura''s statement, musing, "I don''t mind calling you daddy." with narrowed eyes and a seductive grin. Ignoring the off-handed remark, Vahn exhaled a sigh and said, "I don''t need to be your father to remind you that actions have consequences..." Shaking his head, Vahn decided it would be counterproductive to try and lecture the two women, especially when their Creator had such a deeply rooted distrust for him. Ahura and Nadare were autonomous beings, but, simr to his Temtes, they had effectively been ''programmed'' to think and behave a certain way. If he really wanted to influence them, he would need to change Mitra''s and, potentially, Yvonne''s views... Freeing the duo from their forced seiza, Vahn adopted a sad, ostensibly apologetic look as he muttered, "I owe the two of you an apology. As you said, it''s not my ce to tell you how to act. Just know that if you go out of your way to cause trouble for the people of the Little Garden, I have an obligation to stop you..." Rising to her feet, Ahura took a moment to smooth out the creases of her dress and overcoat before replying, "Your concerns are unnecessary. Our duty as the Ultimate ck and White ended the moment we liberated our reality from the influence of Naraka. We apanied the Great Sage and our Mistress out of a desire to confirm whaty ''beyond'' the pinnacle with our own two eyes. I can''t say for sure what actions we''ll take in the future, but that was the entire point of our endeavors in the ''Masadaverse.'' To be free to choose or own path." As Nadara had yet to rise, Ahura stared down at her predestined rival and extended a hand, dering, "In a world unbound by fate, there is no need for absolutes..." Realizing that Ahura was effectively asking her to join hands, an amused chuckle emanated from Nadare''s throat. However, as intriguing as the idea was, she wasn''t fond of sharing power with others. She knew Ahura was the same, so even if they did join hands, they would spend most of their time trying to dominate one another. As enjoyable as that sounded, she would rather see and experience the Divine Realm beforemitting to anything. Smacking away Ahura''s hand, Nadare teased, "There is also no need to stick with the same group of people I''ve known for an eternity. I''ll permit you to follow me if you''d like, but I intend to give walking my own path a try." On that note, Nadare rose to her feet and began walking away, her hips swaying seductively as she passed Vahn and softly whispered, "See you around, Daddy." Smiling wryly, Vahn made no attempt to correct or prevent Nadare from leaving. There was a good chance she would gain notoriety as a Demon Lord in the very near future, but, as she had yet to do anything wrong, it wasn''t his ce to stop her. He permitted the existence of other Demon Lords, so unless she crossed his bottom line, he would leave her to Mitra and Yvonne... Waiting until Nadare had disappeared around a corner, Ahura shifted her gaze to Vahn, narrowing her silver and gold eyes as she remarked, "You''re more irresponsible than I expected..." Shaking his head, Vahn reiterated, "Unless they ce themselves under my influence or go out of their way to oppress others, it isn''t my ce to tell people how to live their lives. Good and evil, creation and destruction, life and death...change is born from the existence of such contrasts. She may abhor what I represent, but that''s one thing your Mistress and I can agree on..." Turning to meet Ahura''s gaze, Vahn asked, "What will you do? This might be your only chance to ''free'' yourself from the influence of your Mistress and Yvonne. If you return to their side, you will likely sever under them for the rest of your days." Crossing her arms, Ahura didn''t need to consider her response as she replied, "I''ll likely travel to the West. The Great Sage has told us quite a bit about the Little Garden, so I believe I can thrive in such a distorted, borderline dystopian environment. Who knows, I may even be the Number 1 Hero..." As the Actualized World she originated from had developed technology to the point their spacecraft could destroy entire sr systems with a single bomb, Ahura was confident she could reach the pinnacle of the West Side on her own. The existence of Da Vinci made this nigh impossible, but that wouldn''t stop her from trying. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn affirmed, "The West is probably the best option for someone with your character. However, you should know that I intend to conquer the entire Divine Realm within two years. I won''t stop you from starting a Community and expanding your influence, but it would probably be better to wait a few years before attempting anything major." Raising her brows, Ahura asked, "Is it okay for you to be telling me this? Even if you''re confident in your strength, there''s a chance I could oppose you by conspiring with others." Shaking his head, Vahn left Ahura feeling moderately annoyed as he tly replied, "Unlikely. The power and authority I possess make the Hegemons of your world seem tame inparison. Even if you seeded in rallying the entire Divine Realm against me, it wouldn''t be enough. If I weren''t still ying by the rules, I could take over right this instant." Though his words sounded brazen and borderline braggadocious, Vahn knew, with absolute certainty, that the Big Three couldn''t stop him if he decided to go all out. They might be able to destroy his body, expel him from the Divine Realm, or run away with their tails tucked between their legs, but it wouldn''t matter. After analyzing various Authorities, including the Sun Authority lent to Amaterasu by Shiroyasha, he could prevent the destruction of the current Little Garden or create a brand new one. There was nothing anyone could do to stop him. Appearing slightly pouty, Ahura grumpily inquired, "Then what''s the point of setting out on my own? It sounds like I should just join you and enjoy a free ride to the top." Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn replied, "You''re free to join my Community or be an affiliate of my Empire, but it won''t provide you ess to the ''top.'' I do feel a sense of obligation towards you, but there are thousands of people ahead of you in terms of my priorities. Besides..." Manifesting Laev-tan with his right hand, Vahn brandished her proudly as he said, "I already have the best sword at my side..." As she had intended to offer herself as Vahn''s sword, her true from being the ymore she wielded, Ahura''s expression darkened when he brought out Laev-tan. Back in the Masadaverse, she was regarded as the Ultimate Weapon of White, a Divine Sword that came into being at the very birth of the Universe. She was currently weakened due to no one really knowing about her, but she still viewed herself as the most powerful sword in all of Creation. "You think that trinket canpare to me? I may be weakened now, but it''s only a matter of time before I secure my position as the most powerful sword in the Divine Realm...you may not regret it any time soon, but there wille a time when my wielder ends up driving me through your body, annihting your very soul..." Resisting the urge to roll his eyes, Vahn just smiled as he said, "To that end, I wish you and your future wielder the best of luck. It won''t be near enough, but do your best." Furrowing her brows, Ahura adopted a remarkably affronted expression as she red up at Vahn with balled fists. She wanted nothing more than to p Vahn in his smug-looking face, but, understanding the futility of such action, she eventually turned around and stormed off, shouting, "You''ll rue this day, Vahn Aldrnari Mason! Mark my words...!" Shaking his head, Vahn shouldered Laev-tan and walked in the opposite direction of Ahura. It had been a while since he walked around with Laev-tan in her sword form, so he decided to finish his tour with her while Mitra, Yvonne, and Naraka finished their discussion. Yvonne knew he was privy to everything they were saying, but he could at least pretend to give them some privacy... ... .. . "Ahura has also departed..." Hearing Yvonne''s words, the already grumpy expression on Mitra''s face became even more so as she remarked, "Those ungrateful brats...I know I''m the one who said they could make their own decisions, but they could have at least said goodbye..." Adopting a wry smile, Yvonne decided not to respond to Mitra''s remark. Instead, she continuedbing her fingers through the pink and red-haired warrior''s hair until she asked, "What now? I retired from fighting when I handed over the Throne to you...without Ahura and Nadare, our ability to manage arge organization will be limited..." Narrowing her eyes lovingly, Yvonne whispered, "You know I''m going to tell you the same thing I told you back then...do you enjoy hearing it so?" Instead of responding to Yvonne''s question, Mitra snuggled closer before staring up at her with an expectant look. Moving her hand to caress the side of Mitra''s face, Yvonne''s expression and tone softened as she whispered, "Leave everything to me...your pain, your suffering, your dreams, your aspirations...I will bear them all. You''ve done enough..." Rubbing her cheek against Yvonne''s palm, Mitra closed her eyes with a contented smile on her face. There was a time when she attempted to bear the burden of ''everything'' all on her lonesome. However, while she managed to do exactly that, the loneliness she was forced to endure was beyond anything she had imagined. She managed to be one with everything, but, in exchange, she felt detached from it all, even the very people she sacrificed herself to save... At her absolute lowest point, Mitra seriously considered taking her own life and bringing an end to everything. It was at that moment that Yvonne, someone who served as a mentor to her prior to her ascension, appeared before her. It should have been impossible for anyone who wasn''t chosen to reach the Throne, yet, as if such limitations meant absolutely nothing to her, Yvonne appeared to relieve her of her burdens and guide her toward a new, much brighter path... Feeling a little emotional, Mitra whispered, "Tell me you love me..." in a soft, almost inaudible tone. Adopting an even more affectionate smile, Yvonne whispered, "I love you..." Opening her eyes ever so slightly, Mitra''s red and blue irises glistened as she said, "Say it again..." Moving her hand down Mitra''s face, Yvonne raced her pampered lover''s lips with her thumb as she repeated, "I love you..." Reaching up, Mitra took hold of Yvonne''s wrist and began suckling the tips of her fingers. If anyone in her previous life saw this, they would be beside themselves with confusion. She was known to be prideful to the point of arrogance, yet, whenever she was with Yvonne, she resembled the kitten her hairstyle made her out to be... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn when he hears Nadare call him daddy, "Hello darkness, my old friend..."'',''Ahura may as well be a butter knife before the might of Laev-tan...!'',''It seems Vahn isn''t the only one who can turn proud, warrior women into pets...'') Chapter 2318: Accord

Chapter 2318: ord

Waking from a dreamless slumber, S didn''t even attempt to process where she was or who she was with. It was only once Sandora gently caressed her face and said, "Good morning..." that she blinked back to awareness, asking, "Is this real...?" Nodding her head, Sandora softly replied, "Yes. And if my presence isn''t enough to convince you, just ce your hand on my abdomen...can you feel the life gestating within...?" As Sandora had taken the initiative to guide S''s hand to her abdomen, thetter just paused for a few moments before adopting a faint smile and saying, "It certainly feels real..." Exhaling a soft chuckle, Sandora pulled S''s face into her bosom, gently caressing her head as she softly cooed, "Take your time, S...I''ll be here as long as it takes..." "Mmm..." Feeling Sandora''s warmth flowing into her, S promptly sumbed to a bout of respite. She had been ''sleeping'' for so long that it was difficult for her to stay awake and distinguish her dreams from reality. She wanted to believe that the person cradling her was her sister, but she had dreamed of Sandora so often that an actual reunion seemed too good to be true. Sensing S''s consciousness slip away, a forlorn smile marred Sandora''s face as she gently called out, "Vahn..." Manifesting less than a second after Sandora had called his name, Vahn had a simr look on his face as he replied, "You called...?" Feeling better the moment Vahn appeared, Sandora''s smile regained its vigor as she returned a slight nod and asked, "I know this was something S decided for herself but isn''t there anything we can do for her? I don''t mind watching over her for as long as it takes, but it doesn''t feel like she''s truly returned to us..." Having alreadye up with numerous solutions, Vahn narrowed his eyes affectionately as he replied, "We can entrust her to the care of the Eurasia Family, or I can directly cordon off the parts of her ego imprinted with the knowledge of the Throne. However, neither of those options respects the sacrifices she made in the Masadaverse. I doubt she wouldin, but she may lose her confidence if she isn''t allowed to ovee this with her own strength..." Seeing the smile fade from Sandora''s face, Vahn''s became slightly wry as he appended, "The best thing we can do for her is simply give her time. It may take days, months, or even hundreds of years, but she will eventually regain her senses. What you have to decide is if you want to wait patiently or have her ''awaken'' immediately..." With the ability to manipte Time, Vahn could expedite S''s recovery to a single moment. However, while it might seem that from an outsider''s perspective, thousands of years could pass from the viewpoint of S. Thousands of years that may have been shortened to decades if she had someone she cared about looking after her. Though she was tempted to simply allow Vahn to solve everything, a look of conviction formed across Sandora''s face as she said, "I will wait...this is the path S has chosen; I will respect her decision." After nodding his head in approval, Vahn waved his hand to produce a series of shimmering golden runes. He intended to respect Sandora''s decision, but that didn''t mean he couldn''t make things a little easier for her. Over the course of three seconds, Vahn weaved enough runes to fill a grimoire more than ten centimeters thick before sending them floating into Sandora''s chest as he exined, "That enchantment will effectively ce your body into stasis whenever you''re near your sister. I know you want her to be present for our child''s birth, so that will allow you to spend as much time as you want at her side without having to worry about going intobor..." Unable to restrain herself, an amused chuckle emanated from Sandora''s throat as she covered her mouth. She was wondering what Vahn was up to when he began weaving runes. In hindsight, she should have realized it was something along these lines. While some women would dread the notion of being pregnant for literal decades, Sandora found it somewhat novel. She also knew Vahn could create an Avatara for her if she wanted to walk around unencumbered, so she eventually narrowed her eyes and replied, "How thoughtful of you..." in a beguiling tone. cing his hand over his heart, Vahn''s expression became equally yful as he performed a gentlemanly curtsy and replied, "I aim to please." Though her pupils briefly narrowed into slits, Sandora managed to calm herself and retort, "Speaking of which, are you truly content with letting those girls go? I know you''re trying to avoid collecting ''every'' beautiful woman you just so happen to encounter, but won''t you feel responsible if they run rampant?" Instead of trying to refute it, Vahn nodded his head and replied, "Without a doubt. However, unless I intend to suppress free will, that''s something I have to be willing to ept. They''re aware of the repercussions of taking things too far, so they have just as much a right as anyone else to decide the paths they walk." "Mmm...well, so long as they don''t cause trouble in the North, I have little else to say on the matter..." As her words trailed off, Sandora looked down at her sister to find a faint smile on S''s face. That was more than enough to bring an affectionate one to both hers and Vahn''s, thetter remarking, "She''s nearly as cute as you when you sleep..." Exhaling another light chuckle, Sandora picked a few strands of hair from S''s face as she softly replied, "You should go now...I know you''re busy with matters in the South and East Sides. You don''t need to force yourself to stay here on my behalf. Finish what you need to and then return to us. I will always be waiting..." Though he was tempted to point out that he could handle his other affairs without leaving her side, Vahn ultimately nodded his head and replied, "I''ll be back..." before fading away like an afterimage. Sandora just needed to call out to him before he would instantly return to her side. So, knowing she probably intended to manipte the flow of time within the room, he decided to give the two sisters the privacy they required. Seeing Vahn fade away, a pang of loneliness briefly pervaded Sandora''s chest before she promptly suppressed it. Vahn had informed her about his self-imposed time constraint. Thus, while she wanted nothing more than to spend as much time as possible with him, Sandora also understood it would be better for everyone if she allowed Vahn to focus on matters that concerned all of creation, not just her. With such thoughts on her mind, Sandora used her Authority as both a Host and Floor Master to elerate the flow of time within the room by a factor of 8760. This ratio meant that an entire year would pass within the room for every hour that passed outside. While most people couldn''t fathom spending years confined to a single room, Sandora knew this wasn''t even a fraction of the ''time'' S must have endured within the Throne. Thus, while she understood it wouldn''t be easy, Sandora was resolved for the long haul. Fortunately, Vahn had previously gifted her a disy linked to his Actualized Worlds. She could use it to view events of the past, present, and future in anime format, so, after a moment of hesitation, Sandora navigated to the ''Masadaverse'' and prepared to witness her sister''s journey from beginning to end... ... .. . Sensing subtle fluctuations in the space above the opposite couch, Mitra opened her eyes just in time to catch Vahn manifesting out of thin air. The cat-like smile that had adorned her face immediately withered into a pout, but before she could say anything, Yvonne interjected, softly muttering, "I see you have decided to respect S''s decision..." Though he nodded his head in affirmation, Vahn''s expression turned mncholy as he exined, "I recently used my power to give a girl name Shion a ''second chance.'' I don''t regret my decision, but I have alsoe to realize that my actions at the time were more than a little extreme. You could say this is an opportunity to prove to myself that there are always alternative solutions to a problem..." "Mmm...I have experienced something simr. During the start of S''s journey through the Masadaverse, I did my best not to intervene. After she appealed to me for assistance, however, I ended up tampering with the fates of trillions in a vain attempt to ''fix'' things. In the end, I realized that the only permanant solution was the one Mitra came up with during our first loop..." Shifting her gaze to Naraka, currently resembling a young therianthrope with lc hair, draconic eyes, and androgynous features, Yvonne added, "The only way people can be free from the influence of fate is if they are granted the same power and authority as the Gods. By disseminating the knowledge contained within the Throne to all of Creation, we managed to create a world where everyone was equal...a world where Hegemons and the Root were simply unnecessary..." Returning her gaze to Vahn, Yvonne''s expression became inordinately serious as she said, "That''s what we hope to achieve here in the Little Garden. I understand it doesn''t make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, but the imperfection of the Gods is a cancer that has imed countless lives. Since even you cannot attain perfection, I say it is our ''obligation'' to ensure everyone has the same opportunities...that is the only way everyone can be free..." Though he furrowed his brows, Vahn didn''t attempt to argue with Yvonne. He possessed all of her memories, so he knew her ''solution'' had a degree of merit. It was far from perfect, but when everyone possessed the same knowledge, power, and functionally infinite resources, there weren''t a lot of reasons to fight. There was still conflict, but it didn''t matter when both sides were immortal and drew from the same, perfectly partitioned power source. After a considerable silence, Vahn replied, "Your path is yours to choose. My goal has always been the same. I will reach the pinnacle of Tier 6 and link the Records. If you wish to create a reality where everyone is ''equal,'' I have no intention of stopping you. However, if you intend to depose me or get in the way of my objective..." Shaking her head rapidly, beads of sweat appeared on Yvonne''s brow as she replied, "I would never dream of intervening in the reunion between you and your family. I know you intend to iste the Record of Danmachi once the merger has taken ce, and we have absolutely no intention of interfering with that. We simply wish to create an Order of Creation where everyone can exist on equal terms. We have no desire to superimpose our will over Orders outside the one we establish..." Since she understood how impossible it was to defeat Vahn, the thought of getting in his way had never once crossed Yvonne''s mind. No amount of training could ever surpass the ''concepts'' he represented, so the best way to achieve their objective was to let Vahn return home and leave him to his own devices. Then, so long as they didn''t touch his bottom line, he would afford them the same luxury. Nodding his head in approval, Vahn replied, "Then we have an ord. I will permit you to establish a new Order, but ascending to the pinnacle will depend on your efforts. Just know that others, potentially even my other Temtes, will rise to oppose you. I have made it so that each of you can choose your own paths, so don''t expect me to intervene or take sides." Exhaling a sigh of relief, Yvonne replied, "That is more than enough. Our belief won''t be shaken by any amount of opposition. So long as you don''t get in our way, we''ll eventually be able to reach our goal..." Though he was half-tempted to create a Temte specifically to oppose Yvonne, Vahn resisted the urge and simply nodded. The penultimate form of Creation didn''t really matter to him as there were limitless Records and his Actualized Worlds were wholly unrted to the current Order. He also didn''t disagree with Yvonne''s and Mitra''s somewhat unique solution, so, as long as they didn''t go crazy and try to spread their system through the linked Records, he didn''t mind letting them do as they pleased. Everyone had the right to choose their own paths... ... .. . Chapter 2319: Chaos Affinity

Chapter 2319: Chaos Affinity

Having wrapped things up in the North, Vahn''s manifestations decreased to a meager three. There were usually around nine of him walking around at any given time, so his mind felt sharper and more focused than usual as he watched various versions of Xysteria dig an enormous cavity in Silva''s outermost Layer. Without any external prompting, Krona, Silva, and Xysteria had concluded that it was ''safer'' for the forting residents of their world if thetter''s chaotic influence was contained to a single location. However, as neither Silva nor Krona wanted topletely iste their sister''s creations, they arranged for Xysteria''s ''nest'' to be located on the Surface. Though it took a considerable amount of time and restructuring, Silva was able to shift around her Continents so that Xysteria would have a circr ind, roughly 800,000km2, to do with as she pleased. Of her own volition, Xysteria concluded that it would be better if she dug down instead of letting her creations roam freely within the ind''s basin. A colossal mountain range encircled the entire ind, but Xysteria didn''t believe that would be enough to prevent her ''children'' from escaping. She also wanted explorers and adventurers to be able to visit in the future, so her solution was to bore a massive hole, nearly 700km in diameter, before asking Krona to ce a temporal barrier over it as a type of lid. While he didn''t entirely agree with the trio''s intentions, Vahn permitted his children to do as they pleased. Their solution reminded him of quite a few anime with massive dungeons, sky-piercing towers, and abyssbyrinths, so he simply concluded this was the natural progression of things. At the very least, it was the path that Krona, Silva, and Xysteria had decided for themselves. Breaking Vahn from his reverie, Xysteria ''prime'' used one of her ruby-red talons to prick the base of his chin as she petitioned, "Papa, want to make something with Xysteria?" Raising his brows, Vahn calmly asked, "What did you have in mind?" with a faint yet perceptibly wry smile. Sensing the subtle change in her father''s mood, Xysteria''s oversized ears drooped pitifully as she shrank within hisp and muttered, "Nevermind..." in a sulky tone. Before Xysteria could fully retract into her ''ball form,'' Vahn wrapped his arms around her and buried the lower half of his face into the inordinately thick fur atop her head. Her body was incredibly warm, almost hot to the touch, and her coat had an aroma most people wouldpare to freshly-baked bread. She could change it at will, but, as she liked being cuddled quite a bit, Xysteria, much like Fenrir, put a lot of effort into ensuring she was as fluffy and pleasant to hold as possible. Though she didn''t immediately rx, Xysteria eventually unfurled her tails and becamex in Vahn''s embrace. A minute or twoter, she appeared to be ''melting'' within his arms, as, even when he wasn''t making a concerted effort, Vahn was very proficient in the art of petting. "Funyaaaaaa~." ying off the audio cue, Vahn exhaled a light chuckle before squeezing the semi-amorphous ball of fluff firmly and inquiring, "Now, tell me...what did you want to make?" Bing discernibly more solid, Xysteria hesitated for several seconds before answering, "Xysteria wants to make people..." "Hmmm..." Though he didn''t think Xysteria was at a point where she could oversee a group of people, Vahn didn''t immediately refuse her request. Instead, he absentmindedly fluffed up the hair around her ears and caressed the base of her chin as he considered various possibilities. To get a clearer understanding of Xysteria''s actual request, Vahn paused for a moment, asking, "What kind of people? Humans? Therianthropes...?" Without any hesitation whatsoever, Xysteria raised two of her arms and shouted, "Bug people...!" in an enthusiastic tone. This left Vahn more than a little speechless, not because he had anything against Insectoids, but because insects were Xysteria''s favorite food... Smiling wryly, Vahn couldn''t help asking, "You''re not nning to eat them, are you...?" Tilting her head to the side, Xysteria didn''t immediately respond to Vahn''s question. When she did, he felt somewhat guilty as she curiously inquired, "Why would Xysteria eat them? Did they do something bad...?" Instead of answering the adorable fluffball''s questions, Vahn changed the topic to something more pertinent, asking, "Have you thought about what you want them to do? Creating people from scratch isn''t particrly hard, but ensuring their survival can be challenging. Without knowledge, power, and purpose, they will need constant protection and guidance..." "Muuuu..." Feeling a little annoyed, Xysteria began to flex her ws open and closed. She had been spying on the variousmunities Vahn brought back from the Actualized World of Rerra. Their culture and society caused her to feel things she typically only felt around her Papa, so she really wanted to have a ''people'' of her own, not just monsters and copies of herself... Saving Vahn the trouble of having to pry directly into his daughter''s mind, Loi-chan materialized out of thin air, her form identical to Xysteria as she leaned against his back and whispered into his ear. Her words caused the smile on his face to cramp, but it returned to normal a few momentster as he asked, "Have you been feeling lonely...?" Nodding her head, Xysteria admitted, "It''s lonely without Papa. Xysteria tries to keep herself busy, but she''s only good at breaking things. Brother Krona and sister Silva are very nice, but Xysteria knows...she knows she is only causing them trouble..." Though she didn''t appear sad as she was speaking, Vahn could sense the deeply rooted mncholy within Xysteria''s heart. Her aura was a pleasant shade of gold, reminiscent of sunlight, but he had learned long ago that a person''s aura wasn''t a true reflection of their mental or emotional state. It might sound paradoxical, but it was more than possible for someone to be outwardly happy despite harboring profound sadness. Shaking his head, Vahn wrapped his arms snugly around Xysteria''s body, whispering, "Krona and Silva would never say that. You also aren''t going out of your way to cause trouble, so you''re innocent of any wrongdoing..." "Mmm..." As Vahn''s warmth permeated her body, a faint smile naturally developed across Xysteria''s face. She always felt the most plete'' when he held her close like this. She didn''t know if her feelings were the same as those between Krona and Silva, but she believed they were simr. If she didn''t know it would burden him, she would want them to stay together forever... Smiling affectionately, Vahn reached up to ce his hand at the center of Xysteria''s chest. She was a little surprised by his actions but offered no meaningful resistance even as his hand sank into her, disappearing up to the wrist. Her trust in him was so great that, even if he were to tell her the sky was purple and that the ocean was filled with caustic acid, she would ept it as the gospel truth. Despite Xysteria''s inordinately fluffy, four-armed, five-tailed, seemingly mammalian appearance, she was still the daughter of two True Dragons. The veins running through her body had a crystalline appearance, and the trio of hearts pumping rainbow-hued blood through her body had enough energy within them to destroy the arm of a gxy if unleashed all at once. After ensuring there wouldn''t be any issues, Vahn removed his hand from Xysteria''s chest, revealing a visibly pulsating crystal roughly the size of a plum. Upon seeing it, Xysteria couldn''t help feeling confused, an anxious frown marring her face as she poked the crystal and questioned, "Are you taking a piece of Xysteria...?" As it would have been understandable if Xysteria had freaked out, Vahn couldn''t help exhaling a chuckle before answering, "Don''t worry. I left a piece of myself where your heart used to be. Now, even when I''m away, you''ll always have a piece of me with you..." Blinking in surprise, Xysteria ignored everything else, using two of her hands to pry her chest open. It was an extremely gruesome sight, but the blood-stained fluffball didn''t even flinch as she verified there was a near-identical gem where her heart used to be. The only difference was that it emitted an energy signature identical to her Papa''s. Realizing she would always have a piece of Vahn inside of her, a nearly crimson hue colored Xysteria''s face as she used her bloody talons and paws to clutch and massage her cheeks. Her actions caused her usually white fur to be stained with blood, but Vahn quickly cleaned her up while also healing the rather ghastly hole in her chest. Then, as Xysteria watched him with unblinking eyes, he absorbed her crystalline heart into his palm, allowing the luminance to show through his skin as he directed it to the center of his being. Unable to contain herself, Xysteria slipped under the nearly indestructible fabric of Vahn''s tunic, eagerly pressing her head and ear to his chest. She couldn''t distinguish between his heartbeat and the tiny pulsationsing from her crystal, but the notion there was now a piece of her inside of him caused her to feel fuzzy. Without thinking, Xysteria began to ''nuzzle'' against Vahn with a lot more force than usual. Since he let his guard down around his children, it didn''t take long for one of her horns to pierce his body, creating a rather vicious gash that became the subsequent focus of Xysteria''s nuzzling. Though he was briefly taken aback by Xysteria''s reaction, Vahn stopped Xysteria''s apparent attempt to burrow into him by grabbing her scruff and phasing her through the fabric of his tunic. "Ah..." Seeing the wry smile on Vahn''s face, Xysteria realized she had crossed a line she shouldn''t. However, before she could think to form the words for an apology, Vahn dematerialized the excess blood from her face and fur coat as he mused, "I understand you''re excited, but you''re going to make your other-selves jealous if you burrow inside of me..." Though she was momentarily confused by Vahn''s words, Xysteria quickly understood when he turned her around and showed her the thousands of reflective eyes staring at them from a distance. She was the ''original'' that dictated the actions of her offshoots, but she didn''t have absolute control over them. She was more like a queen ant, so it wasn''t out of the ordinary for versions of her to break off and even rebel against her selfprised colony. Disregarding the fact Vahn was still holding her up by the scruff, Xysteria spread her four arms in a threatening posture and hissed. Some versions of herself were ''very'' powerful, but they had no hope of defeating her in battle. If they got close or tried to attack her, she could directly reabsorb them back into her body, so her hissing was generally enough to daunt all but her most obstinant offshoots. With most of the eyes turning away from her, Xysteria ignored the rest as she turned to Vahn and asked, "Can we go somewhere else?" without her usual inflection. Vahn immediately noticed this but decided not to inquire as he replied, "Of course," before teleporting them to a small cottage he had materialized in the mountains. As it was her first time in the cottage, Xysteria took a moment to take in her surroundings before asking, "Will this be where you stay during your visits?" Though he had initially intended the cottage to be a temporary dwelling, Vahn nodded his head and replied, "Sure, why not?" Returning a nod of her own, Xysteria momentarily liberated herself from Vahn''s hold and began crawling around the floor, walls, and ceiling. She was using the scent nds within her tails to mark virtually every surface, so it wasn''t long before a heavy aroma simr to freshly baked bread and pheromones permeated the entire residence. Satisfied with her results, Xysteria crawled back over to Vahn, climbing onto hisp before circling around a few times like a cat attempting to getfortable. However, instead of curling up like she was going to take a nap, she eventually turned belly up, using two of her paws to conceal her breasts and the other two to rub her abdomen as she demanded, "Rub my belly..." in a serious, almostmanding tone. ... .. . (A/N: I got severely sunburned when I went fishing with my brother, so I was out ofmission after catching a fever. On a far more positive note, today is MY birthday. A friend of mine got me some cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory and Tales of Arise, but I''m going to put thetter on the backburner for the time being. I''ll also be doing triple releases for the rest of the month(starting tomorrow), so look forward to it~!) Chapter 2320: Steps, Both Large and Small

Chapter 2320: Steps, Both Large and Small

"It''s pretty rare for you toe to me first. Are you feeling guilty about what happened with S?" Adopting a faint smile, Vahn replied, "Something like that..." as he reached up to caress Shiroyasha''s neck and chin. She gave him a slight prick with her horns, but that didn''t discourage him from tracing the line of her neck and corbone as he added, "Though the situation has changed since ourst meeting, I''ve more or less concluded my business with the North and South Sides. All that remains is collecting Sun Authorities, supnting a few discordant deities, and ensuring our allies are well-protected during my ascension..." As the current Laws of the Little Garden prohibited residents of the 1-3-Digit Gates from interacting ''directly'' with people outside, Vahn needed to ensure his enemies wouldn''t be able to strike in the brief period where he was pushing for the peak of the Little Garden. He could leave an ''Avatara'' behind in the form of a Temte, but, as Wu and others had shown, they didn''t inherit the ''tenacity'' afforded to him by his unique constitution and Innates. He could grant them power ''identical'' to his own, but they would still lose against the more famous/infamous Gods. Understanding Vahn''s concerns, Shiroyasha exhaled a sigh before softly muttering, "I suppose it''s about time I introduce you to an old...''friend'' of mine. You know the one..." As there were actually a few people that came to mind, Vahn muttered, "I''m assuming you''re referring to Queen Halloween, but I''m unsure as the two of you aren''t exactly friends..." Rolling her eyes, Shiroyasha replied, "She has in her possession the Aries, Virgo, Sagittarius, and Capricorn Authorities. If you can ''convince'' her to join us, we will have eighteen of the twenty-five Sun Authorities. Neen if you decide to stop dallying and obtain the Ophiuchus Authority..." "Right..." Though he hadn''t forgotten about his promise to Leticia, Vahn had ced her ''liberation'' on hold at her request. She was currently in the process of gaining the power to free her sister while simultaneously helping care for the various children residing in the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. "If I took action directly, everything could be resolved in one fell swoop. However, Leticia, her sister, and the vampire race would be indebted to me in a way I''m not entirelyfortable with..." Exhaling a slightly exasperated sigh, Shiroyasha adopted a mock deadpan as she remarked, "This would be a lot easier if you weren''t so sentimental. I understand your desire to have people choose their own paths, but that doesn''t mean you have to course-correct to give them time..." Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn replied, "I still have 722 days toplete my current objectives. Besides, if you and Queen Halloween agree to work together, we don''t even need the Ophiuchus Authority. Setting it aside, for the time being, hurts no one." Feeling a little annoyed, Shiroyasha poked Vahn with the tip of her horns as she grumbled, "You''re being unreasonable...while I do trust you, asking me to lend you multiple Sun Authorities ces me in a difficult situation..." Squeezing the pouty Sun Goddess''s body, Vahn casually replied, "Then let''s not worry about it. I told you before, but obtaining a majority of Sun Authorities is optional. I trust you not to betray me and side with the other Gods once I start taking action, so not having them doesn''t really change anything." Since he only needed a majority of Sun Authorities to prevent the Gods from abandoning the current Little Garden and creating a new one, Vahn didn''t actually require them. Shiroyasha currently possessed fourteen, so unless she suddenly decided to betray him, he didn''t have to worry about the Big Three attempting to flee once he began aiming for their thrones. Instead of feeling relieved by Vahn''s words, Shiroyasha''s brows furrowed as she gave him another firm prick with her horns. She didn''t like that he was basically saying he didn''t need her help to achieve his goal, so, after jabbing him hard enough to draw blood, she turned around and straddled hisp before leaning forward top up the crimson liquid. Realizing he had inadvertently upset her, Vahn allowed Shiroyasha to do as she pleased while habitually massaging her butt. He was tempted to point out that making concessions for her was functionally the same as making ''detours'' for others but promptly decided against it. Instead, he waited until she was finished drawing his blood before muttering, "Tell me what you want, and I''ll do my best to make it a reality..." Licking the blood from her lips, Shiroyasha took a moment to look Vahn in the eyes before narrowing her own and answering, "You know damn well what I want. An enormous harem, revenge against those who harmed my friends, and changes to the current system. Beyond that..." Linking her hands around Vahn''s neck and shoulders, Shiroyasha licked her lips a second time before yfully appending, "Unequip your pants, and I might just scream the rest..." Punctuating her words, Shiroyasha silenced any potential responses with a kiss. She was feeling a little frustrated after Vahn''s earlier remarks, so she intended to have him relieve her stress before they returned to their original conversation. As for Queen Halloween, Indra, and everyone else she needed to arrange meetings with, they could wait. After all, it wasn''t like Vahn ''needed'' their cooperation... ... .. . After pacifying Xysteria with a significant amount of belly rubs, Vahn had her exin ''exactly'' what she had in mind for her colonists. Contrasting Vahn''s initial expectations, the ''insects'' Xysteria had in mind weren''t actual insects. Xysteria simply hadn''t known the appropriate word for what she was attempting to describe: automatons. Not wanting them to sumb to thirst, starvation, and the influence of her power, Xysteria intended to popte both the interior and the area around her ''nest'' with purely mechanical lifeforms. Those inhabiting the interior would be known as Guardians, beings tasked with observing and cataloging the various creatures produced by her power. Those upying the surface would be known as Keepers, predominately humanoid robots that would tend to the surrounding forests and establish infrastructure to amodate people from the outside. Using a bit of y, Xysteria was able to give Vahn a pretty good idea of what she had in mind for both groups. The Guardians would be outfitted with enhanced sensors, borderline indestructible armor, various types of excavation equipment, and armaments capable of incinerating just about any form of biological life. They needed to be able to deal with outbreaks such as the mushrooms that had nearly overtaken one of Gaia''s textures, so their incinerators weren''t meresers; they were molecr disruption devices that forcefully separated electrons, converting virtually all other molecules into an inert form of atomized ash. Contrasting the rather fierce-looking Guardians, the Keepers were made to be a lot more unassuming. The ''males'' of the species had tanned skin and dark hair that vaguely resembled younger, child-like versions of Vahn. As for their female counterparts, they unsurprisingly ended up resembling Xysteria. However, instead of four arms, white fur, and multiple tails, they only possessed two arms and a single tail, ensuring they would always be ''lesser'' in terms of adorableness and appeal. Understanding there was a chance that creatures could escape her nest and run rampant on the surface, Xysteria decided to outfit male Keepers with a lesser variant of the ''Incinerator,'' one that specialized in eliminating single targets. As for the females, they were to be blessed with enhanced senses, incredible strength, and the ability to discern creatures adversely affected by Xysteria''s power. Though he didn''t mind the existence of a race of child-like automatons that vaguely resembled him, Vahn made a few tweaks before finalizing Xysteria''s first experimental poption. He gave the males pointed ears and bestowed both Guardians and Keepers with the ability to ''hibernate'' for extended periods. It could be anywhere between a few hundred to a few thousand years before outsiders showed up on their ind, so being able to ''sleep'' for years would be a boon in their exceptionally long lives. After all, unless they were damaged beyond repair, they were effectively immortal. With the designsrgely finalized, Vahn acquiesced to Xysteria''s demand to give the males an ''affinity with all things fluffy'' before creating a total of twenty males and females to popte the surface. Xysteria was still in the process of excavating her nest, so he didn''t want to overburden her with having to look after hundreds of people when she still depended on others to care for herself. As each Keeper was given form through abination of her and Vahn''s power, Xysteria became increasingly excited. If Vahn hadn''t warned her about inadvertently destroying them, she would have pounced upon and cuddled each and every one of them. Instead, she waited until all twenty had been formed before tentatively approaching and examining them up close. Though she was a little bothered by their nk, ostensibly emotionless expressions, Xysteria took the time to nuzzle and mark each of the male Keepers. She eventually did the same with the females, but only after a lengthy exnation on imprinting and a bit of ''encouragement'' from Vahn. When she was finished, they worked together toe up with names for each of them beforemencing the long process of ''programming'' them via demonstration and verbal instruction. ... .. . Seeing Xysteria''s reaction to her ''children'' from the perspective of his other self, Vahn couldn''t help smiling. This was immediately noticed by ck Rabbit, who, after breastfeeding their six children, was enjoying some much-deserved cuddles. Narrowing her eyes into an affectionate smile, ck Rabbit yfully inquired, "What''s got you in such a good mood~?" Returning an affectionate smile of his own, Vahn replied, "I''m watching Xysteria take her first significant steps toward maturing as a Primordial Deity. She now has a small poption to supervise, one that isn''t entirelyprised of other versions of herself." Though she had only met and interacted with Xysteria a few times, ck Rabbit couldn''t help feeling happy for the inordinately cute yet aggressive ball of fluff, responding, "Wow, that really is a major step forward for her. I hope everything turns out well." Nodding his head, Vahn, somewhat shamelessly, replied, "I''ll make sure it does. I''ve been anticipating this kind of development for a long time, so I won''t let things fall through before Xysteria learns a lesson or two..." "Mmm...how reassuring..." Since she didn''t want her cuddle session to be a discussion about Xysteria and her development, ck Rabbit ended the conversation by resting her head against Vahn''s chest and nuzzling against him. His scent caused her body to feel hot, but it was nowhere near as ''agonizing'' as it was before her pregnancy. Understanding ck Rabbit''s intentions, Vahn promptly left the matter of Xysteria to his other self, nting a kiss on the pink-haired beauty''s head before squeezing her tightly. It was only a matter of time before someone came along to ''interrupt'' them, so he didn''t mind spending the moment in peaceful serenity. Things were going to get pretty busy in the weeks and months toe, so it was important to savor each and every moment he had with his loved ones... Feeling Vahn''s warmth fill her body, suppressing the heat radiating from her abdomen, an exceptionally contented smile developed across ck Rabbit''s face. She wouldn''t mind if he wanted to have sex, far from it, but, after bing a mother to six seemingly insatiable kittens, she hade to realize just how precious moments of peace and quiet could be... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Shiroyasha showing her Tsundere side...'',''Akihito Tsukushi would like to know my location...'',''Every mother in the multiverse just nodded their heads in agreement xD...'') Chapter 2321: Slight

Chapter 2321: Slight

Though he was trying to limit his number of manifestations, Vahn created a fifth to pay a visit to Draco Greif, apprising him of the situation with S. He also gave the retiring Griffin a warning about Yvonne but promised the Empire wouldn''t just stand by if she attempted to conquer the South using more ''forceful'' methods. After hearing Vahn''s ount till the end, Draco Greif understood that the former was aware of the meeting between himself and the Leaders of the Draco Greif Alliance. However, instead of expressing offense at the notion that Vahn was spying on them, Draco Greif remained calm andposed as he replied, "Then it appears that Lau Pantera, Leader of Five-ws, will be the next Floor Master. Does the Aldrnari Empire have any counsel they wish to provide on this matter...?" Shaking his head, Vahn answered, "The internal affairs of the Draco Greif Alliance are their own to manage. I''ve already inconvenienced you greatly by intervening in the matter between S and her sister. Instead of telling you what to do, I''m more inclined to ask if there''s anything the Empire can do to help ease the transition." "Hmmm..." Understanding that Vahn wasn''t simply being polite, Draco Greif closed his eyes and carefully considered his response. Vahn was known to make the impossible a reality, and there seemed to be no limits to the Empire''s resources and capabilities. Thus, the next few words that came out of his mouth could genuinely shape the future of the Draco Greif Alliance. Not wanting to disturb Draco Greif''s thoughts, Vahn manifested an ornate jade teapot and served himself a cup of aromatic jasmine tea. This version of himself existed for the singr purpose of this discussion, so he wasn''t in any particr hurry. After deliberating for several minutes, Draco Greif adopted a noticeably wry smile and asked, "Do you mind if I call for the Leader of Five-ws? As the next Floor Master and Leader of the Draco Greif Alliance, I believe she should be present." Though Draco Greif''s words raised a number of gs, Vahn didn''t hesitate to respond, "Sure, I don''t see why not? If the Draco Greif Alliance and the Aldrnari Empire are going to be allies in the future, it''s only natural that we meet at some point." Nodding his head, Draco Greif responded with a curt, "Indeed," before using his Authority as Floor Master to send a telepathicmunique to Lau. She was busy dealing with a few drunken brawls that had broken out during the impromptu celebration but immediately dropped what she was doing when she heard the reason for her summoning... Bursting into the conference room a few minutester, Lau''s luminous golden eyes briefly focused on Vahn before she turned to Draco Greif, cupping her hands and bowing as a sign of respect as she said, "Lau Pantera, reporting as ordered..." Getting straight to the point, Draco Greif revealed, "Due to circumstances rted to her family, S Doldrake''s candidacy for Floor Master has been revoked. As such, you, Lau Pantera, have been designated as the sole nominee for the positions of Floor Master and future Leader of the Draco Greif Alliance. I trust you have no objections?" Cupping her hands together a second time, this time with enough force to generate a small shockwave, Lau''s fur-covered ears twitched excitedly as she loudly eximed, "It would be my honor!" Though he nodded his head in approval, Draco Greif took a bit of the wind out of Lau''s sails, adding, "I''m confident you''ll lead the Alliance into an era of prosperity. To that end, I have invited you here to participate in the discussion rted to our...''cooperation'' with the Aldrnari Empire..." Furrowing her brows, Lau directed a sidelong gaze toward Vahn as she asked, "Has the Aldrnari Empire requested something of us...?" Catching the spirited warrior princess somewhat off guard, Draco Greif replied, "Quite the opposite. However, as I do not wish to put words into his mouth, the Sage Dragon Emperor can speak for himself." Setting aside his cup of tea, Vahn offered a cordial smile as he exined, "Aspensation for the troubles my actions have wrought, I was asking your Leader if there is anything I, or the Aldrnari Empire, could do to make the forting transition smoother. I have technically robbed you of one of your most powerful allies, so it''s only natural that Ipensate you for the loss." Understanding that Vahn was referring to S, Lau crossed her arms in defiance, retorting, "S might have been strong, but the Alliance existed before and will endure after her. Do not look down on us. We are not some helpless throng that needs your guidance and protection..." "Lau..." Though he had somewhat anticipated Lau''s brazenness, Draco Greif couldn''t help covering his face with his taloned hand. He knew she didn''t trust Vahn, but her words undermined both the long and short-term future of the Alliance. If Vahn was half as bad as she believed him to be, such an overt slight could have resulted in theirplete and total destruction... Fortunately for the many inhabitants of Under and Overwood, Vahn just smiled in response to Lau''s words, responding, "If that''s the way you feel, I have nothing more to say on the matter. Just know that the Aldrnari Empire does not turn its back on its allies. If therees a time when the Draco Greif Alliance is in need, do not hesitate to seek us out. Pride at the expense of your peoples'' lives is hubris." Finished with what he had to say, Vahn rose to his feet, dusted himself off, and offered a curt nod toward Draco Greif as he said, "If you need to contact me during the festival, a version of me can be found at the side of One-Horn''s Leader, Merry. After that, the best way to contact me would presumably be through the Leader of Six-Scars, Garol Gundark." Having risen at the same time as Vahn, Draco Greif offered a respectful nod of his own as he replied, "I''ll be sure to keep that in mind. Farewell, Vahn Aldrnari Mason." As the corners of his smile curled upward, Vahn faded from existence like grains of sand being blown by the wind. The moment he had disappearedpletely, the atmosphere within the room became oppressive as Draco Greif directed a fierce re at Lau, stating, "Though I have no intention of retracting your nomination, know I am disappointed with your handling of this matter. Had he the mind to, the Sage Dragon Emperor could stamp out our entire Alliance on a whim. We are beyond fortunate he didn''t take your careless words to heart..." Cowed by the oppressive aura exuding from Draco Greif like a powerful gravitational force, Lau appeared to shrink into herself, timidly pressing the tips of her index fingers together as she meekly replied, "I didn''t want to appear weak in front of the Leader of a foreign Community..." Exhaling a profound and exasperated sigh, Draco Greif retracted his aura and plopped down into a seated position. He empathized with Lau''s need to appear strong, but there was a time and a ce for everything. The resources of the Aldrnari Empire could bolster their entire Alliance to new heights, but Lau had effectively set fire to the bridge without even thinking about the consequences. Had Vahn been less magnanimous, her actions may have burned it down entirely. Shaking his head, Draco Greif forced himself to regain his calm, advising, "I won''t tell you to apologize. However, it would be wise of you to make a concerted effort to befriend the Leaders of One-Horn and Six-ws. You are entitled to govern the Alliance as you see fit, but a representative who ignores the will of the people will invariably be a tyrant..." Hanging her head, Lau silently reflected on Draco Greif''s words and her actions. With the benefit of hindsight, she realized that rejecting Vahn''s offer outright probably wasn''t the smartest thing she could have done. After all, it wasn''t like he was asking anything of them. Rather, he effectively gave them a nk check and invited them to fill in the nks. She could have asked for all kinds of resources, yet she just ripped it up on principle... Realizing her mistake, Lau abruptly took a knee, her right fist touching the ground as she lowered her head and stated, "I''m not sure how, but I''ll make this right. You have my word." Exhaling a slightly softer sigh, Draco Greif adopted an uncannily human smile as he replied, "It''s okay to make mistakes, Lau. So long as you learn from them, you will continue to move forward as both a person and a leader. Now, away with you. I''m certain there are better ways you could be spending your time. Leave me to my rest." Without another word, Lau promptly cupped her hands together before backing out of the chamber and rushing to Underwood. She was tempted to track down Vahn and apologize for her carelessness but didn''t want to intrude upon his and Merry''s time together. Instead, she locked onto the scent of Garol Gundark, leaping from the boughs of the Great Water Tree with the resolve to be a proper leader for her people... ... .. . "Oh no...it''s spilling out..." Though Vahn had insisted they take several breaks, Merry had thoroughly demonstrated that it wasn''t just hernguagecking in decency. She was a veritable nymphomaniac, and due to her inordinately prolonged chastity, there were countless things she was eager to try. Watching the petite beauty scoop up his semen and try to force it back inside her, Vahn couldn''t help smiling wryly as he said, "I can always fill you upter. For now, we should get ourselves cleaned up and grab a bite to eat outside. Festivals shouldn''t be spent idling about indoors." Adopting a pouty expression, Merry attempted to guilt Vahn into staying inside by tearing up and asking, "Do we have to? The outside world sucks, and I don''t like being around other people. They all stare at me with lewd gazes like they want to tear off my dress and **** me in the middle of the street..." A stark contrast to the teary-eyed expression she had at the start of her argument, a ruddy hue spread through Merry''s cheeks as she imagined Vahn being the one to push her down. The thought, alone, was enough to make her feel embarrassed, but she would be lying if she said it wasn''t as exciting... Overwhelmed by her overactive imagination, Merry stared into space for a few moments until a thin line of silvery blood trickled from her left nostril. Merry immediately noticed this, quickly wiping away the evidence before adopting an innocent smile as she looked at Vahn and asked, "What were we talking about?" With Loi-chan enthusiastically narrating Merry''s libidinous thoughts, Vahn made a mental note not to inform her of his ability to separate from the Axes of Time, Space, and Reality. He didn''t mind doing it in public, but he didn''t want to encourage her ''bad'' behavior. Merry was clearly a little unstable, so he offered a smoldering smile and replied, "We were talking about going out on a date. I want everyone in Underwood to know we''re together, so I was hoping to show you off while you show me around. If you would prefer to keep our rtionship a secret, however, I don''t mind staying inside..." Though she was more than a little tempted by Vahn''s final few words, the chance to disy her rtionship in public was enough to convince Merry to go out. Thus, with a rather substantial volume of semen dripping down her legs and thighs, she hopped out of bed and ran to the bath, shouting, "Hurry along, darling~! We musn''t keep the peasantry waiting~" in a sing-song tone. ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn has all the time in the world...'',''More muscle than brain...'',''Someone bonk this damned Unicorn...'') Chapter 2322: Dont Shoot, Messenger

Chapter 2322: Don''t Shoot, Messenger

Seeing Vahn and Merry emerge from the One-Horn Community''s headquarters, a seemingly voluptuous woman with maroon hair and olive, slightly reddish skin narrowed her eyes. Her features and physique could be described as wless from a distance, but closer inspection revealed that her entire body was purely mechanical in nature. Though androids, gynoids, and other artificial lifeforms could be found in many ces throughout the Little Garden, they were especially rare in the South and East Sides. However, while her mechanical form and golden, camera-like irises stood out, the features most people would notice when viewing the peculiar woman were her garments. Instead of ''conventional'' clothing or a form of attire that would help her blend in with her surroundings, the maroon-haired woman was garbed in a pristine white toga and various red and gold ornaments. Most prominent among these was a golden pauldron fashioned in the visage of a deer, an armored arm bearing a durable-looking buckler, banded, fur-lined sandals that covered much of her calves, a crown-like diadem affixed with antlers, and a girdle with runic symbols depicting a mountain and lightning bolts. "So, that''s the Sage Dragon Emperor...he''s a lot less imposing in real life..." Following the woman''s remark, an even more conspicuous figure replied, "Perhaps. That doesn''t change the fact he was able to defeat Amaterasu and Indra in singlebat. It would be pretty rash to underestimate him." Despite possessing a purely mechanical head resembling a helmet with a visor, the fashionably dressed, rtively modern-attired man brought up a cigarette to his non-existent lips and inhaled. As he did so, fiery crystals protruding from his helmet and the backs of his silvery, metallic boots lit up in a manner resembling luminous golden mes. After inhaling a considerable amount of smoke, the man exhaled in a clearly exasperated manner, the smoke emanating from the sides of his helmet rather than the approximate location of his ''mouth.'' Without taking her eyes off Vahn, the maroon-haired woman adopted a scowl as she remarked, "Such thinking is the reason Olympus is gradually losing its power and authority. Even if it means our destruction, we should face the Sage Dragon Emperor with conviction. The Poets and Bards have already begun to sing songs of our ''cowardice.'' If we try to ignore them as we did during Avalon''s ascent, Olympus may never rise again." Exhaling another tired sigh, the helmeted man remarked, "We''re relics of a bygone era, Artemis. Our efforts to modernize andpete with the Nine Realms have long since undermined the history and traditions upon which we derive our power. At this point, there are ''Heroes'' in the West that have nearly as much power and influence as we Olympians..." Clenching her teeth, the maroon-haired woman, better known as Artemis of the Olympians, raised her fist as if she were about to strike her helmet-headedpanion. She was one of the more popr Olympians, but that was a double-edged sword. As the influence of other Artemis grew in the West, her form became more mechanical to match the many markswomen and gunslingers that relied upon cybeic enhancements and advanced weaponry to emte her power. That''s one of the many reasons she was so eager to return to the battlefield; she wanted to restore her image and regain her ''purity.'' Though he clearly suffered from an even worse ''affliction,'' the helmeted man, Hermes, had long embraced his form and the influence it had on his lifestyle. He was part of the progressive faction of Olympians, so even if he becamepletely robotic in the future, he didn''t care so long as their Community continued to prosper. Unfortunately, while Hermes stood in opposition to Zeus, the Chief God of the Olympians and de facto leader of the conservative faction, he still had to follow the tyrannical Gods'' orders. Zeus was infamous as one of, if not the most vengeful Gods in the entire Little Garden. He permitted the existence of the progressive and neutral faction, but he would often show up to ''clean house'' whenever he was in a bad mood. Recalling Zeus''s past actions, Hermes caressed a vicious burn mark that covered the entirety of his left arm and much of his body. Conspiratory thoughts ran rampant within his mind, but they were promptly suppressed by a sub-routine he had created to store away and prevent such thoughts from being read by others. Unless essed directly, even he would not be aware of the true extent of his hatred and subterfuge. After calming himself sufficiently, Hermes flicked aside his extinguished cigarette and said, "Let''s go. And remember, we''re only here to deliver a message. If you pick a fight, don''t expect me to bail you out." Snorting through her nose, Artemis retorted, "Coward..." before jumping from her perch and bounding through the air with the grace of a gazelle. Golden ripples appeared each time her feet impacted the air, effectively allowing her to stride across the sky. As this was far from the first time he had been called a coward, Hermes just shook his head and ced his hands into his pockets. The crystals protruding from his helmet and greaves briefly illuminated, but only the most discerning would have been able to recognize it as he immediately vanished... ... .. . Though he had been keeping tabs on Artemis and Hermes, Vahn couldn''t help muttering, "Really? You''re going to interrupt my date...?" just as twin streaks of me bypassed him and Merry, culminating in the appearance of Olympus''s God of Trade, Wealth, Luck, and Travel. Despite the helmet covering his head, Hermes raised his hand to scratch the back of it as he answered, "Yeah, sorry about that. You''re not exactly easy to pin down. I rmended we send an official missive to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, but the big man up top isn''t exactly known for listening to the counsel of others." Recognizing who Hermes was, Merry''s body became tense, a fierce look marring her previously smiling face as she clung to Vahn''s right arm and growled, "You shouldn''t be here. Underwood may wee outsiders and tourists, but that courtesy doesn''t extend to the hounds of Zeus..." Shrugging his shoulders, Hermes elected to ignore Merry''s remark as he made ''eye contact'' with Vahn and revealed, "Anyways...we came here to deliver a message." Following Hermes''s remark, Artemis touched down a few meters away from Vahn and Merry, a proud and detached glower on her face as she added, "Zeus awaits you at the peak of Mt. Olympus. If you ept, we are to escort you there immediately." Waving her hand, Artemis created a golden vortex to her right. From the interior emerged a mechanical Ibex, its height exceeding three meters as it stood proudly next to its master. In an attempt to prevent an altercation, Hermes raised his hands in a gesture of mock surrender, his tone chipper and upbeat as he rified, "What my sister neglected to mention is that we''ve prepared a banquet and various forms of entertainment to wee you. We also know about your ability to split yourself into multiple forms, so it''s not like we''re asking you to abandon your date with little miss unicorn here." "Hmmm..." Directing his gaze to Artemis, Vahn narrowed his eyes, his voice taking on a yful undertone as he asked, "And if I refuse...?" Narrowing her eyes in turn, Artemis crossed her arms under her shapely, ostensibly artificial breasts as she replied, "Then Zeus was right about you. You''re a coward that has conspired with the declining rulers of the Little Garden to reinforce their standing and undermine the influence of any God that might oppose them." Though Artemis''s words were clearly vitriol intended to anger him, Vahn exhaled a light chuckle. He hadn''t conspired with anyone, but the optional objectives listed in his Quest made it clear he wasn''t opposed to the idea of undermining certain Gods. Among those, Zeus was near the top of the list, second only to a certain ''God of Truth.'' Annoyed by Vahn''sughter, Artemis manifested what appeared to be an inordinately long-barreled revolver. It resembled a rifle, but the stock was curved, clearly intended to be wielded with a single hand. As her golden eyes emitted an ever-growing radiance, Artemis''s naturally husky tone sounded audibly strained as she put pressure on the gun''s trigger and bellowed, "Why are youughing!? Do you think we Olympians are some kind of joke...!?" "Artemis...!" Vanishing from his initial position, Hermes appeared in front of Artemis in an instant, his arms spread in a defensive posture. He understood full well that Vahn didn''t need his protection, but initiating a conflict in the territory of a Floor Master was asking for trouble. Draco Greif''s reputation couldn''tpare to even the least famous Olympian, but he still had the authority of a Host Master. If they acted out and received thebel of Demon Lord, their reputations would never recover. Clicking her tongue, Artemis shouldered her ornate, oversized revolver and asked, "Why are you getting anxious? It''s not like I had any intention of firing. I just wanted the Sage Dragon Emperor to take our conversation more seriously. Is that a crime?" "..." Understanding the futility of trying to argue with a Goddess as proud as Artemis, Hermes took a moment to adjust his cor before looking back at Vahn and Merry, his voice audibly apologetic as he stated, "It would mean a lot to a lot of people if you were to ept our invitation..." Catching the two Gods off guard, Vahn showed no discernible hesitation as he replied, "Sure. I originally nned to stop by once the festival was drawing to an end. Showing up a few days earlier doesn''t change much." Punctuating his words, Vahn''s body appeared to vibrate and be illusory as he split into three identical versions of himself. He only needed two, but Hermes''s revtion that he could split himself had caused Merry to bore holes into him with her passionate, ruddy-faced gaze. Understanding the implication behind Vahn''s actions, Artemis''s already frigid expression became exceptionally icy while Hermes just exhaled a synthetic-sounding chuckle. However, as Vahn was pretty famous for his ''womanizing,'' neither was particrly surprised by his actions. Not wanting to stick around any longer than was absolutely necessary, Artemis climbed onto the back of her artificial Ibex and suggested, "We depart immediately." in amanding tone. She wasn''t the type to offer courtesy to anyone, not even Zeus, so she couldn''t care less if her words and actions offended Vahn. Borrowing a page from Hermes''s book, Vahn ignored the maroon-haired Goddess, his gentle green eyes fixating on her markedly more mechanical half-sibling as he asked, "Are you truly okay with that form? I could easily restore you to your ''original'' appearance." Though he didn''t have a mouth or the muscture to smile with, Hermes gave off the impression he was doing precisely that as he replied, "Nah. It was a little jarring in the beginning, but I''ve grown somewhat fond of this form. I do appreciate the offer, though. Thanks." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn briefly shifted his gaze to Artemis, a natural smile developing across his face as he noticed the sudden conflict within her distinctly mechanical eyes. Both he and Hermes knew the true reason for his proposition. The only question was whether or not Artemis had the intestinal fortitude to swallow her pride, apologize, and appeal to his good nature. Unfortunately, while he had absolutely no qualms about restoring her original appearance, Artemis ultimately clenched her teeth and tightened the reins of her Ibex, growling, "Don''t fall behind..." before giving them a flick and taking off at hypersonic speeds... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Jiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-'',''Hermes seems like a bro...'',''Let''s just hope she doesn''t shit the bed if Vahn allows her to lie in it...'') Chapter 2323: Radiance

Chapter 2323: Radiance

Since the Little Garden had a finite amount of space, the vast majority of Communities made use of Gates like personal, secluded Realms. Very few went out of their way to build structures in view of ordinary people unless they were trying to show off or recruit new members. A stark contrast to the majority of Communities, Mt. Olympus went out of their way to erect their titr mountain at the center of a sr dome, one of the massive superstructures intended to allow Vampires to walk around without fearing the Sun. Because of this, every other Community situated within the dome had to deal with the sight of a massive mountain serving as a perpetual reminder of who they neighbored. And that was just the beginning of their troubles... As could be expected of a construct envisioned by Zeus, one of the most infamous, narcissistic, and prideful Gods in the Little Garden, Mt. Olympuspletely dominated the dome in which it was constructed. There was arge rune shaped like an Omega symbol hovering high in the sky, serving as a stand-in for the Sun, while the upper half of the ten-thousand-meter tall mountain had been carved into a luminous, temple-like pce. To ensure his home stood out even more, Zeus used his authority to make the sky beneath the dome a shroud of perpetual twilight. Even during the middle of the day, the sky overhead was a gloomy shade of bluish-purple, the only exception being the clear, golden skies over Mt. Olympus. Seeing the overcast skies dominating much of the sr dome, the friendly smile typically found on Vahn''s face rxed into a neutral, contemtive expression. He had heard the rumors but seeing Zeus''s pce so brightly illuminated while everyone else was forced to tolerate an endless twilight irked him more than he anticipated... Interrupting Vahn''s introspection, a sound simr to a simmering skillet tickled his ears as Hermes appeared next to him, remarking, "It''s been a long time since I lost in a race. I think thest time was when I made the mistake of pitting myself against Sun Wu Kong. I''m sure you''re fully aware of this, but that''s one fast monkey." Though he would generally adopt a smile to put those around him at ease, Vahn maintained a neutral expression as he replied, "You need not go out of your way to butter me up. I have no intention of punishing you for past crimes. Just continue doing your best for your people. That''s all I have to say on the matter..." Noticing the borderline disinterest in Vahn''s tone, an involuntary shudder racked Hermes''s body. He was well acquainted with the rumors regarding Vahn''s knowledge and wisdom, but it was...unpleasant to be seen through with such ease. He had assumed his bio-mechanical imnts might give him some leeway, but that apparently wasn''t the case. Before Hermes could think of how to respond to Vahn''s words, a sh of light shone from the top of one of Mt. Olympus''s towers. In the very next moment, a man with a wless, muscr physique and fiery golden hair appeared before them. Hisplexion resembled ivory, and his body was veiled in little more than scant white cloth, numerous golden essories, and a crown set with the same symbol floating in the sky, . With a smile that caused the surroundings to light up, the luminous man offered a nod and practically sang, "Wee, Vahn Aldrnari Mason, the Sage Dragon Emperor. It''s a privilege to meet someone whose radiance far exceeds even my own. Your match against that vixen, Amaterasu, is one I''ll not soon forget." Enhancing his performance, the luminous man, clearly Apollo, strummed a golden harp whose wires were forged with pure sunlight. The sound they produced couldpel mortal enemies to reconcile, but Vahn barely cracked a smile as he inquired, "Should I be anticipating a greeting from each of the Olympians?" Instead of taking offense to Vahn''s standoffish response, Apollo adopted his most captivating smile and replied, "Not all of us, I''m afraid. My father haspelled my Great Aunt and many of my sister Goddesses to remain in private quarters for the duration of your stay. Your reputation, including your rather sorted history with women, proceeds you." As Apollo was nearly as famous as Zeus for his phndering, Vahn felt a strongpulsion to roll his eyes. Instead, the corners of his smile curled upward as he offered a terse, "Understandable." Feeling an obligation to exin further, Apollo gave his harp a practiced strum as he added, "Worry not. You''ve already had the honor of meeting my elder sister, Artemis. Once we reach the pce, you''ll also have the opportunity to meet my mother, Hera, and my eldest sister, Athena. While their magnificence might notpare to Demeter and Aphrodite''s, I can assure you they''re a delight to the senses." As it didn''t really matter to him either way, Vahn just smiled in response to Apollo''s words. He was somewhat interested in meeting Hestia, but they could chat as much as they liked once his business with the likes of Zeus and Athena had been concluded. After all, depending on how things went, the pantheon of Mt. Olympus would be undergoing some ''restructuring'' in the very near future. Noticing Vahn''s disinterest in the topic at hand, Hermes injected himself back into the exchange, appending, "Speaking of which, we should make our way to the pce. Artemis knows the way, so there''s no need to wait around to receive her. If anything, she would probably be more annoyed if we did." Though he loved his sister dearly, Apollo sighed in response to Hermes''s words, responding, "Hermes is correct. Ever since she began experiencing changes to her body, Artemis has been somewhat...difficult. If we''re here when she arrives, I imagine she would simply fly over us without stopping to exchange greetings." Resisting the moderate temptation to stick around, Vahn offered a curt, affirmative nod as he said, "Very well. I''ve never been particrly fond of false pleasantries, so I don''t mind heading over early. The sooner I meet with Zeus, the sooner I can be on my way." Furrowing his brows, Apollo couldn''t help remarking, "My father may not be a wless individual, but I do not believe he has done anything to sow enmity between Mt. Olympus and the Aldrnari Empire. I sincerely believe that if Your Majesty is willing topromise, our Communities will be able to get along spectacrly." As the God of Music, Poetry, Knowledge, and Order, Apollo had a great disdain for ''unnecessary'' conflict. He knew his father''s character better than most, but he still believed Mt. Olympus and the Aldrnari Empire could be allies. Vahn was bing increasingly renowned for his magnanimity and tolerance, so Apollo couldn''t help envisioning a bright future for both of their Communities. Understanding that Apollo wasn''t trying to be intentionally daft, Vahn offered another curt nod and replied, "I would wee such an oue. Unfortunately, while I''m willing topromise on just about anything, the sole exception is my bottom line. The moment your father does something that crosses that line, there''s no going back." Frowning deeply, Apollo was thinking about how he could convince Vahn to extend his father a degree of leniency when Hermes inserted himself back into the conversation, saying, "We can continue this conversation in the pce. I don''t imagine our father will appreciate us dying his guest any further than we already have." Directing his frown at Hermes, Apollo was briefly tempted to chastise his younger brother. As one of the staunchest members of the conservative faction, the two rarely saw eye to eye. However, as they were currently in the presence of a highly esteemed guest, Apollo decided it was probably for the best if they didn''t argue right in front of Vahn. "Very well. Please, allow me to lead the way." With Vahn offering another nod, Apollo took off at a much slower speed than the one he had used to arrive. He knew Vahn could easily keep up with even his maximum speed, but he wanted to give the visiting Emperor an opportunity to admire the scenery surrounding Mt. Olympus. He took great pride in his home, and he wanted Vahn to be able to appreciate it just as much as he did. Little did he know that the more time Vahn had to observe the massive disparity between Mt. Olympus and its surroundings, the greater his urge to tear it down... ... .. . Observing Vahn, Hermes, and Apollo from atop her personal tower, one of twelve surrounding the central pce upied by Zeus, Athena couldn''t help feeling a little trepidatious. She didn''t regret her past actions, but the notion she had slighted the wrong person began to set in following Vahn''s acquisition of Indra''s, previously thought to be immutable, Gate. Appearing next to the troubled Goddess, a shapely woman with free-flowing brown hair, modest attire, fair skin, and gentle brown eyes ced her hand on Athena''s shoulder and said, "It''s never toote to apologize, Athena. Even if he doesn''t ept, you''ll never be able to move forward if you continue clinging to this anger and resentment." Though she knew her fellow Goddess was undoubtedly correct, Athena''s expression revealed her vexation as she poutily replied, "Why should I be the one to apologize? That hateful man broke Laius and utterly ruined the reputation of the Perseus Community. Even if Laius''s actions went too far, the Sage Dragon Emperor could have settled the matter without resorting to such an excessive form of punishment. It was like a lionno, a Dragon using all of its energy to torment a defenseless rabbit...!" Smiling sadly, the marginally more diminutive Goddess, none other than Hestia, calmly retorted, "Even you cannot deny Laius''s guilt in the matter. I understand your justifications for pinning the me on the Sage Dragon Emperor, but his actions were ultimately reactive. It''s also objectively true that the Sage Dragon Emperor could have killed Laius. Instead, he forced him into a situation where he had no choice but to change his ways...that is a mercy very few are willing to afford the vanquished..." Feeling a twinge of pain the moment she witnessed sadness in Hestia''s gaze, Athena averted her eyes and muttered a frustrated, "Dammit...if I had known I was going to feel like this, I would havee to you ''after'' the banquet..." Taking advantage of the fact Athena had turned away from her, Hestia wrapped her arms around the taller Goddess''s waist,pletely ignoring the armor between them as she whispered, "It''s going to be okay, Athena. Vahn isn''t our enemy, not really. If you can ovee this resentment, not only will you be a stronger person, there''s a good chance the Sage Dragon Emperor will be willing to treat Laius''s injuries. He doesn''t strike me as the type to hold a grudge. If you can exhibit a willingness to move forward and change, I believe he will readily assent to mending Laius''s broken mind and spirit..." Though she did not attempt to break free from Hestia''s embrace, the look on Athena''s face made it apparent she wasn''t convinced. Swallowing her pride for the mere possibility of helping her nephew was easier said than done. If Vahn refused her apology and spurned her appeal, the amount of shame and embarrassment she would feel couldn''t be quantified. Understanding how difficult it was for her fellow Goddesses to set aside their pride, a glum look marred Hestia''s face as she closed her eyes and held Athena a little more firmly. She couldn''t say it, but she knew Vahn''s arrival at Mt. Olympus wasn''t a good thing. If things progressed how she envisioned they would, there was a good chance she would be losing a few members of her family. As wed as they were, the thought of losing even a single member of her cherished kin was enough to break Hestia''s heart... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''I know he probably isn''t, but it kind of seems like Zeus ispensating for something...'',''Apollo is a bit of a simp...'',''Even the vilest and most despicable people can have friends and family who would genuinely mourn their loss...'') Chapter 2324: Entering the Halls of Mt. Olympus

Chapter 2324: Entering the Halls of Mt. Olympus

With Apollo leading the way and Hermes following close behind, Vahn was led into arge, open, lounge-like chamber carved from marble and ented with gold. Square pirs supported the interior structure while traditional, rounded columns lined the exterior patios. Noticing the peculiar sheen of the intricate golden patterns, a faint smile adorned Vahn''s face as he inquired, "Was this entire pce constructed by Hephaestus? There isn''t a single w to be observed and the number of enchantments borders on the excessive..." As they were just one room away from where the banquet was being held, Apollo''s smile cramped when he heard Vahn''s query. He would rather not keep his father waiting, but he also felt obligated to answer as Vahn was a very, very important guest. Seizing the initiative, Hermes made things easier for Apollo by casually revealing, "You hit the nail on the head. Before they fell out, Hephaestus constructed this ce in honor of our father''s status. Now, even though he-" "Brother...I do not believe our family''s personal affairs are an appropriate subject to delve into with guests..." Shrugging his shoulders, Hermes retorted, "Literally everyone in the Little Garden is aware of the quarrel between our father and half-brother. If you have an issue, take it up with Homer and the other Poets." Narrowing his eyes, Apollo looked like he was about to say something but was interrupted when a pair of massive marble doors opened up at the far end of the chamber. From within, a fiery-haired man that reminded Vahn a lot of Pantheon, one of the Gods he had encountered during his ventures in Rerra, emerged in an ostensibly battle-ready state. His remarkably muscr body was dyed red with dried blood, spiked pauldrons adorned his shoulders, and he wielded a bloody, three-pronged spear in his right hand. The rest of his attire resembled a far more brutal version of ancient Spartans, but the things that stood out the most were his featureless face and the fiery heart visibly pulsating within his muscr, severely scarred chest. A stark contrast to his exceptionally vicious appearance, the fiery-haired man exuded no hostility. His eyes were red hot, almost like liquid metal, but a peculiar sense of calm exuded from their depths as he passed his gaze over Apollo, Hermes, and ultimately Vahn. Feeling a faint yet incredibly sharp intent attempting to probe his mind, the corners of Vahn''s smile curled upward as he said, "I''m afraid those types of abilities don''t work on me." Without expressing any kind of shock or anger, the fiery-haired man, Ares, replied, "So it would seem..." before standing to the side and providing a better view of the interior. A room simr to the one they were in awaited them on the other side, popted by arge assembly of entities whose skin and clothing emitted various colors. Though he took in the entire room and its upants concurrently, Vahn focused on the rather sizeable duo seated at the far end of the chamber. They were nearly twice the size of everyone else present, and both were perched atop ornate, silvery-gold thrones. However, while the inordinately beautiful woman on the right stood out quite a bit, the golden-maned man seated next to her gave off the impression he was the center of the entire universe, not just the banquet. "Hmmm...?" Looking around himself, Vahn feigned surprise as he took in the endless sea of clouds and sky that surrounded him. A distant sound of lightning gave the impression that a storm was beginning to build, but he wasn''t even remotely intimidated as he shifted his gaze to the muscr man hovering in the air a few meters away from him, body shrouded in golden armor. As a ring of runic lightning formed behind his back, causing his golden hair and beard to jut out even further, the increasingly fierce-looking man boomed, "So, we finally meet, Vahn Aldrnari Mason. Even if it wasn''t your intention, you''ve given me many headaches these past few months..." Extending his right hand, a bluish-white lightning bolt formed within the man''s hand as he asked, "Tell me, how should we settle the grievances between us?" Without waiting for Vahn''s response, the man''s body shed, his form briefly resembling that of a javelin thrower before he threw forth the bolt of lightning within his hand. The surrounding space fractured like ss due to the force of the blow, but Vahn didn''t even bat an eye as the bolt struck him in the center of his chest, sky-blue lightning erupting from the point of impact and consuming his entire body. Looking down at the lightning bolt sticking out of his chest, the smile on Vahn''s face grew more prominent. Illusions that could affect reality were fairly rare, so while he didn''t appreciate people trying to use him, he was still a little impressed. Ignoring the figure making a speech and congealing another bolt of lightning, Vahn turned to his left and remarked, "You do realize that I intend to teach Zeus a lesson even without such tricks, right? I would advise you to stop fooling around before I take this personally." "You dare ignore the Mighty Zeus...!?" As if to punish Vahn for his disrespect, the golden-haired man, Zeus, appeared next to him with a veritable spear of lightning in hand. The energy within was enough to level a ten thousand times over, but Vahn just waved it away with a sweep of his right hand, eradicating both the spear and the false God wielding it. Then, before the illusion could copse, he reached out with his left hand, materializing the figure of an old, silvery-haired, azure-eyed man veiled in robes formed from silvery, star-like sand. Feeling his control over the surrounding area wrested away from him, the azure-eyed man raised his hands in a gesture of surrender, fumbling as he said, "P-Please have mercy...!" Rolling his eyes, Vahn released the elderly figure with a shove as he said, "You must be Morpheus, the God of Dreams. Tell me, did Hermes put you up to this, or are you acting at the behest of someone else?" Though he already knew the answer, Vahn wanted to see if the elderly God would try to hoodwink him. Fortunately, Morpheus seemed to have wisened up considerably in the past couple of seconds, slipping his hands into his sleeves and bowing as he replied, "This was an act I carried out at my discretion. The number of people who dream of a world without Zeus''s tyranny rivals the stars in the night sky. Zeus is scheming to force you into a difficult situation. I thought I might be able to-" Raising his hand in a silencing gesture, Vahn revealed, "I am well aware of what Zeus is plotting. Your concerns are unwarranted. Now, go. Return to your people and inform them to remain patient. No matter what Zeus tries, he will only be digging himself further into a hole." After having his domain wrested from him with such ease, Morpheus had no intention of questioning Vahn''s decision. He considered himself lucky to be alive, so the moment Vahn waved him off, he immediately vanished in a puff of smoke resembling a neb in the night sky. Sensing Morpheus''s presence disappear, Vahn exhaled a faint sigh before closing his eyes and shaking his head in mild exasperation. The next time he opened them, he was back in his original position, staring at the actual Zeus with a rxed smile. Though he waited for an exceptionally beautiful and androgynous boy to fill his goblet, Zeus rose to his feet alongside the pink-haired Goddess at his side, bellowing, "Mt. Olympus wees the Sage Dragon Emperor...!" in a booming voiceparable to a thunderp. Responding to Zeus''s outburst, the hundred or so Gods gathered for the banquet raised goblets of their own, shouting various greetings. Not all of them did so, but it was enough to generate a festive cacophony within the chamber. Vahn was easily one of the most famous people within the Little Garden as ofte, so many within Mt. Olympus were genuinely excited to meet and converse with him. Adopting a friendly smile, Vahn made his way into the chamber, politely greeting and exchanging nods with various Gods and Goddesses. There was actually an equal distribution of both, so, contrasting Apollo''s earlier allusions, Vahn didn''t have to worry about being surrounded by muscr, half-naked men for the duration of his visit. Reaching the ''well'' at the base of Zeus''s and Hera''s thrones, Vahn looked up at the unnecessarily tall couple and mused, "This is quite the wee you''ve prepared. I''m ''almost'' honored..." Narrowing his eyes, Zeus passed off his goblet to the androgynous youth that had filled it before expressing, "I understand that the Sage Dragon''s Hearth has had a number of...''disagreements'' with several Communities affiliated with Mt. Olympus. It is my hope that this banquet will serve as the first step toward mending our fractured rtionship. Further conflict will benefit neither of our Communities..." Following his words, Zeus shifted his gaze to a pair of servant-ss Gods waiting near a set of marbled doors. The moment he did so, the duo gave respectful bows before pulling open the doors to reveal a heroic-looking beauty garbed in what was colloquially known as an exomis, a white tunic that left the shoulders exposed. As the garment was typically associated with enved individuals, nearly everyone gathered for the banquet gasped or began to gossip excitedly. After all, it wasn''t every day they got to see a fellow God, much less one of the Twelve Olympians, dressed as a member of the lowest caste. Despite her attire,plete with manacles around her wrists and ankles, the golden-haired woman made her way into the hall without lowering her head orpromising her posture. She exuded dignity from every pore of her being, even as she stopped a few meters away from Vahn, narrowed her eyes, and asked, "Is this what you desire...?" Before Vahn could reply, Zeus''s tone became firm and authoritative as he said, "Show some respect to our guest, Athena. Though you may not have taken direct action, you cannot deny your culpability in the events leading to the current tensions between Mt. Olympus and the Aldrnari Empire..." Shifting his gaze to Vahn, Zeus''s tone softened ever so slightly as he added, "Aspensation for her slights against you, Athena will attend you for the duration of your stay in Mt. Olympus. You are free to refuse, of course, but I will interpret that as you epting that the matter between our Communities has been resolved." As if the matter was already decided, Zeus raised his gaze to the rest of the hall, bellowing, "And now, we feast! To the Sage Dragon Emperor! To the glory of Mt. Olympus...!" Though they couldn''t believe Zeus had effectively ''sacrificed'' one of the Olympians, nearly every God within the hall responded with a loud cheer. They doubted the matter was settledpletely, but there was a reason ancient Greece and Rome were known for their debauchery and splendor. The Gods never passed on an opportunity to feast, drink, and fornicate to their hearts'' content. As everyone began to get in the mood for a party, Zeus made a circle with his left index finger, creating a soundproof barrier around the area before plopping onto his throne and making eye contact with Vahn. He still gave off an intense aura, but his voice was much quieter as he said, "I know you are probably very busy, but I encourage you to enjoy yourself these next twenty-four hours. Once the festivities have died down, we will talk again." Shifting his attention to Athena, sparks began to exude from the depths of Zeus''s eyes as he added, "I will entrust the Sage Dragon Emperor to you. If you have any sense at all, you will not damage the rtionship between our Communities further..." Though her seething expression made it clear she wasn''t even remotely satisfied with Zeus''s decision, Athena replied, "I understand..." in a cold, icy tone. She then directed that same gaze toward Vahn, a hint of conflict within her bluish-purple eyes as she growled, "This is the least I can do to make amends..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Poets OP...'',''Morpheus should rename himself to Prometheus...'',''What kind of cake is this...?'') Chapter 2325: Repercussions

Chapter 2325: Repercussions

"Are you just about done?" asked Vahn. "Even you must have a limit to your arrogance." As he had been expecting a rebuttal of some sort, Zeus did his best not tosh out in response to Vahn''s remarks. Instead, he paused for a moment, the cores of his azure blue eyes crackling with lightning. After collecting himself, Zeus questioned, "What part of my proposal do you find disagreeable? The number of individuals that desire to be waited upon by Athena rivals the total number of men in the Little Garden. Of course-" Though he was nowhere near the limit of his patience, Vahn interrupted Zeus''s rant, asking, "Would you just shut up already? I didn''te here to hear you ther on and stroke your ego. Do you sincerely believe you have the leeway to talk down to and try to make decisions for me? Rather than shameless, you''re outright delusional." Resisting the urge to rise up and unleash his divine fury upon Vahn, Zeus balled his hands into fists and adopted a vicious grin. Vahn''s reaction was ''confirmation'' of his suspicions, so he firmly stated, "Then leave the South and never return. I extended you an olive branch, and you refused. If you continue to support our enemies and intervene in our affairs, I will ensure you experience regret beyond fathom." Shaking his head, Vahn had to resist the urge to roll his eyes as he tly stated, "No, you won''t. Your little n may have worked against virtually anyone else, but there isn''t an action that you can take to circumvent my awareness. The moment you try, you''re as good as dead." Hearing Vahn threaten him, lightning surged from Zeus''s body, shattering the throne beneath him. He didn''t attack, but his fury was approaching its limits as he growled, "Bold words, boy. However, unless you intend to take on the mantle of Demon Lord, there isn''t a damn thing you can do against me. I will never agree to a Gift Game where you''re a yer, so all you can do is watch as I take out my fury on those the Empire purports to protect. Let''s see-" Before Zeus could finish speaking, everyone in the chamber was stunned to see a peculiar, ashen grey spear sticking out of his chest. The moment it pierced him, his voice spontaneously cut off, his previously luminous body gaining the same hue as the spear as Vahn asked, "Whatpelled you to believe I feared the title of Demon Lord...?" Unable to perceive that a question had been asked, much less respond to it, Zeus just continued to stare at Vahn, his expression perpetually fixed in mid-bellow. The spear was the result of Vahn''s insight into the Law of Stagnation, so while it appeared Zeus had been frozen in time, the truth was far more terrifying. He had effectively endured an eternity in a single moment, the energy within his body seeping into the Void as even his Ego crumbled to nothingness. Absorbing the spear back into himself, Vahn looked around at the various Gods gathered within the hall, each frozen like a deer in headlight as the body of Zeus crumbled to dust behind him. Hera was the first to try and retaliate, but the moment she rose from her throne, a pressure akin to the gravitational force of a neutron star caused her to stumble face-first into the ground, unable to rise. Though he felt a little guilty seeing Hera facent into the ground, Vahn knew she was nearly asplicit as Zeus in his crimes. She was the one who had talked Zeus into avoiding a direct confrontation, one of the most foolish suggestions she could have possibly made. After all, had Zeus just targeted him, Vahn would have readily epted his challenge. Attempting to target everyone but him was a mistake beyondpare. Shifting his gaze to Athena, Vahn was about to make it transparently clear what his desires were when a sound akin to a bullhorn echoed throughout the Little Garden. Ebony ck scrolls unfurled next to the Leader of every Community, but, unlike a ''traditional'' Demon Lord''s Geass Roll, the letters embossed upon its surface glistened with a prominent golden hue. ---------------------------------- [Win Condition] 1: Follow the Rules. [Hidden Conditions] 1: ???? 2: ???? 3: ???? [Rules] 1: Everyone in the Little Garden is a Participant. 2: Vahn Aldrnari Mason is the Demon Lord of Abundance and Stagnation. 3: The Game ends when the Demon Lord of Abundance and Stagnation has fulfilled his objective or been defeated. [Restrictions] 1: Targetting anyone affiliated with the Aldrnari Empire outside of the Demon Lord of Abundance and Stagnation. 2: Expatriation from the Little Garden. 3: Establishment of a new Little Garden. [Rewards] 1: ???? [Penalty] 1: ???? [Time Limit] None ---------------------------------- Finished reading the scroll, Vahn couldn''t help smiling as he mused, "Demon Lord of Abundance and Stagnation? I suppose that''s better than the Demon Lord of Petting and Punishment..." Shifting his attention to Athena, Vahn''s smile curled up at the edges as he asked, "What do you think?" As the Leader of a Community, one of many affiliated with Mt. Olympus, Athena had received a ck scroll alongside nearly everyone else in the banquet hall. The moment she read its contents, a cold chill permeated her entire body. Not because Vahn had been dered a Demon Lord but because the Central Network had deemed it appropriate to pit everyone in the Little Garden against him. While that meant they were free to take action against him, it also implied that Vahn had the impunity to act freely within the territory of other Communities... Seeing Athena''s expression pale, Vahn rolled his eyes and said, "Rx. If I were the type to go around killing arbitrarily, there would be a lot fewer evil entities within the Little Garden. Zeus brought this upon himself, so-" Interrupting Vahn''s words, Apollo shouted, "Murderer...!" as he impacted the former within a sphere resembling the Sun. Apollo understood that his father was far from perfect, but Zeus was still his father. If he didn''t try to avenge him, his spirit would never rest in peace. Stopping Apollo''s charge with his bare hand, a frown marred Vahn''s face as the flesh of his palm sizzled and dissolved away. Apollo''s outrage was entirely justified. Thus, while Vahn would ordinarily be immune to even the most extreme temperatures, the enraged Sun God''s attacks were, at least for the time being, effective against him. To counter Apollo''s attack, Vahn channeled his self-created Sun Authority while sprouting golden scales from his hand and arm. The sun-like sphere surrounding Apollo''s body then vanished, absorbed by Vahn as he calmly asserted, "During my battle with Amaterasu, I dered to the entire Little Garden that those who willfully endanger children or attempt to leverage the lives of the innocent against their opponents have absolutely no right to clemency. Your father believed he could ''punish'' me by targetting those very groups. This is the natural consequence of his actions." Punctuating his words, Vahn nted Apollo into the ground with enough force to shake the very foundations of Mt. Olympus. However, due to his extreme respect for those bearing the name and title of Hephaestus, the actual structure remained undamaged. Instead, it was Apollo''s face that gave way, his nose shattering into countless pieces as silvery-gold blood spurted from his ears. Exhaling a sigh, Vahn suppressed his feelings of guilt as he looked to the rest of the hall and asked, "Anyone else?" As Zeus and Apollo were among the most powerful Gods affiliated with Mt. Olympus, every God gazed upon by Vahn immediately averted their eyes. Poseidon and Hades might have stood up to him, but they tended to avoid social gatherings that included Zeus. As for Ares, the version Vahn encountered previously was just a projection created by Morpheus, so the only Gods present that could oppose him were Hera, Athena, and Hermes. Artemis might have been tempted to try, but she had elected to return to her tower, annoyed by Vahn and Hermes leaving her behind. With Hera currently pinned to the ground, Vahn briefly exchanged nces with Hermes before directing his attention to Athena, asking, "You asked if this is what I desire? The simple answer is no. While I do tolerate it, there are few beings in all of Creation that abhor very and servitude as much as I do. You also said this was the least you could do to make amends? I wholeheartedly beg to differ. The least you could do is acknowledge you made a mistake and try to learn from it. Stop shifting the me to others and ept responsibility for your actions. Beyond that, I have absolutely no other expectations of you." To demonstrate his point, Vahn promptly turned away from Athena and began to make his way out of the hall. He could have simply teleported away or ceased to exist, but he wanted to give the Gods present a chance to argue or attack him. Just as Vahn reached the halfway point between Zeus''s destroyed throne and the exit, a heroic-looking Goddess with braided brown hair and azure blue eyes suddenly manifested a war banner and shouted, "The sanctity of Mt. Olympus has been befouled! We cannot permit this Demon to do as he pleases! Brothers! Sisters! Let us fell this fiend for all those who inhabit the Little Garden...!" Though they would ordinarily want nothing to do with someone like Vahn, the various Gods and Goddesses present began to exude a divine light in response to their dark-haired counterpart''s cry. Her identity was Alke, the personification of battle-strength, prowess, and courage, so her battelcry was enough topel even the most cowardly Gods present to action. Joining in with their sister was the fiery-haired Eris, the purple-haired Phobos, and the crimson-haired Ioke. They were members of Zeus''s Elite Guard, the Aegis, so it was their duty to protect him and fell his enemies. Zeus''s death had actually left them feeling more relief than fury, but, as Goddesses of the Greek Pantheon, their pride didn''t allow them to simply let the matter lie. As the four Goddesses led the charge, the other deities present began to manifest their battle raiments. Those closest to Alke immediately joined in the fray, but not even those on the periphery were spared as Vahn''s body became a blur, appearing next to each of them with a resolute expression on his face... ... .. . Reading the Geass Roll that had unfurled next to her, Shiroyasha took a long drag from her pipe before exhaling a thin stream of smoke. She knew it was only a matter of time before Vahn was burdened with the title of a Demon Lord, but she never expected him to be elevated to the status of a Last Embryo at the same time... *tok* *tok* *tok* Directing her cat-like eyes to the sliding door on the opposite side of the room, Shiroyasha deadpanned as she inquired, "Since when were you the type to knock...?" Instead of the person Shiroyasha was ''expecting,'' the door slid open to reveal a beautiful, heroic-looking woman with long purple hair, teal eyes, and an attire matching that of a butler. At that exact moment, she felt a stirring beneath her clothes as a soft pair of hands cupped her breasts, followed by a sensual voice whispering into her ear. "You''ve been naughty, Shiro-chan..." Furrowing her brows, Shiroyasha exhaled two plumes of smoke from her nose before grumbling, "You''re trying my patience, Queen. Now is neither the time nor the ce for your foolishness..." Undaunted by Shiroyasha''s words, Queen Halloween fully manifested behind her, an alluring smile on her face as she continued to grope her former rival. "You should have informed me that the Sage Dragon Emperor was about to take action. While I have long abdicated my position, the South is still my domain. If your little pet were going to go around killing Chief Gods, a heads up would have been nice..." Frowning even further, Shiroyasha was about to retort when she, Queen Halloween, and Scathach all sensed a distortion in the surrounding space. Then, as if he had been listening in on them, Vahn manifested out of thin air, a narrow-eyed smile on his face as he stared into Queen Halloween''s eyes and remarked, "I believe she told you to stop..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Oh, how the turn-tables...'',''The Advent of Chad Mason...'',''Queen Halloween be like, "Haha, I''m in danger."'') Chapter 2326: Complications

Chapter 2326: Complications

Without removing her hands from Shiroyasha''s breasts, Queen Halloween asked, "Ara? Why so hostile? We''re all friends here, right~?" Instead of answering Queen''s words, Vahn looked to Shiroyasha to see what she had to say on the matter. In response, she just exhaled a tired sigh, exining, "Technically speaking, she has the right to touch and caress me, so long as it''s in private. I''d rather not get into the specifics..." Amused by Shiroyasha''s response, Queen gave her a firm hug and mused, "Is there any reason to keep it a secret? With his power, the Sage Dragon Emperor can surely uncover the truth, no~?" Shaking her head, Shiroyasha stared directly at Vahn as she said, "No, he isn''t the type to probe into a woman''s past. Not without a good reason, at least..." "Hmmm..." Moving her hands from Shiroyasha''s breasts to her belly, Queen directed her heterochromatic green and blue eyes at Vahn, remarking, "That would exin his actions since arriving in the Little Garden. It doesn''t, however, exin your reasons for summoning him. The n Canaria drafted wasn''t without ws, but it''s the closest thing we had to a guaranteed resolution. cing your trust in someone else after everything we''ve sacrificed...just what were you thinking?" Shrugging her shoulders, Shiroyasha replied, "There''s no such thing as a guaranteed resolution. As for what I was thinking? Well, I saw the power Vahn possessed and determined he would be able to achieveparable results without the need for so many sacrifices. Looking at the conditions specified by the Central Network in his Last Embryo setting, it''s apparent I''m not the only one that came to that conclusion." Understanding who Shiroyasha was alluding to, Queen softly muttered, "Lace..." before blinking back to awareness, meeting Vahn''s gaze, and asking, "How long do you intend to continue standing there? Please, take a seat." "..." Though he was tempted to retort, Vahn ultimately sat across from Queen and Shiroyasha after exchanging nces with Scathach. She smiled back at him, but he could tell she was prepared to leap into action the moment things escted. Not that it would make much of a difference... After taking his seat, Vahn attempted to justify Shiroyasha''s actions, stating, "Even if Shiroyasha hadn''t summoned me, I would have found my way into the Little Garden. Seizing the initiative to invite me was probably the best decision she could have made." Instead of refuting Vahn''s words, Queen replied, "I agree. Had you been allowed to act and roam freely, I imagine many more Communities would have fallen before you reached this point." Squeezing Shiroyasha''s body, Queen''s eyes glistened with a mischievous light as she appended, "What bothers me is that I wasn''t consulted on the matter. Though I can''t imagine my chagrin in anywhere near as developed as Indra''s, having someone I treasure taken away from me is more than a little...shall we say, vexing?" In an effort to prevent misunderstandings, Shiroyasha followed Queen''s words by dering, "This she-devil has always had an obsession with the Sun. Back when I first entered the Little Garden, she used to stal-" Narrowing her eyes, Queen brought her lips to Shiroyasha''s pointed ear and whispered, "Now, now, Shiroyasha. We''re not here to talk about the past, are we? If so, I have quite a few stories to share..." After an involuntary shudder, Shiroyasha promptly decided to change topics, asking, "So, what now? I know it''s only been a few hours since ourst discussion, but I imagine things have changed rather drastically since your designation as a Last Embryo." Shaking his head, Vahn answered, "Not really. If anything, this just makes things more clear-cut. Previously, I had to put on airs and worry about the people around me being targeted. Now, until I''m dealt with, my would-be enemies have no choice but to focus their efforts on me." Inserting herself into the conversation, Queen remarked, "That''s one of the things that surprised me. While it ismon for the Central Network to pit the entire Little Garden against a Last Embryo, this is the first time Lace has shown such...favoritism. If I didn''t know better, I would say she is conspiring with you to ensure everyone bes an affiliate of the Aldrnari Empire. I can easily imagine weaker Communities flocking to join you en masse, either for protection or to avoid the conflict entirely." Piggybacking off Queen''s words, Shiroyasha asked, "Speaking of which, you should probably prepare a battlefield of some sort. The Restrictions state that those affiliated with you can''t be targeted, but there is such a thing as coteral damage. So long as they can confirm you''re inside, an assant could, theoretically, drop a bomb on the Sage Dragon''s Hearth without viting the restrictions." Furrowing his brows, Vahn noted, "That''s a pretty massive loophole..." Shrugging her shoulders, Shiroyasha replied, "Well, you have just been designated as a Last Embryo. From the perspective of those who don''t know you well, you are a threat to all of Creation. With stakes like that, a lot of people are going to be aiming for your head." Nodding her head in approval, Queen added, "There is another matter you must consider. The Restrictions make no mention of infighting. You''ll need to be cautious of people infiltrating the Communities that wish to join the Empire. A number of Demon Lords possess Gifts that let them inhabit the hearts and minds of others. Many others can circumvent the Restrictions of the Game by instigating their own. That is one of the principal benefits of bing a Demon Lord." Realizing things weren''t nearly as clear cut as he initially believed, Vahn slumped his shoulders and exhaled a sigh. Shiroyash and Queen hadn''t really gone into it, but he also realized that his enemies could target him ''indirectly'' by attacking Communities that had yet to join the Empire. He could easily deal with those responsible, but there was little he could do about the victims that would pile up out of spite... Unable to contain herself, an amused smile blossomed across Queen''s face as she mused, "My, did Shiro-chan really ce her faith in such a wretched man~? You''re the Sage Dragon Emperor, a being that garners fear and respect from even the greatest Gods. This oue is the direct consequence of your actions. Don''t expect us to console you when you''re the one that set himself upon this path." Raising his brows, Vahn gave Queen a somewhat incredulous look as he remarked, "I know you''re a sadist, but give me a break...I never asked for any of this. I''m just doing what I can to reunite with my family..." Adopting a slightly grim expression, Queen looked down at Shiroyasha and asked, "What''s going on here? Has the Sage Dragon Emperor always been such a...despicable lot?" Though she felt a little sorry for Vahn, Shiroyasha adopted a wry smile as she replied, "I know what you mean. Even I don''t fully understand the reason behind his sentiments at times. Still, that''s not necessarily a bad thing. It''s proof that, despite all his power, he''s still ''human'' at the core of his being." "Ah..." Redirecting her gaze to Vahn, Queen did her best to view him through the lens of ''humanity.'' In that regard, Vahn was actually rathermendable, as, more often than not, humans with power readily exploited it. Vahn was guilty of much the same, but he was at least aware of his position and the consequences of his actions. Regaining her smile, Queen mused, "Now I understand. You''re aiming for the top, not to rule, but to ''escape'' the rule of others. You desire freedom but possess sufficient empathy to afford others the same right. In other words, letting you conquer the Little Garden is the same as freeing it from the control of machine-like beings who only care about Creation itself, not the form in which it takes. How utterly irresponsible~." Imagining the conflict that would arise when Vahn invariably abdicated his position and abolished the current system, Queen Halloween couldn''t help feeling excited. She absolutely abhorred war and ughter, but the change such conflicts brought about was necessary for the development and survival of humanity. In other words, Vahn wasn''t a true Last Embryo. If anything, his existence would allow them to transition into a new Order without needing to bring a finite end to the present reality... pping her hands together, much to Shiroyasha''s chagrin as they were right in front of her face, Queen added, "Very well, then~! I''m still a little annoyed that you derailed so many of my ns, but I ept Shiroyasha''s decision to entrust the fate of the Little Garden to you. Feel free to make a mess of things. Ufufufufufufu~." Before Vahn could respond, Shiroyasha interrupted, asking, "And what are you going to do? As someone possessing numerous Sun Authorities, your ''assistance'' is necessary to achieve Vahn''s goal." "Hmmmm~?" Tilting her head to the side, Queen stared at Vahn with a mischievous smile on her face, almost as if she were daring him to affirm Shiroyasha''s words. When he didn''t do so immediately, she questioned, "Is that really the case? So long as I don''t conspire with others to rob you of your Sun Authorities, I doubt anyone will be able to stop him before he reaches the Gatekeeper. If he can''t ovee that particr nuisance, I don''t see any reason to join forces and risk jeopardizing my ''integrity'' as a woman. Make no mistake; I am ''very'' interested in the man who managed to conquer my Shiroyasha. However, it''s not to the extent I''m willing to subject myself to his whims and desires." As someone with a strict preference for women, Queen would never admit it, but she was actually afraid of Vahn. When Shiroyasha initially appeared in the Little Garden, she invested considerable time, effort, and resources into ensuring they had simr preferences. Queen couldn''t have imagined Shiroyasha with a man before Vahn''s arrival, so being in the same room as he made her more than a little nervous. Without missing a beat, Vahn responded, "That''s fine by me. It''s not like I go out of my way to ''collect'' women. I also don''t really need your help, so I suppose this is the end of our discussion? You three have fun..." Rising to his feet, Vahn was prepared to leave but found his path blocked by Scathach. She knew she had no hope of stopping him if push came to shove, but that didn''t prevent her from adopting a professional smile as she ced her hand over her heart and said, "Please remain seated until my Mistress has finished speaking." Raising his brows, Vahn was tempted to ask Scathach who she thought she, or, more specifically, her Mistress, was but promptly decided against it. He knew she wasn''t intentionally trying to offend him, so he returned a smile and replied, "That depends." before turning around and asking, "Was there anything else...?" Though she was a little annoyed by Vahn''s sudden effort to leave, Queen maintained a calm andposed demeanor as she replied, "I would have liked to continue conversing for a while longer. However, if you have other ces you need to be, I''ll not keep you." Understanding exactly why Vahn was in a hurry, Shiroyasha added, "Stop by once things have calmed down. As Floor Master, people will expect me to address the matter of your designation as a Last Embryo. We''ll discuss the specifics when you return." Nodding his head, Vahn offered a curt "Thanks." before turning around to face Scathach. Then, as a rather sizeable crowd had begun to gather near his pce, he adopted a squinty-eyed smile and disappeared into thin air. ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''That privilege...'',''Few things are rarely as simple as they first appear...'',''Queen is afraid that her 10,000+ years of lesbianism is at risk xD...'','' Chapter 2327: Public Relations

Chapter 2327: Public Rtions

Though none of them intended to be the first to strike, thebat forces of several Communities had gathered outside the Gate containing Vahn''s pce. No one yet knew the reason Vahn had been designated as a Last Embryo, so the Little Garden was abuzz with equal parts excitement and nervousness as everyone awaited an official statement/announcement. As the journalists mostmonly associated with the Aldrnari Empire, Katana and her sister, Dagger, took it upon themselves to prepare a stage and coordinate with other news/broadcast Communities. The pressure on them was monumental, but the duo could hardly contain their excitement as they rushed to get ready while their crews set everything up. Much to the chagrin of the team helping with her makeup, Katana kept fiddling around with a tablet-like device as she asked, "Have we received any word from Shiroyasha-sama? As Floor Master of the East, she needs to issue an address of some sort." Sitting much stiller than her sister, Dagger calmly replied, "Everyone we sent to make contact was turned away by Nadeshiko-san. This is pure spection, but there''s a good chance she''s meeting with Vahn-sama as we speak." Clicking her tongue, Katana muttered, "Lucky..." while swiping through messages on her tablet. Ever since the promotional Gift Game that saw the creation of the Aldrnari Empire, her fame and influence had soared beyondpare. She was also a member of Thousand Eyes, so she now had contacts throughout the Little Garden. Someone had to know the circumstances surrounding Vahn being designated as a Last Embryo, so she was determined to uncover the ''truth'' and break the story as soon as possible. Unfortunately, while there were numerous reports of incidents happening in the South, there was nothing concrete for Katana to report. There was a considerable amount of information rted to Vahn''s actions in the Nine Realms and Underwood, but the odds of that having anything to do with the present situation were slim. Feeling increasingly anxious, Katana attempted to send another private message to one of her contacts in the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, Seraphina. She had identified the bubbly Subus as an easy mark after witnessing thetter''s performance during the promotional Gift Game, and she had been correct. All it took was a fewplimentary words, and the two had been ''good friends'' ever since. Under normal circumstances, Seraphina would have happily shared a few tidbits of information with Katana. However, as Vahn had yet to gather all of them together and exin the situation, she was presently ignoring all of Katana''s messages. She didn''t mind gossiping, but there was no way in hell she would betray Vahn by specting about things she had yet to be apprised of. Seeing a little green check mark pop up to indicate that her message had been read, Katana waited for several seconds before grinding her teeth in frustration. She hated being ghosted, but she risked losing Seraphina as a contact if sheshed out at her. Just as Katana was seriously considering smashing her tablet against the shelf beneath her vanity mirror, several gasps alerted her to the fact that Vahn had appeared out of thin air. When she saw his reflection, her eyes practically lit up as she spun around and eximed, "Your Majesty! We''ve been waiting for your arrival...!" Shooing away her makeup team, Katana habitually pulled out a recorder, holding it up to Vahn as she asked, "I know this is a bit early, but care to make a statement about the circumstances leading up to your designation as a Last Embryo? The entire Little Garden wants to know." Returning a casual smile, Vahn answered, "It''s good to see you as well, Ms. Katana, Ms. Dagger. I understand things have been going well for you these past couple of months...?" Clicking off the recorder, or at least pretending to, Katana adopted a narrow-eyed smile, her voice gaining a husky quality as she replied, "No small thanks to Your Majesty''s rmendation. I couldn''t have dreamed of reaching this point a year ago. I wonder if there''s anything me and my sister can do to thank you~?" Having shared a bed with the two sisters in the past, Vahn would be lying if he said he wasn''t tempted by Katana''s offer. Unfortunately, he had more pressing matters to attend to, chief among them being the crowd outside and the tens of trillions waiting to hear his version of events. Shifting his gaze between the two sisters, Vahn replied, "Some other time, perhaps. For now, I''vee to issue a statement. How soon can you and your team be ready?" Though he could easily issue a statement on his own, Vahn had promised Katana and Dagger exclusive rights to any breaking stories rted to the Aldrnari Empire. He was effectively grooming them into Poets to serve the Empire''s interests, but they happily obliged as it was nearly impossible to attain aparable status on their own. Without missing a beat, Katana crossed her arms and confidently replied, "Don''t look down on my team and me. We''re prepared to broadcast the moment you''re ready. Heck, we even have a test audience and studio on standby if you want to rehearse your speech and broadcast a recording." Piggybacking off of her sister''s words, Dagger added, "Due to the rules and restrictions listed in the Geass Roll, we factored in the possibility of a riot breaking out if you were to issue a statement in public. Our ratings would skyrocket if an incident were to ur, but the decision is yours to make." "Hmmm..." Shifting his intent to the crowd outside, Vahn looked for any indications that someone might actually attack. The central forces of several 4-Digit Communities were present, but his performance during the promotional Gift Game should cow most of them. In other words, unless someone like Indra were to show up to lead the charge, they were just there to see how things yed out. Earning smiles from the two sisters, Vahn mused, "So many people have gathered to hear what I have to say. It would be rude of me not to make an appearance." Pumping her fist, Katana eximed, "Now that''s what I''m talking about!" before storming out the dressing room and shouting, "Everyone, get your asses in gear! We''re about to go-" Before Katana could finish ordering her people into their ces, the sky overhead darkened as a beam of light more radiant than the Sun struck the building they had erected to prepare for the shoot. A peculiar silence followed the moment of impact before a sphere of destruction enveloped several kilometers in the surroundings, annihting virtually everything it came into contact with. Though the Thousand Eyes Community had seized the initiative to set up the primary broadcast, dozens of other broadcasting Communities were present to specte and report on the event. News rted to the Aldrnari Empire was a hot topic in the Little Garden, so more than seven hundred billion people had already tuned in, patiently awaiting Vahn''s appearance and address. Instead, people throughout the Little Garden were horrified to see the destructive sphere envelope, not just the building Vahn was in but several others unrted to the Aldrnari Empire. Acting quickly, the Leaders of several 4-Digit Communities teleported around the expanding sphere of light, containing it before it could cause even more destruction. At the same time, Amaterasu herself appeared in the sky, high above the devastation. The explosion had been caused by a ''satellite'' hovering just below the barrier surrounding the Little Garden, so she took it upon herself to ensnare the construct before it could do more damage. Her first instinct was to eradicate it, but she figured Vahn might want to analyze it to uncover the parties responsible for the attack. After sealing the peculiar satellite within a hand mirror, Amaterasu was about to return to the ground and assist in suppressing the destructive sphere of light. The moment she looked down, however, an ''as expected'' smile developed across her face as she saw the sphere slowly retracting. Though Vahn would ordinarily be unable to affect the territories of other Communities without viting the Laws of the Little Garden, his status as a Last Embryo permitted him to ignore such restrictions. He was unable to prevent the attack, but he was able to expand his domain faster than the explosion could consume its surroundings. As a result, everyone watching the broadcast was privy to the scene of him ''rewinding time,'' restoring not just the buildings but the people inhabiting them. Afterpressing the energy from the st in the palm of his hand, Vahn turned to Katana and Dagger, an apologetic smile on his face as he asked, "Are the two of you okay...?" As Vahn had permitted them to keep their memories of the event, neither of the sisters immediately responded to his inquiry. They were still a little shaken by the sensation of having their bodies instantaneously vaporized. There had been no pain, but there was a brief moment of ''awareness'' that followed the obliteration of their bodies, almost like their spirits remained, unable to believe what had transpired. Absorbing the ball of energy into his body, Vahn repurposed it using his Godhand before unleashing it as an invisible force into his surroundings. A potent warmth immediately pervaded the bodies of everyone affected by the explosion, including the two sisters. It didn''t erase the impression that they had just been obliterated, but it helped them calm down enough for Katana to respond, "I''m...I mean, we''re okay..." Looking to Dagger for confirmation, Katana regained a bit of her vigor as the former returned an affirmative nod and said, "We should hurry up with the broadcast. The longer we dy things, the more time otherworks have to specte." Unwilling to let such a tremendous scoop fall into the hands of another, an illusory fire appeared in the depths of Katana''s eyes as she returned to what she was doing previously, shouting, "Double time, people! This is the scoop of the century! Move it, move it, move it...!" With Katana rushing out of the room, Dagger allowed her body to go limp, nearly falling to the ground. Instead, she fell directly into Vahn''s arms, thetter appearing next to her with a gentle smile on his face as he said, "It''s going to be okay. I''ll never let anything like what just urred happen again. I promise..." Feeling Vahn''s warmth fill her body, the lingering sense of dread in the back of Dagger''s mind promptly vanished. She might dress boldly and act cocky around others, but shecked the same confidence that permitted her sister to pursue a dream most people considered impossible. She was the type that just went with the flow, so the moment Katana departed the room, her facade naturally crumbled. Fortunately for Dagger, while Vahn was undoubtedly pressed for time, he could spare a few minutes to help her recover. At the same time, another version of himself appeared outside the hideout of the group responsible for the satellite. They believed they could sow discord by hacking into one of the White Raven Community''s satellites and using it to attack him, so he intended to teach them a hard lesson before leaving their fates in the hands of the Communities caught in the crossfire. Sensing Vahn''s aura, the face of one of the people hiding underground contorted into one of disgust. They had warned theirpanions about angering Vahn at this crucial juncture, but their advice had been ignored. Now, even though they had only recently escaped from Vahn''s clutches, they, once again, found themselves beneath the luminous golden gaze of the Sage Dragon Emperor... "Fucking Hel..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Never hurts to have a good PR Team...'',''Amaterasu lookin'' for headpats...'',''You dun goofed...'') Chapter 2328: Ultimatum

Chapter 2328: Ultimatum

After briefly considering his approach, Vahn brought his hands together before spreading them as if opening a book. As he did so, the ground unfolded away from itself in a non-destructive manner, almost like the pages of a pop-up book. Interrupting Vahn''s actions, at least for a short moment, a massive wolfprised of darkness and mes lurched toward him, its maw opening to reveal a magmous interior framed by glowing, white-hot teeth. Though it started off around the size of arge dog, the wolf was nearly the size of a small mountain by the time it reached Vahn. Several spears, swords, and other piercing weapons adorned its back like the quills of a porcupine, and, due to the intense heat contained within its body, most of its fiery, fur-covered frame appeared translucent. Recognizing the beast as the legendary Garm, guardian of Hel, Vahn took a moment to admire it before raising his right hand, smiling as he made a grasping motion. Just as Garm was close enough to snap its maw around Vahn''s frame, an invisible source surged into its body. 0.02 secondster, its colossal frame had been reduced to the size of a wolf pup. Catching the startled and confused pup out of the air, Vahn cradled it in his left arm like an infant, gently scratching its chin as he said, "Behave. I''ll return you to your original form once I''ve disciplined your master." Though it was tempted to bite Vahn''s finger, Garm immediately became docile. It was widely regarded as one of the most prideful and malicious creatures in the Nine Realms, but it was intelligent enough to know things wouldn''t end well if it attempted to oppose someone that could restrict its power with a casual wave of their hand. Seeing Garm rotate their head to the side in an obvious attempt to appear cute, a soft chuckle emanated from Vahn''s throat. He was half-tempted to tease the fiery-breasted beast further but promptly decided against it as a dreadful aura emanated from the depths of the parted ground, followed by the appearance of a rather frightening woman surrounded by several demonic-looking individuals and a veritable horde of hellish beasts. With half her body resembling a breathtakingly beautiful woman and the other half a rune-covered skeleton, Hel, the Norse Goddess of Death, was a scary sight for anyone unustomed to the macabre. Odin had cursed her after a failed attempt to conquer Midgard and the Nine Realms, so her outer appearance, once considered the most beautiful in the Nine Realms, perennially reflected her innermost qualities. ring at Vahn with her singr, pitch-ck eye, Hel practically growled, "Vahn Aldrnari Mason...why have you invaded my Helheim? I do not recall extending you an invitation." Adopting an impassive gaze, Vahn replied, "I am capable of knowing your most private, innermost thoughts. Don''t think you can talk your way out of this, Hel. I promised consequences to anyone who wantonly targeted the innocent, and I''m here to make good on my word." Narrowing her eye, Hel retorted, "Am I supposed to be intimidated? I have suffered all forms of punishment ten-thousand times over and have been cursed to watch over this Realm of death and corrosion for eternity. Even if you were to tear me apart and erase my existence, you would simply be freeing me from my suffering, dooming another to take my ce." Halfway through her retort, Hel manifested an eerie ck ymore that exuded an abyssal ck, highly corrosive ooze. She might be a prisoner within her own Realm, but that didn''t detract from her status as a Principal Goddess of Death. Even Odin dared not face her directly. Though he was half-tempted to remove Hel''s curse, allowing her a moment of reprieve before her death, Vahn concluded that would be a little too extreme. Instead, he shifted his gaze to the androgynous figure hovering in the air next to Hel, earning a disgusted look from the ghostly-haired individual as he asked, "How do you suppose I should handle this, Loki...?" "Ugh...seriously, man? You know I was against this from the start. Why''d you have to draw attention to me? Couldn''t you have just let me slip away without saying anything...?" "You despic-" Angered by Loki''s words, Hel brandished her eerie ck ymore with the clear intention of cutting her father/brother/sister down. Loki was the type of entity that never stayed dead for long, so Hel felt no qualms about killing them whenever she was angry or upset. Shifting their attention to Hel''s de, Loki showed no signs of fear or panic as they raised their hand to grasp the edge directly. The flesh of their palm sizzled as their hand and forearm visibly decayed, but they showed no indications of difort as they exhaled a weary sigh and muttered, "How troublesome..." As it was rare for Loki to offer any meaningful resistance, a surprised look marred the faces of Hel and her subordinates. Ever since their initial death at the hands of Heimdall, Loki had made minimal effort in their day-to-day life. They still plotted and schemed, but, understanding the ''system'' was rigged against them, they rarely exerted themselves. Taking advantage of Hel''s stupefaction, Loki returned their gaze to Vahn and replied, "Killing us has no meaning. Unless you canpletely erase our legend, wiping all iterations of us from existence, other versions of us would inevitably pop up. If you want my advice, you should defeat us in a Gift Game, broadcasting it to the entire Little Garden as a deterrent." Though she recovered her senses long before Loki was finished speaking, Hel waited until the very end before hissing, "You despicable piece of shit! How dare you try to curry favor with the enemy...!" Rolling their eyes, Loki dryly retorted, "I know your brain is half-rotted, but even aplete durd would understand the futility of scheming against a guy capable of taming those three tree-hugging giantesses. So long as we''re affiliated with the Nine Realms, he knows everything about our past, present, and future. Believing we could trick him into attacking the Nine Realms was beyond stupid." Sidestepping Hel''s attempt to cut them in half, Loki adopted one of their characteristic expressions of disgust before dissolving away, reappearing next to Vahn. They knew attempting to teleport away was pointless since Vahn could pull them across Realms, so Loki determined that the ''safest'' ce was at his side. With Loi-chan revealing that Loki had absolutely no intention of trying to backstab him, Vahn just gave the ghostly-haired Jotun a sidelong nce before returning his attention to Hel and asking, "How about it? It doesn''t matter to me, so the question is whether or not you want to die fighting or if you want to die a dog''s death." Though it might seem contrary to publicize their defeat/death to the Little Garden, it was far more beneficial than dying in obscurity. Going out with a bang, even if you suffered a crushing defeat, left asting impression on the hearts and minds of others. This strengthened the Fragment of Origin possessed by many Gods and Goddesses, so, even if they were killed, they would eventually be revived or reced by a version of themselves withparable power and purpose. Gritting her teeth, Hel didn''t need to consider Vahn''s proposal for very long before answering, "The denizens of the Nine Realms are no cowards. We shall fight and die with glory...!" Hearing their leader/mother''s response, several of the demonic-looking individuals hovering around her showed reluctant expressions. They were willing to fight and die for their cause, but they failed to see how fighting Vahn benefitted their penultimate aim. If anything, it would set them back millennia... Sensing the reluctance from some of her children, Hel adopted a hateful glower as she turned to them and said, "If you wish to flee, then flee. Just know that if you do, each of my incarnations will seek vengeance against you without fail." Imagining being haunted by Hel''s vengeful spirit for all eternity, the looks of reluctance faded from her subordinate''s faces. Vahn was half-tempted to point out he couldpletely annul any curses she might inflict upon them, but, understanding they weren''t exactly innocent in Hel''s schemes, he allowed them to be cowed into the conflict. Releasing Garm from his grasp, allowing it to return to its original form, Vahn said, "We already have a venue set up outside the Aldrnari Empire''s primary Gate. I will exin the situation and give you until then to make a formal request for a Gift Game. If you fail to do so before then...well, let''s just say, even my patience has its limits." Finished with what he had to say, Vahn vanished into thin air alongside Loki. He didn''t teleport with them, but, understanding Hel would give them grief, Loki timed their departure alongside Vahn''s, making it appear as though they had been abducted. Their actions wouldn''t let them avoid the Gift Game, but they would at least be able to enjoy some peace and quiet before their inevitable death. Seeing Loki disappear, ck miasma began to exude from Hel''s body as she trembled with rage. If not for the precarious predicament they had found themselves in, she would have immediately recalled Loki to teach them a lesson. Instead, she bottled up her anger, turning to one of her subordinates and saying, "Inform Surtr. We will have our Ragnarok, one way or another..." ... .. . Contrasting the increasingly chaotic atmosphere outside, the interior of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth wasparably tranquil. Most of Vahn''s wives and lovers had returned to hear the exnation regarding his designation as a Last Embryo, but none were particrly concerned about it. After all, it was Vahn they were gathering to discuss. Even if he suddenly reced the Demon Dragon God as the ''Absolute Evil,'' they knew it was ultimately just a title thrust upon him by others. Demonstrating just how little they were concerned by the events taking ce outside, the atmosphere within the Sage Dragon''s Hearth was like an impromptu reunion. Some of the girls hadn''t seen each other for years due to time shenaniganry, so it was an excellent opportunity for them to catch up while Vahn discussed the specifics with the Council of Wives. Fortunately, while girls like Eva gave Vahn a rather severe chiding, even she couldn''t me him for taking out someone like Zeus. The main reason she and many others were upset was that the rules and restrictions of the Gift Game made it so that they couldn''t help him. They were ustomed to Vahn handling things independently, but it was frustrating to know they couldn''t help him in any overt manner. Though he understood the girls'' concerns, Vahn was secretly happy with the way things had turned out. Sure, there were a ton of easily exploitable loopholes within the rules established by the Central Network, but a bit of diligence was all it took to counteract them. He still needed to be careful when transitioning into the Inner Gates, but he already had thousands of countermeasures against everything from identity acquisition to existence erasure. As an extra precaution, Vahn convened with Da Vinci and Will to discuss additional measures while the impromptu reunion took ce. He might be supremely confident in his strength, but every single Master he had been blessed with had taught him the importance of never underestimating his foes. Three years of due diligence was a small price to pay for a veritable eternity of security, so Vahn didn''t mind putting his nose to the grindstone and focusing on his objectives... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''They''re good dogs, Brent...'',''Hel hath no fury like a woman scorned...'',''Vahn activated the Cheat Engine 64-bit...'') Chapter 2329: Demonstration

Chapter 2329: Demonstration

After the unexpected orbital attack, many of the people that had gathered to hear Vahn speak promptly cleared the area. There was still a sizeable crowd, but it wasprised of the more powerful members of various 4-Digit Communities, individuals who were confident in their ability to evade or outright counter the previous attack. As tensions far surpassed a palpable level, Vahn abruptly appeared at the podium that had been prepared for him, a rxed smile on his face as he said, "First and foremost, allow me to apologize for the previous incident. I had no hand in its implementation, but that doesn''t change the fact that several Communities were affected by the attack perpetrated against me. To that end, please send a representative from the affected Communities to the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. We will discuss any potential remunerations in private." Though he didn''t mind taking on the entire Little Garden, Vahn wanted to make it clear that his designation as a Last Embryo didn''t change how he or the Empire would interact with other Communities. A lot of people were going to try and vilify him in the days toe, so he intended to sabotage their efforts by being amenable to those who sought his aid, sympathetic to those who sought his mercy, and amodating to those who sought his protection. With his apology out of the way, Vahn delved into the subject everyone was most interested in, stating, "I understand everyone tuning into this broadcast is eager to know the reason for my ssification as the Demon Lord of Excess and Stagnation. Simply put, I was ''invited'' to Mt. Olympus for a chat with their Leader, Zeus. Rather than exining what happened, allow me to show you." Interfacing with the system that allowed Gift Games to be broadcast, something that should have been impossible under normal circumstances, Vahn allowed everyone in the Little Garden to witness precisely what had urred between him and Zeus. When they heard thetter offer Athena up on a silver tter, many were astonished, while others felt more than a little envious. Athena was renowned for her ''virtue,'' so she was among the most coveted beauties in the entire Little Garden. Contrasting the expectations of nearly everyone bearing witness to the yback, Vahn hardly acknowledged Zeus''s offer. Instead, he shut down the proposition before immediately attacking the moment Zeus attempted to threaten him with the lives of the innocent. While few were surprised to see Vahn take exception to Zeus''s words, the ease with which he defeated the infamous God and the method employed left them thoroughly spooked. Only the most ancient and knowledgeable denizens of the Little Garden truly understood what the ashen grey spear was, but the rest only needed to see the effects on Zeus to understand it wasn''t something they could oppose. Though he could have stopped the yback the instant he extinguished Zeus''s life, Vahn allowed it to continue further. He wanted people to hear him reiterate his point about targeting the lives of the innocent, and, as it had yet to be public knowledge, he also broadcasted the incredibly short,pletely one-sided battle between himself and the other forces of Olympus. Seeing Vahn casually countering thebined assault of more than a hundred Gods, many of which were legends in their own right, an eerie silence descended upon the Little Garden. Powerhouses like Poseidon, Hades, and Ares failed to make an appearance, but many assumed their presence wouldn''t have made much difference. After all, even Hera and Apollo were utterly helpless in the face of Vahn''s oppressive might. As the battle neared its end, culminating in the deaths of several Gods and Goddesses, Vahn left the already stunned crowd at aplete loss for words as he casually reversed the order of entropy, restoring all but Zeus to their original state. Then, like Sisyphus pushing his boulder up a hill, the futile fight began anew... Since there were a few things he wanted to keep a secret, specifically his conversations with Hermes and Hestia, Vahn ceased the yback shortly after the second onught began. Instead, he showed the final oue of the battle, Mt. Olympus reduced to an empty crater and clear skies as far as the eye could see. Providing relief to the question that had spontaneously appeared in the minds of innumerable people, Vahn calmly revealed, "I know what you''re thinking. Rest assured that Mt. Olympus still exists. I merely had it moved to a more discreet location. I also spared the remaining Olympians, so feel free to consult with them if you''d like to hear the specifics. For now, there are other, more important matters to address." Pointing to the sky, Vahn''s expression hardened as he revealed, "Several minutes ago, an unsolicited attack was perpetrated against Communities in the surrounding region by the Ragnarok Alliance. I have absolutely no qualms about any Community targetting me directly. If you''d like to give it a go, I''ll dly ept your challenge any day. However, should you do so at the expense of the innocent...know that the only mercy I will afford you is a swift death." Waving his right hand, Vahn surprised both the crowd and the person in question by manifesting Hel next to him. Her singr eye then widened to the point it matched the diameter of her empty eye socket as Vahn went on to say, "Though I prefer to settle things diplomatically, I will be using the members of the Ragnarok Alliance to set an example for those of you inclined to ignore civility and warnings. Actions have consequences, even for the Gods. As such, the majority of their members will be participating in a Gift Game with their lives on the line. As for Lady Hel here, she will be gambling her very existence." Exhibiting genuine fear for the first time since the original Ragnarok event, Hel backed away from Vahn, her voice and body shaky as she replied, "I''ll never ept such conditions..." Narrowing his now golden eyes, Vahn''s voice resonated throughout the Little Garden as he dered, "You made your decision when you failed to consider the consequences of your actions. Now, you get to deal with me, the penultimate consequence." Without waiting for Hel''s response, Vahn''s figure reappeared behind her, stunning the crowd as he unhesitantly stabbed through her chest with his hand. However, instead of rending flesh and bone, his hand emerged from her chest with a luminous green crystal in hand, shimmering with a light that left even the most seasoned Gods experiencing a peculiar sense of awe. Retracting his hand, Vahn allowed Hel to copse to the ground as he turned to the crowd, a severe expression on his face as he stated, "I am not a malicious entity. I do not go out of my way to pursue or persecute those others regard as evil. I''ll even work alongside such entities so long as they resolve never to target children or prey upon the innocent..." Directing his gaze to Hel, Vahn''s eyes narrowed as he added, "Those that ignore this rule are not needed in a ce like the Little Garden. Now that I have been appointed as a Last Embryo, this is the fate that awaits all who spurn my warnings..." As Vahn tightened his grip around the peculiar green crystal, creating several small cracks, a screamparable to a banshee''s emanated from Hel''s throat. Damage to the Egopletely transcended the physical. It was an attack on the mental, spiritual, and physical energiesprising a person''s very existence, so not only was it painful, itpelled a feeling of existential dread that dwarfedprehension. Interrupting Vahn''s demonstration, a handsome figure with bronzed skin and dark hair appeared next to him, a wry smile on his face as he grabbed the former''s wrist and said, "You said you were going topete against them in a Gift Game. I believe this is what they call putting the cart before the horse..." Though he could have easily evaded the man''s grasp, Vahn permitted the interruption as he returned a smile and warmly replied, "Ah, Lord Indra. It''s good to see you. I was wondering when and if you would be making an appearance..." Releasing his hold on Vahn''s wrist, Indra''s expression visibly rxed as he abruptly stopped the flow of time around them, questioning, "Did you have to take things his far? I understand your desire to deter others from following in Hel''s footsteps, but this is more than a little extreme..." Shrugging his shoulders, Vahn replied, "You''re not wrong. However, even though I condemn everything I''m currently doing, I''m prepared to follow through to the end. If you''d like to organize a Garden-wide Gift Game to oppose me, I''ll happily ept just about any terms. Until then, I intend to do things my own way. And that means preventing monsters such as Hel and Zeus from doing as they please." Exhaling a sigh, Indra wanted to offer Vahn his counsel and guidance but ultimately decided against it. He has been observing thetter from the moment Shiroyasha summoned him to the Little Garden, so he knew Vahn wouldn''t listen to ''reason.'' At least not when that ''reason'' was grounded in sentiments bordering on nepotism. Adopting a fairly fierce expression, Indra formed his resolve as he asked, "If I were to organize such an event, can I trust you not to ''erase'' any of the participants? I''m not sure how that technique works, but I can tell it''s dangerous. It will be difficult to persuade even your fiercest detractors to participate if there''s a chance you''ll use it against them..." Shrugging a second time, Vahn replied, "As I stated previously, I''m willing to ept just about any rules and restrictions you can imagine. So long as thepetition is fair, I''ll inevitablye out on top. If it''s not, well, don''t me me for ''bending'' the rules..." Shaking his head, Indra adopted an even more severe expression as he stated, "As one of the entities involved in the Little Garden''s conception, I can assure you the rules will be fair. The question is, what are you willing to-" Interrupting before Indra could finish, Vahn manifested a crystal simr in structure to the one he had pulled from Hel''s chest. However, instead of a peculiar shade of green, it exuded a rainbow hue and a strange humming sound that vaguely resembled countless people speaking in the distance, just outside of audibleprehension. Holding up the luminous crystal, Vahn''s expression became just as severe as Indra''s as he said, "During the destruction of the original Little Garden, one of the Principal Axes of Reality was lost. If your side is able to endure, I will surrender a piece of myself to serve as a recement. I believe that is enough to incentivize even those monsters slumbering within the Inner Gates..." Understanding the meaning of Vahn''s words, an expression of unbridled shock marred Indra''s face as he asked, "Are you sure about this? If you permit those within the 1-3-Digit Gates to participate, there may as well not be any rules. I understand your desire toplete your objective as quickly as possible, but such conditions wouldn''t exactly be ''fair'' to those in the Outer Gates..." Closing his hand around the crystal, Vahn absorbed it back into himself as he replied, "Very well. To even things out, those hailing from the 1-3-Digit Gates will need to employ Avataras. However, as I''m putting something of utmost value on the line, I expect my prize to be unobstructed ess to the Inner Gates. If you can arrange that, I''m willing to yield the fragment, regardless of the oue." Though he generally excelled at concealing his emotions, Indra felt his throat tighten in response to Vahn''s proposition. There was no such thing as ''absolute infinity,'' so, even though the Divine Realm had a functionally infinite supply, enough to sustain countless Lesser Realms, it was only a matter of time before everything copsed. The current Order of Creation had been on the verge of copse since the destruction of the original Little Garden, so Vahn''s offer was beyond tempting. Thus, before Indra could find the words to respond, a deep, reality-shaking voice took the liberty to speak... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''You''re done when Vahn decides you''re done...'',''RIP Hel...'',''Mysterious voice be like, "Gimme gimme..."'') Chapter 2330: World King/Dragon

Chapter 2330: World King/Dragon

As one of the Gods holding the Little Garden together, Indra could not separate himself from the Principal Axes of Space, Time, and Reality like Vahn. Because of this, any sufficiently powerful being could spy on what he was doing, even when the flow of time had stagnated to the point of appearing frozen. "Vahn Aldrnari Mason. We have heard your proposition and ept it at the behest of our Venerable Father, Vishnu." Immediately following the authoritative voice, a woman with features remarkably simr to Shiroyasha appeared,plete with silvery-white hair and pointed ears. She also had horns growing from her head, but, unlike Shiroyasha, hers more closely resembled the antlers of an Eastern Dragon. Making the woman''s identity known, Indra adopted a wry smile as he said, "It''s been a while, Lord Kurma. I never expected someone of your caliber to appear outside the Inner Gates." Crossing her arms under her fairly modest breasts, hidden beneath a fur-lined, predominately golden coat, Kurma replied, "You''re one to talk, Lord Indra. I can''t even recall thest time you made an appearance at one of the Inner Community''s social gatherings." Borrowing a page out of Vahn''s book, Indra shrugged his shoulders, his expression bordering on a deadpan as he remarked, "The residents of the Inner Gates are too uptight. I came up with the idea of the Little Garden to make things interesting. I see no reason in gathering just to praise and celebrate people who refuse to change." Snorting through her nose, Kurma uttered, "How foolish..." before turning her attention to Vahn, amethyst eyes glistening as she questioned, "Can that fragment of yours truly serve as a Principal Axis?" Nodding his head, Vahn replied, "Indeed. Ever since Shiroyasha warned me of the possibility that the rulers of the Little Garden could flee, I have been researching methods to create my own. Since then, I have created a number of self-contained realities with structuresparable to the Little Garden. The fragment I exhibited previously has been stress-tested with a metaversal structureprising a googol of multiversal realities, several of which containing beings that could give your Venerable Father a run for his money." Though she was a little irked by Vahn''sparison, Kurma didn''t doubt his words. There were already rumors circting among the Inner Gated Communities about Vahn being the New Dawn. If that were even remotely true, it suggested he was on par with the ''Big Three'' that presided over all of Creation. As powerful as her father was, he would toil in vain to defeat Indra, much less one of those three ''monsters.'' Returning a nod of her own, Kurma decreed, "Then we shall ept your conditions. I can''t say with certainty when the Gift Game will ur, but we will do our best to organize it as soon as possible. Until then, we will ce a hold on your status as a Last Embryo." While he didn''t exactly have an attachment to his status as a Last Embryo, a frown marred Vahn''s face as he stated, "That is somewhat inconvenient, given the present situation." Waving her hand in an informal, dismissive manner, Kurma replied, "Such matters are a trifle. We can ce a gag on the information and make it so that the incident with Zeus, as far as the residents of the Outer Gates are concerned, never happened. It''s a bit unorthodox, but you have exhibited more than enough power to receive preferential treatment. The conditions specified by Lace during your designation as a Last Embryo have made that very clear." As if the matter was already decided, Kurma pulled up what appeared to be a digital disy before pressing a runic icon. At that exact moment, the venue prepared by Katana, Dagger, and their staff abruptly flickered out of existence like some sort of graphical glitch. All of the people that had been gathered to listen to Vahn''s statement were returned to their original positions as time within the Little Garden had effectively been ''reset'' a full twenty-four hours. Seemingly oblivious to Vahn''s chagrin, Kurma adopted a radiant smile as she yfully mused, "And that''s that. There will be some anomalies, such as Zeus disappearing, but this wouldn''t be the first time he unexpectedly vanished. Hera will likely kick up a storm, but the details of the Gift Game will be decided long before shepletely loses her temper." Though he wasn''t nearly as annoyed as Vahn, Indra made his disproval known with an exasperated sigh, roughly massaging his forehead as he said, "This is the problem with people from the Inner Gates. They barely even consider those ''outside'' as people..." Furrowing her brows, Kurma crossed her arms in defiance as she asked, "Do you not approve of my actions, Lord Indra? Given what''s at stake, I would have assumed you would be lobbying to ensure the Sage Dragon Emperor receives special treatment. I doubt I need to exin to you the significance of acquiring a second Axis of Reality." Interrupting before Indra could reply, Vahn pointed out, "You do realize that if I''m allowed to enter the Inner Gates, there''s a good chance I will take over the entire Little Garden, right? I don''t ''need'' special treatment, not from you or anyone else." Unbothered by Vahn''s words, Kurma just shrugged her shoulders and stated, "Even if we don''t give it to you, your very existence affords you certain privileges. If you''re that bothered by my actions, feel free to pop over to Mt. Olympus and give those spoiled brats another thrashing. It''s not like anyone could stop you. Rather, so long as Creation continues to endure, it doesn''t matter if you conquer the Little Garden or not. The form or reality is significantly less important than the fact it continues to exist." In an attempt to ay Vahn''s frustrations, Indra chimed in to exin, "I''m sure you''re aware, but this one''s true identity is the World Dragon, Kurma Vaishnava. Her Origin is that of the Turtle that supports the world itself, so she only cares that life endures, unconcerned with the form it takes." Nodding her head in affirmation, Kurma replied, "That''s correct. I am one of the beings that represent the foundation of reality. You''re free to hate or resent me, but I do what I must to ensure life endures into perpetuity." "You''re a brat, that''s what." Startled by the familiar yet unexpected voice, Kurma spun around to find the mature form of Shiroyasha standing behind her. She would usually be excited by thetter''s appearance, but the disproving expression on the infamous Demon Lord''s face caused numerous beads of sweat to form on the slightly shorter woman''s face. Inching away ever so slightly, Kurma''s smile twitched at the edges as she stammered, "W-Well, if it isn''t my ane-san. How have you been these past three hundred years? I see your seal has been removed...?" Balling her hand into a fist, Shiroyasha gave Kurma a weak-looking knock to the head. Instead of lightly flinching, however, Kurma was nted into the ground, steam rising from Shiroyasha''s fist as she revealed, "Actually, my seal is still firmly in ce. My not-so-little lover here just happened to provide me with enough Spiritual Energy to offset what I lost." Turning her attention to Vahn and Indra, Shiroyasha''s cat-like eyes briefly met with thetter before focusing squarely on the former as she adopted an apologetic smile and revealed, "Sorry, I never expected that Kuu-chan would show up and cause problems. However, you''re also at fault for not telling me about that little Reality Axis you''re carrying around. You know I can''t keep track of what you do in your Actualized Worlds, right?" Adopting an apologetic smile of his own, Vahn habitually replied, "You''re right. I should have informed you of my intentions. I just wasn''t sure how things would develop, so I kept it as one of my many trump cards." As she didn''t really me Vahn for not telling her ''everything,'' Shiroyasha just nodded her head and replied, "Well, everything worked out in the end. I''ll coordinate with the Inner Gates to ensure they don''t try anything sneaky during the Garden-wide Gift Game. For now, why don''t you return to your family and continue celebrating? Kuu-chan may have turned back the Little Garden''s clock twenty-four hours, but she had enough sense to leave the Sage Dragon''s Hearth untouched." Shaking his head, Vahn looked down at the unconscious Avatara''s body and remarked, "More like she couldn''t influence it if she tried..." Spreading her hands in a gesture of helplessness, Shiroyasha replied, "Either way, the end result is pretty much the same. I can also say with certainty that there''s no way to return things to the way they were, so there''s no sense in harping over events that have effectively been erased from history. Just do what you always do and relish the present." With Shiroyasha essentially using his own words against him, Vahn found himself unable to retort. He was the one consistently advising people to continue moving forward, so while his Draconic naturepelled him to ''punish'' Kurma for her brazen disregard, he promptly suppressed the urge and replied, "Very well. It''s a little inconvenient, but anything worth doing once is worth doing twice. I''m sure Merry, at the very least, wouldn''t mind repeating the day a few times..." Finished with what he had to say, Vahn was about to dematerialize when Shiroyasha abruptly pointed out, "You know, there are at least nine others who could have delivered this message to you. Kuu-chan being the one to descend carries with it a number of implications..." Though he understood what Shiroyasha was trying to say, Vahn shook his head and answered, "I may have considered it if this was her true self. I''m not so desperate that I need to vent on a casually crafted Avatara..." Looking down at Kurma, Vahn took note of the fact that her intent was still lingering despite her apparent unconsciousness. She was listening closely to everything they were discussing, so he made it clear he had no interest in simply sating her curiosity. Understanding Vahn''s nature, Shiroyasha didn''t attempt to press the matter further. She was somewhat indebted to Kurma, but not to the point she would go out of her way to arrange things. If Kurma really wanted to see what all the fuss surrounding Vahn was, she would need to muster up the courage to approach him directly. Borrowing her appearance gave her an advantage over others, but it didn''t matter unless she could exhibit at least a hint of ''sincerity.'' With nothing else to discuss, Vahn disappeared from the frozen reality, leaving behind Indra, Shiroyasha, and the abruptly conscious Kurma. Thetter rose with a somewhat pouty expression on her face, but Shiroyasha had nopassion for her self-proimed imouto, stating, "Just consider yourself lucky he didn''t give you a spanking..." ... .. . As his other selves set about repeating several of his actions from the previous day, Vahn ''prime'' sought shelter andfort in the nursery of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. He was somewhat relieved by the notion that people wouldn''t randomly bombard him if he decided to walk around the Little Garden, but he was simultaneously overwhelmed by the reality he would soon be squaring off against powerhouses in the Inner Gates. Though he was long past the point of worrying about how he measured up against the entities ruling the Little Garden, Vahn felt a strange mixture of anxiety and excitement knowing it wouldn''t be much longer before he reached the pinnacle of the current Record. He was so close to reuniting with his original ''family'' that, even surrounded by his children, he felt an overwhelming, indescribable sense of longing... "It won''t be much longer now...just stay focused...there''s nothing that can get in our way...only ourselves..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''What''s with this sassy lost child...?'',''Happy birthday to the ground...!'',''Ain''t no stoppin'' us now~!'') Chapter 2331: Turnaround

Chapter 2331: Turnaround

Expecting it to take several weeks, if not months, Vahn was more than a little surprised when Shiroyasha arrived at the Sage Dragon''s Hearth less than forty-eight hours after his encounter with Kurma. She also had Indra with her, so Vahn didn''t need to ask in order to understand why they were there. After being guided to one of the many meeting rooms Vahn had set up, Indra wore a forced smile as he remarked, "Your actions the other day have caused quite a stir in the Inner Gates." Nodding her head in affirmation, Shiroyasha added, "He''s right. Because of what''s at stake, there''s even a push to have you ''sealed'' away to use as a power source for the Little Garden. Those fools never learn." Raising his brows, Vahn asked, "A power source? And who, exactly, came up with that idea...?" Understanding why Vahn would ask such a question, Shiroyasha adopted a serious expression as she replied, "There were quite a few that readily agreed with her, but the person who proposed it is a Poet-turned-Divine Spirit known as Truth. Considering you''ve ''conquered'' her pet, Leviathan, you should know exactly who I''m referring to." Contrasting the severity on Shiroyasha''s face, Vahn exhaled a tired sigh. He knew a few Gods had it out for him, but knowing they were pushing to have him turned into a battery left him feeling exasperated. It reminded him of the scientists that had experimented on him, and while he had long grown past that moment in his life, Vahn couldn''t help feeling upset by the sheerck of ''humanity'' that prompted such judgments. Shaking his head, Vahn muttered, "Whatever...they want to make me into a battery? They''re wee to try..." Sensing the aura around Vahn changing, goosebumps spread across the bodies of Shiroyasha and Indra. He wasn''t actually discharging anything, but they could sense pure ''potential'' condensing within his body, almost like an entire macrocosm was about to be birthed into existence. Demonstrating this wasn''t far off, Vahn condensed the rainbow-hued crystal from before, manifesting it in the palm of his right hand as he said, "I imagine the two of you, Lace, and the beings currently trying to spy on us would like to know the origin of this crystal, yes?" As the closest person to Vahn, at least within the room, Shiroyasha took it upon herself to nod, replying, "Indeed. Though I already have a few ideas about its origin, it would be nice to know for certain." With Indra nodding to indicate he would also like to know the truth, Vahn adopted a faint smile before abruptly crushing the crystal in his palm. An extraordinary surge of energy attempted to erupt from within, but he was able to contain the destruction to a softball-sized sphere as he revealed, "Lace was fairly urate when she designated me as the Demon Lord of Excess and Stagnation. After all, unlike the majority of Gods, who must sacrifice something in order to create objects such as this, I can create as many as I please..." Repurposing the energy contained within the sphere, Vahn condensed it into a crystal, holding it up for Shiroyasha and Indra to see before waving his hand like a magician fanning a deck of cards. As he did so, dozens of identical crystals manifested into existence, each containing within them enough energy to support the current Little Garden for tens of thousands of years. Amused by the expressions of disbelief on Shiroyasha''s and Indra''s faces, Vahn manipted a few crystals to float toward them as he exined, "As Shiroyasha has surmised, I am essentially a source for all forms of energy, Creation included. Even if I were to produce a trillion of these crystals, my aggregate energy wouldn''t decrease in the slightest." With a crystal in each hand, a somber look appeared on Indra''s face, his voice low and audibly shaky as he inquired, "So it''s true then...you really are the ''New Dawn,'' the Origin of Creation itself...?" Instead of answering Indra''s question directly, Vahn just smiled and let the bronze-skinned God derive his own conclusions. He knew Source was something that transcended even the concept of Origin, but there was no need to try and exin that right now. All Records existed within Tiers 1-7, so the existence of Tiers 8 and 9, also known as Concept and Origin, were a moot point of discussion. Feeling unnerved by Vahn''s smile, Indra resisted the urge to ask if he could keep the crystals in hand. Instead, he set them down as gently as possible before swallowing the knot in his throat and asking, "Are you still willing to go through with the Gift Game? With your power, I''m not entirely sure why you would bother..." Raising his brows, Vahn found himself retorting, "Why do you? Better yet, why does anyone...?" Before Indra could ask what Vahn was talking about, thetter adopted a severe expression and added, "Since my actions apparently haven''t made it clear enough, I''m someone who cherishes life. Could I leave behind the current Little Garden and create my own? I already have. However, while I could focus wholly on my creations, it isn''t within my nature to turn a blind eye to those in need. I might not go out of my way to search for them, but the moment my path ovepped with the people of this reality, I became obligated to at least try and help. That''s just the type of person I am, the God I choose to be." As Vahn had offered them a Reality Axis, regardless of the oue of the Gift Game, Indra didn''t doubt his words in the slightest. Instead, after a moment of pause, he bent his body forward and lowered his head as a sign of respect, saying, "Thank you..." with as much sincerity as he could manage. Only the future was privy to its secrets, but he believed that the Little Garden would be in safe hands with someone like Vahn at the helm. Seeing Vahn''s brows twitch when Indra bowed his head, a soft chuckle emanated from Shiroyasha''s throat. She was significantly less surprised by Vahn''s ''revtions'' as they had already had numerous conversations regarding the nature of his existence. It was one of the reasons she had chosen him as her lover, so, afterughing quite a bit at Indra''s expense, she whipped out her fan, covering the lower half of her face as she said, "As fascinating as this discussion has be, it''s not the reason for our visit. Pull yourself together, Indra." "Right..." Raising his head, Indra forced a smile and scratched the back of his head. As he did so, Shiroyasha took the initiative to say, "I''m sure you''ve already looked into it, but, just in case, allow me to rify that Truth''s proposal to have you stake your freedom was summarily shot down by two of the ''Big Three.'' As for the actual rules and restrictions of the Gift Game...well, take a look..." ---------------------------------- [Win Condition] 1: Be thest one standing. [Hidden Conditions] 1: ???? 2: ???? [Rules] 1: Every Community between Gates 10-9,999,999 are Participants. 2: Each Community must designate a single yer as its Representative. 3: Representatives of Communities with a 1-3-Digit Designation can only participate as an Avatara. 4: Representative will engage in a Battle Royale to determine the victor. [Restrictions] 1: All Authorities are prohibited. 2: Gifts and Abilities that allow a Representative to duplicate, clone, or copy themselves are prohibited. 3: Gifts and Abilities that result in True Death, the destruction of the Soul, or permanant injury are prohibited. 4: yers designated as Representatives cannot be the Leaders of their respective Communities, past or present. [Rewards] 1: Gate #999 2: The right to move freely between the Inner and Outer Gates. 3: The right to interface with the Central Network. 4: The right to challenge Fulcrum, Gatekeeper of the Little Garden. [Penalty] 1: Any Community that willfully vites the Rules and Restrictions set forth above forfeits all Gates and Gifts in their possession. 2: Representatives that willfully manipte others to vite the Rules will have their existence erased. [Time Limit] None ---------------------------------- Though he was tempted to whistle while reading the Rewards, the Rules and Restrictions left Vahn with a frown. He could easily create a Temte to act as his Representative, but the fact remained that he had essentially been barred from participating. "I know I said I would agree to just about any conditions, but preventing me from participating? Is this supposed to be a joke...?" Smiling wryly, Indra was about to exin their reason but lost the chance when Shiroyasha inly stated, "You''re the one that mandated the Rules and Restrictions be fair. Allowing you to participate, regardless of whether or not the odds are stacked against you, leaves no chance of victory for other participants. It''s as simple as that." Unable to refute Shiroyasha''s words, Vahn found himself at a loss for how to respond. After all, the reason he left the conditions for them to decide was because he had supreme confidence in his ability toe out on top. In other words, just as Shiroyasha suggested, there was no chance of him losing so long as he was the one topete. Adopting a wry smile of his own, Vahn muttered, "I shot myself in the foot on this one, didn''t I...?" Shrugging her shoulders, Shiroyasha replied, "It''s not really that big a deal. So long as you don''t vite the Rules and Restrictions, there aren''t any significant downsides to losing. At this point, the ''powers that be'' are pretty wary of doing anything overt to offend you." Since there was merit to what Shiroyasha was saying, Vahn gave a curt nod, countless thoughts racing across his mind as he inquired, "When is the game scheduled to take ce?" Answering in Shiroyasha''s stead, Indra exined, "There was a push to have the game initiate the moment you read the Geass Roll, but we were able to arrange a twenty-four-hour preparation period. Once we conclude this meeting, simr Geass Rolls will appear throughout the Little Garden. As for the venue where the Gift Game will take ce, we will be utilizing the remnants of the original Little Garden as a battleground..." Raising his brows, Vahn asked, "The original? Wasn''t it destroyed due to the Demon Dragon God''s actions...?" Nodding his head, Indra replied, "Indeed. However, thanks to the efforts of an old friend of mine, a version of it still exists in the present. It might be just a memory, but it''s as real as any other Gameboard." With Loi-chan revealing the identity of Indra''s ''old friend,'' Canaria, Vahn instantly understood how the original Little Garden could still exist. The mysterious woman was able to use her Authority as Host Master and one of the most influential Poets to orchestrate a unique Gift Game known as ''Reflection.'' She could force people to relieve their past or extend a single moment into thousands of years. These Reflections were simr in nature to the Divination Scroll gift to Vahn by Ouranos, so, for the duration of the Gift Game, they were ''actuality'' for the target. "I see...it seems, even after everything I''ve done, Canaria''s influence can still be felt..." Surprised by Vahn''s words, Indra looked to Shiroyasha and asked, "You told him about Canaria? What else does he know...?" Rolling her eyes, Shiroyashazily retorted, "What doesn''t he know? I''m not familiar with the specifics, but Vahn has an association with Identity itself. So long as it is known or recorded, he can know just about anything. Given your presumption of his standing as the ''New Dawn,'' is that really a surprise...?" Though he opened his mouth to respond, Indra found himself at a loss for words. He understood what Shiroyasha was getting at, but the realization that Vahn was even more ''broken'' than he already suspected was difficult to rationalize... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Truth about to get a backhand...'',''All''s fair in love and war...except when Vahn is involved xD...'',''I can imagine Indra going into retirement after all of this is over...'') Chapter 2332: Nomination

Chapter 2332: Nomination

Though he only had twenty-four hours to make a decision, Vahn was in no hurry to do so. Said twenty-four hours was referring to the amount of time that passed ''outside,'' so he could mull over his decision for days, months, or even years, thanks to his ability to manipte time. With this in mind, Vahn decided to consult with Sis, the Council of Wives, and just about everyone who had branched out to assemble a Community of their own. The Win Condition of the Gift Game may have specified that only a single person could triumph, but there were no rules or restrictions prohibiting Representatives from working together. After hearing what Vahn had to say, Eva was among the first to offer her input, asking, "Why not just imnt one of your Temtes into each of our affiliates? So long as they weren''t the Leader of a Community, there are no Restrictions stating transfers are prohibited." Shaking his head, Vahn replied, "While that''s a good idea, I''m not going to deprive others of the opportunity to participate. There is also the issue of Authority. Without the benefits it provides, most of my Temtes wouldn''t even be able to harm the Avataras hailing from the Inner Gates." Unable to restrain herself, Wu chimed in toin, "This Gift Game is a load of bullshit. They im that the Rules and Restrictions are intended to make things fair, but they''re just an excuse to stack the deck in their favor. Even if I sent forth my most powerful subordinate, they wouldn''t be able to do jack shit against those monsters from the Inner Gates." Though he was of a simr mindset, Vahn could understand why entities such as himself and Wu were prohibited from participating. Thetter was regarded as the most indestructible entity in all of Creation, so unless she surrendered, she basically couldn''t lose. "I understand where you''reing from, I really do. However, the Game''s conditions have already been determined. Participation is also mandatory, so all we can do at this point is y by the rules or surrender out of spite." Clicking her tongue, Wu bounced to her feet and said, "I need to blow off some steam." before promptly departing the meeting room. The look she gave Vahn made it clear she expected him to apany her, so, while his original self remained seated, another manifested in the hallway, ready to receive her. Choosing to insert herself into the conversation, Da Vinci asked, "Would you like me to run some simtions to determine which of our avable members can best cooperate? I can also participate as a Representative, but I''d rather not get involved in such a public contest." As the Leader of her Community was actually Luvia, Da Vinci was one of the people Vahn was considering as the Aldrnari Empire''s Representative. She didn''t like to stand out, but her raw power and ingenuity gave her an advantage over just about anyone, Authority excluded. Interrupting before Vahn could respond, Ureko elected to follow in Wu''s footsteps,ining, "Man, if I had known an event like this was going to ur, I would have put Yuri in charge..." Prompted by the remark, Yuri burst outughing, much to the chagrin of Ureko and just about everyone else in a simr position. Those that had set out to establish Communities of their own did so because they either enjoyed fighting or wanted to help Vahn, so they were more than a little annoyed by the notion they were being forced to sit out. Drawing the gazes of everyone giving Yuri a stink eye, Vahn exhaled a sigh and muttered, "I know how you feel...everything I did these past few days was with the belief I would be settling things personally. Now, even though I''m just two steps away frompleting my goal, I have to rely on others at one of the most critical junctures..." Realizing how his words could be misconstrued, Vahn''s smile became wry as he scratched the back of his head and asserted, "Not that I don''t trust each of you..." With hisment eliciting a series of sighs, giggles, and eye rolls, Vahn was moments away from apologizing when Artoria chimed in to question, "Would the most appropriate choice not be Sis? I can''t imagine her losing, not when she shares your power." Having anticipated such a question, Sis took it upon herself to respond, "I am directly linked to Vahn, so the Central Network views us as two halves of the same entity. I prefer things staying that way, so I''ll have to ask that you forgive me. I can provide support, but I can''t participate directly." Instead of questioning Sis''s im, Artoria supplied an understanding nod, adding, "My power is also reliant on Vahn, so I would be a poor choice as a Representative. What about you, Eva? With your understanding of Magic and Martial Arts, you should be able to perform well." Without any hesitation whatsoever, Eva shook her head and stated, "I''ll participate if Vahn asks me to, but I''ve already retired. Besides, if those are the only conditions, Asuna would be a more suitable candidate." Pointing toward herself, Asuna expressed a hint of shock as she asked, "Me? You can''t be serious, right? While I''m confident in my strength, I''m nowhere near the strongest person present. If the rules don''t prevent aggregate entities from participating, Ke would be a better choice. I mean, I''ve never blown up a before." Excited by the notion, Cauli promptly stood up, smacking the table in the process as she eximed, "Heck yeah, that''s what I''m talking about! Count me in...!" Though she was weaker than Broly in his Sage Mode, Cauli was fairly confident in her fusion with Kale. The thought of engaging millions in a contest of strength also left her feeling hot and bothered, so much so that her golden fur immediately transitioned into a shade of pink. With Cauli eying him like a piece of meat, the smile on Vahn''s face became wrier as he replied, "I don''t mind letting you participate as the representative of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. However, as powerful as you are in your fused state, I can''t imagine you and Kale emerging as the final victor. If you lose your cool, you might even harm your allies..." Furrowing her brows, Cauli wanted to retort Vahn''s words but remained silent. She knew better than anyone how ''unstable'' she and Kale could be in their fused state, so she ultimately returned to her seat and crossed her arms with a defiant huff. While making a mental note to ''apologize'' to the two Saiyanesses once the meeting had concluded, Vahn surprised nearly everyone present by directing his gaze to Seraphina, asking, "How about it, Sera? There are no Rules or Restrictions against summoning, so your ability would prove fairly useful in a situation such as this." Equally as surprised as everyone else, Seraphina stared at Vahn as if he were an idiot, silence overwhelming the atmosphere for several awkward moments before she eventually retorted, "Did you rece your brain with a lump of iron? My ability might be helpful against the plebian fodder, but I can''t even defeat Usalia. Besides, without my ''Authority,'' there''s a good chance my subordinates would turn against me if I summoned someone too powerful. Use your head, Vahn." Realizing his mistake, Vahn exhaled an awkward chuckle before coughing to cover his embarrassment. In truth, he was just giving Seraphina a bit of face. He never anticipated that she would ''rebuke'' him so harshly, at least not in front of so many people... With the gazes and res of nearly everyone present veering toward her, Seraphina shuddered involuntarily. Fenrir''s gaze, in particr, caused her skin to crawl, so, even though she wasn''t ordinarily the type of person to apologize, she hugged herself, forced an awkward smile, and said, "I may have been a bit harsh...sorry..." Shaking his head, Vahn exuded a calming aura as he assured, "No need to apologize. I should have put more consideration into my words. I''m just at a loss after this unexpected development..." Deciding to help Vahn transition back to the matter at hand, Da Vinci gave one of her mesmerizing smiles, proposing, "Why not make use of that little trinket you''ve been holding onto all these years? At least by defeating her, you''ll feel like you''ve contributed directly to our victory." Though he was momentarily confused by Da Vinci''s words, the realization of who she was referring to hit him like a ton of bricks. He almost couldn''t believe she was the one making such a proposal, as, viewed objectively, it was like manifesting a literal sun to light a candle. As it was pretty rare to see Vahn stupefied, Da Vinci covered her mouth to suppress a throaty chuckle before lowering her hand, narrowing her eyes, and stating, "You already feel as though you''re powerful enough to defeat the current rulers of the Little Garden. This is an opportunity to prove it to yourself. Afterward, what could possibly stand in your way...?" Confused by Da Vinci''s unnecessarily roundabout way of speaking, Fenrir gave voice to the majority''s confusion, questioning, "What are you talking about? There isn''t anyone Master can''t defeat." Instead of refuting Fenrir''s words, Da Vinci''s smile broadened as she said, "I agree,pletely. If I didn''t, I wouldn''t have made such a suggestion." As Da Vinci''s words didn''t really exin anything, Vahn assuaged Fenrir''s growing frustrations by revealing, "She is suggesting I utilize the Ethereal Queen''s Grace, summoning her into this world. It''s just...even after all this time, I''m not confident in my ability to seed. I''ve fought the version in my Actualized Worlds more than a thousand times and nevere out on top..." Though many of the people present knew about Vahn''s asional bouts against the Ethereal Queen, it was difficult for them to imagine him losing more than a thousand times. Vahn wasn''t the type of person to stay down in a fight, even if he was utterly obliterated, so they couldn''t imagine a set of circumstances where he would suffer a legitimate defeat. Feeling a little embarrassed, Vahn forced a smile and scratched the back of his head a second time, admitting, "Well, I could probably win if I went ''all out.'' When I''m in the Actualized Worlds, I tend to y by their rules. If I ignored them entirely, I can''t imagine myself losing..." Causing Vahn to feel even more embarrassed, a chorus of relieved sighs emanated from nearly everyone present. In their minds, he represented a pinnacle that couldn''t be ovee, so it was difficult for them to ept him struggling against even the most powerful and ludicrous opponents. After all, this was Vahn they were talking about...even Da Vinci couldn''t imagine a more irrationally overpowered existence... With the matter all but decided, Vahn, assuming he would emerge as the victor, agreed that the Ethereal Queen would serve as the Representative of the Aldrnari Empire. Given what she represented, the odds of anyone, even the Big Three, defeating her were so infinitesimal they might as well be zero. Thus, the only things left to determine were the Representatives of every other Community affiliated with the Aldrnari Empire, starting with Ke representing the Sage Dragon Hearth... ... .. . As she hadn''t been invited to participate in the discussion between Vahn and his bevy of beauties, Shiroyasha had been peeking in on them from thefort of her private quarters. She had already designated Algol as her Representative, so she was just passing the time while others scurried about making preparations. "So he actually went with the Ethereal Queen...It seems my worries were unfounded..." Though she had never met the Ethereal Queen in person, Shiroyasha had seen several of Vahn''s attempts to ovee her. She had been given an identical setup to Sandora, so whenever she was bored, she would flip on her television and see what Vahn''s Temtes were up to in his Actualized Worlds. They were some of the only worlds where her omnipotence didn''t apply, so she had quickly gotten addicted to their content. With nothing better to do, Shiroyashaid on her side before manifesting a bag of rice crackers and switching on her TV to a scene of Vahn ''spying'' on Mikoto during her early days in the Toaruverse. Mikoto was one of the people most likely to be designated as the Representative for the Aldrnari Empire, so Shiroyasha had been shoring up her knowledge of the peculiar Electromaster. Not because she wanted to n around Vahn, but because she had been appointed as the Host of the impending Gift Game... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Wu be like, "Fuck this shit, I''m out..."'',''Seraphina is ying with fire...'',''Da Vinci doing her thing, as usual xD...'') Chapter 2333: Infinite vs Absolute

Chapter 2333: Infinite vs Absolute

With the conference ending after three and a half hours, Vahn promptly began preparations to summon the Ethereal Queen. He didn''t want to take any chances, so he readied numerous gameboards and ''stacked'' them on top of each other, ultimately forming 173yers of separation between the battleground and the outside world. Once his preliminary preparations wereplete, Vahn unleashed Laev-tan in her Shukai form. Then, after creating a massive seal to stabilize the contained space, he spent the better part of three months meditating. He wanted to be at his absolute best during the battle, so he made use of the Mantra of Eternity to focus his mind and resonate with his Zanpakuto. By the time Vahn finished his preparations, he could have given Scathach and the original ya a run for their money with how calm he was. Unlike them, however, he wasn''t cold and emotionless. Rather, he felt so attuned to his surroundings that he could ''feel'' individual particles moving around him, much like a stream coursing around a rock. In a voice that caused those very particles to tremble, resonating with his tone, Vahn muttered, "It''s time..." As his myriad Zanpakuto Spirits disappeared around him, rejoining with his essence, Vahn manifested what appeared to be a simple, albeit solid gold, arcade token from his Inventory. Knowledge of its use instantly pervaded his mind, so he slotted it into the void itself, an audible ''click'' sounding as it plunged into a mechanism that alluded even his senses. Once the coin presumably reached its terminal point, star-like vertices appeared in front of Vahn before lines linked them together, ultimately forming a three-dimensional, door-shaped constetion. It had a fairly simple design, but the hairs on Vahn''s arms abruptly stood on end as he extended his hand toward the doorknob. *Beyond this gate lies the final challenge for those who seek the pinnacle of strength. Take heed, for once you pass through, the only way to depart is via Victory or Annihtion.* Hearing the vaguely familiar voice, seemingly originating from his soul, a faint smile developed across Vahn''s face as he unhesitantly opened and stepped through the door. What awaited him on the opposite side was a circr tform form of golden energy. The runes on its surface gave the tform the impression it was an ancient magic circle, but Vahn only paid loose attention to such details as he focused his gaze on the cerulean-eyed femme-fatale hovering against the backdrop of a massive, stained ss window. Standing at the height of 185cm, this version of the Ethereal Queen was among the tallest Vahn had encountered. Her luminous golden hair was parted neatly at her scalp, perfectly framing her face while the longest locks extended to her ankles. Her proportions rivaled those of Da Vinci; full breasts, thin waist, wide hips, and tone thighs thinly veiled beneath ck, purple, and golden garments that clung to her frame. Aplex halo resembling a magic circle rotated above her, and two ghostly wings protruded from her lower back like purple mes intermixed with hints of green. Brandishing a halberd-like staff, the Ethereal Queen exuded a haughty aura as she met Vahn''s gaze and mused, "You must be remarkably brave or stupid to have challenged me. I''ll give you one chance. Bow before me, and I might consider epting you as my servant. Deny me, and not even your soul will remain." Though she looked distinctly different from the Ethereal Queens he had faced in the past, Vahn couldn''t help feeling a sense of familiarity when he heard the golden-haired Celestial''s proposition. Several other versions of her had given him simr offers, but, just as he did each and every one of them, Vahn adopted a smile and teased, "Good luck with that. I might not be your equal, but I''m also someone you can never defeat." Raising her perfectly sculpted brows, the Ethereal Queen, clearly taken aback by Vahn''s words, paused for a moment before responding, "You''re definitely a fool..." Immediately following the Ethereal Queen''s words, the ''door'' behind Vahn promptly mmed shut. At the same time, the runes adorning the golden tform beneath him began to revolve rapidly as various restrictions were imposed on the surrounding space, restricting flight and making it ''nearly'' impossible to move beyond the bounds of the arena. With the stage set for their battle, Vahn didn''t wait around for the Ethereal Queen to attack. He hadn''t spent months meditating just to idle about, so he stepped forward at an unimaginable speed while spreading his domain to reverse the order of entropy. He knew it wouldn''t actually reverse time for the Etheral Queens, but by constantly changing the flow and direction, Vahn could mess with her reaction time. Seeing through Vahn''s intent in an instant, the Ethereal Queen snorted in disdain, brandishing her staff as she expressed, "Your paltry tricks won''t work against me. True power is immutable...!" Punctuating her words, the Ethereal Queen met Vahn''s attack directly, a contemptuous look on her face as she attempted to send him flying to the far side of the arena. What she didn''t expect was that the moment Laev-tan made contact with her staff, the Ultimatum, an irresistible ''vibration'' transmitted into her body, the byproduct of a functionally infinite number of ovepping strikes. Caught off guard, even if only for a moment, the Ethereal Queen''s proud posture buckled, her knee impacting the golden tform and causing so many ripples it appeared to turnpletely white. Understanding he wouldn''t get a simr chance, another version of Vahn manifested behind the Ethereal Queen, his expression a mask of cold indifference as he attempted to stab her in the back, impaling her heart. Instead, the moment his de pricked her skin, two more sets of purple, ck, and green wings erupted from the Ethereal Queen''s back, followed by an invisible, ostensibly irresistible shockwave. Taking advantage of the moment when Vahn''s forward momentum was overpowered by the release of her wings, the Ethereal Queen spun around so quickly that she appeared to be facing both versions of him simultaneously. Her staff also traced apletely unreadable trajectory, producing so many afterimages it appeared to cut off every conceivable path simultaneously. As the all-epassing strike closed around him, Vahn cracked a smile, surprising the Ethereal Queen by offering no resistance to her strike. The moment it made contact with him, he was annihted so thoroughly there wasn''t even atomic ash left behind. Narrowing her eyes, the Ethereal Queen adopted a rare defensive posture as she demanded to know, "What trickery is this? That attack should have obliterated you..." Instead of refuting the Ethereal Queen''s words, Vahn''s voice echoed from the surroundings as he admitted, "It did. Unfortunately for you, there is an intrinsic aspect of my character that can never be destroyed. I am formed of an energy that permits for the very possibility of existence...even if you strike me down a trillion times over, I will endure..." Demonstrating his point, Vahn manifested nine versions of himself, each forming a half ram seal with their right hands. His actions briefly left the Ethereal Queen confused, but she immediately understood his intentions when the entire tform erupted with a rainbow-hued smoke, followed by the appearance of more than ten thousand Shadow Clones. Recovering from her stupor almost immediately, a rare smile developed across the Ethereal Queen''s face as she skillfully twirled her staff and replied, "Then I shall strike you down a trillion and one." With the genuine intention of making good o her promise, the Ethereal Queenunched herself toward each version of Vahn simultaneously. She didn''t actually produce any clones, but her intent had such apelling influence on reality that causality bent to her will. As the Ethereal Queen tore through his army of indestructible clones as if they were mere illusions, Vahn kept creating additional versions of himself as if he was trying to fill the space enclosed by the arena. He knew it was impossible to wear the Ethereal Queen down, but so long as he remained calm, focused, and never gave up, it was only a matter of time before an opportunity presented itself. During the brief moments when the Ethereal Queen didn''t annihte him instantly, Vahn would activate his [Eyes of Truth] and use Oblivion to eat away at the enclosing space and parts of the tform. He also thought to employ Enkidu, but the moment he brought it out, the Ethereal Queen cut through it as if it were paper. She was an entity that stood at the absolute pinnacle of Tier 6. Hence, while she had yet to perform any shy moves, the contrast between her offense and Vahn''s defense made it impossible for him to block so much as a single attack. After annihting more than 280 million versions of Vahn in the span of seventeen minutes, the Ethereal Queen huffed, "Annoying insect..." before appearing at the center of the tform and unleashing a spherical burst of purple energyparable to the birth of a macrocosm. To ensure Vahn couldn''t endure it, she infused the concepts of destruction and existence erasure into the mes while containing them to the exact dimensions of the arena, but even that wasn''t enough topletely erase his presence. Combing back her bangs framing the left side of her face, the Ethereal Queen narrowed her eyes in disdain as she admitted, "Fine, so you can''t be erased. Unfortunately for you, I have nothing better to do than upy this space for all eternity. I can also maintain this sphere of annihtion indefinitely, so it looks like you''re trapped here with me." Instead of refuting the Ethereal Queen''s words, a light chuckle echoed throughout the arena before Vahn responded, "So it would seem." before falling silent. He had no doubt that the Ethereal Queen could keep up her attack indefinitely, but that just gave him more time to analyze and adapt to it. Sure, he didn''t have nearly as much time as her, but she didn''t know that. Not caring, one way or another, the Ethereal Queen responded to Vahn''s by sitting in a lotus posture with her staff across herp. She then closed her eyes and entered a meditative state, but while it appeared she wasn''t paying attention, she was aware of absolutely everything in her personal realm, the Seraphic Gate. Even if Vahn were to escape the boundaries of the arena, she could track him wherever he went. Emting the Ethereal Queen''s actions, though he was currently little more than an iota of intent, Vahn closed his mind''s eyes and permitted his consciousness to sumb to the Mantra of Eternity. The Ethereal Queen immediately detected the minute change this brought about, but, as there was nothing for her to target and eliminate, she could only wonder what he was up to as the two of them entered a period of silencesting nearly an entire year... ... .. . Sensing something amiss, the Ethereal Queen''s brows furrowed as she did her best to understand what was happening. It was extremely faint, but as more and more time passed, she became increasingly aware of Vahn''s ''presence'' inside of her. Absolutely nothing had changed with her body. Rather, it was like Vahn was bing one with her domain and, as a result, the Ethereal Queen herself. Without opening her eyes, the Ethereal Queen slowly brought her hands together and began ''rewriting'' the Laws that governed her domain. After that, she began systematically recing each of the cells within her body while cing others in a state of quantum superposition. She didn''t know exactly what Vahn was trying to do, but if he thought he could invade her body or subsume her realm, he had another thinging... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Big Ojou-sama energy...'',''EQ be like, "I see your infinity and raise you infinity plus one...!"'',''Ooooooooooohm....'') Chapter 2334: Null Protocol

Chapter 2334: Null Protocol

After what felt like an eternity and a single moment in time, Vahn opened his eyes to find himself staring outward at the edge of the arena. There, a series of cracks began to form as space and time folded inward, creating a phenomenon simr to an uncorked drain. Watching the perennial purple mes being sucked into the void, a furrow marred Vahn''s face as he stated in an audibly feminine voice, "The energy within my body exceeds the concept of infinity. Draining away my mes will aplish nothing." Feeling a sudden sense of incongruity, ''Vahn'' blinked before his viewpoint suddenly shifted from the center of the arena to the edge, staring back at the Ethereal Queen from his non-existent form. In a voice that caused the surrounding space to tremble, Vahn muttered, "Well, that was weird..." before manifesting ''within'' the crack,pletely unaffected by its encroachment. His ''body,'' at least from the perspective of the Ethereal Queen, resembled a 2D outline as ck as the void itself, outlined in white and possessing gold eyes set with rotating, aquamarine triangles. Blinking in surprise, the Ethereal Queen dropped out of her lotus position and asked, "You fused with the Nothingness of the Void? I''ll admit, that is going to make you marginally more problematic. However, my attacks can rend reality and birth concepts into existence. All you''ve aplished is wasting both of our time." Shaking his head, though it was difficult to tell he had moved at all, Vahn retorted, "Time is an illusion. It has no start or end point. Unless there is an intent to set it in motion, even entropy does not flow." As Vahn''s eerie, almost synthetic-sounding voice resonated through the arena, the white light lining his silhouette began to expand, forming the outline of a dragon with twelve wings. It was a lot smaller than his usual transformation, but the energy it exuded caused the ''crack'' to widen at an exponential rate, eventually forming a t ''ne'' where concepts such as dimensionality simply didn''t exist. Realizing what Vahn was attempting, the pupils of the Ethereal Queen''s cerulean eyes contracted, her proud demeanor showing its first signs of cracking as she muttered, "I see...you''re not trying to win. You''re setting everything back to a point before concepts existed. Instead of erasure or destruction, you''re ''nullifying'' the Laws that grant me my power..." Gripping her staff with both hands, fear blossomed within the Ethereal Queen''s heart like a poisonous flower. What Vahn was attempting should not be possible. However, due to the immutable nature of Source Energy, he was the sole being capable of existing when all else ceased to be. He might nevere close to that point, but he drew power from a Construct that gave form to Origin, transcending the Tier System in its entirety. Raising his left hand, the whites of Vahn''s eyes began to disappear as he slowly closed them, his voice gaining an unfathomably profound quality to it as he said, "Initiate Administrative Function: Null Protocol..." Unwilling to go down without a fight, quite literally, the Ethereal Queen lost all of herposure as she surged forward with a battle cry. She was able to reach the surface of the ne in an instant, but even after striking it with her full-powered blow, nothing notable happened. Her attack could give form to reality, actualizing the death of her opponent, but it didn''t so much as produce a shockwave. Then, before she could utter so much as a single word of protest, everything went dark... ... .. . Staring out at the endless nothingness that surrounded him, a world devoid of even the most fundamental concepts that formed reality, a paradoxical sense of loneliness and ''liberation'' exuded from the core of Vahn''s being. He couldn''t shake the notion that all of his troubles were now over. That, so long as he didn''t create a single thing, there would never be any pain and suffering again... Fortunately for Vahn, even in his most ''base'' form, he was never truly alone. His ''memory'' epassed all of reality, and, within the deepest trenches of his Soul, the potential of all things existed, eagerly awaiting their moment. More importantly, there was a voice that he could never separate from, its tone gentle, kind, and understanding despite carrying a profoundness that dwarfed even the Mantra of Eternity. Floating amidst the nebulous cloud of potential that pervaded the entirety of Vahn''s Soul, Sis, in all her naked glory, remarked, "You''ve really done it this time, haven''t you? I honestly hoped you would never reach this point, but I''m so proud of what you''ve aplished, Vahn. Just one more ''step,'' and you''ll have finally uncovered the truth of your existence. Now, I think it''s about time we ''return.'' Don''t you?" As he no longer had a voice with which to speak, even mentally, Vahn just closed his ''eyes.'' Innumerable memories, preceding even his time as ab rat, began to take shape within his mind. He saw himself making decisions for other people as if they were his own, as, at least for a time, he walked those paths alongside ''them.'' Just as Vahn felt as though he was deviating from his current path, Sis''s arms gently wrapped around him, her form cycling through just as many iterations as himself. She was not always female, and he was not always male, but no matter which path they strode, they were always together in one form or another... Always and forever... ... .. . Opening his eyes, Vahn rose with a start, his breathing ragged and body covered in a thickyer of sweat. A sea of rainbow-hued liquid stretched out from him as far as the eye could see, but he immediately recognized that he was in the 173rdyer of Gameboards, the entry to the Seraphic Gate no longer present. Taking advantage of the fact Vahn was sitting upright, Sis manifested in hisp with a wry, slightly apologetic smile on her face. They were both naked, but that had never once gotten in the way of their intimacy, so she quickly enveloped him in her embrace, gently caressing Vahn''s hair as he drowned in her soft and fragrant bosom. Sensing the question forming in Vahn''s mind, Sis exined, "It wasn''t an illusion. You touched upon the essence of The Path, and, for the briefest of moments, the truth of all things. I want to tell you more, but that isn''t the ''reason'' we''re here right now. Don''t forget the ''purpose'' you''ve given yourself, Vahn...the things and the people who drive you forward..." Reciprocating Sis''s embrace, Vahn remained silent for an extended length of time. He was still struggling to make sense of what had happened, but Sis''s words resonated with something deep within him. Thus, even though he had innumerable questions, he knew they could wait. After all, heno, they had so much ''more'' than all the time in the world... ... .. . After calming himself adequately, Vahn raised his face from Sis''s breasts, a fatigued smile on his face as he said, "I''m okay, now. Thanks for always being here for me..." Returning a smile of her own, Sisbed aside Vahn''s matted bangs as she replied, "Of course. You are my little brother, after all..." Exhaling a chuckle, Vahn retorted, "We both know I''m so much more than that..." Instead of refuting Vahn''s words, Sis exhaled a chuckle before narrowing her eyes and replying, "Indeed. However, at least at this moment, on this particr path, you are my adorable little brother. That is the path you set for me." Interrupting Vahn''s response, Sis gave him another firm hug, smothering him for several seconds before releasing him to say, "We should return as soon as possible. After what you''ve experienced, it''s important for you to interact with entities other than myself. I imagine Fenrir is panicking quite a bit right now. Be sure to give her plenty of headpats." As if to demonstrate what Vahn should do once leaving the Game Boards, Sis gently caressed his head, aided by her Godhand. Because he offered no resistance, Vahn''s body immediately lost consciousness, but his intent was still present, his voice echoing from their surroundings as he mused, "Someone''s feeling mischievous..." Instead of responding to Vahn''s words with her own, Sis exhaled a deep-throated chuckle before disappearing. The suddenck of support caused Vahn''s body to plop into the rainbow-hued liquid that had filled the Game Board, but he didn''t particrly mind. Instead, he allowed both it and the liquid to evaporate as he recreated himself outside the Game Boards, no longer restricted by concepts such as boundaries... ... .. . "Hmmm...?" After what felt like an eternity, the Ethereal Queen opened her eyes to find herself seated in a Japanese-style room, her body veiled in a dark purple kimono. Across from her, Vahn silently nursed a ceramic teacup, their eyes meeting as memories of what had transpired flowed into the Ethereal Queen''s mind. Exhibiting no traces of her previous arrogance, the Ethereal Queen inly stated, "This is my loss. Not only did you strip away everything that gave me form, you created me anew. I cannot imagine a more absolute defeat." Though he nodded his head, Vahn''s smile became apologetic as he said, "If it''s any constion, my raw power is nowhere near yours. I could pull the same stunt to achieve victory, but if I were to face you directly, I have no hope of triumph." Feeling gratified by Vahn''s words, the Ethereal Queen cracked a smile andbed aside the bangs framing the left side of her face. She would have derided anyone else for trying topliment, but she didn''t mind if it was someone she recognized as her superior. Vahn still had a ways to go if he wanted topete with her in terms of speed, strength, and destructive capability, but the fact remained that there wasn''t a thing she could do to defeat him. "So, what now? Ordinarily, I would disappear shortly after my defeat. The concept I represent cannot endure if there are beings more powerful than me. What purpose would you assign me?" Returning a smile of his own, Vahn exined, "I would have you fulfill that exact purpose, representing the absolute pinnacle of power." Raising her brows, the Ethereal Queen questioned, "How can I represent the pinnacle if there is someone capable of ordering me around?" Shaking his head, Vahn refuted, "I''m not ordering you around. Rather, I''m asking you to cooperate with me. Whether or not you ept is entirely up to you. After all, with your power, there is nothing I can do to prevent you from simply getting up and walking out of here..." "Hmmm..." Looking away from Vahn, the Ethereal Queen briefly eyed the sliding door as if she was seriously mulling over whether or not to leave. Instead, she returned her gaze to Vahn, a hint of her arrogance returning to her face as she said, "I believe we can reach an ord. However, in exchange for my cooperation, there is something I require from you..." Without waiting for Vahn''s response, the Ethereal Queen tugged at the fabric of her pink obi, permitting her kimono to slide from her shoulders. This was a rare opportunity for her to act outside her given purpose, so, as if the matter was already decided, she crawled toward Vahn on all fours, her bearing resembling a starving lionessing upon an injured gazelle... "Let''s see if your sexual prowess is asckluster as your capacity as a warrior..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The Admin has entered the game...'',''Peeling back the veil...'',''Vahn might actually be able to win this one...'') Chapter 2335: Last Minute Preparations

Chapter 2335: Last Minute Preparations

Following the announcement of the Garden-wide Gift Game, the first of its kind in more than seven thousand years, the Little Garden was abuzz with anticipation and heightened tensions. Though it was never explicitly announced that Vahn was the cause of the event, spection ran rampant after information leaked from a number of Communities in the Inner Gates. As a result, the Leaders of thousands of Communities were attempting to reach out to them, some seeking to ally while others sought information. Unfortunately, while Vahn was usually receptive to the outreach of other Communities, the doors of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth and the gates of the Aldrnari Empire had been closed off in preparation for the impending Gift Game. He did meet with the Leaders of several affiliate Communities, but all he could really do for them was wish them luck. After all, while there were no rules prohibiting cooperation, there could only be a single victor once the dust settled and the smoke cleared. One of the few groups Vahn didn''t immediately send away, for obvious reasons, was the No Names. Yo, Asuka, Izayoi, and Lily had arrived less than twenty minutes after the Garden-wide announcement, so Vahn gave them a much more detailed exnation of what had transpired behind the scenes before lending them a Game Board at the request of Asuka. Izayoi had originally wanted to enter an Actualized World to ''maximize his gains,'' but Asuka shot him down as she didn''t want to spend decades, if not tens of thousands of years, preparing for a single game. Shortly after sending off the quartet with a Game Board they could freely customize, Vahn found himself roped into training with Kale, Cauli, Yuri, Madara, Mordred, Goku, Vegeta, Broly, and several others. The Ethereal Queen had agreed to sit things out until the Gift Game was nearing its conclusion, so they would have ample opportunity to cut loose and make a name for themselves... ... .. . With only a few hours remaining before themencement of the Gift Game, Vahn was enjoying nap time with his and ck Rabbit''s kittens when someone unexpected appeared outside the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. They were about to turn away after seeing the sign posted outside, but Vahn figured he might as well give them a chance to rebuild the bridge they had unceremoniously burned twice. "Hwah~!?" Finding Vahn towering above her the moment she turned around, Lau practically leaped out of her skin before abruptly leaping back to draw a sword that could humble even Ichigo. It was easily longer than she was tall, exceptionally thick, and, based on the subtle distortions it caused in the gravitational force of the Little Graden, ridiculously heavy. Realizing it was Vahn who startled her, Lau''s eyes widened before she promptly put away her sword. Then, with a slightly reddened face and twitching ears, she averted her eyes and softlyined, "It isn''t good to sneak up on people like that..." Adopting a faint smile, Vahn surprised Lau with a curt, "Sorry about that," before questioning, "Now then, what can I do for you, Ms. Pantera? I take it you didn''te all this way just to turn away and give up at the door?" Inhaling a deep, steadying breath, Lau looked around to find that no one was paying attention to her or Vahn. A sizeable crowd had gathered outside with the intent of requesting Vahn''s services, but none of them so much as batted an eye in response to his actual presence. Preempting Lau''s question, Vahn exined, "Just a little trick I picked up to prevent people from badgering me when I just want to walk around for a bit. Now please, speak freely. Or would you rather speak somewhere more private?" Balling her hands into fists, Lau briefly hesitated before surprising Vahn by dropping to her knees. He half-expected her to dogeza with her head pressed to the ground, but she took things several steps further by rolling onto her back and presenting her belly. With a ruddy expression that looked like she was prepared to bite him if he dared to touch her stomach, Lau was practically growling as she said, "I wanted to apologize for my previous actions...I was out of line and suspected you without merit..." Though he initially nned to dismiss Lau''s apology as water under the bridge, Vahn understood that would likely have the opposite in this particr situation. Lau was going out of her way to shame herself in front of him, so she presumably wouldn''t take kindly to him dismissing the matter outright. Forcing a smile, Vahn gave a curt nod and stated, "I ept your apology. I also understand the importance of appearing strong during negotiations, so I have no intention of holding a grudge against you or the Draco Greif Alliance." Relieved by Vahn''s words, Lau exhaled a sigh before rolling backward and bouncing back to her feet. She hated apologizing to others, not just because it made her appear weak, but because of the unique customs of her tribe. Fortunately, Vahn had epted her apology quickly as tradition dictated she would have needed to let him step on her abdomen until she peed herself... After quickly fixing her clothing, Lau regained her previous edge as she stared at Vahn and asserted, "Apologizing isn''t the only reason I traveled here from the South. If the offer still stands, I intend to request the aid of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth." Nodding his head, Vahn revealed, "I am well aware of the reason for your visit. Here, catch." Though she was a little caught off guard, Lau managed to catch the object Vahn threw at her with considerable ease. It resembled an ornate ss bottle filled with a strange grey liquid, so she couldn''t help asking, "What am I supposed to do with this...? Before Vahn could answer, the bottle''s ck and white stopper popped off, freeing the ghostly entity within. Lau nearly tossed it aside, but, not wanting to appear weak in front of Vahn, she stood her ground and stared intently at the grey, white, and blue creature that had emerged. It vaguely resembled a snow leopard but had a mane of ghostly energy and patterns of crystalline ice covering its body. Giving some insight into the creature''s identity, Vahn exined, "This is Gelid, the Lord of Ice. He is an entity known as a Companion, one of the most powerful of his kin. If you can prove yourself worthy of his trust, he will fight alongside you and drastically increase the rate of your spiritual development. He can''t bestow you power directly, but so long as you are willing to make an effort, he can help you be much, much stronger..." Resisting the urge to swallow the knot in her throat, Lau did her best to appear unafraid as she furrowed her brows and asked, "What do I need to do to earn your trust...?" As the question was directed toward it, Gelid adopted an uncanny smile as it telepathically replied, "Weakness may not be a sin, but staying weak is. If you desire mypanionship, prove to me you have what it takes to transcend your limits and rule over others." Without waiting for Lau''s response, Gelid turned into a ghostly grey, blue, and white mist, surging into her chest. The former felt a powerful chill permeate her entire body but felt no difort. Instead, she felt a rity of mind she had never experienced before, her senses sharpening to the point she could ''feel'' the presence of every living creature within a 30km radius. As Lau was still recovering from the shock of Gelid unceremoniously making itself at home within her petite frame, Vahn pulled out two more items from his Inventory. The first was a palm-sized coliseum, a Game Board that would allow Lau to challenge powerful opponents from a multitude of Vahn''s Actualized Worlds, while the second was an Asauchi, the base form of Zanpakuto. Hearing the exnation of both items, Lau''s mouth gradually formed into an ''o'' as she gawked at Vahn with a look that screamed disbelief. Her original intent was to request an A, maybe S-Rank Gift she could use as a stepping stool to secure her status as FLoor Master. In exchange, she had been willing to pay just about any price, yet, without asking for anything in return, Vahn bestowed her the means to enhance her strength, seemingly without limit. The coliseum even had a function that awarded challengers for each stage theypleted, prizes ranging from personalized Gifts to custom armaments... As Lau''s gaze began exhibiting an internal struggle, Vahn adopted his best smile and said, "Just take them. Doing so will save me the hassle of having to grant requests from other members of your Community. Now, if they want to grow strong, they just need your permission to challenge the coliseum. It can be configured to allow multiple people entry into unique instances, so feel free to use it as a training tool for the entire Draco Greif Alliance." Instead of feeling relief at Vahn''s words, Lau''s conflicted expression morphed into a pout as she stared down at the coliseum with her amber eyes. As allies, she believed that the Aldrnari Empire and the Draco Greif Alliance should have a reciprocal rtionship. However, even if she gave him her body, that wouldn''te close to the value of the items she had received from Vahn. The coliseum, alone, was something that could serve as a pir for generations toe... Seeing through Lau''s thoughts, Vahn''s expression softened as he said, "The value of an object can change drastically from person to person. If they are on the verge of death due to dehydration, the value of a simple cup of water could surpass a mountain of gold. While those items might mean a great deal to the Draco Greif Alliance, they are not something I''ll miss. In fact, had I not given them to you, they might never see the light of day. It is only because you have a use for them that they have such an extreme value in your heart...to me, they are just trinkets..." *I take exception to that...* Ignoring Gelid''s voice within his head, Vahn maintained his smile until Lau exhaled a defeated sigh and muttered, "I understand...thank you for everything you''ve done for my people. One day, I will return this favor with something of value to you..." Exhaling a light chuckle, Vahn''s smile broadened as he said, "Do your best to lead your people into an era of peace and prosperity. There is nothing I value more than the happiness, well-being, and freedom of others." "..." Hanging her head, Lau carefully considered each of Vahn''s words. She couldn''t fullyprehend what he was trying to convey, but she admired the sentiment. At the very least, she no longer viewed Vahn as a greedy and licentious God who took advantage of his station and wealth to bend others to his will. Adopting a faint smile, Lau''s tail swished behind her as she raised her head, meeting Vahn''s gaze as she said, "I will remember this kindness for as long as I live. If the Aldrnari Empire ever finds itself in a position where it requires aid, the Draco Greif Alliance will respond to the call without fail. I swear upon my pride as a member of the Pantera Tribe." Nodding his head in approval, Vahn responded, "I''ll hold you to it." before gesturing toward the Sage Dragon''s Hearth and asking, "Did you want to take a look around before you returned to the South?" Though she was more than a little interested in doing exactly that, Lau didn''t hesitate to shake her head and say, "Some other time, perhaps. For now, I must return to the South and finish my preparations for theing Gift Game. I imagine the Representative you have chosen will be a warrior beyondpare. If I am to have any hope of prevailing, I must spend the next few hours wisely." With nothing else to say, Lau gave Vahn a sincerely respectful bow before turning around and taking off like a rocket. She wasn''t able to fly, but her leaps could carry her tens of thousands of kilometers in a single bound. Thus, in the blink of an eye, Vahn found himself alone, exhaling a light chuckle as he waved his hand to erase the tell-tale aroma lingering in the air... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Vahn should rename himself to Santa...'',''The items collecting dust in Vahn''s Inventory would make the Little Garden lose its proverbial shit xD...'',''Nothing escapes a Dragon''s senses (O w O)...'') Chapter 2336: Pandemonium Starts

Chapter 2336: Pandemonium Starts

As the twenty-four-hour preparation period drew to a close, it wasn''t an exaggeration to say the entire Little Garden was on tenterhooks. This was the first time in history that practically every Community was being pitted against one another in a battle royale. There might only be a single yer representing each Community, but virtually everyone was participating in the event in one form or another. Though they had no idea who Vahn''s Representative would be, Brokers had ced the Aldrnari Empire''s odds at 1.3:1. The potential payout was lowpared to every other Community in the Outer Gates, but anyone with sense understood the Empire wouldn''t go down without a fight. Were it not for the participation of beings such as Chaos Dragon Lahmu, Aion of Time, World Dragon Kurma, White Rider of Conquest, and Siddhartha the Enlightened, they would have been favored to win the entire event. In preparation for the Garden-wide event, every single News/Journalistic Community in the Little Garden had been broadcasting spection andmentary non-stop. They also disyed the remaining time until the event, synchronized with massive disys that slowly orbited the Inner Gates, visible throughout the entirety of the Little Garden. As the countdowns reached 00:00:00, the visage of Shiroyasha in her child-like form immediately took over every broadcast. She was sitting with her fan spread, her cat-like eyes narrowed and face formed into a mischievous grin as she mused, "I hope everyone was able to use these past twenty-four hours wisely. Events like this don''te around often, so you may regret it for the rest of your lives if you didn''t." Snapping her fan shut, Shiroyashaid it across herp as she added, "I understand many of you have questions, first and foremost among them being, "Why is this event taking ce?" To that, I ask you this, "Why does it matter?" Unless you can achieve victory, this is just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you to prove yourself on the absolute highest stage. If you ''did'' manage to achieve victory, you would receive the answers to all your questions and more. Thus, without further ado, let''s get this thing started. Shall we~?" Following Shiroyasha''s words, innumerable disys appeared alongside those that already existed. Trying to cast an event with millions of people participating was next to impossible, so each and every yer within the Little Garden was given a personalized disy to observe the progress of their chosen Representative. For now, however, they showed a wastnd that stretched as far as the eye could see, a lifeless world filled with ruins, countless corpses, and chaotic skies. With everyone drawn to their respective disys, Shiroyasha''s usually chipper voice became somewhat solemn as she revealed, "Behold, the remains of the first, the original Little Garden. For various reasons, this bygone battleground has been chosen as the venue for today''s event. If they are to achieve ultimate victory, yers will need to ovee more than just the Representatives of other Communities. Within this destroyed world, creatures that revel in destruction lie in slumber, patiently awaiting their next victims..." Demonstrating her point, Shiroyasha changed the disy to show the corpse of a massive white dragon, its immense size making the mountains surrounding it resemble popcorned walls. It appearedpletely lifeless at a distance, but as the viewport zoomed in, monsters of various shapes and sizes could be seen slinking about or ughtering one another within the dragon''s hollowed remains. Before the average residents of the Little Garden could get a good look at the peculiar white creatures, Shiroyasha switched scenes to the ruins of a disc-shaped city floating high in the sky, assembled from white marble and glistening gold. Much of it had been destroyed, but there was a set of de-like spires located at the exact center of the city, towering over all and seemingly untouched by the devastation in their surroundings. Though she didn''t exin the origin of the disc-shaped city, Shiroyasha earned the intrigue of nearly everyone in the Little Garden as she added, "For those of you brave or lucky enough to circumvent the many dangers that await you on the battlefield, endless opportunities await. God ying swords, indestructible armor, automatons powered by literal stars. If your fate is strong enough, countless relics dating back to the dawn of creation itself can be yours to collect. Thus, even if the odds appear to be stacked against you, I advise you to do your best and continue till the end." Without revealing the location of any actual artifacts, Shiroyasha''s smiling face appeared once again. This time, however, she was in her adult form, surprising the vast majority of the Little Garden''s residents. Unfortunately, they didn''t have much time to admire her as she narrowed her eyes and mused, "Good luck, you''re going to need it." Following Shiroyasha''s words, the 9,999,990 yers, representing just as many Communities, found themselves unceremoniously teleported to the ruins of the former Little Garden. Their destinations were the approximate locations of ruins corresponding to the Gates they upied in the current Little Garden. This might seem like it favored the Representative of lower-digit Communities, but the opposite was true. After all, the closer you got to the center of the former Garden, the closer you got to the source of its destruction... ... .. . As many beings within the Little Garden were the aggregates of multiple entities, Cauli and Kale had no issues joining the game as Ke. They would be disqualified the moment they separated into their constituent forms, but so long as they had their indestructible Potara Earrings, there was little chance of that happening. While taking in her surroundings, Ke set her gaze upon the three-tiered teau dominating the center of the battlefield. She knew all of the most capable warriors would be ''spawning'' at the Inner Gates, so that was the destination she decided for herself. Just as Ke took to the sky and was preparing to race to her destination, an inordinately tall woman with burgundy hair, ashen skin, four arms, and teal eyes appeared in front of her. Most of the observers recognized the woman immediately, but neither of the Saiyansprising Ke was the type to bother with collecting information. Thus, even though the woman was a former adversary of the Sage Dragon''s Hearth, Ke had absolutely no idea who she was dealing with, musing, "Hoooooooo~? I didn''t expect anyone to be brave enough to face me directly." As Ke had crossed her arms and smiled while speaking, the burgundy-haired woman did the same with her frontmost arms, returning a smile as she revealed, "I actually just came here to see who was representing the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. With all the monsters serving him, I honestly never expected Vahn to nominate you. He must be fairly confident in the person he chose to represent the Aldrnari Empire." Understanding that the woman was calling her weak, Ke narrowed her eyes and retorted, "You''re ying with fire, tomato-top. I may not be the strongest in the Aldrnari Empire, but I''m more than a match for some stray giantess." Using one of her free hands, the burgundy-haired woman scratched the back of her head, a wry smile marring her face as she asked, "Could it be you don''t actually know who I am? That...kind of hurts?" Though nothing ever came of it, there was a time when the burgundy-haired woman, Pweamma, had been prepared to be Vahn''s wife, mistress, or whatever role she needed to y. She had also engaged Usalia in a fairly high-profile battle, so she never expected there to be people affiliated with the Sage Dragon''s Hearth who didn''t know her... Resisting the urge to retort in a mean-spirited manner, Ke exhaled through her nose and asked, "Look, are we doing this or what? If not, I have other ces to be. If you want to lecture me about who you are or something simr, feel free to stop by the Sage Dragon''s Hearth after the game has ended. I''ll hear you out." Realizing that Ke genuinely had no clue who she was, an exasperated sigh emanated from Pweamma''s throat. She was originally going to team up with her at the behest of her mentor, Ziros, but now she felt obliged to prove she wasn''t just some ''random giantess.'' Putting Ke on high alert, Pweamma manifested a pair of long-handled daggers and two scimitars as she said, "The name''s, Pweamma. I''m the Vice-Leader of a Community called Chhah-Hathiyaar. I''m not your enemy, but I''m afraid my pride won''t allow me to simply ignore yourments..." Undaunted by the profound aura emanating from Pweamma''s body, the result of strange blue runes extending from her shoulders and along her arms, Ke cracked an arrogant smile and replied, "Fine by me. Besides, I''m the type that prefers to discuss things using my fists. Just try not to lose too quickly, okay~?" Without waiting for a response, Ke moved forward at a speed that caused the surrounding space to issue a terrifying hum. Her speed and power had increased exponentially since the promotional Gift Game, so her Super Saiyan 2 form was now faster than her previous Super Saiyan Sage form. Though she was somewhat taken aback by Ke''s speed, Pweamma managed to intercept the former''s flying kick with her cross scimitars. The edges of her des were enchanted to be able to cut through just about anything, but the sole of Ke''s foot remained undamaged due to the Ki shrouding her. Instead, it was Pweamma who suffered a minor setback as the force from the blow sent her smashing into the ground like a burgundy meteor traveling at several times the speed of light. Since she still had no idea who Pweamma was, Ke didn''t wait around to see if her opponent would recover. The Gift Game was a battle royale with only a single victor, so she followed the unceremonious spike by pointing her palms at the ground and shouting, "Gigantic Destruction...!" Following Ke''s mighty roar, a terrifying beam of spiraling green energy erupted from her palms, instantaneously striking Pweamma''s position and causing an explosion that resembled an eerie green star. Its power wasparable to several supernovas erupting simultaneously, but, thanks to the durability of Little Garden and the density of its Spiritual Energy, the explosion waned after a few dozen kilometers. Seeing how little her attack did to the environment, a disproving grimace marred Ke''s face. As someone ustomed to obliteratings with her punches, it was annoying to see one of her most powerful Ki sts do such meager damage. Increasing Ke''s frustration, Pweamma popped up out of the rubble with only surface-level injuries. Her skimpy outfit was a little frayed around the edges, but she wasrgely undamaged as she stared back at Ke with a sharp-toothed smile and remarked, "You''re a lot stronger than I gave you credit for. If this had been the Vahnatus, that would have been more than enough to do me in." Before Ke could ask what the hell a Vahnatus was, the fiery blue runes on Pweamma''s back, shoulders, and arms abruptly turned gold. Simrly golden ''threads'' then erupted from her corbone, enveloping her arms in what appeared to be golden muscle fibers while also providing her a third set, bringing her total arm count to six. While Ke had no idea of the significance of Pweamma''s transformation, those following the match were more than a little shocked. One of the few who wasn''t was an elderly fellow with a burly physique, zing blue eyes, white hair, and stylish facial hair. The moment he saw Pweamma manifest her final set of arms, a grandfatherly smile developed across his face as he softly mused, "Gifts aren''t prohibited in this game..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''There are no opportunities without risks...'',''Ke gives no fucks O 3 O...'',''Are we about to witness the true power of the Asuri...?'') Chapter 2337: Battles Abound

Chapter 2337: Battles Abound

"Why! Won''t! You! Stay! Down...!?" Though she outssed Pweamma in speed and strength, none of Ke''s hits seemed to inflict anysting damage on her opponent. Every time her strikes connected with the metallic bindings covering the former''s body, a golden pulse would ripple out from the point of contact, nullifying physical and Ki-based attacks. With six arms at her disposal, Pweamma was able to block the majority of Ke''s attacks, a wry yet taunting smile on her face as she replied, "Sorry, but, even amongst other Asuri, I''m particrly durable. You''ll have to do a lot better than this if you want to break-" Interrupting Pweamma''s words, Ke released a Ki st directly from her mouth, impacting the burgundy-haired Asuri''s face and causing her body to arch backward. "Got you now...!" To prevent Pweamma from recovering, Ke grabbed the muchrger woman''s left ankle before flicking her body like a whip, mming her into the firmament of space-time. A sound simr to ss shattering echoed through the area, and, for a brief moment, simr cracks appeared on the surface of Pweamma''s armor before instantaneously mending. Though it was only for the briefest of moments, Ke didn''t fail to notice the cracks on Pweamma''s armor. However, before she could even think to repeat her attack, a sound akin to a thunderp echoed through the area as an invisible force surged from Pweamma''s body, forcing the confused Saiyaness back. Feeling the bones within her body vibrating, Ke stared at her shaking hands and muttered, "What the hell...?" Providing some insight into what had propelled Kelfa back, Pweamma righted herself to reveal an ornate drum that vaguely resembled the w of a sizeable crustacean. She had it tucked under one of her left arms, and the moment she struck it, another imperceptible shockwave radiated outward, apanied by a peal of thunder. Feeling the vibrations within her bodypound, Ke immediately used Instant Transmission to teleport far away from Pweamma. She could only guess at the actual effect of the drum, but her bestial instincts told her it wouldn''t be wise to stick around. Surprised that Ke would actually flee, Pweamma raised her brows and remarked, "I guess she isn''t just a muscle-brained monkey..." cing away her drum, a mystical instrument known as the mbara, Pweamma set her sights on the tiered teau of the Inner Gates. She understood she had no hopes of achieving victory in the Gift Game, so her goal was to obtain relics of the ancient Rakshasa and Asura Tribes. After waiting several minutes to see if Ke would return, Pweamma set off toward the teau like a beam of golden light... ... .. . "God dammit! Why does everyone in this shitty Realm have to rely on bullshit trinkets and armor to fight!?" As the vibrations within her body exacerbated each time she threw a punch or attempted to take her anger out on her surroundings, Ke knew running away was her best option. However, while she didn''t care about things like ''Saiyan Pride,'' being forced to run away before she could go all out caused her blood to boil. After firing off several Ki sts at random, devastating her surroundings, Ke did her best to restrain her frustration with a breathing exercise. The bones in her hands and forearms were vibrating with such intensity that it felt like they were about to fragment into a million pieces, so, even though she ''really'' wanted to track down and beat the shit out of Pweamma, she descended into an abandoned building and tried to meditate. Fortunately, as distracting and painful as the vibrations were, the training Ke had undergone with Vahn had her endure the temperatures of blue hypergiants and the gravitational forces of supermassive ck holes. Her body felt as though it was being invaded by tens of trillions of ants, but it only took a few moments before red markings appeared on Ke''s upper eyelids, the result of her entering Sage Made. As her anger calmed, the vibrations within Ke''s body gradually waned. It would take hours for them to vanishpletely, but Kelfa understood the only penance for hubris was patience... ... .. . Unaware of the setback her ally had suffered, Yuri had a massive grin on her face as she stepped on the chest te of her opponent, a handsome man with stylish brown hair, blue eyes, and armor befitting a knight. Undaunted by the man''s scowl, Yuri put more weight into her heel as she remarked, "It''s no wonder Avalon yielded its position as Floor Master of the South. If this is your limit as their Representative, I can''t imagine your Leader being all that great..." Angered by Yuri''s words, the severely beaten knight, Lancelot of the Lake, grabbed her by the ankle, his expression contorted into a fierce yet pained grimace as he said, "Insult me as you will. As the victor, you have that right. However, insulting my King...that I can never allow...!" Unmoved by Lancelot''s words, Yuri flexed the muscles of her remarkably toned legs, unceremoniously stomping him into the ground with enough force to cause a minor earthquake. The internal injuries he sustained were enough to cause Lancelot to lose consciousness immediately, but he was still in the game. After waiting a few moments to confirm Lancelot was genuinely knocked unconscious, Yuri removed her foot from his chest with the intent to look for her next prey. As she did so, a phantom figure resembling a serpentine dragon appeared next to her. It had a head resembling a seahorse, coral-like antler, and jellyfish-like frills, but it radiated an aura of elegance as it calmly inquired, "Why not finish him off? Without special care, he is bound to be eliminated by the first person whoes across him." Shrugging her shoulders, Yuri replied, "That''s their business. I''m just here to have fun, not kill people. Now, where''s our next opponent...?" Though it didn''t have a visible mouth, the illusory serpent exhaled a sigh before using the tip of its tail to tap empty air. As it did so, a watery ripple spread outward, starting off fairly slowly before quickly elerating to an imperceptible speed. "There are 137,292 targets within range of my senses. The most vigorous aura belongs to a woman with one of my kin residing within her." Raising her brows, Yuri asked, "Seriously? Did Vahn go around passing out Companions to try and make things more interesting...?" As it didn''t have any shoulders to shrug with, Yuri''s Companion, Mirage, had to imagine itself doing so as it replied, "I can only imagine what goes through the head of my Creator. All I can say for certain is that this would be a bad matchup for us, given our water-rted abilities. The Companion I am sensing is the Lord of Ice, Gelid." Undaunted by Mirage''s warning, Yuri exhaled a curious, "Hoooooo~?" as the face of Maschenny appeared within her mind. She also possessed a Companion with dominion over Ice, so Yuri had first-hand experience with how annoying they could be. Annoying, yes, but far from unbeatable. Sensing Yuri''s thought, Mirage exhaled another sigh before disappearing like her namesake. She knew Yuri couldn''t be dissuaded once she made up her mind, so, rather than making a fuss, Mirage steeled herself for theing battle. She might be at a disadvantage, but that wouldn''t prevent her from trying to prove her superiority... ... .. . Sensing his sister spirit''s intent, Gelid promptly manifested next to Lau, stating, "Be alert, a powerful foe approaches." Before Lau could ask any follow-up questions, the finer hairs on her body immediately stood on end as strange, emerald-green bubbles began manifesting in her surroundings. She couldn''t actually sense them, almost like they were a bunch of illusions, but her instincts were screaming at her to evade. Trusting her instincts, Lau leaped into the sky, her body appearing to teleport just as the bubbles closest to her exploded soundlessly. It was a peculiar sight to behold, but what came after caused an involuntary shiver to run through Lau''s body. Upon reaching their maximum size, the emerald-green bubbles promptly burst, unstable, pitch-ck voids appearing in their ce. Then, as if the silence from before was the calm before the storm, the foundation of the Little Garden trembled with the cacophonous sound of more than a million violent implosions. Just as Lau was about to cover her ears, Gelid provided relief to her by ovepping with her body and materializing into a ck, blue, and white fur-lined outfit that resembled the attire worn by the Southern Water Tribe of Avatar. This included a pair of thick, fur-lined earmuffs that filtered out sound above a certain decibel level, so Lau wasn''tpletely divested of her ability to hear. As there was a small amount of blood leaking from her ears, Lau was about to thank Gelid for his assistance when thetter warned, "They areing." Immediately following Gelid''s warning, Yuri, wearing a casual outfit, not at all suited forbat, appeared a few meters away, smiling in amusement as she taunted, "Fluffy ears and a tail? It''s no wonder Vahn entrusted one of his Companions to you~." Without waiting for Lau''s response, Yuri released a shockwave from her palm that took on the form of a red flower more than ten kilometers across. Lau generated a massive wall of ice to try and block it, but it promptly disappeared the moment the two forces ovepped, teleported to one of the many bubbles littering the battlefield. "What the-" Before Lau could finish her exmation, Yuri emerged from the bud at the center of the flower with a needle-like sword in hand, teasing, "I see you have yet to master cooperating with your Companion. What a shame." Punctuating her words, Yuri stabbed her sword at the center of Lau''s chest. However, instead of piercing her befuddled feline opponent, she stopped less than three millimeters away, unleashing an oceanic torrent of water that sent Lau crashing to the ground... ... .. . Observing the match between Yuri and Lau alongside Sis, Fenrir, and Mikoto, thetter in their Vanargandr and Pikachu forms, Vahn couldn''t help smiling wryly as he remarked, "I should have warned everyone to steer clear of Lau in the earl game. If she loses against her very first opponent, her status as Floor Master is going to be called into question..." Though she could definitely see people calling Lau''s qualifications into question, Sis ayed Vahn''s concerns by stating, "It won''t be much longer until you challenge the Inner Gates. Once you''ve achieved your goal, Yuri and the rest will doubtlessly want to apany you wherever you might end up. With lesspetition, Lau should be able to secure her status easily...at least until someone like Yvonne steps forward to contest it..." While gently caressing Mikoto''s head, Vahn softly muttered, "Nn...you''re probably right..." Rolling her eyes, Sis yfully mused, "When am I not~?" before resting her head against Vahn''s shoulder. In response, Vahn just exhaled a light chuckle before willing his holographic disy to shift to another ongoing battle. The battle between Yuri and Lau was far from a conclusion, but Vahn had no delusions about how things would end. Yuri had the benefit of training alongside Mirage in an Actualized World, so, while Lau had grown tremendously in just a few short hours(years within the coliseum), the difference between them was like night and day. "Speaking of one-sided battles..." With the disy now reflecting Madara''s moon-sized Susanoo, the smile on Vahn''s face became even wrier. Several famous Heroes from the West were doing their best to take her down, but it was like observing a bunch of fleas trying to take down a fully grown adult... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''When the bonk just isn''t strong enough...'',''Even when pitted against a Lord of Ice, Yuri has no chill xD...'',''Madara be like, "Hmph...pathetic..."'') Chapter 2338: Cataclysmic

Chapter 2338: Cataclysmic

As part of the corps charged with collecting information and espionage in the West, it hadn''t taken long for Madara to gain a reputation as a famous Superviin. She had never gone out of her way to attack civilians, but her detractors hadbeled her Madara, the Crimson-Eyed Killer, after she had assassinated several corrupt politicians. Though she didn''t really care about thebel that had been forced upon her, Madara decided to use the Pandemonium Gift Game to demonstrate just how powerful she truly was. She doubted the general popce woulde to their senses, but she wanted them to understand that if she were half as evil as the media made her out to be, she wouldn''t stop at killing a handful of people... Wearing her iconic red and ck armor, Madara hovered at the center of a 3000km tall Susanoo, her voice echoing through the surrounding space as she muttered, "Pathetic...and you dare refer to yourself the Symbol of Peace, the Paragon of Justice?" Having sustained numerous internal injuries, Madara''s opponent, Paragon, coughed up a mouthful of blood before returning a smile and saying, "You may think you''ve won, but so long as a single me of hope remains, I will never stop fighting." Standing 190cm tall and possessing a muscr physiqueparable to Heracles himself, Paragon exuded the aura of a Hero from every pore of his being. He was getting on in years, exemplified by his quaffed, silvery-white hair and neatly trimmed dark beard, but his race was one that grew more powerful with age. As thest member of said race, he intended to ensure his people''s final legacy was one of truth, justice, and, above all else, hope. No matter the odds. elerating to faster than light speeds in an instant, Paragon smashed into the center of Madara''s Susanoo, raising it from the ground despite the drastic difference in size. Massive cracks and arge crater appeared in the Susanoo''s armored ting, but they were instantaneously repaired as Madara aimed her left hand at Paragon and coldly muttered, "Shinra Tensei..." Just as he had been numerous times before, Paragon was sent crashing into the foundation of the Little Garden by the force of Madara''s ''Almighty Push.'' He had tried to resist it during previous exchanges, but it didn''t take him long to realize that the more he opposed the invisible force, the more damage he would sustain. As Paragon crashed into the ground, his body drilling into the foundation of the Little Garden as if it were soft tofu, Madara stabbed her six, seven-branched swords into the ground after him. Each de was more than a thousand kilometers in length, but the most frightening thing about them was their speed. When massive objects moved at incredible speeds, even a casual blow could affect cataclysmic results. Despite the Little Garden''s outstanding durability, the entirety of the former West Side seemed to shake from Madara''s meteoric blows. Those who had been observing the battle a little too closely, waiting for their chance to strike, barely had time to register what had happened before they found themselves awakening outside, eliminated from the Gift Game in an instant. Rising from a deep crater more than 20,000km in diameter, Madara took a moment to observe the destruction she had caused, muttering, "It''s a lot smaller than expected..." As the average impact crater was roughly twenty times the size of the impacting object, Madara had expected her attack to produce a cavity at least 60,000~100,000km across. More surprisingly, there were still a few buildings in her immediate surroundings that had endured, devastated but still recognizable. Interrupting Madara''s reflection, a massive column of dust erupted from beneath her, followed by Paragon drilling into her Susanoo''s chin. He was a little worse for wear, bearing numerous injuries, but he was healing at a visible rate and packed a punch that could shatter a decently sized moon. Though the armor around Susanoo''s head was a lot stronger than the rest of its body, especially the ''gem'' containing Madara, Paragon managed to behead the massive energy construct, shouting, "Justice may falter, but it never stays down! This is the end for you, Madaraaaaaaaaaa-!" Stabbing his hands into the gem surrounding Madara''s body, Paragon elerated with the intent of ramming her into the barrier surrounding the Little Garden. Not everyone could return to the boundaries of a Game Board after being ejected from it, so Paragon intended to smash through it, eliminating both himself and Madara. What Paragon never expected was Madara phasing out of the gem the moment he elerated, their forms briefly passing through one another as if she was an illusion. Then, before Paragon could even think to arrest his momentum, Madara''s outfit changed from her iconic red armor to an eerie, ashen-grey cloak. At the same time, six sets of vantack wings manifested behind her,plete with a strange ck halo appearing over her head. As Paragon turned in slow motion to meet Madara''s gaze, thetter closed her eyes, suppressing a sigh as she muttered, "Sayona, Symbol of Peace..." In the instant following Madara''s utterance, she angled the tips of her ck wings in Paragon''s direction. Each of the thousands of feathers unleashed thin beams of matching ck light, their velocity far beyond their more luminous counterpart as they pierced Paragon''s body, forcing him along his intended course. After seeing Paragon endure the attack of her seven-branched swords, weapons that were capable of piercing just about anything, Madara had no choice but to ept his ims about never giving up. She was certain her attack had reduced him to little more than meat pulp, but as if he was powered by some form of Light-based Magia Erebea, Paragon revived, his strength and speed nearly double what they were previously. Not wanting to endure the experience of being defeated by a Hero after acting arrogantly, Madara borrowed Paragon''s n and sent him crashing through the Little Garden''s boundaryyer. His body was immediately torn apart by the chaotic energies that swirled outside, but that wasn''t enough to take him out of the game. He was nearly able to force his way out with sheer grit, but Madara was able to undermine his efforts with a full-power Shinra Tensei, repelling him at thest moment. As the boundary closed up, effectively separating the Little Garden from the rest of reality, Madara stared at the location Paragon had ''departed'' for several tense moments. Even when backed into a corner or up against impossible odds, genuine Heroes had the trait of being able to turn things around at thest moment. Madara was fairly certain that Paragon wasn''t capable of creating a path back to the game board, but she didn''t want to exhale a sigh of relief only for the veteran Hero toe crashing through, stronger than ever... ... .. . Seeing one of their trump cards eliminated, the Patriarch Pratus of the Ormus Society, upying the lowest-digit Gate in the West Side, adopted a grim expression. It wasn''t the defeat of Paragon that bothered him, but the fact that Madara appeared with six sets of raven wings, almost as if to insult their beliefs. Voicing the Pratus''s thoughts, an inordinately tall man wearing clothing befitting a futuristic Bishop remarked, "sphemous cur from the depths of Hades. To think she would have the audacity to disy twelve wings in the West..." Nodding his head in agreement, the Pratus looked like he was about to say something when a profound, deep, and simultaneously feminine voice echoed within his mind, sending shivers through his body as it stated but a single word, " ." Surprising his much younger counterpart, the Pratus fell to his knees, hands raised and tears streaming down his wrinkled face as he shouted to the sky, "This undeserving servant has heard your words and shall obey! Glory to the Almighty...!" Though he hadn''t received a message of his own, the Bishop attending the Pratus immediately emted his elderly mentor''s actions. It had been centuries since theyst received guidance from their Creator, but he knew better than to ask questions. In the Ormus faith, there was only one Truth. Anyone that dared to question it was a heretic of the highest order... ... .. . Immediately following Madara''s ''sphemous'' disy, an underground factory, located deep within a cross-shaped opening, whirred to life. All of the above-ground facilities rted to the factory had been destroyed long ago, but the interior was immacte, pristine, and sterile. As the ancient yet undamaged facility activated, faint blue light began to fill the interior, illuminating various capsules, pods, and machinery. Among these objects, located at the heart of the facility, was an eerie mechanical bust. Its facial features appeared feminine at a nce, but its distinctck of limbs and any prominent sexual characteristics made it difficult to know for sure. Protruding from where the bust''s arms should have been was a series of twelve tubes. They were syed in such a way to resemble the wings of an angel, but anyone gazing upon the statue''s visage would feel a sense of dread, not awe. Located behind the eerie statue, almost as if it was being protected, was a cylindrical tank filled with glowing, greenish-blue liquid. Within said tank was what appeared to be a naked woman, her skin as fair as a doll''s and her inordinately long hair rivaling clear skies with how breathtakingly blue it was. Were it not for the fact she had a barcode printed on her abdomen and several thin lines denoting the seams where her limbs were attached, her appearance could have been described as wless. As the liquid within her container began to bubble, the blue-haired woman slowly opened her eyes to reveal ruby-red, gem-like eyes. There were no visible emotions contained within them, but they gave off a peculiar sense of surety and purpose that couldn''t be matched by ''lesser'' entities, God or otherwise. Without waiting for the liquid to drain away, the blue-haired woman slowly unfurled her arms and legs, uncoiling from the fetal position she had been in for what felt like an eternity. She was careful to control her movements, but the vessel containing her immediately cracked, followed by a series of rms going off as the entire facility began to tremble. Though there wasn''t any air in her lungs, the blue-haired woman exhaled a faint sigh that sent shivers through the bodies of anyone within 6,000km of the underground facility. From their perspective, it was like the woman had exhaled mere millimeters away from their ears, startling them to their core. Understanding that she couldn''t spare the facility that had housed her for all these years, the blue-haired woman leaned forward slightly, seemingly unbound by gravity, as she freed herself from the fractured container. She gave a cursory nce at the statue that had been shielding her from view but promptly disregarded it as the roof above her abruptly copsed, tens of millions of tons of metal and concrete raining down on her. Before so much as a single particle of dust could sully her body, the blue-haired woman extended her hand toward the torrent of debris, ''freezing'' it in ce. Were it not for the lights flickering and rms ring around her, any casual observer might have assumed she had halted the flow of time. Instead, she was using an iprehensibly powerful and refined form of Telekinesis to ''anchor'' every fragment of debris in ce. Adopting a faint smile, the blue-haired woman gave a light push toward the debris. In response, it moved away from her as if freed from the pull of gravity, continuing to rise even after she no longer applied any force to it... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Paragon was preparing to go plus ultra xD...'',''This seems familiar...'',''A new challenger has entered the battlefield...'') Chapter 2339: Perception

Chapter 2339: Perception

Contrasting the chaos in the Outter Gates, things were rtively peaceful atop the three-tiered teau overlooking the rest of the battlefield. Most of the Avataras participating as Representatives of 1-3-Digit Communities stood to gain nothing from achieving victory, so, with the exception of a few outliers, they were focused on collecting relics and biding time until the ''finale.'' Representing one of the exceptions, World Dragon Kurma hovered in the sky over the area where Vahn''s pce would have been constructed if the two Little Gardens ovepped one another. She had much to discuss with the woman known as the ''Ethereal Queen,'' but she couldn''t discover so much as a single trace of her. With a slight pout on her face, Kurma muttered, "Not being able to make use of my Authority is more annoying than I anticipated..." Though an Avatara would generally be able to benefit from the powers and abilities of their original, particrly their omniscience, this particr ''projection'' of the Little Garden made that difficult, to say the least. It was part of a System that predated the existence of the Central Network, and, were it not for the power of Shiroyasha, they wouldn''t be able to ess it, much less conduct a ''Gift Game'' within it... Understanding there was a high likelihood that Vahn''s Representative had made their way toward the central teau, Kurma was about to return to her original location when angr, greenish-ck tendrils attempted to skewer her. She managed to shatter them with an ostensibly casual wave of her hand, but a crack appeared on the nail of her pinky finger. Noticing the tiny imperfection, Kurma''s brow twitched, her slit-like pupils contracting as she looked toward her attacker, growling, "You little brat. What''s the meaning of this...?" Undaunted by the fierce aura exuding from Kurma''s body, what appeared to be a young girl with dark green hair, de-like horns, and a dragon-like tail covered her mouth and giggled. She was garbed in a ck, green, and gold gothic lolita outfit, but the first thing most people would notice were the bloodstains adorning it. Afterughing at Kurma''s expense, the young girl narrowed her emerald green eyes, her pupils contracting into simrly thin slits as she yfully mused, "This is a Battle Royale with a single victor. I''m clearly here to try and eliminate you, silly." Punctuating her words, the petite figure swung the crystalline spear in her hands. It wasposed of a translucent, gradient green material and had a series of de-like protrusions that gave it the appearance of a verdant, fierce-looking me. When swung, greenish-ck tendrils ripped through the space between the girl and Kurma, their velocity so great as to appear instantaneous. Clicking her tongue, Kurma shattered the encroaching tendrils a second time, shouting, "You''re starting to try my patience, Lahmu...!" Instead of responding with a retort of her own, Lahmu, better known as the Dragon of Chaos, issued a cutesy, "Ehehehehehe~" as she continued swinging her spear around with reckless abandon. Only a small portion of her attacks actually went toward Kurma, the rest impacting the ground or empty air to produce ssy green matter that gradually spread from the point of contact. Understanding that Lahmu couldn''t be reasoned with, Kurma grit her teeth before releasing a thunderous bellow that caused the surrounding space to distort, bubbling outward. Even Lahmu''s body appeared to bend in the direction of the distortion, herughter momentarily ceasing as her fairplexion paled further. After space had distorted to the point of resembling a fish-eye lens from the perspective of onlookers, the ''bubble'' promptly shattered. Lahmu was knocked from the sky, blood flowing from each of her orifices, but she still managed a child-like smile, remarking, "That''s the spirit~." before massive tentacles abruptly erupted from beneath her skirt... ... .. . Seeing Lahmu targetting Kurma, a fierce scowl reced Indra''s usually rxed smile. Lahmu didn''t have enough reason to track down and target Kurma of her own volition, and the only person she willfully obeyed was her father, the Demon Dragon Emperor, Andramalech. With his hands clenched into fists, Indra muttered, "That bastard...what could he possibly be thinking? Don''t tell me he genuinely believes he can rece that monster...?" As they were watching events unfold in the same room, Shiroyasha rolled her eyes at Indra''s remark, retorting, "Wow, who could have imagined a being calling themselves the Demon Dragon Emperor trying to take over the Little Garden? Someone notify the press! Mobilize the Divine Army...!" "..." Losing a bit of his edge, Indra looked toward Shiroyasha and remarked, "You don''t seem particrly concerned...is this ''Ethereal Queen'' really all that powerful? You know wh-" With a deadpan expression on her face, Shiroyasha interrupted Indra''s words, stating, "I''m one of the people that''s been maintaining the seal all these years. Of course I know what kinds of monsters are sealed within. Just shut up and watch the damn game." Cowed by the fierce expression on Shiroyasha''s face, Indra appeared to shrink in ce as he returned his attention to the battle between Kurma and Lahmu. The former was ranked much higher than thetter, so even if Lahmu''s power was a natural counter to Kurma, the oue shouldn''t be affected. To that end, it was highly probable that Lahmu was just sent as a distraction, preventing Kurma from reaching out to the Representatives of the Aldrnari Empire and its affiliates... ... .. . After waiting several minutes to confirm Paragon wasn''t going to pop out and sneak attack her, Madara permitted herself a moment of respite. The prohibitions against Authority ced a tremendous burden on her Mental, Spiritual, and Physical Energies, so she was actually tired for the first time in centuries. Despite her harsh words targetting the Heroes of the West, Madara had to admit there were a few capable individuals among them. Paragon was a good example, but, despite being the Rank 1 Hero, he was only Rank 7 in terms of Madara''s priorities. The person she was actually worried about was the Rank 9 Hero known as Dragon, a Technomancer whose brilliance and adaptability rivaled Da Vinci''s. With Dragon''s ability to manipte all forms of technology, even objects as mundane as a stone wheel, the ruins of the original Little Garden were both a treasure trove and an ideal battleground. They had yet to make an appearance, but Madara knew it was only a matter of time before an army of Dragon-themed automatons began swarming the battlefield, much like when Vahn gave Bulma ess to her own personal Moon Cell. Fortunately, as troublesome as Dragon''s abilities were, Madara was the closest thing to a perfect counter against the enigmatic inventor. She was capable of creating tens of thousands of Shadow Clones, and though the rebound would probably liquefy her brain, she could sustain a moon-sized Susanoo with each of them. "Hmmm...?" While searching for an ideal ce to rest, Madara sensed a powerful intent spying on her position, triggering her Rinnesharingan. The intent vanished the moment she attempted to lock onto it, but Madara was able to approximate its position and manifest one of her Limbo Clones over the area. As the pale, white-haired version of Madara looked around, the smell of blood immediately caught her attention. The intent emanated from what appeared to be a long-abandoned battlefield, yet, despite the apparent passage of time, many of the corpses still oozed fresh, luminous golden blood. Recognizing the thousands of deceased as former Gods and their kin, a curious glimmer reflected across Madara''s eyes as she softly mused, "Are these the remains of the Divine Army...?" Sensing the same intent from before, this time locking on to her Limbo Clone, Madara directed her attention to the decapitated corpse of a 3m tall man wearing golden reminiscent of an ancient Persian warrior. The moment she looked over, the ting covering the figure''s chest began to bulge before bursting open to reveal the head of a strange, bone-colored lizard with round, emotionless, unblinking amethyst eyes. As if it was confused by Madara''s presence, the strange lizard tilted its head to one side, the ridges above its sunken eyes raising ever so slightly as a piercing, bone-chilling voice echoed through the area like a whisper from the void, remarking, "I thought I sensed an ''outsider,'' but I dared not believe it. Tell me, woman. By what means did you enter the ce...?" Furrowing her brows, Madara ignored the creature''s query as she softly remarked, "Now I understand...this ce wasn''t selected because of its convenience. Those bastards in the Inner Gates want us to clean it up for them..." Instead of getting annoyed at Madara''s apparent disregard, the bone-white lizard managed an uncanny smile as it mused, "I see...youe from the Second, or is it the Third now? Either way, it was a mistake toe here. Once I''ve devoured your flesh, I will find the path back andy waste to as many ygrounds as those pathetic Gods have prepared." Though others might be intimidated by the creature, especially those that knew its identity, Madara rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, stating, "I have no interest in relics from the past. Get in my way, and I''ll crush you like the insect you are..." Unable to contain itself, the eerie lizard threw its head back and released a cacklingugh that caused visible cracks in the surrounding space. The ground beneath it appeared to heave as if influenced by an overwhelming gravitation force, while everyone unfortunate enough to be observing the scene felt a sense of existential dread. Unaffected by the aura of malice that had descended upon her like a veil, Limbo Madara extended her hand toward the cackling creature and said, "Begone..." in a cold, icy tone. The peculiar lizard heard her and adopted a taunting smile, but before it could retort, a skyscraper-sized pir of ck energy impacted, seemingly erasing it from existence... ... .. . As one of its countless offshoots was ughtered, a vaguely humanoid figure with three draconic heads, each sporting stakes, awakened from its previously assumed eternal slumber. It had shackles on its long and thin limbs, shadowy wings protruding from its back, loose trousers sewn from its own flesh, and a red cape sporting a symbol that appeared to blur and distort when viewed directly, making it impossible to make out. Rising into a squat, the creepy white creature raised its three draconic heads, the outer two sniffing the air while the centermost head inquired, "How long has it been since one of our brood met its end in this timeless ce? Did they stumble across one of the remnants of the Old Gods...?" Though they shared the same body and purpose, the three heads each possessed unique Egos, the left-most growling, "This is why I suggested we devour everything..." Disagreeing with its left-most counterpart, the right head retorted, "There was good reason to believe those fools would eventually return to try and reim their lost heritage. If this turns out to be them, you''re going to end up looking even more foolish than usual..." Snorting through its nose, the left-most head growled, "We look exactly the same..." before following the gaze of the center head. Because of the restrictions on Authority, its perception was severely limited. The corpse it was inhabiting also got in the way, so, after a moment of silence, it raised its left arm and sted a massive hole in the ''ceiling.'' Feeling a little annoyed, the center head took control over its left arm and pulled on the tassel dangling from the left-most head''s stake. This caused all three of them tremendous pain, but the bulk of it was experienced by the left-most head, telepathically screaming, "You bastaaaaaaaaaaaard-!" until the central head released it. As the left-most head attempted to use the horn-like ridge above its eye to stab it, the central head just ignored it, choosing to stare up at the hole overhead. It was annoyed by the left-most head''s act of autonomy, but it couldn''t deny the gaping hole made things easier. Various ''scents'' rained down on it from above, some familiar, others entirely brand new. Thus, for the first time in eons, it cracked a malevolent smile and mused, "We have visitors...and quite a few, at that..." ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Chaos Deities can be a pain in the ass xD...'',''Madara doesn''t y around...well, not too much...'',''*triple kek*'') Chapter 2340: Lurking

Chapter 2340: Lurking

While most spectators chose to pay attention to the movements and actions of the more high-profile Representatives, that didn''t mean there was no excitement urring near the Little Garden''s periphery. Rather, as each Community could only put forth a single Representative, the majority of yers, representing Gates 10,000-9,999,999, had been transported to the ruins of the Outer Gates. Among thisparablyrge portion of yers, a young man with blonde hair and amethyst purple eyes could be seen bounding through the air, hisughter echoing through the area as he shouted, "Come on! Are you even trying to aim!? You''ll need to try harder if you want to hit the Great Izayoi, Strategist of the No Names...!" Frustrated by the young man''sughter, the leader of the group that had teamed up to eliminate him bellowed, "Fuck you, you No-Name little shit! If you''re a real man, stop bouncing around and fight me...!" As flight-rted Gifts weren''tmon among Communities upying the Outter Gates, the group targetting Izayoi could only pepper him with ranged attacks in the hopes of knocking him out of the sky. Their leader was a voluptuous, blonde-haired woman with inordinatelyrge, ram-like horns that framed her face and a thick, alligator-like tail. Her outfit, which consisted of a tube-top, vested jacket, form-fitting pants, and multiple belts, gave people the impression she was a bit of a delinquent, a notion further backed by her words. Leaping hundreds of meters into the air, the horned woman attempted to tackle Izayoi, but he effortlessly evaded to the side,pelling her to shout, "Aaaaah! So you''re so fucking dead! Just wait until I get my hands on you...!" Instead of exhibiting even a hint of fear, Izayoi exhaled a light chuckle as he danced around hundreds of fast-moving projectiles. He knew the ''real'' battles wouldn''t start until the major yers got a feel for the situation, so he was just killing time until something interesting happened. *Mistress Asuka will not be pleased if you continue ying around with other women...* Hearing the ethereal voice of his whale-like Companion, Seiun, the smile on Izayoi''s face visibly cramped. He could easily imagine Asuka getting upset with him if he was ''too friendly'' with another woman, so when the aggressive blonde leaped at him for the umpteenth time, Izayoi adopted a marginally more serious expression and said, "Better luck next time, gator girl." Before the blonde could process Izayoi''s words, a heavy blow impacted her abdomen, sending her crashing toward the ground like a meteor. The attack caused her little pain, but the moment she opened her eyes and prepared tounch a counter, she found herself in the familiar setting of her bedroom, eliminated from the Pandemonium Game. Realizing what must have happened, the aggressive blonde gripped her horns and shook her head violently as she shouted, "You son of a bitch! Don''t think this is over, Izayoi of the No-Names...!" ... .. . Unaware that he had just acquired a ''nemesis,'' Izayoi made short work of the blonde-haired beauty''s remaining allies before perching atop the ruins of a partially copsed tower. He could get a better vantage by flying up into the sky, but that came with the risk of exposing himself to individuals that could fire long-range projectiles at faster-than-light speeds. Though he was pretty confident in his speed and reaction time, Izayoi had once fought against a ''serious'' Wu. Her base speed at the time clocked in at around 1.4 quintillion times the speed of light, so Izayoi had no illusions about being the ''fastest'' person in the Little Garden. Heck, with Vahn able to pull powerhouses out of his ass, he may not even be in the top 100. Recalling his most recent encounter with Vahn, urring just a few hours before the onset of the Pandemonium Game, Izayoi couldn''t help feeling a little helpless. He could generally tell whether or not his opponent was more powerful than him, but the most recent version of Vahn gave him no impression at all. It was almost like he didn''t even exist... Sensing his partner''s thoughts, Seiun whispered, (*If you wish to oppose my Creator, you have myplete and total support. Just know that, unless we have a good reason to win, he will never permit himself to be defeated.*) Adopting a wry smile, Izayoi yfully remarked, "Most people don''t have a say in whether or not they''ll be defeated. Even your Creator must have a weakness..." Though it currentlycked a body, Seiun nodded in response to Izayoi''s words, stating, (*If he didn''t, he wouldn''t allow himself to be defeated at all. Because he believes everyone is entitled to pursue their own path, any sufficiently resolute individual would be able to depose him.*) Raising his brows, Izayoi retorted, "Is that so...?" before tilting his head to the side, casually evading theser-like beam of light that tried to pierce it. Several others followed suit, but Izayoi just narrowed his eyes, a simple action that caused thesers to bend around him, almost as if they were afraid. Seemingly realizing that Izayoi wasn''t an opponent she could deal with, a bronze-skinned woman with ruby eyes, cat-like ears, and apparel befitting the sensibilities of the West abandoned her position and tried to flee. She was barely faster than an Olympic athlete, however, so Izayoi appeared in front of her in an instant, asking, "Is that aser sniper rifle? That''s pretty freaking cool, not gonna lie..." Before the woman could respond, Izayoi snatched the futuristic-looking rifle out of her hands and began to inspect it. He could toss pebbles and deal more damage than the rifle was capable of dealing, but, as someone from a rtively modern version of Japan, he was still intrigued by mechs and futuristic weaponry. Though her primary weapon was snatched away, the bronze-skinned cat girl made no attempts to protest or steal it back. Instead, she just stared back at Izayoi with caution, her body tense and mind racing to conceive a method of escape. Fortunately for the woman, remaining silent was probably the best thing she could have done. Had she tried to negotiate or try to seduce Izayoi, he would have had little choice but to eliminate her. Since she just stared at him with worry, however, he felt no qualms about tossing over her rifle and suggesting, "You should stick to the outskirts and only target yers you''ve seen in action. You won''t be able to achieve victory, but you might be able to gain some reputation if you''re able to hold out till the end." Before the woman could think to thank him or request a partnership of some kind, Izayoi flicked his middle finger and sent her stumbling back with a fierce yet ultimately harmless wind. He briefly got a glimpse of the contents of her skirt but resisted the urge toment on it as Asuka was doubtlessly scrutinizing his every action... ... .. . "Ahahahaha~! This is so much fun~!" Despite being knocked around like a ragdoll by Kurma''s attacks, Lahmu was in high spirits as she continued to attack haphazardly, spreading the influence of her corruption. Seeing the battlefield gradually morph into a miasma-filled hellscape, the look on Kurma''s face became increasingly grim. Unfortunately, while her power dwarfed Lahmu''s by several orders of magnitude, she had nothing that could put down the cackling lolita permanently. Balling her right hand into a fist, Kurma covered the distance between her and Lahmu in an instant, punching thetter with enough force to send her head spinning like a top as she growled, "You''re beginning to try my patience, Lahmu...!" After stumbling back a bit, Lahmu reached up to stop the spinning of her head, an expression of childish glee on her face as she replied, "Lahmu is just having fun. It isn''t often Lahmu gets to y with others, so won''t you keep herpany a while longer~?" Though she was tempted to shout that they weren''t ying a game, Kurma knew the futility of trying to reason with Lahmu. Thetter was the ''beloved'' daughter of one of the most corrupt and demonic entities in the entire Little Garden, so her idea of fun was ripping people apart with her bare hands or watching them dissolve in her corrosive mes. Exhaling through her nose, Kurma was prepared to employ a simr tactic as Madara but stopped when Lahmu abruptly looked away from her. She followed the petite Dragoness''s gaze, and what she discovered caused a shiver to course through her entire body. It was a being standing a mere three meters tall, but it inspired a sense of dreadparable to watching a''s host star go supernova. As it had been observing the battle for several minutes, the bone-white creature just smiled with all three of its heads, the centermost remarking, "Don''t mind us. Please, continue..." in an amused, bone-chilling tone. Losing her usual smile, Lahmu looked at the exposed part of her left arm to find the flesh beneath it writhing about. She could produce tentacles from openings in her body, natural or otherwise. Now, however, they were being made within her body,pletely disregarding her will... As greenish-ck blood began to flow from her mouth, nose, ears, and eyes, Lahmu looked toward Kurma and croaked, "This isn''t fun anymore..." before bursting into innumerable, tiny chunks. A titanic figure with four eyes, dark green skin, and demonic horns had burst free from her body, half of its muscr frameprised of fleshy tentacles as it charged at Kurma like a mindless beast. Despite the creature''s massive frame, Kurma was able to send it crashing to the ground with a fairly casual smack, ignoring the devastation wrought by her attack as she stared at the three-headed creature and hissed, "Azi Dahaka..." cing a hand over his heart, Azi impersonated a gentlemanly bow as he lowered his central head and replied, "At your service..." Contrasting the central head''s words and actions, the left-most head stared at Kurma with a predatory smile, adding, "I never expected this bitch to be our hundred-and-seventieth prey. This day just keeps getting better and better." Smacking his left head, Azi pretended to be angry as he condescendingly bellowed, "Watch yournguage! Don''t you know we''re in the presence of Her Highness, the World Dragon Kurma!?" Tired of the center and left head''s antics, the right head exhaled a sigh through his nose, grumbling, "What is the point of these theatrics? Let''s just devour her and be done with it." Though the centermost head was inclined to agree, the left head made its depravity known, retorting, "Nah, fuck that. This bitch wants to go around calling herself a Dragon when she''s just a turtle? I say we give her a taste of the real thing..." Wresting control from the central head, Lefty used its corresponding hand to scratch between its legs. Kurma had understood his intentions from his words, but his actions made it even more apparent, causing the glower on her face to be an expression of abject disgust as she asserted, "The whole of Creation will benefit from your destruction..." Without missing a beat, the left-most head began to retort, "You''re about to benefit from these nuts in your-" before receiving another smack from the central head, silencing him. The three of them shared control over the same body, but the central head was the defacto leader between them as it had dominion over their reproductive functions. With the left-most head temporarily silenced, the central Azi directed its gaze to Kurma, asking, "What is the meaning behind this farce you call a Gift Game? Considering your rtionship with Vishnu, you should have at least some idea of the true purpose of this event. Reveal what you know, and I can guarantee you a dignified death. Refuse, and..." Understanding what his central head had in mind, the left-most head regained a vicious smile as it added, "I''ll fuck every hole you have and then create new ones to keep fucking...!" ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Izayoi ispletely henpecked...'',''Ms. Kurma...I don''t feel so good...'',''Team Three Star...!'') Chapter 2341: Quick Plug - Appeal ? I just got an overdraft notice from my bank xD. If anyone would like to purchase a chapter, please message me on pat.reon or send me an email. It can be a chapter of an ongoing series or a one-shot based on an idea of your choosing. Chapter 2342: Spread With the most disdainful glower she could manage, Kurma stared down at Azi and uttered a simple, "Disgusting" before immediately teleporting away. Surprised by the rapid departure, the left head of Azi eximed, "Ah! That bitch is trying to run!" Rolling his eyes, the central Azi replied, "I can see that." before turning to the right head and questioning, "What do you think? Should we give chase or continue hunting other prey?" Caressing the tassel dangling from his stake as if it were a beard, the right head took a moment to consider its answer before stating, "Contemptible as he may be, Vishnu is no fool. He wouldn''t permit one of his Avataras to appear before us without some kind of n. I advise caution." Snorting tiny plumes of me from its nostrils, the left head retorted, "You always advise caution. If it weren''t for you, we wouldn''t have been sealed in this shit hole for all these years." Ignoring the left head''s remark, the right head remained silent, patiently awaiting the central head''s decision. Though it briefly stared in the direction Kurma had departed, the central head ultimately exhaled a telepathic sigh beforezily grumbling, "I hate having to track prey" Toozy to pursue Kurma, Azi used his impossibly sharp ws to create a gash across his chest. Luminous crimson blood began spurting from the wound, but instead of sttering across the ground, it floated away from Azi, forming thirteen carmine spheres. At the center of these spheres, tiny eggs could be seen undergoing rapid cell division, rapidly developing into embryos before ''hatching'' as two-headed clones of Azi. Reaching toward the nearest clone, Azi grasped its two necks before ripping it in two, blood erupting from the bifurcated halves and forming thousands of additional spheres. The resultant clones only possessed a single head, but each possessed powerparable to the Leader of a 5-Digit Community. This might not sound particrly impressive, but killing them would simply result in more clones being produced, each capable of devouring just about anything. With an army to act at his behest, Azi mended the wound on his chest as he sneered and said, "Go forth, be fruitful, and multiply." Never one to remain silent, the left head immediately added, "And if you see that bitch, Kurma, or any other ''dragons'' for that matter, bring them to me." Feeling obliged to offer his own amendment, the right head followed the other two, stating, "Be wary of the pale woman with red eyes and ashen hair. Her power is unknown, even to us." Following the trio''s words, the 3,419 clones of Azi offered respectful bows before splitting off into twelve groups, each overseen by a clone with two heads. Only the two-headed Azi(s) could transmit information back to the original, so they acted as Commanders. In contrast, their one-headed kin were little more than mindless pawns, their every action dictated by their Commanders'' will. Seeing his brood disperse, Azi stood silently for nearly a full minute until the left head quipped, "Have we finally gone senile?" Ignoring the left head''sment, the central head looked to the sky with the closest thing it could manage to a pensive expression. As a being that had existed even before the dawn of time, it was attuned to Creation in a way subsequent generations of Gods couldn''t imagine. It hadn''t noticed it initially, but ''something'' had changed. He had no idea what it was, but the sense of incongruency he was experiencing was unmistakable Confusing the other two heads, a hint of emotion briefly appeared in the depths of Azi''s eyes as he asked himself, "Is this real?" .. . Though she had yet to replenish her mental and spiritual energies fully, Ke terminated her meditation early as she sensed dozens of powerful and malicious auras heading toward her with reckless abandon. "What the hell?" With her Sage Mode allowing her to sense emotions and ascertain the ''alignment'' of her opponent, Ke was momentarily confused as not even Majin Buu possessed as much wickedness as the beings closing in on her position. As one of the creatures burst through the wall of her hideout, Ke got her first look at one of Azi Dahaka''s clones. It spotted her at the same time, but there was no sense of awareness within its eyes, only ruthless detachment. Interrupting the moment of tension between Ke and the one-headed clone, three more burst into the room from different angles, each lunging toward the fused Saiyaness with extended arms and salivating maws. Demonstrating the rather drastic difference in their speed and strength, Ke evaded the lunging attacks with such finesse she appeared to be flowing with the air around them. Super Saiyan Sage Mode functioned as a kind of precursor to Ultra Instinct. So, even though she would generally thrash any opponent foolish enough to charge at her, Ke abstained out of pure instinct, bursting through the ceiling to escape their encirclement. Finding dozens more Azi(s) waiting for her in the skies outside, a battle-hungry smile developed across Ke''s face as she zeroed in on the two-headed clone, remarking, "Weren''t Gifts and Abilities rted to cloning against the rules? Seeing as you haven''t been ejected from the game, I take it you''re one of the ''dangers'' we were warned about near the start." Having gained knowledge of the existence of Gift Games from some of the yers it had devoured, the right head of the two-headed Azi replied, "Something like that" while the left remarked, "Gold hair and a monkey-like tailare you a descendent of Sun Wu Kong?" Furrowing her brows, Keflt lost her smile as she growled, "I am a Saiyan, not a monkey. You''ll keep that in mind if you don''t want to skin you and turn you into a handbag" As it didn''t really care about Ke''s race, the two-headed Azi exchanged looks with itself before shrugging and saying, "Whatever. Monkey, Saiyan, insectit''s all the same when ites out the other end" Without the need for a verbal order, the 283 clones following their two-headed Commander charged toward Ke from all sides. Theycked the shadowy wings of the original, but they could still fly by manipting the air and gravity around them. While the speed of the clones was enough to horrify individuals in the 6-7-Digit Gates, they were moving painfully slow in the eyes of Kelfa. She didn''t know their exact speed, but she knew it was slower than even the speed of light, something she could exceed in her teens. After receiving training as both a God of Creation and Destruction, she could dart across entire universes in just a few hours. Thus, for a brief moment, Ke found herself seriously considering whether or not the white-skinned monsters were even worth her time. Exhaling a sigh that was imperceptible to the one-headed Azi(s), Ke muttered, "Let''s just get this over with" before ''floating'' over to the two-headed clone at azy velocity. It was much faster than the one-headed clones, but it had barely widened its eyes and begun to uncross its arms by the time Ke ced her hand in front of its face, adding, "If it''s all the same in the end, eat shit and die" in an icy tone. Without giving the two-headed Azi a chance to respond, Ke created a sphere of vibrant green Ki. She had fought against regenerative monsters such as Cell, Majin Buu, and Vahn, so once she resolved to kill someone, she did her best to ensure not even a single cell remained. As the two-headed Azi was annihted in an instant, the remaining 283 ''ragdolled'' in mid-air, their bodies following their original trajectory and crashing into one another with gruesome consequences. Ke hadn''t been expecting this, but she ultimately just shrugged her shoulders and remarked, "That''s not something you see every day" Nearly as soon as Ke had finished quipping, the mangled bodies of the Azi clones began to regenerate. At the same time, the veritable shower of blood that had rained down on the ground began to congeal, forming tens of thousands of tiny spheres before Ke raised her hand and proimed, "Yeah, I don''t think so." Using nearly as much power as she had during her brief exchange with Pweamma, Ke unleashed a devastating attack that enveloped an area muchrger than the one covered in the clones'' blood. She had no idea of Azi''s capabilities, so she wasn''t leaving anything to chance .. . A stark contrast to how smoothly things had gone for Ke, the majority of yers were helpless against the onught of Azi''s forces. Those from 6-7-Digit Gates were hunted down without mercy while those from lower-digit Gates managed to put up a fight but were ultimately overwhelmed by the clones'' regenerative and replicative abiliites. As he had been loitering around the 5-Digit Gates, Izayoi was one of the few capable of dealing with Azi''s clones. With the aide of Seiun, he was able to fly around at faster than light speeds, shattering the clones as if they were ss before advising those he saved to abandon the game or regroup with other yers. Unfortunately, as fast as Izayoi was, hecked the ability to sense across vast distances. He could only eliminate the clones that appeared in front him, unware of their origin or if other clones had appeared to rece the ones he had already eliminated. Feeling frustrated after eliminating what Seiun confirmed to be his ten-thousandth clone, Izayoi punched the air and shouted, "Where the hell are these thingsing from!?" Seeing the army of Azi clones scouring the battlefield like ants atop an animal carcass, Izayoi was increasingly tempted to just ''nuke'' them from orbit. Other yers were bound to get caught up in the destruction, but it was better to be vaporized than endure being torn apart by the unfeeling, endlessly propogating monsters. Raising his right hand, palm upward, Izayoi manifested a pencil-sized light construct. He was about to release the energy contained within when a white-haired youth with luminous golden eyes abruptly appeared next to him, reaching for his wrist. Reacting much faster than the youth, Izayoi retracted his hand and asked, his usual smile nowhere to be seen as he asked, "And who the hell are you supposed to be?" Instead of revealing his identity, the white-haired youth narrowed his eyes at Izayoi and stated, "You should be thanking me. While there are many differences between them, Another Cosmology functions simrly to Authority. If you had activated that power, being eliminated from the game would be the least of your troubles" Though he doubted the credibility of the youth''s words, Izayoi didn''t attempt to activate his ''Aurora Pir'' a second time. Instead, he gave the golden-eyed youth an apprasing look, asking, "And why does that matter to you? I don''t recall us ever meeting, and I''ve got a damn good memory." Ignoring Izayoi''s questions a second time, the youth ced his hands into his pockets and shifted his gaze to the teau at the center of the battlefield, stating, "There are significantly fewer clones the closer you get to the Inner Gates. I suggest heading there before you expend your energy trying to eliminate an endless, self-replicating army." Without waiting for Izayoi''s response, the youth promptly turned around and teleported away. When he reached his destination, however, he was stunned to find Izayoi there waiting for him, arms crossed as he asserted, "I have questions, and you''re going to answer them" Realizing that Izayoi was ''a lot'' faster than he had anticipated, the youth only hesitated for a moment before answering, "Very well. However, there is a limit to my knowledge. If you want a detailed exnation, you should locate one of the Representative from the Inner Gates. Only those above with adequate ''permissions'' can disclose the truth of this situation." Nodding his head in affirmation, Izayoi replied, "Oh, I intend to. You can be sure of that. For now, just hearing the basics is enough. Now, out with it, chibi. My patience is already wearing thin." Though he frowned at Izayoi referring to him as a chibi, the white-haired youth didn''t bother to retort. Instead, her narrowed his eyes and asked, "What do you know of the Communal Alliance known as Arcadia?" .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Kurma be like, "Fuck this shit, I''m out~!"'',''Ke is surprisingly diligent'',''A ''mysterious'' white shota has entered the battlefield! And he''s eyeing Izayoi''s palm-sized pir!?'') Chapter 2343: Pilot/Spoiler While chaos spread through the former Little Garden, Azi continued to stare at the sky as if awaiting an answer to his question. At the same time, he couldn''t help feeling like he had fallen or was currently being lured into an inescapable trap Interrupting the ancient evil''s thoughts, or at least attempting to, a beam of luminous gold enveloped Azi, the energy within so pure it dispersed the miasma that had begun to umte in the area. In its ce, an area of several kilometers became sanctified ground, glowing with a faint golden light as ''god rays'' illuminated the area. Following the light to its origin, a woman with long golden hair and azure blue eyes could be seen wielding arge, silvery-white ymore with a crimson hilt. Her athletic body was garbed in a ck one-piece dress with a short, frilly white skirt and leather leggings. Over that, she wore ornate, silvery-white te mail that covered her breasts, shoulders, arms, waist, and the lower half of her legs, seeminglyprised of the same material as her sword. More notably, her waist bore a piece of red fabric, bearing a once-famous coat of arms that depicted a lion''s head Seeing the ephemerally beautiful woman appear on numerous disys, the excitement of the people spectating from the Little Garden reached a crescendo. Not everyone immediately recognized her, but those that did excitedly spread the word. The Community the woman belonged to may have fallen out of favor, but she was still one of the most famous figures in the Little Garden: Artorias Pendragon, the King of Knights and the Ruler of Avalon. Though she initially took part in the Pandemonium Gift Game to restore the honor of her Community, Artorias couldn''t ignore an evil right in front of her. Azi exuded an evil unlike anything she had ever sensed, so taking him out took priority over everything else. Just as it seemed Artorias''s attack may have been effective, the beam of light emanating from her Excalibur shattered like ss. At the same time, the left-most head of Azi shouted, "You bitch! That fucking burns!" Seeing Azi shatter her energy-based attack with a backhand, the pupils of Artorias''s azure eyes contracted. Her expression remained calm and dignified, but a sense of foreboding took root in her heart as the central head turned toward her, staring at her Excalibur as it said, "The power of hopeone of the few weapons capable of killing me. It''s a pity you seem to have lost it" Before Artorias could respond, Azi streaked across the sky like a ck meteor surrounded by pitch ck. His movements tore through Space as he traveled, so a trail of destruction followed in his wake as he attempted to grasp Artorias''s neck. Demonstrating that she wasn''t known as the King of Knights for nothing, Artorias evaded Azi''s attack at thest moment, darting backward as she swept Excalibur at his wrist. Unfortunately, her attack impacted the stake-bound manacles epassing Azi''s wrist, deflecting off the seemingly indestructible material with more force than her actual swing. "Hooooyou''re not half bad" remarked the right-most head. The central head agreed with this sentiment, but it was ruined by the left-most head screaming, "This bitch has a whiff of Dragon''s blood flowing through her veins! Let''s make her into a seedbed!" While pping the left-most head, Azi used his shadowy wings to try and pierce Artorias. Thetter was able to evade and even cut through most of his attacks due to Excalibur''s properties as a Holy Sword, but she was slowly pushed back as his regeneration drastically exceeded her damage output. Voicing theirbined thoughts, the right-most head exined, "Your mistake was confronting me with the notion your victory was assured. The moment your initial attack failed, doubt was seeded in your heart. From then onward, your victory became an impossibility" Gritting her teeth, Artorias sliced through Azi''s wings before darting back to create some distance. Then, while holding Excalibur in front of her face, her azure eyes zed with conviction as she firmly asserted, "Excalibur is the Sword of Promised Victory. I do not know from whence you came, but I will cut you down and rid the world of your evil" Staring at Artorias with his red, seemingly dead eyes, the centermost Azi adopted a ''very'' disconcerting smile as he mused, "Hope is a weapon of the weak. The strong may inspire it, but it is not something they wield of their own ord. Your convictions are not your own. Therefore, you can never defeat-" Interrupting Azi''s musings, Artorias charged toward him, the de of her Excalibur exuding a holy glow that dwarfed the radiance of the Sun as she attempted to bifurcate him. Her attack found purchase, but while she was able to cut halfway through Azi''s waist, her attack stopped the moment it came into contact with his spine. Before Artorias could retract her sword and attempt a second strike, Azi grasped her shoulders, all three of his heads staring down at her as the centermost head dered, "Your sin is that you were born too powerful" Without extrapting on the meaning of his words, Azi stunned the entire Little Garden by abruptly pulling her ''into'' him. Excalibur granted her one of the most potent forms of immortality in the Little Garden, but he didn''t intend to kill her. Hope and despair were ultimately two sides of the same coin, so he nned to subsume her existence to elevate his own. Just as Artorias was about to give in to despair, her body dispersed into motes of light. Azi attempted to absorb it, but his efforts were thwarted by an invisible force pressing down on him from above, smashing him into the ground without breaking it. Despite his unfathomable strength, Azi found himself unable to resist the invisible force pressing down on him. Even stranger, he couldn''t break the ground beneath him, almost like it had be indestructible. All he could do, at least for the time being, was watch silently as the motes of the light that used to be Artorias faded, marking her return to the Little Garden .. . Though her body was destroyed and her Ego sustained several cracks, Madara''s internal System Temte was able to repair the damage as she gradually reformed several hundred kilometers away from the blue-haired woman. "What a monster" remarked Madara, who, even after creating a new body, felt as though each of her cells was on the verge of breaking down. Her opponent''s final beam attack had the terrifying property of Existence Erasure, so a powerful Authority was currently doing everything in its power to prevent her from existing. Snorting through her nose, Madara gradually reinforced her existence as she remarked, "What foolishness. Did you seriously think you could erase me, Uchiha Madara?" Activating her Rinnesharingan, Madara''s existence stabilized enough that she was no longer feeling pain. At the same time, a sound simr to ss being shattered echoed around her as the Authority attempting to impose her erasure experienced a rebound .. . While looking around for traces of Madara, the blue-haired woman''s visor abruptly exploded, nearly knocking her out of the sky. She quickly caught herself, but a hint of disbelief marred her usually emotionless face before her visor promptly regenerated, concealing her crimson eyes from view .. . Standing high in the sky and overlooking a terrain filled with massive frozen flowers, Yuri remarked, "You''re pretty strong. If we were back in the Tower, you could have easily secured one of the Top 20 positions" ring up at Yuri, Lau growled, "You speak as if the match has already been decided" Scratching the back of her head, Yuri exined, "I didn''te here to eliminate people from thepetition. I just wanted to see how strong you were before moving on to my next target. Do you really want to see things through to the end?" "" Though her pridepelled her to respond in the affirmative, Lau ultimately remained silent. Her standing as Floor Master depended on her ability to make a good showing, so she couldn''t afford to be eliminated this early in thepetition Sparing Lau the indignity of having the surrender, a crimson spear tore through the air like a bolt of lightning, albeit much faster. Yuri managed to deflect it with the back of her hand, but she was still knocked by several meters, her arm vibrating from the force of the blow. Shaking her hand, Yuri looked in the direction the spear hade from to find a tall and slender woman with purple hair and green eyes. Her body was garbed in the attire of a butler, but she exuded an aura only the most powerful of warriors couldmand. Despite never having met, Yuri immediately recognized the woman, remarking, "You must be the Divine Realm''s Scathach" before adopting a broad smile. cing her hand over her heart, Scathach adopted a smile of her own as she answered, "Indeed. And you must be Ha Yuri, one of the Sage Dragon Emperor''s many Concubines" Snorting through her nose, Yuri unleashed a massive, emerald-green tidal wave as she replied, "I''ll have you know we''re properly married!" Manifesting another crimson spear, Scatach cut through the seemingly unstoppable wave as if she were swatting away a fly. To Yuri''s surprise, this casual act severed her control over the water, causing it to disperse into a steamy haze before disappearing entirely. Narrowing her eyes in amusement, Scathach remarked, "My spear can cut through all lies and deceit. You may believe yourself to be powerful, but is that truly the case~?" With her left eye twitching, Yuri manifested her Zanpakuto in the form of a pair of red gauntlets. At the same time, aplex magic circle appeared behind her, its core resembling the head of a seahorse with coral antlers. "You''ve got a smart mouth on you," remarked Yuri. "Let''s see if your bite is as strong as your bark!" Completely ignoring Lau, Yuri charged toward Scathach like a meteor descending from the heavens. Thetter couldn''t fly without the aid of a Gift, but it didn''t matter too much as she preferred to stay on the ground. In response to Yuri''s charge, she simply adopted a faint smile, receiving the former''s attack with the cylindrical section of her spear without giving so much as a centimeter of ground. Feeling as though she had punched a void, Yuri''s crimson eyes widened as Scathach mused, "That''s quite the weapon you possess. I take it the Sage Dragon Emperor forged it~?" Instead of answering Scathach''s question, Yuri activated the ability of her Zanpakuto, causing an explosionparable to a nuclear bomb to erupt from her fist. Lau was forced to flee from the shockwave, but Scathach and her immediate surroundings emerged unscathed. Retracting her fist and creating a bit of distance, Yuri adopted a defensive posture as she asked, "What''s going on? Are you shielded by some kind of barrier?" Maintaining her smile, Scathach generously revealed, "It''s the effect of my unique Gift, [Geass Spear]. It''s weaker but functions simrly to the Authority of a Host Master. Unless you wager something, your attacks will not affect me." Raising her brows, Yuri parroted, "Wager?" before asking, "So I need to pay some kind of tribute just to damage you? How is that even remotely fair?" Shrugging her shoulders, Scathach replied, "Life isn''t fair. Some are born with blessings, while others are fated to die young. My status as the most powerful spear-wielder is constantly in jeopardy, so it''s only ''fair'' that my challengers wager something in return. Depending on what you offer, the potency of your attacks will vary." Clicking her tongue, Yuri muttered, "What a load of bullshit" before half-turning to leave. Opponents like Scathach were a bad matchup for her, so she intended to bail before she was baited into wagering something that might cause Vahn trouble. To her surprise, Scathach didn''t try to stop her, so she took onest look at the purple-haired ''demon'' before teleporting away to find a less irksome opponent .. . (A/N: From now on, it''s MI in the morning and EPIC in the evening. As for the number of chapters, it depends on my health and mood. At the very least, there will be one of each. Additional chapters can be found on my website(Libraryofakasha), but it''ll be a while before there is a substantial difference between here and there.) Chapter 2344: I, Your Father, Carry A Big Stick: (Spoiler) (A/N: Those of you who want to continue the Naruto Fanfic, I''ve uploaded Chapters 1-4 with the title ''I, Your Father, Carry a Big Stick.'') "Arcadia? It''s a country in Greece and an ind referenced in Greek mythology, located somewhere around the Peloponnese Penins. ording to legend, it''s a ce where creatures of all shapes and sizes can be found, and, ording to some, the inspiration for ces such as the Garden of Eden." As he had never heard of an Alliance called Arcadia, Izayoi could only respond with a few of the factoids he had acquired during his research. The woman he considered his mother had mentioned Arcadia during their travels, so it was one of the first things he looked into upon reaching the Little Garden. Hearing Izayoi''s response, the white-haired youth exhaled a sigh before muttering, "So, she never told you" Crossing his arms, Izayoi''s expression hardened as he questioned, "That depends. Who''s the ''she'' you''re referring to?" Shaking his head, the white-haired youth replied, "Unfortunately, I''m not at liberty to say. Besides" Gesturing to the chaos urring around them, the white-haired youth added, "Now isn''t the best time to be ying twenty questions. If you desire answers, seek out those who have concealed the truth. You can start with World Dragon Kurma" Having said what he intended to say, the white-haired youth turned away with the intent to teleport. Before he could, Izayoi ced his hand on the youth''s shoulder, saying, "You never introduced yourself" with narrowed eyes and a tightening grip. Matching Izayoi''s expression, a regal aura exuded from the white-haired youth as he replied, "Circumstances prevent me from disclosing my true name. As such, my close friends and colleagues have taken to calling me ''His Royal Highness.'' I shall permit you to do the same." Raising his left brow, a hint of disbelief appeared in Izayoi''s expression as he smiled sardonically and questioned, "His Royal Highness? What kind of King can''t even give his own name?" Instead of answering Izayoi''s question, Highness smacked away his hand before disappearing in a sh of light. Izayoi was tempted to follow him, but, seeing as things were only bing more chaotic with each passing moment, he ultimately exhaled a sigh, muttering, "Arcadia" as he looked towards the teau at the center of the battlefield. .. . While the other three Districts were bing increasingly chaotic, things were rtively stable in the West. The vast majority of Communities in the area, at least publicly, were rted to Heroism. Thus, whilepetition in the West could get extremely fierce, especially around the time Rankings were updated, they understood the importance of cooperation more than any other region. Bybining forces, the Representatives of the Western Communities managed to drive back Azi''s clone army with rtive ease. They suffered tens of thousands of casualties before things settled down, but most of these could be attributed to Madara and other ''viins.'' A veritable army of Heroes had tried to team up against her, led by the Rank 4 Hero, Blurry Bob, so she annihted them alongside Azi''s clones. If there were a list keeping track of the number of yers each individual had eliminated, Madara would be in the top 10. Because of this, a growing number of people were paying close attention to her every action. Many of these people simply enjoyed witnessing brutality and violence, while others found themselves captivated by her beauty. Either way, the one thing virtually everyone could agree upon was that Madara was strong Unconcerned with how people viewed her, Madara was seated atop a massive, thousand-armed Buddha statue with three identical copies of herself. Gifts and Abilities rted to cloning had been strictly prohibited, but Shadow Clones were an exception as they were considered physical projections, not actual clones. Any sufficiently powerful blow would cause them to disperse, so even though several defeated Communities had tried to have her disqualified, she was permitted to continue. Sensing a disturbance, Madara opened her eyes just in time to witness a series of blue and pink explosions in the distance, peppering the horizon like numerous rising stars. Without considering whether or not she would be intruding on someone else''s fun, Madara rose to her feet and flew towards the explosions. They were several hundred kilometers away, but she closed the distance in an instant, finding several Heroes, Viins, and Azi clones being swept up by the explosions. Ignoring the people fleeing for their lives on the ground, Madara turned her attention to a blue-haired woman ''standing'' in the sky, high above the explosion. Said woman was facing off against a trio of two-headed Azi(s), but they couldn''t get anywhere near her as she wielded oversized canons in each hand and was nked by a total of six gatling guns, each firing off bullets that moved so quickly they left behind distinct ck trails, tearing through the fabric of space and time. Noticing the ''seams'' in the woman''s flesh,bined with the fact she was wearing futuristic, albeit skimpy white armor, Madara crossed her arms, raised her brows, and softly muttered, "Could this be the true form of Dragon?" As if she could hear Madara''s utterance, the blue-haired woman looked at her, the upper half of her face blocked by a visor that vaguely resembled a VR headset. Despite this, Madara could feel the woman''s gaze piercing through her as she continued to fire upon Azi''s clones with cold, machine-like efficiency. Just as Madara was thinking about taunting the woman, the visored battle maiden aimed one of her oversized cannons in the Uchiha''s direction. The action caused thetter''s instincts to scream ''danger,'' so she immediately activated her Shinra Tensei, intending to deflect whatever wasing her way. Instead, her ''counter'' spread unobstructed, suppressing a number of explosions, crushing several unfortunate yers, and sending a couple of Azi clones flying. When it impacted the blue-haired woman, however, she just shuddered for a brief moment, ultimately unmoved from her position Though it wasn''t her first time encountering someone that could resist the Shinra Tensei, a frown marred Madara''s face. She was almost positive the woman had exercised some form of Authority, so she promptly extended her right hand, grasping the hilt of a katana that had appeared out of thin air. While drawing the katana from the void, Madara''s expression became serious as she shouted, "Fan the mes of Conflict, Gunbai!" As one of Vahn''s Temtes, Madara had functionally limitless Gifts, a Zanpakuto, and one of his most powerful Companions. When she called out the name of her Zanpakuto, fire erupted from her body, followed by arge fan manifesting in her left hand and a rtively in-looking scythe appearing in her right. The two were connected by a series of interlinking metal rods, functioning as a kind of chain that allowed Madara to use the scythe as both a short and mid-range weapon. Waving her fan, Madara produced a tempestuous wind that functioned simrly to Ea, tearing apart and copsing the surrounding space. At this point, the blue-haired woman began to take action, the cannon in her left hand illuminating as it hummed like a tuning fork. Expecting an attack, Madara was surprised to see the space around the woman solidify before rapidly mending itself. For the briefest of moments, she almost considered that the woman wasn''t an enemy until a thin beam of light emerged from the end of the cannon, targetting her chest. Though she was tempted to try and reflect the attack with her Gunbai, Madara decided on the ''safer'' route, trading ces with one of the Azi clones using her Rinnesharingan. Her initial target was the blue-haired woman, but the space around her currently couldn''t be distorted due to the humming of her cannon. As the swap was instantaneous, Madara was shocked for the second time as she found anotherser awaiting her where the Azi clone had been. By the time she processed its existence, a beam of white light more than 10m in diameter had already enveloped her, its velocity several thousand times the speed of actual light. Crossing her arms and closing her eyes, Madara was prepared to endure excruciating pain. Instead, she felt a simr sense of incongruency as her body, clothes, and armor began to lose their luster. When the light faded less than a secondter, Madara tentatively opened her eyes to find that her previously crimson armor was now a peculiar shade of greyish-white, resembling salt. As if to confirm Madara''s suspicions, a gentle breeze caused her armor to begin king away. The same happened to her clothes, but while her hair and skin had turned a simr shade of white, they regained their luster as Madara stared at the blue-haired woman and growled, "You almost killed me, you bastard" Though they weren''t visible due to the visor covering her face, the blue-haired woman''s brows raised ever so slightly. Her heads-up disy had allowed her to predict Madara''s movements and confirmed the hit was a sess. No matter how she analyzed the situation, her opponent''s body should have been reduced to salt Speaking for the first time, the blue-haired woman asked, "What are you? Nothing born or guilty of sin should be able to withstand these sanctified weapons." Equipping a new set of armor to rece her former attire, Madara leveled her Gunbai at the blue-haired woman and asserted, "I am Uchiha Madara, Grand Matriarch of the Uchiha n. Dere yourself, so I may know what to engrave upon your tombstone" Though the blue-haired woman''s databanks recorded the existence of countless Uchiha, none of the information she had on file could exin how Madara could withstand her attack. Her records recorded the name and history of every human in the current Order, including their derivative species, so Madara either didn''t exist or wasn''t human Instead of revealing her identity, the blue-haired woman allowed her two cannons and the six gatling guns floating behind her to dematerialize. In their ce, her right arm transformed into a ck and white sword while a massive shield manifested in her left hand. Witnessing her opponent manifest a sword and shield, a smile returned to Madara''s face. She didn''t mind using shy attacks to take out groups of opponents, but her preference was close-rangebat. The blue-haired woman gave her some ''questionable'' vibes, but that wasn''t going to stop her from enjoying herself. As if she could read her opponents'' intentions, the blue-haired woman charged forward at the exact same moment as Madara. Everything from their speed to the force behind their blows was functionally identical, but that just caused Madara''s smile to broaden as she shed forward with her scythe, shouting, "Block this!" in a spirited tone. Though she initially nned to do precisely that, the blue-haired woman changed the angle of her shield at thest moment while simultaneously stabbing forward with her sword. The former was the correct decision, as Madara''s scythe possessed the not-so-unique property of being able to pierce just about anything. Thus, even though her attack was deflected, it managed to leave a deep trench in the shield''s surface. All but confirming she wasn''t human, at least in the eyes of her blue-haired adversary, Madara didn''t even attempt to block the sword aiming at her heart. It appeared to pierce through her, but, in actuality, she split open a channel just wide enough for the de to pass through her as she continued forward to headbutt her opponent. Despite her armor possessing properties that made it indestructible under normal circumstances, a sizeable crack appeared on the front of the blue-haired woman''s visor while her HUD flickered violently. The damage was repaired almost immediately, but even a picosecond was enough time for Madara to capitalize on. Still salty about being turned into a literal pir of salt, Madara grabbed the blue-haired woman by the neck and attempted to use the Rinnegan''s ability to read memories and extract ''souls.'' She wanted to understand the blue-haired woman''s purpose before deciding whether or not she should eliminate her, but she was denied the opportunity as her quarry''s chest abruptly opened up, revealing a lens-like cannon within her chest cavity "Well -" .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Chuuni vibes'',''Madara and Gunbai go hand in hand o3o'',''The price of saltiness'') Chapter 2345: Folly After retiring from the Pandemonium Gift Game, Ke was prepared to enter her personalized Hyperbolic Time Chamber for training when a hand grasped her shoulder. Even without looking behind her, Ke knew who the hand belonged to, muttering, "I messed up" in an uncharacteristically dispirited tone. A lot of this mentality came from Kale, but their frequent and prolonged fusions had left both Saiyanesses with characteristics of the other. Wrapping his arms around Ke''s body, Vahn whispered, "Be happy. Life is more interesting when you still have limits to break and opponents to ovee" Leaning her head back, Ke looked up at Vahn through her spiky bangs, regaining a bit of her edge as she asked, "Does that mean you''ve grown tired of living? Ever since you defeated that machine-like monster, I can''t even fathom the depths of your power" Instead of answering Ke''s question, Vahn traced his middle finger around her navel and asked, "Does it frighten you?" in a soft, resonating tone. Snorting through her nose, Ke turned around and gave Vahn a push. At his current level, not even someone like Indra would be able to move him, but Ke''s casual nudge knocked him onto his bottom, permitting her to sit atop him, grasping his cor as she replied, "No matter how powerful you be, you''re still a push-over" Though she could hear Kale sighing in the back of her mind, Ke, piloted by Cauli, began to tear away Vahn''s clothes. She originally nned to ease her frustrations by destroying a few-sized training dummies, but what was the point of that when she had the most durable dummy in the world right in front of her? Catching Vahn a little off guard, Ke waited for him to begin slipping off her baggy pants before saying, "I think it''s about time I settle down and have a kid. I''m bing increasingly reliant on outside help to increase my strength, so I think it''s about time I pass the buck to someone else" Understanding that Cauli was the one speaking, Vahn asked, "Do both of you feel the same way?" Nodding her head, Ke said, "That''s another thing we wanted to discuss. By now, Kale and I have spent more time fused than separated. After a lot of consideration, we''ve decided to make the fusion permanent" Though he had been anticipating such a revtion for quite some time, Vahn was still marginally surprised by Ke''s words. The two spent years at a time fused together, but this was a pretty major step forward for both of them. Instead of questioning the duo''s resolve, Vahn adopted a faint smile and raised Ke''s hips. Her tail curled up as he did so, followed by a powerful shudder as he lowered her onto his waiting erection. "I said it before, but I don''t mind saying it again. No matter what the two of you decide, I will always support you" Adopting a somewhat predatory smile, Kelfa began to rock her hips of her own ord as she replied, "Of course, you will. We wouldn''t have chosen you if you were weak or inept. Now, you better prepare yourself. I have a lot of pent-up frustrations to alleviate" Punctuating her words, Kelfa leaned forward, cing her hands on Vahn''s shoulders before raising and lowering her hips like a seismic jackhammer. The ground cracked beneath them, and shockwaves rippled outward, but Vahn just exhaled a light chuckle before grasping Ke''s tail and using his Godhand to feed her excitement .. . In response to Izayoi''s arrogant remark, Death, also known as Thanatos, the Pale Rider, rose from a salt pile to reveal apletely different form than the one sent flying. He now resembled a young girl with long white hair, red and purple eyes, and a tattered sundress seemingly formed from pure darkness. Manifesting a scythe whose handle and de were several timesrger than their body was tall, Thanatos red back at Izayoi and said, "Death is the final, inescapable truth. You may believe yourself unafraid, but even the most courageous entities can be made to fear" Punctuating her words, Death raised her right hand and sent out a wave of ck energy that radiated outward at an iprehensible speed. A sound simr to a banshee''s cry pierced Izayoi''s ears, causing him to feel as though a de was piercing the center of his brain, but he managed to shake it off fairly quickly, asking, "What the hell was that?" Instead of answering Izayoi''s question, Death made a gesture over her face, causing a skull-like mask to appear. She then nned to go on the offensive, but the moment the mask formed, Izayoi''s kicknded squarely in its center, sending her reeling a second time. Feeling frustration for the first time in eons, Death''s eyes zed as she swung her scythe, creating a spatial tear more than 300m in length to deter Izayoi from pursuing her. At the same time, an illusory clock face materialized behind her, apanied by the tolling of a bell. As her scythe increased in size, bingrger than even the tallest of skyscrapers, Death''s voice echoed from every direction as she said, "Ask not for whom the bell tolls.." In the midst of her words, Death''s eyes ignited, producing red and purple mes as she eximed, "It tolls for thee!" shing her scythe, Death produced a crescent-shaped spatial tear so massive it appeared to divide the former Little Garden in two. The attackcked the Instant Death property typically afforded by her Authority, but its power was enough to inspire a sense of impending dread in everyone witnessing it. Well, almost everyone Catching Death off guard, Izayoi appeared behind her, shouting, "You''re not the only one who knows how to teleport!" before mming his fist into the back of her head. He liked to joke that his hands were rated E-For Everyone, so he had no qualms about sending a little loli crashing into the ground like a meteor, creating a fountain of debris more than a hundred meters in height. Erupting from her personalized crater before the dust had a chance to clear, Death, now appearing as none other than Asuka, screamed, "You arrogant mutt! I was going to team up with you so we could defeat that evil lizard, but now you can die!" Seeing Death manifest as his girlfriend, a wry smile developed across Izayoi''s face. He wasn''t the type of person that would generally hesitate in the face of such tricks, but he knew the actual Asuka would be upset if he punched her doppelganger in the face and embarrassed her in front of the entire Little Garden Demonstrating she didn''t simply look like Asuka, Death manifested the former''s Zanpakuto and even summoned a version of Abyssinian. One of Death''s principal powers was embodying ''potential ends.'' So long as there was even a small possibility of someone''s ally betraying and attempting to kill them, Death could assume their form and emte the abilities they would have used to aplish the deed. Swinging her sword long before she reached Izayoi, Death shouted, "Entangle and Dominate, Queen of Roses!" In response to Death''s cry, her rapier-like Zanpakuto transformed into a rose-themed whip, its thong resembling a flexible stem covered in faintly purple thorns. At the same time, Abyssinian fused with the whip, covering it in ghostly-blue mes as it cracked toward Izayoi at extreme speeds. Evading the whip''s tip with considerable ease, Izayoi decided to y to the audience and, more importantly, Asuka, ridiculing, "Oh,e on. Not only is your appearance a far cry from the real deal, but your attacks are nothingpared to the actual Asuka. If you''re going to cosy, at least put in a bit of effort" Hoping his remark was enough to absolve him of a lecture, Izayoi covered his hand in Seiun''s energy, grasping the tip of Death''s whip before jerking her toward him. He intended to give Death a firm kick in the stomach but quickly changed his mind when the troublesome Aspect transformed mid-flight. "Now, that''s just cheat-" Before Izayoi could finish hisint, Death, now resembling Vahn in his partial Dragon Transformation, grasped his head with a scale-covered arm, dering, "Deathes for everyone, in one form or another" As Izayoi couldn''t imagine defeating Vahn, especially after thetter''s defeat of the Ethereal Queen, Death''s attack was able to crush his head with a fairly casual squeeze. Expecting Izayoi to disperse into motes of light, Death was somewhat confused when the former''s body fell from the sky, steam rising from his neck as he crashed, seemingly lifelessly, into the ground. Blinking several times, Death inspected his current form, muttering, "I seeso this man truly is exempt from the Central Network''s restrictions. What a terrifying individual" Taking advantage of the situation, Death attempted to peer into what he believed to be Vahn''s thoughts. The moment he did so, however, he just froze in ce. Even the clothes he was wearing, which were previously being blown by the wind, ceased moving in their entirety. Almost like time had stopped for him and him alone .. . While a version of himself was getting it on with Ke, another version of Vahn was still observing the Gift Game alongside Sis, Mikoto, and several others. When Death transformed into him, he actually felt a connection of sorts with the opportunistic Aspect, causing his brows to rise as he softly mused, "How curious" Giving voice to Vahn''s introspection, Sis postted, "Perhaps when you recreated this Record, your existence became an essentialponent of its foundation. It''s barely a fraction of your power without Source, but it''s fairly impressive that he was able to tap into it" As he ''knew'' Sis''s words to be true, Vahn gave a slight nod, a faint smile adorning his face as he remarked, "It appears this little stunt has given a few troublesome individuals the wrong idea. I was originally just going to ignore it, but it seems I must take action to prevent others from following Death''s example" Linking with Death''s mind, Vahn afforded him a fraction of his knowledge and memories, instantaneously overloading his cognitive faculties. Death may have emted his form and a fraction of his power, but there was no way he could copy his Innates and the functions of The Path. Without the support of Sis, even Vahn would struggle to navigate thebyrinth of his mind and distinguish his memories from reality. As a result, the over-eager Aspect abruptly found himself trapped in the memory of Vahn''s encounter with the Demon Lord of Stagnation, the color of his body gradually fading until he had turnedpletely grey .. . While Death remained motionless in the sky, the steam rising from Izayoi''s neck gradually shifted from white to red before the capiries, veins, muscles, and vertebrae within began to writhe and elongate. A few secondster, his head hadpletely regenerated,plete with shiny golden locks. Rising to a seated position, Izayoi cradled his aching head, smiling wryly as he groaned, "Well, that answers the question of what would happen if I had my head blown off" Shifting his gaze skyward, Izayoi''s eyes focused on the monochromatic version of Vahn standing motionless in the sky. Even the Central Network could not affect him at the present moment, so unless Vahn afforded him clemency, Death would remain in his current location and pose even after the final stars in the night sky had burned out. Understanding that various cameras were focused on him, Izayoi''s smile became even wrier as he remarked, "Yeah, that''s why you don''t fuck with the Sage Dragon Emperor. A picture of the Sun can never hope to emte its brilliance" Raising his hand, Izayoi rematerialized his destroyed headphones and put them on. Then, after taking a quick look around, he once again set out in search of World Dragon Kurma .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Things that can''t even be fathomed by the current generation will be easily achievable by future generations'',''Death be like, up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-b-a-start'',''You know what they say, fuck around and you''re going to find out'') Chapter 2346: Cooperation While chaos gradually spread through the domain of the Outer Gates, the representatives of some of the most powerful beings in the current Order were gathering at the heart of the former Little Garden, a vast battlefield fated to remain unseen by the spectators. Back when the original Little Garden was abandoned, only a handful of those in the 1-3-Digit Gates and their progeny managed to escape. As a result, very few people knew just how close the current Order had been to destruction. Those that did had refused to take part in the Pandemonium Gift Game, so it was their Avataras and direct descendants who had been entrusted to achieve their long-held dream. Staring at the remains of an ancient deity, whose eyes still glistened with a hint of awareness despite a vicious, multi-pronged ck spear running through his body like the twisted branches of a tree, Kurma couldn''t help remarking, "How dreadful." in a muted tone. Standing, or, more urately, floating next to Kurma atop a blooming lotus, an incredibly emaciated yet remarkably beautiful man with tanned skin, long green hair, and golden eyes replied, "Such is the fate of those who dedicate their existence to the pursuit of power. Not even the Gods are exempt from hubris" Snorting from a location several meters away, an exceptionally arrogant-looking man with mane-like white hair and luminous golden eyes retorted, "Such foolishness. Even single-celled organisms live ording to the Law that the strong devour the weak. It is through desire and conquering their environment that civilizations develop. Only once that has been achieved can peace-loving fools like yourself dedicate their lives to asceticism and conquering themselves. You spit in the face of violence and conquest, but the very foundation of our world is built atop a mountain of sacrifices." Turning to face his uncannily whitepanion, the bronze-skinned man smiled as he replied, "There is wisdom in your words. However, evolution means constantly moving forward. Should a civilization fail to reach a point where it can coexist with itself, its neighbors, and its environment, it will inevitably meet its end. Therefore, I do not condemn violence but the people who impose it on others for personal reasons or selfish ends" Furrowing his brows, the uncannily white man looked like he wanted to argue but stopped when Kurma interjected, saying, "Conquest, Siddnow is neither the time nor the ce for your bickering. If we fail to obtain the World Anchor before Azi Dahaka or the Ormus Society gets their hands on it, the Divine Realm will be split in twain. We can''t just leave everything to the Sage Dragon Emperor, not when his representative refuses to reveal themselves" Nodding his head in affirmation, Sidd, better known as Siddhartha the Enlightened, remarked, "World Dragon Kurma is correct. While the Sage Dragon Emperor appears to be acting in the interest of the current Order, he exudes a certainselfishness. His rise may be inevitable, but we have a duty to preserve the peace and stability of the current Order for as long as possible." Crossing his arms in defiance, Conquest retorted, "And how do you propose we go aboutpleting our objective when even the Old Ones were forced to flee? Just take a look at our surroundings. Even dead, there are beings present who exude even greater Divinity than the three of usbined." Though he rarely agreed with Conquest, Sidd''s brows creased ever so slightly as he nodded his head. He had the distinct impression that the three of them were either being used as bait or forced to bear witness to something. However, as this was a task entrusted to him by the Divine Aspect of Buddhism itself, he had no choice but to see it through to the end. Continuing his aggressive diatribe, Conquest asked, "First off, how are we supposed to find this Demon Lord of Perpetuity? Didn''t Azi Dahaka devour her near the climax of the Genesis War?" Shaking her head, Kurma''s expression became serious as she said, "While it is true that Azi draws power from the Ouroboros Cycle, the nature of the Demon Lord of Perpetuity makes it impossible for any singr entity to subsume. She is the first and final Last Embryo, slumbering within the hearts and minds of every being in the current Order" With a clearly unamused look, Conquest pointed out, "Thanks for the history lesson. Now, how about answering my question? You say this isn''t the time or ce for squabbling, yet waste time providing exposition? Are you daft, or just that full of yourself?" Though this was far from her first interaction with Conquest, his brash manner of speaking caused Kurma''s left eye to twitch. Her Origin may be the turtle that carries the world on its back, but she was still a member of the Strongest Species. Being talked down to by a brat that only came into existence after the formation of the second Little Garden was unpleasant. Reminding herself she was on a mission, Kurma forcibly calmed her anger, exining, "As you so astutely pointed out, there are several beings here whose power and Divinity exceed our own. More importantly, they fought against the Demon Lord of Perpetuity directly. If we can draw her essence from their bodies, breaking the seal on the World Anchor should be a simple feat." Matching the sentiment in Conquest''s mind, Sidd adopted a remarkably rare expression of scorn as he asked, "Have you and Lord Vishnu gone mad? Gathering the Demon Lord of Perpetuity''s essence is the same as reviving her. The majority of her power may have been subsumed by Azi Dahaka, but she is the origin of all Demon Lords, Kings, and Gods. All the damage you see here was caused ''after'' her heart was devoured. Are you seriously suggesting we bring her back?" Leaving her twopanions speechless, Kurma nodded her head and answered, "Indeed. However, when you consider that we''re just one of the groups trying to resurrect her, seizing the initiative puts us in a better position. If the Ormus Society manages to get their hands on her before us, they will be a threat to all of Creation. Are the two of you willing to stand by and allow that to happen?" Reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose, Conquest''s voice revealed his annoyance as he grumbled, "You are aware that I''m one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, correct? At best, I am neutral towards the Ormus Society" Exuding tremendous pressure from her body, Kurma red at Conquest as she said, "If their n seeds, the very concepts of War, Conquest, Death, and Famine cease to be. Isn''t that the entire reason you, War, and Famine chose to abandon the ''Truth?''" Unable to refute Kurma''s words, Conquest crossed his arms and looked away. The penultimate n of the Ormus Society was to subsume and ultimately freeze all of Creation in its current state. In their view, it was the only way to bring an end to the perpetual cycle of death, destruction, and inequity that gued all realities. While that was certainly the case, there was very little difference between freezing and destroying all of Creation. As a result, the Ormus Society was one of the few groups that both Gods and Demon Lords opposed in equal measure. Understanding that Conquest would help, even if he really didn''t want to, Kurma shifted her gaze to Sidd to see what he had to say. Thetter was among the strongest beings participating in the Pandemonium Gift Game, so their sess heavily depended on his cooperation. Seeing through Kurma''s thoughts, Sidd exhaled a faint yet profoundly exasperated sigh before his entire demeanor abruptly changed, his eyes exuding boundless wisdom as he calmly stated, "You have my support." in a voice that resonated within the hearts and minds of everyone that heard it. Realizing that Sidd was channeling the Divine Aspect of Buddism(True Buddha), Conquest paled while a broad smile developed across Kurma''s face. True Buddha might upy the 3rd Gate, but his power was on par with the entities inhabiting the 1st and 2nd. The Big Three even shuffled Gates every now and then to emphasize this equilibrium, so having his support was the same as having the backing of the most powerful being in all of Creation .. . Feeling a peculiar itch in his nose, Vahn was about to scratch it when Sis beat him to the punch, using the tip of her pointed nail as she asked, "Is something the matter~?" in a teasing tone. Shaking his head, Vahn replied, "Of course not. I was just thinking that things were about to get interesting." As she shared Vahn''s awareness, an amused giggle emanated from Sis''s throat as she returned her head to his shoulder. Their interaction earned them an eye roll from Mikoto, snuggling with Fenrir in Vahn''sp, but the envious Pikachu didn''t say anything and just focused her attention on the disy following Madara. Thetter may have fled from the blue-haired woman after having her existence temporarily erased, but Mikoto knew it was only a matter of time before the battle-crazed Uchiha returned to the fray .. . Seeing that Scathach wasn''t chasing her, Yuri decided to take a short break before searching for her next opponent. However, the moment she sat down, Scathach, now wearing a Maid outfit, appeared next to her and mused, "You''re quite fast." Furrowing her brows and adopting her characteristically vicious grin, Yuri retorted, "And you''re starting to piss me off." Shrugging her shoulders, Scathach replied, "I have little influence on how others perceive me. I just came here to talk." Staring at Scathach in disbelief, Yuri issued a confused, "Haaaa-?" before stating, "I didn''t join thispetition to team up with people. If that''s the reason you''re stalking me, then you can fuck right off. I''m not even a little interested." Adopting a slightly wry smile, Scathach scratched her cheek, choosing her words carefully before asking, "Didn''t the Sage Dragon Emperor send you here to help in the sealing of Azi Dahaka? I understand you have your dignity as a warrior, but we''ll need to work together if we''re to achieve our shared objective" Tilting her head to the side, Yuri left Scathach speechless by asking, "Azi Dahaka? Is that the name of a strongpetitor?" Recovering from her momentary stupor, Scathach asked, "If you didn''t enter the Pandemonium Gift Game to help seal Azi Dahaka, why are you here? The Sage Dragon Emperor must have chosen you for a reason" Grabbing her breasts, Yuri''s expression became somewhat wolfish as she replied, "He chose me for many reasons. However, my participation in the Pandemonium Gift Game is unrted to any of that. I came here to have a bit of fun and to promote my Community. This Azi Doohiki, or whatever his name is, has nothing to do with me." Sensing no falsehoods in Yuri''s words, Scathach just stared nkly for several seconds as the former bounced and squeezed her breasts. She had thought that Vahn had carefully selected people that could contribute in the battle and subsequent sealing of Azi, but that apparently wasn''t the case. Now, she had absolutely no idea what his n was Providing Scathach a thread of hope, Yuri suggested, "You should seek out that battle maniac, Uchiha Madara. She''s one of Vahn''s Temtes, so she would know if he had some grand n. If even she has no clue what you''re talking about, just find a ce to sit back and rx. If that Azi fe is a genuine threat, Vahn will deal with it himself. No need to stress or get in a tiff." Pushing her breasts together onest time, Yuri added, "Now, unless you want to face me fair and square, I have other ces to be. If I meet that Azi guy, I''ll be sure to give him a punch or two on your behalf." Turning around, Yuri was prepared to leave when Scathach called out to her, saying, "Wait. Even if Vahn didn''t send you here to cooperate with us, you should know what you''re getting into. Azi Da-" Interrupting Scathach''s words, Yurinded a heavy punch against the former''s invisible barrier, a massive shockwave rippling through the area as she growled, "Since you apparently didn''t hear me the first time, let me make things crystal clear. Either fuck off or fight me. Those are your only options. If I wanted to hear someone ramble on about things I didn''t give two shits about, I''d attend one of Eva''s lectures." Finished with what she had to say, Yuri retracted her hand and teleported away. In her wake, countless green bubbles manifested around Scathach, each creating minor spatial distortions that made conventional forms of teleportation impossible. If Scathach chose to follow her after she made it ''very'' clear she didn''t wish to continue their discussion, she would have no choice but to teach the purple-haired spearwoman a lesson .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Civilization is built atop a mountain of corpses'',''A true Uchiha never yields'',''Yuri isn''t self-conscious in the slightest xD'') Chapter 2347: Convergence Seeing Yuri depart without even trying to discuss things with Scathach, a rare frown marred the face of Queen Halloween. Shiroyasha had assured her that everything was in hand and that she could trust Vahn, but it was starting to appear like he didn''t have a n. Unfortunately, even with her power to slip between boundaries, she couldn''t enter the Sage Dragon''s Hearth to ascertain Vahn''s intentions directly. "How vexing" muttered Queen Halloween. Azi Dahaka was a threat to all of Creation, so she was troubled by the notion that Vahn wasn''t treating the situation with the consideration it deserved. Fortunately, while Queen Halloween could not trespass the Sage Dragon''s Hearth without permission, Vahn was unburdened by such impediments, remarking, "Frowning doesn''t suit you." before appearing behind her and cing his hands on her shoulders. Though she was initially startled, Queen Halloween immediately rxed, aposed look appearing on her face as she said, "It isn''t very polite to sneak in a woman''s room without her permission" Channeling his Godhand, Vahn began to massage Queen Halloween''s shoulders, musing, "I could sense you wanted to speak with me. Should I teleport outside and knock?" Leaning back in a way that gave Vahn a clear view of her ample cleavage, Queen Halloween remarked, "You''re already here. You may as well take a seat." Instead of moving around and sitting on the sofa like a normal person, Vahn surprised Queen Halloween by hooking his hands in the pits of her arms and phasing through it, ultimately reseating her atop hisp as he asked, "What did you want to talk about~?" Swallowing the knot that had formed in her throat, Queen Halloween remarked, "You''re such a rogue" while looking down at Vahn''s hands cupping her breasts. She wasn''t really in the mood due to the ongoing Pandemonium Gift Game, but the notion of asking Vahn to stop never crossed her mind. Instead, she leaned against his chest and asked, "Do you have a n to deal with the Demon Dragon God, or have you chosen to y things by ear?" Blinking in surprise, Vahn asked, "Haven''t we already been over this?" while thinking back to his previous ''engagement'' with Shiroyasha and Queen Halloween. He was certain he had told them about the Ethereal Queen, but there was a chance the exchange had urred in a timeline that no longer existed. After umting a functionally infinite amount of knowledge and experience across innumerable, ever-increasing timelines, events were starting to blend together in his mind. Instead of responding to Vahn''s question, Queen Halloween watched in silence as he peeled the wing-like coverings over her breasts and began massaging them directly. The warmth flowing from his palms seemed to fill her entire being, spreading through her chest and umting in her head like a cloud. She still appearedposed on the surface, but her thoughts were bing muddled as a thinyer of sweat spread across her body. Regaining her senses, Queen Halloween grabbed Vahn''s hands and asked, "Are you attempting to distract me?" in a slightly usatory tone. Adopting a smile, Vahn replied, "Indeed. Everything is proceeding exactly how it''s supposed to, so you need not worry. Let''s just enjoy the moment, spoiler free. Things are more interesting that way." Furrowing her brows, Queen Halloween was tempted to press the issue but quickly decided against it. Her nature was somewhat contrary as she enjoyed surprises yet hated when things happened outside the scope of her knowledge and understanding. Since Vahn was the one telling her to rx, however, she guided one of his hands to her abdomen and said, "I hope you know what you''re doing" Channeling even more energy into his palm, the corners of Vahn''s smile curled upward as he teased, "Trust meI know exactly what I''m doing" .. . In the wake of her bout with Madara, the blue-haired automaton spent several minutes scanning her surroundings, passively eliminating yers and Azi clones until an area several hundred kilometers in diameter waspletely devoid of life. "" Though she hadn''t been programmed withplex emotions, a strange sense of incongruity gued the blue-haired automaton''s processes. Her sensors had confirmed the erasure of the being known as Uchiha Madara, but she couldn''t suppress the notion she was being watched by an entity that shared the same origin. Interrupting the blue-haired automaton''s silent introspection, a young, bare-chested man with unkempt white hair and blue eyes bearing distinct, cross-shaped pupils appeared a few meters away from her, his expression devoid of emotions as he tly remarked, "It''s been a long time, Eve" Turning toward the white-haired youth, the blue-haired automaton''s eyes briefly shifted from red to blue as she replied, "Adam" in a longing tone. Frowning ever-so-slightly, Adam pulled out an apple from thin air, taking a bite from it before saying, "We''ve got trouble. Some monster calling itself the Sage Dragon Emperor has appeared in the backup Garden. Based on what we''ve seen, he''s an even greater threat than the Demon Lord of Perpetuity and her Apostle. We''ll need your power if we''re to have any hope of defeating him." Regaining her crimson-hued irises, Eve adopted a smile that didn''t quite reach her eyes as she replied, "I live to serve. Please, tell me what I must do." Clicking his tongue, a look of disdain marred Adam''s face as he turned his back to Eve. Thetter was only a copy of the original, so interacting with her filled him with inexpressable fury. If it weren''t for the fact he was the only one that could influence her primary directive, he would never meet with her directly. Tossing aside the remnants of his apple, the crosses in Adam''s eyes burned with holy light as he said, "Come, there are a few insects we must crush before leaving this ce" Maintaining her somewhat uncanny smile, Eve replied, "Understood." before flying closer to Adam. The reduced proximity caused thetter''s body to tense, but he managed to restrain himself, bottling his fury with the intention of unleashing it in the uing battle .. . With his Divine-Ranked Gift, [Fiery Eyes of the Buddha], Siddhartha could perceive the origin of all things. Kurma possessed a simr Gift, but Sidd''s was in a league of its own ever since his name had be synonymous with the concept of Enlightenment. Opening his eyes, Siddhartha calmly remarked, "I''ve found what I believe to be the remains of the Ouroboros Cycle" Furrowing her brows, Kurma couldn''t help stating, "You must be mistaken. When the Demon Dragon God devoured her essence, the Demon Lord of Perpetuity''s body was said to have vaporized into a shadowy mist. There shouldn''t be any ''remains'' for us to discover" Raising his left hand, a projection of the battlefield that he, Kurma, and Conquest were standing on appeared atop Siddhartha''s palm. Momentster, it zoomed in to an area where a ck-skinned titan could be seen, its colossal and rotund body riddled with massive spears of golden light. Recognizing the entity in an instant, Kurma''s pupils shrank to the size of pinholes as she muttered, "The Demon Lord of Gluttony" Nodding in affirmation, Siddhartha stated, "It would appear that the Demon Dragon God was not the only one to devour the Demon Lord of Perpetuity''s essence. Fortunately, these spears of light appear to be the byproduct of Lord Murugan''s Astra, the Divine Spear Vel. As an Avatara of Lord Vishnu, you should have no trouble removing them." As Sidd wasn''t the type to lie, a massive smile stered itself across Kurma''s face. Extracting the Ouroboros Cycle''s essence from the corpses littering the ancient battlefield would have taken considerable time. With a piece of her original body functioning as a vessel and catalyst, they would be able to locate and extract her essence with significantly less difficulty. "Get down!" Surprised by Conquest''s outburst, Kurma''s mind failed to process his warning as timely as it should have. She managed to teleport away, but a hand pierced through her back and emerged from her chest just before she apparated. Fortunately, while the Laws of the Little Garden dictated that even the most powerful beings in Creation obey the limitations of their vessels, meaning Kurma should have died, such restrictions didn''t exist within the Pandemonium Gift Game''s battlefield. Thus, despite having a gaping hole running clean through her body, Kurma appeared rtively unaffected as she red at her would-be assassin, a white-haired youth with a thin yet muscr build. Immediately recognizing the man, Kurma mustered every ounce of scorn she could manage, growling, "Adam" as the antler-like horns protruding from her head began increasing in size, followed by pristine white scales appearing around her eyes. Flicking Kurma''s blood from his hand, Adam''s expression appeared cold and emotionless as he said, "Withdraw now, and I''ll spare you. Without the power of Authority and the protection of your pagan gods, you have no hope of winning" Snorting through her nose, Kurma began gathering luminous energy in her palms as she dered, "No matter how desperately you try, you will never be able to supnt the current Order with your ''Truth.'' Creation does not support a singr, all-powerful being. Your would-be Creator had to split itself into three parts and abandon their name just to avoid being brought to ruin by Poets" With Kurma''s words sounding like a series of censored beeps in his ears, the fury within Adam''s heart began to show on his face, manifesting as a scowl. Beings who ascribed to the ''Truth'' were fundamentally incapable of perceiving anything that contradicted their programmed beliefs, so he didn''t even know who he was fighting, only that there were two people in his way. Spreading his hands, Adam shouted, "Domain of Man!" as the crosses in his eyes exploded in size, intersecting to form a diamond shape in front of his face. At the same time, a spherical force spread out from him, ''erasing'' the battlefield littered with the corpses of countless Gods and recing it with a rtively modern but ruined cityscape. Crossing his hands in front of his body, Adam manifested a pair of ck and white pistols before leaping into the air and losing a flurry of bullets onto Kurma and Siddhartha. Conquest had also recognized Adam, so he elected to teleport away shortly after warning Kurma, sparing them from having to fight him as well Contrasting Adam''s expectations, the sanctified bullets fired from his twin pistols impacted powerlessly against the barrier produced by Kurma. His Domain of Man was supposed to restrict the power of Divine entities and Gifts, much like Enkidu, but he couldn''t utilize it fully due to the rules and restrictions of the Pandemonium Gift Game. While Kurma provided a nearly unbreakable defense, Siddhartha slowly brought his hands together as if he were about to pray. In reality, his movements were far beyond the speed of light, but even a blind man would have been able to perceive them due to the influence of various Laws. Adopting a faint smile, Siddhartha muttered, "True Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva," causing a golden Buddha statue with a thousand arms to appear behind him. Then, while Adam was still in the middle of his leap, one of the hands reached out, pping him out of the air and sending him crashing through numerous skyscrapers. Gritting his teeth, Adam attempted to right himself and retaliate, but the column he impacted ended up being a giant golden finger, appearing as golden static within his vision. Then, before he kick off against it, the hand closed, trapping him within as Siddhartha gazed down at his right hand in unveiled amusement. There was a reason he was regarded as one of the favorites to win the entire event .. . (A/N: Sorry for the super dyed post. I was contracted to do some story work on a mobile game and have been busy the past few weeks. I''ll try to release extra chapters in theing days to make up for it.) Chapter 2348: Troubles Abound After his encounter with Death, Izayoi took a moment to rest before heading deeper into the Inner Gated territories. He didn''t know for sure, but his intuition was telling him that the closer he got to the center of the former Little Garden, the easier it would be to locate World Dragon Kurma. If not, well, at least he would encounter some strong opponents along the way. With such thoughts in mind, Izayoi passed through an invisible membrane that put him in the center of a vast, seemingly endless forest. Looking up, he discovered that the sky waspletely obscured by the canopy of an iprehensibly vast tree that resembled an ever-shifting cosmos from below. Whistling in admiration, Izayoi remarked, "That''s one big ass tree. Looks like I just entered the former territory of the Norse Faction. Either that or their predecessors" Desiring a better vantage point, Izayoi flew into the sky, the pupils of his eyes briefly contracting as he became aware of the corpses of dozens, if not hundreds, of mountain-sized giants. One, in particr, towered over the others, its hollow eye sockets resembling massive voids within which entire moons could sit. Though he had witnessed colossal creatures in the past, the sun-sized Vahn being a good example, this was the closest Izayoi had ever been to one. He was fairly confident in his strength but seeing the-sized corpse, even from a distance, gave him the impression he was still a small and insignificant being in the grand scale of the cosmos. Interrupting Izayoi''s thought, Seiunn remarked, "Behold, the corpse of Aurgelmir, the First of All and Father of the Giants. That must make this space Ginnungagap, the Graveyard of the Void." Blinking in surprise, Izayoi parroted, "Aurgelmir?" before asking, "Isn''t that the original name of Ymir?" Nodding his ethereal, whale-like head, Seiunn replied, "Indeed. In Norse Cosmology, Aurgelmir was born of the dew formed when the ever-ice of Niflheim met with the all-consuming mes of Muspelheim. ording to some ounts, his flesh, bones, and sinew are the foundation atop which six of the Nine Realms were built." Scratching the back of his head, Izayoi remarked, "That''s interesting and all, but what am I supposed to do with such information? We need to get out of here and find that World Dragon chick." Exhaling an echoey sigh, Seiunn responded, "From what I can tell, this space functions simrly to a Game Board. If you want to leave, there is an objective you must fulfill. If I had to guess, this situation is simr to the ''inheritance tests''monly experienced in Cultivation worlds and novels." Blinking in surprise, Izayoi asked, "Seriously? You mean to tell me I got dragged into this ce to be tested for a power I don''t give a rat''s ass about acquiring?" Shrugging his non-existent shoulders, Seiunn answered, "Based on what I''ve been able to extrapte, that appears to be the case. If you want to file aint, I suggest you take it up with that enormous corpse over there. I sure as hell didn''t drag you into here." Adopting a deadpan expression, Izayoi retorted, "But you ''should'' be able to get us out. Isn''t breaking out of spatial locks and prisons supposed to be your specialty?" "" Instead of answering Izayoi''s question, Seiunn raised its gaze to the massive canopy blotting out the sky overhead. His Creator had always had a particr ''affinity'' with the Norse Cosmology, even as far back as the Record of Danmachi. Thus, while it was possible for him to liberate Izayoi from the Ginnungagap, his curiositypelled him to at least try to obtain the inheritance contained within. Exhaling a sigh of his own, Izayoi muttered, "What a pain" before taking off toward the corpse of Aurgelmir. Even without Seiunn responding, Izayoi had a pretty good idea of what was going through the whale-like Companion''s mind. Thus, while he was eager to track down World Dragon Kurma and have her divulge her rtionship with his adoptive mother, he didn''t mind taking a detour to satiate his friend''s curiosity .. . "Is it over?" asked Kurma, her amethyst-purple eyes narrowing as she stared at Siddhartha''s right hand. Nodding in affirmation, Sidd stated, "Though I am weakened without my Power of Authority, Buddhist Sealing Techniques are the most powerful in the current Order. So long as my hand remains closed, Adam has no hope of escaping." Furrowing her brows, Kurma remarked, "I am well acquainted with the power of Buddhist Sealing Techniques. That''s why I''m suspicious. Even if he is blinded by the Truth, why would someone like Adam attempt to fight us directly? Even the leader of his Community is a 3-Digit, Chieftain-ss Deity. How could he hope to contend against Avataras representing single and two-digit Communities? It doesn''t make any sense." Prompted by Kurma''s words, Sidd looked skyward, narrowing his golden eyes to focus on the massive construct orbiting hundreds of thousands of kilometers away. It resembled an array of angelic wings from a distance, but as he focused on the epicenter of the construct, Siddhartha became aware of the blue-haired automaton controlling it. Adopting a faint smile, Siddhartha calmly mused, "It appears we''ve been lured into a trap." Following Sidd''s gaze, the draconic pupils of Kurma''s eyes shrank as she also became aware of Eve''s presence. Unlike Sidd, however, she was fully aware of Eve''s capabilities, shouting, "We need to dodge!" with a hint of panic in her tone. Seemingly disregarding Kurma''s words, Siddhartha raised one of his free left hands, musing, "Immovable Golden Buddha" just as Eve unleashed a beam of purging lightparable to a sr re. Said beam appeared to blot out the heavens themselves, but the moment it encountered Sidd''sparably small shield of golden light, it was as though it had struck an immovable object. The ruined cityscape surrounding him and Kurma was reduced to sub-atomic ash, but everything within Sidd''s spherical barrier was untouched by Eve''s orbital bombardment. Forming a series of seals with his free hands, Siddhartha wove together a series of golden runes into a mantra-like passage before gently pushing it forward, dering, "Karmic Inversion" in a deep, resonating tone. The moment his words fell, the beam of light impacting his shield appeared to freeze, bing a solid column of light whose particles began moving in reverse. Momentster, the light retreated into the sky, followed by the previously destroyed cityscape reconstituting itself as Siddhartha calmly stated, "The way is not in the sky but within our hearts. What we believe, reality bes" Using one of his right hands, Siddhartha made a vertical slicing gesture with his index and middle fingers. As his fingers reached the lowest point of their arc, Eve''snded face-first into the ground, transported hundreds of thousands of kilometers in an instant but suffering no damage from the descent. Gazing down at the prostrate automaton, a rare hint of disdain appeared in Siddhartha''s gaze as he muttered, "Your existence is a mockery of the living" Though the Buddhist Faction purported the notion that ''existence was suffering,'' they also believed that life and, most importantly, freedom of choice was sacred. Those who sought to escape the natural cycle via mechanical means or the transntation of the soul were regarded as worse than demons, so while most would consider Eve to be among the most beautiful constructs in all of Creation, Siddhartha viewed her as less than an insect. Bringing his hands together to form the Uttarabodhi Mudra Seal, Sidd was prepared to eradicate every trace of Even when a deep yet feminine voice emanated from behind him, dering, "That''s my prey. I suggest you and your little dragon friend depart before I make you my next targets." Following the deration, Madara emerged from thin air wearing ghostly blue armor in ce of her usual crimson ensemble. She had been waiting patiently for a chance to attack Eve, so there was no way she would allow someone else to steal her glory. Before Siddhartha could order Madara to identify herself, Kurma''s brows furrowed as she said, "You''re Uchiha Madara, one of the highest-ranking Viins in the West. Is the Ormus Society your enemy as well?" Meeting Kurma''s gaze, Madara inly stated, "I have no true enemies. I simply seek to battle powerful foes. If you eliminate that woman before I''ve had the chance to redeem myself, I''ll have no choice but to target the two of you in her stead." Creasing her brows even further, Kurma was tempted to point out she was aware of Madara''s rtionship with Vahn and the Aldrnari Empire. Instead, she pointedly inquired, "Is this the will of your Master, or are you acting independently?" Crossing her arms, Madara firmly dered, "I am my own Master. Now, leave this ce before you lose the opportunity to depart of your own ord." Before Kurma could respond to Madara''s provocation, Siddhartha made a pushing gesture with one of his left hands, muttering, "Sacred Palm of the Buddha" in his characteristically resonant tone. As he did so, an illusory golden palm mmed into Madara like a runaway train, rapidly increasing in size and speed as it pushed her back and through several buildings. Seeing Siddhartha send Madara flying, an indescribable sense of panic swelled within Kurma''s chest. Things hadn''t been going as nned since the beginning of the Pandemonium Gift Game, but it wasn''t until this very moment that she felt that their actions were futile. As if to confirm Kurma''s suspicions, the luminous golden palm produced by Siddhartha abruptly shattered, followed by the appearance of a moon-sized, dragon-themed Susanoo covered in runes Situated in a jewel on the dragon''s head, Madara had a battle-crazed grin on her face as she shouted, "You''ve done it now, you bastards! I''ll take on all three of you at once!" .. . Confirming Seiunn''s hypothesis, a deep, resonating voice entered Izayoi''s mind the moment he entered the cavernous void that was Aurgelmir''s left eye, stating, "Wee, mighty warrior. We sense within you a powerful resolve that defies the ''reason'' of this world. Ovee our Trials, and we shall help you draw out yourtent potential to its fullest" Though he didn''t really expect an answer, Izayoi called out, "And what if I don''t want to undergo your trials? I''m the type that likes to shatter my limits with my own strength. I don''t need hand-holding from some ancient giant to draw out my full potential." Matching Izayoi''s expectations, there was no response from the booming voice that had echoed within his mind. Instead, a blue, vortex-like portal opened up in front of him, the center gradually clearing to reveal an army of Elven warriors standing in formation on the opposite side. Only then did the voice exin, "Your First Trial is to aid the armies of Elfheim. im the heads of the D?kklfar''s nine Generals if you wish to advance further. Fail, and you will suffer the same fate as the rest of Elfheim''s citizens" Without waiting for Izayoi''s response, a powerful suction force began to emanate from the vortex-like portal. He could have resisted with very little effort, but as his goal for participating in the Pandemonium Gift Game was to promote and spread the name of his Community throughout the Little Garden, Izayoi just sighed internally and allowed himself to be drawn inside. He might have no use for it, but obtaining the legacy of a Progenitor-ss Deity was bound to increase the status and reputation of the No-Names by a great deal .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The downside of being a protagonist is that fate ''will'' find a way to fuck you over'',''Madara''s switch has been thoroughly flipped'',''I can just imagine the entire Norse Faction with deadpan looks on their faces as Izayoi ims and then just gives away one of their most legendary inheritances'') Chapter 2349: Obstinance Undaunted by Madara''s Susanoo, Siddhartha rose into the air, a massive, thousand-armed bodhisattva appearing behind him as he stated, "This is not a ce you should be intervening" Seeing the form Siddhartha''s aura had taken, Madara couldn''t help grinning as she retorted, "How amusing. I wonder if it''s the fate of those with my identity to confront opponents with powers rted to Buddhism? I suppose that makes you my Hashirama." Unaware of what Madara was referring to, Siddhartha closed his eyes and calmly stated, "I am one, one is all" as he made a sweeping gesture with his right hand. Apanying Siddhartha''s gesture, the golden bodhisattva behind him pped Madara''s dragon-themed Susanoo with forceparable to the birth of a star. However, instead of exploding outward and devastating the surroundings, the energy of the blow was absorbed by Madara''s Susanoo, rippling across its surface before fadingpletely. While others would havemented on the ''impossibility'' of such a feat, Siddhartha''s expression remained unchanged, remarking, "Interesting" in a sonorous monotone. At the same time, he formed a series of seals with his remaining hands, intending to seal Madara away instead of trying to face her directly. "You think you''re the only one who uses hand seals!?" shouted Madara, an excited grin spreading across her face as both she and her Susanoo wove together aplex series of hand seals. Instead of verbally responding to Madara''s outburst, Siddhartha opened his eyes to reveal zing golden pupils. The moment he did so, it was like a pair of twin suns had peeked over the horizon, enveloping the battlefield in luminous golden light. Though she should have been impervious to most forms of attack in her present state, Madara''s vision went ck as the eyes within her sockets were immediately reduced to ash. Golden light also filled her mind, simr to a genjutsu, but she ignored the damage to her mind, body, and spirit to say, "Let''s see you remain expressionless after this" pping her hands together, Madara produced a series of ck, rune-covered pirs that rained from the heavens like obsidiansers. None struck Siddhartha directly, but their presence caused a tyrannical aura to pervade the battlefield, making it feel as though the epassing space hadpletely solidified. Initially confused, Siddhartha raised his left brow ever-so-slightly, asking, "Were you hoping to seal me, of all people?" As her eyes rapidly regenerated, the smile on Madara''s face became even more vicious than usual as she replied, "Just thought I''d even the ying field a bit" Performing a half-ram seal with her right hand, Madara shouted, "Katsu!" in a booming voice, activating the runic formation formed by the pirs. The moment she did so, the Susanoo surrounding her and the bodhisattva behind Siddhartha abruptly vanished, followed by both plummeting out of the sky. "!?" Feeling as though his connection with all of creation had been severed, a rare look of panic developed across Siddhartha''s face as he attempted to right himself and prevent his descent. Fortunately, while his link with the outside had been severed, he could still draw power from his own version of an Internalized Realm, something he hadn''t been forced to do since the moment he attained enlightenment. Just as Siddhartha was able to gain his footing, Madara appeared right in front of him, her grin threatening to tear at the muscles of her face as she shouted, "Now we''re dancing to the same tune, you bastard!" Punctuating her words, Madara mmed her right fist into Siddhartha''s left cheek, intending to send him flying. Instead, a sound simr to a gong being struck echoed through the area as a metallic, rune-covered golden hue spread across Siddhartha''s face and body. It was visually simr to the armor that covered the limbs of high-ranking members of the Asura Tribe, but the luster of the ting and sophistication of the runes were in a league of their own. Before Madara could fully process the changes in Siddhartha''s body, thetter grasped her wrist and bicep with two of his left hands. At the same time, he used all three of his right hands, including the one sealing Adam, to strike her abdomen, ribs, and chest. While Siddhartha''s blows dealt no visible damage to her body, Madara could feel her meridians exploding as a destructive golden light spread through her body and invaded her dantian-like core. Siddhartha was clearly attempting to cripple her, but the moment his energy reached her core, Madara''s personalized Companion, a ten-tailed Dragon known as Juryuu, released a mighty roar, shattering the invasive energy like ss. Feeling Juryuu''s roar permeate his body and echo throughout his mind, a grimace covered Siddhartha''s face as he remarked, "I seeit wasn''t you who destroyed my Buddhist Palm, but this monstrosity" Forming seals with two of his right hands, Siddhartha attempted to press them to Madara''s abdomen but was prevented from doing so as thetter promptly abandoned her arm to create some distance. Clicking her tongue, Madara took a moment to regenerate her lost limb as she questioned, "Has anyone ever told you that you''re a real pain in the ass?" Regaining his earlier smile, Siddhartha answered, "Among other things" in a calm voice. Then, taking advantage of the brief lull, he remarked, "I''ve never seen this sealing formation before. You must have been preparing it for quite some time" Snorting through her nose, Madara retorted, "Someone thinks too highly of themselves. These ''preparations'' are just something I came up with on the fly. If you sincerely think we''ve been conspiring to overthrow the Buddhist Faction, you''re not nearly as ''enlightened'' as you''d have others believe." "Hmmm" Sensing no falsehoods from Madara''s words, Siddhartha nearly second-guessed himself for the first time in millennia. Instead, he cupped two of his hands together, stating, "This ce exists outside the influence of the Central Network and its protections. If you insist on continuing this fight, I cannot guarantee your safe return to the Little Garden" Matching Siddhartha''s expectations, Madara beganughing the moment he finished speaking. Before he could mete out her punishment, however, Kurma appeared between them, arms spread as she eximed, "Enough! Now is neither the time nor the ce for such disputes!" "You''re that-" Before Madara could finish speaking, Kurma spun around to face her, the look on her face especially sour as she asserted, "I don''t know what that creator of yours is thinking, but I can say with rtive certainty he didn''t task you with interfering in our ns! Why are you so insistent on causing trouble when neither of us is your enemy!?" Crossing her arms, Madara smugly retorted, "Causing trouble? Me? Have you forgotten which of us attacked first? I simply came here in search of that woman with blue hair. It was your side that decided to interfere and deny me my chance at redemption." Frowning deeply, Kurma''s aura began to surge as she said, "That woman is not a yer. She is a weapon, a vessel created by the Ormus Society to destabilize the current Order and implement a new one. The two of us are on a mission to prevent-" Waving her hand in a dismissive manner, Madara said, "Skip" before re-crossing her arms and stating, "I don''t care about that woman''s origins, your objectives, or the machinations of the Ormus Society. The future of the current Order has already been decided, so all that remains is for us to y our parts. I am a warrior. Fighting is ingrained into the very core of my being" Manifesting her gunbai, Madara pointed it through Kurma, aiming it at Siddhartha''s face as she added, "That man decided to oppose me. Our fight shall continue until one or both of us has been defeated!" "You!" Feeling unbridled frustration, the golden, antler-like horns protruding from Kurma''s head began to increase in size as white scales began manifesting around her eyes. Her irritation had beenpounding since her failure to locate the Ethereal Queen, the surprise attack of Lahmu, and the sudden appearance of Azi Dahaka. She was ted when Sidd managed to defeat both Adam and Eve in short order, but she didn''t even have time to praise him for a job well down before Madara appeared out of nowhere to throw a wrench into their ns Though most considered her a fairly passive existence, Kurma was still a Pure-Blooded Dragon. She was also the daughter of Vishnu and one of the foremost Goddesses of the Earth. Thus, once her patience exceeded its limits, she became a literal force of nature. Unable to contain her frustration any longer, Kurma released a powerful roar, propelling Madara and Siddhartha backward with tremendous force. Immediately afterward, Kurma charged toward Madara, her eyes zing with a fierce amethyst hue as she peppered thetter''s body with a series of imperceptible punches. "You want to fight!? You refuse to talk things out like a rational person!? Then taste my wrath, you infuriating piece of-" Interrupting Kurma''s furious outburst, Madara''s body abruptly became imperceptible, allowing the petite dragoness to phase through her. Kurma promptly spun around, slicing at Madara''s figure with a sword formed of radiant golden energy, but thetter was nowhere to be seen. "Over here" Spinning in the direction of the voice, Kurma attempted to slice through Madara but found her sword stopped by thetter''s palm, now covered in ck and white scales. "You''re not the only dragon present," mused Madara. However, before she could say anything further, Siddhartha appeared behind her, adding, "She also isn''t fighting alone" Punctuating his words, Siddhartha smacked the top of Madara''s head, sending her crashing into one of the rune-covered pirs littering the ground. The pirs were designed to be indestructible, but the force of Madara crashing into it caused the material to buckle before splintering like a flower in bloom. Though she ordinarily fought alone, Kurma didn''t bother to rebuke Siddhartha for his involvement. Instead, she inhaled so deeply that her upper body appeared to inte like a balloon. Then, once she reached her limits, she lurched forward and unleashed a destructive beam that carried with it the sound of a dragon''s roar, erasing the fractured pir and drilling deep into the foundation below. While waiting for Kurma''s breath to finish, Siddhartha began preparing one of his moreplex seals. He had already limated to Madara''s sealing formation, so he was nearly at full power when he pressed down with his hand, generating a massive golden palm that stretched more than ten kilometers from the tip of its middle finger to its base. Emerging from the golden void created by Kurma''s breath, Madara, nearly naked and covered in ck scales, eximed, "Now you''re speaking mynguage!" as she met the massive golden palm head-on. She was still pushed down by it, but the speed of the palm slowed noticeably as the battle-enthralled Uchiha released a powerful roar that resonated with the remaining pirs. Feeling his connection to the ''outside'' bing unstable, Siddhartha''s expression darkened as he stated, "We may not be able to leave this one alive" Having calmed down a bit, Kurma''s brows creased as she revealed, "It''s not well known, but this one is a creation of the Sage Dragon Emperor. It won''t be easy, but we should avoid killing her at all costs" Exhaling a sigh, Siddhartha began preparing a second seal as he replied, "How troublesome" Nodding her head in agreement, Kurma began preparing a seal of her own. At the same time, she began drafting a long list ofints in the back of her mind. Once the Pandemonium Gift Game concluded, she was going to have a ''very'' long conversation with both Vahn and Shiroyasha .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Siddhashirama'',''Madara has no chill'',''Kurma? More like Karen'') Chapter 2350: Hunger

Chapter 2350: Hunger

Though Kurma had tried to destroy her before joining the fight against Madara, Eve''s durability and regenerative capabilities proved too difficult to ovee without the power of Authority. Kurma was able to destroy her limbs, head, and much of her body, but the core serving as her heart and matter production factory remained undamaged no matter how much force or energy was applied to them. With the fight between Madara and Siddhartha quickly getting out of hand, Kurma ced a series of seals on Eve''s core, trapping it within a sub-dimensional pocket. She believed they would endure until the fight with Madara concluded, but shortly after she left the seals unattended, cracks began to form in the surrounding space-time. Soon after that, a delicate-looking fist broke through, followed by Eve, her body covered in a series of cracks that rapidly mended themselves under the influence of the crystalline nanitesprising much of her form. Looking around the battlefield, Eve briefly took stock of the situation before teleporting to rtive safety. Her CPU, Oracle 2, had determined that the sess rate of saving Adam was less than 0.074%, so the most rational course of action was to proceed with her prime directive. So long as she could locate and absorb the power of the Ouroboros Cycle, she could rescue Adam and fulfill the desires of the Ormus Society in a single go. Spurred forward by her conviction, it wasn''t long before Eve found herself near the mountainous corpse of the Demon Lord of Gluttony. It had been for some time, but the moment Eve neared it, the fiery eyes of Gluttony lit up, followed by a raspy, strangely wet-sounding voice saying, "Despicable wench...you think you can steal what''s mine?" Like a zombie responding to the warmth of the living, Gluttony lunged forward with its monstrous, muscr, and half-rotten limb. A toothy maw on the palm of its hand opened up, but Eve managed to evade before she could be swallowed whole, appearing behind Gluttony with a series of six futuristic cannons framing her like the wings of an angel. Taking aim at the back of Gluttony''s head, Eve released a salvo of divine energy in the form of six powerfulsers. As a Demon Lord representing one of the cardinal sins, Gluttony should have been ripped apart by such pure and refined energy. Instead, the folds on the back of its head parted to reveal another toothy maw, the interior of which undted and swirled like a vortex as it devoured the beams without issue. As her processors kicked into overdrive, Eve ceased her attack and flew high into the sky. The Gluttony before her was effectively a marite for the original''s fractured Ego, severely limiting its movements. It was using the corpse of the Ouroboros Cycle as a fuel source, but it could barely tap into 2% of her dormant power. Any more than that, and it risked exploding from the inside. Realizing that Gluttony was attempting to absorb her power to resurrect itself, Eve dematerialized her energy-based weapons and summoned an excessivelyrge sword in their ce. The ivory de was easily more than a hundred meters in length, but it still paled inparison to the size of Gluttony, barely exceeding the length of its shortest talon. Undaunted by the colossal Demon Lord''s size, Eve descended toward it like an orbitalser, slicing open Gluttony''s palm and leaving arge scar down the center of its forearm. The name of the sword was ''God-ying Stigmata,'' and it was endowed with the power to aggravate wounds and inflict immense suffering on its victims. Eve was nning to wear Gluttony down by rending its body with unmendable injuries, but she soon realized that wasn''t going to happen as the gash on the massive Demon''s forearm opened to reveal yet another maw. Forcing Eve to retreat, hundreds of tentacle-like appendages erupted from Gluttony''s forearm, their tips resembling the mouths ofmpreys. Eve had no trouble cutting them down like rows of fleshy wheat, but the severed ends regenerated instantly while the detached tips attempted to swarm and surround her. Though most would have tried to break free from the encirclement, Eve viewed it as an opportunity to exhaust Gluttony''s energy. The tip of her sword had surpassed causality, so even if there were tens of billions of leech-like tentacles, they wouldn''t be able to overwhelm her. The more there were, the brighter Eve''s surroundings became as the trajectory of her sword gradually upied every possible vector. Realizing Eve''s intentions, Gluttony clicked its innumerable tongues and retracted its tentacles. It may have been able to devour Laws in its prime, but its current form could barely be called a shadow of its former self. The actual Gluttony had long since resurrected in the second Little Garden, so the deceased Gluttony''s existence was fading with each passing moment. In an effort to shift the fight in its favor, Gluttony''s primary maw, the one adorning its stomach, began to open, its torso contorting grotesquely as a suction powerful enough to swallow light and distort the fabric of space-time emanated from within. Even the sphere of light formed from the afterimages of Eve''s sword began to distort,pelling her to cease her flurry and retreat to a safe distance. While attempting to analyze Gluttony''s actions, various data points and error messages appeared in Eve''s vision. Even with some of the most advanced analytical abilities in the current Order, she couldn''t make sense of the former Demon Lord''s actions. After all, if he could revive himself by drawing in additional corpses or devouring the energy of the ruined Little Garden, he would have done so without external prompting. With Eve''s attention primarily focused on Gluttony, her awareness of her surroundings was severely diminished. In spite of this, her body moved on its own as a predominately white figure attempted to ambush her, its powerful ws passing through the area where her head had been less than an attosecond prior. Manifesting one of her many cannon-like armaments, Eve discharged aser-like st at point-nk range. She intended to either erase or send her assant crashing into the ground but only seeded in forcing them back a few meters before the beam from her cannon was fractured like a fragile ss column. Realizing who her assant was, Eve''s chest opened like a six-petalled flower, unleashing the same energy beam that had ''erased'' Madara a few hours prior. Said beam enveloped her assant in its entirety, but even after several seconds had transpired, Eve could still sense their presence. Even more concerning, she could tell it was adapting, gradually bing immune to her penultimate attack. Before her assant could finish its adaptation, Eve ceased her attack and attempted to escape. The surrounding space had solidified, but her attack had created a gap she could use to teleport to safety. At least, that''s what Eve intended before a white hand emerged from her waning energy st, grabbing her throat and preventing her teleportation. "Where do you think you''re going, bitch!?" eximed the left-most head of Eve''s assant, none other than the main body of Azi Dahaka. "Hmmm, I recognize this one." said the right-most head. "Isn''t she the shadow of Lilith? The doll that madman created to pacify another of his creations?" Tilting his head slightly to the side, the centermost head gazed deep into Eve''s eyes as it replied, "No. They''re simr, but this one is even more of a doll than the original. Her structure is far more durable, but she''s ''empty'' on the inside." Using his free hand, Azi abruptly ripped off Eve''s right arm, interrupting her attempts to summon Stigmata. When it began to regenerate, he used his shadowy wings to disrupt it, the abyssal ck material burning Eve''s synthetic flesh like a powerful acid as the central headmented, "This one is different from the others we''ve encountered so far. She didn''te here from the ''outside.''" Understanding what the central head was trying to convey, the right head issued a curious, "Hooooooo~?" before hypothesizing, "Then she must be a remnant from the war. We must have overlooked her since she isn''t truly alive." "Who the hell cares?" asked the left-most head. "The bastard that made her is the same nutjob that wanted to steal our Master''s power to create a ceaseless Order. We should kill and devour her here and now." Though he didn''t usually agree with the left head, the right head nodded in approval, specting, "Since she''s from this side, we should be able to devour her without issue. That mysterious energy that keeps stealing our prey shouldn''t have any influence in this region." Seemingly ignoring its counterparts, the central head looked past Eve, its lifeless red eyes focused on the distant Gluttony. It was very faint, but he could sense a familiar energy coursing through the colossal Demon Lord''s body. With their senses being linked, it wasn''t long before the other two heads followed their central counterpart''s gaze. For the briefest of moments, a look of longing appeared in the gazes of the central and right heads. The left head felt the same way, but instead of sumbing to reminiscence, it screamed, "That pig bastard! Just who the fuck does he think he is...!?" Temporarily seizing control of their shared body, the left head flung Eve into a nearby mountain before charging toward Gluttony with crimson tears staining its bone-white skin. The central head quickly wrested back control, but instead of changing course, he shaped his wings into a pitch-ck spear, diving straight into Gluttony''s stomach. Despite the disparity in their size and weight, Gluttony''s enormous body was propelled backward by the aftershock of Azi''s charge. ck blood and bile erupted from the many mouths covering its body, but instead of fretting over its injuries, a deep, earth-shaking cackle began to emanate from the very core of Gluttony''s being. Spreading his arms wide, Gluttony bellowed, "I knew that bastard woulde running if I began using his Master''s energy! I can''t believe he flew straight into my stomach! Gahahahahahaha~!" Though he had no way of breaking down Azi''s body and converting him to energy, Gluttony was confident he could siphon the former''s power just as he did the Ouroboros Cycle. With enough time, he could even- Before Gluttony could finish his thoughts, shadowy tendrils erupted from his body, slicing him to ribbons mid-cackle. His body didn''t immediately fall to pieces, but ck steam began to rise from the cuts as a terrifying energy began to surge from his core. As his many eyes widened, Gluttony muttered, "Impossible..." in a tone of disbelief. Unfortunately, reality, or, more urately, Azi didn''t care for his opinion. Even before Gluttony had finished his final utterance, the colossal Demon Lord began to inte. Momentster, his body burst, rent asunder by a powerful ck shockwave that tore apart the foundation of the Little Garden as if it were loose sand. Hovering in the air where Gluttony once stood, Azi''s wings, which had temporarily taken the form of a dark star, retracted to their original shape. The space around him was in disarray, but the white-skinned Dragon God didn''t mind it as the gazes of all three of his heads were focused on the white-haired woman in their arms. Her appearance was such that even Gods would be given pause when observing her, but her half-lidded eyes revealed the same lifeless orbs as Azi, crimson red without a single shred of emotion. Seeing the woman that had upied his thoughts since his inception, an eerily human smile developed across the central Azi''s face. Then, without a moment of hesitation, he raised his former Master''s body over his head and ripped her in half, bathing in her abyssal ck blood... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Eve be sneaky...'',''Gluttony is a sin for a reason...'',''A moment''s reprieve, tarnished by absolute evil...'') Chapter 2351: Merry X-Mas I hope everyone''s having a wonderful holiday season. Sorry that I haven''t been posting much EPIC, but you can try reading my other stories if you''d like. I''m currently working on a pilot for a My Hero Academia Fanfic. It''s currently only avable on my pat.reon, but I made the listings public if you want to check them out. Warm regards, Ein Chapter 2352: Endless Tide

Chapter 2352: Endless Tide

Though he was several hundred meters above the ground, the three heads of Azi had to look up to see the crest of a peculiar pink wave that dominated one side of the horizon. Having absorbed numerous prophets and even a handful of Gods of Wisdom, Azi immediately recognized the origin of the power within the wave, the centermost head remarking, "A resident of the Tower made it to the Divine Realm? How peculiar..." Spotting Yuri standing atop the wave, the leftmost head bellowed, "Does it matter!? Let''s ughter this bitch...!" before opening his maw to unleash aser-like beam of purple-ck energy that burst into a veritable wall of mes the moment it made contact with the wave. Seeing the wave endure the destructive beam of energy, the rightmost head blinked in surprise, causing several bone-white fragments to ke away from his face. Their mes were powerful enough to burn stars and subsume Sr Deities. The colossal wave should have been annihted the moment their attack struck it, yet theplete opposite happened, a loud hissing sound emanating for hundreds of kilometers as their purple-ck mes were swallowed up and extinguished. Without needing to be told what to do, the centermost Azi activated one of its many trump cards, manifesting a distinctive, y-shaped halo formed of golden energy. The moment it appeared, all water and ntlife within tens of thousands of kilometers instantaneously shriveled and evaporated as the temperature across the battlefield increased to more than 5,000C at the periphery. Near the center, where Azi and Yuri were positioned, the ground and surrounding mountains liquefied, creating toxic fumes as even elements like tungsten were vaporized. Seeing the tidal wall endure in the face of the most powerful incarnation of Purgatorial mes, infused with the Laws of me and Lightning, the rightmost Azi stroked his chin and muttered, "I see...I almost forgot that, within the Tower, the energy known as Shinsu could even be infused with the power of Yang. But how could an Authority outside the bounds of Zoroastrianism counteract the power of Khvarenah(Halo of the Supreme Ruler)?" "I don''t know..." replied the central head, reaching up to w away the right side of its face as it added, "The most logical conclusion is that she''s drawing power from the same Poet that protected that doll..." As Azi''s talon tore through the fractured, bone-like materialprising much of his body, a tremendous volume of shadowy ck blood poured forth. Even his eye came free, seemingly melting as the fragmenting of his body continued to exacerbate. "You''re not looking so hot," said Yuri, her voice carrying several hundreds of meters without issue. She was originally looking forward to a climactic battle with the three-headed Demon Dragon God, but now that she saw him up close, it looked as though he was about to kick the bucket without her. Before Azi could respond, the leftmost head that had unleashed the beam of ck mes abruptly slumped forward, melting in much the same way as the central head''s eye. However, instead of falling into the sea ofva below, it stopped around the halfway point before forming a cacoon-like sphere. More to himself than Yuri, the rightmost head noted, "It appears our body cannot contain the power of our Master. We''re beginning to separate into our original selves..." "Then let''s speed things up," said the central head, surprising the right head by grabbing its neck, violently tearing and tossing the ckjawed appendage away without hesitation. He then grasped his own face, but before he could do whatever it was he intended to do, a crimson meteor impacted the top of his head, creating a massive explosion as Yuri''s heel mmed into the center of his crown. Contrasting Yuri''s expectations, Azi wasn''t sent crashing into the sea ofva by her attack. Despite looking like he was about to fall to pieces, her attack only managed to force Azi to look down slightly. At the same time, he used the stakes he pulled from his other heads to try and stab Yuri in the chest, nearly seeding if not for voids opening within her body, the interior of which was colored the same pink hue as the static wave behind her. Before Azi couldment on Yuri''s amorphous body, the raven-haired Ha exploded, enveloping the stoic Dragon God in a manner reminiscent of the Temted Rimuru using [Gluttony]. Unperturbed by Yuri''s attempt to devour him with her slime-like body, Azi opened his mouth, forming several additional maws across his body as he attempted to consume her in turn. The shadowy substanceprising his body was capable of breaking down virtually anything into usable energy, much like the void in Fenrir''s stomach. However, unless his power and Authority were much greater than his prey''s, the conversion took time. He still hadn''t fully absorbed the power of his Master, so when Yuri began to invade him willfully, Azi''s singr eye widened as she spread through him like an artificial cardiovascr system. As if he still had three heads, Azi''s right arm, wielding the stake that had formerly pierced his right head, abruptly stabbed at his face. He managed to stop it just as the tip pierced his snout, creating even more cracks, but he was temporarily rendered immobile as Yuri tried to puppeteer him with her slime-like body. "You look like you''re having trouble," said a teasing voice from behind Azi,pelling him to strain his neck and body to see who had spoken. When he did, a disconcerting smile developed across his face despite hundreds of copies of Yuri emerging from the pink wave, revealing its true nature. Raising her brows, the Yuri that had previously spoken asked, "What are you getting excited for? You should realize by now that you have no hope of devouring me like you did Madara''s clone..." Adopting a cheeky smile, Yuri added, "You''re struggling with just one of my offshoots, and there are literally trillions more of me. Soon enough, I will spread to cover the entirety of this battlefield, subsuming everything within. That includes you." Seemingly amused by Yuri''s remark, Azi opened his draconic maw and started tough, his voice producing powerful shockwaves that caused the pink liquid surrounding him to ripple, vibrate, and dissolve. Yuri was able to regenerate faster than he could destroy her, but that didn''t seem to bother Azi as he adopted a vicious grin and said, "Go ahead. Feel free to consume me. As an embodiment of eschatology, I will be resurrected no matter how often I''m eaten, in, or sealed away. All your actions will aplish is providing me with a new, more powerful host." As if to elerate the rate Yuri devoured him, Azi overpowered her attempts to restrain him with God-like strength, wing away at his face and body whileughing raucously. His actions caused the growing number of Yuri(s) to scowl, but that didn''t stop them from devouring him. After all, even if Azi seeded in infesting her body, there was absolutely no way Vahn would allow the crazed Dragon to turn her into a vessel or possess the body of their future children... Before Azi could finish tearing himself apart, the cacoon formed from his leftmost head began to bloom, revealing golden light and a flesh-covered interior. From within, a distinctly humanoid figure slowly emerged from a membrane resembling an embryonic sac, its bodyprised entirely of bone, glistening red muscle, and white sinew. It appeared tock eyes, but its most notable features were the skull-shaped protrusions covering its shoulders like pauldrons, the burning halo hovering atop its head, and the ming shortsword in its right hand. As the vast majority of Yuri''s clones turned their attention to the figure, disgust marring their expressions, the fleshy monstrosity''s teeth began to tter loudly as a ghastly, resonating chuckle emanated from its throat. Then, causing the pupils of nearly every Yuri to contract, the figure raised its ming sword of its head and shouted, "Burn everything in the mes of War, Frashokereti...!" Though it didn''t kill any of them, nearly every Yuri was abruptly liquefied as a wave of spirit energy erupted from the grotesque, haloed entity like the eruption of a supernova. Even the massive wall of pink slime forming her true body was pushed back violently as the presumed Zanpakuto in the creature''s hand turned into a de of mes more than ten meters in length. At the same time, a series of twelve flesh-covered wings emerged from the monster''s back like a grotesque parody of a Seraphim. Swinging its inordinately long sword with such force that its arm tore and its entrails slipped from its gut, the monstrous figure cleaved the pink wall from one end of the horizon to the other. The space between the two halves was cleaved in two, creating a gravitational wellparable to a ck hole, but Yuri''s slime wasrgely unaffected, the upper half of the wave splitting into countless smaller chunks that formed a veritable legion of pissed-off clones. Causing the expressions of the countless Yuri(s) to darken, the monstrous figure began tough as it spread its wings wide, producing innumerable feathers that quickly materialized into an equivalent number of clones. The leftmost head was the source of Azi''s ability to replicate and create a functionally infinite number of clones and, as an escatology representing humanity''s extinction as a result of war, its power grew in proportion to its opponent''s. Without a care for their ''allies,'' the fleshy Seraphim began to swing their inordinately long swords with reckless abandon, slicing through each other and regenerating just as fast as the legion of Yuri. The pink wave surged forward and washed over the majority of the monstrous creatures, but even as their flesh dissolved, they continued tough and attack with unabated intensity, an aura of ughter and madness descending upon the battlefield as the two forces merged like Creation''s most grotesque iteration of meat jelly... ... .. . Like many of the people observing the conflict between Yuri and Azi from the rtive safety of the Little Garden, Mikoto, sitting atop Vahn''s head in her Pikachu form, began to feel queasy as she noted, "This is too much..." "Hmmm...perhaps you''re right..." admitted Vahn, his expression fixed in a rxed smile, wholly unperturbed by the grotesque sight. He had seen and experienced far worse during his conquest of the Ethereal Queen, so he didn''t feel there was anything intrinsically wrong or disturbing with the scene ying out in front of him. Yuri seemed to be enjoying herself, and Azi''s bastardization of the Verethraghna, the Zoroastrian God of War, was clearly having a lot of fun. After a very brief moment of consideration, at least from an onlooker''s perspective, Vahn removed his right hand from Fenrir''s head, swiping at the central disy they were using to observe the Pandemonium Gift Game. As he did so, the scene changed from a bloody, grotesque battle to a 3v3 fight between Yuri, Mirage, and Veil versus Azi, Verethraghna, and multi-armed, multi-legged female with fleshy brown skin forming her base color and a bone white carapace. "Is that better...?" asked Vahn, prompting a wry smile to develop across Mikoto''s face as she admitted, "It is." However, as she didn''t agree with Vahn casually changing reality, especially due to something she said, she didn''t fully approve of his actions. The old him would have never done such a thing, but ever since his battle against the Ethereal Queen, Vahn had been a lot less ''apprehensive'' about using his power... Sensing Mikoto''s thoughts, Vahn''s rxed smile eased into a far more affectionate look as he retrieved the loveable ball of yellow fur from his head and hugged her gently in his embrace. Mikoto felt embarrassed by his actions, especially when everyone''s gazes abruptly turned to her, but that didn''t stop her from nestling into Vahn''s embrace, enjoying his scent and warmth as all her apprehensions and anxieties melted away, reced by a sense offort and unity... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Yuri has learned from the Great Masters, Mong and Rimuru...'',''A very literal representation of the ''meat grinder'' referred to in war dramas...'',''Cuddles make everything better o3o...'') Chapter 2353: Perspective

Chapter 2353: Perspective

Though her fists packed enough force to copses, Yuri''s attacks had little effect on the Azi and his manifestations. Even when shended a devastating dropkick against the original''s face, producing a visible shockwave that spread hundreds of kilometers and created a massive pit in the sea ofva below, Azi was barely pushed back a few meters. "Just give up," said the grinning, one-eyed Dragon God, massaging his neck with his right hand as he added, "Even if your supporter is the most powerful Poet in Creation, they can''t write out the existence of evil. They could dictate my defeat, but unless they include a ''condition'' that permits my return, it''s simply too unrealistic to be a reality..." Blocking one of Yuri''s punches with the palm of his hand, Azi casually added, "Even if there were only a single being left in all of Creation, they would invariablye into conflict with themselves, nurturing the seed of their downfall." Punctuating his statement, Azinded a cataclysmic blow against the center of Yuri''s chest, creating a gaping hole that ran straight through her. She regenerated nigh-instantaneously, but due to the Laws dictating that beings with an assumed form suffered from the same weaknesses as the creatures they emted, a trace of blood leaked from the corner of her lips. Grinning from non-existent ear to ear, Azi firmly asserted, "You are not the one I''ve been waiting for. Only a human with a truly heroic nature has any chance of defeating me." Returning a dauntless smile, Yuri asked, "Is that so...?" before licking the blood from her lips and adding, "If your power and existence were half as ''absolute'' as you believe them to be, you or your Master would have taken over the Divine Realm eons ago." Manifesting a red gauntlet that enveloped her right hand and forearm, Yuriunched herself toward Azi with tremendous speed, her fist sinking into his abdomen instantly. Azi could have avoided the attack, but one of the qualities of absolute evil was unbridled arrogance. More importantly, only Someone he recognized as a true Hero could deal consequential damage to him. Yuri hadmitted many heinous acts during her tenure as a High Ranker, so even if she was equipped with the most powerful holy sword in Creation, she could never hope to defeat him. Seeing Azi staring at her with a glimmer of amusement in his singr pink eye, Yuri''s smile became especially vicious as she remarked, "You''re really starting to piss me off." As soon as Yuri was finished speaking, a spear-like tip protruded from the gauntlet, piercing the gap between Azi''s abdominal muscles. The moment it did so, Azi felt an encroaching power simr to the stakes used to seal his maw flowing through his body,pelling him to strike forward like an antagonized snake, biting into Yuri''s shoulder. Though Azi seeded in taking a bite out of her, Yuri retreated without issue, leaving behind the silvery nail in his abdomen and regenerating her left arm and shoulder before charging forward a second time. Realizing that Yuri was trying to seal him, Azi''s casual arrogance turned to outrage as he tore the stake from his abdomen, removing a chunk of flesh in the process. Unlike Yuri, however, he didn''t heal. Instead, a tremendous volume of ck blood erupted from the wound, staining his lower body and the white cloth around his waist ck as he charged forward to meet Yuri''s attacks head-on... ... .. . After separating from Siddhartha, the first person Kurma thought to seek out was Scathach. Thetter was among the greatest warriors in the Little Garden''s ever-shifting history, but, more importantly, she had the backing of Queen Halloween. "Is this supposed to be a joke...?" asked Kurma, a visibly annoyed look on her face as she discovered Scathach casually rxing in a cafe, rxedly sipping tea in a Maid outfit. Opening her distinctly aquamarine eyes, Scathach adopted a faint smile and replied, "I''m not particrly fond of jokes." before rising to her feet, gesturing to the chair opposite her and asking, "Would you like to join me for tea?" Though she furrowed her brows, Kurma didn''t hesitate to take a seat, allowing Scathach to fill her cup and sit back down before asking, "Just what is going on here? Your Mistress should have been one of the people most concerned with the return of the Demon Dragon God..." "I''m not entirely sure myself," replied Scathach, shrugging her shoulders and maintaining a rxed smile as she spected, "If I had to guess, the Sage Dragon Emperor did something to alleviate my Mistress''s concerns. I received a message from her informing me it was no longer necessary to take direct action, so I''ve just been following young and promising yers around to ensure they didn''t get gobbled up by one of the Demon Dragon God''s clones." Exhaling an exasperated sigh, Kurma took a sip of the tea Scathach had prepared for her, savoring its taste before huffily remarking, "It''s because of things like this that your Mistress has and always will be regarded as a problem child. I thought she had matured a bit after Shiroyasha-sama''s appointment as the Eastern Floor Master, but it appears I was mistaken..." Narrowing her eyes slightly, Scathach was tempted to point out Kurma would pay for making such remarks about her Mistress but knew it was unnecessary. Queen Halloween wasn''t the kind of woman that needed others to speak in her defense, so Scathach remained silent, permitting Kurma to finish her tea before stating, "Regardless of the circumstances, if my Mistress says the matter is settled, we can assume it''s well in hand. I won''t stop you from running around like a panicked chicken, but there is no need." Rising to her feet and pping the table between them, Kurma eximed, "This is the Demon Dragon God we''re talking about! Even if he hadn''t gotten his hands on the power of the Ouroboros Cycle, it would take all of us supporting Sidd to seal him away! How can you be so calm!?" Stopping just short of sipping her tea, Scathach calmly replied, "Your fear and sense of urgency make the Demon Dragon God more powerful. Just trust in my Mistress, Lord Indra, Shiroyasha-sama, and the Sage Dragon Emperor. If the Demon Dragon God were a genuine threat, Someone like Vahn wouldn''t be content to sit on the sidelines, cing his loved ones in danger." "That..." Though she wanted to argue, Kurma, like most people in the Little Garden, was aware of Vahn''s personality. He was the type that only allowed his friends and loved ones to take action when he was certain there was no danger. When real or perceived threats appeared, he was always the first to act, taking on entire Pantheons of Gods as if there were little more than trash to be taken out... Catching Kurma a little off guard, Scathach set down her cup and asked, "Have you tried asking the Sage Dragon Emperor for his assistance? The people he allowed to participate in this event are clearly just here to show off or have fun. If you''re truly concerned about the threat represented by the Demon Dragon God, you could appeal to him to resolve it." Recovering from a brief stupor, Kurma adopted a serious expression as she asked, "And you believe he would do so, even if it vited the rules and restrictions of the Gift Game?" "Vahn allows himself to be bound by our rules, but he fundamentally exists outside of them," replied Scathach. "If someone petitioned him for assistance and he believed in their cause, I doubt even those upying the single-digit Gates could stop him..." Hearing Scathach''s borderline sphemy, Kurma''s eyes became as round as saucers. She knew Vahn was exceptionally powerful, but if he were beyond those that ruled the Little Garden, he would have returned to the ce he referred to as home... Seeing through Kurma''s thoughts, Scathach closed her eyes and pointed out, "The Sage Dragon Emperor cares about those around him and has a very prominent sense of responsibility. For the sake of all, I believe he will see things through to their natural conclusion. Whether that ces him atop the throne of the Little Garden or somewhere else entirely remains to be seen..." Dropping back into her seat, Kurma paused to consider Scathach''s words, staring at her empty cup in contemtive silence. She found it difficult to believe that Vahn had already transcended the power scaling of the Little Garden, but it was rtively easy to ept he didn''t care about iming one of its thrones. His Aldrnari Empire had immense power and authority, but when it came down to it, Vahn only truly cared more about spending time with his family, friends, and the loved ones he kept safely within the Sage Dragon''s Hearth. He was Someone with an unparalleled capacity to rule, but other than ''maintaining order,'' he didn''t care about implementing policies or guiding people''s actions in the slightest... Deciding to humor Scathach''s words, a frown marred Kurma''s face as she met the purple-haired Heroine''s aquamarine eyes and asked, "So he''s just going through the motions so we don''t feel as though our actions have no purpose...?" Shrugging her shoulders, Scathach contended, "Life undoubtedly has intrinsic value, but it is given meaning by the wants, desires, and actions of those who live it. If my interpretation of his actions is urate, Vahn already possesses the power to create a new Order, but he cannot ignore the desires of others. Thus, until Someone worthy steps forward, he will create a power vacuum at the very pinnacle of reality, preventing anyone from standing at the top..." Furrowing her brows to their limits, Kurma muttered, "That''s insane...the only way such a reality could endure is if those who hold it together were destroyed or had their power stripped away..." Adopting a faint yet terrifying smile, Scathach replied, "Maybe that''s for the best. The innately powerful and fortuitous have ruled over the weak for far too long. And those at the pinnacle allow it because that is how the current Order is structured. They believe the most powerful should stand at the top, but they have also created a system that prevents any singr entity from acquiring absolute power. As such, the trio that rules over the Divine Realm keeps one another in check, ultimately bing little more than lynchpins obsessed with maintaining the current Order..." Rising to her feet, the usually optimistic twinkle in Scathach''s eyes was reced by a cold glimmer as she added, "Individuals like myself should not be able to ughter billions without repercussions. Such power takes away the meaning others assign to their life, denying them even the most basic right. Thus, even if the Sage Dragon Emperor chooses to ughter us all, I will wee my end with a smile, spear in hand." Punctuating her statement, Scathach manifested a rune-covered crimson spear, sweeping it at Kurma without warning. Thetter was able to react by darting backward and countering with a torrent of golden lightning, but the jagged tendril of energy swerved around Scathach''s body without her having to dodge, causing her tough aloud as she pressured Kurma with a series of swift, seemingly random strikes. "Have you lost your mind!?" screamed Kurma, teleporting away as the tip of Scathach''s spear grazed one of her horns. Lowering herself like a predator ready to pounce, a battle-hungry smile developed across Scathach''s face as she cheerfully eximed, "This is a Gift Game, not a forum for discussion! The people of the Little Garden are eager to see us trade blows, so let''s give them a show to remember...!" Without waiting for Kurma to respond, Scathach whipped her body like a slingshot, the spear in her right hand transforming into a bolt of crimson lightning as she threw it with all her might, shouting, "Gae Bolg...!" ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The Uzumaki n would be proud...'',''I feel like Scathach has put more thought into Vahn''s actions than Vahn himself xD...'',''Life is motion!'') Chapter 2354: Pendulum

Chapter 2354: Pendulum

"Did Kurma-chan offend you in some way...?" asked Queen Halloween, running her fingers through the hair of the Vahn resting his head atop her naked thighs. "Even if she had, do you think me a petty man?" asked Vahn, opening his eyes to observe Queen''s reaction directly. "Not that I''m aware," replied Queen. "However, even if this is the path she chose for herself, it wouldn''t take much for you to ally her concerns..." "You''re not wrong," conceded Vahn, closing his eyes and adding, "But I''m not the only one capable of rifying the situation. Siddhartha discovered the truth fairly early on, but he continues going through the motions since it is our experiences that give meaning to life. As someone burdened with omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience, you know the importance of ''verifying'' things for yourself..." Furrowing her brows, Queen wanted to refute Vahn''s words but knew there was no argument to make against them. Epassing concepts such as omnipresence, omnipotence, and omniscience were intrinsically paradoxical due to the duality ''hardcoded'' into Creation. A strong enough will could change the course of history and reshape destiny, so the true purpose of those with limitless power and knowledge was observing andparing events that transpired in the present to how they were ''meant'' to be. The problem was that the current Order allowed for contradicting interpretations of the same events. As a result, the structure of reality came down to a simple game of he-said-she-said based on the views of select entities and the Authority granted to them by their followers... "Don''t worry," said Vahn, opening his eyes just enough to let his usually aquamarine, currently rainbow-hued pupils shine through as he stated, "The changes you, Shiroyasha, and many others desire have either been introduced or set into motion. Rather than worrying about the future, you should focus on the present and make the most of every single moment..." Grasping Queen''s hand, Vahn nted kisses on her fingers until her smile gradually returned. She was used to being in control, but for the first time in her exceptionally long life, she felt it might not be so bad to entrust her fate to another... ... .. . "You''re one tough bastard..." remarked Yuri, spitting out a mouthful of blood and one of her mrs after suffering a devastating right hook from Azi''srgely destroyed fist. The one-eyed, now one-armed Demon Dragon God looked like a porcupine due to the number of sealing stakes piercing his body, but even his grazing blows were powerful enough to strip away a''s maic field. Removing the stake that Yuri had stabbed into the side of his neck, Azi replied, "All you''re doing is dying the inevitable. Those who sealed me in the past did so at the expense of their life, power, and Authority. Your unwillingness to make a simr sacrifice makes your seals useless..." Directing his gaze to the other battles, Azi added, "Also...no one person can hope to conquer ''absolute evil'' alone. Those Spirits are powerful, but withoutpanions willing to share your burden and sacrifice alongside you, even a pyrrhic victory is impossible. Unless..." Returning his gaze to Yuri, Azi''s ghastly voice sounded amused as he asked, "Are you trying to buy time for someone else? Those cowards in the Inner Gates would never permit someone to enter this ce if they didn''t have a n..." Adopting a cheeky smile, Yuri replied, "Who knows? I''m sure they''re scheming something, but I''m here, fighting you, of my own ord. Now, stop chattering and fight...!" Holding her gauntleted hand in front of her face, Yuri manifested a silver de from its end before charging forward and slicing at Azi with reckless abandon. His left arm had fallen off during their previous exchanges, so she attacked the left side of his body, intending to slick through his torso in a single go. Contrasting Yuri''s expectations, Azi didn''t attempt to evade her attack. Instead, he raised what remained of his left shoulder and bicep as if he were inviting her attack. Undaunted by Azi''s actions, Yuri sliced through his ribs and nearly half his torso before her de was stopped by his spine. The Laws infused in the attack prevented Azi''s flesh from closing and regenerating, but that didn''t seem to be what he had in mind. Instead, shadowy tendrils erupted from the wound, piercing Yuri''s body before exploding to resemble sea urchins with thousands of tiny spines. Sensing that something was off, a distinct grimace marred Azi''s draconic visage as Yuri''s body faded into pink mist. He was certain he had stabbed the real Yuri, but another version of the grinning beauty appeared behind him as the one he stabbed faded without a trace. Swinging his arm to intercept the newly formed Yuri, impacting her ribs with the back of his hand, Azi confirmed his suspicions as she promptly disappeared. He had definitely struck something solid, so the two most likely exnations were that Yuri was manipting causality or exploiting a form of superposition. Perfectly capable of causal maniption, Azi intended to test his theory by rushing to meet Yuri''s attacks directly. His Authority ''had'' to be greater than some unknown woman without an established legacy, so he willed the phenomenon of his fist drilling into Yuri''s head, causing it to explode like a watermelon. Though Azi''s attack found purchase, obliterating the upper half of Yuri''s body, the same disappearing phenomenon as before urred, allowing her tond a meteoric dropkick between his shoulders. The attack barely nudged him, but Azi had the distinct impression something was wrong as the flow of fate hadn''t changed. He was ''certain'' he had destroyed Yuri''s body, but a greater power or Authority had instantaneously overwritten his influence... Ignoring Yuri''s subsequent blows, even as she pierced his body with dozens of additional stakes, Azi''s mind raced to understand ande up with a countermeasure to his present circumstances. As the manifestation of absolute evil, he should have been able to do so intuitively, but no matter how far into the future he attempted to peer, he couldn''t envision a reality where he put Yuri down permanently. It was as though the more he desired to kill her, the more assured her survival became... Catching Yuri off guard, Azi abruptly caught her fist with his remaining hand, allowing the stake protruding from the end to pierce his palm. This wasn''t the first time he had intercepted her attack, but instead of trying to retaliate, he looked at her and stated, "Our battle has concluded. Seal me away if you''d like, but I won''t fight you any longer." Furrowing her brows, Yuri pulled her fist free of Azi''s grip, sneering as she asked, "What kind of bullshit are you spouting now?" "It''s the truth," replied Azi, appearing utterly disinterested as he looked to his other selves, mentallymanding them to stand down. He realized that the entity protecting Yuri would not permit him to kill her, so the best thing to do was bide his time and absorb his Master''s power. It might take eons, but there would eventuallye a time when he was able to break free from the mysterious entity''s influence. Disagreeing with Azi''s decision, the fleshy Verethraghna red at him with empty eye sockets, screaming, "Have you lost your fucking mind!? We''ve been waiting a fucking eternity to enact our revenge! If you want to-" Before Verethraghna could conclude his outburst, a pair of spear-like, bone-white forelegs pierced through his body from behind, courtesy of his multi-armed, multi-legged counterpart. "You...bitch..." croaked Verethraghna. He then tried to engulf both himself and his multi-limbed counterpart in the all-consuming ''mes of war,'' but as an entity born from the power Gluttony had absorbed from the Demon Lord of Perpetuity, even Verethraghna''s mes were devoured as his form disappeared in the eldritch abomination''s chest. Witnessing the gruesome sight alongside Yuri, Mirage, and Veil, a peculiar smile developed across Azi''s face as he muttered, "I see...so that''s how it is. I thought I had consumed you, but as the manifestation of the serpent that consumes itself, it is only natural that I will be consumed in turn..." Instead of responding to Azi with words, the dark-skinned abomination returned a smile as she charged toward him like a spider pouncing on a fly in its web. Azi could have resisted, but as his most heartfelt desire was to be reunited with his Master, he burst outughing as what remained of his body was skewered, torn apart, and ultimately consumed. Believing she was next, Yuri recalled Mirage and Veil, the former forming clothes around her body while thetter took the form of an inordinately long, pink, hook-shaped weapon. Unfortunately, just as she was getting excited, her would-be foe formed into a sphere, all traces of its terrifying energy fading away as it fell from the sky like an inert white stone. "..." As the perfectly spherical object plummeted into the sea ofva produced by Azi''s use of Khvarenah, disappearing beneath its surface, a thickyer of abyssal ck ice formed across its surface, turning nearly a third of the former Little Garden into a ssy ne resembling obsidian. At the same time, the previously sun-like temperatures abruptly vanished, reced by an invasive chill approaching absolute zero. Feeling slightly aggrieved, Yuri looked to the sky and asked, "What the fuck, Vahn?" as if he were responsible for denying her a good challenge. In response, Vahn''s voice echoed in her mind, responding, ("You sensed it yourself. The Demon Dragon God had already given up the fight, and the remnants of the Ouroboros Cycle had no desire to continue it. I may have the power to force the matter, but that''s a line I refuse to cross...") Understanding there was no point in trying to argue, Yuri exhaled a tired sigh before looking in the direction Madara had departed with Eve a few minutes prior. The former was just as much a battle junkie as she was, so after a moment of deliberation, a pink aura burst from Yuri''s body as she disappeared in search of her next target... ... .. . Contrasting his expectations, Azi''s consciousness didn''t fade after his Master devoured him. There was a brief moment when he thought it had, but it was immediately followed by him waking in a grassy field, staring up at a beautiful, star-filled sky. Rising to a seated position, the first thing Azi noticed was the change in his appearance. In ce of bone-white flesh and powerful ws suited for ughter, his hands and body were small, child-like, and covered in healthy brown skin. Though it had been an eternity since he was human, Azi immediately recognized the hands as his own...long before he bore the weight of all sins. Before Azi could make sense of his situation, specifically hisck of power and Authority, a delicate voice echoed from behind him like a bell, musing, "What a shame. Had you slept a few minutes longer, I would have ced a beetle up your nose." Recognizing the mischievous voice, goosebumps spread across Azi''s body as he turned to find a young girl with simrly brown skin, dark hair extending past the small of her back, and vibrant green eyes that seemed to glow even in the darkness. His own emanated a faint pink hue, earning him thebel of a demon from his parents and subjects, but one person always called them beautiful... "Ava..." muttered Azi, a wave of anguish washing over him, causing his voice to break slightly. Adopting a heartbreakingly kind smile, Ava moved over to Azi, cradling his slightly chubby cheeks with her hands as she said, "Your eyes glisten like gemstones when you cry, but they''re even more beautiful when you smile. Can you smile for me...?" Catching Ava slightly off-guard, Azi abruptly tackle-hugged her, sobbing into her chest as he cried, "My smile has always been yours..." while no longer caring about the circumstances that led to his apparent loss of power, the gap in his memories, or his return to the past. All he knew was that he was where he was supposed to be. And this time, he wouldn''t let anyone take it from him... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Paradoxes Abound...'',''How does the unstoppable force ovee the immovable object? It finds another path o3o...'',''There are no such things as absolutes...'') Chapter 2355: Tipping the Scales

Chapter 2355: Tipping the Scales

Ushering an abrupt end to Yuri''s search for Madara and Eve, the voice of Shiroyasha echoed through the ruins of the former Little Garden, stating, "The Hidden Condition, Defeat or Seal the Demon Dragon God, has been achieved by Ha Yuri of the Wolhaiksong Community. All remaining yers will now be given a choice. You can either advance to the final elimination round or abstain. But worry not. Those who choose to forgo the finals can request a stay of one week to continue exploring at their leisure. This is a rare opportunity, so make what you can of it." "There goes my chance to show off..." said Izayoi, casually evading the serrated edge of a ming sword more than 300m in length. He was still trapped within the Ginnungagap, undergoing the trials of Aurgelmir, so he wouldn''t be able to participate in the finals unless he gave up obtaining the ancient giant''s legacy. "It''s probably for the best," contended Seiunn. "As exceptional as you are, it will be some time before you can realisticallypete with the entities upying the lower-digit Gates." "Don''t tempt me..." said Izayoi, catching the massive ming sword with his palm. Then, with considerable ease, he punched in the direction of the sword''s wielder, a fire giant standing more than 500m in height. Though Izayoi''s fist came nowhere near the giant, the shockwave it produced caused the upper half of the colossal being to explode, white-hot magma erupting from what remained of its torso. Deciding to make use of the giant''s sword, Izayoi flipped it through the air as if he were tossing a baton, kicking the rounded pommel with enough force to send it flying through the bodies of several additional giants like a beam of orange-hued light... Seeing the sword impact the ground, creating an explosionrger than any bomb produced by the humans of his world, the usually confident grin on Izayoi''s face diminished slightly. He still had a long way to go to reach the top, but the more powerful he became, the more detached he felt. Like a much younger version of Vahn, Izayoi had reached the point where raw, destructive power seemed meaningless. His motivation for bing stronger was to punish the wicked and protect the weak, but with Vahn in the picture, there was only so much he could do without arbitrarily cing the children of his Community in danger. "Maybe I should pick up forging..." muttered Izayoi, raising his hand over his head to produce a pir of energy that quickly grew to more than ten kilometers long. His surroundings had abruptly changed from an ancient battlefield to a seemingly endless tundra popted by mountains of ice and snow that quickly revealed themselves to be slumbering giants. The one closest to him exhaled a frigid breath that caused the air to solidify into a solid block of ice, but Izayoi was unaffected by the pervasive chill as he swept the pure white pir of light through the giant, shattering it like a fragile ice sculpture... ... .. . With arge portion of yers being eliminated by Azi and his clones, fewer than a thousand chose to participate in the Finals, the majority of which represented two and three-digit Communities. There were a few outliers, such as Yuri, Lau, and Scathach, but they were an exception as most yers understood the futility of trying topete against even the weakest member of an Inner-gated Community. Standing near the center of the massive circr tform that would soon serve as a battleground, Kurma wore a conflicted look as she was relieved to be rid of the threat of Azi, at least for a time, but annoyed to have failed in her mission to recover the World Anchor. Now, unless they could collect enough Sun Authorities to produce a new one, half of Creation effectively belonged to Vahn... Appearing at Kurma''s side, Siddhartha wore aparably rxed smile as he stood with his hands behind his back, stating, "What you fear will note to pass. But, even if it did, life will endure. After all, no matter how dark things may appear at dusk, there will always be a new Dawn..." Instead of responding to Siddhartha''s words of wisdom, Kurma raised her head alongside nearly every other yer in the Finals. Everyone expected the finalpetition to be a free-for-all, but they soon learned the truth as Shiroyasha''s voice echoed across the battlefield, stating, "In the spirit of fairness, the event organizers and myself have determined that the final round of the Pandemonium Gift Game will pit all remaining yers against the Representative of the Aldrnari Empire, the Ethereal Queen. Additionally, so long as a single yer remains after the one-minute mark, it will automatically be considered a victory for the majority." Though Shiroyasha''s words sounded ridiculous to those observing the Pandemonium Gift Game, everyone participating in the Finals thought she was being unreasonable in a different way. They could all see the Ethereal Queen standing in the air with her spear, hovering above the center of the battlefield, and the moment they gazed at her, even the proudest yers understood they had no chance of enduring a full minute. "Impossible..." muttered Kurma, subsequently dropping to her knees. As a Pure-Blooded Dragon, the thought of facing a powerful opponent should have exhrated her, but all she felt while looking at the Ethereal Queen was a form of hopelessness beyond despair. It was like she had abruptly be a normal human, staring in awe as the Sun that had watched over her people for eons exploded. She was frightened, but she couldn''t help feeling she was witnessing something beautiful and majestic at the same time... As Shiroyasha announced the start of the final match, no one, not even Yuri, made a move. They were all transfixed by the aura exuding from the Ethereal Queen, who, after fifty-three seconds, adopted a faint smile and said, "There is a certain wisdom in resigning yourselves to your fates..." Punctuating her words, the Ethereal Queen swept her spear in an overtly casual gesture, producing amethyst-purple mes that swept across the battlefield instantly, consuming everything in their wake. A few with Gifts that influenced causality or made them indestructible tried to resist, but in the presence of one of the few ''absolutes,'' no power derived from another could hope to endure more than a moment... ... .. . While the majority of the Little Garden''s residents were paralyzed in awe or disbelief after seeing some of the most powerful beings in the Divine Realm reduced to little more than fodder, Vahn abruptly appeared in front of a hooded figure whose visible hands and feet resembled appendages doused in mercury. "So, you''vee..." muttered the figure, raising its head to reveal a hazy mirror instead of a face. Several other mirrors decorated its body, forming a ne around its neck and shoulders, but its most prominent feature was the tattered, extremely ancient-looking sword in its left hand. "I am the Fulcrum," said the mirror-faced entity. "The one who maintains the bnce between those who stand at the pinnacle and all other beings in Creation. To advance beyond this point, you must relinquish half of your power and authority..." Shaking his head, Vahn casually attested, "That may be the way things are, but change is one of the fundamental aspects of reality. I shall allow you to continue serving as the Fulcrum, but from this moment forward..." Taking a seat on the throne that had appeared behind him, a golden light exuded from Vahn''s eyes as he stated, "I am the only one that sits on this side..." Though Fulcrum was initially confused by Vahn''s words, it didn''t take long for it to realize what thetter had done. If it had eyes, they would have been round as saucers. Instead, after a moment of hesitation, it turned to face the eight entities that had manifested behind it. "There cannot be a single being that stands above all of Creation..." said a thin, inordinately beautiful, statuesque figure seated atop a thick tform resembling the stalk of a giant lotus. The figure''s body appeared to be an emaciated man garbed in the traditional red robes of a Buddhist monk, but the longer you looked at them, the more ''uncertain'' that observation became. Conceptual entities changes form based on the expectations of those observing and interacting with them, so when Vahn adopted a smile and prepared to answer, more than half the group looked exactly like him. "I do not n to stand above anyone," said Vahn, meeting the gazes of each entity within the group as he added, "Rather, I intend to stand ''with'' everyone..." Owing to their omnipotence, spanning all things within Creation, everyone in the group immediately understood what Vahn was saying as ''memories'' predating the First Dawn materialized in their minds. They had thought he was the ''New Dawn,'' but as they looked back and reflected on the birth of the current Order, they found him staring back at them with a smile. For the briefest of moments, a period so small that the concept of time couldn''t be applied to it, every single being across all of Creation had the same light exuding from their eyes as Vahn''s. This was most apparent to True Buddha, representing the concept of Universal Oneness, but due to Vahn allowing the rest to know, the knowledge was hardcoded into their very existence. "So that''s how it is..." muttered Indra, appearing much like his counterpart in the Outer Gates but with four arms, three eyes, and scarlet hair instead of his traditional purple locks. He had always suspected that Vahn might be their origin, but even if that wasn''t the case, it was now an immutable truth. "I cannot ept this," said a petite, arrogant-looking woman with ck and white hair that vaguely resembled horns. Her abyssal-ck eyes reflected no light, but they gave the impression they could see through all things as their owner red at Vahn with a defiant look. Meeting the petite figure''s gaze, Vahn''s expression softened as he said, "The desire for change is a good thing. However, if you choose toe at me, there are two things you should know..." Though the entire group instantaneously knew what he was going to say, Vahn effectively made it a fundamental aspect of reality by stating, "I will neither resist nor step down from my post. You are wee to stab, slice, seal away, or even devour me. I will endure everything, and once you get tired, I willfort you as any father should..." Feeling emotions she hadn''t experienced in eons, the dichromatic woman charged toward Vahn with reality-bending speed, her seemingly delicate right hand transforming into the w of a ck dragon as she attempted to rip his head off. Her true identity was that of the Primordial, Chaos, but she had been given a second title to exin the sudden emergence of Pure-Blooded Dragons in the Divine Realm, elevating her to the position of Progenitor Dragon God. True to his words, Vahn offered no resistance even as Chaos ripped his head from his upper body. Ordinarily, Chaos would have used that as an opportunity to tear him to shreds, but she abruptly stopped, cold sweat running down her face and body as Vahn''s memories of being torn apart were transmitted to her. At the same time, she also felt hispassion, love, and boundless tolerance, creating an indescribable sense of conflict within her heart as he rematerialized and casually decreed, "Only those who can empathize with the people they trample upon deserve to stand at the pinnacle of Creation..." And with those words, Empathy became the ''core'' representing all who held and aspired to obtain Divinity... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''The act of creation will always be more meaningful than destruction...'',''PvP in Diablo Immortal be like...'',''Vahn, aka, the Dragon God of Consequence...'') Chapter 2356: Drawing the Curtain

Chapter 2356: Drawing the Curtain

"That''s enough," said a gentle voice, interrupting Chaos''s imminent existential crisis. Alongside everyone else present, Vahn shifted his attention to the entity that had spoken, an androgynous figure with pearl-like eyes, short ck and white hair,rge fluffy ears, and a two-toned tail that drooped from a ck, gold-trimmed, oversized, high-cored, long-sleeved smock. Their height barely crested 140cm, but they gave anyone who observed them the impression of staring at a boundless, star-filled sky. "Is..." muttered Vahn, recognizing the diminutive entity as the Progenitor of Poets, a conceptual being that gave form to thought. Their existence was just below the Law of Identity, but without them, there would be no ''stories'' and, thus, no fate. Adopting a faint smile, though it wasn''t visible due to the cor obscuring the lower half of their face, Is stunned nearly everyone present by asking, "How have you been, father?" "It''s time for you to rest," replied Vahn, casually making his way over to caress Is''s head with his right hand. It had yet to happen but Is was the child of him and Fenrir from a coteral timeline. They wouldn''t be born until near the end of time itself, but due to the concepts they represented, their origin could be traced to the beginning, creating the ''closed loop'' necessary to ensure a Record''s stability. After narrowing their eyes contentedly, Is''s body abruptly disintegrated, returning to Vahn. Afterward, thetter looked around, gazing at Ahura Mazda, True Buddha, Samsara, Chaos, An, Indra, Ame-no-Minakanushi, and Fulcrum. "You now have a choice," said Vahn. "The Central Network will soon be overhauled, enabling it to handle the Administrative Functions of the Little Garden. I will not strip you of your powers or deprive you of the Gates you upy, but there is no longer a need for you to serve as the lynchpins of reality." Raising his right hand, Vahn generated a total of seven spheres, each representing an Actualized World on par with the Transcendental Path to Heaven in terms of scope. "If you''d like, I can allow you to experience a world outside the bounds of your knowledge. Inversely, you could stay here and try to oppose me, but unless you can obtain a power outside the scope of omnipotence, there is little chance of you seeding." As Vahn spoke, the seven remaining Primordials saw visions of the future extending to the end of the current Order. They also became aware that he had already created a closed loop of fate, open to change but with the same origin and endpoints. In many ways, it was simr to how advancedputers ran simtions, each Order improving upon thest in a never-ending cycle. "There is no such thing as perfection," said Vahn. "Even with this kind of structure, there will eventually be an ''end.'' All I can do is prolong things for as long as possible." Adopting a gentle smile, Vahn added, "After all, so long as there is the potential for awareness and the notion of standing at the pinnacle of all things, there will eventuallye a time when the person standing at the top grows weary of their burden. This can be offset by sharing the burden with others, but even that has limits..." Meeting the gazes of the pensive Primordials, Vahn sent the spheres floating toward them. Chaos frowned deeply when a sphere came to rest in front of her, but as an entity that had existed before time, she wasn''t oblivious to the ''burden'' Vahn spoke of. She once had aspirations of ruling over all of Creation, but after being stuck at Rank 5 for eons, she knew it was impossible to ovee the very Concepts that gave her being. Interrupting the tense silence, Samsara, a six-armed youth representing the Six Paths and the Cycle of Reincarnation, softly remarked, "It would be interesting to experience the Cycle directly..." Without waiting for anyone to respond, Samsara ced one of their hands atop the sphere, disappearing in an instant. Fortunately, as both Samsara and the Actualized Worlds were ultimately a part of Vahn, the Concepts of the Six Paths and Reincarnation didn''t cease to exist. Rather, they were an integral part of the current Order and inscribed into the foundation of just about every Record, so even if there weren''t a being directly representing the process, souls would continue to be repurposed and recycled. "Anyone else?" asked Vahn, knowing the answer but feelingpelled to ask. Unfortunately, even though they were fully aware of its existence, none of the remaining Primordials deviated from the ''script'' he had written and presented to them. Vahn wasn''t disappointed by this, but to ensure the existence of concepts such as free will, he had to willfully desire that events outside the scope of his boundless knowledge would ur, even if the chances were slim... "Then, let''s all do our best to make the Little Garden a better ce from here on," said Vahn, turning away from the group of Primordials to reim his position atop his throne. Chaos eventually made her way over to sit on hisp, but as the ''Mother of Creation'' and the ''Primordial Dragon God,'' it wasn''t an exaggeration to say her ce was at his side... ... .. . "How much longer are you nning to stay...?" asked Shiroyasha, staring at the version of Vahn using herp as a pillow. The Little Garden was in a celebratory mood after the unexpected defeat of Azi Dahaka and the rise of the Aldrnari Empire as a 3-Digit Community, but the atmosphere within her traditional, Japanese-style room wasparably mncholic. "Forever..." replied Vahn, opening his eyes to meet Shiroyasha''s golden, cat-like gaze. In reality, he had already done exactly that, but he forced his consciousness to exist at the moment after his defeat of the Ethereal Queen, intent on ying the part he had assigned himself. Running her fingers through Vahn''s hair, Shiroyasha muttered, "You may very well be the greatest fool in all of Creation..." in a faint, chiding tone. "So long as even a single person continues to love and have expectations for me, I can live with that..." replied Vahn. He knew that only Sis, Fenrir, and a handful of others would stay with him to the very end, but the fact there was more than one person that could endure eternity alongside him was enough topel him forward. Shiroyasha herself would eventually leave his side after the final stars disappeared from the night sky, but he didn''t fear that inevitably. Rather, he looked forward to meeting her anew, countless times over... Feeling Vahn''s love flow into her from the tips of her fingers, a pang of guilt permeated Shiroyasha''s being before disappearing just as quickly. She felt like she had dragged him into his current predicament and was actively preventing him from reuniting with the family he had left behind in the Record of Danmachi. Still, so long as he continued to love her, she feltpelled to do the same. "I guess we''re both fools..." muttered Shiroyasha, bending over to nt a lingering kiss on Vahn''s lips. She also knew the fate that awaited them in the distant future, but, much like the other Primordials, she was willing to see things through to the end. That was the ''curse'' of beings at their level of existence, but so long as she had someone to share it with, Shiroyasha didn''t fear the end... ... .. . With Creation updating retroactively to reflect the changes to the Divine Realm and its structure, most people weren''t aware of how the dynamic of power had shifted. When Da Vinci substituted Lace and upgraded the Central Network to administrate the entirety of the Little Garden, the only people who noticed it were those affiliated with the Aldrnari Empire. From everyone else''s perspective, the Central Network had ''always'' been in charge. Simr to how the Central Network had always been in charge, Vahn made good on various promises, such as reuniting Lily with her mother, making it so that Anak''s had never died, restoring the Vampire race, and preventing the destruction of the Moon Rabbit tribe by transnting them into the present at the moment before their destruction. To a simr end, he made it so that anyone who experienced tragedy during their life was given the same opportunity as himself, inheriting a variation of The Path that would allow them to live their next life as they pleased. As all beings within the Record stemmed from Vahn''s Universal Mind and Keeper of the Akashic Tome Innates, providing others a variation of The Path was no different from using it himself. In fact, after his ''awakening,'' he realized that his existence as Vahn Aldrnari Masion hade to be in a simr light. Sis informed him that this was one step short of the truth, but until he was ready to abandon his current existence, it was impossible for him to grasp the final piece of the puzzle. All he knew for certain was that his existence was fundamentally linked with the beings of all Records, not just the Transcendental Path to Heaven... ------------------------------- Name: [Vahn Aldrnari Mason] Age: Ageless Race: Aiua''s Shadow Parameters: [Transcendental Path to Heaven] Strength: Agility: Dexterity: Intelligence: Luck: Spirit: Wisdom: Charisma: Divinity: [Vahn Aldrnari Mason] Authority: [Vahn Aldrnari Mason] Soul Tier: 0 Karma: Innate(s): [Will of the Emperor: (-)], [Vessel of the Soul:(-)], [Origin Terminal:(-)], [Rakshasa Body: (-)], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome: (-)], [Eyes of Truth: (-)], [Universal Mind: (-)], [Actualization: (-)] Gift(s): [Vahn Aldrnari Mason] Talent(s): [Vahn Aldrnari Mason] [Vessel of the Soul] Rank: Innate (-) *Innate Skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh. [Passive]: Allows the user to exist. [Active]: Allows the user to overwrite the existence of another. [Origin Terminal] Rank: Innate (-) *Innate Skills cannot be identified. Attempts to do so will result in a bacsh. [Passive]: Allows the user to ess Records. [Active]: Finalize events within a Record to enable the user to separate themselves from causality. ------------------------------- ... .. . Sitting atop an old, dust-covered sofa, lit by the rainbow-hued mes of a hearth, Vahn, sitting next to Sis and absentmindedly caressing Fenrir''s fur, watched in silence as the tiny orb representing the Transcendental Path to Heaven lost its light. "And there it goes..." muttered Vahn, feeling a pang of loneliness as even the fire from the hearth began to wane. Fortunately, even after a span of time beyondprehension, he was never truly alone. It had been eons since Fenrir opened her eyes, but when he ran his fingers through her fur, her tail would waggle slightly... "Will you not be starting again?" asked Sis, raising her head from Vahn''s shoulder to observe his face. "That is my purpose," replied Vahn. However, while he infused a trace of Source Energy into the tiny sphere, he didn''t enter it. Instead, he used his Origin Terminal to finalize events within the Record before allowing it to float like a bubble into the ''ceiling'' above, joining the innumerable points of light representing his Actualized worlds like a tapestry of stars in the night sky. Sensing Vahn''s actions, a mechanical doll, perfectly emting Eva in her prime, opened its eyes and looked over, asking, "Have you finally formed your resolve...?" Without waiting for Vahn''s response, a faint light spread across the doll''s body, restoring itsplexion to that of a living being. Then, while Vahn silently observed her actions, she made her way over to a wall lined with dozens of crystalline capsules, inputting a series ofmands that would awaken those slumbering within. Emerging from the first capsule, Medusa covered her mouth to stifle a cute yawn before directing her gaze to Vahn, ignoring Sis and Fenrir as she adopted a cheeky smile and asked, "Did you miss me~?" Reacting to Medusa''s voice, Fenrir''s ashen fur abruptly regained its cobalt blue luster, followed by her opening her crimson eyes and remarking, "You should go back to sleep..." in an irritable tone. The thought of returning ''home'' caused her once-still heart to palpitate with excitement, but she was saddened that her eternity of snuggling with her Master hade to an end. Fortunately, even if it took countless epochs, Fenrir was confident she would oust even Sis as his finalpanion... ... .. . (A/N: Alternate Titles: ''Is, Is Not...'',''Fading Twilight...'',''Fenrir, Goddess of Good Girls...'') Chapter 2357: A Warm Welcome

Chapter 2357: A Warm Wee

As entering a Record caused irreversible damage to the flow of fate and causality, attempting to enter the same Record twice was a good way to ensure its destruction. To get around this, Vahn had two options. The first was to do what he had done with the Transcendental Path to Heaven and several other experimental Records, using Null Protocol to subsume all of Creation, bing the Origin of everything within. While Vahn had considerable experience subsuming Records, the weight of eternity greatly strained his mind, body, and spirit. While waiting for the Transcendental Path to Heaven to finish its 137th cycle, he had spent the better part of thirty billion years absentmindedly observing the formation and death of stars. He was in no state to return to the world of Danmachi and be the lover, father, and Emperor his family, friends, and many others needed him to be, so after discussing it with his many, many wives, they concluded that the best option was regressing to the state he had been in before his departure. More specifically, he would create a Temte of his past self, superimposing his Ego into it with the majority of his power and memories sealed. As counterintuitive as this sounded, Vahn wasn''t in a hurry to link the Record of Danmachi to the ever-expanding metaversal structure of his Actualized Worlds. He would, in time, but after umting knowledge and information spanning tens of trillions of worlds, he desired to spend at least a few millennia watching over his firstborn children and simply enjoying thepany of his original family... ... .. . Staring up at the sky above with a mncholic smile adorning his face, Vahn steeled himself for the long journey ahead of him, a final pang of guilt and trepidation spreading through his heart as he muttered, "Eje-" Interrupting Vahn''s somber departure, a twinkle appeared in the sky above, followed by a rainbow-hued sphere impacting the center of his forehead. Its velocity seemed to exceed the speed of light, far beyond his ability to react, but when it struck him, it felt like a gentle flick to his head as it bounced off his dome and fell into his open palms. Recognizing the object as a Memory Sphere, albeit of a much higher quality than the ones currently in his possession, Vahn briefly hesitated before inserting his consciousness into the strange object. When he did so, he was presented with a contiguous stream of memories depicting his adventures through other Records, presented in an anime format. At the same time, much of the knowledge he had umted was transmitted to Sis, allowing her to organize and store it forter use. "What the hell...?" muttered Vahn, tearing his consciousness away from the memory orb after watching more than two-thousand episodes of his journey through the Nasuverse, Akamatsuverse, and the Transcendental Path to Heaven. It was a lot to take in, but a quick look at this Status was enough to verify it was the truth... ----------------------------- Name: [Vahn Aldrnari Mason] Age: Ageless Race: Aiua''s Shadow Parameter: [Danmachi: 1-7] -Level: 0 -Power: XXX???? -Endurance: XXX???? -Dexterity: XXX???? -Agility: XXX???? -Magic: XXX???? Total: XXX???? Soul Tier: 4(Divine Soul)(Sealed) [Karma]: Null [OP]: 275,831,262,345,689,346,912,542,587,943,671,839,001,923,059 [Valis]: 11,383,988,000 Skills: [Will of the Emperor: (-)], [Vessel of the Soul:(Sealed)], [Origin Terminal:(Sealed)], [Rakshasa Body: (-)], [Keeper of the Akashic Tome: (-)], [Eyes of Truth: (-)], [Universal Mind: (Sealed)], [Actualization: (Sealed)], [Archery Goddess'' Blessing: (-)], [Stealth: (-)], [Chainbreaker: (-)], [Heart of the Eternal me: (-)], [Prometheus: (-)], [Call of the Reaper: (-)], [Yggdrasil''s Champion: (-)], [Yggdrasil''s Favor: (-)], [Veil of the Traveler: (-)], [Featherfoot: (-)], [Hands of Nirvana:(-)], [Metallurgy: (-)], [Fist Strike: (-)], [Friend of Spirits: (-)], [Void Ward: (-)], [Temptation: (-)]... Magic: [Sacred Tome: (-)] Development Skills: [Blessing of the Sage Dragon Emperor: (-)], [Blessing of Freya: (-), [Wound Nullification: (-)], [Spirit Origin: (-)], [Omniweapons Expert: (-)], [Hammer of Creation: (-)], [Alchemic Origin: (-)], [Sage''s Wisdom: (-)], [Lapidary: (-)], [Grooming: (-)], [Great Sage: (-)], [Allure: (-)], [Divine Administration: (-)] ----------------------------- While Vahn was feeling a little dizzy looking at the amount of OP he had, Sis broke him free from his thoughts, her voice carrying a hint of relief as she stated, (*It seems everything went well. With this, you no longer have to worry about leaving behind your unborn children, much less the Empire you just recently founded.*) Though he felt a simr sense of relief washing over him, Vahn couldn''t help smiling wryly as he scratched his head and remarked, "This doesn''t feel right...it''s like someone else did all the work for me..." (*But that someone was you*) said Sis, surprising Vahn immensely by manifesting next to him in her feline form and adding, "However, if you still wish to move forward, I will support you." Recovering from his momentary stupor, Vahn shook his head and adopted a natural smile. This situation reminded him of Ouranos''s Divination Scroll. However, as it was the result of his past self working tirelessly to ensure he could live without regrets, Vahn decided to honor his decision and stay with his family. He was a little daunted by the knowledge he had dozens of wives waiting for him to seek out, summon, and make them fall in love with him all over again, but that was a matter for the future... Before doing anything else, Vahn summoned Fenrir and Medusa from the seemingly infinite list of subordinates upying the subdimension of his Unit Management. From his perspective, it hadn''t been that long since he stowed them away, but the thought of leaving them in stasis longer than necessary made him ufortable. As they had yet to receive the memories of their future/past selves, Fenrir and Medusa were momentarily confused when Vahn released them from what they expected to be a long slumber. Fortunately, he was spared the effort of having to exin things as two more beams of light materialized from the heavens, impacting the duo''s heads beforending in their hands in the form of blue and silver memory orbs... ... .. . Standing outside the gate of the Hearth Manor, Vahn felt a tightness in his throat and an almost overwhelming sensation of shame. From his point of view, it had only been a few weeks since he started focusing on his Main Quest and preparing for his departure from the Record. Now that he had no reason to leave, he felt like an idiot for causing his family, friends, and, most importantly, his children to worry... "If you''re sorry, you need only apologize," said Sis, grabbing Vahn''s hand and pulling him over the gate''s threshold before he could protest. Fenrir and Medusa also pushed him from behind, so Vahn had little choice but to allow himself to be dragged to the front door with a nervous but grateful smile. As Sis opened the double doors at the front of the manor, Vahn took a deep breath to steel himself for what was toe. He couldn''t me anyone for being upset with him, but while quite a few people nned to lecture him, that wasn''t what awaited Vahn on the other side of the door. Instead, he was greeted by the scene of Hestia, Hephaestus, Loki, Erika, Ina, and Vana standing side by side in a line. Before Vahn could think to form any words, much less apologize, Hestia preempted him by adopting a heart-wrenchingly radiant smile and simply stating, "Wee home, Vahn." "I..." Feeling the tightness in his throatpound, Vahn temporarily lost the ability to speak as tears welled in his eyes, quickly overflowing and rolling down his cheeks in a steady stream. He couldn''t imagine how the version of him that had been separated from their family for eons felt, but seeing his family after steeling himself to part with them was too much for Vahn. He didn''t want his daughters to see his weak and vulnerable side, but he immediately fell to his knees and started sobbing as the trio of goddesses and his firstborn daughters surrounded and embraced him... ... .. . As news of Vahn''s ''return'' spread through thework the girls used to keep in contact with one another, everyone even remotely close to him gathered at the Hearth Manor. This included Freya and several members of the Xenos, but for obvious reasons, the former was asked to wait until Vahn sought her out before approaching and interacting with him. Unfortunately for Ais, Tiona, Lili, Tina, Lefiya, and some of the other girls with attachment issues, they were also made to wait. Loki was worried that Vahn would be overwhelmed if he had pregnant or overly emotional girls vying for his attention, so she gathered everyone in the main dining hall for an impromptu Vahnatus while the man after which the event was named spent time with his children. Making things easier for everyone, Sis happily introduced herself before exining the situation and presenting a Projection Sphere containing a third-person perspective of the events that had transpired during Vahn''s exceptionally long journey. There were no longer any restrictions on the information they could share about The Path and the existence of other Records, so after a viewing sessionsting several days, reduced to mere hours thanks to some convenient temporal maniption, Sis answered all of the group''s questions to the best of her ability. Unsurprisingly, most of the questions came from the group of Goddesses, consisting of Loki, Hephaestus, Anubis, Eirene, Demeter, Artemis, Fortuna, and Freya. Kali and Amaterasu had been informed of Vahn''s return, but as the former was busy and thetter had yet to visit the Hearth Manor, they would have their questions answered at ater date. Serving as the defacto spokesperson of the group, Loki grilled Sis for as much information as she could. One of the things she was most interested in was the existence of other worlds, so Sis provided the Goddesses with a series of artifacts that could preserve their Divinity before opening up a portal to one of the many worlds Vahn had linked to the Record to elevate it to Tier 7. More specifically, she permitted them to enter the multi-nar Little Garden housed within Vahn. With time flowing much slower in Vahn''s Little Garden, depending on the ne you were on, only a few thousand years had passed on the surface. In that span, the World Tree had grown to the size of a small, but the most prominent feature were thes visible from its surface, thergest belonging to Silva, Krona, and Xysteria, while the others belonged to children Vahn had sired muchter. The Earth Vahn had subsumed from the Nasuverse was also present, but after moving most of its inhabitants to the lower levels of the Little Garden, it had be little more than a nature preserve tended by Marlin, innumerable fae, and the descendants of Avalon. Unsurprisingly, Loki had a keen interest in the existence of Silva, Krona, and, most notably, Xysteria, but she didn''t pressure Sis into introducing them. Instead, after meeting with the inhabitants of the surface texture, she asked to see the ''Tower'' Vahn had created to allow residents of the lower levels to ascend and even ''surpass'' godhood. The girls that were ustomed to traversing the Tower of Babel were equally interested in it, but as quite a few of them were pregnant, their exploration of the massive tower was dyed to ater date... ... .. . While Sis was doing most of the heavy lifting in regard to exining things, Vahn enjoyed a long nap with all of his children. Erika initially refused the group cuddle session, but after seeing how despondent her father looked, she quickly caved, donning a pair of animal-themed PJs alongside her siblings. She felt like an idiot, but when Vahn held her, she reluctantly nestled into his embrace... ... .. . (A/N: No alternative titles this time around. Instead, as this is the final arc, I wanted to ask you guys and gals what you wanted to see portrayed. I have a few things in mind, such as tying up loose ends with Alexa and an encounter with Nuwa/Tiamat/etc, but beyond that, I''m open to ideas. If there are none, EPIC will likely conclude in the next few chapters, as I''ve been eager to move on to an original project for years xD...) Chapter 2358: EPIClogue 001

Chapter 2358: EPIClogue 001

(A/N: From now on, most chapters will be short-form excerpts detailing minor events and tying up loose ends. There will be actual chapters mixed in, but there are a lot of characters, perspectives, and events to show. Too many to dedicate full chapters to.) [Responsibility] Though they were ultimately his actions, Vahn didn''t like feeling like someone else had solved all his problems. Thus, in the weeks following his ''return,'' he spent considerable time ensuring the smooth operation of the Aldrnari Empire. He took breaks to spend time with his family, friends, and loved ones, but as the Empire was still in its infancy, it required much attention. One of the very first things Vahn did, even though Loki wanted to keep it a secret for as long as possible, was inform the Divine Council about the existence of worlds beyond Eden. He had aspirations of turning the tower into a nexus linking countless worlds in the future, and to aplish that, they needed to expand the Guild''s power to serve as a proper regtory and policing force. With the support of Ouranos and many others, it was only a matter of time before Vahn''s aspirations were made a reality. To aid in this endeavor, he introduced a system that had worked remarkably well across many of the worlds his ''past'' self had ventured, introducing Companions to students of the Aldrnari Academy. Though there were invariably some Companions that had gone astray in the Aldrnari Empire of the Nasuverse, the majority qualitatively improved the lives of those they had been partnered with. This sess waster replicated in the Little Garden, so Vahn was confident that introducing the tiny, adorable, and exceptionally powerful creatures to Orario would fix a lot of the systemic issues that had nearly ruined the lives of Lili and many others. Fortunately, with the assistance of Skoll, the Goddess of Companions, Vahn didn''t need to produce Companions from scratch. The former had be an existence akin to a World Tree, but instead of simply linking various worlds, she produced a functionally infinite number of spiritual fruit that served as therval essence of Companions. When consumed, the fruit would first nourish the body, curing diseases and other ailments, and, after a while, a Companion perfectly tailored to the consumer would take root in their Dantian, functioning much like a Tailed Beast but without the need for a seal. ... .. . [Mischief] A few weeks after Vahn''s return, Loki was lying atop his bed, ying with the ears of the red and white wolf-like Companion he had gifted her. She had been super busy serving as the Representative of the Divine Council, so she was currently taking a break, making use of the time allotted to her toze about. "You about finished?" asked Loki, looking over to where Vahn was seated at an expensive-looking desk, wearing a pair of old-fashioned sses as he finished working on what looked like a golden pocket watch. Nodding his head, Vahn replied, "I''m amazed at how easy it was," before tossing the watch over to Loki. She managed to catch it without issue, and when she did so, she sat up, her carmine eyes glistening between the gaps of her eyelids as a mischievous grin developed across her face. Without hesitation, Loki began to fiddle with the crown/winder of the pocket watch as if she were adjusting the time. As the second, minute, and hour hands moved backward, time outside the bedroom moved in reverse, not just on the continent of Eden but across the Record ''Vahn Prime'' had modified. Pressing the crown/winder down like the button on a stopwatch, Loki functionally stopped time, the smile on her face growing evenrger as she mused, "I''m going to have a lot of fun with this." "Just don''t do anything too crazy, or I''ll have to punish you," said Vahn, causing Loki to direct a cheeky smile his way. She couldn''t even begin to fathom how powerful he had be, but Loki was fairly confident she could get away with just about anything so long as she didn''t infringe on his bottom line. Absorbing her Companion back into her body, Loki dangled the watch by the chain Vahn had attached to it, spinning it haphazardly as she tittered, "I suddenly have the urge to behave naughtily..." Returning a smile of his own, Vahn arose from his impromptu workstation, returning it to his Inventory as he meandered his way over to the slender, auburn-haired Goddess. She could now change her appearance as freely as conformed to the shape of its vessel, but instead of bing the tall, buxom beauty she imagined herself to be in her heart, she willfully chose to stay exactly the way he remembered. "You''ve certainly be bolder..." remarked Loki, offering no resistance as Vahn pushed her onto the bed, burying his face into the nape of her neck. Her body shivered as a faint but pervasive pleasure spread through her like internalized goosebumps, but instead of immediately yielding to Vahn''s ministrations, she said, "Let''s do it on the event horizon of a ck hole this time..." Causing actual goosebumps to develop across Loki''s body, Vahn brought his mouth to her ear, responding, "If that''s what you want..." as the world around them abruptly ''fractured'' like ss. In the next moment, their bed was on the edge of an event horizon, unaffected by the immense gravity of a ck hole devouring a blue star. The sight was both frightening and beautiful, but it soon became little more than a backdrop as Vahn cupped Loki''s bubbly butt with his hands and dissolved both of their clothes with a thought... ... .. . [eptance] Contrasting the atmosphere of jubtion that had exuded from the Hearth Manor since Vahn''s return, things were fairly calm, serene, and borderline mncholic in Terra''s Garden, the home to Terra, Fafnir, and the former''s daughter, Alexa. Though she knew her actions were more than a little childish, Alexa had been holing herself up in her dwelling in a grumpy mood, refusing toe out even with Ina, Vana, her mother, and several others came to check on her. Fortunately for Alexa, she didn''t have to wait nearly as long as she was prepared to. Vahn didn''t show up immediately, but after getting some of his other affairs in order, he materialized in the very center of her room, finding the disgruntled dragoness wrapped in a futon as she watched his adventures through the Records on a Projection Sphere. More specifically, she was reying the scenes of his interactions with Mordred... Sensing Vahn''s appearance, Alexa turned her head toward him, wearing a deadpan glower as she asked, "What do you want...?" in a dull, monotone voice. Exhaling through his nose, Vahn adopted a somewhat wry but discernibly sincere smile as he said, "You''re such a brat." Feeling hurt by Vahn''s words, Alexa''s expression immediately crumpled, her brows and chin crinkling as moisture spread across her eyes. Before she could think tosh out or start bawling, however, Vahn materialized behind her, his powerful arms enveloping her in his warm embrace as he whispered, "I''m sorry I couldn''te earlier..." Making it clear he wasn''t there to coax or pacify her, Vahn inserted his hand into Alexa''s shirt from below, caressing her abdomen with a faint, rainbow-hued light emanating from his palm. The shirt she was wearing belonged to him, but Vahn had long since epted that his clothes were as much his lovers'' as they were his own. "Haaa..." Not expecting Vahn to suddenly cup her left breast, a faint gasp escaped Alexa''s throat as her previously sickly countenance became as hearty and red as an apple. At the same time, her heart was beating so intensely that her chest began to glow, causing a shadowy outline of her ribs to be visible. "Can you retract your wings...?" asked Vahn, causing Alexa''s feathery, leaf-colored wings to immediately retract, making it much easier to hold her from behind. There was still the matter of her tail, but as Da Vinci and many others could attest, Vahn not-so-secretly had a preference for girls with thick, fluffy, and even scaly tails. Without asking if Alexa was certain she wanted to be with him, Vahn turned her head to face him, surprising her with a kiss. Tears cascaded down her cheeks when he did, but rather than stemming from sadness, they were the result of her inability to contain the relief and happiness welling within. Making use of his free hand, Vahn slipped his finger past the band of Alexa''s panties to prepare her for what was toe. What he found was that she was more than ready to receive him, so after several minutes of kissing, he guided her onto her hands and knees, allowing her tail to rest against his chest and dangle over his shoulder. She was only wearing his shirt and a pair of soaked panties, so he slipped down the silky fabric and caused Alexa''s wings to practically burst out of her as he ced his ns against her eagerly awaiting entrance and pushed forward... ... .. . (A/N: For those that missed it, I published the first chapter of my original novel, ''Keystone, an Awesome Parallel ne Adventure.'' I also posted a poll on my Patreon, so if you want to be a part of the worldbuilding, give it a gander. If we work together, I believe we can make KAPPA just as good, if not better, than EPIC.) Chapter 2359: Important Update

Chapter 2359: Important Update

Since I''m trying to make the transition to writing professionally, I posted a Patreon-only poll to determine which stories I will be releasing chapters of. The first two weeks of any given month will see me focus on original stories such as Keystone/Babel, while the remainder of my time will be divvied between my other stories. Stories that receive more votes will receive more chapters, but even if a novel only receives a single vote, it will receive an update. The caveat is that other than the original I''m focusing on, all chapters I release henceforth will be Patreon-exclusive until the end of the month. After that, I will do a mass release on Library of Akasha and intermittent releases on all other tforms. For those that are unaware, Keystone, an Awesome Parallel ne Adventure, is up to Chapter 18. I believe it has the potential to surpass even EPIC in terms of characters and worldbuilding, so please consider checking it out and adding it to your library. FreeWebNovel doesn''t do a lot to promote uncontracted novels, so you might not see it in your feed unless you''re actively following it. As for the release rate, it''s between 2-3 chapters per day, but I''m more than willing to release more if there is interest and consistent/reliable feedback. Chapter 2360: The End and New Beginnings

Chapter 2360: The End and New Beginnings

(A/N: For those of you who aren''t keeping up with my other novels, long time no see. I hope that, as you''re reading this, your day and lives are going well. As for what this post is about, it''s to inform those who are interested that EPIC has transitioned to the post-logue sequel, a story that, by popr demand, will follow a freshly anointed Vahn''s journey as he begins a very different adventure, starting in the Record of Highschool DxD. If that appeals to you, you can read up to chapter 50 for free on my Patreon, and I''ll be posting twice-daily chapters here on FreeWebNovel under the title EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons. Now, without further ado, enjoy some insight into one of the story''s greatest secrets o3o...) ... .. . "This brings back memories..." remarked a tall man with dark, somewhat messy hair that framed a handsome face and deep aquamarine eyes, which, upon closer inspection, appeared to swirl with innumerable, ever-shifting specks of light. "It truly does..." responded a petite woman with equally messy ck hair, emerald green eyes with slit-like pupils, sun-kissed brown skin, and a slim yet shapely body adorned with distinctive, cat-like ears and a tail. Like the man, her eyes glistened with specks of shimmering light, but their number and intensity were greater. "It amazes me that, no matter how many times we reach this point, it forever feels like the first..." mused the man, turning to face the woman and adopting a smile that caused the surrounding darkness to retreat, casting the entirety of the boundless expanse they were in with equally endless light. "That''s because it is," hummed the woman, approaching the man and embracing him for the first andst time. He readily reciprocated, and though the two had already spent an eternity together, they enjoyed a few eons more as seconds to an ordinary person. Then, without further need tomunicate, the body of the man broke down into countless motes of light, sinking into the woman''s body but leaving behind a tiny, ancient-looking orb covered in indecipherable runes. "And thus, life eternal makes way for endless possibility..." muttered the woman, her body breaking down to a nebulous mass that appeared both male and female, its form ever-shifting depending on the perspective and angle it was viewed from. Though nothing happened for a truly iprehensible amount of time following the woman''s utterance, so long as the possibility of something happening existed, she would wait. Fortunately, she was never alone, the dreams of countless beings materializing within her, their pasts, presents, and futures coexisting within a single moment...unchanging...expectant... Rousing from what felt like an endless dream, the woman looked down to find a single mote of light, born within the darkness that had encroached upon her in the wake of the man''s disappearance. This was what she had been waiting for, but while she felt an indescribable urge to reach out and grasp it, she remained patient, a single, even smaller mote of light, barely a speck, separating from her nebulous mass to meet the anomalous mote that had appeared from nothingness. Memories of a boy with translucent skin and glowing blood flooded into her, rousing countless others, but as it was her first time experiencing this particr set, alongside the feelings attached to them, she couldn''t help muttering, "You poor child..." ... .. . "Ugh...my stomach..." groaned a boy with healthy and fair brown skin, dark brown hair that sat messily atop his head, and striking aquamarine eyes, fighting back the urge to throw up after enduring a sensation akin to his stomach being wrung like a rag. He couldn''t help noticing that he was naked, but instead of focusing on that, his eyes widened to their limits as he saw he had hands with which to cradle his stomach and a pair of thin but intact legs. "I have hands and legs..." muttered the boy, tears swelling within his eyes and quickly pouring freely down his face before he covered them in a vain attempt to deter his sobbing. It wasn''t that he was sad, but after enduring years of being strapped to an exam table and being unable to move about without the aid of others, he felt overwhelmed. (That is correct.) said a distinctly synthetic-sounding voice within the boy''s mind, causing him to startle as it exined (Though the physical body of the Host may have sustained damage, the structure of your Soul is immutable. It may appear to change, but it is always as a reflection of the Host''s desires.) "Who are you...?" asked the boy, staring up at the endless nothingness surrounding him. After meeting with the Goddess, who had introduced herself as Klyscha, he had been deposited on what looked like a strange, circr stone tform. He was excited for what was toe, but seeing nothing beyond the tformpelled him to tuck in his knees and hug them. (I am the System created to act as an intermediary between the Host and The Path.) exined the voice, its tone appearing to soften slightly as it appended, ("As the Host is incapable of understanding the functions of The Path without assistance, I was created as an auxiliary support and to serve as an intermediary. I shall do my utmost to answer any questions the Host might have about The Path, its functions, and the Records within which you shall venture.*) Sensing the System''s sincerity, the boy, named Vahn Mason, breathed a sigh of relief, a feeble but excited smile developing across his face as he responded, "I see...and I think I understand. I''m d to have someone to help me. I''m certain I''ll get used to it, but this is all a bit much right now..." (And I am pleased to assist you.) responded the System, giving Vahn the impression it was happy despite sounding like a female robot. In response to that thought, the System remarked, (You aren''t mistaken; I am happy. However, that shouldn''t be your primary focus at the moment. Your Ego is too fragile to remain in this ce for an extended period, so while it might be presumptuous of me to do so, I suggest initializing the Tutorial. Then, once you have familiarized yourself with The Path''s functions, you should choose the Record you wish to inhabit as soon as possible.) "Oh...um...okay...?" responded Vahn, a little overwhelmed but feeling he could trust the System. He couldn''t exin it, but he felt like it had been looking after him for much longer than the few minutes they had known each other, reminding him of a cold-sounding but very caring older sister. Making it clear that it was privy to his thoughts, the System responded, (Acknowledged. If it pleases the Host, please refer to me as Big Sister or simply Sis from now on.) in a markedly more feminine tone. "Is that really okay...?" asked Vahn, feeling a little embarrassed. While it was true that he had always wanted an older sister, it felt weird referring to the voice in his head in such an intimate manner. (The decision is the Host''s to make.) responded the System. (However, if the Host is asking if I''m okay with it; there are few things that would make me happier.) "Well...if that''s the case...I...I''m happy to have you, S-Sis..." stammered Vahn, his face flushing red, prompting him to use his hands to conceal it as he added, "Please initialize the tutorial...!" Though he wasn''t sure what a tutorial was, Vahn felt he would find out faster by experiencing it directly. Fortunately, it appeared that a tutorial was some kind of exnation, as Sis responded (Affirmative.) before a transparent blue window appeared before him, floating in the air. ------------------------------------------- [Avable Functions] [Status]: Disys the Host''s physical, mental, and spiritual attributes in a quantifiable format. [Skills]: Disys a list of the Hosts'' avable Skills. The Host may toggle Skills On and Off to Activate or Deactivate their effects. [Shop]: Disys a list of all items avable across all Records. The Host can sell items stored within the Inventory for a currency known as Origin Points. The same currency is what''s used to purchase items. [Inventory]: Disys a grid that permits the Host to store items within a localized sub-dimension, inessible to all but the Host. Items stored within are not influenced by the flow of time. Furthermore, the Host can Equip items within the Inventory to pre-designated slots, permitting the instantaneous changing or removal of equipment. [Records]: Disys a list of all avable Records and their associated difficulty. Difficulties range from 1~7, with one being Mortal and seven being the Realm of Duality. There are Tiers of existence beyond seven, but they cannot be conceived. CAUTION! It is highly rmended that the Host avoid Records exceeding Tier 5 until they have attained Divinity! [Map]: Disys a map of the current Record, but only ces the Host has seen or sensed directly. ------------------------------------------- Sensing that Vahn had finished reading, Sis exined, (You can view the specifics of each by saying or thinking disy along with the function you wish to review. I suggest starting with Status, as it would be beneficial for you to understand your current capabilities before choosing a Record.) "That makes sense," responded Vahn, nodding before focusing his mind and thinking that he wanted to view his Status. In response, the window before him closed, reced by apletely new one. ------------------------------------------- [Status] Name: [Vahn Mason](?) Age: 0(Age does not apply to the Soul) Race: Human(Soul), Sealed Parameters: Does not apply outside of Records Soul Tier: 1 (Mortal Soul) Karma: 0 ------------------------------------------- ''I''m not sure what I expected...'' thought Vahn, prompting what felt like augh from the depths of his mind before Sis assured, (It shows that you have infinite potential and room to grow. As for your Karma, which I sense you are curious about, it was used to allow you ess to The Path. Once you ess a Record, you will be able to acquire considerably more based on your actions and decisions moving forward.) "Then I guess I should disy Records next...?" asked Vahn, prompting a new window to appear before him, this time depicting a list that appeared to scroll forever. Fortunately, it had two boxes at the top, one for inputting specific Record names and another for inputting search parameters. ''I''m not sure I want to enter the Record of a ce I know...'' thought Vahn, his face forming a frown as he imagined screwing things up for the people who lived in the worlds he would be traveling. He didn''t believe he would be turned away if he traveled to a Record like Fairy Tail and aspired to join the titr Guild, but if the members considered him weird or too weak, he might be ostracized or get in their way... (Then, is there anything you would like to experience?) asked Sis. (You are not limited to choosing a single Record to spend the remainder of your days. You could always select one to umte strength and knowledge before moving to one you''re more familiar with.) "That''s...a really good idea..." agreed Vahn, his doubt gradually reced by a broad, bright-eyed smile as he appended, "You''re really smart, Sis~!" (Thank you for thepliment.) responded Sis, giving Vahn the distinct impression she was pleased. Then, in response to the thought forming in his mind, she disyed a much shorter list of Records that fit the criteria he was imagining. His goal was a Record simr to his previous world but with things like Magic, Martial Arts, Demons, and Gods. Most importantly, he wanted the Record he chose to allow even someone like him to be able to attend High School without being seen as too weird or creepy... "What does DxD stand for...?" asked Vahn, referring to the Record at the top of the list, an unfamiliar world known as High School DxD with a Tier range of 1~5. (Analyzing.) responded Sis, followed by a lengthy dy where Vahn got the distinct impression his brain was heating up. Fortunately, it didn''t give him a fever or persist for too long before Sis appended (Based on what I was able to deduce, it should stand for Demons and Dragons, Dungeons and Dragons, or somethingparable. However, this is spective, as I possess no direct knowledge of said Record.) "Then let''s learn about it together~!" said Vahn, adopting a radiant smile that seemed to light up the surrounding darkness, albeit only slightly. In response, a sensation akin to static briefly emanated from the depths of his mind before Sis, her voice sounding audibly softer, responded, (That would be wonderful, Vahn. Before initializing the transfer, however, there is an item within your Inventory you should make use of. It is a gift given to you by Klsycha, its effect being to bestow you a unique Skill that could prove useful in your first Record. Take note that-) Before Sis could finish issuing her warning, Vahn, excited by the prospect of attending school for the first time, interrupted her to state, "Oh! I want to use it...!" with the enthusiasm of a child who had just learned they were about to receive a present. Sis had no choice but to obey, so alongside a pleasant-sounding ding and a tiny blue window appearing along the edge of his vision, Vahn experienced a powerful tugging sensation in his gut as he abruptly descended into his first Record... ... .. . The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!